Zagdusa

Zagdusa is the friendship between Zagreus and Dusa from the Hades fandom.

Canon
Dusa is a maid at the House of Hades, Zagreus' home. Out of the many gods who reside at that place, Zagreus is the only one who bothers being nice to her. When Zagreus first bothers to talk to her, Dusa will sound flabbergasted at the Prince of the Underworld deeming her worthy enough to speak to her. Zagreus compliments her on a job well done, but Dusa gets nervous and flies up to "clean the rafters". In Dusa's main story, Zagreus will worry if Dusa isn't burning herself out, she will reassure him that she just has to keep doing her best. Interacting with her after dying has her question how he's still here, having heard about his plans to escape the Underworld. He lies about "unfinished business" forcing him to return, not wanting to admit that he failed and got killed. He later admits that he understands how Dusa must feel being forced to work for his father, with Dusa admitting that she enjoys his "decision" to stay. Zagreus occasionally asks her questions about her ability to turn others into stone. He also hopes she's doing okay taking care of Cerberus, reassuring her that he isn't as fearsome as he seems. Dusa reassures him that she adores Cerberus, considering him the best part of the job.

Zagreus can catch Nyx giving Dusa a lecture on not speaking to Zagreus unless spoken to, Dusa fully agrees but Zagreus sounds concerned. Trying to talk to her again has Dusa tell him that she isn't supposed to talk to him and fly off. Talking to Megaera about it has her tell him that Dusa is under strict orders and he keeps interrupting her just to chat. Seeing her again has Zagreus try and talk to her about it, but Dusa feels that her beloved job is on the line and she tells him that she can't talk to him even if she wants to. Reluctantly, he confronts his surrogate mother Nyx about her treatment of Dusa. Nyx reminds him to keep a formal air around him and keep "severed gorgon heads" out of his company, which Zagreus takes offense to, telling her that he wants to choose who he interacts with. Nyx accuses him of not knowing Dusa's place and asks him to leave her be. Zagreus disobeys Nyx's request and asks Dusa if Nyx isn't satisfied with her work. Dusa does not blame him at all, taking all of Nyx's critiques of her at face value, with Zagreus admitting that Nyx doesn't sound all that unreasonable, but also claiming that her wording is the problem and asks Dusa to take care of herself. The next time they talk, Dusa uses the opportunity to thank him for cleaning up the lounge for her, to which Zagreus tells her that he's glad that he has her watching over it. Dusa is ecstatic at the compliment and tells him that she's finally caught up on her work, all thanks to him, already stressing about what she should do with all that extra time.

When Zagreus meets her again, he has the option to give her a nectar, should he do so, she will question if he really wants her to have it, he confirms it and hopes Dusa enjoys it. Her second nectar has her questioning whether the Prince is just joking around, he reassures her that he's "deadly serious". Her first Ambrosia has Zagreus thank her for doing such a good job with the lounge, to which Dusa tells him that she isn't deserving of such a divine gift, but still giving him a Cthonic Companion as a keepsake, which Zagreus is very happy over. Her second Ambrosia has her question why Zagreus keeps being nice to her, with Zagreus answering that she's the only other person in the Underworld who bothers to smile. Though Dusa is flattered, she quickly realizes that Zagreus's comment probably had a deeper meaning and quickly flees the scene after thanking him for the Ambrosia. The third Ambrosia has her reveal that Hades and Nyx told her to never even speak to Zagreus, with Zagreus being the one initiating every conversation. They then reminisce about their first meeting, Zagreus accidentally bumping into Dusa while she was carrying trays for Cerberus, with her cleaning up the mess before it hit the ground. She should've gotten into huge trouble over that mishap, but then concludes that Zagreus gave her positive word of mouth and possibly prevented her being fired right then and there. Overwhelmed by Zagreus showing her such kindness before he even knew her name, Dusa flies again.

In a regular conversation, Zagreus asks Dusa where she got that Cthonic Companion, "Fidi", she gave him earlier. Dusa makes him guess, which shocks Zagreus as he suspects that Dusa "borrowed" her from Nyx. Dusa denies that part, but confirms that Fidi was a gift from Nyx as a reward for cleaning up the lounge, with Dusa suspecting that Nyx knew she would give it to Zagreus anyway. Zagreus next encounter with Nyx has her indeed confirm that she was the one who gave Fidi to Dusa, simultaneously confirming Dusa's suspicion that Nyx knew that Fidi would end up in Zagreus' hands anyway. She was perfectly content with it, considering it a perfect way of showing Zagreus and Dusa encouragement.

However, during his next meeting with Dusa, Zagreus is shocked to hear that Nyx had fired her behind closed doors, with Dusa being genuinely upset over having to say goodbye to him. He immediately lets Nyx hear it when he meets her the next time, to which Nyx replies that Zagreus' friendship with her was the only reason why her removal was as "amicable" as it was. He expresses his sorrow to Achilles, who suspects that Nyx was worried over Dusa overworking herself. Zagreus however blames himself for engaging with her as much as he did, to which Achilles suggest that he should talk to Nyx. Thanatos in turn also reassures Zagreus that Dusa's firing was not his fault, but instead advises to get over it as soon as possible. Zagreus thinks that Meg will be furious if she finds out, to which Thanatos replies that Meg won't be, imagining her swallowing her anger. Meg is indeed furious, but at Zagreus for ignoring Nyx's warnings and having a hand in Dusa getting fired. Since she has no authority over Nyx's actions, she bluntly tells Zagreus to fix it.

Upon talking to Nyx again, Zagreus finds out that she indeed fired Dusa for working too hard and being completely devoted to the House of Hades, considering it a poor work ethic. Zagreus apologizes for raising his voice at Nyx earlier, but makes it clear that he thinks that Dusa did not deserve to get fired, especially since Nyx did nothing to warn her. Nyx does not like being asked to rescind one of her decision, but she appears sorry for underestimating how much Zagreus cared about Dusa. The next time he meets Nyx, he witnesses Dusa being called back into the House of Hades, with her hoping that it is because Nyx is going to give her her job back. Nyx officially does so, but under the condition that Dusa shall not think of herself as solely responsible for the House's fate. She then asks an excited Dusa to get back to work immediately, which Zagreus calmly celebrates.

The next time he meets Nyx, he sincerely thanks her for giving Dusa another chance, telling her how glad everyone is with her back. Nyx is still concerned about Dusa falling back into old habits, but is confident that Zagreus will help her overcome these issues. When he tells Megaera the good news, she is impressed that Nyx actually reconsidered her decision, but still angry at Zagreus for letting it happen in the first place. Meeting Dusa for the first time back at work has both of them relish in the relief. When Zagreus asks her what happened to her while she was fired, she told him that she suddenly realized how much time she had now, which exhausted her. Upon resuming to work, she asks Zagreus to let her know when she's overworking herself.

Filling out Dusa's Ambrosia slots has her ask him if it's okay if she gives it all back. Zagreus can then accept or decline, but Dusa will be okay with either choice. Actually reaching a certain point with Dusa has Zagreus confess his feelings to her, only for her to panic and kindly decline him. She explains that she never saw him that way and that it wouldn't feel right for her to actually date him. Zagreus fully respects her opinion and doesn't ever bring it up again.

Fanon
Zagdusa is far more popular platonically than it is romantically.

Fandom
FAN FICTION