#because Melinoë deserves better in her head

[some-overlyrandom-stuff]

I don't think that Hecate doesn't see Melinoë as a daughter to be honest.

It's just speculation of course, but from their interactions I get the feeling that she does, and feels extremely guilty about it: Hecate says that, unlike her, Persephone could have taught her "so much more"

Hecate (again, speculation based on the interaction I've seen so far) thinks that the only thing she taught Melinoë is to be a weapon in the fight against Chronos and that may be okay is she's just the "Headmistress", but not if she's her "Mother"

Interesting detail but Melinoe never seems to think about Persephone in the game I've noticed. She broods about Hades and Zagreus, but never thinks about her mom all that much. And it's likely cause she doesn't crave a mother figure when she's got one in Hecate right?

So when she tells Hecate so and Hecate rebuffs that so strongly and so vehemently just ugh. Mel's italicized "Oh" afterwards - you can practically feel the heart shatter/psychic damage in that very second. Hecate put her on the spot to think about this woman she has no connection to, hasn't really thought much at all really, and see her as mom as opposed to Hecate, whom she now has confirmation doesn't see her in the maternal way Mel imagined her to be.

And to think Mel blames herself (her existence really) for the schism that led to Chronos taking over the House. God more than Zagreus, I think Melinoe meeting Persephone is going to be fascinating af.

[codenamethebird]

Ok here's a little (not really) analysis/theory post about Hades 2, because I'm obsessed. Its consumed all my thoughts. And I need to talk about a theme I think will (hopefully) be addressed as the game progresses.

Here's some examples of dialogue that starts to touch on this conflict between mortals and the gods. What exactly do mortals deserve? We also have literal Icarus "flew too close to the sun" here too (and probably Pandora). Chronos was able to sway many to his side with a promise of a golden age without the gods, which is presented by the narrative as a foolish venture. And not saying it isn't, or that Chronos is the secret good guy here, but I believe Chronos is taking advantage of a very real hurt that exists for mortals.

This line from Nemesis really stood out to me, because it implies that while mortals have a concept of evil, the gods don't. Which sounds ridiculous but the more you think about it makes total sense. The gods in Hades (and just greek myth in general), are kind of the worst. They are petty and selfish, they literally attack you if their boon isn't picked first, and most vitally in this context, often utterly disregard mortals.

For example, one of the things that drove me a little crazy in Hades 1, was how chill everyone was with Demeter's never ending winter. Demeter was killing possibly millions upon millions of mortals and everyone else just sort of let it happen. Maybe complained a bit because it was annoying to them, but just stood by. And that's just one example. Mortal's have a very valid reason to hate the gods.

And considering we have more areas of the surface to explore that aren't out yet, I have a feeling Melinoë is going to be meeting some of these discontent mortals. And my hope is they are going to be nuanced characters, that will challenge Melinoë not just in a fight, but her very ideals.

Because Melinoë is very deferential to the gods, waaaaaay more that Zag ever was. Unlike Zag, who was more like a bro to them and was willing to suck up to them for personal gain, Melinoë seems to genuinely mean all the respect she gives them. She praises them, defends them when they are insulted, and just generally very polite to them.

In a smaller scale, she describes Hypnos as having a wisdom about him and can somehow sense her intensions while asleep. Which as Nem implies, the version in Melinoë's head doesn't exactly line up with reality (though sidebar, I am a believer in Chekov's Hypnos and that he's going to somehow save the day and put Chronos in a never ending sleep or something, but that's beside the point haha).

Melinoë's reverence to the gods makes total sense of course. She was denied her family and a happy childhood, and because of that has glorified them all in her head. The Olympians are sending her vital aid on her holy mission for vengeance and to save her family, even as their own home is being attacked, how honorable of them!

And I think part of Melinoë's arc is that perfect picture of them breaking into pieces. Yes, they are the better of the two options between them and Chronos, but that doesn't mean they aren't also kind of the worst. That mortals deserve better than frivolous gods that can decide on a whim their fates for better or worse (love u Moros but I'm still fucked up over you and your sisters giving mortals horrible doom endings when you were bored. At least he feels bad now but still. Perfect example of gods even when not intending to having horrific consequences for mortals). And maybe like how Zag healed relations with his family, Melinoë can start repairing relations between the Gods and Mortals.

[missionkitty]

seeing the olympians from the underworld

this might turn into a bit of a rambling essay, so bear with me--i've been doing a lot of thinking about zagreus' interactions with the olympian gods and melinoë's interactions with them. i did a little bit of rambling on the official hades 2 discord, but i want to let myself wander through these ideas a little more freely on here.

i will be talking openly about all available spoilers in the hades 2 early access and for hades 1, so be ye warned.

so essentially. i am. becoming very very invested in how we are seeing so many examples of the olympians' wrath and pettiness as we take melinoë through the underworld and olympus, especially as i've been doing the surface path to get better against prometheus and just hearing all the stuff he's been saying before and after every fight.

(did you know that prometheus says he keeps his wounds open to remind him of his anger and rage against the gods? and also says...that aetos, the eagle, appreciates it?--the implication being that he still lets aetos eat his liver? yum! friendship!)

with zagreus, we saw shades of this pettiness and vindictiveness with the trials of the gods and especially learning about the circumstances of persephone ending up in the underworld. and of course you get hades talking about how cruel and short-sighted the olympians could be, but until a certain point you wouldn't be blamed for taking what he says with a grain of salt because hades can be such a curmudgeon.

however, we don't see much of their dealings with mortals since zagreus is bound to the underworld and unable to be above ground for too long. we get little flashes here and there of what mortal life is like from the shades milling about the house of hades, but ultimately the story is of the dysfunction of the relationship surrounding olympus, hades and his house, persephone, and zagreus.

but now? with the gates of the underworld burst open and erebus overrun and overgrown, so many of the other people, figures, and shades we meet as melinoë have been punished or cursed or affected (derogatory) by the olympian gods in some way or another…just off the top of my head:

arachne, heracles, and prometheus are the big three for now (echo could also be included, but as far as i've seen, it hasn't been explicitly stated what happened to her--however if you're familiar with greek mythology, she is another casualty of that trademark olympian vindictiveness from a certain queen of the gods)

to perhaps underline this common thread of punishment...retaliation, even, it's all started with chronos seeking revenge on the gods who cut him into pieces and spread him across tartarus. (not to say that he...may not have deserved being deposed as such. but let me pull on that thread another day.)

and this "resurrection" of chronos opens the scope of what melinoë is allowed to see of her olympian relatives as compared to what zagreus is able to discover.

like. i really want to see zag and the house of hades safe and with mel, but i also really want to see what a reckoning for the olympians would look like if that's the case.

with hades 2 being in early access and the next update likely not coming for some time, i'm sure specific beats and details will change once the game is fully released, but i like this idea of the olympic gods having to actually, truly face consequences for their very mortal moments of anger and retaliation against whatever perceived slights or threats they've encountered.

mel is in such an interesting place, in terms of her character and the trajectory of her life and where a character arc would go, and the way prometheus keeps calling her "agent of change"…she's, understandably, got a big stake in stopping chronos--but it's also kind of put her in a spot to see the ugliest and most vindictive parts of olympus.

she's close friends with arachne. she's met heracles and seen where he stands as a demigod in the eyes of the olympic gods. she knows the tales of prometheus stealing fire from olympus (and apparently delivering reason personally from athena) to give to mortalkind, even at risk of his own near-eternal mutilation.

i must wonder what she would think of learning the truth of how zeus kidnapped and "gave" persephone to hades as he was sent to become lord of the underworld. of the risk of impending war that accompanied zagreus endlessly working to escape from the underworld and deceiving the olympians to find his mother.

(don't get me started about the connection between dora and prometheus...that's a whole other can of worms. or box. or. jar.)

at the moment, i can see a very fraught emotional journey for mel ahead, especially once we reach the final surface biome and boss. however, as it stands with the path ending after prometheus, she doesn't really have the time or desire to do much more than save and defend the family she knows she has.

which, at the moment, is in the underworld--hades shackled in adamant chains, her mother and brother and the rest of the house of hades frozen in a single moment of time.

and atop olympus--trying to drive back chronos' forces.

the fact that she's been trained for so long to be the titan-killer, the person who's supposed to unseat chronos from the underworld, has painfully and sharply formed her views of anyone who places themselves in opposition to her quest. it wasn't lost on me just how much she disparages prometheus and chronos for being titans, yet being raised and loved by hecate and selene--titans themselves.

hecate even calls her out on it, that their titan-hood does not predetermine their loyalties (as her mentor was the one she was disparaging titans to!! like, girl, the lack of self-awareness!!) but mel's response to it felt...inspiringly disaffected, to me.

melinoë has had her views shaped by her hatred of chronos for so long that it's going to take something pretty significant to tip her mental scales. i...don't think it'll be pretty, if she's turned to face that olympic reckoning. it won't be great for chronos, no matter what. but i also think the olympians owe the mortals penitence. i think they owe the cthonic gods some penitence too.

(sorry, side note. can we talk about how a significant amount of olympus just assumed...after EVERYTHING zagreus and persephone went through, that they just suddenly decided to go no-contact or something? like. especially zagreus? just suddenly not sending messages anymore? mr. talkative family man himself? anyway.)

wishful thinking on my part, i want zagreus to play a role in helping mel recalibrate. or maybe he encourages mel to find the answers for herself, much like he had to. to decide for herself what she wants to do.

ahh, anyway. i think that's all of my thoughts for now. do you have anything to add? anything i might have missed? i haven't been keeping screenshots or records of the lines i've heard until very recently--i do plan on starting a fresh file when v1.0 drops, to experience everything all over again. i'll likely revisit this once we get the whole story and see if i was anywhere close.

for now, i guess i'll just leave you with this line from prometheus:

"...If you could see what I've foreseen, you'd not believe it anyhow."

maybe it's a reference to early access being likely to change before full access.

or maybe...the world will be irrevocably transformed by the "agent of change" and what she will see.

[bluebird-in-a-cagedrawing]

Nightmare AU part 26

Panel 1:

Sky Coeur the detective:"I will propose to Nishya the dream cat in this afternoon..."

Polestar the star sprite:"Wonderful, i know exactly the best bakery for the wedding cake!"

Le souris bonbon neige:"Wait, my big brother is getting married?I don't have any plans for the bachelor party, i'm such a failer little brother in the world!"

Hester the photo marksmen:"I've heard about a proposal possible a marriage?"

Panel 2

Luna the moon demon:"This time better be true, i haven't eat a piece of cake in ages."

Hester the photo marksmen:" Oh, and here i thought you want me to propose to you too Lunica... My dreams are crushed, woah..."

Faith the head rabbit:"Back off, masked man, my master deserve only the best!"

Amstran the moon dancer:"We should buy them a wedding gift!"

Le souris bonbon neige:"Why in the world the stuff is so expensive here?!"

Yan-naifu the ghost:"Because things that cost a lot of money is the usual nightmare in your world."

Felix Reddison:"That and rich people, some of us are rich so it doesn't bother us too much, plus we have jobs that are paid well, that are the employer nightmare in the real world!"

Red the fortune teller:"Let me guess, finding quality stuff is also a nightmare?"

Panel 4

Doctor bird:" I just need a few more wires and there this should be enough!"

Luciano the candle of secrets:"When will the machine be complete?"

Doctor bird:" I'm afraid i will need more lab rats since the others were disposable!"

Growlian:"I've heard that Doctor, our master won't be very kind to us if this machine of your doesn't work properly."

Duo the ballon prince:" What if we hunt down the marshmallow demon?"

Growlian:"The marshmallow demon is perfect for the machine, yes...But don't harm her too much, she is mine, will become my perfect puppet."

Luciano the candle of secrets:"We tried to put her children in danger but that didn't get us anywhere, hasn't change her form at all."

Moon on fire:"Then i propose to do something more drastically, it won't be enough if we attack them, Melinoë the princess of nightmares can change them one against another."

Clause the assassin king:"Till then we need to lure them, killing more villagers for the machine will certain catch their attention."

Growlian:"I will send our special crows to spy on them, where they are we will know."

Luna the moon demon:"So now that you are married what it will be? Nishya Coeur the dream cat, Nishya the dream cat Coeur or just Nishya Coeur?

Felix Reddison:" That is wonderful, you can take the brown with yellow room it has some roses painted as a pattern, what flowers would you prefer, have you thought about the food meniu?

Yan-naifu the ghost:"We have so many to prepare, our friends are getting marry!"

Lumboo the light ghost:"I just heard the news, congratulations you two!"

Nishya the dream cat:"Thank you, Lumboo the light ghost, would you like to be one of our best man?"

Le souris bonbon neige:"Come on, Amstran the moon dancer, get a break, we deserve this! Working extra hard is not too good for our health!"

Felix Reddison:"We are here to unite this man with this woman in the Holy Sacrament of Marriage..."

Luna the moon demon:"I always cry at weddings..."

Faith the head rabbit:"Woah, weakling, sniff sniff... So beautiful, this is the first marriage i attempt too... Woah..."

Felix Reddison:"Will take each other at good and the bad, at health and sickness, at poor and rich... Till death do them apart... If there is anyone who knows a reason they can't be married speak now or forever be silent!

Red the fortune teller:"My little sister is so beautiful and happy, i'm so glad she found someone!"

Sky Coeur the detective:"With this ring i seal our marriage, making you my oficial wife, i give my word that i will love you at bad and good time till death do us apart!"

Nishya the dream cat:With this ring i seal our marriage, making you my oficial wife, i give my word that i will love you at bad and good time till death do us apart!"

Felix Reddison:"You can kiss the bride!"

Luna the moon demon :"Congratulations!Wish you the stone house and many children to come in the future!"

Nishya the dream cat:" I will never get used to Mrs Coeur name, hehe!"

Sky Coeur the detective:"I'm the luckiest mouse in the world, in so happy to have you Nishya the dream cat... Thank you!"

Nishya the dream cat:"And I'm the luckiest cat in the world, finally we are together as a family!"

Sky Coeur the detective:"This day is now on my collection as one of my happiest days album!"

Part 1 till part 25