the-storyteller78

[the-storyteller78]

Only one of you can ascend to the throne. But both of you were born to be kings.

[the-storyteller78]

Posted this on Instagram a while back, but I feel like I should do it on here too just cus they make me laugh

[the-storyteller78]

“Dear Brutus,

Caesar sucks and I think the best thing to do would be to kill the guy before he ruins my plans destroys democracy.

Sincerely, a dutiful Roman citizen (definitely not Cassius)”

[the-storyteller78]

That moment when “Potter’s spawn” becomes “Lily’s son” and then you slowly see it turn into, “Harry”

[the-storyteller78]

Guys I read Julius Caesar for my Shakespeare class and why do I like it so much and why is my favorite character Cassius

[the-storyteller78]

We thought it would be forever, once.

[the-storyteller78]

Me: Oh, I really like Severitus, but I’m not interested in reading bio kid fics

Shostakobitch: Haha you thought

[the-storyteller78]

But I always dig up bones in your sympathy

I can’t trust a single thing you say

[the-storyteller78]

While listening to the end of Hold Them Down, I was honestly rather surprised that Antinous died so quickly. He was portrayed as one of the big bads, the dark threat closing in on Penelope and Telemachus, and his plotting was genuinely horrifying to listen to. Because of all that, I thought he’d have some big showdown with Telemachus. Instead… he gets shot down by a surprise attack. He doesn’t put up any sort of fight because he doesn’t get the chance to.

At first, I was a bit bewildered. It just felt so abrupt, like opening a box expecting a snake but finding a literal uncooked noodle inside.

However, the more I think about it, the more right it feels.

Antinous was a terrible person. He leered at and pursued an unwilling Penelope. He planned to violate her. He bullied and belittled young Telemachus and schemed to brutally murder him. He was a man who knew nothing but his own greed and lorded his physical strength as power over those who could do little to stop him. He was pathetic. And so it was right that he died a pathetic death.

[the-storyteller78]

I fully think Odysseus expects to never see Athena again after he turns down her offer. Yes, it’s clear she’s changed—the Athena he knew would never say something so sentimental—but he’s familiar with her nature. She won’t be back now that he has no use to her.

I also fully think that Athena would absolutely rock back down to Ithaca after a week of letting the family reunite (she’s taking this empathy thing seriously, guys) and just be chilling at the breakfast table in the morning. Just visiting. No biggie.

(This becomes a regular thing.)

[the-storyteller78]

Ok, I listened to the Ithaca Saga. Obviously, I am feeling quite unwell in the best way possible.

BUT GUYS THE FACT THAT ODYSSEUS WENT THROUGH ALL THAT AND DID ALL THE THINGS THAT HE DID WITHOUT EVEN REALLY KNOWING THAT PENELOPE WOULD LOVE HIM REGARDLESS, WITHOUT KNOWING THAT NOTHING COULD BREAK THEIR LOVE, BUT STILL CHOSE TO LOSE HIMSELF TO GET BACK TO HER ONLY TO FIND HIMSELF AGAIN AS THEY REUNITE AAAAAAAAH—

[the-storyteller78]

I WANNA BE LEGENDARY

[the-storyteller78]

Ok, midterms are officially done and I’m finally getting my Vengeance Saga thoughts together. HERE WE GO.

I will be very frank. This was not my favorite saga. I did really like portions of it, and I was still left gobsmacked and mouth agape by the end of it, but overall, it was not one of the stronger sagas. Of course, I have nothing but respect for Jorge and all the amazing voices who contributed to this musical. Epic is still very dear to me, whatever qualms I may have. And I have the privilege of yapping on Tumblr without having done any of the work in figuring out all the logistics of creating a musical, so just remember: These are my opinions. Just me blabbering cus I like talking about Epic.

(And I know this would be very unconventional, but when the stage production of Epic comes out, I almost want there to be an intermission sort of thing after the Wisdom Saga or something. I don’t know how that would work out, but I feel like it would provide an indication of how much time has passed for Odysseus on the island.)

“Not Sorry For Loving You.” I felt nothing. I understand that Calypso has suffered because of her punishment of isolation, and I sympathize with what she had to go through. But I do not like her at all. I loathe her. Her tragic backstory does not give her permission to keep a man prisoner for seven years and ignore his desperate pleas to be allowed to leave. It does not give her leave to constantly pursue him when he has unequivocally told her that he is married and very much NOT. INTERESTED. And that’s barely even touching on the implications of sexual harassment. I was not happy with the choice to make Odysseus say that he loves her at all, even if it’s not romantic, but I was honestly very satisfied by the absolute stone-cold expression he had in Gigi’s animatic. That is not the face of a man who cares one bit about someone who kept him captive.

Anyhow. Moving on (because I’ll never stop talking about it if I don’t).

I really feel that “Dangerous” and “Charybdis” could’ve been combined in some way. Look, I love Troy Doherty’s voice. Every verse he sings in Epic is such a jam. But I have to say that “Dangerous” is probably one of the less narratively important songs in the entire musical. We know the journey is dangerous; it’s BEEN dangerous the whole time. No reason that would change now, especially with Poseidon still after him. And I know some people think “Charybdis” could be taken out, but I kind of like that the idea of him being dropped into this super scary situation right after leaving Ogygia but rallying himself and declaring that he’s still fighting. He’s not giving up. The way I see it, Odysseus’ lyrics in “Charybdis” are a meaningful specifically because he is returning to himself, he’s not willing to just die anymore like he was seriously considering on Ogygia. He has hope. I think it would be interesting to have “Charybdis” come right after “Not Sorry For Loving You,” have Hermes appear towards the end of the song, then have Odysseus sing his adorable little Penelope I’m coming home my love don’t worry moment. I don’t know how that would work out musically, but I’m sure someone could figure it out.

AND THEN POSEIDON POPS OUT OF THE OCEAN. “Get in the Water” was pretty intense; I don’t really have much to say about it. The voices of his mom, Eurylochus, and Polites echoing around him as he teeters on the brink of death had me teary-eyed. I’ll be real though, I’m not sure why the wind bag was relevant. It was such a lose-lose situation. If he doesn’t open the bag, he gets drowned by Poseidon. If he does open the bag to survive and fight Poseidon, he can’t go home. Either way, he loses. Was it like that on purpose because Zeus was trying to be a jerk even after flash-frying his daughter??

(Also, I don’t know what the physics or whatever of a super powerful storm bag jet pack is, but I somehow doubt it would be a viable option)

“600 Strike.” I wanted to like this song. And I will freely admit, the ending had me breathless and absolutely on the edge of my seat. However, I was definitely struggling not to cringe when he yelled 600 strike. I don’t know why. I was trying so hard to be cool about it, but I just could not. And I don’t get how he beat Poseidon with a regular old sword in the middle of an ocean. AN OCEAN. WHICH POSEIDON CONTROLS. We saw how helpless Odysseus and his crew were against Poseidon in “Ruthlessness,” and now he just goes down after a few blows from Odysseus who, by the way, does not have any divine enhancements or support at the moment. The wind bag doesn’t give him super strength. His sword isn’t magically able to cut a god. How is he suddenly able to beat him? The power of friendship?? At least the trident doing damage makes sense because it’s Poseidon’s own weapon. Which brings me to my final point. Like I said earlier, the end of “600 Strike” was really impactful. However, because I don’t think it makes sense for Poseidon to have been in that position to begin with, I can’t say that it sat entirely well with me from a narrative standpoint. I’m not sure what I would’ve liked to see, but maybe I’ll make a separate post about it once I mull it over some more.

OK THAT’S A WRAP. Thanks to everyone who managed to get to the end of this rant. Went waaaay longer than I expected, but what can I say. I’m just a girl.

[the-storyteller78]

ODYPEN

He’s not actually that short (or is he 😏), he’s just bending down a lil

[the-storyteller78]

Could you draw Hestia?

Here you are! It was a lot messier before, but I figured I might as well clean it up a little before answering you. Still, pretty simple! 😂 Hope you like it!

[the-storyteller78]

Y'a reckon you could sketch Penelope or Odysseus in a cowboy version of the Iliad/Odyssey?

@cowboy-iliad-au

I reckon I could 😜 This was honestly so fun, and it gave me a chance to practice drawing a man, so thanks for the request! I might add to it later and include Penelope, but here’s cowboy Odysseus for now~

(And if the wrinkles and folds of his clothing don’t make sense to you, don’t worry. They don’t make sense to me either. Which is the problem. 😀)

[the-storyteller78]

Ok, so I thought it might be fun to show y’all a bit of my process for coming up with Penelope’s look! I sketched out these four options and got some votes from friends/family, and I think you can pretty clearly tell which elements I decided to go with.

(Sorry about the quality, I drew them kinda small and then just screenshot it)

Let me know down in the comments which number is your favorite! I might use the feedback to draw an outfit variation for our dear queen of Ithaca 👑