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The tale of Medusa has long been twisted and distorted, portraying her as a wicked, monstrous villain. But the truth is much more complicated and tragic.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFf8aCTA8wP
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Medusa was once a beautiful maiden, beloved by the powerful goddess Athena, her lover. But their blissful union was shattered when the lustful god Poseidon set his sights on Medusa, attempting to seduce her. Poseidon used violence against Medusa when she refused to give in to his advances, forcing himself on her in the temple of Athena.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZIbRIK30f
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When Athena saw Medusa being assaulted sexually, she became very angry and jealous. Rather than punishing Poseidon for his heinous actions as a fellow god, she turned her wrath upon Medusa, cursing the once-beautiful maiden by transforming her hair into writhing serpents.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSeYf3x9kiV
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Cast out from the temple and her beloved's embrace, Medusa found herself alone and reviled, her very gaze possessing the power to turn people to stone. It was in this state of exile and anguish that she encountered the hero Perseus, who was tasked with beheading her.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCAqyy2Y14
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However, the truth was not as simple as the legends suggest. Perseus did not slay Medusa, but rather, Medusa chose to vanish from the mortal realm, gifting Perseus with an artifact that would aid him on his journey.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xpxiM2gza
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That is, until a young woman in her twenties named Aleysia, a beautiful woman with her nosy attitude, love to talk, and really dark past, comes into her life just like that.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaphXmjMcp
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When they start to get close and Medusa finally braces herself to tell Aleysia about herself, to Medusa's relief, Aleysia embraces her wholeheartedly, their love overcoming the boundaries of the mortal and the divine. Their new happiness is short-lived nonetheless, because Medusa's past comes back to haunt them.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjJLN5pKKe
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Athena, the powerful goddess who used to be Medusa's lover in the past, finds out that her lost love has fallen in love with a human and understands that Medusa never cheated on her; it was Poseidon's act. Driven by possessive jealousy, Athena is determined to reclaim Medusa, refusing to allow a mere human to possess what she desires.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSwplKb6RJ
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At the same time that Athena is after Medusa, Poseidon, the god who used to love her, comes back, his desire for her stronger than ever after accidentally seeing Medusa in Dionysus's grape garden.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKP3y1LFDO
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Even though Athena and Poseidon are always plotting to separate Medusa and Aleysia, the two lovers remain stronger together, for their love evolved in the fires of trouble.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRKmfVljow
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Torn between the unrelenting demands of the gods Athena and Poseidon, Medusa finds herself at a crossroads. Faced with the threat of having everything she holds dear destroyed, the anguished demigod is driven to a desperate act—seeking out the legendary hero Perseus with the intention of sacrificing herself to appease the warring deities. 26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoo4oZvaQlv
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However, Aleysia's pain and anguish at the thought of losing Medusa do not go unheard. The mighty Zeus, father to Athena and a brother to Poseidon, bears witness to the havoc his kin have wrought upon the mortals caught in their divine web. Angered by the gods' callous disregard for the well-being of humans, Zeus intervenes, granting Medusa relief from her cursed being.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM4qzxmfhg
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With a wave of his hand, Zeus lifts the burden of Medusa's curse, restoring her to her former beauty. But that's not all he does for her. He also gives Aleysia the gift of sight, clearing the darkness that had been over her for a long time. And in a final, unexpected twist, Zeus reveals that, as a demigod, Medusa now possesses the ability to make Aleysia bear her child, a testament to the power of their love.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RwiBbRN1q
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"Do you mean she's immortal now?" Medusa asks Zeus, and her voice is full of both fear and astonishment.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFG2GlX0ZO
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"Cheap price for your love, right?" The god smiles and answers. His words are a gentle warning that the price for his help is he wanted for Medusa and Aleysia to take care of the humans when the god failed to do so.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNKWE0CYo8
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Why did I write this?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYUC9Pw4XIn
For too long, she has been portrayed solely as the monster and villain in someone else's narrative.
But what about Poseidon, who violated her in the sacred temple?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhDSIMDS3JE
What about Athena, who cast her out, punished her, and turned her into something feared without ever asking what really happened? Without caring why?
Why is Medusa always the cursed, never the wounded?26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpc8apu1651
Why is she always seen as the danger, never as the betrayed?
She was once a human woman. She was once a devoted priestess. A victim.
And yet the world remembers her only for her curse, her eyes, and her snakes—never her sorrow. Never her truth.
Medusa deserves more.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUveDG0ouZ
She deserves to be the protagonist.26Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJhnjcLp8Eg
She deserves to reclaim her name—not as a monster, but as a woman whose story was twisted by gods and history alike.
This is her story, finally told on her own terms.
I wrote Medusa's Lover for this purpose.
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