jessthephantom

[jessthephantom]

GUYS, LOOK AT THIS.✨✨✨

Now I have an idea of what my Odysseus' face looks like.🥺🥺 HE'S REDHEAD IN MY CRAZY HEAD-

In my first attempt at drawing him, I was going to do him with brown hair and a simple beard.

But I wanted to do something different, so I tried again and came up with a red-haired Odysseus.

[jessthephantom]

Here’s the Odydio god Au I did in late October oh my god I completely forgot about this

My bad I just woke up and finished my breakfast, here it is!

So this Au is about Odysseus dying at one point in the war and Athena turned him in to a god (idk how that work) so now he’s like the mix of Athena and Hermes. But the thing is his memories are completely wiped out and he fully believes that he’s a god from the start. All the memories of his family , friends are all gone.

He seeks out a Greek hero to be his warrior (just like Athena) and came across Diomedes (who he completely forgot about). Diomedes is still in the process of mourning Odysseus death, having a full on mental breakdown all alone in his tent for months and Odysseus just randomly appeared one day and offer himself to be Diomedes’s patron. And Dio did not listen, he just need to embrace Odysseus just one more time even though this is just a shell of who he once loved (Leading in to the bottom pic of the second image) He accepted Odysseus offer and doesn’t speak a words about who they once were in fear of Odysseus leaving him again.

And things continue just like the Iliad, Greek won. Everyone returns home. But instead of living peacefully away from war like the original, Diomedes continues to fight in various wars just for him to be able to stay with Odysseus. He will die fighting at one point, and Odysseus will move on to find a new hero to be his warrior.

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fallen. (lineart by @messymoonmad <3)

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Wip :]

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My Poseidon, but from the other idea of mine where Odysseus damaged both of his eyes :)

(02.03.25)

[jessthephantom]

Perhaps the reason that Apollo helped Troy...was simply because he missed the warmth of a mortal.

Hector can feel the doomed yaoi from Apollo🗡️☀️🪻

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eurylochus smuggles polites out of the underworld :)

Odysseus has left to speak with the prophet.

Most of the crew has gone below deck, seeking refuge away from the faces of the dead that drift in the sea of souls. Eurylochus does not know what compels him to stay above deck, watching the waves of passing spirits, but he does. There are many faces that he is able to recognize from the eleven ships that Poseidon had overturned, though he knows there are many more faces that he will not see, and he mourns not being able to give all of the fallen friends a proper burial.

“What troubles you, my friend?” comes a light voice.

Eurylochus startles. “Polites,” he breathes.

Eurylochus had seen him earlier, a wispy mirage with a clear voice, addressing Odysseus as they entered the Underworld, but Polites is much closer here. Much more solid. Much more difficult to ignore, and with it, the wave of emotions are much more difficult to suppress.

He swallows hard. Here is Polites, drifting by as though swimming on air, with a curious expression and none of the fear that Eurylochus had seen on his face that chilling moment before the cyclops’s club had come down on him a second, and final, time.

Eurylochus’s hand goes to his opposite wrist—two bracelets.

He and Odysseus had each taken to wearing one of Polites’s golden bracelets in addition to their own; it was a sign of remembrance. But Polites bears no jewelry in his current form, nor does he have the cloth headband that Odysseus now wears around his waist, nor the draped cloth that Eurylochus had tied around his.

“Eurylochus,” Polites says, and draws nearer. “You have yet to answer my question.”

Ah, yes. What troubles him; there is plenty to answer to that, but the most pressing, the most current: “Merely the souls we have lost.”

“I am hardly lost; or rather, if we are speaking now, then you have found me.”

Polites speaks as though it is not a tragedy. He is looking at Eurylochus as though there was no true loss to be borne. Perhaps that might be the case from his perspective—it was only a matter of time before they all are laid to rest, to join the Underworld, but not so soon. It would be many years before they would reunite, Eurylochus would think. But he cannot be sure. He is often guided by the crew he has sworn to protect, but they cannot guide him through his current conversation with the souls that have been lost.

“We are not here to stay. Not yet.”

Polites drifts backwards, casual as you please, and Eurylochus has the overwhelming desire to call out, to plead for him not to go. But Polites does not go far. He is a shimmering being, casting a dim light in the darkness of the Underworld, and regards Eurylochus with a gentle smile. “I am here to speak with you now, Eurylochus. Is that not enough? You do not need to grasp at fleeting moments; they will always come to you when you need them most.”

But you were not, Eurylocus does not say.

Polites had no longer been with them as they escaped that wretched cave, entered with the hope of enough food to feed them all, and left with nothing but tragedy and misfortune. Eurylochus’s voice trembles as he speaks. “But I am still surrounded by shadows of those we have lost,” and the dead drifts by in a never-ending stream. “I cannot bear to look at the faces of our fallen comrades, knowing that we could not save them.”

“It is not your fault that the sea has claimed so many of us. It was the will of the gods, and sometimes the waves of fate are as unchangeable as the stars. You have your memories, do you not? Of our friendship, of our childhood, of our travels, of our battles—are they not dearly cherished despite the lack of new ones?”

Eurylochus attempts a smile, as he often had in the face of his bright-spirited comrade, but the expression feels weary. “I would have rather seen you alive, my friend.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Polites says, voice so very soft, as though he is worried that a louder volume might strike Eurylochus like a physical blow. He thinks that it very well might; it is a painful interaction knowing that, for all the words they might be able to share here, Polites is gone. His friend is gone, and everyone has felt it.

“Everything has changed without you here. I have missed you.”

“It will not be forever,” Polites replies.

He approaches again, swooping like a feather in the wind, offering an affable smile. He is close, so close that Eurylochus thinks his friend could be touched, could be held. Polites almost appears alive, if not for his ethereal glow. Eurylochus reaches out, and when Polites holds out his hand in turn, it does not pass through. He feels his breath stutter on that realization, and grasps on tight.

Eurylochus knows that there is a natural order to the world, that the dead are meant to rest, he knows this well, he truly does—but he has missed Polites dearly. He does not want to let go, but they must leave the Underworld when Odysseus returns. They must continue on their journey, back to Ithaca. Eurylochus knows the dead ought to stay in their realm, but there have been so many losses along the way, and Eurylochus is just a man.

With swiftness, Eurylochus pulls his friend aboard.

—

that’s all i’ve got for now!

this was pretty fun- kind of stretching my writing style to sound more formal-ish(?)

anyways, might post this on ao3 eventually but what happens next is eurylochus keeps polites as a stowaway until they’re out of the underworld. odysseus discovering him probably goes something line this:

polites: hi ody!

odysseus: *absentmindedly* hi polites

…

odysseus: *double take*

odysseus: POLITES??

odysseus: what?? HOW??

eurylochus: *the picture of innocence*

alternatively:

odysseus: what do you have there?

eurylochus: *looks at polites* a smoothie

(note: character designs are based on this post by @awnrii bc the idea of eurylochus and odysseus incorporating polites’ outfit into theirs has been emotionally wrecking me-)

[jessthephantom]

Poseidon age transition - Cloudysseus AU I took some liberties, like uhm, that first panel where Poseidon is a kid and the big guy behind him should be Chronos, but for the rest i followed the @neal-illustrator's beautiful designs. Clearly this is Cloudysseus AU related so don't take him too seriously. I blame Epic for all this feelings. But also Neal, of course.

[jessthephantom]

Cloudyseidon ep. 3 I don't think you're ready Ody. Thanks to @neal-illustrator for inspiring me with her designs, for Odysseus, Penelope and Cloudyseidon original form!

[jessthephantom]

The Museum’s Closed - Submitted by Synoicus

#579899 #558377 #44554F #1E2429 #05010D

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“You’re not the Odysseus from my timeline… More like a lion than a wolf.”

@bigidiotenergytm :3 LIKE I SAID I WOULD

(bonus mini comic below the cut!)

NERD ALERT NERD ALERT

CORALSEIDON FOUND A CAVE SYSTEM BELOW ITHACA

[jessthephantom]

Zeus would be holding Athena and Ares back like dogs whenever they fight

"Hey HEY NO. BAD ARES"

"NO ATHENA... ATHENA. ATHENA!!! AYE"

starts clapping for them to actually pay attention to him

YES.

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CAN I GET SOME LOVE IN THE HOUSE FOR WAR GODDESS APHRODITE????

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👁️

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Odysseus is smart, y'all

One thing I feel like EPIC fans don't realise nearly enough is how terrifying of an enemy Odysseus actually is

He's so smart, intelligent and cunning, always a mile ahead from everyone else

Like... even if he gets defeated, he always, ALWAYS manages to get the upperhand and win against his enemies. He survived Zeus!!!!!!

A collection of examples of his intelligence and of his warrior abilities:

- Military strategy (creation of the wooden horse and sack of Troy as illustrated in The Horse and The Infant, defeating Polyphemus in Survive and Remember Them)

- Maritime knowledge (knowing to follow birds to land in Full Speed Ahead, knowing about Scylla when the siren gives him instruction in Suffering, ability to sail in Dangerous and Charybdis)

- Acting and lying (Warrior of the Mind in which he slyly deceived Athena into revealing herself, Suffering in which he played along and tricked the siren into revealing maritime routes. And let's be honest he lies all the time lol, he is cunning and a liar and a trickster and we love him for it)

- Fighting prowess (beating 107 suitors in Odysseus, beating Poseidon in Six Hundred Strikes) and strength coupled with skill (The Challenge and Hold Them Down both mention the bow that is impossible to string and the difficulty of shooting through twelve axes, meaning that at the very least Odysseus is a master archer. Even better than that we only see him using a bow in Odysseus!)

- Analytical and quick thinking (deducing that something is wrong with the lotus in Open Arms, noticing that there has to be reason the lotus eaters are not eating from the cave in Polyphemus)

- Adaptability (using the holy moly in Wouldn't You Like and Done For, using the wind bag in Ruthlessness and Get In The Water)

- Premeditated strategies (he drugged the wine in advance in Polyphemus, made the crew use beeswax in their ears before Suffering and Different Beast, made the crew use 6 torches in Scylla)

- Excellent memory (remembering the layout of a palace he built more than twenty years ago in Odysseus, recognising the cattle as Helios' friends in Mutiny)

And we know he's being this from a very young age as well! (He defeated the boar in Warrior of the Mind)

Of course his talents are not just witnessed by us but also mentioned by other characters (Telemachus mentions Odysseus' past prowess in Legendary, Athena argues to Ares in God Games that Odysseus will deliver on a bloodshed, the suitors become quickly more and more afraid of him in Odysseus. I would also argue that his adaptability is sung by Tiresias is No Longer You, since we now know that he does get to make it home alive, even if he is the only one. It has been prophecised.)

His worst enemy has always been his pride and hubris however, never a lack of intelligence (Remember Them, Mutiny) and his extremely egotistical point of view (Scylla). Which is why it's so fascinating that this ends up being what saves him (Thunder Bringer). I would argue, him revealing his full name to Polyphemus is not him bring stupid: it's him being so confident and full of pride, so absorbed in his own ego that he believes himself more wise than Athena (mercy is a skill more of us should use). Because he is objectively extremely intelligent and talented, he has a tendency to overestimate his abilities (and why wouldn't he, when it ends up working so well most of the time?) and to commit the sin of hubris: thinking he knows better than divine beings. This is why it's also very interesting to me that Circe ends up almost beating him by using emotions (There Are Other Ways); and why it's even more interesting to see that for once, Odysseus won by being honest and not using any tricks. No intelligence or supernatural power is required to love your wife!

It is, after all, pretty fucking difficult for a mortal to win against a god without divine help (Love In Paradise....... Not Sorry For Loving You........ Thank you so much Hermes........)

To quote Athena, "My life has one mission: create the greatest warrior." Well........... I would say Odysseus certainly comes close to it. Especially now that he has learnt to be ruthless (Monster).

And it is why it is such a natural conclusion to see Odysseus become the final boss in Odysseus. He has beaten all his enemies now, and the only monster left standing is himself.

How is this new monster defeated? By using his own tricks :) (Penelope tricks him by asking him to move their wedding bed in Would You Fall In Love With Me Again)

I don't know I just really love how well he is depicted as an intelligent character. Because it's not just that the narrative tells us that he is a genius, it is also shown in very discrete manners and not commented on, which is a breather! (Just compare it to BBC Sherlock or something lol)

So yeah. Thank you Jay for this fantastic take on the myth!

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Its so weird seeing Poseidon's designs with human skin tones because it's so obvious to me that he is BLUE

like I cannot imagine him otherwise

I feel the same way about Zeus and Hades like, Zeus is so obviously yellow and Hades like a really pale green, it's so weird why I haven't seen like any other design of him being blue they're always human skin tones which is great but STILL

HE IS BLUE TO ME

Omg maybe I should draw the three in like a more humanized version that would be weird as hell