#ronance ancient greece au

[mosquito-queen]

“you saved your kid’s soul from the underworld?”

“what, like it’s hard?”

[mosquito-queen]

more ancient greece ronance ramblings...

max catching nancy after a sacrifice, “woah, is that real blood? can i see? “yeah, sure, you can clean it and bring it back to me, just be careful.” and max is always hanging around the temple from that point on, keeping the ceremonial knives clean and sharp, trying to copy everything nancy does, and it’s weird to the priestess, she’s never had anyone take her so seriously before, she’s never felt seen in that way

leading up to max’s half-death, nancy is plagued with twisted dreams, finding herself in cold, dark, desolate ruins with shadowy creatures taking flight, their screeches ringing in her ears as she jolts up in bed (she will realize later she had been dreaming of the underworld)

to get max back, they have to defeat the keres who are working with thanatos (vecna)... thanatos is suppose to be a gentle god of death so he is using the keres to carry out brutal forms of dying (i’m still working out the why)

el is a demigod and the half-sibling of thanatos and the keres

i’m thinking the fates are the ultimate puppet masters and end up cursing el into a gorgon after she manages to fend off the keres 

don’t mind me thinking about blind!max and gorgon!el 

oh but what about the love part!? it’s slow. like painfully. like nancy doesn’t realize she’s been catching feelings until robin almost dies. like nancy crying over robin’s battered body after they defeat the guardians of athena’s sword (it would be something that heavily relies on strategy) and nancy is thinking she’s done it again, she’s lost someone else, no matter how fast she is no matter how smart she is, she can’t cheat death. she’s sobbing to the point sound doesn’t come out, cradling robin in her lap, and then robin cracks open her eyes, her mouth bloody, “i’m too annoying for the gods to keep, i guess you’re stuck with me” 

nancy patching up robin, who is asking a thousand questions about the different poultices and what each herb does and how nancy knows how to find them and nancy surprised that someone wants to listen to her talk, surprised that someone is taking her knowledge seriously

they start the journey sleeping away from each other, but every night they slowly set up their sleeping spots closer until it’s just them, curled up under the stars, with robin asking what each constellation means, and nancy giving every detail robin asks for, “what about that one, nance? you see there?” “oh, those ones aren’t, they’re part of separate constellations.” “no, i know this one, this one is about the story of a priestess and the daughter of a merchant going on a quest to retrieve the soul of a young girl.” nancy, playing along, turning her head in the grass so she can stare up at robin and she thinks maybe she sees stars forming in robin’s eyes, their fingers brushing in the space between them, “oh, you’re right, i barely remember that one. tell it again? how does it end?” and robin doesn’t hesitate, her hand slipping into nancy’s, and she spins a story until the other girl falls asleep, warm against her side.

“so how do we get to the underworld?” “we find a god.” and that’s how robin ends up learning that nancy definitely can’t handle alcohol and now it’s up to her to get dionysus to tell her the backways into the underworld

[mosquito-queen]

ronance greek au 

athanasia (nancy) is a priestess of athena, she has a particular connection with some of the kids that come by the temple and often saves her offerings to feed them. ofc max is one of these kids that shows up out of the blue (we just moved here), and she especially likes to follow nancy around while she’s working, “you mean, you get to perform the sacrifices? can i help?”

nancy grows more fond of the girl, but fate always seemed close behind max. of course max befriends the group of kids with a demigod in their midsts and nancy can’t help but pray a little harder to athena for the girl’s protection. the group of kids manage to offend the fates and the keres descend upon max, they only manage to rip half her soul before el fights them off

bloodied and battered, max falls into a deep sleep and cannot be waked by mortal means. nancy is asked to perform her funeral rites and she refuses, “no, she isn’t dead yet. i’ll get her back.”

she prays again to athena, asking for guidance, for anything, to retrieve the half of max’s soul from the underworld. she searches the temple’s libraries well into the first light of dawn, until she comes across an ancient script that she hasn’t seen before, but she can’t read it

enter robin (a nickname she earned at birth from one of brothers). she is the youngest of five older brothers, she sneaks into their school lessons to learn as much as she can. she’s fluent in several languages and helps her father with his job as a merchant. she’s planning on going with him to a neighboring town when she starts getting weird dreams

she goes on the trip with her father, but is distracted by an owl that is uncharacteristically out during the day, she follows it to a temple, so engrossed that she stumbles into the temple’s priestess (who is very grumpy because has not slept more than 6 hours in three days)

after some introductions and rambling apologies, robin stoops to pick up the scroll that fell to the ground, she squints at it before nancy can snatch it back, “athena has a sword?” “wait, what? you can read that?” “i can read phoencian, persian, and akkadian. this though? minoan? no.” nancy’s face starts to fall and something in robin says ‘do not disappoint her’ so she rushes quickly, “but hey! i’ve got a really good knack with this kind of stuff. and i knew the sword part, look i can figure this out. i can, i ca-” 

and robin does figure it out. she makes up an excuse to stay longer at the temple, combing through the other pages stuffed away in the library, “it’s something about athena’s sword having the power to cut down the keres and thanatos,” she pauses, a seriousness on her face that looks out of place, “nancy, why do you want to know about killing death?”

so they go and find athena’s sword and fall in love a little bit on the way, and nancy talks about max, and she blames herself, and she blames the gods, and she has such a deep sorrow in the pit of her stomach but robin can’t help but see how beautiful she is, “We’ll get her back, I promise.”

and they get the sword with some trials and tribulations, nancy wields it as they go the long way to the underworld. “she’ll be in the river styx, not yet passed over, she should stand out with only half a soul.” and they have to slink through the cover of shadows, nancy squeezing tight to robin’s hand, “you can do this” because robin has never been sure-footed to save her life (but she’s not saving her life. she’s saving max’s and in a way nancy’s)

and when nancy sees the copper tint of max’s hair in the river, she doesn’t think and plunges in. she sees her fading soul and the sword clatters to the bank of the river. the hands of the dead hungrily digging into the threads of her cloak as she pushes her towards max. the hands are dragging her down though, the water now at her shoulders as she grabs the limp, faded form of max, scooping her towards her chest.

suddenly the hands are gone, and nancy is able to stand, picking max up with her as she turns to head back to the banks, the water back at her waist. and it’s robin there, with the sword, cutting the greedy dead away from nancy and max. it’s robin, so clumsy, so unsure, never holding a sword in her life, had freed her. shock freezes nancy (it wasn’t the sword athena had sent, it was robin), and robin is nodding her head reassuringly, “go” is a chorus that keeps spilling from her mouth, “nancy, go!” and they are stumbling out of the river, stumbling back into the dark, and away from the underworld, the shrill call of the keres growing louder with each footfall.

[mosquito-queen]

today’s thoughts

nancy’s face stinging with red hot jealousy when she sees the river nymphs fawning over robin, immediately turning and heading back into the woods, kicking every rock in her path, “i’m not jealous, i’m just mad robin isn’t focusing (on me)”

robin is clumsy, like how has she not broken every bone in her body kind of clumsy (“nancy, come on, i’ve only broken like four. wait, why are you looking at me like that? four is average!”) but somehow she’s always bringing home something to roast over the fire. nancy oddly finds herself impressed, not that she couldn’t snare a rabbit (she definitely can), but it feels nice having someone making sure she eats (ew, nancy, is that a crush?!)

when nancy’s arm gets busted, robin is besides herself (tis but a flesh wound). “robin, it’s okay, my other hand works. i can feed myself!” “don’t you need to conserve your strength? should i sacrifice a rabbit, or something, to athena to make sure it heals properly -“ nancy mutters, “do you even know your gods?” “- or i can go get you more flowers -sorry, burdock root- to put on it?” and something weird happens. nancy takes robin’s hand, “you remember what it was called?” “what? of course, nancy. i remember everything you tell me.”

there’s a twinge in nancy’s chest whenever robin has that look of blatant wonder. at first she mistakes the feeling as annoyance, her face souring into a scowl. she’s always been levelheaded: sharp elbows, quick wit, a fine line. and here was robin, upending something so integral to her identity, because the thing was, nancy wants to look at the world with the same eagerness as robin. there’s a night when nancy is bringing back firewood and robin is unusually quiet, hunched over with her back turned. “robin?” there’s a slight waver of concern that definitely wasn’t there before. robin is standing up now, her hands cupped and her eyes bright, “nancy! look what i have!” and now she’s so close to the other girl that nancy can feel the warmth radiating from her freckled skin. robin is staring at her like she has the best secret locked within her hands, and nancy thinks maybe she does. robin cracks her hands and nancy peers in, a tiny orb blinking between robin’s fingers, “a firefly?” robin is grinning, shaking her head and opening her hands to let the bug fly away, “no, your very own star. make a wish.”

[mosquito-queen]

to the end of time, to the end of the earth

[mosquito-queen]

that’s a big loss of HP, nance

[mosquito-queen]

on the journey to get max back

nancy stealing glances at robin, thinking she’s not looking. robin smug as fuck when nancy goes to look at her again, eyes widening with surprise at being caught, then rolling her eyes and making a point not to look at robin for the rest of the night.

robin gets absolutely wrecked retrieving the sword from the harpies. she’s hellbent on being the one to get the sword, feeling guilty it was lost to them in the first place.

nancy plastered, her face red and warm after two cups of wine, snuggling into robin’s side until she’s almost in her lap. dionysus rolling his eyes, amused at the mortals before him, “you should get your wife home before she falls asleep here.” robin stuttering a response, her face is red and warm with embarrassment.

nancy still practices her prayers/rituals to athena, always makes sure to stop by her temples along the way of the journey. after the first couple of times, robin joins her. nancy is suddenly shy and hesitant, the unexpected nervousness causes robin’s heart to skip a beat.

“don’t you have a patron god?” “oh, um, yeah. hermes.” robin had distanced herself from the gods after the death of close friends (chrissy/eddie). hermes as robin’s patron god for her family as merchants/travellers. but more specifically for hermes being the gods’ messenger as robin is athena’s message.

steve will be in this au!!! i just have to workout the timeline. he will be serving apollo and will give the blessing of the god to nancy&robin. this is helpful in securing dionysus’s knowledge of the underworld because the two gods have a strong bond. steve also has access to some of apollo’s healing methods, which helps slightly speed up the recovery of nancy&robin

[mosquito-queen]

"Hey," Robin began as Nancy walked out of the market, “About earlier?” Robin is perched on a folded leg while the other dangles off the retaining wall, bouncing her foot off the rock. Her spine is curved forward, and her fingers are playing tug of war. There's something sad in the quirk of her lip. Nancy doesn't meet her eyes. Robin is oddly quiet, leaving room for Nancy to decide if she wants to continue this conversation.

A pause. Nancy fixed her gaze on the distant treeline, jaw clenched and arms crossed. She could feel Robin looking at her. She could feel Robin lingering too long on the blistering scabs adorning her arm. There were so many things she wanted to say to the freckle-faced girl. There were a hundred thoughts desperately clawing behind her teeth and her throat felt like hot gravel.

In the end, Nancy only said, "I'm going to Lerna."

"Oh, weird, me too."

"Alone." She still isn't looking at Robin. She knows the minute she does, her resolve will melt on the tip of her tongue. Doubt will creep in. Nancy tries to keep herself grounded by biting her nails into the backs of her arms. Her shoulders are squared and her face is turned away from the temptation of looking at the girl that would be her undoing.

"You're not going alone, Nancy." Robin has slipped off the wall. She's a step closer but mindful to keep a distance- as if Nancy would run at any sudden movements. She might. "That's where the hydra is; it's too dangerous. Your arm isn't even healed up. I could ask Hermes for help, he would know another way. There's got to be another way." Robin had moved closer. Her hand was raised to touch Nancy before she thought better of it. She frowned, letting her hand drop, and repeated, "There's another way."

Nancy's face was still turned away. She felt something warm roll down her face the longer Robin spoke. She furrowed her brow, the lack of clouds meant it wasn't raining. She swiped at her cheek. Oh. The tears rolled heavy and slow down her face. She smeared them with the back of her hand, flushing with embarrassment. Anger whipped up in her chest, her throat tightened, and she turned with the force of a storm gust.

"There isn't another way." Her voice was low, a warning. Robin blanched, surprised at the animosity she saw flickering in eyes that had been such a fond shade of blue just yesterday. "Dionysus said the gate at Tenarus was closed, and Avernus is too far now. Besides, Hercules killed the hydra with this very sword." Nancy's lip curled as she spit, "I've lost too much time already to stroll my way to the Underworld." Robin winced, the words thrown carelessly. Nancy meant she should have chosen the sword on the cliffside.

Nancy felt a pit loosen in her stomach, an endless void of grief that would consume her. She clamped down on the guilt that bubbled up from its depths as she watched tears spring to Robin's eyes. Nancy could not risk Robin's life anymore. She was selfish for leaning on the girl for so long. She forged on, digging for the words that would sever the tie, "Hermes? What makes you think you're worthy of a God coming to your aid?"

They beheld each other. The priestess stood in that same stiff posture Robin had initially met her with, but now desperate exhaustion clung to her. Her eyes were ringed red, smeared green bruises marred most of her skin, and a swatch of angry red scabs held her arm together. The slick gold of the sword's hilt, poking out between Nancy's head and her cloaked shoulder, mocked the mortality of the body that wielded it. The merchant's daughter was an equal eyesore. There was an out-of-place grimace shadowing her face. Her eyes were glossed with betrayal and deep purple bruises waxed up her exposed flesh. The gash in her side, supposed to be her undoing, was now bridged by a puckering scar, one jagged edge peeking out from the top of her tunic.

Nancy held her ground. When she looked at Robin and thought about what awaited her in Lake Alcyonian, she felt resolute in her decision to part ways. The priestess dug into the thought that she was doing this to protect Robin. She held tight to the image of the girl's crumpled body after they defeated the Harpies. That moment where Robin wouldn't open her eyes. That moment when Nancy let herself exist outside her minimal circle of control. She couldn't lose Robin again. At least in this way, she would know the other girl was still alive.

Robin was bristling. Gone was the playful hope that Nancy had grown so fond of, now the cold dread of winter swept in to take its place, "I am worthy enough for a God to ask for my help." It was barely audible, wrapped in the scratchy tone of hurt and anger. Robin roughly shoved past Nancy, "You're no use to Max if you're dead." 

And then she was gone.

[mosquito-queen]

could you write out the scene where nancy and robin are chilling with dionysus trying to find a way to get to the underworld n nancy cant handle her wine

cue ‘better get ur wife home’

sooo this is the end of a chapter? that's sitting at 2000 words rn but is taking forever to write....

Robin's thoughts twisted and squirreled away from her. The sweet stick of wine fogged the space in her head behind her eyes. Dionysus was smiling like he had won something, like he was toying with something. He was playing them. Robin's brain stuttered like a river: choppy, sloshing, spilling. Shame burned her cheeks. Of course, Nancy could stay composed from drinking; she was a priestess! It was the God, bending the wine to his will. He thought Nancy had the fairer shot of besting his tasks. She glanced at Nancy's face, her cheek flush against Robin's thigh, curls slick from the sweat on her face. The fit of loss quelled as she moved her fingers to smooth out Nancy's hair.

No, it wasn't over. Robin fought through the settling haze. She would figure this out; there was no other option. Her inclination was to answer Dionysus's riddle with the name of his brother, Apollo, in the same way she might say Steve. There was something more though to his puzzle that told Robin to find a different solution. She was pulled from her thoughts when Nancy brushed her nose ever so softly against Robin's leg, sighing into her drunken sleep. The fondness in Robin's chest hardened her resolve. She wasn't Nancy, but she was just as capable of solving this final puzzle. The God knew it too, or he wouldn't be spiking the wine in her blood.

"Go ahead and give up. I'm doing you a favor," There's something genuine in Dionysus's tone that kept her anger from bubbling up. He quirked his lips, tapping two fingers on his temple before tipping them towards Robin, "A word to the wise, Athena always has her own motive."

Robin frowned at his warning and let her gaze rest on the sleeping girl in her lap. Nancy's injured arm was slack in its sling, the bandages speckled with dry blood from the day's exertion. Robin knew under those wrappings were gruesome gouges bound by catgut. What other business did Athena have with her priestess? Something heated and poignant needled Robin's stomach as her mouth turned sour. She would protect Nancy in this life and the next. Gods be damned.

Realization dawned.

"Ariadne!" Robin blurted, slapping her hands on the table. Her wine cup sloshed at the impact, spilling rivulets down the table, and spattering near Nancy's face. The priestess was scowling, jolted up on her good arm and glaring incredulously at the grinning girl. In her joy, Robin could almost kiss her. Instead, she gave Nancy an apologetic smile, lowering her hands and turning her attention back to the God, "Sorry, sorry. It's Ariadne, isn't it? That's the answer."

There was surprise quickly dissipating in Dionysus's eyes. He nodded, watching as Nancy gave a last pointed look at Robin before resting her head back in her lap. A fond smile chased away the remnants of surprise and he accepted his defeat, "Isn't it always the name of our wife that is the answer?"

Robin stuttered, her face burning red. She wanted to say it wasn't that way; she wanted to correct the God. However, Nancy was pressed so sweetly into her lap, her breath hot and eyelashes fluttering closed again. The denial never made it past her heart.

"The nymphs tell me you have a voice reminiscent of poor Orpheus. Sing me a song then of my beloved," He shoved his well-loved lyre into her hands, "and I will tell you the way to the Underworld."

[mosquito-queen]

exploring this world a little bit at a time... set after they defeat the guardian of athena’s sword.

In a fit of rock, wind, cloth, and screams, they fell over the mouth of the gorge. Nancy's skin felt singed with every scrape of gravel, her injured arm still clutching the sword hilt and the other desperately extending to reach Robin as they tumbled towards their yawning grave. Both girls had blood matting their temples, ringing their ears, and drying hot on their necks. Robin was just out of reach as they hurtled down the cliffside while brittle branches and protruding roots snagged at their bodies. Nancy kept falling.

She could hear Robin screaming her name, a guttural cry of loss, and a wave of helplessness crashed into her chest. No, something hard had taken the wind out of her lungs and tossed her further down onto another precipice. She'd hit a ledge. She heard Robin calling her name again, somewhere from above, snagged in an overgrown patch of juniper. Nancy couldn't answer yet. She was coughing up blood.

"Athanasia! I swear by the Gods, you better answer me, or I'm coming down! Just give a little wave, or something, come on –" Robin was rambling now, bargaining with death to let go of the crumbled body just below her. Nancy coughed again, turned her head, and spit out the metal in her mouth. She kept her cheek pressed against the baked ledge, and eyes peered up to find where Robin's worried voice was coming from.

"Robin," came her strained reply. Her chest hurt from landing flat on the ledge. A smaller jut of rock had broken her initial fall but had only taken a slight edge off her momentum. She definitely had a broken rib, but she still had the sword gripped white-hot in her hand—a win. The blade was dangling dangerously over the side of the ledge, out of sight, its weight growing heavier. She willed her arm to bring it back up and to safety, but her muscles refused. The Guardian. Her arm was lacerated, carved gruesome from the monster's beating. All she could do was squeeze her hand tighter, her knuckles protruding like a skeleton. She needed to switch the sword to her good hand. Before she could think of a strategy, Robin's voice regained her attention.

"Nancy, Nancy, thank the Gods! Thank you for finally telling me you're not, in fact, dead." Robin was nervous, her voice high and itchy. Nancy frowned and tried to look closer at where her travel companion was stuck, her thoughts slowly moving away from the sword. Her vision was slightly hazy but grew in clarity with each passing moment. She could see the shadow of Robin forming into something with more details - a smattering of bruises and scratches smeared across her face, blood staining her tunic, her hair disheveled with dirt and leaves. Nancy strained her sight, making out the way the branches were deteriorating under the weight of Robin's body. She could make out the way the dry earth was giving way. Oh.

"I'll catch you!" She called, sending a quick prayer to Athena. Hopefully, she had spilled enough blood that the Goddess would heed her. Robin was only catty-cornered above Nancy's ledge. She could grab her with her good arm, "It's going to give soon."

There was a calmness to Nancy's voice that stilled Robin. It was such a resolute tone that it left no room for argument. Of course, Nancy would catch her. There wasn't another option. Fear and panic quarreled in Robin's chest as she felt the juniper's roots tear from the chalky earth. This was it. She was falling again.

Nancy was ready, her free hand poised to grip Robin. The other girl had not been high enough to gain too much momentum by the time her hand was scrambling into Nancy's, but it was enough to rip a pang of hurt from Nancy. The priestess felt as if her arm was tearing from her body with the sudden weight of Robin. The sudden weight dragged her body forward; the lurch flared up panic that she would go over the edge. When the movement stopped, she sent a thank you to Athena.

Robin was now swinging with a vice-like grip around Nancy's forearm. She was desperately trying to find purchase on the cliffside, but the loose earth kept giving way under her feet. Nancy needed to get Robin just a little higher for her to find a grip on the ledge.

If she could just, if she could just, "Nancy!" the plea was a half-choked sob that cut through her thoughts. Her muscles ached with the exertion of keeping a grip on Robin's arm. Everything in her body felt like a wire too taut. She needed slack.

"Robin, Robin! Quit moving!" She grunted, her teeth grinding as she felt her shoulder threaten to give with each tug from below. Sweat was already slicking her grip on Robin's forearm; their time was running out. She needed to pull Robin up with both of her hands, she needed to crawl backward and haul the terrified girl back up to safety, she needed to let go of the sword.

Robin dug her nails into Nancy's skin, leaving red half-crescents as she tried to tether herself to safety, "I can't! Nancy! Nancy, please, Gods, pull me up!"

Nancy hesitated. If the sword fell, so did her hope of getting Max back. If the blade fell, she would be the one that ended Max's life.

"Robin, I need you to grab the sword." Nancy's nails bit into Robin's arm while her other hand gripped the golden hilt with the remainder of her strength. The eye of Apollo watched her with slight amusement. She lay flat on her stomach, her arms slung over the side of the ledge, blood snaking down towards the hand gripping the hilt. She was a sorry sight. Adrenaline had chased away the sting of the Guardian's wound, but she knew she did not have the strength to draw the sword back and haul Robin up. She had to choose,

"Robin," her name was a prayer, "Please."

Nancy pressed her forehead into the unyielding earth, her breath hot with exhaustion as it stirred the dust. If Robin could take the sword, she might be able to pull them both up. There was a pause from below, a silence of understanding. Oh.

"I can't," came the admittance, one Nancy already knew. It was not for want. Robin wanted to take the broken sound out of Nancy's voice with everything in her. She wanted to take away this burden from the priestess, to drive the sword into the wall for the time being, or let the blade use her hand as a scabbard. She desperately wanted to take away the kind of grief that lay at the end of this moment. But she was only mortal, "Nancy, I can't."

Nancy's face was tinged red with strain and hurt; she turned her head so her cheek pressed again firmly against the ledge, this time facing her gaze towards the horizon. She heard the thrum of the earth as she stared into nothingness. Once again, neither her strength nor wit could solve this. She bit down with her teeth until hot metal filled her mouth, tears threatening at her eyes. The belly of growing storm clouds mocked her, leering in the distance. The Gods were watching. She had to choose.

"It's okay! You can finish this and get Max," Robin's voice was a fever pitch, "You can let me go, you've got the sword, you have Athena's blessing -"Robin was still rushing words, but Nancy could only hear the way the thrum in her chest matched the sound in the earth. She barely felt Robin's grip on her arm growing weaker as Nancy's eyes began to gloss over. Mortals were only good for sacrifice.

A warmth flushed her cheeks, and Nancy's mind envisioned copper, the coolness of the temple, and the town's ringing bells. She let the memories wash over her, getting lost in the dizzying passages of time as she caught a glimpse of her ward. She stumbled forward, trying to grab the girl that kept slipping out of her grasp. Laughter punctured by the cry of a bell echoed in the swimmy vision, Nancy's confusion growing as she shouted into the jumbled mess of memory, "Max! I'm coming to get you. Wait for me!"

Another bell. The vision world grew colder, Nancy losing sight of the redheaded girl as she tried to chase after her fading shadow. The edges of her sight were becoming hazy again, unnatural darkness settling like dusk. She could barely see; Max had taken the light with her, but movement in the corner caught her attention. There was someone else. Someone that did not belong. A shadow crossed her line of sight, devouring the last scrap of fading light and leaving a queasy feeling in her gut, "She's waiting for you," came the disjointed voice.

Nancy's pupils blew wide as she returned to the present world, Robin still trailing on the last word she had disappeared on. A sob was still stuck in her throat, the rasp of it twisting her voice. She had to choose, "Robin, I-"

Nancy let go.

[mosquito-queen]

nancy, swabbed in a spider web of white, the image of an ethereal angel, walking towards robin with a sword hilt clasped in her hands, the edge pointed down. blood in each foot print. her eyes a vacant cornflower blue. her reflection in the water alongside the path is gleaming hellfire. “be not afraid.”

robin, with eyes the kind of blue you write home about, shell-shocked to the point her brain is only static: a low hum of tangled memories. memories that blaze bright in warning and sound like the alarm of a bird’s cry when fire breaks out. the only sound she can cough out of her mouth is a gutted whine, right as the blade skewers the soft spot between her ribs.

[mosquito-queen]

So what is robin in the ancient greece? Just some random person who stumbled across nancy? Or is there something more to her which caused her to help nancy and max?

robin is the daughter of a merchant, the youngest sibling with five older brothers. she goes with her father on his trade routes because of her skill with languages... and to keep her out of trouble

when max's soul is torn in half, nancy prays to her patron goddess, athena for help. athena is well known for helping out heroes (hercules, perseus, odysseus). nancy falters in her faith because she doesn't think athena listened to her... until she comes across the old texts about her sword (she cannot read the language, but knows the image of athena's sword that is drawn next to the passages). it is robin that translates this text and helps nancy figure out where the sword is supposedly hidden. and robin can't just leave after they figure out where the sword is, beyond nancy being a priestess, she can't shake the feeling that she is suppose to be by her side.

robin is athena's answer to nancy's prayers.

(sorry, i'm a sucker for fate.)

[mosquito-queen]

are there any scenes y’all want me to write out/draw from the ancient greece au ?? if not, next written one is prolly gonna be a fuller version of the ‘nancy realizes she’s catching feelings for robin bc of fireflies’

[mosquito-queen]

dying in a field of violets wip

they lay there under the clawtooth moon, letting their lungs catch up to their hearts. their breath chasing the other’s. at some point nancy had heaved up acid and blood over the cliff side, leaving her body as empty as her mind felt. her eyes were twin pools of ice slowly thawing, leaking streams down her cheeks until they carved canyons through the blood and dirt. she sunk into her silent sorrow, neatly wilting into the field of violets. and then robin spoke, a million miles away, she asked: “what do the violets do at night?”

nancy’s ears still ringed with adrenaline, and the hurt in her head made the words too jumbled for sense, so she weakly coughed, “what?”

she found a home in robin’s patience. the girl easily replying, “you know, when they don’t have the sun to lean towards.”

she answered simply: “probably the same thing i do when you’re not around.”

robin sighed into an “oh” as soft as the sky.

some time later, when they’re both semi-lucid: “robin?” “yeah?” “we need to do something really gross.” “what?” “we need to eat the guardian.”

[mosquito-queen]

Not an ask so much as an overall comment: thank you for sharing your Ancient Greek AU with us! I delight I reading these! Forgive me if this is impertinent, but do you think it would go full fic? Or just these beautiful little pieces? Thank you again!

thank you so much !!! i would love to make this a full fic (i haven't written one in sooo long). i honestly didn't expect so much interest in this au but it's really energizing me to write something for it, at least a couple of scenes or something

[mosquito-queen]

it’s most painful when the light is between worlds of day and night, that sliver of dusk wedged between their drifting bodies, that moment before the crescendo of cicadas. the stillness interrupted by the glint of flames in powder blue eyes. it’s most painful when they both want to reach for the other’s hand, to hold onto each other as the coming night slinks slowly towards them. it’s most painful when the trance is broken and they fall asleep with their backs turned.

it is suffering to love something that is also loved by death. the priestess with tawny curls fading into the crust of dried blood, purple a foreign color slicing down her cheek and dappling into greens. doesn’t her body know it isn’t meant to be a gaping wound? the kind of desperation it knits into the merchant’s daughter is beyond several sleepless nights.

but it’s also painful to love something that wrenches your heart any direction by the simplest touch. the simplest fleeting moment of eyelashes fluttering close. the simplest look of care. the simple act of counting sun-kissed freckles. it hurts like muscles after a long run - a coming home of sorts, a growing pain.

and that’s what it is, when they’re nestled in the safety of the temple with a sunflower-like girl sprawled over their legs. their bodies grown together like hawthorn on the cliffside. the priestess’s heart twists in absolute contentment like wringing out a cloth. it’s bursting at the seams. but underneath her ribs is a clawing, a pang of knowing it could all be taken away, that she now has double to lose.

to know love so deep it runs both towards agony and elation. a love so excruciating.