Deerington App

[themuseabandonsyou]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Orpheus
Canon: Hadestown
Canon Point: Post-canon

In-Game Tattoo Placement: Back of the right hand
Current Health/Status: Alive, sleeping
Age: 21-ish
Species: Human (Half-Muse)

Content Warnings: Death of a loved one, mild suicidal imagery, allusions to alcoholism

History: Wikipedia's synopsis.

Personality: Orpheus is primarily characterized by his endurng optimism - he's repeatedly described as seeing the world "the way it 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 falling in love with Eurydice immediately upon seeing her. Early on in the play, this also translates to an immense confidence in himself, or rather in his craft, as he repeatedly asserts that the song he's working on will put the turn of the seasons right again with complete certainty and effectively solve all of his and Eurydice's problems.

This is something of a double-edged sword as well, however. For one thing, his confidence turns easily to naivete, his certainty that spring's return will fix everything arguably coming from his experience with the wider world largely coming from epic stories where solutions are straightforward and heroic rather than his own personal experience. It also leads him to neglect practical concerns like food and firewood during the unusually harsh winter that follows Persephone's departure, as he's too busy composing in an attempt to bring the seasons back to pay attention, convinced that his way is the truest solution.

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 confidence in other people.

Aside from his general good-naturedness, 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.

Additionally, Orpheus is a deeply determined person, also as touched on before. He endures an unnaturally long and harsh winter focusing on nothing but writing the song that he's convinced will bring back spring, despite meagre rations and bitter cold. When his attention finally slips from that and returns to Eurydice's predicament, he vows to and successfully walks into Hadestown from the world above - a road that no one has ever walked before - moving obstacles out of his way by the sheer beauty and emotion of his songs. When he arrives he's beaten and informed that Eurydice signed her life away to Hades, which causes him to falter for a moment, but over the course of a song he's able to pick himself back up and regain his determination to bring her back out of Hadestown.

Overall, Orpheus is earnest and intensely honest, with a tendency to view the world in black and white with a heavy lean towards white. He wears his heart on his sleeve and speaks his mind, and feels things incredibly deeply, breaking through to Hades by emphathizing with him and reminding him of his feelings from long ago. Orpheus's greatest strengths are his optimism and his ability to see beauty in everything and everyone, and his greatest weaknesses are his naivete and tendency towards simplistic thinking as well as his habit of over-focusing on single tasks.

Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: Orpheus is for the most part a bog standard human, but he's got some abilities that stem from his musical prowess. It's difficult to say for sure what's real and what's symbolic given that this is a musical canon, but two things we can pick out for sure is that his songs can summon flowers in the dead of winter and cause stones to weep and move out of his way. It's implied that the latter at least is tied to strong emotion, so he probably can't do it on command so much as when he needs to for whatever reason.
Inventory:

• Clothes (Shirt, pants, underwear, suspenders, socks, shoes, neckerchief)
• Acoustic guitar (everyone in the play calls it a lyre but it's inexplicably a guitar)

Writing Samples: 1 & 2

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: QV
Player Age: 25
Player Contact: questionableveracity | Discord: quodVide#2951

Other Characters In Game: None
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Orpheus: QV
Permissions for Character: Here
Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?: Yes! I'm more interested in other characters knowing the original myth of Orpheus and Eurydice than I am in them knowing Hadestown specifically, but I'm happy to play with either aspect.
What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?: I like people being challenged to be the worst versions of themselves or to give into their fears about how others perceive them. The topic of memory and how it can change over time is also a big plus for me, as is how positive traits can be warped into negative ones in excess or in the wrong situation. Depersonalization and questioning where your "self" ends and your trauma/experiences begin are also fun. On a less deep note, I'm also a big fan of body horror.
Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?: Minor/adult sex is my only hard no, but I appreciate warnings for your standard triggers.
Additional Information: None that I can think of.