Open heart or tilted lips?
Added 2025-02-10 17:03:50 +0000 UTCI'm expanding a neat little scene, and I'd love your help with something. If your Romanus was requested to "Tell me something you never told anyone before," what would that be?
Would they lie, be sincere, or make light of it?
Just to give you some examples of what I wrote:
1) "I miss home... terribly."
2) "I'm afraid of drowning."
3) "I never once said the words, 'I'm in love with you.'"
4) "I once believed dragons were real."
And a couple more, but I'd love to add a few inspired by your Romanus ♡.
Comments
"I am always looking over my shoulder. I'm always afraid." "Me? Have secrets? I'm an open book." (Sarcastic) "Well... one written in Latin I suppose." "I had a ferret named Sprinkle that I ... accidently taught to steal things." Or "I once accused a merchant of stealing the northern lights." "I've never told anyone this before... but... I couldn't carry a tune even if given a bucket." (Said dramatically / sarcastic) "I'm dangerous. Dangerous to know. And someday you'll likely regret having known me." Or "I wonder sometimes if I'm cursed."
L. Gonzales
2025-02-14 23:21:07 +0000 UTCI think my Romanus would be sincere and confess something important to an RO or very close friend (otherwise it would be more light-hearted but still sincere). Something like “I’m scared I’m becoming someone I don’t recognize.” or “I never want someone to die protecting me…again.”
Maria
2025-02-13 18:49:05 +0000 UTCFor context, my Romanus is very stoic, rarely showing emotion or even really emoting. Inside his head however, that unique inner world we all have, is full of emotions. He feels very deeply about those he feels responsible for, but the circumstances of his life has taught him that showing that care rarely ends up well. He feels emotions brightly (anger and fear recently, thanks Raf!) but keeps them locked down tight
Warpotato
2025-02-13 18:15:14 +0000 UTCMy sarcastic Romanus has learned that people pry less if you tell them what they want to hear and talk their head off. They've been quite ruthless with their enemies, rarely sparing them but tell themselves it's necessary for survival (it's them or me). To answer the question, they'd probably start with some over-the-top anecdote about some past encounter/fight they had before joining the company (partly to deflect, partly to show-off a bit and impress the companion). Though after a bit they realise they want to be a bit genuine for once, so instead of using their lengthy and flowery words to say nothing at all, they say something short and simple at the end, but honest, like 'I never forgot their names' (deep down they feel guilty for doing what they do).
bubgkes
2025-02-13 13:00:22 +0000 UTCMy Hunter Romanus is the stoic type so FEELINGS, let alone thoughts, are rarely shared to begin with. I think he's the type to always keep a part of him to himself, even towards close loved ones, and being asked a question like that I think (with someone close enough) he might actually lament over what he's left. "The home I didn't think twice about leaving, I can't go back to. The home I did think twice about leaving, will never return to me. So if I seem like I'm in my own head- just drifting, that's why, and I'd prefer to stay there." My Merchant Romanus is the sarcastic, wear-a-mask type to hide their true feelings and disposition. If the mask ever cracks, or falls, it would reveal past the charming facade into someone who is actually low-key an asshole. It's honestly better if their 'never told before' thoughts aren't revealed or I think they'd end up, for a quick moment, saying something so bitterly raw, unexpected, and plain cruel with such casual ease, that the mask would be right back on right after, probably trying to make light of whatever was just revealed. Can't get too comfortable after all. My Pious Romanus would- with hesitation, be honest, regardless if the one asking is someone close or not. They'd be sincere with an answer that's been hounding them their whole life. "If I'm so actively devout, against all judgement and how I've grown- it's because I'm afraid of the person I could be without it." Her mother may have hated it, but after all the tribulations she's actively going through, who's to say how she would act in the name of survival, without the teachings she clutches hard to ground her? Only my Scribe Romanus would unintentionally avoid the question, ironic for her genuine nature. The question would catch them off guard and only cause more questions, thoughts racing and intentions questioned. "What kind of thing?...I'm not quite sure what kind of answer you want..." the unfortunate outcome of living a life on the run- trying to keep everything to yourself even if you don't want to.
Imani
2025-02-12 23:12:39 +0000 UTCMy Hunter origins Romanus hates lying but has a really hard time doing so, so he usually just says half-truths and hopes that no one will take him seriously. To this particular question, he'd say "My best friend is a bear." If it were Hadrian, or Alessa, he'd add Grizzly's name to give them something to go off of and sate their curiosity about his past, though he'd likely regret saying it out loud later, what with the bear necklace still around his neck and all. So excited to read what you're cooking!
nico
2025-02-12 13:48:34 +0000 UTCFor closer friends like Hadrian and Alessa, my Romanus would definitely blurt something vulnerable and true (that might even shock the listener) and immediately make light of it later, maybe calling it a bluff just to see their reaction. Anyone else would just get a silly line.
moala
2025-02-11 15:28:14 +0000 UTCBut I can see why people see it as brooding 😆 I'll need to change the wording
Anathema
2025-02-11 10:51:38 +0000 UTCActually, option 3 is supposed to be making light of it, but I worded it wrong in the choice. It's more like: Romanus: "I'm in love with you." The person, alarmed: "What?" Romanus, fighting back a grin. "I never said those words to anyone. Wasn't that the question?"
Anathema
2025-02-11 10:47:48 +0000 UTC“I think there’s something deeply wrong with me.” <- deadass that mark aint normal lol and it could be all variations
unfortunate small
2025-02-11 10:33:37 +0000 UTC“I’ve always wanted to pet a deer” “Sometimes, I wonder why it is I even bother running.” “I heard the voice of a long forgotten god.” “My mother was stolen from me….and I’d burn the world down if I could.”
Warpotato
2025-02-11 08:54:58 +0000 UTC"Sometimes I'm jealous of the faith you have in God." "I used to be scared of horses as a child." I have one who's a bit of a smart ass who would probably say something like "Some days I think of giving up this life and becoming a farmer. It doesn't seem too hard."
chocolatezz
2025-02-11 07:45:19 +0000 UTCI'm scared that I'll always be running away.
B
2025-02-11 06:12:23 +0000 UTC"I never knew loving someone could be so.. terrifying" "I keep going to sleep wondering if I'll wake up all alone again" " I cant speak the truth, I lie to myself every day"
Inoempriss
2025-02-11 01:24:48 +0000 UTC“I don’t particularly like myself. Do I love myself? Of course, I treat my body like a temple. Yet despite that… I still don’t like myself. It doesn’t make sense.” I’m not a writer. I feel like it makes sense but at the same time it doesn’t but I feel it goes very well with a Corrupted Romanus.
Brianna S
2025-02-11 00:50:55 +0000 UTC“I see dead people… normally I’m the cause but that just adds to the fun 😀”
Arizona
2025-02-11 00:13:02 +0000 UTCSomeone - maybe you, Anathema - had once posted about how even flippant/smart-ass Romanus never showed their hand, that it was part of how they grew up and just part of being a mercenary; it makes them very guarded. I think that it would be out-of-character to be open and vulnerable early on/without super high friendship points and trust, and that flippancy laced with truth is the most likely scenario. Maybe even referencing their childhood - not a lie, but not the whole truth. "I've written a book before - my favorite part is getting the lines straight." or "I had a friend growing up, Hadrian - you actually remind me of him. He was big, and strong, and I felt so safe despite everyone thinking he was scary." "Really? Who?" "He was a literal bear."
Mark-Christopher Hanna
2025-02-10 23:24:09 +0000 UTCIf it was his RO asking while deep in a relationship he would say "I just want a home again. I want to build something that wont go away." If it was a trusted friend (and if my romanus was feeling particularly vulnerable) he would say "I wake up every day expecting you to be gone." Literally eveyone else would get a sarcastic answer to deflect the question. 🤣
Chai
2025-02-10 23:20:13 +0000 UTCi love the cape idea hahha, i can just imagine the flat look alessa gives you and hadrian agreeing with you 😂
Senna
2025-02-10 22:40:44 +0000 UTC"I'm afraid of drowning." :)
Seagull3
2025-02-10 22:25:55 +0000 UTCI think if the asker caught her in a good mood, not one of those somber nights spent reflecting on everything that has ever gone wrong in her life, and their relationship was good, she would tell them about Grizzly, and summers spent in her childhood. Something happy that reminds her of better times. If their relationship was low, she'd default to the sarcastic response😅
river
2025-02-10 21:50:40 +0000 UTCoh i love these questions! with the unscalable wall my lena keeps around her heart lying is second nature to her and she would undoubtedly lie, but she’s from the merchant background and knows to tell a good lie it has to contain a little bit of truth. she would pick an old story she knows, take a part of it that resonates with her in some shrouded way and deliver it like any good tale. “i was so stubborn as a child, i’d run until my legs gave out just to see how long i could last! it all started because the boy next door said i couldn’t outlast him, and obviously i couldn’t let him win. my chest would hurt so much afterwards, but it was so peaceful - resting on the cool grass. looking at the stars.” she has run until her chest and legs gave out, but she wasnt a child. the dare was an unspoken hunter and the grass didnt feel pleasant at all. it was just freezing. i wrote this slapdash, but something like that! that being said, if she was faced with eyes of someone with seemingly limitless earnestness, well, that might make her stumble on the delivery of her lie for the first time since she can remember.
mila (yugocar)
2025-02-10 20:39:44 +0000 UTCJeeze, it's been awhile since my last read through of book one. I'm due for another one soon. After which I'll inevitably tackle the alpha, finally. That being said, it probably depends like the others have said on who's asking. In my case, if most people are asking, something either silly or trivial depending on his mood. Maybe a pet peeve regarding Latin, in certain circumstances? "So there are a couple of words that really drive me insane..." If it's someone close, particularly Hadrian as my Romanus' bestie or Alessa as his RO, I think he'd take the chance to unburden himself of self inflicted guilt. I think there's something tragic about small details falling victim to trauma, the kinds of details that form the bedrock of what makes us happy. "There was a time where I wanted to let loose from my mind all the miseries of days past, but at some point things got blurry that weren't supposed to." A yearning to see his mother's face again, or hear her voice. Not being sure if a treasured childhood item was green or blue. The smells of certain things, etc. I can see him staring really hard at Alessa or Hadrian after that, not like their faces weren't burned into his mind already, as he wants to cling to what he's come to consider as his family. Could also say something about loneliness, or the fear of it, and just being tired in general.
Toastywafflz
2025-02-10 20:20:50 +0000 UTCOk. Interesting. Lets see: First of all it depends who he’s talking to. With most people he’d make light off. And probably lie. Maybe something along the lines of: „I can secretly hear the thoughts of animals. Your horse/dog/cat plans to murder you.“ With a certain cold blue-eyed mercenary he‘d try something similar only finding his words stuck in his mouth halfway through. If asked a follow up: he’d be honest and reveal something buried deep inside.
Der Lesende
2025-02-10 19:39:59 +0000 UTCIt mostly depends on who was asking my Romanus. She generally tries to be as open and honest as she can with Alyssa and Hadrian because she’s close enough to trust them. Most other people would get a silly line like the dragon one, one that’s not a lie, but not one that goes beyond surface level.
Slamwise Gamegee
2025-02-10 19:34:32 +0000 UTC"I'm so... Angry. At all hours of the night I want to weep for anger and fear. Do you ever feel that your nature is one of wickedness?" On a lighter note? "I want a cape. The guardsmen have them and I don't know where I'd get one, but I WANT one."
HeraldOfEras
2025-02-10 19:34:08 +0000 UTCIt depends on my Romanus. My sweet-talking, manipulative might have a moment of openness behind her usual devil-may-care attitude and say something like, "I haven't told a sincere truth in years."
Josephine G
2025-02-10 19:33:50 +0000 UTCI figure Romanus would answer the question in the spirit it was asked in. Casual acquaintances would get a casual, maybe flippant answers. Enemies would get something snarky or a straight up bluff. Someone Romanus trusts who's genuinely trying to get to know them better would get a genuine "getting to know you" answer; not a full-on trauma dump that would destroy the mood, or Dangerous Secrets They Can Never Unknow, those will come out when they need to and not when they're called. So, something sincere, something grounded in who they are, how they see themselves, but lighter, maybe even something positive that they just never had the chance to express. Like for a merchant background, I could imagine a Romanus who had idle dreams as a kid of earning so much money that they and their mother could travel far to the east. Maybe they only share that they thought it would be a great adventure with great treasures and fantastical creatures, maybe they talk about wanting to see if there truly was a place so far outside the Church's control that their mother could truly relax for once.
Sydney Marsing
2025-02-10 19:18:28 +0000 UTCI'm not sure what exactly my Romanus would say but it'd be said sarcastically but with an underlining of truth and rawness. Definitely something that pertains to her roots and past with her mother. Maybe something to do with her having been running her whole life as well?
nati ♡
2025-02-10 18:59:59 +0000 UTCArtesia's took my words straight from my mouth!
HeraldOfEras
2025-02-10 18:15:20 +0000 UTCOr maybe say something that's true but in a sarcastic tone, so it doesn't sound real. Masking the pain in layers of irony and jokes so it's hard to figure out if they are being sincere
shrek4ever
2025-02-10 18:08:46 +0000 UTC100% make light of it, probably saying something absurd. My main romanus is a sarcastic wisdom clown that doesn't let anyone close, so no way she'd be sincere
shrek4ever
2025-02-10 18:05:51 +0000 UTChmm i have 2 very different romanus’ so i’ll share their thoughts 😉 florian (hunter, sarcastic, high combat, high corruption): he’d be sarcastic (duh) even if it was Alessa asking (his romance) and say something like “I have a voice in my head telling me what to do” or something along those lines. he’d say it with a shitty little smile that is slightly strained. and even if Alessa doesn’t realize what he said had a little truth to it, he feels better not completely lying to her tove (merchant, genuine & emotional, high reason, high lore) she would whisper it, afraid that if she speaks it it will become real. “I think I’m being hunted. And I think my hunters are close. And I think you should leave” she doesn’t want hadrian and alessa, even raphael, caught in the crossfire of the inquisition/vallen. some sort of martyr answer to where she feels she needs to face the music by herself edit: if it’s the RO asking i feel like both would be as truthful as they could, i feel like with hadrian and alessa specifically (at this point my romanus doesn’t trust lance or raphael 100%) they’ve known each other long enough to bare their hearts a little more
Senna
2025-02-10 17:57:51 +0000 UTCIf it was to someone he would be willing to actually tell the truth to than I think my religious Romanus could also say he's afraid of his beliefs being correct since he's pretty sure he'll go to hell If it's not someone he feels pressure to be open with than he would say he used to be deathly afraid of a rooster (scribe origin) as a child but he sobbed when it died (also true but not serious)
morrigan
2025-02-10 17:40:28 +0000 UTCCorruption-ish answer, but also the truth because my Romanus has never killed anyone that didn't attack her first: "I don't regret any life I've taken. " Sarcastic answer: "I'm the long lost heir of a small kingdom. No, really. Why do you think I talk this way?" Genuine/vulnerable answer: "I'm afraid my anger will consume what is left of me, until not even I can recognise the face in the mirror. "
river
2025-02-10 17:39:05 +0000 UTCI'll make one for all 4 of my Main Romani! Anders (Merchant, Genuine, High Lore) - "If I had the choice, I'd take the maps and follow them to the cities of my ancestors." Artesia (Hunter, Sarcastic, Pious) - She looks down at her gloved hand, staring through it to the mark. "I believe the devil is living in my body, waiting to come out." Alexander (Scholar, Sarcastic, High Lore) - "Connections with other people don't feel real anymore. Not since I lost... her." Amalia (Scholar, Genuine, Emotional) - "I don't know why I'm still alive." Edit: All of these are the most genuine responses which they'd only feel comfortable sharing with their ROs. If it were a less trusted friend asking, Artesia and Alexander would make a joke, and Anders and Amalia would share a less vulnerable secret
Rue
2025-02-10 17:33:48 +0000 UTCShe'd have a quick silent menty-b that her LI figured out about The Black Spot before she figured out what to say lol
Niamh
2025-02-10 17:29:30 +0000 UTC"I never knew my father. I wonder about him often." "I've always sort of known from an early age that I wouldn't live to be very old." "I know I've always been a flirt but it's never really serious, I just... want people to like me."
Kinui
2025-02-10 17:24:03 +0000 UTCOoooh I love this! I have several Romanus's that would make light of the situation, make a joke and whatnot ("I wished I could fly as a child"/"I used to pretend I could talk to horses"/"I've never danced a Tango in Paris" etc) but I know I would love to see ones based off of the origins! Perhaps "I made friends with a bear once" for a Hunter (I am particularly enjoying the idea of a very stoic Romanus delivering this line). As for the other two I feel like there are multiples that could work! Then, of course, there are sad ones. "I wonder if my mother is still alive." "I fear the anger that consumes me when I raise my sword." "I regret/do not regret the death of XYZ." Some of which we've had opportunity to address in the past, of course! But there is always room for more angst.
Asher
2025-02-10 17:23:54 +0000 UTCEither lie or make light of it, might be a mix of both just to spice things up 🤌 The first 3 options hit a bit too close to home tbh, too vulnerable and way too real, gotta make a joke out of it to keep the clown mask on, or they'll realize Romanus is actually just another person with feelings like everyone else 🤡
Wrap Wrapowy
2025-02-10 17:23:02 +0000 UTCMy Romanus is afraid of losing anyone else she loves. And she would be sincere. <3
Kelly Dodds
2025-02-10 17:22:30 +0000 UTCdepends on who she’s with but if it’s with her RO she’s probably saying 1 and if it’s not her RO then 4
bluerm
2025-02-10 17:20:56 +0000 UTC"I never told anyone that I'm actually dreadfully afraid of fruitflies. It's not true, but it's something I never told anyone before"
Marco Zijlmans
2025-02-10 17:18:50 +0000 UTCI think for my canon Romanus they would say something like “I’m afraid of ending up alone after all this” or something like that.
Tati179
2025-02-10 17:12:20 +0000 UTCI’m afraid of drowning
Bobby Melvin
2025-02-10 17:10:41 +0000 UTCI miss home terribly
Heather Williams
2025-02-10 17:10:10 +0000 UTC
