#Cerberus deserves some friends

[locuas642]

If Hades 2 does not have a scene at the end where Cerberus is playing with all of Melione's familiars/pets she will eventually get, what is even the point?

[thrashkink-coven]

Super easy and cheap devotional acts for beginners.

A nice cup and some clean, fresh, water on the altar can often be all you need for daily offerings

Grow a plant on your altar, use your weekly watering as a devotional act. Hermes is currently helping my peace lily grow :)

Draw their sigil on your nails and then paint over them with nail polish that matches their color correspondences.

If you can’t acquire alcohol for your deities (wine, vodka etc) because you’re too young, white vinegar also works. The quality we’re looking for is the purification aspect. White vinegar is natural, antibacterial and never goes bad. You can leave it on your altar until it evaporates if you want.

If you work with a deity involved with self love like Aphrodite, investing a little more time into your skin care and scent can be very rewarding. Nothing super boujie, it can be as simple as getting some nice smelling lotion at the dollar store.

Food and water offerings don’t have to be external, especially if you’re in the broom closet and don’t have an altar. Reserve the first bite of your meal for your deity. Savour its taste while you think about them. Pour yourself a crisp glass of cold water and guzzle it as a devotional act.

Use a washable or dry erase marker to draw sigils on your shower wall for bath rituals. It’ll come right off when you’re done.

Tea bags are just bags of dried herbs. You can use these as offerings or draw sigils on them and burn them for witchcraft. No one is ever suspicious about a little tea. Adding a tea bag to your water offerings also gives them an extra kick.

A couple dollars at the thrift store will take you a long way. I love thrifting items because they’re usually well loved. I especially like thrifting spirituality books that past practitioners have written in. Sometimes my deities communicate with me through the books that are available on any given day. If I was just talking to Leviathan about the power of water and I see a book about Hydromancy, I know that he’s sending me a sign. Like, 90% of the books Lucifer has sent me popped up at the thrift store. Most expensive one was $7.99. (and I tag swapped it for 2.99 😊 thanks, Hermes-

and on this note, literally steal. Not from small local thrift stores, but I mean this with my whole chest, steal from Value Village. If you can sneakily swap a tag and get something for cheaper literally do it. Value Village gets all their inventory for free I literally do not care. Corporate thrift stores don’t deserve rights. I steal from Value Village as a devotional act to Hermes 😊 lmao )

If you don’t have money to spend on really nice paintings and posters of your deities for your altar, start buying books about them. It’s a double win. A book about Greek religion will certainly have multiple beautiful sculptures and paintings of Aphrodite that I can cut out and put on my wall. A book about angels might have a cool painting of Lucifer. Books about Goddesses, ancient religions, anthropology, astrology etc. You get the opportunity to learn, and if it’s a book you don’t particularly care too much for, you can take it apart for imagery. People ask me all the time where I got all of my paintings and pictures from. BOOKS.

Does your deity have a kind of complicated sigil that you love but you also kinda hate redrawing every other day? Sorry Cerberus (Naberius) I love you but that sigil is so complicated babe.

Learn how to block print! It’s very simple. You get a block of linoleum (usually pretty cheap, I think mine were like $5) , some ink (~$10), and a carving tool (varies depending), and make a sigil stamp! All you gotta do is draw your sigil and carve it out nicely one time. You can still bless it and imbue it with your energy, and you can easily put it on prayers, talismans etc.

Chalk is your best friend. Use it to draw sigils on the floor or wall that can easily be wiped away. You can imbue special chalk and use it for casting circles if you don’t like the mess of salt.

[islandofsages]

Hey, I wanted to ask for the housewardens with a male!reader from their dorm that have the same name as the Seven's sidekicks (?).

Example : Cerberus for Idia, Diaval for Malleus, FlotSam for Azul, ect...

And people (*cough* Yuu *cough*) always compared the reader with the housewarden and always say things like : "oh yeah, the new Diaval and the new Maleficent.." *looking at Reader and Malleus talking about Briar Valley.*

characters: the housewardens x male reader

tags: platonic, fluff + crack, imagines + scenario format; yuu is there, mentions of ruggie and jack in leona's, mentions of the leech twins in azul's, mentions of jamil in kalim's, mentions of ortho in idia's, mentions of sebek in malleus'

warnings: nothing

author's notes: i tried to choose characters that aren't already inspirations for the characters in the game so some of them end up being from the second movie and stuff LOL sorry if this isnt what you want anon but honestly i did have a lot of fun writing this

Riddle Rosehearts — The King of Hearts

You’re not sure why and how but you’re dubbed as The King of Hearts of your dorm, alongside Riddle who is the Queen

Unsure of what to make of this, you ignore it and continue to devote yourself to the Queen just as any normal person would sorry this is kinda satire

Riddle is simply your friend. You cherish him a lot and you respect him and his beliefs. Even when he overblotted, your faith in him is unwavering

Speaking of the overblot, after the whole catastrophe, you’ve grown a lot closer with the other card soldiers, along with the magicless kid named Yuu and their pet (Grim was his name?)

They would greet you from time to time, stop by to have a chat when they’re free and check up on the dorm

One day, they made an offhand comment about you and Riddle

“You guys are paving the way for the new generation of the Queen of Hearts and the King of Hearts. Though, I guess the King of Hearts didn’t really do anything anyway.”

First of all, what the hell are you talking about?

Second of all, you’d say you contribute much to the dorm. For Yuu to assume such a thing for you simply because some “past King of Hearts” didn’t do so is ridiculous

You don’t voice these things out loud and shrug it off as them saying random things again, or making some kind of reference you don’t get

And because, third of all, you realize they broke rule 228: they definitely picked a rose in your garden. So you go to kick them out before Riddle could find out.

All in the day’s work for the King of Hearts.

Leona Kingscholar — Zira

You could say you and Leona are tight - maybe not Ruggie and Leona tight, but almost

And part of that can be attributed to the fact that you may or may not idolize Leona. But hey, it’s not strange. If Jack can do it, why can’t you? At least it’s not on Sebek’s level

Plus, you deserve to have some pride in yourself for being one of the only people Leona confidently calls a friend of his

Though, one person has been persistent about being Leona’s friend - Yuu, the person who just spawned out of nowhere apparently

You’d catch them talking to Leona sometimes and to be frank, there are times where Leona is less annoyed than usual at their presence

One day in particular, the three of you are hanging around Savanaclaw’s lounge, when Yuu drops a bombshell

“Ah yes, of course, you two are exactly like Scar and his creepily-devout follower, Zira.”

??? Yes, Zira is (a variation) of your name but you wouldn’t call yourself “creepily-devout”. Also, who even is Scar?

Leona’s ears twitch in annoyance, either because he doesn’t understand what Yuu means or that he’s put off by their phrasing

You sit in silence, deciding if this is a topic worth asking more about or not

Curiosity gets the best of you - you ask them. They basically dump all the information they could onto you

Yeah, you still don’t get it. But whoever this other Zira is, they’re kinda cool honestly.

Azul Ashengrotto — Morgan(a)

A lot of people consider you one of Azul’s henchmen alongside Jade and Floyd - God forbid working to the bone every day for the Mostro Lounge, right?

But you don’t take it as an insult. It’s no compliment to be so loyal to such a capitalistic bastard (said affectionately) but it’s just another part of your life

Plus. You’re friends with the dude. His cunning nature is what you’re here for

Maybe sometimes you feel a little inferior to him since everyone lauds him as some powerful mage but you tell yourself you don’t need such prestige

Though even outside of work, sometimes you see that Yuu person loiter around the Mostro Lounge in search of Azul (and the Leech siblings occasionally)

So you decide to sit down with them one day and have a nice little chat when-

“So you’re the Morgana dude right? You definitely give off the vibes. Let me guess: you have a love-hate relationship with your stronger, superior boss?”

You have to do a double take at what they just spouted - where are these assumptions coming from suddenly?

Also your name is Morgan.

They laugh and assure you it’s only a joke and a reference to a movie they like since Azul and you have an uncanny resemblance to the characters in that movie

Even still, you can’t help but feel confused… no way they just go up to people and reference things they enjoy right…?

You try to work on your vibes starting the very next day.

Kalim Al-Asim — Aladdin

You’re somewhat of an enabler for Kalim’s party animal and reckless tendencies which Jamil doesn’t really appreciate but also you don’t give a shit

Who can say no to free food and music? Well, a specific amount of people but you’re definitely not one of them

Kalim is friends with everyone; or rather, he considers everyone a friend and that considerately counts you too

But you two really are though - after the party’s died down, the two of you would chat late into the night about everything and anything. And it works because he’s such a good listener

At one of his many parties, the Yuu person who’s apparently from another world comes to party along with you

And so you eat and dance as one usually would under Kalim’s rule, learning bits of information about Yuu along the way

As per usual, the party dies down so you, Kalim and Yuu take the chance to relax and have a concrete conversation

At some point, Yuu comments on your name (and apparent namesake…?)

“Wait, so your name is Aladdin? Like the thief guy who fell in love with the Sultan’s daughter? Feels kinda weird since Kalim kinda reminds me of the Sultan himself…”

Well, yes, your name is Aladdin although you just tell people to call you Ali but everything else they just said is completely false

You all laugh it off because the mood is appropriate for an elaborate joke as such but the next day, when you think over the whole interaction, you have to wonder what was going on through their head at the time

You make a mental note to see if you’ll ever fall in love with a sultan’s daughter.

Vil Schoenheit — Raven

You’re a little intimidated by Vil but you have as much respect for him as anyone does

And somehow, you manage to gain his respect too, though you are a mere spudling…

You try not to let it get to your head (especially considering he has more respect for some other spuds than you) but it’s no easy feat to get a compliment from Vil Schoenheit himself

One person in particular has been getting a lot of attention from Vil lately, you’ve noticed

This Yuu person has been stopping by Pomefiore a lot lately, ever since the weird invasion at school where a bunch of robot people broke into the school grounds

You don’t question it because they’ve been interacting with Vil since the VDC but the thing is Yuu has been trying to get to know more of the dorm members

And one day, they get to you finally

They seem normal enough once you two sit down to chat in the lounge—

“Hm, so your name is Raven? I think I vaguely remember a raven being in Snow White…”

You have no idea what that means and before you could change the topic yourself, Yuu dismisses it; but then the next day, when you were thinking about the exchange again, you get curious as to what a Snow White is 

So you start to scour the Internet for this “Snow White” and it manages to consume you for a few days until Yuu tells you that it’s just a movie from their world

You don’t talk to them for a few days.

Idia Shroud — Meg

You and the Shroud brothers are more like frenemies than anything - you three banter like old friends who know too much about each other

Other than Ortho, Idia does ask you for some favors a lot and you like joking that he’s drowning in debt when it comes to you

Sometimes he pays back by gaming with you, sometimes he pays with actual money. Good money at that. You don’t complain either way

One day you run another favor for him (which he promises more good money for) to send some stuff to Ramshackle

A person named Yuu and their only other dorm member Grim had sent stuff to Idia for repairing and maintenance - not that you care about the details. You’re just gonna get it over with

Once you reach their dorm, the first thing you’re met with are the two dorm members bickering over something. You chuckle; it reminds you of your conversations with Idia

You excuse yourself for interrupting and go to drop off their things on the table in the middle of the lounge

They stop bickering then and Yuu greets you momentarily before muttering something under their breath

“Of course the new Meg to the new Hades dropped off our stuff.”

You assume they don’t know that you heard what they said and quite frankly you don’t want to care much but you admit you’re a bit curious of what they mean

When you get back to Idia, you ask him to decipher that cryptic message

He admits he has no idea what they mean by that, simply tells you not to think about it and pays you with some good old cash - and some fun gaming time so you forget all about it later anyway.

Malleus Draconia — Diaval

You are one of Malleus’ loyal retainers - you were bestowed the honor of being his “wings” even whatever that means

But Malleus sees you as an equal almost. You are no servant and you have your own wings to tend to; it’s the stuff that would move Sebek to tears

You do see him as a friend mostly, even if at first you started doing so out of pity

But now you see him making more friends around campus and you can’t help but feel happy for and proud of him

There’s one friend who he seems to be around a lot - the magicless human named Yuu

It makes sense since he does enjoy taking walks around their dorm, even before they came to occupy it

One day, you three make the time to have tea together and simply talk. It’s all very pleasant when Yuu says-

“You know, don’t you think it’s weird how your name is Diaval and you’re serving someone who’s strangely reminiscent of Maleficent?”

Well, you don’t think it’s weird because you have no idea what they’re referencing and who Maleficent is - and Malleus seems to think the same, with the confused look on his face and all

Also as true as it is that you’re Malleus’ retainer, you don’t appreciate someone phrasing it as you “serving” him

Yuu apologizes for the comment and explains what they mean by it. You both still don’t get it but it’s enough to make you shrug it off

Sometimes Yuu would still make such comments, thinking you don’t hear it but knowing it’s not that deep, it doesn’t affect the three of you’s friendship whatsoever.

[cosmicstarlatte]

hi!! can I request the brothers reactions to MC who talks in a cute voice with pets? i can’t talk normally with my cat he’s just a widdle baby 😭

MC baby-talks to their pet (Obey Me)

You can't help but talk in a cute baby voice with your pet. How does he react?

»Characters: Demon Bros »Tags: Humor, Fluff »Notes: This has been sitting for a long time lol. Thank you for the super cute request anon! I hope you like it! ^^ ♡ I tried to be vague for our non furry friends lol

Lucifer:

Had to do a double take when he heard you talking like that

Thought solomon accidentally cursed you at first

Relief when he realized you were just talking to your pet...why do people do that though???

Momentarily forgot he does that with Cerberus when no one is around

Thought it was cute and wholesome seeing you treat your pet so sweetly, you looked so happy

Ended up joining you because your little baby is a cutie

Tried to pull off a very deep voice when his brothers walked in on you guys

They called him widdle uwucifer™️ for a week

Even Diavolo heard about it alajsjfjglskflsk

Mammon:

Got jealous when he heard you calling someone your widdle baby

ISNT HE YOUR WIDDLE BABY!?

Super relieved when he found out it was just your pet

Got jealous again because he wanted some praise too??

"Yes yes Mammon you're a good demon too"

"And!?" (you pat his head)

"Hmph! That's what I thought!"

Joined you and your pet for some cuddles

Levi:

This poor thing thought you were talking to him at first and got so excited

When he realized it was your pet, he didn't think too much of your baby voice because even he has those moments with Henry 2.0!

What kind of pet owner would you be if you didn't talk to them like that!?

He played with the two of you and suggested making little cosplays for the cute little thing

Satan:

Was caught off guard for a brief second but joined you instantly when he realized you were with your pet

This man loves animals

WIDDLEBABYTALKTIMEAAAAAAAA

Convinces you to go to the devildom zoo so the animals there can get baby talk too because all of them deserve it!

Asmo:

Immediately knows what you're doing and GOES ALL IN

Baby talk, cuddles, just fluffy love overload with your pet!

He has no shame (as he should)

Even goes as far to include you in it, you're his widdle baby too! He cuddles you both in excitement!

Takes so many photos and posts it online

Beel:

Thought you were broken and got worried

Did you eat something cursed?

Realizes what you were doing and tries to join in but it doesn't go well, oops

The man sounds so stiff 😭

Your pet did not like it but did enjoy his cuddles!

Belphie:

Was sleeping and woke up a little, he thought you were talking to him at first

Okay yeah I could get use to this, it's kinda nice.

It wasn't until you started talking about treats that he realized you were just talking to your little friend

Thought about joining in but your voice soothed him and he went back to sleep!

[vagabond-umlaut]

it's easy to ferry souls, not carry them

deep down in the realm of the netherworlds, there exists a rower who transports deceased souls from the land of living to the land of dead-

and occasionally lends an ear and a hand, in the event of yet another collision between their weary queen and her just as cheery suitor...

[uraume deserves a raise.]

▸gojo satoru x fem!reader; the tale of kore!gojo & hades!reader w a guest appearance by charon!uraume; uraume is a very nice parental figure to you [ooc!uraume but ehh]; the reader is honestly so sweet and hot-tempered...; the cutest doggy cerberus too is there!!!!; gojo satoru must be his own warning...; uraume does not like gojo [no parent [blood-related or not] actually wld]; fire hazards; 2k wc

▸ i've nvr read percy jackson and wtv i wrote here is based on my shaky knowledge of greek myths and stuff 😁😁 anyways, this header's from pinterest, these dividers are by @benkeibear and the characters used ain't mine. pls do not plagiarize, translate or repost this. enjoy reading! ❤️

▸ belongs to series 'wreaths of asphodel' – same universe as the work 'hey, where is the pomegranate tree?' — but you can treat this as a stand-alone fic if you wanna!

"why is kore so set on marrying me, uraume?"

it isn't the ask itself which causes the rower to nearly lose grip of their oar– but the way it is spoken: soft, solemn and faintly tense. they look away from the endless expanse of the styx before, to find you staring at your reflection in the inky waters, features unnaturally crumpled.

uraume holds back a frown. "has her majesty considered asking the god the same?"

"i have asked him," you mumble, "but i did not receive any conclusive answer in return. the imp was being too vague– must be a trait learnt from those shifty nymphs always sticking to his side."

if your faithful follower detects anything except dislike in your words, they make no mention of it. merely humming as they continue to row the boat, "and may this servant know the question her majesty asked the god?"

"two," you mumble even more clumsily now; they take a beat to grasp it, too concerned by the way you drape yourself over the edge, nearly falling into the water as you say, "i asked him two questions— one, if he loves me; two, if he wants to have children should we get married."

shock must not be uraume's first reaction to these queries, yet it is— and for a moment, it isn't you sitting there anymore.

instead, it is a little girl, no older than seven or eight years, cherubic face fixed in a look of deep concentration and fascination while the rower narrates to her stories from times millennia ago–

only for the child to morph into a young lady– no, goddess– the very next beat... slouched under a regal cloak too heavy for her shoulders, under a royal crown too large for her head... that sweet innocence of childhood nothing but traces now, having been withered by the foul, dirty politics of those damned deities high up on that mountain—

"what answers did the olympian offer her majesty?"

"he said he would love me and sire my children if that is what i want— i asked if he wished anything out of our union— he said all he wanted is to be my husband–"

something between a frustrated sigh and an exhausted scoff erupts from you, becoming an opaque fog the moment it hits the frigid air of the underworld. uraume plucks the oar out the water to come sit next to you, letting the boat be driven by magic.

"you're worried," they state, forgoing all formalities in favour of giving you some much-needed comfort. you never much cared for stations anyways, quite unlike your elder brother, the former king.

"an unfamiliar friend poses more risk than a familiar enemy, uraume," you mutter, resting your head on their shoulder, "why do you think kore wishes to marry me so much, if not out of love or the prospect of the powerful offsprings we might beget?"

"marriage is not solely for love or for procreation," the rower starts to explain, mildly amused before it grows into sympathy at your baffled expression.

ah, they muse fondly, not unlike a parent watching their child witness the world seemingly the first time ever since they learnt to walk, you who presides over something as profound as death yet knows not of the trivialities of life...

"it can also be for many other reasons like–"

the remainder of the words skitter away from uraume— cerberus is playing with gojo.

the fierce guard of the netherworlds, the three-headed hound, loyal and dutiful to a fault: hades' dearest canine companion is frolicking with the god of life in a green meadow, that most certainly was not there so close to the stygian marsh, when they last—

"gojo is laughing," your remark draws them away from their musings, only to find a changed shadow over your countenance— pensive yet not thinking at all; almost as if you too are floating in the stale air of your kingdom akin the soft flower petals...

another ring of raucous laughter pierces the silence, mingled with a delighted series of barks— cerberus is busy licking gojo's face now, the olympian reduced to a puddle of giggles as he scratches behind the dog's ears.

his happiness so clear in the stretch of his grin and the crinkle of his eyes, very much the jarring contrast to the last time—

oh. oh, oh, oh–

"escape," the word leaves uraume in a sudden moment of realisation, as quiet as a breath but loud enough for you to whip your head back to face them, confusion engraved into your scowl. "escape?? what is that supposed to mean, eh?"

the rower feels their lips lift into an infrequent smile. "the god of life wishes to marry you to escape— from his mother, or from his many suitors, or perhaps from mount olympus itself."

"wha– how– hah," you breathe out a disbelieving little huff, "that is simply ridiculous. have you even heard yourself? that is ridiculous."

used to such resistance from yourself, even more from your brother, they move to state their points, only to beaten by you as you persist to speak.

"no one in their right mind will decide to come live in the underworld, no matter how overbearing their mother or insistent their suitors are. have you seen this place? it's too, too unlike the lushness of the earth or the grandeur of the heavens he has experienced. and–" you add, a harsh laugh accompanying it. "gojo satoru is a god. a fish might leave the water— but a god never steps a voluntary foot down that horrible mountain. never."

"but the olympian never truly lived on mount olympus," uraume says once they're sure you've completed your tirade, "and you are a goddess as well. why do you speak so ill of the heavens then?"

"why?" you echo the word. they nod, hoping you take the bait they've intended for you. you do.

"why, because that place is nothing but a shining apple with a rotten core!! everything is polished marble and glittering gold there. people constantly wave at each other, lavishing smiles and praises like there is no tomorrow. everything is so warm and bright— what a bunch of lies and liars!"

familiar fire burns in your aura, the immense heat making the waters erupt into boiling— uraume uses their powers to cool the river down, lest anything disturbs you.

you're too far gone in your rage to be shaken, however, continuing:

"but it never can hide the grime and dirt accrued beneath such shine and sheen. nor the vicious minds and crooked hearts of those deities up above– what lame excuses of gods and goddesses, hah. and you might think me to prefer the light and warmth up there— you will be sorely wrong, my dear uraume!! i much prefer the genuine darkness and frigidity of my beloved kingdom to the faux comfort of the awful mount olympus—"

"is there no possibility the god of life too despises mount olympus for these same reasons, milady?"

you open your mouth and close it, then open it again to let out a very aggrieved whine– momentarily transporting uraume to your younger days. the rower merely chuckles when you punch their arm lightly.

"you're the worst, uraume," you cry, getting up and moving to sit on the other end of the boat. the rower too rises but only to resume rowing the boat by the oar.

"you never spoke this way when sukuna was the ruler— only because his baby sister is the ruler now, and you think she is very stupid—"

"as much as i respect and revere lord sukuna, he wasn't one to listen to anyone else," uraume interrupts gently, "you do, though– which is why i spent so much time telling you this. i hope you did not mind."

"hey, no," you immediately wave away their concern with a wide grin, eliciting a smaller one from the latter, "i could never..."

another peal of laughter and barks rings through the otherwise-quiet. you abruptly trail off, the same conflicting expression from before on your face yet again. though not without a spark in your eyes, uraume notes, almost as if you're slowly learning how to solve the puzzle who is repeatedly offering himself to you.

uraume keeps the silence you initiate, choosing to row the boat while you keep staring at the assortment of hues near the stygian marsh...

until you call their name and declare, an odd firmness in your smile, "well then, it is decided. i shall allow gojo to stay here for as long as the god so wishes to, escaping whatever or whoever he is escaping. and i shall protect him from the latter, should it ever come for him."

a beat. your smile falls into something graver. "would it be better if i swore by the dread water of styx, uraume?"

"uh, um," the rower finds themselves at a loss of words, the first time in seemingly forever, and they have been around since titanomachy– but before they can recover themselves enough to formulate a proper reply, a giggly voice joins in—

"well, if my rose does that, i would consider myself the most blessed amongst all mortals and immortals!"

— and the waters surrounding the boat shoot upwards in a scathing geyser-like jet and steam— the ferocious queen of the netherworlds visibly torn between remorse and terror, as they offer uraume a stiff nod and gojo a horrified look, before vanishing in a wisp of fog.

the boiling waters of the river styx calm down only after a twenty-minute-long struggle by uraume, joined at the very end by gojo.

the latter looks positively delighted, when the former collapses to the bottom of the boat, exhausted beyond belief. "hey, charon. was that a result of your queen getting flustered by me, huh?"

yes, it was. it very much was, the sentences nearly slip past the tired rower's crumbling defences... until it hits them– who they serve, and who they don't.

uraume decides to throw back a glare and a lie. "her majesty was not flustered, lord kore. she was enraged at how you invaded the privacy of her weekly boat ride, intended to make her relax."

"oh, puh-lease," the god makes a face. the rower is certain he would have been punished in the pits of tartarus for all eternity, then some more were he to pursue you this way during your brother's reign, let alone disrespect you thus.

ignorant and insolent, he continues, "in few days time, i'll be allowed into the privacy of her living quarters; what is the privacy of her boat th—"

"you're lucky you did not make such outrageous remarks in front of the queen," uraume cuts him off, none too kindly nor gently, "if you did, her majesty would have certainly burnt you along with the boat to a crisp–"

"i know," comes the defeated reply within the instant. and while gojo is still not in uraume's good graces, the latter decides to notch him a level higher, considering the god of life accepts their queen's powers.

not many do.

he strikes a pathetically pitiful figure, uraume reckons, seeing him sit then slouch on the bench. "was she serious when she said she would protect me?"

your loyal subject nods, certain and solemn. "yes, she was. the queen is never careless when it comes to making promises."

"oh, that's reassuring," gojo says quietly— only to recline even further in the very next beat– an anguished, grating wail tearing from him to the stifling silence looming near the stygian marsh. uraume wonders if it is worth it to steer the boat towards acheron... then push him into its waters of woe...

they decide against it on catching the desperation worn by the god.

for all it is, it might nothing more than a ploy. yet something tugs at their mind to pause and listen when gojo howls, "why does my rose always scurry away after tilting my world on its axis? why does your queen always torment me like this, charon?"

uraume stares pensively at their face in the sacred waters of styx for a while. then heaves a mighty sigh.

certain, this exchange between the goddess of the dead and the god of life will impact not only your and gojo's respective worlds— but the general world and everyone else in it, as well.

did you know, in the actual greek myths, persephone was never called so before her marriage to hades? she got it only after, w the name meaning "bringer of death". her initial name was kore, referring to her being a maiden & the spring goddess.

the river styx was called the "dread river of oath" by homer– in both the iliad and the odyssey [greek epic poems], swearing by its waters is the "greatest and most dread oath for the blessed gods" -> this shows how serious the reader is towards ensuring gojo's safety and freedom, and how deeply this affects gojo as well [source: wiki 😇]

also: the reader is totally ready to jump into the water to swim away when she realises gojo was listening in on her conversations- but then she remembers she can js vanish away and so she does js tht— the queen of the underworld, and of escaping, hehe

also also: the reader is slightly jealous when she is talking of the shifty nymphs always sticking to gojo's side. [uraume identifies it; you think it is js your usual dislike to such frivolous things and ppl as flowers and nymphs etc.] [hades is emo imho 😊]

▸ masterlist

[lethalchiralium]

No More | 6 | Simon “Ghost” Riley x F!Reader

a/n: SO YOU THOUGHT I FORGOT??? NO. i just didn’t know how to write LMAO this is just a filler chapter

dedicated to my lovelies, @as-is-above-so-below @peachesofteal @halfmoth-halfman

warnings: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT. SMUT. fingering, oral (fem receiving). Simon is bad at feelings and having a relationship, but we know this

summary: It’s late at night, you’re upset and trying to communicate to Simon how to be better in your relationship - except his idea of apologizing is far from what you expected.

PREVIOUS << | >> NEXT | SERIES MASTERLIST

Cerberus is always asleep before you even get out of your shoes, your lovable dog launched himself into his bed and was out like a light as soon as your keys were sat on the counter. Simon moved around you and into the kitchen, grabbing an apple as you tugged off your coat. You placed it on the kitchen island, eyes glanced at your boyfriend since his were very clearly trained on you.

“‘m takin’ a shower.” You mumbled, hand reached up to pull your hair out of its tie. Hair tumbling to frame your face as you stretched your arms above your head, a few bones cracked in your arms and shoulder before you turned to leave the kitchen.

“Maybe I should join you.”

Your hand settled on the doorway of the room, eyebrows instantly knitted together as you looked over your shoulder. “…No?”

His hand slowly pulled his mask over his nose, stubble clearly visible and long er than you knew he liked it. His eyes held a confused glare as he spoke, “What? We always take showers.”

“No.” Emphasizing the word, Simon’s eyes stared straight into yours. You began to toe off your shoes, clearly stating, “You were an asshole.” You tossed your shoes into the hallway. “You don’t deserve it.”

Another bite of his apple, teeth clicking as he chewed and spoke, “Mercy, we were working. I’m sorry-“

Your back went pin straight, nostrils flaring as your hand raised, poised and pointed like a venomous snake. “Do not speak.”

Shhhik! Another part of the apple gone, but he chewed slowly, gracelessly bowing the apple down as if to acknowledge what you had said.

“You don’t deserve sex especially when we just talked about this.”

“About what?”

Hands flew up before falling to hit your thighs with a loud clap. “Trusting me.” The glare in his eye completely dropped, recognition immediately took over his body; your hands moved to settle on the top of your hips as you continued, “‘I’m sorry’ is not good enough. We were on a secure aircraft, with friends, and you pushed me away. I was trying to help you and you literally pushed me away.”

The words were heavy like liquor in the air, a drink that was concealed by the dark colored cabinets of your kitchen. Another shk! of Simon’s teeth as they tore into the apple, there was merely just the sound of chewing for a moment. He then held his apple out as if in thought - which he was.

“I’m…sorry.” He swallowed, standing up straighter as his hands fell to his sides. He set his half eaten apple down on the counter. “I, uh… I really don’t know how to do this right.”

“Talk to me.” One of your hands then rested on the doorframe. “Set some boundaries, Simon. I need you to tell me what would make you comfortable, because it seems like I only do things you don’t like.”

He looked perplexed, looking away for a moment before reuniting his gaze with yours. “Can I apologize before I do that?” He took the apple back in his hand.

“What? Why?”

“You’re still shaking.” Another bite of his apple, teeth clicking as he chewed and spoke, “We’ve been on the ground for an hour, it’s been seven hours since Istanbul. You need to shower and I need to apologize.”

You looked down to your free hand, still seeing it shake before you looked back to Simon. “You’re not getting in the shower to fuck?”

It took Simon just a second to answer, he had paused his chewing and held his apple up with a questioning look. “No? I’m an asshole, but not that much of an asshole.”

You smacked the doorframe just a little, turning away towards the hallway. “Thanks for acknowledging your assholery.”

“Anytime.” Muted footsteps followed yours as you made your way into your bedroom, your hands pulling off your shirt and tossing it onto the floor. Simon cleared his throat as you opened the bathroom door, flicking on the light. “You really think they’re following us?”

Shrugging as you unbuttoned your pants, starting to pull them off as you remarked, “They could be. That one guy followed me all the way down the street, plus they almost got the jump on me. We’re a task force made up of the best, all of us have enemies.” Simon moved past you to the shower, turning it on while you pulled off your socks.

He shut the glass door and turned towards you, pulling off his shirt since his jacket was discarded on the kitchen island too. “Mmm. Didn’t think about the enemies thing.”

“You don’t think I have enemies?” You glared at him as you pulled off your underwear, moving to unclipped your bra but he moved to do it for you instead; warm hands grazed your shoulder blades as he unclipped the hooks. Pulling it off of your arms, his hands were gentle as he led you towards the shower - steam billowed from the hot water.

He pulled open the door, holding your hand until you were inside and under the spray of the hot water you’ve wanted for so long. A groan of appreciation left your throat as your head hung forwards, letting the water cascade down your back to soothe your aching muscles. Chin scraping your American dog tags, the wear of the mission began to waste away and circle the drain. Who would know we were on the rooftop? We weren’t spotted, we would’ve been sniped off. How did they know?

“What, did they get mad you stitched them up wrong?” Simon’s question pulled you from your reflection, realizing that the hot spray of water had disappeared and a large body had replaced it. Calloused fingertips pressed their patterns into your hips, pulling your naked back to his torso and his partial problem. “You just need to relax for a minute.” You moved back a little, since this shower could barely fit the both of you in it.

“Ya know, sometimes I think you’re just trying to be considerate and then you do things that-“

It’s hard not to screech when Simon’s hand gripped the roots of your hair and yanked backwards, eyes wide open as you stared up at his eyes behind the balaclava.

“Turn you on? I know, sweetheart.”

If only you could see his lips, you’d see the cheeky grin on his face as you scowled, “You’re an asshole.”

“We’ve established that.”

“I just want to know why they went after Gaz first and not Price and I,” You mumbled, eyes half lidded as you felt the hand on your hips move forwards. “Maybe it was a mix-up, but it seems odd that they were going after Gaz, like they knew it would set us-“

The words that were once in your mouth disintegrated as soon as your boyfriend’s thumb pressed into your clit. The breath in your lungs disappeared, your head hitting his collarbone with his hand still taut in your hair. “Oh? What were you saying, love?” The visage of the black balaclava in front of you left your muscles melting, the familiar sight of Simon was made you relax. The hand in your hair opened to hold your head as he gently rubbed circles with his thumb. Your hands found purchase on the arm pressed to your front as he laughed in your ear. “You have got to relax, sweetheart. I’m tryin’ to apologize.”

If you had a little bit more strength, you would’ve made him leave the shower so you could wash yourself in peace - but it was hard as your eyes closed, letting the mist of the water coat your face as Simon explored you with one hand.

“I-It’s important, we have to-“ You swallowed, nails digging into his arm as your fingertips felt his muscles twitch when he moved his hand further down. “Fuck, Simon, please-“

��Please, what?” The wet cloth of his balaclava settled against your temple, his index finger hovered right over your hole. “Ask me nicely.”

Your head pushed into his, a breathy whine escaped your lips as his thumb stopped moving. A quiet whimper left your lips, hands clenched around his forearm as you gritted out, “You’re a goddamn tease.”

“Ain’t that right.” He let out a whine of his own as he pushed his finger into you, setting a quick pace while letting his palm rest against your clit. Your back arched, you could feel his cock press against your ass as your head swiveled away from his, settling your cheek against his shoulder. “Talk for me, sweetheart. Tell me how good I feel.”

“Ha- You’d- Fuck, you’d like that-“ You panted, toes curled against the ceramic floor as he pushed another finger into your tight hole, not stopping his brutal pace. The hand curled around the roots of your hair moved your face back to his wet balaclava, his grip still tight in it. “Wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, I would.” He pressed a kiss to your temple through the balaclava. “It’s fine, you can be bratty now, but you’re gonna be beggin’ when I fuck you on the-“

Brrrng! Brrrrng!

Your eyes opened as your head shot up, Simon’s hand in your wet hair instantly disappeared as his fingers settled, fully seated inside you and unmoving.

“Why did you bring your phone into the bathroom?” He groaned, letting your hands pull his out of you. “I was finally havin’ fun.” You glanced over your shoulder, glaring at him as he pulled up his balaclava to settle the two fingers he just fucked you with onto his tongue. You patted his chest before opening the shower door, grabbing the towel on the hook to wrap around yourself as you dashed towards the counter. You tucked the corner into the towel, trying to conserve warmth.

You barely answered it before it went to voicemail. “Hello?”

“Mercy.”

You internally grimaced. “Hi Laswell.”

“Hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”

You glanced over your shoulder, seeing Simon’s figure through the frosted glass in the reflection of the mirror. “Oh no, I was just about to get in the shower. What’s going on?”

“We’ve got a flight in the morning to Miramar, California. Fightertown, if I’m correct. Got any knowledge about that?”

You bit your tongue, eyes squeezing closed. That’s what you forgot to do. “Uh yeah, Tom Kazansky invited us to the Navy Ball because of my mission before last. I was told you were given information.”

“Not until about two hours ago.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry-“

“No need to make excuses. We’re flying out at 0600.”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you moved out of your bathroom, moving towards your closet. “‘We’, ma’am?”

“0600, Mercy. And bring your dogs too.” The line went dead as you moved to look at your old formal dresses, ones you haven’t touched in years. Your phone pressed between your shoulder and ear, one hand holding your towel up as the other pushed dresses aside.

You heard the bathroom door open, the sound of the shower had silenced a while ago but you didn’t make an effort to look at him. There was just a moment before he spoke, “What are you doing?”

You finally found the dress you probably should wear, a beautiful red velvet dress. “How willing are you to meet my dad?”

A pause. “…What?”

You looked back to Simon, his mask moved above his mouth so he could breathe. “We have a flight tomorrow to go and see the US Pacific Naval Aviation Fleet Commander, and I used to live there. I worked for the Admiral, he’s like family and he’s best friends with my dad.”

“…You have a father?”

You just laughed, shaking your head and pulling the dress out of the closet. “Of course I have a father.”

“Since when?”

“Since I was like, one.” You then hung the dress up on the closet door, moving to look towards Simon. His head was lowered a little, towel covered hip settled against the doorframe. It took almost all of your strength to not gaze at his bruised V-line.

“That math doesn’t add up.”

“I was adopted, headass.”

“…Oh.”

“It’s not a big deal.” You shrugged, hands fixing your towel to make it tighter above your breasts. “It’s just my dad. I only have the one, so at least you have that going for you.”

He took a pause. “Do I look like the meet the parents type?”

A smile on your face, you looked back “No, you look like a barracks bun-“

“Finish that sentence, Mercy.” He pushed himself from the door frame by his hip, taking a step towards you. “I want you to finish the sentence.”

“Barracks. Bunny.”

“That’s it.”

Simon marched over to you, you backed away against the bed - his body now caging you from escaping. “Simon, we need to shower. We have a flight in the morning-“ You bumped chests with Simon, your calves hit the bed and you were essentially forced to sit down. You kept your gaze up on Simon.

“Don’t care. Wasn’t finished apologizing for being an asshole.”

“You’ve really got to start apologizing with words. It’s quicker, easier-“

“Okay.” The man in front of you dropped to his knees, settling in front of yours and gazing up at you through war paint stained lashes. “I am so terribly sorry I acted poorly because I was worried you had died, my wonderful and beautiful girlfriend. The only way I know how to truly apologize is to truly ravish you, so please,” He settled his chin upon your knees, a hair away from the edge of your towel. “let me have sex with you so I can truly apologize.”

You chuckled a little. “You’re fucking hilarious.”

“Now can I fuck you?”

“Beg a lil more, baby.”

He glared at you, pulling your legs in front of his shoulders as he moved in between them. His tongue slid from almost your knee to just before the apex between your thigh and hip, the flush of air on your cunt from his movement made you bristle. “My beautiful and wonderful girlfriend,”

“Mmhmm?”

Simon’s brown eyes gazed up to you, warm and inviting - to anyone else, he would’ve looked pathetic; but to you? You could see in his eyes just a small amount of how much he truly loved you. “Will you please let me fuck you on our bed before we have to go wherever-“

A smile appeared on your lips, hair falling to frame your face. “Miramar.”

“Ugh-“ His cheek moved to rest on your knee, eyes gazed up with a pleasing glare. “Will you please let me fuck you on our bed before we have to go to Miramar? I feel like a complete asshole for being an asshole earlier.”

“Was the last part real apologizing?”

“Yes.”

Your eyes met his, your smile turning to a smirk as you nodded - moving your legs, hands pulling the towel away from your body to put yourself on true display for the man you loved. “You have my consent to ravish me.”

“Fuckin’ finally.” For as large as Simon Riley was, he was incredibly quick - his hands pulled your thighs forwards, your ass almost hanging off of the bed as his face dove into your pussy.

Sure, he could be careful and kind to you when his face was in between your legs, but he had a mission. He wasn’t a poet with his words, his actions spoke for him for the most part - so where his actions had hurt you before, he was using himself for your pleasure only, even if his cock was throbbing so much it hurt.

“Oh-“ His stubble felt rough against your sensitive skin, tongue lapping at the once neglected slick of your clit. Hands gripping onto his mask and the sheets beside you, you let out a small groan. His hands settled on the back of your calves, gently squeezing as he sucked just a little. Teeth gliding across your bud, your toes curled and your nails dug into the cloth beneath your hands. “Oh, fuck, my sweet girl.” Those words had your stomach stretch into knots, head reeling back as Simon moved back, admiring your pussy for just a moment and murmuring, “You taste so sweet, so good. Such a pretty pussy, jus’ f’ me.”

“Simon-“

He didn’t need to be told twice - diving back in and instantly licking a swipe from your hole to your side, pressing a sweet kiss to the healed scar on the top of your hip. He moved back to your hole, one hand coming up to press sweet circles to your clit as he began to fuck you with his tongue. Your thighs moved to squeeze his head, but he ducked away to speak, “Wider, baby. Open your legs up wider f’ me.”

“I- Fuck, keep going-“ It was getting harder to keep sitting up, your back quivered as you tried to keep your legs open for him. Spasms in your lower back made you ungraciously fall back onto the bed, your hand let go of his mask as you did. Heart hammering in your chest, you could only feel him. His tongue was delicate in the way he was eating you out, it’s a dance you know he’s good at since he had first fucked you on his tongue almost a week before you two officially started dating. Now, here you were, three months shy of two years together and it still felt heavenly. And he was still emotionally stunted. It’s fine, if he can make me cum with just his tongue, I might just stay forever.

His hands pushed your thighs apart as your back began to curl, your legs trying to fight his grip to come back together - he was adamant about keeping you spread apart so his tongue could get as deep as it could. White hot pricks began to crawl up your spine, clawing at the bottom of your rib cage as both of your hands gripped onto the sheets like your life depended on it.

Simon could feel as your walls began to tighten and that’s when he moved one of his fingers back to rub your clit just gently, barely even making circles before your pleasure deprived body began to very clearly respond. Another flick of his tongue and pressure to your clit had the white hot pricks turn into ropes, squeezing around your rib cage and lower belly, the gospel of his name danced across your lips like a hymn.

“C’mon, sweet girl, cum for me.”

Pleasure was wrapping around your hips, his mouth felt so good as he began to suck on your pussy - and that was the point of no return. Head hitting the sheets with reckless abandon, a loud rumble escaped the cage of your chest as the burning sensation of an orgasm spread throughout your body.

His face disappeared from your legs, cheek now resting on your belly as his hands began to gently caress the outside of your thighs. “Always so sweet for me.”

Your hands moved to cover your face, heavy pants escaped your throat as you tried to grasp reality for just a moment. Arousal still spun around your spine like hot metal as he moved upwards, tearing off your towel and his - hands pulled yours from your face, his slick lathered lips met yours.

His tongue traced your lips, cleaning you from yourself as his teeth showed with his smile. “Pretty, pretty girl.”

It would be a long night of apologizing from your lovesick boyfriend, Simon.

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Copyright © 2023 lethalchiralium. All rights reserved.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Actually, while we're on the topic of pets, what pets do you see the others with?

[Referencing this post!]

I'll (slightly) cheat and condense everyone into their groups, then say "whatever animals fit the motif of their respective character/film". There's some notes for each boy as well, but not always in the most intense of details. (Please keep in mind that this is only covering the main 22 students from NRC!!) Heartslabyul already tends to hedgehogs and flamingos, so those could be common creatures to have as pets/familiars (especially among the card soldiers like Cater, Trey, Deuce, and Ace) Alternatively, there could be other animals from Alice in Wonderland such as cats (for the Cheshire Cat), oysters, living flowers, walruses, dormouses, rabbits/hares, etc. If we want to stray outside of the dorm motifs, a chameleon for Ace (since he has a talent for mimicking people)?? Cater with a fox because of how crafty he can be?? (I don't feel super strong on this choice.) Trey is Normal so a cat or a dog for him!! The dog could be useful for sniffing out special ingredients while a cat is fitting because Trey's VA also voices Lucius... And of course, Deuce deserves a chicken so it can lay many eggs! Riddle I see getting one of the standard pets because "it's the rule/tradition at Heartslabyul!" Uhhh, mostly savanna animals for Savanaclaw I guess?? But again, the same moral debate I mentioned in the original post still applies here. (Like, would it be weird for a lion/wolf/hyena beastman such as Leona/Jack/Ruggie to have a lion/wolf/hyena as a pet/familiar???) Octavinelle would have a lot of aquatic creatures as pets/familiars. I think the "perfect" pet/familiar to match Azul's image would be eels (to mimic Ursula). Not sure what Jade or Floyd would have (the JP fandom uses a dolphin and a shark emoji, respectively, to refer to them so maybe those)?? But since Jade is the informant for the group, I'm thinking something small and agile so he can send it to spy for him. (Plus, it could chill out in his terrariums for funsies later.) Floyd would have something more aggressive... Scarabia would have unconventional animals from all over Twisted Wonderland! Kalim is someone I see as having many animal friends, so I can't think of just one animal. Maybe a tiger (like Princess Jasmine)? But it's also fun to imagine Kalim riding in on a massive elephant! He was originally supposed to have a monkey familiar (like Aladdin), so I can easily see that happening as well. Jamil has a clearer desire for a specific animal companion, and that would be a parrot. I can also see a snake for... obvious reasons. Maybe a bug to really torment them. Peacock for Vil because he sits in a peacock throne and it has a majestic vibe. A crow or raven also works due to its association with the Evil Queen. Rook, like Kalim, is someone I see with a variety of animals and not a specific one. Whatever his pet/familiar is, it would probably be a skilled hunter. I'm thinking like some kind of predator bird like a hawk or falcon. Epel... nothing immediately comes to mind, but maybe something small and cute but tough like he is. Idia would want a kawaii widdle neko-chan (his words, not mine) to keep as a lap warmer while he aggressive games. Ortho is more of a dog person (yes, this is purely because of his Cerberus Gear card), though I picture him engaging with virtual pets and/or those cybernetic dogs more than like... actual animals. I think Lilia's bats already count as his pets, although they are rarely ever mentioned in dialogue. Silver, as a member of the light trio, is another person that I see with many animals (squirrels, deer, birds, rabbits, etc.). Sebek I feel would shout that every animal is inferior to Malleus and that no pet he has could ever match Malleus's, etc. etc. etc. He's usually associated with crocs, so I think many would gravitate to one as Sebek's pet??? I think it would be funny if his familiar was something small, cute, and kinda pathetic (like a chipmunk or something) so he acts all bashful about it... but hey, I think a horse (so he can ride proudly into combat) also works. Malleus I already covered in the original post linked above.

[musicalhell]

General thoughts on Hades 2? I'm also playing it in early access myself. I know it still needs some finishing and perfecting but I really enjoy it so far.

Oh do I have thoughts:

~Overall, I love it. Obviously it's a work in progress and things need to be fine tuned (coughArgentSkullcough) but the foundation is absolutely solid. I love the way they've adapted a lot of the original Hades mechanics in a way that feels familiar, but distinct and not a copy of the previous game. ~I adore Melinoe. If Zagreus is someone who I'd want to go out and have drinks with, Melinoe is someone I want to wrap in a blanket and give hot chocolate and hugs and soft animals and all the good things that make her happy. Because she deserves it, even (especially) if she thinks she doesn't. ~I was surprised by how sweet and chill Moros is and that makes me love him even more. ~Hestia and Hephaestus are my new BFFs (Boon Friends Forever). ~I cannot wait to see Narcissus' design. I'm kind of picturing a giant daffodil/human hybrid that's kind of creepy but also in keeping with proud Hades tradition unsettlingly hot. ~I have killed Chronos exactly one (1) time so far, and that is not enough. Smug-ass authoritarian "everything was better when I was in charge" bastard gonna pay for what he did to my Underworld family (especially Cerberus). ~That said, I'm curious to see where they're going with this story. The original Hades was all about healing--reuniting Hades and Persephone and repairing the breach with the Olympians. I kind of get that vibe from this one too, but at the same time I don't see a way forward that doesn't involve kicking Chronos to the curb and making sure he stays there. Then there's the question of the Olympians, who are definitely showing their dark side (the Apollo/Poseidon duo dialogue has them arguing over whether it's better curse disrespectful mortals with a plague or just send an earthquake to wipe them out, yikes). I hope Mel finds a way through to something better than Chronos' false Golden Age or the Olympian ego clusterfuck.

[zeeckz]

calling in the strongest soldiers on earth (raidante enjoyers). inviting anyone to join. no particular order. no real deadlines. just some prompts to work with

here's the list as well:

Dante gets stabbed by Raiden using his katana or Alastor (lightning etc)

hotsprings, sauna, spa, pool or beach day

outfit swap (not necessarily canon) (also works if you make raiden a demon & dante a cyborg)

pizza, sundae or... gunpowder food date

family reunion

forced to drag, carry or hold the other

Dante tries to look as sexually ambiguous as Raiden

unexpected affective gesture

the girls' impression (Trish, Lady, Patty, Rose, Sunny..) (doesn't have to be all of them)

they discuss their collection(s)

one paints the other (body counts as a surface)

can't sleep alone

walking the dog (not necessarily an actual dog) (friend suggests Cerberus)

dancing at a party / disco

showering / bathing together (kudos if it's an uncomfortably small space)

the ref is a silly photostock

a well deserved massage

make it medieval (whatever "it" is) (kudos if it's related to alchemy)

Raiden is naked. for some reason.

Dante's showing off the trophy wife (he is the trophy wife)

pajama party

roleplay

babysitting

doing nothing

plastic chair

covered in blood

either one or both of them find raidante content online

holding hands (not necessarily attached to a body)

holiday of choice (your local obscure holiday that stopped being celebrated 300 years ago counts too)

“the moon is beautiful, isn't it?”

can't quit yew after all

[beloved-cat-gremlin]

Spoilers for the FF7 franchice and Dirge of Cerberus under the cut. This warning is mostly for my friend who's currently playing the original game.

Before I go on with my ramblings I wanna make clear that the only games/media in the FF7 franchise I've gotten through are the original FF7, Crisis Core/Crisis Core Reunion, Advent Children (complete), Dirge of Cerberus and bits and pieces of both Remake and Rebirth.

If some of my information seems faulty in my rant please don't be afraid to give me more details.

I'm planing on going through Before Crisis, Ever Crisis and three books which I know are important to some world and character building. If anyone knows more games or media I should go through to fully understand the FF7 lore and story, hit me with it.

With that out of the way.

Let's talk about Lucrecia Crescent shall we?

I've seen people completely hate on Lucrecia, blaming her for all the things that went wrong in the story.

I've seen people defend her as if she was an innocent angel who didn't do anything wrong.

And I've seen people claim she is an important character because she is a "bad person", saying that she went through all of her choices and actions with full confidence and full knowledge of the causes and consequences of her actions. And that it makes her a "good" character with story telling.

And I have to very respectfully disagree with all of those statements.

Do I think Lucrecia is at fault and to blame for everything? No.

Do I think Lucrecia did nothing wrong and she was only a victim in the story? No.

Do I think she was a genuinely bad person and did all of the things she did with full understanding of the situation? No.

I think that Lucrecia is a very deeply flawed character, who went through several hardships, made bad choices with the idea of achieving something good, only to realize the mistakes of her actions the moment everything crumbled around her.

First big topic on the whole thing.

"Did Lucrecia do the experiments on purpose?"

Short answer: yes. Long answer: She is a scientist who works for Shinra. Her main job is to conduct experiments and discover new things in her field. She clearly loved her job and loved doing things for it to further their research. Of course she would be open for certain experiments, even if it would put someone or even herself in danger. She deeply cared for her career and wanted to make a major breakthrough.

However that doesn't mean she did them out of ill intend. I'm pretty sure she went into these experiments believing that she was doing something good for her research and the company. I highly doubt she thought that things would turn out this bad.

And I think another reason for her continuation of these experiments must have been Grimoire's death. This was the first moment that got the snowball rolling.

Grimoire's death was devastating for her. She deeply cared for him and his death must have made her feel broken. She blamed herself for his death. But in reality it was no ones fault. It was a stupid accident leading to horrible consequences.

Which also leads into point two.

"Vincent's feelings for Lucrecia were unrequited."

This line alone is bullshit to me. "Unrequited" my ass. Lucrecia very clearly had feelings for Vincent. But there was two reasons to why she decided to choose Hojo over Vincent. The first being the aforementioned death of Grimoire, aka Vincent's father. Lucrecia blamed herself for his death and she was filled with such guilt that she thought she didn't deserve to be with Vincent.

The second factor being, that she genuinely saw something in Hojo that attracted her to him. I don't think that the sole reason she chose Hojo over Vincent is her lingering guilt, but rather that Hojo did possess qualities that Lucrecia liked about him. They are both scientists. They both work in the same field. They both share interests and ideas. I think that Lucrecia did truly value someone who would be able to share her interests. And Hojo was just that.

(Not to mention that Hojo probably hid some of his true intentions and personality from Lucrecia in order to gain her trust for cooperation on the Jenova project. If Lucrecia would have seen what Hojo was truly like before finding Vincent shot, she would have chosen Vincent any day over Hojo.)

In short I believe the reason Lucrecia did end up with Hojo is just an unfortunate mix of guilt and yet still lingering admiration. She chose him out of her own free will, but also in combination that it might be a punishment for the things she had done to Vincent. Even if it wasn't her fault.

Which leads me to point three in all of this.

"Lucrecia chose to do the experiments fully knowing what would happen."

I do believe that she fully agreed to doing the Jenova experiment. This goes back to my first point that I made: that Lucrecia truly valued her work and the field she put her research in. So I believe that Lucrecia went through the experiment with Jenova cells thinking that she would achieve something that would benefit the company as a whole.

But do I believe that she also knew that her child would be taken from her and given to the company to be further experimented on and turned into a weapon for Shinra to use whenever they please? Fuck no!

If her cries to see Sephiroth just once aren't enough proof that she clearly wanted to be there for her child while the experiment would continue, then idk what else you need.

Lucrecia couldn't have known that they would take her child. That they would refuse to let her hold, let alone see her child. She could have never known that this would happen. She was aware that her child would be beneficial to the company, but she probably assumed that she could still care for her child.

Also let's take in consideration: We know what Jenova is. We know what her true intentions are and what she is able to do to people.

Let's see what the characters in the story think Jenova is at this very moment: They believe that Jenova was one of the Ancients. A race that once lived on the planet in peace and harmony with the lifestream. At this point in time none of the scientists knew what Jenova truly was.

Lucrecia probably assumed that once her child was born that it would still be a normal kid only with the abilities that the Ancients used to have in the past.

And yes. Lucrecia did get those flashes of the future later on. Partly seeing of what would become of Sephiroth and Jenova. But can we really assume that she knew that the man she saw in her visions was her own son? I doubt that. And again she only got these flashes of the future after she already agreed to the experiment. Prior to that she didn't know.

To summarize this part: Lucrecia did go through the experiment on her own will, but with different expectations to what would actually happen with her child and the unfortunate misunderstanding of what Jenova truly was. And even with the visions she still couldn't have fully understood what the consequences were.

And the final part to all of this which I've seen some people complain about.

"Lucrecia doing bad decisions on the account of having mental breakdowns is bad writing."

Lucrecia went through a lot of shit.

First she loses her work partner -who she deeply cared for- to an unfortunate accident that happens through dumb desicions and actions. Causing her to blame herself for his death.

Already she is grieving over the loss of someone important. Then said work partner's son is appointed to work with her, causing the guilt to grow stronger as she feels like she ruined Vincent's life. Not just that but Vincent alone reminds her of Grimoire. Causing her to never be able to truly let go of the mistakes of the past.

Then she finds herself conflicted with her feelings as she does feel something for both Vincent and Hojo. But her dedication to her job and the still lingering guilt cause her to choose Hojo over Vincent.

She then gets pregnant and agrees to go through an experiment that could be beneficial for the company while still being able to create a family of her own.

After that she gains strange visions of the future, causing Vincent to get suspicious about the whole thing and confronting Lucrecia about it. Lucrecia at this point was dealing with her pregnancy, the loss of her work partner, her still lingering feelings toward Vincent and the pressure of the experiment. Of course she would lash out at Vincent.

She then finds out that her husband had shot and killed her assigned bodyguard, who tried to intervene in the experiment for her own good after he witnessed how Lucrecia was only hurting herself with all this mental anguish.

Not only does she have to deal with the loss of someone she had feelings for, but she basically had to relieve Grimoire's death all over again. Only this time she also found out that her husband was crazy and decided to experiment on her bodyguard.

At this point I think I would also become more than desperate to try and bring back someone who I cared for. Even if it meant infusing them with something that I'm not sure will keep them alive or not.

Lucrecia's choice to put Chaos inside Vincent to try and save him makes sense in my eyes. Not just that but Hojo kept putting things in her head. Manipulating her thoughts on what he wants her to believe she was doing. Lucrecia was a broken person at the end.

And to top it all off at the very end she isn't even allowed to see her son. She had lost everything in the end. Her work partner, her feelings for Vincent, the husband she assumed would care for her, Vincent himself, her own will and actions and now even her own son. No wonder she wanted to end her own life.

Lucrecia isn't to blame for everything. She also isn't some innocent victim in all of this. And she especially isn't a bad person who went through all of these things knowing the following results and trying to play victim.

Lucrecia is someone who deeply values her work and the company she is placed under. She is someone who made mistakes at the wrong place at the wrong time and is grieving the loss of someone important.

She is someone who was conflicted with her feelings toward two people she had feelings for, choosing someone with the thought of having done the right thing.

She is someone who went through hardships and desicions that she assumed would lead to good outcomes, only to have once again been thrown under the bus by being tricked by someone she assumed loved her and through misunderstandings.

She is someone who was broken mentally through the wrong choices she made and in her panic only made things worse because she wasn't able to think clearly.

Lucrecia Crescent is a deeply flawed character who wanted to do things for the better only to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And being guided by unfortunate events that lead her to doing even more unfortunate choices.

[janyxbeloved]

Hi guys, sorry for being MIA for a while, I didn't feel like posting, but I recently posted on my alt but mf I'm bored as fuck and got this random idea

Anyways, I'm summoning epic The musical fans and KNY fans! I'm matching certain lyrics from the wisdom saga to KNY characters and without further ado, enjoy the yap session!

🦉⌛ - The wisdom saga

1. Legendary

2. Little wolf

3. We'll be fine

4. Love in paradise

5. God games

All credit goes to:

Jorge Rivera-Herrans

The cast of Epic: The musical

Ft. The Demon slayers!

Songs (Arranged in order)

Legendary

"Stuck in my bedroom, living in this world you left behind." - Giyu Tomioka

Reason: You guys cannot see how he has some form of self doubt, despite Sabito's death, he was able to become legendary to train Tanjiro and even spare Nezuko in the first meeting, he gave her warm clothes and the bamboo muzzle, and even stayed behind to make sure Tanjiro and Nezuko were okay. Something Sabito would most likely do, he's kind and Giyu is also kind in his own way.

"I know life and fate are scary, but I wanna be legendary!" - Nezuko Kamado

Reason: Nezuko just wants the approval, I mean you guys saw that she resisted the smell of blood when Sanemi cut his arm just to tempt her! I'd say Nezuko deserves to be appreciated for even resisting as a demon! I wouldn't say that the Hashira were quick to judge however, they had the right to judge and/or doubt Nezuko because yes, she's a demon, they're horrible beings. But that can't stop Nezuko from being legendary like Odysseus.

"I'll fight the harpies and chimeras, the minotaur, even Cerberus!" - Genya Shinazugawa

Reason: I see so much in Genya, he has the potential to be a demon slayer. His abilities are exceptional. But I want to point out that Sanemi is distanced from him, he was willing to do anything to have Sanemi look at him. It wasn't until the infinity castle arc when Sanemi finally looked at Genya. Genya, in the series, was willingly doing his best. And just like Telemachus, he wants to also be legendary!

A/N: Yeah, I covered the younger siblings here! But like you cannot expect me to not!

Little wolf

"I've no respect for bullies, those who impose their will, I've seen plenty enough to truly understand this kind of filth!" - Mitsuri Kanroji

Reason: No one can say that Mitsuri is a bad character, she was very well written and has the most relatable backstory, mostly to my ladies out there who suffered something similar like our favorite love Hashira did. She has no respect for demons who put her loved ones down and she's seen plenty enough to actually truly understand the filth of this world, both how she is now and in her backstory.

"Fight, little wolf, fight! Show them that you've got some bite, little wolf, bite! Take advantage now and strike! Little wolf, strike!" - Muichiro Tokito

Reason: I'd say that Muichiro was strong enough to handle that demon who attacked him and his brother, he fought the damn thing and still forced himself to get up just to hold his brother's hand one last time. He fought the exhaustion just to see Yuichiro one final time before passing out.

"Get up and fight! Fight little wolf! Fight!" - Shinobu Kocho

Reason:In the manga, Kanae had told Shinobu to get up and continue fighting despite her lung being severely damaged, even though Shinobu lost to Doma, she got up and fought.

A/N: I really loved covering a KNY character analysis with the lyrics of the song btw! The song actually suits them in general!

We'll be fine

"I had a friend before and he was a lot like you." - Giyu Tomioka

Reason: Again, about Sabito, Giyu might've seen something in Tanjiro that reminded him of his late friend, enthusiastic, fun, and very optimistic in a world full of darkness. Tanjiro always had a smile on his face and Sabito did too, Giyu saw Sabito in Tanjiro.

"You're my friend, I couldn't ask for more!" - Inosuke Hashibira

Reason: Despite him having difficulty pronouncing Tanjiro and Zenitsu's name, Inosuke is thankful for Tanjiro and Zenitsu's friendship. It's clear in how comfortable Inosuke is with the two other boys.

"I know it's light you'll find!" - Tanjiro Kamado

Reason: Okay, this is for Giyu, I feel like Tanjiro would be there for our favorite(and deffienetly not friendless!) water Hashira, Tanjiro effect everyone, the Tanjiro effect! Giyu managed to actually be comfortable around Tanjiro! And Tanjiro is the light in everyone's life. We all need a Tanjiro in our lives.

A/N: Can I just say I really love Teagan Earley (Athena's VA)? She sounds so beautiful and majestic omg!!!

Love in paradise

"Time can take a heavy toll." - Giyu Tomioka

Reason: Again, Giyu's back in the podium. Giyu was at his best when he was younger, and he's gotten better. But the effect of time was physical and emotional, if I can recall, Giyu didn't have any of those highlights in his eyes at age 21. But him at age 13 and age 21, that was some improvement. Overall, time does take a heavy toll on people.

A/N: It's all I could think of, honestly, but I'd like to point out that I absolutely despise Calypso, but her VA, Barbara Wangui, she did a good damn job voicing her, her singing was amazing for the recordings, I love her! And Athena's time dive was so good. You cannot convince me otherwise.

God games

"Trust is not given, it's forged." - Sanemi Shinazugawa

Reason: Okay, hear me out, Sanemi would say something like that. BUT he would not release Nezuko so easily, he'd say trust isn't given but can be forged, but according to the trivia of Hephaestus, his instrument is a hammer and church bells, don't call me crazy but I say Sanemi's instruments can be similar to those too(If not an electric guitar)

"Really Athena? These old tricks?" - Obanai Iguro

Reason: I feel like Obanai would be somewhat similar to Ares. I dunno about you guys but Ares sounded sassy or condescending, I dunno, it's still actually really amazing to think Ares and Obanai share small similarities in some way. Though I was unable to find any trivia that directly indicate that they share similarities, one thing is damn certain, Obanai and Ares love their partners.

A/N: I couldn't think much for God games, but I put more effort than the one for love in paradise, I legit couldn't find anything that matched the other slayers.

End!

That concludes the yapping I had to do, I might host a poll on the next saga I can cover for KNY character analysis, I'd appreciate it if you guys voted btw! Thanks for reading my dear faunas!

Special shout outs to my friends!

@puerile-treats and @julcarya

Check them out! They're cool peeps!

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, Citadel post Omega:

-Liara’s “Just – friends” is sad. Girl has it bad for you whether you romance her or not.

-Her meet up is also very mundane command to Kaidan’s meal, Garrus’ trip to the top of the Presidium, James’s tatoo, etc. You just meet her in the park and talk.

Liara is in the odd position of favored by the writers and neglected. They keep forcing her on you, but she also has some of the least dialogue on the Normandy and her base game Citadel meeting is one of the most basic.

As usual, I’m left feeling that she deserved better.

-As others have mentioned, in Garrus’ meet up you need the option to miss the shot.

My vanguard can barely hit targets with their shotgun. They are not going to hit anything Garrus considers difficult.

-Garrus is so happy to beat Shepard. It must feel good to be better at something.

-That hanar that meets Javik must have one hell of a story to tell. Probably becomes a religious figure to the hanar or the like.

-If you don’t take the paragon interrupt, Javik’s speech is depressing as hell. He’s broken on a deep level.

I’m not sure he believes this cycle stands a chance. But it gives him an opportunity for revenge, and that he’ll seize with both hands.

-If you do take the paragon interrupt, Javik recovers very well and his speech is inspirational. It’s clear to see why he was such a beloved leader. Even if he doesn’t believe what he says, he fakes it very well.

-Why does Shepard meet Miranda in the Spectre office?

Does Shepard call Miranda? Why not call from the Normandy then? Or did Miranda somehow get the Spectre office’s number?

If the latter, that has to be a security concern.

-It’s silly that Miranda needs to do this herself to stop running from her father.

If she’s that concerned about Oriana, she should be willing to accept any help.

And this is Cerberus – they just attempted a coup! Shepard should insist on following up on any Cerberus lead for the good of the galaxy.

Instead, Shepard probably won’t even mention this to C-Sec. Or the Alliance.

Just saying, maybe Horizon could have been caught earlier if more than one person was investigating the lead on Miranda’s father...

[shadowgast-recs-weekly]

Older Favorites - Shadowgast Recs

This week, we have another recurring feature: Older Favorites! All of these fics were published before the Campaign 2 Finale. A dozen fics that, if you’re newer to the fandom, you might have missed, or might deserve a reread.

Attraction is just a form of Gravity by ThreeGremlinsInATrenchcoat (201070, Explicit) Warnings: None Essek invites Caleb into a FWB style relationship, but ends up catching feelings Reccer says: This fic is literally what got me into Shadowgast as a ship. It's deliciously well written and is iconic to this day. I love it

and I never really thought about it by dissonancies (6206, Teen) Warnings: None There's a new person with Essek with the Nein meet back up with him. Caleb mistakes their relationship. Reccer says: Caleb's emotions and hesitancy during that particular time period are explored well.

The Tower by viciousmollymaukery (9526, Teen) Warnings: major character death - he gets better the cerberus assembly send a scourger to take out Essek, not realizing the nein are on their way to hang out Reccer says: short and sweet, very nice hurt/comfort

Some truths are stubborn as gravity by SkyScribbles (6922, Teen) Warnings: None A soulmate AU where soulmates can't lie to each other - and Essek is Caleb's soulmate. Reccer says: I love the exploration of how Essek would get around not being able to lie to the Nein (while also being a traitor), plus it's so very sweet.

multitudinous echoes awoke and died in the distance by mousecookie (10003, Teen) Warnings: there is a tag for "very brief suicidal ideation" but it refers to just one line and is not a major theme Caleb wakes up as a Resonant Echo, cast by an alternate timeline version of himself. He and an echo Essek must figure out how to survive and escape back to their own timeline. Reccer says: cool use of resonant echo where the characters we know ARE the echoes instead of the ones casting it

sheer audacity by darundik (2694, Explicit) Warnings: Not really a warning but they nearly get caught. Caleb has to hide under a desk and waits for Essek to finish up some business. But Caleb is very impatient and a blowjob ensues. Reccer says: They are very in love with each other and also very horny about it.

the shadows they grew ever longer by duck bunny (6979, Explicit) Warnings: Rape/Non-con (has a dividing break when the actual event is concluded and moving to comfort) Lucien curses Essek. Caleb deals with the aftermath. Reccer says: This is hurt/comfort at its finest. Caleb takes care of Essek so beautifully with tact and love. Super heartwarming even though it starts with a bang.

infinity in the palm of your hand by mousecookie (5752, Teen) Warnings: Major Character Death AU at c2e116 - what if the drow at the door, frozen in death, was Essek? Reccer says: This story is an emotional rollercoaster in the best way. The author evokes powerful emotions as all the characters struggle.

The Most Delicate of Chains by CatKing_Catkin (11333, Explicit) Warnings: Rape/non con, as implied by the summary Essek is forced into marriage with a monstrous sadist and rapist who threatens to expose Essek's treason if he doesn't comply. Essek is spiralling into despair, but fortunately the Mighty Nein realize something is wrong and step in to save him. Reccer says: If you want to see Essek subjected to and then rescued from an abusive arranged marriage by his friends and Caleb, this is the fic for you. Features wonderfully soft Shadowgast moments amidst all the awfulness, plus a very cathartic ending.

And then the following stories have two recs each!

we never do go over (we always gotta go through) by Chrome (17169, Teen) Warnings: None Five times Essek woke up with level(s) of exhaustion and one time he didn't. (taken directly from the author summary!) Reccer 1 says: Fantastic Hurt/Comfort fic and a very creative way to explore Essek's feelings of guilt using game mechanics during the Aeor arc Reccer 2 says: This is a fantastic story of the Nein showing how much they care for Essek, and Caleb's love of his friends and his Essek.

only code it knows is rote survival by Chrome (12637, Teen) Warnings: None After the Vergessen fiasco, Trent attacks Essek, and the Mighty Nein rush to his rescue. They manage to save him, but not before Trent has him Feebleminded. They can't restore him until the next long rest, so the Nein (mainly Caleb and Jester) to care for him for a night. Reccer 1 says: Another incredible Chrome fic, this one focuses on Caleb's care and respect for Essek even when Essek doesn't have his intellect. The ending is beautiful! Reccer 2 says: This fic is a pitch perfect whump fic, and really gets to the heart Feeblemind is such a great story premise. We get to see Essek utterly vulnerable around the Nein with all his normal walls completely down, while Caleb struggles with complicated feelings about that. There's also some really great Jessties moments, for those who like that.

sleeping in the shadow of an other self by Nonwal (32857, Teen) Warnings: implied/reference torture After Essek is executed for treason, the Nein come up with a plan to 'prove' his innocence. Reccer 1 says: It's a fun story with an absolutely fantastic twist. Reccer 2 says: The twist at the end was so well done, and the hurt/comfort was amazing

All recs were provided by Aeor is for Lovers, an 18+ Shadowgast Discord server. Have any questions about what this is? Check out the FAQ! Next week’s theme are fics that feature another Thelyss (Verin, Deirta, Essek’s Dad, ect), so check back next week! Also, we posted the tools we use to make this run relatively smoothly, so if you’re interested in making your own reclist, definitely check it out!

[adrianasunderworld]

So I've been thinking about how Twisted Wonderland almost gave our boys' familiars and honestly? Totally missed opportunity.

We know Kalim would've had a monkey (rip Jamil's remaining sanity) and Jamil wants to own a parrot.

But think about this:

Riddle with a hedgehog familiar (they're a big part of her character). Floyd with that goose he found and tamed/trained because of the Untitled Goose Game. Silver with his owl (+ his animal friends). Vil with a crow/raven familiar.

Some of them having more mythological/mythical creatures as their familiars too.

Yuu having a murder of crows who watch over them (they're most likely from Crowley)

A CLASS WHERE STUDENTS BOND WITH THEIR FAMILIARS DEEPER!

I will forever be sad and feel cheated that there are no character with Familiars. We're told right at the start of the game that they exist, and yet no character or event is centered around it.

I do love the "Kalim wants a tiger" jokes but also a monkey makes sense for him. Someone get Jamil the parrot he deserves.

Malleus and Vil having a raven or crow of some kind makes sense because of the character they are based on. Iida with a dog maybe? Because Cerberus. OR Idia shaking it up and going "My family tends to be dog people, but I really wanted a cat. Here she is. Her name is Nutmeg. She hisses, but she loves me I swear."

Silver with an owl makes the most sense. Soley because out of all the little animals in Sleeping Beauty the owl has to be most distinct. For our other princess boy Neige, I feel like he's have either a blubird or a bunny. Because when I think Snow White those are the first two that come to mind.

Also the murder of crows that are likely from Crowley is a very fun and interesting idea. Because I think in terms of a way to show character it would be a good way to get a feel for Crowley. Crowley we know rn is a terrible guardian, but with the addition of the murder, we have a visual representation that he cares on some level. If something bad is going on, the crows may be agitated to show how Crowley actually feels, because as their master, they pick up on his feelings. If Yuu befriends the crows, it can represents Crowley becoming more fond of Yuu. Or if we want to go into Villian Crowley territory, the flock was merely to be his eyes and ears on Yuu the whole times. Idk I like the Murder of Crows as a concept.

I wished the game leaned more into the connections various characts would have or could have with animals, since animal sidekicks are a Disney staple.

[utilitycaster]

Threatened this once as a throwaway tag, so: let's talk about why "Justice for Adeen Tasithar" as an attempted criticism of Essek is absolutely wild as a choice.

Disclaimer: there are many deeply annoying fans of Essek who do not seem to understand that the narrative and the cast (and by extension, merch/official art/comics) will treat him differently for being an NPC, even if he is a very important NPC and a member of the Mighty Nein, and you are justified in being annoyed. There are also a number of equally annoying Essek haters, most of whom are bitter shippers who have (correctly) realized it's slightly more palatable to others in the fandom to openly hate on Essek than on a PC; or else they are the miserable souls who think that every minute spent on a character other than their personal favorite stolen and wasted time. I am a firm believer in this post; everyone is annoying and complaining on your own blog about it is your absolute right. Also, both in regards to the fans mentioned above and the characters mentioned below, it is possible for people on two opposite sides of a position to both suck.

The first issue is the phrase itself; it co-opts a statement usually used for victims of hate crimes or political prisoners in the real world, and makes it unironically about a pretend guy who had precisely one scene, which is certainly a choice. I'm not actually opposed to using "Justice for" jokingly in fandom, but it is weird to use it relatively seriously in fandom.

The second is that Adeen Tasithar is a member of one of the Dens of the Kryn Dynasty, and is a Taskhand, a term reserved for people with high-level military responsibilities, and is a member of the Bright Queen's Court. During wartime. Coupled with the fact that Essek, who, as described below, is never portrayed as particularly cruel nor petty despite his many flaws, thinks Adeen genuinely does suck, this means that at best, Adeen Tasithar is heavily involved in military operations at a very high level and is in some way personally unpleasant. At, frankly, not even worst, we're talking D&D Donald Rumsfeld. Now, we can debate whether Essek is a war criminal or merely traitorous (not on this post though, because I don't care and it's not relevant), but, while we know very little about Adeen Tasithar, it's not an overreach to say that this man has a pretty strong chance of being guilty of his own war crimes. In general, calling for justice is something I'd hesitate to use in an "the enemy of my enemy" manner, especially if it's well within reason to consider that you're talking about Ludinus Da'leth's Kryn counterpart.

The third is that while you're under no obligation to like Essek, he really is, in general, portrayed as a decent judge of character and a terrible judge of whether selfishly following his own ambition was appropriate and what the consequences might be. He detests the members of the Cerberus Assembly with whom he works; he likes the Mighty Nein despite them ultimately being his potential undoing. He has a few friends in the Dynasty and cares about his (unambiguously good) brother, and feels remorse about his father. Essek has done terrible things in the service of his goals; but directly throwing an innocent under the bus (vs. setting into motion things that will, as a side effect, lead to innocent collateral damage, which he obviously will do) isn't his style. Again, at the very least, Adeen Tasithar is someone whom Essek genuinely believes is a bad person (note that Essek, by this time, also considers himself to be a bad person, and Trent Ikithon to be a "fuck hole", which might help your understanding of scale here). This doesn't mean Tasithar deserves what he got, but frankly, in a campaign about people who got a lot of things they didn't deserve, it's a pretty blatant straw-grasp onto a side character with the briefest of appearances to decide he's your poster boy victim just so that you can go full spiked bat on a character you dislike.

The fourth is that there's never any connection to how Essek not being friends with the Mighty Nein (or entering a relationship with Caleb) would provide justice for Adeen Tasithar, who is in an Empire prison by the end following the exchange during peace talks. It's actually entirely possible that the Empire eventually figures things out re: Adeen, notably because memory modification as a criminal act is going to be really fresh in their minds following the Ikithon trial (and if they interrogate Trent, it's also possible the Empire finds out about Essek). Essek is already a fugitive from the Dynasty and cannot move freely through the Empire as a drow whom assembly members would recognize. The guy didn't get off scot free anyway, so really, he is going to suffer to some extent; you just want him to experience abject and total misery, rather than constant fear tempered with a small degree of happiness, like some kind of sicko, or megachurch member.

The final one is that "justice for Yeza Brenatto" or "I don't like that Essek worked with the Assembly even if he wasn't happy about it" would actually be far more reasonable statements to make. Yeza was, in fact, a simple alchemist who was forced to become a pawn in the game being played by, among other people, Essek, and suffered immensely for it. The Assembly does in fact suck. And yet, rather than admit Caleb also considered working with the Assembly for selfish reasons, or that Veth, you know, exists people jump to woobify some random NPC about whom we know basically nothing other than "Military guy, well-connected politically."

So anyway: feel however you want about Essek; but if you're on Adeen Tasithar's bandwagon, I don't think you actually are terribly bothered by hypothetical fictional war crimes. I think you just are too spineless and online to say "I dislike Essek" and needed to construct an elaborate poor reason why.

[phoenixrenegade]

Origin Story: Daniel Tanner

(aka: the origin story for the ex-Cerberus Vanguard ME3MP/RP character I created ages ago as I stumbled into a group of lifelong friends entirely by accident.)

Porsgrunn is a shithole. Humanity found the solar system, found the Relay, found the stars. Found the fucking Turians, which went great. Humanity found the Citadel, and the galaxy.

And of all the colony worlds humanity chose to take for itself, the Tanner family chose some backwater shithole in the ass end of the Terminus Systems. Mom, Dad, and little David, off on their great adventure into the unknown so they could make their fortune. That went great too.

David was doted on as the eldest. The one with the most promise, they thought, showering him with the best schooling and tutors and books. Then came Daniel. He was more energetic where David was reserved, playful where David was serious. Everything their parents said compared the two against each other instead of encouraging them to get close, so they bickered, then argued, then fought. Petty words turned to shouting matches, turned to fistfights. Split knuckles and stitches, that defined their relationship.

Hannah was an accident. Oops, they knew they should have taken care of that right away after Daniel. Now in addition to a brilliant son and a pain in the ass, they had a baby to look after.

David wanted little to do with her at first and when their parents were busy working Daniel was the one who got stuck with her. That suited all of them just fine – the boys weren’t fighting, and that’s all they cared about. As she grew older, insatiably curious and wanting to explore, it took both boys to keep track of her. They struggled to keep up with her desire to learn, to know. David pulled out his old books, the videos, games, puzzles. Daniel took her on hikes, climbing trees, boulders, chasing each other through the hilly woods near town.

David graduated high school. He had a scholarship to the best universities, on Earth and elsewhere, and pissed off his parents by rejecting all of them in favor of joining the Alliance military as an engineer.

Daniel was left to take care of Hannah, so he gave her as much love as he could manage. Bandaged up her knees when she fell, answered questions he didn’t entirely understand himself, made sure she ate. Hid her when the batarians attacked, again and again, wanting to take away from the humans the world they didn’t even want for themselves.

Daniel listened to the people in the town square while Hannah climbed trees with the other kids. Heard them talk about protecting humanity, doing what was necessary, since the Alliance was too busy kissing Council-race asses to care about the backwater colony worlds. Hardworking colonists deserved protection too, they said, and someone had to step up. Would he be one of them?

He started teaching Hannah other things. How to patch up her own skinned knees, look up the answers to her questions, taught her how to cook. How to talk to their parents so they’d actually do something for her.

‘I don’t want you to go!’ she whispered one night, as he tucked her into bed. She was too old for it, really, but they both enjoyed the ritual of it.

‘Whatcha talking about, bug?’

‘You’re gonna leave, like David.’

He’d taught her too well, he supposed. ‘Yeah. There’s a group, soldiers. They protect people like us. Humanity. They always need strong kids like me to join them.’

‘Can I come with?’

He booped her nose. ‘You’re too little. When you’re older, like me, you can make your decision. Until then you need to stay here, stay safe. It’ll be okay.’

‘...okay.’

The day he graduated high school he skipped the ceremony. His parents weren’t there anyway, they’d already celebrated their star child’s graduation from the Alliance academy and were ‘too busy’ to attend. He didn’t care. His bags were already packed, and he headed to the spaceport after a tearful goodbye with his sister. He wrote her two letters before arriving at his destination.

The station sucked. Tests, tests, more tests. Blood samples, physical endurance activities, aptitude tests. Biotic abilities. Porsgrunn had a small amount of eezo in the atmosphere, and that was apparently enough. That was an exciting day, or so he was told, and he was moved to a different wing of the station; one with a huge, stylized phoenix emblazoned on the triple-bulkhead entrance door.

‘Welcome to your new life, kid,’ his escort said as he was brought to yet another medical office for yet another round of tests.