Dear HurtComfort Exchange 2020

[acequeenking]

Dear comforter,

Thank you for writing or drawing for me! I am looking forward to seeing whatever you create!

I consider all prompts as optional, but I added some ideas below in case you might find them helpful. Some are longer than others, but all are things I would love to receive! If none of my prompts work for you or you’d rather just work with a likes list, please feel free to use my general likes as something you can base your fic/art on, and ignore my prompts entirely. All my requests are for both art and fic; feel free to illustrate or write only a small scene of a large AU I ask for. I'm perfectly happy with both fun-size and king-size fanfic/art. Like candy, there's really no wrong shape or flavor.

In fact, feel free to be creative and create what you want as long as it doesn’t cross my DNW. I love everything from G-rated gen fic to E-rated smut-bangs, so feel free to go where the spirit moves you. If you are wondering if you can twist prompts/take them in different directions/etc. the answer is always an enthusiastic yes. I also don’t shy away from reading about the unpleasant aspects of characters' personalities, so please don’t worry about making a character unpleasant or otherwise villainous. Whether it be something sad, scary, fun, or just plain weird, as long as it avoids my DNW I am always down to play.

Likes:

+Genre/Narrative Likes:

• 5 Times/Five Things
• Canon-Divergent AUs e.g. "What if Character A went left instead of right?"
• Darkfic, including bad-guys-win and character death
• Epistolary/Found Documents Fic
• In-World (fiction or nonfiction) articles/stories
• First time(s)/ Last Time(s)
• Hurt/ Comfort
• Metafiction/ Interactive Fiction
• Past Third, Present Third, Second or First Person Perspective(s)
• Third Person Narration/ "Different Points of View" (e.g. Char A observes Char B & Char C)

+ Favorite Kinks and Tropes:

• Arranged Marriage
• Bad guys win / Villain Victorious
• Body horror
• Came Back Wrong/resurrection tropes
• Changing Sides
• Characters who say "I love you" in their actions without actually saying/being able to say "I Love you" in their words
• Complicated Relationships
• Conflicted Loyalties
• Desperate kisses and embraces
• Domestic scenes
• Doomed relationships
• Dystopias
• Eldritch/Eerie things
• Experienced/Inexperienced partnerships
• Fake Marriage/dating
• Fluff/moments of happiness
• Forbidden/Star-Crossed Relationships
• Gender fluidity/experimentation
• Generational Divide/complications in May/December relationships
• Ghosts or other spooky/supernatural occurrences
• Gods being inhuman/unusual
• Grey Morality
• Hurt/Comfort in pretty much any form
• Irreconcilable differences leading to conflict between lovers (but not an absence of love)
• Jealousy
• Lovers caught on opposite sides of a conflict
• Loyalty Kink
• Lust/UST/Pining
• Mindfuckery - the more twisted the better
• Mission/Case fic
• Misunderstandings
• Myths/legends/cultural traditions
• Non-Canon exploration of Character's Gender
• Non-Penetrative sex
• Non-verbal communication and quiet intimacy
• Outsider POV
• Penetrative Sex
• Pyrrhic victories
• Physical recovery from injury
• Playing with danger, e.g. a character being able to hurt another but not doing so (despite them both knowing they could);I also love this being subverted (e.g. known bad-ass A has to be rescued by not-so-badass B)
• Politics
• Possessiveness
• Power differences
• Power play
• Pregnancy, including alien/unusual pregnancy
• Protectiveness
• Redemption being complicated and not easy
• Rule 63/Gender swapping from M to F for one or more requested characters
• Relationships bringing out the worst in one another
• Shows of trust and intimacy
• Snippets of long-term relationships at different points in the relationship
• Trapped in a snowstorm/earthquake/etc
• Trust kink
• Unhappy and/or complicated endings
• Unhealthy Relationships and/or Codependency
• Unreliable narrator
• World-building

+ Smut-Specific Likes:

• Aftercare
• Anal sex
• Bathing
• Body worship
• BDSM
• Blowjob(s)
• Breathplay/Chokeplay
• Cunnilingus
• Dubcon
• First Time/Losing Virginity
• fail!sex or humorous sex
• Fem-Dom
• M!Dom
• Pegging
• Porn with plot/porn as a character exploration
• PiV sex
• Pregnancy/Impregnation kink
• Quickies/Sex in Public Places/Situations
• Ritual(istic) Sex
• Rough sex
• Sex Pollen
• Sex on tables/desks/chairs/other furniture
• Switching/Reversal of top/bottom dynamic
• Shows of total trust
• Size kink
• Slow and tender sex
• Tending to another's scars/cuts/etc
• Voyeurism
• xeno or other kinds of "unusual" sexual organs (I am up for anything here: tentacles, burrs, cloacae, whatever)

+ Do Not Want:

• A/B/O
• High School/College/Coffee Shop/Mundane AU
• Prepubescent Characters in Sexual Situations
• Non-Con (Dub-con, even Extreme Dubcon is fine, I just want some sense of consent!)
• Scat/Urine/Vomitplay




Fandoms:




Hadestown:




Note: For Hadestown, I love pretty much any and every take on the musical’s setting. If you want to say that all the ancient Greek source material on Hades/Persephone/Hermes happened, then that’s fine; if you want to base it on Americana-tinged original setting, or just go with your own version, go for it! If you’d pull inspo from a previous version of the canon instead of the broadway version, by all means! I love Hadestown in every shape and form and you really can’t go wrong here.

Hades/Persephone (Hurt Persephone) (Hadestown):

Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism: I would love to see some detail about how Persephone started needing a little (and then a lot) of medicine to make it through the day in Hadestown. Is this something she has always been prone to? Or is it something that happened later? Was it something that built up all at once, or something that happened bit by bit? How does her drinking affect her relationship with Hades (or her family/friends up top)?

Character Accepts Bad Comfort as Better Than None: Hades doesn’t strike me as the best comforter, and Hades and Persephone always seem on this very thin line between loving one another and hating one another. I would love to see him try to make an effort here – What is he comforting her for? Why does she decide to accept it? Does she still resent him, deep down, or is his attempt enough to sooth her conscious – for a little while, at least?

Character feels rejected by loved one(s): It’s easy to read Hades’ obsession with his riches and his town as a rejection of Persephone and her love of nature. Does she feel he’s rejected her? Does she ever let him know she feels rejected – and if she does, does he make that rejection explicit, or does he deny it?

Comforter caused the Hurt: Hades does Persephone wrong during the show, and I think its obvious that he’s been grabbing her early and bringing her home early for a while. How does Hades attempt to comfort his wife, for what they both damn well know is his own fault? How does Persephone react to that?

Drinking to Cope: Similar to Alcohol Abuse, I’d love to see how her “medicine” helps Persephone make it through the Wintertime. What is she like when she’s drunk? What does Hadestown look like when she’s drunk? When she drinks, how does it change how the world moves, from her viewpoint? How did she discover that drinking helped her make it through time with her husband? What does he say, if anything, about her drinking: does he help her get her drink on, or does he disapprove?

Kissing away tears: I’m always a sucker for this form of comfort and I love how he does reach out to wipe away her tears in the show. Given how at odds with one another they are, it obviously isn’t their first large fight: how might Hades have attempted to comfort her during rough times in the past? If he did try to kiss away her tears, would she find it a romantic gesture, or one all too easy to reject?

Pregnancy - Difficult: I’m a sucker for a good pregnancy story with these two; they have so many difficulties already that I like throwing the pressure of pregnant on top. If Persephone gets pregnant and the pregnancy winds up being quite difficult, does this hurt their relationship, or strengthen it? What makes this pregnancy more difficult than most? Is there any way Hades can comfort her and the baby? Is the pregnancy sustainable? Do they both even want the child?

Recovery From Drug Addiction: One thing I’d love to see post-canon is how Persephone walks back her alcoholism/drug usage, if she does. Does she decide to quit the habit to help improve her relationship, or does she have other reasons? Getting off addictive substances isn’t easy for mortals – what about a goddess? Does she feel tempted to fall off the wagon? How does she feel in Hadestown without anything in her system?

Unhappy marriage: Lord, these two are the poster child for this! One thing I really admire about Hadestown is how Hades and Persephone so obviously love one another, and yet, they’re so unhappy together. When did that unhappiness begin to seep in? How aware are either of them that the other is unhappy? Honestly I’ve love any small vignette where these two are just deeply sad over their inability to make things work, or the constraints on their relationship, etc.

Overworking: I think Persephone is certainly trying to overwork the spring/summer season, with Hades constantly picking her up early. What sort of effects does that have on the body of a goddess? How does she wind up feeling by the time it’s time to go waydown to Hadestown? Does Hades notice her overdoing things?

Hades/Persephone (Hurt Hades) (Hadestown)

Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism: Persephone’s alcoholism becomes pronounced during the show; while this is clearly a case where Persephone is hurting, I think it can be argued that the hurt goes both ways – how does Hades feel about his wife’s (new?) habit? Does he resent her for drinking? Does he feel relieved if she’s happy while she’s drinking? What is the difference between drunk Persephone and sober Persephone and which does he prefer?

Character Accepts Bad Comfort as Better Than None: One thing that really stands out to me during the show is that Hades and Persephone are both pretty bad at communicating with one another. Certainly, I think, Hades wants his wife to reach out and be happy with him – his entire act in Chant is just trying to hold her hand and plant a kiss on her – but I also think he’d be willing to accept a bad sort of comfort as better than nothing. What sort of comfort might Persephone offer him that he would consider only subpar? Would he be bothered by it and resent her for only offering a “bad” comfort? What would his frustration look like – and how would Persephone react to that?

Character feels rejected by loved one(s): I think you can argue that Hades’ takes that whole six-month split as not only unfair but also a complete rejection of him. How does he feel when he sees Persephone living it up on top? How does he handle this rejection? Is the rejection only a suggestion/doubt in the back of his mind, or is it something that the Persephone would explicitly tell him? Either way, how does he react?

Comforter caused the Hurt: For Hades, I think her leaving for six months every year has caused a gradual hurt in him, and you can tell from the way she acts when he starts to withdraw in the musical prior to her leaving for spring that she is tired of his antics, to say the least. How does he feel, knowing his wife will leave him, again and again, and again? How does he express that she has hurt him doing this? How does she react to his sulkiness – was she ever more sympathetic, or has she always been tired of him causing all these issues?

Drinking to Cope: While Persephone is the big drinker in the show, Hades absolutely does drink with her up on the balcony. Does Hades drink as much as she does? How does he feel about their drinking together? Does he drink as much as she does, or does he hold back? What is his reaction to these little drinks they have together – do they make the situation as tolerable for him as it does for her? What does Hadestown look like to its creator, from the bottom of an amber glass?

Kissing away tears: Hades seems to spend the early part of the musical seeking physical intimacy with his wife, trying to hold her hand in Chant/kiss her in Chant/leans in on her during the balcony scenes – what would his response be, if she tried to comfort him by kissing away his tears? Would he sag in relief for finally having some physical touch from her? Or would he resent it/think she was faking it/etc?

Pregnancy – Difficult: If you want to write mpreg for this, where Hades has to struggle with carrying Persephone’s baby (she’s a goddess, I assume they can make this happen, they’re basically magic), I’d be interested in how that would feel: how does the king of death create life? Does he resent her for doing this to him, or does he want it? I would also like an interpretation where it’s Persephone suffering in the pregnancy, but Hades is the one who is more stressed out by it: why? How does he handle this pregnancy? Does he want the baby in either case, or is he only doing this for her? Does he feel like he’s caused the harm?

Recovery From Drug Addiction: While it’s Persephone who indulges in morphine in a tin, I can see Hades bearing the brunt of her recovery from it. How does Persephone handle withdrawal – does she resent Hades on some level for “making” her quit? Does she go through pain that he feels guilty for having caused, on some level? Is he just mad that his wife is suffering and there isn’t much he can do it about it? How does this work, and how could Seph comfort him/allay his fears?

Unhappy marriage: Lord, these two are the poster child for this! One thing I really admire about Hadestown is how Hades and Persephone so obviously love one another, and yet, they’re so unhappy together. When did that unhappiness begin to seep in? How aware are either of them that the other is unhappy? Honestly, I’ve love any small vignette where these two are just deeply sad over their inability to make things work, or the constraints on their relationship, etc.

Overworking: I think you can tell Hades really throws himself deep into his work in Hadestown – how does this affect his relationship with Persephone? Does he tell himself its for her? And if so, does her reaction to his “work” make him resent it? How does she feel when she catches him working and working and working himself to the bone?

Eurydice/Hades (Hadestown) (hurt Eurydice) OR Hades & Eurydice (Hurt Eurydice) (Hadestown)

Note: For these two, since I'm asking for the same hurt character, I am using the same prompts - please feel free to write whichever version (gen or romantic or w/e) you want. Hades and Eurydice’s relationship is ambiguous in canon, and I like every interpretation of it. If you want to write the interest as sexual/romantic, or platonic, or first one and then the other – feel free! I find these two interacting absolutely fascinating regardless of whether it’s gen or romance (or the complete opposite of romance) – so feel free to put them in whatever corner you want to.

Amnesia: One thing I find fascinating about Hadestown is that it seems to make the dead (or the dead to the world, anyway) forget who they are. Obviously this has some rather horrific connotations: Eurydice has probably forgotten her name, her memories, etc. What does this do to her? What does it do to Hades to see her like that? Does she still have any kind of instinctual memory about him? Does he feel any guilt to see her this way, or is this just part of what the underworld is, to its king?

Bonding Over Shared Trauma: Both Eurydice and Hades are trapped in some form of waiting for their (other?) lovers: Hades for Persephone, six months of every year, and Eurydice for Orpheus, for as long as he shall live. How do they handle that – do they find any comfort in one another? Or do they resent the other for having a different kind of wait – eg Eurydice has to wait longer but only has to wait once, Hades has to wait six months out of every twelve for time immemorial.

Caring for someone who should be your enemy: Eurydice being in the underworld at the end is proof of Hades’ fears: love is not enough, and Eurydice and Orpheus, as simple and pure as their love was, just ain’t enough – and he has to see her face, every time he walks the floor of whatever factory or mine he’s shoved her down. How does he deal with her? Does he resent her for “failing” his test? Does he find sympathy with her, in that she is in the same state as him? Eurydice certainly has every reason to know he isn’t her friend and certainly is closer to her enemy – does she try to keep her distance from him? Or does she force herself to get close to him/Seph to remind him of his own failures?

Character doesn’t trust comforter’s motives: Both of these two are rattlesnakes and both are prone to stinging first. I think this could make both of them somewhat resistant to being comforted. How does Eurydice feel if Hades attempts to comfort her for all that’s happened to her? Does she accept it? Reject it? What happens after that?

Character feels rejected by loved one(s): I think it’s certainly arguable that Hades feels rejected by Persephone, but Eurydice especially has a case to make about Orpheus rejecting her: he turned around. Does Hades see himself in her? And if so, does that move the heart of Hades try to help comfort her? Does that attempt at comfort actually make her feel any better? Or does the reminder of his own struggles only make him feel worse?

Comforter breaks down: Hades is the man who unquestionably has the most at the start of the musical, but none of what he wants; by the end, he’s seen one pair of lovers defeated and is probably close to giving in himself (and letting the cycle continue again and again and again, if you go for the cyclical ending) – I can see him breaking down at some point in the show, atypically: does he break down when he takes Eurydice to his office, and Persephone doesn’t stop him? Post-musical, when Eurydice has just been failed in the worst way for Orpheus, does he lose it himself? Or some point when she’s on the line and in pain, and he remembers all that’s happened? Or some other point where their paths cross? What does Hades’ breakdown look like? How does Eurydice react to it?

Comforter caused the Hurt: Hades pretty much is soley responsible for Eurydice’s fleeing to the underworld. Even though this is a problem he has 100% caused, does he feel guilty about her being down there? Why might he try to comfort her about life in the underworld? (or “afterlife” perhaps I should say!) How would Eurydice feel about him offering her such?

Comforter realizes comfortee is going to betray (or has betrayed) them: I am always interested in what happens to Eurydice and the workers after Orpheus has failed. Surely they’re sent way back down to Hadestown, but what happens to them after that? Does Hades crack down on the rebellion, or do things go back to the status quo? Do the workers continue to plot their escape, or do they go back to the way the world was? I feel like Eurydice of all people has the most to cling to (and certainly knows Orpheus’ song that inspired them in the first place!) – and every opportunity to betray Hades. Hades isn’t dumb; he’d realize that, too. If Eurydice was injured/hurting from missing Orpheus, and he reached out to comfort her anyway, despite his own pain – what might that look like? How would Eurydice react? Why would he risk comforting her – is it political? Or personal?

Grief/Mourning: I think both of them are mourning the loved ones they miss – how do they cope, stuck in the underworld? Are they able to distract one another at all, or do they remain alone and both suffering? Is it worse for Eurydice for whom this separation is relatively new? Hades, being more used to it – would he attempt to comfort her? Or would he be caught up in his own grief? Would either mourn for Orpheus failing so badly? Together or apart?

Hurt No Comfort: Honestly, Hadestown is a bleak place and I feel like Hades and Eurydice are both very practical people. How do they handle the industrial hellscape of Hades? Does it change who they are? Are they as awful to one another as Hades and Persephone can be? What does their relationship look like in the underworld? Does it change and grow/come to hate? Or does Eurydice begin to lose herself, and Hades is left being the only person who remembers down there? Also given the exploitative potential nature of this pairing, I am all for seeing the darkness exploited here. Snakes eat birds, after all, and Eurydice is just a canary. Does she wind up selling her soul (or anything else…) to try to keep going? Or does she give in to Hadestown’s gloominess? And how would he exploit that/feel about that?

Materially deprived character experiences small comforts/pleasures for
first time: Hades promises Eurydice shelter (and food) down in the underworld – and yet, after she signs his contract, she gets on the line. Does he keep that promise? If he does, is it worth it for her, to sleep in a bed of her own, with food she earned? Or does she have to steal it for herself, and if so – does Hades come down hard on her? Or does he just pity her, in the end?

Neither comforter or comfortee will directly acknowledge that comforting is taking place: Hades and Eurydice are both kind of thorny in that both tend to assume it’s up to them to provide for themselves – and I can see that making it hard for either to accept comfort. When/if Hades extends the hand – what does that look like? Is she glad for it, or does his attempt to comfort the songbird only make her feel like she’s locked tighter in his cage?



Once on this Island:




Note: For OotI, I really love the new revival, but I also have a soft spot for the original; feel free to take aspects of both or either as you wish. I've written prompts for Papa Ge as s/he or his/her because the character has been played by both sexes - go with either (or neither!) as you wish.

Papa Ge/Ti Moune (Hurt Ti Moune)

Comfort starts as attempt to manipulate: Papa Ge spends most of the musical trying to manipulate Ti Moune; however, by the end, Ti Moune has few if any allies, in large part because Ti Moune has listened to Papa Ge. I can see her/him choosing to let the game go on a little longer, try to comfort Ti Moune to keep her moving in Papa Ge’s games just a little longer. Despite her differening intentions – does the comfort mean anything to Ti Moune? Or is it just the gods meddling as only Gods may do?

Comforter caused the Hurt: Papa Ge unquestionably ruins Ti Moune’s life by encouraging her to hurt Daniel, but that doesn’t mean that Ti Moune doesn’t need comfort after she’s left adrift with nothing. What does Papa Ge, and why does Papa Ge do it? Is s/he just trying to take pity on the girl, or is death kind in her embrace? Does it give her any comfort or does it ultimately hollow?

Comforter doesn't want to feel pity/sympathy but can't help themselves: Papa Ge is a bit of a thorny character, who seems desperate to convince the other gods that s/he cannot feel – but its also clear by her/his embrace of Ti Moune at the end, that s/he does feel, in some way, quite moved by Ti Moune’s journey – even though Papa Ge is what started that journey in the first place (by rendering her an Orphan, and later encouraging her to trade her soul with Daniel’s). How does Papa Ge act with their pity eating her/him up inside? How do god’s express pity/sympathy? If this is post-treeification, how does Ti Moune receive it? Does she appreciate it – can she do some?

Gods messing with character for their amusement: Papa Ge is pretty much the personification of this trope. Other than what we see in canon, how does Papa Ge mess with Ti Moune? Does she encourage her journey just to see her will done? Does she miss having Ti Moune to push around after the girl becomes a tree – and what exactly does she do to get the girl back, if anything?

Hurt No Comfort: Ti Moune winds up at the lowest of lows because of Papa Ge’s advice; how does she handle life on the streets? Does she see Papa Ge more often in the slums outside the gates? Does she ever demand an answer for what has been done to her? Show me the class warfare that serves as the undercurrent for this story – how does Papa Ge’s appearance differ between the rich and the poor? Is s/he kinder for some than others?

Regret: I think Ti Moune certainly is regretful for pulling the knife – it ended a life she thought she would have. But despite this, it can be argued that Papa Ge did nothing but speed up an inevitable conclusion. Regardless, Ti Moune certainly mourns, and watching her just sit at the gates can’t be fun for Papa Ge. What does s/he do to address Ti Moune’s mourning? Can a god understand a mortal’s pining? Can a god understand regret?

Attempted Murder: It’s what Papa Ge does. And I think Papa Ge is absolutely willing to go down and murder some people for Ti Moune if she asks; after all, she asked Ti Moune to kill someone. Seems like if she wants the boys soul and Ti Moune can’t do it, well…more than one way to crack an egg as they say. How does Ti Moune react to this “gift”?



Ancient Greek Religion & Lore:




Note: Given that no one knows what Hades or Persephone looked like, please feel free to go wild with how you want them to look: skin color, hair, eyes: go nuts! Whatever you want. Explore an ancient Greek myth in another cultural context? Amazing, I live for alternate cultural takes on my faves. Trans or otherwise gender non-conforming or even gender switched? Sure! Bring it on! I love multiple versions and different takes so please change things to your heart’s desire: I am here for it. Stick with whatever idea makes your story/art best, and I promise I will enjoy it.


Hades/Persephone (Hurt Persephone) (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)

accidental mating for life: Persephone eats those seeds in the classical tale without possibly understanding just what she’s doing. (It’s vague.) What does she do when she realizes that either through this small act or through an outright trick, she’s been consigned to the underworld forever and ever? If tricked, how does she react to her new husband, that first winter together? How does Hades get her used to her new home? Is it easy or difficult for him to adjust to someone so close to him again?

Belly rubs to calm overactive kicking baby: I’m always a sucker for good baby fic and honestly this is an adorable prompt. I’d imagine given that Persephone is the goddess of new life itself, her babies must be fairly active. How does this start? Is Hades attempting to give her belly rubs an appreciated comfort, or a bit of a nuisance? How does she react? Does it become something they do repeatedly, or just once?

Character must face reality that they will never be normal: I’m a sucker for anything about the changes that Persephone goes through as she goes from Springtime goddess to the Queen of Hades. Are there physical changes she goes through when she becomes queen? Do her powers change? How do other people react when she returns to Demeter from Hades? Do her mother (or other characters!) treat her differently and if so how? Does Hades treat her differently when she returns to her spring/summer duties?

Damage to Reputation: Given how much Hades is feared by the Greeks and Romans, I think Persephone would suffer from his reputation by association. How does she handle this? Is she upset that people go from worshipping her as a goddess of grain with her mother to a goddess of the underworld with Hades? How much does this reputation change hurt Persephone? What does her husband do (or her family do) to help comfort her at this change?

fuck or die with at least one character still being a virgin: I always have a soft spot for fuck or die and aggressive! Persephone – given that she is a goddess of springtime, it seems like she would be heavily affected by any kind of sex pollen. What happens that makes her go into fuck or die? What is Hades and Persephone’s relationship before this occurs? How does it change after?

Pregnancy – Difficult: I love pregnancy fic and I’m very curious what a pregnancy that occurs in (at least in part?) in the underworld would look like. I think any pregnancy for them would be hard – given that Persephone has to transit to the other side for at least part of her pregnancy – but a difficult pregnancy would be so much more difficult. Why is Persephone’s pregnancy so difficult? How does Hades help her – can he even help her? What sort of symptoms does she have? Does she want to stick this out, or would she really rather go home?

Scars: I’m really fascinated by the idea of divine characters having scars, whether physical or emotional. While Hades may have scars from the war or his father, what sort of scars would Persephone have? How would he react to them – surely the idea of a goddess being imperfect is hard for even a god to understand?

Struggling Against the Caretaker: I have a real soft spot for early-on-in-the-relationship fiction where Hades has kidnapped her, and Persephone is a spit-fire who is absolutely none-too-pleased about this arrangement. What does that relationship look like, and how does Persephone express her struggle? Does she ever get one over on him? Do her feelings for him ever change, or does she just continue to struggle, only perhaps to wind up defeated?

Trust Issues: Given that there’s at least one possible interpretation of this where Hades and Persephone wind up together after Hades tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds, and virtually all others revolve around a kidnapping, I’m always curious how Persephone navigates the space between her husband doing a REALLY traumatic, bad thing at the beginning of their relationship, and how they get past that, at least to the point of being being a relatively stable and well-functioning partnership by the time of the Iliad and the Odyssey, working together to conduct underworld business. How do they navigate this divide? Does Persephone forgive her husband? Did it take her time to do it? Did he have to provide any sort of making it up for her? What can you do to make up for a kidnapping?

Trying to make amends for past mistakes: Hades starts their “relationship” in 99.99% of the myths about these two by kidnapping Persephone. Obviously, that’s not the best way to start a relationship – why does he do it? Can she forgive him for it? How does he readdress the grievous harm she must feel for being so ripped away from her family, her friends, and everyone and everything she’s ever known? How does that happen?