#tanguish (kinda)

[silverskye13]

random thought, but i had a vivid image of, if helsknight and welsknight ever saw each other without armor (or just helsknight out of his armor tbh), helsknight showing welsknight the scar tanguish gave him and saying "this was intended for you."

i don't know how in character that is, but tbh it's haunting me. maybe it's part of helsknight's revenge against welsknight or something, calling out his unknightly behavior and unhonorable conduct.

"You didn't answer my summons."

Helsknight froze. It was a quick, momentary startle, a short-circuit of normality. The moment he did it, every instinct told him to keep moving. That old command [Do something.] blared loud in the quiet surprise of his mind. So he moved his hand to pick up the brush on his table, and pretended to be unconcerned.

"I'm not a dog. You can't call me to heel," Helsknight said simply. He smirked and growled, "Though if you feel like losing some limbs, feel free to try."

Behind him, Wels shifted uncomfortably. Helsknight liked making Wels uncomfortable, he didn't handle it well. He was a creature used to comfort and ease. Inconvenience often galled him more than a sword to the throat. Different tactics for different battlefields, and this battlefield was a delicate one.

Helsknight was cleaning his arms and armor, which was one of several reasons why he hasn't leaped for a fight when Welsknight had called him to one. He was only in a tunic and breeches. It was luck he even had his boots on. He had offered to run errands with Tanguish, but Tanguish had said he was visiting his church and wanted to go on rooftops. So Helsknight stayed home, and he left his boots on. That was the other reason Helsknight hadn't answered the call: Tanguish wouldn't know where he was, and he knew Tanguish got paranoid about being left behind. Besides, Helsknight had chores he could do at home [like cleaning his arms and armor] so he stayed. Cleaning the chainmail was almost a formality. Hels was hot and dry, and he wore it often enough that the rings clattering together cleaned themselves. But sometimes he just liked putting an extra shine on things, so he took out his brush and oil and started brushing it down for any miniscule specks of rust or broken links he could find.

Wels, always keen on the times he wasn't wanted, decided now was the perfect time to show up in his living room. He stood awkwardly, waiting on Helsknight to make some aggressive movement. When none came, he cautiously stalked further into the tiny living space. His emotions were loud and uncomfortable without the distance between their respective worlds to dampen them, and they clung like smoke against Helsknight's skin. Caution at an unfamiliar space. Disgruntlement at being ignored.

[Guilt, like ash on a burn.]

"Is this... Yours?" Wels asked, glancing around.

"No, I'm just squatting in a random house. Sounded like a fun way to spend a Tuesday."

Helsknight felt the ant-bite sting of vicarious agitation and smirked. He was already getting on Wels's nerves.

[Good.]

"Couldn't build something nicer?" Wels snapped impatiently.

"I'm a fighter."

Helsknight found a place on his chainmail to brush down and got to work. The rough, grating twinge of the coarse bristles on chain made Wels wince. Helsknight always found the noise pleasant. Like scratching an itch.

"So?"

"I have better things to do than spend hours building the perfect house."

Wels scoffed and looked around the room with renewed disdain. "Where's your little devil?"

It took Helsknight a moment to place what he was asking. He sneered, a quiet bearing of teeth, and caught the flicker of red in the reflective shine of his chainmail. Wels looked pointedly away from him.

[Like ash on a burn.]

"Not feeling remorse... are we, crusader?" Helsknight asked, finding a new place to polish. The coin-drop clatter of chain, and the shrill scrape of bristles filled the silence like an accusation.

"Of course not," Wels sniffed disdainfully, still refusing to meet Helsknight's eye.

"Careful." Helsknight murmured, that red flash reflecting off his chainmail again, anger simmering. "Lying's a sin."

"Why would I feel remorse for protecting my home?"

"A crusade well fought I'm sure."

"It's not a crusade!" Wels snapped, his own anger a living thing raising hackles. "A crusader invades! A crusader fights a holy war just for the principle."

"Right. And you're fighting because--"

"Because I'm protecting Tango."

"-because it's for his own good?"

Wels didn't exactly wince, but he did still, as though he'd heard someone draw a blade from its scabbard. Helsknight might as well have unseated his sword. He had stopped scrubbing, all pretense of work falling. The need to pace, to circle, to corner, rose up in Helsknight like a waking beast.

"Interesting choice of words. Protecting." Helsknight said, his voice low, his hands still. "I was under the impression they were friends. Do you often protect Tango from the people he's begging you to spare?"

"That doesn't matter." Wels said so firmly it was almost convincing. Almost. "People are convinced they need an abusive relationship. That doesn't change the fact it's bad for them."

"So many interesting words today," Helsknight hissed. He stood like a dark tower rising, all embered fury slowly stoking. Wels didn't bother turning to face him. He could feel his intent like thunder. "Abuse. Brings to mind the image of power. I do have a question."

"I didn't come here for your stupid questions."

"No, you came here looking for a fight."

"I didn't."

"You really do need to tame that lying tongue."

"I didn't come here for a fight."

"Did it feel powerful?" Helsknight demanded, pacing a step, and loathing the tiny room for denying him the space to circle. "The voice. The command. How did it feel."

"Shut up."

"To have someone begging you not to hurt them," Helsknight continued relentlessly. "Not your stupid play fighting on your stupid little server. True, shaking, terror. Did it feel good, crusader? Just?"

"I told you to shut up!" Wels shouted, taking a threatening step forward only to find Helsknight had closed the space between them and stood looming like a rook on a tombstone.

Fear, a caged thing howling, battered against Helsknight's anger. It made Helsknight feel almost giddy, the crash of malicious schadenfreude and self-righteousness against Wels; a flickering thing of brittle will. They made a terrible ouroboros together, fear feeding anger feeding elation feeding fear. They were always like this. No matter how calm either of them tried to be, once anger kindled in one, their emotions burned until there was nothing left but fury and loathing. Helsknight had been made to cut Wels down to size.

"Do you know what that kind of fear does to people?" Helsknight demanded again, his voice so near a whisper it was smothering. They were so close together, but they made so little noise, all will and wide eyes. "What happened to mercy for the helpless, crusader?"

"He wasn't helpless," Welsknight said, trying very hard not to back down. "He stabbed me."

"And a drowning rat bites. I wouldn't call it an apex predator. Certainly I wouldn't call it a danger to you, with your full armor and sword." Helsknight bared his teeth at Wels, something like a bitter grin. "I wasn't wearing armor."

Wels looked down, where Helsknight had drawn up his tunic to reveal the new scar in his abdomen. Wels looked like he'd stopped breathing.

"This was intended for you," Helsknight said. "You should thank me."

"You're-- you're here telling me he's harmless," Wels laughed nervously. "But he almost killed you. You."

Something in Helsknight snapped, and in the moment it took him to reach for it with white knuckles and compose it again, he'd shoved Wels hard in the chest. It didn't knock his other half off his feet, but he stumbled back hard enough hit the opposite wall. Not hard enough to hurt, but certainly hard enough to warn.

"He did," Helsknight snarled, pacing forward slow steps. "That's what terror does to helpless people, crusader. It makes them bite. It makes them beg. It makes them clamor to live. You. Did. That. What did it feel like to abuse that kind of power Wels? To turn someone into a scared animal? To make someone so desperate they would almost kill a friend? Did you find your righteousness there crusader?"

Helsknight didn't know what he planned on doing. Violence was in his blood like a serpent, and he wanted it. And Wels knew he wanted it. There was the ring of drawn metal, and the silver-bright glint of an enchanted blade in a dark room. Helsknight's advance stopped at the top of Wels's sword, not close enough to hurt, but close enough to warn.

"Stop." Wels said. A command. A plea.

"I'm unarmed."

"That doesn't matter."

Helsknight smiled, and there was loathing and euphoria in it, and the wine-dark dread of Wels right on the other side of it. The knowledge of a line crossed, a battle he hadn't even realized he was fighting made forfeit.

"Fine." Helsknight said. "My blood's already been spilled once on your behalf. At least this time do it with your own sword, coward. I'll make it easy for you."

He took a step forward, and nudged the blade with a knuckle, resting the point against his scar. The metal was cold, even through his shirt, the enchantments alive and writhing so close to his skin.

"How cruel have you gotten while I wasn't there to keep you in check, crusader?"

There was a long breath of silence between them. Helsknight stood, precarious and predatory, daring Wels to kill him. And Wels stood there, and dared himself to as well. And the room was dark, lit only by red anger and blue dread, and the pale, languid flicker of enchanted steel. And neither of them breathed. And the universe watched.

A loud clatter sounded on the roof. Both knights looked up towards the ceiling, Wels in startlement, and Helsknight in resignation.

"And he stays my hand once again," Helsknight sighed.

"What--?" Wels didn't get his full question out before Helsknight moved. He knocked the sword aside and lunged forward to grab Wels's shirt. In a move that would've made Martyn proud, he dragged Wels forward into his knee, knocking the wind out of him. In the time it took Wels to collapse to the floor, Helsknight had taken his sword, and held the point beneath his other half's chin.

"Go home Wels," Helsknight said, "before I send you there the hard way."

Wels, breathless on the ground, let out half a strangled laugh. "Why don't you?"

"Because I was asked nicely not to go running off and killing you."

"Helsknight?" A loud knock sounded at the door. Tanguish's voice, a bright comfort even in spite of its concern, called to him. "Is everything okay? I thought I heard something fall."

Helsknight glared meaningfully down at Wels, who only hesitated long enough for Helsknight to draw back the sword before slipping back to his world. The moment he did, Helsknight felt his breath leave him, the great void of being left to his own thoughts and emotions. In the wake of everything that was Wels, he felt ridiculous.

[What in hels had he even been about to do? Die on someone's sword to prove a point? Idiot.]

"Helsknight? The door is locked."

"I'm coming," Helsknight called, pausing only long enough to hide Wels's sword beneath the couch, where Tanguish couldn't see it and inevitably worried about it. He checked his tunic to make sure he hadn't managed to actually stab himself [he hadn't] and went to let Tanguish inside.

#rns ficlets #helsknight #welsknight #tanguish (kinda) #this one feels very dense and dramatic #i feel like wels actively seeks out hels when he feels guilty / bad / self loathing #its like a compulsion: punishing yourself because you did wrong #even though its ultimately unproductive #also something something helsknight making some kind of point about how #instilling terror in something to confirm your bias that its dangerous #is more even than the terrified thing causing harm #case and point i scared you into drawing your sword on an unarmed man #i dont know im tired and that was a really badass phrase to just drop on me anon #*evil not even alskdjfjf im going to bed

[yayforocs]

I Have Once Again Been Consumed By A Fic (Redstone and Skulk by @silverskye13

#redstone and skulk #the demon #tanguish #helsknight #evil beezuma #don't mind the repost tumblr just. wasn't showing the original post anywhere for me???? #i'm worried it might've eaten it???; sO HERE WE GO TRYING AGAIN #the demon is only half done and honestly i drew all of him that i was really wanting to draw anyway so he's staying like that dklsghs #and that was his face and then just kinda like his build mOSTLY!!! BC!!!! #i found it interesting that as i was reading the bit he was in that i was imagining him like #Not Human At AllTM and went 'huh. i mean that's prolly not how he's supposed to be' #but thought it neat enough to put down to paper kinda what i was picturing :VVVV and what i was picturing was Big Dragon Demon #aLSo eb!!!! i've now seen like op's art of eb and have also realized how wack my brain's image of eb was #but i love things like that!!! where the reader's brain pictures differently!!!! so i drew eb too :VVVV #also i cannot resist A Creachure and my vision of eb definitely falls into that category for me #and so does tanguish!!!! the boy!!!! best boy!!! and then ofc i had to!! helsknight!!! he!!!!! #anyway i love them all sm they're just Really Hecking Neat To Me #(also ngl i think that tanguish running is like. one of my favorite poses i've drawn ever???) #(v happy with that i think it certainly is atl my favorite sketch on the page)

[silverskye13]

Saw a funny tiktok today, blacked out and now we’re here. Kudos if you can figure out where they are!

#spazzcat comics #spazzcat doodles #helsknight #tanguish #hels!tango #helsmits #through hels and high water #redstone and skulk #this was fun XD #can't wait for them to become friends in the fic plot so i can actually write this kinda stuff #anyway the reason helsknight calls everyone 'idiot' is because he actually has 0 braincells #all his thoughts are stored in the sword -- and if he doesn't need the sword he's head empty

[silverskye13]

In which there is a prolonged shark metaphor.

#the barking writer #redstone and skulk #tanguish #the hand #hels!martyn #kinda really proud of how this chapter turned out #but that might just be the rainy mood sad piano 5hr compilation i've been listening to for the past 3hrs talking #also?? posted at 12:46 heyyy #15 minutes before my projected time of 1am babeyyyy #alright shoo go read the darn chapter #its 5500 words of Martyn trying to give a heart to heart talk with the same disjointed urgency as a vet pulling teeth in a zombie apocalyps

[silverskye13]

I feel like this is kinda a weird question but we know RK and Hand both started existing(? Idk?) around Third Life ish when did the others? And how old are each of them or are they kinda just ambiguous

[hand wave] ambiguous!

You have fallen into my Big Untouchable Plot Hole of who is older than who and why! I have some vagueries. EB is the oldest. Helsknight is second oldest. Tanguish is probably the youngest but was very shortly behind Red and Martyn. The Demon is maybe older than Martyn but younger than Red.

[loud shrugging]

It's never terribly relevant in the plot, so I don't stress it.

#rns asks #anonymous #this is where we run into my soft timeline #i feel like a lot of the history in hels is retroactive #ie EX was born and decided there was a city and there was #Helsknight was made and he needed a church and so there are churches in hels #things have always been this way [they havent] #but because we need them to be this way for the universe to make sense theyve always been this way #there is a new church in hels. youve never seen it before. its always been there. #the Colosseum is where Champions are made. it has a builder. no one built it #but it was built by a master builder because we needed a Colosseum #etc etc etc #the universe doesnt care about hels so hels changes [shrug] #so Red is older [age] than EB but he hasnt been around as long #and Helsknight was never really a squire but to be a knight he was a squire once and to be a Perfect Knight he was trained by someone #someone who doesnt exist and who in his memory has no face #hels is deeply eldritch to me <3 dont ask me to explain i cant

[silverskye13]

I love how the church kinda treats tanguish like the community cat that just vibes and get really worried when he vanishes they love their gargoyle

To use a cut quote from a cut chapter: "It's a church. They keep track of their regular visitors, especially the ones that never come inside.”

They worry! I feel like the Order or Remembrance would, even more so than others, just because it's their job to remember. I imagine there was a bit of panic when the anonymous Gargoyle vanished, and everyone collectively realized they'd never asked his name, or managed to corner him long enough to invite him inside.

Honestly the next chapter or so is really scratching an itch for me, as far as church communities go. It's been a hot minute since I was last at a church that I really connected with a church [I live in a very conservative area and the churches here aren't very friendly to my current views] but when I was a kid, the sense of community that came with church was very nice. People genuinely cared if members of the congregation, even ones who didn't come often, disappeared for prolonged periods of time. I haven't been to my childhood church in over 10 years, but sometimes when members see me around town, they still run up and talk to me and ask me how I've been.

#anonymous #rns asks #whoops got a little anecdotal there #went to a revival for my old church recently actuallt #theyve been losing members for years and decided to actually track down last known addresses and send letters #and invite people back for dinner and service #it was nice #most of those people would hate me if they knew my gender sexuality political beliefs ect #they said really unkind things about people like me when i was too young to know i was who they were talking about #but sometimes i do still miss it

[silverskye13]

ngl i suspected Tanguish was a flavor of trans since i began reading rns XD

in order of fairness and curiosity i feel like i must repeat the question... if Tanguish is trans, what abt Tango?

I have given 0 thoughts to Tango gender, which is a crime actually. I think maybe he's cis, but in a "I thought about my gender and I think yeah, cis guy fits," kind of way. A secure in his masculinity kinda way. Which facilitates all his flirting with his friends when they do talk. He comes from a place of "I know exactly where I stand with this." When Tanguish is discovered trans man, I think he kinda raises his eyebrows and goes "Oh hey buddy! Good for you! Man this hels double thing is weird huh? You're ice and sculk and trans? Huh."

#thecreatureinthedark #rns asks #trans tanguish #queue

[silverskye13]

Will enby Helsknight/trans Tanguish/top surgery scars/stubborn avoidant Welsknight in a gender crisis make it into the main story of RnS? Like, a full acknowledgment of it? Because yes, us on tumblr are aware (and happily bully RnS Wels for it) but I’m curious to how it may be brought up in the main storyline instead of rambles and drabbles. (Don’t get me wrong, those rambles and drabbles are what get me through the day. But my best friend, who isn’t in the MCYT fandom whatsoever, just caught up with RnS and doesn’t use tumblr, and besides spamming her with tumblr posts I wanna know how much I can revel in the glory of the skrunkles with her!)

That is a great question, actually. And the answer is I don't really know.

So this is one of the downsides to writing things chapter by chapter. If I had gone into this going "oh heck yeah they're trans", this would've come up in the plot way sooner. It's nice information 1) for all the trans folks reading and 2) because it has the potential to inform the themes in the narrative. This whole story is about two chief things I think: death [the inevitability of] and identity [what defines you and why]. Why should you care if literally no one else (including the universe) does? That would be so cool to speak about in terms of a trans allegory! Why do you care about gender when it's just one thing in a world of crazy things? Or at the very least, how does it inform your identity? But this is a change I made on a whim suddenly, and I know Exactly Where I Want This Plot To Go, so trans topics and allegories as Plot Points probably won't happen.

On the more technical side of introducing trans characters -- how do you do that without just dropping "oh btw they're trans" in? Like, how do you make it a relevant thing to talk about, that doesn't feel forced or shoehorned in, especially this late in the story? Probably me overthinking, but I read it done wrong so often. It gets tired. And if I ever work on my original stories, there are trans characters in there! If I can figure out how to Do It Well in a fanfic, then I can figure out how to do it in original fiction someday maybe. So I kinda wanna take the introduction seriously? I've actually been thinking about it so much I've thought about rewriting the intro to the next chapter ahaha [it already needs rewritten in general, there's a lot going on, but the intro was going to be Helsknight waking up from something, and he sleeps shirtless, and not addressing top surgery scars then would be kinda silly I think.]

I can say at the very least, Gender Avoidant Wels probably won't factor in the story much. He is a character, but I don't think he'll become Enough of a character to faithfully address something like a trans self discovery arc. At best his issues with gender might be mentioned in passing.

Sorry! I know you probably want a better answer! My answer is basically: I don't know I'm still working on it. I want it to be there, but the capacity it's there is undecided.

That being said, I've been sitting on this glorious ask since the shenanigans started and the temptation to just Do That grows every time I read it:

#rns asks #trans tanguish #nonbinary helsknight #anonymous #no one asked but i think to date #the best intro to a trans character ive seen #is from the book 'what moves the dead' #where the mc explained they were a soldier and when you join the army you get assigned pronouns that only soldiers get #and they explain some people join the army to fight and some join because their old pronouns dont fit #and i dont think the mc ever defined why exactly they chose to be a soldier #but hey thats their pronouns now take it or leave it #them being a soldier has impact on the plot which means #even if the story isnt a trans story [about being trans] their pronouns still have weight and importance #the long pronoun explanation has a very compelling reason and never feels odd or forced #and it gets even more interesting in the second book 'what feasts at night' #where the soldier's PTSD has a direct effect on the ending of the story #[sighs dreamily] goddamn it T Kingfisher how do you always write so good #anyway enough about my writer crush on Kingfisher

[silverskye13]

This might be worldbuilding spoilers, or it might be something I just missed, but do Helsknight and Wels have an equivalent to the reflection thing with Tango and Tanguish, or is that just a Tanguish exclusive? Either in terms of Hels being able to go straight to Wels or just another way of them being connected. Started wondering because of your description of Hels polishing all his armor + Tanguish's knife and how it didn't seem to affect Hels at all

I wouldn't call it spoilers! Its been left intentionally ambiguous for awhile, because I still want to use it as a surprise in the plot for a couple of the plot points. It's also been a little bit since it was discussed in the plot itself.

Most of where Tanguish's reflections have been talked about are the first 3? Chapters? Before he really starts to befriend Helsknight. And Helsknight's have only been really explained once, in two? Paragraphs in his POV chapter. So! Squishy teleportation worldbuilding below the cut.

Whether or not a hermit/helsmit pair can meet each other is subjective, and how they can do it kinda varies. The only thing I've decided for sure, as a rule across the table, is that their links are exclusive.

So Tango/Tanguish can see each other, and hear each other, through reflections, and they can travel to each other through reflections [if both of them are available/near a reflective surface]. But they can't see anyone else, and no one else can see or hear them. Tanguish looks like he's talking to himself when he's talking to Tango in a reflection, and vice versa. They can see hazy shapes/silhouettes of what's happening behind the other person [Tango being able to tell when Tanguish is stealing, Tanguish being able to see Welsknight's silhouette standing behind Tango] but they can't hear conversations or see expressions. They can only see impressions of the world near each other.

Helsknight and Welsknight channel their link through shadows. When Helsknight travels to Hermitcraft, the world around him gets darker, like he's falling through cracks in the void. It has a very physical radius that other people can see. While Hels/Wels can hear each other through that dark, no one else can. They also can't do the same two-way radio type talk. If one of them yells a challenge through the space, they can hear it, but Helsknight couldn't stand in a dark room or talk to his shadow and have Wels hear it. Instead, they share emotions. I feel like it has to do with how Hels started as the voice in Wels's head, he's inherently tied to Welsknight's self worth [and lack thereof]. Particularly strong emotions come through. I imagine Helsknight can feel Wels's self righteous vengeance when he commands Tanguish, but has no idea the context. Most of what Wels feels from Helsknight is anger, which he mostly ignores, unless its very strong. If he thinks Helsknight is violently angry, he will often pull him through their link so they can fight instead. He thinks he's doing a kindness to someone [mostly though, he wants to justify doing violence against his other half, who he blames for his own uncontrollable emotions.]

Both Helsknight and Tanguish [and their doubles] can pull people through those links if they so choose. There has to be physical contact [Helsknight carrying Tanguish through worlds to Hermitcraft, Tanguish holding onto Helsknight when he flips his coin]. I also think, if someone were to latch onto them and be dragged through, it would be risky where they would end up. Being able to pull another person through worlds hinges on you holding onto them so they follow your link through worlds. If you were fighting when you fell through, trying to force someone to let go, and they did, they could follow you, or they could fall free somewhere else.

#spazzcat barks #answering asks #anonymous #redstone and skulk #hope this explains things okay! #rns asks

[silverskye13]

"I think you're just being paranoid dude."

"Of course I'm paranoid. (I've been paranoid since we met)."

"Yeah yeah, I get that. I just mean that this time you're like, irrationally paranoid."

"I don't think so. (Isn't all paranoia by definition irrational)?"

Tango huffed out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."

Tango and Tanguish walked side-by-side through the shopping district, moving quickly, trying not to be seen. Tango had yet to explain to the rest of the server that he and his hels were on speaking terms - friendly speaking terms - and the chances of Tanguish getting attacked just because of proximity were relatively high. Besides, Tanguish didn't really know where he was going. (Neither did Tango, but being generally lost together was better than being generally lost alone, so they traveled together.)

"I feel like I'm allowed to be worried," Tanguish said defensively, sweeping his gaze around the empty shopping district again. Most of the hermits were currently in the TCG pyramid battling it out. Something about addictive card games. Tanguish had never been big into those. Stealing cards was a gamble that rarely paid off. "He's been gone for three days."

"Yeah, and like I said, Welsknight has been off the server for months," Tango shoved his hands in his pockets and walked a little faster, his blue flame flickering a little brighter as he went. "Helsknight is probably just making up for lost time."

"For three days?" Tanguish countered, sculk-fuzzed eyebrows raising. "That's excessive."

"They used to fight like cats and dogs, dude."

"Yeah but it was always like, you know, disappear for an hour, die, poof back, kinda deal. Not just..." Tanguish flailed his hands at the air, demonstrating the current situation. "For three days."

In the distance, a massive octopus build loomed, it's tentacles slowly furling and unfurling like it was feeling the air. Just past it, nestled alone against the beach, was either the world's smallest castle, or the world's most castle-shaped house. Welsknight's house. It was incredibly on brand. Tanguish wondered why Helsknight never bothered to build a house like it in hels. Then again, Helsknight had never been big on decoration and comforts... or really anything that wasn't strictly utilitarian.

"Maybe they've gotten really bad at killing each other?" Tango asked with a shrug. "They're kind of out of practice."

"Helsknight fights people every day," Tanguish shook his head. "He's plenty good at killing people."

"Have we talked about your ability to pick out good friends? Like seriously talked about it?"

"Hels is a good friend."

"He kills people on the reg. You just said so."

"Isn't Geminitay's nickname Gemini-slay? (Also ZombieCleo, just, as a person)?"

"Touché."

"Besides it's not the killing bit I'm worried about." Tanguish continued, brow wrinkled worriedly. "I'm worried 'making up lost time' might mean something really unpleasant. (Unpleasant being like, pinning someone to the wall and breaking all their bones one-by-one or something. I feel like I've heard him threaten to do that before). I'm not -- I'm not Hels' keeper or anything, but I feel like a good friend would stop him from doing something like that, right?"

Tanguish looked at Tango beseechingly, searching for reassurance. Instead, Tango looked back at him with something between a wince and a grimace. Yeah, he probably could've worded all that better.

"Hels isn't a bad person."

"Uh-huh. Yep. I totally believe you there big guy."

"He's not! He's just--"

"--the kind of person who would tie someone to the wall and break every bone in their body. Yep. Gotcha. Hey, seriously, we need to talk about your choice in friends."

"Gemini-slay."

"Hey hey hey now! She just puts decapitated heads in her head room. No one suffers from that. Well. Not physically anyway."

"She has a head room." Tanguish frowned. "(Also like, everything Doc has going on)."

"Yeah but Doc just threatens. He couldn't follow through with any of it to save his life."

"Hels just--! Wait, how are you-- Can you read my mind?"

"No. Your internal monologue is just really loud. Like, really loud."

Tanguish makes a mental note to start thinking quieter. (Tango smirks, and Tanguish makes a double mental note about it.)

They made it three quarters of the way around the beach, walking in step with each other, spaced just far enough apart that their tails don't accidentally brush each other as they walked (Ice and fire, even blue ice-colored fire, have never mixed well) when a scream broke the otherwise peaceful afternoon air. Tango and Tanguish exchanged a horrified look, and as one dash the rest of the way down the beach towards Welsknight's house. Tanguish outpaced Tango in a handful of strides. They're the same height, but Tanguish spends his time running through cramped streets, while Tango spends his building Decked Out II.

Tanguish was the first one to come bursting through Welsknight's door, and as such is the first to witness the... Almost incomprehensible oddness happening on the other side. Hels and Wels are both standing on opposite sides of a table shoved in Wels's cluttered living room. There was a pile of blankets on the couch - obvious remains of someone sleeping over for the last few nights. Unwashed dishes were piled in odd places, leftovers long cold and stale on a few of them. There were, oddly, several half-drunk glasses of water scattered around - a trademark of Helsknight's when he was too busy or distracted to remember he had drinks already poured. The table was tipped over, cards scattered like autumn leaves across the floor. Helsknight is leaning against the nearby wall, face buried in his hands as he lets out a long, wounded-animal groan. Welsknight simply smirks to himself and picks up the fallen cards.

"That's thirty-six to three," Welsknight hummed pleasantly, picking up the scattered cards with a practiced patience. "You know, we could go buy you another expansion. Build a better deck--"

"No! No! You're cheating I know you're cheating!" Helsknight snapped, roughly righting the table. His hands were white-knuckled around its edges, like he was trying not to throw it over again.

"You've got a good deck in theory," Welsknight continued. "You're relying to hard on one win-con though. These decks function best with rapid damage--"

"I am not building a burn deck I'm not--"

"I'm not telling you to build a burn deck--"

"Are you serious right now?" Tango shouted, making all of them jump. "You're playing cards?"

Wels and Hels exchanged a glance, and then blinked at the two intruders as though they just noticed they were there -- which they probably had.

"Well I wasn't wrong," Tanguish said quietly, after the pause had stretched uncomfortably long. "They were doing something weird."

#the barking writer #helsknight #welsknight #tango #tanguish #hels!tango #oh my wels has finally come back from the war

[silverskye13]

Kinda a random thing that I think that I'd like to see your opinion on. In terms of the Undertale soundtrack Wels has ASGORE vibes where as Helsknight has the vibes of the kickstarter version. The offical is in a higher octave (is that the right word??) and is slightly more fast paced, where the kickerstarter is in a lower octave and is slower paced. They're so so similar yet different. Just like Wels and Helsknight.

Ahaha oh anonnnnn you can't seriously be asking me Undertale related questions for my current favorite blorbos! Haha I don't even like Undertale! And I definitely don't still actively listen to the soundtrack because that's soooooo 2015 haha. I definitely am not in danger of falling back into my brainrot for it at even the slightest provocation whatsoever. Haha. Ha. Haa..............

[I'm allowed to lie, because I am not a knight.]

ANYWAY WHAT A GREAT PICK. Asgore definitely definitely carries their musical vibes. I will say! I would probably choose a little differently.

I would probably give Helsknight Asgore, and I would give Welsknight Heartache.

[a lot a lot a lot of Undertale song rambling under the cut, including songs for the rest of the cast, because I've maybe definitely thought about this before]

So! Why Heartache & Asgore in particular: they capture the same leitmotifs, thus keeping them thematically appropriate for each other. And alongside your idea that Helsknight's song would probably be a little slower, a little more ponderous and heavy than Welsknight's song, I think Asgore and Heartache captures that feeling.

Welsknight with Heartache: Alongside sharing leitmotifs with Asgore, Heartache also has an altogether more uplifting sound. For one thing, there is a longer lead in to the real start of the song, the idea of stalling, or performing. There is a lot of upshifting chords, a lot of cymbals to punctuate the ends of refrains. There is the sense that what is being done is inherently heroic and purposeful. This also pairs pretty well with Toriel's intent with the fight, where the song comes from. She's not here to hurt you. She's here to protect you, and this is the only way she knows how. It reflects Welsknight in the story [though we haven't seen much of him yet] as someone who is performing greatness, but maybe doesn't grasp the grim realities behind picking up a sword. He's protective because a knight is supposed to be, but hasn't hit the painful wall of actually having to protect something that might be doomed, that might take effort and still be lost in the end.

Helsknight with Asgore: Asgore's theme is heavy and ponderous. There is the implication of trumpets and timpani, homage to thunderstorms and marching armies. During the leitmotif it shares with Heartache, there is a heavy beat, like marching feet. It fuels the idea of inevitability, of marching towards a horizon that is unavoidable and necessary. It echoes Asgore's character, someone forced to fight, because in his world, there is no other way. Someone will die and someone will live. This is the way of the world. But there is still heroism there, a bridge that implies a greater good is at stake, if you can only figure out how to reach it.

Tango and Tanguish: Similar to the Hels/Wels special above, I think Tango and Tanguish would also have linked songs, so I pitch "Spear of Justice" for Tango and "Battle Against a True Hero" for Tanguish. Yada yada yada leitmotifs. But! The very fun and interesting thing about the leitmotifs for Undyne's songs in Undertale, is that they also include elements of Waterfall, the song for the area she's found in. In the same way, Tango and Tanguish are our main vectors for viewing both the world, and how the helsmet/hermit relationships work. They are our inherent tie to the world of the story.

Tango with Spear of Justice: Spear of Justice is a very brash, upbeat song, which matches the recklessness of his personality in the story. He is bold in his decisions, and bold in his use of Tanguish. Several times he puts his own physical needs and comforts above the comforts of his double, and recklessly ignores the cautions his other half gives. It's not that he's trying to be cruel, it's that in his world, things don't have nearly so high of stakes. He's allowed to be reckless, and doesn't understand why, because Tanguish is around, he can't. These reckless overtures do, however, cover up a cowardice that the descending repeats of the chorus and the bridge suggest. There is something guarded under the surface of this song, a vulnerability he doesn't admit to -- that by forcing his double to charge forward, he's giving himself an excuse to hide. [in the context of undertale, this song works to set up for you, the player, the idea that Undyne is a fight you can't win in a conventional way. She will chase you down every time you run. It's only when she's forced to be weak, and in that weakened state receive your help, that she realizes maybe she should rethink her actions in pursuing you.]

Tanguish with Battle Against a True Hero: This song is, at the outset, maybe a little strong for our best boy, but hear me out. The lead in to the song is a promise, the soft breath in before a hard and dogged commitment. Much like Asgore, there is a heavy beat to this song, but one that feels almost like an irregular heartbeat or running footsteps. There is a feeling of rush in this song, of heroism because there is no other choice, of dogged determination through hardship, because someone has to endure, and you're alive aren't you? There is also a soft, thoughtful bridge in this song, where everything slows down right before the final push, which is one of Tanguish's strong suits in the story. He is a thinker and a runner, and when he slows down to think, he can really cut to the core of people. This very thoughtful bridge also feels regretful -- no one likes it when the runner, the thinker, the peacekeeper must decide to stand their ground and fight. It means they're the last one able to. [In the context of the game, this song plays during your battle with Undyne the Undying, the darkest timeline, where you are trying to destroy the world, and Undyne is the last hope for monster kind. It is quintessential brick wall, I will stand in your way kind of music, because literally no one else can. If you kill her, you spend the rest of the game trivializing every other boss battle until you get to the final boss and Megalovania plays. Her death scene is the most tragic one you have to go through imo. Sans and his "Papyrus do you want anything?" line be damned. You watch Undyne fall to dust, trying desperately to pull herself together until she can't anymore, saying over and over again it can't be over. She can't have failed. She has to be strong enough. Why, why isn't she strong enough? Always felt like the fandom did her a disservice smh.]

Hi! Are you tired of me picking linked songs yet? Oh whoops too bad.

Dummy! for Martyn and Death by Glamour for Red: Both of these songs are for! Ghosts! Ghosts finding bodies in another place and, in some instances, ghosts using those bodies to start a new life. They also share some musical themes. There are undercurrents in Dummy!, a very jazzy song, that reappear in Death by Glamour as a more pop-rock vibe, so they're harder to hear but still share a musical link.

Martyn with Dummy!: This song is just. Such a fun romp. There's a little jazz, a little chiptune, and a little bit of spite. It has just enough "I'm chill I'm chill don't worry about it" and "It's on sight motherfucker!" to really zest up a song. It feels like the kind of music Martyn could knife fight to, or rant to, and carries that manic, barely contained energy he seems to always take with him. There is a bridge in this one, but the slow beat isn't thoughtful. Instead its the building jaunt into the next part of the song, a drum beat that gets louder and added onto, and it feels relentless in a fun way. The ending phrases almost seem to suggest this whole thing has been a joke, a little shrug off as the character walks away, in the same way Martyn uses jokes and nonchalance to shrug off the danger he projects at people. [In the game, Dummy is seeking revenge over a misunderstanding. It is protecting its cousin, who it thinks you've robbed of a corporeal form, something all ghosts want. It is a spiteful little goober who ambushes you just when you think you're free of a fight with Undyne. It's a bafoonish fight, with a character who says the iconic phrase, "Who needs friends when you have knives!!!" before throwing the only knife it has and ruefully admitting, "Uhm... I'm all out of knives..."]

Red with Death By Glamour: So, I'm gonna be honest, we haven't seen a lot of Red in the story, and we're not going to see too much of him, but I need you to understand, as soon as he hits the arena sand, he becomes as dramatic and over-the-top as his other half in hermitcraft. He isn't a drama king, he's a drama Red King. There's a difference. We won't see a lot of that. What we will see a lot of though, is his steadfast determination to protect the things he thinks are important. Checking in on the various cast members, being undaunted in the face of adversity, and also being the loud supporter of his right hand man. [In Undertale, Death By Glamour is Mettaton's theme, when he finally goes to fight you. Most of his fight is a performance, you're trying to survive while getting people to like you, because Mettaton's idea of saving the world is being entertaining as hell. Later, however, you learn another very interesting and hidden facet of Mettaton's character: he's Alphys's only friend. And while, yes, he is using her to get the body he wants, he is also trying his best to be a good friend, which includes making her the hero of her own narrative, until it grates on his nerves a little too much.]

Evil Beezuma with His Theme: There is something soft and hopeful about EB in RnS. We're still getting to know him, but what we have seen of him so far shows a character who cares very deeply, and who has enacted great change in himself. He's kind to newcomers, believes in hospitality and paying people in kind, and we can only assume if he's stuck by Helsknight this long, its because he's repaying something. He keeps reminding Helsknight he doesn't have to be a one man army, that he needs to remember there are people around him who care, and he sees in Tanguish a vector to remind the knight about that. Maybe he can't fix Helsknight's problems, but Tanguish might, so now Tanguish is one of his people. That's how the Colosseum works after all, we're all links in one big chain, holding each other together. His Theme carries that hopeful aura. It's an orchestral remake of a song whose throughline transcends many character themes and loading screen backgrounds. It's an idea that's deeply important, and it's not until you get to the end of the game that you find out why. EB also, has broken his cycle with his hermit. That's not something we know much about right now, but he represents a hope that is hard to achieve but possible, if we can just figure out how. [His Theme in Undertale appears at the end of the Asriel Dreamurr fight, when we're carding through flashbacks of Asriel as a child, and finding out just what exactly his deal is. We realize the reason his theme is in so much of the game is because he and his sibling are the reason the world is the way that it is right now. They were the last hope, and they failed. Now, maybe you can help them succeed, finally, after all the heartbreak their loss caused.]

The Demon with Your Best Nightmare MEGALOVANIA: wait waIT WAIT COME BACK HEAR ME OUT. We all know megalovania. We all know why it got so popular. We all know it probably fueled half of Sans's meteoric rise to Tumblr Sexyman status. But just, hear me out here, lets pretend for a second Megalovania hasn't become the meme of the century and really break down what it's got going on. Megalovania is, at its core, a fight song. This isn't even its first iteration. Toby Fox has used this song in just about every major project he's worked on -- for good reason. It's a heavy hitting song. There is a feeling of vindictiveness in this version specifically, the idea of someone very strong, and very angry, and very ruthless. The guitar riffs, the minor key, the many stair-step drops, make the song feel like a descent. You're going down, literally, musically, relentlessly. The song feels like dodging bullets, like you're sitting on a knife edge, and like the unpredictability of it might be the death of you. Similarly, the Demon is a dark, vindictive, almost one-note character. He probably has depth, he probably has a reason to be the way that he is, but it doesn't really matter to the characters in the plot. What matters is he's a known dangerous and vindictive person. Our first introduction to him as an idea, is the knowledge that not only does he kill thieves, he pursues them, makes their lives a living hell. And now, one of the main characters owes him a favor. [So, one thing I always thought was kind of underplayed with Sans, was just how vindictive of a character he was. For good reason -- if you get to his fight, you've done a lot of shit. You went out of your way to be evil, as evil as someone can be in a fictional world. And Sans, a character who's seen a short peak behind the curtain, even admits to you that he's pretty sure nothing matters and he shouldn't be here fighting you. So... why is he? He keeps insisting throughout his fight that this is pointless. You're going to win someday, sometime. He's just making it harder for you. But he's still here, still making you replay his fight a thousand times, for hours and hours. There's something to be said about deciding, in your final moments at the end of the world, that the only thing you think is worth doing, is making someone else's life a living hell. Even someone who deserves it.]

#the barking writer #answering asks #redstone and skulk #undertale #anonymous #tanguish #helsknight #uhhhhh i'm not tagging the rest because i don't want to clutter everyone's tags #enjoy my buckwild rambles anon #rns asks

[silverskye13]

okok i've another question but not an in-universe one; were there any rules or patterns you followed when coming up with the appearances of the helsmets for RnS? :V or are they all moreso based on What Seemed Right for each individual character :0

Mostly just what seemed right, to be honest! A lot of it is based on what I'm trying to do with them as character themes.

Tanguish started out as more of a riff on Tango as a fire-related character. Then I decided Tango would be fire/redstone, ergo his double would be ice/sculk. That eventually kinda balooned into his personality. He's contained, isolated, secretive, sneaky. But he seeps into things. If you've ever had to deal with your road deteriorating over winter, because water keeps freezing in the cracks and breaking the asphalt apart, that's his vibe. You almost don't know he's there until he's cracked you open.

Helsknight has a canon design, but his 110% was just me designing something that looked cool. My first Wels/Hels designs had Wels as a Ottoman inspired knight, with a focus on short, blocky shapes. Meanwhile Helsknight was more of a pointy anglo-saxon knight style, with a lot of triangles and sharp lines. Eventually when RnS started to reform my ideas, I decided Wels was a more caricatured english knight, with a lot of modern crusader/paladin vibes, and focused on making Hels a dark mirror of that. Giving him sharp, unapproachable armor was a visualization of him being an angry, brooding character [which is why, as a lot of people have noted, he opens up a lot more when he starts taking the armor off. That's also why, when he's feeling vulnerable, his nervous ticks have to do with the buckles on his gloves, or the hilt of his sword. He's trying to decide if he's going to open up about something.]

Martyn and Red both have canon designs as well, technically, since they're the 3rd Life versions of their characters, just a little to the left. The crown the Red King has, which covers his eyes, is a direct reference to Ren's quote, "The blood is dripping into my eyes. I can't see. I've been blinded by the violence." He's been blinded by violence, and finds it hard to keep his humanity intact when the crown is off. It binds him to his purpose as The Red King -- protecting people. Martyn in my head looks almost exactly like his 3L red life skin, and that's purposeful. He wants to keep a low profile. He doesn't want his other half to know he's his own entity that exists.

EB's design has a lot to do with his past and not his present. [I feel like I keep alluding to him having a backstory,,,, we'll get there someday.] The way I've put EB and EX as characters in relation to Xisuma, is they represent different struggles he's had at different points in his life. EX was the hubris of being a server admin, the desire for limitless control. EB was the pride of success, and the white knuckle grip it required to keep it. He used to be a very prideful, and very dangerous, person. And stung pride [ha! bee jokes] can lead to some very angry outbursts. So he looks very waspish, long and thin, and sharp angled. The fact that he's an android is 110% just because I headcanon Xisuma is a robot. Sorry doomguy I've fallen in love with the AI headcanon.

The Demon is a take on ImpulseSV's character trait of sharing that turns into exploitation. One of his big collab points with other people is the fact that he makes farms, and in 3L there was an entire plot point around how he kept giving people things, and all of those people individually agreed because he kept giving everyone things, he was on nobody's side, so, you couldn't really betray him, could you? The Demon therefore is a character who is determined not to be used or exploited in any way. He hoards his wealth like a dragon, makes pacts and bargains that only benefit him, like a demon, and his eye is always watching for a knife in the dark [don't think too hard about Tanguish taking knife lessons]. The man has, to put it bluntly, trust issues. So his design echoes that idea of a monstrous person so busy armoring himself he's forgotten how to connect with people. Bright golden eyes, impenetrable scales, armor and tools disproportionately strong compared to what he should ever be expected to use them for. He's daring someone to betray him, so he can be justified in destroying them for it.

I'm trying to think of other characters that've popped up.

Evil Sausage [I think the fandom calls him Bratwurst??] is mostly just a parody of some of his appearances in Empires. I liked how linked he was to Xornoth, so I imagine the shadow that makes his elytra wings is what's left of his union with Xornoth the demon.

Hels!Watcher Grian is both a reference and a handwave at the fact that Grian is an instigator. It makes sense that a fear, or mirror, for that would be someone who refuses to interact with the world, or maybe wants to but physically can't. Eye themes abound.

[loud shrugging]

Yeah, that's it. It's whatever seems right for what the characters are doing.

#answering asks #redstone and skulk #yayforstuffs #good question! #i like getting to talk about all the silly things that go into character design choices #rns asks

[silverskye13]

its so crazy how RnS has this obsession with opposites and differences. while it's sometimes very clearly stated, it'll also be subtle, embedded into the text like a message from the subconscious. i think thats what makes me so obsessed w this fic, the attention to detail isn't even for a purpose, it's inherent and instinctual to the text, like it's alive.

that's all to say that as a writer you've done an incredible job landing just on top of the line between prose and narrative. your brain must be so wrinkly

(side tangent, have you ever read a Patrick Rothfuss book? he was my entry into this particular style of writing, though his is much more centered in narrative)

Thank you so much for the kind words! RnS has become my personal study on how to make your prose really fit what you're writing, and choosing words intentionally to set scene. The way I kind of fell into it was actually adapting from horror. I've really enjoyed how horror books tend to describe things with visceral intent. The spire doesn't rise, it shreds the sky. You aren't scared, fear grips you like a dog and shakes you. It's not self preservation, it's the human desire not to be devoured. I feel like horror is a genre that does this a lot [and sometimes gets a lot of flack for its choices if it's too over the top] and I like how playing with that can really submerge you in the writing.

RnS has kinda turned into my playground for leaning into that idea, just without the horror attached. Welsknight speaks like radiance and sun. Helsknight is fiery and wolf-like. Tanguish is cold and crawling. Tango is hot impulsivity. I try to describe them accordingly, and use consistent descriptors for them throughout. It's been a back and forth success. Sometimes I pull it off better than others, and sometimes there are needless contradictions where I prioritize environment or emotions over consistency. But! It's still been fun to experiment with and I'm glad it comes through :D I wish I'd been more mindful when I first started writing. Extending the intentional word choice metaphors to hels/Hermitcraft would have been really fun I think.

And I've never read Rothfuss! Though I've got a few friends who think I'd like Name of the Wind. Though they're the same friends who thought I'd like Wheel of Time, the Genre Defining Fantasy Series, and I, famously [in my friend group], couldn't get into that if my life depended on it.

#rns asks #anonymous #the barking writer #i should really give name of the wind a shot #i think i just get daunted by the fact that its first person. that pov is really hit or miss with me #ironically also because ive read too much horrir #its a shortcut to reader empathy and sometimes i dont like how it tries to manipulate the plot

[silverskye13]

Does Tanguish have toe beans?

This ask is making me realize how rarely I draw Tanguish.

Kind of! He's got little paw pads on his foot where I imagine he holds most of his weight, since he's got the digitigrade(?) foot style in my doodles. But he doesn't have individual beans for the toes.

Don't ask me why he just kinda turned out like that :'D I probably got lazy the first time I drew him like that and it's stayed ever since.

#rns asks #tanguish #lindentree #no beans only peets #though if you want to give him the Full Beans Experience dont let me stop you!

[silverskye13]

Hey!! I have another sorta kinda worldbuilding question,,,, and it may be bc I'm trying to figure out more abt the helsmets I made,,, 👉👈 but how did u figure out like. how the characters link to / travel to and from their hermits? I am trying to figure that out in particular w a couple of em that I made but I am simply lying on the floor with an empty brain and no ideas

Oooo your helsmet OCs

Unfortunately! I don't have too many hard and fast rules for it. I can give you my thought process, if that helps?

I made Helsknight's back and forth first, because its established in canon he can travel between worlds [though I think it's implied to be difficult. I think he came through the nether the first time.] But when I first started writing for Hels/Wels, I was writing Helsknight as more like,,, a set of intrusive thoughts that gets more solid in the dark -- a bit like how you get grimmer thoughts when you're tired. He was a presence that sometimes got firm enough to manifest. Then when I started working on RnS, it seemed logical he would slip through shadows. As Welsknights "dark thoughts", as his "dark side", it made sense to me that he is almost literally Welsknight's shadow, and can use those shadows to fall back and forth. He has more freedom of movement than most helsmets because Welsknight plays on a lot of worlds, and Helsknight can go where he's been [as any good shadow does].

For Tango/Tanguish, I liked the idea of a mirror or reflection. They started the story very close, and there is a fondness there that you sometimes get when you look in a mirror. And given Tango was looking for a friend -- I dunno, your reflection is such a recognizable thing. The connection made sense to me. So they can kind of fall through to each other -- but only where each other is, because you can't really have a reflection unless you're there to cast it. It's more rooted by proximity.

And then some helsmets I think have no access to their other halves. The Demon wants nothing to do with Impulse -- Impulse is a threat to him. Impulse is probably the only person in the world he truly, deeply fears, because he sees in Impulse the potential for his undoing. It's that fear and aversion that drives him not being able to travel. He doesn't want to glimpse his hermit in any aspect of his life, and it's rooting him in place.

If you're trying to build your own unique ways for travel, I might try breaking it down like that for your characters. Would they want access to their other half, or vice versa? What are they to their other half? Are they a shadow, a dark reflection, two sides of the same coin, etc? Are they an idea that drowns their other half [travel exclusively through water] or are they maybe a passion, or anger [stepping through fire]? Do they have unlimited access, or can they only come when called? Or can they go places their other half can't follow, reflecting the idea that their other half feels trapped, but they're free to roam? Etc. etc. etc.

#answering asks #yayforstuffs #excited to see what you come up with! #sorry if the questions are a little overwhelming -- asking questions is how i get ideas #most of my worldbuilding involves going 'what if' and 'how about' and 'why' until something sticks #rns asks

[silverskye13]

Hi! Something I'm curious about- how do helsmets get created? I've (I think) kinda gleaned the gist of what they are from context clues reading through rns, but what actually spawns them into existence? Like is it usually some Big Life Event that happens to a person, or an overabundance of feeling/emotion that splits off, or is creating a helsmet even something intentionally done by a person? :V

Helsmets kind of just happen! There's not much of a specific how, or a specific why. I'm trying to convey through the characters that they very much feel like they just spawned in one day. They woke up in hels, and with half a personality and a lot of faults, and the inherent knowledge that they were missing a half of themselves that they would never get. Not all hermits/mirrors/etc even know they have a helsmet out there. ImpulseSV for example, we've established the Demon is his helsmet, but that the Demon can't skip between worlds with the same ease that Helsknight and Tanguish can. I think, on an instinctual level, Impulse can feel something is off. He might feel exacerbated good/bad days, or get hints of thoughts that don't really feel like his own. But unless he actually meets his helsmet someday, or asks someone who knows about their helsmet if he has one, he has no reason to really know the Demon is there. As for a Big Life Event! There's probably some correlation with big events and helsmets forming [I feel like a lot of helsmets formed as a result of the life series, for example] but only because it brings the issues behind them into sharp relief.

If I really had to pin down how I think it feels, it would be like,,, noticing your intrusive thoughts are worse for the first time. Like, we all have bad days, where we down talk ourselves a little, or berate ourselves for something we did that we didn't like. But when was the first time it became a problem you noticed. If you have anger issues, when do you know you have anger issues? Is it the first time you punch a wall, or the first time you punch a friend? By the time you've realized there is a problem, there's a helsmet out there living it. When you realize your intrusive thoughts are hampering your life, those thoughts belong to another person. When you realize your anger is flying wildly out of hand, that anger is being fed by another person. It's not just a habit, its a living thing now, with its own ideas and triggers, and sometimes it triggers itself without input from you. And it makes you miserable. It hurts your relationships. It might not ruin your life exactly. But it will impact it. They're hard to get rid of. It's like having a demon sitting on your shoulder, an antagonistic force that, just by being there, breaks things. And that's all you ever see of it. And sometimes, that little demon on your shoulder, blames you for creating it, and tries even harder to ruin your life. If they're strong enough, they become your personality, your defining traits, until you're just them now.

Tanguish and Tango's relationship works specifically because the problem Tanguish is, is codependency. Tango needs his friends and feels like they're leaving him behind, and his anxiety about that turns into a little guy who feeds it. But there's two of them now, and they get to be codependent with each other, feed each others' problems. And its Tanguish's fear as a codependent person who needs someone to feed off of that fuels him rescuing Tango. It's a self-serving purpose that turns into something bigger and better.

#answering asks #redstone and skulk #yayforstuffs #does that?? answer your question?? i'm not sure if it answered your question OOPS #i'm sorry if its still confusing #the problem with making a story about a nebulous idea is the edges stay a little fuzzy sometimes #rns asks