Neuse

> *Persistent, clever, and down to earth: righteous traits for an archeologist. A wandering scholar, it seems that this thrill-seeking tabaxi has studied just about everything except for how to throw away things he no longer needs.*
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## Appearance

Neuse is a rather short Tabaxi with a black and white patched pattern. He stands at 4’6”, weighs around 110lbs without his hoard of items, and is often seen with his pet mouse, Ghost.

The first thing you’d notice about him is his ears- some parts fur and some parts scar, they are a testament to the lifestyle he lived prior to the SCS. He doesn’t hide them, so the pink, vaguely ear shaped nubs stand out against his rest of his body. If one looks closely, they’ll notice the same scarring on his feet, in the gaps of his bandages. His clothes are filthy and tattered, his fur is matted and shedding, and he wears some chunky leather gloves that hide his missing fingers. On expeditions he carries a comically large backpack, raising his weight to around 150lbs.

At around Session 19, Arisanna's Augmentation changed his appearance and desexed him- He had a third eye, intact ears, intact hands, and no longer wore gloves. His voice was also higher as a result.

He was later reverted to his original form.

## Personality

He is, for the most part, quite witty and clever, but too often he ruins this image with embarrassing incidents that reveal a more clumsy and emotional character. Neuse is usually well mannered, speaking eloquently to enemies and strangers. Despite his haggard appearance, he also demonstrates a high level of literacy.

He is anxious, paranoid, and easily startled, which can lead to impulsive behaviour, such as attacking Winchester and.. and... pissing himself at the sight of Ivory.

Neuse has stated that he values honesty and dislikes being pitied.

At first, he was somewhat withdrawn, but after bonding with some members of the guild, namely Pierre, Emrys, and Finnick, he has softened out into an affectionate, ditzy housecat. Still paranoid, though.

## Important Story Beats

Warning, this section will contain spoilers for Neuse's backstory and some Titanicus content.

Neuse arrived at the SCS shortly after his 20th birthday, where he tried to measure Jotungyr's Skull with a rope. He disappeared and re-appared a few days later to join the society properly. Later it was revealed that he was supposed to head to Darkreef, but ran out of money on the way there and joined the Society to earn some quick cash.

Cio showed him around, and Neuse regarded him with respect. Later, they would travel to Darkreef together, along with Thalia, Reinhard, and Mimi for Titanicus Session 14.

There, they fought fleeing thieves, killing one of them, which absolutely terrified Neuse. Upon returning to the SCS, he meets more people and makes a little bit of a name for himself by repeatedly falling down every single flight of stairs he came across.

In particular, he makes good friends with Emrys, having used an elixir of flight to trick Emrys into thinking he could roll *up* the stairs, Skye, as he tested his new coins of delving, Finnick, who he nicknamed 'Magic Man', and Kitz, who instantly hit all of his soft spots.

Neuse attempted to run from the guild after his nightmare session, stopped by Ghost and Flint, who gave him some tea.

He later obtains a small flintlock pistol from Inai's familiar Velvet, and spots Teddy and Juniper playing instruments, to which he expressed a feeling of familiarity, but did not think about it too much.

After Pierre returns from his Cirsche mission, Neuse follows him down to the cellar, where they bond over their urchin pasts and drink.

When Inai dies, Neuse gifts the gun to Pierre as a keepsake.

Neuse begins to open up to the guild members, building close relationships with many of them. For a more detailed recounting, ask Apples in a voice call, because I am not writing it all up. All you need to know is that Neuse is completely oblivious to both Finnick and Pierre pining for him, he turns Emrys Australian, and, realizing he's fallen for Pierre, chugs 4 romance books and tries to pull the moves on him. It works, but only because Pierre was already whipped. Trust me, this boy's idea of flirting was reading the elvish dictionary. I wish I was joking.

Among many notable events, Neuse has a panic attack upon seeing Teddy up close for the first time, attempting to run away from the guild (again) to be stopped by Pierre. He confesses that he's might've been the one to kill Teddy- but guild members confirm that Teddy has been dead for 500 years... Confused, but no longer as fearful, Neuse attempts to make peace with Teddy.

When Thyme and Taiga find a mandrake, Neuse is able to brew a Potion of Speed with Anthony's help.

During the Profundis Smut fiasco, in which Trash sent smut to Profundis, Neuse cast message to Trash, and was infected with the musical malady as a result. This would almost drown him on their later trip out to sea, as a failed wisdom save sends him fighting the crew to jump overboard.

He did get a sweet emerald out of the trip, which he uses to create Uriel, his homunculi servant.

Neuse was present for the Skathi Bow retrieval, under the impression they were going to do research. He initiated the first fight between the Archer and his wolves, and bottled some really crisp mountain dew for study, which turned out to be a potion of supreme healing. After winning the battle, he and the rest of the party are thrown into a panic when they discover that Pierre had been infected with Feybies. He bonds with Oriax and Thyme through this experience, though, and shows them his fingers- or lack thereof.

Neuse thought Skye was joking when she patronized Pierre regarding his lycanthropy, and when he realized, asked her to leave, preferring to not think about it. He has since chosen to forget about it, especially now that Skye is also a lycanthrope.

On their visit to Nisse, Neuse finds some pictures of Maizono(Pierre's mom) and Shinebright- which he shows to Pierre and Shinebright on his return. Shinebright explains that it doesn't feel real- that survivors of the Titanomachy experience a feeling of disconnect, and he hadn't been presented with such evidence before now.

In session 20, Neuse was one of the guild members to receive an invitation to Brilliance, which they won, and in discussing how to split the winnings, learns of Dunvul's mission. The two become cool friends after this.

Winchester enchants a scarf Neuse made with Emrys- allowing him to be immune to the cold.

When Finnick confesses to Neuse that he believes he might be undead, he is able to prove to Finnick that he's still alive and kickin' using Cure Wounds. Upon finding out that Neuse is going on the mission to retrieve Skathi's true name, he makes Neuse promise that he won't make any deals or play any games for it, to which Neuse reluctantly agrees.

A few days after Azazel arrives, they become good friends after messing around with alchemy together, and Neuse promises to teach Azazel the craft. They form a mentor-pupil relationship despite Neuse only being a few years older. Pierre and Neuse talk about children.

The Trinity pays Neuse a grand ol' visit and play a good game of "how much trauma can I activate in one sitting". They then make a pact: Neuse feeds them his guilt and spreads the word in exchange for power... They transform him into a fiend.

Achievement Unlocked: Warlock Level 1.

One summer's night, Pierre treats Neuse to a whole feast, a romantic candle-lit dinner like the sappy shit he is. People are dying in the reception, but, still. The two of them head to the clearing where they first danced, and they shall dance again- though this time instead of it ending with a dip, Pierre proposes instead. Neuse accepts!!!

Letty plans to officiate their wedding- and Neuse recruits Emrys as his best man.

However, in the quest for Skathi's name, Neuse is offered the opportunity to receive knowledge of Skathi's name- only if he wins a coin toss. If he loses, he must forfeit all memories with Skathi. Thinking he could get away with it, since he hadn't spent much time with her anyway, he hastily agrees, and loses, breaking his vow and forgetting not only memories with Skathi, but all conversations where Skathi was a topic, including his promise.

Later, he tries to tell Finnick the good news, and lets it slip that he bargained with the Wild Card. Finnick understandably blows up at him, though Neuse has no idea what's going on, and just cries. Illari comforts him, and advises him to speak to him later. He later makes amends with Finn by showing him a sketchbook of their favourite moments together.

This is short lived, as the following week the Quadernity now, make themselves known to a small party of six including Finnick. The two have a heated argument, but don't reconcile.

Eventually, Finnick approaches Neuse, and the two swiftly make up- exchanging no more than a few sentences.

On the 28th of July, 100PT, Neuse and Pierre would marry in the forest next to their home, officiated by Letty and organized with help from Emrys, Trash, Sosi, Azazel, and members of Pierre's family.

Neuse later visits Vanya's mine, having a brief confrontation with Vishnya in which it is revealed that Vanya knows all about him already- and the years of hiding were frankly worth not much... Neuse asks her if she's hurt- but she denies it.

Later, when questioned by both Anthony and Neuse, Vishnya doubles down on these claims.

## Trivia

* The name 'Neuse' is taken from Apples' real life cat, News.
* Neuse's most commonly spoken phrase is "...Pierre?" (I jest, but this is probably true).
* Ghost's real name is Austin, but prefers Ghost as it thinks it 'sounds cooler'. Unless it is emotional in which case it prefers 'Austin'
* Contrary to popular belief, Neuse didn't actually lose his ears or the fingers on his left hand to frostbite.
* Neuse once ate a pie someone stepped on.
* Neuse speaks courtly elvish, extremely properly, too.
* His handwriting is absolutely atrocious when writing in common. However, he's noted to have beautiful, perfect handwriting when he writes in elvish.
* Neuse used to make and sell soap.
* Neuse is a skilled artist, preferring paint and charcoal as a medium, but also enjoys sculpting.
* His favourite colour is a dark, rich green.
* Both Ghost and Neuse refer to him as "the mouse's cat"
* Ghost uses it/its pronouns, but does not care much for it.

* Due to years of frostbite, Neuse is completely numb from the knee down, but experiences phantom pain when it is cold.
* Neuse's fake name 'Dismas' is the name of the penitent thief from the bible.
* Uriel is the name given to the angel of repentance.
* One of Neuse's cantrips is Shocking Grasp, which is actually how he escaped Vishnya. As part of her body is metal and porcelain, he was able to shock her and get away.
* Ghost is actually a true-polymorphed trash can, which is why it hasn't died of old age yet.