mildlyamused:
oh man wouldn’t it be GREAT if Hollywood gave Medusa the movie treatment and showed her as the tragic wronged hero she was? Just chillin’ out as a just a ordinary woman until Poseidon raped her in Athena’s temple and instead of being like “DUDE UNCLE NO WTF ARE YOU DOING?!” and smiting him, Athena punished the victim and turned her into a monster with snakes for hair…only wait Athena isn’t an idiot and how could she even punish the god of the sea? But she could give Medusa the power to make sure no man ever laid a goddamn finger on her again. Until Perseus traipsed in and fucked it all up. Way to go idiot. I bet if you’d just asked nicely she might have turned shit to stone for you.
I want a version of the story that is exactly this, minus the Perseus fucking it up part. A version where she realizes the gift Athena has given her, where she spends her years honing her ability to literally petrify anyone who crosses her (but usually she just lets that power fly because most people who come after her are out to either steal her treasures or kill her and she’s not having either of that, thanks much).
I want a version of the Medusa tale where she’s like a mother to her snakes. They all have names. She spoils them and they love her like children love their mother. They move themselves into different styles when she wants them to.
Oh man, and then like…she becomes the protector of others who have suffered the way she did. Victims of assault who were unjustly treated, who saw their attackers go free or even worse—praised; who saw themselves ridiculed or unjustly accused because of the “unconventional” or “unbelievable” nature of their situation; her home is their refuge. And at first they’re scared because like, whoa shit that’s Medusa and she could turn me to stone but she’s very gentle with them. She gives them food, clothes, and most importantly, space. The space to just feel safe. To just be.
And then Medusa goes out and fucking wrecks the shit out of those attackers. Because that’s how Medusa gets down.