Ohhh, Bleu, yes please!

I have a fic I've had floating in my head forever about this.

Once more, i'mma outline my ideas and put this on my writing docket:

Feat. The Agency's Tibenoch and Shae

Tibs and Shae are on a portal-and-veil training run. They get captured by the Inquest (yes, this is reverting straight to GW2 stuff because it's an idea that's been in my head forever).

Tibs is targeted, but they take Shae because they know she's his apprentice.

Tibs is tied down, forced to watch Shae be tortured (and she holds her own for a while, she's a trooper, but the Inquest is cruel) as he's peppered with questions about vital interactions.

Shae nearly dies, and Tibs breaks down and feeds some information to their whumpers (gotta figure out how to make it something "vital" enough that they'll buy it, but not enough to seriously endanger the Agency's operations).

Satisfied, they shove bags over both agents' heads and drive them out into the wilderness before dumping them.

Tibs, relatively uninjured, returns to base.

This is gonna be fun.

It also leads to a bunch of awesome follow up fics where Tibs deals with

Guilt and self-loathing about how he was unhurt and Shae almost died

Fear that Shae won't like him or trust him

Punishment from the Commander for leaking information (though she has a bit of a caretaker moment where she thanks and commends him for saving Shae)

Punishment from Lylen for the same and for endangering Shae

Punishment from the Doc for endangering Shae, but also a moment of understanding because she knows what he had to do.

Comfort from Shae

Comfort from Marek, but Marek still whumps Tibs a bit because he was so afraid for the sprout. But when Tibs breaks down about his own fears and his own guilt, Marek switches to caretaker mode.

And from the Sprout:

Her fear and recovery

Her pride at lasting so long, and the reactions her various caretakers have to that

Her confusion about why Tibs feels bad. She knows he did what he had to, he still saved her, and she thought he'd be proud of her for lasting so long. But also some blame and anger - did she not sign up for this? She knows she's young and cute, but she signed up to fight.

Her fury with Lylen, the Commander and the Doc for whumping Tibs despite all he's been through.

Her own self-loathing and excessive training to "never be caught again".

Her nightmares and unexpected flashbacks or mild PTSD from the kidnapping.

Dear lord it's turned into a series...

Tibenoch is one of the Agency’s oldest active field agents.

Name: Agent Tibenoch Richler, Transportation and Scout Specialist

52, Human

Male, he/him, straight (but he flirts like a fuckboi and hits on everyone [but he is like, allergic to romantic commitment])

Whumpee, occasional caretaker, rare whumper

Talented, sharp, and too clever for his own good, Tibs is a man who believes in growing old, not growing up. But despite his usual MO of a casual, irreverent old guy, he has a strong serious streak in him. Shown only in dire circumstance, and often half-heartedly “softened” by his signature humour and none of his signature charm, “Serious Tibs” is no joke.

Decades of experience, experimentation, and mistakes have made Tibenoch into a star agent in the field. A specialist in teleportation, portals, invisibility and stealth magic, and infiltration, Tibenoch often finds himself alone (or with little backup) deep behind enemy lines.

Relationships

Shae: Tibs’ apprentice (he calls her “Sprout”) and eventual replacement (but he wouldn’t want you to tell her that – it’ll inflate her young ego). Their relationship is fantastic: the two of them share a lot of similarities and have an easy chemistry. They click. Which makes it hard for Tibenoch to reconcile the fact that he has to put his sprout in danger so often. Tibs struggles to balance his detachment and goals as a training officer with the obvious personal pull he has to Shae. She is an odd combination of daughter, friend, sister, and mentee to the old agent. Tibs is Shae’s primary caretaker, and they often share whumpee scenarios.

Commander: Tibs and the Commander share a bond of truth. Tibenoch, given his skill in illusions and his background in infiltration and manipulation, knows that the Commander is a more ruthless person than she lets on. So she doesn’t try to hide it from him. The two share a dark appreciation for the realities of the work they do and a steely dedication to protect those under their charge. While Tibs is older than the Commander by a long shot, he has tremendous respect for her. Their relationship covers all the whump combos, though typically Tibs is the voice of reason and stoic caretaker to the Commander’s breakdowns. And the Commander often gives Tibs shit for putting himself in danger or trying to act tough.

Marek: Marek is closest in age to Tibenoch among the active field agents. But for Tibs’ stealthy build, Marek is basically classic bara. A gentle giant, Marek looks up to Tibs and, despite their highly different skill sets, often seeks his advice. Marek is Tibs’ caretaker, though sometimes Marek might be whumped and need Tibs’ sarcasm to keep his spirits up.

Kieran: Tibs loves the doc. She’s like his sister – his tall, gangly, boyish, awkward, nervous sister. But, like the Commander, she often hides her true feelings for the sake of those around her. Tibenoch sees through it, and the doc appreciates not needing to pretend around him. They tend to caretake each other, but they also emotionally whump each other frequently because they’re a pair of guilt-tripping bitches.

Lylen: Tibs and Lylen are complicated. Their relationship is intense in a way. They joke around and play around like brothers or best friends, but that same intensity comes into play when they blame each other or get angry for endangering lives or going off plan. Much of their tension comes from the fact that they both want to save lives, but have different ways to do it: Lylen by the book and Tibs by whatever the fuck means he deems necessary. Like the Commander, Lylen and Tibs’ relationship covers all the whump combos. Though they tend to caretake each other mostly.

“...noch?”

What was that? Notch? Why did he feel hot…?

“-ibenoch!”

Was he dreaming? It felt like his whole left side was pins and needles, like he’d fallen asleep on it in an awkward position after that last mission.

“Tibenoch!” The Commander’s roaring voice snapped the old agent into attention, but Tibenoch couldn’t help the strong wince as his movement pulled on the injury in his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“He said he’d hit his shoulder, but…”

“He looks a hell of a lot worse than just a bit scratched up.”

“M’fine…”

“And I’m the fuckin’ Queen, lemme see that.” The Commander’s hands were nimble, but firm, and Tibenoch felt her undoing the clasp that held his mantle on. He tried weakly to help, but he could hardly lift his arms. He felt someone step behind him and Shae’s hands gently guided his head to the right, exposing his neck. “Shit…”

“Commander…?” He asked, weakly. Maybe he’d been wrong, maybe he hadn’t jammed his shoulder into some rocks.

“That looks like…” Shae’s normally light tone was gone, her voice abnormally low and serious.

“Poison.” The Commander announced, her grimace clear in her voice. “Agent! Go get a medic.” She called to someone outside the tent. There was a muffled acknowledgement and quickly fading footsteps as one of the guards ran off. “Tibenoch? Just rest, alright? And for fuck’s sake, next time don’t try to be tough.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He replied, weakly. He heard the Commander’s brief huffing laugh and felt a reassuring squeeze on his good shoulder.

tibenoch bday 2024

In response to this prompt, here’s part 1: pulling out glass shards.

“Ssssssf—” Tibenoch hissed, baring his teeth in pain as he gingerly probed the shards of glass embedded in his leg. The biggest piece was almost the size of a playing card and probably a centimeter thick. It was lodged at a shallow angle into his thigh. “Ah!”

At least it doesn’t seem to have nicked an artery… He thought to himself, gasping softly as he find another new tender spot around the shard. He could see parts of his skin— urk! — through the gash that had been cut in his pants, but if he was going to pull the full shard out, he’d need better access.

Fortunately, sharp implements surrounded him. He picked up a piece of glass big enough to hold, but dull enough on one side not to slice his hand open, and carefully wrapped half of it in a strip of his shirt. It was painful work, with each inch of fabric cut jarring his thigh muscles and shifting against the glass.

“Hahh…” Even though it wasn’t cold, Tibenoch’s panting breaths made brief, wisp-like clouds. He let his makeshift knife clatter to the ground, his hands shaking too much to hold it steady. “Nnmn…” It wouldn’t make pulling the shard out any easier.

“Alright, okay, here we go…” He muttered under his breath, willing himself to fight through the mounting fear pooling in his stomach. His fingers shook as he neared the glass piece. “G-gently… Gentl— NGH!”

Even the slightest touch on the glass made Tibenoch recoil. His breath came shallower, faster. It felt like hot metal had just slid across the gash the glass had cut. His vision swam and he clenched his teeth hard enough for them to grind. Forcing himself to breathe, the man exhaled in short bursts, working up the courage to do what had to be done.

“Hu… hu… hu… hu— NAAGH!” In the brief moment between breaths, Tibenoch wrenched the shard of glass out of his leg, immediately clenching down on the area with his opposite hand as hard as he could. “Nyyaaaaaauuugh!”

The pain was searing and he couldn’t help the shuddering in his body. One eye tight shut and teeth bared, he grabbed one of the other strips of his shirt he’d prepared and set about tying it tightly against his leg. He let out a strangled yelp with every tug on the wound, but he knew he had to. He was running out of strength.

“Th-there…” He breathed, pale, shaking and drenched in sweat. His entire body shook. After a few moments of rest, he tried to push himself up. It didn’t go well. His arms felt like lead and he could hardly get a centimeter of clearance off the ground. He couldn’t even bring himself to move his injured leg. With a painful thump, he gave up, leaning his head back against the wall, swallowing hard. “Sh-shit... “