#seph reads the iliad

[seeminglyseph]

Hey so I’m reading the introduction section of The Iliad as translated by Emily Wilson and like

Every single animator who spent a bunch of time emphasizing the helmet in Just a Man animatics owes me therapy money.

What the *fuck*

[foreststarflaime]

So continuing the analysis of Genesis (and the rest of ff7 consequently) through a Homeric lens from this post because I cannot get it out of my head

I was doing research on the Iliad and was reminded of the huge influence the theme of choice has on the narrative—

“If I remaining here besiege the city of the Trojans, my homecoming is lost, but my glory (kleos) will be imperishable—but if going homeward I reach my own fatherland, good glory is lost for me, there will be life for me for long, and death’s end will not reach me swiftly.”

-Achilles, Iliad 9.412-16, my own translation

Achilles has the choice between becoming a hero and living a quiet but happy life in the Iliad. Not all homeric heroes have to make this specific choice, but I think considering other themes as well that Genesis is definitely an Achilles figure.

The realization that started me down a spiraling path that prompted me to post this was that I think Genesis was also operating under the assumption that he was an Achilles figure, and therefore that he (and the other SOLDIERs for that matter) had this same choice. He thinks that he chose to leave Banora, therefore forsaking a quiet normal life, to become a hero; and he did, but it’s also a lot more complicated than that, especially from his perspective.

When he finds out about his origins in Project G, and especially when he finds out he’s dying, he feels the true weight of his choice in that dilemma for the first time. He has no way out now, he’s locked into the path of glory and death, and he doesn’t even really feel he got the fame he should have with it. Sephiroth definitely got the fame, but you don’t see him degrading (he’s definitely got his own stuff going on, but I don’t think Genesis was really thinking about that).

But I think what hurts him even more than that is that he sees Project G being one of the foundations of SOLDIER and then he sees himself returning to SOLDIER years later, and he sees the threads of fate binding him to this doomed path, with Shinra pulling the strings of his entire life, and he sees that he never really had a choice, and that’s why it hurts him so deeply (one of the many reasons, at least).

Also (and I mentioned this a little before) I think something prompting his jealousy is that he projects this choice theme over Sephiroth, when really Seph never had the choice, not even the illusion of it like Genesis had. He even says to Glen and to Genesis later on in Nibelheim that he would chose the normal life over undying glory, but by then it’s too late for an understanding; too many lines have already been crossed and they’re all trapped in the loom of fate.

The real tragedy of all this is that they didn’t have a choice, none of them did. They should have. Genesis should have been able to choose, like Achilles, but he wasn’t. There may have been some stuff with Achilles’ choice ‘fulfilling the will of Zeus’ or whatnot but I honestly don’t remember at the moment, and that would make the connection better anyways with Shinra being the Zeus in this situation.

Also, as a random sidenote, I love how the homeric hero side of Genesis lines up so perfectly with the biblical apple symbolism here—the themes of choice are aligning!

Anyways yeah I don’t know if I actually said anything with this or if I was just yelling into the void, I zoned out and lost my train of thought many times while writing this. Hope you enjoyed if you read all this I’ll definitely probably do it again because I am very bad at focusing on the work I’m actually supposed to be doing lol byeeee

[lore-of-throughline]

Further Reading:

Master Thread

Meet the Cast: 1, 2

Meet the Cast 1:

The Roommates:

Seph lives in a 5-bed apartment with six other tenants, they're able to cobble together enough to the abhorrent Columbus rent with their combined incomes.

From upper left to lower right: Brynn, Caleb, Seph, Becca, Nicky

Roommate Character Sheets:

Becca Hardy

Allie Stafford

Brynn Malloy

Luke Lehman

Caleb Joyle (no sheet yet)

Nicky Idrissi (no sheet yet)

Becca is Seph's best friend, and has been since they were assigned roommates in college. She was born in London and has a naturally thick accent that she actively suppresses since she moved to Wisconsin in High School. No one knows she has an accent, not even her step-sister Nicky. She took up burglary from her father, and has been moonlighting as the Black Cat for over almost a decade.

She works as a security guard to help cover rent.

[Nicky sheet]

Nicky is Becca's step-sister, ever since their parents got married around the same time they moved to Wisconsin. She is the reason Seph and Becca ended up in Columbus after college, inviting them to join her at a new place she was moving too.

She is a graphic designer for a milk company.

Allie is a jovial, charismatic grad student. She is arguably the only "normal" person in the whole apartment. Though, the normalcy of a person willing to do deep ocean dives to take geological surveys should definitely be questioned. She rooms with Brynn, and the two of them are near inseparable. She spends most of her scant free time tending to her hydroponics.

Allie is unemployed, but grows weed and assists with Brynn's scams to make a bit on the side.

Brynn is a stoic, smooth talking twig of a woman. She is the tallest member of the friend group, as her parents were obsessed with the status of having a "designer baby" but could only afford increased height. Brynn is a fashion school graduate, but has struggled to land any jobs.

Brynn is unemployed, but performs various scams such as tarot readings to cover her part. She is very good at it.

Luke is one of the original tenants of this apartment, having lived with Caleb for several years before the rest of the current motley crew moved in. He spends his time coming up with the most trend-chasingest, tech-broest, stupidest ideas you can imagine and investing everything he currently has into that idea, only inevitably fail. His personal enemy is Seph, mostly because he loves Becca.

He contributes nothing to rent, as Caleb covers for him.

[Caleb Sheet]

Caleb is the longest tenant living in this apartment, despite being the youngest of them. He never went to college, instead he immediately started work in trade and labor jobs out of High School. He would probably have enough to buy a house if he didn't constantly cover for Luke and get suckered into Luke's terrible ideas. He's the only person in the apartment who can afford a car.

Caleb is currently working as an electrician.

The Workplace:

Seph works at Iliad's Reclamation and Fabrication, a salvage shop that turns scrap into various tools and other useful items--notably mobility aids. She models and fabricates using pirated Stark tech.

Old Man, is a renown figure in the local community, and has become someone that people can rely on to help wherever is needed. His daughter, Danna, is more abrasive, but still will always extend a hand to help anyone in need. The two of them plan to surprise Seph with the idea to adopt her at her next birthday.

Further Reading:

Master Thread

Meet the Cast: 1, 2

[loverofthine]

vulnerable l.h. - energy drink

There were many occasions on which Seph had an issue staying awake. That day was like any other.

She had fallen asleep in the previous class, although when the person next to her stood, barely missing her shoulder with his huge backpack, she practically jumped up. With a yawn, she shut her laptop and glanced up, meeting a withering stare from her professor. This was not the first time she'd fallen asleep in that class, but to be fair, she had a lab class before, where she hardly got the time to sit down. And her Classic Lit class was just so boring sometimes. They were reading the Iliad, which Seph had read several times before, so she dozed off often. She'd never gotten less than a 75% on any quiz.

Seph pulled her backpack over her shoulder, stifling a yawn to nod at her professor on her way out. With her long legs and fast pace, she exited the lit building before anyone from her class, mostly because they had friends to talk to.

"Seph!" She bristled at the sharp wind, and pulled her coat closer to her body. If she heard the person call her name, she didn't let it show. The person called her name two more times as they approached, but Seph continued towards the union, humming along to her music softly. "Squish!" Someone snatched her arm, effectively pulling her earbud from her ear and yanking her off the path.

"Jesus, Ash, you could've done that nicer." Seph muttered, rolling her eyes. She tucked her earbuds into her pocket with a huff. "What?"

Ashton raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms, as if there was something he was catching Seph for. "Class?" Cursing, Seph shut her eyes and leaned her head back. She and Ashton had their final class of the day next, and she had definitely forgotten. Ashton cocked his head to the side, eyebrows tilting up sympathetically. "You didn't sleep again."

"It's not like I'm not trying," Seph protested, allowing Ashton to take her arm and lead them down the pavement. "I'm just," She trailed off with a sigh.

"Struggling." Ashton finished. They'd had this conversation time upon time, since Seph's problem had developed in high school. "I know. Class's only an hour, and then I'll let you go." Ashton was a great notetaker, and would occasionally allow Seph to skip, but very rarely. "Unless you want to go get noodles."

That was tempting. Seph, Ashton, and Seph's brother went out on payday nearly every month, but Seph had gotten a surprisingly large tip the night before, and had promised to take them out within the week.

Ashton and Seph had been friends since Seph and her twin brother, Michael, were born. For their entire lives, the three had been the best of friends, so much so that when Seph was accepted into her first choice university, Ashton and Michael weren't far behind.

Even stepping into the lecture hall, Seph felt her tiredness weigh further on her shoulders. Ashton led her towards the back of the hall, where hopefully, he'd be able to shake Seph awake if she fell asleep, which was more than likely.

Approaching his group of peers, Ashton slapped his palm against one of his friend's. He and Seph took their normal spots. Just after class began, a boy skulked up the aisle, slumping into the seat next to Seph. She flashed Ashton a look - it wasn't as big a class as most 200s, so there were plenty of empty seats - but he said nothing, just lifted his shoulders. The stranger next to her kept his head down and didn't carry any books, just pulled out his phone and began scrolling through something.

"Seph." Seph wrinkled her nose, nestling further into her bed. Priya had been warned not to wake her, unless there was blood, or unless she was late, but Seph couldn't hear her alarm clock, so she figured she had time. "Seph." Priya called again, more urgently this time. If it had been worthy of waking up, she would have been yelling, so Seph drowned her out and turned away. Her bed smelled different, but a good different. Priya muttered something, but in her, for once, peaceful slumber, Seph continued tuning her out. "Kore!" Priya didn't know that name. As a matter of fact, the only people who knew that name were Ashton and Michael.

Seph jolted up. She was still in the lecture hall, but it had mostly cleared out. The only people around were Ashton and his friends, and the stranger, who stared at Seph with an amused look. Her cheeks heated, and she stood instantly.

The guy, who she hadn't been able to see before, was shockingly attractive, with eyes she would describe as the color of her walls at home - aegean blue - and curly blond hair. Seph was sure she'd seen him around before, but couldn't be sure until he stood. He was over six feet tall, and towered over Ashton, who still sat.

"Sorry about that, man." Ashton said, hurriedly, as he stood. "Um, if you want to sit here next time, I'll make sure Seph doesn't sleep on you again." He continued, offering a chuckle as he nudged Seph's shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry." She muttered, avoiding the stranger's gaze.

The boy waved their apologies off, and finally met Seph's eyes. "It's all good." Seph hadn't been expecting such an easygoing grin. "It wasn't that bad, actually," His grin turned a bit more mischievous. "At least, until the drooling." With a soft chuckle, he spun on his heel and started back down the aisle towards the door, only lifting a hand in farewell when Ashton said goodbye.

"Oh my God." Seph muttered, falling back into her seat and burying her head in her hands.

Ashton laughed softly, leaning down to pat her on the back. "Kore, it's okay. I don't think he was mad." He assured her, once all of his friends had gone.

With a withering look, Seph turned her glare to Ashton, scowling at him. "And stop calling me that, I hate it." Only her family called her Kore, related to the fact that her mother was overly enthused with Greek literature. Ashton only knew because he was almost always at their house, and overheard her and Michael's parents using it.

"Maybe if you pay attention better I wouldn't have to use it." He retorted with a grin. Seph deflated, and with a cackle, he pulled her up. "C'mon, Mike'll meet us at your dorm." He said, pulling her down the aisle.

"What's the matter with you?" Michael asked with a chuckle as Seph and Ashton approached. His grin widened as they got closer, and he wrapped his arm around his sister's shoulders. "Don't pout, Squish." He urged, nudging her gently when she reached out to scan her keycard.

Seph tried to tune the boys out as she stalked down the corridor to her room. She did, however, pick up on the fact that Ashton definitely clued Michael in to at least some of what happened, or she figured from the raucous laugh Michael let out at one point.

"Stay." She ordered, upon swinging the door to her dorm open. Ashton and Michael inched up to the doorway, but obeyed, only peering into the room.

Seph and her roommate, Priya, had an odd relationship. They weren't really friends, but they got along well, and Priya let Michael and Ashton come over every now and then, but she preferred to have their room as a sanctuary. For once, Seph was actually a little happy to have a reason to have a place to herself. She and Michael had always shared a room, and the only time she could recall having a room to herself was when their parents took them and Ashton on a trip, and Michael and Ashton had shared a room.

"Hey, are you working tonight?" Priya asked, looking up from her desk. Both of them were good studiers, but Seph worked a lot more than Priya did. "I didn't expect to see you back here."

"I'm going out to eat with Mike and Ash, you want to come?" Seph offered, dropping her backpack at the foot of her bed. It was still made from the two days prior.

For once, Priya nodded and stood, abandoning the notes she'd been working on. "You wouldn't believe how weird this day has been." She sighed, grabbing her purse from where both of theirs hung in the closet.

"Oh, I think it's been a weird day for us all." Seph chuckled, mimicking Priya's actions to grab her own purse.

"That took forever." Michael muttered, once Priya and Seph emerged, groaning as if it hadn't been less than five minutes since Seph had gone in. "Hey, Priya." He nodded in greeting as the four of them started down the hallway. A few girls poked their heads out to greet Seph and Priya as they passed, but Michael, who knew almost everyone, greeted everyone who came down the hall. Several of them he knew because his and Ashton's dorm was the floor just above.

~

"So, Kei was talking about this new gaming bar that just opened up." Ashton said once they had settled into their table at Seph's favorite noodle bar.

Priya looked up from the menu with a bemused grin. "Yeah, have you forgotten that none of us can drink yet?" She asked, grin widening as Seph chuckled and bumped her fist against Priya's.

Ashton scowled and flicked a crumpled up piece of paper across the table to Priya. "Anyway," He continued, rolling his eyes. "They have some fun mocktails," He emphasized, turning to glare at Priya, who chuckled and looked away. "But you can just grab a table and they have games you can play."

"There's also this movie I wanted to go see," Michael said, nearly interrupting Ashton. He turned to Seph, and bumped her shoulder with one of his knuckles. "It's an adaptation of that book, you know the one," He paused and turned to Ashton. "We used to read it all the time." Both Ashton and Seph shrugged, glancing at each other. "Oh, whatever, it's out now, and I think we should go see it." He finished, flapping his hand unconcerned.

"Well, anyway, Seph, I'm surprised you got the night off of work." Priya observed, taking a sip of the juice the waiter had brought.

It was rare that there was a day Seph didn't work, even more than Ashton, who worked at the same restaurant. She nodded at a person who walked in, her lab partner from freshman year, before responding. "Yeah, I covered for Lucy a few days last week, so she took today, and she's taking tomorrow too."

Chuckling, Ashton patted his friend's head. "Lucky you, with a free day, all to yourself. And some of us have to come in early." Seph covered her mouth to prevent laughing too loudly. "You'd think my manager would like me more." She could no longer control her giggles, and glanced up at Ashton, chuckling rather carelessly. Seph was one of the team leads at their restaurant, and since she was a student, it fell to her to schedule everyone from the same school, and although it was not a targeted offense to schedule Ashton to come in early, he really liked to milk it.

"Calum! Hey, mate, good to see you." Michael said, over the top of Ashton and Seph's heads. They had to turn behind them to find a familiar face.

Seph stared at the boy from earlier, who looked the same as before, save for a band aid on the top of his cheek. He and his friend, apparently, recognized Michael based on the way they grinned and waved. Despite their grins, Seph's cheeks burned, and she spun back around in her chair to sink down, hoping the boy wouldn't recognise her. Priya cocked her head to the side, but Seph just shook her head.

Twin telepathy was definitely not a thing, based on the way that Michael waved the unfamiliar pair over. When Seph kicked him harshly in the shin, Michael only cursed, but said nothing else.

"'Sup, Luke?" Michael greeted, pulling his friend in for a swift hug and bumping his fist against the other boy's fist. "You guys want to eat with us?" He offered, gesturing to the empty table next to theirs. "We only just ordered."

The two boys glanced at one another before shrugging. The shorter one went to find a waiter to make sure they could move the tables together, and once he had gotten approval, he came back to move the table closer. Seph sunk further in her chair, hoping Ashton might get the memo and offer to move.

"Luke, Cal, this is Ashton," Michael introduced, once the newcomers had taken their seats. Luke sat next to Seph, thanks to Michael's persuasion, despite his sister's silent glare. Ashton reached over Seph's head to wave at the two.

"I'm Calum, and Luke's over there pouting." Calum said with a chuckle, nodding to Luke, who had his nose buried in his phone. "He's had a rough go of it today." He whispered, as if Luke couldn't hear any of them.

Luke, with a glare in Calum's direction, finally put his phone away and looked to Ashton, to finally greet him. He recoiled shortly in surprise, pointing at Ashton. "Oh, hey, it's you. Long time no see." He glanced down at the girl trying her hardest to become invisible. "Sleeping Beauty, napping again?"

Michael glanced between Luke, Ashton, and Seph, turning to Priya to lift his eyebrows in confusion, but she only shrugged. "You know each other?"

Seph buried her head in her hands, and Ashton patted her shoulder, looking to Luke to explain. "We met in class earlier." He summarized, glancing down at Seph, who still avoided eye contact.

"Oh, well, Calum, this is my sister, Seph." Michael said, after an awkward pause.

"Steph?"

"Seph." Ashton interrupted, before Michael could correct him. "No t."

Calum turned to Seph, who kept her head down, only glancing up slightly to wave. "Seph's an interesting name. Is it short for something?"

Seph looked up, suddenly, at Ashton, who was grinning. "Oh, why, yes, actually," He began, with a wide grin. Michael and Seph shared a frantic look and Ashton was cut off by both of Seph's hands coming up to cover his mouth. His words were muffled by her hands, and Priya was the only one to actually know what he had said, but it wasn't news to her.

"Ashton Irwin, I swear to God." She warned, fixing him with a stoney glare. "We've been over this." Seph hated her full name, possibly even more than she hated Kore, but it was Ashton's favorite thing to tease her about.

~

"C'mon, Squish, it's not that hot." Michael teased, leaning across the table to smirk at his sister.

Seph scowled, setting her drink down on the table with a thud. "You wanna try it?" She dared, pushing her bowl towards him. Seph had the highest pain tolerance of several of them, except maybe Priya, who tended to stay away from spicy things, anyway. Because of this, she had ordered the spiciest ramen available, but most of the ramen she enjoyed wasn't so bad.

Michael immediately paled and shook his head. Priya mimicked his action when Seph glanced at her, nodding towards the noodles. "I'll keep some taste buds today." She said, sharing a giggle with Ashton.

"I'll try it."

Seph turned to Luke, not expecting him to have volunteered. He had remained mostly silent for the duration of their meal, and she couldn't help but worry if it was her fault. Based on the cocky grin he wore, she deduced it was probably not.

"It's probably not that bad." He tempted, inching towards Seph. She glanced around, but everyone else was entranced by a story Priya was telling. "So, c'mon, Princess." He said, eyebrows cocking upwards. "Or are you worried it's not that bad?"

"Go ahead." Seph retorted, pushing the bowl towards Luke, leaning back in her chair. Silently, he shook his head and pointed towards his mouth. Seph arched an eyebrow. He wasn't really going to make her feed him.

After a moment of staring each other down, Seph sighed, and resolved to making Luke a bite, offering him her spoon. He, begrudgingly, accepted the spoon from her hands and took a bite, returning it to her. For a moment, his grin remained steady, leaning back in his own seat. After a few more beats, however, his grin shook, and he turned away to gulp. At this, Seph giggled, covering her mouth and taking another bite of her noodles.

"So, is she overreacting?" Calum asked his friend, leaning forward with a grin that he shared with Seph.

Luke leaned back and crossed his arms, and he would've looked cool - Seph thought he had a cocky aura that made him attractive - if it weren't for his red cheeks. "Yeah, it's fine." He panted, fingers drumming on the table. He was not good with spice, and had gotten much too over his head.

Seph shook her head, chuckling as she leaned her chin on her hand, watching Luke's face redden. "Hot enough for you, Princess?" She teased, biting her lip in a grin when his eyes watered. If it had been Ashton or Michael, she would have been crying with laughter, but she didn't know Luke nearly as well, and although he had teased her, she didn't feel like doing the same. For the most part.

"You know what?" Luke croaked after downing an entire glass of water. He pointed his long finger at Seph, close enough that the tip of his finger brushed the tip of her nose, which raised her eyebrows, but neither of them said anything more about it. "You-" He cut himself off, ducking his head to avoid anyone seeing his eyes water with the heat. "Goddamn."

"What'd you do to him, Squish?" Ashton asked upon the collective realization that Luke was suffering over something. Calum had watched the interaction with rapt attention, but Ashton, Michael, and Priya had been chatting about something completely unrelated.

Seph shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "Nothing that he didn't deserve." At that, Luke turned up to scowl at her, and a pang of guilt shot through her stomach. "Sorry, dude." She offered, carefully glancing down at Luke.

"So, Seph, what's your major?" Calum asked, leaning his head on his hand to grin at her. Luke was still struggling, but he was generally pushed to the side, except for Michael, who was nearly crying with laughter. "Mike mentioned you're here on a scholarship."

With a glare towards Michael – who didn't even recognize his sister's stare – Seph glanced back towards Calum. "Yeah, I'm actually double majoring in musical theater and classics." Or, as hers and Michael's grandmother referred to it, the two most useless majors.

"Oh, so you sing?" Calum continued, disregarding the poisonous way Ashton was staring at him.

Seph's cheeks reddened, and she ran a hand through the ends of her hair. "Uh, yeah. I guess."

"That's really cool. You know-"

"Squish, did you see the gaming bar Kei was talking about?" Ashton interrupted, grabbing Seph's arm to pull her towards him, thrusting his phone in her face. He scowled at Calum, but if the latter noticed, he didn't react.

Nodding absent-mindedly, Seph scrolled through the listing. "Yeah, looks really cool, Ash. We should go tonight." She turned her attention back to Calum. "D'you two wanna come to this bar with us later?"

Luke finally looked up, eyes raking over Seph, and then to Michael. "Are you even old enough to drink?" He asked with a soft chuckle.

Seph scowled, arching an eyebrow. "It's a gaming bar." Suddenly, she empathized with Ashton for Priya's prior teasing. "You know, with games?"

"We'd love to join." Calum said, before Luke could fire back the retort that waited on the tip of his tongue. "But I work early, so I'll probably have to leave before midnight."

"Oh, we all do." Michael assured him with a confident grin.

"Except for Seph. You can stay out all night." Priya added, grinning at her roommate, which earned her a scowl. They both knew Seph was going home and sleeping for forever. If she could fall asleep. "So, which club are you going to?" She teased, sticking her tongue out at Seph, who responded in kind.

Seph sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Luke's also free tonight, maybe you two should do something." Calum added, before Seph could refuse. At Luke's scorn, Calum defensively raised his hands. "Dude, it's a joke, you guys don't have to."

Scowling, Seph nudged Ashton over to slip out of the hightop. "I'm going to wash my hands." She grumbled, tossing her hair over her shoulder before heading away from the table.

The restroom was peacefully quiet, with the exception of soft music playing over the speakers. Seph leaned down to splash her face with cool water, sighing softly and running a hand through her hair. She hadn't been able to rest at all, even on the bus, when she could normally fall asleep on Ashton for a minute, so the cool water was to combat the sagging of her eyelids, as well as the warm cheeks that were a side effect of the spicy noodles.

She poked at the bags permanently under her eyes, made worse by her lack of sleep, sighing when they didn't magically disappear. With a sniff, she leaned back, pulling her ponytail out to shake her hair down her back.

Seph should've had an energy drink before she left that morning.

[daughterxxofxxthexxangels]

RULES: answer these and tag 20 followers you’d like to know more !

I know this is suppose to be OOC, but this is going to be IC. Mun does not want to talk about herself.

TAGGED BY:  STOLEN FROM: @wingsxxofxxdespairxx TAGGING:  @midian-alexandra @frontierpsychiatry @winters-prism @avampirenameddawn @ivealwayslikedfairytales

NAME: Sephra NICKNAME: Seph

SIGN: Virgo HEIGHT:  5′ 11″ NATIONALITY: British (being half human) ORIENTATION:  Demisexual FAVOURITE FRUIT: Strawberries FAVOURITE SEASON: Spring FAVOURITE FLOWER: Lavender  FAVOURITE SCENT: Sandal Wood FAVOURITE BOOK: Gilgamesh/Beowulf/Odyssey/Iliad  FAVOURITE COLOUR: Soft pink/blue/purple FAVOURITE ANIMAL: Deer COFFEE, TEA, OR HOT CHOCOLATE: Tea AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 6 hours, 2 when she’s in heat (once a year she goes into heat, she usually spends this time reading and focusing on spiritual growth as this is a very bad time for her.) CATS OR DOGS: cats NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH: 1 DREAM  TRIP:  No where, she can go anywhere BLOG CREATED: *shrugs* NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS: Not a lot

[seeminglyseph]

The Iliad and The Odyssey are about colonization but not necessarily critical of it. Though, there is speculation and reason to believe that it is also the tale of the Bronze Age Collapse in a way, and in that way, is pretty heavily critical. But I have not studied enough to speak in an educated way on that...

But it's very fascinating with the modern critical view of colonization, for good reason, to be reading these poems and considering both my own perspective and the perspective of the listeners of Homer.

I mean. I know I cannot possibly actually... like. *actually* understand the perspective of listers or orators of Homer's epics in the ancient times, like... I have taken most of one Greek Classics Introductory course and then read a whole lot of stuff independently. I would need to go back to school for a long time to even attempt such a feat. But the concept of attempting it is like... worthwhile as a reader, because otherwise, I think I would lose much of the meaning in the text.

I want to try and meet it where it is and find its resonance, even if I don't agree with it. I feel like it helps me understand something about the world and history and stuff a little bit, especially since they've been so influential on like. Western Storytelling in a way.

The fact that many of the unpleasant aspects of these stories get washed away, especially the colonization and slavery and deep imbalance of power, is a fascinating topic of conversation. I don't know if I have a point or if I'm educated enough to have a point... it's just... very fascinating.

[seeminglyseph]

Emily Wilson’s introduction to her translation of The Iliad really pulls absolutely no punches huh? Like. Yeah, okay I guess we’re facing our mortality head on today. Cool.

I mean, it is The Iliad, I guess I should absolutely have that sort of mindset but still. Like. Let’s get fucked up and existential in here, sure. I’m already sad about Achilles and Hector and I haven’t officially gotten to the actual poem yet, so like. Good job.

[seeminglyseph]

I think the Odysseus in my head has grey eyes that reflect the predominant colours of their environment, so they often have a blue hint due to being at sea and having that wide open sky around him. This is a trait he shares with Telemachus, who does grow up to resemble his father a lot in physical appearance.

This will contrast Astyanax, who I think will have amber brown eyes that I think should haunt Odysseus' dreams and memories of Telemachus. Each time he tries to imagine an adult Telemachus, it morphs into Astalyanax, and the first clue should be that the eyes are the wrong colour. Because Odysseus doesn't know what either boy would look like as an adolescent or adult, and his memory fuzzy... and his mind keeps mixing Astyanax and Telemachus together and haunting him with the specter of a dead boy over the memories of his son.

I do not currently have the like. Fortitude to create the actual like... Project? that like. All Of This creates but like. It sure is... a concept that has had me... desperately pondering a design for Hector, Astyanax (baby and adolescent), Odysseus, Telemachus (baby and adolescent), and then maybe even Achilles and Neoptolemus because fathers, sons and cycles of violence. Yes, that is multiple Iliad characters who do not need to be here guess whose reading the other epic poem and being emotional it's me. I have complex feelings about Hector and Achilles, and I'm not sorry about it. I think they also inform a lot of how Odysseus acts in the Odyssey because... uh. I don't know if anyone can live through the Iliad and not have feelings about being in the Iliad?

My ideas far exceed my physical capabilities... one day, I will be able to sit upright, maybe...

[seeminglyseph]

The tedious boat lists make sense if you think of them as like an Ancient Poke-Rap honestly…

[seeminglyseph]

I am officially listening to The Iliad fully as like. An adult who comprehends the things it’s about? You know? Like. I feel like. There’s a layer of like… yeah I know the *story* of The Iliad and The Odyssey and surrounding mythology… but like… *now* I’ve done some university level classsics lectures and studying and reading and history and I like. Have more than a base understanding of what Greek Mythology and Classics and stuff is.

And like I’ve decided for the moment to listen to an audiobook because it originated as an oral tradition and it feels like. Right. Though I do know I’m gonna have to look things up because there’s words I don’t know and I’m gonna need to check which epithets are being used for everybody.

Also. Like. I did not realize the degree to which Agamemnon fully is a piece of trash until now, like I don’t know that I actually *read* read the Iliad before. Like fucking of course you were the one who provoked Apollo by pissing off his priest and can potentially sedate him by making things right by giving the priest’s daughter back? You’re literally throwing a temper tantrum about that? And publicly being like “but she’s hotter than my wife though?” While a god murders your people outside? It’s been like a week of a god waging war on you and you’re whining about not having your slave girl? You weird cowardly shithead. What???

[seeminglyseph]

I love in Different Beast they emphasize “Odysseus” in a way that also feels like it could be just a call out to the translation of his name “to be hated by many” at the very end.

Like.

Suffering and Different Beast feels like Epic Act 2: Odysseus; He is Hated By Many.

[seeminglyseph]

Eurylochus really like… felt that clearing the air was the right move with Odysseus, the most spiteful man alive, huh? Like… I get that he was trying *so fucking hard* to turn over a new leaf. And like. Be a good man.

And like. Maybe Eurylochus saw the best in Odysseus or was just… always that short sighted and self serving in the long run that coming clean was about clearing his conscience and gaining forgiveness, not about his honest consideration of whether Odysseus would give it?

Because like. The more I learn about Odysseus the more I learn that this fucker absolutely holds grudges. He has a memory specifically so that he can remember the people who have wronged him and an imagination exclusively for planning revenge.

He was a *Bastard* before Troy and that’s the *only* reason Greece won. And he hated every single second of it, and knew he would and he knew it was going to be long and agonizing from the moment he was dragged into it.

He *tried* readjusting to peace times but it’s not peace times yet, and part of the reason for that is because Eurylochus is still acting like they’re at war. Almost.

They’re at war except for the part where he’ll talk casually in front of anyone because they’re family. But when you’re talking to your Captain and not your Brother, you need to know when to take it to private. It’s a fatal flaw that damns them all.