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.
So, wow, I actually posted it xD Originally I’ve always planned to start posting the chapters once I finish the whole fic (as of the time I’m writing this I have three left, even less considering that I have some of their parts already written and planned out, so don’t worry!), and that’s it’s anyway going to be before the show ends.
Three years later and I didn’t mange to do it as I really wanted- with writing blocks, other fandoms and life in general interrupting me a lot, and I really wish I could blame it on the huge amount of research I’ve done.
But yeah, now it’s here and there’s no way back (even though I want to scream thinking about it T-T) and hopefully I’ll be done with the three left soon enough- and surely before I finish editing the rest of the chapters.
And the editing process (and when I say editing, keep in mind that I’m not a native English speaker, and it’s only done with the best of my abilities so it’ll at least being able to be understood even when grammar isn’t right; can someone tell me again why did I choose to write in past tense??) is a much bigger project than what I anticipated- I had to stay up two whole nights just to be done with this chapter, which is currently the shortest of all the chapters (though I really wish I could keep them all around 8k).
So, without further ado, let’s start with some background of the fic itself:
After getting into the Sterek fandom in 2014 (I’ve watched the show since the fisrt season but was not full on shipper like today), I found this post while browsing through the 2014′s Sterek Week tag. It really caught my attention above any other post I’ve seen about them for some reason (because not only the characters really fit their roles, but I love the Greek myth in general, even more so after reading the Percy Jackson series; I’d include references to it, but decided against it for the sake of my friend, who’s the biggest fan of the series), and after daydreaming about it for a few days- the idea of writing it according to the original Greek legend popped into my head, and I decided to try it out (btw, I was embarrassingly surprised to find out how different it was from the film, along with the fact that the Roman name is more famous than the original one).
As I was taking it more and more seriously (at my first few months in the fandom I was so excited about the unending amount of posts about them that I spent my free time basically stalking many old posts in random blogs xD), around 2015, I translated what I’ve written to English and finished the chapter. As I started reading about the legend in general, I found out these interesting points that drove me more than anything to write the fic, because now I had answers to why I was so instinctively drawn to this AU, why it felt so right (can also be read as: the amount of times I fangirled because of my own stupid AU >< ) :
1. His canon real name, Mieczysław, means “fame by swords”- with name Heracles meaning “fame by Hera” (and now I’m really glad I’d waited until this name was revealed, instead of only using Alcaeüs, which supposedly means “strength”, as his lone first name like I’d planned). As we know Stiles, though, neither of them is needed in order for him to reach glory :P
2. According to the original legend, Heracles actually has an average size body, and isn’t as well-built as the Romans fantasize him to be and as we imagine him to be today.
3. Heracles’ preferred weapon was a club, which is as close as it can get to Stiles’ modern bat lol.
4. Like Stiles, some of Heracles’ most known features were being vengeful and preferring to kill anyone who stood in his way (though Stiles only suggests it) but also struggling a lot with guilt. He used his cunning skills in some of his labours, too.
5. In this interview with Jeff Davis, he stated that not only the show is inspired by Greek mythology, but Stiles itself is inspired about non other than another Greek Hero, Perseus (Heracles’ ancestor): “...He needed to be Perseus, given a sword and shield by the Gods, but he has to rely on his own wits when he faces the monster, in the same way Perseus chased Medusa and used his own wits to show her own reflection and turn her to stone. That is Stiles. You give him mountain ash, he can spread a circle around it, but he has to rely on his own wits as well.”
* mind you, I’d still write the thing even without Jeff proving that the legend fits Stiles and the Teen Wolf universe to perfectly, but as a real Sterek fan I take whatever little good he does leave to us and make the best out of it. In the end I didn’t even write him as Perseus, because it was Heracles’ legend that inspired me in the first place, and I preferred to give Stiles to go through the most legendary journey of them all (which is also why I didn’t go with the “legend repeating itself” trope). I did use the comparison in some instances in the fic, though, as the most known feature of both of them is cunning.
But when we leave the plot aside and focus on the ship that really was the cause of it all (and fair warning: THIS FIC IS AS SLOW AS A SLOW BUILT CAN BE)- I’m a sucker for stories where a character’s mentally doesn’t for with the level of his power, and with that I could write the best story I could give to Stiles and Derek.
So with that’s done, let’s get to the chapter itself. ^^”
Myth and Historical Overview
Alcaeüs is the name Heracles was born with, before it was changed later on in his life to Heracles- though no one knows at which point it happened. A less common name that is associated with him is Alcides.
The story about Stiles lifting the car doesn’t represent anything in the legend of Heracles, who, unlike Stiles, was always aware of Zeus being his Father.
General Recap
Additional car scene to the Magic Bullet episode! :D This is the first scene I’ve written to the story, though I translated it after originally scrabbling it to myself during my time off at the office in Hebrew, my native language, before translating it later when I got it on my computer: 1 2 (HOW COULD I THOUGH, IT’S NOW SO WEIRD TO ME TO READ IT LIKE THIS XD also, there isn’t a good translation in Hebrew to the word “Dude”).
Poor Derek, though- everything crushes around him and he’s about to die, but he still had the patience to let Stiles take his time while telling about the tough parts T-T
So yeah, in this universe Stiles finds out that Deaton knows stuff, but still prefers to treat Scott’s condition after the bite on his own at the beginning.
I find that scene with Scott to be adorable, and presenting what I wish their relationship will always be like in the canon, but don’t get your hopes up for something similar to that to happen again. I may write the story from Stiles’ POV, who is led by his incredible loyalty, but I don’t like Scott or his friendship with Stiles in canon, so prepare for subtle criticism at future parts.
The “incident” will be explained further in the story.
Fun Facts
The idea for the aura that Stiles came from S3B, where Derek sees Kira’s. It doesn’t have a shape like her for Derek to know what Stiles is, though.
Reading the first draft, apparently I planned for Stiles to know he is connected to the Greek Deities somehow- probably scene Heracles has always known about it according to the legend. I’m glad I changed that, though, because if Stiles knew enough to be aware of that- he’d figured out already about being a Demigod, and it could ruin... the drama, I guess? “XD
And that’s all for this time, since I don’t really have anything from the legend or history fact being used in that one. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and that you will with the rest too! ^^
And if you want to ask anything, feel free to send me!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
