#megaera fics

[trappolia]

── O, BRIDE OF THE UNDERWORLD

thanzagmeg. amongst the dead of the underworld, a reprise of a love story blooms.

Your mother-in-law once called you the beating heart of the Underworld.

It was a startling thing to hear from Persephone — she who had forsaken her mother's name to marry the God of the Underworld; she who the Earth weeps frozen tears for in her absence; she who has made a dark spring bloom here with just her presence.

The Underworld already has a heart of its own. It thrums with a steady, distant pulse, like the distant drum of a song for soldiers fallen in battle. It is in the shadows that move with purpose, and the chill of death of once warm bodies wandering the halls of the House of Hades and engaging in idle conversation about how they died as if they are merely discussing the weather.

The quiet hum of eternity.

You wonder if she simply sees a bit of herself in you. You were once a nymph of the grassy plains above before Death. Now you are a bride of the Underworld, who has founded a home in this realm of ink-black rivers and whispering shades, its gilded halls and blood-red roses, its ceaseless churn of souls. You walk these corridors not as a mere visitor, nor as one damned, but as something precious; as Persephone is.

Or maybe she simply thinks too much of you. Places you against the greater portrait of the Underworld and all its hellish circles. You have always seen yourself as something more minor, though no less significant. The portrait of a lover, rather than something belonging to the whole of the Underworld; Prince Zagreus’s consort, chosen and beloved.

And not only his.

The scent of laurel and iron is familiar when Megaera finds you first. She is leaning against a cold obsidian pillar where you turn a corner in the hall, caught in your daily wandering of the House of Hades. Her whip coils lazily around her hand, and you have felt the touch of those fingers too often to worry about what that hand is capable of against your beloved prince. You know Zagreus well enough to understand that even he takes some pleasure from their semi-daily spats.

Her golden eyes are alight with amusement when she catches you.

“Looking for someone?”

Her voice is smoke and steel, the kind of teasing only she can pull off — sharp enough to wound, sweet enough to make you crave more. It's a delicious rasp, one that pulls you in.

"I thought you were working," you say softly, meek even in your approach. Under Megaera's gaze, you feel like a deer caught in the headlights. It's a delicious feeling, like flames licking at your skin.

"Tisiphone is dealing with your fool of a husband, sweetling," she muses, reaching out to brush your hair out of your face. Her fingers drift, pinching your chin playfully. "Had it been me out there, Zag wouldn't be coming home in time for supper."

Before you can answer, a weight settles against your back, a touch cold as the space between stars. A hand, deathly pale yet soft in its tenderness, trails over your wrist before curling around your fingers. Megaera raises a brow as she lifts her gaze to the newcomer.

Thanatos does not need words. He never does. His presence alone speaks volumes — the weight of inevitability, of endings — pressing into you like the certainty of a final breath. And yet, there is warmth in him, one you have come to know intimately—a paradox of comfort in the arms of Death himself.

“Zagreus is coming,” he murmurs, voice quiet as the rustle of the Fields of Asphodel. “He was waylaid.”

“Waylaid,” Megaera echoes, smirking. “That’s one way to put it.”

You tilt your head up as you feel Thanatos shift, his golden eyes gleaming under the torchlight. He is beautiful in his quietude, just as Megaera is beautiful in her storm.

"Were you helping him again, Than?" you inquire.

It has been a long time since aiding the Prince of the Underworld in his escapades was seen as some form of treason by Hades. Even then, Thanatos still averts his gaze, his grey skin flushing with a dark shade like the murky waters.

"Helping is a generous term, dear," he mumbles.

Megaera snorts.

Their bickering is dry, almost entirely deadpan. There is none of that theatrical flair of Zagreus arguing with his father for eternities, but it is no less entertaining for you to watch. You've learned to take delight in the sharpness of their words, the furrow of their brows. In a way, it is strangely domestic.

You cannot help the little grin that tugs at your lips as you watch them in front of you. The laugh that tumbles out of your mouth is entirely accidental, and you squeak as two pairs of golden eyes snap to you.

"What are you laughing about, little flower?" Thanatos muses, his voice soft and utterly smitten.

"Isn't it obvious? They're laughing at you," Megaera scoffs, though it lacks in her usual malice.

Suddenly, the scent of wine and pomegranate blossoms floods your senses.

It comes before you even see him. You close your eyes, basking in the scent of it as if it were the spring that you have not felt in a lifetime. Beside you, Megaera and Thanatos fall silent.

Then, there he is: breathless, grinning, battered from the inevitable chaos that follows him everywhere, the floors of hell burning under his feet. His underworld-forged armor bears fresh scrapes, his knuckles bruised from the skirmish, but his smile—his smile is for you.

For all of you.

"There is your husband," Megaera drawls.

Zagreus is panting when he reaches you, still dripping in the blood from the River Styx. You have learned to disregard the viscera, delighting only in the way his hands reach—finding yours, Megaera's, brushing against Thanatos's in an unspoken promise.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Zagreus breathes. “Got a little distracted.”

"Distracted, he says," Thanatos deadpans.

Megaera rolls her eyes, but she lets him pull her closer. Thanatos sighs but does not resist the touch.

Death, treachery, rebirth; how odd for a maiden of the Earth to surround themself with. But you have learned like the goddess before you that love tends to find creatures like you in the strangest of places, like a stubborn dandelion blooming through the cracks of a cobblestone path.

You beam, lifting yourself up on your toes to press your lips against your husband's cheek, then your two other lovers. Their hands are cold like the touch of Death and unbearably warm like the flames of Asphodel, and you stand at the very center of it—something that was once warm and breathing and now is not; beloved in your death as you were in life.

"Shall we have our supper together now?" the bride of the Underworld asks.

And like any damned creature in love, the Underworld listens.

[argetcross]

Happy 4th anniversary to wasting beats of this heart of mine, my Zagreus becomes mortal AU! Another year, some more adventures undertaken.

This year, I've unearthed more concepts and half-finished paintings all the way from 2021. I've included notes under the cut about each piece, as well as more reflections.

If you told me in October 2020 that you'll write a fic over 100k words long, spanning multiple cities, with multiple POVs, I would have said, "Are you sure?". I think I never really imagined I could keep a story running, much less one that demands so much of its author. At the same time, this work has been my deepest and most fulfilling pleasure. It lives in my dreams, haunts my waking moments, and demands I regularly carve my heart out and poke through the viscera. I suppose such is the nature of art.

We've been approaching the end of Part III, and readers up-to-date know I've mentioned planning for five parts in total. Five acts, five biomes: it only feels fitting. Many things I had looked forward to (the chariot race! Kyane and Persephone! The return of Thymoetes!) have come to life on the page, but there's still so much of the yarn left to spin. I never expected needing years to complete this story, but I also feel strongly I am beholden to it now. To Zagreus, to Demeter's children, to the mortals and gods, above and below. I will continue to try my best.

Thank you to jules, val, nan, robin, and spleen for having beta'd for me during these years. This story wouldn't be what it is without you. Thank you to mag, for having crawled through the trenches of creating an enormous fanwork and countless hours of spreadsheeting, with me. To every artist that has ever drawn me anything, it is truly humbling to be able to inspire your work. To the House Party, whose friendship I am grateful for every day.

And to anyone who has ever read part of the story, left a comment, and stepped along on this journey with me, I cannot overstate how grateful I am. I remain baffled and pleasantly surprised that this world of mine can touch your heart. It's a story that I hope, when it completes, you will pick up again from time to time, and take pleasure in its telling once more.

With all my love,

Arget

--

Notes about each image:

Thanatos and Zagreus by the sacred olive trees of Athena. This painting was based on a photo I took in Athens. The quality of the sunlight astounded me and, in turn, made me think about life and death.

Thanatos anointing the body of the god Zagreus with nectar. This is related to the scene in Chapter 23, when he and Nyx converse by Zagreus' bedside.

Eleusis concepts. For such a powerhouse of a cult, Eleusis itself has a provincial feeling to it. I was captivated by the idea of the sea, and the fact that Zagreus had never spent any time on the coast. This would have been his first experience with it.

Athens. What can I say about Athens that hasn't been said? The trip I took late 2022 provided a lot of the inspiration for the citadel aspect of the acropolis. This is not the Athens of Classical Greece, the polis of democracy, but a fictionalized city-kingdom, under the rule of its royal family. The idea that Callisto had a student living in Athens was both a nod to the extensive trade happening during the Bronze Age and a deconstruction of the Amazon myth that the Greeks told themselves.

Clymene, the Oracle of Delphi. This was originally meant to be a Hades game-like portrait, but I scrapped the idea. She is dressed in the fashion closer to the Minoans, to give her a more Bronze Age feeling. As the head priestess, I wanted to show her age.

Apheidas and Thymoetes sketches. The two brothers are supposed to look night and day from each other. I tried to give Apheidas a pleasant sort of face, in comparison to Thymoetes' haughtiness.

The tapestry sketch. This was one of the first drawings I ever made about wasting beats, in an attempt to understand the type of story I was about to write. Key elements had already been decided, such as the chariot race and the way Demeter and Hades would play the role of the absent gods, for above as well as below. I had not written Apollo at this time, so you see him here with short hair.

Zagreus, reaching for a bloodstone. The chlamys, a gift from his foster-father's wife, has been the simple denotation of mortal Zagreus. Something bright and red, simple for it was woven by a farmer's wife, and barely able to protect his weaker mortal body.

Megaera, hurt and angry, and Than, stricken and alarmed, amidst a storm of paper. This is a scene from Chapter 18, Primordial Winter, that I had always wanted to illustrate.

[darlingpoppet]

Ｌｉｍｉｎａｌ Ｓｐａｃｅｓ— Chapter 7

Hades (Video Game) | Modern AU (College/University) | PZA | Explicit | Chapters: 7/7 | Words: 46,674 (Chapter 7: 8,470)

Summary: Inspired by The Dreamers, except make it 2010s and ｖａｐｏｒｗａｖｅ. Zagreus is a university student who feels aimless in life. His girlfriend dumped him, things between him & his best friend are weird, and he lacks ambition in his studies, all while the optimistic visions of his generation’s future are becoming lost. Until one day, he falls into the orbit of Achilles & Patroclus―a charming, yet eccentric pair who completely alter Zagreus’ outlook on life & death, love & loss, past & future, and the transitions in between.

Excerpt:

(cw/tw: violence)

Bzzzz.

The sound of a vibration materializes within the scene of Zagreus’ dream. He is dreaming of his father, and the two of them are arguing. Zagreus has had this sort of dream many times before, but this time, there structures crumbling all around, and the entire earth seems to rumble beneath them as they fight.

Stupid boy! Witless, careless brat! You are hopeless!

They are among the words he has heard all his life—his father’s voice repeating them directly from his own mouth; as well as over and over again inside Zagreus’ mind.

Get out of my head. Shut up. Shut up!

You seem determined to never apply yourself to anything! You cannot be trusted with any sort of responsibility at all!

And then finally, when Zagreus can bear it no longer, grown dissatisfied with the harm caused by words alone, he lunges forward, and somehow, suddenly, a weapon—a sharp blade—appears in his hand. The metal flashes in the light as he angles it, and then Zagreus is driving it directly into his father’s chest with a satisfying split, as the man’s sinews and viscera rupture, all torn apart within. More satisfying still is that his father, who twitches weakly underneath him, does not speak anymore, whether from the shock of the attack, or from the deep gash in his heart flooding the blood up into his throat, drowning his tongue.

Zagreus watches at length, his father drooling in red as the life drains from him, and the buzzing sounds keep coming. There is an odd stillness which follows them however—they’re left to persist uninhibited, and it’s that oddness which coaxes Zagreus awake.

Sure enough, when he opens his eyes, he finds nothing but the sight of rumpled, empty blankets. Patroclus’ phone rests on top of a pillow, its owner nowhere to be found.

Zagreus sits up, swiveling his head around the interior of the blanket fort and feeling stupid for it—because of course, there is nowhere else they could be within such a small space. Perhaps they went back to sleep in Patroclus’ room, he thinks. Beyond the blanket walls, he can hear the dull chanting of the protests from outside again, leading him to believe it must be past mid-morning by now.

He crawls out from the fort. Unexpectedly perhaps, Achilles and Patroclus both come into view when he stands up. Achilles is sitting on the couch that had been pushed up against the wall to make room for the blanket fort several days previously. He is looking at his phone while another eerie, pitched-down song plays quietly. Out of all the songs Zagreus has heard in his time here with the two of them, this is the one he is certain he’s most familiar with, hearing it countless times online, though as usual, he has no idea what it is called.

Next to Achilles, just a few feet away, Patroclus stands there with his arms crossed in front of the wide windows, looking out. He paces back and forth like a caged lion as he observes the crowds marching in the streets below.

Zagreus speaks up into the silence, sensing the tension in the room but hoping somehow that a cheerful tone will successfully cut through it.

“Good morning… What’s up? Did I miss breakfast already?”

Achilles and Patroclus’ heads both whirl around toward the sound of his voice with some suddenness, as if they hadn’t noticed him emerge from his bed. Patroclus says nothing however, and turns back to his survey of the streets. Achilles on the other hand seems a bit more willing to engage than he did yesterday, the throes of his anger once again slackened, though something else still seems to have a broad grip on his attention.

“We’re not hungry,” he says absently. “Go help yourself.”

“Oh,” Zagreus says. If Achilles meant it as a dismissal, Zagreus doesn’t move. “What’s going on out here? You guys don’t want to spend time in the fort anymore?”

Achilles’ response is equivocal. He shrugs, giving an easy shake of the head.

“Patroclus said he wanted a bit of sunshine,” he answers. “Poor flower…. Apparently he starts to wilt if he’s kept in the shade for too long.”

Patroclus shoots Achilles a momentary sidelong glance, but continues to say nothing.

“Oh,” Zagreus says again. “Well, that’s okay. I don’t mind if we just hang out in our rooms again. I can’t sleep well on the floor, anyhow. And I’m willing to bet that all three of us haven’t been getting enough rest, and that’s the reason why we’ve been so wound up over every little thing recently. I mean, spending all our time together in that tiny blanket fort… we should be giving each other some more space—”

“Achilles,” Patroclus speaks up at last. He interrupts Zagreus, as if he hadn’t been listening to him at all. “I want to go outside.”

READ THE REST ON AO3 HERE!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57964459/chapters/164126053

Chapter Navigation: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Bonus: Side Story

[udaberriwrites]

Cliche Star Trek high school AU, but it's at Starfleet Academy or whatever it's called.

Hades AU where Than or Meg are the ones trying to break out of the Underworld

Heartstopper but gender swapped so Nick/Charlie are F/F, Tara/Darcy are M/M and so on

These three plot ideas are so interesting, and definitely not something I would have considered writing without enabling, thank you Bleep!

I may try my hand at more of them, but for now, here is the Hades AU, where Meg is the one trying to escape (which turned out kind of Romeo and Juliet-esque? It definitely has potential!)

There is no meaningful change in the House of the Dead. The Underworld doesn't obey the rules of the living, and Time has no purview there.

Except that when Megaera returns from her duties in Tartarus, Zagreus is gone.

Her breath catches in her throat when he's not there to greet her, and she realizes she can't find him.

True, they have been having problems lately. Meg doesn't know who's at fault; maybe they both are. He's flighty, irreverent and impulsive. She's stubborn, dogmatic and just as prone to resort to anger. Before she left on her Iatest assignment, their conversations always seemed to end in explosive arguments.

But like a fool, she loves him still, and he loves her. If there's certainty in the Underworld, it's that all mortals will get there, that no one escapes it and that Zagreus loves her.

Yet he's gone.

Eventually, her desperation gives her the courage to approach the Lord of the House, since nothing happens without his knowledge. His unforgiving stare nearly makes her flee, but Meg is nothing if not determined. She asks.

"I sent the boy with his mother," Hades answers, "and good riddance."

He motions for the line of shades to resume and she's too stunned to react in time. It is Nyx, at last, that will answer her questions. About Hades deeming Zagreus not worthy of the throne. About shining Persephone, and her garden in the Living World.

Later, Meg will stand in Zagreus' abandoned chambers, empty and organized for the first time in possibly ever. She'll go to the courtyard where they often trained together, where they kissed for the first time. She'll look at Tartarus from the balcony, tracing with her eyes the long way up, up, up…

She'll run her fingers down her whip, thinking of Zag's bright eyes, his dwindling smiles, all that remains unsaid between them. About their last words, harsh and cutting, and how desperatedly she wishes they weren't her last memory of him.

She'll step on the windowsill and feel her resolve harden. Because if Hades thinks this will keep them apart?

"Try and stop me."

Meg jumps down.

[nevermatchandscpsradadventures]

i love them i can’t stop thinking about them ok ok

[bettsfic]

my FTH auctions are up!

i have two offerings:

a developmental edit/coaching session on any work under 10k words (or sensitivity reading/specialist expertise; see offering page for specifics)

a fic under 5k words for any of the following:

For Hades: only Megaera/Zagreus, Melinoe/Icarus, Melinoe/Moros, or Hades/Persephone. For Genshin Impact: only Arataki Itto/Kujou Sara, Layla/Yae Miko, or Razor/any female character. For Star Wars: only Anakin/Padme, Rex/Ahsoka, or gen fic of any combo of The Bad Batch.

bids start at $5 and go to the bidder's chosen organization 💝

[kartaylirsden]

2024 Wrap up

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2024. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I'm blaming @moriche for this. Tagging @shadovvmarks @methysis-art @blackfeathercourt @swtorpadawan and anyone else who sees it and wants to do this.

This list is skewed a bit toward the end of the year, partly because I posted a bunch of fic in Nov/Dec and partly because I don't actually remember the first half of the year terribly well.

I wrote a decent amount of F/F this year, and a solid percentage of that was straight up smut. As evidenced by the fact that 3/5 pieces on this list qualify. I think my goal next year is to write more of that, especially for Elder Scrolls. (If people have specific pairings they'd like to see I'm open to being convinced, but no promises.)

Fics are in order of most recent to oldest. That is enough picking and choosing for me.

Weaponry - Masquerade Series, Baru Cormorant/Aminata isiSegu. Apparently the second fic for the pairing overall, it involves creative use of swords.

Excerpts from a Diary - Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. A world-building piece about the adventures of Erur-Dan, one of the Failed Incarnates.

Complications - Star Wars Legends, Mara Jade/Leia Organa. This was a late treat, and I'm pleased I actually managed to get it polished up and posted this year.

Pact of Punishment - Hades 2, Alecto/Megaera/Tisiphone. One of a couple of F/F pieces I wrote for Nonconathon, this one is about Megaera being punished by her sisters.

Extraction - Elder Scrolls Online, Original Character F/F. A triple drabble about becoming a Briarheart.

Honorable mention for Signed In Our Own Blood, my SWTOR F!Imperial Agent/M! Sith Warrior longfic with @methysis-art. Not going to count it properly as it still has two chapters left to go before it's finished.

[newmoonboon]

Let me Show You: Chapter 1

First Hades x Reader fic is finally posted! There is such a lack of x reader fanfics in this fandom; I wanted to change that even a little. Please take note of the tags and warnings. Contains: Zagreus x Reader, Megaera x Reader, and Zagreus/Megaera.

[monamoe]

*Drops a bunch of my princesses of the kingdom of fantasy AUs and runs away*

Swap AU (My favourite one and also the only one I actually have a fic for :3 it’s on ao3 and please bear with me It’s super self indulgent and also I made it for the PdRdlF discord server): Basically, what if the Grey Witches and the Princesses swapped roles? (Kind of. Disclaimer the Grey Witches are only human, they’re not princesses. I fear the power Etheria would have if this occurred…)

Yuri AU (LISTEN. The discord server is full of lesbians what am I to do): All the husbands are gender swapped :3 Included sexist Academia (the only good things that came from this establishment are Rubin Blue and Kaliq Zaba, literally fight me.)

Hades Game AU (if you’re catching both trends of me being influenced by discord server characterization and my other interests no you haven’t hahaha): Nils is Zagreus, Rubin is Thanatos, Samah is Megaera, Donor is Hades, and Hannah is Persephone.

EPIC AU (Venegance Saga destroyed me I’ve gone insane from too good of a saga): Wise King is Odysseus, Queen is Penelope, Yara is Telemachus.

What if Gunnar never turned into a wolf AU? (Omg rare sighting of an actual canon divergent au and not me mixing my interests together): Gunnar never turned into a wolf! He’s traumatized and scarred and has some magical characteristics but he’s human :) (mostly). It also includes my Cinderia/Tefria is Gunnar’s sister AU/theory.

I have too many to count rn yall my brain is still reeling from epic:the vengeance saga. Anyways I love PdRdlF and my brain is full of worms byeeee

[notebookpapers]

💜 Kinktober 2023!! 💜

Minors please DNI!!

It’s spooky season, which also means it’s time for Kinktober!! This will be my first time participating in Kinktober, and I very rarely write this much in such a short period, so I will more than likely not get all my uploads done in time and may shuffle things around depending on what I get done first. I’ll (hopefully) be doing a total of 12 fics for this month (so long as I finish everything in time), all featuring kinks pulled from the official Kinktober list! Ship & kink pairings I have planned below the cut:

Rosemary (Rose Lalonde / Kanaya Maryam): Virginity | Lingerie

GaloLio (Galo Thymos / Lio Fotia): Collaring | Praise Kink

Cecilos (Cecil Palmer / Carlos the Scientist): Voice Kink | Praise Kink |Body Worship | Bondage | Sensory Deprivation

MegThanZag (Megaera / Thanatos / Zagreus): Threesome | Face-Sitting | Overstimulation | Praise Kink (Now on Ao3!)🔥

CaitVi (Caitlyn Kiramann / Violet): Masturbation

Matchablossom (Nanjo Kojiro / Kaoru Sakurayashiki): Exhibitionism & Voyeurism | Semi-Public | Stripping | Sex Toys | Body Mods | Orgasm Denial

LawLight (L. Lawlight / Light Yagami): Hate Sex | Frottage (now on Ao3!)🔥

GaloLio (Galo Thymos / Lio Fotia): Size Difference | Intercural Sex | Sweat

DaveKat (Dave Strider / Karkat Vantas): Deepthroating (now on Ao3!) 🔥

GaloLio (Galo Thymos / Lio Fotia): Costumes | Leather & Latex | Boot Worship

KouAo (Koujaku / Aoba Seragaki): Gags | Heartbeat | Hand Holding (now on Ao3!)🔥

Hannigram (Hannibal Lecter / Will Graham): Rimming | Somnophilia

Again, these are not necessarily in the order they’ll be posted in, and I may shuffle things around depending on what feels good to write in the moment. I don’t have a posting schedule yet, either, but I’m aiming to get 3 posted per week, if all goes well!! That being said, we all know I’m the kind of writer where sometimes my short pieces turn into long ones before I know it, so the amount of fics I actually get to may well vary from what I have planned, here. It's very likely that i might just do one a week and call it a day. I can't guarantee anything, but I promise to try!

Happy writing, everyone!! Enjoy your spooky season & enjoy your reading & writing this Kinktober!!! 🎃👻💛

[argetcross]

a lamb to slaughter - (x)

[darlingpoppet]

What We Had Waited For

Hades Video Game | Megaera/Zagreus/Thanatos | E | Threesome | First time | Love confessions | 3.9k

Summary: After successfully romancing both Megaera and Thanatos, Zagreus finds that he and Than are tentative about establishing a physically intimate relationship. Luckily Meg, with whom Zagreus already has a sexual history, is willing to help.

I was happy to participate in @thehadeslounge’s annual holiday gift exchange again this year, because I had the opportunity to complete my first fic featuring MZT, a ship I’ve been wanting to explore for a while! My giftee this year was the lovely @tayasigerson, yet another member of the community I was very honored to write for <3 I’m grateful that they enjoyed this sweet & spicy little story and I hope all of you do, too <3

Excerpt:

Already resigned to returning to his room alone for now, Zagreus makes his way to the east wing of the house. However, he stops short at the entrance of the lounge when he suddenly spots not only Than, but also Meg—both of them sitting together at a circular table on the far-end. They see him as well, and they wave him over, and for this Zagreus thinks he should be grateful, at least. Before these particular interpersonal breakthroughs, there have been more occasions than he would like to admit, even in the recent past, in which he had thought to join them for a drink, only to be spurned.

As Zagreus sits down, he gets the impression that they have been expecting him—from the looks on their faces to, perhaps even more tellingly, a bottle of nectar already sitting there for him in front of the last vacant seat. He sits.

“What’s all this?” Zagreus asks, twisting open the stopper on his drink.

Megaera watches him take a sip, chin resting primly on an overturned palm, showing off pink-painted fingers. She smiles.

“It is perhaps a good stroke of fortune that you would appear just now,” she says. Her manner here is formal; her tone the one she uses when discussing matters of duty.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“Than and I were in conversation just now… he has come to me to receive counsel.”

“About what?”

“About you.”

“Me?”

Given recent developments, Zagreus assumes that Meg knows about him and Than by now. He had been fairly certain that she wouldn’t have a problem with it, but on the other hand, despite his insistence to her that his business is his own, he wonders if perhaps they should’ve discussed it beforehand, even if his concurrent relationships with both of them have evolved rather quickly. Yet he and Meg have only just managed to patch things up between one another, after admittedly a rather acrimonious break-up. It wouldn’t do to spoil their tentative reconciliation so soon, especially when Zagreus has only just remembered how incredible the sex is between the two of them—er, not that it’s the only good quality about their relationship, or Meg as a whole.

Zagreus glances towards Thanatos. Often taciturn even in the best of circumstances, he remains quiet, acting as if extremely interested in the carvings of the wooden table in front of them.

“Thanatos tells me that the two of you have become lovers,” Megaera says, confirming Zagreus’ suspicions right away.

“I see. And he is… what, exactly? Asking for your blessing?”

Meg chuckles into her drink at this. She continues to hum with amusement as she holds onto a mouthful, savoring it for a moment before swallowing.

“Do you think he needs my permission, Zag?”

“Not really. But if this is something you have a problem with, best we get it out in the open to discuss it, shouldn’t we?”

“Your personal matters don’t concern me, Zagreus. At least, insofar that I’m not here to evaluate your choices in romantic partners.”

“Oh. Then what’s all this about?”

Megaera does not answer right away, silently regarding Zagreus for a long while. She is still smiling, but Zagreus knows there could very well be something else more sinister lurking behind one of her sly smiles.

“I think you are quite lucky, Zag. Forgive me if remarking upon this fairly plain observation comes off as condescending, but Thanatos cares for you quite a lot.”

Zagreus’ eyes flicker to Thanatos. “Yes, I suppose he does,” he says evenly, not exactly sure yet where this is going.

Thanatos meets his gaze. His manner is stiffly formal, even though Zagreus can see the golden glow from the ichor rising on his cheeks.

“I wanted to speak with Megaera because… I thought perhaps she could impart her wisdom on matters she has experience in, unlike myself. I thought perhaps she could offer some reassurances… as you and I—” he pauses, swallows. “—as we reassess the bounds of our relationship.”

He is not any more specific than this, but Zagreus understands what he means anyway. Though it is true that he and Thanatos have taken each other as lovers, they are still in the process of figuring out what such a thing means for the two of them, and what boundaries, if any, might still exist. Zagreus has never shied away from the fact that he has a certain penchant for physical pleasure and coupling. Despite Thanatos’ relative disregard of such things, whether from inexperience or disinterest (likely one in the same), Zagreus had assumed, perhaps naively, that the two of them would easily fall into sync together, simply by the virtue of their life-long intimate friendship. And yet Zagreus found himself fumbling, suddenly shy because he wanted to please Thanatos, and realized he had no idea how. Thanatos is his dearest friend—the significance of this had stymied his courage. There had been gentle kisses and touches with the promise of more, but neither of them were apparently willing just yet to take that next step to deepen their intimacy… in whatever form it may ultimately take.

Apparently Thanatos was of the same mind.

“I asked her about what might please you,” he admits, the words coming slightly bolder now, his anxieties precisely echoing Zagreus’ own. “I presumed she is already much more knowledgeable than I in that regard.”

“Perhaps I am,” Megaera cuts in. “But also, dare I say the relationship between the two of you is rather different than the one between Zagreus and myself. I’m not sure that behaving as I would in a given situation would come naturally to Gentle Death, and doubtless inappropriate in any case.”

Thanatos looks solemn, if not a bit disappointed.

“I suppose that’s true,” he says. “I’m not sure if Zagreus’ proclivities match my own strengths, as it were. Not that I wanted to do things as you would… I suppose I just wished for a bit of additional insight.” Thanatos eyes Zagreus, addressing him as he hurries to say: “From an outside perspective, I mean. I was going to discuss it with you too, of course—”

“I don’t think you need to worry about it too much, Than,” Meg says. “I believe our Zagreus to be actually quite undiscriminating in matters of pleasure. And I mean that as a compliment.” She turns, nodding to Zagreus. “I think it is a virtue of his to be able to take joy in almost whatever life has to offer. And as I recently discovered, it turns out he has quite a knack for being able to bestow such an outlook onto others, as well. Our prince is perhaps much wiser than I often gave him credit for.” Megaera’s arms are now crossed, looking between them with a subdued, yet knowing expression. “In any case… I believe we have exhausted our ability to deal with this matter over drinks. Come, let us move our conference elsewhere.”

“Where are we going?” Zagreus asks, quickly draining his bottle before he has to abandon it.

“Your room.”

Read the rest on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/62309176

[chocolatepot]

I'm very pleased to have written the first fic for The Shabti - and I hope more follow it! If you haven't read the novel, it's the story of a former spiritualist con man running into an actual spirit and falling in love with the professor he helps to deal with it. Order it or request your library get it today!

Rating: G | Words: 1,240

Relationship: Dashiel Quicke/Hermann Goschalk

Additional Tags: Domestic Fluff, Missing Scene, Undressing, Yiddish, Gratuitous Yiddish

Once Lucille and Agnes had helped Hermann get Dashiel into the passenger seat of his car, they’d gone off on their own, and almost immediately afterward Dashiel passed out. It gave Hermann a fright — he’d just put the car into gear and glanced over at the other man, expecting a reassuring smile, and was met instead with what looked almost like a corpse with a face drained of blood. He didn’t have Lucille’s skills, of course, but he imitated what he’d seen her do before, reached out (trembling more than she did), and rested two fingers on the inside of Dashiel’s left wrist. There was a pulse, reassuringly present if faint, and he let out a shuddering breath. Hermann gets Dashiel home and puts him to bed after the spiritualist meeting.

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 1

Propaganda under the cut

Chi-Chi

I think the fandom has had a turnaround on her in recent years, so the Chi-chi abuse has abated quite a bit from what I've seen, but for the longest time your standard Goku/Vegeta fic included SOME manner of sidelining her HARD, if not outright villainizing her or killing her off for convenience. Fuck, I'm guilty of it, even. I've seen meta and fics that go on and on about how she's abusive or ignorant or a bad wife or an overnearing mother or useles, and seen episodes where she's put aside as a gag, the nagging wife of Goku. Poor Chi-chi...she is so great and pure-hearted and stong-willed and yeah she's a bit of a tiger-mom and her name is a pun for tiddies but she loves her family and kicks-ass and she was done so dirty by the franchise and the fans for so long I wanna marry her.

Being a victim of yaoi is just one of the many ways Chi-Chi gets fucked over by the fandom. She also gets degraded for being a nag (wanting her family to be safe and not fight) and stopping her son from reaching his full potential (not wanting her son, who is anywhere from 5 to 11 depending, to be killed in a big alien fight). In this case, though, she gets killed off, divorced, or otherwise fucked over so her husband Goku can bang local genocidal maniac and fandom babygirl Vegeta. Bulma (who is canonically Vegeta's love interest) gets some of this too, but Chi-Chi's treatment tends to be worse since the fandom hates her already.

She's the wife of the main character Goku who is poorly written and consistently presented as a domineering nag as part of that classic sidesplitting routine. The very creator of the manga himself has admitted he hates drawing her and only kept her around as a punishment to himself. Because she's a loud woman people will shove her aside and completely ignore her to ship Goku with his rival Vegeta (which does also involve neglecting Vegeta's wife Bulma but more people at least like Bulma as a character.) She is consistently demonized by the fandom and I have even seen some go so low as to as to ignore her so they can ship Frieza, one of the biggest and most obviously evil antagonists of the franchise, with Goku.

Megaera

She's the First of the Furies, which means she's in charge of punishing tormented souls in Hades. She is canonically the ex-girlfriend of the playable protagonist, Zagreus, and one of his three love interests he can romance in the game. Despite the fact that Megaera and Zagreus canonically had a very messy (but passionate) relationship prior to the events of the game, in fanworks she's often shoehorned into the role of wingwoman and/or Mean Lesbian (tm) in favor of the pairing up Zagreus with another of his love interests (the grumpy but affectionate Death Incarnate, Thanatos). The Thanatos/Zagreus pairing is massively more popular than any pairing featuring Megaera...despite the fact that in the game, Thanatos/Megaera/Zagreus is not only totally plausible, but entirely possible to achieve within canon. Literally, a throuple situation is achievable in game, and she still gets sidelined. Fanworks also have a tendency to paint the Megaera/Zagreus relationship as purely sexual and therefore not as "deep" or "romantic" as Thanatos/Zagreus, despite, again, plenty of in-game dialogue and events that indicate both Megaera and Thanatos have fallen in love with Zagreus on their own terms. Justice for Megaera.

she's one of two romanceable characters by the bi male protagonist and the other one is a man. people will write literal essays about the protag's relationship with his male love interest but she is reduced to "haha she pegs him. step on me" despite being an extremely interesting and multifaceted character in her own right. also people try to claim her ship is incest because in original greek myth she was the daughter of nyx who raised the protagonist and he believed she was his mother for a long time but their relationship was changed to be a boss/employee one in hades. and the protag's male love interest actually IS the biological child of the protag's foster mother but nobody wants to talk about that lmao....love you meg

There's so little fan content of her or the canon ot3 she's in because everyone just focuses on the 2 dudes 😔

[ao3feed-hadestown]

Tisiphone's not so good pretty bad day

https://ift.tt/ofwbDKq by Ifailedtothinkofaname Tisiphone needs some time alone after the quarrel with her sisters. It's Spring so she misses her mother badly and feels deeply dissatisfied with her newly obtained powers. Hades has to step in to help her feel better. Words: 10386, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Hadestown - Mitchell Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Hades (Hadestown), Persephone (Hadestown), tho she is only mentioned, Alecto (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Megeara (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Tisiphone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Alecto Megaera and Tisiphone are Hades/Persephone children OCs, Cerberus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore) Relationships: Hades/Persephone (Hadestown) Additional Tags: Kinda a WNSO verse story though with slightly incorrect WNSO timeline, but you'll learn what's the timeline difference is when Ace updates the fic lol, Tisiphone is having a bad day in the most teen way possible, Hades tries to parent semi-successfully, life is hard when you're 12, life is hard when you're in your 20000s, one might say life is just hard, probably a story that peeps who read wnso might find of interest via AO3 works tagged 'Hadestown - Mitchell' https://ift.tt/Xd5pwny

[veryace-ficrecs]

It's the one year anniversary of me posting recs! How time flies!! So in honor of the day, another edition of the first list I ever published!

Hades Fic Recs

keepsakes hold power by dustandstatic - Rated E

To the naked eye they look no different from ordinary trinkets, lucky charms perhaps, simple objects the dead often keep on them in the grave. Maybe they are. Maybe it’s Zagreus that makes them hold power. (concept: god's keepsakes and blessings change zagreus' appearance and behavior during an escape. thanatos takes notice.)

Again and Again by SailorFish - Rated T

Achilles stood up. He had been expecting the stranger since Megaera had stalked past him, elegant despite the anger and blood dripping from her. An AU where Zagreus was raised by Demeter and ends up fighting his way through the Underworld regardless - just in the opposite direction. Guarding the entrance out is the terrifying monster Cerberus, but guarding the entrance in is Achilles, best of Greeks. And he has strict orders not to let anyone in.

The Great Beyond by vinetini - Rated T

Zagreus makes a possibly stupid, definitely reckless deal with Chaos but has to leave his physical form behind to explore the chaotic realm beyond. His body washes up in the House of Hades, completely lifeless. Whoops.

in the half light by harukatenoh - Rated T

You don't die over and over again without internalizing some shit, even if you are a god.

death and i by storyandsong - Rated T

He's late, he realizes. There's a lot of blood here, he realizes a moment later. Not the blackened stains of shades temporarily banished, but the dark-red and glistening of mortal blood, spattered in desperate arcs across the grass, staining the water where the River Lethe pools. Across the chamber, it shifts to a trail of blood, the imprint of bare footprints burned into the darkening liquid. There. There, slumped with his back against a green-glowing infernal trove, an ethereal sword buried in his chest, a pool of blood slowly spreading beneath him—Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld, his warmth and light so faded that Thanatos didn't even realize he was still in the chamber.

There Will Be A Dawn by julomaiboulomai - Rated T

In the first days of Zagreus's tutelage, Achilles is still full of wrath more than anything. His bitterness toward the gods is untempered, and before him stands one of their scions, vulnerable and yet immortal, able to take however much he chooses to dish out. (Or, perhaps, not so immortal after all. And in the end, very vulnerable indeed.)

you're fire, but sweet by eggio - Rated T

Thanatos always remembers. How Zagreus’s touch is so warm against his skin, how just the brush of his fingertips over the flesh of his arm ignites his senses. He knows himself to be the opposite: cold, in more ways than one. There’s no warmth in his own arms, his fingers more like the ice Zagreus is just barely now experiencing. He’s cold, in the silence that he finds comfort in and how the way Zag so easily smiles isn’t something just as easy to him. And that he’s selfish; Thanatos wants everything that Zagreus is, every piece of him.

beasts and men by scatteringmyashes - Rated T

Patroclus has no interest in the arena, though he's been challenged many times. His fighting days are over and that is fine with him. The other occupants of Elysium are intent on changing that. Or: Five Times Patroclus Was Challenged And The One Time Someone Accepted

found a way to rise by renquise - Rated T

The river is high again. It laps up against the greaves of the statues in this chamber this time, the long grasses submerged and waving gently in the hazy waters. Last it took this chamber, it only rose to the top of the pedestals. He's learned to see the signs of when the river is about to rush out of its banks to take the chambers: the river grows wilder and the ground becomes soft and damp, water rising up between his toes and hissing into steam where it meets his feet. He’ll be glad when the water recedes again. — Or, the one with Lethe-induced amnesia.

embers by renquise - Rated M

Thanatos runs his fingers over the line of Zagreus's calf where flickers of flame recede into his skin, then pushes into the muscle with a firm touch. Zagreus jolts under his hands. “Ahh, how did you know that my legs are sore from all that running?” Zagreus laughs, a little breathless.