During the entire month of April, I’m participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge. The alphabet will be my motivation, though the content of the posts will be very similar to what regular readers are used to. Check out the link for more amazing bloggers, and enjoy April!
My ‘H’ word was going to be Hope. I think hope is what keeps so many people going, even those of us who resolutely deny being optimists.
But…I’ve decided to go a little less sun-shiny, not because I don’t like Hope, but because I need help and I’m hoping y’all in blogville are willing to offer me your opinions and then I can plagerize borrow your thoughts to do what I need.
Here’s what’s going on. One of my story universes features a wide assortment of gods from all different mythologies and pantheons. Loki is my antagonist, Dionysus owns the finest restaurant in the city, and Kali is one of my MC’s oldest and bestest friends.
When I added characteristics to each of these, I had a fairly clear picture in my mind of who they all were. I know what they look like, I know how they think, I know how their ‘realities’ differ from legend. All of that.
The problem I’m having now is Hades. For those of you who have read the ‘Goddess Test’ books, (good, good books, btw, if you haven’t read them yet), my Hades has one thing in common with Henry. He’s the only god who doesn’t hail from Elysium, because he’s the god of the underworld.
The similarities end there, largely because my Hades is, um…going off the deep end. He’s a little nuts. I can’t tell you why, it ruins the story 😉
I know a lot about him, but I can’t figure out what he looks like. Every time I think Hades, all I can picture is the cartoon version from the Disney Hercules movie. Which, personality wise, is probably closer to my Hades. And now that I’ve read The Goddess Test books, that overlaps with the mental image of Henry.
So that’s my question. That’s what I need help what. What does Hades look like and why?
There are all the traditional schticks for gods of the underworld (goths, black suits etc)
I suppose the main thing is how much of his madness you want to manifest on the surface. Is he unkempt and inclined to forget to look after himself? Is he pale and drawn?
Does he look quite normal? That can be quite fun for the hidden depths route, but there should probably be some kind of giveaway. One thing I did with Azrael, the angel of death was to make his appearance shift and change to reflect all the people he’d killed, which is a fun one to try.
Well, putting aside the fact that I started thinking about “Hunger Games” and the vampire movie, “Underworld” for a minute while reading this post, lol, you could make Hades look dark surrounded by old weeds and fog…or, watch Harry Potter and observe those death eaters or watch Lord of the Rings and observe the Ringwraiths who work for the Dark Lord…maybe their settings could inspire you with some ideas for Hades.
You could also make Hades have a red tint, like he had a really bad tanning session or something. Add in some yellow, sharp teeth and you’re good to go…maybe.
Cheers!
~Nicole
Blog: The Madlab Post
@MadlabPost on Twitter
That is a good question. Guess we can’t all go with Hope as our topic, hehe.
I’m not sure cause all I can see is the one from Hercules too. Darn that one is tricky. Good luck!
Writing about Hades is FAR more interesting — far LESS predictable, than all the H’s for hope. Good choice!
I imagine him looking like a funeral director. Very dapper, dark suit, slicked back hair. But as his mental state is unraveling, you can have him getting a little unkempt. Tie askew, shirttail untucked, maybe a pocket on his pants hanging inside out, shoes less shiny…
Hades looks like Keith Richards.
Wait. I think I have that backwards.
Well Hades is also the god wealth. So he could be extremely rich and dress the part. So maybe Howard Hughes. Good looking, successful, rich, and crazier than a sack rats.
I am trying to read all the A to Z blogs, but coming back to the ones I really like.
Looking forward to seeing what you do all month!
Tim
The Other Side
The Freedom of Nonbelief
Yeah, I agree with most of the comments made already. Hades is good looking and he carries himself like a wealthy individual. He has dark features but light eyes. He’s gorgeous—he’s the bad boy all the girls want!