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.
Reply to others.
Play anything and any scenario that fits within the theme.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( dibs on persephone! only because i can't picture alex being a hades-esque character. open to canon/cross-canon and if you have any specific questions/ideas feel free to PM me )

((Could do either role, but since she's a reaper, I'm kind of intrigued by the idea of Tessa as keeper of the underworld. Castmates welcome, but definitely crossover friendly.))

[ooc: interested in a Dean?]

[always! tricking dean with food because she lurves him, and he's had way too many get outta jail free cards ftw! You want to do the honors, or shall I?]

[ooc: since it's her offering, do you mind? If you do, I really don't care to start!]

[Tried to set the scene for the AU without going completely Greco-Roman, and I seem to have written you a novel. Sorry not sorry. Anyway, just let me know if anything needs tweaking, or feel free to elaborate on Dean's side.]

Tessa's world was supposed to be one of true neutrality. The balancing point between the goodness of heaven and he punishment of hell. But heaven betrayed her, and hell had its own agenda, and there was humanity, caught in the middle. And for better or worse, she loved them. Loved them because they never gave up, even when the odds were stacked impossibly against them. Because they could stare Death in the face, and say, "not today." And as much as she hated that their souls so frequently slipped through her fingers in defiance, she loved them for it all the more. Well, one of them in particular, who was the perfect example of all those things.

She should have known that Dean would be the death of her. But he was also her salvation. He freed her from Metatron's binding, as he had once helped to free her father from Lucifer's.

She didn't know how long she lingered in the void. She'd only ever measured time in the span from birth to death. But she was brought back just in time to witness Dean's final gambit. God was dying, and he was taking the darkness with him. Hell was all but empty. Heaven had turned ts back like a spoiled child with their fingers in their ears. And Tessa found herself in charge of housekeeping.

The first soul she collected in the wake of that grand explosion? You guessed it.

"Hello, Dean," she said, stepping of the white, vintage limousine that pulled onto the scene. "Sorry you had to get caught up in the family drama again." She smiled that sad, half smile of hers. "You're probably surprised to see me. I guess Uncle Chuck knew what a mess he was leaving behind, and wanted to leave a familiar face in charge of clean-up."

[No, it's perfect! Thank you for setting us up, and I apologize for speed.]

Dean Winchester has had many experiences with death, be it for real or as a warning. Tess was his first, and she had left an impression on him with her mixture of strength and empathy. She was kind in her refusal to back down from the reaping, but steady. At the time, she had no way of knowing the Winchesters would be notable exceptions, but she had been kind, patient with her insistence staying would only make things worse.

"Tess." Turning, he greeted her, a smile on his face as if he's greeting an old friend rather than the person sent to take him away from his life. No, his life was already over. "I'm beginning to think you only come when I die." He joked, his voice full of friendly sarcasm because it's easier than showing the pain of leaving it all behind. Life could suck sometimes, but he'd gotten attached to it.

"Is there a Winchester Bingo, or did you stop keepin' count by now?"

"What's a little death between friends," Tessa crooned, matching Dean's humor, and raising him a double entendre. For obvious reasons, she was in much better spirits than the last time they'd met.

She smiled, and took a fee casual steps closer. "If there was Winchester Bingo, I hit the jackpot with you, that Tuesday with Gabe and the Mystery Spot," she said, "But who's keeping score these days anyway?" Besides Billy. "Today was different though," she observed, "You were ready to lay it all down for good."

"By now, it might be a lotta death between friends." Dean might not remember all of them, but he knows his own score card is a mile long.

For obvious reasons, Dean's is lower.

"Don't count if I forget it." He doesn't remember it at all. Still, he knows that's not true. "But, yeah, well, another day bein' a Winchester." Another joke. "I get Heaven, right? The dyin' to save the world earns me a ticket upstairs?"

She laughed with genuine amusement at Dean's retort. Sometimes she wished she could forget about Gabriel's tricks, herself. She knew he'd been trying to make a point, but the Winchesters never backed down for anyone or anything. It was part of what made them so important to the Man Upstairs.

Speaking of which...

"You know I'm not supposed to spoil the ending," she said, but she couldn't hold back her smile. "But yeah. You've earned it."

She almost didn't believe that he was finally ready to go. "I would say I'm going to miss these little trysts of ours. But now that Heaven is open for business, you never know. Maybe I'll look you up next time I'm in the neighborhood."

Edited 2016-06-13 14:14 (UTC)

That day must have been a pain for the reapers. There's no memory of what happened - had it been her? Someone else? Had they just stood around and waited or had Dean been halfway to Heaven or Hell before Gabriel just rewound time? - but Dean's somewhat glad he couldn't remember. Dying over and over in ridiculous ways didn't found fun.

He offered her a smile, though there's a tinge of sadness behind it. "Bout damn time." Ready isn't really the word he would use, but he did what he had to do, and at least he went down like a big damn hero this time. Sure as hell beat Hellhounds.

Besides, hunters didn't live to get old. The few that did were exceptions.

"Yeah? Sneak me a drink or two when you come. They might not have the kind I like up there." At this point, he wasn't sure if he was stalling or not.

"It's heaven," said the reaper, "What other kind would they have?" But she felt an old, familiar hesitation--and this time, she wasn't sure if it was just coming from Dean, or if the reluctance was her own.

"I guess it's time get this show on the road," she said, "Unlesss..." It was crazy, what she was about to say. But there was so much work that would have to be done, to keep things from turning to chaos as the world reinvented itself without Chuck. And Tessa didn't want to have to do it alone.

"Unless I can offer you a job."

Dean hesitates for a moment. He's surprised at the offer, but that alone isn't enough to slow his response time too much, not after a life of honing his skills. Instead, he needs a little time to think of his own answer.

In the end, the corner of his mouth turns upward. "Nah, I couldn't do the reaper thing. My job was saving people. I made some mistakes in it, but what's done is done." Looking down, he shifts a little. "Besides, taking people to hell's not really my thing."

Decision made, he held out his arms. "I guess that makes this the last dance."

She's almost disappointed, but they both know that it's probably for the best. Dean had been Death for a day, and they'd made each other miserable. Still, she's not in any hurry as she steps into his arms, and reaches up to touch his face. "Let's make it one to remember."

Death was a horrible, horrible job. Dean knows there's some kind of balance, but he would rather it be done with. He's lost enough people to it.

Surprised to find her close, he blinks before closing his arms around her. What the heck, she was cute and he liked her well enough.

"This some kind of last shebang present?"

"Something like that," she said, smiling up at him. She swayed slowly to the music that filtered from the vehicle behind her. Dean would know a last-night-on-earth speech when he heard one, after all. "Heaven is what you make of it, you know. You've got your whole afterlife ahead of you."

[ persephone obviously. though it might be interesting to flip it on it's head and have her be more willing and/or have her manipulate someone into kidnapping her or something. ]

[Persephone.]

[Persephone, of course.]

[Prrrrobably hades, but a misunderstood one that everyone thinks is terrifying and awful but is actually just a grumpy guy with a sensitive side and a heart of gold. ...Not that he doesn't have a terrifying side ~~basically, I have a hichi account if you want~~, but he's generally not going to be out to manipulate anyone intentionally.]

[Orihime kept her nose out of most of the politics of the Gods. Sure she was the daughter of the most powerful one, but she didn't see see him that often. She lived with her mother, a Goddess who controlled vegetation. Her parents sheltered her a bit, but she never wanted for anything.

Being something of a princess, Orihime lived a carefree life. She spent most of her time playing with her friends and caring for her mother's flowers. Since the flowers always grew and fruit was always in season, warm days melted into each other. There was always a flower that needed picked or a tree that needed tending, so she was never short of busy work. And because she was fairly outgoing, there was never any shortage of friends to help with those tasks.

As it turned out, that was also the last thing she remembered before waking up. Had she went to sleep in the field? She and her friends, a tribe of nymphs, had been out picking wildflowers. Her best friend, Tatsuki, had called over to her; there was a cluster of fabulous purple daffodils growing wild in a dry river bed. They had run down together, laughing at their wonderful luck. Just as she plucked the first one, there was a rumbling and after that everything went dark.

She was nowhere near a sunny field now, though. Waking up, her eyes focused on a dark ceiling with firelight flickering across it. She was in the middle of a large bed with dark sheets, one she'd never seen before. She didn't feel bad, like she'd expect from passing out in the middle of a field; she didn't even have a sunburn. Instead, as odd as it was, she felt like she was in the middle of a cave.

Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she began padding toward the large door on the other side of the room. The room itself was large and dark, with tall torches lit along the walls. Orihime could vaguely make out fine furnishings, ornate picture frames, and the glint of gold in various places, peeking out of the shadows. In fact, she even felt a bit intimidated; this place was much too big for her.

As quietly as she could, Orihime pushed the large stone door open and peeked out of it. The hallway was just as dark and poorly lit, with just as little clue as to where she was. The most she could hope to do was try and find someone else - hopefully Tatsuki]

Tatsuki? Umm... A-Anyone? Is anyone here?

[There was, indeed, someone there. Unfortunately, that someone happened to be the three headed dog that normally guarded the gates - but at seeing Orihime, it let out a growl and stalked forward, clearly thinking she was a spirit who should have not been allowed into the halls of his master's home.

But just as the dog was close enough to snap at her, a loud voice rang out that stopped it in it's tracks.]

Cerberus! Dammit, get over here!

[It had to be an interesting sight - the heads going from growling at an intruder to slinking its body on the ground, whimpers coming from all three heads as it slunk towards the man in the black cloak who'd just appeared at the end of the hall, two bone white horns protruding from the hood that covered his face.]

God, I leave you alone for two seconds and you run off on me - wait, who's that?

[Pushing past the dog - which was now apparently trying to lick it's master with all the heads it had - the hooded figure walked towards Orihime, his eyes still covered, but his mouth set and grim.

This was someone that didn't belong in his halls.]

How did you get here? You're not one of the dead - hell, you still smell like flowers.

[Not that it's a bad smell, he thought to himself. It had just been a while since he'd smelled anything from above the Underground.]

[Orihime couldn't help the squeal when the three-headed dog had growled at her. She almost ran back into the room and hid - it might be an odd place, but at least there wasn't a guard dog out there! Normally she was just fine with all sorts of animals, but even she couldn't help be a little freaked out by it.

When he just turned and walked away, though, she exhaled. Following the dog down the hallway with her eyes, the tension began to leave her body. Even though the cloaked figure had horns, she was certain he was another God. She couldn't profess to having met every God on Olympus or in the world, so it was entirely possible they had just never met.

When he mentioned her not being dead, though, it clicked - she must be in the Underworld. Well, that would explain the dog, at least. Clearly then, this was just a mistake. Right! So she could explain it to him and he'd help her go home!]

U-Uhn! I help take care of my Mama's flowers! I'm not really sure how I got here, though... A-Am I in the Underworld? I'm not dead, am I? The last thing I remember before waking up here was these amazing purple daffodils, and then when I went to pick them, everything went black...

[She let the sentence trail off, not sure what else to say. She just hoped it didn't come out too strangely.]

[The furriest, happiest, most outspoken Hades ever ~~and he's probably Cerberus too but SHHHHH!!!~~

Very, very heavy voicetesting btw.]

[His role in this is obvious.]

( OOC ; She's definitely Persephone. )

[Persephone. Would love to do a Greek AU.]

[Decadent beauty with a love of darkness and corruption. He would be more than happy to walk into hell if he found a door.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Persephone

alex benedetto » gangsta. » ota

Tessa | Supernatural | F/M

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

persephone | greek mythology

Mary Crawley | Downton Abbey | M/F

Karla @ | Fire Emblem | OTA

Ichigo Kurosaki | Bleach | OTA

oh ho ho!

HAY BB

OH SHIT WHASSUP

Keaton | Fire Emblem: Fates | m/f + Kaden and maybe Laslow

Hades | Greek Mythology

Cecil Harvey | Final Fantasy IV (AU) | F/M

Alcuin no Delaunay ( Kushiel's Dart ) M/M

Ashley Raventon | Lost Souls | M/M