#odysseus' legacy

[flwrkid14]

Tim Drake: Haunted by Gods He Can’t Outrun

Tim Drake knows better than to believe in peace.

It’s not the crime, or the sleepless nights, or even the constant pressure of being the world’s youngest, sharpest detective. No, it’s something older. Something deeper.

Something… divine.

He’ll never admit it, but the ocean terrifies him. The weight of Poseidon’s gaze lingers over every wave, every distant shore. Even in Gotham, far from the sea, he can feel it—an unspoken threat. The god never truly forgave him, never let go of the grudge, the insult of Odysseus’ defiance. Every ripple of water feels like a pulse, a reminder: You can’t escape me.

He doesn’t go near the docks. Can’t even look at the ocean. Not without his stomach knotting in fear. Because Poseidon? He’s still out there. Still watching.

And then there’s Athena.

If Tim’s life as Robin was an echo of anyone, it’s her. The endless push to be better, smarter, faster. To solve the unsolvable. He can still hear her voice in the back of his mind, urging him to make the right choice, to outthink everyone—Batman, Ra’s al Ghul, even Bruce. But living up to the goddess of wisdom and war? That’s a pressure he can never shake. Every victory feels like it’s never quite enough, like he’s still chasing her approval.

He tries to forget her teachings sometimes. Pushes them down. But when he’s alone, going over case files at 3 AM, it’s her words that come back. Plan for every outcome. Calculate every risk. Don’t disappoint me.

As if he could ever stop trying.

The rest of the Olympians? They never really fade, either. They whisper in the moments when his guard’s down, when he thinks maybe he’s free. But they never let him forget. Gods never do.

Tim’s haunted by them all—the weight of their expectations, their grudges, their games. He’s not just Robin, or Red Robin, or even Tim Drake anymore. He’s the legacy of someone who once defied gods and outwitted fate.

And the thing is? The gods remember. They never truly let go of what they once owned.

When Tim walks down the streets of Gotham, he’s not just keeping an eye out for the usual dangers. He’s watching the shadows for something more. Something bigger. Because he knows, deep down, that the gods are always watching, always waiting.

No matter how hard he tries, no matter how many lifetimes he lives, he’ll never outrun the past.

The gods don’t forgive. And they sure as hell don’t forget.

[dootznbootz]

Thinking about how Telemachus has heard "You are just like your father" by so many people for most of his life. How different yet refreshing it is to hear said father tell him warmly "You're so much like your mother".

[redeemed-wren]

I do love how in the Odyssey you spend the first four books following Telemachus, hearing with him from everyone else how great and wonderful Odysseus is, and how tragic it is that he isn't there. You hear from Nestor and Menalaus and Helen, and even Athena and those left at Ithica are building Odysseus up as a great hero. The reader gets an idea of who he is and a sense of the pressure of Missing Legacy To Uphold for Telemachus.

And then we follow Hermes to Calypso's Island and still no Odysseus while Hermes and Calypso hang for a bit. And finally we meet the titular hero almost 5 books in, and the very first thing he's doing is weeping on the beach.

Which is such a facinating--and, to our modern ear, kind of funny, since tears arent """manly""" "hero" behaviour--juxtaposition of Great Hero vs man crying on the beach, and I love it so much. It instantly changes him from a hero of renown, a huge legendary figure Telemachus could never live up to, to a man who just wants to go home.

[doloneia]

speaking as a fatherless son here i think both telemachus and diomedes got fatherless son behavior but its in different ways. like diomedes is old enough to remember his fathers death he probably wandered his household and fields looking for him because he knew something was missing but telemachus. telemachus always had that missing yknow? there was never a time from his childhood where he remembers his fathers voice or embrace and so its both less noticable and more isolating if that makes sense. diomedes could remember tydeus as a larger-than-life, blurry figure faded in his memory but telemachus had to rely on stories and himself to cobble an imagined man out of scraps. he literally does this in book one. do you think he tried to find odysseus in his face? in himself? and always coming up short?

[rypnami]

The Yule Ball

happy christmas everyone! this is the last part for now of my yule ball posts for @leaping-toadstool-caps 's event. as mentioned in my headcanons post (found here), leander spends most of the night working up the courage to ask his sebastian to dance. i decided for my christmas post, i should write what happens next. enjoy!

this is not proofread at all and is a bit of a mess but its fine we ball

(outfit post here)

word count: a lot probably i didn't actually count

mentioned mcs: phillip prewett (mine), jaimsen hisui @leaping-toadstool-caps odysseus carrow @saibugslegacy amberlyn salters @ps-cactus

Leander isn't sure why he came to the ball.

He thinks he must look like the biggest knob alive, coming without a date, loitering around as a third wheel to his older brother and his boyfriend, and then going to hide in the corner and stuff his face with chocolate frogs. Surrounded by happy couples, or groups of friends who came to have a good time, he feels even worse. Last week, he had almost gotten it together to ask Sebastian to go with him, but had gotten too anxious and practically run away.

Unwrapping another chocolate frog, he hardly glances at the card as he drops it in the pile and shoves the whole thing in his mouth head-first. If he's going to be a lonely bastard, at least he's doing so with sweets. The decorations around the Great Hall are brilliant, too. Tall, icy trees, enchanted snow falling gently from the ceiling, which looks like a winter sky, and baubles galore along the walls. Jaimsen really outdid himself, setting this all up. At least there is something to look at other than all the couples dancing.

"You!"

Leander jumps.

Jaimsen comes up to him, arms crossed. "No being sad at my ball!"

"I'm not sad-"

"Don't lie to me, Prewett."

"Not my fault," Leander protests, even though it most certainly is. "You know, it's statistically proven that depression is worse around the holidays, so naturally at leas one person here would be-"

"Spare us all the lecture. I'm begging." Phillip seems to materialise beside them, Odysseus in tow, and throws his arm over Leander's shoulders.

"I'm right, though."

"If you're truly that distraught about it, why not ask him to dance?" Odysseus says.

Jaimsen nods. "That's an excellent idea."

Leander shrugs Phillip's arm off and takes a step away. "I- what- who are you... talking about?" They can't know, can they?

The other three boys seem to roll their eyes in unison. "Sebastian, of course," Phillip says, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world.

He might die from humiliation. "Why- what- why- why would I ask Sebastian to dance?!" He stammers.

"Everyone knows you fancy him."

"You follow him everywhere. You're like a puppy."

"Whenever he's around, whatever minimal braincells you have seem to evaporate."

"You almost cried when that rumour about him coming with Adair was going around."

"And-"

"That's quite enough!" Leander cuts them all off, his face almost as red as his dress robes. "You've all made your point!"

"So ask him!" Phillip says. "Stop pouting in the corner."

"How?"

"Like this." Odysseus stands on his toes to match Leander's height and starts doing an awful impression of his voice. "Sebastian, would you like to dance with me?" He drops back down to his normal height. "Easy."

"Very easy," Jaimsen agrees.

Well, fine, it sounds easy in theory, but so had asking Sebastian to be his date, and that had not gone well. Excuse. Excuse. Think of an excuse why you can't.

"I would, but... Sebastian is busy. With Ominis." Although he's been trying not to, every time Leander has searched through the crowd for Sebastian, he's been talking to Ominis. He is definitely not jealous and is not watching in case someone else should ask him to dance.

"It's your lucky day, then," Phillip points across the hall. Sebastian is standing just to the side of the dance floor, watching as Ominis takes Amberlyn Salters by the arm and leads her out to dance. "It seems Mr Gaunt is occupied."

"Oh. Yay."

"So go talk to him."

Before he can protest, the trio is practically dragging him across the floor, Leander stammering half-formed excuses the entire way. Phillip shoves Leander in Sebastian's direction, then the three scamper off, giggling.

"Leander, hello!" Sebastian says as Leander almost trips into him. "I was just wondering if you were here."

Leander is at a loss for words. From far away, it was hard to see, but up close he feels like he can't breathe. Sebastian is wearing a dark green velvet tuxedo jacket and matching dress pants. His typically unruly brown hair is combed and must have a gallon of product in it to keep it down, but there are still a few strands sticking out here and there.

He looks positively gorgeous.

Next to him, Leander must look like a toad wearing a suit.

"Er, yes, I've been, you know, with my brother and his boyfriend..." He hopes there's no chocolate smudged on his face... too late to worry about that now.

"No dancing?"

"No. I came without a date." Saying it out loud feels like an exercise in humiliation, honestly. “No one asked me… and I dunno, asking someone was…”

“Intimidating?” Sebastian suggests.

Leander nods. “I… suppose so, yes.”

“I didn’t come with anyone, either.”

“You didn’t ask someone?” What’s more surprising to Leander is that no one asked Sebastian. He’s easily the prettiest boy in school (in his opinion, anyway) and he’s well-liked by most everyone. With that suit on, too, it’s a wonder half the students here aren’t tripping over themselves to dance with him.

"I didn't. I was asked by a few people, but I turned them down. I was rather hoping someone specific would invite me. They never did." Sebastian absently picks at his silver cufflinks, seeming to get lost in thought.

"Then they're an idiot." Leander says simply.

"Think so?"

Leander snorts. "Of course. Anyone would be lucky to go to a ball with you." Was that too forward? That was too forward, wasn't it..

"You flatter me," Sebastian sighs and mock swoons.

He has no idea why he was so petrified at the idea of talking to Sebastian- they are friends, and even with the 'my-brother-and-his-friends-are-peer-pressuring-me-into-asking-him-to-dance' thing, it's no different from when they chat in class, or study together in the library. Perhaps asking for a dance will be okay. At the least, it won't be the end of the world... right?

“Sebastian. I-“ I really like you. I've always really liked you. No, that's too much. I'm letting the silence go on too long. Say something say something SAY SOMETHING.

“Yes?”

"I. I. Um."

Sebastian raises his eyebrows and tilts his head. "Are you feeling quite alright? You look a bit flush."

"Y-yes, I'm grand. Um." Sweat drips down Leander's temples. Sebastian will laugh at him, he'll look a fool, everyone will know what a failure he is... "Um." Merlin's beard, Prewett, just say the damn words! “Since neither of us… has a date…”

A few paces behind Sebastian, Phillip is watching the disaster. He smiles and gives Leander two thumbs up.

"Doyouwanttodancewithme?"

"...I'm sorry?" Sebastian says. “What?”

That's that. Leander wants to crawl into a hole and die. Of course Sebastian would never want to dance with him, of all people.

"N-no, I'm sorry, stupid idea. Sorry."

"Wait." Sebastian puts his hand on Leander's shoulder before he can walk away. "Don't be sorry, I simply didn't hear what you said."

"O-Oh."

Sebastian looks at him expectantly. No way to back out now.

"I, er, I was wondering if... I- no pressure, or anything, but it looks like it's the last dance of the evening, so I thought... um, perhaps you'd like to dance... with... me?"

A beat of silence that couldn't be more than a second, but feels like a century.

A grin spreads across Sebastian's face. "I was beginning to think you'd never ask."

A new song starts, and Sebastian offers his hand. "Shall we?" Leander takes it, blushing.

Sebastian's hands are warm, and he's got a firm grip. There are callouses on his palms, likely from how many firey spells he uses. Leander desperately tries not to focus on just how well Sebastian's suit jacket fits him, or how he smells a bit like lavender and bergamot. He hopes his own palms aren't sweating.

Silently, he thanks his mum for being willing to teach him how to waltz. If he hadn't spent the past several weeks practising relentlessly, he's certain he'd be stepping all over Sebastian's toes right now.

Sebastian puts his hand on Leander's waist as the dance starts, and he almost blacks out. Everything around them is like background noise- they might as well be the only people in the world as they sway across the dance floor.

"I- wanted to ask you to come as my date," Leander admits, smiling awkwardly. "Last week, after Charms. I was going to, but, uh..."

Sebastian chuckles, and the sound of it warms Leander's body more than even the strongest Butterbeer. "Is that why you ran off? Merlin, I thought you just really needed the loo."

Blood rushes to Leander's face again. "I see."

"Were you truly that nervous to ask me?"

“How could I not be?” They’re close enough now that he can almost count the freckles on Sebastian’s face, a welcome distraction from making direct eye contact. “You’re cute, and smart, and brilliant at magic." Leander chews his lip. "I'm not... any of that, so I suppose I didn't think I had a chance?"

"I was waiting for you to ask."

"You wanted- Me?"

Sebastian really laughs now, and the way the bridge of his nose crinkles as he does is so cute Leander almost has to physically fight the urge to kiss him right there. "Did you really not know? I've been dropping hints for ages!"

Oh. Honestly, that makes a lot of sense. "I... I suppose I wasn't paying close enough attention." Translation- I hoped you felt the same, but I didn't think I was good enough for you.

"Merlin, you're as thick as it gets." Sebastian teases.

Leander rolls his eyes. "Well perhaps you were unclear!" But he starts to laugh, too. He can't believe he had been so scared to do this not 15 minutes ago. In fact, now he's wishing he'd manned up sooner and asked Sebastian earlier in the night, so they could have more dances, and more time to talk about... whatever might be between them, now.

The music slowly comes to an end, and with it the dance. As they step apart, Sebastian bows low with a slight smirk. "Thank you for the dance, Mr Prewett."

"Thank you, Mr Sallow." Leander mirrors him. He hesitates for a moment. This is his first formal ball, and he's not really sure what he's supposed to do now. Walk him back to his dorm? Dance again? Get them something to drink? Before he can overthink too much-

"Would you look at that." Sebastian is pointing up.

Dangling above their heads is a sprig of mistletoe. A sprig of mistletoe that was definitely not there a moment ago. Leander swears he can head Phillip snickering nearby. Busybody.

"You know, I've heard that if you don't kiss under the mistletoe, it's bad luck," says Sebastian conversationally. "I'd normally say I don't believe it and go about my evening, but we've got a Potions exam coming up, and I dunno if I want to risk it."

"With my marks in Potions, I don't think I can risk a stroke of bad luck right now, either..."

Neither of them mention, of course, that said exam is almost two months away, and any superstitious bad luck would surely have worn off by then. Sebastian leans in and gently presses his lips to Leander's. It's quick, so much so that if you blinked you might miss it, but it is easily the highlight of Leander's evening.

Perhaps it's a good thing he came to the ball after all.

[saibugslegacy]

Professor Fig watching the Keepers keep secrets from Odysseus and then Odysseus keep secrets from the Keepers out of spite:

[xanandhix]

Realized I’ve never post this on here before

[missdarhk]

my contribution to the epic fandom:

@grape-jucie-dog made me post this

[masterofthewarcry]

diomedes and odysseus are the ultimate hufflepuff/slytherin duo

[rosewoodcafe]

Rip any of you who read the fic I'm writing rn bc I've been listening to Epic the musical. Specifically 'Would You Fall in Love With me Again'

My brain is brewing ideas lmfao

[hara-matsuura]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN ONE AND ALL!!!!!! 🎃👻 :D

Last day of October, last week of MCtober prompts!

Prompt 1!!!

I actually love how this turned out, hara looks adorable to me this way 🥹

Enjoying a lovely cup of red berry tea 😊

And of course last but not least...

Hara and Seb attending a Halloween party in the Deathday party ballroom as Penelope and Odysseus from the Odyssey! (-Or more specifically, @gigizetz 's designs from the Epic the musical adaptation ❤️)

Combining 2 of my favourite things in the world 😍

Bonus:

This was super fun even if a little rushed

I hope everyone had a lovely October and an amazing Halloween! 🧡💜🧡

[flwrkid14]

Tim Drake: Athena’s Soldier, Once Again

There are nights when Tim wonders if becoming Robin was really his choice at all.

Sure, he told himself it was to save Bruce, to make up for what was broken after Jason died. But deep down? He knows it goes deeper. That drive, that burning need to prove himself, to become more than just the boy watching from the sidelines—that wasn’t just his. It was Athena’s.

Becoming Robin wasn’t just about Gotham. It was him, once again, molding himself into the soldier she’d always demanded him to be. Because Athena’s teachings? They never really left him. They’d been buried, maybe, in the centuries since his life as Odysseus, but the moment he donned that mask, they came rushing back.

Every move, every decision—it was all calculated. Methodical. Robin wasn’t just Batman’s partner. Robin was Athena’s soldier once again, shaped by her hand to fight battles only he could win. She didn’t ask for mindless loyalty or brute strength. No, Athena demanded strategy. She demanded intellect. And Tim, even now, still feels like he’s living under her shadow.

There’s a moment, after a long night of patrol, when he’s standing on a rooftop, just staring out over Gotham. His cape flutters in the wind, the city buzzing below him, but all he can think about is her. Athena, watching him from wherever gods reside. Is she proud of him? Does she see the choices he’s made—the cases he’s solved, the lives he’s saved—and feel like he’s still living up to her expectations?

But then there’s that gnawing doubt. Because while Tim’s intellect has always been his greatest asset, it’s also his curse. No matter how many puzzles he solves, no matter how many plans he crafts, it never feels like enough. There’s always the next move, the next step. The next impossible challenge.

Because for Athena, there’s no finish line. There’s no rest.

And when Tim looks at his reflection in the glass of a nearby building, he sees it—how the colors of Robin’s suit echo a soldier’s armor, how the mask hides not just his face but the boy who once believed he could be anything else.

He’s not just Robin, not just Tim Drake. He’s still Athena’s soldier.

Every case is a battle, every strategy a move on a chessboard so much larger than Gotham. And no matter how much he tries to distance himself from the gods, from the life he once lived, he can’t. Because every decision he makes, every fight he takes on, every night he spends in Gotham’s streets—he’s still her soldier.

He doesn’t know if it will ever stop. If he’ll ever be free.

But for now, Tim pulls the hood of his cape up and disappears into the shadows, feeling the weight of her gaze even now.

Because some battles? They never really end.

[dootznbootz]

this u?

https://www.tumblr.com/wolfythewitch/743258723530817536/wolfy-please-im-on-my-knees-positive-are?source=share

[rypnami]

leander, to phillip and odysseus: you two look good together. i would put you guys in a boat. phillip: you'd... put us in a boat? leander: yeah, a boat. isn't that what people say when they think two people would make a good couple? odysseus: you mean you... ship us? leander: yes. i "ship" you two

odysseus belongs to my beloved @saibugslegacy

[saibugslegacy]

Are you normal or did you make class schedules for your MCs that you're actually using as reference points for your fics?

[comicaurora]

As Epic the musical has become more and more popular I keep seeing versions of Odysseus wearing a band around his head, even in the animatics that were commissioned for the release of new songs. Do you think you’re the reason for this? and how does it feel to have a little joke you made 9 years ago making an impact on random new people, with many of whom not even realizing why they're doing it? (because personally I think it's hilarious)

I don't wanna assume that it's because of me since there's plenty of corners of Greek Mythology fandom I'm not keyed into, but if my Metal Gear Odysseus joke has done irreparable alterations to his character design that would be a grander legacy than I deserve