#chronos/kronos/whatever

[catsconflictscopicsandchamomile]

oh, fucking Chronos.

this gets so much worse

when you learn that Cassiel in the lore is the Angel of Time and Archangel of Saturn.

which makes Chronos his closest greek counterpart.

metaphysically they are brothers

and Cas is absolutely surrounded by Time Shit(tm)

this is just how he be

also the reason Dean was in the 1970s in The Winchesters is because- *CW sniper takes me out before I can finish this sentence*

no but how the fuck did supernatural manage to be so brilliant at accidental foreshadowing???? how??????

I mean...what are the odds?????

[unrepentantgeek]

Geek interested in mythology here! I love dp x dc stories. They can be really awesome, sometimes they're hilarious.

I'm just as amused as everyone else by the "Wonder Woman & co panic over Clockwork because he's Zeus' awful dad, the leader of the Titans.

However, whether he's called Cronus Kronos he's actually not the deity of time. That's a second person, named Chronos. Who I think might be a primordial deity predating the Titans.

I don't tend to nitpick this because mythology this long after when it originally came to be isn't distinct or definitive enough to warrant fretting over. After all, one could easily assume this is a case where a later generation of deity has the same domain as a prior generation. (See Gaia & Demeter. And how sometimes people ignore Selene & Helios existing- or don't know they do- and instead called the twin gods Artemis & Apollo the moon & sun deities.)

However I'm very interested in seeing someone play with this technicality.

The way I picture it goes something like this. Danny & the JL &/or JLD or whatever mixture you want- Batfam & Constantine could work too- are working together. Or Amity Park & the GIW have just been discovered.

During story time or debriefing Danny goes "Clcokwork said-". Or else when answering a question he starts his explanation with "According to Clockwork".

Naturally this gets interrupted to ask who Clockwork is. (Or a JLD member or JLD aligned person freaks out)

Once those present know who Clockwork is & somewhat understand his status in the Infinite Realms someone who mostly knows or only knows the modern reinterpretations- maybe Flash or Green Lantern?- comes out with something like "wait, the guy who ate his kids? Is it safe for you to be near him?"

Chaos ensues. If you want to go the "Chronos & Cronus both have power over time" route que a moment for Wonder Woman or JLD member or choice to panic.

Once someone gets things back on track Danny or whoever else you want clarifies that no, Clockwork is either Chronos not Cronus or not from the Greek pantheon at all.

I'm inclined for Clockwork being Chronos, so if you do that there should also be a moment for the shock or other form of overreaction to Danny's connection to a deity who's a bigger shot than even a Titan.

[blood-starved-beast]

Hello! As someone who's never played Hades, or its sequal's early access, you are free to ignore this ask as it's just something my sleep-addled mind concocted after watching too much videos and reading metas, but I'd like to bring up someone who's never appeared in tandem with Kronos, despite being just as vital and important to the creation of Olympians but never mentioned much:

RHEA

I just have this thought after the fact that in your tenth meeting with Hades after nine successful boss battle confrontation with him to the surface, he just lets you leave to meet with Persephone, who actually this point is already planning to return to the Underworld, and her return starts the point in which the family relationship between father and son becomes less discordant and more smoother and lighter, enabling other relationships to reunite into a better outcome.

So the thought is that Rhea will become the key to defeating Chronos permanently, a reverse of the reunion between Hades and Persephone, a fight between two grandparents, I guess. Also would be interesting to know what her children's thoughts on Rhea are. And the person who's gonna help us accomplish that is Zagreus.

The fact that the early access stops us at Zagreus's room is suspicious, also it could help confirming the theory of Zagreus being the God of Blood and Life. Chronos stated that what brought him back was spite, but mostly the blood sacrifices. Wouldn't it be ironic if Rhea, whatever state or where she is, is also revived by Zagreus? Could also be a neat sibling development between him and Melinoe.

As I've said, this is just a mad rambling of a theory. You are free to ignore this. I find your analyses on Melinoe and her relationships between the people around her fascinating. Drink water and eat your vegetables regularly. May a kind month grace you.

I feel like if Rhea were to show up, she would've been mentioned by now. Also we do have the dissolution of time spell and one of the ingredients for it is entropy which is made of paper material that I think is more linked to the Fates. And the Fates do have a task in the list of minor prophecies asking Mel to save them. Makes sense that the end goal of the Surface is saving them, or just interaction to get entropy.

And I'm pretty sure the reason why we get into Zagreus's room at the end is cause at the courtyard I presume we will be able to find the frozen in time statues of the family at the House. And each run we'll presumably free one, necessitating the 10 times win against Chronos for the first ending, same as we saw in the first game and getting Persephone home.

[lookslikethatsallthetimewehave]

No matter how a conversation about the nexus starts, you'll always end it with believing it's Kronos 😭

Hey, what can I say? I'm very predictable, and he's at the center of every of my Popspiracies.

What, you want my reasons? Ok...

1. Seeing how prominent Zeus (the most powerful and leader of the Greek Gods) is in this franchise, it only makes sense that Dad (the most powerful and leader of the Titans) would be important to, even if he is currently K.O.ed

2. The main point of the novels/failed cartoon is to explain how tf the world of Poptropica works, so I take everything that the novels say as the Poptropica Gospel XD

3. The main subject of the novels is time, and time travel, and rewinding time, and alternate timestreams, and all this other time related stuff. The Greek deity associated with time the most is Kronos/Cronos/Chronos/whatever.

4. I forgot what the 4th reason was. But I'm sure it was very, very good.

[sazlew]

Romcoms

(Declan if u reading this fuck off fuckOFF)

K so I’m writing this on my phone and alsooooo I’ve had a bit to drin k so soz if it’s weird looking or whatever! Just wanna write some words while i have this idea in my mind!!

(also im babysitting Dee while he sobers up sooooooo… love him but i am scared for him always)

Romcoms.

They’re so great. They’re amazing! I love them. They’re probs my favourite film genre of all time. Declan doesn’t like them but that’s cause he likes films the best that are long and boring and about the meaning of life or whatever

Look i like some old old old films by famous directors - much ado about nothing from 1996 is my favvvv (KENNETH BRANAGH IS SO HOT) - but i can’t do the smart film thing. I am smart but not smart enough to city in a movie theatre and watch something where people just talk all the time and don’t even kiss. 

I like rom coms. Cause they’re nice and fun and cute.

I know sometimes they’re all the same, but I think most fims are the same once you get down to the heart of it. Three act structure, right? Someone doesn’t want to do a thing, but then they need to do a thing, and on the way to do a thing, that thing goes wrong, and then they overcome that problem and then do the thing and then there is a climax! (heeeee) and then the film ends and the character has change - better or worse than before but theyve gotta chanre or else there is no point. People change all the time but not probably as fast as rom com characters do cause some of those stories tae place over like four days.

Four days is too short to fall in love. I fall in love in long stretches of time. Like… sitting at work for two months spending time with people and then going ‘oh i love you’. The best thing about people you love is the weird bits. Ike a thing about them that they think is ugly but makes u smile. Or something they know lots of things about. Or a thing that thye aways wear but not for any fashion reasons.

I think life would be real boring if we all loved the same people all the time…

Ok wait 

I just got dee some water 

And me some water

What was i writing uh.

Romcoms.

My favourite romcom is defs defs defs The Proposal!!!!

I’s got all the best bits of rom coms in it. They don’t like each other, then they’re trapped in a place at the same time, plus weird humor that’s very silly, plus sandra bullock is a babe, plus she DEFS FOR REASLS DOMMED ryan reynolds

Fuck me you must think i have a ryan reynolds thing [gif of Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal, he’s pulling off his shirt and looks hot as fuck] 

ive reblogged enough pics of him

Hot boy summer????? 

It’s winter in NZ

Hot boy winter

(Dee laughed at that. Im kinda talking this post out loud now whooooops but i cant seem to stop)

The Proposaal. ICONIC!!!! 

What else

It’s not a rom com but i love the baz luhrmann romeo and juliet. The fashion is so so much and the music is too - that scene to “Kissing You” by Des’ree? I wish i was alive for more of the 90s cause that shiz was iconic

And Mercado?

Wait

Mercution! As a drag queen? I love

So more rom coms.

(Declan is telling me about a rom com he saw at the NZIFF in 2016 about time travel called.. chrono - krono? Theeisa???????? Look idk it probably wasnt a rom com knowing him it was probaby just something about death or murder or the meaning of life or whatnot)

The romcom i saw last week thaat everyone at work loves (EXCEPT DEE CAUSE HE DOESn’T WANT T WATCH IT) is called Set it up

It’s got the guy from Scream queens (hot guy??? chad???) and queen zoey deutsh and they play two PAs for two bosses that try to set their bosses up cause their bosses are real mean to them and they think if they set them up then they will be less mean cause they’ll be getitng laid - vibes

But then they both FALL IJ LOVE

Also pete davidson from SNL is there which is real weird 

But yeah tey fall in love and its cute

I love it i love it

I wish real work was like that

OH ANOTER ONE

10 Things I hate about you

So picture health ledger (RIP) being like a bad boy in a school and then kate - who is blonde and kinda a bitch but like she’s badass and it’s cool and i wilsh i was that badass - her dad says that her sister can’t date her crush (josepg gordon levitt but young AS) until kate dates someone

It’s shakespeare apparently i think if i remember from school

Wait wait wai

[DECLAN: Ten Things I Hate about You is Shakespeare yes. It is a retelling of the Taming of the Shrew which is one of the Shakespeares that people feel weird about these days cause it seems sexist and maybe is. In the movie Kate has much more agency than in the play which is good. It is a good movie that I like a lot,]

FOR ONCE DEE IS RIGHT IT IS A GOOD MOVIE  

Another one i like is clueless which i also studied at high school

Look it is iconic!!!!!! The outfits

Cher

Paul rubb but young and pretty and i mean hes still pretty and hes like fifty but he was real pretty then

Weird that they were cousins 

aCTUALLY i saw a paul rudd movie ast week and it was an art movie

(shut up Dee stop laughing) 

Ideal Home! It was real good actually

He was paying a gay film producer???? With his husband/parner played by……. That english guy

Fuck he was in that other series of movies for old peop

Fuck i dont remember

But yeah they were breaking up - i guess it was kinda a rom com actually

They were breaking up but the other guy - the english lover whos name i cant remember - his estranged son was jailedfoor being a piece of shit and his son (the english guys grandson) came to live with them

And it was a story about paul rudd and englsh guy falling in love again and it was actually real nice, i like it a lot. Funny and passionate

Like it when romcom couples have actual chemmisty cause liv and drew have both said that it s hard to make chemistryyy that seem real on screen whew ur are castingg gg iand mking movie s sssssssssssss,sssssssss ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss s f

[DECLAN: Ideal Home was a great movie. I enjoyed it lots and lots. Go and see it if it is on at your local. Saz has dozed off so I guess I will just post this. Take nothing sshe has said as true.]

[lovefoolheart]

i hate to repeat myself but if i see any of you talk about the “original version” of a greek myth to make it “less problematic” and say that it was changed by christians when there are proofs of it being in a certain way in ancient art you’re gonna get blocked go read a reliable book for fuck’s sake

[gemsofgreece]

Me again, a follow up question. While I know it's pretty much impossible to have a perfect transposition from greek to latin alphabet, I'm trying to have at least some kind of ruling. This said, would you transpose κ as a english "K" (harsh sound) or "c" sweet sound. Ex, Αλκιμεδων is Alkimedon or Alcimedon or whatever? Thank you

That's a great question. The truth is that the transliteration of Greek to Latin characters is terrible because even though the closest letters are chosen, these letters often have different sounds between the two alphabets. The problem is aggravated by the fact that English especially took a lot of Greek words via their Latin version and not directly and by the reliance on the popular Erasmian pronunciation which is questionable on so many levels (and ugly), to say the least.

Grasping the opportunity provided by your example, there is not a soft c in Greek at all. Never has been. The closest one by sound is σ (σίγμα) which is the equivalent of s. There is only κ (kappa) which is a harsh k. The frequent usage of c in words of Greek origin probably only means that these words have made a passing through the Latin language first.

But not just that, d is considered the equivalent of δ but the latter hasn't been pronounced as d for a couple millenias and even when it did, it was still softer than the modern d of the latin alphabet languages.

So the correct way to transliterate Αλκιμέδων to the Latin alphabet is actually Alkiméthon. The problem here is that Greek has two entirely different letters for the two ¨th¨ sounds, whereas English doesn´t. Some transliterate δ as ¨dh¨, as a solution of sorts. This would turn it into ¨Alkimédhon¨.

But because there are so many problems, there are no established rules. I believe the transliteration that should prevail now is the one that follows as accurately as possible the living pronunciation. Pre-hellenistic pronunciations are just theories after all.

So how I would transliterate is:

β as v (not b)

γ as gh (not g) before the consonants and the vowels α, ο, ω, ου and as y before the vowels ε, αι, η, ι, ει, οι, υι

δ as th or dh (not d)

η, ι, υ, ει, οι all as i

θ as th

κ as k

ξ as x or ks (not gz)

σ, ς as s or even as ss in the middle of a word because it is a little more “snaky” than the English s

φ as f or ph

χ as h or kh. Maybe that's how it should be written even before another consonant (i.e χρόνος - hrónos or khrónos as the more popular ¨chronos¨ is often mispronounced as kronos)

ψ as ps, but remember that both consonants are voiced unlike in English where the p is silent.

ω as o

αι as e since this has been the pronunciation for so long

ου as u or ou although I visually don't like the latter. Some use the oo which is not all that wrong but it looks utterly horrendous.

γγ, γκ as ng in the middle of the word, as g in the beginning or if it appears more than once in the word.

μπ as mb in the middle of the word, as b in the beginning or if it appears more than once in the word.

ντ as nd in the middle of the word, as d in the beginning or if it appears more than once in the word.

τζ as tz and not j, as it is a thinner sound.

τσ as ts and not ch, as it is a thinner sound.

This is more or less the transliteration that lately is used for Modern Greek. Those chaotic differences are the reason a Greek woman might tell somebody her name is Thanái and they won't realise she's telling them her name is Danae. XD

Now even though this is more correct I acknoweldge that visually the inaccurate transliteration is often more aesthetically pleasing or maybe it's because we are used to it. Take as example the verb for "skin, peel" :

γδέρνω is gderno in the usual transliteration but it is ghthérno in the more accurate one. The funny thing is that ghthérno looks terribly ugly but it sounds far more delicate and pretty when spoken than the inaccurate but better looking gderno XD

It's a mess what can I say. I have sometimes received some mild criticism for retaining the latin version of Greek words i.e I write Ευρυδίκη as Eurydice instead of the more accurate Evrithiki. Just for visual aesthetics. Honestly Evrithíki sounds nice when you say it but it looks so ugly in latin characters ffs I am so sad about this XD.

The latest example is that I wrote "Andronicus Palaeologus" even though I should have written "Anthronikos Paleologhos". And yet I believe that the latter sounds better than the former. Still, even if it's visually better, Idk, I think we should opt for accuracy especially in more "official", serious circumstances. Unless it looks much uglier and pronunciation doesn't matter in a certain situation so in this case we can show some understanding :P

Alkimethon though looks fairly good IMO

[ironwoman359]

Okay so this is just speculation, but could the seven gods be the seven planets, aka the Greek god names in the trailers corresponding to a planet (Aphrodite = Venus, Poseidon = Neptune, etc) with then "time" referencing Chronos aka the planet Saturn? And then alignment referencing a particular alignment of planets? Possibly?

So this is what I'm thinking, based on the codes so far. We know the code says "Seven Gods Align. The Lock Hides in Time. A key Formed from their union." I think that it's very possible that those seven gods both represent the seven planets (besides earth and pluto :( ) in our solar system AND seven major characters from Markiplier lore that are at play in Space.

Aphrodite (aka Venus) = Celine. So I think Aphrodite represents Celine because Aphrodite is the goddess of love and passion. She's desired by many, and literal wars have been fought because of her beauty...sounds an awful lot like our conflict between Will and Mark over Celine, doesn't it? And besides that, Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus, the god of smithing, but she frequently has affairs with...

Ares (aka Mars) = Wilford. Wilford Warfstache, aka the Colonel. It makes sense that a man who is prone to violent outbursts and kills frequently would be represented by the god of war, especially when you remember that Ares has an affair with Aphrodite, and Wilford, back when he was still the Colonel, had an affair with Celine.

Poseidon (aka Neptune) = Damien. I think Damien is represented by Poseidon for a few reasons. For one, Poseidon is the god of the sea, and in the video Damien, Damien taking control back from Celine and letting her rest is represented by the frozen landscape that Celine created melting away. And also, like the ocean itself, Damien is someone who can seem very calm and put together at first, but when he does get angry...hoo boy. Get ready for the waves.

Hermes (aka Mercury) = Abe. This one was a little trickier to figure out, but I think ultimately Abe fits as Hermes because Hermes is the god of messengers. And the entire reason that Abe was invited to the manor party in the first place is that Mark wanted a witness to the events of that night, originally so he could ruin William's life before taking his body. Before the plan went wrong, he was meant to be the one that spread Mark's message that William was a killer. And speaking of Mark...

Zeus (aka Jupiter) = Mark. Actor Mark, to be specific. Zeus is the king of the gods, the one who rules over the entire world and has domain over the sky. While it'd make sense for Mark to maybe Hephaestus to complete our affair metaphor from earlier, Hephaestus doesn't correspond to any planets the way Zeus/Jupiter does. Plus, this whole world is technically Actor Mark's domain, his world of stories, so of course he's representing himself by the most powerful God in the pantheon, right? Well, almost.

Kronos (aka Saturn) is not a god, he's a Titan. Specifically, the titan of Time. What character could that relate to? Well, that's harder to pin down. It could be the wkm House specifically, or whatever Entity resides in the house. We know that in that place, things like death, space, and time do not mean the same things that they do in the rest of the world, and Mark has said in the past that both literally and diagetically, all the stories he's telling post-Damien are stories that take place Inside the House, which is both a metaphor for our IRL Mark's imagination and Textually Fueled by Actor Mark's imagination. Kronos could also be Lady, as she is something of a Keeper of Timelines for the U.S.A., and does a fair amount of universe hopping and time traveling herself in ISWM. Either way, all this leaves one very important character Left.

Ouranos (aka Uranus). Ouranos is not a god either, nor is he a Titan. He's a primordial, something that came before all the others, and he both represents and is literally the sky. What character could be represented by such an old and powerful being? Well, I think....it's Us. The Captain. The District Attorney. Y/N. Whatever you want to call them, the Viewer is a character in this universe, and it's important to never forget that. And not only are we a character, but we're a character who is technically above every other character in terms of power, in that we are outside of the narrative entirely, just like Ouranos is outside of the structure of the rest of the pantheon. (really there are two versions of the Viewer, the in-universe version and Us, the outside-the-universe version...I don't think the in-universe version is more powerful than someo the others, but WE outside the universe, We Are, because we know things they can't ever hope to.)

All of this is just speculation, of course, but if the Gods/Planets do line up with characters, I think these are pretty good bets for who those characters could be. As for the message of the code: "Seven Gods Align. The Lock Hides in Time. A key Formed from their union."

I believe that this is a clue to or foreshadowing of the plot of the continuation of Space. "Seven Gods Align" either refers to an aligning of those seven planets Or to those seven characters/forces in the story coming to work together. "The Lock Hides in Time" is vague, and I'm sure we'll get more context in subsequent code/theory/lore drops (I am 100% sure we will get more videos like Error in the other Mondays leading up to Part 2's release), but I think this refers to Something or Someone that, if we can reach it, will allow us to repair the broken universe in Space or maybe repair the situation with the House in the overall Markiplier Cinematic Universe (my money's on the broken universe though). And "A Key Formed from their union" could again refer to several things. Perhaps the planets aligning, perhaps the group of everyone working together, or maybe "union" refers to only two people. Celine and Damien as Dark, Celine and Mark's marriage or Celine and Will's affair, or maybe even Y/N's warp crystal and Lady's warp crystal joining together. It's hard to say at this point, but I'm sure we'll find out more as time goes on and Mark tortures us more and more with subsequent lore drops. Happy theorizing, everyone!

[starlightbright]

I’m kind of tired of people saying that Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn have their powers “backwards” or whatever when it’s not for some weird reason AT ALL. Naoko Tachuchi didn’t get confused.

Sailor Pluto was concieved as a character before the Infinity arc was planned. It’s natural that she would have powers related to time given that the plot of the Black Moon arc is about time travel. She was supposed to be a “darker” character, hence why Pluto was chosen as her planet. It’s associated with the afterlife, and it doesn’t get much darker than that. Plus Pluto is the coldest and most distant planet, which makes sense with Sailor Pluto’s character being rather stoic and having to stay at a distance to watch over her post at the Space Time Door.

Sailor Saturn wasn’t just given “what Pluto’s powers should have been” either. The Silence Glaive purposefully looks like a scythe. In the anime, it’s even described as “the scythe of silence.” The scythe is the symbol of the Roman god Saturn (Kronos, who isn’t even necessarily the same deity as Chronos) and the planetary symbol of Saturn is supposed to represent a scythe. However, scythes are famously associated with the Grim Reaper. In fact, the same episode shows a death tarot card with a skeleton holding a scythe over an image of the planet Saturn.

There were clear, logical reasons for both character’s powers that were chosen independently of each other. It isn’t a plot hole or a mistake or anything.

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

CotIG and Riordan verse thoughts again...

I wonder if Laura Glue would technically be allowed into Camp Halfblood given her Grandfather holds the title of the Pan...I mean it’d be justification enough so that the trio of Rose, Archimedes, and Laura Glue end up there while others (Charles, Edmund, Poe(Chronos), and Houdini?) end up elsewhere. Well maybe Houdini to? I can’t remember if he was mentioned in passing as being a Demigod or Magician.. Point is, Imagine what Fun Rose and Laura Glue would have participating in some CHB capture the flag. Hephaestus cabin losing their minds over Archimedes. All CotIG characters (except maybe Poe?) mistaking Chiron for Charys at least once. Someone from the Hecate cabin and someone from Brooklyn House being familiar with Charles’ work. Charles ending up at Rick Riordan’s doorstep and trying to figure out the state of the world and where everyone else is (Road trip!). Also Charles being chased by The Furies or somesuch since Charles Williams is supposed to be dead. The same possibly happening to Rose, Poe, and maybe Houdini? It depends I guess on how the Universe recognizes Poe...which is an odd statement. Poe making such a horrible impression with the House of Life (given his stated opinion on Chaos, and his proficiency with Storm magic(among others) that he’s mistaken as a Villian and every Nome is on the lookout for a guy who looks sorta like Edgar Allan Poe but has Green Glasses on that make him somehow not Edgar Allan Poe. Also going by the name Chronos or Poe... Rose and Laura Glue fighting monsters (which everyone blames on some Evil magician that Carter warned Percy about). Echthroi involved somehow but probably not? Poe getting recognized by a slew of other names (with at least one person recognizing him as Cain oddly enough). Possibly meeting the Cain of the Riordanverse (if there is one?) Various character interactions. Rose and Anabeth. Rose and Leo and Hazel (being in different times and what not). A great dislike of Prophecies. Laura Glue getting along with the Hunters of Artemis. Flat out rejects even the hint of joining them (being from another universe and in a happy wonderful relationship). Laura Glue being reminded of Haven with how dinner works at CHB (Haven food being better of course). Gets sad when Anabeth brings up Daedalus....then has a heartfelt talk with Rose and one of the Riordan characters about Uncles. Caliburn and the Ruby Dagger probably work on Monsters just as well as Celestial Bronze? Edmund working on Mapping all the Mythological aspects of the Riordan verse for the Interdimensional Geographica (what’s a fancy way to say Many Worlds or Dimensional?) CotIG characters having a wonderful reunion when they all finally meet up again (big group hug with the Young Magicians). Poe meeting up with Various Gods...because. Houdini is involved somehow. Edmund making first (or second after Poe) Contact with the Kane Chronicles Characters...not that he’s Magical...he just runs into them. Probably Hm...I’m just realized that the only one whose regular outfit doesn’t stick out is Charles...and even then a Blue suit with Burgandy Hair is still pretty striking. But anyway Edmund meeting Carter somehow and they both get along being huge Nerds each chatting with the other about their respective interests, about their respective responsibilities vaugely (Cartographer of Lost Places and Pharaoh of the House of Life respectively) and Carter just invinting him over to hang out. Everyone taking note of his accent. Sadie thinking ‘finally someone who knows all my slang’ with Edmund still being fairly confused about some of it...and everyone deciding Edmund needs better Threads...so Shopping! They got away from me there. What was I saying. Percy noting how awesome Rose’s blue hair is (assuming she hasn’t dyed it something else by the point) Wondering how quickly they’d explain ‘we are from another universe and are here for reasons’! Or if they’d keep that secret for some reason. I could see Percy badmouthing Circe at some point in earshot of Rose and while their technically not the same Circe, that’s Rose’s surrogate Aunt you’re badmouthing Percy! Caliburn vs Riptide...would be cool. Probably would be fairly even? Unless they end up by a river or lake...don’t know if Rose’s Imago capabilities of bending Space and Time carry over. Rose and Laura Glue having battles of Wit with Anabeth. I’m unfortunately blanking on most of the Heroes of Olympus characters. Poe mistaken for a returned Chronos? Wait...Kronos was completely destroyed st the end of the Last Olympian right? I forget..it’s been ages. But considered a threat by the Gods (given his ability to Name and Bind them still) and the Greek characters are told he’s a threat (though the Naming and Binding is left out so Rose and company don’t immediately realize its Poe) There’d probably be some actual villainous party...but I don’t know. And of course literary references about and arguments over Greek Myths (mostly Rose, Charles, and Laura Glue forgetting they’re in a different dimension where those myths went different then how they went where they’re from). Poe finding Charles before Charles finds Edmund Wait...I just realized...the Anabasis Machines double as Comunication devices right? Or wait...no that’s not right is it? The Cabal’s had that cool Hologram stuff...but I can’t remember if the Caretakers’ Watches also has those... Maybe said communication just isn’t working for some reason? Dimensional laws interfering or something... Also Rose challenging Thor in place of Jesus (since I know at least the thing about Thor wanting to fight Jesus or something) I digress. If any Scowlers who know more about the Riordan verse (or whatever it’s called) have any thoughts on the matter, do share. I’m certain they’ll be much better than my Ramblings (sincere here. Not sarcastic. Absolutely sincere I swear). Make of this what you will. Al, the Chronographing Cottager and Prince of Naming

[stargazersastronomy]

What happens when you have your moon and saturn (in Aries) in the 6th house?

Fire signs in general don’t like being in the moon or saturn; Saturn is too restricting, too authoritative for this reckless, impulsive sign. This is why Aries is exalted in the sun, because it can release its energy in full force and accept their ego without worrying about others. When Aries is in Saturn it’s forced to be objective and consider other perspectives, it’s forced to recognized the shadow side of the situation.

An Aries moon is quite similar. Aries is forced to become the calm, deep, emotional presence. It has to accept its feminine side – even if its a man who has moon in aries.

With any astrology aspect in a chart you look at the planet that’s on the “lower throne” aka the planets that comes first. That planet takes the leadership role. Uranus before Mars – oddly enough both are strengthen in Scorpio – means the desire for rebellion provokes Mars’ need to conquer. When Saturn connects with any planet, even positive/neutral planets like Mercury or Venus, it “starves” the planets. Saturn (Greek Kronos/Chronos) is the god of time, the taskmaster, the bitch teacher. He slows things down and tells you that delayed gratification makes you appreciate your accomplishments, possessions, whatever, more.

In this enlarged version of my own horoscope you’ll see I also have Moon and Saturn in the sixth house, just replace Aquarius Sixth for Aries sixth.

Virgo and Mercury naturally rule the sixth house of perfectionist, work, and health. The sixth house isn’t your career, that’s your tenth house, this is more your workplace and coworkers. When the moon is here it finds its emotional satisfaction when it’s working or accomplishing something. In terms of health, your physical health is easily affected by your moods. When Saturn is here it can easily burnout when its not careful. Now a Saturn sixth doesn’t mean you’ll never have the job you desire, it just means you have to work for it and hone your craft before then. You might struggle with your boss or coworkers. Aries in this house wants a job where they can be active, where they can be passionate and not have their devil-may-care attitude condemned.

I hoped I answered all your questions. If you have anymore feel free to ask. :)

[moonwitch-grimoire]

Thursday December 21st 2017, Yule & Winter Solstice

Final day of Sagittarius, 6:39 pm, Waxing Crescent Moon

Today’s Post includes:

Yule traditions

old gods vs monotheistic gods

balance of dark and light

wheel of the year

some Yule stuff to do

Blessed Yule and Happy Holidays, brothers, sisters, and angels on earth!

As avowed, today shall begin my chronicles, logging magic knowledge and my personal activities. Where possible i will provide resources, and a lot of my information can be found elsewhere on my blog in other posts! 

As usual I didn’t wake up into 4:20, which is a lit more distressing than it is funny, actually, and since I’m lazy, i ordered a pizza and watched the latter half of a Thor movie, WHICH got me thinking about winter and it’s gods! 

History Time:

As I’m sure many, but probably not all, of you know, Yule and Christmas and Hanukkah all contend for time in December (though i don’t see why we can’t all just get along) But they all used to be during different times! Yule used to be in mid January, Christmas was late spring, and....i actually don’t know about Hanukkah, so I’ll do some research and get back to you (or you can drop me a line and teach me!) After Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in the first century, it spread through the empire, and once it was made the official religion of Rome, people started spreading the good word (for better or worse).

What the priests and monks did was migrate the real date of Jesus Christ’s birth to winter to better line up with the Yule Festival, the Druid Alban Arthuan, and Saturnalia, which had previously been the Empire’s Winter festival celebrating Saturn/Kronos, lasted for 7 days, and let all classes and races interact equally in ancient Rome and it’s colonies. By grouping the ‘Wild Northerners’ festval and the old Roman festival together with the new official religion of the Empire, the Christian church managed to ease a transition of power through the late 1st century and dark ages. 

So what does this tell us? Other than a lot of aggressive anti-whatever-religion-i-am-not stuff, multiple festivals were celebrated in winter. It was a time of feasting, peace, and revelry where everyone was seen as equal and good, which is a comforting thought. There was a whole lot of meat to feast on, since feed for the animals was short, there was no war or battles (George Washington is an outlier and should not be counted), and the night was long, which meant everyone was inside around their fires and candles, with nothing to do but eat. 

This meant there was singing and dancing, lots of drinking alcohol, laughter and games, and, my personal favorite, story telling. People would gather in the largest house in their village, or in their family’s main house, the town hall maybe, and feast and celebrate. Obviously in places like Egypt where there was no snow, things were a bit different, but as Yule was a mostly northern Germanic and Scandinavian festival, we can comfortably exclude the Egyptian’s (for the moment). This was a time of unity and connection. Check your weapons at the door, give the poor money and food, unite in revelry and sing loud enough the ceiling shakes. 

Saturn (or the Greek Kronus/Chronos) was the center of the festival Saturnalia, as he was the titan king of time. Demeter and Persephone would also receive tithes, as Proserpine was in the underworld with old Pluto, and Demeter was moping in the overworld. It was a time of renewal and rebirth, sacrifices for  a return of the light and quick return to spring. The Norse Aesir also got their fair share, Loki among them, as he was both the snow they fled and the fire they thrived on. Odin, as cheif of the Aesir and the Allfader was of course top of the list, leading men on the hunt and sitting at the head of the table for feast. Thor and his goats got involved, and everyone prayed and worshiped the sun goddess, in hopes that she would be reborn and return. And the Christians celebrated St. Thomas day and the relocated birth of Christ festival

Traditions:

Yule was chiefly a festival for rebirth, the end of the old year and birth of a new one. As the Winter Solstice is the longest night of the year, early cultures who lacked knowledge of a round Earth found the briefness of the sun distressing if not downright terrifying. So they worshiped their sun deities while placating their winter deities and hoped and prayed. Lucky for them the days got longer shortly after after even if the winter carried on. 

In order to preserve the power of nature subdued under all that snow, people would bring in evergreen boughs, winter plants and greenery to decorate their homes, which is now the boughs of holly, trees, and garlands we know so well. The survival of life was crucial and these evergreen boughs gave both hope and joy, since everyone knows there’s nothing quite like the smell of a pine tree. 

The giving of gifts started relatively simpler than presents, but as a gift of money, food, clothes, or some other item someone needed desperately. Inviting the poor into the homes of the rich to feast and be warm and safe in this dark time was a tithe to your fellow man and to the gods. This was especially prevalent in Scandinavian culture, since Odin was known to walk about disguised as an old man and they who brought him into their home would be richly rewarded on good fortune or more practical payment. 

Story telling. In a time where there were little to no roads, freezing weather, and only the rich had horses, donkeys or steeds of that kind, travelers were considered stupid, brave, or both. In the old days, many of these travelers were bards and storytellers. They too were invited in, bringing familiar tales everyone knew but the very youngest, always with a new element or twist, or else tales of far away from different lands. In exchange for a warm bed and a good meal these bards spun tales of the gods, heroes, magic, and adventure. 

The gods and God:

 Being Omnitheist (a tale for another day), I have a very peculiar look at how the old gods and the Abrahamic gods interact. but looking at it from a step back, we can all agree to some extent that Christianity moved throughout the empire pushing out the old gods to make way for He Who Is Three (the Christian God). For better or worse, those are the facts. However, clearly, we haven't forgotten them and they are still with us. No one is the good guy or the bad guy, no one god is to be blamed for what has happened (though I think some of the tricksters and lords of chaos and conflict are in the line of fire for recent events) And Yule, of all time sis when people should band together in acceptance and love. I guarantee, your personal deity will not damn you to punishment if you hug someone with different religion this holiday season.

The Balance of Dark and Light:

In my opinion, the saddest truth of the universe is that no matter how much we wish it, we cannot have joy without sorrow, happiness without pain, or Light without Dark. The world must stay balanced, not necessarily perfectly balanced in a single position, as this generated stagnation such as the Egyptians experienced. In order for the motion of the world to continue, there must be loses followed by victories allowing the scales of Dark and Light to tip and lean, never upending themselves but never still. 

Furthermore, Dark is not always Bad, and Light is not always good, but again, that is a tale for another day. 

Yule is a time of balance, of rebirth, it is the darkest time of year when the world is (supposedly) buried in snow and cold, the darkness hounding every moment and shows the end of time. And the beginning. This is a time of unity, compassion, camaraderie. Now is a time for love and acceptance, rich and poor, old and young from every culture, religion, background, race, and place. Soon a new year will come, bringing fresh flowers and sunshine and beauty and light. But for now we band together, Halfway through the dark.

As For Me:

I gave up on Christmas a long time ago. I won’t tell anyone to stop celebrating it and i will not forget what it’s supposed to celebrate but for my Christmas has too many dark memories, now more than ever. But Yule! my souls sings the praises of winter and snow and shadow. Yule is my chosen winter festival, though some may choose to celebrate them all! So tonight, for the first time in longer than i care to admit here’s my game plan:

post this long ass post

set up my alter and light candles for my gods (more below)

cleanse in moon water and smoke, both myself and my space

rebuild and reinforce my wards (Tale For Another Day)

Worship (TFAD)

play (more below)

My alter is actually my bedside table. i do use it as such, however, as soon as i lay my alter cloth there, it becomes a sacred space. Tonight, my alter will have acorns for rebirth, a small oak branch that fell on my head once, a pumpkin from Samhein, a variety of crystals including bloodstone (which is good for yule) and moonstone (because i love it). my candles will be white tea lights, here used for purity and peace, and some moon water and fruit as an offering to the gods of winter, rebirth, snow, and spring.

by ‘play’ i mean revelry in as classic a form as i can. I have chocolate lava cakes in the fridge, there’s pizza in there and my room mate is also cooking. I’m going to listen to some old timey music and watch a couple movies about witch craft and yule magic. I can give out a list of that stuff if y’all’d like to know what i have in mind. I’ll do a little casting on myself. I’ll probably sing and read a bit and maybe convince my friend to go walk with me and play Pokemon GO. That may seem out of the mood, but going outside in the night, feeling the yule energy and saying hello to every tree i pass is something I feel is important. Catching the 10 new Hoenn region Pokemon they just released is just an added bonus. 

Above all Yule is a time for rebirth. Now is when you wanna cleanse and rework your wards, shields and protective spells. It’s a time for new ideas and concept, staring a new journey! Now is a good time to start new projects and become a better you. I have faith in you. 

If you read this far, you’re a champ! Lots of love this Holiday season and Blessed Yule!

Blessings upon you from whosoever you choose to accept them from and merry meet again!

-Echo Celani

[gatesofember]

PJO Arranged Marriage AU Guide

Below the cut is a guide for my PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU.  I’ll continue to update this post as I write the AU and I’ll reblog it every time I update to keep it easy to find on my blog.

Have a question about the AU or can’t remember a tiny detail that was said 3 fics ago?  Shoot me an ask or leave a comment in the fic and then I’ll either answer you or add it here.  I know what’s going on, but sometimes I might forget that you guys don’t know everything I do about this universe!

Locations/Peoples

Location names are, for the most part, the Roman name of the ruler.  Character names are Greek and locations are Roman.  (I will break this rule a few times, e.g, when there isn’t a Greek/Roman counterpart or the person in charge is a demigod.  I equate Enyo and Bellona in this au, even though HoO states they are not the same).  

The three major countries (or the Romanus Terris):

Pluto -- Ruled by King Hades.

Location -- far in the north.

Demonym -- Adj: Plutonian; N: Pluton, Plutons

Economy -- Mining, tends to lead innovation and invention, jewelry, economy collapsed after illness called Scarlet Delirium

Major landmarks -- 5 major rivers: Acheron, Styx, Cocytus, Lethe, and Phlegethon (which leads to some very nice natural hot springs)

Major Cities/Duchies --

The HQ of the Sorority, Venadica, is in Pluto’s borders (but is not technically part of Pluto).

The Royal City is Divitia (which comes from the word for “riches” the ancient Pluton language -- aka, Latin).  It is sometimes called “the city of riches,” making Hades the “father of riches.”  (Just to tie in Dis Pater).  Divitia is in the Duchy Angelus (yup, you guessed it, Nico’s going to be the duke of Angelus when he’s old enough).  (The palace is called the Palatium de Divitae, or Palace of Riches, and one of the royal family’s other estates is called the Privilla).

Also duchies of Trivia, Somnus, and Vulcan, with the duchess/dukes Hecate, Hypnos, and Hephaestus.

Misc. notes -- 

In many senses, the most conservative of the three.  

Old Pluton (which is really just Latin) is the language used in many official affairs/old names.

The coldest of the three countries in the au

Jupiter -- Ruled by Emperor Zeus.  

Location -- South of Pluto.  There is a range of mountains along the western border.  On the east, it borders the sea.

Demonym -- Juvian or Jovian. I can’t decide on a spelling, and neither can they.

Economy -- Farming, trade, art and entertainment

Major landmarks -- Mount Olympus, upon which the imperial city was built.  The mountain range, Monti Ouri, is on the western border.

Major Cities/Duchies --

The imperial city, Olympus, resides in the Duchy of Juno, which is near the coast.  

Apollo is the Duke of Diana.  Mars, Ares’ duchy, is along the western border, where the mountains are.  Demeter is the Duchess of Ceres, which is located far in the south.  Other duchies: Ventus (Duke Aeolus), Mercury (Duke Hermes).

Misc. notes --

Largest of the three.

Most diverse population (aside from Venadica) which can be seen in major cities like Olympus.  

The Jovian language is spoken mostly everywhere, as the trade language and technical language.

Neptune -- Ruled by King Poseidon.  

Location -- A large island and its surrounding keys, located east of Jupiter.

Demonym -- Neptonian, Neptonians

Economy -- Fish, fine fabrics, dye, pearls

Major landmarks -- Prata Pontia (Latin: Prata = Medows, Pontia = of Pontus.  Named this because Romans sometimes called the sea Prata Neptunia), the sea separating Neptune from the mainland, bordering Neptune and Jupiter.

Major Cities/Duchies --

The Royal city is Salacia, located in the duchy Jafilius (Ja = shortened “Jack,” filius = son in Latin).

Duchies Venus, Bacchus, and Aeaea for Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Circe.

Misc. notes --

Most fashion-forward nation, sometimes considered a bit risque.  If Pluto is the most conservative, the Neptonians are the opposite.  

Other groups:

The three main countries are collectively called the Romanus Terris (Roman Lands) because they share a religion and the Sorority binds them together, making them culturally similar and politically allied (mostly).  It helps that they’re all right next to each other.  But there are other countries, as well.

Within the Romanus Terris, there are several ethnic groups, like the satyrs and the nereids.  I’ll write a more detailed section about them when I’m not as exhausted as I am right now.

Southwest of the the Monti Ouri and across a desert is Aegyptia, which, obviously, is Egypt (this is the word that the populus romanus - Roman people - know for it; the Aegyptios have their own language).

Across the Prata Pontia and far to the north is the cold, mountainous Skatinavia, where the Norse live.  It is actually comprised of three main islands, the Scandiai islands.  Annabeth was originally from Skatinavia before Athena took her in as a ward.  (I chose this spelling because it was the one used by Pliny the Elder, so I think it’s the first known Latinization of the Protogermanic name. Credit also goes to Pliny for the idea of making it three islands, the idiot didn’t know they’re peninsulas.  HA! I kid, I kid.)

So is Scatinavia spelled with a “c” or a “k”? Lol, idk. I keep changing my mind, but probably “c.”

Noble Hierarchy

The hierarchical setups of the monarchies are modeled after the British monarchy, with some influence from the Holy Roman Empire.

Basically: King/Queen/Emperor/Empress are the highest positions, followed by Duke/Duchess, and then Earl/Countess.

A Marquis/Marquise is basically equivalent (or perhaps slightly superior) to a Earl/Countess, but the county (or more accurately, the march) is located on the border.

There is little social mobility in these societies; in other words, you stay in the class you’re born into.  Marriage can bring about small changes in status, but not large ones (e.g., a commoner cannot marry a king).

Notable exceptions: as a consor, knight, or soror, you have an achieved rather than ascribed status, but this is not transferable. In other words, if you are knighted or study to become a consor, you gain more respect/power, but you do not pass this status onto your children. Your title dies with you.

Even as a consor, knight, or soror, the class you were born into still matters. For example: it is questionable whether Reyna would have been picked out to be Nico’s adviser if she hadn’t been born into a noble family (of course, she’s perfectly qualified, regardless of status.)

Currency

As of right now, I’m still working this out, but the Romanus Terris all use the same coinage, which is based on ancient Roman currency

Mythology/Religion

The Sorority is structurally somewhat modeled after the Papacy and the Catholic hierarchy.  

Sorority terminology:

Consor -- A normal person (i.e., not a Soror) who volunteers services or studies with the Sorority, usually refers to a student/philosopher/scientist kind of person.  There isn’t a direct translation because it is a very culturally specific position.  Consors are often men, married women, and others who cannot or do not wish to join the Sorority.  Affiliated with the Sorority, but not technically recognized. Comes from a Latin word for “fellow.”

Matestra -- Leader of the Sorority (basically the Pope), currently Artemis, comes from the Latin words for “mother” and “mistress.”

Puella -- Priestess in training, one who has not yet taken the oath.  Comes from the Latin word for “girl.”

Soror -- Priestess, comes from the Latin word for “sister”

Soror Princepa -- High priestess

Sororal -- Relating to the sisters or sisterhood, like the word papal relates to the papacy.  Again, coming from the Latin word for “sister”

Sorority -- Priesthood/sisterhood.  You can probably guess what this means in Latin.

Venadi -- Another term for priestesses, referring to their search for knowledge.  Comes from the Latin word for “hunter.”

Venadica -- (Ember’s pronunciation: /vɛn’ædɪcə/) The HQ of the Sorority, similar to the Vatican.  Like “venadi,” this comes from the Latin word for “hunter.”  It is also called “The City of Enlightenment” because the Sorority leads a constant search for knowledge, which is often informally referred  to as “the hunt.”

Besides the Catholic influences there are also Greco-Roman influences, more with regard to worship.

The deities in this AU are mostly Greek primordial deities (or protogenoi). Basically everything is the same as Greek mythology until the Titans come in. I will take a few creative liberties, though, and sources are inconsistent with each other. I use Riordanverse as my main source, but not all the time. So if something is inconsistent with Riordan canon or with Hesiod or some other scholar, don’t worry, I know. I chose to do it that way because it’s my au and I can do whatever I want.

Like Greek and Roman Mythologies, religions don’t necessarily “conflict” with each other. In ancient times, when new deities from other cultures were discovered, they were added to the pantheon. The populus romanus used to be several different tribes who worshiped several different deities and over time they added to each other’s pantheons, eventually becoming one big society with an organized mythology.

For the most part, if a name isn’t listed here they either a) don’t exist in this au, b) don’t exist in this au yet, or c) exist but as a mortal.

The protogenoi:

Aeon -- Protogenos of eternity.

Aether -- Protogenos of light.  Consort of Hemera.

Anake -- Protogenos of inevitability. Consort of Chronos.

Chaos -- Protogenos of the void (genderless).  Parent of Gaea, Nyx, Akhlys, Ouranos, Pontos, Tartarus, Erebos, and Eros.

Chronos -- not to be confused with Kronos (who is referred to as Saturn in this au to differentiate).  Protogenos of time.  Consort of Anake.

Elpis -- Protogenos of hope.

Erebos -- Protogenos of darkness.  Consort of Nyx.  Father of Hemera, Aether, Moros, Ker, and Thanatos.

Eros -- Protogenos of love and sex.

Gaea -- Protogenos of the earth.  Consort of Ouranos.  Viewed as a protective mother figure by mortals.

Hemera -- Protogenos of day.  Consort of Aether.

Ker -- Protogenos of painful and violent death.

Moros -- Protogenos of doom.

Nyx -- Protogenos of night.  Consort of Erebos.  Mother of Hemera, Aether, Moros, Ker, Thanatos and Akhlys.

Ouranos -- Protogenos of the sky.  Consort of Gaea.  

Pontos -- Protogenos of the sea.

Tartarus -- Protogenos of the Tartarus pit.  Not the devil; just the guy you don’t want to meet.  Sometimes also called the protector of the pit, like a jail keeper.

Thanatos -- Protogenos of peaceful death.

Legends

Saturn and the Titans -- a team of 12 mortal sons and daughters of Ouranos and Geae, who, in an attempt to overthrow the protogenoi and seize control for themselves, threw their brothers and sisters (the cyclopses and the hundred-handed-ones, etc.), into Tartarus, leaving the protogenoi defenseless.  The war was said to have lasted decades.  In the end, one of the titans, Rhea, returned to her mother, Gaea, and helped her trick and defeat Saturn.  Rhea was killed in the process and died in her mother’s arms.

A reminder that the titan Kronos is called Saturn in this au to avoid confusion with Kronos (titan) and Chronos (protogenos).

Rhea and Gaea, particularly the Gaea clining to Rhea’s dying body, are often the subjects of pieces of art.  They have this cool mother/daughter-protectors-of-the-world theme.

This story is also the origin of the phrase “a hundred hands dealt a hundred poor cards,” because the hundred-handed-ones got a really crappy ending.

Yes, Ouranos lost his balls.  “Ouranos’ ballsack” (or variations thereof) is a vulgar, but common, exclamation.  So is “Gaea’s rocky mountains,” btw.

Remember when Nico and Will went to the opera to see Mutilationem Ouranos? 

....yup.  

Feasts, festivals, and other celebrations:

Chronalia -- A harvest festival, dedicated to Chronos (not Kronos) to honor the passage of time and the end of waiting. Held in Ceres (Jupiter).

Erotia -- A fertility/love holiday, held in honor of Eros.  Takes place in Venus (Neptune) during spring.

Rhegalia -- Celebration of Rhea and Gaea’s defeat of Saturn.  Held in winter in Angelus (Pluto).

Gaealia -- A festival held in Ceres (Jupiter) to celebrate the beginning of the harvest in Spring.  Sacrifices are offered to Gaea to pray for a fruitful season.

Pontonia -- A festival held in Jafilius (Neptune) in honor of Pontus.  Occurs in summer.

Games, Sports, and other activities:

Stones-and-Stems -- A children’s game.  The children attempt to throw a stone into a “target” made up of twigs or stems.  If a child makes the target, they continue to move farther away from the target until they miss.  The child who gets farthest wins.

Wolf-in-the-Pasture -- A children’s game.  One child is the “wolf” and the others are “cattle.”  The “wolf” chases the “cattle,” and when the “wolf” catches a “cow,” that “cow” also becomes a “wolf.”  The game continues until all “cattle” are “wolves.”  The last “cow” standing becomes the “wolf” in the next round.

Bluff -- A card game similar to poker.  Generally more popular in lower class.

Quadratis -- An aristocratic 4-player card game.

Belli -- An aristocratic 2-player card game.

Acies -- A two-player war/strategy board game meant to simulate a battle.  The board is rectangular and the players sit at either end.  The board is filled with eight large square-shaped tiles, each representing a section of the battlefield.  Each large tile contains 16 squares to signify spaces.  Figurines with differing attributes are used, similar to chess, and each type of figurine has a limit on how many spaces it can move per turn and has specific battle abilities.  The players take turns moving their characters or using an ability.  The goal is to seize control of all tiles on the board, which is done in one of several ways, including a particular combination of figurines on a space, defeating an opponent on the tile before either claim it, or taking control of the tile from an occupying opponent.  Once the tile has been claimed, the player who seized it places a token on the space to signify it is theirs.  The token can be removed and the tile seized by the opponent if the area is left unguarded.  The first player to control all eight tiles wins.  This game can take many hours, even days to complete between a well-matched pair of skilled players.

Bull Leaping -- a traditional sport/performance in Jupiter, based on ancient Greek (mostly Cretan) ritual bull leaping and the more contemporary French course landaise.

Misc. Culture, Customs, and Social Norms

Introduction — The reason I started this au was because of my fascination with arranged marriages, social stratification, cultural norms, etc., so I wanted to add this section on miscellaneous customs not otherwise specified elsewhere in the guide.  This section is going to be much more descriptive rather than simply definitional, so I apologize for my verbosity.

I know some of you feel that the formalities in the au are a bit much, but I’ve actually toned down the formalities because I knew I was probably the only person who would like them.  I’m not trying to write a romance in a historical setting.  I don’t want to write the trope about love being more important than social class.  I’m writing a historical drama with romance in it.  So if things seem formal or proper...yes.  That’s the point.  I’m writing an arranged marriage/royalty au.  It’s all about social class and etiquette.

Just as a note, originally the arranged marriage was much more...arranged, I guess?  The whole thing was far more of a slow burn, too.  In my early plans, Nico and Will had been betrothed for years before they even met in person for the first time.  Their families were discussing the details and they were kept fully informed about the situation, and even wrote to each other some.  Will, of course, was smitten from the moment the negotiations started.  I had this little joke that when they exchanged portraits before the engagement was finalized, Nico’s portrait was the original Nico di Angelo official art, and Will picked it up in complete awe and said, “He’s beautiful!” And then when they actually met in person for the first time, Nico had grown up into Viria official art!Nico and Will basically had the same reaction.

Anyway. I still love this original idea, but I changed it for simplicity’s sake. I’m happy with Privilla, so it all turned out fine, but if I were to do this all over again, I think I would go back to the original plan.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert on history (I haven’t even taken a history class since high school).  I’m not an expert on sociology and anthropology either, but I have taken classes and I absolutely loved them, and I have done a lot of research for writing this fic.  I drew a lot of inspiration from my cultural anthropology class (I fucking loved that class, have I mentioned that?).  Still, I’m not an expert, nor do I pretend to...ok yes I do pretend to be an expert.

However when it comes to economics and government, I’m making all this shit up.  Mostly.

By mostly I mean like 99.9% of it.

Marriage

Arranged Marriage

Here I’m going to explain the positive things about arranged marriages, but I’d like to say that my no means do I think we should all be having arranged marriages, and I certainly don’t believe we should arrange the marriages of children. I am expressing things from an in-world point of view and this world has many flaws.

The point of an arranged marriage is not love. That does not mean that there will not be love. That does not mean that people are forced into marriages. That does not mean that it is an entirely impersonal transaction. I only said that the point isn’t love.

Marriage is a rite of passage. You become much more respected when you are married. People generally are excited for their marriage to be arranged because it means that they are growing up and serving their family, and they are enthusiastic about the next chapter of their life with their spouse.

Marriages take a long time to arrange. There is a lot of communication between families. Sometimes, the couple in question may not meet for many years, but in this case they usually will exchange letters and get to know each other in preparation for their life together. Again, none of this is done against their will (except that it absolutely is done against their will considering that very often parents begin preparations when their children are still minors). Their feelings are taken into consideration; if they absolutely cannot get along, their families will decide that a marriage would be unsuccessful. Usually, however, they are encouraged to try their best to get along. Again, people are generally excited to meet their suitors and they want to have a successful marriage, so they will be kind to one another and become friendly. Clashes so severe that they lead to breaking off the arrangement after the official betrothal begins are rare.

Sometimes we say things about finding “the one,” like the person you are destined to be with. The concept of fate in this society is a bit different in this respect. In the au, everything that happens was meant to happen because that was how the fates dictated it. If you marry someone, then that is the person you were fated to marry. That person is “the one,” no question about it. Does that mean you’re fated to fall passionately in love? Perhaps, perhaps not. Love isn’t the point of a marriage. All it means is that person is the one you are fated to spend your life with.

Try to consider how people in the au view our “love marriages.” To them, our marriages are weird. They are also quite unwise. Passion, the kind of love that generally leads to marriage today, is a fleeting emotion, one that only lasts the first few years of a relationship. It is not a good foundation. Not only that, but the person you are marrying, most likely, isn’t from a family that’s close to your family, and the two families haven’t communicated to plan and sort everything out. This is a huge decision and you are making it largely on your own. That is seen as very foolish. You are marrying someone who is a complete stranger to your family, which is incredibly risky. So, if you think it is cruel to arrange a marriage, try to consider exactly how terrifying, risky, and impulsive a love marriage would seem to them.

We say, “first comes love, then comes marriage.” They say, “first comes marriage, then comes love.” Just because love didn’t trigger your relationship doesn’t mean there won’t be love.

Think of it this way: most of us, I sincerely hope, love and are loved by our families. You did not choose them. Often, you probably wouldn’t be friends with them or even like them if you aren’t related. But you love them anyway. This is what marriage is like in the au. Your spouse is your family. Under other circumstances, you may not have even picked them out as a friend. Still, you care for them. They’re your family and your partner. You are going to be together for life and you will support each other unconditionally.

Love, although not the foundation of marriage, is expected to happen.  But the kind of love that defines marriage is not passion; it is companionship.  Passion, of course, can and does also happen, but when passion inevitably starts to ebb, it does not seem like the marriage is falling apart because that wasn’t why they married in the first place

I steal a lot of my love terminology and conceptualization from Sternberg’s triarchic theory.

As for courting: yes, suitors will try to woo a potential fiancé.  There are a few reasons for this: 1) you want to get along with your spouse and it is presumed that you will love them eventually; 2) if you are one of several suitors, the wooing is sort of like bribing someone into favoring you, which will make them more likely to choose to marry you; and 3) in courting someone, you demonstrate your ability to provide for your potential spouse through personal attributes such as dependability and patience, as well as wealth in the form of gifts.

All in all, no: love is not the foundation of marriage. However, it’s there.

Unless you’re Zeus and Hera. Failed marriages can happen.

While I’m on the topic: Daphne and Apollo. Their marriage was based on passion and it failed. This is to show the culture’s perspective on love marriages. However, I will say this: we fight with family. We don’t get along with family. Sometimes, we don’t even personally like our family. Yet, we love them. Apollo and Daphne may not get along, they may not be able to stand being in the same room, and they may have other lovers, but they are partners. They are family. In some way, deep down, they do care for each other and they will support each other — and they’ll definitely work together to protect and preserve the well-being of the family they created.

Divorce

There is no divorce--another flaw of the culture.  

Annulments are possible in cases when the marriage was unconsummated.

Same sex vs Opposite sex marriage

Same sex marriage 

I already went on my long rant about marriage not being founded on love. We have same sex marriages today because marriage is about love now. In Ye Olde Days, it made sense to have a same sex lover, if that was the team you played for, but it wouldn’t have made sense to have a same sex spouse. So, I had to come up with a reason for a same-sex marriage to make sense, if it didn’t have to do with love or procreation.

A same sex marriage is about money and power and prestige. Yes, those things are also involved in an opposite sex marriage, but the degree is different. The traits that make someone a good suitor in a same sex relationship may not be the same as the traits that make a good suitor in an opposite sex marriage. For one thing, the orientation of a same sex marriage is immediate. The benefits of an opposite sex marriage, on the other hand, may take a while to show up. A lot of the functions tie into gender roles as well, which I’ll go over later. I’ve discussed this within the series already, so I don’t think I have to go over it more: just know that in a same sex marriage, the goal is “GIVE ME MY MONEY AND POWER AND PRESTIGE AND GIVE IT TO ME NOW VIA AN ARRANGEMENT THAT DOES NOT RESULT IN OVERPOPULATION.”

Opposite sex marriage

MAKE DEM BABIES

History of marriage

This is a bit complicated, but sort of ties into the same sex and opposite sex marriages.  A long time ago, before monogamy became widespread in the Romanus Terris, it was not uncommon in the upper class to have two spouses, one of each gender, if you were going to inherit a title or land because husbands and wives brought different but equally valuable benefits in a marriage. Eventually, because of foreign influence, monogamy became more popular, but what kept same sex marriages alive was the idea that the sex of your partner was relevant to what they had to offer. I’m not sure if the I’ve explained that well, but it makes sense in my head.

Anyway, this factoid probably won’t come up in the story, so don’t worry about it. It’s just an extra tidbit from world building. 

Weddings

Inspired by Ancient Greek weddings.  In Ancient Greece, weddings lasted three days and progressed similarly to what I outline in the series.  The first day is for sacrifices and honoring ancestors and stuff like that.  The second day is for the ritual bathing ceremony and the procession.  That night is the wedding night.  The third day is when gifts are exchanged, some dowry/bride price stuff is taken care of, that kind of thing.  So all that, but in an 18th century Europe inspired setting.

Gender 

Nonbinary, Transgender, and Otherwise Not Cis

This culture is extremely cis-centric and dyadic.  It lacks the language and conceptualization to think about and discuss gender the way that we do today, but nonbinary and transgender characters do exist.  More details to come later in the story.

Gender Roles

Gender roles are fairly similar to those in cultures we’re familiar with. More physical duties are masculine, whereas things dealing with childrearing are feminine. Childrearing includes education, which is why education is seen as such a feminine thing.

And yes, this means that Will is actually seen as a rather feminine character.

There’s a theory about gender roles and sexism that I particularly like; basically, this idea states that the problem with feminine gender roles is not that women are forced into roles (i.e., teaching, child-rearing, cooking) that are inherently demeaning. Instead, the problem is that women are treated as inferior, and therefore the things that we associate with women are also deemed to be inferior.

One notable piece of supporting evidence for this is nursing. In Ye Olde Days, nursing was considered a masculine career, but at some point, that switched. At the same time that nursing was becoming viewed as more feminine, it became a considerably less respected profession. This isn’t proof, of course, but it’s definitely worth considering.

There are lots of academic articles about this kind of thing out there, and I definitely buy into it. I find it very empowering and I think women in traditional feminine roles deserve a lot more respect. Reading about theories like this has really helped me learn to appreciate women, I think. I used to believe that a woman was weak or subservient if she subscribed to gender roles too much, but I’ve since figured out that there is absolutely nothing inherently demeaning about child-rearing or other feminine roles, and it was rather sexist of me to fall victim to the groupthink of the patriarchy. So I’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with writing a culture that has clear gender roles, but equal respect between the sexes.

Breaking Gender Roles/GNC

In this universe, because both sexes are very respected, whenever somebody comes across someone breaking a gender role, they might just stop and think, “huh. That’s interesting.” And that’s the end of it. That being said, there are consequences, both good and bad, for breaking these roles.

Let’s take Chiron, for example.  Chiron is a tutor--an extremely good one.  As an educator, he’s in a rather feminine role.  Because Chiron is male, people tend to be especially impressed by his skill, because it’s so unusual to see a male in that position.

However, it was challenging for Chiron to get to where he is now.  Early in his career, people didn’t take him as seriously as they took the women.  He had to work a bit harder than everyone else to succeed.

Female guards

Physical careers (i.e., soldiers, guards, farmers) are definitely more masculine for physiological reasons. That being said, upper class ladies usually have at least one or two female guards, for several reasons.

The first reason is a being-in-the-room-while-you-change/we-all-have-the-same-parts-here kind of thing.  It’s not a sexuality thing (pretty much all the characters are bi anyway).  If you’re a female guard and you happen to see a boob or two, then it’s not a big deal. Nothing you haven’t seen before. Although it wouldn’t be polite to stare.

Is this transphobic?  Yes.  One of this world’s flaws is the dyadic and cis-centric nature of the culture.

But by no means is this a set-in-stone rule.

Could a cis male guard be in the room while a cis noble lady is changing?  Sure.  Besides, she’ll probably be behind a screen regardless of what her security has in their pants (or skirts).

A female guard could also be in the room while the male noble she’s protecting is changing.

Because yes, a male can also have a female guard.  There are no rules against that.

And if you’ll recall, Reyna has been in the room while Nico was changing before.

Another reason for female guards is to be a body double.  A female guard may pretend to be a noble lady to protect her if they think she’s in danger of being attacked.

A third reason for a female guard is that girls can do whateverthefuck they want.

But what I really mean to say is I don’t want people to walk away with the idea that this world is feminist because women can be guards.  This world is feminist because it respects women.  Being in a “man’s role” isn’t what makes a woman powerful.

Gender and Leadership

Men and women are seen as having different but equally important specialties when it comes to leadership. Women bring wisdom and empathy, whereas men are, for lack of a better term, “enforcers” (that isn’t quite right, but I can’t think of a more accurate description at the moment). Both of these qualities are necessary for good leadership. For that reason, there is pretty much always a somewhat equal gender balance in leadership roles. Often, this means a husband and wife.

Let’s take the example of Pluto. Hades is the King and Persephone is the Queen. (Well, technically speaking, Persephone is not the Queen, she’s the Queen Consort, but you get the idea). The Pluton inner court is made up of a fairly equal number of men and women. Nico, unlike Hades, will not take a wife. This is why he has Reyna. Because Reyna is eternally single and not going to mingle, she will reliably remain by Nico’s side when he becomes King and through the duration of his reign. Politically speaking, her position in the Pluton court will be comparable to a Queen Consort. The bond between Nico and Reyna is like a marriage in that sense; it’s a very formal partnership and they will share Nico’s authority (albeit not completely equally). This sort of relationship is a remnant of the polygamy in the history of the Romanus Terris.

So where does this leave Will? The purpose of Will’s marriage to Nico is money and trade relations.  Also to get a sunshiney poster boy for the Royal Family because Pluto, in general, doesn’t like Nico.

However, neither Will nor Reyna will have the same amount of power that Persephone has because Persephone is the King’s wife and adviser.  More about the details of Nico’s marriage will be revealed later in the series.

Food and Meals

I’ve probably been inconsistent about this in the actual series, but these are the official facts.

Meal times

Breakfast: Served in the morning; generally a small meal, traditionally cheese and cold cuts.

Lunch (or Luncheon): Midday meal of the upper class.  The working class has an earlier dinner.  The size of luncheon varies by culture.  Juvians have the largest lunch.

Dinner: In the upper class, takes place later in the afternoon, maybe around 4 pm or later.  In the working class, it takes place earlier, perhaps at 1 or 2 pm.  Largest meal of the day.

Supper: For the upper class, takes place in the evening.  For the working class, takes place in late afternoon.  Is a smaller meal, often just snacks.

Cuisine

I try to give Aegyptia and Skatinavia somewhat culturally and historically accurate foods.

Neptune: Much of Neptune’s culture, including cuisine, is inspired by New Orleans and the Caribbean. Loud flavors. Spicy. A lot of seafood.

Jupiter:  Southern Jupiter’s cuisine is influenced by food in Southern USA. Cornbread. Chicken pot pie. Butter.

Pluto: Tends to be meat-heavy. Kind of bland and dry.

[robininthelabyrinth]

oh my god you're nirejseki and you're taking prompts? ohmigod. ok what to ask for. wait wait. i just finished daredevil s02 and i, unsurprisingly, liked the punisher. because gruff buff grumps who are constantly lowkey in great agony and highkey ready to blow everything to hell? awesome. so i was wondering if you could write something with frank and mick/chronos? coldwave and frankmatt would be welcome but pairings are unnecessary. i just want those two to interact and others to deal with it.

Awww, thank you! :D I’m glad you enjoy my fics.

There’s no others to deal with it, but here’s Mick/Kronos meeting Frank :)

Also for @pvnisher who convinced me to watched daredevil season 2 in the first place.

ao3 link

————————————————————————————

“That’s a lot of dead people.”

“You’re real observant, ain’t ya?” the guy sneers.

Well, he tries. He’s bleeding out pretty bad, but he’s trying to crawl towards his pack.

Sarcastic city boy with the pain tolerance of a mule, snarking even as he bleeds out into the pavement.

Kronos sighs and walks over, kneeling beside the man and running his hand-held time manipulator over his injuries. It’s an inferior version of the Pilgrim’s manipulator, works too slow and too narrow to really be of any use to anyone, and that’s why they binned it. Kronos had rescued it because slow or not, he can think of a few uses for something that reverses time in a localized spot.

Like healing a bullet wound, for instance.

“Jesus fucking Christ!” the guy howls.

It’s not a pleasant sort of healing, but it’ll do.

After the first burst of pain passes, the guy struggles to sit up, cursing up a storm of profanity and threats, until -

“Hey, I ain’t bleeding.”

“You’re very observant, aren’t you,” Kronos says dryly.

“That doo-hickey of yours is a cure-all,” the guy says, marveling at his closed up flesh. He’s got plenty of scars underlying it.

“No, the other one is,” Kronos says absently. “This one is portable, though.”

He stands.

“Hold up, will you?” the guy says, climbing to his feet. “Who are you, anyway? And, heh, what Renfair are you heading to? Or from?”

Kronos blinks at him. Renfair? Renaissance fair, his brain informs him. A Renfair is -

- cooking the turkey legs until they’re done right because he doesn’t want to poison anyone, prodding at them with a stick, a leather doublet unlaced halfway down and hanging free - ahistorical for sure, but the lady in charge of costuming had taken one look at his chest and okayed it -

Kronos shakes his head to clear it. “I’m not going to a Renfair.”

“Then what’s with the armor?”

“It’s to protect me when people try to resist,” Kronos says.

The guy, who’d been smiling a little, vaguely friendly, stiffens. “Resist what, exactly?”

“Whatever my masters order,” Kronos says. He shrugs at the guy’s incredulous look. “It’s that or the chair, and I ain’t doing that again. Ever.”

“The chair,” the guy echoes. “Electric?”

“More like electroshock,” Kronos tells him. He’s not sure why. “Except you can feel your memories disappearing as they rip them out of your head.”

“Torture,” the guy says, nodding. “And you can’t just go?”

“They’d go after me,” Kronos says, rather than saying he wouldn’t. Why is he even having this stupid conversation? “And then after everyone I cared about. Ever.”

“Fuck that,” the guy says, looking offended.

Oh.

That’s why.

Sarcastic killer with the pain tolerance of a mule and an accent with no class -

Reminds him of Len.

Brings the Mick Rory of him too close to the surface.

Kronos shakes his head. He needs to go before anyone sees this moment of weakness.

“Want me to take ‘em out for you?” the guy offers just as Kronos starts turning away.

Kronos turns back and stares. “You’re nuts,” he says.

“Yeah,” guy says. He sniffs a bit, smirks. “Guess I am.”

“You don’t know what you’re up against here,” Kronos tells him. “You’re outclassed.”

“Been outclassed before.”

“Not like this.”

The guy shrugs. “I’ll take my chances. These people sound like they need to be punished.”

That has the sound of a mantra. Or a catchphrase. Still in progress, though.

“No,” Kronos says slowly, bemused. “But thanks for offering.”

The guy nods.

Kronos feels moved by that little piece of Mick Rory that lives inside of him.

“…you want a lift to where you’re going next?”

“What the hell,” the guy says. “Why not? But I’m bringing my guns. And my dog.”

“Sure,” Kronos says. “Why not?”

———————————————

“You know, when you said lift, I was thinking of a car,” the guy, still nameless, says. “Maybe a van. Or a truck. I could see you with a truck.”

“I’ve never owned a truck.”

“Still, gotta say,” the guy says. “Wasn’t really seeing spaceship.”

Kronos looks at his ship. “It should be visible now that it’s uncloaked,” he says, bemused.

The guy barks a laugh. The dog barks happily in agreement.

“What the hell,” he says again. “Man, Red’ll never believe this.”

“You know the speedster?” Kronos asks, concerned.

“Speedster? I don’t know no speedster, unless you mean a Land Rover or a motorbike -”

“Then - you said - Red?”

“Y'know. The Daredevil?”

“Oh,” Kronos says. “In New York.”

“You’re not from New York,” the guy says, very definitively.

“Central City. Well, Keystone originally. Gem Cities.”

“Don’t they have a speedster there?”

“They do. He wears all red, too.”

The guy nods, understanding.

“So where am I dropping you off?” Kronos asks.

“I was gonna say I’d ride with you in any direction you’ve got,” the guy says. “But clearly I’m going to have to be more specific.”

Kronos nods.

“How far can this go?”

“Anywhere I need it to, within reason.”

“Huh. Afghanistan within reason for you?”

“Sure.”

“What about an army base?”

“No problem. I can drop you off on the roof.”

The guy looks wistful. “Nah,” he says. “No exit route.”

Kronos check his messages. “I have a job I need to do,” he says. “But if you don’t mind waiting until that’s done, I can drop you off and pick you up, then put you somewhere else.”

“I can wait,” the guy assures him, crookedly smiling. “Don’t you worry.”

Kronos revs up the ship. “Okay,” he says. “Funny, you mentioning Afghanistan. Do you know anything about the First Gulf War?”

“Sure, plenty. Why?”

“We’re going there.”

“We’re -”

“Strap in,” Kronos warns him, and makes the jump.

—————————————————————————

“Tihs,” the guy says. “Siht si tihs. Tahw eht kcuf?”

“Time travel side effects,” Kronos tells him. “Close your eyes, count to ten, then open 'em.”

Guy does.

And then -

“You can travel in time?!”

“Yeah,” Kronos says. “So?”

The guy’s throat works. “Time travel,” he says. His eyes are distant. “You - can you go see people? Specific people?”

Kronos shrugs. “Not everyone,” he says, think of - Len - people he’s not allowed to see.

“Oh. Okay. Uh. Maybe - could we -”

“After the job,” Kronos tells him.

The guy nods jerkily and goes quiet.

Kronos knows that kind of quiet.

“My family burned in a fire,” he says abruptly.

“Bullets,” the guy says hollowly. “All of 'em. My little girl.”

- Len smiling at the ice rink, pointing out Lisa - my little sister, he says proudly -

Kronos shakes his head. It pains his head to think of Len - he’s not supposed to feel good things about Len, only anger and hate -

“Hey,” the guy’s standing in front of him all of a sudden. “Hey, hey. It’s okay.”

Kronos blinks and shakes his head. “What’s okay?” he says harshly.

“Your nose started bleeding. You think something your bosses don’t want you thinking?” the guy’s voice is very calm, very even.

Kronos nods slowly. “My -” Best friend. Lover. Husband. “He -” Betrayer. “I -”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’m supposed to hurt him,” Kronos says. His lips are numb and buzzing. “He hurt me, so I’m supposed to hurt him. I’m not enough yet, though. They put me back in the chair because I don’t hate him enough -”

“I don’t think I like your bosses,” the guy says.

“Yeah,” Kronos says, swallowing a few times. “Sometimes I don’t like 'em either. Not supposed to say that, but it’s true.”

The guy nods solemnly. “Something to think about,” he says vaguely. “What’s your job, anyway?”

“Ginny?” Kronos asks.

Ginny makes a whole show of unfurling her hologram every time he calls upon her. Kronos appreciates it: he hates surprises, how the Gideons of other ships just speak out of nowhere.

The guy looks pretty impressed, too.

“A straightforward retrieval mission,” she announces. “A time pirate removed an important shipment from the timeline, but perished in the process. The shipment needs to be returned to its track. There is no need for you to eliminate the individual this time.”

“They make you kill people for them,” the guy observes.

“Sometimes,” Kronos grunts and gets up.

“You need help?”

Kronos considers it for a moment. “You don’t need to get caught in the Time Masters’ shit,” he says eventually. “Stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay,” the guy says.

“You can ask Ginny if you have any questions,” Kronos adds. The guy reminds him of Len. If he remembers Len correctly - “Ginny, answer anything he wants, then erase the questions.”

The guy smiles. It’s surprisingly sweet.

And just a little wicked.

“I like you,” the guy says.

Kronos grunts and goes to work.

————————————————————————-

He comes back dirty and tired and hating sand, but history is back on track.

The guy looks disturbed.

“What?” Kronos asks.

“Asked about the Time Masters,” the guy says shortly.

Kronos nods. “Out of your league,” he reiterates.

“Yeah,” the guy says, but he sounds disgruntled. “I guess. For now.”

Kronos has to try not to smile.

This guy would get along great with Len. Never met a challenge he didn’t want to throw himself at.

“Yeah,” he says. “Who’d you want to see?”

The guy goes pale.

“It’s okay,” Kronos says.

“It’s not okay,” the guy whispers. “It’ll never be okay.”

“Tell me,” Kronos says.

The guy tells his story, short bursts and stuttering and choked up. It’s an awful story, too. Painful and pointless. Dead wife, dead daughter, dead son, and for no reason.

“I said no,” the guy says dully, his eyes glinting until he only seems half-present. “I said I’d read it to her tomorrow. Her favorite story. A couple of pages, and I couldn’t be bothered -”

“Did you go to sleep?” Kronos asks.

The guy blinks out of his daze, frowning. “What?”

“That night. You go to sleep?”

“Yeah,” the guy says, puzzled. “Why?”

Kronos nods. “We can’t change the timeline,” he says.

“Yeah,” the guy says, swallowing. “Ginny explained. It’s important not to mess it up or the Time Masters come for you.” There’s a spark in his eyes that Kronos doesn’t trust. It’s too much like Len.

“They’d put me in the chair for even thinking of helping you,” Kronos says.

The guy deflates a bit. He really is just like Lenny - he’d fight anybody, sure, but he wouldn’t actually cause someone else’s torture just for the chance. If he thought he could kill them, maybe, but not for the chance. “Yeah. There is that.”

“But that doesn’t mean we can’t fix the little things,” Kronos says.

The guy frowns at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Ginny can make a gas to help you sleep,” Kronos says. “Past you, I mean. And your wife. Then you - current you - can go wake up your kid, later that night. Read her the story. Kid that age won’t question Daddy coming back around. But you can’t interact with your past self at all, not without a timequake, so it’d be a quick in and out. You want that?”

The guy swallows like he can’t breathe, gulping air like he’s drowning, fist clenched on his chest and rocking back and forth in agony entirely internal. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Yeah. Shit. Yeah, I - shit. If that’s an option - shit. Yeah. I want it.”

“You’ve got to keep yourself together, though,” Kronos says. “You can say you love her and all that, but no hints about not going to no carousel, or I’ll know.” Kronos taps his message screen. “You’ll be my next target.”

The guy nods tightly.

“And you’re good,” Kronos says, thinking of the giant pile of dead bodies. “You’re good, but even if you beat me, even if you beat the next guy that comes, you can’t beat the Time Masters. They’ll attack you in the worst ways - they’ll drown you as a nine year old that time you went swimming, where you can’t stop them; they’ll shoot your wife in the head three days before you met her; they’ll take everything that means something away from your life before you ever have it.”

The guy nods. His eyes are still bright. “They’re gonna get what’s coming their way one day,” he says.

Kronos shrugs. It’s always possible. “Not today. You wanna do it?”

“Hell yeah. Won’t this get you in trouble?”

“This course of action fits the technical definition of time pirate,” Ginny says cheerfully. “Might I advise: don’t get caught?”

Kronos snorts and takes off.

They land in a park not far from the guy’s house. The guy’s shaking like a leaf in a way he hadn’t been at anything at all, up until now; this one act terrifying him a lot more than anything else.

Kronos straps a zapper around his wrist. “If you forget to come back,” he tells him, and goes around himself to the master bedroom with the sleepytime gas. He takes extra precautions to keep it dead quiet - guy like that isn’t someone to be messed with, clearly, and Kronos isn’t going to underestimate him even before he started his vendetta.

It works, though, and Kronos returns to the rendezvous point and waits.

And waits.

And waits.

A second before he starts reaching for the remote for the zapper, the guy staggers out of the house. He looks blind, or drunk, or possibly on the edge of some emotional breakdown.

Kronos goes over and gently takes his arm, leading him back to Ginny.

“Gin,” he says, since the guy’s still dissociating. “Think you can get a read on the past self from here?”

“Of course I can,” Ginny says haughtily. She’s a bitch, but that’s what Kronos likes about her. “And it’s Ginny. I’m not an alcoholic liqueur best served with tonic.”

“Think we can..?”

“Certainly. There’s only one injury that is potentially problematic to repair - a shot to the head. Very well publicized - indeed, the skull on his armor is a visualization of an x-ray of that injury. It has gained notoriety and thus relevance to the timeline, and if anyone discovered the absence -”

“Fair enough,” Kronos says. “If he consents, fix all the underlying but the head. He might want to keep some of the scars.”

“Boys and their scars,” Ginny sniffs. “In your absence, I have taken the liberty of repairing the guns, grenades, and other assorted weaponry.”

“You’re the best, Gin.”

“If you rename the ship 'Tonic’, sir, I will dump you out of an airlock.”

Kronos smirks.

It takes another ten or twenty minutes or so, but the guy eventually moves out of sheer shock and goes into the crying part of shock recovery. Kronos leaves him be; some things are private.

It’s at least an hour later that he feels the touch on his arm.

“Thank you,” the guy rasps, low and deep and voice wet as his eyes. “Thank you for giving this to me.”

Kronos shrugs. He doesn’t know how to explain that it wasn’t for him, not really, but for that precious, loved-yet-hated figure that lives in his memories. Another sarcastic shit with an absurd tolerance for pain and an itchy trigger finger, and a little girl who ruled his heart.

“She was so happy,” the guy says. “She was - shit. It’s been years for me, and so many deaths in between, but every day I’d think about her. Started to think maybe the shrinks were right and I was idealizing a bit. But no. She’s just as goddamn perfect as I remembered her. She’s - she’s everything.” His hands, shaking, abruptly steady. “And they took her from me.”

“I’ll take you to the base you wanted,” Kronos says. “But I’d recommend you let Ginny take a peek at you.”

“Oh?”

“She scanned your younger self. She can repair underlying issues - muscle tears, friction, aging. Won’t impact your instincts anyway, and you can keep the scars that are important, but a bit of extra flexibility and stamina can’t hurt.”

The guy raises his hand to his head.

“Can’t fix that,” Kronos says apologetically. “Gin says it’s too big a change. Might be noticed. The rest is all under the skin and you didn’t get that many scans of your body, so we can probably sneak away at least one bone break as having healed up perfect.”

The guy nods. “You trust her?”

“Yeah.”

He goes.

Kronos drops him off by the base and waits, playing with the guy’s dog as he does. It’s a good dog.

“It’s done,” the guy says from behind him. Alarms are blaring, the guy has a bag in his hands, and he’s painted like one of the Queen of Hearts’ roses, except it’s starting to brown already. “We shouldn’t stick around.”

“Anti-aircraft missiles would be a problem, even for us,” Ginny says.

Kronos nods and goes to the pilot seat. They take off right before a missile hits.

“They really don’t like you,” Kronos observes.

“No shit,” the guy says. “Good dog, isn’t she?”

“Very good. My partner always preferred cats, y'know. Probably because he was one, big old asshole cat -”

Kronos stops as a wave of pain overcomes him, his skull firing off a thousand waves of hatred and pain to remind him why he never talks about Lenny.

“Hey, hey,” the guy says, holding onto Kronos’ arms. “I got you. This the guy you’re supposed to hurt?”

Kronos nods mutely.

“What’s his name?” the guy asks.

Lenny.

Len.

Leonard.

Beloved. Husband. Partner.

Kronos’ mouth moves futilely, unable to squeeze out a word.

“Leonard Snart,” Ginny says for him. “Of Central City. A historical contemporary of yours.”

“Okay,” the guy says. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He pats Kronos on the back as Kronos straightens up. “You’re a good guy, you know? You haven’t even asked for anything from me.”

“You remind me,” Kronos croaks. “Of -” He trails off.

“Even the killing bit?”

Kronos shook his head. “Never liked killing,” he says. “Do it if he felt he had to, if people were hurting or threatening to hurt us, but the second anyone gave him an excuse to stop, he did. Dad made him do it. Was a cop, y'know. Dirty.”

“I hate dirty cops,” the guy says contemplatively. “I get you.”

Kronos shakes his head free of cobwebs. “I should get you back before the Time Masters notice I’ve made a detour.”

“You do that,” the guy says, going to the other seat and strapping himself and his dog in. “And hey - best of luck getting out from under them.”

Kronos doesn’t think that’s a possibility, but he appreciates the thought.

They land halfway across the country from where Kronos picked the guy up. “Been about four hours, local time,” Kronos tells him. “Bit too fast for you to get here, so if you want to be safe, I’d wait another few hours before heading out again.”

“Get some sleep and shit,” the guy says. “Gotcha. Thanks.”

Kronos opens the door for him and hands him his ridiculous bag of guns. Ginny pipes up to inform him of some additions she’s made to them.

Guy’s shoulders look like a burden’s been taken off of them. Kronos isn’t sure if it’s the removal of the chronic pain or having seen his daughter again that did it.

(He wishes he could make Len sit in the chair and take a round of Ginny’s healing, but he’ll never make anyone, no matter how hated-beloved-hated he is, sit bound in a chair every again.)

The guy stops just at the threshold. “Hey,” he says. “Just occurs to me. We never really got around to introducing ourselves.”

Kronos shrugs. “Names are the first thing they take.”

“Not mine,” the guy says. “I’m Frank. Frank Castle. And you?”

Kronos opens his mouth to give his designation.

“I used to be called Mick Rory,” he finds himself saying.

The guy nods. “I hope,” he says seriously, “that the next time we meet, you’re calling yourself that again.”

And then he goes.

“You’re wanted back at the Vanishing Point, Kronos,” Ginny says apologetically.

“Yeah,” Kronos says, shaking his head and closing the door. Enough nonsense - time to go back to work. “Yeah, let’s blow this joint.”

For one idle moment, he wonders if there’s any chance of him seeing Frank again.

Nah.

What’s the likelihood of that?

[plinys]

wednesday fic recs, coldwave edition [1.11.17]

so  for the first half of last year i was putting out 8 random recs a week (as i cleaned out my bookmarks) with the occasional themed rec list. well - my 2017 tumblr resolution is to get more active and into the swing of things now that my life is semi back to normal 

i was going to do a random rec but the first 10 pages of my history were legends of tomorrow fic (most of which were coldwave) so this one gets to be themed oops:

A Whole Lotta Money (That’s Ready to Burn) by violentcrumbles

“Why not?”

“Because…” Len was at a loss for words. This was not a conversation he’d expected to have ever, and certainly not while drunk on a street corner in Las Vegas at three in the fucking morning. He said the first thing that came to mind. “Because weddings take planning.”

my comments: because these boys are basically married in canon anyways, but one of the first things i wanted upon finished season one and being dead of feels (other than a fix it) was fic where they got married and low and behold this fic exists. vegas weddings are the best sort of weddings, and i just adore this fic so much its so good and so true to them and also a wedding fic which makes me weak af like treat yourself to some pre-canon fluff

In Scorched Places by nirejseki

Jefferson Jackson gets railroaded into the Jaeger Program and meets Mick Rory. It's the best thing that's ever happened to him.

my comments: this is all from jax’s pov but it still technically counts as a coldwave fic, so i am going to rec it because oh my god, like the whole plot other than you know - fighting aliens inside giant robots (CAUSE HELLO THIS IS A PACIFIC RIM AU) - is about getting the two of them together. and i just !! so blessed to have this in my life !! a most wonderful mick! a most grouchy len! and an amazing jax to tell the whole story and just make it?? so fucking good !!

In the End by TheAutotheist

It was said that the words that appear on your forearm are the last sentence your soulmate ever says to you.

my comments: you all know how i feel about soul mate aus, and angsty soul mate aus are right up my alley. this one is technically non canon compliant cause i guess it got joss’d or whatever the dc equivalent is but its so good and hurts me so much - so uh if you are a fan of pain and soul mate aus, then you need to go read this right now 

Measuring Up by violentcrumbles

“How was it?” Mick called out behind him.

Len turned. Mick nodded toward the croissant balanced carefully on top of the pastry box, a noticeable chunk missing. “Best in the state?”

“Honestly?” said Len as the door swung closed behind him. “It was a little dry.”

In which Mick owns a bakery, and Len is secretly a professional restaurant critic who loves Mick's pastries, but will never say that to his face.

my comments: this fic appeared like two days ago? and i just finished it at work during my prep hour today - cause life has been busy - but it was so good and i def put off planning tomorrows lesson in order to finish this fic so like if that isnt a quality recommendation idk what is. this was just?? so good. the pining. the miscommunication. the delicious baked goods. would def recommend this as a feel good long fic

No Matter What Happens Tomorrow by ajremix

Len felt his mouth go dry. "You remember that Bill Murray movie? Where he re-lives the same day over and over again? Is something like that possible?"

Mick looked more intensely serious than Len could recall in years. "You telling me you're going through a Groundhog Day Loop?"

"Is that the technical term?"

my comments: okay so technically this is the second in a series, but i love this one so much i have to spot light it (probably read the first one in the series so the ending of this makes more sense, but i dont think its 100% necessary) - but basically this is a TIME LOOP FIX IT and like if y’all know me at all its that i love time loops. like the second i saw the finale, i was like “if nobodys written a time loop fix it, i gotta” thankfully someone beat me to it (cause im months late to this fucking show) and it was the most wonderful of wonderfuls, im so pleased!!

Stitch In Time by nirejseki

After the Legends' quest goes bad, Mick reassumes his identity as Kronos and decides to take the task of fixing the timeline into his own hands. His targets: teenagers Leonard Snart, Mick Rory, and Barry Allen.

(It doesn't go as he expected)

my comments: ENDLESS SCREAMING ! this fic is so good - actually everything by this author is amazing like, i read almost all their fics for this ship which is so many, and i told myself i was only allowed to pick two to rec on this list, so this is the second one. i loved this fic!! i like spent 24 hours just like thinking about this fic after i had finished it like i couldnt start another because this story - and the universe created by it - had just consumed me momentarily. 

Therapy by dragonspell

“And you!” the man wearing Mick’s face shouts, pointing at Leonard. “I’m going to kill you, do you hear me?” Leonard keeps his head against the wall but tilts it slightly towards Mick’s voice, a loose acknowledgement of the threats being made against him. “But first I’m going to fuck you. I’m going to bend you over and fuck you so hard that my cock will be the only thing that you remember.” Mick pauses. “You tell them what a cockslut you are, Snart? You tell them how much you like being fucked?”

“Yeah,” Leonard drawls, “it was right in between the discussions about liking card games and single malt scotch.”

Mick steps closer to the edge of his cell. “Mmm, how about the first time we fucked? You couldn’t stop shaking. Sixteen and didn’t know shit besides the fact that you wanted me.” Well there’s a trip down memory lane. Yes, Leonard remembers that. And it’s not something that Mick gets to toss out because he’s pissed or Chronos gets to use because he’s gunning for some kind of fucked-up revenge.

(Or, after the team captures Chronos, Leonard gets creative trying to help him remember being Mick again.)

my comments: literally so much sin, like this is the kind of sin i wanted from this fandom. sin with mick recovering from being chronos. len curing him with the power of sex, like idk why i didnt know i wanted this originally and then i read it and was like “oh yes” this was something i def needed in my life very badly bless the world for having given it to me. like man !! this is so hot !! i cannot stress enough how hot this is !! oh damn okay HOT DAMN 

Vengeance is like fire by Thei

What if Chronos had gone back to Central City for Lisa, in order to hurt Len?

my comments: my bookmark note for this one said “technically gen, but mostly pain”. also here is where at the bottom of my list, i mentioned that the first thing i did after binging season one was search for all LoT fics with “chronos” tagged in it, because i am a sucker for pain and also because i have some very specific kinks for this ship that nobody has written yet and thats a shame. but beyond that this fic is probably the best chronos!mick & len interact fic i would find. and its gen. like the chronos!mick voice in this is on point, and i am weak for snart sibling dynamic so, this just hit all of my needs and wants as far as pain goes

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

Pondering Poe’s weapon proficiencies...

Twain has his Katana (the Weeb). Hawthorne his Hammer (I forget if it’s a Sledge Hammer or a War Hammer). Shakespeare, Dumas, and Brahe likely know their ways around swords (even if Brahe had that mishap with losing his nose...). As such I can’t but wonder about Poe in this regard. Including his known Previous identities...so...SPOILERS!!! BIGTIME SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST DRAGON!! Turn back now if you haven’t read it! Then again it’s likely I’ve already spoiled it. Okay. So Scythes and Sickles. Now you might be thinking ‘Al you’re not mistaking Chronos with Kronos are you’? No I am not. Mind you, I could totally see The Adamantine Scythe/Sickle/Harpe of Cronus...the reasoning for the Sickle is the whole Cain being a farmer or some such. Also improvised weapons like...big rocks for example. Not to mention whatever the heck he used for hunting as Nimrod. Bows and Arrows? Or Spears? I don’t know. Well...that’s it. Not mentioning whatever magic (Rough or otherwise) he knows. Make of this what you will. Al, the Chronographing Cottager and Prince of Naming