#Stanley Parable reference because I've playing Ultra Deluxe and it's fun

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@fell-star-if I have been thinking about him and just how I could make him worse

Again, check under the cut for my rambles because I can't stop rotating him in my brain

When under stress or dealing with strong emotions, his eyes will turn from the normal square shape to diamond shapes (like in the second picture) but when under enough pressure that they are about to lose it, their eyes kind of dilate (like the first pic)

He HATES The Stanley Parable because he painfully relates to Stanley's situation of being stuck in a never ending story, doomed to repeat it all again and again no matter what they do while being controlled by some otherworldly and powerful being

(the others were really confused by his new distaste of buckets after playing it)

"What are memes?" The question that led him down a rabbit hole of internet culture for weeks as he tried to understand what the internet was and just how to work a computer

Also, I know I said I was working on the abyssal form last time but I scraped the original idea I had after I had s much better one, so instead I'm going to try to describe it as best as I can.

So the abyssal form would look humanoid in only the sense of the word since everything else is far from human. The original idea had him take the opposite of his design, making him bigger and buffer but I didn't feel like it fit him well so I changed it, and in a moment of three am brightness I came up with something I like.

Beginning with the head is how his mask changes from purple to white and fuses with his face and grows medium size horns from the top.

A wave of hair falls down his face, long enough to reach to his elbows. Next, his body stays a similar build than normal, tall and lanky bit that's because in his void form Rune focuses on his speed and reflexes to overwhelm his enemies.

His skin disappears as a white with black accents exoskeleton replaces it, giving him a bug like appearance, his arms burst through the bandages and split into two sets, both with three fingered hands.

Okay, I don't actually have that many loose ideas so instead let's study this bastard like a bug

Rune doesn't hate humans.

Let's begin with that. In the past, when the title of bringer of destruction was stuck to his name, when he realized about the loop he had been trapped in, he was angry.

That anger accumulated for eons, and who better to release it on than the invaders in his domain.

So he killed.

He killed and killed and killed and killed.

The blood covered his hands, the whispers of the dead filled his ears and the scars left behind of those that struggled burned his body.

The anger that used his sorrows as fuel burned never ending, consuming himself and all of those around him.

And then he came.

The man that had accomplished the impossible, Knight Commander Asol. When he had looked at him, Rune saw nothing more than another human with overblown dreams of grandeur, with a flick of his wrist he could kill him many times over.

Than his chest was pierced.

For the first time since... Ever really, Rune felt calm, yes he had just been stabbed but the shock was so great that it had extinguished the fire like it was a candle.

Maybe his body just knew that this was it.

His end.

And yet, in those last moments, he could help but ask.

Why had he been so angry?

It wasn't because of the humans, so why?

Why had he let eons slip through his fingers because of his blind rage?

And finally it dawned on him

He was angry at his foolishness, falling for such a trick.

Angry at his weakness, incapable of breaking the cycle.

Angry at his loneliness, unable to ever see his companions again.

That was it.

He was angry at himself.

Truly what a sad existence he had...

With that, he let the shadows take his vision.

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After being brought back, Rune was struggling.

Not only does he have to deal with being in a completely different era but that his heart is out on his body and in a child.

Many things make him angry about this.

The first one is his wounded pride as the scientist look down on him, the second, being brought brought back from his well deserved rest and finally, bringing a child into this.

Although, at the same time, he is really happy about this.

He was in a new era, basically an entirely new world.

An idea crawls into his head.

No one knows he is alive, he is definitely in the history books but he always wore a mask so they probably don't know his face, all the people that knew him should be dead by now, the name might be a problem but he could chalk it up to having weird parents.

He could escape.

If he did things right, he could run, he could leave the cycle.

The idea lit a flame inside him, a much different fire than his all consuming anger, this one is hopeful, a light at the end of the tunnel.

So he grabs the child and runs.

A rare and desperate smile on his face as he thinks of the possibilities of who the Harbinger could finally be, of who Rune could be.

------

Now, how about those relationships, huh?

Shian: Your honor, that is my child. Yes, I may have stolen them but, did anyone stop me? Also yes, but they didn't succeed.

Ae-ri: the first time they meet, she insults him but it gets a small laugh out of him, most likely the adrenaline still in his body but it's not bad.

After escaping, he shoots question after question at her, filled with curiosity at the new world that he is stuck in and she answers, filling the silence of the night.

Rune doesn't know what it is about the witch but something about her makes him want to follow her, is it her relaxed personality? The fact that she is the first person who doesn't seem to want to experiment on him? Who knows, but he sure doesn't hate her company.

Later on, things become... Complicated.

Everywhere where the witch goes his eyes follow, when she isn't by his side he can't help but feel like something is missing, when she talks his head would immediately turn and the sound of her laugh would make the butterflies in his stomach flutter.

Having never had any interest or an idea of what romance is, these new feelings confuse him and... Scare him.

His plan was to leave, to be free, not to get attached but even so...

Had her hair always shone so bright?

Asol: like a deer in the headlights he freezes on the spot hoping that he is just imagining things, that the scientist made a mistake while fixing his brain and that he is just hallucinating, but the moment the knight commander turns to him with a mirror of his own expression, he knows this is real.

How the hell is he alive? Why didn't Death take them? The panic would start to settle in, the large scar on his chest would begin to ache as if it was threatening him to open once again.

Rune would do his best to stay away from the knight, fear running through every nerve as the pain in his chest intensified. His plan was ruined, of all people, it just had to be the guy that had killed him to figure out he wasn't dead, soon he'll spread the word, soon more people would come after him, after Shian, after anyone that had helped him.

But he doesn't want to fight, he's done that enough for a lifetime, so he runs like a coward.

Iina: the woman confuses him. Rune, someone who has worn a mask for most of his existence (pun not intended) is able to see a mask when he sees one, but why does she have one?

The title of saint is one that many would want to have, so why doesn't she? Who is she really? Rune would want to know the woman behind the facade.

Divyan: Rune is... Conflicted about him.

He can see it, a kind soul. A soul of someone who wants to do good and yet... Something deep within him doesn't allow him to accept that kindness.

All that Rune can tell is... That whoever they are, Divyan is bad news for them.

Cassiar: a pain in the ass, is what Rune would call them but at the same time they are a reliable person.

If ever in trouble, Rune knows that they can trust them but he is sure that by the end of the day they'll have more problems than the ones that they began with.

Freida: A mix between machine and human to create the perfect soldier.

The first time he sees her, all he can think of is of how pathetic she is.

Throwing away everything for the sake of your job, truly something pathetic, and oh how he knew about that when he spent so long just like her.

Seeing her makes him angry, only because she reminds him of his past self. So he makes a promise, he is going to help her, even if it takes a few punches to get it through her metallic shell.

Meidh: As a Divine, one of the beings that Rune has bowed not to trust, having them around makes him uncomfortable but there's also that strange feeling...

A feeling like there's something stuck in his throat when he looks at them, like when you get a song stuck in your head but can't remember the words.

He can feel the skeleton of something between them, something that he just can't quite grasp and it is driving him up the wall.

Death: A being that inspires fear from their mear name alone, that also includes Rune. When they meet the being for the first time, it is hard to not kneel on the spot and pray for the best.

As Rune discovers the strange... Interest that they have on him, the fear changes to something else.

Whenever their cold eyes pass over him, he can't help the strange shiver that runs down their spine, just what are they doing to him?

They can also feel the strange ghost of a past relationships that they felt with Meidh but it's also different, more... Personal. Feelings that he can't understand begin to come to the surface and he can't help but want to try and show off a little to Death when they use their magic.

That also begs the question, why can Rune also control souls? The mess in his memories is the only thing that prevents him from finding the answers but deep down... He can feel that it's related to Death somehow