bakerstreet | She gave me peace in a lifetime of war

Hades & 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

She is not wrong on that account. If Loki was indeed forced to relinquish all (most) of his daggers at the gates of the Palace, he still has his magic at the ready, humming cool and powerful just under the skin of her fingertips.

He arches an eyebrow at her words, more curious about the mention of screaming than about her insistence to get a name. He is fully aware that his refusal is suspicious, and willing to be, grinning at the proposal. "I suppose 'your Majesty' would only be fitting," he points out, lightly enough that it could be a joke. "Baring that, you may pick a name for me."

He glances back above his shoulder when some sort of commotion shakes the crowd downstairs, before looking back to her. "Are balls so hateful to you, then?"

Only the company, the crowds, the noise, the machinations and the-

No, he's more or less hit the nail squarely on the head, and her nose wrinkles slightly beneath her half-mask as she searches for a graceful way to demur without blatantly lying (her heart on her sleeve and her hand a fist; she is made by Orlais, but not for it) and finds none.

“I can think of ways I'd have preferred to spend my evening,” is what she finally settles on, “far and away ahead of watching high stakes musical chairs.”

Loser gets knifed. It's one way to liven up a diplomatic event.

She appraises him for a moment, considers his jest-

“You could hardly do worse.”

As their majesty. That would be treason, if someone were sitting securely enough upon their throne this evening to commit it against. Or if the wrong person were lingering near the door to remember it later, so she should guard her tongue a little more closely, speak a little less freely to peculiar strangers. What does it matter, though, when they're all still as dead as they were when other hands laced her into this gown and even Celene's toppling wouldn't change that. If she survives her recklessness, she will live with her bitterness whoever walks out of this night the victor.

Loki would most likely be able to hear a lie if she tried to deceive him, and he is far more interested in the truth. To most of the nobles he has met tonight, balls are the highest form of entertainment.

He does not disagree, not entirely, though he amuses himself at balls in ways much different from anyone else's. Mainly, they provide prime occasions for mischief. So many egos and sensibilities crammed into a single Palace, the smallest step in the wrong direction can be deadly. And Loki is always more than happy to give people a little push, when they stand to lose most.

"Understatement, if there ever was one," he points out when she finally answers, watching the crowd down the balcony though his attention stays on her. "I find it most amusing," he counters, grinning thinly. Then again, his own 'chair' is not at stake in this game.

"I have no claim to this throne," Loki reassures, and it is only half true. He does not mean to rule Orlais as its King but, soon enough, Asgard will make vassals out of whoever sits there, through an alliance or a war.

She gave me peace in a lifetime of war

sorry about the late reply, this week has been tough at work

you & me both! no worries.

no subject