#natakas my beloved

[celestial1980slady]

"Stay safe, my love..." || "Kiss me before I go..."

Photo creds: Me (not like anyone is going to steal a Kasskas photo but lol)

[pimsri]

Oh to choose each other no matter the consequences

[strangesmallbard]

okay here are my thoughts on most of the kassandra romances in ac odyssey:

odessa: incredible friends with benefits energy. she’s also shady and overly confident, traits i love in a woman. nothing much here, but a solid first romance. 6/10

roxana: their scene on the mountain is SO sweet and fun, also peak friends with benefits vibes with a hint of something more. 7/10

lykaon: if you’re into soft dudes, he’s pretty soft. not my cuppa, but not offensive. 5/10

daphnae: the sheer concept of a daughter of artemis falling for the warrior woman destined to take her place is fucking incredible, but i was craving more relationship development onscreen. 6/10

anais: childhood best friends to lovers to friends with history because our differences are irreconcilable my BELOVED! i loved how regular and grounded this romance felt. it was nice to see someone love kassandra for who she is, and accept that she can’t be everything too. and kassandra is SUCH a dad. 10/10

those two brothers added later on: in my lesbian onion, these quests are much funnier if you don’t like either of them. kassandra is just like “oh sweet, free brothers!” followed by “oh brother” when they declare their love.

alkibiades: he’s the only dude i had kassandra sleep with because there is nothing heterosexual about this relationship. bisexual 4 bisexual energy is off the CHARTS. men get pegged, etc. 8/10

diona: she could not have been less subtle about being a cultist, but she was very hot. this is the exact mental process i gave kassandra. 7/10

kyra: holy shit, i am devastated by this romance and the entire mykonos arc. when kyra throws a KNIFE at her head, and kassandra immediately falls in love. i think she’s one of the few options where kassandra clearly has romantic feelings, so the ending hits like a sack of bricks. 10/10

thaletas: i killed this man. 0/10

brasidas: not an actual romance, but an honorable mention because of the popularity. idk guys i don’t see it at all! they give me major siblings or uncle & niece vibes. i think kassandra trauma dumps because every older spartan guy is dadcoded to her. 0/10

natakas: look, i don’t hate natakas. he’s fine out of context. perfectly inoffensive. he has a nice face. however, i cannot get over the forced heterosexuality and birth situation! it leaves the worst taste in my mouth! i literally haven’t played ac odyssey since i found out! -5/10, i’m sorry natakas you’re very nice but get out of my house right now

aspasia: the biggest missed opportunity of this entire game. i am so disappointed by the last scene in the cult arc because like, aspasia disappears! we have no emotional connection to her! imagine if they had several run-ins during the main quest. imagine if aspasia actively helped you hunt the other cultists. imagine if ubisoft committed to her gaslight gatekeep girlbossing. i wanted unhealthy emotional attachment! i wanted manipulation! that kiss at the end should have HIT. anyway 10/10 the concept in my head, 2/10 the actual romance

[kassandratheeaglebearerblog-blog]

Who is the Eagle Bearer?

Chaire (Welcome) friends. As I am writing these words, I am still in Atlantis, waiting for the Heir of Memories. Greece as I knew it is long gone and the world around me is beyond recognition. The only reason I still live and can understand this peculiar language as well as use this strange device, which the Isu seemingly left behind in the ruins of Atlantis and you all seem to call ‘laptop’, is because of the Staff of Hermes Trismegistus which sustained me for over 2000 years to this day. It took me some time to understand how to use the ‘laptop’ but time is not something I am going to run short of. It is nice to get a way to catch up and see how the outside world is faring after years of absence from it.

Originally known as Kassandra of Sparta, I came to be known over the years as the Eagle Bearer, because of my pet eagle Ikaros, West Wind and Keeper. I was born in 453 BC in Sparta, Lakonia to Myrinne, who was not only my mater (mother) but also the daughter of King Leonidas of Sparta. The man who I called pater (father) was Nikolaos, the great general known as the Wolf of Sparta. My parents always pushed me to achieve excellence. Which might be why I was made to participate in the agoge despite being a girl. When I was 10, the cult of Kosmos made irruption in my life and convinced Nikolaos to throw me and my brother Alexios off of Mount Taygetos. People’s existence end on that mountain but my journey only then truly began. I made it to Kephallonia where I was raised by silly old Markos who moulded me into the Misthios (mercenary) I became.

With weathered sailor Barnabas and later Herodotos by my side, we embarked on a journey to find my mater and Alexios, as well as  seek answers from my steppater Nikolaos. The things I discovered were far beyond the knowledge and understanding of any mortal at the time. I have fought in too many wars. I have seen too many people die. I have walked from one end of the Earth to the other. As a misthios, I fought in the Peloponnesian war alongside valiant soldiers, dismantled the very cult which separated me from my mater, pater and Alexios, dismantled the other cult (Ancient Ones) which not only killed my beloved Natakas but forced me to leave my baby Elpidios in the hands of his grandpater Darius. I even fought the malákas minotaur, gorgon, cyclops and sphynx. On top of that, I made it to the underworld, met control freak Persephone in Elysium and chaotic Hades in the underworld, fought Cerberos, saw Atlantis in its golden age and made it back alive to tell the tale. Now, my modern fight for the daughters of Gaea (Earth) starts.

[shipsnthenight]

Thoughts on Ubisoft and DLC retcon, from an as objective POV as I can:

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m glad about Ubisoft’s decision to do something to fix the DLC ending, the whole thing is a complete mess on many levels and for many different reasons, mainly:

Level 1 - Not well set chronologically. At the end of Chapter 7 in the main story, there’s no way the character would just stop her/his quest to find her/his family (gonna go with “her” from now on) and just settle down.

Level 2 - Playing your character straight (or any other gender identity that includes heterosexual relationships) and not being able to refuse this outcome, being forced into a relationship with a character that Is absolutely not what you pictured your character falling for.

Level 3 - Playing your character gay/lesbian (or any other gender identity that doesn’t include heterosexual relationships) and not being able to refuse this outcome, being forced into a relationship that changes the desired character sexuality. 

That said, I’m extremely worried about what’s going to happen, for the following reasons:

This is NOT the first time a retcon like this has happened. I’ve compared this situation to the Mass Effect debacle multiple times in the past week. For those of you that don’t know the story here’s a quick recap, if you already know this, skip the small text:

Bioware released the ending of Mass Effect 3 which essentially boiled down to having a different colored filter over the same cutscene and resulting in the same outcome no matter what of the original three (or were there just two? don’t remember if the synthesis was added after) choices you had for the ending. Outrage by the entire fandom, petitions, protests, all kinds of shit, Bioware decides to release the “Extended Cut” which “would add major context and satisfy player blah blah blah”. It didn’t. People were initially happy with Bioware’s decision but when the Extended Cut was released it only added like 30 seconds to the ending cutscenes and other unimportant stuff that left players even angrier, only with the Citadel DLC it looked like something in regards of “closure” was achieved, but it wasn’t enough and to this day I think it isn’t.

So, because of this reason, I am worried that right now everyone is happy and hopeful, but we’re going to get burned all over again. Ubisoft isn’t Bioware tho, they don’t have EA breathing on their necks to squeeze as much money as possible from their players (they're pretty good at that on their own honestly), and from how they handled this and all the PR on AC Odyssey in general, it genuinely looks like they really care about this, more than usual, like... looks like they really took an emotional blow when they saw the reactions from the fans, so it’s possible that they’ll genuinely try to fix this in the best possible way. What is the best possible way tho?

Here comes my dilemma: how will they handle this?

Here’s what I know:  The “having a baby” part of the story was apparently pivotal in their view of Assassin’s Creed lore, many of us pointed out that there was no need for a bloodline since: 

The Animus no longer needs blood relatives to work.

At the and of the game Kassandra/Alexios will be immortal. 

Now, for the animus thing, I think (MY OPINION, NOT CONFIRMED) that since Ubisoft is known for giving AC games to their 2 different studios, and these studios don’t really communicate that much, I genuinely think that the studio that made Odyssey didn’t know about this Animus change that happened in Origins, so their view was correct, if based on “old” AC lore. 

I honestly can’t say I blame them if this was actually the case... AC lore is probably one of the biggest narrative messes I’ve ever seen (still here waiting for you guys to tell me what the Observatory in Black Flag is for). But still, TALK TO EACH OTHER GUYS.

Anyway, I’m getting to the point guys I promise. How will they actually fix this?

The way I see it they have two options:

One would be perfect, but it would take a lot of effort and money.

Another would be easier but would solve ONLY TWO of the “levels” I wrote at the beginning of this post, leaving the people on level 3 (the majority, and the ones that are most mad about this) still angry. That would be game over for Ubisoft, they’d never recover from that. 

OPTION 1:

The farewell option becomes an actual farewell, you don’t get together with Natakas/Neema, you don’t start a family, you don’t have a bloodline. Great, awesome, but how will this affect Episode 3?  This would require A LOT of work in terms of reshoots of Ep 2 and actual rewriting of Ep 3 (if they hadn’t already shot something for that too).

I saw from instagram that Melissanthi is in Greece right now, so they’ll have to get her and Michael back to reshoot stuff from Ep 2 and most likely add scenes, dialogue, choices, pathways to Ep 3. That would take time and A LOT of money for Ubisoft, money that they certainly have, but as a video-game company I find it hard to believe that they’d go to this length to fix this. I am ready to be pleasantly surprised tho, as I said before it really looks like they care about this AC game for a change.

OPTION 2 (this is what scares me)

The farewell option becomes an actual farewell, but they find a way for the baby to be born anyway (one-night-stand intensifies).  This would mean minor reshoots for the ending, next to no rewriting for Ep 3, and a lot of money saved for Ubisoft. So that’s why I’m worried that they decided to go with this option. 

Now, you know that I don’t have an actual problem with Kassandra sleeping ONCE with Natakas just because they were fooling around in the “at least there’s wine” scene and ending up having the baby BY HERSELF. I, personally (talking about ME, JUST ME, don’t take this as an attack on your person), could get behind that, but I know for a fact that this would make most of this fandom explode, and that would really be something that Ubisoft would not recover from. 

So here’s my word vomit, what do you guys think? This situation is so tricky and has the potential to either turn Ubisoft in one of the most “beloved” video-game companies out there or one of the most despised.

I didn’t touch on the fact that depending on how this goes, this creates a precedent for video-game companies that shows fans that they could get whatever they want if only they make enough noise... I’m not sure if this is a good thing in terms of the industry honestly, but that’s another matter.

[alethiometry]

kassandra, connor, edward

answered edward here! 😊

First impression

kassandra: loved loved LOOOOOVED her from the start! i saw a couple screenshots in a polygon review before i bought the game and thought she was just the prettiest damn jock i’d ever laid eyes on... and she still is. and from the very first line of the game (leonidas prologue notwithstanding) - the cyclops’ thugs yelling “HEY! SHITFACE!” to her while she’s just vibing on her roof - i was in looooooveeeee. her Scrappy Punk Energy is impeccable.

connor: i actually was kind of ambivalent towards him in the beginning! this was ofc coming off the way-too-long-and-boring haytham sequences, so although i was impatient to get to connor, i was also a little annoyed that there STILL seemed to be so much story before we could run around and be assassin-y. so although i liked him, it was hard not to be annoyed at the slow start of his story. i think it took until like sequence 5 or something for him to get a hidden blade. which, considering there’s only about 12 sequences in ac3, was kind of annoying.

Impression now

kassandra: i still adore her, but for even more reasons! i will never not love the feisty misthios with the conflict deescalation skills of a molotov cocktail side of her, but equally i love her devotion to her family in the main storyline, her justified rage and love for her son in the legacy of the first blade dlc, and even her exhaustion but eventual commitment to her (awful, no-good, horrible) destiny in the fate of atlantis dlc. it’s a little difficult to characterize kassandra definitively, because i think her development/arc is far more loosely constructed than other assassin’s creed protagonists, but in general she is presented as somebody who is humorous and loving and cocky and formidable and charismatic, and doesn’t buckle under the weight of all the responsibility she has taken on, or that has been thrust upon her. she rises to every challenge thrown in her way and comes out of it more resilient and always with that sardonic twinkle in her eye and a smartass comment at the tip of her tongue.

connor: WE STAN A CHARACTER WHO NEVER LOSES HOPE EVEN IN THE FACE OF LOSING HIS MOTHER, HIS HOME, HIS BEST FRIEND, HIS FATHER, HIS PEOPLE, AND HIS MENTOR. WE STAN A CHARACTER WHO SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH PEOPLE HE LOVES AND WHO LOVE HIM IN RETURN, WHO DOES EVERYTHING FOR OTHER PEOPLE OUT OF THE KINDNESS OF HIS HEART AND BECAUSE IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, WHO DEFENDS THOSE WHO CAN’T DEFEND THEMSELVES. WE STAN A CHARACTER WHO, WHEN BETRAYED BY PEOPLE HE THOUGHT WERE ALLIES TO HIS CAUSE, SEVERS HIS TIES WITH THEM BUT RATHER THAN SUCCUMBING TO CYNICISM CONTINUES TO DO GOOD AND FIGHT FOR JUSTICE AND FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE. WE STAN A CHARACTER WHO IS ANGRY AND STUBBORN AND CONFRONTATIONAL AND BRUTALLY EFFICIENT AT TAKING DOWN HIS ENEMIES, BUT IS ALSO BLUNT AND HONEST AND SELFLESS AND KIND AND COMPASSIONATE AND UNWAVERINGLY LOYAL TO HIS LOVED ONES.

Favorite moment

kassandra: i can’t just choose one are you fucking kidding me they’re all so good she is so good she is perfect and has literally never done anything wrong ever in her life and we know this and we love her

but her monologue/voiceover to elpidios at the end of legacy of the first blade as she sends him away for his own protection always breaks my fucking heart so maybe let’s go with that 😭

connor: there are once again so many to choose from, but if i had to pick just one... i’m really feeling that haytham-washington-connor scene rn. where haytham exposes that washington was behind the shelling of connor’s village and the death of his mother - clearly with the goal of getting connor to turn on the revolutionaries and see the world for the twisted, cynical place that haytham sees it as (he even says as much in his journal in ac forsaken). but instead of taking the bait, connor responds in his own way: he shows that he is not blind to the fact that washington has been using him this whole time, but also that he knows that haytham is trying to do just the same thing to him now. he immediately recognizes that haytham was waiting to spring this information on him and calls him out on it, and reminds both haytham and washington that he is not stupid, that his loyalty is borne out of his sense of right and wrong rather than naivete, and that his people come first. his people ALWAYS come first.

and maybe i’m just a sucker for monologues but the ac forsaken monologue that was recorded but never added into the game for some unknown godforsaken bullshit reason was so so so fucking good and if it had been included in the game i am sure it would be my favorite. “FOR AT MY SIDE WALKS HOPE??????????? T H A T  IS MY COMPROMISE???????????/” ✨🔥😲🌟🙌 ⁉ ⭐💯🙏‼😭👏😭🔥✨ BITCH WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!

Idea for a story

kassandra: i basically stuffed all my angsty kassandra ideas into one wip that i’m not sure if i’ll ever finish but love to daydream about. obviously endgame kassidas because, like, that’s my brand, but i also want to take the time to explore her relationship with natakas the way that ubisoft sure as shit fucking didn’t. it’s kind of an amphipolis fix-it and a legacy of the first blade fix-it all in one, if i can ever manage that. probably the most ambitious wip i’ve ever attempted. oh, and also she gets to raise her goddamn son and doesn’t get saddled with any of that keeper-of-memories bullshit. so in a way it’s just a fix-it for the entire goddamn game because kassandra deserved SO much better and i’ll never not be mad about it.

connor: in continuing the tradition of haytham leaving his journal for connor, i think it would be neat if connor kept a journal for io:nhiote. and i’ve rambled before about a connor sequel but you know what the more i talk about it the more i can maybe will it into existence. i think it would be neat if it was framed in a epistolic way where connor is preserving their family’s legacy as he discovers more and more about edward’s life, writing it all down for his daughter, similar to the way revelations was told through ezio’s letters to claudia. it would start in 1791 with connor traveling to the caribbean to aid the haitian brotherhood in the revolution, and it would take him all across the islands - to cuba, to new providence, to jamaica, to greater inagua. to all the places where edward had been. maybe there would be scraps of journals or message bottles with edward’s memories in them? and when the revolution has been won and connor has learned all he can about edward’s life, he travels to england to visit edward and tessa’s graves and to meet his last living relative: his aunt jenny. she’s old and dying at this point but she’s back at the kenway manor in queen anne’s square and after a little bit of trepidation (and maybe he shows her haytham’s journal or his hidden blade as proof that he’s not just some random dude) she lets him in. she tells him about her life and about haytham as a child, and the more she talks the more at peace she seems to be, and connor smiles and takes her hand and thanks her for letting him in, and she passes away quietly and painlessly. and the last thing he does in england before he heads back to his own family is visit his father’s childhood bedroom. he sees the same edward-ghost (like the altair-ghost at the beginning of acr) that he’s been following through animus-memory or eagle vision or whatever: only this time, it’s not some deep insight into assassin-ing or anything like that. all he sees is edward tucking haytham into bed on the night of his tenth birthday. UBISOFT FUCKING HIRE ME.

i also wouldn’t be opposed to a meet-cute type story for how connor meets his future wife, although it’s a story i would prefer someone else to write (to my exacting specifications ofc lol), rather than write it myself.

Unpopular opinion

kassandra: idk how popular/unpopular this is but i did find myself choosing a lot of the meaner dialogue options because although i think she does have a kind heart and feels genuine compassion for people, i think she is by nature a very blunt and often harsh person. i mentioned in the edward post that i think he and kass are kindred spirits, by which i mean i think they both have rough-and-tumble exteriors that they present to the world, and hold their loyalties and loved ones very close to their heart. they’re both exuberant and extroverted people who thrive as mercenaries but in their most vulnerable moments strive for something more long-lasting and stable and quiet. but where i think they differ is that kassandra is... just a little meaner/more abrasive?

connor: i don’t think i have any? i genuinely can’t think of any right now. connor is perfect and everyone knows it. nothing but respect to the king.

Favorite relationship

kassandra: romantically, obiviously it’s brasidas and/or roxana. i don’t think i need to go more into that. battle couples my beloveds 😍😘🥰

platonically, i of course love her relationship with her family. i would kill to have more endgame content with any surviving family members. i’d love a scene between kass and deimos and nikolaos, and a scene between kass and stentor and deimos. there is so much potential there and the game is so goddamn anticlimactic. and while i understand that some of that is because it’s already a long damn game and it’s difficult to program so many branching narratives and storylines and endings, i also... idk i just wish there was deeper relationship-building in the game

connor: i shipped him with miriam for a hot second until that french dude came along and swept her off her feet 😅 but mostly, as with edward, i don’t really him him romantically with anybody because i know he gets hitched later on in life and we don’t know anything about his wife. besides, there’s not a lot of hot singles in his area (rip). and he even says himself that he’s too busy to settle down just yet.

non-romantically, my favorite relationship/interaction is connor and haytham. they’re such a hot mess and i love it. i love how at odds they are ideologically, and yet despite the constant bickering and snapping at each other they still manage to work well enough together. and the fact that haytham can’t even define how he feels about the son he didn’t know he had and who seems to reject him at every turn, while connor continues to hold out hope that he can reconcile with his father.... but they’re both too goddamn stubborn to voice it... i should be angry with These Idiot Men for bottling up their feelings like this, but with these two, i get it. i get why they are the way they are, and i’m just here for the ride. they’re not passive-aggressive about it (well - haytham kinda is), they’re just aggressive. and i love that. the scene on the rooftop where haytham tells him “the only different - the only difference between myself and those you aid, is that i do not feign affection” is SO good. (i almost listed it as my favorite scene but i think i like the washington scene better bc it’s more indicative of connor’s character, whereas this one is more indicative of haytham’s)

Favorite headcanon

kassandra: can barely cook. it just wasn’t something myrrine taught her growing up, because as spartan nobles/royalty they probably had helots doing the cookiing (i think there’s at least one helot you see in one of the family flashback scenes), and she would have been way more interested in combat training with nikolaos anyway. and by the time she’s on kephallonia, i highly doubt markos would know how to cook much more than just the bare minimum for them to both survive. and she wouldn’t have access to the meats and spices that she probably grew up eating in sparta - just bread and cheeses, and fish if she can catch them. simple stuff that she can either prepare fairly easily, or that she can steal. essentially, my headcanon is that kassandra can prepare food just enough that she can feed herself (and eventually phoibe). but if you gave her like a chicken or a pig or some other animal and said “make it tasty” she would have no fucking clue what to do.

connor: i like to think that after achilles’ passing, he started taking in stray animals. the mansion is so big and lonely when it’s just him; he’s always lived in close quarters with other people, and as introverted as he is i think the solitude of the empty mansion is just way too fucking bleak. so obviously the solution is that he just starts bringing strays home. maybe it starts with an injured critter that he nurses back to health, or a dog or a cat that keeps following him around when he’s in boston/nyc. but much like how eivor eventually winds up with like 80 pets inside the longhouse, i like to imagine that at some point there’s like 3 dogs, and 2 cats that curl up in/around his bed at night, birds that repeatedly come and nest in the beams of the mansion roof year after year, deer that come by and nibble at the weeds/bushes by the cliffs, because connor may or may not go to great lengths to ensure that their favorite nibblin’ plants grow there year-round.

send me a character!

[celestial1980slady]

I just think they’re neat (aka I fecking love them) They aren’t supposed to be looking at each other - rather in separate places, thinking of one another. Ugh so romantic. 🥹

[celestial1980slady]

Natakas, my beloved.

Photo creds: Me

[celestial1980slady]

After some inspiration, I made a playlist for my Kassandra x Natakas story (it’s on ao3 btw)!

It follows the events of my story and it’s still a WIP but I’m posting it anyway. 🫣

Has some softer, more “mushy” songs bc that’s how they make me feel LOL 

[celestial1980slady]

Chapter 10 is finally live!! 😭

UPDATE: NEW CHAPTER IS LIVE!

My fanfic is finally on AO3!

I’ve been working on this damn thing since 2020! My writing has gotten way better as the years have passed so chapter 1 is a little rough but that’s okay! I have 9 chapters complete, and I’’m now working on chapter 10. Tis’ a labor of love!

BUT: Chapter 1, Chapter 1.5, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6, and Chapter 7, and Chapter 8, and Chapter 9, and Chapter 10 are live!

I’ve also also added chapters into a series (suggestion by some lovely friends of mine) so it is easier to find them/read them! Can be found here.

This fic is Kassandra/Natakas which I know is not most people’s cup of tea. I’m just advertising my work, okay? 😭 lol

[celestial1980slady]

AC Odyssey Rarepair/Rare Character Day: July 29th, 2023

Over on my server, a bunch of us were talking about a day like this and decided we very well should do it! This day will be to celebrate the lesser loved characters or the lesser known characters. Whether it's a ship pairing or simply an NPC you love dearly (will also accept animals or trees that don't get enough attention), this day is for you! 🥹 For example, Natakas/Kassandra would be a good ship for this as they are not a super popular pairing.

Or Iola the smuggler, would be another good example for this event as well.

You get the idea! Based off of @aeide and @findusinaweek's brilliant Brasidas Day earlier this month, it will be very similar. This will be a fantastic way to show off your niche art pieces, video edits, fanfictions, poems, photo mode photos, etc. You name it, we'll take it!

Remember to use the tag "ACOrare2023" in your post so we can see it!!!

This is supposed to be a fun day and a wonderful outlet for those who enjoy these ships/characters, so please be kind!!

Shoutout to these lovelies in the server who helped create this idea/were interested! @findusinaweek @aeide @cringy-username-dream-wanderlust @blue-mono 💜

[celestial1980slady]

HAPPY AC ODYSSEY RAREPAIR/RARE CHARACTER DAY!

The day has finally come! lol

Remember to use the hashtag #ACOrare2023 so we can all see your beautiful works/artwork/fanfiction/photo mode photos/etc! I wanna see it all!

Hope y'all who are participating have fun!

[celestial1980slady]

❤️ and 🐬 for ask game, please!

❤️: This is a hard question LOL. I feel like every chapter I write has a line where I was like "damn that's a good line" when I wrote it 😂 But I guess I have a couple favorites:

"Kassandra, I think you underestimate yourself, my love. You don't have to be defined by how you've lived your life for so long…this could be a new chapter. A new ‘job’ if you will…and you will not have to do it alone. You’ll never have to do anything alone again,"//"You are the fiercest misthios, that is true. But also, the fiercest lover and friend anyone could hope for. You will be a great mother, Kassandra. Avid in tough love perhaps, but love nonetheless," - Natakas to Kassandra

"I’m so sorry, Alexios. I had no idea. I suppose it would make sense to have this happen. You spent most of your life as Deimos. But now…Now, you get to be Alexios. And you can make Alexios whatever you want him to be. And I know that you don’t know exactly how to get there, but you have many around you now who are here to help you get there," - Kassandra to Alexios

🐬: The toughest character for me to write is Alexios I would say. He in himself is a bit lacking in personality (no offense we still stan!!) so it's hard not to just make him your own vision of him, so that's kind of what happened with my Alexios lol I have a side plot if you will of him dealing with post Deimos struggles so it's kind of hard not to automatically make him just straight up angry all the time, too lol. But I've tried to give him some joy and personal growth! 💜

[celestial1980slady]

Hey! For the ask game, I'm torn between asking about Surprise, Surprise and she's got issues. So either or both, if you don't mind!

Thank you for asking about either, I appreciate it!

I told aeide about surprise, surprise - here's the link! (spoilers) But she's got issues is further into my Kass x Natakas story (I think it's like supposed to be chapter 8 or 9? lol) and it involves my ocs I was talking about on the server the other day. Basically, oc is not a good person and nearly got Natakas killed, but they come back to Kassandra months later for help and it's kind of like "why the hell would we trust you, much less help you!?" Working on oc's character arch I guess lol Snippet under "read more" for anyone interested!

"Cleo…What are you doing here?" Kassandra bellowed, her hands curling into fists. Cleo put her hands out.

"Kassandra, I know…I know things are not ideal between us - but I…I need your help," she pleaded. Natakas looked at Cleo then at Kassandra with furrowed eyebrows. Kassandra scrunched up her face.

"Help? You've come to me…for help?" She said, in disbelief. Cleo nodded quickly. Kassandra looked at Natakas. The gave each other slightly unsure faces before Kassandra turned her head to her mother. Myrinne stood nearby, ready to pounce on Cleo. Nikolaos, Alexios, and Darius had positioned themselves behind Natakas and Kassandra. Barnabas and Herodotus were confused as they watched what was unfolding, until they realized who was visiting the home. It was clear, everyone who loved or cared for Kassandra and Natakas were ready to back them up.

"Why would you need my help?" Kassandra said cautiously, folding her arms back up with her head tilted up. ----------------- "Why should we believe you, of all people?" Natakas spoke up, with a spice in his voice he didn't often use. Kassandra nodded in agreement, her stern gaze returning to Cleo.

"You shouldn’t…but I am asking you to trust me on this!" She exclaimed. Kassandra shook her head.

"We will never trust you, Cleo!...But, if Eleni is in danger, we need to find her. What happened, then?" Kassandra said.

[celestial1980slady]

WIP Game: Surprise—I would like to hear about Surprise, Surprise.

Sure thing!

"Surprise, Surprise" is the 3rd chapter to my Kass x Natakas story (it is posted on ao3 but I am literally constantly going back and adding things to chapters LOL)

It is about Kassandra's family - Myrrine, Nikoloas, and Alexios (all Spartans 👀) meeting Natakas for the first time. As you can imagine, things are a little hairy at this discovery. Added bonus, Kassandra is already pregnant (and showing) when everyone meets up, so there's no going back. It's a nice dose of drama. ✨ Small snippet under "read more" for anyone interested!

“Come, let’s meet your betrothed and see your home!” Myrrine said, proudly already.

“Of course...It’s nestled up on top of a big hill in the next town. It’s a bit of a walk to Dyme, though,” Kassandra said pointing in the direction they needed to walk. That is when Myrrine turned around to face the way Kassandra was pointing, as did Nikolaos. And by extension, they had turned to face Natakas and Darius. Alexios stayed behind Kassandra. He had much less ties to this whole “Sparta” thing. He walked and stood beside Kassandra with his arms crossed, trying to show his support in case things went south. Kassandra could see him out of the corner of his eyes which made a smile tug at her lips. But, it was in vain. Myrrine saw Darius and Natakas at that point. Their skin was darker than Kassandra’s. Natakas had black hair. Their clothes were different. They just did not look...Greek, much less Spartan. They almost looked…Persian. Myrrine shook her head. Couldn’t be them, right? She gave them a smile that was as polite as she could make it, while walking past them.

“Pardon, Persians, we are just on our way to meet my daughter’s husband. The father of her child,” she said, without much empathy for them. Kassandra crossed her arms. Just as she was about to say that it was Natakas she was looking for, he spoke up himself.

“Pardon, ma’am, but that would be me,” Natakas said firmly, crossing his arms and putting on a more powerful stance. Myrrine stopped. She delayed turning around for a moment and looked at Natakas. She looked him up and down.

“Come again?” she said, in utter disbelief.

“I am the child’s father. I am Kassandra’s husband,” Natakas said proudly, making eye contact with Myrrine, but not Nikolaos. He could only handle standing up to one Spartan today. Kassandra was impressed with Natakas. She knew she did right, yet again.

“It’s true, mater…” Kassandra spoke up, taking a few steps toward Natakas. She stood beside him.

“This is Natakas,” Kassandra said firmly, looking at him, then looking back at her.

“He is my husband. We share the home, we share the child - all of it,” Kassandra crossed her arms, getting into defensive mode.