Alright. Thoughts on the Evil Zahn au and how everyone's favorite vargard fits into things
As stated previously the premise of the au is that nearly everything else is the same, with the only real variable being Zahndrekh himself, which means that Obyron is relatively unchanged. Now, it might stand to reason it's harder to believe Obyron would remain as loyal to someone so much more difficult to appreciate, but the thing is I kind of feel like hating your boss is probably more normal for soldiers than actually caring about them. Some of these nobles are the scum of the, uh, galaxy(?), so even within canon I lean into believing Obyron essentially believed he would have to tolerate his master more than care for him upon being assigned as a vargard (not that he'd ever necessarily directly think of it this way, it would just be more general fact than anything).
Now, from the point of Yama on I actually have two different versions, much like I do with canon, one that is more what I believe to be accurate to what's presented in canon, and the other that leans more into the potential romance of Zahndrekh and Obyron. (The second one is actually many, since it's more so any divergence from what I see as my own understanding of canon, so I tend to just refer to this as 'the ship focused variant', but it's like...ship sandbox alternatives.)
I'll start with the canon leaning version, and, well. As far as being a master goes Zahndrekh isn't really that bad. Perhaps he’s annoyingly arrogant and talkative, and frankly unnerving, but going back to that initial point, this is Obyron's job. If not Zahndrekh some other, possibly much more intolerable noble. And while being his lackey and having to directly deal with him can be a pain, as a vargard of an increasingly well respected overlord, he is also granted significantly greater quality of life than he would be as a warrior or immortal.
Zahndrekh is brilliant, sometimes sickeningly cruel, but not really wantonly. He’s not beating his servants and strangling the living conditions of the peasants of any planets within his domain. He’s...decent, in some regards. Mostly the targets of his twisted games are other nobles, and its usually only when said targets get their own troops involved that anyone 'innocent' suffers by Zahndrekh's hand, and what else do soldiers do but live and die by the whims of their superiors? He might also target planets, but commoner casualties are the price of any war, that would hardly be any different even if Zahndrekh was as careful of sparing others as possible.
More than anything Zahndrekh seeks control, not death and destruction for its own sake. His only enemies are those that threaten his control or his life, and those are, overwhelmingly, other nobles.
So this is all to say, maybe he’s more careless about innocents than Canon Z might be, but he’s not really going out and slaughtering billions for funsies, that's not really the fun part for him at all. It's all about mental stimulation, strategy, war, not just death. Like mentioned in the post predominantly about him, it's already fairly well established the higher up you are in the necrontyr ladder, the less important the individual life becomes. Aside from their own of course. But it's all kindling. This wouldn't change much between this AU and canon, and thus the bulk of what might truly disgust Obyron isn't really an issue even with Evil Z.
Maybe he finds his sheer lack of empathy in the moments he relishes in victory or revenge to be a bit appalling, but again, he’s a noble, I suspect that's just kind of expected.
On a personal level, I feel the early years would see Obyron much more stressed than in canon. Zahndrekh is unpredictable, and while I've laid it out all quite neatly above, actually living and sharing a space with him, serving directly beneath him, being his most trusted weapon and extension of his will would put Obyron at every disadvantage should Zahndrekh simply decide to show another facet of his cruelty.
He’s a very unsettling person to be around, both because of his conflictingly cold nature and warm behavior, the temper he sometimes loses a handle on, and his uniquely high level of intelligence. It's virtually impossible to tell when he’s being sincere or when he’s playing with someone, so by extension, it's virtually impossible to tell just how rotten he might really be.
But...as the years grind on, I think that expectation for the other shoe to drop would lessen. He'd come to gradually just take Zahndrekh at his word (or rather actions) that he really did value Obyron as a servant and had no otherwise ill intent for him. I would also like for there to be a few moments that both build his trust and give Obyron a touch of clarity to Zahndrekh's nature sprinkled in over the years, the tiniest moments of Zahndrekh allowing himself to be vulnerable around Obyron because he really does trust him.
By the time of biotransference, I could almost see his feelings on Zahndrekh being similar to canon, he would more or less fully trust Zahndrekh with himself, but likely wouldn't be as fond of him. Love him? Unfortunately probably, but I think there would be a part of him also regularly revolted and / or exhausted by him lol
And, as far as the actual work goes, Obyron would likely actually have a somewhat easier time than in canon, because of Zahndrekh not adhering strictly to the honor code and also having a more dangerous reputation enough that he’s targeted less on average. Things probably get done much more quickly and efficiently, even if more brutally.
Though I will also say, especially in the early days, I could see Zahndrekh as occasionally 'testing Obyron's loyalty' by including him in his games, which really likely would test Obyron's loyalty, and patience, and frustration tolerance. But this would happen less with time, and therefore become something moved past.
But there's one very crucial similarity. It's rooted in what I'd mentioned in that other post, the comparison of a lonely child pulling legs off a bug? As Obyron comes to better understand Zahndrekh over the years, there is a...somewhat disturbing 'truth' lying beneath Zahndrekh's behavior. In a lot of instances, most instances even, Zahndrekh is being sincere.
It's kind of horrible how much he relishes in playing his games, in 'winning', really in how he sees the 'world' overall, but the truth of the matter is that...he’s detached. This is his only real avenue for connecting with the world around him, at least in his own mind. There's an almost childlike simplicity about it all that, the more Obyron comes to build this understanding, the more sympathy he feels for him.
That the only value and drive Zahndrekh has for existing is to constantly keep himself engaged like this is...miserable. But what makes it worse is that, for someone in his position, he’s not really wrong. I've said it before and I'll say it again, he’s not wrong enough for it to matter, for any change to come of it. His position, level of intelligence, loneliness, and lack of empathy really does almost sever him from true connection, and it's why he’s so open and trusting with Obyron. Obyron is one of the only people he can actually completely just trust, and has proven this time and time again.
He’s been both roughly shaped and abandoned by their society as a whole, which seems to be very common for particularly unlucky nobility. There's such a heavy emphasis on individualism for them, everything about their social structure is so heavily leaned into what you can get out of others, what benefit they serve you, so for someone like Zahndrekh, with an especially ruthless upbringing, there's little to no room for...anything else.
All he has is war, legacy, despite there being a part of him that craves more. That craves companionship. And the more clearly Obyron sees this for what it is, it makes him much softer on Zahndrekh, in his own mind. He might be monstrous, but, well, he's Obyron's monster, and...bitch and moan as he might, he doesn't actually mind so much. Usually.
But it's much more complicated in the ship focused variant.
Even in the 'canon aligned' version, one of the most unsettling things about Zahndrekh in the early years was how he would skirt along the line of flirtations and...implications, every so often. That was one of those 'facets' Obyron was worried about. He couldn't tell if Zahndrekh just found it fun to make him uncomfortable, or if he was actually, to some degree, stating intent it was only a matter of time before he acted on.
While in that version, it is a bit cruel at first, but turns into genuinely fond teasing, in the ship oriented version, the latter is actually true...sort of.
One of the flaws with their canon relationship, as I see it, is the way both of them tend to assume or avoid a lot of things about each other. They've locked themselves in this cycle where, they're so familiar with each other, but by so rarely if ever communicating properly, any assumptions tend to distort their understanding to a degree, and the more this cycle goes on, the more it can distort and destabilize.
Obviously this is massively compounded by immorality, so back in the times of flesh I don't see it as having as much room to flourish into that sort of a train wreck, especially without the additional pressures of...everything else going on at that point. But still, I see this as always being a pattern they fell into.
With these two in this AU, this is a very relevant part of their dynamic, the assumption, understanding, misalignment carousel.
One of Zahndrekh's greatest strengths is puzzling others out to a frightening degree, but he’s often looking for very specific tells. He doesn't really understand how biased he is because most of the people he’s attuned to are other nobles. So while he’s typically very good at reading others, there are things about Obyron he either misunderstands or doesn't view in the same light as Obyron would.
Obyron, unfortunately, does find him attractive. So when Zahndrekh flirts with him, and receives perceived positive response, he feels more confident gradually leaning into it. It's what they both want, after all, and it could also even work in his favor, as far as sowing loyalty, if he’s providing an incentive for Obyron like getting to have fantastic sex with his hot boss.
To other nobles, sure, of course it would appear he’s just capitalizing on having an extremely attractive vargard at his beck and call, but he knows Obyron wants this and clearly enjoys it. And that's pretty much where the thought ends. Any nerves Obyron displays just read more as anxiety about getting caught, or worrying about unintentionally showing disrespect Zahndrekh might punish him for.
Now the problem is that he does. Obyron does enjoy it, Zahndrekh never presses him to do anything disgusting or too degrading, so for the most part, once he’s finally made that final push to actually 'inviting' Obyron and they start fucking, it's...pretty much just good, if a bit intense, sex. But the thing is, Obyron didn't feel like he was offered an invitation, he knows he was ordered to please his master. It's more a happy accident it isn't awful for him.
So things between them start off significantly more tense, with a very toxic power imbalance situation going on, but also a genuine sort of misunderstanding as well. Still, it puts them at a significant disadvantage for things to grow into something better, because of this carousel. They keep thinking they're learning to understand each other better, but they're basing these understandings off, usually incorrect, assumptions.
As the years tread on, Zahndrekh grows more comfortable and confident in their relationship, while Obyron feels more and more like a beloved pet that Zahndrekh entirely enjoys wielding such power over. The novelty wears off, and Obyron begins to genuinely resent him. This is in no way helped by the way Zahndrekh leans into the master / servant thing, in what is a playful and fond way to him, but a degrading and antagonistic way for Obyron, even going so far as teasing him publicly on occasion. Never to an outrageous degree, but certainly something so improper to even vaguely imply that he really only gets away with it so easily because of his blood and reputation.
Instead of a series of instances where they grow closer over the years, in this version, things only get worse until an event that finally breaks them of the cycle, at least temporarily enough to make a change for the better (not unlike Severed did in canon). Since the ship variant is sort of paradoxically several potential variants in a trench coat, the exact event could vary depending on mood or inspiration.
But the initial 'event' idea, even one of the earliest specific sequences I got with these two, is a situation in which Zahndrekh has been captured, and his captors believe Obyron could even be an ally, given the way their relationship looks...to pretty much everyone else but Zahndrekh. And with some convincing, he goes along with it. Maybe he has had enough. Why put himself through this if he doesn't need to? He could finally be rid of Zahndrekh.
And this leads to a situation where Obyron is left alone with him, permitted to do whatever he sees fit, while Zahndrekh is bound and helpless, terribly weak from poor keeping conditions, but believing Obyron had been leading the captors on to this point so he could free Zahndrekh and give him any information he's gathered so he could form a plan for their escape.
This is not the case. Obyron, for the first time in all the years they'd been together, is honest with him, telling him he agreed to help them willingly, he has no intention of helping Zahndrekh, the fact he is so arrogant as to believe that alone is enough to make Obyron even angrier, asking how he could possibly believe that after the way he’s treated him all this time. He muses that perhaps he should put Zahndrekh through similar treatment so that he can understand even a fraction, weighing that against just finally killing him and being rid of him.
Zahndrekh is so bewildered, he can only think to argue weakly, seeming to believe the enemy has simply gotten inside Obyron's head and twisted his thoughts around, that Obyron loves him, he knows this, he doesn't want to do this, other similar sentiments. To get him to stop, Obyron smacks him, and in his current condition, it's enough fracture Zahndrekh's jaw and send him to the ground.
Finally seeing the first beginnings of reality dawn on Zahndrekh turns the anger from fire to ice, and he drags Zahndrekh back to where he was, still internally contemplating what to do with him, disgusted, not actually wanting to go so far as to 'punish' Zahndrekh himself, but there's something about the scene, as Zahndrekh starts shaking and can't look him in the eyes, visibly disoriented and terrified, impossibly fragile in every sense, that his earlier pleading starts to trickle back in to Obyron's mind.
Did he really believe all this time that Obyron loved him? Was he just desperate to try and manipulate his way out of this? Given his current state, that doesn't seem so. And as he watches a drop of blood roll down from the wound on the side of Zahndrekh's face, the reality of the situation begins to come into focus.
Zahndrekh...actually thought he loved him. Actually thought they were something to each other rather than a belonging and its owner. And, frankly, aside from the mental strain of how he'd be understanding their 'relationship', Zahndrekh had never really treated him terribly (an aside from Me but that's by necrontyr standards let's not get crazy here).
The point is. He comes to...the beginning of his realization about Zahndrekh's nature more canon adjacent Obyron does much earlier on. And slowly, he kneels before Zahndrekh and apologizes, undoing the binds. Zahndrekh was right. They'd just gotten into his head. He apologizes, and, still seeming quite disoriented, it takes a moment for Zahndrekh, staring at him, trembling and wide eyed, before he shifts forward into the awaiting embrace, nodding as Obyron continues apologizing and soothing him, until he’s finally stopped shaking.
Once he’s calmer and rested for a bit, Zahndrekh reorients seemingly quite easily, believing Obyron readily and quickly adjusting back into forming a plan for their escape. And despite still feeling almost insane for making this call, there was some part of Obyron that revolted against the idea of harming his master to begin with, and is relieved to fall back on following his orders.
And...despite everything, there is also a measure of curiosity. Was he wrong? Did Zahndrekh just masterfully manipulate him into doing exactly as he wanted? Or is his intuition right? Is there more to this than he'd realized before? Thus begins the period where things actually start to shift into something better.
They, of course, escape and recover and Zahndrekh seems to have genuinely forgiven and moved on from that little 'slip', even when Obyron tries to apologize more properly. Zahndrekh just laughs, insisting he knew Obyron would come to his senses, and it was by his skill they managed to escape intact, so alls well that ends well. He suspects Zahndrekh is mostly just desperate to pretend it never even happened at all
And Obyron begins trying to understand things from Zahndrekh's perspective, as well as testing where he thought the boundaries lied before to see just how genuinely Zahndrekh believed them companions more than pet and master. Obviously this weighs favorably toward companions.
Direct communication is still...not great. But with a little work on Obyron's part, and with a clearer view of the bigger picture, he begins to feel much more comfortable with things. He truly is safe with Zahndrekh, as vile as he may be, he cares for Obyron deeply. His understanding of reality and position within it are...complicated. But now that he knows this, and now that he’s 'in on the joke' so to speak, things become much easier for him and he can relax into happily serving Zahndrekh as opposed to feeling like he’s just a particularly amusing toy.
(The brunt of the work of course falls on Obyron, because of course it does, but, in fairness, Zahndrekh kinda wasn't actually doing that much wrong, it was mostly context, perception, and lack of trust that led to Obyron feeling miserable </3)
I'm kind of glancing over some aspects here and there, it's really kind of fucked up, but also tragic and bittersweet, and once they get through that and things start to actually progress for the better for a change, they both start to have more fun with tormenting the other nobles and having great sex aside 👍
I also want to take a moment to clarify, how accurate is Obyron's understanding of Zahndrekh's whole 'skewed reality' situation? Debatable, though as is the case with canon as well, I do believe he sees Zahndrekh in a more innocent light than is truth. Is Zahndrekh truly that un-self aware? Yes and No, it's tricky because of his whole denial thing. To some degree he’s incredibly self aware, to another those blind spots are one of his greatest weaknesses. While not as extreme as his delusions post-biotransference, there is a very strong thread between the two.
But, that being said, he does care about Obyron very much and really does want them to share in this whatever they have. He feels too divorced from the concept of love as he understands it to correlate his own feelings with it, but if asked, he'd offer some two halves of one whole metaphor, ykwim? And is it also somewhat unhealthily codependent? Oh yeah absolutely. They're very much weird about it, even at their best, but they're weird about it together and in the context of wh40 it's actually still kind of wholesome, similar to canon.
Due to way too many fucking words, I will not be broaching the subject of how both of these dynamics change post biotransference. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. If you actually read this whole thing I'm genuinely shocked and impressed and also sorry. Please drink some water or something. Okay bye
