and the white knight is talking backwards and the red queen's off with her head

[undealt]

WHO || Gold, Amara, and OPEN
WHAT || Gold has arrived back from dealing with refuges in Bermuda. And now he's making frands. And surely everyone wants to know who dat lady is.
WHERE || The castle library
WHEN || some indeterminate time in June
HOW || actionspaaaam
OTHER || You can also pull Gold and Amara aside for one-on-one conversations if you'd like. Just specify.

If you go into the library today, you will find an unusual sight- for one thing, Gold's back, but he must have snuck in like a ninja because it's not like he made any great announcement of it. Just swanned in, checked on his crocodile, and immediately tracked down a certain blonde homo magi. Suspicious!

Said homo magi is currently in the library with him. In fact, they're in the section with all the magic books, chatting animatedly about... something or other. (A listen check of 18 will catch what they're saying).

Comments

[untethered]

She's the... magi, isn't she? [ she seems to realize that's not exactly common knowledge and offers a slightly sheepish explanation: ] You'd be amazed how much one overhears in a library.

[undealt]

I wouldn't expect anything to be kept a secret from anyone in the Hoard. Not for very long anyway. [aka he ain't bothered.] And considering the rest of the team's reaction to that mission, it's nice to have an outsider's perspective on the matter.

[And he looks so eager puppy to discuss it. BELLE, BELLE. I'M SO ALONE. NERD OUT WITH ME, BELLE.]

[untethered]

[ she will so bite ] The rest of the team? Meaning you had something of a different take on things than they did?

[undealt]

Well, Sir Francesca and I had more pragmatic goals than they did. Let's just say the entire situation could have gone much better.

[But he assumes they're all bitching about it, because Sindella died and Charming has a stalker, and all that shit. God people.] But it also could have gone much worse. Any day we don't accidentally cause a war is a good day.

[untethered]

A war. [ her expression falls a little, and she moves to hop up to a sitting position on a shorter nearby table, hands bracing the edge of it as she looks to him. ] Did it really come so close to one?

[undealt]

[He nods, smiling, as he leans back against the table, not quite perching on it, but close enough.]

It did, indeed. We were asked by one of the knights' freelancers to assist in finding her mother. It took us to a place in Bermuda, which turned out to be the secret base for the homo magi. Once there, we were faced with a choice- surrender Zatanna to the homo magi so she can take her mother's place as the keeper of the Medulla Jewel and thus continue to control the armies that protected them or... [He trails off.] Well, the choice seems obvious, but Zatanna's mother was dying. She used her last moments to destroy the jewel and eliminate the spell over the people trapped there, but the fact remains it was a mere fluke we survived long enough for her to manage that. Amara [he points to where the woman departed] made eye contact with one of the members of our party. Her calling the army off to protect him bought us a bit of time.

All together a complicated situation- one with no real happy ending. Some seem to consider that a loss.

[untethered]

[ a frown creases her forehead as he nears the abrupt end of the tale and she backtracks him a tic ] Eye contact. I-- I don't understand. [ she shakes her head, gaze narrowed slightly ] Why would that cause her to call off an army?

[undealt]

[Ah yes. He hoped she'd catch that. IT'S THE BEST PART OF THE STORY. OKAY.] It seems Amara's people have a very unique curse. If they make eye contact with a mortal, they're fated to fall in love, completely without question.

[Which he likes, but he is also really itched by, because IT FEELS AS IF IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING HE KNOWS OF MAGIC, even if he's never read that anywhere. SURELY MAGIC CANNOT MAKE YOU FALL IN LOVE... But it can.]

[untethered]

[ WAIT WAT ] You mean to say that happened to ... to Sir Charming? [ o right she was also eavesdropping on you. just then. in case you missed that implication. ] She thinks she's in love with him?

[undealt]

With all her heart. To the point where it doesn't even occur to her that it's a curse. [Which you also... overheard, but he's being nice here.] As far as she knows, she's in love and that's all there is to it.

[TRAGIC... yet profitable.]

[untethered]

[ with abrupt indignation, almost sputtered suddenly: ] But it's not real love. [ she sounds s-so offended, especially when she adds: ] She doesn't have a choice.

[undealt]

But she believes it is. And hopefully, we can fix her condition one day. [He doesn't sound terribly optimistic about that, but by the time they do, they'll have a decent alliance with her people and he doesn't need Charming all up in dat vagina.] Until then, there's nothing we can do about it.

[untethered]

And is that what you were doing, talking to her about Sir David's past? "Nothing"? [ it's less of an angry accusation and more of a CALLING YOU OUT SIR DON'T FRONT I HEARD THAT LOVE MONOLOGUE ]

[undealt]

[CALMLY... EDGING AWAY FROM HER A BIT.]

She did ask. I thought perhaps knowing his complicated love life might dissuade her some. [(bluff... 14...?)]

[untethered]

[ well she seems to mostly buy that but-- ] Is that why you said what you did, then? About... love? You made it sound so... [ incredibad ]

[undealt]

Difficult? [He shakes his head.] Every so often, things slip through the cracks, Belle. Things I barely remember. Love... seems to be a subject I knew a great deal about- in all of its ups and downs. And I told her that so perhaps she'd understand what real love was like. It's hard to imagine experiencing a false love when you've never had anything real to compare it to.

[He ducks his head, almost embarrassed.] Though I suppose a man talking about real love when he doesn't remember experiencing it himself is a bit hypocritical.

[untethered]

I don't know that I'd say that. I just found it a bit... surprising. [ wait that might not have come out right. ] I wouldn't have guessed it was something so important to you. [ NOT MUCH BETTER, BELLE. ] But to be completely honest?

I know precisely how I feel about love, without remembering a single thing about being in it. So I understand what you mean, in some way.

[undealt]

I don't look the type. [IT'S OKAY, BELLE. SOMETIMES HE SCARES HIMSELF. With his... weird obsession with love. Moulin Rouge.gif.

But awww. Dorky smiles. They can be love nerds.]

Then perhaps there's hope for Lady Amara- that she might find something real. Something... true. It might actually break her curse and free her.

[MEANWHILE, CHARMING AND AMARA CONTINUE TO MAKE OUT.]

[untethered]

Do you think it could do that? That... true love could break a curse even such powerful spell casters have been unable to undo? [ she actually sounds pretty enamored by the thought. ]

[undealt]

I think it sounds as effective as anything else. [IDK. HE'S GOT THIS WEIRD FEELING... even if it sounds kind of Hallmarky.] And the homo magi have likely tried everything else.

[untethered]

I suppose it's unfortunate, then, that true love isn't something one can just go looking for.

[undealt]

Especially when it comes to their particular curse- any mortal they meet could become their next obsession. They aren't given the opportunity to come by love honestly.

[Look, he thinks the curse is bullshit, but not enough to... not use it for his own ends.]

[untethered]

... And because of this, they're practically prisoners. Just think, never even being able to leave the confines of their secret city, with all the world outside their reach...

Do we know how they even came by such a terrible curse? Who could be so heartless to condemn an entire people to such a fate?

[undealt]

[....]

I never thought to ask. [GREAT JOB, GOLD.] I assumed it was such a fundamental part of their society that perhaps they all just simply forgot. Though now that we have one of them here, she might be able to shed some light on it.

[untethered]

[ aw gold. she resists the urge to pat you on the head. ] Well, it stands to reason that our best chance for learning how to counter the spell is to understand what kind of magic was responsible for it in the first place. Don't you think?