finally time to elaborate on this now even though it's late as fuck now lmaooo
the whole thing starts off with Mal du Pays suddenly existing in the physical world after one of Siffrin's particularly bad breakdowns post-canon and it's!! a whole thing!!! but before too long, MdP is subdued and now the family has a (mostly) calm sadness on their hands. it can't be harmed but it can be slowed and talked down, at least? insanely strong, though!!
and so, MdP ends up unofficially joining the traveling family of seven and making it eight members. eventually the sadness bonds with each member of the family and becomes amicable (for the most part), especially with Siffrin despite it all. Loop,,, is hot and cold with it! tries not to interact w/ it too much!! (it's not their sadness specifically but. there's something that makes them uncomfy to be around it!)
eventually the family starts to split off, buuut not without finding the perfect abode for all of them to call home beforehand. Siffrin, Loop, and MdP all have a place to stay in Vaugarde and the rest of them have another home to return to! the current inhabitants rotate but never leave it empty (…for too long, at least.)
so, at first, it's definitely very sadness-like! lowkey aggressive and easy to set off. had to be talked down or restrained a lot, couldn't really handle people outside of Siffrin (and, surprisingly, Bonnie) for a while. the first person, outside of those two, to bond w/ it was actually Odile? which was followed by Mira, Isa, Loop (…kinda), and Nille. it never really gets over the adversion to people outside of the party but it seems to instead be,, guarding the party after enough time?? almost protective???
which is weird enough on its own BUT!! at least it doesn't outright attack others anymore. the one to put the idea of "training" it into a more pet-ish mindset out there was actually Loop, they meant it in a teasing way but long story short the rest of the family went "actually that could work??" sooo now they have to live with being the catalyst that turned Siffrin's sadness into a loyal guard dog when out (and somewhat horny puppy in private) lmaooo
anyways they turned that thang into a dog and while it's mainly Sif, Loop, 'n Isa doing Horny Things with it,, Odile is not exempt from this and has filled out many a "Sadness Study" journal after spending time with it<3 Mira is also there sometimes but for mostly non-sexual reasons, that's her scary dog hovering nearby to help deal with the unwanted fame!!! Siffrin also uses it for that purpose sometimes
also!! very important to note: it morphed itself to have dog ears and tail at some point, fully embracing it's life as the family pet! MdPuppy is loved in it's own way and found a purpose outside of being a sadness, it was already odd to begin with but now that it's doggy,, MdP gets to spend the rest of it's (dog) days in laps, getting pet, and etc
it usually wears at least one article of clothing around the home and likes to borrow/steal clothes from most of the adult, (re)gaining the ability to change clothes but sometimes MdPuppy just likes to wear it's collar and cloak with nothing underneath<3
