#<- check that tag for the saga

[haaam-guuuurl]

[a-person-on-the-internet]

Only Epic the Musical could have a solid 50% of the fandom say "ooh kinky" after watching a graphic torture scene.

I do not blame any of yall. I can see it.

But also. Damn.

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

hey you know what would be like. the WORST possible thing? if no time had passed for mortals during God Games. if the entire time, Odysseus had just been frozen on that ledge. and at the start of the Vengeance Saga, Ody's still on the ledge. he looks to the skies, to the trees, out over the ocean. he looks for an owl with knowing eyes and strains to hear her voice over the waves, because surely, surely she'd come for him. the haven't spoken in nine years and he ruined whatever relationship they had when he stupidly, foolishly let the cyclops live, but she has to still care, right? she was his mentor. she was his patron. he meant something to her. he's sure of it

but she's not there. he waits, but she's not there. he closes his eyes, sparing himself the view, and steps off the ledge

and is saved by Hermes. and Odysseus briefly thinks that he has died, since Hermes escorts souls to the underworld. but Hermes assures him that, no, he's alive, Athena heard him, she bargained with Zeus, he can go home now. he can finally go home

his friend came through

[royalarchivist]

Pac: [Singing] Maybe it's better this way, we'd hurt each other's feelings– Man, I never- I sang this song with Fit, huh? While in Rotterdam. I should– I should have taken pictures of it, or recorded it.

Pac: [Reading chat] "Liar" It's true! [Reading chat] "Fake news, Pac" It's real! Ah, no– we didn't sing that song, it's true– I don't think we actually sang it, no. Or did we sing it? Am I saying fake news without realizing it? Hey, but I sang a song with Fit, didn't I?

Pac: [Reading chat] "Fanfic?" What fanfic? I would never tell a fanfic.

[ Baghera's video of Fit and Pac singing together at Twitchcon ]

[randompumpkinkiddo]

psst... wake up bae, new viktanya propaganda just dropped

[wolfnight2012]

Place your bets now, do we have 1 last Polites reference to look forward to, or 2?

So far, we've had some sort of Polites reference in Each saga

Ocean Saga:

"Open Arms" chords heard in "Luck Runs Out" (confirmed by Jorge in this video here)

Odysseus: "I still believe we can be kind. Lead from the heart and see what starts"

Polites: "We'll be fine if we're leading from the heart"

"Everything's changed since Polites" in "Keep Your Friends Close

Circe Saga:

Circe: "You've given me no reason to bestow you with my trust"

Polites: "You can show a person that you trust them, when you stop & lower your guard"

Odysseus: *lowers his guard by telling Circe his true motivations & gains her sympathy/help in the process*

Circe: "Maybe showing one act of kindness, leads to kinder souls down the road"

Polites: "Kindness is brave"

Underworld Saga:

We actually get Polites back/Open Arms refrain

"I lost my best friend" from "Monster"

Thunder Saga:

The siren uses Polites' instrument while trying to lure Odysseus into the water in "Suffering" (Jorge talks about that in this video here)

Wisdom Saga:

We get Polites back again/another Open Arms refrain in "Love in Paradise"

(Also, check out my post talking about how the Wisdom Saga argues for Polites' open arms philosophy to see just How Much it is referenced/paralleled/called back to in that saga)

Telemachus: "Maybe, it's all gonna turn out great. I know we'll be fine"

Polites: "Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart"

Telemachus: "Boy I wish I could, so I could bring the world some light"

Polites: "No matter the place, we can light up the world"

Now, it could ABSOLUTELY be a coincidence that Jorge referenced Polites/Open Arms in every saga & maybe the Wisdom Saga will be the last we hear of him

OR, it could be a pattern, in which case, Polites will show up again in SOME way in both the Vengeance Saga & the Ithaca Saga (be it his instrument (like with the sirens) the "Open Arms" chord progression (like in "Luck Runs Out") or the "Open Arms" chorus (like in "Underworld" or "Love in Paradise")

Now, I've already mentioned a few times how I could see Telemachus being used to call back to Polites (such as at the very bottom of my response here) ESPECIALLY after the Wisdom Saga & how much Telemachus parallels Polites both personality-wise & in his beliefs.

So I'm thinking IF we have one last Polites reference it might be when Telemachus & Odysseus finally meet/speak.

Perhaps a semi-reprised lyric (such as another lyric about "bringing the world light" or Polites-like optimism) combined either with Polites' instrument or chords from "Open Arms"

Which could both remind Odysseus of Polites & show that the values of "Open Arms" still live in Telemachus, even if Odysseus couldn't manage to uphold them himself.

(I also like the thought of making it more explicit, with Odysseus acknowledging he sees Polites in Telemachus with lyrics such as "I look into your eyes & I think back that friend of mine. You're as old as he was, when we left for war."[which I got from @midnight-drip art here] BUT, I don't think this is likely)

A Polites' callback could come from Athena of all places, given that in the Wisdom Saga she realizes she was wrong to demand Odysseus turn off his heart.

However

Personally, I like the idea of one last "Open Arms" reprise in the Ithaca Saga, BUT not the chorus.

If you check out my break down of "Open Arms" you'll know my interpretation of "Open Arms" is Polites' noticing Odysseus' stress/trauma & trying to help him heal.

What if after Odysseus takes care of the suitors he's left unsure of how to approach his family? The wife he hasnt seen in 20 years. The son he's never known?

What if they're standing across the stage from each other, both parties unsure of how to proceed, then we hear a soft

"This life is amazing, when you greet it with open arms"

BUT, we don't get the chorus. After the pause, Polites' voice continues:

"I see in your face, there is so much guilt inside your heart"

Odysseus shudders, staring longingly at his family but still not daring to approach them after everything he's done.

"So why not replace it? And light up the world here's how to start..."

Telemachus takes the initiative. He takes a tentative step forward, then another, and another, until he's standing in front of his father.

"Greet the world with open arms, "

Telemachus reaches slowly for his father, willing to breach the gap but unsure if his touch is welcome.

"Greet the world with open arms..."

Odysseus opens his arms & yanks Telemachus into a crushing hug. He starts to sob. Telemachus hugs him back just as tightly. Penelope starts to make her way over, though she gives them their space for now.

Odysseus & Telemachus pull apart just enough for Odysseus & Penelope to face each other. Odysseus extends his hand to her & she slips her hand into his.

Then we get the final line, fading/echoing, as if it were making its exit:

"You can relax, my friend"

Signaling Odysseus can let go now. Its over. He's allowed to let go of "the war and bloodshed" and of the screams.

Then song 39 starts (which like, in my defense, if "Love in Paradise can have both an introduction by Athena AND midway commentary from her, then song 39 could open up with one last Polites reprise)

Not that I think this WILL happen, but it wouldn't be unprecedented for this musical.

Something like this would tie up that Polites/Open Arms narrative thread + it would fit in with the canonical fact of Polites' being Odysseus' emotional/mental support

(Also, check out my analysis/break down of Odysseus & Polites' relationship as depicted in EPIC for more on how Polites is canonically Odysseus' emotional support & his death moves the entire plot)

AND something like this would give the audience closure/reassurance that Odysseus' journey HAS indeed ended. He will relax now, he will put away the sword/warrior, something he wanted to do since the Troy Saga but couldn't (both as an explicit command from Athena & because of the whole Polyphemus/Poseidon business)

Don't read past here if you dont want spoilers for song titles!

[AND, just for funies, if you wanna read a Really long post breaking down the song "Open Arms" lyric by lyric, you can see my analysis of it (and of Polites' character) right here!]

[morganbritton132]

Hey, completely random, but do you have an AO3 account? I just love your EMTTS, and your latest post had a tag about a UA fanfic (lowkey keen to read it, esp considering how hooked I am to your writing)

I do have an AO3 account. I am here if you’re interested.

Be warned though!

I haven’t really posted on AO3 in a long time and that Umbrella Academy fic I was talking about is unfinished and hasn’t been updated since 2021. It’s not abandoned because I think about it daily. I just have not been in the headspace for writing long form fiction but I’d like to come back to it.

Also, big warning.

I am not nearly as fun on AO3 as I am on Tumblr.

I wrote a lot of angst and I had people leave comments saying that the depiction of depression and anxiety was really realistic so keep that in mind and read the tags especially if you check out any of my Stranger Things works. I wouldn’t want to accidentally trigger somebody.

Also, everything I wrote for Stranger Things takes place between seasons two and three so sadly, no Eddie. A very little Robin too because I stopped writing consistently right after season three aired. Billy is featured quite a bit – not really romantically – but I know a lot of people don’t like him so just a warning. He’s there.

[brynnmclean]

Having a rough day, so even though it is Tuesday and NOT WIP Wednesday, here is a snippet from the Hellblade fic:

Senua takes an abortive step toward the desk and the lanterns, but then glances back, her face turned toward Thórgestr, but her gaze sliding just past.  “I would leave the lamp lit,” she says, her voice as tight as her shoulders, like a bowstring.  He opens his mouth to soothe her and to say it doesn’t matter to him, but she adds, low and rough, “I don’t like pitch darkness.  It brings bad memories.” “Leave it, then.”  He offers her a smile he hopes is comforting to her.  “The light did not bother me earlier and it will not bother me now.  I could sleep through a storm.”  He pushes the blankets back on the other side of the bed best he can, making the invitation clear. She settles under the blankets without any other protests, curled up on her side.  He wishes he could turn onto his side to face her, but he knows it will hurt—and worse, he imagines him moving that much might upset her. Still, he reaches out over the covers.  “Here.  Take my hand.”  She hesitates for a moment and then does, making a soft sound when he skates his fingers past her palm so that she is touching his wrist and can feel the steady beat of his pulse if she still wants to mark it.  “My heart won’t give out,” he promises, and falls asleep pleased to have seen even the briefest of sights—her true smile out of the corner of his eye.

[lightbulb-warning]

i used to freehand comics all the time as a child and since the part i liked was the drawing part i would just draw panel after panel because i didn't want to stop drawing to think about icky icky words, plus the story TOTALLY still made perfect sense! to me! and noone else, but 'whoooo caaaaares omgggg its not like comics and sequantial art are a communicative meeediummmm lmaoooooo'. i spent my entire childhood telling myself stuff like "oh pfft I know this story by heart- ill SIMPLY remember the dialogue and write it later" ...and. I can't help but admire baby maiora's (call that a minora ba tm tsk) fucking audacity? hubris? confident wrongness? kid couldn't even remember to finish the comics in the first place? INCREDIBLE levels of unearned self assurance, wish that were me, genuinely- what an icon!!! anyway i think i have forever cursed myself

[doodlingwren]

If only the original Saint Seiya anime was a 2014-2018 anime series instead of being aired in the 80s-90s, I can only imagine the sheer amount of animation memes that could have been done. Some of the characters are just so perfect for those, like, if this was a more animation-oriented fandom this would totally be a thing.

[yumedoca]

Ok,but Mermaid Saga is absolutely insane..

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Ok y'all it's time to join the party (very late) on my latest deep obsession, which THIS TIME I am going to allow myself to pursue instead of killing the joy (because of how intense it can get) and share with you!!

And that obsession is Epic: The Musical.

Holy smokes man this thing has remolded my brain, it just somehow hits all of those things which I desperately love in media

Firstly. The music is absolutely exquisite. And not even in the ways you'd normally think! Like--there's such wonderfully detailed soundscaping! The musical follows Odysseus on his journey home, and the songs themselves contain beautifully done effects that basically make the listening experience into a movie in your head. Monsters, crashing oceans, the underworld itself--and not only is this included in non-muscial sound design, it's incorporated into the music itself. The realm of the wind gods uses flutes as the main instrument--because it's a WIND instrument I'm losing my mind

PLUS there's the additional elements of musical "Easter eggs," thematic connections, leitmotifs, instrumentation identification, musical callbacks and even foreshadowing like come ONNNNN it's so well done

All of this with the added bonus that the songs, while cohesive, do not all sound the same, and do not feel like normal musical theater songs. They are the perfect mix between modern music, orchestral arrangements, and a musical theater jam, because they are 1. SUPER great to belt along to, 2. Very much linked together (as explained above) and 3. Very unlike the standard, vocal-focused empty pop sound we're used to (theater) while keeping the innovative, ear-wormy, modern (pop) beat that often feels out of place in theater!

And lyrically this musical is super strong. I spent a ton more time on the music (and will likely write more at length later) because that is what got me obsessed with it, but there's also much to praise lyrically! Unlike most modern "non-theater" musicals, while you can tell at places that it has been influenced by (the ever-present) Lin-Manuel Miranda, it feels authentically unique and independent. So many songs have genuinely profound lines (check out Just a Man, the second song in the saga) and the pop elements never lend themselves to empty repetition. Everything sung or said has a purpose, which I am obsessed with. Yes king go off give us everything

Finally (for now) there's just the genuine love that the creator(s) have for this musical. Jay Rivera-Herrans is the brain behind it (he wrote the entire musical over several years) and like...just look at what he shares about it on his Instagram. He gets so EXCITED!! And not like PR excitement, this is like legit "I'm making silly noises because I can't contain myself" excitement!!! He reminds me of me in that sense because he has SO much love and passion for what he does and the nuance in it and the people who enjoy his work, and he shares that in an unfiltered, real, authentic way, and we need to see more of that in the world.

Anyway, if you haven't heard of it and are now interested, it's pretty easy to catch up--there are 5 of the 9 sagas out right now, but only half of the songs, and Spotify has a playlist or two that has them all in order. It's only an hour and eight minutes worth of listening and I have just listened to it through twice in two days; it really does not get old. And then if you go to Jay's Instagram the rabbit hole is deep!! And he explains a lot of the lore and symbolism and intentionality/Easter eggs in the musical!! I went through all of the content he posted, pretty much...

So there's my official hawking of Epic (if only I had gotten in on this earlier!! The "Get in the Water" song that was trending a while ago?? That's from this!!) and you should go listen to it!!!!

[coveredinsun]

i wrote 3 different winnix fics in december & january but i realized i NEVER posted them here. so behold, my series of winnix fics where i get further and further detached from canon, and where i also make lew a girldad for fun

1. darling, it’s grand, they just don’t understand

“Act upon what he finds within himself, and only himself,” said Dick, audibly pensive in a way he hadn’t been. “I quite like that.”

“Well, that’s the gist,” said Lew with a shrug. He wasn’t even in the top half of eloquent men. “Honestly, I really hated reading and analyzing Emerson’s essays. He found a way to talk and talk and talk about nothing at all, when he could’ve kept it perfectly concise.”

Like you, Lew almost said. The bullet got jammed. Still, he had a hunch that Dick could read his mind this one time.

Or: July, 1948. Blanche Nixon invites her brother, and his business partner slash lover, to… a baseball game?

6.5k words, fluffiest of the three; my weird band of brothers/a league of their own (2022) crossover fic??? whatever. blanche invites winnix to a baseball game to see her baseball player girlfriend-ish, all the way mae. stupid emily dickinson references because i’m lame and basic, sue me. gay jazz clubs :)

2. november 27th

“Kathy hates it when I call her Maggie, but I think it’s cute that she’s got a little nickname to grow out of.”

“Or maybe she’ll find someone who calls her Maggie,” replied Dick, totally without thinking. “And he’ll say it’s ‘cause it’s easier, sure. But more than anything he’ll like the way it sounds when he says it.”

When Nix looked at him, then, his eyes glittered. His lips were pursed like he needed to say something or he’d shrivel up and die.

There were many things Dick could conceptualize him saying. Luckily, they fell into two neat categories—the things Dick expected Nix to say, and the things Dick wanted him to.

Or: 1942, 1944, and 1946. A study on Lewis Nixon’s history with love, destructive vices, and fatherhood—as seen from the eyes of a wife and a lover.

8.2k words, perhaps the most densely packed with angst of the three. examines lew and his relationships with love and fatherhood, both alongside kathy and alongside dick. ann winters introduction <3 and classic new jersey angst

3. the likes of me abide

“Well, I feel compelled to be a little more brave now,” replied Dick, holding up his gaze like Atlas held the heavens. “I ought to give you an answer that’s more honest.”

But not fully. It was sort of bitingly ironic, the way Lew always put up Dick as the more honest of them. He didn’t find that to be true. Not when there still existed so many selfish desires in his mind, like the one that practically clawed and scratched like an animal just to fit somewhere into this part of Lew’s life. He might never put that desperation into words.

Or: Summertime, 1951. Lew gets back in touch with Kathy.

10.3k words, angsty but less intensely as last time. i go reallyyyyy ham with kathy’s character in this, so take that as a treat. i also actually make lew and kathy’s daughter into a character <3

[twomanyfandomshelp]

TW: Swearing

OH MY GOD I’M SO FUCKING EXCITED AHHHHH

Excuse me for a moment

*DISTANT HIGH-PITCHED SCREAMING*

@thekingofworems @nyx-of-darkness-1620 @aaronofithaca05 @jarondont @theghostnamedspecter y’all see this yet?

[toxifoxx]

What is happening with the eggs????

well BASICALLY springtrap started laying eggs. got real broody over them. wouldn't let me check if they're fertile until an anon helpfully suggested i lure him away - and they are fertile, by the way! now he's sitting on them and i guess they're gonna hatch at some point. who's the father? uhm. well.

[artsy-1diot]

I AM AT THE TOP WHEN YOU SEARCH ULTRAKILL RN WHAT THE SHIT??!??!@???!@??#?!@

SERIOUSLY THOUGH thank you guys sm!!! I love seeing like everyone in the replogs going like WOOOAH it makes me feel awesome <3333