#and Eurylochus still love him and wants to help (he always wants to help. maybe that was the problem all along)

[fluffypotatey]

“you’re quiet today”

it’s because Ody already decided what to do

[lysreadsbookssometimes]

Imagine the emotional rollercoaster Ctimene, Odysseus' sister and Eurylochus' wife, went through during EPIC.

Through all the Trojan War, she fears for both her brothers' and her husband's life. She sits there with her mother Anticlea, and her sister-in-law, Penelope, watching her nephew Telemachus grow up. We can only imagine how she misses him. Maybe she wants to start her own family. Maybe there are suitors after her, too.

They hear that the war is over, and their boys take their sweet time coming back. They finally see the ships on the horizon, only to watch a gigantic storm absolutely demolish the ships.

They have pieces of the ships wash up on shore. Some bodies, too. Fishermen sail out, looking for survivors and finding none. The bodies they find get buried, their families mourn them. And everyone else just sits there, having seen the extent of the storm, the bodies, and come to the conclusion that their loved ones are lost to the sea.

Ctimene sits there with the realization that her husband and her brother are dead. Her mother dies. She lost her entire family. Penelope is convinced Odysseus survived somehow, so Ctimene is pretty much alone in her grief.

Years pass. I imagine Ctimene and Penelope help each other with suitors, raising Telemachus and just ruling Ithaca, but there is always this divide between them.

And then the impossible actually happens. Odysseus is back. He kills Penelopes suitors. He is reunited with his family. Ctimene hears, comes running, her brother has returned. And with him the hope returns that her husband might still be alive.

So she asks him. And Odysseus says no.

And then he starts telling the story. Of Eurylochus, the voice of reason. That he survived the storm, survived Poseidon, resisted Circe, survived the underworld, survived the Sirens. That he survived Scylla.

Ctimene listens to his reasonings for the sacrifices and then chews him out just as Eurylochus had.

Then Odysseus tells her about the Mutiny. And then Zeus.

Neither Penelope nor Telemachus are in the room when he explains what choice Zeus had him make. And while Ctimene rationally knows that she couldn't have chosen between her brother and her husband, she also knows that for his chance to see his loved ones again, 36 families lost that chance. Including her.

Odysseus doesn't explain in detail what happened on Ogygia nor afterwards, and Ctimene only mildly cares. Because her husband died. Because of a decision her brother made. Because her husband tried to protect his fellow crew.

She doesn't talk to Odysseus for a while after that.

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

Eurylochus Reincarntes As Hadestown Orpheus Concept Au

Introduction

So I know nothing about Hadestown but thinking about the parallels between Eurylochus and Orpheus got me thinking about an au where after Thunderbringer, Persephone takes pity on Eurylochus feeling how anguished his soul is and decides to give him a second chance to ensure he isn't lost in the river styx forever. She also gives Eurylochus the gift of song and he reincarnates into Orpheus from Hadestown. So we in a sense get Jordan Fisher as Eurylochus lol. Also making it angstier I'm having the idea of playing with Ctimene being reincarnted as Eurdice meaning Eurylochus failed to keep Ctimene in his arms twice.

Yep I got so comfortable comparing Eurylochus and Orpheus parallels that I want to make them the same person. So Eurylochus gets to trade his giant ass sword for a guitar.

Basic concept is as Orpheus keeps returning to the Underworld he keeps bumping into people that knew him as Eurylochus on the way to Hadestown. He encounters Odysseus who helps him and warns that he should make sure his journey doesn't end up like it did the first time. Polites gives him advice on how to win over Persephone and Anticlea appears as a bodyguard protecting the now Hadestown. Worse Odysseus, Anticlea and Polites remember Orpheus but Orpheus has no memory of them. You could play with that concept and have Eurdice being confused and angry Odysseus tried to help Orpheus.

Orpheus ignores Odysseus's warnings as well as Hades and turns back. Odysseus looks after Eurdice and you can either have Ctimene apologising to Eurdice saying she loved the wrong man or Odysseus apologising for failing his sister again. Eurdice gets a promotion and Ody bargains that Hades will let Eurdice be a bodyguard until Orpheus passes on.

Eurylochus got a second chance but repeated all the same mistakes and let doubt creep in. He failed Ctimene by doubting Odysseus and this time fails Eurdice by ignoring Hades's warning.

Persephone reincarnted Eurylochus so he may get into Elysium but that doesn't mean his life is tragedy free. Orpheus/Eurylochus is always cursed to have his loved ones die and his luck run out. To make it up to Eurdice, Orpheus becomes a healer and travels around with his songs with the purpose of healing young souls and comforting souls on the verge of death.

So that's basically the au concept we are working with. I'm going to share Orpheus's Pov and then I'll share Odysseus's Pov.

Please be aware I'm dyslexic and this is not beta read.

A Returning Visitor

Orpheus's Pov

Orpheus followed Hermes instructions, kept his head down and tried to be unnoticeable. Unfortunately it seemed he didn't keep his head down as well as he thought as an odly familiar voice called his name.

"Eurylochus!"

That wasn't his name. It had never been his name. Yet still Orpheus paused. He turned to find a man roughly his height accept his clothes looked more old fashioned. The mans brown eyes haunted him and it scared him.

"I hope you find this Eurylochus eventually but I'm not him. I'm Orpheus." He said introducing himself.

"Odysseus of Ithaca." The man responded in return.

Something about that name left a flury of emotions in his mind. Love, hate, guilt, pain, joy and sadness. It confused him but he knew that at the moment Eurdice was his priority.

"Nice to meet you Odysseus, I don't suppose you could help me? I'm looking for someone."

"Who?" Odysseus asked.

"Eurdice. She's my everything and Hermes told me she ended up down here. I have to save her."

Odysseus's sympathetic face suprised him. Maybe Hermes was wrong, maybe not everything was out to get him.

"I can't come with you Orpheus but keep straight on the path without stopping and you'll find Lord Hades. Be warned though Lord Hades doesn't let souls go easily." Odysseus replied honestly.

"How do you know?" Orpheus asked.

"Cos I had to sacrifice an afterlife with Penelope in order to save my crew." He explained.

Disbelief. Again Orpheus didn't understand why the man was making him feel so many complicated things.

"I'll keep that in mind." Orpheus lied.

"Please do my friend. Don't let your luck run out." Odysseus pleaded sorrowfully.

Odysseus starred at him in a way that screamed familiarity. It confused Orpheus and worried him.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"No you just remind of someone." Odysseus explained.

"Who?"

"An old friend. You have his spirit, Eurylochus cared for his friends and family deeply as you do Eurdice. I let him down."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Orpheus apologised. He didn't understand why but knew it was the right thing to do.

"It's fine, it's in the past now but Eurdice isn't. What ever you do, promise me you won't give up or look back." Odysseus pleaded.

"I promise." Orpheus said.

He gave Odysseus one last look before returning on his walk through the Underworld. Odysseus's last words shook him though.

"And Orpheus." He said.

"Yeah."

"Don't forget how dangerous the God's are." Odysseus warned.

With that Orpheus continued to walk forward taking Odysseus's heart in mind. Unlike Odysseus he vowed that he wouldn't let Eurdice down.

Odysseus Pov

Odysseus's heart sunk when he saw him here again. It had to be him. Eurylochus, his old friend and brother that he had betrayed. He may now have thick black curly hair and a guitar in place of his sword but it was still him. Odysseus couldn't stop himself as he called out to him.

"Eurylochus!"

The man froze. It gave Odysseus hope but then the hope quickly died when he saw his friends confusion. Eurylochus was a new man now, a new man he didn't have to crane his neck to look up at. The mans gaze looked like a distant memory and it hurt him so much.

"I hope you find this Eurylochus eventually but I'm not him. I'm Orpheus." The new man replied introducing himself.

Orpheus! The named suited Eurylochus more then anything and it made Odysseus proud. Trying not to embass himself, he did his best to reintroduce himself to his friend.

"Odysseus Of Ithaca." Odysseus replied, reintroducing himself.

"Nice to meet you Odysseus, I don't suppose you could help me? I'm looking for someone." Orpheus said

Odysseus tried to supress a sigh at that. After all they'd once been through of course Orpheus would be here recklessly trailing The Underworld for someone.

"Who?" Odysseus asked.

"Eurdice. She's my everything and Hermes told me she ended up down here. I have to save her." Orpheus explained.

Odysseus stared at his friend sympathetically. He smiles thinking about his sister Ctimene, who would be proud Eury-Orpheus is willing to sacrifice everything for his love. He then thinks about Penelope who he sacrificed everything for and abandoned in the afterlife. His heart aches.

"I can't come with you Orpheus but keep straight ahead on the path without stopping and soon you'll find Lord Hades. Be warned though Lord Hades doesn't let souls go easily." Odysseus warned.

"How do you know?" Orpheus asked.

He knows if Orpheus still remembered everything, he would be speechless over what he was about to confess. Eurylochus had died thinking Odysseus did not care about him.

Conclusion

So I have so many other Epic Au concepts I wanted to share but this one was one I definitely wanted to show off. I promise if I fully flesh out this au I will listen to Hadestown and do my proper research. I am studying Ovids Metamorphosis but definitely Hadestown is on the list to check out.

Honestly I did not think comparing Eurylochus and Orpheus would send me down this hole but here we are. I now have two aus where a God just reincarnates Eurylochus right after he had a traumatic death.

My asks are open if you are interested in me further fleshing this concept. It's a concept for now as i want to see how you Winions and Hadestown fans react.

Until next time.

-Melody-

They/Them