I've been re-listening to Brandy's Cinderella and I am, unfortunately, incredibly weak for the Cinderella story now that I'm older and done being an edgy teenager at all times. Now that I am an adult who is drinking and mildly tipsy, I can combine my favorite current thing (HADES 2) with my favorite princess trope right now (CINDERLLA)
So theres the Hypnos version and the Melione version. Honestly, I'm a bit more taken by the Mel version right now because reverse love stories just move me horribly. So that'll be the focus.
WaxWitch under the cut, no spoilers for Hades 2 other than characters who appear and possible canon interactions compared to this au. Long post WOOP WOOP...
So obviously Cinderella in this au is Icarus and The Prince, now Princess, is Melione. Icarus wouldn't really be the step child under the wicked step mother but just because I'm iffy on the actual lore of the myth and his canon relationship with his father during life in the game, I'll be taking to liberty to say it wasn't great and he very desperately wants to get out of his house and 'spread his wings', so to speak (crowd loudly cheers because I said the thing).
Anyway so similar to the plot of the film, Melione is the princess and daughter of the king and queen. This could be a simple, "Mom, Dad and Brother are back and life is good" set up or "Mel is all that's left of the royal line with her tutor/ god parent turned Adoptive mother as queen" either works, doesn't reeally make a difference. whatever,
So they meet in the main square and Melione is instantly taken by the tinkering boy who dropped his basket of apples or whatever he was doing. They get to talking and eventually one of them has to go but they promise to meet again.
So they do. Again and again and again. For years they continue meeting once a week, every week, regardless of everything else. Melione finds someone soft and kind, someone with a mind that never stops moving and expects nothing from her in terms of revenge or strength. She finds someone painfully mundane and it's refreshing, at first, to be around someone so simple. As they grow together she wishes her dearest Icarus could have more, could have everything this world has to offer. Everything he deserves and more.
Icarus is instantly in love with her. First because the pretty young princess is talking to his pitiful self, both of them the tender age of 15 with nothing to show for it but difficult personalities and a need to prove something, but his love for her just grows and grows with each passing day. He pushes himself to create more and more to amuse Melione with little bobbles and simple wooden figures, then to help Melione ease the day to day humdrum of her classes with paper weights and dynamic knife sheathes, then to aid with her trainings then to help rest her mind. He loves how she laughs and how humble she is even though she of all people need not be humble. How she insists on cleanliness and everything being in its rightful place. How she's such an ass about gardening and how specific soil must be and how seeds are placed. She has a mole on her wrist and she always blushes and groans when her aid called her 'minnow'. How she would have these moments of contemplation, of grief and mourning for a family she never knew. Everything about her entranced him and it somehow just got worse with each years they knew each other. And with that longing came the gap between them widening. Eventually her royal training lessons began, to prepare her to take the throne one day, and that only solidified the distance between them. Maybe that's why things went wrong.
Shit hit the fan during their last day together. He flew too close to the sun with one project, inviting on strengthening himself with her help. Maybe he knew, even then, that he was too weak to be hers. Maybe he was just a headstrong child. Doesn't really matter either way. She got hurt, lost and arm, and he made himself scarce. It was pretty cut and dry (ha) by that point.
A few years later and Melione is at an age to find a consort. Continue the line. No one catches her eye, no one can after the one boy who had her heart left her without even a final goodbye.
So her mother plans a ball to find her a consort. Any and all eligible youth in the kingdom are invited. It's a massive affair. Icarus wasn't going to go, how could he in his ratty ruined inventor's clothes and scorned name. Why, the guards would probably pierce him dead the moment he walked up to the steps of the palace. Rightfully so, of course, but he can't shake this feeling that he needs to go. To see her again.
That's when his fairy god mother appears, [I am not at all picky about who, I think Aphrodite because LOVE idk, but anything works] and she convinces him to go even though he thought it was impossible. He's dressed to the nines, perfectly clean and gorgeous. He barely recognizes himself without the grease one his clothes and bags under his eyes. He rides a wax carriage, and is warned that by 12 everything made for him will melt, leaving him bare, wanting and painfully himself. He sets off at once.
Somehow, Melione doesn't either. A few years and a change of clothes does a lot clearly. But the moment they lock eyes as he comes down the stairs, clad in blue and glass slippers she's entranced. They dance and dance and almost struggle to share words because they're too busy basking in each other's company. It's just so easy. Melione hasn't felt ease like this since... well.
After hours together they escape to the garden, to enraptured with the other to allow another suitor to steal a glance, let alone a dance. They begin talking about their lives and what they want from this ball, and they get close as they speak in hushed whispers between them. Eventually the moment gets too tender, too sweet and they kiss, lulled into each other. Its heavenly.
But, it's late. Too late, even. Icarus can't bare to say who he is and Melione can't bare to let him go. Time, unfortunately, cares for neither. With a final kiss Icarus leaves and Melione is left watching as he runs away, leaving nothing but a single shoe on the steps...
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Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.
I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.
... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.
Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.
NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!
The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.
Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?
They're level 13.
At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.
At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.
While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.
Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?
The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.
Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.
Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.
It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.
This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.
They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.
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murder time trio should get to all experiment with dead bodies. why? because they can and it would be cool (okay but seriously i'll provide an explanation). all these freaks are scientists. i think it would be cool and funky if they all got to experiment! except morbidly and bloodily because none of them are right in the head now
killer like has his whole thing with wanting SOULs for some unspecified reason??? i'm just gonna steal the common interpretation that it's so he can find a way to fix his own soul through coding. but like,,,, what does he do with the desd bodies??? all the fellas he stole those souls from??? well this is where dust and horror come in
it's One Panel and i'm ABSOLUTELY reaching here but there's a (single) panel in horrortale where horror's pulling apart some sort of human limb like an arm with a device. why? what for? i dont fucking know at all man like papyrus said why is he always doing something weird in his room. anyways i'm just gonna guess its probably for rationing in horrortale (but it could also be that horror just felt like ripping apart an arm. for scientific purposes. or because he did this after ripping off aliza's arm so maybe he's doing some sort of recollection reflection or something i dunno im not a professional on this man). killer could totally send all the already dead HUMAN bodies horror's way for horrortale's food situation. maybe horror likes to dissect the humans yk maybe he's not just the type of bash (a head open) and dash. monsters dust so you cant see their guts but humans dont so horror gets prime time first hand experience on the human body! and then after he's done poking around in the brain he can give the meat and organs to papyrus for him to do his specific spaghetti confectionery
but but but what about the monsters that killer takes the souls from! surely he doesn't just take from only humans (dude idk if he actually does take from only human or monster. probably not right? he needs to study BOTH types of code so he can be most informed) so he must also take monster souls. and fortunately for dust (i do NOT think he'd quite like handling gore) monsters don't leave behind bodies or blood or allat they leave behind dust. hah. dust experiment with dust. i think its already a headcanon out there that dust likes to study dust. i cant exactly recall WHY exactly but maybe it's for sentimental reasons or just something to do to pass time between resets. so killer can just pass on whatever dust he gets to him and he can put it under his little microscope and be a little nerd what a GEEK. give this guy glasses and remove all his teeth but one i guarantee you he'll look like 🤓
and once again i hear you cry out but but triglycercule! why would killer even give the dead bodies and stuff to horror and dust in the first place??? erm number one because i said so silly. jk. and number two (if we're going in a nightmare's gang context here) it could be as a way for killer to gain horror and dust's trust. a way for them not to tattle on him for stealing souls for some unknown reason. maybe there's somehow important coding information left behind in the bodies/dust (because that's literally what utmv is made of) and killer wants dust and horror to do that work for him for some reason. maybe just a way for him to get rid of evidence maybe if theyre buddy pals and close enough just as a gift. i dunno man there's a bunch of reasons as to why he could possibly do this. i just really liked the thought of the trio all wearing fancy lab coats and goggles and i was like damn how can i make this a real possibility
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Day 5
Madara is running, mind trying to keep up with everything that just happened. Take a left and then a right, there’s a contact there that can help. He feels blood dripping down his arm but he has to keep going. The shouts behind him are getting louder so he takes a left instead of a right, hoping to find a place to hide for a moment and catch his breath.
He has to make it to the meeting point and get his arm checked out before his date with Leo later. If he has to cancel again over this… He’ll make it. He has to.
Madara must have bled more than he thought at first. He’s stumbling and it’s harder to breathe and he almost doesn’t notice when he runs into someone else until that familiar voice cuts through the fog.
“Mama? Mama are you okay?” Why is he here? Did he have something going on? Madara tries to turn around, find a different place to hide. He can’t talk about this right now, not with Leo. Leo grabs his hand and Madara is too weak to pull away.
“I’m fine, Leo-san.” The shouts that were following him seem to be getting quieter. They must have taken the bait. He relaxes just a little bit. “I have somewhere I need to--” He collapses before he can finish, everything goes blurry and he has to force himself to focus on Leo’s voice. He can tell that someone’s speaking but he can’t tell if it's himself or Leo. Stay awake stay awake stay awake.
He feels his lips moving and he’s trying to say something while Leo is on the phone and applying pressure to Madara’s arm. Please don’t leave. I love you I love you I love you. Leo places a hand on his face and forces Madara to look up at him. Leo is saying something but Madara can’t hear it. I’m sorry you had to see me like this. Leo looks stressed. Madara caused this. He needs to leave before he makes it worse but Leo pushes him down when he tries to stand. His arm is throbbing.
Someone hands Leo a bottle which Leo then puts to Madara’s lips, cool water quenching a thirst he didn’t realize he had. His head clears just a little bit and he can hear Leo finally. Stay with me Mama, please stay awake. I love you too.
There’s more talking and Leo is pulled away while the emergency responders put Madara on a stretcher and put him in the ambulance. He tries to grab Leo, get them to let him into the ambulance as well, but they just strap his arm to his side and begin to assess the damage.
Madara wakes up in the hospital, Leo sitting in the chair next to his bed. Leo tackles him in a hug before he can say anything and the nurses are running in to check on his vitals. He’ll be okay but he won’t be released until tomorrow.
“I’m sorry, Leo-san. I really wanted--”
“What’s going on? Don’t lie to me.” Leo’s voice cracks.
“I was… trying to protect you. There are a lot of people who want to hurt you and I can’t…”
“I can make my own decisions, Mama.”
Madara doesn’t speak. He opens his mouth but any words he could say die on his lips.
“I know you want to protect me but I don’t want you to get hurt because of me either.”
“I know.”
There’s silence and Madara is afraid Leo might finally break things off. His cheeks are wet and he refuses to look at Leo. Instead, Leo grabs his hand and squeezes it.
“I love you. I don’t want to see you hurting.”
He was much more serious than the Leo Madara knew and loved. He couldn’t bear to see Leo hurting either, especially if he was the cause.
Madara squeezed Leo’s hand and made a silent promise that he’d be more careful from now on. Something had to change and continuing to get hurt like this wasn’t helping anyone. Maybe someday they could be happy together with nothing to worry about, but he would have to work to make that happen.
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