#remnant tanith

[nicstylus]

Tanith lost a lot of time with her sister

[billygaysanguine]

this is the shittiest sketch ever but. you get it. click for quality

[obitv]

tbqh. is it gay for a girl who is actually an amalgamation of dozens of peoples memories from an evil spirit to be obsessed with the most powerful person to have evrr existed. who is a girl.

[roarhaven-stripclub]

Sometimes I’ll go back and reread Mortal Coil (cause it’s one of my favourites) and I always get to the Tanith possession part and it breaks my heart every time.

But it’s specifically the part where Tanith first gets possessed by the remnant and Val runs away from her. And she thinks ‘I might just make it, I’ve been training super hard I’m going to make it.’

And then she turns, sees Tanith absolutely sprinting at her and realises that her best friend, her older sister, has been going easy on her all those times she’s been training with her. To the point where Val was tricked into thinking they’re somewhat on the same level.

And I think it’s such a good detail because it makes Val realise no this isn’t Tanith because she would never show Val up like that. She has only ever wanted to make Val feel strong about herself.

I don’t know it just hurts because that’s the moment we know we’ve lost her.

[lassieposting]

When folks in this fandom talk about like "scenes that fucked me up as a kid" or "things that are unexpectedly dark for a so-called children's series" it's usually like. Reflectionie's death or that MC scene with Remnant!Kenspeckle torturing Tanith but like. the thing that really gets me is that Skug has been torture-porned twice. And at least one of those times, he then had to work with the people involved.

Like, these are people who've gleefully seen him beg, seen him cry, seen him humiliated, broken, screaming. The absolute worst kind of vulnerability that he's not even comfortable sharing with his closest friends. That's. Really intensely violating. And then he has to work with them on the Dead Men/Diablerie joint mission, either knowing they were there and enjoying it, or stressing out wondering why they keep making little targeted comments that seem to be referencing the worst memories of his life, because he doesn't know they were there, and it's all a big joke he's not in on at his expense.

And then it happens again, but this time it turns out that not only is there video footage of the ordeal, his enemy - the Drumpf caricature, this time round - specifically asked for it so he can watch it for fun.

And both times it's just a throwaway line and it's never really mentioned again even though the trauma and humiliation that sticks with you from something like that is insane and just. Yeah of all the messed up scenes in the SP series that's the one that always really stuck with me

[agerefandom]

I NEED thoughts about CG! Skullduggery and Regressor! Valkyrie…. Please… You’re the only person that I know of that is even aware of Skullduggery and AGERE at the same time lol

Oh yes!!! I have thoughts!! All of them!

Okay, regressor!Valkyrie and caregiver!Skulduggery is a dynamic that I love specifically because it would be so hard for both of them.

In the books, Skulduggery literally recoils whenever Valkyrie shows any sign of being a child, which I read as his denial about the fact that he's putting all of this danger onto a child's shoulders, and also an attempt to hold distance between himself as a mentor and a father, both of which he has trauma around, but only one involves trauma that he pointblank refuses to acknowledge.

Valkyrie (partially as a learned reaction to this) has a very hard time being weak around anyone: there are times, in exhaustion, where we see her taking comfort in Skulduggery: but when it comes to emotional recovery, she does everything she can to keep it away from him.

All of this to say:

Valkyrie as a regressor makes so much sense. She's been struggling with intense trauma from the age of 11, and her social isolation began long before that. Of course she needs a break from it sometimes.

I think she would have tried to keep it totally locked down, but eventually she would have confided in Tanith. Tanith is already her big sister, so who better to take care of her? And then certain events happen, and Valkyrie is basically left without a support system. I don't think she would want Fletcher to help, because she wants to be normal with him.

And Skulduggery notices that Valkyrie is running ragged, but he never really knows how to help. He tries to feed her more, tries to give her more days off with her family, but she seems to resent his efforts, wanting to throw herself into work, protesting that she doesn't need coddling.

(more under 'read more' because wow this is an essay)

It's almost a relief on the days when she falls asleep in the car and he can carry her into his house (which is becoming their house, with food in the fridge and her clothes in the closet) and lay her down on the couch and tuck her in and it feels like he's doing something

Eventually, it comes to a head: whether Remnant!Tanith says something or Valkyrie slips when she's tired, Skulduggery realizes that it's something she's been hiding from him.

Honestly, he's relieved: he could tell there was something, and he wasn't sure he could deal with another secret boyfriend. And I think he would have some experience with this from The War and the Dead Men: it's familiar. He can provide it. And finally, there's a way he can help that doesn't involve talking it out. (He absolutely does not expect how many old emotions it stirs up and it's way more intense than he expects and Skulduggery can be a very dumb skeleton sometimes but it all works out and they love each other)

This is my thoughts thank you for listening

[masterbaiting]

20 years old still obsessed with ghastly being betrayed and murdered by one of his best friends still obsessed with him never finding a cure for tanith still obsessed with darquesse ripping the remnant out of tanith’s body and tanith coming back and ghastly is dead

[winter2468]

I understand why Ghastly's resurrection would bother some people, but I can also predict why it happened, because there's a pretty major plot point surrounding Ghastly which could not be dealt with while Ghastly was dead.

Skulduggery killed Ghastly's mother. Skulduggery, as Lord Vile, killed his best friend's mother and did not say anything about it. He didn't even distance himself from Ghastly - they remained friends, close friends, and Skulduggery said nothing for decades. For well over a century.

And now? Tanith has seen Skulduggery use Vile's armour. She's smart enough to deduce that Skulduggery was Vile. She would definitely tell Ghastly what she'd figured out.

This also plays into Ghastly being Grand Mage. Ghastly hated his time as Elder, and he only took the job to try and help Tanith - why would he agree to be Grand Mage even though Tanith is free from the Remnant? Tanith doesn't like authority figures - why would she be okay with Ghastly being Grand Mage?

Because they need the resources to bring Lord Vile to justice.

[neitherthehoneynorthebee]

What is your favourite SP ship and what is a headcanon you have about them?

G'day anon. My favourite SP ships you say?

I don't ship characters from the original text as they are, really. When reading I was compelled by the Ghastly/Tanith storyline and I really wanted the two of them to get to have a proper conversation - without the remnant and everything. But I wasn't into the relationship as I am for other pairings in other fandoms.

I ship characters when writing, and so my favourite in that sense have to be either Hopeless and Erskine, or Dexter and Larrikin (the second I shipped because of AmaraqWolf and purplejabberwock's ao3 series). It's hard to choose - I'd say I prefer to write Dexter/Larrikin, but Hopeskine is the pairing I ship the most.

Hopeskine headcanon: they've known each other since they were both in their twenties. They're a queer-platonic couple, an asexual couple with a ride-or-die relationship and a dependency on each other which is probably not entirely healthy. Erskine has unresolved issues with the invasive elements of Hopeless' magic, Hopeless struggles immensely if they have to choose between doing the right thing and standing by Erskine. They're a disaster couple in the war (if subtly) and if they were able to live after the war ended, then they would probably be able to put the work in to have a healthier and more independent dynamic. They're decent at communicating about most things except the Big issues, which is unfortunate because the Big issues are the most important ones.

[lazulian-devil]

Thoughts on Book 9, halfway point

Okay so im in Book 9, right? End of Phase 1 of Skulduggery Pleasant.

And I remember, back when I read it as it came out, that I hated how it ended, how everything was so fixed on Darquesse, that I was relieved that she was finally gone from the story (lol) and that I went into Phase 2 weirdly exhausted. Book 9 actually made me abandon SP until something like Book 12 was out?

Now, according to my Kindle, Ive read 94% of Phase 1. Im somewhere around Chapter 56 of Book 9, so Im about halfway through.

And I have to say.

Its such a full book? So much happens? And its so all over the place? Okay we are here now, and now we are here. Brides of the Blood Tears, other dimension, back again, Darquesse, Mirror Image revival, future perspective telling us its all gonna be okay, and and and.

I think Im overwhelmed by this book. Last Stand of Dead Men was utterly enjoyable. But it felt like the book had purpose. Book 9 on the other hand feels like its desperately trying to write itself out of the godhood of problems it created. It wants to do justice to everything Darquesse was built up to be and yet still defeat her.

The problem is that the strategies are simply not very clever and knowing in which direction its going also makes so much of it appear cheap because it wasnt really relevant later?

Darquesse is both built up to be non human and yet appeals to humanity. And I suppose theres a point made there but its... shes just not fun? I think she never was as a villain. Her whole speech about how changing energies is not killing someone and then through like five minutes of group time she remembers "oh fuck, yeah nope that was wrong". Its so weird. Its so jarring. The character feels inconsistent in their own darn book.

Its not that its badly written. Tanith returning is great. Billy Ray is such an utterly human figure in this one and I genuinely feel bad for him (as he evidently truly loved Tanith as a Remnant). Skulduggerys treatment of the "other" Nefarian Serpine shows so much character growth. China is more and more actually an involved character. And a few others I cant remember.

I just.

I dont know. Its a weird feeling because many of the books I have read over the last dozen weeks were also in my head as "not actually that good storywise but well written" and some of that has turned out wrong! I always enjoyed reading them but some stories are much better than I remember.

But I think I arrived at this point in which the story is too large for the books. I care about the characters. About the world. But I dont know if I care about the stakes anymore. I dont know if Darquesse matters to me anymore. What does she even say about humanity? What does she reflect? That we can grow? That we are inherently evil? These are all things better illustrated by other characters.

Is it supposed to be a play on the Phase 2 reveal of Valkyrie being actually a Faceless One? Is Darquesse a shard of said ungodly evil? If so, wouldnt we have benefitted from said reveal in the Phase of its relevancy? Why is it so late?

I think SP sometimes suffers from the Star Wars "Skywalker" symptom of everything being connected at all times.

I dont know. This is weird. I still have 6% and around 50 chapters to go but Im unsure now. I stand before the mirror of literary interest and wonder if there is anything substantial to be seen.

And I know I'll enjoy the book. Its well written. I love Landy.

But having read them all in a row in such close succesion makes me realise how somewhat badly planned they are and how many massive plotholes there often exist.

Maybe the story got too big. I dont if i'll be exhausted. But Im a little worried.

[skulduggeryenthusiast]

The thought of Tanith waiting for Ghastly outside his shop after the remnant left her body only to find out that he died years ago keeps me up at night

Im fully sobbing thinking about Taniths realisation that the person she loves is dead

[nicstylus]

A crumb of transmasc tanith...

I got a little carried away

Keep the Asks comin o7

[obitv]

sorry im laughing so hard at remnant william like hes not. Meant to be one. hesjust a guy who doesnt Technically have morals but he knows dakota would yell at him if he killed a guy so he doesnt yknow. and hes trying so hard not to let people know like he avoids using the super syremgth and is generally pathetic and like dakota has no clue vyncent totally does but doesnt want to make things uncomfortable and ashe doesnt realise all other remnants are horrible killing machines who only want death . they bond

[shudderue]

ok. au thoughts that i'm putting on here because i'll either lose them in a google doc otherwise or just. never do anything with them and i need peer pressure to utilise them#

somewhere around the 1500s, the war begins. same premise as in canon: some cunts want he faceless ones back, some don't. it's messy.

china, having grown up in the church of the faceless, rises quickly to the head of the diablerie. bliss, after many failed attempts to get her away, leaves her be after deserting on his own.

mevolent is killed around 200 years into the action. china, as head of the diablerie, makes the controversial decision to step up as the leader of the faceless church. with serpine, known collector of magic, at her side, her own vast collection and family's relics, and the wealth of the faceless church at her hands, she quickly becomes unstoppable in a way mevolent could not.

the war effort switches: now, instead of trying to kill people, china is more than happy to let people die while she focuses on bringing the faceless ones into this world. so long as she has people - and she has many - as cannon fodder, she's happy.

meritorious' side realises that there's little they can do. ireland is a different place when china starts to near a century in power: the air is fraught with magic, crackling like electricity at your skin, blurring the edge of your vision. rifts crack open daily, spilling monsters on nobody's side but their own, horrifying creatures that you can't even imagine. the world is ready for the faceless ones: the people are not.

there's nothing for it,and with the impending arrival of the faceless ones, there is a final, last ditch effort - leave ireland. leave the cradles of magic, where sorcery is the foundation of everything, where the smell of witchcraft burns your nose if you pay too much attention to it. quarantine the magic of the world onto this little island, in australia, in a pocket in southern africa, and let them be. magic is no more, in the rest of the world, and that is a sacrifice that everyone who leaves must be willing to make.

few stay. few leave. many die. magic is no more, survived in only the near immortals who lived through the horrors of the war, their power locked away and unusable, their bodies kept strong and useful regardless, feeding on the remnants of magic never used. sorcery, for the most part, is no more, in the majority of the world.

two hundred years later, two men and a woman are arrested: a couple and their eldest child. black market smuggling is their crime - magical artefacts traded among thieves, crooks, assassins. these three are the latter, planning on using their wealth from the smuggled goods to buy their way into central london and kill the king - eachan meritorious, who stripped them of their "divine right", who stole away their children's right to magic, to long life, to a better world.

the youngest child, a baby of three weeks old, is raised by the state, trained to be the king's assassin in a cruel twist of fate. her parents and older brother spend the rest of their days in labour camps, toiling away to provide food and necessities for the population who toe the line, the former sorcerers and their descendants.

tanith, she calls herself when she is old enough to think about names and such. tanith low, raised among royalty and sent among rats, to kill any people who speak of bringing magic back to the world and to keep the peace, to keep the faceless ones from coming back.it is, almost, a happy existence.

there are rumours, however, to the west. the darklands, as they are called now, are their own little pockets of magic, uninterefered with. never did they quite manage to being back the faceless ones, but it's anyone's guess as to whether that was ever sorrows' actual intention. but there's something in the air, something coming, and sorrows needs to die.

tanith is sent to ireland, sneaking in and working her way closer to sorrows. her mission is simple - to kill sorrows - but unfathomably difficult, to kill the most powerful sorceress the world has ever seen, who can bring an army to their knees with a smile, will a man to cut off his own fingers with a smile, convince a mother to burn her child to ash without a word. but tanith, with no exposure to magic, is immune, and grows closer to her target every day, befriending china and, maybe, falling in love. because, of course, it's real, and she's the special one here, and, really, china would never hurt her, of course.

[skulduggerypleasantfan2022]

Character Opinion Round Two Winner: Billy-Ray Sanguine

Baron: "Well done.....mole man"

Our personal hitman deluxe who aka is known to me as mole man (joke only) due to his adept magic allowing him to travel underground, through walls and people at his pleasure......We're first introduced to Billy-Ray in book two Playing with fire and he broke out Baron Vengeous from the goal containment facility and helped bring back the grotesquery (creepy bastard) Billy-Ray is also known for carrying a blade that when he cuts someone with it there scares never fully heal......taking the wounds go deeper than the skin meaning to a whole new level.

Billy-Ray never makes it clear to who and where his loyalties lie as we could see in Book Two and Book Four as he betrayed Baron in the main battle and his father also in a 'main battle' (well him really taking revenge) but then in later books such as The Dying Of The Light he saves tanith (no longer a remnant possessed) by literally burying through the black cleaver (while cleaver formally) and sadly dying so it makes you wonder what his true intentions have been all along.

I think Billy-Ray is just trying to live his life the best way he can....yeah, he's not making the best choices such as murder and other things alike but deep down he intents to fight for the winning cause and when he sees they are going to loose he ditches them as I chance of escaping.

Now, this is a headcannon I saw (headcannon doesn't belong to me) but it fits perfectly with my next topic.

Billy-Ray's relationship with his dad and Baron in Books Two and Four......So Book Two Billy-Ray seems to have a lot of respect and trust in baron and his plan despite not believing in the faceless ones but for the fact it was going to cause Skulduggery and Valkyire so much trouble.....but also I personally feel like Baron generally cared for Billy-Ray unlike the others whom he got bored with easily, so Baron to me is Billy-Rays unofficial adoptive father.

Now Billy-Ray's relationship woth his bio father....when his father first walks put of the goal he wished his father had died inside instead of living long enough to pass his time...no it isn't explained why Billy-Ray doesn't like his father but I theorise that sometime in his childhood his father wasn't the 'kind' and 'loving' father in the slightest....but as the book progressed he did enjoy seeing the expressions of Valkyire, the others and well the blank expression of skulduggery XD

In conclusion, Billy-Ray Sanguine.....you sink through the ground and see a hitman deluxe keep being you but please...STAY OUTTA TROUBLE!

[bluseum]

Chapter 10 of The Dying Of The Light is easily the best chapter. it’s Girl’s Night Out and it’s just Darquesse and Remnant Tanith having a fun time making morally awful decisions

honestly i love any interaction between any form of Tanith or Valkyrie