#please hades game enjoyers see what I see

[orioofthestars]

OFFICIAL RELEASE SO IM BRINGING THIS BACK—

yk Hermes’ new design? Kinda reminds me of smth…

[jazeswhbhaven]

I think Levi would be more likeable if MC doesn't put up with his attitude. It would be more satisfying for readers to see the entitled prick get his comeuppance.

Not all demons have to like MC therefore MC doesn't have to like all demons

I've seen cartoon villains with similar entitlement but they end up failing their schemes and shenanigans which makes them more enjoyable to see

my issue is mostly with the writing as a whole and in-game MC being a pushover and less about Levi as a character

Levi would be more enjoyable as a character if we see him fail more often and have frequent pathetic moments.

He always got everything he wants by ordering the Hades nobles around but having MC stand up to him would've had a lot of potential. Such as usual Solomon's magic to destroy ropes to save themselves from hanging etc.

It's funny how your ask popped up in my inbox right as I was drafting some dynamics between him and my OC. What you are speaking about here is exactly what I have written for their dynamic.

Ramble: Astra's first instance with Levi is her telling him off for sending her to the coffin, her words stick with him and that's why he brings her back out before she could even do whatever it was that Solomon suggested. Her genuine disdain for his attitude reminds her of shitty coworkers that are rude to her simply for existing has her act this way. Also, bonus points are that when Levi tries to hang her, the ropes immediately go slack on her neck and don't work. That is just an ancestral loophole I added in for her. Their dynamic is "I can't stand you, and I won't hide the fact that I can't." He respects that though and often just doesn't bother unless his jealousy gets the best of him when she openly talks about other devils.

MCs having this pushback personality is something I enjoy. I like seeing that more instead of just changing Levi's personality around. it fits his backstory, his core, although it annoys me I'm sure that's the point. But MC simply accepting it and being uwu about him for the majority is what loses points for me. I'm sure folks are sick of me and my anons talking smack about MC but I swear it's not that deep for me, I just simply don't like their personality. Like please hang out with other MCs...I'm sure that would help. /hj

[awesomesaurous]

-rant, please excuse the salt-

I really wish Don’t Starve Together was a different genre of game. I know that’s stupid because the objective “Don’t Starve” is the whole foundation of it, but I kind of just wish I could take the look and the loose story and make it more of an adventure and less of a never-ending survival game. I think in the Hamlet DLC for the base game, the “town” aspects of it scratched that itch a little bit, but I want more. The interface could even look exactly the same. I played the demo of Cult of the Lamb, and that game has a similar top-down 2D look to Don’t Starve, except there are in-game “cutscenes” and you have dialogue options which advance the creepy little narrative. Hollow Knight was good with this too. It’s a metroidvania, so there’s no crafting at all (I don’t consider status upgrades to be crafting), but like most RPGs with a silent protagonist, the story is furthered through exploration and interaction with NPCs. Some people love survival games, and I enjoy them quite a bit, but I like them to have an endpoint. The Flame in the Flood has a brutal difficulty curve, but it does reward you for your persistence, and it’s by no means impossible to beat. The journey takes you further and further along a river which at first seems endless - but it does have an end, and that’s what I want, I guess. Closure.

Hades is one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played, and the main reason was how much you are rewarded, even for failed attempts. You might totally choke on a run, but even so, every time you venture out you’re gaining more darkness/gems/etc that you can invest back into your stats and weapons. As in - there is no wrong way to play the game, you will move forward and improve no matter what. I love that. DST has finally dipped into this territory with Wilson’s skill tree, but I think they ought to give every character a similar mechanic. The skills would be specific to each character, and I think would give players more of an incentive to do repeat runs. At a certain point the whole game gets boring, and depending on my mood I sometimes boot it up, think about all the trees I’m going to have to cut down, and then immediately close the game, because I’m sick of doing virtual chores.

Stardew Valley was so addictive for me that I had to delete the game to get control of my life back. That game is nothing but farming and chores, yet I didn’t get tired of it. I think that’s because if you want to, you can ignore any aspect of the game you don’t care for, and time will pass anyway. You can spend all your time farming, or just mining, or focus on relationships with NPCs. Obviously with Don’t Starve, you can’t ignore food because starvation is an ever-present threat.

I also don’t give a damn about boss fights. I never have, in any game. I’m always eager for them to be over so I can get back to actually enjoying the game again, but nope I have to hit this thing 1000 times without getting permanently killed. Don’t Starve’s fighting system is shit, and it always has been. The hit boxes suck, and the fact that I need to download mods just to see health levels for the enemy is ridiculous.

I’ve had a lot of fun with DST, but I think I enjoy the fandom stuff more than the actual game. Same with TF2. It’s pretty fun to play, but I enjoy watching SFM videos and stuff like that more than playing the actual game. Don’t Starve has such fun characters and such an appealing style that it draws people in, and the animated shorts promise this wider world and a more intriguing story that isn’t in the actual game. Most players won’t even get to the cryptic hints at the story that are in the actual game (the Ruins, etc) due to the difficulty curve.

There’s a lot of creative energy and highly imaginative world-building, but when are we going to see it put to use? If anybody has any thoughts on all this, feel free to leave a reply.

[your-garden-rose]

SELFISH

Note: Hey yall, I’m so glad you all liked the first part of it!!!! I’m sorry this took so long as I was stuck on developing the plot :’D I hope y’all like this part <33

TW: Minor cusses, minor verbal abuse, mentions of Whipping, if I left something let me know please <33

Taglist: @crystal-yukio , @ruler-of-hades , @onigirinchanowo , @ellie3467 , @k1ngan0n

Ch 2 : What a pathetic waste of space

You clutched your cheeks in pain, the sound of the slap still ringing in your ears as you sat in the party that day. You merely held back the tears forming in your eyes as you tried to distract yourself, you drunk more and more and continued to get wasted throughout the night to get your mind off of it. You focused on your friends and it helped, for a while, that is. It was then you got a notification from your DDD. You opened it to find a text from Lucifer and the prince.

[LUCI]: Don’t bother coming home brat, Cecilia is crying, she’s going to spending the rest of her year in your room. I really don’t care where you will be staying at.

[PRINCE]: I heard what happened to Cecilia today, I’m really conflicted here between both you and Cecilia Mc. Do better.

You immediately slammed the DDD in anger as you dangled it from a balcony. It was then a succubus joined you as you grabbed a bottle from her. “Heard about what happened today.” “Mmhm.” You nodded. “Does it still hurt?” “The slap?” “Not as bad as it did earlier. The mark is still there though.” The succubus inspected it and placed a cooling spell on it. “Those guys really are assholes. Aren’t they?” “I thought you all liked them?” “Nah. I dated one of em for a while, they really think they are all that.” “Damn.” “I liked you better you know” she stated, you turned to her, surprised. “Didn’t you act rude towards me Lamia?” “Yea but that was before you know. You’re so much cooler now, fuck them. You know, most of RAD likes you. Like literally wants to date you.” “I knew that.” You chuckled and drunk more. “Say, you gonna go back to the HoL after this?” “Fuck no. I’m never stepping foot in that place.” “Where will you be staying then?” “I was gonna as you if I could stay over” “sure Mc, I’d love to have you over as a housemate.” “Thanks Lamia” she smiled brushing a stray hair off your face. “Mc?” “Yeah?” “What about revenge?” “Oh I know exactly how to get revenge on those beings.” “And what’s that?” “It’s easy. No one likes them that much, people are only leeching off their popularity. In short. They are NOTHING when you strip off their popularity you know. And that’s where I come into play.” “What exactly will you do?” “Lamia? You are an editor right along side Mephistopheles, right?” “Yea?” “Circulate this to everyone, except the demons and the angels and that sorcerer.” You stated as you handed her some mildly controversial photos. “Spread this as much as you can, but this should not fall into the hands of those bastards. Am I clear?” She nodded as she went through the material carefully. “I’ll make sure Mc.” “Thanks.” You smiled. Lamia was one “friend” who you were sure of that she would be of use to you due to her influence and wealth and status. “I’ll be giving you material over the days. They will slowly go from mild to extremely controversial gossips and rumours and sometimes even video footages.” “I understand Mc.” “Good.” It was then someone called you both to play a game of spin the bottle which led to you both being paired up in almost all games. It was, during, truth or dare, however, that she confessed to you which led to a sweet kiss between you both. The night ended with you both stumbling to a near by room and spending the night together. However, it was the next day that was actually enjoyable.

You purposely went late to RAD, so you could see the starting humiliation those bastards would face. You calmly walked to class and didn’t bother greeting the prince as you used to, leaving him stunned yet a little bit angry at your behaviour. Not even Lucifer’s angry glare could stop you from walking calmly to class. You went in and the professor excused you in the class immediately much to Satan’s and Cecilia’s surprise. “Professor?” Spoke Cecilia which erupted some “ugh” and groans around the class. “What do you need?” “Why are they here?” “They attend this class?” “But they are late! Shouldn’t they be whipped or something?” She asked, as the mood in the class darkened as Cecilia shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unsure of what she had just started. It was then the professor, while glaring along with the others, spoke up“Cecilia, mind your business. It will be good for your own safety around here.” Warned the professor due to which she immediately piped down and looked like she was about to cry at any given moment. You only smirked as you made your way up to your seat. The rest of the class, you noticed as the students now snickered at Satan. All you heard was “did you see that?” “What a loser really.” And “didn’t expect from Satan himself you know” you immediately smiled as you noticed Satan shift uncomfortably in his seat as he balled his fists to prevent another outburst. Cecilia was not any better either. The rumours surrounding her was way more vicious. You heard as everyone called her a “slut”, a “cheap whore”, and whatnot. It was then the bell rang and you immediately ran and joined hands with Lamia who was equally excited as she too returned your enthusiasm. “Mc! You’ll never guess how the entirety of RAD reacted!!!” “How?” “Everyone is talking about those pictures you know? Mephistopheles was happy considering he finally had something against Lucifer after a long long time. He really owes you one!” She smiled as she explained. “Also, I kinda missed you a lot you know…” “I did too. Let’s go home and cuddle shall we? You have worked hard for me after all.” “Okay!” She skipped and walked off. It was then you passed by Lucifer, who seemed on edge too, seems like the rumours were affecting him too. You let go of Lamia’s hand and grabbed his tie and forced him to kneel. His angry expression was fun to see. You then leaned closer and whispered in his ear

“What a pathetic waste of space…”

You whispered and left, as you noticed Lucifer widen his eyes in anger, you did note that there was some noticeable sadness in his eyes, you only smirked as you dropped his tie and walked away with Lamia while laughing and thinking about your next scheme. Their days were only about to get a lot lot worse after this. They had no idea the things you had in store for them and you smiled, excited about the days to come. Seems like this was going to be one hell of a year you won’t ever regret

<- ->

[northernscruffycat]

Hi, sorry for the random ask, but just wondering if you’ve seen the new Thor movie? And if you did, did you enjoy it? :) I just saw it and liked it enough, but not as much as the last one!

Hey there! Never apologise for sending random asks, because there's nothing I love more than being prompted to give my opinions on movies and stuff. :D Yes, I saw Love & Thunder with some friends when it first came out and I really enjoyed it! I'm very easy to please when it comes to the Thor movies and had a great time with this one, even if for a story about a guy called the God Butcherer, it somehow felt lower stakes than some of the others? But that didn't stop me from liking it. I liked all of the main cast and their quest to save the kids. Jane was really good in this one! I never disliked her before, but it really took until this movie for them to get me to actually care about Jane & Thor's relationship and then... the ending happened sob. It's funny, because at the start of this movie, when they were showing how Jane & Thor grew apart, the flashback moments between them were so endearing I was just like "Why did we not get to see any of this between them until we're hearing about it after the fact??" But I digress. I'd already seen the spoilers that Zeus was in this movie and obviously as a Greek Myth enjoyer, I liked seeing all the references and also seeing Thor get to kill Zeus lol. Ending credits spoiler - but I somehow avoided seeing anything about Hercules, so that was a surprise to me. I'd seen Hercules in a few Thor comics, so I'd wondered if he'd show up eventually. It's funny, because my my Hades Games fanfics I have an OC version of Heracles, who my friend told me he headcanons Hemsworth's Thor as being the voice of, to the point where we literally just write him a bit like Thor now. So when Hercules showed up in the movie it was kinda weird to see a "Heracles" who isn't just the same as Thor haha. But I'm derailing now! The ending surprised me, because (spoiler) when Jane was dying, I thought that the God Butcherer would use his wish to save her after seeing how much Jane & Thor love each other. But nope! He still brought back his dead daughter and I'm incredibly here for wholesome single dad Thor, so I liked that. :') The one part that was kind of a shame for me was that a Thor movie just doesn't feel quite right for me personally without Loki being in it. Though I was screaming when they stripped Thor and he had all those tributes to Loki tattooed on his back. I hope that we get to see them both together again in something down the line. Also, I thought that the advertising for the film made a misstep to pimp it out as being a "Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy" movie. I can see why they did it, since GotG gets people into seats. But those guys were barely even in the movie for the first ten minutes and I think if they'd advertised it more honestly as being a rom-com adventure they could've better hit that audience of middle-aged women who love Thor (like me haha). Anyway, I'm glad it wasn't what the ads made it seem like, because while I do like most of the GotG, I really, really hate Starlord, so it was good not to have to put up with him for long. I did like the part where Karen Gillan got to yell at Chris Pratt tho :D Oh yeah, one more thing. Again, I'm easily amused, but I did get a chuckle out of the running gag of Stormbreaker constantly getting jealous that Thor was going to cheat on it lmao SO YES I LIKED IT A LOT and will keep going to see more Thor movies even if I don't keep up with most of the rest of the MCU. I think at this point I'm happy to accept that there's just a few MCU characters I like and will show up for, but I'm not concerned about most of it.

[gensuta]

GAMES WITH TRANS/NONBINARY REP!!

Happy pride month!! I love playing video games so I thought it'd be neat to share the many many games I've played with nonbinary and trans characters >:3

Sorry in advanced I’m copying and pasting stuff from twitter ;v; Also know that many of these games ARE on consoles, but if you buy them on pc/mac use itch.io if it exists. It gives devs more money!!

VALIDATE!!  There's a demo on Steam and Itch.io that you can play RIGHT NOW and also a patreon you can support and I highly suggest it ^o^ It's a lovely VN with several playable characters and rlly good writing

Extreme Meatpunks forever is so SO good omg. It's a VN/mech brawler where u be gay and fight fascists!!! Trans and nonbiney ppl are out here being badass af. The game has cws/tws built into the game ( which i love sm ) Also there's a ttrpg on Kickstarter RIGHT NOW!! 

Another game with nonbinary characters is an rpg called Ikenfell! It was one of my favorite games to play last year and the music and just everything? Honestly so good I'm def replaying it this year. It also has tons of good accessibility features!

ok but i wanna geek abt ikenfell just a smidge more  U DON'T UNDERSTAND 3 OF THE PLAYABLE CHARACTERS ARE NONBINARY <333 The strongest playable character also uses ze/zir pronouns and I think that's pretty epic

Ok so like literally every game I've played by @analgesicprod I've loved 100% And Anodyne 2? Everyone should go play it and I will keep saying it until everyone does. And yes there's a trans character in it <3 Drem my beloved <3  Go check it out!!

Another game studio I love is @pillowfightio !!! They worked on Later Alligator, We Know the Devil, and Heaven Will Be Mine. I highly recc all of them but esp. Later Alligator cuz like just look at Joanie. They're so cool.  

In the game Everhood gender doesn't exist <3 Literally multiple characters are referred to with they/them pronouns and the gameplay is very enjoyable 

 CW LOTS of flashing lights and I feel like there should maybe be more cws but I'm not sure what else to add :l I guess a warning is that Everhood gets into more serious stuff and I'll be honest when the game first came out I had to put it down for several days b/c I just wasn't ready for a lot of that stuff, but I honestly liked the game a lot!

I was debating on adding this bc while I love this game there's some issues. So Gnosia is like werewolf ( or among us if you will ) but more narrative focused with time loops etc. There's two wonderful nonbinary characters and you can be nonbinary HOWEVER ( minor gnosia spoilers. skip past if you want to avoid it) . . . For some reason finding out the AGAB of one of the characters is mandatory and I fucking hate that. It's so unnecessary esp for the world building that's been done. Also tws for the game: sexual abuse / assault, gore ( in only one scene ) (spoilers end) but yeah I still added it because the characters are so neat and strong for the type of game it is and without that bit I wouldn’t feel so :/ abt recommending it. It’s pretty fun ngl

Wandersong!!! The main character is nonbiney and I love them <33 It's such a lovely little musical adventure with such a nice narrative and!! Some of the devs just released Chicory ( which I haven't gotten to play yet ;v; ) but check that out too!!

Bravery Network Online is super fun!! It's a turn based rpg that feels really good and has two characters that use they/them pronouns ( Fel and Reed ) the character designs are sooo good and the game is currently in early access!

I never thought I'd see a claymation point and click musical featuring a nonbinary detective but Dominique Pamplemousse is just that Need I say more?

A personal fav I think about every now and then is Dad fighter 30XX!! Like who doesn't wanna beat up their friend's shitty dad in the parking lot of a dennys?? Also the win music is my FAV

SPIRIT SWAP!!! By @SoftNotWeak !!!! Super chill and pretty game by lovely people with a demo you can play right NOW!! This game makes me want to become a strong magical thembo

More games I’ve played, but am too lazy to ramble about

ROM:2064 ( game is amazing but i got mixed feelings tho bc the og devs aren't getting paid for it I think :/ )

A Year of Springs

Secret Little Haven 

A normal lost phone

Calico 

Celeste

Hollow Knight

Undertale

Deltarune

Monster Prom / Monster Camp

Hades ( all of supergiants games slap btw )

If Found

Here’s games I haven’t played but have heard about

Bugsnax

Diaries of a spaceport janitor

Hustle Cat

Tell Me Why

Our Life

Last Minute Love

Black Tarot

Apex Legends

World of Warcraft has trans npcs :0

Dragon Age Inquisition

Sky, Children of the Light

TemTem

Battletech

Death and Taxes :0

Flicker :0 ( roblox games do count! It’s always cool to see what ppl make in it )

Assassins Creed Syndicate has a trans npc

Verdant Skies

Wandering Wolf Trick ( I love nomnomnami’s games sm but haven’t played this one. Highly reccommend her stuff )

If you have any games you wanna add to this PLEASE please do and I'll add them!! And while you're here please support the Queer Games Bundle going on itch rn to support tons LGBTQ+ game devs financially (including me ) <3 Last little edit for now: I’d def suggest trying to find cws/tws for these games just in case I haven’t covered everything for the ones I did talk about <3

[cinnabun-faerie]

A/N: Is 5.3 the end of Shadowbringers? Honestly I don't any of the game parts but their numbers. This confuses me a bit ^^''

Warning: Spoilers! If you have not finished anything past Shadowbringers, please don't read any further

WoL Revealing they have Azem's memories by playing wrong notes of a familiar song

Okay so Emet-Selch would feel happy when you tell him you want to play the piano with him

it was just like old times

honestly it was very hard for him to not see you as Azem

you were...well, you

while he'd be happy to play piano with you, he wouldn't let it show

conceal, don't feel

don't let it show

okay Elsa

aNyWaYs

he would not want you to know

so instead he would complain as if playing with you was the worst thing he could do

he's shocked by how close you sit by him on the bench

it was always Azem's mission to practically sit on him when they played

it seems you react in such similar manor

when he moved, you moved

poor man would be on the edge of bench with you happily sitting very close next to him

"You're in my personal bubble."

"If it was an issue, why did you pull me into your bubble to begin with."

it was true, he had in fact took your hand in his to show you this beautiful piano

"Well, I didn't say you could make it your home."

"But you also didn't say I couldn't make it my home. So I'm staying. You and me are roommates in your bubble."

eventually your squabble would die down and you'd both start playing some tune

he tried to lead you into a song, hoping that there was a sliver of a chance that you'd remember

but to no shock, you were getting notes wrong

yet this seemed familiar

he saw the smirk on your face as he heard the first few notes

alright, nothing to odd

"Let's try again, follow my lead."

yes, you'd gotten it right so far

wait a minute

that smirk on your face and the glint in your eye

Megalovania

oh for the love of all that is worthy

save this poor man from you

"How is it that you know of this wretched song?"

"You love it and you know it, Hades."

"???"

"If this doesn't convince you that I have Azem's memories, than I don't know what will. I remember quite fondly that you would smile whenever Azem would play it."

"Smiling through the pain, perhaps. I did not do it out of enjoyment."

"If I do recall, you promised to play this if you ever met Azem in a future life in hopes that they'd remember you. And you did just that. The jig is up, Hades."

he gave you a glare but it only made you laugh

just like old times

he would have it no other way

[thesunshinebunny]

Can I ask for the dorm leaders reacting to their S / O asking them to join them in the shower for the first time???

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, oooookkkk, I can see what you did there dear anon.

In my great humble imagination, I'd like to take a dip in the huge bathtub that Kalim surely has in Scarabia. Let me dream, I like to relax in big bathtubs with foam, bubbles, music and incense. Before we begin, I warn you that all characters are +18.

Let’s goooooooooooooo

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riddle

Oh dear, you don't know what you just did.

It was a decent proposal to be honest, you just wanted to spend a quality moment with our Queen, but I think the smoke got into his head.

"Riddle, I'm going to take a shower, would you like to join me?"

Puff red as a tomato and about to explode.

You stared at him in disbelief, until you realized your words. Maybe Riddle wasn't ready for that big step.

You entered the bathroom alone, but not before asking for forgiveness.

Now you left Riddle alone with his thoughts, that's much worse.

Your intention was to take a short shower, but with the event that had just occurred, you were eating your head as the water ran down your body.

The longer it took you to get out, the more your anxiety ate you up inside. You would have panicked if you hadn't heard the door open and close almost inaudibly.

Riddle stepped into the shower, standing behind you and circling your waist.

"Please don't turn around, it's still too embarrassing for me, but I can't help but feel calm right now"

Neither of you spoke or moved the rest of the time you stayed in the shower, even forgetting to wash properly. But that 'mistake' was the beginning of multiple long shared showers.

Leona

The lazy lion here wasn’t in his plans to get into the water, much less shower. If you had asked getting into the lounge’s pool, maybe he would have considered it.

He just lay on his bed, about to fall asleep, not caring about your figure in the middle of the room. He didn't care that you were getting irritated every second.

"I don't have the need to bathe, go alone"

He heard you leave and thought he was going to sleep peacefully before you get out of the shower… until an impact on his head dislodged him.

You had thrown dirt all over his hair, spreading over his chest and the bed.

“Now you have a reason to shower. You're dirty"

I recommend you to run to the shower, because the look Leona gave you… I highly doubt that you will make it out alive.

Arriving at the threshold, Leona grabbed you by the legs, placing you on his shoulder and getting under the faucet.

This fucker turned on the shower without letting you remove your clothes first, ending up drenched.

"Ah, my mistake, I think you're a little wet. Let me take off your clothes"

The malicious smirk on his face didn’t give you confidence, and didn’t disappear even when you were both naked under the water.

“You have courage to fill me and my bed with dirt, did you want to take a shower? Now you are going to clean me"

Ah… worth it?

Azul

Did he hear you well? Do you want to take a shower with him?

Oh dear sea witch, help him, he is about to have a neurism.

Azul wasn’t against your proposal itself, he was very concerned about his physique.

And what if you don't like what you see? would you are disappointed? And if it disgusts you to look at him naked or semi naked?

Thousands of questions ran through his head, making it impossible for him to give you an answer. If you looked closely, you might even see smoke coming out of his ears from the gears in his head moving; even tears were threatening to leak out of his eyes.

You placed your hands on both sides of his face, "Come with me"

You guided him into the bathroom, placing him under the shower head. You let go of your octopus and turned on the hot water before he could say anything.

Both were burned by the touch of the hot water, even Azul wanted to get out of there, but you stopped him by wrapping your arms around him.

The warmth of your arms on his torso made his heart skip a beat. He never thought he was going to be able to have this kind of intimacy with you, and I'm not talking about nudity.

It was literally like being in the rain in the middle of the courtyard, but in solitude inside Azul's room ... rather in his bathroom ... with clothes that were beginning to cling to the body.

"Do you feel better? Do you think you're ready to take off your clothes and really give us a hot shower?"

Azul never said a yes so fast in his life.

Kalim

A shower? A simple shower? What is that? Kalim only knows how to take big baths in tubs that could be the size of a house.

Either way he said yes, don’t be alarmed.

Wasting no time, he led you to the bathroom in his room, which you could swear was the same dimensions as the bedroom, apart from being very resplendent.

Kalim was very respectful at all times, he gave you your time to undress, he wasn’t invasive and he turned around when you asked him and thus enter the water.

Our sun here took the trouble to decorate the bathtub when you weren't looking, now the whole place was decorated with incense and scented candles from the Land of Hot Sands.

Even if you walked carefully, you might come across a few gold coins on the marble floor of the tub.

All very beautiful, but I think I would be very overwhelmed with such extravagance. And that is also your case, it’s better to tell Kalim directly.

Like before, don't worry, Kalim would understand your feelings a 1000% and if closing your eyes for the entire bath time makes you feel better, then Kalim would be willing to snuggle you on his chest and wash your head himself.

He ’s a gentleman, what can I say.

But, if you feel comfortable with all that, then I advise you to start a bubble war. Who said bathing with your partner has to be serious?

"Take care of your bubble ammunition, you wouldn't want to be left with nothing and for me to tickle you"

You made a mess in the whole bathroom, be careful when you leave, there is soap and water everywhere.

Vil

Oh no no no, dear, no dear.

One does not shower with Vil, one BATHES with Vil.

Like Kalim, Vil takes his bath quite seriously. He needs to follow his skin routine very meticulously and for that he needs oils, essences and… other things that my poor ass couldn't buy all the time, even if I wanted to.

His bathtub is not as gigantic as Kalim's, but it is much larger than average.

If for any reason you are embarrassed to bathe naked, don't panic. Vil has exclusively for you a bathrobe that you can use in the water, and one for him too obviously.

Prepare for a full-body massage session. The oils are not for decoration, they are to soften the skin and Vil would give the best massages of your life, you cannot argue with me

By the way, you also wash your hair with an equally expensive shampoo. There is no middle ground here: either you take a simple shower in your bedroom, or you go big with Vil.

That reminds me, the moment you take the first bath with this Queen of beauty, you have just signed a contract (not one of Azul's) in which it stipulates that from now on, every day you will bathe with it, end of discussion.

Vil may at first have been a bit ecstatic to the idea of ​​you giving him massages with his special oil and washing his hair; he has a very meticulous routine that he adheres to to the letter and your inexperienced fingers would not do enough magic.

Buuut, nothing like a good class in the middle of the bathtub to give good results.

In summary, taking a bath with Vil is like having a full day at the Spa, completely free ... well, almost free 😉

Idia

Idia.exe stopped working.

Jokes aside, Idia stopped reacting for a few seconds, he didn't even remember to breathe.

I can't tell if Idia is one of that kind of weeb that doesn't bathe, I want to believe that he does, please make me believe that he does, I implore you

Taking a shower with Idia can be a bit… embarrassing, mostly on his part. He isn’t used to so much human contact and that you ask him for such a proposal, is to get out of his comfort zone.

Nor could I tell if, when in contact with water, Idia's hair would evaporate, like the scene in Hercules blowing Hades’s head XD.

If so, it would be a lot of fun to watch, but you would have to reassure him because he would surely be much more embarrassed.

If that's not the case, maybe he would be around as long as the intimacy last with red hair, someone at some point mentioned Idia with red hair and now I can't help but imagine it

Many caresses from your part, hugging his torso from behind. Like Riddle, he would surely not be prepared to look at you for the first time or for you to see him.

Trie to calm the waters by asking him about his new inventions.

Also avoids telling Ortho all this bamboleo. He is too pure for this type of situation, let's not fill his head with indecent images of his brother.

Malleus

What a peculiar proposal, but it will be honored without a doubt.

He may have asked Lilia for instructions to abide by your proposal as well as possible… and Big Bear Mama Lilia may have asked him thousands of questions about it, perhaps embarrassing him a bit, but we will never know.

I have a slight suspicion that Malleus has a very rococo-style bathroom, in dark colors, but not necessarily black and green, do you understand?

Did you know those old tubs, from the Marie Antoinette years? Well, Malleus has one. He also has a shower, but to be honest, I see Malleus as a passionate lover, so the shower wouldn’t be in the game.

But, if you feel uncomfortable with the bathtub because it seems too much or you can’t step in (because, let's face it, hardly a person enters in that marble piece of furniture) then Malleus has no problem using the shower.

Whatever your decision is, the moment will be magical, and I mean it very seriously.

Our dragon daddy here would invoke any kind of magic to make the evening more enjoyable, like the little lights that fly around when Malleus is about to appear or disappear.

I recommend you don’t go around telling your intentions of take a shower with Malleus, we know that a certain lemon green hair is hanging around the corridors and he wouldn’t hesitate to listen to a conversation that has his young master as it’s center.

An uncomfortable moment if Sebek enter the bathroom screaming as always, demanding an explanation as to why a simple human is bathing with his young master.

[c-is-for-circinate]

So as close as I am to fully escaping Hades for the first time, I figure I might take this opportunity to write down a couple of things I'm scared of from this ending. The story is so good so far! But I have seen good stories before! And there are patterns, right, patterns it's so easy for even good stories to fall into, so yeah, I have fears, and they mostly come down to Hades himself.

(Yep, this one got long again! People seem to be enjoying my game-reaction rambles, so, for your enjoyment under the cut: themes of separation and reunion, predictions for what Zagreus is the god of, and a whole lot of discussion of familial abuse dynamics, how they're depicted in fiction, and the work it takes to change them in real life. Stay warned! Stay safe!)

(ALSO, I still haven't made it past the first couple of chambers in the Temple of Styx, so no spoilers in the reblogs/comments please! Yes, even though the whole post is me going on about predictions and hopes and concerns about the path the story might take. I WILL GET THERE SOON.)

It has been really interesting watching some of the stuff the game is doing with themes of parting and reunion, and how that corresponds to life and death. So many of our social links are about reuniting estranged loved ones: Chaos and Nyx, Eurydice and Orpheus, Patroclus and Achilles. Hades is estranged from Olympus, Persephone left. And every time we leave, or try to leave, it is both an attempt at a parting (and Meg and Than are so hurt by that goodbye, or lack thereof) and an attempt at a reunion with our mother. Every time we die it's a reunion, every time we die it's fun, it's great, we get to go back home and check in with all of our friends and be impressed by whoever made Employee Of The [Timeperiod] and sell fish to the cook and put down yet more rugs. (My Zagreus has something of a rug addiction. What can you do.)

It's at the point where I feel pretty secure in stating that Zagreus is going to discover eventually that he is both life/death/rebirth god, and god of partings and reunions. Both halves of both of those things. People leave each other when they die and re-find their loved ones in death; you go away from one group of people to come back to another; you have to depart to return, and I really think that's where we're going to end up with Zagreus. He's going to reunite his various friends with their loved ones, he's probably going to restore communications between Hades and Olympus and even Persephone, he's going to reunite with his mom, and he's going to come back to the Underworld before he leaves to see everyone up top all over again. And of course the vehicle for all of this coming and going is death, because death is the ultimate departure and reuniter. (This is absolutely a religious concept containing a whole bunch of "oh hey our culture has a lot of Christian influence, doesn't it", Greek trappings aside, but that's fine, it's a game made in 2018 not 300 BC, these things happen. They keep calling the Underworld 'hell' and 'infernal'. It's all good.) Of course he's a cthonic god. Of course he bleeds, because you have to bleed in order to die, and Zagreus has to die again and again and again. That's his whole thing.

Thing is, though, looking at those themes, I am also continually aware of the fact that some partings are for a really good reason. Some partings should not end in reunion.

Yes, of course this is about Hades the abusive dad. I have been talking about Hades the abusive dad basically non-stop since I started playing this game, where did you think this post was going.

There are a few things I'm nervous about, separate but related, and at the core it all comes down to, I'm not okay with it if we learn why Hades got to be this way, and Zagreus forgives him as we-the-audience are meant to do, and Hades promises to do better, and nothing concrete about the situation is forced to change. Actual, meaningful, practical, logistical, non-hypothetical non-metaphorical change, not just for Zagreus but for Hades himself.

Because I know how this story tends to go, in fiction. Fictional abusive parents (especially in fantasy/sci-fi stories) tend to come in two types: 'coerced their offspring into actual murder with a side of physical abuse and optional unethical lab experimentation', or 'this was here to create character conflict, we didn't mean for it to read as actually abusive, this parent just has flaws to make them a good character, we swear!' Hades isn't the first type--we have never once seen Hades strike his son, or anybody, or even come out from behind his desk--which means that the fear is, always, always, in every piece of fiction, that he's the second. That the writers are going to decide that the right response to his abuses is remorse, forgiveness, and one really good conversation. That they don't realize it's abuse in the first place.

And, like. They have to know, right? They have to. They can't have done this by accident. (Sometimes, writers get so close by accident.) They can't have done so well at drawing out this situation simply by going, 'well, people are meant to fear this god, so they'd probably react like this, and I guess based on what I've seen in other stories or vague acquaintances they'd then do this,' and never put the name on the situation. Every single time we leave to the tune of a Hades word-flash, he's being dismissive, insulting, and sometimes downright cruel. He is cruel. They have to know!!!

But oh boy have I been consuming media for a lot of years, and oh boy have I run into a lot of writers who don't know.

Reconciliation is such a loaded word, but stories about dysfunctional families really do love it. Stories based around themes of reunion are primed for it. And of course, it's nice, it ties a happy ending off with a sweet little bow, everyone gets to be with the people they love and the family is safe and nobody gets hurt, but so rarely have I seen stories that show the actual work required to rebuild those relationships in a realistic or meaningful way. So rarely do stories trying to build that happy ending actually let the victim of abuse set and maintain boundaries. The character never gets to actually just cut the damn ties to the thing that hurt them. The character so rarely even gets to be safe.

And it's so hard in this game specifically, because "THERE IS NO ESCAPE", because every single thing about this game says that the story's not over when Zagreus gets to the surface, that no matter what he's going to have to come back. It's so hard, because this is a game about reunions. I am not going to get an ending where the abused kid trying to flee his toxic home and abusive dad actually gets to leave and stay gone, not in this one. And that hurts (I have watched and supported and done my best to help multiple real-life friends get the fuck out of homes like that, and stay gone, I have seen how hard it is, how complicated, how awful, and there are never stories for that), but I can live with it, if I get an ending where Zagreus is at least safe. Where things change. Where they really change.

Which is why I need actual, concrete, material changes in the logistics and power structure of the Underworld for this ending to be okay. Understanding why Hades is Like That doesn't cut it. Remorse doesn't cut it! Because look, even if Hades wants to do better, even if he admits he's at fault and tries to be better, he is still set up in a position as an all-powerful tyrant, and trying to become a better person is hard. There is nobody around who can keep him in check when he starts backsliding, which he will. Even if he doesn't want to, he will.

Because people are people, and it's really difficult to break patterns! Especially if everything around them stays the same. Hades is going to slip at some point, be cruel, be callous, be tyrannical, no matter how much of an effort he's making. Not to mention, it is STRESSFUL to face your own crimes and improve, it sucks, it feels bad. And what do habitual abusers do when they feel bad? What's the only coping mechanism Hades appears to have established for dealing with his own shit? That's right, it's inflicting suffering on everyone else around him. (This is why it doesn't really matter what circumstances drove Hades to act this way, why it can't matter--I believe that he is suffering, but he copes with that suffering by inflicting additional suffering on everyone around him, everyone who relies on him, and that's still true no matter what made him feel bad to begin with.) So then we just get a great old guilt-->lashing out-->more guilt-->more lashing out merry-go-round of abuse even as Hades is trying to change. That's how these things work. And yes, change is possible, improvement is absolutely possible, but the environment needs to change first. The system that enables and rewards Hades for acting this way can't stay in place. Things need to actually change, with people who are around to support Hades in his growth and also check his power, people who have power of their own to stop him. And however it happens, for this story with this protagonist with these goals to feel like a happy ending, Zagreus needs to be safe.

It would be okay, though a little disappointing, if those changes were mostly based in magic and fate and, idk, divine mind-control. (This story has been so grounded in actual human dynamics that a fantastical solution to a realistic problem would feel like a letdown, but if it actually solved the problem I'd be okay with it, more or less.) It would be okay, though a little disappointing, if the responsibility for bringing Hades to heel fell upon Zagreus and Persephone, if the two family members who he hurt badly enough that they felt the need to run away from him entirely now had to shoulder the burden of helping him fix himself. (There are definitely ways to write that dynamic better and ways to write it worse, and I think I trust these writers to land on the 'better' side of the scale, but I still don't love the implications.) I think I'd be pretty into it if Hades took a vacation off to Olympus to Work Out His Shit with his own family, while a coalition of Meg, Nyx, Thanatos, Zagreus, and Queen Persephone took over running the Underworld in his absence. I think we might end up getting some combination of those things. I'm hopeful. I think these writers might know what they've written. I think they might have a sense for what it'll take to fix.

But yeah, I'm nervous. (Nervous enough that I might switch to God Mode just to get through, combat has started getting really tedious instead of fun, I want to know what happens next, and this is a game and there is no shame in making it more fun for myself by making the boring parts a little quicker and easier.) I've seen so many stories go wrong. This one has done so much to earn my trust. We'll see if it breaks.

[skybluesaeran]

.mystic//messenger part 4: Saeran

I made a proper character on my account and used up a level 60 booster card for this boy on a class I ended up hating lmao

ChoiSaeran

Of course, he uses his own name. There are many aesthetics GE Saeran would go for, and I don't doubt he would take most of the flowery ones with proper suits as he would dress in real life, but I like to think even he would go for a little bit of cool darkness with a Hades suit and all sometimes. He cycles through costumes and aesthetics a lot.

Saeran is a DPS main - in this very specific case, a dual blade wielder, but I can also see him as a summoner or necromancer. I think he would like healing, but it's just not a position I can see him in. Like Yoosung, I think he'd be a bit overwhelmed. He agreed to play this game to bond with the other members of the RFA and have fun, not to make his life more stressful.

Saeran can handle PvE and PvP, but he prefers playing the game for farming/professions like gathering, cooking, or crafting. He spends more time soloing low-level dungeons for material drops than he does in Nightmare dungeons with the party. He spends way more time fortifying his gear than he does actually leveling up.

"But I want to be prepared for the awakening trial-" he reasons as Yoosung complains about how he wastes his precious time and resources on farming. It doesn't beat real gardening, but he can appreciate the menial game tasks for what they are.

Choi Boi PVP matches

Saeyoung follows him around pestering him with PVP requests and he keeps denying all of them.

"Fight me, Saeran!"

"Brother, please-"

He accepts when bribed with sweet cold treats.

It's a never-ending battle. Saeran's gear is fortified enough to regenerate and reflect enough damage that it affects Saeyoung's ability to make a dent in his HP bar, and Saeyoung has a high EVA stat, so they're pretty evenly matched in their complementary fighting styles.

While Saeyoung employs an "offense is the best defense" method (reference: AS email with whitehacker [intelligence unit head] where he mentions 707 also suggests offensive strategies), Saeran is more of an "iron wall" type of guy (reference: AS: story mode where Saeyoung notes that "this guy is blocking every corner that doesn't need blocked," referring to the hacker aka Saeran). Saeyoung deals in pure damage and crit, but Saeran is more of a strategist. Saeyoung weed wacks his way through the game beating his enemies with sheer force, but Saeran properly rotates his skills and timing, leading up to a skill that procs 15 different buffs at once for the best attack opportunities. Of course, Saeyoung also plays strategically at times - he couldn't have made it past the awakening trial otherwise. They just have separate play styles during free play.

Bonus: I made some models for Saeran's other timelines before I created a whole character for him the other day, and it'd be a waste not to use them sooo...

SE Saeran

Reserved cat boy who doesn't know exactly what he wants but the dark and fire dual blades looked cool. He's just along for the ride.

Suit

Much like the first GE Saeran, but he wholly embraces the dark look. He could either go as an evil military commander or a dangerous rockstar-looking dude. Giant swords with demonic auras fit him I think. Dual pistols are probably a better fit, but the costume weapons currently available for them in this game are relatively lame so I didn't use them to model Suit. Honestly, I don't think Suit would consider playing a video game for enjoyment without some sort of outside influence, but if there was some incentive like being able to dig up info on the RFA pre-Ray route, I can see him joining to spy on them.

Ray

I don't think Ray as we see him at Magenta would actually allow himself the pleasure of playing a game unless the player insists that he can and/or should, but if he did, he would definitely stick to his irl aesthetic. Ray isn't inherently violent, so I think he'd be better suited to casting, whether that's healing or DPSing.

A lil strawberry ice cream face accessory completes the ray look.

[lasc-o]

I personally like to watch the Castlevania Netflix series for how silly and sometimes downright stupid it is. Where do we begin?

The debate between Morana and Stryga (the two lesbian vampires) hilariously sounded like “Are we the baddies?” by Mitchell and Webb, duh! I mean they consider human life’s value as high as the pigs we eat despite the fact they acknowledge their intelligence. Every vampire we saw so far murder the innocent on a regular basis. Carmilla has some fresh virgin blood bottles in her castle and each time we see a vampire feed they never try to spare the victim.

The dubbing is good but ASMR good. Most of the villains speak in the same way, like if they’re trying too hard to imitate Tony Jay’s voice. But they just sound like Judge Claude Frollo on Valium. They get slightly more variety in the last season. But there’s still something “sanitized” about them.

Maybe it’s because English isn’t my mother tongue but most of the voices sound “too” perfect to me. Like if the actors were so focused on the pronunciation that they forgot how to emote. I hope we will get at least one character talking like someone truly furious or batsh*t insane. Because even when Carmilla or Death swear like troopers they remain cold, totally in control, calculated or just depressed. I heard saturday morning cartoon characters speaking with more passion. There’s a lot of similarities with video games in this series and Castlevania dub actors sound exactly like the ones from the Hades video game (with less variety).

Talking about dubbing, some of the dialogues heavily rely on repetition. Do you remember Carmilla’s “old stupid men” monologue? “There are stupid old men out there… they got stuff they don’t deserve. And I’m going to take their stuff. I’m going to take these evil men’s stuff. Because they’re stupid old men… and I’m going to take their stuff… etc.” Lenore does that too: “Carmilla showed me maps of the world Hector. It’s serious, Hector. In case you didn’t get it, Hector: she showed me maps… of the world…. Your name’s Hector, right?”

All I could hear was Kronk’s famous “Oh. The poison. The poison for Kuzco, the poison chosen especially to kill Kuzco, Kuzco's poison. That poison? » Sometimes, the script is written by Captain Obvious but that’s okay.

[down here there be spoilers:]

We got Saint-Germain turning into an murderous incel. Meh. Too bad we need someone to do stupid evil sh*t so that the plot advance.

I kinda liked Varney because, like all vampires, he’s full of himself, but with the voice and clothing tastes of Argus Flinch. I expected him to die in a spectacularly humiliating way but he turned out to be an ancient eldritch monster… except he still talks in the same rude way! It would be hilarious if the Varney persona had been actually Death's true personality since the dawn of time!

Carmilla made a cool villain. It’s a shame they didn’t know what to do with the only vampires with a brain and decided she and Lenore had to go down. Therefore the script tells us that she was actually overreaching her power, that her ambitions were unrealistic, that she didn’t have any wisdom or proper technical knowledge, she just threw ideas and her underlings had the impossible task to make it work. She ended up being just genderbent vampire Elon Musk. Which might make a cool villain but what do we have left now that she’s dead? The two vampire lesbians ran away. Isaac wants to build some kind of empire too but he’s only slightly less uninteresting than the wooden board he was before: “Hm, I think I’m not going to kill all of humanity. Hm, I might build things. But let’s not try anything too concrete until season 13. Hm, have a berry.” Hector doesn’t know what to do so, like everyone in quarantine, he’s going to write a book. It will be titled “How I burnt my mom alive because she didn’t like my zombie pet. Please be sad for me.”

They also got rid of Lenore, one of the most enjoyable vampires. They could have her plotting from her prison. But no. She spent 99% of her screen time inside the castle. And yet she can’t even stand 5 minutes of confinement without killing herself. And Hector is like “Oh, she died… meh. Maybe I should write it in my book too”.

TLDR: Castlevania isn’t a show I love to hate. It’s just a show I like to laugh at. And I can’t wait for season 5. Though that would mean Trevor, Sypha and Alucard won’t get their well-deserved rest.

[allycryz]

2. Open your eyes. for either all of the ot6 or just emet-selch x y'shtola.

Surprise, I found a way to do both :D

Post SHB, A Beach Episode With an Extremely Vague KH Reference

Rated: T-ish for implied sex

Y’shtola approaches from behind and lays her hand atop his head, fingers sinking into thick hair. “Close your eyes, Hades.”

He goes still and quiet beneath her. The only sounds are the wind, the waves, and distant shouts of laughter from their loves. She pushes at the limit of her aether sense to perceive them: Thancred and Nerys on Haurchefant and Urianger’s respective shoulders, fighting to knock the other off into the water. ‘Tis late for such games, given the setting sun and the dangerous undertow but…

...There is a reckless quality in all of them that draws her. Perhaps because it means they’ll accept that same trait in her. She has spent a lot of time pondering the forces that draw the six of them together. No easy answers, but many promising theories.

Hades sits on the porch in his shorts and open floral shirt, dark glasses pushed up into his hair. Much of the garment’s pattern is lost to her–she recognizes the distinct aetheric signatures of purple and black dye, vague flower shapes, and gaps the pigment variations are too subtle to catch without concentrated focus (It is rare for him to be understated in his clothes. She suspects a floral print at the beach needs subversion before he will don it.)

She spends a moment assessing the correct point of entry before perching herself in his lap. At once–as expected–his hands seize her hips to steady her.

“May I open them now, darling?” His eyebrows shoot up to the hairline and glasses, but his lids remain firmly shut. 

“Not yet.” One hand continues holding the plate she brought from inside their rented beach house. The other runs over his cheek. The skin feels slightly warm. Hades had been diligent in applying and re-applying sunscreen...until Urianger started a sandcastle contest. 

Nerys was the one to remind him, noting he was getting pink all over. Which sparked a debate about whether the time spent re-applying would be taken from the two-bell time limit. (They ruled against him and also against the use of magic. He still won.)

He caresses her hip, rubbing the fabric of her sarong between two fingers. The other arm locks firm about her waist until her bathing suit top presses against his shirt and bare chest. Y’shtola goes very still, not giving him the slide of bodies he clearly wants.

Hades sighs. “Cruel sorceress, you’ll drive me to distraction.”

“It seems you were doing nothing before I arrived. What could I distract you from?”

“Why…” He leans forward until his mouth finds her forehead. “Watching our lovers of course. It’s cute Thancred thinks he stands a chance.”

“Ah but Thancred need only give one of those smiles at the right moment. And then he can push her into the water.” Y’shtola smiles. “Nerys can only resist such prettiness for so long.”

“I’m aware. How do you think I won her over?”

“I’m certain…” Y’shtola gives her driest tone. “That wasn’t the sole reason.”

“Believe what you will.” His mouth drops down, intent on pressing against hers. She slips the free hand between them, so that his lips press to her palm. Hades huffs a chuckle and slides his tongue over her skin.

“Now,” says Y’shtola. “Eyes stay closed. Open your mouth.”

He gives her a look as best as one can with their eyes closed. But he obeys, full lips parting. There is some type of balm upon them. Possibly darker than the natural shade. If it were more pigmented, the energies would feel different. 

She takes the offering from her plate and presses it to his lower lip. Hades follows the cue and takes it full into his mouth, chewing it slow as he savors it. Juice clings to her fingertips and she offers them in the same way. His tongue slides over, practiced enough to know how to avoid her clawtips. 

“Is this…?”

“Open your eyes.” 

He does, smiling at her and then at the plate. The fruit atop it is so vibrant a red-orange she perceives it as clearly as its star shape and the pith she peeled away in the kitchen. “So that’s where you were this morning. You did remember how dangerous I said the trek would be.”

“Of course. It meant I was well-prepared for the terrain and the monsters. Besides…” She picks up another piece of the fruit. “You knew exactly what you were doing, telling two aetherologists about an aether-rich fruit. And all four of them are hungry for the types of stories you said went along with it.”

“Five of you.” He plucks the fruit from her hand and presses it to her lips. “You cannot pretend you were not captivated.”

She hums and takes the offering, returning the slide of tongue over fingertips. Sucking lightly at the tip of his longest finger. The arm about her waist tightens, presses her nearer. 

“But tell me, darling. Why go by yourself?”

“Because we came here specifically to relax. Not to take quests and errands. I went so that the others can enjoy the…” She wrinkles her nose, realising the unintended pun about to come out. His chuckles says he guesses at it. “So they can enjoy the fruit without the strain. They deserve it.”

“Ah, but don’t you also deserve a reprieve?”

Y’shtola shrugs. “To tell the truth, I found the trek great fun. And I know-” She touches his lips to silence the comment bubbling from his mouth. “That Nerys and Haurchefant would say they also find quests enjoyable. But neither of them know when to pause or relax.”

“Pot, kettle.” He stands, lifting her in his arms. She clutches at him with her free hand, frowning a little at the sudden gesture. (At least she kept ahold of the plate.) “It seems once again, I must save you from yourself.”

"If you drop me into the ocean I will not be held responsible for the consequences."

"Tempting but no, I've something else in mind." He walks into the house, clutching her to his chest.

--

"What have you two been up to?" Thancred asks, poking his head into the bedroom. There is a raucous hubbub below, snatches of Haurchefant and Nerys giggling. 

"Guess." Hades says, drawing his hands over Y'shtola's bare back. She shivers under the touch but does nothing else, says nothing else. For once, she is utterly languid. 

"Room for one more?"

Hades sniffs. "Wash the brine and sand off of you and maybe we'll allow it."

"Spoilsports." But he steps back, just as the other three crowd the doorway. Well. Nerys and Haurchefant do. Urianger hangs back a little. 

"Shtola!" Nerys sounds both awed and stern. "We found the fruit in the kitchen. This morning, were you-"

"She was," Hades answers for her. "Would all of you please go wash up instead of tracking sand into the bedroom?"

"If it wouldn’t make the sheets gritty," she hears Haurchefant mutter. "We could go in now and track sand all over him."

"To the shower," Urianger says. "And then we shall see about the bed."

"Ah Uri, my sweet prince, you are the kindest of us."

"Mayhaps not, for I am sore tempted to vex Hades with my sandy feet upon his person."

Y'shtola laughs, pressing her face to Hades’ chest. The other four move on, voices muffled by the closing of the bathroom door.

"...that shower and the bath are rather large," Hades murmurs. "Do you want to join them?"

"Another time." She says, eyes falling shut again. "I'm resting now."

"I'm pleased to hear it, darling." He strokes the back of her neck and she melts against him, sleepy and content.

[weebsinstash]

ALSO HOW ARE YOU? Are you feeling any better (´；ω；`)? I’m sorry if I didn’t ask earlier, this week has been so rough that I barely had time to go online (ｰｰ;). Please take care!

I've been doing alright, I guess. I was having some intense hand pain for a few days but that cleared up, and the TMJ is significantly cleared up, almost all gone (still clicking but no pain or dizziness anymore) so I'm wondering where exactly that came from :/ i hope I didn't give it to myself through bad posture or something? But now I feel bad because it's like... I guess it wasn't that serious? But I'm still feeling certain pains often so maybe it's that that was a "flare up" before that could happen again in the future... idk. I go to my PCP on Wednesday and although it's only a 30 minute appointment I'll see what comes of it.

My job has me a little bummed and I want to quit a lot but I've been sucking it up because I like having, you know, income, and also it gets me out of the house

Hades has been bringing me a lot of enjoyment as you guys have seen 👁👁 i think I've already logged over 100 hours in the game and still enjoying it a lot

And I'm sorry to hear your week has been rough! Never feel obligated to check in on me, though I'm humbled I'm in your thoughts ❤🥺 take care of yourself too though!!!

[roseategales]

SOLAS & ORPHEUS I: YOUR NAME IS LIKE A MELODY. (THE POWER OF EPITHETS, TITLES, & NAMES.)

                                                           EPITHETS & TITLES:

VGS: Where do you see a character like Solas ending up? Patrick Weekes: [Sighs] Musical theatre.

The above exchange is from an interview with Video Game Sophistry, where Patrick Weekes goes into detail about the creation of Solas and how we ended up with the character and romance we got. Although said in jest, I do believe Weekes honestly recognised that Solas is a character who could easily be adapted to the medium of the stage musical, due to how musicality is baked into the foundations of his story and the world of Dragon Age. In fact, Weekes compares the fantasy and romance of Solavellan to The Phantom of the Opera earlier in the interview, and anyone familiar with Phantom can see the parallels, as Solas and his arc share many tropes and archetypes in common, not just with the Phantom, but with other male characters in musicals. If I told you I was going to see a show about a Morally Conflicted Soldier, a Trickster in Disguise, a Rebel Leader, a Decadent Noble, a Mythic Legend, or a Monster Boyfriend, I’m sure several examples would jump to mind.

Solas is all of these. Layer upon layer, stitched together, and then taken apart, whenever he needs to be whatever he needs to be. And he is also, if we are borrowing the epithets from Hadestown, The King and The Poor Boy Working on a Song.

It has to be noted that Hadestown’s use of epithets is itself a nod to ancient oral poetry, particularly in the vein of Homer. In Homeric convention, important characters, settings, and objects weren’t described by adjectives, but with epithets that would change based on context. (e.g. Much-enduring Odysseus, who is another paradoxical Trickster figure in ancient myth.) The use of epithets is a signifier of the origins of Homer’s works, serving as a mnemonic device and a way to fit the scenes of the stories to dactylic hexameter, as they were first oral poems that were composed and sung in front of audiences before they were written down. However, because of our modern understanding of the English language and what the word epithet connotes to us, what Anaïs Mitchell has done by using this device in Hadestown, is turn it into something that’s closer to the definition and function of a title rather than an adjective. Hades is always “The King.” Orpheus is always “The Poor Boy Working on a Song,” or “The Poor Boy With a Gift to Give.”

Solas bears his names in a similar fashion. When introduced to us as merely Solas, he is the “Humble Apostate” (or “Unwashed Apostate Hobo,” if you have Vivienne and Dorian in your party), or the “Fade Expert”; he is nicknamed “Chuckles” by Varric and “Fade Walker” by Iron Bull. Descriptors that comment on his lowly, outsider status, beaten and betrayed in this strange new world, that endear us to him. When he again dons the badge of Fen’Harel/Dread Wolf, he is “He Who Hunts Alone,” “Lord of Tricksters,” “The Great Wolf,” “Roamer of the Beyond,” and “Bringer of Nightmares.” Bynames that, of course, evoke those given to deities in ancient cultures (e.g. Hades is also known as Plouton in Greek myth, “The Rich One.”), that make him out to be fearsome, malevolent, and unknowable beyond the legends.

When I separate Solas into these two personas and archetypes, of Solas and Fen’Harel, The King and The Poor Boy, I don’t want us to make the mistake of thinking he is someone who bifurcates himself so completely that one part of him is unrecognisable from the other. His is not a situation of one identity hiding another or two identities battling to control the fore. He is Solas and he is Fen’Harel; the way Lavellan is “The Dalish Elf” and “The Herald of Andraste.” He is simply someone who has some impressive compartmentalisation skills (displayed in a conversation he has with Sera on the tactics of the Red Jenny group), and who has a thorough experience of a line he says to Cole:

“We all have a face we want to show, and a face we do not.”

                                                                      NAMES:

Perhaps the best way to convey Solas’ complexities coming together to form the whole of him, is by examining the construction of his name. How cyclical it is, beginning and ending with the letter S, as effortlessly smooth and slippery as he. The L in the middle like a delineation, a fork in the road of choices before him. O and A on either end like they’re mirrors or masks. How it’s composed of five letters, the way iambic pentameter is composed of five syllables that you must stress and unstress—like the two syllables in his name itself. And depending on which syllable you stress in your pronunciation, your voice will either rise and fall or fall and rise when you say it.

I may be giving Gaider and Weekes too much credit here, but Solas’ name is quite literally perfect for him. Change any single one of these components or his characteristics, and you will no longer have Solas but someone else in his stead.

There are layered meanings to the sound of his name, too. Solas is a homophone for Solace and Soulless in the English language. The former recalls all the times he might’ve provided solace to his friends or lover, or received it from them; and the latter recalls how he does seemingly soulless things to achieve his goals, or becomes someone who is soulless altogether if you don’t reach out to him with kindness. Angela D. Mitchell explores this wonderfully on her blog Dumped, Drunk and Dalish, along with homonyms in other languages. Among them are:

Latin: Solus Meanings: Solitary, alone, sole, only, uninhabited.

Irish: Solas Meanings: Light, Bright, Clear; Brightness; illumination; lucid, intelligible; light-giving, lamp flame; enlightenment, insight; revelation, disclosure; the light of existence; vision. Also: self-interest; limelight.

Old Irish: Solus Meaning: Light.

Scottish Gaelic (derived from the old Irish "Solus" or "light"): Solas Meaning: Light.

Old French: Solaz, Sollas, Soulas Meanings: Joy, pleasure, enjoyment.

She also explores the Latin root of ‘Sol’:

Lone, alone, solitary, lonely, desolate, dismal, gloomy The sun (also can refer to the Sun in a personified sense) A source of comfort, calmness, soothing "To be accustomed" (as found in such words as: insolent, obsolescent, sullen)

These are all such apt descriptors for various facets of his personality and story, it shows the amount of thought and care given to him in the writing process. And of course, there are the Elven meanings: ‘Pride’ or ‘to stand tall.’

Because of the level of thought involved, I wondered how far back Gaider chose his name and decided it would mean ‘Pride’ in Elven, and how that might’ve informed Weekes’ writing of his character. @maythedreadwolftakeyou, @felassan and @lesbianarcana (my heroes!) helped me out and did some top-notch digging.

The first instance we have of the word Solas was found in a codex acquired from Dragon Age II’s Black Emporium, which was released on March 8, 2011. After that, it appears with its Elven meaning and on a map in World of Thedas Volume 1, released on April 30, 2013.

Since we have an enormous amount of foreshadowing for him by way of Shartan in Dragon Age: Origins and Merrill in Dragon Age II, I think it’s safe to say the first concepts of what Solas would mean and who the character who would wear the name would become began as far back as DAO. (Note: I believe Gaider or another Bioware dev confirmed this on social media, but I couldn’t find the post anywhere. If it crops up and you see it, please let me know. I’ll amend the post and credit you.)

In any case, the power of names is yet another running theme that links the storytelling of the ancients, Hadestown, and DA:I. Orpheus pays attention to the composition of Eurydice’s name, and remarks on how it’s “like a melody,” and his arrival in Hadestown reminds her of it when she’s been stripped of it and has forgotten who she used to be. Solas tells Abelas he hopes that he finds a new name after he leaves the guard of the Vir Abelasan, because it means Sorrow. The Qunari in Tevinter Night’s Genitivi Dies in the End have a special interest in finding out what they believe to be Solas’ “true name,” so they can then “track [him] back through the best and worst of [himself]”; “find flaws”; “exploit weaknesses”; “know what [he] failed to be.”

To be named is to be given an identity, personality, and, in most cases, personhood. To be named yourself and to be able to name others is power. Whether that comes as the name you’re privately called, your title, or your epithet.

[hadesglance]

All hail the new queen... - 15 (Hades Original Story)

You fought your way through the maze of the underworld to make a deal with the King…intrigued the lonely king listens…

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six Part Seven  Part Eight  Part Nine  Part Ten Part Eleven  Part Twelve  Part Thirteen  Part Fourteen

You looked around the room curiously trying guess who everyone was. You were not aware that there were so many gods in the world, especially ones that would recognize Greek traditions. Then again you also didn’t know that new gods could just appear based on how humanity evolved.

You smiled when you looked over at Hades discussing something with a man dressed in thick green leaves from head to toe. Even among his hair the foliage wove itself neatly into a crown among his horns. The man glanced over to you before gently placing a hand on Hades’ arm smiling at him.

Hades looked over to you before his eyes lit up meeting yours, to the man he nodded slowly as they parted ways. He made his way over to you gracefully, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to abandon you. I don’t often get to see Pan anymore.”

“Don’t apologize. He seemed like an interesting fellow.” You gazed up at him feeling your face grow warm. You didn’t know what had come over you in the last few hours, but everything he seemed to do was so much more…exquisite, “This is your party after all, you can do what you like. I’m just an observer.”

“I hope you’re enjoying yourself though…” He spoke with concern as he took your hand sending a shiver down your spine, “I’m afraid we’re stuck here until it’s done.”

“I’ll be alright.” You told him as you squeezed his hand lightly getting a delighted grin in his eyes.

“Come, I want to show you something. You didn’t get a chance to actually see Olympus your first time.” A flashback of fear fell over you as he began to guide you through the crowds. Was that awful duo here? Would they attempt something again? You hoped not.

He pulled out to a balcony showing the night sky. You felt a welcome breeze on your face as you approached the railing. Your mouth dropped slightly as you saw a beautiful cityscape lining a hill that lead to an ocean, “It’s amazing, Hades.”

“It’s a sight.” He nodded slowly looking out over the view, “It’s actually above Greece, right on the mountain, but we’ve transcended the location. I think you might call it a different realm in the same place. Parallel to Earth.”

“Is that how it works?” You looked to him, “Are all godly realms above earth?”

“It can, it’s how we decided to do it at least. Greece was where our worshipers were, why move too far?” He smiled at you as you looked back out at the view, “Most of the gods that reside here now are like us. Believed in enough, but not enough to create their own domain. There are some who have pockets across the world and stars too, but Olympus is kind of a hub now.”

“What about you?” You questioned him, “The Underworld was certainly a real place, but you’ve made it into mansion in my hometown.”

He smirked looking out at the rolling waves, “Well, everyone has an underworld, so I have a greater belief in a way. Some call me by other names, not all good. Some call my residence Vahalla or the life after. Personally, I don’t care about labels, but it allows me to be everywhere.”

“You just want balance.” You whispered as you shivered a little.

“Yes, exactly.” He looked back to you nodding as he unlatched his cape. He stepped closer to you draping it around your shoulders. You thanked him quietly pulling it close as you looked back to the view, “You’re troubled?”

“Yes…” You nodded slowly forcing a smile before you looked up to him, “But it can wait. You’ve promised to talk to me later about it, so I can wait a while longer.”

“It’s about everyone thinking you’re my wife?” You nodded looking to the railing as you began to pick at it, “We can talk now if you’d like.”

You looked up to him lips parting slightly. There was this glimmer in his eyes. You only ever saw it briefly when you were at home, but recently you’d begun to see it more often. Tonight, it showed itself so brightly. It made him look so handsome, so likable. Who wouldn’t want to be his wife?

But that wasn’t your deal…was it? He wanted a companion…a friend… You supposed a wife could be those things, but… Who were you kidding you were bound to him for the rest of your life. If it’s what he wanted, then so be it.

“I…” You began to tell him just that when a sickening voice interrupted you.

“Ahhh, here’s the main event.” You watch Hades’ face stiffen at the sound of Meedia’s voice, “Quite a different story this year…at least that’s what everyone’s saying. Mind if I take it and pitch to a few writers? Might make you a bit more sympathetic to the world.”

“If it will make you cease this conversation and leave us alone Media, then by all means…use my personal tragedies for you benefit and begone.” Hades moved protectively in front of you as you felt your arm begin to burn lightly from the mark he’d given you.

She wore a sick smile as the strode forward. The tight black leather dress she wore creaked with each stiletto clack before she stopped nose to nose with him, “It’s Meedia, and you should watch yourself. You might be the first son…but you’re certainly no king.”

“Watch yourself young one.” His eyes narrowed on her face, “You tend to step out of line, do it too many times and you’ll find yourself some place you can’t return from.”

“Oh, so scary coming from a man with daddy issues. Your brother gave you the Underworld, labeled you a king, but he just wanted you out of the way.” She smirked glancing over his shoulder, “And from what I understand you need a meek mortal woman to stand up to him.”

“That’s not true.” You glared at her, the burning on your arm intensifying.

“So, she can speak still, didn’t know if you forbade her.” Meedia eyed you further making you cringe.

“Y/N is free to do as she pleases. Our deal is defined clearly between us and does not concern you.” Hades moved to block you from her view entirely with his tall frame, “If you’re done…”

“I’m not done. No, no, Hades, far from it…” Meedia smirked as she reached up to pat his face, but his hand caught her wrist before she was able. She cackled ripping her wrist away from him as she turned to leave, “Enjoy the party, heaven knows I am.”

Hades let out a sigh turning to you again, “Are you alright?”

“What did she mean by that?” You stared after her until she disappeared from the crowd, “‘Far from it’?”

“I don’t know, and really…I don’t care. Let her play her games if she wants, as long as she keeps them away from me…away from us.” Hades put his hands on your arms making the tingling sensation of the mark eb away, “Don’t give her another thought.”

“It’s hard not to, she’s just so venomous.” You frowned pulling his cloak closer to yourself as if it would give you more protection from her, “I hope she isn’t trying to do anything like before…I would hate that.”

“Why do you care so much about it?” You looked to him as his gentle gaze fell on you making you feel calmer, “You know I’ll protect you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about…it’s your family.” You told him making his eyes widen, “Believe it or not the last six months has made me a little attached to everyone that I’ve met…I may not have seen most of them, but Persephone would tell me stories. She made them real. I care about all of you. I just want to make sure they're safe…that you’re safe.”

He smiled at you before looking back at the assembly, “You never cease to surprise me, Y/N.”

“What does that mean?” You gained his attention again.

He chuckled at your defensive look, “I only meant that you make life enjoyable. You should be worried for yourself. You’re in a world of non-mortals and yet you care more about making sure gods, who have a great deal of power to take care of themselves, are taken care of. It’s refreshing to be surrounded by someone who is compassionate.”

“Well…you’re not so bad yourself.” You smiled at him turning back to the view. You felt him move next to you a moment. His presence was enough to making you tremble. Swallowing down the sudden butterflies in your stomach you finally posed a question, “Did you ever live here?”

“No, not really.” He shook his head, “I mean, I did for a short while just after the war when Zeus was handing out our territories and duties. Mostly, I just looked at it from afar.”

“What, you can see Olympus from the Underworld?” You looked at him curiously and disbelief.

“Oh yes…If you look over there…” He moved behind you to make sure his view was the same as yours. You could feel his body brush against yours as leaned down pointing out to the sea, “If you look just right…there… you can see the temple you fought so hard to get to. It’s the highest point of the Underworld.”

You followed his strong, scarred arm to where he was pointing seeing a blurry glowing point in the distance. What did he really go through? You’d seen the scars before, they were all over his body. You just politely ignored them knowing it was a topic he did not want to discuss when he’d adjust his sleeves in your presence, “You can actually see it from there?”

“On still days.” He chuckled a little as you turned your head to look at him. He was just a breath away from you as he stared into your eyes. He smiled as he reached up tucking a piece of hair back into place, “You look beautiful tonight.”

Your heart began to beat loudly in your ears, “T-thank you.”

Your eyes shut as his hand cupped your cheek. You felt his nose nudge yours as his breath tickled your lips. You felt intoxicated as the warm air blew between the both of you. You were prepared for anything except for what happened.

“HADES!” You turned away quickly as he stepped away, but it wasn’t fast enough to miss the disappointed look on Hades’ face as his brother Poseidon rushed in hands full of drinks, “It’s not a party unless you drink, you too little Queen.”

Poseidon shoved a drink into both of your hands. You thanked him realizing you were actually quite thirsty. You raised the glass up to drink from it when a firm hand landed over it. You looked over seeing Zeus smirking at you, “No ambrosia for you, I’m afraid.”

“Thank you, Zeus.” Hades groaned as his other brother hung over him giggling as he tried to raise Hades hand up with the drink, “I’m afraid I’m a little tied up to use my full reflexes.”

“I’ll always have your back, brother.” Zeus snapped his fingers and another glass appeared for you to take, “Whatever drink you wish it to be it, it will be, for as long as you’re in Olympus.”

“Neat trick.” You smirked up at him.

“I’m not all thunder and lightning.” He chuckled looking at Hades struggling with Poseidon, “Why don’t you take him inside to the nymphs, I’m sure they’ll entertain him.”

Hades glanced at you then to Zeus, who gently twitched his head toward the party before he relented with a heavy sigh, “I’ll be right back.”

“We eagerly await your return.” Zeus snickered as Poseidon started to serenade Hades as they walked, “Poseidon has never been able to hold the drink very well.”

“That’s surprising considering he controls the big ‘drink’.” You chuckled at your own joke as you lifted the magical cup thinking of white wine, “Mm…this cup could be dangerous.”

“Or it can be a lot of fun if used the right way.” Zeus looked down to you with a devilish grin as he adjusted the clasp on his clothing, “How are you enjoying the party?”

“It’s quite an event. I was surprised actually…I thought there would be more nudity.” You looked at him quirking an eyebrow high as you lifted the cup again to hide your smirk.

“Give it time, orgies don’t usually happen until the twelfth hour.” He chuckled as an awkward silence fell between the both of you, “Thank you, by the way.”

“For what?” You made a face.

“For making a deal with my brother.”  Zeus responded with no hesitation. You didn’t know how to respond to that, so he went on, “I know that none of this has been easy for you. I’ve dealt with mortals enough times to know that it can be a bit overwhelming, but you seem to have a handle on it.”

“I wouldn’t say that…” You shook your head looking down, “Something new always seems to pop up…”

“Like being Hades’ wife, Queen of the Underworld, Wife of the Unseen, Consort to the Illustrious giver of good counsel?” He watched as your face got redder and redder with each statement, “It’s not a bad thing.”

“I didn’t say it was…” Putting your hand to your face did not help cool you off.

“So, what’s the big deal?” Zeus watched you squirm under his gaze.

“It wasn’t part of the deal!” You turned from him looking out to the sea again, “I-I mean…eh…it’s just a lot to suddenly have put on you. It’s not like it’s a bad thing…he’s…he’s…”

“He’s….what?” He leaned on the railing almost instantly like it was a bad rom com and he was your best friend you were about to dish too.

You looked at him deflating as you looked away, “Wonderful…and caring…and-and everything you’d want in a guy.”

“Good.” Zeus smiled reaching over patting your hand that rested on the railing, “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

You rolled your eyes, “Zeus, you’re gods…”

“Which makes our choices so much better than everyone else’s.” He told you confidently, “Y/N, if you're worried…”

“I am worried!” You interrupted him making his eyes widen as you went on, “I worry that if I let that happen…that it will bring him down. That someone will try to use this against him, and in the end he’ll just get hurt again. If I just stay his…his ‘pet’…” You felt sick calling yourself that, “Then at least it won’t hurt so much.”

“You like him.” You looked at Zeus again expecting to see a teasing expression, but his eyes were soft and his smile gentle. This must be the Zeus Hades had mentioned. The one that helped him, that saved him, “Listen…I know he’s a cold bastard sometimes. Comes off…awkward and stiff…but you will never find a mortal who cares more deeply than he does. He just forgets that he doesn’t have to do everything alone. He forgets that he’s allowed to feel things.”

You nodded slowly as you put your hand over the mark that still tingled slightly, “I just want him to be happy. When I first saw him, he looked so startled. Like I could have chosen any other god, but I chose him.”

“Why did you choose him?” Zeus stood up looking down to you, “Like you said, you could have chosen any of us. You’re obviously a true believer or at least raised by one, so you could have had an easier time connecting with say…Apollo or Demeter…”

“You’re right, I could have.” You smiled a little thinking about it, “I can’t really say, to be honest…I literally just went to my Gigi’s room, to her alter, and grabbed the most foreboding looking book. This black leather-bound book with yellowing pages.”

“What book was it?” He tilted his head curious.

“We call it her spell book, which pretty much is what it is.” You told him shaking your head, “She said that one of our ancestors was visited by Hecate, who blessed them with the knowledge of doors. These doors lead to the realms of the gods, where we could commune with them in person. The ritual was only to be used if what you were asking was truly important, crops failing, low births in the village, warring tribes…”

“Lame brothers who make the family proud?” Zeus stared at you with what looked like admiration, but you couldn’t be sure so you just nodded, “I would like to see this book one day, if possible? Hecate must have looked upon your family and saw great wisdom to bless you with the ability to actually commune with us in person.”

“I still have it. I never got a chance to give it back to Gigi…was kind of afraid if I did, I’d wake up and my brother would still be in the hospital.” You told him quietly as you looked over seeing Hades emerging from the crowd. He looked irritated, “I can get it to you when we get home.”

“I would appreciate it, thank you.” Zeus winked at you as Hades stopped in front of them. He smirked at him “There he is, the good big brother.”

“He is your problem now.” Hades pointed at him, “Whatever he does is on you. You should just grant his request.”

“He has 75% of the entire planet as his realm…why does he need this specific beach…” Zeus rolled his eyes holding out his hand to Hades.

“I don’t know, that’s not my problem, it’s yours. Since you’re in charge, but I suggest you consider your options.” Hades clasped his brother’s hand tightly, “Or I’m going to be a lot busier soon, and that isn’t fair to humanity. It’s been a long time since we have a natural disaster like a tsunami, let’s try to avoid it if we can.”

“Fine, I’ll butter him up tonight and discuss it later next week.” Zeus smiled at him letting go of his hand stepping away, “I don’t know what I would do without you, brother.”

“I’m sure you’d manage.” Hades told him as he walked off.

“Doubt it! Goodnight beautiful, Y/N…keep doing what you’re doing.” Zeus kissed the tops of his fingers send a kiss back to you.

You raised your cup towards him, “Thanks for the safety cup!”

Hades chuckled looking at you, “I hope he wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Not at all…I beginning to appreciate his insight.” You smiled at him as you looped your arm with his.

[m00nlitknight]

Neoclassical

fandom: star wars ( sequel trilogy )  /  greek mythos au pairing:  kylo ren / reader word count:  1,635 warnings:  slight mommy issues summary:   Oh, how one tires of stagnant days. extra:   AH my first work in another fandom! :') i hope it's enjoyable! please do leave feedback if you liked it? depending on the reception i may or may not stretch it to another chapter or something. thank you for reading! ♡ as a side note, i had him refer to the reader as a lilac due to the meanings of the flower: purity + innocence. i would've gone with daisy but i didn't wanna step on daisy ridley's toes lol

archive of our own link

Soft, green grass crushes beneath bare feet. It grew unruly, appearing jagged in some places, brushing anywhere from an ankle to grazing mid-thigh. The wind hummed past gently, rustling not only the unruly grass, but also unruly locks from the top of your crown, beginnings the misplacement of a newly made daisy crown. The day was akin to any other; gorgeous. Unfortunately, you’d grown used to the cycle of its static beauty, instead attempting to salvage appreciation and savor the flavor of the nature at your disposal. However, despite this, you couldn’t help but find yourself becoming a bit desensitized to it.

Every day felt as though it was a trial of the same tribulations; a dance you’d become well acquainted with. To awaken with the sun’s rise, her golden kiss of the horizon enough to rouse your eyes open and put your body in gear. Mother had always claimed that being early to rise would aid in your overall mood for the day, not that you had much particular input on how She’d micromanage how you felt

You began your day with a hearty breakfast of the typically vegetarian variety, typically a nod of appreciation to the work that your mother did. Those around you encouraged to take your time with eating, to allow the flavors of each bite play on your tongue like a Shakespearean play. It amused you in the beginning, taking their words to heart and practicing it just to go along with their wishes. As time wore on, the days blurring together with one another, you found yourself tiring of the routine - of all the routines.

The remainder of the morning would leave you to work on whatever skills She deemed a necessity. Sewing and cooking and honing the prowess growing within you. It festered, beautiful and green, just like Mother’s. Then, the day was yours to explore the lands. The sprawling, gracious, and luxurious Lands. Sometimes you would mingle with the creatures who found home in the forest, those who made their home in the space of bark or in the shimmer of puddles and streams. Though you’d never spoken to Her of them, you were sure she’d known of them. As always, you were simply under Her eye.

Throughout the evening, when the sun’s descent on the other side of the sky colored the clouds orange, or pink, or purple, you would be making yourself another meal. This one was of your own choice, if it included meat, it would be game you’d brought down by your own hand.

Yes, the days blurred together, and the exhilaration of this lifestyle granted to you was beginning to dull, you found yourself craving more than what was granted to you. The freedom was thrilling in comparison to what you had before, and in retrospect, felt as though chains bound you to who you once were.

So as you wander the sprawling green fields, dotted with wild flowers and wildlife that sometimes graced your vision, you wonder if you can find yourself passed the typical borders of what your allowed. To push the limits, pass through the forest filled to the brim with gentle woodland creatures, and see what lie ahead; out from under Her eye.

The thought alone ignited curiosity and wonder through your veins, though not to your face. Never to your face, for that was the first place She’d look if something were to go awry. As momentary as the plan and excitement of it was, it faded, replacing itself with cool, hard fear; like a rock at the pit of your stomach.

Blindly did your feet carry you throughout the woods, passing by many private eyes who seemed nearly enthralled with your every move. Soon, you found yourself perched by a small pond, atop a branch sturdy enough to hold your weight. Around you the scenery came alive, shaping into nymphs with bubbly giggles and typical friendly dispositions. They approached you from their respective residences, glee plastered on their technicolor features. You watched them with idle interest, making a mimic of their expressions as one leaned on the branch beside you.

“Oh, Spring’s Daughter! We’re so glad you came today,” her voice was angelic in tone, as though a choir came together to make her tone; a match made in heaven with her gorgeous foam-colored skin, milky eyes, and shimmering blue hair. “Something has come to our attention, something of interest!”

“Quite the interest,” another said, of oak skin and pearly grin. Her voice, though not as striking, held its own with a soft, melodic tone.

“Are you going to keep me in the dark, then?” You giggle yourself, allowing a genuine smile to brighten your typically hollow features. “C’mon, tell me!”

The quartet around you looks to one another, sharing a conversation of glances. Another giggles, her deep, emerald eyes looking so deep into you, you wondered if she could grasp your heart.

“Do you promise to not show anyone else?” Her tone bordered playful as she leaned herself onto you, forehead to forehead.

“Absolutely not ,” your voice was startlingly quiet, your smile reaching that of a grin.

“Okay, okay, here hold your palm out, I’ll take you,” the fourth one said, with wide eyes and a straight faced expression. Her aura wasn’t as ethereal or peppy, instead something of a darker caliber radiated from her. With ashy-gray skin and pin-straight black hair, she held her hand out to you.

Hesitantly, you put your hand into hers, allowing your curiosity to get the better of you. The other three nymphs allowed themselves to giggle, trotting off to cause a ruckus somewhere else. You watched them for a moment, nervousness beginning to creep into the heels of your feet. It felt as though they were taking your solace with them, in a way.

Looking back to the placid nymph, she cracked a small smile; a seemingly unpracticed expression for her doe-eyed features. You offered a small smile back as she turned, leading you through the familiar woods. Many creatures paid you no mind, though some stopped in their tracks and stared, prompting you to stare back.

“So, where are we going, anyway?” You decide to break the silence, in hopes to shake the building anxiety on your back.

“You’ll see.”

The cryptic answer leaves you bemused, and you look around once more. The scenery, of the typically lush and familiar flourishing kind, are slowly becoming less reminiscent of Her trademark Land. It worries you, despite recalling the vague exhilaration at this exact act crossing your mind hours before. Even worse, the sky had transitioned from the lovely blue you’d spent so long staring at into the beautiful palette which signaled the end of the day was coming soon, leaving the light to come through the tree’s canopy to become somewhat scarce. It left you uneasy, just how long had you two been walking, anyway?

You continued on silently with your unease for awhile until your companion came to a stop. The scenery around was different, not helped by the monochrome, silver moonlight beginning to scatter through the trees. What uniformity was typically held in your Mother’s regard seemed to have been forgone here, instead an unruly, beautiful, ever-changing mess you found yourself fascinated by.

“We’re here, Spring,” she murmured, turning to you. Her voice was hollow, a quiet thing you found yourself becoming wary of.

“What is it that you wanted to show me, then?”

“Take a step over here.”

You momentarily gnaw on your lip, stepping forward to where she’d told you to. The air grew heavy, thicker than just the humidity you were aware of, and all too quickly. No, it was darker, tenser, laced with a kind of energy you’d never had around you. Amid the feeling of anxiety on your back, it drew you in, causing another trembling, yet eager step forward.

A figure began materializing, sapping out whatever silvery moonlight was around for a moment before stepping forward and sending a brief wave of force with them, knocking you off balance.

You took a second to regain your composure before taking him all in. Darkness radiated off of hi in waves, like how life and youth radiated from you. He was donned in all black, with pale skin, and seemingly monochrome in the pale moonlight of the early nightfall. In his hand was an object, one you were unable to make out for a moment before witnessing its ignition. It cut through the single-toned light with an angry and red and threatening light, to which he lowered closer to you, as if to use it like a lantern.

Thankful to some miracle, your breathing stayed level, though your mouth hung slightly agape as you awaited a reaction to grace his stony, scar-ridden face. Anything to change in his deep, dark, brown eyes. A slight twinge to his lower lip, and he finally broke the tension.

“Are you afraid, my dear lilac?” His voice resembled the velvety texture of a petal as his unoccupied hand came to rest under your chin.

Your mouth came to shut, eyes wide and deer-like as you shook your head. There was no way your voice was going to work enough to even say any kind of meager reply.

“Do you know who I am?” Amusement seemed to toy not only in his tone, but also on his face.

“Hades,” your voice came out small, rabbit-like in its timidness.

“I see Mother taught you well,” he snickered coolly, looking to the nymph who led you here. “Fantastic job. You live another day.”

He stood to his full height, eyes seeming entranced on your expression once again before his face returned to stoicism. “May we meet again, lilac.”

And with that, he and the nymph disappeared, leaving you alone.