#blind cyclops story

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[original-begay-docrime]

It's just a mini adventure story about Odysseus.

The Great Cyclops & Sheep Heist

It started, as all great disasters do, with boredom.

Odysseus, now officially a son of Hermes, had been spending way too much time perfecting his prank game. So, naturally, when he saw Polyphemus (Poseidon’s favorite cyclops) herding his sheep near a sacred spring, he thought, Why not steal them?

So he did.

Getting past a giant, one-eyed shepherd was no easy task. But Odysseus had an idea—a stupid, brilliant, absolutely ridiculous idea.

One night, while Polyphemus was sleeping peacefully, Odysseus snuck up and poured salt water straight into his massive eye.

The results were instantaneous.

Polyphemus woke up screaming. Not just any scream—a full-blown, deep, earth-shaking, "I AM IN THE WORST PAIN OF MY LIFE" scream. He clutched his eye, rolling around in agony.

"WHY?!" he bellowed. "WHY DOES EVERYTHING BURN?!"

Then, through his blurry, salty vision, he saw a blurry figure in the distance. "Oh, great one!" the figure (Odysseus in disguise) shouted. "You must cleanse your eye! The gods demand you wash it with more salt water!"

"That... that sounds like it would make things worse," Polyphemus groaned, still writhing in pain.

"Nonsense!" Odysseus said, pushing him toward the ocean. "Trust me, bro. Would I lie to you?"

And Polyphemus, in his infinite, one-eyed wisdom, did exactly that.

He plunged his face into the sea, hoping for relief—only to immediately experience Round Two of searing, eye-melting agony.

Cue more screaming.

Meanwhile, Odysseus was already at work, smuggling every single sheep out of the cave while the cyclops was busy blinding himself even more.

By the time Polyphemus was done dunking his head into Poseidon’s domain like an absolute fool, Odysseus and his new fluffy friends were long gone.

The next morning, Poseidon stormed into Olympus, dragging a half-blind, traumatized Polyphemus behind him.

"YOUR SON," Poseidon roared at Hermes, "has kidnapped my Cyclops and ALL his sheep!"

Hermes, ever the chill dad, just sipped his nectar. "Well, did you lose them, or did he find them?"

"HE TOOK THEM!"

"Sounds like a you problem."

While the gods bickered, Odysseus was already planning revenge. Because if there was one thing he didn’t do, it was let things go. So, after months of careful planning, he got back at Poseidon in the pettiest way possible:

By tying shipwrecks into his seaweed-like hair while he was asleep.

This wasn’t a simple job—no, Odysseus spent months intricately knotting tiny wrecked ships into Poseidon's sacred locks. Every morning, Poseidon would wake up, shake his head, and a dozen tiny boats would fall out like confetti. Sailors started treating his hair like the Bermuda Triangle.

It took Poseidon a decade to get rid of them. Even now, he occasionally finds a rogue mast tangled in his curls.

And what about the sheep?

See, while everyone thought this was some grand, elaborate prank, Odysseus’ reasoning was much simpler: he just wanted a warm winter coat.

When Poseidon finally found the stolen flock, they were all standing there—bald. Completely shaved down to the skin. No wool, no fluff.

Not even eyelashes.

Polyphemus, holding the most pitiful-looking, shivering lamb, turned to his father and whispered, "I can see the shame in their eyes."

Meanwhile, Odysseus was lounging in a full-length, custom-tailored, ultra-soft fleece coat, looking smug as hell.

Worth it.

I love this so much!!!

[gobbogoo]

Which mythical monsters feel more like victims if you tell the story from their perspective?

This is easy for monsters like Medusa or Arachne who were unjustly cursed, but what about someone like the cyclops Polyphemus?

Imagine you're a humble shepherd, come home with your sheep from another day tending the flock, only to find a group of small sailors have broken in, eaten all your food, drank your best booze, and passed out.

With no dinner left you eat some of the thieves, because fair's fair. Then their captain wakes up, and since your mother taught you to be a gracious host, you introduce yourself and have an affable conversation with the guy. He tells you his name is "Nobody," and you politely inform Nobody that you will still have to eat him and the rest of his crew, because if you burglarize a cyclops's home, you get ate. It's nothing personal, those are just the rules.

Then Nobody takes advantage of your hospitality, gets you drunk, and stabs your eye out.

You scream. Your neighbours call to ask if everything's ok. You cry that "Nobody" is attacking you, and you're too delirious from pain and horror to understand why they don't come running. You realize these maniacs could hurt your beloved sheep next, so you fumble your way to the door and start herding them outside. You try to feel each sheep as it passes in hopes of catching your assailant before he can escape, but it's no use. You can only listen to Nobody's taunts as he sails away, announcing his real name was Odysseus all along,

Blinded, robbed, and seemingly abandoned by your friends in your time of need, all you can do is beg your father Poseidon for some form of justice to reach this monstrous "Odysseus."

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: EPIC: The Musical

(Thanks to @knightsweeties for this image)

Now this maybe my most unique review. As technically speaking. This is a Concept Album that then became a unique full on musical.

Epic is a musical adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey created by Jorge Rivera-Herrans.

And this means I will not be discussing the Visual Quality. Which is something I am heavily reliant on for my reviews of things.

But for such a special case. I think I have found my areas of review

The Plot

The Characters

The Music: (Are the songs good? Are they good Narrative? What do the songs say)

The Themes (What are the moral lessons)

Inspiration vs Interpretation (What does it do different from The Odyssey?)

Final Thoughts

_____________________________________________________________

The Plot

The story takes place at the very last days of the Trojan war. Odysseus and his allies are inside the Trojan horse. (A complex monument to Athena to trick the Trojans to let them into their city) They want to end the war and go back to their families.

(The Horse and The Infant)

The crew bust out of the wooden horse and proceed to attack the city, rescue Helen (the whole reason they are in the war in the first place) and finish this war.

During the invasion, Zeus gives Odysseus a vision of his death, which he says can only be prevented by killing the threat here and now. And shockingly, Odysseus finds out the threat... is an Infant.

Zeus and the gods tell him that this baby will grow up and murder him along with everyone he loves Unless he kills him now. (Including his Wife, Penelope)

Odysseus wrestles with this morally as the child reminds him of his own son who he hasnt seen in 10 years. But eventually does kill the baby by dropping him off the side of a wall (Just a man)

After the raid, Odysseus and his fleet leave to go home to Ithaca. But during the trip they realize they are out of food and must find some or they will starve before making it home (Full Speed Ahead) So Odysseus and his best buddy, Polities go to check the first island they find.

Polities notices Odysseus is obviously a mess and tells him he needs to be more accepting of life and others (Open arms) which allows them to talk with the Lotus Eaters, who tell them where they can find food.

After this, Athena slips into Odysseus' mind to tell him to get a grip by reminding him of his past (Warrior of the Mind)

Ending the first saga (Troy Saga)

The crew go to the cave and find a ton of sheep, enough to feed the entire fleet, but Unfortunately find out that this cave has a Cyclops that is pretty ticked about them killing his Sheep. (Polyphemus)

Despite trying to negotiate, the Cyclops attacks (Survive) The result has Odysseus losing Polities along with several soldiers. But Cleverly the wine they gave the Cyclops was drugged with the Lotus that the lotus eaters had given them earlier. The crew Blinds Polyphemus and Escapes (Remember them) After which they steal his sheep and right as they leave, Odysseus reveals his name and that Polyphemus will Remember this pain. Which was not a smart move.

Athena sees this as proof that Odysseus has changed and she is Done (My Goodbye) so she tells Odysseus she is leaving. Odysseus tells her not to let the door hit her on the way out. As he has some grievances

(End of the Cyclops saga)

And because of Plot, a Storm appears and is making it impossible for Odysseus and Company to get home (Storm). But they thankfully find some Floating Islands which happen to be the home of the Wind god Aeolus, whom Odysseus believes can help them, but after what happened the crew is starting to have doubts, including Eurylochus (Luck Runs Out). But Odysseus pulls rank and says we going to ask anyway.

So Odysseus meets with Aeolus who helps them if he plays a game. Aeolus put the storm in a bag and tells him no one can open it or it will release the storm. While also spreading a rumor among the crew that the bag Odysseus is holding has treasure. (Keep your friends close) And Odysseus tells them its a rumor and that NO ONE can open the bag. His Paranoia keeps him awake for 9 days as they sail across the calm sea. But unfortunately when he fell asleep, SOMEONE opened the bag and the storm got free, blowing them to the land of Giants... where Poseidon happened to be.

Poseidon reveals that he knows about what they did to Polyphemus and He is not happy. As surprise, Thats his kid. And decides to teach Odysseus a lesson about how "Ruthlessness is Mercy upon ourselves" (Ruthlessness). The sea god wipes out the fleet, leaving only 43 men under Odysseus command. But before Poseidon could finish Odysseus and the last ship. Odysseus used the last of the wind in the bag to escape.

(End of the ocean Saga)

Odysseus and the remains of his crew end up on an island. Odysseus is pretty shaken over the whole thing and tells Eurylochus to hold whatever he was going to say and go scout. Eurylochus takes some men and goes scouting, only to come back alone. He reveals the men got turned into pigs by a powerful Sorceress, Circe/ (Puppeteer).

Odysseus goes off on his own to go plan how to deal with the powerful magic user when Hermes finds him and gives him a flower that will counter Circe's Magic. (Wouldn't you like). So with this he goes and confronts Circe alone.

Odysseus and Circe clash and are basically even until Odysseus managed to get his sword at her throat (Done For). But Circe decides to use the power of seduction to get a handle on him. Which fails as Odysseus is too in love with his Wife, Penelope to fall for the seduction, and he simply pleads with her to free his friends. (There are other ways). Circe, moved by his devotion tells him that there maybe someone that could help him, but the man is dead and that they would need to go to the underworld to find him.

(End of the Circe Saga)

Odysseus and Crew make it to the underworld where as they are searching for the Prophet Tiresias, Odysseus is haunted by the deaths of his comrades, Polites, and then by his mother who died of a broken heart waiting for him to come home. (Underworld).

They Find the Prophet who says that he doesnt see a world where he helps him get home, but does foreshadow events of the future, including how the man that is with Odysseus' wife is haunting and has a trail of bodies behind him (No Longer you).

Odysseus realizes that if he wants to get home, he must embrace Ruthlessness and become a monster. (Monster) And so the group leave the underworld.

(End of the First Half. End of the Underworld Saga)

Sirens appear and one pretends to be Penelope to get Odysseus to jump in the water. But Odysseus manages to get the siren to tell him what path to take to avoid poseidon, which involved going through the Lair of Scylla, a monster that crossing has a cost. (Suffering)

Though as soon as he got the information, he shot the Siren with an arrow and revealed he knew they were monsters. He and his crew capture them all and reveal they put beeswax in their ears to block out their song and he had read their lips to get the info. Now knowing where they need to go, Odysseus orders his men to cut of their tails and throw them back in the water, making them drown. (Different Beast) Revealing he has accepted Ruthlessness.

After that, Odysseus and crew make it to Scylla's lair, where Eurylochus finally confesses that HE opened the windbag. Odysseus felt the betrayal, but instead of responding with anger, simply tells him to light six torches. As they enter, Scylla appears and feeds on the crew, mainly the 6 holding torches. (Scylla)

After they escape the lair, Eurylochus figures out Odysseus just sacrificed 6 of them to Scylla to get past. He confronts odysseus who doesnt deny it. (Mutiny) Resulting in Eurylochus attacking Odysseus in a fight for leadership, which Odysseus nearly wins but was stabbed in the back (Literally) By his crew. Eurylochus takes command and when Odysseus wakes up, they are on the Island of the Sun god. Where there are cows roaming. Odysseus realizes that this is VERY bad and says to Eurylochus to NOT touch the cows. But he says that he is hungry and kills one. Unfortunately... that was a mistake. Odysseus is quickly put back as captain and he orders them to get on the ship and Row as fast they can before the sun god sends someone... but its too late. the Sun god sent Zeus.

Zeus tells them they messed up and that they will need to pay. (Thunderbringer). Zeus gives Odysseus a choice, His life or his crews. Odysseus not wanting to make that choice, still picks his own life. Because above all else, he wants to see his wife and son. Zeus kills the crew and destroys the boat, leaving Odysseus alone.

(End of the Thunder Saga)

we cut to 8 years later. Where Telemachus is living his life without his dad, wondering what his life will be and only knowing his dad through stories. He also describes how Suitors are after his mom and they bully him. (Legendary) One Suitor, Antinous is especially crass and Telemachus tells him to shut up, to which Antinous says "Or what?"

This leads to a fistfight in which Telemachus is badly losing, until Athena intervenes to help Telemachus. It still ends with the boy's loss but he put up more of a fight. (Little wolf).

Telemachus bonds with Athena and convinces her to go help her other friend. (We'll be fine).

Athena then searches Odysseus' memories to find out where he is, only to find him on Calypso's island. Calypso being a goddess and holding Odysseus there against his will, Odysseus was trapped their and is almost on the brink of ending his life as his guilt is harassing him to a point of no return. (Love in Paradise). He even desperately calls out to Athena.

Athena decides to help Odysseus by pleading to Zeus to have him Released. Zeus says "Lets make it a game" and tells Athena she has to convince Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Ares, Hera and then himself if she wants Odysseus freed. (god games) Athena Agrees and gets each one to agree until getting to Zeus, who nearly kills her over being made a fool of in his game. But her pleading did eventually get him to agree.

(End of Wisdom Saga)

Odysseus was building a raft from materials on the island when Calypso appeared and told him that she is letting him go, as someone demanded his release. She proceeds to tell him her feelings on the matter (I'm not sorry for loving you) in which she sort of apologizes (but more like how a Youtuber apologizes) Odysseus tells her he does love her, but not in the way she wants. Which pisses her off.

He sails on the raft when Hermes appears who gives him the Wind bag containing the storm, saying this is his final chance while telling him how to get home (Dangerous), explaining how super risky it is. Odysseus follows the plan which leads him to facing Charybdis and successfully sailing past him (Charybdis). Odysseus is finally approaching his home as he sees it in view, but Poseidon appears, revealing he had been WAITING for him.

Poseidon tells him that he needs to get in the water and accept his fate. Odysseus pleads for forgiveness as its been so long and they have both suffered enough. (Get in the Water) But Poseidon takes the words as an insult and hits him with a god move, Shatter the Ocean. As Odysseus sinks to the bottom of the ocean, he hears the voices of all his dead friends and loved ones saying they are waiting for him, and he takes his final breath... Until he reawakens as a monster.

Odysseus revives and uses the storm bag to get out of the water and unveil HIS finishing move on Poseidon (Six Hundred Strike). He bests Poseidon, but the storm has been released and now Odysseus cant get home. Odysseus tells Poseidon to call off the storm, or else. Poseidon tells him he cant kill him. Odysseus says "Exactly" and proceeds to stab Poseidon until he begs for mercy and agrees to call off the storm

(End of Vengeance Saga)

We cut to Penelope who saw the storm on the Horizon dissipate and take it as a sign that her life is going to change. So she puts a challenge to the suitors. String her husbands bow and shoot an arrow through 12 axe heads and the one who succeeds will be king (The Challenge)

The suitors end up trying for several hours to achieve this but all fail. Antinous points out how this is all just a trick to stall and that they should just go to the shore to ambush Telemachus who is on a diplomatic mission, and once they kill him, the queen will be theirs to do with as they please (Hold them down) but as he got them all agree, an arrow flies through 12 axe heads and strikes Antinous in the throat, killing him.

Odysseus reveals himself, and he knows their plan. Odysseus is Super pissed and says he will kill them all. (Odysseus) He is now the monster. Odysseus made sure all their weapons were gone and methodically kills them all. The suitors try all sorts of tactics, from sneak attacks to pleading for mercy, this of course fails. Some suitors managed to find the room with the weapons, only to find Telemachus waiting, who was armed and a full fledged warrior of the mind, and he is doing work as the suitors all rush to attack him to use him as leverage to escape Odysseus wrath. After some time, Telemachus is worn down, but Odysseus appears and VIOLENTLY MURDERS THEM ALL.

After the suitors are dead, Telemachus and Odysseus talk and finally reunite. After the reunion, Odysseus tells Telemachus to tell his mother he is home and that he will be there in a moment. He wanted to talk with athena who was there with Telemachus. (I cant help but Wonder) Athena and Odysseus both talk about what they both want next, understanding that they are in different places, but its a sign of mutual respect and care. Athena wishes him luck.

Odysseus finally arrives in front of penelope. In which he bares his soul to her, unsure if the monster he has become is worthy of being by her side, and asks if she would fall in love with him again. (Would you fall in love with me again). Penelope reveals that he is still her husband deep down and that she has waited 20 years for him and she doesnt care where or when, He is her husband and that she will love him, over and over again. They finally reunite.

So yea, thats the plot of Epic and its beautiful

Granted there are changes from the Homer epic poem its based from. But... that will be covered later.

Overall, solid plot. Beautiful and simple.

9/10

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The Characters

There are a lot of Characters named in Epic. So bare with me.

Odysseus: The main Character. The journey he went on from a man that was gripping with the pain he has caused, to a man accepting ruthlessness, and becoming a monster to get home, while still realizing he is still who he is deep down is a fascinating character exploration. If we compare him to the Odysseus of the Homer myth, he might actually be a much more morally gray character. But for Epic it works as he has his wants and desires. He is cunning and loves his family, and his desire to do whatever it takes to see his family again is surprisingly human despite the monster he becomes. He is my favorite character in the musical. He is deeply flawed but he is the best for this story. 10/10 (Funfact, his instrument associated with him is a guitar, nylon when normal, electric when in intense scenes)

Eurylochus: He is the supposed 2nd in command but as the journey goes on he grows to doubt his captain's abilities. I like how he is a hypocrite in several things within the story, showing that perhaps he always wanted to be the one in charge, but also has love and care for Odysseus. Out of all the characters on the crew, he likely understands Ody the best, but also failed to see what he was becoming. 10/10 (Fun fact, his wife, Ctimine is odysseus sister. She isnt mentioned in the musical, but it makes Eurylochus his brother in law making the betrayal extra tragic)

Telemachus: The son of Odysseus and Penelope. He has spent his life getting picked on by the suitors. But after he becomes friends with Athena, he discovers how strong he can be. He is a pure soul and believes his father is still out there. He becomes a warrior of the mind thanks to Athena. I do wish we got a bit more out of him, but he does do his part well. (Fun fact: His Nickname, Little wolf. is a reference to when Poseidon calls odysseus crew a wolf pack swiming with the shark. Since he is Odysseus kid) 8/10

Athena: The goddess of wisdom, and battle tactics. She starts off the musical more calculating and cold, pointing out how Odysseus is losing his composure and smarts because of his emotions. She eventually leaves after a huge argument and is filled with remorse, deciding to make amends by watching over his son, She befriends Telemachus and really realizes her mistake. She even goes as far as to fight Zeus to get Odysseus free, a fight which left her scarred. Athena going through an arc of GAINING empathy and mercy, as opposed to odysseus, making their reunion touching but also sad, like old friends that are now on different walks of life. Her dynamic with Telemachus is top teir. 9/10. (Fun fact, Athena's ability is often misconstrued as time manipulation, but its actually her speeding up thoughts to make everything around them seem slow. Its similar to the power of the Flash)

Poseidon: The god of the Sea, he basically is the big bad of the story as his introduction basically shaped how Odysseus went about trying to get home. Poseidon is pissed that Odysseus blinded his son and left him to suffer, stating that this is all odysseus' fault. He even mocks and reprimands the King by stating if he had just killed Polyphemus, none of this would be happening. He kills most of the crew, and shows how much of a force of nature he is. It isnt until we get to the Vengeance saga that we see Poseidon's true colors. He is petty, cruel, and vengeful. He isnt Ruthless as he claims, because if he was, he would have Killed Odysseus earlier. He wanted Odysseus to suffer. And its only when the tables are turned we see how pathetic he actually is. Solid performance. 10/10 (Fun fact: Poseidon's music in EPIC is represented by trumpets and brass section that gets more electronic and distorted the more wrathful and angrier he is. He was also meant to appear earlier and Tempt Eurylochus into opening the bag, but this was cut.

Penelope: While technically only in 2 songs, Penelope is the most influencial character in the story, as She is Odysseus' drive to get home. She is the one holding things down in Ithaca while she is missing. And when we meet her, we find out how clever and strong she is. She had held the suitors down with her own tactics, keeping them from acting out longer than many could expect. She even figured out Odysseus was arriving after seeing a storm. But what stands out most is that she is the person that defeated the Monster Odysseus was. She saw right through it, she knew her husband. Penelope showed she was the strongest in spirit, and her love for Odysseus matches his love for her. And its truely beautiful 10/10 (Fun fact: She is the most mentioned character in all of Epic. and is only not mentioned in the Cyclops saga.)

I could also go on about the other characters such as Circe, Antinous, Polyphemus, and more. But I think I can summarize and say. Phenomenal characters

Overall

10/10

____________________________________________________________

The Music

(Are the songs good? Are they good Narrative? What do the songs say)

Yes AND YES

When it comes to the music, Epic does a great balance of Having a solid Narrative through line for most of the songs. Though there are some bits that do need explanation of how things get to point a to point b. But its usually a minor thing.

I think Epic's soundtrack falls into two categories.

Songs I listen to when I listen to the whole thing.

Songs I can listen to by themselves.

Now for me, Songs such as Just a Man, My Goodbye, Ruthlessness, Done for, Thunderbringer, Legendary, Dangerous, Get in the Water, The Challenge, and Would you fall in love with me again.

Are all songs that I can listen to by themselves and not even need to think about the plot, these are songs that are perfect for AMVs and are emotional Peak.

This isnt to say the songs not on this list are bad, its actually a case of, listening to them makes me want to go through the whole saga. Its great in a different way.

If I am being honest, this maybe my personal favorite musical. The attention to detail Jorge does with call backs to previous songs or foreshadowing. The special association of characters to instruments is (Chef's kiss) The more you listen to the songs, the more you find out.

It is mainly an album which means the focus is the songs and it shows.

10/10

______________________________________________________________

The Themes (What are the moral lessons)

So interesting fact, according to Jorge, Epic's main lesson is about Ruthlessness.

Now many people misconstrue what Ruthlessness actually means.

Many assume it means brutal and harsh tactics in order to achieve what one wants. But that is not the case. We actually see how in some cases being Brutal and harsh ARENT ruthless.

To be Ruthless one must do something without being merciful or compassionate. It means you are going in without taking emotion into account. You want to get to your goal no matter what.

Another way of putting it, it is being determined to get to what you want no matter what. That is how Ruthlessness is defined in this musical.

to be honest, I actually find that moral lesson kind of weak.

BUT there is another lesson in Epic that I think is a much more valuable lesson.

Love is a powerful Action.

Whether it is for good or bad. Love is the driver of EVERYTHING in Epic.

Odysseus was willing to sacrifice his crew for Love. Odysseus fought a god for love. Penelope waited for 20 years and dealt with the worst people, all for love . Never waivering.

Love is what convinced Circe to help Odysseus, Wanting love is what made Calypso force Odysseus to stay on the island.

Athena's Love (as a friend) for Telemachus helped her go so far to save Odysseus.

Love is a powerful action that can shake the world.

That is what I believe is Epic's TRUE theme is.

8/10

_________________________________________________________

Inspiration and Interpretation (What does it do different from The Odyssey?)

So there is a LOT of changes to Epic that make it distinct from Homer's The Odyssey.

I dont think I will be able to list them all, but I will list a few

The story starts at the end of the Trojan war, where in the odyssey it actually starts with Telemachus 10 years after this point

Odysseus never directly faces poseidon, Poseidon just sent a few storms.

Odysseus isnt torn up about what happened in Troy. His crew was hit with a storm after they were being bad sports in the war

Aeolus was actually a king and not a wind god.

Odysseus was not Athena's champion, their dynamic was added for this play. Diomedes was actually athena's champion.

Odysseus dealt with Charybdis and Scylla at the same time in The Odyssey, and no one mutinied him over it

Odysseus actually had to sleep with Circe to save his men, and they chilled on her island for like a month. While in Epic, he doesnt sleep with anyone except Penelope.

(And this is a fun one) Tiresias actually does help him, telling him to NOT sacrifice the cows on Helios' island as it would result in him not getting home for a long time.

Odysseus was actually at Ithaca for a bit before he attacked the suitors, meeting Telemachus earlier on in which they hatched a plan.

There were no games to free Odysseus, the gods basically agreed he suffered enough.

Telemachus heard from Athena that Odysseus is alive, but she was disguised as an old man when she told him

The bow the suitors had to string was a Recurve bow, its not mentioned in the song, but the men had no idea there was a special trick to stringing that bow.

The Winions arent real, the Lotus eaters were originally humans in the Odyssey and were just high on Lotus.

Odysseus was given a unsinkable garment that helped him get home.

And thats most of the interesting ones

Anyway The Odyssey also tells a tale more focusing on the trials and tribulations, praising Odysseus' cunning while reprimanding his dishonorable tactic. While Homer!Odysseus was mainly babysitting idiots, Epic!Odysseus was actually a bit more at fault for things that happened. One odysseus had to be freed and left to his own devices while one had to learn Ruthlessness to get home.

They may tell the same tale, but they do it in different ways.

Epic is different enough that it is clearly Inspired by, not ripping off

this one isnt for grading, I just wanted to put this here.

__________________________________________________________

Final Thoughts

Epic is truly Epic.

It is a wonderful musical that gives a little bit of everything. it rewards the listener if they dig a bit deeper. It is filled with emotion and it was crafted with pure passion.

It may have started as a concept album, but it is a tale of Ruthless determination and a will to dream.

I love this musical and I hope you all give it a shot.

btw, here is additional art my friend made

[lakemojave]

Mojave reads X-Men: X-Men #1, X-Men #2, and Tales of Suspense #49

That's right gang, I'm finally sitting down and reading some comics. Now I've attempted to read a manga or two in my life, I've read some tintin comics in the library as a little kid, I've read an Alan Moore graphic novel in my day, but never have I actually read a serialized, long running comic series like this. I have very limited vocabulary for talking about comic books, and my experience with superhero media is pretty much limited to movies and shows. I have never read or critiqued a comic book of any kind.

Now I should say that even though I don't really give a shit or fuck about superheros, I do have a favorite superhero, and it's none of the X-Men. I do have a place in my heart for the caped crusader, so why am I not reading every single batman comic ever written? Well you see, the reason is simple. If I read a batman comic, even if it's a bad one, I will be distracted by how much i already like batman. I will probably learn a thing or two about batman, but I won't really be properly immersed in the comic-reading experience if i start with somebody I already enjoy.

So I'm excited for this! I'm basically going in blind, except for some passing knowledge about the over-arching themes of these characters and season one of X-Men '97 (a fantastic show that you all gotta watch). Now I know some reading guides online will recommend that you skip some stuff, but I wanna challenge myself to do a completionist review of this whole series. For an artistic medium that I don't know shit or fuck about, this may be a long commitment, but this is gonna be a fun way to do it.

If you wanna follow along with me, I'll be basing my order based on the reading guide from this website here:

Now for the review!

X-Men #1

This one is really fucking stupid.

In this first issue, we meet our X-Men and learn their powers through a goofy ass training scene, Jean Grey arrives, then they defend a military base from Magneto, and that's about it. It doesn't do enough to establish what exactly a mutant is, but it does establish the X academy as a safe haven for mutants where they can learn to be superheros, and how Magneto wants mutants to rule the world. There isn't much nuance here yet, but these motivations will echo down throughout the entire X-Men saga.

The designs here are particularly undercooked compared to the more modern iterations, but I do like that Professor X has always been a bald dude stuck in a chair. Magneto's imperious personality is established here as well, but the X-Men themselves are mostly just rough sketches of the idea of people. We're not gonna get into the family drama soap opera nonsense for a little while I think.

(Also my favorite part of this panel is how you can't tell cyclops has a visor and it looks like it's just a guy. With two eyes. Which is, by definition, not a cyclops.)

I also adore how whimsical this first issue is. The fighting is very cartoonish and everyone says what they're thinking out loud. I dunno if that's just how comics tend to be or if this is a product of the age, but I actually find it really endearing! I have a fondness for this era of comics where you could pick up a batman off the shelves and see a panel of him shooting and killing his enemies with a mosin nagant, or that infamous panel of superman melting a dagger with his heat vision and slurping up the molten metal.

Also, poor Jack Kirby. You can tell by the homogenous designs and Magneto's crooked ass eyeballs that he was very overworked in this period. The superhero team composition here is definitely less creative than the Fantastic Four for instance, which was running at the same time and will crossover with our reading list a few times.

Though my favorite panels from this issue are right here:

I'm sorry if the difference in time between your two panels is "Exactly fifteen seconds" then you don't need a text box explaining it.

Either way, while this first one isn't very good, I was really entertained. I'm really looking forward to immersing myself in this period of the art form and learning a thing or two about this franchise!

X-Men #2

That's right baby. We're gonna be in stupid town for a few weeks.

In this issue, a new evil mutant attempts to take on the X-Men and realize his loosely sketched evil plan for world domination and such. This guy, The Vanisher, has teleportation powers so fast that none of them can lay a finger on him. With his X-Men's reputation on the line, Professor X himself has to step in and use his psychic powers to vanquish The Vanisher and his army of goons on the White House lawn.

We learn a lot of new things about the X-Men in this issue; one, that Charles is a snitch for the FBI; two, sometimes the X-Men will just randomly start fighting each other almost completely unprompted.

Oh yeah also they call Jean Grey "Marvel Girl" in this run. I don't know why, ya just gotta deal with it.

The Vanisher basically has Goku instant transmission, allowing him to teleport literally anywhere he wants in an instant. In his master plan to steal US Army secrets and rule over humanity, a bunch of random low level goons just start worshiping him cause he's just that awesome. Like they're not even getting anything out of serving him, they just love this freak.

God could you imagine the alternate timeline where The Vanisher is the X-Men's arch enemy instead of Magneto? I think I would've canceled this series early if that happened.

Needless to say, this one is also insane. Like whenever the X-Men need to go anywhere, they rely on the goofiest modes of flying transportation that I've ever seen.

This one is also pretty dumb, but I can't say I had a bad time reading this one too! I think the first one was more interesting, seeing the prototype for such an all time comic villain, but this fight against the Vanisher is just a straight forward good time.

Tales of Suspense #49

Here we have our first ever crossover! In this comic, Angel accidentally gets nuked by Iron Man during a weapons test. The radiation makes him turn evil. Iron Man has to stop him.

This is the goofy bullshit I crave. There is no explanation for why any of this happens. Angel suddenly swears his life against all crime fighters and tries to make friends with the evil mutants. Iron Man talks completely different than I'm used to in this modern MCU era (plus his identity actually is secret!) Although the other X-Men do show up in this one, It is so strange to me that the first X-Man to make it into another series is one of the most forgotten characters of them all.

Oh man they just. They just don't make em like this anymore.

I do like that the X-Men as characters are starting to settle into their personalities. Angel's the boyscout, (normally,) Iceman is a little shit, Beast is a funnyguy, and Jean is a woman. Cyclops is still a little undercooked, but in terms of actual art I think I like how he looks in this style better than anybody. It helps that the art is getting ever so slightly better issue by issue.

But I also love that there's like. No backgrounds. It's crazy that in these early comics they just frame characters in a blank, colored void. I have no idea where these guys are right now.

The writing is still hilarious. Like everyone in these comics just says whatever they're thinking out loud. If these comics weren't written for little kids I'd make a big stink about it, but I just find this so endearing.

Eventually Iron Man does the thing where his power runs out and he falls to the earth in the middle of the fight, then Angel comes back to his senses, possessed by the instinct to save him. As he flies away, good ol' Anthony Edward Stark gets a call from Professor X saying that some day he hopes that the Avengers and the X-Men will one day fight alongside each other...as allies! And from this day forward, they'll never fight again!

Um. Ignore that.

See y'all with more soon!

[katerinaaqu]

Odysseus and Polyphemus: The Brilliance of Homeric writing (an analysis based on rhapsody/book 9 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 :) )

[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.

Continue reading...

[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?

[camilladraymarch]

Can I just go ahead and complain about something?

I don't like that Epic the Musical made Odysseus do/be responsible for so many things he didn't.

Like tossing Astyonax off the wall. You can argue he didn't stop it, but it wasn't Odysseus who did it. He wasn't even the one to give the order, and ultimately Agamemnon would have ordered Astyonax killed along with the rest of the sons of Troy.

And then the Cyclops. In Epic, not killing the Cyclops was a choice Odysseus made. But in the original story, killing the Cyclops wasn't even an option they had. Even blinding the Cyclops was fantastically difficult and dangerous. Even blinded, they had to hide from him by hanging onto his sheep's bellies as they ran out to graze for the day.

So you have songs where dead crewmembers are angry at Odysseus for not killing the cyclops "Ruthlessness is mercy." But that's not the mistake Odysseus made. His mistake was hubris.

After they escaped the cyclops's cave, he called back his real name to Polyphemus, allowing Polyphemus to call on Poseidon to curse Odysseus. Before that, all Polyphemus knew was that a man named Nobody was responsible for hurting him. So Odysseus did make a stupid mistake out of pride.

It seems like the writer is trying to connect the Cyclops back to Troy in a way that doesn't really fit. Especially with Zeus's argument that Odysseus has to kill Astyanax to preserve his own house. And thus, by making "sparing" the demigod son of Poseidon his mistake, he retroactively justifies killing an innocent infant by dropping him off a wall.

Polyphemus is not Astyanax. Polyphemus was a deadly threat, even "defeated." Astyanax was an infant. An innocent baby whose only crime was being born to the wrong family. He was not a threat. And given how thoroughly Troy was destroyed, even if he did grow to be a man consumed by vengeance, it's highly unlikely he could have ever been a threat.

By conflating these two, the writer is justifying Astyanax's death by counterposing it against Polyphemus's life. The conclusion that the reader is forced to draw is that killing Astyanax was okay because sparing Polyphemus was a mistake.

This seems to be drawn from the unnecessary portrayal of Odysseus as a good person, heroic even. Epic has wiped out most of Odysseus's bad acts, replacing and rewriting them to create a narrative that isn't necessary. Odysseus in the myth does not have to be a good person and in fact, he is a really, really bad person.

In trying to reform Odysseus's image from dark main character to gold-plated hero, the writer has weakened his own message and the Myth's.

Edit: To make this clear, I understand this is a derivative work. I don't mind that it doesn't follow the exact events of the Odyssey. I specifically disagree with the choice to make Odysseus responsible for Astyanax's death and then to retroactively justify the decision instead of forcing the audience to face the brutality of war and the needless death of innocents it causes.

[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.