Comment on Of Love and War

  1. Grounded_Chaos on Chapter 3 Sat 30 Aug 2025 11:37AM UTC

    Oh, the entire lead up to Helen’s kidnapping is horrifying. The slow build up to the point of inevitability, especially the ‘I cannot sleep, I feel watched’. It made my heart fucking drop mate.

    In other news, I don’t like Paris :(

    “She is mine! My wife, my queen—”
    Sentences like these remind me of the time period this fic is set in. As much as Menelaus is shown to be a genuinely great guy (ooo alliteration!), he is still subject to the social norms of Ancient Greece.

    ‘If Troy thinks to insult my house’
    There we have it again, the classic objectification of women in Ancient Greek society. This is a really good nod to how, in Ancient Greece, the women was viewed to be owned by their father and then to the husband they marry to and any injustice done to the woman is seen as an injustice done to the father/husband.

    I’m reading all the suitors responding to the oath and just, I feel kinda bad for Paris. Helen wasn’t described by name, Aphrodite only said ‘the most beautiful woman’, so it’s entirely possible that Paris did not know what he was signing up for. Still ass of him to take Helen away when it was very clearly against her will.

    Omg, the Sparta side is stacked, how did Troy even last that long in the original myth?!

    “If Troy is my fate, then let me meet it at your side.”
    AWWWWWW, MY HEART!!!!!

    ‘The hall danced and sang, blind in its joy. And in Cassandra’s eyes, Troy was already burning.’
    That is such a good ending line. It’s a good play on words. And oh, poor Cassandra, the way she tries desperately to have someone listen to her, knowing that anything she says would never be heard. It breaks my heart.

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    1. 1000percentDoneWithThisSchist on Chapter 3 Sun 31 Aug 2025 01:20AM UTC

      I feel so bad for Cassandra. What's even worse is Percy is oath bound to follow Menelaus in battle instead of just trying to sneak Helen out without bloodshed--he and Cassandra would make great friends in another life.

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      1. PurpleLikeTheLastColourOfTheRainbow on Chapter 3 Sun 31 Aug 2025 07:55AM UTC

        Omg yes!!
        I love Cassandra
        she’s actually the one who started my whole obsession with mythology. My dad had this book about her story, and I must have read it a hundred times. For years it was my absolute favorite.
        I’ve been toying with changing things up a little (maybe even a Helen x Cassandra love story?? 👀). What do you think of that? I’m still very much in the planning phase, and not entirely happy with how I’ve incorporated it yet, but it’s definitely on my mind.

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        1. 1000percentDoneWithThisSchist on Chapter 3 Sun 31 Aug 2025 10:14AM UTC

          I'm honestly not sure. A Cassandra x Helen love story sound super cute, but I couldn't imagine how you'd get it to last without either it festering out when Troy is sacked or Menelaus finds out and kills one or both of them. Unless it's supposed to be one of those "Sometimes, people come into your life, stay for a little while, and then leave" love stories. I think they should get along no matter what, but I feel like platonic or QPR would work best for this story.

          But again, it's totally up to you.

          Last Edited Wed 10 Sep 2025 04:07PM UTC

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