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EPIC Ares Interpretation

Hello there, been a while. After a bit of silence I did get some work done on one of the gods. Ares is one of the gods I tend to relate to most often.

Canonically, in the swordverse, neither Hera or Zeus view him as the favorite. Far from it actually. He’d probably be tied with his half brother (on Hera’s side) and is only better on certain days to Hera depending upon the situation.

Note: Hera’s favorite is Hermes while Zeus’ favorites are Athena (favorite child in general) and Apollo.

Ares was created from Hera’s spite to have a child on her own. She went to a garden and ate a flower which was basically just part of Zeus without Hera’s knowledge. (Ovid’s telling of Ares’/Mars’ birth myth technically at base.) Ares was a calm baby, but eventually cracked into a very terrifying demeanor as he pretty much grew into his domain.

Being created by the spite of both parents will do that. Now, in a different post I’ll eventually elaborate about why head wings are considered a chthonic trait. To say the least for Ares, it was sort of an actualization situation. He believes himself to be nothing more than a monster. Something bloodthirsty and (spiritually) dirty due to his several domains that deal with blood and death (war technically, but the worst side of war includes death).

This is a trait that tends to get him looked down upon since they’re fully fledged chthonic head wings. Despite everything, he loves his family. He would rather himself be humiliated than anyone else because well, he’s used to it.

Him having a similar look to a western dragon is for a multitude of reasons. A sign of evil was the biggest one, even in some modern day fantasy. Ares is considered on some level as evil or bad. Percy Jackson being the best example as I know just enough of his character at the beginning to know it.

“Middle/High School Bully” archetype that basically is mean to be an ass and will fight anyone if slightly provoked. But in saying that, western dragons fits well. Even if he’s not technically the same sort of dragons you’ll read in Beowulf.

I could probably go into more detail about him at a later point, but that’s all I got and it’s almost midnight.

Inspiration list:

- Bearded Vulture

- Tibetan Mastiff

- Western Styled Dragons

- Ismenian Dragon

- Snake (can’t remember the specific species, but it was venomous & native to Greece)

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Saw this on Pinterest. Odysseus & the infant haunt my everyday life. This just put a spear through my chest 😭😭 💔💔

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Easily my favourite moment in Epic

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What would it be like for normal Ody and FMTD!Nobody to meet?

they talk about important things, clearly

also, bonus of someone else meeting their counterpart...

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May repost stuff from my other accounts as they are official information. Not too sure yet. Mostly talking about my posts for the EPIC fandom and stuff the pertaining to my canon

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Calypso Opinions

So, not everyone has to agree with me on my opinions. Though I should preface that I don’t care what your opinions on (EPIC)Calypso are. If you love, hate, support the character. As long as we’re not disrespecting the actual goddess, then I genuinely don’t care what your stance is. You respect my opinions, I’ll respect your opinions.

Anyway. I personally subscribe to the side of the fandom that sees (EPIC)Calypso as a manipulative individual. My personal opinion is that both songs are from Odysseus’s perspective. That means that by 7 years after being manipulated and broken down, she’s going to sound believable. He’s not going to have a lot of fight, and in a sick and twisted way… does love her to some degree.

To me, “Not Sorry for Loving You” is after literal years of trauma bonding to Calypso for Odysseus. Because it’s from his perspective, he has conflicting feelings around her. Yes. She did give him a place to sleep and probably clothes to wear and all that. But ultimately, he knows he can’t love her in the way that she wants him to. It would never be real love.

I do want to believe that what happened in The Odyssey was lightly implied into Calypso’s two songs. Yes, even with an immature mindset, one can be manipulative. I know that first hand, but that’s a vent for another time.

Now, I see “Love in Paradise” as a more forward, clear sense of manipulation that Odysseus understands is manipulation because- well- he’s had to deal with this sort of thing from the gods already by technicality. But in “Not Sorry for Loving You,” Odysseus had to actually live with the goddess and spend 7 additional years away from his wife and son. The lines have blurred between them enough that he does, in some capacity, did connect to Calypso through the abuse. Hence why he says what he says in the song.

Now, do I like both songs? Absolutely! Love Calypso’s singer and the portrayal of the character. Not gonna lie, but I kinda want to fall asleep to NSfLY. The composition is just fit for it for me (and I used to fall asleep to much harsher music instrumentals).

All in all, I see the importance of Calypso’s character in EPIC, and while she does sometimes remind me of some people in my life, I do not hate her completely. Much like the other characters in the musical, they are characters. People need to let others enjoy characters in fandoms.

And no, I will not get into Antinous’s character as that’s a whole entire story for me. I have a lot of pent up opinions on him and his primary song. We all know the one in the Ithaca Saga. As a little note: I don’t hate his character! I think his character portrays what it needs to when it comes to this recreation of The Odyssey. Plus it’s probably, arguably, a tad more tame than in the source material since certain acts were actually going on in the book.

Anyway, I don’t like Antinous or Calypso personally in EPIC, but I love their songs because I’m a sucker for songs that make me feel intense emotions, positive or negative. I just believe Calypso’s character is nuanced and we shouldn’t outright despise the character that it bleeds into making people who worship her (the Greek goddess version of her) have to hide it away. Just a personal opinion since I do worship Zeus and I know some people would give me flak. Especially if people are myth literalists and only see that side of him. (To me, he’s sort of like the father I never had. That’s the energy I get whenever I offer/devote something to him or wear devotional apparel for him.)

Anyway- If anyone wants to have a civil discussion about our opinions on Calypso, feel free! I am perfectly content with hearing what others opinions are. I will not bash as long as you’re respectful. I will state that my opinions more than likely will not change on Calypso, or even Antinous in EPIC. It’s just an opinion I have, but I don’t generally care for either of them in the sense of characters being my favorite.

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Deliberately didn’t post a link to my sfw Bluesky in my intro post so others can actually look for it and read my introduction.

Is it a dick move? Yes. But will it possibly work? Hopefully. Also, not posting my AO3 account until I get the first chapter of my EPIC: The Musical Anthology writings. I will edit this post and reblog when I am able to do so.

I will not give away my nsfw Bluesky account until you have your age on your pinned post, in your blog description, or both. That link will be dmed to those individuals.

Anyway, let me also make my official first post with me rambling!

So, I’ve been working on a scarf for several days now that is currently over 6 ft in length. Is this overkill? Absolutely and I am loving it. The stitch is amazing and will keep me warm in these Minnesota winters. Definitely a hassle of a crochet stitch since since it’s 7 fucking loops on the crochet hook. But I absolutely adore this stitch and I love how the yarn looks

I promise, it’s much more vibrant in person. This is part of the Lion Brand umbrella company of yarn. The subsection is the Mandala brand. The line is Ombré, and the yarn is named “Harmony.”

I adore a lot of the ombré line. Though- I do adore Lion Brand’s Ferris Wheel line as well.

I have put together different yarns I associate with the deities I worship, want to worship, or will eventually start worshipping. If anyone wants the lists feel free to ask in the ask box. As a heads up, a lot of them are the Lion Brand/Mandala yarn as I enjoy the quality and material. May think about the other kinds, like landscapes, another time. Though, do keep in mind that all of these are based on my own opinions and feelings towards the divine.

I do have a separate project that is an infinity scarf that’s green, teal-blue, and purple. The pallet made me immediately think of the cannon EPIC: The Musical Hermes’s outfit color palette.

Once again, much more vibrant in person than in the picture. This is from loops & threads with their facets line (Juniper color).

I love the material and softness. Though, it’s not as easy to wash as it’s essentially a spot clean only type of yarn. I don’t have the patience to spot clean and one of my partners wants to do an EPIC!Hermes cosplay. So? Kill two birds with one stone and have it as a just in case/special occasion scarf that doubles for a simple piece of cosplay attire.

All in all, enjoy the cluster fuck that’s been my ramblings for the day. I hope y’all are doing well yourselves. And if not? I’ll send positive vibes if you’d allow

~ Damocles

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i dont have a clue how tumblr works so if my art flops on here ill pretend its my online dump book

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Welcome to the Crossroads, Travelers

Hello there, I’m Ajax, or you can refer to me as Damocles, Cloud, or Sanctum. I’m 22 years old and in a relationship with my three partners. I’m transmasc and Genderfaun, going by He/They pronouns primarily but by all means feel free to use the other two pronoun sets or any other masc/neutral pronouns as I’m extremely fluid in that spectrum. I’m Achillian primarily, but my romantic orientation is definitely Omniromantic.

As for what I mean by the fact that I am not fully human? I’m alterhuman. I do not see myself as human a good majority of the time. For me, I am not human on a metaphysical level. Though, this isn’t the blog to go in on that with. Just know that is a part of who I am and please do respect that fact as it is.

I am an artist and writer. I do roleplay on occasion but I’d prefer to be mutuals first. Just a personal preference. I do also crochet and play dnd when I have time. I actually run one of the campaigns. Though, that’s for a different account on a different day.

Most of the stuff you’ll see here will be surrounding EPIC: The Musical, Hadestown, Stories From Styx, (Supergiant) Hades, and Greek Mythology. I do not know enough about Percy Jackson to give a fulfilling experience there. I will also be sharing my ocs for these fandoms.

I do have personal lore for the EPIC universe of Greek mythology, so you will also see stuff about that here too. SFS is still very new and working on coming out so I do not have anything specifically made for that musical.

Anything strictly for Greek mythology will be properly tagged as such and are considered devotional art, or offerings as I do worship these deities. Specifically Zeus and Hermes. Currently trying to work up the courage and practice to further worship Ares and Apollo. These works I would prefer for people to refrain from calling the deities hot or ugly or whatever you wouldn’t do in a religious space. Proper etiquette please.

Now, with the more serious stuff out of the way, I will give some tags to look out for when it comes to this account and the purpose of them.

#cutthreads - Venting/venting adjacent posts: While not a common tag, it is a possibility since I may air grievances with fandom spaces. This is especially true with some of the discourse surrounding the EPIC fandom on TikTok, but the community on Tumblr is much more preferable and chill. At least from my experiences.

#Swordverse - My own Greek crossover pieces: So, for each fandom or creation I make, be it original or not, I may want to cross them over. The Swordverse is meant to allow me to have different interpretations of the gods in these fandoms interact with each other and still be in character in some way. (Ex~ A crossover between the gods in EPIC and Hadestown where the vibes are completely different)

- Subsection: #Swordverse Kopis (EPIC: The Musical specific related posts), #Swordverse Xiphos (Stories From Styx specifical related posts), #Swordverse Falcata (Hadestown specific related posts), #Swordverse Gladius (Hades game specific related posts)

#deliveredfromthestyx - Answered asks: Kind of is what it says it is. These are answered asks. Character interactions, questions for me or the characters I draw are on the table. (Not open for asks about how to dive into worship of the gods since I am very new to this myself and I am not built for being a teacher.) Otherwise I am very open to anything.

#sanctum’sdevotion - Devotional pieces: Very on the nose, but these are specifically for my devotional pieces and writings for the gods I worship and believe in. As of right now, I worship the deities of the Greek pantheon. This is also a tag for my actual practice and other things relating to my spiritual practice pertaining to the gods.

- Subsections: #deitydevotion (Pieces dedicated to specific deities. Art and writing specifically, but could end up as boards. Will typically be accompanied by tags with the deity in question), #roadofstorms (Posts about my religious journey. None of these posts are meant to be educational as I do not claim to be a teacher), #theworldisshiningwithlife (I will specifically only use this tag as a collective devotional tag, or when I make posts about the natural world that reminds me of the gods)

#artbydamocles - My Art/Writings: Once again, on the nose. These are pieces that I have created myself or written myself. They will be followed by their respective fandom tags. I will have specific tags as to certain things, but this will always be in the tags.

- Subsections: #ofwoodenswords (traditional art), #ofmetalswords (digital art), #ofbluntbladedswords (work in progress art, being of both digital and traditional forms), #ofgoldenswords (while not my own art, it is my art reblog tag. Typically will not be paired with the others unless it is a reblog where I respond with my own art.)

#kingbelowthesword - My ramblings: This is a tag dedicated to my ramblings and anything not dedicated to my practice, art, or characters. This is also my reblog tag. So please do not be scared if this tag is below your post. I just liked your post and wanted to reblog.

- Subsections: #throneofdamocles (specifically reblog tags. I claim no originality from it unless paired with my rambling tag), #trapofthethrone’ssword (this is my rambling tag! This is specifically where I either throw my thoughts/ideas in or I just want to ramble)

#threadedfates - Crochet/Hobby craft: Since it’s one of my primary hobbies outside of dnd, I want to have it specifically dedicated here. Mostly yarn/crochet content with this tag (hence the specific naming). Though I am trying to get into jewelry making and candle making. Though, both of these may not be for a while.

Now, with the primary tags out of the way, let’s get into what conduct I expect as well as other expectations when interacting with this account.

First - I expect those who interact with me behind the scenes to be 18+. This account is safe for work, but I do use cuss words. I don’t like to interact with minors due to the differences in experience and all that sort of thing. If I find out otherwise? You are blocked on sight. I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re “mature for your age”, look- I get it. I did this bullshit too as a kid. No, you’re not mature. We are not on the same level as each other. And as the elder party, I’d rather not have a child in my direct messages.

Second - A heads up, I am pagan. I get the sentiment to respect the gods at all times. I just want to say that if one cannot separate character from religion, I do tend to back away. Yes. The gods are not characters to me, otherwise I wouldn’t worship them. I heavily try finding a separation from my religion and what is considered a work of fiction. It’s a whole topic on intention and morality and depictions I genuinely don’t have the energy to discuss. Don’t like my art for fandoms but like my devotional stuff? Block the tags that you don’t like. It’s simply put as a don’t like don’t read/dead dove situation since you’re being told and warned.

Third - Give respect to earn respect. I will be kind and be a generous host for debate, but do not come at me, guns-a-blazing, telling me how shit of a person I am for this thing or that thing. I am not a good person. I will match energy if you disrespect me first. I hold every right to do so if you disrespect me in my space. Please do use tone tags if you feel as if a message may come across as rude or offensive. With my autistic brain, tones are important to understand any potential underlying meanings.

Fourth - Ship and let ship. Some of these ships I genuinely don’t care for, but I enjoy the ideas and dynamics behind them. Crack ships are my lifeblood because, normally, these characters wouldn’t act this way otherwise. This is a very don’t like don’t read/dead dove blog. I am not responsible if you don’t like my content. If a certain tag isn’t tagged, let me know in the asks box. Otherwise, don’t follow or interact. Block me.

Fifth - Genuinely, don’t be an asshole and greet everyone on my blog with open arms unless you have the proof someone is a disgusting degenerate. I don’t tolerate hate speech towards anyone (unless they’re Trump supporters than they’re free game, go nuts. I genuinely don’t give a fuck when it comes to them. Just don’t be racist, homo/transphobic, or anything else that isn’t about them supporting the fucking carrot in office). Otherwise just be a genuinely good person to others here and we won’t have issues.

If anyone needs further explanation or clarification, send an ask or a direct message if you’re 18+. Other than that, that’s really it.