...

[maplemood]

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.  

Comments

[maplemood]

*gladly accepts coffee*

Oh, she's SO good as Helene in Great Comet, too! I've gotten into that fandom a bit just for the fact that she's in it (and also it's a ridiculously fun and very sweet/wistful musical based on Russian literature, so what's not to love?) and GOSH--so much charm and charisma, and I'm so glad that she's getting some wider recognition now with Hadestown (also I really want to find some good Helene/Pierre fic, because I'm nothing if not a sucker for angsty, messed-up relationships).

I haven't seen it yet, but I don't actually mind being spoiled! Like, I've got a picture in my mind of how it might play out, but I'm sure whatever they actually do in the musical exceeds those expectations by 100%.

Oh man, Hades would totally be one of those "But how are they going to make a living?!" parents, while Persephone would be a bit more in the, "Eh, they'll figure it out on their own," sort of vein--it's not that she's uncaring, but I get the vibe that she has a bit more faith in people, generally, than Hades does...maybe not a whole lot more, but at least a bit. Also she'd maybe get, to a certain extent, his self-reliance complex, seeing as she seems to be fairly isolated from the other Olympians except for Hermes (and presumably her mom) while still rolling her eyes at it. Like, I feel like Persephone knows enough about what he went through to THINK she completely gets it, while still not knowing enough to completely get it. Which causes more tension, which causes more fights, which...

I tend to headcanon Hades as a couple centuries or so older than Persephone, and that that's the godly equivalent of, say, about twenty years? Just going off the age difference between the actors. I mean, assuming Hadestown sticks with the mythology on this point--and there's no reason to think it doesn't--Hades is at least old enough to be Persephone's dad. Which I'm sure was another big ol' source of tension (with their family, if not with them) when they got married.

LOL, in some ways I see Persephone and Hades as parents as that one vine that's like "What do you have?" "A knife!" "NO!" because they're both so very not used to dealing with kids and neither strikes me as the most consistent disciplinarian, though they would try, I think. I also like to think that they temper each other's worst tendencies, so Persephone convinces Hades to loosen up a bit and not babyproof every single inch of the underworld, and he helps her be more present and consistent as a parent and not let their kid run too wild. But they're definitely more spoiling parents than not. Lucky for them they've got Hermes and Demeter, who can be the more grounding influences.

I will DEVOUR your Zagreus fic whenever it's ready, honestly. I can already tell I'm going to love this dude, and just trying to imagine Hades and Persephone's reactions to this kid that they raised and had a good hand in screwing up makes me all kids of sad-happy. And the triplets! More about the triplets, please--and it's so totally true that Hades and Persephone would fight a lot less after they were born, if only because they're too tired to really work themselves into a lather like they used to. I'd also imagine that three at a time would kind of force Persephone to be a more consistent parent, because if you've got three babies and no routine you've got a storm coming, that's for sure.

[acequeenking]

It appears I am eternally late this month. Like Persephone, at least I keep coming back? I'm so sorry. I've really not had a lot of time in the last couple of weeks to sit down and type this up. :( I am greatly enjoying the convo though!

I'm pretty casual in Great Comet but I love her. I will admit that I flipped through the Great Comet book at a Barnes and Noble and very nearly bought it because it had some fun Amber interview bits and some pictures of her I hadn't seen before. NGL if they put out a Hadestown book I will probably be the first to order because damnnnn.

I'm so freaking late in replying to this I think you will have seen it by now (I recall you were going lateish may?) but: Hades pulling that flower out? DEAD. EVERY TIME. Hades mumbling because he's so unsure of himself but badly wanting to reunite with Persephone? DEAAAAAAAAAD. Hades whispering the words of Promises into her ear as someone pointed out to me while they're doing the hug-dance thing? DEAD GONE UNDER DECEASED GIVE CHARON A COIN I AM UNDONE. The end of that musical basically makes me BAWL.

Like, I feel like Persephone knows enough about what he went through to THINK she completely gets it, while still not knowing enough to completely get it. Which causes more tension, which causes more fights, which...

I hadn't really thought of this but, on reflection, I think this is absolutely true: she probably knows the barest of basics from her mama, and some details from Hades (who I can't see ever really talking about it, much, if more so with her than anyone else) and deciding she knows enough without, actually, knowing enough. I imagine he has a fair amount of trauma from that which probably keeps him close-mouthed on things that actually should be spoken which leads to conflict which leads to arguments which leads to, well... :(

Ugh, just the Titanomachy, in general, KILLS me. I still need to leave you a review of it, but I read your new Makaria fic at lunch and the bit of Demeter giving Hades some sweet stuff because she knew he had a sweet tooth from going up the way they did - heartbreaking. XD Thanks for that! Please don't ever stop I love it

Also, the politics of the Olympians in this show, which I realize is a very minor element, are also super interesting. Persephone's little headshake of don't you even think about it when Hades complains about her leaving the moment mama nature calls? Love. Seph and Hermes broship? Amazing. I'd love to see what exactly the other Olympians think of this mess that's going on between Hades and Seph; are there sides? Are people staying out of it? Why exactly are Seph and Demeter and Hades (and maybe Hermes/Orpheus?) so isolated? Hades it makes sense to be but I do get the sense that Seph and her mama are not so close with the others (who never get a callout at all?) so it makes me wonder if perhaps Hades' decision to grab her has lead to some other family problems, too, if people decide the life/death folks are just too big a mess to deal with. XD (which is saying something by Olympian standards, where hot mess is a basic Wednesday look.)

I flip flop a lot on Hades' age a lot but I think he has to be at least a couple centuries older than her at minimum, since presumably she would have been born after the Titanomachy (then again, with Zeus, who knows; one can imagine he would put sex over say, not leaving some of the people fighting in his army incapacitated by getting them pregnant). Somewhere between 2 centuries and, oh, infinity times. Amber made a comment in an article I saw today about how she and Hades have been together since Dinosaur times and while I realize it's meant to just be "oh this couple have been together for a really long time", I instantly went to BOY BUT WHAT IF THAT IS LITERAL. Like...bare minimum 66 million year relationship? Their relationship, started before there were literally any people to worship them? Blows my mind. I can't imagine literally having watched the entire earth grow and change for millions and millions of years...and watching the one person who you watched all that with start to grow away from you.

(It also makes me wonder about the logic of their aging: do they age, like mortals, but at a far slower rate? Will they one day die? If not, can they control the way they look - is Seph eternally young because her role is to be young? Is Hades' look old because people imagine death to look old?)

I do think there's a fair amount of canon basis to assume their relationship is similar to myth. I tend to write it that way because I really like the extra layer of fucked up family dynamics, though I feel a bit bad because some of the ones I'm writing no have other Olympians in and I feel a bit guilty, oddly, for being like - here's a fic for this fandom where it's like I HOPE YOU LIKE GREEK MYTHOLOGY...GUESS WHO'S APPEARING IN THIS THAT DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE MUSICAL? SURPRISE! ITS HADES MOM! =D

The point you make about them balancing one another's worst points is a really interesting one - I can see that. I think she definitively is the ONLY thing in his life that has ever quite gotten him out of his shell and he's probably the ONLY person in her life besides her mama who can basically get her into responsible adulting. I do think in some ways, like that, they're quite good for one another - but it's fascinating (and realistic) that in many ways, they are also not so good for one another. I feel like with having kids they'd have a lot of tension but also a lot of reasons maybe to try NOT to fall into their old bickering?

And part of the reason why I went for the triplets is because they kind of would have to learn some form of order, and also I literally cannot imagine a worse hell than having to take care of three babies mostly by yourself at various points of the year. It's kind of fascinating that regardless of what parent they live with, they're essentially a part-time single parent - which is a lot of stress, and, also, a lot of sadness, because whichever one isn't going to be with the kids is going to miss an awful lot of milestones. I feel like there'd be tension/jealousy with that, too, especially once the kids were old enough to decide where they wanted to be in the summer...and really, do you want to stay underground might not hold as much appeal as say, do you wanna go to the water park with grandma and go eat peaches with mama. Oof. Not exactly going to be a smooth road, is it?

Speaking of oof, I need to finish the Zag one, I've barely worked on it the past month or so because life got stressful and writing one-shots is easier. I'd like to finish it soonish and Zag is easily my favorite character in it. <3 I will try to work harder on it to finish it sooner.

Also, my god, I LOVE MAKARIA SO MUCH. Her and Hades having identical little tinkering chin-sets and being basically a chip off the old block is AMAZING, and I squee pretty much any time they're on screen together. (Especially her saying everything is her da, and Hades literally trying to get her to say H the very second Persephone is out of the room. xD)

The triplets will def get more fic because when I'm stressed, I write babyfic/kidfic. So far I've started but not finished bits of them with their parents as infants (and Hades is terrified to touch them), children (wherein a child gets sick and WHAT DO), and oddly, a couple with them at different ages with Orpheus of all people and I don't tend to write him much but ???? Who knows. I'm trying to break it up as I post it because uh - it's a lot. XD;

[maplemood]

No worries! I started my summer class this week so I totally get just having too much going on and not enough time/energy. But I'm really enjoying the conversation, too, and I'm really glad you keep coming back. :D

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.