#arachne point of no return

[joyousmusic]

I don't even know what I was thinking

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

“Are you gonna be a good girl?” || Young President!Coriolanus Snow x reader

Summary: Coryo's friends have always been and probably will always be condescending towards you. When you refuse to stay home when he invites them over for dinner, you become aware of the intricate control that Coriolanus has skillfully woven around you, highlighting a sense of submission in your actions.

Warnings: reader smoking, age gap (r is 18 and Coryo is 25), manipulative, controlling, toxic!coryo, power dynamic, condescending behaviour,

Wc: 740

A/n: crap summary but i kinda got inspired by Priscilla and I lowkey imagined cailee as Priscilla in this but u don’t have to. I LOVE THIS MOVIE SM 😭 also pretend Arachne is still alive.

"I want to visit my family later today, Coryo," you mention, casually flicking the ashes from your cigarette into the nearby ashtray. Coryo looks up from his newspaper, his gaze fixed on you. “What?”

"I want to see my family later today," you repeat, "I haven’t seen them in weeks." The sentiment is laced with a tinge of longing. With a cigarette delicately held between meticulously manicured nails, your painted lips articulate the words, the smoke swirling into the air.

A hush settles in the air until Coryo’s voice breaks the silence, his tone void of emotion. “You can’t. Not today,” he asserts, his attention returning to the newspaper. Your eyes fixate on him. “And why not?” You try not to raise your voice, but a hint of urgency slips through.

"Because, sweetheart, we have guests coming over for dinner." You roll your eyes. "And I want you here, yes?" he adds, pointing to you. “Who’s coming?” Coriolanus sighs deeply, dismissing the question with, “Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does matter. Who’s coming, Coryo?” Your tone grows more agitated. He casually shrugs, “Just a few of my friends, that’s all.” The harsh stubbing out of your cigarette emphasizes your displeasure.

"Your friends?" you question, annoyance evident in your tone. Sensing your irritation, he casually discards his newspaper to the side. “Yes, does that bother you?” he spat in response, his words carrying a tinge of defiance.

You let out an exasperated laugh, “You know how I dislike your friends, Coryo. They’re horrible to me!” You grip the armchair tightly, leaning towards him. You can practically feel the irritation radiating off you.

Coriolanus dismissively rolls his eyes. “Please. They’re not horrible to you. You’re being dramatic—” The room is charged with tension as your hand forcefully slams on the table. “Yes. They are. They belittle me, Coryo!” The weight of your words hangs in the air, your chest heaving from the emotional intensity of the outburst.

It's true. Whenever you're around Coriolanus' friends, it's hard not to notice the condescending vibe they throw your way, the snarky comments about anything and everything about you.

The memory of your wedding day remains vivid in your mind, etched with indelible images of raised eyebrows and skeptical glances from all of Snow's friends as you walked down the aisle. The collective gaze left you with a lingering sense of embarrassment. You were only 17, and he was 24.

You were well aware of the swarm of thoughts buzzing through their minds every time they saw you with Coriolanus. According to them, you were too young, too naive, too quiet, and perhaps even too unintelligent to hold the title of First Lady.

The unsolicited opinions seemed to echo a common sentiment: Coriolanus should have chosen someone closer to his age, someone who shared more similarities with him.

Conversations with his friends were always filled with subtly belittling comments that Coryo either didn't notice or chose to ignore.

Arachne stood out as the harshest among them all. Her comments, in particular, were cutting and had a way of driving you out of the room, often leaving you with tears streaming down your face.

In their eyes, you were just weak. A wife who sat there and looked pretty. But you were more than that, you knew that, hell, even Coriolanus knew that, but he never spoke up.

"They just like to tease you. Don't be so sensitive," he scoffs, the nonchalance in his tone amplifying your frustration. You gnaw at your lips as Coriolanus rises with a sigh, leisurely stretching his neck before heading to the nearby table to pour himself a glass of alcohol.

"I don't want to be here," you whisper loud enough for him to hear you. "I want to see my family, Coryo," your voice trembling with the urgency of your plea. "You can't deny me of seeing my own family," you exclaimed, the words escaping your lips with an urgency that surprised even you.

His response was swift, harsh. He took hold of your chin, his fingers digging into your flesh as he forced you to look at him. "You are to stay here, do you hear me?" he commanded, his voice cutting through the air.

The forcefulness of his grip left you momentarily breathless. Your attempt to pull away was futile as his gaze bore into you, a mix of anger and expectation in his eyes. Tears welled up, blurring your vision as a wave of helplessness washed over you.

As your gaze meets his with glassy, doe-like eyes, Coriolanus can't help but be overcome with a sense of remorse. His hold gently eases, his fingers transitioning from your chin to delicately trace the pad of his thumb along your cheekbone.

"Are you gonna be a good girl and stay, hm?" His voice was softer now. You swallow hard and you find yourself nodding, silently surrendering to the intricate web of control that Coriolanus deftly wove around you.

Coriolanus tenderly brushes away a stray tear that had dared to escape, his touch as soft as a fleeting whisper. Leaning in, he draws closer to your face, placing a gentle kiss on your cheek. The warmth of the kiss lingers for a brief moment, a delicate embrace, before he gently withdraws. "Now, go get ready," he says, his back turned to you as he pours himself another glass as you wordlessly leave.

[valtsv]

it's difficult to infer any kind of coherent, logical intent (at least according to human standards of reasoning) from the gods in the silt verses, which is, of course, the point. that being said, i can't help but think back to the discussion point regarding this in the season 1 q&a, where jon ware says

and the examples they draw on to illustrate that point, from greek myth - arachne, daphne, and medusa - and connecting them to the depiction of saints in the silt verses. particularly the part where jon and the q&a host, steve shell, discuss how medusa's transformation was, in a way, a form of protection, the only kind that athena could offer her. it makes me wonder, when the first sacrifices were made to these gods, whether they felt their sacrifices' prey animal pain and terror, and, in the process of hallowing them, bestowed upon them gifts intended to ensure that they would always be able to defend themselves, and would never have to suffer the indignity of being prey ever again. only for their faithful worshippers to take this as a sign of their approval, and their hunger, and offer them more sacrifices in return.

[runningfrom2am]

the wedding // LTPF

summary: the wedding of the year, i can see it now.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.7k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: capitol brat!reader, maybe slightly ooc coryo, idk i tried my best. she's a bridezilla for REAL and i wish i included more of that energy, protective!coryo, idk people are drinking alcohol? (its a wedding, so duh), also TW for Livia and r's dad just existing p much.

based on this ask and this ask!

series masterlist // playlist

Everything was perfect. Absolutely everything you had dreamt of your whole life when it came to your wedding. Coryo had told you money was no object, and therefore, you spared no expense. You had a strong theory that your father was being sent every last bill, since you knew neither of you had anything more than what the Plinth's were providing for school, but that was the farthest thing from your problem. It was the least your father could do.

The hardest part of the whole thing, even before deciding who would give you away without your father, was deciding on your maid of honour. You didn't have many good friends, or friends at all, outside of your new husband. At one point, you wondered if had things gone differently, would you have chosen Lucy Gray?

Clemensia Dovecote was a fine enough choice. "Let me just say," Her speech began, hitting the side of her overfilled wine glass with a fork. "I have called this wedding for years, and no one believed me." She shot a smile over to you at the head table. "For anyone who doesn't know me, I'm Clemensia. Y/N's Maid of Honour." She had just thrived on the title since you offered it to her which, while annoying, was good because she took her position very seriously. She was the perfect choice- she looked nice, presentable in a dress you had picked out, but the colour clashed with the yellow in the whites of her eyes and the few scales that were yet to fall off after the snake bite. She looked fine, but she also made you look better. "But like I said, I knew this would happen."

She was drunk, repeating things in a way that made you cringe internally but nevertheless, you had to watch. The lights spread across the large backyard of the Plinth's mansion lit up the night beautifully, bouncing off every white and red rose you had spread about. You were very grateful to them for allowing you to host the reception there. They had done a lot for you in the last year since you returned from Twelve.

Mrs. Plinth was very involved with planning the wedding- she loved the winter wedding and leaning into it as a theme. It worked out nicely because it gave her something to think about other than the death of her only child, and she was a tremendous help and support to you. You were truly grateful, but this day was hard on them without Sejanus there. She had mentioned on more than one occasion that Sejanus would have been the best man, and you only slightly doubted that. You wouldn't want it to be anyone else- but Coryo would have had different thoughts, you're sure.

"How much longer will this go on for?" Your now husband whispers in your ear, fake smile on his face as he also has to listen to Clem's rambling.

"I really don't know." You reply with the same fake smile, knowing that eyes were on you just as much as her.

"Some choice for a maid of honour." He chuckles.

You roll your eyes, a playful smile on your lips. "Oh, well, I would have gone with Arachne Crane but, you know..."

"Fair enough." He mumbles, sitting back in his seat. "Are you really the only woman in the Capitol who isn't insufferably annoying? You should have been your own maid of honour."

"Well it was her or Tigris, and Tigris is prettier than me so she wasn't really an option." You hum, grabbing his hand under the table as you keep your eyes focussed on Clemensia, not paying attention to a word she says.

Coryo laughs. "Tigris is not prettier than you."

"She's your cousin, your opinion is invalid." You shrug it off.

"Doesn't change the fact that I'm right." He argues, squeezing your hand.

You don't reply, and you let his hand go to clap once Clem is finally finished. You had already eaten, so now it was supposed to be the "fun part", as Clemensia so aptly put it in her speech. You found it rude, yes, but it wasn't a big deal and after tonight you wouldn't have to see her again for a while.

It was brisk out, being a winter wedding you should have expected that, but you still had another dress to change into so you excuse yourself from the table, kissing your husband goodbye as he gets up as well.

You hadn't allowed him to see any of your dresses, and this would be your third one today alone. He loved every one, and did not expect to be disappointed by the next. Or the one after that.

"Hey, congrats, Coriolanus." He tears his gaze away from your retreating figure to whoever was talking to him.

"Thank you, Hilarius." He nods, smiling politely at him and reaching out to shake his hand.

"I saw this one coming miles away." His classmate laughs. "You remember that though, right?"

"When you said that if I wasn't going to go after her you would?" Coryo asks, eyebrow raised. "I do remember that. It makes me wonder who let you in..." It's meant as a joke as he makes a point of looking past him toward the security they have at the entrance.

He furrows his brow when his eyes catch on your father standing there, arguing with one of the security guards, his wife by his side.

"If you would excuse me..." He says, walking toward them before Hilarius could even respond.

"Ugh, I know. Why did you even invite her, Y/N/N?" Clemensia complains as Tigris helps you step out of your gown.

"Who?" You ask, unsure what she was even talking about.

"Livia." She states, yet another glass of red wine in her hand.

"Oh, I kind of had to. Connections and all that." You shrug. You weren't Livia's biggest fan, she had a "greater than thou" attitude that drove you up the wall, but who in this city didn't?

"Ah, yes. Of course." She hums. "She had a lot of audacity to show up in that dress though..."

Your head whips around to look at her. "What dress?"

"You haven't seen her?" She gasps. "I thought you saw her! It's this white-based floral, really questionable for someone else's wedding. Looks like a tablecloth." She accentuates the statement with a sip from her glass.

Your jaw ticks and you look toward the door, already seeing red.

"Hey, Y/N, it's okay." Tigris rests her hands on your shoulders, prompting you to look at her. "We'll tell security, they can escort her out if that's what you want."

You take a breath, forcing a smile on your face. "Let's not bother them. I'll just go chat with her." You smile, stepping out of the dress in bare feet, quickly grabbing Clemensia's overfilled wine glass from her hand on your way out the door.

"Y/N, Wait! Don't!" Tigris calls after you, well aware of your notorious temper by now, but you don't listen.

You're in your white slip when you storm back out to the reception area through the back patio, immediately and quickly scanning the crowd for the guest in question. You know you have seconds before Tigris likely tries to stop you, but you know Clemensia won't. Then, you see her.

You're seething already. That's practically a wedding dress on its own. You would kill her.

You stomp across the ground, tunnel vision locked on her as she raises her glass to her lips, laughing, and talking with other guests, completely careless to what she had done wrong. Well, she would learn today.

"Livia Cardew!" You grin, walking up to her. "I don't recall sending you an invitation, but here you are!"

Immediately, she's taking in your appearance, giggling at your lack of appropriate attire and shoes. "Y/N! Congratulations." She says, eyes finally locking with yours again.

"May I have a word?" You ask, already grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

"Is there a problem here?" Coriolanus asks, addressing only his security as your father stands there, red-faced with anger.

"Yeah, they've got no invite." He nods, showing Coryo the list in his hands which he quickly pretends to look over.

"Oh! Sorry, yes. There you are..." He says, pointing down at the bottom and your father visibly relaxes. "Under the title there that says 'not welcome under any circumstances'... Well then." He looks at your father now for the first time, tilting his head at him.

"No, this is my daughter's wedding and we will be let in!" He demands, raising his voice.

Coryo clicks his tongue, slightly shaking his head. "No, sir, I thought we were clear on this."

"No, you said the wedding. This, if I'm not mistaken, is the reception. I made my sacrifice. Now, I'm here."

"And only about two hours late." Coryo hums uninterestedly, looking down at his watch. "Father of the year."

Your father's fuming, and it's hard for Coryo to not laugh in his face. "I paid for everything here! You can't deny us entry!"

"I can." Coryo says. "Well, actually, my apologies. Mrs. Y/L/N, you are welcome to come in, if you'd like." He smiles at her, polite demeanour flicked back on like a light switch.

Your father quickly pulls her back behind him. "It's both of us or neither of us. Go ask our daughter." He states, gripping tightly on her arm.

"Oh, no. I won't be ruining our wedding." Coryo shakes his head, firm in his decision. "I'll tell Y/N you send your love, Ma'am. Have a good night."

"No! You will let us in right now or-" Your father's tantrum is interrupted by a commotion across the yard, drawing Coryo's attention. People gasp in shock, and then he sees you, about to absolutely lay into Livia Cardew, who now has red wine all over her face and the front of her dress.

"I must be going, now." Coryo tells them, turning back to the security guard and adjusting the cuffs of his shirt to be able to roll up his sleeves. "If you don't mind, call for peacekeepers to escort him from the property. Thank you."

He doesn't have time to hear your father's angry disagreement as he walks away.

"So," You drop her arm, turning to face her. "I'm not sure if you are aware, but this isn't your wedding." You spit, gesturing to her dress. "And listen, I get it! You're jealous. That's fine, but it's extremely tacky and honestly embarrassing for you to wear a white dress to a wedding that's not yours."

Livia's lips fall open in shock, looking down at her dress before she laughs. "Y/N, come on. It really isn't that serious, you realize that, right?"

You stare at her for a moment, weighing your options. You could smash the glass over her head like you wanted to, demand that she leave immediately, or, you could 'accidentally' spill the glass on her. Before you complete the thought, you're throwing the contents of Clemensia's glass at the front of her dress, smiling as it splatters up over her face and in her hair, dripping down the front of her expensive-looking gown.

"Oops."

Livia gasps, wiping the red substance from around her eyes and flicking it off. "I thought that for one day you could be normal! God, you are vile!" She's practically screaming now.

"This is entirely your fault, you do realize that, right?" You tilt your head at her, a slight laugh under your tone. "If you wanted my husband just say that."

"I- ugh!" She groans in frustration and anger, swiping her hands over the liquid on her chest and flicking it all at you, staining the perfectly white satin of your slip. You look down at it, and then back at her. You were about to go through the roof.

The amount of people watching in the immediate vicinity is the only thing keeping you from grabbing her hair and shoving her head into the dirt. You decide to scream instead.

It turns into more of a wail, pumping angry tears into fake sad ones. Coryo is there in a second. "Darling, what's happened?" He asks, horrified as he looks between the two of you, grabbing your shoulders.

"I-" You sniff, pointing to the girl in front of you. "I just came to offer her something to change into because that is out of dress code and I tripped and-" You hiccup as he's rubbing up and down your bare arms. "It was an accident, and then she... It was just an accident! Now my dress is ruined and, and-"

He turns his gaze to Livia who just looks pissed while you ramble on about having had a little too much to drink, that was all. He's sure that's not what happened, he knows his wife better than that, but this show was not for him. He looks her up and down, visibly disgusted by her choice of dress. It honestly looks better now.

"Coriolanus that's not-" She chuckles with the shock of the accusation, shaking her head as she pleads with him.

"It's time for you to go." He tells her, looking toward a member of security who's not busy with your father, quickly waving him over.

Livia looks at the approaching security man in shock. "I didn't do anything!"

"That dress and causing a scene over it is more than enough." He states, wrapping an arm around your waist and wiping your tears from your cheeks. "Let's get you some water, Darling. It's okay..."

"It's not!" You cry, gesturing to the few small drops of wine on the front of your dress. "It's ruined! She ruined everything!"

Just as she's about to be escorted out, you make eye contact with her, offering a smug smile. She scoffs, which earns her a grab on the arm and a more forceful expulsion from the reception.

"Y/N!" Tigris is rushing across the lawn toward you, careful not to stumble in her shoes and bridesmaids' dress. "What happened?" She asks, addressing her cousin now.

"She's okay, there was just an accident with a glass of wine. We're just going to take a few minutes. I'll help her change." He explains to her.

She nods, looking worriedly down at the small stains in your dress. "I should be able to get this out, alright?" She assures you, rubbing a clean spot of the fabric between her fingers to make sure.

"Okay, thank you." You sniff, leaning into your husband's side as he guides you back up to the house.

You get inside and upstairs to what has become your dressing room and secondary bedroom over the last year. As soon as he shuts the door behind you, you can't hold your laughter back anymore. You're practically doubled over with it, and immediately Coryo understands. He chuckles, shaking his head at you.

"What a show..." He grins fondly, pulling you into a hug which you happily return.

"Oh, you liked it?" You giggle, coming down from your laughing fit.

"It was wonderful." He agrees, kissing the top of your head. "For a moment I was worried about you."

"Aw, really?" You look up at him, jutting your lip out in a pout.

"Definitely." He hums, kissing you softly. "Now come on, let's get you changed, huh?"

"Please." You nod, kissing him again before pulling back to pull your next dress from the closet. "I was supposed to wear this underneath, but now I can't." You sigh, hanging the full dress on the door before pulling the wine-stained one over your head.

"Just that will do, I suppose." Coryo mumbles, wrapping his arms around your waist from behind as you toss the slip onto the ground.

"Oh, you suppose, do you?" You chuckle, reaching up to pull the new dress from its hanger.

"Mhm." He nods, planting a kiss in the crook of your neck. "Makes my job easier later."

You laugh, blush spreading over your cheeks and flushing your chest while you unzip the back. You carefully balance as you step into the opening in the fabric, pulling it up around your waist.

"Don't rush, Darling. It will probably take you a while to recover before we can return to the party." He says, watching you adjust the skirt before you plan on zipping it up.

"Good point." You agree, but make no effort to stop until Coryo places his hand over yours.

"What should we do with all this time we have to kill, hm?" He's already leaning down to kiss over the back of your neck.

"I feel like you have an idea..." You mumble, tilting your head to adjust to his presence.

"Have I told you how much I love you?" He asks as he gently pushes the fabric back down to drop in a pool around your ankles.

"You may have mentioned it..." You turn under his palms as they land on your lower back, gently pulling you closer. "And I love you too. More than you could ever imagine, Coryo."

taglist: @totallynotkaibiased , @stelleduarte , @klplynn , @secretsicanthideanymore , @bejeweledreverie , @gloryekaterina , @andrewgarfieldsbitch , @queenofspades6 , @pepperonipastas , @ladybug0095 , @lunamothwrites , @sbrewer21 , @mus-tbe-a-weasley , @splxtscreen , @unclecrunkle , @karmaswitch , @coconut-dreamz , @nekee-lilac02 , @ooooglymoooogly , @riddlerloveb0t , @lovedbalances , @notyourwildestdream , @snowlandson-top , @too-lit-for-fanfic , @utopiakys , @deafeningballoonnacho , @roosterschanelslut , @chmpgneprblem , @cosmoetik , , @urvampgfsworld , @carolanns-world@nan-nie , @shakespearseclipse , @iovemoonyy , @notyoursweetheart-honey ,  @xyzstar , @eatpizzasass, @slytherinholland , @queenofshinigamis , @elodiebeau , @soulessjourney

[helendamnationx]

Hades 1 is an intimate, personal story about difficult family, reconciliation, working together to make relationships work. The neverending nature of the game symbolises never giving up, continuing to put work in to strengthen your ties with your loved ones, because it's worth it.

And then Hades 2 is about fascism.

Hades 1 says you shouldn't give up on your relationships with family and loved ones just because they're not perfect. Hades 2 adds "unless they're fascist" to the end of that sentence, along with reminders that sometimes, when you choose to keep ties to someone who hurts others, you are enabling that behaviour and causing further harm to the person who was victimised (i.e. Arachne).

Chronos represents the desire to return to a fictional golden era. He's obsessed with gold, propriety, and being the patriarch who expects to be obeyed without question. He needs to be killed over and over because the fight against fascism doesn't end with killing one guy, it's eternal, it ebbs and flows but winning means taking away its popular support.

Chronos was able to gain support because people on the surface were dissatisfied with the gods, just like irl fascism gains support in times of strife and low trust in current leaders.

Eris represents the nothing-matters, burn-it-all-down nihilist who resents anyone who tries to make the world better in any way.

Nemesis represents those who are too wrapped up in finding the right people to hurt in order to achieve an extremely abstract notion of Justice, with actually helping people waaaaaaay down the list of priorities. That's why she's the one who thinks Chronos Has A Point - because when you centre your activism on hurting the right people, you have more in common with fascists than you want to believe.

Backlash against Nemesis' character stems from people keep trying to shove her into the Love Interest box because it's been taken for granted that she would be the new Megaera. But that's just. Not her role in the story. She may or may not be romanceable in future! There are a couple of dialogues implying she's dating Artemis, but Hades is the polyamory game after all. But whether or not she's romancable, her actual role in the story is to illustrate an attitude to be wary of when fighting fascism. So. Like. Yes. Of course she's unlikeable! Of course she is mean! That is her job!

[nydescynt]

Thematic Analysis of Hades II: Why You Can Never Go Home

(At some point I might make a video on this, but for now sharing my thoughts via textpost. Spoilers ahead!)

So the text of the story of Hades and Hades 2 are Zagreus breaking out of the House, and Melinoë breaking in.

But the wild thing (and the reason Hades 2 is much more interesting to me) is that both games actually have almost inverted themes from that text. Zagreus is intent on uniting a household; Melinoë is discovering the home she's fought to return to is rotten to the core.

Zagreus, despite his entire textual goal being to leave his home and family, is narratively & thematically working to bring the family and household together. His mother comes back and is reunited not just with him but her husband, mother, and entire extended family. Achilles and Patrocles, Orpheus and Eurydice, Asterion and Theseus: Hades is a story of people metaphorically coming home and making peace with where they are (Sisyphus, Thanatos, Orpheus). Everyone basically gets a happy ending, credits roll, problems all resolved or en route to be solved. Everyone is home.

(Important to note: we never see a human in the first game. We see shades, and gods, and monsters, and the closest you get to a mortal living thing is the satyrs. This is a story concerned with the realm of the gods.)

In contrast, Melinoë has no home - besides being estranged from her childhood home, she literally lives in a tent. In case the theme was too subtle, presumably.

Now, she has been fighting her entire life to become powerful enough to return home and reclaim her family - that seems Zagreus-adjacent on its face. However, there isn't a home to return to- Hades is in shackles, the rest of her family trapped in time. At this point in Early Access, on both a metatextual & diegetic level she quite literally can neither make it to Mt Olympus or into Zagreus' room - she cannot go home, she cannot meet her family.

Consider the others: Odysseus' presence seems to tie into the idea of a long journey home, but this is an Odysseus who lived and died and now has other (inhuman) priorities. He loves them, but has no interest in reuniting with Penelope and Telemachus at this point. Nemesis dislikes her siblings, and is more concerned with the equal application of "justice" than whether it has any reforming effect. Narcissus and Echo eventually talk and part more amicably, but that's the best that can be said about their relationship.

Hecate refuses to be called Melinoë's mother: she will not distract from the "true" family that Melinoë has no memory of ever meeting.

Instead of Ares and Dionysus (enjoyers of chaos and least affected by the toxicity of the family in Hades 1) we have Hestia and Hephaestaus- a goddess who helped murder her father and a god constantly belittled by his own family. Their tense and frequently bitter interactions with the other Olympians are evocative of the central theme being explored: what if there isn't a home to go back to? What if your family is unforgivable? (What if you want to forgive them anyways? What if you need to?)

This theme is why Arachne is in the game, and Athena is not: likeable, first-helper-of-Zagreus Athena turned Arachne into a spider out of petty anger. How do you reconcile that?

Moros (lovely, kind Moros, who gushes at Odysseus like a fanboy) and his sisters the Fates did horrible things to mortals out of boredom. The same mortals whose bodies you can see stacked up like cordwood in Ephyra, who you repeatedly claim you are fighting to protect from Chronos. Moros can neither confirm nor deny that the current events could have been set in motion by the Fates. How do you reconcile that?

Polyphemus raises sheep. He genuinely loves and cares for them, is protective of them. He also eats them, and is confused when Melinoë implies a contradiction.

How can you love someone and be willing to kill them? For survival? For fleeting satisfaction? For vengeance?

Is Chronos' willingness to eat his children so morally heinous that it makes him worse than every cruelty the gods have wrought? Worse for who?

[fantastic-nonsense]

obviously I'd be thrilled to just get the whole PJO series adapted and then end it there. However: Heroes of Olympus as a story can be cleaned up sooooooo much in a way that PJO just doesn't need to be, and a tv adaptation offers the perfect opportunity to do so

like honestly my hottake is that I think Disney could solve both the problem of adapting a long, convoluted sequel series and a lot of the problems HOO as a story has if they a) do The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune in the same season and b) deliberately wait until the PJO actors are in their 20s to do it

Just thinking about this a bit more:

three 12-14 episode seasons, with TLH/SoN in S1, a modified MoA in S2 that deals with some of the Argo crews' HoH subplots, and then HoH/BoO in S3

Percy and Annabeth are in their 20s and newly engaged when he disappears. This sets up the arc of Percy dreaming about settling down with Annabeth in New Rome in a more organic, functional way and also gives us as viewers a chance to see that the aftermath of the Titan War has resulted in tangible, lasting change for the demigods of Camp Half-Blood

Grover replaces Coach Hedge as the Seven's collective Protector+chaperone, which solves the series' problem of Grover's absence and the absence of the PJO Trio's friendship

the whole show/story takes place over ~6 months instead of the year it did in the books, and Percy+Jason's individual quests happen concurrently (simply not letting Percy sleep for 8 months and making an episode where he establishes himself at the Roman camp for awhile before he's forced on the quest with Frank and Hazel would solve about half of the problems on the Roman side of the series)

Season-wise, things mostly sort themselves out:

The first season starts off introducing the Lost Hero trio and we find out that Percy's missing at the end of the first episode. The second episode opens with Percy waking up at the Wolf House and starting his journey to New Rome. We get one episode entirely devoted to amnesiac Jason and Percy integrating into the new camps, making friends, and learning about their missing counterpart before the quest plots start up.

The season then alternates between Jason, Piper, and Leo's "Find Hera" quest and Percy, Hazel, and Frank's Alaska quest, with intermittent jumps to the Greek and Roman efforts to find Percy and Jason. It ends with Percy and Jason regaining their memories and each camp realizing their leader is on the other side of the country in "enemy" territory.

The second season opens around a month later as the Argo II docks in New Rome. Percy and Jason have both been given time to make friends, integrate themselves into the opposing camp, and become adjusted to a different way of life with all of their memories intact. They haven't physically returned to their home camps as they've both independently come to the conclusion that Hera switched them to initiate inter-camp unity and are wary of doing anything that would disrupt that goal. However, Percy and Jason have both managed to get messages to Annabeth and Reyna respectively at some point in that month, so everyone knows everyone is safe when the Greeks finally arrive in New Rome.

Cue MoA's various plotlines, which would be cleaned up and streamlined significantly while also integrating in some of the HoH arcs like Hazel learning how to manipulate the Mist, Frank learning how to use his shapeshifting powers, Piper coming into her own as a daughter of Aphrodite, Leo's seventh wheel arc and the Calypso subplot, Jason struggling to figure out what his place is, the Jason-Nico friendship, etc. Also set up the Greek v. Roman dispute and Reyna following them to Greece. Season ends with the Annabeth-Arachne confrontation and Tartarus fall.

The third season combines HoH and BOO; the season alternates between Percy and Annabeth's journey through Tartarus while the rest of the Seven finish their various character arcs via gathering the elements for the Physicians' Cure and journeying to the Doors of Death. After they rescue Percy and Annabeth and close the Doors, they plan to head straight to Athens to take on Gaea. Reyna reaches them just after, and Annabeth sends her and Nico off with the Athena Parthenos with Grover as their Protector.

The final battle switches between The Seven+Gods vs. Gaea+The Giants at the Acropolis and the Greeks vs. Romans at Camp Half-Blood. The Gaea plotline is resolved at the Acropolis, the Greek-Roman plotline is resolved as Nico and Reyna triumphantly arrive at Camp Half-Blood with the statue, a functional Greek-Roman working relationship, and the gods' blessing. This helps streamline the mess that was Blood of Olympus and actually provides a workable story resolution.

We get a final aftermath/epilogue episode that sorts out and ties up all remaining plot threads, teases Solangelo, and ends with Percy returning home to see his mom and planning out how to move to New Rome after he and Annabeth get married.

Obviously this is the roughest possible sketch of how it could be done, but I genuinely believe doing something like that could fix some of the biggest issues HOO has conceptually while streamlining all of the quest bloat. It'd be interesting to see them try, anyway.

[snowsonlylove]

Delicate (Inspired by Taylor Swift)

Pairing: Academy!Coryo x Gf!Reader

Summary: Coriolanus commemorates his first public appearance with his girlfriend, Y/N Y/L/N. As Coriolanus feels Y/N’s head on his chest, he realizes how comforting it is to be loved as Y/N shows Coriolanus how safe she feels with him as she falls asleep before him. Coriolanus acknowledges this and he starts thinking of their future. This is the point of no return, the story of the beginning of Coriolanus Snow’s rise to power as the future President of Panem, with his darling future wife and First Lady, Y/N Y/L/N, by his side, being his pillar and supporting him on his journey to power. 

Fic Type: Fluff (SFW), a little arguement in the middle though so a lil angst 

Warnings: arguments, subtle manipulation in the beginning,lots of kissing, coryo being a lil delulu

Word Count: 1.6k

I do not own Coriolanus Snow or Y/N Y/L/N (cuz it’s you, boo). All credits go to Suzanne Collins and her team. Song credits also go to Taylor Swift and her team. 

I do not allow my works to be republished or translated under any circumstances. Any instances of this happening and YOU WILL BE BLOCKEDDD. 

This ain’t for the best

My reputation’s never been worse, so

You must like me for me

“You are just adorable, sweetheart.” Coriolanus said while stroking his girlfriend’s cheek. Of all the words used to describe Coriolanus Snow, sweet or adorable never came to mind. Coriolanus was charming, of course, but he could never be so vulnerable. That would stain his prestige of perfection. However, the same cannot be said for his girlfriend (aka future wife) Y/N Y/L/N. A young woman who walked through the halls of the Academy with the biggest, brightest smile on her face, always respectful in greeting her friends and teachers, the epitome of elegance and grace. 

We can’t make

Any promises now, can we, babe?

But you can make me a drink

Snow’s reputation does not perceed him, of course, yet he sometimes wonders… Why did Y/N choose him? Did she see him as a gentleman he never truly was? Did she like his sense of poise and sophistication? Or was she just sorry for him, given the circumstances of his family? Those are questions that are yet to be answered.

Dive bar on the East Side, where you at?

Phone lights up my nightstand in the black

Come here, you can meet me in the back

Their first appearance as boyfriend and girlfriend started during the reaping ceremony of the 10th annual Hunger Games. “Hey Y/N, where’s your boy toy? A little lost perhaps?” Arachne sneered while her goons silently snickered behind her back. “No, and he’s not my boy toy. You’d know all about boy toys, wouldn’t you Arachne? Considering the fact that you’ve successfully fucked more than half the boys in the Academy, attracting STDs left and right.” Y/N clapped back, hearing a male chuckle behind her as Arachne’s face turned furiously red and walked away. 

Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you

Oh damn, never seen that colour blue

Just think of the fun things we could do

Y/N turned back to face her boyfriend, running towards him with a hug so strong, it made him stumble forward. “Hi” Y/N whispered silently while looking at her boyfriend with a lovestruck smile. “Hey” He replied while examining her face with his piercing, blue eyes. They were living in their own world and they were perfectly content on keeping it that way. The pair leaned down to give each other a kiss, looking at each other as if time was just a construct. As they broke apart from their kiss, a familiar sound was voiced around the room and they were about to announce the start of the reaping ceremony.

This ain't for the best

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me

(Yeah, I want you)

Both Y/N and Coriolanus walked to their respective seats with their hands locked together. Dean Highbottom was giving Coriolanus a deathly stare a few feet away, looking as if he was thinking of something to sabotage him with, then walking away to his seat with an eerily smirk, giving Coriolanus the chills. Coriolanus quickly snapped out of it, looking at Y/N with a small but reassuring smile on his face while giving her a final, deep kiss before the start of the ceremony, making their friends behind them release wolf whistles, leaving the couple with their cheeks pink.

We can't make

Any promises now, can we, babe?

But you can make me a drink

“There has been a change this year,” said Dean Highbottom while looking around the room. “The Plinth prize will no longer depend on whoever has the best grades, rather it will depend on whoever is the best mentor, leading their tribute to victory” Coriolanus looked shocked as Y/N held his hand and rubbed her thumb over his fingers delicately in a reassuring manner. The couple exchanged glances as if to say something, then looking away with a determined expression, eager to support one another along the way.

Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it chill that you're in my head?

'Cause I know that it's delicate (delicate)

“District 8, Girl, belongs to Y/N Y/L/N. District 10, Girl, Arachne Crane” Dean Highbottom droned on with the assignments. Coriolanus looked around the room with an anxious look on his face, eagerly anticipating his assignment. The Plinth prize meant a lot to him, as the prize contained the money he needed to keep supporting his family, to be able to pay the bills, food, everything. Of course, Y/N knows about his condition, having visited his home and becoming great friends with Tigris and conversing with Grandma’am over their mutual love of roses. Coriolanus appreciates his girlfriend’s gestures towards his family, however he is in no position to accept money out of pity. That wouldn’t be a good look for him, and she knew that, so they kept this out of the equation in their relationship. “Oh you’ll like this one, Ms. Crane, the runt girl, District 12, belongs to Coriolanus Snow…” Coriolanus’s face turned from one of anxiousness to hidden rage as he glared at the Dean as if looks could kill. Y/N noticed how tense he was and knowing his situation, she held his hand tighter as she tried to comfort him.

Is it cool that I said all that?

Is it too soon to do this yet?

'Cause I know that it's delicate

As the hall dispersed after the ceremony, Y/N followed Coriolanus outside the Academy as he furiously walked away from the hall. “Wait up, Coryo!” Y/N said, exasperated from following his big steps. Coriolanus’s head whipped towards her as he exclaimed “How could I not, Y/N?! He knew how much that prize meant to me and he still did that! And for what, as a means to take me down, as a way to destroy my future?!” He looked utterly exhausted as he vented his feelings out towards his girlfriend. Y/N didn’t speak, choosing to walk towards him and engulf him in a comforting hug and stroking the back of his neck in a comforting manner. Coriolanus heaved a big sigh and his eyes started to tear up from the pressure he was feeling.

Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?

Isn't it?

Isn't it, isn't it, isn't it?

Isn't it delicate?

Coriolanus buried his head deep in Y/N’s neck as he wept from his unfortunate chance of winning the only prize he needed to help his family. After a while, his cries subsided as he looked up at Y/N with a grateful smile before leaning and capturing her lips in a mind searing kiss, making Y/N surprised by his actions as she tried to keep up with his ministrations. They stayed like that for a while, basking in each other’s love and kissing each other like the other was their lifeline before they pulled away, breathless.

Sometimes I wonder when you sleep

Are you ever dreaming of me?

That night, Coriolanus and Y/N stayed together in her lavish, pink room as she layed her head on his chest in a comforting manner. Coriolanus looked at his girlfriend, half asleep and as somber as she could ever be in his presence. It brought him great comfort and pride to know that she was comfortable in his embrace and not afraid of him despite his flaws. Coriolanus kissed the top of Y/N’s head softly as he observed her sleeping form. He wonders sometimes… Does Y/N ever dream of him? What would their relationship look like if they were away from all this chaos in the Capitol? What if they found a way to get out of the Hunger Games and lived happily ever after somewhere else, with enough money and a house full of their children? Maybe somewhere on the countryside? No… No.. That would be too far fetched, especially considering his desire to rule Panem and finally take revenge on those rebels who destroyed his home and killed his father in the mines. He would also take revenge on those who wronged him, who thought of him as nothing without his fortune. 

Since he was a little kid running around the Snow penthouse, he never imagined he would want a future where he would be even close to a girl and producing heirs, now here he was, thinking what his and Y/N’s children would be like in a place far, far away from all this chaos. Would they inherit his eyes? Maybe have her hair? He doesn’t know, yet he’s excited to discover that with his lovely girlfriend. 

Sometimes when I look into your eyes

I pretend your mine all the damn time… 

Coriolanus never planned this, falling in love was beyond him and yet, it brought him serenity to know that once he ruled Panem, he would have his darling wife, the First Lady Y/N Y/L/N, by his side, supporting him the whole way. Her undying loyalty serves as one of the biggest motivations for him to win the Hunger Games, to prove Dean Highbottom wrong about his assumptions of the Snows. He would soon grow hungry for it, power… After all, it’s hunger that drives people desperate in this cruel, relentless world. As Coriolanus looked at his girlfriend’s relaxed face, he knew what he had to do to accomplish his dreams. He has to use Lucy Gray as much as she is using him. Use her, get rid of her, and continue on your way to the top of the food chain, with his darling girlfriend by his side, always siding with him and encouraging him on his journey to becoming the future President of Panem.

[canmom]

so hades 2 huh

it's fun! i am more convinced after actually playing it than i was in the runup to it. the green colour palette looked a little drab in the videos but it works better for me fullscreen in game, and I really like the second zone's design. the major aesthetic change does go a little way towards making this feel like 'new Supergiant game' instead of just a rehash of the first game.

the difficulty floor is higher than the first game. i think it's well-tuned to go into if you've beaten that one. so far i've played 6 runs, seen the first boss in 5, and and beaten her in 2 of them; yet to get more than about halfway through the second zone after that tho!

the new mana mechanic is kinda interesting, lots of tradeoffs to make. it's a bit more granular than the cast in the first game; you use it to do powered up versions of your attacks, and spending it also charges up the Call-equivalent.

i'm increasingly intrigued by the setting, and i really like some of the side characters like arachne. i think the time skip was a good decision - the story of Zagreus et al. was definitely done. the epilogue ending of the first game was way too neat.

still, starting a revenge plot in media res is curious. especially when Nemesis lampshades the lack of personal motivation. compared to Zagreus's very pressing and relatable motivation (run away from my abusive dad), Melinoë's motivation is a little more abstract - this seems to be deliberate. but it does a fair bit to sell the sort of 'desperate resistance base' setting. it definitely seems rather like they're setting up a twist down the line. but it lacks the immediate emotional hook of the overbearing patriarch in the first game. curious to see how it will work once I've seen more of the story.

as far as the new gods, I'm fascinated by the decision to make Hephaestus and Hestia both be Northern - probably Yorkshire. it's always fun hearing regional UK accents in games. they do also both feel like responses to the criticism that Jen Z never designs fat characters lmao. still, they are good designs. both have satisfying mechanics. Selene also has a really good design I think.

the other gods' mechanics have naturally been redesigned to fit the new game. still broadly the same themes, e.g. Zeus will still be lightning based, but different interpretations of what that means, so for example you have 'hitting an enemy produces a lightning blast behind them' as the primary Zeus mechanic instead of chain lightning. which definitely keeps things fresh. Melinoë's kit has a lot of directional attacks and, with the Cast now being an AOE which slows/freezes enemies, there's a lot more emphasis now on positioning enemies to set up AOE attacks which is interesting.

the witch stuff is quite fun in an admittedly slightly cheesy way. it's definitely pull on aesthetic currents which aren't at all Ancient Greek, like the pointed hats. but hey! I can get into it, it's not like the game's aesthetic has ever been all that strictly historical. even if I am still scratching my head at 'so mote it be'. apparently it's an archaic word meaning 'may', i.e. 'may it be so'.

of course the main thing is, the actual moment to moment gameplay is fun. it flows just as the first game did, and it's just as addictive with the way it spreads out story breadcrumbs. the vfx and such look great, the movement is already super tightly tuned (tbf it's basically the same as the first game with the addition of a new 'hold dash to sprint'), and there's a already good variety of enemy mechanics.

there's some obvious placeholders for some of the UI art and character portraits (notably none of the keepsakes have been drawn yet), but overall it's surprisingly polished for an early-access build. all the voice acting is already there - it's fun seeing the Supergiant voice cast return in new roles.

the meta progression element... there's some neat ideas, like an upgrade system with a limited set of slots that very much calls to mind NieR Automata's chip system. so there are some stronger tradeoffs to make; it's not as simple as 'spend resource, get better' as it was in the first game. and it's clearly possible to advance quite far even without a lot of meta resource investment. so far it definitely feels like my main limit is skill, and I'll progress further once I learn more of the enemy patterns and figure out what builds I like to play.

(though I guess the idea with this kind of game is that the power ups quietly boost you and make it feel like you're getting better a lot faster than you are just learning the game lmao)

overall, it's just really fun to have another Supergiant game to sink my teeth into haha. I still wish they'd continued their streak of coming up with new IPs each time, because they'd come up with fantastic settings, but there's plenty of interest here still.

also the more I work in game dev the more I can appreciate just what a ludicrous amount of polish there is in Supergiant's games. I can only imagine the amount of work it must have taken to tune the feel of everything this tight.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

I love reading all of your fix it AUs and the funniest thought popped into my mind but - all of them happening at once. The minute the tributes are dropped in things start going wrong. One of the tributes escapes via climbing the zoo enclosure (Treech, Lamina, Sheaf, Circ) (prompting tighter security, stopping Arachne from bringing in a glass bottle and Jessup doesn't get bit) and during interviews, mentors get knocked out and more escape (Brandy, Coral, Mizzen?). The Peacekeepers start really cracking down but everyone sees this. One Peacekeeper is *really* conflicted about this and eventually grabs two (Bobbin and Wovey?) and helps them escape. Otto and Ginnee dip since they know cattle cars best shortly after. Then the zoo gets compromised and everyone's like "Okay tour the arena while we set up the next enclosure" guess what happens next? THE ARENA EXPLODES. Because Otto, Ginnee and Sheaf already dipped, Panlo stands somewhere else, doesn't get exploded and instead escapes with Sabyn, Facet and Velvereen, and because he survives he actually prevents Facet and Velvereen from getting shot and Sabyn from falling. At this point there's like, 8 tributes left, so they decide "fuck it put the tributes in with their mentors while we figure out what to do". Most of the tributes left either have sympathetic mentors (Sejanus, Lysistrata, maybe Dennis?) willing to help them, or mentors who could be pushed in that direction (Lucy Gray, Sol, Reaper/Dill, Tanner). And on TOP of that, the escaped tributes return multiple times to extract more tributes during that whole process. Teslee escapes and blends into a workplace where she gets things done so the boss keeps quiet. At least one person fakes their death and it's pretty easy to when Dill and Hy are both doing pretty badly. Someone dresses up as a Peacekeeper. Tanner 'disappears' when Coral and Mizzen drag him into the sewers. The 10th Hunger Games, advertised as a spectacle for the first time, gets endlessly delayed and postponed until the Capitol public gets fed up and goes 'just skip this ffs' None of the tributes return to the arena, except for Lucy Gray, which is on purpose so that Coryo can win on technicality, (either that or the very few remaining tributes are put in the arena but they all hide, the Games take ages until they realize that the tributes. Aren't in the arena anymore. No one knows when they escaped.) the whole thing is an embarassment and no Hunger Games are held because it was just *that* bad.

!!!!! OMG THAT'S AWESOME!!!!! I love that actually it's hilarious. Here's the order I'd do it in:

Lamina and Treech climb out of the zoo together and end up hiding on the rooftops of the Capitol while they try to figure out a way home. They steal some clothes and clean up a little, after which they're entirely unrecognizable. Coral tells Mizzen to sneak through the bars and hide out somewhere. She'll come get him. Bobbin overhears and Wovey ends up going with Mizzen. When Coral and Bobbin successfully knock out Festus and Juno while the peacekeepers are out of the room and gets out of her chains, Brandy decides to follow. Slamming Arachne's face into the table is very satisfying.

A peacekeeper comes in, notices the mentors aren't even seriously harmed, and starts to have doubts about these kids being violent monsters. Oh well, he's here now anyway. Might as well get some younger ones out. There goes Teslee and Sheaf! That's 9 down, 15 to go. In the cattle car back to the zoo, Otto and Ginnee dip. They offer for the other tributes to follow, but they decide it's probably best to stay in the car because a group of 15 getting out of the car is gonna be a whole lot more noticeable. Besides, if there's any trace of the car being opened, the peacekeepers will know what happened and have a far better shot at figuring out where they are. The longer it takes them to check the cameras, the better. With only 26 people in the arena (not counting peacekeepers) it's even less crowded. Gaius pulls Panlo deeper into the arena looking for allies so he has a better shot at winning the plinth prize and guess what? Both survive. Panlo saves Gaius from death by pulling him out of the way of some schrapnel, which makes Gaius rethink his cringy unfunny district jokes. One of the rebel scum just saved his pathetic ass, maybe he can stand to be a little nicer to and about them. He vows to apologize for being such a dick, but before he knows it Panlo is sprinting for the exit and knocks down a peacekeeper about to shoot Facet in the back. Now the other ones are aiming at Panlo though, and Gaius decides that this is his chance to make up for his behavior a little by bodyslamming the fucker. Marcus takes out another and Sejanus takes the last one, so Gaius' little bout of treason is not remembered by anyone important enough to get him killed. Marcus ends up staying in the arena and is a little nicer to Sejanus. Nobody knows who took out the peacekeepers that were guarding outside... (spoilers: it was Coral, Brandy, Bobbin, and Lamina)

One specific place suddenly has much better tech. Nobody knows why.

The meetings in preparation for the interviews don't go much better for the Capitol's reputation. Somehow, through means still unknown by the supposed superior people, Circ managed to not only knock out Urban (who is both older and stronger than him) but picked several electric locks and escaped the Capitol Academy without anyone noticing until a panicked Urban began running around the building demanding to know where he is. Strangely, he's not screaming about the prize. He's moreso concerned about whether such a young, vulnerable boy is okay and straight up forbids the peacekeepers from using lethal force when they find him. They don't. A business that's partners with the one that suddenly got tech upgrades gets them too. Everyone assumes it must be some sort of secret they shared with each other.

Oh, and the zoo enclosure is demolished before the meetings even end. So that's great. Oh well, only 8 tributes left anyway. Surely the mentors can handle them with some peacekeeper supervision?

Tanner disappears when Domitia takes him out to the market under the guise of needing muscle to carry their groceries. She actually just wants to show him more of the world because he showed interest. When a blond with striking blue eyes and a brown hat throws fireworks from the roof and a flash of red hair swiftly moves through the crowd, pulling Tanner into an alleyway... Well, there was so much chaos! How was she supposed to notice? That was the peacekeepers' job. And anything could've displaced that sewer grate, so putting the cover on the hole correctly is not tampering with the evidence! It's doing her civil duty to keep the streets tidy. When Clemensia sees the peacekeeper guarding Reaper looking a little more... dark-skinned, she decides that it isn't her place to comment. That would be racist! Her giving him as much food as he could easily carry is just her expressing her gratitude for his service. Hy collapsing in public and being dragged out of there by that same peacekeeper isn't anything suspicious at all. Nor is the boy with the familiar trilby causing a ruccus and running in the opposite direction, preventing other peacekeepers from following or checking that Hy is really dead. And she knows this, because Dennis agrees with her. Not suspicious at all. The inhaler Dennis got for his tribute disappearing later that same day isn't suspicious either. Nobody needs to know, and Dennis doesn't even have to mess with the security cameras. They're already looped. Even more plausible deniability, oh joyous days!

When Dill disappears, Felix doesn't deign it important enough to mention that it happened right after he figured out what medication would help her with her tuberculosis. He fully trusted that totally-a-peacekeeper to not let her escape. it's not his fault he ended up "failing". When he points at an actual peacekeeper to take the blame, it's totally a coincidence that it's one who mistreated the tributes the most severely. Who would people believe? Some random nobody or the son of the president? Exactly.

Iphigenia notices her dad is particularly invested in not letting Sol escape. So when she stumbles upon the girl climbing out of a window in the bedroom that conveniently has no security cameras, helped down by a redheaded girl while Hy waits down below, she promptly shuts the door and eagerly anticipates her father's reaction once he finds out.

Lucy Gray, Jessup, and Marcus are eventually thrown into the arena when the Capitol finally relents to their citizens' annoyed outrage over this disaster. For a week, nothing happens on camera. When the peacekeepers finally go in to weed the tributes out, they're... not there. At all. Nobody notices that one of the holes high up in the back wall of the arena was easily accesible from the outside by a skilled climber. Nor did they notice the several fabrics that started going missing a few weeks ago because surely they're not related? Cameras don't show anything, and nobody notices that they were looped to hide a brunet and a redhead scaling the side of the arena to drop in a long rope of stitched-together fabrics in a part of the arena without cameras. There was no way anyone could've seen the three remaining tributes dodging the cameras, Lucy Gray appearing last, and climbing said fabric to be coached down by the two intruders.

Gaul, desperate to keep her show on the road, attempts to get new tributes sent over. Surprise surprise, they're swiftly disappeared too. And again. And again. And again. Next year, there's one more attempt before the president finally decides the point has been made and it isn't worth the trouble. And if several former mentors, including his own son, sometimes disappear without explanation to return some time later looking happier than ever, who is he to pry? Surely nothing that interesting could be happening.

Peacekeepers never really pay attention to the tributes anyway, so of course they forget their faces once the search is declared dead. And the more recognizable ones who show back up on stage? Well, they're entertaining, so... It's probably their twin or something.

[blackbloodteeth]

Past Rambles #13

Reaching the end of this particular collection of ideas. This one is notably unfinished somehow despite the length, and was definitely based on The Little Mermaid.

Starts off with a moody Soul who is a shark merman. He's kind of an outcast because "toothkin" are feared, and his father and brother ended up being "flipperkin" (a dolphin counterpart) while Soul takes after his mother.

He has this flat ledge by the land that he often goes staring at the sunset on, however one day he finds a strange person there instead. When he quietly gets a closer look, he sees it's a girl drawing the sunset and he admires how she captured it, but upon finishing it she sighs, leaving him to wonder why she is unhappy.

So he goes and finds shells to leave for her on the ledge for the next time she happens to show up. She notices them and draws that next, and he notes how well she captured those too, but yet she still sighs unhappily at the end.

He finds bigger, more pretty shells in hopes of keeping her inspired, and while the same thing happens, she's starting to get suspicious.

When Soul notes that she's still dissatisfied with her art, he begins searching out pretty stones for her. She is now definitely catching on that someone knows she's here when she comes back again today, and starts drawing normally before stopping suddenly, causing Soul to duck down into the water noisily. She then pretends to keep going long enough for him to pop back up until she turns around to finally spot him.

Soul flounders back into the water while she exclaims the she knew someone was there all along, however when she goes to stare at him he's already moved over to her sketchbook, letting her note his pointed ears as he then swims to the other side of the rock ledge. When she questions him on why he's in the water watching her, he finally speaks up and says he likes her art, which makes her huff and take her leave. Soul swims in front of her and begs her not to leave, but she simply notes his sharp teeth and leaves anyway. While on the shore, she turns back to see him still in the water staring at her and comments on why he doesn't just get out and follow her. He ends up scrambling to come up with a dumb excuse, and she starts connecting the dots as she pretends to walk back home.

He returns to being moody again and beats himself up while sitting up on the ledge, wishing to have seen how she would've drawn the stones he brought. The girl actually returns to confirm that he is in fact a merman, which startles him into the water and makes her laugh, teasing him for being so shy despite being something that others would fear (to which he acts like a grumpy little tsundere). She decides to talk with him though, and when she asks why he kept bringing her stuff, Soul admits that he admires how she captures beauty and that he just wanted to help with her seeming so unhappy. The girl ends up explaining that she never really wanted to be an artist but it's what her mother did, leading to Soul asking what she would want to do, which is writing. He encourages her, however she relents that she'll be in trouble if she doesn't keep making art. Of course he offers that she could do it in secret here with him (if she wants to of course), so she makes up a poem on the spot and he loves it 'cause it's like music to him. Eventually the girl decides to head back home for real in case it might rain but tells him she'll come back here when he asks about it.

Now in a good mood, Soul goes looking for a way that he could make something nice with her too. After swimming a little too far out though, he ends up encountering the Gorgon sisters: The eldest, Arachne, is an octopus who tells him that the girl on the surface is a human and that there would be trouble if he kept being with her, to which he denies that she's different. Then the younger, Medusa, who is an eel that tells him his family would disapprove and that he'd be in danger, to which he denies that he's being careful and he's always over there, anyway. And finally the youngest, Shaula, who is a squid that instead apologizes for her sisters, telling him that they were simply too excited to help a toothkin in need. Soul doesn't trust it but she goes on asking if he has sisters, and he tells her no, but he does have a brother, and she says that he'd understand then what it's like to be overshadowed and forgotten. She then wishes him well and that if he ever needs assistance he is free to call upon them anytime.

The next day Soul goes to visit the human and she reads him stuff that she wrote. He mentions that he wants to find a way to make something pretty too, so she suggests maybe singing and he says he'll think about giving it a try. Later his brother knows something's up with how Soul's been out all the time and having heard him trying to use his voice like that. Soul tells him not to worry about it an' that he's just bored, but Wes barely lets it slide since he has to go do important dolphin things.

When Soul meets her again the next day and tries to sing, he gets embarrassed too easily (especially with it being much different above water), and instead they end up talking about him being a shark. The girl starts to open up a bit more about herself, even if not her name (as Soul is still too reluctant to share his), and the two are becoming friends now (woah).

As he goes back afterwards though, he's encountered by his brother again which he finds a little weird, but Wes confronts him that Soul's been going to the surface to meet with a human, hasn't he. Soul quickly denies it saying it's none of his business and to "flipper off," however Wes says that he's going to have to tell their father about this, which causes him to swim away pissed off before remembering what Shaula told him.

Soul goes and finds the sisters, and they offer a spell to help him get away for a while but at the cost of his voice. He hesitates, however they all assure him that if he proves he is safe up there, his family may just back off. Feeling like he has no other alternatives, their spell then takes his voice and turns him into a human (torn-up sail to cover him already provided, and they preemptively warn him that he won't be able to breathe water anymore), and he eventually finds the girl again after just kinda laying on the sand but can't tell her what happened. The girl decides to bring him back with her to her home after helping him walk, and just comes up with a lie that he'd been shipwrecked.

Antics ensue as he knows nothing about being human but finally learns the girl's real name is Maka. Her father is overprotective and doesn't want a stranger (let alone a weird, unkempt guy who smells like he just came from the ocean) near her, but she's defensive of him saying she's already met him while out by the sea (which contradicts the shipwreck lie a little but Soul's not gonna stop her).

Eventually after spending time together, Soul realizes the spell is almost up and he tries to find a way to tell Maka that he has to go back, however when she takes him to the shore while the sun sets and the spell wears off, his voice doesn't return.

Soul goes back underwater to try to get it back from the sisters but they're not home, instead having went to Maka to make a deal with her, presumably wanting to barter Soul's voice in exchange for something important from her as this is the point that the sisters being witches is made more obvious as the antagonist. The idea is unfinished from here, however I recall at the very least that Shaula ends up being the real antagonist, using the deals to her personal advantage to overthrow her sisters (and possibly endangering both worlds). Knowing myself, I'm going to assume that the deal Maka makes ends up turning her into a mermaid at the cost of not being able to talk to Soul still despite him getting his voice back.

[joyousmusic]

One last drawing before I head to bed

[spencerthespender]

Point of No Return recently got their new Autumn’s Eve update (Hallow’s eve? whos that) and it is incredible. (spoilers!) (duh)

Firstly, the cosumes are so stupidly funny. I personally was a giant fan of seeing Mr. Homestead’s, David Snoore’s, literally all of the librarians’, and Lakelyn’s costumes. aghhh they’re all super clever and kinda funny honestly and it goes to show the artistic genius these devs are!!!

Secondly. PERCY. ISA. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA finally something where everyone wins (arachne seems kinda bitter about it i guess but whatever its not about her right now) they are so cute together i love it

The third thing is the interactions with the crows were genuinely so fun to see. Jorge and Shortcake. Cheryl and Burgundy. Mr. Bacon and Ms. Acorn. I know something as small as one few lines of dialogue and a character’s position around the map may be trivial when compared to things like questlines or story, but these smaller things are what make a place feel alive, like these are people you could know.

Speaking of story, that ending???? Death? And possibly Life? It explains so much. Dave, Arabella, Percy, and we were supposed to die. this is all just WJTTEUICNFAKSIFBRHJGKGKJWBGHUO AGHHH I LOVE THIS GAME

[captainremmington-13]

A Lady Made of Snow

DISCLAIMER: I don’t own The Hunger Games franchise, the images above, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, or any of the characters in this fic other than Bellova.

SUMMARY: After Arachne’s death, Coriolanus and Bellova manage to go a day without insulting each other.

Warnings: spoilers for TBOSAS, mentions of death

A/n: I am using a combination of the movie and book version of the events that occur in this chapter. This chapter begins with a third-person point of view that centers around Bellova’s inner thoughts. After the time skip, the third-person point of view shifts to reveal Coriolanus’s thoughts.

The following morning, Bellova spotted Coriolanus just outside of Heavensbee Hall. She noticed that he seemed exhausted, which wasn’t surprising. She hadn’t slept much either, the memory of Arachne’s dying screams keeping her awake throughout the night.

She approached him, giving him the usual cordial nod, which he returned.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, surprising her. He never asked her about anything personal. They mainly discussed school or mundane gossip, not their emotions. 

“I’ll be fine,” she said as they walked into the assembly together. “I hardly slept, though. I couldn’t stop thinking about…well, you know.”

Coriolanus nodded. “I stayed up writing the proposal for Dr. Gaul.”

Bellova raised an eyebrow. “I thought you and Clemensia were supposed to do that together.”

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to wait. Clemensia probably isn’t in any shape to do much schoolwork at the moment.” 

“That’s fair,” Bellova said as they took their usual place in the hall, waiting for the assembly to start. “I’m sure Dr. Gaul will be pleased that you went through with writing it, even with what happened yesterday.”

Coriolanus looked at her, a ghost of a grin dancing across his lips. “What’s gotten into you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re being so…nice.”

She scoffed, adjusting the collar of her uniform shirt. “I’m not nice, Coryo. I’m polite.”

“Debatable,” he muttered. 

Bellova rolled her eyes. “So what if I’m being less combative than usual? Yesterday forced me to reflect upon what really matters to me.” 

“What exactly does that mean?”

Bellova opened her mouth to respond, but Professor Satyria Click cleared her throat, silencing the student body. 

She wasn’t surprised that Dean Highbottom was absent. The old man was probably higher than normal after yesterday’s events.

Satyria spoke of Arachne in a way that Bellova deemed inaccurate. She wasn’t extraordinarily intelligent, funny, or special in any way, really. But she listened intently and even teared up a couple times. She saw Coriolanus do the same out of the corner of her eye, but knew he wasn’t actually that emotional. She’d listened to him complain about Arachne and her antics too many times to count.

Professor Sickle acknowledged Coriolanus and Bellova’s efforts to save Arachne, which made them both wince slightly. They did not want to be reminded of the gruesome sight of their classmate bleeding to her death. 

The counselor, Mrs. Lunt, added that grief counseling was available to anyone who may need it. Finally, Professor Satyria announced that Arachne’s funeral would be the following morning.

After the students were dismissed, the twenty-three remaining mentors went to Professor Demigloss’s classroom. It was obvious that all of them wanted to be at home, but no one spoke up about it. 

Demigloss handed out a sheet of paper listing all of the tributes, their names, and their assigned mentors. Bellova immediately scratched off Arachne’s name, and then felt a pang of guilt. She didn’t mean to erase the girl’s memory so quickly, but it erasing the scratch mark wouldn’t bring her back to life .

Not much time had passed before Clemensia and Coriolanus were summoned to the Citadel, no doubt by Dr. Gaul. Bellova mouthed ‘good luck’ to Coriolanus, who gave her a genuine smile in return. That was rare, coming from him. 

Bellova turned away from him and back towards the professor, concealing her slightly flushed cheeks. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coriolanus hastily made his way out of the Capitol Zoo, tripping several times but managing to avoid falling. He figured that it was late enough that his arrival at home wouldn’t be suspicious, so he started on his way back to his apartment complex.

Suddenly, his shoulder bumped harshly against someone else’s. He stumbled a bit, but the other person tumbled to the ground, cursing angrily. 

“Bellova?” 

Bellova groaned, sitting up slowly and gathering the apples that had spilled out of her arms. “Coriolanus. What are you doing here?”

“Visiting Lucy Gray. What are you doing here so late?”

“Bringing food to Velvereen,” she said. “I figured she could use something to eat, it’s been awhile.”

“Ah,” Coriolanus said. He watched as she walked over to the monkey exhibit, passed the apples through the bars, and patted Velvereen’s hand reassuringly. She walked back to him, and he noticed how drained she looked. He wanted to say something, but refrained. 

“Want me to walk you home?” he asked instead. “I know you live close by.”

Bellova sighed. “Sure.”

A few minutes after leaving the Zoo, Coriolanus decided to inform Bellova about Clemensia’s “accident”. He thought Lucy Gray would be the only one he’d tell, but he figured that Bellova would keep the incident confidential.

Her eyes widened in horror when he described the snake bite. “Will she be alright?”

He nodded. “I visited the hospital, and the doctors think she’ll survive. Not without mental damage, though.”

Bellova bit her lip. “This is all a disaster. We’re dropping like flies. I wouldn’t be surprised if a handful of us mentors lose our lives after this is all over.”

“Don’t say that,” Coriolanus said. “We just have to be careful. And regardless of what happens, you and I will be fine. Surely you know that.”

“We’re stronger than the others,” Bellova agreed. “We’re smarter, more resilient, and less susceptible to our emotions. But that doesn’t guarantee that we’ll come out of this without scars.”

“We survived a war,” Coriolanus pointed out. “We can live through this too.”

Bellova looked at him, her eyelids beginning to droop slightly from exhaustion. “Since when did you become an optimist?”

Coriolanus let out a short laugh. “I haven’t. I’m just…trying to ease your worries.” 

She gave him a smile. “I appreciate your efforts.”

They reached Bellova’s estate a couple moments later. Spontaneously, Coriolanus decided to leave a parting kiss on Bellova’s cheek, rendering her speechless. 

She simply waved goodbye to him, then walked through the gates that were being held open for her by guards. Coriolanus watched her disappear into her lavish home, wishing more than anything that he lived in a place twice as large as hers.

TAGLIST: @daenerysqueenofhearts, @squidscottjeans, @euphemiaamillais, @gracieroxzy

Author’s Note: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments! I know that this chapter was sorta short, but the next one is wayyy longer and v e r y eventful👀 Stay tuned for Chapter 4!

[blackstar5078]

EggCartonSMP Day 42! (Part 1)

(This happened during July 27th).

Summary under the cut…

Upon waking up, Bluebell immediately asked Wither to go to their house to see something.

Lillian explained that the new gator was called Azalea, and that Azalea was, actually, Azura. The ghost seemingly went through some kind of transformation and now she was her original form, a gator, that Lillian and Karl adopted.

And Arachne remained as a sister, even though Azalea didn't retain much memories of her time as Azura.

They were explaining the whole ordeal of Lucius, while also they asked Wither for parenting tips.

Wither: So, anything else that I missed?

Bluebell quickly hid behind the enchantment station.

Wither: That sure is reassuring.

Karl denied to answer to that, which is why Wither answered ''fair enough.''

Wither and Bluebell got to be on their own in a corner for a minute.

Wither: Just feeling tired, but that's not new.

And the subject was dropped just like that.

At one point, the happy family moment was interrupted by Lucius suddenly possesing Karl and looking directly at Wither.

Lucius: I can bring you there :)

Wither: Oh really? That would be great.

One tp later and they were in the middle of the snow, where Wither got to meet Mrs. Flora.

Wither went through the diplomatic, but passive-agressive, approach first to interrogate her.

The conclusion she reached was, that Flora sure lies a lot and she was not going to buy it. She was able to detect some truths, though, like how Karl's powers are very influenced by his emotions, specially while he's angry, and that he will act differently if those overwhelm him.

Wither tried to reason an alternative that does not involve Karl suffering, but Mrs. Flora did not settle for any of it. So, Wither executed the actions she wanted to do since knowing about the existence of this lab coat individual.

And then jumped her, and tried to kill her.

Mrs. Flora managed to escape. Frustrated, Wither tp'd back home, while she was being damaged by poison that Flora threw at her during the fight.

Bluebell gave Wither chocolate milk to cure the poison.

Wither decided that she wanted to talk with Karl just the two of them somewhere else. Azalea was worried that someone was taking her pai away, but Wither reassured her that it would not be for long.

Karl and Wither tp'd to the park to chat.

Karl: You too...?

Wither gave tips to control their emotions, so the powers wouldn't go haywire, like doing things that they like or spending time with those who brings them happiness. During that subject, she reassured Karl that she did not take care of Bluebell with prior experience either and it's only a matter of keep learning, and she was sure that it would go well with Azalea.

Karl did not sound 100% convinced to her, but after the tips were given, they returned with the others.

... Where Lucius took control and started to attack everyone. Wither and Lillian were able to work as shields, while Bluebell and Azalea managed to escape to Spawn.

Then, Karl was back.

Karl was breaking down and saying how he would not be able to do it and did not deserve anything good because he's going to hurt everyone. Wither and Lillian kept comforting him.

Moments after the scare, Wither and Bluebell decided to return to the bunker.

---

To be continued in Part 2 <3

[bcbdrums]

Soul Eater NOT - part 5 (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Ox, Kim, and Jackie. This felt like a combination of providing neat backstory that did in fact feel valuable, but also frankly a bit of the author living out his lesbian teen fetishes. Let's start with the positives, which are many!

Of the many reasons a person should read the Soul Eater manga canon, Ox Ford is one of them. In the anime he's played more for laughs, but in the manga we get to see his depth (which I won't go into here since this is about NOT). This depth is elaborated on in NOT. But we have to back up first to Kim...

Kim is shown to have arrived at the academy with long gorgeous hair, sailor suit, and sweet disposition that gained her instant popularity. Even a major fan club! But trying to avoid attention, she cut off all her hair and became a bully. She manipulates people and steals from them on the regular, the reason being to try to keep everyone at arm's length so she can keep her secret (she's a witch with healing powers).

Back to Ox... He is just as devoted to her as in SE, and he works extra jobs to earn back the money she steals and return it to her victims in secret! And he tells these people not to hold it against Kim, that she's really a good person and there's gotta be something else going on. Ox Ford, you wonderful human... Anyone who has only seen the anime may find this strange, but once you read the SE manga which gives him a LOT of attention and character development of his own apart from Kim, and you see that all of this is fully in line with the fantastic character he is.

Now we come to Jackie... Poor, confused girl. Presented entirely differently from the spitfire she is in the SE manga. Here, she's a conservatively dressed, straight-edged, rule-following girl and she's already in the EAT class, while Kim is in the NOT class. Her journey is all about wanting to be partnered with Kim, and wondering why she's so fixated on this. Is it love? Is it protectiveness? Is it simply one of those things that's meant to be? Soulmates, as it were.

The long and short of it is, Jackie spots Kim using her witch powers to heal an injured dog. Kim confesses everything, and Jackie agrees to keep her secret if they're partners. It's all very soft and not at all blackmail... And Jackie concludes that protectiveness and a heart for the underdog is her motive for wanting to be Kim's partner. Later in the manga, Kim denounces the partnership but still hangs out with Jackie, which Jackie teases her about. A hinting at deeper feelings?

Comment - overall I really enjoy this bit of backstory, except I think there were a few missteps.

With what we see of Kim's desperation to hide her witch side in SE canon to the point she runs away when found out and joins Arachne, I don't think she'd have simply confessed and given in to Jackie. Besides, she couldn't stand Jackie in the story! I think it would have been more in line with Kim's established personality to have her frankly just killed Jackie after she found out.

I do think the argument could be made that if meisters and weapons are soulmates, if there's truly a best match out there for everyone, that perhaps an instinct is what led Kim to confess and be merciful. But that would be headcanon.

Additionally, we never see Jackie lose her hard edge and turn into the fierce spitfire she is in the SE manga. Not even a hint of this appears in NOT. Again, one can headcanon it happened over time, but it would have been a really great to start to see that shift begin here, in my opinion.

And this is where it comes back to...the author just wanted to write lesbian teen romance (Kim and Jackie are exhibit B... Exhibit A are...the three main characters, who I've yet to mention). Overall though, the story of these three characters was very well done.