Orpheus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
loversdesire) wrote2021-02-07 06:07 pm
loversdesire) wrote2021-02-07 06:07 pm
DATABURST APP
PLAYER INFORMATION
PLAYER NAME: wwwayfarer
OVER 18?: yes
PREFERRED CONTACT(S): discord, @ dongpuncher#7741
OTHER CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFORMATION
CHARACTER NAME: Orpheus
CANON: Hadestown (NYTW/Off-Broadway), an adaptation of the original Greek myth
TIMELINE: Soon after the song "Promises," awaiting judgement from Hades
AGE: Never given; presumably in his 20s
REFERENCE: Technically here, but this mostly covers the Broadway edition from the show, which is fairly distinct from the New York Theatre Workshop (Off-Broadway) version in some key places. Here is the wiki synopsis edited from Broadway to NYTW:
PERSONALITY: Orpheus is motivated, first, by his idealism: that the world is hard, yes, but generous, and hope and love are powerful extant forces, and works to help cultivate that image. "Let the world we dream about be the one we live in now," he says, toasting to Lady Persephone in the midst of summertime, and the warmth and life she brings to the earth. Whether through singing his songs or just being kind, he does his best to shape a world that is loving, at least in his corner of the universe. He makes the choice to love and love hard.
Some aspect of this had been a kind of blind naïveté, an un-nuanced image of the world that he had. But enduring the trials of the road to Hadestown and Hadestown itself puts him through the wringer; he grows a little bit of cynicism and doubt in him, and on top of that, he finds empathy and understanding of King Hades. He'd thought of him as nothing but bad, who tricks souls into working for him out of greed, but realizes that they are one in the same: Hades did all of this because he loved someone, just as he does. Orpheus now carries a more balanced image of the world, how it works, and what drives people to do the things they do. The world is messy. Bad things happen to good people because things happen, all the time, and some might go the nihilist route with that and say nothing matters--but if nothing matters, then he gets to choose what does. Orpheus chooses people. He chooses to care. (In general, this whole deal makes him good-natured and easygoing.)
He is also pretty socialist in a weird way; he'd grown up in, and still lives in poverty, but he vastly prefers the free-spirit lifestyle of the vagabond over weighing himself down with hard labor for money and security. (This is probably exacerbated by the fact that the surface world of Hadestown is ravaged by economic depression and Hadestown itself is a hellish industrial city with no established in-between, but hey.) In the beginning of the show, he expressed no understanding of the mindset behind why someone would choose to work in Hadestown ("Why would a man of his own free will go to work all day in the mine and the mill? Why would he trade the sunshine for a couple'a nickels and dimes?"), as well as his idea of how life should be lived ("No one here's a millionaire, but what we have, we have to share!" [...] "And I'll give you a song for free, 'cause that's how life oughta be"). But after pursuing his lover Eurydice into the Underworld and seeing the conditions for himself, he understands why she made that decision, and by extension, why everyone in Hadestown chose to come down here: security and guaranteed survival. Life on the surface is extremely difficult. Despite its verdant summers, its winters are lethal. At least in Hadestown, one lived on a reliable schedule, and could be guaranteed a wage and a living. He's still probably not going to get a job in Svelte. Regulated labor's not his style.
Orpheus is also possessed of a very powerful stubbornness, supplemented by confidence. He makes decisions and follows the hell through. The moment he saw Eurydice, he proposed, asking her to "come home with [him]" and be his wife. Part of why Eurydice makes the decision to leave is how he gets so terribly wrapped up in writing his "masterpiece" that he fails to realize just how bad the conditions around them have gotten. And when Eurydice does leave, he declares that he'd follow her "to the end of time; to the ends of the earth." Hermes tells him how to get to Hadestown without taking the train, and he sets out on the multi-month journey, trekking for miles on foot, though the winter and through the deep dark, past the walls and hound-dogs and razor wire of the Styx, just to find her and bring her home. Hades eventually catches him; he tells Orpheus that Eurydice belongs to him now, and has him beat to the ground. Orpheus laments, but even this does not truly shake him. He questions the truth in Hades' words and begins to incite a worker's riot against him. Then Hades asks Orpheus to sing him one last song before he makes the decision to execute him, so Orpheus sings a song that is aimed directly at Hades and reminding him of the love he had when he was younger, which is honestly a pretty bold move.
His stubborn decision-making served him well in this story, but some decisions are better backed out of than stuck with. It can get dangerous.
ABILITIES: Orpheus is mortal, a demigod in myth, though this status in NYTW is nebulous. Either way, he is musically skilled to the point that his songs can persuade the most iron of hearts and incite cities of people to action. As Hermes put it: "a million tonnes of stone and steel echoed his refrain."
PERSONAL EFFECTS: Very nearly nothing. Coming into Svelte he'd have the clothes on his back and his guitar. Maybe some dirt, even.
PRIZED POSSESSION: His guitar. Old, reliable, and his tool to make music with.
SAMPLE
SAMPLE: Here
PLAYER NAME: wwwayfarer
OVER 18?: yes
PREFERRED CONTACT(S): discord, @ dongpuncher#7741
OTHER CHARACTERS: N/A
CHARACTER INFORMATION
CHARACTER NAME: Orpheus
CANON: Hadestown (NYTW/Off-Broadway), an adaptation of the original Greek myth
TIMELINE: Soon after the song "Promises," awaiting judgement from Hades
AGE: Never given; presumably in his 20s
REFERENCE: Technically here, but this mostly covers the Broadway edition from the show, which is fairly distinct from the New York Theatre Workshop (Off-Broadway) version in some key places. Here is the wiki synopsis edited from Broadway to NYTW:
In a Great Depression-era inspired post-apocalyptic setting, Orpheus enters and meets Eurydice, then asks her to marry him. Eurydice is doubtful since they both live in poverty and she wants a life of stability. Orpheus, a musician, persuades her by telling her that his songs will allow them to live in comfort, as the world is generous and will give them what he asks.
Persephone then arrives to celebrate the brief joy of summertime brought alongside her. Orpheus describes his idealistic way of living: carefree, but dependent on the generosity of the earth and other people. After, Eurydice reflects on her growing love for Orpheus despite her independence.
Winter comes, as does a train to bring a reluctant Persephone back to Hadestown – Hades' underground industrial city. Persephone voices her misery at having to return, and Hermes and Orpheus sing of the cruel working conditions, while the Fates appear to praise Hadestown's riches. Despite hearing about Hades' harsh treatment of his workers, Eurydice is intrigued. While a storm ravages the surface and Eurydice struggles to find enough food and firewood for both her and Orpheus, Hades and Persephone fight about the decline of their own relationship.
Hades leaves the factory and encounters a starving Eurydice, offering her security and warmth in the factory. The Fates arrive, urging Eurydice to put her survival first by taking up Hades' offer. With Orpheus away working on his song, Eurydice chooses survival and decides to follow Hades to the factory. When Orpheus returns to look for Eurydice, Hermes tells him that she's gone to Hadestown; Orpheus pledges to retrieve her, and Hermes tells Orpheus how to get there without the use of Hades' train. Eurydice arrives at Hadestown, and begins her work on the wall surrounding it.
Following an entr'acte in which Persephone introduces herself and the band, Eurydice begins to regret her decision when she faces the conditions of Hadestown herself. She sings of her regrets as her memories of the aboveground slowly begin to fade.
Orpheus reaches Hadestown, finds Eurydice, and begs her to come home with him. Hades arrives and reveals to Orpheus that Eurydice signed her soul to him willingly and has his workers beat him up, after which the Fates tell an exhausted Orpheus to give up on saving Eurydice. Orpheus sings of his despair at losing his lover, inadvertently inspiring the citizens of Hadestown to follow him and oppose the harsh conditions in which they are made to work, all of which is witnessed by Persephone. Touched by Orpheus' music, Persephone tells Hades to let Eurydice go, which results in him mockingly offering Orpheus a chance to sing before he executes him. Orpheus sings the song he'd been working on the whole show, reminding Hades of his love for Persephone. Orpheus and Eurydice apologize for breaking the promises they made to each other, then vow to stay with each other no matter what hardships they face.
It is soon after this point that Orpheus is taken into the Svelte.
PERSONALITY: Orpheus is motivated, first, by his idealism: that the world is hard, yes, but generous, and hope and love are powerful extant forces, and works to help cultivate that image. "Let the world we dream about be the one we live in now," he says, toasting to Lady Persephone in the midst of summertime, and the warmth and life she brings to the earth. Whether through singing his songs or just being kind, he does his best to shape a world that is loving, at least in his corner of the universe. He makes the choice to love and love hard.
Some aspect of this had been a kind of blind naïveté, an un-nuanced image of the world that he had. But enduring the trials of the road to Hadestown and Hadestown itself puts him through the wringer; he grows a little bit of cynicism and doubt in him, and on top of that, he finds empathy and understanding of King Hades. He'd thought of him as nothing but bad, who tricks souls into working for him out of greed, but realizes that they are one in the same: Hades did all of this because he loved someone, just as he does. Orpheus now carries a more balanced image of the world, how it works, and what drives people to do the things they do. The world is messy. Bad things happen to good people because things happen, all the time, and some might go the nihilist route with that and say nothing matters--but if nothing matters, then he gets to choose what does. Orpheus chooses people. He chooses to care. (In general, this whole deal makes him good-natured and easygoing.)
He is also pretty socialist in a weird way; he'd grown up in, and still lives in poverty, but he vastly prefers the free-spirit lifestyle of the vagabond over weighing himself down with hard labor for money and security. (This is probably exacerbated by the fact that the surface world of Hadestown is ravaged by economic depression and Hadestown itself is a hellish industrial city with no established in-between, but hey.) In the beginning of the show, he expressed no understanding of the mindset behind why someone would choose to work in Hadestown ("Why would a man of his own free will go to work all day in the mine and the mill? Why would he trade the sunshine for a couple'a nickels and dimes?"), as well as his idea of how life should be lived ("No one here's a millionaire, but what we have, we have to share!" [...] "And I'll give you a song for free, 'cause that's how life oughta be"). But after pursuing his lover Eurydice into the Underworld and seeing the conditions for himself, he understands why she made that decision, and by extension, why everyone in Hadestown chose to come down here: security and guaranteed survival. Life on the surface is extremely difficult. Despite its verdant summers, its winters are lethal. At least in Hadestown, one lived on a reliable schedule, and could be guaranteed a wage and a living. He's still probably not going to get a job in Svelte. Regulated labor's not his style.
Orpheus is also possessed of a very powerful stubbornness, supplemented by confidence. He makes decisions and follows the hell through. The moment he saw Eurydice, he proposed, asking her to "come home with [him]" and be his wife. Part of why Eurydice makes the decision to leave is how he gets so terribly wrapped up in writing his "masterpiece" that he fails to realize just how bad the conditions around them have gotten. And when Eurydice does leave, he declares that he'd follow her "to the end of time; to the ends of the earth." Hermes tells him how to get to Hadestown without taking the train, and he sets out on the multi-month journey, trekking for miles on foot, though the winter and through the deep dark, past the walls and hound-dogs and razor wire of the Styx, just to find her and bring her home. Hades eventually catches him; he tells Orpheus that Eurydice belongs to him now, and has him beat to the ground. Orpheus laments, but even this does not truly shake him. He questions the truth in Hades' words and begins to incite a worker's riot against him. Then Hades asks Orpheus to sing him one last song before he makes the decision to execute him, so Orpheus sings a song that is aimed directly at Hades and reminding him of the love he had when he was younger, which is honestly a pretty bold move.
His stubborn decision-making served him well in this story, but some decisions are better backed out of than stuck with. It can get dangerous.
ABILITIES: Orpheus is mortal, a demigod in myth, though this status in NYTW is nebulous. Either way, he is musically skilled to the point that his songs can persuade the most iron of hearts and incite cities of people to action. As Hermes put it: "a million tonnes of stone and steel echoed his refrain."
PERSONAL EFFECTS: Very nearly nothing. Coming into Svelte he'd have the clothes on his back and his guitar. Maybe some dirt, even.
PRIZED POSSESSION: His guitar. Old, reliable, and his tool to make music with.
SAMPLE
SAMPLE: Here