#listening to epic as I write this

[shuutingstar]

I really REALLY want someone to animate Epic: The Musical with PJO. Like I love Epic’s music and PJO’s just fun yk?

My idea if anyone ever does ever decided to make a crossover/au is that I think it’d be cool if the gods (Poseidon, Athena, etc) were replaced with their kids (Percy, Annabeth, etc) and Odysseus could be Rachel or something. I’m not too sure about that one but she’s a clear-sighted mortal so I don’t see how she can’t be. Not sure who Penelope would be though, I guess whoever you ship Rachel with?

I also think it’d be funny if Circe was Reyna just because of her backstory. It’s funny okay??

I’m just gonna give an example so you kinda get what I’m sayin.

In the song “Wouldn’t You Like” Hermes can be replaced with one or both of the Stoll brothers. Let’s say Rachel needs a way to get her men back from Reyna (Circe) and doesn’t know what to do; Connor or Travis (or both of them) gives her a way to do that.

Wouldn’t that be fun?? Like it’s just the Odyssey but PJO so I’m not sure if that would be the most interesting thing in the world but I’d love to see someone do something with Epic and PJO.

[doctorsiren]

Art of Patroclus wearing Achilles’s armour that I did while writing an essay for my Greek and Roman Lit class last week

[o3o-lapd-o3o]

spoilers for the future ithaca saga?

can you really spoil a work based on a ancient poem?

[qin-qin16]

For my blood orange duo fans @howlsofbloodhounds and @stellocchia

Delta is a monster who is always on high alert; it’s not something he can change, is it something he could ease? Maybe, especially after living with Color and Epic for so long (especially with Epic). Any little noise triggers a fight or flight response, and knowing how he is, Delta always chooses to fight (let’s just say the playful scares Epic pulled in the early days of their friendship weren’t exactly the most fun, always ending with a punch or kick).

This ability was extremely useful when Killer started showing up more and more in his life — slinking through the walls of his house, walking side by side with his friends (seemingly trying to mimic their movements, as if he didn’t know what to do during a friendly interaction), and what Delta considered the worst of all: being his shadow, crawling behind him as if waiting for some misstep.

What was truly terrifying was how Delta could always sense when Killer was behind him — how he could feel Killer’s gaze fixed on his back, despite never hearing his footsteps — and how their encounters usually ended with Delta almost lunging at Killer’s neck, growling at that ever-present static grin. And how could Killer resist the opportunity to further unsettle Delta with his presence? It was amusing watching him contemplate whether to leap onto his bones or simply retreat to another room. If it weren’t for Color, the first choice would probably happen more often.

[le-fruit-de-la-passion]

Omg I loved your herald viktor epic line idea I’ve been thinking about it nonstop. If u have time and energy id love to read it sooo much ❤️❤️

Since the Ithica Saga dropped last night my brain has not known a single moment of peace. "Would You Fall in Love with Me Again" is just so insanely perfect for a Machine Herald Viktor x Reader AU it makes me physically ill. Like, seriously:

I am not the man you fell in love with

I am not the man you once adored

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I cannot change

Would you love me all the same?

//

Would you fall in love with me again

If you knew all I've done?

The things I can't undo

I'm not the man you knew

Viktor is so Odysseus coded it is PAINFUL. The pain of sacrificing so much of himself to survive. The regret of everyone he's had to leave behind, to betray. The ghosts of his legacy haunting his mind. All for his goal, the one thing he knows he's meant to do with every fiber of his being. Nothing, neither magic nor gods, will stop him from fulfilling that dream. He will not be the same once all has passed, and he will never regain all that he's lost. Can the person who loved him the most as he was before still love this version of him?

And the reader's answer...

I will fall in love with you

Over and over again

I don't care how, where, or when

No matter how long it's been

You're mine

Because what you loved about him is deeper than any of the ways he's changed. It's something at his core, in his soul, in the light of his eyes, no matter how tired they may seem now. It's your first kiss, it's the sound of his voice in your ear, it's the curve of his lips when he smirks, it's the way he looks at you like he falls in love all over again every day you're with him. Time may pass, and the world may change, but not this. Never this.

He is yours just as you are his, and that is the one thing that will never change.

[elvensixpm]

Vengeance Saga spoilers!

For Six Hundred Strike, I don't imagine Odysseus using Poseidon's trident against him, actually. Mostly because my idea of Poseidon is that he is much larger than Odysseus— a giant, terrifying vision of the sea, no, he is the sea.

There is no clear differentiation between the sea and Poseidon— the waves his spilling hair, the sea foam his skin, the mist his robes.

Imagine this:

Odysseus using the trident to wash Poseidon and himself to the rocky coast of Ithaca, his homeland, rugged and worn as he himself is. Birthplace to six hundred men gone to Poseidon's cruelty, he doesn't use Poseidon's own weapon against him, no, that would be too simple.

He wants his Ithacan brothers to drink their fill of revenge as well. He raises the trident and commands the water to his will, fighting the brutality of the storm whose winds force against his arm, as if warning him not to do anything rash.

His gaze finds the sharp, jagged edges of shore— large rocks like spikes that jut out of the sand like a palisade of swords.

That will do.

The god of the sea smashes against the rocks as Odysseus strikes the trident down onto the sand. Poseidon ebbs away before forming back, like how broken waves regenerate. Odysseus strikes.

Again. Again. Again.

He watches Poseidon splinter against stone before immortality melts him back together again. The golden blood that sprays in his face as Poseidon smashes against the bank leaves him with a greater satisfaction than any gleam of treasure ever would.

The storm's wind whips and howls in his face like a shrieking banshee— he uses it to pretend not to hear the god.

Odysseus' screams for venegeance, for retribution and for the god to call off the storm, drowns the other's pleas for him to stop. This was payback for his crew; does Charon accept gods' blood as payment? It was gold, after all. As it seeps into the waters, Odysseus hoped that it would reach his crew— so that they could finally cross the river Styx. So that they can finally, finally stop their aimless wandering.

Poseidon gurgles out that Odysseus is a monster. Like Charydbis— Odysseus spews back the gods' teachings in his face: Ruthlessness was mercy, was it not?

Poseidon... relents. The trident slips from Odysseus' hand and clatters on the ground. The storm subsides, and the mist lifts.

Odysseus' eyes set upon rocky Ithaca once again. He doesn't look back at Poseidon— there is no need to turn back to the sea now that he's home again.

The King of Ithaca has returned.

Yes, I replaced treasure Odysseus brought home in the book with Poseidon's blood LMFAO! I really thought the treasure part was important in the book, so I wanted to give Epic!Odysseus something of the sort as well.

I also used Charydbis as a likening of sorts because... well. Wasn't it the book— so I just had to incorporate her somehow! How'd I do?

This is how Ithaca's shore look like in my mind while I was writing. Probably not accurate. I just wanted there to be a connection between the place of birth of the crew VS poseidon being their cause of death.

I always have nightmares of smashing against there, because they look so sharp:

But facing outwards, so it makes more sense, haha. I'm just thinking about how Epic!Odysseus is a certified religion betrayer now. Whoops!

Also I just learned that Palisade is an ancient greek thing? I thought it was a Biology thing LOL. I keep running into these coincidences!

[somereaderinblue]

"I'm not a man..."

https://youtu.be/E03wfrPje38?si=y4FAALdrX6sHU8o1

Changing 'I'm just a man' to 'I'm not a man' can be so poignant. In this essay I will-

[kilgarraghforever]

I am genuinely really enjoying seeing people who have clearly never read the Odyssey before reacting to EPIC's Ithaca saga. I haven't listened to EPIC myself (yet) but people keep saying stuff like "Odyseeus built their palace around an olive tree he carved into his and Penelope's marriage bed that's so symbolic" and "He really just murdered all the suitors wouldn't that piss off their parents?" Which are observations and questions that the Odyssey makes incredibly blatantly clear as to the symbolism or the answer because it's a really old poem and subtlety wasn't really Homer's strong suit.

There's something really endearing about seeing people interact with the Odyssey through the same way the Ancient Greeks did - a bard singing the story of Odyseus' nostos.

(I gather the details have changed a little, but that's what happens with oral storytelling, and that's how the Odyssey got created in the first place)

Also as congratulations have my favourite ancient depiction of Odysseus surfing with two amphemorae having stolen Poseidon's trident, being sped along by Boreas, stark naked except for a cloak he's holding onto.

[official-english-major]

I'm sorry to rain on y'all's parade but Penelope sings the word "waiting" seven times in "Would You Fall in Love With Me Again," and I genuinely don't know how it keeps getting miscounted as eight

[amnenome]

my current hyperfixation is the odyssey which is SO funny because for basically thousands of years people have been engaging in fandom about it. like current fic writers and fanartists etc are engaging in this material in the exact same way as people like james joyce, dante, margaret atwood. its cool that this story is a shared thread throughout human history. but it also sucks because to fill that fanfic desire I have to read classic lit instead of just browse ao3

[lukecastellanshandholder]

Walk with me on this idea…

Now I’ve read my fair share of fanfics of Luke somehow surviving the war and most have him pretty well adjusted after all that happened. And that’s all fine and good!

… but what if he did live and he was so haunted by everything that happened to the point where he’s a haunted husk? What if he found out about all of the members of the Titan Army being killed by the gods, and what if May did die when Rachel obtained the power of the oracle?

He would feel so much guilt for all of the comrades that were killed. He feels that he was at fault for recruiting all of those demigods and marching them into war. He feels guilt for the friends at camp that ended up dying in the war. He feels so much guilt for listening to Kronos and trusting him. Luke feels so much shame for falling right into Kronos’s trap even though he was manipulated. He feels at fault for everything.

So imagine him finally hitting his breaking point and wanting to just let go. He feels no anger anymore, has no wishes of dethroning the gods anymore. He only wishes for the screams that ring in his ears to be silenced and for all of the horrific pictures showing every time he closes his eyes, to finally be blacked out.

He wants death even if he knows that his afterlife won’t be pretty.

So he ventures back to where everything truly started going down hill. He goes to the Garden of Hesperides. He manages to sneak past Ladon with surprising ease this time around. He plucks an apple from the tree and sneaks back to the edge of the garden and sets up a small fire. Once it’s lit, golden flames dancing in front of him and bathing his form in light, he sets his sword and other things down beside him.

He holds the apple in his shaky hands, watching the flames grow taller almost as if they were starving for the fruit that he held in his hands.

In the distance he hears a low growl then heavy footsteps approaching him. He smiles sadly, looking into his own broken eyes in the reflection of the apple. People always did say that he had his mother’s eyes.

When he heard the footsteps almost right behind him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With one movement of his hand he tossed the apple into the flames, the sweet smell permeating the area around him. The smell seemed almost familiar, he could’ve sworn it smelt like chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

There was a loud roar right behind him now, the ground shook underneath him and his teeth rattled in his skull.

A sad smile spread across his lips as with his last breath he uttered the words, “To Hermes.”

With a sudden swipe of Ladon’s claws, Luke couldn’t hear or see anything. The screams had stopped, the images had finally faded. The only thing he could sense was the warm feeling of being wrapped up in a blanket of comfort, the smell of cookies cooking in the oven and the sight of warm blue eyes watching over him as he descended into oblivion.

[bugwolfsstuff]

HADESTOWN GOT ME BAWLING AGAIN

[shorlinesorrows]

sometimes I run into discourse about The Odyssey vs. EPIC: The Musical and I get tired

this is why I think we need to start taking a more oral tradition approach to stories like the Odyssey tbh, and I'd argue stories in general

The original and the adaptation being different, or the characters being different, doesn't make one or the other Wrong.

EPIC isn't claiming to be a direct retelling of the Odyssey, and the Odyssey doesn't need to be put under a moral microscope just to prove that "Odysseus was a Bad Guy Actually i can't believe you like EPIC" or "The Actual moral of everything is This."

Analysis is good, but we don't have to do it to spite other people's enjoyment of a piece of art!

One of the most beautiful things about many oral traditions is that the story changes over time. It grows to fit the ideas and needs of the people it's being told to and the place it's being told in. Each storyteller remembers different details more vividly, or adds a little flair, or forgets a few words, or adds a few words, and it grows.

EPIC doesn't have to be the Odyssey, and the Odyssey doesn't have to be EPIC. Enjoy them both. Adaptations and spins off of stories aren't a bad thing in themselves, even if they're different.

Heck, the Odyssey was almost Definitely an adaptation, conglomeration, or re-telling of other stories that were told orally before it was written down. And I'd bet that it continued to evolve and change even after it was put to paper. I highly doubt The Odyssey the only version of this story there was, long before our time.

It's fine if you dislike one or the other in any adaptation! Hell knows I've absolutely despised some adaptations of media i enjoyed in the past. That's not a bad thing. But one story isn't objectively morally better or worse compared to another in adaptations.

Basically, my whole point is that both the Odyssey and EPIC are Great to me personally, but they aren't completely the same thing and that's what makes them great.

And I think people maybe need to be ok with that!

[aro-in-danyl]

HP X HH AU - Alastor is Harry Potter and Voldemort is his Shadow

I've got a whole concept idea for how Alastor time-traveled to early 1910s New Orleans and how he trapped Tom Riddle as his shadow- but that's a separate post entirely. This is about what happens if they get de-aged in Hell following their retreat from Adam. Because I want to see the Hazbin crew's reaction to Harry and Tom.

----

When Adam slashed him with his guitar, it purified both Alastor and his shadow to an age when they were still innocent.

Alastor, Harry, to age 11 -- moments before he'd disintegrated Quirrell to death.

Voldemort, Tom, to age 10 -- days before he led his fellow orphans into a cave to torture them.

They awaken in a crumbling radio tower covered in blood and a broken radio staff clutched in Harry's hands.

Tom, being raised Catholic and carrying all the trauma that comes with being able to talk to snakes from a young age, is the most terrified.

Harry still hopped up on the adrenaline of facing his parent's murderer from what he believes is only minutes before, manages to hear the creaking of the radio tower and get them out before it fully collapses.

They wander Hell and quickly come across various demons, all of which have nefarious intentions. They try to escape but even with magic there's only so much 2 human children can do against demons until-

"HEY!" Something hits the back of a hellhound's head, knocking him out and giving Harry the chance to run to stand in front of Tom.

They both look warily at their savior: a tall heavy-set demon with imp-like horns and bat-wings. In his hand was the broken guitar he'd used to smash over the hellhound's head. He looked angry.

"BITCH! You owe me a new guitar!"

----

Adam sees these kids and assumes they're the reason he's in hell. That he has to save them and then he can return to heaven - how else would 2 human children who reminded him of his own just happen to wander into his path?

So he takes them in and re-learns what it means to be a father responsible and care have empathy for his descendants. He meets other sinners who are not the worst and it makes him feel guilty confused.

For 3 months, he tries to find a way to get these 2 children back to the human world. They're both so bright and kind but absolutely fucking traumatized. He's going to have to find them better parents when he takes them back because they were under no circumstances going back to whoever they were with before.

Everyday he's with them, the kids open up just a bit more. What does it say about their homelives that they feel more comfortable in Hell living with what they think is a demon? They have so much potential like Abel and capacity for goodness like Cain before he-.

He tries -oh god how he fucking tries- to get them out of this hell-hole, but eventually he has to man up and ask for help.

HA! Sike. No, he obviously was supposed to demand Lucifer send them back. After all, it must've been his fuck-up that got these kids stuck here so it was his responsibility to fix it. Not Adam's!

Yeah that sounded right.

He marches up to the Hazbin Hotel with the kids behind him he wasn't scared shut up and knocks on the door.

----

Lucifer contacts Ozzie to open a portal.

Problem #1 The moment Harry touches the tear in realities, he hits a brick-wall. Or at least what feels like one. The portal is nothing more than a 2-way mirror for him. He can see but not cross-over.

Problem #2 Lucifer takes a closer look and realizes that their souls are already marked for Hell. But they're full of holy energy even after 3 months.

Adam refuses to believe this and demands to talk with Heaven.

Problem #3 ...No one has heard from Heaven since the failed Extermination.

----

Adam stays at the Hotel since it's safer for the kids cheaper than renting his overpriced studio apartment that smells like piss and cheese. Niffty fucking hates him though, he hurt her favorite bad boy! He's not dead she would feel it but he's gone again because of him!

Over the next 3 months, the kids grow. Not normally though, every time they make even a minor sin, they age rapidly before Adam's eyes. Sometimes he swears their nails seem claw-like, their teeth sharper when they smile, and their eyes seem to glow when he's looking out of the corner of his eye.

They eventually get in contact with Emily who first informs them that Sir Pentious was redeemed. She then takes a look at the kids with Lucifer. They discover that the children had been de-aged to a period of innocence due to the holy-light that had flooded them.

Lucifer tells Adam it was likely his holy-light wave that sliced the hotel in half that did the deed. They must've gotten caught too close to the blast-radius.

They hypothesize from their rapid age growth and behavior, that sinning will eventually revert the children back to their original demon forms.

And Adam-

Adam, for once in his immortal life, refuses to give up on his children.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Still wild to me that the Avatar team saw a guy write a love story between a stick and a monkey and were like "This is the guy who we need to write Rangshi and Yangvik" and then he ended up making two of the best couples in all of the Avatar-verse TT0TT

[harpyartisan]

Drown in your sorrow and fears Choke on your blood and your tears Bleed 'til you've run out of years

There is something in the water, Debris lost a wing checking it out, and who knows how long it'll take her to replace it with whatever scraps she can find in the ruins. If you see spider lillies cropping up along the delta or riverbanks, for the love of the gods just run!

~ A smudged hastily written report by The Menagerie Guide Mucor