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I spent most all of my free time last week writing 12kish words of Hades/Persephone babyfic and about killed my brain in the process--it's been a while since I wrote anything over 2,000-3,000 words and finals week is coming up FAST--but also I regret nothing because Hades/Persephone babyfic. I don't know if anyone has an undying need for the most dysfunctional couple ever to start procreating, but if you do...here it is. As always there are a whole bunch of things I'd fix if I had more time/knew how to, but overall I'm not completely ashamed of it, which is always a good thing. I just wish there was more kid/babyfic in the Hadestown fandom specifically, because I, for one, do have an undying need to see the most dysfunctional couple ever with babies, and writing your own fics is great but never quite the same as reading someone else's.
So, yeah. I think I'm going through the worst of my Hadestown obsessive spiral right now, which isn't super ideal when it comes to the timing of final exams and papers but is at least a nice distraction. Also, we've just started to get more spring-like weather around here, so listening to the recording on repeat feels especially appropriate. :) The cyclical nature of the story--at least when it comes to the gods; Orpheus and Eurydice don't get the luxury of trying over and over and over again--makes me so hopeful and sad at the same time; so does the theme of art being both enough and absolutely not enough. I'm probably biased in her favor, anyway, but Eurydice doesn't make any choices that I probably wouldn't make if I were in the same situation, and the fact that she makes what seems to be the best choice at the time and ends up trapped in Hadestown for eternity...if it comes down to a choice between your true love and, y'know, having enough food to get you through the winter, I can't see all that many people deciding any differently than she did. That being said, I do love Orpheus. I love pretty much everyone, and there's no clear-cut villain in the story, even when it comes to Hades, and it makes the whole thing 100x better and 100x sadder.
So, yeah. I think I'm going through the worst of my Hadestown obsessive spiral right now, which isn't super ideal when it comes to the timing of final exams and papers but is at least a nice distraction. Also, we've just started to get more spring-like weather around here, so listening to the recording on repeat feels especially appropriate. :) The cyclical nature of the story--at least when it comes to the gods; Orpheus and Eurydice don't get the luxury of trying over and over and over again--makes me so hopeful and sad at the same time; so does the theme of art being both enough and absolutely not enough. I'm probably biased in her favor, anyway, but Eurydice doesn't make any choices that I probably wouldn't make if I were in the same situation, and the fact that she makes what seems to be the best choice at the time and ends up trapped in Hadestown for eternity...if it comes down to a choice between your true love and, y'know, having enough food to get you through the winter, I can't see all that many people deciding any differently than she did. That being said, I do love Orpheus. I love pretty much everyone, and there's no clear-cut villain in the story, even when it comes to Hades, and it makes the whole thing 100x better and 100x sadder.
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If they put out a Hadestown book I'll be over the moon! I just love reading about everything, from the actors to the set design to what went into making it the story that it is (Playbill has a REALLY fun article where the costume designer explains the costuming choices for pretty much all the characters, and if I could just have...an entire book where everyone involved goes into that level of detail about other aspects--like the set design and the choreography and, well, everything--I'd be one happy camper).
Yep, I saw it on the 18th of May and I still haven't fully processed the experience, honestly. It was beyond wonderful. My friend and I literally clutched at each other at the part with Hades and the flower, and every single time Hades reaches out to Persephone during Chant and she cuts him off? GOD. And when they danced! And the way they're physically mirroring Orpheus and Eurydice at the beginning of Wait for Me II (if I'm remembering the song order correctly)! I'm not over it and I'll never be over it, ever.
The idea of the gods (and Hades especially) being essentially this dysfunctional family headed by adults who are traumatized by their childhood abuse just...I feel like it works so well for Hadestown? And it goes such a long way in making Hades more understandable, why he does the things he does and why he thinks ANYONE would appreciate a gilded cage. And the politics of the Olympians--I kind of want the Anais Mitchell take on all the Greek myths now, but my guess would be that it's sort of a combo of the rift that the marriage caused and just general "it's life and death, better not get involved," and also I kind of get the sense that Persephone, Hades, and Hermes (and by implication Demeter) chose to live a little separate from everyone else even before the marriage. Maybe they just got sick of the drama? Which, I mean, they started plenty of drama of their own, so obviously that didn't work out, but.
I really, really love the idea of Hades and Persephone having been together over multiple ages and maybe even the lifespans of multiple worlds--I feel like it really fits with the "we're gonna sing it again and again" elements of the show...so they've been together for basically an eternity, and they're just too tired and too bitter to get it together sometimes, but they love each other like no one else does, and they always will. And the article you to is so good?? As much as I love Hades/Persephone, the parallels between Persephone and Eurydice are pretty glorious and also both Amber Gray and Eva Noblezada are such joys to watch/listen to/read about.
My personal headcanon is that as gods they'd age at a slower rate and probably quit aging before they got totally decrepit, but that also it's a matter of mortal perception in some ways, so like you said Persephone is comparatively young because she's a life goddess and "has" to be young; Hades is old because as death he's "supposed" to be old. That's obviously just one interpretation, though!
Gosh, don't worry about that--I live a good mythology shout-out (and also a good fucked-up family dynamic, so...)
It won't be a smooth ride, but I really, really do think they could make it work. Like, there'd be an awful lot of bumps along the way, and like you said a lot of jealousy and missed milestones, but also the fact that they live apart for half the year might also encourage them to cherish the times they do have together, and to really try to make sure they're giving their babies lots of good memories of those times. So in that way they might make more of an effort to at least outwardly keep it together, and if the did make the effort, things would probably start to slowly improve inwardly, too.
Take all the time you need, but I'm so ready for Zag! Like we already talked about, I literally can barely imagine what growing up with pre-canon Hades and Persephone would do to you as a person, but I'm excited/a little worried to find out. <3
Oh, I'm so glad you like her! I was trying to get at that specific thing little kids have, where they're enthusiastic and adorable but also A Lot and as much as you love them you sometimes want them to just go away and leave you alone for a bit. Which Persephone must especially be feeling, since she's, again, essentially a single parent for half the year. And I kind of adore the idea of Hades & Demeter being closer when they were younger, and Demeter still having some of that big-sister instinct buried down deep.
Baby/kidfic is the best and now that you mention it, I actually wrote "At the Turning of the Year" right before finals, when I was pretty stressed myself! There's just something about giving your favorite characters a baby and watching them struggle to cope that makes for the best kind of escapism. And all your story beginnings sound lovely and perfect (I'm absolutely enchanted by the idea of the triplets meeting Orpheus!) and I can't wait to read them.