#Odysseus is not okay

[daylesspax]

Dolled up and depressed Odysseus for the win

So uhh, yeah, I took this idea and ran with it

To be honest I just wanted to draw him in flowy fabric and all pretty… but yeah, as much as I love Ody being a sopping wet stray, I like him dolled up too <3

Some design notes:

I did some brief research (from credible sources) of Ancient Greek fashion to make his Ogygia design

What he’s wearing is a chiton (the white tunic/shirt he’s wearing) that is under a himation (the big ass blanket wrap lol) which is often how kings/upper class are depicted. These clothings are often decorated well with elaborate designs (the shells on the himation, the beading+shells to have the weight rest nicely over the body, etc.)

The rest of the embellishments like his laurel crown, collar/necklace, and bracers are inspired the descriptions in ‘Time’s Curse’ by ‘mydnyteraven’ on AO3 (check it out!) (also: during the cliff scene in ‘Love in Paradise’ will probably include him tearing off the jewelry out of anger, frustration, etc.)

I believe in at least one of my sources they said that Greeks often stayed barefoot when they’re home so… Calypso probably forces him to be barefoot

He has super long hair! Seven years is a long time! And Calypso probably prefers playing with his hair and braiding it and braiding flowers into it even though Ody doesn’t like it (and he will probably get a dramatic scene of chopping his hair off, Mulan-style)

Calypso put him in ‘her’ colors! (I’ve always imagined Ody to be blue-coded) showing, once more, the lack of control he has

His Ogygia clothes are much more fancy/gaudy than he’s used to, his clothing much more on par with a god’s! Ithaca (as far as I know) is a modest kingdom and thus, he wore modest clothing even as a king and he’s never wanted to wear more than that

It was a pretty long process to get him to this point, he clung to his rags until he physically couldn’t (or Calypso forced him) and he was just gradually forced to keep compromising until it wasn’t worth it to fight her

And that’s all I could think of so I hope you all appreciate my thoughts on this concept <3

I know people really like disheveled Odysseus but like, wouldn't it be worse if during his stay at calypso's island he's the most cleaned up and groomed he's ever been during his voyage. His hair is long and silky smooth, his beard is trimmed, his clothes are pristine and hang nicely from his body. Calypso treats him like a prized possession, and how could she possibly let it (her pet? her toy?) get unkempt and scruffy? Idk something about him having a complete lack of agency and no choice in even the way he looks and his stay in a supposed paradise reflecting on his person

[raointean]

...he'll get there eventually

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

*after the events of the odyssey*

*telemachus and odysseus walking down to the docks, after odysseus said he'd go sailing with his son*

(listen the man had missed 20 years of his son's life, he could ask ody to dress in drag & do the hula and odysseus would already be shouting "LUAU" in a grass skirt before tele finished his sentence)

telemachus: i'm so excite- *looks ahead*

telemachus: *stops walking* oh no *sad noises*

odysseus: *still walking* what's wrong son?

telemachus: *points to the sea beyond ithaca's shores* poseidon must be angry today, look at the storm in the distance

odysseus: *looks ahead but without worry on his face* no need to worry, we can still go sailing, follow me

telemachus: *confused but follows his dad*

*both make it to the docks*

odysseus: you get started, i've just got something to do & then i'll join you on the ship

*telemachus hops on the ship and odysseus turns to face the sea*

odysseus: *red eyes activate* i'm. going. sailing. with . my. son.

*the sea storm dissipates in record speed*

odysseus: good.

odysseus: *red eyes deactivate*

odysseus: *turns to telemachus smiling like nothing happened* shall we go then?

telemachus: *happy but very confused*

telemachus: *mumbling to himself*what just happened?

(this has now become its own little au! friends in higher places au masterlist here!)

[epicthemusicalstuff]

Hermes said “remember every trick in your domain for this” thinking Odysseus would be tricky, and forgot that Odysseus is also a fighter and woke up choosing violence

[sunshines-child]

isn't it like canonical that penelope was (and still is) a gorgeous pretty beautiful wowza lady and odysseus was just some eepy raccoon when they first met

[thatzmemars]

I’m not ok :]

[mxrizza]

I am in shambles

[official-english-major]

Athena calling odysseus and telemachus her friends and saying she can't sleep at night after how she handled things?!?!!?!?!?!

[thejadeofc]

I'm just a girl in the sense odysseus sings "I'm just a man" in epic the musical while commiting war crimes

[possessable]

Congratulations to EPIC for the release of the Ithaca Saga here's a quick redraw of that one Beggar Odysseus and Penelope thing

^ old version

[ilions-end]

ahh elizabeth vandiver's lectures pointing out a heartbreaking moment in the odyssey i wasn't even aware of:

telemachus addresses eumaeus the swineherd as atta (ἄττα). in my fagles edition it's translated as "old friend", but as vandiver points out, atta has two meanings: it can be used as a familiar-but-respectful form of address to an older man (which is how telemachus uses it), but significantly it's also baby-talk for "father", parallel to papa/dada. it's what telemachus WOULD have called odysseus growing up, but now telemachus refers to him as xenos, a visiting stranger/foreigner.

like imagine. odysseus is in disguise as a beggar, it's the first time he's seen his son since infancy, and one of the first things he hears telemachus say, to another man, is "daddy, who is this stranger?"

[nikoisme]

And your dreams, my Telemachus, are blameless

[wolfythewitch]

achaean nap pile

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

there are two wolves inside you

the first is you looking/listening in horror at odysseus eviscerating poseidon with his own trident

the second is you hearing poseidon/steven's screams and going "ayo why does he/this sound so good"

[epicthemusicalstuff]

You know that beautiful heartbreaking instrumental near the end of Would You Fall In Love With Me Again? (Not only is it the melody of Just A Man slowed down- but) I BETTER SEE ANIMATICS OF THE ROSY FINGERED DAWN SWEEPING IN. Right there would be the perfect place-

[dootznbootz]

Thinking about how Telemachus has heard "You are just like your father" by so many people for most of his life. How different yet refreshing it is to hear said father tell him warmly "You're so much like your mother".