#blind cyclops story

[majorstumbles]

Cyclops seems like a good name for Scott, on the surface.

He tends to his flock of people in his care, lashes out against outsiders who threaten them, and that whole one-eye thing with his uniform. And yet, if you read the Odyssey- the story which features a cyclops the most- the cyclops is injured. He loses control of his greatest strength and would require great help to even grasp at that again. And when he cries out to the other cyclopes who scorn him, he is shunned for being injured and tricked, and is left to fend for himself. Even with only the eye being struck, there would’ve likely been at least a little bit of brain damage. And after the plane crash, Scott was basically left blind, burdened with having to cover his eyes so his mutation wouldn’t hurt others as migraines ravaged his senses. And he lost his brother as well, not for scorn, but simply because he was undesirable to potential adoptees. And here Xavier comes along, injured like Scott. He promises Scott a home and a way to improve- which, to his credit, he did. And in exchange, he made Scott a child soldier, his prototype, his test. A test to see whether or not he could take these children and make them into war. And Scott, poor, injured, love-starved Scott, went along with it because Xavier showed him the smallest bit of consideration. He believed that Xavier truly wanted the best for him and to help, and in return he was made into a soldier and named something that reminded him of the very accident that started him on this trail.

He is close to Jean because she can enter his mind and understand, and he is close to Logan because he has been through the same.

[l-egionaire]

My Warrior Penelope AU

Based on this post I'd done before. I've seen a lot of Warrior!Penelope AUs where the events of things are....pretty much the same as Odysseus's story. And while I can get why people do that, I wanted to give my own idea on how things might change.

At the start, things are mostly the same, besides Penelope being a chosen of Ares and more of a warrior, attracting Odysseus with her smarts and battle skills. Then, when the war breaks out, Penelope insists SHE go in Odysseus's place, citing numerous reasons (Helen is her cousin, Ithaca needs their king more than their queen, her not wanting their son to grow up with father). In spite of himself, Odysseus agrees to let her go, but does give her his bow as a parting gift to remember him and their family by.

The next ten years of war and the events through "The Horse and The Infant" and "Open Arms". play out the same way. But during her and her crews meeting with Polyphemus, rather than simply blinding the cyclops like her husband had, Penelope outright kills him with her spear....and then, in her wrath at having lost so many of her men because of their advice, she goes and slays each and every one of the Lotus-Eaters.

As she and her crew prepare to leave the island with the sheep they'd taken, a figure appears on the beach in a leapord skin tunic, the wine god, Dinoysus. He glares at her and explains that the Lotus-Eaters that she had killed had been HIS followers, and he was here to punish her for murdering them. As she was Ares's chosen, he couldn't outright kill her, but he could still punish her in OTHER ways. He then looked her in the eyes, and to her horror, she found herself suddenly surrounded by hundreds of horrible monsters, all having sharp teeth and claws, some wielding weapons. She withdrew her twin axes and began to slay them, some trying to hold her down or scratch at her, but she got out of their grasps and killed them with more ferocity until all of them were dead at her feet. Dionysis then smirked and snapped his fingers. The monsters then dissolved away....to reveal the bloody bodies of all her crew. Dinoysus claimed that he'd made her slay the ones who followed her just as she'd slayed the ones who followed him before vanishing. Penelope sank to her knees, her hands shaking and covered in the blood of six hundred men.

After a full day of crying and staying in a fetal position, Penelope took a ship and began to sail, trying to get home. Her lack of a crew forced her to stay awake nearly 24/ to keep the boat on course. And unfortunately, her troubles were only added to when she ran into a flock of Harpies. While she managed to fight off and kill most of them, they took most of the sheep meat she had and her food supply soon ran low even with rationing. Now close to starving and weak from hunger and sleep deprivation, she landed on the first island she could find. To her joy, the island was full of cattle....but in her hungry and tired state, she didn't notice the statue of the sun god. She slaughtered one prepared to cooked it....then, to her horror, saw the goldsn ichor spilling from its neck. Suddenly a massive thunderstorm blossomed out over the island. Zeus descended down from the Heavens and grabbed her by the throat. Saying how DARE she disgrace yet another of his sons by stealing his cattle. That she would need to be punished for her defiance of the gods, not just once but twice. He then got a lecherous smirk and said that the first part of her punishment would start now....and began tearing off her armor....

Once it was over, Penelope was once again left feeling disgusted, horrified, and broken, this time rushing to a river to scrub down every part of her body until she was raw. Even vomiting, the feelings of shame so intense. And she soon found what the second part of her punishment was when she boarded her boat, as the winds and waves were so strong that she was blown in one way, going farther and farther away from her home in Ithaca until she landed far away, in the Land of The Giants.

The Giants used their rocks to smash her ship apart and she spent the next ten years trapped in their lands. She lived like a rat, having to run and hide in caves and desolate places to avoid being eaten, stealing food from their huts and, in some harsh cases, being forced to kill their young when they discovered her.

Then, one day, after ten years, the goddess Artemis appeared before her in her cave. Ares had asked Olympus to give her freedom from her home and after agreeing, Artemis was there to assist her in getting home. The first step would be reversing her situation and making the hunted into the Huntress. The goddess gave her a quiver full of gleaming silver arrows and told her that, using her husband's bow, she would slay the giants as the quiver would refill itself over and over until she left the giants lands. Penelope thus took those weapons and her husband's bow and began killing the giants one by one, their men, woman and children, until their was no one to threaten her as she constructed a small boat to take her home. Artemis then appeared before her again and told her to sail every night, following the moon in the sky and she would arrive safely home.

She follows Artemis's instructions, eventually arriving in Ithica....and discovering to her disgust at den of betrayal. A group of men, having seen her husband as being weak for sending so many men off to die in war and taking so much time away from ruling to care for his only son, decided to work with corrupt members of his court and servants to slowly poison the king over the last ten years. Unfortunately, due to both Odysseus's hardiness to survive and a bit of divine assistance, Odysseus managed to survive their poisoning, though leaving him in a more abd more weakened state. They'd planned to use this day to strike the king and his son down and claim power for themselves...but Penelope arrived just as they'd been about to harm her husband. Filled with rage at seeing their hands on her beloved, Penelope raised her twin axes and slew every one of them. She'd killed 600 soldiers once. 107 were nothing compared to that. Telemachus returned home to find her holding up Odysseus. And, for the first time since she arrived at the land of the giants, Penelope removed her armors helmet to expose her face to her husband and son.

The reunion was full of love and tears and joy and sadness. But it was one they all felt was worth the wait.

[ffverr]

Any suggestions on getting into Storm centered comics? what should i read if i wanna understand her upcoming solo? thank u so much !

So you're looking to get into Marvel's greatest character? I got you 🤝

Ok so this is a very daunting question because 1-Storm's character very organically develops all throughout the Claremont run which is like...300 issues of "old" comic books. 2- I'm not all that caught up in the 2000s and 2010s comics so I have a huge gaping blind spot.

But if I were to suggest important issues to get her deal as a character and to prime yourself on her inner conflicts for Storm (2024) here are my suggestions (mostly 70s-80s focused because that's when she has her most major character arcs):

(in blue the ESSENTIAL reads, remember these are team comics, so not always 100% Storm)

My quick Storm (ororo Munroe) reading guide:

Giant size X-Men #1 (1975)

Classic era:

Her first comic book appearance

Uncanny X-Men (UXM) #113

It's got a quick Ororo scene that personally, made me fall in love with the character

UXM #102

Ororo's origin story revealed!

UXM #145, #146 and #147

Her first meeting with Doom who will appear in her solo and her "Rogue form" that will also be explored in the solo!

UXM #150

Storm being essential to Magneto's character development and overall a badass! Storm and Magneto have a very interesting relationship which begins here.

UXM #154-#155

Read this if you want insight into Storm and Cyclops' great friendship (they're siblings your honour!) and their relationship to being leaders of the X-Men! Cyclops is set to appear in her solo, so I'd say it's good to know that they're great friends.

UXM #165

Ororo has a VERY cool moment in this issue and it earns her the title "she who swam with Acanti". It's badass, it shows her inner strength in the face of defeat, it's great Storm content. Read the Brood saga (UXM #154 to #167) for more context of this alien space adventure.

Storm's main character arc! :

If there are ever storm comics you gotta read, it's truly these ones.

Before the fall:

UXM #169, #170!!!, #171, #172, #173

In these issues Storm knows change, and she is rattled by her own ruthless actions. This will lead her through a path of transformation and self reflection that is what makes Storm such an incredible character to me.

UXM #179, UXM #180

To see her with the morlocks again and to get an idea of her unstable mental state at this point before her BIG depowered arc. She also has a very touching moment with kitty (they have an older sister/younger sister relationship 🥺)

Depowered Storm (the fall AND the rise):

Unarguably her most iconic arc. Storm losing her powers gives us incredible and touching insight into who she is as a person beyond the picture of a perfect goddess. A MUST read

UXM #184 (for context), #185!

The loss of powers

UXM #186!!!!

AKA. Life death part 1, widely regarded as some of the best X-Men comics ever along with life death part 2 that you will see later on.

UXM #187 and #188

Full no powers badass Storm.

UXM #198!!!

Aka. Life death part 2, a religious experience. Storm excellency. This is like no other X-Men comic you'll ever read!

UXM #201

It isn't the Storm centric issue everyone makes it out to be, but her being asked to duel Scott for X-Men leadership is still very iconic.

UXM #211 and #212

The mutant massacre is a very interesting and tough challenge for Storm who finds herself again at her lowest despite life death part 2. Important reads!

UXM# 215-216

Fun storm centric action!

This is pretty much all I'll recommend of classic stuff for the moment as I am also reading through the insane amount of bronze age issues.

To hop onto Storm (2024):

Planet size X-Men (2021)

Here are the modern age issues I find relevant to get her current state of mind:

Ororo's role during the Krakoa era truly kick-starts here with helping Terraform Mars, which will become the planet Arakko that she rules along a council of mutants. This era is important to understand Ororo as she is in her solo and shows how she navigates many challenges.

The full series X-Men Red (2022) by Al Ewing! *Read Immortal X-Men #11 along with X-Men Red #11 (I can't remember in what order)

This is the most recent Storm-lead book, it's great Ororo stuff!!!!

Resurrection of Magneto by Al Ewing!

Despite the name, this is a BRILLIANT Ororo comic that is extremely recent, extremely good and explores her character in beautiful ways.

I think it's a great primer for her solo if you only wanna read four issues. (Chronologically it comes after X-Men Red)

That's about all I would lay on you! Good reading! And remember that Storm (2024) is written with new readers in mind so, no pressure at all to know everything <3 🌩️

Wanna read some recent leader of X-Men Ororo? X-treme X-Men by Chris Claremont is made for that. (In between the classic era and the modern era chronologically? It's not that good, but it's something.

Avengers (2023) by Jed McKay.

Storm will be in the avengers as well as her solo! She is introduced into the team at issue #17 so you can pick up from that and read in synch with the solo!

[katerinaaqu]

Odysseus and Polyphemus: The Brilliance of Homeric writing (an analysis based on rhapsody/book 6 of Odyssey)

This is why I think no adaptation ever managed to take a glimpse of the brilliancy of Homer's writing

In Homer's Odyssey few moments are said to be as famous and as infamous as the story of Odysseus and Polyphemus; the part where Odysseus shows both his cunning and cleverness as well as his infamous temper and partially his arrogance; the moment meant for the audience to learn humility and show them how hubris leads to nemesis with terrible consequences. And yet Homer made it very clear Odysseus was the hero and Polyphemus was the monster; the one who not only represents the barbaric people Greeks faced in their trips who do not understand the customs of Xenia or the validity of agriculture but also people who lack real companionship and emotional connections just like the ruthless nature the one that humans need to face.

However this analysis is not for that which we spoke about millions of times before. It is about that one moment in which the roles nearly reversed; the moment where Polyphemus suddenly became sympathetic and emotional and Odysseus became ruthless and vindictive.

In the 6th rhapsody of Odyssey we see how Odysseus tricked the Cyclops with his "outis" (nobody) trick, he got him drunk and blinded him. By doing so he made sure Polyphemus was alive and not crippled so he could open the heavy stone entrance of his cave plus making sure he and his men would be a bit safer from him if he couldn't see them. However as Polyphemus was standing by the entrance feeling his way there it was almost impossible to run past him. So Odysseus had the cunning idea to bind themselves to the bellies of his sheep so when Polyphemus was feeling them coming out he would feel the sheep and not them.

Odysseus himself tied himself under a large ram. That ram Odysseus thoroughly describes to the Pheakes being the favorite ram of Polyphemus.

The escape scene though is the moment where Polyphemus even if still clearly the villain is being shown emotional and full of pain and Odysseus even if clearly the hero he is cunning and vindictive.

Polyphemus being emotional

The moment in the Odyssey is actually very tender since we see Polyphemus talk to his favorite ram as if he talks to a person:

"Oh, ripe ram, why are you coming last, out of the cave, after the rest of my sheep? Has your strength left you, you who used to run first to graze soft blossoms and grass. You who strided far and reached first the streams of rivers, you who longed first to come back during the evening, now you come for last. Or do you see your master's eye, for a bad man has blinded him with his sad/mournful companions after he clouded his mind with wine, Nobody, who cannot escape doom. For if you agree that if you had voice you would tell me by which mean he is escaping my fury"

(Translation by me)

Polyphemus seems to have neighbors, the rest of the Cyclops who apparently show little to no compassion. They become alarmed by his cries of pain but when they hear that "nobody hurt him" they immediately tell him to shut up and take it, basically their "interest" is purely the neighbor kind. They seem void of emotions and yet here we see Polyphemus pouring out his soul in his favorite ram. He talks to it tenderly showing how secretly he needs some emotional connection. In a way he knows he and his neighbors are isolated from each other and he substitutes that with one of his animals. What is more he knew which was his favorite ram even if he came last and even if Polyphemus couldn't see. Showing the deep bond with the animal.

Polyphemus is in pain

Odysseus despite the fact he is running for his life he knows exactly how much pain Polyphemus is in:

"And the Cyclops with sighs and moans of anguish/pain he was feeling with his hands, from the stone he lifted off the entrance"

(Translation by me)

Odysseus knows very well Polyphemus is wounded and he knows very well that the sighs and moans Polyphemus makes are of the incredible pain he is in and yet he shows zero compassion. If anything he is feeling triumph that Polyphemus is getting what he deserved after the terrible things he put him and his men through (the constant fear and anxiety) and his men that were brutally eaten (smashed on the ground then their limbs rooted out etc) which is still understandable given what Odysseus was and still is going through but it implies almost zero compassion on his part. In a way he matches Polyphemus energy who also shows zero compassion to him and his men. Plus despite the fact that Polyphemus is clearly in pain Odysseus still mocks him for acting like a fool thinking that guarding the entrance will help him catch them. He is being vindictive. His anger is of course justified given what he had been through but it is also interesting how unsanitized he is. He shows zero compassion and he is not ashamed of it given what Polyphemus did and he is not afraid to say that he felt so while telling his story to the Phaeakes.

Odysseus always describes Polyphemus as "monster" and "cyclops" instead of calling him by name (minus one exception)

Consequently in this scene not only Odysseus does refer to Polyphemus that he is a fool to think he can catch him despite the fact that he is in pain, Odysseus refers to Polyphemus as "monster" or "cyclops" instead of calling him by name. Even when Polyphemus is groaning and moaning in pain he is at Odysseus constantly calls him monster (πέλωρ) plus "godless monster" or "cyclops". The only moment where Polyphemus is mentioned by name (Κρατερός Πολύφημος= Powerful Polyphemus) is before the tender dialog with the ram. In a way he is referred to as a satient being only when he is about to show emotion.

Odysseus takes his favorite ram

As I mentioned to another humorous and a bit more light-spirited post of mine, Odysseus picks up the biggest ram but also Polyphemus's favorite. From the description we know that Odysseus knows this was his favorite. He isn't just taking a ram out of symbolism (in the Iliad Odysseus is described looking like a thick-haired ram) but he seems to make a conscious choice picking the one that was Polyphemus's favorite. Taking his sight doesn't seem enough punishment in Odysseus's mind. He wants to hurt Polyphemus even more for all he did to his men. He makes a deliberate choice to take the one he has observed over the days he spent locked up in the cave as his favorite. And we also see how important that ram is to Polyphemus. Odysseus takes it from him the same way Polyphemus took his beloved comrades so violently away from him.

Conclusions:

I believe that no one ever managed to transfer this Brilliance of writing in adaptations. Homer managed to still let us know who the hero and who the villain is (Polyphemus acts as if he did nothing wrong and is Odysseus the one who is "evil" who blinded him because he is an evil devious man) however the villain without aiming to be someone you root for or someone that was "misunderstood" we still see some emotion out of and we can feel some compassion for his situation. What is more Polyphemus clearly had a bond with his favorite ram given not only the tenderness with which he talks to it but also the fact that he knew which his favorite ram was even if he was blind.

Odysseus is still clearly the hero; the one who struggles to survive and save his comrades by a man-eating monster and yet the audience might as well feel a bit repelled by his grudge holding scene in which despite the fact he is running for his life he is still trying to hurt his opponent in a way preparing the audience emotionally for the main lesson we learn in the Odyssey; not to be arrogant and stay humble.

Odysseus is rightfully furious. No matter what someone says he had every right to get angry. He was emotionally and mentally exhausted from a week of being locked up and helpless watching his men die so brutally and yet he let his anger speak making him vindictive and arrogant; wishing his opponent to hurt as much as possible for what he did to him and his men and slowly succumbing to that anger enough to reveal his name proudly.

It wasn't him mentioning who he was that was his doom. It was the WAY he revealed it; anger and pride were his downfall. Not him speaking on who he was. It was his impulse to elevate himself to the same or higher level than a son of a God and consequently to God's level. Poseidon would know who it was whether he said so or not. It was THIS vindictive nature and the nature of him desiring to hurt and humiliate his opponent and his impulsive anger that doomed him and I think Homer showed that with just a few lyrics before the critical moment.

This is why for me Homer's talent is unparalleled.

[thefoolarcxna]

Jimmy from mouthwashing and Polyphemus, the cyclops who wronged him

a amateur analysis of Jimmys mindset

(very big yap session incoming)

When I think about the way Jimmy from mouthwashing views himself and the situation he led himself into because of his actions, it reminds me of a Greek tale.

I believe, in a way, Jimmy views himself as Odysseus and Curly/Anya/Pony Express as the cyclops, Polyphemus.

Odysseus, our hero, ends up on an island after winning the Trojan war and finally heading home after a long 10 year battle. Him and his men walk onto the island finding a cave with food and sheep inside. The men help themselves to this food in a hopes their assumed host wouldn’t mind and would accept wine as a form of gift/reimbursement for what they take. Finally, the owner of the cave comes home, who is revealed to be a giant cyclops, not very happy to see a bunch of strangers eating his food and taking his sheep. In a fit of anger(depending on the version of the story you read) he antagonizes/attacks the crew ending in the death of either a few or a couple hundred men. He eventually falls asleep which leads Odysseus into grabbing the monsters club and have the remainder of his men shave it into a stake and shoving it into the monsters eye. Leaving him blind. The men escape after taking more and leaving the cyclops to fend for himself.

Obviously, you’re supposed to see Polyphemus as a villain. He unjustly killed many men for a seemingly simple mistake, which Odysseus recognizes, they didn’t know he would react badly to his food/sheep being taken, they believed he was someone who would be willing to lend a hand and be willing to accept their wine as a gift to him. An eye for an eye. Odysseus lost his men for something that could’ve been solved if Polyphemus had just taken what they were willing to give.

Do you see where I’m going with this?

Jimmy views himself as someone who made a simple, fixable mistake. And is being unfairly punished for it by this monster who has so much more power than Jimmy. Who should’ve accepted the apology he was willing to give. Jimmy is Odysseus, this misunderstood war hero who was just trying to feed his men, who was trying to keep the peace with this monster who wanted to hurt him for what he had done, which could’ve been solved.

Curly/Pony express in jimmy’s great Greek tragedy are the side of Polyphemus who is a brutal and evil cyclops who felt the need to punish and hurt him for what he had done. This monster who was willing to kill him for something he didn’t mean to do. This monster who towered over Jimmy, who was this powerless mortal with no gods on his side.

Anya is the side of Polyphemus who should’ve forgiven Jimmy, who should’ve taken the wine, shut up and let him go free. But no, he had to argue back, so he lost his only eye. Being left disabled, with no way to see. Who was left to rot alone without a second thought because he didn’t care about this monster who tried to hurt him. Why would he?

because jimmy is the great greek hero after all, caged and misunderstood by the gods. Trying to make it home to his simple life in Ithaca.

fuck you, Jimmy.

(I hope this makes sense, this has been on the back of my brain for a while and needed to get this out of my head and out there, if you guys have any opinions on this I’d love to hear, I’m not very good at getting my words out and I like to hear other people’s thought on stuff like this :) )

[oddyseye]

Odysseus does not become a monster by the end of EPIC.

Every single act of violence Odysseus commits is justified. He doesn’t lash out for no reason or lose control of himself like a so-called monster.

First off, let’s talk about Astyanax. Yes, Odysseus feels guilt when he kills him because Astyanax was just a baby. But guess what? It wasn’t Odysseus just deciding to be cruel — it was an order from the gods. Divine will, Jorge. Odysseus doesn’t kill for fun; he does what’s necessary, even when it weighs on him. So no, this doesn’t make him a monster. It makes him a servant of fate.

Now, let’s move to Polyphemus. Odysseus blinds the Cyclops because Polyphemus kills his men. That’s not monstrous, that’s survival. And no, Odysseus doesn’t feel guilt afterward. The only regret he shows is when Poseidon’s wrath makes his life harder. Otherwise, he’s out there flaunting his cleverness, shouting his name, and basically trolling Polyphemus because, guess what? It was justified. Polyphemus attacked first.

Then there’s Circe. Odysseus immediately fights her, beats her, and doesn’t feel bad about it at all. He doesn’t even dwell on it, he just tells her she lost and demands his men back because she turned them into pigs. Again, he’s not out here being needlessly cruel. His actions are justified because Circe started it. End of story.

And let’s not forget the Sirens. Odysseus cuts off their tails and lets them drown without mercy. Harsh? Sure. But they tried to lure his crew to their deaths, so again, justified. He’s not going to waste time mourning monsters that attacked first.

Now, I’ll give you this: the only moment where we can even speculate about guilt is when Odysseus sacrifices six men to Scylla. But let’s be real, what choice did he have? It was either lose six men or lose everyone. That’s not a choice; that’s a tragic necessity. It’s justified because the alternative was total annihilation.

Then there’s Zeus demanding the rest of the crew’s lives because they angered Helios. This is another case where Odysseus doesn’t really have a choice. It’s not like he could fight Zeus. He sacrifices them because the gods demanded it, and as cruel as it is, it’s not on him. Blame the gods, not Odysseus.

And now we get to the suitors. People love to act like this is the moment where Odysseus becomes the monster, but let’s not forget: the suitors planned to kill his son, rape his wife, and steal his kingdom. Killing them was not just justified, it was necessary. He was reclaiming what was his and protecting his family. If he showed no mercy, it’s because they didn’t deserve any. People point out that he uses darkness like Polyphemus in his own palace, traps his enemies like Circe, aims for the torches like Scylla, fights from afar like Poseidon, and denies mercy like all of them. But here’s the thing: even those monsters had justified reasons for what they did. Polyphemus was avenging his sheep, Circe was protecting her nymphs, Scylla and the Sirens attacked to survive, Poseidon was avenging his son, and even Zeus was punishing a wrong against Helios. Another monster who gets justified is Calypso. Calypso has been alone for one hundred years, so it is entirely justifiable that she is incapable of taking no for an answer. And even then, Odysseus does not become a monster. Because when he asks Penelope if she’d fall in love with him again, he’s willing to take no for an answer. That’s the exact opposite of Calypso’s behavior. The whole time, his “he’s becoming a monster” angle is undermined. Like, you wrote a world where every so-called “monster” has a reason for their actions, and suddenly Odysseus is a different beast now? Puh-lease. If Odysseus really became a monster, then he had to be stripped away of all these justifications that force him into morally indefensible actions. I hear most of you will say that him becoming a monster is not really about his actions, and it is all moreso related to the fact he no longer feels guilt. But like, hun, the thing is...Odysseus never even feels guilt for most of the wrongs he does, except like once or twice. That’s...not a shift at the end. It’s always been his way. May I remind everyone that 99% of the atrocities committed during the Trojan War were thought of, planned, and executed by Odysseus without a shred of remorse? That’s who he is. Calculating, strategic, and utterly ruthless when he needs to be.

[ibijau]

partner said I should write down my prediction for Nolan's Odyssey thing because I am, as always, full of hatred

Anna Hathaway as Penelope. A fair choice. I think she can definitely pull off the dignified sorrow necessary

Zendaya as Calypso. I don't like it. At all. But somehow it's the one that makes most sense to me.

Lupita Nyong'o is either Circee or Athena. I'm not sure I like either. I think if she's Athena it'd be for the edgy fun cool factor and to call this a blind casting.

Christopher Nolan wants to fuck Robert Pattison so bad it makes him look stupid, so of course Pattison is Odysseus. I have mixed feelings about it. I think Pattinson can pull it off, but I also don't think I'll enjoy his acting choices.

Tom Holland is Telemachus because who else could he be. This isn't even a question. If he plays another character it will only be because for whatever stupid reason, Telemachus was made a minor character even though this story is as much about his coming of age as it is about his father's return

Matt Damon is there too. I don't know who he's going to be. Best guesses are either Poseidon, the Cyclop, or Odysseus's dad.

this movie is going to be rich in visuals and poor in substance, but everyone will act like it's such a deep and nuanced understanding of the story, even when it's clearly not

[k-nayee]

BLURB and Author's Note

Warrior M.List

Next

ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˏ⸉ˋ‿̩͙‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ‿̩̥̩‿̩̩̥͙̽‿̩͙ˊ⸊ˎ

The blinded Cyclops roared once again, his massive frame trembling as he lashed out in vain.

❝WHO SPEAKS?❞ he thundered. ❝WHO DARES CLAIM THIS DEED?!❞

Penelope's voice did not falter; if anything it grew stronger.

❝I am the daughter of Icarius!❞ she declared. ❝Born of Sparta's blood and fire. Now I am Queen of Ithaca, favored by Ares himself!❞

Your eyes widened as she continued—heedless of the Cyclops's growing wrath.

 ❝It was I who struck your sight.

It was I who guided my crew to defy you.

I am the one who bested you!❞

Her grip on the railing tightened as the ship sailed further away, her defiance a blazing fire that refused to be extinguished.

Polyphemus roared again, his bellow of rage reverberating across the sea as it held a note of humiliation.

He slammed his fists into the earth, the ground shaking as cracks spiderwebbed beneath him.

But Penelope wasn't finished.

❝Remember this Polyphemus!❞ she shouted, her voice rising to a crescendo, cutting through the wind and waves. ❝The next time you seek to challenge the will of Ithaca...

Remember the fallen—the brave souls who paid with their lives.

Remember their sacrifice. Their courage.

Remember us.

Remember my name!❞

The Cyclops staggered as he clawed uselessly at the empty air. ❝YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!❞ His voice cracked with rage. ❝YOU WILL PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!❞

Penelope's voice rose above his—cutting through the chaos like the call of a war horn.

❝Remember me Polyphemus!❞ she shouted, her voice fierce and unwavering. ❝For I am your darkest moment! Not just as a Queen, but as your reckoning. I am...

PENELOPE!❞

∘₊✧───────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧───────✧₊∘

If you came from my Vespertilio BNHA or Traveler Multi-Fandom, welcome back! If not, that means I'm at least doing sum right and gaining reads🤧

Not gonna do a whole ass speech, we all know the basic things. But to make sure, the most important things I wanna emphasis on will be bolded so you cant say I didn't warn ya:

1) Plagiarism is a HELLA big no no. Takes a lot of time and energy to even to write out a whole completed chapter other than half-assed drafts. If I find out you stealing without credit: I'm blocking and reporting until your account is taken down.

2) This story will contain violence, dark humor, and possibly other mature themes

3) I may skip over certain parts of the musical or diverge the plot (as if i hadn't already did so far lol) because I don't wanna follow every part single thing

4) Canon characters may/will be slight ooc, but will maintain their overall personality

5) I may also end up making the book an "in-between arc" type of story if I either get too lazy or don't know how to end it lol

6) HEADS UP: in this AU I am following Margaret Atwood's concept in which Penelope's father attempted to kill her.

7) I live a life outside of Tumblr, so please don't be commenting "update update!" That shit is rude and disrespectful and I don't like pressure; it can honestly take the fun out of writing.

Anyways that all I've got. Hope you guys enjoy!❤️☺️

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for trying to eat a golden cow me and my crew found on an island after I attacked my captain for sacrificing 6 of our men?

Okay, so—I'm an adult man. I've been away at sea for a long while, twenty years in fact. The reason I left so many years ago was because I was sent off to fight the Trojans in a war. It was tense, and anxiety inducing as shit—but somehow we won because our captain managed to get us through it all. My captain (who I'll just call O for this story) is someone I've known for a long time. He's the brother of my wife, and we've been close for a very long time now. But, like.. okay, hold on, let me just keep explaining.

So, after we win the war—and after he apparently drops a baby off a tower because the mighty sky God Zeus told him to, we head out at sea. But I find out we have no food supplies. So I go to tell him we ran out. His response—'Oh, no worries! Let's just watch where the birds fly and see where they go so we can find somewhere to hunt food'. I think—'Okay, okay, kinda reasonable'. We find an island, and one of our scouts (who I'll call P) says he sees an island in the distance. But we see this weird glowing shit that we think is fire? So I decide to suggest we raid the place just to make sure there's no time to waste. But O refuses, and decides to straight up head into the island with P alone so they can find food themselves and so no one ends up dead. I'm thinking we don't actually know what's gonna happen, but.. hey! Hey, he's the captain here, right? Better to trust him. So he goes in. He comes back. Apparently these weird ass fucking alien things told them there was a cave to find food, so we search for it. We find it. We head inside. There's a bunch of fucking sheep everywhere, but hey! Free food, right? So we kill one. Then this MOTHERFUCKING CYCLOPS comes out. Not even kidding! Not even kidding—it comes out, and is like 'You killed my sheep.. it was my favorite.. blah blah blah'—and proceeds to LITERALLY ALMOST KILL MY CAPTAIN!! IM THINKING—HEY! MY CAPTAIN WILL GET US OUT OF THIS! AND HE TRIES! HE OFFERS THIS THING WINE THAT IT TAKES FOR SOME REASON, TELLS IT HIS NAME IS 'NOBODY', AND IM THINKING—MAYBE WE'LL GET OUT OF THIS! HA! NO! NO, IT PROCEEDS TO MURDER SEVERAL OF OUR MEN WITH OUR CLUB. SO WE'RE FREAKING THE FUCK OUT! BUT WE ATTACK ANYWAY. LONG STORY SHORT, P FUCKING GETS CRUSHED AND DIES. WE ESCAPE. BUT HEY, WE NEED FOOD EVEN THOUGH ALL OUR FRIENDS ARE DEAD, SO WE GO BACK IN AND BLIND THE THING! IT STARTS LIKE CRYING FOR SOME REASON?? AND THEN WE HEAR THESE OTHER DISTORTED VOICES WHO TURN OUT TO BE OTHER CYCLOPSES! WHO ARE THE LITERAL SIBLINGS OF THE CYCLOPS WE FOUGHT. I'M PANICKING AND THINKING WE SHOULD RUN, BUT NOOOOO.. turns out the Nobody thing ended up working though because the other Cyclops bitches left. So we go to get the sheep and leave. But then the captain turns right back around for some reason, and starts LITERALLY YELLING AT THE THING!! HE EVEN SAYS HIS NAME, THE NAME OF HIS KINGDOM, AND BASICALLY ENDANGERS EVERYONE JUST CUZ HE WAS BEING LIKE 'HEY BITCH LOL GET FUCKED YOU GOT SPARED BY A KING'. BUT I DONT SAY ANYTHING CUZ I GOTTA BE LOYAL, RIGHT??

I.. I don't even think I can say everything he did here to be honest. This man did so much shit! He willingly goes up to this weird ass island in the sky and gets help from a wind god who keeps whispering to all of us to open the bag—and I try to resist, but I can't cuz of the weird ass god magic shit, so I open the bag! We get blown all the way back to the 'Land of the Giants'. TURNS OUT THE MOTHERFUCKING GOD OF THE SEA HIMSELF IS THE CYCLOPSES DAD! HE KILLS HUNDREDS OF OUR MEN. BUT WR STILL HAVE THE WIND BAG SO O OPENS IT AND WE LAND AT THIS ISLAND THAT BELONGS TO A SORCERESS WHO TURNED OUR MEN INTO PIGS!! O GOES TO SAVE THEM EVEN THOUGH I'M LIKE 'Dude you're gonna fucking die you don't even know what she can do' AND SOMEHOW SUCCEEDS!! WE GO TO THE UNDERWORLD. I SEE P AND O'S MOM IN THERE. IM TRAUMATIZED. AND AFTER WE SEE THIS WEIRD ASS DRUG DEALER LOOKING PROPHET GUY, O SUDDENLY HAS A ANIME VILLAIN ARC MOMENT AND SHOUTS ABOUT HOW HES GONNA BE A MONSTER NOW. WE SAIL OUT. WE FIND SIRENS, SO WE KILL 'EM! BUT HE ORDERS WE 'CUT OFF THEIR TAILS AND LET THEM DROWN'!! CUZ THATS TOTALLY A SANE THING TO DO!! AND THEN WE SAIL THROUGH THE LAIR OF SCYLLA. I ADMIT I OPENED THE BAG CUZ I FELT KINDA BAD TO BE HONEST. O IS LIKE 'Ay man it's cool just take this torch real quick', SO I DO! SIX OF OUR MEN, ALL OF WHICH WERE HOLDING TORCHES (I THREW ONE DOWN WHEN I REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING), PROCEED TO LITERALLY DIE. SO WHEN WE LEAVE AND I REALIZE HE JUST KILLED OUR MEN, I'M LIKE 'HEY MAN WHAT THE HELL???'. HES LIKE 'NAH BITCH I CANT SAY ANYTHING', SO I'M LIKE 'DUDE FUCK YOU' AND I START FIGHTING HIM! ONE OF OUR CREW MEMBERS STABS HIM AS HE LITERALLY THROWS ME TO THE GROUND. AND AFTER HES OUT, I HAVE TO CONVINCE EVERYONE NOT TO KILL HIM. WE FIND AN ISLAND WITH COWS. WE GET THERE AND TIE HIM UP. THEN WHEN O WAKES UP AS IM ABOUT TO KILL A COW, HE HAS THE AUDACITY TO BEG ME NOT TO KILL IT EVEN THOUGH WE HAVENT HAD FOOD IN SEVERAL WEEKS! I'M DESPERATE AT THIS POINT, RIGHT? SO I DONT LISTEN AND STAB IT. HE STARTS YELLING AT ME AFTER, SAYING WE'RE ALL DOOMED. WE RUN BACK TO THE SHIFT AS THE SKY GOES CRAZY WITH THUNDER. ZEUS SHOWS UP! I GET BLASTED CUZ O CHOOSES US TO DIE INSTEAD OF HIMSELF. AND NOW IM STUCK IN THE UNDERWORLD WRITING THIS..

God.. I feel like I'm talking to a therapist. Point is—am I the asshole?

[literallys-illiteracy]

Ok its time to talk about Vergillius

SPOILERS CANTO 7 PART 3, MENTIONS OF EVENTS IN BOTH DISTORTION DETECTIVE AND LEVIATHAN

Ok so this is somewhat split into two parts, the first is talking a little in medium length about Virgillius as a character and the newer things in part 3, as well as some prior things that are interesting enough to discuss, the second part is about rivers.

Ok so, Verg. Virg is an interesting character as he has prior story to Limbus Company, in Leviathan of course, relating to Charon/Lapis, with several things yet to be expanded on. Lapis is in all likelyhood his primary motivation for continuing this contract with Limbus Company, as he is likely to know at least somewhat of the true nature of Limbus Company, being an extension of the Udjat (as partially confirmed by Moses' appearance alongside Vespa, whom would have returned to N corp should Moses's mission of capturing distortions be finished, and the fact that distortions of the companies contracts are captured rather than resolved) (also there was a hint towards the relation that Outis has towards the Udjat as well in this canto, the first part, wherein Moses's gaze rests upon Outis for longer (War veteran lesbians) than the other sinners; This is interesting for the obvious link of Odysseus blinding a cyclops, in fact:

Outis for a moment:

Putting Virgil on the back-burner for a moment, lets theorise about Outis potentially; So there are two possibilites for the relation that Outis and Moses have, the first being that they had previously passed each other in the Smoke War in the past, the second is that they had known each other through some relation to the Udjat or Diaz. Odysseus's most famous act of blinding a cyclops, and fooling Polyphemus by claiming to be named "nobody" or, in greek, "Outis". Outis's current name may suggest multiple things, the most striking of which is related to Limbus Companies relation with the Udjat as mentioned prior; There is a possibility that Outis's blinding of the cyclops, often assumed to be the Udjat even prior to this canto due to their motif being a singular eye, may be yet to happen. The theory of Outis being a traitor is nothing new, i think everyone knows that she isnt fully trustworthy (especially with her mention of killing tens of thousand in the past during the Sancho fight), however i rarely see people discuss the reasoning behind the betrayal, being that similar to Moses's current position taken in reverse, regretting her time working in the Udjat (we're getting presumptuous now) and repenting for it by blinding the cyclops from the inside, from within Limbus Company — This concept is furthered through Outis's sinner symbol (vaguely) resembling that of a horses snout, alongside Odysseus's relation to the Trojan Horse, a plan to invade and take troy from the inside (however this changes the timeline somewhat with the other theoretical aspects?), ok thats enough about military wife.

-

In the beginning of Canto 7's dungeon, we see Don Quixote's past memories, including her recruitment within Limbus Company and HOLY SHIT VERGIL IS A BLOODFIEND?

ok so, he didn't have or at least show any blood powers prior to manifesting EGO, we arent sure if a bloodfiend can fully manifest EGO either however its not out of the question due to Don's La Sangre De Sancho, even before he was a colour he possessed the same red eyes, which if im remembering correctly were stated to be a combat implement. However, in the flashback, Veggie claims that he, or rather, his *eyes* hold a higher generation than Don, which would of course be fist generation. Due to many reasons, I don't actually believe that Vigil is a bloodfiend, notably his clarification of "eyes". If we return to the basement of canto 6, Virtue's passives include one named "Eyes of a Friend Who [][][][]", redacted in the same manner that Catherine's name commonly is — I think that because of his clear distinction of his eyes possessing the higher generation, the statement that is made of them being combat implements, and the implication that the eyes were not originally his, i think that its safe to assume that this friend who [][][][] is a bloodfiend elder (hell it might even be the primogenitor i dont know). working on the assumption that [][][][] means "died", or means that they were somehow erased post-death, then there are multiple possibilities ive seen posed: the first, and im noting this purely out of spite because i still think im correct over this person, is that "Vinyl was bluffing about being a bloodfiend to intimidate Don". Personally, and only some offence meant to the person who posited this, i think that this isn't really a theory worth considering, not only is it more convoluted to assume that the oposite of what we've been told is true in an involuntary flashback seeing Don's past, but at the same time what use would Viate have to lie in that moment? His reaction immediately after wouldn't make sense without the bloodfiendish nature in place either, as, at least in my reading of the scene, Don's complete lack of reaction or primal fear (such that appears in the other bloodfiends when facing the wrath of an elder, such as Casseti in WARP), was what Viral used to judge that all of her bloodfiendish instincts were supressed.

Ok moving on from spite.

The second ive seen posed is that Virgo "diablerised" (or ate - in order to gain the power of, to non VTM players) a bloodfiend elder friend in the past. Due to the [redacted] nature of the phrasing within the passive name, unless Vexing is Chainsaw Man, i doubt this to be the case, unless somehow said [Friend] merged with Vroom-vroom in the past, becoming the same entity.

Similar but somewhat different to the previous theory is that the eyes were gifted post mortem to Vindigo-elder, which fits with the concept of them being implements.

personally, im just not really sure about this in any way shape or form.

Ive also seen some theories as to who Viori's "friend" was, and the most likely one ive seen posed... actually the only one ive seen posed, is that of Longinus, the soldier who stabbed Jesus on the cross, due to Vargalia's EGO having the crown of thorns, due to Virgil(real life one so he doesn't get a name change)'s relation to Catholicism through the Commedia, through the Roman links, and through the connection to both blood and water, as:

"One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water.

I personally dont have too much to add to that theory, however i would like to take my own shot in the dark, enough shots and you've covered every angle:

My proposed [Friend] is Aeneas, whom, after dying, was never found a corpse, and was thereafter worshiped as a god. Aeneas has links to Virgil (once again, the historical one) due to his poem of the Aeneid, which was the first poem to properly weave together the many disparate strands of legend into the singular myth that stories were based on sense. There is also the obvious link to be made with the "golden bough" being the name of a chapter within the 6th book of the Aeneid, but that wasnt what prompted this it just helps at bit.

ok rivers

Im not talking on this at length, as i am far from an expert on the Commedia, and also because Loony Toons exists and is probably more likely to note a link between it and the rivers of the underworld (i dont know, ive not checked whats to be said about Canto 7 since release yet), but i want to note the different mythological rivers that are linked to the river of oblivion, or "Lethe" as Outis calls it.

Lethe, meaning forgetfulness or oblivion, is a river in the underworld with many literary ties, such as Goethe's Faust (part 2), the Commedia, Paradise Lost, and, arguably, The Wonderful Land of Oz, all of which are literature referenced by Project Moon at various points.

The Lethe is mentioned twice in the Commedia, once in the inferno, canto 34, flowing down into Cocytus, the river of "Lament", which freezes to form the 9th and final layer of hell, treachery. In the second Cantica, Purgatorio, the Lethe is mentioned again, in canto 31 of purgatorio, as being placed upon the hill of purgatory, within this river Dante is then submerged to forget all memories of sin, so that his body may move forth into paradise. The water containing the sin then flows down to contain satan in Cocytus.

somewhat interesting to note, as the game has been confirmed to be getting a Purgatorio and Paradisio, it is possible that this will come back later. Foreshadowing is a literary device in whic-

Another thing, back on Loony Tunes, if we're assuming their current timeline to be correct in terms of canto 7 being within the Circle of Violence, which is an assertion that i will return to at a later date, then its important to note that another river of the underworld is belonging to this ring, being Pyriphlegethon or Phlegethon, meaning flaming, which in the inferno, canto 12, is a river of Boiling blood which in the sinners of the ring are submerged in, (specifically those within the first sphere of the ring, for violence against your neighbours) — the blood motif is obvious, alongside the violence against ones neighbors; If we were to assume that the entirety of Canto 7 takes place within this river, then the next would take place in the second sphere, Violence against your self, but once again, i will return to this concept when you are older, by a few hours at least.

[mer-acle]

hay so this my first time sending a ask to your blog but I have an epic au idea what if after or even before god games Athena lied to Poseidon saying it was her who blinded his son or that she told Odysseus to blinded the cyclops and let him live and saying that if he is going to punish anyone it shouldn’t be Odysseus but her and saying she would willingly endure any punishment as long as it didn’t involve or harm Odysseus and his family and Poseidon agrees and tortures her

not sure how it will go from there maybe one of the Gods or Odysseus and his family find out sorry if this is to dark and long I just like torturing my favourite characters thanks for reading

Oh wow

That's awesome I love this idea (jail. Jail for Tasha)

I kinda immediately imagined this in Ruthlessness, but it could also be the 600 Strike of this AU (Athena would sure get those melodic screams in lol)

It obviously depends on how much of the story you'd want to change. Personally I don't mind cutting the Odyssey part short and have Ody grapple with the fact that his mentor is missing and not answering his prayers. Maybe have some Hermes shenanigans to find her lol

Either way, thank you so much for this evil idea, I also love torturing my blorbos way too much so this is great fun :)

[awalking-disaster]

So, crossover moment. Let's say EPIC: The Musical (since so far its my favorite rendition of the Odyssey) is the accurate history for Percy Jackson. How do you think Poseidon feels about his son loosely following the trail of Odysseus? Specifically the Sea of Monsters. Polypuemus, and Circe's island, but Polyphemus specifically. Poseidon is furious with Odysseus for not killing his cyclops son. "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves." Poseidon targets Odysseus and kills his men because he blinded Polyphemus and left him disabled instead of "finishing the job" and killing him. Odysseus also made the mistake of revealing his name instead of letting him believe he was simply "Nobody" when he lefts the island of the cyclops.

Fast forward to Percy Jackson's dealing with Polyphemus, again the cyclops is being tormented by "Nobody" and is enraged. Obviously I'm leaving out a ton of details, but in the end Percy can't bring himself to kill another cyclops like this after the discovery of his beloved half-brother Tyson. Even with everything that transpires after Tyson throws the rock at Polyphemus that knocks him back into the chasm, they don't kill him. But, the key difference to Percy's story is that he's humble and he doesn't reveal his true name. He lets Polyphemus believe that he's truly drowned "Nobody", and he hopes that it stays that way.

So I guess my train of thought is how do we think Poesidon feels about this? That his (arguably favorite) son follows in the steps of Odysseus, a man that he tried to kill and was outwitted by, by not killing Polyphemus. Granted, the argument could be made that the whole difference between the two is Percy's humility, but at the end of the day he made the same choice as Odysseus. He allowed Polyphemus to live blinded. I just wonder if it makes Poseidon reflect at all, or if it makes him see the past in a new light as Percy's journey continues.

I don't know if this makes sense to anyone else but it's been stuck in my head ALL DAY and I needed to put it somewhere.

[undead-cypress]

More p3r livebloggin/shitpost thoughts. Sorry for the crunchy pictures, literally I'm just too fried to import pics from my PS4.

Because I'm the way that I am, I noticed the paintings hung in the Hierophant/Lovers boss shadow building are real paintings. One on the left is a crop of Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix, and on the right is Le Cyclops by Odilon Redon. IDK why they picked these paintings because. Why would a painting of the French Revolution be in this kind of hotel but I have some theories?

The hotel they're in is pointed out to have a French title and modeled after French design, for some reason. Les Champs de Fleurs is pointed out in the game meaning a field of flowers. Now -

Liberty Leading the People is a painting about the July revolution that overthrew the French monarchy. The boss event is in July but there's more -

Le Cyclops is about the play(s) about Polyphemus (the cyclops from the Odyssey that Odysseus blinds and tricks) and his love of the sea nymph Galatea, and the drama that ensues. There's many versions of the play but in classic fashion most of them don't end well, with Galatea rejecting him in favor of someone else, and Polyphemus killing them both. This painting in particular is basically Polyphemus creeping on Galatea as she sleeps on a hill of flowers.

I THINK these paintings are meant to represent the reverse hierophant and lovers. Overthrowing of the corrupt hierarchy, and rejection of choice. Also French.

There's one more painting but I have NO IDEA what painting it is

So many paintings have winged babies in them I can't go through them all 😭

Oh yeah linguistics bonus - the boss event takes place on 7/7, aka Tanabata. Some might know it as Japanese Valentine's day. Story goes Orihime and Hikoboshi, lovers separated by duty and the milky way, can meet during this festival as a flock of magpies make them a bridge over the milky way. Milky way, in Japanese is Amanogawa 天の川, literally "river of heaven". An older version is also sometimes used, ginka 銀河, derived from Chinese meaning "silver river". And here is where we get the name of Shirakawa Blvd. 白川...... White River Blvd.

I THINK that's why they named the hotel Champs de Fleurs. The classic Greek mythology of heaven is Elysium, basically a field of flowers in the sky. Kinda as the companion to the river in the sky. Not to mention it's a reference to the famous French street Champs Élysées, literally "Elysian Fields"

Imagine me standing in front of a conspiracy wall covered with red string. That's me all the time with p3

Ok back to shitposting

This is the most emotion I've seen the Mc make all game so far 😂 7 meals back to back will do that to ya. Name I picked was Dank Hour, so I guess it kinda fits. Munchies will do that

Those are her hooves!!

OH MY GOD. HOLY SHIT HANG ON

These puppets are massive

Gameplay thoughts -

- I miss the fatigue mechanic ok. Now there's NOTHING stopping me from spending five hours in Tartarus getting massively over leveled. Also miss it thematically and an excuse to go drink Edogawa's potions for courage boosts

- RIP shuffle time. The new one is good with the variety of cards but man make them fly around again that was fun

- Tartarus looks good. I was skeptical of how they're gonna make a randomly generated dungeon look good on current consoles but. It looks really good and plays well. And I love the added bonus bosses.

- I do miss being able to actually stealth around with different weapons and hunting rare shadows with a bow though. The unstable formations in p3p around half and new moons were also something I wish they incorporated, but maybe it'll come up later? Because the new Tartarus environment would be perfect for some stealth mechanics.

- I don't know if this is because I'm p3 Georg and an outlier that should not be counted but I'm playing on merciless and it's SO EASY???? I'm almost to August and I've ONLY died three times. I'm playing with a 3 people party as a debuff because it's too easy otherwise.

- ailments kinda work different than they used to and I still haven't figured out... What they really do yet. Distress used to guarantee criticals, now I'm not sure what it does???

- the theurgies are broken as hell wtf. This is too much power. I was really hoping they'd bring P2/dds style fusion spells back

General thoughts:

- they still haven't invented weather yet lmao rain was invented in 2011 I see

- Pleasantly surprised by the added cutscenes and hangout events in the dorm. They're actually pretty thoughtful and reflects on the character growth throughout the game instead of just ill humored filler (cough p4 cough). They really nailed it this time.

- Aigis trying to talk to plants and bugs and the meaning of lifeeeee 😭

- the club is simultaneous hilarious and terrifying in the way that they didn't animate the dancers. I get why, but it's so funny. It's just a room of statues with blank faces. At least there's more than five people there

- there's two poster of the Foo Fighters in the station outskirts. Why them specifically? Also if the movies at the theatre have hidden meanings I WILL find them.

- Mitsuru just stands like she's posing for the camera all the time and her idle AND angry animation being a hair flip is so funny. Hello. Flips hair. Come to the command room after dinner we have new mission. Flips hair. I'm going to execute Mr Ekoda for his despicable inaction. Flips hair

- Idk where else to put this but that scene on the roof with the watermelon hits different when you know a watermelon that size in Japan is, depending on the season and economy, at least $50. Junpei really splurged there to cheer up Ken 🥺. That entire scene was great. Why DON'T we watch Akihiko punch the melon open, what an inspired suggestion

- speaking of fruit, if you look at the care package Akihiko got from his parents there are mangoes in there. Mangoes that size and color are like $30 each.

- the dorm. Could be modeled better. Idk if it's the lighting or the textures but... It looks unfinished.

- they kept the little overworld icon that travels between locations to not go over the bridge even though it'd be a shorter route. Nice. There is an instance where it does use the bridge, when you first go to the police station and Junpei is following you around. Also very nice touch. Whichever dev is responsible for this detail I see and appreciate your work 🫡

- was not expecting even the NPCs to be fully voice acted. They're all so charming!

- at the beginning of the game it tells you to put your things away in the closet. Highlighted. But we can't open or interact with the closet in any way??? Why was closet highlighted??? Did the game do that just to call us gay??

- and also where's my silly outfit???? Everyone has gotten butler and maid outfits except the mc. Where's my goofy outfit I want one too.... Where's the clown outfit from the dancing game.... Where's the maid outfit.... Once my pc arrives I'll absolutely be installing the emo mod. Let my besties reveal their true 2009 forms

[room-temperature-orange-juice]

This isn’t so much the case in the odyssey, but in EPIC, I see Odysseus doxxing himself as a trauma response and a way to cope. Think about it like this:

- Ody mentions none of his 600 men died at war, and suddenly 14+ (probably more) die. His best friend among them. He’s sent reeling, in shambles, trying to regain control.

- Look at people doing blind reactions to ‘Remember Them’. They are all shouting “Yes! Own him Odysseus!” Stuff like that. Neither of them know the story or what that action means. They both see it as justified.

- He wants the Cyclops to regret it. He wants to honor Polities’s memory by sparing the cyclops, and the cyclops deserves to think of the reason he was blinded.

Idk, I am an EPIC Odysseus apologist and refuse to admit he has any flaws of any kind.

[whencyclopedia]

Cyclops (Play)

The satyr-play The Cyclops was written by Euripides, one of the great Greek tragedians, in 412 or 408 BCE. Like many of his fellow tragedians, Euripides centers his play on a well-known story from Greek mythology. The Cyclops is based on the principal character from the epic poet Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus.

A satyr-play, although similar in style and often much shorter, is not a tragedy by definition and more often than not ends happily. These types of plays focus around a chorus of creatures who are half-human and half-beast (some sources say goat, others say horse), the dedicated followers of Dionysos. As in the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew have been blown off course while on their return journey from the Trojan War to their home island of Ithaca and so they arrive in Sicily. Seeking food, they are befriended by an elderly satyr named Silenus who, with other satyrs, is kept as a slave on the island by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Varying slightly from Homer's story, Odysseus must keep himself and his men from being eaten by Polyphemus. Eventually, he is able to blind the Cyclops and escape. The Cyclops is the only Greek satyr play which survives complete.

Life of Euripides

Very little is known of Euripides' early life. He was born in the 480's BCE on the island of Salamis near Athens to a family of hereditary priests. As the author of over 90 plays (19 have survived), he was the youngest of the great tragedians: the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Although he preferred a life of solitude, alone with his books, he was married, supposedly unhappily, and had three sons, one of whom became a noted playwright. Unlike his fellow tragedians, Euripides played little or no part in Athenian political affairs; the one exception was a brief diplomatic mission to Syracuse in Sicily. The poet made his debut at the Dionysia competition in 455 BCE, not winning his first victory until 441 BCE. Unfortunately, his participation in these competitions did not prove to be very successful with only four victories; a fifth came after his death.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BCE) called Euripides the most tragic of the Greek poets. Classicist Edith Hamilton, in her book The Greek Way, agreed with this assessment when she wrote that he was the saddest, a poet of the world's grief. “He feels, as no other writer has felt, the pitifulness of human life, as of children suffering helplessly what they do not know and can never understand.” (205). She added that only he knew the “dark depths of pain.” Possibly embittered, and with the Peloponnesian War waging between Sparta and Athens, he left Athens in 408 BCE at the invitation of King Archelaus to live the remainder of his life in Macedonia, dying in 406 BCE. In his book Greek Drama, Moses Hadas said that audiences came to appreciate his style and outlook, viewing his plays as more sympathetic than those of his contemporaries. Although often misunderstood during his lifetime and never receiving the acclaim he deserved, he became one of the most admired poets long after his death, influencing not only Greek but Roman playwrights as well.

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[adarkrainbow]

Hello! Love your ogre research, first of all. So something weird here, in my English translation of Ariosto the monster that threatens Angelica (the orca) is translated as “sea orc”, and the blind ogre who acts like Polyphemus (the orco) is translated as “land orc”. (And by extension “sea orc” evolved into a dragony thing in some modern fantasy books). Any idea why that happened instead of just calling them “orca” and “ogre” or something?

Ah yes the Orlando Furioso. I meant to include this in my big "What makes an ogre" series but never got the time.

So... I have to admit I am not an expert on Italian language, especially old fashioned Italian language, and I also am no expert on the full Orlando Furioso (it is a very complex work I only got started on recently). But here's the thing...

It is well-known that the Orlando Furioso was put together by taking elements of Greco-Roman mythology and reinventing them completely. The Orco and Orca are this. The Orco is basically Polyphemus reinvented - but here with two eyeballs made of bone instead of one eye promptly gouged out. The Orca meanwhile is the sea-dragon of the Andromeda story given a new name. So far so good.

But "Orca" is not meant to evoke the sea animal of the same name, the "killer whale", and that's something everybody has to remind people of (even the Wikipedia article for the Orca in Italian points out it is NOT the "orca" as in the sea creature). Orca is used here as the male form of "orco" - and the "orco" is indeed the same name of creature used by Basile to designate his proto-ogres. The "uercos", which is just "orcos" spelled differently.

So should we translated "Orco" as "ogre" and "Orca" as "ogress"? Well... No, it wouldn't work. At least for the Orco it can work since he sports typical ogre traits and DID influence the rise of the ogre figure in France (I don't think it is a random choice if madame d'Aulnoy's ogres are cyclops). But the Orca clearly isn't the same kind of creature - it is a sea dragon, or a sea monster, or some big sea snake. So this hints at the fact that "orco/orca" doesn't actually translated, in the context of the Orlando, as "ogre"...

You see, by Basile's Pentamerone, the "orco" is clearly an "ogre" in the fairytale sense of the word - though some English translators decided to go for "ghoul" because they didn't understand why an ogre would have magical powers, unaware that ogres were originally sorcerers/fairies of their own rights. They preferred to evoke the shapeshifting Arabian demons, allowing for an easier explanation of "Oh yes the ogre turns into all sorts of animals and curses people when it can't eat them".

[Note: As I write this I realized "orchi" is apparently the plural of "orco"? Well... I'll keep calling them "orcos" for now, but another proof I am not expert when it comes to these things]

But the author of the Orlando Furioso seems to have had a different and more ancient meaning in head for "orco". If you ask me, what seems very likely (though I am no expert) is that "orco"/"orca" is here taken as meaning "man-eating monster". Not just a fairytale ogre, but any kind of creature that wants to devour human beings. As a result the "orco" is an ogre-like giant, while the orca is a sea monster-dragon. "Orco/a" is used in the same broad sense as how "fairy" could be used in the British Isles to refer to all sorts of creatures, or yokai in Japan - or at least, that's what it seems to me. This is probably why the translator chose to prefer the term "orc", more neutral and evoking the older roots and mysterious figures behind the word "orc" before Tolkien made it famous. Calling the sea creature "orca" feeds the confusion with the killer whale ; while calling the land monster "ogre" might remove the idea that he is another form of the sea creature met earlier. One could keep the cohesion by having "ogre / ogress" but it would be mistranslating to call the sea monster "ogress" when it is clearly not just a female version of the land creature. So ultimately I think this is why the terms "sea orc" and "land orc" were chosen - it keeps the unity, while pointing out that the term does not designate a specific type of being, more a large class of man-eating beings. You could easily go with "sea monster" and "land monster" too.

At least that's how I perceive things - but again I am NO expert and any actual Italian insight on this topic would be more than welcome.