#he stabbed poseidon and that was that

[rin-sith]

This came to me earlier, and now I am utterly obsessed: While it was clear to me that Odysseus stabbing Poseidon wasn't any kind of Vengeance, there was one act of Vengeance after all, even if inadvertent—it was Odysseus disproving Poseidon's "Ruthlessness is mercy upon ourselves" belief right in front of his very eyes. With him as the subject, even.

Think about it—the fact that Poseidon remained ruthless and insisted on punishing Odysseus was the only reason he got stabbed repeatedly. If Poseidon had been merciful, if he had accepted Odysseus' offer of forgiveness, he would've been fine. His own ruthlessness backfired so hard on him this time that I am sincerely hoping it haunts him forever.

I am actually utterly obsessed with Poseidon thinking back to Odysseus "Maybe you could learn to forgive?" on a daily, no an hourly basis. I cannot and will not lie to you that is unironically my favorite moment in the whole Vengeance saga just because of what it says about both the characters—about Odysseus for offering and Poseidon for declining (and also because Odysseus sings it in Poseidon's own motif which is just absolutely brilliant.) And this makes me love it even more.

Poseidon was going to decline, we all know that. I don't think anyone watching—even Odysseus, probably—expected him to accept. But then I'm picturing him lying there, bleeding into the stone, and, against his will, wondering whether maybe he should have. Maybe if he had, he wouldn't be in pain. Maybe if he had not killed Odysseus' fleet ten years ago, he wouldn't be in pain either. Maybe this one time ruthlessness wasn't mercy upon himself—maybe this time, his one grand belief was wrong. Maybe ... it was always wrong.

Obviously, he would never admit to these thoughts, he would slap himself for having them one second later. But I simply need this self-proclaimed god of ruthlessness to be utterly haunted by that and question whether he made the right choice or no—whether he's even lived by the correct philosophy all his immortal life—and no matter what, be too stubborn to admit he was wrong.

He's trying to pretend like nothing changed, but the thoughts still remain. They pester him. They won't leave him alone. Especially every time someone—anyone—is kind to him for whatever reason, they come crashing back into him and they won't leave.

"What if my own ruthlessness hurt me that time?"

"What if ruthlessness isn't mercy upon ourselves after all?"

"What if I'm wrong?"

"What if I have always been wrong?"

The most dreadful thoughts imaginable to a god as proud and stubborn and old as Poseidon, but they're there now and he can't do anything about them. You all don't understand how much I NEED this god to jolt up in his bed at 3 am after having a dream or nightmare about something related to one of his many ruthless deeds (maybe even sinking Odysseus' fleet) and go "BUT WHAT IF I HAD LEARNED TO FORGIVE?? WHAT IF I STILL COULD??" only to immediately slap himself for it because that's absolutely ridiculous.

He is left to watch this belief shatter before his very eyes as he's clinging to the remains of it desperately, trying to keep it all from crumbling. Not because he genuinely believes he's right anymore, but because he simply cannot imagine ... does not know how to live by any other philosophy.

No matter whether it's objectively correct or not, it's the very thing that defines him. The thing he's known for. He has built his entire image around this, he cannot give it up no matter what ... at least not quickly or without help.

But as much he would seek to deny it, his core belief has now been proven wrong; he has actually lived through an instance where it was wrong, and he can do nothing to erase those memories or conclusions from his mind no matter how much he yearns to go back to simpler times.

And that was the real Vengeance, guys—possibly the biggest, most painful existential crisis of Poseidon's immortal life. I rest my case.

Although before I disappear back into the void I simply must give a shout out to @o3o-lapd-o3o (this came to me during a conversation in one of their comment sections for the glorious Friends In Higher Places AU, which is quite possibly my favorite piece of EPIC fan content that exists ...)

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

after six hundred strike

*odysseus and poseidon are both still on the rocks in the middle of the sea*

odysseus: ok, let's just agree to both say we're sorry

odysseus: on the count of three

odysseus: one..two..three

poseidon:

odysseus:

odysseus: see, now i'm just disappointed in the both of us

[melodyartist]

Zeus and Poseidon cus good gods do you design them fine as hell🙏

Just a good opportunity for an art dump of the two despicable brothers. Plus I'm finally getting used to the new Zeus' design

[azuvist]

Poseidon was the last sibling to be devoured by Kronos, and unlike his siblings that were devoured as infants, he had been devoured when he was old enough to remember how teeth felt against his flesh.

Their mother had attempted to hide him, and tore him piece by piece once Kronos found out as punishment.

[messymoonmad]

I see someone saying

"Poseidon: Get in the water

Person: Yessssir"

And I think:

Poseidon: Get in the water.

Me: EXCUSE ME. I'm in there right now, sir, what are you waiting?

/In the f/cking water

Poseidon : these people are so easy to kill these days...

[jazzy-a]

After Ody gets home and, of course, slaughters all the suitors and reunites with his wife and son, that man absolutely sat down with a council and immediately pulled out schematics, like:

"Cool, cool. So, first things first: We're building new temples for Athena and Hermes. What? Placement? Oh, yeah... Just knock down the Poseidon one. It's fine. I stabbed that God, like, 20 times into submission. Pretty sure that means the ocean is my b*tch now....And f*ck that guy anyways, am I right? So, for Athena's temple, I'm definitely thinking blue✨-"

[spineless-lobster]

So when odysseus fights poseidon it’s “badass” and “an epic anime battle” but when I, caligula-

[nilo05]

You have the most pattable Poseidon. I love him SO MUCH!!!!!

AAA YESS!! GIVE HIM ALL THE PATS

[ruthlesswaves]

...there are other ways of persuasion...

[goldenunicornmaster]

Ok I very much misinterpreted the “shoot through 12 axes” part of the song The Challenge.

My first though was not that they were supposed to shoot through small openings that decorate the handle. I thought the task was to break the metal wedges.

To be fair, it was a bow with so much tension only Odysseus could string, I thought he would have the strength to shatter axes with it.

[isbergillustration]

[rin-sith]

Pls tell me I'm not alone—

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

odysseus has two modes, bawling and brawling

he initially tried bawling to poseidon during get in the water, but that didn't work, so in six hundred strike he switched to brawling.

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

hey do you ever think about how Ody stabbed Poseidon a bunch. because Poseidon was trapping him. and how Poseidon is immortal so it couldn't kill him but could hurt a lot. and the stabbing. to make Poseidon let him go. how Ody did that immediately after the windbag was open, no thinking time necessary. and how Ody was trapped on an island for seven years by an immortal

do you ever think about that

[ghostdrinkssoup]

okay but remember them and different beast having similar melodies is actually so insane to me. odysseus reacted to the sirens trying to eat his crew the same way polyphemus reacted to the crew trying to eat his sheep, rendering them the same. however, odysseus becoming the cyclops means more than just becoming a monster: he’s elevated himself beyond his men, honouring them like sacrificial animals or cherished pets. the line between monster and god is thin because of the power imbalance between themselves and humanity. we see this with calypso, who’s not a monster in the traditional sense but behaves inhumanely because she also sees odysseus as a pet. it’s a running theme as odysseus realises he’s not on an equal playing field and therefore cannot play fair if he wants to survive. originally, he tried to play god by sparing the cyclops but was doing so with the arrogance of a man who lacked the authority to take that stance, which is one of the main reasons he pissed off poseidon so much. odysseus had the gall to think he could be man and god at the same time, not realising that being a god also means being a monster

[duchess-doodles]

Have a poseidon wip because MAN am I cooking