#OC: Tess Templar | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the-rogue-mockingjay · 6 years ago

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OC Interview!

featuring my girls, Melanthe, Eden, and Aisling!

Tagged by @schoute, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I’VE WANTED TO DO ONE OF THESE!!! Thanks for the tag!!!!!

Tagging @coptix! (frick yeah Luna Hawke!!!!!) And also @markuilleam (no pressure tho lol)

Rules: Answer the following questions as your OC of choice.

I couldn’t pick just ONE, so I said screw it and went with my main three!

1. What’s your name?

Melanthe Ashirill Lavellan. [She grins and bows low and dramatically.] How do you do? [She glances at her sister.]

[Eden clears her throat.] Eden Lavellan.

[Hawke smiles pleasantly and crosses her legs.] Aisling Mariann Hawke.

2. Do you know why you are named that?

[Melanthe shrugs.]

Hawke: No.

Eden: A friend suggested it, I thought it sounded nice, and that’s what I’ve gone with ever since.

3. Are you single or taken?

Hawke: I gave an angsty Tevinter elf my heart, and I hope he keeps it forever.

[Melanthe cackles.] Always the romantic, aren’t you Hawke? As for me… [She pulls an ivory wolf’s jawbone pendant out from under her tunic and waves it around.] Yep.

Hawke: You…went with Solas?

[Melanthe nods.] Yep. The resident egghead Fade expert is mine. And my dear sister is in love with the Commander!

[Eden blushes slightly.] He’s…he’s nice.

[Hawke and Melanthe elbow Eden playfully.]

4. Have any abilities or powers?

[Eden holds up a glowing left hand.] Mel and I have the Anchor. It lets us open and close tears in the Veil.

[Melanthe high-fives her sister with her own glowing hand.] Yes! And we can make tiny holes in the Veil to kill demons sometimes!

Hawke: I’m a mage, specifically a spirit healer with force mage training. It’s pretty cool. Eden’s a mage as well.

Melanthe: And I’m good at poking hundreds of holes in people via a truly epic assortment of knives. [She winks.]

5. Stop being a Mary Sue.

[The three women exchange puzzled glances.]

Hawke: Run that by me again?

Melanthe: I don’t remember killing someone by that name. Nor do I remember any bartenders with that name. Maybe…eh. Nah.

6. What’s your eye color?

[Hawke raises an eyebrow.] You mean to tell me you can’t see it? Blue.

[Melanthe leans in close to the interviewer for a moment.] Gold, but not the same shade as my sister’s. Mine’s better.

Eden: I’m not inclined to disagree.

7. How about your hair color?

Hawke: Black. Like obsidian but, alas! Not as shiny.

Eden: Just..dark red.

Melanthe: Like drying blood!

[Eden makes a face.] Mel, please.

Melanthe: Okay fine. Going with Hawke’s mention of shiny rocks, how about garnet red?

Eden: That is better, yes.

8. Have any family members?

[Hawke suddenly finds the floor most intriguing. Melanthe perks up.] Oh, lots! There’s the twins, Tessa and Feyrand--they’re older than me--Iolanthe’s younger than Eden, we’ve got an even younger brother who has a habit of disappearing and we’ve got cousins galore! There’s Kahris, Maralah, Saelethil…not to mention our clanmates! They’re family too.

Eden: My friends are my family, too. Hawke, Fenris, Cole, Cassandra, Solas, Varric, Sera, Blackwall…the whole inner circle, really.

Interviewer: What about you, Hawke?

[Hawke jerks her head back up.] Oh, sorry. Well… [She coughs into her fist.] I have Fenris and my ducklings, and the Lavellans. That is…all.

9. Oh? How about any pets?

Melanthe: Too many. There’s my palomino horse, I call him Corvo, Eden’s got a hart named Red Velvet, a halla named Evune, probably a dozen different birds, three hamsters aaaaand a rabbit on top of that-

Eden: In my defense, they were mostly rescues.

[Hawke points behind her with her thumb.] There’s an undead bog unicorn in the stables. And a giant nug. And as for me? My mabari Birch is all I need.

10. That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me something you don’t like.

[Hawke deadpans.] Red lyrium.

[Melanthe grimaces.] Oh, I feel you there.

Eden: Stuck-up ancient Tevinter morons who blow things up and then monologue villainously.

Melanthe: Oof, true! Also the Chantry. The Chantry can go- [She spews a long string of obscenities that just about rivals a sailor’s cursing.]

[Eden nods thoughtfully. Hawke’s eyes glint with mischief.] And the TEMPLARS as well, especially the ones who were in KIRKWALL working for MEREDITH-

[Cullen hollers from the next room.] I heard that, Hawke!

[Melanthe and Hawke high-five. Eden shakes her head.] Hawke didn’t mean you, ma atish’an.

Melanthe: Oh yes she did. [snickers]

11. Do you have any activities/hobbies that you like to do?

[Melanthe leans back in her chair, putting her legs on the table.] Stabbing. Drinking. Kissing Solas. Pranking everyone in Skyhold, the usual trouble.

Eden: Painting, reading, gardening. [A timid smile slowly spreads across her face.] Singing, or playing the harp.

Hawke: Now that you mention it… I write poetry, and sometimes turn them into songs. Journaling is also something I like, and pressing flowers, and-… [Her gaze strays to the wall.] Yeah, that’s about it.

12. Have you hurt anyone in any way before?

[The three women glance at each other, at the interviewer, then back to each other.]

Melanthe: Pfft. What kind of question is that?

[Eden toys with a bracelet.]

Hawke: Oh no, of course not.

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

[Hawke grabs a champagne glass from the end table next to her, and sips it.] Me? Never!

Melanthe: I heard you used the Arishok’s skull as a flowerpot.

[Hawke nearly spits her drink everywhere.] Who told you that?

[Melanthe simply winks at the interviewer.]

14. What kind of animal are you?

Hawke: A dragon. Guarding my treasure hoard~

[Melanthe wiggles her eyebrows.] A sssssslippery sssssssssnake!

Eden: Sorry sister, you’re more of a mountain goat. You’re everywhere you shouldn’t be and you consume an unholy amount of whatever food’s available.

Melanthe: She’s a barn owl. Or a cat, maybe?

15. Name your worst habits?

Hawke: Fenris says I’m a bit overprotective of my friends. Too loyal, too stubborn, too willing to risk my life for others, I “involve myself in the affairs of others” too much, or what have you. But I’ll let you in on a secret: I used to ignore the vast majority of the mail I got when I was a noblewoman of Kirkwall.

Eden: I stay up late reading fiction when I should be dealing with all my mail and- [she lowers her voice.] Sometimes I skip war meetings.

Melanthe: I run exclusively on caffeine and volatile emotions.

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

Hawke: Eden.

Eden: Hawke.

Melanthe: Iron Bull, Cassandra, Blackwall, Cullen, Leliana, Josie, Tess, Feyrand, Krem, Sera, Solas, Vivienne, Cole, Dorian… [She grins wickedly.] But not you, sister. I’m still taller than you.

Eden: Not if I wear heels.

Melanthe: Not if I stand on Bull’s shoulders!

17. Are you gay, straight or bisexual?

Hawke: Mm, straight.

[Melanthe considers this a moment, then shrugs.]

Eden: Just because I have a boyfriend doesn’t mean I’m into…that.

18. Do you go to school?

Hawke: My parents taught me a lot.

Melanthe: Dalish don’t really have school.

19. Ever want to marry and have any kids one day?

Hawke: I’d like to, yes.

Eden: Marriage? Absolutely, but kids I’m not so sure of.

Melanthe: To be honest I haven’t thought about it. Too busy stabbing demons and undead and corrupted templars and whatnot.

20. Do you have any fangirls/fanboys?

Hawke: Do lovers count as fans?

Melanthe: HEY SOLAS! ARE YOU A FANBOY?

Solas, from the other room: Am I- what?

Melanthe: He’s a fan of the Fade. And me. But be serious, very few people in Skyhold AREN’T fans of me. [She winks.]

21. What are you most afraid of?

Eden: Spiders.

Hawke: Corrupted spiders.

Melanthe: Bears.

22. What do you usually wear?

Eden: Simple Dalish robes.

Hawke: I inherited a bloody awesome coat from my dad complete with belts, a bright red sash, and some shoulder armor. With bonus knee protection, because you can’t protect your knees enough.

Melanthe: I’ve got a sick coat, made of phoenix scales, ring velvet, Highever weave, with lazurite details. I’ve got other coats made of varghest scales, dragonling scales, and gurgut webbing.

23. What one food tempts you?

Melanthe: CHOCOLATE. What kind? Doesn’t matter, it’s MINE.

Hawke: Ham that tastes of despair is okay, but there’s enough despair in the world, and not enough lemon cheesecake.

Eden: …cinnamon rolls.

24. Am I annoying you?

Melanthe: Nope. I’ve got aaaall the time in the world.

Hawke: After all the people I’ve dealt with, it’ll take a lot more to be annoying.

Eden: You’re not a fussy Orlesian noble. You’re doing just fine.

25. Well, it’s still not over!

[Hawke gestures for the interviewer to continue.]

26. What class are you (low/middle/high)?

Hawke: I was an apostate, then a refugee apostate, then a noblewoman apostate, then the Champion of Kirkwall, and now I’m little more than a fugitive, so truth be told, I’m not sure.

Eden: a Dalish First turned Inquisitor. I…don’t…really know?

Melanthe: High class for fancy parties and fancy murders, low class at the tavern.

27. How many friends do you have?

Hawke: About ten.

[Melanthe snorts.] Um, almost a whole castle’s worth.

Eden: My inner circle, plus the ducklings, plus the animals… [She tries counting them, but loses track.] As many friends as I need.

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

Hawke and Melanthe, in unison: Lemon meringue is the best.

Melanthe: Chocolate is equal.

Eden: Pies of all kinds are good. I wish we had them more often.

29. Favourite drink?

Melanthe: Whiskey.

Hawke: That peach liqueur I used to buy in Hightown.

Eden: ….hot chocolate?

30. What’s your favourite place?

[Hawke smiles wistfully.] I have many, but the place I like best is wherever Fenris is.

Melanthe: Awww!!

Hawke: And somewhere we’re not being attacked all the time.

Melanthe: I’m rather fond of that little oasis in the Western Approach. And the Wounded Coast. Storm Coast was pretty, too.

Eden, softly: I liked the Emerald Graves.

31. Are you interested in anyone?

Melanthe: We’re all dating someone at the moment. And we told you that.

32. That was a stupid question…

Hawke: We all say dumb things sometimes.

Melanthe: Some people more often than others.

33. Would you rather swim in the lake or the ocean?

Hawke and Melanthe: Ocean.

Eden: Lake.

34. What’s your type?

Melanthe: Type of what? Blood? Weapons?

Eden: Preferred type of magic?

[Hawke tries not to laugh and fails.] Broody and sometimes glowing.

35. Any fetishes?

[Melanthe smiles brightly.] Stabbing demons.

Hawke: If you think you’re going to get an answer to that, think again.

[Eden squirms and twists her bracelet around her hand.] Next question, please.

36. Camping indoors or outdoors?

Melanthe: Wait….indoor camping is a thing? What is it with you shems and constantly coming up with new nonsense?

Hawke: Pillow or blanket forts, I think.

Eden: …..outdoors?

I stayed up SO MUCH LATER THAN I SHOULD HAVE writing this, but heck if it wasn’t awesome!

#memes!#aisling hawke #melanthe lavellan #eden lavellan

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tiredpandaportfolio · 1 year ago

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Idle Thoughts on How I Write Dante and Tess.

I felt like fooling around and getting some thoughts I have about them in order, again because I like having some consistency to my writing. There's very particular ways I write the two of them and I often have thoughts that don't always make it into my stories.

Tess is a rather odd character, as far as my creations go. She breaks a lot of "the rules" of the setting, but in a way that helps flesh her and the worldbuilding out, I think. Her presence allows me to cover topics that I might otherwise not really be able to tell within the DMC universe.You can check out the oc: tess templar tag on my blog if you want to find out more about her.

The Nature of Their Relationship

It is complicated and this is not even an exaggeration. They're both difficult, broken people and much as we'd all like that, love doesn't bridge every gap or patch every problem. Navigating a relationship has been a challenge for them, from the very beginning.

When they were young, they used to be pretty vicious with each other, verbally and emotionally. Just becoming friends required a lot of time and compromises, a little bit every time. If you'd asked them, at the time, why they made the effort, neither would admit to consciously doing so. With the benefit of retrospect, if you twisted their arms, they'd both admit that it was loneliness. By that time, they had each spent most of their lives very isolated and alienated, in often hostile circumstances. They had terrible trust issues, particularly directed at adults. Meeting someone of the same age, with similar baggage -- someone who got it -- was a big deal for a pair of dysfunctional teenagers.

In a way it sort of saved them both emotionally, particularly Dante, staving off cynicism and misanthropy for a bit longer. He could still allow himself to make connections with people. Tess found an anchor in herself that propped her up against her own cynicism and she developed her eventual patience with people.

Their separation hurt them both. They had only just started to acknowledge their awkward feelings and Dante was particularly angry about it, for a very long time. He did his best to bury his anger about it, but part of him was greatly frustrated by the feeling that he had allowed something precious to slip through his fingers. Tess was plagued by regrets for years, especially as her own circumstances began to beat her down and she lost hope in even the conviction she had that they might see each other again.

Meeting again after years was not some magical moment where all was suddenly well. They had fresh trauma to work through, more inner demons to fight against. The years had changed them. They were once more practically strangers. They both had secrets they were unwilling to talk about. Dante never managed to find the courage to open up about his family issues and thought Tess was doing him a favor, not asking. She would regret that, eventually, but she only wanted to give him peace. And she was scared to ask, too.

But that memory of the old fondness, the warmth it brought, got them to try; to bridge that distance, re-acquaint themselves with each other and why they got along so well in the first place. It actually didn't take that long for their feelings to run from friendly to something deeper, but it did take them a long time to acknowledge them -- in fact, Dante nearly didn't, until Tess' familiar, Roy, gave him an earful about it. Dante had been convinced that neither were the feelings mutual, nor did he deserve a chance. Roy was not gentle in disabusing him of this notion, and he was quite harsh about Dante treating Tess' feelings too lightly and hiding behind his 'make a joke out of everything' attitude.

He was a little floored that she reciprocated because her own tendency to bottle up her feelings to protect herself made it difficult for her to properly express them, something she continues having difficulty doing, but she tries.

But even after clearing the air, they still can't agree on the precise nature of their relationship, save that they are incredibly important to each other. And that's regardless of how they look to others. Between calling each other names, bickering like an old married couple and even antagonizing each other, it's easy to mistake them for frenemies. They are in fact, just incredibly independent people who don't react well when others interfere in their lives, even someone they love deeply. Theirs is a relationship of constant compromise, pushing and pulling until they find the middle.

Will It Last?

It could. But it all depends on them.

Dante is not one to burn bridges lightly and if you think about it, he is an incredibly forgiving person when it comes down to it. He's given second and even third chances to people who by all rights may not have quite deserved it. He's willing to overlook and forgive a lot of things, even quite heinous ones. He's had to learn to live with a lot of the things he himself does.

But... Tess isn't like that. She's far more firm in her principles and for better or for worse, those mainly center around her survival. She's spent her entire life trying to make sure she isn't killed or worse, eaten by demons and whatever other threat rears its head. She doesn't quite know any other way of living. To be perfectly honest, being anywhere near Dante is a massive risk on her part, and not just because trouble and death follow him like a bad omen. Witches are hunted, quite literally, by both demons and humans in the know. Dante himself poses a legitimate threat to her, no matter how much he or she might believe otherwise. It is a possibility she can never completely remove from her mind.

The thing is, Tess' principles also mean she doesn't let others off the hook easily and can hold grudges. If she had enough evidence that Dante, either directly, or by association, had done things she could never forgive... it might be over. She wouldn't be able to exist in a relationship where she is expected to turn a blind eye to things she can't stomach, no matter how much she loves the other party. She's just too used to having to protect herself and she will do so, even from people she loves. This doesn't mean it's not going to hurt.

Romance

Of the two of them, Dante is the hopeless romantic. And this is despite his long-held belief that romantic love just wasn't really going to be a thing for him. He's aware of the irony. He's all about the grand, sweeping gestures. The flowery confessions, the recitation of poetry and overt and subtle flirtations. He's the one who goes over the top. He's the type to go for a full Hollywood Dip kiss. He wants to go big or go home. And he does it all with all of his usual confidence, even when he’s actually being incredibly awkward. It’s almost as if, now that it’s really dawned on him that he loves her, he wants to yell it from the rooftops. Subtlety just isn’t in his blood.

The problem is, Tess is rather the opposite. She's really not much of a romantic, no matter how much she tries. She appreciates and welcomes romantic gestures, but there is a definite awkwardness that she can’t seem to overcome and she’s rather bad at initiating them herself. Besides, overly "loud" gestures tend to embarrass her and send her running. She swears she understands and appreciates his enthusiasm but anything over the top really goes over her head and makes her feel embarrassed. Her own romantic gestures tend to be small and heartfelt and focus on wanting to be close to the other party. She’ll cook for the both of them and wants to spend time with Dante doing nothing much.

They’ve both had to compromise and reach a happy middle. Dante’s trying to temper his need for showboating and instead make his romantic gestures more intimate and immediate while Tess is learning to be more accepting of Dante’s need to be a flashy dumbass; she doesn’t object so long as there isn’t much of an audience. They have hit and misses but they don’t really mind as long as they’re having fun.

The Physical Side of Things

There is no escaping the fact that Dante, being nearly 6'5", towers over the 5'4" Tess. He's always been taller than her but as adults, the height and size difference can be a little staggering.

Tess is of fairly average height and lean with good curves but she hangs out with much taller people all the time, giving the illusion that she is, in fact, a shortie, which annoys her to no end. Dante being as tall and broad as he is makes her look even tinier. It's just one part of why she's so feisty and snarky all the time. Obviously, Dante loves ribbing her about her height. He also loves using it against her. He can end their arguments by simply picking her up, throwing her on his shoulder like a sack of dirt and walking off, and he has, much to her annoyance.

To be fair, Tess actually adores how taller he is. He's a great barrier to hide behind when she doesn't want to be directly visible. It's also very hard to miss him in a crowd. Dante finds her height amusing and endearing, even if he has to stoop a little to kiss her. He likes joking that dating her is bad for his back. He won't admit it, but it also makes him feel quite protective of her, even though he knows that she's quite capable of killing things five times her size with little hesitation.

His overwhelming strength can be a bit of a concern, but Dante has never hurt people accidentally because he's actually very well practiced with how he handles it. Tess on the other hand is definitely the more agile and nimble of the two, easily getting around or through obstacles Dante might need to detour around. He jokes she might be part cat with all the climbing, parkour and squeezing through narrow passages she does.

The difference is even more glaring if he happens to be in demonic form, because then he is well over 7' and watching a short witch argue with such a massive beast can be rather worrying for onlookers.

Physical Contact

Once Dante got really comfortable in the relationship, he sort of started to revert to how clingy he was as a young boy. For her part, Tess needed some time to adjust and find her confidence. They started from struggling to figure out how to hold hands to working through how comfortable each other was with touching.

Now Dante has little regard for personal space when it comes to other people and no regard whatsoever when it comes to Tess. He isn't satisfied with just hand-holding or even just a hug. He's progressed to the point where he wants to fully drape himself over her whenever he can and cuddle her like there's no tomorrow. He's also very grabby. In part, Dante gets a thrill out of knowing he can touch her whenever and express affection without saying a word. He's not even afraid to do it in public, though he's still awkward because he has a certain reputation, some street-cred he wants to maintain.

Sometimes he'll just do the aforementioned over-the-shoulder maneuver just for fun, because she gets flustered and mad. And he loves flustering her, because she's funny.

Tess is also quite physically affectionate, but she's rather like a cat in the sense that she'd rather be the one to initiate it and can only tolerate so much before she gets wigged out, but ultimately she likes the attention anyway, even if she grumbles. She likes to lean into the touches, and has a fondness for his hands. She likes nothing better than to curl up against him or on his lap when they're able to relax together. If they happen to share a bed and he spoons her, chances are she'll fall asleep almost immediately because of how cozy and secure she feels.

She tries to be patient with his grabbiness, but there's a time and place for slapping someone's butt and in public or in front of god damn demons is not it. Of course she likes touching him too and her favorite thing is absently playing with his hair and giving him kisses. He's quite funny when he's acting like he's too good for kisses but watch him lean in for them all the same.

Their Effects On Each Other

One of the biggest obstacles they had to navigate in the relationship is the curious interactions that demonic powers have on witches and vice versa. This hadn't crossed their minds as teenagers because neither was Dante potent enough yet to override whatever protections Tess used against demons, nor was her supernatural sense sensitive enough to get overwhelmed.

Now that they're adults and fully grown into their powers, things aren't that simple. Tess needs a large number of personal protections and 'veils' in order to just exist without being tracked down by demons or immediately swarmed by ghosts who want things done. She's very skilled at them and can lead a mostly normal life and work without issues... but Dante is a special case. He gives off such an intense and thick power when he's agitated that it can start to get to her.

The first time she was within close proximity when he shifted to the devil trigger, she was knocked out from the sensory feedback. She tried to make a joke out of it, but she had a hard time trying to adjust and the best she could do was suffer frequent enough exposure to try and acclimate. It took months of frustration and migraines and adjusting personal wards but now she's in a position where she's actually quite comfortable around powerful demons without getting stunned. She still gets nauseous around actual Hell Gates or in the presence of huge numbers of demons, but at least she stays standing.

On the other hand, demons get incredibly excited around witches, and view them as fine prey, since their blood runs thick with power. More than once, Tess has used her presence or some of her blood as bait to lure out demons. Dante is unfortunately not immune to this effect. Even though she's wrapped up in wards, he can still sense her arcane powers and it's impossible not to notice. Her blood smells sweet and spicy to him and he's actually kind of scared of what might happen if he gets a taste. He also has an unusually strong reaction to her powers, if she has to use some kind of effect on him. It seems to overly excite his demonic side, making him a little manic and aggressive. They're both a little baffled as to why this happens since it didn't happen when they were teenagers. It does tend to manifest in his tendency to be a pain in her neck and how much he likes provoking her, but also comes out in how forward he is with her. Sometimes when he's particularly agitated he might get a little edgy in dealing with her and struggle to contain himself.

Worries

They don't like it, but as a consequence of who and what they are, there is always a tension in their relationship. They worry about each other, even if they are not good at showing it. Tess worries about his emotional well-being and his self-control. She's always overly conscious of his demonic nature and how far into it he's venturing. She's afraid he'll hurt her, in every sense, but she also has an incredible amount of trust in him and he knows it. That's what gets to him. He cares more about her than he does himself because he's too used to being the most invincible thing in a space and he's starting to understand that's not the case for her.

Dante's actually rather quietly freaked out by how Tess operates; extremely dedicated to whatever she decides to do and very efficient at planning and then executing ploys that will achieve her goals. She doesn't fight for fun or her pride, she fights to survive and it shows. She's ruthless. When motivated she really is so "do-or-die" that it actually unsettles him. She seems afraid of nothing and as much as he admires her tenacity and ruthlessness, it also terrifies him. She's capable of making some truly difficult decisions just so that others don't have to do so and she follows through with them.

Fights

Dante is generally very laid back and doesn't give a hoot about what other people say or do. He does not argue with people unless pushed, he's got better things to do. Insults towards his person or even his family roll off like water on a duck's back. But the moment Tess snarks at him about something he's said or done, or just generally sasses him and calls him a dumbass, he immediately wants to clap back.

He will bicker with her about the stupidest things and they can end up having quite a stupid back and forth, complete with rather childish insults. And they don't care if they do this in front of others. Several demons have met their end because they assume their quarrel means their guard is dropped, just to be annihilated with an angry remark that they're busy talking.

Most of the time it's all rather a lot of hot air, though, the result of two very stubborn people butting heads. People who don't know them well often get the wrong idea about them, and might worry about Tess' well-being, prodding a huge mercenary like that. The fact of the matter is, 90% of the time, the bickering is trivial and they get over it a few minutes later.

Their actual fights and arguments are much, much different. They are rare and never particularly loud or obvious, and rather than trade barbs, they outright attack each other verbally and challenge each other's authority and reason. They will only rarely raise their voices but their words are full of venom and quiet anger. It takes them a long time to reconcile after such fights, and they are mercifully very uncommon.

Mundane Things

With their lives so full of tragedy, risk, the supernatural and the worst of human nature, they find immense satisfaction in little, mundane things that make them feel a sense of normalcy. Neither knew they craved this sense of normalcy until they started to experience it. They take incredible liberties with each other, things they would never do with anyone else.

Dante will sometimes steal her spare keys and let himself into her apartment, often without even expecting to find her there. He likes napping on her sofa and she lets him be. Because she's paranoid about her safety, her apartment is warded so tightly that not even a tiny demon could find it, let alone get in. But she's woven his presence into the exceptions so he has free pass and that fills him with a incredible sense of glee and accomplishment, being allowed into her sanctum like that. It's a great hiding place from Lady and Morrison, too.

Despite all the snark and their jokes and back and forths, their better moments are spent largely in companionable silence. Dante likes doing nothing in particular and doing fuck all with Tess is just better. Her large sofa means he can spread out and there's still room for her to curl up, still in contact with him and he can nap while she reads, and maybe plays with his hair absently. Or they might actually sit down to watch a movie, because Tess is a film nut, especially about old horror films. He has to admit that watching them with her is fun because she makes the most amusing comments.

Once in a while they’ll have a serious conversation about something - but never about themselves. They're too scared to ask the hard questions. They're... content with how things are.

Sleep

Sleep is a precarious affair for both of them. Dante doesn't need to sleep as much as humans but he does like to conserve his energy and motivation -- like a lion in the savannah, he says. Which... is a poor disguise for his laziness. The truth of the matter is that Dante sleeps poorly much of the time because he's still plagued by nightmares and insomnia brought by guilt and depression.

Tess on the other hand, has frequent bouts of insomnia coming from her hyper-sensitive sixth sense, and is prone to night-terrors and sleep paralysis. She suffers frequent, aggressive visitations by ghosts and other entities attracted to her, and there is only so much she can do to ward her sleeping space and herself from their influences. There are times when she goes sleepless for days until she can solve an issue and it shows.

Dante finds this incredibly frustrating because it's something he can't do much to help her with. There's nothing to fight. He takes some small comfort in her saying that his sheer oppressive presence drives off the small fry, the ones too scared of a demon's aura to bother her.

Which is one more reason why they enjoy sharing a bed. Dante's big, warm and very cozy to sleep nestled against and Dante gets an incredible amount of satisfaction just holding her. She fits very nicely against his chest and hearing her sleep soundly makes him nice and drowsy too. He normally sleeps on his back but it's nice to practically curl up around her.

Laughter

Dante is usually seen scoffing sarcastically, or chuckling in amusement at something going on. It's not common to see him belly laugh often, he saves that for the moments when he's relaxed and around people he trusts. He's started doing it a lot more often now that he's dating Tess because her sense of humor can really get to him. She has a way of telling stupid stories from her jobs relating to ghosts or other witches in a sassy way that makes him wheeze. She considers these moments a personal triumph.

On the other hand, Tess' sense of humor often undermines her usual confident and collected appearance. Dante's cheesy lines and his showboating and his particular brand of jokes crack her up way too easily at times, even when she's trying very hard to keep a straight face. Dante actively enjoys attempting to make her fall apart and when she gets going, she's gone, leading him to call her "crazed hyena" when she's having one of her fits.

They’re both dorks.

#panda writes #devil may cry #oc: tess templar #dmc #headcanons #oc headcanons #dmc headcanons #dante #dmc dante

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