#ch: giacomo gallo

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Hello! I come with Tiny Scene Sunday prompts!: Cataclysm, corridor, complaints.

Hey! Thanks for the prompt!

Scene under the cut!

@rose-bookblood This is more Giacomo/Basilio content that I thought you would appreciate

Dark corridors still made Giacomo’s heart lurch uncomfortably in his chest. If not at the memory of his trial all those years ago, during the Purge, then when he was forced to recall why Basilio kept his castle dim. What he was hiding.

Now, back in the setting of his dreams and nightmares for the first time since he’d left it, the fear was back a thousandfold.

In a desperate bid to escape from the chaos for a minute, he ducked into an old stone closet he’d found during his many years there. Almost no one knew of its existence.

If he was going to be seeing Basilio again, he needed to get his bearings first. Didn’t want his magic lashing out as a defense mechanism.

“Well, well,” that familiar, saccharine voice cooed from the doorway, that had haunted every flashback he’d had for years.

He did say almost no one knew of his hiding spot.

“What do you want?” Giacomo turned to face him, resolutely keeping his voice from wavering. Basilio hadn’t changed in the months since he’s seen him last—his presence was still enough to rattle Giacomo’s confidence and scare him into submission.

“Can’t check up on a old friend?” he said, stepping closer and sending a chill down Giacomo’s spine as he did so. “It’s not crazy that I would be worried about you, going to them and all. It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“Fuck off.”

“Now that’s harsh,” he scolded, the way he would chastise one of his dogs, “you always were so desperate to be liked. Forgive me for thinking that constantly being around people who despise you might eat at you a bit.”

He was right, that was the fucking thing. Basilio knew everything about him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Anything was better than another minute with you.” He bit back in lieu of a real response.

The bastard only laughed, if you could ascribe that label to the hollow, haunting sound he made. He moved even closer, his hand on Giacomo’s face seeming to drain all the warmth from it.

Giacomo didn’t move away, frozen to the spot, as Basilio leaned down and whispered in his ear.

“That quickly, you’ve let them turn you against me? After all this time, you don’t know that I’m the one who cares about you? Come back to me.”

His hand slid down the front of Giacomo’s shirt, in a move he recognized very well from the old days. Whenever he was doubting himself, doubting his choices, Basilio seemed to know. He’d come to him like this, flatter him, and seduce him.

Even now, the ease of a familiar routine had its appeal. Slip back into his old habits, that didn’t require any effort or thought.

His brain barely registered the fingers that undid his shirt laces, or the continued whisper in his ear. “I know you’ve missed me.”

His magic bubbled to the surface, rebelling against what was happening. Wrong wrong wrong thundered in his brain.

Giacomo shoved him off with a magical push, scratching under his eye.

“Never. Fucking. Again.” he growled.

Basilio just smiled, unfazed by the rejection.

“I get it now,” his grin widened, “you’re with him again, aren’t you?”

“Shut up.” Giacomo growled warningly.

“Of all the things! Gods, you really do never learn! I suppose I should have expected it, pining mess that you were. Bet he didn’t have to put any effort into getting you to fuck him again.”

“Shut up.” His magic shook in his veins again.

“How did I not see this sooner? Come on, you can’t seriously believe this isn’t some big joke for him, like last time? You think he’s not bragging to the emperor that he neutralized you?”

Giacomo’s eyes blazed gold, magic bursting from his fist and shaking the room.

“Easy.” Basilio’s face softened again, as if the cruelty had never been there. “I’m just concerned.”

“Like I’d believe that again. You’re a washed-up usurper who got lucky one time and can only keep what you have with killing. You’ve never worried about anyone but yourself.”

“Well, I certainly know who put those ideas in your head.”

With that, he walked out. He always got the last word.

Giacomo followed a minute later, lacing his shirt back up. He started walking—he didn’t know where to yet, he just needed to get away.

Unfortunately for him, what he didn’t see was Enrico around the corner, watching Basilio leave the secluded area, and Giacomo come from the same place with his hair and clothes in disarray.

Enrico, for his part, had to suppress a giggle. Finally, he could prove that he was right, Giacomo hadn’t changed.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Tbh Basilio is in love with Giacomo. Like it’s obviously not healthy and doesn’t stop him from being a complete bastard to Giacomo literally all the time but if you really forced him to sit down and examine his innermost feelings….he would learn he’s been pining

[italiangothicwriteblr]

CoM + Taylor Swift

Martino Rossi x Foolish One

And the voices say, you are not the exception. You will never learn your lesson

[italiangothicwriteblr]

a prompt for you: a character learns something new, and it may not be something they want to learn

Happy Tiny Scene Sunday!

Hey! Thanks for the prompt!!

TW for death mentions

The first time, Enrico ascribed the behavior to paranoia.

There had been a fight. Words were exchanged, Feronia swung first, Nova hit back. No one was mortally wounded, only some stung pride. The king of thing that was gossip for a few hours before being forgotten.

But while Martino sewed her wounds, Nova was panicking about retribution.

Enrico tried to reassure her gently. He had gotten into a number of fights when he was her age, most of which he started. In his defense, Giacomo Gallo had a knack for earning himself a smack in the face. After a while, people mostly rolled their eyes when it happened, told him he should calm down, but he never got in real trouble. And he had been far more disliked.

It did briefly cross his mind that he had never been put in handcuffs, especially not ones that left angry red sores on his wrists.

-

The second time, he thought she was exaggerating.

They were just joking around. Talking secret tactics with Adrasteia led to discussion of what worked in the past. And talk of the past led to good-natured (he thought) ribbing about his war days.

“Imagine if I did that!” Nova laughed, leaning over to Adrasteia. “I’m pretty sure they just burn you at the stake right there, no trial!”

Nova must have meant that in the wake of Orsina’s betrayal, the king’s heir would be much more harshly watched, Enrico reasoned. Still, he couldn’t imagine even the worst offense getting such a harsh sentence.

—

The third time, he started to wonder.

He would happily admit to fighting against it when Nic had shown up with their old enemy, insisting on sanctuary. He felt like the only one with any common sense, arguing about taking in the only person more at fault for the war than him.

But he relented. Of course he did. If only for the chance to have some leverage over his old enemy.

They were sitting around after a run in with some of Nero’s faction when he heard it.

“I learned my lesson from last time,” Nova was saying, “I didn’t get into a fight with them. Those cuffs hurt.”

“Oh, absolutely. Just count yourself lucky you didn’t get the collar.” Giacomo said, with a relaxed air that didn’t seem to match his statement. “I got dragged into plenty of fights when I was your age.”

That’s what you got for teaming up with a madman, Enrico thought with a snicker. Though he was amazed that a king would punish his own second in command so harshly.

“Wasn’t there another purge right before the war?” Adrasteia asked from Giacomo’s other side.

“Yep. That’s what I grew up in. The Imperatrice at the time was…let’s just say, if you had lived under her you would understand why a country might want anything else.”

Enrico knew that, of course. He had known Marinella well, and while she was a brilliant woman, no one wept when Leonidas took her place on the throne.

“She and her court loved any excuse to bring out the tantalum. That’s how I met Basilio, actually, he got me out of it once! Anyway, I didn’t get the collar until a while later, when Basilio dragged me to Vinoseta with him for some negotiation. I got into a fight with one of the royal delegates, he threw a punch, and I couldn’t use magic for a week.”

Shit. Enrico remembered that trip. As often happened when they were in the same room, he and Giacomo had a screaming match. The other man said something particularly enraging and Enrico slapped him. They fought for a minute, they were pulled apart, and that was the end of it.

He stopped thinking about it before he could make the connection, between that memory and Nova’s constant reluctance to fight back against people like Feronia or Nero.

—

Despite that, it kept nagging at him until the fourth time.

Had he been the problem all those years? Was he no better than Feronia, using his influence against someone who couldn’t fight back?

Nova was in the middle of asking Livia and Adrasteia to go interrogate a Southern spy, which struck him as a bit odd. That was typically something she reveled in doing herself.

"I can't," she explained once they had left, "if I get anything out of them, they'll just accuse me of enchantment."

She laughed, but it was a more an annoyed chuckle.

“Would that hold up in court?” Enrico asked, confused.

Nova looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

“That’s what everyone does. Just say “bewitched” and get exonerated. You’ve never done it? No offense.”

“I knew people said it sometimes, but to this scale?”

“It’s what you’re expected to do, almost. You could have made your life a lot easier after the war, I’m surprised no one suggested it to you. You had a scapegoat and everything!”

Looking up from his conversation with Adrasteia, Giacomo gave them a mock salute.

“Even if they don’t say it, people will assume it if they hear you were there.” Giacomo said to Nova. “Trust me on this one, there’s only so attempted tantalum poisonings a person can survive.”

He and Nova laughed like they were sharing a private joke.

Suddenly, Enrico’s thoughts turned to a memory he had repressed.

No. No. No.

Soon after the war, a few of the dukes and counts had come to him, asking if they could have royal permission to punish those responsible. Enrico had smiled and agreed, just happy that they blamed someone other than him. He gave them his blessing to do whatever they wanted to the other side.

He didn’t know they were doing this.

Hundreds of memories were being reevaluated. For years he had sparred with an enemy, thinking himself the underdog, when he had every advantage. And he made use of them, without even thinking about it.

Everything he watched Nova suffer, all the times he had watched Adrasteia clean her wounds or reassured her after a nasty comment: This was happening behind the scenes of each of his battles with Giacomo. And Nova had a big group for support—all Giacomo had in terms of friendship was Basilio.

No wonder he hated Enrico so much.

No one seemed to notice him scurrying off, and going to the one person who could give him clarity.

“Hey.” he rapped on Martino’s door. “I have a question.”

Martino gave him a look which he had learned meant to continue.

“You were there, do you think…was I the problem? I never thought about it, but when me and Giacomo would fight…”

“You always started it.” Martino interrupted. “No sorcerer with a brain starts a physical fight, especially not with the king’s friend. But when you would beat the crap out of him, he hit back. I’ll never forget the week they brought out the collar.”

Enrico really didn’t want to know what the collar was

[italiangothicwriteblr]

25 for Spotify wrapped!

Oooh great pick.

Warnings for NSFW below the cut. This one got away from me a little

What Giacomo couldn't have predicted about crawling to his enemy in disgrace was the amount of sex he was having.

Right now, for example. He was up against the wall in an empty castle corridor, half-naked, hands buried in long hair. He could barely form a coherent thought with Martino's mouth forceful and biting on his neck and hands digging into his waist.

"Fuck, babe," his breath was warm on Giacomo's neck. "So fuckin' pretty like this."

"They're...gonna come looking for us." Giacomo breathed out. They had ducked out of a crowded room, and in about five minutes someone would notice and they would get caught.

"Then we'll be quick." The smirk, the darkening of his eyes, was enough for Giacomo to abandon his worries for a bit.

That proved to be a mistake when, just as they were getting their clothes back on, footsteps sounded near the entrance to the hall.

Shit. He pulled his pants on as fast as humanly possible. They couldn't get found out--it would be all around the court by morning. People would have questions that he didn't want to answer. Whatever it was they were doing would be shattered. --

He replayed the scene sitting in bed that night. He was letting himself get careless here, letting his guard down. Hooking up with his ex wasn't the best idea to start with, and now they were on the verge of getting caught.

"Hey," his thoughts were interrupted when the man he'd been thinking of slipped into his room.

He smiled back, knowing he must look like a besotted fool. This was why he couldn't just stop, end whatever this was for his own good.

He had set rules--they had to meet in his room, for one. He'd made something up about it being suspicious if he wandered around the palace at night, but it really just made things easier.

His chamber being far less comfortable seemed to be the opposite of a deterrent--Martino had spent every night with him since they had...started.

And gods, Giacomo loved it. The first few nights he'd pretended to be asleep after they had finished, in case Martino wanted to leave. But he stayed, and he kept staying.

This whole affair had his head spinning, and the fear of getting found out only added to it.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Holii Joy!! I've missed you how have you been??? For Tiny Scene Sunday, Giacomo (my son) + relaxing?? (based on my need to live vicariously through someone who has the time to relax rip)

Have a good day/night!!!

@ink-fireplace-coffee

Hey! Thanks for the prompt!

Set during TKATF. Somehow this became “Giacomo relaxes for five minutes and everything goes to shit”

But also! Meet Damocles, Martino’s brother, who gets introduced properly in this scene

"Take the day off,” Martino wrapped his arm around Giacomo’s waist, keeping him in bed, “you never get to relax anymore.”

Giacomo’s first thought was the protest—he was royal now, he had duties to attend to. Basilio was the king, but Giacomo handled the official side of staging a revolution and running a country.

“He is in diplomatic meetings all day,” Giacomo leaned back in bed, deeply relishing the idea of taking a break.

“Exactly. There’s nothing you need to do until the feast tonight.” If that didn’t convince him to stay in bed a bit longer, Martino’s arms around him and lips on his neck certainly did.

With a wave of his hand, Giacomo locked the door with magic. One of the recently discovered joys of being a prince—private rooms meant no one would bother you, or barge in.

—

“Still don’t want to get up,” Giacomo mumbled into Martino’s chest, when a servant came through and told him he should start getting ready.

“You’re exhausted. Want me to tell him you’re ill?”

“No. It’s a peace summit, I don’t want to insult the Magnian diplomats by not being there. Besides, he needs me there. Being polite isn’t one of Basilio’s strengths, and this is important. Besides, isn’t your brother in town?”

“Yep,” Martino sighed, and he didn’t look happy about the news, “in the decade or so since I saw him, he’s apparently risen through court ranks, took down one of our royal houses, and became a foreign minister. Not sure how the reunion’s going to go.”

“You have to at least say hello while he’s here, he’s your brother!” Martino acquiesced under the weight of Giacomo’s big, green eyes, and they both dragged themselves to get dressed.

—-

When Giacomo made it downstairs, to a chorus of bowing heads, Basilio quickly caught sight of him and motioned him over.

He was talking to another man, dressed in impeccably tailored silver robes. His cloud of dark hair seemed to move on its own, and he gave more of a smirk than a smile, yet it still made Giacomo’s knees weak.

“I have someone to introduce you to,” Basilio gestured to the man, who seemed to be charm personified, "the Magnian ambassador to Circi, Damocles.”

“A pleasure, Your Highness.” Damocles swept a perfect bow, and reached out to shake Giacomo’s hand.

Martino hadn’t exaggerated when he described his brother’s meteoric ascent, and Giacomo could see how it happened.

After a few minutes, Basilio pulled Giacomo aside, and whispered: ”I’d like your opinion on something.”

“Yes?”

“Over the course of this meeting, me and the ambassador have become friendly. We were talking today, and realized that an alliance between our nations could be beneficial to everyone.”

“You know I agree with that.” Giacomo had been pushing for a Magnian alliance over a Candemeran one for almost a year, and it seemed Basilio was starting to listen.

“Exactly. So, how do you think the country would react if I married again?”

“There is still that rumor floating around, saying you killed Ippolito.”

“Oh, people will say anything. But certainly a foreign alliance with a diplomat would read positively?"

"Wait," Giacomo interrupted, suddenly seeing with shocking clarity what Basilio was suggesting, "you don't mean Damocles?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Basilio had a rare pleased smile on his face, like a wolf that had finished hunting its prey, as he turned his gaze back to the man in question. "The apple that fell very far from the tree."

"Watch it," Giacomo growled, hitting his friend's arm. He suspected that Basilio and Martino's rivalry was turning more playful and less serious with each passing day, but he couldn't let the jape stand.

----

"I was wrong." Martino said to him later that night, after "The King's Joyous News" had been announced. "Apparently you can't take a day off."

[italiangothicwriteblr]

unconsciously searching out each other’s hand while sleeping for any ship :)

Thanks for the prompt! Dug this one up because I have an idea.

Slight NSFW below

Giacomo was no stranger to bad choices.

He was aware that in coming to the Northern court, seeking pardon, he was giving away his dignity. Turning his life into a spectacle open to public comment.

Crawling away to the countryside, injured and alone, was his best option after leaving Basilio. He just wanted everything to be over, but he was never that lucky.

The Serpent of Mutina himself seemed to have developed some sort of savior instinct after hearing what happened to him. Predictably, Imperatore Enrico was not pleased, but he acquiesced when he realized he now had leverage and power over his great enemy.

At least he wasn't being nice. Then Giacomo would know he was being pitied.

His situation was bad enough--guarded day and night, watched by the court's eagle eyes--when he managed to make it worse for himself.

Jumping into bed with the man who had broken his heart, who was now a decorated general and friend of the king, was the worst thing he had done since shaking Basilio's hand that day twenty years ago.

It was humiliating, really, that after everything he still couldn't resist. But Martino had kissed him in a moment of passion, then pulled back and apologized with that fucking guilty puppy look. As if there was a universe where Giacomo would be angry.

If this got out, his standing would somehow fall even farther. He could hear it now: the sneers, the pitying looks, the accusations of enchantment.

Yet here he was, hands in Martino's hair, as he pressed soft, gentle kisses to Giacomo's neck.

"Sweetheart," Martino breathed, and Giacomo grabbed his face and kissed him hard to shut him up. He didn't want to think about what came next.

Eventually, he had to. When the moment was over, and Martino slept soundly next to him, he slipped out of bed and tried to figure out the path back to his room that wouldn't get him seen. They hadn't talked, but he would rather leave when Martino wanted him to stay then vice versa.

Before he could get all the way out, he felt a warm weight on his hand.

Martino seemed to have reached out in his sleep, grabbing onto him and lacing their fingers.

Giacomo sighed, and crawled back into the warmth of the bed. This way it wasn't his fault, if things looked worse in the morning

[italiangothicwriteblr]

“You know,” Basilio said, a smirk leaking in to his every word, “I tried to warn him off you. Stubborn dear wouldn’t listen to me then, insisted that it was true love, and that he trusted you.” “He can trust me,” Martino growled

“Evidently not, if you’re plotting with his enemies. They’ll mock him.  The only sorcerer to feel loyalty, but he couldn’t command it in return.”

“Talk about him like that again and I’ll gut you where you stand!”

“And how would you explain that? A traitor killing a king. I told him you were an unfeeling brute and it seems I wasn’t far off!”

Martino felt his heart sinking as the truth of Basilio’s words sunk in. Of course, if Giacomo heard a twisted version of the story through court gossip, he would take it as a betrayal. He would just have to find a way to explain himself.

At that moment, before anything else could be said, the man they were discussing appeared at the door.

“Hey,” Giacomo said, taking in the tense air in the room, “Is something going on here?” Before Basilio could respond, Martino cut in.

“No, babe. We were just talking.”

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Made a little graphic.

Lyrics—Dead Girl Walking Reprise from Heathers

[italiangothicwriteblr]

happy blorbo blursday! do any of your OCs have character foils? If so, what significant similarities and differences are there between your OC and their foil? what is their relationship like?

(-@tragicbackstoryenjoyer)

Hi! Thanks for the ask!

Character foils and parallels are my favorite topic and I'll talk about two of my favorite sets!

Martino and Basilio.

They are complete and utter opposites in every sense of the word.

Martino grew up a peasant, from a warlike culture right outside of the main empire. He’s worked with his hands for his whole life, and he’s a warrior–so, could kick your ass, but actually has a heart of gold. Basilio grew up rich, and has never worked a day in his life. 

Martino will get violent in defense of people he cares about, but only towards people who are causing actual harm. Basilio is a murderous tyrant, but he doesn’t do his own dirty work–he has servants for that. That’s one of the things Martino hates most about him–if Martino wants something done, he doesn’t burden other people, he does it himself. He thinks that outsourcing bad jobs is one of the most dishonorable things you can do.

Public perception of them typically favors Basilio–he’s an aristocrat, and knows how to talk to them, and he can blame anything bad on whoever he forced to take care of it. Martino’s a foreigner, and doesn’t concern himself with his reputation–people mostly see him as an unfeeling brute (he isn’t! he is a sweet teddy bear who will also slap you if you need it). Martino is someone who will do the right thing no matter how it looks, Basilio is primarily concerned with his reputation.

The only thing they have in common is that they both know Giacomo backwards and forwards.

Giacomo and Leonidas

These two are fun because they start in a similar place--born magical, have to find a way to deal with it. Leonidas even chugs liquid tantalum to mostly suppress his magic.

But Leo was just a little bit luckier. He gets into the good graces of the Imperatrice, even though she's leading a magical purge. He befriends Niccolo, and somehow an aristocrat accepts him being born magical, and doesn't want anything from him. I cannot overstate how unlikely this all is, especially with him being foreign.

Giacomo...does not get that. His parents toss him out when the purge starts because they can't risk it. His sister arranges for him to meet Basilio because she wants power for herself.

And then, of course, Basilio. Pretends to "want what's best for him" but he's using him for his powers--once you get involved with someone like him, you're kind of marked for life with no escape. Sure, Basilio makes him Rex, but a title doesn't fix everything else happening.

So at this point, Giacomo's a prisoner and Leonidas is a king.

These two never meet in canon. I'm convinced if they had one conversation things could have been sorted out. But they hate the idea of each other.

This is an aspect of magical politics that continues into the TTH era--you have people who work for aristos to protect themselves, and those who try to hide and assimilate, and they hate each other (e.g. Nova and Orianna)

Leonidas thinks people like Giacomo are weak-willed sellouts who just confirm all the negative stereotypes about magic. Giacomo thinks people like Leonidas are arrogant, self-serving, and disloyal to people like them. (Neither group really understands that the other side isn't sunshine and roses)

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Hi Joy!! for the tiny scene: Basilio + "I should've known how this would end like"??? (aka write something dramatic)

have a good day/night!!!🥰🥰

(@ink-fireplace-coffee)

Hey! Thanks for the prompt!

I was so tempted to play it safe and write this scene from Giacomo's POV, but I'm gonna try it the hard way.

Warnings: General warning for the abusive dynamic that is Giacomo/Basilio

------

Basilio knew this day would come.

Everyone would eventually quit on him. Even the man he had plucked from obscurity, saved from the stake, honored beyond his dreams.

He let his weak, stupid heart get in the way. Decades of history could never overcome Giacomo's nature.

This was just another treacherous sorcerer, and he would do well to remember that.

He slowly let his eyes trail down to the cool steel blade being held to his throat. Time lagged on in a way that made this one, defining moment feel longer than the last years of their lives. He waited to see if Giacomo would draw blood.

"I should have done this years ago," Giacomo used the hand that wasn't holding the knife to grab Basilio's face and force him to meet his eye, "before you ruined me. You made me into your weapon."

Basilio huffed out a laugh. He knew exactly who had put those ideas into Giacomo's head.

"That's what he's telling you, then? That you're the sweet, innocent victim, and I'm a horrible monster who took advantage? From what I remember, you were right beside me at the beginning."

"You're a liar," Giacomo pushed the knife in a bit further, "you always have been."

[italiangothicwriteblr]

I made some moodboards for my TKATF protags!

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Peppermint and feverfew!

Hey! Thanks for the ask!

Peppermint: What’s your character’s economic status? How does this impact their character arc?

Giacomo is from a lower-class family who struggled a lot with money, which meant there was far more risk in having a magical child during a purge. This also meant that he had absolutely nothing when he met Basilio, which made it even easier for him to be taken in

Feverfew: Has your character ever experienced heartbreak?

The better question is who hasn't broken his heart. The big one is when Martino defected to the North and it was empire-wide news for months (he got mocked a lot)--but there was also finding out that his sister basically sold his powers to the highest bidder to achieve status for herself, realizing his best friend was just using him, when his parents kicked him out at age 16 because it was dangerous to keep him around...

[italiangothicwriteblr]

I just came up with the answer to a puzzle I’ve had about Giacomo and damn it’s sad

(I’m putting this under a cut for dark themes—watch out for SA and abuse)

So we learn pretty early on from what happens to Nova with Ixia that it’s not uncommon for nobles to use mages for sex without them having much choice. I decided when I put the plotline in that the same thing happened to Giacomo when he was younger (and maybe even later) and that he would be the only one who could really tell Nova he understood

I always planned it to just be a nameless, faceless asshole who hurt him but now I’ve decided who it was. It’s Arnoldo’s brother who’s still hanging around and respected circa TTH. Generally thought of as a good guy and on the right side.

He and Nova have talked about this but never really told anyone else.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

Friday Kiss Tag Game

I was tagged by @bloodlessheirbyjacques. Once I got over how starstruck getting tagged by one of the most talented people on Writeblr made me, I wrote this!

Rules: Post a smooch between your OCs for Friday. It can be as light as a peck, or intense as a makeout. It can be romantic, platonic, or familial. As long as a smooch takes places, it's free reign!

Tagging: @the-void-writes @circa-specturgia @memento-morri-writes @perasperaadastrawriting @ink-fireplace-coffee @rose-bookblood and @pinespittinink

I was going to write something sweet for one of the ships, but then this happened instead. I don’t know what TWs to put on this but I feel like there should be some, so if you’re sensitive to unhealthy relationships be careful!

Giacomo was certain his body had run out of tears.

He’d secluded himself from the world for almost a week. Curled up under his thick blankets, sobbing like a child just because he’d gotten dumped.

No, actually. Dumped would be a charitable way of describing what Mar--what he had done.

Public humiliation might be more like it. Heartlessly using someone who loved him, maybe.

Giacomo couldn’t force himself to face the world just yet. He’d heard whispers of what they were saying about him in the North. 

Idiot. Lovesick fool.

The first sorcerer to show loyalty. Too bad it wasn’t reciprocated.

Giacomo’s heart sped up when he heard the tell-tale sound of metal on wood that alerted him that someone was at the door. He couldn’t look at anyone yet.

Clearly having only knocked for show, Basilio opened the door and stepped inside.

Giacomo had been avoiding him, as well. Basilio would have every right to be furious at him, for the danger he’d put them in. His friend had tried to warn him, early on, and he had ignored him. Let himself be led by his emotions.

When would he learn to accept the help of people who love him?

“Hey,” Basilio came in and sat on the edge of the bed, giving Giacomo’s hand a comforting pat, “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

“Figures. Since you don’t seem inclined to come outside any time soon, I decided I’d come to you.” “Don’t have to do that,” Giacomo sniffed.

“I know,” Basilio leaned up to offer him a hug, “Come here.”

Giacomo did. 

A hug from his best friend was the most comfort he’d experienced in days. For the first time, he felt like maybe he would be okay again.

And then he went and ruined it.

Giacomo kissed him, and Basilio kissed him back.

Once Giacomo realized what he had done, he pulled away, face warm with embarrassment.

“Sorry. Don’t know why I did that.”

“You’ll notice I wasn’t complaining.” “Please,” Giacomo scoffed, “you don’t wanna do this. I’m a sobbing wreck pining for a man who never loved me.”

Basilio took his hand, and said: “Hey, what are friends for, if not helping you forget for a bit, huh? 

Giacomo kissed him again.

[italiangothicwriteblr]

TKATF Snippet

I still have tiny scene prompts to do but this wouldn’t rest until it was finished. It’s set after the last two Giacomo/Martino snippets, and we’re finally getting Giacomo’s perspective on everything (he really just wants everyone to get along)

Giacomo and Basilio’s whole dynamic is its own content warning. If you’re sensitive to emotional abuse, manipulation, toxic relationships, or gaslighting--this might be one to skip. It’s not super clear from this snippet, but that’s what’s happening.

Scene under the cut!

Giacomo woke up wrapped in a blanket, with a splitting headache.

He’d cried himself to sleep in Martino’s arms the night before. Basilio’s reaction to hearing about their relationship had crushed him.

He wasn’t naive. He knew Martino and Basilio had their differences. But he really thought that once Basilio knew how important Martino was to him, he’d be willing to make an effort.

It wasn’t that he minded Basilio looking out for him. On the contrary, it was a rarity to have a friend who cared enough to worry. But he couldn’t ignore what Basilio said about Martino.

“An unfeeling Bellamagnan brute” he’d said “You think you can trust a mercenary to protect you?!”

He couldn't let anyone talk about the man he loved that way, even his best friend.

Martino had gotten up hours ago, as per usual--early guard duties. But when Giacomo sat up, he saw a cup of his favorite raspberry tea and a note.

I’m here for you, babe. Tell me if I need to hit him with an iron rod.

-M <3

Giacomo chuckled. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.

The cup of tea Martino left him did wonders to calm his nerves, and he walked downstairs with new resolve.

When he reached the main hall, Basilio was already there.

“Before you say anything, I’m sorry,” Basilio said, sliding a cup of black coffee across the table.

This might not be as bad as Giacomo thought.

“I just worry about you,” Basilio continued, “You’re so trusting, and that’s great, but the rest of the world may not be as accepting as me. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“I know,” Giacomo said, “and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that! You’re the best friend I could have asked for! But I can’t let anyone talk about my boyfriend like that, even you.”

“I’ll apologize,” Basilio offered immediately, “I was just a bit surprised. I’m still not certain we can trust a soldier.”

“We can, I promise! He loves me! I’m sure if you two just talked, you could find common ground.”

“If it means that much to you, I’m willing to try.”

Giacomo smiled at him, and Basilio changed the subject to the latest court gossip.

Everything had gone great! He wouldn’t have to choose, and everyone could get along!