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Love Letters Between Ancient Tahiti and France (Wattpad | Ao3)

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This collection of letters was compiled after the French Republic reached out to the Countryhumans Research Archival Project in order to set the record straight on her relationship with the Countryhuman of Ancient Tahiti. France and Ancient Tahiti were lovers and despite the evidence proving that, many historians choose to describe them as “very good friends” because they are both women. France, annoyed by this, has given us photocopies of many of the letters exchanged, as well as an interview discussing the course of their relationship, so we can, in her words, “make those homophobic historians see what really happened.”

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Recording of an Interview with France, 28 February 2022, Transcribed and Translated from French by Pierre Roux.

[Start recording]

Interviewer: Interview with the Countryhuman of France about her relationship with the Countryhuman of Ancient Tahiti. Good morning, France. I must thank you again for contacting us about wanting an interview.

France: Of course I did. If people are going to be idiots and assume that I am a straight woman who didn’t spend the first twenty years of my life in a relationship with a woman, and a woman of color at that, I’m going to make sure no one pretends to be confused about the nature of our relationship anymore.

Interviewer: People could always just not listen to the interview. While we aren’t as obscure as we used to be, people might not want to learn.

France: Ugh, of course, humans wouldn’t. It’s these kinds of circumstances that led to me castrating Napoleon back in…1812, I think it was?

Interviewer [shocked]: You did WHAT?

France [smugly]: They don’t teach you that in your history classes, do they? Now, back to my Tahiti. Oh, that was a time. I was a new nation and eager to prove my worth. It didn’t help that many people believed I should follow the example of the France before [Transcribers Note: Referring to the Kingdom of France] and be a country that stays at home and makes the government look all pretty. I would not do that. I was born of blood and struggle, and that is the life I wanted. After the War of the First Coalition, when I had proven myself as a republic and as a countryperson, my government wanted me to rapidly expand my knowledge of the world. The one before may have been a fool and a coward, but she had been more traveled and educated than me, and my government wanted to rectify that. Not to mention, they were getting a lot of hate for having a female nation on the front lines, and they wanted me out of the way.

Interviewer: Did they choose to send you to Tahiti?

France: They wanted me in Egypt, but I had heard stories of the Oceania isles, and I was curious, so I decided we would go there, and I could Go back to my land once I was tired and done there.

Interview: And by Go, you mean—

France: The teleportation, yes. When I first arrived in Tahiti in 1798…well, I should start by saying I was born when the Catholic church was banned in my land. So, while many of my people were Catholics, my government supported that stupid religion that had been invented, and I, in the chaos of that, would not practice anything. I started practicing Catholicism after Napoleon came into power. So…1800, 1801, perhaps. That is why, when I first saw my Tahiti, I did not feel my crush, and my love for her was a sin. That silly idea had not been taught to me.

Interviewer: So, you have always been comfortable with your queerness?

France [laughing]: Oh, Pierre, I have always been comfortable with myself. I know who I am, even if everyone else doesn’t.

Interviewer: How did your relationship start?

France: Ah, poorly. I would love to paint myself as being suave and sexy in this, but I was a lovestruck fool, and I won’t distort history to save face. Besides, you’ll get my letters. I was…perhaps a little too desperate for her love. But my Tahiti had this grace about her, that confidence and power, and she was awe-inspiring. She was beautiful, too. Her people called her a goddess, and I believed it. She was more beautiful than Aphrodite, a goddess of beauty to make all others jealous. In my mind, then and now forever, she was the image of exquisite perfection.

Interviewer: It sounds like you really loved her. But what was the start of your relationship?

France: Ah, right. Well, I was very confident at the time, perhaps overconfident, and I was convinced that Tahiti would be impressed by me. I wanted to impress her because I felt I could not live up to her centuries of life. Tahiti, I think she found me funny at first. She had an air of power like any empire, an air that drew you in and made you admire her power, and I watched her twist many people around her finger with just a few short words. She was so beautiful in those moments when her beauty became a deadly kind of power.

Interviewer [concerned]: That sounds like a red flag.

France: There are details about this relationship that would horrify humans and would be seen as abusive. But this was a country-country relationship. There are inherently going to be power dynamics put into place. Was it toxic being with her? Maybe. Was she perhaps manipulating me? Maybe. But she made me happy and made me feel loved and adored. It is the same love I feel with human partners. I will not call it toxic because we loved each other, and for a country relationship between a white country and a colored one, it was very, very good. Now, back on topic, Tahiti did not seem interested at first until we grew to know each other more, and she realized that my people would have me…what’s a good word…forced, I guess, forced me to give up my affection for women. I think…she hated that, and she was very eager to support my queerness. That grew into our love. Our collective hatred for people trying to control us.

Interviewer: You began to get along because you were powerful women with similar beliefs.

France: Yes, that is a good way of putting it. I think Tahiti and her people were also what gave me the god complex I had for so long. It was brought on by being around her and her people, being seen as a goddess. Then, I would go home and be told to be a woman, and I hated that. So I began to inflate my ego, which my Tahiti helped to do, as she told me I should be treated like a god. Combined with my religious confusion, I was… pushy, mean, demanding. Part of it was due to the fact that I was not being taken seriously as a woman due to the France from before me, but Tahiti pushed that mindset. World War Two brought me out of that, with…well, you know why. My point is, I think that was the only part I would see as toxic in any way.

Interviewer: Do you think your relationship would have continued if Ancient Tahiti had lived?

France: Yes, I do think so. It never weakened in her final years, and our love only grew stronger. I believe if we had more time it could have lasted many decades more. And even if our relationship had ended, I think we could have remained friends. I have thought much about those what-ifs over the years.

Interviewer: What was the reaction of people who you knew during that time period to your relationship?

France: Hatred, scorn, and…oh, what’s the word…hmm…people did not like it, that much was clear. It was used by my enemies in the Napoleonic Wars to attempt to destroy my standing as a country, and it was used by others to treat me as lesser. I was the godless nation, and many people believed that I was never going to be blessed by God. Some even believed that I was not a Holy Angel like the other countries but rather a demon sent by the Devil to plunge France into a godless age and make it the country of sinners and the Devil.

Interviewer: How did that make you feel?

France: I didn’t care. Sure, my dear Britain brought it up in almost every conversation, acting like he had some sort of high ground, like he wasn’t beating every colony that came under his control, and many of my politicians and leaders attempted to send me to a nunnery or some other religious place to save me from sin. It never worked because they could never keep me there. When I converted to Catholicism, I appeased some, as they believed they had “purified the demon” or some such nonsense, but I never stopped being open about the fact that I was queer. Eventually, the humans gave up. The countryhumans took longer, but they, too, just accepted that they could not change me from who I am and just resorted to using it for barbs and insults like it was insulting to be queer.

Interviewer: Did you know anyone who admired you for being queer at that time?

France: I’ve had a few people tell me now that it was appreciated, but no one brought it up then; too hesitant to be seen as gay as well. Most preferred the closet then, as I’m sure you know. I think the closest and, mind you, that this was not admiration more of the closest queer experience I had with another properly-recognized nation was with Hawaii.

Interviewer: Don’t you two hate each other? I’ve seen your tweets.

France: I’d like to think we understand each other. But I first met her when she was…starting to be indoctrinated into internalized homophobia. I always tried to convince her to give that up because she had told me about a partner, a female partner, and I…I…I didn’t want her to hate herself. We are very close in age, and I felt I could find a…confidant in her, someone who understood. Of course, I was too late; Britain was already in her head. It was a shame, but I still tried.

Interviewer: Wasn’t Hawaiʻi related to Ancient Tahiti?

France: She is…the niece of my Tahiti. Hawaiʻi believed my Tahiti was her grandmother for a long time, however.

Interviewer: Oh, right, there was a significant age gap between you and Ancient Tahiti, right?

France: She was about 2300 years older than me.

Interviewer [shocked]: Holy…did the age gap ever bother you or anyone who knew?

France: The people who knew were more concerned by the fact I was sinning by fucking her. And no, it never bothered me. We countrypeople perceive age much differently than you. A country born yesterday is an adult, while a colony born three hundred years ago is a child. How we view age is based more on status than physical or chronological years. To me, my Tahiti and I were of equal status and, therefore, of similar age.

Interviewer: That’s strange.

France: What about us isn’t? Is there anything else related to my relationship with Tahiti that you would like to know about?

Interviewer: I know you have only given us a small sample of the surviving letters that you and Ancient Tahiti sent to each other. Is there anything about the letters or your correspondence that might not be covered in the letters provided?

France: Well, we had properly the world’s first long-distance relationship.

Interviewer: I don’t think that’s right.

France: Yes, it is now hush. Much of our relationship was done through letters. We did the letter version of sexting, and we grew as partners through our letters. I was the one to show Tahiti how to travel to that little world that countries only live in, and that allowed us to meet more often and be physically affectionate with one another. Many of the more private letters I will keep to myself, as those words are meant for myself and my Tahiti, but…the ones I gave, I think, will paint an accurate picture of how we grew as lovers.

Interviewer: Thank you for your time. I have no more questions, but is there anything else you’d like to say?

France: The next person who calls me and my Tahiti “very good friends,” I will be suing for defamation.

Interviewer: Agh, alright.

[recording ends]

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Letter from France to Ancient Tahiti, 12 June 1798. Translated from French by Pierre Roux. France says that this is the first letter she ever sent to Ancient Tahiti.

12 June 1798

Countryhuman of Tahiti

I hope you will excuse the lack of formalities in this letter. I have never been one for them, and you do not strike me as a woman who will mind if I am more open in this letter than another else would be. You are an intriguing woman, someone who has captured my thoughts and been the first countryhuman I have met that I would truly classify as holy and godlike. You are filled with a grace and beauty that the countries of Europe could never hope to replicate. I know that we have only known each other for a short time, but I wish that we could get to know each other more. You are more respectful to me than many of the other countryhumans I have met have been, and it is something I appreciate greatly. You recognize me as an equal, an equal in the unique power we share.

I came to your land in hopes of learning more about the world, in hopes of finding someone who appreciates me for who I am and, more importantly knows what I am. My people have not been the kindest nor the most understanding to me. They are unsure what to do with a new France that acts so differently from the old one. I’m sure you understand, after all, you have that countryhuman that so many of your people are determined to see as the new countryhuman for your land, and you must know the scorn that the supporters of that young one give you. However, our commonality is that we are both the true countryhuman in power over our land, but, unlike you, I am not respected for it. I am treated as if I am a mere human.

I don’t know exactly what I am writing this letter for. I want to start a correspondence, yes, but I really need not to bother you with my personal issues. There is just something about you that consumes my thoughts and makes me want to divulge my secrets and troubles to you. I am unsure if it is some power of our nature or simply a feeling that derives from your presence and power that you project, but you are the kind of woman that all women should strive to be. You are a being that could make Aphrodite herself jealous.

I wish you good health and good fortune for all the many hundreds of years to come.

Yours respectfully,

The French Republic

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Letter from Ancient Tahiti to France, approximately 1804. Translated from French by Pierre Roux.

France,

I have heard that you have become involved in another war with the other nations of Europe. I wish you luck with that. While I am unsure of how war is conducted in your land, I know it is very different from mine, so I won’t try to offer any advice other than don’t be an idiot and use people’s perceptions of you as a weapon. Those have always served me well. However, I am confident that you will have victory. You may be young, but you are more competent than many other land spirits I’ve met.

I will admit I miss your company too. You are entertaining to talk to, and I enjoy getting to share stories and spend time together. It is a shame that our land has to be so far and that delivering letters takes so long. I wish to hear news faster and know what is happening in your land. I know you are having internal problems, and that, combined with the new war, makes me worry for you. Farāni, I do not want to lose you, not when I have just met you. We have barely begun to know each other in a way that surpasses who we are as goddesses, and I want to think that we could be friends for a long time.

You and I have much in common, and I wish to learn more about your styles of combat and your strange customs. You are fascinating and full of fury and courage that I have seen land spirits twice your age lack. When you return, I wish to learn from you and teach you. I am many hundreds of years old, and in all my years I have never met someone like you. You are strange and in many ways foreign, but that is what I like the most. I have grown somewhat bored and complacent in the repetitive day to day life I have lived here for the past thousand or more so odd years. You bring an excitement to my life that I have not felt in a long time.

I thank you so much for that.

The last thing I wish to talk to you about concerns the captains from your nation, as well as other places in Europe, that visit. They do not speak positively of you, something that concerns me greatly. They do not understand that you are a goddess, that you are above them. They talk about you as if you were a common criminal. They speak as if your bold and fierce nature is a crime. They say they want to drain you of all that you are and turn you into something so terrible I cannot find the words for it.

They speak as if you, in all that you are, are wrong. It is most terrible. I would defend your honor on your behalf, but they respect me less than they respect you, and I know you would much rather fight your own battles. It disgusts me.

I hope you do well in your battles and show those other nations the Fārani that I know.

Tahiti

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Letter from Ancient Tahiti to France, approximately 1812. Translated from French by Pierre Roux. France informed us that her human name at the time was Catherine, and Ancient Tahiti often used the more Tahitian form of the name, Tatarina, in their letters.

Tatarina,

I am so delighted to hear of what you did to Napoleon. I know you will regret it because he is your leader, and you are you, but you cannot argue that he did not deserve it. He has spent much of his reign trying to deny you your place and your purpose simply because you are a female in a relationship with me. It is against the very nature of the world for him to do that, and I am so happy that you showed him who you are and the consequences of going against the divine. Napoleon already disliked much about you, so it’s not like you are losing any sort of respect with the man.

Do not feel guilty about that. It is not your fault, and I find it very amusing.

I have been practicing going to that strange world you showed me how to visit, and it has been very enlightening. I am glad that I now have the skill to be able to visit you more frequently, and be able to share my affection with you outside of just the words we write in these letters. It is far more fun and far better to see you in person. I still write to you, however, because I enjoy doing so, and the power of the written word will never stop being exciting to me. Your past letters also cheer me up, and I can read them when things involving that false god that calls itself a kingdom get rough.

Truth be told, my love, is that I am starting to believe that that kingdom will take my place, like how that Kingdom of Hawaiʻi took the place of my son. For the first time in my life, I am beginning to grow worried about the possibility of death. I have met many young countries recently, and it seems like the world is in the middle of a great change, where all the gods of old are being replaced by younger ones. Despite my worries, I ask you not to worry about me. I know you will because your heart is big and you care far too much about others (even if you don’t care about what they think of you) and know that even if I do die, it is far from your fault and that you made my last days some of the greatest and most exciting of my entire life.

I wish that there had not been this great change in the world, that so many people I knew and loved didn’t pass, for I wish I could have introduced you to my family the way I have with many of my other partners. I hope that you could have met my children and I yours. But between all those that have passed here and the endless wars you have been caught up in by Europe’s refusal to leave you in peace, I fear that that may not be possible for many more years.

I know those years will pass quickly for me, for I, as old as I am, see time so quickly pass. But with you being so young, I know those years will pass by slowly. As you have said many times in past letters, six months is too long for you.

But if time truly does pass by slower for you, then perhaps, if I do only have a few short years left, those will feel like an eternity to you.

With all the love I have to give,

Tahiti

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Letter from Ancient Tahiti to France, approximately 1814. Translated from French by Pierre Roux.

Tatarina, why is it that whenever I hear of you, you are at war? I know that you do not seem eager for it and that you blame the other nations of Europe, but why is it that they attack you and leave you unable to leave for a visit? Why do they keep you from me? I miss you, and visiting you in that world is not the same as when your mind is clouded by war and fear.

I worry still that all this war will cause you to waste away into a shell of yourself. I have seen time change many, but I worry that if wars do not end for you, it will change you beyond repair. However, that depressing matter is not what I want to discuss today. I send you letters to bring you joy and hope in these hard times for you, not to bring you down with the ramblings of an old woman. However, my mind has been clouded recently, and I find it hard to keep myself thinking positively. I do not know if it is my fear for you, that you will eventually lose against superior numbers, or if it is the fact that meeting you made me begin to feel lonely when you aren’t around.

I am beginning to wish I had been more open to having human friends. I try now, but too many of them fear the goddess Tahiti, and the friendship I am trying to achieve feels more like worship. I know you have a human friend, and I want to know how you did that. How did you convince a human that although you may be a goddess, you can be just like them? How did you convince them you wanted to know them for friendship, not worship? I cannot figure it out, and you have a way with people. You have a way that I lack, and I think that is a flaw on my part. I did not understand how wonderful friendship really was until you.

It has been so many hundreds of years since I have had a true friend, and as much as I love you, you are far, far more than a friend to me. I hope that this request is not seen as silly by you. I can’t wait to see you again.

Much love,

Tahiti

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Letter from Ancient Tahiti to France, approximately 1819. Translated from French by Pierre Roux.

Tatarina,

My love, I write this with shaky hands, feeling weaker than ever. I write this with tears on my face and love in my heart, wishing that I was by your side so I could tell you this in person. I write this wishing I had the strength to travel to that in between so I could hold you one last time.

I write this, knowing I am about to die.

I have much to say, so I write this hastily. I do not know when death will come for me, and I do not want to pass before I can finish my last words to you.

First, you are not allowed to blame yourself for my death. The only person at fault is the kingdom and it’s foolish people, and those are the only people you are allowed to blame. Any guilt and anger you have should be placed on them, not on yourself.

Second, you must get around to killing Britain at some point. He is annoying, and I know you dislike him greatly. I know for a fact that you are stronger and more capable than him, and I have faith that someday, you will be the victor in your rivalry. You can put an end to what your mother started with England all those years ago.

Third, I know you will lose your teacher of my language with me gone, but I implore you to seek out someone else who can teach you my language. You might not be the most fluent speaker, but the way you speak my language is beautiful, and I would hate for the world to lose that beauty just because I am gone.

Lastly, the time we had together, however short, was some of the best years of my life. I loved the time we spent together, and I love you so badly that the thought of leaving you behind hurts me more than any wound. I am not prepared to be the one to leave someone behind. Normally, I am left behind by others. I know that hurts like it is an old friend, and I know that my death will hurt you. But please, never be afraid to love again just because I am gone. The hurt of my death will fade in time, and any person you choose to be in a relationship with after I am gone will be a very lucky person indeed. I am fortunate to be your first love, and I am grateful that you were my last.

All my love, now and forever,

Tahiti

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melancholic-hues · 2 days ago

Text

like icarus, falling from your grace

posted on AO3

fandom - geography (anthropomorphic) ; countryhumans

rating - general audiences

warnings - none

category - m/m

pairings - athens/sparta

tags - mutual pining ; historical accuracy ; i tried.. it’s ancient greece ; not a bittersweet but not a bad ending either

word count - 3,017 words

Sparta walked into the andron, just as fashionably late as ever. His cloak was wrapped around him, his back as straight as a spear shaft, as he pushed open the door into the room for the rest of them poleis.

All the heads turned to look at him. There weren’t many representatives here — just Thebes, Corinth, Chios, Samos, and Athens. Including him, there was an even mix of Delian and Peloponnesian poleis.

"General Lysander held us back," he said as an explanation, striding over to the oval table and taking the empty seat at the end — directly opposite Athens'.

This andron was typically used for grand symposiums, the table covered with the finest cloth and cups of the richest wine across all of Hellas poured for the attendees to enjoy. But this was no symposium, and the table lies bare, leaving only a bowl of fruit at its center, untouched.

Thebes and Corinth were to his right. The two were conversing rapidly, in low tones. Corinth had given him a nod in acknowledgement before returning to his chatter.

Samos and Chios, to Athens' right at the other end of the table, stood. After a quick exchange with Athens, they nodded and left the room.

So this was how it was. It appeared that it's the three of them against Athens. How unfair. And how comically so.

Athens looked terrible, like Aphrodite herself had cursed him with an appearance that only ghouls from Hades can match. His hair was a mess, dull gold curls unkempt, with deep, purple circles hanging under his leek green eyes. Sparta did not mourn the loss of the usual spark in those eyes.

It was apparent that Athens received the heaviest brunt of the war. Numerous scars must have opened up, carved their way onto his back. It was the case for all of them affected in this costly war — Sparta was no different. He wondered what battles left the deepest scars on Athens, and where they would be on the other polis' body. Then he thought how well deserved these wounds are.

Thebes and Corinth stopped talking. This was business.

"What… has your representatives decided for the future of Athens?" Corinth slowly asked, his stare bordering on a glare. He got straight to the point, something that Sparta noted with disdain and respect.

Sparta had prepared for this. He and Athens were there when Lysander and Theramenes negotiated the conditions for Athens' surrender. It had only been a few days since they last saw each other at the acropolis, but discussion between them at that time was impossible. This was their first up-close, man-to-man, polis-to-polis meeting.

"Lysander has agreed with Theramenes to spare the polis," Sparta responded simply, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. This was to be a short meeting, to debrief on the war, among them poleis. Dragging it on would be futile. "There will still be punishment, however," he coolly adds upon the annoyed looks on both of Thebes and Corinth's faces.

Thebes looked at him, then at Athens. Her eyes narrowed. "And why is that?" she prodded, referring to Sparta. "How can we be so sure this… decision is made without bias?"

Sparta bit down a snark response. How dare she try to bring he and Athens' personal relationship into a diplomacy talk? That had no place here.

"I can only offer the reassurance that our leaders have made this decision fairly. The walls of Athens will get torn down, and their military would be reduced. That was what Lysander had agreed on. I had no hand in that choice." Sparta sweetly said. He stole a glance at Athens.

Green eyes as dull as the grass were watching them like an owl. Sparta's gaze slid away, back to Thebes, who was regarding him with a skeptical and cynical look. Smart. But annoying, and a pain to deal with.

"And why shouldn't we destroy them?" she asked.

Sparta smiled unkindly, his eyes curving up. "Athens had done us great service during the war against the Persians. We will honor the sacrifices that the polis has made during our greatest time of danger. They helped preserve the Hellenic world and didn't bow down to the 'king of kings'," he nonchalantly answered, as if the fact was as true as the sky was blue. Thebes wouldn't know about sacrifice and not submitting, right?

Thebes did not grace him with a proper response.

"It should've been burnt down," Corinth suggested, "with its people enslaved. Wouldn't you like that, Sparta? Another major accomplishment for the Spartans, Ares' chosen warriors?" The words were mocking, yes, but they also contained a sense of amity. Corinth would be the second-closest polis to Sparta, something as close as a friend that personifications would consider each other.

"Keep my name out of your mouth, Corinthian," Sparta rolled his eyes, used to the teasing from the other. Acid bubbled in his guts at the way his name sounded from Corinth's lips. "If we burn it down, it will only be rebuilt. The Persians have tried that, and I'd rather not have their philosophers spew more flowery language while working. Wouldn't that be tiring?"

Corinth laughed. Sparta smiled and refused to meet Athens' glare. Oh, Sparta loved that glare. It would get his blood rushing, eyes widening, especially when they would spar against each other. The exhilaration! Only something you’d hear of in one of those fancy dramas that these other poleis would host, however seldom Sparta is forced to go.

“And what about the rule? The government put into place?” Corinth added after a moment’s consideration.

Athens’ face darkened.

“The Athenian democracy,” he began, savoring the way Athens kept his head down like a lamb being led to slaughter, a prisoner in chains, resigned to his fate, “will be dismantled. A puppet government will be put into place, ruled by a group. We will take apart the very government they’ve prided themselves for.”

“That sounds more like it,” Corinth hummed, tossing a drachma in the air and catching it. The light from outside glinted off the metal. “What’ll happen to the spoils?”

“That is to be determined.” Close enough to a truth. It wasn’t like Delphi was here to play peacekeeper, or lie detector, or an entity higher-than-thou, however much Sparta personally respected her. Only Apollo himself would know how eerie her constant presence was.

Thebes chewed on her lower lip before responding: “fair enough. I assume there’s nothing more given to you?” She tipped her head to a side.

“If Lysander was cruel enough to have me sit through all of that, yes. But he is merciful, so no. That is all,” Sparta stated, and there was a sheen of finality in his words.

Corinth slapped his hands on his knees and stood. “Well, that concludes it. I don’t know why we all got invited over. This could’ve been conveyed through a messenger.” He walked over and clapped Sparta on the shoulder twice, squeezing it harshly. For a sailor who played the lyre in his free time, Corinth’s grip strength was awfully strong. But nothing they couldn’t handle.

Sparta scoffed and shoved his hand off, to which Corinth heartily laughed. “Glad to see none of the war changed that attitude of yours.”

“And neither it did you,” was the response. Corinth jerked his chin toward the door. “Let’s go, Thebes. I’ll see you —” the Corinthian pointedly said to Sparta — “later, definitely.”

“Looking forward to it.” Sparta tracked Corinth and Thebes as they headed toward the exit, himself getting up as well. When the pair reached the door, Sparta murmured, “have fun.”

The door closed before he could see Corinth and Thebes’ reactions. Well. That certainly placed a target on Sparta’s back, once he saw Corinth later on. In his defense, it was such a delight to tease him about Thebes. Whatever truly went on between the two would stay between them.

Before Sparta could turn his back to the table, a clear voice rang out: “wait.”

His hand lingered on the table surface, but Sparta ultimately turned, his cloak whipping around him. “I will seek you out after I report to Lysander,” and he didn’t catch the look in those green eyes.

***

Athens had opened his door before Sparta could even lift his fist to knock.

“Icarus,” Sparta greeted, a cat-like smile on his face, voice bright like he was greeting a friend he hadn’t seen in years. “Ever since you plummeted toward the sea, tell me, has sailing lost its appeal?”

Athens started to close the door. Sparta held a hand out, stopping it, and barked out a laugh.

He stepped inside. Athens let him, shoulder leaning on the door frame as the Peloponnesian polis closed the door. Sparta had discarded his cloak for a simple chiton, but his movements were still so militaristic, so regal.

“There wouldn’t be any proper ships to command, nor do I think I'll be permitted to touch the seas again,” Athens mumbled, continuing the allegory. His voice contained a distant sense of yearning, though there was a hint that his seas weren’t the only thing he would mourn. “I only have you to thank for that.”

Sparta walked toward the desk pushed to the wall of the spacious room, grabbing a fig from a fruit bowl and biting down into it. He sat on the klismos near the bed, facing Athens. The last flames of Apollo's sun chariot shone through the window to Sparta's back, casting a radiant, fiery amber glow onto Athens’ face.

“What a shame, then. Well, your hubris has always been your downfall, Icarus," Sparta shook his head, his words twisted with mocking pity and cruel humor. “I've just… hastened it. Your intelligence is unmatched throughout Hellas, poor little esteemed Daedalus trapped in his workshop, but your ego even more so. Enlighten me, dear Athenian, did you feel the wax dripping down your arms, during the war? Were they slowly rolling, or did you just simply ignore the burn?”

Athens heaved a sigh, dragging a hand down his face. “If you reference Icarus one more time, I will be kicking you out,” he warned, staring at him.

Now that they were out of the public sight, Athens appeared even less put together. Forget Sparta’s previous words — Hades, even the ghosts of Asphodel couldn’t match just how terrible Athens was currently. It wasn’t the state of his person, either; no, it was his room, too. The polis had always been organized, but those skills clearly failed him.

“Then what about other myths? Shall I compare you to Bellerophon with his pegasus next? With your mighty navy and islands as your horse, trying to reach Olympus itself? You’re without your horses now, left to wander the remains of your mighty empire and pieces of your pride.”

Athens glowered, his posture defensive and defeated. “I suppose your intelligence is unmatched too, on the very opposite end of the line.” There was no real hostility to his words. Athens was just tired, to the very ichor that flowed through his veins, to the very last bone in his semi-immortal body. “I'm not here for constant criticism. I'm well aware of everything you’re telling me.”

They were both tired.

He was a little angry, too. At Athens, at their respective leaders, at the war, at everything they’ve been thrown into. But upon Athens’ pathetic look, as Sparta convinced himself, he couldn’t find the means to pour salt on the wound any further. They could fight — and they would; always, steadfastly would — another day.

Sparta's shoulders slumped a little, and he crossed his arms, forearms hugging the fabric of his chitos close to his body. A new scar ran up Athens’ collarbone, starting from his left shoulder and curling around his neck. “Perhaps it serves you right to understand a little humility, Athenian. What battle was that from?”

The thought slipped out before his self-control could reign it in. Athens’ brows scrunched, the skin creasing between his brows, and he frowned.

Sparta played it off like it was intentional, finishing off his fig. He continued staring at Athens, whose eyes and thoughts were unreadable, waiting for a response.

“Where?”

Sparta beckoned him to come closer with a curl of his finger. The scar wasn’t faint, but it certainly wasn’t scabbed over either.

After a moment’s consideration at the action, Athens pushed himself off the door and sauntered toward his bed. Sparta tracked his movement, sharp, siren-like eyes that perhaps would’ve read as coquettish in another context, would’ve been romanticized in epics and tapestries of later times.

Athens sat down on the edge of his bed, directly across from Sparta's klismos. Using the opportunity of proximity at this moment, Sparta stared at Athens. His thigh was pressed against Athens’ knee, and neither of them pulled away from the particularly outlandish and bold physical contact.

Athens returned Sparta’s curious gaze with wary, the circles under his dull eyes prominent against his pale complexion. The tan he’d earned from days spent outside, debating in the acropolis, sailing out at sea — that tan was fading, following the conclusion of the war and the inevitable, immobilizing illness that would creep up on him. It only was a matter of when.

The Spartan slowly reached out and traced his fingers along the scar, his touch faint and gentle. Athens stilled under his cold fingers, chin tipped higher. The Delian polis swallowed, the bump in his throat bobbing, his eyes flitting from Sparta to his arm.

Sparta’s hand trailed up from Athens’ collarbone up to his neck, hand cupping Athens’ cheek and thumb grazing the corner of his lips. Almost longingly, like how Athens would mourn the loss of his seas and Sparta his beloved home polis and to simpler days. The air in the room held its breath.

Athen’s golden lashes fluttered, chapped lips slightly parted for air. The Athenian’s eyes were of the most pure, brilliant blue. It matched the tint of the waves so clearly, like a pair woven by the three Fates themselves.

“Here,” Sparta said after bringing his hands back down to rest across the length of the scar. He hesitantly retracted his hand, and Athens’ gaze dropped to the floor. It did not shake, and he did not grieve the shattered contact.

Athens sucked in a slow, shaky gasp, unable to stop the shudder that ran through his body, the ghost coolness of Sparta’s touch now gone.

“The famine,” Athens finally mumbled, eyes lifting to meet his. There was no accusatory tone to his words, and Sparta did not apologize.

He nodded, satisfied with the answer.

Before the silence could start to settle over them, Athens broke it. “During the meeting today…” he paused, and Sparta could see the mental calculations the other polis was doing in his head, “you were lying. To Thebes and Corinth, about the spoils. Weren’t you?”

Those leek green eyes could really read through Sparta's soul, hmm?

“You have an awful lot of questions for someone who stood back during Lysander and Theramenes’ discussion,” Sparta deflected, cutting eye contact.

“And I could’ve said that aloud earlier, but I didn't. That day, When Lysander was here, I… had my reasons for keeping back.”

“Which wasn’t like you.”

In fact, Athens was kind of… plain reluctant to be at the forefront of the debate. It was something very abnormal for a polis whose presence demanded attention, and whose arrogance was above Mount Olympus itself, the sun and pegasus be damned. What intrigued Sparta's attention even more was the behavior of the Athenians. They were proud of their personification, hailing him as the next Hercules or Zeus and all, but they kept him back that day.

A dip in the brow. “You don’t understand, Sparta.”

And yet.

Just as quickly as Athens had allowed Sparta to come close and touch his scars, that permission was taken back. Back to normal operation. Now, Sparta was Icarus; Athens, his Apollo. “They will realize. Corinth and Thebes and the others. Your polis was never meant to sustain such an empire. We can both see that you’re only going to follow in my footsteps, and history will be doomed to repeat once more.”

He wryly laughed. “And isn’t that how Hellas operate? We are factionalized, polarized, split down the core like a fig. We fight with each other over and over and over again. No one ever learns. Not you, not me. Athens, truly, what is your point?”

Fists curling on the bedsheets, a pop of the vein in the hand, a grit of the teeth in the jaw, a too-quick flutter of the lashes. Athens, Athens, Athens. There was something gravely unspoken between them today. This, in this very moment, was not the Athens who would match his every step on the battlefield, know his fighting style in and out, return every vitriol word he’d spit with even more hostility.

Cold flashed down his spine, like a gentle murmur straight from Thanatos’ lips, whispering of certain impending doom. A strange fear washed over him that the Athens he knew, whom he could stand toe-to-toe with, would not truly cross xiphos with him for some time.

Oh, how Sparta yearned. And he was never one to want and chase after something silly like this; all of his desires related to the adrenaline rush on the battlefield, drinking in the fear from enemies’ eyes like pomegranate juice, enveloping himself with people to cut down and more glory to achieve. If he knew how, he’d be mourning the loss.

“Don’t you have meetings to attend?”

And toward the brilliant wine red sea did Sparta fall, a flurry of metal feathers cutting every inch of his skin, the glaring apathy from Apollo blinding his sight.

“I do,” he lied.

“Go. I would hate to hold you for longer than necessary.” Athens pressed his knees together, the weight on Sparta’s thigh gone. What about the ground was so interesting? Sparta thought, but he kept his mouth shut.

He did not slam the door behind him when he left.

#melancholic-hues #writing-hues #countryhumans #athens x sparta #sparta x athens #ancient greece

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not-ester · 2 months ago

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Oh look at them siblings being wholesome!

#countryhumans #art #artists on tumblr #cityhumans #digital art #ancient greece #get along shirt #sparta #argos #thought of this during algebra

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sane-human · 1 year ago

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"Upper and Lower Egypt became united around 3150 B.C.E. after the Upper Egyptian leader Menes, also known as Narmer, led his military forces to defeat Lower Egypt. Menes became the first king to rule over both Upper and Lower Egypt."

and horses :D

(vibing to this is the best to read about ancient egypt: ANCIENT EGYPT song by Mr. Nicky)

#countryhumans upper egypt #countryhumans lower egypt #countryhumans ancient egypt

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fandomtrumpshate · 10 days ago

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Unlisted Fandoms Challenge

Welcome to the LAST update on write-in fandoms for FTH 2025 (only one day left to sign up! go Do The Thing!)!! We have a LONG list of fandoms for you - TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE write-in fandoms this year. So far!

And there's been some movement near the top of the list. Jeff Satur, with 10 signups, still holds the lead, but in second place we now have a TIE. Control (Remedy Game) gained *four* new signups to match Zhen Hun / Guardian's 9 signups. Cabin Pressure has also moved up the rankings, with three new signups bringing it to a total of 7 to claim third place. Whew! Just below them we have:

a four-way tie for fourth place with 6 signups includes-

6 Alien Stage 6 Carry On 6 Dimension 20 6 Dungeon Meshi / Delicious In Dungeon

two fandoms with 5 signups each, in fifth place are-

5 BBC Ghosts 5 White Collar

which brings us to an eight-way tie for sixth place with 4 signups each-

4 Detective Conan 4 Fire Emblem Awakening 4 It - Stephen King 4 Pathologic 4 Roswell New Mexico 4 Schitt's Creek 4 The X-Files 4 Transformers 4 Voltron: Legendary Defender

and with 3 signups each, an 11-way tie for seventh place-

3 Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast) 3 Fields of Mistria 3 Fire Emblem Fates 3 Inception 3 Iron Widow 3 MotoGP RPF 3 Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint 3 Rusty Lake/Cube Escape 3 Stand By Me/The Body by Stephen King 3 The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison 3 Zhen Hun / Guardian (drama) RPF

Below the cut are 56 fandoms with 2 signups each, and 195 fandoms with a single write-in.

2 Animorphs 2 Attack on Titan 2 Avatar Legend of Korra 2 Beyond Evil 2 Biggles Series — W. E. Johns 2 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu (Cute High Earth Defense Club) franchise 2 Black Sails 2 Bridgerton (TV) 2 Britpop RPF 2 Castlevania (All Media Types) 2 Challengers 2 Cherry Magic 2 Conclave (2024) 2 Dan and Phil (rpf) 2 Dangan Ronpa 2 Dead Boy Detectives RPF 2 Digimon 2 Dishonored 2 Dr. Stone 2 Due South 2 Dune (Villeneuve) 2 Five Nights at Freddy's - All Media 2 Fruits Basket 2 Grantchester (TV) 2 Gravity Falls 2 IndyCar RPF 2 Jeeves and Wooster 2 Kingdom Hearts 2 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 2 Link Click (Shiguang Dailiren) 2 Lovecraft Mythos 2 Lucifer (tv) 2 MAS*H 2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury 2 Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜) 2 Oasis 2 Princess Tutu 2 Sailor Moon 2 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) 2 Slow Horses 2 Sonic the Hedgehog (Games) 2 Team Fortress 2 2 The Blue Wolves of Mibu 2 The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros 2 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TV series) 2 The Poppy War 2 The Stanley Parable 2 Tiger & Bunny 2 Tower of God 2 Universal Century Gundam 2 Valdemar Series by Mercedes Lackey 2 What We Do In The Shadows 2 When the Third Wheel Strikes Back 2 Word of Honor 2 Yu-Gi-Oh! 2 ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 / JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken / JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

1 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 1 A Court of Thorns and Roses 1 Akatsuki No Yona 1 Among Us 1 Ancient Greece 1 Arctic Monkeys/The Last shadow Puppets 1 Arknights 1 Around the World in 80 Days (TV 2021) 1 Babylon 5 1 Back to the Future 1 Baseball RPF 1 BBC’s Musketeers 1 Bendy and the Ink Machine 1 Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei Bu Love/Happy Kiss 1 Black Doves 1 Black Jewels 1 Bob's Burgers 1 Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells 1 Boygenius (Band)(RPF) 1 Brilliant Minds 1 Brokeback Mountain 1 Buddy Daddies 1 Bullet train 1 Canji Baojun De Zhangxin Yu Chong (The disabled tyrant's pet palm fish) 1 Cassette Beasts 1 Castle 1 Charmed (1998) 1 Countryhumans 1 Criminal Minds 1 Cyberpunk 2077 1 Danger Force (TV) 1 Dark Deception 1 Dark Rise 1 Dead by Daylight 1 Death Note 1 Descendants 1 Destiny 2 1 Dexter 1 Dexter: Original Sin 1 Divergent (Movies) 1 Dominion of the Fallen - Aliette de Bodard 1 Downton Abbey 1 Dragon Ball Z 1 Dragonball 1 Dragonlance 1 Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey 1 Emma - Jane Austen 1 Ensemble Stars! 1 Etta Invincible 1 Fairy tale 1 Fangs of Fortune 1 Farscape 1 Fear & Hunger: Termina 1 Finder no Hyouteki / Finder Series 1 Flight Rising 1 Formula 2/3 RPF 1 Frieren 1 Game Changers Universe (Rachel Reid) 1 Gangsta (Anime & Manga) 1 Generation Loss (Web Series) 1 Gilmore Girls 1 Giselle 1 Grimm 1 Hatoful Boyfriend 1 Haven (TV) 1 Helluva Boss 1 Henry Danger (TV) 1 High School Musical (Movies) 1 Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu 1 Hikaru no Go 1 HLVRAI - Half-life VR But the AI is Self-Aware 1 Holby City 1 Homer's Epics, Ancient Greece Religion and Lore, Epic The Musical 1 House MD 1 I Am Nobody (CDrama) 1 In Other Lands 1 In Stars And Time 1 Infinity Train 1 Initial D 1 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 1 Jet Lag The Game RPF 1 Jurassic Park (Extended Universe) 1 Kamen Rider Gotchard 1 Kane and Feels 1 Kuroko no Basuke / Kuroko's Basketball 1 Kushiel's Legacy 1 La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) 1 Law & Order 1 Lays of the Hearth-Fire Series - Victoria Goddard 1 Lies of P 1 Life is Strange 1 Live A Live 1 Lord Seventh/Qi Ye 1 Malory Towers 1 Mass Effect 1, 2 or 3 1 Metaphor: Refantazio 1 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries 1 Mononoke (2007 series and 2024 movie) 1 My Time at Sandrock 1 Mystic Messenger 1 Mythology 1 Nancy Drew (TV 2019) 1 NBA RPF 1 Nerdy Prudes Must Die 1 Norah Grant Bruce's Billabong books 1 October Daye series - Seanan McGuire 1 Oh No! Here Comes Trouble 1 Once Upon A Time 1 Order of the Stick 1 Outlast games 1 Over the Garden Wall 1 Pacific Rim 1 Paradise Of Thorns 1 Peaky Blinders 1 Person of Interest 1 Persuasion - Jane Austen 1 Pirates of the Caribbean 1 Power Rangers (2017 movie) 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 1 Prodigal Son 1 Project Sekai 1 Project Zero/Fatal Frame 1 Psych (2006) 1 Puella Magi Madoka Magica 1 Qiang Jin Jiu (Ballad of Sword and Wine) 1 Quantum Break 1 Ranma 1/2 1 Resident Alien 1 Resident Evil 1 Rise of the Guardians 1 Riyria Revelations 1 S.C.I Mystery 1 S.W.A.T. (2017 show) 1 Saint Seiya 1 Sanders Sides 1 Saw franchise 1 Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated (2010) 1 Shipwrecked Comedy 1 Skulduggery Pleasant 1 Sleeping Beauty (1959) 1 Slenderverse 1 Sonic The Hedgehog (movies) 1 South Park 1 Spinning Silver (Novik) 1 Spirited 1 Squid Game 1 Starkid Musicals (no hp) 1 Static Shock 1 Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical 1 Super Sentai 1 Tales of Arise 1 Tales of Series 1 Tatort Saarbrücken 1 That 70s Show 1 The A Team (either the 2010 movie or the 1980s series) 1 The Coffin of Andy and Leyley 1 The Devil Judge 1 The Glass Scientists 1 The Good Place 1 The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard 1 The Librarians 1 The Masquerade Series 1 The OC 1 The Pairing - Casey McQuiston 1 The Paradise of Thorns 1 The Radiant Emperor 1 The Silt Verses 1 The Umbrella Academy 1 the vampire diaries universe 1 The Venture Maidens 1 The Walking Dead 1 The West Wing 1 Thousand Autumns 1 Thunderbirds are Go 1 Tokusatsu 1 Tron 1 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles 1 Turning 1 Under The Skin (Cdrama) 1 video games by Arkane Studios 1 Wander Over Yonder

1 Warriors / Warrior Cats 1 Watcher Entertainment/BuzzFeed Unsolved RPF 1 Weak Hero Class 1 1 Wind Breaker 1 WNBA RPF 1 Wonka 1 World Trigger 1 Xenoblade Chronicles series 1 Yellowjackets 1 Young Wizards (Diane Duane) 1 Yuwu (Remnants of Filth) 1 Zatch Bell 1 Zombieland Saga 1 บ้านหลอน ON SALE / Peaceful Property (TV)

#fth 2025 #unlisted fandom challenge

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