#rattlcsnakc

[skyfulcfstars]

    the train’s engine thrums beneath her, familiar and quiet. the interior is cool and dim, slightly more crisp than the air had been outside. her fingers shake, and she buries them in the fabric of her dress as she sinks into one of the cushioned benches. 

       “you waited.”

@rattlcsnakc <3′d

[songdreamt-a]

I LOVE THIS SEMI-DYSFUNCTIONAL MYTHICAL FAMILY

[skyfulcfstars-a]

@rattlcsnakc continued.

persephone lets no one raise their voice to her, except him. he’s the only one who dares. humans fear she might destroy their harvest if they try, the gods up on the mountain fear her husband’s wrath as much as her own -       - yet she stands there, in his office. watching. listening. letting him scream the walls down. it’s been a while since they’ve had this loud of a fight. in truth she hadn’t meant her comment to be as scathing as it had come out. old habits. regret coils in her belly all sticky and disgusting until she feels positively cruel.    she flinches when the glass shatters. her heart lodges somewhere in the back of her throat. she’s been a fool. a damned fool. she had hoped their marriage could be repaired, but they’re still fighting. even with the ancient melody that is branded on her immortal bones. a temporary fix. she meets his gaze, does not speak. does not move. she isn’t afraid of him, but she’s afraid at any moment he may beg her leave and not return. she is afraid of losing him.   she cries.

     she moves without thinking. moving to his side. a queen by her king. a woman by her man. she wants to take his face in her hands and wipe the tears away, kiss them to banish them. she doesn’t remember the last time he’s done this, if ever. it’s heartbreaking and persephone’s eyes burn with the attempts to keep her own weary tears at bay.

  “hades,” she whispers, hesitant. faltering. delicate fingers reach for his, to try and pry his hands from his eyes, half begging in the silence to look at her. she wears guilt, leaving him alone down here. he has no one. no one but her. and she must be resigned to her fate above. 

      “you must know you have me. you always have me. i’ve always come home.” she tries, swallowing back bile. they’ve tried to make the six months not be so weary - brief visits here or there, letters, but none of it is the same. she has her duties up top and persephone feels eternally torn between her life there, and her life here. the train whistle is there at the back of her mind, harmonizing with the fates that seem to sing there too. always at the back of her mind. her hands tremble against his, and she draws their joined fingers up to her lips to kiss his knuckles softly. 

  “i’m sorry.” she echoes, voice breaking. because now she sees the broken shell she’s turned him into and she feels like she might drown in the guilt of it all. fuck the train. “---i’ll stay with you, lover. i’ll stay here with you.”

   and she sings. she sings the nonsense syllables of that ancient song, the soft melody. a promise. a reminder. 

[songdreamt-a]

{ @rattlcsnakc | sc }

Of all the gods or men to walk into Mr. Hermes’ bar, Orpheus did not expect to see him. For a moment, he worries that things have gone back to the way they were. That despite everything Orpheus had done and lost...Mr. Hades had forgotten the song again. It’s still summer. He shouldn’t be here!

He came too soon. It’s not supposed to be like this!

His back and shoulders stiffen as the sight of the King causes an icy fist to clench around his heart. The front door closes behind Mr. Hades with a soft thud, and Orpheus stops wiping down the table and forces himself to stand up a little straighter to greet him.

He’s terrified. And angry. And so desperately sad. What do you even say to the man who owns everything you ever cared about?

“M-Mr. Hades.” He stammers the name, and he hates that he does. He wishes he could be brave, or at least hide his fear better. “Ms. Persephone isn’t here. I-I’m sorry. Mr. Hermes could probably get her for you... I can go find him.”

[skyfulcfstars]

hadestown sentence starters | always accepting

      her fingers smooth down those pinstripes, tracing them straight up and down for a moment. it’s been a good, long while since they’ve stood this close, much less touched in anything beyond the required. it’s the first time she’s smiled down below and she wonders if the smile might crack his entire face in to - she hasn’t seen that look in a long while either. it reminds her of a younger time. of a garden and a man and a woman with nothing between them yet. 

   she’s trying hard not to cry again. her eyes burn and betray her, ancient vulnerability sneaking it until it nearly chokes her. gods, she loves him. 

     “do you promise?” she whispers, tilting her head up to study her husband, admire his handsome face. if those hands hold her then they won’t build up those walls. she wipes furiously at her face, a watery smile breaking through softly. 

          “i just want my husband. just you.”

@rattlcsnakc

[songdreamt-a]

{ @rattlcsnakc | cont’d }

“You think I’d be here if he did?” Eurydice snaps in reply, leaning in the door frame of Hades’ office.

Screw manners, she’s upset. She can’t exactly help it. Her voice is hoarse. Cracked at the edges, choked with emotion. Her face stained with dirt and tear-tracks.

She’s tired.

More than that, she’s heartbroken. Orpheus’ doubt overcame him at the last moment. They were so close... She could almost see the light of day again.

And then he turned around.

It hurts. More than anything, it hurts. (At least she got to say goodbye this time.)

Now she’s here again. The very place she signed her life away the first time. Except this time, her heart is filled with grief, and rage, and bitterness, instead of hunger.

“S’pose you’ve already clocked me in, then?” It’s more of a statement than a question. Her arms are crossed over her chest and she levels a glare at the boss. “Lucky me, I never changed out of my uniform, and there’s a crack in your wall that needs patched up, now.”

[songdreamt-a]

{ @rattlcsnakc | cont’d }

She watches him with mild amusement, the playful smirk of her question fading into a gentle smile. She feels bad that her teasing seems to have struck him so deeply.

This king--who seems all sharp edges and cold touches--has softened into a man with his heart on his sleeve before her very eyes, and she shatters at the sight. He must know--he must. Of course she would marry him. She would stay with him. Follow him.

To the end of time, to the end of the earth.

“Hades...” she replies, just as softly. 

His song tugs at her soul, and she moves to kneel in front of him. One hand lays on his--trembling as they hold his hat--and her other rests on his cheek, silently imploring him to look at her. Tears begin to roll down her cheeks as she smiles more widely at him, and sings her reply.

“...la         la la                 la                    la la                           la...”

[extraordinarygrrls]

❝We have each other. That’s all that matters.❞

Melinoe wished she could believe that. Oh, Olympus above, she did. As her father sat next to her on the bed, watching her mother’s train fade away into the horizon.

As she saw the workers, eyes glassed over like dead fish, swimming in their schools, never ending. The wall, each day, getting built higher and higher. She remembered when she was a child, her father would always tell her that the bricks that rode all the way up his arm represented every kiss he gave her... She stopped believing that a long time ago.

She didn’t make a move, simply sat stone still on the mattress. Eyes focused intensely on the outside world she stopped engaging with. Perhaps it was for the best, the world above didn’t want her, the world below didn’t need her. There were enough ghosts in Hadestown.

“She left in a hurry, this year.” Melinoe said, concealing any emotion. “Mother. I barely got the chance to say goodbye.” Last year, she missed it entirely.

@rattlcsnakc