walkdreams

[walkdreams]

❛❛ someone ought to write a novel about me . . . full of kisses & daring escapes & the occasional act of barbarism .

lebedeva is a water víla originating from the woods of serbia. the vila are nature spirits/nymphs who embody and serve as guardians to different aspects of the wood. they are known to have a fondness for fighting, similar to the valkyries, and often lure strangers to their demise through dance circles. however, they have been known to come to the defense of favored villages, or if they should prove themselves worthy, a vila might take on a chosen hero as their vilenik, swearing themselves to offer good fortune and healing in battle. in her youth, the people of serbia started to turn on fabled daemons, and while defending their home in the wood, lebedeva's mother had been bludgeoned to death by a boyar.

lebedeva's flight took her deep into the lands of rus' where she attempted to blend in with mortals until eventually she met koschei (as ivan). her experiences soured her interest in ever taking on a vilenik, but the warlock had convinced her by completing the tasks she'd assigned and promising to help her reach the safety of the chyerti realm. swearing herself as his blood sister, lebedeva has been paramount in aiding koschei in his war and machinations against the tsar of death and/or princedoms of rus' by way of fate altering magic and tending to the wounded. she currently acts as advisor and head magician of buyan after centuries of alchemical practice.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. madame inna alfonsievna lebedeva diminutives. lebed super secret diminutives. inna, inulya, innushka ( old/intimate friends ) true name. nahina ( similar to the fae, this is extremely secret and kept to blood relatives and vilaniks only ) pronouns. she/her titles. head magician of buyan, advisor & posestrima of the tsar of life age. immortal origin. slavic folklore ( primarily seberian ) etymology. chyerti (vila), magician sexuality. pansexual alignment. chaotic neutral / good, the army of life, the army of death relations. ravijojla (mother), koschei ( vilenik ), marya morevna ( her vilenik at heart ), viy/death ( enemy, eventual affiliate ) height. 5'2" build. petite and sylphic hair. dark brown (white in vila form) eyes. hazel (silver or black in vila form) scars. none (too many missing feathers in vila form) scents. honeysuckle and cherry blossoms

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

vila/swan/wolf physiology .  prefers to glamor & present herself as a colorful magician, but in her true vila form, lebed appears as a nymph clad in all white with swan wings, becomes a full fledged swan, or a wolf in more hostile environments. in either iteration of her vila form, a feather from her wing can grant health and strength but it comes with restrictions (see further below) sorcery / alchemy .  after becoming a posestrima ( vila blood sister ) to koschei, she took an interest in the arcane and now has extensive knowledge and capabilities for casting curses and spells; she has a form of synesthesia that allows her to see colors when she hears certain words and incantations and has thus learned to use colors to draw mana for magicks that do not come naturally to a vila ( ex. red compels, so she'll drain the color from a ruby or rose to cast a compulsion spell ) ; often fuses her potions and enchantments into her creams, perfumes and cosmetics. revival / healing magic .  as a vila, originally tied to lakes and springs, she has a natural proclivity for magic related to water and healing. before buyan's ocean desiccated, she had the ability to use dead water and live water to attempt resuscitation rituals so long as soldiers were found not too long after death. now she can only rely on her arcane abilities and/or her limited swan feathers to attempt resuscitation, which works only on lucky occasions. horseback riding / archery . she has a deep love for horseback riding and her white mare named biserka. also is an excellent archer who inherited a mystical bow from her mother, a legendary vila named ravijojla. other vila abilities/skillsets . hypnotic dancing, luck manipulation (good luck to a vilenik; bad luck to someone who intrudes on a dance circle); precognition (random & not controllable), animal communication (mountain dogs, wolves, deer & horses favored), enhanced speed, durability & strength.

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS

vilenik blood oath . after a favored one completes trials to prove themselves worthy, a vila can make them her chosen vilenik. in doing so, they undergo a blood oath which binds them together indefinitely. this represents a sacred promise to aid and protect a vilenik in their times of need, and also prevents a vila from directly harming her vilenik and vice versa. this is (unfortunately) her case with koschei but i'm extremely open to aus where she chooses someone else!! vila weaknesses . her life force is tied to her hair, particularly in her vila form. cutting it is fine, but to take a strand of her hair from the root would severely deplete her physical strength. to take a second depletes her magic. and to take a third would kill her; her swan feathers are limited and grow back very slowly if at all once used; the use of her feathers for magic depletes her strength significantly and cannot be used more than three times in a given day without killing her counterspells: all her spells have counter spells, and while she is a powerful magician in her own right, there are a others who are more naturally inclined or experienced than she is despite her position as the head magician. however, her hypnotic enchantments, expertise in alchemy, and health poultices are unrivaled.

☁️ . . . ADDITIONAL NOTES

prior to meeting ivan/koschei, she went only by the name inna and did attempt to live amongst mortal folk, so this allows some flexibility in terms of the places/kingdoms that she might have traveled through !! very much her esmeralda era !! would have come in with a group of nomads and performed in the streets as a dancer or gambled for a living until the church takes issue and drives her out

her vilanik connection with koschei has some adverse affects on her after he becomes deathless. it doesn't change her personality entirely, but does emphasize a bitterness about love, men, and the world that she was already carrying. she's colder, vindictive, and less of the romantic and idealist that she'd once been; her vila magic and affinity for water now leans more towards ice and snow too; and much like koschei's deathlessness has him disassociate from his past as ivan, lebedeva's early memories are just as blurred. she'll rarely touch on her life prior to living in buyan and when pressed will grow frustrated and change the subject. the most important memory that she's forgotten is in regards to a prophecy her mother entrusted to her which ultimately relates to koschei's death and the true savior / ruler of buyan.

other verses tba, but she will have a magical regency au where she'll be on the marriage mart as koschei's sister looking to secure a (temporary) marriage with an advantageous suitor, particular one whose family or household contains some form of arcane relic or weapon that proves useful and/or harmful to buyan. a fully human alternative would be that she's a ballet performer living lavishly at the expense of her admirers, but during the napoleonic wars, she would have left this life behind to serve as a nurse, and an exceptional one at that, often advocating for cleaner and more efficient practices. she'll also have an if we were villains verse where she's a ballet student playing the role of odile/the black swan

[walkdreams]

❛❛ i am anti-life, the beast of judgment. the dark at the end of everything. what will you be then, dream lord ? . . . hope.

daniel was originally the son of hector hall ( the silver scarab ) and lyta hall ( the fury ), both of whom were trapped in a pocket of the dreaming when they conceived him, leaving an unborn daniel to be claimed by morpheus ( the original dream of the endless ) as his child by proxy. after dismantling this pocket, the king of dreams said he'd someday come for him, but lyta swore to never let that happen. a fae creature named puck kidnapped daniel as a toddler, but lyta assumed morpheus was responsible and called on the kindly ones ( the furies ) to bring about his destruction.

as one of the endless, necessity bade that morpheus' essence and duty continue on in a different form. this form was adopted by daniel, who now harbors morpheus' essence while still being a wholly separate person -- albeit no longer identifying with his former mortal self either. by this point, he refers to himself simply as dream and functions as the new dream king, but in order to stabilize and fully synchronize with the dreaming, he must first locate all twelve of morpheus' dreamstones. which could be scattered across any realm and dimension known to existence and pose an existential threat to reality if they land in the wrong hands.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . VERSES

✧ main : takes place within the sandman and dc comic universe. in my portrayal, we're having dream / daniel be raised within the dreaming after becoming an endless. in his early childhood, the default is that lucienne served as regent while dream was protected by the corinthian as well as other dream creatures until he eventually comes of age and is able to set out in search of the dreamstones. these are objects created by morpheus, considered focal points / anchors for the dreaming. dream believes it's necessary to find and calibrate these in order to gain a solid hold of the realm and keep nightmares like melinöe from escaping. ✧ alt. sandman verse : assuming daniel never becomes dream, he would have been raised with his mother on earth. because of his feitheran roots and because he'd spent most of his time in utero within the dreaming, he'd possess sleep inducing and hallucinatory abilities similar to that of morpheus, learned combat skills from his mother, and eventually upgrades his father's silver scarab suit with tenth metal. within the justice society he's known as the sandman. his main foe would be a new incarnation of hath-set, who continually seeks to bring the curse of sekhmet ( judgment day ) to fruition. ✧ greek myth : he's the son of the greek god morpheus ( who follows the greek mythos canon as a son of hypnos and pasithea ) and hippolyta / lyta hall who conceived daniel in the dream realm with a dream version of her deceased husband, hector hall, which as a creation of morpheus makes daniel technically his biological son and a demigod ( work with me here, here's an oopsie dream baby, that lyta wanted and dreamt of so much that it became a reality ). ─ for non-pjo conformant canons ( that likewise don't fit with his main verse ): we can say morpheus is currently missing/imprisoned and in a bid to keep the dream realm stable daniel needs to find the dreamstones to stablize it, and eventually find his father. ─ for his pjo canon: originally, he was raised in the dream realm with his mother to keep him safe until that became unsustainable and/or the other gods found out about it and daniel was sent to camp half blood. he was 15 at the time, and now between 18-25 he's a pretty seasoned fighter, but still a bit eccentric and ungrounded in reality. he has the ability to cause hallucinations and dreamlike trances, but also astral projection and dreamwalking. ✧ dragon age : to be finalized after i finish my playthrough, but i'm leaning on the concept of dream being a spirit of hope, one of the refugees found in the crossroads who wants to assist rook and their party. i'd say he manages to do this by following them to nevarra, where he possess the human body of a dreamwalker who lost his way in the fade, leaving his body in a coma and thus vulnerable to possession. he then promises to help find and return daniel's spirit to his body after the elvhen gods are dealt with.

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. dream of the endless daniel hall other aliases. the sandman pronouns. he / him titles / epithets. dream lord, dream king, ( by the egyptians / feitherans : tutu , son of neith , who comes to the one calling him , master of the demons of sekhmet ) age. 18-28 ( dreamstone arc ) , early 30s ( post-dreamstone arc ) origin. greek , egyptian / feitheran etymology. endless ( omnidimentional primordial entity ) sexuality. pansexual alignment. neutral good relations. lyta hall ( mother , alive ), hector hall ( father , deceased ), morpheus ( father by proxy, deceased ), carter hall / hawkman ( grandfather , alive ) , shiera sanders hall / hawkgirl ( grandmother , alive ), matthew the raven ( messenger ), lucienne ( regent & confidante ), the corinthian ( nightmare foster parent ) height. 6'2" build. neither imposing nor fragile, but somewhere in between. his every movement is fluid and gauzy, like ink swirling in water, as if he were there and elsewhere at once. hair. a shimmering white, the color of starlight, of dreams yet unformed. it's usually grown out and a bit unruly , but moves softly with the weightlessness of drifting clouds eyes. a pair of green pea galaxies , burning steadily in the limitless dark scars. none aside from a faint mark over his wrist left by puck, the only echo left of his short time as a human scents. the rich warmth of myrrh and incense curling in the corridors of his temple, the airy scent of lotus flowers floating in fresh water, the drowsy scent of clean linen and egyptian cotton

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

oneiromancy . can create, enter, and manipulate the dreams of all sleeping beings. can also induce sleep, conjure astral forms, bestow nightmares or lucid dreaming, and promote spiritual / emotional healing within dreams. if he's within his own domain of the dreaming , his power is only limited to his imagination. dream tools . outside of the dreaming, he will have his limits but will rely on his tools as an extra source of power ( pouch of sand, the dreamstones, etc. ) granting him the ability to induce sleep or immersive daydreams, driving one to madness or delusion, or nightmarish visions similar to the effect of scarecrows fear toxins. wealth of knowledge . morpheus and the endless date back to the dawn of all creation and exist across all dimensions and timelines singularly, and so as the new dream, he still possess many of morpheus' memories and knowledge. his temple also houses a reimagined library of alexandria with books and scrolls that reflect every dream, legend, and story that has ever been dreamt, orated, or written. endless rank . the endless are some of the most op figures in the dc universe but they have rules and don't exert that power outside of their anthropomorphic responsibilities. they're completely neutral, however, that's not to say that they wouldn't provide aid in indirect ways. since he was once human and his mother is still alive, dream is most inclined to involve himself to the extent that he's allowed. filling in gaps of knowledge is the usual means.

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS

post-dream amnesia . within the dreaming the subconscious mind can recall past events and dreams, but upon waking very few details are kept to memory. similarly, all who meet dream directly will not remember their encounters with him when they wake. for most, it's as if the time spent in the dreaming is a wholly separate reality and they won't be able to take that reality elsewhere. should someone meet dream in the waking world though, they would retain those memories in both realms unless dream forcibly erases them. magical prisons / rituals . the sandman comic starts off with a ritual wherein a cult tries to summon and trap death and accidentally summons and traps morpheus instead, so we know the endless aren't immune to spells and curses can be trapped by magical means which will have dire adverse effects on the domains they control. laws of the endless . the endless are bound eternally to their duties and nature and cannot abandon them without consequence. they also cannot truly die, but can be replaced as was morpheus' case. they are also expected to adhere to cosmic laws and answer challenges fairly ( ex. lucifer's game in hell ). the endless are also not allowed to harm each other directly, and cannot take mortal consorts even if they wanted to. it's almost guaranteed to bring catastrophic misfortune to them or those around them. ( ex. asteroid striking nada's tribe )

☁️ . . . ADDITIONAL NOTES

there are twelve stones in total. so far he has three 1) the eagle stone, an emerald which was given to him as a child and is used as his primary tool 2) the materioptikon, the dream ruby which was morpheus' primary tool 3) the porpentine, a rose quartz given to one of morpheus' lovers whose spirit resided in barbie's dream. the rest is what i'll leave up to plotting and set up as this verse's main focus and default conflict unless we establish something where he's more fully immersed in his position.

the comics are rife with retcons and multiverse shenanigans surrounding daniel's parents and lineage, so bare with me. some of his relations and background might have to change while i figure out how this all pieces together and what bits i actually like or want to revise. will lay it all out soon in a headcanon post, but what i really want to highlight here is the fact that daniel's soul is considered the embodiment of hector's humanity and all his goodness, and was responsible for averting/negating sekhmet's curse. that parallels with his body becoming the new incarnation for morpheus which ultimately allows daniel to carry out his redemption too. so i think daniel's dream is really intended to function as a spiritual cleanser as well as the last pillar of hope for humanity, and that hope is something he'll continue to embody and inspire throughout the collective conscience til the very end of all existence.

[walkdreams]

❛❛ i'll tell you where the real road lies. between your ears, behind your eyes. that's the path to paradise. likewise, the road to ruin

a son of zeus and maia, hermes was born in a cave in mt. hōrai and later became the greek god of swiftness and craftiness. mt. hōrai is a paradisal isle within the crossroads realm ( a sort of limbo or cosmic highway between lands and dimensions ), primarily used as a rest stop and sanctuary for the kami pantheon. the cloud cover surrounding the isle is made up of quintillions upon quintillions of souls ready to impart their wisdom, while the regular inhabitants of the isle are made up of yōkai and sprites who have known no evil, which keeps their hearts pure and prevents them from growing old. in maia's case, she was a refugee granted sanctuary by birthright, being a granddaughter of fūjin, the elder kami of wind.

as a youth, hermes snuck out of the isle to learn more about his kin from the greek pantheon, particularly his older brother apollo. through his cunning and unrivaled speed, he was able to steal apollo's prized cattle in jest. two of the cattle were accidentally harmed, their deaths barring hermes' ability to return to mt. hōrai, but he endeared himself to his angry brother through the invention of the lyre, and won his father's favor by presenting the dead cattle as a sacrifice to the gods. thereafter, he became zeus' personal messenger and an olympian god presiding over herds, heralds, travelers, athletes, commerce, trade & thieves. he is the pantheon's middleman and arguably the biggest aid to their mortal heroes. he also serves as a psychopomp, guiding departed souls to the underworld when requested or needed.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . VERSES

✧ main . for any greek myth canon or ancient/modern fantasy verses that leaves room for the pantheon to exist. any cataclysmic/supernatural threat that can only be addressed by a chosen one/few means there's a call that will need to be answered, and you know who's making that call? hermes is the mouthpiece of the gods, and herald of nearly every story, so he will be convincing heroes to step out of their ordinary worlds to go save the world, may even help or deliver a boon somewhere along the way between his many misadventures errands if he takes a liking to them! ✧ alt. kami verse . still need to flesh this out, but i'd love to explore an alternate storyline for him wherein he still get's booted from mt. hōrai, but the greek pantheon didn't welcome him as an olympian either, so he's basically a disgraced kami roaming the world with no real place in it until he eventually becomes somewhat of a folk legend / local protector in the rural communities of japan. ✧ dragon age . will be kept a little vague for the sake of flexibility with plots, but the general vibe is that hermes was a city elf turned thieving rogue with a robin hood complex, so can very easily be dragged into a companion verse during any of the games, but i'm inclined to have him involved as an envoy during inquisition, and/or a veil jumper in veilguard though it's tbd after i finish. he is technically a mage, but non-practicing, never properly trained, and won't disclose this voluntarily; however wind is his natural element and he does use magic to grant him supernatural speed which he chalks to his "enchanted boots". aside from that he'll rely on his arrows or short sword in a fight. ✧ fae verse . he's already so fae-boy coded, not much changes. he would be considered seelie, an embodiment of wind ( originally from the spring court? not sure yet ), and a herald to whatever seelie monarch applies. he's usually sent as a spy, diplomat and courier between the fae courts, but is also regularly found in the mortal realm stirring relatively harmless trouble or stealing things from guarded hoards and castles. he could also function similar to a vila, granting good luck and support to a chosen hero. ✧ modern / futuristic / dystopian . any non-immortal plots where more than likely hermes is just your typical outlaw recruited to a cause or special mission. will be a case by case basis, but some options are: hermes as the designated getaway car, the double agent, the heist extraordinaire, the speedster ( for mutant / super hero aus ), the devil's advocate ( for organized crime aus where zeus is the head of a crime ring) , the head of his own band of thieves etc etc

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. hermes titles/epithets. trickster god, slayer of argos, of the golden wand, of the gateway, patron of athletes and gymnasiums, swift-footed, luck-bringer, keen-sighted, glad-hearted, ready-helper, champion, guiless-one, famous-one pronouns. he/him age. immortal pantheon. hellenistic polytheism / shinto etymology. olympian god / kami of wind sexuality. pansexual alignment. chaotic good relations. zeus ( father ), maia ( mother ), atlas ( grandfather ), shinatobe ( grandmother ), ( fūjin, great-grandfather ), apollo ( favorite target, brother ), dionysus ( foster kid, brother ), charon ( professional associate ♡ ), and too many others to list ( homer said he's for the streets ) height. 5'11" build. lean and very toned, especially his calves, thighs, and glutes. he's not running around in a mini chiton for no reason hair. black and usually kept at a youthful and lush length, just short enough to stay out of his eyes and nape eyes. dark brown, increasingly gold during a run, and near electric when he starts to reach top speed. sacred animals/plants. ram, hare, tortoise, cattle, sheep, goats, strawberry trees, crocus

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

* super speed. the fastest god of the pantheon, easily capable of traveling faster than the speed of sound, and if he pushes it hard enough his top speed reaches just shy of the speed of light. * dimensional travel. he can also travel the axis mundi aka "the crossroads" between realms and take others through those roads. typically, he uses this for short cuts and to save on his endurance when zeus needs him to hop to too many far away places at once. * wind manipulation. his proclivity for speed is in large part due to his manipulation of air and ability to live in his own separate vacuum with little to no wind resistance. as such, he is able to fly for limited periods, create whirlwinds, manipulate and build air momentum into concentrated blasts, change the trajectory of airborne projectiles, cushion a hard fall, enhance his agility, create air shields etc. * martial arts/rogue class skillset. not just for fantasy verses, but in general hermes has very high dexterity, coercion, and agility. he is also very adept in martial arts/wrestling. while he is strong, he can be overpowered and will rely on his speed and precision with hits, as well as use an enemies momentum against them. * intelligence. hermes is wickedly smart and inventive, as demonstrated in several of his myths, it's the reason why he was even accepted into the big 12 to begin with. his intelligence won't present itself in the conventional way, he has very little patience to sit and learn subjects that don't apply to him or engage him, but he has a strong affinity and natural understanding of physics and mathematics which will be obvious in the way he trades, the things he's creates out of scraps and items he collects, or when he improvises his escape plans. * magical items/work instruments. he's got a couple of these that's he's either stolen or created for himself, but his hood of invisibility is the one he will not leave the house without; his arm brace is what allows him to carry souls to the underworld; his caduceus allows him to put people/creatures to sleep or awaken them, and can also provide a peaceful, painless death to the fallen

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS

* speed and endurance limitations. since he is creating his own little vacuum, the faster he runs the less oxygen he has to breath, which as an immortal won't kill him, but will be very painful and mess with his focus. he trains a lot to build up his lung capacity so he can travel faster for longer periods of time, but like any runner, he does have his limits. high speeds are meant for shorter bursts. he's also still trying to outrun lightning, but can't seem to manage it (yet). * low damage tolerance. while he is very agile and prides himself in being hard to catch, when a hit does manage to make the mark, his tolerance for damage will be low. ( he's very soccer player coded in that way. don't trip him while he's running because he will be baby about it for a hot minute. ) * unfocused. while very hard working, he can and will get easily distracted, take on multiple tasks at once regardless of his bandwidth or overestimate how many enemies he can take on which is usually to his detriment. he's also.... very thrill seeking and care free which means he's likely to act on impulse rather than strategy, thinks he's smart enough to improvise his way out of a bind ( most of the time he is )

☁️ . . . ADDITIONAL NOTES

as explained in this super long meta, my default plot for all my greek myth muses is centered around the fact that zeus is destined to be overthrown and is avoiding this prophecy at all costs. hermes is the only other god who is at least somewhat aware of the components of this prophecy and does aid zeus in maintaining power for the sake of keeping the family together and at peace --- for now.

hermes is part kami from his mother's side, maia, who i'm establishing as the daughter of atlas ( the titan condemned to carry the heavens on his shoulders ) and the kami goddess shinatobe, daughter of fūjin, the elder kami of wind. fūjin is one of the eight immortals who resides at the top of the mt. hōrai, but he's known to have oni (ogre/demonic) characteristics, so it's safe to say he didn't offer much in the way of defending hermes or convincing the other gods to allow him entry back to the isle

he has an immortal pet turtle named hayoto whom he brought with him when he first fled mt. hōrai. he will ride along in the messenger bag if not left in hermes' primary residence for when his travels are anticipated to be a bit too dicey for.

he plays the role of psychopomp in two scenarios 1) after a mass fatality event or 2) because zeus sends him specifically as a form of extra security ( likely in the event of a lover or enemy dying ) he only has this ability because of the arm brace he invented which can store and carry souls for short periods of time

hermes currently can't run faster than the speed of light because he knows if he trains himself to outpace lightning that his father will regard this as a threat -- but if he ever does break that barrier, running faster than light reverses time. again, the faster he runs the more taxing it is on his body, so he likely wouldn't be able to tolerate these speeds for more than a few seconds, meaning his ability to travel back in time wouldn't exceed more than a few minutes. if he trains hard enough and finds his way back to mt. horai, the souls might help him figure out that the time vortex has shortcuts, granting him the means to travel back even further.

in the greek mythos, hermes was nursed by nymphs known as the horae, ( goddesses of the seasons and natural portions of time ) who told him stories about zeus and the greek pantheon, stirring his desire to leave home. for the sake of blending this with my canon, i'd rather consider the souls of the mountain as the hōrai, and thus where the island's name comes from. similar to the greek horae, they are entities associated with time, contributing to the island's eternal season of abundance and imparting knowledge and stories by taking your astral form to that specific moment in time -- albeit only as a phantasmal viewer, similar to the ghosts in a christmas carol !

[walkdreams]

❛❛ humanity will do its best to forget how much they need you.  and that's good. we need to stand apart from them.

in the world of thedas, the darkspawn are orc-like creatures who dwell in an underground network of tunnels known as the deep roads. every few centuries, they rise to the surface in a hive-mind attack led by an archdemon. these apocalyptic scourges are known as the blight. out of the darkspawn's tainted essence, enhanced warriors known as the grey wardens were created to kill the archdemon and put a stop to the blight no matter the cost. it has been over 400 years since the last blight, but the fifth blight finally takes root in the country of ferelden.

asteria amell once belonged to a noble house, but as a child, the templar order discovered she was a mage and sent her to the circle tower of ferelden ( a school for mages -- or a prison, depending on who you ask ). after helping a friend escape, she was forcefully drafted into the grey warden order. political treachery lost them the first attack against the blight in ostagar, killed the king of ferelden, wiped out nearly all the grey wardens -- only asteria and alistair survived. with ferelden's borders closed and political ambitions still taking precedence, two warden rookies and their motley crew of unlikely companions are thedas' last hope of stopping the blight before it spreads beyond control.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . MAIN VERSES

✧ origins : the events of the first game unfold and ultimately end with asteria being the warden who kills the archdemon. she survives the ordeal albeit changed, having incidentally absorbed the archdemon's soul unto her own, a fact that is evident to anyone who sees her violet eyes (further explained here). [ alt. companion verse ] asteria can be picked up (or snuck out) during the circle tower crisis and join the warden's party. afterwards, she'd either live as an apostate mage or request to join the wardens as a new recruit during awakening. ✧ awakening / da: 2 : asteria becomes the new warden commander of ferelden tasked with rebuilding the order. however, tensions are high as her survival and rumors of her absorbing the archdemon's soul brew unease among the ranks. after she vanquishes the darkspawn threat in amaranthine, tensions begin to smooth over. she establishes the silver order and becomes the new arlessa of amaranthine ( although actively seeking a means to separate the two roles ). when the mage-templar war starts, asteria receives an influx of mage and templar refugees seeking to join the order. she sets out looking for a cure for the taint so that those who chose this path in desperation could someday reverse it. ( high potential for a crossover verse since asta's search can take her to all sorts of places even outside of thedas ) ✧ inquisition : my default is that asteria gave up her search for the cure and went straight to skyhold upon learning of the breach from a wisp in the fade. this happens sometime after warden commander clarel and the wardens of orlais are killed. after adamant, she becomes the temporary warden commander for the surviving orlesians and leads them in tandem with ferelden's warden forces against corypheus assuming the inquisitor accepts their aid. ✧ trespasser / veilguard : by this time asteria has died, likely in self-sacrifice after losing herself from the calling. mhairi has taken her place as the warden commander of ferelden. however, in death she's ascended / returned to being a spirit of command in the fade. it's very possible that she might be seen again, especially by those whom she took a particular affinity for. she might appear to help them in battle where the veil is thin or if they consent to a temporary possession.

☁️ . . . AU VERSES

✧ greek myth : asteria is the titan goddess of fallen stars and nocturnal oracles. she was a commander leading her father's northern celestial forces during the titanomachy, but was spared from being locked away in tartarus by her daughter hekate's appeal. after being pursued by zeus, asteria fled to the underworld, and has been nyx's ward ever since. [ full bio ] ✧ dnd / critical role : [ affiliated with duskildan ] asteria is the matron of ravens who presides over fate, winter, memories, and death. she was a mortal mage during the age of arcana, but ascended into her position after killing the previous death god. her name and her story has been wiped from historical memory. any remaining legends about her are varied and conflicting, but the one thing that is certain is that she has a disdain for orcus, the demon prince of undeath ( or koschei if we decide to integrate his au here too ). she actively seeks champions to defeat his undead forces and cult followers. ✧ fae verse : asteria is a faerie from the unseelie court and/or winter court. lots of flexibility here, but my default is affiliated with maeinade's unseelie queen, whom asteria assisted in usurping the previous monarch. [ alt. acotar verse ] also flexible. default is that asteria is illyrian, secretly a witch, and was one of the girls who joined the ranks in book 3. she fights in the battle against hybern, and uses her magic to save some but not all of the illyrians who were caught in the cauldron blast.

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. asteria amell diminutives. asta pronouns. she/her titles. champion of redcliffe, hero of ferelden, warden-commander of ferelden, arlessa of amaranthine (verse dependent) age. 19 ( during origins ), 31 ( during da:i ); 42 ( age of death, just before veilguard ) origin. free marcher (w/avvar roots), identifies as ferelden etymology. human mage, spirit medium (spirit of command incarnate)* sexuality. bisexual alignment. chaotic good / neutral relations. ethan amell ( father, deceased ) , revka amell ( mother, presumed dead ), leticia "leto" amell ( half-sister, alive ), aerick ( biological father, deceased ) height. 5'7" build. athletic & mesomorph hair. black & smooth as a river stone, usually kept back in a long braid. eyes. originally blue; now an unnatural violet scars. multiple faint scars, but the most prominent one is from the arrow she took at the tower of ishal. it sits right on her left shoulder, just below her collarbone, about the size of a coin and shaped like a gnarled silver star. there's an identical one on her left shoulder blade where the arrow pierced through. scents. rosemary, deathroot blossoms, bergamot. 

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

* entropy & necromancy specialization.  the school of entropy deals with spells that attack the life force of an enemy and includes: creating death clouds to drain life energy (which can be absorbed to heal herself & companions), drawing residual spirit energy from the surrounding dead to replenish mana, paralyzing, disorienting, spirit bombing etc. necromancy allows her to call on and bind spirits from the fade to dead corpses and command them to attack on her behalf. * spirit medium . not a specialization that can be learned, but one she was born with. mages can interact with spirits and demons in the fade in their dreams, by physically summoning them with spells, or through their possessed vehicles, but spirit mediums are mages who have one foot in each of the two worlds. they can see through the veil and communicate with the beings on the other side at any given moment.  * grey warden abilities . wardens undergo a ritual (the joining) where they infuse darkspawn blood (the taint) with their own. this grants them: enhanced strength, durability, immunity to blighted illness, ability to sense when darkspawn are near, a connection to the darkspawn hivemind controlled by archdemons during a blight. typically, the archdemon can be seen & heard through dreams * archdemon soul absorption . after absorbing the archdemon's soul in the final boss battle, asteria essentially became an archmage, with an increased capacity for mana storage. she refuses to tap into that extra powerbank for a variety of reasons

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS

* other schools of magic . asteria was one of the top students of her class in the circle, and had to learn all the schools of magic at some capacity, but in the years since she's become a warden, she's been out of practice, and relies almost exclusively on entropy & necromancy if not her weapons. * high risk of possession. as a spirit medium, she can see through the veil in the waking word, but likewise those entities can see her. demons are often drawn to mediums like magnets and chisel away at their peace until their will is weak enough for a possession. * the calling . while the joining grants wardens increased abilities, it does not come without consequence. the taint is a poison which corrupts and overtime her mind will become more darkspawn than warden. this process is known as the calling. eventually through delusions it draws a warden to the deeproads where they are sure to meet their death or worse. it usually takes up to 30 years after a joining to hear the calling, but wardens, like asteria, who are active during a blight have this process accelerated, bringing it closer to 10 years. * archdemon soul absorption: although asteria has an increased mana powerbank to draw from, she still has a human body and to tap into that powerbank will take a massive toll on her physically. to draw on it completely might actually kill her.

☁️ . . . ADDITIONAL NOTES

house amell : previously one of the most influential noble families in kirkwall. the family's patriarch, lord aristide ( asteria's grand-uncle ), was favored to become viscount of the city after the chantry ( church of andraste ) called for the arrest the previous one. house amell was well regarded for hosting extravagant balls at lord aristide's estate, but also seen as devout andrastians. however, a slew of scandals tarnished the family name, including asteria's exposure as a mage, ultimately leading to their loss of the viscountship and all their wealth. you can read more about it here.

early childhood : asteria was six when her abilities manifested. as was customary among the elite class, her family did not report this to the chantry and instead hired a tutor to help asteria learn to control and conceal her magic. she was also kept isolated and indoors to mitigate the risk of exposure, but after sneaking out of the estate with her little sister and finding themselves in a heap of trouble, asteria used her powers and was immediately detained by the templars.

kinloch hold , the circle tower of ferelden : although asteria was born and raised in a different country, she was ultimately taken to the circle of ferelden. the kirkwall circle was notoriously known for mistreating mages, so the amells offered a hefty bribe to the chantry to ensure they sent her to a circle run under more humane conditions -- relatively speaking. as a foreigner coming from a place of such privilege, it was hard to make friends, and near impossible once the enchanters classified her as a spirit medium. jowan was the only friend she had.

the harrowing : young mages like asteria are brought into the circle of magi as apprentices who are taught how to wield their magic "to serve man, never to rule over them". the harrowing is a rite of passage every apprentice must undergo to be fully initiated as a member of the circle. an apprentice can be called in for their harrowing at any point during their studies, but usually after the age of 18. the harrowing seeks to test the strength of a mage's will and capability, but the nature of the test is kept secret. regardless, all apprentices know that failing means death. asteria completes her harrowing at age 19, but finds out jowan was refused the chance shortly after.

rite of tranquility : for apprentices who do not want to risk failing a harrowing or who the enchanters and templars deem unlikely to pass from the outset, the rite of tranquility becomes their only other option. it's a procedure that essentially lobatomizes a mage. it severs their tie to the fade, making it impossible for them to dream and thus impossible for a demon to possess them. however, without the ability to dream, they also lose the ability to feel. jowan was denied his harrowing and sought asteria's help to escape the tower to avoid being made tranquil.

perses : at ostagar, asteria cured a sick and unruly mabari hound. the mabari are beloved in ferelden culture, but asteria being a free marcher never really had any particular affinity for the beasts. nonetheless the hound stepped in during an ambush to save her, after which she allowed him to join her camp, naming him perses, the ravager. by the end of her origins campaign perses has grown on her and becomes an invaluable companion until the very end of her life. there's rarely anywhere she goes where he doesn't follow.

deal with the desire demon : you can find most of her canon path choices here, but the most relevant and important to note is that she makes a deal with the desire demon that was possessing connor. it allowed the demon to leave the boy alone for ten years, giving the impression that asteria had vanquished it, and in exchange the demon would cure her sister leto of the blight. she's deeply ashamed by this, and it's the main reason why she avoids any chance at reconnecting with her sister, although she'll use her new rank as warden commander as the excuse. during inquisition, the demon returns to possess connor and she will ask the inquisitor for help in making things right without risking the well being of her sister.

aerick : asteria's biological father. he was an exiled avvar tribesman ( a bloodline known for begetting spirit mediums ) who was then hired as personal guard to revka amell. his affair with revka wasn't suspected until asteria's spirit medium abilities manifested, at which point he was dismissed. he went on to serve the cousland house in ferelden, but died during howe's attack on the cousland family.

[walkdreams]

headcanon re: the amethyst amulet

a little bg on amethyst stones and their connection to dionysus: the name comes from the ancient greek word  améthystos   ─   a   ( “ not ” )   and méthystos   ( “ intoxicated ” )   ─ a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.  the ancient greeks wore amethyst and made drinking vessels decorated with it believing that it would prevent intoxication. later, medieval european soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle,  in the belief that amethysts heal people and keep them cool-headed.

the origin of these beliefs relates to the myth of dionysus and his initial struggle with hera’s curse. i'm building on the dionysisca's account on this one and establishing that shortly before dionysus was ready to set sail for his campaign in mainland greece,  hera convinced persephone to send the furies after him ( under the false pretense that zeus' favor towards him was an insult to the memory of her son zagreus ). he was chased down, subdued, and tortured, leaving him vulnerable enough to be " cursed with madness " in hopes that it might deter him from completing his campaign, and stop him from ascending to heaven as a recognized olympian by zeus’ decree.

in his cursed state,  dionysus lost touch with reality, developed a hunger for flesh and mayhem, and inadvertently slaughtered most of his retinue before realizing what had been done to him. he exiled himself once he came to, wandering into the deserts of asia minor aimlessly to make sure he wouldn't bring harm to anyone else.   it wasn’t until he came across his grandmother rhea that he was able to find a way to subdue hera’s curse:

to dionysos alone had rheia given the amethyst , which preserves the winedrinker from the tyranny of madness .  ( DIONYSIACA . book 12. )

since then, dionysus always wears the amulet of rhea’s amethyst stone, and while it aids tremendously, the curse does rear its head when dionysus doesn’t have a strong will to keep his curse in check ─  which usually happens when he gives into his rage and/or tremendous grief.  however, once he does enter his cursed state, the amethyst is the only thing that can ensure he’ll eventually come back to himself.  without it, there’s little that can be done to bring him back to reality & his humanity.

[walkdreams]

❛❛ the desire before the desire. the lick of beginning to know you don't know. if life is a stage, that is the show. enter dionysus.

defaulting to his modern/1980s NYC arc, but his background follows nonnus' dionysiaca, which considers dionysus the reincarnation of zagreus, the first-born son of hades and persephone. prophesied to overthrow zeus as the only god capable of wielding his thunderbolts, zagreus was seemingly embraced by zeus as his heir with a promise of peaceful succession. however, hera, resenting this decree, orchestrated zagreus' brutal dismemberment and cannibalization by the titans. unbeknownst to all but zeus, zagreus’ heart remained intact after the attack. hoping to reshape the prophecy, zeus fed it to the theban princess semele, making her the surrogate mother of zagreus' new incarnation: dionysus. though hera later attempted to kill semele and her unborn child ( believing it was just another bastard ), dionysus survived and was raised in secret by the maenads of anatolia ( presently eastern turkey ).

when dionysus came of age, zeus offered him a place among the olympians, but as a demigod, he could only achieve apotheosis by earning mortal worship. he chose to do so by spreading the teachings of the maenads; their customs ( which valued social freedoms and communal equality ) clashed with traditional greek ideals but quickly resonated with the oppressed masses. his cult began to disrupt the status quo in both the mortal and divine world, and though his apotheosis came at the cost of much bloodshed and strife, he was ultimately recognized not just as a god of wine and ecstasy, but as a force of transformation, rebellion, and rebirth.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . MAIN VERSES

✧ modern / 1980s arc : with views too far ahead of their time, the roman edict of 186 BC called for the crucifixion and disbanding of the bacchants, resulting in dionysus' decision to finally remove himself from mortal affairs. it isn't until the turn of the 20th century that this sentiment begins to shift. by the 1920s prohibition era they start to fully immerse themselves again and establish a new temple in the form of an elusive bar called club mystes (more info here). my default for this verse is set during the 80s or anytime before, but their canon will likely not surpass the 1990s/00s unless plotted otherwise. ✧ asia minor arc : dionysus' coming of age story. by 17, zeus has finally set them on a decades-long campaign to become the first and only demigod turned olympian. during this arc, gods & kings alike have started to become aware of an alleged mortal-born god rising in the east. all interactions here take place in asia minor, where his retinue is still new and growing, mead is the libation of his worship ( wine has yet to be invented ), he doesn't know he's the reincarnation of zagreus, and has yet to be cursed with madness. by 25 he's managed to spread his cult across asia minor and is ready to set sail for mainland greece. ✧ greek campaign arc : after a victorious campaign in asia minor, hera’s curse (more info here) trapped dionysus in a beastial rage, forcing him to wander the assyrian desert for seven years. he was found by rhea, who eventually restored his senses with an amethyst amulet and taught him the art of harvest, leading to his creation of wine -- the new sacrament of his worship. rebuilding his strength and army in the isle of naxos, dionysus finally sets out for greece, where he comes in contact with the rest of the greek pantheon, seeks allies, and wages war against kings who have opposed and enslaved the bacchants. ✧ apotheosis arc : a final battle against perseus in argos (hera's patron city), ends in a stalemate and forces dionysus to earn his apotheosis by doing the impossible: journey to the underworld and complete three trials put before him by its king & queen. this verse primarily focuses on those trials, but ultimately ends in the discovery that dionysus is zagreus reincarnated. with the trials completed, he ascends as a fully initiated olympian god where he respect for his father and the rest of the pantheon quickly wanes. they choose to reside in the mortal realm, where his cult still struggles with persecution and his battle to garner respect still wages on.

☁️ . . . AU VERSES

✧ dc/comic verse : background primarily follows his main verses, except dionysus is a demigod hero akin to wonder woman rather than a full fledged deity. he was most active during ancient times and retires as a club owner by the modern age. after mysteriously losing his amethyst amulet, he went on a dissociative rampage across metropolis, killing dozens before the suicide squad subdued him. disgraced and imprisoned by A.R.G.U.S. at a task force x blacksite, research on his retrieved necklace led to the creation of an implant that mimics its connection to dionysus' mind— allowing amanda waller to direct and tranquilize him at her whim. though he aligns with many of the squad’s missions, dionysus resents his lack of free-will and suspects a.r.g.u.s. has a hidden motive for keeping a demigod under the government's control. [alt. verse] he's desire of the endless coupled with aura davina / eros ( ohkuneho ) ✧ dragon age : open to different avenues, but i like the idea of him as one of the chasind, starting as an apostate mage raised in the wilds but ultimately becoming a leading figure in the mage-templar war. as such, they'd likely be a recruitable companion during da:o and an alternate leader of the rebel mages who can align themselves with the inquisitor during da:i. ✧ pjo (canon divergent): by the 1990s dionysus becomes the head counselor of camp halfblood, albeit begrudgingly. the reason why zeus exiles him to babysitting duty varies, but despite being far from his prime, he's more than qualified to train the current demigods to fight off monsters and save the world. if we incorporate his daughter renata into the plot, then dionysus eventually dies after sacrificing himself for her resurrection.

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. dionysus epithets. lysios / liber ( the liberator ), bakkhos ( of the bacchic frenzy ) bromios ( the boisterous ), omestes ( devourer of flesh ), mainoles ( the mad, raging one ) , dimetor ( the twice-born ) pronouns. he/they, (non-binary, male presenting) titles. god of wine, revelry, ecstasy, madness & theatre. cult leader of the maenads & satyrs. heir of olympus. age. ~3375 birthdate(s): spring equinox ( mar. 21, 1350 BCE. -- when he was born as zagreus ); winter solstice ( dec. 25 , 1353 BCE. when he was re-born as dionysus) origin. thebes, greece etymology. olympian / chthonic god , demigod ( verse dependent ) sexuality. pansexual alignment .  chaotic good / neutral relations. semele (surrogate mother), zeus (surrogate father), persephone (mother), hades (father), ariadne (wife) height. 5'10" build. slender , athletic , the power & grace of a ballet dancer hair. dark brown , soft & curled, typically shoulder length eyes. wine-dark & sultry, deep red-violet scars. quite a few from his warring as a demigod, but after his ascension these became very feint and unnoticeable unless closely inspected scents. grape, pine sap, myrhh, lavender, honey

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

* botantical manipulation : can create, shape and manipulate plant life, including vines, wood, moss, fruit, leaves, flowers ect. ; cause plants to grow or decay; use plant chemicals to heal or poison ; animate vines, thorns, & other plants to attack enemies. * seductive magnetism : radiates a supernatural beauty & attractive aura, naturally inducing pleasure and desire while subtly lifting inhibitions ; affected targets are more inclined to be persuaded, or lessen their desire to physically harm him. ( think pentheus & the pirates ) * mind possession / manipulation : possesses the minds of any living being / groups of beings, manipulating their actions, motor senses and / or perceptions of reality ; can be used to invoke self - destructive madness, or empower ( only temporary and most potent after ingesting his wine ) * ecstasy/pleasure manipulation : manipulates pleasure responses ( whether mental, spiritual, physical, social, sexual ect. ) ; induces targets with either extreme bliss or painful discomfort, usually through physical touch, mental possession, or ingestion of his wine. * anarchy manipulation .  invokes an absence or lack of government / social restraints over a large radius, ranging from a single person to small villages to large cities, creating riotous behaviors, rebellion, social disorder & disruption. * beastial transmutation .  transmutates into the form of predatory beasts, typically a wild cat or serpent ; can also invoke beastial characteristics unto others ( usually the maenads , which is where they get their superhuman strength, claws, and hunger for raw flesh ).

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS / WEAKNESSES

* hera's curse . leaves him in a permanent state of "madness" wherein he has no better sense of self or reason than a predatory beast. his bloodlust and destructive impulses will take over unless he's wearing his amethyst necklace. the curse also gives him an appetite for raw flesh. with the necklace, this appetite remains the same albeit controlled. he can eat other foods to blend in, but only meat truly sustains him. to go without for long periods would weaken him and put a damper on his necklace's effect over his beastial impulses. * harmonia's curse . as a way of punishing aphrodite and ares, hephaestus gifted their daughter harmonia a cursed necklace on her wedding day, intended to bring tragic misfortunes not only to the wearer, but her entire royal lineage. so many famous greek tragedies take place in thebes for this very reason ( i.e, the bacchae, antigone, and opedipus rex). tragedy has always followed dionysus and usually manifests in the death of his mortal loved ones, or the constant persecution and slaughter of his retinue. fate will always find a way to counterbalance his wins and can function as a deterrent in some situations. * battle strategy . historically, alexander the great considered dionysus his military idol and spent all his life trying to surpass his success, so this isn't meant to discredit his prowess in battle, but i see dionysus' military success largely due to the unified pack mentality and unflinching, unrelenting brutality of his army more so than strategy. the fact that perseus was the only opponent to bring him to a stalemate by way of cleverness ( using medusa's head to turn him into stone ) speaks to this, and big-brained ariadne ( or a similar strategist at his side ) is the only reason why he didn't die that day. * mortal-born weaknesses . dionysus bleeds red like a mortal prior to apotheosis and then a wine red-violet afterwards instead of golden ichor. consumption of his blood can grant a fraction of his abilities, and although he is immortal and cannot be killed in the usual sense, his mortal origins and the sharing of his power in group combat settings make him less impervious to injury than most gods -- significantly so during their years as a demigod. his training is what he really depends on more so than a godlike infallibility.

☁️ . . . ADDITIONAL NOTES

the thiasos .  the general term for dionysus’ ecstatic retinue is the thiasos which consists of the maenads, the bacchants, satyrs, and sacred animals who almost always accompany him in his travels and arrival to different city-states like a procession. those who are willing and able to fight also serve as members of dionysus’ army in battle.

the maenads .  the maenads are the most significant and trusted members of the thiasos, consisting primarily of women. they serve as high priestesses, leading the thiasos in dionysus’ absence or alongside him. they also serve as the generals of dionysus’ armies. the maenads originally consisted of dionysus’ nurses, anatolian nymphs similar to the amazons. the rest of the maenads consist of women the thiasos have come across who have joined them & shown their loyalty & aptitude for leading the cause as an equal to dionysus.

the bacchants .  the general term for members of the thiasos, so basically anyone who is not a maenad in the group is considered a bacchant. these consist of people and immortals from all walks of life who have either fled from oppression and found sanctuary in the group, or who sympathized for humanity's plight and want to assist in the movement towards a more equal greece. meaning, dionysus is not solely followed by women, he is followed by slaves, foreigners, elite citizens, nymphs & other immortals alike.

bacchanalia / dionysia .  the official name for the greco-roman gatherings and celebrations held in dionysus’ honor. these often include drinking , dancing , ecstatic trance and fornication, sparagmos rituals, omophagia rituals, theater competitions, and just an overall communion with other worshippers of dionysus.

sparagmos .  the greek word means “ to tear apart or render ” and it is one of the central rites of the cult, meant to symbolize dionysus’ death as zagreus when the titans ripped him to pieces in the form of a bull. similarly, in a bacchic frenzy his followers are given the supernatural strength to render an animal, usually a bull, to pieces, or even a human if one should have particularly threatened or offended the thiasos. pentheus and orpheus were victims of sparagmos. this ritual came to pass only after dionysus was cursed with madness and discovered his chthonic origins.

omophogia .  following sparagmos comes omophagia “ the eating of raw meat / flesh ” dionysus’ curse has given him an appetite for raw flesh, so following a sparagmos ritual, his followers offer the remaining flesh to dionysus for consumption. however, sharing in dionysus’ power also means sharing his curse, so the maenads sometimes engage in omophagia as well. it's treated as a sacred act because following zagreus’ dismemberment, semele consumed his heart, and so omophagia serves as a symbol of rebirth / redistribution of matter where sparagmos symbolizes death.

[walkdreams]

headcanon re: hera's curse & dionysus' mental illness

dionysus may have been   “  cursed with madness  ”  by hera’s doing ,   but i think it’s important to elaborate on this because   1 )   the term madness is too generalizing ,  and  2 )   i want to make it known that there is a distinction between his curse and his mental illness .   dionysus was not cursed with a mental disorder .  he’s always had one.   

in antiquity ( and even up until the last century tbh ),  any behavior that wasn’t   "  normal  ”   was just called   “  madness  ” or " hysteria ".   obviously a proper diagnosis wasn't possible for him back then, but for my reference and for any modern / human verses, i'm establishing that dionysus has borderline personality disorder .   canonically ,   it's the closest diagnosis to explain his behaviors and motivations ( i can go into this in a separate meta ),  but it’s not what he considers to be his curse.  

in fact ,  his bpd ,  while still challenging to manage and by no means a blessing,   is still something that makes dionysus so uniquely himself.  he's a god who still experiences human emotions at the highest of highs and lowest of lows, and it's tricky to navigate, exhausting to deal with, but what makes him a god who rightfully embodies revelry,  ecstasy & theater.  it is only because of his bpd that he is able to feel human experiences so wholeheartedly and deeper than most,  and is thus able to share the depths of those emotions with others. and that can be a beautiful thing. 

as for hera’s curse ,   it was related to the mind yes ,   but the purpose of the curse was to make a beast out of dionysus ,   who thereafter would always hunger for raw flesh and have no sense of reality nor his humanity .  this is why you see dionysus take on epithets like  “  omestes  ”  (  flesh-eater  ).  it was not typical for the gods to receive offerings of  flesh because  ( thanks to prometheus ) the gods could only receive offerings of bones and fat .  hera’s curse made a point to make dionysus different , as if to say that he was so uncivilized ,   so barbaric & ungodly that he could only feast on raw meat ,  thus making it even more difficult for the greeks to believe or even accept his legitimacy as a god during his campaign .

so basically , it’s important to note that his disorder is not what makes dionysus a monster ( no more demonizing people w/ mental illnesses thx ) , but it did make living with a monstrous curse more difficult to manage, and it’s also why it’s so important that he always wear his amethyst necklace to not only keep the curse at bay, but to help reel him back in when his bpd ( and with it the tendency to give in to recklessness and frustration ) starts rocking the boat a little too hard.

[walkdreams]

CLUB MYSTES : NEW YORK, 1986

welcome to the afterworld nestled in the heart of greenwich village, what started out as a word of mouth speakeasy during the prohibition era later became a secret and enigmatic nightclub known as club mystes. by the late 60s/70s, it became the main hub for dionysus and their much smaller and less active cult. it's not a place recognized by the mainstream in part because dionysus shields it from the public eye, and the only ones who remember a night spent here are the ones he trusts to protect the secret. now in the 80s, most who pass are blind to it and go on thinking the club is just an abandoned liquor store; but those with proper invitation, accompanied by a regular, or with the gift of sight would see the bright neon sign to the city's hidden haven, guarded by a ram-horned bouncer, ushering in a long line of revelers from all walks of life. this isn't a place that checks for IDs, but akratos will know with one look if you're allowed in, and which dance floors you'll have access to.

floor 001 : bacchanalia upon entering, the first floor is an explosion of color, glitter, strobes, disco balls and vibrantly expressive patrons and dancers, which reflects the increasingly influential glam rock, disco, and new wave genres of the era, as well as the art movements and underground culture of the queer community. rivaling the palladium ( another nightclub in the city which catered to big names ) club mystes is the cradle for up and coming artists, and meant for the everyday person living in a particularly tumultuous time for the city. it's a safe and inclusive space to find and express yourself, mobilize with like-minded individuals, or just grab a drink and dance your worries away for a night. dionysus, if they aren't on the floor, can be found usually experimenting with mixology recipes behind the bar, and if you're lucky they could let you try one!

floor 002: sparagmos by the bar is a set of cushioned double doors, behind which is a set of stairs to a large wine-cellar-turned-rock-venue. think cbgb's minus the exploitation and if it was, again, a safe space. the walls and old barrels are riddled with posters of bands who had their first gigs here, random decals, chewing gum, spray paint, and an amalgamation of red and white signatures of any person who remembered to make their mark. the sharpies can be found in cups made from old wine bottles that are scattered on the high tops around the perimeter of the room. the atmosphere is raucous and heady; an ecstasy built up and stripped down by dreamy synths and guitar shreds that tear away inhibitions and encourage unabashed exploration into whatever the body needs for catharsis (be it dancing, singing, yelling, kissing -- whatever feels right)

floor 003: omophagia for those who are curious enough and/or ready for initiation, a door that blends into the wall by the bathrooms will open up to a dark spiraling staircase which will seem to wind down endlessly. alternative / goth rock isn't for everyone, but those who are open to experiencing the dionysian mysteries in full at this point won't feel completely in control nor remember much of what happens next. it could have been a hundred people or just them down there, but the feeling was one of surrender, terror, bliss, and the abandonment of the mind and body. they'll wake up in bed the next day with light scratches on their exposed flesh, as if they were running through branches, and the taste of blood on their tongues. more than likely it's just dried up juice they'll find coating their mouths and hands. regardless of whatever they think happened down there, it changed them, unlocked a sliver of an inner most truth, and if they can handle that truth, they'll be welcome to come back to do it all over again and become more aware each time.

[walkdreams]

❛❛ she appears in weird shapes and strange forms, now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness

loosely based on the orphic myths, melinöe is a goddess of ghosts, nightmares & madness. she is known as the formless one for her shapeshifting abilities, the propitiated one by those who pray she does not visit them at night with her train of revengeful ghosts, and also as a crossroads deity, capable of infiltrating any realm so long as the sun is down. she is the second-born daughter of hades & persephone, stolen at birth by echidna at the start of the gigantomachy, and who remains estranged after discovering this.

her domain is in the river of wailing, where she offers an alternative option to the souls who were not given proper burial, endured a violent death, and/or did not have the toll to pay the ferryman. rather than spend the hundred years wandering in the banks of the river styx, they're given the chance to join her retinue in a nightly exodus to haunt in her name. melinöe herself often pays personal visits to the sleeping, invading and manipulating the dreams laid out by morpheus by taking the shape of their worst nightmares.

✧ headcanons ✧ visuals ✧ threads

☁️ . . . VERSES

✧ main : aligned primarily with greek myth canon, but can be applied to various settings & fantasy crossovers. she can be the entity associated with whatever boogeyman or nightmare figure applies. the background here is that melinöe was born formless ( thus difficult to identify ), so echidna stole her away to raise as her own, shaped her into the frightful and formidable deity she is currently, and used her as a force against house hades during the gigantomachy. after discovering that she wasn't echidna's daughter ( default is that hekate unearthed this ), she turned against the gigantes, but remained estranged to house hades all the same. although she offers passage of out hades, the unknown catch is that with each exit out of the underworld, a spirit will lose more of their memory until they become a shade with no sense of identity or purpose apart from serving the phantom queen. ✧ supergiant's hades : canon-divergent. same background here applies until i get through the full playthrough, but this is the primary verse where i will play around with mel being more anti-heroine skewed. she was the one who unleashed kronus, the titan of time ( and her grandfather ) who takes hades hostage. after discovering her true parentage, she begrudgingly agrees to train with hekate and save her father ( as a debt she feels she owes, not out of love ). [alt. adjacent verse] slaying the titan of time ultimately opens up some crossover plots where she's the new time anchor capable of traveling across timelines in the multiverse. ✧ dragon age : my favorite verse for her !! she's the formless one ( aka the last surviving forbidden one after da:i ) which i'm establishing to be a fear demon, and more specifically the nightmare demon in inquisition who commands all demons in alignment with corypheus. she was once a spirit of hope who absorbed the fears of thedas, but over time this corrupted her and turned her into the first fear demon, essentially a mirror of whatever horror plagues the collective. at this time she's a nightmare demon who primarily embodies with the blight because that's the most prevalent existential dread, but being the formless one means she can evolve to encapsulate something else. ✧ sandman / supernatural / comic villain : when morpheus first created the dreaming, he also created a formless dream who was meant to serve as a swiss army knife of sorts, encompassing whatever ideation proved most convenient for his running and expansion of the realm. eventually, melinöe became the first and most dangerous nightmare in morpheus' arsenal, especially after learning dreamers leave empty vessels in the waking world. she'd come to possess a few of these bodies and encountered some ghosts whom she assisted in doing the same. as a result, morpheus was forced to imprison her deep inside his nightmare box to prevent a rift between realms, but after his death and daniel's ascension, she manages to escape through the weakened wards and is now seeking to turn the waking world into her own realm of living nightmares by turning unwary sleepers into possessed shadow monsters.

☁️ . . . DOSSIER

name. melinöe epithets. the formless one, phantom queen, dark-mind, propitiation-minded pronouns. she/they (non-binary, female presenting) age. immortal pantheon. hellenistic polytheism etymology. chthonic goddess sexuality. pansexual alignment. chaotic evil / neutral relations. hades (father), persephone (mother), echidna (false mother), zagreus (brother), makaria (sister), aya akazawa ( sister), hekate (mentor), morpheus (🔪) height. 5'7" build. she will usually present herself as a nebulous shadow with only her eyes as a discernible feature, but her base form is lithe and toned. she has a white phantom forearm (left) that she keeps gloved. it's very bright, the only heavenly thing about her, but it is also translucent and exposes her ethereal skeleton. hair. tar black, floating around chaotically like tentacles. think eris from sinbad. eyes. varies. they could be translucent in the dark, a cloudy grey and rotted, black, yellow like spider guts, or burning pits distinguishing markers. spiders skittering in swarms, dogs barking at night, radio silence, a sudden drop in temperature, a dark face in the back of your eyelids, the sound of mourning cries in another room scents. burning sage, saffron, grave dirt

☁️ . . . ABILITIES / SKILLSET

* shape-shfting. less focused on concrete shapes than obscure and terrifying figures; however, this ability is also very much reflective of her environment and the person she is haunting. if their worst nightmare involves another person, she will embody that shape. * dimensional travel. a very stealthy ghoul! there is nowhere you can hide if it's night and you are sleeping without protection. that's the in miss boogey woman needs to find you. however, she can also travel the axis mundi aka "the crossroads" between realms in the greek pantheon without restrictions and take others through those roads so long as they accompany her throughout. otherwise, they could get stuck in limbo there. (in her alt. sg hades verse she'll ultimately be able to travel the multiverse this way) * possession. again, without protective measures or if someone is frightened enough to slip past the defense of their will, she and/or one of her ghosts can possess them and live within the confines of their mind like a parasite. * combat skills. while stunning or deceiving enemies through visions and torturous encounters is her go-to method, melinöe is also a very capable fighter. you can consider her more of a rogue. she's a dual wielder and her weapons are usually a pair of crescent shaped sickles. * magic phantom arm. allows her to shoot blasts of burning ectoplasm and cast simple entropy spells. it'll usually be gloved which dampens the effect, but when it isn't, and given enough time to boot it, she can nuke something.

☁️ . . . RESTRICTIONS

* sensitivity to sunlight. she is incapable of being in the sun without extensive damage. it won't kill her, but she will be in agony and incapacitated, and hella pissed if she escapes. rooms with bright lights are also very annoying, she'll find a way to shut them off or dim them to scare someone, but also for her own comfort. * protective tokens & practices. salt rings or salt along thresholds will keep her and her ghosts barred from entering a home, but melinöe may still be able to sneak in from a sleeping mind within that home, unless you have protective bells that will stir when she's near and wake them before she's found her way through. protective crystals and sage may also keep her from finding someone or dampen/cleanse her influence, but won't stop her from entering a room. * combat. without her abilities at her disposal, she's more vulnerable to being overcome in combat. she won't be easy to take down, as she is fast and very precise, but in terms of the damage that she can take before being subdued, this is low and her weakest point.