_{# pantalone.}

#character study.

# personality.

although he comes off as soft - spoken and potentially kind, one should know better than to mess with pantalone. he has seen suffering, poverty and death in his own home and has grown to resent gods for never listening to his pleas for mercy. he's an ambitious individual, with much passion, despite not being the owner of a vision. a fact that is a sore spot for him and he detests it being mentioned around him. he's capable and imaginative, as well as manipulative in a way that's not easy to be perceived by others. as the wealthiest of the fatui harbingers, he seems to be quite proud of his own achievements and although he believes in " fair trade ", he occasionally splurges in things like booking the entire goth hotel in mondstadt city for the fatui's exclusive use. he also tends to splurge on jewelry and musical records, as well as books that he can enjoy in his free time. he's closely associated with dottore through business transactions.he doesn't speak of his family, ever, but he had an older sister whom he was very close to. he witnessed her going blind, due to lack of nutrition and eventually she passed away, after starving herself to feed her younger brother. he has no real sympathy for his father, who was mostly absent during his childhood and is, to his knowledge, also deceased. he had a better relationship with his mother, but she passed away a long time ago. pantalone takes great pleasure in haggling with people he owed to in the past, now that he's wealthy and powerful. he has a sadistic side, that enjoys taking revenge upon those who wronged him.his comrades know him simply as " pantalone " and very few people know that his personal name is anastasiy ivanovitch. prior to his transition, his name was anastasia. unless permission is given to call him anastasiy, he won't respond to the name, even by those closest to him.he's permanently on testosterone shots to maintain his more musculine appearance and has had top surgery to remove his chest. he has not had bottom surgery, nor does he intend to. his levels of dysphoria can fluctuate, but are usually fairly low.he's blind as a bat without his glasses.

# early life.

anastasiy " pantalone " ivanovitch was born in gelevat village, in snezhnaya. a small village in the middle of nowhere. he was the youngest of two kids, having an older sister who took care of him most of the time. he was born in extreme poverty and his parents were absent eversince he can remember. his mother was working manual labour, oftentimes late into the night or the early morning hours, while his father blew the family's small savings in liquor and gambling. pantalone and his sister barely saw their father. and when they did, he was usually too drunk to communicate and passed out as soon as he returned home.his sister often skipped meals to feed him, seeing as food was hard to acquire. pantalone witnessed her lose her sight at age sixteen, due to lack of nutrition. she eventually passed away a year later and having no reason to stay in his home village, he run away from home, never to be seen again.

powers and abilities.

    FENCING.         he's a master fencer. a skill he acquired when he was much younger. he spent years practicing with a rapier. in his mind, he had to be able to protect himself somehow, even if he was never granted a vision by the seven. his slimmer build allows him to be nimble, making him a tough opponent to other visionless humans. it's not a skill he shows off, nor does he ever use it against his fellow harbingers. though, it is a hobby he enjoys and he practices as often as his busy schedule will allow him.

    DELUSION.         since he was never granted a vision, pantalone was granted a cryo delusion to minimise his disadvantage on the battlefield, even if he doesn't see action very often. in his case, and unlike other harbingers, pantalone's delusion is used in emergencies only. he's more of a diplomat, when it comes to confrontations and will only use his delusion, if he's in immediate danger. he's fairly good at using it, but he hasn't yet mastered it and probably never will either.

gender identity.

warning ! transphobia cw /, bullying cw /

pantalone didn't fully realise he was transgender, until he was in his twenties. he had always felt uncomfortable in his own skin, but he'd always thought it was due to being lanky and called " unattractive " by men. he grew up in poverty, lacking proper nutrition and other, basic necessities. his vision was so poor, that he was practically blind until he received his first pair of glasses. boys in his village would mock him and call him " such an ugly girl " and eventually, he just believed it. life went on for a good while. he took care of himself, dolled himself up to look " pretty ". and yet, something felt very wrong, whenever he looked in the mirror. it wasn't until later, that he realised what it was that bothered him. his features were too feminine, his chest was too noticeable. men noticed him. but instead of feeling good about proving those kids from his childhood wrong, he felt sick to his stomach. he watched men go about their day and caught himself wondering what it would be like to be a man. the thought alone made him feel at ease. and although it took him a good amount of time to accept it, he eventually came to the conclusion that he was a man. he had just been born in a body that didn't reflect his feelings. he began dressing differently, acting differently. the transitioning process was long, but he now had the funds to support himself. he selected the best doctors for treatment and top surgery and until he was satisfied with himself. some still misgendered him. mainly conservative associates, that he ended up cutting off for their insolence. maybe he had grown up being a doormat, but now he was the wealthiest man in snezhnaya. he had no reason to tolerate people's vile behaviour. nor would he. nowadays, his dysphoria is occasional, but present at times. some days are just worse than others, he tells himself. as of now, he has no plans of having bottom surgery. he's fairly satisfied with who he is and how he's perceived.

name & dead name.

warning ! transphobia cw /, death cw /

" anastasia " was the name of his beloved grandmother, who passed away when pantalone was very young. he barely remembers her, at this point, but he does remember the sound of her voice, singing him lullabies on nights he couldn't sleep. she was old and frail and he was merely four years old when she passed away. since his family was very poor, there was no proper funeral. just a small burial with a local priest saying prayers as a favour to fellow villagers. pantalone wasn't allowed to attend due to his young age and that haunts him to this very day. upon transitioning, he didn't want to fully lose his ties to his grandmother, so he didn't change his name entirely, even if it reminded him of his days as a " woman ". he decided to simply turn " anastasia " into " anastasiy ", effectively honouring his grandmother's memory, while also having a name that reflects his own identity. he doesn't have any living relatives, but he has come across two of the kids from his village, who are now grown men, and was addressed as " anastasia " upon being recognised, but he didn't respond. he barely responds to anastasiy as is and very few people know his personal name, even amongst his fellow harbingers. dottore and columbina are the only ones who sometimes address him as anastasiy and will receive a response.

general diet.

warning ! no triggers.

although pantalone grew up in poverty and had learnt not to be selective with food, he's now a very picky eater. he doesn't feel bad about it, either. he can afford to be picky, now that he's a wealthy man. he has hired a personal chef, with knowledge in culinary from all nations and whom pantalone has full trust in. he's not a fan of vegetables as a whole, especially green beans and peas, and will not eat anything that hasn't been prepared properly or been cooked to his liking. he also doesn't like fried foods and overly oily dishes. they make him nauseous. he cannot tolerate spicy dishes either. excessive use of heat makes him flustered, teary - eyed and he goes into a coughing fit almost immediately. he's severely lactose intolerant and can get severely sick from consuming dairy, even though he quite enjoys the flavour of milk and cheese. he learnt the hard way, that he can't fight against his own stomach for the sake of temporary enjoyment. he's not much of a drinker, but is definitely not a lightweight. and although he will consume firewater in special occasions, he finds the strong alcoholic taste and lack of flavour rather unpleasant. he much prefers a glass of expensive red wine, or a fruity cocktail on occasion.

hobbies.

warning ! no triggers.

pantalone is an avid enjoyer of music. he's a proficient pianist and can also play the harp well. he only listens to classical music and opera and finds modern tunes to be " distasteful " and an " awful noise ". he grows quickly irritated if the music being played somewhere isn't to his liking and will complain off - handedly about it, until he leaves or the music is changed. he owns a very expensive piano, that he commissioned from a fontainian craftsman and he can often be heard playing classical pieces in his study, during his free time. he absolutely detests being interrupted and despite his usually controlled politeness, he will snap if someone forces him to stop in the middle of his playing. his interest in music is no secret, and although such doesn't happen frequently, he's not opposed to performing in front of others. he's a social dancer, able to hold his own on a dance floor, but it's not something he prefers doing, unless absolutely necessary. his singing voice is quite good, but that's something nobody is aware off and it's a secret he will guard with his very life. he often travels to fontaine to watch performances at the opera epiclese and is quite the patron there.

relationships with family.

warning ! child neglect cw /, death cw /

he clearly remembers his mother being a fragile woman with a kind soul. she worked until she was too exhausted to remain conscious, hoping to provide for her two children. pantalone didn't see her often, but she used to sing him lullabies when he was very little. he still remembers his favourite of them and occasionally hums it to himself, when he's having a rough day. she passed away in a work related accident a year prior to his sister's death.his father was uncaring, at best. a piece of garbage, at worst. he didn't work, leaving all the workload to his wife, while he dark and gambled away his wife's hard - earned money, leaving his children to go without food at times. while he'd never raised a hand on either of his children, he was not the nicest person alive. thankfully, he was rarely at home and pantalone didn't have many interactions with him.his older sister, katya, was his primary caretaker. being legally blind without glasses, pantalone had to rely on katya for most things. she was a frail, but caring young woman, who obviously had responsibilities no teenage girl should. she tended to the house and provided meals, when possible. even if she had to do chores for others, or beg for mora. her health was already compromised since birth, but she made herself more and more sick by skipping meals, so her brother could eat. her passing caused pantalone indescribable pain and he never quite stopped mourning her. when he became wealthy, he had a memorial made for her. the most extravagant in all of snezhnaya.

road to success.

warning ! prostitution cw /

pantalone wasn't always the wealthiest man in snezhnaya. he grew up in poverty, with absent parents and an older sister, who passed away very prematurely. after katya's death, he no longer had a caretaker and despite his mother's best efforts, life was miserable. a year later, he run away from home, in hopes of pursuing a better life for himself. but wealth and power don't come without a heavy price. he was forced to turn to prostitution, in order to build up his finances and until the tsaritsa recruited him as one of her harbingers. those were some of the darkest years of his life. he manipulated, stole and seduced, in order to climb the social ladder and become who he is today. he doesn't speak about his past to his fellow harbingers, nor does any of them know about that chapter of his young life.

ties to liyue.

warning ! gambling cw /, alcoholism cw /, prostitution cw /

prior to drowning in debt, pantalone's father was an ambitious youth who wished to travel teyvat. he was barely twenty when he boarded a ship and found himself in liyue harbour, where he met his wife. meifeng was merely nineteen. an orphaned young woman, who worked as a servant in a rich household. she was quick to fall in love with vladimir, pantalone's father, who promised her a better life if she came with him to snezhnaya. she did, but upon getting there, they realised that starting a life together would be more difficult than they had anticipated. at first, vladimir was a good husband and a hard worker. but eventually, he started gambling. hoping to increase his and his new wife's funds. instead, he found himself in debt by the time pantalone was born. meifeng began working as well, but there was little she could do to support the family, when her husband was spending their funds on gambling and liquor. although pantalone was named anastasia at the time, his mother would call him 小莲 ( xiǎo lián ), which means " little fortune ". after his sister's passing, he run away from home and went to liyue, hoping to discover his mother's relatives there. sadly, he found no leads as to whether she had distant relatives, seeing as his grandparents had been deceased for a long time. he turned to prostitution, after turning nineteen. using his charm to get close to rich and powerful men that could promote him and make his dreams of wealth come true. one of his clients was an elderly man, who had taken a liking to pantalone and hired him frequently. pantalone pretended to be in love with him. and despite the old man having grandchildren, he was eventually talked into giving everything to pantalone in his will. when the old man passed away, pantalone inherited everything, as planned.

immortality.

warning ! misuse of medicine cw /

prior to joining the fatui, pantalone was a simple mortal man, with great ambitions. he partnered with dottore and started funding his experiments, before approaching him with a request to make him immortal. through research and experimentation, dottore found a way to extend pantalone's lifespan and retain his youthful appearance. he has to visit dottore often for check ups to ensure his body functions as the two of them intended. pantalone's " immortality " is different than that of actual immortal beings and there's always a risk of the medication he's given to stop working. he also requires to eat and sleep, like any mortal person. he simply lives for alot longer and doesn't age.