#EPIC Aphrodite

[witless-winion1]

God Games

Aphrodite: your little high and ~mighty~ Odysseus, claims to love his mother but let her die of a broken heart~

(Two minutes later, cut to Athena smacking Ares with her spear)

Athena: HOLD YOUR TONGUE NOW! His son’s my FRIEND!

Athena: and tell your lover that a broken heart can mend!

Ares: wh-

Aphrodite: fuck you mean It can mend?! She’s already dead! Weren’t you listening to me??

[zippyskyfalls]

"Alright, my brothers, listen closely..."

Weeks of planning, all leading to this. Penelope had to admit, this was her smartest plan yet.

Who would have thunk a wooden horse could fit over 600 men?

"Tonight we make the Trojans pay..."

Helen of Sparta, Penelope's cousin, was kidnapped years ago. A series of Devine events leading up to this moment. So many lives lost because of that single catastrophic event.

"Ten years of war, they killed us slowly. But now we'll be the ones who slay..."

No Trojan would be spared this night, all that will be left is ruins that historians will one day theorize if these events really even happened.

Penelope faced her soldiers, her helmet off in a moment of transparency. She should be open with her men, the ones she will lead.

"Think of your wives and your children. Your families wonder where you've been. " Penelope didn't have a wife, of course. Her husband was back home with her only son.

"They're growing old, and yet you're still here." The soldier put on her helmet, the symbol of her patron goddess engraved on the front.

A dove.

"Do what I say and you'll see them again.'

"Yes, mam."

They were all counting on her. She pointed her sword at specific soldiers, assigning each a job they must complete so the plan is perfect.

She plans for every fight, after all.

"Diomedes will lead the charge"

"Agamemnon will flay the guards."

"Menaleus will let our mates through the gates and take the whole city at large."

So many lives will be lost.

"Trucer will shoot any any ambush attack, and little Ajax will stay back."

But that was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

"Nestor, secure Helen and protect her. Neo, avenge your father, kill the brothers of Hector."

"Yes, mam!"

The men put on their helmets, bowing at her commands. They were all counting on Penelope's plan to be a success.

"Find that inner strength now, use that well of pride. Fight through every pain now, ask yourself inside!"

Penelope wandered to the back of the horse, staring back at her men as she touched the door entrance.

There were some questions that had to be answered before Troy was invaded.

"What do you live for? What do you try for? What do you wish for? What do you fight for?"

As the soldiers repeated the chorus, reminding themselves of their loved ones, Penelope leaned her head on the door and remembered her own.

"Odysseus..." her husband. The one who'd created the agreement that no war would break out when Helen chose her own husband.

He was meant to go to war instead of her, but Penelope managed to go in his place. There was a lot of arguing when the decision was made, but Penelope easily won her husband over.

"And Telemachus..." her son. He was only about 9 months old when she left to fight for her cousin's freedom. He's about 10 years old now, he must look exactly like his father.

"I fight for us... I fight for us..."

She knew what she lived for.

"Odysseus..."

She knew who she tried for.

"Telemachus."

She knew what she wished for.

Home.

"I'm on my way..."

She cut the door open, the quick motion of her sword cutting it as if it were butter.

"Attack!"

Red. So much red.

The clanking of swords so loud it could be heard across all of Greece. Penelope ran into the battlefield, spotting exactly who she wanted to see

Ctimene.

Her sword hit a Trojan soldier as he attempted to ambush and murder her sister in law.

Ctimene was the sister of Odysseus, they'd met many years ago. She'd snuck in at the middle of the night of her husband, Eurylochus' departure.

At the end of the first night, Ctimene managed to capture her husband and forcefully bring him back to a ship back to Same-- her kingdom.

Penelope spotted a dark figure, one whose face was impossible to spot. He ran towards her, nobody else managing to see the terrifying figure in front of her, and took a stab at Penelope's chest. Causing the queen to let out a scream of hurt.

But she was still alive.

All the was left was smoke.

"...what was that?"

In front of her, a man appeared. It wasn't the same one, he reeked of Devine judgement. His eyes yellow and his beard cloudy.

Zeus. The king of the gods.

"A vision of what is to come. Cannot be outrun, can only be dealt with right here and now."

He led Penelope to Troy's Palace, to which she climbed to the third story from the walls, her armor clanking down in pain.

She finally stood up in balance, her feet on the ground in the hallway of the large castle as she began to enquire. "Tell me how..."

"I don't think you're ready..."

How wasn't she ready? Could the king of the gods not see the massacre outside she had planned?

He lead her across the hallway, his eyes glowing of divinity.

"A mission... to kill someone's son. A foe who won't run, unlike anyone you have faced before..."

Penelope nodded, grabbing the handle of the door in front of her at the edge of the hallway.

"Say no more, I know what I'm ready."

"I don't think you're ready..."

She opened the door, her sword ready to strike when--

...she heard a laugh. Not a deep, sinister laugh like you'd expect. This was a child's laugh.

She walked around the room till she spotted a small cradle, inside was...

"It's just an infant.... it's just a boy."

How could Zeus, king of the gods, ask her to murder this child who's life was still ahead of him?

She faced the sky God, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

"What sort of immanent threat does he pose that I cannot avoid?"

The room began shifting, his face reforming to show someone else's

"This is the son of none other than Troy's very own prince Hector"

Hector... this boy was Hector's son?

"Know that he will grow from a boy to an avenger"

The whole room shifted, Penelope - an older, wiser one - sat tired on a throne. The same figure that tried to stab her moments ago was in front of her, sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"One fueled with rage as you're consumed by age."

"If you don't end him now, you'll have no one left to save."

Zeus' face shifted once again, his body now the same as her husband's

"You can say goodbye to..."

The soldier felt her heart skip a beat, no. It couldn't.

"Odysseus..."

"You can say goodbye to--"

Odysseus.

She was back in the infants room, she slowly took the child, her face dark as she cradled him and looked up at the god. There had to be something she could do...

"I could raise him as my own!"

"He will burn your house and throne..."

No. Another way.

"Or send him far away from home!"

"He'll find you wherever you go."

She stared at the infant whom she held, a small smile on his face as he grabbed her pinkie finger.

"Make sure his past is never known..."

"The gods will make him know."

Penelope kneeled to the God, tears running down her face. Could she bring herself to do this? To kill an infant and deprive another mother of his first steps? His first laugh? His first words?

"I'm on my knees for ya, down on my knees for ya! I'm begging ple--"

"This is the will of the gods."

She stared at the small child, standing up as she forced herself to look at the God one last time.

"Please, don't make me do this! Don't make me do this!"

"The blood on your hands is something you won't lose..."

He brought an illusion of her Husband, next to him was a young boy, about ten or so. His face changing between different mixes of Penelope and Odysseus' faces.

Telemachus. And the one thing that was consistent was he had her eyes.

"All you can choose is whose..."

°•☆______________________☆•°

HELLO!!! Thank you for reading the Warrior of The Heart AU's version of The Horse and The Infant.

You may be wondering what the AU is!

Well, we follow Penelope of Sparta, who took her husband's place and managed to go to war. The name of the fanfic is thanks to her Mentor: Aphrodite (specifically Aphrodite Areia)

In my original drafts, Hera was originally replacing Zeus, but I didn't want this to feel like a "we have Warrior!Penelope at Home" AU.

Our role swaps are

Odysseus - Penelope

Athena - Aphrodite (Areia)

Eurylochus - Ctimene

Polites - Helen of Sparta (I'm so sorry...)

Poseidon - Amphitrite

I'd like to appreciate a few people!

Thank you, @protagaster Aka Aster, for making my favorite version of the Warrior!Penelope AU. You're an amazing friend and have always supported my projects, and I will continue to do the same for you!

Thank you, @somereaderinblue Aka Blue for being such an awesome person! You've helped me improve my writing so much and I'm so lucky to be your friend. (I also gotta thank you for helping improve/Analyse my designs I had made for the original WOTH designs I'd made!)

Thanks @literallylink--who-tf-is-ravioli for being the chaotic push I needed to make this

I hope you enjoyed this!

[makotafi]

So Mako, you probably make a lot of dresses for Aphrodite, what’s your relationship like with her?

Wink wink

"Oh ?~ me and mako are simply "friends"~now if you excuse me we are in the middle of something "

"APHRODITE ?!!! ugh... I knew I shouldn't have come over "

[doppy-enjo]

LOOK WHAT YOU'VE TURNED ME INTO. LOOK WHAT WE'VE BECOME.

[the-mori-arty]

HERE. IT. IS.

THE. ART.

[too-much-flynnolium]

LETS GOOOO WERE HEADING TO ITHACA FOR THIS ONE‼️‼️‼️‼️ IM SO EXCITED IM GONNA CRY

[smoolio]

Unusual of me to lock in for art, but this was for a DTIYS over on instagram. Featuring @neal-illustrator's Ares and Aphrodite designs!

[anniflamma]

Little summary of what I did this year! Though the Adoni animatic was made during 2023, I did make an animatic (the french opera one) that ended with them banging each other as well… So this counts too!

[shinedoitsulikeabright]

I love the idea of every god that agreed to free Ody helping him out during 600 strike

Because, let's be honest, as cool as the song is, there is no way in hell a mere mortal could ever do that to Poseidon. I mean, he's on the same power level as Zeus ffs.

So, I like the headcanon that he received divine help. Just imagine:

Zeus finds the whole thing hilarious so he provides thunder and lightning to set the mood and complete the aesthetic. Seriously, his brother is getting tortured with his own trident by a puny human who's taunting him with his own philosophy. It doesn't get any more ironic than that.

Apollo and Hades unknowingly have the same idea; Apollo provides a sick beat while Hades releases those 600 souls from the Underworld so they can be the chorus.

Ares is taking over since Athena is busy recovering. After all, she did promise him bloodshed (plus he already hated his uncle prior to this event due to the whole Alcippe incident).

Hera isn't super keen on Poseidon either (since he too is a serial cheater on his wife) so she just watches in amusement. After Ody says "next to my wife" she just sends Zeus a glare.

Aphrodite sparks that flame of love he feels for his family and comrades in Ody's heart, giving him additional strength.

Hermes and Aeolus are watching from the side, eating popcorn and probably filming it so they can show Athena (and so they can later have blackmail to taunt Poseidon with).

[meteor752]

The Greek gods and how willing they are to fuck Odysseus (at least according to me)

Not doing all of them, there’s so many

Zeus: He most def would, but not because Ody is special. Like, it’s Zeus, the man would fuck anything as long as it’s breathing. I do think he’d enjoy the pleasure of messing with his older brother though, so he’s extra into it for that

Poseidon: Oh yes. He’d deny it if asked, but he wants to fuck him so badly

Hades: I think he’d fuck him mainly to see what all the hype is about. And to mess with Poseidon of course

Hera: Nah, she’s surprisingly loyal. Which like bitch why

Hestia: Asexual queen

Demeter: She has no idea who Odysseus is tbh. Don’t think she’d be too into it anyways

Apollo: Yeah! That’s not a good thing for Ody tho, as it never ends well for Apollo’s mortal lovers. Mans might be in danger

Artemis: Asexual lesbian queen

Athena: See with her, I don’t know. Their bond is strictly platonic, but I don’t think they’d be against the idea of fucking each other. I do think she’d make him fight for it

Ares: Now for most of the duration of the musical, no I do not think he’d be interested. But after he repeatedly stabs Poseidon with a trident? Oh boy

Aphrodite: Yeah, he’s just her type! Tough warrior that’s secretly a sub :)

Hermes: Mans been willing to fuck him for a long ass time, like I’m impressed by his level of self restraint actually

Dionysus: Is in the same seat as Demeter in that he has little idea of who this dude actually is. Don’t think he’d turn him down though

Hephaestus: I don’t think so, but I have no concrete reason for that answer. Vibe check

Aeolus: No thanks :)

[sarnai4]

Au. Before the Trojan war when Ares and Ody are asked to try to get along.

(Ares and Ody are sitting awkwardly across from each other.)

Ody: So, Athena asked us to try finding what we have in common.

Ares: We both want this to end. Done. (Stands up)

Ody: Yeah, but I don't think that's what she meant....uh, I love Penelope and you love Aphrodite.

Ares: That's true. (Sits back down) Aphrodite's amazing.

Ody (with a goofy grin): Penelope just has the brightest laugh.

Ares (head in hand): Aphrodite's so smart and pretty.

(Hours later, they're kicking their feet in the air while on their stomachs)

Ody (gleefully): And then this one time, Penelope made this little snort sound!

Ares (gasping): You're kidding! Aphrodite does that too! It's adorable!

Ody: I know right!

(Penelope and Aphrodite are about to enter the room. Athena stops them.)

Athena: Don't do in there. You'll be a distraction.

Penelope (confused): There's so much giggling in that room. We wanted to see what was going on.

Athena:...bonding.

Aphrodite: Between who?

Athena (directing them both away from the room): You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

[bibliophilicbi]

Poseidon, having been penetrated as much as Zeus: How will you sleep at night? >:(

Ody, wife is life: Next to my wife.

Hera and Aphrodite:

[woodlandcoffeiii]

2 month Aphrodite drawing! Ignore the wack anatomy and stuff I was hitting an art block 😭

Definitely plan to redraw this later TwT

Other version

[vegaly-art]

In honour of the release of God Games I have decided to draw the 6 challengers in Athena's way <3 <3. I love them so dearly you have no idea. And man I really have not been making enough EPIC content. I ought to get back to those animatics I've been planning and at least finish a small section of them. That'd be nice. asjdgsajd

[lemonpoet]

Maid dress drawing comin up tomorrow btw…

[doppy-enjo]

600 STRIKE!!!!!

Okay so consider the possibility that Odysseus got buffs from all the gods that approved his release Hades game-Style