#But has not told odysseus

[backpackingspace]

Hey! Can we talk about Athena canonically getting scars and losing her eye for odysseus?!

[fan-kingdoms]

mourning the fact that neither odysseus or athena properly processed the fact that odysseus, in his darkest moment, in pure desperation, reached for athena. and despite the things he said to her in my goodbye, despite those ten years between them, athena heard. athena came. and athena got him the fuck off that island. athena took a lightning bolt to the face to get him out. i understand the bittersweetness of their reunion, i understand that some relationships aren’t salvageable, that odysseus has changed irrevocably, irreparably, and a friendship with athena feels impossible for him.

but that doesn’t change the fact that he called out for her. and she came. doesn’t that mean something to him? doesn’t that mean anything at all?

hermes told odysseus that someone spoke for him. who did he think that was? it’s not like him to just . let that question remain unanswered.

GOD i’ve been denied catharsis and i need the epic fanfic writers to Step Up immediately thank you <3

[zarnzarn]

(check the tags for more and also the tag for other fics in the story!)

athena, scowling as she gets bullied into marrying the people she pined over for the last 1000 years, suddenly realising something: wait a minute

odysseus: what?

athena, frozen: wait a damn minute you know what this gives me rights to do

penelope, also realising: oh fuck yes

odysseus: I don't like the sound of whatever's happening here what are you two fucking talking about?

athena, grabbing the marriage wine and tossing it back, then kissing her new wife and husband and handing penelope a spear as she picks up a mace: we'll be back shortly, you can start celebrations without us.

penelope: do u have anything that can start a fire

athena, pulling out an old contract and scanning it before throwing it over her shoulder: yes. are you scared of heights or can we fly.

penelope: fucking bring it I've waited years for this moment

zeus: where are they going

hermes, picking up the contract: they're going to... Ogygia? Oh fucking shit they're going to fucking kill Calypso- hey, hello, WAIT-

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Omg I loved your herald viktor epic line idea I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. If u have time and energy id love to read it sooo much ❤️❤️

Since the Ithica Saga dropped last night my brain has not known a single moment of peace. "Would You Fall in Love with Me Again" is just so insanely perfect for a Machine Herald Viktor x Reader AU it makes me physically ill. Like, seriously:

I am not the man you fell in love with

I am not the man you once adored

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I cannot change

Would you love me all the same?

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I can't undo

I'm not the man you knew

Viktor is so Odysseus coded it is PAINFUL. The pain of sacrificing so much of himself to survive. The regret of everyone he's had to leave behind, to betray. The ghosts of his legacy haunting his mind. All for his goal, the one thing he knows he's meant to do with every fiber of his being. Nothing, neither magic nor gods, will stop him from fulfilling that dream. He will not be the same once all has passed, and he will never regain all that he's lost. Can the person who loved him the most as he was before still love this version of him?

And the reader's answer...

I will fall in love with you

Over and over again

I don't care how, where, or when

No matter how long it's been

You're mine

Because what you loved about him is deeper than any of the ways he's changed. It's something at his core, in his soul, in the light of his eyes, no matter how tired they may seem now. It's your first kiss, it's the sound of his voice in your ear, it's the curve of his lips when he smirks, it's the way he looks at you like he falls in love all over again every day you're with him. Time may pass, and the world may change, but not this. Never this.

He is yours just as you are his, and that is the one thing that will never change.

[corvid-ghost]

It's such whiplash from going from my corner of tumblr to tiktok when it comes to odysseus

Like here (in my corner idk about the rest) its pretty common knowledge that what happened to odysseus was sa, and most of the stuff abiut him are based off of the Iliad or Odyssey (or epic) and yk people know what they're talking about

And then

Then I go tiktok and it's all "odysseus is cheating scum! Circe, Calypso, and Penelope deserved better! He did them dirty! And achilles and patroclus! Terrible person! Bad! They're the victims!"

Which wild take but ok

[cosmicourple]

thinkin’ of pre-Trojan War Poseidon x Penelope where Ody’ meets n marries her a few years later than ‘canon’, so 4 the bit of time spent single in her fresh twenties, ‘Nelope has a small affair w/ The Sea God, them spending their ‘private time together’ very excitingly and rough ]:))),,

[chaos-bringer-13]

@void-of-unparalled-chaos did you see me going through Epic the musical tag on your blog? It's because you infected me. I am no longer sane. Because of you posting about Epic I went and watched both streams recordings on youtube and am currently making my way through literally every video about Epic on Jay's channel. I am obsessed. I ranted to my parents for an hour and then started sending memes to my friend who barely has any context. I am vibrating through walls. There is something fundamentally changed in me now. I am losing my sense of humanity. Please if you ever want to infodump and have someone to share your freaking out - message or tag me. I need to know every single detail and I'm too bad at noticing the motifs and instruments myself. Someone save me

[undercoverangell]

reworking my odysseus design again... mainly just adding some extra flair and details and perhaps moving some colors around . and then at some point ill get a sketch of penelope and telemachus.

[greekmythcomix]

YES THANK YOU!

AND he’s been verbally and mentally abused by some of the slave-women his whole life, and then the suitors have turned up at exactly the peak of his adolescence spraying their toxic masculinity everywhere and he’s lucky not to have turned out like them, frankly! And, when he finally grows up - with Athene herself as a walking metaphor for his self-realisation - they plot openly to kill him. For existing. And his mum finds out that’s what they were planning and she is still going to have to marry one of them because there’s 108 of them and only two of her and her kid and she has no choice because otherwise they won’t leave and they’ll kill her son.

(Can you also see why Odysseus can’t just rock up and tell them he’s back and they need to just go home?)

Telemachus’ coming of age and demonstrating it is the most important plot dynamic in the Ithaca side of the Odyssey and he just gets cussed out for ‘being mean to his mum’ 🤦‍♀️

look. not to be mean or anything, but

thank you for coming to my ted talk

(also, this:)

[audarcy]

The original percy jackson series is about cycles of abuse and neglect, right. Were introduced to percy as a kid who has clearly been left behind by a school system that has given up on him, restless and unengaged and self-defetist because hes been given nothing that works for him and no one even tries to meet him where he is. Then hes told no, listen, your neurodivergence is amazing and you just need to be given something that actually utilizes your unique palatte. And thats obviously the uplifting idea rick wanted for his kids, right. But once we get to know chb the same cycles are happening there too. There are kids "left behind" there too for one reason or another, because their parents dont want to claim them, because their parents werent important enough to get a cabin. Do you get it, all the kids who dont fit the most common neurotypes get shoved into the same closet. Kids are being left in a cruel world to fend for themselves without the tools they need. Theyre dying because no one bothered to accommodate them. Its such an obvious parallel that the first chapter introduces a teacher whos written to be especially hard on percys disability and she turns out to literally be one of these monsters trying to kill him. Meanwhile sally jackson tells him she named him after Perseus because she wanted a redemption for a hero whos story ended in tragedy. Meanwhile every book in the series replicates a greek myth step for step until the moment they break the cycle. Annabeth, playing Odysseus, is talked down from her hubris and grounded by her friends. Percy, playing Heracles, meets someone wronged by the original Heracles and rights his wrongs by refusing to go down the same selfish path as him. Monsters are reborn because they are--as the books explicitly call them--achetypes. These kids are stuck inside the cyclical nature of mythology because thats what happens to mythology, it gets retold over and over again. But these are the kids who have to live it. The series ends with percy being offered immortality and he rejects it because he wants to use his godly favor to force them to break their cycle of neglecting their kids. The series ends with a declaration that we cant keep letting this happen. The very first book offees the same choice. It ends with percy refusing to keep the head of medusa as a spoil of war, refusing his heroic reward. He lets his mother have the head and use it to kill gabe. Isnt that fucking crazy for a kids book? Gabe wasnt a Monster. He wasnt going to Turn to Dust and Disappear in a narratively convenient way. He was a living breathing mortal dude and percy and his mom killed him without remorse. Break the cycle of abuse!!!! Dont let this happen again!!! Anyway thats why the original percy jackson series is Hey where are you going with our breadsticks

[anniflamma]

"Waiting, waiting... Ooooh!"

Here comes a proper concept illustration of Odysseus’ wifey!

Since Penelope is very underdeveloped in Epic, it’s hard to pin down what her personality is in the musical, so I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration from the original Odyssey and added some of my own ideas. Initially, I liked the idea of portraying her as a graceful queen, someone who always smiles despite how rudely the suitors treat her. But then I realized I really liked using visual language to show how Odysseus remembers Penelope from his sweetest memories.

Because of all the trauma he experiences on his journey, Penelope becomes more of an "end destination" for him, a symbol of hope. To Odysseus, once he gets back to Penelope, everything will be fine. In his visions or memories, Penelope with a warm smile, little bit soft on the edges. But the real her, the one we meet in The Challenge, looks tired and constantly angry, except, of course, when she thinks about Odysseus. This contrast helps the audience see that she has changed as well, both in how she looks and how she acts, compared to how Odysseus idealizes her.

I also really like the idea that the reason Penelope didn’t kick out the suitors wasn’t out of respect for some tradition that puts her in a position of servitude and compromise. Instead, it’s because Zeus himself came down and told her that if she kicked them out, he would smite Odysseus or Telemachus. That interpretation does fit how Epic the musical portrays Zeus so.....

This puts her in a position where she endures all of this to protect the ones she loves, rather than just following a tradition that don't even respect her due to she is a woman.

Also, funny thing, my first drawing of her was that reveal shot from the Thunder Bringer animatic!

And of course, she gets a veil! Similar to Hera and Circe! This choice is rooted in the tradition where married women wore veils, or at least something to cover their hair, when male guests entered their home. If Penelope walked around without a head covering in front of the suitors, it would signal that she was available, which is literally the opposite of what she wanted, don’t you think?

That said, I think I’ll design her veil a little differently. The one I drew here is kind of just a test.

[backpackingspace]

Guys listen I'm once again having ideas that I cannot draw. Consider:

A brief look of rage on Calypso as odysseus calls out for /a different goddess/

[phantomdecibel]

Remember that dream you had where you woke up thinking Tim and Odysseus were related like months ago yeah well it makes sense now because for my Tim design I just copied Odysseus’s hair whole sale

adhkgfajgdagdgdsfhffsk—

[lemonpoet]

(GOOD ENDING AU PART??? IDK??)

Tele is 9/10 here!

TEXT-

Telemachus: Father! Tell me again about the cyclops!!

Odysseus (has told this story about 20 times already): yes yes… so there I was… 10 men, 50 sheep, one cyclops…

PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE

[holyadoptionpapersbatman]

HNNNNNG ALL I HEAR ARE SCREEEEEEAMS

*****

Telemachus was supposed to be arriving today. Odysseus paced back and forth on his room's balcony, his eyes flitting to the ocean every once in a while. He couldn't shake off the anxiety that something wrong could be happening...

Or could have happened.

But just like how Penelope and his son awaited patiently for his return, he could not give up hope now.

The skies are clear. Poseidon does not have his son. Zeus does not have his son.

Odysseus whispers a little prayer, just in case.

"Athena, Hermes, please watch over him."

The little breeze from the wind ruffling his hair eases his anxieties just a bit.

Just a little bit more.

Odysseus will wait.

Telemachus will be home.

He'll be arriving soon.

He will be.

His doors bang open, Penelope's eyes frantic and wide.

"Od--" She stumbles as she reaches for her husband. Luckily, Odysseus caught her before she could fall onto the floor.

"My love, what's wrong?" he asks, ignoring how shaky his voice was. Ignoring how cold his hands and feet were feeling as he felt Penelope sob into his chest.

"The ship--" she says between sobs. "One of our son's men was found floating on the shores."

No.

"The debris they found in the water was-- was--"

This can't be happening.

He gently shushes his wife, soothing her with empty assurances. With shaky legs, he carries his wife to their bed. She clutches on tightly to his toga, not once ceasing in her crying.

"I can't lose him, Odysseus. I can't," she whispers.

"I'm going to find out what's going on, okay?" he said, kissing the top of her head and hugging her close one more time. "I'll bring our boy home."

"Both of you," she pleads, reaching for Odysseus' hand. "I will not lose either of you."

"You won't," he promises. "I won't let you wait again."

I'm on breakdown number 7 in 4 days so enjoy a new angsty idea.

What if post Epic Telemachus leaves Ithaca for some reason (could be in search of a wife or for diplomacy or just him wanting to make a name for himself). What if Poseidon decided (once he gets better from the stab wound) to kidnap Telemachus (his crew wouldn't survive to tell).

Traveling by sea is extremely dangerous. So Penelope and Odysseus would likely not know what happened. His ship could have ended up going down in a storm (divine or natural). There could have been a mutiny. Telemachus may have been blown off course and/or ship wrecked.

Athena would know what Poseidon did but she would be powerless to do something. Poseidon likely would use Telemachus's life against Athena to keep her quiet so she wont tell Odysseus or Zeus about what he did (Poseidon want's revenge but he is not about to put himself in danger for it so he'll just enjoy Odysseus frantically looking for his son). Athena knows that she can't do anything against Poseidon as she isn't sure that she can rescue Telemachus before he dies (if Athena's life was on the line she wouldn't hesitate but she wont do the same with Telemachus).

That's all I got for now.

[theodysseyofhomer]

penelope didn't have to turn the tree bed into a riddle. she could have asked odysseus to prove his identity, to tell her something only he would know — which she actually did a few books earlier, when she asked the beggar to describe odysseus, and odysseus told her about a purple cloak with a particular golden brooch that she fastened herself twenty years ago. when penelope tells telemachus they have signs by which they'll know each other, you sort of expect more of the same. and instead, she decides to trap him. like a bug in a cup.

and it's delightful to me, idk, how odysseus has been trapped and cornered in various way throughout the odyssey, but arguably never so that he has to tell the truth to get out. (with the phaeacians, maybe? the omniscient narrator corroborates some of what he tells them, but do we really know everything?) and in fact he is not trying to get free of penelope. he wants something from her, wants to convince her, wants to be welcomed home, but until this point he's lied to her, revealed himself to other people before her, and been distant with her (though also patient! he doesn't try to strongarm or rush her into accepting him; it's his idea to sleep elsewhere).

except penelope isn't looking for him to be distant and patient. penelope lies in a way that requires odysseus to stop playing along — not only to prove that he knows what odysseus knows, but that he's willing to tell the truth about himself.