My Little Writing Blog

Ficlets and some little extras for my fanfics I publish on AO3 (with the same username as here). I write mainly Sterek and DBZ. Anything that isn't Sterek is tagged as #not sterek

[heavensentgohansrage]

Sunflower Marimo

PG-13, 4958 words

Fluff and Crack, Magical Seeds

AO3

So in this post on my main blog I gushed over this adorable work by @kingofalltsunfish​ and sorta made a promise to write it for her lol

It may have happened almost over two years ago, and the art itself is even much older than that, but I knew I had to do it.

Even if the outcome is all over the place for so many reasons, it’s better now then never.

Sanji has been howling with laughter for the last half an hour, as he keeps understanding more and more the reason behind Zoro’s strange behaviour.

Ever since returning back to the ship at almost the middle of the night, Zoro has refused to leave Chopper’s infirmary, where he has spent the night instead of the boys’ quarter. Then, all throughout breakfast, he proceeded in arguing with Nami about his mysterious need to turn the Sunny against the location of the sun - or, in words of people who actually know how direction works, to turn west - even though the Log Pose is directing to north-east.

Nami eventually agreed, even though he refused to give any explanation whatsoever. Then, it was only when he checked - through more than one window, because, you know, safety first - that the shadows outside were stretched in alignment with the ship’s structure that he rushed from the galley and through the short way that the infirmary created to the backside of the ship.

The crew’s excitement as they followed right after him was short, though, as it turned out he simply had to pee. Looking at each other, the group asked Franky to check if there was something wrong with the ship - although it did not explain Zoro’s secrecy about it - but he quickly found out that everything was just fine.

It was just then when Zoro finally went out, but slowly so, as he opened the door way too carefully, and even then took his time to look around, clearly making sure the ship was still facing the same way as he had asked for. Weirdly enough, it suddenly was not good enough for him to get out, but just shouted that they could now turn it back.

Before Sanji could tell him once more that Nami-san is not one to order around like that, though, Luffy stretched his hand all the way to him, assuring that he would make it quicker for him- and pulled Zoro’s shirt back to him without sparing him a moment to object.

Zoro, as usual, crushed right at Luffy and most of the rest, like Robin-chan, who Sanji had the utmost pleasure to pull away; but as he was bathing in the delight for having her thanking him that, suddenly he heard Zoro grunting.

The instinct to stand guard for his Nakamas overcoming any other nature of his as usual, Sanji cut his blessings off right away and turn to the Marimo-head, who was gritting his teeth and shaking with effort, although there was nothing visible to be affecting him.

Usopp and Luffy were arguing with one another, seemingly sensing nothing themselves, but Sanji activated his Haki anyway, in case some Devil Fruit power was casting on him from afar.

“What are you doing, dumb Cook?”

Sanji blinked back at Zoro, who, weirdly enough, looked completely fine as he was standing quiet and still. Had he seriously stolen his attention for nothing? Was it all just about some stupid bet he filled, considering Zoro never backs down from a promise he makes?

Sanji frowned. “You gotta be kidding me- you weren’t okay just a second ago! Just what’s wrong with you today that you’re acting more weirdly than usual?!”

There was a flash of realization in Zoro’s eye, and suddenly he was giving him the kind of smirk he always has when he uses Sanji to his advantage, although usually it is only for his amusement. “Me? I’m completely fine. You’re the one who imagines things. See?” He stretched his arms to the sides and walked backwards, as though to give Sanji a better look of his entire body.

But then he walked right into Nami, who had returned from the helm on the front of the ship to their side.

“Not only you didn’t watch your mouth that entire morning, but now you don’t even mind crossing others’ paths?!” She rebuked him.

“Yeah, how dare you running into Nami-san so carelessly?” Sanji followed with a yell of his own.

Zoro tsked and scratched his head in annoyance, but Sanji cared even less than the indifferent he would have been anyway about him being sandwiched between the two of them.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you!” She demanded, holding Zoro’s sides and turning him to her.

Zoro grunted again, this time like she was straining all the muscles in his body just by rotating him on his axis. Startled, Nami let go of him- but simply realizing her hands was like letting go of a swing that was spun 180 degrees, as in an instant he was turning his back on her, facing against the backside of the ship.

Everyone silently stared at him for a while, until Chopper started freaking out of the blue.

“Is it- Could it be- Th-that’s bad! Where’s the doctor?!”

“Calm down Chopper and tell us what’s wrong!” Usopp entreated him tiredly.

“Ahh, sorry!” Chopper circled Zoro, who still did not bother to change his position back, to be able to face him. “Zoro, yesterday when we split in the island and you wandered by yourself, did you come across sunflower seeds, or something similar, while exploring the island?”

“Yeah, I helped some old lady carrying her groceries, then the garden kept leading me to her backyards where there were flower plots, so it tempted me to try some. Why?”

Sanji felt a squeeze inside his stomach, but just like every time Zoro’s words affected him like that, he made himself to ignore it. He should know better than react that way to such an idiot who would not admit he got lost in a porch, for fuck’s sake.

“Then it is serious!” Chopper squealed and put both paws on his face.

Sanji patted him on his head, trying to soothe him as much as he could. “What it is then?”

“I’ve noticed the sunflowers here are a rare species of a clan-type.”

“Clan-type?” Robin parroted him with an inauspicious voice.

Chopper nods. “It is kind of plants which try to make other living beings to become like them instead of naturally reproducing. Luckily, this species is too weak to actually make a human into a flower, and maybe this is why the locals allowed themselves to grow them for their beauty. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t succeed to leave any effect at all.”

“Eh? But he still looks normal!” Luffy wondered as he searched for anything outstanding all over Zoro’s body, who was losing his patience by the minute.

“Didn’t you notice? As long as he sees it, Zoro can only face the sun!”

Sanji cannot help himself but losing it.

  -

  For the following days, Zoro spends even more of the day in the crow’s nest. He even stops looking for booze, too, as he has to make sure he drinks just as much as his body needs to deal with the amount of sweat he perspires during his workout, so unlike the first morning he will be able to hold it until the sun is down, when he finally can go out.

Since Nami asked Sanji so, he prepares breakfast for Zoro earlier than everyone, just before the sun is up, and delivers him lunch while everyone eats inside the galley.

Sanji understands it is serious, especially as out on the sea, the next battle can happen at any given moment; not only everyone will have to have Zoro’s back, the proud bastard will not even let them cover for him that easily himself.

In the meantime, though, he still takes advantage of that to make fun of Zoro every time. He cannot be blamed for not being able to stay quiet with a - now literally - moss-for-brain guy, who could not even figure out himself that the sunflower seeds he has eaten just before it all started were the reason for it.

As the sunflowers act the way they do because they know what is best for themselves, even without consciousness, that man is officially dumber than a plant.

“Enjoy your meal- unless you’re already full by photosynthesis,” he wishes him the first time he brings him lunch.

“It’s exactly noon, so make sure to warn us when you sense a Knock-Up Stream, South Bird,” he cheerfully remarks another time as he brings him a snack.

“Maybe you should consider renaming this one after Thousand Sunny instead,” he notes at one of the time he comes back to take the dishes, while Zoro was practising the movement of the 1080 Pound Ho technique with weights.

For the last bad pun Sanji actually has to dodge an attack directed at him, and each time it is still worth it. After all, if he has somehow spent the entire first day under the effect of the seeds facing the sun, which allowed him to find the right path back to the ship even later than usual, without getting his face burn- then at least Sanji can amuse himself by attempting getting his face red himself.

Although while not finding it as cute as it is amusing, of course. Not at all.

At any case, the rest of the crew takes their part in toying with the current member to get into an unfortunate situation, so Sanji is afraid he will soon run out of original good material himself - only Usopp, for example, has used up anything clever you could make with a comparison to the Sunlight Tree Eve -  but that until Chopper gets concerned about the lack of vitamin D Zoro will soon suffer from, as it is not clear when the effect will go away, and orders him to take his naps outside.

Luffy and Usopp get bored of it quickly, as the sun moves too slowly for the direction Zoro’s head leans to noticeably enough, but Sanji still manages to entertain himself with trying to guess the time according to the direction Zoro’s head is tilted to.

But that also means he stares at him more as he sleeps, and perhaps Sanji does more damage to himself than good while suddenly noticing how beautiful Zoro’s face are, once he is too peaceful to distract Sanji with some sort of annoyance. It even exposes some of his soft side he usually does not show, well hidden behind the stiffness the usually carries himself with.

Sanji is reminded of one of those rare times, where they got stuck with each other as circumstances made them split together from the rest of the crew; as they walked by a small waterfall, Sanji’s eyes caught a small rainbow it created. He got closer to make it illuminate over his hand, and only by luck Zoro was still not that far away once he raised his head to look for him. He called him, intentionally to warn him to not drift away- but was then surprised when the swordsman not only was marvelled once he noticed Sanji’s his finding, but was interested enough that he got closer to take a better look, touching Sanji’s hand in the process. Sanji somehow avoided jerking away, but it did make his gaze to lock on the full exposure of Zoro’s long, moss-green eyelashes as he was looking down. The way their arcs were as perfectly round as the sincere, more unalloyed than his katanas smile stretching beneath them caught Sanji’s breath. He had seen him smiling astonishedly like that before, like when they arrived at Water 7, but had never thought he would have ever care to share it with him.

Then the singular hazel eye looked back at him, which may have carried less variety of shades than a rainbow, but the natural phenomenon still had nothing in comparison to the depth and strength of the overall tone.

Okay, that is it, he should stop wasting time on bittersweet memories and focus on important issues, especially those which will actually grant him happiness, like making drinks for the ladies.

He manages to actually lose those previous thoughts in his new occupation, that he even manages to not pay attention to Zoro as he leaves a drink beside him, and passes him to Nami and Robin- the only targets that should matter.

And that is why it takes another whole day for anyone to notice that he became the one according to whom Zoro’s body changes the angle it is facing, overcoming even the sun’s position, whenever he is near him.

  -

  “Best. Development. Ever!” Usopp cries, rolling on the ship’s lawn while holding his sides.

“How the hell having our Swordsman losing control over his body is a good development?!” Nami scolds after him.

Luffy, who has been crossing the grass back and forth just like Usoop, suddenly clashes into the other- but it does not stop the two of them to bark out in yet another wave of laughter.

“We should find a yellow ball on the next island to throw at the Marines so he could fight them,” their Captain finally suggests.

“Great idea, so very helpful,” Nami sighs as she walks up to the duo to give them their justified punches.

Sanji has never had any special thought about his hair, really - unlike someone else’s, it is actually a completely normal one - but that situation makes him to actually wish it was not yellow.

Not that it means he plans to dye it to anything else, of course.

“Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?!” Chopper waves his arms helplessly, and jumps for a good effort. “It can’t be about Sanji’s hair resembling the sun!”

Zoro groans. “Either way, Cook- why don’t you go there too so I can give them a piece of my mind too!”

“Tch, good-for-nothing Marimo.” Sanji lights up a cigarette as he remains standing. “Now I won’t be able to stand close to either Nami-san or Robin-chan, for who knows how long, in case you’ll hurt them accidentally.”

“Won’t happen as long as you don’t give me a reason to try going after you, Ero-Cook.”

Sanji jumps in front of Zoro at once, pressing him against the wall with his foot on his chest. “You mean you actually won’t even try to control yourself when you have a lady in view?!”

Zoro holds his leg and tries to shove it off of himself, but that also means he has to try incline to another way; as he is physically not able to face a point even a little skewed from the one Sanji is at, an attempt like that is clearly utterly impossible- or at least looks to be as painful as trying to twist one’s hand beyond its maximum flexibility point.

Sanji smirks triumphantly. “Well, at least you finally won’t be able to ignore the truth anymore while it is standing right in your face.”

“What truth? That your women-obsession is a much more ridiculous sickness than mine?”

“What was that - ?!“

 “ - Didn’t you hear me? I told you to stop it!” Chopper, in his grown Heavy Point form, comes to stand aside them and force Sanji to step back. “I finally figured it out- it’s adrenaline!”

“Huh?”

“His body can't absorb light, so it searched for the next closest thing- something that drives itself to accelerate energy creation through cellular respiration, and I think it found it in the rush of adrenaline Zoro has been triggered to experience during all the times you angered him recently. You’ve teased him more than everyone when you came every day to bring him his meals.”

“That might be true,” Brook comments, “but when we tried earlier, Zoro was back to being attracted to the sun whenever Sanji was gone out of his sight. Even while searching for alternatives, it still doesn’t solve the original problem.”

“That’s true,” Chopper nods, “but I still think that it’s still progress. Soon his body will understand that the best way to get energy is through food alone, and will teach itself to get over that added instinct, just like there are a lot of instincts the human body forgets as we grow up.”

All the while they discuss this, Zoro has his eye closed so he will not have to stare directly as Sanji, who knows that he will not be able to get on with it for long himself. While he is currently not the one to be stuck in a state he cannot get away from, it can soon be him if Zoro will start finding things he could use to his disadvantage, like that time he caught him off-guard by the waterfall.

“Anyway, I’ll go hang back at the galley, where I better keep staying out of the zone of staring creepers,” he declares as he starts making his way back to the kitchen, even though it is too early for any dinner preparations.

“Like having to look at your swirly eyebrows the entire day doesn’t creep me out,” Zoro murmurs as his body spins in accordance with Sanji’s advance, which Sanji senses on his back way too well. Another roar of laughter commences, but is cut short as Sanji finally closes the door behind him- living the two boys in the direction of the sun fully exposed to the Swordsman’s range of attack.

Sanji puffs out smoke in relief. Being away from a compassionless eye constantly following and judging him, now he can finally think clearly: while he does not turn down Chopper’s speculation completely, Sanji still has a feeling there is something else that Zoro’s instincts connect between the sun and himself, even if not the shared colour.

Going over any association he has about the sun which he can somehow be also linked to him, he finds quicker than he would think an idea with a considerable possibility, and he is not happy when the solution he comes out with intensifies it on his face.

Unless he comes out with a better idea, though, or somehow he will be miraculously proven wrong even before that- he knows he will have no choice but to try it.

  -

  He waits until the next day’s sunrise, since the last dinner’s attempt has proven that Sanji still affects him even after the sun has sunk completely below the horizon, to the point the cook had to go out of his own kitchen to let him eat in peace.

While Zoro technically can get around with his eye closed whenever Sanji is visible to him, his lack of sense of direction for sure will take a disastrous turn.

Chopper volunteered to carry his next meals - Luffy tried to too, but everyone was too smart than letting him touch food that is not on his own plate - and Sanji hopes that it will not be the only excuse to not have to see Zoro, well, just about ever again in case he is wrong.

Sanji takes his morning preparation slower than usual, but inevitably, the time eventually arrives.

Despite peeking inside his pack of cigarettes, to make sure it is not empty, he throws the one he has smoked until that moment without taking a new one; he will have to face this situation head-on.

Getting out, he moon-walks his way to the crow’s nest.

Probably sensing him in advance, Zoro is standing where he can match the line of the sun, shining through the window, while having his back to the entrance when Sanji makes its way through.

“There’s no need to test it again every day, so just leave,” Zoro asserts.

Sanji sighs, as he for once wants to listen to Zoro so much. “Not before I try something I’ve thought about.”

“And since when do you have good ideas?”

Sanji crosses his arms. “When I rescued you from Crocodile’s cage? When I delayed Enel’s ark by attacking his engines before facing him? When I opened Enis Lobby’s Gates of Justice? Starting to find a pattern yet, human-plant? ”

A few beats pass, but finally Zoro’s shoulders slump with a sigh. “Fine, you have good strategies, but only when you’re unseen. Isn’t that part of the pattern too?”

“There’s no point if I don’t return to the light again, as much as you hate it.” Sanji rounds Zoro to meet a suspicious, unwelcoming eye that hopefully only hides the truth he has once witnessed from it, back at the waterfall.  “Supposedly.”

“Eh - ?” Zoro opens his mouth to utter, luckily, and by that makes the task easier for Sanji, as he can immediately use it to grab his face and meshed his own mouth to his.

Zoro tries to hum something, but Sanji has to make sure he acts as thoroughly as possible before he is thrown away through the window, and with each press of lips tries his best to make a profound contact, so the instinct holding Zoro captive will not be able to miss it.

Once overcoming his initial surprise, Zoro starts to react back with just as much force, not willing to let him take full leading so easily.

Instead of relief, like any normal person would feel for the cooperation, Sanji actually enjoys it. Thanks to becoming breathless, though, he does not have to face the painful temptation stretch it further than needed.

He somehow remembers then that he should check the results, as it was nothing but an experiment, and start jumping between different spots around Zoro.

“What the hell?” Zoro gasps, his head moving back and forth as he tries to catch a glimpse of him.

Grinning, Sanji stands right behind him and shifts him around. “It worked!”

Zoro blinks, but then stares out of the window he is now facing, which is finally not the wrong one to him, but just another window. A smile that only a free man can make is slowly drawn across his face, and he even releases a rare laugh that pulls at Sanji’s stomach much more than it should.

“How did you know what to do?” Zoro asks him.

Sanji slowly lets go of Zoro, eyes darting elsewhere. He clears his throat and lights up a cigarette, at long last.

“Unlike what Chopper said, I don’t think I annoyed you to the point your instinct will see me as a trigger to create energy, but that your body made it figure out that this is a human body, and you need the sun mainly for warmth- although it is something you get more effectively by a contact with someone else.” Sanji walks over to a window, although not one where the sun is seen; he is not that cold. “I’m the one who happens to touch you the most, during our quarrels, so I figured that was the reason you fixed on me, so I wanted to make sure you felt my warmth as effectively as possible.”

“Body warmth, huh…” Zoro mutters behind him.

They fall into silence, which Sanji desperately wants to get away from, but has no idea how to get out. Going near Zoro, ironically, has become intolerable.

“No, it’s both,” Sanji suddenly hears the other man says behind him, following by footsteps coming closer.

Sanji takes a long drag on his cigarette, and closes his eyes.

“Whether I liked it or not, you’ve been central in my life on this ship. All the times you got me to heat up, you influenced me to train even harder. I don’t depend on it, but by this point, it is almost as vital for me as the sense of Nakamaship I’ve developed."

Sanji huffs. “The point was that you’re a muscle-brain anyway.”

“Shut up, dumbass. I’ve simply persisted to one specific path - ”

This time, Sanji snorts.

“ - which made it hard for me to see alternative ones,” Zoro finishes explaining his insight, although a bit too annoyed for someone who has experienced one. It is not like Sanji want to ruin this moment for Zoro, but he has to get back on track, right after messing with their status quo.

This is how they communicate, and this is how it shall stay. Being able to fantasize a much more meaningful future with him than with anyone he has ever attempted to attach himself to does not matter.

“But since you keep trying multiple ones for no reason,” Zoro suddenly continues, “maybe combining to find a balance it will make you finally stop pretending like another person is better than you just by being born with the right set of milk glands.”

Sanji snaps his eyes open at that, forgetting all about his discomfort he has felt until just a second ago and coming forehead-to-forehead with Zoro. “Oi, just because you don’t appreciate that doesn’t mean you can talk about it like its speciality is unadmirable like that green head of yours.”

“It doesn’t matter what it is- you can keep pampering women, if it makes you happy like cooking for anyone regardless of gender. But you can’t let this cost your self-worth.”

The smoke from Sanji’s cigarette blocks his view, so he takes it out of his mouth for now. “Well, you did help to raise it during the last few days while I was constantly reminded of that stupid mistake you’ve done on a whim that I’ll never do, and I don’t see how cherishing women is beneath that. Then what do you suggest?”

“Blocking your path and see what you do about it.”

Before Sanji knows it, Zoro’s palms are on the back of his head and he is being pushed forward until their lips meet again, though this time for something simpler that still leaves the both of them frozen to their spot for the few seconds it lasts.

Shocked, Sanji tries to connect the different points that brought them to this- because if he has kissed Zoro to help him break through the seeds’ effect, Zoro has to have his own legitimate reason for this. He may not be dumb enough to force him like that to stop his so-called women problem, but it is too surreal for him that it could be what it looks to mean. How could anyone want him and yet trust him so much that they will not care about his admiring attitude toward others?

But Zoro’s eye, while not looking at him as tenderly as one would expect from someone with sentimental meanings behind this kind of action, is assuring it in his own way by staring at him with his frank, unreserved expression.

“Finally it looks like I'm the only one who was warmed,” Zoro smirks as he trails his fingers on Sanji’s burning cheeks.

“Shut up, shitty bastard,” Sanji murmurs as he flicks his hand away, but ultimately let Zoro’s fingers to comb some of his shiny hairs.

“Same to you, asshole.”

  ~~~

  Finally able to enjoy the sun properly, Zoro thinks back to the period of his life as a wanderer, where many times he had to walk under the warmth of the sun with hunger eating him from the inside.

Later, soon after joining Luffy’s crew, not only he did not have to worry about that- but he could actually build muscle more effectively, with no worry that his body would resist it- all thanks to one pesky, obnoxious cook coming abroad.

Even if there was a proper way to truly return him the favour, Zoro is not one to express that deep kind of gratitude directly, obviously, but since he happens to be the first one to get back to the ship from a stroll, for a change - even while the sun already barely presents in the sky - and only Sanji is there, as he stayed to look after the ship, he still wants to communicate it somehow.

He finds him leaning against the railing, watching the sea, and does not turn around as Zoro gets closer. The latter embraces him from behind with one hand, and turning his hair aside with the other so he could mouth the skin behind his ear.

Sanji sunk in a sharp breath, but his voice is mostly levelled when he speaks. “Are you bored?”

Despite Sanji is still uncertain about what they have started, as it is still too fresh for him- Zoro keeps being patient about it as usual: “No.”

“Then what's that about?”

Zoro smirks into his skin. “Isn't it clear by now? Disturbing you is always too tempting.”

“I thought you prefer doing that by picking on me until we start fighting.”

“Maybe, but that's when your mood is neutral.” He slowly nips his ear shell. “Now you're peaceful.”

Sanji is right by most probably figuring out that Zoro does not really have romantic moods, where all he wants is to be the man who initiates nice settings. He is a spontaneous kind of guy: he lets life lead him to find in a new island’s market something that the cook would like to receive only by a chance, and will not pull him to a place with unconventional, noteworthy settings, whatever that counts as, as letting it naturally occur around them is much better.

Just like waterfall creating a rainbow.

But when something reminds him of Sanji, he simply cannot help but look for him, no matter whether they end up trying to tear each other’s throats - and no matter what, there are still times where the cook makes him see red - or other behaviours that have to do with their proximity which feeds his satisfaction.

Because, as great as watching the sharpness in his eyes every time he uses an opportunity to drive him up the wall- being absorbed in the warmth of his smell and taste is quite remarkable, too.

“Sun's coming down,” Sanji mentions latterly.

Zoro hums into his shoulder agreement, even though he could care less about it so long Sanji is still there.

[celestialvoid-fanfiction]

Stiles: Oh come on, Derek! I wasn’t that drunk.

Derek: You tried to colour my face with a highlighter because you told me I was important.

Stiles: *starts crying* But you are!

[jennoasis]

AWW 😍 😍

[heavensentgohansrage]

That’s literally the fic I wrote for a Sterek event though xD

[heavensentgohansrage]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 19/19 Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV), Greek and Roman Mythology Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale, Sheriff Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Cora Hale, Lydia Martin, Allison Argent, Jackson Whittemore, Peter Hale, Bobby Finstock, Alan Deaton, Deucalion (Teen Wolf), Kali (Teen Wolf), Gerard Argent, Greek Gods and Mythological People, Ennis (Teen Wolf), Heather (Teen Wolf), Marin Morrell, Scott McCall (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Heracles!Stiles, Hercules!Stiles, BAMF!Stiles, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Canon-Typical Violence, Stiles Has Panic Attacks, Electric shocks, Underage Kissing, Swearing, Stiles-centric, Pack Bonding, No Smut, Depressed Stiles, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Slow Build Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, SERIOUSLY SLOW BURN AS FUCK, stiles is something, Foster Father Sheriff Stilinski, mentions of past sexual abuse, Past Child Abuse, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Human Stiles, Demigod Stiles Stilinski, Zeus makes everything incest, The Author Regrets Everything, Sexual Harassment Summary:

Heracles was just a nickname his Mother had given him, with no special meaning behind it. Stiles seriously had no idea what Derek had to be so obsessive about.

And when his life suddenly forced on him tropes of a classic heroic storyline, right in the middle of two supernatural battlefronts, the once nothing but an average sidekick must prove himself to be a great hero - perhaps even the greatest of them all - in order to save every one of the curse of his glorious strength.

[heavensentgohansrage]

AO3 | written by heavensentgohansrage

PG-13, 312k words Hercules/Heracles!Stiles AU, canon divergence, BAMF!Stiles, slow burn

Heracles was just a nickname his Mother had given him, with no special meaning behind it. Stiles seriously had no idea what Derek had to be so obsessive about.

And when his life suddenly forced on him tropes of a classic heroic storyline, right in the middle of two supernatural battlefronts, the once nothing but an average sidekick must prove himself to be a great hero - perhaps even the greatest of them all - in order to save every one of the curse of his glorious strength.

Warnings: panic attacks, electric shocks, mentions of past sexual abuse and child abuse, non-consensual drug use, sexual harassment, canon-typical violence, underage kiss

(and typical mentions of incest due to the nature of the Greek mythology, though not described)

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 19

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

Mnemosyne is the Titaness of words, language and remembrance and memorialization, and by Zeus became the Mother of the Mousai- the Muses. Her way of work as I described it in the fic, of course, is not really based on the way it was presented in some version of the myth, but simply my theory about it, and I wanted a chance to explain it more clearly in the fic (also explaining why I couldn’t include things that happened only after Heracles’ time, like the legend of Achilles) instead of just Stiles waking up one day and suddenly everyone talking about that ‘Hercules’ guy out of nowhere (and a way to unload some of my frustration that somehow we remember the story according to the Roman mythology, while I wish I wouldn’t have been taught it that way and then thinking that this was actually what the Greek mythology was).

There are a few myths surrounding the foundation of the Ancient Olympics, but since Heracles’ legend has one of the biggest impacts out of all the Greek Mythology legends, I decided that the one involving him would be the one to bring them back to the modern area: in honour of his Father, Zeus, and in celebration of the end of his 12 Labours- Heracles designed a whole arena (using new units of length which he invented, called stadion) where other could compete and demonstrate their athleticism and skills- a passion he had himself, as depicted in many of is legends. I wanted to use the modern-area Olympics as a way to demonstrate the change in the world (especially the western one) after his story was inverted into the myths, but it was totally coincidence that the time he finds out about it in the story is in the year 2012, which I find very cool XD

Europa was a princess, the only daughter between five siblings, and possessing a great beauty. Zeus, as usual, found about her, and, as expected- wanted to have her to himself (her virginity, in particular -.-’ ). He used the fact that she had a cattle of Bulls, with which she used to spend most of her days, next to the shore- and for that knew each one of them; and so, when one day he appeared in front of her as a foreign Bull, which she noticed immediately. Being tempted to climb on him for some reason, he suddenly ran into the ocean, and swam with her all the way the island Crete. Once her absence was found out, the King sent her four Brothers to search after her, and to only return after finding her; the most determined one was Cadmus, who went to the Oracle of Delphi for an advice once the other Brothers gave up and settled themselves at random points in the world- and that was where he heard about her abduction by Zeus, and only that knowledge that he would never be able to get her back from a Deity, especially as it was Zeus- was what brought his long search for an end as well. It had nothing to do with Heracles’ legend (it occurred way before his time, actually, which was why I could include that), of course, but I thought it would be nice to have the legends actually having used for once (as well as adding more to Boyd’s part in the story, although, unfortunately, the fic is too long as this point to actually write the whole thing properly :/ ).

Iolaus, Heracles’ niece, was such a Gay Icon™ in the Ancient Greek world, that male couple of that time visited his grave to get his blessings and vow loyalty to each other.

General Recap

WHY THERE ARE SO MANY GREEK ORIGINATED NAMES IN THIS SHOW (just kidding, as long as it helps to the theme of names, it was a great tool for me xD ).

The 5th Labour (cleaning the stables) is the WORST, and I don’t care what anyone says >.<

In one of Marvel's issue from 2013, their character Hercules had a male lover :D (while in DC there are two different characters based on him, unfortunately, one of them is a villain who raped Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta)

Here’s an interview with Christopher Nolan, the writer and director of The Dark Knight trilogy, who is quoted to compare between Batman’s character to Heracles: X  And here’s just an interesting comparison between the last film to the Greek myths in general:  X

Big Hero 6 was released the same year I started writing this fic (YES, FUCKING 2014, I /KNOW/), and while the film itself has no impact on it- I was shocked of how fitting the lyrics of its main theme, Immortals, was to it (and not to the film itself so much, ironically xD), ao I just had to include it as well.

Fun Facts

One Piece is another Anime I started to get into while working on the fic, and decided to reference it as well- especially considering the line said by Zoro which I mentioned.

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 18

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

Aphrodite isn't a part of Heracles’ legend at any point, either by actual appearance or by mentioning through an indirective effect she has left on his life. Unlike other unmentioned gods, which I refrain to include even when I really wanted for them to make an appearance- I had to use her in order to help with an important point in the plot.

Moreover, Heracles has never committed Hubris. While he is sometimes described as quite arrogant and supercilious, he has never sinned against the gods to receive a punishment for his attitude (although some would argue that he did so by attacking the Oracle, when she refused to give him something to redeem himself over the murder of Iphitus, which was caused by one of his sudden burst of rage).

Erinyes, better known by their Roman equivalents, the Furies (the latter was also, unfortunately, the one to be mentioned in the show by Matt, in 2x10) are the incarnate spirits of vengeance and retribution, who were in charge for giving a punishing fate for mortal sinners.

Ero, also more known by his Roman version, Cupid, was a minor god and an assistant of Aphrodite in matters that had to do with love (while she herself was in the head of other issues, such as beauty and pleasure). He was carrying a bow and flaming arrows with him, which lightened the flame of love in one’s heart- a fact which influenced the term ‘cupid’s bow’, which I had to use as it is since it wouldn’t be understood otherwise. 

A story which belonged to the 11th Labour (with the Apples of the Hesperides) and I didn’t include until now is that of Busiris, an Egyptian king (and a son of Posideon) who received the prophecy that the nine years of scarcity in his country will end if he sacrifices a foreigner to Zeus once a year. During his search for the Apples, Heracles visited Egypt at some point, where the Busiris tried to kidnap him for said sacrifice- but he managed to escape, and once he killed the king he continued in his journey. I didn’t use that story in the right point in the timeline of the legend since there was too much happening in the chapter of the 11th Labour, and adding this on top of that was too much- so I decided to indirectly include that in this chapter, where Stiles was about to be sacrificed instead of asking to be burned in fire, like Heracles originally did, and it was done so by someone who needed the help of Zeus in order to restore a flow (of magic, though, and not water lol). 

Ironically (aka another moment of me fangirling of a match between the show to the legend and my plan for the fic :P ) Jennifer’s original name, Julia, is either a Greek name or derived from Zeus’ Roman counterpart, Jupiter, and parallelly, some of her powers are related to the weather. You can read more about it here.

Deïaneira was Heracles’ second wife, who led him to a tragic event in the name of her love, which eventually would cause Heracles’ death: One day, when she and her husband went on a trip by a river- she asked a Centaur named Nessos to help her cross it. He compiled, only once they both crossed the river he grabbed her and ran away, trying to take her for himself. She screamed and yelled for help, and after a long journey her husband eventually caught up and took Nessos down- not before the latter told her about the possible usage of his blood, as a love poison. In a fear of her husband putting an eye on another damsel, Deïaneira took some of the Centaur's blood in a little bottle she carried and kept it with her ever since. Later, once they were back home, she sewed a new cloak for Heracles and dipped it in Nessos' blood. The moment he tried it on it, though, she discovered too late the trickster's lie, and what was believed to be a love poison turned out to be nothing but blood mixed with the Hydra’s venom from Heracles’ arrow. She tried to pull the cloak over, only it was too late- and killed herself.

Heracles, suffering in an unending pain by the venom, asked to be burned. It was then where Zeus approached him and asked him if he wanted to have his divine part slipt from his mortal part so he could join the Olympus and live there forever- to which Heracles agreed. Then, as his mortal part was burnt entirely- his other half was taken to the Olympus, where he became a god with the role of the protector of the Olympus, and married Zeus’ daughter (ugh), Hebe. Obviously, reading about it as I took a look at the full version legend for the first time, it was a hard decision to make regarding what it was going to convert to the FIC, because I definitely not started that project for it to end up as an MCD fic (killing the main character in an original story is one thing for me, but Stiles?! MY BABY?!??1111), no matter to what level of angst I brought the main characters to xD After a while of brainstorming, I decided that Zeus was going to use Stiles’ divinity anyway as a Daemone, but that the strength was going to stay with Stiles as it was an addition that has nothing to do with him being a son of a god, so Stiles still gets to continue his life with Heracles’ main feature, but without the given skills, which means he will have to work on redeveloping them, or at least to a level as high as he can, on his own.

In Greek tragedies, those who were about to die looked up and refer to never seeing the sun again- and so it is something I included in the fic as well as a thought of Stiles, even though it wasn’t a very outstanding moment.

King Midas is known for his ability to turn anything he touched into gold, but surprisingly, even though the idea indeed came out of greed, it wasn’t given out of punishment- but a gift, as Dionysus granted him one wish out of honest gratitude for taking care of his drunk, stray son.

The idea of the divinity making Stiles immune to the Hydra's venom may look a little bullshitty, but because in the legend it takes a while for Heracles until he finds someone to help him put an end to his misery- I made it so Stiles survived with the cloak from early in the morning until midday.

An affair between males (known as “eromenoi”) in the Ancient Greek culture was really something that made one seem manlier (which is why Heracles had many lovers beside the two influencing women in his life). I made sure to keep it as an the historical fact it is, with nothing to do with the mythology, as, at least in the Olympus in this fic’s universe- the Olympians see no need for sexual/romantic orientation, as basically everyone is Pansexual lol (but I still consider Stiles as Bi, as the differences between the genders are apparent to him, even if not significantly).

General Recap

The actual quote from the Notting Hills film (which I personally love as well, and one of the main reasons is indeed Hugh Grant :P But I made Stiles love it too mainly to be able to use this idea lol) is: “Men go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me”, which was said by the real-life actress Rita Hayworth, in regard to one of her popular characters which she portrayed.

Deïaneira’s story inspired the presentation Meg in the Disney film, and perhaps what was supposed to be both of their deaths- although, according to her name and the fact Hercules had no other woman before her, as much as we know- she is supposed to be similar in her story to his first love, Megara.

Just to make it a bit clearer, as I didn’t really have a way to explain it in the fic: just like my headcanon for the show, there’s no such a thing as a love magic, and the only spell similar enough is one which makes a person think obsessively over something else, be it another person or any other random subject. Another thing I wanted to clarify is that, while the Nemeton is inside the borders of Beacon Hills’ preserve- the tree itself is neutral, which means it doesn’t belong to Beacom Hills even while inside its territory, and that’s why Jeniffer could perform her sacrifice there.

While it was not easy for me to let Stiles live, in contrast on the legend (although it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for me to kill him T-T) and more similar than I would have preferred to the film, it was clear to me that Derek had to enter the fire and get injured, but instead of explaining the reasons that are easy to figure anyway, I’ll let you to just go to the ask box and curse me to death, because I definitely deserve that (for the entire chapter/fic too, actually).

The idea of “Mischief” is based on what the Sheriff told about Stiles in 6a, even though I haven't watched any scene from that season apart of this one, as far as I remember xD

Fun Facts

This chapter and the previous one were supposed to be one chapter (that’s why, for a while, it was tagged with having only 18 chapters), but in retrospective, with all the drama in that one- I’m glad that it was too long and I had to split it xD

So this is where I supposed to say that the new presented god in that chapter, Aphrodite, is based on a character from One Punch Man like the other gods- but she’s actually not, lol. Unlike the others, I didn’t want to make her look ridiculous, but I hope I’ve made a good job with her anyway xD

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[millerskaya]

[heavensentgohansrage]

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 17

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

While Cora really is another name of Persephone, the story of Cora in the fic is also based on an alternative version of the legend of Theseus and Pirithous: instead of kidnapping Persephone, the Deity wife of Hades, she was a queen of a human kingdom, and their daughter, Cora, had a dog (presumably not mythical one, yet more savage than average) named Cerberus. The king promised to give to marry his daughter with whoever could defeat Cerberus, but Theseus and Pirithous were daredevils (huh, get it? :P ) enough to attempt to avoid him and kidnap the daughter (although it’s not clear if it was solely also out of mischievous or not). It didn’t go as planned, though, with Pirithous being caught and slaughtered by the Hound, and Theseus being imprisoned by the king and eventually released.

The reason I chose Peru as the country where Cora’s pack lives at (AND DON’T LET ME GET STARTED OF JEFF’S LAZY WRITING OF KEEPING REFERRING TO THAT AS “SOUTH AMERICA” BECAUSE UGH) is because of a specific theory of a possible connection that was found between the Greek Mythology and South America, about the labyrinth ruins of Chavin de Huantar in Peru, which possibly inspired Hesiod, one of the ancient poet who documented the myth, while writing about the Underworld (which is added to the fact “Amazon” is a name which describes both the river in South America and the Greek mythical fighters, so you can see why I was really excited to use the face that Cora moved back to South America in the fic lol).

Just a clarification: Hecate isn’t really a Deity of the Underworld, or more correctly, isn’t associated with it exclusively. As the Deity of the crossroads, she had access to many places, and was given to the Underworld as well once she had helped Demeter searching for her daughter, Persephone, when she was taken by Hades. So, unlike most Deities, she spends her time between three places: the Underworld, the Olympus and the sea, although the Underworld just might be her favourite place to hang out at, as it fits the mystery and mist which are attributed to her.

General Recap

In the show, Derek referred to Kira an "aura", but even though it doesn't mean exactly the same thing I still preferred him using the term "halo", as it is a Greek originated term (alternatively, Derek may or may not be unaware of that and it simply results from Beyoncé's song and went unnoticed by him? Lol)

The choice of Stiles’ birthday date (unlike April 4th which was mentioned somewhere as the official date?) came from a few hints from the show: during Heather’s party, on the night of the first day of his junior year (hence somewhere at the beginning of September), he says that he’s not 16 yet. Then, jumping to 3x15, it’s already Halloween- October 31st; and in the episodes after that, he’s been referred to as a 17 year old (one time by Derek, and I think in at least another occasion by someone else). There seem to be at least a few days gap between 3a and 3b, so it seems reasonable to me that his birthday has taken place during one of those (and had to be one of his worst, with all the aftereffect of the whole thing with the Nemeton, poor baby T-T). Having a licence already during the middle of his sophomore year support that idea, too. Finally, the choice of specifically the 24th day is both because of his Lacrosse uniform number and because it is the day of the month of my own birthday :P Derek’s birthday in the fic is the same as the mostly-accepted headcanon by the fandom: December 25th, the first day of Christmas.

Fun Facts

So, um. hopefully the thing with the nose (and the while scene in general? (>/.\<) )wasn’t too disturbing ^^” I got the idea from a show I’ve watched a while back, where boy did it to another during a truth-or-dare kind of a game, although I don’t even remember if it actually worked xDD But I don’t know, it just seems like something silly that gits for Stiles to be curious enough to try (and a chance use his divine precision ability for something else than with weapons), and just another way to make the whole thing as a better-resembling display of their relationship “xD

I don’t remember much about the other gods Batman has battled (aside Wonder Woman, if she counts?), but interestingly, in one of the recent issues of DC, Batman not only defeated Ares, but was given his powers and has replaced him as a War god. I didn’t include this in the fic, though, as it takes place in 2011, just like the third season in the canon’s timeline (while we pretend such an idea exists in this hell show, where they didn’t care using advanced technology and car models that haven't come out yet in the years the show took place), and so the comics hadn’t been published yet. (And some issues before that, he even discusses with DC’s Heracles himself, as they joined sides for the war against the god)

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[imagine-sterek]

Here Where There’s Everything That’s Matter (and matters)

 - HeavenSentGohansRage (T+)

Heracles was just a nickname his Mother had given him, with no special meaning behind it. Stiles seriously had no idea what Derek had to be so obsessive about.

And when his life suddenly forced on him tropes of a classic heroic storyline, right in the middle of two supernatural battlefronts, the once nothing but an average sidekick must prove himself to be a great hero - perhaps even the greatest of them all - in order to save every one of the curse of his glorious strength.

[heavensentgohansrage]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Yeah, I post the fic online, so there was a chance that one day someone will rec it, but it’s almost four years in the making and I’m seriously out of words right now. I’m truly am.

It doesn’t matter if it was as a result of reading or not, just the mere fact that someone liked the mere IDEA enough to make an individual post only about it (and even took a time to arrange it to look very presentable and appealing) without knowing much about the content and/or me?? IT’S JUST??? SO NICE??????

I’m truly grateful for giving it a stage in your dear blog, so thank you THANK YOU so very much <3

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 16

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

As mentioned in the last recap, the trip to the Olympus is not based on the myth, as Heracles doesn't get to the Olympus at all during his lifetime as a Demigod; the only similarity to the legend is the encounter with Apollo, whose attitude is based both on a tension between him and Heracles (following the incident with Iphitus, the friend he had killed; when he turned to the Oracle and asked her for a way to redeem herself, she didn’t sent him to Omphale right away but initially refused to help him for some reason, and it took threats from Heracles and a subsequent fight with Apollo before he was finally sentenced by her) and general interpretation of his character from the Deity’s other legends overall.

Usually, I refrain from relating different topics in the fic to the Greek/Ancient Greek culture (beside the armours and clothing) as I went with the idea that the Deities are not really related exclusively to the ancient Greeks, but are most associated with the empire because it was the most dominant culture to worship them during the time they were still connected to Earth. Of course, there is no arguing that the Ancient Greek culture left the greatest mark on them (and there was no other to replace it, as that was the time they separated them from the human world), and that’s why I decided to describe the Olympus that way (along with other small references, like the vow Stiles forced Nereus, the old sea Deity who attacked Lydia’s car as a deer, to take; or when Athena referred to the Underworld in the translation of the Greek term- but it is not to the point where it is correct to refer to them as “the Greek Deities” from Stiles’ POV).

Bracers aren't an obligatory part of the Greek Hoptile armour, but I based mine of a type where it is a part of the set (while the helmet is obviously missing, but since Stiles was given the armour mostly to improve his look, with an attire more fitting to a meeting with the Olympians- it wasn’t something that seemed for me necessarily to give to Stiles).

Like I've once mentioned before, it was Hera who to drive Heracles mad randomly. In the legend, it is only true for him, while I left it unconfirmed clearly whether Hera had done the same to Claudia or not.

Ate is a spirit/Daemon who drives to hasty, uncalculated decisions, as that of Zeus when he declared before Heracles’ birth that the next descendant of Persues will be a great ruler (while the Moirai only determine one’s fate).

“Sword of Damocles” is a phrase meaning (taken from Wikidictionary): “ A thing or situation which causes a prolonged state of impending doom or misfortune”. It is based on the legend of Damocles- a companion of an ancient king who was jealous of the other’s wealth, and confessed to him as such. The king decided to teach him a lesson by giving him his throne for a day, so he could enjoy his feats and luxury to his heart’s content; Damocles consisted the offer gladly, only, a surprise was waiting for him when, the very moment he sat on the chair- a sword hanging from the ceiling started to be slowly lowered until it stopped right above the tip of Damocles’ head, who could not move without getting hurt from the sharp weapon. That way, the king showed him that his life is in constant danger, and so he cannot enjoy his hedonistic life free of worries and let himself be easy-going.

Dionysus and Aeacus were both sons of Zeus who, as most of his children, were pursued by Hera; unlike Heracles, they indeed were granted with a protection from her, as the first one was hidden from her throughout his childhood until he eventually joined the Olympus as a Deity, while the latter became a king of an island which was named after his Mother, and when Hera brought a plague on its citizens- Zeus not only protected both his son and his Mother, Zeus’ past affair, but created new people for them to rule on out of ants. So I really have no idea why he has never interfere whenever Hera tried to hurt Heracles, unless it was in order to make his character even more tragic. 

The protection mark Zeus outlined, as the link I attached suggests, is Greek symbol of Heracles' constellation, I couldn’t find the meaning behind it, as to whether it looks like an H by a chance or not.

Iphicles was Heracles’ twin half-Brother, who dies quite early into the legend. It is said that Alcmene and Amphitryon, their parents, knew that only one of them was a son of Zeus, and found out once Heracles defeated the snakes sent by Hera as a baby (but unlike in the fic, it wasn’t the twin to receive Zeus’ blessing as - but his distant cousin, , - but giving it to Allison Within the fic, though, it’s basically an out of nowhere, kinda unnecessary drama, I know ^^" but it wasn’t really for the dramatic effect as for the fact that most of the sources I read about Heracles' legends mentioned his twin, and it bugged me (it also explains how Gerard, who portrays the character of Eurystheus, “received” Zeus’ blessing to be a great ruler: as was told in the fic, it had only been vowed during the time of the pregnancy with Heracles, which clearly can’t work with Gerard’s case- but by kidnapping Allison, who is also a descendant of Perseus, I could match the story better to the original legend). Furthermore, I've always been annoyed with the fact that Allison's parents have bright eyes, when she has brown (I know it's something that can happen, as much as the Biologic student in me is driven nad by that, but it’s too rarely for me to buy it when it comes to Allison). But I'm glad that at least it doesn’t change the fact that Allison's abilities are mostly human, as unlike Stiles, the genes of a Demigod in her blood had not been awoken, with her real Father being a human.* *At least in the world of the fic; according to the legend, in the other hand,  Amphitryon is a grandson of Perseus and his wife’s uncle (as if the bloodline was not fucked up enough -.-’ not that I can’t talk as a Jewish, considering the stories in the Tanach). While that could have made the Sheriff related to Stiles by blood, after all, I chose to not do that from obvious reasons (it would’ve made Allison being her Mother’s daughter and cousin at the same time, too OO”). So, while Heracles was called Alcaeüs after his Grandfather from his adoptive Father’s side (who’s also his real Mother’s uncle), in order to fit it to the show better- I made it in a way that only the name Mieczysław was chosen after his Grandfather from his Mother’s side (who had nothing to do with the Sheriff, as mentioned), which is the original Polish name of the Demigod hero that would later be known by the other name Zeus had chosen for him: Persues. So, in the same way, in the fic’s universe,  Alcaeüs origin is the same as Persues, and not related to any person.

Isaac’s mocking comment, where he teased Stiles that he wouldn’t say no if he was offered someone’s fifty daughters, is a reference to a real part of Heracles’ legend. Before the Labours, when he was a still young, Heracles is told to beat a lion (a normal one, unlike the Nemean from his first Labour; some claim, then, that his famous cape is originated from this occasion) as a favour for a king named Thespius. In gratitude, he let him spend a night with each of fifty daughters, and had a child from each. As expected, I found a vague way to include this story as it doesn’t fit at all to Stiles, and, of course, we’re all here for Sterek anyway :D

General Recap

Sorry for the many Doctor Who references, but as my first fandom, it was important to me to include that in such a huge project of mine, just like with other fandoms (also because it’s been almost exactly ten years at the time of writing this post, and I’m still not over this scene T-T).

If you are/were also a whovian, please check out the one shot I’ve written for a Sterek week, based on the “Blink” episode :D Also- HEADCANON THAT STILES THOUGHT OF THE WORD ABOMINATION IN 2X04 BECAUSE IT’S HOW THE DALEK EMPORROR REFERRED ROSE WHEN SHE BECAME THE BAD WOLF ENTITY 

So, while the recent chapters occurring during the timeline of the third season (Stiles is back more on less by the time of the end of 3b), obviously a lot has changed, both because the Alpha Pack is long defeated, and everything else that happens with Stiles. I still left some elements both because it is a “what-if” kind of story, and both because it added more option for me for fitting the legend into the plot and the world of the fic (like Eichen House being the place Stiles goes through the Eleusinian Mysteries at, Heather being the reason Stiles fights Ares and etc.). But since Stiles had been drugged (stop looking at me like that, I know T-T), there were things that may have not been mentioned in the fic, as everything is from Stiles’ POV; so in case you’re interested in how some events changed while Stiles was gone, here is a list:

There were other sacrifices by the Darach than those which were shown in the series (although it is possible that she used the same victims, at least anyone else apart of Heather and Mr. Harris, and the three Parents as healers, only on different occasions), as she had to hold everything off until she healed from the clash with Stiles, and realized he will not go out of Eichen House anytime soon.

Scott most probably went on his own to the Cross Country meet, and ended up in Motel California without his friends (but was not poisoned by Wolfsbane). Isaac and Boyd may have come to, although one of them might stay behind with Erica in Beacon Hills to help her watch over Beacon Hills and Eichen House specifically.

In 3x05, where Peter mentions Heracles (referred in the show as the more known name, "Hercules") and the Hydra- well, anything of that sort obviously couldn't happened in any other scenario xD

The moon eclipse happened, too, though was uneventful (I’m glad that I could skip that one, as I don’t like the idea that their abilities are being anaesthetized. I mean, if it’s a bitten Werewolf it could make a little more sense because he became one by spark rather than genetically, but why would a born one lose his natural features, besides actual spark extensions like the advantage Alphas have? I don’t know, I always try to find logic when it’s lost cost :/ That’s one of the reasons it took me so long to complete this damn fic, and I’m still anxious I have plot holes I’ve missed somewhere).

Kira did not move to Beacon Hills, as the Nematon had not been disturbed or was messed with in any way, and the Nogitsune, of course, had not been released (so the whole open doors in their minds thing, which also turned out to be complete bullshit with how quick they treated it, did not happen)- so her Mother, Noshiko, had no business there.

Derek wasn’t kidnapped by the Calaveras as he hadn’t searched for his Mother’s claws- he won’t risk himself while leaving his pack behind in Beacon Hills anyway, but next chapter will also reveal more about why he had spent so much time in South America anyway.

Kate didn’t return as she’s very fucking DEAD (as should’ve remained! >>)

So if you could guess after all those complaints about the third season- no, there is not such a thing as a true Alpha, especially for Scott (HOW WAS SOMEONE AS PRAISED AS TALIA FUCKING HALE NOT ABLE TO CROSS A MOUNTAIN ASH CIRCLE, EVEN FOR THE SAKE OF SAVING HER FAMILY FROM THE FIRE, BUT SCOTT DID????!!11^%#^%$^%)

Fun Facts

As traditionally, with yet another reference no one cares about (and yes, I know only my inability to use better ones will always make the Stiles I write to be OOC), Hera is inspired by both Carnage Kabuto (the most disgusting monster of the first season, if not in the whole series) and the mad Dr. Genus from One Punch Man.

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 15

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

The reason for why Atlas chose to help Heracles, according to the legend, was as a way to get rid of the burden of holding the skies (although he was enough of an idiot to get back to Heracles with the Apples, declaring to him that he refused to take the skies back from Heracles and then let himself get tricked by Heracles, who gave him a false promise to replace him again once he gives the Apples to Eyuritheus). It did not fit Morrell’s character much, though, and so I prefer making her taking the burden back through the belief that Stiles will one day come back to ask again for the ability he started to understand its pros.

The kibisis Stiles received from Morrell is the same knapsack/wallet that Perseus used to carry Medusa’s head safely, though the bracelets were my addition.

Menoetius was the Titan of rash action and violent rage (the later is the reason to why Morrell compared him to Stiles), and was the fourth Brother of Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus. At the battle between the Titans and the gods, Menoitios, like Atlas, sided with the Titans- and was the only one out of the four Brothers who was killed by Zues, after being hit by a thunderbolt. Some say he ended up in Tartarus, and others in the Underworld; there are even those who claim him to be the keeper of Cerberus instead of the more known one, named Menoetes.

The 12th Labour isn’t supposed to be the longest Labour to take to complete, but because I went with the idea of a time limit for most of them, which made them much shorter- this one turned out to be the longest in the fic.

Like other Labours, Eyuritheus don’t keep whatever Heracles fetched for him, but this time it was Heracles specifically who had to return that Labour’s object. In order to not waste time, he handed the apples to Athena, who returned them back to the garden of Hesperides.

Eurytheus had no will to keep Cerberus, but since the relation to Werewolves, I used it as one of the rare cases in where Stiles actually had to get the object of his Labour all the way to Gerard.

The reason for the way Athena referred to the Underworld, “the nethermost cosmos”, is because this is the literal meaning of the Greek word for the Underworld: κάτω κόσμος (káto kósmos). I chose to use it because I wanted a term that would be exclusive to the afterlife realm of the Greek mythology, which is not really the case with the term “the Underworld”, and which refers to the realm as a whole, this which is outside the area that Cerberus guards on, where the souls end up at (which I referred to as the Dominion of Hades, in which the palace itself of Hades is located). Some simply call it Erebos, which is the incarnation of darkness, but I preferred to not use this term.

The other term Athena used, Katabasis, is the Greek term which describes the action of descending, especially to the underground/the Underworld.

Iris is the Deity of rainbows, and sometimes is described as the personal messenger of Hera.

Hermes was the Deity of many topics (one of them is of cunning, which Stiles would probably relate to), but one of his main rules was of a guide to the Underworld, and one of the messengers of the Deities (which is why he is mentioned the second time). He rarely would appear in any part of Heracles’ legend, but in that part of the legend especially it was weird to me that Athena took part instead of him, even if she is close to Heracles. As I always try my best to fit myself to the legend, I, unfortunately, had to keep him outside the story.

In the same manner, Hecate could have taken a greater part in this chapter, due to her being the keeper of doorways, inclusive of that of the Underworld- but unfortunately, she is related even less to Heracles. This is one of the reasons I decided to not make Breaden either  Hermes nor Iris (even though she is the personal attendant of Hera, the Olympians don’t see Stiles’ case as something that is only Hera’s matter anymore, and so should not be treated be her exclusively), but leave her as the mysterious mercenary of the supernatural world, which I liked about her character (even though I do want to know how she left those marks on Allison and Lydia; was it Morrell’s magic or hers??).

The Eleusinian Mysteries (also known as the Mysteries of Eleusis) were real ceremonies which were taken in order to get people more acceptable for the inevitable death, and emphasised the idea of reincarnation (which is why Stiles dreams of circles), and there was also a fire theme which may be related to a sacrifice of a real child- but for obvious reasons, I didn’t want to read much about it. Besides the concept and the time they were taken place, no one really knows what was done during those ceremonies (which fits quite well with the concept of Eichen House), apart of the fact that they drank a special drink called Kykeon, and apparently made them hallucinating the same way as Stiles was. 

Omphale was a queen of a region named Lydia, and her story with Heracles actually starts after the Labours. After killing Iphitus (whose story had already taken part in chapter 7, where Stiles burst out on Isaac), Heracles asked the oracle for yet another way to redeem himself; this time he was sent to Omphale, where he served as one of her slaves, and was requested, among else, for sewing tasks, while wearing a dress (either part of the time or throughout the entire seven years he was owned by her).

The theory which Lydia mentioned is that of humans being created originally as a body with two heads, and were eventually split by Zeus either by committing hubris due to their love of the other entity which they shared a body with, or because they were powerful enough to conquer the Deities (or maybe both through the power of love? Lol). It is one of the earliest concepts of Soulmates.

Getting the pelt of the Nemean was something Athena advised to do, after joining to the journey to the Underworld. The idea of going around with the Lion’s head as a headdress was something I only included through one of Stiles’ nightmares, as it felt more fitted to him than actually wearing it, but the pelt was something I decided to include due to his blackouts.

There are many suggestions as to where the Underworld' entrance is located, but I decided to use the one which uses the Hydra’s lair.

There is a detailed description of the Underworld’s outline, but I decided to not use it both because Stiles is too out if it to see too much around him anyway, and to better fit it to the specific events of the myth of Heracles’ trip in there.

Charon was the ferryman of Hades, who transported the souls who arrived at the Underworld through the river Styx to the Dominion of Hades, where they would be judged. 

Theseus was another Demigod (son of Posideon). After the great reputation, he had earned himself for killing the Minotaur and getting out alive of its labyrinth, the pride apparently grew until it filled too much space in his head while his logic shrunk, and joining another guy named  Peirithous, they both went on adventurous, silly and simply unnecessarily deeds. First Theseus decided to kidnap the 13-years-old princess Helen (a few years before the story of Troy), in which they succeeded, and then  Peirithous suggested to take the challenge to the next level and kidnap no other than Persephone, the queen on the Underworld and the wife of Hades. Of course, the Deity did not take it lightly, and once he caught them he stuck them on thrones who are known as “the chairs of forgetfulness”, which made everyone in the living world to forget all about them so they would not search for them (and yes, this is the only reason I made Danny take that role xD). Heracles found them by a chance during his last Labour, and was only allowed to free Theseus as he wasn’t the one to initiate the kidnapping.

Neither Medusa or Eurytion (the herdsman of Geryon) were part of this Labour, but in the fic Stiles so wasted that his mind interrupted the sight of Cerberus and its snake, along with either its herdsman, Menoetes, or Persehope as Medusa and Eurytion respectively.

Eyuritheus was so scared of Heracles, and his fear grew with each successful Labour, that he hid in a bronze shelter in the shape of a pithos, a typical ancient Greek jar, every time he returned to be sent to his next Labour (except the one with Artemis’ Hind). This one with Cerberus is told to terrify him more than the rest, though. To fit it better to Gerard’s character, I tried to write him as one who only shows how scared he really is when he is threatened and doesn’t have the upper hand about the situation at all.

Cerberus is actually associated with Wolfsbane, who is believed to be poisoned by its very venom, only after Heracles had brought him to the living world. It couldn’t make sense in the fic, obviously, but after reading the etymology of the word, with its relation to Hunters- I thought it was a cool concept to include.

Patron Deity is the Deity that a person, a group or an entire city-state identified with the most, and focusing their worship acts toward him so the Deity would care for them specifically.

Heracles at no point went to visit the Olympus, or showed any will for that matter, but after everything he went through, Stiles defiantly deserves the experience. 

General Recap

I hope I was able to bring up the friendship with Lydia as sweet as I imagine it to be, especially as she deserves someone to be there for her too when she’s lost with her own supernatural problems, and Stiles id just the right person ^^

More than that, of course, I hope I was able to discuss the gender neutrality discrimination issue well enough, and that I managed to focus on that instead of look like a radical feminism thing where men have to work for women (and if it does, then please notify me because it’s important for me to deal with that topic in the most right way possible) instead of Lydia teaching Stiles a lesson. The main idea, beside making them having a one-on-one for Lydia to try to push him into understanding his true feelings about Derek, was to show something problematic in Stiles' character through inconsistent about his deviotion to the issue (which is also a reminder for myself that I still have a lot to work about), because I wanted to make sure the fic doesn’t only protays him as a hero you should always cheer and feel pity for (even though I made a lot of reasons to make him worthy to feel pity for; I KNOW, I’M THE WORST T-T).

Lydia also implies that it was hard for her to believe to most of his story, which is a change I wanted to make in her character as I tend to dislike know-it-all characters, and so it’s harder for me to write about them.

David Wright is a baseball player who plays for the Mets, and according to an interview I’ve once watched with Dylan- he is apparently one of, if not the most his favourite players.

Mark Jacob is a fashion designer who once wore this dress, which was the first time I heard about the term cross-dressing as far as I can remember.

If it wasn’t clear, even though Lydia mentioned it, Stiles and Derek are not Soulmates- at least not in the way Greek Mythology explain it. I gave it a thought and eventually decided I want them to have a non-destined relationship, for reasons that will be talked about later (but yeah, I kinda made Stiles realising his true object of love through the scent of blood ^^”).

According to an interview with Jeff Davis, he excused Danny’s absence as supposedly (!!!) graduating from high school early. So yeah, not only he is not even sure himself how to explain getting rid of a character (and very beloved one at that), but he also claimes that someone actually smarter than Lydia to be able to finish High School even before the middle of their Junior year?? What????! Ugh, poor Danny and Keahu :/ 

“Orpheus” by Ash is one of the theme songs of a car racing game named Burnout 3. I wanted to use a song from a game that talked about either hell or the Underworld- and this one seemed a great fir, as the myth about Orpheus tells about a talented musician who succeeded to convince Hades through his music to let him take back his dead lover to the living world.

The anniversary of Claudia’s death occurs during season 3b, where two episodes after that Halloween was already celebrated- which means that, canonically, it had to happen somewhere by the end of October; just an explanation on why Stiles had to miss that while being hospitalized in Eichen House.

Fun Facts

Ironically, Theseus is someone described as the cousin of Heracles (because of their Deity parents), which is for Stiles and Danny to decide whether it is true for them or not and makes the Miguel moment in the show even better xD

According to one of the Teen Wolf Wikis, Danny's surname, Mahealani, is the word of the night of the full moon in the ancient Hawaiian calendar. It has nothing to do with the fic, really, but just a cool thing I found and wanted to share in case it is not very known ^^

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 14

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

While the most known version of Atlas is as the Titan who was assigned by Zeus to hold the weight of the sky, like Morrell indicated, I used the version where he holds the heavens (although, even in this case, it is still supposed to be physically). Like with Harris, this gives her freedom of movement that she doesn’t supposed to have according to the legend, but again, I wanted to fit the Titan’s character to her better (along with explaining her whole “balance” thing she kept mentioning during the show without never elaborating). The reason, therefore, Morrell has never tried to fight the urge and ignore whenever a supernatural being is about to reveal himself to the eyes of humans is because the fall of the Olympus would impact her as well, and she will have no way to escape in her weaker form. Atlas’ location was believed to be in the western side of the world, which fits as well, considering Morrell currently lives in California, near the West Coast of the US.

Kyknos was a Demigod, son of Ares. Only rather than being kidnapped himself, he was the one to capture other travelers and sacrificed them for his Father. When Heracles passed by his territory during his long searches after the Hesperides, he tried his luck with him, but Heracles easily dominated the fight and almost killed him when Ares came for his Son’s aid. The both wrestled (which was why it was important to me to include the wrestling part) until Zeus separated between the two, who both were his own children, by a thunderbolt (in other versions, it is Apollo who Heracles would wrestle in another occasion until Zeus arrived to put an end to the fight). Kyknos, like other of Ares’ children, was turned into a swan afterwards, and even was placed in the skies as the constellation Cygnus. This story was a nice way for me to give a little more meaning to Heather, as well as an excuse to not kill off the Darach too soon, by splitting Kyknos’ role between them.

Even further of the many random battles during Heracles’ 11th Labour was with the Gigante Antaeus. He was the son of Poseidon and Gaia, the Titan of Earth, and his uniqueness, along with his great strength, was by possesing unlimited amount of energy so long he touched the ground, and was connected to his Mother. Heracles somehow noticed that, and defeated him after raising him above the ground.

General Recap

Even though Morrell speaks about her Druid children, the Hesperides aren’t ones.

The Darach is not strong enough at this point to use teleporting for a great distance, which is why she uses a car that she didn’t always have to use during the show.

It is not mentioned how Heather's mother found about Claudia and assisted her, but I’m not gonna contribute on that too much because, aside the fact that I’ve yet to plan their story, I’m at the point in the story where just WAY too much is happening, and we get closer to the climax, so the chapters are too long as it is with stuff that is important to keep the plot moving. I mean, I did take time to let Heather share her story, but it was because she appeared in the plot in a way where I could develop her more than the little details that were given about her in the show. Maybe it’s weird that I explain all of that, but one of the things that I tried to better the show with was giving time for characters development and built. While I did make a chapter that was mostly about that (chapter 8), I was consumed by the plot eventually, to the point where even the slow built with Sterek became too much even for me :/ I still try to give as much exposure as I can for the characters, but you see yourself how unnecessarily long it makes the chapter become lol Anyway, I had to have a few relinquishments, and this was one of them. The most important point a views about Claudia are through Stiles and his Father’s eyes anyway, so there isn’t a lot I can say about her from telling about the support she was given by another Mother of a Demigod (besides the fact she agreed to help when it was offered to her, of course).

So now Ares is officially another common ground and connection between Stiles and Deucalion, after both being given help by Athena during younger age and seeking peace (for Werewolves too, among other species).

Fun Facts

Heather and Erica are both names of very similar-looking flowers from the same family (Ericaceae).

Among the references I FINALLY got to make to the original Teen Wolf film (which may bring up a couple of questions, like who the hell owned a Van for Stiles to ride at freshman year, but I prefer to leave it without answers than giving up on a chance to include it :P ), I mentioned the name Tina Manos. The name is based on two characters from the film (the last name is the surname of the actress who played the other character, Dina), who with one of them Stiles of the film (which his official name is Rupert, wtf) took as a date for the party. They both look so alike that I couldn’t determine who really accompanied him between the two of them (ANY WHY ARE THE NAMES SO SIMILAR? ARE THEY TWINS? ARE THEY EACH OTHER’S BACKUP AND ONLY ONE NAME IS TRUE? SOMEONE TELL ME), so I used both of the characters as inspiration for that name. by the way, is it only me or the “being the f word is unacceptable and worse than being a Werewolf” theme also inspired the writers of the show to never let Stiles come out as bi?

As any other Deity, Ares is no different and was inspired, you guessed it- by a One Punch Man’s character. This time it was the Deep Sea King, which is arguably the most fearsome-designed of all the villains of the Anime and Manga thus far; he is not the strongest of the first season, where he appeared, but he was built in a way where when he says no one is going to avoid death from him, you know his word is absolute and there’s nothing you can do about it.

I'm sorry for the Immortals reference but I just couldn't resist xD On another note, I feel bad for Kellan Lutz for having the opportunity to participate in two films influenced by (but clearly not based on) Greek Mythology (Immortals as Poseidon, and another where he starred at Heracles himself, which came out in the same year The Rock's did, wtf) which is such a cool accomplishment, and yet in both of them  even the plot itself did not do justice. It's  like a continued bad luck ever since he got to play a Vampire in a certain film :/

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 13

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

While having a lot of lovers (of more than one gender), the relationship that is the most known and common in Heracles legend are of his two wives. The first one was called Megara, which sadly Meg in the Disney film is based on, since she suffered the worst fate between them despite her innocence: as one of her abusing acts, Hera made Heracles turn mad at a lot of random times during his life, which always ended in death (Like in the case of Linus, the music teacher, and of Iphitus, which his story was presented through Isaac- but I couldn’t kill him xD), and the same case was with Megara, and her and Heracles’ shared children (although, in some versions, only the children die, and he hands her over to another man to marry to, for some reason). This is the reason Heracles asks Apollo for the Labours in the first place- a redemption instead of keeping his settlement/region/whatever safe. What I did in my fic, instead of translating Megara to a lover of Stiles (Lydia would have been safe anyway, I assume, as she has never even dated Stiles)- it was Derek who suffers, unfortunately, though very typically to him, from the fate of the worst luck ever with his lovers. So even though Stiles has nothing to do with Paige (who Derek was manipulated by Peter to be “mad” enough to think it’s a good idea to give her the bite), or even directly with Kate, who actually was driven mad- I thought it would be a nice twist to convert some of Heracles glorious legend (even though this is definitely the worst part of it lol) to transmit to Derek, and glorify him as well for rising over the hard times that a Deity has put him through ^^

The order of the Labours is not the same in every version of the legend, and so some would arrange this one as the 12th Labour instead of the 11th (in addition to other order with the previous Labours, and even using other deeds of Heracles as Labours instead of a couple of those I used, even though it’s rarer), but the one I use in the fic is the seemingly most common one, and the one I personally prefer.

The Golden Apples took a part in the Trojan War, by being the object which symbolized Paris’ decision as to which goddess between Athena, Aphrodite and Hera were the fairest; when he chose Aphrodite, he showed so by bringing her the Apple which Eris, Deity of strife, had stolen from the Hesperides. Since this story is supposed to take place after Heracles’ legend, and in order to stick to a timeline to the best of my abilities, it is not mentioned in the fic.

The Hesperides were the keepers of others possessions of the Deities. Some say, for example, that Perseus found the winged sandals in their place. 

There isn’t much that I could find about Nereus’s background, aside what was mentioned of the story- even though he had used to be a sea Deity, he wandered around the world and possed the ability to transform to any animal he would like, for some reason. Since he possessed a great amount of knowledge, Heracles took advantage of capturing him in order to find the Hesperides’ location. Ironically, though, his successor, Poseidon- later would become his son in law, after marrying one of his daughters (known as the Nereids),  Nereids

The vow Stiles demands Nereus to make is the one that was common for Greek of ancient time to make: Horkos was the incarnation of the curse that anyone who made a perjury would suffer from.

The Maniais that Nereus mentioned in response were the spirit of madness.

Prometheus was the Titan who brought fire from the Olympus to mankind on Earth. Despite being an ally of Zeus during the war between the Olympian Deities to the Titans (due to disagreement with the Titans side, who refused to use trickery) which earned him a seat in the Olympus, he simply could not accept someone going against his values, and helped mankind behind Zeus’ back, who hated humans to the point of regretting requesting Prometheus to create them out of clay and was cruel to them. His luck ran out this time, and once Zeus caught him, he punished him with having an Eagle eating his constantly-growing-back liver on a daily basis, while staying tied without an ability to escape. Then Heracles found him, on his way to the Hesperides (following the encounter with Nereus), and the Titan provided him with the advice about Atlas as a reward.

The Tartarus that Stiles mentioned to Harris is the abyss prison for divine immortal enemies, especially those of Zeus and the Olympus.

Epimetheus, Prometheus’ brother, was the Titan of the afterthought and excuses. He sided with Zeus and the Olympians during the war against Cronus as well, and afterwards was given the task to create animals, in parallel to his Brother getting the job of being responsible for mankind. Generous though foolish, he wasted all the upgrading traits that they were given by Zeus for the task, forcing his Brother to sneak skills for humans, like the art of craft, to even before the fire. Then Epimetheus married Pandora, but although he knew she was troublesome, as the Titan of the afterthought- he let her be until she opened the box which released darkness into the world.

In another version of the legend, Heracles himself went to the tree instead of Atlas, where he had to defeat the dragon, Draco. As cool as making Stiles a dragon slayer would have been, I chose to have him go through the more popular scenario.

General Recap

Like all the other times if the show where Derek is gone, of course, this is the part where Stiles’ bad mental state begins to gradually reach lower peaks T-T It’s hard for me to accept even as a writer, but I hope that at least it adds to the building of their relationship.

So the second half of this chapter is obviously based on season 3a, but don’t worry about me rewriting too much of it, besides what I’ve already done with the Alpha Pack. I know it was easy to give up on the Darach altogether, too, but in future chapters, it will be shown that she is more than just another Drama effect, and there is an important point for including her (just like I took advantage of the deer).

While I didn’t really want to make Mr. Harris another brother of Deaton and Morrell, his death at season 3 kinda begs for him to get the role of the character who also had dealt with chemicals and ended being sentenced to be tied to a tree xD And the double irony of someone who risked do much for the human race being as embittered as he is, as well as the story with Kate, eventually convinced me to go with it instead of creating an OC (the trickery aspect may be the main reason to why Harris acts with Stiles almost as if he’s a rival of him :P ).

In case you didn’t notice, Mr. Harris never refers to humans as "mortals",  unlike a lot of other divine beings, or those who are related to them. It is a characteristic that I wanted to link to him because of the soft spots he still has for humans, no matter how disgruntled and disappointed he feels about them.

It was also important for me to add the fact that Harris’ family all have something to do with chemicals, as it was never explained in the show what made Laura talk with so many members of his family.

The explanation of Dr. Deaton being a Druid as well as a Titan will be provided in the next chapter. As for him being Epimetheus, it is a combination of criticism and explanation for his behaviour in the show (as well as in the fic, of course).

Whether the Stiles I write is IC or not (although I really really do hope so, even though I know I suck at a lot of aspects of him, especially when it comes for him using a lot of references ^^”), but the reason Stiles acts differently during the birds attack is because the Stiles of the fic at this point is very different from the one at the show, who did not have the same long, intense period of time to develop an ability to be shaken out of shock in front of upcoming danger so fast, but hopefully had a MUCH more relaxing summer apart of the times he helped Derek searching for Erica and Boyd :P

Fun Facts

The joke about Isaac and British accents is an Easter Egg of mine in Teen Wolf fics, because of Daniel Sherman’s accent xD

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 12

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

It was one of the companions of Heracles,  Abderos,  who was devoured by the Mares rather than an official- while he was keeping the Mares on watch until Heracles would defeat Diomedes and his men (which were a part of a tribe on a remote island). After that, rather than being set free, they were brought all the way to Eurythesus (which is something I need to find a substitute solution to in a lot of the Labours, most of the times, as there is just no logical way for Stiles to do that).

Those mares are also believed to be the ancestors of Alexander the Great’s personal horse, Bucephalus.

So, I made two quite big changes (or rather, a replacement) in the 8th Labour, with Hippolyte’s belt:

As most of you might already know (if not from general knowledge, then from Wonder Woman xD)- Hippolyte is an Amazon. The problem was that, in the one hand, since I prefer to include characters from the show whenever I can instead of building OCs for different rules in the legend- I REALLY wanted to include the Drag Queens from the second seasons; on the other, I prefer keeping the Amazons as great warriors who were born with a feminine body (regardless their gender identities, of course), because that what was great about them, in my opinion. That was why I decided to replace them with another tribe, the Maenads, who were female followers of Dionysus- which was known as a Deity who loved parties, which really worked well for me with the Jungle (although they had nothing, as far as I know, to do with Ares; the Greek reef knot in his belt, by the way, is also known as Heracles Knot). Inspired by him, they were pretty mad, but in the fic it is only manifested in the way they fight, and nothing beyond that. I sincerely apologize if I made the wrong impression and offended anyone.

Hera succeeded to incite Hippolyte against Heracles, which ends up in him killing her (while in the fic Stiles ironically thinks that this option could be the worst idea ever), which I really did not want to. 

The exact area in which Erythia, the island Geryon and his cattle lived in is not known- unlike other Labours, which their location can always be approximated. The main reason for that is that this place is supposed to be at the end of the world- which was believed by the Greeks to be beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, that only little number of people dared to sail to during that time, and so, not a lot was known about it. 

It is no surprise, then, that the journey to and from that island, at the very end of the world, included a lot of adventures (which was why it was important to me to place the Labour in the fic away from America, and create an environment close to that):

He had to kill a great number of random beasts along the way- which are the wave of monsters/mutants that first attacked Stiles on the island.

Reaching the line of a range of mountains where Africa was connected with Europe (before there was the Strait of Gibraltar existed, as, according to the legend, there was no opening to connect between the Mederitian sea to the Atlantic Ocean before that), and Heracles split one of the mountains in half so he could pass through it to the other side instead of climbing over it. The now two separated mountains, which bordered the gateway, became known as the Pillars of Heracles.

Overheated by the sun which seemed to not leave him for a second throughout the entirety of his journey, Heracles raised his bow and directed an arrow to the sun in a challenge. Helios, the Deity of the sun, was impressed by his audacity, and gave him a large goblet/vase (the krater), with which he sailed all the way to Erythia (rather than being more-or-less teleported there, like in the fic).

Finally arriving at the island, he had now to defeat the herdsman,  Eurytion, and his canine shepherd, which was a two-headed dog. The reason I redesigned it as having another set of legs, unlike the legend, is because I wanted to differ/distinguish him from Cerberus, the triple-headed hound, even though the two are Brothers.

The one who tried to steal one of the Bulls to himself actually appears on the journey back to Greece: his name was Eryx, Poseidon's son. After tracking for a while, Heracles eventually found the lost Bull in Eryx’s herd, who challenged him to a wrestling duel for the Bull. (In the story Stiles did not perform a Greco Wrestling-style, or even Amateur wrestling-style move, but as a WWE fan I couldn't resist that chance ^^” FUCK YEAH PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING :D)

The one to kill Geryon's Grandmother, Medusa, was Perseus- Heracles’ ancestor. Geryon himself was born naturally and was not made by someone, but the reasons I chose to make him a mutant (which followed by making the rest of the island’s monsters ones, as well) was to link him better to the story and make his character a little more meaningful in general; I thought it was interesting to make Gerard responsible for the monsters this time instead of Hera, and hinting that during the years he was a free man he has prepared a lot of backups we do not know about, all of them demonstrating the depth of his cruelity.

Along Eryx, there were two more of Posideon's sons interfered in Heracles’ path back to Eurystheus. Sometimes they are referred to as the giants Albion and Bergion, and sometimes as two men named Ialebion and Dercynus (combining the idea of giants and seemingly human brothers, I thought it was the best way to include the twins, instead of getting rid of them in a too easy way). What is for sure is that the battle was not in Heracles’ favour, and after praying to Zeus- the Deity assisted him through a rain of stones.

Sometimes, individuals of the called strayed away on their own (one time one of them even went as far as jumping to the sea, for some reason), or even everyone at once, because of a gadfly that Hera sent to attack the cattle- and Heracles had to put the march on hold and go after them. 

The way in which Heracles prayed to Zeus during the fight against Posideon’s sons was by kneeling- which is the reason to why the constellation which was originally called by the Greeks “Engonasin”, or “The Kneeler”, would later be renamed into the Heracles constellation, and is what the moles on Stiles face are shaped like (that’s why in the fic world, all at once, a moment after Stiles will be gone from the mortal world- the name of that star grouo will change inside everyone’s minds, and in most of the sources into his name; there will be a little more explanation about this process in the last chapter).

The Moirai, which Zeus mentioned, are the Greek Deities of fate.

General Recap

So, it is clear that I’ve tried to speed things up a little with the first three Labours (7-9), since there was not something too interesting to do with them plot-wise and not much character development-wise, besides presenting the deterioration in Stiles’ mentally state- but the thing with the 7th one is- it’s just that short xD No matter where I read about it, in any version I've found, it is as short and simple as it is depicted in the fic. I’m glad that I came up with using it as a demonstration of the change in Stiles and Derek’s relationship, because otherwise, it’d just literally be a two-sentence thing that all that could be said about it was: “Well, that... that was... a thing.” (but also when I think of the legend, I really can’t figure out why they included a task so pointless like this. I won’t invent something else entirely as I wish to stick to the legend as much as possible, but this one is truly disappointing)

I can't write a Drag Queen for the life of me xD I've written that part after binge-watching an entire season of RuPaul Drag Race. In all seriousness, though, once again- I hope I didn't offend anyone.

And the same about Faux Queens! 

I chose to not include the Soulmates/split soul theory in the fic because I like better the idea that the connection between Stiles and Derek to not be destined, but as natural and incidental as possible- which probably frustrated Hera even more by how strong it turned out without being made by divine forces.

So yeah, this is where the Sterek finally starts to kick in- you didn’t think I made the waiting last THAT long just to make it easy for them, did you? :P

Fun Facts

This chapter’s Deity, Zeus, is inspired by the One Punch Man villain Boros (although more in some of his speech than his looks, unlike the others), which is the strongest and biggest one of season 1. I considered to be inspired by his backstory as well (after easily destroying any enemy he has ever had, he has travelled the space all the way to Earth, where he’d find a great rival to relieve his boredom, according to a seer) and make Zeus find Claudia through a seer as well- but I thought it would be more powerful if Zeus found her on his own, after searching long for a woman interesting enough, and without knowing the destiny of their child.

It may be surprising, then, that I didn’t reference another villian from One Punch Man, which is very similar to Geryon in looks, Melzargard (as a reminder: the reason it became a thing was  because it was such a huge project that I’ve had to scatter Easter Eggs  throughout the fic, using mostly subjects which accompanied me through the years of writing the fic, especially during the times I’ve experienced terrible writing blocks/anxieties over it). Since I only started that thing to make the Deities to look ridiculous, like the monsters in the anime, along with the fact that didn’t use any inspiration for another monster who was able to talk, the Nemean Lion from the first Labour- I preferred to leave it as that,

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 11

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

The first Labour is known by the name “Augeas' stables”. The stables were legitimate ones with non-mythological creators, and not underground like Deucalion, and were so incredibly huge, that it was indeed impossible to clean them under a day. Heracles probably had to feel humiliated, as the Labour was planned to make him feel, which him think of making a profit out of it. He did not tell the owner, Augeas (who was an ordinary man, unlike Deaton), about the reason he was sent there, and instead offered a challenge to clean all of the stables within a day, which he would be paid for if succeed. Unlike Stiles, Heracles accomplished so without Zeus’ help: he used two rivers which flowed from two opposite sides of the farm, and digging furrows which eventually paved the water through the stables- and by that washing all the dirt away. Augeas refused to pay Heracles, either because he heard about the real reason Heracles did that for, or just because he felt cheated. In some versions, Heracles even brought it all the way to the court, where the judge sentenced for his favour.

I chose the creatures which seemed to me the most likely to have nature which is calm and “friendly” enough to let Deucalion take care of them.

The krotala Heracles used in the myth was not really a rattle, but I thought it was cute too add that detail anyway xD

The other man named Deucalion that Athena talked about was also mentioned in the show at ep 3x08, although, unlike what is told there:

He was not a follower of Lycaon and had no relation to him besides the fact that Lycaon was one of the main reasons to the flood, with which Zeus planned to destroy all the mankind of the Bronze Age.

He did not honour the Titans, but simply was a son of one, Prometheus, and is only known to listen to his advice once- to build a chance in preparation for the upcoming flood. In fact, in some versions, he has tried to dissuade Zeus from doing so by begging for his mercy. 

I’ve already talked about Teiresias in the post about ch. 9, but here you can see more of the changes I’ve made from the original myth: he indeed was blinded by Athena, after he accidentally saw her naked as a child, while in the fic I changed the reason to fit it better to the plot (all in all, he had nothing to do with either Ares or the Stymphalian birds).

Apotheosis is a process of granting immortality to chosen mortals, and sometimes even upgrading them into a level of a lesser Deity (and even that of an Olympian, like in Dionysus’ case).

General Recap

It’s a bit harder to talk about Boyd from Stiles’ POV, as it will take a lot of time for them to get even remotely close, but the situation in Boyd’s home can be inferred the same way as the show, where no reaction from his parents was presented at all, no matter what happened to him (AHHH POOR BABY T-T)

This chapter concludes the fic version to Deucalion’s past (and what I would have loved to be canon, just for fixing the plot holes that were on the show), even though I didn’t mention anything about how he got the bite (since it’s unlikely for him to be born a Werewolf, as every one of the Olympians’ world are disgust of Werewolves too much to fall for them). I guess it can be implied from both Deucalion’s words, and those of Athena, that he felt connected to the Werewolves’ world after meeting so many Druids, and Emissaries in particular, and in an account of that got inspired to end the discord. Yeah, I know it’s kinda stupid to have this addition here, but Stiles wasn’t interested in that question to ask Athena about that, who herself probably preferred to not talk about it- so I just wanted to point it out here, for those who were disappointed with the show for never giving further explanation about Deucalion’s background (as for me, though, it was the source of his accent that has troubled me much more, especially due to my obsession with British accents xD).

Fun Facts

As what has become a tradition from previous chapters, Athena is inspired by a character from One Punch Man as well: this time, it’s Fubuki, the leader of the Blizzard group. I’ve never talked about just how I based the Deities on those characters, aside from using their quotes from the manga, because I don’t know if it’s ever gonna interest anyone- but always feel free to ask!

Erica’s relationship with her parents is inspired a little by mine, I guess, though my personality is nothing like her awesomeness. SHE IS THE FUCKING QUEEN AND EVERYTHING I’VE EVER INSPIRED TO BE AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[heavensentgohansrage]

Recap and Notes: Heracles!Stiles Ch. 10

find the chapter here

Myth and Historical Overview

So as a Jewish, I may or may not fangirled the first time I read about the connection between Heracles and Samson’s stories "xD I know the way Deaton talked about him was not the most accurate of him, but that was the way I wanted his character to be presented in the story. So because I can, here are some fun fact of other ways they are related:

The straits of Gibraltar is also called "The pillars of Heracles", because it was believed to be divided by him (as happened in his tenth labour, only in my fic it will go a little differently of course). This parallels to Samson's story, who became captive of the Philistine and was brought to a temple where a lot of people were celebrating his captivity and mocking him. He asked to stand between the two pillars which held the building and them grasped them, breaking them out of their places and causing the whole building to fall apart on him together with all the Philistines.

Heracles was once taken by the Egypts while getting to their area, and slaughtered a lot of them after once he finally stopped putting with their shit (that the best way I can put it, at least. Not a lot of logic in those stories, so it seems), which can be compared to Samson escaping from the Aza people's grip, who went after him after they found out about him staying the night at the house of a local woman. He eventually got away by breaking the city's gates in the process and taking them with him, also for some unclear reason XD

The number Samson's feats are believed to be counted as twelve as well (as detailed here)

Heracles is believed to come from Argos, a region which its source is said to be of the Dantoni people- those who belong to one of the twelve tribes that were in Israel during the ancient times, called Dan (I'm not sure how common legend is among researchers though).

Both of them became slaves due to their misdeeds (Samson by revealing that the secret of his power is in his hair; Heracles by his lack of control of his rage).

And this one doesn’t necessarily has something to do with the actual legend, and 

Pholly’s character is based on Pholus, a Centaur who lived near the mountain that the Erymanthian Boar, and were an old friend of Heracles. In the legend, Heracles convinces him to share with him a special wine that was kept in his house- one that was supposed to be saved to be drunk only by Centaurs, and not to be wasted on humans or other creatures who weren’t one of them. The moment Heracles opened the jar of wine, the scent of it was sensed by many Centaurs who came to Pholus’ house in order to give the rude one what he deserved. Heracles chased them off, even killed some of them- and Pholus himself was accidentally killed in the process. The wine had nothing to do with the Boar, but in my fic I decided to connect between the two stories (with the horses representing the Centaurs) to make the first story to have more sense, while in the legend it is an inseparable part of the story of the fourth Labour for no apparent reason.

The Boar in the legend lived in a snowy mountain, something that is very untypical to find during the Californian’s summer, from what I understood- and that is how the idea of the fake snow machine came from xD

The mentioned Calydonian Boar belongs to another myth, where Artemis punished the king of Calydon, Oeneus, by releasing the enormous beast which went wild in the kingdom, and was eventually put down by the female warrior Atlanta. It is quite ironic, then, that this Labour usually appears after the Labour with Artemis herself.

General Recap

The battle that Derek talks about is the same that happned in 3x05, only it ended differently as Kali is dead, and Erica is there instead of Scott and Allison.

Fun Facts

There are relations between Heracles and Samson in popular culture, too:

Samson has cooperated with Heracles (who is sometimes referred by Hercules and at other times by his original Greek Name) in a few Marvel comics.

They also appear together in the film “Hercules, Samson and Ulysses” from 1963, which seems like some sort of “Infinity Wars” with the greatest heroes from the myths? lol

This one might have turned out like that by a chance, but the way Meg in the Disney film tried to deduce Hercules (I’m using the Roman name just because this one the one to be unfortunately used in the film, but of course in films based on the legend in the past they were using it too, so I can’t really blame Disney for that) to tell her about his secret weakness reminds me a lot of how Delilah had done the same with Samson (and when you add Meg’s death by the pillar it makes it seem even less as an unintentional parallel, but that’s probably just me reading too much into it, using the Sheriff’s “Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence” logic xD If you find anything else that I missed, though, please by all means let me know! xD)

THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR READING, AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO ASK!

[wheredidhiseyebrowsgo]

R there any stories where Stiles breaks up with Derek and Derek really fights to get him back?

Here you are nonny. Also check out our Break Up tag to find more! - Anastasia

Right / Wrong by Epo 

(1/1 I 1,151 I Teen I Sterek I Internalized Homophobia)

In a world where werewolves are known – and the Hales are quite famous -, Stiles is Derek’s (secret) lover.

A New Beginning by Theboywhorunswithwolves

(1/1 I 1,550 I General I Sterek)

“Fuck it.” he spits out bitterly to himself. Right then and there with the beginning of the new year that he is leaving everything that happened in Beacon Hills behind him. No more monster of the week, no more living in fear, no more werewolves, and most importantly, no more Derek Fucking Hale. Pulling his coat tighter around himself he makes his way back to his shitty apartment in Brooklyn off campus from his school. Being three thousands miles away from Beacon Hills certainly makes his New Years resolution infinitely easier to achieve.

Exercise by foxtricks (wireddifferently)

(1/1 I 1,773 I Mature I Sterek)

Derek walks out. Stiles runs. 

i miss your stupid face by ericaismeg, foxerica (ericaismeg)

(1/1 I 2,010 I General I Sterek I Drunk Confessions)

“i know we were never officially together or anything but seeing that picture you posted on Facebook with her literally felt like you carved my heart out of my chest and stomped on it and i’m not really sure why i’m leaving this voicemail but my pillow still smells like you and i miss your stupid face” AU

Heartache Tonight by Inell for wibblywobblytimeywimeygirl

(1/1 I 2,245 I Teen I Sterek I Fluff and Angst)

Stiles is trying to get over his break-up with Derek when he shows up wanting to talk.

Sterek/25 - Send My Love (To Your New Lover) REMIX by FiccinDylan

(1/1 I 2,827 I Teen I Sterek I Fluff and Angst)

Derek and Stiles break up.

Stiles has some advice for Derek about his new lover.

Cold Sheets by eeyore9990

(1/1 I 2,904 I Teen I Sterek I Angst)

Stiles wakes up to an empty bed. Again. But this will be the last time.

And That’s How it Started by ambientbliss

(1/1 I 3,403 I Not Rated I Sterek I Car Accident)

Stiles is always doing things he shouldn’t be doing, and when Derek gets tired of it and yells at Stiles for the millionth time Stiles snaps. Words hurt. But not as much as Stiles’s heart when he can’t take them back. 

‘Cause I’m Not Fine At All by RedCoral

(1/1 I 7,115 I Not Rated I Sterek I Miscommunication)

Derek didn’t look at him as he said, “I got a job offer. In New York.”

He paused for a bit. For dramatic effect, to gather his words, himself, his courage; Stiles didn’t know and he didn’t care. Derek just held eye contact as he went on, “I’m going to take it.”

Stiles couldn’t comprehend how his day had started with him getting excited and ready for his date with Derek after not having seen him for a week due to work getting in the way to possibly not seeing him ever again.

“I want you to come with me.”

He could see the hope in his eyes and the longer he took to speak up, the more Derek tensed, guarding himself against the rejection that could possibly come his way. Stiles wished he could do something, say something else but the truth was, “I-I can’t.”

God, it wasn’t supposed to hurt that much, was it?

Someone To Call “Home” by HeavenSentGohansRage

(1/1 I 9,959 I Teen I Sterek I Hacker!Stiles)

In which Stiles take advantage of his Hacker skills to mess around with his ex, who does nothing to stop him on his part. He deserves it, after all.

Aftershocks by 42hrb

(4/4 I 18,137 I Teen I Sterek I Human AU)

“I broke his heart.” Stiles said as Lydia held his face in her hands, using one perfectly manicured thumb to wipe away a tear that fell from his eye.

“Sweetie,” Lydia said softly, “I think you broke yours too.”

Hate Songs by theflamingfangirl

(4/? I 19,072 I Explicit I Sterek I Closeted Character)

Stiles and Derek’s break up was messy, to say the least. And the secret break up of a secret relationship manifests in the form of lots of indirect aggression and when you are both successful musicians, this means a highly publicized feud and writing vaguely worded hate songs

There Ain’t No Such Thing by WhoNatural

(9/? I 57,023 I Explicit I Sterek I Grease AU)

Derek couldn’t really care less that he’s spending his senior year with the students of a “disadvantaged high school” as Devenford Prep is merged with Beacon Hills High. He’s got enough on his mind with securing a lacrosse scholarship and trying to figure out why Stiles, the secretly-kind bad boy he spent all summer with at the country club never bothered to say goodbye.

But then, maybe instead of heated make-out sessions and snarky flirting, he should have bothered to ask Stiles a little more about himself - like his full name, or what school he attended…

One Beacon Hills by 182daysof

(15/18 I 73,141 I Mature I Sterek, Scira I Angst)

Three years four months and two days we return to Beacon Hills and somethings have changed, some of them have reached the goals they set as teens: Stiles is a Deputy, Lydia is a respected scientist and Scott became the vet he was destined to be. Some didn’t: Derek lost his inheritance and started work as an EMT. Following on from Lydia’s influence Malia has become a fashion designer, and Peter Hale is locked in Eichen House. But, after Lydia encourages Derek back home to Beacon Hills old hurts and feelings will be cracked free between Stiles and Derek especially when a body is found in the woods on Hale property.