Star-Crossed Myth: Teorus

Everything for Love

Teo was actually the first Wishes god whose story I read. I decided on Teorus, ruler of Taurus, mainly because that’s my actual sign. Also, I low-key hated Leon (Leo) and I had serious reservations about Huedhaut (Aquarius), seeing as he was the MC’s true love when she was still a goddess. Too much history/baggage. Of the second half of the gods of Wishes, neither Tauxolouve (Sagittarius) nor Aigonorus (Capricorn) caught my fancy in the beginning. Karno (Cancer) was mildly interesting, especially since he was said to make Leon almost palatable (and not by being even worse). But for a a first foray into Wishes, I chose Teorus. And then I just never got around to writing about it.

So, here, after re-reading the story, I finally give you the write-up of Teorus, the Greedy Prince. Enjoy.

Synopsis

As always, the story starts with the MC’s fall off a roof and her calling one of the six gods to save her. This time, as she is falling to her demise, she remembers the incomparable visage of Teorus, beautiful and noble like a prince. So, it is upon him that she calls in her hour of need. He swoops down to save her, and she is obviously now bound to help him with his Mark of Sin. Not that that is immediately obvious. First, he takes her to the manor we know so well, and promptly gets lost in the hallways. Apparently, he does that often.

After the MC agrees to help the gods, or more precisely, Teorus, get rid of the Mark of Sin, the latter shows up the next morning to go on a date with her. That’s what he calls it, anyway. To the MC, it’s more like a guided tour to earth and earthlings. Those, of course, are fascinated by the handsome man in the extravagant outfit, and swarm Teorus – who couldn’t be happier about all the attention.

Princely Teorus is a god who loves freely and wants nothing more than to be loved in return. By absolutely everyone. Love is good, and more love is better. All the love is best. He likes being on earth and granting the wishes of humanity up close. He explains that only very strong wishes make it to heaven, and small things are not heard from so far away. He believes that all gods from the Wishes Department should take some time to come to earth and grant small wishes, like a little boy’s wish for a dream about dinosaurs. The MC does note, however, that Teorus’ attention is completely focused on women; the above-mentioned boy gets his wish only because the MC insists.

While the MC is aware that Teorus is a hopeless libertine, she cannot help developing feelings for him. The progression is low-key, but it is clear to her that he is growing on her. At the same time, she is aware that even if he reciprocated, there is no future for them, as gods are forbidden to love individual humans. Distraught, one evening she leaves the mansion and, because she isn’t paying attention, almost gets run over by a car. Almost, because Teorus is there to stop time and save her.

After the meal she cooks for them later in her apartment, he mysteriously falls ill. Of course, she first thinks it’s because of her food, but it’s the Mark of Sin acting up. After staying by his bedside all night, the MC wakes up to find Teorus remarkably recovered. For taking such good care of him, Teorus asks the MC if she has any wishes. Since the MC was told by Huedhaut earlier that Teo, with his womanizing, might be trying to compensate for an unhappy childhood, she tells him she wishes for him to find true love. At that, Teorus loses it completely and attacks the MC, attempting to force himself on her. Fortunately, her plea for help reaches Leon and Huedhaut, who come to retrieve Teo.

After the incident, the MC does not see Teorus again. Days later, she walks out of the planetarium where she works to find that it’s still dusk, even though it should have been night for several hours. Down the street, she encounters Leon, who explains that Teo’s powers have been running wild, and that, if they aren’t stabilized, they might rip apart both the earth and Teorus, himself. Can the MC help him, or will her talking to Teo just make everything worse?

Teorus’ Point of View

In Teorus’ head, the possibility that a woman might not love him does not exist. Everything the MC does or doesn’t do is obviously all about getting his attention. Fond of the stars? Love for Taurus and therefore Teorus. Going to work despite just having met him? Trying to play it cool. Breathing? So that she can live another day to spend with him. And yet, all of this is presented with such guilelessness, it’s comical rather than creepy. Teorus has just never encountered any woman who wasn’t instantly obsessed with him, so he has no other experience to go by.

Speaking of experience, his PoV offers a glimpse into his childhood, and it explains pretty much everything. His parents are obviously thoroughly horrible people. While the cliché is one of the oldest in the book, it did move me, but only the tiniest fraction. The most important part of this introspection is, of course, to witness how he is thrown for a loop when his own feelings – strong, disconcerting, sometimes painful feelings – develop.

Finally, the last chapter of the PoV is the gods’ collective attempt to help Altair confess his love to Vega. It’s super cute.

Epilogue

Back in the heavens, Teorus is as popular as ever, and he’s certainly not one to put a damper on that. If other women – goddesses, that is – want to throw themselves at his feet, who is he to ruin the mood and disappoint them? He doesn’t understand why that attitude would bother the MC. After all, their love for each other is eternal, isn’t it?

He gives as good as he gets: when the MC makes the acquaintance of a young man who is as enthusiastic about the stars as she is, Teorus encourages her to go out with him and have fun. It isn’t until Teorus hears the man’s wish regarding the MC that he learns about that feeling humans call “jealousy”.

The Chemistry

Teorus is a Smooth Operator if ever there was one. What makes him special is that he is not the jaded kind of playboy, but rather the opposite. Just like his best friend, Ichthys, Teorus avoids negative feelings, and is imbued with a kind of childlike wonder. He is fascinated with earth (and all our dairy products) and the people. Both him and Ikky remind me a little bit of Jack Skellington when he accidentally stumbles into Christmas Town.

The progression here is very smooth, very understandable. It’s easy for the MC to fall for Teorus. Not only does he constantly encourage it, he is also a very charming individual, and handsome to boot. He is also really nice, to her and to humans in general. Until he’s not, and that’s my only, if substantial, gripe with this story: we know by now how damaged all of these men are, but I resent that even the nicer ones seem to resort to violent behavior when they can’t deal with their feelings. He is contrite in the end, and I can accept that, but still.

The Love Meter

Oh dear! Rarely do I get the Forbidden Ending, but that was the case here. It was a close call. The first time I played this route, I did get the Blessed one, so I obviously must have changed my mind about some things. Choosing to help Punishments instead of Wishes might have had something to do with it.
The Forbidden Ending tends to be a bit harsher than the Blessed one, and here, I was quite worried for a moment. I especially – and I cannot stress this enough – object to the way Zyglavis is used in the early stories of the Wishes gods. While he doesn’t suffer the gross mischaracterization he is subject to in Leon’s story, I’m quite fed up with him being the bad guy all the time. But, er, I digress. The ending makes sense in the context of the story, even if it suffers a little from telling instead of showing. The Blessed Ending goes in the same general direction, but, as usual, the King is slightly more benevolent.

Bottom Line

There are a few things that make it obvious that this was one of the first stories written for this title. Some things aren’t quite streamlined yet, some characters are a little off. Some of the structures of Wishes and Punishments are not yet developed. Also, in demeanor, Teorus is a lot like Ichthys, if for different reasons, and that seems to be the pattern here: there’s one asshole for each Department, one funny, flirty guy, and one quiet, nice guy. The second round of gods is much more varied. Even so, I enjoyed his story. Not so much the point where the MC blames herself for the emotional deficiency of a man who is newly introduced to feelings, of course, but overall, Teo acquits himself well. He’s fun to hang out with, and I might look into his sequel. 7/10, would date again.