#so when damen speaks it laurent doesn't know whats being said

[altruistic-meme]

i am both technically writing and technically not writing at the same time, which is interesting

[pourcap]

thoughts: kr chapter 14

Damen spent two fruitless hours with Nikandros trying to plot a course (...), until Laurent wandered in and outlined a plan so outrageous that Damen had said yes with the feeling that his mind was splitting apart. how much pleasure do you think laurent got out of damen going with his plan instead of nikandros'?

(...) the young, triple-crowned Pallas, Lazar, who had whistled at him, (...) i would like a pallas x lazar spinoff

(...) Damen tried not to think too deeply about the reasons why Laurent thought it necessary to bring a physician. i reread chapter 13 and honestly i wouldn't be surprised if damen was worried about injury while laurent was planning for something else, like jokaste said: "he has his own plans." idk what he's expecting to happen but maybe the 'outrageous plan' and paschal being with them means more? ugh no idea

(...) ‘I see. My wife is the leverage for my good behaviour?’ ‘That’s right,’ said Laurent. is it just me or is easily admitting to something not really characteristic of laurent? i want to know how he said it. was it just "that's right" or was it "that's right" with a glint of "you're so dumb" flickering in his eyes? every chapter i read i think of that one part in book 1 (i think??) where damen tells laurent he doesn't think laurent does anything without ten different motives (that's me paraphrasing obv, i can't remember the exact words :/)

Damen dropped the pitcher. stop

Laurent’s arms were bare. His throat was bare. His collarbone was bare, and most of his thighs, his long legs, and all of his left shoulder. Damen stared at him. horny damen is back!!!! <3333

Laurent sat down. (...) It was even shorter sitting down. he's not even listening, is he?

'Yes. Sorry,’ said Damen. And then: ‘What were you saying?“ lmao i loooove damen so much

They had only twelve soldiers. Twelve-ish, amended Damen, thinking of Paschal and Guion. let me repeat that: i love damen (and his sass)

of course nikandros disagrees. remember when laurent asked damen if he thought nikandros would like him? i guess we all know the answer lol (maybe someday ☻)

'I wish to restate my strong objection,’ said Nikandros. ‘It’s noted,’ said Damen. I LOOOVE DAMEN

Even so, Damen heard himself saying. ‘You can’t just barge in on—’ ‘Open the wagon,’ said the Captain, ignoring him. if only this dude knew who he's really speaking to

also how are they getting out of this lol

Laurent stepped out of the wagon, (...). He said, ‘How did you convince Jokaste to play along with the guards?’ ‘I didn’t,’ said Laurent. no way

He tossed the wad of blue silk in his hands to one of the soldiers to dispose of, then shrugged into his jacket in a rather mannish gesture. IN A RATHER MANNISH GESTURE

laurent is so hot

i'm so sorry but he's literally so hot

"Don't think about it too much,' said Damen. can you believe how far laurent and damen have come? the easy acceptance of each other's personalities, the appreciation for how much they've helped and will continue to help each other by one person making up for what the other lacks, the absence of judgement? and just, in general, how well they know each other by now? i just love them. i love them.

Laurent held out his hand to escort her back from the supply wagon into the main wagon, a bored Veretian gesture. Her eyes had the same bored look as she took his hand. ‘You’re lucky we’re alike,’ she said, stepping down. They looked at one another like two reptiles. i imagine nikandros staring at damen right now and i know exactly what his face would look like

(...) ‘I’ll be swift, and I’ll take our best rider with me.’ ‘That’s me,’ said Laurent, wheeling his horse. i just think they're very sexy

'The undergrowth was thinner when I was a boy.’ ‘Or you were.' stop flirting omg (jk pls go on)

damen constantly thinking about all the nice places he wants to take laurent and the people he wants to introduce him to and the memories he wants to make with him... it's doing things to me. he's so in love. they're so in love. <3

'You left the dress in the wagon,’ said Damen. ‘Thank you, I do have other ways of getting past a sentry.' yay more flirting!

'You’re late,’ said Damen. ‘I brought you a souvenir.’ Laurent tossed Damen an apricot. Damen could feel the quiet exultation of Laurent’s men, while the Akielons looked a little dazed. laurenttttt (i said that with a squeal)

‘Is this how you do things in Vere?’ ‘You mean effectively?’ said Laurent. (...) lauuuureeeennttttt <33333 (he's so cute and i love him and i know damen's competency kink just flared up again but can laurent pls stop needling nikandros lol)

(...) Earlier, Laurent had tossed Damen his bedroll and said, ‘Unpack this,’ and Pallas had almost challenged him to a duel for the insult. (...) imagine if pallas knew even half of all that happened between damen and laurent lol. also it's not like damen is a perfect gentleman but, you know. i appreciate the loyalty (and love pallas)

Damen poured a shallow cup of wine and passed it to the soldier beside him (Pallas), and there was a long silence in which Pallas stood obviously garnering every piece of courage that he had to reach out and take it. damen is so good to his men; i love that he knows pallas meant well, so this is a nice gesture. also, bc it's just impossible to ignore: damen is so hot.

Laurent strolled up to the impasse, threw himself down on the log next to Damen, and in an expressionless voice launched into the story of the brothel adventure that had earned him the blue dress, which was so unabashedly filthy it made Lazar blush, and so funny it had Pallas wiping his eyes. (...) i just got super emotional bc remember when in the beginning of book 2, damen told laurent he needed to bond with his men in a way that wasn't just manipulation and laurent said he didn't have time for that? i love that it's happening now, and has of course been happening for a while, but that laurent is coming more out of his shell and actually enjoying himself now and then.

Pallas did a decent impression of Paschal’s riding. Lazar watched Pallas with lazy admiration. It wasn’t the impression he was admiring. Damen bit into the apricot. 1) i will read all the lazar x pallas fics there are. 2) damen always noticing the soldiers flirting is so funny to me. first jord and aimeric, now these two

laurent and damen lying side by side under the stars ahhhhh

'You smell of horse,’ said Damen. ‘It’s how I got past the dog.' whyyyy am i so emotional? can you believe i'm crying over damen saying laurent smells lol

'You want me wandering around the Akielon countryside naked at night?’ And then, ‘You smell just as much of horse as I do.’ ‘More,’ said Damen. He was smiling. he was smiling !!!! and i am crying now :)

'They’re Artesian. Aren’t they? From the old empire, Artes. They say it used to span both our countries.' bring it back! bring back artes!

Damen heard himself say it. ‘There’s a summer palace in Ios outside the capital. (...)' His pulse beat with uncharacteristic nerves, so that he felt almost shy. ‘When all this is over . . . we could take horses and stay a week in the palace.’ (...) He felt Laurent holding himself carefully, and there was a strange pause. After a moment, Laurent said, softly, ‘I’d like that.’ you know how i just said i was crying? i am sobbing now :) damen and laurent both being shy and cute and in love and full of yearning for peace and happiness 😭 I love them so much 😭

that was such a good chapter :')

[captaindamianos]

hi!! huge fan of captive prince as well here, but sometimes there are lines i can't figure out if it's damen or laurent saying it or what they mean...so this is redundant but what exactly did damen mean when he says ' Not for me. I'll tell you how it was when I'm done '

😭

Hi!! It probably doesn't give me credit to say that, but there are some instances that are left open for interpretation, in my opinion. But it's been about a year since I last read any of the books, and it's not my first language so I might just...not get it.

Gonna embarrass myself under the cut haha, I'm sure I'll be using the wrong terminology, most of my literary analysis was done in my first language in school, so please excuse me if I sound like I know nothing.

This is from B's post, right? I couldn't quite place the quote when I read it. So I went and searched my Kindle versions:

In this case the conversation goes as following:

D: 'Don't like to come?'

L: 'Is that a problem?'

D: 'Not for me. I'll tell you how it was when I'm done'

That 'is that a problem?' is said by Laurent is indicated by the sentence following, describing his breathing and inability to use his usual tone.

Conversations usually follow the same patterns of back and forth, even if there is no indication of a direct quote. So when it's not clear to me, I try to figure out what the text tells me and try to follow the pattern accordingly and check if it makes sense with what I know of the characters, their way of speaking and the context of the conversation.

The context is that due to the abuse Laurent suffered, he often struggles to come. Damen is bringing some lightheartedness into it, by being a mouthy little shit. He doesn't struggle with it, but saying it like this doesn't make a big deal of it, which helps Laurent in the situation. He can come, he doesn't need to, there is no pressure. Which is what Laurent needs, because sex and having an orgasm have a lot of baggage for him, to say the least. 🥲 It moves the situation forward, Laurent flips them and that seems to help him feel in control again.

That's at least my take on it. I do hope this helped you a bit? If not, please feel free to drop by again! I've not been feeling it lately if I'm going to be honest, by it I mean participating in the fandom or interacting much with it. But interacting with the text is always a good reminder what is there to love about it.

Thank you for the message!!

[rosyandraw]

Speaking of Damen’s POV. I’ve always wondered what Damen was thinking in Chapter 5 when he just got back from secretly rescuing Auguste and Laurent ask him whether he wanted to fuck him. Idk because the way you wrote it seemed so ominous.

Did Damen ever suspect that Laurent was ever groomed at all? Because I think it’s evident that Laurent portrays obvious signs of unhealthy experience like how he assumes that every favour should be repayed with sex etc.

Would love to know more on Damen’s introspection of Laurent. And ngl for someone as protective as Damen, I’m surprised that Damen didn’t take action on Bastian sooner. Like just beat him up already djdghshs

Okay this might get long so I’m very sorry! And I’ll put it under a cut because it could potentially be upsetting or triggering and I don’t want anyone to accidentally see it.

Damen’s awareness of Laurent’s abuse in canon and how I translated this.

Firstly, thank you so much for this question, and yes, it was meant to be a little ominous or dark because you guys all know what it implies.

I’ll start by saying it is a tough topic to navigate in fiction because the nuances can get lost on page and there is no one size fits all.

And that’s always very present in my mind when I think about Captive Prince and the way it deals with -and the ways it doesn’t deal with- Laurent’s abuse.

For Damen in particular I based NMFY and Damen's behaviours/reactions entirely on my opinion regarding the canon.

Did Damen consciously and actually think the words “Laurent was groomed”? No.

Do I think he was aware on many levels of the things he was witnessing, and cataloguing of Laurent's behaviours, and it's likely source? Yes.

I think Damen, like many of us, would never just assume something so brutal regardless of what’s in front of us. It’s not a standard thing to think or assume regardless of the people and circumstances around the person. Most people do not go around thinking of it because it is abhorrent and outside of -most- people’s experiences. I think as good people we -like Damen- would shy away from the conscious admission of the thought because we don’t want it to be true. Even when something is “off”.

And I believe that is at the heart of Damen's understanding in canon (and in my fic by extension). Canon Damen is very good at compartmentalising and actively not thinking about the things that upset him. His ability to repress his pain (Kastor, Jokaste, being made a slave, not getting to say goodbye to his murdered father, the prep and ring scene, the post, Ancel... the list goes on) is unparalleled and speaks to his own trauma response mechanisms. I think this very much extends to Laurent and the fact that he was, as Damen said "mishandled"

He actively shies away from it. He notices little things here and there and then quickly swerves away. An example that springs to mind right now from very early on is Pg 13 of Prince's Gambit:

There was something uneasily transgressive about the idea of sleeping in the place meant for Laurent’s uncle “the prince stays here often?”. The castellan mistook him to mean the keep, not the rooms. “Not often, He and his uncle came here a great deal together in the year or two after Marlas. As he grew older, the Prince lost his taste for the runs here. He now comes only rarely to Chastillon."

Damen made a leap but he doesn't tell us exactly what that leap is. We just know that the intimacy of Laurent sleeping in his uncle's bed made him uneasy. That something felt off. But the castellan mistakes Damen's meaning implying it is something normal and follows up with what is essentially the reason he thinks nothing of it. And then food arrives and Damen rushes off to it with the air of someone desperate to cut the conversation. A flash in the pan; noticed, documented, and quickly buried. One instance of many.

So, yes. I think Damen was only waiting for confirmation both in Canon and in my fic. He was actively repressing everything he had noticed and rejecting the conclusion he desperately did not want to think about.

Because what if he was wrong? That’s a terrible thing to assume or bring up or bookmark in your head about someone when you don’t know.

I think in Canon, and likewise what I attempted in my fic, it equates somewhat to: Schrödinger’s awareness. He doesn't know, but he also does.

In Chapter 5 of NMFY it gives Damen pause, like most of Laurent’s glaring markers, the same way they do for Damen in canon. It’s something he makes a note of and something he endeavours to not question out right -not his place- and to make sure Laurent feels safe enough to know Damen would never do what Laurent expects.

This part in particular I based on Laurent’s assumption following how drunk he gets at Marlas in Kings Rising, that Damen probably fucked him. Laurent in CP and Laurent in my fic are both aware that being out of it (drugged, practically asleep, incredibly drunk) means it’s easy to fuck him and all he has to really do is lie there and it’ll be over quick, because his submission or compliance is the expected norm. Neither upsetting nor angering to him. Just is what it is. An expectation from experience. He’s less trouble when he’s half conscious: this he knows and equates it to ideal time to fuck him because docile is preferable and his comfort/consent has never been part of the equation.

In my fic Damen clings to the idea that Auguste would have said something if it had been true of Laurent. So whilst he’s aware something about Laurent is off, he consciously shuts the ideas down. But Damen doesn’t take time to be convinced both in my fic and in canon, he just absorbs it. There are no questions, it’s just bringing a hard buried suspicion to the forefront as fact.

As for Bastian I think Damen wants to so very badly. But he’s also aware that he can’t really do that given who they are. And he’s never exactly certain that it’s his place to do so. He (and me by extension or is that the other way around? Haha!) needs Laurent to pull the trigger so to speak. He’s protective yes but Laurent has his own agency and Damen wouldn’t overstep that.

Especially in a modern setting and in this setting in particular where he has to worry about the press and the truth of a certain situation which he can never afford to have out. Anything with the police is a no go for him. Just in case. Damen is aware that the Royal family, the secret service, they’d all flip if someone dug up -or dragged up- the truth so its best not to tempt fate. Which absolutely isn’t to say he can’t be pushed but as of right now he’s conscious of Laurent and his choices and what he might want -or not want- and his place in all of that. He’s not petty enough to lash out with jealousy at least. Like in canon jealous Damen is more derisive and sulky than aggressive or petty.

I am very sorry this got so long but I wanted to give it a proper answer 💕💕

[wrenaspun]

“I,” said Laurent. Stopped. “You’ve known,” he said finally, “what this is.”

“Yes.”

To his horror, Laurent found his eyes hot, found himself blinking hard. Before he knew that he wanted to speak, his mouth was saying — “Why don’t you want it?”

He hated the way his voice came out. He sounded weak; bewildered; imploring. Damen was looking at him with a new expression which was so close to pity that it felt like being stabbed. Laurent turned away blindly, vision blurring, mouth gasping open.

-

“I want to make it,” said Laurent. “For the first time, I wanted —” His voice was unsteady. He wanted suddenly for Damen to understand, an urge so vehement that it felt like fury. He said, “My uncle always said that if I loved him I’d hand it over, and I never could. Damen, he had to take it.”

He’d half-expected to regret the words as soon as he said them, but he didn’t. It felt instead like pouring iodine into a wound, that same harsh clean sting, almost liberating. Damen had gone ashen: apparently he did not feel the same way.

“Laurent,” he said. His voice was awful, grating. He had not put it all together, then.

“He was right,” said Laurent. “When I fell in love, I did hand it over.”

“He was wrong,” said Damen. “It’s not something you can give, not to anyone.”

Laurent shrugged with one shoulder. “It’s not something you would accept. That’s not the same.”

“No,” said Damen, a little helplessly.

“I want,” Laurent had to take a breath to swallow the bitter humiliation of being forced to say it, “to give this to you.”

“I’d never ask it of you,” said Damen. “Never.”

“That’s —” Another breath. The rising hot pressure behind his eyes.

-

(My fav heartbreakingly exquisite scenes from your ‘all this and heaven too’ fic for the dvd commentary prompt!)

thank you!!!! I'll just answer the first one since someone else has put most of the second snippet into my inbox 💕

(dvd commentary meme)

I think the main goal of this snippet was to convey Laurent's disjointedness -- it's a moment where he gets confirmation of something he didn't want to be true (that damen knows what the skin is and deliberately left it alone) because of what he has assumed it means (that damen doesn't want him to stay). It's a vulnerable moment, and I think Laurent is the kind to shy away from exposing himself like that. He would be the sort to hate being looked at pityingly.....

Not to get too into the nitty gritty of word choices here, but I think the slight separation between subject and action here is something I picked up from the CaPri series, though I couldn't point you to any examples off the top of my head. In the fic, 'Laurent found his eyes hot' and 'his mouth was saying' (rather than 'Laurent's eyes were hot' and 'he said') became a way to convey Laurent's disorientation, the way he sort of takes a step back from occupying a physical body to retreat into his own mind.

Also, I do like playing a little with narration to kind of imply things without stating them outright -- Laurent's eyes are hot, he's blinking hard, his vision is BLURRY? He's teary! He's ready to cry! But obviously he'd never admit that even to himself, and so the narration shies away from saying it outright, too.

(This also features in a lighter moment later -- when Laurent lets Damen pull him upright, but Damen then asks if he's all right, which is when the narration admits he'd staggered because his legs were wobbly. I have fun with my little jokes...)

[wolfpants]

18, 32, and 35 please, my dearest wolfie 💛💛

Hello you!! Just catching up with all of these now after a long ass day in the office!

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

I love this question! Okay, here we go, I'm going to take something from my most recent multi-chap, Tiny Home, and I chose this passage from the start of the fic because it reflects not only Draco's current living situation when the story begins, but his state of mind. His feeling of being consumed by his own home, a place where he doesn't really feel safe in (and definitely isn't safe in) but he deals with anyway because, silently, he feels like he deserves it:

He glances across the room, at what once used to be a grand entryway. The chequered tiles are all broken and fractured; nature has long since taken over the space in the way that she spills through the window frames, claims the ceilings and walls with her vines and seedlings and buds. The whole manor is being swallowed by the earth. Each day, Draco wakes up to another flower, another root taking space in his landing, his kitchen, his dining room. 

One day, he imagines that she might take him, too. Sprout from his core, lace up through his ribs and burst from his mouth.

It’s a strangely comforting thought.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

Okay, so, everyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of the Captive Prince series, and I could honestly pick any line from that book, but this particular line from Damen to Laurent kills me every time, because it speaks of the enormous lengths they've come since the first book:

'... you are true. I have never known a truer man.' He said, into the stillness, 'I think if I gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly.'

35. What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?

Write what you know. I think this is such a silly rule. It completely disregards imagination.

Weird questions for writers!

[pourcap]

thoughts: pg chapter 14

(...) some kind of self-preservation had apparently prevented Damen from rolling inward during the night; from throwing his arm over Laurent’s torso and drawing them together to make the small tent seem larger than it was. it's crazy to me that laurent probably wouldn't even have gone violent over this, if it had happened

As a result, Damen was in possession of all his limbs, and even had his clothing restored to him. well, okay, damen doesn't seem to agree with my assessment above lol

jord is probably the least hateful person in all of the kingdoms <3

In the men’s eyes the feat was reflected as the wild, impossible thing it was—their Prince vanishing for two days, then appearing out of the night with a sackful of prisoners thrown over his shoulder, tossing them at the feet of his troop and saying: You wanted them? Here they are. honestly, laurent and damen both sound terrifying lol

'Thirty to one, at least,’ said Damen. love how he made sure to mention that hhh

Paschal snorted. Then he said, ‘It’s a good thing you’re doing, standing with him. Staying with him, when you have no love for this country. i really don't think i'll be able to handle laurent finding out who damen is :(

It would not be like this again. man, damen makes me so sad. i know he wants to be home more than anything, but it also feels kind of wistful, the way he thinks about these past few weeks. as usual, my heart aches for him

'Here,’ said Damen. ‘Let me.' damen recognizing how exhausted laurent is and immediately offering his help... i'm crying

'Stiff?’ said Damen, casually. "casually"... right

Laurent said, ‘The soldiers in Kastor’s army are trained in massage?' haha he's so lippy

'Too intimate?’ Damen said. Slowly, he was kneading Laurent’s shoulders. He did not usually think of himself as someone with suicidal impulses. Laurent did not relax at all, just stood unmoving. i love this <3 but also, damen does not think of himself as having suicidal impulses? "i speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart" was literally the first thing he said to laurent lol

i wish laurent could let himself be comfortable :( obv i know why he can't, but i feel so sorry for him every time he tries to hide all of his emotions/physical reactions/etc.

ohhh damen is such a softie

When Laurent turned to face him, his eyes were dark. His lips were parted uncertainly. He had lifted his hand to his own shoulder, as though chasing a ghost touch there. He did not look exactly relaxed, but the movement did look a little easier. As if realising that, Laurent said, almost awkwardly, ‘Thank you.' (...) oh god. i love him so much. i forget sometimes that he's... 19? 20? and he's been entirely on his own for so long, left alone with his trauma that he hasn't had the chance to work through because he's been preoccupied with trying to avoid being killed by his uncle... it's painful to think about why he is the way he is

'Your eyes say, “For now,”’ Laurent said. ‘Your eyes have always said, “For now.”' i don't know how to express how much i love this sentence

'I’d still be here,’ said Damen, ‘with you. I told you that I would see this border dispute through to its finish. Do you think I’d go back on my word?’ ‘No,’ said Laurent, almost as if he was realising it for the first time. (...) I LOVE THEM. i love their conversations so much. never a dull moment, so much angst, so much pain, but they match each other so well that there's always a bit of hope for a better future for both of them too <3

Damen found he’d moved without realising it, his fingers lifting to touch the bruised edge of Laurent’s jaw. He said, ‘The man who did this to you.' does damen ever think about what he wants to do before he does it???

'No. Wait. I . . . wait.' laurent is SO different around damen that sometimes i genuinely can't comprehend that this is the same laurent from book 1

'What Govart said about my brother and I . . . it wasn’t true.' auguste !!! (also, what an abrupt change of subject...? interesting. and, of course, fuck govart and the regent and anyone else who's ever burdened laurent with all of these stupid rumors. how fucking gross of his uncle, when it was him all along, to lie like this. plus, if he's using i*ncest/p*edophilia as a means to ruin laurent's repuation, then that means he knows what he's been doing to all of these boys is disgusting, so...???? i don't get it. he's the fucking worst and i want him to die.)

'I mean that whatever . . . whatever taint exists in my family, Auguste was free of it.' i am about to cry. these books are ruining me :(

(...) 'You remind me of him. He was the best man I have ever known. You deserve to know that, as you deserve at least a fair . . . In Arles, I treated you with malice and cruelty. I will not insult you by attempting to atone for deeds with words, but I would not treat you that way again. I was angry. Angry, that isn’t the word.’ It was bitten off; a jagged silence followed. WHAT. WHAT????? oh my god i AM crying lol

this is so fucking sad i feel so horrible for laurent

also, what a HUGE compliment????

incredible that all this time, laurent has been beginning to really appreciate damen and damen didn't even realize :((((

i had to put this book down for a moment lol

Laurent said steadily, ‘I have your oath that you will see this border skirmish through to its end? Then you have mine: stay with me until this thing is done, and I will take off the cuffs and the collar. I will release you willingly. We can face each other as free men. Whatever is to fall out between us can do so then.' i am SO sad. i don't want them to separate and i absolutely do not want them to fight each other :(

god. what a chapter.

[pourcap]

thoughts: pg chapter 5

a couple sentences in and i'm already nervous and confused !! :)

Damen forced down his frustration, reminded himself that Laurent was in possession of an able mind, and that therefore his, 'No,’ had a reason behind it other than pure stubbornness. Probably. have i ever mentioned how much i love damen's sass?

'(...) You’re not thinking like a leader. You’re too used to doing everything on your own.' i LOVE him. truly, genuinely, absolutely love him and his brain and how easily he seems to see right through the reasons laurent acts the way he does sometimes

damen and laurent going on an adventure??? AAAAH

okay so!!! as a former equestrian i want to say that i love the subtle hints of laurent being an incredible rider/horse lover, especially given the time period where a lot of people were able to ride but that doesn't necessarily mean they're good riders/horsemen. being able to ride without reins isn't super difficult bc nowadays you learn that but back then it's not like everyone cared about being gentle on a horse's mouth by being careful with reins and relying more on other aids like your legs and balancing your weight. anyway, i love laurent <3

sorry i kind of drifted off into horse girl territory there

'This doesn’t suit me,’ he said, meaning that it didn’t suit him to wear them. ‘No. It doesn’t. You look like one of us,’ said Laurent. He looked at Damen with his intolerant blue eyes. that was intense...?? that's just a pretty strange reaction given the fact laurent was pretty civil with damen before. i mean, i get it since he very obviously hates akielons, so to see one wearing veretian clothes must be jarring, esp considering how damen is probably close to auguste's stature since they're described to have been equals when it comes to athleticism, fighting abilities, etc

(...) he was holding his pants up with a casual hand. oh no

noooo not aimeric i hate this

'Good luck,’ was all Jord said. jord is pretty chill with laurent just leaving with damen, who'd definitely have one or two reasons to want to kill laurent?? kind of cute how he immediately guessed it'd be damen accompanying laurent though <3

'(...) This is your arena, not mine.' / 'This is not my arena,’ said Damen. hhhhh i love them

not damen getting horny again...

Damen felt the moment when his pulse kicked in, remembering the love seat in the garden bower, and Laurent’s cool voice giving explicit instructions: suck it, and, tongue the slit. oh right. that happened. now that i know just why laurent was so knowledgeable about how to suck dick i wanna throw up again :) (not that what he had ancel do to damen in that scene was not horrible)

Laurent rose from the reclining couch. ‘If I’m paying gold, I’m in charge.' he is so insufferable sometimes lol

The golden hair, and the fine clothes, and that face of his—of course he had been identified. i like how damen is constantly aware of how beautiful he (and probably everyone else) finds laurent

'The plaster’s old,’ said Damen. ‘Here.’ He took hold of the grille, and gave it a tug. (...) He changed his grip, braced his stance and put his shoulder into it. (...), the whole grille came away from the window. (...) ‘After you,’ he said to Laurent, who was staring at him. Laurent almost looked as though he was going to speak, but then he just nodded, (...). OH MY GOD???? laurent was speechless!! and i get it!! whyyyy is damen so hot?? why is he so unaware of how hot that was?? why did he not seem to notice that laurent obviously thought that that was hot?? what the fuck. what was that. what did i just read.

i LOVE damen

i love everything about him

'I’m not the one who has to hide his identity,’ said Damen, (...) hmmm... right

Laurent said, ‘After you.' nooooo the callback to what damen said to him after casually ripping out the grille!! he's flirting!! this is flirting!!

Damen opened his mouth. Closed it. THE PARALLELS

ohh?? nicaise's earring?? this is so wrong on so many levels holy shit

but !!!! the flirting

the way they both participated in getting things done in their own way!!! damen with his strength and laurent probably on his way to deceive and manipulate some people!! i love this

genuinely love this

After no more than a brief, dismissive glance at Laurent, the innkeeper gave Damen his full attention, greeting him respectfully. ‘Welcome, my lord. Will you and your pet require lodgings for the evening?' i can't do this :) i'm scared of chapter 6

[pourcap]

thoughts: cp chapter 8

'I don’t want to sit next to you, (...) Fuck off.' nicaise is so sweet <3

aaah damen reassuring nicaise :')

(...) and stabbed the fork viciously into Damen’s thigh under the table. ???? man, damen really can't catch a break

'I made your pet jump,’ said Nicaise, smugly. Not sounding at all displeased: ‘Yes, you did.' laurent and nicaise are so /&$%". i just don't understand their relationship at all. they're like brothers but nicaise is so petulant and obnoxious every time he talks to laurent

Damen tried to shake the bizarre impression that they were enjoying themselves. i mean, i guess maybe it is a bit naive of me to expect anyone in vere having normal relationships when literally every single person there is difficult

so, like laurent, nicaise has a potty mouth. another parallel?

why is everyone so interested in laurent's sex life???

torveld is so smitten 😭

Nicaise got up from the table. so, there's someone nicaise feed with information on laurent... and the only person who that could be would be the regent, right? because laurent is the crown prince, which means that no one else but the regent would be able to do anything about whatever laurent does or plans to do. but what's in it for nicaise? it does seem like he and laurent have some kind of reluctant sympathy for each other so why would he work for the regent?

laurent is suchhhhh a little shit (but it doesn't sound like he's concerned at all about nicaise running off??)

'(...) he’s really very docile and adoring (...) like a puppy.' hahahhahaa

In the stretched-out moment that followed, Damen thought explicitly about killing him. understandable, honestly

'You should hurry. You’re keeping him waiting.’ Another smirk. ‘He sent me ages ago.' nicaise is such a menace oh my god

'(...) You have taken my nephew?' (...) 'The other way around, perhaps.' he sounds pretty curious for someone who, just a few days ago, told laurent that he didn't care whatever laurent did in bed

aaah so he hopes damen would keep laurent in check?

the regent speaks so fondly of auguste. why does he hate laurent so much? what happened between them?

i don't understand the regent at all

vere is so weird.

'—told my advisors that I was past the age to be distracted by beautiful young men,’ he heard Torveld say (...) / 'By far the worst, from my perspective.' / (...) won a breath of insubstantial amusement from Laurent. / 'You took your time,’ Laurent murmured as he passed Damen. okay i know it wasn't uncommon back in the day but laurent is barely 20 and torveld was described as someone in his 40s, and laurent seems uncomfortable here. i'm guessing he might -- understandably -- have an issue with age differences, since he also very clearly doesn't like nicaise being a pet either. saving the akielon slaves (or, rather, slighting his uncle in the process) must be important enough to him that he willingly exposes himself to these situations, then.

'I wouldn’t mind being given a knife.’ ‘Or a fork?’ said Laurent. hhhh i've kind of missed their snarky conversations

ohhhh

laurent is so smart

'Enough. You’re learning. It won’t be as easy to do next time.' he sounds like an exasperated older brother. i wonder what laurent was like when he was a child. maybe auguste was to him what he is to nicaise? idk. i wanna learn more about auguste. was he good? was he present in laurent's life? will there be more info on him?

'I thought you and Torveld would have other plans.' ????? okay damen

'Haven’t you guessed yet whose pet he is?’ Laurent said, and then, when he didn’t answer: ‘Ancel is too old to interest my uncle.' no way. ugh. no. that's so fucked up??? the regent is a p*dophile?? okay i take back everything i ever said about him. i hate the regent. i hate him a lot, actually. he's not reasonable and he's not sensible. he's disgusting. is that why laurent hates him? do people know nicaise is the regent's pet or is it only laurent who knows, and that's why the regent hates him? i am so disgusted wtf

[pourcap]

thoughts: cp chapter 2

"What was the Prince’s mood?" "Delightful,’ said Damen." hhh he's so snarky

Damen remembered that he was not the only Akielon to have been gifted to Vere, and felt a groundswell of concern for the others. it took me less than one and a half chapter to fall in love with him :')

A great underground river that is hot. Damen said, ‘In Akielos, we use a system of aqueducts to achieve the same effect.’ Radel frowned. ‘I suppose you think that is very clever.' yes and he's right

Radel had thrown a substance onto the braziers as he left, so that they flared and then smoked. ummmm i do not have a good feeling about this

OH

damen fought against auguste.....

wait, kastor ran damen through with a sword?? when damen was 13??? right after damen had scored a hit against him for the first time???

Now he remembered the black look in Kastor’s eyes and thought that he had been wrong about many things. imagine being 13 and proud that you can finally keep up with your cool older brother only for him to 'accidentally' wound you so badly you could die. (also, how embarrassing for an older brother to feel threatened and/or jealous enough to do something like that.)

"The Prince doesn’t like it. Jewellery—no. The gold is adequate. Yes, those garments. No, without the embroidery." that's the second emphasis on laurent disliking anything flashy and idk why but it seems important somehow. is it bc of auguste? like, does it remind laurent of him, and that's why he doesn't accessorize?

ok so damen is brought to an amphitheatre and everything is weird

vere sounds like hell ngl

the ONE THING i know about captive prince is that damen and laurent are going to be together but, frankly: how.

"Maybe,’ said Laurent, his eyes widening a little, ‘you strayed after he fucked you." he's so !!!!

"It’s perfect: a man who holds you down while he fucks you, with a cock like a bottle, and a beard like my uncle's." uhh that's a really fucking vile thought. also, it sounds like laurent hates his uncle?? i just thought he was pissed his uncle interrupted him when was talking to damen the night before

There was something obscene about someone with a face like that speaking those words in a conversational voice. just how beautiful is laurent?

"I, for one, am relieved to hear that all the slaves in Akielos are not like this one. They’re not, are they?’ This last a little nervously. :D

"Everyone knows how you feel about that country. Their barbaric practices—and of course what happened at Marlas—" i am CONFUSED.

okay, so, about that "performance" ... vere truly does sound like hell actually

There was something strange in the way that his limbs felt . . . sluggish... I KNEW IT. THE BATH. god. that's so fucked up.

"I fight in your service, Your Highness.’ He searched his memory for Radel’s words, and found them. ‘I exist only to please my Prince. May my victory reflect on your glory." i wanna be happy about this bc it's like big fat fuck you to laurent but at the same time laurent is the one with the upper hand here since he's the prince and i still do not want damen to get hurt :(

"Every dog can be brought to heel,’ said Laurent. i am so annoyed with him

The young boy was not the man’s son. (...) He was, at the oldest, fourteen. He looked more like twelve. honestly i have no words. this is so gross.

i love damen so much.

Laurent’s expression flickered. did he seriously expect damen to say yes? who would say yes to that !!

why is that child upset about damen saying no??

i'd like to stress just how much i love damen

i'd also like to stress that vere seems genuinely horrible :)

[rosyandraw]

Ahhhh I love to be your Berry anon 🍒 (I know these are not the frute we are talking about but lets pretend they are) I've been trying to get myself a name so you could know it was me and nothing came to my mind... but you are right!! and I loved it.

So.. Hi! Berry anon here 💫💛 first I need to second you worry anon because even when I send you that ask talking about how I imagine a threesome could work I totally agree with you and them.. It would be out of character for Laurent, even more after what happen in the last chapter. So I get what you mean anon.. it's fun for some of us to imagine it but it doesn't seem likely for this au 😪

Now going back to our gossip.. thank you for your kind words, most of the time I don't mind my english buut I get a bit self conscious when talking in a canon english fandom. So thank you! 💖

I was wondering... do we have a name? Haha 👀👀 I would love to get a lil spoiler for it or if you have more than one. Maybe I could help you choose 👉🏼👈🏼🥺 ahh not going to lie I'm super excited to read it 🔥🔥 thank you so much for letting me be part of this fic 🌈

And about the new chapter of nmfy AHHHHHHHHHH again I'm speechless 🤯🤯🤯 you blew my mind and I don't have words for it. It was truly a master piece of pain, mistery, love, sadness, caring.. It was brillant, I loved it more than what I ever thought I could love and enjoy so much angst. You handled it so well and everything felt so clever and reasonable... Thank you! I still think you should post your bank account so I can pay you hahaha

If I may ask for a lil something.. do you think it could be possible for a future more carefree Laurent to give Damen a lil lap dance while they party with their friends and maybe things getting a lil heat so Damen decides is time for them to go home and without moving Laurent from his lap he just stand up and walks with him to their car holding him up.. hahaha sorry if this too specific, maybe just the lap dance 😝😝

Ps: the lil slut and baby slut t-shirts killed me I need them wearing it yesterday pleaseeeee. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 Haha

Haha I love it!

Yeah entirely, it’s just fun to throw it out and about but like I said it’s not happening in NMFY. It would be wildly out of place haha. Ngl my notes were largely Ancel/Laurent centred anyway because I had a thought hahaha

You are very welcome! And don’t be self conscious, genuinely whenever you find yourself in an English speaking fandom just remind yourself that you are head and shoulders above the mass majority because most native speakers can’t speak a second language so I've got so much respect for that. You have no idea.

Yes! It’s called “Inappropriate” at the moment but that could change. If you’ve got any other ideas let me know, I’m terrible at titles. I do have something I’m stuck on, I have NO clue what Ancel should be doing at Uni. Laurent does History but Ancel??? It’s got to be something with a dissertation but I’m not sure what I should have it as. Any ideas?

No thank you for being so enthusiastic and giving me so many ideas, I appreciate it so much!

Omg thank you! I was so worried about this chapter because I knew a large part of it was disalogue so I was bit nervous posting it! HAHA nah, don’t be silly, all for the love of it I swear

Oh my god. I love that. Lap dancing Laurent? Idk about NMFY even though Damen carrying him out like that is so Damen. But I do want to write the lap dance. Maybe as a completely separate fic haha Strip club AU!!!

P.s- omg right? I was tagged in it and I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Thank you as always lovely 💕💕