bakerstreet | Persephone

Persephone

Persephone.

Persephone was gathering flowers with the Oceanids along with Artemis and Athena—the Homeric Hymn says—in a field when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Demeter, when she found her daughter had disappeared, searched for her all over the earth with torches. In most versions she forbids the earth to produce, or she neglects the earth and in the depth of her despair she causes nothing to grow. Helios, the sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened and at length she discovered the place of her abode. Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. Hades indeed complied with the request, but first he tricked her, giving her some pomegranate seeds to eat. Persephone was released by Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, but because she had tasted food in the underworld, she was obliged to spend a third of each year (the winter months) there, and the remaining part of the year with the gods above.

but even that hardest of hearts unhardened suddenly when he saw her there: persephone in her mother’s garden, sun on her shoulders, wind in her hair, the smell of flowers she held in her hand and the pollen that fell from her fingertips. and suddenly, hades was only a man with a taste of nectar upon his lips

To live your life in darkness is no easy task. Evil may be just a point of view - one you may not ascribe to yourself - but a black heart or a ruthless mind is hardly quieted. While you don't regret what you've done, at least not outwardly, you do wonder if there isn't something more. Grey morality has discolored your world.

That is, until you see them.

They are beautiful, pure, good: everything that you are not. You should be annoyed or at least ambivalent to their presence; after all, they serve you no purpose, promise you no gain. But oddly enough, you are drawn to them, and not even in hopes to destroy or corrupt. No, you want to have them, to keep them with you. What to do with this newfound feeling?

Act on it, of course. You've never let anything stop you before. What you don't realize (or perhaps do, you just don't exactly care) is that the object of your...affection may not be too keen on being taken what they see as prisoner. Yet you only have their best interests at heart! Still, you do care for them, in your own fashion, more than almost anyone else, so surely a deal can be struck...

You just couldn't bear to lose them.

This meme, obviously, is inspired by the myth of Hades and Persephone. Feel free to be as literal or as loose with your interpretations as you'd like.
Comment with your character, canon, preferences, and what role you'd like your character to play.
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Play anything and any scenario that fits within the theme.

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He looked a little out of place, among her plants. A little lost, and a lot fascinated, the sunlight turning his pale skin almost translucent.

She hadn't seen him, at first, the daughter of summer. It had been his steps which made her silent subjects afraid, that alerted her to his presence. Not alive, too powerful to be dead - yes, she knew who he must be, but that didn't prepare her from the sight of him, the way he moved, the way he both wanted what she created and shared its fear of the contact.

Persephone watched him from behind one of the trees, observing him, gauging his power, his intent. But she couldn't truly guess the latter, not alone. So she stepped around, running a little ahead to sit by his path and wait for him.

"Greetings, my lord."

It was how her mother had taught her, to address other gods.

His days on the surface were few and far between - managing something as important as death and everything that went on below the earth was a time consuming task. The sea and the heavens were no different, but his brothers got to interact with mortals and other creatures far more often than he ever did. If Hades did not do his part, the dead would wander free and overrun the living; yet he received little to no thanks for it. To say the least, when he wandered the surface, he usually found that he preferred solitude, even if he hated it.

His gaze fell slowly upon Persephone as she called to him, and he recognized her at once as the daughter of Demeter. To some degree he knew her, being a creature of the earth as he was, but she was still brilliant and lively compared to the slow-moving (if powerful) creatures he dealt with.

"Lady," he replied with a brief nod. He wasn't in the mood to be the overwhelming creature he or his brothers could be. "This is your work?" To which he indicated the scenery around them.

It was less the recognition that made her eyes light up, as much his interest in what was around them. She sat up, and then gracefully rose to her feet, her face almost radiant with a smile.

"Mostly, yes, it is. Does it please you?"

It wouldn't have occurred to her that he would want to know, that he might care about it. Something inside her wanted to show him all, everything.

Him in particular, too, not just anyone who might ask.

The look on Persephone's face threw him off guard; no one ever aimed a smile at him. His younger siblings especially came to regard him with a particular sort of disdain that their children had all learned quickly. To say the least, Hades didn't trust it and his eyes grew guarded.

"It's quaint," he replied brusquely. "You're your mother's child, clearly." By which it could be taken that he thought little of Demeter's careful cultivation of grain. Cultivation. He could have blighted the earth beneath her fields and spoiled all of that work without a thought, if he were prone to anger. He drew away from Persephone to examine some flowers that were a white similar to the underworld's asphodel.

The suddenly harsh - compared to what she expected, really - words were like a slap, and she flinched back.

"Quaint."

The wheels in her mind spun, and she narrowed her eyes. "You think it frivolous." Beat. "Weak."

Perhaps there was a reason why Hades went unloved by most of his siblings, with that attitude. And it got no better with the way he moved on from Persephone to examine the flowers that had caught his attention; he was trying to shut out the bad feeling that company usually brought him. He wanted it, but he was mistrustful of it.

"Frivolous. No. Weak... Everything made by our kind is weak, prone to death." His hand reached out to touch the petals of one of those flowers, his fingers brushing along them lightly. It almost seemed to shudder under his touch but showed no sign of any other change.

That was - less harsh, from her position. It was confusing, as in thought-provoking, but it wasn't hurtful. She relaxed again, a small measure, stepping lightly after him. Her head was cocked to one side.

He could have hurt the small flower. She knew he could have. But he abstained, even if he seemed frustrated and unhappy with her. Persephone appreciated that far more than she could have explained, before. Far more than she had known.

"So... is then strength only that which defies death?"

He was like nobody she had talked with. And she wanted to know more. She wanted to know everything.

"Even gods may die, for a time," he replied without looking to her. It was true, considering Ouranos and Kronos - they had both died in their way and then returned, perhaps lesser than they were before, but at least they now had their freedom apart from the order set by Zeus. "Power doesn't overcome death. Even I merely keep an eye upon it."

He turned his gaze over his shoulder toward Persephone.

"Why do you linger when all your companions have fled?"

"Yes, we can die. I know that better than most - my realm's lives, for the most part," other than the trees, "are so short-lived. But death means there's space for new life. And rebirth. Change and growth." Persephone took a deep breath, trying to curb her enthusiasm about explaining it. "Death is inevitable for life. But I'm pretty sure that, in a way, life is inevitable for death, too."

Beat. And then she shrugged.

"Why should I flee? You've done naught to chase me away. You're interesting, and I like that." I like you.

"..." Hades felt a shudder deep in his being, something quiet but ground-shaking, as he heard those words. She was touching on a truth that he knew and observed, but felt as something only his own, something none of their family would ever fully comprehend, with one or two exceptions. Clearly, Persephone was one of those.

"Haven't you heard? I'm the dreary, dark lord of the underworld." He gave a wry smile and turned back to the plants he had been examining before, this time getting down on one knee to examine them closely.

"Keep up that interest and you'll draw unwanted attention, ending up like one of my little brother's playthings."

"I'd have to see you in your natural habitat to evaluate your dreariness." So deadpan, so sweet. "I find you more melancholy and pensive, myself."

There wasn't much of a change in tone from that statement to the next, but it was like a shift in the wind, from easy refreshing breath to bringing in the distant sound of battle or storm.

"He can try." A beat, and she almost lightened up. "There is a reason, after all, why plants rarely stay entirely inside cages, but cages are usually made of them, instead."

That almost sounded like she was inviting herself into his life, or trying, and it made Hades feel a mixture of emotions - she seemed to be doing a very good job of doing that to him. A bit of annoyance bristled at the back of his neck, but then settled into this strange tingling sensation in his abdomen.

"Hah," he let out, a little more bitterly than he would have intended, the bristling feeling winning out. "While I don't deny the value of vegetation, I think you overestimate yourself, Persephone." He wasn't even turning to look at her at this point, confused by his feelings and letting the annoyance play itself out.

"Zeus or Poseidon would devour you. Gods like them, and myself, are beyond you." Perhaps, famous last words.

"Is that so."

Persephone's voice didn't change, didn't rise. But her eyes, which had been open and curious and bright, hardened. That was all the warning there was, before the plant life around them started moving, changing.

It wasn't a small cage. In fact, he might take a small while before he realized he was enclosed in a cage - she was still nearby, but she could walk away at any time she wished.

It was hard, though. Tree roots created an almost impenetrable wall in the ground, and tree trunks bound with vines formed the walls, and their crowns, interwoven, created the roof. On the ground, the last distance close the 'walls' was covered with plants that, while they wouldn't cause much harm would be rather unpleasant to the touch, even for such as them.

And, most of all, the plants here would feed and grow on any of their 'brethren' that would perish. So any that were killed, or cut down, would rot and cause the rest to grow and thicken the cell.

"I would suggest," her voice was almost sweet, still, "that you consider more carefully being patronizing a goddess where she is strongest, and you are weakest, my lord Hades."

It was true - Hades didn't realize til it was too late that the cage was building around him and finally closing at the top. He wasn't foolish, or brash like his brothers - he knew when he was caught that he was caught well and good - no amount of his force would break him out of there. Hades turned to face Persephone through the bars of the cage, his eyes burning with invisible flame. He was angry, yes, but he was also worried.

"You have some-" Again, he caught himself, knowing that to accuse her of having some nerve would prove hypocritical. His mouth closed and he continued to stare at Persephone with eyes wide. He took in his true fill of her then, seeing that she was powerful, and not some mere flower maiden like a nymph.

"Let me go," he finally said.

She was still angry. She was very much still angry, but the way he interrupted himself, the change in his attitude. Subtle, but definitely present. It all lured her into evaluating herself, too.

Not when it came to strengths or weaknesses. She knew those, or mostly did. But she questioned her reasons. Would she prove anything with doing this? Perhaps, but probably not. Would she acquire the wrath of one of her father's brothers, the lord of the underworld, someone with considerable power, a long experience, and, possibly, an even longer memory? Definitely.

Yet, she did not regret her choice, even once she had tried to quash the anger. (Tried. It was a valiant effort.)

She stayed where she had been for a long time, then, slowly stepped closer, her brows down and eyes wide, fixed on Hades. Her eyes turned down and to the side, and one hand stroked the green, living (dangerous) 'bars.'

"And what if I do not want you to go?" Her gaze jumped up to his face, to gauge his reaction to the ~~question~~ admission.

"Then you ask to be called a fool or mad by the rest of our family, and you ask that we upset your mother," he said quickly and plainly enough. The stories concerning him were mostly meant to spook people; they worked. His own family believed that he was a creature of doom and gloom, and he acknowledged that. It hurt him, but it did not stop him from doing what he knew was right, within his domain.

His face remained neutral - he wouldn't insult her with shock or lead her on with desire. Someone saying they wanted him to remain made him happy, and he wanted that, but happiness was what his brothers pursued, and he had his duties. He reached for the same bar that Persephone was stroking and gripped it lightly, above her reach.

"Though, I appreciate the sentiment."

(OOC: I can play him from the first season of Legend of the Seeker. Let me know as I am stronger with him from the novels and will present that version unless requested.

Female/Male for shipping please.

I am fine with Richard being in either role.)

[She would be 'Persephone' in this instance.]

[She's certainly the Persephone type.]

[Remi is going to be the Hades type. Open to pretty much a lot of things.]

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Persephone

Hades • Greek Mythology • OTA

:D :D :D

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Shuffle's opinion: Come and get your love.

Cause you're fine and you're mine and you look so diviiiiiine.

All of the above

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