#the isle of ogygia

[mustelidsinlove]

The Isle of Ogygia by citrusses on AO3

There is an island, far out in the sea.

It’s useless to fight Potter. Isn’t that the lesson he’s refused to learn his entire life? // “Harry,” he says, as instructed, the word another link in the chain he’s binding himself with. // Potter comes back the next month, as reliable as the tides. Draco starves for him when he’s not there. // But Harry is also clearly a walking disaster and would apparently rather be kidnapped than face the mess he’s made of his life, so if Draco wants to spend the next four years eating Harry’s pancakes and fucking Harry until he can’t walk, he needs Harry to get his head right. // “There’s still a chance we could starve to death,” says Draco. “A bad enough storm could come in and–” “Then we’ll starve,” Harry says, smiling at him, and Draco gives up, because he’s finally learned his lesson about fighting Harry Potter.

A perfect little miracle of a story, almost fairytale-like in its rhythms, setting, and concision — though I don't know any fairytales featuring a protagonist quite as petulant, arseholey, or delightfully unfiltered (in the narration) as this Draco. Its real triumph might be the world-building, though, which is accomplished swiftly, elegantly, and uniquely — creating an expansion to the magic of the HP universe and portkeys that I will be thinking about for a long while. The dynamic is lovely as well: an easy relationship, that still honors the fact that these are two broken boys in need of saving. The smut is very good, too, as is the ust. 

Art:

(1) A Fisherman's Bedroom, Christen Dalsgaard, 1853

(2) Eddystone Lighthouse, Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, print made by W.B. Cooke, 1836

[template]

[kissmypoets-hp]

Fanfic Classics 📚 The theme for today's batch of covers: atmospheric Drarry fics with islands and/or fics that that deal with magic as an uncontrollable Entity. Also, these covers looked good together, so.

🏝️ The Isle of Ogygia by @citrusses

🛶 Beneath the Wave by @moonflower-rose

🏰 The Compact by astolat

🩸 In Our Blood by secretsalex

art credits below the cut!

Artwork used, in order:

"A lighthouse on fire at night" by Joseph Wright of Derby (1770)

"Isle of the Dead, 2nd Version" by Arnold Böcklin (1880)

"Bacchanal" by Franz Stuck (1905)

"Interior, Artificial Light" by Vilhelm Hammershøi (1909)

(classics covers are inspired by zeziliazink and bubu0h's works! i've been making more fic covers for my kindle here.)

[getawayfox]

Potter takes the shiver for encouragement—which it is, of course—and leans forward to lick at Draco’s cock.  “Sweet Merlin,” Draco gasps.  “I’m the only one who’s ever made you feel like this,” Potter says, more to Draco’s crotch than to him.  Potter was the only one who’d made him feel like this long before he put his mouth on Draco’s dick, but Draco doesn’t tell him that. 

Quote from the romantic and stunning fic The Isle of Ogygia by @citrusses (Drarry, E, 13k)

[sweet-s0rr0w]

This is unbelievably gorgeous omg 😭😍😍

A present for @citrusses, and one of my favorite fics: The Isle of Ogygia.

[citrusses]

@sweet-s0rr0w made the most beautiful post about drarry celebrating christmas in her fics, so I took a stab at it, too. Merry christmas and happy holidays all!

OORU drarry spend Christmas Eve with the Malfoys—formal, stuffy, suffocating. Lucius and Narcissa are not fans of Harry but Draco has made it clear that if they are not both welcome, neither will attend. It’s all very polite and painful. Everyone is trying; no one is certain it’s worth it. Christmas Day, however, is spent with Sirius and Remus, and it’s perfect and cozy and all four of them take turns get embarrassingly sentimental about it: about finding a family and being that for each other and getting a bit weepy into his champagne. Harry loves how Draco fits in so well with his godfathers now. Harry is thinking he should ask Draco to move in with him; he feels the uncertain flare of that old fear of rejection when he considers it, finds it terrifying, and resolves to press on in spite of it.  

Gemini in Retrograde drarry are at Grimmauld, where Draco lives, with Scorpius home for the holidays. Scorpius still thinks it’s kind of gross that anyone would want to date his dad, but he’s also never had such a happy Christmas since before Narcissa died. They exchange presents on Christmas Eve; Draco and Scorprius shock each other by picking perfect presents for one another (it’s new, for them). Harry “helps” their house elf make dinner (marking the first time they’ve had an edible meal on Christmas in years). All three of them go to the Burrow for lunch on Christmas Day, the tradition that started the first year Harry and Draco were together. While Scorprius is still working up the courage to properly talk to Victoire, he has none of that shyness when it comes to pick-up Quidditch in the garden. Draco and Harry play, too—Draco flies all the time, now. Harry is still better than him. 

Isle of Ogygia drarry are at the lighthouse, still — ostensibly they’re both working on getting Draco’s sentence reduced, but both of them are more than a bit nervous about leaving the island when the time comes. Their communication about this difficult subject needs work. However, Christmas in the lighthouse is beautiful—the place has been transformed into a real home, and the spellwork has been smoothed out, and the Christmas tree that Neville helped Harry safely transport there is thriving. It’s storming outside, but it’s warm inside, and they have more food than they could possibly ever eat, and they end up not opening presents until the evening because they spend the whole day shagging. They both think they’re being very funny and clever and ended up getting each other the exact same dry, unreadable encyclopedias for Christmas. 

Löyly drarry spend every Christmas traveling somewhere new. They like to alternate between cold and warm destinations: cold places mean shopping at Christmas markets, hearty meals, and saunas if they can find them, and sex on rugs in front of blazing fireplaces; warm places mean dips in the ocean, and dinners and cold wine in the open-air, and Harry watching Draco's long, solid body turn pink in the sun in a way that makes him weak. Draco considers it his duty to become an expert in each country’s specific magical traditions; if there’s sex magic to be found, that’s all the better. Draco and Harry have been forbidden from returning to at least one country because of a public incident involving said sex magic. It was, they both think, worth it. 

@jtimu @arminaa8 @xalandrix @thecouchsofa @greattemptation @garagepaperback @sorrybutblog @nv-md and I'm seconding everyone sweet tagged, too, if you want to share how your drarries spend the holidays. if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged, and tag me please!

[katy-133]

TF2 AU where Soldier is Canadian, and Spy is Québécois (French Canadian).

[eleadore]

a very quick thing for the isle of ogygia by @citrusses ft. draco's fluorescent green windbreaker. read for an incredibly charming setting and draco pov + romance + THE SEA

“It’s actually quite cosy in here, isn’t it?” he says.  Draco lets out a derisive snort.  “It is!” Potter says. “There’s a fire, and it’s kind of like a storybook, with the rain and the lighthouse in the middle of nowhere?”  Draco fixes him with a cold stare. “You said you wanted to know I wasn’t somewhere worse than Azkaban? Well I’m not. I’m alone and hungry most of the time, and I don’t have anything to do except whatever the Ministry tells me to, but I’m not in Azkaban. So I have that. But please don’t tell me this gods-forsaken rock is ‘cosy,’ Potter. It’s better than prison. That’s it.”  Potter looks down at his hands. Draco almost feels sorry for a moment, then he remembers that he hates Harry Potter and he’s glad to have made him feel uncomfortable. 

[blessedbyahuntress]

Two Demigods and a Goddess

Pairing: Leo Valdez x Daughter!of!Hades!Reader

Warnings: I don't think so

Word Count: 1.9k

You dipped your feet in the water, sighing as it cooled your skin. 

The sun shone down on your face, blinding you as you slipped your hoodie off; it was too hot to be wearing extra layers.

You traced the lines that had been engraved into the rock beside you with your knife- your only possession when you were sentenced to this island. Twenty four lines, twenty four months, or two years, if you preferred. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of light. You turned your head toward it and frowned, puzzled. Another innocent girl coming to join you in Ogygia? 

You decided not to dwell on it, instead taking your dagger out of its sheath. You angled yourself back to the rock to draw a few more images. Calypso would tell you if anything major happened while you were away.

After all, nothing really happened often on this isle. Usually.

At least, that’s what you thought until you heard Calypso practically scream, “what are you doing? You blew up my dining table!”

“Great,” you muttered, rising to your feet. You slipped on your sandals, speed walking to the shore of the island. 

~

You stayed in the shadows, watching your best friend sassily argue with a short, curly haired Latino. 

“Oh, I’m sorry!” He said. You could tell that he already disliked Calypso. “I just fell out of the sky. I constructed a helicopter in midair, burst into flames halfway down, and barely survived. But by all means- let’s talk about your dining table!”

“Who puts a dining table on the beach where innocent demigods can crash into it?” He continued. “Who does that?”

Calypso clenched her fists, looking about ready to march down to the Latino and punch him in the face. 

Before she could do anything of the sort, you emerged from the shadows, compliments from your father. 

“Well, well, well,” you said, strolling up to the pair. “What do we have here, Calypso?”

She snorted. “No one important, as you can see.”

You tsked. “You should at least ask his name, before you label him as ‘not important’.”

The boy beamed at you. “Why, thank you, Sunshine!” He looked you up and down. “I must say- loving the outfit, too. Sandals with cargo pants? I don’t know a lot of people who could pull that off.”

You raised your eyebrows, slipping your sunglasses back over your eyes. “The one thing I’ll allow you to label him as, without asking his name, is annoying.”

The boy raised a hand to his chest, acting like he was wounded. “Oh, how your words hurt me, Sunshine! But your gloomy aesthetic isn’t fooling me any time soon!”

You scowled and turned to Calypso. “This’ll be tough,” you muttered.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “He’s by far not as attractive as Odysseus nor Percy, and he’s rather annoying. How do we get him out of here?”

“Tell you what.” You pinched the bridge of your nose. “I’ll take him to my side of the island. And maybe, just maybe, I can build something that’ll get him out of here.”

Calypso gave a small nod, relief overtaking her features as she slowly walked back toward the winding trail which led to her home. You watched her go until she was out of sight. 

Turning to the boy, you said, “what’s your name?”

He got up, and you realized he was clutching an odd-looking sphere. You raised your eyebrows as he stumbled out of the wreckage of Calypso’s dining table.

“Leo,” he answered. “Leo Valdez.”

You gestured to a different footpath a bit of a walk away from the one Calypso had run off to. “Alright, Valdez. Follow me, don’t ask any stupid questions, and I’ll make you as comfortable as I can. If you ask me anything along the lines of, “who are you?” or, “Why are you here?” I’ll skewer you.”

You grinned at his slightly uneasy expression before stalking off into the woods. 

~

Leo found you the next day.

You were wandering the shores of Ogygia, fiddling with a black ring that had been gifted to you from Hades. 

You jumped when the Latino from the day before tapped you on the shoulder.

You turned the skull on your ring toward the left, the simple piece of jewelry enlarging into a stygian iron dagger. The blade found its place under his chin in one swift movement. 

He yelped.

“Oh,” you said, sounding rather disappointed. “It’s just you.”

Leo released a breath. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Just me.”

You rolled your eyes, removing the knife from his neck. “I mean just you as in, ‘oh, it’s an annoying boy who I unfortunately am not allowed to decapitate yet, though it would be fun to do so.’.” 

He blinked, and you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest. “Yes, Valdez? What do you want?”

Leo blinked again, trying to ignore the strong scent of your perfume. It smelled so good. 

“Valdez?”

He realized he’d been staring at you, and had to rip his gaze away. “Uhm,” he said. 

You quirked an eyebrow.

He felt his mouth get dry as he tried to remember what he’d come to ask you for. Gods, why did you have to apply your makeup much better than you had yesterday?

“Uh… I-You.” Leo could tell you were growing impatient. “Do you have any scrap metals?” He blurted.

You barked a laugh, and Leo found himself loving the sound of it. 

“Of course I have scrap metal!” You exclaimed. “For gods sake, I have a whole forge!”

This earned you another blink from Leo. 

You grabbed his wrist, dragging him to the cave a few feet away.

Stopping in front of the entrance, you announced, “this is my home. You’re welcome here, but only, and I repeat only, to ask a question, grab food, or use the forge. You still get to sleep outside.”

“Yippee!” Leo remarked sarcastically. 

You scowled at him, dropping his forearm. Gesturing farther into the cave, you started retreating back into the sunlight. 

“You’ll find everything prepped and ready for use,” you told him before vanishing from his sight.

~

You hadn’t returned that night. Nor the night after that one. 

Leo hadn’t even thought about it until you showed up holding a basket of grapes and a loaf of bread.

“Valdez.”

He glanced up and nearly smashed his thumb with his hammer; he’d forgotten how utterly breathtaking you were. 

“You haven’t eaten in two days,” you said, frowning. “You need to take a break, Leo.”

It was the first time Leo had heard you use his first name instead of ‘Valdez’, and he tried to ignore the fact that he wanted you to say it more often.

“Two days?” He asked.

You nodded seriously before snorting. You moved to grab his hand before he could bash his thumb with his hammer. 

Your touch burned. In fact, it seemed like his skin was still on fire from where you’d grabbed his wrist earlier in the week. He tried to ignore the sensation, having to focus on the food in your other hand instead. He didn’t find this to be a very difficult task, considering that he was starved. 

You took the hammer from Leo’s hand gently, setting it off to the side. 

Satisfied that he would stop and eat, you gestured to the table a few feet away. “Sit with me, Valdez. Let’s eat.”

Once properly situated- Leo sitting like a normal human being, while you put your feet up on the table- you ripped off a chunk of bread for yourself, offering the rest of the loaf to the boy next to you.

He took it as you chewed your piece with a thoughtful expression. 

“I think I’m ready to tell you about myself,” you decided.

Leo, who was apparently trying to see how many grapes he could feet in his mouth without choking, froze.

You tilted your chin up, avoiding his gaze as you said, “i’m Y/N L/N, daughter of-”

“Hades,” Leo finished. “Variable of the Battle of Manhattan, assassin for hire, most deadly and unpredictable demigod in the world.” He released a breath. “Yeah, I’ve heard about you.” 

Your gaze flickered to him, surprised when you didn’t see what you were expecting; Leo’s eyes meeting yours, understanding, curiosity, and perhaps admiration in the depths of his stare. 

“Don’t you… hate me?” You couldn’t help but ask in a hushed voice. 

Leo frowned. “Hate you? Why would I hate you?”

“Because…” You struggled with an answer. 

The boy beside you rose to his feet, taking both of your hands in his. “Y/N, I don’t think I could ever hate you for anything, much less the things you had to do.”

You felt a tear slip down your cheek. The only other person who’d reacted like this had been… no one, actually. “I-I-” You stammered. “I don’t know what to say.”

Leo gave you a small smile. “You don’t have to say anything. Just know what I say is true.”

You found yourself looking to the entrance of the cave. You stood abruptly, dragging the Latino boy after you as you ran to the beach. 

“Whoa!” He yelped. “Y/N, what’re you…”

He trailed off as he saw the raft that awaited on the shore. 

“Hurry!” You said, tugging him toward the raft. “I don’t know how long it will stay!”

“But…” Leo found himself not able to finish that sentence as you glared at him over your shoulder.

“Come on, Valdez!” You cried. “Move! It’s supposed to take you where you want to go, but the island’s magic is obviously unstable! You have to rig up your guidance device to navigate!”

You continued to sprint to the raft, Leo behind you; he’d snapped out of his daze when he realized you had grabbed the console from the other table beside the forge. 

You and Leo worked in sync, stepping back once you were sure everything was situated correctly. 

“Go,” you said, stepping off of the raft. You inched back a bit when Leo hopped off too. 

He grabbed your hand again, and you stared down at your intertwined fingers. “I’m not leaving without you.”

“You have to.” You cursed yourself for how heartbroken you sounded.

“Then, once the war is over, I'll come back to you.”

“Leo-”

“I know that no man has ever landed here twice, but I have to. I’ll find a way, Y/N. If it’s the last thing I-”

You lurched forward and placed your lips on his.

Leo’s brain seemed to have short-circuited. He stood there for a moment, unsure if this was real, if you were real- ‘cus it sure as hell felt like he was dreaming.

Then he closed his eyes, hands finding a place on your waist. 

You pulled away far too soon, in Leo’s opinion.

“Go,” you repeated, stepping away.

“Okay.”

“And don’t give me any empty promises.”

“Okay.”

Leo stepped back onto the raft, not sure if it was salt water or tears running down his cheeks. 

He looked back at Ogygia, only to find it was only a spec in the distance now.

You had said not to give you any empty promises. And he wouldn’t. 

He’d give you his vow.

“I’m coming back to you, Y/N,” he whispered. “I swear it on the River Styx.”

[cryptotheism]

"An isle, Ogygia, lies far out at sea,​ a run of five days off from Britain as you sail westward; and three other islands equally distant from it and from one another lie out from it in the general direction of the summer sunset. In one of these, according to the tale told by the natives, Cronus is confined by Zeus, and the antique Briareus, holding watch and ward over those islands and the sea that they call the Cronian main, has been settled close beside him.​"

"For Cronus himself sleeps confined in a deep cave of rock that shines like gold — the sleep that Zeus has contrived like a bond for him —, and birds flying in over the summit of the rock bring ambrosia to him, and all the island is suffused with fragrance scattered from the rock as from a fountain; and those spirits mentioned before tend and serve Cronus, having been his comrades what time he ruled as king over gods and men."

--Plutarch, Concerning the Face Which Appears in the Orb of the Moon

[sitp-recs]

Part I: hymn to the sea

thank you @eleadore for creating this gorgeous art for @citrusses’ The Isle of Ogygia and for inspiring this rec list!

Sometimes all I want is the quiet. After a year of ups and downs feeling very introspective towards fandom, I found a lot of comfort in contemplative fics featuring the sea. They take me by the hand and get me immersed in a beautiful, mysterious setting in a way that I find deeply soothing, and even cathartic. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels instantly drawn to this theme, so I made a short rec list with some of my favorite titles. May September be kind and healing to us all. Enjoy!

🌊 On The Shore by @skeptiquewrites (T, 3k)

Draco takes up wild swimming. Harry joins him.

🌊 Saltwater Stain by @the-starryknight (M, 9k)

Seven days stuck on a boat investigating a rogue ghost wouldn't be so bad if Harry didn't want Draco so much.

🌊 The Isle of Ogygia by @citrusses (E, 13k)

There is an island, far out in the sea.

🌊 The Oceans They Did Rise by disapparater (M, 18k)

Finding post-war life more difficult than he'd imagined, Harry travels halfway around the world to find some peace.

🌊 if you've changed your mind, orphaned (E, 20k)

The first Draco knows of the whole thing is Harry Potter standing in his broom shed.

🌊 The Isle of Discussion by @shealwaysreads (E, 22k)

Harry and Draco arrive at the shores of Loch Leven to record the magical history of the land. They’re friends now, but up there in the Highlands, amidst the trees and sky and that wild expanse of water their own past is more present than ever; a gap they still can’t bridge.

🌊 Simulation Theory by @starquestingfordrarry (E, 35k)

An offer to test out a new invention for Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes turns into a whole lot more when Harry discovers who has the other part of the paired set.

🌊 What Shall Not Be Unearthed by @iero0 (E, 49k)

At the northernmost point of Shetland, surrounded by pointed cliffs, towers the Ootsta Lighthouse on a small isle in the middle of the open sea. Little does Harry know that he's not the only new lighthouse keeper.

🌊 Antediluvia by @lol-zeitgeistic (E, 56k)

Everyone always forgets about the Merpeople. So did Harry until the day his, Lee’s, and Hermione’s Portkeys land at Reagan National Airport’s Arrivals dais. He’s just had to leave a job he loves and pack his entire life—literally—into his luggage. Then Malfoy and his subplots arrive, and suddenly, saving the world again, one Mermaid at a time, sounds like the perfect excuse to do something he’s always wanted.

🌊 I Am Not Who I Became by mab_di (E, 93k)

Draco left England after the trials and has travelled the world meeting wizards and Muggles from different cultures and with vastly different relationships to magic, each other, and the natural world. Now he's a fisherman in Finland on commercial vessels. Harry has been struggling since the war and has become a recluse while trying to write his autobiography.

[blorger]

“I’m not that tired,” Potter says at last. “I’ve still got all this energy from being pent up in here all day.”  “Fancy another jog to the top of the lighthouse?” Draco asks wryly.  “Not so much.” Potter looks back at the fire. “What do you usually do at night?”  “I don’t know,” Draco says, feeling irritated. “I can only listen to the Wireless out near the perimeter, and only when the weather’s fair. I usually try to read one of those fucking encyclopaedias, and then I tend to the stupid fire so that I don’t freeze to death, and then if I really feel like a treat I have a wank.”  Potter’s green eyes widen. Draco wants to laugh at him for being so easily shocked, but he’s currently busy dying of embarrassment. Merlin, the things he’ll say to get a rise out of Potter.   “Well,” Potter says. “We should probably start with the fire. Freezing to death isn’t high on my agenda, either.”  “Right,” Draco says, swallowing.   “And if you really need to have a wank, I guess I can go stand in the rain–”  “Shut up, Potter.” 

from The Isle of Ogygia by @citrusses

[katerinaaqu]

Calypso the Beautiful Goddess

So after I made my sketch of Odysseus the other day as you can imagine I couldn't help but also add Calypso, the beautiful goddess (or the One with the Divine Look) or Fair-Tressed Goddess of Ogygia! So this is how I imagined her to look like or at least tried to! Hehe!

My first description of hers can be found to my story Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty (Part2):

"Odysseus weakly looked up to see a magnificent woman. She was tall and slender with dark sun-kissed skin and dark hair carefully arranged in braids adorned with gold and seashells which cascaded down her back like a cape. Her face was heart-shaped and completely clear and pore-less; looking more like the magnificence of marble rather than flesh. Her large almond-eyes had the color of rich honey and her lips were full and shaped like a shell. Odysseus was stunned by her beauty and much more by her soothing voice."

My description was massively inspired by the amazing Vanessa Williams who enrolled the role of Calypso in The Odyssey (1997)

Since sources place her isle in various places, including Gozo island in Malta or to the coasts of Tynisia I wanted to enroll this information to the character's design. While I was drawing I also drew massive inspiration by the beautiful face of Aaliya from the Queen of the Damned for this pore-less skin as well as the skintone of hers which I found simply perfect for Calypso.

I wasn't sure how to achieve that beautiful look Vanessa had and incorporate the multiple braids that I imagined for Calypso so I gave her an extra bun and in a way it works given that I imagined Calypso having very long and very rich black hair.

Her makeup was inspired by Egyptian contexts especially the Malachite over the eyes and the khol around them. The rest of it was inspired by the Queen of the Damned as well as my random details. I know I am not very good with blending I know! But I did try to see how her makeup would work. For her lips I also wanted this classic coral/red shade.

For her dress I didn't have something specific in mind. I did have some images of mycenaean dresses as well as some classical egyptian shapes from New Kingdom but I ended up with a more simple design, partially also inspired by the color I make her wear in the second part of my story.

I was thinking about giving her accessories like jewelry but I wasn't confident I would do it properly so I just gave her a piercing to her ear or something similar and just imagine she wears her bracelets or rings for this one! Haha! Anyway drawing hairstles is also not entirely my forte but I am quite satisfied with this one. Could be worse! XD Some of the beads I colored to resemble corals or something but yeah! Hehe I was apso inspired for her seashell by the classical seashell Cypraea

Hope you like it!

My other sketch with Diomedes can also be found here. Again sorry guys ain't very good at drawing and my marker-pen has a very bad tip so it was a bit hard to ink the lines but I enjoyed making that one!

[perpetualdaydreamerr]

“I have another boy at home,” the wistful king murmured, his words leaving his lips with the burdensome weight of memory. “Much older than you by now… the last I saw him, he wasn’t yet half your size. But he lives very far from here, on another isle across the sea.”

His own eyes stared back at him, unreactive to his words. His son was just an infant, but Odysseus realized that even if he were of rational age, he couldn’t possibly understand what he was saying. The child didn't know what existed beyond the idyllic, gilded shores of Ogygia. He didn't know of smiling people, and kingdoms, and war. The glittering isle had consumed the entirety of his life. Odysseus felt his grip around him tighten.

“You won't die on these shores, boy of mine. I swear it on my life.”

-

{or: An alternate universe in which Odysseus unwillingly has a child with Calypso.}

Full fic

[jtimu]

@julcheninred I intend to win Worst Drawn in my favorite challenge of the year - Draw Drarry Badly. Featuring one of my favorite scenes from @citrusses' The Isle of Ogygia.

[somepsychopomp]

How does Calypso's island go down in the omega Odysseus au?

How'd I know someone else would ask about this LMAO

so I've imagined Calypso in a couple of different scenarios but here's the 3 I like to ponder the most:

One, gods can change their shape to take on any appearance/secondary gender, though they do have a preferred way of presenting. I'd imagine Calypso would present herself as an alpha when Odysseus first washes up on her isle. She'd be like "omg my husband's finally here! Hm but he's an omega... well that's no problem I guess I'll be the alpha teehee :)"

And she'll do all her typical Calypso things while also trying to court Odysseus through her scent (she smells of warm wood, amber, and lily petals on the water), healing his injuries, cooking, and doing everything else to "provide" for him. When Odysseus continues to refuse her advances, she becomes more physically needy and aggressive. She won't hit him no, but she'll cling to him, force him to eat and bathe with her, force him to let her dress his body, will rub her scent all over him and his clothes, and basically make it impossible for Odysseus to ignore her presence on his body.

Calypso gets so excited for his first heat on her island, but is stunned to find that Odysseus becomes anxious and physically aggressive while in heat. He did spend 10 years at war without his true alpha; his body has learned to take his massive hormonal upswing and turn it into aggression rather than what little Calypso knows of meek, demure omegas. She can barely get close to Odysseus, even when he's empty handed, because he'll claw, kick, and bite until she leaves his space.

Calypso feels terribly hurt and upset by such a stark rejection, but she rationalizes it in her mind as, "Oh, this poor omega! He's been so badly hurt by the outside world that he no longer knows when he's safe. He can no longer recognize love or someone who wants to love him!"

So she'll wait. She will wait until the heat where Odysseus does eventually break and the slick runs down his thighs as he begs for her touch. It'll happen any day now, just you wait, Odysseus...

Alternatively,

I kinda really like the idea of Odysseus waking up on Ogygia and being relieved to come across a fellow omega for once. Omega Calypso would be ecstatic to have someone to share her habits and instincts with, including "platonic" scent sharing. Odysseus isn't immediately on guard like in canon in this instance, so as he recovers from his old injuries, he lets Calypso caress him and comb his hair. Maybe he'll even lean into her touch a little bit. After all, to him, this is nothing more than a kindly omega helping him recover.

The fact that Calypso invites him into her bed is a bit strange, but nest-sharing among omegas is quite common. (Though under most circumstances, the omegas would know each other quite well in order to share the same sleeping space.) Odysseus thinks Calypso is just being extremely generous. He doesn't want to offend his host, so he rests in her bed alongside her, and damn, if it's not the best sleep he's gotten in years. Even if he wakes to Calypso cradling him against her as if they're mates...

To Calypso, the fact that they're both omegas is no obstacle. They can share their heats together and oh! wouldn't it be the dream for their cycles to sync up?

They could keep each other company forever and ever. They don't need a stinky, bossy alpha to bother them; they could live in peace here as mated omegas to each other. Calypso can't stop dreaming about the shared nest they'll build together. Or the way they'll spend every night cuddling before bed, purring to each other the way only omegas could.

When Odysseus gets wise to her plans, he tries to gently reject Calypso, saying he's still mated to his wife at home and that he's not interested in anyone else. Does she listen? Of course not. From there, it's basically the same as canon where Ody can't escape Ogygia and is constantly "comforted" by Calypso.

And lastly, the idea that I've lowkey been kinda wanting to turn into a standalone fic (tw for assault/abuse):

Omega Odysseus washes up on alpha Calypso's shore... and she forces herself upon him. And that's how Nausithous & Nausinous came to be.

Odysseus blames himself for being so weak. He was caught up in the throes of his heat and in mental anguish from having lost his final few men. He was at his lowest point both physically and mentally, and let another alpha take him to bed. He betrayed his Penelope, his wife, his alpha. He betrayed his son Telemachus, who he still longed to know.

Odysseus cannot help but hate Calypso and resent his "illegitimate" children. He doesn't even view them as children, for as they grew inside of him, he found them to be more like parasites thrust upon him by Calypso. They robbed him of his strength throughout his pregnancy, forcing him to depend on his captor for sustenance, care, and shelter.

Odysseus then falls into a deep, persistent postpartum depression that's coupled with his preexisting guilt/shame from losing all his men + his intense longing for home.

The twins grow up hearing stories from their sire about how she found their dam on her isle one day, that Odysseus was sent to her by the gods to give her a family. For the most part, the boys grow up thinking that their dam is similar to the ocean.

Odysseus is sometimes silent and still. He won't speak for days on end, will hardly eat, and might not leave his bed. On the rare occasion, he may let them cuddle against his side or weave flowers into his hair, but he won't reciprocate or thank them.

At other times, their dam becomes a raging tempest. He'll cry and wail, lashing out at their poor sire when she comes close to comfort him. He'll throw plates or stones or whatever's nearest and will scream at their children to not come any closer. He's brought Nausithous and Nausinous to tears more than once, for they do not understand why they are not loved.

Meanwhile, Odysseus thinks he's going mad. Originally, he tried to keep track of the days spent on Ogygia. But weeks turned to months, and then the twins came, and then months turned into years, and now he has no idea how long it's been. All he knows is that the boys are growing up.

(In my mind, since the twins were born on Ogygia, they're immortal beings like Calypso despite having a technically mortal father. And since they're not actually human, they grow up a lot faster than human kids would. In the span of only 7 years, they go from babies to young adults.)

Odysseus would obviously not take this well. Since the boys are the only real marker to judge the passage of time, he thinks he's spent a lifetime on Ogygia already. He becomes possessed by what might've happened to Penelope and Telemachus in such a long time. Odysseus hadn't returned home in, what, a minimum of 30 years?

They must surely hate him, if they even remember him at all. But even then, Odysseus cannot help but long for his old home on Ithaca and what he used to know. He just needs closure. Even if he were to find Penelope and learn that she's moved on, he just needs to know.

I think by the time the twins are closer to adults, they can start to see the cracks forming in their parents' relationship. They wonder why Odysseus flinches from Calypso's voice or touch despite him being the "abuser"/negligent parent. They hear him waking up screaming from nightmares- sometimes he wails about monsters, other times its names they don't recognize, but more often than not, they wake to hear their dam crying about someone named Penelope. They witness him begging the gods for salvation, only to be met with silence.

By the time Hermes arrives, Odysseus nearly faints from relief when he learns it's only been seven years instead of like, 18-20+. Still not great, but way better than what he thought was happening.

Idk how exactly I'd go from here. I would kind of like to imagine that while Calypso is mad and upset that her omega is leaving her, their children actually encourage Ody to leave because they can see so clearly now that he's not happy here and never has been.

To amp up the angst though, I've also considered Odysseus recovering somewhat from his postpartum depression and not necessarily treating Nausithous & Nausinous as his kids, but more so his proteges. Either consciously or unconsciously, he develops a relationship similar to the one he had with Athena where, since he doesn't have anything else to do, he trains his sons to fight. He also teaches them riddles and how to read/write poetry, in order to sharpen their minds. Calypso mistakes it as Odysseus finally settling into his life with her at last, but in Odysseus' mind, this is sort of his redemption for dropping that infant from the wall of Troy/all his other mistakes. He took one innocent life, and lost many more, but he can at least do what he can to salvage and nurture the products of his unwilling pregnancy.

He still hopes that someday, he'll leave and never have to return to this wretched island and his captor. But he doesn't want to leave his children defenseless with their monster of a sire. It's not an easy situation to be in, but Odysseus is only doing the best that he can.

(There's also the added twist of both Nausithous and Nausinous wanting to go with him when he can finally leave...)

[katy-133]

This came to me in a vision and refused to leave.