#wb!

p133

So for a while, I actually entertained writing Persephone. I didn't get too far in development of her, but I almost decided to add her to my roster before chickening out.

I usually go for minor characters with few myths so I have more freedom, so that was part of why I didn't, but the main reason is that I don't think she would've fit well in the RPC– back then, or today. Why? Because my Seph ultimately goes with the original myth of kidnap and rape, and while some Hades were/are okay with the former, they aren't with the latter. Which is fine and understandable!

Ultimately I set her aside because I knew at best I probably wouldn't do much with her, and at worst I'd be disliked for my portrayal of her, especially since the time I was considering writing her was also the height of the Hades/Persephone romanticization, and suggesting their relationship was anything but loving and consensual from beginning to end would get you cold-shouldered (I literally lost a friend over expressing the idea of Persephone being kidnapped in a post lmao).

I'd be the voice that urged Orpheus

When her body was found

I'd be the choiceless hope and grief

that drove him underground

I'd be the dreadful need in the devotee

That made him turn around

And I'd be the immediate forgiveness

in Euridcye

This is my favorite of Ruth’s pictures from last year. It’s like a goddamn renaissance painting. The flag that seems to defy gravity, everyone reaching out to him & physically supporting him, THAT EXACT MOMENT in the video, Andrew’s head and the two on screen combining to make a heart, I just....

This picture is love. It is revolution. It is “Liberty Leading the People”. It is...