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nemeseos-noctua · 3 years

Note

Hello! It's nice to see a new genshin impact writer! I saw requests are open, and there's two I have in mind (if it's ok with you): One is for Razor, Albedo, Xiao, and ganyu (possibly Aether if you can) wherein Reader is scared of love. Like, they're scared of opening up and love someone in fear of rejection or being tossed away. But yet they still daydream having someone who'd love them making it more obvious how much they want to love despite their fears anyway--

With this information, how will they confess to Reader about their feelings? Or comfort/console them?

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: albedo, xiao, ganyu, (separate) x gn!reader

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: reader has a pyro vision, albedo and xiao story spoilers in their parts

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: srry for cutting some characters off!! the character limit is 3! (but personally i would write for aether hehe hes so cute i love him)

you just so happened to have a quest in dragonspine

you did not expect to see fatui—especially not fight them

and... you did not expect to get ganged up on! what is this? a bully session? what the heck?

Among the brawn and burly figures of the Fatui members, you didn’t fail to notice a streak of blonde and dazzling blue from a distance—your eyes widening as you prayed to whatever archon would dare to listen...

Please, please don’t be another stupid enemy. You thought with a grimace, your heart pounding in your chest as you could hear a voice—it was calm yet strong, like a endless waterfall or a river creek.

“Burst forth!”

In a matter of seconds, a geo flower emerged from the earth, your form being lifted up on the tiny platform as shards of crystallized rock formed under you, nearly stabbing you in the gut.

Who? What? How? Who was this stranger? This vision-wielder?

Wasting no time, you plummeted down on a nearby Fatui—deeming this geo-user as ‘safe’, you summoned your own flames, charring the crystal snow black as you wrapped your arm around the blonde, barely taking any time to observe his features.

from then on, you never expected to grow close to this mystery man

turns out he was the chief alchemist of the knights! you weren’t personally associated with the knights... but being chief alchemist certainly was a grand title, right?

with the use of your pyro vision, you helped accompany—albedo—you learned his name was

at first, the two of you were just exploration buddies. but as time went on, butterflies began to form in your stomach, nervousness seemed to peak when he was around

love was like a poison—you knew it’d hurt, you knew it’d kill you to have a drop—

but you wanted it. you wanted love, you wanted to be held by albedo and to twirl his silky hair around your fingers...

but—would he want you?

You wanted to love Albedo so badly.

Yet you knew, you couldn’t. The alchemist just wasn’t the type for love, he was not the type to give kisses or reassurances, nor was he the type to confess with a rose in his hands.

It wouldn’t hurt to dream, though.

The thoughts you had before you slept were of him, of how pretty his eyes were—you couldn’t even pinpoint a color for it. Sometimes, they were blue, sometimes, they were teal.

With every shooting star that’d zip past the sky, every eyelash that’d fall and every fire that’d be lit with the palm of your hands... you hoped for a love. A love so grand it’d outshine the sun, a love so grand it could make you forget the past and undo the pain of before.

But, in the depths of your mind, in the wings of the butterflies that’d flutter in your stomach... you knew—

Albedo did not love you.

albedo initially thought of you as a torch lighter.

LOOK, HE IS A LOGICAL AND RESOURCEFUL MAN. he does not see the world with a rosie-colored-lens like how many others do—he sees it as the facts

and with your pyro vision? combined with dragonspine, ooh, please... ain’t that a match lighter?

but as time went on, he started to see you in a new light

you were knowledgeable, you respected his views and even contributed sometimes! you were no prodigy of alchemy, of course, but you were well-versed in combat and oftentimes knew how to navigate dragonspine

(he asked you how you knew dragonspine so well. all you told him was “Pain”)

but... albedo is observant. he’s definitely aware of your feelings and nervousness, how you get overly sweaty near him and fumble on your words

it’s then he realizes—he likes you too

love is a foreign concept to him, uncharted territory and an unexplored region. of course, as an alchemist, it is up to him to discover the unknown

and love—love is unknown

how could one possibly dedicate their entire life to another? albedo always questioned this notion, for humans were free beings that wanted nothing more than to break free of their shackles

and yet—the moment the alchemist met you? all of those questions flew out of the window

he wished... he wished to love you. but to him, it looks as if you do not want to love him

It’s frustrating, really.

How Albedo would brush over your hand mindlessly, how he’d hand you an object and let your fingertips meet for two seconds too many, how his cold yet soft lips would curve into a smile upon seeing you return from your endeavors.

Why? Why? Why? Why did he do this? Was he aware of the way he made you go crazy?

You wanted to love him, so so bad—but—

“[Y/N],” Albedo’s voice seemed to pierce through your thoughts as if he had heard them.

“Y-Yes?” You turned immediately, the rush of your heart not calming a bit, the nervousness of your leg that bounced up and down as a remedy that you wish didn’t have to be so obvious.

Averting his eyes from yours, you missed the pixie blush that dusted the tip of his ears. He was not aware of your insecurities—but he was aware of one thing.

That—that he liked you... a lot, in fact.

“Recently...” Albedo started, clearing his throat anxiously before continuing, “I have started to develop some... feelings, for you. It is okay if you do not reciprocate, but it feels wrong to think about you in such a light when you are not awa—“

“Yes!”

You winced.

And then, everything seemed to crumble. Was he talking about someone else? Was there someone behind you? Was this a mindless prank? As it had been all those years ag—

A hand rested on your cheek, bringing you back to reality with the mere touch of his fingers.

albedo... in all of his intelligent prowess... was not expecting for you to say yes

in the public, he is a genius— a prince, a prodigy, even. but to him, he is but a failed student who is trying his best in completing his master’s final orders:

find the meaning of life

what is life? life is broad, life is different, life is... well, life.

at first, albedo had assumed that his master was talking about living life, as in plants or animals.

but now—with you, with klee, with mondstadt, with everyone.

the chief alchemist seemed to realize:

life, life was in you.

life brought joy, laughter, pain, excitement, happiness—

and sometimes, even love

“But Albedo I—“

“It’s okay, [Y/N]. Though I am not personally aware of what seems to be troubling you, I will do everything in my power to assure that you feel comfortable with me.”

Life was short, Albedo noted.

So—he wants to enjoy it.

—With you.

xiao does not fear rejection, but he does fear love

how pitiful... for a guardian yaksha such as him to fear such a trivial matter

love—love was scary. love could take control of him like how he was manipulated in the archon war, love could tug his arms and move him around like a puppet

he, adeptus xiao, did not want to love

but then, you came in. and it frustrated him tremendously. you were but a mere mortal, a fleeting life that came into his eternal one. you were someone who he did not deserve

and yet, he loved you

so much, so so so much, he can’t bear it. he can take on all those karmic binds, all those whispers and hatred—yet he cannot bear the love he feels for you. he cannot bear the way his heart races or leaps whenever he sees you, he cannot bear you

but—his heart does not like the fact that you feel the same

you had told him before, one night, a few months ago... you told him how you were afraid of love

you were afraid of getting tossed away, of being forgotten like the fallen archons in war, like a side character in a play of fontaine

and all xiao could do was scoff. whoever dared to throw you away would meet his spear, his rage. he could not fathom a world where you were hated, where anyone would dare to reject you—because, because—

you were his world, regrettably

Pacing up the stairs of Wangshu Inn, you ignored the gross feeling of your clothes sticking to your skin.

“[Y/N].”

Jolting up, your eyes met with that of the Guardian Yaksha—his piercing gaze and unwavering strength eyeing you down as if you were a pest.

“You’re going to get sick. Your mortal body cannot withstand such weather,” Xiao scolded, and on cue, a flash of light zipped through the air, the deep rumble of thunder following soon after.

Observing the way you flinched at the noise, Xiao merely wrapped an arm around your waist, teleporting you to the top of the inn and into your room.

“Dry up. I will return with soup,” The adeptus waved off your nervous gaze. He was not stupid, he has seen mortals succumb to sickness, and he hopes that you will not be one of them.

but as he heads to the kitchen, he cannot help but notice—notice the fact that you seemed to be... uneasy around him

was it something he said? was he perhaps too harsh with you? you of all people should know his words mean well, though...

and ugh, here it is again. the feeling of love that made even him overthink the smallest of things

yet after he brought you some soup and got you into bed, the question still ran around his mind like a halo. did you hate him? was this sickness bringing out your true thoughts?

well, yes and no

“Xiao...” You quietly murmured, wincing as the winds picked up inside your room, materializing a certain Yaksha out of thin air.

“What?”

“I’m sorry...”

“...?”

Rushing up to you, Xiao immediately placed a hand on your forehead, worried that you were on the brink of death.

“I’m sorry for liking you.”

“... What?” His eyes widened in disbelief, in shock. Sorry? Why were you sorry? Did you regret liking him? Was that why—

“I know...” You trailed off, in a drunken state of sickness, “That you don’t love me. But that’s okay. I just... wanted to let you know... because I’m afraid you’ll say no... but if you say no, I can at least move on...”

Staring at you fiercely, his breath hitched in his throat. No? No? He would never say no to you, ever, ever.

“Don’t move on,” Was all he could muster.

Don’t. He wasn’t ready for love, no, he never was—but—

He did not want you to leave.

This action of sickness was finally a catalyst, a catalyst for Xiao to confess to you properly when you were in the right state of mind.

And hopefully—when he does, you will say yes.

xiao only confesses because he does not want to lose you

his karmic binds, the whispers, the screams. he does not want you to get tainted by them—so he is selfish, he is selfish for loving you and confessing to you... but he, he cannot bear to see you go

a double-edged sword, love is. it stabs his heart, skewering it as if it were nothing. it plunges his mind, clouding his thoughts as they fill with you and only you

can’t he just indulge in this fluffy feeling, once?

no—he doesn’t deserve it, he doesn’t deserve you.

Under the rising stars and floating lanterns, the two of you sit. It is an unspoken love, you both share, it is an unwritten rule that paints the back of your minds like a canvas of colors.

But love—is love. Love is the rainbow that forms in the sky when the rain is over, love is the sun that shines, washing away all of the coldness of the world.

Love is you.

ganyu feels... alone

so when you come into her life like a prospering glaze lily, she wants nothing more than to love you!

but you, confuse her. she is 100% sure you return her feelings, so why do you not seem to be... excited, about it?

To an immortal like Ganyu—love changes. At first, love was for the world, but then it shifted for mankind, and then it moved to... you.

She was no strange to love, in fact, she welcomed it! Ganyu wants to feel as mortal as possible, so when you stumble in and make her fumble for words—she knows she has fallen.

Like a meteor or a person—she falls for you. Everything reminds her of you, every flower and every bird makes her want to talk to you and spend her time with you.

But lately—you have been quite... reserved.

at first, ganyu thinks she is the problem. that she has done something wrong and she is a terrible crush

but then, she hears rumors. rumors about your past loves and how they rejected you mercilessly, how they played you like a marinette doll and caused you pain

to ganyu—that is the lowest any mortal could ever go. but for now, that is not her problem. she wants to help you, to make you realize that you are deserving of love and that you—you make her feel love

she—of course, does not confront you about this directly. ganyu is far too experienced to bring up past conflicts

but, she will subtly make you realize her feelings. with morning and night walks around liyue harbor, with hangouts and ‘dates’ at liuli pavilion...

love... it’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?

“Ah, the food here is certainly marvelous,” Ganyu gushed, enjoying a nice plate of jade parcels as you spared a smile.

“Yes, thank you for this, Ganyu. I know you work a lot and—“

“Of course, [Y/N]. Everyone needs breaks,” The woman returned your kind gesture, eyes crinkling in amusement as your heart pounded so loudly in your chest.

“In all honesty, [Y/N]. I feel quite a connection to you, and though I am aware you are hesitant— I just wanted to let you know that you are loved... by many people, not only me,” Ganyu rested her chopsticks down, making complete eye contact with you as her blue hair framed her face. The black and red horns that adorned her head glimmered—the kindness and delicate features of her nose and lips, her eyes and smile—

Your breath hitched.

ganyu—of course— does not expect an answer right away!

in fact, she thinks it’s quite unorthodox to confess to someone who is afraid of love—but her instincts told her it was right

it was abrupt, she knows. you don’t have to say yes, she knows.

but still, love was a game of chance—just as gambling, betting, anything. love was a game for two

so she took it. she took the chance, hoping that maybe you, you’d say yes.

“I...” You trailed off. You didn’t know Ganyu returned your feelings, neither did you ever imagine she could... Ganyu was half-adeptus, a caliber above you and your mortal-ness! Why would she ever think of you as anything more tha—

“Do not be afraid, [Y/N],” Ganyu’s voice was gentle as she soothed you. She had been here before, she had seen you cry out of a yearning for something you couldn’t have, she had seen your heart shatter and your mindset retract.

“I... like you too,” You responded, you felt light-headed, like you were soaring in the clouds that not even Celestia could bring you down.

Love, love was a gamble. And sometimes, you’d get your heart broken, your soul broken...

But love—it wasn’t so bad after all.

― constellations!

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin headcanons #xiao x reader #albedo x reader #ganyu x reader #genshin imagines #genshin scenarios #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact imagines #genshin xiao #genshin albedo #genshin ganyu #genshin #genshin impact #constellarations

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purple-emo · 4 years

Text

Princess Lavinia: Chapter One

Description: Roman projects his feelings onto a fictional character. Things get out of hand.

Pairings: Platonic prinxiety has a lot of focus in this chapter, but the real pairing here is Roman x depression

Warnings: Suicide, suicidal ideation, dissociation(?)

Notes: Seriously, don’t read this if you’re not in the appropriate frame of mind to read about suicide. Also, first fic on the new blog! Yay!

Roman’s adventures with Princess Lavinia started off fairly innocent. He’d made himself a small kingdom in the mind palace in which to conduct magical adventures, and, with the other sides frequently too busy to join him in his exploits, it wasn’t long before Roman saw the need to create an adventuring companion as well. She was the archetypal fairytale princess: pretty, kind, and able to fill any role that the narrative required of her. Because she was created by Roman, Lavina lacked the capacity to do anything that Roman’s own imagination could not conceive, but, as the embodiment of creativity, he didn’t feel at all restricted by this limitation. Lavinia quickly became one of Roman’s favourite hobbies: when he needed a break from his work, he would excuse himself to his kingdom. There, he would act out a variety of stories with Lavinia: saving her from dragons; exploring ancient ruins with her; defending their kingdom from armies of hostile elves. The many enemies they slayed left no corpses behind, instead exploding into red rose petals. Death was messy, and Roman thought it best to avoid dealing with it too directly.

“You’re my best friend,” he had Lavinia say after one particularly eventful quest, “and I would slay all the monsters in the world with nothing but a hand fan just to keep you safe.”

“Oh, that’s good,” he replied, writing the line down in his notebook. His adventures with Lavinia were an excellent source of dialogue. Later, he had her do exactly the thing she had described, and then did it himself just to see what it was like. It was wonderful.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Gradually, Roman found himself spending more time with Lavinia than with the other sides or Thomas. He loved his friends, but his interactions with them didn’t quite sparkle the way his stories did. Nobody and nothing was dramatic enough, or emotional enough, or real enough, except for that one little piece of the mind palace and the make-believe Princess living in it. Everything else in Roman’s life felt unbearably boring, and although his friends made things a lot more tolerable, they could never compete with the products of his own imagination.

One afternoon, while they were enjoying a picnic after a successful battle, Lavinia turned to Roman with a frown. “Are you okay?” She asked. “Your heart didn’t really seem to be in it today.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He stared down at his untouched sandwich.

“It’s not nothing! You can talk to me about anything, Roman. That’s what I’m here for, I think.”

Roman sighed. “I don’t know,” he replied. “I guess the whole… fairytale adventure thing feels a bit hollow right now.” So does everything else, he nearly added. “I think right now I’d prefer something more…” he gestured vaguely, trying to find the right word.

“Mature?” Lavinia suggested.

“Maybe. I think what I want is emotional depth. Swordfights and dragons are fun, but I think I’m not really feeling it right now.”

“Hmmm…” Lavinia looked down and fidgeted with her hair, taking in this new information. After a few seconds, she met Roman’s eyes again, sorrow written clearly in her expression. “I’m cursed,” she announced. “Someone has taken my heart and locked it up in a faraway, secret place, so that I can never really be human again.”

Roman scribbled excitedly in his notebook, letting a wave of sorrow and pity wash over him. It felt beautiful. “That’s terrible. How can we break the curse?”

Lavinia stared at Roman in silence for a few seconds, and he suddenly felt as if she was looking directly into his soul. “I don’t think we can,” she said.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

For the next few weeks, Roman spent most of his time with Lavinia, fleshing out her backstory. He wrote it all down in his notebook for future reference: Lavinia’s villainous twin sister, exiled to a distant land for her crimes; her desperate desire to impress her father, the king—all of it was carefully summarized in neat, princely handwriting for incorporation in future creative projects. Roman felt genuinely passionate for the first time in a while. Meeting with Lavinia and learning more about her became the highlight of his day; the stab of sorrow he felt in his gut whenever she disclosed something particularly tragic was invigorating. It made him feel so much more alive than he had in weeks. And then—

“I shouldn’t be alive,” said Lavinia.

Roman had, on some level, seen it coming. After all, he was the one coming up with Lavinia’s lines, however passively. This did not prevent him from nearly dropping his notebook in shock. It hurt to hear her say that, and he loved it.

“Why?” He asked her.

“I’ve been thinking about the curse,” Lavinia explained, “and the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes that I was wrong. It wasn’t a curse at all; I had no heart to take because I was never real enough to have one. This body,” she ran a shaking hand along her arm, “people like to make up stories about it. They imagine that it is a princess, and that her name is Lavinia, and that she is kind and cheerful and brave,” Lavinia was crying, “but it’s a corpse, and I am a ghost who has stolen it.”

“What are you going to do now?” asked Roman. He noticed a small knife in Lavinia’s hand. How long had it been there?

“I don’t know,” Lavinia admitted, staring down at the knife. “Too many people think Lavinia is real. I don’t want to disappoint them.”

The knife quickly dissolved into rose petals, and Roman felt a strange sense of disappointment as he watched them slip through Lavinia’s fingers.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

It was three days before Lavinia went through with it. When she pressed the knife to her throat, Roman begged her not to do it. He didn’t mean it of course (the whole scenario was still his idea); he just felt like it would ruin the immersion for him to just stand around and do nothing. Inevitably, she cut her throat. Inevitably, Roman held her in his arms and watched blood flow from the wound with the detached voyeurism of an author writing a tragedy. Inevitably, she exploded into a shower of rose petals.

Roman stayed sitting on the floor for a while, blood on his clothes and rose petals in his hands. His heart was racing, and he felt like his whole body was soaked with sweat. That beautiful, overwhelming sword of pain was stabbing through his heart with an intensity he had never before felt. It was agonizing, and it was glorious.

Roman snapped his fingers, and Lavinia was back in front of him, unharmed.

She went for the knife immediately.

They went through the scenario five more times, trying out different lines, different actions on Roman’s part, different ways for Lavinia to hurt herself. Roman was preparing himself for another run-through when he felt himself being pulled out of the mind palace.

He rose up in his usual spot. “Roman—“ Thomas, who had evidently summoned him, cut himself off with a gasp. “Oh my gosh. Are you okay?”

Roman glanced around the room. Patton, Logan, and Virgil were all there in addition to Thomas, and all of them were staring at Roman with varying amounts of horror and concern. Roman abruptly remembered that he was covered in blood.

“Don’t worry,” he assured Thomas. “It’s not mine.”

Nobody looked particularly comforted by the clarification. “Do I want to know?” asked Thomas.

“Probably not. Anyway, what’s the situation?”

“Recently,” Logan explained, “Thomas has noticed that many of his ideas are much more melancholy in tone than usual. Remus swears that he isn’t the one responsible, so, logically, it must be due to your influence that Thomas is having these ideas.”

Panic filled Roman’s chest. “I’m sorry—“

Thomas cut him off. “I’m not mad. I’m totally fine with using darker concepts in my work if that’s what you think is best. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“You haven’t been talking as much lately,” Patton added, “and some of the concepts you’re giving Thomas are a bit… out of the ordinary for you.” He made eye contact, looking noticeably concerned. “We just want you to know that you can talk to us if there’s something wrong.”

Anguish returned to Roman’s chest, feeling more agonizing than cathartic. He’d failed. He’d let his feelings get in the way of his work, and now everyone thought there was something wrong, and they were all looking at him with those kind, worried expressions that he knew he didn’t deserve.

What would they think if they knew what he’d been doing all afternoon? Roman glanced down at the blood on his clothes and decided that everything was fine. It had to be.

Roman laughed, perhaps a bit too loudly. “Thank you all, but I’m fine, really. I just wanted to try some new ideas. On a scale of one to ten, how much do you love them?”

Virgil stared suspiciously at him from across the room. “Do your ‘new ideas’ involve you rising up covered in blood and looking like you just saw a serial killer? I saw the look on your face when Thomas summoned you. There’s something you’re not telling us.”

“I was having one of my adventures just now, and things got a little intense,” Roman said, his heart racing. “Not everything has some deep hidden meaning behind it, The Smell Jar.”

“That was childish, even for you,” said Virgil, “but I like the Sylvia Plath reference.”

“Ah, Sylvia Plath,” said Logan. “Did you know that, in addition to her writing, she also made visual art?”

Roman’s strange behaviour forgotten, the conversation moved on.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Over the next several weeks, Roman found himself with less and less motivation to do anything but run through stories with Lavinia. He told himself that he was still being productive—he continued to write things down in case they came in handy for a future creative project, even though his “adventures” in the kingdom were all far too violent and depressing to ever be turned into something useful for Thomas. Roman hardly ever wanted to tell stories about anything other than suicide. It was, of course, only a matter of time before things escalated further.

One day, after around the eighth time Lavinia had died, Roman realized that his usual routine was starting to get boring. That dazzling anguish in his chest was diminishing in intensity. He needed something more real, something more personal. He needed—

Roman snapped his fingers, and Lavinia appeared looking much more alert than she had in weeks.

“I want to die,” he told her.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

That day, Roman attempted suicide nine times. None of it was real, of course, but he did his best to make it feel real. Lavinia pulled him close, kept him back from the windowsill, repeated over and over again every reason Roman could think of for him to stay alive. He told himself it was only acting. By the third time, he felt as if he was on the verge of tearing in half: one part of him, his body made of shaking, warm metaphysical flesh, stayed with its feet planted firmly on the ground. The rest of him drifted in and out of sync with his body, bobbing and pulling up to the sky like a balloon tied to his wrist. At the time, it seemed overwhelmingly important to Roman that he find a way to cut the string: it was strange, being only halfway outside of his body. He would have greatly preferred to drift away entirely, to break into pieces and sail through the sky to places unknown.

He told himself it was only acting.

It was fairly late in the afternoon when Roman remembered his notebook. Head still spinning from the previous several hours, he reached into his pocket and found it empty. He’d forgotten the notebook. In its place, Roman summoned a slip of paper and a pen. He’d copy his notes down later.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Roman headed back to his room a few minutes later. He still felt somewhat disconnected from his body, but the feeling was fading fast. He made an effort to notice the colours of things. White walls. Brown rug. Black shoes. Roman was still naming colours when he opened the door to his bedroom and saw Virgil pacing nervously around the room.

At the sound of the door opening, Virgil turned to look at him. His eyeshadow was smudged, and he looked like he’d been crying. He was holding his phone in one hand and Roman’s notebook in the other.

There was a long pause. Roman internally braced himself for yelling, or crying, or deeply awkward emotional conversation.

“You weren’t answering your phone,” Virgil said finally.

Roman gestured to his dresser, where his phone sat partially obscured by a small stack of loose paper. “I didn’t have it with me.” He watched Virgil quickly type something. “What are you doing?”

“I’m texting Patton. I was worried, so I asked him to go look for you.”

“Oh.” Roman suddenly felt very nervous. “I’m sorry. Does he know about…?”

“This?” Virgil held up the notebook. “No. I found it when I was in here looking for my nail polish.”

Roman walked over to a nearby drawer and produced a bottle of black nail polish with a little Jack Skellington face on its lid. He’d ‘borrowed’ it a few weeks prior for some now-abandoned photography project, and subsequently forgotten about it. “Here.” He handed it to Virgil.

“Thanks,” said Virgil, slipping the bottle into his hoodie pocket. “I’d remind you to stay out of my room, but it looks like we have more important things to worry about right now.”

There was another pause. “You probably want to talk about that, don’t you?” said Roman, gesturing to the notebook in Virgil’s hand.

“Yeah. Can we go somewhere else—I mean, if you’re comfortable—”

Roman waved a hand, and suddenly they were in the castle he’d created for Lavinia. The light of a full moon streamed through a floor length window, illuminating the antique-looking couch that was the centerpiece of the room. An archway opposite the window led out to a pristine, wallpapered hallway. “Is this good?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Virgil said nervously. He walked to one of the couches and sat down with strained formality. Roman quietly took a seat next to him. “So, um… first question: who’s Princess Lavinia?”

“She’s a character I created. This,” he gestured to the room around them, “is where she lives. I come here when I’m craving adventure.”

“So, she’s like an imaginary friend?”

“Basically. She’s upstairs, if you want to meet her.”

“I…” Virgil glanced down at the notebook. “No thanks. I want to talk to you. Second question: what’s the deal with this notebook?”

“That’s where I document my adventures with Lavinia, in case they come in handy for scriptwriting or something similar.

Virgil nodded. “Okay.” He took a deep breath. “I guess what I have to ask is… why all the suicide? Like, at least half of this notebook is just Princess Lavinia killing herself in different ways. That’s not exactly an ‘adventure.’ It sounds more like you’re having some kind of mental breakdown that you cope with by standing in an imaginary castle and watching a fictional character die over and over, which is honestly pretty concerning.”

“I am not having ‘some kind of mental breakdown,’” Roman insisted. “I am acting. What, am I not allowed to tell stories with emotional depth?” That last question came out a lot more aggressively than Roman had intended, but before he could apologize, Virgil was already responding.

“This isn’t emotional depth! This is the same emotion repeated over and over for, like, forty pages!” Virgil paused. “Is this what you were doing that day you showed up covered in blood?”

“Yeah. That was basically when it started.”

Virgil paused, taking in this information. “That was a month and a half ago,” he said, horrified.

Roman felt sweaty. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. You don’t need to worry—”

“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?” snapped Virgil. “Of course I’m going to worry! I’m Anxiety, and you’ve been roleplaying suicide fantasies with your weird self-insert OC for—” he stood up and flipped frantically through the pages of the notebook. “Have you been doing this every day?”

Roman nodded, very much wishing he could escape the conversation.

Virgil swore quietly. “This explains so much.”

Roman stood up and awkwardly extended a hand to comfort him. “It’s really not that big of a deal.” He was suddenly aware of an inexplicable sense of urgency.

Virgil stepped backwards, avoiding Roman’s touch. “Not that big of a deal? Are you kidding me? You barely talk to anyone at all anymore, you give Thomas either weirdly depressing ideas or nothing at all, and you literally spend all your free time thinking about suicide. If you actually think you’re in any way okay, then you’re either deeply in denial or a complete idiot.”

“I’m not…” Roman trailed off. Somehow, he couldn’t think of a rebuttal. He went over the past few months in his mind and realized that Virgil was right. “I haven’t been myself,” he admitted, sinking back onto the couch. “I don’t think I’m even real, actually.” Roman buried his face in his hands, fighting back tears. He was suddenly very conscious of how exhausted he felt.

The room was silent for several long seconds.

“What do you mean?” asked Virgil.

Roman looked up, and saw that Virgil had quietly taken a seat next to him. What did Roman mean? Of course he wasn’t real—none of them were, but Roman’s words had meant something more than that. Looking at Virgil, he got an impression of existence that he hadn’t gotten from himself in a long time. Virgil was Virgil, in a way that Roman could never hope to be Roman. It occurred to him that perhaps he’d been projecting onto Lavinia a bit more than he’d realized.

“I’m supposed to be better than this,” said Roman. “I’m supposed to be Prince Roman, source of Thomas’ hopes and dreams. I’m supposed to be Creativity. I’m supposed to be kind, and charming, and brave, but I’m just…” he trailed off. “If I can’t give him anything to look forward to, what good am I? Why should I exist?”

Roman hadn’t expected himself to say that. “This is a problem,” he said through tears, “isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” said Virgil. They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. “Look, um… it might not mean much, because our situations are kind of different, but I used to think that I didn’t contribute anything useful, and that everyone would be better off without me, and that it wouldn’t matter if I removed myself from the equation. Do you remember what happened when I actually left?”

Roman stared thoughtfully at the carpet. “Thomas became a complete fool with no inhibitions.”

“Right! Because I was wrong, and so are you.”

Roman considered this for a moment. The words were so simple, and yet, somehow, Virgil’s reassurance felt so much more comforting than any of the things he’d had Lavinia say to talk him down. “That… actually helps a lot. Thank you.”

“Anytime.” Virgil crossed his arms thoughtfully. “We should probably tell Thomas to see a therapist or something. If you’re… like this, he probably isn’t doing great either, whether he realizes it or not.”

Roman nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Just…” he hesitated, “can we keep this a secret? The things I just told you about, I mean.”

“Are you sure?” asked Virgil. “It seems like something he should know about.”

“I’m sure.” Roman felt a surge of panic. He couldn’t let the others know. He wasn’t quite able to explain to himself why, but it felt crucial that everything he and Virgil had discussed should remain between the two of them. “I don’t want to have that conversation yet. Besides, maybe therapy will fix it. If Thomas feels better, I’ll feel better, and then we won’t have to bring it up at all.”

Virgil looked doubtful, but nodded anyway. “Okay,” he said. “I won’t tell anyone, but I’m holding onto the notebook. If you ever seem like you aren’t safe, I’m not keeping this a secret.”

Fair enough. “Deal,” said Roman, holding out his hand to shake. Virgil started to reach for it, but paused.

“Wait,” said Virgil. “One more thing. Actually, two more things. Number one: I want us to stay here tonight, because I really don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone.”

Roman thought back to the day’s events, neatly recorded on the slip of paper concealed in his pocket. He had a feeling that if Virgil knew the exact details of what he’d been doing, he would be requesting a lot more than permission to supervise him for a single night.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Roman admitted. “What else?”

“This is more of an offer than a request, but,” Virgil nervously ran his fingers along a seam on his sleeve, “I could join you here sometimes, if you want. Just so you won’t be spending all day alone with your thoughts.”

Roman thought for a moment. “Are you open to the possibility of magical adventures?”

“Sure,” said Virgil. “But only real adventures; no weirdly-emotionally-intense-and-bordering-on-self-harm adventures.”

Roman had a feeling that he might regret this later, but he had a much stronger feeling that Virgil’s offer was exactly what he needed. “Perfect,” he said. They shook hands.

Virgil gave a small, relieved smile, which Roman returned. He wondered how long it had been since the last time he’d genuinely smiled. A few days? A week? A month?

They fell asleep on the couch, listening to the Death Note musical on Virgil’s phone.

#sanders sides #roman #ts roman #roman sanders #angst #fanfiction #cheryl writes stuff

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thesmalltowngal · 4 years

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COC Snowbaz 20- S+B

COC #20: Fairy Tale/Myth Retelling

~ I really really loved writing this one. I got totally lost within the story. I sincerely hope you enjoy! ~

The wood is a dangerous place. It’s full of nymphs (the tricky bloody things), dwarves, dragons, and goblins. Which is what my girlfriend Agatha had told me before I was sent on my quest by King Davy. She hadn’t wanted me to go out away from the Watford kingdom, really, but the king said there were cluster of aggressive goblins spotted on the edge of the other side of the wood, so I had to go and see for myself. After all, I was the prince, and prince’s (so I was told) had certain duties. (I had often thought that maybe I didn’t want to be prince- even though I was born that way.)

So I kissed Agatha’s cheek goodbye and she just stood there and took it like a princess. (We were set to marry in a few months- another thing I wasn’t so sure I wanted. But, well. It was on my list of things I dare not think about.) I packed my sword and set out on my horse, on my way all alone in the wood. Of course, King Davy had wanted me to take accompaniment, but I felt as though I could do it on my own. (And maybe I was tired of always following his orders. Maybe I wanted to do something for myself.) The ride on horseback was set to take only about a day there and then a day back. That is, if I hadn’t found any trouble along the way.

So I took the ride as an opportunity to think of my duties as prince. I had thought… well, I had thought that I was a right daft bloody prince, hadn’t I? Often when I would talk, it would come out as short sputtering sentences. The king had me do speech when I was a wee ankle-biter, but it didn’t help as he thought it would. Um and er came out every other bloody word. And it didn’t help when I met Agatha through my second in command Penny. Of course, it was frowned upon to have a girl as my second, but I had known her since we were young, and I had trusted nobody more. She introduced me to Agatha, and I had thought she was bloody well stunning. Which, of course, didn’t help my stuttering. So then we dated for a short while before I introduced her to King Davy. They got on well; he was glad that I would be marrying into another rich family, as the kingdom was recently down on wealth.

But over time, I felt as though maybe… maybe Agatha wasn’t what I wanted. Penny saw that too, I think, but although she had mentioned it to me before, I waved it off. After all, what is a prince without his lovely princess? My father (I try not to call him that, but he is the closest thing I’ve ever had to one) loved her and so did the subjects in our royal court. But for some reason, what Queen Lucy had said to me before she passed. It’s okay, Simon. It’s okay if you don’t love her the way you think you should. I’ll respect whatever you decide, love, but… it’s alright if your heart wants something else. Follow it. She said that to me on her deathbed. She was the closest thing I had ever had to a mother and her passing made me rethink… everything, really. I went a little crackers after she had went. Sometimes I thought maybe I did want to follow her advice. (My heart, that is.) But then, I’d look at all the king had done for me over the years, and I just couldn’t. Besides, I didn’t even know what my heart very well did bloody want.

As the sun went down, I started feeling drowsy and hungry. Granted, I always felt hungry- one of the many things that contradicted the whole ‘perfect prince’ thing. I loved eating to a point of fucking obsession, and I was messy when I ate, too. Agatha always had to correct me at the table. (It bugged me when she did that; why couldn’t I just be me?) My steed - Ebb, as it were - was getting tired too. I could tell she was slowing, and I could feel her hungry stomach rumble beneath me. So we went on a bit until we hit a clearing. It was nestled in the middle of thick trees, seemingly where no one would ever find it had they not been looking, and there was a small cottage in the middle of it. (Queen Lucy once told me about the time when she and King Davy used to live in a small cottage; perhaps this was it?)

I stopped Ebb and tied her up to a nearby tree. If someone lived in the cottage, maybe they’d spare some food and a place to sleep for the night. But as I neared the cottage and peeked in one of the windows, I saw that the inside was immaculately clean- to the point of borderline nutter. Yet no one was inside. I decided to creep around the building, and as I got to the back, hand rested readily on the hilt of my sword, I saw seven numpties. I felt a tingly feeling in my stomach; I was nervous. (Who wouldn’t be nervous? Fucking numpties. There’s no known way to kill them.) When I looked closer (still careful to be very bloody quiet), I saw that they were surrounding some sort of glass coffin. (With something - someone - inside it?) As I leaned in, I could hear bits of their conversation.

“P’raps it’d be better to grill-”

“-Roasting may be better,”

“Well he’s spelled unconscious, so it won’t matter-” Spelled?

“-be flambe?” From what I caught, it sounded like they were planning on eating someone. Not surprising, but not good, either. I could have gone back to Ebb and rode far away from there. But true to form, I could never keep my daft nose out of anything. So I jumped out in front of the numpties, standing taller than I really was. I tried to look confident, but I’m sure I just looked uneasy. (And perhaps constipated.) I s’posed there was no way I could have very well turned back then.

“I, um-” Stop stuttering, Simon. I cleared my throat. “What rights do you have to be on the royal grounds?” They gruffly chuckled and exchanged glances among themselves.

“Miles away from the kingdom, sonnyboy. You’re on our grounds, now.” I gulped, very showily, I’m sure. Despite wanting to run far, far away from there (see? What kind of prince runs from danger?) I held my ground and stood more confidently.

“I’m the prince, and I’m sure that-” One of the larger ones gasped and interrupted me.

“A prince, eh? Look at ‘im, boys! I’ve never had royal meat before…” He elbowed the numpty beside him and pointed at me. My hair was falling in my face from not having cut it in a bit, which I’m sure didn’t help my demeanor.

“Gentlemen, I’m sure we can, erm- come to an… uh- an agreement of sorts, yes?” They all laughed at that.

“I don’t think so,” The larger one said, moving in closer to me.

“See, we haven’t eaten in a very-” Another one started.

“Long time.” They moved closer and closer, pressing in on me from all sides. I tried pushing against them to no avail. Just when I thought that I was going to die that way - smushed by fucking numpties of all things - one began to crumble. His friends were startled, but pressed on. But as I looked up, I saw someone agile and thin (and seemingly old- she had a white streak in her hair) hitting each numpty over the head with a… newspaper? Peculiar. When they had all crumbled, she hopped down from the rubble and extended her hand to me.

“Paper beats rock,” She smirked. “Fiona.” I shook her hand, and decided that if she didn’t know who I was already, she didn’t need to. No need to mention the prince thing, even if I was dressed in royal linens. (Which I right hated.)

“Simon,” She smiled at me a bit and continued on, dragging me to some of the smaller bits of rubble.

“We haven’t much time until they reassemble. Help me toss some stones in the river- they can’t reassemble if they’re missing a few pieces.” I didn’t trust her very much - it was a gut thing - but I helped her throw pieces of rock in a nearby stream and watched as the current carried them far away. When we were done, she walked back over to the cottage with me and settled beside the glass coffin. I hadn’t gone over, yet- I’d been nervous. But watching her stare down at it, I decided to move closer, right beside her.

Inside the coffin was a bloke with long ebony black hair and skin as pale and white as snow. He had thin lips, which looked red from… (blood?) His eyes were closed, but I found myself wanting to know what they looked like open. (Perhaps that sounded a bit gay.) I didn’t know the bloke… but I thought I’d have liked to.

“Who is he?” I found myself wondering aloud. Fiona looked at me.

“His name is Baz. I was sent to… well, nevermind that. Just- wake him up, would you?” I nodded, even though I didn’t know exactly to what I was agreeing. “Right, well. I’ve got to be on my way… find a pig, perhaps.” She seemed to be muttering to herself, which I hadn’t really minded. I tended to do that, too. But before I could thank her for saving me, she was running back into the woods. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the bloke - Baz - in the coffin. I told Fiona that I’d wake him up, but how was I to do that? I supposed I should start with taking the lid off. So I lifted it and set it to the side, careful not to break it.

Not knowing what else to do, I took Baz’s (very cold) hand and stared back down to his face, thinking about how the bloody hell I could wake him. I supposed I could hit him? Although that seemed borderline like abuse. I remember Prince Phillip a few kingdoms over woke Aurora with a god and proper snog. (But if you asked me, I thought the whole situation was a little rape-y. Agatha had thought it was romantic.) But I s’posed there was no other option. I remembered Queen Lucy’s words in my head again. It’s alright if your heart wants something else. Follow it.

I leaned down over Baz’s (what a lovely name) face, and the whole time as I leaned down, I kept thinking I have a girlfriend, I have a girlfriend, I have a… I pressed my apprehensive lips to his tenderly, and held there for a second or two. As I was pulling back, I felt a gasp dance across my lips; and it wasn’t my own. I was only an inch away from his face when his eyes snapped open. Big pools of cold grey, like the kingdom’s pavement on a rainy day. Like storm clouds or the angry sea. Like… what was my girlfriends’ name?

He sat up quickly, knocking into my head. “Ow!” I yelped, bringing my hand to my forehead. He looked around, seemingly afraid. (He was more beautiful awake. Does this mean I’m gay? Maybe a bit.)

“What the fuck?!” He yelled, hopping out of the coffin. He was running his hands through his hair, distressed. As his feet hit the ground, he let out an exclamation of pain. “Bloody hell, that fucking hurts!” I stepped closer to him, holding out a hand.

“Hey, it’s oka-”

“Who the fuck are you?”

“I’m…” I wasn’t sure if I had simply forgotten my name looking at him, or if I just didn’t want him to know I was a prince. (Both, maybe.) “Simon Snow.”

“Well, Snow, why the fuck are you here? Where am I?!” He seemed to like the word fuck.

“Well, there were numpties around, and then a Fiona came along and-”

“Fiona?” He sounded afraid.

“Yes, and he killed them and then told me to wake you before he left, saying something about a pig. And then, well. Then I bloody kissed you-”

“You. What?”

“I, er- well, I kissed you to wake you up an-” He threw his arms up in distress.

“Do you go around snogging every sleeping bloke you find in the woods, Snow?”

“Well this would be a first,” I had cut myself off, sudden irritation building. “And anyway, shouldn’t you be bloody grateful, you tit? I saved you!” He scoffed and sneered at me with one eyebrow raised, all in one motion. It was breathtaking. We took steps toward each other, and I could feel his absence of heat getting startlingly close to me. (Was my girlfriends name… Amelia? Amy? Something with an A… I couldn’t think that close to him.)

“You saved me by snogging me, you dolt!”

“At least I didn’t get kidnapped by fucking numpties!” The silence was deafening, and we were so close by then that I was sure he could hear my heart beating. How could such a (beautiful) stranger have done that to me? I thought he was going to attack me. Maybe I’d kiss him again, I thought. Maybe one more time, I’d feel his soft lips on mine before he tried to kill me.

Then he kissed me. Roughly and aggressively and passionately; like he wanted to break me. Don’t worry, I thought. I’m already a bit broken- you are too, I think.

We spent the rest of the night kissing and talking and getting to know each other. We ate. We slept. We fed Ebb. I think Baz fell a bit in love with her. But when we were all full and rested, I let Ebb go back to the kingdom.

“Run back,” I told her, stroking her nose. “I’ll be okay, I promise. But don’t tell them I’m here.” I whispered to her. She nuzzled against me before I let her go. I was fairly sure I’d be okay- Baz didn’t seem like a murderer, anyway.

But after a few days, Ebb came running back. She came back wildly and recklessly, and when Baz and I saw her, we ran to go pet and feed her. Baz still didn’t know I was once a prince. Maybe it was for the best- I didn’t have to live up to expectations, anymore. In fact, Baz didn’t have any expectations for me. I just… was, with him. As soon as Ebb had come back, we spent the afternoon riding her. We laughed and talked and pretended to hate each other, even if we were both falling a bit in love, in all actuality. (That made me right gay, I decided.)

“I want to steer!” He’d whine. I would just laugh and push him playfully.

“Sorry, Baz, but the front seat is for people who haven’t been kidnapped by fucking numpties.” He rolled his eyes and pretended to be offended, but I knew he wasn’t- there was a ghost of a smile there.

…

One day, years later, when I was cleaning up the cottage, I saw something carved into the wood in the wall on the exterior of the house.

“Baz!” I had called. He came running back, as gorgeous as ever. “Look at this, love.” I pointed to the engraving in the wood, a naff carving job. It said, L+D encased inside a heart. Baz cocked his head and furrowed his eyebrows. (I loved it when he did that.)

“Who’re they?” He whispered, leaning down to rest his head on my shoulder. He smelled of cedar and bergamot, which I never understood since we lived in the middle of the forest. I smiled because I knew exactly who they were. Just two fools in love, one of them to one day rule with an iron fist, and the other… the other to become my guiding voice in everything I had done since I met her. There was something poetic about Baz and I living in that same cottage, even if I didn’t quite know how at the time.

I turned my head and placed a soft kiss on the side of Baz’s face. He laughed softly and placed a kiss on a mole on my neck in turn. (He treats it like a target.) “Dunno. But I bet they were madly in love, yeah?” He nodded his head.

“Yeah. Lot like us, Snow. Lot like us.” For all my life, I had felt out of place- like I wasn’t where I belonged. But then, just because of a moment in the forest, I found home. I found peace. I felt complete.

We carved our initials in a heart right under theirs later that day.

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rutilation · 5 years

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Does mulching a prisoner of war into shiny little woodchips before burying them alive indefinitely count as a violation of the Geneva Conventions? Asking for a friend.

(Hi guys, I’m back, and I brought 4,400 words with me.)

First of all, my apologies for the nearly five month wait. Ever since last spring, I haven’t had much time at all to devote to writing and I’ve only been able to work on this essay in small increments. And yet, despite the fact that I don’t have the time to do so, this essay somehow turned into a bloated treatise on the failings of gem society. Truly, I am a slave to my obsessions.

I’ve refrained from reading chapter 80 because I just know that if I do, it will insinuate itself into my brain like a tumor and I won’t be able to concentrate on finishing this essay. (That said, I did happen to see someone on twitter make a joking reference to third impact in regards to said chapter, so I am certainly Afraid.) Though my takes may be ice cold by this point, I hope that there are some nuggets of insight to be found in this. With that said, here are my thoughts on chapters 78 and 79.

While the past two chapters have certainly been…hard to read, I think that their contents have been a long time coming, primarily regarding the parallels between Phos and Kongou, and the uglier undercurrents of gem society reaching their logical conclusion. (And I gotta say, this display of—for lack of a better term—inhumanity on the part of the gems jives quite well with all the Shirley Jackson I’ve been reading lately. When I get tired of one display of flagrant mob violence, I can quickly flip to another.)

And then there’s the matter of the gems on the moon… I remember that when I first got into hnk, which was right around the time when Phos and the others left for the moon, everyone was afraid that Phos would go off the deep end and the gems stuck on the moon would end up as collateral damage in Phos’s quest for vengeance. But since Ichikawa is too powerful us, she said “what if it was the other way around, and Phos is the one getting thrown under the bus while the moon gems start a death cult?”

So there’s a lot to talk about, but let’s address the earth gems first, because these characters sure do live in a society. (In order to make my prose more tolerable, I encourage my readership to take a shot every time I write the words “gem society.”)

First of all, I’ve seen a number of people interpret Kongou’s line about the gems forgetting Phos very literally, and assume that the earth gems all have Phos-specific amnesia. I highly doubt this is the case, and he probably just means that Phos is now out of sight and out of mind.

As bleak as the situation is, I think it’s been a long time coming. From the beginning, one of the major philosophical elements of the story has been how the gems’ desire to give meaning to their long lives has compelled them to create a society in which only those with a concrete purpose have value. The characters see themselves and each other as instrumentally but not inherently valuable. With so much of the story focused on how this ethos hurts those individuals who aren’t seen as useful, how much it fosters shame and self-hatred, and how much it makes the gems unable and unwilling to help each other through hardship and depression, it makes sense to me that this inhumane mindset would eventually boil over into something truly cruel, and thus the other shoe has finally dropped. In a strange way, I have more respect for Rutile’s attitude towards the situation than I do the rest of the earth gems (sans Euclase, who I’ll get to in a moment.) Rutile is treating Phos like an enemy that must be vanquished, whereas the others are treating Phos as a kid treats their dirty clothes when they don’t want to do laundry—by shoving it in the back of a closet and trying to forget about it. The former strikes me as less dishonest and dehumanizing than the latter.

Even before chapter 79 made it official, I had a gut feeling that the timetable for figuring out what to do with Phos was nonexistent. I’ll be generous and assume Cinnabar was being sincere in the moment when they implied that they’d put Phos back together eventually. But just like how everyone ignored Cinnabar’s suffering because there was no compelling incentive to do anything about it, or how they all turned a blind eye to the Kongou/Lunarian situation for millennia, I figured that Phos would end up as another problem they wouldn’t bother solving. (Regarding Cinnabar, while I hope they’re still on good terms with everyone after the time skip, I would not be the least bit surprised if the earth gems started ostracizing them again once it became apparent that there would be no new attacks from the moon and thus no further reason to tolerate their mercury.)

(Bort, please stick up for them.)

And to be clear, this is a problem that the earth gems are refusing to solve in exchange for a short-term sense of security. If Phos and Kongou had been allowed to hash things out, and this stalemate hadn’t festered for 220 years, then maybe the moon gems wouldn’t be entertaining the idea of starting that aforementioned death cult. (Tbh, this mostly applies to 84, Yellow, and Dia, since Cairn has been their own personal death cult since chapter 33.) Even leaving aside how bad things have gotten already, if this state of affairs had continued to drag on, I think the situation would have gotten very ugly the second Aechmea got tired of waiting. While playing fruit ninja or whatever with Cairngorm, he says something to the effect of losing a battle here or there isn’t important as long as you win the war in the end, which I’m pretty sure is meant to communicate to the audience that Aechmea is playing the long game. And since he hasn’t done anything in the interim other than reluctantly and incrementally humor Cairngorm’s pet project, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he’s biding his time specifically for Phos, and that he’s counting on them eventually being reawakened. In that case, what would have happened if Kongou had been too meek to interfere, and the gems succeeded in getting rid of Phos for good? If Aechmea eventually gave up on his current scheme, scrapped working with Phos, and came up with a new plan, I’m betting things would quickly devolve into heinous war crimes since he’s only played nice so far in order to keep Phos on his side.

In chapter 78, we get to see two instances of the most common nugget of gem wisdom: only act when you’re guaranteed to succeed, and never take risks. It been a common refrain, with Antarc, and more subtly, Dia being the only gems aside from Phos to push back against that sentiment. And to be clear, I’m not saying any one of these iterations necessarily are bad advice, but it’s become increasingly obvious that it’s the only acceptable mode of dealing with problems in gem society. More on that in a minute.

So, uh, regarding Euclase, here’s an exclusive picture of me, after I’d spent months writing: “Gee, this Euclase character seems pretty shady, but I have faith in Cinnabar, Bort, and Jade to act humanely!’

That said, I think I got at least one aspect of their characterization right in my Euclase-focused essay—that they have a greater comprehension of their mortality than most. Unlike the other gems, they’re not childishly naïve enough to believe that ignoring their problems will save them; they understand that death is always around the corner, and that the (mostly) tranquil life the gems lead requires constant maintenance. Simply sliding down the path of least resistance will come back to bite them all in the ass later down the line, and Euclase knows it. That’s probably why they at least went through the motions of asking Kongou to pray every day for two hundred twenty years.

This is a bit of a tangent, but regarding my earlier point about the gems not commiserating at all, Peridot and Sphene come across as anomalies in that they helped each other through their grief over their lost partners, but that doesn’t seem to happen all that often. As we see in the aftermath of the winter arc, it seemingly did not occur to any of the gems who had lost friends of their own to try and help Phos through their grief. And I think it’s likely that they weren’t given much comfort in their hours of need either. Yellow bottled up their grief, Alex and (presumably) Red Beryl threw themselves into their work to the point of obsession, and Ghost seemed to have largely withdrawn from everyone else. But none of them really healed or helped anyone else heal. Despite their society placing a high value on interdependence, the gems are truly alone when they have to reckon with complicated or inconvenient emotions.

It may be hard to remember, but Phos was once influenced by all these toxic mindsets as well. Recall Phos’s conversation with Benito in chapter two: it implies that Cinnabar did live with the other gems during Phos’s lifetime, recently enough that Phos expects to find them in their room. From this we can infer that our kindhearted Phos never reached out to the clearly lonely Cinnabar while they were actually around, and didn’t even notice when they left the school for good. They may have had the potential for kindness from a very young age, but it was only when they were hit with with the stark truth of Cinnabar’s suffering that they snapped out of the fog of apathy that seems to surround the gems.

In fact, it almost seems like the struggle to drag the gems kicking and screaming out of their comfort zone is a macrocosm for what Phos had to grow out of at the beginning of the series. You’ll recall that once upon a time they were lazy, wanted easy solutions to their problems, and had no faith in their ability to effect change. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that in the eyes of gem society, the problem wasn’t really that Phos was lazy, it’s that their laziness manifested in the wrong ways. They were supposed to be fastidious and reliable about things like crafting, or fighting, or writing reports, but apathetic towards anything that requires more nuance or imagination than that, kindness or cruelty be damned.

All this is cast into even sharper relief if you think back on the arc with Ventricosus. She was in far more dire straits than the earth gems are now, and had a compelling incentive to throw Phos under the bus. But in the end, that wasn’t a line she was willing to cross. Her final line: “If we’re not willing to change our ways, we’ll end up just like the Lunarians,” seems quite portentous in retrospect. I don’t think Ichikawa is positing that being immortal makes you a sociopath, otherwise characters like Kongou, Yellow, and Padpa wouldn’t be such cinnamon buns. But I think she is insinuating that someone who refuses to change is dooming themselves to a state of perpetual immaturity, and that being truly kind requires growing up a bit. It’s a harder for someone who knows they’ll die one day to remain in a state of arrested development than it is for someone who could indefinitely procrastinate on growing up, and just focus all their mental energy into making paper or whatever for all of eternity.

And this seems as good a point as any to stop harping on gem society and start talking about the gems on the moon, starting with my muse, my most problematic of faves.

I brought up in my chapter 77 essay that Aechmea may not be willing to divulge what he was about to tell Cairn, and that was exactly what happened. Since he’s only willing to share this mysterious information if he literally would not be around for the fall out, I’m guessing that whatever this secret is, it’s not benign. And while Cairn has probably put it out of their mind by chapter 79, it’s clear that it’s bugging them before the time skip. I smell a shocking revelation brewing and I dread to imagine what could possibly top mind-control eyeballs. Make no mistake, I’ve devoted an embarrassing amount of brainspace the past nine months or so to contemplating what it will look like when the other shoe finally drops for Cairn’s character arc. (Is there a German word for the ambivalence that arises from wanting to call future plot twists for bragging rights, but not wanting to look like a dipshit if your predictions are wrong?)

Their line from chapter 78 that I alluded to earlier in this essay is rather interesting to me, because although they’re referring to Phos, they might as well be talking about Aechmea. They exhausted themselves to their breaking point trying to look after someone who didn’t take care of themselves, but they’ve nonetheless latched onto someone who is also seeking self-destruction. And as I pointed out earlier in this essay, this line also serves as yet another iteration of the defeatist sentiment that the gems often espouse. But, for a while, it had seemed like Cairn was moving away from that. The decision Cairn made in chapter 67 was certainly…fraught. But, one can’t deny that it wasn’t a brave one on their part, to leave behind everything they knew and cared about for a shot at living authentically; the only problem was that they undercut that step forward by returning to their chronic doormat tendencies. And again in chapter 70, they took a risk by sneaking off to earth knowing that Aechmea would pitch a fit later. But ever since chapter 75, they’ve been backsliding. As said chapter pointed out, their wish has shifted from wanting freedom to wanting what amounts to eternal codependency. I also find it interesting that Cairngorm apparently hasn’t bothered with getting a new name, and is just copying Aechmea’s shtick of going by his title. They’ve gone from sharing a name with Ghost, to having their own name, to not having a name at all. In conclusion, my child is a god damned mess.

I know I said I was done talking about gem society, but I guess I’m not. Going back to what I said in the last paragraph, about Phos not taking care of themselves, that’s been a reoccurring element throughout the series, and in my opinion, it was a significant contributor to the breakdown of Phos’s relationships. The reason Phos never just tried to make friends with Cinnabar—which is what the latter really wanted, and only focused their efforts on following through on their promise, was because Phos’s self-loathing runs so deep that it doesn’t occur to them that anyone would actually want their company for its own sake. Chapter 14 is the most direct allusion to this in my mind. Phos clearly wants to talk to Cinnabar, but instead they hide away and mutter that they’d have nothing to say to them. And as I touched on a moment ago, Phos’s self-destructive tendencies wore down Cairngorm over the course of their partnership.

But, here’s the thing: Phos’s self-loathing isn’t some immutable part of their nature, it was instilled in them by their society from the moment it became apparent that Phos couldn’t slot neatly into a role. This is very apparent in the early chapters, in which no one ever misses an opportunity to remind Phos of their uselessness (except Dia, bless their heart.) Back then, they pretended to not care about it by way of snark and bravado, but in truth, I think it warped their self-perception in an incredibly negative way.

There’s also something that illustrates this which has been on my mind for a while, but I haven’t had the opportunity to talk about it. When Phos was trapped by their arms during Antarc’s fateful capture, the insult they yelled at their arms to get them moving is the same one that Bort lobbed at them a few times in volume one. I usually see different translations of the word between the two scenes, but to my non-Japanese-fluent ears, it sounded like the same word to me when I watched the anime. It was a striking way of implying that this moment of personal growth had been seeded with something more insidious, that their self-loathing is a taint that has followed them across their many incarnations. I’m not the first one to point this out, but there’s always been a certain tension within the text regarding Phos’s changes. On one hand, their courage to change is framed as admirable and heroic, but on the other hand, they’re also hurting themselves because of social pressure to avoid being useless, which is kind of awful. I think the narrative resolves this tension by making Phos’s quest for validation something which would eventually lead them to try and tear down the status quo that they hurt themselves for in the first place.

Okay, back to the moon gems. I’ve reread the part of chapter 79 focused on the moon several times, and it just feels more ominous with each iteration. What exactly was their idea of administering therapy for Yellow? Why is Amethyst on board with Cairn’s death bullshit? Why is Dia okay with it? Why did they stop fixing the dusted gems? And most concerning, where are the other three gems—especially Alex who would probably be extremely opposed to halting the gem restoration? It feels as if there’s something terrible just out of our field of view and chapter 79 is dancing around it. (But hey, my intuition was wrong about Euclase so maybe when I read chapter 80 Ichikawa will tell me that Alex, Goshe, and Benito were at moon-disneyland the whole time, and that Aechmea is a real swell guy, actually.)

(No, I’m not bitter in the least.)

I also find it interesting that in chapter 79, Cairn is espousing a lot of the same sentiments as poor Yellow, but since they can mask the dysfunction better, they’re treated as an expert rather than a victim. In reality, both of them are in serious need of a therapist, which is apparently non-existent in the post-post-apocalypse.

And finally, Barbata continues to be the truest audience surrogate. I find it interesting that he clearly doesn’t approve of all the bullshit going on, while at the same time being too reticent to do anything about it, aside from some side-eyes and passive-aggressive comments. Perhaps there will be some payoff to this down the line?

At this point, let’s talk about Kongou, because both his actions and his role as a sort of parallel to Phos in the narrative are fascinating. I think this is the first time in the story that he’s really done something proactive. I touched on this in a cursory character analysis I did for him, but to reiterate, the impression I got from his at times obtuse and contradictory behavior was that he had completely given up on trying to solve the Lunarian problem long before the series had begun, and that the only thing cutting through his despair and compelling him to get up in the morning and not just “meditate” forever was the prospect of spending a little more time with the people he loves, even knowing that he couldn’t protect them in any way that mattered. But watching Phos’s struggle reignited a tiny bit of hope in him, enough that he wanted them to succeed in their efforts, but not enough for him to believe that he himself could make a difference. To me, that seems like the only explanation that accounts for both his obstinacy when Phos directly confronted him along with his casual acceptance of the path Phos has been walking.

So for him to go behind everyone’s back to fix Phos is quite the departure from his usual passivity, and it tells us that he’d rather subject himself and everyone else to Phos’s brand of chaos than endure stasis that comes with their absence. And it really does seem like the world enters a stasis along with Phos whenever they end up comatose. Nothing moves forward, and the only thing to mark the passage of time are small deteriorations: Morga and Goshe are captured, and Cairn quietly becomes suicidal, and this time around, Yellow gradually loses their mind, the Admirabilis that Phos tried to spare overcrowd the tiny waterways they were released into, and the gems on the moon stop caring about whether they live or die.

For a while now, various characters both gem and Lunarian have called Phos their hope, or their savior, or some variation thereupon, and with each new iteration, the sentiment feels more and more ironic. Time and time again, Phos rises to the occasion only to buckle under pressure, their noble intentions haven’t gotten them good results since, like, chapter 10, and everyone who at one point had faith in them is completely done with them. And at the end of it all, they don’t have it in them to ask Kongou to pray on anyone’s behalf but their own, as if they’ve become so exhausted that they don’t have the energy to be kind anymore. And just to rub salt in the wound, their ambiguous phrasing makes it unclear whether Phos is asking to Kongou get rid of the Lunarians or themselves.

All of this seems to mirror what Kongou is implied to have gone through. He was created to save the souls of humanity, but was ill-equipped for the task, and he’s spent god knows how many millennia dogged by his failure to deliver. Aechmea’s line in chapter 55 about how his human creators didn’t bother to think about what would happen to him after everyone was gone, in my mind, parallels how Phos has been abandoned by the people who once supported them once they became too much of an inconvenience.

So now that these two failed saviors are finally confronting each other with no lies to hide behind, and nothing to get between them, what’s going to happen? I get the feeling that chapter 80 is going to give us some long awaited catharsis, for better or worse. (Please Ichikawa, make things a little better for once.)

On a related note, I’m hoping this possible catharsis might clarify something else for me. For all that the series is steeped in Buddhist symbolism and philosophy, I’ve never been able to tell what Ichikawa actually thinks of Buddhism. On one hand, the assumptions that life boils down to suffering and that the self is ephemeral and illusory are certainly present, but on the other hand, the characters who lean most heavily on the Buddhist aesthetic are villains, the characters most invested in reaching nirvana are portrayed as…let’s say misguided at best, and as I’ve already noted above, our two would-be Buddhas are chronically ineffectual. If I had to take a stab at it, I’d guess that the aspect of the philosophy that she takes issue with is the idea of relying on a savior figure and the idea that there exists a nirvana that could save anyone from samsara. But if the Lunarians’ wish were a complete pipe dream, then Shiro et al wouldn’t have already disappeared? Unless that was a misdirection and their souls were actually reincarnated? Idk, I don’t have enough brain cells to parse The Most Viable Interpretation at this juncture in the story.

Lastly, assuming Phos doesn’t ascend to nirvana via pure rage next chapter, I think their next replacement is going to be imminent. All of Phos’s other changes have been accompanied by death and birth imagery: they lost their legs out at sea, which is where inclusions are said to emerge, they lost their arms and their head at the site of their birth, the time they spent comatose evoked the image of a shrouded corpse in a morgue, their first trip to the moon in which they got their new eye apparently lasted the length of a Buddhist funeral, and now, they’ve literally been buried. (On a side note, it’s interesting that there’s a lot more death imagery for their later transformations, while their earlier changes alluded to birth.) I’m not the first person to point this out, but it seems likely to me that Rutile made good on their threat to throw Phos into the ocean, and discarded whatever pieces they were assigned to bury. And indeed, there seems to be a gaping hole in Phos’s torso. I still think Padparadscha is the most likely candidate for a replacement—the red stone from the lotus sutra has been alternately described as ruby, carnelian, amber, or coral, and Padparadscha is the closest we have to any of those—but who knows. Ichikawa might even decide to stop short of all seven treasures in service of some greater thematic purpose.

And with that, this belated essay is finally done. Except it isn’t. This is a complete tangent, but I recently looked up the one and only region where gem-quality phosphophyllite was briefly mined, a mountain in the Bolivian Andes called Cerro Rico. Hundreds of thousands have died there since the 16th century while mining silver, and that figure may be lowballing it, as some scholars think the death toll is actually in the millions. It is colloquially known as “the Mountain that Eats Men,” and the miners pay tribute to this fellow in hopes of avoiding cave-ins and pockets of toxic gas, but are otherwise doomed to die young from silicosis. According to a forum post I found belonging to a mineral collector, the mineshaft where all the phosphophyllite came from had to be walled off with a concrete bulkhead because the poisonous gases that accumulated in the tunnel had killed a number of miners. The idea of gem mining already conjures up images of exploited workers in abject conditions, but I must say that Maneater Mountain exceeded my expectations.

Okay, now I’m actually done. I’m going to get some sleep on account of the fact that it’s 2 AM, but afterwards I shall read the new chapter and repeat this whole grueling cycle over again, but like, in a timely manner.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #I know I’ve spent the whole essay trashing ¾ of the cast but I really do hope they eventually get over themselves #i've spent hours rereading this but i just KNOW in my heart that there are a billion typos and those typos will haunt my soul #goodnight

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atamascolily · 4 years

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The cover for Junior Jedi Knights #4: Anakin's Quest has Anakin and Tahiri on Dagobah with Ikrit and Artoo while a giant spider looms in the background. Because goodness knows that a series ostensibly about Jedi training can't have our heroes stay on the same planet for more than a book at the time! That would be... boring. And since Dagobah is a Movie Planet we haven't visited yet in this series (or in Young Jedi Knights, iirc) - it's time!

This book is written by Rebecca Moesta, co-author of the Young Jedi Knights books with Kevin J. Anderson (and incidentally, married to KJA), so I assume there will be some continuity between the two series. Let's find out!

(cut because this got super-long)

Anakin's restless. He tries to meditate, only to see Palpatine and Vader in a vision. Tahiri wakes him up. Apparently, this is a running theme through the series?

Tahiri was off exploring with Tionne which sounds very interesting, and they found holos and written records but Tahiri's more focused on having to wear shoes. LOL. This sounds fascinating and I wish we could see more of this! Oh, and apparently Ikrit told Tahiri that Anakin needed her?

“… and so I told her that I would bring you with me and we could start training again right away. Well, aren’t you going to say anything? Tionne is waiting for us.”

Patches of mist still clung to Anakin’s mind.“What? Who?”

Tahiri giggled.

“Tionne. You know-long silver hair, big pearly eyes, Jedi historian? The one who found me on Tatooine?”

“Yes.. I know who Tionne is,” Anakin said, his groggy mind not catching her point.

“Well, she’s waiting for us. Ikrit is with her. We’re starting lessons again right away.”

YEAH TIONNE!

Ikrit was obviously as pleased to see Anakin as Anakin was to see the little Jedi Master. He climbed nimbly onto Anakin’s shoulder and draped his tail around Anakin’s neck.

“I think he’s glad to see you,” Tionne said in her beautiful musical voice.

“We all are.”

The breeze blew around them and stirred the white vapor so that Tionne’s fine silvery hair looked as though it might have been spun from the mist itself.

“So what are we going to learn tonight?” Tahiri asked.

She sounded excited. She grinned at Anakin.

“I’ve been begging Tionne for three months to give me more lessons, but she wouldn’t. She said I was too young to study all the time and that I needed to take a break.” Tahiri snorted. “As if I wanted to take a break from studying the Force.”

Ok, so there's been a time skip between story arcs. Good to know. I love Ikrit and Anakin having a bonding moment, and Tionne doing stuff! Yeah! But what was Tahiri DOING if she wasn't studying??

Tionne said nothing. She lit a torch that she had brought with her from the Great Temple and then winked at Anakin as if they shared a secret-that sometimes it was best not to answer Tahiri, that it was enough just to listen.

Did I mention I love her?

Tionne closed her eyes halfway and Anakin could sense the Force flowing through her. Then, to his amazement, the ground mist wrapped itself around her, spiraling and climbing upward. The mist wound itself like a vine around her arm and the base of the torch.

Finally, the mist circled the tip of the torch in a glowing white halo. As the fire burned away the water vapor, more mist drifted up to join the hazy ring. Anakin found himself fascinated by this display. It wasn’t until Tahiri said, “Wow!” that he realized it was over.

“Now it’s your turn,” Tionne said. “This may be a bit new and strange to you. It might surprise you how hard it can be. You’ve practiced lifting objects before, heavy things and light things. But mist is not an object.”

THIS IS AWESOME. But I can't help notice that this is a Dagobah book, and so this skill is inevitably going to come in handy later on.

Suddenly, there before him, through his half-open eyes, he could see it: a small, transparent, but perfectly formed tree. Then, beside his tree he saw a misty replica of the Great Temple appear. Tahiri had added her own mist picture next to his.

Amused, Anakin let the mist flow again. This time he decided to form the shape of his father’s ship, the Millennium Falcon. Within seconds Tahiri made a little X-wing fighter to hover beside the Falcon. Then her craft shifted and became a misty light - saber with a ghostly blade. Anakin let the Millennium Falcon flow and transform into a second phantomlike lightsaber beside Tahiri’s.

The two energy blades drifted toward each other and crossed. Anakin and Tahiri both made a misty streamer shoot out from the point where the “lightsabers” touched, as if the clash had released a crackle of energy.

Aww, this is so good! But then Anakin slips and Palpatine's face shows up in the mist, and we cut to Anakin sitting in Luke's office with Artoo. Ouch. Anakin's cold and shivering and Luke feeds him soup and MY HEART.

Hey, a continuity nod (with Dark Empire, of all things):

“Is it-” Anakin swallowed hard. “Is it true that my mother was touched by the Emperor before I was born?”

Luke Skywalker pursed his lips. A frown creased his forehead.

“A clone of the Emperor touched her,” he said carefully. “That clone was a copy of the Emperor’s body.”

Anakin angsts. Luke tries to calm him, but to no avail. Anakin asks how Luke learned about his own dark side, and Luke brings up the Dagobah cave. Anakin insists on going. Luke says he's too busy to take Anakin, but Anakin insists. Luke says Anakin should talk to his parents.

The next day, Anakin and Tahiri use the Force to unload the Lightning Rod. I can't help but think about Master Yoda making Whie and Scout use their muscles in Dark Rendezvous. I suspect he would not approve. There's a boy in an extra shipping crate.

Anakin opened his mouth to say something but was too stunned to find the right words. As usual, Tahiri saved him the trouble.

“Hi, what’s your name? What planet are you from? I’m Tahiri, and this is my friend Anakin. What are you doing here? Do you always travel in a box?”

“I am Uldir.” The boy’s voice squeaked when he spoke, as if it couldn’t decide whether it was high or low. “I have decided to be a Jedi. Take me to Luke Skywalker.”

I'M HOWLING.

Anakin frowned.

“It doesn’t really work like that. I mean, I don’t think anyone just decides to become a Jedi. But I’ll take you to him.”

“And if you really plan to become a Jedi,” Tahiri added, “you’d better start calling Luke `Master Skywalker.’”

This subplot is NOT GOING TO END WELL, but I'm sure this happens ALL THE TIME at the Academy. Poor Luke.

“Excuse me, Master Skywalker,” Anakin said, entering the large, echoing chamber. Anakin always used his uncle’sformal title when Luke was teaching. The Jedi Master turned off his lightsaber and looked at Anakin. Luke’s tall, violet-feathered student stepped back to wait, still holding her own glowing blade.

Nice character note from Anakin. And yes, that's Brakiss, isn't it? Who else would be "violet-feathered"? Or maybe it’s a random alien, LOL.

[[Calling it now: Brakiss is going to twist/corrupt Uldir and use his pain and frustration over not having the Force against the Jedi, isn't he.]]

“I’ve brought someone who wants to meet you,” Anakin said, indicating Uldir. “He came in on the Lightning Rod with old Peckhum.”

Surprise showed on Luke Skywalker’s face.

“He’s a stowaway,” Tahiri supplied helpfully. “His name is Uldir and he wants to be a a Jedi.”

Luke’s eyebrows went up. If anything, he looked even more surprised than before.

“Hello, Uldir,” Luke said in a soft, serious voice. “It’s not an easy thing to become a Jedi. But if you think you can do it, I’ll test you later. I need to finish this lesson first, though. I’m sure you’re tired and hungry after your journey. Anakin and Tahiri, please show our guest around. After he’s had a chance to clean himself up a bit in one of the rooms, make sure he gets something to eat, and then bring him to my office. “

Have I mentioned how much I love Luke recently??

Uldir reveals he's a military brat, moved around a lot, and has lived on Coruscant (he's kinda snarky when Tahiri introduces a turbolift like it's a big deal and I love it). Uldir's rebelling against his family by trying to be a Jedi instead of a shuttle pilot. All three of them bond over droids and travels. They go to the cafeteria and Uldir eats a lot. Uldir is described as a "teen", so I guess he's 13-15ish, compared to Anakin (11) and Tahiri (9)?? I really love cafeteria scenes so it's nice to get one here - all hustle and bustle, full of aliens, food, and love.

Tahiri and Anakin try to let Uldir down gently, and it goes nowhere. Uldir insists they accompany him to his meeting with Luke. It goes poorly.

“If being a Jedi is that glamorous, why shouldn’t everyone become one? “

Uldir put his hands on his hips.

“They don’t have what it takes,” he said. “No guts, I guess. No guts, no glory.”

“And you have what it takes?” Luke Skywalker asked.

The sturdy teen threw back his shaggy chestnut hair and squared his shoulders.

“Yes, I do.”

Luke Skywalker closed his eyes and drew in a calming breath

I feel you, Luke. I feel you.

Luke tries to let Uldir down gently, but it doesn't take. Uldir vows to stay, lies about his parents Luke is not amused.

Luke fixed him with a stern look and frowned ever so slightly.

“If you want to stay at the Jedi academy, don’t ever lie to me,” he said in a soft voice.

But he gives in because Uldir clearly has parental issues and Luke’s a softie, so they make a deal:

“All right, Uldir. If your parents agree, I’ll let you study for a while at the Jedi academy. But everyone here has a job to do. We all have assignments: teaching, taking classes, unloading cargo, cooking. If you’re willing to put in an honest day’s work, you may stay at the academy and attend lectures and classes and learn about the Force. If by the end of three months you have learned enough about the Force to lift a pebble or light a flame, then I will accept you as a full-time student-if you still want to be one.”

Luke calls Uldir's parents, and they agree, but hilariously admit they were afraid he'd joined some pirates. I think they are relieved it was the Jedi instead.

More Jedi Temple stuff:

Anakin Solo stood on top of the Great Temple, panting from his climb up the outer stairway. The late-afternoon breeze dried the sweat that trickled down his forehead. From this high above the ground there was a wonderful view of the surrounding jungle and the river not far away. But Anakin had not come for the view. He had come to be alone. To think-or maybe to brood. There was no railing around the platform on top of the pyramid, but Anakin was not afraid of falling.

He knew how to use his Jedi powers to keep his balance. He sat at the edge of the stone platform and removed his shoes, in the hope that going barefoot would give him at least a little of the positive bubbliness that Tahiri always seemed to have. He waited a minute to see if he would feel any different….

Hey, somebody remembers there are steps on the outside of this thing! Anakin watches lightsaber practice from his perch. He's so absorbed that he doesn't notice Ikrit at first.

“I guess I should have noticed you. I mean, normally I would have. It’s just that I’m not really myself right now.”

There was a long pause. Finally Ikrit asked, “Who are you, then?”

Anakin could sense that Ikrit wasn’t making a joke. It was an honest question. Anakin searched in his mind for an honest answer. He sighed.

“That’s just it: I don’t know. I always thought I did. I mean, I’m a kid whose father just happens to be one of the hottest pilots in the galaxy, whose mother is the leader of the New Republic, whose twin brother and sister just happen to have more Jedi potential than anyone else at the academy under the age of sixteen, and whose uncle also happens to be the most powerful Jedi Master alive.” Anakin grinned at his own words. “You know-I’m just an average kid.”

Anakin angsts about his vision and repeats his desire to go Dagobah, because of Luke and Yoda. Ikrit perks up. Cut to:

Planetshine from the orange gas giant of Yavin streamed in through the narrow window slit of Master Luke Skywalker’s chambers at the Jedi academy. The night air was still warm and Luke had pulled aside the heavy curtains to let in the soft breeze and the spicy scent of jungle flowers. Although he had been lying down for at least an hour, sleep would not come. He relaxed and let himself enjoy the beauty of the soft light. Somehow, when the furry white form of Jedi Master Ikrit appeared on his windowsill, Luke was not surprised.

Ikrit says that Anakin needs to go to Dagobah. Luke agrees.

“Anakin needs more time and training than I have to give him,” Luke admitted. “When Yoda taught me, he had no other students, but I have so many to train it could be months before I can break free to take Anakin to Dagobah.”

Luke thought for a moment.

“I might be able to send Tionne with him. She could leave sooner than I could.” He sighed. “But I’m not certain she can help Anakin face this test. She’s a wise Jedi, but she has never come face-to - face with the dark side in the same way I have… and as Anakin has.”

“I will take the boy to Dagobah myself, if you will permit it,” Ikrit said.

DELEGATE, LUKE, DELEGATE. That's what other people are there for! To be fair, Luke is still getting used to having Ikrit around. Ikrit says he's going to take Tahiri and Anakin in the Lightning Rod with Peckhum (of course!) and Luke sends Artoo along for the ride because Artoo hasn't suffered ENOUGH, LOL. But first he has to call Han and Leia and make sure they're okay with him sending their son into potential danger (unlike, say, the last book?)

Han namedrops Zekk, who's been helping Peckhum with ship maintenance. Han and Leia agree, mostly because Anakin insists. Our heroes embark on the journey.

“This is really kind of cozy, isn’t it?” she said. “It’s a shame we couldn’t bring Uldir along. He looked kind of unhappy when we told him we had to go away for a few days. Do you think he’ll be all right?”

It's fine, kids. I'm sure Brakiss will take care of him!

Peckhum is surprised that Ikrit is a Jedi master and can talk. Ikrit asks what he thinks Jedi masters look like and Peckhum doesn't say "human" but you can tell he's thinking it. Ikrit provides some backstory about how he saved his villages' harvest with his Jedi powers even after he was teased for not being useful earlier. Meanwhile, Uldir has stowed away AGAIN because that's what he does??

Uldir figured it was easier to apologize afterward than to get permission to go along.

Yes, this is going to go well, isn't it.

Dagobah hasn't changed. Apparently Luke sent Artoo along because Artoo is familiar with the place? LOL. Anakin still can't understand Binary, which is annoying. Peckhum lets Artoo land the ship and the droid lands in the swamp and the ship falls into the water. Peckhum is annoyed and we have some excellent Artoo sass: "this is the best place to land"!

Peckhum insists on staying with the ship, but at least Anakin and Tahiri have Ikrit for some competent supervision this time! Tahiri refuses to wear shoes on principles, but caves when Ikrit reveals that Tionne packed knapsakcs for them, including "a pair of buttery-soft leather boots". Oh, Tionne. The narrative doesn't say, but I assume they're Chanel. They are going to get ruined in the muck, but 10/10 for style.

Dagobah is buggy! Ikrit tells Anakin and Tahiri to use the Force to steer the bugs away, and it works. Artoo starts to lead them to the cave. They end up rescuing Uldir, who fell into the swamp because he didn't look before opening the cargo doors and jumping out. Now he's being attacked by some sort of furry snake monster. He throws algae but it doesn't go away. Anakin realizes the algae is food, and uses it to lure the creature away while Tahiri fishes Uldir out with a vine. Tahiri injures her foot and Uldir is patronizing about her injury and about Ikrit.

Ikrit makes them stop and listen to a lecture on the Force, which annoys a restless Anakin. Ikrit says he's going to let each of the kids lead them back to the ship. Tahiri and Anakin have no major disasters, but Uldir nearly leads them into a butcher bug web - an invisible, razor-sharp silken mesh. Ikrit leads his chastened charges back to the ship.

Cave trip, take two! Ikrit is riding on Artoo this time. Tahiri is wearing the boots, and surprised to find that she likes them because they have flexible soles. Go Tionne! Uldir continues to be a jerk.

“The way Uncle Luke explained it,” Anakin went on, his eyes rolling up and to the side, “the cave works kind of like a mirror, to show you what’s inside your own mind. He said he learned some really important things about himself that day.”

Uldir snorted.

“You mean you needed to come halfway across the galaxy and go into a cave to figure out what’s in your head?”

Their argument is interrupted by a storm, so they all take shelter "beneath the gnarled roots of a massive tree". Anakin is struck by how much the roots resemble a spider. Kid, do I have some news for you...

Ikrit can apparently make fire with the Force! I guess this is where Anakin gets his torch from the cover. Ikrit senses danger. Uldir is dismissive when a spotlight sloth shows up. I kinda hope the reason we don't see him on the cover is that he gets eaten. Of course the spider shows up then and captures the sloth, paralyzing it and eating it. Anakin is a city boy, and he's so out of his element. Uldir is also a city boy, but he decides to look because he thinks he's so cool, and his gagging noises draw the spider's attention.

The spider starts uprooting random vegetation and is getting close to the tree. Artoo gets stuck. Uldir runs away and Anakin and Tahiri rescue Artoo. The spider rips the tree away and throws it in the swamp, and starts chasing them. Artoo yanks on the spider's stinger and the spider retreats and goes back to destroying vegetation. They find Uldir, and Ikrit says he's convinced the spider that it's no longer hungry. The spider stabs the ground and plants its legs. Anakin realizes the spider is going to become a tree!

(I love this, by the way. The gnarltrees themselves are in ESB, but I couldn't remember where the gnarltrees = knobby white spiders thing came from... turns out their first appearance was in KJA's Darksaber! To give KJA credit where it's due, he's pretty good at coming up with characters and neat ideas, he's just not so good with description or execution.)

Conveniently, they end up right outside the cave. Uldir doesn't think it's important.

“You know, maybe your uncle was just in a thoughtful mood that day. I don’t think he could have learned anything in this cave that he couldn’t have learned if he had spent the day flying or swimming or climbing trees.”

LOL, nice try, Uldir. Uldir and Tahiri want to go in, too. Ikrit says sure, but one at a time. Of course, Uldir goes first, and doesn't see anything. Tahiri has a vision of her parents on Tatooine. Her mother is barefoot, lol. She also sees her grandfather (a Jedi) pursued by stormtroopers on a diffeent world and she sees him die. I have so many questions, but keep in mind this was 1997, and Lucas didn't insist on a celibate Jedi Order until 1999.

Then it's Anakin's turn. He sees a vision of a Light Jedi fighting a dark figure, only to discover--wait for it!--that both faces are his own. Cut to Ikrit making a fire as they discuss their visions.

“As different as you are from one another, my young students,” Ikrit rasped, “the things you each saw in the cave are not as unlike as you might believe. And for each of you, the lesson is much the same. Your learning and heritage mold you. No one is either entirely good or bad. Your parents, your experiences, your past and your present all combine to make you the person that you are.

“We each contain the potential for great good or great evil. We each hold the shadow of darkness… and the flame of light. Our destinies are not set, and life offers no guarantees. It is the choices that you make… that will determine what you become.”

After that inspiring moral, Anakin says, Welp, let's go home now, but Ikrit says there's one more thing. Artoo takes them to the ruins of Yoda's old house. Ikrit is so depressed, his fur turns black. Turns out Yoda was Ikrit's old master from his story at the beginning! Wow, what a twist! Good for Yoda!

Peckhum is grumpy about having another passenger, but they make it work. Tahiri is relieved to be barefoot again.

“I’ll have to remember to thank Tionne for thinking to send those boots for me.”

And she did.

What a great character moment. Oh and I guess the mist manipulation wasn’t actually useful on Dagobah after all, huh?

Back on Yavin 4, the kids scrub the Lightning Rod to remove all the Dagobah mud. Tionne hugs everyone. Luke looks relieved (probably didn't want to have to explain to Uldir's parents that their son stowed away YET AGAIN, lol).

Anakin, Tahiri, and Uldir each had a long private meeting with Luke and then with Tionne. In fact, there was so much talking and meeting and hugging that at the end of a few hours, Anakin was convinced that there was no one left who hadn’t already talked to everyone else. But he was wrong. Anakin was still in his uncle’s office when Ikrit showed up…

Uldir has a rare moment of self-reflection:

“Do you think I’ll ever become a Jedi?” he asked.

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence.

“Maybe,” Tahiri said. “I don’t really know enough about how it works.”

Anakin shrugged.

“It’s possible,” he said. “Even Jedi Masters can make mistakes."

Anakin and Tahiri vow to do what they can to help Uldir. They genuinely want to help, but there is no way this is going to end well. Uldir goes to get more river water, convinced if he dresses the part of the Jedi, the rest will follow while he's gone, Luke, Ikrit, and Tionne show up and congratulate Anakin and Tahiri. And that's... pretty much this plot arc in a nutshell - Uldir missing the point/missing out, while Anakin and Tahiri get stuff. Ow.

So I admit my expectations going into this book were SUPER-LOW, but even though the plot was mostly predictable, I loved all the continuity nods and there were lots of great character moments--and there were a few bits that surprised me, too. Overall, the writing is definitely a step up from previous installments, and none of the adults are idiots. Tionne gets some cool stuff to do and takes care of Tahiri, and Luke and Ikrit are also great. And the Uldir plot is handled realistically and sensitively, even though I *know* it's not going to end well. I enjoyed reading this, and would definitely do it again.

#star wars legends #junior jedi knights #anakin's quest #jedi academy shenanigans #book reviews

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wingsonghalo · 4 years

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Left on Read: A Killugon Fanfic- Chapter 2

Here’s chapter 2! It is so very short. Forgive me for that. Next chapter will have Gon and Killua in the same room, though, so look forward to that.

Chapter Wordcount: 2,954 Previous chapters: Chapter 1 Also available on Ao3.

Patreon | Ko-fi

Chapter 2: Out in the Open

As soon as he saw the girl put her hand on Killua’s, a weird feeling swept over Gon. The joy he’d initially felt upon seeing his best friend, the desire to run in and call out to him, seemed to trip and flip-flop into something empty and painful. She was attractive, he noted absently. Black hair, tanned skin, a modest blouse that nonetheless exposed her slender neck. Who was she? What was Killua doing with her?

Killua was listening to her with apparent interest, occasionally smiling or laughing. She, on the other hand, was smiling constantly, leaning forward to engage him more, giggling at most of the things Killua was saying. The feeling in Gon’s gut changed again, this time to a mixture of nausea and worry. When had this person become important? Why did she get to listen to Killua talk and make him smile when he, his best friend, had not seen him in over a year? He couldn’t understand it. Not for the first time, especially recently, the young Hunter found himself at a loss for what action to take.He ran away, something he hadn't done in a long time.

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“—So then my brother said, ‘Now I know why they call it the ICU!’”

Killua snorted into his root beer, hastily putting the glass down before he could spill it as he thumped his chest and coughed out a bit more laughter. Emilia had just been telling him about her brother, who worked at a hospital, and though Killua had always thought of a hospital as a rather depressing setting, it seemed Emilia’s brother had no shortage of amusing tales with which he’d regaled his sister.

“Careful, don’t choke,” Emilia giggled. “Little late for that,” he answered hoarsely, but he was smiling.

It kind of surprised him how well he’d gotten along with Emilia. She seemed bright and optimistic, and her life sounded simple and uncomplicated—mundane, even. It was almost reassuring to the ex-assassin that there did yet exist people in this world whose lives were not driven by killing or revenge, a mission to protect the world, or quests to save someone precious. Some people, like the brown-eyed girl on the other side of the table, just struggled with deciding what to study in school. It was refreshing.

Outside, night had begun to fall. He glanced outside and wondered if Alluka and Nanika were doing all right. His sisters had grown up considerably since leaving home, but they were still quite naive, and their too-trusting nature was often worrisome to Killua.

“Something wrong?” his date inquired softly, and the teenage Hunter whipped his head back around to inside the restaurant, to the pretty girl in front of him, the way the candlelight (for their stuffy waiter had brought a candle when the light outside began to fade) made her skin flicker with rosy red and bright orange.

“No, uh…” he said unconvincingly. He shook his head. “Just…thinking about my own siblings.” He turned his gaze to the candle between them, feeling awkward with just staring at her face.

“Oh, you’ve got siblings too, huh?” Emilia asked with interest.

“Yeah, but they don’t tell me fun work stories like yours does. Work stories from my family would be pretty dismal.”

She smiled playfully, cocking her head slightly. “Funeral home-dismal, math teacher-dismal, or organized crime-dismal?”

Killua might have winced a little. She wasn’t that far off the mark, really, though those in his former profession conducted themselves with more dignity than those bozos in the mafia had, in his opinion. But there was a difference between being good at your job and losing sight of the magnitude of taking a life. He was glad he’d left the Zoldyck family trade before the line had become too blurred for him to see anymore.

“Um…” Emilia’s timid voice broke his reverie. He looked up from inadvertently scowling at the candle flame to see that the smile had melted off her face. She bit her lip. “I-I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “It’s obvious that I said something insensitive just now, so…”

“Oh, uh, no, don’t worry about it,” the silver-haired boy brushed off her apology with what he thought was convincing nonchalance. He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head casually (which probably wasn’t appropriate etiquette for this restaurant, but who cared, really? Not Killua). “Suffice it to say that the family trade wasn’t for me, so I ducked out.”

She nodded, seeming to feel a little more at ease now. “There’s nothing wrong with being good at different things than your family,” she decided.

“Actually, I was great at it,” Killua said with a shrug, and then immediately regretted it, because Emilia looked highly distressed, no doubt believing she’d said something rude again. “It’s okay, really,” he said quickly as she opened her mouth to apologize. “Family’s a complicated subject. Why don’t we talk about something else?” he suggested.

“You’re right, I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to get so personal!” she stammered. He just shrugged in response, so she fidgeted with her nails for a moment before asking, “So…what do you do in your free time?”

“Go for walks. Work out. Sleep. Eat junk food. Maybe some video games now and then,” he answered, rattling them off without much thought. She nodded, leaning forward with interest, and he couldn’t help finding it strange. His pastimes really weren’t very fascinating. I mean, who listed sleeping among their hobbies?

“I like reading,” Emilia volunteered, since Killua didn’t seem like he would ask her in kind. “And listening to music. Oh, and writing!” She laughed a little awkwardly. “Though my work is a little weird, so I don’t often share it…” She ran a hand through her hair and played with the dangly blue earring hanging from her lobe in a kind of nervous habit.

“Cool,” he said. What else was he supposed to say? “I’m sure whatever you write, there are people who will like it. You shouldn’t be afraid to share something if you’re proud of it.” Yes. That sounded good.

“Thanks!” she replied brightly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked up at him through her lashes. “I also like to eat,” she added, her eyes twinkling. The young Hunter blinked. “So, if you want to indulge me and take me to another restaurant sometime…”

He could feel his cheeks flush. “Uh, I guess I could do that,” he said, embarrassed. The way she was fluttering her eyelashes at him did weird things to his stomach. Weird, unpleasant things.

“And, you know…” her voice was softer, making him have to lean a little closer to hear her, “I like going for walks, too, so maybe a walk together is in order as well?”

“Um…” he began, but before he could say any more, he felt something warm brush up against his leg.

His reaction was the exact opposite of what a stealthy, imposing ex-assassin would be expected to do. He yelped, startled, and jumped spectacularly, flailing his arms enough to inadvertently knock over the candle between them. Before she could move it away, the tipped candle had lit Emilia’s sleeve on fire, and she too yelped and began flailing before doing the sensible thing and pouring out the remainder of her glass of water onto it.

The silence that followed was a long one, during which Killua realized that: a) the thing that had touched his leg had been his date’s own leg; b) Emilia had been flirting with him; and c) all the other couples around them were staring at the two kids by the window who had both just squawked and floundered around in a disruptive and indecorous manner. For a split second he felt his cheeks burning with shame, but when he glanced at Emilia, her face crumpled in a grin and she leaned her forehead on her fingertips.

“Pffff,” she sputtered. “That was the most hilariously overblown reaction I’ve ever seen to Footsie.” She chuckled, shoulders shaking with laughter she was attempting to keep quiet.

He wanted to be angry with her for embarrassing him like that, but...it had been him who had done the really embarrassing part. He glanced around at the restaurant, and everyone whose eyes met his hastily turned their gazes from him. How much had they even seen? Did they know why he and Emilia had been thrashing around, or had their attention been drawn by panicked squawking out of the blue and held by Emilia’s attempts to extinguish her blouse?

Before he knew it, his face had broken into a smile and he was covering his laughter with one hand as well. “Y’know, it…it really looks better that way anyway,” he choked, gesturing to the blackened spot on her sleeve.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “You owe me a dinner for this, mister,” she teased.

“Fine, deal,” he conceded.

The rest of the date went without incident, and after they’d made plans to meet up again the day after tomorrow, Killua walked away from her in a relatively good mood. Emilia was energetic, fun to be around, and personable, and her smile bright and warm.

The young Hunter jammed his hands in his pockets and looked up at the stars as he recalled someone else who shared those characteristics, and a familiar pang resonated in his chest. Emilia’s smiles, though pretty, had not made answering smiles arise unbidden on his face. Her laughter, delightful as it was, had not made something dazzling and tender spread within him. Her touch, uninvited but not entirely unwelcome, did not send a shiver of longing through his heart.

She made him feel none of the things he had felt when he had traveled with Gon Freecss.

He wondered sometimes if those sensations were lost forever.

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Leorio answered on the third ring. "Hello?" came the familiar voice.

"Leorio!" Gon wailed at him, half-relieved and half-miserable.

"Whoa, whoa," Leorio said, his voice a little further away. He'd probably held the phone further away from his ear after Gon's loud greeting. "Gon? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay," he assured him. "Well, actually, I don't really know if I am? Something's happened," he explained, "and I don't know what to think about it."

"Well, what happened?"

"Is that Gon?" a softer, familiar voice said from a distance. "What's wrong?"

Gon felt a surge of warmth hearing both their voices. "Kurapika?" he asked. "Hi, Kurapika!"

Leorio sighed. "Should I put you on speaker so you can talk to both of us?"

Gon was about to say "yes," but then thought about it a moment. "No," he decided. "That's okay. It's...nothing urgent," he admitted. He flopped on his bed, curling his knees up to his chest and leaning back against the headboard.

"It must have been urgent enough, since you're calling me," Leorio pointed out. "Now are you going to tell me what happened, or is Kurapika going to have to trick you into spilling?"

"I do not trick people into telling me things," Kurapika said stiffly.

"Kurapika, I'm sorry, you're pretty much a champion at that," Leorio informed him in an offhand manner. "Now," he continued before the Kurta could protest, "Gon. Explanation."

"Right," Gon said, already feeling a little better hearing his friends bicker just like they used to. "Um, well, I'm in Swaldani City to get my Single Star Hunter certification," he started

."Really?" crowed Leorio, sounding impressed. "That's great!"

"Yeah!" Gon said somewhat hurriedly, not wanting to get off-track. "Um, anyway, I just found out Killua's here in Swaldani too."

"Is he getting his certification as well?"

"Um, I'm not sure." He adjusted the phone against his ear, holding it in place with his shoulder and scuffing the covers with one socked foot. "I didn't talk to him."

A brief silence followed. "Why not?" Leorio finally prompted.

"I was kind of, I mean, well, he didn't exactly...see me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw him on a date with some girl!" Gon finally blurted.

An even longer silence greeted this.

"So?" Leorio said at last. There was a sound like a soft thump, and then Leorio was mumbling "Owww, you didn't have to hit me."

"I did not hit you. I swatted your shoulder."

Gon didn't know what to think about that, but before he could comment, Leorio was speaking again. "Um, is there some reason this warranted any kind of reaction? Was she a monster or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Gon admitted. "I just...um..." The longer this conversation went on, the more he began to feel like calling Leorio had been stupid and unnecessary. What right did he even have to be upset? "I don't know," he finally said lamely, his shoulders slumping a little (he hastened to readjust the phone, since this caused it to slip slightly). "I haven't talked to Killua in a while and...I guess it just kind of shocked me."

"Let me talk to him," Kurapika's voice said, and then, louder, he continued, "Gon, you don't even know the situation, from the sound of it. Are you certain that what you saw was even a date?"

"Well, she kept putting her hand on his, so yeah, pretty sure," Gon muttered, sounding a lot more surly about it than he'd intended.

"Oh," Kurapika said with mild surprise. "Uh, in that case...why was this shocking to you?"

"I..." Gon had nothing to say to that. "I don't know. I didn't like it. She doesn't know him. I haven't seen him in more than a year and she gets to go places with Killua and make him laugh. It doesn't seem fair."

"Gon," the Kurta's voice was patient but slightly chiding, a tone he'd heard countless times from Aunt Mito. "You don't really get to decide what is 'fair' in Killua's life. I'm not sure why he fell out of touch with you lately, but..." He paused, and continued in a measured, careful tone that suggested he spoke from experience. "I'm sure he had his reasons for distancing himself."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Gon informed him.

"I am not saying this to make you feel better," Kurapika reminded him. "I am saying this so you might understand Killua's feelings a little better. If it's space he needs, give him space."

"Don't tell him that!" Leorio's voice said. There was a brief scuffling noise, no doubt Leorio attempting to take the phone back again, and then the older man spoke again. "Gon, Killua is your best friend, and you are his. No matter what weird stuff goes on in your own individual lives, the past you shared together will always connect you. If stuff like this is bothering you, don't just let it keep spiraling out of control without your understanding why it's happening. Talk to him. Even if you have to keep trying over and over, even if it takes a long time, even if you don't know if you'll ever get through, keep trying." Leorio paused briefly, and when he continued, he sounded a bit emotional. "Because he's important to you, and... if I know Killua at all, you're important to him, too. You always will be."

Gon didn't say anything for a minute. His friend sounded so passionate and confident, so certain of everything he was saying. He got the feeling that Leorio had been in this position before, and suddenly Gon felt like he had accidentally gotten a glimpse into the relationship between the two on the other end of the line that he'd never seen before.

"Leorio..." said Kurapika, and Gon had trouble discerning whether his tone was of sadness or surprise.

"Find out where he's staying," Leorio said. "Hunt him down with that nose of yours if you have to, if he won't answer his phone or his email. Talk to him. It doesn't matter if you don't know what's bothering you exactly. I'm sure you guys will figure it out and get everything out in the open."

"Be respectful of Killua's choices and decisions, but don't be afraid to tell him how you feel about things either," Kurapika advised.

"Yes," Leorio agreed. "Does that help?"

"Yeah," Gon said. "It really, really does." His heart felt full to bursting with affection for his two friends. "Thanks, you guys. I know how busy you are, and it means a lot to me that you're still willing to pick up the phone for something silly like this."

"I'm always gonna pick up the phone for you, Gon," Leorio assured him. "For any of you three," he corrected, his voice warm, fond.

"Thank you," Gon said again, and couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Take care, both of you."

"We will," Leorio and Kurapika said together, and then the call was ended. Gon's smile changed into something a little sadder, wondering when in the world Leorio and Kurapika had started to be more in synch than Gon and Killua.

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The young woman’s blue kitten-heels clicked smartly on the pavement, her steps determined and impassive. She shivered in the evening chill, and pulled her half-length parka tighter around herself. When she arrived at the street corner, she turned, hiding herself in an alley between two large buildings as she pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed a number.

The person on the other end answered before the first ring was even up. The young woman spoke first, knowing the other never liked to be the first to talk. “I’ve made contact,” she reported.

“Good work,” replied the other person, in a garbled tone distorted by a voice scrambler. “I knew I could count on you, Miss Alling.”

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Next chapter up on Sunday! Thanks for reading!!

#killugon #hxh #hunter x hunter #killua zoldyck #gon freecss #stuff i write #left on read

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Ranking All 49 One Piece Anime Arcs (Yes, Even The Filler)

On July 7th, the long-awaited Wano arc of One Piece begins, and because we're about to jump into an arc that's been building up for eleven years, I think it's as good a time as any to rank all 49 of the arcs that we have already. And I'm going to include the filler arcs, too, because even though many of them can't really hold a candle to the main narrative, I think a few of them are quite underrated.

49. Buggy's Crew Adventures

This isn't really an arc so much as a sigh of relief after the runaway train of emotion of the last few episodes of Arlong Park. You can laugh at Buggy for a bit after watching Nami's soul get ripped apart (and then put back together again).

48. Post Alabasta

You know video game sidequests that are basically around to level up your specific partner characters so that they don't get immediately wiped out in boss fights? This is the anime filler arc version of that. It's fun, though.

47. Foxy's Return

I loooooove Foxy and I looooove the Davy Back Fight arc. But Foxy's Return doesn't quite hit home. It might be because we last saw Foxy six episodes ago, but it truly speaks to Foxy's character that he'd try to make a grand, dramatic return after he got the crap kicked out of him so recently.

46. Spa Island

Foxy returns again in Spa Island, though this filler arc is mostly notable for the fact that Luffy uses Gear Third to split an artificial island in half. That alone wins this arc points.

45. Warship Island

Warship Island isn't a bad filler arc, just a victim of poor placement. It comes right after Loguetown and right after the Straw Hats have each declared their dreams. So it becomes a pit stop arc, like the Straw Hat crew getting gas and snacks before they head out on the Grand Line.

44. Little East Blue

I like to think of Little East Blue as a celebration of pre time skip One Piece, where the Straw Hats get (deservedly) celebrated for a bit. It's cute and it's a nice prologue to the Strong World movie.

43. Z's Ambition

The filler arcs that precede the movies are an odd bunch, as they tend to end with the main villain of the movie showing up in the last five minutes and declaring their plans. So it's hard to enjoy them on their own. That said, Z's Ambition has enough action that even if you don't watch Film Z (but you should, as it's great), you won't really mind the cliffhanger finale.

42. Straw Hat Separation

After Kuma wiped out the crew, this batch of episodes shows where they all ended up. And it's mainly a montage of Straw Hats being confused. And don't get me wrong—the Straw Hats do confusion like nobody's business. But you get more out of their separation in the Post War arc when they finally get around to business.

41. Diary of Koby-Meppo

Koby is a character that has always deserved more time, so getting a few episodes devoted to him and Helmeppo training to be Marines is welcome. Also, my dude Garp shows up for the first time, which means that I've rewatched these two episodes FAR more than I should.

40. Goat Island

Goat Island doesn't feel as "classic" as G-8, nor is it as entertaining as Ocean's Dream. In fact, it's about as fluffy as the goats that appear in it. But a three episode arc where Chopper talks to goats and Luffy doesn't beat up a villain but rather causes him to get shipwrecked? I'm FOR it.

39. Chopper Man Special

Chopper Man has Chopper in a cape. It's worth it for that. Please @ me. Chopper Man, you're my hero, and I hope you one day get a Chopper Man & Sogeking Save The Grand Line special.

38. Romance Dawn

Romance Dawn establishes a lot of things that will become classic tropes in One Piece: Going to a new island, meeting new crew members, helping out little kids, taking out a power hungry warlord, etc. It's a blueprint arc, and it works well as that. Sadly, the anime would not continue the "introduce a Straw Hat character with rad guitar" idea like they do with Zoro here.

37. Orange Town

The East Blue saga only gets better as it goes along, and Orange Town provides a nice counter to Romance Dawn. For example, if Axe-Hand Morgan represented the seriousness of the Marine threat in the last arc, then Buggy represents the other side of the villains that the Straw Hat Crew will encounter: cartoonish, loud, and beaten in a really fun way.

36. Ruluka Island

Ruluka Island feels like condensed One Piece, like you'd just add some water to turn this four episode arc into a twenty episode one. It's a nice arc to stretch your legs in before you go to the big themes of Jaya.

35. Ice Hunter

Ice Hunter is neat because it gives every member of the Straw Hat crew a little time to shine in a story that is action-packed and intriguing. If you miss pre timeskip One Piece and haven't watched the Ice Hunter arc, give it a shot.

34. Marine Rookie

I know that we're all eager to see the Straw Hats reunite in Wano, but if you want to see more of Whole Cake's Sanji Retrieval Team, the Marine Rookie arc makes for a solid bonus round. Also, the only reason it starts is because Luffy eats all of the Straw Hats' supplies, which, logically, should be the beginning of waaaaay more One Piece arcs.

33. Silver Mine

If you didn't get enough Bartolomeo in Dressrosa, then surprise! They made a filler arc just for you.

32. Boss Luffy Specials

You know when you fall asleep watching a show, and then you wake back up and, in your grogginess, suddenly whatever is on TV looks insane? That's what happened to me with Boss Luffy. I had just finished watching Ace's fight with Blackbeard and then, boom. I was out. Then I wake up and see the Straw Hats in 19th century Japan. The Boss Luffy stuff is fun, but I think it's best viewed when you're in a delirious half sleep. That's just my personal preference, though.

31. Caesar Retrieval

Caesar made for a fine antagonist on Punk Hazard, but he's even better as shreiking deadweight that the Straw Hat Crew and Company have to keep alive.

30. Little Garden

Little Garden isn't as cool as Whisky Peak, nor does it provide the emotional gut punch of Drum Island. Instead, it's mainly here to further the theme of what it means to be a true warrior and introduce giants (and dinosaurs!) in the One Piece universe. It gives Usopp some of the character development that he needs and Zoro almost cuts off his own feet in an effort to keep fighting. Any arc that illustrates how hard Zoro goes gets at least one thumb up from me.

29. Loguetown

Loguetown is a fun arc when you consider just how much it expands the scope of the world. Smoker and Tashigi truly begin the Navy's quest to stop the Straw Hats, Dragon gets introduced in a big, mysterious way, and Luffy takes a massive step in establishing himself in the realm of pirating. However, the Straw Hat side stories in the middle (aside from Zoro's awesome bit in the sword shop) slow it down a little.

28. Zou

Zou might be one of the most visually rich arcs in the series. From the massive elephant to the Mink tribe to the terror of Jack to more lessons about the poneglyphs, there's a lot shoved into this short span. And between the intense epics of Dressrosa and Whole Cake Island, it's fits nicely as 10 cc's of wonder and fantasy injected into the New World.

27. Fishman Island

Fishman Island occupies a weird spot. It's thematically heavy, but also serves as the action-packed Straw Hat Crew comeback tour. It needs to stand on its own, but it also caps off with a declaration of war against Big Mom, a villain that won't be encountered for years. In all, I feel that the importance of the Fishman Island arc is yet to be truly realized.

26. Ocean's Dream

One of the final two filler arcs on this list, Ocean's Dream seems like One Piece fan fiction in the best way. If you were dissatisfied with Luffy's fight with Zoro on Whisky Peak, you get another round of it here while Zoro is being mind controlled.

25. Syrup Village

If Romance Dawn and Orange Town were warm up laps, Syrup Village is when One Piece begins to break out in a sprint. The introduction of Usopp and the Going Merry make for some great moments and it's this arc that got me hooked on One Piece when I first started watching it.

24. Dressrosa

Dressrosa, for better (and sometimes for worse) is massive. Doflamingo is a threat that had been popping up since the Jaya arc, but because of Dressrosa's scope, his defeat can feel a little lackluster, especially when you consider that he's a pitstop on the road to Kaido. But Dressrosa introduces the endlessly cool Fujitora and the Straw Hats' big pirate alliance, and also gives us the dual backstories to Law and Doflamingo, neither of which disappoint. Also, Doflamingo's abilities lead to some of the coolest action scenes in the series.

23. Return to Sabaody

The post-timeskip starts with a bang, as the Return to Sabaody arc is both hilarious and thrilling. The Straw Hats get to show off their newfound strength as they do what they definitely couldn't do in the first Sabaody arc (easily knock out a Pacifista). And we also get to meet the Fake Straw Hat crew, which does a nice job of illuminating just how much the legend of the Straw Hats has grown since they were last together.

22. Reverse Mountain

One of the major strengths of One Piece is that it can accomplish three kinds of storytelling at once—giving us a narrative that is immediately satisying, giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the near future, and giving us a narrative that will be satisfying in the long term. In the Reverse Mountain arc, we not only get a nice story about Laboon, but we also get introduced to Baroque Works (who will be the main antagonists of the saga), and also, we get hints that will only pay off when Brook is introduced years later. Reverse Mountain is short, but it also displays Eiichiro Oda's wonderful talent as a writer.

21. Long Ring Long Land

I've seen people on the internet say stuff like "WHEN I REACHED THE DAVY BACK FIGHT ARC, I NEARLY STOPPED READING!" and man, why? Quitting a series that you love because it slightly diverts from the hero fighting god-like enemies in order to participate in some fun games? Everyone has their own opinions, but your opinion of what fiction should be is wrong. That said, this arc is hilarious and great.

20. Whisky Peak

Whisky Peak is so cool. It's an anime arc with swagger, the kind that steps into a bar and buys everyone a round. I want to be friends with Whisky Peak but I know, deep down, that Whisky Peak is far too rad to be friends with me.

19. Reverie

The best thing about the Reverie arc is that it makes the world of One Piece a little more conveniently manageable (Oh neat. All of the major side characters get to hang out for a while), while also opening a can of worms (What's with the giant straw hat? WHAT'S WITH THE GIANT STRAW HAT?). Because this is the most recent arc, I don't know if we've seen the ripples that it will create across the One Piece world, but I sure am excited to.

18. Post Enies Lobby

This isn't the first time the Straw Hats have been forced to flee a place. However, this is the first time that it's felt like they'd be wiped out if they didn't. The return of Garp (and the spectre of the Yonko) throw the Straw Hats into all new territory, one where maybe being the plucky underdog team isn't enough to save them from the threats that come. Also, goofy Franky joins the team, which provides a nice counter-balance to the hints of oblivion.

17. Punk Hazard

Punk Hazard is home to one of my top 10 One Piece fights (Vergo vs Law & Smoker), features one of my favorite locations (an island that is half fire/magma and half ice/snow and home to an evil science base), and introduces a character that has only grown on me with time (Here's a hint on who he is: He laughs like "SHERURURURURURU SHERURURURURURU). It's kind of a prequel to Dressrosa, but in that spot, does a great job at furthering the menace of Doflamingo.

16. Post War

The introduction of Sabo aka Steampunk Ace aka I'm Just Kidding Sabo Is Kinda Cool and Luffy realizing that he has his crew to keep him going make the Post-War arc into a short but powerful cap to the pre-timeskip era.

15. Amazon Lily

Boa Hancock is a supremely underrated One Piece character, with a terribly sad backstory, amazing powers, and a hilarious crush on Luffy. And Amazon Lily helps further the major trend that will reach fever pitch in Dressrosa of Luffy amassing supporters because he's just such a dang ol' nice guy. Hopefully Hancock will one day meet Bartolomeo and together they will start a Luffy fan club and then argue over who gets to be President.

14. Jaya

If you were in the dark as to what the themes of One Piece are, here comes Jaya with a flashlight. This is basically a montage of the things that are important to the Straw Hat crew, and it introduces Blackbeard, a guy that will go from "Oh he seems interesting" to "OH I HATE HIM" over the next few hundred chapters. Luffy saying "Do I know how to throw a punch, you ask?" before absolutely walloping Bellamy still gives me goose bumps.

13. Thriller Bark

There's so much good to Thriller Bark—the spooky atmosphere, the introduction of Brook, the underrated Gekko Moriah, the Binks' Sake song, the Straw Hats teaming up to face a giant zombie, etc. And just when you think it can't get any better, Kuma shows up and rocks the One Piece world.

12. Impel Down

Hey! It's Buggy! And Mr. 3! And Mr. 2! And Crocodile! And our new best boy Jinbe! And Ivankov! As both a launching point for new protagonists and a comeback for old foes (along with introducing Magellan, one of the best villains in the series, and Shiryu, one of the scariest villains in the series), Impel Down succeeds. I love it more and more with time.

11. Drum Island

I've written an entire article about why the arc where we first meet Tony Tony Chopper makes me weep, so I'll try to be brief here. Drum Island is beautiful. It's the story of a little deer guy that couldn't find a place in the world and the loud rubber bro that gave him one. It's an arc about the price of dreams and the power of having someone stand up for you when you need it most. It's about love and respect and kindess. And now I'm about to cry again. THANKS A LOT, ONE PIECE.

10. Baratie

The Baratie arc is the first hint that we'll get about how hectic the One Piece world is. We meet Sanji, we meet Don Krieg, and we meet Mihawk (and is stronger than the whole cast of the show combined at this point). Syrup Village is about leaving your comfort zones and Baratie is about finding a home in the chaos that follows.

9. G-8

The best One Piece filler arc and the One Piece arc that I most revisit (it's only 11 episodes, can you blame me?), G-8 is a One Piece Greatest Hits collection and possibly the first thing you should show someone if they want to get into One Piece but don't have long to do so.

8. Alabasta

Are the Straw Hats ready for the Grand Line? Are they ready to topple evil villains and protect those that need help? That's what Alabasta asks and the answer is "Oh yeah." Luffy punching Crocodile up through the center of the city is an iconic moment, showing us that the Straw Hats, whether they mean to be or not, are forces of good in the world.

7. Marineford

Marineford is loud and chaotic and powerful, forcing Luffy into a situation where he is simply an especially energetic pawn on the chessboard of battle. It's just as much of a rescue mission as it is a quest for survival for him, but in the midst of Whitebeard and the three admirals and the Shichibukai, Luffy makes his mark. However, he doesn't do it through displays of awe-inspiring force, but through his willpower. Aokiji is right when he says that Luffy isn't "ready for this stage yet," but the thing that scares the Navy most is that one day, he will be.

6. Sabaody Archipelago

This is not a happy arc. It's a satisfying one (Luffy punching the Celestial Dragon will never get old), and it's an illuminating one (Silver Rayleigh, y'all!), but it's not one that will end with cheering. Kizaru shows up to put an entire generation of pirates in their place and Kuma wipes out the Straw Hats. That said, even if it concludes with the most uncertain moment in the series, it's still a fun ride.

5. Arlong Park

Nami is the soul of the Straw Hat Crew, and learning what she's been through at the hands of the despicable Arlong is heart-breaking. But Luffy doesn't need to know every detail to know that he needs to help and the Straw Hats walking to Arlong Park is another one of those "One Piece is literally the best thing ever" moments. And by the end, every Straw Hat bro gets a victory, Luffy gets a bounty, and Nami gets her freedom. And what does she do with this freedom? She joins a ship full of dummies as their navigator. And I'm so happy about that.

4. Enies Lobby

For many, Enies Lobby is THE arc and I'm not disagreeing with them. It's such a display of raw emotion and exciting battles, a nonstop rollercoaster of everything that makes One Piece great. And it ends with a Viking funeral for the Going Merry, a scene that reveals Oda's true power as a writer: He makes you sob about a ship.

3. Whole Cake Island

If Enies Lobby is about being a hero, then Whole Cake Island is about letting that idea go. The Straw Hats can't beat Big Mom or her crew and will have to settle with getting Sanji and getting out. And Katakuri, the protective brother of the Charlotte family, learns that he doesn't have to be perfect all the time. It's a beautiful arc that shows that Oda is willing to play around with some of the pre-established ideas of One Piece.

2. Water 7

Robin leaves. Usopp defects, Luffy is forced to do things that no captain wants to, and a villainous team shows up that seems unstoppable. Water 7 may be the first half of a story that continues with Enies Lobby, but I find it to be the better one (though not by much). It's an arc that constantly leaves you saying "Well, what else could go wrong?" and then something else does. And it's just so good.

1. Skypiea

This is it. Everything good about One Piece, from the powerful villain (with a great weakness), to the touching themes, to enchanting locations, to the gripping adventures, is wrapped up in Skypiea. And while I have no problems with arcs being connected, there's just something about the standalone nature of Skypiea that leads me to regularly revisit it. It's an arc that makes me glad that I started this nearly 900 episode adventure in the first place. And that's the highest compliment that I can give.

Want to make your own ranking? Then watch One Piece on Crunchyroll! It's literally the only way.

What is your favorite One Piece arc? How do you feel about this ranking? Let us know in the comments!

------------------------

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celestial-hotty · 5 years

Text

Go easy on me, it’s my first one lol

Authors Note;

I am writing this novel because I am a fan of Borderlands. However its become clear to me that the creators of it have got some things wrong and clearly don't care about making it good. I am talking mostly of "the problem" with Gaige and Serenity Darkmoon Raven.Also a lot of the sex is censored with many of the intercourse's that happened edited out completely.(ie, You and Jeb having flimp-flopping, that time with You doing it with Serenity Darkmoon Raven and Serenity Darkmoon Raven watching, etc.)

This fic is my attempt to correct that.

By supporting this fic I hope to get a group of elite Borderlands writers working with this new canon and to establish this as the truth of what actually happened. Hopefully the original creators will see the demand and make this official. Perhaps even pay us because we are fixing their mistakes.

If you wish to join my new canon, feel free to write your own story but you must submit it to me for approval. You can use my email ;

[email protected]

You can also send constructive reviews there, but no petty criticisms. If I get motivations muddled,its because my cat distracted me.

Also, if you don't like my story you don't have to have read it.

Anyway, and now on with my superior story of how things actually happened;

---

Meanwhile, Your mind was wondered back to the past.

It was Handsome Jacks birthday party, which everyone was invited too.

The party was awesome as always, because You was hosting it.

You was pretty drunk that day. He had already punched a bunch of people. Jeb a few times.Because He is stupid.Blood was spilled. But that was normal in this sort of party.As was the pile of bodies.

If You was honest, He couldn't remember much that happened.

Only something about a mammals,a goat and a pair of scissors.

There was one thing that stuck in Him mind though. Something He would never forget.

Jeb.

Jeb was wearing a Handsome Jack mask that night (it was a fancy dress party btw - A/N).

Everyone had come as something or someone else.

JEB WAS DRESSed as SERENITY DARKMOON RAVEN.

SERENITY DARKMOON RAVEN WAS DRESSed as GAIGE.

GAIGE WAS DRESSed as You.

You were dressed as Handsome Jack.

And Handsome Jack was dressed as a lazergun.

You was instantly attracted to Jeb in Him costume. The way He moved. The way He talked.The way He flicked His hair.

Jeb was doing a Karaoke number.

It was "let it go". And He was awesome.

He sung like they were possessed.The audience was transfixated by Jeb.

Underwear was chucked at Jeb.

You was soooo turned on.

(and He didn't need that underwear anyway)

You got up and sang too.

When Jeb was singing let it go it was like the words spoke to Him. Jeb seemed to be addressing each word of the song just to Him. The room faded away and it was just the two of them. No one else in the world.

They gazed into eachother eyes as Jeb put His soul into the last lyric.

Then silence.

Suddenly, You was woken out of the flashback by current events!

---

In the beginning there was the ..

---

The next time they saw eachother Jeb winked at You, remembering what happened at the party.You blushed.

Some of the others giggled. Did they know? You didn't care.

----

Serenity Darkmoon Raven was taking a shower this hot day.

She was naked, enjoying the water dripping over her wet, naked body.

She was washing the blood off her body from the recent monsters she had just killed.

...the water smoothly rolled over her firm breasts.

The blood driped off like whipped cream in the ocean.

...the water dripping down her Camel toe. "OwwwhhhOwwhhh" she said from the pleasure;

She had just finnished doing One�s banana peeled using a hoverboard. She was dreaming of your manly lance pulsating inside her.

Then, suddenly, you walked in..

"Sorry I have to interupt you, naked in the shower, but we must go!"

"What? im taking a shower, Im naked, cant you see that?"

"yes, I can see that you are naked, in the shower" you said.

"But we must go...Handsome Jack is back!."

"What not Handsome Jack!!!" she punched the shower head out of anger.

"Yes!"

"Oh!"

Serenity Darkmoon Raven got out of the shower and put some clothes onher hot steaming naked body.

After she was no longer naked, they left to defeat Handsome Jack.

Along the way they ran into Jeb, who joined them on their quest.

"I will join you on your quest to defeat Handsome Jack said Jeb.

"Thanks for joining us on our quest," you said;

"Yes, we need your help to defeat Handsome Jack" said Serenity Darkmoon Raven.

So, Serenity Darkmoon Raven you and now Serenity Darkmoon Raven left by trike for their epic quest to defeat

Handsome Jack!

"You know, I think Handsome Jacks naphew would be better bustier dont you think?" said Serenity Darkmoon Raven.

"Dunno, you see he is smarter than some g-strings." replied you.

"True."

"What ARE you talking about?" you said.

And they all laughed.

Because they knew you would kill them if they didnt.

---

You had some time before he had to do anything, so He decided to have another flashback.

It was just after the Karaoke. They had stepped of the stage to loud applause and were now looking at eachother.

"Hi" You said, meekly.

"Hay" Jeb said, also meekly. Their confidence from moments ago had evaporated like alcohol.

"Do you want too..."

"maybe.."

"ok then."

So they walked to the cloakroom.

It wasn't long before their lips were together. You couldn't remember who made the first move.

He did remember the taste though. The taste of Jeb.

Jeb tasted like satsuma on a summer noon.

Refreshing and salty but also a bit sour.

What had they been eating? You tried to work out it. It took much tung work.

After a few minutes mouth to mouth pot holing, Jeb guessed what You was doing.

"I had feijoa for lunch."

"oh"

"you dont have to stop though"

"oh. Good!" You said, with great relief.

They finally drew away after what seemed a whole july but was only mere minutes.

The taste of Jeb's lips (and other things) still lingered in Your mouth as they finally looked upon each other with new eyes.

Relieved sighs came from both of them as both embraced, Jeb snuggling against Your neck as he snuggled upto Jeb's torso.

Jeb went further by clutching You with his fingers, pulling at the fabric of His slacks to feel what was underneath.

The telltale shape in His leggings stood out between them, especially with the weight it had against Your thigh.

Jeb moved over Your body like a serpent and lovenly nuzzled at a peaked abbs.

You liked this a lot and started making a lot of noise. Jeb joined in. "Owwww...Ahhh...MAHAhhhEEkkk...aakk"

It got pretty noisy from that point on. Both of them had a lot of fun and made a lot of noise!. You sounded like Trike ! Jeb sounded like a heard of Armadillos on drugs. They had a lot of..."fun".

"My groinal area are hurting...can we stop? 12 times is enough surely?" Jeb said, pleading.

"No...MORE MORE MORE" you said, with apparently an insatiable apatite

Jeb finally head butted You to get Him to stop.

"Sorry about that, I got a little carried away" you said.

"Thats ok I.....enjoyed it." said Jeb blushing in the way they always did.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes" said Jeb.

"I'll bring some of my toys next time for us to play with" you said.

And with that they left the cloakroom and returned to the party. The months that followed were fun but eventually they broke up and became enemies.

---

So they snuck into the Handsome Jack's lair. It was dark and there were horrofic things on the walls like drawings of skulls and suffering people who were beaing tortured in lava and beaten with hot pipes.

Through the dark and dank corridors of the lair's dungeons they went with outmost silence and skill. They sneaked past all the guards who had been turned into horrible demons by Handsome Jack's new invention. And this would also happen to the whole world if they wouldn't be able to steal the from Handsome Jack's hands!

They went down the corridors and up the large majestic stairways made of bones and jewls of all shapes and sizes sprinkled with saffron.. One of the corridors led towards a great hall where in the middle of the hall stood a pedestaldripping in blood and guts and kidneys (and other organs) with a treassure chest on top and on that a red velvet pillow upon which laid a white silk finely woven cloth. And on that laid the .

You knew that you had to use all of the to get the but it would backfire if you wasn't careful enough. Serenity Darkmoon Raven inhaled firmly and wondered if you could pull it off. Quentin stood ready with his weapon in his hand and Serenity Darkmoon Ravens boobies in the other. You concentrated firmly and then carefully but powerfully unleashed your .

It worked! The protections around the vanished like wood to a woodpeaker. It was amazing how your use of was effective against Handsome Jack's godly powers.

Unfortunately for our bravegang, it wasn't enough

"Halt!" echoed a sinister voice. Everyone slowly spun around to face the entrance of the hall where the voice came from.

It was Handsome Jack! And he looked even less humane as before. He had used the power of the to transform into a ghastly corpse of a human.

"Ha! Are you surprised by my new looks?" he said. "It is amazing! The powers I have now are beyond your comprehension!"

"My comprehension is really good," retorted you and your friends looked proud.

"Hahaha of course yours is. But are you able to comprehend the future of this world? I bet you aren't that smart after all. I will rule the world now, you see and there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

"But," said Handsome Jack with a lower tone, "even though you are not as smart as I am, you are surprisingly capable so I wish to make this offer: join me and we can rule this world together!"

"Never in a million billion years!" sobbed you!

"Think about it, you, you can now still save your friends! Make them stop mutate ebefore I release my powers!"

you were now . You wanted to keep Serenity Darkmoon Raven, Jeb, Gaige and Quentin alive for sex but he could not get Handsome Jack get away with it! But then you remembered: Handsome Jack no longer had the ! He was powerless!

But as if Handsome Jack could read his mind, Handsome Jack spoke: "Oh and your scheme to steal the ? I no longer need it! I have gained all the power from it that I need in order to mutate everyone in the whole world! But not that you even considered going against me, I will destroy you. Such a shame, we could be such good...friends." (A/N by which he means sex mates)

"you would never be friends with you!" said Gaige

you thought she was right, but then again, Handsome Jack did look mighty sexy.

"It is too late now anyway, said Handsome Jack, my plan is active now and I will give you the best place to enjoy it: from your prison cell!"

Handsome Jack laughed and said to his guards: "lead them to my sex dungeon where you will suffer for all eternity in agony and pleasure.

But you had not forgotten your . With the speed and might that you learned from your previous adventures, you held his breath and unleashed the .

Handsome Jack had not expected that. He thought he had trapped you and your friends and managed to demoralise them so much they would not resist.

"Argh!" Handsome Jack said. His guards did not know what to do. Their leader was too weak against this onslaught. What could they do against that sort of might? So they all fled!

"Argh, noooo!" Handsome Jack extrapolated, "I was soo close to ultimate power!"

Seeing you succesfully attack Handsome Jack, Gaige and Jeb also attacked Handsome Jack!

"Arigh, no, noooo!"

"I will unleash my final power!" Handsome Jack said and raised his arms to the sky and started chanting an evil incantation.

But you were too quick. You ran towards Handsome Jack and hit Handsome Jack in the chin. He was knocked out instantly. Everyone was happy and everyone was cheering for you who had avoided the apocalypse! And now they all went home and wait until their next adventure!

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ciathyzareposts · 5 years

Text

Dark Stone Ritual: Won! (with Summary and Rating)

The Game Master gives us some useless experience points at the end of Dark Stone Ritual.

Magic Tower I: Dark Stone Ritual

Germany

Motelsoft (developer and publisher)

Released in 1992 for Atari ST

Date Started: 9 April 2019

Date Finished: 12 May 2019

Total Hours: 29 Difficulty: Easy (2/5) Final Rating: (to come later) Ranking at time of posting: (to come later)

Summary:

The prolific but amateurish Motelsoft levels up in this entry, with mechanics heavily inspired by Might and Magic III and IV. A pre-defined party (you had to pay extra for a character editor) explores a large world in a somewhat linear manner, piecing together clues, solving puzzles, and ultimately defeating the tyrant Xoon. Top-down outdoor exploration contrasts with first-person town and dungeon exploration. Unfortunately, the combats are too easy, the puzzles too simple, and the story too threadbare to make effective use of the character classes, skills system, variety of spells, and variety of equipment that the game largely copies from Might and Magic. A better game engine than a game.

****

Dark Stone Ritual ended up being larger and longer than I expected. When you begin playing, the game does such a good job confining the world that it seems smaller than it is. Hemmed in by impassable terrain, water, and walls, the party must slowly acquire passwords and items necessary to make incremental progress around the world’s major areas. Eventually, the party finds some teleporters that make navigation easier, as does the “Townportal” and “Caveportal” spells.

Unlocking the “Swimming” ability was the last obstacle to open-world exploration.

As you slowly acquire the skills necessary to navigate in forests and swamps, climb mountains, and swim, the full world opens up to you, and you can explore every square for the items and clues necessary to reach the end of the game.

A bit of the final game map.

Ritual is far more linear than I expected at the beginning. Most of what I thought were “side-quests” turned out to be steps along the main quest, all funneling into one or two key items or pieces of information. For example, to win the game you must first find the Dark Stone, which is in the dungeon of Lunos. To pass a certain point in Lunos, at least one of your party members must be a member of the Dark Stone Sect, which you can join by visiting a hut on section of land to the southwest. To get to this area, you have to use a teleporter in a section of land to the southeast, which in turn requires using a teleporter in a small compound on the starting continent. To enter this compound, you have to find a password (RUHE) by interpreting four messages in the dungeon Zappos. To enter the dungeon Zappos, you need an invitation, and that’s as far as I can trace it back because I forgot where I got the invitation. But you get the idea.

Combat remained easy throughout the game, which discouraged spell experimentation (rarely did spells do more damage than a physical attack) and trivialized all the time I spent analyzing inventory. Only thrice did I have to fine-tune my attacks in “strategic” combat, and neither gave me any trouble once I made that decision.

“Strategic” combat lets you position characters and aim your attacks at a particular foe.

The nature of enemy encounters was odd throughout. You find enemies at fixed locations on the overland map and very rarely at fixed locations in dungeons. There is also a fixed number of enemies wandering each town map. Some dungeons have no combats, and those that do never have more than one or two. This paucity of combat makes the dungeons feel rather empty, and the very light navigation puzzles (a few switches, hidden doors, teleporters, and pits that you have to cast “Jump” to get over) don’t do much to fill them.

Exploring a dungeon. An encounter lies ahead.

Nothing really evolves in the way of a “story,” just a succession of NPCs and enemies that you meet and defeat on the way to the final confrontation with Xoon. Because of these weaknesses, I ended up liking the game less towards the end than towards the beginning. In my first entry on Ritual, I was clearly impressed by the mechanics. I still am, to some degree, but the developers made a somewhat boring, basic game with those mechanics. A lot of it feels unfinished–in particular, more than half the skills are unused, and the dungeons and towns are filled with locked doors that can never be unlocked. Nonetheless, it is an improvement from Sandor and Seven Horror’s, and thus bodes well for the many Motelsoft titles we will encounter in the future.

A few things that I otherwise didn’t get a chance to cover along the way:

An arena appears in two locations in the overworld. When you enter, you can tell the game how many enemies you want to face and at what levels. I didn’t really experiment with it, but it’s an alternate source of experience if you somehow need it. The concept is of course lifted from Might and Magic.

In what I think is an original element, a few dungeon entrances (including the last) required entering a pattern of green, red, and blue gems on some kind of plate. You have to find the correct patterns in other places.

Arranging stones on the door of the final dungeon.

There was one door with a combination lock for which I never found the combination. Fortunately, reader Buck reached the same point before me and figured out the answer from the game’s code.

While I’m on unsolvable puzzles, at least three times I was asked to choose from among five symbols. Choosing the wrong one killed the selected character. A tavern tale had warned me that choosing the right symbol would kill the selected character, too, if it was a man. I had to figure out the answers from save-scumming. I have no idea where I was supposed to get them.

Do those symbols mean something?

There’s a useful “return to entrance” button while in dungeons. If your selected character has a high enough “Pathfinding” skill, you’ll return swiftly to the exit stairs. I wish every game had this.

There are fountains all over the world map that raise attributes, hit points, resistances, and spell points, but no combat is tough enough to require them. The final island has about six.

Okay, I guess they’re not so much “fountains” as “offers of wine.” But they’re direct analogues to Might and Magic’s fountains.

The game culminated on a small compound on a northern island. A guardian demanded a password. What she really wanted was a pass phrase, compiled from five words given by residents in little huts in exchange for certain rare stones. The stones, in turn, came from other residents to whom I brought “stone plates” found scattered about the island. The full phrase, for posterity’s sake, is BRENUM BRANUM KANUM LUZE LEI. (Thanks again to Buck for helping with this.)

Does that look like a “word” to you?

This allowed me access to Xoon’s dungeon, which is called “Dark Stone Verlies.” I verified later that the “Caveportal” spell will take you there if you just know the name, meaning that a second-time player could skip a lot of stuff and just warp to the endgame.

The game reminds me that I must emerge with Xoon’s head.

The dungeon is the only one that has multiple levels (three) and the only one that doesn’t remember your progress if you leave and return. There was only one combat, early in the first level, with a guardian of Xoon’s named Morok (I’m sure that name was in previous Motelsoft titles). It was one of the battles that I had to fight in “strategic” mode to win. In “strategic” mode, you can position your characters around individual enemies and target them, ensuring that you can reduce their numbers faster. (“Quick” combat targets enemies randomly.) You also get more attacks per round. Between the advantages of strategic combat and the “Full Heal” spell that I’d recently acquired, the battle was quite easy.

“Quick” combat was the wrong choice for this final battle.

The dungeon’s second level is one of the largest in the game, full of secret doors, teleporters, traps, and a bunch of pits to jump. Eventually, you find your way to the third level and the mystifyingly anti-climactic encounter with Xoon, if it is Xoon. I’m not sure I haven’t mistranslated or misunderstood something. The climax begins with a black-faced man, flanked by two women, saying: “Ihr wollt meinen kopf, ich weiss. Nun gut wenn ihr unbedingt haben müsst. Ha ha ha. Dann sollt ihr Xoons kopf auch bekommen.”

Nice shoepolish, Jolson.

The scene then dissolves away, the party is teleported back near to the entrance, and in their inventory is Xoon’s head.

I translate his text as, “You want my head, I know. Well, if you have to have it, you should also get Xoon’s head,” suggesting that he himself is not Xoon. It’s worth noting that the game uses the same portrait for the master of the Dark Stone sect earlier in the game (although it also re-uses a lot of portraits). I wondered if joining the Dark Stone sect and finding the Dark Stone itself are optional, and that doing so leads to an “easy” ending where the master kills Xoon for you. This is partly suggested by an item in the game’s hint file that says, “If you have the Dark Stone, the rest is a children’s game!” I tested this theory by loading a saved game from before I had the Dark Stone and using “Caveportal” to go directly to the dungeon. (I had to buff with fountains to win the first-level battle.) But no, the same thing happens even if you don’t have the Dark Stone.

A previous appearance by the same character.

Whatever the case, the game ends when you return Xoon’s head to the Game Master back in the dungeon Glorys. The Game master expresses astonishment that you managed to kill Xoon, who was supposed to have nine lives, and then suggests you save your game for Part 2.

In a GIMLET, the game earns:

1 point for the game world. Ritual comes with no backstory, and while the continent and its features are visually interesting, there’s nothing in the way of lore or culture to be found here.

3 points for character creation and development. Without the separate character editor, the game unfortunately has no creation process. But the characters are quite well detailed in attributes and skills, and development is satisfying enough for a few levels, until the game becomes too easy. In the end, the character sheet is more complex than necessary given the limited game content.

My final paladin character.

1 point for NPC interaction. The little dudes in huts are more like “encounters” or “quests” than NPCs.

3 points for encounter and foes. Monsters are probably the weakest part of the game. Most of them are unnamed. They’re distinguished only icon and number of hit points. Because they lack significant special attacks or defenses, there’s little need to explore the game’s variety of spells. Non-combat encounters are a bit more interesting, with a couple of challenging puzzles, although nothing that approaches Dungeon Master in complexity. I liked the option to search for enemies in already-cleared towns and caves.

3 points for magic and combat. I give some credit for the two combat modes, and “strategic” combat offers some real positioning tactics. I didn’t bother to explore more than half a dozen magic spells, particularly since there are no mass-damage spells and the individual-damage spells do less damage than a physical attack.

Buying spells in the last town. I never found out what half of these spells do and never cast half of the rest.

5 points for equipment. Ritual adopted Might and Magic‘s complexity with inventory, where items can have multiple bonuses and features and there are usable items to sub for many spells. Again, though, combat was too easy to bother exploring most of these features, and I largely decided which weapons and armor to keep based on cost.

This helm effectively increases my level by 1.

3 points for economy. There are lots of things to buy–training, skill acquisition and building, weapons and armor, and healing among them. It’s just too easy to acquire enough money for the entire game within the first few hours.

The game provides absurd amounts of gold at regular intervals.

3 points for quests. The game has a main quest, if a little light, and a few side quests that impart extra valuables and skills.

The party solves a side quest to return a ring, only to find that the quest giver was divorced in the meantime.

2 points for graphics, sound, and interface. The graphics are fine, but there is no sound at all. The mouse part of the interface works well, but unfortunately the mouse part is the only part, which I don’t find remotely forgivable.

3 points for gameplay. It has a little nonlinearity at the beginning, and the total number of hours was good for its content. Unfortunately, it was too easy and has no replayability.

That gives us a final score of 27. Motelsoft is making better, more complex games in 1992, and letting itself be influenced by the right titles from bigger developers, but it still lacks a certain sense of balance and polish. Despite the promised sequel, it doesn’t look like there was ever a Magic Tower II. We’ll see them again this year with Arcana unless I happen to pick up Projekt Terra (1991) or Sandor II (1991) on my “old” list first.

Let’s see if I can finish up Star Control II this week, too. If not, the next 1992 game is a Macintosh title called Darkwood. Looking at a couple of screenshots, I’m pretty sure I’ve played this before. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, it won’t be more than a single entry.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/dark-stone-ritual-won-with-summary-and-rating/

#retro games #dos games #retro #crpg #adventure #amiga #oldcomputers #8bit #16bit #blog #repost

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daresplaining · 7 years

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MCU Danny Rand Week: Day 3

A Favorite Relationship

We are (gasp) not going to be talking about Danny and Luke (though they are our favorites)! Or Danny and Misty (who we adore in the comics and will be sharing two upcoming shows)! Or Danny and Colleen (who have been wonderful in the Netflix-verse, though we’re still not sold on the necessity of the romance)! We’re not going to take this opportunity to geek out over all the comics-based Danny relationships that we’re so incredibly excited about seeing in the MCU. Trust us... there will be time for all that later, and we’ve already blogged about them quite a bit. Instead, we’ve decided to focus on something unique to the Netflix shows, with which we feel they did an incredible job: the relationship between Danny and Davos.

Danny and Davos do know each other in the comics, of course-- they hate each other’s guts. Davos (AKA Steel Serpent) has been an Iron Fist antagonist since the first solo series, where he introduced himself to Danny by intermittently jumping out from behind buildings and trying to steal his chi.

Davos: “Step into my arms, young fool. [...] Your life is mine for the taking, boy-- but I want more than that. I want what your cursed father denied me. I want the Iron Fist!”

Iron Fist vol. 1 #15 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and B. Patterson

(Not creepy at all, dude.)

Danny has no idea who this guy is or why he’s so angry, which adds a certain amount of humor to their early encounters. In fact, Davos doesn’t have anything against Danny himself-- he’s still angry at Danny’s deceased father Wendell, who was his best friend back in K’un-Lun.

Caption: “It’s an unpleasant mixture of feelings you struggle with this day. You cheer on Davos in his bouts, as he does you in yours. You pray you won’t face him. But you study his moves. You look for flaws. ‘If it can’t be me, then let it be you,’ is what you’ve said to one another these past two years. But do you truly mean that...?”

Immortal Iron Fist #10 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Kano, et al.

Despite their close friendship, when Wendell beats Davos in the qualifying tournament and wins the right to fight Shou-Lao, Davos goes a little bit nuts. He is the son of Lei Kung the Thunderer, has a big ego (and a few psychological issues-- Lei Kung is a great guy but not the most attentive father), and is convinced that he is destined to be the Iron Fist-- so much so that he does the unthinkable. He runs off to challenge the dragon in secret. But even Shou-Lao doesn’t take him seriously. Davos is left with a few nice scars and a destroyed psyche.

Caption: “But the monster turns and slithers away, back to its cave. It turns its back on you... and you know why. You know it in your heart. It does not find you worthy.”

Immortal Iron Fist #11 by Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Kano, et al.

This crime results in his being kicked out of K’un-Lun, which does not help his mood. Even though Wendell ends up failing in his attempt to be the Iron Fist, Davos is still angry and bitter-- and stuck on Earth, which just makes it all worse. When Danny appears on the scene as the Iron Fist twenty years later, Davos turns this anger and bitterness on him, and-- when he is able to find his way back-- on K’un-Lun in general. He self-styles himself “Steel Serpent” and becomes a nightmare haunting the eternal city-- at best horribly embarrassing, at worst deadly. In his most recent appearance, he aided an invading force in sacking and burning K’un-Lun, then murdered both his father and adorable reborn baby Shou-Lao (thus destroying the entire future of the Iron Fist legacy). Just to make a point, because he’s just that much of a jerkwad.

Davos: “I tried to be reasonable. I really did. I tried to do the right thing! To make amends. But no one ever listens. No one respects me. Not until I do something really, really bad.”

Iron Fist: The Living Weapon #11 by Kaare Andrews

He’s one of those bad guys who is great fun to hate, because he’s a self-centered, violent sore loser with no redeeming qualities, who frequently gets his butt kicked. We really enjoy 616-verse Davos. With all of this in mind, it is amazing that the Netflix show was able to craft a version of the character who we care about on an emotional level-- and a lot of that comes from his complex friendship with Danny.

As much as we like to laugh about comics Davos holding ridiculous cross-generation grudges, this disconnect between him and Danny means their relationship lacks substance. Davos is the eternal evil jerk with a chip on his shoulder, and Danny is perpetually annoyed at him because of this, and that’s pretty much it. By de-aging Davos and transferring his childhood friendship from Wendell to Danny, the Netflix show instantly crafts a dynamic that is far more engaging.

Added to this is the fact that Davos doesn’t appear in-person until the very end of the season. This is effective from a geeky standpoint-- while we assumed he’d be making an appearance, since he’s a core Iron Fist villain, there was no indication in any of the promotional material that he was going to be in the show-- and this made his arrival that much more exciting. But it also allows for his character to be introduced in a really effective way: via Danny. All we know of MCU Davos for the first nine-and-a-half episodes comes from Danny’s fond stories of the shenanigans he and his best friend got up to in K’un-Lun. We love this as fans (one of us is extremely attached to Danny’s happy experiences and friendships in K’un-Lun, so this was a gift), but it’s also a simple but effective way of showing how close they are and how much Danny cares about Davos. It lays the groundwork for that friendship to receive further development-- which it does, in spades, once Davos arrives on Earth.

(Good Davos introductory line, or best Davos introductory line?)

Once he arrives to rescue Danny, we get to see all of this love in person. We are instantly given another shorthand introduction to their closeness in their fight to escape the Hand compound-- which showcases their combat chemistry and the fact that they have been fighting alongside each other for a long time. It’s awesome. Danny finally has an ally that he knows he can count on, and Davos’s willingness to travel all the way from K’un-Lun and to stick by him further cements their bond.

All of this adds power to the undercurrent of pain in their relationship, which becomes more and more apparent the longer Davos sticks around. Just like in the comics, MCU Davos feels robbed-- but he can't just come right out and be furious and bitter about it because he still cares for Danny. There are no awkward chi-stealing hugs here. Instead, Davos’s true feelings are slowly revealed the more he is confronted with them, putting cracks in a friendship in which we are now emotionally invested.

An interesting detail in Davos’s complaints is his assertion that Danny was chosen to fight Shou-Lao. This contradicts Danny’s version of the story, in which he specifically states that he was not chosen-- that he earned the right to face the dragon through hard work and dedication to his training. Obviously, both are biased, but favoritism on the part of Lei Kung and Yu-Ti was part of Davos’s complaints in the comics as well. We never learn the precise details of how Iron Fist candidates are chosen in this universe, but in the comics (as mentioned above) it is tournament-based. In some ways, it’s neat that we don’t find out whose version is closest to the truth (though we’d personally believe Danny over Davos any day). In this fight, both sides have valid points, and that adds nuance to the situation.

Added to this is the fact that their own personal demons are colliding. Davos needs to understand why Danny left. So does Danny. His quest throughout the show is to understand his own motivations, which are being repressed alongside his trauma about his parents’ deaths. He knows he shouldn’t have left. He needs to understand and justify why he felt compelled to do so. When he is unable to give Davos a straight answer about why he abandoned K’un-Lun, Davos gets angrier. When Davos presses Danny about this, digging into that emotional sore spot, Danny gets angrier. At this late point in the show, he has begun to understand that he left because of his parents. But that isn’t a good enough answer for Davos, which just places both of them in even more pain.

As if that weren’t enough, we are then bludgeoned with their inevitable physical brawl and this. There is more to this fight than jealousy. We’ve seen that already. Davos doesn’t just want to take Danny’s chi. This isn’t all about the Iron Fist, and-- though we’d easily believe that this Davos might actually give a damn about K’un-Lun, unlike his comics counterpart-- it’s not about K’un-Lun. Just as Danny disguises his trauma-based need to stay on Earth a little longer as Hand-related, Davos cloaks his pain at having been abandoned by someone he considers a brother with lofty statements about protecting K’un-Lun. That is what’s so fantastic about this version of their dynamic: it’s all personal. Their anger is laced with the pain of the fact that they actually love each other, and want to continue loving each other, and the fact that fighting in this way is hurting them both. It’s brutal-- and we cannot wait to see how this impacts the show’s upcoming take on Davos’s revenge quest. Bring on the trauma.

#dannyweek #Netflix Iron Fist #Iron Fist #Danny Rand #Davos #Steel Serpent #Commentary

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auroraphilealis · 7 years

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Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) Chapter Eleven

Steal My Heart (steal my whole life too) 11/24

Genre: Chaptered, fantasy AU, Prince!Phil, Thief!Dan, romance, enemies to lovers, angst and fluff, slow burn (like serious slow burn)

Warnings: some violence, mentions of death (no main characters), dark magic, descriptions of wounds/blood, some hints of sexual scenes (but no actual smut), murder, dangerous situations, stealing/thievery

Summary: Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of Morellia, Philip Lester has never been given the chance to find love. Instead, he’s run from a system that works to end class differences and improve equality for its citizens. Happy as he is to make the world a better place, Phil can’t help feeling bitter towards his ancestors for making it impossible for him to find someone who will actually love him for more than just his title, and strives instead for a life of justice and doing good - only to meet his match in the King of Thieves, a man who will change everything he once thought he knew in life. Together, they must depart on a quest to save the kingdom, and, in the process, destroy their differences and find their own form of love.

Word count: 240,000+

Updates: Sunday

Thanks so much to @botanistlester for betaing this giant monster, as she’s been super helpful and encouraging with her little comments and endless excitement. We couldn’t have done it without you <3

Disclaimer: In no way do I claim that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil

For reference, @snowbunnylester is Phil, @ineverhadmyinternetphase is Dan

(AO3 Link)

Chapter Eleven

By the time Dan pulled open the door to lead Phil out of the room, Martyn was leaning against the wall next to Phil’s door with his arms folded over his chest and a heavy frown on his face. He looked haggard and exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and his mouth a hard, thin line.

"Finally," he growled, taking them both in, eyes quick about it, before he turned away.

In response, Dan reached up to make sure his hood was fully down again, even though Martyn had already seen his face the day before. Dan was still a wanted thief in this castle, and he was taking no chances.

"We're in the library," Martyn said tersely, repeating what he’d said earlier and seeming a bit angry about it as he led Dan and Phil down the corridor away from Phil’s rooms. "Mother stayed with Cornelia and the sorcerer - I don't trust that guy - but they wouldn't let me stay with her." Martyn's voice broke a little, but he kept talking anyway. Dan kind of admired his strength. "Anyway, we've made some headway on the dragon. Now you've finally let your thief out of bed, brother, I'm hoping we can make some more progress breaking this curse."

Dan held back a chuckle at that. He couldn't help the small sense of pride that he'd done that - he'd kept Phil distracted all morning; and while things might not be perfect between him and Phil, they were still pretty damn good from where Dan was standing. He gave Phil's fingers a reassuring squeeze in his, their hands still pressed together. He could deal with Phil’s family for a while, even if he’d much rather have Phil on his own and sneak out to begin this mission. But they couldn’t exactly go and find a dragon without help, much as Dan hated to admit it. Phil’s family, with all their resources, would be much more useful in this case than doing everything on their own. The priority was to help Cornelia - for Phil’s sake.

So Dan held his tongue and followed Martyn quietly, hand still in Phil’s.

As the three of them wandered down the now empty corridors of the castle, Phil stared at the back of his brother’s head and felt something twist in his gut. All he wanted was to reach out and comfort his best friend in the world, but he couldn’t. At a time like this, Martyn would view it as nothing more than Phil regarding him as weak; not to mention, Phil had a terrible feeling not talking about this was the only thing keeping Martyn together right now, and he didn’t want to be the one to break that. All he really wanted was to make this better for his brother, and while he would never regret the morning he’d spent in bed with Dan, he did feel more focused now on the task at hand.

It helped a bit that Martyn’s voice was kind - or, as kind as it could be, when he was under such stress. Still, the way he voiced his concern over Phil having kept Dan all tied up in his bed that morning didn’t echo any malicious intent, and it was more reassuring than Phil could say to know that his brother understood.

Phil was going to do everything he could to save his family now.

"I don't trust the sorcerer either,” Phil agreed gruffly. “But the King of Thieves seems to have something on him, or he wouldn't be here at all. I trust him, so we'll just have to believe in the sorcerer for now. Mum will look after them both. She's stronger than you know," he added, trailing after his brother as calmly as he could manage.

“I do have something on him,” Dan piped up, just to ease some of the tension. “He’s a dick, but he does know dark magic.”

At the unimpressed look that earned him from both of the royal Princes, Dan shut his mouth again and went back to leaning into Phil’s side. Martyn was perhaps less lenient than Phil, so Dan should probably learn to watch his tongue.

"As for headway, what kind of headway? Have you located a dragon?" Phil asked Martyn, all but ignoring Dan aside from a reproving squeeze of his fingers.

Martyn shrugged lightly, leading them around passageway after passageway until they came upon a central tunnel to the Castle libraries, quite different from the archives, and yet still suffocating on Phil's lungs. The entry passageway was low ceilinged and always made Phil feel like he was being led to his death into some dark, empty crypt, despite him knowing it would open and widen up a little further down. Still, because of the company he kept, Phil had to do his best to pretend that nothing was wrong.

Dan, however, noticed the slight tensing of his shoulders, and glanced around to notice the decreasing space and the lowering ceiling. Of course. He nudged his shoulder once against Phil’s, a quiet show of support that hopefully wouldn’t embarrass him in front of Martyn.

The quick flash of a smile that Dan got back was enough to let him know he’d done well.

"Kind of,” Martyn answered Phil, seeming distracted now, as if entering the library was setting his mind back on what he’d been researching. “Father and I have discovered where the dragons settle, and unearthed rumors that have gone over our heads in recent years. Seems there’s been attacks on neighboring kingdoms by a beast, too small, by some standards, to be a dragon of past time. Father and I believe it may still be one, however, guarding a hoard of treasure and just as ferocious as the stories say, so prepare yourself, brother,” Martyn insisted, tossing a glance over his shoulder that was equal parts determined and distressed.

Phil could understand. Martyn had never wanted Phil to join the guard, had always feared for his brother’s life, and now, to save his betrothed, he was sending said brother on a suicide mission.

No. Phil couldn't think of it like that. He would find that dragon, get its scale, and come home safe for the good of his whole kingdom. Phil set his jaw, and continued after Martyn.

At least thoughts of what he had to do were distracting him from the narrowness of this passage, and the tightening of his chest in fear. It was hard to breathe, but Phil was used to pretending, and ignored it as best as he could.

"Of course," Phil eventually agreed, his voice a quiet murmur. In front of him, Martyn’s shoulders were squared - Phil recognized the way he held himself; he was angry. Phil could hardly blame him. He knew exactly what was on his brother’s mind - thoughts of saving his one true love, and protecting his brother, but being unable to do both.

It amazed Phil that Martyn hadn’t suggested that he go in Phil’s place. Phil never would have let him, but it would be just like his brother to press for it. The realization that he hadn’t told Phil much. This situation, even Martyn understood how serious it was.

The passageway leading to the library suddenly grew even more narrow, and Phil’s breathing hitched for just a moment. He felt Dan’s fingers tighten in his, the irony of Dan comforting him for his fear when not that long ago he’d used it against him just floating past in his mind before the overwhelming panic began to seize him and make it difficult to think.

He could do this. He could make it to the other side and be fine, he just needed to… breathe.

Yes. Breathe.

It was a good thing both he and his brother had gone silent.

As the library finally started to come into sight, the narrow corridors finally widening out into a broader room lined with shelves and desks and the smell of old parchment, Dan nearly squealed. The silence of the room was far from oppressive, but was rather a comforting cocoon of peace that matched the wild array of books leaping from every corner of the room. Shelf after shelf, row after row, aisle after aisle of books and scrolls faced them, containing more knowledge than Dan had ever seen collected in one place, and Dan had been around a lot. His fingers itched, and he desperately wanted to squeak and run straight to the nearest scroll he could get his hands on.

As it was, Dan just gave an intake of breath, eyes wide as he took in the enormous number of scrolls and books contained in these tight passageways. He fumbled for a moment, stopping just long enough to pull Phil to an awkward halt that made the both of them almost trip over their feet, but Dan barely noticed. His gaze was too caught up on the shelves, and the thought that his father would have absolutely loved this place, were he still alive.

Phil heard it when Dan drew in a sudden breath, fumbling a little, and despite his own panic, he turned to look at Dan, wanting to make sure all was okay. What he wasn't expecting was Dan to have something akin to delight in his eyes. Phil turned back ahead, wanting to know what treasure Dan had seen, but then he saw the scrolls and books around him, recalled their discussion of the fairy tales just before, and grinned to himself. So Dan enjoyed reading, then. That was information Phil could store for later. That was something he could give to Dan. Scrolls and books, or just time in the libraries.

Distracted as he was, for a second the panic didn't seem so bad, and then they were out of the small space that was the entrance to the library, out of the first small room, and in the clear. Able to breathe more easily again, Phil finally relaxed.

The slight pause in their steps did not go unnoticed by Martyn, who span to face the both of them with an unimpressed glare. Dan glared right back - books were important, and Dan could be forgiven for stumbling a bit in this room. Just because he hadn’t grown up surrounded by anything he could ever want.

"Don't worry too much about the dragon," Dan said lightly to Martyn, wanting to let his frustration out somehow. "I mean, your brother has quite literally chased me across rooftops and down holes, and I’m used to disappearing from sight. And if anything does go wrong - well, I’ll be there to save him, so don’t worry your pretty little head."

Dan couldn't stop a small note of derision entering his voice. Phil, he might have a soft spot for, but the other royals had done little to earn Dan's favour. Aside from the King, perhaps. Dan quite liked him. Martyn, though - Martyn still rubbed Dan up the wrong way. It was like he had absolutely no idea what life outside his perfect palace walls was like.

Dan opening his mouth again was not ok with Phil. He could hear the derision in the way Dan spoke to Martyn, could tell he was partially making fun of them both, and his fingers tightened around Dan's as Martyn turned to toss a frown over his shoulder.

“I’ll be forever in your debt if you do save my brother, yes,” Martyn replied, his voice going soft for all of a moment, before he continued, “But one day, I will hear all about what my brother has been doing with you, and I’ll enjoy every minute of laughing at your expense. For the time being, I’ll just have to laugh at how thick the sexual tension is between the two of you, and enjoy the fact that my brother has yet to let you into his pants, no matter how badly you seem to want him.”

Instantly, Phil’s cheeks went flaming red, and he tossed a glare his brother’s way that Martyn merely grinned at.

“Martyn!” Phil hissed, mortified, as his fingers tensed around Dan’s, who was merely chuckling to himself in response.

Was everyone just going to tease him, now? Why had he surrounded himself with so many sharp tongued people in his life?

But Martyn merely laughed and, as they rounded a corner deeper into the library, so did the King.

Dan slightly wanted to kick Martyn for that response, but that would require him to let go of Phil's hand, and he kind of didn't want to do that, well, ever, so he settled for simply chuckling derisively instead. Martyn could be a little more grateful, seeing as Dan was quite literally going to save his future wife's life, not to mention Phil’s, most likely.

But then he was being pulled along by Phil to the library proper, where the King was seated at a table, clearly having caught the tail end of their conversation. His beard and cloak were pulled tight around him, but he wasn’t wearing his crown, and the chair he sat in was just as plain as all the others in the library. There was nothing special, nothing to suggest that this man wasn’t simply another member of the palace court, rather than the King himself.

Dan approved. He could definitely grow to like this man - no matter what he’d thought of him in the past. Nevertheless, Dan still didn't bow to him, instead sending the King a sharp smirk. The King smiled in response, and yes, out of all the royals, the King was definitely Dan's favourite (aside from Phil, of course).

"Father," Phil greeted with a little bow, using his grip on Dan’s hand to pull him over to the table where his brother and father seemed to be set up. He wasn’t expecting his thief to bow to his family, and neither did the King, it seemed, as no one made any question when Dan merely smirked.

The King inclined his head to both of them, ever smiling. Phil could see the weariness behind his eyes, though, and it made his heart ache. The constant reminder that no one was safe right now haunted Phil’s mind.

Slowly, he drew out a chair for him and his thief, and settled in for debriefing. He was in Captain mode, and no one could stop him now.

"Well then,” the King started, amusement still clear on his face, but the laughter died down, now. Phil could see the tension around his eyes, the exhaustion in his features. “Now that you two love birds are up, I suppose we can properly get started.”

The King stopped to take a deep breath, and then pushed a tired hand through greying hair. Phil did his best to tamp down on his emotional reactions to these things, the looming terror that his father would die before his time now, with this curse hanging over their heads. Now was not the time to be feeling; he just needed to act.

“The castle has been put on lockdown, temporarily. Very little has been said to those within our walls, but your mother and I will make a statement in the main hall once you have gone, to protect your escape from here. I want no one to follow you, in case - in case,” the King said, evasive as ever, but Phil knew his fear.

There were those, even within these walls, who’d been invited to the Crown Prince’s wedding, who might use this curse to their advantage for anarchy, for revolution, for power.

Phil nodded his head curtly.

“We have the Sorcerer making potions for those who have been effected, teaching our most trusted of nursemaids how to spot the signs of corruption, and how to administer the antidote. The effects will not last long, however, according to your… dark magician. They will merely prevent too many more people from losing consciousness, and going into a coma like state, like Cornelia.”

Here, they all had to stop, staring down at their hands while they waited for Martyn to pull himself together. The very mention of his almost-wife had caused a pitiful sounding whine to escape his lips, unlike any Phil had ever heard before, and he could hear that his brother was crying.

Their was a sob, a sniffle, and then a clearing of a throat, before the King continued.

“Your magician said, and I quote, “all will still drop dead in a month’s time, if your son does not retrieve the dragon’s scale,” followed almost immediately by a cackle. Your mother hit him over the head with a vase for that one. Quite satisfying, when he went down,” the King said.

“Chris would deserve that,” Dan agreed darkly, meeting the King’s eyes with just a glimmer from within his own hood. He wasn’t about to show the royals his face - he would work with them, yes, but trust them? Not as far as he could throw them.

Still, the King smiled at him, and Dan inclined his head once, slowly.

Dan talking with his father like this made tenderness bubble in Phil’s gut. This was a man who was not truly evil, not like the sorcerer. Whatever reason Dan had had for casting a similar curse on Phil’s Uncle… surely, he could forgive. No, he would forgive.

“But on to business,” the King continued curtly. “We’ve discovered that dragons prefer cramped spaces located in high places -” Phil’s stomach lurched, - “and our best bet are the mountain caves located between the three borders to the West. We have reason to believe there may be a dragon hidden in one of them, but unfortunately, there is no way to know for sure. For all the treasures stolen, not one person has seen where he has flown away,” the King explained, sounding almost defeated.

Dan perked up at what the King was saying, studying the map on the table before him carefully. He knew this area, knew of treasures out to the Western border, and might actually have something to add to this conversation. So he interrupted cheerfully, "Oh, actually, I might be able to help you there."

All eyes turned to Dan, but he quite liked the attention, so it didn't really phase him.

With a squeeze to Phil's fingers under the table, Dan continued, "I was out West a month ago when I was… acquiring some goods, and I met with another… friend who lives out that way. He said something had come in and stolen away his entire stash - mostly gold, with the odd jewel thrown in." Dan kept his tone as nonchalant as he could, considering he was discussing thievery with the actual Royal Family themselves. "My friend said there had been reports of sheep and livestock going missing, too, and someone saw something flying in the sky. That was over near the North-Western border, here." Dan pointed it out on the map.

The King leaned over, examining the area, and Dan expected a rebuke. He was still not expecting this man, this King, to be happy with Dan, and especially not with the prospect of Dan taking his youngest son on a potentially life-threatening journey with no other support. Especially after what Chris had said yesterday, when he’d revealed all about Phil’s Uncle and the way he had died.

Dan didn’t want to think about that. His involvement with Phil’s Uncle’s death was something that was going to haunt him for a very long time.

Phil looked up in surprise when Dan spoke up, offering more information than he perhaps had to for the King. His fingers twitched in Dan's hold, and he hid a smile to himself, enjoying the way Dan curtailed around the fact that he and his friend were thieves. It was clear and obvious enough, but smartly avoided so nothing could be pinned directly to him.

As Phil looked back up, he found his father staring at Dan as well, a very fond grin on his face that matched Phil's own. It was good to know his thief would be accepted then, especially after last night.

The great reveal of the cause of their uncle’s death still buzzed in the back of Phil’s mind. He could feel the pain, the stings of betrayal, but he knew, as he looked at his father, that they could get passed this. If the King could still look at Dan with fondness after what he had done to their family, than Phil could too.

And Phil did. Phil thought he always would.

Squeezing Dan’s fingers in his, Phil shoved the thoughts aside for now.

What Dan got instead of any rebuke was an approving nod, much to his astonishment.

"Very good.” The King looked appraisingly over the map, pointing swiftly at one particular spot. “Looks like these caves here will be your best bet, then. It's a long journey. Will you manage?"

"I've been before," Dan shrugged easily enough. "Not to the mountains, but I'm pretty sure I know enough not to get Phil killed." He smirked slightly, unable to resist a light jab as he glanced at his prince with soft eyes. "He's clumsy, but I'm clever, so I'm sure I'll stop him accidentally killing us both."

“Hey!” Phil shouted. “I’m quite capable of protecting myself, thanks,” he complained, but he wasn’t really offended. In fact, he was warmed by Dan’s care for him, and as he listened to his brother and the King laugh, he could feel laughter of his own bubbling up in his chest.

“On the contrary, I’ll be glad to know that someone is keeping my boy safe,” the King replied

When the King turned back to Phil, his expression was grave, determined. “Make no mistake, Philip. That creature hoarding treasure is a Dragon, that, I am sure of, and they are just as dangerous as legend has told. Many, many years ago, I faced a Dragon much larger than the one rumored here, and nearly lost my life to it. Do not underestimate its strength.”

The words struck Phil like no other had. He’d never known someone who’d faced a dragon before, the creatures were so rare in this century, and yet here was his father, the King who had raised Phil, telling him that he once had faced these creatures, and just managed to survive.

Terror tried to fill him then, but Phil would not let it. He balled his fingers into fists at his sides, sat up far straighter still, and nodded his head.

“I understand, father.”

The King stared at him, his eyes boring into Phil’s, fierce and determined and everything that Phil had always known them to be. For the first time in his life, Phil met that gaze with determination and fierceness of his own.

Finally, the King nodded his head curtly, and turned away.

“Alright. So. Dragons are deep sleepers, according to our books. They will not awaken until their sleep cycle is done, but the timing is unclear. It seems to depend on their size, how long they will sleep, but a low estimate is at least twelve hours, so this will be your time frame. If you can sneak up on the dragon in these caves and wait until he sleeps, you will have twelve hours to take a scale.”

The words were exciting enough, and a grin started to form on Phil’s face at this as he realized that this might actually be possible, that they might actually be able to steal a fresh scale from the dragon’s back without threat to their own life, but just as his expression was brightening, his father leveled another glare onto him that made Phil’s blood run cold.

“Let it be known, however, that Dragons need only sleep rarely. They can go up to seven days without rest. Do you know what that means, Philip? You must find the dragon quickly, that way - that way… do not put yourself at any unnecessary risk. Wait until the dragon sleeps, no matter how long it takes. Do you understand me?”

Swallowing thickly, Phil nodded his head, and said, “Yes, father.”

His eyes were wide, and his heart was racing once more, but even as his father stared at him with that formidable glare that Phil had grown up with, Phil realized that it did not have the same effect on him that it once did.

Phil knew, in that moment, that despite what he had told his father, he would do anything to get that scale back in time.

One month.

His gaze turned down to the maps spread out on the table.

One month. How far was the border?

Beside him, Martyn nodded his head fiercely, but his expression was growing more and more haunted, exhausted, and Phil knew that he could not take much more of this.

He needed to rest, and yet, somehow, Phil knew that he would not.

The King reached across the table then, grasping hold of both of their forearms, and Phil looked back at him in shock. His father was staring at Dan.

“I mean it, boy. Protect him. He can be quite reckless when it comes to his own life. His heart, on the other hand, is hard won. Take care of each other.”

Dan looked up at him, resisting his natural impulse to make a joke or sarcastic comment. Despite the King's friendly demeanour, there was a hard line to his forehead that worried Dan a little, and he also had a shadow to his countenance. His Castle had been cursed, though - Dan supposed it was reasonable.

Dan's expression dropped to match the serious glint to the King's eye, and he dipped his head in not quite a bow. "You have my word. Your son will return safely. As for his heart..." Dan trailed away, casting a sidelong glance to Phil, "...Well, that is in good hands, too."

“Great!” the King suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone in the room as he slammed his palms flat on the table and pushed himself from his chair. His smile was quite suddenly back, and as Phil stared up at his eyes, he saw nothing but love and acceptance.

Dan had well and truly won his father over; not that it had been in anyway hard, but… well, it was a surprise, still, to Phil.

“I think it’s time to get this show on the road. Philip, take your thief to the royal guard headquarters and get yourselves suited up. You have a long journey ahead of you, so please take any and everything that you might need on this journey. Your brother and I will remain here. While we are taking the sorcerer at his word, there is no harm in doing a little research of our own on this curse. Perhaps there will be another way…” he trailed off, glancing around the table at the large scattering of books, before turning a smile back up at Phil once more.

There was a tenseness behind his eyes.

“Take care of yourselves, and please, see your mother before you go. If you have a moment to spare, pop back up for some debriefing, maybe a map if I can find a ruddy copy that’s actually relevant.”

At that, Phil could do nothing more than nod his head in agreement, and stand as Dan took his hand in his, and helped him from his seat. The movement was quick, but Phil did not stumble, and then Dan was giving a little mocking bow to the King that honestly shocked Phil more than anything.

Was that a little bit of respect, in the action? Phil wasn’t sure.

Turning from the King, Dan instead faced Martyn again, chewing his lip.

"...We'll do our best to save her," Dan said simply, with no trace of teasing to his tone.

Dan’s small reassurance made Phil’s heart sing. He knew his thief did not like the crown prince on any level, and yet he was giving Phil’s brother comfort.

Grinning to himself, Phil nodded to his brother.

“I swear on my life,” he agreed.

Dan whirled, then, his cloak flaring out behind him, and then he and Phil were gone, heading back around the large stacks of books and scrolls held in their library, and back through the suffocating corridor into the castle.

Dan was itching to stay in this library, and it physically hurt to walk past the rest of these scrolls and books without stopping to read any of them, but he knew they had a job to do.

Dan's nose wrinkled a little at the idea of dressing like a Royal Guardsman, though, and he leaned over to mutter in Phil's ear, "I hope you know I have absolutely no intention of wearing any of your awful armour."

Laughing, and pressing his hips against Dan's just because he could and because Dan had pulled him so close, Phil shook his head. "I would never expect you to," he murmured back, "but you don't have to worry about that. I don't plan on wearing my armor either. It is far too heavy to wear on a long journey. Besides, the offer wasn't my father telling us what to wear. It was merely his way of saying we could take anything we need," Phil explained softly. He wanted to look at Dan's face but his hood was up, so he kept his gaze straight ahead instead. Besides, he needed to focus on keeping his breathing even, so that he wouldn’t panic in these musty, claustrophobic hallways.

"I see," Dan murmured in response. He had to admit, he was relieved that he wouldn't have to wear any of the armour - it looked heavy and uncomfortable and like it would restrict his movements. Phil in armour, though - that was another matter entirely. It made him look like a knight straight out of a fairy tale, and Dan liked the look on him. So he was maybe a little disappointed that Phil wasn't planning on wearing armour either.

Oh well. Dan was sure he'd have plenty of opportunities to see Phil in his armour in the future.

...If they even had a future. Even if they were successful in catching the dragon, which was doubtful enough, there was the problem of what would happen after. Dan couldn't imagine a life spent in the castle, no matter how much he wanted to be with Phil. Dan's place was out in the desert, where he could be free.

Oh, how he itched to give Phil that same freedom.

Giving his head a shake, Dan pulled himself back to the present. They were leaving the library now. Dan cast one more longing glance back at the rows and rows of books. He'd come back to read them, eventually. He swore it, even if he had to break in.

With so much on Phil’s mind, and a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach that Dan was very much so his, and sticking around to protect Phil on his journey, the walk through the corridor leading to the palace library wasn’t as bad. Phil could still feel his chest getting tight, and there was a moment where his vision went black at the edges a bit, but he merely held tighter to Dan’s hand and managed to make it through the way he always did.

Once at the other end, back in the open hallways of the castle, Phil felt the tension in his chest release, and realized his gait had become more even. At least it was merely Dan at his side, someone who might once have made fun of Phil for his fear, but now merely chose to comfort him.

He ducked his face to hide a smile at the thought.

Once back in the corridors, Dan checked that his hood was firmly down, and turned to Phil, allowing Phil to lead them through this unfamiliar part of the castle. Dan pursed his lips, thinking - they would have a hard journey in front of them. Dan was used to travelling, but he had no idea how prepared Phil was for what they were about to do.

"Phil," Dan started, walking close to his Prince's side. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but exactly how clueless are you when it comes to travelling in the desert? It is a long way to this cave. I need to know just how much I need to teach you before we set off." Dan grinned a little. "And don't go getting all offended on me, cute as it is. I'm trying to get a job done, here."

"Are you always this superior when you're getting a job done?" Phil teased back, though he was slightly offended. He had to remind himself that Dan had no clue where and what kind of conditions Phil was used to and trained to work through.

"Excuse you," Dan huffed. "You'll be glad of my superiority when I'm saving your hide from some desert wolf, my Prince."

Snorting, Phil jostled Dan's side again and rolled his eyes. He was knowledgeable enough to fight off an attacking desert wolf on his own, but if Dan wanted to tease him about it and act like he was the stronger of the two of them, than far be it from Phil to prove him wrong.

Still, as he thought on Dan's question, Phil realized that for all his training, he had so rarely actually traveled through the deserts for more than a few days at a time. This journey would take a week at the very least, not to mention they wouldn't be returning to a city or town at the end of the journey.

“If I am honest with you, my thief, and put aside my pride for a moment, I have only ever traveled through the desert a few days at a time, and even then, with many more experienced men at my side. I know only how to prepare for a long journey outside of our desert here, not how to survive many long nights in the desert alone,” he admitted, clearing his throat but keeping his gaze locked ahead. Phil didn’t much like being weak in front of Dan, as silly as it seemed.

It was just… Phil didn’t want Dan to think that Phil could not survive in his thief’s world, when that was everything that Phil wanted for their future.

His lips twitched at the thought of having any future with Dan.

“I have spent far more time traveling through forests, than desert. I know the ones to the East as well as the back of my hand. For this journey, however… you will have to be my brains, but I do expect you to teach me all that you know,” he continued, voice taking on more authority and insistence now. He turned his gaze to Dan, despite not being able to see his face around his hood, hoping that Dan would take him seriously.

Phil was sick of being dragged around like royalty. Sure, fine, he was a prince, but he needed to be able to fend for himself. He was tired of those guards who he was supposed to be in charge of leading him around like a horse to water, but never actually letting him see where to get said water on his own. He needed guidance, for once, and, if he were to someday travel the world with Dan, which he wanted very much, he’d need to learn how to take direction from his thief.

Dan pursed his lips. To be fair to Phil, it sounded like he'd been better trained than Dan had been expecting - like he at least knew the very basics of travelling, and he’d been in the desert before, even if it wasn’t alone. Dan could work with that.

"I can teach you," Dan nodded in agreement, lacing his fingers together with Phil's. "You'll have to be patient, and actually do as you're told for once, but if you swallow your pride and actually listen to me, I'll make a traveller out of you yet." Dan couldn't resist a little cheeky wink.

"What do you mean, ‘for once’. I do as I'm told. Just not when it's you demanding it," Phil teased back.

Dan huffed aloud at Phil's continued teasing, though it was difficult to fight the smile that wanted to spread across his face. He settled on a teasing frown. "I'll have you know that I'm a lot more interesting to obey than any of your former teachers."

Oh, how Phil loved to mess with Dan, and having someone in his life he could tease like this just made him feel more at ease, like things were coming together fine. It wasn't often that anyone thought it okay to play with Phil, not even when he'd been a child. There was something about his title, titles, that made people think they could not have common camaraderie with him.

Phil was sick of the stilted conversation from his subordinates. He didn’t even like thinking of them that way, and yet, they always pushed the issue until they sat in this strange limbo of them bowing down to him, while also chastising him and making all of his calls for him in the field.

Phil was a great leader, his men all agreed on that, but they did not like him to lead outside of the city gates. There was something, they thought, unnecessary for Phil to learn how to survive in the wilderness, as Phil thought he should.

Dan followed Phil out of the Castle, taking a moment to pause and survey the courtyards, memorising the Castle's layout - as much as he could while they were walking, anyway. He had a feeling he'd want to remember his way around this place, that they might be coming back here in the future, and maybe not on such friendly terms. Dan grimaced a bit. He never thought he'd feel at home in a castle, but with Phil by his side, it was hard to feel uncomfortable.

Phil led Dan through the courtyards of the palace to the Royal Guard guardhouse, breathing in deeply to finally be past the stuffy halls of the castle and back outside. He didn’t feel free, exactly, tired of these same old gardens by now, but he did feel better than when he was cooped up with all of the other royals.

Arriving at the guardhouse was a new experience for Dan, and not one he was sure he would ever be eager to repeat. There were guards stationed everywhere, covering every exit, and that alone was enough to make Dan tense and reach for one of his daggers. He still had an ingrained instinct to attack or flee at every glint of silver armour. If it weren’t for Phil tightly gripping onto his elbow, Dan probably would have bolted.

The guards stationed at all the exits nodded politely at the two of them as they moved, looking weary but alert, and Phil led Dan down the path to his headquarters. He wondered if Dan had ever really seen them up close before, but didn’t ask as he led them both through the back door.

He was most definitely going to need his thief’s help throwing together a few bags for travel. After all, Phil didn’t truly know what they were going to need most on this trip.

“Just the necessities,” Phil murmured as he pushed through a door to where the guard kept their supplies.

That’s when it occurred to Phil that Dan himself must have supplies to get him through long journeys like this, and his mind flashed over to an image of Dan’s home that he’d talked about on more than one occasion now. A sudden excitement rushed through Phil at the idea of maybe, just maybe, getting to see the elusive thief’s home.

"If you don't mind me asking, my thief," Phil stated calmly, leaning in close to whisper in Dan’s ear and trying to hide his unbearable excitement at the thought, "Where does my thief live? Will I one day get to see your home? Perhaps today, if you need to pick up anything?" Phil wheedled.

At Phil's whining tone, Dan arched a brow and snorted. "Oh, so now you want to see my home, after dragging me all around your God-forsaken Castle for the past few days? And here I thought you weren't interested in my treasure."

"I think I've stolen the best piece of treasure you've got there anyway, my thief, so far be it from me to force you into anything you don't want," Phil teased,

Dan rolled his eyes, but he leaned into Phil's side a little, shivering as he felt Phil's lips right by his ear. "Well, you've got your priorities right, at least, if you think I'm the greatest treasure. Not so sure you've stolen me yet, though. Might need a bit more convincing." His Prince had moved ever closer to him, until they were pressed right against each other as they moved on into the guardhouse, but it didn’t ease the tension in Dan’s body any. He was still nervous about being surrounded by guards, and instinctively kept his hood pulled down as low as he could.

"I could do with going back to pick up some supplies though," Dan acquiesced, flicking a quick glance around the guardhouse. There were adequate supplies, more than anything Dan had managed to steal for himself, but he did need some of his own familiar belongings. "All my hunting gear is there, and I need a change of clothes. Are you ready to see a thief's lair, my Prince? Not as lavish as your Castle, perhaps, but pleasing in other ways, I think."

Growing just that little bit more excited, Phil grinned. "Oh, I am more than ready to finally track down my great thief's lair."

Once in the supply room, Phil moved straight to the packs his men kept empty and cleaned in the far corner, grabbing two before heading back to the middle of the room. It was then that he looked at Dan, bit his lip, and realized he didn’t really want to have to ask for help on what to pack, so he turned back around and started gathering supplies that he’d once been ordered to pack when he went traveling with his men.

Dan arched a brow. He recognised that look - that look that said Phil had no idea what he was really doing. Well, Dan could fix that. It wasn’t every day that he got taken into one of the richest places in the country and was told he could take what he liked. So Dan wasted no time in pushing aside and taking over, rapidly picking up supplies and tossing them to the pile if he deemed them worthy. Dan had to admit, it made a nice change to get his hands on this kind of equipment without having to steal it in a rush.

He tossed Phil a teasing grin, eyes glinting wickedly, and flung a pile of supplies at him. "Pack that up. I'll sit and watch you and think about what I need from my cave."

Phil's eyes narrowed at Dan, even as he tossed a pile of supplies and a bag at him to begin packing for the two of them, and neatly stepped around it as Dan moved to sit on the ground. Before he could get far, Phil reached out and caught hold of his arm, dragging Dan up and in until he was flush to Phil's chest, hands caught between their bodies.

Phil might be shorter than Dan, but he knew how to be intimidating, and he stared up at Dan with sharp eyes. His mouth hovered close to Dan’s not quite touching, but enough for the two of them to feel each other’s breath against their lips.

Phil smirked at Dan, whose eyes had a gone a little wide in surprise, and tilted his head just the tiniest bit.

"How's this for convincing?" he whispered, eyes slipping closed as he pulled Dan in until their lips were touching once more.

The feeling was like an electric shock as it took over Phil, starting at the base of his spine and working its way up to his neck. He shook in Dan’s hold, but Dan was so stunned, he seemed unable to react to Phil’s kiss right away. Phil used this to his advantage.

For the first time ever, it was Phil was in charge of their kiss, demanding and possessive as he took control. He’d learned much from Dan by now, and as he threaded his arms around Dan’s waist to drag him in close, he sucked at his lips was as much demanding force as he could muster while still intending to be gentle.

Dan’s lips were slow in reacting to him, and yet they did, seeming to accept that Phil wanted to show Dan just how much he thought of him as his. Dan didn’t try to take back control, merely melting under Phil’s touch and going soft in a way that Phil had never expected.

It made him warm to his core, and he slipped his tongue past Dan’s lips, tilting his head a bit more to force Dan to do the same, as he made the kiss deeper. Phil could only wish that he were taller than Dan, so he could force him to crane his neck back and feel small and dominated for once. Instead, Phil merely worked with what he could, and kept their bodies pressed close together as he used every last technique Dan had dropped into his arsenal in the last few days.

Phil smirked when he managed to get Dan to let out a breathy little noise that wasn’t quite a moan, but was more than a sigh, and reached up to thread his fingers through Dan’s hair, tilting his head back just a bit even as he had to push up on his toes to keep their lips connected.

It was the best kiss Phil had ever given, and he hoped that it made clear to Dan that Phil had most definitely stolen him.

When Phil finally pulled away, he pressed his forehead to Dan's, grinning.

"You're mine, King of Thieves," he insisted.

Dan had been expecting an answer to his teasing, yes, but he hadn't expected that. His mouth felt red raw by the time Phil was done kissing him, and yet he had no complaints about the feeling. In fact, for the first time, he felt claimed, and he liked it.

Dan blinked a few times, unable to stop himself pressing a finger to his lips once Phil drew away. They were still tingling in a way Dan had rarely experienced before, and never had he let someone take so much control before.

Phil was… interesting. Definitely interesting. Dan thought he could lose his head to this man, if he could just let go of his last fears.

He gave his head a little shake, still mostly speechless, and stared at Phil, who was still in his arms. Or rather, Dan was in his arms, because Phil had him tightly by the waist while Dan's arms were slung around Phil's neck. They were pressed together, intimate in a way Dan rarely let himself be with anyone.

He blinked again at Phil, not even able to bring himself to smirk. Instead, he felt his lips twitching into a true smile where his eyes crinkled up and he looked like a fool. Dan was a fool, because he couldn't stop himself from answering Phil.

"I'm yours, my Prince. Always yours."

A fool maybe, but a happy fool.

Phil had only ever seen Dan smile once before, and it had been nothing like this. His dimple popped, impossibly deep, and his eyes crinkled up in this really bright way that looked almost foreign on his face. The look made Dan appear far younger than he usually did, and Phil had the impression it was the stress and anger that put the years on Dan's face.

Seeing Dan's face split in half like that with joy made Phil's own expression crack into an answering grin, his heart doing somersaults at Dan's words. Craving affection and smiling far too hard to try kissing Dan again, Phil instead chose to rub his nose against Dan's.

Earlier, Dan had done something similar, something more intimate but just as affectionate, by running the tip of his nose along the edge of Phil's jaw line, and Phil wanted to try that too, but he was afraid it would come off stupid rather than hot like it had when Dan had done it before.

So, instead, Phil merely drew away slightly so he was looking into his thief's eyes all over again, and tilted his head.

"I suppose we should get packing, but I'm far happier holding you in my arms," Phil teased, not even tempted enough by Dan's dimple to willingly move his arms away from around Dan's waist.

Dan rolled his eyes a little, but he nudged back at Phil's nose. The affectionate touch was completely new, but Dan thought he could get used to it. It made a new feeling arise in him, something softer and entirely more dangerous. Something that said he'd do anything if Phil asked him to.

Dan blinked himself back to the present and let out another sigh, though he was still grinning. "I suppose I could let you hang onto me the whole time we travel. Might be kind of difficult to walk, but you could try it; I know I'm irresistible."

He snickered softly, unable to stop himself leaning down to rest his forehead against Phil's. There was something new and magical about having this man in his arms. Phil was so warm and happy and strong as he held Dan against him, and Dan kind of wanted to just melt against his chest and stay there forever.

But they had a job to do.

"We're not even out of your castle yet, come on." Dan slipped out of Phil's hold reluctantly, dragging him back over to the bags.

Dan sounded so put upon offering to let Phil hold him like this the entire journey, and Phil threw his head back to laugh at it, the sound bursting out of him in sharp surprise. He hadn't been expecting that, but he couldn't deny that there was a part of him that wanted that almost more than anything else. To just hold onto Dan forever, in some way. He figured they could get away with holding hands, at the very least, bumping hips from time to time. Maybe Dan would even let Phil hold him when they slept.

Phil's laughter remained Dan's favourite sound in the entire world. He was going to spend every day of his life trying to get that happy loud noise out of him, especially when Phil's tongue did the thing where it stuck out of the side of his mouth.

Dan pointed again at the pile of belongings again, arching a brow. "I thought I told you to pack that up. We need to get a move on if we're going to reach my cave by nightfall."

Pouting when Dan finally pulled away, Phil allowed Dan to drag him back to the bags and the countless items at their feet. There was more than one object that Phil hadn't even considering bringing, and as he picked up what looked like a small carving knife, he turned to Dan with a raised brow.

His thief didn't reply, merely raising a brow back at Phil and nodding as if to tell him to get a move on, so Phil leaned back over and continued shoving item after item into the bag he assumed he was going to have to carry.

"You live in a cave?" Phil muttered, becoming a little tense and worried that it would be terrifyingly too far under ground. Clearing his throat, Phil shook his head, taking a deep, calming breath. He still wanted to see Dan's home, but it was intimidating being forced to face his fear. Already, he knew he would be half mid-panicking when they finally reached the dragon, as they were apparently known for preferring cramped spaces underground or buried into mountains.

Phil glanced over at Dan, who was indeed sitting on the ground with the second bag propped packed in his lap, staring off and clearly thinking.

Dan made himself comfortable on the ground, watching as Phil actually obeyed him for once and started to pack up. It didn't take long for Dan to get lost in thought. He'd never had a travel companion before - the other people he met tended to stay in one place, whereas Dan liked to roam, to cover as much ground as possible. Plus, he kind of had to stay on the move if he didn't want to get caught. Having Phil by his side would be something new, and Dan felt a little thrum of excitement at the thought. Someone to chat with, to tease, to hold hands with and lie next to at night - Dan had never dreamed he'd actually find that. Yet here he was.

He came back to himself at the slight fear in Phil's tone, and quick as anything, was in front of him again, gently taking his hand. "Don't fret, my Prince. It's more of a - shelter, than a cave. It's just under a rock, but it's not very cramped. It's - well, you'll see."

Dan managed a small smirk, even though the thought of having Phil in his home was more than alien. Dan had never brought anyone there before, let alone a Prince. It was Dan's private, special place, and the only space he made truly his own.

Phil turned, eyes wide with surprise, when Dan surged up to him, taking his hand and looking straight into his eyes, ready with reassuring words. They'd come a long way from Dan forcing Phil into cramped spaces to mess with him, to promising Phil that where they were going would be nothing like Phil's greatest fear. Squeezing Dan's fingers in his, Phil nodded his head. "No one… no one knows, you know. Except for you. About… that," he mumbled. "I'm not usually trapped anywhere long enough for people to notice. I've got pretty good control over it," he explained, running his free hand through his hair, and fluffing it up slightly once he realized he'd probably ruined the way it fell in his face.

Dan was a little surprised to hear that no one other than him knew about Phil's fear. If Phil was right, though, he must be very good at hiding it. Dan narrowed his eyes a little at the thought of Phil having to suffer through something like that just because other people thought he had to.

And then Dan realised that he, himself, had done that in the past, and he couldn't help but laugh slightly.

At Phil's surprised look, Dan explained himself with a small grin. "Sorry. I was just thinking - I'm the only one who knows, and yet I forced you to chase me underground. Sorry about that, by the way. Won't do it again."

Dan tried to stay as blasé as he could, not wanting Phil to realise quite how monumental it was for Dan to be apologising to someone.

The stilted way Dan offered his apology made Phil think maybe it was difficult for him. Phil didn't know if it was the apologizing itself, or the fact that Dan felt bad for using Phil's fear against him like that, but it still warmed him to hear Dan trying for him, and he shrugged, trying to get across that Phil wasn't going to hold it against him.

Then, he turned back to the bag at his feet, and finished shoving the items Dan had given him into them. His cheeks were slightly red at having admitted that to Dan, at having to even talk about his fear in general, so he focused his attention back at the task on hand until it was complete. Then, he stood, and turned to look back at Dan.

His gaze trailed over Dan’s outfit, taking in the cloak and its pockets lined with gold. His brow furrowed as he realized he’d never seen Dan without it, and yet, surely he couldn't wear it all the time if it was stuffed with treasures?

"Come to think of it, what do you normally wear when you're hunting, Dan?" Phil kept his voice hushed on his name, just in case someone was around and listening, trying to discern the secret identity of Phil’s courter, or worse, the King of Thieves should they put two and two together. "I don't figure you'd carry your riches around when you're taking down a feast for yourself," he mused, shrugging his pack onto his bag and straightening up properly.

When the last item was in Phil’s bag, Dan straightened and shouldered his own as he took Phil's hand in his again, beginning to walk out of the Guardhouse. "You're right,” he agreed, getting a teasing grin on his face once more, “I save my cloak for when I want to flaunt myself at foolish Guards who try to catch me." Dan grinned at Phil at that, playfully bumping his hip.

"I have different hunting clothes. And a shield for when I need it, though usually my crossbow does the job. No armour, though." Dan gave a shudder at the thought "Heavy, stupid metal."

As Dan leaned into Phil's side, Dan could feel himself properly relaxing. Knowing they would be out of the castle soon made it much easier to be himself, and having Phil by his side made everything better. They couldn't leave just yet, though.

Dan turned to Phil, eyes softening for a moment. Phil was about to leave home, after all, and a family. Dan couldn't really imagine what that felt like.

"Don't forget to say goodbye to your mother." Dan kept his tone as even as he could. "That's what the King said. Remember?"

After both men had shouldered their bags, Phil allowed Dan to take his hand again, tangling their fingers together readily. His brows shot up at the idea of Dan with a hunting bow, though, chuckling at the mutter about armor. "I've never been able to master the bow. You must be quite the marksmen. I've always been better at hand-to-hand, close fighting," Phil explained, itching to talk more so he could divulge more information about Dan. He really did want to know everything.

He turned to Dan when he pulled them both a stop, however, watching the way Dan's eyes softened, and it hit Phil that Dan probably understood Phil's worries just then better than he'd ever realized. Maybe that was why Dan was so determined to help Phil. It was clear that Dan had no family, he'd admitted as much himself. The look in his eye told Phil how important it was to Dan that Phil got a chance to say goodbye, and his heart ached for him.

"Yes, I remember," Phil murmured in agreement, clearing his throat. He didn't want to cry, then. This was something he needed to do, and while he'd been away from home a few times before, it had never been for more than a few days, let alone as dangerous as this mission was going to be. "And we'll have to make a quick run down to the libraries to talk to my father. If you're in a hurry, perhaps we should split up?" Phil requested, biting his lip. It wasn't that he wanted to keep Dan away from his mother, he was just fully aware that Dan currently had a time frame for them in his head.

Dan bit his lip and nodded. He could understand Phil maybe wanting some time to himself to say goodbye to his mother alone, and it would save them time to split up. Also, Dan hadn't had a second to himself since the failed wedding, and much as he wanted to be around Phil, it was a little hard to get his thoughts straight when Phil's eyes and face and lips were a constant distraction.

"Good plan," Dan forced himself to say, and disentangled himself completely from Phil for the first time in ages. "I can go talk to your father and brother. I promise to be respectful." Dan's cheeky grin promised the exact opposite, however. He reached forward and touched Phil's cheek, eyes soft once more. "Tell your mother I'll bring you back alive."

Wacking Dan on the arm, Phil grinned, a reprimand on the tip of his tongue for Dan to behave himself, despite knowing that he most likely wouldn't, but his words were cut short when Dan interrupted him by reaching up with gentle fingers, leaning in close, and whispered a very serious command. Swallowing hard, Phil nodded his heart shortly, gone mute with surprise and suppressed emotion. He could feel the tenderness in Dan's fingertips, could see it in his eyes, and knew how sincere he was.

It scared Phil a little, because there was something about the words that made him feel as though Dan would let himself fall to make sure Phil got home safe, and he knew he wasn't okay with that.

Reaching up, Phil covered Dan's hand with his own, and nodded shortly once more. As soon as the lump was gone from his throat, he managed to say, "At least try and behave yourself," hoarsely.

He knew Dan could see the emotion in his eyes, and he leaned in close to press their lips together chastely just one more time. He knew they'd be next to each other again soon, but the well of emotion had brought out something in Phil.

They were going to talk about this later. They were going to have a very long, drawn out discussion over Dan potentially considering sacrificing himself for Phil. He didn't know it for sure, knew his thief was more clever and selfish than that, but there was a pit in Phil's stomach that concerned him far more than it probably should.

Releasing himself from Dan finally, Phil pulled away. "Do you remember your way to the libraries?" he asked, already knowing the answer, and nodded curtly when Dan nodded to reassure him. "Alright. We'll meet back at the West Entrance, at our fountain. No one should bother you there."

After making their parting words, Phil moved to head up to Princess Cornelia's rooms. Though her and his brother had not quite finished their vows, it was difficult for Phil to think of her as anything else, now. She was his brother's wife by technicality if nothing more.

The walk was silent. Phil's head was spinning now that he was away from Dan, and it was disorienting because he had so much to think on. So much had happened. So much, and in only a few short days. It was difficult to ride that emotional wave all the way through when Phil kept taking pit stops to think of the way Dan touched and kissed him.

There was so much to sort out, but Phil felt too giddy and full of love to focus on any of that, to worry about any of that, when he just wanted Dan.

He wondered if Dan felt the same.

To top it all of, the perilous situation of his family hung a heavy weight on Phil’s shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to protect and save them, unsure how prolonged exposure to the Castle itself would affect everyone. He knew keeping the castle on quarantine was the best option they had right now, though, knew that, at the very least, if he did return with the dragon scale, those who had been effected would surely be close enough to feel the weight of the cure.

That was more important to Phil than almost anything else. He knew there would be chaos here, when he left, that the royals would tote their status and insist on being released to head home, to live out their days with loved ones, but the guards and Phil’s father and brother would keep them here. Besides, it was the sorcerer and the sorcerer alone preventing them from falling into comas. Phil could only hope that was enough to keep them sedated and calm inside the castle walls for the next month.

God, Phil hoped it would not take a month to return home. Surely, surely that would only make things worse. He didn’t want to be arrived home at the very last of moments, only to find that the cure had failed.

Just the thought of how little time he and Dan had made him move faster down the corridors of the castle, until finally, he arrived in front of Cornelia’s room.

The hallways were deserted, unlike yesterday, except for a few guards stationed at key points around the hall, including in front of Cornelia’s room. Phil knew their faces, but other than a curt nod, they ignored each other. Through the door in front of him, Phil could hear very little, and he was certain that the royals in the rest of the rooms of the hall were fast asleep tucked up in their beds right now, or otherwise too cowed into submission to bother the Queen or her ward any longer.

Where were Cornelia’s parents? Phil hadn’t heard word of them since last night, when they’d been too quiet to speak up in front of Phil and the sorcerer he’d brought with him. The father’s silence hadn’t surprised Phil, but the mother’s had. In fact, Phil was surprised she hadn’t been the one to rouse him from bed much earlier that morning than even Martyn had.

Phil’s brow furrowed, but he shook the thoughts and concern away as he moved to knock on the door.

“It’s me, mother. Philip.”

There was the sound of quick shuffling on the other side of the door, and then it was swinging open rather quickly to reveal the Queen in all of her splendor and glory; which is to say, Phil always thought she looked beautiful, even when there were obvious tear stains on her cheeks, and her outfit consisted of nothing more than the stripped down version of her royal wear for the wedding.

Unused to seeing his mother so broken down and weary, Phil offered her the tiniest of smiles, and teasingly said, “Beautiful as always.”

The Queen laughed, the sound clearly surprised out of her, and grabbed for Phil’s hand. Her eyes were watery still, and her fingers shaking as she tugged her son into the room and shut the door behind him. Phil, meanwhile, merely allowed her to tug him around as she saw fit, until he was being dragged into the most wonderful of hugs.

His mum’s arms were warm and tight around him, her body a solid presence and reminder that she was still alive. Phil’s arms wound around his mum in return, and he buried his face into her hair for a moment of peace, inhaling that wonderfully familiar scent that only came from a mum.

By the time the two of them were pulling away from each other, Phil’s eyes and cheeks were wet, and his shoulder damp from the tears of his mother. Her hands were on his shoulders as she stared up at him with a watery smile.

Gently, she reached up and patted his cheek.

“My sweet boy,” she whispered, lips trembling.

That was all Phil needed to see to know that his mother knew exactly why he was here, and where he was going.

Offering a gentle smile in return, Phil ducked down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

The Queen giggled, and swatted Phil away, her cheeks red as color finally began to return to her features. It was a welcome sight, especially in that moment, where Phil wanted nothing more than a memory of his mother’s smiling face to carry him through his travels.

“Stop it, boy,” she complained, but Phil knew she secretly loved it. The reprimand meant nothing as he laughed too.

The moment broken slightly, Phil finally let his mother go to glance about the room and take a few steps closer to where he could see Cornelia. She looked no better or worse than she had last night; Phil didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. His gaze continued about the room, however, taking in the locked door where he was certain the sorcerer was, if the smoke billowing out from underneath the door jamb was anything to go by, but he never once located Cornelia’s parents, who he’d expected to find about her bedside.

“Where are -?”

“The dungeons,” the Queen replied before Phil could even finish the question. Startled by this turn of events, Phil whirled around with eyes wide and horrified.

“The dungeons?” he repeated. “Why whatever for?”

He didn’t understand. Surely, the Frila’s could not have done something to warrant them being taken away from their daughter in her time of need?

When Phil turned to look at his mother, however, she was frowning, her expression tired and almost… angry, despite the tear stains making her look eternally sad. She was staring at Cornelia, apparently heartbroken, but eventually, she returned her gaze to Phil’s.

“The sorcerer enjoys causing trouble, it would seem, but mostly he enjoys exposing people for who they are. We heard quite a lot last night, but it would appear that the Frila’s themselves were… involved with the witch who cast the spell.”

The words were like a slap to the face for Phil, who could do nothing but stare with his mouth wide open while his mum spoke. Phil had always known that Mrs. Frila, at the very least, was nothing but a leech on society, ready to do anything to climb the social ladder, but this? Putting her own daughter’s life at risk, just before she was to marry the Crown Prince?

Phil was flabbergasted. He didn’t understand.

His mum seemed to recognize this, as she continued on.

“They were hoping their daughter would die, and ruin the Crown Prince’s life, to make a pretty penny from the pre-nup drawn up only days before the wedding, to maybe start a revolution, and have their own champion of the people set up to take our place as rulers of the people. The Frila’s… wanted nothing more than destroy our reign, even at the cost of their daughter’s life.”

Phil was thunderstruck.

His heart broke at the very words his mother was speaking, and he turned away from her quickly, not wanting to see any more of her tears, to instead stare at Cornelia.

It all made sense now; why the Frila’s had failed to speak up last night, had failed to comfort their daughter, or even appear to shed a tear. Why her mother had not kicked up the fuss Phil knew her to create in even the most ridiculous of circumstances.

They had planned to sacrifice their daughter for money, and prestige, and a new reign.

“Who? Their champion, who are they?” Phil refused to turn and look at his mother’s face as he stared at Cornelia’s.

All that he had done for these people, for all of his people, and they wanted to be rid of Phil’s family. He felt anger roiling through him for just a moment, but the longer that he stared at Cornelia, at the softness of her face, and the gentle reminder of how she supported everything that Phil’s family did, the more the anger dispersed.

He couldn’t be angry at all of his people for the actions of a few.

There were so many, he knew, that supported him and his family. In fact, Phil was almost certain that more people were on his side then against.

He shook his head.

“We don’t know. The Frila’s refused to say the name. We interviewed the guards; there has been very little talk of this “Champion.” Your father and I believe it is an isolated incident.”

Phil nodded, but otherwise didn’t speak. Instead, he moved swiftly towards Cornelia’s side, and took her hand in his.

He had always loved her as a sister. She was gentle, and kind, and funny too. She grounded Phil’s brother, and brought a different kind of light to all of their lives. Bowing his head over her hand, Phil kissed it swiftly.

“I will save you,” he told her quietly. “And when this is all over, you can leave that toxic family of yours, and be nothing but a Lester.”

Phil knew it was nothing but wishful thinking, but he thought he saw Cornelia smile for just a moment. The thought would have to be enough to carry him through.

The Queen moved up to Phil’s side and gently placed her hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.

“Be safe, my son,” she whispered.

Phil’s lips were trembling when he replied, “I will. I promise.”

It took longer than Phil had been anticipating, but eventually, he managed to pull himself away from Cornelia’s bedside to instead turn his attention to his mother, who he’d actually come up here to bid goodbye. When he did, he found that she was already staring at him, her gaze searching, but kind.

She smiled at him.

“So much has happened, hasn’t it?” she asked.

Slowly, Phil nodded his head. He knew his mother so well, and yet, in that moment, he had no idea what she was thinking.

The Queen laughed, seeming to find Phil’s expression amusing, as she reached forward with gentle fingers and smoothed out his brow.

“Don’t fret, so. I know you know what you’re doing. I just miss the days where you told me everything,” she explained. “It’s been a long time since you kept any secret from me. The King of Thieves, hmm? Your father was right all along.”

She laughed, then, a welcome sound as Phil ducked his head, blushing but smiling.

“Yeah…” he agreed, bashful as ever. “I’ve just - I didn’t know myself, until close to the wedding. I wasn’t keeping secrets from you mother, I -”

“Oh shush,” the Queen interrupted, laughing again so Phil knew that she wasn’t angry. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Philip. You’re getting older, and matters of the heart have always been difficult for you. I understand. I just miss my little boy,” she explained, using one hand to lift Phil’s chin so he was staring at her once more, and the other to sweep away his fringe.

“You’ve always been so careful with your heart. I’m happy for you, my son.”

Phil’s heart nearly melted right then and there, and he laughed, eyes brightening as he thought of Dan; Dan, who had so quickly become everything that he’d ever wanted. How had they ended up here?

“He’s… more than you could imagine,” Phil replied a bit dumbly.

“A man after my own heart,” the Queen replied, pressing a hand over her heart and swooning dramatically. Phil blushed darkly once more, and moaned, “mum!” rather loudly, shoving away from her.

She merely laughed some more, and reached out to pat Phil on the cheek lightly.

“I’ve never seen you like this, so happy and carefree, despite… despite everything that’s happened in the past few days. He’s good for you, that one, I can see it already,” the Queen decided immediately. Then, she straightened up and seemed to regain control over herself. “The men in our family are so often stubborn and blind. You’ll do our name proud with a man like him by your side. But where is he? I’d like to give him a stern talking to, before he runs off with you on a suicide mission.”

Her gaze was hard as she glanced behind her, as if Dan would suddenly be there, and then turned back to Phil with a look of determination, a brow raised as she waited for an answer.

Cheeks dark red once more, Phil shrugged one shoulder helplessly.

“He’s with father. We’re preparing to leave. I’ve just come up to say goodbye,” Phil explained, and lowered his eyes. He could feel his heart sinking once more, the terror of what was to come returning until he could feel his limbs trembling once more.

There was so much on his mind, the weight on his shoulders far heavier than it had ever been.

Phil took his mother’s hand in his.

“The King of Thieves - he told me to tell you, “I’ll bring him back alive.” Mother… I promise, I’ll do everything in my power to bring us back a cure.”

Dan walked quickly down to the library, the feeling of Phil's last, almost-tearful kiss still tingling against his lips. The emotion in Phil's eyes had been unmistakeable. There was so much care in Phil - he had compassion for everything and everyone around him, and that both inspired and terrified Dan. Phil was a good man, but he was so much more vulnerable because of it.

Remembering that Phil had told him to try and behave himself, Dan grimaced a bit as he tugged open the library door. He kept his hood down low, not willing to reveal his face in such a public area, and without Phil by his side, Dan was feeling a lot more tense. He hadn't even realised how reassuring it was to have someone with authority walking next to him - now, Dan was forced to look over his shoulder again at every turn, in case someone asked him what he was doing there. He was still a wanted thief within these palace walls, and suddenly he couldn’t forget it.

When he finally made it back to the library, both the King and Crown Prince Martyn were still poring over the map. The King glanced up, hand going to his sword, but he relaxed once he saw it was Dan. Martyn was oblivious, instead focused still on the map with a near-permanent crease in his forehead and a look of scarily fierce determination painted all over his features.

He must be desperate to do what he could to rescue his bride.

"Greetings." Dan bowed his head, drawing in his natural impulse to make fun of the both of them and instead lifting his chin to meet the seriousness of this situation. He was Phil’s ambassador here, after all, and for that Dan could make himself sensible. Mostly. "Phil's with his mother, so I came to say we're leaving."

The King beamed. "Ah, King of Thieves! It's always a pleasure to welcome you." He got to his feet and came over to Dan’s side, and Dan had to resist the urge to shrink back. The King was a tall man, almost as tall as Dan, and even though he wasn’t in his royal regalia, this was still the King. The man Dan had hated for so long, had blamed for taking everything from him.

And now, that very same man was clasping Dan’s shoulder. "Is my son treating you well? I assume you helped yourself to our supply; you must stock up."

Dan nodded once, grinning slightly. Despite his past hatred for this man, things had come a long way. "Yes. I must say, it made a change to have help when I was stealing from you this time."

Martyn and the King shared a look, and then they were both snorting with laughter. The King studied Dan closely, and those piercing blue eyes were so similar to Phil's that Dan actually froze. This man was Phil's father, and while Dan didn't really care about his approval one way or the other, he found himself slightly intimidated by that strong stare.

"Look after him," The King said finally. "I'm trusting him to you."

Dan jerked his head once in a nod. He didn't need reminding to look after Phil - at this point it was just natural instinct.

"And go down to the kitchens before you leave," the King added. "Take as much food as you need."

Dan nodded again, more slowly. He was a little surprised at this generosity, but he wasn't going to be complaining. He opened his mouth, unsure what to say, and then the King was pulling him into a hug.

Dan froze.

"Whatever you may have done to my people," the King said quietly, "You are repaying ten fold in loving my son. If he deems you worthy - then you must be, as I always suspected, a good man."

Dan blinked, totally thrown,.

The King chuckled, stepping bacl. “I see you are confused. I was not so different to you, once - in my youth. At least, what I think you are.”

“And what do you think I am?” Dan questioned sharply, his hackles up and his mind thrown.

The King surveyed him with an oddly gentle expression - one that made Dan quiver. “I think, King of Thieves, that despite all your faults, you do what you do for good reason. I know of the black market. Do you think I am completely blind to all that goes on in my kingdom?”

Dan’s eyes widened.

“I have seen your work,” the King added. “I have seen you feeding those that I have failed to feed myself. I see you working to bring the gap between rich and poor down - which, believe it or not, is the very same work that I am doing. We are not so different, even if our methods… may not be the same.”

Dan swallowed, all breath leaving his lungs. For the King to know what he did, and not have stopped it - despite the very criminal nature of the black markets, the fact that he knew Dan stole to give those people items to trade for food, and hadn’t stopped it? That made him a very different man to the one Dan had always deemed him to be.

“I think I misjudged you,” Dan said faintly.

The King chuckled. “Probably, but I misjudged you in the beginning, too. A truce, from King to King?”

Dan actually gasped, and then flushed and ducked under his hood to hide it. Recognition. Recognition from a royal who wasn’t Phil, from the King himself.

Dan had never dreamed himself here, not even in his wildest imagination.

“Truce,” Dan agreed, and reached out to grip the King’s hand in his own.

And then the King was stepping back to wave Dan on his way.

Dan was just turning to leave when another hand grabbed his shoulder, and this time Martyn Lester was right in front of him. His eyes had a hard gleam, but his words were gentle. "I - I don't know why you're helping me, or what sordid thing you've got with my brother, but - I'm grateful. Although if you hurt my brother I will personally kill you."

Once again, Dan was brought up short. The concern in Martyn's voice was so protective, so clearly brotherly. It was giving Dan all kinds of flashbacks to how he'd been with his own little brother, years and years in the past.

Dan shook his head, then clasped Martyn's shoulder in return and said lowly, "You have my word, and a thief's honour is never broken."

“I’m trusting you,” Martyn hissed, his eyes serious as he fixed Dan with a stern, bordering on desperate, gaze. “I would - if I could, I would go - but - but I can’t leave her, I can’t - so you have to.”

“I understand.” Dan drew himself up tall and looked Martyn dead in the eyes from the depths of his hood. “I won’t let you lose her.”

Martyn stepped back, looking satisfied, and Dan turned to leave before any more Lesters could completely screw with his brain. Phil was bad enough - Dan didn't know how to cope with a whole family of them.

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