#he thinks paris from the trojan war is talking about paris the place

[lemon-wedges]

i have no odea what mgs is about but im living for your art. oh my god i have fallen hard for otacon.

CAUGHT ANOTHER ONE BOYS

[hyacinthusmemorial]

TW: Mentions of SA

In my works, and other places, people have been asking me my opinion on Achilles attacking Troilus. I would just preface I’m not an expert on the Trojan War. I was sick the week we did the Iliad in high school and they made me perform as Odysseus when we read the Odyssey and i had no clue what was happening, but I am in the process of reading it now.

I think if you are studying these events from the perspective of the god Apollo, then Achilles kind of loses his Brad Pitt appeal that the movie Troy (which I have never seen) gives him. So if Achilles is your guy, stop reading. I’m thought dumping.

There is something wicked and powerful about Achilles k*lling and r*ping Apollo’s own son on his own altar in his own temple. Because that is the implication of the iconography and artwork.

Achilles drags Troilus by his hair to the altar of his father and the story doesn’t say if Achilles r*pes him, but it is implied. For one it talks about Achilles being overcome with lust for Troilus, who is the image of Apollo in human form. A beautiful golden haired, youth.

Not only is Troilus the son of Hecuba, he’s Apollo’s image. Sources say he is the most beautiful of the Trojans and Greeks. But he has been designated a fate where he represents the city of Troy. Hence the name Troilus. If he reaches adulthood, the city survives. If he dies as a youth, the city will fall.

Athena leads Achilles to Troilus to ensure his death and thus Troy’s fall. She does not account for HOW Achilles kills Troilus.

He sees Troilus on his horse, and he is overcome with lust. I think he probably offers Troilus some sort of deal, come sleep with me and I will let you and your sister go, but Troilus refuses and runs away and hides in his father’s temple. He is a little kid running to his father for help. But, Achilles breaks in, finds Troilus, and enraged kills him either on or near the altar of Apollo.

Troilus is the image of Apollo. He is his son. He is a prince of Troy. I think this is a tipping point for everything—the point of no return.

This seals Troy’s fate, but I think the reason for that are because of Troilus’s death. I think before this point there is the possibility there will be peace. I think Big Bro Hector would have sent Helen back, I think peace would have been sued for and Troy would stand. But Fate has to be accomplished. This is the point where Troy no longer gives a damn—their prince has been m*rdered and r*ped on the altar of their chief god. Priam is upset because he loved Troilus as his own son, and he calls Achilles a child-slaughterer after that. Hecuba is besides herself, and Hector wants to kill Achilles. I think this is the point where they decide that, yes, they are going to die fighting this war, but they have a GOOD REASON to. It’s not about Paris and Helen and Aphrodite and a dumb apple. It’s about a boy being murdered.

But Apollo, Apollo is now vengeance. He is acting as an arm of fate. He’s already peeved at Achilles, who had killed another son Tenes. (A different story about Achilles r*ping someone)

I said this to one of my commenters—an altar is a god’s dinner table. Apollo’s hands are tied by something—either Fate or Thetis or his Father, and he cannot stop Achilles who is savagely attacking his own son on his own table. He has to watch, has to sit there and taste his own son’s blood in his mouth, watch him brutally die.

Achilles’s fate is sealed. Apollo is going to kill Achilles. It’s just nine years later.

In the art, Thetis, Athena, Apollo and Hermes are in the background of this event. Athena and Thetis as support of Achilles, but it makes me curious what Hermes is doing there. Is he holding Apollo back? Has Thetis begged Zeus for Achilles life? Athena regretfully watching as she accomplishes her plan only to realize WHY it worked?

I think in this way you can fashion the Trojan War as a direct conflict between Apollo and Achilles. Everything else is going on around it, but at the heart of it, is Apollo and Achilles. Apollo waiting for his father and the fates to give him the go ahead because Achilles will die, and Apollo is going to take away everything from him in the process. Briseis, Patroclus, and then he’s going to take his life.

Achilles is the villain in Apollo’s story. He’s invulnerable, he’s circumventing fate, he r*pes anything under his power, he disrespects the gods. He is a lesson in what men do when no one can stop them, and the most powerful thing is that the Father wins. He finds and kills his son’s murderer even after all the roadblocks in his way.

Troy is a revenge story, and if I ever get to writing it in my series, it’s going to be written like a revenge story.

[streets-in-paradise]

A Man of Honor - Odysseus x Trojan Princess!Reader

Troy 2004 Oneshot

Requested by @alysinwonderland-at-tea

"Ok ok ok, so..... here's the idea.

Odysseus, with the younger sister of Paris and Hector, like she gets captured because she bought Briesis time to run. She fought off some of the men but couldn't get all of them. Anyway, quite like the movie scene, Agammenon "gives" her to the men to "play with" (throws her to the wolves). But instead of Achilles rescuing her, it's Odysseus. He suggests that hurting her would not be in their best interest because she is the princess of Troy, and if they harm her its gonna be really bad for them. Anyway, the reader falls for him because he's so honorable. Idk man, he seems honorable, and men with honor got me"

Sure, dear!! My twist on the concept is a bit fluffier, but hope you will enjoy it anyways.

Warnings: Kidnap, Agamemnon and Menelaus being creeps, threats and an attempt of sexual assault ( stopped by Odysseus), age gap.

Note: For this i'm pretending he is single, simply because i don't picture Odysseus as a cheater.

Tags: @yerevasunclair

The gathering of the kings celebrating the first greek victory of the war finished abruptly because Agamemnon of Mycenae, supreme commander of the forces, wanted to scold his rebel soldier. Used to act as intermediate between them, Odysseus of Ithaca intended to follow the matter closely. He was the last one leaving the tent, trying to prepare Achilles for the meeting hoping he wouldn't loose his temper again. Sensically suspicious of the situation, he waited outside pretending he cared to talk with the guards of the mycenaean king.

A good amount of them were watching over a girl, likely a spoil from the looting of the temple. Two aspects of that scene got the sharp observational skills of the ithacan king on alert. The first one, knowing that the myrmidon leader would never handle a prisoner of war to a man he often adressed as an old pig. Second, that the escort was too great to watch over her. There were way to many men gathered arround her.

" Don't you all have orders to follow?" He mocked them in a friendly tone. " Just two of you would be enough, she is clearly going nowhere. "

The cleverly delivered callout brought a half smile from her, and in a closer look Odysseus noticed that her eyes were more vivacious than normal for a captive.

There was still fire in her glance, a sign of life.

" The myrmidons warned us to watch out, they say she fought bravely for her freedoom. " One of the mycenaeans informed him. " We brought her for the King, she is the treasure he has choosen."

No flicker of fear in her face as she was hearing her fate, what made Odysseus wonder if she was too brave or completely unaware of the dangers coming at her.

" Two were actually left in charge, the rest are just watching." She commented him. " They won't stop talking about how pretty they find me."

He felt as if he was being invited to share an opinion on the matter, probably being tested by her because she wanted to know if he would hurt her.

" A young slave as beautifull as you must worth more than everything I keep in my tent." He joked in return. " Even if Troy would be sacked tomorrow, like Agamemnon hopes, none of this men would afford to have one like you. They know it, so consider their vulgar admiration a reflection of their powerlessness. "

It wasn't enough to work as comfort, but she didn't mind.

" I don't mind, as long as they won't touch me."

Her pridefullness was out of place, as if she tried to prove she was still weilding some sort of authority she may have had in the past.

" Sadly, I think that's the first thing Agamemnon would want to do." Odysseus informed her, trying to do what he considered was waking her up to the new reality. " ... You were lucky of not being exhibited in front of all the other leaders in the celebration, he likes to brag about his prizes."

The latter comment seemed to have offended her, she even dared to give a few temptative steps in his direction to verbally fight back.

" I'm not a prize, I'm a hostage. " She quickly corrected. " And I'm ready to bargain the terms of my liberation."

The mycenaeans laughed, but Odysseus could tell she was being serious because the fire of her eyes could have burned him alive. Unfortunately, he couldn't keep interrogating her because the men in charge were called to bring her inside.

He watched her following them calmly and couldn't help smiling. Partially, because he wished he could ease such horrible moment for her, but also given how impressed he remained of her attitude. As if she already knew that Agamemnon wanted to see her humilliated, she quickly put together what was left of her honor and dignity walking inside with the grace of a royal.

It was in that moment when the clever king of Ithaca discovered that you, new treasure of the mycenaean king, could be hidding something of importance. After Achilles stormed out of the place he was too angry to acceed any questioning, so his curiosity had to wait a little longer.

During that first encounter you couldn't tell exactly who he was, but you knew he had some sort of authority over men due to how they listened to him. However, his way with words was astonishingly pragmatical. To them, he sounded like a friend making healthy advices before a greater power figure could reprimand them and, to you, like a fair ruler. Never taunting your anger like Achilles did, or threatening you like you later discovered was custom of Agamemnon.

Nightfall was the dealbreaker of your fate, signaled time for the accomplishment of the dark promises he made to you. After having dinner, he would make you give him a bath to later have his way with you. Playing wise with your only advantage to save yourself, you waited untill then to start the negociations.

The king's table had guests, more commanders that you didn't know. When his brother heard that you were the only daughter of King Priam, everything seemed lost. A third leader arrived to hear the very stubborn brothers discuss what would be the most efficient way to make you suffer instead of accepting your more wise proposal of a bargain with your family.

Awareness of his coming silenced their wicked planning, like if they suspected he would have a say against that.

" Odysseus! " Agamemnon saluted him. " Welcome, old friend! "

You recognized the kind man and his friendly smile, paying high that short distraction. The King of Sparta tried to grab you from behind and forcefully sit you on his lap. Reflexes reacted fast and you fought him, but in the scape you accidentally stumbled with the newcomer.

He catched you gently, holding your shoulders so you won't fall.

" Forgive me, ... Odysseus." You inmediately responded, your voice turning slightly sweeter with the pronunciation of his name, then moved away after finding balance. " ... Please, take a seat. I'll get you some roasted meat from King Agamemnon's feast."

He smiled in polite agreement, but the calm enviroment didn't last long.

" GET BACK HERE, TROJAN WHORE!" Menelaus complained, angry because you didn't behaved with the docility he expected. " YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOUR BROTHER DID TO ME! "

You refused to move and swallowed hard, then replied.

" Your wife's choices aren't of my concern, but become more understandable to me with the display of your brutal manners."

Your refined insults amused Agamemnon, who thought that your flamboyant manners were hilarious.

" ... A trojan princess. Can you believe our luck? " He commented to the freshly arrived king. " My brother wants to go first, reparations for his honor. "

Odysseus was frankly horrified by the scene, there was no honor in the sort of justice that Menelaus seeked.

" It's a terrible idea. If you hurt her, this girl could become a symbol even more powerfull than Helen. "

" I told them, but they won't listen. " You interrupted him. " King Menelaus doesn't understand the concept of bargain, perhaps you can explain it to him."

You shouldn't have say that, but the presence of the ithacan made you feel safer as the anger of Menelaus keep growing.

" YOU INSOLENT LITTLE .... "

Odysseus gave him a path on the shoulder right before claiming his sit.

" My friend, calm down! She is just a girl, maybe even young enough to be your daughter. " He minimized your insults for you. " And, unfortunately, she is right. Having her is too riskfull and we can't allow more reckless mistakes. "

You realized he was subtly referencing the fight of Agamemnon and Achilles, what made you stiffle a chuckle in reminder.

" Postpone your vengeance for the right targets. " He concluded, deviating the topic. " You are here to kill Paris, not to take advantage of his little sister. "

The excellently delivered speech was enough to calm him, but not to make him desist.

" Odysseus, you are a good friend, but the use I will give to my brother's slave is not your problem. "

" ... Not yet wed, certainly untouched. " Agamemnon provoked him. " Pretty virgin princess will make for a fine revenge. "

You spat on the ground, a wordless curse, but that only increased the hate of the spartan king.

" I can't wait to taste you ... And tomorrow, I will tell your brother exactly how i had broken you. "

Terrified in the inside, you still won't let him knew it.

" Before you would get to finish bragging the sword of Hector would have already pierced you. " You recalled, as serious as if you would be sentencing him to death. " He wont care about your hurted honor if your sense of justice damages his siblings. He tossed our familiar honor to the sea to save Paris' life once, we are fighting this war because of that. "

Your elocuency was the surprise of the night, the King of Ithaca was very attentive to your words.

" It's true, Paris had no honor proceeding the way he did, but if you force me you give up your right to claim you are the victim here because that's not the justice of an honorable man. " You bravely kept exhorting the spartan king to save yourself. " Your mistreated wife, who not all trojans simpatize with, will win credibility. "

Odysseus began to chuckle, a subtle expression of pride.

" Right again, your highness! " He pointed out. " The ruin of your virtue would unify trojans at the precise moment we are on the edge of loosing Achilles. The Kings should respect you, not even because that would be the action of an honorable man. From the most selfish standpoint, it's still the wisest solution. "

Agamemnon evaluated the advice with disdain. The goal of unifying greeks against a common enemy was an essential part of his plan. Previous attempts of presenting Helen as a victim of kidnap had failed, everyone knew she ran away on her own and the moral approach changed. She was a whore who left her husband, but you were an innocent virgin dragged away from a temple.

A perfect victim, everything in that story highlighted your purity and a direct threat to it could cause a response even more violent than than Paris taking Helen did.

" May you care to suggest us what to do with her then, Odysseus? " He sarcastically critiziced. " Giving her to you, perhaps? I won't fall for your trickery if what you want is fooling me into gifting you a prize that was too fine for Achilles. "

You hide your face using your hair so he won't see your excited reaction to hearing he could want to take you out from that tent.

" Offer her hospitality, show her that we are not savages. " Odysseus simply proposed. " Menelaus should also work on his impersonation of an honorable man wanting his wife back. We are all here claiming to be victims because of him and the control of this narrative gives our army a moral advantage. If he turns Paris into the savior of a frightened Helen escaping the brutality of her husband, this motivation falls apart. An insulted king who demmands justice can't brag revenge forcing himself on the virgin princess captured while she was innocently praying for the salvation of her homeland."

You directed a triumphal smirk to the youngest of the despicable kings, but Odysseus warned you against that with an impercepible glance.

" Do you play any table games, little one? " He asked you right away, resolving for everyone else. " My favorite way of getting to know someone is learning how they think."

You couldn't believe your ears because the kind offer seemed so out of place.

" Table games? After this two were deliverating on who should hurt me first and what would be more painfull, you offer me to play games with you? " You repeated, in disbelief. " You are a strange man, King of Ithaca, ... but quite lovely. "

To your even greater surprise, he even helped the greek servants on settling you a spot where you could be comfortable. The disgusting brothers gave him freedoom of action because they believed he was up to something, a scheme of the kind he often used to save them many times before. They respected his opinions allowing him to treat you kindly so they wouldn't have to do it themselves. Agamemnon suspected he wanted to make you talk for them, but nothing you were saying was of any importance for him.

The trickster king was deceiving them, making them suspect a deeper reason for his comfort of the unlucky, but beautifull princess. To some extent, he was even deceiving himself pretending he would only do it because winning your trust could be usefull, yet you had awakened enough curiosity for it to be a bit personal.

After a while, it became obvious that you enjoyed the company of the smartest leader arround. He was a smoother, more interesting talker than the pigs surrounding you. If you would have been in front of your father's table instead, he would have easily enraptured all the attention of your relatives as he had gained yours. Odysseus ruled a kingdom of poor sailors, but he had travelled everywhere, and he gave you a good moment sharing some of his stories. During the hours he spent there that night, you were able to escape from your sadness even at the moments he wasn't paying direct attention to you.

If that dinner would have taken place in Troy, Paris would have teased you for staring at him for too long while Hector would have scolded you both and warned that significally older man to stay away from you. That was fun to imagine, but you had to remind yourself that he was still your enemy. Perhaps the most dangerous, for how well spoken and handsome he appeared to you. Harder to hate, specially because you couldn't take your eyes off him.

Before leaving to get rest in his own tent, his farewell to you was a kiss on your knuckes that showed he still respected you as a princess. It made you blush furiously, mostly because you thought that kind of consideration was lost to you arround greeks.

Menelaus noticed your reaction and, as his brother accompanied the king outside, let you know of that.

" Turns out you do like older men." He commented, in a falsely cassual tone. " Is that how your brother got my wife to spread her legs for him, or only his looks did the work?"

Everything he said was always so repulsive, you seriously couldn't imagine how Helen managed to stay by his side for so long.

" You are not bad looking, for a man of your age. Neither is your brother ... You are just horrible people. " Was your honest reply. " Paris has seduced married women everywhere, but all the others stayed with their husbands because they gave them reasons. Fear of death was all Helen had with you, and when she lost it, she left. "

The answer surprised him, perhaps because your explanation of what happened resembled nothing he had ever heard.

" You have a strange wisdown, hard to explain in such young girl. I'm hearing you speak so lightly of things I never cared to see. " He oddly praised you, then sipped more of his wine. " When I was a child, our mother cheated on our father with our uncle. Agamemnon, being the eldest, had more awareness of what was happening. Ask him about what Atreus did to the cheaters and you will find out we are not so horrible. "

" Being less horrible than your father is not the great, comforting excuse you think it is. " You warned him in return. " A good man would have came here peacefully, presented his complaint in the city's council, and maybe ask for a private talk with his wife offering her actual reasons that could make her want to go back home. You are an evil man posing as a victim, and your thirst for vengeance will bring your doom. "

Dark chucking interrumpted you, Agamemnon was back inside.

" Nobody told us the princess of Troy was a seer! " He mocked you. " I have another prophecy for you: tomorrow, I will take over your city and my brother will kill yours. "

" You don't know Hector, or how far he can go to protect his family." You insisted one last time. " Your brother is a fool, he will get himself killed trying to kill Paris. "

" Hector is a man of honor. " Menelaus pointed out. " He will understand that Paris had to die."

You directed him a cold look, as if life would have started to abandon him.

" His honor won't protect you from his rage of brother. "

It was the last time you spoke to him, and the last moment you saw him alive. Exactly as you warned, the king perished by the hand of Hector, who saved Paris while he was begging for his life. You never imagined it would happen so fast, because you weren't prophetizing. Knowing your family so well made you suspect it would be a matter of time untill the rage of Menelaus would be forever stopped by your protective eldest brother.

Still, they weren't there to save you from the rage of brother displayed by the mycenaean king. You were all he had to damage Hector, since even the result of the battle turned against him. The only pain he could inflict on him that night was hurting you, but he decided he wasn't going to be the man doing it.

Odysseus noticed your absense on the tent during the gathering of the war council, at first thinking it was due to the needed secrecy that the discussion of strategy required.

" Where is she? "

The answer Agamemnon had for him overpassed any expected cruelty coming from him.

" I gave her to the men ... They need some amusement after today. "

Careless for the thoughts of anyone else on that meeting, he stormed out searching for you. It was clear that the King of Kings wanted to unleash over you a vengeance even worse than the one Menelaus considered before.

More humilliating than warming the bed of a king was becoming the whore of his troops.

Odysseus was guided by the sound of the complict mocks of the very same men who one day before observed you as some unattainable luxury item. Temporally forgetting their looses, they were cheerfully bragging on how they were about to feast on you.

Despite you presented a good fight, they were too many. Their hands roaming you with desperation and trying to tear your clothes off in the process.

" STOP, YOU FOOLS! " The strong voice of the King of Ithaca interrupted the horrible scene. " YOUR KING HAS SENT YOU TO DO HIS VENGEANCE FOR HIM BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT WHOEVER TOUCHES HER WILL BE A DEAD MAN! "

A few of them reacted, but two were still holding you and Odysseus spoke directly to them.

" Do you even know who this woman is? " He warned them. " She is the Princess of Troy! Do you want to be the next ones Hector will slaughter ? LOOK AT WHAT HE DID TO US TODAY JUST TO SAVE HIS COWARD BROTHER! He killed Menelaus, he broke the pact ... Imagine what he would do to you for raping his sister. "

They tossed you to the ground, sudden fear making them act as if they would have just heard a deathly curse had spread among them.

When Odysseus picked you up, you had no more tears left to cry. Or at least you believed so, untill you clinged to him as if your life depended on it.

He took you to his small tent in the little corner of the greek camp he ruled. His own men seemed weirded by the sudden arrival, but followed his orders of not disturbing you.

Your spirits were even more broken than your body, and the safety you temporally found in him made it hard for you to separate. He understood it, and craddled you by the fire while silently hearing your sobbing.

" He is a monster. " You were saying between your crying. " He did this to me in honor of his brother. "

He guessed it, and he cursed himself for not thinking ahead of him.

" Honor? There is no honor in any of this." He commented in a comforting tone, caressing the top of your head. " Don't worry, beautifull. You are safe now."

He inmediately regretted to have adressed you in a way that could be very uncomfortable after what you have gone through, despite he didn't mean it in the same way of your attackers.

" I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have ... "

You raised your face so your eyes would find his for the first time since the arrival.

" It's allright, I know. " You calmed him, tears still flowing. " Crazy, isn't it? When you say it I don't feel the danger. "

Softer by the blow, burning slowly, but the fire in your eyes was still there.

" How does it make you feel? "

Despite the pain, you still had a shy smile for him.

" Good, but strange ... I never felt like that before. "

As if you attempted to thank him with the only thing you judged a man would want from you in that hole of doom, you gave him a rushed peck on the lips.

" Thank you for saving me, you are a man of honor. "

Even hurt as you were, he found you beautiful to the point of cruelty. The brush of your soft lips made him tremble, but he replied with a chaste kiss on the top of your forehead.

" No need for rewards, princess. I did what i had to do. "

Noticing that you were finaly calm, he stood up and peeked out of the tent to command orders from its entrance.

" Eurylochus! Get this woman the means for a proper bath, she will wash herself. Send some men to roam the camp and find her decent clothes. She is our temporary guest now. If Agamemnon has something to say about that, tell him I would rather expose us to an argument with him than face the rage of Hector ... Understood? "

By the time his attention was back at you, he discovered you already self tending your wounds with water from a basin and the nearest cloth you found.

" Resourceful girl ... Mind if I help you out? "

[babyrdie]

Achilles stan are really hypocritical about Alexander now, did you see that?

No, I didn't see it.

I saw people mentioning something about Achilles and Paris, now there's this ask and I'm starting to wonder if the recent ask an anon sent me about Paris was a discreet way to test me (this one, where I explicitly say that I really don't care about Paris discourse). I honestly don't know where the hell this weekly Achilles vs Paris debate came from, so I'm really confused. It's a Tumblr debate and I just didn't see the original post? Is it an debate imported from another website? I don't know. But other than Apollo and Paris killing Achilles, I don't really see what relevant connection these characters have to each other. They also don't even have the same role or the same archetypes, which once again leaves me wondering why this comparison even exists in the first place.

But here we go: my opinion is that no one is a saint. In most of these X vs Y discussions, I'm simply going to consider both characters as not being people who would be considered good today. And it's the same case here.

Achilles killed Tenes despite being warned not to do so (he was warned by Thetis, so he certainly knew she was serious), sacked cities (including not all of them were Trojans), enslaved people (both men and women. Some were sold, others remained. Some were sexual slaves, like Briseis and Diomede), committed a murder inside a temple (Troilus), dishonored a body (Hector), practiced human sacrifice (Patroclus' funeral. And you can see from the narration that it's not a case of "ah, but human sacrifice was cultural and accepted") and stopped the winds just to demand Polyxena's sacrifice (I still wonder how the hell he stopped the wind). He isn't a saint.

Paris ignored Oenone's prophecies about the fall of Troy and abandoned her (she was his first wife. And unlike Cassandra, she wasn't cursed. He didn't listen because he didn't want to), stole Menelaus (I'm not even talking about Helen. He took Menelaus' treasure too. Honestly, at that point Paris knew he was bringing war to Troy and didn't care if he felt so comfortable that he even took the treasure), depending on the version kidnapped Helen, taken city (Sidon), killed a guy because he was jealous of him with Helen (Corythus. Who is his son, by the way) and he ignored the Trojans' requests and continued the war. He was a prince, so I guarantee you he had slaves too, and slaves are indeed mentioned in Trojan territory (e.g. Lycophron writes from the point of view of a slave watching over Cassandra). He isn't a saint.

Yeah, Achilles isn't just a cute guy in love and suffering for his boyfriend, but Paris is also not just a cute and harmless little thing. People paint Paris too much as harmless useless. So my honest opinion is that this discussion is a waste of time because neither of them is the pinnacle of morality. It's reminding me of the Achilles vs Odysseus debates, which were equally pointless because Odysseus, like Achilles and Paris, is also not an immaculate crystal. The Clytemnestra vs. Agamemnon debates were also another pointless thing because sometimes they even cited something they both did but only against one (e.g., Clytemnestra ridiculing Cassandra's status as a Trojan captive in "Agamemnon" and Agamemnon doing the same to Hesione via Teucer in "Ajax"). At this point, I think it would be interesting to read Greek mythology without trying to do morality rankings. I also already talked about this in this post.

So that's it, that's my opinion. I haven't ignored any asks I've received so far, but if I receive one more ask about fans and haters of characters and morality in Greek mythology I'll probably ignore it because I think my opinion is already pretty clear (It's even in my post about my blog). I also talked about this in the Hades Odysseus controversy.

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: *Cradles Logan's Percy in my hands* I don't get you but I'd still kill for you -Danny Words: 2,288 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'Starting Line' -by Luke Hemmings

IX: Sorry I Threatened to Kill You, It Will Happen Again

"What do you mean?" I stare at the goddess. "I've been obedient, I never complain—who cursed me?"

Aphrodite moves a strand of hair out of my face with a pitiful expression. "It's not something you caused, my dear."

"Am I an actual arae?" I ask in horror. "My father did this?"

"Oh no, it wasn't his intention to curse you when he named you Arae," Aphrodite makes a face. "He had the brain of a monkey, but oh, if there was ever a mortal with charmspeak, that was your father..."

"Lady Aphrodite," I frown. "Focus?"

She pushes the plate of cookies toward me. "You've seen Janus."

"Yeah, but he didn't talk to me this time. I thought he was taunting me," I state.

"I'm here to warn you," she continues. "In this lifetime, you are my daughter, so I can grant you an advantage. Take it as a birthday present."

I want the gods to think about what they consider a proper gift, 'cause telling a young girl that she's got a centuries-old curse on her ain't it.

"That's generous," I say.

"Your first time around," the goddess sinks into the beauty of whatever memory she's revisiting. "People traveled from afar just to catch a glimpse of you. You were perfect..." she wrinkles her nose. "And wasted. Given to an empty carcass of a man."

"Okay," I reply, not following. "And when did this happen, exactly?"

"Then he came," Aphrodite sighs, not listening to me. "Young and charming—I saw him for what he was: your match!"

I feel like she's about to drop a bomb on me. "Cute."

Her eyes focus on me again. "It wasn't cute. It was destiny. I had to give you to him, you see, your union would jumpstart my son's mission. The end of the golden age for Greek Heroes had come at last."

I've heard that sentence before. Not when talking about my love life, but during my lessons with Jason. "Mom," I start, voice shaky. "Are you talking about the Trojan War?"

Aphrodite looks at me."You understand, then?"

"That's crazy," I blurt out.

"Don't lie!" The goddess takes the plate of cookies away. "I've given you enough clues throughout the years for you to figure it out, and you were born my smartest child, Arae. If you ignore it, you'll never break the curse—"

"What curse?" I exclaim in frustration. "I haven't heard anything about a curse!" 

"Oenone's curse," Aphrodite declares. "She put it in place when Paris left her."

Ara drops the hammer and holds her injured finger cussing under her breath. This is the third time that she's hurt herself by not paying attention to what her hands are doing, which is not ideal when you're repairing a ship.

She thinks of her conversation with Leo last night. Ara has to tell him about the curse, but it's the kind of stuff that no matter when or how you say it, is bound to make things worse, and the more she waits, the more it scares her. She doesn't want to lose Leo.

Annabeth hands her a pair of safety gloves. "Won't do much to stop you from cutting off a finger, but it can help with the scratches and stuff."

"Thanks," Ara shakes her hand to get rid of the ache and then puts on the gloves. "I can't focus today... I don't know if Lily talked to you before we sailed..."

"I heard the screams," the girl replies, though she keeps it vague. "Wanna talk about it?"

Ara looks at the boards in front of her, lining them in place. "I don't even know where to start..."

"What do you mean?"

She goes back to work while she explains. "At first, it was about Nico, and then... I said things I'd never intended to say out loud and then Lily snapped too. I know I've been... difficult—"

"That's a way to put it," Annabeth walks past her.

"I thought it was for the best if, you know, if we didn't talk about... Michael," she clears her throat. "I had to look after our camp, I could grieve later, after making sure we were all okay."

The older girl sighs. "You wanna know what I think?"

Ara stops a second time and looks at her friend. "Always."

Annabeth leans against the mast, kicking some pieces of splintered wood as she gathers her thoughts. 

"After what happened to Michael, you kept Lily in place until you smothered her." The girl points at the dagger hanging from Ara's belt. "You care about what everyone thinks a little too much and you forget about your feelings. I think this is exactly what you two needed, she can process her grief like she wants to, and you do the same. Codependency between members of a good team is still toxic."

Ara rubs her nose with the back of her hand and leaves a smudge of dirt on it. "But when I leave her alone, all she does is get in her way."

Annabeth laughs. "Look who's talking!"

"That's not me!" She argues. "I've always gone after the things I want!"

"Have you considered that never stopping is just as bad as not moving?" The girl raises a brow. "Next time, Ara, try sitting down instead of... what was your last near-death experience?"

Ara pouts. "Are you implying I rather die than take a nap? Do you really think I'm that insane?"

"I grew up with you, I know you are. Which reminds me," Annabeth walks up to her and grabs her by the shoulders. "Talk to Percy. He's super bummed out. I don't know what happened but he hasn't seen you in months and now you don't wanna talk to him 'cause you're too busy coddling Leo."

"Percy has you to coddle him," Ara replies grumpily.

"But you're his sister," her friend insists. "Girlfriends and boyfriends are good, but you two need each other. I know it because I know you both." Something behind Ara catches Annabeth's eye. She squints. "Blackjack?"

"Wait—wait," I start pacing the room. "Leo and I... are Helen and Paris?" 

The statement sounds like something I'd say on my deathbed if I were in a soap opera. But my mom shrugs like this isn't news to her.

"Your soul once inhabited Helen's body, which is not the same as being her. You're Arae Jackson, the current curse bearer."

"But I was Helen of Troy once," I repeat numbly. "And Leo was Paris the loser."

Aphrodite gasps. "He wasn't a loser! He was one of the best romantic leads of ancient times! And that boy you love is carrying his curse!"

I wave my hand around to dismiss that. "Fine. Let's say we are, because why the Tartarus not, right? I died and was born again—and what, I found Leo and then... and then..."

I stop. It's been so long since I had those dreams that I'd almost forgotten about them, but now they're back all at once.

"Agape," I whisper, my heart pounding as I speak. "All those people in my dreams... they were all Leo?"

"Oh, you have regressions?" Aphrodite beams. "How lovely!"

"That's what they are?" I frown.

"Well, when a soul has been around for too long, they develop a slight immunity to the Lethe's powers, it creates a crevice in the mind. Some humans get to dream about their past lives, or they spend their first years with those memories until they're old enough to become a new person."

"But I..." I sit down slowly. "In all those... I'm never really with... Leo." 

It's weird to pinpoint all those faces to a single name.

The second realization hits me like a train: In some of my dreams, I've gotten this feeling, like a part of me knows I died too soon. My hands go up and over my mouth, but they can't stop me from talking.

"Oenone's curse... kills us?"

Aphrodite looks away. "At first, I loved it. A nymph's heart so broken that marked several lifetimes, how romantic! I thought it'd be one of those petty curses that lasted one lifetime, then the arai would let you go... but you came back and found each other. And it happened again, exactly like the first time."

"Why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" I hesitate. "Shouldn't you be glad that I'm still fighting against it?"

"Each time, you live blindly," she tells me. "There was a time when you could've chosen to stay dead and wander the Asphodels fields for eternity, but you came back, and the arai like to play with you."

"We keep making the same mistakes..." Suddenly I feel exhausted, like all the centuries my soul has lived through are finally weighing on me.

Aphrodite seems genuinely sad. "I think it's because you keep dying young. You never grew out of that youthful optimism, convinced that you'll break the curse on your next try." She leans and holds my hands tightly. "But I think this time you made the right choice when you came back, my dear."

"What? Why?" I'm unable to release my hands.

"The fates have granted you a chance," she cups my face. "They gave you a prophecy."

"My prophecy's about Oenone's curse?"

"I'm sure of it!" My surroundings start to get fuzzy, I'm starting to wake up. "You've failed too many times, Ara, don't do it again!"

When Piper arrives with Percy and Jason both unconscious, Ara heaves a sigh and carries them to the sick bay with Coach's help.

"At this rate, we're going to run out of ambrosia," he groans while helping Ara to patch up the boys. "How come I never get invited on these violent trips?"

"'Cause I don't have enough stuff to put your limbs back in place," Ara grumbles.

"Leo, are we ready to sail?" Piper asks.

"Yeah, but—"

"Set course for Atlanta. I'll explain later."

"But..." He sees the urgency in the girl's eyes and gives in. "Okay."

"What hit him?" Annabeth examines Percy's injury and winces.

"Blackjack."

"What?"

"They got possessed, just like Leo," Piper explains. "Fought each other and would've probably died in the process if Blackjack hadn't shown up."

By the time she finishes the story, Jason and Percy are awake but still out of it. They don't remember much, and they can't get up either.

"Knocked out twice in two days. Some demigod." Jason makes a face when he looks at Percy. "Sorry, man. I didn't mean to blast you."

Percy's body isn't as hurt as Ara's when she got hit by lightning, probably because he's more resilient. "Not the first time. Your big sister got me good once at camp."

Ara smiles while she puts away the unused bandages. "Same year I met Apollo."

"And Nico," Percy reminds her.

"Couldn't be a perfect year."

"Yeah, but..." Jason shifts awkwardly. "I could have killed you."

"Or I could have killed you," Percy replies.

"If there'd been an ocean in Kansas, maybe."

"I don't need an ocean—"

"Boys, I'm sure you both would've been wonderful at killing each other. But right now, you need some rest," Annabeth says.

"Food first," Percy sighs. "Please? And we really need to talk. Bacchus said some things that don't—"

"Bacchus?" Annabeth interrupts him. "Okay, fine. We need to talk. Mess hall. Ten minutes. I'll tell the others. And please, Percy... change your clothes. You smell like you've been run over by an electric horse."

Ara moves to the side so Annabeth can leave. Piper stays for a few more minutes and then takes Jason away to get him changed. Percy and Ara are left alone.

"You're lucky Blackjack didn't kick right through your hollow skull," she taunts him. "Mom would've killed me if all I'd brought back was a jigsaw of her son."

"Yeah, not ideal..." he rubs the back of his neck. "How is she? And Paul?"

"Worried, but when we located you, things got better. Not much, but they improved a bit. Dad decided to make repairs so Leo could visit more and—"

"Leo knows our parents?"

Ara leans against a cabinet and crosses her arms. "I told you, Percy, we've been dating for half a year. Everyone back home knows him."

He runs a hand through his hair, touches the bump at the back, and winces. "Crap. Does that mean you were thrown to the lake already?"

Ara wrinkles her nose. "Yeah, it was cold."

"Aw, man," he pouts and leans against the wall. "You hate the cold. Can't believe I missed it!"

"But you're back, and you'll be present at other stuff—and now that you've been possessed you'll cut Leo some slack, right?"

He sighs, pulling on the loose strands of his battered shirt. "Yeah, being possessed isn't fun."

She pats his knee with affection. "Let's get you changed."

He groans as he gets on his feet. "So how'd you two meet?"

"That's a fun story," she smiles. "I was looking for you with Annabeth, she'd had a dream the night before..."

As they make their way through the corridors, the stairs, and towards the cabins, Ara tells him about the first encounter she had with Leo, how bad it went, and then how it didn't matter because Leo still won her over.

Percy's sad that he couldn't witness the whole thing, and he'll have to ask Lily for details later. The girl's name causes Ara's gaze to shift for a brief second. Percy notices her expression and pauses. "What's wrong?"

"Lily and I fought," she confesses. "And now that Nico's been taken, if I don't get him on time... She might never speak to me again."

Percy squeezes her shoulder. "So that's what's been bothering you this whole time?"

"Not exactly..." Ara makes a face. "I'm sorry I was mean to you—"

"I wasn't any better..."

"You don't want me to get hurt," she says with understanding. "I get it, but my relationship with Leo is the one thing I can control, and I need to feel in control. When you questioned it, I got angry."

"Well, it happens to all of us," he pats her head. "No need to ruffle your feathers over it, Birdy. We'll rescue Nico."

Ara scowls. "Again."

"Again," Percy chuckles and guides her out of the room. "Hasn't been that many times though..."

"Speak for yourself," she scoffs.

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicks

[greekmythgal]

I saw a post (that i now cant find curse former me's lack of organizational skills) talking about how they think that athena is purposly trying to get hera to think of zeus so the not cheating thing hits harder, which I think is neat, however!

I see your Athena is trying to get her to think of Zeus and raise you Athena is also trying to get her to think of other Heroes of the time. I'm thinking specifically of Hercules because he's the hero with the closest link to Hera and the Mets but I'm sure that other Greek Heroes could apply to the same checklist hair is lines are so many Heroes so many tales give me one good reason why yours should prevail. Hair is looking for something that will set Odysseus apart from the other Heroes, and so obviously Athena starts out with his biggest strength is mine but plenty of Heroes are smart so that's up unique even Hercules who's known for being the big strong guy had to use his mind to solve problems once or twice same problem with Odysseus's way with words. Quite a few myths involved either a hero or a god using clever wording to get the upper hand on their opponents. As for being funny, I mean don't get me wrong it's a great trait, but it's not exactly the stuff Legends are made of.  which leaves a trait that the goddess of marriage and Families could really appreciate. He's never cheated on his wife. Now, given which version of the myth your talking about it could be argued that he did, but this is the Epic version of the story and Jay has made it clear that Odysseus is the world's biggest simp for his wife  and therefore none of that mess matters. What does matter is that quite a few well-known Heroes are also known to have cheated on their wives something Hera hates as the goddess of marriage. Hercules managed to cheat on not one but two wives which is what ultimately led to his second wife killing him(at Heras not so subtle prompting), despite having been told that his life practically lay in Hera's hands I mean even his name was originally Heracles so like seriously dude did you really think you'd get away with that? Anyway, it's not just Herc who's done this tons of Heroes Have Cheated on their wives in Greek myths (and honestly it made wonders if an in Universe reason for that could be that because Zeus cheated on his wife a bunch of people thought I mean, the king of the Gods does it how bad can it be? Which is really just bad logic but that's a different rant. ), and I mean this is all taking place after the Trojan War which happened because Paris, a man who was already married to a nymph, decided it was totally chill to accept the bribe of  getting to marry an already married woman. Which means that the idea of a hero who remains loyal to his wife after "12 long years" :P of not seeing her or however long it is after you got on Calypso's Island probably like 20 years or something since Telemacas is a young adult by the time Odysseus gets home, is a particularly refreshing concept to the goddess of marriage.

Tldr: Athena is the goddess of wisdom and as such I believe she's attacking this for multiple angles just by using the same words, to get her to think of both her husband and the other Heroes of the time.

[littlesparklight]

this question means no offense really, but i'm confused about why you seem to hate some characters -like achilles- so much, and yet you like Paris (or even ship him with menelaus, despite paris stole his wife and riches). idk, shouldn't people be allowed to like or ship any iliad characters they enjoy? where or when do we make a difference? achilles did a lot of bad stuff but the trojans did bad stuff too and leaving gods aside, the war is pretty much their fault and not the greek heroes. hope this doesn't sound mean but I'm curious!

idk, shouldn't people be allowed to like or ship any iliad characters they enjoy?

Read that again anon.

Does that not apply to me too? Do I anywhere in my rare diatribes against Achilles say people can't like Achilles or ship him? (Some people ship Achilles with Hektor or Briseis, which I'm sure you know. But me liking or shipping Paris with a man he initially got along with before Things Happened is beyond the pale, somehow?)

And no, this doesn't sound mean, necessarily but - look.

I don't very often get into why and how I dislike Achilles, and I never tag my most negative posts (I can't do much if they end up in the tag for naming Achilles in the body of the post because Tumblr is stupid like that; I've not tagged the post, I consider that my due diligence). And you presumably read my most recent post and are... confused? as to why I don't like Achilles? I have had to see so much shit about poor sad Achilles, boo hoo he ~dies so young~ it's unfair and blah blah blah. He chose his fate. He knew what would lead where and chose it and is an awful person and I can not like him if I want to. And talk about why I don't like him on my blog if I want to. Nothing I said in my post yesterday was wrong.

(I don't like Diomedes either, but the majority of the community isn't suffused with ignoring any and all awful things Diomedes did like happens with Achilles. I also don't like Dionysos, but I don't like him in a way that means I am deeply uncomfortable about touching why I don't like him so I don't discuss him.)

And maybe the Trojans and their allies "did bad stuff too" (they're defending themselves!) but they aren't the ones who are sacking cities and enslaving the populations in places that have nothing to do with the city harbouring the man who committed the initial wrong. And perhaps I don't think it's proportional to the crime committed to do what the Achaeans are doing - like, I know why, culturally, it's happening, but the Achaeans CAN go home. At any time! They're the ones involved in a war of aggression even if there is a crime having been committed by someone from the other side underlying why they're there at all.

And again. I don't tag my negative Achilles posts because I do think that's rude, even if I'm not saying anything that's wrong. Do you know the shit I have to see when it comes to Paris, because no one thinks a whit about if anyone who is in the tag might care to see THAT?

[mimisempai]

The beat of your heart soothes me to sleep

Summary

5 times where Loki falls asleep in Mobius' presence and once where Loki helps Mobius to fall asleep.

Answer to an anon prompt request on tumblr

"Loki falling asleep with Mobius around"

As always when it goes on this trope, I got carried away.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32649739

2597 words - Rating G

1.

As Mobius emerged from the shelves of the archives, deserted at this hour of the evening, his gaze fell on the tables, and one table in particular.

The table that reminded him of the first days of his meeting with Loki, and the very first time he had realized how much Loki trusted him.

They were both still in the taming phase at this point in their relationship, each gauging the other's reactions.

They were doing intensive research. Mobius, immersed in the files, had not noticed that Loki had become silent while a few minutes earlier he was commenting on every sentence of what he was looking for. He yawned and at that moment noticed something unimaginable, Loki had fallen asleep.

Moreover, it was not a light nap. From the sound of his steady breathing, it was a deep sleep.

For someone as suspicious as Loki, the fact that he slept in this way in the presence of someone was a miracle in Mobius' eyes.

To sleep in front of someone you barely know. How much trust does that take?

At that moment Mobius knew that something had changed, at least for him.

He didn't know at the time what the future would hold, but before waking him up, Mobius told himself that he would do everything in his power to preserve the trust that Loki seemed to have in him.

Whatever it takes.

He recalled the memory fondly as he stroked the table with one hand in passing, right where Loki had fallen asleep that day.

As he looked up to continue on his way, he was surprised to see Loki waiting for him on the doorstep. He wondered, blushing slightly, if Loki had seen his gesture and if he too remembered.

Mobius didn't have to wonder for long, Loki leaned over, kissed him on the cheek and simply said in his ear, "I remember, too." Then Loki straightened up, took Mobius' hand and added, "Come on love, let's go home."

2.

"Okay, tell me what are the top 3 laws to avoid breaking?"

Loki sitting at his desk, let out a deep sigh before protesting, "Mobiuus, I can't take it anymore, you've been making me repeat the laws and workings of the TVA for two hours."

Mobius replied firmly, "Even if you think you don't need them, it's important that you know them, you're going to be responsible for training recruits in the field and while I have no doubt about your teaching skills, you'll be a role model and as such you-"

"Do not disrupt the flow of time," Loki began to enumerate in a sullen voice.

Mobius smiled fondly and nodded approvingly as Loki continued, "Avoid time travel and do not contact people in the past to save them from their future."

Loki yawned ostensibly to show his annoyance.

"Perfect!" replied Mobius who walked away from the desk as he spoke, "Now we will review some of the punishable crimes by the TVA, such as time theft, time misconduct, or time jumps that can destabilize the continuity of space-time. What can you tell me about that last one, Loki?"

Silence answered him.

"Loki, stop being a child and answer," said Mobius in a slightly irritated tone.

Still no reaction. Mobius turned around and couldn't help but smile at the sight in front of his eyes.

Loki had fallen asleep, his head on his arms crossed on the desk.

Mobius approached and looked with tenderness at the black locks that had slid down his lover's face, the little puffs of air that came out of his mouth and made the sheets of paper in front of him tremble, but above all the look of complete surrender.

Mobius shook his head and looked around before finding what he was looking for. He went to grab a blanket folded on the arm of a chair in the corner of the room. He unfolded it and laid it gently on Loki's shoulders. He leaned over, placed a kiss on Loki's head and whispered in his ear, "I'll come back later..."

Loki answered with a groan under Mobius' amused look.

3.

"According to Hesiod, Eris is the daughter of Nyx and gives birth alone, like her mother, to many children, all evil. She is the relentless Discord, both companion and sister of the murderer Ares, who at first rises timidly, but soon touches the sky with her forehead and treads the earth with her feet. The most famous story of Eris tells that she started the Trojan War by provoking the Judgment of Paris. The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite had been invited, along with the rest of Olympus, to the forced nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, who would become the parents of Achilles, but Eris had been dismissed because of her tendencies to cause trouble.So she gives birth to the worst calamities and seems to announce the apocalypse."

Mobius paused in his reading as he felt Loki fidgeting, shaking his head in Mobius' lap. They were enjoying what was probably one of Mobius' favorite activities since they had been living together.Loki lying on the couch, his head in Mobius' lap while Mobius read aloud, one hand in Loki's hair or in Loki's hand on his chest.

Loki, surprised to learn that Greek and Roman mythologies had many similarities with Norse mythology, had asked Mobius to read him the story of the goddess Eris, Loki's Greek equivalent.

"Of course, there's nothing good about my Greek equivalent!" snapped Loki. "Whatever our origin, we can only do evil."

Mobius grabbed Loki's chin to turn his face upward and said in a scolding tone, "Loki, I thought you knew by now that this was not the case. That you didn't have to live up to this destiny. After all this time, you still don't believe it? You still don't believe me?"

Loki sighed and took hold of the hand that held his chin and intertwined his fingers with it, "Of course I believe you, it's just hearing that, brings back memories that taste bitter."

Mobius leaned over, pressed a kiss to Loki's mouth and resumed reading. "I think you'll like the next part... Eris is also the one Zeus sends to awaken the fighting spirit of the warlords so that they will throw themselves into battle.She is therefore also the goddess of emulation.  Eris is a portal that opens to individual energies. It generates the pioneers, to move the collective energies. She unconsciously forces us to take a direction, to take a path."

"Hm you're right," Loki interrupted him, "I really like that. "Go on."

Mobius chuckled and continued, "Eris forces action, reaction.  Eris causes chaos to prepare the necessary future mutation. Eris is a trigger, a revealer. She participates in the tragedy of life."

"Hmmm..."

"Loki?"

Mobius felt Loki's head get heavier on his lap and Loki's hand clutching his own slowly loosened its grip. He leaned forward a little to see that Loki had fallen asleep. This was no longer a rare occurrence, but it never ceased to amaze Mobius as to its deeper meaning. He pulled the plaid that was at the end of the couch over Loki's legs, taking care not to wake him up, then resumed his reading.

"Eris turns our lives upside down, plunging us into chaos. If she spreads mischief through all, she also throws the trouble in oneself. It is to open a new way. A new life where we will never be the same again."

These last sentences made Mobius smile, because this is exactly what Loki had done in his life. He had opened a new life for Mobius that had changed him forever, for the better.

He closed the book carefully and put it on the armrest. Carding his fingers gently in Loki's hair, who purred in response, he let himself be lulled by the sweetness of the moment and fell asleep in turn.

4.

"I am exhausted, ex-haus-ted!" exclaimed Loki as he entered their apartment.

Mobius, busy preparing the meal, watched him enter the kitchen, smiling at his lover's antics as Loki continued to talk while undressing.

8 hours training new recruits in combat techniques combined with magic!  8 hours! Mobius you are the boss, you could do something!"

He had arrived in front of Mobius, planted a kiss on his lips before continuing to unbutton his shirt without giving him a chance to respond. "I'm going to shower and come eat, love."

Mobius followed him with his eyes and shook his head before returning to the dinner preparation.

Later, sitting at the table, they ate dinner and talked about their day. Loki was much calmer and more relaxed after showering.

Although the training had indeed exhausted him, Loki was nonetheless enthusiastic about his students' progress. But towards the end of the meal, as Mobius told an anecdote about one of his day's events, he saw that he was losing Loki's attention. His head was nodding as he visibly struggled against sleep.

"Loki, sweetheart, let me put the dishes away and you go to bed, I can see you're really exhausted," Mobius said in a gentle tone.

Loki didn't protest, got up and gave Mobius a gentle hug before saying, "Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve someone as caring as you."

To which Mobius replied, "Nothing, you're just you and I'm just me."

Loki smiled and gave him one last kiss before walking off to their room like a robot.

Mobius went to put the dishes away, turned off the lights and headed for their room. When he entered he was surprised to see Loki sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Loki?"

Receiving no answer, he walked over to find that Loki had fallen asleep like that. He must have really been exhausted.

"Loki, sweetheart, you should go to bed."

Loki groaned in response. Mobius laughed silently. He opened the sheets, gently helped Loki to lie down, carefully removed his sweatpants and T-shirt, Loki malleable as a disarticulated doll in his arms. The degree of trust and acceptance that Loki had in his arms was something new for Mobius every time. Something absolutely extraordinary.

Mobius laid down beside him, covered them both before taking Loki in his arms and after a tender kiss on his forehead, let himself be carried away by sleep.

5.

Loki knocked gently on Mobius' office door before poking his head through the doorway.

"Ready to go home?"

Mobius looked up from his work sheepishly and replied, "Loki, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be able to leave right away, I have some urgent reports due tomorrow, so I'll be staying late. It's not even worth waiting for me."

Loki didn't hold it against him, he walked over to him, took his face in his hands, kissed him gently before pretending to wipe the creases on Mobius' forehead with his fingers. "Don't worry like that, love, take as much time as you need. I'll leave you a piece of dinner in the fridge for when you get home."

"Thank you for being so understanding."

"You're welcome." replied Loki as he walked away.

Mobius followed him with a grateful smile on his lips before getting back to work.

Three hours later he walked through the door of their apartment, the living room was in darkness except for a small lamp lit near the armchair where Loki was sitting.

He gasped as he approached, Loki was sleeping, that was something he was used to, but what surprised him was that Loki was wearing one of his shirts. Mobius swallowed when he saw that he wasn't wearing any pants, just the shirt and his underwear, bare feet curled under him on the chair. He looked so vulnerable like that, that Mobius' throat tightened. Mobius crouched down in front of the chair and lightly placed his hand on Loki's bare knee so as not to startle him as he called softly, "Loki... Sweetheart... our bed is much more comfortable to sleep in."

Loki's eyes flickered before slowly opening, a smile lighting up his face when he saw Mobius.

"Mobius, you're finally home."

Mobius nodded, stood up and held out his hand to Loki, "Come on, the bed is more comfortable."

He accompanied him to their room, watched him go to bed before going to get ready for the night, also feeling exhausted.

A few moments later, he joined Loki in their bed. He lay on his back and Loki came closer, resting his head on his chest and wrapping his arm around his stomach.

"Loki..." Mobius had a question burning in his mind.

"Hm..."

"Why are you wearing my shirt?"

Loki cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed, "I tried to fall asleep in our bed, but without you I couldn't, so I thought if I wore something of yours, maybe I could, but no, the bed is too big without you, so instead I waited for you in the living room, and finally fell asleep in the chair."

Mobius tightened his arm around Loki's shoulders and said in a voice hoarse with emotion, "you can go to sleep now, I'm here, sweetheart."

Loki snuggled up to him in approval and it wasn't long before Mobius felt the weighted head and steady breath against him, which in turn lulled Mobius into a deep sleep.

+1.

Mobius sat at the kitchen counter, clutching a cup of tea. He couldn't stop shivering.

It was the middle of the night,  it was half past two in the morning. He had been awakened by a nightmare and could not get back to sleep. He didn't want to wake Loki, so he came to the kitchen to try to calm down with a cup of tea.

The nightmares of Mobius were often the same, reminiscences of the lives that he had erased in the name of the previous TVA. It was often the conversation with Sylvie that came back to haunt him.

"All that time, I really believed we were the good guys."

"Annihilating entire realities, orphaning little girls, classic hero stuff."

Of course Mobius had never thought of himself as a hero, but he thought he was doing good and now realized how blind he had been.

And it was hard because there was no way to make amends, no way to redeem himself, because most of the people he had taken had ended up in the void and had not survived Alioth. At night Mobius could not think beyond the throbbing pain of guilt.

Suddenly, hands rested gently on his shoulders.

"Mobius? Are you okay?"

Then without waiting for an answer the hands slid forward and Mobius found himself with Loki's chest pressed against his back and Loki's chin resting on his head.

"I had another nightmare," he whispered, hoarse and vulnerable. Loki hummed, moved back and gently rubbed the back of Mobius' neck..

"Come back to bed with me," Loki's voice was warm and sleepy. Loving. Soothing. He took the cup from Mobius, discarding the now cold tea and rinsing the cup, before taking Mobius' hands and dragging him towards their room. Loki made him lie down before tightening his arms and legs around Mobius who in turn tightened his arms around Loki.

"Thank you," he whispered into Loki's soft hair.

Loki simply tightened his arms around him, and said softly, "Sleep my love, I am here, this time I am the one protecting you."

Mobius fell asleep, a dreamless sleep, only aware of Loki's presence shielding him from the world and from himself.

Beloved.

________

Whole series of one shot here : X

As always, bear with me as it is not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[bacchilles]

JUST HAD TROJAN WAR CLASS AGAIN SO MORE SUCCESSION THOUGHTS

edit: this got longer than i expected it but tl;dr i think Waystar Royco is going to burn to the ground because Succession is a greek tragedy with thematic roots that go back to Bronze Age monarchical succession practices

ok so ancient (im talkin bronze age) succession practices in the Mycenaean (Greek) kingdoms were different from Hittite (empire in Anatolia/N. Syria) succession in that it was probably common for the Mycenaeans to hand on their kingdoms to the son-in-law rather than their actual sons, whereas the Hittites generally went with bloodline. this may have been the reason for the historical Trojan War but we dont have time to unpack all that. we can see some examples in Greek mythology of how the Mycenaeans may have understood bloodline succession to lead to destruction of the state because of the violence that it engenders. take Orestes and Oedipus, for example. Orestes killed his mother, Klytemaistra, and her lover, Aigisthos, in order to succeed his father Agamemnon as king of Mycenae rather than going out and winning a contest for some other king’s daughter, like other kings before him had done (think Menelaus and Helen, or Meleager and Atalanta). Oedipus killed his father and married his mother to become king of Thebes, and his sons killed each other trying to succeed him. There’s also a true to life example in Rome during the empire: the five good emperors of the 1st/2nd centuries CE passed along the imperial seat through adopting people they thought would be suited to the job, and then Marcus Aurelius ruined it by passing the power to his actual son, Commodus, who was a hot fucking mess. by having son-in-laws succeed as king rather than actual sons, rulers could better choose who was going to run their kingdom correctly after they died instead of just hoping they didn’t raise their kid to be evil.

now, Succession already has some clear elements of this; just look at Kendall “killing” his father, Logan. they aren’t subtle about the comparison. it’s fairly clear that Kendall is going to try taking over the company just as he tried in season one. however, even if Kendall does take the throne, that doesn’t mean things will be fixed according to the Greek narrative. just as Oedipus’ sons fought amongst themselves, the family will inevitably continue to backstab one another until they tear themselves apart. it is vital that an outside influence must step in. it’s the only way to keep the community - or in this case, the business - from bringing its own demise upon itself. as mentioned, this would normally be the son-in-law.

this is where Succession gets weird. the easy answer to this problem is Tom Wambsgans, if we stick to the Mycenaean belief. he didn’t grow up in the shadow of Waystar, but he grew up with money; he won the contest for Shiv’s hand in marriage; he has experience working for the company. HOWEVER! the split between Tom and Shiv means that Tom doesn’t have that family tie anymore. he’s a total outsider now, without that ever-important marriage-alliance. so, Succession starts to turn these ideas on their heads. instead of the bloodline sons looking to find their kingdoms elsewhere, Shiv is the one who courted other options like Gil’s campaign (which would’ve put her in a very powerful position in the event of his success) and PGM. Tom was never really considered to be part of the equation, even though he thought he was. this also goes along with succession’s use of Shiv’s internalized misogyny, as she plays the “male” role in that scenario. basically, the son-in-law has been sidelined; the tragic narrative structure now demands destruction.

where does Greg fit into all of this, though? what do you do with a cousin of royalty, especially when society has now realized that oh, whoops, incest isn’t okay, actually? my tomgreg heart says that Greg could function as a “son” to Kendall (because of blood ties) and then Tom could come back to his role as son-in-law, but if i’m being honest with myself, that’s a big stretch. also, Greg has played an active role in bringing Waystar down, despite being an estranged member of the family. Thus, Greg is more like Paris coming to Troy than Menelaus coming to Sparta. According to fragments of Euripides’ lost play Alexandros, Paris comes to Troy as a long-lost family member, wins a contest, and thus takes his rightful place in the royal family. Then, destruction rains down on the city as a result of his ensuing actions against the Greeks. Thus, Waystar becomes both Mycenae and Troy, simultaneously. Paris allies with Orestes, and they kill Agamemnon. Bloodlines kill the king, and doom the city with it.

Because of this, I think that - if this is really what Jesse Armstrong is doing - Succession has to end with the fall of Waystar Royco. I’m not talking absorbed by another company or something: it has to be obliterated. Razed. Burned to the ground, no survivors. Will that be what happens? Obviously, I don’t know. I’d personally love to see Greg take over in the end, but I don’t think that’s realistic. It’s a convoluted, fucked up modern tragedy, and it’s going to be INCREDIBLY fun to watch how it all plays out in the end.

[godsofhumanity]

TROY: FALL OF A CITY (2018) | REVIEW

aight so i just finished watching Netflix’s Troy: Fall of a City. once again, i’m here to give y’all my two cents about this absolutely heart-wrenching show. spoilers under the cut!!

OVERVIEW: Troy: Fall of a City is an adaption of Homer’s Iliad, the Greek epic that explores the Trojan War. The series covers Paris’ journey as he decides who is the most beautiful from the goddesses Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, and then follows his fate to find the most beautiful woman on Earth- Helen.

RATING: 9.5/10. i don’t cry when i watch shows or films, but holy shit.. i was moved to almost tears. honestly really really liked this show, it was well done. 100% recommend to anyone 18+ yrs, because some themes are extremely graphic.

WARNING: this show contains depictions of animal mutilation, infanticide, and just general violence and gore.

AVAILABLE ON: netflix

THINGS I LIKED:

- the way most of the characters were portrayed. although the cast wasn’t greek, i still feel like the actors did a marvellous job. it was easy to feel sorry or to hate certain characters.

- storyline flowed really easily. although there were many stories trying to be covered at the same time- Paris, Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Cassandra, Helen, etc., it didn’t feel forced. even someone who didn’t already know the story could watch this show and be like “oh yeah this makes sense”.

- costuming. i’m not sure how accurate it was, but the sets and the costumes looked amazing. the trojan horse in the last episode in particular was a favourite.

- soundtrack. it matched the show perfectly. it was energetic and then melancholic at all the right times.

- even when characters made really tough and heartbreaking decisions (i’m talking about you @ odysseus), you still felt sorry and sympathetic for them. this might just be me, but as someone who loves both Hector and Achilles, i still couldn’t find it in myself to hate either of them, because both sides of the story were really nicely explained- it didn’t feel biased.

- the heartbreak. the scenes where odysseus kills andromache’s son, when achilles kills hector, hector kills patroclus, and paris kills achilles- these scenes were so moving and sickening at the same time- there were so many emotions at once, it really was insane. few shows portray these scenes as well as they were done in this show.

- cassandra. cassandra didn’t have too much screen time in this show, but i really liked how she was portrayed. they didn’t cover apollo’s involvement with cursing her, but it was so sad to see her warning everyone and everyone (except hector) was like “whateva 4eva”.

- Hector naming his son after a child soldier who died.......... Hector you are so good.. we literally did not deserve you

- i think my favourite characters would have to be: Hector, Andromache, Odysseus, Achilles, Pandarus, Priam & Hecuba. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

- portrayal of the gods. for clarity’s sake, they omitted the fact that it was Eris who had begun the battle of the beauties in the first place, and instead made it out to be that Zeus had somehow pitted them against each other so that fate could be fulfilled?? idk. i didn’t like it, it was a little ambiguous.

- going on from the above point, i don’t think any of the gods looked like gods. they looked like regular mortals?? it was kind of a let down.

- Patroclus begging for mercy when Hector killed him???? hello???? he’s a warrior, he should have gone down with dignity.

- related to Patroclus’ death scene- Achilles’ wrath felt unjustified in a way, because Patroclus wore Achilles’ armour, so Hector thought he was killing Achilles. Hector had NO IDEA that it was actually Patroclus, and even when the armour got pulled off he was like “wait what why did u let him do that achilles?” and then Achilles went off the shits about it?? like maybe you should have listened to Patroclus and fought instead of sulking in your tent and then getting angry that your bf was killed by the enemy!!!!!! GRRR!!!! hector ily <3

- i hate helen. this isn’t really something that the show did, i just never liked her and i wanted to say it >:(

- the introduction of the Amazons was a little rushed. they were introduced in the second last episode, and the justification for the Amazonians’ hatred of the Myrmidons was just that Achilles had killed a few of their gals in battle??? that’s literally what happens in a war! people die! idk, it just felt like a poor excuse. also really disliked the Amazon Queen’s haircut. really bad.

- in the beginning episodes, King Priam and Queen Hecuba seem to be at odds with each other over the return of Paris, and they keep talking about how they were cursed by the gods, and that they should forgive themselves or something, but it’s never gone into detail about what exactly it was that they did to get themselves cursed :/

[maskedlady]

things people who haven’t read/studied the homeric poems should know

the iliad isn’t about ten years of war. it’s about fifty-one days from the last year of war. more than nine years have passed since the beginning. neither the recruit of achilles or odysseus nor aulis nor the sacrifice of iphigenia nor the trojan horse and not even achilles’ death feature in it. it actually ends with hector’s burial.

similarly, the odyssey starts during the tenth year of odysseus’ travels, when he leaves the island of the nymph calypso who had kept him there for eight years. while the story of his travels is actually there, it’s a massive flashback that odysseus himself narrates.

odysseus actually only travels circa one year, if you subtract the seven years spent on ogigia, the one year with circe, the various months and bits they camped in other places.

part of the odyssey is actually about odysseus’ son, telemachos, and his quest to find his father. also another part is about odysseus returning to ithaca and killing a bunch of princes who were trying to usurp his throne.

the aeneid is not a homeric poem. it’s styled on the homeric model, but it was written in latin by a roman poet, and the protagonist is technically one of the antagonists from the iliad.

homer never existed.

he isn’t a historical figure, he is a name with a legend attached, to whom these poems are attributed. the poems were written—no, not even written, composed orally by a series of unnamed aoidoi (hm... ministrels?) through the ages.

in fact this is quite obvious when you read the iliad. there are a lot of inconsistencies, like frequent style changes, chapters that have nothing to do with anything else and no influence on the story whatsoever, strange time lapses—at some point it’s midday twice the same day

it is thought that all of these separate fragments were then collected and organized by one person, and this version was then handed down, orally, until the first written edition around 520 b.c.

the mycenean civilization that these poems originate from ended in 1200 b.c. circa

the odyssey was initially part of a whole group of nestoi, aka “return poems”, that were basically the tales of the return of each hero from troy. the odyssey is the only one that remains, though we do know something about the others too from other pieces of greek literature

a warning for the interested. these poems are a pain to read. they are delightful but they are a pain. they were composed orally so they are full of epithets, descriptions, metaphors and similitudes. these acted as fillers to help the aedo of turn reach the length of the verse, make the various characters more recognizable, and also make the poems more comprehensible to the general public, composed mostly of common people who had never actually been in a battle—so battles and duels are often compared to more familiar scenes, like fights between animals.

no i’m not joking

there is one in particular where the screeching army of trojans coming down the hill is compared to cranes migrating over the oceans.

also, the duel between hector and patroclus is one of the “compared to animal fights” scene

when odysseus is about to drown, he talks to his own heart. possibly because it sounds slightly less crazy and more Romantic than just directly talking to oneself.

helen insults paris real often. hector berates him both internally and publicly. in fact everyone insults paris. paris is the local coward and scapegoat. deservedly. i rejoice

everybody loves patroclus. all the kings hate each other but everyone loves him—so much so that they risk their lives over his corpse 

which, mind me, wasn’t something that special in and of itself. it was important to retrieve comrades’ corpses because if the enemy got ahold of your body he’d leave it to rot and be devoured by dogs and crows, which was a huge dishonour (and also possibly barred you from entrance to the afterlife)

so much so that the ancient greek version of “go to hell” is eis korakas, “to the crows” (“may you die, lie unburied, and your body be eaten by crows”)

at some point they hold a truce (possibly several times) so they’ll have the time to collect, burn and bury all the fallen soldiers. 

back to patroclus because i got sidetracked: still. this time it is kind of a big deal because the literal centre of the fighting after patroclus dies is all the major greek heroes playing tug-o-war against hector and his brothers with patroclus’ corpse. the centre of the fighting, people, this is no joke

at some point someone is sent to tell achilles that his lover’s body is in danger so he better get out of your sulk, hurry up and come help the rest of us

achilles going armour-less to the battlefield and screaming for patroclus is enough to send the trojans running.

i am sure that all of you know this but the reason achilles doesn’t have armour is that when hector kills patroclus he takes achilles’ armour, that patroclus was wearing, as spoils of war

so an entire book after that is devoted to hephaestus forging achilles new, better armour so he can actually fight again

look, it is not actually stated that they were lovers, but it’s obvious. in greek culture especially. that was the norm and italian school teachers can get over it and stop omitting it from lessons and school books any time now

odysseus isn’t actually an asshole. sure, a lot of his misadventures were caused by him being too curious and disregarding his comrades’ advice *cough*cyclops*cough* but most of the most destructive events were caused by them disregarding his orders.

“do not kill and eat the sacred cows of apollo! he’d kill us.” guess what they did. guess how it ended 

or when they stopped by eolos’ island. eolos, god of the winds, gave odysseus a flask with all the adverse winds imprisoned inside, leaving free only the one that he needed to take him to ithaca. they got so, so very near, and then odysseus fell asleep and the others opened the thing because they thought there was more treasure inside it, and all the winds came out and blew them halfway across the mediterranean

athena often glamours odysseus to look younger and prettier or older and then again younger. it’s amazing because he always looks either like an old beggar (for camouflage) or like a young and handsome man.

do some maths. at the beginning of the war he must’ve been at least twenty. + ten years of war. + ten years of travel. at the end of the odyssey he is at least forty. by ancient standards that was not young.

odysseus’ whole voyage is basically a pissing contest between poseidon and athena. actually between poseidon and the rest of the gods. poseidon hates him and all the other gods take turns helping him.

odysseus is not an asshole, but the greeks probably considered him a shitty character, because he was clever, shrewd, and the only survivor of his community. the greeks really insisted on the concept of community, the individual doesn’t have worth in and of themself but as a part of society. this is particularly evident when he gets to the cyclops, who are the very antithesis of the greek man, described as uncivilized and living in isolation without assemblies or laws. a lot of emphasis is put on the fact that they live outside of a community.

alternatively, the difference between the iliad and the odyssey (and their respective heroes) signifies the change in greek culture, from the warrior myceneans to commerce and voyage: odysseus represents the victory of intelligence over force, and his qualities are the characteristics, for example, of a merchant

i should perhaps point out that the odyssey was composed much later than the iliad, which is also the reason it has a more complex structure (begins with the gods + telemachos’ quest, we first see odysseus on ogigia, then he recounts his whole voyage in a long flashback triggered by a bard at a feast singing about the trojan war)

oh look i got sidetracked again

back to the trivia!

do not be fooled by madeline miller. patroclus was indeed a warrior, and a very good one at that. and briseis was indeed achilles’ lover, and loved him (that is explicitly stated).

odysseus might have loved penelope but that does not mean he did not sleep around with every woman he met

circe. calypso (by whom he is imprisoned for seven years). and nausicaa princess of the phaeacians falls in love with him. this is engineered by athena 

i don’t think he actually sleeps with her but athena does make him look younger and prettier so she’ll be smitten and welcome him at the palace and give him a bunch of gifts and eventually a ship to take him back to ithaca

in the poem named after him, his own poem, odysseus is always the stranger, the guest, or the beggar.

or all three.

or all three, but it’s a lie and he’s actually at home, the king returned.

despite the iliad being about one and a half months and the odyssey being more than a year + more time taken up by other characters, the iliad is about one and a half times the odyssey.

more to come (maybe)

[almond-lebkuchen]

Shakespeare Route Summary Chapter 11.

Here’s chapter 11. Spoilers below the line break.

The day after the MC agrees to the deal, Will and the MC go to Comte to tell him that she’s planning to stay with Shakespeare. Will creates the excuse that the reason he wants her to live with him is that he was inspired by her at the Masquerade ball and wants her help for a new play idea about the tragedy of love between a vampire and a human. He tells Comte that he will make sure to give her back before the night of the full moon when she needs to return.

Comte ask the MC if this is something she’s sure she wants, and if she really wants to live with Will. The MC hesitates for a moment, really just wanting to spill the beans and tell Comte everything. Then she feels Will���s hand over hers, the one that he bit and she steels herself. She knows that she can’t say or do anything like that because it would put the whole mansion in danger, since she doesn’t know anything about the supposed person that can revive people just like Comte. Shakespeare pushes her to answer the question, so she replies that yes, she’s sure. She says that Will is very talented and she wants to work hard to be able to help him. Comte says that if that’s her choice, he’ll let her go, but he’d be a little lonely without her. Then he tells her that he wishes to speak to Will alone, that in the meantime she can talk with the other residents. Will tells the MC to wait for him, he’ll pick her up later. The MC leaves, and Comte and Shakespeare stare at each other for a bit. Comte brings up his concerns, and tells him that he’s been worried about Shakespeare ever since he left the Mansion. He adds a mysterious saying, that “The criminal investigation against Will didn’t go anywhere.” Will doesn’t say anything about this.

Meanwhile the MC is in the dining room with Sebastian, Theo, and Vincent. The MC apologizes to Sebastian for leaving him. Theo frowns, and asks her if she’s sane for wanting to leave here to help with Will’s play. Sebastian interjects, and tells her that everyone would definitely miss her, such as Isaac who really enjoyed her sandwiches, and Mozart, who praised her for cleaning the piano room so well. Sebastian tells her that even though she wasn’t here for long, she really integrated here. Vincent says that he’ll visit as often as could, as well as everyone. The MC turns him down, saying that he’s probably very busy as everyone else. She thinks about how she doesn’t want anyone to get too close because she doesn’t know what Shakespeare will do.

Then Theo speaks up again, and asks her if Will is doing something to make her want to do this, and what her real reason for staying there is. The MC is surprised, and flounders for a bit, but at that moment, Will walks in. Shakespeare smiles gaily at everyone and moves the MC behind him a bit. Shakespeare laughs, saying that he feels like the cause of the Trojan war, when Paris stole away Helena.

Theo doesn’t buy this however, and goes up to Will. He tells him angrily that “if he does anything to this dog, he’ll kill him.” Will laughs this off and tells the MC that it’s time to go, and together they leave, with MC looking back at them.

They take a carriage all the way to the suburbs of Paris, where Will’s house is. He lets her in and tells her to relax, as since she’s living there, it’s her place as well. He gives her a small tour before leading her to his room. He points to his bed and tells her that she’ll be sleeping there in his bed from now on.

He tells her that “let’s use this bed together.” The MC is absolutely shocked, and immediately says no. He just smiles and tells her that she wanted to keep a close eye on him, so isn’t it normal that they eat and sleep together? Then Will pushes her down on his bed and gets quite close to her. He tells her that at night, he can even treat her at night as a distraction for her. The MC snaps at him, telling him that this wasn’t in the contract and pushes against his chest, telling him to let her go. Will laughs, and gets up. He says that he was only teasing her, and that she is quite pure. He lets her up and brings her to a different room, and tells her that’s her actual bedroom.

He says he used to use it to store things in  here, but she can use it as her bedroom. The MC notes at how even though it’s a storage room, it’s quite clean, and there’s a new bed and furniture. Shakespeare smiles and tells her that much is obvious, as he’s not the kind of man that would make her sleep somewhere cheap. Then he walks up close to her, and the MC immediately backs up warily. Will tells her not to be scared, and kisses her bitten hand. At the end of the scene, he tells her that he wants to improve their relationship.

fin. Sorry, that was a loooot of info, i might have overdone it a bit lol. Theo makes me soft with how he makes sure the MC is okay. And Will seems to be a huge tease I love him.

Next chapter link:

[ofmenoetius]

✖ ▒ OH, WHAT A COINCIDENCE! i was just thinking of [ PATROCLUS SON OF MENOETIUS ]. most swear their resemblance to [ SEAN TEALE ] is unmistakable, but he has / they have been around since the [ BRONZE AGE ]. it is rumoured that the [ DEMIBOY ] was born in [ OPUS ] in the year [ 1205 BC ], even though they don’t look a day over [ THIRTY ]. what a shame, though: they were once famed for being [ HONEST ] and [ PASSIONATE ] ; yet now, they seem more and more [ RESERVED ] and [ MERCURIAL ]. but while [ PATROCLUS ] spends their days working as a [ HARPIST FOR THE LONDINIUM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ], they are already notorious around town for [ UNSENT LOVE LETTERS ADDRESSED TO NO ONE ; BANDAGED FINGERS AND CALLOUSED HANDS ; A BEAT UP OLD FLIP PHONE ; THE FAINT SCENT OF COFFEE AND CARDAMOM ]. when you live forever, you might as well make the most of it. 

hi, hello –– i’m bella + also the worst !! this is my baby patroclus who’s one part powerpuff girl, two parts physical embodiment of the eyeroll, and generally just has really bad frown lines from being in a Bad Mood for like thousands of years or whatever. ( will not get botox sadly, someone convince him ) anyway –– i am here for every single plot of every single kind !! just like this and / or hmu on discord @ halaldaddy#3725 !!

TASK ONE : THE RUNDOWN

▼ STATISTICS.

full name: patroclus, son of menoetius.

moniker / nickname: officially goes by patrick in 2020, and he has the fake ids to prove it. generally isn’t the biggest fan of nicknames. 

titles: tbd.

gender && pronouns: demi-boy && he / him + they / them. 

dob && age: april 24th, 1205 BC && really old –– about 3224 years old, give or take, but he’s been thirty for a really long time. 

place of birth: opus, greece. 

previous residences: opus, athens, larissa, cape town, cardiff, inverness, paris, milan, caracas, && londinium –– in that order. 

zodiac sign: taurus. 

ethnicity: white && venezuelan. 

sexual orientation: demisexual. 

romantic orientation: homoromantic. 

occupational history: perpetual soldier, squire, orange farmer, lutist, revolutionary, boxer, harpist. among others. 

▼ PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

face claim: sean teale.

height: 185 cm && 6′2. 

physical build: mesomorph && visibly muscular && painfully straight back from years of his father’s voice still stuck in his head. ( it’s 2020, maybe he really should go to therapy for his daddy issues, but how do you tell a therapist your dad died before the trojan war ?? asking for a friend. )

eye colour and shape: dark brown && hooded, really long lashes which he does oil at night && also lines his eyes with kohl. it’s habit. 

hair colour and style: dark, cropped, usually trimmed neatly. 

usual expression: bored, reluctant smile.

accent and speech style: heavily accented english, but it’s impossible to pin down where he might be from. speaks spanish and greek with more ease than he does english.

distinguishing marks / characteristics: both ear lobes pierced, gold studs in both. a shield tattooed on his left flank. plenty of scars –– one across his right eyebrow, scarred && calloused hands, a very large scar that refused to heal right on his left shoulder. 

clothing style: anything he can find, really ; athletic for the most part, but smart button-downs ( always button-downs, never button ups ) for work. 

jewellery and accessories: a thin, gold chain around his neck ; his an engraved ring hangs from it, tucked away. a deliberate collection of rings on his fingers: a curved edge, yellow gold signet ring from a third-generation foundry in greece ; a classic medusa ring picked up in florence during the renaissance ; a turquoise inlaid silver signet ring ; a silver plated band, worn on his left thumb.

▼ FAMILY.

father: menoetius, deceased ( thank fuck ). 

mother: philomela, deceased. 

siblings, if any: myrto, his sister. 

extended relations: none that he knows. 

significant other(s): achilles && only achilles. it could only ever be achilles.

children: none, except his –– 

household pet(s): he has two tabby cats named menelaus and ajax ( just a little fun joke for himself, okay –– don’t @ him. ) 

▼ FAVOURITES.

colour: gold ; every shade. 

weather: storms –– it reminds him of mornings spent inside, the air sticky and humid, sweat on his upper lip and a laugh on his tongue. 

food item: he’s a vegetarian –– he always has been, especially since he didn’t always have food, especially during the 1100s. so yeah, patroclus isn’t exactly picky –– anything veg and vaguely edible’s fine –– but he does love a vegan burger ( normal cheese, please ). the perks of the 21st century. okay, and he loves green olives. 

beverage: he’s a stereotype, he loves red wine. ( fine, he hates wine –– he likes tequila. )

time of day: late at night, late enough that the streets are quiet and the air feels thin and he can breathe deeply. 

television genre: not that patroclus has time to watch tv –– plus he’s got one of those old picture tube tvs from the dinosaur era –– but he loves a good underwater documentary. and shark week. and the history channel –– he likes to catch what they got wrong. 

favourite era lived: he’d do anything to go back to the day before he died –– anything. to say a proper goodbye, to say all the very many things he’d never said because he thought he had all the time in the world. but also, he really loved the ‘70s in londinium.

▼ PERSONALITY.

hobbies: boxing && reading && falling asleep in the sun. 

pet peeves: people talking in circles && liars. 

phobias: patroclus doesn’t like drowning. he’s died of drowning once && come back from it, but he absolutely hated it. he’ll take anything over it. 

allergies: coffee. which is fine, because patroclus likes green tea anyway. ( well, green tea with like three whole spoonfuls of honey. )

mbti type: isfj – t.

enneagram type: 

35% the challenger.

48% the skeptic.

22% the peacemaker.

positive traits: passionate && honest && loyal && dependable.

negative traits: reserved && mercurial && blunt && pessimistic && headstrong && forlorn.

morning routine: goes for a run every morning before dawn, goes to a boxing class, has breakfast at the bookshop on the way home, and gets to work at least an hour early. it’s boring and it’s too familiar and patroclus wouldn’t change it –– he’d rather have predictable than the alternative. he’s tired of losing people and places and old routines, so he’s holding on to this one until he has to move again in another twenty years.

beauty routine: nothing really ; patroclus keeps his beard neat and his hair trimmed. he oils and curls his lashes, oils his beard. he misses baths –– big baths that you could sit in and just stay in until you pruned. but he only has a shower in his apartment now. 

sleeping habits: patroclus hasn’t slept through the night since before his first death ; nowadays, it’s a few hours of sleep at a time, and plenty of nightmares to keep him company. the good thing is, he’s very used to waking up early –– rather than tossing and turning or watching his ceiling until dawn, he’s up and out of bed. 

oldest belonging: he doesn’t have anything –– nothing. patroclus always leaves things behind, always. it’s easier that way. and sure, he regrets it sometimes. but there’s no use crying over the past, right? not when he has an endless future. 

living space && home: it’s small –– it’s really small. but it has bay windows, a shitty little terrace with doors that the wind knocks open, and plants everywhere. there’s a kingsize mattress on the ground, one set of sheets total and they’re made of cotton-silk. orange, of course.  

INTRODUCTION : tw death ; tw war .

his childhood wasn’t pretty. patroclus was born too skinny, too weak –– maybe not sickly, but he wasn’t wanted. he wasn’t loved. he was born into a war, and his war was his father. his war was his father’s shame. so when he killed another by accident –– in anger, in frustration, by mistake –– his father was more than happy to ship him off ; and somehow, that was the greatest gift his father could have ever given him. thanks, dad. 

it’s been so long, everything feels like a dream. it feels too sunlit and too warm to the touch. it feels too easy. and sure, he can’t remember all that much about it. but he remembers achilles. he remembers being so happy that he felt sick to his stomach. but he doesn’t remember hector’s knife in his stomach or dying that very first time. but he remembers waking up to hades in the underworld, and he remembers the sickening realisation that he could never go back ever again –– he was here, and he was alive, and he still had to leave everything he once knew behind. 

patroclus didn’t want money or fame ; he’d only ever wanted a love to call his own and a place to call his home. and since he’d lost both already, he was tired. so he went off to work on an orange farm, right at the edge of the world –– or well, the edge of his world. he was still in greece, news travelling to them every few months or years, and it was alright. he was away from the rest of the world, labouring under the cruel sun and sleeping into the cool night, and waking up to do it all over again. he smiled at the kids on his way into town and gave them an armful of oranges each. and then when people began to wonder whywhywhy he wasn’t aging, patroclus moved on to the next village –– and then the next, and then the next. 

it was 1465 + he was in florence when he saw a lute again –– a laugh escaping him before he could start to remember when he last laughed out loud. it reminded him of home, of a long time ago. so he began to play for money and food and a place to stay. and it took him all over the world –– meeting people who’d die before he’d reach his next destination and learning things he’d never be able to forget. 

going to war became a habit. the crusades, the gallic wars, the jacobite rising, the war of the roses, the french revolution, the seven weeks war, world war i, the russian revolution, world war ii, and so very many more –– patroclus wasn’t really fighting, but he was trying. he was trying to make sure some good came out of them, that there was some death that he could stop, some blows he could take if it meant another lived. but at some point, he just couldn’t keep doing it anymore. his heart hurt and his nightmares followed him in the daylight. 

now, well –– he’s a harpist for the londinium symphony. patroclus has been her for all of about 12 years now ; he doesn’t want to move, not yet. but throughout his many, many lifetimes, he’s perfected and loved the harp –– it’s the only thing he recognises in this brave new world, and he’s going to hang onto it for as long as he can. 

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

survival of the stubborn: a mentor, someone patroclus met after a long, long time of being immortal, but someone who taught him to stop being completely miserable and enjoy the time they have. if it wasn’t for this person, patroclus probably wouldn’t have lasted all that long.

death becomes you: immortal friends ; the gang, the squad. the ride or dies –– so to speak. they can go decades without talking or meeting, but they get together again every fifty years and know they can rely on each other. plus, they can literally whatsapp each other now –– like, what. 

orange you glad to see me: he worked on an orange farm in greece after their first death in about 1200 BC, and met this person there. maybe this person owned the farm, maybe this person was just a guest of the owners, maybe they also worked on the farm, or maybe they just met each other in the village nearby –– but they met again years and years and years later and it was a lowkey lightbulb moment of oh, so i’m not alone out here for patroclus !! 

please turn the music off: musician friends + members of the orchestra ( mortal or immortal ) + anyone who’s into music and they might have met each other over the years !! perhaps a mentor or maybe they even totally hate each other, but just about any type of music relation !!

encore, encore: patroclus worked / played in a few different courts over the years –– always the lute or harp –– so this might be someone he might have played for !! 

tequila’s my best friend: drinking buddies !! what it says on the tin. patroclus is a miserable drinker, usually ends up spilling all of his secrets, sometimes ends up breaking things. 

the war followed me back home: patroclus served in plenty of wars until 1950 –– far too many, with new names and new titles and new ranks every time. to do some good in the world. or maybe they were just chasing their first death at hector’s hands. either way –– this is someone they might have served with !! could be a commanding officer ; a fellow soldier ; or even a doctor / nurse !!

old enemies, new friends: people he just doesn’t get along with. at all. ever. they’re always hated each other, maybe they even killed each other a few times, but just some sort of enemies !!

more to be added !!

[afraschatz]

The Children of Atreus

Let's talk a bit about the coolest of the mythological Greeks, the children of Atreus - Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Anaxabia. And let me just name three things about them that are guaranteed to make you fall in love with them.

Before that, here is a quick summary of the things that everyone already knows anyway: Menelaus is the famous king of Sparta whose wife Helen’s disappearance sparked the Trojan War. The Greeks’ troops are led by his brother, Agamemnon, king of mighty Mycenae (who, when returning from the war, gets murdered by his wife Clytemnestra). Anaxabia is their sister, and she is married to Strophius, king of Phocis.

Secondly, here are three of the (many) reasons why they are The Best:

 1 - They are the best of siblings.

Obviously, they are called the Atrides (or Atreides) after their father, Atreus, who is the son of Pelops and grandson of Tantalus. That makes them part of the forever cursed family of the Tantalides. That curse manifests itself in their father’s relationship with his brother, Thyest. Atreus and Thyest come to Mycenae after they get thrown out of Elis, the territory around Olympia, for murdering their half-brother. They then quickly gain power and influence in Mycenae and use the majority of it to stab each other in the back - repeatedly and quite literally, as they both end up dead.

With role models such as these (plus the curse that Tantalus brought on his family for murdering and cooking his own son just to prove a point), it is absolutely amazing and quite heart-warming how close the Atrides are. Despite their family history of betrayal and murder, they always, ALWAYS stand by one another and support each other.

I mean, Agamemnon starts a war to end all wars to get justice for his brother, for fuck’s sake (yeah, yeah, there’s that bit about the oath of Helen; I’ll get to that later), and for that ten-year-long war they are practically joined at the hip.

And it’s not just a matter of obvious power-politics either: Agamemnon sends his son Orestes to his sister and brother-in-law in Phocis when he has to leave for war. To entrust his only male heir to them is massive proof of his trust in them, in her. Anaxabia and Strophius continue to raise Orestes as their own, and Orestes becomes best friends (and quite definitely lovers, according to my man Euripides) with their son, Pylades who supports him through thick and thin.

Pylades ends up marrying Electra, Agamemnon’s daughter, while Orestes gets wed to Hermione, Menelaus’s kid with Helen. While for today’s standards this might be a bit too incestuous for comfort, it is further proof how tightly knit that family now (in contrast to previous generations and their fondness for throwing people down wells / dismemberment) is because of the bond of the three siblings.

 2 - They are strategic and diplomatic masterminds.

Agamemnon and Menelaus are often reduced to being one entitled and power-hungry dick and his arrogant but ultimately impotent little brother. While that makes them the perfect cardboard-cut-villain for everyone in need of one (such as grieving Achilles, for one) and while I enjoy Brian Cox and Brendan Gleeson as “Troy”’s villains as well as Sophocles's characterization of them in "Aias" as much as the next guy, it really doesn’t do them justice.

First of all, as for the notion that they are entitled and/or feeble: Both of them are self-made men. Not only are they (as well as Anaxabia) kids of a refugee / man living in exile, after their uncle Thyest overthrows their father and has him murdered, they have to flee from Mycenae and seek refuge in Sparta, with king Tyndareos, their future father-in-law, (step) father of Clytemnestra and Helen. From there, they not only manage to mobilize enough man power to overthrow Thyest and conquer Mycenae. They also turn Mycenae into the most influential and mightiest of all the Greeks’ kingdoms. And by proving himself over and over again, Menelaus inherits the right to the throne of Sparta from his father-in-law, while Anaxabia marries the king of Phocis, a kingdom North of the gulf of Corinth with influential Delphi right in the center.

The Atrides’s influence is not just gained by clever marriage and perseverance, however. Sure, the famous oath of Helen (in which all the kings that asked for Helen’s hand in marriage swore to protect her and her husband-to-be) is thought up by wily Odysseus. But who makes sure (for all those years before Paris) that it would be upheld? It’s not like alliances between Greek kingdoms are all that stable. And yet, the council of kings - including extremely strong-willed characters such as Achilles, Aias, and Odysseus - WORKS and works well for ten years, even under the pressure of a prolonged war. Why? It’s because Agamemnon knows how to choose advisers (such as wise Nestor), knows how to utilize the human equivalent of an eel (I am looking at you, Odysseus) etc. He is a fucking brilliant politician. (And it was his RIGHT (AND a necessity) to demand Briseis from Achilles, however much the Myrmidon may moan about it; but more about that later).

Simple proof in numbers: Three exiled kids with NOTHING; fast-forward a decade or two and you have this: Agamemnon commands the largest of the Greek fleets (100 ships). If you add to those the number of Spartan (60) and Phocian (40) ships as well, that’s a whooping 200, even if you disregard for instance the huge Cretan fleet (80) which is led by their uncle, Idomeneus. Brilliant strategists and politicians.

 3 - They are so highkey EXTRA when it comes to the love department. (Well, the brothers are. Anaxabia rolls her eyes at them.)

Before I talk about the brothers and their highkey Extra relationships to their wives, let me just again go back to Anaxabia. Her marriage to Strophius is delightfully stable and uneventful and no one ends up dead (which is quite rare in Greek mythology, really). It produces delightfully stable and unproblematic children, such as the original bestest of mates, Pylades. Just think of Anaxabia and her husband just looking at each other silently at a family dinner,when her dramatic brothers and their dramatic wives start throwing food (and possibly knives) across the table. Next year, we’re doing a couple’s retreat in Delphi, my dear. I love her.

But the brothers’ marriages are equally fascinating.

Paris kidnaps Helen while Menelaus is attending his grandfather Catreus’s funeral btw - dick move, prince of Troy -, and for some reason THEIR relationship is the stuff of legends? Well, fuck that. While I have all the love in the world for one (1) flamboyant and canonically cowardly favourite of Aphrodite, let’s not forget how superglue-strong Menelaus’s bond with Helen is.

First of all, out of all the suitors for her hand in marriage, she chooses HIM without hesitation - after they must’ve known each other for years, btw considering Menelaus’s time in exile in Sparta.

And when she is suddenly gone, he mobilizes literally every available man in Greece to get her back.

That’s a matter of pride, you say? That’s because - much like Agamemnon when he demands Achilles’s prize of war, Briseis, because he had to give his own, Chryseis, back to appease Apollo - he would lose face and power (and thus massively endangering the stability of his reign and consequently the safety of his country, btw)? Sure, it’s that as well.

But.

It’s not like other kings haven’t “misplaced” a wife before. It’s not like he couldn’t simply have claimed she died. He could have. And you know what? It would have saved him from being both the laughing stock of all of Greece (“Here comes Menelaus who couldn’t hold on to his wife”) and also everyone’s favourite villain for having to go to war for him.

And later, what does he do when he finds her again - either in the ruins of Troy or in far away Egypt? Does he kill her? Does he demand a divorce?

No. They sail back to Sparta together and - and this is the kicker - rule together for many years, quite happily reunited.

He fucking loves her, and she loves him. (Okay, she might ALSO love Paris and that whole war could’ve been avoided if they just got into a poly relationship. I wouldn’t have been opposed to that either.)

The same goes for Agamemnon and his family.

Iphigenia, you yell at me in outrage? Well, the unquestioned villain in THAT story is so clearly vengeful Artemis for demanding her life in the first place. And yes, you may fight me on this.

And okay, I am having a slightly harder time explaining away Agamemnon murdering Clytemnestra’s first husband as a romantic gesture, fine. But my point is, Agamemnon’s and Clytemnestra’s relationship status throughout is clearly “it’s complicated”, it’s ENDLESSLY fascinating. Plus, Clytemnestra is such a fierce and badass (Spartan) woman who without problem competently takes care of Mycenae during the war. They are SO well suited for one another, and their relationship is brilliant, from a storytelling point of view.

 So, in conclusion: Give me Rufus Sewell as Agamemnon, Dominic West as Menelaus, and Oona Chaplin as Anaxabia, and I’d watch the hell out of twenty plus seasons about the Atrides and how they feel rightfully superior to all those other Peloponnesian peasants .

The Atrides are the best. It’s just a fact.

[littlesparklight]

Hello yes I am back with More Thoughts on Paris and the Judgement. Specifically, the rewards/bribes* Hera, Athena and Aphrodite offer him.

Paris is in a no-win situation; any choice he will make will anger at least one goddess (I'm still so-so on whether or not Athena would accept Hera being crowned winner), and, to make it plain; can anyone honestly say Aphrodite wouldn't be capable doing the exact same thing she did as a winner if she loses, this time suborning both Helen AND Paris to some, or even greater degree than she does in canon, for her revenge?

Anyway;

Paris, as we all know, chooses Aphrodite/her gift, which is Helen (or, in an alternate translation of the brief mention of the judgement in the Iliad "made him desirable in a way which caused grief" via Gantz in Early Greek Myth), but, through Helen and Aphrodite, all what Aphrodite stands for, which isn't just beauty and sex, but love. A relationship. So, this is what suits Paris' best; beauty, love, and a relationship (with the most beautiful woman in the world, but would Aphrodite offer any random woman? I think not. Paris doesn't get to choose Helen, she is chosen for him.).

But what is he NOT choosing?

Athena; excellence in martial pursuits [and possibly other crafts Athena is in charge of? Some possibility of "prudence" too, but the skill/success in war is the most consistent]. Considering Paris isn't the best warrior (he's not bad, just not particularly good, unless we're talking the bow, which is Inferior and Unmanly), one could think that this would be a good choice!

The thing is, Paris doesn't care.

He doesn't care about societal acceptance and being excellent and successful about things he, as a man, should strive for. He does not care about martial time, kudos or gaining geras. This is specifically what Helen rebukes him for! Lacking in the manly "shame" that would have him striving for glory on the battlefield, lacking in care for people (other men/warriors) rebuking him for not caring about his reputation/being a bad warrior/not "courageous" enough (he is found at the front of the battlefield at least once). Paris is very specifically gender nonconforming, and if he actually cared not to be so, he either wouldn't be as he is at all, or he'd take Helen and Hector's rebukes into account and change his presentation and how he acts. He does not.

Athena has nothing to offer someone who doesn't consider martial prowess to be the pinnacle of [male] accomplishment. (And his other skills/things he's interested in falls under Apollo's domain, not Athena's, so again she has little to offer him.) And choosing Athena means there needs to be some war he can show his newfound excellence in and gain the success she has promised him, which means, completely aside from two angry goddesses after his and Troy's ass, Troy could still be at risk of falling for who he chose.

Hera; kingship of Asia (that is, Asia Minor, what's now Turkey), or Asia and Europe. This one sounds real enticing, doesn't it, even for someone who isn't interested in war. Paris probably has some greater ambition, so why not this, then, completely aside from Hera being the "correct" choice as the most beautiful goddess, as the Iliad tells us several times.

Well. This one requires Paris to either care not one whit about any of his family and specifically want them dead, or not care about humiliating them and turning them into his subjects.

Kingship of Asia includes Troy; Paris isn't his father's heir, and there's at the very least (before the war) his eighteen full-blooded brothers who might have complaints about the effeminate artist becoming the king of Troy, as well as the whole of "Asia". Paris as king of Asia means Hector and any other brother who might protest will be dead, if we go via a "Trojan expansion" and Paris as king of Troy to start with, or, if we take the path of slightly less resistance, Paris marrying into the Hittite royal family and somehow rising to ruler of the Hittite empire, which then expands to fully subjugate/include the Troad and, from there, if Europe is included in Hera's gift, Greece and beyond.

Paris choosing Hera will not benefit his family, even if it might theoretically benefit Troy as a whole (ignoring that there's at least one angry goddess out after crushing Paris and probably his city, still).

Whether or not Paris has political ambition, clearly it wasn't enough to override his other likes and personality which, perhaps, is just as well. It doesn't matter who he chooses, because Troy can fall to one or two angry goddesses no matter which goddess he favours.

*I'd like to remind you all that on Achilles' shiny new shield a judging/court is taking place, with money reward for the judge who gives the best judgement. Not saying the gifts representing the goddesses' domains aren't bribes, but they're in that case also part of judicial pattern.

[spartan-officer-brasidas]

Here we go again

I know, I know. I may have said a bit too much about Theseus being the subject of the next DLC chapter, but hear me out on this, it works. A little too perfectly imo. Fair warning, this is going to get a little heavy in mythology as well as some of the story details of the first DLC chapter. This is also purely my thoughts, this is hardly speculation on what they could do with the next two DLC chapters, though I do think Theseus could be a part of the Torment of Hades chapter.

Essentially, the Eagle-Bearer is playing the role of Herakles, minus the “Hera hates me and cursed me with fits of rage and destructive behaviors” part. Let’s start from the beginning, the Fields of Elysium. The myth in question is sort of a toss up between the Rape of Persephone and the first myth of Adonis, which is more prominent. The only part of this story you need to remember for my point is that Aphrodite loved Adonis and it was reciprocated. He wanted to return to her, which is an actual part of the myth as well. Now, let’s get back to my idea that Kassandra/Alexios is playing Herakles. I have mentioned before that the misthios fits my idea of a Greek hero and after consideration, the family situation isn’t exactly unlike Herakles’, but that’s not the point. The part of Herakles story I want to focus on here is his final labor, capturing Cerberus and thus, his journey to the Underworld. Herakles plays no real role in the myth of Adonis, but that’s not an issue, because I’m drawing this connection through Persephone and her role in the story. In the DLC, Kassandra/Alexios is trying to get to Hades and getting there as a living mortal requires knowledge that Persephone has, so naturally, they are going to go through the Queen of the Underworld first. Herakles faces a similar issue in this trek to the Underworld, so he took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and while WE don’t really know what went on during them, Herakles is said to have learned how Persephone passes from the land of the living to the land of the dead without actually dying. The point I’m making here is that both the hero and Herakles use Persephone in one way or another to get to Hades. Just as reminder, keep Adonis/Aphrodite in mind as I move onto the Torment of Hades chapter.

You might hate me for saying this yet again, but my thoughts revolve around the inclusion of Theseus. Before I jump into it, I need to be completely clear on two things. 1. Greek myths are just myths. They are up to personal interpretation, and that’s that. I believe that the Trojans were in the right, but you may believe the Achaeans were the correct side. I think Theseus did some heroic things, but I wouldn’t consider him a ‘hero’ — you may disagree. That’s all fine. My interpretation is purely my own and it’s based off my knowledge of the stories, just as yours comes from your knowledge, and however you want to interpret these myths is up to you. 2. Aside from the fact that these myths would’ve taken place during the Bronze Age, the timeline is messy at best and you’re just going to have to bear with me. This one isn’t too important, since we’re dealing in mythology and a video game where the Isu exist, but I still want to make that clear. Now that that is out of the way, time to get into the juicy details. 

Basically, I believe the hero could encounter Theseus in the Underworld, and I’ve already explained this so I won’t get into the details there. What I will discuss is the logic behind it, beginning with the DLC trailer. In the trailer, Hades mentions that “the Underworld is filled with kings, heroes, legends...all lost,” which sort of implies that the hero will be encountering several heroes, and Theseus might be at the top of the list. Theseus is truly the haphazard hero, as my professor once said, and he is, by many definitions “lost.” Hades also states that “you could give them a purpose,” and that is definitely something Theseus needs, considering he got himself into a fair amount of trouble because of his reckless nature and boredom (kidnapping of Helen of Sparta and attempted kidnapping of Persephone, and his attack on the Amazons). Anyway, I’d like to believe Kassandra will “save” Theseus from his imprisonment and interact with others heroes, giving them purpose in their lack thereof. From here, I can see a couple routes for the Judgement of Atlantis. The most efficient route is less based on mythology and more based on the Minoans and the tragic eruption of Thera. I will talk about that after I talk about the more fun route, however.

The path I’d personally like to see takes us back to that piece of information I wanted you to remember with Adonis/Aphrodite AND Theseus’ poor decisions. I’d love to see Helen and Paris (who does have a connection to both Poseidon and Herakles!!!), but just note, this is really more wistful thinking than a  legitimate option. Basically, from Theseus, the hero is sent to Achilles who is completely unhappy in the Underworld (based off the Odyssey, I believe, but don’t quote me on that), and is tasked with dealing with some issue akin to the Trojan War drama. I don’t want to go too far on this because it’s complex, but if you’ve made it this far and want more on this random idea, lmk. I’m happy to fill you in. Now let’s talk about the actual, legitimate idea involving the Minoans and their untimely demise. This route is a lovely wrap up, I believe, because it’s very closely related to the story of Atlantis, and as much as I hate to admit it, it’s fairly likely that the Minoans and their great civilization was the basis for Plato’s Atlantis in his writings. Anyway, should this be the subject of the Judgement of Atlantis, we’ll likely see Hephaestus and Poseidon due to their associations with volcanoes and earthquakes/tsunami respectively, and we may even met the other Gods of the Greek Pantheon in their judgement of this advanced civilization that maybe got a little too advanced? We could even see Deucalion, Minos, or even Ariadne (that connection to Theseus would be nice~) and their struggle against the destruction of their home or the fate of Atlantis, pun intended. 

That’s all I’ll say for now because I’m tired, but if you are interested in a more in depth approach to the individual ideas, I’m happy to share. Sorry this got so long, I tend to ramble when it comes to this stuff and I don’t know how to be concise apparently. I’m practically always thinking about this stuff so it’s always changing and getting more complex, and this is all just ideas. I have no true evidence and I, in no way, claim that this will happen. I just hope they do this.