#i love hadestown and i love characters who are an orpheus

[amothersvow]

>> relistening to Hadestown and having thoughts..... I love the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and I LOVE making characters who are an Orpheus at heart. Loving so much and so deeply and who will turn because they love and Eliyen is so much like that. She'd turn for her beloved, she'd always make sure they're there, she couldn't NOT turn, it's against her very nature. It's an old song, and she'll always know its tune

[fixated-on-something]

Teenage queers will discover Tragedy and make it their whole personality forever

[kacievvbbbb]

Ace & Luffy and Greek Tragedy

Ace and the Marineford summit war is essentially a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice where Ace is somehow both Orpheus and Eurydice.

Like don't get me wrong Luffy is very Orpheus coded

Like of course Luffy was going to descend into Empel down, a place where no one is ever supposed to come back from, to save his brother just as Orpheus descended into Hades to save his lover (Empel down is also literally underground as well). Of course, his love for his brother is so strong and his cause so moving he can't help but rally the world; friend and foe alike, around him. And of course before the eyes of gods and men, he gets Ace back, of course he does! his love for his brother can and has shaken the world.

But Ace has a bit of his tragedy too.

Because just like Orpheus, no matter how much you yell at him to keep going or get frustrated with the perceived stupidity of the choice, Ace was always going to look back, of course he was! How could he not? everything he loved was behind him.

And they'll tell the story a million times a million different ways but no one can deny that love was there. Love was there, and it wasn't enough to save Eurydice then and it won't be enough to save Ace now but it was there and to them that was enough, this proof that they have loved and been loved in turn is enough.

Orpheus and Luffy will carry this love turned anger turned grief everywhere they go, to the ends of the world and back again, they will never outgrow it. But one day they might find poeace in it, one day it will be enough for them too, this knowledge that they loved and they loved well.

Love can not save any of these characters from their fates but i can offer them comfort there at the end and give them courage to face it.

And isn't that proof enough?

[optimistic-autistic]

i looove 2018 london orpheus. he's so utterly pathetic.

[hercarisntyours]

The ones who load the dice, always say the toss is fair. (hadestown au)

Orion looked around, panic setting in. Is it true what they say? Is there truly no way to get his love back. That's he's too late? She's truly gone? He walked all this way, why? just to play the part of a pawn in the God's cruel game of chess?

He's out of his mind.

How did he so foolishly believe. Nothing changes and nothing will.

Orion understands now. They're all playing a fixed game. His role involves him getting beaten and betrayed.

He's blinded by guilt, regret and doubt.

And hope. A spark of hope still burns with-in him.

He sings his voice loud. He asks the walls. Is it true? what they say, is it true?

Pickaxes stop ringing. The ringing in his ears doesn't.

He turns to go, Ariel would be disappointed, he could never stand up right.

The answer to his question will never be heard. Not in this concrete jungle.

The workers hear his.

He realises the ones who deal the cards, are the ones who take the tricks.

He who says the words, is always the one to say they are the last.

The walls repeat his words. Standing up and listening.

He shouts his answer out. For he hears the workers now, no longer questioning them; but the wall they had been so desperately building. If they have the will, there's a way to break it down. He believes they are many, and those he questions are few. 

If it's true, he'll be on his way. After all, what can a few do against so many?

[mechawolfie]

look at my sad scared pathetic cat man

[eurydices-carnation]

Updated cause I'm in love with a twinky version of Lucifer now (send help)

Venn diagram of my top 3 tenors (these are referring to the characters not the actual actors!)

[inamindfarfaraway]

I saw Hadestown recently and... the metanarrative aspects didn't need to go that hard. The entire cyclical structure with the story being acknowledged as an "old tale from way back when" that they tell again and again despite knowing the tragic ending, which is explored as precious proof of the enduring ability to hope? Orpheus and Eurydice falling in love so fast because they feel that they already know each other, they always have, and we know they're right? Hermes fluidly switching between character who emotionally invests in the doomed lovers and omniscient narrator who knows they're doomed, and the revelation in "Road to Hell (Reprise)" that he's genuinely been both from the beginning? The final song, a requiem for the living by the dead, with the cast out of character after the curtain call? When Orpheus toasts to "the world we dream about" but then also "the one we live in now" and everyone on stage looks straight at the audience for a moment of absolutely chilling silence? I was not prepared and I'm not okay.

[theatricalmage]

The brainrot took over and so here's a vat7k hadestown au!! Don't know if I'll develop it fully but I liked designing it at least!

More info under the cut:

- Varian, the Coronan royal alchemist, tasks himself with deciphering an incantation capable of bringing the world back into tune. Times are tough, and the royal family + Quirin are doing their best to cope with the meagre crop yields and desolate weather (Corona not really being the sunshine kingdom - hasn't been for a while). He wants to help and do good and I think he'd be a good Orpheus.

- Hugo, having moved about from place to place, still has his interest in alchemy and does what he can to get by. He plans on temporarily staying in Corona before looting, but he encounters a certain like-minded scientist at the Snuggly Duckling. I think him being selfish works especially well in Eurydice's role, having a more pessimistic view of the world. It also works with how he gets drawn to Donella's offer of working for her later on, leading him to his death.

- Ulla as Persephone! I was initially stuck on whether to have Rapunzel (and either Eugene/Cass) as her (and Hades) but I was drawn to the connection that Hugo has to Donella and the Donella/Ulla relationship in vat7k just works too well. In this case, Ulla won't be Varian's mother. She's still gonna be somewhat of an inspiration to him though, being the previous Coronan royal alchemist and for her intelligence. For half the year, she'll return to Corona with food, drinks, and alchemical compounds/inventions, bringing Spring and Summer to the world, if only for a bit.

- Donella would be such an interesting Hades, losing sight of her love for Ulla, heart filled with fear and hurt, leading to bitterness and cruelty. Ingvarr being Hadestown and how by being the esteemed Ingvarrian engineer, she'd be in charge of major technological advances across the kingdoms and so would wield a significant amount of power (like how Hades is literally the ruler of the underworld). Ingvarr essentially being a near death sentence for its workers while also displaying its technological prowess, all still shrouded in mystery and corruption - a place so otherworldly compared to the rest of the kingdoms.

I didn't want to modify the outfits too much nor the personalities,, if anything I imagine the general plot beats being the same as the original musical/story but with slight differences that'd you get inherently as a result of these characters. I wouldn't want it to be the case where it's just the show but the names are changed. I'd want this to still make reasonable sense in this AU, with the actions being understandable for this particular cast of characters.

For Hermes, I ended up picking Xavier, as he's most knowledgeable of old legends and stories, which would work in reference to the Hades and Persephone myth (and so Donella and Ulla)! He'd act as a mentor figure for V, someone who can guide him in uncovering the forgotten incantation. Quirin would still be the good supportive dad he is (even if he doesn't fully understand his son's project).

Last but not least, the fates!! often lurking in the background, I'm still a bit stuck on who it could be? I'm tempted to have it be Raps, Cass, and Nuru as they've had celestial connections at some point (and ya know how stars can represent fate), but I also love the freckled siblings dynamic so much. Also Team Radical... Maybe Raps and Cass can be their normal selves but their Sundrop/Moonstone counterparts are the manifested physical forms of the fates? They wouldn't be visible to the characters though, just voices in the wind.

Anyways yeah!! Those are my thoughts. Do let me know if you've got any cool ideas or questions. I'm really combining my interests at full force and there's nothing anyone, not even myself, can do about it quite frankly. 😮‍💨

[jointherebellion215]

His Kiss, The Riot

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen x female!reader

Summary: When you and your secret lover make plain to Feyd-Rautha your wishes for a life together, despite the proposed arranged marriage, he surprisingly acquiesces. But he can't let you go so easily, can he? Loosely based on the song from Hadestown.

Word Count: 1.6k

TW: manipulation, Dark!Feyd-Rautha, arranged marriage, NONCON elements, gore, violence, she/her pronouns, female!reader, tragedy, star-crossed lovers, songfic, not quite a happy ending (oops), dark dark dark interpretations of Hadestown and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read If It's True and liked, reblogged, or commented. I appreciate every single one of you. As always, I would love some feedback, likes, comments, and reblogs if you can :)

This is Part Two to my Feydestown trilogy (I'm so sorry for the pun). You can read Part One here.

AO3

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dune properties, characters, or storylines-- nor do I own anything related to Hadestown. The images used in this are not my own, and any similarities to stories or events other than what are directly referenced are strictly coincidence.

The devil takes this Orpheus

And his belladonna kiss

“So you wanna get married? Take away the woman I just offered my hand to, to whom I all but have legal claim?”

Your beloved’s replied words of affirmation to his words hold the slightest tremor, but like a dog to fresh meat, Feyd-Rautha sniffs this out immediately. Another smile graces his face. Feyd speaks to the crowd now, “Yes, I was promised the Lady’s hand in marriage. But! I am a benevolent figure, so I guess I’ll let the lovebirds go.”

The crowd starts to give polite applause, while your knees grow weak at the news. You can go? Has love really prevailed on this day?

“However,” and with that, your heart drops “I have some conditions for these… nuptials.”

You could sense the air growing thick with tension as the reality of the na-Baron’s ruling twists out of your favor.

“Conditions?” You whispered.

“Of course, my darling! I can’t make this too easy on you, now can I?” Feyd paces back and forth on the steps from which he speaks, making your eyes dart back and forth with each step he takes. Vigilance overtakes your body in case of any rash decisions.

“You two can leave the city, but it won’t be hand in hand. This pair will have to walk in single file, with the boy in the front and my darling Lady at least thirty paces behind. No ships, no speeders, no running. Walking.”

The energy of the room starts to grow more electric as the points of this term seem to set in.

“The Lady cannot speak out or make any indication of her following behind. You’ll be faced forward the whole journey. Once you reach the edge of the city and passed the threshold, you can be together for eternity.”

Your breath hitched. Seems easy enough, right?

“But, if the boy so much as turns his head to check and see if the Lady is following, the deal is off. She’ll return to me, and we will be married.”

Nothing makes a man so bold

As a woman’s smile and a hand to hold

“Is this a trick?” Your beloved asks plainly.

Feyd tilts his head, pacing down the steps to ground level. “Now, what makes you say that? I’m being generous. I’ve set my terms.” He is now nose-to-nose with the man attached to you. 

“Now meet them or face the consequences.”

The hand holding yours is now pooled with sweat. You quickly and subtly jerk the arm of your beloved when he starts to protest, not recognizing a gift when he sees one. You bow, the picture of poise and grace that you were raised to be. There is still time to leave with all of your limbs intact, you could not afford to slip up now.

“We offer our most sincere gratitude, my Lord na-Baron. Thank you for this most auspicious opportunity. We will not squander it.” 

Your beloved gives a clumsy bow to match yours. Feyd’s manic smile grows as he clasps his hands together. The sound echoes through the hall.

“So it shall begin!” 

But all alone his blood runs thin

And doubt—doubt comes in

The pair of you hold hands, side-by-side, at the entrance of the palace gates. A crowd has followed you to the edge, with onlookers from the outside spectating the unexpected appearance of a noble. Occurrences like this did not happen often, if ever.

“You heard the terms. The Lady must walk thirty steps behind. She must not speak to you.” Your hands reluctantly separate, following the orders you were given. You can feel your heart pounding with each step that you take away from each other.

“Some of my guard will accompany you, to ensure that you comply to the letter.” Four Harkonnen warriors step forward and encase you in a square formation, leaving the love of your life alone and vulnerable. He looks back towards you, fear and doubt creeping into his eyes. You nodded at him, believing that you could succeed in your task. That you would prevail.

“You may begin.” Feyd voices, and with that—you start your journey. Step by step, you walk further through the foliage that immediately surrounds the castle gates and into the city square.

Once you and your beloved reach the horizon, Feyd turns to walk past the crowd and back into the corridor.

Your father, the Duke, bows quickly and offers his gratitude, but is ignored as the younger Harkonnen goes to gather his blade and shield. With a yell, he summons his guards to formation. As Feyd checks the integrity of his weapon, one of the Baron’s advisors tentatively steps towards him.

“My Lord, perhaps you should consider letting them go—” In the blink of an eye, the man is silenced with a swift slash to the throat. Blood spills through the advisor’s hands as he struggles to put pressure on the opening. His body flops to the floor and Feyd carelessly steps over the writhing body to march forward.

“Let’s go fetch my bride.”

Dangerous this jack of hearts

It had been almost an hour of walking by this point. There had been almost a dozen times where you wanted to give any audible indication to your lover that you were here. A whisper, a whistle, a stomp of your foot. Anything. But now you could see the edge of the city, you could almost taste it. 

A life with your love was within reach. 

The guards accompanying you shifted inward, almost boxing you in. You were hopeful, but nerves were creeping in.

This was going well. Too well.

The grand arch signifying the edge of the city was above your lover now. The field that you used to meet at in secret lay just beyond it. You’re almost there. Just twenty more steps and you could be together, forever. 

He steps over the threshold, you see his shoulders lift and fall in an exhale. Then, the man you had fallen in love with— who you wholly believe in— slowly turns his head to lock eyes with you. A pale figure steps out from behind a pillar accompanying the arch.

The growing smile on your face immediately falls. You call out his name.

Oh no. 

The na-Baron tsked and shook his head, as if scolding a child. Harkonnen troops flanked the area, giving Feyd-Rautha enough berth to have his fun. The three of you were surrounded, but only one really had the advantage.

“You were so close!”

Your beloved held out a hand, “Wait, wait! I made it over!” He started to back away in fear, unarmed and exhausted from the long walk. Colorful, ripe foliage brushed his legs as he back into your field.

“Ah, but she didn’t. So, face the consequences.”

Then his blade pierced the man you love. 

Your ears started to ring, throat working itself raw as you wailed. Tears blurred your vision, you could hear the gurgles of the blood leaving your fiancé’s mouth and the slosh of his newly disemboweled entrails hitting the lush field before you.

With his kiss, the riot starts

His body made a sick thud on the floor, and your body jumped along with it. 

You ran towards your dead lover, cradling his face and sobbing for the soul that was just ripped away from you. He didn’t deserve such a violent end. His only crime was loving you and being loved in return.

A chuckle sounded from above you, and you turned your tear-stained face to the brutal Harkonnen. He was covered in the blood of your lover, his spoils of war staining his pale skin. Black teeth on full display, his shoulders gave a slight shake as he expressed his humor. His laughter sparked a rage in you like you’d never seen before. It didn’t matter what bonds you may or may not have formed over the conversations you had the last week. He’s a monster. He needs to pay for what he’s done. 

Red flooded your vision.

With a roar, you lunged for the man. His laugh grew more manic as you smacked, punched, kicked, and hit every visible part of him that you could identify. In your grief, every ounce of training that you received flew out the window. He took every blow with a smile, as if he enjoyed the punishment you were attempting to bestow on him.

“There we go, my darling. Show me your pain. Your rage!”

Your mind started to clear with the more hits you landed. With a quick swipe, you had the weapon that killed your beloved against the naBaron’s neck. The Harkonnen soldiers immediately stepped forward, but Feyd stopped them with a wave of his arm.

“Ah ah ah! Leave her be.” His grin almost split his face in half, specks of dried blood making a painting of his face. 

“Do it. Go ahead, come on.”

He pressed his neck forward, purposefully putting pressure on his own blade. Fresh blood started to trickle down his neck, adding to the gallons already spread all over his uniform. 

The shock of his willingness to put his life on the line made you hesitate, which made him cackle in your face. Your anger made you draw the blade back and slice it across his chest. A groan left Feyd’s mouth, 

“Good girl.”

An unexpected thunk to the head made your vision start to spin. Feyd’s arms braced around you, slowly lowering you to your knees and down to a lying position. He cradled your head as if you were a precious commodity, when he leaned forward and captured your limp lips with his. 

As black started swallowing your vision, you heard him say,

“Don’t worry, my darling bride. It’ll all be alright. You won’t feel a thing.”

[lupuslikethewolf]

in honour of being promoted to Deputy Stage Manager in my school's theatre department, top gun high school/sixth form au:

Dr Kazansky rules the drama department with an iron fist. always wearing black turtlenecks. never seen without his glasses, his coffee, and his terrifying glare (which earned him the moniker Dr Iceman). do not show up to rehearsals if you don't know your lines. death be upon the poor students who fuck around during tech and dress, because they will find out. he loves the crew tho.

Mr Call-Me-Mav Mitchell is the head of sports. you name it, he's played it, and he could absolutely give you pointers, also, do you want a protein bar with that? it's chocolate flavoured :) even the kids who Hate (capital H) sports love him. he is sunshine and adrenaline in human form. endless energy. no one knows why he is called maverick, but even the principal does it, so.

Mr Kerner is the principal. he is also the only person who can interrupt rehearsals and survive. dr kazansky loves him. inexplicably, maverick hates him. nough said.

Jake Seresin is the school's golden child, not even because he's Kazansky's nephew. he’s head boy. he’s on the school’s football/rugby team. he writes regular articles for the internal magazines. and this year, he’s playing Orpheus in the school’s production of Hadestown. everyone thinks it’s nepotism. it is and it’s not, jake just lost a bet to his Uncle Tom, and must now reap the consequences to said uncle’s delight.

Bradley Bradshaw has been stage crew since he was thirteen and an overworked runner, thank you very much. it’s his final show, he’s the DSM, and if fucking seresin ruins this for him, he will riot. dr kazansky should never let that happen. however, this is the same man who, last year, laughed when revealing that a screen on stage had turned off and bradley had to go on stage during the show to fix it. hm. maybe bradley should have re-thought his life choices. also: the turntable. the goddamn turntable.

other characters include: phoenix as eurydice, bob doing lighting, payback and fanboy as ASMs who flirt over the comms to everyones misery, cyclone as another drama teacher/stage manager,

maverick keeps turning up to rehearsals and trying to help because his favourite (cough only cough) godson and his favourite player are both interested in this stuff, so he should at least try, right? kazansky hates it until he doesn’t. kerner thinks it’s all fucking hilarious. bradley is embarrassed but its kinda endearing do NOT tell him i said that.

kazansky and maverick both bare witness to A Moment between their respective pseudo sons and decide the two simply must get together for their sakes and also so they never inflict that on another person ever.

bradley and jake both bare witness to A Moment between their respective pseudo fathers and decide the two simply must get together for their sakes and also so they never inflict that on another person ever.

kerner is cackling. Cackling.

[sarahlizziewrites]

Wanted to find out what Tumblr thinks are the most important ingredients for a satisfying fictional relationship. Think about your favourite ship, your own OCs, books or movies you've experienced lately. What drives you crazy about them?

P.s. I'm well aware that most fictional relationships have multiple or all of these, but you have to pick the most important one mwahahahah

If you think I've missed something put it in the tags, but first check what I mean by each of the terms below.

Spread it far and wide for sample size!

Definitions/interpretations below cut:

Chemistry: These people get on so well it'd be a crime if they didn't hook up. They are basically already fucking with their words. Think Mulder/Scully

Attraction: these characters are unreasonably hot for each other, to the point where they ignore all sense

Narrative symmetry: covers everything from being narrative foils, contrasting archetypes (e.g. grumpy/sunshine) - think Ineffable Husbands (deep down spark of goodness/"just enough of a bastard to be worth liking") (ps yes this one is Mulder/Scully too)

Obsession/devotion: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, I'd-go-the-ends-of-the-earth-for-you, I'd-die-for-you. Think Orpheus/Eurydice from Greek myth, or Wuthering Heights

Tragedy: the love story is beautiful because you know it has to end. The world will be cruel to you but you fell in love anyway. This one is Orpheus/Eurydice in Hadestown. (Also, the potential for this kind of tragedy - the threat of a happy ending ripped away)

Something forbidden: we're not allowed to be together/we have to be together despite the odds/our families would never approve - e.g. First Prince

Fate: star-crossed lovers, soulmates, destined to be together, exes who find they need each other. "I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition"

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Kanej - Orpheus & Eurydice AU

Hi lovelies, this is the third time trying to upload this so hopefully it works this time (and sorry to everyone who got tagged in posts that didn’t work properly and/or didn’t exist by the time you saw the notification), I am so incredibly excited to tell you that the first two chapters of my new Kanej fic “Somehow, Through the Storm” will be released on tumblr and AO3 THIS MONDAY (16th Sept)

This is a Hadestown-inspired take on an Orpheus and Eurydice reimagining, casting Kaz and Inej as our main characters. It will be a kanej centric fic but feature all of the crows, as well as aspects of wesper and helnik relationships, set in an alternate version of the Grishaverse with an adapted magic system. I’m so excited and I may or may not have gone a teensy bit overboard so with that in mind and with three days to go, please enjoy this trailer I made for the story!!

All songs are from the Broadway cast studio recording of Hadestown and the medley was made by me :)

Tagging everyone who has expressed interest but please don’t feel pressured:

@lunarthecorvus @marielaure @multi-fandom-bi @igotthisaccountunderduress @thelibraryofalexandriastillburns @devoted-people-hater @spraypaintstainonawhitewall

If anyone would like to be tagged when I post the chapters please let me know, and for people who are tagged in this I will not automatically assume that you want to be tagged again so if you’re still interested let me know I don’t want to be annoying and tag you in stuff you’re not interested in

[alyona11]

I just had this thought but… Since Chant states that both Hades and Persephone are deaf/blind it means that if Hades’ wake up song is Epic III, then Persephone’s is If It’s True. Which I somehow never gave a deeper thought because I always think of IIT as of a big character moment for Orpheus but damn it’s really interesting to think about!

How Long is the first time we see Persephone sober and her sudden change is provoked by Orpheus in If It’s True. It’s double interesting because Hadestown Persephone’s sin is her passiveness and sort of inability to say no to Hades in many ways: in her going with him in Way Down Hadestown, in her seeing and clearly not liking the state of the realm in Chant but not willing to fight Hades on that or make the change, in her closing her eyes on her relationship and drowning herself in wine. Orpheus breaking down yet finding powers to stand out for himself and the others and even directly calling her out on her lack of action (at least I interpret the ending of the song where Orpheus looks at her with kind of judgment like that) is what is making her finally put the matters in her own hands and try to talk to Hades.

It again adds to the idea that Hades isn’t the only problem in Hadestown. There are two people in this relationship and both have to change in order for things to work out. We just mostly stoplight Hades as the main problem and a sort of villain in this story because he is so proactive but we kinda ignore that Persephone’s passiveness is complicit in the state of the world and in Hadestown. She needs to be woken up as much as Hades does. It’s Hades who has deprived the dead of their eternal peace but it was Persephone who never said a word. It was Hades who came too early to get her home before her time but it was her who took his hand and walked into the train. I do love the depth it gives to Persephone as a character, she does feel like a real person.

[genderfluid-insomniac]

“Wait for me” dead!Macaque x living!reader (1.5k words)

A/N: I know I’m mixing pantheons but I’ve been back on a musical hype and this time around it’s been Hadestown. I love the musical too much and it came to mind when listening to “Wait for Me (reprise)” that the Orpheus and Eurydice characters would work for Macaque and another person. Although terribly angsty I must fulfill my heart's desires.

The reader is currently walking up to the living world after convincing the god of the underworld to go on a trial to get their lover the Six-Eared Macaque back home with them. The trick is that if they look back at Macaque before they reach the surface he has to go back to the underworld.

otherwise known as the Orpheus and Eurydice myth from the author Virgil and/or Ovid

This story is told from the reader’s perspective who knew, met, and fell in love with Macaque before his confrontation with Wukong. So it might seem that they’re being too hard on Wukong for killing his sworn brother when they yell at him but they don’t know everything that happened between them. ***Only the rumors of Sun Wukong from local towns and what Macaque told them.*** So I just wanted to make that clear.

Although you knew you had begun the trial and Macaque must have been behind you, you couldn’t hear him and yet still you walked. Step after step of hoping you weren’t tricked by them. All you wanted to be back in his arms, dancing in the moonlight and counting the stars until dawn arrived. You remembered it as clear as day. You were just on a walk with him, strolling through the woods and laughing about a forest spirit you had run into who mistook you as being kidnapped only to apologize when it was clear you both were in love.

It was calm and quiet as most days were but Macaque heard something, someone, someone who he once called his brother. They hadn’t seen each other in centuries and the last they saw of one another wasn’t pleasant. At least that’s all that Macaque had told you and insisted that it was too painful to talk about which you respected. You both trusted each other more than anything and you hoped it’d get you through everything.

You didn’t know what caused that fight or whether it was fate or a coincidence that they saw one another that day after almost a thousand years. Flashes and shouts could be heard as they both clashed against one another. For a demon, the fight would be easier to see but you could only catch bits and pieces of the battle, seeing both celestial primates create big craters in nearby mountains and strong gales whipping across the land surrounding them.

Truthfully you were terrified for your life a couple of times as trunks of big trees were flung your way and when gales of wind threatened to carry you off the ground. Through all of it, your eyes desperately searched for Macaque in hopes of seeing anything pointing to his survival. That moment almost froze in time as someone whom you now recognized as Sun Wukong “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” stood over your lover. Before you knew it you raced to where they both were and ignored the scrapes and cuts you got from recklessly running through a battleground.

Sure you heard the rumors of the Monkey King traveling west from folks in nearby towns or villages but the demon you saw before was nothing like you had heard and you saw him raise his staff high. You wanted to cry out, scream, do anything to get him to stop to your voice failed to obey you. He fiercely growled before yelling and striking Macaque who lay at the bottom of a crater covered in severe injuries with his staff. Most notably three large gashes over his right eye, the blood hadn’t clotted yet and you doubted it would even if he came out alive.

You let out a sob as you thought about those last couple of words. “if he came out alive”. Catching his gaze for a second those few seconds held a thousand words. Despite the shadow of death inches away from ending his life, he still smiled with so much love in his eyes and hoped that you could continue to live your life with the promise of finding joy in the smallest things. He wished that you could forgive him for leaving you so soon when he’d assured you so much love and happiness in your future.

Both of you wanted time to stop, for anything to stop the inevitable, a miracle to happen. You couldn’t though. The last thing you would ever see of him would be through your warped teary vision, his midnight black fur caked with thick blood and deep cuts decorated his strong-built body. His beloved scarf that he treasured so much lay on the ground torn severely and a mix of blood and dirt obscured parts of his beautiful vibrant six ears; now partially covered in small cuts on the edges of each colorful lotus petal-shaped ear. Although one of his eyes had been badly damaged surely beyond repair you could see his gold shining eye meeting yours and sharing one last glance before the red powerful staff came down on Macaque.

Sun Wukong had light tears falling down his cheeks and slowly approached the now-still demon’s body with shaking hands, letting his staff fall from his grip and clattering to the ground. There was so much conflict in his expression and hesitation as to whether he should even touch his fallen brethren but you rushed in. Dirt, blood, and bruises clung to you as you tumbled into the crater and collapsed on your lover, sobbing harshly at the reality now hitting you and gripping the soft torn yellow and black fabric of his layered hanfu. You cried out in pain not caring about the outside world because if something happened to you then at least you’d be reunited with one another.

A firm hand gripped your shoulder and tried to pry you off to no success, his insistence on getting you to safety and pressing the message that no mortals should be here fell on deaf ears. You didn’t care about the things you said getting up weakly and shoving the Monkey King’s chest with shaky hands. “I don’t care! You killed him! You bastard! He told me you were once close.” you shouted and raised a hand, slapping the left side of his face hard and seeing him hiss through his teeth when you hit a deep cut on his cheekbone.

The world was silent. Not a leaf fell or animal chittered. Only when you turned around to go back to mourning the death of someone you loved so much and knew they loved you just as much did you hear the footsteps of others. Probably the Great Sage’s companions who came to see who the victor was. You could feel 5 pairs of eyes on you and guessed the dozens of questions they had of why a random mortal was crying over a powerful demon’s corpse. One of the travelers came towards you as you cradled Macaque in your arms, an unkempt pig demon walking towards you and gleefully shouting, “Don’t cry beautiful mortal. You’re saved from the horrible demon that kidnapped you, and his power is gone! Let us help-” he was cut off by Sun Wukong tugging him back before he could touch you.

You did your best to hold in the sobs and despair you had, forcing yourself to look up and focus on the demon responsible for all of your pain. “Go. Go and live knowing you not only killed someone close to you but broke the heart of his lover. I’m sure he’s resting peacefully now.” you spat. After a few tries you managed to pick Macaque up with his head resting on your chest and carefully walked back near to where you both lived. You didn’t bother to see Sun Wukong’s expression when to told him who you were to Macaque and how it cracked into shock and anguish.

That had been almost 2 months ago until you’d finally found a local mountain god that accepted your offering in exchange for information about how to get to the underworld and after you made your trek through hell you bargained with King Yan for your lover’s soul. Another rock bounced off your shoe and hit the gravel path. You couldn’t hear his footsteps or voice or breath and you questioned if he was even behind you at all. Memories of the good times you both shared pooled in your mind and allowed a soft smile to sneak up on your face. How you had both first met because of him mistaking you for an easy victim. Safe to say he failed to do anything because you fought back decently.

Your meetings were always by surprise at first but then Macaque began to show up regularly and seemed more curious about what you did and who you were. It was obvious he could do something else rather than “wasting” time on someone he failed to kill but you caught his interest. The same game was played fairly often until a week passed when he disappeared and you thought that was it. You were happily surprised when you went to your regular sight to gather herbs and saw sizable bundles of each herb you usually picked tied up all in a basket. Macaque ended up rising from the shadow of a nearby Rainbow Gum tree and apologizing for disappearing but offering to repay you. That night he confessed underneath the stars looking at the moon while he told you stories he heard during his travels.

A bright light blinded you in the dark tunnel that was now slowly opening into the base of the mountain you entered hours ago and you fought through the tight v-shaped opening until you reached the edge where obsidian-shaded gravel met the healthy forest floor. You couldn’t tell if it was you or Macaque who let out a sigh of relief.

“You’re here.”

[jess-ence]

Cloud & Aerith are Orpheus & Eurydice

An Analysis:

Hello! I wanted to share my analysis on how Cloud & Aerith represent the Ancient Greek legend of Orpheus & Eurydice, one of the most well known tragic love stories. I love this game and I love this legend and after seeing connections I wanted to share it with others. This is my opinion. if you disagree, you can keep scrolling, and have a nice day <3

There have been many different variations of this story from Hadestown to Moulin Rouge. I will reference the broadway show Hadestown a lot, because I’m a huge fan of the show and it represents Orpheus & Eurydice’s story very well. With this analysis, I’m going in with the belief that Hollow and No Promises to Keep are Cloud and Aerith’s songs that are about each other, who those songs are about is a whole different argument, but to ME, it’s obvious who they’re about and I’m using them to push this analysis further.

In the Greek legend, Orpheus & Eurydice fell in love, and one day Eurydice died from the bite of a viper. Orpheus was so ruined by grief that he traveled to the underworld itself to find Eurydice and bring her back. Orpheus sang about his love for Eurydice to Hades and Persephone, who were so moved by it that Hades gave him the opportunity to bring Eurydice out of the underworld, he just has to take the long walk out of the underworld with Eurydice behind him, and he cannot look back at her the entire walk until they are out of the underworld, or else she will be sent back down. Towards the end of their walk, Orpheus is worried that Hades had tricked him because he could not hear Eurydice behind him. He loves her so much that he is driven mad by the fear and doubt that enter his mind. So much so that he ends up looking back at her, and she is sent back to the underworld.

Now for the comparison to Cloud and Aerith.

Obviously, much like Orpheus and Eurydice, we see their relationship become a precious and cherished thing, until Aerith is suddenly killed. If you really wanna get into details, guess who has eyes like a viper, Sephiroth. The one who kills Aerith.

Now Cloud is not a singer or a poet, but he does have a theme song called Hollow in the Remake. This song is heavily theorized to be about Aerith, and makes the most sense to be about her. It describes how lost and hollow he feels without her, which is so unbelievably Orpheus of him. In the lines;

“Bloody and bruised, Brought to my knees

When beaten down, When broken up

You would appear, Reach out to me,

Heal every wound, And make me whole”

It makes me think of a scene in Hadestown, where Orpheus gets beaten up while in the underworld trying to get Eurydice back. Persephone is inspired by Orpheus’ determination to get Eurydice back, his love for her and determination to get her back keeps him going even when he’s beaten down.

Throughout Hollow, he says a lot of words like “Guide me to you” “I’ll never let you go”. He still wants to find her somehow after feeling so empty from her death. Again, very Orpheus.

Let’s look at the lyrics for Wait for me that Orpheus sings in Hadestown;

“Wait for me, I’m coming

Wait, I’m coming with you

Wait for me, I’m coming too

I’m coming too”

Before Aerith even dies, she is kidnapped by Shinra, and Cloud makes it his personal mission to go get her back. After she is kidnapped in Remake, he has a vision of her, where he tells her,

“I’m coming for you”

In Rebirth, after she “dies” he tells her “I’ve got this” in English, but in the Japanese version, guess what he really says?

Wait for me.

There’s also a play called Loveless in FF7 Rebirth, where Cloud and Aerith play Alphreid and Rosa, whose story is very reminiscent of their real story. (I’m aware of how Rosa’s part can also be played by Tifa and Yuffie, but the story of this play fits Cloud and Aerith’s real story the most, as well as Rosa’s character fits Aerith the most. So I wanted to include it)

There is a line that Alphreid tells Rosa;

“You needn’t promise that you’ll wait. For I know that I will find you here”

Key words: Wait and Find

In Hadestown, Eurydice sings a song called Flowers. And guess who in FF7 is a flower girl? Aerith.

The song talks about how Eurydice regrets becoming a worker for Hades (in this version she is very poor and hungry, and Hades convinced her to sell her soul for the safety of it all) but she misses the world above and remembers Orpheus and her happiness with him in the fields of flowers.

Aside from the obvious flower connection, this almost makes me think of how while Aerith had a responsibility in dying and saving the world, she may have regrets since all she wants is to be happy with Cloud (we see her wishes on her dream date with him, spending time with him is how she wishes her life would be without the burden) and in the Advent Children script, when Cloud rides his motorcycle by a field of flowers where her ghost is standing and watching over him, it describes her feeling lonely.

Another thing to note, in Hadestown, a flower is used as a symbol for the whole show. Most notably for this analysis, Orpheus uses it as a reminder of her as he travels to the underworld and tries to give it back when they reunite. And guess what happens when Cloud and Aerith meet? She gives him a flower that represents the reunion of lovers.

In Aerith’s song, No Promises to Keep, Aerith describes this burden she has of being the last Cetra while also saying lines like,

“Till the day that we meet again

Where or when?

I wish I could say

But believe know that you'll find me“

Also:

“Still I hope someday you'll come and find me“

This just screams Eurydice waiting for Orpheus in the underworld, knowing he’ll come find her. Shes saying, come and find me, while he’s saying, guide me to you. Pair that with how Cloud keeps saying Orpheus lines like “Wait for me” and “I’m coming for you” Hollow and No Promises to Keep are such Orpheus and Eurydice anthems, even without the context of FF7 or Cloud and Aerith, those songs fit Orpheus and Eurydice so well. A man feeling hollow without his love, a woman trusting the man to come find her. *chefs kiss*

In the original FF7, Cloud gets a glimpse of Aerith after the final battle, and that’s when he says:

“the Promised Land...

I think I can meet her...there.”

Now we don’t have a clear answer as to what exactly the Promised Land is. Since Aerith is dead at this point when Cloud says this, it makes you wonder if it’s related to where you go when you die, or maybe just where Aerith goes since she is a Cetra. Regardless, she is still dead and Cloud still wants to find her, much like Orpheus when Eurydice dies.

In the Advent Children film that takes place two years after Aerith dies, Cloud himself is dying from geostigma, and sadly enough, is pushing away his friends, accepting death rather than fighting it, seemingly searching for Aerith amongst it all with how he sleeps in her church. Orpheus was known to have never been the same after Eurydice died, completely swallowed up with grief until he had the idea to see her again in the underworld.

Another interesting detail in AC, when he has visions of her, Cloud cannot look at Aerith because of his guilt until the very end where he decides to keep living on.

In the FF7 Remake, it takes a little different approach than the original FF7 did. There are multiversal aspects that have made people question if Aerith’s fate is final this time. Since we don’t know how Part 3 of the trilogy will play out, some of this is theorizing. But what I believe is that there was a new timeline where Cloud saved Aerith, it’s not the current timeline that Cloud and the rest of the party are in, but Cloud knows of this other timeline where Aerith is alive because he is the only one that can see into that timeline.

No Promises to Keep plays when they part at the very end of the game, the same song that talks about how she wants him to come and find her, just like he did when she was kidnapped by Shinra. This makes me wonder if maybe he will try to cross between different worlds (much like Orpheus with the underworld) to try and get her back. If this will be successful or not, we will see, he is Orpheus after all.

There’s another song in Hadestown called Road to Hell, about how even though Orpheus and Eurydice’s story ends in tragedy, the people in the musical keep singing it over and over hoping that one day the story will change and that one day they’ll be reunited.

“It's a sad song

But we sing it anyway

'Cause here’s the thing

To know how it ends

And still begin to sing it again

As if it might turn out this time”

A common theme with the Remake project is defying fate, repeatedly saying it’s not set in stone, that maybe it can be changed, so we’ll have to see if it’ll turn out this time.

I am one that does not mind either way if Aerith lives or dies by the end of this new trilogy. Simply because the tragedy of their romance was already great, it would be emphasized even more with this hope that maybe we can get her back. Both we and Cloud actually see a possibility of her being alive with these parallel worlds. There’s a chance he can get her back. And if he in fact still does not get her back, it would hammer in their original idea of this tragedy even more, making it more tragic. And if he does get her back, I feel like It the original idea would still be there (since we DID still see her die) but it would transcend both OG and remake that after all this time he finally found her, and maybe he’d finally be happy for it, I know people would be mad and say that it cheapens the purpose of her death or whatever but personally it would be beautiful to me. Getting that hope then getting the same result is very reminiscent of Orpheus and Eurydice. But I will say I am hopeful that Cloud can defy fate and get his Eurydice back, I would love to see them happy together by the end.