Havelock Blue, Hades

Hades knew he tended to let his emotions control him; For all that was his outward appearance as stern and unyielding, he was not immune to the whims of his heart.

The first emotion he experienced in his life was fear, lasting years within the subspace of his father alongside his siblings until their unknown youngest brother freed them. The subsequent feelings of rage and battle furthered him, moving them forward to win their war and gain leadership, only for the sense of duty to stay his hand as his younger brothers drew first and reigned over the sky and sea. The end of the golden age had brought many things, but for Hades, in particular, it brought the newest and cruelest emotion yet; Loneliness.

For a god known as the Rich One, loneliness is the ultimate poverty.

Driven by his obligation he shouldered the weight of loneliness, left with only the dead as his subjects and his subordinates he reigns with his domain; His brothers and sisters too busy in their domains to travel the depths of the Underworld. This isolation brought coldness and stone to his heart, only for it to be warmed by something entirely new; Love.

Kore…

From the moment he saw her on his rare trips above, he was struck by her beauty. After asking permission from her father, he had whisked her away to his kingdom; Perhaps it was callous to do so without asking her herself, but he knew Demeter would never allow her daughter away from her, even though she was fully grown. While some vilify his actions and erroneously account their time together, he treated his wife, his Persephone, with kindness and patience; Showering her with gifts and making her his queen, he treated her more like a person than her mother did. Her love and companionship were earned, only for his blasted sister to ruin it all with a destructive hissy fit; And while he had fed her those pomegranate seeds to ensure her return, she had known what eating them would mean, and she willingly obliged.

Looking back, Hades could guess it was Demeter's violate tantrum and Zeus' ease to go back on his word instead of ordering Demeter to cease that tipped his mind into the same paranoia that led his father to devour his children to prevent a prophecy; If he thought about it, he could see it in his siblings as well, as if a family trait.

His paranoia of Demeter plotting to circumvent their agreement with Persephone, the fear of never seeing his wonderful wife again mixed with the ache of betrayal he knew could occur if his brother allowed it was essentially what planted the idea in his head; His heart twisting from his mind poisoning itself, he devised a plan to overthrow his brother and rule-

He was a fool.

With his wife gone for the season and their daughters busy with Elysium and the Asphodel Meadows, there was no one to save him from himself as he started the plot that ultimately landed him in the Isle of the Lost; The Moirai must have only helped because they knew how it would fundamentally end. Seeing as his machinations only made Zeus and Hera's child mortal, it must have been cosmic irony that his and Persephone's daughter was made mortal in part by Zeus'; If he had realized what the barrier would steal away from his daughter, he would have beseeched Persephone to stay away for her sake.

Though mortal, their youngest daughter was vivacious and shined as bright as she could in the dingy landscape of the Isle; He hated that she had to deal with growing up in a prison because of spite and bureaucracy. What made it even worse was that Persephone was still forced away from them and missed so much of their daughter's life, leading up to being permanently taken away from them when their precious Korie was only eight. That was an arduous time for him, he had been so angry at Demeter for splitting Persephone away from their daughter, for causing their daughter anguish and pain and a sense of loneliness he never wished their child to feel-

And yet, both of his youngest children ended up with their own pain and loneliness, trapped on the Isle of the Lost; Korie, who had her mother ripped away yet still strove to be kind… and his youngest of them all, Maleficent Bertha- his Mal.

His youngest daughter was tough to think about; Unlike Zeus and Poseidon, he had never had a child with another woman before her- not even with Minthe had a child come about.

Yet somehow, a drunken one night mistake on his part had led to his youngest daughter, only two months younger than Korie; It had happened not long after Persephone had to be taken from the Isle for that season, and the crushing loneliness had driven him to inebriate himself as much as his pseudo-mortality could allow at the best-stocked bar on the Isle. While he doesn't remember much of that night, Persephone agreed with him that Maleficent had planned their 'interaction', purposely leading to her conception- it only made sense that the devious fae would be arrogant enough to choose a god to father her child, out of everyone on the Isle.

Whether it be for power or pride, Maleficent -or simply Mal until she had supposedly proven her worth to the full name- Bertha had been born on the last day of the year, exactly two months after Korie on the last day of October. When he had tried to visit his newest child, Maleficent had denied him access, brazenly admitting that she had used him to have a child that wouldn't be weak.

Looking back on it, Hades knew he could have pushed more to see her; In fact, the first few years he had during the winter months, stolen moments where Maleficent was feeling 'benevolent' and smug at the thought of a god pleading to see his child while Persephone was taking care of Korie every moment she could; But as spring sprouted and Korie needed her father and was forced to say goodbye to her mother, he just couldn't do it. Hades knew he couldn't take care of two growing children, even with pain and panic occasionally babysitting; He rationalized that he was letting her have her mother, something he wished that Korie could have, and taking her away would make him just as bad as Demeter. Though as much as he tried to justify himself, where Demeter denied Korie a mother, he denied Mal a father.

By the first time he had seen her without Maleficent dragging her by the wrist, Mal had just turned five years old; When he had tried to start a conversation, she had ignored him and rushed back inside her mother's castle. While he would have been glad if she ignored a stranger, he knew that Maleficent had filled their daughter's head with tales of abandonment, twisting his actions into spurn and neglect, all the while molding her for her own purposes.

Instead of directly confronting her again, he had decided to leave a few treats Persephone had made for the bakery. After seeing her reluctantly take the pastries from where he knew she would find them, he continued to leave her little trinkets and treats when he could; Though he knew she was smart enough to realize it was him, neither of them ever brought it up. He didn't do it too often, and after Persephone was removed from the Isle permanently more of his time had been spent watching over Korie; He had Pain and Panic keep an eye on the both of them when he couldn't, as well as some of the older patrons from the bakery.

Though both seemingly mortal, it was interesting to watch Korie and Mal grow into their adolescence; Even from afar, he could see Mal echo some of Melinoë's mannerisms without ever meeting her older sister; Korie on the other hand grew to more like her mother than anyone else, though her peaceful nature mirrored Macaria more so than her other sisters.

Placing Korie's letter down, Hades pondered on the future now that all of his children were off the Isle; From his paperwork he knew that his duties in propria persona had been relegated to Melinoë and Macaria, as they were already in the Underworld year-round, unlike Persephone. What was nagging at him was the situation his youngest were now in; He could feel it in his ichor that Maleficent had planned something with their kids in Auradon, and he only hoped that his daughters would both be alright.

With the prospects of future mail from Korie he could have some insight into what was happening, though he knew not to expect any from Mal anytime soon, if any whatsoever; While Korie may have freely told him about her newly unveiled powers, he knew not to hold a breath for Mal to do so as well; By her personality alone, he knew that she would try every other option available before discussing any inherited powers she had with him. It would take time and effort on both of their parts before they could have a relationship; After all, she was just as stubborn as he was.