#orph is the best. i adore him. wish i could draw him.

[roukabi]

Hey does anybody want Orpheus headcanons

The answer is yes. Here you go!

okey dokey so. When Orph was a wee, wee lad, about two years old, his mother Calliope made a descision. She couldn’t provide for the both of them, and, considering just how difficult little kids are, forced herself to give him to someone that would actually be able to care for him. 

Hermes found the child on his doorstep one evening with a note from his old friend, whom was never seen again.

Now, Hermes knew as much about parenting as Calliope did, so he wasn’t. Thrilled with this sudden happening. 

But the kid’s mama was a dear, dear friend of his, ever since they were young adults. And Orpheus’s huge, curious eyes sure were cute.

Orpheus doesn’t remember much of this, but he feels guilty about it nonetheless. Why'd he have to make things so hard for his mother? Why did he have to be such a burden?

And so, Orpheus was very timid around Hermes during those first few months together. However, if there’s one virtue Hermes has mastered, it’s patience. Slowly, he learns of Orpheus’s boundaries, what he likes to talk about, and what he really likes to talk about. Orpheus goes from standing shyly under Hermes’ stature to constantly attatching himself to Hermes’ leg.

When Persephone arrived one summer to find this child clinging to Hermes, her oncoming slew of questions faded into “awwwwww”s. 

She put it upon herself to pitch in with Hermes’s parenting journey a bit, offering to watch Orpheus and teach him a few things.

It puts things into perspective for her, actually. She realizes that, in the wake of her + Hades' quarreling, the environmental and economic upheaval will, in fact, hurt the Surface people she cares about.

Anyway, back to the main boy. Orpheus loved music from a teeny-tiny age - he was almost always humming some random tune. And if Orpheus wasn’t humming, then boy, did that kid ask a ton of questions.

Orpheus gets a mini-guitar as a gift from Hermes. He’s pretty much self-taught.

Orph learned the “la-la-la-la” tune as a lullaby from Calliope. Hermes would sing it to the boy every night.

As he grows older, Orph gets better and better with music, impressing nearly everyone in town with how quickly he’s learning. (Nearly, because there's always Some Guy, I suppose).

Hermes tried to get Orpheus to work at the bar, but they realized that loud, demanding crowds were Not Very Nice to Orph’s sensory issues. So, he works as the bar bard. Bar bard. That’s fun to say. 

As usual, the backstory dump is over, so now we get into the fun stuff 

Though Orpheus is a great musician, he’s also an expert cook, carver, and sewer. Hermes taught him most of these skills. Orph is just... really good with his hands.

Autistic Orpheus is canon, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make up one billion self-projections More Headcanons! He’s got big sound + light sensitivity, stims vocally, LOVES anything soft/fluffy, and has RSD (rejection sensitive dysphoria). He used to have a harmful stim of digging his nails into his hand when stressed, but through some gentle working-arounds with Hermes, that’s been reduced to pinching the skin.

He’s also bi and trans because i said so. i make the rules now

Orpheus can’t talk if overwhelmed, so he and Hermes know ASL. Orpheus taught Eurydice ASL as well in case he needed to communicate with her, and the first thing he taught her (in a nervously clever way) was “I love you”. 

He gets his musical inspiration from watching the world around him. Thankfully, he’s a glass-half-full kind of guy, so many of his songs bring a much-needed joyfulness to the bar-goers’ lives.

When Orpheus meets Eurydice, his songs grow romantic veeerrryyy quickly.

Orph has a very, very extreme fear of death that only worsens during his Hadestown shenanigans. It's not much of a surprise, since he's the #1 fan of life + living.

The BIGGEST cuddlebug ever, loves hugs, loves snuggles. With Eurydice, though, he took it super slowly, only touching her when she was comfortable. In a few months, though, her favorite place turned out to be Orpheus’s arms :)

He’s not that great at making friends because he is too shy to say anything. He's really nice to bar-goers, of course, but he can't seem to go past that.

Orph cries easily, but not just when he’s upset. He’ll see one of those mice that sleep in flowers and tear up. 

He's actually pretty strong, doing all of the heavy lifting in the bar for Hermes n such. He will never use this strength against anybody, though.

Orph has terrible spring allergies :/ it's a shame bc he loves spring

Eurydice is Orpheus's first and only love.

He thinks his singing is. okay, but not great. But he will hype up Eurydice’s dancing and (occasional) singing like crazy. 

He's vegetarian and likes any kind of cheese or soup. And he likes strawberries!

Not a morning person, much to the amusement of early-bird Eurydice.

Can you tell i think about Orpheus Hadestown Too Much

#writing this and putting little imaginary hearts everywhere (in a distinctly non-romantic way) #orph is the best. i adore him. wish i could draw him. #hadestown #orpheus #orpheus hadestown #hadestown broadway #headcanons #long post #rook roars!