'Cause I'm stuck with your stories
Hal Jordan as character is funny to me because the way fandom see and treat him as this poor meow meow character, make other people forget how actually fucking sad his whole life is. Like most people only remember about how he watch his father died and how he thrive to be like him as his tragic backstory. Not a lot mention about how abusive his dad was, how repressed Hal is as a result of that, his shitty relationship with his family, his struggle with his civilian job and balancing his life while being a green lantern. Like it's just funny. You search for his contents and most of them come out as funny stuffs, but then you try to learn more about him and you ask yourself, "Holy shit how tf did this man hold it together???". It's like experiencing a culture shock
and when you think about this in context of how he in all likelihood is the youngest of the original members of the league it gets even sadder like to think he was doomed from the moment he was given the ring despite it initially giving him so much hope that he could make a difference is so depressing and once again i think a very apt metaphor for how military structures prey on people and exploit them until they’re nothing
My favorite parts of the Iliad now that I’ve finished it for the first time:
Odysseus running around beating people with a scepter (and the amount of joy he got from it)
Agamemnon prematurely mourning Menelaus, who is standing right next to him.
Zeus telling Ares he hates him the most of all his children. God damn. He really did just say that to his face didn’t he.
Diomedes being a force of nature on the battlefield
Diomedes being a force of nature on the battlefield and everyone still treating him like he’s their annoying little brother who they unfortunately sometimes have to kind of listen to.
Diomedes.
“What are you talking about?” I laughed out loud multiple times because of this line. I don’t know what it is, but every single time it’s said I just imagine the most baffled/annoyed expression and tone of voice on whoever was saying it and I just. Lose it every time.
Helen being extremely passive aggressive the entire time she’s on the page. Seriously love her.
Helen believing her brothers didn’t come to war because they were ashamed of her, not knowing they have been dead for some time. It hurts and I love it.
Odysseus and Diomedes being sent on a spy mission and deciding that, after getting information from the Trojan spy, they are going to go to their camp and steal some horses. (And a chariot. And some armor, I think???) Utter chaos. They did not have to do this. This was A Choice.
Them coming back after stealing said horses and NOT A SINGLE PERSON QUESTIONS IT. IMPLYING THIS IS A NORMAL THING FOR THEM. AND THEY JUST,,,,,REGULARLY DO SHIT LIKE THIS.
Athena helping them.
The Trojans being annoyed with Paris
Nestor kicking Diomedes awake, who is, for some fucking reason, sleeping on the ground (?????)
Nestor.
Nestor going on long winded rants about His Day and his exploits. And everyone just kinda has to sit and listen to him talk.
Poseidon causing an earthquake so extreme Hades worried he was going to expose the underworld.
Artemis calling Apollo a baby for not wanting to fight Poseidon
Apollo ignoring her entirely. Peak sibling energy.
Achilles calling Patroclus’ ghost “true heart.” I know what you are.
Athena helping Diomedes in the funeral games.
Athena getting so mad Apollo made Diomedes drop his whip during said games she sabotaged Eumelus and made Diomedes’ horses run faster.
Antilochus threatening his horses into running faster.
This working.
Odysseus and Ajax wrestling and being so evenly matched that everyone gets tired of watching.
When they get up for round three Achilles telling them to “put not eachother further to such cruel suffering.”
The idea that Achilles was so sick of watching them that he compares it to actively being in pain.
Odysseus praying to Athena for help when he’s loosing the footrace.
Athena actually helping him.
Athena sabotaging Ajax and making him slip and fall face first into dung.
Ajax saying Athena hovers over Odysseus like his mother. Everyone finds this hilarious. Odysseus does not disagree.
Diomedes continually aiming at Ajax’s neck while fighting for a sword and armor. They are stopped by the rest of the Achaeans in fear for Ajax’s safety.
Yea, I’m convinced the Iliad is a comagedy. A comedic tragedy. A tragic comedy?
Y’all. You guys. I’m sobbing over this lyric from I can’t help but wonder
“Used to say I’d capture wind and sky for you”
Because like. HE LITERALLY DID! HE CAPTURED A STORM & HARNESSED THE WINDS THEMSELVES TO GET BACK HOME! I AM FUCKING ILL
(TRIGGER WARNING FOR SA, KIDNAPPING, AND UNALIVING YOURSELF)
Okay I loved Circe but HATED how they made Odysseus out as some kind of villain and not a victim.
Sure, he did terrible things, but it was all to get back to his family. He technically ‘cheated’ but if he didn’t then he would have probably been killed.
I’ve only read Circe and watched Epic so far, I’m reading the Greek Odyssey tomorrow when it comes, but in Epic he doesn’t cheat.
I haven’t read that part of Circe in a while because I took a break, but I’m pretty sure she made him sleep with her, not outright forcefully but it was heavily implied he and his men would die if he didn’t (if I remember correctly). She was way more powerful than him and the roots could only hold up against her for so long, he barely had a choice, so it was technically consensual, but it was still barely his choice.
Calypso trapped him on her island for seven years, I heard he cried for his family every night, and in Epic (maybe also the Odyssey) he wanted to unalive himself. It was also very similar to Circe, where she was much more powerful than him, and this time he had no help or defense, even if for a limited time, it came only when he escaped. He had no where to go, a goddess who was in love with him and had never seen another living person before, he was defenseless. I don’t know if that was technically consensual or if she forced him but he still had little to no choice if he did say yes.
Many forget he is a victim because he is a man or haven’t read the Odyssey, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, he may have done horrible things but for a reason, for many people who do those things don’t have.
I agree he probably changed and was more guarded/on edge, but from what I’ve seen and read, I don’t think he would call his son a traitor. He loves his wife, and talks about her more in Epic, but he still longs to know him. I don’t think what Telemachus did would make him not want to form a relationship and try to know him. Because that is his son who he’s longed to know for 20 years, I think only strong evidence that he was a traitor would make him act that way at all.
I also didn’t like how Penelope told Circe the act to try and get out of war was fake. Sure, he is a genius, a master manipulator, even left his bow behind when he is a great archer to become the Best of the Greeks. He cares about his title and legacy. But he spent 10 years trying to get back to his wife and son.
In Epic he sacrificed his friend’s lives, he turned into the monster he feared he would become, he even made Poseidon call him a monster.
He could have spent the rest of his life with Calypso in ‘paradise’ but he was miserable there, wanting to see his family, wanting to be with his people.
Anyways, I thought most parts of the book were great, I may be a little bit biased because I love Odysseus and can’t wait for my Greek Odyssey to come, but I think I made some strong arguments.
Thanks if you made it this far. Also, is the Song of Achilles worth it if I like Odysseus this much but people say he’s not a good person in it? Please comment your thoughts!
Incorrect DC quotes part 24: Batfam dynamics
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23
Jason: Go kill them. Problem solved.
Oliver: You can't just go around killing people Jason.
Jason: I know. That's why you should do it.
Oliver: No, no. I can't go around killing people, either. Bruce will be mad with me.
Bruce: *eyes twich*
I love Obi-Wan Kenobi because he is a character who is designed to be good.
He is a character who believes in the right thing, who tries to do the right thing, and is innately good. Yet he still fails. Obi-Wan, despite the fact that he is smart, compassionate, loving, loyal, kind, selfless, and humble, all traits of a protagonist, is not one. His fatal flaw is his self-doubt. Obi-Wan is a person who exists to show others the light.
He is a character who leaves you wanting because he never gets what he deserves.
He is a character whose point is: sometimes being good is not enough. Sometimes people are good and they still live in pain. Sometimes a person is good and they make others good and they suffer for it.
Cassandra Cain has to deserve an award or something because having four parental figures and being let down by all of them at some point or another has to be some kind of record
Steph: batman doesn't like me and thinks i am not enough.
Cass: it's okay i like you you're enough.
Tai'darshan: my government deems my organization to be terrorists. I am painted as the villain in my fight for freedom.
Cass: you're a beautiful mirror tell me more.
Brenda: i see the non-conventional life you're leading because i've been there. We may not look or live perfect but there's always time for tea amidst of chaos.
Cass: thanks.
Clayface: nobody believes in my rehabilitation and i am bound by this monstrous shapeless flesh.
Cass: you look friend shaped to me.
Barda: you're a little weird i like you
Cass: you're a little weird i like you :]
The Batkids play a game called “Guess Who Bruce Is Disappointed In Today” and it is a bloodsport.
It started as a joke. It is no longer a joke.
Every morning, without fail, one of them walks into the kitchen and says:
“Guess who Bruce is disappointed in today?”
And they all take turns guessing based on crime alerts, nightly patrol rotations, and vibes.
It’s become a system.
It went like:
Jason: “I knocked out a senator by accident. My odds are high.”
Tim: “I drank seventeen Red Bulls and fell asleep on top of the Batcomputer.”
Damian: “I released three bats into Gotham General Hospital as enrichment. They were bored.”
Steph: “I called him ‘Brucie’ in front of a senator.”
Cass: Just raises a finger and shrugs.
Then Bruce walks in, dead silent, pours his coffee, looks at no one, and walks away.
Tim: “It’s Jason.”
Jason: “DAMN IT.
Rules:
If you guess wrong, you have to do patrol with Damian and listen to him rant about the superiority of traditional swordsmanship for two hours.
If you guess right, you get to choose the movie on family movie night.
If Bruce is disappointed in himself, everyone gets ice cream. That’s the law.
It got so serious they made a whiteboard. Labeled it: “DISAPPOINTMENT LEADERBOARD.”
Top scores:
Tim (17 correct guesses, possible mind reader)
Cass (14, reads vibes better than Google Translate reads Latin)
Steph (11, mostly via chaos intuition)
Jason (2. constantly thinks it’s him. It often is. But not always.)
Damian (0. refuses to acknowledge he is ever the cause)
One time Dick guessed correctly for the first time in 3 months and everyone clapped.
He cried.
Alt. Version: Guess Who Bruce Is Proud Of Today.
Game cancelled due to lack of data.