#blame it on the Eurydice and Orpheus parallels

[nums-bird]

Proof that context always flies over my head is that I've listened to Talk by Hozier for about a year and I only just found out that the poetic things he was saying were satirical and made to mock pretentious men.Damn😞

[honey-tongued-devil]

The Myth of Orpheus (Arcane 2)

I just watched the first three episodes of Arcane 2 and noticed the parallel between Jayce and Orpheus, so I quickly jotted down this analysis.

Would you ever blame Orpheus for loving Eurydice so much that he descended into the Underworld for her?  

Defying death is not only madness; it’s almost blasphemous if one believes in a god that controls it. Yet Orpheus loves like a loyal dog, weeps for his beloved's death, and despairs: they were so close to marriage, but something interfered, a serpent, child of evil, came between him and his love.

And what meaning does his life have if he cannot share it with her? What is the meaning of the ground he treads, if his steps are not close to hers? What is the meaning of breathing, if the air he inhales is not filled with her scent? What is the meaning of that place he calls home, if he cannot share it with her?

In the same way, Jayce realizes Viktor is lying among the rubble, and he doesn’t even have time to fully take in the scene before he finds himself, confused and frightened, running with his companion’s body in his arms, holding him so tightly for fear he might slip away, vanish, no longer belong to him.

Defying death is not only madness; it’s almost blasphemous when one relies on an arcane power that seems to be alive, unpredictable, like a god out of control. Yet Jayce loves like a loyal dog, mourns Viktor before he’s even dead, and despairs: they were so close to realizing their dream, but something interfered, a serpent, daughter of evil, came between him and his love.

What changes between the myth of Orpheus and what happens to Jayce is the outcome: Jayce was faster, and his descent into the Underworld succeeded.  

But there is no happy ending.  

Orpheus fails in his endeavor because he loves Eurydice too much and turns back, and Hades knew this. He gave Orpheus an impossible challenge because no one can return from the realm of the dead. If Eurydice had come back among the living, she would not have been the same; she would have been only a ghost, a shadow.

Jayce achieved a feat that, on its own, killed god. Jayce didn’t turn back, because he was no longer guided by love but by blind desperation. He didn’t look back when he brought Viktor into the lab, nor when he took into his hands a power he couldn’t control, nor when he failed to consider that everything Hextech had touched had died.  

Jayce was desperate; anything before him, even a false prophet, was a solid anchor if it could bring Viktor back to him.

And his Eurydice emerges from the mountain.  

A ghost, cold, a living body with a distant soul.  

Jayce was wrong, yes, but would you ever blame him for loving Viktor so much?

[softantlers]

Do you have any hopes for what the writers would include or explore in a post-rescue tl?

thanks for asking! i am not really sure how they could pull any of this off with what they've already set forth, but these are things that i think could be juicy???

lottienat- i'm always going to be a lottienat shipper first and foremost, and i want them to have a goodbye before lottie is institutionalized. i think it would be an interesting dynamic if nat didn't feel like she could break through to lottie (her being nonverbal), her trying to like she did when lottie said she was staying behind and ultimately... she walks away because what can she do? (before everyone sets me on fire, she's a teenager in the 90s- she has no idea what lottie is going to go through; she prolly thinks it's for her own good.) they have always had an orpheus/eurydice vibe to me. nat looks over her shoulder & lottie is lost to the underworld.

butcherqueen- i want to see shauna and lottie as more precise foils. i want to see the fallout of what ableism and implicit racism do to people once they reenter society. i think it's a measure of the world around us that lottie is the one who is blamed for everything & gets scapegoated and institutionalized while shauna is clearly off her rocker but goes on to be accepted into the world as this quintessential white soccer mom with no resistance. (i am sometimes frustrated that there isn't resentment there because i think it would make the shautie dynamic much more interesting.)

taivan- we'll have to see taissa and van breaking up & i'm not against this but i hope they rely on more than homophobia as the principle reason. i am still unclear on the finale, but it seems that van essentially betrayed tai by working with nat and misty for the transponder. i guess what i would like to see is them trying to make it work (closeted) in the outside world but still wrestling with their tension (tai basically influenced van to stack the cards, which ultimately resulted in mari's death--even though shauna intervened, it's on van at the end of the day for taking the risk). i want them to have tension about rescue too. so, i want it to be a combination of van not being able to deal with being in the closet & also all of those conflict points between them.

taishauna- the show is really going to have to convince me on this of how the fuck tai (& frankly everyone else) reconciled with shauna after her lil dictatorship out there. i'm not sure how they'll do it but i want to see them at least try, since they made tai her primary confidant and ally in the adult timeline. i actually think this could be so rich to explore between the post-rescue and adult timeline, since taissa is pretty much fucking over shauna by the end of the finale in the present day. it would be a really satisfying parallel to see them reconcile and become each other's anchor (perhaps in the wake of van breakup, idk) while flashing forward to adult taissa gunning to kill shauna lmao.

lottie- i want more of her before institutionalization. i've always said i want to see her moved by an actual intentional community, but i don't know if the writers have the chops to pull it off with the way they made her gucci commune. i also want more time with her mom & the fallout from the divorce. literally holding a gun to the writers to give me lottie's mom or so help me. idgaf about her dad-- being mixed race, we need to see that relationship with her mom to get a better understanding of her social isolation and what anchors her to her competing identities. please, please, please.

what you did when you got back- i still don't think we've fully realized what's going on with jackie's implication that they did terrible things when they got back... with mari dead & akilah missing in the finale, we've got quite a few people straggling (britt, robin, gen) who are presumably dead in the current timeline. i want them to have more compelling deaths than just dying in between the end of the wilderness and rescue. at least one of them imo should die because they threaten to out everyone for their actions out there. i hate to say it but i think gen could be the biggest contender with this, and i think it could be an interesting reason for melissa to fake her death.

(sidebar: i am not implying i want more fridging for the characters of color, but at the end of the day, this is the dynamic that yellowjackets has already set up, so i'm trying to coax some meaning out of the deaths. at the same time, i would not be upset if gen is actually a survivor unbeknownst for whatever reason to the rest, and i would deeply fuck with that.) but yeah, i think at least one of them has to die after rescue at the hands of the others. it's too juicy a premise to let up.

[mbep]

DAV Solavellan ending musings

This is too long to post on Twitter so it's going here, on the blog I haven't touched in years, because I have to scream into the void. I can't possibly compete with the hardcore Solavellans who have been following this saga for a long time (I only got into DA last year by playing DAI and the DLCs) so this isn't a comprehensive or deep analysis by any means, but I love them all the same.

I got into DA because the Twitter algorithm put Solavellans on my timeline and I am eternally grateful for that. I already knew all the story beats (and the big reveal that he's Fen'harel) before playing DAI and I enjoyed catching the moments where he's obviously hiding something. The scene in Crestwood and the parting in Trespasser still made me emotional, even knowing what was coming.

The final scene in DAV was short, but no less meaningful. I think that was mostly to avoid creating such a big gulf between romanced and non-romanced Inquisitors and I'm glad Bioware didn't create that inequality, on behalf of the non-Solasmancers.

The first thing I will say is that Gareth David-Lloyd does a phenomenal job with the acting. They've been great since DAI, and they're a big reason why Solas is such a charming, nuanced and compelling character. The whispered "vhenan", the strained "Mythal", the sobbing, how quiet "ar ghilas vir banal" is… They deserve at least an award (all of them in fact) for that.

The animation is amazing too: how Solas doubles over when Mythal finally acknowledges how she set him on this path and shares the blame, his wet eyes and facial expressions looking at the Inquisitor… The thing I love most is him not looking back when leaving, and her putting her hand on his shoulder as they enter the Fade. Very Orpheus and Eurydice, but he does what Orpheus could not: he does not look back. He trusts that she is there and if she is not and has a sudden change of heart and leaves him, he will not blame her. But she is there, and lays a guiding hand on his shoulder; "Ma ghilana, vhenan", as the Inquisitor tells him in Trespasser.

There are a lot of Trespasser parallels and a lot of people more knowledgeable that I have analysed them, but I love how much this scene is a response to that. So here's my two cents: "I walk the din'anshiral. There is only death on this journey." = "I am here, walking the dinan'shiral with you." Weirdly they spell "din'anshiral" differently in the subtitles LOL I personally think the Trespasser spelling is correct. This is the line that hits hardest, in my opinion. She says this the first time they see each other again, when they don't even know they are leaving together. She means that all this time, the years apart, she has walked with him. She has not stopped searching for him, trying to find a way to change his heart (as the epilogue of Trespasser says). All this time he thought he was alone, she was there with him: both have been feeling the pain of their separation, the burden that his duty to Mythal has put on each of them (him having to fix their mistakes and her trying to change his mind), the regret they both have that things might have gone differently.

"Var lath vir suledin." "I wish it could, vhenan." = "There is no fate but the love we share." The translation from elven is very sweet, but a very interesting choice. In elven she actually says "Banal nadas. Ar lath ma, vhenan." Two sentences that Solas says in DAI: "Banal nadas." / "Nothing is known for certain." Said by Solas to the nightmare demon in the Fade when it taunts him by saying "Your pride is responsible for everything that has gone wrong; you will die alone." The same quest reveals that Solas's greatest fear is dying alone. She reminds him of what he said then, that the nightmare demon is wrong: he is not alone, he can change that fate. "Ar lath ma, vhenan." Solas's confession of love to the Inquisitor. I don't think she ever actually tells him she loves him in DAI. Eight-ish years later, she says it back to him, proving that their love did indeed find a way to endure.

"I cannot bear to think of you alone." = "But you do not have to go alone." He is once again leaving to right a wrong. In Trespasser, he was leaving to do what he thought was best, what he wanted to do to fix his mistakes. Here, he is leaving to seek atonement, to soothe hurts not with violence, but repentance. And she once again offers to go with him. (I personally didn't choose this dialogue option in Trespasser because I don't think my Inquisitor agreed with what he wanted to do, but it's a very sweet line nonetheless) This time, with all that has changed, he is more open to letting her go with him, but he still cautions her: "Where I am going is terrible." I love the translation of her reply: "It won't be terrible if you're with me," because the order of the pronouns is interesting to me. Not sure if it's intentional, but I feel like I would have said "It won't be terrible if I'm with you." It's very subtle, but I think there is a difference: "if I'm with you" puts a lot of emphasis on the Inquisitor, i.e. "I make things better"; "if you're with me" means the same thing but it's humbler, less prideful, i.e. "I will be there for you to make things better".

The parallels in animation are also great. The way he turns when she speaks as he's leaving, the bow when he says "ir abelas, vhenan"… THE KISS. God, the way they hold hands like they do in Trespasser is insane.

The music in this scene is the best in the game, and it's a crime that it's not on the official soundtrack. Not just the atonement music, but the way it shifts into "Lost Elf Theme" from Trespasser once the Inquisitor steps forward gives this scene the emotional weight the music in DAV honestly doesn't have. The music is a big part of why I cried watching this.

Side notes:

-My Inquisitor looks nothing like she did in DAI LOL Hey, I was already hours into CC, it frustrated me that the presets were so different from DAI and I did not have the patience to tweak everything. Also I'm horrible at distinguishing faces. She still looks pretty so I guess she got a glow up during their time apart LOL Vivienne and Leliana took her to get a makeover in Val Royeaux.

-The DAV soundtrack honestly isn't bad. I enjoy quite a few tracks on it; "Where the Dead Must Go" and "Not the Chosen One" are among my favorites. The main theme isn't compelling though, and "The Dread Wolf" track would have made a better main theme (it's the best track on the album). The OST lends the atmosphere that music is supposed to, but it doesn't have the character on its own that the music in DAI does (thank you, Trevor Morris). I could be anywhere in the world doing anything and if I heard the DAI main theme I would lose my mind. "Lost Elf Theme" always makes me so emotional; it's a plea, a feeling of hopefulness and being resigned to one's fate at the same time.

[moonchild-in-blue]

I need everyone to watch Kaos (from Netflix) right now, please and thank you. Quite possibly my favourite modern retelling of the Greek myths / Olympic pantheon.

The story revolves mainly around Orpheus and Eurydice (Riddy), and around Zeus and a certain not-so-great prophecy. Dionysus is one of our main stars and he's great and amazing and hot and absolutely babygirl.

Yes there are a LOT of references and myths and characters beyond the main Olympians (Zeus' famous kids don't even appear). Yes you see Prometheus having his liver pecked. Yes, we do get to see the Minotaur & Co. Hades and Persephone too, obviously. Yes, there is A TON of great poc and queer rep. Yes, there is blood and sex and violence and poignant society AND religious commentary. Yes, you do get old man yaoi. Yes, Jeff Goldblum as Zeus is incredible and no joke my new favourite portrayal of him (Zeus). Yes, they are faithful to the "doomed from the start" narrative of Orpheus and Eurydice. Yes, Hera does have her peacocks.

Please please please go watch it please it's so great and visually beautiful and amazing. Pirate that thang if you must.

My thoughts whilst watching the show - no plot spoilers but be warned for mild thematic/ character/ setting commentary. Generally safe to read if you haven't watched it yet and don't mind a little preview:

SOUNDTRACK IS WOW. Don't Fear The Reaper? On episode one?? The song I've been listening over and over because of a certain beloved band has made a cover of it???

Love how they portray the worship of gods as something that is part of their daily lives and culture without seeming too "gimmicky".

There are clear parallels to Catholicism in the way they conduct themselves (either in favour or against the gods; all the little rituals and traditions), and it's quite interesting to see how would modern society function if Hellenism (or rather the ancient practices. pls correct me if I'm wrong) were the primary (and as far as I got it only) established religion in the world.

The "Vero" declaration with the hand gesture as part of Olympian liturgy? Amazing. Interesting choice in using Latin rather than Ancient Greek, but very cool nonetheless.

A significant amount of casual mentions of horrifying violent acts by the gods, and even some healthy dose of violence/ blood. Thought it was very interesting to see Zeus discussing infanticide and natural catastrophes the way we discuss the weather or grocery prices. They really leaned heavily into the whole grandeur and arrogance of gods in regards to human life which I super appreciate. I'm tired of seeing passive, Cool and Hip and Benevolent Zeus & Co.

Also the amount of criticism by the god-haters (Blasphemes? Non-sympathisers?) feels very refreshing (and on the nose concerning irl organised religions), especially in contrast with the more devout and how they put their life in second place in lieu of worship (yes I'm thinking about the Tacitas AND the Celebration Ritual™ iykwim).

The subversion of the "doomed from the start" narrative surrounding Orpheus and Eurydice is done so beautifully it hurts. Right from the first moment they appear, you know how it'll go. And yet!!

You know what happens, of course. Their story was never meant have a happy ending. But the way they took that and put a modern spin on it it's just!!!! My heart !!!!

I was rooting for Orpheus the entire time, knowing damn well it was a lost cause. I can't blame Riddy, but my God is it painful to watch. LOVED the actor who played him, he just the right amount of earnest love and rockstar flair. Riddy is SO cool - there's not much I can say beyond that that isn't a spoiler but. Yeah. We love complex female characters.

I'm gonna be really petty and pedantic here, but for a show revolving GREEK mythology, set in Olympia / Krete, with sooo many little references to the myths, it is CRIMINAL that they insist on calling Heracles by his roman name (Hercules), and that they refer to Hades as God "Of Death" instead of God "Of The Dead" / King Of The Dead. There's a major difference there - Thanatos would like a word.

Troytown? Where the Trojan refugees (displaced war victims really) are *literally* segregated to (their exact words, segregation), and even use those nose lines/tattoos as way to identify them? Where they face scrutiny and police brutality and prejudice from the Kreteans? As a clear reference to minority poc urban areas and how they are unfairly mistreated and deemed as "others" by the same governments who put them there in the first place??? YES YES YES.

A lot of queer and poc rep. And I mean A LOT. The Fates alone are a whole vibe.

Again, it doesn't feel gimmicky at all, nor does it fall under the "okay they're definitely trying to hit all the quotas so everybody is gay and ethnic and uses neo-pronouns" trend some media are starting to follow, which really just end up falling flat rather than significant (looking at you Sex Ed 4). An actual diversity win.

If you're familiar with the story of Caeneus, you'll love how they portrayed him here.

Dionysus is everything and some more. I love him. Prometheus is incredible. Jeff Goldblum as Zeus goes above and beyond expectations - he brings that Goldblum Flair™ but with an intense violence and paranoia you could only pull off as King of the Gods. Hera is just wow, truly a queen.

Hades and Persephone have an *interesting* dynamic - have never seen him being portrayed like that before. Usually Hades and Persie are the "dom goth Mommy and Daddy" of mythology retellings, and yet here it's completely different. Certainly *A Choice*. I don't mind Hades, but would've liked to see "goddess of spring & dreaded" Persephone.

I understood the vision, but I don't think it worked *quite* as well as the other ones. She's still super cool nonetheless - that sandwich scene was incredible.

Also - VERY COOL how diverse the actors are. With the exception of Dionysus who is objectively Young and Hot, pretty much all the other gods (and adjacent) are middle-aged or up, with visible signs of aging (grey hairs, wrinkles, sagging skin, belly fat, etc), which is cool cus usually the gods are made to be a specific flavour of "hot".

The Furies, who could've been all snatched and sexy and token Femme Fatale characters, are actually older butch women with mean lesbian energy and I think that's very cool and awesome and wonderful.

Even the human cast is so diverse and interesting and REAL, rather than yet another yassified ensemble - it's great to see. Not everyone is conventionally hot and attractive, and THAT is sexy af.

All the little Easter eggs and references to the myths and general ancient Greece culture are SO nice to see. I giggled when Polyphemus first appeared. That first scene on the cereal aisle was very funny. Gagged at Cassandra.

Stylistic choice of the Underworld environment and on-camera portrayal is chef's kiss. That's all I'll say.

LABYRINTH AND DAEDALUS YES. Would smash the Minotaur, 1000%. That Scene™ was. Hmmmmm yeah.

Overall I loved it and high key might re-watch it again. What an amazing show. This was a win for all of us Greek Myth nerds, and I'll be truly devastated if Netflix doesn't renew it for a second season.

[a-couple-of-notes]

parallels and quests in stray gods

So a couple of people have pointed out that the Asterion/Hecate quest in Stray Gods is meant to parallel Freddie's character arc...and yeah, it absolutely is. An awkward but charming and devoted person secretly in love with their best friend, who they live with? The entire quest predicated on the idea that it's better if you confess your feelings rather than keeping them bottled up? Of course it's a parallel.

But also...all the quests are meant to parallel the LI's character arcs.

I'll start with Pan, since he's the biggest stretch; his parallel is Medusa's den. It's the only quest he shows up for, if you're playing it that way. In it, Grace confronts Medusa, who has been ostracized and suspected by the other Idols, who has done some bad things but not everything she's been blamed for, who's working on some form of redemption. Depending on how you play your relationship, this can parallel Pan's character, as your influence inspires him to try to be a better person.

Aphrodite's party is Apollo's parallel quest. Apollo and Aphrodite are similarly depressed, stuck in the past, and deeply fixated on a person they've lost and wronged (Calliope and Hephaestus, respectively.) Just like Aphrodite believes the only way to deal with her trauma is to pass her eidolon onto Venus and retreat from the world for a while, Apollo believes he must hide away, mourning Calliope and protecting Grace from himself. It's even implied that the Apollo before Lucas wanted to give up his eidolon entirely, having found peace in death (a self-explanatory parallel to Aphrodite's ritual). Through your explorations of and responses to Aphrodite's worldview/ritual, you're determining your own stance on Apollo's very parallel worldview: can you find the joy in living?

And the journey to the Underworld is Persephone's parallel quest. Like Persephone, Orpheus is hurt, angry, and holding a grudge. They've both been wronged by Hades and are relying on the throne to give them some semblance of what they really want (Eurydice for Orpheus, Calliope and peace for Persephone). The quest to get Persephone's throne and confront Orpheus is really, like all the others, helping Persephone face herself and move past it.

Incidentally, this is why (even though there's technically no canonical version of the songs) I think some of them work narratively better than others. I have to let Freddie intervene in "Cast a Spell" because it's a step on her journey to confessing to Grace (whether Grace reciprocates or not). I have to urge Aphrodite to live in "The Ritual," because Apollo's parallel character arc is all about finding the joy in life again. I need to make Persephone reconcile with Orpheus in "The Throne" because that's the culmination of Persephone reconciling with the darkest, most bitter parts of herself (bonus points if she gives up the throne, too).

Anyway, Stray Gods is a good game with some good love interests.

[bloedewir]

Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden

Life to The Living. Death to The Dead.

I just finished my playthrough and.. it's forever in my heart since now. Truly. I'm in love with this game.

Orpheus and Eurydice parallels broke my heart because I never understand why can't you just do it right man? Why cant you bring her back? Rules was so simple. Just don't look back you dumbass. (Game itself answering this question and shows you why it's so hard not to look back but i don't want to spoil the fun with spoilers)

Anyway it's all about love.

Healing. Twisted. Pure. Corrupted. Inspirational. Devastating.

All of it at once.

Will you fight for it? Will you endure? Will you embrace your losts to keep going? Will you seek? Will you sacrifice everything to win the fight?

Decisions you make will change not the ending, it will change Red and Antea. I think it's truly beautiful story. No matter what choice you've made.

(and special thanks to game for not blaming me for what I've became at the end)

[cornillama]

Thinking about Aziraphale and Orpheus...

Since my brain is rotting in a slush of Good Omens and Hadestown 24/7, I thought I might as well make ~connections~ (so this will all be specifically referring to the Hadestown version of the myth and characters)

So, I think it's pretty intuitive to say that Aziraphale parallels Orpheus while Crowley is more similar to Eurydice, and I initially was mostly thinking this because Orpheus turning around reminds me of Aziraphale's leaving in the final fifteen—but that is such a depressing interpretation of both characters. Really, I think what they most have in common is how they are motivated, and how that shows under the pressure of losing or gaining what they love.

Both of them face the prospect of losing the person they love, Orpheus in Eurydice's death, Aziraphale in the potential punishment Heaven and Hell might have in store for him and Crowley. They both also are seeing, perhaps for the first time, the good that they could bring the world. In Hadestown, Orpheus just started a revolution! He finished the song he'd been working on for years and finally had the chance to make some significant change. The only problem was that he might lose the person who inspired him to take action in the first place. Aziraphale sees the potential for revolution in Heaven, the chance of improving the system from the inside, and, for a minute, he thinks he can take Crowley with him. He thinks they're going to walk out of the Underworld side by side, hand in hand. Crowley's the one who gives him the bad news that it's not that simple—the system doesn't want them to win, and if Aziraphale gets the chance he wants, he's going to have to walk through darkness for a while.

I'm not trying to blame Crowley or say he's wrong for not wanting to go to Heaven with Aziraphale here. I don't think that would have been a good choice for either of them. I do think, though, that it's possible for Aziraphale to truly do the good he's always sought for as the Archangel, as long as he keeps playing on his side. It would have been nice if he'd explained that to Crowley, but as it is, Aziraphale will be in the dark, walking the road out of Hell (meaning this word very figuratively here) by himself.

So the question is, will he turn around? (come on, we all know he will)

I think one of the most compelling interpretations of Orpheus is that he didn't turn around because he was weak, or because he didn't trust that Eurydice would be behind him (though those both play into it), but because his love is so strong that he has to. Both Aziraphale and Orpheus want so badly to make the world a better place, but they lose sight of their own love in that wanting.

The difference between Orpheus and Azirapahle is that Orpheus didn't have a way out. He couldn't tear the underworld apart, so he lost both his love and the love of the world he was trying so hard to save. If Aziraphale doesn't want to end up the same, the gods need to go.

[secretly-a-catamount]

Personally I would’ve kept this in, but moved it to Come Home With Me (Reprise), that way we can still keep the parallel in and keep the ending the way it already is.

Come home with me It’s you It’s me You’re early I missed you Orpheus Eurydice I called your name before I know You heard? No, Mr. Hermes told me so Whatever happened I’m to blame No! You called my name You came, but how did you get here? On the train? No, I walked a long way How’d you get beyond the wall? I sang a song, so beautiful Stones wept and they let me And I can sing a song again No, you can’t Yes, I can! No, you don’t understand

“Those last two lines were a repeat of the Hades and Persephone exchange in “Way Down Hadestown.” I threw them into a draft on a whim, uncertain if they would make sense to anyone. Some loved them and some didn’t; the creative team was divided right down the middle. I liked the symmetry and the idea that the young couple had, at some level, “become” the older one. But the lines seemed to require the engagement of the mind at a tragic moment when it felt better to simply engage the heart. In subsequent productions I instead had the lovers cosmically “name” each other . . . one last time.” — Anaïs Mitchell (Working on a Song: The Lyrics of HADESTOWN)

[aficionadoenthusiast]

listen i don't know how many of you have seen or listened to hadestown, but I hope I've sung it's praises enough that at least a few have. regardless, I need to scream about it.

at the beginning, eurydice was cynical and had spent her whole life looking out for herself out of necessity, and then orpheus came and turned her whole world upside down.

this is the part that really really gets to me, because it parallels the part later in the musical when eurydice had to choose between leaving and staying. just like then, she had to choose between falling for orpheus or continuing her life as a lone drifter. either way, it was a gamble. she knew that falling for orpheus would mean another person to support, something neither of them could afford. eurydice knew that if she allowed herself to fall for him, she was making herself vulnerable to running out of food, and she was afraid of being tied to someone because it would make it harder to leave when something bad happened - like a storm. however, much like her choice between leaving and staying wasn't really a choice, her choice between falling and ignoring wasn't really a choice because she had already fallen. she was all in; she followed orpheus into the unknown - the "cold and dark".

then, later, she does run out of food. the wind changes, and she has to leave to find food and firewood, and orpheus forgets to look up. hades presents her with a choice, but there's no good decision. she's about to die of starvation in the middle of a winter storm, but even through that, the roles flip. eurydice doesn't blame orpheus any more than he blames her because she is no longer the cynical loner, and he is no longer the idealist. but eurydice was right to believe in her lover because he wastes no time trying to get to her.

it ties back to the line, "Who am I that I should get to hold you?" he never thought he was worthy of her, but then we hear the line, "Who are you to think that you could ever walk the road that no one's ever walked before?" and he wasn't deterred from trying to get to eurydice, not even by the fates themselves, because even though he thought he wasn't worthy of her, he never thought for a second that she wasn't worthy of being rescued because of his mistake. but then, we hear the line, "Who am I to think that she would follow me into the cold and dark again?" after they leave the underworld. even after everything they had been through together, even after they both had proven their devotion, orpheus is still afraid that he isn't worthy of her, but eurydice never lost her faith in him, and that's so sweet that they both love the other so much, that love was their undoing.

and I think that just makes it that much sadder.

[jaxs-beanie]

Out of all the Hadestown characters, the one that’s changed the most over the years is Orpheus. In Vermont and the album his personality was less-defined compared to later on, but key traits were his distrust of Hades and Hadestown, his love for Eurydice and determination to find her, and his more melancholy vibe compared to later iterations, with Bay Campbell’s Orpheus in Vermont living in an explicitly post-apocalyptic world, while Justin Vernon’s Orpheus on the album has a three-layered voice to haunting effect, especially in ‘Wait For Me.’

By the NYTW production with Damon Daunno, Orpheus’s personality was expanded to be more of a free-spirited revolutionary, as he sang about sharing what they had while also wondering why anyone would work in a place like Hadestown. This Orpheus was full of confidence, though at least part of it was a facade, as when Eurydice asked if he was always this confident, he said ‘When I look at you I am’. He saw her as someone stronger than himself, but was determined to marry her even when he went to Hadestown. ‘I came all this way to ask you to.’ He was also very hurt by Eurydice leaving, as seen in NYTW Promises, If It’s True, and Doubt Comes In, which were unchanged from the album at this time.

By Edmonton with Reeve Carney in the role, Orpheus’s personality was similar to NYTW, but a greater focus was placed on his connection to nature; his ‘home’ was in the middle of nowhere and he was reluctant to leave, and he looked forward to spring arriving. For the first time there was a mention of his backstory, with his mother being a Muse, and instead of following Eurydice to Hadestown to marry her he was more clearly defined as wanting to rescue her; with the addition of the Workers, If it’s True became half-lament and half call to action as he considered the shades that just beat him up friends in his stand against Hades. This version of Doubt Comes In also has Orpheus in complete denial, as he was desperate to believe Eurydice was with him even as the Fates reminded him that she left before and could again.

By London, Orpheus gained a bit of rockstar swagger that was closer to Damon’s portrayal, and his project to bring back spring appeared for the first time. While this Orpheus didn’t rail against Hadestown right away, those lines being given to Hermes and Persephone, he thrived in the crowd and the open air, telling Eurydice in All I’ve Ever Known that he ‘always had a crowd to gather ‘round me’ and much of his love language was based around touch. Orpheus also focused more on the why of Hades and Persephone’s situation than before, with Epic II and Chant now being devoted to working out why the seasons were wrong and the gods were arguing. One crucial change in If It’s True compared to Edmonton was changing ‘Everybody for himself, they say/Your lover felt the same’ to ‘Everybody for himself, they say/I guess you felt the same’, which cast some blame on Eurydice for leaving him and acted as a parallel to Hades’ frustrations. Epic III in this iteration was a combination of earlier drafts and the one used on Broadway, and Doubt Comes In was now a full-blown existential crisis as he no longer saw the world how it could be.

Broadway and the National Tour brought the most significant changes to Orpheus’s character since the NYTW days; his project to bring back spring and his muse mother were retained, but he was now a sensitive, innocent soul who wore his heart out on his sleeve. Hermes raised him after his mother abandoned him, and for the first time Orpheus had a job, cleaning tables at the station and waiting on Persephone when she came up top. The softer initial portrayal serves to contrast his growing revolutionary spirit when faced with Hades' injustice towards the Workers, and further developed the tragedy by having him and Eurydice essentially swap roles by the end. This Orpheus is also very empathetic and strives to understand Hades as a person, best exemplified in the revised Epic II and III where, instead of calling out his treatment of others as in previous drafts, he realizes Hades is lonely and jealous of Persephone’s time above, and fell in love with her in the same way Orpheus did with Eurydice. It makes it all the more tragic when, as with every previous version, Orpheus doubts himself and Hades’ promise and ultimately turns around, now too jaded by his time in Hadestown and experience with the ‘real world’ to trust as easily.

Whichever version is your favorite, Orpheus has changed a lot over the years, and every iteration brought something unique and new to the table!

[headfieldmedicwillsolace]

i loved the that bit at the battle of manhattan with clarisse and selina and the parallels to achilles and patroclus. i do think it would be cool if we saw more of that, though. this trapping of characters within narratives that aren’t their own. it doesn’t have to mean they die - only selina died patroclus’s death, clarisse didn’t die achilles’s. but there are so many opportunities for this repetition.

we could have annabeth trapped in bits and pieces of pieces of odysseus’s story. we’ve seen it happen before, but that was more her drawing on his tactics. have her forced to replay more of his story somehow where it becomes clear she’s playing his role.

with tsats - wasn’t it supposed to be an orpheus and eurydice retelling? man, was that a missed opportunity. not only to have that as a guiding force within the story, but to trap the characters within the retelling. they used orpheus’s door and now, for whatever reason, despite hades perhaps not wanting them to face this challenge, they are bound by orpheus’s rules. give them that danger at the end of their story where they’re not cursed by someone close to them, but are simply placed within the narrative and are not allowed to escape until they complete it.

it could be blamed on whoever. the fates, different gods, etc etc. but the option to have the present characters trapped within past stories and forced to play a part in their retellings would be so interesting.

[papenathys]

please rant about portrait of a lady on fire

rant is such a violent word for a movie I feel so tenderly about!!

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a movie crafted by, about and for women, specifically wlw. the female gaze is presented in a sublime manner here; there is nothing gratuitous about the nudity or unnecessarily angsty about the bittersweet story itself, I never felt uncomfortable watching any scene. it just revels in female solidarity and sapphic love in this measured, hopeful manner that is ultimately rooted in music, art and mythical motifs as much as it is grounded in the stark reality. so many things about this film make me feel dazed and wild when I think about them:

(spoilers for portrait of a lady on fire)

the way this movie takes the artist muse stereotype and subverts it completely by actually giving the muse a voice, reminding us they are not An Exotic Object but A Person Who Exists. when marianne shows héloïse the first portrait, she is angry and upset: "is this what you think of me?" immediately, marianne defensively retorts that art isn't always true to life, it's stitched together with a few liberties/conventions. to which héloïse claims the art may be structurally sound but there is "no life" because it's a picture made from a falsity, when the artist is dishonest and disrespects the muse's agency.

"I have never seen her smile." "well, have you tried being funny?"

the LAYERS™ to that piano scene, and how it is tied to héloïse's lifelong lack of agency and how symbolic it is that their first genuine moment of honesty and last moment together onscreen is set to the same piece of music.

"being free is being alone?" "isn't it?" "i'll tell you tomorrow".

"In solitude I felt the liberty you spoke of, but I also felt your absence." (PARALLEL!!! when héloïse's mother thanked marianne for making her laugh, the latter protesting that she didn't really do anything and the mother reassuring "it takes two to be funny, you cannot laugh alone")

HNG the scene when the muse becomes the artist and ticks off every single intimate detail she has memorised from marianne's face! But wow what a moment I felt the tension through my dirt-caked laptop screen.

women!!!!!! female solidarity!!!! not just the romantic love but the shared sisterhood of the retreat, the moments of sympathy between héloïse's mother and marianne, sophie and the two women playing cards!!! (my favourite scene) giving the younger woman strength through company and comfort!!

the beach campfire scene, wow it was kind of dreamlike and eerie; you could say that for the whole film but this scene in particular BRUH

héloïse and marianne shrouding themselves in veils and scarves every time they walk, because both of them fiercely hold their true selves away from the other, while also attempting to know the other. later, finally ripping off those veils after they've been honest, after they have allowed each other to perceive and be perceived completely, sharing their first kiss in a cave.

"you dreamt of me? no I thought of you." SOULMATES SUCK THEY LOVE EACH OTHER ON PURPOSE.

they are so in love page 28 amirite ladies

what I love about this movie (many lgbtq films can learn from it too) is that it makes sure not to victim blame héloïse. after the whimsical honeymoon phase when they are eventually confronted with the bleak reality I love that the movie gently shows marianne (and the audience) that society is not just something you can reject in a utopian bubble. at the same time "do not regret. remember."

just the whole wedding dress hallucinations and the orpheus eurydice allegory and the final "turn around" and me hysterically sobbing. (as owen said in bly manor "perhaps the work of loving someone is worth the pain of losing them")

the final scene in the theatre!!!!! the lingering camerawork, the actresses doing all THAT (don't hate me, but it was kind of reminiscent of a popular problematique lgbtq movie. reply if you know which one I'm referring to)

noémie and adele are incredible actresses with effortless chemistry and the cinematography, music and dialogue are equally nuanced and each deserve equal appreciation. céline sciamma takes her time with what is clearly a very sincere labour of love, and it shows in every single moment of the film. cannot recommend it enough.

(note: I discovered it was released in Cannes on my birthday. a delightful coincidence.)

[fiddlepickdouglas]

So I've had this thought going for a few days and I hope I can articulate it well.

Understandably, there's some people who don't like Juke as a ship. The age gap between actors and the whole tragedy of Luke being dead while Julie isn't - those are the big factors in it. I'm not really here to dispute it or try to make anyone change their mind about them. Instead, I think I understand why some of us are drawn to Juke.

Comparing elements of the show to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice is basically standard in this fandom by now. What makes it even more fun is just how many parallels exist, but also the changing of roles. Caleb is Hades, that's pretty clear in this sense. I think the boys and Julie share the roles of Orpheus and Eurydice to some degree, but at different times. The first half of the show, it's a little mixed. The boys die an untimely death - very much part of the Eurydice story. But Julie has had a death of sorts within her own soul and the boys are the key to helping revive it. After all, Luke has qualities not unlike Orpheus.

The second half of the show is clearer: Julie is Orpheus now, the boys being Eurydice in full. Anyone familiar with the Greek myth can follow the storyline all the way into Tartarus [the HGC] and back without looking (haha I made a joke). But the original myth is a tragedy. They're not supposed to succeed. Orpheus turns around too early and his love falls right back into the underworld, the end.

In this version, we get success. We get hope, life, love, and freedom from "it's a sad song, it's a tragedy" (yeah, I am quoting Hadestown, you thought I wouldn't?) and wow what a refresher!

I know I haven't really talked about Juke specifically. The thing is, their type of chemistry is so subtle and has to build up before it really gains momentum, which is such a lovely and realistic thing. I've seen people say that if Luke and Julie didn't have music in common, or even their mommy issues, they wouldn't get along. Who knows if they would, tbh, but they do have those things. It's so much a part of them that it's hard to separate them from those things.

So we have people who are linked across generations, surpassing the laws of life and death, and we have a hopeful reversal of a classic tragedy. I don't blame any hard-core Juke shipper for going absolutely feral over that. If you still don't like it, you are completely valid as long as it isn't due to villainizing Julie. But yeah, I just figured that's a huge reason why this is such a fun ship to ship.

[samdyke]

could you explain the significance of orpheus and eurydice with purgatory deancas?

well anon my brain is soup but i sure can try!

i think we talk about orpheus and eurydice with the purgatory arc i think most directly because of the way that dean’s escape happened. cas was following him and they were both so close to escaping not from hades as in the myth, but from purgatory, where theyd both spent nearly a year being hunted and struggling to survive which is pretty hellish. and then they finally develop a plan to escape, and its WORKING and everything seems to be hopeful - cas is following deans lead, theyre almost to the portal, and then, in true tragic, mythic fashion - dean turns around. thats when the plan breaks down, because cas isnt following anymore, and dean cant save him. cas is lost to purgatory while dean is freed, just as the tribulations of orpheus to save his love eurydice from hades ended fruitlessly with him left to suffer her loss. both of the figures who successfully escape are left to torment themselves over what they could or should have done differently, how its their fault that their love is lost.

and i think that deancas just has a lot of parallels to the myth in general; their entire relationship exists in a state of defiance of fate and of the will of a greater power. how many times do we see them separated, seemingly impossibly out of reach, only to fight tooth and nail to reunite? it happens over and over and over again, their losing of each other and blaming themselves and aching in the separation only to struggle to return to the other’s side in direct opposition to death or to god or to any other power. theyre orpheus and eurydice over and over, inverted and repeated, losing and searching and struggling and doing all of it for love

[smidgen-of-hotboy]

OKAY- after an incredibly long day spent in the morning with family, lazing around into the afternoon, and panicking through uhhhh- 6 assignments (half of them discussion posts) in the evening, I bring you JAY'S THOUGHTS: EXTENDED CUT!

"Even when the world got rough" = Juno's thing about the world getting bigger and meaner, and also great nod towards Orpheus because his music was all he had after winter, after Eurydice

CHILD OF A GOD!! what does it MEAN!! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!!!! but also i love this nod towards being an artist (i call us Makers), because the call is always there. it itches under your skin, and it's hard to ignore it for forever. at some point you have to acknowledge it and let it back into your life. you can't not make forever. you have to get back to making eventually. even if it's painful.

"he did not want to be thinking of him right now" = parallel to Peter in Hadestown going "i don't want to be thinking about sweet innocent Juno right now"

"Juno wishes he had a chance to dance a little longer." I am stealing this and wrapping it up tight and warm and keeping it close to my chest because I'm pretty sure I have a similar if not the Exact Same line written in my planning doc for the Vespa/Buddy&Jet backstory.... and if not, then i'm stealing it because oh baby- sweet Zeph babe, we are going to hurt so many.

We learn: 1) Sarah did have something to do with Ben's death, she made a deal of some kind (for power) and got exactly what she wanted. 2) She either held no guilt for it (likely) and/or found pleasure in Juno's suffering (interesting choice of characterization if this is the case, because we know Sarah in canon to play favorites and blame Juno for a lot of things) 3) "thinking about the scarf he had found left behind at the gate to the underworld" VERY INTERESTING DETAILA because in the Buddy pov in Out in the Cold Field she loses her scarf on the way to Hadestown and keels over and almost dies in a blizzard. 4)"can't stand to remember the way the gatekeeper's voice had rasped into an ugly laugh when Juno had asked" JACK TAKANO REF? RAMSES O'FLAHERTY REF?? call me crazy, but Ramses is perhaps my favorite character BECAUSE of his broad sweeping ideals and terrible treatment of our heroine and his eventual death leaves so much desire. he's a horrible, ugly old man with piercing blue eyes and all my homies hate him and i hate him too BUT! i've never had so much fun wrapping my brain around another character and I'm happy he's dead (i may regret this in 12 hours we'll see)

"singing songs of mourning until his throat was raw and dawn was beginning to peal over the eastern horizon" = good ref to Orpheus, in some versions of the myth he sings and sings and sings, driving everyone else away and so sick and tired of his music, until Apollo comes down and BEGS him to stfu and in return he'll show the boy how to reach Eurydice.

"Ma never apologized. Juno never forgave her." ougggghhhh- this. hits. hard. there are so many things i hold grudges for and against my parents, and they never apologized. and even if they did- I would never forgive them. (nothing as severe as trading away my sibling for power but like- ya know. this is fiction.)

"He could never really play the guitar again." which is! interesting! because we never DO see Juno play his song on anything or any other way but the guitar. we know he plays the piano for Buddy and them at requests, but he doesn't pick the guitar as far as i can recall for any other reason EXCEPT his song to bring spring back

"Lose a leg, gain a crutch. Lose an eye, gain a patch. Lose a brother, gain a song." OUCH OUCH OUCH OOF OOP OUCH OWIEEEEE!!! this line will stick with me the longest. i'll be thinking about randomly at work in a couple of days

"He glanced over at Jet's face and wondered what he must be thinking. Probably that this was a bad idea. There was an unusual tightness in his jaw, a tension at the corners of his eyes that spoke volumes of his discomfort and stress." Jet IS thinking that this is a bad idea, but probably not for the reasons you think Juno. He is thinking about everything that led him to this moment and deciding if he regrets anything (the answer is no) and trying to think if there was anything more he could have done to keep you from walking this path (the answer is also no).

RITA YOU GOTTA GO GIRLIE!! no but fr- this is equivalent to the current ep whatever its called cant think rn just typing but yeah. Juno's never abandoned her like he has in canon since season 2. he promised they would go off together, and he's upheld that promise as much as he can. crying out loud Rita was the first Aurinko he rescued and had he Not she would've EXPLODED!!

lose a brother, gain a song. lose rita, and what more do you have to gain?

Juno's resolve "he had to make it through" = promised land part 2 (beloved beloathed) where he donates blood and decides that he will live just because he's one stubborn son of a bitch.

Juno finally tells Jet why he knows the road, Jet reveals a bit about himself (which, thank you Kay, for your incredible read on Jet so early on! Zeph and I celebrate it shamelessly and it's because of you that I wanna tackle the Vespa/Buddy&Jet backstory) and Jet talks to Juno so calmly. just- how many? how many times did he do this, how long, when did he start? i mention in Out in the Cold Field that Jet "hasn't gone by the Unnatural Disaster in the last century" (i forgor the actual quote) so just for how long exactly was he that? how much did he see and hear?

at the same time he is incredibly kind and considerate to Juno during this walk, despite being stern with him about not pushing for "his tragic backstory", Jet still remains kind to Juno.

AND FRIEND! HIS FRIEND! HE'S REFERRING TO M'TENDERE!! interesting how he refers to M'tendere here as his friend and not Associate or ex-Associate like he would in Out in the Cold Field hmmmm... (i am winking and nodding to everyone else in this room, zeph only you and i know what's up) Also i wanna point out now how M'tendere calls Jet "Big Guy" and Juno also calls him "Big Guy" sighh- did i write that detail knowingly? yes yes i did, and i will not hide it anymore

smth smth- Jet is a psychopomp and he's walked this road and tracks so many times and Juno's walked it once and smth smth about depression and the road and alcoholism and that road... smth smth Jet "we may look back only to ensure we have not walked this path before" (or however the quote goes)

CHILD OF THE GODDESS OF OUTCASTS!! AND TRAVELERS!! OOOOOH OKOKOKOKOKOK- Hephaestus is considered an outsider god because he was disabled but in general he wasn't cruel, he was a victim if anything else Dionysus was a god of foreigners and i guess by extention could be a god of travelers and if you stretch it outcasts, but he's more well known for wine and drinking Pan is an aspect of Dionysus, but he's god of shepherds. Hermes was a jack of all trades kinda god including travel, and i think it would be an interesting if this is who Sarah was embodying simply because a lot of Hermes lines from the original Musical have been tossed around and given to LOTS of other characters and it's been established that Rita is the one doing this retelling (similar to how Hermes does in the Musical)

Juno and Ben's understanding of the Situation has its gaps! they both understand similar a scenario of events but do not have the full picture. And Ben not knowing could also be blamed on him forgetting with time what happened.

"'Yeah. Everyone is.'" </3 IT'S NOT PITY JUNO!!! IT'S NOT PITY!!! Jet actually means it! If it were up to him he probably would've let you through....

"tugging him forward, forward, forward" = parallel to Peter last part striking and breathing

"'I did not leave Hadestown on the best of terms [NO SHIT JET M'TENDERE STOLE FUCKING FIRE!!], and I would be very upset if I were caught.'" [meaning either he's still on the lam, or he simply does not want to go back to hadestown so soon]

"'Do not consider this a goodbye. I will see you again one way or another.'" = Canon Jet talking to Juno at the end of What Lies Beyond part 3 and his parting advice is ofc referencing Hermes from the Musical!

"a tear snaking down his cheek" oh- oh Big Guy.... Jet is someone who hardly cries and when he does he doesn't hide it very well.

"he was now well and truly alone" </3 my heart!

"Heart buzzing with song and stress, Juno Steel continued towards the grand walls of Hadestown." carry a song, carry stress. lose a lover, gain desperation.

overall: THIS WHOLE PART 12 IS A MASSIVE NOD TOWARDS MONSTER'S REFLECTION AND IT MAKES ME SO SCARED!! because it would make sense to not give juno time to reconnect with Benten, but it would also fit in with the beat of Monster's Reflection so welllll!!! ugggghhhhhh-

SONG FOR A CAGED LOVEBIRD: PART 12

sorry this one isn't as speedy as the rest have been!! i lost inspiration a little and needed some time to think it all over (shoutout to @smidgen-of-hotboy for bouncing some new ideas off me)

HAPPY EASTER AND KISSES TO YOU ALL @ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @urjover @one-joe-spoopy @waters-and-the-wilde @demonic-panini @the-private-eye

Even when the world got rough, he still had his music.

That was what Juno Steel kept telling himself as he walked down the road to hell, Jet tall and stoic at his side. Even when times got rough he could still sing.

The music wasn't so much something he learned as something he was born with, flowing in his veins as slick and easy as the blood that kept him alive. Music comes like that when you're the child of a god. It begs to be created no matter how much you try to push it down or carve it out. And oh gods above, had he tried. He wanted nothing to do with it after he lost his brother. But the music just kept coming, pouring out of every word and action until he finally had no choice but to acknowledge it and let it back into his life again.

All that to say he wasn't always a singer.

When he was younger, and his voice still as high as the wheat fields that towered above his head, he would play guitar for his brother. And stars above, he did not want to be thinking about him right now, but some topics are unavoidable on the road to hell. Some memories too poignant. Some things too inevitable.

Benten was always such a lovely dancer. He could move in a way that made you feel like you were watching sunlight sparkling on the water, glittering and waltzing like it's what he was born to do. And maybe he was.

Juno wishes he had lived to dance a little longer.

He doesn't like to think about the day he lost Benten. He doesn't like to remember the way Ma's face had twitched into an expression almost resembling pleasure when Juno asked where Ben had gone. He doesn't like thinking about the scarf that he had found left behind at the gates to the underworld, still carrying Benten's clean laundry scent. He can't stand to remember the way the gatekeeper's voice had rasped into an ugly laugh when Juno had asked, half panicking, how he could get someone back from Hadestown.

No one comes back from Hadestown, little lady.

Juno spent that sleepless night with tears pouring down his face, singing songs of mourning until his throat was raw and dawn was beginning to peak over the eastern horizon.

Ma never apologized. Juno never forgave her.

He could never really play the guitar again. It reminded him too much of his brother. But the song... the song felt good. Natural. It eased its way out of his lungs as simple as breathing, something innate and instinctive that now just made sense to him.

Juno supposed it was fitting that it should. Lose a leg, gain a crutch. Lose an eye, gain a patch. Lose a brother, gain a song. 

“How are you doing, Juno? We will reach the outer walls of the city soon.”

He glanced over at Jet’s face and wondered what he must be thinking. Probably that this was a bad idea. There was an unusual tightness to his jaw, a tension at the corners of his eyes that spoke volumes of his discomfort and stress.

“I know we’re almost there, but thanks for reminding me. I’m doing alright, big guy. Just a little jittery,” Juno responded, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Back where the road ended and the tracks began, Jet told Rita to turn back. She didn’t want to leave, didn’t understand, begged them to let her stay. Jet asked her again to turn back, but she had been insistent about it, clinging to Juno like a barnacle on the hull of a sailboat, but so had Jet, gently prying her away as he explained why it was too dangerous for her to go as well. 

Juno had seen the flash of pain in his eyes as she walked away, faintly sniffling. He cared about her too. He didn’t want her to leave either. But they both knew it had to be done.

Juno felt odd without her presence there. Off-kilter somehow. Like he needed her to balance himself out. For as much of a human hurricane as she was, he had to admit, she brought him a lot of peace and calm. This was the first time in years he had done anything without her by his side, but he would make it through.

He had to make it through.

“How did you know we were almost there?” Jet questioned, shooting Juno a sideways look that he couldn’t quite decipher. “Most people who have walked this road do not live to tell the tale.”

Juno faltered, nearly tripping over his own feet as his words failed to escape his mouth. “I….I was here once. A long time ago.”

Jet nodded solemnly. “I assumed as much. Who did you lose?”

“......My brother. My twin. He went missing while I was away from home. I got back and Ma refused to tell me where he was and I couldn’t find him anywhere I thought to look. This was my last resort.”

“Did you ever find him again?”

“No. I wish I had. I… I miss him. A lot. Him being gone changed a lot of who I am.”

Jet nodded again, face thoughtful, and Juno silently thanked the gods that Jet wasn’t nearly as curious or pushy as he was. 

A silence stretched between them, wider and darker than the grim horizon in the distance. Juno cracked the silence first.

“Well, what about you, big guy? Who did you lose? How did you get to know these backroads and tracks so well?”

“I am a psychopomp.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“A psychopomp. A spirit guide. It was my job to escort lost souls down to Hades, but there was. An incident. That forced me and my friend to leave those jobs.”

“So what kind of incident?”

“I would rather not discuss it.”

“Oh come on, you got to hear my tragic backstory, why can’t I hear yours?”

Jet stiffened slightly and his voice dropped even lower in warning. “I said, I would rather not discuss it, Juno.”

Juno huffed out a sigh. “Fine. I’m sorry.”

“You are forgiven. Although, I do have one question for you.”

“What is it, big guy?”

“How were you able to walk this road and survive to talk about it?”

Juno opened his mouth to respond, then closed it and shrugged. “You know, I’m not sure. I guess it’s one of the perks of being a child of the goddess of outcasts and travelers. I’ve never had a problem traveling on any road.”

Jet tilted his head in slight confusion. “Then why were you unable to retrieve your brother from Hadestown if you encounter no trouble while traveling?”

Juno gritted his teeth and stared at the ground as he walked. “They wouldn’t let me in. Said that even if they did, there was nothing I could do to save him. Said that he was part of some kind of bargain with Ma. His life for more power. They forced me to turn back and go home.”

“I am very sorry.”

Juno looked up at the horizon again. “Yeah. Everyone is.”

The outer wall of Hadestown was beginning to loom in the distance. Even from here, Juno could hear the rhythmic clangs and chants of the workers on the wall, moving to the steady flow of molten metal and clunking gears. It was a struggle to keep his strides from matching that beat, tugging him forward, forward, forward.

Jet stopped short. “I think this is where I must leave you. I did not leave Hadestown on the best of terms, and I would be very upset if I were caught.”

Juno stopped too, looking back at Jet over his shoulder. “Oh. Okay. I…. I don’t know what to say now. This feels a little like goodbye.”

“Do not consider this a goodbye. I will see you again one way or another. I will leave you with some advice for surviving in Hadestown: be careful of your words and who is listening. Farewell, Juno Steel. It was a pleasure to walk the road to hell with you.”

With that, Jet bowed his head to Juno, a tear snaking down his cheek, and turned and walked away.

He wasn’t sure exactly what Jet meant, but he knew one thing for certain: he was now well and truly alone. He breathed in, breathed out, shook his head a bit to clear up the emotions, and turned back to face the underground city.

Heart buzzing with song and stress, Juno Steel continued towards the grand walls of Hadestown.