There's a version of this story where love was never the starting point. Where it took Feofan a very, very long time to fall for Zandik, and arguably it only happened once Feo had grown out from under Zandik's shadow entirely.

The relationship begins, as survival. Zandik had ill intentions for Feofan, and Feo simply talked his way out of them. He was useful, he was clever, and he made himself impossible to discard. Somewhere in that ongoing negotiation, Zandik became intrigued; and intrigue, between two people like this, curdles slowly into partnership, and partnership into companionship. I’m not going to say love. I’d like to believe they did love each other, but Feo’s reactions regarding Zandik’s treatment after he died give me pause. While Feo could have been upset over the death, it doesn’t seem like he was angry over the treatment of the body. He may not have tried because it’s par for the course at this point, but I don’t think that’s the case. Omega seems to paint a more romantic version of the events, indicating Omega believes Feo is far more infatuated with him than he actually is.

This is why Feofan paints such a different picture of what he had with Dottore versus what could have been with Zandik. They are not the same man, and Feo knows it. That fact adds to the tension in their relationship. It’s what keeps Omega from ever fully being able to claim Feo as his. Omega isn’t the original specimen. Try as he might, he is bound by the limitation given to him by his creator. Omega will never be what Zandik was by the end of his life. While time gives Omega a longer relationship with Feo, it does not erase a life built over 50 years together. It does not alter that Feo’s heart will always remain with Zandik.

My personal theory is that Omega has to work the hardest for Feo's affection, and the irony is exquisite. Omega is frozen at the version of the man Feo met before the relationship truly formed. But Feo himself is no longer who he was. He has matured across a long life, to the point where even the elixir of immortality holds little sway over him anymore. The desperate dependence that might once have leveled the field is gone. As Pantalone, Feo holds most of the cards. He is Dottore's primary source of funding. Omega can threaten to withhold the elixir, but Omega is intelligent enough to know that destroying Pantalone destroys himself. So they meet on more even ground than Zandik and Feo ever did, which is precisely the problem. Omega wants to be regarded by Feo as the original was, but he has none of the original's leverage and all of his arrogance.

What Omega does hold over the other segments is memory. He is the first to carry a piece of Feofan, and he embodies Zandik's original feelings for him. I personally believe Feo prefers the older segments, but that doesn’t stop Omega from clinging to being the keeper of the beginning. When Omega says Feo chose to work with him, it can be read as a reference to that original partnership; but in this theory, it's also an admission. After the deletion of the other segments, there was tension between Omega and Feo. While Feo ultimately respected Omega’s choice in the deletion, Omega still had to work to bring Feo back onto his side. The choice he references isn't only the ancient one; it's the reconciliation he had to earn.

Zandik's death was made bearable only because the segments survived. 35, 45, and 65 each carried a thread of the life Feo built with him; which made the grieving both easier and far more complicated. In the immediate wake of the loss, Feo may have been closest to 65, the version nearest to the original Zandik. But as the rawest grief mellowed, he drifted toward 45; the one who stayed home in Snezhnaya with 8 while the others went out on Fatui business. The three of them, Feo, 45, and 8, could have settled into an odd, strange little family. And Omega, out in the field or simply on the outside of it, was jealous of exactly that warmth.

Interestingly, I think “Boattore” may have been 45. Which if true, means 8 may have been with Pantalone at the time of the deletion. The betrayal gets that much deeper if Feo comes home to find 8 destroyed, only to later learn of Omega’s actions in a staff meeting. 

The destruction of the other segments isn't just a tactical loss, it's the erasure of that built life. With only 35 remaining, what survives is the beginning and nothing else: the meeting, the early infatuation, before any of the tenderness was earned. Everything that came after is gone.

This is where it turns out to be the most tragic. In Irminsul, what's briefly reforged isn't Omega at all. It's Zandik, made whole again, the soul reassembled for a moment before the fire takes it. The scene becomes a rectification of the past: Feo is finally given the chance to say goodbye to the partner and lover he never got to properly mourn, only to lose that whole version of him for a second time, this time for good. The tragedy is doubled, because even if Feo opts to die, which is likely; there is a strong possibility he will never be reunited with Zandik. Unlike other souls, Zandik’s didn’t make it into the ley lines. His soul is destroyed, eliminating any possibility of Feo and Zandik being reunited in the afterlife or in the next life. 

In terms of a final resurrection, Feo knows, even if he recreated Zandik from his own memories, it would not be the same man. That knowledge is exactly why he hesitates, why he insists that so long as the soul survives, there is no need to resurrect that which is gone. To rebuild from memory would be to make an Omega of his own: a beginning without the long middle, a likeness that remembers being loved without having lived through the experience of creating that life together.

While Feo could build a new life with his version of Zandik, it would be a short one. Even with all of Zandik’s surviving research, the resurrected version would have all of the information, with none of the capability. Meaning, the new segment will not be able to manufacture the elixir of immortality. In the end, Feo will do to the new segment what Zandik did to him. Feo will die. With that death, Feo will leave behind a false version of his lover, with only the scattered memories of life that was never the segment’s to begin with.

Good, let them win

A/n: Hey! I’m back with another part! Get ready for some more of Basi the Sun Warrior

Summary: Pantalone’s curiosity on Basi grows and soon he starts finding ways to engage the sun warrior in conversation. Even if it involves using that one thing against the poor sun warrior.

Warnings: Tickles! Also Pantalone starts gaining some feelings at some point.

Basi sat on his cell, as he continued to hear the constant yelling of Knave, (Arlecchino). He sighed. “She can scream all she wants but that’s not going to change my mind if that’s what I’m going hear.” He stated in his mind.

“What will it take to persuade that stubborn warrior?” She groaned. “He’s been cooperating so far…but he’s so…so!”

“Still?” Said Pierre. Arlecchino breathed loudly, agreeing. “Yes! It’s as if he’s a robot!”

She wasn’t lying; no matter what was done or what was said to Basi, he acted as though he wasn’t fazed or he agreed to it. Which to Arlecchino, was infuriating! How could a calm, wise, and handsome- Ugh! How could a warrior like Basi even keep calm like this?! “Why stress out on it Knave?” Dottore asked. “He’s calm about it. It shouldn’t be a problem.” Arlecchino’s grip on her weapon tightened a bit. “He’s too calm, like he already anticipated this would happen.” Pantalone was already listening in on this.

It was strange on how he was so calm. Cold? A little bit at times, but overall, he was as calm as the sea on a warm beach day.

.

.

.

Well, mostly calm; that’s only when Pantalone doesn’t try anything funny. That being trying to sneak up on him. But sometimes curiosity was a fickle and overwhelming thing to those who let it be. And Pantalone was no exception. He couldn’t care less about what Arlecchino thought about him, but he indeed was curious about Basi. Just what could a warrior like him hide?

Later that day, he decided to find out by striking up a chat with the mighty warrior. He walked in Basi’s room and knocked. “May I enter?” He called. Basi replied. “Yes.” Pantalone entered the room, seeing Basi laying on the bed, exhausted from Arlecchino’s ordeal earlier today. “Tired are we?” Pantalone asks, amused. Basi opened one eye. “Only of her.” He responded. “And all of these attempts to make me join the Fatui.”

Pantalone chuckled. “You speak as though you find this interesting.” Basi turned to him. “Never said I didn’t find it interesting. But she’s getting on my nerves.” He replied. “Constantly yelling and getting annoyed at me.” He sat up. “It gets a bit overwhelming.” Pantalone chuckled, knowing Arlecchino’s antics all too well. “She is a bit much I guess.” He said, sitting a little close. Basi instinctively moved a little. “Mhm,” he mumbled from his pillow. Pantalone stared at him, “Are you ignoring me?” Basi didn’t answer. Apparently, he was trying to pretend to be asleep.

Pantalone knew and decided to tease him. He scooted a little closer and poked Basi, making him jump. “Pantalone,” said Basi, his voice with warning. “Mm?” Pantalone said, sounding innocent just before he poked him again. Basi jerked and moved to the side. “Pantalone, stop it.” He said. “But I’m not doing anything.” Pantalone cooed.

Basi turned to him. “Pantalone, you are the only person in here besides me.” Pantalone looked to the side. “But what if it was a ghost?” He said, creeping closer. “What if it was?” Basi inquired, raising a brow. Pantalone made a face. “I hate ghosts…” he whines oh so innocently. And creeping ever so closer to Basi.

“There’s no such thing.” said Basi. Pantalone made a sound. “You don’t know that, what if it’s here, right now?” Basi faced him. “Then it would probably come for you first.” Pantalone frowned at that. “How dare you!”

He grabbed Basi’s waist. “You’ll do best and take that back.” Basi flinched a little. “Or what?”

Shouldn’t have asked…

Pantalone started squeezing his sides, making Basi howl in laughter. He buried his head in his pillow so no one could hear him. “Now will you apologize to me?” said Pantalone. Basi glared at him. “No.” Pantalone squeezed his sides again. Basi buried his head and clenched the pillow. “Apologize now?” asked Pantalone.

“Never!” Basi said. Pantalone narrowed his eyes. “Fine then, I’ll just make you.” He began relentlessly tickling Basi’s waist and sides now. The Sun Warrior lost it, burying his face in his pillow, and laughing like crazy. He clenched the pillow like a lifeline.

“Stahahap!” He said to Pantalone. Pantalone only grinned, enjoying his play and the Sun Warrior’s laughter. Basi kicked and hit the bed, knocking Pantalone over and giving Basi enough time to pin Pantalone under him, breathing heavily.

Pantalone stared up at him. Basi stared at him, face flushed from laughing so much. Then they realize the position they’re in and Basi gets off. “Sorry…” he said, trying to sound composed than he felt.

Pantalone took a deep breath and stood up, straightening his clothes. They both looked at each other and Pantalone said, “Let us not speak a word of this to the others.” Basi nodded. “Of course as long as you do not tell anyone about my sensitivity.”

They both nodded and Pantalone left. Sharing mutual respect.