Hello, I would like to ask: What was the moment when Javier's rating of Lloyd increase the most in the novel? I'm new to this fandom and just picked up the novel a few days ago but am already getting obsessed with their relationship :)
it is in one of my favorite moments of the whole novel <3
when lloyd is finishing the jewel of truth an angel, raphael the throne, descends from heaven and tells him he's going to demolish the building for legal reasons. and when lloyd obviously refuses to let him, raphael tries to execute him for defying the will of heaven.
and javier doesn't allow it of course.
and it's in this moment, when he's literally facing off an angel and going against heaven itself to protect lloyd that javier wonders... why? why is he going so far to protect this man? why is he trying so hard to keep safe someone who has lied to him for so long? someone who isn't part of the family he swore to protect?
he doesn't really know. there just one thing clear in his mind.
I want to protect him. Lloyd is my true master in my heart.
Lloyd was his friend. And now, Javier wanted to protect Lloyd. He would sincerely protect him with everything he had.
and it's when he realizes just how much lloyd truly means to him, how much he genuinely cares for him, that the RP system fully reflects javier's feelings about lloyd.
[Javier Asrahan has finally become aware of his feelings of friendship and loyalty toward you deep inside his heart.]
[His impression of you has greatly changed.]
[Deep inside him, you have become "Someone I genuinely wish to protect" from "Someone I am forced to protect."]
[Your likeability with Javier Asrahan has increased by 45 points.]
[Current RP with Javier Asrahan: +68]
[You have earned 810 RP by improving your relationship with a main character.]
[Current RP: 9,385]
[The intimacy level with Javier Asrahan has increased two levels from <Average Favor> to <Close Friendship>.]
it's. it's so fucking good.
i've freaked out about this before but i can do it again
i really love the confirmation that javier is so good at emotionally repressing himself that he only realizes how deep his feelings about lloyd are long after they came to exist.
especially because in this same scene javier realizes there's a reason he wants to protect lloyd more than anything but he can't put a name to it and eventually decides that it doesn't really matter because he already knows lloyd is his friend and that's enough anyway.
like. canonically. javier has a deeper reason to care about lloyd beyond just being his friend. one he can't fully identify. one he puts aside to figure out later because lloyd being his friend is enough to justify putting his life on the line for him right now. and we find this out right before we get confirmation that javier is very good at burying feelings that have been there for longer than he's been aware of.
anyway. one of my favorite chapters of all time fr <33
