Darkest Dungeon Headcanons
[[Just some Headcanons that have been floating around in my brain as I have been consuming DDI and DDII content. I haven't been able to play the games yet I'm broke :,) but I have been watching streams and reading up on lore and barks, etc so these might not be the most canon-accurate or original things. A lot of these are for Dismas cause I'm really invested in his character but there are others too.]]
<Heroes Mentioned: A lot of Reynauld, Dismas, Audrey, Paracelsus, Sarmenti, and Baldwin. Brief mentions of Damian, Barristan, Boudica, Alhazred, and Willam at the end. >
Audrey and Dismas
Audrey and Dismas are extremely close friends. Like the best of friends. Do not mess with one of them or you mess with both of them. They are seen hanging around each other frequently, especially in the Hamlet's tavern, and are known to be trouble causes. Since Dismas has been banned from gambling in said establishment he has taught Audrey all sorts of dirty little tricks and takes a cut of her winnings for the assistance. They have not been caught (yet-)
Dismas sometimes sharpens Audrey's daggers for her if he is already sharpening his dirk's blade. In turn, Audrey occasionally treats him to a drink.
They are constantly making bets with one another, either at the expense of the Hamlet's other residents or based on their own skills.
Dismas and Audrey are the kind of friends that keep a very accurate tally of how much money one owes the other down to the cent (and they are really annoying about it-).
WlW and MlM solidarity between these two. (Though tbh I headcanon Dismas as the very definition of a chaos bisexual- STILL! Point stands!)
If these two were to ever have a relationship it would be messy and it's better they just don't for the sake of everyone in that Hamlet. They are just chaos besties.
Audrey and Paracelsus
Ngl I ship it- Plaguerobber hell yeah
Audrey has offered to dig up corpses for Paracelsus to use in her experiments. Much to everyone else's horror Paracelsus seriously considered it for a hot minute.
((Plaguerobber Centric)) Audrey is probably one of the people within the Hamlet Paracelsus is closer to. Audrey likes to listen to her ramble about her current avenues of study and blight-based weapons or heals she is developing to assist in their expeditions into the dungeons. She thinks Paracelsus' enthusiasm is cute as she does not often express herself freely.
((Another Plaguerobber idea-)) Audrey has gifted Paracelsus an emerald and gold ring that she looted on one of her first nights as a graverobber claiming it to be lucky. Paracelsus is not one for jewelry thinking it not practical but she still wears it on a chain around her neck and it has great sentimental value to her.
They have a lot of accidental philosophical conversations about death and dying. Paracelsus being interested in death as a science and Audrey being surrounded by it for most of her life even outside of the Hamlet.
Audrey sometimes brings Paracelsus food and drink as she often forgets to take a moment to eat and relax when engrossed in her research and various studies.
Paracelsus often gets wrapped up in a sense of perfectionism and a need to prove herself. She takes loss very personally, whether it is the loss of a teammate or simply being proven wrong. Audrey has taken considerable time to try and break this cycle and convince Paracelsus she is worth way more than the sum of her failures and that she has already proven herself to be an invaluable teammate and friend. She tries to get her to relax but still hasn't succeeded in getting Paracelsus to take a day off and spend it with her at the tavern having to settle for the times she can steal her away from her work for a few hours.
Baldwin and Sarmenti
ngl I ship this too- (Gonna use Sarmenti from DDII as Jester's default name since it's more well known)
They were not on good terms in the beginning at all. Due to his past treatment by nobles and royalty Sarmenti did not trust Baldwin to begin with, keeping his distance and his guard up. It took time before he was able to fully recognize that Baldwin is a genuinely kind soul unlike any of the nobles or royals he knew prior. So they started off rough but became nearly inseparable.
Sarmenti values Baldwin's selflessness above all else viewing it as one of his greatest virtues. Due to his selfless nature though he tries to look out for the Leper King knowing he would put the other residents of the Hamlet's needs before his own even at the expense of his own health.
When they first started to become comrades Sarmenti would always pester him and try to get on Baldwin's nerves on purpose only to be thwarted again and again by his patience. This leading to the fact that he is one of the only heroes that can withstand Sarmenti's sometimes constant stream of jokes and annoyances.
(This is more ship centric-) As they got to be closer Sarmenti started to open up about the past abuse he experienced at the hands of other nobility. These revelations caused Baldwin to become genuinely angry that he would be treated so and reassured him such a thing wouldn't have happened under his rule. Sarmenti doesn't want to admit that it still has such a strong influence on him but Baldwin can see it does and offers him reassurance even if Sarmenti would never ask for it. In a way, Baldwin becomes like an anchor for Sarmenti and he does not like to be separated from the Leper for very long.
Sarmenti was originally not going to tell Baldwin what he did to the nobles who had abused him prior worried that it would change his opinion of him. Over time though felt he owed him honesty since the Leper had been nothing but honest, patient, and considerate towards him, and even with the full truth laid bare Baldwin did not push him away or become distrustful still treating him with the kindness and respect he affords all of the Hamlet's residents.
Sarmenti often plays his lute in Baldwin's company and values his input on song compositions.
Dismas and Reynauld
I am permanently stuck in Reymas hell- this is my OTP so this is a long one-
Started off hating each other but realized over time they are not that different and wound up becoming inseparable.
They are both equally stubborn leading to a lot of funny and tiring disagreements.
They bicker a lot but over time it's more out of habit than actual need and they trust each other completely.
You could drop these two in a forest with no provisions and they could survive on their own for months.
Dismas can be incredibly self-destructive at times, especially in the wake of expeditions into the dungeons gone wrong. At times Reynauld is the one person that can keep him from completely coming apart being the very first person Dismas met coming to the Hamlet.
Reynauld often accompanies Dismas and Audrey to the tavern, not because he enjoys it but solely to keep Dismas out of trouble as he is well known for it.
Somehow always the one stuck carrying drunk heroes (let's be real- mostly Dismas-) from the tavern back to the barracks.
Whenever Reynauld starts whistling without fail Dismas looks up to make sure he's not taking anything.
Dismas has offered to teach Reynauld how to steal properly stating along the lines of 'if you are going to do something at least do it right' to try and make light of his kleptomania which is a source of extreme embarrassment for him. Over time Reynauld learned to appreciate that the jokes were not meant to be jabs at his character but to help make his issues out to be less serious and embarrassing than they are to him.
Dismas used to make it a game of how long it would take to get on Reynauld's nerves sometimes even placing bets with Audrey. Eventually, though he stopped doing this.
A lot of trauma bonding between these two over loss and guilt. They both equally hate spilling their guts to any of the other residents in the Hamlet but have shared very personal stories with one another before. They know more about each other than anyone else and it's mutually understood that they will never betray the trust between them and keep these things in strict confidence.
Dismas sometimes helps Reynauld take off his armor after particularly exhausting expeditions. Also occasionally helps him put it on despite it not being necessary on either occurrence.
Dismas sometimes sharpens Reynauld's sword blade for him when he's at the Abbey.
Dismas knows a surprising amount of scripture, not because he takes any interest in it but just from overhearing Reynauld read it out or recite it.
(Reymas centric) Reynauld sometimes purposefully claims Dismas knows nothing of scripture just to goad him into recalling it to prove he does. He does this because he just likes hearing him recite it even if it holds no meaning to Dismas and it took a long time for Dismas to realize why he does it. Sometimes he humors Reynauld and reads some of the verses out loud. Reynauld also likes to listen to Dismas work on poetry though it's a rare treat he shares any of it often having to eavesdrop.
(Also Reymas Centric-) If these two ever were involved they would like to think they are subtle and no one knows but everyone knows (and Audrey definitely found out first-)
(Another Reymas one) There have been rare occurrences where one or the other becomes beyond irrational and has to stay at the Sanitarium and the other will stay too regardless of condition. Since it would cause more stress to separate the two than to just allow them both to stay in the same room.
(Ok one more Reymas-) Dismas has extremely bad insomnia, mostly from being on the run for so long but also due to reoccurring nightmares about the stagecoach robbery gone wrong. Reynauld is the only person he trusts to sleep at his back and sometimes knowing he is there is the only way he is able to fall asleep.
Dismas has told Reynauld the only way he is ever going to be able to drag him to a sermon is if he gets to drag Reynauld to the tavern for shots. The two are still at an impasse.
Dismas is one of the only people who can handle calming down Reynauld when he's completely irrational knowing how to handle him better than anyone else having known him the longest.
Dismas is the only person allowed to get away with putting an arm around Reynauld's shoulders for an extended length of time as Reynauld typically hates physical contact.
They prefer opposite seasons, Reynauld enjoys the warmer months and gets cold easily in the winter which brings up rather unpleasant memories so Dismas sometimes lends him his coat. Dismas hates the heat of summer and often grouches about it and retreats inside or sits in the shade often being joined by Reynauld.
Miscellaneous
The Hound Master Willam has found Dismas passed out drunk sleeping beside his dogs. Dismas has a soft spot for his dogs and Willam often lets him take care of them if he's busy.
Damian refuses to let Paracelsus heal his injuries unless the tinctures she uses have vinegar mixed into them so they burn like hell whenever they are applied to wounds. Paracelsus has to carefully label said bottles lest they get used on the wrong party member.
Sarmenti thinks Dismas would have a great singing voice and pesters him repeatedly to try and get him to sing when he plays lute. He has yet to succeed in this endeavor. Sarmenti almost convinced him to write song lyrics for him though claiming it was similar to poetry.
Dismas and Baldwin do not speak often but Dismas does enjoy listening as some of the things he says as they are very poetic.
Barristan and Reynauld sometimes spar despite it not being very necessary for either of their skill levels. They have a strong mutual respect for one another.
Audrey is extremely protective of the graveyard in the Hamlet. Despite being a grave robber she would rather die than allow the graves of her fallen friends to be disturbed.
Boudica is a frequent companion of Audrey and Dismas often hanging out in the tavern together. She's also like a weird daughter to Barristan who enjoys watching her spar and fight in combat always encouraging her to continue to sharpen her skills.
Dismas doesn't eat properly at all. He often rations food even if there is a steady supply of it as a result of trauma from starving though he will claim he’s just being practical. He has to be reminded constantly to eat properly or he will go without.
Also headcanon Dismas to have a gravel to his voice that smokers sometimes get. He sounds and looks older than he is from stress though doesn’t particularly mind it. He’s constantly dead tired.
Dismas does not trust Tardif at all and doubts he ever will. He is certain there is a bounty on his head and isn't convinced Tardif won't try to collect it one day (Reynauld would never let that happen-) so he sleeps with one eye open.
Paracelsus has a very short fuse, she has absolutely no patience for fooling around and can often be a stick in the mud. (She has 100% thrown empty beakers at Sarementi before- after that he stopped messing with her.)
Reynauld tries to be a calm and steadfast force among his compatriots but hides a foul temper that can be triggered if not careful.
The scars on Dismas' face do not bother him in the slightest. He mostly keeps them covered with his neckerchief as an old habit, but he also doesn't enjoy getting stared at. He either enjoys causing a ruckus or doesn't want to be perceived at all and there is zero in between.
Audrey drinks both socially and for fun/stress relief, Dismas drinks to get drunk and forget things and their drink choices reflect that when available.
There's an unlikely friendship between Alhazred and Junia despite their differing ideas on religious practice. Junia likes to hear about his occult practices despite it being 'heretical' it is very intriguing to her. They are very respectful towards one another and often like to read together.
Dismas has run up a MASSIVE tab with the tavern keeper. Whenever he actually comes in to pay a considerable chunk of it off the tavern keeper grows worried about him and his compatriots since he only really ever does this before exceedingly difficult expeditions where there is a possibility they might not come back.
