#ask tiergan

[tiergan-vashir]

(sorry if this is so sudden) does Tiergan allow people to touch his ears or his hair? (because he's so fluffy and I know my OC would want to do it the moment she meets him lol)

(seriously though, he's so well written and beautiful 💙 keep up the good work and have a nice day)

It depends! He definitely doesn’t welcome strangers touching him in any capacity - especially without warning.  He lived for over a decade in a difficult environment that causes him to associate touch with imminent danger or pain.  (He will situationally allow hugs he knows are coming to be polite though.)

All that said - once he has established you as Safe and Good and Friend-I-Would-Take-A-Bullet-For, he very, very, VERY much would accept hugs, pats, and yes - the highly coveted ear scritches/massages that would turn him into putty in your hands and No One Must Know This Ever and he Does Not Speak Of.

Thank you for the ask!

[tiergan-vashir]

Knowing that, what does it take to become friends with Tiergan? (definitely not asking because my OC would want to befriend him) and does he like sweets? (also definitely not because she'd want to make his favorite desserts for him because he's a good guy and he deserves it)

Tiergan is a little bit notorious for his love of sweets, but he wouldn’t accept anything given out of the blue from a stranger due to safety reasons.

As for building friendships - It’s complicated.

While Tiergan will be polite to others and may even warm up to people over time, trust on a deeper can be difficult to earn from him.  He is wary, suspicious, and cagey towards others. His body is riddled with scars not just from battle, but from the price he’s paid in blood for misplaced trust and betrayal.  His history also means he’s spent much of his adult life being valued not as a person, but as a weapon or means to an end.

For a long time, the people he considered his closest companions were the people he cared for so deeply he felt when (not if) they inevitably killed or harmed him, he would simply accept it.  At least it would be them. At least it would be them and not someone else.

He’s now progressed far enough in his recovery that he can acknowledge true friendships, but getting there requires patience and repeat displays over and over and over that he’s cared for as a person, that his emotional struggles are allowed to be given space, that he’s valued for more than just how many men he can kill or what other benefit he can offer.  And most importantly - that nothing is being expected of him other than his mutual respect, care, and platonic affection back.

[tiergan-vashir]

*leaves a plate of marshmallow and rainbow sprinkle donuts filled with rolanberry jam at the door*

Oh. Hey look Tiergan, It’s some sweets.

...Hmm, better not eat it yet though. Don’t know where that came from. Might not be safe.

WAIT TIERGAN, MIGHT NOT BE SAF--

[tiergan-vashir]

"I have a question Mister Tiergan!! So basically my father brought back a slave that we were thinking of rehabitating and stuff until we can reintegrate her back into society as a free person, but the issue is she's not improving no matter what we do, so I thought I'd ask around from someone with a similar background for what's probably on her mind... what were you thinking of when you first realised you're free, Mister Tiergan? "

“I didn’t realise I was free.  Not at first. It took three long years, and even now - sometimes a small part of me questions it.

What is freedom to someone who has been without it for years? For decades? How do you know when you have it?  How is it supposed to feel? How can you tell when it’s real or a fallacy?

You don’t.  Not in the beginning.

You can free the body, but it is a different thing to free the mind.  The wounds there run deep, but invisible.  Every repeated instance of pain carves pathways into your head, over and over, until your thoughts run along them out of instinct, carrying you to a dark place that you can’t separate from reality.

If she’s spent her life suffering one way - it will take time before all those wounds heal enough for her to live another.

Be patient. Be persistent. Earn her trust and help her feel safe.  And when you see even the smallest signs that she’s carving new pathways forward of her own, bring attention to it.  Celebrate it.  Encourage it.  Slow her down just enough so that she can process and take joy in every little step forward, in having her own power and making her own choices.  Eventually, after enough time has passed, she’ll be able to look back to see how far she’s come.

….And then she might finally start to feel a little bit like she’s free.”

[tiergan-vashir]

(gives Tiergan a festive flower crown)

He loves it.

[tiergan-vashir]

A tentative nudge at Tiergan's fingers with something distinctly cold and wet, before a fish is pressed into his palm. "A-rhuu pah!"

The cold and sudden wetness of a surprise gift fish was not something Tiergan expected upon walking through the Goblet, but he couldn’t repress the smile creeping across his face the moment he heard a familiar little voice. The gladiator bent down immediately, tucking a littleAghul under one arm and heading off towards the Astral Advent headquarters.“Hello again, little one. Let’s see if I can cook up your little present without setting fire to it.  ...You didn’t happen to steal this from the markets again did you?”

[tiergan-vashir]

Tiergan? baby.

B-baby...?  Are you saying he’s soft, squishy, and precious?

How dare?

[tiergan-vashir]

A small au-rawr pounces onto Tiergan's tail and starts chasing the tip around.

With a flick and swish of that dense plume of white, the boy was scrambling off round and round, running and leaping in circles much like an actual coeurl kitten.  Tiergan had seen this tiny youth several times now, either scampering over proudly with stolen goods from the Markets as a gift or crashing into the gladiator’s ankles in delightful greeting.It was a strange thing to be hold - a Spoken child raised by beasts.  Sometimes Tiergan felt the urge to try and teach the boy some words, enough language that the youngling grow to truly understand the world around him.  But for now, he let the little one play - his long white tail sweeping forward and back, the tip of it just out of reach of tiny grasping auri hands.