#sir absolon

[damienthepious]

ksldjfjks not letting myself get behind on these again HERE is the CHAPTER enJOY

The Beast In On His Chain (chapter 10)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ch 4] [ch 5] [ch 6] [ch 7] [ch 8] [ch 9] [ao3] [???]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien, Sir Damien/Rilla, Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla

Characters: Sir Damien, Lord Arum, Rilla, Sir Absolon

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, prisoner/guard dynamic, Dehumanization, (which feels like a weird word to use for a nonhuman person bUT. it’s what i got.), Despair, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, (EVENTUALLY!!!! it’ll take a while), Captivity, Suicidal Thoughts, (that will be a theme throughout. inescapable in this particular fic. alas.), Eventual Romance, (Yes the dynamics in this one are fucked. honestly i’m kinda Stretching my limits these days.), (having fun with it. fucking around. it’s fine.), Recovery, (eventually), Self-Reclamation

Chapter Summary: Softness, and sharpness.

Chapter Notes: the last chapter came out short and this one DID NOT. CHAPTER WARNINGS for starvation (again), suicidal thoughts (again), something that is comparable to a suicide attempt, blood, violence, threats of further violence, and heavy implications of abuse/torture. PLEASE let me know if i missed anything, i'm far more worried about accurate warnings than i am about spoilers.

~

"Psst. Good morning, Arum!"

Arum flutters his eyes open at the sound of his name, startled and bizarrely eager and trying not to show it, and the human-

Amaryllis swims into view as he blinks the sleep from his eyes, grinning a conspiratorial grin with the toes of one boot obstinately edging past the line on the floor.

Arum reels himself back with a sigh, raising an eyebrow at the human in a vague question.

He doesn't know why she's back again. He won't let himself hope for another journal of crumbs, and he also doesn't understand this...

Damien isn't here today. He insists on informing Arum when he will be off-duty for a few days, so Arum knows that he will not be here to relieve the current guard in a few hours, even. And Amaryllis is back.

Three times seems... like it wouldn't be a coincidence. Sir Damien has been here more days than he hasn't, since Arum first noticed him. The chances are extremely unlikely that this other human would randomly happen to appear only when Sir Damien is absent.

Arum does not know what that means, but he certainly does not trust it.

"I would ask how you've been," she says, her smile tilting and her brow furrowing with something like understanding, or perhaps sympathy. "But that seems like a rub-salt-in-the-wound sort of question."

Arum snorts despite himself, and her grin returns. He lowers his head again, resting his chin on his arms with the collar digging uncomfortably into his neck, but he doesn't close his eyes, deciding to watch her as she glances back towards the door.

"So. Last time. I got the impression that your favorites were the flowers and the birds. And the landscapes, but most of my landscapes involve both flowers and birds, so." She pauses. "Unless I'm making that up?"

Arum sighs again, still uncertain, but after a moment he nods, ignoring the way the collar pulls. He glances away from her as well, for a moment, when her smile goes even more blinding.

"Great! Perfect. I've been doing a lot with the color green, lately."

She spends three tours worth of time going through her newest journal, packed thick with pages of botanical sketches and examinations of birds, the latter focusing on anatomy and the former- notes that Arum takes a few minutes to recognize as medical. A small part of him wishes he could ask about that. He is fairly certain that one of the succulents she has detailed is a variant of something he has- had in his greenhouse, and he is curious about the differences between the two.

(Has the Keep been able to manage the greenhouse without him?)

The birds feel less fraught. The way she draws the wings- it is perhaps more flat than he would prefer - she draws her lines a little too straight - but the musculature is extremely precise.

When she reaches the end, a few minutes before the next tour is due if his measure is correct, she exhales a long breath and lifts her gaze to him again.

"I hope-" she pauses. "I really don't know how to say this."

Arum lifts his head, then, annoyed and intrigued at the same time. He raises his brow, and she huffs a sigh.

"Alright, alright. Is this- do you like when I come do this? Is it actually- do you actually enjoy it, or do you not care at all? Or am I just making things worse for you?" She pauses as Arum stares at her, entirely blank, and then she continues. "You know that I'd leave you alone if you asked, right?"

Arum rolls his eyes, utterly unwilling to dignify that with a response, and she scowls at him, planting her hands on her hips.

"I mean it. Look, Arum," he twitches involuntarily, ignores it, "I told you before- I'm doing this because I think this- this whole situation is a nightmare, and I can't do anything real about it. Not-" she pauses, and Arum thinks- she changes what she was going to say, shaking her head. "I'm not here to make your imprisonment worse. That's the last thing I want. So. Do you want me to stop visiting?"

She- waits. Watches him. Arum feels his shoulders sink, discomfort and irritation and a resurrected bristling of his remaining scraps of pride, but- she only waits, and after a long, long moment, Arum relents. He shakes his head.

No. He does not want her to stop. He does not want to give up the chance to see her again. Does not want to give up these flattened trinkets of the world beyond these walls.

Her own shoulders lower, her expression melting into something like relief, and she nods with an enthusiasm that surprises him.

"Good. Good, Arum. I'm glad. I just-" she pauses again, biting her lip for a moment in a wincing sort of way, and then she mutters, "oh, fuck all of this," and then she-

She- pulls a page from her sketchbook? Arum makes in incredulous noise, pulling his head back, but she doesn't seem to hear him, her expression fixed in a determined scowl as she shoves the rest of the book into the satchel at her side. She takes the page in both hands, then, and folds it, and then folds it again, and then-

Ah. A little paper dart with narrowed wings, the edges of her drawing jagged and confusing between the folds. She holds it up in one hand, prepared to send the makeshift bird flying, and with one eyebrow raised, she asks, "Catch?"

Arum stares at her for slightly less of a pause, this time, and then he nods again, shifting to sit more upright as he lifts a pair of hands.

She grins, her hand flicking elegantly forward to send the dart gliding in an almost-perfect arc. Arum manages to catch it by a wing between his claws, his arm trembling as he pulls it back, hiding it quickly behind another hand.

"Just- something for- until my next visit. I know it isn't much, really, but-"

Arum shakes his head, not looking at her, his heart- pounding strangely, thudding in a way that makes his sternum feel tight and uncomfortable. He doesn't want to risk a word, but- he hisses sharply to stop that particular line of thinking. He unfolds the paper with more care than is strictly necessary, but with his cracked claws and shaking hands, he does not want to risk accidentally tearing his prize.

It's a drawing of a pond, thick with reeds and with a long-necked heron upright and noble in the shallows. Arum had lingered on this one perhaps the longest of what Amaryllis showed him today. Did she notice that? Was the choice intentional, or was is just the first drawing she could snatch up?

It smells like the charcoal did. Like charcoal, of course, in the first place, but- the warm alive scent he assumes must simply be Amaryllis herself. He flicks his tongue, his mouth painfully dry but still- he can smell the leather of the binding, some sort of wood, perhaps her home or the table she drew on. Chamomile, and his heart lurches again with a sort of desperation. Peaches and honeysuckle.

He tears his eyes form the page to look at her. She watches him with a rapt attention, as if cataloging his responses, but- he can't bring himself to indignation, for once. He's too tired, too... too grateful, despite himself.

She twitches a smile after a moment. "If you've still got the charcoal... I promise I won't be offended if you draw whatever you want on the back. Or- hell, all over the front, too. It's yours, it's a gift, you can do whatever you want with it. Tear it to pieces, it's yours."

Arum swallows, compulsively pressing the paper against his chest, the idea of shredding that peaceful little pond-

No. No, no-

Pathetic. He has been made truly, truly so pathetic. Accepting scraps and crumbs and drops. Accepting pity.

He is so tired.

(In his head, already, the idea of what he could add to the scene. Flora in the empty spaces around the pond. Suggestions of fish beneath the water. Someone at the bank, watching the birds and the frogs.)

He tucks the paper underneath himself, swallowing roughly. He hopes that she does not expect gratitude.

"I'll be back," she says when the next tour group enters, and Arum decides that she... probably isn't lying. He manages a nod, and she gives him another wide smile before she pulls her foot back from over the line, and disappears back into whatever her real life is.

~

The anger feels bigger, after that. He thinks of the knights trapping him here and seethes. He thinks of the little queen with the terrified eyes and wishes he had killed her himself, when he had the chance.

He wishes he could just starve to death. He wonders, if he had any magic to his tongue, if he could talk himself into it.

He folds Amaryllis' page carefully, using the seams from the paper dart, and hides it underneath the metal of the cuff on his upper left wrist, where his bone-thin frame allows just enough room to hide it properly.

And he thinks-

Pity, or kindness. Is there even a difference? Why do these gestures feel safer from Amaryllis rather than from Sir Damien? The knighthood, likely, but- is that all?

Amaryllis feels... earnest. Artless. He can almost feel her own anger, a sharp little mirror of his own. Damien feels as if he is only trying to prove something to himself.

And-

There is a thought, there.

Damien thinks him pitiable. Damien does not seem to fear him.

Damien is willing to risk stepping over the line, to try to offer Arum kindness- pity- whatever it is.

Arum can use that.

Arum thinks, and thinks, and thinks.

And when the guards are not looking, he sharpens the jagged edges of his claws on the stone beneath him.

~

Arum waits a few days. He is patient, in his own way. He knows that even though the knight is bound for foolishness, he is still a knight, and he will not trust a sudden change.

Arum softens his responses gradually, hesitating before he denies Damien's offer of water. He eyes the flask, allowing his expression to actually show the depth of his thirst, and Damien (yes, just like that, little fool) takes another step closer, offering the flask out in a loose hand.

Arum still waits, shaking his head and sighing himself back down to his stone. If Damien means to pity him... well. If it can be useful, Arum will not discourage such things.

Arum hesitates for a little too long, a few days later, and Damien huffs a breath, stepping entirely over the line, lifting the flask and almost pressing it into Arum's claws.

"Really, now," he says in a tone of gentle chastising. "Will you just-"

Arum would say that it almost feels too easy, if it hadn't been for the week or so of prelude. Claws around the wrist, dig the claw of his thumb into the pad of Damien's palm, twist and pull while he yelps at the sudden pain, drag the knight bodily back as he stumbles and-

Oh but he is stronger than he looks, lean muscle hidden beneath all that armor.

Arum is desperate, though. A little struggling is not going to be enough, this time. He folds Damien's back against his chest, twisting two of his own arms so the chains criss-cross in front of Damien's throat and he can pull, holding the knight securely against him.

"Ah- wh-"

Damien is furnace-hot. Arum did not expect that part. Mammals and all their ridiculous overabundance of heat. The foolish, starving part of Arum wishes to melt into the heat, nevermind the rest, he could sleep in this warmth. Almost as distracting as Damien's scent clouding his snout, leather and skin and feathers and-

Honeysuckle? His curly hair is dusted with pollen, he smells like a garden, Arum wants to devour him, but-

Task at hand, task at hand. One chance at this. Needs to play this situation right.

When he opens his mouth to hiss in Damien's ear, however, what comes out is-

"You should scream, honeysuckle."

Which-

Damien gasps, trying to arch away from Arum's grasp, so- it will do. It does not matter that the words tripped on his tongue. His claws and his teeth are sharp, and the chains are sturdy and thick, and Damien must know that Arum could very well kill him like this. The human windpipe is not all that difficult to pierce, or to crush.

"What are you doing-" the knight gasps, all the words compressed to one breath, and Arum snarls and tightens his grip.

"Scream," Arum hisses again, ignoring the flare of pain in his throat, but Damien does not need to. The door to the rest of the Citadel bangs open, and Arum grins. Apparently Damien's yelp when Arum cut his hand had been enough to cause a stir. And-

Ah.

Arum recognizes the knight that charges into the chamber first.

"Sir Damien," Sir Absolon says as he skids to a stop on the stone, his hand on his hilt and his tone strangely warning, as if his ire is directed towards his fellow knight before the monster threatening his life. Two other knights tail him, their expressions far more worried.

Arum does not care about their emotions, just at the moment. He pulls the chains tight across Damien's throat, enough to make him gasp and choke, and then he loosens his grip enough to let the creature breathe again.

"Unchain me," Arum demands, snarling past the collar, "or I kill him."

Damien chokes on a breath even without the chain going taut, panic in his scent now, in his still-struggling frame, but he doesn't try to speak.

"Out of the question," Sir Absolon snaps, his hand twitching against his hilt, his expression pulling into a contorted sneer.

"Then you are going to need to kill me," Arum says, and it would be a purr if not for his shredded voice, subtle and hungry. "That- is your decision. I kill- him. You free me. Or kill me."

Pain spreads from his throat, thudding in his eardrums and then behind his eyes at the prolonged attempt at communication, but- he has managed the most important part. Terms are set. He will be free, or someone will die. Arum would prefer himself, at this point, but-

"Go on then," Sir Absolon says, sharp and without hesitation. He sneers, gesturing his arms wide and making no move whatsoever to draw his weapon, and Sir Damien stills.

"S-Sir Absolon," Damien says, sounding very blank.

Arum tightens his grip, his secondary hands lifting to dig claws into the skin just above Damien's collarbone. "I will. Release me or- or I tear his throat open. Snap him like a twig-"

"Do it. Don't just threaten, monster, follow through." The knight- grins, white teeth in a neat row, and Arum pulls his head back. Even the other knights at Sir Absolon's back shift with something like discomfort, but they do nothing. Say nothing. "Keeping your nasty little swamp tamed is worth the cost of a knight or two, and Sir Damien serves our Citadel bravely, and unwaveringly. He's not afraid. Are you, Sir Damien?"

Damien-

Breathes. Sharp and quick with his eyes on this other knight, his heart thudding hard in his chest, his back pressed firm to Arum's chest, but- he does not answer. His mouth hangs open with his ragged breathing, but either he cannot speak, or he will not. Arum resists the urge to resettle his grip on the knight, resists the urge to- he doesn't know. To press for an answer himself, perhaps. Is Sir Damien prepared to die like this? To die just as much by the word of his fellow knight as by Arum's hands? Sir Damien's prattling tongue is still, now, though, and utterly silent, but- his blankness, his silence must be enough, because Sir Absolon's grin grows even further.

"There's a good boy," Absolon says smugly, and Sir Damien's muscles twitch in Arum's grasp. "He's a loyal knight. Loyal knights are willing to die for their Citadel. So, monster-" he pauses to laugh, an unpleasantly throaty sound that Arum cannot reconcile with Damien's own breath-soft laughter. "Sorry," he sneers, "so, Lord of the Swamp, commit to your threats and do it. See how well that ends for you. You still won't find your freedom, in truth or in death, but by Saint Aaron I can promise you, I do promise you, I'll make you wish you were dead."

I already do, you idiot, Arum thinks with a vicious snarl, feeling Sir Damien's heart skip a beat against him. There is nothing you can do to make my continued survival any worse.

But.

The knight is right. The threat is empty, isn't it? If these fools care so little for Sir Damien- if even his murder could not spur them to kill him in retribution-

They won't release him, either in freedom or in death. Not even in exchange for Sir Damien's life. Sir Damien's life is not worth anything to them.

... Arum should kill him anyway.

He should. He should slit the knight's throat and then try to at least make the other smug bastard bleed before they pull his choke-chain too tight to struggle against. He should make them suffer, as many of them as he can, because it is the only way he can make them feel even a fraction of what they've done to him.

(Sir Damien's heartbeat flutters against Arum's thumb, his breath shallow and uncertain, but alive, still alive.)

Arum swallows, squeezing Damien's pulse a little tighter, a pained growl in his own throat.

He should. He should.

But-

(He never wanted to make a crueler world.)

(How will he ever hear his Keep's lullaby again, if Sir Damien is dead?)

His arms tremble with even this little effort. The memory of the ease with which he once wielded his knives burns at the pit of his stomach. Sir Damien is hot as coals against him, the warmest thing he's touched since... before. His throat burns with the punishment of the collar and with something else, something less defined.

(oh, he says, his eyes so wide and honey-brown and touched by the barest edge of something like sympathy. A nightmare?)

His grip slackens, hopeless. Arum could, perhaps, blame it on his own trembling hands, but Damien startles against him as soon as he is able, twisting in his loosening grip to look back and search Arum's face with his own expression panicked flat. Arum feels what little strength he mustered for this failed effort leave him entirely, feels shame and grief and an ironic amusement at his own failure twist together within him, and he untwists the chains from around Damien's neck, and sways back from the knight so when the collapse takes him, he won't crumple to the floor with all their limbs still tangled together.

Damien half-catches him as he falls anyway, gripping his arms with a shocked noise, awkwardly easing him down against the plinth until Arum can pull away enough to simply curl into himself, burying his collared head against his knees, his trembling arms wrapping around the back of his head, his ruined horns.

"Stupid thing," Sir Absolon spits, fury underlying his tone, and then, "To the infirmary, Sir Damien."

"Wh-what?" Damien says, sounding so completely lost and breathless above Arum's head, and Arum curls into an even tighter ball.

"Infirmary, soldier, you're bleeding and we don't need you here right now."

"But- but he-"

"We can handle the beast, Sir Damien, since apparently you can't. You're done here. Go."

Arum does not look. He can't force his own eyes back open, cannot force his face to lift, but-

He can feel Damien looking at him, an almost burning intensity before he hears Damien's footsteps retreat, reluctant tap-taps across the stone until the door creaks open, pauses a breath, and then clicks uncertainly back closed.

Other footsteps, then. Heavier and with greater purpose, and the other knight - Sir Absolon, if ever Arum wished to curse a creature it would be him - steps closer to Arum's chains.

"Now. Swamp lord. That was an interesting little outburst, wasn't it? We've already been over this lesson so many times, I'd think you'd've learned by now! But maybe that's stupid of me, to think. Humans can learn. Hell, even dogs can learn. But you?" Arum cannot see him, refuses to look, tries not to let himself care, but- he can hear the grin in Sir Absolon's voice as he continues, "You're just a monster. I should've known not to expect any better."

There's a pause. Arum hears metal and leather rattle, and he knows automatically that the knights are setting their weapons aside. Out of reach.

"Now, monster," Sir Absolon says, all false cheer. "I can tell you a couple things about the rest of your day. You aren't going to die. That'd be bad for the war effort, see, and I'm not about to disappoint my queen."

Arum scoffs. He can't help himself, really, and- it isn't as if there's anything he can do to make what's coming worse.

"Shut the fuck up," Sir Absolon says in that same smug, certain voice, and Arum feels- hand on his horn, pressing his face down against the stone. "You aren't going to die, today," he says again. "But I made you a promise, lizard, and I'm damn well going to keep it."

[thesecondcitadel]

I take most juno/sc dual casting in stride but I hear sir absolon and think "whaaaat the fuck this isn't jet..."

[briony-poisoned]

I’m extremely interested to see how the dynamic plays out between a more powerful Sir Absolon and Sir Marc next season. I have not yet given up hope on a Marc v. Absolon boss fight where Marc wrecks Absolon’s shit but WE SHALL SEE

[straighttpp]

straight sc Caroline is secretly sleeping with Absolon because their onscreen sexual tension is just. so much in straight sc *gags*

ew ew ew ew ew ew ewewewewewewewew

[ihaveapodcastproblem]

So this is what happened at the meeting right?

[sofarsostrange]

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel of the penumbra podcast.

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel.

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel.

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel.

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel.

This is your daily reminder to listen to the second citadel.

[skyeofexile]

Penumbra Cosplayer Server? I think you mean Sir Absolon Hate Zone!!

[rillaofexile]

Sir Absolon was like mentioned in 3 sentences but he’s such an asshole who is a cartoon villain level ableist everyone is like “he will be the villain in my fanfiction”

[soledadcatalina]

[id: digital full body sketches featuring various sc characters, in order: rilla, quanyii, caroline, olala, pix, queen mira, pitley & sunny budkin. rilla is a short, slim Bangladeshi woman with wavy hair pulled back into a loose bun, she stands relaxed with her hands in her pockets and an easy smile on her face. quanyii is tall, broad-shouldered, slender, and Taiwanese-Filipino, with voluminous wavy hair. she is striking a playful pose, a spark of magical energy shooting out of her snapping fingers. sir caroline is a tall, fit, Morrocan Black woman with chin length dreads. she is in a wide stance, hands resting on the hilt of her sword, a cocky half-grin on her face. olala is a short, half monster, half Filipino human girl with short choppy hair and a monkey's tail. she stands leaning forward, waving, her tail curled around her legs. pix is a short fluffy, chickadee bird monster, adorned with jewellery. she stands with her wings tucked into her side, an uncertain look in her eyes. queen mira is a average height, chubby, hijabi Somalian-Indian woman. she stands poised with her hands clasped in front of her, with a small, weary smile. pitley and sunny budkin are forest nymphs, both with teased beehive hairdos, though pitley is tall and lanky as sunny is short and plump. the two stand side by side, hands on their hips and speaking into microphones.]

oh i never posted these here, did i? wanted 2 put some faces to second citadel characters i havent drawn before, and well, drawing those i have bc why not lol. 

[iknikblackstonevarrick]

so just how shitty was mira’s dad?

[damienthepious]

hwaugh. having a time over here tbh

The Beast In On His Chain (chapter 24)

[ch 1] [ch 2] [ch 3] [ch 4] [ch 5] [ch 6] [ch 7] [ch 8] [ch 9] [ch 10] [ch 11] [ch 12] [ch 13] [ch 14] [ch 15] [ch 16] [ch 17] [ch 18] [ch 19] [ch 20] [ch 21] [ch 22] [ch 23] [ao3] [???]

Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien, Sir Damien/Rilla, Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla Characters: Sir Damien, Lord Arum, Rilla, Sir Absolon Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, prisoner/guard dynamic, Dehumanization, (which feels like a weird word to use for a nonhuman person bUT. it’s what i got.), Despair, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, (EVENTUALLY!!!! it’ll take a while), Captivity, Suicidal Thoughts, (that will be a theme throughout. inescapable in this particular fic. alas.), Eventual Romance, (Yes the dynamics in this one are fucked. honestly i’m kinda Stretching my limits these days.), (having fun with it. fucking around. it’s fine.), Recovery, (eventually), Self-Reclamation Chapter Summary: Arum does something inadvisable. Damien tries to clean up the mess. Chapter Notes: Wowsers bowsers. a doozy, maybe. short, but. yeah. (ch warnings on ao3)

~

Arum has learned patience, in his time as a trophy. He knows what he wants even before the moment Damien leaves the room, but he bites his tongue, he curls his tail around his body, he settles and resettles on his uncomfortable stone, he ignores the intervening guards as they march their thoughtless circles past him, and he waits.

(Nothing to be gained from drawing further attention to Damien's shifts. Cannot connect what Arum intends to do to Damien at all, if possible.)

Difficult to keep track of time, down here, but- Arum knows he should be reasonably safe when the shift after Damien's trades off with next. They seem to have split the day into thirds, so... he should be as far from Damien, for the sake of association, as it is possible to be.

He makes sure that he has the Janus Beast's attention, aiming his thoughts towards it until it meets his eye, until it grins that teeth-and-acid grin, waits until the guard is far enough away not to hear, and then he begins to speak to it.

[read more on ao3]

[wonderfullyalone]

my favorite part of tpp early episode release is that while every patreon supporter listens to the episode i go through the order of the vas on the bottom of the poster and write my own episode so for anyone interested in mild spoilers/predictions that one could get from the poster:

1. it’s a sir caroline episode !!!! her va is listed second w quanyii’s va listed third i can’t wait for my grumpy knight to save olala

2. jason mellon is listed in the poster and i am begging kabert that means talfryn is showing up in the episode it’s been too long

3. anjimile is listed as well i’m so happy ale will be back i am curious if we’ll get ale and sir caroline interactions bc that would be interesting

4. simon moody is listed last which i take to mean that the kite is comically defeated in the first 5 minutes of the episodes by some wild team up

[still-busy-being-mortal]

since i constantly see posts where tpp fans freak out over double voice casting, i’ve put together a helpful chart from this wiki page:

some notable double roles:

OMG CAN WE ADMIRE MS. DRESCHER’S RANGEEEEE

mr. sikuliaq is also mr. sir absolon? who knew

yessss mr. moody coming in with the ICONIC antagonists

tbh i should have realized sooner that m’tendere and ale were voiced by the same person

[briony-poisoned]

I get a deep and profound satisfaction out of Sir Caroline just knocking Sir Absolon the fuck out. 

[waters-and-the-wilde]

okay expanded version of 'hypothetical next time on Second Citadel that now lives in my head rent-free’

Mira’s having a Real Tough Time trying to wrangle the un-retired knights, Sir Tristan as Exhibit A. her authority over them is slipping and pretty much the last thread of it is Sir Absolon still backing her up because as far as he’s concerned she is seeing reason and taking an appropriate course of action, and she’s been giving him significantly more clout because she knows that his influence is probably keeping her alive at this point. he’s very much one-of-them but in a conservative with a lowercase c mindset that still involves loyalty to the throne.

Sir Marc is pulled back on duty within the Citadel and may even have a bit of leadership and cred with the other knights at this point because now there’s a whole narrative around framing his attempts to get knighthood as ‘loyalty and dedication’ rather than ‘rampant ableism’. also early on not-sir-Marc spoke pretty good Knightly Bragging and he speaks Straight Guy so they kinda assume he’s like-minded

and now he really needs that assumption because the big-time knights are basically trying to induct him in their little club by playing on making him feel accepted by The Big Boys and making lots of promises because Big Changes are coming.

Sir Marc of Loves-His-Brother-and-Couldn’t-Kill-A-Half-Monster-Kid: ‘haha yeah sounds great guys’ *sweats*

there’s... potential I guess for what Caroline said about how ‘the knights fantasy works poison in the minds of the kindest men i’ve ever met’ but I think that even if he’s started slipping in the past few years, he’s got one or two things going for him: one is that he’s had his fight for recognition thrown back in his face two hundred times over and he knows better than most that these guys are full of shit, and two is that Tal is Immune To Propaganda

so like maybe he has one (1) inclination and then goes to Dampierre about it and Dampierre’s like ‘go ask your brother’ and Tal’s like ‘honestly these guys are kind of awful? and i didn’t want to get in the way of you having other friends but you realize this is why I don’t hang out with them too?’

‘you know what Tal you’re right this is weird and hey you know what else?? they told me not to tell you any of this and i’m pretty sure this is exactly why so thanks and also what the fuck do we do now’

so then Tristan shows up with Damien

and by this point Marc and Tal are just straight up spying on the other knights (Marc has one of Rilla’s recorders so he’s been trying to sneak it into meetings and stuff)

and Damien is wigged out because Rilla’s brother?? is helping these assholes?? and Marc’s like well somebody looks like he’s going to start crying any second, hey Tal don’t look now but I think this Sir Asshole must have threatened Rilla and Scales

and then Tristan catches Tal with the recording device behind a tapestry while he’s threatening Damien, and then he threatens Tal, and Damien’s like ‘oh St. Damien’ only the spirit of Sir Caroline comes to him speaking words of wisdom,  ‘you’re at the top of the Tower of Two Thousand Steps you idiot’

Part Two

as it turns out, Sir Tristan was supposed to send the signal for the knights to initiate the coup they were planning. it’s now in some disarray because whoever was watching for it saw a body fall and then Chivalry plunging after it, and also Sir Marc is trying to Don’t Be Suspicious about Snitching. then he hears about the signal and promptly loses his shit because oh god Tal was up there.

he breaks away from the other knights and races to the foot of the tower to check, and there’s Tal and Damien staring awkwardly at the body of Sir Tristan. yayyyy. Tal might be tentatively trying to bond with Chivalry who is beeping disconsolately over Sir Tristan. not the time honey. Marc maybe cries and tries to hug Damien, who is closer than Tal who is crouched on the ground holding a falcon and a dead mouse from Sir Tristan’s pockets. not the time honey. they fill him in on ‘guess who totally threatened Rilla and Scales and also Tal now’. Marc fills them in on ‘guess who was about to signal in an impending coup’

they agree to warn Mira out of what’s left of their professional courtesy. Damien goes because he also wants to tell her about Tristan and the pigeon. Tal and Marc to the stables to get horses and supplies to go on the run. Damien to his deep annoyance has no other choice but to extract Mira from the castle which the remaining knights have successfully overtaken. Sir Absolon actually aids her escape because he was never properly down with high treason

and then they have to go after whatever Sir Tristan’s big mission was. Mira now sitting in the consequences of her actions as the odd one out on this family road trip with where Marc and Damien are now competing for 'who can give the former queen a bigger earful’

*falcon noises, paper rustling*

Rilla v/o:

Dear Rilla,

Damien with me and Tal long story no time -- ARUM! GET IN HERE IT’S ABOUT DAMIEN! -- Killed the guy who threatened you and Scales and made him leave -- that’s... okay, it would have been something like that. Damien says -- too long no time the point is he’s sorry. Unrelatedly (mostly) Knights had a coup, queen deposed, saints above, Mira on the run with us, MIRA ON THE RUN WITH US??? Awkward -- underlined twice. For her anyway. (laughs) I should hope so. Will write again when able be careful knights might be coming not sure who else knows SAinTs aBoVE, mARc

Love, Not Sir Marc Anymore Now Also of Exile Looks like that’s everyone in the family now huh Dampierre says hi

[goodeveningtraveler]

Mirrored Glass

by Darkonesroses

Staring into mirrored glass, you not only see those behind it, but you also see yourself.

The Second Citadel has a trophy room. Some of those trophies are still alive. Including a newly captured lizard familiar.

Words: 2746, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Penumbra Podcast

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Multi

Characters: Lord Arum (Penumbra Podcast), Sir Damien (Penumbra Podcast), Rilla (Penumbra Podcast), Queen Mira (Penumbra Podcast), Sir Absolon (Penumbra Podcast), Sir Angelo (Penumbra Podcast), Original Characters, The Keep (Penumbra Podcast)

Relationships: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla (Penumbra Podcast)

Additional Tags: Prisoner of War, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Behavior, Threats, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hostage Situations, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Starvation

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