our lady of the underground

independent persephone, goddess of spring and queen of the underworld. myth and hadestown based. sideblog.

[skyfulcfstars-a]

ALRIGHT FAM. PERSEPHONE GOT HER OWN BLOG.  it’s under construction, but come at me bros.

@skyfulcfstars

[skyfulcfstars-a]

ALRIGHT FAM. PERSEPHONE GOT HER OWN BLOG.  it’s under construction, but come at me bros.

@skyfulcfstars

[skyfulcfstars-a]

ALRIGHT FAM. PERSEPHONE GOT HER OWN BLOG.  it’s under construction, but come at me bros.

@skyfulcfstars

[skyfulcfstars-a]

ugh alright guys. i keep thinking about it, so your opinion - should i keep persephone here as a sideblog, or move her to a main?

[skyfulcfstars-a]

Orpheus turns away from the door when she leaves, and returns to watching over Eurydice. He tries to block out the sounds coming from the main room, but the moment he hears that man’s voice, he can’t help but relive the moment again.

“It ain’t right, and it ain’t fair! You come dancin’ outta your damned grave, all shiny an’ new like winter never laid a damn finger on you. Why do you get to come back, and my wife don’t? What makes you more special than anyone else who rode that train down?”

He turns. Just for a moment. Mr. Hermes was right behind them a second ago, wasn’t he? He needs to find Mr. Hermes. He needs to–

“…should see if you bleed just like the rest of us, too.”

He sees the flash of metal. Hears the sound of tearing fabric. And flesh. He cries out. Eurydice! He catches her as he falls. A few people scream. He doesn’t hear them. The man runs. He doesn’t know where. Eurydice…

Hermes has taken them to a small room in the back. Orpheus lays Eurydice down on the bed. She cries out in pain, and his heart shatters. They both tend to her as best they can. God and man together.

“The blade was poisoned,” Hermes says. “We gotta work fast, boy.” His eyes close and he whispers something unintelligible, but Orpheus understands. He sent a message.

She knows.

      oh she gives him the time to say his piece. she’s only partially listening because she already knows her decision. she’s sat in many trials down below, making her decisions on punishments. most of the alive folks never seem to realise it’s her making those decisions. hades is their keeper, yes, but persephone is judge, jury, and executioner. 

    “your punishment is beating. and death.” she says quite simply, staring at him. “your punishment in the afterlife is eternal torture in the deepest recesses of tartarus.” and she spots the glint of steel then, the way he shifts and lunges toward her - without hesitation she lashes out to punch him in the nose. oh, she could use her godly powers easily enough, but there’s something satisfying about the sickening crunch beneath her fist. mortal blood stains her fingers as he stumbles back - she does not let up. a backhand across one side of his face, then another, each causing him to stumble again. as she advances he tries to defend himself, and lands a single hit to her face that hardly phases her. somewhere beneath her feet hades roars. 

    “you think i’m bad enough, just you wait.” she warns, and her fingers end up around his throat lightning fast. she pins him against the bar, nearly behind him over backward in half. her nails dig sharply into his flesh, every inch of darkness required of the queen of the underworld. “i hope you like heat, monster. you’re gonna be burning in it for a long ass time. is this why you didn’t go after me? coward that you are. afraid of me, ain’t you? oh, i can see it in your eyes. you could’a made it easier. could’ve spent eternity with your wife. instead - oh, just you wait.” 

   she reaches out her free hand and his knife, still stained with red and gold flies into her fingers. she could do it in a kinder way, but there is no kindness in her then. “i’ll see you down below. if there’s anything left of you.” and she takes care of the problem with a fluid motion that only stains her dress just so. she watches his life leave him, waits until she’s certain his shade has left him, before she takes two steps back. she embeds the knife into the wood of the bar, and thanatos is there again to remove the man’s useless body. she nods her thanks. 

    then, persephone takes a breath. and pours herself a drink.

[skyfulcfstars-a]

Eurydice laughs, her own cheeks turning red for a moment. Persephone certainly isn’twrong. Orpheus really is too adorable when she teases him. She can only imagine the look on his face when Persephone joins in.

The poor boy never stood a chance.

“A wedding?” Eurydice pauses her steps. She keeps one arm looped with Persephone’s, but she extracts herself enough to fumble for a drink of her own. A little stronger than lemonade.

“We haven’t really talked about it. We want to, you know. Get married. We just…haven’t yet.”

     “there a reason you ain’t, or what?” she’s not subtle at all, sipping her lemonade with a sly little grin. they deserve their happiness come hell or high water and persephone will see them married before they’re both old as hell. she’s determined on that. 

   she sidesteps a gaggle of celebrators, the mood high for the summer solstice. it’s still a bit humid out but nothing intolerable. she simply holds her drink in the hand she has wrapped around her songbird’s, fans herself with the other. 

      “not that i’m wantin’ to be an old harpy. you tell me if you want me to shut it.” 

[skyfulcfstars-a]

ugh alright guys. i keep thinking about it, so your opinion - should i keep persephone here as a sideblog, or move her to a main?

[skyfulcfstars-a]

Orpheus looks up when she says his name. The goddess never calls him by his name. He meets her eyes and nods. A promise to try. To try and ignore his doubt and his guilt. To push away that cruel voice in his mind that tells him he should have done better.

He squeezes her hand before she stands. He’ll try.

Orpheus watches the transformation in stunned silence. He knows Persephone, but he has never met the woman she has just become. The Queen of the Underworld. As beautiful as she is frightening, and twice as deadly. The mere presence of her brings an air of certain doom, yet it’s difficult not to be completely enraptured by her, all the same.

“It–it’s okay. I understand what you have to do.”

    she nods once, glances at eurydice’s tiny frame, and turns and leaves the room. 

hermes has cleared out the patrons, and rightly so. thanatos has returned and he drags a man by his collar, who looks equally parts terrified and angry at being manhandled by such a horrible looking god. 

  “you are certain this is the one?” persephone asks and thanatos nods, not speaking. she gestures for him to release the man, and steps toward him deliberately slow. thanatos retreats to a shadowed corner to watch and to wait. she wastes no time. “you stand guilty of the crimes of poisoning, attacking and assaulting the demi-god, eurydice and her husband, orpheus.”

     “so what?” he spits at her feet. “she gets her life given back and my wife is still dead! all our families are still dead and you do nothing! come and go as you please and leave us suffering with winters hell!”

   “is that what you think?” she muses, growing closer. “how pitiful a life you must live if your narrow minded views fuel your revenge. if you had complaints, why not pray, with the others? send your message to me? you attack an innocent woman. you spill blood. and now here you have me, boy. here i am! go ahead, say your piece. change my mind.”

[skyfulcfstars-a]

Orpheus sits back down at Eurydice’s side, watching her every breath for any change. Any sign of waking, or discomfort. She said it wasn’t his fault, but the guilt still eats away at his heart. He’ll do whatever it takes to keep her comfortable. Safe.

Foolish boy, howls his doubt, you couldn’t even keep her safe when she was mortal. Now she’s the goddess you always imagined her to be, and still you can’t protect her.

He takes Persephone’s hand into his own to quiet his mind. He knows she’ll need him when she wakes. “I’m not leaving her. I promise.” Orpheus nods and reaches over to hold Eurydice’s hand as well. He desperately wants to believe Persephone when she says she’ll be alright, but she’s so cold and still.

He’s terrified of losing her again, and even more terrified of the darkness in Persephone’s voice. He looks up at her worriedly.

“I…don’t know who he is. I don’t know how to find him.”

      the longer she sits, the more angry she becomes. quite frankly she has half a mind to level their fields and livestock - but not all mortals are guilty. no, only one. and he will face his punishment.

   “orpheus,” persephone says softly, and reaches up to touch his face. “whatever that doubt is saying, you leave it be. don’t listen to that voice. you couldn’t have predicted this.” she tries to assure, tries to comfort, but she knows she can’t be that right now. can’t swallow back the ire long enough to be the warmth they need. not yet. there’s something else that needs her attention - and judging by the cluttering in the main room, it’s on.

   “i won’t make you watch.” persephone says as she rises to her feet. as she does, her demeanor ripples - and so does the very air around her. in one fluid motion her usual dress evolves into black silk and lace embroidered with silver and green that is as much armor as it is fabric, pooling neatly in a train at her feet. a crown of wrought iron flowers and gemstones forever immortalized winds it’s way around her head. every inch of her becomes a very physical, very sharp reminder of who they’re dealing with. her darkly painted lips curled at the edges, a dangerous smile.

         “you may not like me when i’ve finished.”

[fayebabes]

and i as well, my love, hold the same

[ap-kinda-lit]

Athena, to Zeus: Don’t pretend that you’re not the type of guy who keeps a list of all the women he’s slept with.

Hades: I have one. It’s called my marriage license.

Persephone: *high-fives Hades*

[androaphrodite]

Happy Litha!

🌼 Let’s not talk about hard times 🌼
🌼 Pour the wine, it’s summertime! 🌼

[dykeofcornwall]

I love how All I’ve Ever Known goes straight into Way Down Hadestown cause it’s pretty much just like:

Orpheus and Eurydice: Nothing’s ever gonna change!

Hermes: *whistles* Shit’s about to change.

Persephone: But, it’s to early for shit to change!

Hermes: SHITS ABOUT TO CHANGE!!!

[skyfulcfstars-a]

Orpheus looks up the moment the door opens. He’s still on edge. Shaken. Scared. He hasn’t been this afraid since the day he turned around.

He’s lost Eurydice twice, now. He can’t lose her a third time. It will surely destroy him.

“Ms. Persephone…” He stands immediately, relieved to see the goddess, but damn intimidated by her presence. There’s something different about her. Something dark and terrible and not at all like the lady of summer he knows. “It’s Eurydice.”

She is lying on the small bed where Orpheus was just sitting. Her eyes are closed, and she is still save for the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Her dress is torn and stained–red blood streaked with golden ichor across the bodice and the skirt.

“There was a man. He’d lost his wife. Wanted Eurydice to bring her back…like she came back. He was upset. I don’t know, I didn’t hear–I only turned away for a second, and he…” His voice fails him, and his hands shake. “I didn’t see the knife until it was too late.”

    she can feel it, there’s a terrible aching in her chest that she knows is the gifts she’d given eurydice calling out to her other half. as bound as her songbird is to the underground, she’s just as bound to persephone herself. she reaches out to gingerly brush an errant curl from eurydice’s face, anger nearly boiling over. it takes a long while before she trusts herself to speak. 

   “it ain’t your fault.” she says to orpheus, tearing her gaze away. eurydice will live, she knows. but she deserved better than this. guilt laces her anger. she should have suspected this and it frustrates her more than anything she hadn’t thought to warn the both of them. persephone’s fingers are warm as she reaches out for orpheus’ hand.

   “she’s gonna be fine. she’ll need you more than ever. i’ll send for momma; she has potions and poultices to help her heal.” she promises quietly; despite her darkness, she is eternally soft with orpheus and eurydice. “you leave the man to me.”

[skyfulcfstars-a]

       @songdreamt is getting queen of hell.

     she doesn’t take the train. the train takes too long and she ain’t got the patience. no, persephone materializes from the shadows of the earth itself like a ghost with an expression on her face that could immediately clear a room. the only reason hades isn’t with her is her insistence she can handle the situation, and oh she intends to handle it. thanatos is with her, however, a thin lanky sort of man with a grizzled face who is only half a step behind his mistress as she stalks across the narrow field toward the town. 

    “bring him to me.” she orders quietly, and thanatos immediately disappears before she sets off to find eurydice and orpheus. anger simmers beneath her skin, secondary to the rage that someone would dare think to try her wrath. to threaten the one she calls son and the one she calls daughter. to think to poison them, to threaten them with weapons to lash out at the gods. it happens every once in a while, and she’s taken offense the mortal responsible had sought out these two, the ones she’d chosen. 

     hermes directs her to the back room of the bar, and persephone goes.

         “chickadee, poet. are you both alright?”

[decrescending]

yeah i know we’re all obsessed with flowers but amber gray is its # 1 fan

[skyfulcfstars-a]

      smol starter call for queen of hell persephone