#I just really want her to be the only harbinger who genuinely likes him (other than nella) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cosmichawk · 11 months

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Ok so I want to talk about harbingers playability really quick

1.We knew that Signora would not be playable since day 1 bc she was always marked as monster in game files, not as playable characher. Scaramouche, on the other hand, was always labeled as avatar_boy_catalyst (or something like that). People who wanted for Signora to be playable were not just overdosing on hopium but straight up ignored all the red flags.

People who keep saying Dottore/Arlecchino/etc. will not be playable are also just ignoring what's in front of them. Dottore is labeled in game the way other playable characters are labeled. From recent leaks Arlecchino is also labeled this way. It seems that Scara/Signora incident didn't teach these people anything. Bruh

2.Voice actors are important.

Look at Signora's va. All of them. We don't know what her eng va is and her other va are not that popular.

Now look at other harbingers' va. I will talk about eng va only but you can look up their va for other languages and see that they are also pretty famous. They are either have high positions in the voice/acting/art industry or have famous roles (or both). Dottore's eng va is Mick Wingert. He voiced fucking Iron Man. Or Pierro's va, Richard Tatum. He is artistic director in some LA company. Or Michael Tatum, eng va for Pantalone. He has a lot of roles. like... A LOT.

You get the point. There is literally no reason for MHY to hire these VAs (that probably have a pretty pricey price-list for their work) just to give their voices to a characters they will just kill off.

3.This point is kinda strange but i noticed it randomly and now i can't get it out of my head. Official art.

Try to remember one official art of Signora. You can't, can you? That's bc it doesn't exist, even tho she played some kinda important role in Mond/Liyue/inazuma plotline.

Now try to remember one official art of Scaramouche (not Wanderer). You will remember some artwork pretty quickly bestie. His first appearance in the official art was in 1.1 for the Unreconciled Stars. Then he was featured in 3.1 official art, then in 3.2 as a mecha.

Dottore now also has appearance in the official art in 3.1 as well.

4.Design.

This one will be focused on Pulchinella and Pierro bc they are in the same boat (kinda). You see, I saw a lot of people being like "well, Pierro and Pulchinella both have facial hair and we know that MHY will never have character like that in their game".

And... no. I see where these people were coming from but this argument is invalid BC Pulchinella was featured in Teyvat Travail video. (even tho he is faceless there). ALL characters that were shown in this video will be playable. It would NOT make sense for MHY to make all chars from there playable except Pulchinella. Like... 1) they could feature someone else from Snezhnaya in Travail if they wanted to go with this design for grandpa, 2) or they could simply give him different design.

Point is, Pulchinella will be playable like he is now. And as for the model... Well, we still don't have child male model in game but we definitely will at some point. MHY could just change it a little so it could suit gramps better and that's it.

Moving on to Pierro. Pulchinella has facial hair, Pierro does as well. If gramps is playable, then argument about Pierro not being playable just bc of his facial hair doesn't work anymore.

Also not even 24hrs ago we had this leak of MHY working on new male model and very heavy accent was on Pierro in this art sheet. So...

Of course I could just be wrong, delusional and overdosed on copium. But i genuinely think that all harbingers will be playable (except Signora ofc) in one way or another.

#english is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes #this is the first time i wrote so much in eng #dear lord i thought it would be way much shorter #genshin impact #fatui #genshin fatui #fatui harbingers #pierro #dottore #scaramouche #signora #pulchinella #arlecchino #ch - talk

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wednesdayfunnys · 3 months

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Tell us more about the twins' superhero/sot personas:)

GASPS SO LOUD okay so wherever douchebag and her brother moved to south park from did not play like this. like these were some repressed indoors kids. didn't have a lot of toys, basically just sat around being bored and annoying the piss out of each other attached at the hip.

so when douchebag gets sucked into this game by butters and cartman she's all in. this is the funnest thing she has ever done in her life and she thinks cartman is genuinely hilarious. i say this to say in stick of truth she's basically just along for the ride persona-wise. she ties one of her dad's long polo shirts around her neck for a cape, takes a wood sword and the fighter class headthing from cartman and calls it a goddamn day.

she's more interested in the game itself than creating a character- this is true of her in tfw too. she just wants to play the game. she knows that the guys have assumed she's a boy but just doesn't really care and if them assuming she's a boy means she gets to play the fun games and her brother can't come then she's here for it all day long. she did not ever expect to be king douchebag but once she's king douchebag can't nobody tell her nothing.

NEW GIRL IS DIFFERENT. he wants to play but hes really interested in all the character building stuff. he wants a cool costume and a cool character more than he wants to beat people up (although he definitely wants to do that as well. he’s more cheap shots and misusing fire based than his sister. she just hits really hard. he goes out of his way to fight dirty and with spectacle.) he starts seeing douchebag come home all roughed up and in costume and he wants to fucking play goddamn it he was not aware this was an option. douchebag tells him he can't play and he is so mad. kyle kidnaps him instead of douchebag to try and get douchebag to switch sides (because they are uncannily identical) and new girl is IN AWE. First thing he does is enthusiastically agree to all of kyle's terms (confusing everyone) and spend hours making his sick persona.

she's an arcane human girl who was born under the fire moon which comes only once every century and is the harbinger of deep and powerful magic. she was banished into the elvish woods when she was born because of this prophecy, and raised by wolves who taught her the magic of family that her evil asshole twin never did. now she swears revenge on all humans and especially her asshole twin. (kyle and the boys are kind of in the dark on this backstory they just see him make this little red riding hood looking getup from an old halloween costume and some of his mother's fake cherry blossom decorations and say “okay well thats. he kind of looks like a fairy in that. he actually kind of looks like a girl. wait shit is he a girl?? does anybody—has anybody but cartman confirmed that this kid is a boy???" and confusion ensues. he also doesn’t really have allegiances (except that he thinks kyle is cute). he just wants to be the drama. doesn’t care that much about the overarching story like douchebag does.

in tfbw

douchebag is mostly pissed off that cartman is trying to leave her out of the game. again she's not really worried about character creation, which means cartman and everyone else has to force her hand to make a character and the kryptonite and the " your dad fucked your mom" backstory and she just goes with it because she could not care less she just wants to play. she mostly wants to play with cartman and kenny and butters because those are her homeboys she picked favorites right out the gate. she does NOT want to play with kyle Imao she's still mad at him for letting her brother play stick of truth. she basically just swipes whatever superhero esq stuff cartman has laying around the base and makes another super basic costume and just really wants to brawl all the time thats one thing about her she just really wants to throw hands at all times.

NEW GIRL however. well they're not gonna let him play again because after they "figured it out" in stick of truth ("ohhh douchebag's not a girl he just has this weirdo twin sister got it") and cartman and douchebag both teamed up and threw a fit, they made an agreement that new girl absolutely could not play with them. banished from time and space. not in the game. go home.

which means he’s absolutely not invited to play superheroes. you know who else is absolutely not invited to play superheroes?

#south park #new kid sp #new twins south park #king douchebag #eric cartman #kyle broflovski #kenny mccormick #butters stotch #my art #new girl sp #the stick of truth #the fractured but whole #tsot #tfbw #THANK YOU FOR INDULGING ME I APPRECIATE IT

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liyuee-qixing · 2 years

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“Noble Princess”

You're the tsaritsa daughter and the snezhnaya princess,after you finish your study on Sumeru academia she decided you're mature enough to be married with one of her Faithful Servant Harbinger.

Note:I thought the last one wouldn't blow up and I could just leave it be but hey, here's second part😟,I think I might as well up this on AO3 and WP and make it as series or a singular fanfic

Scaramouche is a little pathetic but that how I like my men

Character: Scaramouche,IL Dottore,Sandrone

PT.1 (la Signora, Tartaglia, Pantalone)

Pt 3:

scaramouche

Look. He definitely,100% and absolutely not the type of person to have a crush on someone, especially you,yea you. But- BUT YOU MADE HIS STONE HARD HEART ACHES SO BAD

he tries to look calm and collected when you're around. He try to look like he didn't care about what are you talking about. (Keyword:try) but then failed miserably

The fatui agent and subordinates have been talking about him being so soft recently. THAT ALL BECAUSE OF YOU FAULT.

He know he's not on your rank. He won't try as much as raises his voice to you,he try to change his personality when you're around,the harbinger already notice about his personality change.

He only join the fatui so he can achieve the gnosis for himself,but now that you were introduced to him,he want you. More than how he want the gnosis

Jealousy issues lmaosudoshdi

HE'S VERY AND VERY VERY VEYR TOUCH STARVED. JUST GIVE HIM A HUG AND HE'LL BE BLUSHING AS SHKT

"you piece of shit,can't any of you do a simple work done for once-" the balladeer shout angrily at his subordinate who kneeling in front of him.

"my lord scaramouche,the princess has requested to meet you,do you-"say a fatui subordinate. Kneeling behind him.

"approved, dismissed! All of you" he shouted once again,the fatui subordinate was gone. He had a glimpse of happiness when he heard your step

"Your highness,what do I owe you the pleasure?"he offer you a small thin smile painted on his face,a genuine one.

"don't be so formal,balladeer. This is sort of random,but have you see the ninth?" His smile never faded away so fast,he frowned. What Business do you have with Pantalone? Do you like him?

"I'm sorry for my rudeness,but why do you need him?" He asked,it now obvious he's jealous. Because of what? Because of Pantalone being your favorite Harbinger? Because of someone he doesn't own hanging with other person?

"isn't he's free today,I thought strolling around the palace with someone is so much better than alone,ah. I must have disturb your work longer,I apologize. I'll leave now" you explained,you quickly picking you speed going away from the sixth

"wait no! I'm free,I can accompany you if you want,I can take you anywhere you want" out of the sudden he reached for your hand and linked his hand with yours

"out of the sudden? I don't see why not though"you smiled at him,it bought a glimpse of happiness to his face as well also maybe a LITTLE blush definitely didn't spread all over his face. Yes definitely not 😊

Il Dottore

He was never loved. All he get in life is discrimination and hate. But now he's craving for your attention. no,no,no he shouldn't fall in love with you.

He's probably too shy or hesitant to talk to you. You're not on his rank so he has to be careful with his word

He doesn't really have time to spend,so he only see you whenever you pass by. But it was enough to make his day

He got jealous whenever you spend more Time with his clone

He often caught you staring at him a little bit longer than you supposed to. He'd be panicked,is it a hint of something? Did he do something wrong? Is there something on his face? Is he too handsome? No that out of line,he just pretend it never happened and that he never saw you staring at him. Yeah definitely not..

He saw you multiple times braiding Signora and Pantalone hair. He always craved that,ugh. Even damslette and Childe get that treatment,how come he doesn't???!?!?!?!

It all until he saw one of his clone in you lap under a tree,you were braiding his hair slowly and carefully.. that when jealousy burst into him,the closest things happen to him was an eye contact,how come his clone get to take a nap on your lap

It's currently a good weather on snezhnaya,it not really snowy as it always do. You were currently sitting under a tree by your self alone. It until the fourth of the harbinger pass by. Your eyes was locked on his back, without of you realizing,he was aware you was staring at him "your highness, you've been staring at me way too long,is there something I could help you with?" He asked,his flat and cold tone was like the usual. The only difference is that his voice was lot softer

"ah. I'm sorry,I didn't realize I stared at you for way too long to the moment of your discomfort"you was startled at first,not expecting him to be aware of you staring at him

"I'm interested in your thoughts actually,So go ahead,tell me what you have in mind" he asked, walking closer to your sitting figure. Waiting for an answer

"I wonder if I could braid your hair,but if you don't want to, it's fine. I could move on,I mean I always do it to another harbinger and i-"you finally spit your thoughts out. Hearing the name of 'other harbinger' make Dottore ear burn. Do he own you? No. THEN WHY DOES HE FELT THIS WAY,WHY DOES HE FEEL SO JEALOUS

"so you're interested in them? Then go ahead if it what you desire" Dottore look a little hesitant at first,but he can't just let you slip out and ask other harbinger to braid their hair lovingly!

So you did, you lay his head on your lap as you braided his hair,at first he was hesitant and nervous as heck. But as the time passed he become more relaxed

You probably just made him fall for you even harder. Poor man just wanna be loved

Sandrone

When she first met you,she stares at you way and WAYY to long.

She'll write every single of your special interest,your preference, everything about you,she even draw you on her journal

She's a quiet and Mysterious lover. . She rather watch you from afar than to approach you.

Buttt... If a harbinger ever made her felt jealous,she should not lose you. Especially if it tartaglia,she couldn't lose you to him! Heck no!

When you requested for her assistance, she is more than happy to accept it. Through the whole assistance process she compliment you all the times,it make you felt very flustered. Your heart would aches when she say good things about you

That royal uniform you were today? Hey! That perfectly matches you! Your jewelry,your make up,your touch? Everything about you is perfect on her eyes.

"your document have something wrong with it"she said as she look through your documents,your eyebrow knitted together,what possibly goes wrong?

"What wrong?" You asked, looking a bit in panic as you looked at Sandrone frowning face.

"Your name doesn't have my last name in it,is it a technical issues?" She said along with a small giggle,you sigh,it just Sandrone being Sandrone.

"Don't be so panicked, darling,sooner or later, you'll have my last name on your name"she giggled once again,you also giggled at it,but deep inside you know she was being dead serious me when

THIS IS SO BADLY MADE AND LIKE 20 MINUTES LATE TO BE UPLOADED,I HAD TO RUSH BEFORE THE CLOCK HIT 00:00 BUT IT WAS 00:20 AS I WRITE THIS SO IM SO SO SO SORRY.

#sandrone #genshin imagines #dottore fluff #dottore x reader #fiction #genshin headcanons #scaramouche #scaramouche fluff #fatui x reader

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gold-rhine · 2 months

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hiii!! i wanted to start by saying that i LOVE with a passion your writing and fics, literally changed my life ong i dont know if you're currently taking requests or writing for lyney (or any fontaine characters for that matter) but i theres this idea that has been taking over my brain with lyney and him as a sub. (that said, feel free to ignore this if you aren't as familiar with his character and don't feel comfortable enough writing him)

just bear with me here for a second, so we all know that lyney is overprotective with his siblings and presents himself as a reliable person and hides behind his charming and onstage persona (i LOVE the fortress of meropide act where we can actually see farther into his character other than "flirty and charming magician" i also liked how lyney acted after his trial when he and lynette were talking w the traveler as an honorable mention)

then, we can see two versions of him, the version that is "lyney the magician", who was a way with words and is very skilled at deceiving people, flirty and suave he redirects a crowd's attention to focus only on the part (of himself) that he wants people to see. on the other side, we have a more "true" lyney, who is always protective for his siblings in fear that they are taken away from him again, he's impulsive but also genuine. a lyney that sometimes questions himself who he really is, after all of the masks and acts he has taken (character story 4), and also a lyney that wants to protect the home that arlecchino had given him and lynette when they were at their worst. (tbh him without his stage persona really comes off to me as "Im Trying ™")

(all seriousness aside, and this is just a headcanon, i could 100% see lyney in love in his room kicking his feet giddily and pacing around the room thinking of ways to romance his crush, just to go out and act all cool and suave like he wasnt just losing his shit for the last 2 hours) (or maybe im just projecting) (we will never know)

so, how does this play into flith?

imagine lyney having his first time w reader, he's not completely clueless because well, he's obviously an adult (and also this is lyney we're talking about. just look at his design.) i picture lyney overall (not just in sex) really good with theory, but when it comes to practice, he just falls apart.

another thing i also think would be at play is him learning to let go of his mask, of his responsibilities and just relax, let his brain turn into mush and his legs into jelly and let himself be fully naked (both physically and emotionally) in front of someone. how much he trusts his partner also is smth to be taken into account. i dont really see him as a one night stand type of guy.

then, i also think that his trauma with lynette's situation would also show, even though he isn't overly clingy with lynette, he always wants to be by her side, not only because theyre REALLY close but also because he subconsciously he wants to make sure that shes okay. (he even thought about getting a delusion so that they could be together on missions, and even when arle denied him he still tried to get better) i think that this subconscious need for feeling his loved one's presence (to put it in some kind of way) as if they would slip away the first moment he wasnt looking would manifest in the form of him being into handholding, or just overall keeping his hands on his partner, especially when he closes his eyes.

the last thing that i would like to mention is him w a praise kink, which i think would stem from his upbringing in the house of the hearth at least at mostly if not at all, due to searching for arlecchino's approval as a parental figure (setting aside the OBVIOUS father title, whether she intended or not she is the only parental figure the fontaine siblings have, and they do treat her as such, it would be normal for them to seek approval. however since we're talking about a harbinger, idk if that approval was met much, so yeah.) (however these are all assumptions based on how we can think life at the house of the hearth was for the sillies, i have only read lyney's voicelines and character stories and i am too lazy to read lynette's or freminet's, however i do think i am close enough)

LAST THING I SWEAR, with the whole "lynette has cat features and lyney having cat traits" thing. imagine,, lyney hiding his head in the crook of his partner's neck purring when hes too overstimulated... i am on my knees. 🧎

wow. that was a lot. sorry if i made this too long !! i wanted to request smut and ended up making a half assed lyney character study 😭😭 i hope i didn't bore you to death with my ranting, anyways even if you dont feel like writing, i would love to hear your thoughts about this. i love lyney's character with all my heart and i find that he is very fun to think about and explore his trauma character. i sincerely hope that you could find it in yourself to ignore my horrible phrasing skills and yeah.., i dont do requests often but i am desperate for sub lyney content and you have one of the most beautiful writing i have encountered in tumblr smut fics LMAO (if you do decide to write it, dom gn reader please and thank you)

love, lyney obsessed anon <3

oh my god, i didnt even know you can send so much text on anon asdfghjk.

anyway, lyney is not one of my absolute favs so i don't have a phd on him, so im not claiming all my opinions are corrrect, but i do like him a lot, i think he's v cute. i mostly agree with all of your points. what i would say, is that while ofc he has his stage persona, he really does love performance, its clear from his story quest. he enjoys attention, he likes impressing ppl, this is still part of his "real" self. like yes, he is very flustered when he has a crush and he will spend hours pacing around the room giddily and planning what he will do and then play suave, but he also really enjoys pulling it off, doing something special and impressive for his crush and then being admired and praised for it even if - especially if - he was actually nervious the whole time, bc thats part of the thrill, the high stakes!

if i were to write him, i think i'd do like. exhibitionism with a bit of pet play, bc i think he would want to do a show that he would rehearse for hours, and it would actually be pretty hot, but its too ambitious and some things you can't pre-plan without practice, so he *would* fumble things and be flustered, and on this edge of really charismatic and clumsily vulnerable is where his real charm lies.

anyway, i can't promise i'll write him, i assume you don't follow me since you said you don't know what i think of fontaine characters, but if i do, it will be in sub lyney tag so you won't miss it:)

#rhine talks #lyney

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dulcesiabits · 8 months

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ur currently my favorite lyney writer so I just wanted to share this with u

https://youtu.be/-drhq4WVKEM?si=z0end8vrsnMVk4JO

I watched this theory and it made me realize we know so little abt lyney and puts into perspective how sly he could be, like way more than we give him credit for. PLEASE WATCH IT I wanna see if this will influence ur characterization of him (in anyway) for future fics

I’m your favorite Lyney writer?? That’s an honor!! <3 I hope you like what I write for him in the future, haha!

So, I watched the video, and I found it pretty interesting; considering Fontaine’s focus on facades, performances and lies, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lyney was still hiding something from us. I think it’s true that he’s both fond of traveler AND he could be avoiding telling us the full truth. To what extent would he and Lynette go to prevent the prophecy of Fontaine…? It’s hard to say.

What I found particularly compelling were the bits with Liliane and the Oratrice; we can only go off of his word about what happened then, and it’s possible he and Lynette manipulated/coerced Liliane to go along with their plans, whatever they might be. He and Lynette couldn’t catch a common thief despite being Fatui operatives and he twisted his ankle while attempting to do so…? That part does feel a bit suspicious in hindsight. He purposefully asked traveler to wait far away from them while he and Lynette handled Liliane, too! It’s also possible he tampered with the Oratrice! Because in the immediate trial following Lyney’s, Childe is pronounced guilty, and this is the first time ever that Neuvillette and the Oratrice have had different verdicts. It really does feel like Lyney could have done something to the Oratrice, and it’s also not the first time the other Harbingers (assuming Arlecchino was the one who gave Lyney his orders) have set Childe up to fail.

Where DID the real Halsey go? Was this a plot hole/oversight on the part of the writers, or is it future foreshadowing? Hard to say at this point.

The only part of the theory I’m iffy on is that Lyney set Crowel to die on purpose. If he wanted to get rid of him, there could have been a lot more efficient ways to do so, that didn’t rely on luck and happenstance (gaining traveler’s trust + having them defend him in court, for example. It seems a bit risky to stake a crucial part of the plan on an unknown outlander). Additionally, Lyney and Lynette aren’t as… callous as the other Fatui are portrayed? They’re shown in a sympathetic light, and joined the Hearth out of desperation. They don’t seem to take joy in needless violence or brutality, and we also don’t know the full extent of what they do for the Fatui. The most we do know is that they participate in spy work/information gathering. Like, I think if they committed murder, it would be a last resort rather than a premeditated attack. I feel like they would be reluctant to go so far, and it would be risky for people so prominent in the public eye to murder someone (especially in front of others). Lyney’s story quest even draws parallels between him and Caesar’s grieving fiancée (forgot her name). He says he could have ended up like her (bitter, cruel) if not for the fact he had Lynette. He’s still a kind person, even if he manipulates and lies. Lyney and Lynette strike me more as self-preserving and desperate to protect each other more than intentional malice.

TDLR: Lyney is suspicious, but he’s also a kind person. I think it’s possible he’s hiding what really happened with Liliane + the Oratrice, but I doubt everything in his trial was planned, especially him and Lynette murdering Crowel on purpose. Yes, he’s sly and possibly more clever than we realize. He lies and manipulates, but it’s done more so to protect himself + Lynette than out of genuine malice.

#liya answers #genshin spoilers #genshin impact #lyney #Childe enjoys bloodshed and violence #the other harbingers also have a few screws loose #lyney strikes me as someone a bit more ordinary than that #Childe wouldn’t think much of killing vs Lyney would be fucked up over it

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feroluce · 6 months

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Some off the cuff 1k of Skirk & Tartaglia (skirtaru???) hcs before 4.2 proves me wildly wrong, they are very much a dynamic in process to be changed as we see more of them and as I think and consider them more, but I wanna see them interact so BAD.

Anyway. Tartaglia is an idiot who develops a crush, or at least something like a crush, on anyone who can give him a good fight. Obviously there are plenty of people who can just kick his ass- he's ranked at the bottom of the Harbingers. But they all suck, and there's no passion when they fight! They don't appreciate it the way Tartaglia does! So it's not a good fight and those assholes don't count!

So I think little Tartaglia was doomed the second he saw a very very pretty lady with a very very sharp sword and she immediately beat the shit out of him. Like she awakened something in him right then and there, unfortunately for the rest of the world haha

And then! Not only could she beat him one handed! But she took the time to teach him! And this! This was exactly what Tartaglia had wanted when he ran away from home with nothing but some food and his sword! He'd wanted an adventure! He'd wanted something new and different and wild!

And he can have that now, with Skirk and the Abyss! So his crush could have instantly dissolved right there, but it didn't, because Skirk was weird and interesting and Tartaglia adored that.

((Wheezing imagining Tartaglia trying to show off because he wants to impress his shifu, and she genuinely is impressed because Tartaglia progressed so fast, but then she pops his teenage boy ego with a pin and he deflates sjzjnskdkz))

He develops such an endless amount of respect and admiration for her. He's so happy and so proud of himself when he masters the Foul Legacy, because this was a goal laid by his shifu and hell yeah, he blew it out of the water!! And I'd like to think this was when Skirk said those words in his profile-

"You shall ever be the eye of the storm,"

"And the clashing of steel shall ever accompany you."

"The pitch-black memory of stepping into uttermost darkness,"

"Shall, at last, become the strength by which you will overturn this world."

-with Tartaglia knelt before her and her sword at his cheek, as though she were knighting him. And Tartaglia realizes then that oh. He likes it here. He likes being in the Abyss. He likes being with Skirk. He likes hunting and killing and surviving here in the Abyss with Skirk. Morepesok is and will always be home, but it was stagnant there. Too much of the same. No room for growth.

But the Abyss is boundless possibility to explore in every direction, and Skirk has never flinched away from him even once. Tartaglia can be as violent and bloodthirsty as he wants; Skirk is worse. She gives zero shits. She loves to fight and hunt and kill and make things bleed. Tartaglia is free to explore and revel in all of his worst inclinations and instincts and that is what the Abyss and Skirk become to him. Freedom.

And then he falls out of the Abyss just as suddenly as he had fallen into it. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

And it's not all bad or anything. Tartaglia isn't miserable. He's plenty capable of making his own happiness. He brings his own joy everywhere he goes (derogatory, unfortunate for everyone else ndkdjdjkd) and he genuinely likes being around other people. He would have missed a lot of things if he'd been permanently trapped.

But now there is an itch that he can't scratch. And it's driving him nuts. And he misses Skirk. She was fun to be around. He liked her.

He finds himself seeing things in everyday life and wishing he could show her. He pulls out ingredients in the kitchen for dinner and wants her to eat his special dish and show off how good he can cook. He reads through reports about the Abyss and he never finds what he's looking for (a swordswoman, an entrance, anything-), but he wants to ask her her opinions about them. He sees a really nice sword and wonders if she would like it. Little things.

Tartaglia decides he's going to find her. Even if it's just for a chance to thank her. Even if it takes years, decades. He just wants to see her again.

And then, it finally happens! They really do get to reunite! I have no idea what will happen in the archon quest of course, but like. I really like the idea that after things settle down, Skirk decides to stay for a while. She doesn't really want to live here or anything, but she's curious. She wants to see what Teyvat is like. She especially wants to see Snezhnaya, like Tartaglia used to talk about. And Tartaglia decides to go with her, he's an experienced traveler, a man of the world after all! He'll take her wherever she'd like to go.

And I'd love for them to say goodbye to The Traveler and Paimon and depart from Fontaine on a classic will-they-won't-they sort of vibe, where it's obvious that Tartaglia has Some Feelings about Skirk, but it's not clear how Skirk really feels about him yet. But it's the kind of thing where it's hopeful, and you want to root for the guy to get his love interest haha.

(The Traveler and Paimon bump into them a few months later and Paimon chides Tartaglia because Childe have you seriously not confessed yet the hell have you been doing all this time, which he responds to with hey, Skirk is a classy lady, give me time to do it right! and meanwhile The Traveler can see around Tartaglia to where Skirk is sitting at their campfire, manspreading on a fallen log, eating raw meat with blood on her face and dripping down her arms BNSKXJSMKDMD)

#genshin impact childe #genshin childe #genshin impact skirk #genshin impact tartaglia #skirtaru #I think I saw some post somewhere on here or twitter that said something rude about how people are going to ship them once Skirk releases #buddy I've been sailing this little ship single-handedly for a while now bold of you to assume I need to wait for canon dkxjdkkfkd #what the fuck do I even call this #i like skirtaru because tbh i never even call Tartaglia by his actual name he's always Taru to me haha #just had to get this all out of me before 4.2 drops and kills all my hcs instantly tomorrow nzksndkd #Skirk and Taru are one of those pairs that like. i think I could love them no matter what.#Romance? LOVE IT. Qpr? WONDERFUL. Found family? HELL YEAH.#tbh I don't have a lot of high hopes that we'll see them interact a ton in canon...#but I at least hope they get a good reunion that isn't just glossed over #they deserve it. taru has been searching for her for years. he's earned it.#I think as long as they care about each other I'll be happy ♡#I'm so excited to see what Hoyo will do with them!!#genshin impact #tartaglia #skirk

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rwby-encrusted-blog · 11 months

Note

Would Long Memory, Harbinger and Disciplinarian get along? Also how do Midnight, Thief’s Respite feel about their wielders?

They Get along quite well.

Long Memory acts as mysterious as Ozpin, but she wears her emotions on the hem of her cloak. She's a great tease and is prone to trying to handle everything herself, while also trying to convince others to take a rest, so she's a hypocrite to some degree.

Disciplinarian is Sharp, and direct, and usually just as serious as Glynda, but in the moments where she allows herself whimsy, she always tries to pull Glynda into her shenanigans, and often succeeds, bringing some slight (very slight) chaos in wonder into her Wielders life.

Now Harbinger is. Well.

I took the "Haughty Tsundere" trope usually attached to Crocea in these types of AU's and gave it to Harbinger But there's a very good reason for that.

When I give the weapons personality, I try to;

make a voice of Reason

Make someone contrarian to the Wielders personality

Exaggerate the Wielders personality

So making Harbinger like "That" It creates a nice contrast between "Alcoholic Depressed Middle aged man" and what's effectively a daughter for him. Harbinger is genuinely angry with him, and tries to help him, but ultimately Qrow is the only person who can change his life. (Please Note Harbinger is a DAUGHTER to Qrow)

Generally the Trio of LM, Disc, and Harbinger take turns teasing each other - LM for being old or weird, Disc for being Uptight and Dry, and Harbinger for being, well, Harbinger. They would be friends (As Long Memory only Awakens later in the story) and really do care for each other, as much as they care for their Wielders.

Now Midnight and Thieves Respite.

Midnight, as stated in an earlier post, is a genuine Child, 7-9 years old in terms of mental Acuity and disposition. Before the Fall, Midnight loves Cinder! That's her Mom! She's Warm and Takes her out for ice cream! And her Friend "Mistew Towchick" Pays for it! He's Very Generous!

and then the Fall happens.

And Midnight is Horrified. Cinder tried to make her hurt someone as sweet and Kind as Pyrrha! Why would she do that! and she won't explain herself! Cinder's a Mean Bully! Who hurts People who are nice! Why? Why would she do that? Why would her mom make Her do that!?!

As for Thieve's Respite, since it's a pair, each one has a different idea on what to do

Thief is very much "We should leave, and go back to being street urchins! We are in WAY too far over our heads, and need to save ourselves from this!"

While Respite is like "We're in too deep! We gotta See this too the end! If we leave they'll track us down and kill us! Sunk cost! SUNK COST!"

Both of them Hate Cinder. For obvious reasons, mostly getting Emerald into this situation, and then also for how she treats their Wielder.

The second Emerald is offered Redemption they both decide that Emerald doesn't get a choice in this, they are all leaving, Because they're no longer Stuck on the side that Will get them all killed, and also no longer under Cinder. Ultimately they just want Emerald to live as free as she can, and ultimately that means she has to help out the Good Guys, whether she wants to or not.

#rwby #AEBMO au #asks and answers #anonymous #long memory #disciplinarian #Harbinger #Midnight #Thieve's Respite #rwby au

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enden-k · 1 year

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voice lines/info on the fatui harbingers

i got scara to friendship 4 and decided to put his and childes voice lines about the harbingers + the tsaritsa together!

The Tsaritsa

Childe: "Her Royal Highness the Tsaritsa is actually a gentle soul. Too gentle, in fact, and that's why she had to harden herself. Likewise, she declared war against the whole world only because she dreams of peace. And because she made an enemy of the world, I had the chance to become acquainted with you."

Scara: "Everyone praises her for her kindness and benevolence, but they forgot that love is also a form of sin. What if she's just trying to compensate for something?"

The 1st Harbinger: The Jester (Pierro)

Childe: "He was the first ever Fatui Harbinger, and today he is our leader. He only appears on important occasions. As for his accomplishments... To be honest, I don't really care. I owe my loyalty and devotion to the Tsaritsa, no one else."

Scara: "The Jester is a survivor of Khaenri'ah. Besides that singular fact, I know very little about him, and have never had any kind of close association with him. He seems to want something from me, though. In the past, he assigned me to many important tasks, including a number of trips to the Abyss."

The 2nd Harbinger: The Doctor (Il Dottore)

Childe: "I heard that he took segments of himself at different ages, made prostheses out of them, and assigned different tasks to each one. I know... all my comrades are a little weird. Well, come to think of it, if I met another version of myself... Hah, we'd have to fight then and there to decide which one of us gets to survive."

Scara: "It's a pity that Lesser Lord Kusanali already forced him to erase so many of his segments. The joy I would have derived from slicing them apart one by one..."

The 3rd Harbinger: Damselette (Columbina)

Childe: "The Fatui Harbingers are ranked by strength, and I have no idea why that girl is No. 3. I'd test my skills with every Harbinger who ranks above me if I had the chance, but when it comes to her... something just doesn't feel right. Anyway, you should be careful around her."

Scara: "Let me ask: what should you do if you were to encounter a "damsel" who is oblivious and innocent at any given time, and unconcerned and unfeeling in any given situation? If it were me, I could at least challenge her to a fight. But if it were you... with your conscience, I would stay away from her."

The Captain (Il Capitano)

Childe: "I've seen him in battle before, and oh what a sight it was. Perhaps I'm ranked too low for him to notice me right now. Well, he may not recognize my strengths yet, but one day, I'll show him what I'm made of."

Scara: ""The ever-righteous Captain," "the brave and fearless Captain," "the nigh-invincible Captain"... Even my mechanical ears demand maintenance after listening to so many compliments from the members of the Fatui. Don't you think that possessing absolute righteousness is actually a latent danger? And that's without taking his great personal strength into account."

The 5th Harbinger: The Rooster (Pulcinella)

Childe: "I don't know what his motivations could be, but he seems genuine about wanting to help me. He treats me just like family. Oh, and speaking of family — Tonia and Teucer are always telling me about the pastries and other gifts he brings them when they write. So while I've been away from Snezhnaya, he's kept his promise to take care of my family."

Scara: "Only someone as dense as Childe would think The Rooster is looking after him and his family out of the goodness of his heart. Although the mayor has indeed done a number of things for their benefit, anyone with a brain would be able to tell that the underlying meaning is "your entire family is in my hands.""

The (former) 6th Harbinger: Balladeer (Scaramouche)

Childe: "After he took the Gnosis, we lost all contact with him. Now comes the task of trying to hunt it down and get it back... I actually don't mind it — it means I get to travel all over. Wonder if I'll run into you somewhere along the way?" (this line disappears once you finish the Archon Quest Interlude Act III Inversion of Genesis)

The 7th Harbinger: Marionette (Sandrone)

Childe: "She always seems engrossed in her research. Hmm... I wonder if those machines have anything to do with her? Anyway, I've only met her a few times, but every time she looked like she wanted to murder me. I have no idea what I possibly could have done to annoy her, though."

Scara: "She has a terrible personality and cares for nothing outside of her own research. But even with that amount of dedication, she still produced a copious amount of garbage, and could only secure a ranking that's still one whole place beneath my own. How pitiful."

The (former) 8th Harbinger: The Fair Lady (La Signora)

Childe: "I never got along with her, you know that. I guess there's not much more worth saying about her at this point. When you're a Harbinger, you have to accept that death could come at any time... But don't worry about me. No matter what happens, I'll do whatever it takes to keep myself alive."

Scara: "Nothing remained in her ashes. I have no interest in those who have lost their future."

The 9th Harbinger: Regrator (Pantalone)

Childe: "Oh, now that guy has a head full of grandiose plans fueled by raw ambition. I don't understand a word he says once he starts talking about his theories... Eh, but as long as he keeps our cash reserves stocked up, I'm not complaining."

Scara: "Oh, the ninth-ranked guy. He's obsessed with the idea of "fair exchange", to the point of wanting to overthrow the natural imbalance between gods and humans. But, I guess it's just how ordinary mortals are like — it's easy for them to come up with pointless delusions. Honestly, it's nothing worth writing home about, just like how there's also nothing impressive about his abilities or choice of partner. Hmph. Anyone who chooses to work closely with The Doctor is sure to meet a nasty end."

The Knave (Arlecchino)

Childe: "Look, I've got nothing against people who have their own agendas — I myself joined the Fatui to get more experience in combat. But I don't like her at all. If she stood to benefit from betraying others, she'd turn against the Tsaritsa in a heartbeat. There isn't a sane bone in her body."

Scara: "A wolf in a sheep's clothing. To exert a higher level of control over people, she puts on a graceful and cordial front. Most of those who have seen her true, crazy self... have gone poof."

The 11th Harbinger: Childe (Tartaglia)

Scara: "He's simple of mind and not that strong of body. Naming him to the lowest-ranked seat lowered the Harbinger's collective prestige. Thankfully, I'm no longer part of that group."

#wanted to put screenies from their lines in game but image limit rip #had to type it instead #genshin tag #the 11 Harbinger babes

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inscrutable-shadow · 7 months

Text

Whumptober 2023 Days 4, 18 - wasn't what you wanted (but i had something to give)

@whumptober-archive

No. 4: “I see the danger, It’s written there in your eyes.”

Cattle Prod | Shock | “You in there?”

No. 18: “I tend to deflect when I’m feeling threatened.”

Blindfold | Tortured For Information | “Hit them harder.”

contains: gore, captivity, vampire whumpees, immolation

too long? read on ao3!

Avrae thought she really should have expected something like this. Waking with the red-hot sensation of silver blistering against bare wrists and frigid air tickling her ribs, perhaps not exactly, but some form of capture or another. One could only be public enemy number one of most of vampire-kind for so long before someone succeeded in kicking the shit out of you. What she genuinely didn’t expect to see was the bruised and battered face of one Thanatos Iuventus, being hauled around by his hair and generally looking worse for wear. He was also shirtless, and covered in what was presumably his own blood, red as it was. Their captors were Daxerine, and everyone knew Daxerines had black blood.

“Well, well, miss Angel of Death. Looks like we’ve caught two birds with one stone. I must admit, when your Harbinger was spotted in the area, I was quite worried, but once we’d caught him, my fears were quickly dispelled.” Avrae recognised this man from the briefing documents: Edric Godfrey, the current Lord Viarossa and the target. He and six of his scions were slated for elimination, leaving the two remaining members of the Viarossa bloodline to be folded into the new House Penumbrae, which was eagerly waiting to seize assets as soon as Avrae reported mission success. Lord Godfrey shook Thanatos a bit, which only served to increase his dishevelled appearance. The limp strands of dark hair clinging to his face, caked with blood and sweat, made him look a bit like a damp raven. Did he always look so wretched? Honestly. Typical Iuventus.

Thanatos’s breathing scraped raggedly from his throat and his eyes (faintly glowing red, a telltale sign of a hungry vampire) darted wildly around the room. He got his mouth halfway around “Ten- ugh…” before his face hit the floor.

Godfrey, who’d dropped him, stepped over his body into the room. “He hasn’t been of particular use to us, I’m afraid. I can’t imagine what you use him for.” The answer to that was obvious, even from here. The runic sigil tattooed onto Thanatos’s chest could be easily read by anyone who understood the magic as a planar focus. It was what let her shadow-walk over long interstellar distances to carry out the hits. Thanatos would go the slow way, and as soon as she was in, he’d take his leave and head for the next destination. She rarely saw him, and to be honest, that was just fine with her. “Fortunately, he brought you right to us. I trust you’ll be of much more use.”

“What the fuck do you want, anyway?” Avrae asked, ignoring Thanatos’s quiet whimpers.

Godfrey leaned over her, careful not to touch the silver chains. “I want your list. Everyone slated to be executed. Everyone your new council of feral mongrels has deemed unnecessary.” His voice dipped to a malevolent growl as he spoke, and he cleared his throat and swallowed the emotion. Quite a bit of vitriol there, ‘feral’ was an insult vampires reserved for the most absolutely despised.

“Look in a mirror. You’re priority one, asshole.”

Her neck snapped to the side as he backhanded her across the face. This was enough to rouse Thanatos from his stupor of self-pity and put the fear back into his eyes. He pressed himself into the wall, hoping Godfrey would forget about him. Avrae couldn’t tell if he was putting on an act to appear non threatening or if Lord Viarossa had just put the fear of God into him. No time to ponder it, though. “Don’t get smart with me. If you don’t talk willingly, I’d love to convince you. Your friend here can tell you just how much I enjoy it. Get him up,” he ordered, and two other men stepped in to chain Thanatos to the opposite wall in a reflection of her own restraints.

Thanatos didn’t even flinch as the silver closed around his wrists. He was clearly used to it, and the scars on his arms confirmed that. Silver was the only thing that could scar a vampire, and its use was considered taboo for intraspecies disagreements. This ‘Culling War’, as it was being called by people on the wrong side of it, had seen all of those conventions thrown out of the nearest airlock. It was clearly meant to send the message that nothing was off the table, probably not even sunlight. She didn’t see the pale scarring of previously sun-scorched flesh anywhere on Thanatos’s exposed upper body, though, so that was a mercy. Meant they hadn’t been pushed that far yet. For the best, really, even the strongest stomach could turn watching charred skin slough off of muscle.

“You remember this, don’t you, Harbinger?” Godfrey crooned, tipping Thanatos’s chin up with his left hand and bringing the right up toward an already red mark on the man’s side. The pulsing crackle of an electric baton drew both Avrae’s and Thanatos’s wary attention. “Why don’t we show her what we’ve been doing for the past few days?”

Thanatos went rigid and averted his eyes from the implement, his breathing settling into an uneasy rhythm. He didn’t flinch away as Godfrey brought the arcing electricity teasingly close to his skin. Avrae swallowed. She wouldn’t do him the dishonour of looking away, but it had been several centuries since she’d watched someone be tortured in front of her. That much disuse could make even the most hardened killing machine go soft. Though she’d never been as hardened as others had hoped. She’d always taken too greedily to peace, ached too desperately for normalcy. She would sand off her own sharp edges if it didn’t happen quickly enough on its own. Maybe that’s what had made her brittle, caused her to shatter, a hopeless, broken thing. (She just wanted to be like them.)

The contract had reforged her, made her a weapon again. She’d almost expected it when they’d approached her and offered a new assignment. It had been odd, not being wielded. It had felt good doing what she was made to do. Somehow, it didn’t feel good to watch Thanatos (delicate, rail-thin, craven Thanatos, whose greatest pre-vampiric hardship had been paternal pressure into an annoying career and who’d looked as if he were one cough away from an early grave every time she’d seen him) go through something she would have been expected to withstand as a child. It was just electricity, just pain. It was impossible for it to damage him permanently. Physically, at least. The sunken, haunted eyes told a different story.

The first scream was cautious, curated. Clearly intentional, gauging the atmosphere, probing Godfrey to see how far he wanted to go this time. Hoping that would be the end of it. The second had a bit of despair to its edge.

The third was real.

Long, drawn-out wails of utter agony rang through the small room. Red Lichtenberg figures blossomed across his side, like grasping fingers stretching toward the sigil on his chest. There was nothing Avrae could do to help Thanatos. They would just have to wait until Godfrey got bored. Asking him to stop would be a display of weakness, and she didn’t have the information that would theoretically save him. She didn’t even know who the target after Godfrey was supposed to be yet. Thanatos might, but if he did and wasn’t telling, he had more iron in him than she’d given him credit for.

Minutes pass and Godfrey shows no sign of slowing down. Thanatos gives no suggestion of wanting to beg for the pain to stop, either. His cries are entirely wordless and stop as soon as the prod is moved away from his skin. Either he’s already tried and knows it’s pointless, or it’s his own brand of defiance. Avrae’s tired of it either way.

“Is there a point to this or do you just like hearing him scream? My hearing’s very sensitive, so if it’s the latter, could you move this show somewhere else?” She made a point of ensuring her expression was as bored as possible, something she’d had quite a bit of experience with since becoming nocturnal.

Godfrey rounded on her, shaking the baton under her nose. “It could be you next. Ruin that pretty skin of yours. Unless you have something to tell me?”

“Nope.”

He growled in frustration and tipped her chin up with the end of the prod. “I don’t think you understand the severity of what I’m asking you.”

She smirked, shifting against the silver chains. “No, I think I get it. You think I’m the only method the Council has of getting this done? I’m the merciful route. You could kill me right here and it wouldn’t save you. You could know every name in the ledger and you couldn’t do jack shit about it. Either the High Council does this, or the Galactic Council does. They won’t be kind enough to leave two of your scions. They will gladly exterminate every single one of us. If my options are you kill me or they kill me, I’ll take silver over the stake or the sun.”

Lord Godfrey’s expression hardened into a scowl. “I’m going to leave you two to talk for a moment, and when I come back, I’ll immolate him.” He said the last few words slowly, leaning over her position sitting on the floor. Thanatos’s eyes flickered with some emotion, but quickly returned to glassy diffidence. “Let’s see where we stand after that.” Godfrey indicated to the other two men to leave the room, and the iron door scraped shut.

The room was silent for a few moments, then Thanatos made a sound that might have been a sob, but was stunted and malformed. He took a shuddering breath. “I… don’t want to die, Tenebrus.”

“Well, yeah. Expected as much.” She sighed. “I suppose you want me to get you out of this.” Thanatos said nothing. “You’re nothing but trouble, you know that?”

He blinked slowly. “I apologise.”

It wasn’t really any fun poking at him if he wasn’t going to fight back at all. “Do you have the info he wants?” Godfrey probably had cameras in here, but there wasn’t really any point in bluffing about this. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

He shuddered. “No. They give me the next location once they’ve confirmed you’ve reached the destination correctly. I’ve been here since before then, and I’ve got nothing through the datastream. I don’t know if signals can get through here.”

“Mm. I used your locator to get through, popped into an ambush. These assholes’re lucky I didn’t walk through them. If signals have trouble getting through, the Council might not even know I got here.”

“Would they send someone for you? If they knew?” Both of them knew Thanatos was a bit of a sacrificial lamb for this enterprise. If something untoward were to happen to him, he’d be replaced, simple as. Avrae was a bit more difficult to substitute. The Council might make an attempt at recovery rather than giving her up as lost.

“Dunno. Any chance of your uh… partner?” Most of the rumours about Thanatos, if you heard his name at all, centred around the idea that he was banging an extremely powerful magical being. Avrae didn’t quite believe it, but far be it from her to understand a fae’s sexual preferences.

He hesitated, then sighed. “No. None at all.” This sentence seemed to drain him more than even the torture had.

“They wouldn’t stop you burning to death?”

“Ae’s not available. Won’t even know what’s happened to me for a few years.” Oh. That was… awful, actually. Did this partner of his even know he was out here fighting a war?

“Okay. So we’re on our own then. I can break the chains, but the manacles won’t let me shadow-walk. I’d still be trapped.”

“You’re strong enough even with the silver? I suppose your physical enhancement must truly be S-class.” Sure. Whatever. If that made it easier to believe.

“Door’s silver-lined too. If I can get out of the silver while it’s open, I’ll be able to teleport and it’ll be easy to get you out then.” He had no reason to believe she wouldn’t just leave him there once she was free, but also, if he could have got himself out, he probably wouldn’t still be here.

Thanatos’s brow furrowed. “The only way to get you out would be if he- ah. I may have a solution.” She waited, but he failed to elaborate further.

“And?”

“Trust me. Play along. Let me show you what purpose a Iuventus serves.” His eyes had never looked defeated, except for the brief moment when he’d thought of his partner, but now she detected a glimmer of defiance or even mischief. What was he planning? She nodded, willing to let him take the lead.

He was quiet for several seconds and then raised his voice. “I want to confess! Please! You can’t silence me, Tenebrus. I won’t die for this cause!”

Godfrey immediately opened the door, much too eagerly. “Oh? Finally changed your tune? I almost thought I’d have to use this.” Behind him, his goons wheeled in what Avrae recognised as an ultraviolet spotlight. That thing could render a vampire to ash almost sooner than he could scream. She’d be astonished if Godfrey could watch that without vomiting.

“No, please, I don’t want to die!” Thanatos’s pleading was fervent, almost fanatical. “She can do what she likes to me. I… I can’t die. I’ll give you the information.”

‘She can do what she likes to me,’ eh? Avrae thought she might be picking up what he was putting down. “If you don’t shut the fuck up, you pathetic coward, I’ll make you fucking wish I’d immolate you. You think silver hurts? I’ll flay you and sun bleach your organs. Keep you nice and well fed, so you keep regenerating. You’ll beg for death by the time I’m done with you—”

“Promise me you’ll protect me! If you’ll protect me from her, a-and from the Council, I’ll tell you anything you want to know!” he begged Godfrey, on his knees at the man’s feet, or as close as he could get at the end of his chains.

Godfrey grinned. “Of course, anything you like. We’ll set you up with your own private estate, far away from all of this messy business. The Council will never find you, not even with their bloodhounds.” He shot a glance over toward Avrae. Oh, that was rich.

Thanatos’s laugh was almost manic. “See, Tenebrus? You have no hold on me. You would have to rip the tongue from my mouth to silence me now.”

Oh, okay. “Maybe I will, shitstain!” She pulled hard against the chains, and Godfrey’s eyebrows raised, momentarily alarmed. Yeah, get scared. “Maybe I’ll rip your larynx right out of your throat, see how much you spill then! I should have known when they assigned you to me it’d be something like this. You’ve never been anything but a liability.” It probably wasn’t necessary to drag him this badly, but she really wanted to sell it. “I’ll send you right back to your lover with no eyes, no tongue, and no dick.” One sharp pull, and the silver chain disintegrated.

Thanatos’s shrieks and chokes as her hands wrapped around his neck sounded pretty real, even though she wasn’t actually trying to suffocate him. She hoped he had a plan for this, cause she’d be obligated to actually kill him pretty soon if she didn’t want to lose face. Godfrey’s men were trying to pull her off of him at least, though they weren’t being very successful. She checked behind her quickly, and to her astonishment, they’d abandoned the spotlight blocking the door from closing. If she could get out of the manacles, they were free. The split second her eyes were off of Thanatos’s face let her also be surprised when her wrists erupted in pain.

“What the fuck?” she yelled and immediately dropped him. He’d bitten her, he’d actually fucking bitten her! Hold on. A green substance that was definitely not the typical vampire venom was eating through the metal around her hands. It was melting her flesh too, but that could probably be fixed. She held her arms toward her body to hide what was going on and let Godfrey’s men pull her back.

“Oho, looks like our Harbinger has a few thorns of his own. Don’t worry, Angel, we’ll take good care of him. And you. Once we don’t need you, I’ll take great pleasure in making you answer for what you’ve done.”

“Yeah, uh-huh,” Avrae murmured as the shackles hit the floor. One blink, and one of Godfrey’s men had a hole through his heart. Another, and the second went down. They were in the dossiers anyway. She’d have had to do it eventually. “Tell me all about what I deserve. I’ll make sure to take note of it. Don’t think you’ll get the chance to do anything about it, though. Why don’t we see what this thing does?”

She kicked a gobsmacked Godfrey into the path of the spotlight and threw one of her shadow blades at the switch. The spectacle was just as horrifying as she’d imagined. Every inch of the vampire’s skin melted, then charred, then turned to ash, revealing new flesh which then did the same, his whole body bursting into white flame and rendering down to a pile of fine grey dust in seconds. Thanatos whimpered behind her, probably imagining himself in that position.

She turned to him. “Well. That was something. The fuck did you do, anyway?” The only response he gave was a moan, and she realised his lips, fangs, and tongue were being liquefied by the same substance he’d put onto her wrists. He probably couldn’t talk at all. “Were you keeping that acid in your fangs the whole time?” He nodded wearily. “Shadow’s fangs. You’ve got more balls than I thought.” He huffed and looked away. Shit. He was going to need to regenerate, or more likely, some kind of medical care.

She snapped him out of the shackles and heaved him over her shoulder. “You really are no end of trouble.” Thanatos made a sound that might have been a cough and might have been a laugh.

taglist: @albatris, @milkshakes-lust-and-chiral-dust, @thethistlegirlwrites, @athenswrites

#whumptober 2023 #no. 4 #no. 18 #cattle prod #tortured for information #oc #fic #gore tw #vampire whump #vampire whumpee #original fiction #my writing #whumpblr #wip: ieiunusverse #ieiunusverse: the culling war #avrae tenebrus #thanatos iuventus #coy whumps

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0w0 · 8 months

Text

Made a post on Reddit of tlt theories I have, here's it:

But here it is under a read more so you don't have to suffer. I'd really love to hear everyone's thoughts!

Ianthe, Lychtorhood(s), the Tower, the Trinity, Ba & Ka, Vriska

Inb4; I'm an audiobook listener so my spellings are probably not right

[ Not Vriska ]

I'm a broken record when it comes to finding all of the little homestuck things in the locked tomb, and Ianthe seems ofc Very Serket-y. So my unironic but absolutely crack theory is that she's going to end up having a hand in bringing the story to its climax but in a way that could be considered either heroic or aligning with the protagonist, even if that's not the spirit of what she's doing. "Protagonist" being Alecto over all, not Harrow, not Gideon.

[ Motivation ]

I genuinely think Ianthe wants knowledge and power But not because she wants to be God to everyone, I think she wants to be God to herself (and of course however that plays into her enmeshment with Corona), looking back on how she always had to play second fiddle to Corona ineveryone's eyes, she was a puppet master further puppeted by her parents who obviously gave her a lot of issues. I genuinely believe she hates herself, and just looking for anything to fill that void.

[ Tower ]

I haven't read very many other theories on the Tower, But because the afterlife we've seen is referred to as the river, I believe it is a lighthouse allegory, meant to guide all of the souls who have been lost, straying, and absolutely ravenous. "Jewel or gleam of a smile" gives me very "beam of light" energy, I believe Ianthe will have some kind of end as a ferryman or harbinger, becuase John never was - he was just vindictive as a god.

[Types of Lychtor]

💙1) Swaparoo; John and Alecto - the switched souls or essences, something that traded their eyes but let them both live.

💙2) Headmates; Pyrrah and Gideon - two souls living in one body, independent of each other but the eaten soul isn't actually devoured, Pyrrah still having agency for example. I believe this is what Anastasia and Samael may have ended in, if John hadn't killed him.

💙4) Fusion; Paul - When Camilla and Palamedes achieved lychtorhood, it seems like they've fused into and have become a new being, like their souls are blended into a new one, which is parts of them both, yet is still new being.

💙3) Cannibal; Mercymorn and Christabelb- And the other cases of lychtors we've seen for the most part it seems like the soul has been completely devoured, or like the personality of the cavalier is gone, all there is, is autopilot and a battery.

[ The Trinity - what is it? ]

BUT if the perfect Lychtorhood trinity is actually 3 souls, here are my guesses for endgame trinity:

Upon my reread of Nona I realized Anastasia had mentioned a trinity, and I don't think it's just in a Christian Context. A possible reading of what the Trinity is - Adept, Cavalier, and the whole of what they make. The new entity is the 3rd thing, Lychtor type 4.

Ianthe, Babs, Corona

Alecto, Harrow, Gideon

John (father), Gideon (son), Alecto (holy spirit).

Alecto (father), the 10 billion souls (son), the tower/river (holy spirit)

Ianthe, for those last combos, I'd consider a Judas or Longinus allusion. I think her final defining act will be one of mercy, that will leave everyone in... awe ;)

[ Connective tissue ]

💙 Permission; "There is only one rule. Don't go into any locked room without permission. Wink." This quote from teacher in Gideon has been making my brain itch, and I really feel like it has something to do with the tomb itself, the tower, the river, the stoma.

💙 Eyes; are the window to the soul. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I believe the stoma at the bottom of the river isn't just a gateway, and isn't just full of teeth because it's creepy and necromantic. I think the entire river is a living being, that the entire universe in this series is a consciousness all of its own, and that entropy is only being expedited by John, whether he realizes it or not. I believe the river is one big revenant waiting to happen.

💙 Iceberg; Alecto is the Earth, but not the 10 billion souls. John is very much like Harrowhark, in that he is made up of so many more than just his own soul. I don't believe he devoured human kinds souls, I believe they're the mindless restless dead in the river that are so hungry and searching for closure.

💙 Tarot; The tower card often means unforeseen change and dangerous circumstances etc, though in reverse it means illness, loss, etc. I'm choosing to see the river as a reflection of sorts, so I believe the tower is a place of mourning, not the dangerous and ominous thing it seems to be. I genuinely feel like there used to be beings in the river who would help guide souls along.

💙 Ba & Ka; everyone here is extremely well read so I'll let you look up this Kemetic belief and jump into it curtly: I believe when a necromancer devours their cavalier, the eye color switches because the KA (essence) is what is switched with adept and cavalier. I believe this is why even though Gideon dies, Pyrrah still has his eye color rather than hers remaining. Her essence is what has been made part of their soul.

I believe the Ba is what joins the river even when a Cavalier is made into a battery, but that the KA stays. I believe that is what would explain things like only certain body parts or bisected spirits in the river, because why would it dead thing see itself as only part of its whole? Because it's whole isn't there.

Now the BA, personality and individuality, is what gets destroyed in type 2, but blended in type 4. Think Paul's eyes blending color.

[ In conclusion ]

(I'm talking about a lot of complex things that I only have cursory knowledge of, apologies if I get anything wrong thusly dismantling this entire red string maze.)

I still firmly believe that the Trinity is it's two parts plus the whole it makes, and I believe Babs will be rejected or expunged based on what was said in Nona. I don't think his entire Ba has been corroded down to just his Ka yet, so he still may be able to be saved.

This would leave and Ianthe and Corona. BUT I believe Ianthe will have to reconcile her own parts to become a whole person, and become a mini Trinity before even thinking about a perfect Lychtorhood - But she gives a love that is toxic and codependent, I could really see her going between eating Corona, or simply denying her again because she is the one person she can't live without, despite everything.

That, and Corona being Judith's Cavalier in spirit, I'm not sure where her final loyalties will lie. I think her rejection of Ianthe is what will drive Ianthe to do the ""right"" thing. She's always been into people who don't want her and Ianthe had already rejected her once, I don't know if she will get a second chance to reject her.

#smear campaign #tlt #the locked tomb #alecto the ninth #spoiler heavy

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narwhalandchill · 2 months

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4.6 beta, kinda negative

Ughhhh i tend not to be the doomposting type but like . i have to say. as much as i love her design and how insane her animations are and just her as a character. arle being just another pyro on field dps that desperately wants bennett (near 30k dps loss without him according to some calcs apparently) is just..... Sigh

like unironically idek if i really need to get her on release at this point unfortunately 😔 and chiori genuinely being the first fucking 5* in this game outside of a hypothetical ajax alt that i actually kinda sorta wanna just hard commit to and c6 over her next few reruns is like. not helping. like i could be trying for her c2 instead

the situation with her numbers seeming on the underwhelming side (? grain of salt) i think will be alleviated like theyll buff her for sure but just. bennett dependency is the ONE thing. that doesnt fly in this household. if i cant nuke 250k on childe every abyss every time whats the fucking point 😭😭 i get that its like in character for him and arlecchino to fight over a support since the harbingers dont get along but man. its so underwhelming.

like . i just Dont hand bennett out to other teams 💀 like yea applies to kazuha too but Technically if i really wanted to i could just take the time to learn guoba swirl on sucrose and keep running childe but w bennett its like nuh uh.

i only got yoimiya After yunjin made her bennett independent. i never ran raiden in abyss pre-dendro. i ran navia + furina with charlotte at first and now xianyun, not bennett despite him being the best buffer healer there. The predecent is quite clear 💀💀

like theres actually a part of me that would rather just wait for the pyro archon as the desperate last bid that instead of pyro on fielder number 17 she might turn out to be that mythical honest fucking bennett sidegrade (no upgrade lol theyll never powecreep him) and then id have an easier time considering arlecchino 😔 but now its just like. idek what id even get out of her gameplay wise unfortunately

i just wanna be hype for her man like everything about her outside of the kit minutiae is brilliant. peak. showstopping. but at this point ive already benched enough on field 5* carries who just havent been engaging for me that i just rly dont know 😭😭😭

#also not to even start with the way that any onfielder ever is like 12 times more painful w bennett than international #bc yes childe LIKES having the atk buff during melee but the only thing he REQUIRES is just to ult and vape within it #XL snapshots and then you can just fuck off chasing after that mirror maiden or whatever #but on fielders who need circle impact all the time. yikes #this is so depressing. whereas chioris E and NAs are genuinely so fucking snappy and fun id love for her infusion to do actual damage .#and yes c6 is. an ordeal if i dont want to outright swipe egregious amounts. but i could. over time. if i commit.#anyway dont mind me im just rambling my usual #genshin #rambles

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localplaguenurse · 2 months

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You're Dottore divorce fic is literally amazing!!!(even tho Dottore is literally shit at being both a husband and father)

I was wondering, do you think besides widow, Dottore had any other lovers he actually genuinely loved? Or is Widow the only one?

Oh, I think maybe, but not quite the way he loves Widow. In my interpretation of Dottore, he has had feelings for other people, but either they were never reciprocated, or they did not love him in the same way he loved them if that makes sense?

Younger Zandik would have wanted the attention and validation a lover would give him, but I don't think it would have been enough for him. I don't think he knows how to be loved, so displays of affection would have been too foreign a concept for him to understand and/or appreciate, or it just wouldn't have been enough. Imagine how frustrating it is to desperately want any and every ounce of attention someone can give you, but you've never actually been loved in your life so you have no idea how to react to it, so you flip between it being too much and never enough.

As time goes on, as he "matures" and his reputation and infamy as harbinger and mad scientist become more known, then it reaches a point where people don't actually love him. Sure, they may think he's handsome, but that's his only redeeming quality. He's insufferable, he's cruel, but he's also immensely powerful. They don't really want him, Zandik, they at most want in on his status as second rank harbinger. I mean, would you want to square up with someone who managed to seduce Il Dottore? Maybe, but you'd at least think twice because a) what did the Doctor see in you to deem you worthy, and b) what the hell is wrong with you that you actually went through with it?

The big thing that made Widow different was she had a genuine interest in him. Just like how he was willing to go to the extremes for his research, she was not deterred by the threat of expulsion from the Akademiya. She didn't even know he was a harbinger either, she just wanted to learn more about him for the sake of learning more. Also, her ambitions to be an embalmer was oddly refreshing and fascinating to him considering she was a rather sweet thing. You'd think a young woman like her would want to work with the living, and not the dead. He needed to know what drove this woman to him, and that sort of molded into an obsession with her, which then molded into whatever the chemicals in his brain associates with "love."

I haven't actually watched the show, but the scene from Bojack Horseman where he tells Princess Caroline "I do love you, by the way. I mean as... as much as I'm capable of loving anyone. Which is never enough." That's sort of how I imagine him and Widow. That and the break up scene with Bojack and Wanda.

(Maybe I should actually sit down and watch that show instead of watching whatever clips happen to come into my youtube feed.)

#ask #anon #dottore #dottore divorce fic

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missingnoge · 9 months

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Meet the new characters of Pain 'n Dave!

It is time.

Alright, so I know that there is a lot going on in this picture with all of these characters but today we'll only be focusing on those new lot at the bottom since all of the characters before them will have a character showcase in the future, being pre-existing characters.

Okay, got all that? Let's meet some of these new characters!!

[Fun note for any of you newcomers: About 80% of these characters that you see in the portraits above you don't actually need to know about. This is all just fun worldbuilding that I like to do]

The Disciples of the Labyrinth Lord (Wontas, Rey'avh, Horoev)

The Maze of Madness, or the Labyrinth Lord's Realm, was a realm once known to the demons. However, relations fell through and now the realm sits quietly, scheming its revenge against the demons who had betrayed them. The Disciples of the Labyrinth Lord carry out these machinations.

Wontas is the most magically-attuned but also the most frail. He's the only one of the trio who can speak, having learned to from listening to the screams of their prisoners. He sounds like a synthesizer being thrown down a flight of stairs.

Rey'avh is the most intelligent of the three, perhaps even the entire universe. He has concocted the most if not all of their operations such as the subjugation of the Vernak Peninsula.

Horoev is nothing more than a beast. The others wondered how he even got to their position, believing it to be a joke from their Lord. However, everything about Horoev is genuine. He is a monster; a ravenous animal who is motivated by nothing but food. Rey'avh has since found use for him by using him as... motivation for their prisoners.

Fun Fact: This is the first time I've ever colored the Disciples. For the longest time, they were just sketches since I didn't really know what color I wanted them to be and also they were kind of low priority since they won't really appear in any comics - they were made for a game in the first place. I also just sketched them out on a whiteboard first before they ever showed up digitally while I was on campus since I was bored.

The Maggots

A lot happens down in the Under-Cities of the Maggots. If only things were perfect for such a tide of worms...

Akstrom Big-Hat is a Bishop with a big hat and big ideas. She has been known to be a thorn on the other Bishops' sides, constantly challenging their ideas simply by having a big hat. It's the only reason she has and the only one she ever needs. The Arch Bishop would really like to strangle her some day but she has a big hat.

Irontooth is a chef who resides in the food-filled Under-City, Ma'fu. He's known throughout the tunnels for being one of the best chefs despite his attitude but he's also known for his remarkable lifespan, with some saying he has been blessed by their god, Yersinias. Irontooth is actually quite tired of this whole "theocracy" crap happening though. He lost his tail in a fight.

Big Head was once a regular Maggot. He was digging out a cave for his Under-City when a big rock hit him in the head. His head hurt but the other Maggots thought he suddenly became smarter. Now word spreads of a Maggot of grand intellect and others visit Big Head for his wisdom. The Arch Bishop, Kro'Gax, has also become wary of such rumors and wishes to stamp out this heretic creating a new group. Big Head has no idea what is happening.

Fun Fact: Irontooth was originally just a generic Maggot cook I drew for a sketch and then decided to turn into a regular character. Not unlike what happened with Beth Harbinger!

More of Pain's Family

The Marauder Kin may be smaller in numbers than they were back in the day, but they're still alive and kicking. They enjoy more favor from the more-dominant Bog Demons (who were once their prey) but it's better than fighting a losing war against the Vundar Demons

Murmur is Pain's aunt. She spent a lot of time with Pain when he was younger and essentially acted as a mentor if not an additional parent figure to him. Pain basically got his sense of humor from her! Pain respects her dearly and always enjoys when she does reappear in his life. These days, Murmur just roams around Molagar looking for new and interesting things but will always come back to her family.

Bosch is one of Pain's cousins. He is an avid filmmaker, having made about twenty films and is currently working on his twenty-first one. He's still currently writing it. I think he wants to dabble in detective fiction now. Anyways, Bosch can be quite particular about his methods which can border on perfectionism at times. He loves his camera and is constantly seen maintaining whenever he can. For good reason too, the amount of times film has come back from it completely black is enough to drive any demon crazy. He still loves it regardless

Pieter is Bosch's older brother. He's not really big into filmmaking as his brother - he really only likes to watch movies occasionally (His favorite are action films, which Bosch doesn't really like). Despite that, Pieter tries to help his little brother as much as he can, finding Bosch's passion for filmmaking to be infectious. He acts as a stagehand for many of Bosch's films, holding equipment like microphones or lights. He also has to mediate tension between Bosch and his actors when Bosch gets frustrated during filming.

Fun Fact: Murmur's name comes from the 54th demon listed in the "Lesser Key of Solomon," Count/Duke Murmur. Also, Bosch and Pieter were inspired by "Home Movies". Bosch and Pieter are also Murmur's sons.

Rise of the Rackoleps

Deep in the Northeast of Hell, a forest of mushrooms called the Largos Frontier grows. The fungi has been called many things, such as "Devil's Bane" or "Magic Eater" but it is most known as the Rackoleps. The dangerous properties of the Rackoleps has moved the Citadel to take action against the rapidly-spreading fungus, establishing a perimeter around the forest wherein Inhibitor units spray various poisons, flames, magic, and other would-be fungal killers. At first, it worked, but the Citadel noted an ever-increasing resistance to their efforts as the Rackoleps becomes more and more resistant towards their attempts.

However, unbeknownst to the general public, the Rackoleps has finally reached a critical point of its evolution: sentience. After having assimilated enough outside life, the mushroom can finally walk; talk. Think.

Mycelia, the Spore Queen is the firstborn of these so-called Rackoleps Demons. She towers over all life so that She may watch over Her kin; Her children. Her ultimate wish is to unify the Chaos Realm under the mushroom cap of the Rackoleps.

Cybin was one of the first Rackoleps people to have been created by the Queen. However, he would be the first to step outside of their fungal forest, for his purpose is to understand the world beyond. As he went on his observations, the voices of his family back home became quieter until he had traveled so far that all he heard was silence. Cybin still continues his mission however it is a lonely one. He wanders Molagar alone, depressed. Dying. He wonders how his family is doing back home.

Fun Fact: The Spore Queen was probably the hardest I thought when it came to coming up with a character design; a lot of intention was put into Her design with the idea of making Her look beautiful yet alien. Gentle yet intimidating.

Alright, I think that's pretty much everything when it comes to the "new characters". I put it in quotes because, for me, they're not actually that new. Relatively with the others? Yes, certainly, and they're definitely new to you, the reader since I didn't really have a chance, or will get the chance to, introduce them to you through the comics any time soon.

Hope you enjoyed this massive lore dump. That's the thing I like about this site. I can write about just whatever I damn please! Thanks, tumblr!! I'll see you all next time with the next character introduction of the Harbinger sisters! Now those are characters you should actually know about!

#digital art #ocs #original characters #painndave #webcomic #artists on tumblr #lore #oc lore

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inavagrant-a · 1 year

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Tetsuya wasn’t being “dramatic” when he said that only relationships where either party gains something from each other are the stable ones. He genuinely meant that, he genuinely believes such a gross thing and it’s because the only “stable relationship” he’s ever had was one exactly like that one, the one with the harbingers + Fatui. Where it was just a take and receive, take and receive relationship. He associates that as being “healthy” and “stable” because not /once/ was he hurt in the way he was hurt in Tatarasuna which is where he had prior relationships (familial ones) and they hurt and cut him deeply.

He thinks the relationship he had with the Fatui was healthy because he never got hurt, his emotions never got hurt, for a while he was able to just forget he had any of those.

That’s something he clearly and obviously has to drastically unlearn, because he’s horribly mistaken and misguided. Both Nahida and traveler know this because on the ending scenes of the quest they challenged that view, they questioned him about it in a way where they weren’t coming off as offensive and given the circumstances he did put a thought or two of consideration to what they said (mostly Nahida) meaning there is a willingness in him to unlearn, which is already a step towards growing, towards changing. A baby step mind you, but given how prideful and stubborn he is it’s huge. Unlearning means accepting that you were wrong about something and wanting to correct it, it’s a process, and we all know what kind of guy he is, so it’s huge trust me awraxa.

I also really appreciated that Nahida established to him pretty early that she sees him as a living being and not a tool. He kept going on about oh he was kept around to be used for something, naturally he’s around because they want to use him for something, and Nahida says it wouldn’t make her any better than Dottore if that was the case, even goes as far as to say that she’s against harming /living beings/ and it’s one of the reasons why he’s still here. This is a huge deal for someone who’s been dehumanized for hundreds of years and it’s why I believe that his relationship with Nahida (found family) will only grow over time, they’ll get closer, and he’ll learn so much and see things through a new lens.

This, of course, over time. It’s all a process and it won’t be instant.

#out.#rambles.#my nahida and wanderer are found family agenda #thrives every day #not a day where i don't think of the m

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ailendolin · 2 years

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Whump Wednesday - 43 - Yonderland

Title: Defiant [AO3]

Characters: John of Temple Meads & Robert

Prompt: Something with the Gallants - Prompt by the lovely @carolsfeelgoodstuff

A/N: This was really, really fun to write! I loved exploring the Gallants as characters and giving them my own little spin and I hope you like what I came up with.

Prompts are open, so if you want me to write a story for you as well just send me an ask with the fandom, characters and your prompt. I’m writing for Ghosts, Yonderland, Horrible Histories and Bill at the moment.

Six Idiots Whump Wednesday / Fluff Friday masterlist is here.

————

Defiant

John sighed. The sunset was beautiful this evening – exceptionally so, if he might say – but neither the warm, golden rays nor the ever changing colours of the sky could lift his mood tonight. He wasn’t normally prone to such melancholy but today his heart felt a little heavier than it usually did. He wished it were a passing thing, this invisible weight he was carrying on his shoulders nowadays, but he felt it bearing down on him more and more lately, ever since he had met the Chosen One in the streets of Yonderland. She was a harbinger of change and enlightenment, was as wise as she was fair, and John was loath to admit that part of him hated her for it, for opening his eyes to what could be – what he could be if only he could break free from his past.

He had never minded being a Gallant, never thought that the politeness his parents had drilled into him from childhood might be flawed in any way. Debbie of Maddox had changed that and rattled the very foundations of his beliefs so fiercely that John had now lost his footing in the world. Where before he had thought nothing of the glances other people gave him when he came to a new town and had a nice, polite encounter with someone, he was now painfully aware of how genuinely annoyed by his mere presence some of them seemed to be. The whispers he once assumed to be kind remarks regarding his manners he now knew to be malicious rather than admiring, and the smiles he had always so readily returned? They were nothing but forced, false gestures – the result of a different sort of politeness that made him shudder.

Never before in his life had he felt so … set apart from everyone else. It was a rather lonely to find oneself in, John found. He didn’t blame the townspeople, though, nor Debbie for that matter. It was not their fault that he was different, that he was–

I’m doing it again, he realised in despair and buried his face in his hands. Not even in his thoughts, private as they were, could he escape his past and acknowledge the truth: that part of him did blame Debbie for taking away his peace of mind, and the townspeople for talking about him behind his back, and the children for laughing at him openly in the streets. There seemed to be a barrier in his mind that constantly reminded him with a big, flashing sign that POLITENESS was mandatory. No matter which way he turned, it was always there, rising high above his head and seemingly impossible to overcome – the product of almost thirty years of teachings.

No, not teachings – indoctrination.

Just thinking that word made him feel physically ill. It was the truth, though. John knew it deep down in his gut just as much as he knew that that realisation came too late for him. How could he possibly manage to escape his parents’ lessons after all these years? No person could change that much, not even with help. Not that he knew where he could find that – help. Who in their right mind would want to help someone like him? Someone who couldn’t even put this longing inside his heart into words because everything in him told him it was wrong to burden others with his feelings?

Swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat, John clenched his jaw to stop the tears from rising to his eyes. Crying in public wasn’t an option for him – not even when he was sitting alone at the edge of the field behind the house he was staying at with Robert. The spot might be far away from any prying eyes but it wasn’t inside, in his room, with the door closed and a pillow pressed close to his face to swallow the sounds so he wouldn’t make anyone feel uncomfortable with his inner turmoil.

John wanted to scream.

“Ah! Here you are!” a voice suddenly said from behind him. John took in a shuddering breath and forced himself to look up at Robert. “I’ve been looking all over for you – not that there’s anything wrong with that. I didn’t mind at all.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going,” John said. He genuinely was. And then, because it was the polite thing to do, he asked, “Would you like to sit down?”

He pointed to the empty spot of grass beside him and wasn’t surprised when Robert hesitated. “Only if you truly won’t mind some company.”

John would if it were anyone else. But Robert was different; the exception to the rule. No matter how miserable he felt, he would never not welcome his companionship.

On any other day, that realisation would have given him pause; today, he felt too exhausted to dwell on it. “Take a seat.”

With a bow of gratitude Robert sat down next to him – not too close, of course, since that wouldn’t be courteous. John sighed.

“You look troubled,” Robert said after a moment and then quickly backtracked. “By which I don’t mean to imply that you are – just that you look like something’s wrong. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – the way you look. You’re as handsome as ever, perhaps even more so with the sunlight bathing your face in golden light, if I may say so.”

John looked at him and felt his heart ache. “The sunlight favours you as well, my friend.”

For that was what they were now – friends. Two Gallants who found a way to get along thanks to the Chosen One. As far as John knew, there was no record in Yonderland’s ancient scrolls of such a thing ever happening before. And yet, as wonderful and thrilling as it felt to have accomplished something that no one had before them, it also tormented him. Debbie’s teachings might have changed them, but with every passing day it became more and more apparent that they hadn’t changed them enough. Their conversations were still as painfully polite as they’d been on the day they met, always just one step away from escalation because they simply couldn’t stop being who they fundamentally were, and John was tired of it; so very, very tired.

“You were right – I am troubled,” he said at last. And then, because he couldn’t help himself, “You need not concern yourself with it, though. It’ll pass.”

If he was lucky.

Robert’s brows furrowed. “I would like to help if I can. If you permit it.”

The look in his eyes was so achingly earnest that John heaved a heavy sigh and looked away. He let his eyes roam over the fields and the woods far beyond them in the distance. They seemed so peaceful – unlike the storm brewing inside of him. “If you’re sure that’s what you truly want …”

“Yes,” Robert said without hesitation. Then, to John’s surprise, he added quietly, “I do not like seeing you like this, John. So quiet, and sad.”

John’s instinctive reaction was to apologise. He could almost hear his parents’ voices in his head, telling him, “See? This is why we deal with our emotions in private and don’t go bothering other people with them.” But he did not want to keep quiet, no matter how polite that would be. He wanted to share his burdens with someone – with Robert – and for once not feel so utterly alone and hopeless with his worries.

So he swallowed the apology that sat on the tip of his tongue and used all his willpower to ask, “Do you ever wish you had been born differently?”

Robert cocked his head to the side. “Differently? As in – a woman?”

The genuine confusion in his voice made John smile despite the churning in his stomach. “No. As in – not a Gallant.”

The silence that followed his question was so deafening that what little courage John had to begin with bled out of him. “Apologies. That was out of line. Please ignore what I–“

“Yes,” Robert said, so softly John almost didn’t hear him. Their eyes met and for the first time, John saw the same uncertainty he felt gnawing at him every day staring back at him. “I … I have. Wished that, I mean. Ever since –“

“The Chosen One,” John said. He sucked in a shaky breath that was full of breathless relief. “I thought I was alone.”

His voice broke on the last word and he hung his head in shame as he tried to keep his emotions under control.

“May I?” Robert asked softly. Confused, John looked up and saw his hand hovering above his shoulder. He nodded mutely and Robert closed the distance between them. It was the first touch they had shared since Debbie had made them shake hands and John very nearly crumbled under its gentleness. He had thought Robert would frown at him for his struggles and lecture him on their peoples’ teachings but he had not expected this – comfort and understanding. Robert’s wordless acceptance was so overwhelming that John blindly reached for his hand, for once not gloved, and clutched it with barely held back desperation.

He heard Robert’s breathing falter for a moment and took comfort in the knowledge that they were both unmoored and terribly lost together in this moment.

“You’ve never been alone, John,” Robert said quietly, underlining his words with a gentle squeeze of John’s shoulder. “I have thought about this a lot these past few weeks. About us. If it hadn’t been for Debbie, we would have fought a duel to the death just because neither of us could bring himself to step through a door first.” He shook his head. “If that’s what it means to be polite, I … I don’t think I want to be a Gallant anymore.”

John’s heart leapt into his throat. He glanced at Robert and was surprised to find his eyes full of determination even though he looked as white as a sheet.

“You make it sound so easy,” he managed to rasp out in wonder. “I can barely admit those thoughts to myself and here you are, speaking them out loud as if … as if it were nothing.”

Robert offered him a sheepish smile. “Brother Marcus has been so kind as to give me some advice.”

Of course, John thought. If anyone knew how to let go of ancient habits, it would be the former Monks of Truth.

“That’s brilliant, Robert,” he praised, and not just because it was the polite thing to do.

To his confusion, Robert ducked his head.

“Rob,” he said quietly.

“Pardon me?”

Robert took a deep breath. “My name – it’s Rob. Or at least I’d like it to be when I’m among friends. Which you are. Well, only if you’d like to be, of course. I can’t force you to be my friend, obviously, but you are very dear to me and–“

“Rob,” John interrupted him, feeling a smile tugging at his lips. Robert closed his mouth with a snap, and there was something so comforting about knowing he wasn’t the only one still struggling with their teachings that John gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I like it. It suits you.”

Relief bloomed on Robert’s face. “Thank you.”

Biting down on the usual You’re welcome, John did his best to ignore the nausea churning in his stomach and said, “You … you are very dear to me, too. I hope you know that.”

They shared a smile and then let their eyes trail to the horizon.

“Would you like to accompany me to my next meeting with Brother Marcus?” Robert asked quietly. “I am sure he would not mind an extra student interested in learning the art of lying.”

“Isn’t it rather about learning to speak the truth?” John murmured. “Even when it’s not polite to do so?”

He felt Robert’s gaze on him.

“Brother Marcus is good at that too,” Robert said softly and let his hand drop from John’s shoulder. John would have mourned its loss if Robert hadn’t shifted a little closer to him next and pressed their shoulders together instead. “Is this all right?”

“Yes,” John whispered, leaning into the touch.

“Good,” Robert said. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. “I’m glad we’re in this together, John.”

John rested his head on his knees and nodded. “So am I.”

As the sun set before their eyes, some of the weight he had been carrying for weeks finally fell away from him. For the first time since he met Debbie all those months ago, he felt content and even hopeful for the future. Sneaking a glance at Robert, he could see a small smile playing on his lips and knew his friend was more at peace than he had been in a long time as well.

Neither of them knew it at the time but they would become known as the Defiants one day – ‘the first Gallants to renounce their teachings’ as Scribe Elder Ho-Tan would phrase it in Yonderland’s Annals in the not-so-distant future.

#john of temple meads #robert the gallant #the gallants #yonderland #my fic #whump wednesday #wwff challenge

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