cgoblinqueen

[cgoblinqueen]

Theyre my favorite little guys

Also it amuses me how funky i made Athena look

[cgoblinqueen]

Return to the Underworld

Odysseus swims ahead or around the boat, occasionally shouting directions up to Eurylochus. It's a strange scenario as Odysseus couldn't technically be captain again, given that he can't actually be on the boat. Still, he's happy that he's at least earned the trust of his friend, who was willing to carry out his commands and relay them to the rest of the people on board. Before leaving Ogygia, some of the crew suggested keeping Odysseus in a large tank or basin on board the boat. Still, there was nothing that they had available that was large enough to hold a hippocampus, and they lacked the tools to secure a suitable receptacle in place.

The former captain confirms to Eurylochus that the next thing needed to be done on their journey was to return to the Underworld and go to the fields of Asphodel, retrieve the soul of Astyanax, bring him back to the world of the living, and then the rest of the journey on his back. This part was particularly rough for Odysseus to explain to the crew, as it was something he didn't want to talk about at all before the mutiny. The whole crew witnessed the deed but did not want to bring it up at the time, and collectively felt awful that their captain was faced with such a choice before they even took sail to head back home. Eurylochus feels a bit of relief knowing that it wasn't something that his friend had done unprovoked, but at the same time a tad guilty because that was the moment when a seed of doubt was planted about his captain's judgement. Nevertheless, he tries to be supportive and while Odysseus still feels awful, it was good to know that Eurylochus had his back now.

Odysseus braced himself as he swam, leading the boat into the great dark maw of the Underworld's entrance, feeling the gloom from the souls in the river Styx cling to him like chainmail. he tried keeping his head high above the water as every part of his body that was submerged started feeling so heavy, like the dead were trying to pull him down. He remembered what Circe told him about the underworld, how the place would mess with their minds and wear down on their souls if they let their guard down. It was bad enough when he was still human and in the safety of the boat, so this was a hundred times worse. The weight of all the lives lost because of his mistakes was heavier than ever, and it was a struggle to keep moving forward. It was almost enough to make him want to curl up and cry; he was just so tired and full of pain. He wished desperately for the nightmare to end, to end the screams that wracked his mind.

The boat soon began to overtake Odysseus, and the crew was alarmed to see their former captain visibly struggling to continue forward, trying to shout words of encouragement down to him. Eurylochus grew afraid that his friend would be lost to the Styx, and ran across the deck and grabbed a rope, and tossed it into the water.

"Odysseus! Grab the rope, we'll pull you up!" the second-in-command shouted down. Odysseus tried grabbing the rope with his teeth, splashing his tailfin and paddling with his front legs desperately as Eurylochus and the crew hurriedly pulled up the slack. Petros tied another rope around his waist and tried to rappel down the side of the boat to toss another rope, in an attempt to have something to lift Odysseus up by his middle, out of the water. However, the gloom emanating from the river hit him much stronger when he got close to the water, nearly losing his grip. The crew scrambled to secure the older crewmate, and Odysseus knew that it was too risky for them to try to pull him out.

"It's too dangerous! I can't risk one of you losing your lives to save me, not when we've lost so much already! I'll press on!" He shouted up to his men. The crew, helpless to do anything else to aid their captain, shouted and cheered for their captain like never before.

"You can make it, Captain!"

"You're strong enough to get through this!"

"Come on, Odysseus!"

"Keep swimming, Cap!"

"Don't give up!"

"You can do it, Ody!"

Their words helped to steel his resolve somewhat, but his muscles ached and strained against the pull of the gloom with each stroke of his tail. He panted raggedly as he focused on the river sprawling ahead of them, knowing that it was still a long way until they reached Asphodel. Slowly but surely, he could feel himself sinking further and further down beneath the ethereal green waves filled to the brim with damned souls and misery.

"Gods, he's not going to make it!" Perimedes blurted out, pulling on his hair as he watched Odysseus's strength wane. The crew grew more fervent in their shouts, urging their captain on, but Odysseus's head was barely above the water now. Eurylochus gripped the railing on the boat helplessly as he looked down at his friend being pulled slowly under, in utter fear and disbelief that his friend would be lost again so soon.

The water was now nearly at eye level, the tears spilling out of his eyes barely making a ripple. Odysseus grunted with each sidestroke of his tail, growing feebler and feebler. He could feel the trapped souls in the Styx trying to pull his head under, pulling him by his medallion. He could hear them screaming at him about every horrible thing he ever did. He tried to focus on the shouting from his crew that was getting louder and louder. Actually, it was getting so loud that it sounded like there were more people than there should be. A LOT more. And these additional voices were coming from behind the river bend? He turned his head towards the sound and was greeted with a familiar yet unexpected sight.

There they were again. The 558 men who have died under his command, all gathered by the riverside, unable to be ferried on by Charon without a coin buried with their bodies. Again, they called out to their captain. However, what was strange was that they were not despairing or vengeful like the first time he had seen them. Instead, they were...cheering him on?

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

"Captain!"

The shades chanted, calling to him. They whooped and hollared, trying to guide Odysseus towards the bank, encouraging him like the men on the boat, the ones who were still alive. How could this be? They were so angry last time; it was his fault they were dead. Nevertheless, seeing the lost lives trying to reach out to him, not to drag him down but to bring him to safety, was enough to give him a second wind. He strained against the heaviness weighing him down like sacks of bricks as hard as he could, gasping from the effort. He must have been about twenty meters away from land. Would he even be able to make it that far?

Just then, Polites emerged from the horde of spirits and knelt down as close to the water as he dared, extending both arms out towards Odysseus. "Remember my song, my friend!" he called out, his eyes still bright and still smiling. Oh, how he dearly missed the brightness that Polites brought wherever he went. Seeing Polites reaching out and beaming, along with the entire crew cheering him on, reignited his determination. He certainly can't give up now, knowing that the men who have passed are rooting for him to succeed.

He cannot let them die in vain.

He must finish what he set out to do.

Shaken out of the deep pit of despair that was doing its fair share of weighing him down, figuratively and literally, Odysseus screamed out as he gave a final dash towards the riverbank. As his muscles felt like they were tearing apart and the wails of the damned souls in the Styx were ringing in his ears, he poured every last ounce of energy he had until finally, FINALLY, he felt Polites' hand touch the top of his head. He used the last reserves of energy left in his body to PUSH, raising his head up above the water. Polites leaned forward as far as he possibly could, a line of men anchoring him down, and wrapped his arms under Odysseus's head and tugged back. The shades heaved until they finally dragged the exhausted hippocampus onto the shore.

The living crew back on the boat cheered as jubilantly as the ghostly shades surrounding Odysseus, but even the celebratory mood was not enough to keep away the wave of sheer exhaustion that came over him. He ungraciously flopped over on his side, utterly spent and unable to move a muscle. His eyelids grew heavy when he tried to look up at Polites with a weary yet grateful smile.

"Thank you."

Before Polites could respond, Odysseus's eyes shut, and he instantly was out cold.

hooray for undead reunions! read more about my HippOdysseus au here!

[cgoblinqueen]

Star Wars really said "Anakin Skywalker had issues rooted in childhood trauma that was not his fault" but also "Anakin made his own choices as an adult for which he alone is responsible" but ALSO "In spite of the truly evil things he chose to do Anakin was still capable of being loved and redeemed" and I think that's important.

[cgoblinqueen]

Reblog to give prev the power to write their fanfiction

[cgoblinqueen]

would you put a discarded fruit sticker on my forehead in whimsical jest yes or no

[cgoblinqueen]

For anyone who's wondering or anyone who just wants to watch a good friggin musical: here's the official link to the Next to Normal 2024 Proshot from PBS. It is streaming until June 30. Do yourself a favor and skip to 01:15, PBS added a bit of an intro but it's got some light spoilers.

Other important things to note:

The actual musical has a lot of "shit" and "fuck", they got edited out for the TV broadcast and you can really tell where they were supposed to be aghjkadhs.

More importantly, there are a SHITTON of trigger warnings for this one. Putting them under the cut for spoilers but the main one is Discussion of Mental Health, its Treatment, and its affect on both the individual and those around you. As such, it's a HEAVY musical with a lot of serious topics.

Infant death and Prolonged Grief- the infant died years prior to the start of the story and is hallucinated as a teenager

Suicide Attempt (offscreen but heavily discussed, blood and bandages are shown)

Drug Misuse, including teenage drug addiction

Electroshock Therapy and Memory Loss (memory is recovered)

[cgoblinqueen]

y'all it's about to get really fucking humid and hot

[cgoblinqueen]

LET’S HEAR IT FOR OUR

AUTISM

X

ADHD

COUPLE OF THE FUCKING YEAR!!!!!

[cgoblinqueen]

Masterlist of the aus so far: (in no particular order and temporary titles)

• Homer! Odysseus and Epic! Odysseus switching places

• Epic Odysseus realizes he's in a musical

• Human Hermes whos just constantly in every furniture that isnt the floor

• Traveller Polites (that is definitely not Polites of Ithaca nor Prince Polites of Troy)

• I see your wife with a man who is haunting

• Fake warrior of the mind au (ft. Hermes)

• When he said he wanted to learn more about his father, I don't think he meant to become a soldier during the war he was in. (ft. Telemachus)

summaries and parts of the au below ^^

Homer! Odysseus and Epic! Odysseus switching places

Summary: Epic au (Dimension travel/switch) idea where homer/og! Odyseeus and epic! Odyseeus switch places after escaping polyphemus.

First | Part 1

Epic Odysseus realizes he's in a musical

Summary: Epic au idea where odysseus slowly becomes self-aware that he's in a musical with a live audience. The only problem is that he doesn't know what a musical is?

First | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 & 5 | Part 6

Human Hermes, but he is just constantly in every piece of furniture that isn't the floor

Summary: Epic au where, for some reason, Hermes becomes human who is stuck to odysseus, and instead of walking, he's just constantly in every piece of furniture that isn't the floor. And if he ever wants to go to another room, he will parkour it and act like he's dying when he even touches the ground.

Traveller! Polites ( that is definitely not Polites of Ithaca nor Prince Polites of Troy)

Summary: Epic au where Polites is not actually a soldier from ithaca but rather just a traveller who had the same name who got tricked into the army.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

I see your wife with a man who is haunting

Summary: Epic au where odysseus dies and becomes a ghost, and the only person that can see him is penelope. Unfortunately, penelope is in denial of his death and is slowly going insane. The family suffers.

Fake warrior of the mind au (ft. Hermes)

Summary: where the magic boar challenge didn't exist but Odysseus with Polites and Eurolychus still managed to defeat a boar in the forest. While they celebraing, odysseus notices someone had been watching them. So he does what any, definitely, sane teenage boy would do, bait it and accidentally guess the wrong name of the god. Too bad, everyone also concluded the same thing, and now he's trying (and failing) to stop the rumours and save himself from the wrath of goddess athena.

When he said he wanted to learn more about his father, I don't think he meant to become a soldier during the war he was in. (ft. Telemachus)

Summary: Little time travel epic au where Telemachus, who wants to learn more about his father, accidentally prays to the gods and somehow wakes up during the Trojan War as one of the Greek soldiers.

[cgoblinqueen]

The Odyssey Resumes!

slight trigger warning for Calypso's treatment of the crew

It was a surprisingly easy journey for Odysseus to find his former crew, granted he was guided by Hermes to the peaceful island of Ogygia. Hermes had left to deal with Calypso's hissy fit for giving up her new toys friends that she had just gotten acquainted with, leaving Odysseus to deal with his men. Hermes bids Odysseus farewell for now, with a knowing wink. "I'll be keeping an eye on you, along with the others," The god says with a mischievous smirk, vanishing in a flash of light before Odysseus could even ask the god who the "others" were.

Odysseus lay there on the surf, looking to the gathered men wearing tired and untrusting eyes. He thought to himself that they were surely suspicious of his arrival. Why now, after all this time? They are caught off guard when their transformed captain speaks to them with a worn smile.

"A gift from Hermes and Athena," the king of Ithica explained. Eurylochus stepped forward, staring down at his former friend.

"I thought that Athena had severed her ties to you," He said, his glance alternating between the amulet and the ground, unable to look at the man-turned-hippocampus in the eyes. The cursed captain merely raised his finned forelegs in an approximation of a shrug and replied, "It seems that the Goddess of Wisdom had a change of heart. I was told by Hermes that she fought for the chance for me to bring you all home, and that I could be human again..."

Odysseus traced a fin through the sand, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat as he looked up at the group of men, his friends that he would have betrayed had they gone through the lair of Scylla. He was overcome with shame as he bowed his head down, nose almost touching the sand, as he begged for their forgiveness.

"Please...I know I could never undo the betrayal, and I would not blame you all if you could never fully trust me again. For that, I am truly sorry, my friends. I've been haunted every day since. I... I had been so desperate to get home, I had lost sight of myself. I became no different from the very monsters we have fought throughout our whole journey. I have made so many mistakes...mistakes that cost the lives of our friends. But please believe me, friends! I will bring you home, and I will do everything within my power to protect you all!"

For a moment, the men looked at each other and quietly mumbled to themselves, as if unsure. Many of the crew were reluctant to leave for multiple reasons; one being that a few men had found the island a paradise and made their peace with never arriving home, if it meant avoiding any more dangers in the ocean. Secondly, even many of the men who wanted to go home were still wary of having Odysseus lead them again. Exasperated, Perimedes argued with the group that was hesitant to leave.

"Surely anything would be preferable to...THIS!" He exclaimed, arms spread wide and gesturing to the Island. "We may be safe here, but this is nothing more than a prison! Calypso sees us as nothing more than playthings. She doesn't think of us mere mortals as people with our own feelings! That woman...she cannot take no for an answer. We're just things to her..." the poor man shuddered and barely held back a sob, gripping himself so tightly his nails left angry red scratches on his arm, while another older crewmember, Petros, gently embraced Perimedes and calmed him down from whatever terrible moments the man was reliving.

Odysseus felt a pang of sorrow for Perimedes, recalling how distraught the poor man was when they sailed through the Underworld, discovering the shade of Elpenor, whom they had regrettably failed to notice was no longer with them. Perimedes was left in utter grief, his pained cries mingling with the screams and wails of the dead as he grieved his dear partner. It was another painful moment Odysseus would not soon forget, and the reminder of the losses strengthened his reserve as he faced the men who were still reluctant, though fortunately Perimede's outburst seemed to help further sway them.

Odysseus pleaded to his men, looking at his second-in-command in the eyes. "Please, my friend," he begged, taking Eurylochus by surprise. He was shocked that Odysseus had still considered him a friend. "Even if you will not help me become human again, I am begging you to come with me, for the sake of protecting your Queen, as well as Telemachus and Ctimene. There's no telling how much longer they can hold out before the suitors at the palace lose their patience and do something drastic, from everything I had heard them saying as they sail to our home!" He desperately begged his men.

Eurylochus looked back at the crew, quiet murmurs exchanged before he turned back to Odysseus. "We will do what we must to protect our queen and the prince, and I will follow you home to protect my wife, Captain...and we will help you turn back to normal," he said solemnly, looking straight into Odysseus's eyes.

Odysseus could have cried out in joy, now that his men were willing to come home and aid him. Eurylochus raised a hand, catching his attention, indicating that he still had something on his mind. "First, I want to apologize for giving you up to Poseidon. I should have been better... You weren't willing to leave behind our men to remain as pigs. I shouldn't have left you either. But there's something else I need to get off my chest..." his glistening eyes flickered back and forth between the crew and Odysseus, and he took a deep, steadying breath before he continued to speak.

"You are not the only one to blame for all the troubles we have faced." Eurylochus tried to laugh, but it came out hoarse and full of pain. He shook his head as he explained, his own dark eyes beginning to brim with tears. "Back on Circe's Island, I meant to confess... I was the one who opened the bag...It's all my fault. Had I listened to you Ody, we'd have been home long ago! It was my fault we lost so many. All of them died because of me!" he cried.

Odysseus was stunned into silence. Only the wind blowing through the trees of the island and Eurylochus's shaky breath could be heard at the revelation. He looked to the crew, who all wore varying looks of sadness, sympathy, and bitter hurt. Petros stepped ahead of the group and spoke to the former captain. "It's true. He told us all, a short while after we realized we were truly trapped on this island. Most of us were a right bit angry, but I think a lot of us have come to realize that nothing about this voyage has been fair," the man said in a weary voice, long greying hair limply dangling over his face. He tucked his hair behind his ear and gave the tiniest of shrugs as he continued. "I think it's safe to say we've all done things we regret, ever since we joined the war. We're mere men, and we've all made mistakes."

A murmur of agreement and nods rippled through the crew as they looked to their captain. Perhaps Odysseus would have been enraged, were he younger and yet to be worn down and tired from all the tribulations he had faced. But things were different now. He found himself agreeing with Petros. They could sit around forever regretting and wishing things had gone differently, or they could stand back up, dust themselves off, and keep moving forward. He looked up to Eurylochus, the tears streaking his face and eyes red, and gave a small, sad smile.

"You couldn't have known we'd be blown to Poseidon. Honestly, I was pretty woozy from staying up all that time...Perhaps if I had trusted you to guard the bag while I rested, things wouldn't have been so tense. But what's done is done. The only thing that matters is that we do what we can to get back home, to our homes and families."

Eurylochus knelt down to look at Odysseus at an equal level, a slight tremble wracking his body as he looked to his king, his captain, his friend. Hesitantly, he moved forward and embraced Odysseus around his neck, small trickles of tears mingling with the seawater in his mane. "I'm sorry Ody, I'm so sorry..." He wept, and Odysseus' tears had begun to fall too.

"I'm sorry too, Eury..." Odysseus sighed, trying to press his head a little harder against Eurylochus's shoulder, as that was the closest thing to a hug that he could offer in this form. The two remained there, hugging, until there were no more tears to shed and they had calmed down enough to gather themselves. Eurylochus directed the crew to their boat and set sail, ready to follow Odysseus to the next stop.

read more about my HippOdysseus au here!

hope you enjoy!

[cgoblinqueen]

HippOdysseus master post!

Hello, this is where you can find everything about my own silly Epic au where Odysseus gets turned into a Hippocampus by Poseidon. Click on the links below to find all the notes and headcanons I've come up with so far!

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and go here to find art!

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[cgoblinqueen]

A little bonus to my previous post 🤞

[cgoblinqueen]

First a note about the timeline of the HippOdysseus AU as of right now, then I can continue from where I last left off:

From the Epic Timeline I wanna establish how things went down according to Jorge, so just over 10 years since Odysseus left for war by the time he and his remaining crew leave Circe's Island. I would estimate half a year since leaving the underworld before they encounter the sirens, the mutiny, and his transformation. Then, approximately another half a year to swim home and then another year before he finally encounters Telemachus, who would be 13 at this point.

After Athena gets her ass handed to her by Zeus in God Games, Hermes comes down to Telemachus and Odysseus, baby Pelagon in his arms, to deliver some good and bad news, and secret news only for Odysseus to hear.

Bad news: Mount Olympus is no space to raise a mortal baby, and the gods cannot help in trying to find suitable guardians, leaving Telemachus no choice but to sneak the baby into the castle so he, his mother, and only the most faithful handmaidens could take care of Pelagon.

Good news: Even when gravely injured, Athena was able to pitch in alongside Hermes to grant a favor by gifting Odysseus a medallion, engraved with an owl clutching a caduceus, that would give him the ability to speak once again, because the two gods agreed that being unable to speak, and unable to use his wits to do anything, is a fate worse than death.

Hermes pulls Odysseus aside to tell him that Athena was able to plead his case to the Gods, but that they would only grant him his humanity if he succeeded in three tasks: One, he would have to find his crew and earn their trust and loyalty back to lead them on the rest of the journey home alive. Two, he must confess to his men that he killed an innocent child in Troy, divine prophecy notwithstanding, and in an act of penance for the first unjust death at his hands he must take baby Astyanax back to the world of the living to raise as his own, carrying him on his own back the rest of the way home. And thirdly, they would still have to contend with Poseidon, whether that means to try to persuade him to back down or face him head on.

Odysseus accepts the challenge and bids his son farewell, guided by Hermes to find his crew. He only wishes he could say goodbye to Telemachus as his father and not merely as a friend...

more about my au here: 1 2 3 4 5

[cgoblinqueen]

so I made a recolored version of my original sketch with Odysseus's hair and fin colors matching the ocean theme more, and made the scars look less garbage!

Here are the links to other posts I made for my AU here for more info :)

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here's my original sketch

[cgoblinqueen]

What if i made an au where Polites and Eurylochus got to be winions instead of dead and Hermes just kinda dropped them off with the wind bag

And then Ctimenes just there like what did you do to my husband Odysseus

[cgoblinqueen]

this is so sweet 🥺🥺🥺

[cgoblinqueen]

trying to sleep but i just remembered those tweets by lauren faust when she discovered what the equestria girls toys looked like and it upset her so much that she drew herself as the hulk. obsessed