#but they’re still dull due to anime logic depression

[daylesspax]

Dolled up and depressed Odysseus for the win

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

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

Some design notes:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[ancientbled-achieve-blog]

“Extremely detailed character sheet template”

Do not Reblog:

tagged by no one (I stole it)

Character Chart

Character’s full name: Seremela Taralom. Reason or meaning of name: Unknown (literally). Character’s nickname: Serey, Frozen Empress. Reason for nickname: Serey because her name is too long to say and Frozen Empress because she is cold and is a queen in her own right. Birth date: 17th of September. Physical appearance Age: Eighteen, but really a thousand years. How old does he/she appear: Late teens. Weight: 64 kg Height: 5′6 Body build: Slender build with some muscle definition. Shape of face: Triangle/Heart/Sharp. Eye colour: Ice blue. Glasses or contacts: None. Skin tone: Light cream/porcelain. Distinguishing marks: Unusual ice blue eyes and her scar on her arm. Predominant features: Her abilities. Hair colour:  Dark brown. Type of hair: Sleek. Hairstyle: Long. Voice: Cold and harsh, semi-light.  Overall attractiveness:  Define attractiveness.  Physical disabilities: Bones can dislocate at random. Usual fashion of dress: A white polo shirt with black tie and a dull grey vest over the top, plaid skirt  Favourite outfit: Long sleeved shirt and leggings. Jewellery or accessories: None.

Personality Good personality traits:  Seremela is a loyal person once she feels like she can trust you as well as honest and honourable. Bad personality traits: She is a cold person with a harsh manner. She is distant and secretive, even to those she cares about. She is also bossy and short-tempered. Mood character is most often in: Neutral. Sense of humour:  Sometimes. Character’s greatest joy in life: None. Character’s greatest fear: Being forgotten again and failing to protect people. Why? Because she was already forgotten by her family and she doesn’t want to be forgotten again and that she failed to protect her father. What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? The death of someone she was meant to protect, being reminded of her family and her past. Character is most at ease when: She is reading or with someone she trusts. Most ill at ease when: When she feels betrayed or abandoned. Enraged when: When someone she cares for is hurt or threatened. Depressed or sad when: Abandoned, betrayed and lied to. Priorities: Protecting people and getting rid of demons. Life philosophy: ‘Don’t let your past define you. Every mistaken is really a lesson in disguise.’ Why? So she can move forward. Character’s soft spot: Revealing her emotions too freely Is this soft spot obvious to others? Maybe. Greatest strength: Her logical thinking. Greatest vulnerability or weakness: Dislocated bones, thinking straight to conclusions. Biggest regret: Allowing a demon to share her body. Minor regret: Losing a book. Biggest accomplishment: Being granted the ability to carry on her family name. Minor accomplishment: Actually exploring an unknown place. Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Her loving people she shouldn’t, throwing up after trying human food. Why? Because her love is what gets people to friend zone her and that she can’t eat human food normally. Character’s darkest secret: Her demon. Does anyone else know? Nope.

Goals Drives and motivations: To learn how to protect humanity better. To rid herself of the demon. Immediate goals: Protecting humanity, learning how to be more human. Long term goals: Finding people who she can trust, get rid of her demon, rid the world of evil. How the character plans to accomplish these goals: Train, learn, control and read. How other characters will be affected: (depends on each verse)

Past Hometown: Olympus Type of childhood:  Happy, and somewhat sad. It grew darker as she grew up. Pets: None. First memory: Being taught how to write by her mother. Most important childhood memory: When she and her father went to a local festival. Why: Because it was a time where her father’s village would gather together, and celebrate the day when the spirits emerged to the earth to walk with the living once again. Childhood hero: Her mother. Dream job: To be able to work with her father as a wood carver. Education: Her mother was her teacher, so home-schooling. Religion: None. Finances: Her mother being a god didn’t have a money system, but when she visited her father he would make a liviing from being a wood carver. Present Current location: (verse dependant) Currently living with: A small hotel room as she doesn’t stay in the same place too long. Pets: None. Religion: Greek Hellenic (belief of the Greek gods) Occupation: Demon hunter Finances: Simple waitressing and bartending. Family Mother: Athena Relationship with her: Seremela was somewhat close to her mother as a child, taking refuge to her whenever her cousins were mean to her, but over th years it dslowly became nothing until as of late. She, Seremela, tries her best to remain in contact with her mother by going to the temple in Greece, or by looking to the sky in hopes that her mother ill speak to her. Father: Katashi Wollf Relationship with him: Strong. She felt warm and secure when she was around her father. Siblings: Aranel Relationship with them: Broken Spouse: Not married Relationship with him/her: N/A Children: None Relationship with them:N/A Other important family members: Too many to name.

Favorites Color: White, greys, dark blues Least favorite color: Yellow Music: Tradional, soft rock, tribal  Food: Prefers vegetables, but she does eat meat. Favourite foods include strawberries, grapes, fresh bred, Old English cheese Literature: Fantasy, romance Form of entertainment: Sparring/training, reading, being around people she trusts Expressions: Stoic, calm, collected, cold, smiling, annoyance, happy,  Mode of transportation: Depends on the distance, she walks short distances, but does take transportation such as trains. Most prized possession: Her journal, Habits Hobbies: Training, reading, dancing,playing with a rubix cube Plays a musical instrument? Can play a violin and paino Plays a sport? Most sport she can’t play due to her bones. How he/she would spend a rainy day: Reading. Spending habits: Not much as she travels too much to buy mtrinkets, but if she sees something she thinks one of her friends would like she’d buy it for them. Smokes: No Drinks: Wine, and tea Other drugs: None What does he/she do too much of? Training, paper work, working What does he/she do too little of?  Being a normal person, sleep Extremely skilled at: Swordsmanship, tactical manovours Extremely unskilled at: Cooking, playing most video games Nervous tics: Rubs her arm, avoids eye contact, shuffles her feet, tucks hair behind her ear Usual body posture: Doll-like, still and steady Mannerisms: Calm and collected, serious and will address anyone as ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ Peculiarities: None, unless you count her eyes changing from blue to gold when her demon is in control.

Traits Optimist or pessimist? Mostly optimist, but when she can’t think of a logical solution it changes Introvert or extrovert? Introvert Daredevil or cautious? Cautious Logical or emotional? Logical Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? Methodical and neat Prefers working or relaxing? Working Confident or unsure of himself/herself? Unsure about her self. Animal lover? Loves wolves/dogs. Self-perception How he/she feels about himself/herself: Displeased with herself for her past actions. One word the character would use to describe self: Lonely One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: Seremela would describe herself as a emotionless woman (even though she knows it’s not true) whose top priority is making sure the human race, and her comrades, are safe from dangerous beings. Another note is that she would like to find a partner to take along with on her travels, mainly for company sake but so she could create some happier memories. What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? Loyal What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? Dangerous What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? Her hands, slender and delicate. What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? Her scars on her back. How does the character think others perceive him/her:  Cold, emotionless What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: Her attitude, it’s snarky and sarcastic.  Relationships with others Opinion of other people in general: Depends on who it is, but generally shes weary and uncertain of people. Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? Yes Person character most hates: She can’t ‘hate’ anyone, but she does dislike most demons. Best friend(s): Amber Terra Love interest(s): None (maybe) Person character goes to for advice: Sometimes her mother, sometimes hr friends Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: Kioshi, her little brother Person character feels shy or awkward around: None Person character openly admires: Natsu because he’s kind to everyone, and protective of his family Person character secretly admires: a secret  Most important person in character’s life before story starts: Her mother and father After story starts: None, they’re all important

tagging: @mxestus @ignisfates @henjiiru @friguxcor

[a-bucket-full-of-feels]

Thoughts on after rewatching Dekaranger

So there was one day I decided to listen to some of my old-ish song collections, and I stumbled upon some Dekaranger OSTs and was hit by nostalgia. Fuelled by stay-at-home boredom, I then decided to rewatch Dekaranger, the first Sentai series I got into, and also one of the first fandoms I entered and even participated in to some extent. It has been about 10 years since I first watched Dekaranger, and about 5 years since I’ve watched any Sentai series (my last was ToQger), so opinions are basically that of a former SS fan looking back at fond memories, albeit without the rose tinted lens I used to have while watching my first few shows in the series.

The hits:

The pacing for many episodes was just right - I didn’t feel bored during the episode, and I actually looked forward to watching the series till the end

The theme is timeless - cop dramas never get old, and it was basically something I could still enjoy without cringing at the “weirdness” of the whole premise

Some standalone episodes were brilliant by itself in terms of story writing, direction, and acting

Well-fleshed out characters - there was character development throughout the entire series not only for individuals (e.g. Ban from being pure chaotic to being more responsible without losing his fiery spirit), but their relationships as well (e.g. Ban and Hoji’s friendship, Tetsu being an outsider at first to eventually part of them)

Their team dynamic as a whole is very likeable. Their camaraderie during the off-duty moments were quite cute and I also liked how Boss (and Swan) also was like a father figure to them and had his fun/heartwarming moments with them

There was a nice balance of light-hearted and dark/grim episodes, which was good considering some Sentai which are too “fun” become kinda hard to watch after a while due to the lack of substance, whereas the overly dark ones also become too depressing to follow.

The OSTs are damn good.

The misses: 

Considering this was a show made in 2004 and aimed at kids, some jokes and scenes did not age well with me. I always remembered Deka having some scenes that were hilarious, but rewatching it, I felt that the jokes were kinda predictable and more on the slapstick side. Not to hate on that style of humour, but over time my sense of humour has changed and that kind of humour is more suited for a younger audience that they’re targeting.

Oh god, some of the Sentai episode staples were hard to follow through. I actually skipped the roll calls just to save time, and to me the giant mecha fights were extremely formulaic and predictable. Then again, even back in the day, I never really watched Sentai for the fight scenes but more for the plot and characters, but I always just tolerated the fight scenes, occasionally finding some of the weapons or the theatrics cool (I think Shinkenger’s fight scenes were one of the best). Unfortunately Deka’s weapons and episodic fight scenes were kinda mediocre though.

There were a lot of logic defying plot lines (e.g. Ban blasting a meteorite core with a D-revolver, Dekarangers somehow managing to travel at light speed from one planet to another just to complete a task and somehow make it back in time to thwart the enemies), but then again, this is a universe where ESPers exist and aliens can somehow speak Japanese so I’d just look past it.

There’s a lot of screaming. Especially Ban. And during the “critical battle moments”.

Thoughts on individual characters:

Ban: He was really irritating during the first few episodes but he mellowed and was a lot more fleshed out as the series progressed. Although he was the least experienced in the team and never claimed to be the leader, he played the typical role as red “leading” the team with his fearlessness and resolve. He’s still not one of my favourite characters but I can definitely appreciate his role in the team and the series as the whole.

Hoji: I was kinda ambivalent about Hoji when I first watched Deka, but upon rewatching I really grew to like his character a lot. He’s not just a “cool blue”, but equally passionate and stubborn as Ban, just that he’s a lot more professional and calculated in his actions (which I suppose is why on one hand he clashes with Ban’s more reckless and spontaneous approach, and on the other hand is seen as a partner to Ban). His character episodes were excellent, and he was probably put in the toughest moral dilemmas in the series.

Sen-chan: Next to Hoji, Sen also had a lot of excellent character episodes, focusing mostly either on his nice guy side, or his intellectual side when solving mysteries. I also really liked Sen as a whole, coming off as the calm one in the beginning and generally a calming character throughout the series, but also can get really fired up when he’s angry about injustice. I kinda did like Sen-chan during my first watch through, and after the rewatch he’s also one of my favourite characters in Dekaranger.

Jasmine: I’ve got to say, during my rewatch, I couldn’t get much out of Jasmine’s character other than her being an ESPer, saying random phrases and the less chaotic female in the squad. But as the series progressed, her personality started to be more apparent to me, as someone who comes across as cool and professional but is also passionate and has empathy for those that deserve it. I liked Jasmine a lot more in my initial watch, but in the rewatch I felt that her development of her character was more lacklustre as compared to the other excellent ones.

Umeko: The main comic relief of the series. Umeko-focused episodes tended to be more light-hearted or rather less serious than some of the others, but they were the more memorable ones. Her later character episodes got a lot more darker though, and we got to see the more vulnerable and sensitive side of her, which added a lot more depth to her character. Aside from Ban, Umeko’s also one of those characters that seem to be able to get away with “unprofessionalism” (mostly for the comedy), but to me she’s still likeable because there’s never a dull moment when she’s in the spotlight.

Tetsu: Tetsu actually comes in relatively late in the series as the sixth member - after his initial introductory episodes were cleared, we were almost halfway into the series. As such, I felt that there wasn’t a lot of room for his personality to shine. I guess the main development of his character is how he went from someone individualistic and focused on fighting without bring in passion and emotions into the mix, to being fully integrated into the team and promising to be the “fireball” in place of Ban after his departure - easily the most passionate and emotional member of the team during battle.

Boss: It only hit me during the rewatch at how much of a badass Doggie Kruger is as the “chief/commander” character of the series. His swordfighting scenes and the fact that his nickname is “Hell’s Guarddog” aside, his actions as a high ranking space police officer are pretty unconventional. He handpicks Ban, a rookie that was seemingly too reckless to join his team as he saw his potential; he himself takes incredible risks; and he shows genuine love and care for his team, almost like a father figure.

Swan: For a supporting character in Sentai, Swan's got personality, almost like a mother figure to the team, and simultaneously keeping Doggie in check, all while being the excellent engineer she is. Her character episode really allowed her to shine and it was nice for female scientist representation back in the mid-2000s.

Final thoughts:

I definitely viewed and remembered Dekaranger with rose-tinted lens during my first watch through - it’s good but it’s not all as amazing as I remembered it to be. Nonetheless, even during the rewatch it was enjoyable and had aspects and moments that still blew my mind. Personally, Dekaranger was an extremely special TV show to me as it was my very first step into Japanese entertainment, and eventually the world of J-dramas, anime and J-pop, much of which I still enjoy up till this day.