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fantomette22 · 2 years

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Laurence, First Vicar of the Healing Church!

I wanted to share my drawings & designs for Laurence. Some thoughts and headcanons.

I'm not going to go into details or into a serious analysis of one of the more interesting and important character of Bloodborne. It's not the purpose of this post. Take this as a funny post of a fan who just want to share what's on her mind/& dumb headcanons. There's a lot of things I didn't thought about yet (thank you confusing bloodborne timeline <3) and I will probably forget a few things/will not talk about everything because there's too much things ! So don't hesitate to ask questions & I will try to answer.

I’m really surprise to enjoy this character that much. I can't stop drawing /imagining stuff about him. He's not my favorite character at all, but well it's Laurence. I didn't thought he would left such a big impression on me. Such a tragic and interesting character...

My personal interpretations of Laurence in game are either :

THE DEVIL. All the conspiracy theories about the Church are true (poisoning of old Yharnam, give the blood to Cainhurst...). He could be really vile and manipulative character with everything that goes with it. truly an evil characters...

But I prefer to picture him as a more nuanced character. I think he really wanted to help the every life of people. It works for some times before everything went down. He did some mistakes, his ego keep growing and then he realizes too late his mistake. He try to made things right but... it was already too late.

So i'm going with the mostly second one here ^^

When I listened to his theme I can easily picture and imagined all his life and the healing church (like Gherman theme too...). It's a wonderful and amazing tracks... So tragic...I can feel the pain he must have feel before turning into a beast. Full of regret...

I did a bunch of designs. An evolution through the years (like the Gehrman ones X). But if I had to choose only 1 representation.

That would be this one :

Yeah I know what you might think. "Doesn't he looks a bit like the messiah of the Ch/ristians ?! Aka J-e-s-u-s C-h-r-i-s-t"

I'm sorry, but with all the religious symbolism in Bloodborne I can only pictured him looking a bit similar to some religious figures really easily... that's the vibe that he gives me... And I think it suits him.

Now headcanons ! (But more based from my story) :

So let's begin with a "funny" little thing. See how Cleric beast Laurence dramatically sit ?

When he spend a long time sitting he often tend to sit like this. When he was alone, with people close to him or that he knows well. He reads books like this, fell asleep like this. He just can't sit properly in a chair XD

Laurence is small. Well not really too small, he's about size of our hunter (1.7-1.8 m approximately) but Yharnamites are 2m+ tall so XD. So yes he have a foreigner size. At least one if not both of his parents are foreigners. That's why.

But don't let this lower your guard ! He's really strong. In a bar fight you should be worried about him. He can throw someone bigger than him above the bar...

Because of his smaller corpulence he can get drunk really fast. That's why he created the pungent blood cocktail lmao. Gehrman carry him way to much time on his back because of it. They were not BFF for nothing!

After the healing church was found/ gain autonomy he got a horse. A little white horse (still didn’t decided of a name yet..I thought something in Latin…). The horse have a normal size but for a Yharnamite it’s small XD. I did draw smt about it but it’s not really good & I can’t had more pics so… just imagine Laurence on his horse, beside him, on one side you have Maria, on the other you have Gehrman. Both on bigger black horses, like the ones that take us to Cainhurst XD

Student/ teacher Laurence at Byrgenwerth

He's a man of science and religion. He has a doctorate (or some kind of diploma) but is also kind of a priest too.

He was raised in Byrgenwerth. He saw Willem as some kind of father figure I think. That's where he basically almost meet everyone. (Everybody from the old hunter era : Maria, Brador, Caryll, Ludwig? Micolash, Rom, The hunters...& obliviously Gehrman ).

So here you have a really young Laurence. When he was a student (left). And then he became a teacher at Byrgenwerth before founding the Healing Church. He teach a few classes (bio, medicine, theology...) He really care for his students and try his best to help them overcome difficulties and give them the best conditions he could.

+3rd wheel Laurence XD (I do have a crappy lil sketch with the full characters but I’m not sure if I’m gonna share it… just imagined any characters. Or 2 people talking about their favorite meal, that Laurence dislike 😂

And Vicar Laurence ! Pre & post fishing Hamlet

A lot of people seems to depicted him like this too (left pic). It's just the big vibes he gives to everyone. it just makes sense. Look at this charismatic leader.

((He didn't became Vicar right after the foundation of the healing Church. Religion wasn't the big influence we know the healing church have. An old high priest was in charge of Yharnam. After the church gain in power & influence. The Bishop of the region? appointed him Vicar).

He got the scar on his eyebrow at the Hamlet...

(Actually the Research hall incident may have happened between this two designs (I can't decide...)

Also here is a really tired Laurence :

Being a Vicar is not an easy job…

The guardian of the Astral Clocktower, your friend is dead.

Because of this, the research hall is a mess. All the patients are either dead, dying or have gone mad and try to hurt people.

Your best friend has become an emotional mess. The recent events seems to have deeply affect him. He doesn’t have control over the others hunters anymore. Some seems do be drunk and attack everything.

The beast scourge is still growing, night after night. People are scared and asking more questions.

And the relationship between the Church and Cainhurst is deteriorating…

Yes he got founding from Cainhurst too at the beginning of the church. There was a time when they were allies. He didn't imagined they would stole the forbidden blood and use it for their own egoist interest...have secrets concerning the tombs... even abandonned their own sometimes... begin to kill people... So why not play along with it. Why not use them & see how they try to reach evolution... And then take everything from them.

Older Laurence : Pre and Post beckon of the Moon Presence

Thanks to the blood he aged really good. Until they try to summon MP… he looks like a half transformed beast sometimes. He even loose some teeths (his human skull in the nightmare is missing quite a few).

So I believed the MP beckoning went terribly wrong… people dies, get turn into beasts… the Blood Moon isn’t really the best of thing…. He got a bigger scar + bandages because of this. And see how his beast skull got a huge cracks…

« He wanted me to give him eyes on the inside » says Flora, « I gave him what he wanted ».

G : « You rip his skull open to put eyes directly in it ! »

« Yes, that’s how everyone do it »

About beast / cleric beast Laurence

I do believe in the Bloodletting beast = Laurence. Or maybe even a mixt of this & his nightmare form. I also think the version we saw in the nightmare is a nightmarish version of him.

Other things

He's obsessed with the Watchdog of the old lords ! He found it so fascinating. After it was defeat, Laurence took sample of blood from it to try to study the creature and how it could be in fire. He even inject himself blood from the fire beast... (So he could trow fire in his beast form after being burn by molotov yeah).

Yeah...he has some issues with fire... Old...Yharnam...HM...

He's obsessed with the Old Blood too if it's not obvious...

I also believed he took weapons to fight beast/ fight in the dungeon sometimes. Either with the church pick, the blood letter or a beast built thanks to the beast embrace rune. (Or all 3 at the same time).

Last little thing

I headcanon that this guy, the nightmare executioner who’s guarding the grand cathedral in the nightmare was Laurence bodyguard too. (But you already know that. More here & here)

#bloodborne #my art #laurence the first vicar #bloodborne headcanon #bloodborne art #Laurence design #finally ! I’ve been on this for days… & I got to paste everything again…#there’s also Gehrman matching design !#i can’t post more than 10 pics so I did what I could #i like some characters lore but I can’t stop imagining/ drawing stuff about him #i don’t intend to offend anyone with the Laurence/JC thing I’m sorry if I did that’s not my intention at all #Bloodborne fromsoftware #my post #fantomette22art

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sealwithfeels · 10 months

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I finished Fire Emblem 4: Genealogy of the Holy War!

Wew after 50 hours I'm finally finished! It certainly was an experience, and on the whole worthwhile. Excellent story and the gameplay was an interesting divergence, but had flaws mostly in that it could be a bit of a slog as turns took ages.

Some general thoughts

Played the Project Naga translation patch, hence some names and thoughts might only apply to that.

The storytelling is very different to modern Fire Emblem, but has its own charm. It's a lot more like a histoy book or epic stage play, and it's got its strengths and weaknesses. The story is told on a grand scale by a few major players, so it feels suitably epic and dignified, but at the cost of supporting characters falling by the wayside. The lack of support conversations hurts minor characters a lot here, although the conversation events do help a bit.

The game has so many funky little differences to regular FE, like everyone having their own reserves of gold, no one is able to trade but you have to use the pawnbroker instead, weapons (and some staves) have 50 uses and can be repaired from broken and repairing them enough powers them up, and abusing the arena is encouraged. All of these odd quirks quickly become quite endearing and give the game its own character, although if you don't know how to properly use them I can imagine them being more annoying than fun.

What is less fun is that the maps are HUGE and they take ages to complete. Or rather, the huge maps let you feel the scope of the story and there are some really fun tactical bits, but there are also some real bullshit things it drops on you that are more of a slog than anything, and often large stretches where you're just moving your units across the map without anything interesting happening. But making your way across the map and seeing all of the other characters (enemy, neutral or ally) acting and reacting makes it feel more alive and immersive as a game.

Horse Emblem is real here, and anyone who doesn't have a horse really falls behind when it comes to traversing maps. Ayra and her kids (Ayra x Lex OTP btw) turned out so strong, but it was so hard to use them because they just couldn't move as far ;_;

Ced with Forseti is absurd, but lacks a horse.

The pairing system is obtuse and inheritance is kind of terrifying at first, but fun to plan out. I definitely got some unintended pairings out of nowhere (Sylvia x Alec wtf) but most of them were planned and the kids were set up appropriately, and let me tell you it's very fun to make broken demigod child units /Awakening player

The ending bit was really cool, very modular and they all said their goodbyes in a way that felt pretty natural, and it was great to see everyone still alive and going off to rule well in the world. Except Verdane, Verdane got screwed because Jamke didn't marry anyone.

Oof I got some kind of glitch that set everyone's 'losses' to 116, even those that didn't fight, and my combat ranking was an E.

I really liked the story itself, and a lot of the characters stood out to me, even though I wished many of them had more dialogue and relevance. Often you'd get characters making a strong impression only to fade into the background, occasionally popping up again.

I definitely see all the inspirations that modern FE took from this. Awakening got the generational story and shipping system and demigod child soldiers. Three Houses got the epic scope and fleshed-out worldbuilding, and Edelgard owes a lot to Arvis (and I kinda wish she was more unapologetically villainous despite good intentions like he was, she feels like a watered down version, but I still <3 her), and the academy aspect probably draws from Sigurd and Eldigan's shared backstory. Fates got the incest. idk about Engage

Would I recommend it? To someone who's familiar with SRPGs, interested in a more epic grandiose story, and has a lot of patience, yes! To a newcomer or FE fan who is here for the anime hijinks and shipping, maaaaybe, depends on how appealing the gameplay all sounds - but if interested in the story and characters I'd still reccommend watching a playthrough.

Not sure where I'd personally rank it out of all the FE I've played, but story-wise it's definitely up there, gameplay-wise it's perhaps less so.

#fire emblem #fire emblem 4 #fire emblem genealogy of the holy war #fire emblem 4 spoilers #fire emblem 4 review #kinda review also sort of just thoughts and opinions #video games

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iztopher · 2 years

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hi. at this point it may be evident what i'm about to say. but for that ask meme: ALL OF THE QUESTIONS

JHFDASK YESSSS okay here we go!!!

1. Art programs you have but don't use: Clip Studio Paint!! I pretty much ONLY use it for the grid and text feature, otherwise I don't like the workflow haha

2. Is it easier to draw someone facing left or right (or forward even): Drawing in profile is the same to me from either direction, but for 3/4 view, I naturally gravitate towards / find it easier to draw people facing left

3. What ideas come from when you were little: Since I've been into Aveyond for so long, and that's what I mostly draw, I have a lot of ideas that pretty much originated as "I wanted to draw this as a kid and didn't have the skill to"!

4. Fav character/subject that's a bitch to draw: Te'ijal and also Galahad. it's the hair.

5. Estimate of how much of your art you post online vs. the art you keep for yourself: Finished art I'd say I share a good 90% of it! Once we get into sketches... hoo boy, maybe 40%?

6. Anything that might inspire you subconsciously (i.e. this horse wasn't supposed to look like the Last Unicorn but I see it): Whatever this is, it's either too specific to the piece or too subconscious for me to think of it

7. A medium of art you don't work in but appreciate: traditional illustration, painting, watercolor...

8. What's an old project idea that you've lost interest in: A heads up that my answer to this is sad but I'm trying to talk about this type of stuff relatively openly, so: spring 2021, I watched Willy's Wonderland for the first time w/ Ishti + Moonie; we kept talking about a Galahad & Mel AU for it. I had two pictures for it planned, and I drew one of them, and... the timing worked out where Moonie never got to see it, and I've lost the motivation to do the second one. But I like the first one and I'm glad I drew it and I take some comfort/peace in the fact that I was working on something I was excited to share with her at the time.

9. What are your file name conventions: I have a folder for all my art, a subfolder for every year, and then a subfolder for every month, which means there isn't that much overlap! so unless I have a funny title idea my file name conventions are generally pretty straightforward: "mella1.sai", "teijalahad.sai", "teijalstudy.sai" etc etc

10. Favorite piece of clothing to draw: Does armor count? If not, gambesons.

11. Do you listen to anything while drawing? If so, what: Yes!!! Pretty much always music, occasionally video essays. Usually I'll pick a song and play it on loop, or if I'm in the mood for more variety I'll pick a playlist or an artist and listen through that. I also really like drawing while on call with people.

12. Easiest part of body to draw: I'm so sorry for my answer. Boobs.

13. A creator who you admire but whose work isn't your thing: I'm not sure I have an answer for this one, actually - there's a lot of artists I like the work of who I wouldn't want to emulate, but that feels different to me?

14. Any favorite motifs: Not really, in theory I really love flowers but I almost never draw them

15. *Where* do you draw (don't drop your ip address this just means do you doodle at a park or smth): I used to draw pretty much everywhere, but post chronic pain it's my desk only because using a tablet hurts wayyy less than a sketchbook!

16. Something you are good at but don't really have fun doing: Landscapes / natural areas from photographs lol

17. Do you eat/drink when drawing? if so, what: Water ALL the time, coffee if it lines up properly

18. An estimate of how much art supplies you've broken: Very few!! Probably less than 10. I mostly draw digitally

19. Favorite inanimate objects to draw (food, nature, etc.): ARMOR AND WEAPONS

20. Something everyone else finds hard to draw but you enjoy: Hands and armor!

21. Art styles nothing like your own but you like anyways: Honestly the art styles unlike mine that I like tend to be ones... I wish I had... I'm really drawn to realistic, somber, softer stuff

22. What physical exercises do you do before drawing, if any: Tendon gliding exercises! Tbh I should start doing more, it might help

23. Do you use different layer modes: VERY rarely, mostly not

24. Do your references include stock images: Yessss

25. Something your art has been compared to that you were NOT inspired by: I KNOW this has happened but I'm totally blanking on it

26. What's a piece that got a wildly different interpretation from what you intended: I'm not sure if this counts but pretty much any time I get a "cute!" response on a te'ijalahad picture I'm like oh no please do not say that,

27. Do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? If so, what is it you draw to warm up with: I tend to warm up by drawing a headshot of the character I'm going to be drawing, but lately I've been trying to shift to warm ups that are more focused on like, the action of drawing and loosening up

28. Any art events you have participated in the past (like zines): I participated in a zine that ended up not happening, and I've done several fandom exchanges!! Mostly the Aveyond Winter Exchange, but also the Oneshot Podcast Network exchange on AO3 (yeah it was AO3 but I did art for it)

29. Media you love, but doesn't inspire you artistically: Infinity Train!!! absolutely adore it, the art style doesn't really inspire me at all & because I got into it in the thick of my hand pain I never got used to drawing it

30. What piece of yours do you think is underrated: None! I mostly draw Aveyond so pretty much all of my art is in the 1-10 response zone so it all feels pretty consistent gdjkgklsdf

#dear mel #THANK UUU <3333

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smuggsy · 2 years

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Of drowners, honey and apple pie.

Aiden's behind the counter when a witcher strolls in to take on their drowner contract. He's smitten on the spot.

A human-Aiden/witcher-Lambert AU. (Or, in which Lambert gets his own Jaskier, but it's Aiden, as an innkeeper.) Rating: M. Word count: +2700 #hurt/comfort #mutual-pining #first-meetings #blood-and-injury. READ UNDER THE CUT or on my AO3.

>>><<<

The first thing that crosses Aiden's mind when he sees the broody, dark and towering figure stepping into the inn and slamming down that paper notice against the counter, is that the tales are true.

Witchers are huge.

And menacing.

Tall and mysterious and threatening and.

Handsome.

"You the owner?" the man asks, voice low and red curls framing each side of that scowl. Aiden stares for only a little bit.

"Yes," he blurts out, and the witcher's scowl only grows bigger as he looks him up and down, certainly finding him a tad bit young to be running a tavern on his own, so he adds: "my father. But you can talk to me."

It's a cloudy and humid day and it's still too early, not enough people at their tables to speak an ill word.

He turns around and places a cup of ale in front of the man, who's already taken a seat, big pair of swords on his back and a small drizzle still visible on his bushy beard.

"On the house," Aiden says, trying not to stare too much into those enticing yellow eyes. He nods towards the drowner's contract, "call it a token of good faith."

The witcher scoffs.

"Geez, thanks," he says, clearly sarcastic but downing half the cup in the blink of an eye, "but I take payment after the job is done."

The second thing that crosses Aiden's mind at the sight of a witcher sitting across with a smirk and eyes wandering about like he's expecting someone to square up and pick a fight, is that the tales are also exaggerated. This man isn't sneering at him, baring his teeth or being particularly violent about their transaction.

Aiden wants to grab a towel, walk over and dry his damp hair, guide him upstairs and draw him a hot bath and let him take that heavy armour off.

"Don't need bribing, I won't take off with your coin."

"Good to hear, master witcher."

The redhead snaps his attention back to him at the title — he looks like he's going to call him on it for a moment, seizes him up and down for the second time like he didn't properly look at him before, and downs the rest of the ale without a word.

"Didn't think you would," Aiden adds absent-mindedly, wiping a cloth over the length of the counter and stuffing a couple of used cups down in a bucket for rinsing.

The rest goes unsaid.

He, unlike many other people, isn't a prejudiced and ungrateful brat.

Witchers kill monsters. Monsters kill people. Not very difficult to be considerate and thankful if you ask him.

Still, the man holds himself stiff and straight and tense, almost as if he's waiting for an unkind word, prepared to lash out in consequence.

Aiden feels responsible, a sudden urge to reassure him of... well. Of something. He looks like he needs a bit of reassurance. So Aiden returns a few cold looks to their clientele and talks loud and clear to prevent any future quarrel.

It's a good thing his father's taken ill tonight.

"I'll fix you a room."

"No need," comes the instant reply, "won't stay the night."

And if he's a little disappointed at that, nobody needs to know.

"Well, let me tend to your horse, at least," Aiden offers, wiping his hands down on his apron before tossing it onto the cupboard behind, "I'll point you to the lake."

He grabs an apple on his way outside and doesn't wait for the witcher to reply.

>>><<<

He forgets all about the handsome knight in witcher armour for the rest of the evening. Understaffed as they are, Ralph is a bit tipsy on his toes by the time Aiden asks him for help. He gets the meals to the wrong tables and carries four cups in each hand and spills them before he sets them down.

Everyone's too drunk to pay it any mind and Aiden stays up an extra hour swiping the floor and piling up dirty plates and cutlery in what looks like an endless morning of doing the dishes.

Room doors slam closed and even the occasional but unmistakable sounds of sex die down soon enough. Aiden is dozing off himself when the main door slams open against the wall.

He knocks his head on the table where he'd been crouching down with a muddy cloth and looks up groggily, ready to lash out at whoever's so royally shitfaced they don't realise the place is already closed — but bolts right up at the sight of the redhead from earlier dragging his feet through the door with a groan.

"Shit," he blurts out half-asleep, "you're drenched!"

And visibly hurt.

He runs over and puts a hand around the other man's waist without thinking twice of it. The witcher's hair has gone dark and falls around his eyes and cheeks, plastered to his skin and almost hiding it altogether. He's bending down and clutching at his stomach like he's been stabbed.

And Aiden thinks perhaps he's been stabbed.

"Do you need a healer?"

The man slumps down on the closest seat with a groan, almost bringing Aiden down on top of him — and Aiden realises with a blush that his hand around the man's waist wasn't really doing anything.

"I'm fine," he blurts out, but the way he keeps that bloodied hand to his stomach makes Aiden pull a face and kneel down to have a look. The position gains him an unhappy growl, "I said I'm— for fuck's sake."

"You say you're fine, master witcher, but—"

But his words swim away somewhere he can't catch them, because when he looks up those eyes aren't yellow anymore, they're pitch black and there's dark all around them, skin looking sickeningly white, not-human.

Mutant.

It's an unsettling sight. In a fascinating, dark and enthralling kind of way.

Aiden forgets what he was going to say.

"My coin," the witcher growls again, sitting back straight and shuffling back on his seat, away from Aiden still kneeling down and staring like a dumbstruck child.

"Yes, uh, yes, I have it," he stands up sloppily, "but you need a healer."

The witcher catches his hand before he slips away.

"No healer."

He bares his teeth and his cold fingers close around Aiden's wrist with deadly force. The growl he lets out next sounds more animalistic.

"Fine," Aiden concedes grumpily, and the witcher lets go, "a bed. You are bleeding, sir, and I won't have it said that I sent you away to die in the woods by some... drowner-infection thing or other. It was our contract you took on."

He puts on a serious face. The same one he uses when he's got no choice but to step in to prevent a brawl that'll end with teeth being knocked about and chairs being replaced.

"You talk too much."

>>><<<

Against all odds, he does manage to make the gruffly handsome mutant climb up the stairs and sit down on a bed and take his armour off. Aiden tries not to stare too much and busies himself with gathering supplies. Bandages and alcohol. A clean shirt. A clean cloth. A towel.

"This is your room," the witcher says after a while, looking around and taking in the trinkets hanging on the walls, a dream catcher, a door leading to the bath, clothes folded neatly in a corner by the window.

Aiden kneels down in front of the man for the second time and makes an agreeing sound, thoughts somewhere else as he dampens the cloth with their strongest drink and waits for the witcher to discard the last of his clothes.

He thinks perhaps he knelt down a bit too eagerly, seeing as he has to shift back to give him space to take his shirt off.

"It smells like you."

The redhead tosses his crumpled bloody shirt to the floor and looks back at Aiden.

The yellow eyes are back.

"Ah," is what Aiden he manages out, clearing his throat, because what the hell is that supposed to mean? He's turning red and the witcher laughs.

"You smell like..." he takes a deep draw of air in and his eyes flutter closed, Aiden has to hold his own breath instead, "...honey and apple pie."

Right.

Witchers, enhanced senses and all that.

He can probably hear Aiden's heart hammering inside his ribcage. Probably what he's finding so amusing.

"That was a compliment, by the way. It means you smell good."

Aiden clears his throat awkwardly.

"I'm... glad."

He can't say he's ever been told he 'smells' in a complimentary way. Surely it's the fairer sex that get that kind of wooing feedback on their efforts using salts and scents. Not him.

"I mean— thanks. I guess?"

The man makes a non-committal sound and Aiden glances up briefly to see him staring.

He doesn't understand how he can smell anything other than disgusting after busting his ass running the place on his own for a whole day and probably having been puked on at some point or other trying to get someone off the grimey floorboards.

If Aiden didn't know better, he'd think his witcher was blurting out stuff on account of his blood loss. But the man doesn't seem particularly bothered by the gushing red wound on his abdomen. In fact, he only seems to remember its existence when Aiden goes to wipe off the blood from the surrounding area, and those fingers come to wrap around his wrist to prevent him from it almost immediately.

"I can do that myself," he says, and Aiden isn't sure if he's apologetic, embarrassed or distrustful.

"I don't mind," Aiden offers softly, can't help but let his eyes trace the witcher's fingers wrapped gently around his wrist this time, his arm is tanned and muscular and by the low light of two candles Aiden counts at least three different scars up to his elbow.

"Lambert."

It's late. The inn is quiet. He's exhausted and he's absolutely positive he's going to get an earful from his father when he's back in health and learns that he let a witcher in.

Into the place. Into his room. And fuck if he doesn't want to let him into his mouth and his pants just as well. Let him do anything.

"Wha'?" he breathes out, dazed, barely a whisper.

"My name. Lambert."

It's Aiden who tears his eyes away, down to the wound that looks like it's already healing.

"So you'll stop that 'master witcher' nonsense," Lambert adds. Aiden pours more alcohol into the cloth and gently wipes the dried blood off the witcher's bruised skin, avoiding the open wound and thinking that perhaps he was a bit hasty in bringing him up here.

Because he's getting too comfortable now, and Aiden's going to insist he stay the night, because he can't just send him away when he looks like he hasn't had a proper sleep in days. And he probably hasn't and probably doesn't very often. Because people are stupid and cruel.

"Well? You're just gonna leave me hangin' like that?"

"Hmm? Oh! Aiden. I'm Aiden," he puts the cork back on the bottle and stands up with a roll of bandages. Lambert barely has to look up to meet his eyes again, because even sitting down on that old mattress he's a towering figure.

"Those won't be necessary. It's already closing up, I told you I was fine."

"And yet, here you are."

The witcher shows him a grin and grabs the offered towel and starts drying off his hair, rubbing it over his rebel curls almost aggressively.

"Well, Aiden. I could tell you were going to pester me until I followed ya. So I did," he throws the towel back without warning, Aiden catches it, "happy?"

"Very. And I may smell like honey and apple but you stink of—"

"—drowner guts? Sewage? Rotten fish corpse?"

Aiden scrunches up his nose and glances to the witcher's firmly laced leather boots.

"I was going to say mud and horseshit, but you know better. Either way you need to wash up and that is not a request, sir."

Lambert regards him with a smirk and Aiden tries not to switch nervously from foot to foot at the scrutiny in his eyes. The witcher looks him up and down slowly and just slightly cocks his head to a side, as if in consideration.

It makes him feel like some kind of pottery in display at the market.

"How about a bath, then?" he tells Aiden, standing up from the bed and hands flying to his trousers with a teasing air and that smirk still pulling at the corner of his lips.

Aiden most definitely trips over on his way to the door, eager to be of use and provide his imaginative mind some distraction but mostly eager to be away when the witcher pulls his tight black leather trousers down and climbs into the already half-filled tub.

"I'll fetch some hot water," he blurts out before disappearing down the stairs. Fairly certain he leaves Lambert laughing at his expense.

Well. He's clearly not in pain anymore.

>>><<<

He places chairs on top of tables and gives the floorboards a good last broom sweep as he fixes some bread and cheese on a plate and heats up a big cauldron of water. A lukewarm bath is the best he can manage at this unearthly hour, but it's certainly better than nothing.

Maybe he'll pour it in and let Lambert doze off for a bit and make the most of it. Gods know he looks like he hasn't had some quiet and peace for some time. Has probably grown so accustomed to the freezing cold waters of a passing stream and the hardened soil against his back that this is all a bit of a luxury to him.

Not that the witcher hasn't got the coin to pay for it, but rather... well. It's that places probably don't let him in.

Which is probably the reason why the man comes back downstairs only a few minutes before the water's boiling, armour back on and swords on his back and really, Aiden can't say he's surprised. His hair is dry now and the colour is back on his face, so that counts for something.

Lambert stops in front of the counter and all Aiden can do is place the plate with food in front of him. He doesn't have the energy to tell him off again, knowing it's falling on deaf ears.

"Let me guess," the witcher says, "on the house?"

Aiden smiles tiredly and turns around to smother the fire.

Lambert doesn't sit down at the counter, barely spares the bread a glance.

"I need to be in the next town over come morning," he explains, sounding less like the smirking witcher from the room and more like the stranger that walked in earlier. When Aiden turns back around, he looks like it, too.

Perhaps the man was counting on him making his night worthwhile and seeing as Aiden's clearly not offering such companionship — he wants to keep his head, thank you very much, and his father would have it along with his balls — Lambert's no longer interested in his 'pestering'.

"Can't be late. I'm meeting someone."

Aiden simply nods with another polite smile and places the payment on the counter.

"Two hundred. S'all there but you're welcome to count it, of course."

Lambert doesn't count it. He snatches the bag of coin and makes some kind of unhappy noise and glances to the door.

"Maybe I'll pop by on my way back," he says, and it sounds like a question.

"I'll be here," Aiden answers with a nod before realising his mistake. Yeah, he'll be here. Most likely no longer alone, and with no contracts pinned outside for Lambert to take he'll most likely be sent away with a sneer.

He doesn't want to tell him that, though. He wants Lambert to comeback.

"Good," the witcher says. When he leans over to grab a slice of cheese the swords rattle against his armour and Aiden has to hold his breath, "thanks, Aiden," he makes a toast in his direction before popping it in his mouth and turning away.

His heavy footsteps echo off the walls, piercing through the otherwise silent and empty air and it doesn't sound right. That he should walk away in the dead of night.

"Travel safe," Aiden offers out of habit, it makes the witcher stop at the door for the briefest of seconds before walking out, "Lambert."

#imagining paul bullion's lambert for this bc s2 hasn't come out but he already owns my ass #you can read this on my ao3 as well #laiden #lambert/aiden #aiden/lambert #the witcher fanfic #the witcher fanfiction #lambden fic #aiden #this was way overdue #i have a few more ideas for at least a follow-up story so wait for that. probably. if you liked this #my writing #the witcher #lambden #aiden just wants lambert to have nice things okay #when he meets jaskier they'll start a club #and co-write a manual: ''How to Care for Your Witcher 101''

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 years

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"In sandy soil, when deep you delve, you reach the springs below; The more you learn, the freer streams of wisdom flow." - Kural 396, Thirukkural, Thiruvalluvar.

Hana's first truly individual scene in Book 3 follows the pattern that a number of her diamond scenes have followed: learn from Hana, use her skills, get her insight to gain an advantage. These scenes are usually my favourite, because often Hana gets to give us an insight both into courtly life and into her inner mindscape.

The Cordonian Waltz scene gives us an insight into her broken engagement, the Moonflower Scene into her dilemma between staying true to herself and not being able to let go of her parents yet, and the Patisserie and Champagne scenes allow us to view her at different phases of her journey towards self actualization.

The Polo scene is, likewise, meant to improve the MC's skillset and provide her with an added edge in the next day's fundraising match. As is the case with dancing, baking, modelling, ice-skating and dressage, polo was one among the many skills Hana learned in order to bag a noble suitor. Skills whose uses she is beginning to question now.

Polo Moves

Playing polo for Portavira is not entirely about winning a match - it's about putting up a show worth watching for the crowd. This is a benefit match, meant to raise funds for the disaster-struck area, and it doesn't matter so much who wins or loses as it matters that people get their money's worth watching it.

Hana's gift does not lie simply in knowing how to impart skills, but in knowing which skills to impart. She understands the context of this match and what is truly important - she anticipates the needs of their audience and helps the MC deliver accordingly. Her polo lesson is as much about artistry and performance as it is about winning this match.

Hana imparts three important pieces of advice that will help us gain an advantage during the match: one focussed on the game aspect, and the other two on entertaining the crowd.

"Watch the line of the ball" helps the MC figure out how to ensure that she strikes a goal and wins. Her advice that "you can only cross [the ball's] path if there's no chance of someone running into you, or if no other players have the right of way" becomes effective in the match when the MC races Maxwell to the ball, understanding that if she distracts him adequately (either by mentioning a corgi or a dance party) she can earn sole right of way and score for her team. This allows the former Queen Regina, who is mostly silent the rest of the match, to compliment the MC on her skills ("what a play!").

The half-pass is primarily a well-known and often-judged dressage move, and a very challenging one. Unlike the easier leg yield - where the horse is bent only slightly away from the direction of travel - the half-pass is seen as more advanced, requiring greater balance, engagement, and collection from the horse. Denise Cummins, in her website The Thinking Equestrian, describes the half-pass thus: "The half-pass is not a trick. It is a skilled movement that requires the horse to have the proper muscle development and agility".

Essentially, Hana has managed to teach the MC an immensely difficult - and risky, were it a different horse (the MC's personal steed, if she has bought it, is a Derby champion and has proven to be skilled enough for dressage routines) - skill in the course of a single night.

Teaching this dressage move benefits the MC and her horse into two ways: it allows her horse to wow the crowd, and the "diagonal motion" ensures she reaches the ball before Neville does. The half-pass is more about the agility of the horse than it is about the grace or skills of the rider, so teaching her this move allows the crowd to "applaud [the horse's] elegant gait".

The other secret move that Hana passes on is one of her own invention: the windmill. She exhibits this skill when the MC asks her if there are moves she - and not just her horse - can exhibit to win over the crowd. Hana acknowledges that "riders don't usually do anything showy" but nevertheless has the perfect trick up her sleeve:

I think this tells us a lot more about Hana's intuition and perceptiveness than it does about her polo-playing skills. While yes, this move is largely a mark of her creativity and initiative, it also shows us her ability to go above and beyond the game itself to think of what could entertain the audience. For the windmill is a move that was clearly invented to be a crowd-pleaser, to draw attention to the player. This is a move that relies as much on dramatics and showmanship as on timing, allows the MC to look good, and is easy for the crowd to do as well.

If one opts for this diamond scene and gets the additional option of exhibiting this move, it results not only in the crowd enjoying it but also emulating it. Dozens of people are described "mimicking the 'windmill' with handheld flags and anything they can find at hand". Hana definitely knows what the people on the stands are looking for in a match, and is able to mould her skills to deliver just that - and in this lies her biggest gift. I will elaborate on this in a later section.

Skills and Passions

Before I go into the crux of this section - which is what Hana knows vs what interests her, I'd like to look back at a very interesting point Liam made about Hana in his Diplomacy diamond scene:

Hana's a tough one. She's clearly had the kind of lessons I'm giving you now, and then some. Her posture's almost always polite and attentive...but when she feels strongly about something, you can sense her real feelings even before she speaks up. Her eyes grow darker and more serious.

While the book does not explicitly mention her eyes, there is a clear change of tone when Hana is talking about skills she has picked up, versus things she is passionate about. Compare, for instance, the way she speaks about ice skating to piano:

(Screenshots from the Abhirio YouTube channel)

Throughout the books, we see Hana adopt a largely neutral stance about things she has learned but isn't entirely interested in (ice-skating, traditional dancing, baking, dressage, modelling, polo). In these scenes, the moments where she does show joy in the activity include her friends. Dancing becomes more appealing to her when she's competing with Maxwell, cooking and baking when she has someone to pamper with her food. She confesses to enjoying polo more after teaching the MC.

With the activities she loves doing, however, Hana is more involved, more expressive. She shows a range of emotions and is a lot more talkative on the subject of playing piano, or books, or flowers, or tasting good food.

None of these sequences mention her eyes much, but you can differentiate by her reactions what she loves and what she does not. She becomes emotional while talking about her connection to music (specifically piano), gazes in wonder with the MC as the moonflower unfurls, whispers excitedly and conspirationally about reading Wuthering Heights in secret, and does a 'happy dance' in her seat at the simple joy of tasting a french fry dipped in her milkshake. When Hana is excited about the things she is doing, she seems to be a different person altogether.

Where Do I Go From Here?

Prior to her journey in Cordonia, Hana had always assumed that the skills she was pushed into learning were all she would need. She had expectations to fulfill, she had a future mapped out for her, and her aim in life amounted to that future becoming a reality and her life as the wife of a nobleman being set. Because she grew up with the notion that her needs were deterrents to her aim, rather than an aim in and of itself, it never really occured to her to think any differently.

Which was why she was unable to properly answer Peter when he asked her if she loved him. Which was why she constantly assumed that no matter how many Pinstop boards she made, her wedding plans would happen the way her parents wanted it to happen. Because she spent long enough believing what she wanted didn't matter, it took her a while to even be able to discover what she wanted, much less articulate it.

Hana's background made her acquisition of skills that would appeal particularly to aristocrats essential. As a woman who has some Cordonian noble blood in her (through her mother) but may be at a disadvantage because she may not have a title of her own, her parents' expectations had always been focused on ensuring a marriage to a titled, reputed noble who could not just look after Hana but provide her the kind of status and stature in society that (I'm guessing here) her mother may have lost in marrying a foreign businessman. They were clear about the direction they wanted Hana's future to go in, and prepared her only for that kind of future.

In the old, hierarchical Cordonia, perhaps Hana would have been well prepared enough. A Cordonia where she was expected to be the perfect hostess and giving wife all rolled in one, where her skills would equip her for the occasional court activity and increased possibilities for hosting. But post the Homecoming Ball, there has been a phenomenal shift: she is in a position of power at court (even more so if she is marrying the MC), in a country torn apart by civil strife and filled with citizens who do not feel safe and are therefore wary of the monarchy's ability to protect them. The skills she learned were meant for activities suited to court and an aristocratic home, but what matters now is what she has to offer outside of court.

For the first time Hana has to now think of what she can give to the country that has given her refuge and a sense of freedom, and she is now confronted with how little her upbringing has actually prepared her for this. Cordonia's well-being is incredibly important to her, and now more than ever she needs to prove to herself - as much to everyone else - that she can be an asset.

Some of her skills do come into use: particularly her penchant for negotiation and now her proficiency with polo, but how long are her particular talents going to prove useful and at what point will Cordonia see how ill-equipped she feels, with regards to handling this situation?

I would argue that even within this, it's possible to see that she has gifts beyond just the things she has learned. As I have specified earlier, this scene not only highlights how talented a polo player she is, but also that she has an eye for what will appeal to people and encourage them to get involved. She has oftentimes managed to help the MC secure allies by paying attention to the other person's needs and passing that information on to the MC (funnily enough, in all of these instances it is Hana who does the research and coaches the MC, and it is largely the MC who reaps the benefits and gets the credit). While this may not seem like a skill in and of itself, it is a pretty strong foundation for other, newer skills that she can use to help Cordonia.

Hana is often seen measuring her usefulness, and her skills, by whatever goal she has set herself out to achieve. She considers herself a failure when - despite her talents - she is unable to get/sustain a match. Right now her goal is to be a useful citizen, to help Cordonia out of its crisis, and this doubt manifests itself in this question: "Are the skills I have enough to save Cordonia? Am I enough?"

Romance

(The first two screenshots are from @kennaxval s playthrough, and the third is from the Abhirio YouTube channel)

As with Liam's Diplomacy scene, most of the romance emerges from the MC's choices rather than as a part of the default narrative.

The romance options are interesting, particularly in terms of timing and placement. All three of them revolve around the MC's desire to be a little playful, to distract Hana and get her to relax when she overthinks. The MC balances her out: she is playful to Hana's serious, gut-instinct to Hana's strategy. She gets Hana to think beyond the logistics of the activity and to enjoy what she's doing.

However, there is one problem.

The above options present themselves at a crucial point in the conversation between Hana and the MC, where Hana is unsure about what she'd like to try out if she could choose to do something she loves. In both the LI and non-LI scenarios, the "full-time best friend" is given as a choice. This makes plenty sense in the non-LI playthrough, and very little in the LI one because "best friend" doesn't even begin to cover what Hana represents to her fiancèe now.

The major problem here lies more in what has been left out in this scene. So far, Hana's future in both playthroughs have remained largely the same. Like Drake, she may acquire a title when she marries the MC. Unlike Drake, she doesn't get the opportunity in the narrative to ask questions about her future position as duchess, which is strange considering that it is so extensively analyzed in the Drake LI playthrough.

In Drake's playthrough, they discuss his upcoming new position as a Duke, his discomfort in being part of the nobility that had shunned him for so long, his need to be taken seriously in court as the MC's future husband, what he wants to do with his title, his need to provide for and protect his future wife and children. There are a number of stumbling blocks in his way, the biggest being the class barrier and how the court sees him.

Hana's marriage to the MC has, in contrast, only been discussed in the first two chapters, where she worries that she is imposing her desires and dreams on the MC and not adequately listening to her partner. This would have been perfect, had the MC not become a duchess and was not such a prominent political figure in Cordonia.

Ideally, Hana's playthrough should involve discussions on what her marriage to the MC should entail. This would include the following:

1. In what ways has her training prepared - and not prepared - Hana for this role?

2. In their first conversation with Neville and Rashad, the MC has the option of promoting Hana's advantage as a suitor primarily by extolling her skills as a hostess and housewife. Very little mention at this point is made of Hana actually running an estate. This is an arrangement that I'm sure Hana and the MC will never adopt in their marriage, considering Hana wants to be more involved, and the MC sees her as an equal in their relationship. It is not entirely clear whether there is a distinction, given that the only aristocratic women we have seen are largely heirs to their estates - Adeleide, Madeleine (to her county Fydelia), Emmeline, Olivia.

3. Shouldn't we have a discussion, then, on how her skills will translate into running their estate? What can she do to make Valtoria better than what it was earlier? How will they manage to run things and revive this duchy? What are their plans?

4. In keeping with her potential future crisis point, why do we not see Hana giving us a clear idea of whether she can run the duchy or not? Like Drake, her future is uncertain if she does not marry the MC, so both their efforts are channeled towards helping Liam and/or Cordonia. If they are married to the MC, both Drake and Hana face differing conflicts with regards to becoming landed nobility. Both deserve to be discussed in depth.

5. With reference to the above option list given, why can there not be an option for "duchess"? Why is she still "professional best friend", when Hana's closest friend in their circle is the MC herself, and their relationship involves a bigger role once they get married?

6. What Hana can do for Cordonia as a Duchess is also a question that needs to be raised in the story. It would still fit in with her overall narrative arc, but it would also present different issues and avenues compared to what she can do as a member of the MC's court.

Overall, I feel that while Hana has an interesting character arc in this book overall, it isn't being explored as extensively as it deserves to be, and doesn't seem very different from a non-LI playthrough of her story.

Sources:

"How to Ride a Half-Pass", by Denise Cummins from The Thinking Equestrian website.

Special thanks to @kennaxval and the Abhirio YouTube channel (@abhirio) for screenshots from their Hana-centric playthroughs.

#the royal romance #hana x mc #hana lee #duchess hana lee of valtoria #trr hana #hana: diamond scenes #polo at portavira #portavira #cordonia

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