they love each other, they hate each other, they feel nothing for each other, they are filled with resentment, they wish the other was dead, they would kill to ensure the survival of the other, they can't live without each other, they can't live with each other, they are the best and worst of each other, they read each other's thoughts, they don't understand each other, they are narrative foils, they are mirrors for each other's reflections, they are the same, they cannot be more different, they are lonely little boys, they are hardened men, they have never been more honest than with each other, they keep lying to each other, they blessed each other, they cursed each other, they are a creator and his creation, they are one entity, they are God and Lucifer, Frankeinstein and his monster, Holmes and Watson, Penelope and Odysseus, they are each other's survival, they are each other's downfall
@attractthecrows ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME WITH YOUR TAGS ?? (/j, you are so so right, i'm crying)
LISTEN! i just finished isle of blood, can't find a copy of the last descent, but OH MY GOD their dynamic is so rich and juicy that i could milk a volume for years. If this is spoilers, sorry, i can link you to the internet archive copies that I just devoured.
but right now I'm thinking about Pellinore, who got so close to the truth in assuming that Will left their hotel in Africa to try and find *him*. He was so close! He'd finally understood Will's reasoning; he may not agree but let's be honest, they're nearly the same. But he failed to predict anyone would approach Will, or that their contact would leave him alone. And I can't help but wonder how much it ate him up before he finally found the courage to ask Will Henry if he'd used the missing bullets to kill the missing Russians, how much he wrestled with himself over the assumption that Will was looking for him when in reality Will was facing down death itself. Will was losing more and more of his childhood every minute, every day, for Pellinore. Out of a displaced fatherly devotion... that he more than took advantage of. It must hurt like hell, but he wouldn't know how to stop it; monstrumology is much more important than parenting. Until, like all things with these two, it's too late.
Keep the emotional damage coming, i love it. No but seriously, The Isle of Blood is so so dear to me. Like, Warthrop finally realising how Will Henry is beginning to fall over the edge !!! Warthrop allowing himself to be more vulnerable with Will, to show how afraid he is of AND for Will, how he finally admits that they NEED to be indispensable to each other because it is their STRENGTH. He finally understands how important Will is for him (he already knew it, back in the first book, but it's the closest he's come to lose Will Henry, so he's more raw and open with his affection. it's probably the book where he loves Will the most. and this love keeps pushing Will further down insanity. delicious.).
also, something something, Warthrop realising how much Will has changed, something something about his guilt and the knowledge it's his fault, something something about understanding he doesn't want the perfect apprentice he's carved out of Will but to have Will as he is rather than an empty shell
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS
And you know what, I don't think Warthrop noticed the missing bullets immediately. It's not like he needed his revolver on the boat, and why would he assume Will Henry had used it? As far as he knew, Will was looking for him. I think he didn't put the missing Russians + missing bullets puzzle pieces together until Will admitted that it was his idea to use the pwdre ser on Arkwright.
And what a slap to the face that must've been. You hurt your boy - that you refuse to admit is your boy - so profoundly, so deeply that you broke him. He's only a boy. A child who's seen exactly what pwdre ser does to a person, who was horrified and disgusted by what he saw. You left him behind to keep him safe, and in his desperation to get back to you, he weaponized the nidus.
And with that realization comes the question: what else is he capable of?
And with that comes the realization that you know exactly what he's capable of.
What's even more insane is that Warthrop comes to the realisation Will is becoming ruthless because of him at the same time he realises Will NEEDS him. Not just any adult, but Warthrop specifically. Will needs him so much that he's ready to kill and torture.
He tries to leave to protect the boy - because he finally understands that he's just dooming Will Henry by allowing him to stay, because he can't deal with all the guilt that overwhelms him at the thought, because he has the Holy Grail to catch and it's too dangerous for Will. So, he leaves, thinking it will be better that way, thinking Will will be happy and safe and sound without him.
BUT HE'S WRONG.
He's wrong and he only realises it when Will comes to get him. He watches Will cry in Von Helrung's arms and he can only think "i thought you hated me, i thought you would be better off without me".
Imagine realising the boy you're trying so hard to raise did so many unforgivable things - things that go against your own principles, things you never taught him but that he still picked up because of you - because he needed to have YOU back.
You hurt him again and again and a part of him resents you and that's the part you choose to focus on, to the point that you forget he's looking up to you. You hurt him and you think you deserve his hatred but instead he offers you his humanity on a silver plate. You leave him behind and he uses the thing that cost him a finger to follow you. You try to protect him but he puts his life on the line for you even though you're supposed to be the bane of his existence.
The boy will kill for you. He will die for you - he almost does. He will destroy himself and the world to make sure you stay safe, even though he pretends to hate you.
That must have slapped Warthrop in the face.
