#asterius of crete

[lost-in-gardener]

[[OOC: Apologies for the wait! @asterius-of-crete]]

Finn had been hearing rumors of tourists going missing in a labyrinth nearby, and until they had seen the labyrinth themselves, she hadn't believed it at first... But now that they had been wandering the endless maze for what seemed like hours, Finn was finally starting to understand why so many people had gotten lost in these maddening walls. Maybe they had gotten cockier and more reckless over time, but for some reason, Finn had assumed that they would be able to safely navigate the labyrinth without the risk of getting lost or somehow endangering herself. She triple-checked the map that they'd bought while preparing for this trip, realizing far too late that the map was a scam and that they were probably well on their way to becoming yet another missing tourist that was listed on the posters in the city.

They heard something in the distance— whether it was another person lost in the maze or a mouse skittering across the floor, they couldn't tell— but the sound made a spark of hope flicker in their chest. "Hello? Is anyone out there?" they call out to the mysterious noise, dark eyebrows furrowed in confusion and the slightest hint of frustration as they attempt to follow the source of the noise, whatever it may be. They just prayed that whatever this thing was— human, mouse, or monster— that it wasn't something dangerous.

[laikaru]

The House of Asterion 🌙🐂

[the-crypt-of-randomness]

(XD Apis, please, she doesn’t know!)

(Maybe not just yet, but soon!)

The question catches her off-guard, and she takes her eyes off his neck momentarily.

"A gift, huh? Well, there is something you could give me that I'd really, really appreciate."

She inches closer to him. Patience was never her strong suit, and as good as the cake is, it's just not enough. Noticing the tray, she graciously sets it aside. It'd only get in the way, after all.

If Asterius looks closely, he may notice some of her teeth are starting to look a bit...pointy.

Asterius blinks, a little startled by her forwardness. Usually, when humans look at him like that, it's because they're looking for something... more than materialistic, to put colloquially.

"Well, I was offering a token from my treasury," he tells her, voice even, but clearly a bit nervous. He's not thinking about if she wants to hurt him: it's just a new reaction, and he's not great at dealing with humans who react in unexpected ways.

"What do you want?"

[vixenofthemist]

a family portrait of King Minos and his family that I probably won't finish + silly doodles of the daughters bc I think about them a lot

[the-crypt-of-randomness]

Asterius looks a little nervous, and trying to hide it behind a brave front. It's only mildly successful. He doesn't really want to appear weak in front of Random, especially since their truce is very recent.

"Do you think... I mean, could you... be pregnant?"

@asterius-of-crete

Random just stares at him for a long, awkward moment. Finally, she shakes her head, smiling a little.

“Look, Ast, I already took a morning after pill for that. Best I could do since I figured you wouldn’t use or even know about protection. I’m pretty sure I’m not, if that helps.”

[oliver-ashcroft-documents]

Asterius leads Oliver out of the courtyard, and reality bends for just a moment before they're both standing in a vineyard.

Outside.

In the sun.

"Do you like it?" The Minotaur asks, not really looking at the attorney. He's a little embarrassed, hadn't thought anything through. He hopes Oliver won't run.

@asterius-of-crete // the misplaced attorney

Oliver was dizzy after the barely-perceived jump in reality, blinking before looking up at the blue sky. He started to grin as the fresh air hit his face, and he started looking around a vineyard full of green, grapes, and little insects. The attorney looked up at Asterius with utter glee.

'yes! look at this place! i have never seen something like this before.' Oliver signed excitedly before tugging the Minotaur along. He led the way, even though he was clueless as to where the vineyard led. The forever guest looked at a cluster of grapes, looking up at Asterius.

'...i know this is not easy for you. but i greatly appreciate it. it is nice to see the sky, share it with you.' Oliver signed with a softer look, beaming. 'plus, it is nice seeing you in brighter light than the lantern and the torch light.' He chuckled gently, mostly silent as always.

[crushng-a]

Can you hug a black hole? Well, Asterius is about to find out.

it requires ignorance to wrap your arms around a SINGULARITY and expect not to be drawn in deep. ignorance, or bravery, or maybe cowardice — or self destructive tendencies. for you, a keeper of mysteries, a guardian of the labyrinth, perhaps only curiosity is required.

thick arms wrap around gin. it’s warm, soft. asterius is a great big walking furball. a wet muzzle snuffles at their hair, sweet straw-smell. it’s like wallowing in a haystack, if the haystack were a fuzzy blanket in front of a roaring fireplace.

and maybe if it were anyone else, he’d be swallowed alive, ripped to shreds for the simple act. gin chooses not to. they’re considering it an offering. instead, they lean into the touch, burying their face into the minotaur’s chest.

(they never meant to stay away for so long.)

“you smell like ass.” muffled against a thundering heartbeat.

you can hug a blackhole, but don’t expect to be released anytime soon.

[littlesistersti-backupandspam]

Asterion

Greek mythology: river god, also king of crete, also that minotaur the grandkid, seems to be a common name or it's one of those names that's actually identifies where you're from like "de la" or "de" or "von"

[jadedbug]

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

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

[superkooku]

A missed potential in Hades (the game)

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

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

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

I'm talking about this guy :

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

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

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

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

The ironic friendship with his murderer is also very cool.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[snowbellecity]

If there is life after the Earth-life, will you come with me? Even then? If we're meant to be something, why not together.

Dianthus of Oenoe (also called Dia or very rarely Dianthe) is my main sona / self insert / etc. She's basically me but if i was in Hade game's setting <3 more info below! ( Art credits: Laurel (TH) / 2nd drawing is by me )

She's physically in her 20s and about 5'4. Her father was a human merchant from somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa, and her mother was Chloris, a nymph-goddess from Etruria. Due to being half nymph Dianthus has some powers over plantlife herself, but they're very weak and mostly useless. Her hair and body will sometimes sprout flowers or even fruit, but it tends to happen randomly, and like any flower they eventually wilt overtime! She met Theseus while still alive, and aided him in his battle against the Bull of Marathon. Afterwards Theseus returned to Athens, but he intended to return to Dia's home so that he may have her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, however, Theseus was soon sent off to Crete to deal with another bull problem overseas, and Dia had to leave her home to avoid an arranged marriage. After this and up until her death, she became a Maenad, a member of the retinue of Dionysus, and thru him became associated with the Eleusisian mysteries. When she died, her body was transformed into a carnation. Later, in Elysium, she reunited with King Theseus, and helped him again, this time in the task of bringing Asterius to Elysium! Within the blessed fields, she works as a librarian. She's a rather sweet girl for the most part, and tries her best to be kind to others. However... she can also be a bit arrogant and self centered as well. She's very stubborn and headstrong when she needs to be, but also won't hesitate to give up on a task if it proves to be too much- she's very concerned for her own rest and relaxation, after all. When it comes to Theseus and Asterius, she often has to remind them to take breaks as well! Silly funfacts: ~ She writes gay fanfiction of heroes even more ancient than those of greece. ask her about her gilgamesh/enkidu yaoi collection (don't actually ask her she'll get embarassed) ~ within a plaza of elysium, there's a board within the plaza where shades can come by and pin things they've written. one user of this board is only known as "championsgirl01" and writes some very passionate posts... most of them in defense of the king himself.

~ Her favourite flower is actually the sunflower, but she also loves pink roses and carnations, her namesake. ~ She collects merch of the champions, and is the vice president of their fanclub. She also watches every match! ...In reality, though, she really doesn't care that much about the sportmanship thing. She just likes watching sweaty buff guys battling it out. ~ Friends with Patroclus, Achilles, Dusa, and surprisingly, Alecto. Has a weird frenemies thing with Zagreus. Co-workers with Hypnos but he's always asking what Asterius is up to which makes her look at him with daggers in her eyes </3

[mashamorevvna]

2 & 5 for whoever you’d like (for the character asks :))

ayyy thank you much pal for the ask 🥹🥹gonna go with my warden aeducan simply bc there's so much wrong with her psychologically& emotionally lmao

ask game here!!

2. How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

months lmao!! even with games i know really well like dao it always takes me the time to complete a full playthrough to get a personality even halfway sketched. i start with a rough outline of some choices (spare loghain, bhelen as kind, alistair romance who gets shanked in the back at the landsmeet) but it takes me so long (approximately, in this instance, 6 months) to put the pieces together coherently

5. How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

its a greek mythology reference (likely thing for me to say) to ariadne& the minotaur. specifically it was about envisioning the deep roads, a subterranean network of ruins much in the same way that the labyrinth is beneath crete, and also likewise haunted by the personification of some social shame (darkspawn and minotaur respectively). so the whole concept was to have a character shift from being ariadne (whose princehood is based upon stepping over ruins and shame and seeking elevation&liberation from it) to then become the minotaur (the personification of the family's shame), and the name is a nod to that. relevant marriage of cadmus and harmony quotes lmao:

Daedalus, the Athenian, designs a building in Crete that hides behind stone walls both mystery (the pattern of the dance) and shame (Asterius, the Minotaur). From that day on, the mystery is also the thing you are ashamed of.

And just as the craftsman Daedalus had had to in vent an inanimate object to allow the mother to love the bull, so now he had to invent another object, the labyrinth, to conceal the son. The Minotaur would be slain, Pasiphae was to die in captivity and shame.

If the power of metamorphosis was to be maintained, there was no alternative but to invent objects and generate monsters.

[dizzyspice717]

I want a comic or story where once Ariadne becomes a goddess after Dionysus marries her, she goes back to Crete and breaks her brother Asterius/Asterion (the Minotaur) out of his prison cue sibling shenanigans, except it’s a newly formed and wifed up goddess and her half bull brother

[oliver-ashcroft-documents]

what's the point in living with an immortal minotaur if you're not even going to seduce him 😔 /j

@asterius-of-crete

Oh? Seduction is what you’re asking for?

Seduction is what you’ll get ;)

[amaliadillin]

YES. When I learned his name he became REAL for me. Asterion, Prince of Crete, my poor sweet beast! Also when you frame him within the context of his birth: PRINCE OF CRETE, you realize--wait. ARIADNE WAS HIS SISTER. HE WAS HER BROTHER. ARIADNE HELPED KILL HER OWN BROTHER.

I have SO MANY FEELINGS about the two of them, I won’t lie.

The Bull of Minos, the Minotaur.

“the starry one” Asterion, Prince of Crete

[noxsylvania]

An Intro to Mother of the Apocalypse

A graphic novel for the future [it's just scripts and concept art] set in the [still in early playtest] TTRPG Tragoedia: Tales of Tragedy, a game based off the Greek Tragedies.

About our Band of Heroes:

Our story focuses on a prophesied Apocalypse and the people determined to stop it. Our titular Mother of the Apocalypse, has been prophesied to bring upon the Apocalypse when she turns 100 years old and our heroes have very little time before this day is to come.

Asterius, alongside his adoptive father Alexios, begin their journey to find a way to stop the Apocalypse without having to kill Armageddon, an innocent woman who's only crime was being born. Along the way we meet Damrina, the daughter of a healer who befriends Asterius, and Khaos, an agent of Mechanus, the deity of Time.

They clash with the monsters, men, and gods on their quest to save the world, who knowssss if they'll be able to stop it in time?

The rest is mostly spoilers for the actual story so I won't get into it too much.

Gods also play a strong role in this story of destiny and defying it. It's easier to just explain the pantheon. So anyways.

The Ataraxian Gods:

The Ataraxian Gods are all split into to categories with nine gods each. Every god is the parallel to a god in the other pantheon. We've got the Komoidic Gods, the gods of Peace and Revelry. And the Tragonic Gods, the gods of Hardship and Grief. This isn't really a "good gods vs bad gods" the Tragonic Gods are just as much a part of everyday life as the Komoidic Gods are.

AND HERE'S THE NIGHTMARE ASTERIUS FAMILY TREE THAT TOOK FOREVER TO MAKE AND STILL LOOKS BAD:

The World of Tragoedia and the Ataraxian Isles:

Tragoedia is a world where stories give things power. Jinan Al Amin, a Folklorist, came up with a description for how it all works… that will be explained when I release my game. The planet itself, has nine moons and planetary rings. As seen in this comic.

The Ataraxian Isles are based off the Aegean Isles, with the southernmost islands based more off Crete. The time period in the graphic novel is based off of around 5th century BCE, with the game being much more modern, based off of the late 1800s and early 1900s of these regions.

However in both the GN and the TTRPG there are steampunk and cyberpunk elements in the forms of magitech.

The Ataraxian Isles are a Theocracy, led by the Priestesses and Priests of Mechanus, advised by the Oracles of Phantasia.

Humans are not the only humanoid peoples inhabiting the island. As I get further into playtest of Tragoedia y’all will see more of that in my art!!

Anyways that’s all on that for now, again it’s all in very very early stages, it’ll be years before I finish MotA and Tragoedia, but I like sharing everything but my scripts and confidential stuff so y’all will see a lot of it!!

If you wanna follow more about TToT and MotAs sister story: The Blackened Skies, check out my TTRPG sideblog @lichpire :]