#odysseus is severely traumatized

[leynaeithnea]

Rest Another Night

After years of fighting the trojans, Odysseus' nights are never quiet.

1. There are Only Screams

Nights were never quiet.

Even when the bloodshed ceased with nightfall and the wounded were tended. Even when all had feasted and retired to sleep after celebrating the victories of the day and mourning the men who lost their lives to Trojan bronze. Even then, the gods never granted Odysseus the sweet release of silence. No moment of peace and quiet. Not even his sleep.

When he laid awake, the rest of the camp asleep, the taunts of the Trojan princes still rang in his ears. The war cries of Agamemnon and Diomedes were an echoing drum that kept him restless, his fingers closing around nothing, missing the comforting weight of his sword. 

When he closed his eyes Odysseus could hear his own voice barking commands through the heat and sweat of the battle plain, repeating the lines over and over. Watch out, Attack, Don’t fall back. His mind constantly scanning for the mistakes they had made. The lives lost due to it. Urging him to be more careful the next day. More valiant.

Whenever his body forced sleep upon him, the screams of the wounded and mourning found him. They drowned out the cries of his son, held close to the chest of Penelope, in his last memory of them. His son, too young to walk, had already picked up on the grief around him as his father had left for war, but he had been too young to understand it.

In Odysseus' dreams, Telemachus remained an infant, even as the years passed and his son grew old enough to hold his first wooden sword.

When Odysseus woke he heard the wailing of mourning wives. And he prayed to the gods that another day would pass where his wife would not become one of them.

The nights where never quiet. Rarely did Athena grant him a night of oblivion.

Sometimes, after he had pushed his body to the breaking point over days of relentless fighting and nights of sleeplessness that left his whole body aching, old and new wounds pounding with persistent presence, his throat hoarse, when he could barely keep standing, his limps trembling from exhaustion, his vision blurry, and his brilliant mind fogged by the lack of rest she would sometimes bless him with her god-sent sleep.

On those days Meneleaus or Diomedes would sent him to retire early with a frown of concern on their faces, calling Polites or Perimedes to their table to lay an arm around Odysseus in support and urged them to accompany him to their camp. Making sure he would lay down on his pillows and blankets before falling sleep and not collapse halfway there on the dusty paths. It wouldn’t be the first time that would happen. 

[katerinaaqu]

I don't think people realize how powerful the notion is that Odysseus rejected immortality from Calypso and what that says about his character and the love for his wife and son.

Odysseus had been to the underworld! He KNOWS what awaits him after death! He has seen those souls wandering about in the dark sometimes even forgotten by people above. He has even spoken with Achilles who told him that he'd rather be the last servant and unimportant and alive than king in the underworld. The proud ACHILLES told him he'd rather be a beggar than dead! Showing indeed Odysseus what it means. Even Eurylochus spewed some facts when he said that "all mortals avert death because it is so scary to them"

Odysseus is not just scared of death. HE KNOWS how it looks like! And despite the fact he is no longer young and in a dangerous situation and knowing what dying looks like he STILL rejected Calypso and immortality just to go back to his wife and child and home!

[neutralferal]

i fear there's a new hyperfixation growing...

[devoutvesta]

the general attitude towards adaptations makes no sense to me. i understand being upset at disrespectful and inaccurate depictions of the gods, i really do. but epic: the musical does not do that. the characterization is very well done even if it takes creative liberties. your love for a good adaptation shouldn’t be dependent on how similar it is to the source material. if that’s your criteria, you aren’t ready to consume greek mythology adaptations.

“epic the musical will never top the original odyssey” it was never meant to. stop expecting it to be an exact replica of the source material. jay (the creator of the musical) has said multiple times that it is a LOOSE adaptation, and that there are several creative liberties that it takes to support the overarching theme and also because he can not include everything in a 40 track musical.

“odysseus’ trauma is not talked about enough in the musical tho” it is talked about in every single song. he is grieving in nearly every song. his biggest inner conflict has to do with his grief and love for his crew, and his need to survive and get home to his family.

an example of misinterpreted scenes:

the motive behind his choice in remember them had nothing to do with being provoked by athena. THIS was his motive. he was angry, he had lost his comrades. “the blood we shed, it never dies” he’s seen enough bloodshed in war, he’s killed so many, but its become a constant part of his life. he is so unbelievably traumatized because of it. and yet he has to do it again and again. this is a moment of rage on behalf of his crewmates who died, not because he was throwing a tantrum.

expecting a 40 song musical adaptation of the odyssey to be identical to a 20+ book poem is actually so hilariously stupid. do you expect forks to be found in the bathroom? you’re expecting snow on a summer day and then getting angry that it’s just sunny. if you have unrealistic and baseless expectations, don’t get angry when they aren’t met.

[dramaturgydrakes]

Hnmmm I’m bad at asking questions but I want to know more about baby!hermes AU/any headcanons you have for epic!hermes so uhh use this ask to shameless share stuff

ok ok i dont actually have too much cuz its like 6am BUT.

rebabied hermes AU

he has a cow plushie. possibly made by penelope? either way it’s funny

ABSOLUTELY tried to steal ody’s cattle first thing. ended with anti-hermes measures aided by apollo

has woken up ody and pen several times playing the lyre like a guitar in the middle of the night. for funsies.

while he’s very bold, he’s also very easily spooked. bolts faster than a cat at sudden movements and loud noises (realizing my hermes is very catlike help)

notoriously known for “if you can’t find him, he’s causing trouble.” ody and pen will search the palace for him for hours then find out him and telemachus are wreaking havoc down in the market

he can ramble for hours. either about the same thing or he jumps topics every 30 seconds. sometimes it devolves into gibberish. penelope is VERY used to this from ody and tele and able to actually engage, while ody looks at her like “?? is this what i put you through”. telemachus is “← his ass is NOT listening” but sits thru it without a problem

for the first few weeks he pretends that he has to shed feathers just to cause problems for One Specific Servant he doesn’t like. then apollo stops by like “why tf is the palace covered in baby fluff. this is unnecessary” and hermes has to actually communicate because apollo is trained to see through his bs lol

ody tries to put him in timeout and he goes “you’re MY great-grandson!! and i’m a god!!! you can’t make me do anything!! YOU go in the corner!!!!!” which earns him a very long lecture from penelope as the alternative. never fusses over timeout again and does a very good job thinking about what he’s done. as an equivalent for stickers pen just gives him interesting little baubles that have his attention for hours afterwards

despite being a small child he still traumatizes telemachus with completely unnecessary tidbits about ody. then they go cause problems together anyways

probably more later idk lol

epic / regular hermes

he’s a stoner. this is basically accepted as canon by most fans now but i digress

this is kinda more general hermes than just epic, but: i imagine that when ody was a baby he was a BIG crier—anticlea and laertes were up almost every night trying to figure out how to calm him down. then, one night, anticlea wakes to him crying, but it stops suddenly and she panics, hurrying to his room. there, instead of something terrible, she finds hermes gently dancing with baby ody and singing lullabies that apollo used to sing to him. ody is absolutely enamored with him, just staring up at hermes with the biggest, most fascinated eyes. i imagine hermes also has his facial wings aside, but baby ody doesn’t seem at all scared of having the full attention of six glowing eyes :)

every problem odysseus causes is reason for celebration. every trick, every feat, every theft—and, at the same time, every generosity to the beggars and less fortunate of his kingdom. (i mean. hermes is a patron of groups that are usually lower class hshhs)

he and apollo are besties now but apollo absolutely still has days where he wants to throttle hermes. especially when hermes brings up the cows. hermes LOVES bringing up the cows. apollo proceeds to set his clothes on fire, like any immensely irritated big brother

sad moment but hermes has so much guilt over odysseus’s suffering. he’s meant to protect travelers, and he’s granted odysseus as much luck and protection as he can, but he couldn’t protect his crew and he couldn’t spare his great-grandson from horrible anguish. i know gods in mythos care very little for mortals, but hermes just feels different to me. in the odyssey he’s very kind and benevolent, legitimately caring for odysseus from what we can tell, and seeing his family in so much pain hurts him too

he visits anticlea frequently after her death

my brain is not at functioning capacity so this is all i got but yeah :)

[yourlocalmessenger]

Keraunos, God of Explosives, Nuclear Power, and Toxic Gas

He brings a certain non-godly vibe to the Pantheon that the majority of the others aren't too fond of

This specific drawing is essentially Hermes grabbing Keraunos so that he can watch the action of Odysseus getting severely lost and traumatized alongside him

Do feel free to ask about him

(You can also just call him "Kera" if his full name is difficult)

He's also the only god that can technically be killed by mortal hands- not that he won't just... wake up again sometime later

Bonus doodles:

[katerinaaqu]

My problem with it starts indeed from Polyphemus. For starters they gave Polyphemus a "reason" and sugar cotted it like "oh they killed his sheep" in the original they didn't. They were looking for hospitality which was very much common. Polyphemus commits his own hubris when he mocks Xenia and eats his guests.

Odysseus spent 6 days in there watching his comrades die the most gruesome deaths ever and he had to flee. He was both emotionally and physically exhausted and he was triggered when Polyphemus called him a coward. Basically he wanted to prove his point thus committing his own hubris wanting to come on top. Which was if you ask me a very realistic reaction and of course his character and his anger didn't help.

In the original he contemplated killing him and the reason he didn't was that he needed him to open the cave for them plus he was not entirely sure it would work since he was huge. In the musical they made it look like he had all the opportunities in the world and he just randomly chose not to kill him even if he had Athena by his side because "what good would that do"? Like really dude?

And the downplays of Odysseus's complicated personality continue with Circe. I have written a whole series of rants about how it doesn't strike me right. In the original he had no choice but to bed her after the orders of Hermes and it showed how high price he had to pay plus showing how helpless he is before gods for one more time. Ciece didn't need to seduce him to kill him she was a powerful goddess. Her feelings for him (either romantic or feelings od curiosity and respect) were of outpost importance for the story which again it was brushed off for the sakes of passing the messages of loyalty ignoring the original concept

Now the Underworld I know that people got hyped but I wasn't impressed. The chorus was impressive and great visuals to it (and I try again to ignore the Polyphemus reference to it) but then of course they show Polites instead of Elpinor. Polites whom they decided to kill off at Polyphemus cave for some reason to create drama (the dude's name appears only once in the whole freaking Odyssey and it was in Circe's Island!) So we do not get Elpinor who was basically another sneak peak of "anti-alcohol" message that Homer sneaked in (excessive drinking was heavily discouraged in ancient greece) but got Polites and Anticlea and both are brushed off.

In the original Anticlea approaches him but doesn't recognize him Odysseus has to endure seeing her there till he speaks to Tiresias and then he has a whole conversation with her and he asks her how she died and how is Penelope and he even tries to hug her but she passed through him and all. Their whole interaction was of vital importance and it was just brushed off

Even Tiresias himself. In the original he didn't tell him that his men would die. He said that if he wanted them to survive that they shouldn't harm the cows of Helios. Most of predictions have two roads and they are never certain in Greek mythology. And of course the way they tried to build up the emotional breakdown it was a good attempt but still didn't work for me...dunno

I know is a long rant but I am sorry I just had more expectations especially since it started off as well researched at first and now it feels as if they removed the most important parts of the narrative...

Okay I know tumblr is treating EPIC as if it cleared their skin and watered their crops and I genuinely really really like it the music is excellent but I gotta say this:

I HATE the way it's presenting odysseus' arc and flaws with polyphemus. Like the problem wasn't that he was too NICE?? Where did that come from? The problem was that odysseus was a cocky lil shit and even though he had managed to get away with the nobody trick he went like "actually you got your ass beat by odysseus lol loser". Hybris-nemesis-catharsis is homer 101 and I'm SO annoyed that an entire generation of teenagers is getting this interpretation of the text. A hero giving in to being the "monster" and losing his kindness is a great arc but there are 700 other heroes you could have done that with - not odysseus.

On the other hand, how catchy is Ruthlessness, amirite?

[amazingmsme]

Hey gang its ya boy

Have some fic ideas I may or may not write one day

Polites helping Eury lighten up by tickling him until hes a giggling puddle

Diomedes and Odysseus reuniting after Ody gets back and Diomedes being so so so in love with Odysseus while knowing his love will never be reciprocated (idk if youve read the Iliad yet but I’m currently reading it and theyve consumed my every waking thought)

Telemachus having mild resentment towards Odysseus cause it feels like hes abandoned him (I can go off on Telemachus angst actually that boy has so much parent issues)

-😈

OMGGG WE’RE GONNA BE EATING GOOD! LITERALLY SALIVATING RN!!

& I haven’t actually read the Iliad or the Odyssey, but I’ve seen a ton of ship art for Ody & Dio, so the idea has definitely been planted lol

Predictably I’m most hype for the Polites & Eury fic lol. But that Telemachus one sounds right up my alley because that’s pretty much how I characterize his reaction once his father finally gets home. It was easy to love & miss him when he was this heroic fairytale of a man, but now he’s severely traumatized & is NOT the same man he’s heard about from his mother’s stories, he was forced to grow up without him, & I just know that would build so much resentment

[archetypesanalysis]

Why I believe Tech is alive

For this analysis, I will be referring to “Goddesses in Everywoman” and “Gods in Everyman” by Jean Shinoda Bolen. I will be talking about the Bad Batch Season 3 Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer. I will also refer to the titles of Season 3 episodes for this analysis. I will make some predictions for Season 3, so if you do not want to read into it, you can just scroll away.

We know the traumatising scene in “Plan 99” – Tech severs the connection between the cable cars and he falls. Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega mourn for their fallen brother. However, many fans believe that Tech is alive, and he will return in season 3. I am one of those people. After watching the Season 2 finale, I mourn for the loss, but I also want to cling onto any possible hints that he is alive. With that, I delve deeper into archetypal psychology (while I was ill at that time), and I have discovered many interesting clues that make me believe that Tech is alive.

To the people who do not believe that Tech is alive and do not want him to return in Season 3 due to personal reasonings like finding meaning in death and dealing with grief, I understand and respect all your opinions. I just do not like the excuses of “we need more suffering” or “I like suffering” to “justify” why Tech should not come back in Season 3.

With that said, I am mainly using my understanding of archetypal psychology to explain why I believe Tech is alive. Some points have been discussed in my analysis of the 3 seasons, but I am going to expand these points here.

1. Voluntary descent into the Underworld

In the myths, most people descend into the Underworld involuntarily. This is done either through death or abduction. In psychological terms, people involuntarily descend into the Underworld when they go through a traumatic experience, or they lose meaning, hope or purpose in life. However, there are myths where people descend into the Underworld voluntarily.

Some heroes take on this journey with love as their motivation. In the myth of Eros and Psyche, Aphrodite ordered Psyche to enter the Underworld with a small box for Persephone to fill it with beauty ointment. This was Psyche’s fourth and final task that she must do if she wanted to reunite with her husband Eros. In the myth of Orpheus, he went to Hades seeking his dead wife Eurydice. In one myth of Dionysus, he entered the Underworld to resurrect his dead mother Semele.  Besides love, some heroes are motivated by wisdom. In the myth of Odysseus, he ventured into the Underworld to seek help from a blind seer named Tiresias, so he could find his way home. In Roman mythology Aeneid, Aeneas entered the Underworld to seek the shade of his father, and he had a prophetic vision of Rome’s destiny. The journey to the Underworld is part of a heroic task. For example, in Greek mythology, the twelfth and final labour of Heracles was to capture and bring Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld. He was able to overpower the beast with his bare hands and bring it out of the Underworld, thus completing his twelve labours.

By enacting Plan 99, Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld – and he is the only one to do so in Season 2. Meanwhile, the rest of the Bad Batch involuntarily descend into the Underworld through grief or abduction. Tech’s sacrifice is described as “heroic” and “intentional”, which are keywords for a voluntary descend into the Underworld. Besides, Tech is motivated by love and wisdom as he makes this descent. He wants to seek out information about the whereabouts of Crosshair and Omega, so they can finally reunite with Hunter, Wrecker and Echo.

However, voluntary descents are done at great risks for there is no guarantee of a safe return. As Tech voluntarily descends into the Underworld, his fate becomes uncertain, which will explain why ambiguous wordings are used to describe his fate: “he’s gone”, “he’s not coming back in this episode at least”, “sort of sacrifices himself”, “my life as a soldier has come to an end”, “it’s kind of a loss, it’s complicated (with averted eyes)”, “plummeted out of sight”, etc.

2. Broken goggles indicate dismemberment

As the Bad Batch mourns for their loss, Dr. Hemlock arrives to capture them. He throws a pair of Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter, saying that this is the only thing they could salvage from the wreckage. Judging from the state of the goggles, it seems that the goggles were smashed on impact and were later removed. Moreover, some fans see this as mirroring the last time we saw Echo after his apparent death in the Citadel, in which we saw Echo’s charred helmet being left behind.

The goggles have always been a part of Tech’s identity. He is the most recognizable for wearing it. Cid even gives him the nickname “Goggles”. Besides the goggles, his eyes also formed part of his identity. When Phee first meets Tech, she calls him “Brown Eyes”, hinting that she is drawn to his eyes despite all clones have brown eyes. Losing the goggles means that Tech has lost part of his identity, which is a form of psychological dismemberment. In Jungian psychology, anything that has been “dismembered” is thrown into the Underworld and it becomes part of our Shadow, which consists the parts we have deemed as unacceptable, shameful or even traumatic. I have seen fanarts about Tech being alive but he loses his sight, which can be considered as a form of physical and psychological dismemberment.

We have seen 3D models of Tech without his goggles, and he looks different from his usual look. When he wears the goggles, he looks friendly and approachable. Without the goggles, he looks serious and intimidating. We know that the goggles records everything, and in addition to giving Tech a friendly and approachable look, it enables him to get close to anyone and gather vital information. This is useful most of the time, especially during the Clone Wars as Tech acts as the bridge between Clone Force 99 and other people. However, this will become difficult during the rise of the Empire as the galaxy becomes more dangerous. A friendly look will likely draw unnecessary attention and people are more likely to pick on you. This may have been a problem for Tech in some mercenary jobs. For example, when Phee brings the Bad Batch to a cantina to purchase an artifact, Tech stays in the Marauder to provide them a getaway. I think Tech being assigned to this role is not just due to his piloting skills, but the fact that he looks “too friendly” to blend in with the crowd that mostly has questionable morals. Instead, Hunter and Wrecker are chosen as Phee’s muscle as they can blend in with the crowd so Lanse Crowder and his henchmen will let their guard down (as for Omega, she acts as Phee’s young apprentice).

If Tech needs to sneak in and acquire confidential Imperial files, an intimidating look will help. Without his goggles, Tech can easily take on the serious and intimidating look to blend it with the Imperials and/or scare off the low-level Imperials. This new look can also be useful for Tech to blend in with pirates, smugglers, mercenaries and bounty hunters – to show that he is someone you should not mess with.

I do believe that we may see Tech taking on a different look (and a different identity) in Season 3. I once imagined his new appearance to resemble a figure wearing black armour (quite similar to the one shown in the official Season 3 trailer). His different look may indicate that “the old friendly Tech is gone”, but this does not necessarily mean that Tech will be brainwashed by Hemlock and become a clone assassin. It will just mean that he has to suppress his friendly side in order to find Crosshair and Omega.

3. Tech’s archetype combination: Hades, Hermes and Athena

In my two-part character analysis of Tech (innate archetype and anima), I identify Tech to have three main archetypes: Hades (the God of the Underworld), Hermes (the Messenger God) and Athena (the Goddess of Wisdom).

Since Tech is innately Hades, this means that he is used to the Underworld as his exceptional mind already serves as his Underworld. Based on the footage shown in the Celebration Europe trailer and the official Season 3 trailer, I can see that each member of the Bad Batch is in their own versions of the Underworld: Hunter is loss of purpose, Echo is loneliness, Wrecker is monsters, Omega is abduction, and Crosshair is hopelessness. This leaves me a question: what is Tech’s Underworld? The answer is… I do not really know. His mind already resembles the Underworld and he can easily spend long hours by himself – as if he is familiar with this dark and mysterious territory. If you try to subject Tech with the Underworlds experienced by other members of the Bad Batch, he will most probably be unaffected by it. He is probably aware of these aspects of the Underworld, and he is not afraid to face them. Since the writers intended to bring the Bad Batch into the Underworld and keep them there for some time by the Season 2 finale, it would explain why they had to take Tech out of the picture. Tech would have made their journeys to the Underworld at least bearable and he would have brought them out of their dark places quickly. Without Tech, the Bad Batch would have to struggle for months (since there is a time jump hinted in the trailers). Moreover, Tech’s disappearance resembles Hades wearing the cap of invisibility – Tech has become Hades the Unseen One, “invisible” to everyone.

As Athena, Tech is a powerful strategist that gears towards practicality and pragmatism, which enables him to get an upper hand over his enemies. His craftiness and emotional distance can lead him to “do whatever it works” to accomplish his goals or defeat his enemies. With this in mind, I believe that Tech already has a strategy in mind when he decides to enact Plan 99. Although he is well-aware that his action will hurt his teammates, he does it because “it is the only way” he can succeed in his mission of finding Crosshair (and later Omega). In Greek mythology, Athena is the ally and guide of many heroes. When Heracles is tasked to capture Cerberus, Athena and Hermes act as his guides to the Underworld, helping him to complete his final labour. In orphic theology, Athena is depicted as a rescuer of Dionysus, the God of Wine and Ecstasy. In this myth, she managed to save the heart of the infant Dionysus that had been torn into pieces. She then gave the heart to Zeus, who sewed it to his own thigh, allowing Dionysus to be reborn. By taking these two myths into consideration, Tech takes on the guide and rescuer of the Bad Batch, who are heroes.

Among his archetypes, I find that Hermes is the strongest in Tech. As the messenger, Tech can easily travel through different places to gather information, just like Hermes who can swiftly travel between Olympus, earth and the Underworld. As the trickster, Tech can sneak around, make an escape, steal data, hack into machinery and break through confidential files with ease. As the alchemist, Tech can create new things and strategies to help him and his teammates.

Hermes is known to be the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. As a psychopomp, he accompanies the souls of the dead to the Underworld (psychologically, he is the archetype that helps people during significant life transitions). In his myths, Hermes has rescued Ares who was trapped in the bronze jar, has brought Persephone out of the Underworld, and has saved Dionysus at least twice. These two roles have been present in Tech since his first appearance. It is highly likely that these roles would become more prominent in Season 3. I believe that Tech would lead Hunter, Echo and Wrecker to rescue Crosshair and Omega. Once the team is reunited, Tech would become the guide of souls as he helps the Bad Batch (and himself) to find meaning in their sufferings, to integrate all aspects of themselves, and to be transformed by their journeys to the Underworld: Hunter would learn to embrace human seasonal changes and become a hero; Echo would learn to become more assertive and be unafraid to revisit his trauma; Wrecker would learn to think before he acts; Crosshair would learn to be vulnerable and let love be his motivator; Omega would become more mature and assertive as she guides others through dark times; and Tech would learn to be more in touch with his emotions.

According to Jean Shinoda Bolen, Hermes has the innate potential to become a guide of souls and a seeker of meaning. This potential can be unleashed by venturing down into the depths of the Underworld, which will lead a person to undergo a spiritual evolution. They will gain valuable insight from this journey and will return to pass down what they have learned. This is similar to Hermes bringing Persephone (the soul) out of the Underworld and back to her mother Demeter. This myth became the basis for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which was the most sacred and important religious rituals of Ancient Greece that celebrated the return of Persephone from the Underworld. The ancients believed that those who were initiated into the mysteries would gain a reason to live in joy and die without fearing death.

In Season 1, Tech is more focused on monetary gains to support the Bad Batch after they defect from the Empire. They start to work for Cid by taking up mercenary jobs. For example, in “Rampage”, the Bad Batch is tasked to rescue Muchi from Zygerrian slave traders, which is the right thing to do, and according to Tech, they can earn a decent amount of credits. In “War-Mantle”, when the team discusses whether they should deviate from their job and rescue Gregor, Tech reminds them that Cid will not compensate them if they choose to deviate, and they will go hungry without the money to buy food.

I believe Season 2 is when Tech starts to undergo a spiritual evolution. In “Spoils of War”, the Bad Batch agrees to Cid’s promise to free them from their debts if they succeed in retrieving one of Count Dooku’s war chests. Although Tech’s left femur is fractured during the mission, he is determined to retrieve the war chest and use the fortune for the team’s benefit. However, I believe Tech’s meeting with Romar is what changes him, which initiates his spiritual evolution. Romar has survived the bombardment of Serenno City, and he now lives in the woods alone. He is not interested in Dooku’s war chests, and instead, he is more interested in persevering his Serennian culture, which gives him meaning in life. When Tech manages to fix the datacore and restore data about Serennian culture, Romar is overjoyed because his life now has meaning once more – as if his soul is rescued from the Underworld. This may have initiated him into the Eleusinian Mysteries, giving him the reason to continue living in joy and gaining the bravery to help Tech and Echo to find Omega before the Imperials do. Before the Bad Batch leaves, Romar tells Tech that he is staying behind as he is a survivor, which seems to have impacted Tech. I believe that Romar has acted as a wise elder that sends Tech on the spiritual journey, making him realize that helping others is more meaningful than carrying out mercenary jobs to make ends meet. Even though Tech gains nothing from helping Romar, he finds it meaningful.

However, Tech is not as vocal as Echo because of his loyalty to Hunter (motivated by his Athena anima). Hunter wants the team to lay low and not get involved in the fight against the Empire. Tech knows Hunter has the team’s best interest in mind, so he does not object. Though, it is possible that Tech is starting to become frustrated. In “Faster”, Tech complains to Cid that giving Hunter and Echo the job to deliver 50 cases of nerf nuggets is a waste of their skills and talents. He also does not want to follow Cid for another mission, but he goes for it because of Wrecker and Omega. When they must win the race to free Cid and her debt to Millegi, Tech reminds Wrecker and Omega that Cid’s dealings with individuals of questionable integrity have caused her to repeatedly use the Bad Batch to solve her problems, which has become a problematic pattern. It does seem that Tech is starting to get tired of Cid and he begins to find this current life as meaningless. He probably wants more of this life but he cannot.

After Echo leaves the Bad Batch, Tech turns all of his energy to work, which is his way of dealing with the loss. I also believe that Tech becomes intensely focused on work because he is determined to fully pay off the team’s debt so they can be free and do whatever they want in life. Since Echo leaves to join Rex’s resistance network, which gives him meaning in life, Tech may have become more motivated to achieve that goal for the Bad Batch (and himself). However, by focusing intensely on work, Tech has become emotionally withdrawn, which leads to tensions and misunderstandings. In “The Crossing”, Omega thinks that Tech is unbothered by Echo’s absence and that he is unsympathetic towards her grief. When Tech realizes that his intense emotional withdrawal has inadvertently hurt his loved ones, he learns to understand himself better and learns to grow.

In “Retrieval”, the Bad Batch goes to retrieve the stolen Marauder in Mokko’s factory. Tech points out that Mokko appears to be using his power and means as a leverage over his workers, which consist of adolescent miners. He finds Mokko’s operation to be similar to the Empire. After the Bad Batch manages to free the miners from Mokko’s oppressive rule, Omega realizes that there are other threats besides the Empire. Tech reassures her that there are many good people out there like them. Their actions of liberating the miners have helped them to reconnect with their souls – they once again find what gives them meaning in life.

Since Cid refuses to help the Bad Batch after they lost the Marauder during the mission to acquire ipsium, the team begins to keep a distance from her. They probably begin to feel that Cid is taking advantage of them and she would never release them from their debts. In “Metamorphosis”, when Cid provides intel about a downed ship that they can scavenge for parts, the team demands a higher share of the cut and threatens to not return. Tech knows that their agreement with Cid is not mutually beneficial, but they cannot sever ties so easily because Cid knows compromising information about them. Hence, Tech proposes to treat this mission as their last for Cid – which means they are going for a strike. Perhaps Tech hopes that the strike can teach Cid a lesson, and it can give the Bad Batch alternative options to earn credits like working with Phee.

It does seem that all goes well once the Bad Batch teams up with Phee – they are taking on more meaningful jobs (which involve retrieving artifacts that are mostly culturally significant to the people on Pabu), and they now have the option to stay permanently on Pabu. However, in “Tipping Point”, Tech realizes that Crosshair is being held captive by Dr. Hemlock and that Crosshair has sent Plan 88 to warn them that they have been targeted by the Empire. Tech now probably realizes the severity of the situation faced by the Bad Batch. He is probably well-prepared for the possibility that he has to carry out Plan 99 if anything goes wrong. Surprisingly, Plan 88 is called “The Seeker”, which makes me believe that this serves as an initiation for Tech to become Hermes the Seeker of Meaning. After all, Tech is now motivated to seek out Hemlock and his base in order to find Crosshair.

When the mission to Eriadu goes horribly wrong, Tech realizes that he must venture down into the Underworld (the Empire) so he can seek access to the mysteries hidden in the forbidden depths of the Empire (since the location and purpose of the Advanced Science Division led by Hemlock are hidden). With that, Tech carries out Plan 99, which is equivalent to him being initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries as he “no longer fears death”. Before Heracles descended into the Underworld to capture Cerberus as his twelfth and final labour, he was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries to ensure that he would be able to safely return. He was also accompanied by Hermes and Athena on his journey. Since Tech is innately Hades, he is no stranger to the depths of the Underworld. Moreover, his Hermes and Athena archetypes are powerful enough to act as his guides to the Underworld. With that, it is highly possible that Tech survives the fall as he undergoes a full spiritual evolution, and he would return wiser than ever in Season 3.

4. The Abduction of Persephone: Hecate, Helios and Hermes

In the Greek myth, Persephone was kidnapped by Hades with the approval given by her father Zeus. Her mother Demeter heard echoes of her cries and rushed to find her. Demeter spent 9 days and 9 nights searching for Persephone across the earth (Coincidentally, 9 days and 9 nights can sound like 99 – Clone Force 99, Plan 99). At dawn on the tenth day, Demeter met Hecate, the Goddess of the Dark Moon, Crossroads, Witchcraft and Ghosts. Hecate told Demeter that she had heard Persephone screaming for help but did not know what happened to her. She suggested that they both go to Helios, the God of the Sun who shared this title with Apollo. Helios, who had witnessed the incident, told Demeter what had happened. Feeling betrayed and grief-stricken, Demeter ceased functioning as the Goddess of Grain, plunging the earth into an eternal winter that threatened to wipe out the human race. No gifts or honours could appease Demeter as she made it clear that she would not allow anything to grow until Persephone was returned to her. Zeus finally gave in and sent Hermes to bring Persephone out of the Underworld and restored her to Demeter. After the mother and daughter reunited, Demeter restored fertility and growth to the earth.

At the end of “Metamorphosis”, Lama Su (Zeus) tells Dr. Hemlock (Hades) that he needs to capture Omega (Persephone) if he wants to control Nala Se (Demeter – though not as strong as Hunter) and force her to carry out a project for the Empire. At the end of “Plan 99”, Hemlock successfully kidnaps Omega, and Hunter (Demeter) is too late to stop him. Despite not knowing where Omega is taken to, Hunter is determined to get her back and he will not stop searching for her. Since the trailers show Omega’s hair has grown longer to resemble Emerie’s hairstyle, and that Hunter’s hair has also grown slightly longer, this means that Hunter has sent months searching for Omega. His armour becoming more worn out with colours fading away indicates that he has not stopped to rest in his frantic search for he does not want Omega to wait for another day – like Demeter did not eat, sleep or bathe as she searched for Persephone.

In the Celebration Europe trailer, Rex tells Hunter “That kid (referring to Omega) may be the key to whatever is happening on Mount Tantiss”. I believe this scene is from “A Different Approach”. We know that anything about Mount Tantiss and its experiments are confidential. When the ships heading to Mount Tantiss encounter problems such as extensive damage of the ship or hijacking, the Imperials will erase the databanks to prevent anyone from discovering the destination and the purposes of the experiments. The Imperials will also commit suicide, taking all confidential information to their graves. The databanks are also heavily encrypted, which provides extra protection for anyone who manages to retrieve them before deletion.

Based on Rex’s sentence, it seems that someone has provided him the information about Mount Tantiss and the experiments being conducted there. However, Rex only suspects that Omega may be related to the experiments on Mount Tantiss – which means they are still uncertain about her precise location (even though the audience knows that she is there). So, who could have sent such confidential information to Rex? I do not think it is Scorch or Emerie because if it was either one of them, they would have confirmed that Omega is on Mount Tantiss. Perhaps it could be one of the undercover clones working for Rex’s resistance network? It is possible, but any information about the Advanced Science Division (Hemlock, Mount Tantiss, cloning experiments, clone prisoners) are heavily encrypted and Hemlock is certain that nobody can break through these safeguards. However, there is one person proven to have the capability to do so – Tech.

I believe that Tech would take on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. As the Goddess and Protector of the entranceways, Hecate was worshipped in ancient Athens as a protector of the household, alongside Zeus, Hestia, Hermes and Apollo. In Hesiod’s Theogony, she was depicted as a goddess of great honour with domains in sky, earth and sea. By the fifth century BCE, she has taken on a darker depiction as the Goddess of Witchcraft, Ghosts and the Dark Moon. Some sources represented her as the guardian of the gates to the Underworld, or as the keeper of keys to the Underworld. As the Goddess of the Crossroads, she took the form of a triple-goddess or a triple-faced goddess. Due to her association with being ‘between’, she is depicted as a “liminal” goddess that has the ability to cross from the Underworld to the physical world with ease. She also acted as a mediator between the Olympians and Titans, and between the mortals and the divine. Her liminal role is reflected in a number of her cult titles: Apotropaia (that turns away or protects); Enodia (on the way); Propulaia/Propylaia (before the gate); Triodia/Trioditis (who frequents crossroads); Klêidouchos (holding the keys).

Tech may have taken the role of Hecate when he finds out that Crosshair is being held captive by Hemlock but he does not know where Crosshair is. This sends him on a journey to find him. It is possible that Tech would have come to know that Omega has been kidnapped by Hemlock. This would push him further to locate them. Like Hecate, Tech would stand on the crossroads between the Empire, the pirates and smugglers, and Rex’s resistance network. He would sneak into the Empire (the Underworld) to find any information regarding Hemlock and the Advanced Science Division, and then he would send that information to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. I believe that Tech found out information regarding Mount Tantiss and the cloning experiments being carried out there. He would have related this information to the Bad Batch’s discovery of a downed ship in “Metamorphosis”, in which the ship contained Kaminoan technology and a cloned Zillo Beast, which was later captured by the Empire. This discovery led Tech to theorize that the Empire destroyed the cities of Kamino to take control of its cloning technology for nefarious purposes. With that in mind, Tech would suspect that Hemlock is associated with these cloning experiments on Mount Tantiss, and that Crosshair and Omega are being held captive there. This information would give Hunter, Wrecker and Echo a different approach to find Crosshair and Omega.

Of course, suspicion would not be enough for Tech. He would need confirmation that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would also need the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss so he could precisely locate where Crosshair and Omega would be held captive. By studying the security measures of Mount Tantiss, Tech would be able to find the best infiltration point, devise the best method of escaping, and prepare for any traps that could hinder the rescue mission like the poisonous gas created by Hemlock in “Tipping Point”. He might gain this information through confidential databases or through a secret communication with Emerie and/or Scorch (though Emerie might be more likely). I believe “The Return” is when Tech reveals to the Bad Batch that he is alive. This time, Tech would take on the role of Helios as he could definitely confirm that Crosshair and Omega are on Mount Tantiss. He would provide the layout and floor plan of Mount Tantiss, allowing Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to plan out a rescue mission. I believe that “Infiltration” and “Extraction” would be the rescue mission, and Tech would take on the role of Hermes, or more specifically, as the guide of souls and the rescuer of the child. Tech would lead Hunter, Wrecker and Echo to infiltrate Mount Tantiss, and they would successfully rescue Crosshair and Omega.

When I analyse the Bad Batch arc in the Clone Wars, I discover that Tech has taken on the roles of Hecate, Helios and Hermes. In “The Bad Batch”, the Bad Batch, Rex and Jesse manage to infiltrate the Cyber Center on Anaxes, which the Separatists are using it to receive Rex’s battle strategy algorithm to predict the Republic’s tactics. When Tech hacks into the computer system, he discovers that the algorithm is not stored inside the center’s memory banks. Instead, the algorithm is being broadcasted from another planet called Skako Minor. This discovery is shocking to both Tech and Rex. Right here, Tech has taken on the role of Hecate as he is now at the crossroads between Anaxes and Skako Minor, and he is providing Rex a different approach to stop the Separatists from winning. Tech then takes on the role of Helios as he digs deeper and finds an audio signal that sounds like a human voice. Under Rex’s request, Tech sends a transmission requesting the person’s identity, which turns out to be “CT-1409” – Echo’s identification number. Tech also drops the voice’s masking so they can clearly hear that it is the voice of a clone trooper.

In “A Distant Echo” and “On the Wings of Keeradaks”, Tech takes on the role of Hermes. As the guide of souls, Tech brings the Bad Batch, Rex and Anakin to Skako Minor, which serves as the Underworld to Echo (and Rex). He flies into a storm but manages to safely land on the planet’s surface. When Anakin is captured by a keeradak, Tech gives the coordinates so Crosshair can shoot a grappling hook at the flying reptile, which allows Hunter to use it to track down Anakin. After rescuing Anakin from the Poletecs, Tech becomes the translator (or Hermes the god of speech) that helps the team and the Poletecs to understand each other. When Tech loses Echo’s signal, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Anakin begin to fear that Echo is actually dead and the Separatists are using him to lure them into a trap. However, Tech does not believe in that, and neither does Rex. This can be interpreted as Tech helping Rex to hold onto hope. After Tech and Rex manage to find Echo in a stasis chamber, Tech uses his expertise to safely disconnect Echo from the computer. Then, as droids begin to surround Anakin and the clones on a long narrow pipe, Tech uses a recording to summon several keeradaks, allowing all of them to escape using an alternate route. Thanks to his powerful Hermes archetype, Tech ensures that the rescue mission will be a success. As Hermes the rescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on rescuing Echo, who has the Persephone anima. I believe that he would do it again for Omega and Crosshair.

5. Tech vs Hemlock

Tech and Hemlock share the same archetype combination, but they take on different sides. Tech is the good Hades as he is willing to share his inner riches to others (as Hades the Plouton) and he is able to understand and respect other people’s decisions and subjective values (as Hades the Good Counsellor). Hemlock is the evil Hades as he takes on the archetype of the abductor and the shadow of the father archetype (or the Shadow of Zeus). The Empire and Palpatine, with all their might, power and control, represent Zeus. Imperials like Tarkin and Hemlock take on the Zeus archetype as they are prominent figures of the Empire (even having a meeting on the Summit, which is where Zeus resides on his throne). The Empire announces that the clone troopers will be sent for retirement, but they are acting out a terrible secret in the shadows. Hemlock represents the Shadow as he is the one requesting the Empire to send him dissident clone troopers for his inhumane experiments as he believes that eliminating them will not root out the problem of rogue clones within the Empire. Hemlock is abducting these clone troopers into Mount Tantiss, which is the Underworld. He even abducts Omega, who is innately Persephone, so he can force Nala Se to carry out an important project for the Empire. He even threatens to torture Omega for Nala Se’s defiance and failures.

Tech is the good Hermes as he is the guide of souls, the seeker of meaning, and the rescuer of the child. On the other hand, Hemlock is the sociopathic Hermes as he takes on the negative side of the trickster. This is evident when Hemlock pretends to be Hermes the rescuer of the child as he tells Omega that he is here to return her to Nala Se (like Hermes restoring Persephone to her mother Demeter). Although he is right to some extent, Omega does not want to go back to Nala Se because she does not want to be separated from her brothers, and she does not want to be turned into an experiment by the Kaminoans. Hemlock is aware of her resistance, so he resorts to kidnap her. Hemlock does restore Omega to Nala Se, but he actually traps both of them in the Underworld, preventing them from escaping and forcing them to do whatever he wants from them.

In the trailers, we see Hemlock walking beside Palpatine as he commences a project for Nala Se. It does seem that Hemlock has become Palpatine’s right-hand man, making him Athena the archetype of “the father’s daughter”. He upholds all of Palpatine’s commands no matter how horrible they are. Tech has this Athena archetype on him as he is loyal to Hunter, but he also has a tendency to deviate from Hunter’s orders when he thinks it is necessary. Besides, Hunter being a good leader also influences Tech to take on more positive traits of Athena.

Hemlock seems to know how to psychologically break the Bad Batch: he tortures Crosshair with an interrogation droid; he throws Tech’s broken goggles to Hunter and points out his failed leadership; he imprisons, restrains and tortures Omega until she starts to lose hope. Since Tech and Hemlock represent the opposite sides of their archetypes (good vs evil), I feel that Tech is the best candidate to take down Hemlock.

6. Tech’s wrath

I have seen headcanons describing Tech’s wrath as the scariest, and I agree. Although Tech is calm and collected, there are times we can see Tech holding back his anger and frustration. His exceptional mind is one factor why you should never hurt Tech or his loved ones, but I believe there is another factor – his Hades archetype.

In one Greek myth, Theseus and Pirithous both wanted to marry a daughter of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen of Troy while Pirithous chose Persephone (despite she was already married to Hades). They both enter the Underworld and become trapped there. One version of the myth stated that they sat on the rocks and snakes coiled around their legs, which turned their bottoms and legs into stone. Another version stated that Hades had prepared a feast and invited them to sit, and they unknowingly sat in chairs of forgetfulness and were ensnared by chains or snakes. Heracles later encountered them when he was on a quest to capture Cerberus. Heracles managed to release Theseus, though some of his thigh and bottom are left attached to the rock or chair. However, the earth shook when Heracles tried to free Pirithous, serving as a sign that he was doomed to stay behind because his desire to have the goddess for himself was extremely insulting. Taking this myth as reference, I feel that Tech would psychologically torture anyone who dares to hurt him or his loved ones – giving them trauma and possibly ruining their entire lives.

We know that Tech is very protective of his loved ones. In “Aftermath”, when a clone shock trooper whacks Hunter in the stomach with a blaster, Wrecker and Tech are angry and ready to square off with the shock trooper. I believe that Tech loses his cool when he is unable to prevent a regular clone trooper from knocking Echo out with a tray. He may have become violent, causing Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair and Omega to stop the food fight, restrain Tech, and bring the unconscious Echo to the medbay. I do believe that the Bad Batch knows that it is the end of the world when Tech loses his temper.

I believe that Tech would play a vital role in rescuing Crosshair and Omega from Mount Tantiss. I suspect that this would happen in the mid-season 3 episodes, which are “Infiltration” and “Extraction”. This rescue mission could be interpreted as Tech’s wrath was upon Hemlock. Once the Empire realized that the Bad Batch managed to infiltrate Mount Tantiss and break out two clone prisoners, this would indicate that the security and confidentiality of the Weyland facility had been severely compromised. Hemlock would lose his job, high status, respect and reputation. He would also lose funding and support for his experiments. If Emerie Karr did secretly help Omega and Crosshair to escape, it would rub salt into Hemlock’s wound because she was his assistant and he trusted her. This rescue mission would ruin Hemlock’s life forever, stripping away his purpose and meaning in his life – as if Tech had dragged him into the Underworld and chained him there as punishment.

7. Tech already knew Plan 99 has to happen

This is my theory of what happened to Tech: he uses Plan 99 to fake his death and uses Hemlock’s overconfidence to his advantage.

As the Messenger God, Hermes can travel across the sky, earth and the Underworld with ease. As an archetype, he helps a person to be aware of the past, present and future (the sky is associated with the present and future; the earth is associated with the past and present; the Underworld is timeless). Since Tech has a strong Hermes, he is able to make connections with the past and present to predict the future, which makes him an excellent strategist.

In “Tipping Point”, Echo seeks Tech’s help in decrypting data from a file aboard an Imperial ship carrying clone prisoners. After Tech manages to decrypt the data, he discovers that the Imperial ship was assigned to the Advanced Science Division, but there are no records of its location and purpose. He also discovers that the Advanced Science Division is headed by Dr. Hemlock, who has been expelled from the Republic Science Corps for his unauthorized and unorthodox experiments. Although Tech does not understand why clone prisoners are sent to Hemlock, but he is shocked to find that Crosshair is one of them, which indicates that Crosshair has turned against the Empire. Tech also checks all comm channels and finds a recent distress signal from Crosshair’s old code, which states “Plan 88 – the Seeker”. Tech believes that Crosshair is warning the Bad Batch that they have been targeted by the Empire, or more specifically, Hemlock.

Since clone prisoners are being sent to Hemlock, Tech probably believes that the Advanced Science Division is carrying out cloning experiments like cloning the Zillo Beast as they have discovered it in “Metamorphosis”. The Empire is now replacing Clone Troopers with Stormtroopers, so why would Hemlock need clones for? Tech would suspect that it has something to do with Clone X, a clone trooper with his identifying markings removed and is brainwashed to become an assassin. If that is the case, why would Hemlock be targeting the Bad Batch? Tech would suspect that Hemlock is after Omega because she has the unaltered genetic template of Jango Fett, which is why a bounty is placed on her head in Season 1. He may think that Hemlock wants the genetic template for his cloning experiments.

Moreover, previous records of clone prisoners reveal that Crosshair has been sent to Hemlock a few rotations ago. Then, the Plan 88 signal is sent recently, possibly from Hemlock’s base. Tech would suspect that Crosshair has heard that Hemlock is after the Bad Batch (especially Omega) and he manages to send them a warning. This would mean that their attempts to lay low have been futile. It is possible that their missions to Serenno, Coruscant and the downed ship with the Zillo Beast have caught the Empire’s attention. To make matters worse, they have left AZI with Cid, and AZI is a Kaminoan medical droid, which will attract Hemlock’s attention. Since they have crossed Cid by refusing to work for her, it is only a matter of time before she sells them out to Hemlock. It would be dangerous for them to step foot on Ord Mantell or to carry out any mercenary jobs because the Empire is now after them.

Since Hemlock is a high ranked Imperial, his base of operations would have tight security, and Tech may find it surprising that Crosshair managed to send the Plan 88 signal to them. Tech probably begins to wonder if Crosshair’s actions would serve as proof to Hemlock that the Bad Batch is alive, and he is now waiting for them to come and rescue Crosshair. This would serve as a trap as Hunter has suspected. Although Tech is determined to rescue Crosshair, they would have to do it in secret. Echo reports that Hemlock will be on Eriadu, and they can plant a tracking device on his shuttle so they can locate his base and Crosshair. It is a risky plan, especially with the knowledge that the Empire is targeting them, so everything must go smoothly. At this moment, Tech is probably preparing for the worst-case scenario. If the plan goes wrong, their position would be compromised, and Hemlock would suspect that they are involved in this because they have received Crosshair’s distress signal. Hemlock would have known about Clone Force 99 by now, and he would tighten all security measures, which would make it more difficult for them to locate and rescue Crosshair. Furthermore, a failed mission may result in all of them getting captured by the Empire, which is not an ideal outcome. With that, Tech is well-prepared to carry out Plan 99 if the mission goes wrong.

Surely enough, the mission does go wrong and Tech carries out Plan 99. Being the smartest one in the team, he would find a way to survive the fall. He also left his broken goggles at the wreckage to make Hemlock assume that he is dead and the Bad Batch did come back to retrieve his body (but they forgot the goggles). After all, clones do not leave their own kind behind. As the cable car speeds up and carries Hunter, Echo, Wrecker and Omega away, Tech probably would have predicted that Omega would get injured because she is not wearing any armour. This would prompt the team to bring her to Ord Mantell because AZI would know how to save her life. They would not have the time to search for Tech. Besides, with Hunter’s pessimism, he would assume that Tech did not make it, and as the leader, he would convince others that Tech is dead.

Now that the team is back in Ord Mantell, Tech would have predicted Cid’s betrayal. He also would have predicted Omega being kidnapped by Hemlock, which would force Hunter to join Rex’s resistance network for he needs all their help to rescue her. As Hemlock sees the grief on the team’s faces, he is convinced that Tech is dead. With the smartest team member ‘dead’, Hemlock thinks that he has won, and he is now unstoppable. He now has Omega, and he firmly believes that the rest of the Bad Batch will not be able to find out Mount Tantiss, where he has imprisoned her and Crosshair. After all, all data associating the Advanced Science Division is heavily encrypted and he believes that no clone can break through his security measures. This explains why he is not worried about the loss of an Imperial shuttle carrying clone prisoners and he disregards the possibility that the clones will have access to the confidential data. However, we all know that Tech is able to bypass his security measures.

It seems that Hemlock is overconfident of his abilities, and this would be his downfall. He certainly has underestimated the clones, especially on how paternal they can be. I believe that he also has underestimated Tech’s intellect. After using Plan 99 to fake his death, Tech would go on an undercover mission. He would take on a new identity and a new appearance. He would venture deep into the Imperial files as he searches for Crosshair and Omega. Once he found any information linking to them, he would deliver it to Rex, who would later inform Hunter about it. For now, all Tech needed was time and patience as he waited for Hemlock to become so overconfident that he finally slipped, allowing Tech to take advantage of it. Right now, Tech is playing a game of chess, and everyone has taken their designated positions, just as he has intended them to do. After all, he is the mastermind.

[leynaeithnea]

Hi :)

here is a lil ask to use whenever you're ready to go insane about love in paradise ( go nuts with your analysis!!! Make it a thousand pages essay!!! Or half a sentence, anything you want love<3 )

YeS YES YES YES THANK YOU AAAH here you go seven pages/3600 words essay :>

TW, for SA/Sxcide mention/discussion, you know the deal with the song

29. Love In Paradise

THE DIVE INTO THE SOUND SCAPE WITH THE CHOIR, the melody, and the clicking clock??? SO GOOD

“Old friend” FRIEND Aaaah U FINIALLY ADMIT IT

“It′s been 10 years since I last saw you” YOU DIDNT CHECK ON HIM IN 10 YEARS GIRL

“Remember me, I am the infamous, Odysseus!, Oh, woah-oh, woah-oh” This was the last time she saw him, its been 10 years, she quick minded him right after that, and HASNT SEEN HIM SINCE--- i love how it is sped up and you can visualize her literally diving through his memories in a timelapse

“Let’s see where you′ve been” FINIALLY, but also thE VOCAL PERFORMANCE (this is me like 90% of this saga, im obssessed)

I LOVE the soundscape of the flashbacks, the way that sounds with a mild echo like in big room? just...in his mind?? IDK how to call it but ITS SO GOOD

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” - the first thing that went wrong “Ruthlessness is mercy upon oursel-” BIG THING THAT WENT WRONG

“One wrong move and you’re done for

Anything I-” close call

“Song of past romance I see the” smart way to recall the underworld saga AND bring up the sirens, followed by

“We won’t take more suffering from you”, the way that ody embraced his monster

“Drown in your sorrow and fears” -that didnt go well very long, also, timelaps is slowing down, we’re getting closer to the events that answer where he spent the last years

“Captain? - I have to see her - But we′ll die -I know”, the last moments before he disappeared, making him suffer terribly again at the hands of her father >:)

“Odysseus... where did you go?” she sounds so worrieddddd, her voice tho, pls mother dearest

THE MUSIC, is so coool the island vibes? the dodo do do dodo, the birds and the shore and the....instrument whos name i forgot the tip-tap thing is soo comfy vibesssss, beach island holiday vibes!!

“Morning, sleepyhead, You′ve been resting for a while, I swore that you were dead when you washed up on my isle”.......i need...visuals......i need the most angsty visuals i can get of this, please, i need to see him wash up, more dead then alive and then unconscious for who knows how long, with his stab wound, the concussion from Eurys punch, whatever wounds he got from the lighting hitting his ship AND almost drowning, getting taking care of by her until he wakes up again...

“Did you know you talk in your sleep? Tell me though, who’s Penelope?” ........is she hoping that he’ll say his sister or was she just trying to make small talk?

“She′s my wife”, he sounds so tired/distanced from the situation, her reminding him instantly of the one thing he’s holding on to, maybe remembering what just happened, he needs to go back...

HER SILENCE AFTER THAT IS SO TELLINGS SEGGSEIGS THE ANIMATIC WAS HILARIOUS, i love gigi

and then the “anyways!” WHAT DO YOU MEAN “ANYWAYS” SHE IS HIS LOVE HIS LIGHT HIS REASON YOU DONT ANYWAYS PENELOPE ahem, im vibing so hard to this tho

“I’ve got all you could want here, all you could need here” sounds nice, i would 100% fall under her spell, her voice is beatiful

“Just you and me, my dear, my love for life” uh oh where is this going, huh?? huh???? >:) Ma’am, this is not yours

“Soon, into bed we′ll climb and spend our time” DONT U FUCKING DARE TOUCH HIM HES BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH HES THE ONLY FAITHFUL MAN IN ANCIENT GREECE LET HIM BEEEEEEEEE

“I’m not your man-” THE JUST A MAN REPHRASING? EXCUSE ME???? this is going so differently compared to Circes there are other ways, he has no interest in her, all he wants is to go back home, hes sacrificed the rest of his crew for that, he. needs. to go. home. (the delivery tho omg so good)

“I′m what you want here, I’m what you need here, Just you and me, my love in paradise, Now ‘til the end of time” he does not need you, he does not want you, this is not paradise for him, get the fuq away from my baby girl odysseus, i know youre lonely on your little island, i know zeus did you wrong, BUT THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU ANY RIGHT TO TAKE CLAIM TO ODYSSEUS; HE IS NOT YOUR MAN

“From here on out, you′re mine, all mine” possissive much, fuck off >:) also thats what he greets him with? thats....not...no. he’s been through so much, he fought in a war he never wanted to go to for ten years, he used a wooden horse to finially end the war because he just needed to go back home, he had to kill a child to choose his family, they were safe on their way home when his best friend got killed, then they almost made it home, but the bag was opened, most of his crew died, his men got turned into pigs and he got another round of the gods playing games with him (see: hermes telling Ody not to refuse circe in homers odyssey when she wants to take him to bed, so he doesnt, he cant refuse the demands of gods), once they finially leave their island with his men back as humans, they have to go through the underworld where EVERY loss he had (which are more than he knew) comes back to haunt him, he learns his family is in danger, theres blood in his palace, all his mercy is harming him, so he embraces the thing he never wanted to be - a monster - and when the sirens come, he kills them, but he has to go further than that, the only way to get home is to sacrifice six of his men, so he does, six more men to haunt his dreams, if thats the price he has to pay he will, but his men turn on him, his trusted brother in law, not only opened the windbag, now he also starts a mutiny, the men he tried to bring home so badly betray him, stab him, bind him to a statue and he can do nothing but watch as they kill the cattle, his doom is sealed, zeus shows up and tells him to either choose himself, or his crew, hes a broken man, how much more has he to go through before he can go home? but he has to home to his family, so he chooses, his last decision he has to make, and he sinks into the ocean, thinking maybe, he can finally close his eyes, he needs to go home but he is so tired of suffering he would welcome an end of it...but then he wakes up, on this peaceful island, with a woman next to him, who suddenly puts claim on him, she wants him IN HER BED??? He needs to go home. he’s alive, he survived zeus and poseidon and aelus and circe and the underoworld and the war and-...he became the monster, he knows what to do, just another face in his nightmares to get home

“Hell no, I could kill you where you stand” he just has to be the monster

“I′m no pet, I’m a married man” HE HAS TO HIGHLIGHT THAT HE IS MARRIED TO HER AH, the fact that he feels like she sees him as a pet? picked up like a stray dog and kept as a pet....he is not that, i also love his electric guitar is in the background together with the ticking clock of the time dive

“Oh handsome, you may try, But last I checked, goddesses can′t die” she doesnt feel threatened by him at all, because she is a goddess, how could a mortal man refuse her? he cant, even if he tries, he has no choice (but also, i hate jorge for dropping this line, just before godgames, ITS LEAVING US NOT KNOWIng WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED THERE)

THEN THE DROP IN THE MUSIC AH its becoming so imposing and threatening AND ITS SO COOL

“Goddess?” terrified, here they go again, another goddess, he is powerless against these forces, it cant be, he needs to get home, how can his luck be so bad?

“You’re adorable” SHE DOES SEE HIM LIKE A PET, HE CALLS HIM CUTE; HE DOESNT FEEL ANY THREAT FROM HIM; HES A GODDESS HES JUST A MAN AH

“Bow down now to the immortal Calypso” CALYPSO YOU BITCH LEAVE MY MAN ALONE; but liek The fuQing audacity? to ask him to bow down? you just told him hes the love of your life and now you ask him to bow down???? THE POWER IMBALANce is so stRONG IN THIS ONE I CANT EVEN

“Here to entertain” entertain who? mh?? YOURSELF? with your new “pet”? NO shut up

“But fear not, I bring no pain” Calpyso, come a bit closer so i can punch you, youre KEPEign him on YOUR ISLAND; THE LACK OF ACTion IS WHATS goNNA KILL HIM; NOT YOU HURTING HIM PHYSICALLY; YOU TORTURE HIM IN the WORST WAYS emotionALLY SO GET AWAYYYYYYYYYY FROM PENELOPES MAN

“Cause we′ve got, All we could want here, All we could need here”, the way she keeps approaching him, dancing around him and trying to get close, while he keeps backing away and trying to get away From her is killing me, they have everything they need to survive yes, which means he does not have to do any work, he has NOTHING to distract him from you, all he can do is do what you tell him to because youre a goddess and he’s at your mercy and SUFFER sitting with his own thoughts and all his regret and shame and pain and trauma and yearing to go back home

“Under my spell, we’re stuck in paradise” fuck you. this is not paradise, this is hell :) :) :) RELEASE HIM

“No one can come or go, my island stays unknown” this, might very well be the worst moment for Ody so far, after EVERYTHING he’s been through. He choose his crew to die, it was supposed to be the last decision, it was supposed to be the climatic event before the end, all the expectations and tensions that rose in him getting set so high but instead..... nothing happens, he gets stuck in “paradise”, no monsters to fight,its not violent, theres no external threads to his life, things should be good, and happy and peaceful. its anti-climatic, and stifling because he has no way to release all this tension, its just stagnation, and all this tension getting internalized, it might very well be worse than having something you can fight against, but Calypso is a goddess, he cant harm her, her spell keeps him stuck on the island, he is powerless. His goal, his reason, his hope impossibly out of reach, all in the hand of this goddess, who doesn’t take no as an answer

“no, no” i love how Jorge wrote another “suffering” thing again, where the last syllable of one speaker gets picked up by the other “unknown” “no” becoming “Unknowno,no” its SO GOOD, but also the implications???? the last time we had this a siren wanted to seduce him and lure him into the water, now its a goddess wanting to lure him into loving and staying with her, again, he tries to find excuses and fend her off, his argumentation is a lot weaker than with the sirens though, he doesnt have a way out, all he can do is refuse and pray she listens, also CALYPSO BITCH THERES NO CLEARER WAY HE COULDVE SAID “NO”; LEAVE HIM BE; HE SAID NO FUCKING ACCEPT THAT HE DOES NOT CONSENT

“I don′t belong here”, he doesnt, time passes, he has to tell himself that this isnt where he’s meant to be, he needs to go, he has to leave.

“There’s something wrong here”, how many times do you think he almost gave in? how many times do you think she was lured in by her spell only to shake the spell off again because he kept feeling that something was wrong, never really falling under her spell, never staying under it for long, because its wrong, this isnt where he needs to be, he needs to get home because his family is waiting at home, theyre in danger.

“I won’t be drawn to love in paradise, not ′til the end of time, there is no way” she just has nothing on penelope. and he will never be interested in calypso as seductive as she tries to be, circe failed, calyspo fails even worse (i love these vocal performances man, theyre SO GOOD)

“You′re mine, all mine” Annnnnd she doesnt take no as answer again, shes so possessive I HATE it, how she drowns out Odys “theres no way - youre mine, all mine” she drowns out and swallows up his voice, ignores him, his voice goes unheard...

and we go back to the clock ticking of the time dive of athena

“Seven years, she’s kept you trapped, out of your control, time can take a heavy toll” SEVEN. YEARS. sagnation for SEVEN YEARS. THIS IS TERRIBlE, Athena sounds so sad...and concerned, from what she’s seen, but just...imagine that, he fought in troy for 10 years, now odys been stuck on this island for almost just as long, and before that he had EVERYTHING ELSE happen to him, feeling powerless against outside forces for YEARS, it weights down in him, all he can do is internalize it, because there is no monster he can fight, but himself. and...we can hear the danger motif in the choir.....because...he’s become a danger to himself....

the soundscape shifts again, we go back into a memory, its raining and windy, at the beach

“Odysseus?”, she geninuely sounds concerened, what could make her concerned i wonder....

“All I hear are screams”,...he...he’s broken, a callback to the underworld, he sounds defeated, hopeless, dissociative

“Ody”...Ody......you dare call him ody? you may have known each other for seven years but you DID NOT treat him right, you have no RIGHT to call him that, the last person who called him Ody was Eurylochus before he signed their doom.

“Get away from the ledge”....hes.....on his last rope, its been seven years since he sacrificed his last crew, ten years since he lost polites, eight since he lost most of his crew, twenty years since he last saw his family, she wants to keep him at the island for eternity, he cant leave, theres no way out, so now he’s here, on the cliffs edge staring out into the deepths below, knowing that Poseidon is still out to get him, but behind him is a Goddess that made him suffer just as bad, if not worse, rly is there any way to escape?

“You don′t know what I’ve gone through, You don′t know what I’ve sacrificed, every comrade I long knew, every friend, I saw them die”, its been more than seven years, and they still haunt his every waking and sleeping hour. he sacrificed everything to get back home, and yet it was not enough, now hes stuck here, and all sacrfices were for nothing, and he has nothing to distract him, when the goddess doesnt want his attention, he just....sits at the beach replaying their deaths over and over in his mind. [One translation of the scenes in Homers Odyseey: She found him sitting on the shore, his eyes as ever wet with tears, life’s sweetness ebbing from him in longing for his home, since the Nymph no longer pleased him. He was forced to sleep with her in the hollow cave at night, as she wished though he did not, but by day he sat among rocks or sand, tormenting himself with tears, groans and anguish, gazing with wet eyes at the restless sea] just....for SEVEN years? good gods, homer really said “how much trauma can we fit into this one man”

“And all I hear are screams” .....and all he hears are their screams

“(It will be fine dear)”, it wont, fuck off, not as long as you keep him trapped

“Come back inside, dear” ..............i...come back inside? to do what? remind him that hes stuck with you? force him to-............my rage is endless.

“Love of my life, come back to paradise” HE DOESNT LOVE YOU; STOP CALLING HIM THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, THIS IS STILL NOT PARADISE; DONT::::TRY TO ....BEWITCH HIM, YOU SELFISH BIch

“Let me close my eyes”, hes...so....sooo..so tired. he just wants to close his eyes..and..not open them anymore, doesnt he? He sang to the infant “to close your eyes to spare yourself the view”, he wants to do the same, hes so so tired.....

“I know your life′s been hard”, you have no idea

“I’ll stay inside your heart”,....did you just......did...you really just......use the words his mother said to him in the underworld? ...............

“All I hear are screams!” hes having flashbacks, the ghosts of his past keep haunting him, and shes making it so, so mcuh worse

“(I love you my dear) I love our time here

Life would be so much worse If you had died” YOUR LIFE, the worst part is, she doesnt say this because Ody deserves better, she says this because if he was gone, she would be alone again, and she just wants to have him, own him, have him be hers

“(Just let me close my eyes)”, she doesnt...let him close his eyes, he spents the nights in her bed against his will, and the days, crying at the beach, and when he sleeps he must be haunted by nightmares......theres no rest ever really.

“Please stay from away from harm, Stay in my open arms.......................she..just....made it so so much worse, ALSO JORGE; JORGE WHEN I CATCH YOU JORGE HOW DARE YOU HOW DARE YOU SLAP OPEN ARMS AT US AGAIN WILL POLITES NEVER STOP HAUNTING THE NARRATIVE, Calyspo rly threw “Ody”, “stay inside your heart” and “open arms” at him consecutively, while he was already deep down the trenches.and now......

“(All I hear are-)” what he hears is....

“This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms, Whatever we face, we’ll be fine if we′re leading from the heart, No matter the place, we can light up the world here′s how to start Greet the world with open arms, greet the world with open”

Polites, all his opens, and promises, and he cant live up to it, he tried, he tries so HARD to greet the world with open arms, but he cant, but ruthlessness did not help him either, he misses polites, he was the last person he had at sea who TRULY cared for him, hes having a flashback, PTSD so badly as he is standing at the edge of the cliff, i can just see him falling to his knees, crying and then...

“How much longer till your luck runs out? How much longer till the show goes south? How much longer till we all fall down?”, he hears eurys warning, how much longer till his liuck runs out? his luck has run out, for years now, and hes still stuck, everything has turned bad, the show went south, they all fell down and yet.....

“Waiting..waaiting” his mom....said shed stay inside his heart, he took too long, its been twenty years since he left home, how many other people are waiting for him while is stuck on the island? all these voices are just...inside his head all the time and cant shake them off.

“ooohooooh...ohhh” THE VOCAL PERFORMANCE JORGE- JORGE-... hes just screaming, trying to drown out the voices in his head as he’s breaking down....he wants to let go, he cant let go, he needs to get back home, his family is in danger, theres no one who could help him, the only one, who might have been able to do something, his ally, left him ten years ago, when he defied her, but she is a goddess, if she has any mercy left...maybe...jsut maybe...she could help him...but she wouldnt really listen to him would she? how often has he prayed to her in those years? or has he refused to call out for her in fear of facing more rejection? but...he cant do this any longer, this is ...the very last thing he can do....and so he calls out for her.

“Athena!”, praying that what has been broken can be amended. at least with her.

“He needs my help” and his cry gets heard......athena voice breaks, when she sees how far her friend has fallen.

.....and she decides to do something about it

Oh boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy, I was worried about this song, how Jorge would choose to tackle the whole situation with calypso, while sticking to his “sfw” rule, AND I DID NOT GET DISAPPOINTeD QUITe on the cONtrary IM OBSSESED WITH IT

also the way polites is in one ear, Eury in the other and his mother all around him? the two sides that Ody had back then, polites more positive, and eury as more devil and both are gone and then his mother is just ALL AROUND HIM

typing this up took a couple of days, but if you will excuse me, imma go cry in a corner now

[katerinaaqu]

Yes yes YES!

For real Homer was an amazing writer and he included this and oh my gosh people ignoring that is frustrating!

“Oh we need more male S/A victim rep!” You guys can’t even handle Odysseus without insisting that him being trapped in a cave until he agreed to sleep with a woman or being put under a spell and coerced while under the spell was still him consenting fully shut the fuck up.

[katerinaaqu]

So she spoke, and made trial of her husband. But Odysseus, in a burst of anger, spoke to his true-hearted wife, and said: “Woman, truly this is a bitter word that thou hast spoken. Who has set my bed elsewhere? Hard would it be for one, [185] though never so skilled, unless a god himself should come and easily by his will set it in another place. But of men there is no mortal that lives, be he never so young and strong, who could easily pry it from its place, for a great token is wrought in the fashioned bed, and it was I that built it and none other.

Hom.Od.23.181-189

So everyone loves the moment of recognition between Penelope and Odysseus and how Penelope basically "forces the true Odysseus" come out with her own trick. Many believe that the recognition happens because of the detailed account of how he made the bed and how it was the secret only a few knew but in my opinion this is not 100% true.

Penelope did not recognize her husband because he analyzed their secret; she recognized him because of his reaction.

Odysseus replied "in a burst of anger". He is exaspirated, afraid, worried and surprised. That is the husband she wants to see; the husband who wants nothing else but his home, his roots and his wife. Anyone could reveal to any mortal the secret of her bed; from one of the servants till one of the gods but there is one thing no one can fake;

The GENUINE emotion. Odysseus replied so immediately and so abruptly in such a genuine emotion that left Penelope no doubt yet that this was her husband. Odysseus didn't just ask her how it is possible to move the bed; he asked her in ANGER a genuine exaspiration and disbelief. No actor or god could mimic that genuine emotion. Odysseus spent about half his time in Ithaca hiding his emotions so he would survive. At that moment of the mention of moving the imovable bed his emotions just showed.

The sign she recognized was not the information he gave her it was his heart.

[seasonalmoss]

EPIC: the musical catified, Odysseus’s scars

Here are my headcannons for all of Odysseus’s scars in EPIC! I didn’t want to go too over board for the sake of simplicity but he does have some scars on his paws. They are a smaller and not too noticeable from this angle but they are there!

anyways a good portion of these scars are almost entirely headcanon. It’s not like they’re impossible, or 100% unlikely and are still based in something. But they are mostly just me having some fun! Scars Are cool! I Like scars! This is my Odysseus design so, I can add all the scars I want 😌

Anyways most scars are already labeled here so there’s not much I have to explain? I also didn’t have much thought behind them?? Like I’ve said before in another post, scars are a very good visual representation of an event! A good way to show that “hey this event is gonna have lasting consequences, and they aren’t gonna be the same after this.” Their body is quite literally altered after the event. Like- a visual gag to someone’s trauma? It’s just interesting in a visual story telling perspective. And I’m not saying you need scars? To be traumatized??? That’s genuinely stupid- but if I can reasonably give someone a scar after an event (Like how the hell did they not get severely injured here??) then I sometimes do! Though if I’m not lying the main reason is that scars Are cool!

now for the scar on his right arm it mostly looks like that for visual flare? I could’ve made just the entire thing a war scar, but I didn’t. Because I didn’t want to? And idk I guess it’s sorta interesting???

also, side note. IRL scars on cats are actually quite hard to see most of the time! Due to the fur and everything, but I think no one in the Warrior cats fandom fallows that cuz it’s just inconvenient. Another note, the face is actually quite hard to scar! At least so I’ve heard? The face does bleed a lot However, due to the fact that there’s a A LOT of blood vessels there. ANOTHER note, I’m sure it comes to no one’s surprise that the ears of a cat who’s often in fights (so mostly strays and ferals) are incredibly damaged. I’ve seen cats where the ears look nothing more then tiny round nubs And It’s honestly depressing. Now I would do that with some of my Designs, and I honestly plan to! But for characters Like Odysseus I just didn’t. The ears are incredibly expressive and easy to use to show a catified character’s emotions. So for a MC such as Odysseus I didn’t really want to take that away?

[littlesparklight]

Why do Patrochilles fans always seem to forget about the Trojan women and children do they not matter?

To be fair, there are probably several reasons, and, I'd guess, no matter which other reasons there might be, being uncomfortable with the violence and the cruelty is probably a big reason.

Which is neither strange nor wrong!

But - well. This is about war. War in a society where slavery is a thing and where, specifically, the captives taken are enslaved. If (general) you like an Achaean character in the Trojan war narrative, then your blorbo absolutely has traumatized an unknown number of women personally by killing members of their natal and/or potentially marital family, long before Troy falls. And are, at the very least, using them as slave labour.

And a smaller number of said captive women are serving as personal status objects, including serving in their captor's beds. (And, you clearly don't need to be one of these ~special~ slaves for this to happen either, if circumstances change, as Diomede (the woman Achilles sleeps with/next to the night of the embassy) shows.)

(The discomfort is, presumably, also part of why some people are working overtime in trying to soften and cutiefy the Odysseus-Astyanax situation with ~he saves him~ AUs or just general angst and regret in the moment and milking it afterwards. I had to see "father son duo" in connection with fucking Odysseus and Astyanax a couple days ago, and, ugh. Like, sorry, but even when Odysseus isn't the killer he seems to always come up with/champion the idea! Make your peace with it instead of having Odysseus cry as if he fucking CARES about this one child that he's advocating for murdering. (I would not really think it odd if Odysseus potentially has PTSD from this, but man, the way I've seen it used just makes me pissed off, sorry not sorry. Astyanax is basically just a prop.)

Anyway, ok.

I have no idea if TSoA is actually the most usual way for shippers to get into Patrochilles any more, but it still seems like that? And TSoA works very, very hard to soften and smooth out all and any uncomfortable bits. The Troilus incident doesn't exist, and the Achilles and Patroklos are basically running a ~women's shelter~ and not doing anything questionable with the women with their power or whatever.

If this is where you come into Patrochilles specifically and the Trojan war in general, no wonder you'd like to keep ignoring all the unpleasant bits. Which like. Fine. If they would keep to TSoA, but usually they don't.

The Hades game, too, did its work of presenting a more palatable Achilles. It is post-war, so basically nothing comes up, and the Achilles we get is unexplainedly regret- and shameful over his earlier behaviour and actions. I say unexplainedly not because I couldn't necessarily see this change, but it's not actually shown to us. We're just shown a personality that isn't actually very/at all connected to what those of us who knows the Iliad and the Odyssey have seen.

Even the Odyssey doesn't show us an Achilles who regrets anything of what he did (and he's proud of his son's achievements, even if Odysseus doesn't enumerate them in detail). What Achilles in the Odyssey regrets is being dead, specifically, and he seems rather depressed over being so.

So, again, if you come in to Patrochilles and the Hades game, it's once again easy to just... ignore stuff you don't want to touch on (even more so, since it's (long) post-war, which is undoubtedly a plus, genuinely).

The thing is, though - when you start dipping into the actual Trojan war, even just by reading, say, Achilles' wiki page, especially Troilus is right there. And making jokes (I have seen several) about "what would Achilles need Lesbian women for, Agamemnon, you idiot!!", is just... unpleasant. What are enslaved women used for, huh? Sexuality jokes have no place in this instance, just because someone might be uncomfortable and/or clinging to "Achilles is totally and only gay and doesn't fuck women".

But, tl; dr; no I don't think that, in general, most Patrochilles shippers think the Trojan (and every other woman who was enslaved during these ten years) women and the children matter. They're here for the ship.

And there is not really anything wrong with that, but the way the war (and the women, children etc) are usually dealt with (or not) in the course of that is extremely lacking because it's basically all whitewashed. (And Hektor gets used as some sort of handy ship-obstacle in any way they like to. Leave Hektor alone, damn it.)

[double--cross-d]

anything you want!! get silly with it

Okay!

Gonna have to put a read more, I got a little too interested in this lmao. Feel free to ask follow up questions because I sure as hell am not done

Technically the Star Spirits aren't actually stars (like in the way rectangles aren't squares but Squares are rectangles; Star Spirits are Stars, but Stars aren't Star Spirits).

Stars can become a Star Spirit, but this is only when a Star Spirit dies and there's not an immediate replacement (like, no little baby Star Spirits) and is a pretty disturbing process that no one involved, not even the Star Spirits, has control over. Typically this happens to already dead stars though.

Also these new star spirits will typically end up with some kind of mutation unique to them (Mamar's ankles got extremely fucked up in the process, Skolar has extra arms/forelimbs he can "put away", and Klevar's body never actually stopped being a corpse)

If a Star Spirit uses Too much of their power, they'll fall unconscious. This is either an all at once deal, or just too many times in succession without a break. The limit varies for everyone and is based in how powerful their magic is

The Star Spirit council only handles guarding the Star Rod and wishes. The stars themselves

Typically there will be at least two Star Spirits in the Star Rod Room at all times (like shifts at work). If all SEVEN are in the Star Rod Room at the same time and the door hasn't been locked, something's probably VERY wrong.

You can wish for something and immediately get a Star Spirit at your location interogating you about it. Basically anything about releasing Antasma or the Shadow Queen will do the trick

The Star Festival is actually a week long celebration for the Star Spirits (although some places tack on an extra day onto the beginning or end to celebrate all of them) and each of them have their own day in this week, where each are celebrated and Typically their best known myth is read.

Kalmar's celebration is the first day, the myth surrounding this is the one where he negotiated out a new calendar with the Sun and Moon (Brighton and Twila) because their fight was causing a massive disruption in the day/night cycle and they both had just turned the celestial body equivalent of 18

Second day is Klevar's and while traditionally SEVERAL myths, even the ones not involving them, are read, the main reading is when Klevar responded to a concerning wish about the Thousand Year Door and managed to reveal in two days that the real princess had been kidnapped, and the person masquerading as her got banished from the kingdom after the real princess was found.

Following that is Misstar's Celebration and its myth is about how it saved the entire population of Lavalava Island from getting blown to smithereens by a volcano (helping evacuate the populace and offering divine intervention to those who couldn't leave) and once it knew everyone was safe it passed out for a day. This day, naturally, is very celebrated by the inhabitants of Lavalava Island.

Muskular's Celebration is next and they actually hate the myth used, because it's the one from when they were younger where they ran away, and ended up stranded on Nightmare Island for almost a week being mentally tormented by Antasma before they snap and kill him on the fifth day (which just trapped him in the Dream World forever). Certain places have begun to tell a different myth for Muskular's day though, because, "Hey, they were like 15 when this takes place and is literally stated to be traumatic for them. Maybe we SHOULDN'T remind them of this every year." The myth is an equally well known one where they rescue an entire crew from being lost at sea and guides them home, which is kind of like the Odyssey if Odysseus didn't piss off Posidon.

Immediately following that is Skolar's day, and fitting his status as a bit of a Cringe Fail god, his myth is a more recent myth about how he and Brighton accidentally started dating. Basically Brighton was depressed and not doing his job and Skolar went to check on him and this upgraded to weekly visits because Brighton liked his company and things continued to spiral from there.

Mamar's day follows that and her myth is a relatively short one, about how she stopped a ztar who she'd accidentally invited into the sanctuary from hurting anyone at Star Haven by turning it into a puppet and throwing it into the ocean.

Eldstar is the final day, and the myth surrounding that day is how Eldstar assisted in banishing the Shadow Queen into the Thosand Year Door which included putting an unbreakable magic seal on the door and purging the door's existence from the memory of everyone alive at the time.

Timelime for the myths, if you're curious, is Eldstar, Kalmar, Mamar, Muskular's first myth, Misstar, Muskular's second myth, Klevar, Skolar

[booksandria]

Odisseu de mil ardis - an Odyssey review

spoiler alert!

hi everyone! I'm all done with the Odyssey, finished on the last week of february! I'm all late with my last reviews, but thats life aint it. I enjoyed it very very much, which can be seen by how fast I ate it up (six days!). Its sooo much smoother than the Iliad, even if it can be a little repetitive at times as well. I have to admit, thought, that even then I still prefer Iliad, mainly because Iliad was more impactful to me personally.

Again, its funny to do a spoiler alert on a 3000+ yo book, but anyways lol

The thing with Odyssey, for me, is that I expected much more from it. Not to say its bad, because that would be a sacrilege. I just put too much expectation into it I guess, but still enjoyed. I love Odysseus, i love poor baby Telemachus, and i love, absolutely love Penelope. She is everything to me.

The coolest thing about this poem, compared to Iliad, is how we have more than one narrative going on, the first one being what we call the Telemachia, the first four books in which we see up close just how devastating Odysseus absence was to everyone in his family. The of order things is completety desmantled, especially now that the suitors are causing trouble and breaking every social rule they can. In this part of the story, we see this boy, Temelachus, who grew up without his father in this society, where gender and social roles play such a vital part of life and where these things are taught to you by the parent of the same gender. Not only he didn't have his father, he also didn't have his grandfather, who was so depressed by his only son not returning that he moved away from their house. And now, to make matters worse, he is the only man in the house trying to handle this impossible situation and failing miserably.

In this side of the narrative, we still have my darling beloved Penelope, Odysseus's wife who was left home when he went to war. It's very moving and heartbreaking that she spends 10 years of war worried about Odysseus dying, then 10 more not knowing if he would come back or not, but waiting for him nonetheless. Not only did she raise her babyboy all on her own to the best she could, now, when the story starts, she is faced with the most dreadful of the situations. The vultures are destroying her husband's house and seeking to marry her, not for who she is, but because of her social position. She has no power to stop it, so all she can do about it watch as they do and cry for Odysseus's return. The thing is, she is absolutely bright and astute and she does buy a really good time for Odysseus to get his shit together and finally come back when she tricks the suitors FOR THREE YEARS with the weaving of a funeral shroud for her old old father-in-law. Anyway, she is everything and I want to marry her too (but I would treat her right)!!!.

Anyway, the second narrative is the one we started reading for, that is Odysseus's return. Kinda funny that we only see the titular character by book five and the first scene hes in, hes weeping because of how much he wants to go back to his family and his homeland. Poor sad man. To be honest, I kinda hope Ithaca has some good therapists, because boy oh boy, isnt this man traumatized? He was:

Forced to fight a war he didn't want to (more or less lol)

Had to leave his beloved wife with their newborn son behind (like, really, Telemachus was one month old when Odysseus leaves, he missed EVERYTHING)

Spend ten years fighting in said war

On th way home, he had several of his men dying horribly (most of them being eaten by monstruous beings or drowning at the sea or suffering the wrath of gods)

he had kinda coercive sex with two goddesses (the power dynamic is truly to consider), very dubious consent (but they are goddesses, so i suppose its expected?)

Lost all geras he won in the ten years of fighting (im still wondering what happened to all the women he eslaved... All dead too, I suppose?)

Many humiliations and hard choices

This guys PTSD must be WILD.

This two narratives converge together once Odysseus finally makes it back to Ithaca and now needs to plan out his revenge on the suitors. What a sweet scene it is the one where he meets Telemachus for the first time in twenty years, I imagine how hard it was for Odysseus to hold himself back so he wouldn't reveal his identity before it was time. I wonder if he looked at his sons face and saw a younger version of himself, or if he looked for all the baby traits he remembered in a man's face. Lovely. The massacre scene was pretty satisfying, not gonna lie, even if it was kinda horrifying as well (particularly the twelve girls, like, I'm pretty sure I had read they were forced to have sex with the suitors...). Anyway, book 23 is THE BEST, i love Odysseus and Penelope's reunion, i love everything about this book, i love her testing him, i love him getting mad at the thought someone else knows about their marital bed, i love how they both cry as they kiss and hug, i love everything about it. Book 24 is also sweet, his reunion with his old old dad. And like that, after 20 years, my boy Odysseus gets back home and gets to reclaim his social position and his home.

Again, I have to say that, while this is a wonderful story, i still prefer Iliad over it (though is merely personal preference, Iliad's themes touch me more profoundly than anything). Still, I recommend this book to everyone! It's great! It has a neat balance between heartfelt moments and comical ones, and it's so cool to see so many tropes and things that are part of our imaginary in their original form, as it all began.

Anyway, that's all folks. Penelope, if you're reading this, i love u, let's get married on may <3 <3