Cleone Swanmay served as Xander's familiar as well as his lover and that seemed to work for them. Liu Xi really got on with gentle Cleone, a stranger like herself to Western culture. However, Liu Xi is unlikely to be willing or able to subsume herself for Vinnie in the way that Cleone did for Xander, and nor is Vinnie likely to allow it.




The sorcerer supreme has to think in grand terms about cosmic issues. Vinnie has wlays up to now been concerned about individuals. it's not a comfortable transition for him, nor one he might handle well.

Given that Liu Xi's arguably most significant romantic relationship was with an ancient god of murder who was destoryed by that kind of conflict, it's possible Liu Xi may be bringing some baggage into her present relationship.

Vinnie has baggage too, though. His former financee/destined betrothed was all about directing him in certain ways of doing things and was eager to be hos closer parter in using whatever power he had. So was his mother and prettyu much his whole family. So Vinnie is more likely to keep his lover at arms length from his professional work than accept help or guidance.




And Vinnie might never understand why.




Vinnie might variously respond that he doesn't know and can't know where he's headed or that his responsibilities to the paroyverse have to take priority over his personal needs.

One of Vinnie's problems is that, although he is "acting sorcerer supreme", the actual, absent sorcerer supreme is a lot better at this stuff and is really good at manipulating people, including Vinnie. Xander is really being a bastard to vinnie, although probably for reasons of the greater good.







Well, from Beth's persective, last time she was conascious was the day she was tortured by Wexford the Dissected Man with three different psychic experiences of death - burning, cockroaches and Gestapo - then tricked into setting the explosive charges that killed around 2,700 sentient robots and birned her face off. For her that was yesterday.

And then her best friend, who has suffered hundreds of years of misery already, condemns herself to an eternity more to save her. Beth has a giant portion of survivor's guilt.