#w/ megara

[toughxstcook]

starter status: closed

featuring: colette & megara (@faiirytalcs)

location: pour unfortunate soul

it had been a long day in gusteau's restaurant's kitchen, but then, so was every day. cooking was not a job for the faint of heart- in a professional setting, it meant sharp knives slicing and dicing every which way, tempers flaring every other minute, and a flurry of feet dashing around a hot, crowded space. but colette was not faint of heart- hers was a heart of pure steel, and she could handle whatever curve balls the culinary world threw at her.

at least, she could if she was able to retire at the end of the day to a casual bar for something smooth and strong. pour unfortunate soul was a decent enough place for her- not too fancy or expensive, and just seedy enough for her tastes. colette loved fine food and wine, but she didn't always care for a posh setting.

she wasn't, however, quite in the mood for wine tonight. she'd need something that would really help her get ready for the weekend rush. she couldn't find a menu, so she quickly asked the woman seated next to her at the bar, without so much as an introduction, "what kind of drink do you get here when you want to forget the day you just had?"

[ch1-kasak0]

Guys imagine if when Meg tried to go against her contract when she signed it the demon had cup kill her like when herc killed meg in Greek mythology⁉️⁉️

[theatrangel]

@damselnstress says 'let me guess, you thought a true love's kiss would help you.' em the mist.

"Eu deveria ter pensado outra coisa?" Um leve bico de frustração apareceu em seus lábios, os dedos batucando no copo de vidro em sua mão. "Tudo que li e ouvi se resume a isso. Até mesmo escrevi histórias onde a solução dos problemas era essa." Era um pouco frustrante pensar que todas as outras histórias eram resolvidas assim, menos a sua. Se virou na direção do bartender, sinalizando para que ele enchesse seu copo outra vez antes de se virar em direção a outra. "Bom, vamos falar sobre outro assunto. Acredito que não é o melhor momento para entrar em detalhes sobre essa parte da minha história." Christine demorou alguns segundos para processar que a estranha a sua frente tinha, na verdade, adivinhado seu pensamento e parte do que quase contara: sua última noite no teatro a muitos anos atrás. Como se já tivesse lhe contado aquilo antes... "Espere... eu- como você sabe disso? Sobre o que eu pensei."

[ouraniatm]

another cora fact of the day b4 i forget it: while yes, cora's unique spell is impossible to break off thus being forced to be in love with her for 24 to 48 hours, there is one weakness not even cora is aware of: her spell won't work on someone who's already in love with her. through her whole life, cora's been cut off any right to feel anything and was avoided by her peers because of the 'cursed spell', as she calls it, so much so she refuses to even believe love is a possibility for someone who's meant to be devoid of anything. she will never even believe someone's truly in love with her, thinking they've just been affected by her spell...unaware that their love is so pure and true it will not affect them, whatsoever. of course, it's possible to get it through her thick skull that she IS loved, but it's really going to take a bit until that time comes.

[cyn-devil]

”Very well, dear,” Cynthia shrugged, “then I won’t tell you not to bother blinding me with your horrendous taste in clothing ever again. But if I were you, I would take it as a suggestion.”

Cynthia de Vil was after werewolves and not vampires, thankfully, but that didn't mean that Meg had any patience for her dramatics. Baring her fangs, she shook her head. "I've already got someone telling me what to do all the time. I'm not looking for another."

[phoward89]

Based on this ask

Young President!Coriolanus Snow x First Lady Wife!Reader

It's no secret that your marriage to your husband, President Coriolanus Snow, is an arranged one. Your father, Colonel Javani Halvir, just happened to be bestfriends with his father, General Crassus Snow, so of course the families had drafted up a marriage contract for the two of you. A contract that was made when you were still little kids.

Of course, when you came of age you got married. The engagement was actually a long one, considering Coriolanus wanted to wait until he graduated the University to get married. You didn't mind tho since it meant you were able to get to know him better due to the longer courtship.

Despite his cold and stoic demeanor, Coriolanus was a really nice man to you. And as time went by he became more and more enchanted with you- well, despite claiming to never love again he truly did fall madly and obsessively in love with you. He always made sure to show you his love and devotion too, whether that be by showering you with gifts or kisses. Whether that be by making sweet love to you or passionately fucking your brains out. But, Coriolanus Snow always made sure that you knew how much you meant to him. Both before and after you said ‘I do’.

But a lot of your so-called ‘friends’, the socialites and wives of other political elites and friends of your husband, would often make little remarks about how awful it must be being married to President Snow since he's such a cold, stoic, hard, hateful, ruthless man. Despite these women being afraid of your husband, they still talked shit about him. And in places they knew you'd overhear too, like in the lady's room at galas, balls, tea parties, etc.

And this afternoon you came home from a charity luncheon for Doctor's Saving Districts very distraught. When your personal maid took a seat next to you on the sofa in your sitting room and asked, “First Lady Y/N, what's the matter? Wasn't the charity luncheon nice?”, you burst into hysterical tears.

“Oh, Beatrice, it was horrible. Completely horrible.” You cry, causing your personal maid to just give you a questioning look. “My friends were gossiping about me and my husband in the bathroom; they said such horrible things.”

“What did they say, First Lady Y/N?” Bianca, your personal maid and friend in the Presidential Palace, asked while wrapping her arms around you, pulling you into a hug.

“That it must be horrible being married to the president since he's such a cold, stern, stoic man.” You told your maid the exact words you heard Livia Heavensbee nee Cardew tell your friend Megara in the ladies room this afternoon.

Before Bianca could say any words of sympathy to you, you begin to break down and cry. “They assume he's a cold and hateful husband when he's not. And they think I'm miserable when I'm happy with him.”

Unknown to you, Coriolanus has finished his meeting earlier than expected and decided to pay you a visit in the living quarters of the Presidential Palace to inquire about the charity luncheon you attended today. Your husband was very proud of you for being such an avid philanthropist. Your kind heart and sunshine disposition made your inner beauty rival that of your putter beauty; it made the president love you even more than he thought possible.

So, when Coriolanus walks into the sitting room only to be met with the sight of your crying, crumpled form being held by your personal maid and friend, he's very concerned. But when he hears your sob ridden voice hiccup, “My friends assume that Coryo doesn't love me because of his proper and stern disposition he displays in public and it hurts. But what hurts more is that they assume I'm miserable in a loveless marriage, Bianca.”

Hearing you say that breaks President Snow’s heart and pisses him off too. How dare the high society women of Capitol City, Panem pretend to be your friends only to gossip behind your back; say blatant lies about your relationship? Who do those useless socialite whores think they are? Making his wife cry? Slandering his personality and his love for you?

Those Capitolite bitches need to pay and he knows just the perfect way to make them do that. Oh yes, he's going to make them pea green with envy at the next gala (which is at the end of the week for the Doctors Saving Districts charity) by being the perfect doting husband to you.

“Those women are just jealous fools, First Lady Y/N. It's clear as day to the entire palace staff that President Coriolanus loves you very much; in fact, those women must be wearing blinders if they can't see how much you mean to your husband.” Bianca tells you in a very supportive and friendly tone.

“I doubt it. My husband's not one for PDA, so there's no true way for my friends to see that he’s not a hateful, cold hearted bastard.” You sniffle, pulling away from your maid and wiping your eyes.

How dare those women call him a hateful, cold hearted bastard towards his wife? Well, he just happens to know that despite being sweethearts with Persephone, Festus is currently cheating on her with not one, but two mistresses. And your friend Megara, well he has it on good authority that her husband, who's a lobbyist for a politician that opposes the president, is having an affair with his driver.

Hmm, these women think that their husbands love them so much because they hang on them in public, but that's far from the truth. Their husbands are putting on a show, an elaborate act, for everyone.

It's an act that Coriolanus never felt the need to put on because he's faithful to you, loves you with his entire being, and doesn't feel the need to ‘prove’ his devotion to you. But now he needs to be a better husband in public than the men your ‘friends’ are married to.

Coriolanus is determined to show you off at the gala in a few days. Make you feel like the most loved and adored woman in all of Panem.

The president decides to back out of the room and let you cry with Bianca, your trusted maid and friend, in privacy. He’ll come back later when he knows your tears are dried and your makeup’s fixed to ask about your charity luncheon. Coriolanus doesn't want to embarrass you by letting you know that he overheard your tearful breakdown about your relationship being labeled a cold loveless one.

When Saturday night rolled around your husband, President Snow, took you to the charity gala for Doctors Saving Districts. You two looked like the epitome of a regal couple- him with his dark burgundy suit and crisp white shirt, complete with ruby cufflinks, and you in your white strappy ball gown with dangling ruby and diamond earrings, ruby and diamond choker, and ruby and diamond tennis bracelet. His platinum blonde hair was slicked back in its signature pompadour while yours was pinned in an elegant half-updo. And to top it all off, you wore matching white roses. His white rose was on his lapel while your white roses were tucked into your half updo- making your silky hair pop beautifully.

All of the men secretly wish that you’re hanging on their arms instead of on your husband's. The men envied Coriolanus for being your husband. One would think men would covet his presidential position, but that wasn't the case.

No...

In fact, you're the most beautiful lady in the Capitol according to the murmurs amongst the elite and wealthy men. Hell, if you'd give them a second look they'd drop their wives faster than a hot potato. But that'll never happen because you only have eyes for your husband, President Coriolanus Snow.

And the cold, stoic, stern, ruthless Mister President only has eyes for you as well. And because of that, he's not letting you leave his side tonight. President Coriolanus Snow is going to show you off; dote on you so much that the socialites of the Capitol will be astonished, envious, and will never utter a slanderous lie against him as your husband ever again.

“There's Hilarious and Livia Heavensbee.” Coriolanus subtly pointed out the miserable looking couple as they bickered by the punch bowl. “Shall we go over and say hello, darling?”

After overhearing Livia and Megara’s hurtful gossip about your husband being unloving to you the other day, well, you didn't want to be around her. But your husband's the president and he's old classmates with the Heavensbees, so you understand why he suggested approaching them to strike up polite conversation. Coriolanus had to portray himself as a polite and charming creature to ensure that he kept his top political position.

Although only Capitol citizens are eligible to vote, a vote for presidential terms is held every handful of years. So, your husband has to play nice with the other Capitolite elite.

And you?

Well…

You need to be the epitome of a perfect wife and a perfect First Lady. Which, unknown to you, Coriolanus feels that you've far exceeded his expectations for you in that department.

“Yes, let's say hello to them.” You nod, a thin smile on your face, as an Avox comes over holding a tray full of champagne.

Coriolanus grabs two flutes of champagne, one for each of you, and dismisses the Avox. Handing you your drink, he takes a sip of his. Once your fingers are daintily wrapped around the champagne flute, your husband's large hand rests on the small of your back as he guides you over to Hilarious and Livia Heavensbee.

“Hilarious,” Coriolanus greets his former Academy acquaintance with a nod. Turning to Livia, who he's always hated, but hates ten fold now because of how she made you cry, your husband puts on a fake smile and greets her, “Livia, I believe you attended the charity luncheon with my wife, Y/N, this past Wednesday.”

Livia Heavensbee nee Cardew looked every inch a fine socialite in her black evening gown and black sheer gloves, but she couldn't hold a candle to you. In fact, her husband's sneaking glances at you while President Snow caresses your back as you're tucked into his side, sipping on champagne.

Mrs. Heavensbee is a bit surprised by your husband's hand stroking up and down your spine. She's also shocked that you're tucked into the president’s side; looking every bit like a woman being doted on by a loving husband.

It can't be so, can it? Coriolanus is a cold, hard, unfeeling, stern, ruthless man. How can he be a doting husband to you? It doesn't make sense to Livia.

No sense to her at all.

“Yes, we attended the charity luncheon together.” Livia confirms, all the while her eyes are glued to the way President Coriolanus Snow’s hand comes to rest on your hip- thumb pressing circles into the white fabric of your dress's bodice.

Not letting the Heavensbees get a word in, Coriolanus brags about your kind disposition. “My darling rose is quite the philanthropist. She heads so many charities and I couldn't be prouder of her for it.” Coriolanus bends down slightly, since he towers over you, and pecks you on the cheek. “Y/N is the perfect epitome of a true First Lady.” Turning to you, he asks in the loving baritone he reserves only for you, “Aren't you, baby?”

“Coryo, you flatter me more than I deserve.” You humbly counter. “I’m not that perfect.”

“See, not a vain bone in my wife's body to even take credit for all the work she does; for being the perfect embodiment of what a Capitolite lady should strive to be.” Coriolanus proudly told Hilarious and Livia while moving his hand up to caress your shoulder. Turning to Hilarious, he asks, “How's business been, old friend?”

“Business is business, as usual.” Hilarious flatly replied, earning him a nod from President Snow.

“Well, as much as I'd like to stick around and discuss your business, I must take my wife to greet some other friends.” The regal president tells the inferior couple, who don't even have matching outfits on, before dragging you away.

Livia’s livid as she sees your husband's hand slide down to pinch your ass while the two of you head towards where your friend Megara's at. Never did Livia think that President Coriolanus Snow could be so doting on you. Why won't her husband caress her or goose her in public? It's not fair!

But, in Hilarious’ defense, he didn't love the dirty blonde shrew. He got stuck with her via an arranged marriage. The ancestor of the founding father of Panem and the heiress of the largest bank in not just Capitol City, but all of Panem, was a very smart match. It just never produced any love, but they did have a son. Plutarch. But they never talked about him.

“I'm surprised you're leading us over to Megara and her cousin Hera. I thought you didn't like them?” You ask your husband as your ‘friends' got into range.

Leaning down, Coryo's breath is hot against his ear as he whispers, “I don't like them, darling, but tonight I'll deal with their useless chatter in order to greet them with you, my love.”

“As nice as it is having you greet my friends with me, Coryo, you're the President of Panem and need to greet high ranking politicians and allies of your own accord.”

“You forget, baby, that you're my First Lady so you're able to be by my side as I greet allies, foes pretending to be allies, and business contacts.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you're going to be extra needy tonight?” You ask your husband in a whisper only he can hear.

Coriolanus icy eyes twinkle mischievously as he says, “Perhaps your beauty has overwhelmed my senses and I want my beautiful wife by my side tonight.” His hot breath tickles your ear as he huskily adds in, “And I want you to ride my cock for hours tonight, my love. For hours upon hours, til I'm too sensitive to get hard and your womb’s overflowing with my seed.”

You're speechless as your husband stops you right in front of your friends Megara and Hera. He greets them with the charming sophistication only Coriolanus possesses from a lifetime of selling snake oil and lies. And just like before, he sings your praises and caresses you in a way that has your ‘friends' seething in silent jealousy.

In fact, Coriolanus does it all night long- dote on you in such a way that every female in the room’s beyond jealous. And when he notices that the Capitolite ladies are visibily shaken by his displays of love and affection towards, he knows that he's won; that his mission to show everyone that you're very well loved and cared for by him- President Coriolanus Snow, has worked.

Oh, and when the Presidential Palace's PR team makes an announcement exactly one month later about how President Coriolanus Snow and First Lady Y/N Snow are expecting their first child, well, nobody at the gala's surprised. Far from it considering how much of a doting husband Coriolanus was to you that night.

Tags: @kuroosbby001 @preteen @poppyflower-22 @meetmeatyourworst @whipwhoops @bxtchopolis @readingthingsonhere @savagenctzen @ryswritingrecord @erikasurfer @tulips2715 @universal-s1ut @thesmutconnoisseur @squidscottjeans @sudek4l @wearemadeofstardust0 @mashiromochi @gracieroxzy @belcalis9503 @shari-berri @aoi-targaryen @whiteoakoak @spear-bearing-bi-witch @gisellesprettylies @loverandqueenofdragons @qoopeeya @mfnqueen1 @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @v-love @swiftieblyth @joyfulyouthlover @princess-harvey @chxrrybomb22 @marvel-hiddles-stark @xjinnix @devils-blackrose @zombicupcake3 @jacesvelaryons @tempt-ress

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello, Miss Raven!

I hope you are having a nice day ^^

I was wondering since you don't have a Yuusona, have you ever thought making your own Yuusona like what traits, gender and personality would you have for them?

And how would their relationship be with Miss Raven would they be friends?

Sorry if I'm asking something you don't feel comfortable answering just feel free to ignore it. I'm enjoying your work and I'm new here so I hope I wasn't a bother! Love your work 🫶

I’ve thought about making a Yuu of my own on more than one occasion. However, I’ve never been a fan of the roles designated for self-inserts… It’s hard to commit. Even if I were to make my Yuu less of a Yuusona (ie just Me but in the Twst world) and more of an OC (an entity totally separate from myself), I always lose motivation somewhere along the way.

That’s of course not to disparage anyone who has a Yuu though!! I just personally find it a struggle to design around a somewhat predetermined identity. There’s less freedom in a Yuu because they have to meet certain parameters in order to “make sense” in the story. For example, Yuus are generally from our ordinary world and magicless. I don’t like having those limitations (and though I could go against it, I’d refrain in order to not break canon lore). That’s why my first Twst OC is very far removed and exists as her own thing.

For fun, here’s some of my scraped Yuu concepts, including doodles. They're not really "Yuusonas" though, more like original characters that happen to be filing in for Yuu:

Yuu 1: Mad Scientist Yuu

The earliest iteration.

This Yuu is ~16, male. Considered nonbinary at one point too.

The notes in the image basically describe him. Germaphobe, has lots of band-aids (because he is accident-prone), constantly tired + has dark undereye circles due to excess stress and lack of sleep.

Frequently seen in face mask, lab coat, and latex gloves.

“Don’t bother me” energy. Very curt with people and just wants to be left alone.

Claims to be an egalitarian because he “hates everyone equally”.

As the story went on, he would have learned to lighten up and work with others too. Basically, the same arc the NRC students have.

I didn't think too deeply about what his relationship with Miss Raven would be like... Most likely, he just dislikes and avoids her like he does the rest of the NRC population.

Yuu 2: “Robert Philip the Divorce Lawyer” Yuu

Twisted from the divorce lawyer love interest in Enchanted 😭 YES, I SAID WHAt i SAiD…

This Yuu is 35ish, male.

Has a very girly young daughter back home. She is basically his motivation to return.

His ex-wife left him. (YES I AM KEEPING THIS LORE.) Has sworn off love since then but is dating another woman for practical reasons.

Very anti-romance and anti-fairy tales.

Somewhat grumpy.

Logical, pragmatic. Some would say calculating.

Constantly arguing with Crowley because he knows his rights and how many laws Crowley is violating/j

He wouldn’t have been a student but more like a faculty member and father figure to the NRC students. By being in Twisted Wonderland, he helps to mentor the boys as though they were his own children, and the boys in turn teach him about magic, imagination, and believing even in seemingly impossible things.

Had an idea about him finding true love in Twisted Wonderland too; this would basically be his Giselle. Maybe a kind lady from Foothill Town??

Robert!Yuu was going to be sort of a secondary father figure to Miss Raven. Crowley is her real guardian, but he's usually not fulfilling the typical duties of a guardian so Robert!Yuu has to step up. In a lot of ways, Miss Raven reminds him of an older version of his own daughter so he has a soft spot for her. He also tries his best to advise her on life and boys. I imagine that he and Miss Raven have that Hades and Megara scene where she's gushing about Hercules and Hades goes, "Please. HE'S A GUY!!"

Yuus 3 and 4: Twin Yuus

The bangs they have are borrowed from Robert!Yuu because I liked them and was too lazy to try something new out—

They’re brother and sister, both 17. I wanted to play around with the concept of multiple Yuus in Twisted Wonderland at the same time. Twins because they are supposed to be “a mirror image” of the other.

The theme these two would explore is gender, particularly expectations vs reality.

They come from an old money family; each twin has very traditionally gendered expectations placed on them but their secret is they swap places and pretend to be the other twin so as to get out of their own responsibilities, as the girl is tomboyish and the boy is more feminine.

They continue this act in Twisted Wonderland in order to "protect" one another, but their relationship becomes strained with each OB. For example, the male twin would become increasing protective, feeling like it is his responsibility to keep his sister safe. This would earn him his sister's ire since he never smothered her before. The twins would eventually reconcile and come to reach a middle ground regarding one another's expression of their gender and how that informs their behavior toward one another.

In another variation, only the male-presenting twin would be isekai'd to Twisted Wonderland. It would later be revealed that "he" is actually a "she". The explanation that she provides for acting masculine is to rebel against the expectations of her family (who had arranged a marriage for her prior to her being isekai'd).

... But then there's ANOTHER twist 🤡 and it turns out that her "masculine self" closely resembles her actual twin brother (who is now deceased). The idea is that she partly acts this way as a trauma response and relies a lot on "speaking" with her brother for advice on how to move forward in Twisted Wonderland. Like, she has pretend conversations with him in her head.

Her character arc would have been centered around detaching herself from the expectations placed on her, as well as learning to let her brother go and become her own person.

ASDSBDABSDOSA I feel like Miss Raven would be so confused trying to keep track of the twins and/or the single twin's dramatic backstory. She'd be pretty cordial with them though! Maybe even tries to counsel them when they're fighting or closed off from others.

Yuu 5: Ara Ara Onee-san Yuu (WIP name is Sumire -> Suu -> her variation of “Yuu”, lol)

The best designed one, probably.

The only one with a proper name, too :v

She's 18 and female!

Started off as a joke between me and a friend. We were talking about how we think many of the first year students would be into "onee-san" types.

As you may or may not be able to tell by the design, she's meant to be a caring big sister character. Sweet, patient, and motherly. Even gardens and bakes! The type you know you can always go to when you need advice or comforting.

YEAH I GAVE HER DEAD ANIME MOM HAIR, SO WHAT???? The bangs swooping over one side of her face gives her sort of a mysterious air!

She looks very kind (and that's because she is), but she is also very air-headed. Like she'll pick up a worm and hold it in your face and ask you if you think it's cute.

Has a secret sadistic side. Not malicious and won't go out of her way to cause problems, but she'll gush about how she thinks you being frustrated or struggling with a task is "cute".

The arc Sumire would go on is one revolving around her status as the "older sister" of the group and finding a "pure" way of loving her friends. There's nothing wrong with having that role, but her issue is that she relies on it to be her personality and often gives away too much of herself at the cost of her own mental and emotional wellbeing.

It's like... codependency. She loves you because (whether she knows it or not) she NEEDS validation from others. And because she wants that validation so much, she forces herself to be someone she's not at her core. Someone agreeable and sweet. That becomes very taxing for her.

If she feels as though someone is going to leave her, she'll either love bomb or have a mental breakdown in private. TO BE CLEAR, this is not healthy behavior and she's supposed to grow out of this obsessiveness over the course of the main story.

By that logic, she's more manipulative and selfish than she seems at a glance. I guess you could describe her true personality as being yandere or even menhara?? But she usually masks it well.

Miss Raven has a history of falling for pretty smiles, so I think she'd also be a victim of this one. She would look up to Sumire as like "the peak lady" and the big sis she's always wanted. REALLY feeding into her secret ego there, Miss Raven... and Sumire, being herself, would just giggle and pat her on the head to keep that toxic relationship going.

[sagethegaywitch]

Dimensions: Ignihyde

Male reader

TW: drowning, yandere behavior, memory erasing

Genre: yandere

Here's the link for my other Dimensions: Twisted Wonderland Overblots.

The story will take place in the Underworld, the one from the original “Hercules” that the Ignihyde dorm is based on.  As the overblot eats away at the characters, they start to resemble and act more like the Disney characters they are based on.  The reader will be called Y/N and Megara/Meg.

It's not one of my best works and this one is a bit more Ortho focused rather than Idia.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You feel a dampness on your face, drawing you out of your slumber.  You groan as you blink your eyes and take note that you’re lying face-down on the cold and wet ground.  When you finally open your eyes, you’re met with shadowy hands grabbing at your face.  You scream as adrenaline pumps through your body and forces you into action.  You push yourself up and scoot yourself as far away from the river’s edge as you can.  You only stop when your back collides with a stalagmite.  You gasp as you watch the ghostly figures groan and continue to reach for you, unable to get out of the river.

“What the hell?” you murmur to yourself as you take in your surroundings.

It’s dark in here and you’re enclosed by rock, like a cave, with dripping stalactites and tall stalagmites.  The river in front of you seems to flow with spirits instead of water and they wail in despair as they move downstream.  Beside the ghosts, there seems to be not another soul in view.  You take this opportunity to pat yourself down for injuries, also checking to make sure you’re not a ghost yourself.  You find yourself wearing a light purple toga with a darker purple sash wrapped around your waist.  It’s comfortable, but unfamiliar on your body, like it’s not your usual style.  You push the thought aside as there is suddenly a loud commotion on the river, a speedboat appearing in the distance.  The souls exclaim sharply as the boat takes dangerous turns and swerves before it parks in front of you.  You press yourself closer to the rock behind you as a fiery blue boy hops down from the speedboat and makes a squealing noise of joy as he runs toward you.

“Meg!  There you are!” he declares as he stops in front of you.

He’s strong for a kid as he pulls you into a standing position and wraps his arms around your waist.

“W-Wait, who are you?’ you question, not having the heart to push aside a small child.

“I’m Ortho, silly.  How did you end up over here?  We agreed to stay within the gates for our game,” Ortho tells you, looking up at you with his yellow eyes.

“Game?” you question as the boy lets you go and grabs your hand.

“We were playing hide-and-seek, don’t you remember?” he asks as he starts to lead you to the speedboat.

“No, no I don’t,” you say as you carefully slip your hand out of his.  “I don’t remember anything?  Where are we?”

Ortho pauses and his eyes whir a bit as he stares at you.  He mutters some statistics and facts to himself before responding to your questions.

“That’s odd, maybe something took you while we were playing and stole your memories.  There’s a lot of bad stuff down here,” he offers.  “But don’t worry, Idia will know what to do.”

Seeing no better option and not wanting to stay at the edge of the creepy river, you take Ortho’s hand as he helps you up into the small speedboat.  You sit down on one of the benches while Ortho uses voice commands to start the journey back to wherever he’s taking you.

“So, who’s Idia?” you try to make some small talk while still trying to orientate yourself.

“He’s my big brother!” Ortho responds, seeming happy to talk about his sibling.  “He designed this body for me and runs the Underworld!  It’s a lot of work and he doesn’t have a lot of time to play, but that’s why you’re here!”

“So we hang out together while Idia runs the Underworld, like the afterlife?” you ask, the information shocking you.

Ortho just nods and you’re concerned by how casual he’s treating this topic, but he’s probably numb to it all having lived here so long.  Before you can ask anymore questions, you can feel your jaw drop as a giant skull-shaped structure comes into view.  It has hollowed eyes and its mouth seems to be in a permanent scream.  The boat docks itself at a pier that leads to a long spiral staircase leading up.  Ortho jumps down onto the dusty floor and offers his hand to you to help you down.

“Do we really have to climb all that?” you question, getting ready to become a panting and sweating mess by the time you reach the top of the seemingly never ending staircase.

“No, of course not silly.  They’re just for decoration,” Ortho giggles as he points to some elevator doors that seem out of place on the rocky surface.

He calls for the elevator and steps in after you before he pushes the top button.  The ride is enjoyed in silence with the classic elevator music playing in the background.  Once it dings, signaling the desired floor has been reached, the doors open into the inside of the rocky skull.  Contrary to its outside appearance, the inside is covered in technology and has a futuristic vibe.  From giant computer screens to floating holograms, the room is somehow both neat and messy at the same time.  Behind all the screens is a sickly pale male with flaming blue hair, the ends tinged with orange, nervously pacing back and forth, checking the holograms projecting security footage.  He’s clad in a black armor-like material with inky tendrils dripping around his waist plus a creepy smile face mask (Idia is in his overblot form).

“Idia, look what I found!” Ortho cheers as he runs up to his brother, clinging onto his waist.

Idia jumps at the sudden contact before absentmindedly patting Ortho’s head, his glowing blue right eye twitching a bit, “That’s nice.”

He seems distracted as he continues to look at the holograms before he looks through one right in front of you, finally noticing that you’re actually standing there and not a part of his online world.  He yelps, his hair tinged a hot pink color before he calms down and pushes the screens aside.  He reaches for you, but pauses before attempting to touch you again.  Seeing his inner dilemma, you gently reach out for his hand, causing him to flinch when you make contact.  With some sudden bravery, Idia pulls you into a hug, smashing your face into his chest as he strokes his hands through his hairs, trying to reassure himself that you’re really there.

“I was so worried about you.  Where did you go?” he asks, his voice shaky as he continues to hold you.

“This is kind of awkward,” you chuckle, carefully pushing yourself away from him so you can look him in the eyes.  “I woke up next to the river and Ortho found me.  I don’t really remember anything from before.  Ortho told me your name’s Idia, and mine is Meg?”

He takes a step back and looks everywhere but your eyes, nervously fiddling with his fingers as he mumbles, “Megara, actually.  I’ll have to start researching your sudden memory loss.”

Idia grabs a floating tablet and starts furiously typing on it while you try to think of a way to create some small talk.

“Hmm, I have a nice name,” you smile, the gesture making Idia blush a deep red color.  “So, what exactly do we do here?”

“Well, I mostly just stay here and do my work.  I try to game in my free time,” Idia responds shyly, not looking up from his tablet.

“And I help him!” Ortho beams as he flies a circle around his brother.

“I’m sure you’re a great helper,” you tell the younger brother, offering him a head pat.  “Is there anything I could help with?”

Idia looks up from his tablet and looks around at the computer screens mounted on the walls, “It’s boring work, I don't want to make you do busy work.”

“Well you looked stretched thin, let me help a bit,” you offer, seriously worried about his pale complexion and the deep eye bags under his eyes.

Before he can object his tablet startings ringing and announcing that it’s dinner time.  Idia quickly shuts off the alarm and resumes his work.

“How about I help make some dinner, seeing as you’re busy,” you suggest as you walk around to the corner of the room, looking around for some sort of cooking area.

“Oh, it’s okay.  I can just heat up some leftovers,” Idia responds, trying his hardest not to get too close to you.

You give him a pointed look that has him cowering behind his tablet before he quickly leads you to the kitchen.  In the far corner there is a doorway that leads into a small kitchen space that’s equipped with a small stove and oven, a fridge, a sink, and a small counter space.  You walk over to the fridge and open it to find a good amount of supplies, but you also see a bunch of leftover boxes from various takeout places.  You take out a few ingredients from the fridge: soft tofu, mushrooms, pork slices, an egg, a stalk of green onions, and various sauces and seasoning.

“I think I’ll make some sundubu jjigae (A/N: Sorry, I really miss Asian food, my college doesn’t have a lot of options),” you call out to Idia who had made himself comfy on one of the sofas in the other room.

He gives you a quick nod before his attention is back on his device.  While you prepare the ingredients Ortho hovers over your shoulder, watching you make the dish.  You even allow Ortho to help you with some simple tasks like mixing and pouring some ingredients.  Although he reassures you he can use a knife, you do all the cutting and handle all the hot stuff.  While the stew boils over the stove, you take the time to wash the dishes, blowing some bubbles for Ortho to chase around and pop.  When the soup heats up, you take it off the stove and pour it into three bowls.

“Hey, Idia, food’s ready,” you call out carefully carrying the bowls to the sofa.

You place it on the table while Ortho brings over some sodas and utensils.

“W-Wow!  This looks great,” Idia gawks before picking up a bowl and quickly removes his face mask before starting to dig in.

“I hope you like it.  I’m not much of a cook but I know the basics,” you tell him, passing a bowl to Ortho and taking one for yourself.

Idia eats in silence, but by his awestruck expression and his empty bowl, you knew he must have enjoyed the food.  He thanks you once again before offering to wash the dishes, but he’s quickly distracted by his tablet buzzing and flashing a warning sign.

“It’s okay, I got it,” you tell him, taking the bowl out of his hands as he gives you a grateful smile.

He sighs as he picks up the device and walks off to deal with whatever the problem is, snapping his face mask back into place.  Ortho hovers over your shoulder, helping to dry the dishes after you washed them and put them away in their shelves.  When you return to the living room space, Idia is nowhere to be seen so you decide to ask Ortho to give you a tour.  The boy bounced in excitement, promising you an awesome tour as he grabs your hand and drags you through a door you hadn’t noticed earlier.

Ortho showed you Idia’s room…well the door anyway.  You can hear muffled voices from inside so Idia is probably in there dealing with the problem that arose earlier.  Ortho then shows you his room, which also looks extremely high tech, but has some components you would see in a child’s room.  There is a bookshelf filled with books, a few toys, and a few electronic devices as well.

“Actually, I was wondering if you could read a book to me,” Ortho asks shyly, looking down with a bright blush on his cheeks.

“Of course, which one do you want?” you respond, taking a seat on the edge of Ortho’s soft bed as the boy cheers and races to the bookshelf.

Ortho spends a bit looking through the bookshelf, picking up books before putting them back down before grabbing one and bringing it over to you.  He quickly tucks himself into the bed and plugs some wires into his body.  You hadn’t really noticed before but apparently Ortho is more robot than human, and you’re a bit surprised that you’re not weird out by it.  It’s almost like you knew this already, hidden down deep inside your memories.  You’re brought back into the moment when Ortho places the well-loved book into your hands.

“Pinocchio?” you question, tracing the lettering on the cover and flipping it open to the first page (A/N: I just had to put an AI movie reference).

“Yeah, I love this one,” Ortho tells you as he snuggles into the blankets.

“I can tell,” you laugh as you carefully flip through the pages, reading through the story.

It’s in the format of a chapter book with a few watercolor illustrations, clearly for more advanced readers.  Ortho relaxes into the sheets as you continue to tell Pinocchio’s tale, and you find yourself so enthralled in the story that you don’t even notice that Ortho had fallen asleep until you feel a weight on your shoulder.  You finish the chapter and close the book before placing it on Ortho’s nightstand.  You sit there for a minute, contemplating your choices: get up and leave or stay by Ortho’s side.  You don’t really know where your room is anyways and you don’t want to wake Ortho, so you decide to get comfy and lean your head back to rest against the wall before drifting off to sleep.

~

A beeping noise awakens you in the morning and you groggily open your eyes to see that Ortho’s charger is beeping to exclaim it’s at full battery.  You look down to see that Ortho had somehow slipped off your shoulder and is now fast asleep on your lap, completely ignoring the alarm.  You decide to stretch a bit before waking up the boy, only to find that a blue blanket had been draped over your shoulder at some point in the night.  You smile, thinking that Idia must have wondered where you two had gone and had found you both asleep in Ortho’s room.  After getting all the aches and sores out of your joints, you gently nudge Ortho, asking him to wake up.  The boy makes a rebooting noise as he “wakes up” before sitting up and looking at you in mild surprise.

“Did you stay here all night?” he exclaims as he rips the wires off his body.

You chuckle nervously as you rub the back of your neck, “Yeah, you fell asleep on me and I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I’m so sorry, you could have woken me up, I wouldn’t have minded,” Ortho reassures you before getting up.  “Let me show you your room, I’m sure you want to freshen up.”

You nod as you stand as well, keeping the blue blanket wrapped around your shoulders like a cape.  You exit Ortho’s room and he walks you a bit down the hall before opening another door.  Inside is a room similar to Ortho’s, minus the childish objects.  There aren't many decorations and it almost looks like the room is a guest room.  You thank Ortho and tell him you’ll probably take a shower before heading to the kitchen to make a meal.

“Alright then, see you later.  If you need anything, just press that button,” Ortho tells you before leaving you be.

You look at the red button on the wall by the door, the button looking more intimidating than it should be.  You take off your blanket cape and fold it before placing it on your neatly made bed.  You take a look inside the closet and find more versions of the light purple toga you’re wearing now so you just grab one and a towel before heading to the bathroom.

You pause when you step into the safety hazard of a bathroom that is connected to your room.  Inside are all the normal items like a toilet, a sink, and a shower, but there are electronics everywhere, just waiting to burst into flames or shock someone.  You hesitantly turn the water on in the shower, and when nothing explodes you fully undress and rinse off all the stress and weirdness from yesterday.  The two brothers seem nice, and you’re lucky that Ortho found you before you got lost in the literal Underworld.  While everything is a bit too sterile and technologically advanced, it’s a safe place and you really want to recover your lost memories.  After your shower you carefully step out and dry yourself off before putting the new toga on.  You’re drying your hair off with the towel as you step out of the bathroom and you nearly scream when you see a dark object run across the carpet and scurry under your bed.  You jump onto the bed, worried that a rodent or some sort of creature had found its way into your room.

“This can’t be happening,” you groan to yourself before steeling yourself to take a peak.

You lean over the edge and slowly lift up the bed covers to see under the bed.  It’s a bit too dark to really see anything, but two blue eyes and two blue triangles look back at you.

“Human!  Is that you?” is asks as it comes closer.

You quickly sit up again, dropping the sheets as you crawl to the center of the bed, scared out of your wits.

“Human, don’t be afraid,” the creature continues as it stumbles out from under your bed.  “It’s just me, Grim.”

Now that it’s climbing onto your bed, you can get a better look at it.  It appears to resemble a cat, the blue triangles you had seen earlier were its fiery ears.

“Stay back, don’t come any closer,” you tell the cat who calls itself Grim.

“What’s wrong?  Did Idia do something to you?” Grim asks, sitting down at the edge of the bed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.  Who are you and why are you here?” you question him.

“You don’t remember me?” Grim sounds hurt as he looks into your eyes to find that you aren’t lying.  “You don’t remember about the overblots and all that?”

“No, what are overblots?” you ask, now a little intrigued.

The cat grumbles a bit before quickly describing them to you, “Seriously, Y/N, how could you possibly forget all this?”

You pause as you feel your brain reboot, suddenly allowing all of your memories to flood your mind.  You remember it all and you feel a shiver run down your spine.  You're in a lot more danger than you thought you were.  Snapping fingers in front of your face brings you back to reality and you look down at Grim who removes his paws from in front of your face.

“You still with me Y/N?” he asks, looking at you in concern and slight panic.

“Yeah, I just remembered everything,” you tell him.  “We need to find a way out of here.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Grim cheers.  “So what's the plan?”

“We’d probably need to distract Idia and Ortho, or we'd need to disable all the technology here,” you muse, rubbing your chin.

“Would cutting the power work?” Grim asks.  “I think I saw a power box somewhere.”

“That would work.  Then when it's dark I can make a run for it and we'll regroup before finding a way back home,” you explain.

“Sounds like a plan!  You just got to keep them distracted while I go shut this place down,” Grim smiles before he gives you a salute and scurries away.

You sigh and finish drying your hair before leaving the towel out to dry.  You exit your bedroom and make your way back to the living room space to find Idia lounging on the couch with his tablet in hand and Ortho clicking away at a hologram screen.  You sit beside the older male and try to peer over at what he’s doing.  Idia shyly looks over at you and shows you the game he’s currently engrossed with.  You don’t really understand it but it appears that it’s a team battle of sorts.

“I’m guessing it’s not a busy day?” you suggest as you watch Idia’s character attack his opponent.

“Yeah, the security system is taking care of a few bugs, so it’s really just a maintenance day.  I’m waiting for some software to download and such,” Idia explains.

You feel your heart clench in worry for Grim.  If the security system is having issues, that means either Grim can safely sneak to the power box or he’s the problem.  You take a deep breath, you have to have some faith in your furry friend.

“Umm, I actually have something for you,” Idia’s interrupts your thoughts, his hair becoming a tinge of pink as he reaches into his pocket.

You look over in curiosity as Idia presents a brooch with a vaguely familiar symbol.  It is of a three headed dog surrounded by blue flames.  You don’t really want to accept the gift, but you have to keep up appearances.

“Oh my gosh!  Thank you so much,” you say, layering it on a thick.  “Are you sure I can keep it?”

“Of course, it was yours originally.  I’m just returning it,” Idia responds, his hair now fully pink with a light pink dusting his cheeks as well.

You nod, maybe it’s safe to accept the gift if it was yours to begin with.  You pin it to your toga as Idia returns to his game.  You watch him for a bit before reminding yourself you have to act natural so you get up and say you’ll start preparing food for lunch.  Idia gives you a nod, while Ortho suggests having sandwiches for lunch.  You smile at the boy and disappear into the kitchen.  You rummage around in the pantry, finding some bread before poking around in the fridge for some fillings, only finding some lunch meat and vegetables.  You get to washing and preparing the vegetables when the lights suddenly flicker.  You can hear Idia make a noise of concern and Ortho starts running a diagnostic check.  You peek into the living room and see Idia panicking as the lights continue to flicker and he lets out a yelp as the lights turn off completely.

“Ortho, what’s going on?” he asks, his face barely illuminated by his tablet screen.

“I’m not sure.  I’m troubleshooting now and trying to pinpoint the issue,” Ortho’s glowing yellow eyes speak.

You hadn’t anticipated for it to be so dark as you try to stumble to the door.  You muffle some winces as you bump into furniture, apparently not as familiar with your surroundings as you thought you were.

“Oof!  Meg is that you?” Idia’s voice asks, surprisingly close, his hands ghosting over your shoulders with intentions to grab you.

You curse under your breath before shoving him aside and making a wild dash to the door.  You swing it open and race down the darkened halls, trying your best to remember the first day you were here and Ortho led you up from the docks.  After stumbling down a few wrong hallways and smacking into walls, you eventually locate the elevator.  You groan in annoyance, realizing that the elevator won’t work without power.  You quickly locate the stairwell and sigh as you make the long descent down into the darkness.  In the distance you can hear Idia yelling for you to come back and bumping around in the blackness.  You almost fall down the rest of the staircase as the lights suddenly come back on and everything starts to reboot.  Luckily you’re at the bottom of the staircase, but a voice on the loud speakers startles you.

“Meg?  Where are you?  I’m sorry that you got scared by the darkness,”  Idia’s voice projects.  “Everything is good now, so you can come out now.”

You ignore his pleas as you look around the area for Grim.  You feel a smile spread across your face when the cat bounds out from around the corner, an equally big smile on his face as well.

“We did it.  Now we can escape on this sweet ride,” Grim cheers before pointing to the fancy boat Ortho drove you in once.

You feel a bit bad for leaving the brothers behind, but you need to leave and fix everything.  You approach the boat and Grim starts yelling commands.

“Start engine!  Take us to the exit,” Grim orders.

You both wait a moment, but the boat doesn’t do anything at first.  Then the screen flashes red and starts blaring an alarm.

“Unauthorized personnel.  Unauthorized personnel,” it kept repeating and the two of you quickly run off before the boat .

“Now what?!” Grim asks, clearly in distress.

“Maybe we can go back up and find another way out,” you suggest, but the sound of the elevator moving alerts you that your position has been discovered.  “Okay, nevermind.  I think we’ll just need to swim for it.”

“In that!?” Grim argues as he points to the souls floating in the river.

“Maybe we can get across, if we swim fast enough,” you offer, but Grim looks unconvinced.

“Meg!  Stop!” Ortho’s voice shouts as the elevator doors open and he races toward you, Idia following close behind him.

“It’s now or never,” you tell your friend as you take a running start before diving into the river.

You can hear a splash behind you, but you can barely focus with how cold the water is.  It seeps into your bones and chills you, but you manage to start swimming toward a rocky outcrop.  The more you swim, the more tired you become and you’re shocked to see your hands grow wrinkly and spotted with age.  It doesn’t help that the souls of the river seem to be dragging you down and screaming in your ears.

“Human!  I’m not sure how much longer I can go,” you hear Grim call out from behind you.

You pause to tread water to try and find Grim, but the cat is nowhere to be seen.  Now that you’ve lost your momentum, you can feel how tired you really are.  Maybe you should just let the hands drag you down, maybe now is a good time for a little nap.  You’re snapped out of it when something abruptly drags you upward before you’re deposited on a wooden surface.

“Is he breathing?” you can hear Idia, but his voice sounds so distant.

You can barely lift your head to see Ortho poking your body and showing a display of your vitals while Idia wraps a towel around you.  Your vision is all blurry, but you can see your heartbeat slowly taper off before stopping.

“That can’t be good,” you think before promptly passing out.

~

You shiver in your sleep before trying to burrow further into your blanket.  The cold seems to be freezing your core and you can’t seem to get warm.  You groan in discomfort before something shuffles around behind you and a warm body gets pressed against your back.

“Are you awake?” a voice asks softly, their hand lightly threading through your hair.

You hum in acknowledgement before opening your eyes.  The room is dim, but has a soft blue glow from all the devices inside.  You turn over onto your other side to see Idia looking at you in concern, his face mask missing so you can see the worried frown on his face.

“What happened?” you ask, bundling tighter in the blankets and leaning into Idia’s body heat.

“You were playing hide-and-seek with Ortho and you fell into the river.  Luckily we were able to find you with the tracking device in your brooch, but we almost lost you,” Idia tells you, his grip around you getting a bit more tight.  “But you’re okay now.  We’re all together again.”

As if on cue, the doors burst open and Ortho appears with a tray, “It’s good to see you awake again, Meg.”

Ortho hurries over to your side and Idia helps you sit up, your body still a bit weak from your dangerous swimming attempt.  Ortho offers you a cup full of tea, the floral taste paired with pomegranate warming you up.  You sigh, content to be safe again, but there is a weird gap in your memory, like you don’t belong here.  You push it aside, thinking it’s just a side effect of almost dying.

“Thank you.  I’m glad to be back,” you tell the duo.

“We’re glad you’re back, Meg,” Idia whispers.  “Till death do us part.”

[trashasaurusrex]

she's angy

(i know many many ppl followed me for her werewolf form but listen, my brain is still obsessed with the stupid fuckin megan fox robbie rotten jim carrey megara barbie disney villain amalgamation that is her human form. idk man, i just think she's super pretty + cute + love messing with her face LOL but don't worry. her werewolf form is just getting some fixes + im not satisfied w/them, yet ;A;)

[keepmovinjunior]

@joyfulmagic said: //May I ask your favorite villains then? Disney or otherwise :)

ah all of this opportunity to talk about my faves, thank you :)

my favorite disney villains:

maleficent: just the baddest baddie who takes no sh*t. powerful. hot (i mean look at her. look at her for real. she's a handsome woman). eleanor audley's voice gives me chills. the animation. the dragon design. she is peak villain. the way she tries to kill philip even on her way down. love u, bad gal.

ursula: fabulous. and i love her design so much. pat carroll had such a good time with her and it shows. one of the best villain songs (along with be prepared). also she gives me weird aunt vibes which i like. i wish they would have given more credit to the actual drag queen she is inspired by. imo if they really wanted to be super innovative for the live action version they would've cast an actual drag queen and not melissa mccarthy. but w/e.

zira: i dont know why but i always had a soft spot for her legitimately insane self. she is so ride or die for her obsessions. also suzanne pleshette being her voice is awesome.

scar (and the hyenas): amazing design, amazing voice, one of the best villain songs, and his sidekicks are funny as hell. i think the hyenas are actually the best disney sidekicks (and the true comedy of the film - i like timon and pumbaa but the hyenas comedy is more my thing).

also honorable mention to steele from balto, he's not disney, but he's one of my favorites because of his design and voicework, and just. i don't know, i've always found him really engaging for some reason. he's a more likable and charismatic gaston for me. maybe him being non human makes him more likable.

non disney media:

villanelle from killing eve. she's hilarious, jodie comer is fantastic. and she's a great example of a truly problematic, not excused character who you really get attached to anyway, at least for me. she's antisocial and awful but psychologically fascinating.

regina mills from once upon a time. i know, i know. i just talked so much smack about sympathetic villains. the show is awfully written but i think one of the main reasons i loved her so much was her charisma, especially as the evil queen. lana parrilla just ATE that role up. plus, she's hot.

hans gruber from die hard, simply because i love alan rickman so much. plus hans was waaaaaay more engaging than john mcclane imho. i also loved snape because of alan, altho i don't think snape counts as a villain.

aspasia from assassin's creed odyssey - i take a huge inspiration from her, both the historical figure and the portrayal of her in that game - for megara.

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

(+ also herc/megara and esmeralda/phoebus)

‼️ CONTAINS KH3/RE:MIND SPOILERS ‼️

soriku week 2023 day 5, opposites attract (free day)

HAPPY BELATED SORIKU DAY (12/07)!!!!!!!!!!!

just over 35 minutes of soriku and disney princess couple parallels!!! 😎

this is basically a video compilation of a bunch of my kh metas/gifsets LOL

im aware it doesnt rly fit the theme of 'opposites attract' but w/e, princesses and princes are opposites. kind of. i mostly wanted to post this for soriku day bc its the content ive put the most work into for the week (even tho im posting it v late. damn u SAD)

[dianaladrislovebot]

hi there friends i’ve just had an idea for a post,,, so ive been accidentally collecting variants for the characters for a while just where i see similarities and i figured id do a post about it now bc i have so many but also i don’t have all that many at the same time so tell me characters that remind you of the gone characters and i’ll do some research and see what i can do 😎

the list as it stands right now is:

caine - anakin skywalker (star wars), coriolanus snow (hunger games)

diana - megara (hercules), disgust (inside out)

drake - wayne (wayne)

brianna - wally west (dc comics), bree davenport (lab rats)

quinn - mabel pines (gravity falls)

astrid - laura lee (yellowjackets)

i’m still a bit iffy on it but honestly sam - percy jackson

lemme know if yall think of any bc i’m so interested to see what some of yall come up w

[inspofromancientworld]

Legendary Creatures: Cerberus

By Eagle Painter - User:Bibi Saint-Pol, Own work, 1 June 2007, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2192736

Cerberus (Κέρβερος Kérberos) was the multi-headed hound of Hades that was captured and then released by Heracles during the last of his twelve labors.

By No machine-readable author provided. Stella maris assumed (based on copyright claims). - No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4980513

It's not known exactly where the name Cerberus came from. One theory is that it came from the Sanskrit सर्वरा sarvarā, which was a name of one of Yama's dogs, which came from the Proto-Indo-European *k̑érberos, which means 'spotted'. Others say that the name is more related to the Proto-Indo-Eurpoean *ger-, which means 'to growl' and is therefore related to the Norse dog Garmr, but this is debated because *ker- and *gher- are different word roots, so they wouldn't be related. Servius (Roman grammarian, late 4th-early 5th century) stated that Cerberus came from ceroboros, which means 'flesh-devouring' or from 'Ker berethrou' which means 'evil of the pit'.

By Andokides Painter - User:Bibi Saint-Pol, own work, 2007-06-15, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2257884

Exactly what Cerberus looks like, including how many heads he has, is also uncertain. He usually has three heads, but that can vary. Hesiod (8th-7th century BCE) described him as having 50 heads and Pindar (about 522-443 BCE) said it was 100 heads. Most later writers gave Cerberus the more traditional three heads. Horace, a Latin poet (65-8 BCE), said that there was only one dog head and 100 snake heads. Apollodorus gave Cerberus three dog heads and 'all sorts of snakes' heads. The Byzantine poet John Tzetzes (12th century CE) said Cerberus had 50 heads, 3 of dogs and the rest were 'heads of other beasts of all sorts'. Most artwork depicts Cerberus with between one and three heads, but most commonly two visible heads.

By User:Bibi Saint-Pol - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2208203 and By Daderot - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80004577

Typhon is recorded as Cerberus' father and the snake descriptions for him come because Typhon had many snakes as feet. He is also related to the Hydra of Lerna and Orthrus, a two headed dog that guarded the cattle of Geryon, the grandson of Medusa, and the Chimera. His mother is listed as Echidna, a half beautiful woman half terrible snake, though exactly how she looked varies by author.

By Unknown artist - User:Bibi Saint-Pol, own work, 2007-06-06, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2223750

The only story that Cerberus is mentioned in is in the labors of Heracles. Heracles was ordered by the Tirynian king Eurystheus to bring back Cerberus from the underworld because he thought it was thought to be impossible. Eurystheus was Hera's representative and as such gave Heracles the trials to punish him for killing his wife Megara and their children, even though Hera caused the madness that caused Heracles to kill his wife. Initially, there were ten labors, but Eurytheus decided that two didn't count because Heracles had the assistance of his nephew Iolaus for one and redirected a river through a stable for another. Heracles had the assistance of multiple gods, including Athena and Hermes. As Heracles brought Cerberus to Euystheus, some found it gauche that Heracles paraded Cerberus through town while others praised him for completing the task. After Eurstheus saw Cerberus, it's uncertain whether Heracles returned Cerberus to Hades or if Cerberus escaped and returned to Hades himself.

[johaerys-writes]

About that post of yours about people getting upset about Patroclus and Achilles being seen romantically, I've seen every single thing that made me so "wtf?"

I've seen them use the justification that they're cousins, from some sources. This doesn't make sense bc cousins getting along in Ancient Greece wasn't all that fuss, it's not like they were brothers! And they're cousins once removed…Orestes and Hermione are first cousins and no one finds it strange!

I've seen people use the justification that Achilles is married (Deidamia). Firstly, it depends on the source, secondly…he still has Briseis? There are sources that there are Briseis and OTHER characters (e.g. Polixena). Even in the sources where he's married, that doesn't stop him from doing anything. Not only Achilles but other characters! Agamemnon has been married for years and had Chryseis and Cassandra. Odysseus is married and his lovers vary with sources. Even before Helen was kidnapped, Menelaus already had a child with another woman. "Ah, but he would still prefer Deidamia, just as Odysseus and Menelaus still preferred Penelope and Helen" well, Agamemnon explicitly states that he prefers Chryseis, and Jason preferred Creusa over Medea…maybe we can assume that different characters are different characters!

I've seen people use the justification that both he and Patroclus had slaves… which, again, doesn't change anything. Again, married men had slaves, I don't know why we're pretending otherwise. Having a slave does not prevent having other relationships, after all, not even a legitimate wife prevents it (or married men wouldn't have bed slaves in the first place). "Ah, but that shows they like women in mythology!"…yeah…but well, some people like more than one gender. That still doesn't rule anything out, I don't see where we're going!

I've seen people explain that it's bc this is something modern… which isn't, there were already romantic interpretations of them in antiquity (Aeschylus, hello? Plato?). But then you point that out and they say "well, but it's not Homer" but then they bring up things like Polyxena and Penthesilea as proof and…their myths with Achilles aren't Homeric! And then they say it's not one of the explicitly declared couples…which, again, doesn't stop anything?? Even more so bc one of the people I saw saying this shipped two characters who never had any romantic text or subtext so it's a walking contradiction!

And even with this "explicit couples" thing, I've seen people talk about a vibe like "oh why focus on Patrochilles, which isn't even canon when there's Apollo x Hyacintus" and I'm still trying to find WHAT is the similarity between these two ships besides being between two male characters. Not even tragedy can be considered a determining factor since tragic couples are not exactly rare in mythology…like, oh tragic couple, so Megara x Heracles is the same too! C'mon, guys! I got the impression that these people have the idea that the ship only exists bc it's MLM and, therefore, any MLM ship plays the role even when the dynamics AREN'T the same…

Or they'll say "the fans make them into a straight stereotype of rigid gender roles", which if you go to the Ao3 tag and read the fics is easily refuted! Especially for Achilles, who depending on the fic isn't even a perisex cis man. But they really don't know the majority preferences of shippers bc e.g there's an idea that absolutely everyone is strictly bottom Pat x top Achilles bc "furious warrior Achilles" and "cool guy Patroclus"… which's funny bc it couldn't be further from reality! And the same person who says this has a ship with strict gender roles, for the love of god!

Even if the ship were canonically impossible… well, hcs exist! As a kid, I watched Naruto and thought Ino x Sakura was very cute, but that doesn't mean I DIDN'T notice that the canon couple was going to be Sakura x Sasuke. It looks like they've never seen shipping before, my god!

Finally: I left the most absurd for last. This wasn't on Tumblr, it was on another social network. Basically, user kind of texted something like "of course you like Patroclus x Achilles, you're not Greek!" And I'm still trying to understand the relationship between someone being Greek and someone liking or not liking a ship. Could it be that in the documents that ask for nationality, if you put "Greek" a questionnaire appears asking you if you ship Patrochilles and if you click "yes" you are taken for falsifying your nationality or something like that?

P.S.: You don't even need to answer this ask. I really just needed to comment on this nonsense, and my friends aren't mythology fans, so here we are!

Okay so I'm just over here nodding aggressively to a lot of things you said, I know you said I don't need to reply to this but let me just add a couple thoughts:

1. Seriously the cousin thing is laughable to me, like who cares who CARES!! Literally it doesn't even matter, not only were romantic relationships btwn cousins not that big a deal in ancient greek works and mythology but also there are so many literary works written before the 20-21st century that feature cousins falling in love, like in the realm of fiction at least it isn't the big and shocking thing the antis think it is, and it hasn't been for centuries, I don’t get why people get so worked up about that...... it doesn’t even count as an argument, moving on

2. People saying that Achilles can't possibly be queer because he sleeps with women and has a son etc etc..... I feel like they’re missing the point, because the thing about Achilles, in my opinion, isn't whether he’s gay or not, or even if he’s bi or not. Those neat little categories are a relatively modern invention I think, and I don’t think that any ancient person would identify as gay or straight or what have you. In some places being a little too close with your buddies (or your students, particularly young male students --athens i'm looking at you--) was a thing, in some others it wasn't, but it wasn't part of their identity like it is now, ykwim? So I think it's pointless to try to put Achilles and Patroclus in those boxes, many people have tried it and it doesn't work. Achilles may have a son with Deidamia but he doesn’t mention her in the Iliad not even once, he cares about Briseis and in the text he lies/sleeps with her but he wouldn’t stop Agamemnon's men from taking her nor would he return to the fighting for her, his relationship with or feelings for the women he sleeps/has slept with doesn't really affect his behaviour. It is Patroclus who he has the emotional bond with, Patroclus who convinces him to do something other than sulk in his camp, Patroclus whom Achilles values above all, Patroclus's death that changes the trajectory of the war and Achilles' own life. The bond between Achilles and Patroclus has cataclysmic consequences for all the Achaens and the Trojans, no other woman in Achilles' life comes close to what he has with Pat.

So like..... that's what's important here. Achilles could have slept with a thousand women and Patroclus with a thousand more and it wouldn't matter. I'm not here to argue whether they were exclusive or not sexually speaking, that's irrelevant and frankly I don't care. I also can't comment on Achilles x Polyxena or Penthesilea I'm not very familiar with those myths and they aren't even Iliad canon anyway so who cares. People have been writing fanfic about him for centuries, what's new.

3. As for the rest of the arguments against Patrochilles I have to admit I stay as far away from drama as I can so I don't really know what is being said online about them. The things you're saying honestly sound like toxic fandom behaviour and antis being at it for no goddamn reason. I'm not even going to respond to that because again, I don’t think there is anything to say. People can ship what they want and headcanon Achilles and Pat boinking any which way they want as long as they leave me alone lmao. Like as long as they don't come to my ask box or ao3 comments with dumbass or exclusionary views (or if Tumblr doesn't decide to spam me with them) then I'm good. I'm definitely not going to go looking for those views on Tumblr or elsewhere.

4. Honestly I didn't even know racism had been brought into this LMAO like I was not familiar with the take that if you're Greek you can't like Patroclus/Achilles. Like.... why is that? Why wouldn't a Greek person like Patrochilles? Do Greeks not have good taste then? I don't get it. Maybe it's because the Iliad is so deeply rooted into ancient greek culture and we learn about it in school or what not, so like it has to be this sacred thing that no one can touch/spoil? For me, shipping ancient dudes is the best way to actually learn a thing or two about history and literature and what have you LOL like I care so much more about the Iliad now than I did in high school. The sad thing is that I feel like if I ever told people irl that I ship Patrochilles they would first be baffled and then probably appalled lmao I can't even imagine their reaction if they ever saw the Patrochilles shrine I keep in my study 😂 Homophobia is a big thing here sadly, and I personally know people who would literally fight anyone who says that mlm was a thing in ancient Greece (because as we know the ancient greeks were the pinnacle of perfection and wisdom and the gays now just want to ruin that 🙄). I'll never forget my high school ancient greek teacher going into a whole rant about it for an hour, and also the school textbooks we had themselves were so heavily censored. It's just such a sad way to be if you ask me, both because you're a fucking homophobe but also you're missing out on so much of the nuance of this culture that you're supposed to "revere", it's always been super baffling to me.

Anyway this rant got away from me so I'll just stop here lmao. At the end of the day I think people will just say whatever they want about whatever they want, I sometimes also get upset and hurt by those dumb takes but it's really not worth it. I try to stay in my lane and block liberally and nerd out with like minded people and I think that's what life/fandom is about, you know

[katabaesis]

book 7 card thoughts

the !s are things that i think are infinitely less likely than those w/o but also i dont think any of these are particularly likely but also im curious as to your card hopes/dreams/etc

Dia:

SILVER 

Knight of Dawn / Armor of Eternal Dawn

! night fae vers

MALLEUS

! tamago-sama 

Ruler of the Abyss 

Future King (just bc the unification of day/night w/silver and sebek and the sort of Lilia’s goal of fae/human relations etc)

Igni:

IDIA

Overblot

! Hero

! Hercules card (Megara vers)

Pome:

VIL:

! Average boy 

! Vil-as-Neige’s Role-of-snow-white

Hero of the Story 

EPEL:

! Tall

! Buff

Housewarden

Savanaclaw

Scara:

JAMIL:

Housewarden

! Travel

! Casual clothes free 

Sultan style

KALIM 

?

! Evil/shady

! Puppet giving up all his will finger guns wildly I love toxicity

Oct:

JADE

Housewarden

! Man hole lovers club :<

! Jade ate Floyd too SHE’S A CANNIBAL, GEORGE

AZUL big shot ceo

! somft happy chef

! Octopus secure in his body u_ub

FLOYD

Astronaut 

Adventurer

! idk actually

Sav:

RUGGIE

Rich 

! Famous chef (also rich)

LEONA

King

! Casual clothes living happy w/o the burden of royalty and dreams of being a king

! Soccer mom

JACK

! Cactus farmer

Ace of the spelldrive team

Hearts:

RIDDLE

Lawyer

! Normal average boy

! Happy happy friendship moe bomb

TREY Housewarden

! Something ominous with food that implies cannibalism

CATER

Punk Cater

! That actually might be a ! But I’m delulu ever since my friend put forth punk cater HC

DEUCE

(Unfortunately) cop

Honor Student

! Farmer

ACE

Rich/Famous

! Somewhat ominous gamble/luck themed gremlin mode

Other: GRIM

Badass sorcerer

! Monster

! ROLLO ! Happy w/alivened brother

CROWLEY

! Show us him being malleus’s dad and give him a dead wife fridge card

! Hawaii shirt vacay Crowley

[the8thsphynx]

The would-be King of Thebes,

Beloved husband to the great hero Heracles Alcides--

🌸Prince Megara⚔️

"Once long ago, I swore myself to Thebes, vowing that I would sacrifice whatever of myself to my kingdom and my people, and give all glory and praise to the gods... But now... perhaps my only wish is to give peace to my dear wife..."

(do not repost w/o permission)