ROMANTIC TROPE AESTHETICS: Belle Acheron and Hades Acheron as Death is a Lover...
@trip-downtheriverstyx
when i first saw you / the end was soon / to Bethlehem it slouched and then / must've caught a good look at you / give your heart and soul to charity / 'cause the rest of you, the best of you / honey, belongs to me
Today is helle’s fourth wedding anniversary! That’s right! Fourth! Wedding! Anniversary! And they are still happily married! Maybe even moreso than when they got married in the first place. Which means they get an aesthetic (one day I will make a helle aesthetic that is not based on a chessboard, today is not that day) and a lil post of me talking about my love for them.
So, in terms of tropes, I chose “death as a lover” because I have always loooved the personification of death. I have a statue in my room that is a personification of death. I always write about it, I think it’s extremely fascinating, probably because I--like many people--am deeply afraid of death. (The Book Thief made a real impression on me when I was like 15 lol.) Anyway, I won’t go too deeply into it, but I think there is something really sexy about falling in love with what you fear and what you are told to fear.
I also really love, about helle specifically, how they kind of pull from lots of versions of this trope. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is this like renissance of Hades/Persephone retellings where it’s like...Persephone was a badass and brought Hades to his knees...I will not go on a rant about it. However, I kind of love that in our version of Hades and Belle, she was already this powerful person, Hades just unlocked that part of her. She has reached like her final boss level where she is like...confident and mature and wields this kind of indescribable power. It’s extremely fascinating and fun to play. Of all my characters, her journey is most easily reflected in her personality.
I think the same can be said for Hades. He is much more gentle and patient now. He isn’t death “tamed” or “conquered” -- but death matured, death as a place to rest, death as a comfort. It’s just so fun to see, especially as someone who has been closely invested in them from the beginning and I am so curious what people’s impressions of them are as a ship that they haven’t known as long.
And I think you can see this change so blatantly, or it presents so outwardly, because Hades and her really are Partners, above all else. They are lovers, they are spouses, but they are the king and queen of their kingdom and the way they function is with equal partnership. They trust each other, they push back on one another, they force each other to see things differently. That means they actually had to do some serious change and growth, but always with that support beam behind them and I just...really love them a lot. Happy anniversary you two. <3
Clementine’s Romantic Trope Aesthetics for Herself ~*~ 1
District Seven/Enchantra Playlist, otherwise known as “folk rebel love songs”
(a partial gift/bday present for @trip-downtheriverstyx )
Tracklist (*this playlist is sponsored by delta rae):
Til the Casket Drops - ZZ Ward
Take Me There - Delta Rae
From the Wreckage Build a Home - The Wind and the Wave
Out of the Badlands - Delta Rae
Would That I - Hozier
Thistle & Weeds - Mumford and Sons
Enemies - The Lone Bellow
Come Back Alive - Delta Rae
Sons & Daughters - Allman Brown
The Morning Comes (Acoustic Version)
explanations below the cut…
okay, so this one is a lot more atmospheric and cinematic than...lots of other playlists i’ve done so i shall lead you through it like we’re going on an adventure, baby.
Til the Casket Drops - ZZ Ward
A house made out of glass will surely shatter,
So we built a fortress of red bricks and ladders,
The ground, it started shaking,
The bombs are falling,
We could've walked away,
We had a warning,
You asked me how long I'd stay by your side,
So I answered with only just one reply,
'Til the casket drops,
'Til my dying day,
'Til my heartbeat stops...
Okay, so...I lied. In terms of the “journey” this song doesn’t really fit to go first, but--it’s such a good mood setter and was the first song I decided on for this playlist actually. It has always been a helle song, but it’s never really Fit anywhere. But what is a better opener than a song about death and devotion in the middle of a war?
From the Wreckage Build a Home - The Wind and the Wave
We were racing down a road littered with crosses
Right down to Jalama Beach and even though we missed the sunset
We jumped over barbed wire and cacti
Just to fall into the sea, skinny dippin' youngins, you and I
We're built to last
We're built to last
Oh, we're built to last
We're built to last
Well now it's clear you're the wind and I'm the wave
Oh together we can brave all the things we never knew
So I'm making room on a boat I built for one
We can sail into the sun, till our skin's as tough as diamonds...
The next three songs all have the vibes of running away. Of getting out of a desperation. Of being convinced to leave a situation for something better. Which is just such great imagery for thgau!helle. After all, last time, Belle had to convince Hades to join the Legion, to give him something new to fight for. “I’m making room on a boat I built for one” ugh...it’s just...the Vibes. This would be a great song for romance in District 4 but I’m stealing it.
Take Me There - Delta Rae
Baby, when you call my name
It's like a warning
There's danger in the things you say
But I think I want it
Every single move we make
Feels like a chance to win
So come on, baby, take me there...
THIS is the runaway song of my dreams. Less rebel/dystopian vibes. Though, it still has that vibe I’m going for with like...convincing your lover to run away with you. This one is just...probably the sexiest one? Ahaha. “There’s danger in the things you say / But I think I want it.” /grooves to this song. I’ve definitely posted this on Belle before and I will not apologize for reusing it.
Out of the Badlands - Delta Rae
Don't trust the teachers
Don't trust the preachers
That the world is round
We'll find out for ourselves
Once we break past the shell
On the edge of this town
I got some twenties and tens
In a Maxwell House can
With the lid on tight
To get us over the hot sand
Out of the badlands
Into the night
Oh, there's a billion little stars
Oh, let's pick out which one is ours
Oh, girl, I need you by my side...
And now we are on the road. This is a great rebel song. “Don’t trust the teachers--We’ll find out for ourselves.” Love this part because it’s like...dystopian government trying to control education and Belle was a teacher giving her students illegal books. Also, the way they sing “there’s a billiiiiiion litttttttllleeee staaaars” ugh it gets me every time.
There is also the like “oooh, ya oooh” which actually appears in a couple of songs. The vocalization I love because it’s like Emotional and also very folky, which is the vibe.
Would That I - Hozier
With the roar of the fire my heart rose to its feet
Like the ashes of ash I saw rise in the heat
Settle soft and as pure as snow
I fell in love with the fire long ago
With each love I cut loose I was never the same
Watching still living roots be consumed by the flame
I was fixed on your hand of gold
Laying waste to my loving long ago
So in awe there I stood as you licked off the grain
Though I've handled the wood, I still worship the flame
Long as amber of ember glows
All the "would that I loved" is long ago...
I was really torn between Work Song and Would That I for Hozier on this playlist. Both are EXTREMELY helle songs. And EXTREMELY dystopian love song vibes. However, I went with Would That I because of the wood/fire imagery. Both because of Hades, obvs, but also District Six being Lumber/Mining and where helle comes from.
It’s also something Hozier does so well which is like...love songs where both parties are active participants? If that makes sense? Like a lot of love songs is one person singing to another and that person...you don’t really know their response or their actions. But in this song--the fire and the wood are kind of two players on the same playing field. “So in awe there I stood as you licked off the grain” and “that the sound of the saw must be known by the tree” UGH. ugh.
Our heroes are now in Enchantra and ready to fight for their cause!
Thistle & Weeds - Mumford and Sons
Spare me your judgements and spare me your dreams
Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams
I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind
Alone in the wind and the rain you left me
It's getting dark darling, too dark to see
And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems
Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown
I know you have felt much more love than you've shown
And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest
But plant your hope with good seeds
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds
Rain down, rain down on me
Look over your hills and be still
The sky above us shoots to kill
Rain down, rain down on me
But I will hold on
I will hold on hope...
This song pairs SO well with Would That I, in my opinion. It was actually the inspiration for the title of helle’s two paras from last time: Thistle and Weeds. In terms of narrative, this song is when they are battle worn. It’s been years. Nothing has happened.
The needle feels as if it has moved so insignificantly, but there is still hope...
Enemies - The Lone Bellow
Hear you singing in your sleep
Song of the night bird calling me
Spread its wings out like a flame
Try my best to say your name
Saw that bird up in that tree
Where you carved out names so deep
Feel the warmth inside it speak
Try my best to hear you breathe
We should've been enemies
We should've been enemies
Break the bones of something dead
Feel it hold on to what is left
Let the earth it's on give way
Try to bury what we've made...
This is also one where all hope feels as if it is lost or slipping through your fingers. Where all the death and destruction starts to feel like...am I on the right side? Am I any worse than the enemy? But you always have the person you love pulling you back and reminding you what you’re fighting for.
Also, the first part there with “singing in your sleep” and “spread it’s wings out like a flame” and “carved out names so deep” -- more flame and wood imagery, hella.
Come Back Alive - Delta Rae
Call me back darlin'
When you hear me call your name
If I don't hear you
I'll think somebody came
If I can't find you
I'll wait on down the hill
And if you don't find me
I'll think you been killed
And if you don't find me
I'll run on down the road...
Delta Rae is on here so much because they tend to handle subject matter that is like gritty and gothic and historical and very folky, in that folk for the revolution kind of way. This song is clearly about someone who is on the run, probably from a corrupt government -- honestly, it gives me big Jim Crow vibes (probably bc there are other songs that def reference that and Black Lives Matter.)
It is about worrying they’ll come home safe and what has happened to them. Which...if that’s not at least one part of your dystopian love story...well... It gives me big “The Hanging Tree” vibes.
Sons & Daughters - Allman Brown
And I, I'll wrap myself around your heart
I'll be the walls of his heart
And I, I'll keep a light on
To call you back home
And I'll build a fire, you fetch the water and I'll lay the table
And in our hearts, we still pray for sons and daughters
And all those evenings out in the garden, red, red wine
These quiet hours turning to years
And it's all to come for now we're still young
Just building our kingdom but it's all to come...
And here we end on two songs that are a little more hopeful! We are not out of the woods yet, but the dawn is coming. We have waited years for this. There is a little house, with a family, and you are building your life up again.
The Morning Comes (Acoustic Version)
'Cause the devil's in the details and he's taking his toll
Sending good men down the foot trails of some lost lonely souls
So I'm working the graveyard, I don't sleep till it's light
Ain't calling in favors, I can't swallow my pride
And the bank's on a mission, they want to read me my rights
But they ever show up around here, they're going to be in for a fight
'Cause the devil's in my hometown and I ain't telling him no
'Cause it's my family, it's my love now, that I'm scared to let go
Can I be blamed if I'm angry?
Can I be saved if I'm barely clinging to hope?
I'm clinging to hope
When I say oh, oh
Rain don't change the sun
Jealous is the night when the morning comes
But it always comes...
This is one of my favorite Delta Rae songs and it just fits so well here. It is such a melancholy song, but a hopeful one. “Rain don’t change the sun / jealous is the night when the morning comes.” The acoustic version especially plays at my heart strings and I just love it.
The way they sing “can you blame me if I’m angry / can I be saved if I’m barely clinging to hooooooOOOOooooope” always just puuuuulls at my heart. It is so beautiful and those questions are so important. Especially when you’ve won the war but there is still so much hurt and pain at the end.
Spare me your judgments and spare me your dreams
'Cause recently mine have been tearing my seams
I sit alone in this winter clarity which clouds my mind
Alone in the wind and the rain you left me
It's getting dark darling, too dark to see
And I'm on my knees, and your faith in shreds, it seems
Corrupted by the simple sniff of riches blown
I know you have felt much more love than you've shown
And I'm on my knees and the water creeps to my chest
But plant your hope with good seeds
Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds
Rain down, rain down on me
Look over your hills and be still
The sky above us shoots to kill
Rain down, rain down on me
Oh I will hold on
I will hold on hope
I begged you to hear me, there's more than flesh and bones
Let the dead bury their dead, they will come out in droves
But take the spade from my hands and fill in the holes you've made
And I was burnin' up a fever
I didn't care much how long I lived
But I swear I thought I dreamed her
She never asked me once about the wrong I did
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her
My baby never fret none
About what my hands and my body done
If the lord don't forgive me
I'd still have my baby and my babe would have me
When I was kissing on my baby
And she put her love down soft and sweet
In the lowland plot I was free
Heaven and hell were words to me
When my time comes around
Lay me gently in the cold dark earth
No grave can hold my body down
I'll crawl home to her
Originally, I wasn't gonna do any wrimo for Belle and Toulouse, but then I was thinking about it and a reply I wrote off dash really made me wanna do a little playlist for the Nook. I simply love the Acheron house. It has been in the RP since day one and it's just grown and changed as much as the characters have, while still retaining itself.
Like -- it was so perfect that I had HC'ed Belle had a house with two empty rooms and then Lauryl just happened to destroy Hades and Persephone's house so I said Belle would offer they could move in...and the rest is history!!
It has seen some horrible tragedies, Haku tour it the fuck up, people have died, Belle was possessed...but it also has seen some beautiful moments too like Opal's birth and Lou and Hades' first kiss. <3
Then it went through a huge construction project to add rooms as the family grew and became even more magical with the hidden office and Lou's expanding closet. Plus, it has its ghosts like Arthur who has been around forever.
I just love a quirky, magical little house and the Nook has been a sanctuary for so many people. Just love my cottage. <3 <3 If you want to read more about it, you can check out the floorplan here!
ALSO, and finally, home and houses and doors are a theme that have appeared in Hades and Belle's relationship; as well as just a theme for Lou in general. He went from a really cold and unfeeling home to a warm and homey one. Plus, Hades and Belle have always had a theme of finding home with each other and building a home together and also DOORS and doorways and choices and that is reflected in the fact that all the songs on this playlist were mined from helle and loud bell's playlists. I didn't have to go hunting for these. They were right there waiting to be put together. <3
Anna Sun (Acoustic) - The Griswolds
What do you know? This house is falling apart
What can I say? This house is falling apart
We got no money, but we got heart
We're gonna rattle this ghost town
This house is falling apart
Four Walls - BROODS
Those four walls now are the only place that I can breathe out
And those four walls now are home
And those four walls now are the only place that I can feel
And those four walls now are home
Switzerland - The Last Bison
We tried to sleep up in the banks of snow
But soon discovered it was far too cold
So we then retreated into town
To find a place where there was level ground
Oh oh, call home
And oh oh, call home
From the Wreckage Build a Home - The Wind and the Wave
Well now it's clear you're the wind and I'm the wave
Oh, together we can brave all the things we never knew
So I'm making room on a boat I built for one
We can sail into the sun, till our skin's as tough as diamonds
We're built to last
Heartlines - Florence + the Machine
This fantasy, this fallacy,
This tumbling stone
Echoes of a city
That's long overgrown.
Your heart is the only place that I call home.
The Bones - Maren Morris, Hozier
When the bones are good, the rest don't matter
Yeah, the paint could peel, the glass could shatter
Let it rain 'cause you and I remain the same
When there ain't a crack in the foundation
Baby, I know any storm we're facing
Will blow right over while we stay put
The house don't fall when the bones are good
Our House - The Head and the Heart
Our house
Is a very, very, very fine house
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard
Now everything is easy 'cause of you
And our…our house.
Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers
I don't know how, but I'm taller
It must be something in the water
Everything's growing in our garden
You don't have to know that it's haunted
The doctor put her hands over my liver
She told me my resentment's getting smaller
No, I'm not afraid of hard work
I get everything I want
I have everything I wanted
The Gambler - fun.
You come home from work, and you kiss me on the eye
You curse the dog, you say that I should never feed them what is ours
So we move out to the garden, look at everything we've grown
And the kids are coming home so I'll set the table; you can make the fire
Victory Garden - The Lone Bellow
For the rain for the sun
For the hardships that come
We will carry this burden together
To be strong for the weak
Song for those who can't speak
Hand in hand no matter the weather
So we sow the seeds in our victory garden
Hands in the earth
So the heart doesn't harden
The cries of our children
Won't soon be forgotten
Each one a flower in our victory garden
And I wanna love you in the darkness
With the night rolling in like thunder
Cause it's too easy baby
when I've spent so many nights alone
to forget how you pull me under
So don't leave me
Say you need me
Have a little faith in what we've made
Just think about how strong our love has grown
Think about how good these seeds have sown
I will love you (I will love you)
I will love you my whole life long (I will love you)
