Loved Pain and Panic's reactions to Persephone. They have a complex relationship with Hades, don't they? Lol.

"Make my millennium!" Shout-out to Beetlejuice! Love it! Your writing is so clever. The history and context of the myths and the modern references are woven together seamlessly.

I acutally would have preferred it had Hades never been in love before Persephone came along, but your telling of that story was so beautiful.

Oh, unfortunate Hades, thinking she's jailbait. He's probably thinking he can never catch a break.

"And then the memories returned forcefully. Screams inside his head, weeping pleas of mercy, the incoherent howls of the damned." Oh my, no wonder he wasn't himself. That would be traumatizing to endure. Your description of it is so haunting. This whole story is just so well-written. Disney could take notes from you. It has so much humor but so much heart and just the right amount of darkness.

I looked at your author's note in the last chapter about when modern authors call it a "rape." Rape, a long time ago, used to also mean a kidnapping. I don't know a lot of versions where our definition of what rape is happens. But I'm with you that I do think somewhere they had gotten to know each other and it was pretty much a consentual kidnapping, sorry for the word choice.

Ooh, what a great description of Charon. Scary, but fun. The retelling of Kronos, though, is just plain scary. You've managed to make it terrifying in just recapping it. It is certainly one of the darker myths, and gives Hades (and the rest of the siblings minus Zeus) a dark past. I always felt, though, that maybe the five that were in there together had a tighter bond and Zeus was always the odd man out. He had all the power, but wasn't a part of that closeness.

Oh my! You upped the intensity even more! What a dick. In whose book is he a hero?

Lovely bit of Hades complimenting the "scenery." So in-character. "Be cool, man." Loved it!

Oh man, it is a credit to you that you made this version of Hades seem, dare I say it, sexy. All girls love bad boys and I just know all that pent up rage Persephone has is pure passion just wanting a way to release.

"Ahem. Hades, Lord of the Dead, hi howya doin'?" Then he promptly gave himself a swift mental kick in the ass for being such a pathetic social retard." So endearing. I love when the usually confident guy is brought down a peg because he's so tongue tied by the object of his affection. Figured out that prophesy yet, Hades?

They seem so at ease with each other, make each other smile...all good signs.

"He just stared at her then, and suddenly was filled with an almost overwhelming wish to become everything that could possibly please her, to convert his entire life into whatever would make her happy. To have her judge him, as the perfect man for her. His voice peculiarly soft, he responded to her query, "Yes, I do..." Aw, if I could make a ton of hearts explode in this review, I would do it. This is a great story.

"The island wasn't very large, but it made up for lack of size with sheer, unadulterated beauty. The views would have made hardened soldiers weep and begin to compose lyrical poetry. Hades hated it on sight." ROFL! This reminds me of the movie and his attitude at the party Zeus and Hera threw for baby Hercules.

You are so good with Hades' thoughts. He's hysterical, but also poignant, and we really get a feel for his depression. I love how drawn he is to the shadowy part of the island. His dry wit shines through, though. Great shout-out to the pomegranate! I think I know who made this part of the island now... Who knew Persephone had a Gothic side to her? They'll be so perfect together! Aw, and he's moved to tears! You have me falling for him!

LOVE Demeter's ideal mate for her daughter. It's a little similar to what my parents envisioned for me...

Emo Persephone. She's so great. It's nice she has a friend.

Hades has seen her! This was so well-written. I'm cheering for him because everything is about to get better.

Darling, you don't need such long author's notes. It's very clear you're well-versed in mythology. The best at the game of parody research their material and were interested in it beforehand!

Ha ha, Styx throwing people out. You know, this is one of the first myth-based stories I've read where a ruler actually had to conduct business and had issues to deal with!

Yay for remembering the invisibility helmet! He can get into more trouble that way!

"It was just another shitty day in the Underworld." GREAT first line! I can hear James Woods saying it. It's so perfect and I love when we all here allow the Disney characters to be grown ups. Of course a day in this Underworld would be shitty.

Ooh, Hades has been withdrawn? Not good. The botched takeover must have really gotten to him.

"Death, doom and destruction just don't have that old siren's call appeal for me anymore..." Oh jeez...I think I'm falling in love with him! Lol.

I knew it was Hecate! So glad she's here. You have her explain her credentials in SONG? I'm so adding this to my list of favorites.

The history you give Hades and his self-induced celibacy is interesting. I never would have had him carry a torch (ha ha, because of his hair) for Persephone. It's got a bit of old-fashioned romance to it, sees her across the way and bam, she's gone.

"Yeah, I mean we're your loyal, trustworthy minions," Pain nodded. "Who else can you share your woes with?" EXACTLY!

Lol! This is going to be so much fun. You've captured the spirit and bite the movie had, celebrating Greek mythology but also lampshading it and pointing out its problems. Your idea of Cupid is adorable! I'd love for you to describe him, because all I can do is imagine a little boy in front of his chemistry set. His conversations with Aphrodite are hilarious, modern, and realistic. It's so great you gave them both a personality and actually made her an involved mother (and she has a career! Woo hoo!). I watched a few episodes of the show and was absolutely dying to see James Woods' version of Hades fall for Persephone, but never got to see it. It's my favorite of the Greek myths and I know you will do it justice in Hercules' snappy way!

I mad an account on this site JUST so I could tell you that you are an amazing writer, and that I absolutely love this story. 3

heh heh heh. rubs hands together; heck yeah!

'. .

...I'm reading this story for the sixth time...wow. xD Just wanted to tell you that it's one of those stories that don't get old, it's so witty and simply delicious ;) When I'm feeling bad I always read it, hehe. I love you for posting it!

Why does this story have so few reviews? I will admit, I skimmed over the singing bits*, but I really enjoyed this story overall. It was fun and had just enough conflict to be interesting but not so much to make it angsty. I hate the Big Misunderstanding moment between the main romance so I'm happy that the source of conflict this time was mostly external. :)

*Of course musicals in general make me want to go kill things so perhaps I am irrationally biased...

This is a wonderful story, one which caught me by pleasant surprise when I was poking around for stories detailing Persephone and Hades.

One thing I love about this story is the way you manage to illustrate themes from Greek mythology which Disney would never touch, but still keep Disney’s style while doing so. Hades’s throwaway, ‘what a sweet little thing she was, and how Zeus thought of her as nothing more than a daughter (yeah, right)’ in chapter five is a favorite line of mine. You also did a great job with the sex- totally Disney Hades, even if Disney would never let him do so on screen.

The songs I feel mixed about. Due to the novel format they feel a little jarring, but they are quite well-written and fit in with the style you’re going for. They’re also entertainingly imagined in the prose surrounding them- there are parts which would clearly make great animated scenes. And they make great drawn scenes, too ;)

Hecate’s presence in the story is what I really feel iffy about. Firstly, I don’t think a great story specifically ::needs:: a villain character just for the sake of it. Conflict is what’s necessary for any story of length, but it can be achieved by so many other means than a straight villain. And I honestly don’t feel that Hecate had any irreplaceable position in the story. The main conflict she caused was tricking the gods into believing that Hades had raped Persephone and revealing his full plot concerning Hercules, and realistically any god or goddess with a bone to pick could have done the first- it didn’t entirely warrant the big hype she had as a villain from her first appearance onwards. She was effective as a villain, however, I’ll give her that.

Your prose is very good, but you have a habit of occasionally stating the obvious- for instance chapter six going into detail after Hecate’s ‘For the last time, I DO!’ concerning her hatred of Hades. Previous interactions make her reason for being affronted very clear, so it’s really just redundant to then ::tell:: us why.

The research behind this story is impressive- you really did a great job of playing with original myth while still being accurate to the movie’s depictions. Hades’s backstory with Leuke was simply amazing…though now the reminder of nymphs has me thinking of the Minthe tale and how, interestingly, Hades is never actually written in fiction as the kind to commit adultery ;

All together, this story has way too many epically amusing and moving moments to realistically quote, but Aphrodite and Cupid’s interaction in chapter one, the schmoozing with Styx scene, the 'Tastes Like Diabetes' crack in chapter four, and the confrontation with the gods at Olympus are all up there.

You mentioned that you’re going to write Cupid’s story? I’m very interested in that- Cupid was made of epic win here.

You wouldn't happen to be a Hellenic Pagan, would you? I'm just curious, since I'm a pagan myself. Very good story so far, by the way. I really like how in character everyone is (especially Hades.) I'm pretty glad HSE is completed, so I can read it in one sitting.