Hi, thanks for the quesiton! And yes, Neon was more prominent in the old Shepherd novels because he was a Shepherd as well as an old school-friend of Red’s and Arainia’s! He was technically a field agent, but since he was on a different squad from the main cast, you only rarely saw him pop up on joint missions or in passing, and they mostly interacted around HQ or in the novels set in Haven!

If I’m recalling correctly, Pan’s novel counterpart was a Mage, but he was actually a distant cousin of Arainia’s as well as a schoolmate from the Circle, but he never joined the Shepherds: he just popped up now and then when the story needed him. So he wasn’t very prominent at all and was kind of just like a visiting relative who sometimes had to crash at Arainia’s apartment in the context of the novels LOL. But the details are fuzzy now, obviously!

And yes, both Neon and Pan do field work for the Shepherds; Pan’s an active Lunar Corps member on his own team, but Neon is part of the Solar Corps and almost exclusively stays at home base and does Binding work or teaches students at the academy. Sometimes he does have to go out on assignments, though!

You might like one of Red’s short stories on Patreon, which details some of his time at the Circle and his friendship with Pan and Neon (though it’s pretty much the same as it is now). The three of them initially became friends because their parents were friends (Pan and Neon lived pretty much next door to each other) and their families would regularly travel to Red’s town in the summers, so they were like childhood friends who hung out every summer?? Sort of like quasi-cousins or family friends that were just… there a lot and now you’re all besties lol. And then when Neon and Pan were set to attend Solhadur, Red begged his parents to go, and part of the reason why they let him was because the other boys were going to be there, too. Neon was definitely the quiet one and the voice of reason, but he was also very withdrawn and shy, whereas Pan was more of a mischievous prankster (who could always talk his way out of trouble) and Red was sort of in the middle, being logical like Neon but adventurous and intensely curious enough to concoct or at least go along with Pan’s more wild schemes. (Pan contends that Red actually got them into way more trouble, because his idea of a good time would be to explore some collapsed cave or sneak into the forbidden section of the library, whereas Pan’s was, like, Shifting himself into their professor and dismissing class before the real teacher showed up, but noooo, he was the troublemaker…) If we’re going stereotypical, I’d say Neon was the reserved nerd who always had his head in a book, Pan was the classic class clown, and Red was the “popular boy in class” whom everybody likes, but honestly they were all popular and well-liked and admired in their own ways (one must remember that “nerds” are not bullied or ostracized in Mage culture, but are generally admired for having those traits LOL). They also didn’t just stick in a trio, they also had their own friends as well as a larger shared friend group that ate together and socialized as a group frequently!

Hope that’s helpful–if you have specific questions about their dynamic and relationships, feel free to ask! :)

Pan definitely knew and chose not to say anything. Neon also knew and outright tried to let Red know a few times–“…MC seems actually angry at you about that test, Red” “what? oh haha that’s just how we talk to each other, it’s always been like that, I think it’s their way of bantering” “…….I don’t think that’s it…….”–but then gave up because Red’s blithe assumptions seemed like a nicer world for his friend to live in than the one where MC hated him LOL

I waver between dubbing him “bi” or “pan” (I think his own feelings on the matter are nebulous), but for all intents and purposes, yes! 😂

I think Neon is at 5'7" or 5'8" (he was even shorter as a teen, obviously); I’ve gone back and forth on Pan because, as a Shifter, I think he slyly adds some height to himself at different times (usually around women LMAO)–my guess is that he’s naturally 5'10" but he’s usually walking around at 6'0"!

Oops, that’s a mistake! I don’t believe I ever changed his name in the game itself, but Pantalaimus used to be his names in the novels like years ago, and I guess I unconsciously used that one when I meant Panrachus! Thanks for catching that!

I love it ☺️ And honestly I deserve less for naming my characters things like 🍳, 🔪, and 🟥

Pan’s more subtle than that, he doesn’t generally go around spilling others’ business for them unless he absolutely has to! He’d probably prod Red along, like if Red was wondering out loud if he should try to rekindle something with MC again, Pan might say slyly, “I think you should go for it, I have a strong feeling MC likes you too,” but he wouldn’t outright say “MC told me X, so you’re good!” He’s a troll, but he tends not to get over-involved in that way, despite how much he threatens to!

Hi, that’s a good question! (And thank you so much for your lovely and kind words!)

1) It depends on how MC is still acting around Red and if they’re trying to be subtle or more obvious that they’d be interested in rekindling something with him! If MC was sort of acting shy or flustered around Red and Pan got the feeling that they had their own reasons for not talking about it with him, he wouldn’t bring it up or would, at best, drop subtle hints. Mischievous as he is, he can be pretty hands-off when it comes to people’s feelings and isn’t interested in dropping bombs on issues that he’s not directly involved in. If MC was acting really obvious about it or was seemingly exasperated by Red’s pussyfooting around the topic, Pan might bluntly go “you know MC’s totally still into you, right?” after watching them exchange smoldering looks of longing for the 500th time. Just depends on what the situtaion is!

2) I think Red would want to hurl himself off a cliff if MC was still like “yeah fuck buddies!! :D” after rekindling their relationship again LOL. To tell the truth, Red’s learned his lesson and would 100% NOT become romantically involved with them again in the first place without being absolutely clear about how he feels and where he’d hope the relationship to go. NO FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS RELATIONSHIPS. He’s not into that! So if MC somehow ignored that talk and those very clear explanations, I’d think their relationship is doomed already lol or Red would at least get pretty upset and frustrated; he might even want to put things on pause!

Thanks for your question! And for more Pan > Red+MC content, have you played the alpha and seen Pan’s drunken stumbling over to MC to suss out how they feel about Red? 😂

76. Top Of Head Kisses

(you asked for school-era Wen/Red, and that’s what you get ;) I didn’t realize I was using a prompt you’d sent me also, but that just makes it extra appropriate!)

just a little bittersweet scene between teenage Wen, Red, Pan, and Neon right before they graduated. Iorwen/Red pre-ship with an extra helping of Pining and a side of angst. Iorwen is, as always, my MC from @shepherds-of-haven, the others are all characters from within the game :)

—

Unsurprisingly, Iorwen found Red reading under a tree in the courtyard. Also unsurprisingly, she found him there because that’s exactly what she intended to do as well, her book already in her hand.

She flopped down next to him without a word, scooting over until they were pressed shoulder-to-shoulder so they could both lean against the tree trunk. He looked up from his book just long enough for them to exchange a quick but warm smile, and then he turned back to his reading and she opened her book on her lap and they let the time pass like that for a while.

They were eventually interrupted - as they always were - by the arrival of Pan and Neon and a basket that Wen was immediately suspicious of just by its nature of being carried by Pan. Luckily, this time all it contained was food and a bottle of something that looked like water and smelled like a failed alchemy experiment, but tasted vaguely like fruit juice.

“Well, here we are,” Pan said cheerfully, passing out the basket’s spoils. “This time next week we’ll all be gone. Some new batch of impressionable youth will get to sit under this tree instead.”

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This is how the exact conversation between them went in my head:

Pan (drunk): “So… MC is back…”

Red (also drunk): “yeah… of all the things I was expecting to happen, that was not one of them.”

Pan: “you guys gonna get back together?”

Red: “w–huh?? no, we were–that was when we were kids. I haven’t thought about it! Too busy facing down demons in a netherworld… Why, did MC say something?”

Pan (sipping his drink): “mmmmm-hmmmm” (walks off to go talk to MC)

Ah, thank you so much! 🥰 Pan and Neon were actually going to be joined by one other school friend, Mera, but the other two’s personalities were so strong that she never made it into the shuffle! 😂 I’m so glad you like them, but please don’t abandon the Shepherds lmao they still need you!!

I put an Easter egg about this in Chapter 4, just for you 😂😂😂

Lmao!! I kind of vaguely wondered if anyone was going to like Pan, but the realization that your MC had a crush on “helmet boy” would have sent him to the afterlife 😂