Okay I want to talk about my Fix-It fic for a moment because while i’m writing Chap 6 (2,500 words in!!) i’m discovering something
This isn’t just a fix-it for keeping Crick alive, it’s a fix-it for Temenos too.
During the canon game events, Temenos never learns to let his mask fall. He doesn’t open up, nor shows his true, raw emotions. The only time his mask does fall is stated directly by Arcanette/Mindt. He gets angry, a feeling that he usually keeps far bellow, covered by snide comments and such. But when she goes as far as using his late friends’ and families’ names in vain, he is PISSED. And in that moment, its confirmed (which subtext already does this but for people who cant read inbetween lines lolol) that he DOES have a mask. His personality is not just a sarcastic, doubtful, and know-it-all cleric, but a deep, thoughful, emotional, and caring one.
I think this is partly due to all the death of his loved ones. First Roi (But i’m sure not knowing if he’s dead OR alive is even worse for Tem), then the Pontiff, and then finally Crick. Temenos does want bonds, he does want connections, but he’s afraid to lose them at this point, fearing that if they wished to join in his searches for the truth, it would only bring pain or death. So he puts on that mask, that mask to drive others away by purely annoying them in some cases (like with the lamb comments). This isn’t in all cases, like with the villagers of Flamechurch or the Travelers, but in those cases I think he just believed that they wouldn’t impact him so much as to want to join in his search for answers (in which the Travelers’ case he was oh so wrong lmao).
With my fic, sure, the main focus is just Crick being alive and me being in denial, yadda yadda yadda yeah. But writing the newest chapter makes me realize that I’m letting his mask fall.
With Crick still breathing and not dead, despite being unconscious, gives Temenos a lot of feelings. Overwhelming ones. Ones that he can’t keep inside himself. This is shown in chapter 2 with the moment with him, Agnea, and Throné, but so much more prominently in Chap. 6 (i swear it’ll be done soon and i’ll stop teasinf sbout it). I’ve dived into his relationship with him and Ochette, and frankly, I didn’t expect to be writing ANY significant scenes with Ochette. But with her being my protagonist when I played, i’ve come to love and understand her, too. She’s not just a bundle of joy. She can understand pain and sorrow, even moreso than humans. She just doesn’t let it consume her in a healthy manner. Which is a direct contrast to Temenos, who doesn’t let it consume him on the outside, but it devours him on the inside, eating himself from the inside out.
I just wanted to yap for a bit so i’ll stop here so that I can actually finish writing this section before 2am but yeah i wanted to talk about this!!