Line #143 Fanfic/HighlanderPenance


1	''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9599821/1/Highlander-Penance Highlander: Penance]]'' is a fanfiction set in the {{Franchise/Highlander}} universe.
2
3	Taking place a few years before the events of the original {{Film/Highlander}} film, the story follows Penance Cameron, a centuries-old immortal who was only 12-years-old when he suffered his 'first-death'. At the start of the story he is unwillingly forced from his current life in Baltimore. Fleeing to Philadelphia, the boy runs into and ultimately befriends a thieving young girl named 'Whip'. Together they have a run-in with another immortal dedicated to taking whatever heads he can. All the while they're followed by a mysterious nemesis from Penance's past, who leads the boy into the arms of an even greater threat than Penance can ever imagine.
4
5	----
6
7	!!''Highlander: Penance'' provides examples of:
8
9	* ActionFigureJustification: Penance is [[InsistentTerminology very insistent]] that’s his stuffed fox head, Galabeg, is not a doll.
10	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Penance’s knife was custom-forged by his [[UltimateBlacksmith mentor]], skilled in the art of making ‘liquid steel’ blades. By description, as well as his mentioning that he learned to forge them in India, they appear to be Damascus steel [[spoiler: although they [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane throw off a green blast]] when they strike each other and it appears that one of the only things that can destroy such a blade is another one]].
11
12	* AdaptationDeviation: Immortals in this continuity have boosted strength proportional to their size, and adult immortals cannot sense the presence of prepubescent immortals through the ‘buzz’. Child immortals can sense adults, but only through deliberate meditation, during which they can [[SeeingThroughAnothersEyes see through said immortal’s eyes]].
13
14	* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Nicnevin]] is at almost all times genuinely polite, [[BenevolentBoss treats her underlings well]] and goes to lengths to avoid undue suffering in her victims. She is notably [[EvenEvilHasStandards repulsed by Black Hat's obsession with Penance]] and decides to spare Whip's life and release her from captivity after Penance's death. [[spoiler: This last decision [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished helps get her killed.]]]]
15
16	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Penance's mentor Uallas was prone to giving these to Penance when he did things right. He's become [[DesperatelyCravesAffection extremely fond of them]] in general.
17
18	* AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength: Penance refuses to tackle other boys his age when playing a pick-up football game. One of the boys assumes Penance is afraid of getting hurt, and Penance doesn't correct him.
19
20	* AgeWithoutYouth: [[spoiler: Nicnevin did have a youth, but after millennia of living as an [[ElderlyImmortal elderly immortal]] she’s almost completely forgotten what it’s like to be young, and will stop at nothing to get it back]].
21
22	* AintTooProudToBeg: When Penance is accosted by the first immortal that seeks to take his head and he's [[CurbstompBattle easily overpowered]] he resorts to genuinely, tearfully pleading for his life, which gives his attacker pause [[spoiler: [[CombatPragmatist and gives Penance the opening he needs to kill him.]]]]
23
24	* AlarmSOS: Whip trips the fire alarm at the main control station in the basement of the Aurelia Arms during her play to save Penance from being sacrificed. The cultists can't convince authorities that it's a false alarm (à la {{Film/Die Hard}}) since they've been stalling on finishing the building for so long that the city of Trenton is solidly fed-up with them.
25
26	* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Grievously wounded, Nicnevin's final moments are spent [[TheDyingWalk ignoring Penance and pathetically crawling to Uallas' greasy old mirror]] to look at her distorted reflection- a symbol of [[TragicDream her youth that she wants to have back]]. When she manages to touch the mirror she streaks the grease off it and sees herself as she is, letting out a tortured wail and, finally, her damaged neck gives out and she dies.]]
27
28	* AlliterativeName: Whip's real name is Willa Will, and Black Hat's real name is [[spoiler: Sterlyn Sommer]].
29
30	* AnimalMotifs: The four main characters each have an animal motif:
31	** Penance: Foxes.
32	** Whip: Birds
33	** Black Hat: Wolves/hounds.
34	** [[spoiler: Nicnevin: [[ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth Butterflies]]]].
35
36	* ArtifactTitle: Averted with the ‘Highlander’ title. While Penance is a Spaniard, the ‘Highlander’ part takes on a more metaphorical significance.
37
38	* BadassInANiceSuit: The [[spoiler: modern day]] dress code for [[spoiler: Nicnevin’s cultists]] appears to be a sharp black suit. They stand out enough in them to draw Whip’s curiosity when first introduced.
39
40	* BattleAmongstTheFlames: Penance gets two in quick succession: [[spoiler: first with Nicnevin’s cultists when he blows a gas line in the top floor of the Aurelia Arms, and shortly thereafter he engages Nicnevin herself in her bedroom, knocking over some candles in the fight and causing the wooden room to quickly go up.]]
41
42	* BattleDiscretionShot: Penance’s fight with Clara- a girl of similar physical age to him- is not described outside the fact that she got a few gunshots off before he closed the distance between them. [[OffWithHisHead The implied result is not left in doubt, however.]]
43
44	* BeenThereShapedHistory: Penance claims to have had a hand in accidentally cracking the Liberty Bell, while his mentor Uallas was an archer for the Normans at the Battle of Hastings. [[spoiler: Nicnevin obliquely claims to have [[TimeAbyss commissioned the invention of gunpowder (although she might have been joking) and some of her followers think that she was responsible for the Late Bronze Age Collapse.]]]]
45
46	* BleedEmAndWeep: Penance breaks down in tears shortly after performing his first kill (committed in desperate self-defense). [[ItGetsEasier He never does so again.]]
47
48	* BoundAndGagged: Happens several times to Penance. Twice by people who know his strength and use it as a reasonable precaution to protect themselves. And once by someone who didn't, and paid for it with their mortal life.
49
50	* CheerfulChild: Struana, Uallas’s adopted daughter, very much fits the bill [[spoiler: and her death at Nicnevin’s hands [[MyGreatestFailure haunts Penance]] to no end]].
51
52	* ChekhovsGun: Penance picks up a heavy-duty spiked collar (meant for working dogs protecting sheep from wolves) and a gold-plated cigarette lighter at Ikey Boggs' store. [[spoiler: the former he uses to kill Nicnevin, and the latter he uses to blow a gas line in the Aurelia Arms and allow him to take out the bulk of Nicnevin's cultists]].
53
54	* ChildSoldier: Technically, in Penance’s case. He is seen in supporting roles in both 17th century Scotland (working in the soldiers’ camp) and the 1800s United States (serving as a powder monkey) on a US ship. Penance doesn’t see anything wrong with this, but when asked how he’d like to see a modern-aged boy he’d befriended undergo the same experience he’s notably disturbed.
55
56	* CollapsingLair: [[spoiler: The Aurelia Arms comes crashing down after Nicnevin's defeat, the victim of a gas line explosion and fire.]]
57
58	* CombatPragmatist: Against his fellow immortals Penance holds nothing back and is completely vicious in a fight, earning the nickname [[RedBaron 'The Rabid Fox']] from those who've heard of him. Against mortal opponents [[spoiler: who aren't trying to sexually assault him, at least]] he's usually [[AfraidOfTheirOwnStrength far more gentle]].
59	** Black Hat's mentor Medici also goes this route when subduing [[spoiler: Penance: he just comes up behind the boy and jams an ice pick through the base of his skull]].
60
61	* ConsultingMisterPuppet: Penance often turns to his stuffed fox head Galabeg for advice, and she generally provides him with cold, callous and self-serving suggestions for his current course of actions. Galabeg speaks, after all, for Penance’s survival instincts, and for his part Penance is well aware of this. Helps to explain why he’s not exactly on friendly terms with her, but would do anything to protect her and keep her from harm.
62
63	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Penance and his family were killed when he was biologically 12-years-old. He came back as an immortal; his family didn't. [[spoiler: His [[AttemptedRape later history with Black Hat]] also fits the bill]].
64
65	* DeadpanSnarker: Penance can be a pretty sarcastic kid. [[SnarkToSnarkCombat Whip often gives as good as she gets, too.]]
66
67	* DeliberateInjuryGambit: Immortals being [[HealingFactor immortals, of the TV series variety]], this is obviously a standard tactic in their combat. Penance attempts this during the fight that led to his first kill [[spoiler: and Nicnevin successfully used it in her first fight with Penance, shielding her throat by using her forearm to absorb the blow of Penance’s knife]].
68
69	* DeviousDaggers: Penance's weapon of choice is a custom-forged sgian dubh, a traditional small Scottish knife, and Penance is shown to be a brutal and vicious [[CombatPragmatist Combat Pragmatist]]. His use of a small knife, however, is more a pragmatic choice than it is a reflection of his character, as a small boy really doesn't have much of a chance of hiding a broadsword on his person in day-to-day life.
70
71	* DoNotCallMePaul: Whip insists on everyone using her nickname to address her, as she finds her birth name embarrassing.
72
73	* DyeOrDie: Penance bleaches his dark hair blond early in the story after running from Baltimore. He almost immediately concedes that it was a mistake. He [[RunningGag and several other characters]] think it makes him look like Madonna.
74
75	* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Nicnevin doesn't actually appear in the story until a couple dozen chapters in, but Black Hat and Medici discuss her modern-day alias much earlier in the story.]]
76
77	* EqualOpportunityEvil: Black Hat offers to give a bullied Jewish forensic analyst a recommendation for an FBI job after he picks up on some subtle clues in the aftermath of Penance’s fight with [[spoiler: Father Kenaz]].
78
79	* EvilIsPetty: [[spoiler: Black Hat terrorizes Penance for centuries, killing his loved ones and tormenting the boy, simply because Penance was responsible for giving Black Hat his immortality when Black Hat tried to rape Penance. He despises the fact that he has one of his assault victims to 'thank' for getting his immortality in his physical prime, and he focuses all his sadism on the boy as a result]].
80
81	* EvilTowerOfOminousness: [[spoiler: Nicnevin's]] base of operations, the Aurelia Arms, is a large unfinished apartment building in Trenton. Black Hat notes the pitch-black building's dead-looking appearance against the city's night skyline.
82
83	* ExactWords: When offered a swig of bourbon by Whip Penance declines and tells her he's an 'addict'. Much later, when she learns [[spoiler: he was hooked on heroin for some years]] and not an alcoholic, he reminds her of his phrasing.
84
85	* FauxAffablyEvil: Black Hat can be playful, cheerful and mockingly polite at times, but it's all an act and underneath he is a violent, sadistic and controlling sociopath.
86
87	* Fiction500: [[spoiler: From what is seen of Nicnevin's operation and living situation in the 1980's it appears that she is wealthy beyond belief, evidently thanks to her real estate empire]].
88
89	* ForeignQueasine: Subverted. Cadha has Penance help her make Haggis, and as they go through all the steps to make it Penance is baffled about the whole process, thinking it to be inedible. The result [[TrademarkFavoriteFood sends him over the moon]].
90
91	* Foreshadowing: At one point early in the story Penance gets upset and throws a book clear across a library, making a sizeable dent in the wall. This is the first hint at his heightened physical strength, which wouldn't be on full display until his fight in Ikey Boggs' office.
92
93	* GenderBlenderName: Penance is called out more than once on the fact that his [[MeaningfulRename chosen name]] is better fitting for a girl. He [[RealMenWearPink doesn't seem to care]].
94
95	* GoodFeelsGood: Black Hat claims to both Whip and Medici that he feels this way about his work with the FBI and other seemingly positive things he's done over the course of his life. Medici [[CallingTheYoungManOut calls Black Hat out]] on the real reason he found those experiences enjoyable: he likes to be in control of other people, even if that control has positive results for the person, and ultimately the only thing Black Hat cares about is [[ItsAllAboutMe his power over other people.]]
96
97	* HaggisIsHorrible: Inverted. It’s one of Penance’s favorite foods.
98
99	* ICallItVera: Averted with Penance's knife, which he never bothered to name. When he learns from Medici that some other immortals who've heard of Penance call his knife the 'Fox's Fang' he finds it ridiculous.
100	--->'''Penance:''' It's a knife, not a pet cat.\
101
102	* ICannotSelfTerminate: Penance admits to Whip that he's wanted to die at times, but his Catholic faith prevents that from becoming a viable option. This is notable in that, while Penance still considers himself bound by the tenets of his faith, he's [[NayTheist openly hostile to God Himself and refuses to pray to him]].
103
104	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: About half of the chapter titles are named after popular songs or their lyrics.
105
106	* IHaveManyNames: All the immortal characters, naturally, have picked up their share of aliases over the years. [[spoiler: Penance [[BadassBoast rattles off a list of his]] to Nicnevin's cultists before his battle against them in the Aurelia Arms.]]
107
108	* IJustWantToBeNormal: Penance clearly isn't happy with his immortality, having to quit whatever life he's chosen when he 'ages out' of it within a few years, and would prefer to live a normal life.
109
110	* IKnowYourTrueName: Medici apparently knows Penance’s birth name. It doesn’t do more than give Penance an unpleasant shock, but it does serve to show that Medici certainly [[InformationBroker knows his stuff]].
111
112	* ImprobableAimingSkills: Uallas dazzles Penance with his archery skills while on a fox hunt. Penance’s accuracy [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks with his knife]] is a lesser example.
113
114	* ImprobableHairstyle: Whip, a homeless teen runaway living on the streets of Philly, sports a sheen, silky French-braided ponytail, which is out of place both on account of her living circumstances as well as her ethnicity. Multiple people comment on it, but how she maintains it is unknown (although Penance is seen to borrow hair care products from her at one point).
115
116	* InformationBroker: Medici is an immortal that specializes in compiling detailed dossiers on his fellow immortals, available to anyone with the coin to purchase them. His useful service has seemingly allowed him to live outside the bounds of the ‘game’ and avoid the hassle of duels. [[spoiler: At least until he’s killed by his own student]].
117
118	* ImmortalApathy: Clara expresses this attitude toward the mortal human world in regard to the events of World War 2, urging Penance to give up on fitting in with others and instead travel with her.
119	-->'''Penance:''' "Hate to break it to you but we're part of this world, too."\
120	'''Clara:''' "No, we're not, Penance. Not really. And you know it, too."
121
122	* ImmortalImmaturity: Justified in Penance’s case. An eternally 12-year-old body means an eternally 12-year-old brain. Not that the centuries haven’t [[HadToBeSharp matured him a bit]].
123
124	* ImmortalityHurts: Discussed by Penance, at one point, who's actually come to find many comparatively minor injuries to be more painful that catastrophic damage, given the body's coping mechanisms for the latter. He admits that his immortality has 'warped' his sense of pain.
125
126	* InconspicuousImmortal: Being a 12-year-old Penance hasn't got many options for being anything ''but'' inconspicuous, spending most of his life as a street urchin or the ward of regular families. Briefly averted several times, most notably when he fell in with the Scottish noblewoman Gilbarta and became the technical chief of Clan Cameron.
127
128	* IronicNickname: Whip refers to Penance as 'white bread' when she thinks he's a normal runaway child. She continues to do so even after learning he's anything but normal and boring.
129
130	* ItGetsEasier: A roughly 50-year-old Penance reflects on the pain of having to pack up and move on from whatever 'life' he's been living every few years, to avoid people's suspicion about him not ageing. He figures that after a few centuries of practice it won't bother him anymore. [[ItNeverGetsAnyEasier He's]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation wrong]].
131
132	* LastUnsmokedCigarette: Penance gets a handful of cigarettes from Whip at one point, and he debates smoking the last one at a certain point but decides to hold on to it. He finally brings it out in the Aurelia Arms and lights it [[spoiler: while standing over a broken gas line, where the resulting explosion gives him the upper hand on Nicnevin's cultists]]. Later he admits that while his maneuver was very cool, he'd rather have kept the cigarette to smoke in hindsight.
133
134	* LikeASonToMe: Penance's mentor Uallas comes to feel this way about the boy. [[spoiler: It makes his betrayal of Penance to Nicnevin that much harder, but in a choice between sacrificing Penance or his adoptive daughter Struana Penance loses]].
135
136	* LikeCannotCutLike: [[spoiler: Inverted. The only thing shown to be capable of damaging a liquid-steel knife is another one]].
137
138	* TheMagicGoesAway: Being set a short time before the Gathering it is noted that there are far fewer immortals alive at the moment, and all of them slowly converging on New York City. [[spoiler: Nicnevin’s detailed intelligence from global surveillance seems to prove that new immortals are not being born, leaving the few still living to be all that’s left]].
139
140	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: When Penance confronts Black Hat at a cemetery and tries goading him into attacking on holy ground (against one of the cardinal rules of immortals) a lightning bolt strikes nearby, and then one strikes again when Penance himself considers attacking Black Hat. The storm, however, had been forming before this, and Black Hat notes that bad weather was previously forecast.
141
142	* MayflyDecemberFriendship: Though he's presumably had many, Penance's friendship with Gilbarta of Clan Cameron was notable given that he stayed with her for decades, up until her death, all the while posing as her surrogate son.
143
144	* MeaningfulName: Penance names his stuffed fox head Galabeg, a shortening of the Gaelic ''galla beag'', meaning 'little bitch'.
145	** [[spoiler: Nicnevin's]] modern-day alias is Carlin Gay, [[spoiler: and one of the aliases of the mythical witch Nicnevin is 'Gay-Carlin'.]]
146	** Upon saving the life of Cadha and helping birth her daughter (who promptly popped out into a nearby stream and had to be retrieved from it) Uallas was given the honor of naming the girl. He chose 'Struana', meaning 'from the stream' in Gaelic.
147	** [[spoiler: Father 'Daniel Kenaz' roughly translates to 'the hunter whose only judge is God'.]] This bit of information puts Black Hat squarely on Penance's scent, as it confirms the identity of the immortal Penance killed.
148
149	* MeaningfulRename: Penance chose his new name shortly after his 'first death', believing that his immortality is a curse placed on him for some perceived wickedness he should atone for. He took his last name after living with a Scottish noblewoman for decades, to honor her. His real name hasn't been revealed in the story as of yet [[spoiler: although his initials are apparently A.I.]]
150
151	* MookHorrorShow: [[spoiler: Penance's battle against the bulk of Nicnevin's cultists is seen through the eyes of a teenaged cultist whose POV is only used for that chapter, and it's used to highlight the terrifying perspective of someone that Penance is battling against with his all.]]
152
153	* MyGreatestFailure: Both Penance and Whip have tragedies from their past that they lay on their shoulders, respectively [[spoiler: Penance blaming himself for the fates of Cadha, Struana and Uallas, and Whip blaming herself for her disabled brother’s accidental death]].
154
155	* MysteriousPast: Next to nothing is revealed about [[spoiler: Nicnevin’s]] past, and she’s [[TheFogOfAges so old that she has long-since forgotten her mortal life]].
156
157	* NamedWeapons: Some who've heard of Penance call his dagger the ''Fiacail den Sionnach'', or 'Fox's Fang'. Penance finds the name ridiculous. Nicnevin's liquid-steel sword is called the 'Chrysalis Blade' in author notes, but not in the story itself.
158
159	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Whip's [[TheFagin fence]] and handler is a man naked Ikey 'Babysplitter' Boggs. Two guesses as to whether he's on the up and up or not. And [[spoiler: Nicnevin]] gets her name from a legendary witch from Scottish lore that was said to feast on Christian flesh, take ungrateful children from their parents... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and steal unfinished knitting at the eve of the new year]].
160
161	* NayTheist: Penance absolutely believes in God, but he also blames Him for [[WhoWantsToLiveForever his immortality]], so he’s not on speaking terms.
162
163	* NeverGrewUp: Penance’s body will remain 12 years old until he dies.
164
165	* TheNicknamer: Penance has a habit of calling his opponents descriptive nicknames preceded by the word ‘Mister’ (eg: a man with stadium food on his breath is ‘Mister Corndog’). Whip reflexively does it late in the story, [[GotMeDoingIt much to her annoyance]].
166	** Whip often refers to Penance as [[IronicNickname 'white bread']].
167
168	* OddlyShapedSword: [[spoiler: Nicnevin's]] liquid steel sword is described as being fat and blimpy like an insect's pupa, [[ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth befitting her character motif.]].
169
170	* TheOlderImmortal: [[spoiler: Nicnevin]] is easily the oldest of the main cast of immortals, by a wide margin, although based on some of the details of [[spoiler: Father Kenaz's]] little speech to Penance about his death he might also fit the bill.
171
172	* PaedoHunt: [[spoiler: Black Hat is a serial child rapist, and Penance killing him before he could assault Penance is the impetus for his continual torture of the boy.]]
173
174	* ThePeepingTom: Penance accuses Whip of this after learning she spied on him while he was bathing. She counters that she didn't do it for any prurient reasons, but rather to confirm that his body had no bruises after he fell down the side of a building and thus prove his supernatural nature.
175
176	* PhonyPsychic [[spoiler: Nicnevin]] claims to have developed additional powers beyond those available to other immortals, including the ability to sense immortal children. Black Hat thinks she’s a posturing con artist. [[spoiler: [[RealAfterAll He’s wrong.]]]]
177
178	* PintSizedPowerhouse: In the fanfic's continuity all immortals have a proportional boost to their strength. Penance describes his own abilities as akin to an adult bodybuilder, but the adult immortals are stronger, still, and while Penance can handle almost any regular human in a one-on-one fight adult immortals can toss him around as easily as one can toss around any scrawny-looking 12-year-old.
179
180	* PoorCommunicationKills: When Medici shows surprise that Penance has never heard of Carlin Gay he appears as if he's about to mention her other alias, [[spoiler: Nicnevin]], a name Penance knows ''very'' well, but Penance cuts him off in irritation. Furthermore, when Whip claims someone called the 'Banshee' is after the boy Penance similarly shows no recognition. Turns out she misheard the word 'Banrigh', which means [[spoiler: queen]].
181
182	* Sandbox/RareGuns: Whip gets her hands on a Beretta 93R machine pistol in the Aurelia Arms. Penance is dismissive of the weapon's selective fire ability and, as it turns out, is skilled enough with a pistol to only need [[BoomHeadshot one bullet per target anyway]].
183
184	* Really700YearsOld: Naturally. Penance is 385 years old in the present day of the story. His mentor, Uallas, is closer to the letter of the trope, at 636 [[spoiler: before his death]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Black Hat]] is likely not much older than 340, or so and easily the youngest of the main cast of immortals in the story. Taking the cake, however, would be [[spoiler: Nicnevin, who is likely between [[TimeAbyss 2000 and 5000 years old]]]].
185
186	* RedBaron: Penance is called the 'Rabid Fox' by those who've heard of the boy.
187	** [[spoiler: Father Kenaz]] is known by other immortals as 'The Hunter'.
188	** [[spoiler: Nicnevin]], appropriately enough, is known to some as the 'Child Eater'.
189
190	* RedOniBlueOni: While he can sometimes lose himself and act his physical age, Penance is generally the sullen and subdued blue to Whip’s more spirited and combative red.
191
192	* ReligionOfEvil: Nicnevin has a loyal cult of followers who basically worship her and see to her every needs in 1650s Scotland, [[spoiler: primarily by tracking down immortal child sacrifices for her. It survives into the 1980s, when she relocates to America and funds it with her real estate empire]].
193
194	* ReluctantWarrior: Penance does not play the Game and actively avoids starting fights with his fellow immortals, but he ''will'' finish them...
195
196	* RightHandAttackDog: Black Hat eventually recruits a trained dog using his FBI resources, claiming he's going to use her against Penance. [[spoiler: Subverted in that the dog is not an attack dog, but an explosives-detecting dog, and he's using her against Nicnevin, not Penance.]]
197
198	* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler: Nicnevin makes Uallas choose to either give-up his immortal apprentice Penance or 'pre-immortal' adoptive daughter Struana as a sacrifice. He chooses Penance, though the decision is agonizing for him]].
199
200	* SeekingSanctuary: Penance spends a significant amount of time sleeping in cemeteries, and he doubles-down on making an abandoned library his temporary base of operations after learning that a local priest had blessed the place. [[spoiler: However [[SinisterMinister the priest in question lied]], and he points out that even if he hadn't lied his blessing wouldn't have been enough to satisfy the rules of the Game.]]
201
202	* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler: The clergyman who gave Penance his first death and murdered his family certainly qualifies, as does Father Kenaz, who is secretly an aggressively combative immortal.]]
203
204	* SoProudOfYou: Uallas says this to Penance after [[spoiler: Penance gets the upper hand on him after Uallas betrays him to Nicnevin, just before Penance kills him at his request]].
205
206	* SparingTheFinalMook: [[spoiler: The sole survivor of Penance's fight against Nicnevin's cultists at the top of the Aurelia Arms is a teen boy who tearfully begs Penance for his life. Said boy had already had his sternum broken and was nowhere near a threat to Penance, so he ignores him and continues on with his escape.]]
207
208	* SpiritAdvisor: Around the second half of the story Penance starts being visited by other immortals that he's previously killed, all of whom generally provide helpful advice. [[spoiler: Nicnevin appears to also have the same experiences, but her visitors only silently stare at her, and she's distressed by their appearance]].
209
210	* StalkerWithACrush:
211	** Black Hat towards Penance.
212	** A more positive example would be Suzie, a Watcher from Penance's past who [[InLoveWithTheMark got too close to him for her organization's liking]] while observing the boy.
213
214	* StraightEdgeEvil: Black Hat has given up drinking by the time of the present events of the story, also claiming to be celibate. The only addiction he seems to be sticking to is his torturing of Penance. He goes [[OffTheWagon off the wagon]] pretty early on in the story, however.
215
216	* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Both Black Hat and Penance come up with the same nickname for the amber-draped top floor of the Aurelia Arms, christening it the 'Sunset Lounge'.
217
218	* StreetUrchin: Penance seems to spend a goodly portion of his life as one of these, which he notes gives him more freedom than living with a family. Played more straight with Whip, for whom the profession is a full-time job.
219
220	* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: [[spoiler: Uallas]] does this to Penance's tea when he betrays the boy to [[spoiler: Nicnevin. It doesn't fully work, as the poison berries he used were the same ones Penance had found tasty and been using to make his own recreational beverages, [[AcquiredPoisonImmunity allowing the boy to metabolize the poison faster than intended and recover earlier than expected from his 'death']]]].
221
222	* ThatManIsDead: Penance's general attitude towards his original life, to the point that he won't tell anyone his birth name. Even in the chapter where he reminisces about his mortal life he refers to himself as 'The Boy', rather than using his real name.
223
224	* TheEighties: Takes place in 1984.
225
226	* ThemedAliases: Penance has a habit of choosing aliases starting with the letters ‘Pen’ when he settles into a new identity. Admittedly it doesn’t make much sense for someone supposedly on the run from a stalker.
227
228	* ThroughHisStomach: The easiest way to get Penance to warm up to you is with a hot meal. Penance himself is well aware of this weakness, but most often his stomach wins out over his standoffishness.
229
230	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: One of Penance’s preferred combat moves is to throw his knife at his attackers. Justified in that he’s had centuries to practice, and all with the same knife. By present day he’s gotten very good at it. His mentor, who forged said knife for him, greatly disapproved of the practice, however, [[spoiler: and it bites him in the ass during his first fight with Nicnevin]].
231
232	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Penance’s affinity for cigarettes disturbs more than one character in the story. Mind you, they’re actually completely harmless to him. [[spoiler: His heroin addiction, on the other hand, is treated as a more serious problem]].
233
234	* UltimateBlacksmith: Penance’s teacher Uallas claims to be the greatest blacksmith alive and many immortals seek out his services. He admits, however that Connor Macleod’s katana outclasses any of his works.
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236	* UsedToBeASweetKid: In his mortal life Penance is shown to be a gentle bookworm aghast at the thought of even a rodent being killed in front of him. While he's still ultimately a good person in present day, he's a battle-hardened fighter who is absolutely ruthless against his opponents.
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238	* UseTheirOwnWeaponAgainstThem: [[spoiler: Nicnevin]] finishes [[spoiler: her]] first fight with Penance by spearing him through the heart with his own knife, throwing it with as much expertise as Penance himself shows.
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240	* WalkingTheEarth: Penance spends most of his time doing this. As a child immortal he can't have the usual decades-long 'lifespan' an adult immortal might be able to pull off; he can go, at best, three to four years on average before having to move on.
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242	* WallOfWeapons: The basement of the Aurelia Arms has an arsenal of firearms from tiny silenced pistols to anti-materiel rifles. [[spoiler: None of them see any use, however.]]
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244	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Penance considers his immortality a curse, on the balance, and his particular situation of being forced to 'live' lives that can only last a few years, at most, before he has to move on has left him lonely, unstable, and suicidal.
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246	* WouldHurtAChild: Most of the other immortals Penance comes across have no issue with trying to take his head, though being centuries old himself he does push the boundary for the definition of ‘child’.
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Context Fanfic / HighlanderPenance