Week Four

[stagemanagers]

[Last week, Gershwin High School Academy University saw its very first intentional murder! What a milestone! And right after Spongebob's No Murder party, too - that doesn't seem like it bodes very well for anybody's future.

You all wake up this morning with yet another new memory returned to you. You'll also find that the school's external doors have now unlocked. Congratulations! You're free! Unfortunately, you also seem to be entirely in the middle of nowhere. So maybe it's more of a symbolic victory.

Still, you should look around and do some investigation! Maybe you'll find a fun surprise.]

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

(( Be sure to submit your memory regains and your AC for this week! Hester's office hours and the merch booth also remain available! ))

Comments

[howtheworldwas]

They can't like me that much. We only just met.

[ Eurydice keeps staring at the fire. She tears a sheet in half, and tosses it in. ]

If the could do something about it, then why haven't they before? There are other workers down there. Same thing happened to them that happened to me. [ They got too cold, too hungry, ran out of options. ]

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus shakes his head a little. ] No, Mister Hermes liked you a lot, I could tell. He kept trying to warn me that you were in trouble, and he seemed really upset when, um...

[ He trails off a little bit, staring into the flames. ]

And he told me how to follow you, without having to... go the same way. I was almost there, when I woke up on Sunday. [ At that, he takes a deep breath and looks over at her. ] I don't know about the other workers? But he was willing to break the rules for you. For us.

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice's first instinct is to just dismiss that as a indication of the fact that Hermes cares for Orpheus, not for her. But there's a part of her that's honored, in a sad sort of way. She's prayed to him before, of course -- pretty much everyone on the road has -- but she never really thought he'd listen, much less care.

It makes her decision feel all the more foolish, now. Orpheus loved her, and apparently even Hermes cared, and she still thought everything was hopeless. She still chose to go. ]

...then can you thank him for me? If -- if I don't make it back.

[themuseabandonsyou]

You'll be able to thank him yourself. I don't care what Lord Hades's contract says. He went back on his word, to let Lady Persephone come back to us for as long as she needs to. Who is he to ask anyone else to make promises like that?

[ He gestures to the contract's remaining pages. There's an uncharacteristic anger to his voice, indignant and agitated. ]

I'll find you. And we'll both go home. Together. Not even the gods will stop us.

[howtheworldwas]

He's the Lord of the Underworld. He can do anything he wants, down there.

[ Eurydice's tone is flat, resigned. She wants to believe Orpheus can bring her home, she really does...but he's talking about going up against god.

Eurydice offers a page, in case Orpheus wants to burn one. ]

Just...be careful, when you get there. He's powerful. [ Even though it's not cold, Eurydice shudders a little, at the thought of Orpheus going up against him. ]

[themuseabandonsyou]

I know.

[ Orpheus takes the page and glances over it, before wrinkling his nose at it and tossing it into the fire. ]

I know gods don't... see things the same way we do. Play by the same rules we do. I've known that my whole life. Mom and Mister Hermes told me the stories, the good ones and the bad ones. But. Something has to be able to make them see that they can't treat us like this.

[ What was it Mumble kept saying, about the Wizard? ]

If we just... appeal to their better nature. [ He says it quietly, like he's not entirely sure of the idea himself. But it's all he has. ]

[howtheworldwas]

[ Eurydice thinks about that for a while, as she watches Orpheus burn the page. Can that be done? Does Lord Hades have a better nature? ]

I think...part of him thinks he's doing something good, by giving us a job. He'll call us, um. His children? Sometimes? [ Even though they're anything but. Saying that out loud, in front of Orpheus, makes her feel a little ill. ]

[themuseabandonsyou]

Oh. [ Again, Orpheus pulls a face at that. ] I... guess I can see that? People don't usually do things just to make other people miserable.

[ Usually. He takes a deep breath and sighs. ]

And I guess it would've been easier to believe it was an offer worth taking, if he genuinely thought that himself.

[howtheworldwas]

[ Oh people absolutely do that, but Eurydice does not have it in her to correct Orpheus right now. Instead, she takes another drink from the bottle.

Then Orpheus talks about believing Hades, and even though she knows he doesn't mean it like that, Eurydice can't help but feel like a complete idiot. She went so long being careful, critical, and untrusting of people, and when it mattered most, when it could have prevented all of this, she just...believed him. She didn't consider any ulterior motives, didn't think about the cost. ]

'You won't feel a thing,' he said
'When you go down'

[ She stops there, the rest of the words caught in her throat.

Quieter: ]

When he offers you the deal, it's like...like he almost understands. [ firmer, with some edge to it: ] But he doesn't really. He doesn't understand anything at all.

[themuseabandonsyou]

At least if he thinks it's a mercy, taking people in like that - there's a chance he could be convinced that it's not. We could make him understand. What it is he's taking away from people.

[ Life. Hope. Love. It would be hard, of course, gods are notoriously stubborn, but Orpheus sees a chance at something there, and is already thinking about how best to use it. ]

[howtheworldwas]

Yeah. If he's willing to listen. [ Eurydice's thinking about it too, and although she's less optimistic...maybe there's a chance. ] Maybe you were right about Lady Persephone. She might be able to understand.

[themuseabandonsyou]

[ Orpheus nods. ] She loves the surface, and the people up there. She knows how valuable life is, and how... how it is, in Hadestown. I know she doesn't approve of what Lord Hades is doing. And if he'd listen to anyone, ever, he might listen to her.

[ Might. Listening to Lady Persepone's wishes has not been his strong suit for the past few decades, by the sound of it, but it's the best chance Orpheus can see. ]