#taniks talks

[taniks-the-final-shape]

@keviriksiskellofhearts! I have discovered another video of a cat! I knew I must share it with you!

[prince--esque]

trying to doodle Variks and being tempted to simply fold the edges of his helmet(?) into plane wings and toss him to test how aerodynamic he can be (affectionately)

[thefirstknife]

Kell's Vengeance is out, which is a sort of an epilogue/tying a loose end with Skolas. It's a special mode of Contest of Elders, with only three arenas and you fight Skolas at the end. Really cool mission, though a little tough. Can't be done solo at all, as in you cannot load in alone, you need at least two people, but absolutely recommended to go in with all three. Has a really interesting mechanic for the boss fight!

Either way, I'll post the dialogues from the mission because they're intriguing. When you load in:

Interesting! Fikrul left him in the Prison because it appears to have been difficult to work with him. Needless to say, he does answer to the challenge, so there does appear to be something of him left.

When you start the first encounter:

He's calling us slurs <3 Love that for him. "Dream of Mars" I presume refers to the stuff from D1 where after his rebellion failed, remaining House of Wolves tried continuing on Mars. I'm not sure if there's anything else about him personally being interested in Mars.

When you finish the second encounter:

Outside of Skolas desperately trying to insult us, we've got grandpa warcrimes hyping us up. I do wonder if Skolas is specifically talking to us, as in the Young Wolf, or if it's just generic anti-Guardian stuff. Obviously we can't know since Variks doesn't translate, but interesting to think about.

After you finish the mission, aka after you kill Skolas:

Strange! Keeping him actually still alive and telling us as well (so it's not like Taniks laughing at the end of DSC as an easter egg, this is way more direct) is very intriguing. I wonder if this is how they'll keep the Eliksni/Scorn threats around canonically now that Eramis is leaving and Fikrul is gone. Or if there will be some other reason for keeping him.

[taniks-the-final-shape]

You called?

Man, the final shape shape raid boss do be looking pretty good, can't wait to fight em in game

[wingylalkasartstuff]

Windrys' and Zephyr's kids, or, as they're more commonly known amongst House Light, The Critters. They form a pretty good crew and all have strong bonds, even tho their "missions" are mostly various amount of mischief.

Under readmore are their brief descriptions, because it's pretty long

Phaskas is de facto leader of the gang, who’s easily influenced into things actually, but is trying to be like “noo we wont do it (they do it anyway)”. Incredibly good at talking himself and the gang out of situations, will grow up to be a diplomat.

Sivrys is quiet and a voice of reason for the most part, very cautious. Is really interested in learning new things, gets influenced by Vigek a little (he loooves telling her stories), but is also easily spooked. Kinda shy.

Bevgris, who is the muscles of the gang, second tallest, and even tho has a big bark, usually doesn’t bite. Really looks up to Riiskas as their “big sis” and is very influenced by her.

Kelziks is a very curious kid who’s not afraid to actually investigate new things. Used as a scout by the gang, but for the most part hangs around skiffs (don’t tell his moms but he sneaks on missions sometimes (never into the field, just the ship), and Rekin (the dreg mechanic of the crew) knows about it and teaches him the inner workings of the skiff. It also really helps to have someone small who can fit into parts of the ship even dregs don’t reach).

Riiskas is eldest in the group, a little older than the other kids actually, the one who usually comes up with ideas and who gets punished the least for them, because she knows how to be smart about it. No one really knows who her parents were, she just appeared with a group of former Devils and quickly integrated into the gang and became part of the family. Surprisingly mature for her age. (the secret Taniks kid...)

Nalzar and Efrelvis were taken in by Zephyr because they’re egg-siblings and this causes a lot of health problems that their parents couldn’t keep up with. Don’t get into the hots of the situations and are usually on the lookout, smallest of the bunch but loved all the same. Usually play off of each other’s weaknesses. Quite smart.

Viika is not part of the gang yet, because she’s still in the bean phase (I drew her a bit older to get the general design across), but is here because is still their kid. Was saved by Zephyr from being nearly frozen to death, has weaker limb grip because of that. Is a very loud child, always chittering into the conversations and wants to be included into everything that happens around. Will definitely be the troublemaker when grows up.

[dredgen-dumbass]

reblog chain!!

I was thinking about fandom stuff and the patterns in my favorites so I'm curious what's in y'all's

SO!! favorite characters & favorite pairings. I narrowed mine down to the ones I feel like I've been the most invested in at any given point, even if it's worn off by now.

starting :)

top characters:

top pairings:

thank you for coming to my ted talk :)

passing this on to some moots:

@drifterslittlemuffin @prince--esque @imonthemoonitsmadeofcheese @unlucky-phantom @taniks-the-final-shape @savyir-genesizz-the-wizard @baede-6

(pls still feel free to join if you aren't @/ed it's currently midnight and I am too tired to think of names)

[ahamkara-apologist]

one day I will draw something more than just disembodied busts, but today is not the day. Since I'm still struggling to get a good grasp on how I want to draw Eliksni faces + facial diversity, however, I will accept this for now

(Important context: this was sparked by a discord discussion about Eido being an accident child from a platonic heat relief fling between Eramis and Taniks. I don't remember how we got on the topic of her being bald, but since I'd drawn the facial hc sheet before Final Shape's ending cutscene disproved my hc that only the adults grew setae crests, I wanted to take a shot at drawing her with one)

((+ messing around w/taniks having 8 eyes after the new Vesper's Host lore talked about them being lucky on eliksni)

[taniks-the-final-shape]

I have been summoned

i don't even know how long this one has been stored in my files

[eosofspades]

Something always confused me about the messages Cayde left to his 'killers'. Like, while he could be annoying at times, I just don't see, say, Ikora or the Guardian killing him. Could you clear it up for me?

not sure what prompted this ask, but i would LOVE to talk about Cayde let's go

to me, the thing about Cayde that a shockingly small amount of people seem to understand is that this guy is deeply self-loathing. the best way i've ever seen it summed up is "he was a terrified man who was mostly terrified of himself." (you can read that post here btw.)

Cayde blames and guilts himself for so much. Andal becoming the Vanguard, Andal dying, Taniks not staying dead, making up Ace and his Queen, not remembering Ace and his Queen, probably the Red Legion attack on the Last City (i think it might have been written somewhere that satellites/security was his job, but don't quote me on that) - he's constantly running away from his problems and responsibilities, and when he isn't, he's doing everything he can to try and fix them himself (e.g., one-man suicide mission plan to kill Ghaul.)

moreover, his entire jokester persona is so deeply ingrained into his identity that he genuinely doesn't know if anyone even knows him. in his message to Ikora he says he wasn't even sure if she ever liked him, and Ikora confides to the Guardian that she considered him one of her closest friends.

as such, i think it's completely reasonable within his character for him to assume, somehow, that there could be a reason for Ikora or the Guardian to kill him. he doesn't consider himself integral to the Vanguard "team," and, by extension, to the City. he would like them to like him, of course, but even if they like the lax, aloof, jokester persona he puts on - he doesn't know if they like him. he doesn't even seem confident that anyone would like the real him.

so, if they had to kill him for whatever reason - "the good of the City," because he messed something up, because he did something terrible, some kind of Darkness-corruption (him or them), maybe even if he was just that insufferable and they'd finally had enough - he thinks of himself so lowly that he wouldn't really be able to blame them. (in most of his audios he even sort of has a reason planned - he pissed off Eris badly enough, Zavala had to kill him for the good of the City, the Guardian saved him on Nessus so he "owed it to them anyway" - i think that he carries so much guilt and exhaustion, especially with regards to everything that happened to Andal, that, on some level, he feels like he deserves it.)

so, in regards to your question, sure, WE can't imagine Ikora or the Guardian killing him, but we are the audience, and Cayde doesn't have any idea as to how anyone else might feel about him when the chips are down.

(in fact, life on the line, if someone had to die, i doubt Cayde would even let it be anyone in the City but him. i have a whole post planned about Forsaken + themes of sacrifice, but his whole "Not if I get there first," followed by personally sailing down into a deadly explosion (even with a Ghost) is very indicative of this and a much broader sort of self-sacrificial-ness, but that's... a much longer post.)

[taniks-the-final-shape]

Getting to know your moots

Thank you @baede-6 for tagging me in your post, I have done my best to copy the questions your post had and answered them myself!

What's the origin of your blog's title?

It is the same as my bungo username and the reason for that is simple! Back when Bungie gave players a free name change, I decided it would be funny to name myself this due to the downright stupid amount of times that Taniks (or some form of Taniks, cough cough nightmare Taniks cough cough) has been brought back only for the guardians to get him again.

Favorite Fandoms:

Off the top of my head, I’d have to say Destiny, Transformers, The Dragon Prince, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and damn near everything Andy Weir has written(The Martian, my beloved. Along with Project Hail Mary, currently reading Artemis)

OTP(S) + shipname:

I don’t have any personal oc ships but in terms of Destiny, I. Love. Many of the relationships already in there. Such as Drifteris and Saintsiris.

Favorite Color:

I personally like red, especially when paired with black.

Favorite Game:

I can’t pin it down on any one thing but my most beloved games would have to be Destiny 2, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (along with Black Flag), and Minecraft!

Song stuck in your head:

At this moment? Burn The House Down by AJR

Weirdest habit/trait:

Mmmmm, maybe softly bonking my friend’s shoulders with my head. No clue why I do it, I just do it because why not

Hobbies:

Besides playing games, watching movies, or listening to music, I enjoy writing Haikus down in a journal that I have (please ask me what Haikus I have I am desperate to share them)

If you could have any job you wish what would it be?

I’ve always wanted to be a video game developer, especially in regards to narrative. That’s mainly due to the fact of what the narrative team at Bungie have created, like how was I supposed to read ‘Hope is a currency. It buys tomorrow. It gives us what we need to survive today.’ And not go insane thinking about it. I’ve always wanted to create something like that for other gamers.

Something you're good at:

Making other people smile.

Something you're bad at:

Getting over procrastination.

Something you excel at:

Being calm under pressure and being that anchor for other people when they’re stressed

Something you love:

See hobbies, I love creating a haiku when any muse strikes!

Something you could talk about for hours without off the cuff:

Easily Destiny 2, I could talk about the lore for hours!

Something you hate:

I could go with broad stuff like a well-known rich person doing a well-known gesture on live television and other people bending over backwards saying that the gesture wasn’t *that* gesture. But besides that, I’d say getting error-coded while in the middle of a raid with friends on Destiny. Yeah that’s something that I’m pretty sure is hated universally.

Something you collect:

Transformers legos! I’ve only recently started it to the point where I only have less than five but I’m happy with what I have so far! I also like to collect Destiny 2 merch. I’ve got some shirts and a jacket right now!

Something you forget:

Hmmm, I think I forgot it.

What's your love language?

I’m a firm believer that everyone needs at least a little bit of each love language. Of course, it varies in volume and from whom you are receiving it from. I think my the biggest one I like getting is physical touch! I love hugs, give me all of the hugs.

Favorite movie/show:

Favorite movie is definitely a tie between Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Across The Spider-Verse. My favorite show might have to be Young Justice! Either that or Arcane, or Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. It’s hard to choose!

Favorite food:

Easily my dad’s smoked steak, I swear each and every time I take a bite into that stuff, it’s like I’m tasting heaven itself.

Favorite animal:

Gotta go with both wolves, bears, and owls!

Are you musical?

Oh absolutely, I really should take a video of myself killing it at any karaoke. Besides that, I love me a good musical. Personal favorites are Hamilton and The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals.

Favorite subject in school:

I’ve always loved theatre classes!

Least favorite subject:

Gonna have to go with science, that was a field I definitely struggled in.

What's your best character trait?

Hmm, I think I’d have to say how forgiving and understanding I am towards others

Worst character trait:

How unforgiving I am to myself, I am getting over it though. Bit by bit

If you could change any detail of your day right now, what would it be?

Hm, I don’t know. I like my day as it is

If you could travel in time,who would you like to meet?

Kevin Conroy, Lance Reddick, and Stan Lee! I want to meet them just so I can thank each of them for building key parts of my childhood.

Recommend one of your favorite fanfics:

I don’t read a lot of fanfics. But there are some posts by u/RewsterSause on Reddit’s r/DestinyJournals that I love to read. Rewster is one talented writer!

I do also like to rp a bit on here with some people!

Well, that appears to be all of the questions on here. Thank you again @baede-6 for tagging me!

I’m (also) going to tag some of my mutuals to answer these questions. But like baede said in her post, you do not have to feel obligated to answer them yourselves. See ya later fellas!

@keviriksiskellofhearts @clovis-bray-ate-my-son @drifterslittlemuffin @the-light-finds-its-way @ellis-the-lightguide @savyir-genesizz-the-wizard

[taniks-the-final-shape]

Ah look! It’s me!

Crab posting :]

Some concept art for my d2 au. Characters are Inaaks, Taniks, and Atraks :]

[thrawns-backrest]

My thoughts on Treason but just the funny bits. I'll do a more serious review but here's some crack for now (CONTAINS SPOILERS BEWARE):

Pik and Waffle, lovable evil jocks with the silliest little names. No, I will not elaborate.

Savit is the embodiment of the 'he's out of line but he's right' meme. He was literally right. No actually he was wrong, he gave Stardust a few years when in reality it only lasted a day (Fs in the chat but also lmao, get rekt).

I'm still not supposed to root for the Empire like this but here we are.

Someone give Ronan a 'Krennic's top simp' shirt that he can wear with his goofy little cape. Which I'm happy to say the book read to filth, as it should.

The fact that Eli is still so genuine and likeable that even barbed-stick-up-my-ass Ronan felt bad for leaving him down at the space port... only for Eli to then get back to his shuttle with literal thoughts of slaughter on his mind. Like damn it takes some skill to make Eli this mad.

In recent news, Thrawn is still an absolute riot.

My heart goes out to Faro, every time she thinks she's catching up to Thrawn he just comes up with an even more insane plan and she ages ten years on the spot. Like 'we're going to fight Savit now but I'm not even gonna be here, also I left you some instructions on your Ipad :)' '???? Sir????'

My sympathies to the poor stormtroopers who had to watch Thrawn and literally thought he was joking when he said he was going to the bridge. They literally went 'yeah sure you will buddy- wait where did he go?!?'

Cue Savit having an aneurism when he finds him there. (You cannot tell me this man isn't having the time of his life in that moment. Huge 'little shit' energy right there. And I respect that.)

Imagine the Firedrake crew just minding their own business and Grand Fucking Admiral Thrawn walks by without any escort whatsoever like 'Hello :)' '???? Can I help you, sir????' 'No, I know my way around :)) Thank you :)'

TIE Defender supremacy. Stardust sucks.

Half of this book was big ships yeeting smaller ships at other big ships. No, I will not elaborate.

The other half was Thrawn and Ar'alani going back and forth like 'Thrawn no!! >:((' 'Thrawn yes! :))' 'sigh... fine.'

Also, can we talk about how hilariously petty the Chiss are?? ...I am so on board with that.

Knowing how bad Thrawn is at these political games, it's no wonder he's cool chilling with the Empire for now. I mean, the Empire is bad but the Chiss sound even worse. My man just wants to solve space mysteries, let him be.

Savit having another aneurysm while waiting for Ronan to catch up to him and Thrawn in the beginning of the book. Meanwhile Ronan living his best life walking down the runway with his stupid little cape

Chiss are genetically predisposed to being little shits, I'm not joking that's just facts.

"Have you found the target? If not, I suggest you put thoughts of entertainment out of your mind and concentrate on the task at hand." "Yes, sir." Tanik straightened in his chair. "Oh, wait, sir," he said with exaggerated brightness. "I stand corrected. Admiral, we have them." (SEE? SEE WHAT I MEAN??)

Tanik literally smiling at his station because he's gonna spill the tea about Khresh having a little tantrum to all his besties at home, what a legend.

Eli: Man, I want some one-on-one time with Thrawn. Also Eli when he gets some one-on-one time with Thrawn: Oh fuck, am I in trouble-

"Perhaps. But I believe you were suggesting a shift to turbolaser fire?" "A shift to-? Oh. No, actually, I was being facetious." "Ah." PFFFFFT

Okay I'm done. For now.

[vrillopurpura]

Getting to know your moots

Got tagged by @taniks-the-final-shape over on Ellis' blog. Thanks for the chance to ramble <3

What's the origin of your blog's title?

It's the nickname/artist name that I've been using for the past 8~ years. I came with it one day at a friends house because I wanted to become a youtuber and have a special name for my channel.

Funny enough my name is misspelled, it should be "Brillo Púrpura" (Purple Glow) but I was like 9 when I chose this name and clearly didn't know how to write.

Favorite Fandoms:

There are too many but of the top of my head right now: Amnesia, Creepypasta, Destiny 2, FNaF, Genshin Impact, LoL, Shadow of The Colossus, THE FINALS.

OTP(S) + shipname:

I've been shipping Slenderman x Jeff The Killer since I'm a kid, it's quite literally my comfort ship.

Favorite Color:

Purple and violet!

Favorite Game:

Amnesia: The Dark Descent.

Song stuck in your head:

Both My Chemical Romance - To the End and Andrés Calamaro - Donde Manda Marinero are stuck in loop in my head.

Weirdest habit/trait:

Not only I'm stupidly androgynous but my face it's apparently pretty generic. So much that I sometimes find people that look a lot like me when I'm looking for drawing ideas on Pinterest.

It's really uncanny.

Hobbies:

Apart from drawing I really enjoy sewing! I'm trying cosplay this year. If everything goes right I will cosplay as Crow in the future. I'm also learning to do embroidery and I'm making myself a Destiny inspired jacket (won't say much because I'll jinx it)

If you could have any job you wish what would it be?

I really, really want to become an Environmental Artist for Frictional Games or Hearth Machine or perhaps on my own small indie studio.

Something you're good at:

Starting drawings!

Something you're bad at:

Finishing drawings!

Something you excel at:

Listening and keeping secrets. If you feel like life it's getting too heavy just drop by my DMs and I promise nothing it's going out of that chat.

Something you love:

Phalanx from Shadow of the Colossus, It's my favorite character in all media and mostly because all the things I assumed about it when I played the original game in my brother's PS2.

That not-so-little flying snake beats Crow just because I headcanoned the shit out of it and now I love it so much.

Something you could talk about for hours without off the cuff:

I can talk about anything for hours, I love talking.

Something you hate:

I'm trying to keep this "hate nothing" mentality but god I'll commit homicide if I hear someone say "Horror games are dying" and "Modern horror it's for kids" again.

No, they're not. You just follow what's mainstream and think it's bad because of it. Fuck you, I hate you.

Something you collect:

Plushies! I love them.

Something you forget:

I keep forgetting that Eris Morn was a hunter or that Saint-14 it's an exo and I also have a hard time remembering names general.

What's your love language?

Surprising people with gifts! I'm terrible with words and I'm also pretty fun

Favorite movie/show:

Avatar by James Cameron

Favorite food:

It depends. Snack? Soy Sprouts Full meal? Any type of fried fish, specially whitebait and mojarrita (can't find the actual translation for this one sorry). Dessert? Ricotta Pie Drink? Matecocido, mate or tereré. Any variation of mate honestly.

Favorite animal:

I know that as the one with 37 cats the answer may seem obvious but I actually love chickens! It's apparently something that I carry on since I was a kid and nobody in my family has an actual explanation for it since I never owned a chicken.

Are you musical?

Of course! I know how to play the bass and I'm going to learn both electric guitar and drums this year. I also went to ballet and tango classes when I was a kid.

I'm pretty bad at dancing now but I do it often to warm up for the day.

Favorite subject in school:

Math! I went to a socials school so math was one of the only subjects were the answer to a problem was definitive and not so subjective.

Least favorite subject:

Art, not because it was bad or anything! But since I was known as the "artist" in the class every group project was more of a "We'll give you ideas, you do it" thing.

What's your best character trait?

I'm told I'm pretty funny! Probably because I'm pretty fast to make jokes about the situation at hand.

Worst character trait:

I think that everybody randomly hates me for no reason. We can be friends for years and I will still think that you are talking to me not because you like me but because you see me as a chore.

I'm working on it.

If you could change any detail of your day right now, what would it be?

I want it to rain, not only because it's so fucking hot right now but because I like rain.

If you could travel in time,who would you like to meet?

Both my grandads died before I was born, I would really like to talk with them and know how much we shared. But outside family I would love to see a Les Luthiers show.

Recommend one of your favorite fanfics:

My immoral literally defined my actual style and made me rediscover MCR so yeah...

I also really like Love & Luxury and A Crow's Redemption <3

Btw I also have an Destiny RP blog @ellis-the-lightguide

I think that's all of it. Again, thanks @taniks-the-final-shape for the mention <3 I should interact with you more often honestly.

I'm tagging some people, if you don't want to do it just ignore it no strings attached!

@lord-heliox @f4t4-m0rg4n4 @unlucky-phantom @diegoellol @the-dragon-father @gerda-3

[tigerspite]

I've been creatively bankrupt but this finally crawled out of my WIPs after sitting there for like. Six months or more. Bon appetit.

Read the rest of The Devil's Claw here

-

CHAPTER ?? / The Disgraced

“What have I done to deserve you gracing my presence?” Eramis drawls, her head cocked to an angle that speaks more of measuring her visitors than a genuine question. 

“We noticed you had some gaps in your crew records from the recent…incident,” Solkis says, eyes flicking to the Captain - Reviks, her last surviving son - hovering behind her. Although shrouded by a large cloak and hood, he averts his gaze from the Hunter, choosing instead to study an incoming Skiff on the opposite runway with an intensity that Scribes would find admirable. 

Wethraks grimaces, braced for retaliation. Being forced to ground her Ketch at Heathrow Spaceport for repairs due to the actions of her son, who should have known better than to lead a raiding party without her permission, has been the talk of the city. Her communications with the Lair are more terse than usual, and he has not dared to intrude on her time. Giving her time to grieve for not only the loss of her crew, but the loss of her son's common sense and lower arms, seemed the only polite course of action. 

Solkis does not fear her. And he guesses that is why he receives a click of mandibles from the Shipstealer that suggests he continue, rather than a derisive statement and a retreat back up the loading ramp of her Ketch. 

While held hostage and dragged across the city with as much dignity as could be mustered, shackles keep him from endangering anyone. The longer he looks, the longer Wethraks wonders if they would be enough to stop him should he turn, or whether he could shatter them with a flex of his wrist. 

“I brought a replacement for one of them.” He steps aside to reveal his gift. A Dreg with a ruddy brown-orange exoskeleton, clothed in scraps of leather and cloth between a cobble of mismatched armor. More disturbing are the lower arms he should not have, flesh bound to metal through a thick layer of uneven scarring gouged deep into the shell of his torso. The prosthetics are little more than steel bars and exposed wiring formed into the crude shape of limbs, built for function over form. 

“Devils nominate themselves to join my crew. You bring a mutilated Scar Eliksni in handcuffs,” she counters. “Why should I take someone who has to be forced to work, and who rejects our banners?”

“He lived on the same Ketch as us during the Drift, he knows about work.” Solkis lets out a dark laugh, nudging their guest forwards. “And his name is Taniks. His House-pledge still isn’t confirmed, but Ursaviks has a use for him.”

Her eyes narrow. “You miss my point.”

As the two launch into debate, Wethraks remains still and tries to fade into the background. The ‘Dreg’ standing hunched between them glowers up at Eramis, lower arms twitching and steel claws flexing. An aura of rage as strong as a thousand suns emanates from him. Given the chance of freedom, it feels as if he would eviscerate every Eliksni on the runway there and then, and realising that he would be the first and closest target makes him shuffle a few inches away. 

"Look at him. He's harmless," Solkis’s voice cuts through her concerns, giving Taniks another shove so that he might be pulled into her Ketch by proximity alone. It earns him a warning growl and a glare over his shoulder, hackles raised. 

“Then release him.”

Taniks’s growl only rises as Solkis fishes in a belt pouch to produce the key without a moment of hesitation, tensing and leaning away from him. As soon as his arms are freed, he pushes him away and hisses, wild-eyed. Straightening up to his full height, he sets his shoulders back, like posturing and challenging will make him run. 

Eramis raises her head, watching his display with careful, guarded interest. When Taniks turns his ire back to her, she looks down her muzzle and gives an amused snort. 

Like a match set to tinder, Taniks lets loose an enraged snarl and lunges forwards, teeth bared. 

She steps back, just out of his range, and his swipe lands short. He takes another step to attack again before Solkis snatches him backwards, locking and twisting one of his upper arms behind his back to force him into retreat. 

A deliberate, and failed test. 

The look of contempt and disgust exchanged between the two Barons, for what Wethraks senses are entirely separate reasons individually, could have triggered a lightning storm.

“A ‘harmless’ liability,” Eramis grates. “Ursaviks must think I'm a fool to accept this offer.”

Solkis jerks Taniks back again to fit the cuffs around his wrists, straining to contain him. “You’re the best Baroness to teach him some manners." 

“He is capable, in the right hands-” Wethraks adds, left hanging as she interrupts.

‘Of what? We left him alone on the Drift for a reason,” she gestures out with one arm, encompassing the time since she last laid eyes on him, and that spent on the Long Drift. “My crew needs shipwrights and skilled workers. Not an animal who would murder myself or others for a perceived slight.”

“The placement is on Ursavikskel’s orders. You take him, whether you want to or not.”

Before she can reject the demand, Reviks finally speaks up, “I can take him,” 

“No!” Eramis snaps, spinning so fast to stop him that Wethraks flinches. She hisses something under her breath about his authority on her ship, all falling on deaf ears as he moves past her to join the negotiation.

“It is my fault that he's here, so he is my responsibility.” Reviks says, stepping forward with his arms spread and head low in apology. "Let me take him. I can keep him under control, and away from the others."

“As long as someone does,” Solkis chirrups with delight, holding out the keys to the new crewmate. 

Wethraks casts a sidelong glance at Eramis, chittering in quiet apology for what has been caused. Through her ferocious scowl, he watches the gears turning in her mind as she weighs up the decision, and whether she could argue and defy her way out of all duty to the charge thrust upon her. While docked and in disrepute, she has the right to overrule Reviks, but that would burn a bridge he needs to cross. Something useful may come of Taniks, and of burdening her family with him. 

Eventually, she concedes, her arms and shoulders drooping. She turns her back on them, beckoning the two towards the loading ramp. "Do not make me regret this.”

"I promise you won't. And if you do, it won't be my fault.” Solkis calls after them, chittering with laughter at his own remark.  

“She will still blame you.” Wethraks mutters.

He chuffs. A given, and not one that concerns him. Eramis has found her reasons with others when required, and his treatment won't differ. Starting to walk away from the Ketch, he replies, “I’m an emissary. She should know to blame the Kell.”

Dithering, Wethraks remains fixed on the three as they depart. Although Reviks has a tight grip of his charge, Taniks writhes in his hold. He thrashes, twisting his head to stare back over his shoulder at where his captor and assistant were meant to be. 

In that last look, his eyes lock with Wethraks, burning with malice and sharp as knives. 

Even when he disappears into the depths of the Devilship’s hangar and is long out of sight, Wethraks swears he feels the sensation of his talons around his throat.

[taniks-the-final-shape]

I just know that my muse would constantly be posting small day-to-day things that he finds fascinating. “I have discovered another ‘cat’ creature!” Stuff like that

on this episode of If Destiny Characters Had Twitter

here's the original

[baede-6]

Zavala about Taniks:"He can TALK!?"

Me,an intellectual:"Well yeah, he's a sentient being..."