#this musical broke me long before epic

[madbard]

“You said that you would stay with me…”

As much as I love the 2019 original broadway cast recording of Hadestown, I will always miss the 2017 original cast recording for one major reason: the song “Promises.”

This song comes right after “Epic lll.” At this point, Orpheus has just made his greatest gambit, singing the song he’s been working on for years in the hopes of restoring balance to the world, now in a desperate plea to free Eurydice. After years of bitterness, of loneliness, rejection and pain, Hades and Persephone have finally embraced each other. They are dancing, and as they dance, Orpheus and Eurydice realize that they did it. They can go home.

In the 2019 recording, this moment is pure sweetness as Eurydice immediately reaches out to her exhausted lover, asking him to take her home. After the emotional hurricane that was the rest of the musical, there is a sense of joy and relief. The lovers are reunited. The story is almost over, and they are so glad to see each other again. It’s romantic, certainly… but something is missing.

In the 2017 recording, Eurydice still sings first. But she doesn’t ask Orpheus to take her home. Instead, she reminds him of the promises he made to her. She reminds him of his sweet words, of how those sweet words were torn apart by the winter winds, the pangs of hunger. She doesn’t absolve herself of blame, either. The music is soft and sad as she admits to breaking her vows, to flying away when times got rough. Orpheus replies in kind. We can hear the strain in his voice as he reminds Eurydice of the promises she made him, the future he had dreamed of - the future she may have destroyed. This conversation is quiet and heavy. Both blame the other; both accept blame. In the quiet, they admit to the pain and suffering they put each other through. They lay each broken promise bare. And then - they make a new promise. They choose to walk together.

Hadestown is such a multifaceted musical, intersecting with environmentalism, capitalism, greed, and so many other themes. For me though, the core of the musical will always be its story about failure and forgiveness, about the ways the people we love can hurt us. For me, Hadestown is a story about the risks we take when we forgive those people, and about that shining, quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, they won’t turn around this time. Maybe, we can find our way back home.

The 2019 version might be sweeter, more romantic. But it is the 2017 version that resonates because it shows, in the moment of calm after catastrophe, exactly how painful forgiveness can be.

[gotstabbedbyapen]

I honestly don't really like how Odysseus defeated Poseidon. Maybe with explanations from Jay, time, and the last saga releasing I'll come around to it, but yeah. I feel like it would have been so much more logical to see Odysseus try to be as ruthless as possible, while being cunning, but ultimately failing because it's POSEIDON, and then Zeus comes in and is like "that's enough, let the Greek go" or something. Because he's not only the king, but it would redeem him from that mess in God Games.

Fans who dislike criticism, please stay away from this post because I will not hesitate to speak my mind.

I'm glad to see others still have faith in Epic, but I'm sorry to say that I don't hope as much anymore. I did try after God Games but it only let me down. And I don't think any amount of explaining and marinating time can make it any better.

Epic the Vengeance Saga not only nerf down Poseidon in the most ridiculous way possible when he was an undoubtedly powerful god-king who was revered as the Biggest Villain throughout the musical, it also broke its own establishment that the gods always have a power leverage over the humans. Odysseus was tip-toeing around all of them, even with the seemingly friendly ones like Aeolus and Hermes, because he's literally one wrong move away from getting killed by them.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If Odysseus needed a power boost from the moly just to corner Circe, he had no chance with Poseidon when he had nothing but a sword and a wind bag. No amount of pure rage and wife loving can help him charge at the King of the Sea (in his own domain even!) and leave unscathed, he'll be lucky Poseidon just drown him faster the second time. That cheap Gary Stu fight traded good storytelling for some dramatic effect and ruined it for me.

Any other route for the Odysseus VS Poseidon showdown would be significantly better. Like you said, Odysseus can try to fight or just defend himself against Poseidon for as long as he could, then Zeus and the other Olympians can intervene to save him. And yeah, Zeus deserve a redemption and an apology for ruining his image and establishment in the musical (his attack is also super OOC)

If there's an Epic adaptation on a different media, I seriously hope they'll rewrite Six Hundred Strike completely. Anything but that godawful mess.

[roxasbooth]

There was more demand for the EPIC: The Musical AU where Poseidon starts to grow fond of Telemachus

You ask and you shall receive 👀

Also I'm naming this AU "Graced by The Sea" and will tag it as such-

So! Here's more of it!

——————————

•Poseidon is walking around Ithaca's shores in disguise, as a young Telemachus happens to stumble upon him:

The silence got a bit long as the young boy and the sea god stared at each other, Telemachus with curiosity and Poseidon with annoyance.

Telemachus finally broke the silence: "Hello mister, are you also waiting for your family to return from the sea?"

Poseidon: "Errr..."

Telemachus: "It's fine if you don't want to tell me...but I know who you're waiting for would come back eventually, just as my dad will!"

Poseidon, for some reason, couldn't contain his newfound curiosity towards this child: "Who is your father, boy?"

The kid answered: "The king of Ithaca, of course!"

Poseidon stared at the child silently. Emotions were raging inside of his head like a whirlpool. This was...the son of Odysseus? The man who'd blinded his child?

Revenge was an option, and it was the one most prominent. Why shouldn't he get his very much deserved revenge right there and at this moment? He could just—

"Are you waiting for your son, mister?" The kid tugged at his robe.

Poseidon's heartbeat picked up. This was the perfect opportunity, the perfect time, and yet...

"...Perhaps." He simply answered.

"Well," the child gave him a smile, "I'm sure he'd be back before you know it!"

Poseidon nodded slightly, if that even was a nod.

"I need to return now, my mom would be worried. Goodbye, mister!" The young boy waved at him and then ran off.

Poseidon just stood there, staring at the young boy who was running back home.

The sea was then restless, and it remained as such for the rest of that day.

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

If you don’t mind me sending in another request, I would like to request hc’s of showing/introducing Alphonse, Auron, Finn, and Charlie to epic the musical! (^-^)

Saga's after Saga's.

Bro I'm so pumped for the new ones to come out sjsjvjdj

But also side note still kinda new to Epic so if I do accidentally write something wrong just tell me I'll fix it!

Alphonse

Says Odysseus is better than him bc he'd say fuck everyone and get back to you.

WDYM ITS BEEN OVER 20+ YEARS SINCE HE'S SEEN PENELOPE?? Free my man omfg

Hates the suitors wants them to die. BC WDYM YOUR THREATENING THE KID TO GET W HER?

Loves the music tho, like God's fame is stuck in his head especially Hera's part-

Finn

Finn feels so bad for Odysseus. Why is he going through hell just to get back home.

Knows of the Odyssey, had a Greek mythology phase and loves how it got turned into a musical!

Cant imagine how Penelope feels with suitors trying to get w her. And then her kid as well

I feel like he'd like Circe, her voice is really pretty and she was protecting her nymphs.

Auron

Knows about the Odyssey, literally cant believe Odysseus was away from his wife for so long.

Is interested with Athena's and Odysseus's relationship. Bc she wanted a warrior and he wanted a friend. Kinda hit a lil close to home-

Watching Odysseus scream for Athena lowkey broke him bc holy shit he still called for her even after everything.

I feel like he'd like the Cyclops saga. Bc its Odysseus trying to save people but they dont listen to him.

Charlie

Is amazed by the lyrics and formats of the songs. Kinda surprised he never got into it before.

What shocked him the most was that the crew literally chose NOT to listen to him about he wind bag. Then get mad when Odysseus got mad at them.

Bro when Odysseus had to choose between his men and seeing Penelope. Charlie 100% understood where he was coming from bc hed do that same.

I feel like hed like the keep your friends close song. Bc the wind god was trying to warn Odysseus about who to trust.

[stargazersnz]

Other ways of persuasion

So uhhh this is based around Epic the musical… Poseidon x Odysseus…

This was what I was peer pressured into. It was kinda collaborative thing between me and @dr-ground-zero. The insanity I went through while I wrote this was INSANE. I’m not like super proud of it but it’s the first like sneeze fic writing I’ve done in like over 5 years or something LMAO.

CONTENT WARNING - sneeze, mentions of spray (maybe mess), illness, one mention of injury.

Word Count - 2263

The waves lapped against the shores of Ithaca, home was finally in sight after a long 20 years of torment and sailing he was finally going to touch down on solid ground, fall into the arms of his wife, what more could he want? The closer he got however the swell began to grow, it was getting bumpier and his little raft was getting tossed left and right, something was beginning to rise. The water lumped up until the surface tension finally broke and Odysseus could feel his heart sink at the sight… Poseidon. The waves grew as his island was pushed further away from view, disappearing behind the dark clouds beginning to rise, this wasn’t supposed to happen, he had played the game and followed all the instructions to get home, this wasn’t supposed to happen! As Poseidon rose from the depths of the ocean Odysseus could feel every inch of life draining from him,

“There you are, coward,” the gravel in his voice sounded like it had been scraped across the rocks surrounding Ithaca, it wasn’t his usual gravel though, there was something different, something off. As the waves grew in size, capsizing the little raft that had been barely keeping Odysseus afloat was now at the mercy of Poseidon’s tides, the only thing Odysseus could do was scramble up onto the rocks for safety as the Sea God’s shadow loomed over him before it shrunk down to just nearly taller than the human himself but the ever intimidating presence still felt overwhelming. Poseidon leered at him, pushing closer to him and forcing the waves to rise, smashing Odysseus against the rocks with a pained groan, barely stumbling back to his feet and looking at the God. The ever-stoic figure of Poseidon appeared rugged, rough-looking, off. There was a red rim around his nostrils, deep bags from his eyes, and the occasional flare of his nostrils as he approached Odysseus, a crackle from his breathing as he did. Slowly Odysseus began to piece things together but he was still in disbelief, the God’s could get sick? This was definitely something…

As Poseidon drew closer to the Greek there was an unease in his breath, a small quiver almost as his chest rose and fell with unease, the waves around them starting to swell and crash with uncontrol, splashing up onto the edge of the rock, catching Odysseus with light sea spray.

“You reehh really thought you cehh… heeeh- could hide?” The Sea God asked, his breath catching as he did, the hitches causing a light cough into his clenched fist, his nose wriggling and flaring as he pushed Odysseus up against the rocks face, unable to move any further back. For some reason he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of God's nose, watching how it twitched and scrunched up as he was clearly biting back the urge to sneeze, his face betraying him with his eyes becoming half-lidded, his chest rising and falling with more aggression.

“Hehhh… heh’ERRRSHHU!!” Poseidon’s head snapped off to the side, his teeth clenching down, barely just scraping the side of Odysseus’ face with the spray, the ocean’s wave crashing up against the rocks mixing with the spray from the sneeze. The Greek was frozen in place, unable to react at the sight before him, a God seemingly having fallen to the mercy of a feeble human ailment leaving him more on the level of the one he was fighting against.

Poseidon sniffled thickly as he regained composure, his nose still not seeming completely done yet however he ignored it, his head turning back to face Odysseus who was now seemingly rather quiet and almost nervous. This made the Sea God smirk as he watched Odysseus.

“Are you starting to realize the depth of your situation?” Poseidon loved the nervous look on the other’s face as he leaned in a little closer. Odysseus could practically feel the warmth of the God’s breath on his neck and face. He began to shake softly as he felt his face flush, starting to match the shade of his nose, which was still seeming to be twitching and sniffling as he awaited the response.

“What’s the matter? Heeehh How the hiihhh high and meehhh mighty King of Ithaca has fallen,” He growled softly as his breath began to hitch again. “Wheehhh wheres thahhh that.. Haaahhh… hah’ERRSSHHUU! Ah’IRRSSHHUUUH! Where’s thad quick wit now?” He asked, regaining his composure after barely moving his head away from Odysseus, the spray glistening down onto his chest and chin while the waves crashed, and waves started to wash over their feet with each sneeze. It was slowly becoming obvious that the all mighty God of the Sea was definitely falling down a level, he looked pathetic. The God was sniffling, vulnerable and looking like one strong wave would knock him over and back into the depths. This look on Poseidon made Odysseus have conflicted feelings, it would be so incredibly easy to escape now and make it back to his home.. However this situation was ever so intriguing, he’d been away for 20 years, and Ithaca could wait a little bit longer…

“Poseidon… please, it’s been ten long years, you surely still can’t be stuck on this, just let me make it home. You look like you’re a bit worse for wear yourself…” Odysseus finally managed to sputter out some words in response as he stood staring at Poseidon. He was hoping to get through this easily without having to fight his way out, although it didn’t look like it would be a very difficult fight with the condition his opponent was in. The God’s nose constantly twitched and scrunched as he snorted back his drippy nose, the swell beginning to rise up as his breath faltered again, scrunching his eyes shut before another wrenching sneeze ran through him with a shudder as it misted across Odysseus’ cheek again. Waves splashed over the two of them, soaking them to the skin, the Greek shivering lightly which could be disguised as a cold shiver from the freezing ocean which fell over the two.

While Poseidon was recovering from this one, still in desperation to sneeze the constant buzz flooding all through his sinuses as he sniffled back wetly, his spray and mess mixing with the seawater. Odysseus swiftly twisted around and brought God down onto the rocks, leaving him there vulnerable to anything the man wanted to do. The power dynamic completely flipped onto its back like Poseidon was at that moment. The God of the Sea lay on the rocks, waves washing over him and scrunching his nose up as he looked at Odysseus with a slight bleary look on his face, stuck in a limbo of needing to sneeze but it was not coming out, the sneeze seemingly stuck just on the tip of his nose, snorting again with a scrunch of his nose again. He really did look pathetic.

Odysseus wasn’t about to let this attempted attack slide however, as he picked up the golden trident lying on the rocks, pointing the three prongs towards the pathetic man as he lay on the rocks. The king of Ithica watched as the God realised the position he was in but still fighting, and losing, his own battle against the sneeze that was brewing up again, the storm raged on in the seas.

“You’ve lost” Odysseus said smirking, standing above the God and pointing the trident down towards him but he didn’t seem to react, much rather his eyes began fluttering shut, jaw going slack as two more sneezes wrecked through his whole body, shaking it as the sneezes ran through him. The oceans rose up as he did. Odysseus could feel his cheeks heating up from this, he needed to get himself under control, this was not the time! However… he was just a man.

Odysseus dragged the trident across Poseidon's cheek, this prompting a whimper of pain from the God before tossing it to the side and pressing their lips together in a moment of madness. Poseidon jumped in surprise as he felt the Greek lock lips with him, this was definitely not what he had thought was going to happen but strangely a warm feeling began to rise up inside of him as the two lay on the rocks kissing. This was until the waves started to swell again, a reminder of what was ailing the God.

“Heehhh O-Odysseus… ihhhh hiihhh… geehh goneeehhh.. Heh-! Heh’ERSSSHHHUH! Hah’IRRSSHHHUUHH! Heehhh… ahhhh.. AH’IRSSHIUEWW!” Poseidon hitched out a desperate attempt at a warning to the other man before the sneezes ran through his body. A shiver ran down his spine as Odysseus got drenched by the spray of them, hitting him square in the face as he needed to break away from the sudden kiss, this seemed to leave Odysseus blushing brighter but he was not phased at all even with the waves roaring around them. Rather he pushed their lips back together with a soft pant as he did so, dragging himself up further onto Poseidon’s lap.

“Oh how the mighty have fallen, poor Poseidon left defenceless over a mere case of the sniffles, unable to control his own waves~” Odysseus sat above Poseidon as his index finger dragged down the bridge of the God’s nose, causing it to scrunch up with a sharp hitch which was soon followed by-

“Heh’ERRSSHHUU! Get your heehhh hands of mbe you pathetic ehhhhxcuse of a Greek” Poseidon snarled at the man who was so neatly sat in his lap as the buzzing only swelled up more, leaving him hitching and gasping desperately, Odysseus letting his finger slide under the Gods quivering nose, forcing the tickle to stay in its place, his eyes starting to water as a few tears fell. The Greek simply tutted as he rubbed his finger back and forth along the God's nose, “Now now Poseidon, I doubt you want to be saying such things in your current… predicament” He replied, a smirk crossing his face.

It was true, Poseidon, God of the Sea, was now at the mercy of a mere human who he had been waiting for at his own island for 10 years only for him to come home at the worst possible time when said God was at his weakest. Odysseus let his finger slowly move away from Poseidon’s nose as a sharp inhale escaped him just before his nose was pinched shut, a whine escaping the God along with a shaky exhale.

“Why are you doidg this?” He managed to pant out as he looked blearily up at Odysseus.

“Isn’t ruthlessness mercy upon ourselves?” Odysseus smirked and leaned in close to Poseidon again, his eyes filled with lust as he pressed their lips together again, letting go of his nose and instead letting a hand run through his hair as Poseidon was too caught off guard by the different senses to react, his nose taking the forefront of this reaction however.

“Heeehh.. Ehhhh.. HEH-! ERSSSHHUU! Heh’IRSSSHUUHH!” The sneezes flew out of him without a moment to react, the spray hitting Odysseus square in the face but this didn’t bother him only making his face flush up before pressing their bodies together, one hand on Poseidon's chest to keep him pushed down on the rocks, the waves splashing up against them, the sea God still feeling the itch in his nose. Odysseus could see this and made sure to keep his hand close to his nose, not able to help himself but to rub at it and push his nose back to expose his nostrils a little bit more. They were flaring wildly and he let out a soft moan as he felt the sneezes be pushed to the forefront of his nose.

“Heh’ERRSSHHUUU! Ih’RIISSHHHHUUHHH! Geeehh heeehhh geh’IRSSSHHHUU!” The sneezes wrenched through his body, his large frame rattling with each one, the spray hitting Odysseus being both from the ocean and the sneezes from the Sea God with the help of the human messing with his nose as they only kept on coming, “heh’IRSSHHHUU! H-hHeh- hRSSSHHHuuhhww! hHGSSHHhww!”

Poseidon was starting to sound more exhausted as the sneezes flooded out of him, the storm still looming overhead but was slowly beginning to calm down, the exhaustion of everything starting to catch up with him and Odysseus knew this was going his way.

It didn’t take long before the shores were calm again, the waves nothing more than a few ripples and small waves that would lap up against the shores. Odysseus smiled in satisfaction as he looked over to where Poseidon was lying against the rocks, panting softly and looking exhausted. His nose was dripping slightly and looked even redder than at the beginning of their encounter, Odysseus caressed his cheek gently with his hand and hummed.

“There, we seemed to have calmed down a little bit huh?” Odysseus asked with a small smirk, tilting the other’s chin upwards so they were looking at each other.

“I knew we would see eye to eye on this” he hummed and pulled away, his boat just within reach so he was able to climb aboard. With a look of pity towards the God splayed across the rocks Odysseus ripped a bit off his sail, draping it on the edge of the rocks. “Good luck, do try not to flood absolutely everywhere~”

Poseidon stared at him as he sailed away towards his homeland, snorting as he slowly slunk back into the dark waters, taking the piece of sail with him and disappearing without another sign.

[chaoschaos1]

Initial breakdown over, now it’s time to start bouncing off the fucking walls.

(incredibly incoherent and long rant incoming lmao)

FIRST OF ALL. THE UNDERWORLD. JAY WHAT, IN THE NICEST WAY POSSIBLE, THE FUCK??

I WAS EXPECTING POLITES. AND IT STILL HAD ME ON THE VERGE OF A BREAKDOWN. YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME JAY YOU CAN’T HIT ME WITH THE OPEN ARMS CHORUS WITH SO MUCH ECHO TO IT THAT IT SOUNDS EMPTY. POLITES IS THE LAST MF THAT SHOULD SOUND EMPTY STOP IT.

THEN YOU HIT ME WITH ANTICLEA? THE WAITING MOTIF WITH PENELOPE?? THE LITTLE “mum?” FROM ODY STOPPP. “I'M RIGHT HERE, MUM, CAN'T YOU SEE”??!?!? Jay. Sir you already broke my heart you didn't need to blend it as well wtf??

“I took too long” POLITES GET OVER HERE YOUR BESTIE NEEDS A HUG. LIKE BADLY.

AND THEN THE LAST CHORUS??? THE YELLING??? THE EMOTION???? JAY IS YOUR VOICE OKAY?? MY DUDE. MY PAL. MY GOOD FRIEND. WHAT.

AND THEN NO LONGER YOU?? BRO. BRO YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO MEEE. MASON ABSOLUTELY FUCKING KILLED IT. THOSE HIGH NOTES?? BRO IM LITERALLY A GIRL WITH A FAIRLY HIGH RANGE AND I CAN'T HIT THOSE WITHOUT GOING SQUEAKY??? LIKE DUDE BRAV-THE-FUCK-O

THEN THE “WHO”. JAY I WOULD LIKE TO REPEAT IS YOUR VOICE OKAY??? I'VE HAD THIS SHIT ON LOOP FOR HOURS NOW AND IT ALWAYS CATCHES ME OFF GUARD BECAUSE OF HOW ENRAGED IT SOUNDS??

AND MONSTER. HOOOO BOY MONSTER. YEOWCHIES. YIKES FOREVER. MMM NOTHANKYOU. OKAY FIRST OFF THAT FIRST NOTE REMINDED ME SO MUCH OF HORSE AND THE INFANT AND FRANKLY I’M NOT OKAY.

CAN WE JUST TALK ABT HOW. JUST. EMPTY IT SOUNDS?? BROO. BROOOO. THIS IS A FEDERAL OFFENCE. THIS LEVEL OF EMOTIONAL BLUDGEONING SHOULD BE ILLEGAL.

“I’ll become the monster” [intermission starts] THAT DESERVES JAIL TIME. ILLEGAL. YOU DON’T GET TO DO THAT TO ME. I’D BE SOBBING IN THE THEATRE SO HARD MFS ACROSS THE STREET WOULD HEAR ME

Ok listen I've cried because of Epic before. Several times. But never have I had a full on mental breakdown and had to start beating the everloving shit out of my pillow to cope with it. Jay, level with me here, how much crack did you put into this saga? JAY, WHAT THE FUCK???

Listening to this musical isn’t enough. I need it injected directly into my bloodstream.

[cosmicangst]

ok ok ok i just got home and as always here are my thoughts

really enjoyed colin lemoine's take. in terms of just pure vibes hes a step closer to damon daunno than reeve carney. he's not as boyish comic relief as nicholas barasch and he feels like the most.... grounded?? orpheus i've seen. he acts out the "touched" aspect without flanderizing orpheus into just his naivete and rendering him foolish and infantilized. the best way i can describe it is that he just seems like an optimistic but ultimately ordinary guy you could meet at a grocery store line who also happens to be plagued w Unfortunately Blessed with Musical Visions by the Gods Against His Will Syndrome

amaya braganza!!!!! jesus what a vocal powerhouse. her flowers killed me. something about her vocal inflection or acting choices really made her grief over losing her life and her love so visceral. she would be right at home at the obc recording because her voice was pitch perfect. she has a terrific belt but it's during the quiet moments where she's the most effective. like at the end of all i've ever known you can really feel she's already mourning her loss before she's even lost anything which is why flowers was more heartbreaking than normal

will mann is the most intriguing part of this cast to me. hermes actors have the choice of landing on the spectrum of objective narrator to a guardian figure. will feels like the most paternal. you get the sense that not only did he observe orpheus grow up he also had an active hand in raising him. when orpheus nervously stops during epic iii will says "go on, baby" with "baby" obviously ad-libbed 😭 like yes that is his baby

my only real critique of this performance is that the show doesn't actually pick up until way down hadestown. not sure if the cast just wasn't feeling the crowd or themselves until that point (it was a sunday night so i get it). i just make note of this bc livin it up on top is this high energy number that felt strangely middle energy for some reason lol anyone who was experiencing the show for the first time and had no frame of reference wouldn't notice anything amiss but bc im abnormal and pedantic i definitely noticed

and this is by no means a critique of lana gordon's persephone whose lady of the underground is one of the top highlights of the show. she brought the roof down during "there's a crack in the wall".

which brings me to my favorite part of the show: matthew patrick quinn. i didn't think anyone could replace patrick page in my heart but i was just in love with everything matthew brought to this character. he manages to combine facets of patrick and kevyn morrow's hades that i love together. matthew has kevyn's slick charisma and anger but he has patrick's power and world-weariness. he's this incredibly tall, serpentine, and long limbed figure that towers over everyone. patrick as an intimidating and antagonistic force felt like an ancient old god who can break your house by inducing an earthquake but matthew's vibe is more like he could literally be the snake that could tempt you out of a garden of eternal paradise

he and lana are also 🔥🔥🔥 like you can simultaneously feel the millenia of history between them but they also have the chemistry of two hot people going on a date for the first time after a long period of slowburn. the resentment, the familiarity, he way he's obviously repressing his desperation to keep her and both trying to look unaffected and turning to their vices when they reject each other's touch i could absolutely scream

which is why i was sobbing by the end of epic iii. i think the catharsis was just a lot lol and they were so playful during their dance too! like actual lovers who have the most absolute fun during good times. matthew does this little wiggle for her when they're sidestepping and im 100% sure lana broke character and they both started laughing it was so sweet

anyway the fates, the ensemble, everyone was astounding and im gonna see if i can grab another cheap balcony seat before they leave in a week to see if i can catch j antonio rodriguez as orpheus

[thestellargoblin]

Okay, so lately I fell in love with "Before the coffee gets cold" books, currently reading "Tales from the cafe" (The Best Friends chaper broke me :) ) and I've been thinking a lot about and came up with an idea:

Before the coffee gets cold au Epic The Musical (and Odyssey a lil bit) fic

Here's the general concept, haven't figured out all the details yet, but it's been eating my brain so I decided to share it here:

Basically the cafe is called Ithaca (duh), it allows to travel in time. It works the same as in the book, same rules - like not being able to change the present or being able to meet only people who visited the cafe. Owners of it are Odysseus and Ctimene (my girl is here because let me have the nice things), who inherited it from their parents. Also Penelope and Eurylochus also work there, helping their partners.

Seven years (number may change) ago Odysseus and his best friend Polites went missing. Poli's body was found but nobody have seen Ody since he disappeared. He's considered dead by most of the people (not his family tho!!!)

Currently cafe is run by Ctimene, Penelope and Eurylochus (who is there and doesn't die because I say so, tho that might change), Ctimene taking the role of Kazu, pouring the coffee to the ones who want to time-travel. Telemachus, who was ten (or maybe younger? still figuring out timeline) when Ody went missing, is also there. Athena too, I imagine her being like maybe some sort of detective and family friend. Telemachus is trying to covince her to pick up searching for Ody again. Maybe Athena and Ody had their massive fallout soon before his disappearance?

Story would be probably heavely centered around Odysseus being missing. I imagine Telemachus traveling back in time to meet his father again. Like him going back in time with camera or something like that, probably like lying to past Ody and Pen that it's anniversary gift for future them or something like that. And Penelope traveling to the future because she want to believe he will come back but just it's been so hard for her lately that she desperately needs a proof for some comfort (but he's not the one she'll meet there :)). Also maybe future Odysseus traveling long back in time to Polites because he blames himself for his death? Something like that, not sure yet. I also kinda want Athena to time travel, maybe to the day of the argument? Again, still thinking. Also I want to somehow incomporate suitors, not sure how tho yet. Probably more timetravels, but these ones are the ones I have in my head right now.

Also. ALSO. The ghost lady on the chair (who didn't drink the coffee before it got cold while time traveling). Yeah, its Anticlea :). Yeah it happened while Ody was away :))).

That's probably all I have for now, but might elaborate on this soon!

[theoceanoasis]

I've been listening to a song from Epic the Musical and I got an idea for a request.

Human Hot Rod and Siren Soundwave, but it's not Soundwave, but rather a siren posing as Soundwave who is Dead. I've just had the song stuck in my head for like days now.

Hearing singing outside his window. He rushed outside. It was raining heavily and he didn't bother to grab his shoes or a jacket.

Reaching Soundwave was more important. He looked around searching the shore as he called his name letting the music guide him.

He could feel his feet brush the water as he shouted.

"Soundwave!"

After not hearing back from him. He'd been worried the past few days because Soundwave usually visited him every night.

Seeing the siren approach he smiled walking further into the ocean. Ignoring the waves that tried to knock him down.

"You're back!? What happened?! I was worried about you!"

The mer swam closer and he frowned because something didn't seem right. Although it was hard to see with the wind and rain in his face.

"Soundwave are you okay? Are you injured?"

He felt his spark pound inside his chest when the siren revealed himself. He gasped because it wasn't Soundwave at all but a copycat.

"Who are you?"

The siren hissed and jumped at him. He blocked him with his arms as he was knocked into the ocean. He tried to drown him but he managed to get free.

He ran to land falling when the creature grabbed his leg. He harshly tugged wincing when his claws cut up his feet.

"Let me go!"

He kicked the siren and then ran as fast as he could into the light house. Outside he could hear the creature growl in anger. It's song no longer the soothing melody of his mate but something darker and more sinister.

He grabbed a nearby gun and stepped outside. The siren was watching him from the water and he shot the beast. Who snarled as he dived back underwater.

Spark racing he carefully walked down to the beach. Looking around for the siren. He could barely see him and the siren was a dark blackish blue color even darker than Soundwave.

He still scanned the area weapon in hand. His heart was racing and then the siren attacked. He jumped out of the water grabbed his arm and flipped him into the water. The two fought and being in water he had the advantage.

"Who are you? Where's Soundwave?"

The siren knocked the weapon out of his hand. Leaning down he snarled.

"Dead."

"You're lying."

The siren grabbed something and he gasped. It was his wedding ring which he wore around his neck covered in blood.

"He tried so hard to get back to you but he was no match for us."

In his shock the siren fatally wounded him not that he noticed. Overcome with grief. He let out an animalistic scream, as he hit his head against the siren. He viciously attacked ignoring the bites and claw marks. He was already dead. Both of their blood created a pool around them as they fought.

His gun had been knocked away but pulling out his knife he cut his head off. Standing up he kicked him into the water so the animals could eat him.

Stumbling back to shore he pressed a hand against his wound. He knew it was fatal but he didn't care. He was already dead the moment Soundwave had been killed.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed. His blood stained the sand and his body was pelted with rain not that he felt it. Holding Soundwave's ring close he felt a tear fall before he was gone.

He was found the next morning when he didn't call like he was supposed to after a storm and when the lighthouse was still on.

In the after life. Hot Rod walked along a pretty hallway that had pictures of his life and favorite memories. Most of them were of Soundwave and he would have cried if he could. In his hand he was still clutching his ring when he heard someone call his name.

Looking over he gasped and the two ran into each other's arms and held each other. He broke down sobbing and Soundwave held him for a long time. Until he took his hand and led him to the afterlife, where they could be together forever.

[the-faramir]

Midori's Backstory: TL;DR

One afternoon, Midori called an emergency meeting of the Circus of Wayward Wonders. Once everybody was present, Midori began, "It has come to my attention that some of you who didn't start out in the Celestial Menagerie didn't read my memoirs to get up-to-date with my backstory." She pulled out a huge binder filled with hundreds of pages of paper, shook it at the group, and let it fall to the ground with a resounding thump. "Granted, I haven't even finished chapter five or started chapter six, but still!" She gave looks of mock disapproval throughout the tent.

Protests erupted from the group:

"That's a lot of story to get through!"

"I had too much work to do!"

"I CAN'T READ!"

Midori held up her hands. "No matter," she continued, "You know I love you all! So I have prepared a summary, which I will now present to you. Maestro, if you please!"

The band struck up a tune heavy on the bass and percussion. Midori swayed her hips in rhythm to the music and hopped from one foot to the other. She called this music style "Hip-Hop."

Midori began her spoken-word performance:

Now this is a story all about how My life got flipped, turned upside down And I'd like to take a minute, just for this purpose I'll tell you how I became the ringmaster of this circus

In West Minkai Empire born and raised With my siblings was where I spent most of my days Travelin' with our parents to places quite random And one day we found ourselves traveling to Absalom

When a group of terrorists, up to no good Started making trouble in the neighborhood They had beef with my parents, blew up the embassy I was the only one left to carry on our legacy

That night when the search party left me for dead Dusklight and her creepy clowns found me instead She pulled me from the rubble and wiped off my char And said, "You're movin' with your new circus family to Escadar"

I begged and pleaded with her day after day But she whipped me and beat me and said I must stay She cast spells on me to make me comply I put my uniform on and said, "I'll stay till I die"

Carnie life, yo this is bad. But Dusklight's boyfriend Myron, I made him my dad "Papa Thunder" saved me from bad guys givin' me a fright Hmm, this might be all right

But wait, Dusklight got pissy at Myron and all that So he packed up and left that mean old cat I tried to go with him, but she stopped me. Why? She said, "Midori, just try it and I'll make you die."

Nine years of my life I spent at that place Learnin' the circus biz at a breakneck pace I grew to adulthood in the Celestial Menagerie And got promoted to barker, it suits me, don't you agree?

But then one night, I remember it well I saw Dusklight kill my friend and it broke her spell I stood up to her, sayin' "Why I oughtta" But her guards woulda killed me if I had fought her

So instead I challenged her skills An epic song battle, a skirmish of wills My kitsune magic worked into my song And broke Dusklight's spell over my friends before long

We all stood together, a unified front But her goons outnumbered us, so we pulled a stunt Bufurug the druid knew the spell Ferocious Shape He broke us out of there and we made our escape

Now runnin' thirty miles to Abberton To get to Myron's circus, we'd all be done We had no food, we were unarmed But Bufurug got us to a safe town unharmed

We called for a cart and when it came near The driver was Myron, Papa Thunder was here! The druid had sent word to him that we had arrived So Myron came to get us, it was just a short drive

We pulled up to the circus about seven or eight Saw everyone settin' up and I said "This is great!" Looked at my new home, I was finally there The Circus of Wayward Wonders, my new family, I declare!

Well, uh, opening night came and when we got ready Axel ran backstage lookin' really unsteady He found Myron dead, killed by a snake bite And we started to think we'd have to cancel tonight

But the Professor said "Now hold it a beat! The audience is packed and we still need to eat We can't afford refunds, gotta please the town So put on your makeup and send in the clowns!"

He covered poor Myron with a black silk cape I fell down crying like my poor heart would break But I wiped off my tears, hopin' no more would spawn And I put on Myron's hat and said, "The show must go on!"

So now this is my circus and these are my monkeys And I've recruited new talent that's really quite funky So look at my kingdom, it's kind of a disaster But I sit on my throne, the new circus ringmaster

The song's outro played and the music ended. Midori asked the group, "Any questions?"

[rgr-pop]

i gave the new islands another listen too. i feel like this is the first album in a long time where he has given us a lot of clues for how we should think about it. i’m unraveling it. he said it was the last islands album and then he took it back, said he just gave that blurb to the publicist for fun. it’s a more different album than he’s put out in a long time, which i expected. there’s something primally him about it (quite a lot of critter songs), which was supposed to be the case. he recorded it at his home (vancouver island, origin of the unicorns/islands cosmology). there’s a comedy here that’s been in his other work but not his music. and he says it’s a lot about canadian singer-songwriters.

he’s been so profoundly impacted by what is going on in gaza. this is an artist who put out an anti-war fantasy pop record when he was like, 22, and it was one of the most beloved indie records of its moment, but nobody took it seriously as a political record, and that made him mad so he broke up the band (ok other factors also broke up the unicorns lol) and he started a new project and put out an on-the-nose ecocrit (islands) epic album, which also was beloved til it was sort of forsaken. and then they put out many more albums about basically this same problem: the self absorption of crying the end of the world and nobody caring, making pop music as a death fetish, the joke of being a narrator at the end of the world, other sagittarius things. the first three were well liked. after that they’d only sometimes get reviewed. just a bunch of insane women catching them (in my humble opinion), sort of political music kind of adrift between two eras of political music. in there somewhere there’s this album where he is adrift in the sea and thinking about how we never loved him enough! til eventually a modest podcast left redemption. he’s always thinking about the same thing (islands: being a character in a caspar david friedrich painting reversed; death as a symbol of the end of the world and vice versa). and now there’s this happening again. so another album: he must have recorded most of this thing since october 7. i should try to nail the timeline down. he just goes online and talks about gaza. i’m always donating to enter his little giveaways lol

he made all this to do about “the end” as the last song on this “last” album, but i love how it starts best, and this really just his whole project repeated (again —i can’t possibly overstate how many songs he has made that are like “well this is what my music has been about”): left behind and they want you to believe, but what occurs was always meant to be, a taste of melancholy that brings you to your knees. (“everybody’s bracing for a real armageddon.”)

i don’t like it as much as the last album, (and that’s why dolphins lost their legs, which is a clowncore album about melodrama and my favorite song on it offers giving your body-car up to a forest car crash like a mix between the end of the haunting of hill house and that story where the lady drove her car into lake huron because her gps said to), but it’s helped me put the pieces together (the long slow process of ranking and explaining all the islands albums as one of the few people that listens to all of them.) i like it more than the album before that (islomania). before that album, in 2016, he put out two albums—well, two albums and a 10 year anniversary rerelease of the first album, return to the sea. one of these albums, taste, is, i think, the second best islands record (after return to the sea). the other album, should i remain here at sea? is a concept album about having put out this misunderstood ecocritic epic a decade earlier, and being adrift between two historical moments of political music. imo lol. (i still don’t totally know what to make of it).

i put taste on halfway through drafting this post. one of my favorite lines, in the first song: “like time, like one long line, folded into 8 or 9.” it’s one of the least climate apocalypse islands albums (it’s really low concept, about a breakup), but it does have a song whose chorus is “melt melt melt my body, melt melt melt my body / there’s gonna be a reckoning, it’s gonna cover everything.” and that’s basically it!

(my favorite line on taste: a turned off machine, it’s never been much use to me, i come to, i rose again, but it feels off, like the wheel’s off.)

[thisworldisablackhole]

The Requiem A Cure To Poison The World

🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

More than just a nostalgia act?

The Requiem, formerly known as L'exquisite Douler (a name which has since been relegated to a 53 second piano interlude), broke onto the scene in 2020 with a simple mission statement; make rock music sloppy again. Feeling disenchanted by the current state of highly processed and autotuned alternative music, this young trio yearned for the early-to-mid aughts when young emotional rock bands gained notoriety by letting their voices crack over the jagged edge of minor scales and double stacks - the way god intended.

Debut album A Cure To Poison The World brings that mission statement to life with a short and sweet love letter to the MySpace era of post-hardcore and emo bands. Damien Douleur is an absolute powerhouse of a frontperson and quickly steals the show by transporting the listener back in time with an immediately familiar sense of desperation and dramatic flair. First track "This Is How The World Ends" is the perfect introduction to the band, swinging out the gates at full speed with a drum roll straight into dark sustained power chords and a grim, violent look into how this world is going to end (spoiler alert: with a moment of silence, death staring into you). It quickly showcases what the band has to offer, and is very polite in the fact that it doesn't waste the listeners time. You'll know in the first 15 seconds if this band is for you or not.

The run of songs from the intro to about the mid way point of the album doesn't miss a beat, and I really appreciate the bands effort to switch things up with the subtlety required when pulling influences from a relatively small pool. Even when the song structures begin to feel repetitive or trite, the hooks are passionate and catchy enough to pull you back in. Third track "Less Than Zero" in particular sticks out to me as a refreshing diversion from smudged eyeliner worship to a more melodic punk offering full of chanted backing vocals, "whoah whoah's" and riffs that would sound right at home on Rise Against's The Sufferer and the Witness. Meanwhile, sixth track "Cursed" brings the tempo way down for one of the best slow dance rock ballads I've heard since MCR's "The Ghost of You". This song builds up into an epic swan dive moment as Damien sings, "as the years go by, I hope that there's a smile on my face when I die" before crash landing back into the chorus like Altaïr into a haystack. It's a simple, yet universal sentiment that is nothing short of beautiful in it's expression.

Where this album loses steam and begins to show it's cracks for me is with seventh song "Two Lovers Left Alive". This song strips away the drums, bass and electric guitar and leaves Damien alone with an acoustic guitar, wisped along by the soft winds of a synthesizer as he sings about (if my hypothesis is correct) some kind of immortal vampire searching for a long lost lover, separated by an infinite amount of space and time? The story is cute, but being unshrouded by loudness, this song just illuminates the reliance on cliché emo tropes that are spattered all over this album like defiant scrawls on the inside of your high school locker; coffins, corpses, and chemicals galore. The lyrics on the album are mostly fine - covering themes of suicidal ideation, apocalyptic doom and the macabre - but the hints of emo vampire romanticism come off as a little too campy for me.

Thankfully the energy picks back up with the next three tracks before closing out with another crooner which gracefully avoids the same pitfalls of "Two Lovers Left Alive" by beefing up the arrangement of instruments to provide a more apt backdrop for Damien's voice. "Before I Go…" also features a few creative spins like a Spanish influenced acoustic bridge, a triumphant electric solo, and a short spoken word poem which culminates in a satisfying bookend to the journey. As good as the closer is, the pinnacle of this last chunk of songs is definitely "Diary Of A Masochist". This was my favourite of the singles released in 2023 and remains one of the strongest and most engaging tracks on the record. A majority of this album, whilst enjoyable, doesn't deviate far from the formula displayed in the first few minutes, but "Diary Of A Masochist" pulls out all the little hooks and daggers to crank that formula to it's most potent form, creating a song riddled with dynamic twists and one of the most intense vocal performances to back it all up. The attention to detail here is just on another level, and it makes me wish that same labour of love was applied more liberally throughout the 36 minutes runtime.

So, now we return to the original question. Is The Requiem more than just a nostalgia act, doomed to eat their own tail? The short answer is… it's too soon to tell. No, they aren't doing anything new, but it's done with such a high standard of quality and reverence for their predecessors that it doesn't even matter. They aren't beating a dead horse; they are resuscitating that motherfucker with 10,000 volts of electricity, and to speculate any further would just soak the fun out of listening. Whether or not the formula will hold up on subsequent releases is another question, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there (and I hope we do). In the meantime, I'm just gonna enjoy the gift that is A Cure To Poison The World; an imperfect, yet highly enjoyable chunk of third wave emo worhsip that resonates just loud enough to pump some fresh blood into your tired heart.

[eriquin]

The Prophetic D&D Game, Part 16

Start of the 5th session. Time marches on.

(master post)

Part 16

It felt like the home stretch for Eddie’s third and final senior year. He was determined to graduate this time, and putting all his effort into getting his grades up. Well, almost all his effort. He still spared time for his band, his lucrative sales job, and his two epic Dungeons and Dragons games. The Cult of Vecna was going great, and he expected that they would wrap up the Tales of the Cursed after it was done. But other than that, he was focused. 

He was going over his notes for what to do next with Vecna when Grant tapped him on the shoulder. “Jeff can’t make it today,” he said. “He broke an arch wire and has to go to the orthodontist. Emergency and all.” 

Eddie sighed. “Well, guess I won’t be needing these notes, then,” he said, shoving the Vecna notes into his bag. Grant raised his eyebrows and tried to get a look, but Eddie snapped his fingers in his face and shook his head. “Don’t even try it, Grantham.”

“Just keeping you on your toes, Edwin,” Grant said. “So this means we’re going to find out what happens to Natalia, then?”

“In theory,” Eddie said. He flashed Grant a wicked grin. “I might just kill her off and skip to the next bit of plot.”

Grant pouted. “Don’t be an ass,” he said. “At least give me a chance to save her. It’s been bugging me since the last session.”

“Yeah? You’re enjoying the story, huh?” Eddie shuffled through his notes to make sure he had everything for the Cursed run. “Did you give Jeff something sticky to eat just so he’d break his braces and we’d get to play?”

“No, but I was thinking about it,” Grant said. “We need more hours in the day, man. I want to know what happens with the cult, too.”

“Here, here,” Eddie said. He produced his Cursed notes and rearranged his stuff before heading to the drama room. Grant followed him. “Oh, did you pick up the new Metallica album? I have been listening to it over and over since I got it. It’s mind blowing.”

The rest of the club was running late, and Eddie and Grant got the whole table set up before anyone else showed. Gareth was the first of them to arrive, and he looked confused when he saw the layout that Eddie had put on the battlemap. He quickly figured out that they were playing the Cursed, and rubbed his hands together in excitement. He and Grant started discussing theories about the demon and how Natalia had ended up cursed. Eddie sat back and kept his face neutral as he listened in. 

The three freshmen arrived together, arguing about something science related. They dropped it almost as soon as they got in the room and saw Eddie holding up their character sheets. Lucas let out a whoop. He had clearly missed playing Sadie. 

As they settled down to play the game, Eddie gave them a quick recap of what had happened so far. It hadn’t been that long, but it was useful to set the stage and get back into character. “So now that you’re all ready to escape the demon realm, Natalia has frozen and gone into a trance. Before I take Grant aside and tell him what’s going on in his character’s head, what are you all doing?”

“We need music, right? Do any of us know her favorite song?” Gareth asked. 

Dustin leaned forward. “We’re in Quinn’s house, right? He’s a bard. He probably has plenty of music and instruments around. Either he or I should be able to play something for her.”

“Yeah, sure, but that doesn’t tell us what song to play,” Gareth said. “Mike, wouldn’t Joe know her favorite song?” 

Mike snapped his fingers. “Yeah! Sure, definitely.” He looked at Eddie.

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know, man. You guys broke up a long time ago. Maybe it was for a good reason.” He held his hands out helplessly. “Make me a good intelligence check there, sparky.”

Mike picked up his die and blew on it for luck. He rolled, and got a pathetically bad number. Everyone groaned and started yelling at Mike, who complained about his dice hating him. 

Eddie stood and leaned over the table to look at them all, waiting until they quieted down. “Grant, I think it’s time you and I adjourned to my office. Shall we?” 

His office was the corner of the drama room, behind a folding screen. Grant brought his dice. He ran through a scenario of Natalia witnessing a young family moving into a sprawling mansion from the point of view of the only son. Grant quickly figured out that this was the Englund mansion that they’d explored, and the boy was the dead son. Grant was great for this, because he loved to sit and gather information before acting. He had Natalia watch as the young boy narrated the events of his life, and developed a twisted set of powers. It quickly became clear that he was responsible for his family’s deaths, and that his father had been unjustly blamed. He showed Natalia the way he had been made into a pawn for the wizard’s guild, just like their psychic sorceress friend. 

“Still as a young boy, he is confined to a chair and imbued with a mystical tattoo. It looks much like Millie’s, but while hers a lambda, his is an alpha,” Eddie said. 

“The first one,” Grant said. 

“Indeed. He was the first psychic they found, and because of him, they started looking for more. But he was just biding his time, and they could not control him.”

“Oh, damn,” Grant said. He grabbed his dice. “Okay, I need to get the hell out of here. Can I run?” 

“You can try.”

They went through a short combat, and Natalia ended up with psychic damage, but ultimately, the villain let her go. “He tells you to tell Millie that he’s coming for her, and that he’ll see her again soon,” Eddie said, clapping his hand on Grant’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go let the rest of them know that you survived.”

Taglist: @weirdandabsurd42, @10moonymhrivertam, @blueskiesandstarrynights

[juniperusashei]

Homer’s Iliad translated by Emily Wilson - 3/5

I think I must have been assigned to read Homer’s Iliad on at least three separate occasions throughout my youth, and Sparknotesed it every time. Which I feel bad about, because I always did want to read it, or maybe I wanted the clout that came with being a person who reads Greek epic poetry. In any case, when Emily Wilson’s new translation was released last year, I finally went for it. I had read selections from her Odyssey and found her approach to translation very accessible and easy to read. There was a lot of media hype about “the first woman to translate Homer” which led to some reviewers claiming this was a feminist reinterpretation of The Iliad. My pet theory is that they had her confused for Maria Dahvana Headley, whose translation of Beowulf was intentionally transformative. In any case, Wilson’s Iliad is meant to be fairly traditional and accurate to the original text, including some metrical craft I could not pick up on. Compared to all the other times I tried to finish the Iliad, I found Wilson’s version a much easier read, so I would recommend it for that reason. The supplemental materials are also way more impressive than most editions and justify the extra cost over just a Project Gutenberg download. Wilson’s introduction is hefty to say the least, at around 75 pages, and was often more moving than the poem itself (She even defends the infamous third chapter, the Catalogue of Ships, imploring the reader to “read them out loud: in mouth and ear, the long list of names become music.” I find comparisons of superhero movies to mythology mostly kind of dumb, but I could see Homer’s audience going crazy each time their guy’s name is called in this chapter the same way people soyface about the Avengers or whatever.) She provides all the context for a beginner like me to understand the poem, but also includes an extensive glossary and notes for each chapter for those who want to dive deeper. The hardcover edition is around $40, so whether or not this masterful editing justifies the high price honestly depends on how much you like reading about guys getting stabbed over and over again. I just got it from the library.

The poem itself was not as impressive. A lot of armchair critics (NOT Wilson) love to claim The Iliad as an anti-war piece to make it palatable to modern audiences. This was not my impression in the slightest. Sure, the epic deals with the horrors of war, often brutally (as I said before, pages upon pages of vivid gory disembowelments) but it seems the product of a society which obsessively fetishized war. I’m not condemning the text based on this, but I do think it’s harder to understand without unpacking the very different set of values that were held back then, so it’s a lot easier to attempt to update the text in a really sloppy way. Wilson does give a really cogent explanation of these ethical differences which helped me understand the text more fully, but that doesn’t mean I agree with it. Every time the equivalent of a Star Trek redshirt got killed off, Homer would expound on his ancestry and life, and then conclude with something like

…Menelaus stabbed his forehead above his nose, right at the bridge, and broke his skull, and popped his eyeballs out.

I literally opened to a random page and found something disgusting on my first try. It’s incessant. But I can see how telling each person’s life story dignifies their death. Still, it is hard to feel any sympathy for men who did not see women as people, but as property, as goes the inciting incident of The Iliad.

[certifiedplayerhater]

3/54: EPIC the Musical

disclaimer: i know nothing of Greek mythology or music, but i have strong opinions.

i caught up to EPIC and have some thoughts:

overall, the musical was a lot of fun! i throughly enjoyed the experience listening to it and thought the music direction and production was its strongest point. i think that’s what makes this a strong musical as opposed to a stage production—it is very bold in its direction and executes the vision quite well! while listening you can tell that this was what the creator was envisioning for each track which is quite exciting.

this is at the expense of the subtlety of the story. the lyrics were basic but at times the callbacks were clumsily done and a little hamfisted. this is also in addition to the show-off effect that happens in a lot of amateur musical productions — where the actors are all so talented and they really want to convince the audience of that. it broke me out of the musical when you’d have the tension be broken by an impromptu vocal showcase that didn’t really feel deserved. (Survive’s “push forward” line, Athena’s final verse in My Goodbye, and the “you’re alone” line are the best examples of this)

the Troy saga is shockingly underwhelming in the context of the rest of the musical? like it’s a good set up to everything and Odysseus as a character but it seems so tame compared to the direction of the later sagas. i think the opening line is probably the most important line in a musical, and i understand what it does for Odysseus but the story itself still leaves something to be desired. i think if just a man had stronger elements in the initial story then it would have felt more deserved, because it was just kinda like Odysseus and the boys are here.

however! Odysseus’ character development moments are pretty strong. it’s a little frustrating because the callbacks later on are a little clumsily done (especially the Just A Man callback, it was set up so well but kind of fell flat), but overall the delivery of these moments are pretty solid.

the Cyclops saga is where the story picks up quite a bit and it’s consistently very high? like there’s not nearly as many tender moments as there are in Troy, but it makes sense because this is the start of his journey! I think the dynamic between Athena and Odysseus was very strong (much stronger than his and Polite’s). the tension between Odysseus’ humanity and Athena’s teachings were very palpable throughout the entire remaining sagas, even when she abandoned him.

this saga was when you really start to hear them using production for their advantage. yes the cyclops sounded like a vocal effect, but it was such an interesting take on a monster. i haven’t heard this more electronic approach to monsters before and tbh i think it would’ve been interesting to incorporate some kind of trap or edm elements to break from the established motifs in the story, especially because you have this triumphant moment for Odysseus on top of an electric guitar. it’s not a necessity, but if the creators want to explore more of these unconventional music styles i think they’d do it pretty well!

by the Storm saga you can kind of tell the pattern of each four part story. Storm was a brilliant beginning to the saga, which is why i found the Horse and the Infant to be underwhelming in comparison. i also really enjoyed the use of setting in this song? like setting was always very strong, but the chanting of the crew mates really added to this almost sea-shanty effect. it was also a great transition from the string-heavy section from the Cyclops to the electronic rock feel of the Ocean saga.

overall, for how long it is, it’s pretty good! obviously i would like for it to be longer, especially drawing out some of the key confrontations a bit more (like Poseidon only having one song felt criminal, especially since it is so strong) but i understand producing something this big is taxing in itself so what can you do. that being said, Poseidon stole the show completely. i found the casting for the gods to be the most compelling, like they have the biggest moments and characters so it makes sense that their songs are the most intense and stick with you the most. i only wished that this intensity carried with the human characters, who tended to rely on the melodies to carry them through the songs as opposed to the other way around.

it’s stronger in its parts than as a whole because it can feel so formulaic at moments. the transitions between the sagas were choppy, like while recording the last song they were like “oh yeah we have another saga to do”. i understand it’s hard to make something complete as a body and it’s parts, but listening to them all back to back reveals how disjointed the sagas feel most of the time. like thematically yes Odysseus has grown, but musically it’s just not quite there (for example, finishing Cyclops with the drum-heavy choral singing of Athena and her delicate leitmotif when Odysseus JUST had an electronic rock moment in Remember Them that ties much cleaner into Storm — maybe if there was some build up to Odysseus’ defiance and new character development in the end it would have been stronger? especially since the last time we heard from him he was just yelling you’re alone)

im excited for the next saga! its Circe so i don’t think we’ll deviate from the strings, but maybe it’ll have a bit more edge to it? i was imagining some interesting uses of the harp but idk.

depending on my opinions i might edit this to include Circe or just make a new post.

[aratakigang]

HC: Kanabo

Despite being Arataki Itto's last caught Pokemon, this rare and elusive Pokemon is his ace. The story behind Itto and his ace dates back to his tour of the Hoenn region. While searching for answers about who he was and why he had horns, his small tour came to an end at the oceanic museum. With no clues, Itto sat in despair at a churro stand, wondering where to head next for his answers, but just as he was about to finish his churro, an old lady approached him with the intent of selling a map leading to an ancient part of Hoenn's history.

The map itself was questionable, but for a man who believes in fate and destiny, this was all very reasonable to Itto. He had to scrape out the money he was saving for a new boombox, but the map was now his. The instructions were strange, but that didn't stop the modern-day giant from renting a relicanth and wailord, surfing down the southern current of pacifidlog town, diving to an underwater cavern, deciphering brail, using dig, and going to a desert where he'd go to the center of a cave where he would take two steps to the left and two steps back to finally use rock smash on thin air.

At long last, the map's instructions were finished, and one final cavern appeared before Itto. He was broke, tired, and more confused than anything but every single step of his journey led him to this... a rock statue. The statue refused to move. It was unresponsive. No more text, no clue as to what was next. All that work was seemingly for nothing; worst of all, he no longer had the money for an epic sound system.

He dwelled in that cave for a bit, contemplating his losses and where he would head to next. But as he wallowed in self-pity his phone went off, a call from one of his friends caused the 8-bit rendition of Qilin's prance to echo throughout the cave. The magnificent melody, in turn, stirred something in the statue, causing it to beep. Was music really the answer? Itto thought to himself before playing some more of the songs he had on his phone, and sure enough, the statue would match the tone with a robotic beat. This wasn't a statue but a Pokemon, a Pokemon with insanely good taste in music.

With a smile, he stood up and approached the Pokemon with a Pokeball in hand, saying, "Hey, if cool jams are what ya like, why not follow me around for a bit? We'd make some seriously cool songs with my singing and your bass." The rock monster replied with a certain UN UN UN to agree, and just like that, the dynamic duo was formed.

The regirock, now known as Kanabo, often assists Itto in his musical performances by providing a regi-beat with its voice and even pounds the ground with its club-like arms for some heavy bass. In battle, The regi will adapt its speed and attack pattern to whatever song Itto plays.

Arataki Itto considers Kanabo to be one of his greatest treasure because whenever he feels down or alone he can always count on it to cheer him up by doing this