okay birthday time's over we're bringing back the unreliable narrators and miscommunication 100🥰🥰🥰
orpheus is getting married. even if erinyes could stop him, it would change nothing. ft mentions and brief allusions to irene constantine my fav girl who belongs to my wonderful friend @jils-things 🫶
tw for small amounts of blood, self mutilation (for a habit/game), very brief mention of suicide, objective kind of-yandere behavior but that's not the focus of the fic, and i believe this counts as sexual assault too (dubiously consensual kissing leaning towards noncon)
—erinyes × orpheus, 1.4k words
It would be less than a half hour before the sun rose. In an attic-like compartment of the church, a man prepared for his wedding. About an hour prior, another had climbed in through the window with the silent guile of the fae.
Orpheus didn't stop him from slipping in, Erinyes's black clothes at odds with the day, it blended him together with the shadows that painted the room.
Erinyes sat behind a desk, planting his heels on the table, watching the latter get ready in front of the mirror nearby. Hazy as he was in the candlelit glow, Erinyes could almost pretend it was a normal day. And Orpheus's white apparel could be present for no reason more than mere whim.
He didn't know why he accompanied Orpheus to the church. He hated the place. He hated what was about to happen in it.
Erinyes twiddled with one of his spare daggers, tip grazing dangerously gentle over his fingers. A game to go as deep as he could without drawing blood.
"Are you going to kiss her?"
Erinyes glanced down as he gave the question. In the momentary silence, fabric ceased rustling. He knew Orpheus's quizzical sideward glance without having to meet it.
"Considering it's part of matrimonial procedure, yes." He replied. "I thought that was obvious."
"Will Miss Constantine even want to kiss you? I feel that she'd sooner swallow straight from a vial of poison."
"Well, she will have to, I suppose." Orpheus shrugged noncommittally. "Procedure is procedure."
Erinyes lightly dragged the sharp edge back and forth over calloused fingertips. Faster and faster. "Do you even know how to? Have you even kissed a girl before? Or anyone?"
That remark made Orpheus turn fully for a second. "As if I'd be kissing any men."
Erinyes's eyes flicked up to him, the corners of his mouth lifting painfully against his will. The sight of his grin made Orpheus roll his eyes. He steeled himself to return his focus to the mirror. And for a moment, everything was fine again.
Erinyes felt his gut churn once more as soon as he opened his mouth.
Perhaps it was twisted curiosity that brought him here. To test how much of this farce he could stomach.
"So have you? Kissed anyone before?"
Orpheus huffed. "No. I can't say I have. But it's not like that matters, does it? It's a one and done thing."
He seemed to finish, assessing himself one final time before turning and heading towards the door.
Erinyes dropped his feet from the table with a light thump, then followed him out. Orpheus didn't flinch at his presence. Erinyes draping himself so casually over his own space was something he was used to. Frankly, more than he ought to be.
This routine of invading each other's time and space would be disrupted in less than an hour. Minutes. Seconds. Erinyes, personally, felt every granule of time scatter away from him like falling sand. But if Orpheus seemed bothered by this, he showed no indicator of it.
The click of the door opening barely processed. And the more Erinyes thought about it, the farther the icy prickle of numbness crept up his fingers to his elbows to the cavern of his ribs.
He followed Orpheus out.
He watched him shut the door, back turned to Erinyes. In his unfocused gaze, the blinding white of him blurred into light against the dark walls.
Erinyes felt his own blood rushing through his veins so fast it seemed to burn him from the inside.
Logic dictated he should stop thinking about it. And that he should never have sought out Orpheus in the first place. He was a fool. An incredibly mad fool choking on his heart as it fought the restraint of its own arteries. He was a weakling who could do nothing to fight his own rage pouring out of him like the blood currently trickling down his fingers, having had failed the game of not breaking skin.
Then Orpheus turned, and Erinyes glimpsed his face. And all at once, everything bled and bled out of him.
He heard the thump of Orpheus's back falling back against the door before he realized what he'd done. Orpheus's eyes were wide pools of amber cased over pupils constricted with shock. Or could it be fear? Was he afraid of him? He'd be an idiot not to be. But what did that make them?
Erinyes's forearm was across Orpheus's chest, shoving him back against the door, his strength unrelenting even with his mind so frantic. In his hand was the dagger he'd been playing with prior, then Orpheus's wrist held up beside his head, blade flat against his skin so nothing was cut. Absently, Erinyes felt Orpheus's other hand on him somewhere. Likely trying to push him away.
"What are you doing?" Orpheus hissed. "Eumenides."
Erinyes barely heard him. His mind rushed with escape plans. Window to the left, three story jump. Staircase to the right, another left, altar. Pews. He pondered silently how fast he could run with Orpheus in tow. Not nearly fast enough for what he wanted to do. Not that Orpheus would ever agree, nor would he react kindly to being kidnapped.
"Erinyes."
The lilt of his voice was softer, but it cut through. He met Orpheus's eyes, and bristled at his irritation.
"Anyone could walk up here. And they'll think you're trying to kill me." Orpheus muttered. "Let me go."
Logic would dictate that Erinyes listened. But logic was also long gone, dissolved in the bitterness growing on his tongue.
Erinyes put more force against him. As Orpheus tried to protest again, the words died on his tongue, swallowed entirely by Erinyes's mouth on his.
Absentmindedly, Erinyes felt the hold Orpheus had on his lapel grip tighter. Likewise, he pushed forward. Closer. Harder. As if he could smother every terrible thought running through him by focusing on the softness of his mouth.
Orpheus turned stock still in his hold. Erinyes had his eyes screwed shut, for once, determined not to know what expression was on his face.
As fast as it seemed to begin, Erinyes pulled away, breaths short. He hung his head, fixated on the gleaming silver buttons of Orpheus's vest, each reflecting the blackness of his own apparel pushed against him. His own heartbeat roared in his ears.
"I will not let her have that." Erinyes murmured at first, no louder than a pin drop. Until his voice seemed to catch on the dips of his throat, turning his speech ragged. "I will not. Cannot. I cannot. You have to know that."
His fist trembled when he released Orpheus's wrist. Equal want and horror surged in him like a wave of nausea. He wanted to touch him again. To fix the hair he misaligned. To smooth out the wrinkles he'd caused on his shirt. To handle him softly. In every way he knew he could not.
Erinyes shoved himself off of him before he could do more damage. Remnants of their contact lingered on his hands. On his mouth.
He let the shame carry him away. One foot, then the other. Right to the staircase. He didn't look back at Orpheus. Didn't need to— never needed to. He knew.
"Eu.. Erinyes."
Pathetically, he paused at the precipice of the stairs. Anger sunk its claws into him the longer he stayed still.
"You know I'm going to do it, right?" Erinyes asked. "I'm going to kill her."
It seemed forever until Orpheus offered a reply. He stood there shaking and hyperventilating and seeing absolute red, but all Erinyes ended up receiving was a tight sigh.
"..Tread carefully."
Erinyes trudged down the stairs before he burnt himself to cinders any longer.
He very rarely wished the darkness of his life on others. But in those moments, thinking the warning over, he scoffed. His skin felt too tight over his bones. Whatever he was was too hot and too cold. Too big and destructive to contain within a vessel. And he wished for the fire to spill out of him and burn down everyone in this godforsaken city starting with its church.
The world outside remained oblivious to his turmoil. Erinyes glanced out the window to see fresh grass sparkling with morning dew as beginnings of dawn took a peek over the horizon. Seasonal flowers blossomed amongst the greenery.
Erinyes imagined her— the bride— in his mind's eye, through the visage painted in the stained glass window staring down at him— golden curls like spun gold and smile like the sun. In the window, luminous wings portruded from behind the figure. Holy blue and brilliant white sky at its back.
Erinyes ripped his eyes from hers and followed the closest unseen route he could think of out of the building. He pocketed his dagger inside his coat. Wiped the blood on its fabric so dark, the stains were invisible. Hidden in plain slight.
"Worry not, lost lambs! Your princess has arrived!"
After being mysteriously transported to the fairytale-esque world of Twisted Wonderland with her best friend Anya, Sophie is looking forward to seeing what this magic world has in store for her. But, of course, she already knows. Isn't it obvious? Her destiny as the princess of a kingdom far, far away has finally come to claim her! She now seeks her Prince Charming, true love's kiss, and the happily ever after she has long since been owed. And she will stop at nothing to obtain them.
appearance notes
‐ long light blonde hair with slightly pink ends, usually either let down or tied in a left-side ponytail
- has central heterochromia (brown outside, teal green inside)
- fair, rosy skin
- delicate, princess-like features; she is meant to be jaw-droppingly pretty
- she usually wears colors in pink and green shades
- her outfits are often adorned with flowers and branching motifs, as well as some pearls
personality
sophie is a naturally attention-grabbing person in many senses of the word. when she was young, her mother had mentioned to her that they were of royal lineage, and sophie has held onto that belief every day of her life. she is a person who's outspoken, confident, and uncompromising in her beliefs.
on the surface, she maintains an image of sweetness and docility, trying to be as friendly as she possible to everyone around her. she has impeccable manners and conduct, and is as close to stereotypically princess-like as someone can get.
however, those close to her would grow to know of her streak of ruthlessness. she can be quite selfish in certain situations, try as she might to not let it show; for that is unsightly behavior. but sophie is prone to episodes of anger and jealousy when someone she's deemed undeserving (see: nearly everyone) gets things that she wants. she can be very demanding and prone to lashing out. she will do anything to get what she wants, or let others suffer the consequences.
she tends to immediately view others as beneath her (unless they are also royalty on some level. usually) and has little in the way of empathy, but she is not incapable of love. despite somewhat often backhanded way of caring for others, she almost never intends outright malice against others— only the best for herself.
history
once upon a time, sophie was the sole daughter to two loving parents. she was especially close with her mother, eva, who regarded her daughter like a princess. sophie loved and looked up to her mother with her entire being, so it crushed her completely when she died in an accident one day.
her father, stefan, grew withdrawn after eva's death, mostly leaving 7-year-old sophie on her own. when she was 13, her father began to get involved with sophie's old babysitter. and betrayed by his actions, she began to believe that he had abandoned her and the memory of his late wife. despite stefan's initial attempts to placate sophie, their relationship would only worsen going forward. soon after, sophie's two younger brothers were born. stefan remarried.
meanwhile, sophie only grew more and more distant from her father's new family, refusing to accept them as related to her. but without the means to actually leave home yet, she mostly spent her teenage years at home fighting with her father or spending time at anya's house. she was miserable, constantly left wanting, knowing she deserved more. at the very least, to be able to live freely as she wanted.
for a long time, she simply bided her time, wishing every night that she might be able to escape and be whisked off by a savior. and one night, as she snuck out of the house to visit anya, a savior of sorts did arrive. in the form of a black horsedrawn carriage running her over to take her to twisted wonderland.
relationships
stefan asana - sophie dislikes talking about him; it's one of the easiest ways to get her ticked off. the deterioration of their relationship, in her view, really only began when he remarried. she inherited his stubbornness and his temper, it seemed. because both refused to concede and their arguments always escalated, so they talked as little as possible. the point of no return was when sophie first tried to run away from home and move in with anya. she was found out, and in his anger, stefan laid a blow on her. since then, sophie's nightly escapades became regular; and he stopped trying to catch her.
evalyn (eva) asana - sophie reveres the woman, even more so after death. sophie describes the feeling of her death like half of herself had been ripped away along with her mother. they're nearly identical in appearance, and sophie can't help but count down until she reaches the age her mother died. her thirst for power and status ties back to wanting to be someone her mother— a woman so wonderful she deserved her own queendom— could be proud of.
sophie's babysitter - sophie refuses to acknowledge her as a person. she's little more than her father's side bitch parasite that aided in ruining her life. after a few years of trying to gain sophie's favor, she eventually had to give up and stop talking to her. sophie much prefers it that way.
brion and alber asana - despite her coldness to her stepmother, sophie has some affection for her half brothers, however conflicted those feelings may be. they are 6 and 4 years old, respectively. younger than when she lost her mother. they weren't at fault for being born to such a horrible family arrangement. she tried her best to be a cool older sister when the mood struck her. but sometimes her teachings are labeled as a 'bad influence' by her father and stepmother, so she rarely gets to spend time with them alone. brion and alber, however, find her quite entertaining. these two were the only young children she seemed to enjoy spending time with.
anya espina-rosal - her best friend of all time. sophie loves anya only a little less than she loves herself (which is quite a bit, mind you). they were friends since they were little girls in preschool, and anya always kept her company after her mother's death. anya often gets dragged into doing sophie's rebellious schemes (ie, sneaking out at night) or being the butt of an accidentally insensitive joke, but sophie doesn't know what she'd do without him. anya, while not her prince, is her brave, loyal knight. she knows he'd never betray her.
grim - sophie finds grim incredibly amusing. he is a silly cat-like monster fiend, and she sees it in herself to 'domesticate' him, so to speak. she enjoys his antics and grandiose behavior until it backfires on her. she appoints grim as her royal mage. grim himself has no complaints about this title. (they both cause anya headaches).
ace trappola - sophie hates him. ace hates her. everything works out. nonetheless, they are forced to hang out anyway, albeit while dissing each other all the way.
deuce spade - deuce tries to be more tactful than ace, which is enough for sophie to like him. since she is the only girl in the school, deuce is determined to treat sophie with respect and understanding, like a proper gentlemanly honor student. unfortunately, she's not above pouting cutely at him, which is enough for him to fold to most of her outrageous demands.
floyd leech - at first, floyd was sophie's secret pet project of sorts. she wanted to 'fix him' just to prove to anya how good of an influence she was. which resulted in her following him around for a while. floyd, in turn, found her entire pink, glittery existence hilarious. on top of the fact that despite everything, she didn't seem afraid of him. even when he tried to scare her for a laugh. she took his attitude in stride, ever-patient, even throughout his mood swings.
but it wasn't until he accidentally angered her one day that they began to understand each other better. floyd accidentally ripped her new blouse, and she shoved him into mud for it. the ordeal made her so mad at him she refused to talk to him. which only made him want to know about her more— her real self this time. and so began a week-long game of him trying to shower her with gifts to get her to talk to him again. eventually, the incident did blow over, and the two began to spend more time together as genuine friends.
sophie finds him to be fun company. his brutal honesty and spontaneity are refreshing. floyd is true to himself and how he feels. and he refuses to stifle himself to please others. sophie respects that greatly.
jade leech - jade likes to poke fun at her and floyd, knowing that his brother seems to like her more than the average land-dweller. sophie finds him a bit unnerving, but is determined to be nice to him.
azul ashengrotto - after his overblot, sophie tends to chastise him like he's a bratty child, which puts him at his wits' end since she's started hanging around floyd more frequently. the two have similar smiley dispositions, so their conversations tend to come in the form of thinly veiled arguments under the guise of friendly small talk.
kalim al-asim - sophie had singled him out as the target for her affections when she found out about his wealth and relation to royalty. with their lively personalities, they took well to each other, and eventually, sophie finally managed to get him to ask her out. unfortunately, this relationship lasted all but a few days through the events leading to the scarabia overblot during winter break. despite that mishap, the two remained close friends.
playlist
- bubblegum bitch
- world is mine
- espresso
- fabulous
- what the world needs
- MirroR
- queen of mean
- girlfriend
- what the hell
- all i want is everything
- kiss the girl (ashley tisdale cover)
trivia
- skl the cream chicken isn't actually significant lmao i was just craving that when i was writing her basic info section 😭
—contains major spoilers for assassination classroom :3
basic information
name: akabane ari (赤羽 アリ)
alias/es: grim reaper (formerly)
pronouns: he/him
age: 39
height: 167cm (5'5")
career history: delinquent → disciple → "grim reaper" → college graduate → class e's librarian
hobby/skills: any kind of simple puzzles (sudoku, minesweeper, jigsaw puzzles etc)
motto: the only way out is through
current goal: remembering all of class 3-e's names and birthdays
reasons to smile: "the other day, karma accidentally? called me dad? i think? i'm surprised he didn't notice.. but please don't tell him! i wonder if he might do it again.. i don't want to embarrass him though."
ari is class e's librarian, and the only staff member in their building before the intervention of korosensei's assassination operation. he is also karma's older brother and legal guardian. there isn't much of note about him; or, at least, that's what he'd like everyone to believe.
little does his students know, he was an ex-assassin now trying to avoid that life. but it seems the past has a funny way of returning to him..
appearance notes
‐ dark brown hair fading into bright red; it was brighter when he was younger, but it eventually darkened as time went on
- light brown skin
- light brown eyes
- prominent eyebags from sleep issues
- mostly covered, but he has numerous scars; some half faded, some more recent from training karma
- usually in dark, oversized clothes to hide his form (but they're still loose and as easy to move around in as possible)
personality
ari is generally an amicable, friendly person. he is a bit stiff and awkward, but sincere. most of his awkwardness can be attributed to his anxiety and lack of experience in communicating with others. he believes he wouldn't make the best teacher due to his difficulty with crowds.
despite this, he wants badly to connect to the students of class e. since he is the librarian, he made sure to memorize all the contents of every book in the building's library in case they need anything. the students don't know how to talk to him either, more often than not, but they appreciate his presence nonetheless.
because of his mild-mannered demeanor, people tend to question how he and karma are related. in reality, the difference may only be age and whim. ari has his own mischievous streak, though he prefers not to lean into those impulses nowadays, and those who have known him for a long enough time will be quick to remember that he and karma are much more alike than they're given credit for. ari is secretly a bit of an adrenaline junkie, which was why he took to combat so well (and explains the myriad of scars on his person). since leaving the criminal underworld, he's been trying to curb those urges and focus on his brother's welfare.
history
ari was born to an incredibly wealthy couple. his early childhood involved a lot of travel and lavish spending, and so he wanted for nothing in terms of materialistic desire and basic needs. but his parents were very young, fickle people— they made impulsive decisions. many of which involved their short-lived marriage. when ari was 6, his father left the picture, leaving him and his mother in japan.
by the time ari was 10, they had somewhat started to finally put roots where they live, having been in one place for some time after so long traveling. ari's mother even remarried eventually. but shortly after this, she began to feel constrained with her circumstances. she ended up leaving the country more and more often, usually with her new husband, to manage their business abroad. with her small fortune, she hired helpers to watch after her child and fulfill his basic needs in her stead.
largely left alone, ari grew into a restless, impulsive child. and then into an even more troublesome teenager. he became antisocial and moody, stopped connecting with others, and grew to hate his parents for leaving him by himself and brushing off every single thing he does as a mere 'teenaged rebellious phase' he might grow out of one day.
when he was 14, he met the grim reaper at his school. it had been by sheer luck (or lack thereof) when he snuck into a locked classroom after curfew to retrieve something, only to witness the murder of one of his professors. he was oddly entranced by the sight. one of the absolute symbols of authority and power in his life, so easily struck down into nothing. something clicked in his brain. and so he demanded that the mysterious assassin take him on as an apprentice, to teach him how to kill his parents.
realizing the growth of opportunities in taking on an apprentice, the grim reaper agreed. and after about seven years, he would take on his second student, ari's comrade in arms.
during the years his parents are never home, ari would spend his time training or having 'lessons' with the reaper. he didn't mind waiting for his parents to return on their own, figuring that he could spend that time to learn as much as he could about being an assassin. his relationship with the reaper was more or less civil, if a bit rough. but they were transparent in their intentions— they were each a means to an end. the reaper would teach him the art of killing so ari could achieve his goal, and in exchange, ari would be a tool to aid in the reaper's destruction.
when ari was 23, his parents had finally returned to japan. what he didn't expect was the baby they brought back with them. he was named karma— ari's new baby brother. since his birth, ari's life turned upside down. his parents reluctantly agreed to stay in japan to raise him, but the anxiety ate at ari. given his own childhood, he had very little faith in his parents' ability to care for a new child. which resulted in frequent visits to check in on karma, and forcing himself to take time out of assassination.
for the first time in a very long time, ari had to grapple with the question of how he wanted to live his life. he was an accomplished killer, he knew that. but he couldn't simply leave his brother to possibly fend for himself the way he had. he had learned his trade on the condition of killing his parents, and yet, as much as he disliked them, he wasn't sure if he was willing to have karma grow up knowing both of them were dead. even worse, if he were to find out he was living with their killer.
so he left. somewhat. he and his comrade set up a plan to betray their master, the grim reaper, without getting their hands dirty. they split ways from there, both using their master's old title to prevent news of his death from spreading, as well as to keep his identity as mysterious as possible.
ari moved out of his parents' home and took karma with him without much of a fight. he continued taking assassination jobs for several years whenever they needed money, while also going to university at a rather irregular basis. after several years, he managed to finally graduate and get a job as a librarian in kunugigaoka junior high school, thanks to a favor owed to him by the school's chairman, who he'd known back in high school.
ari had fully quit being an assassin by then, doing his best to be an inconspicuous civilian and a decent enough guardian for karma, until he decides his brother could stand on his own.
relationships
akabane karma - ari's half brother and ward. he is ari's entire world.
there was a brief time, a long time ago when he first found out about karma, where ari hated him. in his eyes, he spent all those years growing up alone, vying for his parents' attention only for them to replace him as easy as that. but he soon realized that they were both just victims of their respective parents' caprices. this only became more apparent when his parents so easily agreed to handing the responsibility of raising karma to ari.
after taking karma into his custody, ari and karma have a somewhat unconventional relationship. despite raising him, ari allows karma to treat him more like a friend than a parent. but their large age gap was always apparent in their dynamic, leaving them stuck in the grey area most of the time. nonetheless, the two are close and communicate openly with each other.
the two have remarkable similarities growing up. ari sees a lot of himself in karma, which he feels conflicted about. he is determined to make sure karma grows up well and hopes he won't feel as helpless and alone as he did. once he was hired at kunugigaoka, he quit being an assassin, no longer wanting to be dishonest with his brother. though he can't yet open up completely about his old life, he does teach karma self defense and basic combat skills.
karma, in turn, respects ari tremendously. he views him as his first teacher, in a lot of ways. he knows his brother works hard (despite being in the dark about the precise nature of his work) to make sure they live well. knowing how much he sacrifices for him makes karma protective of ari. and it makes him determined to learn and grow up quickly, wanting to surpass him. at the very least, to repay ari for everything he's done for him.
they're both competitive, and this bleeds into their relationship a little. especially in karma's drive to prove himself and ari's teaching habits with him.
akabane parents - ari resents them, but has long lost the energy to truly hate them. they're people that failed him and he'd rather not think about them any more than he has to.
korosensei (grim reaper) - prior to the events of the plot, the pair were teacher and student at the top of the underworld. the reaper needed an assistant, and ari wanted to learn. it was an entirely transactional relationship. until it wasn't. ari, a neglected, traumatized child, began to see the reaper almost like a parental figure over time. while the reaper, who had more grip on his emotions due to growing up completely cold, never admitted similar sentiments. he treated ari (and later, his other student) like tools at his disposal. this culminated in ari and his fellow student betraying the grim reaper, discarding him as he always said he'd do to them once they became useless to him.
when the reaper reunited with ari as korosensei, ari was unaware of his true identity. it had been years since then, and they had both changed a great deal. korosensei was regretful of his past treatment of his students, and it was visible with ari. he often went to him to 'pester' him, as he'd put it, with random goodies he'd pick up from other countries during break or weekends. and he would ask about his personal life, now curious to how his student is doing outside of combat. unlike ari's tempestuous younger self, korosensei found that the ari of present day was much more calm and pleasant. strangely enough, he never tried to kill him, which korosensei found amusing.
ari, who is extremely awkward around people, was delighted that korosensei seemed to enjoy spending time with him. for the most part, he decided to leave the assassination up to the students and the government, not wanting to reveal himself and possibly ruin his newfound friendship just yet. perhaps he'd do something about him at the end of the year..
shinigami (???) - ari's fellow student under the original grim reaper. he's younger than ari by many years, and ari treated him like a little brother. as time went on, they drifted apart, what with their different goals in life. ari was worried about him throughout their plan to betray the reaper. specifically about how much his hatred of their teacher seemed to run in him. he, unfortunately, wasn't able to get through to him. and they went on their separate ways.
when (???) was younger, he completely left behind his old name, completely accepting his identity as the grim reaper's apprentice. despite this, ari used to give him a new name everyday to tease him.
asano gakuho - they went to school together, with ari as his junior. they had a relationship going for few years, after ari asked him out on a dare (and about a week of the most violent high school flirting possible). they broke up amicably due to conflicting life goals. and they promised to help each other out when they really needed it.
years later, ari held gakuho to his promise. ari needed a job at his school, so he was granted librarian position after he met all the requirements.
these days, they disagree on a great many things. most of which involving how gakuho runs his education system. but even so, ari just tries to deal with it for the sake of karma's schooling.
class 3-e - ari considers himself hopeless at talking with other human beings, especially most children. but he cares for his students and wants to be of use to them, despite not technically being a teacher. he learns all their names, birthdays, and other information and drills it into his head. he memorized the entire library in case they might need anything from it.
the students of class 3-e find him to be a bit ominous at times (he does not tell them that he has been poring over their files for days, and so are unnerved when he knows things like their exact date and time of birth by heart), but affectionately (secretly) refer to him as their harmless cryptid librarian.
abilities
combat prowess - while most of the things the reaper taught him were methods of assassination, ari learned combat on his own, and got into trouble for it in his civilian life a number of times. he is well-learned in a wide range of fighting styles, allowing him unpredictability and flexibility. if he allowed himself to go all out, there are very few combatants that could take him down. he taught karma hand to hand combat for self-defense purposes.
mobility - physically, ari is the smallest of the 3 reapers, but also the fastest. and he makes sure to use this to his advantage with quick thinking and strategy.
marksmanship - as an ex-assassin, ari is skilled in using any kind of firearm with deadly accuracy. but he typically prefers hand to hand, or at least, fighting at somewhat closer range. he is adept at the sniper, but somewhat dislikes it, saying it feels "too cold".
mithridatism - despite having left the assassin life in the past, ari continues to administer himself dosages to maintain his poison immunity.
masking - as the original reaper's student, ari used to have trouble masking his emotions, especially his bloodlust and anger. he would have an intimidating aura to him that would give him away to intelligent targets if he failed to keep his mask in check. he has, since then, grown much better at it though. both gakuho and korosensei note that ari seems much 'tamer' compared to the many years before. pleasant, even.
eidetic memory - ari can memorize large amounts of information almost immediately after processing it. when he has nothing to do, he memorizes all the contents of the books in the building 3-e, including new shipments when they arrive. but he is more prone to forgetting information he doesn't care for.
exceptional intellect (conditional) - ari is noted to have a vast understanding of many subjects. but this only applies to things he is or has been interested in. he has basic understanding of broader subjects he's needed to learn for assassination missions, but if he's uninterested, he's rather forgetful.
the reaper's invisible scythe - like the other grim reapers, ari has a .10 caliber gun embedded in his index fingers.
trivia
- noted to be good at concealing his emotions now (compared to his younger self), with the glaring exception of karma. he's a crybaby about his brother
- he has a crush on karasuma tadaomi (though as of now i don't quite know what to do with this bit of information)
occupation: deposed lord of fontaine, part-time director's assistant
rank: ★★★★★
weapon: claymore
element: hydro
constellation: rex stultorum
region: fontaine (formerly khaenri'ah)
affiliations: court of fontaine, opera epiclese (formerly)
additional titles: eques exul of the stars
Domino is the now deposed Lord of Fontaine, and the Hydro Archon's husband. Prior to that, he had also been Lady Furina's secret informant. He is a pureblooded Khaenri'ahn cursed with immortality by the gods.
'the amiable yet elusive lord of the nation of hydro. referred to by fontaine as the king, or simply, lord domino, he is certainly a fascinating subject to the public eye. what he seems to lack in dramatic flair (much unlike his wife, lady focalors), he makes up for in his charming sincerity when interacting up close with his subjects. from the affectionate lilt in his tone to his heroic contributions in unearthing the conspiratorial coup hidden within the gardes several hundred years ago, it's no wonder the court of fontaine is so smitten with him.
though domino has no official title in relation to the courtroom, his position as king needs not be spoken. his word is law, and his judgement as fair as the oratrice itself. but the question has remained in the minds of every citizen of the nation, young and old— just where did he come from? surely, a man with this much influence had to have left a trace of his old life? surely, the people had to have heard of the man with actual stars in his eyes? surely, he couldn't have just appeared out of nowhere?
and yet, despite all this attention, it seems not even the most informed know anything about their renowned "king". and he will make sure it stays that way.'
—unknown
appearance notes
references post!
‐ tall (5'11")
- light brown skin
- white hair with some greyish streaks; most of it is slightly ruffled on his bangs, and he has an undercut. on his left side, a portion of his hair is braided, and a small crown-like accessory is weaved into it. blue crystals hang from the accessory on varying silver threads, resembling dripping water
- black eyes with flecks of dark grey. he has the khaenri'ahn white star instead of pupils
- has various scars all over his body
- his coat's designs portray the night sky and the fontainian sea
- when the lapels of domino's coat are pulled together, the crystal studs embedded in them form his constellation, rex stultorum
- his black and white gloves are worn opposite to furina's
- the crystal ornaments on various parts of his outfit are always diamond-shaped and a blue gradient. the upper blue is light, and the lower blue is darker; in the reverse order of his trench coat
- domino also has dark red eyeliner
- he's often fully covered from the neck down in terms of clothing. it's rare to even see him without his own gloves off
personality
he is a naturally secretive person. his true personality isn't very easily discernible when you don't know him well, as he sometimes puts on random acts to stir up drama and conflict around the nation. though he has admitted in one of his voicelines that he just does it for fun as well.
domino himself says that he lies freely, and does so often. he tries to maintain a friendly disposition with the average citizen to obtain their trust, or keep their guard down. he usually does this by acting a bit airheaded or by playing up his displays of affection for furina. when in more formal settings like meetings or when entertaining larger groups at the revels, he allows himself to be more serious.
in truth, domino himself is no longer sure what he's supposed to be 'like' when he isn't acting, besides bitter and paranoid. he's often lost in his own thoughts, taking occasional trips to the shore or the roof of the opera epiclese to be alone. the way he speaks could be described as flat, or sometimes sardonic. but he never speaks without purpose.
above all, domino is fiercely protective of what he cares about. when instigated, his urge to keep his closest ones safe becomes his only priority. he finds it easy to forget all else. he frequently worries over other characters such as furina and neuvillette, but most of his more honest acts of affection appear when the target of said affection isn't there to witness it. in the case that they are, he gets easily angry and flustered.
history
domino was born in khaenri'ah, and grew up to be part of the royal guard. not much detail is given from his past, but he appears to have been somewhat close with dainsleif, who was previously his superior. he used to go by the name ruere.
after khaenri'ah's fall, he was cursed with the other pureblooded khaenri'ahns to be immortal. he grew bitter and resentful. he blamed the heavenly principles and all things divine for everything that ever went wrong.
eventually, he stumbled upon a newly established fontaine. his combat prowess landed him a place among the maison gardiennage. he maintained a low profile over the years, building connections little by little to establish an information network. this network was later used to aid a coup conspiracy planned amongst some gardes looking to overthrow the hydro archon.
when furina turned up as egeria's successor, she sought him out for his resources. after a few months of offering deals, they came to a final consensus— he would give her all the information she wanted if she let him be her equal in power. and so, they married. he became known from then as lord domino. and he readily denied any involvement with the gardes' coup when they were finally put on trial.
relationships
furina - she and domino are in an open marriage. initially, domino thought of her more as a pawn for his plan. she was the hydro archon— a symbol of everything he had lost, and he planned meticulously to make sure her nation would fall harder than his had.
unfortunately, time had a way of changing things, and that included his perspective of her. where he used to see her as weak-minded, he began to recognize her kind nature. he saw her resilience and determination, and her endless love for her people. despite not being able to admit it in their 500 years of 'marriage', he had grown to care for her.
after the events of the archon quest, domino deeply regretted his actions. he was willing to put aside his pride and stopped at nothing to earn her forgiveness. though he had offered, if she wanted, to leave her alone, he was very grateful that she refused.
currently, they live together in an apartment. domino helps furina with whatever matters suit her fancy for the day. sometimes, he takes trips to the adventurers' guild to aid their funds.
neuvillette - they were both skeptical of each other at first. but as time went on, they grew used to each other's presence and roles in the court. they are each other's first friends in a way, for a long time before the canon events occurred, and they're very protective of each other.
like with furina, neuvillette gave domino his vision. however, he tried to do so discreetly, which resulted in domino trying to throw it away. he was incredibly apologetic when he found out the truth.
clorinde - domino caught strong feelings for her at first sight. she has, since then, been constantly rejecting his advances, whether it be obnoxiously large romaritime flower bouquets or sparring sessions. eventually, his efforts waned, and they're able to address each other in a more serious way. especially in regards to official matters. domino hasn't quite given up, but nowadays, he's mostly joking around. he respects clorinde greatly and does his best not to go over her boundaries.
dainsleif - prior to the fall of khaenri'ah, he was ruere's superior in the royal guard. despite not having many opportunities to truly be friendly, they trusted each other greatly as comrades in battle.
after the fall, it would be a long while before they would reunite. by then, domino was neck-deep in his plans of destroying fontaine. dainsleif visited him once, to try and urge him away from such a pointless revenge plan, but domino only saw his concern as betrayal. they haven't sought each other out again, but they know they can find each other easily if they tried.
chiori - like clorinde, she has been on the receiving end of domino's out of pocket flirting. he was very harshly rejected, but still won't order clothes from anyone else. he would like to befriend her, though he knows he'll be rejected in that as well.
abilities
immortality - pureblooded khaenri'ahn cursed by the gods
standard hydro vision abilities - (this does not describe his kit in detail because i have not figured that out much) domino mainly uses his vision in the form of hydro shields and defensive maneuvers, among the other things
trivia
- his favorite food is a pastry called 'sugared words', notably not named in french
- domino's title "lord", in real life, is actually only a form of address. it is not a real formal title nor ranking in nobility. this is intentional, as his rule in court is mere deception
- due to lack of annulment or divorce, domino is still technically married to focalors, as his marriage contract was with 'the hydro archon', instead of furina. so he is legally a widower
- his current outfit was designed and created by chiori
TWO FICS IN ONE DAY 😭 😭 😭 ive lost it but okay . this one's small ,,, just a mini idea ive rotated in my head for a few weeks prior. unedited but sshhhh it's just cutesy flophie stuff here promise
—floyd × sophie, 700+ words
Floyd was about a few seconds of annoyance away before he felt like popping a guy's head off. He was being chewed out. Why in particular, he had no clue since he zoned out a few good seconds in.
He was really just not in the mood right now.
There was an itch inside his skull, as if tucked under skin, and it made everything annoying. No matter what Floyd seemed to do that day, it did not assuage the feeling. If anything, the longer the world seemed to happen around him (like this tenacious little guppy trying to talk him down) the worse it got. So why fight it?
Floyd prepared to raise himself off the desk with a slam. Only.. He didn't. The sharp click of heels against marble drifted in from the classroom doorway.
"Floyd?"
The sound of her voice was soft. Almost soothing. Like the gentle wash of seafoam against a shore. Floyd looked up dumbly. Shrimpy wasn't supposed to be here today.
But then there she was, in the flesh. Sandy blonde curls swaying as she walked, hair ornaments sparkling in the light. Her eyes seemed to light up as she saw him, rosy cheeks pulling up in a perfect, pearlescent smile. She practically skipped towards him.
"Floyd!" She exclaimed. "I was looking for you."
"Hey, wait a minute, I was still—"
Floyd turned a glare on his classmate, effectively shutting him up. As he started baring his teeth, Sophie maneuvered herself between the two of them. Strangely, she looked up at him with the same sweet expression. As if the previous exchange had never happened at all.
"Your class is over, right? I need you for something."
But it seemed the guppy hadn't yet learned his lesson. He attempted to talk to Sophie again.
"Look, Miss Prefect, we're in the middle of something right now."
There, Floyd saw it. The very slight irritated twitch of her eyebrow. A short sigh fell from her pink lips. Both were gone as soon as they appeared, however, smoothed back over to her regular smile.
When she spoke again, not even looking at the guy, her voice was laced with venom.
"I don't recall allowing filth like you to talk to my boyfriend."
The student's jaw dropped.
Sophie pouted bitterly. "Hmph. Much less over me."
"Miss—"
"He's not in the mood." She declared sharply. "So I suggest you run off before I follow suit."
She turned her dark eyes back towards Floyd. He watched the split second of tension melting from her expression as she did so. She blinked up at him, light lashes fanned delicately over her eyes. She looked as innocent as a baby dolphin.
"Let's go?"
He didn't need to be told twice.
.
Sophie glanced sideways at him as they exited into the hallway.
Floyd bristled. "Ah, right. Didja need me for something, Shrimpy?"
She tilted her head cutely. "What?"
"You said you were looking for me."
"Oh." She said. "No, sorry. I just wanted to get that moron away from you. He sounded annoying."
Floyd hung his head, groaning. "He was so annoying."
"Right?" Sophie huffed. "Honestly, if people don't want to get squeezed to near death, maybe they should learn to read the room more. It's not like it's hard.. Ah. Wait, your class is over. Did you want to go somewhere?"
Floyd knew immediately.
"Yep!" He yoinked her closer by the wrist, earning a little squeak from her. "My room."
"Oh! Me too?"
"You too." He pulled her up, elbows under her knees and back and held her to his chest. Princess carry, he remembered she called it.
"I-I thought you might have wanted some alone time or—"
For the first time that day, Floyd realized, he grinned from ear to ear.
"Nope! Too late!" He chortled. "Shrimpy's stuck with me noww~"
Sophie puffed a laugh, quick to resign to her fate. She leaned her head on his shoulder.
"Alright."
Floyd cheered. "Oh, yeah. I'm gonna run to the dorm. So hold on tight."
"Wait, WHA– FLOYD!"
The weird feeling persisted. But.. It wasn't so bad anymore. Sprinting full speed through the hallway, he kept Sophie in a tight hold against his chest. Maybe giving her a proper squeeze later might actually do the trick this time.
relationship status: dating celine, reina, eiland, and balor
adonis is one of mistria's newest residents. he was originally just a housesitter for his old friend, mari, who had just brought the property. but eventually, the town and its residents grew on him until he decided to move there altogether. he and mari currently share residence on the farm, and the property is now named 'paseo del flores'.
he's a bit grouchy and rough around the edges, but a generally well-meaning person. he likes to take it easy, and doesn't want to ask for too much. when he's not farming, adonis is probably doing odd jobs around the town.
appearance notes
‐ white-blond hair with a small portion dyed a certain color every season (spring: magenta, summer: red-orange, fall: dark red, winter: purple)
- dark brown eyes
- light brown skin
- resting bitch face
- noticeably short (around 5'3")
personality
adonis, despite his constant scowl, is actually quite easygoing. he's snarky and has a rough way of communicating (and he generally prefers not to speak to people he doesn't know/care about), but he's quite laidback most of the time. even if he's not direct about it.
he has a protective streak with the people closest to him (mari, his partners, and etc.). he will often be found around town helping them with whatever and denying the fact that he's basically doting on them. he's an observant individual, and he clams up when he senses someone or something he deems off. especially in concerns to lying and false pretenses.
he is irritable on some days, however. adonis has had struggles with managing his temper since he was a child, and he tries his best to keep from riling himself up over a lot of small things. farming and busywork around town usually helps with this, as well as occasional sparring sessions with mari.
adonis also has a bit of a mischievous side. when he likes people, he tends to poke fun at them a little. technically not by much, and his delivery is a little dry more often than not, but it's noticeable.
history
adonis only recalls snippets of his early childhood, and he's decided he doesn't want to remember any further.
for as long as he could remember coherently, he was part of a foster care program managed by one of the nobles in the capital. he was known as difficult to care for due to frequent displays of aggression and an aversion to authorities. as a result, he was given to about seven different households over the course of six years.
when he reached 13, he was finally given a permanent home under the care of the jonquil family, wealthy people that lived a few days away from the capital. they had one daughter, marianne, who would become adonis's constant companion.
though the jonquil parents weren't quite present in their daily lives, their wealth attended to both children's needs well. adonis was placed in many sports and martial arts lessons growing up to give his aggression a better outlet. on his free time, he was allowed to do more or less whatever he wanted. and the servants around the house never limited him to a specific schedule like they did with mari. and so adonis's aggressive incidents since then began to lessen.
one day, he and mari found an old journal buried under the mansion. within it were notes by someone that seemed to be a bard from the ancient times. there were records of experiments he had done on his lute as well as various other instruments, apparently finding ways to channel magic spells through them. though skeptical of what was written, adonis kept the journal.
at 15, adonis obtained his first love: his guitar. a birthday gift from his foster parents and mari, to celebrate the first time he'd stayed in one house for more years than one. for months, he never let go of it if he could help it.
over the course of the next seven years, adonis did eventually try using the notes inside the bard's journal. many trials and errors of carving and questionably correct ritual practices later, his efforts bore fruit in one single strum— rather than the familiar, heavy sound of the guitar he'd grown to know, a completely different noise erupted from the friction. a jagged, striking sound. like a whip of lightning that had snapped against him and never quite let go.
at 22, adonis, mari, and two other acquaintances had formed a band called 'winter's end' centered around the unique music he created with the magic practices he'd learned from the journal and his guitar, now having mastered it. the band held on stubbornly; they had to. although they were certainly set apart from the rest, it didn't mean they were entirely well-received. the trends of music around aldaria were much more rigid in tradition and form. and while most traveling musicians tended to vary in genre, even their music seemed alien in comparison.
funds were rough for a while, forcing all four of them to hold side jobs to maintain their expenses. not too long into this, adonis met taliferro, a chef with noble lineage in need of a bodyguard for this travels. adonis took the job, and they traveled together on and off for about a year. within that year, a relationship had formed.
winter's end continued their travels, slowly growing in renown as more places began to warm up to their music. but as adonis's career escalated, so did taliferro's, who was now being considered for the position of royal chef. adonis needed to accompany him more and more, leading to a struggle in balancing his time between both his jobs. in the long run, it put some strain between adonis and the rest of his band members.
when winter's end was finally given an opportunity to perform at a large venue in the capital, adonis had an accident on the same day. he ran immediately to the venue after dropping taliferro back at his house from another trip, only to slip in the darkness and the rain and fall down a small hill. he broke both his dominant arm and his guitar. he was later found by a traveling merchant and sent to the hospital, where he stayed with mari for about a week.
with their lead unable to play anymore, winter's end disbanded. adonis's temperament moved at a violent back and forth between explosive and near-catatonic. after leaving the hospital, he put distance between himself and everyone he knew. he broke off his relationship with taliferro, then disappeared for three years.
he and mari reunited at her mother's funeral. then they moved in together for a few months, before mari mentioned wanting to move to mistria. needing a few weeks to settle the matters of her mother's will and the other family properties left to her, adonis decided to go to mistria to watch over her new home until she finished.
relationships
mari jonquil - no matter where they go, no matter what happens, they know and understand each other best. to a sometimes frustrating degree.
when adonis first arrived at her house, he told her that they were not siblings and they would never be family. so she decided then and there that she needed to befriend him. despite his protests, her stubborn attempts endeared her to him and he grew protective of her. even more so when he got to know her more and realized her almost obsessive need to make everyone like her. although they understand each other, they disagree on a lot of things. but over time, they learned to just live and let each other be. they will try to look out for each other regardless.
as they were growing up, adonis had a crush on her. but the attention she got as one of the popular girls at school bothered him, so he crushed those feelings underfoot and never admitted to them. it's unlikely that he ever will.
though they have changed since their childhood, there are some habits they still hold onto like a show of trust between them (ie, adonis is the only one she won't correct when he calls her marianne instead of mari).
amethyst and millor jonquil - adonis's foster parents. he respected them somewhat. which is a lot, given his disdain towards his previous foster families. they stayed out of his business and never pretended to care about him more than they actually did. adonis can't think of them very fondly due to their mistreating of mari when they were growing up, but he cared enough to go to their funerals after they passed.
nathaniel harley - one of the ex-members of winter's end. he and adonis didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things due to their strong personalities, but they respected each other's talent and worked well together when it came time to perform. nathaniel held the biggest grudge when adonis started coming to their practices less, which ended up blowing out of proportion after their failed performance at the capital. they don't keep in contact.
rivas ochea - one of the ex-members of winter's end. adonis encouraged her rebellious streak from her strict parents when she first joined the band. after the band breakup, they haven't kept contact.
taliferro - they were in a relationship for a bit over a year. prior to that, adonis agreed to work as his bodyguard whenever taliferro was traveling. despite their obvious differences, they understood each other's relentless ambition and supported each other as much as they could. however, their intense priorities also created conflict between them, forcing them to choose between their careers or their relationship. adonis ultimately broke it off after the capital performance incident when he cut ties with everyone.
abilities
limited magical abilities - (will update more when i play the game) adonis learned to use magic to alter the sound waves of musical instruments through the writings of the bard's journal
trivia
- possibly a reincarnation or descendant of seridia's previous dragonsworn (<– idea still being workshopped. i am still cooking)
dislikes: pointless conversations, unnecessary people
—"Eumenides", or "The Knave" is one of the survivors in the Oletus Manor games. He is reported to be a rather reclusive noble, battle-hardened and stoic after spending most of his youth in the military; there are few that truly know him personally. He's said to be close with the novelist, Orpheus, though how far that relationship extends in the quiet of their own company is uncertain.
—Could be dead depending on the choices made.
appearance notes
(left: 'canon' design, right: post-leander arc)
extended design notes
‐ he has curly-wavy dark red hair cut to shoulder length, usually tied in a low ponytail. depending on when in the story is depicted, and what ends up happening, his hair might be dyed dark brown instead
↳ has various different hairstyles depending on the au
- tall (~5'11"; for reference, i usually just make him a bit shorter than orpheus)
- has heterochromia, but both eyes are still brown. left eye is darker than the right eye
- as a child, he was only ever dressed in white. sometimes with tinges of gold. his family believed it kept his 'curse' at bay
- as an adult, he resents that belief a lot. so he's almost always dressed in black and red
- the red brooch was his father's, and the last thing he has left of him
- visually, his 'signature weapon/item' is a crowbar but he can kill people using any object, i promise
‐ snake/vine motif
personality
erinyes is generally very guarded and speaks bluntly. with most of high society, he puts up with the image of the battleworn ex-soldier, lord eumenides rosten. and he behaves well enough for the part, being normally anti-social and surly. even though he makes a point to be polite, he's often seen as intimidating and doesn't like talking about his past or personal life. he will lie if it will get people out of his business.
with orpheus, his behavior tends to switch up (mostly if they're alone; but there will be times he can't help himself). he's been obsessed with him since they were children, and erinyes at present doesn't do much to hide that from him. erinyes is very protective of him, to the point of possessiveness more often than not.
at times (mostly early story), he acts more unhinged and playful with orpheus. arguably, a bit suggestively as well. he is arrogant and competitive, especially regarding his skills. this occasionally borders on recklessness, and he tends to lack regard for his own wellbeing in dire situations.
he does confess eventually that some of his aforementioned behavior is melodramatic and purposely exaggerated, though he never makes it clear which is which. there are some points where he interacts with orpheus in a more grounded manner (mostly later story). in such cases, he comes off as unimpressed and exasperated. he's also more openly petty.
when faced with genuine sincerity, erinyes is quite easy to fluster. he gets easily attached when he finds people or things that he likes.
history
the conflict within erinyes's family began long before she was born. casimir rosten was a common soldier that fell in love with an archduke's sickly daughter. rhea vasilias only got away with marrying him due to being the youngest of six, with no duty nor legacy to inherit. casimir, meanwhile, was an atheist and a commoner still rising up the ranks of his regiment. the money used to prepare rhea for her marriage (and later, childbirth) came largely from the vasilias family's pocket. she was the little darling they spoiled, and her transgressions were forgiven by the vasilias family in due time; the same could not be said of casimir.
when erinyes was born, that grudge would pass onto her. her red hair and mismatched eyes were the subject of scrutiny of her aunts, whose superstitious beliefs led them to believe that they were bad omens. in their eyes, erinyes was the cursed child of an ill-fated marriage, tainted by the devil.
despite initially wanting a son, casimir treasured erinyes and detested the amount of control the vasilias family had over their family affairs. he worked hard as a soldier, until he was finally promoted to colonel shortly after erinyes was born.
erinyes's formative years were a blur of rigid schedules and studies and attempts to keep her curse at bay. she was homeschooled and very rarely left her home aside from mass. things like her reading material and even the clothes she could wear were put under close watch to keep her from any undesired outside influences.
despite this, erinyes's interests tended to veer outdoors. she liked animals and the forest, finding a special affection for insects and reptiles (the vasilias family chalked it up to casimir's interest in animal taxidermy; this would become a source of conflict in his marriage with rhea as time goes on). erinyes wanted to explore. so to keep her desire sated in a more controlled environment, they let her come along during social functions, where she would meet other children of nobility. and that is where erinyes would learn that she.. didn't quite understand other children. they talked of dresses and tea party playdates. they recoiled when she told them about her father's taxidermied butterflies. as the conversation went on, she eventually realized that other children might have more in common with her adult caretakers than herself. and so it would be better if she kept her mouth shut.
then she met orpheus. it was during a garden party at oletus manor, only a small forest away from her own house. by then, she'd figured it was better to steer clear of the other children; especially the ones who saw her at church every week. she used what limited freedom she had to explore the edge of the woods surrounding the property, and found a snakeskin in the grass. knowing her father would be excited to see it, she tried to pick it up and bring it back for him, underestimating how light it was. it blew out of her hands and landed on the feet of some children talking nearby. seeing their shock, erinyes ran, unknowingly leading the children to think she threw it at them on purpose
orpheus, a boy around her age, she found sitting by a tree and some shrubbery, writing in his journal. in her panic, she ran into the bushes beside him to hide. as she was contemplating running for her parents, she heard the boy's voice beside her, making them leave.
she would meet him again later a handful of times. always at oletus manor, sitting at the same tree. she had difficulty speaking to him, not knowing what to say. but he never told her to leave, so she simply stayed at his side. watching. he eventually let her read the stories he'd write in his notebook there.
as erinyes grew up, her home life grew more complicated. seeing erinyes's loneliness, her mother tried for a second child despite her frail condition and her family's protests. erinyes's aunts stopped letting erinyes out of the house due to the numerous bizarre incidents with the other children. they believed their efforts to purify erinyes were all for naught, and that her alleged curse was only intensifying and hurting rhea in the process. the way her supposed curse worked finally sunk into erinyes. rhea's methods of placating her slowly began to stop working, feeling condescending and backhanded the more she tried. it all culminated in erinyes's first purposeful act of rebellion: sneaking out at night.
after a few night excursions, she would find a brick wall in the woods, a sizeable distance away from her house. once again, her world had closed. the forest was no longer infinite. she was.. disappointed. until she heard noise on the other side. and after finding a hole between the bricks, she never would've imagined to find orpheus on the other side.
from then on, they communicated through the wall. they left letters for each other in the small hole, exchanging stories of their personal lives every fortnight. due to erinyes being trapped at home, she hadn't gotten to see him again. but he never recoiled when she talked of strange reptiles and her strict aunts. through their letters, she learned about him in turn. he liked birds. his parents were just as strict in their own right. he wrote stories in his free time. she wanted to read all of them.
one day, the deross family decided to visit erinyes's home. to save face, erinyes's aunts allowed erinyes to leave her room to entertain their guests' daughter, a little girl named alice deross, who somehow, had brought orpheus with her. inexplicably, erinyes's mood soured. he instantly disliked the girl, and how easy it was for her to bat her pale eyelashes at everyone to get them to agree with her. her sweet face and pretty voice annoyed erinyes to no end. and it wouldn't be the last time she visited. as if adding insult to injury, alice brought orpheus with her every time she visited. but she was the only reason erinyes could spend time with him at all. all the girl had to do was ask, and she could even sway erinyes's aunts to let the three of them play outside. erinyes needed only grit her teeth to keep her smile in place.
despite erinyes's coldness, alice's attempts to befriend her were beyond persistent. and with time, the two of them began to spend time together even without orpheus.
rhea died of miscarriage when erinyes is 10. the rift furthered between casimir and the vasilias family.
casimir was permitted a leave to mourn his wife. his presence allowed erinyes more freedom with alice and orpheus, and their conflict only really gave her more reason to stay out of the house as much as she could.
in a stroke of misfortune, on alice's birthday, oletus manor was robbed and alice's parents were murdered in one night. alice, erinyes, and orpheus were all present but split up during the ordeal. orpheus and erinyes distracted the bandits to help alice stay hidden, and they agreed to separate and meet up at their wall to escape together. but casimir, who'd arrived to take erinyes home and saw the violence of the incident, had found erinyes first. erinyes wouldn't discover the fates of her two friends until over a decade later.
the manor incident was the final straw for the rosten-vasilias family. casimir brought erinyes with him overseas when he returned to the army; and her aunts did nothing to stop him, blaming rhea's death on her curse. erinyes spends her teenaged years traveling with her father and his work.
despite time making her disillusioned to the vasilias's superstitious views of her, she continued to harbor guilt for what happened to her mother, alice, and orpheus, believing herself at least indirectly responsible for the tragedies. in alice and orpheus's case, she believed that her inaction may have led to their deaths. and she grew to despise her weakness and lack of authority, envying the soldiers her father commanded.
when he was 15, he cut and dyed his hair, then posed as a boy to enlist himself as "eumenides rosten". his father found out, of course, but not fast enough that erinyes hadn't already made a lasting impact. if erinyes's disguise were to be found out, what little dignity their family had left (they were already on thin ice with archduke vasilias) would go up in smoke.
so erinyes learned to fight between army drills and private training with his father. in time, he would find another friend— preston eversley— who was coerced into enlisting by his family, and not as familiar with combat either. they trained together most of the time, and years later, they would be known as two of the best. they quarreled often, as teenage boys would do, especially over rank; it was a toss-up to see who would be promoted first. but they were close nonetheless, having spent years relying on each other.
when preston finally realized erinyes's secret, everything changed suddenly. he concluded that erinyes was only succeeding under the thumb of his father, the colonel. that his achievements meant nothing, after all. that there was no way he'd ever been truly bested by a girl. erinyes was no longer his equal from that point on; but he could be a bargaining chip. he brought erinyes to casimir, attempting to strike a deal: a promotion for his silence. in erinyes's distress, he grabbed the nearest object— a crowbar— and killed preston.
soon after that experience, erinyes decided to leave. despite everything, the betrayal had hurt erinyes. it became clear to him that staying wouldn't help him find the purpose he wanted. he framed preston's death as a drunken accident and told his father of his decision, warning him not to follow. but in his story, casimir followed him anyway, begging him not to leave. the argument got heated, a fight began, and erinyes left after sending off his father's corpse into the sea.
after that, erinyes spent a few years in his hometown doing many odd bounty hunting jobs. he worked in a bookstore for a short while, and discovered a novel written by his childhood friend, orpheus. he had survived, after all. he found out that besides being a novelist, orpheus was also a detective. during one particularly difficult bounty, erinyes decided it was finally time to pay the detective a visit.
relationships
- orpheus: erinyes's first childhood friend. they were separated for several years until erinyes tracked him down for one of his bounties. since childhood, he has been very protective of orpheus, and will resort to violence if he thinks he is being taken from him. he is often willing to do orpheus's dirty work, especially if it involves more violent affairs, but that isn't to say his infatuation makes him completely compliant. erinyes enjoys keeping him guessing, and will disagree with him as he sees fit.
(mostly early story:) erinyes sees orpheus as a source of purpose. he wants to be useful to him, and feels that failure in that is unacceptable.
orpheus was the first person that treated erinyes normally, despite his eccentricities and family history. and he continues to acknowledge him as an equal even now. he usually has to be the one to keep erinyes's recklessness in check. just as much as erinyes opts for violence to keep him safe, orpheus will go at the same lengths to keep him close. their attachment is reciprocal (though erinyes is often stubborn in fully believing it).
- alice deross: erinyes's second childhood friend. alice wanted to befriend her, despite finding her a little scary. erinyes wanted her gone because of how close she was with orpheus and how perfect her life was. but despite it all, their friendship eventually did grow like plants between cracks in pavement. though erinyes has lingering resentment (and some new grievances) after their reunion, he doesn't want alice in harm's way. in their childhood and most non-manor routes, alice is often trying to pair erinyes and orpheus together.
- norton campbell: depending on the story, he could like him or dislike him. in any non-manor routes, erinyes thinks his gruffness is amusing.
- frederick kreiburg: erinyes finds him incredibly irritating. orpheus told him not to kill him so he doesn't.
- melly plinius: erinyes is wary of her. given his background, he's not one to underestimate women on the account of being women. her background, however, he finds.. intriguing. he tries to keep her away from orpheus if he can help it.
- rhea rosten: erinyes's late mother. she raised erinyes during most of her formative years, as casimir was often away on military duty. she had always wanted a child despite her frailty and she treasured erinyes greatly. but due to the alleged witch curse, the way she raised erinyes was constricting. she sought aid from her family, who would advise her methods that limited erinyes's worldview to their house and the church. rhea eventually passed away after her second attempt at childbirth. erinyes doesn't talk about it now, but he continues to harbor guilt about her death.
- vasilias family: erinyes's maternal family. mostly comprising of erinyes's aunts and grandmother that visited often when erinyes was a child. they never liked rhea's marriage with casimir and disliked erinyes even more, believing she was born cursed. still, they extended their grace to the child and tried to keep her alleged curse at bay. erinyes, being quite young, was entirely dependent on their advice growing up. she was hurt whenever they used to blame her curse on matters such as rhea's faltering health. her trust in them eventually broke with time. erinyes grew to despise religion and superstition because of how they treated him.
- casimir rosten: erinyes's late father. he saw her very rarely when she was a child, but tried to bond with her over animals (a child-friendly way of explaining his taxidermy hobby). after rhea's death, he brought erinyes with him overseas. he kept her with him at all times, having grown terrified of losing his only child after the miscarriage and the oletus manor incident. his fears would only worsen when erinyes decided to pretend to be a boy to enlist as a soldier. they butted heads over this for years: erinyes wanted to prove that he could be useful to his father, but casimir wanted erinyes to hide away and be safe. when erinyes tried to defect after being found out by one of the soldiers, casimir tried to stop him, which led to his untimely end.
- preston eversley: a fellow soldier and rival. they grew close in their teen years until preston discovered erinyes's secret. he tried to cut a deal with casimir that he would give his silence in exchange for a promotion. erinyes killed him soon after.
trivia (i update this whenever the mood strikes me)
- erinyes, eumenides, and fury are just different words referring to the same goddesses (the furies of the underworld) in different contexts and/or languages
- erinyes is often represented by snakes, but he does have associations with butterflies as well
- most of his clothes post-leander arc were bought by orpheus
- erinyes holds onto both his parents' wedding rings. he got his mother's as a gift from casimir when he was 16, then took his father's ring (along with his trigger finger and his brooch) after he died
↳ erinyes cut casimir's finger off after killing him so he could bury it at his mother's grave
head in hands. okay. pre-canon talidonis fic be upon you
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
ft taliferro getting terribly terribly lost + adonis being himself + magic guitar cameo + and a little sprinkle of my doomed yaoi character analysis if you squint between the lines :)
