Hadestown

[interjection]

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.

Comments

Evie | Disney's Descendants | ota

[4hearts]

[This is one of my favorite tropes ever! Love to have her as a Persephone.]

[king_of_shades]

((OOC: One Hades on offer. Your preference as to whether or not he's her best friend's dad version or not :) ))

hades | greek mythology | ota

[agetes]

[ take a guess. crossovers/canon fusions adored. ]

[talentedscavenger]

[ooc: whelp...up for Rey as Persephone?]

Gaius Octavius | Rome

[ancient_story]

Hades

I couldn't resist as I love Rome.

[ingloriouslife]

[I could AU Astrid and history for her be child war tribute (maybe Vercingetorix's daughter with a name like Etiona) brought back my Caesar from his victorious campaign in Gaul to Rome by Caesar to the house of the Julii and eventually transferred to Octavius when was named Caesar's heir.

Etiona is a good young woman who knows understands Rome, very much praised for her beauty, skill, and cleverness, but contains that wild air of Gaul and the language about her that never seemed to be diminished. Now whether she is a raised by the Julii a war tribute as an act of mercy and received an education and eventually became a citizenship but still serves the house of the Julii or raised a slave with the promise of becoming a freewoman I leave up to your discretion. Perhaps he steals his Persephone away from Atia who would be more than reluctant to part with her.]

Reimu Hakurei | Touhou Project | OTA

[haxsignburneverything]

[ hades by way of her keeping most people at a distance. not really evil or all the good, just kind of a jerk. Jerk Neutral. ]

ben k̶y̶l̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶n̶ solo. STAR☆WARS. ota

[vaderstan]

( this cute innocent delicate flower is definitely not Hades )

Xiao Xingchen || The Untamed

[cantseeyoursin]

[Most likely to be Persephone]

[white_foxing]

[OOC: Had a bit of an idea but wanted to see if you might be interested. In Qian's canon, immortals regularly have mortal trials to experience difficulties and emotions they normally wouldn't in order to grow stronger. My thought was to have Qian sneak off to the mortal world to check up on her future husband's trial, find Xingchen blind and standing over the body of his best friend, and basically rage-abduct him back to her immortal-realm kingdom. He'd still be basically mortal and blind, but a day in the immortal realm is equal to a year in the mortal realm, so Qian's main goal would be to let him outlive his mortal trial's final test, pretending to be distant and calculating in order to prevent him from suffering.]

Lucifer Morningstar | Milton's Paradise Lost | OTA

[the_rebel_son]

[Hades for sure. or... in his canon a Lucifer and Eve scenario.]

Eleanor Hume | Tales of Berseria | OTA

[oathbright]

((ooc: Eleanor would surely be the Persephone in this situation.))

King Thranduil | The Hobbit | OTA

[tauraran]

{Hades probably.}

[whoprovedwrong]

[ooc: Hi! Are you open to cross canon? Maybe the Asgardians and Elves get into a skirmish, and Sif is in the Woodland Realm as a political prisoner?]

elizabeth comstock | bioshock: burial at sea

[thefirstimprint]

[probably persephone?]

Yun Xi | Legend of YunXi | M/F

[poisonconsort]

[Persephone... Who probably doesn't mind as much as she pretends...]

Bai Qian | Eternal Love | M/F

[white_foxing]

[Hades.]

snow white | & the huntsman | ota

[deathfavors]

( persephone - or persephone pressured into the hades role by the necessity of her cloistered upbringing. )

Naminé | Kingdom Hearts | f/m

[lethechained]

[ Either! ]

persephone | mythology

[vernal]

[ ... totally persephone. ]

rinoa heartilly • final fantasy viii • ota

[pinwheels]

( definitely the persephone! this is one of my favorite tropes, so hmu! )

persephone ( greek mythology )

[springfollowsme]

[What it says on the tin, mate. ;)]

Rey || Star Wars

[hardscrabble]

[Persephone, probably.]

nine years late i know

[rensistance]

A lesser god might have gotten drunk on a light like that far sooner, and by his father’s beard he had tried to fight it, death shouldn’t know weakness. Death is too final for something as flimsy as weakness, too definite to waver - but he watched her all the same. A light like that didn’t go to shadowy places, and while the golden light of a late afternoon made him bristle Hades found himself with his hands resting against the bark of a willow tree that wanted so much to twist and recoil while he, oblivious stared at something that had no business being so captivating.

There was never a where or a when. There was no right moment for death to come falling at the heels of green and vibrant life. The impossibility of it was maddening. Hades had never wanted for anything, lord of the dead and all the riches of the earth, he had known only the occasional rivalrous pang for his two brothers and their temperate domains, but he had never actually wanted for anything.

No, Death didn’t know want until he knew the color of her eyes - and then that became almost all he knew.

Hades moved forward, more shadow than man at some angles, an odd stain against the soft carpet of grass beneath his feet. If he had a heart it would have ached.

“Hello,” he was behind her in an instant, just inside arm’s reach but trying not to be too startling. Which was difficult; he stared at her with fists loosely clenched, eyes wide as though he had been slapped across the face. She was even more luminous up close. It made him ache in a way he hadn’t been aware was possible. “There are good apple trees,” his voice was low and clipped, as though he didn’t like having to talk at all. In truth he didn’t like talking at that moment, didn’t have any idea why he was saying the things he said. Apple trees? That was not part of the plan. “Over there.”

margaery tyrell | asoiaf/got | ota

[neverbedded]

[ the persephone ]

[itdelightsme]

((OOC: Tower of Joy-type scenario? ))

marta cabrera 🔪 knives out 🔪 m/f

[vomito]

[ the persephone, for sure. ]

Ganymede | Greek mythology | m/m

[eagleswept]

[Persephone. Though he's got his own myth that fits very well as a variation on the theme, of course.]

Nico Acosta | OC | M/F

[anoranza]

[ooc: Either role.]

Evie Montgomery | OC | OTA

[la_bonne_chose]

[ooc: Either role, tbh.]

Padmé ⋆ Star Wars

[nexubait]

Rey ✨ Star Wars

[goazon]

(either, but would be forever delighted to work out an au where she can be the Hades)

[poeticforce]

He shouldn't be here.

It was a thought he'd had before, only this time it felt like it had more teeth. More danger? Perhaps not — although the very fact that he felt that way likely spoke to the real level of danger.

The last time had been in battle. A ground assault risky for both sides yet it unfurled anyway, and across city streets of all places. I can teach you. The mental whisper came like a summer breeze. We can do this together. Even when sabers clashed, vibrant red against borrowed blue, there was only warmth. A fire that could burn but not him. That was the promise.

No choice was made because choice was taken by the butt of a blaster rifle, knocking him out in an alley when he was catching his breath. He didn't want to say he was getting used to waking up to monochrome decor but it was certainly becoming less jarring. Not coming to immediately feeling trapped helped with that. What would he have chosen then? He's not sure. Only a couple days passed before the Resistance blew a hole in the side of the warship, opting for brute force over subtlety in their rescue. Did he need to be rescued? He swore he felt her anguish — matters requiring her attention in another system had her away, and surely that was why they struck when they did — and the twist of his own emotions was almost physically painful. They'd done nothing but talk, mostly, and she hadn't treated him unkind.

Knocked out again, on accident or on purpose no one seemed to want to say when he next came to in the familiar infirmary. Talk that he wasn't himself. That she might have done something to him. They were just worried. They needed him, and he knew that. Stars, he knew that, and he'd given of himself time and time and time again. If Leia were there she'd understand. He knew she would. Sometimes he swore he felt her presence when he held her saber; something he didn't want — never remotely imagined he would do — but they'd needed him to, needed a new beacon after losing Leia and seeming to lose Rey. They needed something more than the poster boy and he, well, he didn't know how not to bleed for the cause.

But he felt it. Felt her.

He'd heard of places like this. Like Dathomir, wild with the Force and with magic. Places with things some wouldn't believe and others would want to possess. Like Ithor, where nature itself seemed to sing with the Force, pure and untarnished. Poe could feel it here as he walked softly through the trees. Something other, something wild. Promises and secrets wound in shadow and smoke, beckoning. Tempting. Danger lived here and it had his pulse thrumming.

When the forest gave way to a clearing she was there, the moonlight painting her in a way that made his breath catch. His steps didn't falter. Perhaps it was a trap. Perhaps this time would be the last time, for one reason or another. He shouldn't be here, he shouldn't have come. There were people counting on him. People that needed him to be what they needed.

"They don't know I'm here." Spoken quietly, calmly. An assurance that she hadn't asked for but he offered anyway; this time they wouldn't be interrupted. It was risky and foolish, downright reckless. There would be no one to rescue him if an invitation turned to insistence.

That he didn't feel the need for one was sign enough that he'd already taken the first step closer to her, and further from everything else.