I was tagged by @dirty-bosmer and @justafoxhound to do this writing game, thank you so much! As usual I do it for my books. And no, I don't know what "line" means. It's something that's longer than a paragraph, right?
I tag @beck-nightengale, no pressure though. If anyone else wants to do this, feel free!
A line from your fic that makes you laugh
“Aber zuerst will ich Euren Passierschein sehen.”
“Meinen Passierschein.” Jaheel biss sich auf die Zunge und hoffte, der Wächter würde an diesem albernen Stück Papier ersticken. Konnte er nur leider nicht, da Jaheel noch immer keinen besaß.
"But first I want to see your writ of passage."
"My writ of passage." Jaheel bit his tongue and hoped the guard would choke to death on that stupid piece of paper. Which he unfortunately couldn't, since Jaheel still didn't have one.
From book 4. Fun fact: Jaheel could've easily avoided a beating, two near-executions, time in prison and a bunch of murders if he had just prepared for his trip and gotten a writ of passage.
A line from your fic that makes you sad
“...zu gefährlich, er hätte dich umbringen können!” Das war die halb-flüsternde Stimme seiner Mutter. Es klang, als säße sie im Hauptraum. Von dort war ein schwacher Lichtschein zu sehen, abgesehen davon war es beinahe komplett dunkel. Er war so müde und sein Kopf dröhnte, es fiel ihm schwer, dem aufgeregten Gespräch zu folgen.
“...traumatisiert, er braucht Zeit!” Das war sein Vater.
“Er ist unser Sohn, aber ich hatte Angst vor ihm!” Surianis Stimme war erstickt und eindringlich. “Weißt du, ich habe ihn sofort erkannt, als wir ihn bei der Amna gesehen haben, obwohl er so …anders aussieht. Aber jetzt? Er ist so verändert, ich erkenne ihn nicht mehr. Selbst das Mädchen hatte Angst vor ihm!”
"...too dangerous, he could have killed you!" That was the half-whispering voice of his mother. It sounded like she sat in the main room. A faint light could be seen from there, everything else was almost completely dark. He was so tired and his head pounded, it was difficult to follow the agitated conversation.
"...traumatized, he needs time." That was his father.
"He is our son but I was scared of him!" Suriani's voice was stifled and urgent. "You know, I immediately recognized him when we saw him at the Amna, even though he looks so ...different. But now? He changed so much, I don't know him anymore. Even the girl was scared of him!"
Andreine experiencing the good old "people talk about the injured dude cause they think he's asleep" after shit happens in book 2. Imagine you've avoided returning to your home that's been taken from you when you were a kid for decades cause you were scared and ashamed. And then you finally go back and it's weird at first but also very nice and you actually still have a home! Until you don't cause your parents see you at your worst and you realize you don't belong with them and your people anymore :) The lost son isn't a son anymore, just lost :) And did I mention that he also just lost his two healthiest coping mechanisms? :)
A line from your fic you're proud of
Eine Königin stirbt genau wie ein Bettler, dachte er bei sich. Nur dass ihr Blut auf einen Teppich tropft, der mehr kostet als das, was dieser Bettler in seinem ganzen Leben anhäufen kann.
A queen dies just like a beggar, he thought to himself. Only that her blood drips on a rug that costs more than what said beggar can accumulate in their entire life.
Jaheel experiencing A Thought™ during the climax of book 1 as one does while stabbing royalty.
A line for your fic you think could have been better
Uhm... most of them? There are entire scenes that I unfortunately can't put here that are just cringe and not good or even offensive and handled poorly.
A line from your fic that makes you want to punch a character
“Was ist so lustig?”, fragte Rucio interessiert [...] und kam zu ihm hinübergeschlendert.
“Oh, nichts, was du besonders lustig finden würdest”, gab Jaheel zurück und leckte sich über die blutige Lippe.
“Ich verstehe. Wir scheinen tatsächlich nicht den gleichen Humor zu teilen. Schade, findet Ihr nicht?”
Jaheel schnaubte. “Das wirkte auf dem Balkon noch ganz anders.”
“Ach ja, richtig. Ihr machtet eine beinahe so erbärmliche Figur wie jetzt. Und trotzdem habt Ihr ernsthaft geglaubt, ich hätte Interesse an Euch.” Er lachte auf und Jaheel hielt sich an dem Bild fest, wie er den Kerl mit den Zähnen in Tausend Stücke zerriss. Es half nicht viel.
“Du wusstest, wer ich bin.”
“Natürlich.” Rucio klang überrascht. “Genau genommen war ich erstaunt, dass Ihr nicht wusstet, wen Ihr vor Euch habt.”
“Einen weiteren Schönling, einen unbedeutenden Zeitvertreib, nichts weiter.” Er grinste. “Es macht eigentlich keinen Unterschied, dass ich dich nicht erkannt habe. Im Grunde hat sich nichts geändert, nur dass ich nicht mehr mit dir schlafen, sondern dich umbringen will.”
Rucio ließ seinen Stiefel auf seinen Kopf niedersausen und Jaheel ächzte, als seine linke Gesichtshälfte in den harten Steinboden gedrückt wurde.
“Hört Euch nur an. So ordinär! Primitiv. Und ein Wrack. Findet Ihr nicht auch, dass es unwürdig wäre, Eurem Orden weiterhin Eure sogenannte Führung zuzumuten?” Er trat noch einmal zu, ehe er den Fuß wegnahm, Jaheel sah kurz Sterne und hatte für den Moment Probleme, Rucios Worten zu folgen.
“Damit du die Führung übernimmst? Ich dachte, ich hätte dein Angebot schon abgelehnt.”
Rucio schnalzte mit der Zunge. “Gewiss, aber das war, bevor Ihr in Ketten vor mir lagt und Euer Ende endgültig besiegelt war. Ich dachte, dieser Perspektivwechsel würde vielleicht einen Sinneswandel hervorrufen, ehe ich Euch foltern muss.”
“Zu deinem Pech bin ich nicht nur ordinär und primitiv, sondern auch noch stur.”
“Pech?” Rucio lächelte und zog überrascht die Augenbrauen hoch. “Oh, keineswegs! Ich freue mich darauf.”
"What's so funny?", Rucio asked and strolled over to him.
"Oh, nothing that you'd find particularly amusing", Jaheel retorted and licked his bloody lip.
"I understand. We really don't seem to share the same sense of humor. A pity, don't you think?"
Jaheel snorted. "That seemed a lot different on that balcony."
"Ah yes, right. You cut an almost as pathetic figure as you do right now. And yet you still seriously thought I was interested in you." He laughed and Jaheel clung to the image how he tore the guy to a thousand pieces with his teeth. It didn't help much.
"You knew who I am."
"Of course." Rucio sounded surprised. "In fact I was astonished that you didn't know who you had in front of you."
"Another pretty boy, a meaningless pastime, nothing more." He grinned. "It actually doesn't make much of a difference that I didn't recognize you. Basically, nothing changed, only that I don't want to sleep with you anymore, but want to kill you instead."
Rucio brought his boot down onto his head and Jaheel groaned when the left side of his face was pressed into the stone floor.
"Listen to you. So vulgar. Primitive. And a wreck. Don't you also think it would be undignified to expose your order to your so-called leadership any longer?" He kicked again before lifting his foot, Jaheel saw stars for a moment and had trouble following Rucio's words.
"So you can take over the leadership? I thought I had already rejected your offer."
Rucio clicked his tongue. "Of course, but that was before you were lying chained at my feet and your fate was sealed for good. I thought this change of perspective might cause a change of heart, before I have to torture you."
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not just vulgar and primitive, but also stubborn."
"Unfortunate?" Rucio smiled and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, not at all! I'm looking forward to it."
Book 3. Jaheel flirts with a dude once to feel better about himself, and said dude turns out to be the final boss and also a bitch. I wonder if Jaheel will forgive him and they'll live happily ever after :)
A line from your fic that makes you go 'aww'
“Ich hab wirklich versucht, den Orden zu retten”, flüsterte Jaheel erstickt.
“Shhh, ist schon gut”, murmelte Andreine. Er wollte Jaheel sagen, dass der Orden sicher irgendwie klarkommen würde, doch anders als sonst wollte ihm die Lüge nicht über die Lippen kommen.
“Ich bin froh, dass ich dich wiedergefunden habe, Dri”, fuhr Jaheel fort.
Andreine konnte nur leicht nicken. Verdammt, wieso musste Jaheel ihm den Abschied so schwer machen? Und wieso konnte er nicht einfach irgendetwas erwidern? Alles, was er tun konnte, war, ihn festzuhalten, als wolle er ihn nie wieder loslassen. „Ich wünschte, ich könnte dich beschützen“, murmelte er nur.
Schließlich war es Jaheel, der sich aus der Umarmung löste, sich räusperte und die Nase hochzog. “Wollen wir? Ich hoffe, es geht wenigstens schnell.” Das Grinsen misslang ihm gründlich und erneut konnte Andreine nur nicken.
"I really tried to save the order", Jaheel whispered, choking.
"Shhh, it's okay", Andreine murmured. He wanted to tell Jaheel that the order would surely get by somehow, but unlike usually the lie wouldn't pass his lips.
"I'm glad I found you again, Dri", Jaheel continued.
Andreine could only nod slightly. Damn, why did Jaheel have to make the goodbye so difficult? And why couldn't he just say something? All he could do was hold him tight like he'd never let go again. "I wish I could protect you", he just murmured.
In the end it was Jaheel who let go of the embrace, cleared his throat and snuffled. "Shall we? I hope they make it quick at least." He failed miserably with his grin and yet again Andreine could only nod.
Book 1. That awkward moment when the dude you initially wanted to kill is about to leave for a suicide mission but for some weird reason it's not as convenient as it sounds.
A line from your fic that's full of symbolism
„Weißt du, auf Gao gibt es eine Legende, die besagt, dass die Sterne die Seelen der ertrunkenen Seeleute sind.“
Lithurio sah hinauf zu den Augen des Klippenwächters und der Jagende Fleckenkatze. „Und wie sind sie dort hinaufgekommen?“
„Man sagt, dass der Sternenhimmel dort oben nur eine Spiegelung der Sterne sind, die auf dem Grund des Meeres leuchten.“ Der alte Garine hatte die Geschichte oft erzählt, während er seine Netze flickte, umringt von einer Schar Kinder, die gebannt seinen Worten lauschten.
„Sterne auf dem Grund des Meeres?“ Lithurio runzelte die Stirn und legte den Kopf in den Nacken.
„Ja, je tiefer man taucht, desto dunkler wird es, auch bei Tageslicht. Und wenn man tief genug taucht, dann sieht man am Grund die Seelen der Ertrunkenen als kleine Lichter. Es gab einige, die behaupteten, sie gesehen zu haben. Ich weiß nicht, ob es stimmt, vielleicht halluzinierten sie nur, weil sie selber fast ertrunken wären.“
"You know, there's a legend on Gao that says that the stars are the souls of sailors who drowned at sea."
Lithurio looked up to the Eyes of the Cliff Watcher and the Hunting Spot Cat. "And how did they get up there?"
"They say that the starry sky above is just a reflection of the stars that shine at the bottom of the sea." Old Garine had told the story often while mending the nets, surrounded by a flock of spellbound children.
"Stars at the bottom of the sea?" Lithurio frowned and tilted his head back.
"Yes, the deeper you dive, the darker it gets, even at daytime. And if you dive deep enough, you see the souls of the drowned as little lights at the bottom. There were several who claimed they saw them. I don't know if it's true, maybe they just hallucinated because they almost drowned themselves."
Book 1. I don't know if that counts as symbolism. Andreine offering some clumsy exposition so I have an excuse to lore dump.
A line from your fic that contains an Easter egg
"Ein Assassine, der den Tod nicht erkennt, wenn er ihm gegenübersteht."
"An assassin who doesn't know death when he faces it."
Book 1. Jaheel is royally fucked and not in the way he enjoys. I blatantly stole that line and I don't know how obvious it is. Let's just say it's one of many references to that particular media.
A line from your fic that's shocking
„Also, Junge: Was hast du jetzt mit mir vor?“
Es war beinahe amüsant, wie alle Farbe aus dem Gesicht des Jungen wich und er hilflos nach Luft schnappte wie ein Fisch auf dem Trockenen.
„Nun beruhige dich doch. Es ist alles in Ordnung. Ich weiß-“
Sef sprang über den Tisch.
"So, boy: What are your plans with me now?"
It was almost amusing how all color left the boy's face and he gasped for air like a fish on dry land.
"Calm down. It's all okay. I know-"
Sef leaped across the table.
Book 4. Not exactly a jarring experience, but Jaheel was surprised enough to get tackled to the ground by some 20-year-old kid. And I just think it's neat.
A line from your fic you want to talk about more
"Oder wir könnten darüber reden, wieso du deine einzige Gelegenheit, mich zu töten, hast verstreichen lassen. Damit hast du dich vermutlich des Verrats an deiner Königin strafbar gemacht.“ Jaheel lehnte sich mit einem süffisanten Grinsen an einen Baum, verschränkte die Arme und sah Lithurio erwartungsvoll an.
Der funkelte ihn an. „Es gibt auch Menschen mit Prinzipien und Anstand!“
Jaheel grinste breit. „Ich wusste es. Das liebe ich so an Leuten mit Prinzipien, Moral und Anstand und alldem: Sie sind absolut berechenbar.“
Lithurios Kiefer mahlte.
„Eine einzige gute Tat, in diesem Fall meine selbstlose Aufopferung für Andreines Heilung, ist genug, um sämtliche schlechte Taten, vergangene und zukünftige, auszumerzen.“
"Or we can talk about why you wasted your only chance to kill me. With this you're probably guilty of treason against your queen." Jaheel leaned against a tree with a smug grin, crossed his arms and looked at Lithurio expectantly.
He glared at him. "There are people with principles and decency!"
Jaheel grinned broadly. "I knew it. That's what I love so much about people with principles, morals, decency and all that: They're completely predictable."
Lithurio ground his jaw.
"A single good deed, in this case my selfless sacrifice for Andreine's healing is enough to eradicate all bad deeds, past and future."
Book 1. Bold of you to assume there are paragraphs lines that I don't wanna talk about more. One time someone asked me about some lore and I threw 3k words at them.
So what we have here is one part of Jaheel's process to redeem himself, even though you can't really tell cause he's a smug asshole about it. But Lithurio is just a side note, he has to win over Andreine. Who's been rightfully mad at him for 10 years and wants him dead cause yes, Jaheel fucked up back then. Massively. He knows, though he wouldn't easily admit it and has his fun little reasons and excuses and some impressive mental gymnastics, but he knows. He has done some redemption stuff in the 10 years when Andreine was gone, but that doesn't really count. Now Andreine is back and Jaheel has to get his trust back. He already sacrificed one of his men in the process (okay, not that impressive tbh), allowed his pride to get hurt (rather impressive tbh) and now he put his life on the line. Healing magic isn't pleasant and for serious injuries you need a second person to "cushion" the effects on the person who gets healed. Which means both will be in pain and then pass out for a while.
So you have Lithurio who has a sword and his fire magic with two unconscious assassins. His task was to kill Jaheel (or help Andreine kill him but Andreine is unconscious as well). He has the perfect opportunity. Jaheel has known Lithurio for like an hour at this point. He can't know how honorable that kid really is. He fully expects to get stabbed or have his blood boiled with fire magic (not pleasant). But he doesn't really have a choice. He has to go all in and hope it works out. He's just happy to be alive and celebrates by bullying a 17-year-old kid. And he'll do more in the future (both redemption stuff and bullying).
Jaheel has taken some risks in his life, you can't really avoid it in his field of work, but that was just stupid and reckless. Unheard of. And the only thing he could do.
