(no subject)
Your name: Zai.
Your personal LJ:
eudaimon
Who do you currently play at Tabula Rasa?: Eostre, Ian Murray, Lily Strombeck, Charlie Andrews, Jerry Bines and Augustus Knickel.
Have you dropped any pup since your last application? No.
If so, why did you feel the need to drop them? (Please note: This section of the application will have no bearing on whether it is accepted. It is intended only as a device to encourage muns to evaluate who they are applying for.)
Your character's name: Eurydice.
Your character's canon: "I Dream I'm The Death of Orpheus" by Adrienne Rich.
What type of canon is it (Book series, film, etc.): poem.
Your character's LJ:
drivingherpoet
Is your character living or dead at their time of entry?: she's been dead for a very long time.
Does your character have any pre-existing disabilities of a medical, physical, or psychiatric nature?: (paralyzed or missing limbs, AIDS, barren, schizophrenia, etc.) She's barren. She also walks with a slight limp.
Your character's personality: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing the major aspects of your pup's personality. This is NOT the same as background information.) Here's the thing: Eurydice's been dead for a very long time. Not that there is any time in Hell, but it's been a while. She doesn't remember being alive and that, more than anything, informs who she is at this time. She isn't cold, so much as she's completely forgotten how to feel. She isn't arrogant...It's just been a long time since she had anybody to look straight in the eye. What she is is what she's learnt to be; quiet, contained. She has "the nerves of a panther", but she suffers nightmares. She's a bit of a tease, once she warms up to someone; sometimes, it's her who says his name, and he always turns around. She's brave, she's insightful, but, mostly, she's tired. And she's been in Hell for a very long time, which'll strip a lot of a person away , in the end. Look, originally, she was nineteen and, on her wedding day, she died. She doesn't have a lot of joy in her. It takes a lot to make her laugh. But she loves her car, and she loves her husband, and she'll miss them, come to that. She's very young, but she's frozen solid; the "prime of her life" just meant that she wouldn't get any older. Now she will. And she'll thaw, given time. She's just a little cracked. What Eurydice knows is this: that a woman has POWER, over men, over her husband. It's the power to make him turn and look. That's what she knows, underneath a layer of gravedirt and cold.
Why do you want to play this character?: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing your character's general ability to contribute to the fictional community of Tabula Rasa.)
I've been obsessed with the Orpheus Myth since I was very young; it crops up EVERYWHERE, in movies and books and poems, and it seems to me there's so much room in it, so much space in which to play. Eurydice is particularly interesting; not only does she die in the myth, but she's practically a ghost at her own wedding - she's only ever a sketch. Rilke called her “the blonde in the poet's song”. I think that playing Eurydice on TR would provide the perfect opportunity to flesh her out, make her more of a person in her own right. The interesting thing about myths is that they're always rewriting themselves, reinventing themselves for the period in which they're being told. The Eurydice who I would be bringing to the island hails from the poem 'I DREAM I'M THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS" by Adrienne Rich, which was written in 1968, which was the year that Johnny Cash played at Folsom, the year before the Stones released 'Gimme Shelter'. She's an American Eurydice, a Vietnam war Eurydice, but, more importantly, she's a Eurydice for the Feminist Revolution. She's impowered, she's powerful, but she's still broken and, for me as a mun, that's the important thing about her. She's complicated, two sided, and she's full of flaws. Also, she's very young; 'the prime of her life' is 19 years old, and she'll never get any older. It isn't so much a second chance as a way to go back and, this time, there's no chance of hell. That's important. I want an opportunity to explore this character, to take her beyond the natural end of the muth and see what comes of her. i think it'll be an interesting opportunity since this game is all about exploring characters in new situations and Eurydice is perfect for that.
Tell us about your character's background: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing your character's past and present. The future may be included, if relevant. Also be sure to include the point at which s/he is leaving canon)
The Orpheus myth is a story of thwarted love; the dead bride, the journey into hell, the bargain that goes awry, the murder of the hero because, bereft, he will no longer sing. These are the key facts. This is more or less how the story always goes. Sometimes there is a rapist driving Eurydice to step on the snake that kills (goat-like Aristaeus, who was Orpheus’ friend first). It is the middle part of the story which is most well known; alive, Orpheus journeys down, braves horrors to stand before the King of the Underworld and plays his magic lyre. He is allowed to lead Eurydice out of hell but, at the last minute, looks back (which he was forbidden to do) and condemns her to death for the second time. This is the foundation of the story then. These are the facts. The rest is all interpretation. But what about Eurydice? Where's her place in all of this?
In Rich's thoroughly modern retelling, Eurydice is never out of the Underworld; she's been doead for so long that she doesn't actually remember being alive (though you can bet that it went down exactly the same way as it always has before, and she does walk with a limp). In Greek myths, punishments are always repeating themselves and Eurydice is always getting dressed in the dark. Her Orpheus is a poet. She drives a black Rolls Royce (which she may or may not love more than she loves her husband). She knows the roads of the Underground City as well as she knows her own body. And every time Orpheus says her name, it all repeats itself again. Only this time when Orpheus says her name, Eurydice finds herself standing in a big, bright room with music playing and she suddenly remembers what it felt like to be alive. And it's horrible.
Your character's initial personal inventory: (This is a detailed list of everything on a person when they first arrive on the Island. It should include clothes, accessories, carried items, etc. Should your pup be in possession of a device that requires a battery, please include the power level of the battery/ies. This list cannot be too detailed!)
x 1 pair of black cotton panties.
x 1 black cotton bra
x 1 pair black patent high heeled mary janes.
x 1 black shift dress
x 1 black tail coat with a fine grey pinstripe
x 1 gold wedding band (engraved with musical notes)
x a man's watch iwth a steel strap showing two times, one of which never changes.
x 1 large black purse holding:
o notebook
o 2 pens
o crayola crayons
o a set of car keys with a silver Angel keychain.
o a green eyeliner
o 2 packets of cigarettes, one unopened.
o a piece of paper folded up really small, written in handwriting which is not her own.
Your character's entrance post: (This may be altered once you actually post your pup in, but our primary goal here is to ensure you have put a modicum of thought into how you will go about portraying your pup.)
This is what we do now: we get dressed in the dark. We don’t look at each other. You’d think that I miss the sex, but I don’t, if I’m honest. I don’t know if that’s sad or not. It probably is. He wears the suits that I lay out for him. It doesn’t really matter what I wear. He walks down the stairs ahead of me and all that I can focus on is the lint across his shoulders. Nobody talks.
In the car, I turn up the music and he reads the same newspaper over and over again behind a half closed blacked out screen. Sisiphyus had his rock, Prometheus had his eagle and this is what we have: nowhere to go forever, and all the time in the world to do it. The car can only take us so far. The riots are happening every day now, and the fires are always burning. The boys on bikes get in deeper. I lift my hand and wave to them and, not for the first time, I wonder if he wonders if I was always faithful. I was always faithful. I was the most constant of constant wives.
We get out and walk. I am careful to lock the car, though I know it’ll be exactly where it should be, when I come back, I always come back.
I am walking ahead of him today. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes he goes ahead of me. Here it is: he always says my name. He can’t help himself, and I don’t blame him. The hell of loving other people is not enough to stop us. The striations of light and dark on the pavement look like a ladder, something leading up. Sex is a pigin language, c onstantly relearned, but, more than that, there are ways out in the bodies of others and you climb each other desperately, looking for the blue sky. The light on the sidewalk is a ladder, and carefully we climb.
I stumble, so it’s my own fault, this time. My heel catches. Without looking at him, I know he put his hand out. Bless you, my love.
“Eurydi-“
that’s all it takes, and…
Oh, wait. No. this isn’t right at all. Where’s my poet? Where’s my car? Where are the boys on bikes and where, oh where, has my Hell gone? I should be waking up by now. Oh, god, a headbeat. Oh, Jesus, that’s horrible.
I’m sorry that your mother died.
I think I’m going to…I need to…oh, Christ, I’m sorry, I’ll clean that up.
I’m sorry anybody dies at all these days.
Oh, God, now I remember. Ask me again.
Your personal LJ:
eudaimon
Who do you currently play at Tabula Rasa?: Eostre, Ian Murray, Lily Strombeck, Charlie Andrews, Jerry Bines and Augustus Knickel.
Have you dropped any pup since your last application? No.
If so, why did you feel the need to drop them? (Please note: This section of the application will have no bearing on whether it is accepted. It is intended only as a device to encourage muns to evaluate who they are applying for.)
Your character's name: Eurydice.
Your character's canon: "I Dream I'm The Death of Orpheus" by Adrienne Rich.
What type of canon is it (Book series, film, etc.): poem.
Your character's LJ:
drivingherpoet
Is your character living or dead at their time of entry?: she's been dead for a very long time.
Does your character have any pre-existing disabilities of a medical, physical, or psychiatric nature?: (paralyzed or missing limbs, AIDS, barren, schizophrenia, etc.) She's barren. She also walks with a slight limp.
Your character's personality: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing the major aspects of your pup's personality. This is NOT the same as background information.) Here's the thing: Eurydice's been dead for a very long time. Not that there is any time in Hell, but it's been a while. She doesn't remember being alive and that, more than anything, informs who she is at this time. She isn't cold, so much as she's completely forgotten how to feel. She isn't arrogant...It's just been a long time since she had anybody to look straight in the eye. What she is is what she's learnt to be; quiet, contained. She has "the nerves of a panther", but she suffers nightmares. She's a bit of a tease, once she warms up to someone; sometimes, it's her who says his name, and he always turns around. She's brave, she's insightful, but, mostly, she's tired. And she's been in Hell for a very long time, which'll strip a lot of a person away , in the end. Look, originally, she was nineteen and, on her wedding day, she died. She doesn't have a lot of joy in her. It takes a lot to make her laugh. But she loves her car, and she loves her husband, and she'll miss them, come to that. She's very young, but she's frozen solid; the "prime of her life" just meant that she wouldn't get any older. Now she will. And she'll thaw, given time. She's just a little cracked. What Eurydice knows is this: that a woman has POWER, over men, over her husband. It's the power to make him turn and look. That's what she knows, underneath a layer of gravedirt and cold.
Why do you want to play this character?: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing your character's general ability to contribute to the fictional community of Tabula Rasa.)
I've been obsessed with the Orpheus Myth since I was very young; it crops up EVERYWHERE, in movies and books and poems, and it seems to me there's so much room in it, so much space in which to play. Eurydice is particularly interesting; not only does she die in the myth, but she's practically a ghost at her own wedding - she's only ever a sketch. Rilke called her “the blonde in the poet's song”. I think that playing Eurydice on TR would provide the perfect opportunity to flesh her out, make her more of a person in her own right. The interesting thing about myths is that they're always rewriting themselves, reinventing themselves for the period in which they're being told. The Eurydice who I would be bringing to the island hails from the poem 'I DREAM I'M THE DEATH OF ORPHEUS" by Adrienne Rich, which was written in 1968, which was the year that Johnny Cash played at Folsom, the year before the Stones released 'Gimme Shelter'. She's an American Eurydice, a Vietnam war Eurydice, but, more importantly, she's a Eurydice for the Feminist Revolution. She's impowered, she's powerful, but she's still broken and, for me as a mun, that's the important thing about her. She's complicated, two sided, and she's full of flaws. Also, she's very young; 'the prime of her life' is 19 years old, and she'll never get any older. It isn't so much a second chance as a way to go back and, this time, there's no chance of hell. That's important. I want an opportunity to explore this character, to take her beyond the natural end of the muth and see what comes of her. i think it'll be an interesting opportunity since this game is all about exploring characters in new situations and Eurydice is perfect for that.
Tell us about your character's background: (This should be between 150 and 400 words detailing your character's past and present. The future may be included, if relevant. Also be sure to include the point at which s/he is leaving canon)
The Orpheus myth is a story of thwarted love; the dead bride, the journey into hell, the bargain that goes awry, the murder of the hero because, bereft, he will no longer sing. These are the key facts. This is more or less how the story always goes. Sometimes there is a rapist driving Eurydice to step on the snake that kills (goat-like Aristaeus, who was Orpheus’ friend first). It is the middle part of the story which is most well known; alive, Orpheus journeys down, braves horrors to stand before the King of the Underworld and plays his magic lyre. He is allowed to lead Eurydice out of hell but, at the last minute, looks back (which he was forbidden to do) and condemns her to death for the second time. This is the foundation of the story then. These are the facts. The rest is all interpretation. But what about Eurydice? Where's her place in all of this?
In Rich's thoroughly modern retelling, Eurydice is never out of the Underworld; she's been doead for so long that she doesn't actually remember being alive (though you can bet that it went down exactly the same way as it always has before, and she does walk with a limp). In Greek myths, punishments are always repeating themselves and Eurydice is always getting dressed in the dark. Her Orpheus is a poet. She drives a black Rolls Royce (which she may or may not love more than she loves her husband). She knows the roads of the Underground City as well as she knows her own body. And every time Orpheus says her name, it all repeats itself again. Only this time when Orpheus says her name, Eurydice finds herself standing in a big, bright room with music playing and she suddenly remembers what it felt like to be alive. And it's horrible.
Your character's initial personal inventory: (This is a detailed list of everything on a person when they first arrive on the Island. It should include clothes, accessories, carried items, etc. Should your pup be in possession of a device that requires a battery, please include the power level of the battery/ies. This list cannot be too detailed!)
x 1 pair of black cotton panties.
x 1 black cotton bra
x 1 pair black patent high heeled mary janes.
x 1 black shift dress
x 1 black tail coat with a fine grey pinstripe
x 1 gold wedding band (engraved with musical notes)
x a man's watch iwth a steel strap showing two times, one of which never changes.
x 1 large black purse holding:
o notebook
o 2 pens
o crayola crayons
o a set of car keys with a silver Angel keychain.
o a green eyeliner
o 2 packets of cigarettes, one unopened.
o a piece of paper folded up really small, written in handwriting which is not her own.
Your character's entrance post: (This may be altered once you actually post your pup in, but our primary goal here is to ensure you have put a modicum of thought into how you will go about portraying your pup.)
This is what we do now: we get dressed in the dark. We don’t look at each other. You’d think that I miss the sex, but I don’t, if I’m honest. I don’t know if that’s sad or not. It probably is. He wears the suits that I lay out for him. It doesn’t really matter what I wear. He walks down the stairs ahead of me and all that I can focus on is the lint across his shoulders. Nobody talks.
In the car, I turn up the music and he reads the same newspaper over and over again behind a half closed blacked out screen. Sisiphyus had his rock, Prometheus had his eagle and this is what we have: nowhere to go forever, and all the time in the world to do it. The car can only take us so far. The riots are happening every day now, and the fires are always burning. The boys on bikes get in deeper. I lift my hand and wave to them and, not for the first time, I wonder if he wonders if I was always faithful. I was always faithful. I was the most constant of constant wives.
We get out and walk. I am careful to lock the car, though I know it’ll be exactly where it should be, when I come back, I always come back.
I am walking ahead of him today. It doesn’t matter. Sometimes he goes ahead of me. Here it is: he always says my name. He can’t help himself, and I don’t blame him. The hell of loving other people is not enough to stop us. The striations of light and dark on the pavement look like a ladder, something leading up. Sex is a pigin language, c onstantly relearned, but, more than that, there are ways out in the bodies of others and you climb each other desperately, looking for the blue sky. The light on the sidewalk is a ladder, and carefully we climb.
I stumble, so it’s my own fault, this time. My heel catches. Without looking at him, I know he put his hand out. Bless you, my love.
“Eurydi-“
that’s all it takes, and…
Oh, wait. No. this isn’t right at all. Where’s my poet? Where’s my car? Where are the boys on bikes and where, oh where, has my Hell gone? I should be waking up by now. Oh, god, a headbeat. Oh, Jesus, that’s horrible.
I’m sorry that your mother died.
I think I’m going to…I need to…oh, Christ, I’m sorry, I’ll clean that up.
I’m sorry anybody dies at all these days.
Oh, God, now I remember. Ask me again.