Time passes much more quickly in Rohandor and many long and happy years have gone by since the characters retired to enjoy their respective 'happily ever afters,' their greatest foes were imprisoned in the Forever Stone, bound in an eternal sleep. Until Now.
Happily Ever Afters takes place in Rohandor, a mystical realm on another plane of existence from our own. Here our favorite Disney heroes and villains live in a world all their own; Alive, but far from well. Heroes and heroines fight to keep peace while newly freed villains seek their revenge. Come join us in an epic adventure as the characters you love clash in a struggle that will determine the fate of Rohandor!
HEA is an AU canon-only animated crossover Disney Play-By-Post Role Play with minimal word count.
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4/24/21: We've been on hiatus for a number of years now. I don't know that I'm entirely ready to return BUT I have been cleaning up the site and working to update everything since a number of movies have released. There is still A LOT of work to do but if you see this update and were an active member of the site prior to the hiatus, please send the Yen Sid account a DM to let me know you're still interested in playing and if you wish to retain your current roster. I hope you've all been doing well and staying safe!
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Circular, like most all the rest of the palace, it had an air of neglect more than the others. Truthfully, it received little use. There were occasions that warranted it, but they were few and far between. Dark, imposing, and exaggeratedly Gothic as all the other chambers, it was the most ceremonious by far. Obsidian and onyx created an impressive lattice on the far wall. All curling inwards to create an ominous shape like an open maw with jagged teeth that arched over the focal point of the entire chamber.
On a risen dais in a half-oval niche in the wall were two seats of power. One was noticeably larger than the other, forged entirely of iron. Imperious and foreboding, it had a pale blue sheen that drifted over its surfaces, twisting into images of phantoms in lamentation before dispersing to reassemble. The other was slightly smaller, and appeared to be grown artfully from a pale gray bramble. Violet flowers bloomed on the ground around it, and in a halo about its back.
Behind these two thrones, the curved back of the room that stretched so far above had a tall, narrow window carved in it. Through this came a sickly emerald light from the River Styx featured through it. The luminescence suffused the air of the throne room with dizzying miasma, and made the two seats cast terrible shadows down the heart of the chamber, ending at the grand doors that opened onto it. Though eerie and frightening as the rest of the palace of the Underworld, this place had otherworldly, sorrowful elegance to it.
Contributed to chiefly by the creature who had sighed just then. For on the lesser of the two thrones there sat a young goddess.
Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, took a deep breath and sighed a second time. Her skin was as pale as snow, and shone like the moon as she leaned on one arm of the chair, resting her chin in the palm of that hand. Persephone stared into space, too resentful of her own thoughts to spend time contemplating them. For the goddess of springtime had been in charge of the Underworld for many months now. Since becoming the lady of the dead, she always daydreamed about its realm. Her favorite place on earth - or, rather, beneath.
Now she had learned her lesson, though. Persephone knew that her "favorite place" had nothing to do with a place at all. No, her "favorite place" just so happened to be wherever a certain someone was. Persephone glanced sidelong at the larger throne beside hers. Tears glistened in her eyes. Her bottom lip trembled. Then that mulish chin of hers set, and anger blossomed in her gentle gaze. Persephone's blond hair wavered, then turned to cool blue flame dancing on her scalp. The corona of pale flame twitched, then leaped.
The color surged to crimson and gold, and half of the throne room was engulfed in a terrible explosion that shook the entirety of the palace. The roaring flames hadn't ceased when a shadow appeared at their edge. Persephone burst forth, stomping down the stair as smoke dispersed at her back. She descended the dais and took to pacing the length before the thrones fiercely. The goddess' hair swirled, turned yellow, and solidified into their previous tresses. Persephone clenched her hands in fists, and then folded her arms over her chest.
It was just so unfair.
Last Edit: Jan 1, 2014 22:23:46 GMT -5 by Persephone
His rage could not be contained and blazed around him in fiery flares of red and orange flames. Simply put, the Lord of the Dead was angry.
The journey down the River Styx was not a short one on any given day and today it felt even longer than it normally did. The light of Hades fire flickered ominously off the damp cavern walls as the skeletal figure of the Ferryman urged the narrow vessel on and down the cavernous passageway. The souls were oddly, and graciously, calmer than Hades had expected them to be. They didn't even attempt to crawl aboard the skiff as they might have normally.
As they neared the entrance to Hades realm, the six glowing read eyes of Cerberus, ever the steadfast sentry of the Underworld, could be seen. All three of the enormous dog's heads began to bark, not in a way that was threatening to the god, but in the excited way an animal welcomes back its master. Hades gave the animal a pat on each of its noses as the boat continued forward but did not even crack a smile. How long had he been away?
Hades couldn't remember much after Hercules had left his kingdom with Meg's soul in his arms. He's been trying to fight his way out of this very river of souls when all of a sudden he was opening his eyes and feeling dazed as though waking from a dream. He'd somehow been captured without his knowledge and then freed. By whom? Hades couldn't even venture a guess. His enemies were incalculable.
Though his first instinct was to in fact discover who was behind his imprisonment and make them suffer as only a god can make someone suffer, he knew he had to fix the chaos that had no doubt fallen upon his dark kingdom in his absence. He couldn't shake the nightmare vision of Pain and Panic having taken charge and all the souls he had collected were gone and the entire underground cavern had somehow collapsed in upon itself.
But the closer Hades got the more bemused he became. Everything seemed to be... completely in order. The lack of chaos in his kingdom did nothing to sooth his mind, however. The flames that still danced across his arms and upper body had mellowed out to the even blue he normally sported, but they still towered higher than they possibly ever had. The inner fury swirling inside Hades would not be calmed.
The boat docked and Hades stepped onto the hard ground and let his eyes take in the glory of his home for a moment before striding purposefully into the darkness.
Pain and Panic were nowhere to be found and the Dark Lord wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. Probably good for them seeing as Hades wasn't in the best of moods. He cocked his head as the soul counter ticked up a number as another soul drifted through the room and down through the passage to join the other in the river.
There had to be someone seeing to the everyday needs of the Underworld and Hades continued moving through the vast halls of his kingdom and came to a halt as he entered into the throne room. A young woman with pale skin and golden hair draped in black paced back and forth before the pair of thrones set on the raised platform. And suddenly everything made sense, "Persephone?"
The Lady's mind was elsewhere. She didn't even hear the bark that Cerberus gave at the entrance to the realm. The one kind of cacophony of yelps that were reserved only for the greeting of their master.
"Who are they to decide what is just and what is unjust?" she was asking herself specifically when Cerberus was barking. Sickly, bare roots laced with spines sprung up through the throne room floor where her feet touched down. Only to die when their life-giver was a few steps away, turn to ash and be blown away. The floor itself resealed the spindled cracks that appeared during this before Persephone could turn to pace in the other way.
"When I first came here, Mother's neglect loosed famine and plague on the earth, and she wasn't punished for it." Persephone's hair wavered, rimmed in flame one moment, a curtain of pale golden heat the next, and back to simple whirling locks again. "Stuck down here for millennia, ostracized from Olympus, and even then he dutifully kept the realm of the dead running." The queen was not well and truly loathing of her cloud-bound family.
She never would be able to. But now, more than ever, fueled by the loss, and stuck there, to endure what he must have for ages on end, she was beyond frustrated. "How will anything ever be solved? When his solution is domination and their's is eternal sleep?" Persephone continued her tread, and spoken thoughts. Had she been in repose, as minutes before, she would have known by then. She would have known the moment his presence entered the Underworld. Then, when Cerberus reacted.
Now Persephone's neglect and focus on her own dilemmas were made the most apparent, because she did not even realize when the entire palace sighed because its master had once again entered it. The queen had ceased her muttering well before she had company. Then she felt eyes upon her. Eyes that, when they had first beheld her, and she them, everything unraveled about her. Then, and ever since. Persephone felt them watching her, and reality seemed to collapse while her heart fluttered with impossible hope.
She stopped in her tracks. Persephone dared not look. What if this were a dream? Or some imagined emotion borne from suffocating longing? She dared not hope. Then came the voice. Quizzical, content, disbelieving and charismatic all at once. Persephone turned so quickly her hair whipped out in a slash of gold that slapped against her back, and around her other shoulder. There, standing in the massive doorway to the throne room, was her beloved.
Hades, her husband, lord to her lady, king to her queen.
In retrospect, the reunion could have been more picturesque. Slowly walking toward Hades, shivering with unbound emotion. Or even running to him with arms outstretched. Such mundane transitions were hard to come by when one had the powers of a goddess. No, Persephone knew that she had to wrap her arms around him. Had to embrace Hades as soon as immortally possible. To make sure he was really there and this wasn't some cruel trick of the Fates.
Her swirling hair had stopped moving from the jerk of her head entirely when she exploded into a shower of artful lavender flower petals that vanished before they touched the ground. The phenomenon hadn't full ended when Persephone was back. She reappeared with the grace of creation, watching a bud turn to a shoot, and then a sapling with flowering branches. Those branches turned to arms that were coiled tightly around Hades middle. Persephone buried her face in her husband's chest, and her shoulders shook with muted sobs.
Hades was so angry and caught up in the fury over his previous circumstances, that he was finding it very difficult to pull himself back into reality. Mostly because he didn't really want to. It was so easy to stay lost in the rage, already plotting and scheming his revenge focusing on pretty much every living creature since he wasn't completely clear on the details of his capture. Despite having any proof, he was currently focused on punishing his nephew. Of course, maybe that was just habit.
The sight of Persephone was only enough to cause Hades pause in his thoughts so deep was he submerged in them. Her touch however, the first contact he'd had since escaping his ordeal, was enough to get through and shock him back into the present. Her words were hazy to his ears, as though she were somewhere far away. Like Olympus.
He blinked at her, as his mind slowly came back to him. "Well, I mean, really that's open to interpretation. I, for one, find myself VERY dreamy." It was a conscious effort on his part to reach out and put his arms around Persephone. As though she were a figment of his imagination and he would clutch at nothing. That she would disappear as Eurydice disappeared from Orpheus' sight when he turned to look back upon her. Fearing that her delicate frame would crumble to pieces and scatter into the wind under his unworthy touch.
She was the goddess of spring and rebirth, the opposite of everything that Hades himself stood for, and without a doubt the most beautiful being he had ever set eyes upon. She was also his wife and he would never understand what he had done to deserve the love of this woman, this goddess.
He cleared his throat still horribly unsure what to do or say when it came to Persephone. Hades spent much of the year with his own selfish schemes and when it came time for her to visit he could only make pathetic attempts to be the husband that she deserved, "I see you're the one who is all fired up today." He observed in a rather untimely attempt at humor. "What are you doing here my little spring flower?"
Persephone wanted to see his face. To look into those perfect, golden eyes. But every time she told her arms to relent on their fierce hold of him, or urged her head to lean back from where it was burrowed in his toga, nothing happened. That musk of his, like sulfur and fire accelerant, washed over Persephone and she couldn't stop breathing it in. His touch, like ice as often as it was like fire, made goose flesh rise on the goddess' skin from the back of her neck to the small of her back.
He spoke, and his nonchalant tone was not as indifferent as it normally was. Persephone was used to his sense of humor, and delighted in it, but this was not that. Out of context there was nothing out of character, but it was Hades' delivery of a would-be sarcastic statement that was all wrong. Then Persephone knew why. Because he hadn't yet wrestled with the reality of her being there. To Hades, Persephone was just as much a phantom as he had been to her.
That, above seeing him, and smelling him, and holding him, made Persephone's heart soar. It was one thing to love the Lord of the Underworld irrevocably, and the goddess would feel that way after all else. But to know that he adored her as much as she did him was... Well... Persephone couldn't really explain it. Perhaps Aphrodite could surmise the experience in a poetic phrase, but to Persephone the best she could do was say it was as close as an Olympian could get to experiencing the Isles of the Blessed - Elysium. Heaven.
Hades finally appeared to be overcoming being startled and reached out to curl his arms around her slight form. Persephone shivered, not because of the cold, and was finally able to turn her chin up and look at him properly. "Kissing you," Persephone answered Hades' question. She waited, just long enough for him to become confused - he could never fathom her wanting to show him affection - then she stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his.
The queen's hair sparked, and turned to flame. Soon the couple were engulfed in a vibrant, sweet fiery aura that was colored a hot pink instead of the normal ice-blue or cherry-red. The throne room of the Underworld, and the whole nether realm itself, seemed to sigh wistfully, and for a brief moment the palace didn't seem dark and foreboding. Because it was filled with unimpeachable love.
Hades was taken aback by Persephone’s kiss. Probably because she was the only person on the whole of the planet that he never seemed to be able to understand so she was always able to surprise him. Why someone so sweet and innocent wanted to be with him in the first place was where he tended to get stumped as he continued to try to logic out the puzzle that was his wife. He could feel the flames of her love wrapping around both of them as her lips moves against his in a way that always filled him with wonder.
When they broke apart, and Hades realized they had broken apart, he stiffly pulled his head away abruptly. He had an odd feeling of not wanting to ‘overstay his welcome’ in her embrace though he was not certain where that came from. Persephone had never gone out of her way to make him feel as if he were unwanted or intruding on her space or that he had tricked her into imprisoning herself with him for months on end. It was perhaps that he was simply so conscious of how much he didn’t deserve her he was still unsure how to behave.
He chuckled before clearing his throat again, “Ooo. Uh, is it hot in here? Or is it just me?” He pulled a hand away to scratch at the back of his neck before making a gesture towards Persephone and her golden hair, “Or you, really, as the case may be.” He amended in a considering tone before clearing his throat again. “I should have guessed you were the one behind the lack of chaos down here. I could feel my blood pressure rising to Olympus at just the thought of the hypothetical situations Pain and Panic were creating while I was... otherwise engaged.”
Post by Persephone on Mar 15, 2014 21:57:28 GMT -5
Humor (loose as the term may be applied by most to the Lord of the Dead) was his go-to. His psychological twitch. What he embraced or called upon whenever he didn't know quite what to say or do otherwise. Hades looked as shocked immediately after the kiss as he had directly before it. Persephone watched him paused, dumbfounded, then quickly straighten himself and, of course, pull out a line of witticism. That was part one of his reaction whenever Persephone truly circumvented his guard, and stunned him with her affection. Part two was incoming.
Changing the subject.
Persephone smiled wryly, though her eyes were still full of disbelieving adoration when he smoothly (not really) transitioned them to a more business-like topic. Distancing himself from the realm of her love for him, which always seemed to put him in a blushing stupor. She gave a gentle laugh, barely more than a snicker, when Hades voiced his concerns at the idea of having Pain and Panic running the Underworld in his absence. "They've actually been very helpful," she said earnestly, and a touch sternly, in answer.
She could have gone on to explain that the Olympians knew leaving the Underworld vacant of a ruler was an impossibility. That a replacement had been called for, and only one of their number could truly fit the job's specifications. Persephone heard rumors that Olympus called it their biggest sacrifice in the name of peace. To cast their flower into the abyss to take their enemy's place. Persephone stubbornly refused to voice any of these things. As much to ignore them happening herself (the drama her family had over the ordeal, one that they didn't try to stop, for that matter, was so childish) as to spare Hades from hearing.
Persephone's laugh was something Hades treasured more than probably anything else in the whole of the cosmos. Not only was it the sound of all the muses come together in the most perfect harmony, but since Hades secretly- or not so secretly- prided himself on his wit and sense of humor, there weren't words to express how happy it made him to think that Persephone found him funny. That she was legitimately laughing at his jokes. Though he thought that there were times she might be simply humoring him, he also was certain that thought was ridiculous because he didn't think there wasn't a genuine bone in her body.
Which made her marriage to him all the more confounding to him.
"Well, I guess there had to be a first time." Hades said, shrugging. He still didn't believe it. When Persephone said 'helpful' she most likely meant that they were staying out of the way because he really didn't see how they could have managed any level of 'helpful.' Certainly they were quick to toddle off to go take care of a given task but the question was whether they'd be able to actually accomplish the task in a timely fashion or at all really. 'At all' being the most important part of the task. Or whether they decided to come clean when they didn't. It was infuriating really. If they'd just killed Hercules like they were supposed to, he'd be king of the mountain. Literally. Instead Hades was learning that when he had something he needed done and needed done right, he needed to do it himself.
Well, except when it came to running the Underworld apparently. "It looks like I've got competition for this 'Lord of the Dead' gig. Are you gunning for my job?" Hades asked raising an eyebrow.
Post by Persephone on Mar 17, 2014 11:00:43 GMT -5
Persephone saw the immediate skepticism that her husband displayed at her comment. Okay, so maybe she was exaggerating the slightest bit. Just a little, but mostly it was the truth. Persephone wondered if Pain and Panic only messed up so often because they were fueled by fear of Hades rather than the proper brand of loyalty. Certainly it was their fear of the Lord of the Dead that stopped either demon from being honest when (not "if," "when") they were unable to complete a task. Persephone believed that, with a more tender approach, the two could actually surprise and astound.
She wasn't an idiot, of course. Most of her tasks for Pain and Panic had been simple. Persephone had made sure to word them in ways that made the demons think that the jobs were very important, to boot. So, yes, she had exaggerated. But not beyond a simple fluffing up of the truth.
The queen exhaled through her nose, just shy of a snort, and shook her head when Hades said that there had to be a first time for everything. Then, when the flaming-scalped comedian went on to ask if Persephone was gunning for his job she smiled slyly. "It's my job too, you know. Or don't you remember? So caught up in your one-man show that you forgot, eh? You may be Lord of the Dead, but I'm the Lady. You're the king," she said, pressing a finger against his chest, then her own in turn with each designation, "I'm the queen, got it?"
Persephone now reached her hand up and tapped Hades' chin. Now she spoke softly and tenderly, though still smiling with that brand of mischief of hers. "You're my husband, and I'm your wife. It's my job to handle things when you're away." She made no effort to elaborate on the "away" part. She hoped that saying even that wouldn't blow open the subject, and have Hades exploding in anger. To ensure this didn't happen, as much as to emphasize her point, Persephone stood on her tip-toes again and pressed a soft kiss on Hades' pale blue cheek.
Last Edit: Mar 17, 2014 11:01:59 GMT -5 by Persephone
Away. A flood of memories and thoughts came rushing into his mind at the word. Everything that had been pushed to the back of his mind when he'd entered the throne room and seen his lovely wife sitting there and realized that the Underworld was not in chaos because none other than her skilled hand had been guiding and guarding the souls of the land. "You certainly are a gift from the gods." Hades said turning so that his arm was curled about her shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. He started to tell her that he didn't deserve her but decided that it was a little too true and he'd rather not give any eavesdropping dirt any ammunition against him.
He began walking down towards the gardens, guiding his wife along with him. Something in him just needed to see that the rest of his realm was also in tact. He also figured that they might as well have some nice scenery- as nice as it could be underground- while they talked. "But that's the odd thing isn't it. I was 'away.'" He began bending his pointer and middle fingers to make air quotes, musing his thoughts aloud as much so that his wife could hear him as it was to hear himself talk, "Where was I exactly?" He asked, not sure if Persephone would have an answer for him or not, "I'm not really clear on the details. Or how long I was gone."
He could easily discern that he had been gone more than a day or two simply on the fact that Persephone had been sent down to run the Underworld in his place. It wasn't exactly a job you had to monitor twenty-four seven but it certainly required someone to look out for the souls or even to go fetch them sometimes when they were lost or... stubborn. But not only that Persephone had greeted him even more warmly than she did when they had been parted for the spring and summer. Of course, at least when she was on Olympus they each knew where the other was even if they weren't together for the time. It was one of those things that made him happy and wary at the same time.
Though they had been married for many years now, Hades still felt as though she could be taken from him at any moment and the thought unnerved him. He pushed the thought from his mind and tried to focus on the current task at hand. He needed to gather as many details as he could about the situation at hand so that he could properly punish the responsible parties.
Post by Persephone on Mar 29, 2014 11:46:59 GMT -5
Hades named her a gift from the gods, and she smiled dryly at him, then he was quiet for a small time. He began leading her out of the throne room towards the nearest staircase that wound through the obsidian foundation of the palace toward a spacious cavern that served as the gardens. Persephone was hoping that that would be the end of it, for the time being. She was not going to actively try to keep the details of her husband's absence and imprisonment away from him. Persephone knew that they would have to come out eventually. She simply didn't want anything to ruin this moment. Couldn't the goddess just wrap herself in this homecoming, and in his arms, and spend an age content?
Apparently not.
The Lord of the Underworld thought that he was very cunning in his wordplay. Certainly his record could lead him to believe that, what with all the ill-conceived, largely unfair bargains that he struck up with mortals. Persephone didn't like the hobby, but try as she may to get him to stop he wouldn't. When the goddess was in the Underworld for the winter, Hades abstained from the nasty habit, but in her absence Persephone knew he would take it up again. Vengefully so, even, as a way to expel some of the frustration at having his wife stolen away from him.
The point was that Persephone could always see through him. Her pale legs shimmered as with each step revealed them beneath her gown. Bare feet lightly touched the onyx stairs, obscured by the smokey cloud that mingled around Hades' toga, kindling the inky aura like lightning did to a thundercloud with the pearly glow that radiated from her. When Hades began to bring up the "away" subject, speaking carefully with feigned thoughtfulness, Persephone fidgeted alongside him.
The goddess was not going to hold the information ransom. Why would she? But she had hoped for a little more time with Hades blissfully unaware of what had happened before the truth was revealed to him. Persephone began mentally preparing an explanation hurriedly in her head, painstakingly crafting it in the way that would most easily break it to her husband what, exactly, had befallen him. Then Hades mentioned "time." How he didn't know how long he'd been away. Persephone blinked, and was struck with a thought.
Time was viewed differently to deities. When immortality was a factor, mortal days seemed like the link of an eye. In the Underworld, with now way to really mark them, it was a stranger business still, the measuring of time. Persephone thought back, trying to decide just how long it had been that Hades had been... Detained. When she calculated that, her coyness flickered aside, overcome by her own cold outrage at the fact. Persephone had been too long without Hades. Much, much too long.
Persephone stretched out a hand, and pressed her palm against Hades' chest so that a pale pink spark passed from her fingers to his heart. With that spark came a maelstrom of images and emotions, passed so casually from Persephone to Hades. Images of her handling the affairs of the Underworld, seated in the throne room alone; laying down to sleep in their chambers alone; tending the gardens mournfully alone; day after day after day after day. The act was borne mostly from Persephone's own frustration upon realizing how long it had been, and the truth that she didn't want to have to verbalize the length.
In the back of the goddess' mind, she hoped also that starting the explanation there may soften Hades up. Make him protective of her. Persephone wasn't trying to manipulate him, but as his wife she couldn't help but predict what route he'd go. This was a good preamble. Persephone was just worried, above all else, that he wouldn't explode. Combustion, micro-detonations and miniature supernovas Persephone could handle. It was the other display of Hades' wrath - the cool, internalized, poisonous simmer - that ever really worried her.
Hades could feel his entire body tightening in an effort to contain the rage building once again within his chest and spreading outward. He'd been so caught up in the fury of what had been done to him and then piled on top of that had been the concern of what had become of his kingdom. Always his first instinct had been to look out for himself and examine how any given event or happening affected him in both the immediate and foreseeable future- which for a god was quite a while.
After all this time it still was difficult to accept that he wasn’t alone. Probably because he had an excess amount of certainty that the rest of the gods would find some loophole and snatch Persephone away from him or she herself would realize that she was better off staying in the sunlight where her hair could sparkle instead of coming down here every year to live in the shadows where no natural light reached.
If Persephone’s intent had been to make him forget his revenge and anger, it had worked. …for a moment anyway. What little heart he had had filled itself with concern and compassion as he watched the only being he’d ever cared for suffer completely and utterly alone and isolated these last years just as he had been. That was quickly replaced however with rage once more.
How dare Zeus. How DARE he. While Persephone was the only one that would have best known how to manage things in the Underworld, Hades couldn’t escape the feeling that Zeus or even their brother Poseiden should have stepped up to cover his duties. They each had any number of individuals that could look after things on their end and his kingdom was just as important as theirs. Why should Persephone have been forced to suffer and endure the silent dead halls he roamed every day? Because high and mighty Zeus wouldn’t have lowered himself, literally, to handling the day to day happenings in the Underworld.
He wrapped his arms around Persephone and pulled her tightly to him, a rare moment when he wasn’t tentative with his touch thinking of how breakable she seemed or how much better she deserved. Right now the only thought in his head was that all of the pain and suffering she had endured would be rightfully avenged and the parties responsible punished. All of them. “You’re not alone anymore.” He said stoically, “I’m back.” This statement had any number of meanings from his physical presence to the force of nature he was about to open up on the world, “And I’ll never leave again.”
Post by Persephone on May 27, 2014 10:54:51 GMT -5
Persephone could read her husband exceedingly well. She knew his heart - though he claimed not to possess one - better than she knew anything else in the world. That was why, when that spark left Persephone's hand and fluttered into Hades' soul, she was suddenly terrified. Because she couldn't discern what they meant. Watching the metamorphosis was difficult to describe not only outright, but because Persephone could witness things that were beyond mortal comprehension. Suffice it to say that to the Queen of the Underworld, it was as though she watched an isle with a crown belching smoke rise from dark waters, rear thousands of feet up, erupt in cataclysm, then go eerily dormant; events that should have taken millennia happening through Hades' spirit in several long moments.
She could guess, and probably very precisely, what Hades was experiencing in succession. But to not know it - to have any level of question at all about the assumption - was jarring to the goddess. Persephone's spark of frustration and relayed thoughts were selfish, she realized, in retrospect. To make Hades see what she had suffered through in his absence was not a wise decision in the slightest. It only stoked a fire within the Lord of the Dead as well as likely made him feel guilty at having not been there to assuage Persephone's loneliness. She berated herself somewhere through the haze of being unsure and cautiously wary at her husband.
After a long moment, he spoke and acted. Persephone was drawn into an embrace as firm and unrelenting as the roots of the earth. Hades' words parted the veil that had been drawn between them so that the moment of being estranged from Hades' heart was gone. Still, Persephone was left in ignorance about what had transpired in him during that transformation of emotions and thoughts from before. She focused on his arms around her as a sense to ground her and abolish the self-loathing and anxiety assailing her. Hades words made Persephone's heart ache in ecstasy. They also brought to mind a point she just now realized was worth pointing out.
"I volunteered, you know." Persephone didn't strive to look up at Hades as she spoke. "Mother was furious and Zeus barely let me leave," her voice sounded ever so smug at the first part of that sentence. "And this is my realm," she said in reference to the Underworld. "I would take it over Olympus any age." Persephone paused, then added as she nestled more firmly against Hades. "But this is my home."
Last Edit: Aug 22, 2014 9:10:20 GMT -5 by Persephone
Hades held tightly to Persephone, as a storm swirled behind his eyes and inside him, growing stronger and stronger the more the thought about the situation. How was it even allowed that he had been allowed to remain imprisoned as long as he had been? It was unthinkable. Whether or not his most recent actions had been approved of by the rest of Olympus, he was the god of the dead and he had any number of duties that had been rather unceremoniously dumped on him because the rest of the gods hadn’t wanted anything to do with it.
Perhaps they thought it was a rather suitable punishment after everything and that was why they hadn’t intervened. So was that how the Olympian’s dealt out justice? Let someone else do their dirty work for them?
It was also very convenient that they had decided to dump the duties of the Underworld on Persephone. It was the job no one wanted. Rather than Zeus or Posidan step up and take over this ‘extremely important’ job, they were content to allow Persephone to take care of it. It certainly made sense that the Queen of the Underworld would handle it but Hades could see right through it.
Interesting how they fought tooth and nail to keep Persephone from the ‘fate worse than death’ of spending half the year with him then turned around to condemn her to an eternity alone in the darkness just as easily as they had condemned him at the beginning of all things. They’d rather send their beloved daughter down than step up themselves.
Hades continued to hold his wife his arms going stiff and rigid with anger, unconsciously possibly holding her too tightly. His need to protect her despite everything he’d been through growing stronger by the minute. “You don’t have to go back.” He told her with a finality. He had taken on Olympus once and almost won. He was gaining powerful allies by the busload. If Persephone wished to stay here, he would make sure she could.
Persephone realized how very tight the grasp of her husband was becoming. Had she not been a goddess her bones may have splintered and cracked. But she was, and a deity as powerful as Persephone - little credit though she often received - was harder to mar than her fragile appearance hinted. In fact, the Queen of the Underworld thought that it was endearing. As though Hades were trying to fold their immortal souls into one with nothing but his embrace. For the moment, Persephone simply lost herself in the god that she loved. The world could have fallen around them in that instance and Persephone would not have taken notice. She wished that the simplicity of their love could last forevermore.
Wishes did not come true, even for a goddess.
Hades spoke, his voice humming through her cheek and resonating through her bones, threatening to turn them into nectar with the reaction they inspired. That Hades could still set her knees to knocking sometimes was a testament to how ageless their love was. Persephone had been smiling softly. Her eyes had been closed to lose herself to their embrace. Now they flared wide, and her lips fell slacken. Fortunately her surprise did not manifest in any way that Hades would have been aware. Her brows knit in a frown. There was nothing more that Persephone wanted than to stay with her husband throughout eternity... but could her conscience suffer it?
Because that was always the problem with Persephone. Her love for her husband may have outweighed that for her divine family, but she refused to choose one over the other. To do so, Persephone believed, was to give in to the petty squabbles that were constantly setting the two halves of her soul apart. The Olympians had done despicable, cruel and treacherous things. But so had her husband, even if most of them seemed misguided. Persephone could forgive both. Then why could they never forgive one another? She realized that this most recent affront had likely passed over the threshold of Hades' tolerance. Persephone knew that her having taken his place in his absence had incensed him, even if he hid that earth-shattering fury well.
Gently, but firmly, Persephone straightened and moved so that there were a few inches of space between her and her husband. Though his arms still surrounded her and her own were pressed against his chest. Persephone looked into Hades's eyes and that mournful look of thoughtfulness slowly began to smooth. When she and Hades had been married, Persephone had been passed between Olympus and the Underworld as part of their arrangement. Yet, since her descent to overtake her husband's duties, Demeter had helped the seasons pass in her absence well enough. True, she had to ascend on the day that spring came to help matters, but other than that Mother had been coping well. Their regular luncheons together helped.
What was keeping her from staying? The divine contract that had split Persephone's time between Hades and the Olympians had been rendered null and void after her husband's binding to the Forever Stone... But... If Persephone could smooth things over by being on Olympus. If she could impart patience in regard to her husband that would spare him. Wasn't that worth her sacrifice? Persephone smiled tiredly at Hades. "We will see," she answered softly. She reached up a hand and used the back of it to caress his cheek.
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Welcome to Happily Ever Afters!
Tony Dracon: Responded to your PM, Kat/Ratigan, incidentally.
Jun 27, 2018 20:25:02 GMT -5
David Xanatos: Kat's back. Hope the vacation was fun.
Jul 21, 2018 21:00:05 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: 'Twas a good trip! I'm sad it's over, but at the same time I'm glad to be back home so I can finish up my cosplays for a con next month and hang out with my cats
Jul 26, 2018 12:34:56 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Hope the cosplay goes well. I'm putting away a little extra for a con in a few weeks. and yay cats, they're always good company. Except for that one who slaps me unprovoked XD. So what cosplays do you have in mind unless they're secret?
Jul 26, 2018 17:07:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm cosplaying Pearl from Steven Universe and Joseph Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure!
Jul 26, 2018 23:16:41 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I'm almost done both of them, I just have to finish styling Pearl's wig and fix up Joseph's gloves and wristbands
Jul 26, 2018 23:17:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Awesome. Had to look up Jojo because I'm not hip with the modern pop culture but I hope they turn out well.
Jul 30, 2018 15:33:15 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: I only just started watching the anime last year and I haven't even touched the manga, so I'm barely hip with it lol. fortunately I have my cosplay buddy guiding me through the whole experience
Jul 30, 2018 22:29:38 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: also I finally finished the gloves! They were more of a pain to work with than I expected, but they'll hold together... I hope...
Jul 30, 2018 22:30:13 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Niceness. Hoping they hold also. Got the Dublin comic con next Saturday here. Hoping to meet Karl Urban.
Aug 1, 2018 19:05:32 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Cool! I think he's coming to my city in the fall, if I remember correctly. Hope you enjoy the con, Daryl!
Aug 2, 2018 19:10:23 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: I spoke too soon. Karl Urban had to cancel for schedule conflicts. They got Nick Frost though, I'm gonna ask him if he'll sign my Hot Fuzz.
Aug 3, 2018 18:08:47 GMT -5
Professor Ratigan: Dang! Nick Frost is great though, I love his character in Into the Badlands
Aug 4, 2018 22:54:36 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Enjoy your weekend Kat, hope the costumes came out as you wanted.
Aug 10, 2018 16:49:31 GMT -5
Basil of Baker Street: Met Nick Frost and Michael Dorn at the weekend. Both very nice blokes.
Aug 13, 2018 15:22:59 GMT -5
Dodger: Happy 2019 everyone
Jan 1, 2019 10:54:04 GMT -5
Yen Sid: If anyone is passing by I posted a Hiatus update. Hope everyone is doing well!
Apr 18, 2021 11:31:09 GMT -5
Yen Sid: I've temporarily disabled account creation while I update the site. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience!
May 9, 2021 18:31:45 GMT -5
Owen Burnett/Puck: Checked the site again and saw the update! Here's hoping to a revitalized 2022.
Dec 15, 2021 14:41:27 GMT -5