#dawn's caleb theories

[n3rdyslvt]

so many love and deepspace spoilers!!please dont read if you dont want to see me short circuit by the time it gets to raf. i’m literally just rambling about how they ended up in the current timeline. but i do have a conclusion at the end if you want the gist without the word salad :)

xavier + caleb + zayne

anyways i’m reading a summary of the xavier lore from otome kitten (i love having it all collected in one place in a nice timeline) and it has me wondering about how exactly the men got here with all their philos trauma. xavier is easy, we know he travels back to earth (traceback II) and from what i’ve heard zayne doesnt remember his astra trauma. with caleb and zayne i’m inclined to say that this is their first/original life. xavier goes back to the current timeline because this is the timeline in which the aether core is fused to MC’s heart, making it the beginning of her trauma. So, i’m gonna operate under the assumption that the events of this timeline somehow lead to the foreseeker and in multiple lives caleb and mc have this little found family + immense childhood trauma thing going on. in terms of dawn breaker… I don’t have that myth 😝 buttt once i read more zayne lore i might be able to include it somewhere in my timeline

sylus

ok after reading an unrelated reddit post I have remembered that sylus is also very simple. he just came here a little while after the chronorift catastrophe (about 2 years i think) through the deepspace tunnel.

raffy

now we have the hard one. raf should be easy because i have both of his myths but his lore spans so many fucking centuries. with rafayel i dont fucking know guys 😭 i dont know how when they first met (like how 214 years from earth passing mc and xavier meet. the mc cursed to die and be born again in starfall forest) i know god of tides is first then abysswalker because the ocean is dried up (i know i need to listen to fragrant dreams, i just hate that MC isnt voiced too. either voice her or give the bf asmr experience and dont have her talk.) anyways long story short with rafayel its mostly an issue of how is he even in the current timeline??? does he spawn? does lemuria go through constant rises and falls? maybe because he and MC share a heart they share similar challenges where he might be reborn occasionally or forget past lives. i still dont know why he exists on earth or how lemuria really fits. what would help is knowing if rafayel has specific memories of earth and linkon before the chronorift. because theres a theory that MC came through the deepspace tunnel and didn’t actually have an earth family before josephine and caleb sooooooo if thats true then rafayel could remember the lemuria from philos and he and the others that were still alive were simply able to rebuild in linkon after being transported through the tunnel. i knowwwww you’re gonna say “but talia is a famous opera singer and a career like that takes years”. ok yes, but zayne is 27 and the fucking chief cardiac surgeon. theyre mermaids that have lived for centuries. you think she couldn’t use those lovely little vocal chords to propel herself into stardom?? its literally cannon that if talented enough, you can get yourself into any role regardless of age or experience caps.

conclusion

so tldr, xavier and sylus used the deepspace tunnel, caleb and zayne are living their first life like MC… potentially, and rafayel is an anomaly that i cant figure out currently 😫😔 buttt he might’ve came through the deepspace tunnel like MC during the chronorift catastrophe (if MC did)

if you read everything, mwah mwah mwah thank you.

[essektheylyss]

Alright, deeply circumstantial conspiracy theory time.

Remember how we never fucking figured out Vence Nuthaleus's deal? Ludinus's annex, who supposedly was working outside of Ludinus's knowledge or orders?

The Nein found two Abyssal Anchors in Xhorhas while chasing the Angel of Irons cultists, ostensibly to cause chaos and distraction during the war. These anchors were created by Vence based on tech used by demon generals during the Calamity to invade the Material Realm with more ease, and Vence created crude approximations of them, that Obann then deployed in Asarius and Braan.

(If only Caleb hadn't incinerated that goblin in Braan. We could've cracked this case wide open years ago.)

under a cut, as this is long—and does contain spoilers for c2:

The last anchor the Nein come across directly is in the Chantry of the Dawn; Jester scries on Vence delivering it to Cardinal Respa, along with two scrolls that are supposedly from the vaults of Vasselheim that provide guidance for establishing a ritual in the Chantry, upon a fane that was one of six holding Tharizdun at bay. Respa notices the scrying, and ends it, and the Nein immediately head to the Cathedral, though Vence has already left, and the anchor is set up as a distraction, while the main ritual happens elsewhere.

This is primarily notable because the timeline is fairly compressed. Jester scries on Vence while they're already in Rexxentrum; they go to the Chantry and fight assorted cultists under Respa's watch, the demons coming out of the portal, Obann's crew of cultists, and then Obann the Punished. They exit the basement fairly quickly and talk to several officials who have arrived at the Chantry, and then are immediately marched to Dwendal's throne room for an audience.

This is the conversation in which Ludinus admits that Vence had "recently" asked for an Amulet of Nondetection, and he granted the request. Given that Vence hadn't been attuned to it prior to going to the Chantry, he evidently takes the time to attune to it within the two hours (accounting for travel times around Rexxentrum) between those periods.

Here's where we start to get circumstantial: if Vence had obtained the amulet before, why hadn't he attuned to it immediately? It's possible he hadn't even gotten the amulet until then, at which point there was already a Kryn attack underway, as well as a significant disturbance at the Chantry of the Dawn. This seems an odd time to request such an item, as well as a rather foolish move on Ludinus's part to grant the request with little information.

With that in mind, let's go back for a moment to the Abyssal Anchors.

They're said to be crudely-reconstructed versions of Calamity-era technology. They create a planar rift between realms. They were not designed to assist in the ritual to summon Tharizdun, and instead seem only to have been a distraction—though a rather odd one, as they created minor nuisances that were, in both cases, dealt with by the Nein, and never on the direct orders of the Dynasty's leadership. The war itself seems as though it would've been distraction enough.

We also hear that there have been similar anchors discovered across the Empire, collected, and destroyed—words that come only from Ludinus's mouth.

The Nein had considered that perhaps Ludinus knew what Vence had been up to, but they had no tangible evidence of that, and he of course denied it. I recall considering the possibility at the time that he had even been involved, and mostly discarding it because he seemed to have no motivation to do so.

But now we know that something notable happened about six years ago, in the timeframe of the Material Plane: according to the Calloways, Ruidus became visible in the sky in the Feywild, and presumably with it, the Shadowfell.

We know that at the time, Ludinus was using the findings from his stolen beacons to create the dunamantic liquid that was used to make an assassination attempt on Keyleth. We also know that at some point, an annex of Ludinus obtained scrolls from the vaults of Vasselheim that gave instruction on creating a ritual to "release the fane" beneath the Chantry. (Fanes are, generally, places of power—which is similar to the list of locations across the Feywild that Ludinus looked into in order to absorb power from, per the notes that Team Wildemount discovered in Gildhollow Tower.) Incidentally, we also know that Ludinus oversaw, in 835 PD, the excavation of crash site A2 in Eiselcross, which held both the corrupted forest akin to the Savalirwood, and a threshold crest just beyond that. All of this happened roughly around or just before Ruidus was tethered to the Feywild.

Though we may never know for sure that these things are related, my theory is that these crude iterations of the Abyssal Anchors were the test run for whatever arcane device that Ludinus used to tether the moon in the echo planes, finally allowing him the ability to put his long-considered plan into motion.

[edgarbright]

Woke up at 3:30 am to watch the 3.0 Caleb announcement preview, was too hyped up and didn't get back to sleep until 5:30 am, only to wake up again at 6:45 am so I could get to work by 8am for a full day of surgeries. Then drove home at 5:30 pm where at one point I was literally sitting at a red light as it dawned on me anew that Caleb is actually coming home!!! And now it's 10:00 pm and I'm still too excited about it all to go to sleep...!

I've been waiting a YEAR for this and I'm so delighted and thrilled with everything they've shown for Caleb! It looks intense and dramatic and emotional! The animations look amazing and I do adore his English VA! Compared to the other languages which all have a similar tone and depth, they didn't type-cast him in English the same way and it really lets his VA shine!

Also Caleb is wearing the necklace MC gave him in just about every piece of content and frame and I'm so very very very in love with him, thank you to all the Caleb girlies for manifesting it LOL

Although a big revelation I had is that the 'Caleb = Sylus' theory I posted last June/July wasn't fundamentally wrong?? I pictured Caleb rather correctly, surrounded by a large organization with high tech and secret operations. I had even suspected the DAA in that post! My major error was that I deviated from the DAA because the main story led me to believe that Onychinus was going to be a much bigger and important organization with multiple people involved (kind of like… a military, albeit one that operates in the shadows.) In reality however... the Onychinus we got turned out to be more like a solo operation run out of Sylus's basement lol I agree with the Sylus girls that Sylus desperately needs more content, and it looks like Caleb is also coming forth with the same pitiful amount, but personally I think Sylus needs more world building in his little corner. I mean, it's explicitly stated in the main story that Onychinus is best known for modifying protocores, but I don't recall Sylus ever even talking about that? My main frustration with the Sylus we eventually got is that his connection to the main story feels so incredibly tenuous. So it's kind of wild to me in a delightful way that the Caleb we're actually getting is so heavily ingrained in the main plot that his relationship with the MC feels like the main plot, you know??

Just thinking aloud! Back to watching Caleb's perfect two trailers 2048020 more times and letting the theories and predictions brew!

[sunnydaleherald]

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[chesblob]

WARNING THIS IS A RANT ❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️❗️

my opinions on every total drama reboot character yippeeee

these are js my opinions, im rewatching it rn so i can analyze the characters better

rajie ? best boy. BEST. BOY. MY FAVORITE BOY ON THE ISLAND. HE IS AMAZING. HE WAS ROBBED.

wayner : also a best boy , BEST ALLYYYY WE STAN HIM BEING SO SUPPORTIVE OF RAJIE

if chris ever tries to separate rajie n wayner im OFFING MYSELFF THEYRE SO WHOLESOME TOGETHER PLEASE FRESH DONT DO ANYTHING TO THEM

bowie : an actual slay queen. prom king AND queen. he shouldve won tbh i would pay sm money thag i dont have rn to see that

zee : yes. he acts high but lowkey hes cool and js overall a good character with cool development, js a likable guy

julia : ooh GIRL. SHE HAS BEEEEFFFF WITH THAT DINOSAUR. when me and my boyfriend watched the season for the first time on a teams call , the dino scene came up and we laughed for an hour straight about it 😭😭 shes iconic. “ crystals are real. prayer hands emoji.”

priya : tbh , i could tell she was gonna win from the first episode. it was really obvious tbh and i feel like the plot wouldve been better if bowie won? her characters cute tho fsfs

emma : girly ate those lil dancey dances UP. her friendship with bowie was so good. and also her mocking mk was so yes “i thought it was haalff 😖”

ripper : HE TOOTS. HE FLASHES. HE THINKS HES A GYM BRO. POOKIE I HATE HIM IDK

caleb ( HELP I ACCIDENTALLY PUT JUSTIN INSTEAD OF CALEB LMAO) : i wish wish wish he wasn’t eliminated first. he had no character development other than being a token hot guy, he had MAYBE 3 lines in the entire first episode before he got ELIMINATED

nichelle : she ate everything up , but what if shes js jerry in a wig. im paranoid.

chase : ehhhhh ew ngl cos he drove emmas car into a pet store and now shes pressed

mk : i feel like she couldve been cool if she had more development, i feel like she was kinda a wasted side character ://

millie : i have beef with millie for no reason. 😭i js hate her and she pretends to be loyal but girly was so terrible

damien : not bad tbh ! hes nice too so yk

scary girl / lauren : she’s interesting defooo!! im sad that she didnt get that much screentime this season , and im so pissed that shes getting voted off first next season. ALSO THE THEORIES THAT SHES DAWN IN DISGUSE SHDHDNDN 😋😋 ID BE SO HAPPY IF THEY WERE TRUE

axel : wanted to see more of a personality from her, for now shes known to me as a saner version of jo or eva 🥲

chris : NO BFO YOUR VOICE ABSOLUTELY SUCKS BOOTYHOLE TFFFF

chef : consistent since 2009, biotches

[kykyonthemoon]

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Lady Cat [R16]

His Little Ballerina

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Caleb x Lunaire (Character x OC)

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Till The Break Of Dawn

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Where This World Decays

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[recitedemise]

Gale decides that Caleb's careful with his words. He's not exactly like Gale who could talk a holy Father into idling in the pews. He would barters words seldomly and seems far more content to deeply listen, but on those here-and-there occasion where he does spare words, each god damned letter would weigh a ton. He is less is more, a measly conversation enough to fill his bones. Their hands come together, the bridging of some gap Gale had quietly studied, but to pair it gingerly with those three small words... You've got me. His heart thunders. And I love you, too.

Because he does, doesn't he?, struck as the dawning glows warm within him. Caleb eyes him like some marvel plucked sweetly from the skies, and fate, of course, is no theory Gale believes...but this, their happenstance, is a wish on stars.

"Tease me should you desire," of Avalir mutters, "but I speak to you tonight with the utmost sincerity." A moment passes. "Were I to walk in your shadow, I would have no choice but to find myself content. Having found you at all took a stroke of luck that'd emptied all my fortune, and to spend it what's left of it merely looking upon you -- well, it would be more of a life than I had dared to hope for."

He's angling all the closer. The dome Caleb's brought ambers and gleams. It torches Caleb's hair, wreathing him charmingly in garland gold, and the way his mouth burns a line across his knuckles... Gale moves. He's on fire. His chest thump, thump, thumps, and he thumbs those lips.

Oh, Caleb. "You have given me everything."

Caleb blinks slowly, processing Gale's words. There is a heaviness behind them, a yearning that echoes his own. This brilliant, charming man who appeared in his life as if summoned from a dream—it seems impossible that someone like Gale could want the same thing that Caleb finds himself hoping for. And after a moment, Caleb gently turns his hand beneath Gale's, intertwining their fingers. The touch is light but firm. An anchor. "You've got me," he says simply. It was true. Somewhere along the line, without conscious thought or intention, he had given himself over to the possibility of something more between them.

Gale was right—this was not a sudden blossoming, but rather the gradual unfurling of a seed long planted, roots twining slowly but inexorably together over time.

It is terrifying, how easily this has happened. How easily Caleb has let his guard down for this mage. But looking into Gale's brown eyes now, he thinks—some people are simply meant to meet. Destiny has a way of guiding people together, or so Caduceus would claim. He takes a steadying breath, "I think… I would very much enjoy having you in my life, for however long that may be. In whatever way feels right for you."

Caleb’s chest tightens as he considers Gale's inevitable response: "however long" may not actually be as much time as they hope for. The orb within his chest pulses with a volatile energy that threatens to consume him, and perhaps all of them at any moment. But giving up is not an option for Caleb Widogast, defeat does not come easily to him. Especially once someone he cares for is involved.

So he lifts Gale’s hand and brushes his lips softly across weathered knuckles.

A promise. A benediction.

[queenofbaws]

Like Wringing Blood From A Stone An Until Dawn/The Quarry fic by TheIcyQueen

Of all the counselors clustered around the Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp sign in the overexposed photograph, there was only one she didn’t recognize. All the others she’d bumped into one time or another, at the grocery store or the Redbox or some restaurant in town or even at the new police station Uncle Trav was so proud of. Back in the old days, see, Papa only brought on North Kill kids as counselors, and North Kill kids had a funny habit of growing up into North Kill adults. The photo was full of them: a Cutter, a couple Kildeeres, all of the Pierces, a few of the Gores, a Graves or two, even some Sawyers and Bashes.

And then there was Amelia Grant. Ames to her family, Amy to her friends, Mom to…well, no one, really. Caleb, for about a minute; her too, just mostly in theory.  

Kaylee had expected she’d find her in the album, had expected even more than that that she’d look at those pictures and see some older version of herself. Caleb and Dad looked just alike, after all, so it tracked that her and Mom would too…but besides the heavy spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks, besides how dark the roots of her hair were where the bleach had grown out, she couldn’t see a shred of herself. Not a shred.

Chapter 13 now on AO3

[theowritesfiction]

Okay, here are my thoughts on the rest of the Buffy cast following s7 finale. :) Giles – I was so done with Giles during s7. He had stopped being an important figure in Buffy’s life early in s6, both as a watcher and a parental figure. Him coming back and acting so preachy and judgmental towards Buffy felt seriously gross and irritating. Giles should have been sent packing after he betrayed Buffy and Spike. Should Giles have died in the final battle? Well, if he even deserved to be there, I think he should have died. The character had clearly exhausted his usefulness. And I think he should have paid a price for his lack of trust in Buffy.

Xander – doesn’t really have much going for him in s7. He really feels out of place, and the writers actually tried to make it a thing, without realizing that they were exposing their own oversight because if Xander really felt this useless, why did he never get any training done with Buffy? It doesn’t make any sense, because Xander in the past has been shown patrolling during Buffy’s absence, so it would have made sense to get some training, right? Also, as soon as I saw Caleb squeezing out Xander’s eye, I immediately realized that was the price that Xander paid NOT to die in the final battle. And honestly, I would have been okay if he had been killed off. It really feels like his character has nothing more left to offer.    

Faith – it was good to have her back for the finale, but I was not always happy with the way her character was used. She had some good moments with Spike and Buffy. Her fling with Robin felt unnecessary. And no, Faith shouldn’t have died in the final battle, to bring her back just to kill her off would have been insulting.

Dawn – probably the most shortchanged character in s7. It was like the writers had no idea what to do with her when the answer seemed so obvious. s6 finale already showed the way – Buffy should have trained her little sister so that she could stand up for herself. There’s no reason why Dawn couldn’t have been training alongside the potentials. Instead, Dawn just spends the entire season watching from sidelines as the other characters do stuff, and that was just incredibly disappointing and waste of a character. And yes, of course Dawn deserved to survive the finale – even if the writers ignored her throughout the entire season, Buffy didn’t deserve to lose her sister (even if she barely paid any attention to Dawn throughout s7)

Anya – ugh, Anya is probably the most abused character among the btvs cast. Not only does she get to be the butt of most jokes, her character arcs always seem to be all about Xander, and complimentary to his character development. Anya immediately becomes a much more interesting character after she and Xander break up. Selfless is one of my favorite s7 episodes, and demonstrated Anya’s potential to be a fascinating character in her own right, but this potential kept getting ignored. Did Anya deserve to die? No. Unlike characters like Xander or Giles, I don’t think that Anya’s story had been told. This was a BS decision. Also, as a final insult, they couldn’t even have Xander shed a tear for her, of course it had to be a stupid quip.

Robin – the child of a dead slayer, carrying a grudge, seems like a cool character concept, but Robin comes into the show too late to warrant as much attention as he got. I’d rather this Scrappy Doo character be scrapped entirely to instead give the core Scoobies something meaningful to do. Maybe if they had introduced him earlier in s6 I would feel differently about the character, but as things stand, he shouldn't have even been there.

Kennedy – I’m not a big fan of the character, but not because I’m completely opposed to the idea of Willow moving on from Tara. Also, I think giving at least one of the Potentials an actual personality and having them become closer with the Scoobies is a good idea in theory. Unfortunately, Kennedy just… isn’t very likable? Even if I like my girls loud and opinionated, I felt that Kennedy often crossed the line of open disrespect when she clearly had no idea WTF she was talking about. Her actions towards Chloe were abominable. I didn’t necessarily like how she was with Willow, either. Also, she got a racier scene with Wil than Tara ever did, that’s such BS. But did Kennedy deserve to die in the final battle? You’d think I’d say yes, but… nah, I don’t really think so. I think the losses among the Potentials already felt adequate. Regardless of how I feel about Willow/Kennedy, I didn’t want to see Willow losing another gf.

Andrew – now that Xander had outgrown his role as a comic relief, the writers clearly felt that they needed someone else, and honestly… Andrew actually is funnier than Xander ever was, sorry, but it’s the truth. Still, as much as I liked his poorly timed interjections, I feel like Andrew had far too much screen time throughout the season that I would have rather seen going to Dawn and/or Willow instead. Should Andrew have died? No, like what would be the point of that? The Scoobies didn't care enough for him and his death would have had little emotional impact.

[the-real-tc]

Ch. 4 Bad Business: Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead

Author's Note: There will be more "Heartland magic" that's wholly unrealistic in this chapter as Amy works with Herring. (Just go with it, okay?)

There will also be more very uncomfortable stuff, so I reiterate the trigger warning and the abusive comments will not be tolerated piece.

Here's the next installment as the investigation into Val's death continues. More theories will be flying around again after this!

***

To the childless wife he gives a home, and gladdens her heart with children.

- Ps. 113

Chapter 4:

Let the Dead Bury Their Own Dead

Tuesday, April 23

Hudson Funeral Home

Ashley Stanton slipped on a pair of sunglasses, ostensibly to shield her eyes from the bright sunshine as she stood outside the funeral home following the service for her mother. Several old high school acquaintances, family friends, some Briar Ridge clients, business associates, and members of the showjumping community lined up to express their condolences to the Stanton siblings.

Jesse Stanton, with his girlfriend Tessa draped on his arm, did most of the talking, for which Ashley was grateful. At this moment, she thought standing here and listening to the usual platitudes and expressions of sorrow to be almost intolerable. She longed for this part of the proceedings to be over, but people kept coming.

After what seemed like an eternity, the queue came to an end. Ashley realised she had not really recognized nearly half of the people who shook her hand, hugged her, or patted her arm, but she did remember Amy and Ty. Amy had offered a long embrace. That one felt authentic; after all, Amy knew what it was like to lose a mother. Jack Bartlett and Lisa Stillman had been right behind. Jack had spoken several words about Val during the service. He spoke more kind words about her again in the line; words that described the healthy, neighbourly respect they had eventually come to have for each other.

I never truly appreciated how much of a decent man he is, Ashley now thought. Oh, Mom... I can see why you had your eye on him.

With a pang of disappointment, it dawned on Ashley there was one person she had not seen. He probably didn't even come, she thought despondently, not after the way Mom drove him away... Or after the way I treated him.

However, the person she was thinking of was observing everything from a distance, waiting for the right time to approach.

"Are you okay?" Jesse asked, turning to his sister when she did not make a move to the town car.

"I'm fine," she replied distractedly. "I just need a minute."

"Okay," Jesse replied, giving her shoulder a slight squeeze. "We'll be in the car. Reception's in half an hour, though; don't be too long."

"I know," Ashley mumbled. "You two go on; I'll be there."

Jesse nodded. "All right. Let's go, Tessa," he said to his girlfriend, and the pair headed to the waiting vehicle.

Having seen this exchange, Caleb finally saw his opportunity. He turned to his wife. "I'll be right back, Cass. There's something I've gotta do."

Cassandra nodded, already having figured out exactly what was going on in her husband's mind. "Of course. I'll meet you back at the truck."

"Thanks, babe," he said, and strode towards his ex-wife.

Ashley's eyes went wide behind her dark lenses at the sight of this blond man she had once been head over heels in love with.

"I'm real sorry for your loss, Ash," Caleb said, taking her cold hands between his.

She allowed him this small gesture of consolation before gently pulling away; his genuine concern for her feelings was beginning to break through her resolve not to cry again.

"Thank you, Caleb," Ashley finally responded, dabbing at her red-rimmed eyes with an already damp tissue. "Coming from you, that means a lot."

"Aw, shoot," Caleb said with a wry, sad smile. "Val and I may have had our differences, but we buried the hatchet a while back."

She stared back at him in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. She admitted you were happy back when we were together. She was sorry for her role in our divorce. I honestly think she meant it."

Ashley blew out a shaky breath and shook her head at this revelation. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry I let her come between us."

"Water under the bridge, Ash. You have your life with what's-his-name, and I have mine with Cass."

"You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"I'm divorced. Again." Ashley said, dropping her gaze.

"Oh," Caleb said. "I did kinda wonder why you were up here alone. I mean, a husband ought to be there to support his wife at a time like this, if you ask me. Sorry."

"It's all right. Anyway, I heard through the grapevine you're going to be a father," Ashley said, trying to force some brightness into her tone. "You must be very happy."

"Yes! Yes, I am," Caleb replied, a smile blossoming across his face despite the somber nature of the meeting. "Cass and I, well, we were trying a long time."

"Congratulations," Ashley said charitably.

"Thanks," he replied, making an effort to suppress his joy out of respect for her current pain. "Take care of yourself, Ash."

"I'll try," she managed to say, blinking away a new flood of tears.

"I guess I'll see you around," Caleb said, touching her shoulder gently before turning to leave. "'Bye."

***

The lavish funeral reception was held at Briar Ridge, complete with a caterer and tents so the attendees could be well fed and sheltered. Jack begged off attending this part of the day's proceedings; Lisa felt compelled to put in some face time, mostly because other members of the private investors' group decided it would be a good idea to show united support for Jesse and Ashley.

Lisa thought Jesse was putting up a brave front as she watched him interact with clients his mother had courted over the years.

More like glad-handing, she mused, watching as Jesse flashed toothy grins and enthusiastically shook hands with other would-be mourners. Lisa immediately rebuked herself for the uncharitable assessment. He's just been through a terrible loss, but he knows he can't be seen as falling apart—not that anyone would fault him if he did.

In fact, she remembered behaving in a similar fashion when her father, Matthew, passed away, leaving her to pick up the pieces at Fairfield. I also wanted to show I had the strength and positive attitude to take over when we lost Dad. I needed people to be confident Fairfield was in good hands with me at the helm.

She noticed Tanner Gunn was now in deep conversation with the Briar Ridge heir. Lisa caught snippets of their conversation, but eventually diverted her attention as she was starting to feel like a voyeur. Instead, her eyes fell on Ashley standing under one of the tents, looking as if this was the last place she wanted to be while her brother's girlfriend prattled on to her about something or other. The younger Stanton sibling seemed to be barely paying attention; Tessa was blissfully oblivious to this fact.

"It's so tragic," a new voice to Lisa's right caused her to turn in surprise.

"Oh, hi, Emma," Lisa said, recognizing Emma Fitzroy, one of the newer members of the investors' group. "Yes, it certainly is tragic."

"I wasn't the biggest Val Stanton fan, but you've got to admit she was a helluva businesswoman," Emma remarked. "I can't believe something like that could happen. I mean, getting shot while out riding a horse? It's crazy."

"It is," Lisa murmured, sucking in a breath as she recalled finding Val. Emma clearly had no idea of all the grisly details. She was at once grateful Chief Parker and Nadir Jutley had respected her request for privacy on that matter and kept her name out of the papers.

Emma was shaking her head pityingly. "Jesse Stanton really has his work cut out for him."

"Yep. He sure does," Lisa said vaguely, looking over at Ashley and Tessa, wondering if and when Jesse's girlfriend would figure out Ashley probably wanted to be left alone.

"Er, I'm sorry. I forgot you and Val were friends," Emma said, misinterpreting in Lisa's tone a veiled rebuke. "I probably shouldn't have said what I said."

"No, it's all right," Lisa commented, now turning her full attention to Emma. "If I'm honest, I wasn't the biggest Val Stanton fan, either."

"Oh? I'd just thought with you and your husband being her neighbours and long-time acquaintances and all..."

Hmm, she was paying attention to Jack's speech at the funeral, Lisa thought. Sharp lady. "You know, Val and I..." she began, then trailed off.

"Val and you...?" Emma pressed.

"Years ago," Lisa said, deciding to level with Emma, "Val tried to pursue Jack, despite knowing he and I were a serious item at the time."

Emma made a face, showing her disapproval. "Ow, that's terrible."

"It was," Lisa said, "but she eventually backed off when Jack wouldn't reciprocate her overtures, and when Jack and I finally got married."

"Wait, wasn't she seeing Dan Hartfield?" Emma asked.

"In recent times, yes, to my utter and complete surprise," Lisa responded.

"Oh? How's that?"

"Dan's my ex-husband," explained Lisa, "so that was a little... awkward, to say the least."

"Wow, that is pretty awkward," Emma commented. "I had no idea."

"But they actually seemed to enjoy each other's company, so who knows?"

"I saw Dan a little while ago at the hors d'oeuvres tables," Emma said. "He actually looked kinda morose."

"Maybe she meant more to him than he realised," Lisa said with sincerity. "Would you excuse me, Emma? I'd like to go talk with Ashley for a moment."

"Of course, Lisa," Emma said.

Lisa made her way over to the tent where Ashley was still being subjected to Tessa's chatter. It was a lame excuse, but she no longer wished to be talking about Dan and Val, and she did, in fact, have a message to deliver to Ashley that she had forgotten to give at the funeral home.

"Pardon me," she said, once she was close enough for Tessa to hear, not the least bit concerned she was interrupting. "I'd like to say a few words to Ashley."

A look of relief flashed across Ashley's face as Tessa's long-winded narrative was brought to a halt.

"Hello, Lisa," Ashley said, leaning in to accept a hug. "Thank you for coming."

"You're welcome. We didn't get a chance to speak for very long after the service, but I wanted to let you know my nephew, Ben, sends his condolences."

Ashley's face brightened a little at this. "Ben! Oh, tell him I send my thanks, Lisa. He was such a fun guy. I loved having him at Briar Ridge when he was here in Hudson."

"Have you kept up with riding at all?" Lisa asked, ignoring Tessa, who seemed peeved at being silenced. "I remember you and Ben were once fierce competitors on the circuit."

"No, I haven't," Ashley admitted with a sad shake of her head. "I retired from showjumping when I left Hudson. Law school was too demanding."

"I can imagine," Lisa said. "Ben had to give it up, too. But his horse, Red, sired Herring. Your mom was interested in buying Herring from me. It's why she was out at Lookout Point that day."

"Oh, Lisa," Ashley said in dismay, "I hope you don't think that any of this is your fault!"

"No, no," Lisa replied with a shake of her head, "but I am sorry for what happened."

"Lisa," Ashley said slowly, her face crumpling, "I—I know you were the one to find Mom..."

"I was," Lisa answered, trying to keep her voice even.

"I know the police said Mom was shot, but they won't give us any real details. Did you see anything? Anything at all?"

Tessa kept glancing between the two, looking like the unwelcome third party in a private conversation.

"I'm sorry, Ashley," Lisa said. "I told the police everything I saw, and aside from Herring and your mother, there was nothing else out there that I could see."

Tessa, sensing an opening, let out a "tut" sound and shook her head.

"Jesse's been thinking of hiring a private investigator, you know," she blurted out.

Ashley pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her brother's girlfriend.

"Oh?" Lisa asked, looking now at the young woman with feigned interest.

"Yes," Tessa remarked smugly, finally glad to be noticed. "He thinks the police are dragging their feet. After all, why have they not named any suspects? It's been a week, and nothing concrete. It's ridiculous, don't you think, Lisa?"

"We haven't been formally introduced," Lisa now said with a tight-lipped smile, irritated Tessa had presumed immediate familiarity so as to call her by her first name.

"I'm Tessa. Tessa Haywood," the young woman said. "Jesse's girlfriend."

"And I'm Lisa Stillman," Lisa said.

"I know," Tessa said with a smile and a slight giggle. "Jesse mentioned your name to me after you and Jack spoke to him in the receiving line."

"What is it you do, Tessa?" asked Lisa.

"I'm an executive assistant," Tessa remarked with an air of superiority.

"Mm. That's nice," Lisa said.

"Yes," Tessa chatted on. "I work for a big firm in Calgary."

Good for you, Lisa wanted to say, but held her tongue. She remembered the days when "executive assistant" used to be "secretary", and coming from Tessa, the modern title sounded more pretentious than ever.

"Sounds like you're probably quite busy," Lisa commented politely.

"I am," Tessa giggled again as she glanced towards Jesse, who was still speaking with Tanner.

Busy, indeed, Lisa thought, guessing Tessa Haywood probably spent more time with the elder Stanton sibling in Hudson than anywhere near her "executive assistant" job in Calgary. Val could not have been too happy with this match, Lisa thought, considering how low-class Tessa seemed to be, despite her conventional beauty that would have turned many heads, and had obviously turned Jesse's.

Yup, she has "gold-digger" written all over, Lisa thought. It's only a matter of time before she sinks her claws totally into Jesse. I'll bet there's going to be a wedding announcement soon enough, at least once a respectable period of time has passed after the funeral, or not...

She turned back to Ashley, deciding Jesse's current and future marital status was really none of her business. "I don't want to take up any more of your time, but I do want you and Jesse to know that if there's anything you need from us, don't hesitate to reach out, okay?"

"Okay," Ashley said with a positive nod. "Thank you. Both you and Jack were always good friends to my mother. I actually won't be staying in town much longer, maybe just long enough to help Jesse take care of Mom's affairs, but she would be happy to know we have your support. So thanks, again."

"You're welcome," Lisa spoke with a sad smile, gently patting Ashley's shoulder. "Take care."

***

Following the funeral, Amy was back to work with Herring. She saddled Spartan just outside the barn in preparation for another round of desensitizing the other horse. Once again, Remi had risen to the occasion, as the recovering Herring responded well to her presence just as Sassy had responded positively to her.

The traumatized horse was no longer balking at either Amy or Ty when they approached his stall. That alone was an improvement, for which Amy was grateful. She massaged his forehead for a few moments while talking softly to him. When Herring seemed calm enough, Amy slipped a soft halter rope around Herring's muzzle and neck and then opened the stall gate. From the corner of the stall she had claimed for herself, Remi jumped to her feet, tail swishing expectantly.

"Okay, Herring," Amy whispered, imagining the horse could at least understand her gentle tone since he could not understand her actual words. "We're going to meet Spartan, now. Let's go."

She led him slowly outside the stable, hoping he would react well in Spartan's presence. As if on cue, Remi followed. Spartan stood patiently beside the open barn door. Once the black Quarter Horse entered Herring's field of vision, however, the chestnut horse stiffened. Amy felt the tension in the halter as Herring dug in his hooves and pulled back.

"Herring," Amy uttered, looking back at him. "Come on, you can do this."

Herring nickered and strained against the lead. Amy did not want to force anything this time, so she slackened the length and turned to stand in front of Herring to block his view of Spartan. She rubbed Herring's forehead again. "It's okay, boy. Spartan's not gonna hurt you."

Amy backed slowly away from Herring, drawing his lead with her as she did so. She took a quick glance behind her and stopped when her shoulder was about to touch Spartan's nose. In a quick motion, she turned and hoisted herself into the saddle, still keeping hold of Herring's lead.

To her relief, Herring did not react negatively to having Spartan in his field of vision again. Amy clicked her tongue and took Spartan's rein in her free hand.

"Let's go, Spartan," she commanded, directing him to turn. The horse complied immediately, clomping off to the left. Amy felt the tension increase in Herring's lead. He was still refusing to budge.

"Come on, Herring," she called. "We're moving, now."

The chestnut horse obstinately planted his hooves in the ground.

"Whoa," Amy called, directing Spartan to stop, which he did. She peered back at Herring, on the verge of disappointment that this next step in his therapy was not going as planned. Remi sat down nearby, thinking perhaps nothing was happening so she could take another rest period.

Herring angled his neck in the dog's direction, blinking at her as she panted. He's interested in Remi because he feels safe in her presence, Amy thought. Let's see if he's interested enough to follow where she leads.

"Remi: up!" Amy commanded. The dog hopped to her feet, her tail once again wagging expectantly. Herring's ears swiveled forward.

"Remi, go run!" Amy instructed, throwing her arm forward.

The dog took off across the yard towards the pond. Herring's head turned to watch Remi's flight. He nickered once, raised his right front hoof and pawed the air, as if trying to decide whether to go or stay.

"You want to follow your friend?" Amy asked Herring. "Let's go, then."

She urged Spartan to start walking in the direction Remi had taken. To her delight, Herring also began to move. It was slow at first, but Amy was okay with that sedate pace because it meant Herring was no longer fearful of being so near to another four-legged beast his size.

"Good, Herring," Amy said encouragingly as the walk continued. "Good boy."

When they finally reached the pond, Remi was waiting expectantly. Herring approached the canine and nuzzled her for a few seconds, which Remi patiently endured. Spartan took the opportunity to take a drink, and Herring followed suit. The two horses stood side-by-side on the shallow bank, quietly lapping at the water as if they had been lifelong stable-mates.

"Good boy, Herring," Amy said again, an irrepressible smile spreading across her face.

***

Next Day

Briar Ridge

"Mr. Stanton, thanks for meeting with us," Detective Toby Kavanaugh said, as he and Detective Constable Jennifer Patterson sat down opposite the younger man in what was once Val's private office.

"Anything to help the Hudson police get to the bottom of why I had to bury my mother yesterday," Jesse stated. "I'm concerned that the investigation is going nowhere."

Kavanaugh and Patterson exchanged a glance at Jesse's not-so-subtle dig at their effectiveness as investigators.

"As you're aware, we first theorized your mother could have been the victim of an unfortunate hunting accident," Kavanaugh began.

"Right," Jesse said. "And I also know you guys have come up with absolutely zilch on that one."

"And that leads us to the next logical line of investigating," Patterson said, "which is that this was a targeted attack."

"You mean murder," Jesse said.

"Yes," Kavanaugh said seriously. "Briar Ridge is a very successful operation, and your mother was among one of the wealthiest in Hudson. Can you think of any reason why anyone would want your mother dead? Any enemies she had you're aware of?"

Jesse tented his fingers under his chin reflectively. "As a matter of fact, Detective, I can think of several people who would want my mother dead."

"Oh?" Kavanaugh responded, surprised he was being so forthright. "Tell us more."

"My mother was indeed very successful, but she could rub people the wrong way," Jesse said. "I won't hide that fact from anyone. In fact, I butted heads with her myself."

"So you're placing yourself on the list of people who would want her dead, Mr. Stanton?" Patterson asked.

"Of course not," Jesse replied, "but I know how you cops think. I'm an obvious suspect, aren't I? After all, I was the last one to see her alive, right?"

"Right," Patterson said in agreement.

"But that doesn't mean I killed her, as you all know I was right here when she was shot by whatever lunatic did this," Jesse said. "I'm just putting it out there right now that despite suddenly being thrust into the role of head of the family business, I still have a lot to learn when it comes to running things around here. My mother was the reason the business expanded into the great success it's become. She had to rub people the wrong way. She had to play hardball, because it was the only way people were going to take her seriously after my dad died and left her in charge. Without her, it's going to be difficult living up to her standards and keeping things afloat here."

"Your mother had a will, I take it, Mr. Stanton?" Patterson asked.

"Yes, she did," Jesse replied. "And before you even ask, yes, she named me the legal heir."

"Was your sister, Ashley, happy with your mother's choice?"

Jesse shrugged at Patterson's question. "You'd have to ask her that. But if Ashley was ever interested in being part of the family business, moving away and studying law was a funny way of saying so."

"All right, let's talk more about those other people who rubbed your mother the wrong way," Kavanaugh said. "Anyone in particular we should be aware of?"

Jesse tented his fingers again. "I'm sure if you check your records, you'll find my mother had several unpleasant interactions with an activist group called 'Animals Have Rights Too'. In fact, she filed a restraining order against some of their members."

"That's fairly serious," Kavanaugh said. "Had they threatened your mother lately?"

"If they did, my mother didn't tell me," Jesse answered. "But I'd definitely check them out, if you're looking for suspects. You never know what those nutty people are capable of."

"If they did send recent threats to her, and you can find evidence of it, they'd be in violation of that restraining order," Patterson said. "It would be grounds for us to bring them in."

"I'd have to poke around her files," he said, gesturing around the neat stacks of folders, a computer, and several locked filing cabinets in the office.

"We would be able to search more efficiently than you would," Kavanaugh said.

"Come back with a warrant, and I'll let you conduct that search," Jesse said with a tight smile, cocking his head to the side.

"We will," Kavanaugh said.

"All right, let's move on. Your mother would have been considered a very wealthy widow," Patterson said. "Did you notice her receiving any undue attention from anyone after your father passed away? Any suitors whose interest seemed more fiscally motivated than romantic?"

Jesse scoffed. "I think you missed the part where I said my mother rubbed people the wrong way."

"That doesn't really answer my question," Patterson said.

"Okay, my mother and a man named Dan Hartfield seemed to be having something going lately, but he's probably just as rich as she was, so he definitely wasn't after her money."

"How long had they been seeing each other?" Patterson asked.

"Look, I don't think it was anything serious," Jesse said. "I didn't keep tabs on my mother's private life. But if I had to guess, I'd say it had been over a year or so."

"Anyone in your mother's past we should be looking into?" queried Kavanaugh. "Someone she jilted, perhaps?"

Jesse just shook his head and smirked. "No. After my father died, my mother put most of her energy into expanding Briar Ridge and ramping up operations, which didn't leave much to entertain requests from potential suitors. If anyone was doing any pursuing of a relationship, she was the one doing it."

"Oh?" Kavanaugh said. "How's that?"

"Okay, look, I really don't want to say anything, because gossip makes my skin crawl," Jesse said. "But there was a time when I think my mother was trying to start something with our widowed neighbour."

"Which widowed neighbour might that be?" asked Kavanaugh.

"Jack Bartlett over at Heartland ranch," Jesse replied. "He eventually remarried, but to be honest, I don't think his new wife was happy with the attention my mother had been paying him."

"And who's this 'new wife'?" Kavanaugh asked.

"Lisa Stillman."

"The same Lisa Stillman who discovered your mother's body?" Patterson asked.

"That's correct," Jesse answered.

"All right, thank you very much," Patterson said.

"Anything else, detectives?" asked Jesse.

"You've certainly given us some avenues of investigation," Kavanaugh replied. "We understand this is a difficult time for you, so we won't take any more of your time today. But if something else occurs to you that you didn't share today, please call us immediately."

"Thank you, Mr. Stanton," Patterson said as she and Kavanaugh stood. "You've been very helpful."

Both left their cards on the desk in front of Jesse.

"Anything I can do to help catch whoever did this to my mother," Jesse said, also rising from his seat. "I'll see you out."

***

Fairfield Stables

"Thank you for meeting with us for this follow-up interview, Ms. Stillman," Detective Kavanaugh said, as he sat opposite Lisa in her office. Detective Constable Patterson occupied a third seat.

"You're welcome," she said, looking at the two of them. "How can I help?"

"We know you discovered Val Stanton's body on the morning of the 15th at Lookout Point," Patterson said.

"That's correct," Lisa said, suppressing a shudder at the memory.

"How long would you say you knew Val Stanton?"

"I've probably known of her for close to thirty years," Lisa replied thoughtfully. "I mean, I was born in Hudson, but I didn't always live here, and neither did Val. She was from somewhere in Ontario, and I think she moved here when she married her late husband. I was at boarding school in France for much of my teen years, and I was in the 'States for close to ten years with my ex-husband before moving back. So I would say I was only acquainted with Val shortly before moving to the US, but definitely more so after my return."

"And how would you describe the nature of that acquaintance?" Kavanaugh asked.

"Uh, it was... Complicated," Lisa said honestly. "But in the end, I'd say we were mostly friendly."

"'Mostly friendly'?" Patterson repeated, lifting an eyebrow. "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Lisa frowned. This was not the direction she was expecting this interview to take. "I don't want to speak ill of the dead," she said at length. "Val could be a shameless flirt, especially when it came to Jack, my husband."

"Val Stanton flirted openly with your husband? And how did he take those overtures?" asked Kavanaugh.

"He rebuffed her," Lisa said flatly. "She eventually got the message."

"Yet you still remained 'mostly friendly' with her," Patterson said skeptically. "How did you take those overtures?"

"Look, we were neighbours and we travelled in the same social and business circles," Lisa said, trying to explain. "Jack knew her as a neighbour for longer than I did. I wasn't pleased with how she fawned over my husband before and after I married him, but she knew there were lines that shouldn't be crossed, and to her credit, she never crossed them."

"Okay, let's shift gears a little," Kavanaugh said, deciding they had spent enough time on that angle. "Val Stanton was shot riding your horse, Ms. Stillman, isn't that right?"

"Yes. Yes, that's right," Lisa said, a pout pulling at her face as she failed to block the mental replay of finding Val and the traumatized Herring.

"Can we ask why she was riding your horse?"

"I told Chief Parker this already," Lisa said, thinking back to when the senior officer spoke with her about Herring's ownership at Lookout Point.

"That's fine," Kavanaugh said easily, "please tell us again."

"Val is—was—interested in buying Herring," Lisa responded.

"Didn't Val Stanton own plenty horses already?" asked Patterson.

"Of her own? Maybe," Lisa said reflectively. "Val buys—sorry, Val bought horses mainly to train them and sell them, not to ride them herself. She was long past the days of being in showjumping competition. But recreationally, she was interested in Herring for our club's hunter-jumper events. Our faux fox hunt club."

"And how long have you owned Herring?"

"From his birth," Lisa replied, growing more perturbed by the line of questioning. Surely these detectives did not think either she or the matter of Herring's ownership had anything to do with what happened to Val, did they? "Would you like to see his papers?"

Kavanaugh waved aside her question. "No, no. Just curious."

"Anything else, detectives?" Lisa asked.

"Not at this time, Ms. Stillman," Patterson said. "Thank you for your cooperation."

The two officers stood to leave. "We may have more questions for you later, Ms. Stillman," Kavanaugh said. "But if you think of anything else, or remember anything else about the morning you found Ms. Stanton that you think might be pertinent to our investigation, please call us immediately."

Kavanaugh and Patterson left their cards on Lisa's desk.

"I will," Lisa said, but wondered now how her answers must have sounded to the investigators.

You did nothing wrong, she thought to herself. You're not responsible for what happened out there to Val. They must know that, right?

***

Amy woke suddenly, seized by an intense, painful cramping sensation in her abdomen. She forced herself to take a deep breath and to exhale slowly, but felt no relief. This pain was unlike any she had experienced before. The day she had some severe cramping when pregnant with Lyndy to the point Cass recommended she get checked by a doctor played in her mind. This cramping was far worse, if that was possible. She flipped on her bedside lamp. Aghast, she noticed with a start she was spotting. Heavily.

Oh, no. This isn't good.

"Ty," Amy called out shakily. "Wake up. I think I need to go to the hospital."

Ty slowly stirred at the sound of his wife's voice. He thought he heard her moving about the loft.

"Amy?" he answered sleepily, reaching out to her side of the bed and coming up empty. He pulled himself up, squinting against the glare of the lamp.

"Amy?" he called out again when he did not see her.

"In the bathroom," she managed to articulate as another painful spasm caused her to double over. "Something's really wrong..."

Ty heard her agonized gasps, flipping his heart into overdrive. His feet hit the floor in an instant. Two seconds later he was at the open bathroom door, looking in on Amy. No longer was she merely spotting; his eyes were drawn immediately to a splash of red on the bathroom floor.

"You're hemorrhaging!" Ty exclaimed, forcing back the panic he could feel building up inside him like a geyser. "I'm calling an ambulance."

"Hurry," Amy groaned. I can't be miscarrying... please... I can't lose this baby...

***

One Week Later

They watched a dejected Ty leave for his shift at the vet clinic. Breakfast had been such an awkward affair. The young man's despair had still been so tangible, it was impossible to ignore, but impossible to address.

"I wish Amy would say something to him," Jack eventually huffed. "Anything."

"What do you expect her to say?" Lisa asked. "Jack, she's grieving. They're both upset. What she's just been through..."

"You can talk with her. Please?" Jack entreated, his eyes full of compassion.

With consternation she asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"She's shut Ty out. Lou isn't here right now, and I certainly have no words for her," he declared. "You've been where she is, Lis."

Despite Jack's imploring, Lisa agonized over what he was suggesting. "But—I'm—I'm not her mother," she protested. "God knows I've tried my best to make both Lou and Amy understand I never wanted to replace Marion—or their Grandma Lyndy."

"And they know that," Jack insisted, tenderly taking her face between his hands and locking his eyes on hers. "They know. But right now, Amy doesn't need Marion or Lyndy. She needs you. And she needs to hear your story."

Lisa broke the gaze first, struck by his sincerity, but nevertheless uncertain she could be of any genuine help. Her long-buried insecurities about her place in this family were resurfacing, and she was struggling to squelch them.

"At least think about it," Jack beseeched. "I'm worried about her. It's killin' me that there's nothing I can do, and it's killin' Ty, too."

"All right," Lisa relented. "I'll think about it."

"Thank you," he breathed with relief, knowing without a doubt Lisa would do more than think about it; she would act on it. He leaned down to kiss her, and she allowed him to hold her. It never failed that his embrace helped soothe worries and vanquish her fears as it did in that moment.

***

Lisa mounted the steps to the loft not without a heavy sense of trepidation. Nothing about the impending conversation was going to be easy, but the time had come to have it.

The blinds were all drawn; lights remained off. Lisa opened the baby gate and side-stepped a few scattered toys on the floor. In the dimness of the room, she tried to locate the person whom she had come to see.

"Hello, Amy?" Lisa called softly when she did not immediately see the younger woman.

A soft fluttering sound reached Lisa's ears, and the privacy curtain separating the bedroom from the rest of the living space drew back. Amy stepped forward hesitantly, directing her gaze toward her visitor with dull, clouded eyes. Wordlessly, she ambled out, dressed in a housecoat; hair in a messy ponytail. She did not bother to maintain eye contact.

"What did you want?" she asked in a voice that was a bare, monotone whisper.

"I wanted to see you," Lisa said, ignoring the lack of greeting and courtesy. "Thank you for letting me come. Please, sit down with me." She settled into the couch and encouraged Amy to join her by patting the space beside her.

Ignoring the invitation and making a pointed statement about personal space, Amy plopped down in a seat opposite Lisa, her arms wrapped protectively around her waist. Lisa sensed something very close to hostility emanating from Amy, as if she were just bristling at her mere presence. Lisa was not particularly troubled by that negative attitude. She was simply grateful Amy was open to having her here in the first place when she had seemingly shut herself off from everything and everyone else. It had been days since she had been down to the ranch house; a week since she had dealt with Herring; a week since the night the ambulance's ear-splitting wail had awoken them all.

In those ensuing days, Lisa and Jack had stepped in to mind Lyndy when Ty was at the vet clinic; in fact, Jack was minding the toddler right now. Georgie, bless her, had volunteered to handle some of the ranch chores that Tim did not have time to tackle.

How to begin? Lisa honestly did not know with certainty Amy's current frame of mind and heart, but she could guess her thoughts were a jumbled mess of guilt and possibly anger; her heart was probably in shreds. She took a steadying breath before speaking again, hoping Jack was right about her ability to bring Amy some kind of comfort and support in her crisis.

"Amy, I know how happy you and Ty were when you announced you were going to have another baby," she said slowly.

Amy flinched and a shudder raced through her frame. She sucked in a sharp breath and a shadow crossed her face at the mention of the word "baby".

"… And I want you to know I'm here for you, and I understand what you're go—"

"Just stop!" Amy exploded, her sudden, violent shift in emotion catching Lisa off-guard. Amy shot up to her feet, eyes ablaze; her usually lovely features deformed by an ugly scowl. "You don't understand, Lisa! How could you understand? You-you don't even have kids of your own!" She ducked her head and turned away from Lisa, yet remained rooted to the spot, lips quivering as she simmered in rage, arms now locked tightly over her chest.

Lisa regarded her serenely. While it pained her to hear those words, she placed no blame on Amy. "You're right, Amy," she said quietly. "I don't have kids of my own. At least, none that are living."

Amy started. Her eyes darted back to Lisa. "What do you mean 'none that are living'...?" Comprehension gradually dawned. "You—you had a miscarriage, too?!"

Lisa slowly held up all the fingers on her left hand and one more on her right hand.

Amy gawked as the number registered. "Six? You had six miscarriages? Oh, Lisa… Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried in horror, her indignation instantly forgotten. "I didn't mean—I…"

Lisa got up right then as a sobbing Amy rushed to her and fell into her arms.

"I'm so sorry, Lisa," she gasped again, her own personal misery spilling out along with self-recrimination.

"Shh," Lisa whispered, rubbing soothing circles into Amy's back. "It's okay, honey. You couldn't have known. It's okay."

Presently, Amy calmed down as the tears and sobs petered out. Lisa used her thumb to wipe some of the moisture away from Amy's face. They sat together on the couch, ready now to talk in earnest.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Amy asked. It was not meant as an accusation, and she immediately regretted her tone. "I'm sorry; that came out wrong."

Lisa waved aside her worry. "Amy, honestly, it all happened a long time ago—obviously, when I was still married to Dan. It's just not the kind of thing people talked about. Even now, I think, there's still quite a bit of a stigma when it comes to miscarriage. It's not a happy subject. It gets awkward. People just want to avoid pain. And nobody wants to be the center of gossip."

Amy nodded in understanding. "I certainly don't want the whole town knowing and talking about it," she murmured, "especially after our very public announcement at Maggie's."

"But in this case, I think it was wrong of me not to have talked about this earlier with you, or with Lou, even… I guess I was reluctant to because I'm not your mother, and I've never wanted to take Marion or your Grandma Lyndy's place in this family," Lisa explained. "The opportunity to talk about such things never really presented itself, either."

"Does Grandpa know?"

"He knows," Lisa responded with a nod. "In fact, he's the one who thought I should speak with you."

"But, Lisa, six?" Amy sighed, closing her eyes to stave off a new flow of tears. "How did you stand it?! Just losing this one… it's horrible. I can't imagine…"

"It wasn't easy," Lisa admitted with a sad shake of her head. "But Dan and I—we had busy lives. We had our business to run. We were still in the 'States at the time, you know? I didn't have my family around. I mean, my sister and my parents knew, but they were here in Canada. So, I just put my head down and plowed forward because I didn't think I had another choice. In the long run, maybe it might have been better if I had talked to someone, maybe on a professional level, even, because our marriage didn't last. Partly because Dan had no idea how to support me in that situation, and later because my father got sick and I came back to Fairfield to care for him.

"If I'd brought those children to term, maybe things might have been different. But see, the kids I wasn't able to have with Dan—it's like they've all been restored to me because of Jack. I have children now, Amy: I have you and Lou; I have Lyndy and Katie, Georgie and Ty—you are all so much more than I ever dreamed I could have. Yes, I liked that life I had before I married Jack, but I love that my life includes all of you, now.

"And Amy, you have Ty. You still have Lyndy and the rest of us. You're not alone."

Amy leaned into Lisa. "Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome," Lisa said, caressing her hair. "If you need to talk about this, you call me, okay? I'm here for you. Anytime."

"I will," Amy promised.

*** Chapter 5: Moving Target

[lycan-troth]

Wow, I'm responding to this rlly late, all I can say is that being a third year uni student is rough. Lmao. I'm graduating this month soon. I'm trying not to think on it too hard so I don't freak out, haha. ANYWAY...ASB Ryan trying to trick Chris into doing stuff on v-day sounds about right, lol. Trying to be all sneaky and clueless. And succeeding, only bcs Chris is oblivious to it. The candy thing is cute! Makes me wonder if Chris would be willing to eat it for 2 reasons. With his tastes the candy could be too sweet? Or maybe he likes the gesture so much that he doesn't want to eat it. Maybe it makes a part of him feel like eating Ryan instead, lol. The wolf peeking through a bit. Kaylee teasing Chris about it would be funny, meanwhile Caleb is quietly processing it somewhere. I like the fact that in your writing Ryan would do anything and somewhat enjoy it as long as it's with Chris. Like the hiking and the trips for supplies in town. Being outdoors in general. It's just... sweet. Which as you say is the whole vibe of ASB. Them being awkward and quietly yearning.

GP, as you say, is a whole other kettle of fish, lol. The sense of otherness that Ryan gets from him is interesting to me. Small glimpses of something unusual, yet he knows Chris...doesn't he? Ahh, and I love that detail! The fact that Chris alters his behaviour when they're isolated like that. It certainly reads as predatory and creepy and a lil teeny bit like a dark romance. I can't place why it feels like the latter, maybe bcs I know they're a ship in the fic? Chris getting Ryan to hunt with him is unexpected, but fits GP's vibe! Would Chris always struggle with that wolfish predatory instinct with Ryan or would it fade/shift in time? I was thinking that if/when they become serious being together and do whatever it is they'll do, would it not change his wolfish perspective of Ryan? From prey to mate? I'd be interested to see what that element would be like. Ohh, Chris and Ryan killing the deer together would be so good! The scene you describe of the process they'd go through with it after is horrificly good. It fits the vibe of The Quarry itself too. Would the buck's horns in his office represent a trophy of sorts? All I can think of is wolfy Chris being pleased with Ryan taking part in providing and decorating the den (his office). I feel like I'm reading into it wrong tho. Love is a hunt, I like that phrase! Some animals do chase their prospective mates before they become mates official, ha.

Yeah, I can see GP and ASB being like two sides of a coin. That's fair enough, we're all pretty busy with life these days. It feels like there isn't enough time sometimes. Thank you for answering this question, tho. I would've answered much sooner, but I was deep into deadlines around Feb and onwards. I'm not upset you've not updated, I certainly miss GP, but I totally understand your focus being elsewhere. Ah! My theory as to what Ryan might do next was that he'd taken a picture of that map. So he knows where Chris planted his cameras, so he knows where he can be seen. He mentioned that he's frustrated/pent up and he had an idea for the pic he took. So, I think he's gonna head out somewhere in the woods where he knows one of the cameras will be, and uh entertain himself yk? He'd know that Chris can see him, and Ryan has seen the tapes he's made, so it'd kinda be revenge? Not rlly? It's kinda getting back at Chris, but also not? Both bcs he's uh taking care of himself and bcs I'm guessing Chris will maybe finally snap? That's what I think Ryan was thinking about doing next.

Another thing I'd been thinking about is more like a cross-over scenario. I was like "what if Ryan was on Blackwood Pines in Until Dawn? What if he survived and was feeling messed up about what he'd seen? " Idk what the timeline would be for The Quarry. It could be before Ryan meets Chris as a counsellor or after. It might work best if he meets him after, like maybe his therapist recommended that Ryan should sign up to something to try heal from Blackwood? Everyone thinks that Ryan was terrorised by bears, but he knows it was a wendigo. Maybe he gets more into Occult stuff after? Chris wouldn't know about the incident bcs Ryan doesn't want ppl to think he's a 'freak'. The quarry gang could make jokes about rabid bears to try rile Ryan up, but I think he'd be even better at not reacting to it. Mainly bcs in order to survive the wendigo, you can't react otherwise you're dead. Ryan already keeps his reactions minimal, but after surviving that mountain I think he'd be even more unresponsive. Like a survival technique, he can't shake off. You could do a lot with the Hackett's wolfish habits and how that version of Ryan might think about them. He'd be a lot more open to believing that werewolves exist, maybe even researched them. It's just a fun lil imagine I came up with. I think that version of Ryan would be fun to play around with.

Anyway, that's the end of my rambling. I hope that you're well and that all is good :)

With Valentines day around the corner, what do you think Chris and Ryan might do (GP and ASB) if they could spend the day together? Not both versions spending the day together, but individually. So how GP might spend it and how ASB might. It would be outside of camp time, so ig Ryan might be visiting Chris or something depending on how things are. There wouldn't be any campers or anyone at camp, so I'm assuming they'd basically have the place to themselves? They'd have some privacy, enough of it to spend the day together as they'd like. So, I got to wondering about what they might do, both their GP versions and ASB versions. It can be as simple or a bit fluffy, smutty or mundane as whatever, I'm just curious how it'd go. I was thinking maybe both vers might do something smutty, more so GP vers than ASB.

Speaking of GP, not to rush or preassure you, but how's it going with it? I think I have an idea of what Ryan might do next, I had something of a light bulb moment, haha.

it’s a fun question! esp bc usually i don’t tend to think about my ships doing stuff for ‘special’ days or having a domesticated routine. with this being said, i’ll try to reply to the best of my ability, but it might read idk maybe weird? if so, i do apologise! usually, most of set-ups for ships that i have are kinda idk, just not super normal or smth somewhat normal happens within the universe, that isn’t. anyhow……

but let’s see, let’s see….

in ASB setting, ryan is more active one. and while he technically won’t care about vd, he might think that it’s a good opportunity to kinda trick chris into doing smth ‘romantic’ for that evening. even if bc he’s kinda pinning so hard, that he would cling even to symbolic stuff, despite it holding no significance for him on its own. i feel like chris would be slightly confused why ryan wants to go into town and hang out, and not idk, do what they do everyday. i picture, that ryan won’t be able to stick around for longer, than a week, and he prob used some lame excuse as to why he’s there at all. chris didn’t pry, but it was clear, that ryan most likely wanted to be away from home, esp if it happens during the time, when he and his lil sister still live with their mother. anyhow, i don’t think that they would do smth crazy that day, ryan would just try to score those points, without chris realising what’s going on. they prob would end their ‘secret date’ in a movie theatre. and like ryan would pick the last seats, and chris be there sweating, bc it’s around time, when he understand why ryan insisted on them ‘going out’ lol. i imagine, ryan prob would also do smth cheeky as getting one of those candies with words like ‘you’re the one’ or smth. after all ASB was all about romance being there in the air, but nearly gentle-like, bc chris is so afraid to spoil one of the few good things, that he has. but like ASB ryan does sorta enjoy that he can make chris squirm like this. there is smth funny about 20 smth guy relentlessly teasing a middle aged man in such a form. like where he’s aware, that chris is attracted to him, but clearly he needs more time or whatever. like, ryan won’t just give up lol. and i think, that one of the most hilarious parts of this whole thing is that kaylee would tease chris about finally going on a date for the first time in ages. so it’s basically ‘everyone know what it is, but you’re playing’ moment. if only ASB chris was as weak willed as uh, little hope’s john, things might have progressed way faster. but i feel like him and ryan just having that nice, isolated memory, that is pretty calm and seemingly ‘small’ is part of what made their relationships in ASB feel so….uh centred? even partly bc chris wasn’t dating anyone for years, and ryan prob never went on real dates with anyone before, bc he thought that it’s boring. but it’s not boring with chris. 

GP is a different kind of beast tho. also god forbid there be a full moon on that day, like dang. in general, i feel like ryan being alone with that type of chris in isolated camp ground would have a bit more tense feeling to it. there is just smth kinda so off about mister H sometimes, y’know? ryan not scared or anything, but he does feel how chris just kinda ‘shifts’, when he realises that they’re miles away from anyone else, and there is like just two of them and forest. nothing else. GP chris is kinda….well, low-key creepy like that, he might decide to ask ryan if he wants to go hunting with him that day. and ryan be like ‘you do hunt’, bc he didn’t peg chris as someone, who shoots things for sport, but chris seems to be tense, insisting that they’d do smth like that. so yeah, whatever, he guess? ryan naturally has no idea, that chris like really wrestling with his predatory instincts at that moment, he just needs to redirect it all somewhere. ryan does notice a lot of strange things about chris during that time, esp how he seems to just sorta know, where to seek a deer or how he can orient in the forest so oddly well and move without much of a sound. and i guess, in reverse to ASB, they find a deer and chris grips ryan’s hand before he can pull it away from the trigger, so they kill it together. ryan won’t sure how to feel, bc he didn’t want it to die. and he even less sure, when chris offers him to show how to separate fur from meat and all that stuff. for chris, it’s basic knowledge, he doesn’t treat it as smth big, but for city boy like ryan, it’s….odd. but he agrees, bc he doesn’t wanna look like a lil bitch, i guess lol. they spend that evening in blood and ryan is very dizzy and nauseous, when it ends. he was very close to chris during that time tho. they had their hands in animal’s organs together, feels kinda intimate, even if the situation itself is pretty iffy. in the end, chris tells ryan, that since he was the one, who killed it (not really lol), they should put that buck’s horns on some good display. so they do put it inside chris’s office, ryan even helps to pick a place for it. he isn’t sure why, but chris seems pleased and all that he can think of, despite that he kinda wants to shower and stinks like blood still (even if he’s in different clothes), is ‘wow our arms were next to one another, side by side, chris’s hand enveloped mine a few times to help me to move the knife’. If one would picture it in GP’s timeline, esp down the line, it would have made sense, i promise. like how strangely dark and gritty it is. love is a hunt, isn’t it? 

either way, this what i meant, that my answer might be strange. i wouldn’t connect them banging to idk some specific date or day or them being more active in that specific area just bc it’s vd. if anything, vd can be a bit symbolic in another sense. it is a day of lovers after all, but ASB and GP address a different side of chris and ryan’s love in itself. it can be somewhat healing and actually good, even if it won’t solve all of chris’s problems, or will automatically make ryan aware about everything like in ASB. but it can also be intense and a tad destructive like in GP. so it’s not about sex at all, i suppose. or more so, i don’t think that they will bang too differently in both setups tbh lol. chris still has a wolf in him either way, and ryan is still like hella horny in both stories as well lol. in ASB ryan tricking chris into doing smth on that specific day is kinda still light and pinning, and more of like extra point. just gives them a bit more context of how they kinda always been together like that, it seems. in GP, i bet that neither chris or ryan are aware, that it’s vd, and it’s smth that ryan learns later on, and be like, ‘oh we did it on that day, huh’. and then be a bit of high school gal about it, haha. 

ah, tbh i didn’t touch it at all. i have different hypefixation atm, and most of my freetime pours into doing stuff for my current ship / fav thing. i haven't brushed any of my supermassive wips. i know, it’s not fun to hear, but it is how it is atm. it’s hard to tell, when i will be interested in them again. like in ways, where i would want to rewatch stuff for the game or dwell back into my narratives for their pair. i’d be curious to hear what you think ryan might do tho. this version of him is sure daring and kinda short-sighted lol.

[aeipqthy]

Here's a thought

I'm not sure if anyone talked about this already but I'm just gonna share my thoughts(theories??? idk what to call them) anyways.

I don't think Willie realised how bad Caleb was until he brought the phantoms to HGC. You can see how throughout the night Willie is having fun(unless he was being controlled which is a whole other theory) and enjoying himself. He's so hyped throughout the night, cheering, dancing, etc.

It's only until Caleb stamps them that Willie realises how f***ed up everything is.

You can see the look of realisation on his face. He knows that the band didn't agree to Caleb's offer. He knows the band didn't say anything about accepting Caleb's offer. He knows Caleb tricked them into getting stamped by shaking their hand. He realises then that not only was there no deal made at all, but also that they were now tricked into having no choice but to join HGC(but of course our hero, Julie, is here to save the day like the angel that she is). He realises that he had been tricked too when he first joined HGC and hence he realises that he's stuck in this position where he's guilty for bringing the band here, and also betrayed by Caleb. (I'd like to think that he saw Caleb as a father figure up until this point.)

It dawns on him that the band is going to have to join HGC against their will in order to survive. It dawns on him that he had played a part in this whole evil scheme and he blames himself for doing so. How could I be so stupid? How did I not see it until now? What have I done?

So now, he knows Caleb will ultimately punish him if he were to get involved but how could he not? He loves Alex(maybe he doesn't know it at this point but he will). He checks up on them to see what Caleb has done. He doesn't dare to go straight up to them yet, because he's afraid of what Caleb would do if he found out he's checking on the band. He's afraid of the band(mainly Alex👀) finding out the truth of what's happening to them, and getting mad at him for bringing them there.

But after some thought, he tells them the truth, because he can't bare standing at the sidelines and watching them fade out of existence. He's prepared for the band getting mad at him, but it doesn't matter, because he blames himself for everything that happened. And he's determined to help them and fix what he did wrong, even if he's risking his own soul(Because I care, about you, Alex). He doesn't care about what Caleb would do, because it'd be worth it just to know the band would be safe.

Okay I think I've rambled on enough. Willie deserves better. #SaveWilliefromCaleb

[sunjaesol]

Here's your daily Juke with Bonus Willex!

Julie meets Willie and can somehow see him. She can see all ghosts, apparently, because meeting the band was her trigger for that power.

So after meeting him and finding out how much of a dork he is, Alex and Julie spend most of their time blabbing about their annoying crushes.

Meanwhile Luke and Willie are just sitting their pouting because they think they're getting nO aTtEnTion. (Fine it might just be Luke pouting and Willie trying to get that attention back)

“Huh,” Julie mused, eyes flicking from the blonde drummer to the skateboarder beside him. “I... did not expect that.”

Alex perked up, smile breaking through. “You can see him?!”

“Uh, yeah,” she chuckled, awkward, and quickly strode forward towards the elusive Willie. Was this harmless-looking guy really the one that drove a bus into the desert? “Hi, I’m Julie!”

“Whoa,” the boy gawked. “You can legit see me!”

Experimentally, she pressed a finger in his arm and, to her surprise, didn’t phase through. Guess those cosmic powers that allowed the band to be corporeal to her also worked on Willie. Maybe it worked on every ghost! She’d have to figure that out later.

(An unbidden smile pulled on her lips at the thought. Her and Luke could go on an excursion, find other ghosts and test out the theory. It’d be a good excuse to spend time with him, right?) 

Her eyes locked with Alex’, coy, as the realisation dawned that this wasn’t just Willie - this was Willie, his major crush. His freaking soulmate, with the way he gushed about the skater! 

Grabbing onto his wrist, she dragged Alex into the studio and yelled over her shoulder for Willie to make himself comfortable. 

“Me and Alex have to talk!” she added. 

Luke, who had been silently watching from the side, jumped up at her remark. One foot was already in the bathroom when he called out: “About?”

The pair blanked, Alex flushing as Julie stammered vowels. “Uh... stuff. ‘Alex and Julie Stuff’ - we’ll be right back.”

The bathroom door slammed shut. The giggling girl threw her arms around his shoulders, excited. “He’s so cute!”

“I know! I’m so happy you can see him!” And then- “Now that he’s free from Caleb, I have someone to hang with when you and Luke are doing your thing.”

Julie puffed, crossing her arms. “Our thing? You mean, making music for our band?”

“Flirting, Julie,” he deadpanned. “Hardcore flirting.”

“Psh, no.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe.”

“Ha!”

Rolling her eyes, she whirled around and pushed the door ajar, sneaking to see what Willie and Luke were up to. The sight was absolutely comical. 

While the former was wandering around the studio, caressing the plants and making slight commentary on the art as if he were in a museum, the latter was on the couch, pouting. Julie withheld a coo. Gah! Why was everything Luke did so cute?! 

“Let’s save them,” Alex whispered. 

Her hip bumped his, playful. “Mh-hm, time for me and Luke to ‘hardcore flirt’.”

[fluffmonger]

On Der Katzenprinz:

I've wanted to talk about this since Liam read the story thursday night, but today is the first time I've been able to sit down and look at the scene again. So! What is so important about this little fairytale besides the fact that he read it to Jester?

Caleb Widogast processes the world via stories. We have been shown this time and again, right from the first time he tells us anything about his past. "Let me tell you the story of how I killed my mother and father." He says, setting it up like an old tale. "Every Junge und Mädchen of the Empire knows the story of the dreaded Waldehexe" he says, and tells us how his childhood was stolen through this allegory. And later, this is confirmed, when the story appears in his tower, that this is a story near and dear to Caleb, that maybe he changed some but...

This leaves us with Der Katzenprinz. This is a story that he left in the tower, left with his friends as a way of telling them who he is, and what's shaped him. And of course he reads it, shares it, because it's a betime store meant to be shared, read aloud.

I've seen a few theories floating around that this is totally a secret story about Jester and the Traveler!! But I don't think that's the case, despite certain similarities. This is first and foremost a well worn tale, that Bren's mother, Una, read to him often as a child. It was likely a favourite story. And more often than not, our favourite stories are stories that we relate to.

Now I don't think it's as much if a 1:1 allegory as Die Waldehexe is. But I think it's fair to extrapolate some things from this. I believe Bren was a sickly or frail child, much like the boy in the tale. I think he was very close to his mother as well. In the story there is no father, and Caleb has mentioned his father was minor military. Between this, and some of how he comforts Luc before they leave with Veth a few times, I think it's fair to assume his father was often away in deployment, working for the Righteous Brand. And obviously, cats are Caleb's favourite animal to the point of being a special interest, it isn't hard to imagine young Bren with a flesh and blood cat, making him dance in his back paws with a. Little hat on his head.

It isn't hard to imagine him feeling weak compared to others, lonely, only reading the few books he could again and again, making up his own stories while practicing magic or letters or something else and his mother worked and father was away.

Which of course.... Begs the question, who was his Cat Prince? Was it perhaps Astrid and Eadwulf, finding him and pushing him to embrace life again after a period of illness? Was there a different fey? Or was the cat prince simply a metaphor?

Or could there be another connection, one we've only touched on lightly? Could his cat prince be a Corellon? A god of magic, springtime and the fey, a god who's power helped heal his broken mind, if what he remembers is true, which seems to be the case. Trent was shifty about whether he actually controlled those circumstances, it could have been a lie between the lines. Caleb is magic and stories, art and beauty, and everything Corellon stands for. He was raised in the light of the dawn father, and that has left its own scars. But he still has his stories. He is still telling them.

More than anything, the boy cared for his mother, and wanted to go back to her. And the prince let him go. The cat is not like trent or the assembly who demand loyalty beyond blood, who trap and hold and break. The cat prince heals, restores, brings hope and honors love. And I think that is why Caleb still holds this story close.

The pages are well worn. He was a sickly boy once, and then a broken man. But now he has danced again, as he once danced. He steps forward day by day with his friends. And he opens up, in little ways, he puts his heart into stories and says "here, let me show you this. Let me show you my heart and youth."

And of course Jester reaches back, pulling out the relation, the similarities to her own story, because she too knows the world through story and song. She who bought tusk love and invested in the idea of a fairytale practically the moment we met her. Stories can mean different things to different people, and that is their power. But at the core, there is one heart, and it is something that can be so personal, a way of being known without spelling things out.

Caleb relates to the world through stories, and Bren used stories to feed his hopes and dreams. And now Caleb passes these same stories to his friends. "Please know me. Please see me. This is my heart, be gentle with it."

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, April 14 - Monday, April 15

DAWN: I'm not a child. I'm not even human. Not originally. SPIKE: (sighs) Yeah, well, originally I was. I got over it. Doesn't seem to me it matters very much how you start out. DAWN: That's smart. I get that. (pauses) I like how you talk to me like I can understand things. Everyone else is being all ... twitchy and secretive.

~~Crush~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

PUNK SPUNK by jizzyliz (Good Omens crossover, Spike/Crowley, Explicit)

5h 15m (Nonstop) by belledamn (Giles/Jenny, Giles & Buffy, Jenny & Buffy, T)

Dead Hearts by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, M)

Worms in the Earth by TheClowniestLivInExistence (Xander/Angelus/Drusilla, Explicit)

sucker for punishment by CallMeVampy (Giles/Jenny, Explicit)

my thoughts will echo your name (until i see you again) by untiljanuary (Buffy/Spike, Willow, M)

Untitled (Look, do you know anything or not?) by scooby-group-texts (Buffy, Spike, worksafe, posted as an image)

Forget Me Not by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, R)

Heaven’s Teardrops by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Taste and Temptation by RavenLove12 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Яблочки и яблони - Chapter 1-7 (COMPLETE!) by B_E_S (Supernatural crossover, Buffy/Angel, Joyce/John, T, in Russian)

If I Could Turn Back Time - Chapter 1-2 by Tropicmorningnews (Buffy/Angel, M)

Я не могу вспомнить - Chapter 1-6 (COMPLETE!) by B_E_S (Buffy/Angel, Explicit, in Russian)

Valkyrie vs. Cordelia - Chapter 1-27 (COMPLETE!) by Nonkosherian (Faith/Willow, OC, Cordelia/Dennis, Lilah/Wesley, T)

Bathroom Wall - Chapter 1 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Explicit)

Parent Trap - Chapter 1 by Bobbie23 (Giles/Jenny, G)

Poetry in the Margins - Chapter 1 by Anonymous (Spike/OC, Explicit)

In the Dark of the Night - Chapter 1-3 by norik23 (Spike/Buffy, Giles & Spike, Giles & Buffy, Giles/Jenny, Mature)

To Survive I Forged You Like a Weapon, Ch. 1 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

New Banner Art #17 by veronyxk84 (Buffy, worksafe)

Drawings: been thinking about the Pjo au lately by pzyii (Percy Jackson and the Olympians fusion, Buffy, Cordelia, Angel, Spike, Anya, Willow, Tara, worksafe)

Robin and Nikki doodles by aa-arttss (worksafe)

Willow by taniaairiarte (worksafe)

I did drawings from the quotes post I did the other week! by BPD-and-Lipstick (worksafe)

Drawings by Fren (LeFrenchUnicorn) (Spike, Buffy, Clem, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

BTVS/Angel Rewatch Chronicles: Seasons 5/2 [BtVS s5 and AtS s2], Part Three by QualifiedApathetic

Season 6 Favorite moments? by agirlhasnoname17

Help S7 E4 (Buffy and the Art of Story Podcast) - Lisa Lilly

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ats s5 truly where my pathetic little meow meow men from prior seasons went to die by justafriendofxanders

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Ways that Buffy could save money by Tuxedo_Mark

[7x18 "Dirty Girls"] Was Caleb referencing something specific when he mentioned Paul? by halyasgirl

Spike and Dawn. by ceecee1909

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[kinda-just-chillin-here]

Greek Mythology and Julie & the Phantoms

My first watch through of Julie and the Phantoms (JATP), I noticed a few similarities and parallels to certain myths within Greek mythology. On my million rewatches, I paid more attention to see if there were others. This post is all my observations of the parallels, as well as a few possible theories for season 2 the writers could follow for certain storylines. This is a ridiculously long read, I apologize.

**Disclaimers: 

There are spoilers, so if you haven’t finished watching for the first time yet, don’t read this. 

The content in Greek myths can vary depending on the source. This is largely due to the fact they are just super old. So some of the myths might be slightly different. I did my best just to compare to the gist of the myth. 

I’m going to refer to Luke, Reggie, and Alex together as either Sunset Curve or the boys to save space. 

I apologize for any typos and mistakes; midterm season has left me with an empty head.

1. Orpheus

Obviously a major motif in the first season is the Orpheum. Orpheum literally means House of Orpheus. 

Background information of Orpheus:

His mother is Calliope (muse of epic poetry), and depending on the version of the story, his father is either Apollo (god of the sun, healing, music, medicine, archery, and poetry) or King Oeagrus of Thrace. 

Orpheus was considered to be one of the greatest musicians. He had a “divinely gifted voice that could charm anyone who heard it,” no god or mortal could resist his music. 

Let’s look at some of his myths.

Orpheus and Eurydice:

The basic summary of this myth is that Eurydice, Orpheus’ wife, died after being bitten by snakes while running away from a man, Aristaeus, or a satyr (depends on source) who wanted her for himself. Devastated, Orpheus began singing sad songs until he was advised by nymphs to go to the Underworld and bring her back. After singing to Hades and Persephone, they agreed to let Eurydice return to the main world. However, they warned him not to look back before they both entered the light of the surface. He happily began his trek back to the surface. When Orpheus reached the exit, Eurydice in toe, he turned around to see her, anxious to make sure it wasn’t a trick, that she was really there. Only, Eurydice was still in the Underworld, she hadn’t crossed over yet. Orpheus turning around when he did, caused Eurydice to remain in the underworld. 

So who’s who?

Julie = Orpheus (talented musician and desperate to save their love from the Underworld)

Sunset Curve = Eurydice (dead and trapped)

Caleb = Aristaeus and Hades (wants Eurydice/Sunset Curve for himself; controls the place the dead are) 

Hollywood Ghost Club (HGC) = The Underworld

How do they relate? Stand Tall (s1e09) is where it all goes down.

Like Aristaeus, Caleb is pursing Sunset Curve because he wants them for himself (and Caleb is also threaten by the power they have).

Caleb has the boys trapped in the HGC, just like Eurydice in the Underworld. 

Julie had to deal with the idea the boys died (again) when they didn’t show up before the performance. At first she couldn’t, she ran out until she had a sign from her mom, telling her to go on stage. You could argue this sort of parallels the nymphs telling Orpheus to plea to Hades, or that it parallels Orpheus on his journey back to the surface after Hades agreed.

This is where Julie and Orpheus differ. Julie goes onstage, fully believing in the sign from her mother; that even if the boys don’t come, she can do it. The lyrics of Stand Tall are pure genius. “Keep moving on, never look back.” That’s exactly what Julie does. Unlike Orpheus, Julie doesn’t look back. And the boys appear, no longer trapped by Caleb at the HGC. Julie breaks away from the Orpheus formula and wins. 

@multifandomterrors wrote an essay on how it relates too! She has three theories of how it fits and I definitely recommend you check it out!

Bonus reasons Julie is Orpheus:

Orpheus joined Jason and the Argonauts. When the ship was approaching the Sirens, Orpheus saves the crew from death by playing his own music, drowning out the Sirens’ Song. Likewise, Julie is able to save the boys from Caleb. You can argue that her singing Stand Tall acted as a beacon, beckoning the boys away from Caleb and back to her, saving them in the process.

This one is more of a long shot but oh well. Orpheus is said to have a “divinely gifted voice that could charm anyone who heard it,” that no god or mortal could resist his music. The boys say that Julie has “the voice of an angel.” Throughout the season, as soon as Julie starts to sing, people are generally drawn in, even Carrie by the end. 

Onto the next parallel...

2. Lotus Eaters

As soon as the slightest idea of the boys missing the dance was hinted at I knew it was going to happen because ~formulas~, but once they got to the HGC, I had a strong feeling it was going to be a Lotus Eaters situation. 

Summary of the Lotus Eaters:

In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew encounter the Lotus Eaters. They do as their name suggests, they eat the peculiar Lotus flower. When the lotus flower is eaten, those who eat it are “overcome with a blissful forgetfulness,” and want to do nothing more than stay where they are. The crew mates had to be dragged back to the ship, otherwise they never would have returned to their duties. The most well known adaptation of this is probably the Lotus Casino in Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, where the characters spend days/years there, only thinking it was a few hours/days. It’s a time warp per se. 

So what’s what?

Hollywood Ghost Club =  Lair/island of the lotus eaters (everyone there appears to have no other worries in life)

The music & dancing = Lotus flower (sucks everyone in)

How do they relate?

Once Caleb starts performing, Sunset Curve are sucked in. Eventually, they are overcome with a “blissful forgetfulness” and forget about Julie and the dance. They only get sucked back out once Caleb mentions it’s the witching hour.

Alex literally says “This place is some sort of time warp.”

When the boys try to leave, the dancers and then Caleb try to reel them back in. 

The next is not directly Greek mythology, but distantly related:

3. Disney’s Hercules 

The story in Disney’s Hercules isn’t exactly what the myths of Heracles are. It’s Disney, so of course the stories are romanticized and changed significantly. First of all, in the original myths, Hercules is really named Heracles, and Megara is nothing more than Heracles’ wife that ends with a tragic story.

In the movie, Hades wants Hercules dead since he is the only one that can ruin his plan to take over the world. He enlists Megara (or Meg, whose soul he owns) to get to know him and find his weakness. As Meg gets to know Hercules, they fall in love. Hades uses this as Hercules’ weakness, and once he outs Meg for working for him, Hercules is emotionally defeated. However, he still gives up his power for 24 hours, as long as Meg remains untouched by harm. Of course that doesn’t happen, and Meg dies while saving Hercules. Her soul is returned to the Underworld, and Hercules journeys down there to save her, even though he might die doing so. Except he doesn’t; he saves Meg, and it’s happily ever after. 

So who’s who?

Alex = Hercules

Willie = Meg

Caleb = Hades

How does it relate?

Like Hades wants Hercules dead, Caleb wants Alex (and the boys) under his control because they are too powerful. He’s threatened by them.

Even though Willie didn’t mean to bring the boys into the mess with Caleb, he still did (no hate, I love my son). Willie acts as Meg in this situation because Caleb still uses him to get to the boys. Caleb gets to put his stamp on them.

Willie, just like Meg, decides to not help Caleb anymore, though he’s still stuck. He cares about Alex, he doesn’t want him to be stuck at the HGC like him forever; he doesn’t want Caleb to own Alex’s soul. So, Willie helps Alex and the boys with their plan to crossover. 

In Stand Tall, right before You’ve Got Nothing to Lose, Caleb appeals to each of the boys’ weakness. Caleb says “Everything you want, including Willie, is right here.” Just like Hades uses Meg against Hercules, Caleb uses Willie against Alex.

Potential Season 2 Willex Storyline

The parallel to Hercules and Meg isn’t finished. Alex hasn’t saved Willie from Caleb yet, and Caleb hasn’t been defeated yet. We don’t see Willie after the Willex hug in Stand Tall. I think it’s safe to assume that Willie is not safe from Caleb, especially since he helped Sunset Curve escape Caleb’s curse. There’s a lot of things that could happen. One of my assumptions is that Caleb is going to use Willie as bait to lure Alex back in. Another is that, like how Hercules goes to the Underworld to save Meg’s soul,  Alex is going to actively choose to return to the HGC to try to save Willie from Caleb. 

And the last parallel to Greek mythology in season 1...

4. Cheyenne Jackson

He plays Hades in Descendants 3, a Disney movie, meaning he’s the same Hades as in Hercules. 

Caleb Covington, you could argue is the “king of the dead” in JATP

That’s it, that’s the parallel.

Possible Season 2 Storylines

Cephalus and Procris (I’m not as familiar with this myth, but it basically goes like this)

Cephalus and Procris are happily married and very in love with each other. One day, the goddess of dawn, Eos, kidnaps Cephalus because she wants him to herself. Depending on the version you read, Cephalus either sleeps with Eos, or he doesn’t, but regardless, his only concern is how much he loves his wife, Procris. Eos finds that annoying, and plants the idea in his head that Procris is cheating on him when she releases him eight years later. Cephalus returns to Procris, disguised as another man, to see if she would remain faithful. A disguised Cephalus continuously brings Procris presents, and slowly, Procris is swayed by the mysterious man. When Cephalus reveals himself, Procris runs away, ashamed, and joins Artemis’ hunt. Eos wins essentially. She get’s Cephalus... until Procris returns, trying to make amends with her husband. He takes her back, but not long after Procris hears rumors that Cephalus has been unfaithful. She follows him on a hunt, hiding behind a bush. Cephalus hears a bush move, and thinking it’s an animal, he shoots, killing Procris. In the end, Eos still wins as Procris is no longer in the picture, and she could theoretically be with him. Expect Cephalus exiles himself and Eos is never seen again.

How could this apply to JATP season 2?

Julie = Procris

Luke = Cephalus

Caleb = Eos

Caleb-Possessed-Nick = Disguised man

Since Caleb possessed Nick at the end, I assume his plan is to get Julie to pick Nick, thus pushing Luke away from her. Caleb wants Luke and the boys to himself, and as long as Julie is in the picture, that won’t happen. As Caleb-Possessed-Nick tries to flirt and get closer to Julie, Luke will see this and get jealous. His jealousness could lead to tensions between Julie and Luke, making the band a bit awkward, maybe even a big fight that pushes Luke to think about joining Caleb, or at least isolating himself where Caleb would have easy access. I think it would be a very loosely applied parallel, but the idea of Caleb working to cause a rift between Luke and Julie to get Luke by himself is a major possibility. Regardless, Caleb-Possessed-Nick is going to get in the way of Luke and Julie’s slow burn pining for each other. 

A General Thought Not Related to Greek Mythology 

Regardless of what the writers end up doing, I think Caleb’s best plan would be to target the boys individually; like the continuance of the Hercules parallel with Willex and potential Cephalus & Procris parallel with Juke. I don’t know how he would isolate Reggie, maybe something with his family, but targeting the boys one-on-one would be the most strategic move for Caleb. He could even get super manipulative with it. He could say something like “Alex already agreed” or something along those lines to try to persuade the boy he is talking to. 

Additionally, I don’t have any theories on where Carrie and Julie’s relationship may go, but i’m looking forward to a Carrie redemption arc. As far as where Bobby fits in, I read someone’s theory that Caleb may approach him, offering to help keep his reputation as Trevor Wilson, if he helps deal with the boys somehow. I’m sure there’s a potential greek myth that fits a potential Bobby and the boys storyline, but out of the ones I can think of right now, there aren’t. Betrayal is a huge theme in greek mythology though.

Anyway...

While the original target audience was kids and the show probably wasn’t meant to be this deep, as a screenwriter myself, I find it super useful (and fun) to parallel classic stories and myths when I write. It can add a sense of nuance to the story, especially when done right. I hope the writers (assuming at least the Orpheus and Lotus Eaters parallels were intentional) continue to parallel the season with some form of myth or classic story, only to then completely flip the ending. 

If you actually took the time to read ALL of this, my god, I applaud you, you amazing human. Thank you so much for reading it. I’d love to hear what y’all think or what theories y’all have as well!