#Asterius the Cursed

[crypticcodexcreations]

The Fated Twins

Finally starting to write again slowly but surely and ended up with this piece coming out really well, so here! Time to meet some characters I haven't talked about on this blog before!

Silence enveloped the small house like a warm blanket, a young man slipping from his bedroom with a book held against his chest. He snuck down the hall, avoiding the creaky boards outside of his parents’ room, stopping outside his brother’s door and taking a deep breath. The door creaked slightly as he opened it, clicking into place as he closed it behind him. His twin slept on, undisturbed by the soft noises of their home.

He paused again, knowing that this would be his last chance to back out of his plan. He’d been studying the books the mages had extensively, trying to grasp the magic surrounding the prophecy that supposedly bound him and his twin. He was sure that this book held the answer he needed, if his brother would just agree to the ritual. Slowly, he closed the distance to his sleeping brother’s bed, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder and gently shaking him awake.

“Asterius. Wake up.” Tired red eyes blinked up at him as Asterius woke up slowly, eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“Alastor? You should be asleep… Don’t you have to train early tomorrow?” Alastor grinned at Asterius, holding the book up for his brother to see.

“This is more important, Asterius. I found a spell that should break the prophecy and free you. We need to do it outside or we might wake up mom and dad.” Alastor was grinning widely, waiting for his brother. Asterius sat up slowly, looking at his brother already all dressed and ready, the rich robes the mages had given him just barely brushing the dusty floor beneath his feet.

“Break the prophecy? I…” Asterius stopped, instead standing to get dressed. Alastor opened the window, climbing outside, the gentle night breeze blowing through his long black hair. Asterius joined him quickly, shivering slightly. “What do you mean, Alastor?”

Asterius followed as Alastor started leading the way through the trees to where he had been preparing for the ritual. He glanced back for a moment before focusing his gaze forward to make sure they stayed on the right path.

“It’s a magical prophecy, right? So you’re apparently going to destroy the world whether you want to or not.” Asterius nodded at Alastor’s words, looking down at the ground, eyes locked onto his brother’s back. Alastor continued to talk.

“So it must be some sort of strong magical effect. I found a ritual in this book that the mages had. It’s supposed to be able to dispel magic on a person! And since I’m the chosen one, obviously I should be strong enough to break whatever magic is binding you to the prophecy’s will!” Asterius looked up at that, a faint glimmer of hope stirring in his eyes.

“How will we know if it works?” Alastor stopped as they came to the spell circle he had prepared, looking at Asterius.

“The mages said that our eyes are the mark of the prophecy, and if that’s true, then your eyes should change color.” Asterius blinked, looking around at the magical symbols in the dirt that he’d never been taught to understand.

“So what do we need to do, Alastor?” With a simple handwave, the sleeve of Alastor’s robe fluttered as he motioned to the center of the spell circle.

“Stand there, in the center, I’ll do the rest, Asterius.” Alastor moved to a tree, digging in the dirt around its root and pulling out a bag. He set up candles around the edge of the circle. Asterius stood where he was told, following his brother with his eyes, examining the symbols carved into the candles. Slowly, Alastor went around the circle again, lighting the candles this time. As the flame on the last one was lit, Asterius found himself frozen in place.

“Alastor?! Why can’t I move?!” Alastor looked at him, still grinning, the flickering candlelight reflecting off his golden eyes in a way that made Asterius’s stomach flip.

“This is normal, Asterius! Once I’m done with the ritual, you’ll be able to move again. It’s just so that you can’t break the spell circle and accidentally hurt yourself.” Alastor opened the book, eyes scanning the pages until he found the spells he wanted. Asterius whined softly, the feeling that something wasn’t right with this creeping into his mind.

“How will we know if it worked?” At first, Alastor ignored him, instead reading the words on the page aloud, moving his fingers the way the mages had taught him, the wind starting to pick up as he channeled the magic. Once he finished, he started to laugh.

“We’ll know it worked because you’ll be gone!” Asterius’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to object, but no sound came out. “I knew I’d have to silence you. There’s no way I could focus on the ritual if you could speak. Why should I wait for however the prophecy is going to force us against each other? I know that you’ll destroy everything, and that’s enough reason to me to get rid of you now, no matter what the mages say. They don’t want to kill you, spout something about messing with forces I don’t understand, but they’re fools! My destiny is to stop you from destroying the world and I’ll do that now!”

Tears rolled down Asterius’s cheeks as Alastor explained it all to him. He went back to the book, starting to read the words on the page aloud, the wind starting to whip the tree branches overhead. Alastor’s magic flooded the circle around Asterius as he was powerless to help himself. Asterius closed his eyes. He had hoped that he could avoid his fate, that there was some way he could dodge the prophecy’s design for him. He had never wanted to hurt anyone. Perhaps this was for the better? If he were gone, he couldn’t hurt anyone. Maybe Alastor wouldn’t have to spend all his days training either and could do whatever he wanted.

As the wind howled, Asterius slowly found himself accepting his fate. He just hoped that everything would be better because of it. Slowly, he lost all awareness of the world around him, and drifted into the silent abyss.

As the spell hit it’s end, the energy exploded out into bright, shining light, blowing Alastor back into the tree behind him, leaving him seeing stars. Alastor groaned as his body ached. He hadn’t expected the banishing ritual to react that way. He got up slowly, trying to ignore the pain. The candles had gone out, the smoke sparkling softly as it curled up into the sky.

Quickly, Alastor started shoving everything from the ritual back into the bag he’d hidden it in. He went around the circle with his foot, trying to completely erase the circle and symbols. Once it looked as natural as he could manage, he hurried to the nearby river, throwing the bag in to be carried off, hiding the evidence of his secret ritual. He snuck back to the house, leaving his brother’s window open before sneaking back to bed. In the morning, it would be assumed that his brother ran away and Alastor had no intentions of correcting anyone.

[narsh-poptarts]

Darn you image limit...

My computer is in the shop so I found myself extremely bored!! DND drawing time!!!!!

1 Vari our human warlock, 2 Asterius, second campaign's minotaur barbarian, 3 Cello, previous previous campaign's (former) aasimar monk, 4-5 Jack, human gunslinger fighter cowboy (me), 6 first full page, containing additional character of Lockson Qui, a construct npc who had an orb among other things, 7 second full page, bottom right containing Riffle, our kenku rogue, 8 Iseult, our water genasi cleric, 9 Connection, our teifling wizard who JUST got the Identify spell, 10 the captain of our ship, Kikou, an owlin Ranger who is 2 ft tall and the shortest in the party

[sanska]

Not even just the Hades game, I want to see someone address the scenario of Minos being an underworld judge and his kids most likely having to be subject to his ruling once more, esp one that would decide their literal fate in the afterlife

(They would likely never dare to because standing up against someone you saw as authority your whole life is hard, but I want one of them making it to the judging panel and blowing a gasket at seeing dear old dad. At least Asterius gets spared that fiasco but idk if Phaedra/Ariadne/the rest dies before Minos does)

Actually something fun would be Hades explaining how Asterius is in elysium? Or maybe Minos hearing that the champions are Theseus (moron who ruined his entire labyrinth operation and stole his daughters) and the literal Minotaur (who got there before Minos became judge). A scenario where he tries to question Asterius place among heroes and going into the game subplot you suggested :)

A missed potential in Hades (the game)

Ok, listen. I'm a fan of Supergiant Game's Hades (haven't played Hades II yet. Because my PC is a potato and I hope the full version will be in PS4). Yes there are bothersome inaccuracies, but...

The characters are fun, the game is surprisingly not repetitive yet consistent, the mechanics are cool, Hades and Persephone are actually compelling (a miracle in mythology retellings). And Hypnos is a fun lil goober.

But I feel like there was one huge missed potential. No, I'm not complaining about Dionysus for the 100th time or OdyPen being tossed in the trash in Hades II (gosh I hope it's a fake out and they're still together 🙏🙏🙏).

I'm talking about this guy :

This is Asterius, better known as the Minotaur. Yes it's the third time I talk about him today, but I just had an idea for him that I want to share.

I actually like what Hades did with him ! Again, I have more positive thoughts about this game than negative.

I'd even go as far as to say this is the best version of Asterius I've seen, imo.

He's an actual character, capable of speech. He's not always seen as Theseus' sidekick, even having his own moments with Zagreus. He's the more intelligent one, he's more human than Theseus and I love that about him. Like Achilles, but to a much higher degree, he mellowed down in the afterlife and lost his murderous rage.

The ironic friendship with his murderer is also very cool.

But we could've done so much more with this wonderful concept. Hades is essentially a game about mending broken relationships: Persephone and her family, Orpheus and Eurydice, Achilles and Patroclus, Thanatos and Hypnos... but Theseus and Asterius never really contributed to the main plot. They're just kinda there, doing their own thing.

I think adding ONE element would change everything, an important part of the Underworld (so Zagreus can interact with it) and something interesting for both Theseus and Asterius : the three judges. More specifically Minos.

A plotline where Minos and Asterius' abusive relationship will be discussed and Theseus actually being a good person for once and standing up for his friend.

Maybe with Minos apologizing and seeing that Asterius isn't a monster. And Zagreus being the catalyst for fixing the relationship, because in all those encounters, he learned to know who Asterius is.

Bonus point if Ariadne and/or Phaedra are mentioned. I see the latter appearing. Heck, maybe the former in a "Dionysus wants to resurrect her" storyline.

But this post is about Asterius and Minos. Between the underworld themes, the broken family of Crete, Asterius' humanity, Theseus humbling himself, it'd have been integrated so seamlessly !!

Just by adding a room for the three judges, with whom Zag regularly interacts, or fights as bosses, or just NPCs like Charon/Chaos with unique gimmicks.

Maybe fun interactions with Radamanthus and Aeacus too, though I have less ideas for them.

Please tell me there's a fanfic out there exploring that ! Or that Hades II will somehow do it 🙏.

[jadedbug]

since we’re getting odysseus in hades 2 and considering the heavy witchcraft themes with hecate and melinoe, we’re probably also going to get circe!!! if they go all the way with odyseuss’ story we’ll likely also see calypso and penelope (penelope as weaver could also thematically connect to arachne). odysseus being athena’s best boy also connects us to arachne (cursed by athena)

if we do get circe she may make references to medea and jason (since medea is her niece and she helped her and jason perform a ritual purification!) but circe is also connected to Asterius, who is her nephew! her sister pasiphae was queen of crete and mother to the minotaur (asterius, as well as ariadne, who maybe we’ll learn more about from dionysus! though i can dream that she will show up somehow…)

[astravires]

not a god's chosen but a god's cursed.......

.....i'm starting to think i should try the hades 2 alpha...

asterius, mainly because i wanted to use @j3lly-fish's latest overlay. i would say he's a gym-bro, but he only lifts weights so he can carry more books

[newvegascowboy]

Who was gonna tell me cursed slash was actually the best weapon mod to pick up

I love how i can go from sucking at a game to pulling something off in an unimaginable feat of skill and then go right back to sucking

[stillness138]

where are characters from the first Hades game now, and some other character-centric theories:

inspired by this post by @thebuttsmcgee

so from the technical test gameplay stream we learned that Chronos straight up took over the underworld and kidnapped not only Hades, but Zagreus and Persephone too. out of the underworlders from the first game, Charon is still doing his thing in secret, Skelly returns in a new coat, the Wretched Broker is back too, and Hypnos is the only other guy from the House who's hiding at Hecate's hub, but he's also fast asleep...

personally, i think Hypnos might be cursed or something like that. Chronos using Hypnos's schtick against him? lose time by sleeping through it all? or maybe he just wakes up a bit later. hell, maybe he's always asleep during the test but not the final game because he would've dropped a spoiler or something.

so what about the rest?

assuming they're not all imprisoned somehow,

-Nyx and Thanatos: they could've fled to Chaos. a narrator's note at the Crossroads says that it houses 'those still loyal to lord Hades', but doesn't necessarily say 'all of them'. Nyx visits Chaos in the first game once their relationship is mended, and like the post i linked said, Than would've probably tried to protect the family and the House for as long as he could. but in the face of no other option, i think Chaos would be a viable place to flee to for the two of them, out of Chronos's reach similarly to the Crossroads. Than also visits the surface though, so maybe he'll show up at the Crossroads at some point? maybe in a plot point, trying to help Mel free Zag and the fam? both of them are important enough to warrant an appearance.

-the Furies: my idea is that all three of them were forced to serve Chronos. they're a very important part of security and upkeep down there, i think he would've wanted the realm's employees on his side. i don't however think they're going to be the bossfight between Asphodel and Tartarus. they, or Meg alone, should have some presence however.

-Sisiphus: it would be kinda cute if the furies went behind Chronos's back and helped to tuck Sisiphus away somewhere safe, given that he is loyal to Zag/the family and maybe that'd mean they were ordered to torture him again. depends on what Chronos's rule over the underworld looks like for the different shades there, but Melinoë speaks to the few that hang around at Crossroads in an almost comforting manner, so i imagine Chronos is trying to rule by fear and get shades on his side that way. Bouldy's gonna be sad, but fine. i hope. but at least a mention would be nice.

-Achilles and Patroclus (and Theseus&Asterius): ...they're probably separated again, aren't they... brainstorming now, i like (pain and) the idea that they're both in Elysium, just not together. because i think Elysium would've risen up as an army of sorts trying to oppose Chronos, given it's all warriors and heroes. separated by war. Nemesis having Stygius with her makes me believe Achilles could be wielding Varatha. additionally, Theseus being forced to step up and put his vanity aside, delicious idea i think. also, Mel arriving to this supposed paradise only to find it in a desolate state. all of them, i think, should be at the very least mentioned too.

-Orpheus and Euridice: they could be both hiding or imprisoned or forced to serve, but. what if this time it's Euridice who's looking for Orpheus. he's at the house and at Chronos's whim, while she makes it to the Crossroads and asks Mel for help. it'd be a shame if they were never heard from again.

-Cerberus: probably locked up with the fam :( orrr he's running wild all around the realm and Chronos is literally incapable of taming him. that would've been fun. Cerberus bossfight tho... nah. no way he wouldn't see something familiar in Mel. but it could be fun too if done right. he definitely has to reappear.

-Dusa: wild theory time but she's hiding in the rafters, spying on Chronos. :D. if the situation is much more dire, she's either also forced to serve, or even banished into Asphodel to be with the other gorgon heads. either way i think she'll pop up again in some capacity.

-House Contractor, Head Chef, Resource Director: probably unwillingly continuing their jobs under Chronos's rule. although the chef might've lost his job, depends if Chronos like, eats normal food. well mostly onions and fish but still. alternatively, the chef will also show up at Crossroads like the Wretched Broker does.

-THE GOOD SHADE from Elysium: okay war hero good shade arc when? i'm sorry, but i love them.

some other ideas, theories and wishes:

-the obvious one is Hera, like many others i also hope she will appear as a major boon giver.

-i have a feeling, however, that Hermes might not. it seems a bit that Artemis and Selene are filling up his role as the little bit specific boon giver, but maybe i'm wrong. Artemis provides crit boons just like in the first game and Selene has a bit more of a Chaos vibe to her. let's see.

-i do think, or would like it if, Chaos shows up, but not as a boon giver. but i believe they would definitely have something to say about Chronos's actions.

-back to Hermes though... there's that sealed staircase that leads upwards from the Crossroads. people have already been theorizing this, but there might seriously be a section of the game taking place on Olympus, or at the very least somewhere under it. still, i don't think Hermes would be a boon giver either if he does appear. i would however like to see him interact with Charon.

-the Fates will, i think, remain obscure, even if Moros has more of a connection to them. maybe they'll be mentioned and explored a bit more, but i wouldn't count on them appearing by themselves.

-i would however like to see at least one more of Nyx's kids. originally, i also hoped Erebus himself ever shows up personified, but i like what they've done with it as a place.

Eris is i'd say the biggest contender, given that she's namedropped in the first game through a weapon aspect and a purchasable item. maybe she's even boss material (again, if Nemesis has the sword, Eris may wield the rail).

-same thinking can be applied to Ariadne (she lives with Dionysus on Olympus, does she not?), Talos (giant robot made by Hephaestus, how cool is that), and Lamia (snake lady with personal history with Zeus and Hera, would even make for a cool boss too i think, although i always viewed her as a more melancholic figure. but i'm just spitballing here). there are also Atlas, Prometheus and other names on Charon's many items, those are less likely to make an appearance imo.

-Talos also obviously has a weapon aspect in the first one, and then there's Chiron. in myth, he is the son of Chronos. the juiciness of that situation, given he has a relationship with Achilles and Patty as well... perhaps he'll be Elysium's miniboss in the spirit of Asterius? or straight up a main boss? or actually a friendly? i really hope they did something with him, the potential is so very there.

-i think Daedalus will remain present just in name and spirit.

-now that i'm on the weapons though, for all we know there might not be such a thing as weapon aspects (at least not tied to specific figures) in Hades 2, but if there are, including hidden aspects, i'd like to see nods to more of other world mythologies/histories/cultures, like Egyptian, Japanese, pre-columbian American or Slavic.

-this brings me to keepsakes and companion plushies, if they're in the game at all and if so, who gives them out.

keepsake-wise, beside the olympians, Hecate is obvious, as well as Odysseus, and Nemesis and Moros are too. Arachne and Skelly also. Charon seems likely, so does Dora. maybe Hypnos if/when he wakes up. Selene, probably.

i'd say, if companions are a thing, it's also up to Nemesis and Moros, Odysseus, maybe Hecate, likely Arachne, and if there's 6 of them like last time, the final one will be from either Dora or someone we haven't seen yet. or Hecate doesn't give one (she's pretty op for a summon) but Skelly does.

-this also ties into romance! it's been deduced a long time ago, right when the trailer came out, that Nemesis and Moros are very likely romanceable. i also see the appeal and potential of romancing Dora, and from the technical test, i like Melinoë's friendship with Artemis. Hypnos's presence at the Crossroads is interesting from this point too, but i wouldn't guess he'll be romanceable if/when he wakes up.

there are more details to speculate about, especially in gameplay and resources (boss room rewards! the equivalent of nectar/ambrosia to give characters!) but i wanted to keep this mainly about the npcs.

honestly curious what other people are saying!

[do-not-fearr]

Grabbing the Bull by the Horns - Asterius x Reader - Part 2

Part 1

Pairing: Minotaur x f!reader

Wordcount: 3183 words

Tags: Rough sex, unprotected sex, asterius is sweet but also a beast

Summary: Asterius saves you from the labyrinth, but not without getting hurt. You thank him for saving you, and things escalate a little.

Aster jumped forward, letting loose a battle cry that shook the heavens, tackling one of the twins to the ground without any moments hesitation.

"Run human!" he yelled, "Or you won't survive!"

You were jolted into motion, trying to get past the second guy that was grinning at you and widening his arms to block the exit more tauntingly.

"Come on then," it said, "Run into my arms, sweet thing." The idea alone made you nauseous, and you tried to make your way around it, but it was impossible since the only way to run was towards the exit, and that's where he was. You desperately looked over to Aster, who was wrestling with the first enemy, and your blood ran cold when you saw fresh blood on him coming from a large cut on his chest. The one he was fighting wasn't looking much better, but you didn't have much time to look when you felt arms circle you and pull you backwards. A yell escaped you and you saw Aster look up, seeing you struggle in the second guy's grip.

"You smell good," the man said, face in your neck and inhaling deeply. "I'm still not sure about whether to eat or keep you. Maybe I'll do a little bit of both." There was a cold touch to your skin and you gagged when you realised he had licked you. The moment it happened he was ripped away from you though, by a bristling Minotaur who threw the guy away from you against one of the walls. He stood up way too quickly, but you were picked up and held gently by Aster who checked you for wounds.

"Are you okay?" he asked, sniffing you for injuries and exhaling hot bursts of air against your skin.

"I think so..." you said, a little flustered, before snapping back to reality. "He didn't hurt me. I'm fine Aster, what about you?" Your hand reached out to his chest that you were pressed against, grimacing as you touched warm and sticky blood. 

"It's Asterius actually," he grumbled, "but if anyone is allowed to call me by a nickname it would be you."

You were about to apologise, but before you could he had put you down again, pushing you behind him as one of the evil twins jumped forward quickly, ready to rend flesh from bone. 

The fresh cut across Asterius' chest made you wince, but he quickly grabbed the assailant by the arm as he rushed by, pulling it back roughly. The guy only seemed to frown as his arm was removed from his torso with a sickening crack of bones and a spray of blood that splattered on the walls, Asterius, and sadly you as well. You swallowed back bile that rose to your throat, as you made yourself as small as possible, shuffling backwards as you kept your eye on the other evil twin. Your back was now to the exit, making your way there with slow but steady movement. The moment you reached the threshold you saw both twins rush forward, moving in a zigzagging motion to make it harder for Asterius to grab them. He reached for the slower of the two - the one that was bleeding out from his lost arm - but he couldn't quite grab him, the blood making the enemy slippery as the monster chuckled, slipping out of Asterius' reach. A bellowed curse from the Minotaur, as he turned towards you, seeing you stumble just before the edge of the exit, falling just shy of the threshold.

The feeling of deja-vu hit you like a brick, feeling like the biggest loser as the two twins came at you with frightening speed. They were going to kill you before you could-

Aster was faster, grabbing you and throwing the both of you over the edge at the same time.

- 

Going over the edge was different from what you thought, it was dark for just a split second, and you thought the warmth of Aster left you only to return with more intensity than before. The second you felt the ground under you again the world returned to you with a flash, stumbling to regain control over your limbs. You wondered if you had felt the same nausea as before, when you entered the labyrinth if you had not lost consciousness. The inhuman but pained groan coming from you jolted you from your thoughts. You were just outside of the labyrinth, next to Asterius who was on his knees, holding a trembling hand to his badly bleeding chest. You could see the opening to the maze in front of you, the two twins standing on the other side looking out with frowns on their faces. Panic ran through you, but they didn't seem to follow you to... well, wherever it was that you were right now. It sure didn't seem like home, or anywhere near. It seemed more like a place in between where no one was supposed to be, as if you were out of bounds in a game; grass and some sparse trees stretching out seemingly endlessly in front of you. 

You turned back to Aster, holding onto him as you tried to help him up. He was incredibly heavy though, and he chuckled through wheezing breaths as he helped you pick him up. 

"Where do you want to go, human?" he muttered, warm air hitting your head as he leaned on you lightly. "There's nothing here. I messed up."

You took one unsteady step forward, throwing one last glance back towards the entrance of the maze that had held you trapped, eyes of the twins following you, but they still made no attempt to follow. 

"I should have let you go alone, with me crossing with you we were thrown in here it seems. Not your place, and not mine. Unless this is your place, of course."

You huffed as you took a step towards the sparse shrubbery a couple of meters away. You probably wouldn't be able to carry him much further than that anyways.

"No, sadly I've never been here before in my life, but I do want some distance between me and that labyrinth as I look over your wounds." He helped you, and now you helped him. That was all there was to it now, you told yourself. Though maybe you were also really interested in him, his looks and his story. Why had he decided to help you in the first place? 

He made some sort of shrug, as he stumbled along with you. "Makes sense."

As you sat him down you finally noticed his eyes on you, but you decided to ignore it, too focused on his wounds and trying to get your heartrate under control. As you grabbed your backpack you realized the only useable thing inside were some band aids and tissues, so you awkwardly pat his furry skin clean. The wound had surprisingly already stopped bleeding, and you smiled softly, putting the band aids on the floor. Aster chuckled as he saw them. "Well, those aren't going to do a whole lot," he said, "But maybe you can give me a get well kiss?" 

Flustered you looked up at him. "Wha-"

He covered your eyes with a large hand, so you couldn't notice his own expression mirroring yours. "I'm sorry, I... I've seen humans do it in the maze, it was just a joke."

You sat still for a bit, listening to your own heartbeat in your ears and the slow breathing of the minotaur in front of you who had gotten so injured for protecting you. Without removing his hand from your face you leaned forward slightly, lips pursed as you found the top of his chest where you gave a gentle peck. 

"It's the least you deserve for saving me, I'd say," you muttered as you pulled away slightly, face still covered by a hand that was now a little more sweaty and twitchy as you heard a bristling exhale come from him. 

"I'm not-" you heard him mutter, but the last part of it was huffed under his breath, so you asked him to repeat it. He looked away, and if his skin and fur weren't so dark, you're sure you'd see a blush on his face as he said "I'm not only injured there."

A grin grew on your face as you looked at the behemoth of a man in front of you. Hunched over as if to hide the both of you better in the shrubbery. Strong, muscular legs on either side of you, and oh- you suddenly noticed the way you both were sitting. His legs caging you in as you sat between them, his hooved lower legs firmly crossed behind you. Suddenly you felt so much smaller, almost disappearing in his powerful presence, and instantly you became aware of a dull throb inside your core. The way he eyed you up from a stubbornly turned away head and small puffs of air coming from his large muzzle only served to intensify the feeling. 

You cursed your treacherous body for feeling this way now of all times, but realized Asterius pretty much invited such a reaction from you. Not only was he masculine, powerful but gentle, but he also saved you at the cost of his own well-being. And he was strangely sexy to your eyes as well. His strange looks only made you want to touch him even more, instead of shying away. A small smile grew on your lips as you grabbed one of his arms, he let you guide it to your lips as you kissed the unmarred skin above an already healing gash. "Here," you said as you made your way over to other spots where he was hurt. "Now you'll be all healed."

You hesitated as you reached his stomach where another angry wound had started knitting together, but slowly bend down to reach the skin none the less. 

"You don't have to!" he quickly said between heavy breaths that hadn't calmed down ever since the fight, "I didn't mean for you to-" but you continued on your path anyways, and he didn't stop you, despite his incomparable strength. There was a noticeable bulge in the loin cloth that covered him, and you shivered slightly at the sight. When you finally pecked the skin on his abs you felt it twitch beneath your chest that now firmly brushed it, and you saw his entire body tense up. 

"I want to, though." you murmured against his abs that flexed beneath your lips, and you saw him try to look anywhere but at you between his legs. His legs had opened up as you had moved down, hooved feet now on either side of your hips as you were practically laying in front of him.

Almost shyly you reached your hands down to rest on his thighs, feeling the coiled muscles beneath slightly furry skin as you slowly leaned down to hover your lips over his erection. You could make a mention about some injury or maybe something about this being your way to thank him, but words seemed to flee you at the sight of him. Skin peeked out from under the now ill-fitting cloth as his large cock strained against it, almost as eager to escape the constraints as you were to touch it. He didn't stop you as you gave the tip a peck over the fabric, a warm wetness gathering under your lips as you kissed it once more. Your tongue peeked out before you noticed your reaction, and you almost felt ashamed at how eager you were to put your mouth on him, if his hand fisting in your hear semi-gently didn't give away Aster's eagerness as well. His rough exhales moved your hair and tickled you as you slowly put a finger under the only fabric covering on his body.

"May I?" you asked, looking up to see desperate black eyes gaze back at you. His mouth was wrought in a desperate grimace as his fingers flexed in your hair, desperate not to hurt or scare you. 

"Please," he huffed, growl tinging his words and noticeable twitch in his dick as you pulled the loincloth away to reveal his naked form. He was beautiful and strong, all muscle and veins and power, and his dick was no different, standing proud before you as you slowly licked a stripe from bottom to tip. 

You had started out slowly, but the second you had his tip in your mouth all pretence of gentleness or patience seemed to evaporate like sweat off his glistening skin. A keening sound was all your warning as he suddenly moved you under him, hips already bucked up against your ass, as you lay in a sprawl under him. 

"Sorry," he said, nuzzling your neck as heavy exhales made you shiver under him as your legs were quickly placed on either side of him. 

His heavy rutting against you made you whimper and squirm as both of you worked to take your jeans and underwear off. In case you needed to run off again quickly it was better to not undress fully, but in truth it was just because neither of you could wait any longer to have him sheathed inside of you fully. The moment his hot flesh touched your lower lips you gasped his name, not realizing how wet you'd gotten. "I should save a human more often," he said as his cockhead caught on the hood of your clit and a jolt went through you. "If this is the reward I get."

The words didn't even register when he rubbed against your clit again, legs pressed against your chest as he pushed you down fully against the ground. It was cold against your back, but his skin was almost burning your front and you shivered between him as thick fingers found their way between your bodies, entering you one at a time. 

He mentioned something about how warm and wet you were, but he was running so hot against you you were sure you must've heard wrong. Sweat almost seemed to come off of him in steam, as your hands found his shoulders, holding on as he pushed a second finger in. Pumping slowly to stretch you enough to take his huge cock that he was still thrusting against your pussy lips and stomach. 

"Asterius, I want you inside of me," you gasped when he added a third finger, deciding that you were stretched enough, and he licked your neck in response. Blunt teeth worrying at your skin as he removed his fingers from you to do as you asked. 

His leaking cock prodded at your entrance, and you squeezed your eyes shut as you stretched further open to accommodate him. He stopped moving, and you felt him shiver above you, slowly opening your eyes to see his large bull head thrown back, eyes shut. He was obviously straining himself not to hurt you with his size, and as you looked down you realized he wasn't even fully in yet. 

"Asterius," you moaned, after getting used to the stretch, and he replied with a groan. "You can move. Please move." You needed him to move, otherwise you were going to go insane. He started moving in a jolt, muscles under your fingers flexing as he started a brutal rhythm, pushing you up against the tree you had been hiding under earlier. It seemed he held back until a certain point, and then his restraint snapped instantly, jackhammering inside of you as if he had something to prove. Forcing the gasps out of you with every thrust, as wild eyes stared into yours. 

His groans were guttural, almost animalistic, and your eyes rolled back into your head as you felt an orgasm washing over you at the sight of him above you. He barely slowed down as you squeezed tighter around him, walls fluttering around his twitching flesh as his balls slapped against your ass with every forceful thrust. 

He was enormous, and his thrust were both painful and pleasurable, his hands gently wiping away a tear from your eye as his lower body moved in rough, pointed rhythm. It was almost like he was contradicting himself in how he fucked you, like his beast and his human half were both fighting for control, coming out at the same time to make you see stars. 

"I'm gonna- " you moaned out between gasps, drool and tears leaking from you as you barely felt how a hand behind your head stopped you from hitting it against the rough bark of the tree you were pushed against. Another orgasm washed over you and he practically howled as this one pushed him over the edge as well.

Pumping you full of his seed he turned you around, now face first into the tree as he continued his movement. Cum leaking out of you with every thrust he crowded you against the tree, body covering yours entirely as he fucked through his orgasm, pleasured groans mouthed directly into your ears. His thrusts grew more shallow before getting more powerful as he barely grew softer before pummelling his dick inside of you again with the same speed and strength as before. 

"Just a little more," he groaned in your ear, and you could only take it as his hips snapped against yours with the same desperation as before. Your fingers grasped against the tree bark, pieces crumpling under your strength, but never falling to the ground. The only thing moving in this place between worlds were the two of you, desperately chasing after yet another orgasm. You cried out his name as a third orgasm was wrung from you, and this time when he came with you he finally slowed down. 

Asterius slowly lifted you off of him, gently laying you against his chest as he reversed your positions again. His back once again against the tree as you were cradled in his arms. 

"I, uh... I wanted to be more gentle," he murmured in a low voice, head turned away from you as nerves made his soft ears flick. His outline was fuzzy to your bleary eyes, but you smiled against his warm chest. "But I couldn't hold myself back. I hope I didn't hurt you."

"The only thing you've done today is the opposite." you murmured back, lips tickling his pecs and his head turned back to you, a small smirk stretching his mouth. 

You weren't sure about later though. After the adrenaline from the romp and the day itself had worn off. Moving yourself back home on your own legs might be out of the question, and you weren't sure if Asterius was able to carry you to your dimension himself, but you weren't opposed to the idea of showing the large minotaur around. A small chuckle escaped you as sleep pulled you under, the minotaur of the labyrinth watching over you with a gentle gaze. These were worries for another day, for now you were here. Safe in his arms as you drifted off.

 ------

@stygianoir

[manzanamarim]

Been replaying Hades obsessively (as you do) and I love how almost every character addresses Zagreus differently? it's so small but it adds to their charm

Long-ish post and some small spoilers for characters and relationships!

Meg and Than call you both Zagreus and Zag. your partners!

Hades calls you Boy (derogatory) and only later does he call you by name occasionally

Nyx calls you child or my child. She is mother of many

Achilles calls you lad, in a gentle way, your mentor

Dusa calls you Prince, and later as she gets more comfortable also calls you by name

Cerberus... none of his heads posses the gift and curse of speech.

Skelly goes BOYO! I love him

Hypnos I noticed never calls you by anything, usually just goes "you"

Persephone calls you my son, as well as Zagreus of course

Charon calls you hhhrrrgggghhhhhhh...

Sysiphus calls you Prince Z. very casual, he's your buddy!

Alecto calls you redblood (derogatory), or uh. trash god. very sweet of her

Tis goes murrdererrrrrrrrr (and zagreus!)

Chaos says O Son of Hades. I love how they speak

Orpheus calls you friend or my friend, in that melancholic way of his

Eurydice calls you Your Royal Majesty and such, all very playful though!

Patroclus calls you stranger, keeping his distance even though really you aren't a stranger anymore

Theseus calls you all sorts of things of course. Deamon, fiend, blackguard, etc. very extra

Asterius calls you short one. ouch but fair I guess

Zeus calls you nephew,

while Poseidon also calls you Little Hades which is cute ngl

Athena calls you Noble Cousin, very fancy

Ares calls you my kin, he is very into all this fighting huh

Aphrodite calls you little godling (<3)

Dyonisus calls you man, and sometimes Zag, he's chill like that

Artemis calls you "you" mostly, sometimes by your name. she is more introverted and awkward

Hermes calls you Coz. No time to say the full word

Demeter calls you little sprout. very cute actually

And I think that's all, hopefully! if I missed anyone I'll add em later but do you see what I mean? I bet you could hear all of these in their respective voices too, they all have so much personality

[sanska]

It’s tough growing up in the house of Minos, kind of why I prefer the versions where Ariadne meets Dionysus by chance vs the ones where she’s killed/deserted due to his machinations, otherwise you get:

one born as a punishment and fated to live and die a monster, another cursed to ruin her family and marry Theseus, and the last abandoned and dead by a god’s decree (a god who in other versions she finds eternal happiness and love with, but that is not hers to have in this story)

I’ve thought of Ariadne and Phaedra meeting again during a City Dionysia in Athens, but any scenario I’ve doodled has them being awkward and unsure of how to address it all—Minos, Asterius, Theseus, one of them marrying a god who’s festival they’re attending, Hippolytus —no amount of therapy could fix the house of Minos (also, imagine dying and seeing dear old dad is an underworld judge??)

[Leaving]

I have so many questions about the story of Ariadne’s abandonment on Naxos like:

1. On one hand I get not wanting to marry the daughter of the guy who’s sacrificing your people to the cowboy that lives under his castle (even if you originally promised her), but Theseus then marries Ariadne’s sister?? Is it because in some stories Ariadne is running the labyrinth while Phaedra’s mostly not involved or

2. Did Phaedra say nothing on the boat/Naxos before ditching her sister to become Queen of Athens. I desperately want to know what’s their siblings dynamic and if they consider the Minotaur a brother or a monster

3. What is going on in Naxos at this period in the mythos. Was it inhabited by people? Were there only cats and wandering gods? Like on the “getting stranded on a greek island in a mythic scenario” scale where does Naxos lie if you don’t attract godly notice

Anyway drew more Ariadne my favourite greek mythos girl fr

[crypticcodexcreations]

Hello and happy STS, Cryptic! :D This is for a WIP of your choice (though as a light suggestion, given the content of this question, Hell's Casino would be hilarious here): If your main characters were sucked into our world, The Devil Is a Part-Timer-style (i.e., dropped into our world without the resources/status they had in theirs, transformed into basically human with no powers, and the only thing they've got are the clothes on their back and their memories), how well would they fare? What would they do to survive, who's failing at adapting and how, and most importantly, who is working at McDonald's?

I can not even begin to describe the absolute joy this ask has brought me! The Devil is a Part-Timer is one of my absolute favorite animes and as such, I don't think I can resist the urge to talk about this for multiple WIPs. This is probably going to get long as I ramble on in my excitement, so I'm going to be nice and put a read more here

So, Hell's Casino is honestly pretty easy because my partner once pointed out that The Demon, Sainsevalurius, is kind of a demon Ariel! Hector is from our world, so he would fall into it pretty well, but if they were working together, he'd have to put Sainsevalurius on a child leash or he would lose this little human culture obsessed idiot demon. And that's not to say that Sainsevalurius couldn't take care of himself. He's been finding ways to survive amongst much more traditionally stronger demons for quite some time. However, he would forget that he's lost his powers sometimes and end up lost, and possibly hurt. If he were alone, however, he would definitely get into a lot of trouble. He could hold a job pretty well though and would likely be more than happy to end up at McDonald's. He would absolutely play mind games with rude customers though.

On the Cross Over front, much like Hector, Agent is from a world too similar to ours to have much trouble. Mortimer and Michael, though, would both be interesting. Mortimer would have to have a human face instead of a radio head which would be its own adjustment. First of all, eyes are not a thing he has or wants to have. He would likely need a lot of time to adjust to having senses like sight and smell, only to then have to grapple with the loss of his steampunk style of technology. For him it would just be blow after blow to what he's used to, leaving him sitting at home and trying desperately to catch up constantly. Meanwhile, Michael used to be an adventurer. He is very much adaptable and loves nothing more than to help. He would absolutely end up happily working at McDonald's so that they could eat, but he would also be every staff member there's favorite coworker. If you've ever seen the comic panel of Superman, in his Clark Kent disguise, smiling politely at someone as they realize that shaking his hand hurts, that's Michael at rude customers. So overly polite, but exuding an aura of "Knock that shit off"

And now, I haven't talked much about the characters I'm about to mention, but I have to address them. In a recent snippet, I revealed Alastor and Asterius. I don't have a name for their story, and really it's only Alastor's story, but. This kind of IS the plot of Alastor's story. Alastor tore his own world apart to remake it to be "better", then couldn't put it back together. I haven't decided what kind of world Alastor ends up in. I keep going back and forth between a world that also has magic, but that he can't use or a modern day our world type world. However, I do know that in a world like ours, he would struggle constantly, always be miserable, and curse every god his world had had to offer.

Asterius, on the other hand, would welcome the lack of magic, having believed all his life that he would be the one to tear their world apart and leave it in shambles. The poor boy would probably cry upon being told that the magic of the prophecy he felt bound by is nothing more than superstition and he could find work pretty easily considering their parents were farmers before their birth. He's quiet and shy, but he would do good work. He'd get overwhelmed somewhere like McDonald's but he would be more than happy to just do farm work for the rest of his life.

[throwingbread]

10 fic for International Fanworks Day. Here are some fics from my bookmarks that need more love, in no particular order.

Those Who Come Closest (30325 words) by dagas isa Chapters: 11/11 Fandom: Final Fantasy X Summary: How do ordinary people become Fayth? It takes a certain amount of desire, dedication and desperation. These are their stories. Propaganda: You want worldbuilding? This fic has got worldbuilding out the wazoo.

Apprentice of the Beast (1651 words) by JetBlackKobold Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Summary: On their journey to the Disk of Cauthess, five men stop to rest and, bound in each other's company, talk a little. Ardyn is a strange man with a fondness for old stories, poems, songs, and rhymes. With a little prompting, he shares a story about a Beast and a Soldier whose good intentions are corrupted by power. Propaganda: Backstory, in Ardyn’s own words.

The Endlings (664 words) by TheBrightestNight Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022), The Sandman (Comics) Summary: end∙ling /εndlŋg/ n 1 the last known individual of a species or subspecies. Once the endling dies, the species becomes extinct. Propaganda: Extinct animal feels.

at the last trumpet (9830 words) by liesmyth Fandom: The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir Summary: the line of the Tomb-keepers demands an heir, no matter the cost. Featuring a small-scale genocide, the breakdown of a marriage, an angry ghost of the MILF persuasion, and a normal amount of bones. Propaganda: Yes more worldbuilding. Glorious cursed necromantic worldbuilding.

freedom so liberating that we call it magic (2566 words) by EtchJetty, FlaringK Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Summary: People don’t talk about Sheik that much. It must have been hell for Zelda, to pretend to be a gender she wasn’t. Especially if she had done it before. (or: what if zelda was a girl?

Propaganda: TRANS GIRL ZELDA

setting sail, coming home (5989 words) by beaufort12 Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Hades (Video Game 2018) Summary: In which Zagreus escapes the underworld, keeps running, and never looks back. Propaganda: Shameless fix-it fic.

The Moonstone (21266 words) by Vriah, gisho Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022)

Summary: Morpheus finds a way to avoid killing a vortex - he gives Rose his own heart, forcing her to take his place as Dream. The new Dream has to deal with a life she never expected and try not to repeat her predessor's mistakes. In the waking world, the people she left behind grieve and wonder. And when Roses's little brother Jed is offered the chance to switch from superhero to questing knight, with some help from an old friend, he leaps at the opportunity. Propaganda: My boy Jed!

Lampshades on Fire (5739 words) by ostreatus, stellarators Fandom: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) Summary: Or, How Dr. Olivia Octavius Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Morally Unambiguous Nature of her Violent Actions. Summary A review of the scientist-to-supervillian pipeline, based on a longitudinal case study.

Propaganda: The villain origin story we were so cruelly deprived of in canon.

built a lot of castles (12055 words) by basketofnovas Fandom: The Old Guard (Movie 2020) Summary: In the eighties, Quynh is rescued by a marine archaeologist, and finds herself in an alien world with no easy way to contact Andromache - or even know she's alive. Propaganda: In which Quynh receives some much-needed comfort in the form of random human kindness.

Inferno Seized (14726 words) by MuseofWriting Fandom: Hades (Video Game 2018)Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur/Theseus ( Hades Video Game) Summary: The monster went to Tartarus. The hero went to Elysium. Or, depending which storytellers you asked, and which songs you heard, maybe the Underworld got it backwards. Or maybe neither of them were monsters or heroes. Maybe they were just imperfect beings, tied together, messily, terribly, inescapably. This is the story of how they found each other. Propaganda: Look its the most eloquent Minotaur/Theseus fic I’ve ever seen.

[oakdll]

All of my persona builds in Persona 5 Royal!

Because most people aren’t as insane as me I gave descriptions for all the skills so you can understand them :3

LONG ASS POST AHEAD

Izanagi no Okami Picaro (main almighty damage, max all stats)

- Myriad Truths (heavy almighty x3 all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Almighty Boost (alm damage +25%)

- Almighty Amp (alm damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Victory Cry (recover all hp/sp after battle)

- Drain Bless

- Drain Curse

- Country Maker (exclusive trait, damage dealt and taken corresponds to persona compendium completion percentage)

Lucifer (buff, max all stats)

- Concentrate (next magic attack 2.5x damage)

- Charge (next phys attack 2.5x damage)

- Auto Matarukaja (auto +40% damage all allies)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Insta Heal (instant recovery from ailments)

- Drain Bless

- Will of the Sword (trait, charge + concentrate deal 3x damage instead of 2.5x, auto concentrate)

Orpheus F Picaro (buff + debuff)

- Neo Cadenza (exclusive, all stats +40% all party members, 50% heal)

- Debilitate (all stats -40% one foe)

- Auto Matarukaja (auto +40% damage all allies)

- Auto Marakukaja (auto +40 defense all allies)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Elec

- Drain Curse

- Wealth of Lotus (trait, all stat buffs cast by player last +2 turns)

Maria (heal)

- Holy Benevolence (exclusive, full revives all allies)

- Salvation (full heal + cure ailments all allies)

- Holy Whisper (exclusive, +15% hp +15 sp each turn)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Fire

- Drain Curse

- Grace of Mother (trait, healing skills 0.25x cost)

Kaguya Picaro (bless)

- Shining Arrows (exclusive, light bless 4-8x all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Bless Boost (bless damage +25%)

- Bless Amp (bless damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate 2x)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Fire

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Tsukiyomi Picaro (curse)

- Abyssal Wings (exclusive, severe curse all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Curse Boost (curse damage +25%)

- Curse Amp (curse damage +50%)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate 2x)

- Drain Nuke

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Asterius Picaro (fire)

- Titanomachia (exclusive, severe fire + 70% fear all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Fire Boost (fire damage +25%)

- Fire Amp (fire damage +50%)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Drain Ice

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Messiah Picaro (ice)

- Ice Age (severe ice all foes, 24% freeze)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Ice Boost (ice damage +25%)

- Ice Amp (ice damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate 2x)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Curse

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Izanagi no Okami (wind)

- Vacuum Wave (severe wind all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Wind Boost (wind damage +25%)

- Wind Amp (wind damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate 2x)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Curse

- Country Maker (exclusive trait, damage dealt and taken corresponds to persona compendium completion percentage)

Satanael (elec)

- Wild Thunder (severe electric all foes, 24% shock)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Elec Boost (elec damage +25%)

- Elec Amp (elec damage +50%)

- Tyrant’s Mind (exclusive, all damage +25%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Messiah (psychic)

- Psycho Blast (severe psychic all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Psy Boost (psy damage +25%)

- Psy Amp (psy damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Curse

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Fafnir (nuke)

- Cosmic Flare (severe nuke all foes)

- Magic Ability (magic damage +25%)

- Nuke Boost (nuke damage +25%)

- Nuke Amp (nuke damage +50%)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Spell Master (all magic skills 0.5x cost)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Drain Curse

- Mighty Gaze (trait, magic skills targeting all foes deal +25% damage)

Yoshitsune (physical)

- Hassou Tobi (exclusive, light phys damage 8x all foes)

- Arms Master (all phys skills 0.5x cost)

- Apt Pupil (crit rate x2)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Insta Heal (instant recovery from ailments)

- Drain Curse

- Drain Bless

- Undying Fury (trait, phys skills deal +30% damage)

Odin (gun)

- Riot Gun (severe gun all foes)

- Arms Master (all phys skills 0.5x cost)

- Apt Pupil (crit rate 2x)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate 2x)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Trigger Happy (gun crit rate +15%)

- Gun Boost (gun damage +25%)

- Gun Amp (gun damage +50%)

- Undying Fury (trait, phys skills deal +30% damage)

Raoul (sleep)

- Phantom Show (exclusive, 90% sleep all foes)

- Enduring Soul (full revives once after death)

- Insta Heal

- Ailment Boost (+25% chance of inflicting ailments)

- Sleep Boost (+25% chance of inflicting sleep, actually unnecessary because of ailment boost)

- Ali Dance (evasion rate x2)

- Endure (partially revives once after death)

- Drain Bless

- Foul Stench (trait, +10% chance of inflicting ailments, this is actually unnecessary bc of ailment boost)

Girimekhala (repel all as an experiment against twins fight before they fuse into lavenza)

- Repel Fire

- Repel Ice

- Repel Wind

- Repel Elec

- Repel Psy

- Repel Nuke

- Repel Bless

- Ali Dance

- Retaliating Body (trait, repelled damage x2)

Additional Notes:

I didn’t use Pagan Allure (trait, +50% magic damage) because it doesn’t go through the damage cap. With elemental boosts, amps, and magic ability, you reach the damage cap, and Mighty Gaze (trait, +25% magic damage when attacking all foes) goes through the cap and deals 125% more damage. Pagan Allure would be useful with Yoshitsune since phys skills don’t have boost, amp, or magic ability, but unfortunately Pagan Allure only works with magic skills, so Undying Fury (trait, +30% phys damage) it is.

I also picked all the personas for this based off of their exclusive traits and natural resistances. I chose wind and elec to go to Izanagi no Okami and Satanael specifically because they are some of the most common weaknesses and those two have exclusive skills that increase damage significantly. The exclusive skills i’m talking about being Country Maker (trait, damage given and taken corresponds with persona compendium completion percentage) and Tyrants Mind (+25% damage dealt). If there were any unique skills such as Abyssal Wings (Tsukiyomi exclusive, severe curse all foes) I would prioritize using that, and if there weren’t any I would prioritize the persona with the most resistances.

I also didn’t include Victory Cry (full hp/sp recover after battle) because I have the Victory Cup accessory which gives Victory Cry. It would also be a waste of a slot and a real pain to add to every persona because the only way you can obtain it is by fusing with Satanael or relying on Gallows RNG with Izanagi no Okami.

[ancientgreekyuri]

we know that hades 2 isnt out yet but what if we made our s/i to ship with Odysseus a dog boy... not sure what to name him yet tho (Sonata is a whole other thing) but we have no idea what in terms of mythology that would be, maybe Zeus shenanigans. or maybe something similar that happened to Asterius (as u know) anyway he look like this and hes like less golden retriever bf and more like border collie bf.

he looks like this. far too smart for his own good.

hi :>

Making him a dog boy sounds like such a fun, I love his energy! There's actually two different guys in mythology who got turned into wolves (Lycion I think, but I can't recall the other) so that's another route you could consider too ^.^ lots of fun curses to go around in the world of mythology :~) I hope him and Odysseus have lovely times together as well 💘

[ambafaerie]

Finished binge watching Kaos and the retelling of the Minotaur is certainly interesting. Glaucus is now Ariadne’s twin brother with Phaedra nowhere in sight. Minos separated the twins because he feared his son would kill him only for Ariadne to do the job. And Pasiphaë recounted that Ariadne came into the world screaming while her brother was quiet in the series.

That got me thinking of what if Asterius and Ariadne were twins in the original myth. Poseidon curses Pasiphaë to bear a monster to humiliate Minos with a prophecy foretelling his child will be his downfall, but Pasiphaë gives birth to twins, the human girl Ariadne and the bull hybrid, Asterius. The twins are raised together until Minos takes Asterius away to be trapped in the labyrinth because he fears he is the one to kill him, driving the boy insane. Then Theseus arrives years later and Ariadne helps him kill the Minotaur, as an act of mercy to the brother she once knew which destroys the power Minos held over people through fear of having the Minotaur.

[kingsbride-moved]

Dance of Our Nature (1/2)

Summary: Theseus, former King of Athens, brings Asterius to the blessed fields. While there, he meets someone very dear to the king. Notes: Originally a fic about Theseus n Asterius I scrapped due to it feeling too aimless </3 I took my favourite chapter and reworked it so I could put Dianthus in it too :~) I didn't do any major edits cuz I'm kind of tired of working on this so be nice.... There's some background info established in the sort of "prequel" fic to this, but I'm not sure if I want to link it here... but it shouldn't too hard to understand without that context. ~2878 words. Contains Theseus fishing for compliments and being generally so cringe and fail, awkward first interactions, fruit eating, and Asterius trying to remember that he's just as much as a man as he is a bull. No particular warnings as far as I can think, but Theseus and Asterius do have a little bit of an unbalanced dynamic so early on into their relationship. They'll work on it as time goes on, of course! 🎵: Cicada | Here We Are!

Theseus was not what the Minotaur would have expected a king to be like. Some of the traits he remembered from his short time spent on the surface were there: Theseus was imposing when he wanted to be, his voice could fill a room, and despite his small height the way he presented himself made him seem almost god-like in stature. He was the king who unified Athens, famed for being fair and honorable even to those who too had been cursed by gods. Such nobility could only be afforded to one such as himself, who was scholar, leader, and warrior alike. 

Despite all this, Asterius realized that Theseus was still only human. And because he was only human, Theseus was also clumsy, teetering on the side of accident prone: several times now he had managed to fall over nothing, or nearly trip (again!)  into one of the underworld’s many river branches, or even get distracted by his own dramatic speeches and end up walking face first into a pillar. (Theseus attempted with great gusto to pretend that he intentionally smashed his face in, so that the bull may watch as he seductively wiped away the blood from his injury.  Unfortunately for the king he was wincing in pain all the while, and instead looked more silly than anything else.) Asterius also noticed how Theseus struggled to focus on anything other than what interested him at the moment. What interested him right now was Asterius himself, and seemingly only that, for each time the bull spoke in an attempt to direct Theseus’ attention elsewhere it took the king some time to even realize that something had been said, and even then his reply would be short and distracted.  Immediately after he finished talking he would return to simply gazing at Asterius’ face with some unidentifiable emotion, or stroking his large biceps with a curious hand. When he did wish to talk, however, Theseus could easily hold entire conversations by himself. It was charming in its own way, and only slightly grating. “...And that is why I despise my cousin Menetheus!” Theseus finished his story with a grand gesture, exasperation clear in his voice. Asterius paid close attention, half out of genuine curiosity, and half out of having nothing better to do. “Such an insufferable cur was undeserving of the title of king! Don’t you agree, Dear Asterius?”

Asterius nodded in response. He'd not spoken much during the duration of this journey— he wasn't quite sure what to say in this strange situation he'd somehow ended up in, and the king already spoke so much on his own. It felt almost unnecessary to make any further additions…

Still, Theseus gave him an almost expectant look just now, as if he were waiting for input. 

"You were… much better suited for the role than he." said Asterius with uncertainty. He did not have much experience with complimenting people, and that was clearly what Theseus’ sought.  “You were Athens’ greatest king, certainly.”

Despite his stunted words, Theseus still beamed brightly with a smile, and gave Asterius’ hand a tight squeeze. “How kind of you to say, my friend! And I must say I agree! There is none other than myself who is more suited for the role of— ah, hold a moment. I believe we have reached our destination! And here I’d been expecting more of a challenge in reaching our shared goal! Bah!” “Yes,” Asterius agreed, neglecting to bring up how the many ways Theseus accidentally hurt himself during their journey together were certainly a challenge in their own right. Together they stood before a large gate, its metal slightly browned with age. Asterius could swear there was something massive swimming beneath the water nearby, but Theseus seemed not to be concerned by it, and so Asterius would choose to ignore it as well. When met with Theseus’ touch, the gate lifted with a groan, allowing them both to enter a small rest area. Asterius took a moment to brush ash out of his fur; how strange that, despite Asphodel being a land of clear waters and ordinary scruffy grass, embers floated in the air. Once he’d finished, he found Theseus waiting at the other end of the corridor, waiting patiently to be rejoined by his companion. (Or rather, as patiently as he was capable of. While he made no push to rush Asterius, his casually leaning against the door did not make the tapping of his foot go unnoticed.) “Are you ready, Asterius? Here is where your new life shall begin! You shall finally have a chance to live as a prince should! Aha, such a thing must be nerve-wracking for you. But fear not, my friend! I shall support you every step of the way!” Asterius snorted in response; he was beginning to realize Theseus had a habit of announcing his own emotions, but would never attribute them to himself. The king was surely nervous, but it was much easier to say that Asterius was the nervous one. But the bull saw no reason to complain about such a thing, and thus did not mention it. He wouldn’t have had time to regardless, not with Theseus opening the final gate, and the blessed fields being within reach.

"Here we are!” To Asterius’ surprise, the gate opened to a small copse of trees.  Theseus stepped out first, fallen leaves crunching beneath his feet. “There is someone here expecting us! Let us not keep her waiting for longer than we already have, yes?”

Asterius in turn poked his head out… The breeze was the first thing he noticed, cool and refreshing, gentle against his fur. Then, the scent… fresh and green, but also slightly sweet, like fruit being carried on the wind. He felt nearly enticed to follow the direction of it. 

He stepped out behind Theseus, and was nearly startled at the sound of twigs and dried leaves being crushed beneath his weight. The sound was foreign to him… could he be blamed if he wanted to kick his legs against the ground, and see what other interesting noises could be made?

Soon, Asterius allowed the strange king to gently guide him forward. It took both of Theseus' hands to be able to fully wrap around one of the bull's wrists… it was strange realizing that the man who stood so large within his memory was so small in reality. It was strange to be continuing on in silence, but Asterius was certain that even if Theseus had spoken, he would not have heard him. The new sights and sounds around him were too much of a distraction, nearly to the point of making him dizzy. “Now, where could she be… ah!” Across the distant fields, Asterius could just barely make out a woman decked out in bright pink, sitting upon a marble bench beneath a flower-covered trellis. She seemed to notice them first, and stood. Upon seeing this, Theseus released Asterius’ hand, and bounded down to meet with her. “Ah, my lady! How I’ve missed you!” (At this distance it should have been difficult to make out the king’s words. But Asterius’ hearing was very good, and Theseus himself was very, very loud.) “I told you I would return, did I not? Let this be a lesson to you, my lady, that I am a man of my words!” Asterius watched as Theseus lifted the girl into his arms with ease, and she erupted into warm laughter in response. He kissed against her jaw once, then again, then against her cheek, and soon the girl’s laughter turned to squealing. Asterius’ chest felt tight at their affection— he didn’t know why. “Asterius, dear bull!” Though reluctant, he returned the girl to her feet, but not before giving her a final kiss upon her forehead.  “I would like you to meet Lady Dianthus of Oenoe, my… erm. Ahem. A-anyways! It was with her help that I was able to bring you here to the blessed fields. You must be curious as to how that happened, hmm? Allow me to start from the beginning! Some great many years ago, I…” “Theseus, I don’t imagine your bull-friend would want to hear about that right now! He’s probably tired, and you should be too! Besides, I didn’t do anything that impressive…” the girl waved her hand dismissively, causing Theseus to gasp rather dramatically. “Ah, my lady is far too modest! To reason with the gods themselves is impressive indeed.” Theseus squeezed the girl's hand. For a moment, his typical cocky expression faded into something warm and soft. He brought her hand up to his lips, for a kiss. “And you have done both Asterius, and myself, a great kindness.” The girl pouted in an almost childish fashion, though her cheeks did darken at Theseus’ gesture. Instead of trying to further combat the king’s words, she turned her attention elsewhere. “It is… nice to meet you, Asterius.” Her voice was soft, but did not hold the nervousness Asterius would have expected from one who was laying eyes upon The Minotaur for the first time. Asterius nodded. 

"Now, let us celebrate this victory! Asterius, my dear friend, stay here a moment with the lady. I shall return quicker than any bolt of Zeus!" Theseus rushed off before either could ask just what it was he intended to do, though Asterius had an inkling it would be something indulgent, as the king seemed to value pleasure above all else. He turned his attention to the girl before him. She was small, Asterius noted, but not much smaller than the king himself. Her long hair was covered in a variety of spring flowers and green vines, connecting to a halo of fresh fruit. He watched closely as the small bud of a flower bloomed open, just as another near it took its final breath, and fell to the ground below. He supposed she was like his mother in that regard; a nymph, but only in part. “Asterius…?” The bull nearly jolted, suddenly hearing his name. He had been starring, he now realized, though he hadn’t intended to. “You seem awfully meek for someone of your reputation, you know. Ah, but that’s not what I wanted to say… what I mean is, you don’t need to be just standing there. Come sit next to me- if you'd like to, that is.”

Her voice became quieter with every word, as if she was concerned she might've said something offensive. Not that Asterius would have particularly cared either way. “I will take you up on your offer," Asterius replied, "thank you."

Here was a nook buried deeply within a section of trees, their branches bent over a trellis so they'd form an arch. It was shady, but Asterius could still easily see the world beyond. He gazed first outwards, observing the sounds and sights of Elysium’s nature; the rush of a waterfall, the songs of birds. Then, again to Dianthus. With her fine clothing and jewelry Asterius might have thought of her as a noblewoman, but her poise was at odds with what he remembered of the few court women he saw in life, with her legs open and her shoulders casually rolled back. “So, what do you think?” she asked, “Is Elysium everything you assumed it would be?” Asterius titled his head. “A shade once told me the trees here grow fruit of gold. A ridiculous story.” “It is ridiculous. If the trees here really bore gold instead of fruit, us shades would have no fresh produce to eat! Or at the very least, no fruit.” she hummed, clearly amused at the story. “The shades here value their ability to indulge in whatever treats they desire! Even Theseus is no exception.” Asterius thought of his time in Erebus, and how a determined Theseus once braved the very depths of the underworld with the sole goal of sharing a basket of fresh bread from one of Elysium’s bakeries. “True,” he sighed. The girl, he noted, did not use Theseus’ title when talking about him. A sign of disrespect coming from others, but the way she spoke implied she’d known him for quite some time, and therefore was simply used to referring to him casually. Still, Asterius struggled to trust his own instincts, and so he asked: “Are you very close to the king?” “Oh! Well, that is… complicated. It isn’t a very interesting story, either.” Uncertainty into her voice, or maybe, she was just shy. Asterius did not want to push her, and yet… “I would be interested,” he admitted. Not knowing how to reassure her, Asterius copied what he saw Theseus do earlier, and took one of her small hands within his own as gently as he could manage. Unlike the king, whose hands were calloused after centuries of battle, hers with soft to the touch. “It’s not very interesting,” she repeated, her voice now softer, “and it is very long. You’d probably get bored listening to me ramble!” I’m interested in listening. I’m interested in you, he wanted to say, but he could not help but feel as if such words would be unwelcome. And so he fell silent, the lady’s hand still held within his own, peacefully watching out over the wide expanse of nature before him. So focused on the peacefulness of the nature before him, he nearly did not hear Theseus calling out “Bull of Minos! My dear maiden! I have returned t— oof!!” Asterius and Dianthus watched as an over excited King Theseus tripped and fell face first on Elysium’s soft grass. Before either could react, he was quick to stand back up, brush off his chiton, and grumble a curse under his breath. Slowly, he continued his way towards them. “Asterius, Dianthus,” he said, out of breath, “I have brought with me a gift!” Theseus lifted the pack he’d brought with himself into Erebus, and slowly loosened the drawstring. When Asterius peered over, he saw that its contents had now been entirely replaced with freshly plucked fruit. “Theseus! If you wanted to pick fruit, you could have asked me to bring a basket.” “Pshaw! Such a thing is unnecessary for one such as myself! And besides, this gift is, eh… rather spur of the moment?” Theseus replied with a huff, “Here, Noble Asterius! This is for you.”

Theseus pressed a fruit into Asterius' hand, some small red-and-purple berry with a unique texture. He did not eat straight away. Instead he stared at Theseus’ finger tips, dyed purple by the berries. He watched as Theseus, noticing the excess syrup, brought his hand to his mouth to clean. (“Oh, nasty! Go wash your hands in the Lethe or somethin'.” Dianthus huffed, before doing much the same after grabbing a berry of her own.)

The bull eyed the fruit with curiosity-  the same sweet scent that had carried on the wind earlier again filled his senses, but much more intensely this time.

Curious, he first brushed his tongue against the fruit. To his surprise, it was just as tart as it was sweet. The taste reminded him of the way the forest smelled, thick and woody and warmed by the light of Ixion. 

"Do you like it? Mulberries were my mother's favourite fruit! A large tree of them stood sturdy by my childhood home, so I've become an expert at identifying when they are at their ripest and most delicious!" 

"It's good..." 

"They're rich in antioxidants, you know." Dianthus added between handfuls of berries, “Good for your health!” 

“What the hell is an antioxidant," Asterius replied.

When Dianthus pouted, Theseus tensed for a moment… then erupted into howling laughter, nearly falling over yet again in the process.

"What's funny?"

"I apologize, my companion! I was merely surprised to hear you speak in such a way!!"

The king stifled his laughter, covering his mouth with a hand.  “Now, scoot over, my friend!" "Hmm?" Asterius shifted to the side, but was surprised when Theseus settled between himself and Lady Dianthus, so close that their shoulders were together (or as together as they could be- even while sitting, Asterius was much taller than them both).

Theseus held his berry-filled pack in his lap, their vibrant colours dying the fabric in an array of deep purple-red hues. Each berry was plump and ripe and looked utterly delicious- Asterius couldn't help but to gather a number of them in his hand, despite the way that they made his fur sticky.

There was something deeply pleasant about this togetherness, Asterius found. He did not have much experience with companionship, and yet he found the warmth of it enchanting. Dianthus continued to scold Theseus for his impulsiveness, but at the very same time plucking fresh fruit from where he held it in his lap, which in turn makes Theseus laugh unflatteringly. It was a strange feeling. He was used to being out of place in the world. He never thought it would be possible for another to look at him as anything other than a monster. But here he’d been shown kindness… He didn’t know if things would be able to last this way, but for now…

He was more than happy to indulge in the new pleasures Elysium had already given him.

~ Authour's Notes Mulberries are featured in the myth of one of Asterius' siblings, his baby brother Glaucus… they're used to solve a riddle regarding something that changes from white to black to red. I have a fic with Glaucus as a character in the works as well :~)

For those who have never played Hades; Asphodel was once an ordinary grassy land, but the river Pheleghton flooded over and into it, turning it into a Lava World. I like to think Theseus came and got Asterius from Erebus before this happened! Also the hydra guards the gate exiting from Asphodel into Elysium (but didn’t bother Theseus because Theseus has “”Special Clearance”” aka the thang just didn't really see him as much of a threat)