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Latest Posts by marigoldbuzzing - Page 2
My deepest darkest secret is being a StanBill shipper :( I am willing to die on this hill though
Also Human Bill!
Upcoming Magical Girl Projects
Magical girl fans are finally eating good after years of starvation. So good, in fact, that I decided to make a list of magical girl projects in development.
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies - The most imminent of these projects, since it's premiering only in a few days. It's the story of the forbidden romance between the magical girl Byakuya Mimori and Mira, a high-ranking official of an army trying to take over the world.
Mermaid Magic - In a new western magical girl show from the same studio as Winx Club, Princess Merlinda, with her friends Sasha and Nerissa in tow, ventures to the human world in order to find a way to save her homeland of Mertropia from the ghost pirate Barbarossa and his monster horde. Dropping on Netflix next month.
Acro Trip - One of several new magical girl series coming out in the Fall 2024 anime season, Acro Trip follows Chizuko Date as her efforts to increase appreciation for her idol, local magical girl Berry Blossom, takes her down a "dark path filled with strange folks."
Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. - Kana Sakuragi is having a hard time finding work, botching over 15 different job interviews. However, her luck changes when a series of events lands her a job at the magical girl company Magilumiere.
The Story of the Girl Who Couldn't Become a Wizard - The third of the magical girl anime coming out in October, MahoNare for short tells the story of Kurumi Mirai as she tries to become a wizard anyways after failing to get into her school's magic division.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie - Walpurgisnacht Rising - The fourth PMMM movie, which will pick up where Rebellion's massive cliffhanger left off. It's currently set to come out sometime later this year.
Cute High Earth Defense Club Eternal Love! - The magical boy series is getting a new movie in winter 2025 as part of the celebrations for its 10th anniversary. While the movie will "consist entirely of new scenes that will be newly drawn," exact plot details are unknown. (Added August 7, 2024)
Mahou Tsukai Precure: Mirai Days - A new installment in the Precure franchise, Mirai Days will serve as a sequel to Mahou Tsukai, the thirteenth season. Even though it's premiering early next year, specific plot details are currently unknown.
Princess Session Orchestra - A TV original coming next year, Princess Session Orchestra is based on a concept by Akifumi Kaneko, one of Symphogear's co-creators. The land of Alicepia's peace is destroyed when monsters called Jammerwocks attack, prompting a trio of young girls to step up the plate to protect the realm.
Winx Club - The western magical girl classic is getting a CGI reboot. While comments by Iginio Straffi imply that certain characters who were introduced later in the original series (such as Roxy and Nabu) will appear earlier, no specific plot details have been revealed so far. The series is coming to Netflix late next year.
New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt - Panty & Stocking is getting a second season after over a decade that's coming out sometime next year with no specific plot details revealed yet. (Added August 7, 2024)
Project Symphogear Next - A new Symphogear movie was announced late last year. However, no further details have been revealed.
Hua Xianzi: Zhi Mofa Xiang Dui Lun - A co-production between Tencent Video and Toei Animation's Shanghai branch, this anime is being billed as a "remake" of Lunlun the Flower Fairy. That being said, promises of "a fresh story and characters" make it sound more like a reboot.
Studio Pierrot's new anime - Studio Pierrot, which has made a variety of magical girl anime from Creamy Mami to Tokyo Mew Mew, has announced that they're creating a new TV original magical girl anime. No specific details have been disclosed, but the caption for the teaser image ("I want you to sing once more...") implies that it'll be a magical idol anime.
Lolirock season three - After Lolirock's second season ended with a cliffhanger all the way back in 2017, it seemed like the story would never get a proper conclusion. However, the series's creator and director, Jean-Louis Vandestoc, announced on his Instagram in 2023 that creative meetings for a third season have begun.
Magic Knight Rayearth revival - TMS Entertainment is making a new Magic Knight Rayearth anime in honor of the franchise's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, it's currently unknown what the format will be.
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card season two - The sequel to the magical girl classic is getting a second season that will adapt the rest of the manga.
Magical Girl holoWitches - A multimedia project starring six VTubers as fictionalized versions of themselves who work as both streamers and magical girls who save people when they get trapped in the magical Holocas World. There was a four minute extended trailer in May, but the anime's proper premiere date is unknown.
Ojamajo Doremi 16-20's - An adaptation of Ojamajo Doremi's light novel sequel series, which follows the girls as they grow from being in their mid-teens to early 20s. Interestingly, the format for the adaptation (TV show, movie, or streaming series) will be based on the reception of a music video featuring the girls as adults.
I can't believe that this shit has to be said in the year of 2023 but if you have nothing positive to say about any ship then stay the fuck out of their tag.
Just some kids having fun
What I’d give for one of the Cinderella remakes to go into how when you’re in an isolated and abusive situation, sometimes you need to be saved and you’re not weak if you can’t escape by yourself
I’ve never been a fan of bad faith reinterpretations of fairy tales, especially ones which flatten the originals into “princesses is saved by a prince and nothing else”, to then go #girlboss. The princess can save herself because she’s a strong female character! (Implying if you’re in a bad situation, it’s because you’re not strong enough to get out)
Acchan #68: Cinderella
Small Gravity Falls AU(?) Stuff
I like Reverse Falls as a concept but think it’d be more fun to do a role swap without a personality swap- so I’m throwing up some doodles/references for that. Probably going to just refer to it as Antigravity Falls for now since idk if that’s taken already.
Notes on the AU:
Stanford and Stanley switch the conman/cryptozoology theme, with Stanford running the Mystery Shack (A magician roadshow of sorts) and Stanley running the Gravity Falls Visitor Center + Cryptozoological Center
Bill acts as kind of a stagehand to Dipper and Mabel’s magic act.
Pacifica was forced to get a summer job, and picked the one that seemed the easiest, not guessing Stan would actually be dragging her out into ‘field work’ every other day.
Gideon was a child actor when he was a bit younger, but isn’t anymore. Took up the offer to avoid helping his dad with the Car Lot, and figured this would be interesting at least.
One of Stan’s eyes got clawed out by a gnome.
Robbie is a wannabe ghost-hunter-YouTuber, hence working for Stan of all people.
Gideon and Pacifica are still wealthy as far as this AU is concerned, but not as much as in the original storyline. It just doesn’t come up much since they’re boarding out in the woods with Stan.
Fiddleford is the one who’s stuck in the Nightmare Realm for 30 years.
If there’s anything else you want me to expand on with this Au, feel free to just ask! It’ll let me ramble more and even brainstorm if it’s not something I’ve thought of.
Courage and Katz!!! One of my comfort shows❤️
I have a personal take on their dynamic that I will attempt to explain:
Basically I see their dynamic as Katz doing a con or scheme as he does, where Muriel and Eustace happen to get involved. Katz sees Courage is a dog and has that immediate hate, not just against Courage but all dogs. After Courage’s inevitable win, it only makes him despise dogs more, and thus targeting Muriel and Eustace on purpose simply to torment Courage. But as time goes on and Katz continues to make more and more terrifying and difficult challenges, he sees Courages absolute devotion to save them, despite any mistreatment they may give him, intentionally or other. It baffles him. No dog that he’s ever encountered has shown the slight bit of humanity, let alone compassion. So it becomes something of a game. How far is Courage willing to go? As unbeknownst to Courage he no longer plans to harm Muriel or Eustace, but to simply test Courage’s limits. Then after Muriel and Eustace pass away, Courage no longer has a purpose, at least not in his eyes. He goes to Katz, desperate to halt his existence, as well as fulfill Katz’ one goal. This astounds Katz even more. Even in the dogs most desperate time of need, he continues to put others before himself. It’s simply unbelievable. He can’t believe it, he won’t. He hasn’t spent his whole life hating dogs and getting revenge for what they’ve done to him, to his sister. And now the one dog that shows any potential wants to throw it away. As much as he hates it, he refuses Courage’s offer. He instead offers him a new purpose. Help him run his Motel and other sleazy businesses, though not take part in killing or anything, and in return he has company. He has a reason to exist. That and Katz is able to continue his study of the odd dog. At some point he discovers what exactly courage has done for his sister, risking his life for a cat who did nothing but abuse him the second she saw him and rescue her girlfriend he’d never even seen from her extremely abusive boyfriend and dangerous friends. He owes the dog more than he realized, and he hates it. He hates courage, he hates dogs! He has to. But. He doesn’t. He really truly doesn’t hate courage. And he hates it.
I have an old fic based off this idea so if ur interested just lemme know. Maybe I’ll put it on AO3 or smth
CTCD Mafia AU🔫
↑old drawing
↓NEW!
Someone revive the reverse falls fandom
Reverse Falls BillFord when???
I want some toxic possessive Stanford this instant.
My man deserves to be the unhinged "YOU ARE MINE" one in the relationship after all the shit Gravity Falls Ford got from Bill.
I like the idea of Reverse Falls! Billford. In my head, Stanford is the needy ex and Will is like “stop trying to serenade me at my window, I’m not going back to your tent.”
I need more needy ex reverse Ford content. I want him to be pathetic. Just like Bill is. 
@gaillol-13
Big Brothers
pt4 <<< pt5 >>> pt6
Kaiju Baseball AU!!!
Hey, i think i do actually wanna go deeper into this potential au. It’s not anything big really. It’s just a supposed scenario of what if as an excuse to constantly see his adoptive meantime (by then) daughter in some way, he decides to still try to teach her more baseball. But then later turns into teaching her & her friends (the younger kaiju she met when returning to Kaiju Island; i tried to think of other existing kaiju she could easily be friends with) the sport leading to the idea of creating some sort of small team dedicated to just his daughter Emi & him being the coach. That & somehow convincing the more adult kaiju about it (which wasnt easy). In the end, they all have fun & become this sorta big friend group. (Mostly meant as some sorta wholesome concept & easy idea to go off of; the only challenging thing is that idk much about baseball)
Oh & i did add a lil special guest as part of the team (Rodan’s own kid inspired by @quazies own animation)
[i’ll add more to this & hopefully i can do art that somehow shows all the fun baseball stuff they do :) ]
(Best to leave them to deal with their problems seems like)
(**anyone else you guys suggest i should add to the team??? Lemme know ^^**)
I love Suffering animatics/art where Odysseus has a chain or rope around his ankle, connecting him to the mast. not only is it a great reference to the source material, but it implies that someone on the ship was worried that the mere sight of Penelope might convince Odysseus to jump in the water, even though he knows its a siren who will kill him
and that they were so persuasive in this argument that Odysseus actually agreed to it
Odysseus:*Rocking back and forth in a somewhat fetal position*
Hermes:Uhm, Ody? You good?
Ody: *Whispering* You wanna hear something crazy?
Hermes:Uhm-
Ody:Something Crazy!! *giggling like a fucking madman.*
Hermes:……
Ody:*Still giggling while holding back tears*
—————————LATER————————
Hermes:YOU FUCKING BROKE MY DAMN GRANDSON!
Calypso:*cowering in absolute fear from the raging foaming Messenger* well- I- Uhm- I-….Im—-
Poseidon, Zeus, Athena: *Looking anywhere else but the raging Messenger*
Hermes:OH DO NOT THINK THAT YOU THREE GET TO RUN SCOTT FREE!
Poseidon, Zeus, Athena:Fuck-
The siren took one look at Odysseus and said ‘girl dad’ and no matter how wrong she was, I respect it.
Siren!Penelope: Yo, this sailor says he's afraid of the water?! How the hell am I supposed to work with that?!
Other Siren: I dunno, just roll with it!
Siren!Penelope: Sure, I guess. Also, what do you think? Boy dad or Girl dad?
Other Siren: Oh Girl dad! 99% sure!
Siren!Penelope: Let's hope it's not that 1%.
Odysseus: Penelope whyyy, you know I to- Ayo why does that siren look like Elpenor?
Sirenlope: what
Eurylochus: DID YOU NOTICE THAT TOO? I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY
Perimedes: 😀😀😀
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
4/5 stars
I finally found it! A book with a portrayal of fae that I liked almost as much as Holly Black’s!
Of course, that’s because Heather Fawcett’s depiction of fae is strikingly redolent of Holly’s. I could even dub them to be in the same universe and they would fit somehow. It is clear by now I only like a specific kind of fae (this is my personal preference)—the fairytale-esque / folklore version. I hate Gild or ACoTAR’s portrayal of fae; I do not see fae EVER as... macho men. The mere thought makes me gag. I will take Cardan’s goat tail over big, manly ‘alpha’ men that are also so-called 'fae', tyvm.
Sorry, I digress. But not entirely, because well, this book I’m reviewing, if the title isn’t obvious enough, is about fae. The way fae is categorised goes like this (I’m writing this down so that when the next book arrives next year, I still fucking remember):
Human-sized / big fae are called The Tall Ones or Courtly Fae. Tiny ones are called the Common Fae, further sub-categorised into Brownies (they strike bargains with mortals often) or Trooping Fae (they travel in troops and keep to themselves).
One of my standout (if not my favourite) characters is Poe, who is a Brownie. OMG, he is so adorable with his sharp needle-fingers and his love for cooking. Also, that little thing makes fucking delicious bread, which is my absolute favourite thing to eat in the world. My heart broke for him when his tree got burnt, but yay that Wendell Bambleby fixed it for him!!!
How is Poe not adorable? I heard from the reviews (LUCKY ASSES WHO GOT ARCS) that the next book will feature him again (and his lady), and I am so excited to read it.
Moving on from Poe, I’ll address a character much more important to the story: Wendell. I have to say that because everyone was saying the romance subplot is very small, I took it to mean that I would not see Wendell much, but I was wrong. Wendell is in the story most of the time. And while I can’t say I’m in love with him (the romance was too sudden IMO), I do love him very much. He’s hilarious. An absolute riot. I mean, just look at this part in his POV (do be mindful of spoilers in this snippet):
This man is clinically insane, lmao.
Random side-note: him having blonde hair is delicious. I just love blonde male characters. He is, quite literally, a ray of sunshine compared to Emily’s grumpiness. I usually absolutely despise the grumpy/sunshine trope because the man is almost always the fucking grump. But when it’s reversed? Utterly delightful. How can I not love a male character who is actually emotionally intelligent? Who on earth wrote into the romance fiction codex that an attractive male lead must have the emotional intelligence of a toothpick (Coughs at Love Hypothesis, coughs at Love on the Brain, cough cough cough)? Who???
Anyways.
This book surprised me in many ways, not just with Wendell. It’s dubbed as ‘cosy fantasy’ and many people complain that nothing really happens, so I was kind of bracing myself for a snoozefest.
Um, I was wrong.
I'm confused that this is what we consider cosy fantasy (I truthfully know next to nothing of this genre)? But… There is so much adventure and action that happens here. If anything, the stakes in this story feel higher / more engaging than in An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson, which I strongly disliked (even though I enjoyed some of its portrayal of fae). While the beginning was a bit rough, I was utterly hooked about a third into Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia.
I was also A FOOL, because I read this thinking the next book was already out. T_T But no, it only comes out NEXT YEAR. Why are all the books I’m desperate for coming out next year? Okay, just two books including this, but whatever.
One more thing to add before I close this entry: why do some people dislike Emily??? She was reserved, yes, but her kind heart really shone through her actions, especially in comparison to Wendell's indifference. She’s one of the many characters I adored in this book. In fact, I loved almost everyone in the cast; I was prepared to dislike Auds, the village headswoman, but I loved her in the end. It was lovely how the villagers rallied to support Emily later on, and also—I can't forget dear old Shadow!! Bless that baby.
Suffice to say, I will be sitting here, waiting for the next book very, very patiently.
- 11 Aug 2023
I’m also enjoying all the Eurylochus defenders from Epic. I remember reading it and after they tried eating steak, going, “Finally this dick is dead. What a moronic pain in the butt. I would have thrown him overboard after the Cyclops.” He is much more likable in Epic. But literally, just, I can give him a pass on the Cyclops, Lotus and Lastrygonian islands, but “Let’s open this bag for the treasure.” Sir, you are in the middle of the sea, where are you going to spend it? Oh look it’s a hot lady who is enticing us to join her. Uhm, I’m sorry, but how is that not a red flag to anyone? Were you expecting a gangbang with food? Wait, Ancient Greece, probably was -shudder-. And then after surviving the Underworld, Sirens and Scylla, you ignore the dead prophet’s warning of “DO NOT EAT HELIOS’S CATTLE!!! YOU WILL BE SMITTEN QUICKER THAN IXION!!! DO NOT ANGER THE SUN!!!” And then get surprised when Zeus uses your boat at target practice?
Had a dream last night that Satoru and Daifuku's cure designs had been revealed in some sort of trailer for the second half of the season. Everyone freaking LOVED Daifuku's design, but we're slandering Satoru's, and there was just so much discourse about it. Let's hope I'm not prophetic lol, I barely care what they look like, as long as they're magic
"Are you in love with me?" I blurted out. A terrible silence followed. Rook didn't turn around. "Please say something."
He rounded on me. "Is that so terrible? You say it as though it's the most awful thing you can imagine. It isn't as though I've done it on purpose. Somehow I've grown fond of your--your irritating questions, and your short legs, and your accidental attempts to kill me."
I recoiled. "That's the worst declaration of love I've ever heard!"
-An Enchantment Of Ravens
An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Rating: 4.5 Since I see a lot of recommendations to people who love ACOTAR, I’ll just say that as someone who never enjoyed ACOTAR I’d still recommend this book. With it being a standalone there wasn’t as much time as a series would have to wrap up all the loose ends or expand on certain things, but what is offered in this single book is plenty to satisfy the reader. In this story, humans can use “craft”, which is a reference to things like cooking, building, art, etc. Fae on the other hand have magic and lack human feelings. While humans cannot use magic or be immortal, fae cannot use craft lest they lose their immortality and die. This leads fae to seek out humans to provide them with craft, and humans likewise desire their immortality and magic. Except for our heroine, Isobel. She is a very talented painter who has many patrons among the fair folk. Yet she has never desired to drink from the “Green Well”, a well that transforms any human who drinks from it into an immortal fae. The reason becomes clear as the story progresses, but I’ll leave that a mystery for those who have yet to read. The romance element comes into play when the autumn prince comes seeking her craft. Little does she know that this is part of a whole string of events that have already been set in motion. And before she realizes it, she winds up on a journey through the various seasonal courts, surrounded by mysteries and court intrigue. Plans ever changing as new information comes to light. ********** There is so much to love about this book, and only a little that made me feel it was more appropriate to give it 4.5 stars instead of 5. Personally I wasn’t a fan of the idea that fair folk couldn’t craft. It seemed a bit absurd, but ultimately I think it helped create a more balanced approach to the dynamics between fae and humans. And I think that was one of the main points, so I can’t be too hard on it. On the contrary, seeing a sort of symbiotic relationship between the two species despite the underlying dangers to both sides was refreshing. There is also a little part of me that wonders why people ever try to write romances where one side of the relationship supposedly cannot feel human feelings. Inevitably I always find the author putting bits of humanity into non-human characters, or there’d be little chance of any real romance. This isn’t the first book to do this and it won’t be the last. Just a little nitpick I have. But not enough to make me feel that it ruined anything. There weren’t any characters I disliked in this story, but my absolute favorite was Gadfly. An apt name for the type of role he plays lol. Indeed Rook, the autumn prince, was the best partner for Isobel. But Gadfly is that elegant character who’s always smiling while secretly causing all the trouble. Sometimes it’s unclear where his loyalties lie or what his intentions are, but he is very present in every fiber of this story even when he isn’t there. He’s even got his hands in the budding romance at times XD. Part way through I’d already guessed what he was aiming for, and I was right. Though that just made it all the more enjoyable to watch him work. I think if someone enjoys the portrayal of fae in Holly Black’s FOTA series, then they’d probably enjoy Margaret Rogerson too. There’s a similar vibe. However I’d say that the type of stories they are telling are different. This book is more of a journey story than one of court politics and action, though it also has some of the latter. It’s also a bit more on the whimsical side. It actually surprises me that this book isn’t rated higher, so if it sounds up your alley, go read it!
Possibly Rogerson's strength is taking the same concept as another author but being able to move in a different direction with it.
Like, An Enchantment of Ravens at first glance has a lot in common with acotar but is INFINITELY better, not least by making the fae a lot more tied to folkloric concepts and just generally more alien. Vespertine isn't better than Sabriel (good luck being better than Sabriel) but the beginning is extremely similar even while it (thankfully) does its own thing after a few chapters.
Guess I have to read Sorcery of Thorns now
I'm not a big ACOTAR fan, do you think I'd like an Enchantment of Ravens?
BRO!!! I ABSOLUTELY HATED ACOTAR!!!! This book really reminded me of it when it came to the premise- a painter mortal girl commits a crime and gets kidnapped by a hot immortal ruler- but that's it. This is much fluffier and takes itself wayyyy less seriously, and the fae are actually threatening and belieavable in their inhumanity and plays into the monster love story with relish. Tamlin and Rhysand cry themselves to sleep every night because they will never be my boy Rook. Try it, maybe you will enjoy it!
An enchantment of ravens and a court of thorns
I’d seen An Enchantment of Ravens held up as an alternative “fae book” to A Court of Th0rns and R0ses (AC0TAR) since before the book even came out, since there are several conspicuous parallels between them. However, I wasn’t expecting An Enchantment of Ravens (EoR) to read so much like an actual response to AC0TAR.
While I won’t presume to say that Margaret Rogerson wrote her book with AC0TAR in mind, it’s fun to talk about the parallels (or lack of parallels in some cases) anyway, because the difference between the books is a good way of explaining what I dislike about AC0TAR’s romance. It’s easier to explain why one thing in AC0TAR ticked me off when I can point to the way EoR did (or didn’t) do the thing differently and kept me on board with the romance.
some disclaimers:
the following “essay” is not complimentary to the book A Court of Th0rns and R0ses, so if you are a big fan of that book, just don’t read this! i promise you’re (probably) not missing anything you don’t already know
essay also includes spoilers for both books being compared: AC0TAR and An Enchantment of Ravens
the purpose of this essay is not to chronicle all the flaws of AC0TAR, because that would be an entirely different thing. the focus is on how the two books address romance between a fae character and a mortal character in contrasting ways and why i personally like EoR’s take so much better
Keep reading
I don't care for Rhysand, I'm a Rook girlie for life!
I went on tiktok to just watch some silly Odysseus videos but then I mostly saw people going like "Yeah, maybe Odysseus cried on Calypso' island every day but honestly he had that coming after what he did Achilles and Patroclous/Circe!!!" and "Everything that happens in Odyssey is deserved cuz he took Patrochilles to war!!!" and "I feel so bad for Circe and Calypso and Penelope, they deserved better!!!"
For fucks sake I beg you, read anything different from Millers bs and like educate yourself- And please stop goddamn saying that rape victim. deserved it.
Circe probably didn't give a flying fuck, Calypso is a rapist and abuser and Penelope deserved everything she wanted and SHE WANTED ODYSSEUS
I think I've had enough internet for today, imma go wash my eyes with bleach. Anyways sorry for ranting here, i hope you don't mind it lmao
It's alright. I absolutely understand the vents about the whole thing. :'D No one deserves to be a victim of such a thing no matter WHAT they've done. I hope your eyes are okay after the bleach
Like Odysseus does so many fucked up things but Calypso and Circe? He is the victim. Period. It's very clear that Odysseus is in extreme distress on Ogygia. And Circe wasn't some sort of FwB situation. There's fear and numbness in the language he uses when talking about it. There's so much victim blaming and it SUCKS.
While back then it probably wouldn't be considered SA but now? It clearly is.
Even then, Odysseus' journey was kind of about "temptation" or just straight up "Die or get out of my sea." From Poseidon. "I don't want you in my waters so I'm gonna try and give you things that will keep you on land or just kill you."
Immortal goddesses wanting you would be many people's dream come true but not for Odysseus. And I think that's the point. His determination, how he clawed his way back into the arms he never wanted to leave in the first place, is incredible. Many people would've given up and just started a new life but he never would because no life he could ever create would compare to the life he had before. Even if it's different, it's what he's always wanted.
He literally tells Calypso "I'm not stopping until I'm home. I don't care if I suffer more until I do. I'm going home."
“Mighty goddess, do not be angry with me over this. I myself know very well Penelope, although intelligent, is not your match to look at, not in stature or in beauty. But she’s a human being and you’re a god. You’ll never die or age. But still I wish, every moment to get back to my home, to see the day of my return. And so, even if out there on the wine-dark sea some god breaks me apart, I will go on— the heart here in my chest is quite prepared to bear affliction. I’ve already had so many troubles, and I’ve worked so hard through waves and warfare. Let what’s yet to come be added in with those.”
(Book 5, Johnston)
Circe's a goddess and what happened is nothing like Dionysus and Ariadne and Apollo and Hyacinthus for example. Circe never gave Odysseus a crown of stars and he would never go out of his way to kill 120 people for bothering her. They did not love each other and he can't refuse as she's a goddess.
If you interpret them sleeping together the entire year,(It's only explicitly said that they had sex once so that's what I go with personally.) that doesn't mean he was happy with it! Even then, the whole situation is not what a healthy FwB should look like! I'm asexual and even I know that no one in a FwB situation should have to BEG in any way that basically says "Please let me go or kill me" with supplication!!! The fact that he leaves so quickly he forgets one of his men? The fact that during Elpenor's funeral, he doesn't greet Circe himself? He was avoiding her. Wouldn't he want to get "one last night together" during Book 12 if they were fwb? 🙄
It's bonkers to me that people hate him for being a "cheater" when A.) having multiple lovers wasn't uncommon in Ancient Greece, and B.) the two people he is explicitly said to have "cheated" with, weren't his choice. He wasn't actively searching for pretty women either!!!
As mentioned, while it was common for men to have many lovers, Odysseus never had any listed unlike some of the other men. (not bashing any of them. I'm just making a point in comparison.) He also has no other children besides Telemachus in Homer's works. There's no evidence of him having other lovers other than speculation. (funny enough, I once read somewhere that the reason why Odysseus is so mean is because he doesn't "bond" enough with the other soldiers. 😂)
Does that mean he didn't have other lovers? Technically, Nope! It's just never explicitly stated either way. He has slaves but none were ever said to be concubines or that he sleeps with them. He has deep bonds with his fellow soldiers but that doesn't mean he sleeps with them. That doesn't mean people can't write or talk about him doing so even though it's not mentioned! Just like it also means that someone can write him not doing so as there's nothing that says it either way in Homer's Works! :D
It's fucked up when people say "He didn't try to leave Calypso enough" or something of the like. It just tells you how A.) they didn't read the Odyssey or have piss on the poor reading comprehension or B.) ...you should probably stay away from that person...
With Circe though??? I can understand the confusion but digging deeper and looking at the text, he wasn't having a good time. Or at the very least was walking on Eggshells the whole time. I hate bringing up that essay over and over again but like...I literally wrote everything there.
I also don't like how people take Circe's morally gray-ness away from her. Let her do something fucked up to be fucked up!!! Let her traumatize Odysseus!
Idk, I kind of hate that I'm "known" for this but I relate to this idiot asshole a lot and it means a lot to me that his story, despite what happens to him, has a happy ending :'D
OKAY I WAS NOT EXPECTING PEOPLE TO LIKE MY RESPONSE TO THE REPOST AND I APPRECIATE IT A LOT 😭😭
Now onto what I want to say, it's about what I stated earlier. There is something I would like to address that I noticed a bit after spending some time in the greek mythology whirlpool of wonderful chaos. Although there really aren't that many, I still want to address how there are people out there who seem to get very confused about Odysseus's character and what's what, and then accidentally say things that never actually happened with his character and then it leaves everyone upset and embarrassed which sucks because it's not really anyone's fault, and not many people are actually explaining it all, so that's what I'm going to do here to hopefully save some people from having to go through everything. I hope this doesn't get buried in the Tumblr algorithm as I'm honestly not doing this for likes or praise or any of that, I really just want this to get out there and help others get a better grasp of it all so everyone can enjoy their greek mythology fun in peace and maybe even help others get into the fun as well! ^^
First off I have to state this:
The only canon Odysseus is in Homer's Odyssey and Homer's Iliad, he was the creator of the character and all the characters within both book series. If the one you are reading isn't authored by Homer then it is an iteration therefore it is not canon to the actual story.
Now with that being said, and before I go any further, this doesn't mean you shouldn't read the different iterations or modern takes on the character, I mean why else do you think aus and fanfiction are a thing as well? (And ones created for this story as well because this fanbase is LIVELY) That's basically exactly what this all is except it's about an ancient story. People create different versions, spread different information which is either not what happened in the canon story or completely taken out of context. And these things happen, it's a story all the way back in ancient times, games like telephone are bound to happen and that's okay, no one should be at eachother's throats about it as it's out of people's control and happens with many and I mean many modern shows and stories as well.
But what I do suggest is just applying basic principles to it like we do now, such as:
*If you read an iteration of the story and you mention something from it, make sure you state it's from an iteration so that way people won't get confused with the actual story
*You don't have to read all books of Homer's Odyssey and the Iliad, but when you hear something from it you should do a quick look up about it to make sure you have all the context and that it was from Homer's story and not an iteration.
*Don't assume anything and make a comment about it immediately. I am sure every single person here did the same about something regarding Homer's Odyssey and Iliad at some point, I can almost guarantee it. If not then great for them ^^. But the point is, if you jump to assumptions and misinterpret something then make a claim about it, unfortunately the results don't turn out in your favor. So it's best to do your own research on it first before taking what is said as fact.
Basically just do your own research first before jumping to any conclusions, besides learning more about something can you discover something you may really enjoy that you haven't thought about before! :D
Now, onto the real elephant in the room, which is Odysseus's character. And we are going to be talking about Odysseus's character in Homer's Odyssey and Homer's Iliad and hopefully this helps to clear some things up for those that both aren't looking to get into the whole story and for those who are, so here we go! ^^
"Odysseus cheated on his wife! He committed Adultery!" : This is the biggest one that I have heard, and it is in fact false. Odysseus is unfortunately a major victim of SA both from Circe and Calypso, and while Circe's was more subtle, Calypso's wasn't as she kept him there for seven years. Odysseus was one of the few men in greek mythology who was 100% loyal and faithful to his wife till the very end and beyond. He didn't want any other woman, he wanted Penelope. He fought for Penelope, he loved Penelope and no one else.
"Odysseus committed mass murder and killed a bunch of people!": If you are talking about what happened with the Trojan horse then yes, you are correct, however this is often taken out of context. The truth of the matter is that is just how war is. During the fight they already lost Achilles (basically their version of a superhero) in battle, and Odysseus being the advisor had to weigh out the options between the two which is either continue as is and risk losing more lives or create the horse and not risk as many lives. It was a desperation move, and all of it was thrown onto Odysseus to take charge, but the situation needed to be done or no one would make it back home alive.
"Didn't he literally throw and kill a baby? What's up with that?": Yes but again, taken out of context, Odysseus was given a vision that the baby would grow older and kill a bunch of innocent people, so he had to make the choice whether he should kill the baby or not. Zeus was standing there like "Yeet the baby, Odysseus, yeet the child." And Odysseus, not wanting anyone he cared for to die, killed the child. It was a tough choice that he was faced with, as it would be for anyone in his shoes.
"Wasn't he overconfident and got in trouble a lot? Didn't his pride cause him to reveal his name to the Cyclops? He really must not be a good person." : Yes for the first part but no for the second part, he was overconfident and that would sometimes get him into trouble, like with the Cyclops. He was young, bold, confident, and although said to be one of the wisest men there was (which is true) he too had to grow and mature out of his own hubris. He wasn't perfect, and neither are we, he made mistakes but nothing outlandish that made him bad, it just showed that he was human and had done his own mistakes in life, just like we have.
There are many other things as well, Odysseus killed one of the kings on the Trojan side of war and took his horses but he did that because he knew one of the only ways they could stand a chance in the war is getting those horses. Odysseus's friend Ajax the greater killed himself after Odysseus defeated him for the armor of Achilles, however what happened after that was none of Odysseus's fault, as Athena decided to be the one to drive Ajax the greater mad and it caused him to kill the sheep and then himself afterwards out of shame. Odysseus's even tried pleading for forgiveness from him in the underworld (even though none of it was his fault) but Ajax the greater refused to acknowledge him and walked off. Then you have Palamedes, in Homer's Odyssey he was sent to bring Odysseus to war, so he decided to put Odysseus's infant son in front of his plow which caused Odysseus to swerve out of the way, and Odysseus was then forced to go to war to protect his son which then later caused all of these things to happen throughout both stories. Odysseus didn't take that well and he cleverly placed a forged letter and gold in Palamedes tent and got him framed for treason, and Palamedes was stoned to death (and honestly he had that coming)
Now, does any of this mean I want you to go and do what Odysseus did? No, please for the love of god please don't. What all of this does mean though, is that Odysseus was not a bad person, but instead a good guy put in some of the worse positions and situations possible surrounded by people who spoke with their fists rather than their heart. In fact, despite his "I'm so balling right now" personality causing him to get into trouble, he was one of the kindest, wisest, loyal and empathetic people you could meet back then which was incredibly rare back in those times. He went to literal hell and back for 20 years just to get to his family again, he stuck by his men despite them screwing things up multiple times over, same situation was with Agamemnon and Achilles as well, so he kind up to a fault. He was kind respectful to his people, he didn't care what status you were or where you came from, you were treated with respect and kindness all the same, and that inspired one of his workers to be the same when he invited a certain beggar in his home, and that act of kindness spread through the heart of Ithaca as a whole, but when he left it was all gone. To have that much of an impact on people because of kindness just shows how good of a person he really was. And with happened to Ithaca when he left it, it also showed how much the world did not deserve that kindness, but it certainly needed it.
So in conclusion, yes Odysseus made mistakes, and he was by no means perfect, but he shouldn't be seen as perfect or expected to be perfect. He is a really good guy dealing with getting screwed over by literally everyone around him. He made mistakes, he broke down, he fell at times, but he got back up, never lost his kind heart or his true self, and in the end made it back to his family and got a happy ending. Odysseus was and always will be the embodiment of what it truly means to be a human being going throw the troubles of life, what if feels like to go through it and how it affects certain actions you take, and to stay true to your heart no matter what, and overall to never give up. And I hope those who are out there who hate his character due to misinformation are able to see his character for what he is rather than what others make him out to be.
WOW THAT WAS A LOT OF WORDS, I was not expecting to type that much but I really needed to get this out there. I hope all you greek geeks have a lovely day and night and I'll see you next time! ^^
I gotta take a nap after all of that ^^"
