#but it was so. SO! & with hilde still working on the necromancy thing as he enters shb... abandoning it halfway. ugh.

[windupaidoneus]

thinking back on when i finished shb & it took me like a whole week to be able to put into words how i felt abt emet & i wasnt able to think about literally anything else in that time. man. this shit is crazy. & then i wrote a long ass fucking essay on hildegarde's feelings throughout the expansion. man. ohhhh man. i need to replay it lest i become ungovernable

[windupaidoneus]

hi thistle i wanted to ask abt hancock and hlidegarde .. what is their dynamic like what were their first impressions of each other 🤲 <- me with my hands out ready to receive info

OKAY I AM FREE FROM. well everything really. ITS TIME TO TYPE!!!!! HI CLARA BELATED REPLY & do not worry i have not forgotten the other ask either i prommy

also i took like four separate days to actually type all of this my ability to focus is so shot. BUT I DID IT

the first impressions are a little funny bc from my understanding most of my friends' wols had a very different one. HDJSHKJG

so it was in earlyish stb right. we have a hilde who's still in mourning from. well. points at haurche. hes basically a widower at that point since they were engaged. minfilia also just basically died for real, papalymo died, they went to rhalgr's reach & shit got fucked, kind of the maze of torments (as per usual) for him. but hes trying to stay #silly & not think too hard about it so he can be there for lyse & thancred & whatever. he IS considering necromancy at this stage but is still focused on tempering research for the time being

enter hancock whose first interaction is to make a joke about teledji's corpse. i wouldnt say hilde was charmed romantically but like. it caught him off guard & he found it really funny?? it was a bit of an unhinged joke & his friends had all been REALLY serious & sad of late (& i mean himself too but yknow. in his mind he did not have it the worst so he should help others first. the usual) so hancock was a breath of fresh air in that sense. they got on pretty well from that point on despite hancock working for lolorito & hilde's apprehensions as a result, much to tataru's dismay. but ultimately he just wasn't the backstabber or evil schemer type, just a very peculiar autistic man who was given a lot of power & used it for his. autistic ends. so. yeah. it went okay.

on hancock's end i believe hildegarde would've been a rather daunting name to hear about until he first met him. he wasn't really scared, because he has no reason to be in the wol's bad books when he was offering help in the first place!, but it was basically just like meeting a celebrity (who had butted heads with his boss slash father figure of sorts no less), right? so there was some anticipation. but it turned out the warrior was actually a pretty meek-looking sad little thing so he got comfortable pretty quickly. i don't think he expected the joke to be taken as well as it did. not sure what he actually expected if anything at all. probably mostly a sense of unease? or just mild laughter but not much else? i think he was just establishing himself & who he is. & somehow that would be the thing that their dynamic would found itself on. lmao

speaking of their dynamic. it's... they get along very well? scarily so?? they don't really argue or anything. kinda just yes and-ing each other. hancock asks hilde for help while showering him with praise to butter him up & hilde just rolls his eyes with a smile goes to do it before hancock even finishes. whenever hilde has the free time for it he'll visit & they spend a few days together (before emet comes back. after he does emet is also spending a few days together with them). hilde tends to tease him a fair bit which he takes well initially but progressively gets more prone to getting flustered. he greatly enjoys it bc he is sick in the head

there is some vulnerability with them too though ofc. i don't think it came up much before post shb (THEY DID FUCK IN POST STB THOUGH!!!! IMPORTANT!!) but hilde probably brought up haurche in passing & tried to not delve into it too much. it was still something that needed to be expressed at some point because otherwise he's kinda just... the wol... unaffected by everything that happens to him & he keeps marching on... & i mean. hancock is clever enough to of course know hilde is more than what the tales sing & whatever. but it's still a nice reality check. reminds him the wol is really just a person at the end of the day. & when it's just them in a room together they are on equal footing. it's not a legend & just some merchant. it's two people

post shb is where they really hit the whole getting close thing... yknow. since. hilde comes back after not that long from hancock's pov & yet he's looking FUCKED. UP! & he's clearly beyond exhausted. honestly he's not even that recognisable at that point shb really got him good... but it's him & that's what matters. obviously hancock is worried. even if hilde's only request when he visits is a really unusual one & perhaps even unsettling ("can i drink your blood please" isn't usually something that's said between them but there's a first for everything!! #hewashungry) he kinda has to oblige just out of concern. the explanations come later alongside a good deal of crying & apologising. hilde spends quite a bit of time at his place recuperating from. everything. & everytime he does something he comes back to hancock when hes done. like the werlyt trials. edw is a whole ordeal bc he has to spend so much time away from hancock which is NOT THE WORST I GUESS since emet is in his head by that point (this guy needs a supervisor at all times at that point in time) but god after elpis he needs a fuuucking break. & he doesnt get one!!! he just gets to think really hard about how he wishes he could be with his normal best friend hancock right now & kinda vanishes from front for a little bit

post edw is great because of beautiful mt rokkon though. it was kinda platonic (according to both of them) for the longest time but once they get to spend time together alone on that mountain is where they both get more acutely aware that it's probably not platonic anymore... which is fun bc well emet does come back around that time. so hancock & hilde dont really talk about shit for a while. bc hilde is sorting out whatever awkward shit is going on with emet initially. & then he has to introduce emet to hancock. it doesnt really make things awkward with hancock bc hes kinda fine with everything & honestly im going to say emet being a tall & kinda intimidating guy with a very powerful & imposing aura (& also his bitchy countenance) was probably a bit of a fingertips touching thing to him... insert that one post thats like joining someone elses relationship scoot over i love yall. hancock did this. emet thought there would be some sort of competition (that he would win effortlessly) but turns out the little normal ass guy also wants him. he's fine with this

i got wildly sidetracked. hilde wears the pants ☝️ these three would be a fucking nightmare at a fancy party of sorts they are gossiping the wholeeeee time. & if theyre dragging alisaie & nero with them? dont even get me started. the worst family has shown up

um. oh yeah. they did have feelings for a while but said like Nothing... on hancock's part bc he believed himself out of hilde's league (not in a self deprecating way just. thtas the whole wol mate thats an entirely different level!) & on hilde's part bc well he IS the wol & he's probably going to die young with all the shit they're making him do & it's probably not even reciprocated bc hes kinda lame & honestly he doesnt quite get why hancock puts up with him despite having seen him at his lowest & knowing the myth of the wol is really just a myth. & also getting hancock involved romantically with him would put greater emotional strain on him if anything did happen to hilde. you know how it is!!!!!