#◤　megaera　◥ ─── ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱ ; study | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kakopotmos · 7 months

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　　 ✦ ›› 𝐀 𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐒𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 ◤ 𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐀 ◥

❝ 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 ❞

truth be told : Megaera was selected for Ignihyde by the mirror during her original orientation.

it wasn't that surprising to Megaera, for she was ever and always tied up in the Underworld. still trailing behind the long shadows of Hades and Persephone, with her sisters ever at her side, even now that the king and queen were gone.

being accepted into Ignyhide was like dipping her tongue into the Lethe, forgetting for just a moment that she wasn't all alone. that Hades wasn't long gone. that Persephone was no longer awaiting her guiding hand to the surface world. and for a moment, she could taste the familiar honeyed sweetness of the Lethe, the very same liquid she and her sisters drank to help them forget the spanning eons, forgetting everything that didn't matter to them.

( for that, Megaera was truly grateful for the Lethe. for her ability to still access and still drink of the long sealed-away river. )

however, this reprieve is short-lived for Megaera, shorter than her actual stay in Ignihyde. she was whisked away not even a week later when word reached her that the current head of the Shrouds has gone into labor. although it is not a necessity for the Fury to witness this event, she would attend, if only for a chance to briefly see her sisters again. and so, her attendance at Night Raven College was put on hold.

it would be over 200 years before she would step foot back upon the campus. over 200 years before she would return to wear the uniform, to pretend to be a student.

over the course of those long years, Megaera attended to the duties as a mentor and guide to the Shroud family, for who knew the Underworld better than she? and eventually she found herself nestled into the role of S.T.Y.X. agent, granted the grace of being the head of her own hand-picked unit. of course, this came with the benefit of her file being buried so deeply beneath red tape that knowledge of her status as a Titan was only held by the head of the family and no other. on top of this, Megaera rarely altered her own appearance, remaining a stagnant figure amongst the Shrouds and their young.

( her long blue locks, for instance, were never altered, never cut, or colored. )

over the course of centuries, Megaera found NRC to be scarcely a thought in her head, considering how she was made to become the guard of the latest Mrs. Shroud, the woman brought from the outside to strengthen ties with Juno’s kin. a woman with a nervous disposition but a strong work ethic. a woman who thought of Megaera as a close companion, until the day that she was reborn as a Shroud in a bloody ritual that none may know of. only then was she allowed to know the truth of Megaera. only then did her need for companionship of the titan die, and she turned herself into a mighty image of what the Ruler of the Underworld ought to be.

it was many moons later when Megaera would be called into the birthing chamber to witness the birth of the heir, Idia. within the chamber, for it was a chamber, did Megaera go through the motions of spilling her divine ichor upon the child’s scalp, to pledge her allegiance, and to swear her loyalty to the heir apparent. this ritual would only be repeated once more with the birth of Ortho some ages later, as he was seen as fodder for building ties, and never as a replacement heir should anything happen to Idia.

in keeping with tradition, which had spanned the length of the Shroud line, Megaera was scarcely around the children, and anytime she passed them, her face was always covered, be it by veil or mask. her contact with the children was so limited that she didn’t even recognize them beyond their familiar flaming hair that fateful day when the Phantoms she had spent all her current life hunting had escaped. it would be the first and last time she so directly interacted with the children, at least, until the day when the head of the Shrouds dictated that she would return to NRC with Idia, merely to observe his progress, and to keep an eye out for the potential phantoms or overblot cases.

this would be the second time Megaera would be chosen for Ignihyde, but she would not remain within that dorm. her choice was swayed by the appearance of Malleus, and his entry into Diasomnia. it would be the first time in a long time that Megaera would see an actual threat in the ancient school for magically inclined misfits. only after seeing Idia off to his new home away from home did she approach Crowley and, on no uncertain terms, tell him that she would be switching dorms.

#◤　meta　◥ ─── ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴜꜱᴛ #◤　megaera　◥ ─── ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱ ; study

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kakopotmos · 7 months

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◤ the 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐞 of 𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐄𝐑𝐀 & 𝐌𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐀 ; from ichor to blood ◥

❝ 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐲 ❞

AFTER THE FALL OF KRONOS, the son of Uranus, father of the new Gods, all seemed to be well within the newly fashioned pantheon. as Zeus and his kin took to healing what damage Rhea bore from her brother-husband’s cruelty, and finding their own place in the wilderness of the world, the other Titans, and those great Primordials, found themselves sealed within ancient Tartarus, though some would be bound in servitude to Zeus and his kin. others, however, among the great Primordial beings and Nyx’s many, many children, would not be bound by one or another, keeping their stance on all things as rather neutral, untouchable, and so were feared by the gods.

among these greater beings, these Titans, were the Erineys, who resided within the Everdark, the realm that was both made from and was Erebus, Nyx’s consort. though accounts of how many sisters made up the Erineys varied, only three of the sisters would remain the most well-known :

MEGAERA, JEALOUS RAGE, GODDESS OF JEALOUSY AND ENVY, PUNISHER OF MAN ALECTO, ENDLESS ANGER, GODDESS OF VIOLENT ANGER, CASTIGATOR OF MORTAL CRIMES TISIPHONE, VENGEFUL DESTRUCTION, AVENGER OF MURDER, PUNISHER OF MURDERS

these CTHONIC deities, great and terrifying as they were, had little interest in the goings on of the gods, as though they were deities of vengeance, their focus was bound to the mortals who walked the world, unlike Nemesis, who sought out vengeance on behalf of the gods. they would only become aware of the on-goings of the new gods when young Aidoneos, sometimes referred to as Plouton, soon to be known as Hades, made himself known to them, after being tasked to not only house but also employ these daughters of Nyx. and though his smooth talking fell on deaf ears, the sisters were willing to follow his lead, so long as he did not seek to abuse their might. and so long as he did not seek to draw the ire of their primordial parents.

for a time, there was harmony within the Underworld, and between the remaining Titans and Hades. they, the sisters, gave their loyalty to Hades willingly, and remained nearly unbiased in all matters, so long as those matters did not pertain to their siblings, Thanatos and Hypnos, or Moros and Nemisis. ( the Fates, their elder sisters, were held at a distance, only sought in matters which brought the busy Furies to a halt. ) it became known to the sisters how often their kin were disrespected by the children of Kronos, and how often they were dragged into plots concerning Zeus’ infidelity, or Hera’s bouts of so-called jealousy, merely anger at infidelity and dishonesty from wanton husband. it also became well known to the sisters how the gods often sought to make use of mortals in their destructive games.

they, like GAIA before them, found that the ill-treatment of their kinsmen was akin to a slap in the face. and though Hades had not dared treat them with anything beyond the respect they deserved, they still found their blood boiled when they listened to tales of the OURANIC gods. ( of course, they were not the only ones, as Hades found himself harboring a distressing dislike towards his heavenly kin. )

during the infamous TROJAN WAR, the furies would make the choice to rebel against the gods. when Hypnos, dragged once more into games between Hera and Zeus, was threatened by the king of the heavens, and Nyx was drawn forth from the depths to protect her son, they had had enough.

perhaps it was a poor choice that Megaera and her sisters chose then to go against the Olympian gods, but they could no longer keep their feelings at bay. no matter the kindness and hospitality offered by Hades, they could not merely hold their tongue or their fury any longer.

foolishness was to be punished, and often such punishments bore only cruelty.

❝ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 ❞

to answer for her crimes against the Olympians, Megaera was stripped of her powers and forced to live as a mortal until her suffering was considered a fair trade for the damage she had dealt the gods. no amount of pleading from Hades, who oft pointed out that without Megaera, the Furies could not process the souls marked to be punished by the Jealous One, would change the ruling. nor did Nyx demand her daughter receive another punishment, for retribution must be paid in blood, even among the gods. ( although Mother Night did warn that she would not remain idle should the children of Kronos not hold to the promise of restoring Megaera to her place among her kin. )

and so the Titan found her soul bound to the Thebian girl, Megara, and made to live a mortal life of peril and poor choices, dragged around by the very whims of the gods she felt so bitterly toward.

as Megara, her mortal heart would, time and time again, lead her into terrible dealings with gods and monsters alike. would eventually lead her to make a truly miserable mistake, giving her mortal soul to a god for love of a dying man. yet, never did the ancient Titan stir within the mortal girl. not in that moment where that fragile soul was marked by the Underworld, not when the Fates and Hades alike gazed upon its worth and deemed it as acceptable. ( how Hades missed the flicker of Fury’s brilliant light remained a mystery to both well past the end of the age of gods. )

pinned beneath Hades’ thumb, Megara was tasked to do this or that as the god plotted against his Olympian brethren, not because of what had happened to his Furies, but for his own anger over the long held betrayal by Zeus all those eons ago when they were still young with no place to call their own. a scheme that had long taken root prior to the birth of Zeus’ latest son, and even long before the fall of the Furies. it was, of course, by that which the Fates peered upon which led to the meeting between Hercules and Megara. it was this (un)lucky meeting that would become the key to Hades’ plan, and would also lead into the true fate of the Thebian girl.

throughout Hercules rise as a hero, he became enamored with her, and in time she with him. a tragic romance in the making, unfortunately short lived, as during his trials into becoming a hero, the revelation that Megara was a puppet of Hades’ would prove to be a test neither could truly overcome. even when Hercules was willing to throw his life, his godhood, away for the witty and charming Megara, but fate for mortals who fall in love with gods is always bound up in the blood soaked ties of tragedy.

though Hercules was welcome among his Olympian kin, after the defeat of Hades, and the end of his nearly Olympian labors, he chose to return to the mortal plane, wishing to remain at Megara’s side. to be with the one he loved, and to pursue a human life, as limited as it would be. and it was something Megara, herself, was willing to pursue. to overcome her difficulties with the concept of love, and to see if, perhaps, Wonder Boy was really the one for her. since she was no longer bound to the Underworld, surely she deserved her own happy ending. and a happy ending she was given, at least for a time.

they settled, as they were want to do, out in Thebes. a cozy little home, a lovely field to call their own. they wed, of course, and Hercules was undoubtedly quick to get Megara with child. again, and again, and again. seven sons did she bear for him, seven demigod children that might one day join him in Olympus when the time so arrived. or, at least, one must have hoped, only to have those hopes dashed upon the stone with only the shrill bloodcurdling scream of mother and child. to say what caused the incident is to grasp at the air, the answer solely unclear to all parties except Moros and the Fates.

some accident would occur that would tip the scale and ignite Hercules’s lingering disconnect between his mortal body and immortal essence, sending him into a fit of mania that would claim Megara’s life and send her soul into the Underworld —— this time for good, as no deal could be made any longer to return her to life. ( later retellings would claim that jealous Hera had sent Iris and Lyssa, the spirit of madness, to drive Hercules mad, and cause him to kill Megara and their children. all retellings would embellish the hellish methods the demigod used to slaughter his kin. )

it was not Ker alone who came to collect Megara’s soul, and how the winged god of violent death did weep over this particular soul, but Thanatos as well, a true rarity in such a situation. together they brought Megara to the Underworld and set her soul to rest within the Styx. it was there they would leave her, not because they had wanted to, but because there was nothing they could do beyond this. Megara was dead, and the gilded soul of Megaera, weighty as it was, could not be parted by their hands, without it being seen as a slight against Zeus. she would sink to the bottom of the Styx, and remain, lost for a time until, perhaps, she might split from the Styx and eventually find her way into the Lethe.

or so one might believe.

it was not long until Persephone, the dread queen, took note of the latest soul cast into the Styx, for she was ever watchful, awaiting when her Fury might return. awaiting for the moment when she might fulfill her promise to Nyx to reunite the Furies, and bring about balance to the Underworld. she peered deep into the waters to catch the unfortunate soul. and she reached, as she had never done before, to grasp not Megara’s soul, but the ancient soul of such stuff as Primordial Night. to pry forth the broken soul of Megaera and finding it solid, for Titans, like gods, could not remain within the river as mere souls.

Hades, who had waited at the edge of the shoreline, only moved when he was certain Persephone required his help. he waded through the churning waters to join the queen and ease the Fury’s newly formed body from Persephone’s arms. though the weight of a Titan was great, it was a familiar one to the Chthonic deity. however, whilst still within the river Styx, both rulers of the Underworld bore witness to the mangled state of Megaera’s wings, a reminder of her punishment for her treachery. an ugly reminder that even the Titans could not defy the Ouranic gods and go unscathed. the Fury would remain cradled in Hades’ arms as Persephone removed the mangled appendages, and casts them into the depths of the Styx. only then did they, together, bring Megaera back to the depths of the Underworld, to Erebus, where Night and Darkness and all the Erineys awaited the return of the eldest.

𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫 : although this headcanon is heavily influenced by greek myth, it is still colored by di’sney’s hercules and does not properly portray the relationship between Hades and his kin, nor the supposed timeline of the myths mentioned, or acts that take part during the trojan war. it does, however, hold some truth about the death of hercules’ sons and wife, megara.

#◤　meta　◥ ─── ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴜꜱᴛ #◤　megaera　◥ ─── ᴏʙꜱᴇꜱꜱ ; study #child death mention *#so in true myth Herc's trials actually happened prior to the Trojan War but Didney puts them after for the film?? which was a choice

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