itscurtains | Week One

Entry tags:

act 3,
week 1

Week One

[Yesterday, everyone woke up in a strange place and realized that they'd been kidnapped, and also that everyone else around them may or may not be kinnies? Wow, what a weird escalation of kin drama! Given what some people have seen of Spongebob's freaky arm thing, though, maybe it's not that at all?

Your Assistant Director, Hester, showed off her stuff and immediately had her life threatened by Lumpy Space Princess, who got her life threatened right back. Maybe you should keep that in mind if you decide to pay Hester any more visits! She won't be making another public appearance this week, but as promised, she'll be available for visits and consultation in the Principal's Office during business hours.

If you don't want to chat with Hester, there's always the school to explore! Some of you might also be receiving mysterious coins next to your bedside this week - those must be useful for something, right? There's lots to do, and you all seem like a group who can make your own fun, so enjoy your first week of school!]

Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday

(( OOC: This will be the last mod post for this week! Feel free to start submitting regains for any threads that aren't with Hester. Remember, song threads mean an extra coin! This is a peace week, so get all that CR while you can! ))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They were, and I appreciate how many are giving their effort to make it a real performance with sets and costumes, even.

[as for that other bit...]

And, ah, no need to thank me. I never would have had the idea if not for you, and then none of this would have come to fruition. [Salieri folds his arms, moving to lean on the piano a bit]

Speaking of such...I did want to ask a question, if you'd permit me?

Really? Wow, I'm really excited to see all the work everyone's put in. I know a lot of people here are really talented artists, of all kinds.

[ Mostly musicians, from the sound of it, but he's seen a few of them at work with the tools in the scene shop, or the sewing machine in the costume room, or practicing in the dance room. ]

Hmm? Sure, what is it?

Indeed, this group seems to have a particular balance of talents that are essential for putting on a production.

Ah, as for my question...[aaaaaaaa he's actually feeling kind of a little nervous about asking this, but he did bring it up so now he has to go through with it] If this performance goes well, I thought it would be interesting to continue putting the scenes onstage during the week.

One of the scenes that I'd like to write is for Lyncée, who is a tenor. I was, ah, wondering...[...come on, Salieri, no backing out now]...that is, I was wondering if you might be willing to sing Lyncée in the scene?

[Ah, no wait, he should add, rather hurriedly--] That is, if you have time between your own composition, of course.

Edited 2021-06-06 10:04 (UTC)

[ Orpheus notices that little hesitation, and isn't quite sure what to make of it, but once it becomes clear what Maestro Salieri is asking he forgets about it entirely, expression lighting up with a shocked and flattered sort of excitement. ]

Oh! Really, you want me to - I'd love to!

[ Performing on stage in front of other people isn't a new thing for Orpheus, and certainly he's had bigger audiences than what they'll have here. But being personally asked by the composer of a real opera to play a part? That's new, and incredible, and he doesn't really have words for how much it means to him. ]

[Orpheus immediately agrees--in fact, he'd love to--and Salieri is immediately swept with a wave of relief and elation both]

You would? Ah, that's fantastic, simply--quite wonderful, yes, I'm very glad. [a little flustered but also incredibly pleased, and it brings a smile to his face in the way little has for quite a while.] I was hoping you would agree.

Of course! [ he says, brightly, beaming away. ] And don't worry about it getting in the way of what I'm doing, or anything like that? I'm, um.

[ He glances over at the sheet of notes he's been taking, which is kind of a mess of lyrics and guitar tabs and standard notation and the occasional doodle, with a lot of it scribbled out, and frowns a little. ]

Maybe it would be good for me to try focusing on something else for a little bit?

[Salieri isn't so lost in his own elation that he doesn't notice that frown]

Oh? Is the song still giving you difficulty?

[ Orpheus nods. ] Something about it just doesn't feel right, but I can't tell what it is. It might be the lyrics?

[ He taps his pencil against the stand, thoughtfully. ]

Right now it's just a telling of what happened long ago, but maybe that's not what I'm meant to be doing?

Hmm...[Salieri folds his arms over his chest, considering]...Well, I'm not certain, but...the purpose is to essentially bring Hades and Persephone back together, is it not?

Mostly! But...

[ Orpheus pauses, drumming his fingers on the body of the guitar thoughtfully. It's rude to gossip, especially about the gods, but this seems kind of important. And they kind of made it everyone else's business by causing an endless cycle of blizzards and droughts. ]

They still love each other, it's obvious that they do. But the problem is - Lord Hades, he keeps coming to the surface earlier every year to take Lady Persephone back home, because he misses her. And Lady Persephone hates that and gets mad at him for it, which makes him more afraid of losing her, so he keeps doing it.

[ He's had the very awkward honor of watching those arguments play out in the train station while seeing the goddess off, and he winces a little at the memories. ]

So it's... a complicated thing, to try to work out.

[ reasons that Orpheus thinks he can accomplish this with a song are unclear, aside from the principle of "when all you have is a hammer" ]

[.... that sure is a complicated issue]

It...sounds like he does not trust her to come back. No matter how much that might not be his intention, that is the end result, and she is clearly picking up on that. [he mulls this over another moment, quieting]

...worse, the end result is that he seems to doubt her love for him.

[ Orpheus nods, solemnly. That's the essentials of it. ]

So it's really about restoring their trust in each other, which is hard, because I can't make promises for them, and I don't know what started all of this.

[ He rests his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand, thinking. ]

Most of what I do know comes from what Lady Persephone has told me? She doesn't like the Underworld - she puts up with it because she loves her husband - but she loves the surface, too. It's her domain, she's the goddess of spring. And I think Lord Hades is jealous and afraid of that, but something must've happened to make things worse, to make him try to take back the agreement that she could spend six months above and six months below.

He's trying to take back the agreement? [Salieri's eyebrows go up, in surprise]

Well..it's hardly any wonder, then, that she should be so displeased.

Last year she was only on the surface for about four months before he came for her. [ says Orpheus, wrinkling his nose slightly. It made for a really difficult winter, having the summer and the harvest season cut that short. ]

And this year she took until midway through Thargelion to come up at all, because he kept delaying her. So it isn't like he's trying to go back on it all at once? But it's causing problems for, um. Everyone.

[Salieri frowns.]

...and thus the point of your song would be to quell this issue between them. [he blows out a bit of a breath] That certainly seems a difficult task that you've chosen.

That's the idea. I know it will be really difficult, but I think I have to do it? Things are only going to keep getting worse, and I don't know what'll happen to everyone if the winters get any harsher. It was spring back home, for me and Eurydice, but even with the whole summer and fall ahead of us to prepare I'm not sure there'll be enough food and supplies to last the season.

[ It's an uncharacteristically grim take on the situation for Orpheus, but he's lived through the cycle of stockpiling and rationing for enough years to get a decent idea of how long things last, even if he's not as serious about it as his wife. ]

[that will turn the frown into outright concern]

I see. That does explain Madame Eurydice's intense concern over the food supply.

[because that whole situation is, like, yikes]

Then this song is of utmost importance, then.

[ Orpheus nods again. ]

She's been all over, and seen how bad it's getting in some places. And how fast things can go from okay to... not.

[ And while Orpheus likes to think things won't turn on them so quickly here, he can't fault her reasoning. ]

I know I can get Lord Hades and Lady Persephone's attention, though, so it's just a matter of finding the right way to get through to them both.

[Salieri pauses to consider the entirety of the situation, now that he knows more about it]

I...suppose if it includes the songs they used to sing, then you're hoping to stir their nostalgia?

To remind them of how it used to be, when it was their love that made the world go 'round.

[ The cycle of the seed and the sickle, and the lives people built around it. ]

But there has to be more to it than that. I could just repeat their song back to them, but I don't think that will work, alone.

No...otherwise you would've solved the issue already.

[HM. This is definitely a conundrum]

...what do you know about them, personally?

[ Orpheus thinks for a moment, considering how to answer. ]

Lady Persephone comes through town twice a year on her way into and out of the Underworld, and she spends a lot of time at the bar where I work, so I know her fairly well? She's very kind - she always brings gifts for the people in town on her way up - and she's very straightforward about how she thinks and feels. Sometimes she can be really, brutally honest about things, but not in a mean way? It means she cares. She loves music and revelry and being around people, and she has a bit of a mischievous streak.

[ He smiles a little, thinking about her, but then his expression goes grim. ]

Lord Hades I don't know as well. He only really comes to the surface to tell Lady Persephone to come home, and they argue about it, so I've really just seen him at his worst. [ Or what Orpheus hopes is his worst. ] He seems very serious and stern, though. I have a hard time understanding what he's thinking.

[ A pause. ]

Also, Mister Hermes says he's a terrible boss.

[Salieri listens quietly, thoughtfully, though the last bit makes him huff out a small chuckle. After that though, he's pausing to consider.]

...it is, perhaps, a questionable thought, but...seems that Lord Hades needs something to remind him of not only that nostalgia, but that as relationships progress, they grow and change and that is not necessarily a bad thing, nor does it mean that Lady Persephone isn't going to return.

No, that's a good idea. They've been alive since almost as long as the world has existed as we know it, and were married for most of that? It's natural that things would change, but also that change would be really frightening for them both. All of this has been happening for longer than I can remember, but to them it's all pretty recent? It's only been around 20 years, out of many thousands, if not more.

[ He drums his fingers on the body of his guitar again idly as he thinks. ]

What's the best way to put that into words, though? I'll have to work on it.

I have no doubt that the right combination of words will come to you, the more you continue to think on it. And of course, should you wish a second set of eyes at any time, you may always call on me. It's easy to sometimes feel stuck if you're working on the same piece all the time.

Week One

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cw: food insecurity

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