#AU Hermes fights for Odysseus

[jazzy-a]

AU where Hermes really IS the one who fights for Odysseus and is not the one who shows up for "Dangerous."

In this version- it turns out that when Athena said goodbye, she meant it. She can't (or won't) help Odysseus after the cyclops incident, leaving him to fend for himself.

But Athena isn't the only divine being whose gifts Odysseus partakes in. During the Circe Saga, Hermes fills the void of Athena, choosing to aid his great-grandson by fostering his unique skills of wit and trickery. (It's like wisdom-- just faster, darling! And don't be afraid to have a bit of fun with it.)

After the Thunder Saga, Hermes loses track of Odysseus, however, and spends time intermittently searching for him. When he finds him with Calypso, he decides he'll steal him away from the island, but is stopped by a barrier created by Zeus that prevents anyone (even a god) from entering, forcing him to confront his father directly. Hermes uses his cleverness to convince the other gods during "God Games"-- but, this time, he'll also have to convince Athena. (She would possibly take Ares' place in the song or Aphrodite, so that Hermes would have to face both gods of war). (Instead of tell your "lover" something, the line would change to tell your "brother" most likely.)

While successful with the others, Hermes, unfortunately, isn't quick enough to avoid getting thunderbolted by his father, though. The saga ends with bloody feathers floating to the ground...

Cut to the Vengeance saga where Athena takes Hermes' place to release Odysseus and sings "Dangerous" with a few obvious changes that cater to her teachings of strategy, etc. Odysseus is grateful, but confused about why Athena has come back to help him after leaving so many years ago. She tells him she didn't come back for him, however....

[zarnzarn]

1/2/3/4

reverse Odyssey au where polites is still on the ships when Poseidon arrives, and that last bit is enough to push Odysseus to beg him to stop, to spare the men he spent ten long years fighting hard and bitter to save. 593 men is no less amount after all, not for a small island like Ithaca, only three generations old. he'll do anything, anything at all, blind him, torture him, kill him- just let his men go; they were not the ones to blame.

Poseidon considers, staring down at the king with the odd grey eyes that he knew the origin of. Athena would be furious, after all- so why not take away the one thing her favoured pet was known for?

the crew rushes towards their captain, their king, as shouting emerges from the other boats, as he hits the deck convulsing, grasping at his throat. the cries of his men rend the air as his legs melt into oceanspray, remerging as a fish's tail, Odysseus gasping for air wildly, his tongue a mess of mangled flesh on the main deck, unable to talk or breathe.

they have no choice but to pick him up and tip him into the sea, and they watch in horror as he falls beneath the waves and with a flick of the tail, disappears.

six hundred men chase their king down, following the odd silver glint that appears once in a while above the blue water, following the strange cursed monster that Elepnor sees when he falls drunk into the ocean one day. follow him all the way back to Ithaca, where the people gather on the shore to cheer their arrival.

telemachus is all of ten and untameable at the return of his father's ships, running past the guards and the priests to the dock, where the soldiers and heroes are all setting down the ramps, strangely quiet, unsmiling in the face of ten years of gore and bloodshed being done. Penelope catches up to him, laughing as she cranes her head up, scanning the ships to see which one- which one had-

she only has to time to see euroluchus' shame-filled tears and polites guilty devastation, feeling her heart slowly sink to the ground, when there's suddenly a splash and an outburst of screams and propped up on the dock is a man with a fish's tail and familiar curls and razor-sharp teeth and eyes that are solid grey. the soldiers cry out in horror and thunder down the ramps to them as the monster reaches out- and Penelope can't do anything, frozen, as it reaches out and places a webbed hand with deadly claws on her son's cheek, caressing almost; and her breath catches when it looks back up to her, and she knows the face as well as her own, knows the grief and fear and knows it is her husband-

Then the pounding footsteps from the closest ships and the guards behind reach them, and Penelope only has time enough to scream to stay their weapons, already shoving Telemachus behind her and reaching out to shield off any spears or arrows from battle-strung men who'd shoot first and ask questions later-

Instead she only feels the brush of cold skin under his fingertips for the briefest of moments and then she's caught up in a fisher's net, tangled and alone. More nets are thrown, men crying out for their captain with desperation and fear, Polites running straight past her and leaping off the dock to swim after him-

But her husband is a descendant of Hermes, and Odysseus is gone.

Penelope listens to the story that night and does not cry, sitting straight-backed in the face of her family sobbing around her, of the five hundred and ninety-three men staring at her with grief and guilt alike, of being the only widow in the kingdom. Pets Telemachus' wild hair and remembers his father's, and thinks.

"You have told me much," She says finally. "But I'm still to hear a single, solid plan."

The room rustles as all the heads swing to her.

"Plan?" Eurylochus says finally. Anger burns as soon she looks to him, but she pushes it down firmly- rage will not win her anything.

"Yes. A plan," she says, "To bring my husband back home."

Telemachus unfolds at her feet and stares up at her with a hopeful grin, echoed slowly on the faces of the men around the room. Penelope smiles back.

"My husband spent ten years fighting for his people to make it back home," She proclaims. "Let's wait at least that long before we give up on him, yes?"

The answering cheer shakes the walls of the palace and echoes through the streets of Ithaca.

[eloquentlytired]

odysseus. sfw.

logan howlett x fem goddess reader

note: this is basically a circe x odysseus!au but also not moving according to the actual story. I've alternated the ending too. I've always wanted to write logan in such a theme/au so I'm happy that I did. it's short but still feeling satisfied. I also blame Madeline Miller for her amazing writing, just finished reading circe and I cried AGAIN. first tsoa and now circe.

warnings 4 this ?? bittersweet, hurt to comfort, reader is just a girl that's thousands of centuries old, logan is a worn out warrior, he'll never introduce himself in the story btw

“I heard my men came this way, my goddess. I mean no harm or to intrude but to only ask your assistance to find them.” His voice was soothing but raspy. His shoulders sunburned but prideful. Age was evidently catching up to him but he remained as handsome as other mortal men you'd witnessed before, although not plenty. You wondered if he would be any different but then you remembered the nature of all men before him and you mentally shook your head. He was just another pig to be.

You welcomed him to your home and offered him the best hospitality like you did to all of your guests. He ate as he spoke to you about a distant home he was missing, then his wife, and for a while you wondered if having a wife would make him less of a monster. But the men before him surely would have wives too, or loved ones, and if not most of them then some of them. Yet they had still been pigs.

He could sense your hesitation and you could sense his. At some point you noticed that he had not touched his wine — clever man he was. It was the wine that would cause him harm and he somehow knew. He kept twisting the full goblet in his hand without ever drinking from it, his mouth occupied by mere words of his trips and his suffering.

“You have not touched your wine.” You told him and his eyes glinted as he looked at you. He definitely knew.

“My goddess, if you'd allow me to speak honestly.” He said and you offered him a firm nod. You were fearless and he clearly liked that by the way he smiled at you. “My men. You have done something to them,isn't that right?”

A sly smile adored your features and to your surprise his own never disappeared.

“I let them in,fed them and cared for them. Yet they wished to steal from me.” You responded while circling him like a predator. That's what you were — and those stupid men were your prey.

“I have spoiled them. They're all idiots whose judgement has been clouded by the endless war.” The handsome man explained as he stroked his beard, his eyes following your every move. He turned with you as you circled him; as if this was a game. Perhaps it was.

“They are idiots and to that we may agree.” His smile grew at your words and he tilted his head slightly.

“I don't wish to fight you, my goddess. I see no reason to. Do you?” His goblet remained in his hand, untouched and filled to the brim. Despite him toying around with it, the wine never spilled from the cup.

“You knew about the wine.” You suddenly told him.

“And you know about the flower.” He shot back and the two of you exchanged glances longer than any season of time. Your face beamed with energy and warmth while your eyes moved like a prying serpent. His, on the other hand, were cautious but delightful to look at.

“Hermes gave it to you, did he not? And yet you haven't used it against me.” The man's next actions surprised you as he grabbed his satchel and threw it on the stoned floor. The roots of the flower, which was meant to go against you, were visible within the satchel.

You stared at the stranger in disbelief but he smiled again. Almost laughed.

“Like I said, respectful goddess, I see no reason to fight you. It's just not within reason to do so.” His words surprised you even more, how smooth of a talker he was but also how intelligent. Bards would die for this type of inspiration while others would sacrifice whatever for even half of his sentence’s worth. “My men are stupid but they mean no harm. The Trojan war has corrupted their minds but also I, their captain, have failed to properly teach them manners. They're young.” He took a step forward but you didn't cower. He appreciated that.

“Get to your point, mortal.” You said while raising your chin with pride, challenging him with your gaze.

He grinned and his teeth showed. “All I ask is to get my men back. In return, I will offer whatever I can to you.”

You thought about the events unfolded ever since your birth. How little you knew for your age; so old you'd forgotten it yourself. You were the daughter of a Titan, not newborn divinity. You knew what mistakes were better than anyone and you had learned, one way or another, to distinguish good from bad. This man was neither.

And then the agreement was made.

His men were back to their original humane forms and dined happily downstairs, finally at ease. You let them for the sake of the man that had charmed you with his words and brains.

“Our agreement.” That familiar raspy voice called out to you and you turned around, staring at his form on the doorway. He was leaning against it like he'd been here before but it didn't insult you.

He approached you slowly, one step after the other. His face hovered closely over yours as he spoke again. “One kiss.” The man repeated what you'd requested of him that night but before he could complete his pay, you stopped him.

He froze upon feeling your fingers upon his lips and his eyes stared at you — more worried than feared.

“I changed my mind.” You whispered as your fingers caressed his lips, chapped and rough. The man remained still as he listened. “I ,once, turned a girl into a monster for supposedly taking away a man I loved. I don't want to do the action which I punished someone for.”

The man nodded then smiled. “I have not met a woman wiser than you,my lady.”

His words brought a smile to your face, one that wasn't sly or contained hidden meanings. It was simply an act of delight.

“All this just to see her?” You couldn't help but ask, referring to his wife.

“Yes.” He answered with pride, and most importantly love, in his eyes. You dragged your fingers from his lips to his cheek and he leaned into your touch willingly.

“I don't know what that's like. To have a husband that actually loves you. All the men around me were never good to their wives.” You told him and something swirled in his orbs — rage.

“Then they were fools.” He whispered. “Even bigger fools for not treasuring you.”

You buried your face into his neck and he let you. His touch was warm and gentle, one arm hugging your waist while the other cradled the back of your head. The touch was so careful, almost fatherly, and you could not remember the last time someone had treated you so gently. So kindly.

You cried in his arms as he held you until the moonlight shed its final moments.

“I will need a few days to fix our ship—”

“Stay.” You cut him off. “As long as you need."

He nodded while tightening his arms around your smaller frame, his large hand still cradling the back of your head as if trying to ease the thoughts that weighed it down.

No matter what, you would help him and the others get home.

[nonbinarylocalcryptid]

I'm gonna give you all (and at the same time, write It all down for my future self) an inside of how my writing process works feat. ADHD and sponsored by the autistic hyperfixation of the moment

*insert Professor Layton puzzle music*

Picture the #daddy Odysseus AU/Astyanax lives, now think about the timeline, how does that work? Allow me to bring up the following points/establish some sort of timeline:

-The kid must be ten years old by the time Odysseus reach Ithaca or the math won't be mathing and we can't have that

-This whole scenario must be as much Canon Compliant as possible. "But Morgan, the Odyssey has many adaptations!" Well my fellow Tumblr users, that's why we are sticking to Epic: The Musical; that, greek mythology and the power of fanfic make a dangerous yet powerful combination. And memes, a lot of memes.

-Keep in mind Zeus wants Astyanax dead because "it's the will of the gods", aka I'm inmortal and bored and it's way more dramatic this way

-Poseidon wants him dead because Zeus wants him dead. Odysseus, dude, how do you dare to defy a god's orders by keeping a baby alive???

-So the father and son duo has pissed off two major gods, Eurylochus is having an aneurism, Polited welcomes the kid with Open Arms (evil laugh)

-The musical goes as we know but with a toddler, chaos guys, chaos everywhere, so much things to write...

-My brain keeps telling me Astyanax starts teething by the time they leave the island in the sky, so not only have Odysseus to keep an eyes on the bag-that-does-not-contain-treasure he also is kept awake by a crying baby

-Tiresias is quite surprised that Odysseus keep the kid but this is greek mythology and at this point, in John Mulaney's wise words, this may as well happen.

-Little Astyanax can't not hold a sword because it's way too heavy for him, but the Odyssey is dangerous so let's give him a KNIFE and a BOW

-Also he's sassy, like, really sassy

-Odysseus is doing what he can, but lmao, try to raised someone in the middle of the Odyssey

-Let's pepper in some beautiful moments of paternal love because that's why we are here

-Odysseus has the mission to raise this kid with the perfect balanced of the Ruthlessness nad Open Arms philosophies, which is complicated because he is busy dealing with crysis after crysis and it's also hypocrital of him, he's way more ruthless with every day it passes.

-To maximize ✨DRAMA✨, Astyanax must learn about what happened in Troy and who he is (because guys, this is greek mythology, let's make it dramatic)

-Astyanax's opinion of the gods is quite cynic (can't blame him *cough cough* Zeus *cough cough*), but he still likes a few

-Because of the point above, this smol boy filled with rage and raised by Odysseus (dangerous combination) it's going to have a certified teenage rebellion and flee away in the middle of the night™ after facing Scylla and right before Mutiny and Thunder Bringer. This way, he can have a yelling match with his father figure, and Odysseus will face his crew alone etc

-I'm still working out in the how, but Astyanax will go back to Circe's island, and Circe will give out some really good advice and a power up, maybe even Hermes would stir up the pot a bit because damm, this shit is hilarious may as well fuck it all up a bit more.

-Astyanax reunites with Odysseus while he is fighting Charybdis, beautiful father and son moment blah blah blah, Astyanax is still salty (cuz they are in the middle of the sea hehe) but the time away has allowed him to rethink stuff. He is also a little shit and always has been so expect a lot of jokes and dark humour about Troy (coping mechanisms and all that). Odysseus could barely handle his sarcasm before, now he has no chance, he rather fight Poseidon blindfolded.

-Talking about Mr Why Did You Blind My Son, they faced him together.

-As the chaotic little shit he is, Astyanax assists Telemachus in his fight against the suitors. Telemachus does not know who this feral kid is but this is not the moment to ask questions.

-Athena loves the little shit, much to her surprised.

-Angst with Happy Ending because of the power of fanfic and headcanons

-Everything else after this point is slice of life feat. comedy

-Odysseus and Athena reconcialiation of we riot feat. Telemachus' face when he realizes who his friend was.

-Maybe a young man Astyanax decides to reclaim his throne helped by Telemachus and backed up by Ithaca?

[fairytale-luka]

Epic: The Musical AU idea

Instead of Athena being Odysseus mentor, it's Aphrodite. I called it 'Warrior of The Heart AU'

Athena's 'Quick Thought' is 'Instant Love' for Aphrodite, it's basically the same. Just with more pink and love aspects, and instead of a hourglass it's a harp. Athena challenge of the boar is a dove for Aphrodite.

Aphrodite will have the ability to transform into sea foam like in Neal Illustrator animatic. She can also summon roses(vines, flowers, thorns, and petals), inspired by Noir.Hycainth animatic

Aphrodite uses a battle axe, it's larger than her because I love that trope. She decorated her axe with ribbons and flowers. Her axe is called 'Beauty of War'. Her fightung style is based on Aikido, a Japanese fighting style. Odysseus will have aspects of this style in his fighting because of Aphrodite

Also this Aphrodite is the war goddess version of her. She also didn't start the Trojan War, because she wouldnt be able to be Odysseus mentor. The Trojan War was caused by Eris, same way as Aphrodite did.

The Wisdom Sage will be called the Love Saga, Aphrodite will still help Telemachus

The God Games still happens in this AU with some changes. Athena will take Aphrodite place, Circe will take Ares place, and Hermes takes Hephaestus place. Only Zeus, Hera, and Apollo stay the same. Aphrodite will still get injury by Zeus in this AU.

(Feel free to add anything or something. Just credit me ♡)

[firinnie]

Do you remember the au in which Athena was transformed into a human after God Games, as punishment?

Listen.

By some miracle, I don't know how, all the main 13 gods of Olympus are transformed into humans just like that, and Hades and Persephine try to sort out the above and below.

On Earth, Odysseus and Penelope get gray hair when Athena brings them her family because she doesn't know what do with them.

Now, imagine Hestia setting fire to the carpet and curtains because she really wants to learn how to light it as an immortal.

Poseidon looks sadly at the water but then discovers the horses in a city and causes chaos when he realizes that as a human being he does not control them.

Dionysus gets drunk like never before and got lost, Hermes in an act of desperation runs like 73 times around the palace because everything hurts him from sitting in places and Apollo (who counts these laps) wonders if the human body has a limit. It has, and his brother will find out as soon as he stops.

Artemis, running around brings a bear back from the forest, and Hephaestus is not having a bad time as a blacksmith, he just cruelly discovers the limits of his sick leg right now.

Zeus, when he realizes that he has no such power and is basically defenseless, is very blue (oh nooooo... good), and Hera does not let him forget about it. He suddenly realizes that he has no power and all the actions of the future are now reflecting on him.

Demeter cries even more for her daughter but realizes how cruel her seasons are for mortals.

Aphrodite and Ares... well, they are Aphrodite and Ares in some bedroom. Later, Ares can learn what it's like to fight like a mortal (and that maybe Athena's strategies weren't that bad) and Aphrodite will make some love drama.

And then Athena watches with the rest of the royal family of Ithaca and realizes what she has sentenced them to.

[icelynia]

Astyanax Lives AU- The Odyssey

I had this idea while reading through the Astyanax Lives AU tag and had to share it.

Basically this would be a retelling of the Odyssey, but through the eyes of fatherhood. What is the meaning of being a father? What is a good vs. bad father? Is it possible to be both at the same time?

These questions could be tackled through Odysseus saving Astyanax, Polyphemus & Poseidon, Zeus (& maybe Athena with him), Hermes and Odysseus, Odysseus & Telemachus, the Suitors & Telemachus, and probably more characters.

The Odyssey is a really great story to explore themes of fatherhood with, especially with the fate of Astyanax. Would Odysseus be considered a good father if he killed Astyanax and still took another decade to get home to Telemachus? Could Odysseus be both a good father to Astyanax and a bad one to Telemachus? Could you consider him a bad father to Telemachus, since even though he hasn’t been there, he wants to be and is fighting to get back ASAP? If we bring the gods into this, then would Poseidon be considered a good father to Polyphemus? What about a multigenerational aspect with Hermes and Odysseus? Could you call the Suitors fathers to Telemachus, as even though they weren’t good and want to kill him, they were some of the only male presence and physical male role models he had. How does the lack of a good father figure and actual father for Telemachus weigh on Penelope? 

Anyone is free to use this for a fic or story idea! Idc if you credit me either, just wanted to get this idea out into the world before I lost it.

[thesunlistens]

I really love @gigizetz’s Warrior Penelope AU (for those who don’t know, it’s Epic/The Odyssey but Odysseus and Penelope swap places and some of the other characters swap too) and I have some questions that would have been too long for an ask:

• Is it based more on Epic or the original Odyssey? (If it’s more the original then you can disregard some of my Epic-specific questions.)

• I’ve seen you post a drawing where Ares is Penelope’s mentor (side note: I love that you accurately represent Ares supporting women! It really annoys me when people assume that male+violent=misogynist when actually supporting women is his main trait after violence!) Is Athena still Odysseus’s mentor in this AU? Because I’ve been giggling to myself imagining this happily married couple whose divine mentors are huge rivals and don’t like each other! Like, they would both invite their mentors over whenever they had a party or something and the two gods would spend the whole time glaring at each other while their mentees are in love and oblivious to the tension. It’s making me laugh!

• If this is the case, who does Ares have to convince instead of… well, himself, in God Games? You could just switch them, but if Athena is still Odysseus’s mentor, she wouldn’t really need convincing because she wants him to be happy, and besides, I can’t see her being paired up with Aphrodite. So who takes his place (is it someone else with a connection to Aphrodite, or is it reworked so she and the new god have separate verses?), and what’s their argument?

• I saw that you posted a really cool Iris design with Penelope - am I right in assuming she’s this AU’s version of Hermes since they’re both messenger gods?

• Are Odysseus’s suitors the same people as Penelope’s suitors, or do they swap places with the people who tried to seduce him in the original (Circe and Calypso)? And if it’s the second, how does the slaughter of the suitors work considering that, as Calypso says, goddesses can’t die?

• Are the crew the same people, or does Penelope have her own friends? And if they’re different people, who are they?

• Are there any other characters who swap places? Considering that the roles that are swapped mostly seem to be gender swapped, I can see Cassandra taking the place of Tiresias if her curse ended when she died, but that’s just an idea.

• Have you thought about reworked lyrics, e.g. a few times in Epic, “my wife” is used as the rhyme, what would the rhyme be for “my husband”? Or when the name of a character who’s swapped with another is the rhyme, e.g. what would replace “arena”? (I’m imagining something like “fight if you dare, he’s” something, but again, just an idea.)

• If you haven’t thought about reworked lyrics yet, can I work with you on it? I like writing, especially lyrics!

• Are there any major changes to the plot aside from the role swaps?

[theultimatenonbinarynerd]

The Tragic Tale of Eurylochus, Orpheus And Not Looking Back.

Introduction

I need Hades Town and Epic fans to forgive me for what I'm about to write.

All I ask is that Eurylochus haters stay away cos this post is not to bash on Eurylochus.

So I haven't seen much of Hadestown but I know of the myth so when brainstorming for a Eurylochus God Games as part of a Eurylochus Lives au I pondered what would convince Persephone to let Eurylochus live and then I realised Assurance. Persephone needs assurance another Orpheus won't happen. If she lets Eurylochus live she needs assurance he won't be like Orpheus. She needs to know Eurylochus would look forward instead of back.

Then the Epic Writers sever inspired me more and I realised especially in Epic and Hadestown Eurylochus and Orpheus's tale share a lot of tragic similarities. Eurylochus and Orpheus are men who doubted, looked back and it then cost them everything.

I gotta say the Eurylochus and Orpheus parallels fascinate me more than Eurylochus and Odysseus swapping character arcs in Epic.

So let me elaborate on what I think makes Eurylochus and Orpheus so similar

Eurylochus and Orpheus's Doubt

We all know the myth. Hades promised Eurdice could return if Orpheus guided her out of The Underworld and didn't look back and it went well until at the Last Second Orpheus looked back. He wanted to protect his loved ones but let the doubt consume him. Sound familiar?

"Everything's changed since Polites."

"Let's see what you got."

"But Sir, it's too late."

"I don't want to see another life end."

What do all these lines have in common.

They're Eurylochus looking back at his mistakes. He opened the Windbag because he lost trust in Odysseus after he lost Polites in the cave. He immediately gives up when he realises his mistake of opening the windbag. Polyphemus's cave messes him up so badly that he doesn't want to lose anyone else. Orpheus didn't want to permanently lose Eurdice and Eurylochus didn't want to lose the men that had kept him sane for ten years.

Eurylochus like Orpheus is willing to get tasks done but when doubt creeps in its game over. Orpheus follows Hermes and Hades instructions yet still fails. Eurylochus stays loyal to Odysseus yet fails.

It's really heartbreaking to think about cos like how if Orpheus didn't look back. If Eurylochus listened to "I need you to always be devout and comply with this or we'll all die in this." then Mutiny would have ended differently. I understand Eurylochus though. Odysseus selfishly withheld Syclla from them and it cost them great friends.

However there was no other way cos Odysseus had doomed them with Poseidon so to him six men was better then all of them. You should have told them Ody.

Back on topic. If Eurylochus is Orpheus who is his Eurdice. Simple Ctimene. In Horse and The Infant Odysseus promises his men that if they do what he saids they'll see their wives and children again. Odysseus is Eurylochus's Hades. All though not a good bargin Odysseus promised Eurylochus he'd see Ctimene if he obeyed. Hades promised Orpheus, Eurdice would be free if he didn't look back.

"Don't make me fight you brother, you know you'd have done the same."

Odysseus is wrong here. Eurylochus has swapped roles with Odysseus to the point the crew have become his Eurdice. Metaphorically the crew represent all of Eurylochus's doubts.

Like the chorus do for Orpheus in Hadestown who are his subconscious.

"Show her the way."

Eurylochus was never gonna survive because he learned from Polites and Odysseus and tried to be kinder. Orpheus was never gonna get Eurdice cos he was destined to look back out of love and concern.

When Eurylochus looks back he does it for the same reason. He's concerned for his crew and even though hunger got them into this mess through Polyphemus's cave he still does it.

Now let's get back to the ending of this heartbreaking myth. Orpheus holds Eurdices hand but then at the last minute looks back. It's so sad and inevitable. Hades from experience tells Orpheus to not looks back but he does.

"Please don't tell me your about to do what I think you'll do."

Odysseus is Hades in this situation. Polyphemus's Cave and Poseidon has taught him he needs to be Ruthless but also the cost of pissing off other Gods. He realises he was doomed the moment he killed that sheep in Polyphemus's Cave and Eurylochus is about to damn them all again by killing The Sun Gods cattle.

Orpheus wanted to protect Eurdice but he caused her doom.

Eurylochus wanted to protect the crew but ended up causing their doom. Odysseus was never gonna save them.

So yeah those are my thoughts summarised.

Conclusion

Once I see or listen to the orginal Hadestown soundtrack I need to do a Eurylochus reincarnates into Orpheus fanfiction for the double angst. Could you imagine Odysseus seeing Eurylochus repeat the same mistakes.

Eurylochus deserves so much more love as his character is way more complex then you make him out to be.

Thanks to The Epic Writing discord cos this turned out more angsty then I intended.

Epic is awesome 👌🏼.

Again for give me, I'm just an enby who's trying to brainstorm ideas.

Don't look back friends and don't kill God's cattle.

-Melody-

They/Them

[nothing-impt]

ok, sso.... I've been seeing a lot of warrior! Penelope AUs(as I should) but since your blog is a little more Telemachus ccentric, I've been wondering, if there was a Warrior! Telemachus AU, how do you think that would go?

Hmmm.. I haven't actually thought about that up until this Ask! Thanks Anon! All jokes aside on my Substitute Mentor AU, if there was a Warrior! Telemachus AU, I would really love for Dionysus to be his mentor.

While Odysseus is stuck on the ocean on the way home and Athena being salty over their falling out, Dionysus would possibly mentor Telemachus to defend the throne in Ithaca at Hermes' request.

Epic Telemachus has a more naive and kind disposition, but Warrior! Telemachus would be more unpredictable and possibly violent (Dionysus is the god of Madness) I personally would think that after one of the banquets where the suitors were feasting in their palace, Telemachus would just slaughter them. Dionysus is kind of unpredictable, so I suppose Telemachus would use an impromptu weapon he can find on hand, aka like a bone of a bull they were eating. (I mentioned it before, Dionysus' skill would be Liquid Courage, giving Telemachus a rush of adrenaline before he gets into any kind of fight.)

These are just my rambles. Let me know what you think!

[mer-acle]

Honestly, I never fleshed out how Athena got Ody, been sorta playing around with the idea she adopts him as a baby??? Like she’s still a goddess so I can see her maybe adopting a baby to have more knowledge about motherhood maybe??? And the baby just so happens to be Odysseus, girlie has no clue what she’s doing, thank fuck Hermes is there as I imagine he’s actually pretty good with kids/babies (just….the way odyessus is in the musical and how excited he sounds about Hermes makes me think that Hermes had been around Ody in his childhood)

Athena’s human name is Natalie and Hermes is Troy! Athena was so shocked to hear her name from Ody that when she went to his room to check on him she dropped her human disguise 

Telemachus Is still very much odypen’s child UwU sweet little wolf…he regains his memories when he’s 6! Fighting off a reincarnated!antinous (basically a kindergarten version of little wolf with no Athena interference 🤣)

Ironically enough! After so many years, Poseidon has mellowed out and actually helps Ody with some identity issues of being a “monster” once Ody regained his memories!

Not all reincarnated ppl have bad important moments that make them regain their memories, Penelope regained hers after she started dating Ody! Went on a first date then fell sick but once she got better she spam called Ody needing to talk to him so badly!

Poor polites :( he ended up regaining his memories at a sleepover with Ody! He got sick during the night and woke up screaming captain, both Ody and polites are going THROUGH IT

Athena: So I kinda have a project...

Hermes:

Hermes: you cannot be serious. We have a kid now?

Athena: I have a kid now.

Later, after shit went down.

Athena: No you're right, we have a kind now.

Both of the names are so good. (Natalie bc I'm a black widow girlie and that was her first codename in the MCU how coincidence goes sometimes I swear) And Troy, bc what else would it be (in canon, he probably named himself that to piss Apollo off about the war lol)

Oh what's it like in the AU how different are their disguises to their real form?

Ah Tel in his little kindergarten brawl my heart

Oh I love that actually. Have Athena and Poseidon made up as well?

Oh the gods must have jobs right what are they working as?

Oh Pen haha. Imagine going on a date and then getting hit over the head with a whole life you shared with the guy. She must have been scared he didn't remember ahhh

Oh gods not the captain jumpscare 😭😭😭 poor babies

[jazzy-a]

Imagine Calypso wasn't just being poetic when she started singing "Not Sorry For Loving You."

Imagine she is actually repeating verbatim what Hermes said to her. They don't fight, but Hermes does twist the proverbial knife in, so to speak.

Imagine Hermes actually came down with a smile on his face and no sympathy as he told her that he was taking Odysseus away, that she would never get to see his face again, and that he was not hers to have.

Imagine if she argued with him, and Hermes only shrugged, saying that "[she] ambushed him and came on too strong, so [she] shouldn't be surprised if he hates [her]."

AKA an AU where Hermes is cruel when he tells Calypso that Odysseus is being set free from the island.

[puggsnotdrugs99things]

So lately I have become obsessed with the musical Epic, which if you haven't heard I highly recommend. But as I was going on with my normal daily routine my brain started to cook.

Epic follows Odysseus who has left his kingdom of Ithaca for 20 years to fight in the Trojan War. However, he longs to return home to his wife Penelope and their son Thelemacus. And then as my brain was heating up the stove, I got to thinking who else do I know that is on a journey far from him and longs for his wife and son… Astrodude

Then it all came to me a SolarBalls Epic Au

Astrodude = Odysseus

Astrowife = Penelope

Astroson = Telemachus

As for the planets they would assume the roles of the God’s they were named after, which I know this will mischaracterize some of the solar balls characters but bear with me (it’s for the plot). Now some characters will have to be characterized under different god’s just because to my knowledge the gods they were named after don’t have a role in the musical.

Jupiter = Zeus

Saturn = Hera

Uranus = Hephaestus

Neptune= Poseidon

Sun = Apollo/Helios

Mercury = Hermes

Venus = Aphrodite

Earth = Athena

Mars = Ares

I have an idea for the moons as well, especially on which roles they can partake

Europa = Calypso

Luna = Tiresias

Titan = Aeolus

Phobos and Deimos = Winions

Callisto = Circe

I still don't know if these characters somewhat match up with those of Epic

But do what you will with this information

[frogg-water]

Edit: baha i totally forgot to put my watermark somewhere, oops

So I went ahead and turned Odysseus into a Lykoi cat

I still think its clever, especially if Telemachus is a lykoi cat too, just because hes called little wolf

It's kind hard showing the patches on a lykoi where the fur is thinner/thinnest, but I tried

I didnt do any serious lineart, and the athena emblem was completely from memory, and idk what sword to give him in that lil doodle there

But this was fun

I didnt intend for they eyes to look like that but ngl i kinda like it. Reminds me of how some of my favorite artists draw cat eyes

So ig i can go over my ideas for the premises of this cat au

All the normal humans, like odysseus, are normal cats. Any breed bc i am not serious enough about this is do research on what cats where made in which time.

Some limitations I will break for the sake of recognizable character design, but I am also not a good character designer at all, so ehe

Characters who look human but have some godly power, or close lineage with the mythical, will look like normal cats but have patterns or features that separate them from the typical. Like Calpyso, though a typical classic brown tabby, will have some markings that are a sunset palette ombre. Im still thinking about Circe.

In the case of Penelope, she is the daughter of a naiad nymph, so perhaps she would have, idk, sharper ears or webbed paws or smthn, for hydrodynamicism or something like that

Now for gods, they will be cats as well, but they have major features that displays their status. Hermes and Athena have wings, Hermes all across his body and Athena two large owl wings. Aeolus is a cloud..? shaped? like a cat? i'll draw them soon

For the gods whos animals are like, bovine or equine, they will have hooves. Thatll be weird to design

It'll take awhile to turn all the characters into cats but i am determined

It'll just probs be slow

Everything is the same in this au, just everyone is cats. They can still build, the can still row boats, they can still sword fight

Theyre just cats

I have listened to every saga so many times just to imagine the characters as these feline creatures, I cant get enough of it

I love Epic the musical, guys

I love cats too

Putting two of my favorite things together is the best

[that-one-english-nerd]

The Outsiders x EPIC : The Musical -

so i was listening to the new EPIC saga yesterday and naturally, because i can’t listen to music w/o relating it to my hyperfixations, i started thinking about the outsiders. specifically, i was listening to luck runs out and my friend and i were talking… and we were like “this song is so soda talking to darry about going to war,” so this sparked this post!

so i got to re-listening to the entirety of epic and was thinking how much it fits if soda were to genuinely survive the war but come back only a shell of himself… so this is what were going with.

(i will say before we even begin, i have limited knowledge on the vietnam war so if some of this is vague or inaccurate, forgive me)

i think there two ways you could picture this, a greek mythology au and realistic, vietnam war au. i was thinking, if we’re talking in reality standpoint, all the gods or even monsters are visions in soda’s mind (due to ptsd, other mental illness gained from war or physical injuries) as he’s traveling and committing more and more violence. is some of this a strench…? yes but this is js for kicks and giggles, humor me here lolol

either way, these are my assignments of characters. i need you to HEAR ME OUT (there’s explanations of songs under the list of characters) on these -

odysseus : soda

polites : steve

eurylochus : tim

zeus : dally

polyphemus : ……..bob

athena : darry

aeolus : cherry

circe : marcia

hermes : two-bit

penelope & telemachus : ponyboy & darry (these can be switched, doesn’t matter rlly)

calypso: sandy (…get it, cause calypso lives on an island)

poseidon : dally

tiersus : johnny (cause i HAD to include him somewhere)

song and character explanations under cut ~

song explanations :

the horse and the infant - i like to think that, while it was awful and so much worst than soda could of ever imagined, because of his constant optimism and general skills, he was someone many of his fellow soldiers looked up to. i’ll get into details when i get to luck runs out, but if we’re relating this specifically to epic, making him apart of the navy would work best (being all the time they spend traveling and at seas). anyways, therefore, overtime, due to his higher morale and just general skills, he gets a higher rank and a crew to care for. soda is rallying his crew for an attack, and thinking of who he was fighting for, ponyboy and darry.

now this is where it would differ from a greek mythology au, but just for the sake of making it easier on myself, this is the more realistic possibility. i like to think that being how in epic, this is the end of the trojan war, this would be a kind of flash forward, after soda had already been dealing w all this trauma. but, as i’ve mentioned, i like to envision dally‘s ghost (a vision soda has of him at least) as zeus, specifically before soda has to do something terrible to the enemy. dally is like, “you’re in a war man, just *do it*.”

for a less interesting but more realistic answer, you could say zeus was one of soda’s commanding officer or something but that’s less fun lolol

anyways, this is the beginning, as it is for odysseus, of soda completely losing his innocence.

just a man - (tw for child-related violence and war crimes) so, as it is in epic, you could picture this as an enemy leader’s son, and how this boy reminds soda of ponyboy in a way. this song is kinda self explanatory tho, soda takes this blow, and this guilt plagues his mind for the rest of the first act.

full speed ahead - so, with the vietnam war, there was an insaneeee draft process. and in relation to the story, those who were poor were more likely to be drafted than those who were going to college and able to pay tutition, being how they got an exemption from the draft. so i think the idea as tim of all people getting drafted and getting put under soda’s command (which is a shock to both of them) really interesting, being how we never really got to see their dynamic in the outsiders. so having tim, whose more on the ruthless side, as soda’s right hand and being more quick to violence makes sense to me. on the other hand, my favorite character headcanon, steve as polities. i think the idea of steve not giving a second thought to following soda into war makes a lot of sense, and being how soda had more of a responsibility on his shoulders, steve keeps more of his naiveness and “innocence” than soda does.

open arms - my stevepop heart loves this so much. over the time of war, soda became less and less like his normal self and steve knows that. he could always tell. so once they finally have time to themselves, he tries to remind soda of how life used to be, how there’s still good. the roles switch from soda normally being the optimistic one, reassuring everyone else, to steve doing the same for him. they mean sm to your honor :((

warrior of the mind - now, from a plot standpoint, i can fs see this as what soda pictures how darry would think of him now, or even how ponyboy would. soda kinda flashes back to their childhood, how both darry and soda were really close when they were kids, being how they both balanced each other out. but after their parents died, darry became a parental figure instead, athena-like you could say.

but ignoring plot, i think song really fits darry and ponyboy, espically with the “don’t disappoint me” and “he’s a warrior of the mind” because of ponyboy’s academic achievements.

polyphemus - now do i know how this would fit into the plot to be honest.. i just think the idea of bob (bob’s ghost if you will) or some soc showing up in soda’s path makes sense.

butttt once again, if you want something more realistic, you could make it someone on the enemy side.

survive - soda just seems like he’d be hella good with battle morale and strategy, what can i say? …also, as much as it breaks my heart, steve following soda into war and dying an early death makes sense but is equally as heartbreaking ;(

remember them - i think the slow fade-in near the beginning of the song gives very big soda energy. disassociating but then switching right back into gear (masking emotions for the sake of others) is something that comes natural to him. i also commented on this earlier but for as much as soda calls himself dumb, i think his street smarts are really good and being able to talk his way out of things or tricking people into believing lies is something he’s great at (which makes sense in context of the cyclops plot). plus the stupid decision of having mercy on…bob, a soc, an enemy, idfk, and then telling them his name makes more sense in the context of just losing steve and therefore making rash decisions because of this sudden lose.

my goodbye - soda seeming to “lose” darry’s positive view of him, at least in soda’s mind, because of all he had done and lost. this, of course, is simply what soda thinks darry would say if he was there. because of this, he pushes the “what would darry do?” mindset out of his head.

storm - not much to highlight in this song except for how soda is a badass captain™️

luck runs out - now of course, i keep mentioning this song as the beginning of this war au because while s.e. hinton technically said soda was drafted, i think it’s very possible that soda and his optimism view on life would easily be more swayed to propaganda to enlist rather than be drafted. plus, with becoming a soldier, a certain amount of money is given to you monthly (at least i think-). this, i think, is another pro to the idea of enlisting in soda’s mind because he wants to help better provide for his brothers.

but generally plot wise, soda taking on this positive mindset of “i can just go and ask for help” is almost a tribute to steve and what he wanted. but on the other hand, you have tim, who knows that not everyone is as welcome to help, especially after dally died from police brutality.

keep your friends close - not much to say about this either but for the fact that aeolous being cherry is very fun to think about. while the meaning of this lyric means very different things in the context of the outsiders versus epic, the line “keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” does really fit with cherry. ponyboy being the “enemy” that she quickly befriends and keeping him close. but soon, she starts giving info to the greasers, the socs in her eyes almost becoming the real “enemy”. might be wrong though, interpret it however you like, i just think it fits cherry!

also the “everything’s changed since polities” line really fits into how i think soda would grieve for steve while still at war. he has to stay strong for his crew but they all sense, *know* something’s off with soda, and put the pieces together that this is because of steve. without steve, soda doesn’t have as high of a morale on life in general, and therefore the crew doesn’t. which fits in with them (kinda accidentally) turning on him.

ruthlessness - now HERE ME OUT HERE, if bob is the cyclops, rather than dally seeing him as a “son”, him being like “you had mercy on a SOC.” but the “you had mercy on the enemy?!” also works. just in general, i think dally’s memory coming back to haunt soda, espically paired with dally also being zeus, is fitting honestly. while dally wasn’t always ruthless, we gotta keep in mind in this au, this is in soda’s mind. these “gods” or visions of people he once knew, in my eyes, are people coming back to haunt him in his most shameful state. no matter what dally would’ve really said, i picture soda thinking how disappointed the people he loved most would be in him if they saw him in that very moment. also, “ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves” is SO dally.

puppeteer - now again, being how circe is a witch, it’s a bit hard to fit this into a realistic setting but i js thought having marcia as her would be fun bc paired with…

wouldn’t you like - two-bit as hermes, i just think i’d be hilarious. i like to picture this as soda and two-bit on two ends of a phone, and for whatever reason, marcia is there distracting the crew from their goal. soda on one line would be like “so do you know of a soc named marcia” and two-bit on the other end like, “OMG WE WENT OUT ONE TIME, this is how to scare her off”

done for - self-explanatory, not much to say here tbh. marcia’s just iconic.

there are others ways - (with my stevepop heart) if like to think that *right after* steve’s death, it would be pretty much impossible for soda to be “seduced” as well as the idea of pony and darry waiting for him would keep him focused on the end goal in that moment.

the underworld - i kinda like the idea of the underworld not being the actual underworld but a very dark and dangerous place, with the visions of the dead and soda’s past traumas coming back to bite him in that moment. the line between reality and fiction is a hard line to draw in that very moment. ALSO STEVE AND SODA’S MOM😭😭

no longer you - you know i HAD to include him somewhere, so here’s johnny finallyyyyy. i don’t really have much of an explanation other than being johnny’s quieter personality, him seeing everything in a way, him being tierras just makes sense.

monster - soda losing his mind finally and willing to do anything to drive these ghosts of the past out of his mind and get home to his brothers. self-explanatory :)

being how all the songs aren’t out yet, i’m just gonna stop here. thanks for listening to my yapping my boredom has created :) enjoy listening!

[fairytale-luka]

More on Aphrodite as Odysseus mentor( The Warrior of The Heart AU) / (sorry if anything is missed spelled or the grammar is wrong)

This is about God Games, there was some changes that I mentioned but I’m going to expand on it more

Apollos trial is still mostly the same about the sirens. But Aphrodite fights back that the siren were using Penelope face to trick Odysseus

Hephaestus is replaced by Hermes, there is actually not much of a trial here. Hermes is just making pointless arguments and it’s quite easy for Aphrodite to counteract

Next, would be Circe since it couldn’t be Aphrodite. Circe argument is about Odysseus sacrificing his men despite fighting her to get them back(during the Circe Saga).

Aphrodite tries to counteract that he was forced to choose between himself and his men.(She’s used her Instant Love on Circe like Athena did with Aphrodite with her ‘Quick Thought)

That’s when Athena, who takes Ares place comes in. Athena argues about Odysseus failing to make smart decisions and that his son is just as foolish as he is.

Aphrodite is angered by this, she mangers to fight back and wins. Athena is impressed by Aphrodite winning and agrees for Odysseus release

(Also would like to mention that Athena and Circe have something going in. They may or may not be queerplatonic partners)

Hera is the same, nothing changed because I love this part too much to change it

The showed down Zeus is mostly the same for Aphrodite(sorry girlie :/). Aphrodite will does get injured like Athena did in the canon animatics.

But you may be asking, where is Ares in all this? Well, he was off doing something and comes back to find his wife injured by his father

(These are just some ideas, feel fair to change or add anything. Also once again, if you would like to create anything about this, please credit me)