themuseabandonsyou: (lyre)
Orpheus ([personal profile] themuseabandonsyou) wrote in [personal profile] kaisoumods 2022-09-04 04:33 am (UTC)

QV | Orpheus (Hadestown) | OU

Player Name: QV
Contact: [plurk.com profile] questionableveracity | quodVide#2951
Invited by: I can't be invited I'm already here
Other Characters: Claude von Riegan

Character Name: Orpheus
Canon: Hadestown
Canon Point: Post-canon
History: Here!!

Personality:
  • Optimism - Orpheus is repeatedly described in canon as being able to "see how the world could be, in spite of the way that it is," which is touted as one of his greatest virtues and something that attracts people to him in addition to his musical talent. As a dreamer by nature, he sees the best in people, trusting Persephone to provide for the world despite her long absences and moving through life with a bright-eyed sort of confidence that everything will work out if people just work together and show each other kindness. While on a surface level this may seem to be at odds with the crucial end of his escape from Hades, the great tragedy of his story comes in the form of a single moment of weakness brought on in part by distrust in Hades's letting them go but mostly by intense guilt for having left Eurydice to fall into the Underworld to begin with and doubt in his worthiness as her partner. Ultimately it's more his insecurity in himself rather than the world around him that leads him to turn back and doom Eurydice back to Hadestown than shaken faith in the world around him. As he comes from post-canon, this failure on his part has done a number on his self esteem and given him a severe guilt complex, but not necessarily his faith in other people.
  • Empathy - As mentioned earlier, Orpheus tries to see the best in people wherever he can, but where he can't he still makes an attempt to understand the other person's point of view. While it would be easy for him to simply hate and fear Hades for the suffering to which the latter has put his subjects in the Underworld, Orpheus is able to reach out to him and ultimately unharden his heart some by appealing to their common fear of losing their wives to a world where they can't follow. While it takes him until the third iteration of Epic to truly understand, he cottons on to Hades's intense loneliness and attempts to fill the void with his various projects as early as seeing him arrive to take Persephone back early in Way Down Hadestown, and similarly expresses concern over Persephone's growing reliance on revelry and alcohol to distract from the misery that her marriage now brings her. On a more positive note, he also is able to glean from Eurydice's demeanor her intense loneliness as covered in Any Way The Wind Blows, and a large part of his motivation in approaching her aside from his own instant infatuation is wanting to help solve that in whatever ways he can.
  • Naivete - Returning to Orpheus's optimism for a moment, his easy confidence in the goodwill of others and the inherent fairness of things easily turns to an almost simplistic misunderstanding of how things really work. Case in point, his certainty that spring's return will immediately fix all of his and Eurydice's and the world's problems, which leads him to fixate on trying to solve that to the exception of all other concerns. Arguably this comes in part from his somewhat sheltered upbringing, with his knowledge of the wider world largely coming from epic stories where solutions are straightforward and heroic rather than his own personal experience.
  • Obliviousness - Orpheus is also somewhat oblivious to things like social cues and the world outside whatever his current focus is, as briefly touched on before. He has a tendency to say whatever's on his mind regardless of whether it's inappropriate or weird - asking a girl he's never met to marry him after being explicitly warned not to come on too strong, and later missing Hermes's disapproval and attempts to hint at her fate after he neglects her in order to work on his song. He means well, but certain things just go over his head. Again, it's hinted that this has to do with his having a somewhat sheltered upbringing, being raised on stories of the Gods and mythic heroes but not much deep social interaction.
  • Devotion - On top of all of this, Orpheus is also an intensely devoted individual. This is most obvious in his journey into the Underworld, all done for the sake of Eurydice home, but it's also apparent in his actions before then. Pouring all of his efforts into writing his song may not have been a good idea, ultimately, but his intention was to make a world where she'd feel safe and secure in a way she hadn't before. He loves Eurydice deeply and will do virtually anything for her, being quick to cast aside any doubts about their relationship even when it's revealed that she left for Hadestown of her own volition. His dismay over her having signed a contract with Hades is not being upset with her, but with the situation that lead her into it and the difficulty it poses in bringing her home, as well as with himself for allowing it to get so bad.
Time of Arrival to Kaisou: Immediate
Items:
  • Clothes (Shirt, pants, underwear, suspenders, socks, boots, bandana)
  • Acoustic guitar (everyone calls it a lyre but it is in fact a guitar)
  • A backpack containing:
    • A change of clothes
    • One of Eurydice's rings
    • A votive candle featuring an image of Hermes
    • A journal half-filled with songs and poetry
Retained Ability: Charming non-hostile animals by singing or playing music.

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