#and in a way they were also the reason that reunite the other ancients

[canadaxed]

Lucy is an Ancient!.... theory.

you might like this if you: really like the idea of eldritch beings falling in love with some normal ass dude who is totally unaware.

I also posted this all on the Klei forums, which might be easier to read for some people. Click here for that version.

A while ago I posted: "someone remind me to make a post on my theory about Lucy being an Ancient" and I finally got around to it! Feel free to read. It's a long one, but the main timeline for the idea is in the last paragraphs if you want to skip ahead.

Here's the theory now:

Hey gang, I figured I'd post this theory I have. I dunno if anyone else has picked up on it, I didn't find anything myself. I'm gonna try my best to explain why I believe Lucy the Axe could be..... an Ancient!! Like the spirit of the Shadow Maul or Reaper. 

First things first, lets start with Woodie, the scraps of lore we have for him, and what Lucy means to him.

We know that the survivors entering the Constant (at least in the DS era) have a pattern of wanting something, or being emotionally vulnerable- and this is typically what Maxwell preyed on to get them into the Constant. 

In Walter's short, we get a glimpse of Woodie's cabin. He has references to his family being from Scotland in it, various stereotypical Canadian British Columbian Guy decor, two very conspicuous chairs in the main room.... and "Lucy's" outside.

That's right... Woodie never took the physical "Lucy" with him. I put Lucy in quotation marks because we don't know if Lucy was always his axe... or if she was the person that second chair in his home belonged to.

The guy went deep into an uninhabited forest to get away from people, why would he have two chairs in his home right next to each other? Pair this with with how he leaves his red "Lucy" axe outside, rather than having left her on the chair or something like one might if they were romantically invested in something.

Keep this in mind too when considering whether Lucy could’ve been a real person or was always an axe.

Now, putting the pieces we have so far together, one could follow this story pretty easily:  Woodie lost his wife and was reminiscing on memories of her while listening to the radio, which was the prime moment for Maxwell to swoop in with the promise of reuniting them.

Don't Starve fans might be skeptical for a few reasons: DS fans are split pretty evenly between wanting Woodie to be "just some funny guy" and also desperately wanting more information on this mysterious Lumberjack. When you put this theory into perspective, it all feels too easy; or it just feels wrong to completely blow open a huge point in Woodie's lore that is otherwise kept close to Klei's chest. 

Secondly, somewhat related to the first point: Klei's got plans in motion for their lore. The idea of even the gameplay of the world is that you start out knowing nothing, and slowly, SLOWLY, you gain more information. Even then, though, the game becomes more complex and deep. Essentially the team's been doing the same thing with their lore. Whether they only had a loose idea at the beginning and are now really hitting the road running with the direction they want to go in terms of lore, or if they always had an idea for it: they've been giving us glimpses of it over the past... 12 years? We've never gotten the full picture even after all this time, all these shorts and expansions. And each new bit of lore that gets revealed, there's another complexity added to it. Again, people might be thinking "this is just too easy a conclusion to come to, I could've thought of that." 

They might just really be banking on Woodie's general obscurity in relation to the main story as a way to give him a lot of interesting tidbits that people won't immediately dissect.

Thirdly: I'm just one person posting something on the internet. I could just be way too much of a fan of Woodie and reading too much into all this. And I could totally be wrong or be wrong about some things and right about others. Either way, I don't anticipate getting any answers from Klei for a long time if at all, which only adds to skepticism. 

(If you ask me, Don't Starve and its short animations/puzzles/lore drops are begging to be nitpicked.)

So lets back-track a little and talk about why Klei might've decided to drop so much potential, very vital Woodie lore in this one short. (AKA: the Woodie Tangent part of this theory thread, cus I love him)

If you've seen the short animations on Youtube, you might go to the comment sections here and there to get a general community consensus on them or the character. The comments are overwhelmingly positive and a lot praise how the lore is being handled. 

Then you get to Woodie's very own animated short.... 

If you've seen it, you know it's a silly animation where Woodie , in the Constant (unlike other shorts til then), is chopping trees and gets attacked by a tree guard. He uses his three wereforms to fight it, and overall its a pretty fun time. The comments are mostly positive, but a lot expressed disappointment in not getting any more lore about Woodie. He's a very mysterious character, even despite having one of the longer character bios in the game. 

So, eventually Walter comes along. A young boy from Canada, part of a boy scouts troop, really into monsters. If the developers didn't have Woodie in mind when making Walter, they ended up becoming very intertwined character and story-wise anyway. Klei being the cheeky devils they are, decided that if people wanted Woodie lore so bad, they'd get it.... via Walter's short. We only get a few glimpses at background things (we might've even got a hint that Woodie lives on vancouver island) but to Klei, that's enough. Clearly we've gotta do something with what we got. 

But even Walter's short didn't give us enough for full answers to anything.

Let's move on and get to the real stuff: Lucy, Maxwell, and the Ancients.

The Ancients in Don't Starve lore refers to a powerful society of bug people that existed in the Constant long, long ago. They went extinct because of their over-reliance on nightmare fuel, which brought them from famine and gave them great magic and technology that allowed them to live in a bustling utopia, for a while.

We see an ancient in the metaphysical "flesh" in Hamlet as the Ancient Herald. We also know that the spirits that embody such weapons as the Shadow Maul or Shadow Reaper were once ancients, and their souls were probably in the pure horror/dark tatters used to create those items. 

Anyway, the reason why they matter in this instance is because the only other living, talking tools we know about in the game are the Shadow Maul and Shadow Reaper, who both happen to have special dialogue for Woodie. They’re possessive over him, and jealous of and particularly spiteful towards Lucy. They’re also made with dark magic, unsurprisingly, and that’ll come into play later in terms of my theory for Lucy’s existence. I’m noting now that the Shadow Reaper/Maul and Lucy all have a nonchalance about them and are eager to be used. Also, that they all feature red prominently in their designs.

As fun as I find all these personality similarities though, we won’t talk about them much. Here are these comparisons for the hell of it:

Shadow Reaper quote:   "We make a good team, no matter how you ssssslice it." Lucy quote:   “We make a good team!"

Shadow Maul quote:   "Ch- cho- chop. CHOP!"   "Ch- chop tree... CHOP TREE!"   "CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!" Lucy quote:   "Chop chop chop. Heh."   "Chop, c-c-chop!"

Also on this point of Lucy being a magical item, remember how she will always disappear in the world if Woodie’s gone too long and be replaced by a normal axe. If Woodie tries to use any normal axe that isn’t her, she immediately disappears from where she was last dropped and poofs right into Woodie’s hands in place of that axe.

Alongside this, typically you can only carry/have one Lucy at a time, and she does have special dialogue if you can somehow hold another one.

So, we’ve established the similarity between the talking items. Keep in mind that its established now that inhabitants of the Constant can summon the souls of the Ancients to be used as objects with dark magic.

Moving on…

Its safe to say Maxwell couldn’t manipulate too much beyond the confines of the Constant and his portals and the radios, like we see with him needing Willow and Wilson’s help.

He also can’t seem to drag anyone into the Constant whose name doesnt start with W. Also, whenever Maxwell “fulfills a wish” in order to get a survivor into the Constant, it always comes with a twist. (If Woodie didnt want anything new or different from his current life, he wouldn’t have been lured in. If Woodie just wanted his axe to actually talk to him, he wouldn’t just be given that no strings attached. If Woodie wanted someone back and was promised they’d be in the Constant, why not turn them into his axe, which as a lumberjack he’s metaphorically married to?)

The possibility of Maxwell dragging Lucy’s spirit into the world alongside Woodie is feasible, considering Wendy and Abigail’s situation. But if that were the case, then why not let her stay as a spirit attached to Woodie, rather than having to construct an entirely new form of axe? Because remember, Woodie didn’t bring his real axe into the Constant with him.

You could argue: “because he’s bored. Lol.” and to that i say….. Yeah true lol. Work with me here! 

Here’s another potential point towards Lucy’s spirit being brought in with Woodie: Wendy’s quotes for Woodie often refer to Lucy, and how Abigail favours her. 

But keep in mind that this (Wendy/Abigail recognising a spirit in Lucy) only tells us that there IS a presence in Lucy. Also, considering Winona’s short, I think it’s safe to assume that Abigail might only be able to exist in the Constant because of her flower somehow being tethered to its magic. Lucy wouldn’t have had that.

Alongside that, Maxwell’s quote for examining Lucy:   "Ah. How have you been, Lucy?"

EDIT FEB 2025: And his quote for the wooden waking stick: "Lucy does fine work"

He knows there IS something in the axe and appears familiar with her

So…

Let’s rule out a few other ideas for Lucy’s existence real quick (just in terms of this theory… because i still love these interpretations): 

Lucy being purely in woodie’s mind: then other characters wouldn’t think much about her, Maxwell wouldn’t speak to her so familiarly or as a real person. Even if the magic going into the DST world made her able to speak, Maxwell would be more likely to show surprise at her sentience (its something new that happened after his reign) 

Lucy only existing because Woodie willed her into existence on arrival into the Constant: See above, Maxwell wouldn’t be so familiar with her. Plus, putting together the pieces of woodie having left his real-world fire axe outside his house while he was spending his down time inside, we can assume that woodie in the real world didnt have the same deep connection to his axe. If he could will something into existence, why not have it be the real person he was missing that he wouldve shared that chair with?

Lets start wrapping this up.. Cus I’m no good at writing coherently in long-form.

Here’s what I think could be the potential timeline of events for this theory, putting all the pieces together: 

Maxwell needs to lure a depressed, possibly mourning Woodie into the Constant and promises him he’ll reunite him with his partner, Lucy. Her spirit’s not tethered to the real world anymore (because unlike Abigail, she didn’t have that odd flower) and Maxwell can’t manipulate the world outside of the Constant to that degree- but he has a lot of power inside of the Constant. He calls upon the spirit of an Ancient, seemingly the only spirits that can be returned to a level of sapience, with dark magic of which he’s especially adept, and forges its spirit into that of a special axe.

Then, either he imbues the axe with Woodie’s memories or the axe/eldritch powers-that-be gain them in their own way (think Maria from Silent Hill,) and upon Woodie’s passage to The Constant, he receives her. 

As far as Woodie’s concerned, he’s gotten everything he needs, and takes his existence in The Constant without much disdain. As for Lucy, her old Ancient spirit is happy to be alive again and feeding off living beings (trees). It takes getting used-to to be an entirely new “person”, but she gets the hang of it. She’s clingy and codependent because he’s her source of fuel, but quickly forms a bond with him and ends up caring about his wellbeing, to the point of helping his survival in the DST era. Woodie is blissfully unaware and thriving.

....

Alright, thanks for reading! I know it was a lot. Feel free to discuss. I love Woodie and Lucy. I'm sure I missed a few things, like maybe how Lucy knows about Woodie's wereform cycle with the moons and when his beaverness gets low (the moon thing could be a reference to how the Ancients worshipped "Alter"/Them, and the beaverness thing could just be her dark magic picking up on his curse) ... or how Lucy is very picky with other survivors and very sure of herself/forward/brash like the other sentient items, but those are more of a stretch.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Once more exorcising spirits or using them like WWX does, doesn't stop them from reincarnation, you all gotta stop this when the only thing that is said is if resurrected WWX doesn't fulfill his "term" HIS primordial soul is forever destroyed based on the usual points of Mo Dao usage that is performed by everyone else that is not Wei Wuxian (i.e. Jin Guangyao, Mo Xuanyu, Xue Yang and Su She).

The nature of this “sacrificial ritual” was a type of curse. The caster was to harm themselves with a weapon, making cuts on their body and using their own blood to draw the array and write the spells within. They would then sit in the center of the circle and give up their mortal body to evil spirits, using the annihilation of their soul as the price to summon a nefarious, malicious ghost. This was all done in order to request the fulfillment of a wish. Thus, it was the opposite of “possession.”

This is the part that I can see confusing others, but, with doaist belief, there are several souls, the human (living one, the three hun and seven po that remain in death). Mo Xunayu did not sacrifice his right of reincarnation just the living one he had at the time, and frankly the one that is cared about in the moment as that is where karma is accrued in order to be judged throughout the circles of Diyu until a soul is purged clean to enter their next reincarnation cycle, samsara. Your karma only follows you based on what you did in your wordly life in consequence and a soul is thusly free to garner further negativity or, better itself to enter the next samsara. When it comes to the Po that stay it can be for any reason, and are liable to rise apart from the "human" as they are only the emotions left at the time of death or, of the "human" daily actions that were strongest. Once the hun souls (these ARE essentially the parts of the person that are essential in spirit and is the primordial existence of that life) are all reunited within Diyu, the human can move on. The Po can still roam the world and why funerary rights and respect are performed and met.

While both were forbidden magics of ill repute, the difference was that the former was much less popular than the latter. After all, few wishes were so strongly desired as to make someone willingly sacrifice everything they had. This was why the technique had been nearly lost after centuries of disuse. The examples recorded in ancient books had only a handful of cases that were backed by reliable evidence, and every single one of them had been for revenge. Every malicious ghost summoned by the ritual had fulfilled the caster’s wishes perfectly, in cruel and bloody ways.

He also did not make anything to do with this ritual or any of the actual mo dao curses (a whole one which we see in book which is the one hundred holes and what it's backlash is for Su Shi using it). What Mo Xuanyu does is also true Mo Dao as it is manipulating the primordial spirit self of another and his human existence. It is a disruption of several Samsara and consequence that will be righted, good or bad for either. Wei Wuxian's cycle just started anew sooner as he was given life again and paid for his karma with his previous death, as reiterated through the novel and himself. Mo Xuanyu has only swapped their places in samsara and death and life.

But the tough thing was, the Sacrificial Ritual followed the will of the caster first and foremost. So it didn’t matter how much he objected… He was already inside this body, which was a silent acknowledgement that both parties had formed a contract. He had to fulfill the wish of the caster, or the curse would rebound, destroying the possessor’s primordial spirit and extinguishing it forever.

Following the rules of karma and Samsara, Mo Xuanyu already gave his place in the human world, he fulfilled his part of the ritual as needed and will eventually reincarnate based on whatever karma he accrued in that life. Wei Wuxian still has to fulfill the wants of that sacrifice before he is free to do as he wants as his primordial humanity is what will be destroyed, the part that always is made to enter Diyu in order to reincarnate.

In all of this, it is not gui dao, as gui dao uses what is already in existence in order to be used with the many Po souls that can arise and still be found in the likes of graves and disturbed places. Po can be disturbed even after years of rest and why you also do not bring negativity into temples, ancestral worship places and areas, or the graves itself. Po being the emotionality left to the world are prone to aggression and can make themselves rise as jiangshi 僵尸, stiff corpse, or as the work calls mutations of them 走尸, zou shi, walking corpse and 凶尸, xiong shi, fierce corpse. None of these retain human characteristics other than the po it relies on that already have existed before Wei Wuxian was present.

I have said this before but I'm expanding on this as it fandom falsely put the onus of this all on Wei Wuxian still for a sacrifice. Or to put the death of Mo Xuanyu, the caster, on Wei Wuxian, who wasn't sure why he had been summoned back to life and was not expecting that. Wei Wuxian had already been dead, nor within that thirteen years he had been, conspired, as what most Mo Dao users do when they break their nascent souls, to eventually revive physically.

In the very first chapter it has already exposed that the moniker of the book is false. The practitioners of Mo Dao are Mo Xuanyu, later Xue Yang, Su She and Jin Guangyao, not Wei Wuxian who we see works in a totally different medium of physical cultivation and meditation that does not warp or manipulate a soul itself to become defiled, the po wandering the human world are not the human soul that are being made into jiangshi. The point of Mo Dao is to corrupt a living soul (the self usually)by evil manipulations.

Wei Wuxian is not, never was, a Mo Dao demonic cultivator, nor was the first as there were centuries of techniques for this, and his crafting of ghosts is falsely defined within the same category. This is also foreshadowed with his argument with Lan Qiren about the exorcism and suppression of ghostly spirits being the only orthodox means of dealing with them, and the lack of understanding orthodox clans approached spirits as a social taboo.

[dootznbootz]

I'm not very fond of Epic AUs where Odysseus adopts Astyanax.

It's fine for a one-off joke or comic and ofc this is just my opinion but... if Astyanax lives (like in Racine's play), he should always stay with Andromache. His actual mother, yk. Not with one of the men who sacked Troy. Zeus' prophecy is bound to happen and Odysseus knew keeping the infant around was a bad idea.

If Astyanax dies, I want to see him in Elysium with his father, finally in a peaceful place and having all of eternity to catch up. Then Andromache joins them (sending her to Asphodel would be too cruel) and they finally reunite.

Would anyone picture Neoptolemus adopting Astyanax ? The son of Achilles, who dragged Hector's body in a chariot. No ? So Achilles' associate doing the same would be weird.

And Odysseus ? I want him CRAVING for a son, waiting for so long until he can express his paternal affection (and always cursing Palamedes even after his revenge 😂).

Him meeting Telemachus all grown up should be his first real shot at fatherhood. It'd be underwhelming if he already had a little boy with him. If Telemachus has a little brother, Penelope should be the mother. Or they adopt another baby together afterwards. No Astyanax and ESPECIALLY NO TELEGONUS !

So yeah, imo Astyanax and Odysseus don't belong with each other. Any thought ?

Headsup: This is just an opinion. My opinion does not matter. If you like this AU, PLEASE don't let that stop you from creating! Just because it's not for me, doesn't mean it's not for you or for someone else :D

I absolutely agree and you absolutely put into words WHY.

There's the term "woobifying" and in some cases...I think that's what people just often do with Epic/The Odyssey. (especially from Epic) I'm saying as someone who is a very soft and fluffy person. I love soft and sweet fics and ideas. I love stuff that makes me smile. But I almost feel as though with certain soft things, you're taking away what makes characters who they are. which DOESN'T make me smile lol

like I think there's more fun in simply a "no-war AU" than the "Astyanax lives AU" xD like, that way, Odysseus is with his family, gets to be a dad, Astyanax gets to live (let's not think too hard about how "no war may have meant no Astayanax")

As that way, they still get to be in character as well.

Penelope and Odysseus for example, are scallywags lol. They scheme and swindle. They giggle and kick their feet when they get extra cattle. They hold grudges. They can be snooty and prideful. They're as full of love as they are full of hate. Odysseus, during the Sack of Troy, in both the Odyssey AND Epic, will do whatever it takes to get home. Like yes, in Epic, Jay has it where Odysseus has to "become ruthless" but I can understand what he's doing with the narrative. Odyssey Odysseus? Um...Iphigenia is proof that Odysseus is already ruthless.

Btw, why is Astyanax the only one Odysseus would want to save with these AUs? What about Iphigenia? Is it because of Epic?

Yes, I DO think Odysseus (and Penelope for that matter) have a lot of parental instinct. I plan to write Odysseus carving lil wooden toys for random kids just as something to do. He does tricks. (ngl, while it seems they weren't around in the Mycenaean era, Yo-yos were a thing in ancient Greece. I just KNOW Odysseus would be the type to do so many tricks. (also string and wood🥹)) He has a soft spot for Greater Ajax's boy. My goober was friends with Menelaus and Agamemnon even before he met Penelope (he saw two exiled guys take back their kingdom and thought "hm??? vulnerable state??? They're very rich?? hehe >:3" but then became fond of them. The reason why he went to Sparta was to help Menelaus with Helen but fell in love himself.) and he's carved lil toys for Agamemnon's kids

He's carved lil Iphigenia toys. She likes Dolphins. He still helps sabotage the letter in some myths and even hypes up the crowd.

Even if it IS just based on Epic, "The Horse and The Infant" and "Just a Man" are HUGE turning points for Odysseus. Or even just a show of character. Like yes, "Odysseus is learning ruthlessness" but he already is ruthless. He literally says "I would trade the world to see my son and wife". AND HE STILL DOES THE DEED! HE WAS RUTHLESS SINCE THE BEGINNING! The Second song in the Musical and it already tells you about Odysseus and what he is willing to do. Is he sad and haunted? Yeah. Still did it.

And I really love that as that's Odyssey Odysseus as well! Odysseus isn't an unfeeling violent villain. He's just a man.

Also...What happens in the Odyssey is no fucking place for a child. ;~; The cyclops, the Goddesses, the monsters? Why should a lil boy be anywhere near that? How did he survive while drifting to Ogygia? Does Poseidon try to keep them together? As no one would be in the state to take care of each other together for that many days.

And in general, in the Odyssey, to me, it's such a huge thing that he literally lost EVERYONE. THAT HE IS ALL ALONE. All of the people who were with him are now dead, and there was nothing he could do. It was already fated.

It's horrible but there's something so poetic in him being the "Sole Survivor", especially after all the hell he went through.

Also yeah, I DO really hate the thought of Telemachus knowing "You took care of this baby when I needed you?". Like my OdyPen have a daughter after he returns as the whole "only one son" and that's already really hard for Telemachus to watch Odysseus be a father for her, regardless of how often and how adamantly Odysseus reassures him that Odysseus desperately wished to do the same with him.

[fleetingcalypso]

Hello love! i'm absolutely enraptured by your writing. If i could, i'd love to request a Henry Winter x Reader enemies to lovers? Like an absolutely cut-throat academic rivalry that culminates in a dramatic fight and reconciliation at Francis' house? Thank you!

≋ Sometimes attraction blossoms even in the most hostile of places. I'm sure having Henry's life could only benefit from having a rival, turning his world upside down, keeping him on his toes. This is one of my longest works yet, also one I'm not too keen on, nonetheless I pray it captures your interest.

≋ Henry Winter x GN!Reader ≋

≋ Word Count: 4582 words.

≋ TW: mentions of dr*gs, consumption of alcohol, violence (Henry receives a slap in a moment of ire), Edmund "Bunny" Corcoran.

I remember when I initially stepped foot in Julian’s office: most of the words he spoke are lost in time but one thing is forever stitched in the fabric of my memory, he patted me on the shoulder as an affectionate mentor would and with an award winning smile he said, “You’ll fit right in.” It made me feel validated at the time, like I had a place in the world, a bird fallen out of its nest reunited with its family at last. He wasted no seconds in telling me how he would usually limit his students to the odd number of only five, but he could tell there was something about the way I carried myself that would not disturb the peaceful routine he had meticulously crafted.

Classes with Julian were anything but peaceful, to my displeasure, not because of him, not at all. He was a splendid instructor, I often found myself on the edge of my seat with each one of his words. With no surprise, I was not the only one placing him on a crystal pedestal. 

One single man made each class feel as though I was being tortured by demons, poked by sharp pointy tails. Each of my comments was brushed off, deemed useless and void of meaning, each paragraph, line, even a single word I read was followed by a deep voice interrupting me and correcting my pronunciation with great emphasis. Thankfully, I had found friends as well, other than a snake spiraling around my ankle, threatening to consume me whole.

The root of all of my headaches, as much as I’d love to strip him of his name, is called Henry Winter.

It’s not to say that I’d let him walk all over me. On more than one occasion, I was victorious after our heated discussions about the accuracy of a translated text or if we were to choose one of the five Greek cases over another. Following each argument his jaw would clench and he’d let out a curt “Very well, then,” before turning his head away and acting as if nothing had happened, although I could without fail notice the tension in his body. It was rather easy, for some unknown reason we’d always find ourselves sitting next to each other, so close our knees touched.

“Henry,  is there anything you’re unable to do?” One day I asked him, in Julian’s momentary absence, the question felt only natural to pose: with his expertise in various languages and his familiarity with the world in Ancient Greece being so fascinating. The taunting tone in my voice caught the attention of not only my interlocutor, but the rest of our classmates as well. Six pairs of eyes were fixed on me, some looking more amused than others.  His response came only after Bunny elbowed him, egging him on, “Ensuring you will not plague my days, apparently,” he said, pushing his glasses further up his nose. The venom he spat failed to enter my system, nonetheless it makes my gaze narrow. 

“You always know what to say.” It’s not a question this time, but an observation which he rewarded with a “Of course I do. Lack of words is for the uncultured.” Our interaction was cut short due to Julian returning, but that would not be the end of it.

That very same day, after our lesson was over we all stood to leave, his hand found the spot on the small of my back as he walked past me, as if it belonged there by birthright. Sometimes I still feel it, the memory creeps up on me in the middle of the night, it keeps me awake whilst making me want more and more of him, like a cruel, vicious, thrilling drug I am unable to have a sober day from.

Class wasn’t the only occasion of the day where we would have contrasting thoughts: once, it happened during a morning when all seven of us sat in the library, open books and notebooks scattered all over our table, “This is going nowhere,” groaned Charles pushing the wrinkled paper he was writing onto towards my direction, “Take a look at this. What do you think?” 

It stroked my ego that he chose my opinion over Henry’s and by a flying glance I noticed a slight surprised glint in his blue eyes, though he was quick to conceal it by focusing onto the fountain pan in his hand. I wasn’t the only one surprised by our friend’s choice in who should aid him in his translation. 

After a short look, the mistake was clear, “Ah, here it is. Your writing is not inherently wrong, ‘Who dares think one thing, and another tell, my heart detests him as the gates of hell,’ while it is correct, it could be worded in a different way, try: ‘For hateful to me as the gates of Hādēs is that man who hides one thought in his mind, but speaks another.’ That should flow better.” Just to be certain - and perhaps to bother him just a small amount - I turned to Henry, “Shouldn’t it?” He didn’t move for a second before humming and nodding, although I might have overheard him whisper “You’re doing too much,” under his breath. When I handed the paper back to its owner I could spot Francis with his hand over his lips, trying to mask a grin, obviously amused by my exchange with our friend.

The amount of times we’ve debated over the littlest of things, it would take all the stars in the universe to count, and it still would not be enough. 

“You’re slow today.” He whispered to me one day, when I hadn’t jumped at the opportunity to answer one of Julian’s queries about the Iliad, his breath tickled my ear and sent goosebumps down the back of my neck. It's true, I was slow. Henry's cologne for some insane reason was all I could think about: his closeness to me, as much as it was far by greatly affecting my attention, it certainly was reluctantly occupying a part of my mind. “Have you considered that not every thought should be spoken out loud?” I argued, the left corner of his lips lifted into a crooked half smile, “Interesting. You could benefit from your own advice.” He said, and it ended there. It left me with something I can’t quite recognize.

Ultimately, every day turned into a competition: petty, small things that held my heart hostage, like who was the first to enter Julian’s office at the beginning of the day, who turned in an essay the fastest, whose penmanship was more aesthetically pleasing and whose comments in class were rewarded with more praise. 

Another episode in which I thought our rivalry was set in stone, from the very moment he laid eyes on me, happened during a quiet Wednesday, and we were enjoying a delicious lunch at the twins’ place. Camilla had cooked lamb chops, the rest of us had brought refreshments and some side dishes.  Henry got a hold of my chair before I could grab it, he pulled it out for me then took a seat in the chair furthest away from mine. 

In the middle of our meal, as I was diving in for seconds, Bunny interrupted the calm atmosphere that had formed by being his usual exasperating self and kicking my leg from under the table, “You know,” He began waving his fork in my direction, with his lips still dirty with food, “I’ve always wondered, whenever you look at Julian with stars in your eyes, is it because you truly care about what he has to say, or is it because you’re trying to suck up to him and get easy marks by being a teacher’s pet? He’s too old for you, you know?” From the seat next to me I swear I could hear Charles choke on his food, Richard’s jaw fell open, Francis looked positively disgusted, Camilla -poor soul- pushed her plate away, as the mental image of me being in love with our professor was plastered into her unwilling mind. The only one with no visible reaction was Henry. 

“That’s what I thought as well, at first,” He noted, dabbing his lips with his napkin, “Class with Julian is not a slice of bread even the dirty pigeons on the sidewalk can stumble upon. It is only a matter of time before you realize what blessing you’ve found.” He was a master of masking a mocking undertone in his voice, along with an air of superiority which implied that the one thing he was waiting for was for me to blow up, to storm away, pack my stuff and leave Vermont for good.

“Don’t you think assuming my inability to follow lessons with the rest of you is an insult to Julian’s ability to tell whether someone is worth his time or not? If I were him I’d be quite offended, if I can say so.”

The glare he shot at me, with his blue eyes piercing through his glasses, was enough for me to know I had won; the way he was gripping his fork, his knuckles white as ever, let me know that this was not only a win, this was one of his battleships sinking. This was war, as far as I was concerned, it could only end either with an impossible truce or until one of us was dead in a ditch. 

Not wanting to entirely ruin lunch, Francis was the one to change the subject. What he said I do not remember, as I was too busy basking in my own subtle victory to pay attention, but it did work and Henry made no further jabs at me that day. The same cannot be said for Bunny, who seemed to find it exhilarating that I would stand up to Henry the way I did and spent the rest of the day testing my patience.

Since that day, life has been notably bloodless between me and the human thorn in my side, with the occasional exception. I’ve come to notice that, when he is not wasting his time trying his best to get on my nerves, he passes as a truly handsome man. It might be something about the sheer size of him, or it could very well be the way he looks at me,his gaze permanently deeper than the ocean itself, as well as his hands, veiny and large, yet rarely rough in movements. I’m ashamed to admit I’ve spent far too many instants passing glimpses at his fingers, as they slide along the pages of books.

If I have to stand in front of a jury of Gods, though, and speak my naked truth - with no censors - I’d probably reveal that what is so fascinating about Henry is the way he is a bottomless well of knowledge about Ancient Greece. He is devoted to it, as he is devoted to Julian and in some sick twisted way I can’t help but find that veneration attractive. 

Against my better judgment, I find myself missing our banter more than anything. The way he stared me down used to give me goosebumps, it still does when my eyelids close and I imagine it.

Summer comes faster than I imagine, faster than lightning striking the Earth, and in the blink of an eye I find myself at Francis’s aunt’s house. All of us fell into a comfortable rhythm while residing here, it was a breath of fresh air compared to our daily life. Playing the piano, reading in the vast library, excursions out to the lake, we kept ourselves busy, enjoying the countryside, keeping what -at the time- felt like the biggest secret of our lives from Richard.

At my awakening I was delighted in discovering everyone else was still deep in sleep. I took it as permission to make some breakfast. I had placed two cups of coffee on the table when he made his way into the kitchen, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and not a single sight of his usual exhaustion on his face. Morning sunlight shines onto his skin, giving it a warm glow, he looks positively saintlike. An archangel descending from the heavens, waiting to be welcomed to my mass, just to notify me that the end is coming sooner than I expect. “I made coffee.” I said, setting a cup in front of him. He looked at it for a moment, just for a moment, before his doubt shrouded eyes met mine,  “I have a feeling you’ve poisoned this.” As he was debating whether to accept my offer, Charles joined us. He accepted a cup without a moment’s hesitation, downed it while throwing his head back, then walked off to God knows where, not like I care much.

Henry took a sip only after witnessing that it was indeed safe to do so, I did as well. As the hot liquid met his taste buds I could see him regret he ever came into the kitchen. It was coffee, yes, although unlike my cup which had sugar at the bottom of it, the one he was drinking from had salt in it. A smile tugged at my lips, “Good morning,” I said watching his face scrunch up and force himself to not spit out what was in his mouth. A puzzled look possesses my face as he doesn’t look away from my eyes, not for one second, his eyebrows scrunch while he doesn’t spill a drop of salted coffee, it all slides down his throat. “Good morning.” He replies, coldly, tongue sliding over his bottom lip. 

By the time everyone had come to have breakfast, whether it was a glass of wine, whiskey or any drink of their choice, Henry hadn’t moved. With him following my every move, it felt only natural to imagine he’d be scheming something, and my hypothesis would soon reveal itself to ring true, leaving me like a sailor at sea, in the middle of an impenetrable storm.

The sun burns high in the sky, then it slowly melts into the sea, showering the world in tones of red, gold and purple; we spent dawn-to-dark  in nature, feeling the blades of grass under our feet, taking turns sitting on a boat floating down the lake and resting by the shadows of the trees with books in our lap, the seraphic nature of the day could have been immortalized in a painting by Michelangelo himself, but no amount of expertise with the brush would be able to capture the unmitigated calm that reigned. 

Such a glorious day deserves to have an equally splendid ending, suggested Francis once we retired back to the house. Bottles were hastily opened, alcohol floating in glasses and finding a home between thirsty lips. Inebriation wasted no time in letting  inhibitions be on the loose. One small insignificant disagreement accounted as an act of hypothetical insubordination broke into an altercation between me and my nemesis. It went on forever, such an interminable occasion that our friends abandoned us in the kitchen and went on to enjoy their drinks in the library.

“I don’t think you should be here,” His vicious words didn’t faze me at that point, the knowledge that in his idea of a perfect world I was nowhere to be found wasn’t lost on me, “You should get in your car and drive far, far away from where my eye can’t reach.” The first two buttons of his shirt were nonchalantly unbuttoned distracting me for just a moment, the way his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat with each sound caught my attention. 

“Careful my friend,” I answered, fingers growing cold from the cool glass in my hand, being gripped with an unusual stability given the wine floating in my system, his face twitched at my name for him, “It almost sounds like my very existence bothers you more than one could imagine.”

“It does. Bother me, it is. It bothers me greatly. I don’t think you should be here” He repeats. As magnanimous as I am, I am no martyr. My glass hits the table with a thud, bright red splashes onto the tablecloth as I raise my voice louder than I would like, “What the fuck is your problem?!” Never in my life had I met a human as frustrating as him, “I can’t imagine I’ve done much to you the first day I sat in that office, yet, you’ve been nothing but unkind towards me.”

“What is my problem?!” He pushes himself to his feet, his voice loud to match mine, “You are my problem!  You’re always having something to prove, buzzing about like a working insect devoted to the queen bee, it’s exhausting to even have you sit next to me.”  I’m tempted to spill my drink in his face, what a sight it would be: savory red drops slipping down his glasses and hair, wetting his cheeks and jaw until it reached his lip. Instead of that I just shove him, resulting in him stumbling a step backwards, clearly not expecting the mouse to fight back against the owl trying to catch it.

“Have you ever even glimpsed in a mirror?! You act as if you’re so all-mighty, like the rest of the world is merely ants under your shoe! It’s nerve wracking when you find someone you can’t step all over isn't it? How does it feel to have found the one person in the world that does not bow down to you?” He enrages me, in all truth. I can’t bring myself to understand why it is, that now of all times, he makes my blood boil, in more ways than one, “Does it turn your stomach upside down? Is it the only thing you can think about?” 

His chest moved for just a single, shaky breath and by now I knew I was playing with fire. If I got burned by touching the sun, at the very least it means I flew high enough to touch it. My hands moved again, ready to push him once again however just a breath before my lips could part to berate him even more his hands caught my wrists.

“You’re a parasite.” He hisses, lowering his face close to mine, by my reflection in the lenses of his glasses it is plain to see his choice of words leaves a mark, not on my face as a slap would, but on my emotions, “You’re a tiny, disgusting, parasite. You’ve single handedly infiltrated yourself in my modus operandi and I am just waiting for the moment I can finally take a moment to breathe again. Since the day you’ve set foot in that office I have, not once, had a chance to relax.” My body reacts before I can allow it to do so, the red handprint forming on his right cheek and his glasses being askew -almost on the brink of falling-  confirm that I did, indeed, strike him in a fit of rage. How I was able to free one of my limbs from his death grip I do not know, adrenaline does some wonderful miracles.

“If I’m a parasite,” My voice comes out in a low growl, “Then you best pay attention I don’t end up killing you.” The more I stand in his presence, in this kitchen, having our chests rising in synch with the slowest breaths we have ever taken, I recognize just how much we latch onto each other, how we’ve stitched our existence together with an obsidian thread the very first time we sat with our knees grazing.

“You’ll be the death of me.” He admits in a whisper I can barely hear. Had our faces not been as close as they are, I’d probably would have thought he’d been mouthing nonsense. One second he’s all I can see, with his monumental figure blocking everything else, the next he’s walking away from me, his glass of wine sits on the tablecloth, still full, untouched.

Now I know how Pandora felt as she unintentionally let the vase she was gifted almost grow empty, now I could describe in meticulous detail what a bee feels after its first and final sting.

I do not join my friends in their gathering. My chest aches with something unfamiliar, comfort certainly won’t be known for as long as I find myself anywhere near Henry Winter.

The moon has reached its place in the sky by barely an hour now, a pearl glistening onto a fabric of pure pitch-black, tiny crystals surrounding it, making sure it will never be alone forever and ever. I’ve never seen a tapestry as breathtaking as the one mirroring on the calm surface of the lake I’m strolling by to gather my thoughts. Henry is somewhat right, deep inside of me I can feel it, I’ll be the death of him one way or another. He’s the king, guiding his troops and his courtesans from the comfortable seat of an opulent throne and I’m an approaching invasion, inevitable and threatening destruction for the kingdom he has built from nothing, rooted in the deepest of sins: pride. Hubris seems to get the better of us both with each breath we take. 

My anger had settled in the brief sixty minutes I’ve spent admiring the darkness, by myself. Some fireflies with their microscopic body attempt to irradiate the entire lakeside with light, oblivious to their size or the impossibility of their mission.

Tirelessly I recount my life at Hampden, every single moment I can recall gets forced under scrutiny: “You’ll fit right in,” Julian had told me, in his eyes there lived a conviction I’ve noticed only during his enthralling lessons. I’ve only ever known him to speak the holy truth, doubting feels like going against everything I’ve ever known. In my solitude I find contentment, time flows steadily, mimicking a river in which nymphs could find respite.

“So this is where you were hiding.” A deep voice rises among the chirping of crickets, “We couldn’t find you at the house.” And just like that the incantation I’d fashioned myself in dissolves in the cool night air, joining the fireflies in their dance to please the stars and the moon. I hear him before I see him. A colorless shadow approaches me, in an impossibly inky abyss of nature, it can only be him; out of all our friends he’s the only one that can tell what bizarre chemical reactions my brain produces, he’s the only one that can read my thoughts like they were the very first lines of the Iliad, because more often than not he’s thinking the exact same thing. 

‘The wrath of Peleus' son, the direful spring Of all the Grecian woes, O Goddess, sing.’ I recite in my mind as the barely human shadow only gets closer and closer, ‘That wrath which hurled to Pluto's gloomy reign the souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain, whose limbs, unburied on the naked shore,’ his footsteps stop behind me, he wants to speak as do I, but neither dare utter a sound, ‘Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore: Since great Achilles and Atrides strove, such was the sovereign doom, and such the will of Jove!’ 

Unconsciously I found more satisfaction in rehearsing the words out loud, “Declare, O Muse. In what ill-fated hour, sprung the fierce strife, from what offended power?” And of course, he continued them effortlessly: “Latona's son a dire contagion spread, and heaped the camp with mountains of the dead; The king of men his reverend priest defied, and, for the king's offence, the people died.”  We will never stop trying to compete with each other, it is a losing battle: it’s asking the moon to stop being the unmatchable muse for romance poems, it’s asking the cosmos and all of its constellations to disappear.

“You’re not always honest,” I mumbled, disregarding if he’d consider me weak or frail, ignoring the way I could feel him burn a hole in the back of my head, “Tonight you were what I think is the most honest you’ve been in a long time.”  He’s my tormentor just as much as I am his. 

His knee grazes against mine in the instant he finds a seat on the grass, next to me. His lingering accidental touch takes a hold of me, it’s addictive. “You are a parasite.” He insists and for a moment I think we’re about to raise our voices at each other again, but then he continues with a softer voice, “You’ve latched into my mind, consuming every corner of my life and I am defenseless to it.”

“What do you mean?”

I can’t perfectly see his face in the moonlight, but if he is by any means like me as I know he is, I can consider correct the hypothesis of his pupils being dilated enough to swallow me whole. He drinks me in, like the salty cup of coffee I offered him, he doesn't leave anything behind, doesn’t waste a drop.

“You’re in possession of a great intellect. For a second in your life, put aside the countless feuds we were active participants in and figure it out. You’re hurling me into unwanted and unknown territory.” I know what he means. He could speak every language in the world and I’d still know what each word signifies, in its deepest meaning. It baffles me that he is able to discern my brilliance. He’d never lauded me so. There’s a first for everything, it seems.

“I am not a threat to your leadership, I’m not trying to be.”

He laughs at my words, to my surprise: dry and void of humor, “It’s not my leadership that’s compromised. It’s my heart and mind. While at first I found our game bothersome and quite frankly childish, I’ve unearthed a yearning for it, so influential on my being that I find myself hopelessly wishing you’d dismiss yourself from my life, with the result that I might go back to when you were not the only thing inhabiting my thoughts.”

“I won’t deny I’ve allowed myself to feel the same.” In the dim lighting we sit, I’m appreciative my confession will be the only truly limpid particle of me, I’m not ready for him to see me as I am, not yet, “I yearn for our arguments, for the furrow in your brow and your disapproving stare with each of our disagreements, most of all I yearn for your stimulating presence. Henry, you’re quite the character.”

“So are you. Impossibly infuriating, and delightfully of the essence for me.”

Our friends are waiting for us, I’m acutely aware of it, nonetheless I find myself giving into selfishness for tonight. It is a long way to go, for us two to build a bridge, but with one brick at a time perhaps it is not only a bridge we can erect, but a whole kingdom, with two thrones instead of a solitary one and no invasion to knock at its doors. If his hand slips on top of mine I pretend I do not notice, just like he doesn’t mention my head resting itself on his shoulder. The lake has never looked better, with a bright spotlight shining onto the calm surface, ripped out the pages of a fairytale. Maybe with enough time and effort the fireflies will be able to shine as bright as the moon. 

[projectcookiekingdom]

Mixer anon and I know you haven't responded to previous ask yet when I sind this in...the gentle stirring one...but also had idea for those who want context of why this one little anon is trying to get em to unite lol...

The story of the shy anon...who had a crush on affogato and always loved em from afar...planned to one day confess buuuut when they went to do so, they discovered him split in two...and/or saw one of the babysitters with the two halves and learned what happened...and swore from that day on that they'll unite the two halves to share their true feelings...no matter what it takes.

(Two things....1. yes I am a very big affogato simp...and 2. I think it would be interesting if the babysitters happened to find out about why this anon is so desperate to unite the two...like idk espresso stumbling upon their diary or finding y/n's confession note they were planning to give to affogato or whatever way you think he or, if you want, any of the other babysitters could see/hear to learn why y/n wants this so badly...and how the babysitters would react to discovering the true reason why y/n is going to such crazy lengths to unite the two halves lol!)

OMG ANON COOKIE LORE!!!

Anon Cookie has accidentally bumped into Espresso Cookie. As they apologize, their love letter that was suppose to be for Affogato Cookie fell on the floor.

Anon Cookie: Th-this is not what it looks like! I can explain!

Espresso Cookie: ...

Espresso listens to Anon's explanation. How they've loved and admired Affogato from afar and wanting to confess to him. Unfortunately, Anon has heard what had happened to their crush and rushed to the Vanilla Kingdom to find two halves of Affogato playing with the villagers and has vowed to help reunite them by volunteering and finding ways to turn Affogato back to normal.

Unfortunately, Espresso's feelings towards Anon turned even more complicated! He now feels like an overprotective brother who wants to keep their sibling away from their admirers. Without a word, Espresso left, thinking to himself that he needs to keep the twins with him at all times.

Meanwhile, the rest of the babysitters' reactions...

Cream Unicorn Cookie: Aww~ So Anon Cookie loves Affogato Cookie!

Caramel Arrow Cookie: Anon Cookie... you have bad taste in partners...

Clotted Cream Cookie: So that's why they've been doing this

Latte Cookie: Oho!~ Anon Cookie you should have told us!

Black Raisin Cookie: What???

Madeleine Cookie: Huzzah! It all makes sense now!

Pitaya Dragon Cookie: You- you...! PFT! HAHAHA! *laughing because they weren't expecting that*

Gingerbrave and friends: *confused and speechless*

The Ancients: *betting on each other on what happens next with Anon Cookie... It was Golden Cheese's idea*

Question: - Will Anon Cookie find a way to unite the two souls and confess their love for Affogato Cookie? - Will Espresso Cookie accept Anon Cookie for his "now adopted sibling's" potential love interest? - Just when did Espresso Cookie decide that Affogato Cookie is now his sibling? (Espresso Cookie: Just now! I've signed the adoption papers! *slaps the signed adoption papers on the desk and leaves with the twins*) Never mind, that was answered quickly.

Congratulations! You have unlocked: Espresso's Overprotective Brother Mode!

I know that was OOC, but this is an AU for a reason! Thanks for liking this AU and stay tuned!

[raayllum]

Hello! One thing I’ve been excited about by Runaan’s return is that he clearly knows something of Aaravos- which may or may not mean Ethari does. It could due to a number of factors, so narrowing down a why is difficult: dragon guard friends; working as the assassin leader directly reporting to the dragon monarchs; some kind of work related he must have seen places when out killing people experience (dark mages having Aaravos links is rather established); or else Xadian specific trivia/cultural lore Rayla either hasn’t heard to to interest, obscurity or being somewhat othered over her parents post the dragon guard’s failure so tales about Aaravos were suddenly taboo with his artefacts possibly missing. But, irregardless of how to a degree, in consideration of texts blurring out Aaravos’ name in Katolis in earlier seasons I’m really hoping we get something more in expansion of how Xaadia tells what went down (hopefully paralleled with what Aaravos is saying to Claudia!) and think there’s a possibility to make Runaan’s revival pull extra narrative weight efficiently!

Also Runaan calls the mirror a fate worse than death before then sort of dying in season one and that’s sort of answered as it’s Aaravos’ way to access the living world from his prison a bit sure but that is still a thing that expansion on would be delightful to see.

But the reason I thought to use an ask format is your beloved cube- it was taken at the same time as the mirror and is a magical artefact. So, I must ask if your forensic following of it’s every screenshot has you thinking Runaan may give insight into the key in any way or at least recognise it too! There’s no pressure intended, of course, but I thought it may be up your alley oohing and aahing to at least read and it could do no harm to direct your way enthusiastically.

I think realistically Runaan didn't/doesn't know more than what Lain and Tiadrin presumably did (hence trying to get one of the Dragonguard to take the egg, but they were still going to stay behind; in my mind, this was because of the mirror). They knew the mirror held something dangerous and awful ('worse than death') and possibly that it was a Startouch elf, but I'm not banking on them knowing his name considering that even Janai—a queen and descendant of Aditi (which makes me think that Aaravos wasn't even suspect in her death at the time) with the resources of the Great Bookery—didn't know him by name.

In my mind we've largely gotten Xadia's take on things (Zubeia) from someone who would have context. I think if we're going to get another lore drop that's not from Aaravos himself (as he'll have to explain some things to Claudia and Terry in S7), it'd reasonably be tied to Kpp'Ar given that he was participating in "ancient" magics / knows something about the Staff of Ziard (Aaravos' gift) that Viren never has. There's also other clues in supplementary material (book 2 novelization, Puzzle House graphic novel) that Kpp'Ar knows more about stuff related to Aaravos and deep magic than we've seen so far.

I think Runaan is out of the coin for 3 main reasons beyond just "Runaan gets to reunite and be happy with Ethari" (which is, to be fair, a decently good reason all on its own):

Xadia has to prove that it's not like the Cosmic Council. And they can do so, because Runaan changing will likely reflect the Silvergrove changing, and moving away from a place where they're willing to literally and/or metaphorically murder children (hi Ezran and Rayla respectively)

Runaan coming back is going to challenge Ezran and his efforts towards peace / breaking the cycle in a way that it is unlikely another character could.

Runaan is there to provide either a contrast or guidance to Rayla when it comes to love vs duty. He put duty above all else and seemingly regrets it, believing that it turned him into a monster, and this may help Rayla put love over duty next season (and thereby save Callum + humanity's hopes for primal magic by extension).

By being here he's absolutely going to further / already has furthered certain themes or ideas (father-daughter relationships, parent-child reconciliation, knowledge of the Moon arcanum and life/death which may be very important next season) but I don't think any of him as a character is particularly tied to knowledge about Aaravos more than what the main cast currently knows. I think Callum (and maybe Kpp'Ar) with help from Ezran (bc Orphan Queen royal lineage) or Zubeia could know or discover something about the cube going forward; I expect Callum to have fully solved That Mystery by the end of S7.

[bobbimorses]

Real reasson about Clint and Bobbi's divorce? I tough because Bobbi cheated on him, but not sure

absolutely not! i think that misunderstanding is likely from the end of the mockingbird solo in 2016, which decided to go ahead and try to retcon a very key event. let's get into it...

in west coast avengers, the whole team time travels to the old west. their time machine is broken and can only travel backwards. while trying to time travel back further, the phantom rider punches bobbi and takes her off the machine, separating her from the team (in space and time)

phantom rider takes bobbi to his cave and concocts a drug to convince her she's his wife

eventually, the two-gun kid (cowboy friend of hawkeye) tracks them down and is able to snap bobbi out of her drugged stupor. she realizes the extent of coercion that's occurred. clint is trapped in ancient egypt (and also dying), so he's not around for what comes next; during a showdown with bobbi, phantom rider falls off a ledge.

because fuck this guy, bobbi makes her choice: that is, choose to do nothing.

phantom rider's spirit actually just gets reincarnated when he dies, which bobbi admittedly didn't know about at the time, but fuck that guy.

when clint and bobbi are finally reunited, she doesn't divulge the sexual assault that occurred. several issues later, phantom rider's spirit in the present tells clint bobbi killed him and doesn't say why (bc fuck that guy). in what is notoriously the most dickish response (and writing) possible, clint goes "that's not what he said!!!!!!!" when bobbi tries to tell clint why she let phantom rider drop (bc, again, fuck that guy). and so, a rift is born.

clint's whole motto is "avengers don't kill," so his contentions are: you killed someone, you lied by omission, you betrayed my trust by not telling me. bobbi's are: that doesn't count as killing, that guy was a rapist, you are being a shitty husband. also fuck that guy.

the ensuing issues are a bunch of "pick a side" bullshit with the team and squabbling. which was ridiculous. clint's stance was so ridiculous that while all their acid and strife in west coast avengers continued, clint and bobbi would constantly be trying to reconcile and acting tenderly toward each other in concurrent issues of solo avengers. bc other writers thought "yeah fuck that guy."

so that's why they broke up. but also they didn't bc they got back together? but also they didn't get back together bc that was a skrull. but that wasn't supposed to be a skrull at the time and was only one retroactively. but then they got back together anyway. i digress.

ANYWAYS this brings us to mockingbird #8 (2016), which attempts to retcon all that in a way i can only describe as insulting. first of all, phantom rider's described as an ex of bobbi's, which is a terrible start.

then this happens:

yeah. whether the writer was trying to retcon the reasoning behind the divorce, bobbi having been sexually assaulted, or whatever aspect of the entire storyline, what instead comes across is that the writer decided "woman who survived sexual assault and asserted her agency in letting perpetrator die" should be "so like, bobbi cheated on clint, bc she makes her own decisions!" while we have panels of a man drugging her. ???? the only way you could potentially reconcile this is bobbi is lying to phantom rider to get him to fuck off (bc fuck that guy), but as i mentioned, she also calls him her "ex" in her internal monologue earlier in this very same issue, so that definitely didn't seem to be the writer's intention. sooo. we should all collectively ignore this retcon attempt.

there's also the added complication of whether their divorce was finalized during west coast avengers what with bobbi being presumed dead but then not dead, and then clint actually dying and then undying and then dying and then undying again, bobbi confirming they were divorced in new avengers reunion, but then hawkeye v4 later having clint sign divorce papers...but that's not the crux of the issue at hand. leave that for a wills and trusts probate hypo.

SO in summary: not really. if you found this obnoxiously long, enjoy this even longer text post i once made summarizing their relationship, kind of!

[intrepid-fictioneer-7]

I've come to the conclusion that, in my humble opinion, Higashide is the writer in TYPE-MOON who makes the best ships involving Heroic Spirits.

Which might sound really weird. After all, the central couple in Fate/Apocrypha is Sieg/Jeanne d'Arc, and it's a pretty divisive one. No offense to those who like it, but it's always a dynamic I thought made no real sense narratively and didn't have much chemistry. Sieg on his journey of self-affirmation and personhood didn't need a romance (except maybe with Astolfo, with whom the dynamic is much more fun). Jeanne, the historical figure who rejected a marriage proposal, wore male clothing, and whose famous nickname refers to her celibacy, getting into a romance just never vibed with me (especially when it felt like the parallels/relationship between her and Shirou Kotomine were far more relevant). Add to that the ending copying Last Episode without what made LE have a strong impact, and it makes the whole even less appealing.

But despite that, Apo is also the work where there is the surprising ship of Shirou Amakusa and Queen Semiramis of all people: the semi-legendary Assyrian queen credited with making one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world falling in love with the young charismatic Japanese Christian who rebelled against the shogunate and failed. It's a very strange crossover ship between two people who never could have met if not for being brought back and it somehow works in being endearing.

(Achilles and Atalanta kinda count I guess, but it's a one-sided ship with little reasoning, that I care so little about, and is eclipsed by the more compelling foils each get, Chiron for Achilles, Jeanne for a Jackie the Ripper-driven mad Atalante.)

Higaside having grown and improved as a writer by the time of FGO, what followed this growth was him not doing a repeat of Sieg/Jeanne, but writing better ships mostly involving Servants. Asterios the Minotaur and Euryale the Gorgon; last Byzantine emperor Constantine IX and fictional Popess Johanna; heck, you can even see the relationship between Mordred and Dr. Jekyll this way (it also works as simple close friendship). Being characters from usually completely different mythologies and historical cultures, there is care done to make it clear why they fall for each other and as a result these couples are very different from one another instead of being the same formula everytime. In a game where a lot of (female) Servants are made to fall for the last Master of Chaldea for sometimes very little reason, these are a breath of fresh air.

For all my problems with her, Sakurai does something similar, though her ships are usually people who canonically were together in their legends: Sigurd/Brynhild, Aslaug/Ragnar Lodbrok, Julius Caesar/Cleopatra, Ozymandias/Nefertari, Tomoe Gozen/Kiso Yoshinaka, etc. They can be one note and there is a repeated thematic tendency of hers of writing "inhuman woman discovering humanity by falling in love", but they tend to be very cute and I easily understand that these people are in love even beyond death, so I root for them to reunite. Higashide also has "canonical" pairings, but the results are more muddled here: Siegfried and Kriemhild are adorable as a divorced couple where there are clearly still feelings, no matter what the tsundere wife says. But Rama and Sita are just...there. I understand the point of their separation, but it's not very engaging and Rama essentially disappeared after the American Singularity, while Sita was yeeted to Arcade. A mark against Higashide, but not as bad as Sieg/Jeanne and overshadowed by the numbers of better ships he wrote in FGO.

And there's Orion and Artemis, where I'm split. Super Orion and LB Artemis was really good and poignant. Orion the teddy bear and ditzy Artemis are a realy bad joke that overstayed its welcome.

FGO prioritizes Master/Servant relationships, both because the last Master of Chaldea is a blank slate for players to self insert into, and also because human×Servant is the type of ship Nasu specializes in (Shirou/Saber, Rin/Saber, Kuzuki/Caster, Caren/Angra Mainyu, and to a lesser extent Bazett/Cu, Yukika/False Assassin, and Ayako/Medusa in FSN; Fate/Extra as a whole; Ritsuka/Castoria in FGO). But even there Higashide made better choices than when he penned Sieg/Jeanne. Charlotte Corday is a surprisingly well-done choice for her archetype, it seems like it's going to be another Kiyohime but no, he actually makes her a good character you get attached to.

And then there is Kadoc and Anastasia. Words cannot describe how much I love them, how their personalities clash and complement each other in the best way, how aesthetically good they look put next to each other, etc. And it's not even just that we got a MasterxServant relationship outside Ritsuka, though that helped.

Basically, Higashide has become my go-to source for good ships, especially intra-Servants ones where Ritsuka is not involved and characters are allowed to not orbit around their Master. Sakurai also provides in that last aspect, but Higashide is doing that and also giving that crossover flavor you see in things like that one Cartoon Network ad with Johnny Bravo and Velma, and that works really well for me.

[nasirofmanderlys]

who; @tionpeake when and where: semi-flashback to the realms all gathering in casterly rock, nasir manderly seeks out his closest and oldest friend, lord tion of house peake - for a specific reason. context: grand reveal time lolol

there was the announcement of nasir's arrival to the quarters of the tion peake; something that was not entirely unheard of; especially when the kingdoms finally reunited as one for some reason or another, it was not peculiar or rare to see the men of two mighty ancient lines coming together. there was a reason their fathers had introduced them to one another at a young age, as much as they saw differences in the other they also saw similarities - similarities that made them in one another's orbit.

there was greatness that had always been destined for them, a greatness that had come with hard work and patience - their reality was also being better than half of their contemporaries, and having to work twice as hard.

an evident example had been the way in which tion peake had all but single handedly sorted the finances of several generations of house peake; reaching his hand into complexity and working until he could resurface with a sense of stability. and yet, it were garland hightower who had first been granted the appointment as master of coin for the treasury of the kingdom of thorns and roses - all for the name of hightower, and the city's walls which would provide a good location for a bank that could have been built regardless of who held the position.

his ever present serious nature seemed to cease in the presence of the man who was a brother to him; he pulled him into their usual embrace, looking upon the new master of coin for the reach - something he knew tion had wanted for some time. nasir did not wish to add further clouds to the man's head by mentioning garland's death, no; this was the correct decision. it was about time. "i hear a new title has been added to your name, yeah?" nasir asked, a hand remaining on the man's shoulder as they pulled from the warm embrace. "it's your time, brother. show 'em that greatness."

and nasir pulled away when a figure of a younger boy crossed over the room, seemingly directed by another member of staff to leave from his stationary post. the man's dark orbs followed the boy's moving figure, feeling a slow thud deep within his chest as he looked upon the retreating figure, and the door closing behind him. the two men of manderly and peake were alone now. it was then nasir let out a slow exhale, his hand coming to rest upon his nose the way it always did when he was refocusing himself. it was strange, to see him grow. he never understood it; because he couldn't.

"how is zakariya?" is what nasir manderly asked.

instead of, how is my son?

[profanepurity]

Lucifer and Lilith story very resonated me that make me ship them despite no written text that ever mention them being a couple. Hazbin hotel that's when i was very happy seeing Lucifer & Lilith as a couple, while there is some where they are together it's either toxic or abusive or they just friend with benefit. That is also the reason i was into hazbin hotel beside the thing with Lucifer daughter trying to Redeem sinner. So what is the relationship between Lucifer & Lilith

In some stories, Lilith is said to be one of the wives of Samael, the angel of death. A lot of people consider Samael and Lucifer to be the same entity, while others separate them. While I believe that's where the interpretation of Lucifer and Lilith being together comes from, I still consider Lucifer and Samael to be two different beings, despite my liking of them as a couple Lucifer and Lilith have been together a lot in media before, which is why I sometimes hesitate to have them together as well. I want to try and do something fresh with these characters. That being said, every time I try to imagine anything different, it just doesn't feel totally satisfying lol. The idea of two people who were cast out and punished for their rebellion finding each other and falling in love is so comforting. More on their relationship below the cut!

Keep in mind that their relationship is still in the drafting stages: Lucifer and Lilith require their own spaces, so it's not uncommon for them to be apart for stretches of time. When they reunite, it's like no time has ever passed. Their relationship is fulfilling for both of them. Lucifer never demands her submission. Lilith lives in complete freedom. She wanders Earth and enters Hell as she pleases. He is always a supportive force beside her and never one that hinders her. The fact that Lucifer is always a grounded and reliable presence is what makes Lilith want to give everything she can back to him. Lilith is always checking in on him, even when she's not in Hell. They can spend hours together walking through the woods or sitting beside each other in comfortable silence. Their relationship is by no means perfect. Both of them have a tendency to draw back from each other. Of course, they argue and clash. Time has made them experts on each other, but that doesn't override their own flaws. The way I think about them a lot can be somewhat compared to the sun and moon. Lilith is the moon and draws power from the night, while Lucifer is the brightest star just before sunrise. They exist in an eternal, harmonious cycle with each other. Not only do they orbit Hell and its principles, but they orbit their son as well. I've been thinking a lot about my interpretations of Lilith and how she would present herself. She is not just the first woman and the mother of demons, she is the first witch. And while she can and is considered a demon, she walks the earth eternally like a human, like Cain. She is the head of a very ancient coven who is raising the antichrist, Lucifuge. It took much time and blood to bring him into the world, but now that he is here, Lilith is going to ensure this child survives.

[neb-art-zeke]

hiiiiii! Please tell us more about Relonoth if you don't mind 👀

How old is he?

What is his DnD alignment?

What's his tent in the camp like?

Does he have a partner(s)?

Hey @razrogue! Thanks for your interest in my TAV!

So fore warning, I'm not as knowledgeable about the larger DnD/Forgotten Realms lore and I've never played the previous Baldur's Gates so a lot of my knowledge comes from just playing Baldur's Gate 3. Also like many of my OCs, he goes through constant change as my knowledge of the lore expands and new ideas in my mind surface. With that being said:

Background: Relonoth is the son of a Seldarine Drow father and a Human Druid Mother. Relonoth lived with his mother and father in his mother's tribe for the first 12 years of his life where he learned the basics of living in the wild before she was killed fighting alongside his father during an attempt of his father’s life by Lolth's Drow. Not wanting to endanger the tribe further, Relonoth's father would take him far away from the tribe where they traveled aimlessly for several months. One day, they managed to stumble upon some helpful monks who were on their way back to their monastery. Sensing the torment inside both Relonoth and his father, the monks invited the two to journey with them back to the monastery to find inner peace. Relonoth and his father spent 7 years learning the ways of the monks and spent one more year traveling with each other after before deciding to continue on separate journeys. Before departing, they promised each other they would reunite for a single week at the place they left every 7 years to share with each other their monastic journeys. BG3 takes place 2 years before another reunion. Some of Relonoth’s experiences and adventures include finding his mother's old tribe, fighting in an underground martial arts tournament, mentoring other young monks, learning the way of the four elements from ancient beings, and putting stops to deadly conspiracies, but his greatest adventure takes place during BG3.

Name Origin: I found a Drow etymology naming convention sheet online and the name roughly translates to "Wind's Path" which I thought sounded cool. The in-lore reason I developed after was that his father named him that name because he wanted his son to have the freedom to become anyone he wanted in his life (Free like the Wind).

Age: 67 (as of BG3 - looks about 33 because of half elf aging)

DnD Aligment: Neutral Good (as a nomadic monk, he'll find himself helping the less fortunate and oppressed and generally respects the rules of the lands he comes across but still has his principles of freedom and choice which sometimes clash with more strict rules of some kingdoms. His nature of helping people and quickly disappearing in a gust of wind after earned him the title of The Wind Walker.)

Tent: His tent is very simple. Being nomadic, he likes to carry light but he's known to collect a few things from his travels and keeps them in his tent space (i.e. small gifts from his friends, rocks and feathers of birds from the different lands he visits and small things he thinks his father would like to see during their next reunion)

Romance: Karlach (I like to imagine that after finding a solution to her infernal engine problem, the two escape Avernus and continue traveling the world with Karlach wanting to experience the grander world after spending years in Avernus and Relonoth wanting to continue his monastic journey with one he loves. She even gets to meet Relonoth's father during the reunion. Really want to get a comic commission of this lol.

[counterfeitphantoms]

Maro!! (drawn by @bootleggreely obv, he also helped me fit this all together!!

their whole deal is that they're the child of Hart (Giraffe Alpha) and Greely; both from a world that's long-gone now due to the phantoms originating there taking total control over it & assimilating it

(lore-ramble under the cut)

most things from that world (animals esp), understandably, just… flat out didn't make it. if they're not dead they're as good as dead; but hart managed to escape with maro (when they were like 9) by using the magic stored in other alphas' alpha stones (a pretty fucked up thing to do! it basically damned the alphas they stole from, but they got desperate). they had offered for their worlds greely to escape with them, but he denied & instead chose to stay behind to attempt to fend off the phantoms (which was futile and i think. he knew. but yk captain goes down w/his ship analogy and all that)

one of the ancients also escaped with hart, a younger one that didn't like what her siblings were doing to this world. they only had a brief connection with the giraffe alpha before they split their separate ways, though; with her fleeing to one world while hart & maro went to another.

despite managing to flee in time, hart & maro still weren't safe. they were constantly being perused by the ancients, who had grown angry over both escaping. this lead to most worlds the two visiting eventually, inevitably, being attacked by the same world-hopping ancients, dooming those worlds to the same fate while the two would flee over and over. it went on for years, and even as maro grew up and became their own person (currently, they're 18-20, max), harts rampant paranoid terror led them to shelter maro, never letting them out of their sight for even an hour. they were desperate to keep their kid, the only other thing from their original world that escaped, safe (at this point they assumed the young ancient that fled with them had died, or that they had second thoughts and rejoined their older siblings in their pursuit to consume more and more worlds)

but eventually. they fled to a weird world. OITTS "current" world. and they…. reunite with the ancient that fled with them all those years back. they were alive, and they had become this worlds phantom queen. who up until that point had escaped the hateful gaze of her siblings, and had been attempting to settle down in a world. this new world was cruel, but phantoms thrived in relative peace. (a parallel with her siblings that the queen doesn't see; she believes shes taken over this worlds jamaa for her subjects/children, not for anything malicious, and thus she believes that separates her from them) of course the two are ecstatic to reunite, that last bit of hope that both had that SOMETHING else had survived from their shared original world turned out to be true. but that'd quickly turn to horror as hart realizes what they've done. they've practically lit a beacon for the ancients right in the world that the queens worked so hard to hide from their prying eyes.

for once, hart doesn't flee. they can't. they couldn't in good conscious leave PQ here to fend off her siblings on her own. not when they're the reason they'll find her. they decide to stand their ground until they inevitably discover this world and invade it when that confrontation happens. the ancients have actually been having quite a fun time chasing hart around; they made it easier to jump from world to world with their own efforts, and the ancients have gained quite a footing due to them. so. there's a proposal (from hart. i think. more than anything else)

just. leave this world be, leave maro here, leave your sister here. and hart will join them. they don't want too, obviously. but it's the only bargain those things will consider. and of course, its taken. so the ancients trade out one of their own for another (PQ for hart). and hart can finally let go of maro and let them exist and be their own person in OITTS world, it's the thing that finally separates them

Hart breaks the cycle of fleeing and consuming resources (they ultimately became just as bad as the ancients, in the end. they'd steal resources and heartstones/alpha stones from worlds they visited just to fuel their own magic, just so they could run) and lets their kid finally settle down in a world that isnt kind, but it isnt horrible. and PQ can also finally let go of her terror of her siblings and reflect upon what she did to OITTS world (which, again, wasn't far off from what her siblings did, she just thought it was "justified"). and maybe they can work on making OITTS world someplace thats livable for animals and phantoms. not just one or the other. the damage done to OITT by her cannot be undone, but at least there can be somewhat-security for everyone living in it going forward

[lilacartsmadsion]

Actually, I got an idea:

As the Nameless one looked down at the world of his creations, he felt a deep longing, he wondered, how would it be? To be a young mortal cookie, surrounded by friends, family, he was tired of creating for a while, of course he had duties and such, but the longing in his heart also left the feeling of want

So, he decided to reunite with his fellow deities and come clear

"I want to go down there, to live the life I gave to my creations, at least just for a moment, what is a simple like of a mortal in our lifetime as eternal beings? Please, assist me in this small whish kf mine"

The other gods were scandalized at first, but, as they thought about it, and looked at the tired expression of their friend, they slowly agreed to it, they're friend needed a break, he looked just too tired

The God of Wisdom was the one that showed more hesitation to agreed, but looking at his hopeful yet tired friend, even he reluctantly agreed

So, the two goddesses and the one God went to gather the ingredient for a fresh batch of dough, not wanting their friend to stand out too much, they just gather the most basic things, as well and ginger for the main flavor

Meanwhile the God of Wisdom found a way to make this new body a vessel that could resist to almost anything, and then found a way for his friend to occupy said body, transforming the wiling nameless God into a small sphere, his soul, his very own core, and carefully placed it inside of the freshly shaped cookie

As the final step, they all said their temporary farewells and wished a good life to their friend before the god of Wisdom sent him down to earthbread in a magical blaze, to live his new life as a mortal

The gods watched in silence as their friend's new body made it to the very own kingdom that worshiped him so much, the God of Wisdom admitting to send him there as it was the safest place for him

They say their friend landing, and the very own cookie he created taking him in with his son in toe

They whish a happy and prosperous future for their friend as the castle's doors closed

That’s a good concept! However…

I already decided that the gods didn’t know Gingerbrave went into the Mortal Realm of Earthbread. Especially since they were so busy in their own domains. (Especially Wizard Cookie who’s basically been in Wizard City for god knows how long)

So when he disappeared they basically panicked at first before deciding to not tell anyone about it. Gingerbrave or ‘Nameless’ always had his own way of doing things if he just disappeared there must be a reason.

Eventually they find out in the Yearly Festival of the gods the one time the gods head down to the Mortal Realm and check on its progress (Because they didn’t do that with the Beasts so it was a counter-measure)

Gingerbrave ends up getting taken away by the crowd where upon the gods summon all the Ancients and inform them that Gingerbrave is the Nameless One they just don’t know why he’s a child, why he decided to become mortal and why he doesn’t seem to remember his past life.

It doesn’t help that for some reason Gingerbrave’s powers negate Wizard Cookie’s powers. To the point that Wizard can’t predict what he’s thinking.

[malsperanza]

Heaven Official's Blessing / TGCF: He Xuan and his family

This just landed in my brain, a little late. I was rereading the Lantern Riddles extra story, which is my favorite of the TGCF extras for many reasons. I finally focused on the following details:

1) We don't know where the scene occurs when XL is first learning how to live abjectly as a rag-and-bone man. He is wandering the mortal world, far from home.

2) The small street stall where he stops is owned by a family named He. It is humble but not poor. The family is a portrait of a healthy, decent, loving, functional family - not particularly fortunate in material ways, but happy.

3) There is a father and mother, a young daughter, and a waitress who is attractive and friendly, clearly close to the family. There is also an older son, who is awaited but is late.

4) I guess I was paying attention to other things, so I didn't notice til now that this is He Xuan's family in the days before Shi Wudu stole his good fortune and annihilated all of them. The waitress is, I think, the fiancée. Not only that, but we may be seeing the very day when this happened - He Xuan is expected home, but something has delayed him.

Twist the knife, MXTX.

5) What's more, this entire scene is XL's memory: He's walking through Ghost City with HC during the lantern festival, when the sight of yuanxiao dumplings triggers the recollection. What makes him think of that particular day? He has passed through 800 annual Shangyuan holidays. Maybe this was the first one when he realized that he had no family and was alone in the world.

But XL now also knows the whole backstory of what happened to Blackwater and his family. So he's remembering not only his own deep, ancient trauma, but also a pivotal moment in the bigger history. He's meditating on how precious family is, and perhaps feeling still that some losses can't be repaired. So he goes into a fugue state, which HC notices, and figures out.

**

Edit

When I first read the story, I noticed that the surname was He but I think I assumed it was a common name. MXTX often does a trick where she mentions some important piece of info in passing, without emphasis and surrounded by more dramatic info that you focus on. So we're looking at Xie Lian's sad life, and wondering exactly when this scene is, and where. And then the whole thing is dropped and we're suddenly in the the middle of a happy little Ghost City story. When I reread the story, I realized that MXTX would not give us the name of the food stall - and it would not be the same as He Xuan's name - if it weren't meaningful. Like, we never learn the name of the village chief at Puqi, for example. So I wondered what the two halves of the story had in common - why they were put together.

So then I found the place where He Xuan describes the deaths of his family members and it all fit.

One reason I especially like this story is the way MXTX riffs on the theme of "family" from multiple facets, bringing together several different examples of families from different parts of the novel - He Xuan's happy family, unjustly destroyed; Xie Lian's less happy childhood as an overprivileged only child of somewhat dysfunctional parents (whom he nevertheless loved and misses); and finally, the silly but sweet found family of all the little ghosts of Ghost City, who adore their Chengzhu and his Gege. Whether it was the little ghosts or HC himself who devised the riddle "My Husband Hua Cheng," the message is clear: Xie Lian has his found family.

The theme of the Shangyuan festival is "family reunions." That's also the theme of the story. Xie Lian is acknowledging that he and Blackwater will never reunite with their families, but unlike Blackwater, Xie Lian has not devoted himself to bitterness* and revenge, so he earns a new family.

--

*Bitterness being the opposite of sweetness - the flavor he had lost the ability to enjoy until he married Hua Cheng.

[chloe-caulfield94]

alt Chloe has a gift for alt Max

Max and Chloe went to the bow of the cruise ship, to enjoy the setting sun. Max noticed that there was a small present box resting on Chloe’s lap, wrapped up in a bow.

         “I have something for you, Max. Open it!”

         Max untied the bow and removed the lid. Inside there was a wreath made out of dark green oak leaves, with a few acorns still attached.

         For an obvious reason, Max watched a lot of movies with Chloe. Some weeks after moving to Seattle, they started watching “Rome”, an HBO series taking place in the ancient days of the Eternal City. There had already been multiple seasons made and more were on their way. Max and Chloe liked the series very much and they steadily devoured episode after episode, season after season.

         In one of the early episodes, young Julius Caesar, still a mere footsoldier, saved the life of a comrade-in-arms. For that he was presented with a “civic crown” - a wreath of oak leaves. That prized award was handed out as a symbol of ultimate achievement - saving a fellow Roman’s life. It was made out of leaves, not out of gold or silver, because saving a life was considered to be an award in its own right. Max remembered that she geeked out hard after watching that episode, because the battle in which Caesar earned his civic crown took place at the city of Mitylene on the island of Lesbos, which was the home to the famed poet Sappho. The island is also the place where the novel “Daphnis and Chloe” by Longus is set, which is a story of two young souls who were raised together, but just as they were about to understand that they loved each other, were separated by cruel fate. But in the end, after many, many hardships, including an abduction by pirates, they were reunited and married.

         At Chloe’s side Max quickly learnt that geeking out was okay. In her Vortex Club days Max mistakenly believed that one should be blase about everything to come off as cool. Now she knew that caring about things and especially about other people was not only cool, but it was the only way to gain meaning in life.

         Listening to Max’s geekout about Lesbos, Sappho and ancient romance novels, Chloe smiled and nodded. But Max noticed that she wasn’t smiling with her eyes. At the time, she thought that Chloe was simply tired or that she had another one of her headaches. But now she knew what was the reason. Seeing young Caesar carrying his friend’s limp body, a rain of arrows falling all around them, must’ve reminded Chloe of the Storm.

         Chloe explained the contents of the box: “It’s an award for saving a life. Like you saved mine. In more ways than one”.

         Max touched the wreath with her fingertips.

         Chloe continued: “Obviously, I didn’t pick them myself. Remember how a few weeks ago Kristen and Fernando took me to the park when you had to stay late at work? They helped me pick the leaves. And make them into a wreath. And tie a bow on the box. While it was customary to use leaves from the place where the deed took place, you don’t have to worry. I know you don’t want anything to do with Arcadia Bay, not after the revelations about Jefferson and Nathan. These are decent Seattle leaves”.

         Max gazed at the wreath, as if mesmerized.

         Chloe fretted: “I’m sorry, I know it’s silly …”

         “No! It’s not silly”.

Looking her wife deep in the eyes, Max placed the wreath on her own brow. “I feel like a triumphing emperor. Your life, our love - those are the only things worth fighting for to me. Thank you for this gift, Chloe. I will never stop fighting for us”.

Chloe smiled and said: “During a triumph, an emperor always had a servant at their side, telling them that they were only human. That was to remind them that even in their moment of triumph they were merely mortal. Now, in your moment of triumph, I’m telling you - you are more than a human. You are my angel”.

         “Chloe, I don’t know what to say”.

         “Kiss me, then”.

         After their lips parted, Max kept gazing at her wife. Chloe’s head was crowned with a golden halo placed on it by the light of the setting sun. On the day of her wedding reception, Max should feel joyous and hopeful. She should dream about the future. She should feel like it was the first day of the rest of her life. And she did feel that way. She was full of joy and hope. She imagined all the beautiful moments of love ahead of them. But she also felt fear and unease. She knew they were living on borrowed time.

         She grabbed Chloe’s hand and placed her other hand on her wife’s cheek. Chloe, who had been looking over at the sea, smiled, finding Max’s face to be an even more pleasant view than the sun rays dancing on water.

         Max spoke, utmost determination on her face, honesty and power in her voice: “Chloe, we already swore to be with each other until death parts us. Now I’m taking another oath. I swear to be with you always. I won’t allow anything to part us. I won’t let our love be broken by death. I won’t let it take you. I don’t know how, but …”

         Chloe wished she could touch her wife. To reassure her. But she couldn’t. She could only use her words.

“Max, you have already saved me from death. You have saved both my body and my soul. Before you came back, I wished only for death. Now I only wish for life and love. Life with you. Your love. You’re right, what we have is too strong to be broken, even by death. So I swear to be with you, always, too”.

         They kissed again, two silhouettes against the setting sun, their dresses blue as the sea.

Continue reading: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51515176/chapters/130195735

[king-mera]

If the Summerville squad have to deal with a ghost who handles time related abilities and they were accidentally sent back in time when the original ghostbusters are in their prime time, how do you think it would go?

Oof, this is one doozy of a question. Unfortunately I cannot give you the answer you were hoping for.

I don't think this concept would work for several reasons:

The original Ghostbusters film is, to me, a perfect story that shouldn't be tampered with. Sending characters back in time to that era would only mess things up and make events needlessly complicated. Even if they weren't smack in the middle of the 1984 film's plot, several other issues come up.

When it comes to time travel, characters either have to carefully make sure they don't change the events, or they alter history. The former option would be frustrating to watch and call into question what the point of sending them back was in the first place. The latter risks creating paradoxes. If Phoebe and Trevor were able to see their Grandfather when he was still alive, I can't imagine they'd be able to resist trying to warn him about the events of Afterlife and avoid the disastrous falling out he had with his family and the other Ghostbusters. Sure, it would be nice to have a perfect timeline where nothing bad ever happens to Egon and his loved ones, but then the central conflict of Afterlife is removed and the new GBs lose their origin story.

If the new characters go back to help the OGs, then the OGs lose their agency. Not only that, but this plot would place greater emphasis on the OGs and take attention away from the new characters. Neither group really benefits here.

Instead, I propose an alternative time travel story idea: Have a ghost send each member of the Summerville Squad to different times and places in history. The early IDW comics had a similar arc at one point and I think it would be fun here. I'm also picturing all this happening when the squad is older. Lucky could be sent to ancient Africa, Podcast to the golden age of piracy, Trevor to the 1920's with gangsters, and Phoebe to WW2 (OK maybe that last one's a little dark, but I want to see Phoebe punch Nazis). Each of them would have to find a way to reunite and return to the present, but they'd get sent off course to the distant future where the ghost has taken over. They'd have to find a way to defeat it by finding some equipment that remained intact for all the years they skipped (I'm pulling that idea from an episode of Extreme Ghostbusters). With the ghost captured, the heroes would be able to return to their own time and prevent the bad future from happening.

Alright, that ended up being a bit long. Sorry again that I went in a different direction than you suggested, but I hope you found my ideas interesting anyway! Maybe there's someone else who could make your initial idea work, but it's just not something I would do personally.