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sodamnbored · 3 years

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I so badly want a Roman prequel series. More than a Solangelo book. There could be so many great things in it.

Ideally, we’d get a series, basically original PJO but on the Roman side, presumably then following Jason in the same way we originally followed Percy.

But that would just be rehashing what we’ve already seen! Jason’s story would be too similar to Percy’s! - I hear you cry. But bear with me.

Yes: there would be some big similarities - following a son of one of the big three as he grows up and masters his powers and all that. And yes it would also conclude with him fighting a titan. But! I also think they’re different enough that it would read more as parallels than just copy and paste. It could be really interesting.

For one thing: Jason is starting way earlier than Percy. And I am desperate to know about the wolves thing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but all the info we have thus far is pretty vague, no? We know he went to the wolves when he was about two years old. But we don’t really know how long he stayed with them.

There’s the idea that he was raised by wolves (which don’t get me wrong I love that) and only went to the Legion when he was older - for parallels sake say about twelve. But we don’t know that’s the case for sure. He might’ve just spent the more or less normal time period with the wolves, or even if he were there longer than most - a year, two years even - he might’ve toddled off to camp still pretty young.

Cause this is another thing: we know very little about Camp Jupiter. In CHB you see for a fact that there are plenty of young demigods there, talking ten and under. Unless I’m mistaken, we never really heard mention of any little kids in the Legion right? Hazel was what, thirteen, in SoN, which is fairly young, but I don’t think there was any mention of anyone much younger than that. There was the little girl helping Terminus, but she was from New Rome not the Legion. And the Legion isn’t a summer camp of course, that’s a crucial difference.

They are quite literally an army, preparing for war should one ever arise. So do they have a minimum age requirement? Would not be unreasonable to assume they would. We know the majority of Legionaries are legacies from New Rome as opposed to actual half bloods, so it’s not unreasonable to think these kids live normal lives in New Rome until they hit a certain age and get conscripted/have the option to join the Legion for training.

If this is the case, then Jason might not’ve been with the wolves for years at all. He could’ve done his time and then been passed along to the care of New Rome. Set up somewhere to go to school and grow up and have something of a life to prepare him for his future in the Legion. That would be an interesting difference from Percy who had grown up not knowing about his heritage, for Jason to be fully aware of his godly parentage and to grow up knowing he was heading to the Legion as soon as he was old enough. I’m not sure about timings because in The Lost Hero pretty sure he’s fifteen and has twelve lines on his tattoo “for twelve years of service in the Legion” according to the wiki; but the wiki for the tattoos alone says the lines can be for years at Camp Jupiter or for completed quests and such, so it could mean he was toddling about CJ at three years old in mini Legionnaire armour like Caligula (oh the irony), or just that he crammed a crap load of cool stuff into just a few years when he was older.

So the series could quite happily start with him joining the Legion and maybe just summarise his life before that, have the important parts explained as relevant to the plot, I dunno. But it would give us more info on how Camp Jupiter actually works because personally I am clamouring for more info on the Romans.

Presuming that Jason is at least a Probatio by the time he’s about twelve (and it’d be cool to see him earn his full place in the legion too), that also means we’d get to see other people’s stories happening alongside his.

We know he fought the Trojan Sea Monster at some point, so that would be a cool quest to see play out. We don’t know a lot of other things he’s done, but we can assume he’d have been in the Legion when Reyna turned up, which would also be a really interesting story to follow.

We know from tSoM that Reyna and Hylla were on Circe’s island, when Percy was about 12/13, and it seems in SoN that he and Reyna were both around the same age, 16 or so. We know Reyna and Hylla spent some time after tSoM on Blackbeard’s ship before she made it to Camp Jupiter. So somewhere between ages 12-16, she would pop up at camp and I firmly believe she would’ve been Jason’s friend before they both became Praetors. And I would kill to see it. I wanna see them go on a quest together so badly. They would be an awesome team.

But we’d get to see Jason go through the steps, Probatio to Centurion to Praetor. We’d see him improving the Fifth Cohort’s standing in the Legion. We’d see Reyna become Praetor. (We’d ideally see Jason and Octavian gently bitch at each other like with Percy, but that’s just for me.) We’d get to see Jason and Reyna being Praetors together for a bit hopefully. That would be cool. And no doubt the series would conclude with their side of the Titan War, with Krios’ defeat - which would be so cool to see!

Being able to see more of their side of the war would also be really interesting as well. Because surely, there was more to it for them than just that one battle out of nowhere right? They must’ve been aware of the war and enlisted by the gods to help out right? Maybe there were some other titans for them to fight, maybe they had defectors too? Perhaps they were under the impression Kronos was still chopped up in little bits and Krios was running the show, either wanting to take Kronos’ place as the big cheese, or thinking the titans were working to reform Kronos, but they were kept out of Luke’s side of things so they didn’t realise that he already had been? Who knows. Certainly not me, cause we don’t have any books on it.

And there would be opportunities to have almost crossovers. Particularly regarding the war. They might just overhear things that don’t necessarily make sense to them but that we get, stuff like that. See some aftermath from one of Percy’s visits to the area. So many options.

Oh also actually, just for added angst and a different view than Percy’s, there was that freaking tragic bit in HoH I think where Jason thinks about his mother. The part about following orders and rules bothered him, but he insisted on doing so and keeping his promises because his mother had abandoned him and broken her promise. That would be an interesting aspect for the narration and his point of view because it’s the exact opposite of Percy. Percy doesn’t mind pushing the limits with the gods and exploiting loopholes or calling them on their faults, focused on surviving till the end of the day when he can go home to his mother and forget the gods and their stupid rules. Jason, on the other hand, doesn’t have anywhere to go back to. Camp Jupiter and the roles he’s given there are quite literally it for him, so even though he may resent it as much as Percy, he feels the need to bite his tongue and do everything in his power meet expectations and stay in line, etc. And yes, it’s for the benefit of others like he said in HoH, but maybe also the threat that if he makes too much trouble, where else is he gonna go and who else outside the Legion does he have?

Unfortunately we wouldn’t get to see Frank and Hazel come into it as newbies because that would’ve only happened after the war, so unlikely the series would continue after they beat Krios. But it’d still be a good set up to lead back into HoO alongside original PJO.

Also, I wanna know if Jason would’ve been particularly aware of his dad handing him off to Juno, or if she took a back seat until yoinking his memories out his head and dumping him on a dusty bus. I quite like the idea of him knowing, that she wouldn’t have been shy about popping up now and again as his patron, maybe sending him quests, offering occasional assistance like Poseidon did for Percy. Juno cared about her little champion, you can’t tell me different. I’d like to see her drop by from time to time. Or if he just accepted he was Jupiter’s and his dad basically never wanted to talk to him, and was a bit blindsided when Juno popped up after his hit on Krios.

Maybe he was just heading to bed after a long day of Titan slaying, thinking what he’d have for breakfast tomorrow and poof - Juno staring at him in his PJs, doesn’t he feel underdressed. Barely gets out an “um-?” before she’s like “got a quest for you. Surprise!”

(Since we got The Fall Of Jason Grace from Apollo in ToA, this series could be called something silly like The Rise Of Jason Grace to mirror it. I dunno.)

Either way, I need this. We deserve this. I will literally pay like 20$ per book if we could get this.

Wrote this hella sleep deprived and without sources and I’m still in ToA and haven’t read the extra books yet like demigod files and the Probatio one, so anything I’ve missed, had been answered, or is just plain wrong, let me know.

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 12, 2021: Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Part One)

I am so goddamn excited for this one.

Back to Greek mythology, my first mythological love! And not just Greek mythology, because this...THIS...this is the first true Avengers story. Oh, yeah, like The Avengers.

After all, mythology produced the first equivalent of our modern superheroes, with demigods and legends that wield fantastic abilities and powerful items to fight the forces of evil. I mean, it’s the most superhero thing I can think of, and it’s literally a story as old as time. Fact of the matter is, I love superheroes, and I love mythology. Which is why I’m excited to finally see an adaptation of one of the biggest superhero team-up stories ever: Jason and the Argonauts!

See, it all starts with Hera, queen of the Olympians and petty as FUCK.

See, the newly (and wrongfully) ascended king of Iolcus, Pelias, honored the gods after stealing the throne from his brother. Well, all of the gods except Hera. So, Hera, rightfully pissed off, decides to fuck Pelias over by recruiting his nephew, Jason. Jason’s a naturally hot blonde kid who was raised by the centaur Chiron, also making him wise...theoretically.

Hera tests this kid, and he passes, so she gives him her favor, and tells him to fuck up his uncle. Jason arrives in Iolcus, and demands the throne from Pelias. His uncle agrees, IF he can bring back the Golden Fleece, a legendary treasure that is guarded by a vicious monster and a zealous king. Pelias didn’t think Jason had any chance, but Jason had the gods on his side. They sent their best subjects to his aid, and Jason procured an awesome ship, the Argo. So, who’s coming to help? Oh, you ready for this? ARGONAUTS ASSEMBLE

Now there are anywhere between 46-85 heroes that are assembled in the Argonauts, with different members in different iterations of the myth. But the big members are:

Heracles, son of Zeus, with the strength of a thousand men

Orpheus, son of the muse Calliope, and master musician

Calais and Zetes, sons of the North Wind, with the ability to fly upon it

Atalanta, the swift-footed huntress, and only female member

Castor and Pollux, twin half-brothers (yeah, really) and horse-riders

Theseus, son of Poseidon, and slayer of the Minotaur

Tip of the iceberg there, but you get the point: we’ve got a superhero team on our hands! And these heroes would perform MANY great deeds on their journey to the Fleece. They fought the Harpies to defend an oracle, they passed the dangerous Clashing Rocks, they battled the Stymphalian Birds, with feathers of metal. Sirens, fire-breathing bulls, and a giant bronze man named Talos.

Different one. Eventually, they procured the Golden Fleece on the island of Colchis, where they fought a dragon with a help of the young sorceress (and niece of Circe), Medea. She fell in love with Jason, and the two fled the island, married, and had twins. Only for Medea to reveal herself as a stone-cold sociopath, and only for Jason to ditch her for another woman. That goes...VERY badly for Jason. Breaking off his marriage pisses off Hera, THE GODDESS OF MARRIAGE, and he dies sad and alone after Medea does...Medea does a lot, I’ll just leave it at that. Jason, completely fucked at that point, takes a nap at the foot of the now rotting Argo, which collapses on top of him and kills him.

For the record, I truncated that story A LOT. There’s a lot to it, but I have a movie to watch, goddamit! And I’m really excited because this is my first Harryhausen movie! You know, Ray Harryhausen, one of the early greats of practical special effects in film? A specialist in stop-motion from its earliest days, he revolutionizes the art throughout films in the 1950s and 1960s, with this one being one of the most successful. You’ve definitely seen his influence, from stuff that he’s done directly...

...to those inspired by him and his methodology...

...to the arts that were descended indirectly from his groundbreaking effects.

Oh yeah, I’m fucking GOING THERE. Fun fact: Ray Winston Studios, a stop-motion group active during the ‘80s and ‘90s, and a descendant of Harryhausen’s works, were originally going to do the animation for the dinosaurs in this movie, in Claymation. However, the recent advent of advanced animatronics, alongside ILM’s founding, caused them to take some of those principles, and apply them to CGI and animatronics. So, yeah, I’m claiming an indirect connection here!

Anyway, enough being a nerd, LET’S WATCH THE GODDAMN MOVIE! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

As the bombastic and epic score plays, the credits role of a Greek-style fresco, detailing the various adventures of the Argonauts. And before the movie starts, I come to a realization: there is a high chance that I’m going to hate this movie’s inaccuracies to Greek mythology. It’s not impossible. I’m real persnickety about my mythology adaptations, just warning you all now. I’ll probably get into it in this Recap, too. Full goddamn warning.

We begin with a seer, reading the future for the treacherous Pelias (Douglas Witmer). He sees first a Golden Fleece at the end of the world, but Pelias ignores this, and asks of his upcoming conquest of the kingdom of...Thessaly. Not, uh...not Iolcus. Mmmkay.

The seer fortells that Pelias will seize the throne, by force, from his brother and the king of Thessaly...Aristo...not Aeson. OK then. The seer says that he will be successful, but will eventually fall to one of Aristo’s kids, who will take his throne. He has two daughters, Philomena and Briseis, and one son, Jason. Looks like they’re gonna die, too.

The invasion begins! Amongst the chaos, Briseis (Davina Taylor) takes her baby sister, Philomena, into the temple of Hera, and pleads to her for her protection. However, they’re found by Pelias, who asks who she is. He’s interrupted by a priestess of Hera, who claims that the Queen Goddess has answered the girl’s prayer for protection.

Pelias responds in kind.

Well...I’m sure that’s gonna piss off Hera. He claims it to be the will of Zeus, but she states that it is his will, not Zeus’. The gods have abandoned him, and he will one day fall to a one-sandaled man, Jason. And as the woman reveals this...she disappears. Nice. FUCKIN’ NICE.

This “priestess” is Hera (Honor Blackman), of course. She goes to her husband, Zeus (Niall MacGinnis), and asks if he ordered Pelias to destroy and profane her temple. He says no, as that was Pelias’ attempt to stave off his inevitable fall by Jason. However, Jason has escaped Pelias’ wrath, as has his sister Philomena. Hera decided, however, that she wants to take down Pelias, and Jason is the best was for that to happen. Hence, she wishes to sponsor Jason.

However, Zeus, being the classic misogynist, says that he will allow it, but she may only help Jason 5 times, once for each time that the fallen Briseis prayed to her. She agrees, and waits 20 years to start fuckin’ with Pelias. Pelias, meanwhile, is growing more paranoid over the one-sandaled man prophecy that Hera gave him.

One day, on the bank of a river, Hera appears to make Pelias fall off of his horse into the river. He’s saved from drowning by a young man, who loses his sandal in the process. This is, of course, Jason (Todd Armstrong), who was already on his way to see Pelias for some reason.

For the record, this is an adaptation of the original story, in which Hera disguises herself as an old beggar-woman, and Jason proves himself to her by helping her across the river, after which she gives him her favor. To be honest, I like this a bit more, or at least as much.

Pelias brings Jason back to a camp for a celebration, with him as an honored guest. Jason reveals exactly who he is, and that he was raised outside of the city by one of his father’s loyal soldiers. He has come to reclaim his right place as king of Thessaly, and to restore it to it’s rightful glory. However, Pelias hasn’t revealed himself as king, and asks Jason how he plans to accomplish these feats. Jason replies with his ultimate plan: obtain the Golden Fleece.

Here’s the deal about the Golden Fleece. One of the most legendary items in Greek mythology, the fleece is essentially a symbol of royalty, and is the coat of a ram with wings found on the island of Colchis. Now, the meaning of the fleece has long been debated, with the main consensus stating that it’s a symbol of royalty. However, some claim that it’s a symbol of prosperous farming (golden grains of wheat), the forgiveness of the gods for some unknown deed, Zeus in the form of a ram, or simply the promise of the unknown at the edge of the world.

What it DEFINITELY ISN’T is a magical healing garment, as Jason claims it to be. But OK, whatever, we need a good reason to get the Fleece, sure. Pelias, not revealing himself, says that Jason should try to get the Fleece, with a boat and a crew, and bring it back to Thessaly, returning and killing Pelias in order to take the throne. Of course, Pelias thinks that this is impossible, which he says to his son Acastus (Gary Raymond). He also knows that if he kills Jason, he it will mean his own destruction, as Hera told him.

Jason goes to ponder this journey, only to encounter the seer. The seer asks if he has come to pray to the gods, to which Jason states that he doesn’t believe in them, nor does he have cause to. The seer offers to give him that cause, and reveals himself as Hermes (Michael Gwynn), the swift-footed messenger god, god of medicine, and trickster god of the Olympians.

Hermes isn’t usually directly involved in the myths of Jason, but that’s OK. He also does something particularly unusual, and brings Jason TO Olympus to meet the Gods themselves. Which, uh...yeah, hot damn. Zeus and the rest arranged for Hermes to bring Jason to them. They ask how they can help him on his quest. Zeus offers him a ship and crew, but Jason refuses, much to the gall of EVERYBODY.

Hera helps him by telling him where to find the Golden Fleece: the island of Colchis, at the other end of the world. To get there, though, Jason’ll DEFINITELY need a ship. He decides to go to the shipbuilders of Greece, and tell them that great treasure lies on Colchis, and they may receive some for their aid. As for the crew, he’s got a similar tactic. Offer the reward to the athletes and heroes of Greece, who will compete in games to determine their eligibility.

Not from the original myths...but it actually makes a lot of sense. Goddamn, is this going to be a good adaptation? I’m excited! The games are held, and many athletes win their place on the journey. They include: Castor and Pollux (Ferdinando Poggi and John Crawford), Acastus, and of course, Heracles (Nigel Green). And yeah, he’s called Hercules here, but I don’t care.

When Hercules arrives, this grabs the attention of the young Hylas (John Caimey), who arrived to late to compete in the games. He challenges Heracles to something, believing that beating Heracles in something will guarantee him a place on the ship.

While everyone mocks this, Heracles agrees to go up against him in a discus-throwing contest. They must hit or pass a rock in the ocean by throwing their discus. Heracles hits it easily, of course. And the frail Hylas...

...Nice. Did not see that coming, and that’s actually very smart. Also takes a lot of skill, because I could NOT do that. Hylas wins his place in the ship, to the delight of both the crowd and the Olympians. And yes, Hylas actually is a companion of Heracles in the original stories, so that’s neat!

Now for the boat, being built by master builder Argus (Laurence Naismith), who is coming on the ship with them. He notes that something appears to have guided his hand during the ship’s construction. In the original myth, that would be Athena. However, here, it’s probably Hera, as the figurehead is specifically carved in her image. And is also...alive?

Well...to be fair, in many myths, the ship contains wood built from a magical tree that could speak, and see the future. So, OK, magic ship, fair enough. Well, hopefully, that ship’s guidance will happen soon, as the voyage immediately proves difficult. No water, no rest, and frustrated men.

Jason asks the figurehead for help (which would be help #3) and Hera speaks through it to tell Jason to head to the Isle of Bronze, where Hephaestus once had his forge. However, the island is lorded over by a powerful something called Talos. I know what Talos is, but the movie hasn’t revealed him yet.

The Argo makes its way to the island, and the men head ashore to get food and water. They see goats there, which will provide them both food and drink, and Heracles and Hylas chase after them for just that aim. And that’s when they blunder into a giant bronze statuary, lorded over by the statue of Talos.

The two enter a chamber in the statue’s base, which is filled to the brim with gold and treasure. However, Jason warned the men of the Argo not to take anything from the island but food and water. Hylas remembers this, but Heracles doesn’t care, and takes a golden staff from the chamber. And Talos...Talos doesn’t appreciate that.

Oh, that’s a great place to take a break! See you in Part Two!

#Jason and the Argonauts #don chaffey #ray harryhausen #todd armstrong #nancy kovack #honor blackman #gary raymond #laurence naismith #greek mythology #argonauts #argonautica #apollonius rhodius #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #movie recap

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finelythreadedsky · 4 years

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Have you read Madeline Miller's Circe? If so can you share your thoughts from a classics perspective on how it handles her character? I really loved it but I would love to hear your opinion 😊

i wrote a little about it shortly after i read it (summer 2018). i think this response is part of my ongoing frustration with the overwhelming centering of men throughout the entire genre of female-focused myth retellings, which is by no means limited to miller. in general relationships between women of any kind are few and far between in ancient literature, and i believe that correcting for that should be a priority for any retelling that aims to consider itself feminist (side note that i do not think that all retellings that center female perspectives are inherently feminist and i really wish they would stop all calling themselves feminist. sometimes they’re just novels. and novels should have women in them, because that’s just reflective of how the real world is). in circe in particular, miller’s development of the woman at the center of the book came at the cost of every other female character.

overall i did enjoy the book. it was very, very clear throughout that miller knows her stuff and is very well-versed in ancient literature, scholarship, and previous reception, and i was very impressed by how closely her work interacted with her sources— like her description of circe’s unusually undivine voice comes from an particular difficult epithet she has in the odyssey. and i could tell the places she drew from hesiod, hypotheses of the lost parts of the epic cycle, the argonautica, alfred lord tennyson’s ulysses poem, etc. i also saw miller give a talk the following spring and she discussed the role the figures of cybele/magna mater/potnia theron played in her development of circe, which was cool.

i think it does very well as a novel, and especially as a novel that works closely off of ancient sources. as work of classical reception, my feelings are more mixed.

i was disappointed in a bunch of the characterization choices she made (basically i think she and tennyson were wrong about odysseus— this is a guy who just wants to go home and live a quiet life, a guy who loves his wife and is in many ways perfectly fitted with her), but mostly i was kind of annoyed that her project throughout the book seemed to be a concerted effort to diminish circe’s power. why do that? why take a woman who is unusual in the odyssey in her complete control over her realm and all who pass through it and make her, well, human? even from the beginning, miller takes great pains to show us that circe is not powerful and is even kind of pathetic among the gods and nymphs. she diminishes circe’s magical power, her agency, and her control of her own island and even her own body. what is the point of taking someone who is, in the original source material, in the rare position of a woman in absolute control of the world around her, a woman to whom men must bow and beg, and turning her into someone who is so often weak and helpless? there are so many women in mythology and epic who are depicted as weak and helpless. the project of many others who have retold myths from women’s perspectives in the past fifteen years has been to explore that weakness and find strength in it. why search for weakness in strength? ultimately circe, who in the odyssey wields incredible power over men, is at the physical and emotional mercy of the men in her world. and honestly, that’s not the kind of story i want.

i have read a lot of these myth-retellings-from-the-perspectives-of-minor-female-characters. some of them make statements about culture, about storytelling, about patriarchy, about history, about the origins of myths and the lies we tell each other. this one didn’t. and that’s okay! this book was just a novel, and it did a good job at being a novel. but it certainly is not “a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.” and it doesn’t have to be.

i think a lot of my feelings about this have to do with larger trends in the world of 21st century myth-retelling-novels, which is a field miller has been incredibly influential in, second only to margaret atwood with the penelopiad. and my big takeaway right now is that a female voice is not inherently a feminist voice. to truly transform the story, you need to do more than put it into a woman’s mouth. it’s okay if you don’t want to transform the story, your book can just be a good retelling, and i’ve enjoyed many of them. but i do wish everyone would stop talking about how progressive and feminist and revolutionary retellings are when all the author did was go “hey there’s a woman in this story.”

gonna try to make a tag that’s a compilation of my takes on myth retelling novels, so watch this space

#mine #retellings #ask #anonymous #also its like. weirdly cottagecore.#im going to reblog this post with a note on the thing from 2018 #and im also about to reblog a relevant post #Anonymous

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amarauder · 4 years

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Percy is a Boiled Egg (Part One) - Percy Jackson x Reader

004. percy is a boiled egg (part one)

PAIRING; Percy Jackson x Reader

REQUEST; "Are you nervous, love?"/ reader comes along in the son of Neptune quest and they fall in love

GODLY PARENT; Mars (reader is roman, ares in greek)

DATE; May 19th, 2020

WORD COUNT; 6467

WARNING; keep in mind that reader curses using food terms so you're not confused, also, because this is based so much off the book, I already have a disclaimer at the introduction part, but I just feel like it needs another one.

A/N; So, I basically wrote this whole thing in a day? Also, this is only part one because well, I needed to get something out and it's so long already. But I knew this request was going to be long so. It might be two parts, three parts, whatever. Anyway, this is not my best work but I like it. So... Also, I hope I didn't rush Percy's relationship with reader too much, especially considering they actually didn't introduce themselves. But here's the thing, I am probably going to go back and add in the war games part. (it will be in a flashback sort of thing though) I just kind of skipped over it because originally the one shot started after the war games but then I realized that the requester wanted some other things before that. So...

TRAILER; in which reader is forced to tag along on the quest.

REQUESTED BY; becca_unheart

Y/N was more pissed off than worried as she entered Camp Jupiter once again. It had been around two months of merely surviving on a quest, well, actually, two days of trying to complete the quest and the rest was just attempting to survive.

Her and a group of other idiotic demigods, while sprinkling in a few amazons only led to trouble. Y/N should have known that when she accepted the quest to find Jason Grace, but all she found was that the Gods had miraculously decided to stop talking to them, of course, right after their beloved Praetor left. Oh, and the only way she knew how to kill monsters was now apparently not working, despite it have continued on for millennias. But you know priorities.

"Come on, you pork chops," Y/N said as they crossed the Nile River, "I gotta give Renya the run down of the quest, and she's not gonna be happy. So I suggest you shower and get some sleep while you can."

The campers nodded and went their own way, with a chorus of thanks between them.

The walk to the Principa should have been calming, but Y/N was going to meet Renya at the Principa to tell her they had not found Jason Grace which was almost equivalent to a march of death.

But it seemed marching to her death had been too monotonous because when she got there Renya was already there gliding across the floor like an eagle about to grab it's prey. It made her stumble of her panic, she had expected Renya to be out and about, it would give Y/N some time to think about how she could try and make the situation seem better.

Fortunately, Hazel stood in front of Renya, along with a boy who looked around her age. Their time with Reyna would hopefully give her more time to think. It was odd seeing the two together, and Y/N wondered how the boy and Hazel had become acquaintances considering their age difference. Well, what she guessed was their age difference, they were facing Renya and the only thing she could point out was that he had dark hair and was tall. But boys don't usually grow until their late teens.

It wasn't until that Argentum and Aurum nuzzled against her hands did she turn her attention back to Renya.

Renya had never looked so relieved to see Y/N and it wavered her nerves for a second. But then her eyes flickered past Y/N and she saw no Jason Grace, and Y/N saw the corner of Renya's lips dip down again. "Y/N," Renya boomed, interrupting Hazel and causing both the boy and Hazel to look over at her, "It's about time you came home." Y/N opened her mouth to speak but Renya beat her to it, "We will discuss that matter later, as for now, there are more important things to discuss. Hazel take Percy outside, Y/N will join you both to Temple Hill and explain the legion. Good luck with the augury, Percy Jackson. If Octavian lets you live, perhaps we can compare notes... about your past."

Hazel and the boy, Percy Jackson, walked past her. She gave Hazel a smile, and studied Percy. He was rather cute considering his filthiness, he looked exhausted but managed to get out of Renya's wrath without collapsing. Y/N should have been impressed but all she got was an odd feeling about him, as if he was an omen, a quick warning, but she couldn't tell if it was a good one or a bad one.

The second they exited the Principa, Renya collasped in her chair, "No sign of Jason, then?"

"Nothing," Y/N replied after some hesitation, "It doesn't make sense Renya. No clues, no nothing. None of the amazons have seen him, or Lupa. It's almost as if he disappeared in thin air. But the Gods aren't talking to us, and it either has something to do with the monsters not dying or Jason disappearing... maybe even both."

Renya was quiet after her mini speech, but she didn't look shocked as if she had been expecting all of this but didn't want to admit it. Her silence made Y/N nervous. Holy Mars' chicken wings, Camp Jupiter just made her anxious in general.

"I, um," Renya started and then cleared her throat. It was when Y/N took a step closer did she realize that her Praetor had been close to tears. Y/N didn't know what to do, in normal circumstances, she would go up and comfort Renya. But Renya wasn't just anyone, she was her Praetor and she didn't know the guidelines for this protocol. Plus, what was she supposed to say? I'm sorry that Jason disappeared right when you guys were going to become a couple, even though it's illegal and I am not supposed to know that but basically the entire camp knows.

Fortunately, Renya calmed down during Y/N's mini panic attack and picked herself up, "Keep an eye on Percy Jackson, Y/N. There is... He is... I think he has something to do with Jason missing."

Y/N raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. That boy that she just saw has something to do with Jason? What was Renya going on about? "That doesn't make sense."

"He's lost his memory, Y/N."

"And?"

Renya hesitated before breathing out a sigh and gesturing for Y/N to come closer, "I've met him before. Back when I..." she trailed off and gave Y/N a look. Back when she had been working on Circe's Island. "Ya, before I became Praetor, I met him there. He's a Gracceus, Y/N. A son of Poseidon, a son of the big three, just like Jason."

Y/N sat down her heart pounding in her ears as her mind fluttered around thousands and thousands of different possibilities. Was Percy dangerous? Had the Gods sent him here on purpose? What were they trying to pull? Was Jason okay? Where was he? Was there a Greek legion just like them? Were they trying to send them a warning by kidnapping Jason?

"So, you're saying that Percy's Greek and-" Renya startled her by clapping a hand over her mouth, she hadn't even said it that loud!

"You have to be quiet about these things, Y/N. What if Octavian found out? Or worse, Percy."

So, Percy doesn't know he is a Greek demigod, and Renya thinks that is worse than Octavian finding out and killing everyone. Makes sense, obviously.

"Ya, priorities, right?" Y/N scoffed with a roll of her eyes once Renya took her hand off her mouth. "But explain to me what you know, so we are on the same page."

"Percy Jackson is a son of Poseidon and Jason is a son of Jupiter. They are both one of the only known sons of the big three." What about Nico and Hazel, Y/N thought, but just as she was about to open her mouth to ask she closed it. Hades had always been shunned away, maybe his children didn't count? "Percy has no memory but somehow has survived for sixteen years despite the fact that he is a son of Neptune-sorry, Poseidon-and has no markings on his wrist and just recently visited Lupa. What if the Greek demigods never went extinct after the war?"

The idea was so ridiculous that Y/N started to laugh. Her hysterical laughter was more like a panic attack, but Renya just sat her down. "There's no way Renya. No way. The Greeks went extinct after the war, they don't have their own legion. Percy probably just got really lucky and Jason may have gone looking for his sister, ya know? Remember the girl, Thalia, he used to always talk about."

"But Mount Othrys, we wouldn't have been able to take down Kronos' black throne without-"

"No," Y/N snapped at her, realization dawning on her like finding the answer to a previous question on a test after reading a new question. She got up before she would dive head first into Renya's conspiracy theories. "No, there's no way. There can't be."

"Just think about it."

"Why? To stress me out more?"

"No, because what if Jason's there?"

"And if Jason has no memory of us then we are absolutely, positively screwed."

"What? Why?"

"Renya, we do not have the resources right now for a war."

"Who said they would attack us?" Renya snapped back, hurt by her friend disclosing her idea before it had really even started.

"Well, we would. Who's to say they are any different?"

"If Jason was there... I would never, could never," Renya rambled on, her arms wrapping around her stomach. For a few seconds Y/N felt guilty. She knew she would never be able to fight, hell, kill demigods. But she had to nip this bud before it bloomed. False hope never led to anything good.

"I know, but Octavian would." Renya looked up as she said that, and before Renya could mention anything about Y/N running against Octavian for Praetor she left.

"Who's Jason?" she heard Percy ask Hazel before they came into view. It was a nice day, the sun warmed her up nicely and she fought against the urge to just drop down on the grassy area and just sun bathe, maybe forget about life for a while. She probably would have if Jason wasn't brought up.

Y/N and Jason had somewhat gotten along. She respected him and he respected her, but Jason had always been way too serious and had seemed to bring out a sobering part of her that Y/N hadn't even realized she had.

Before Jason had decided to be a little sardine and disappear on everyone, life had been great. She had been working up the ranks and finally had been just about to become apart of the Senate when Jason decided that the fifth cohort needed a different centurion. Jason had left the day after she was appointed the second centurion of the fifth cohort, which according to Jason was an honor but Y/N never believed him.

Besides that, Renya had been her best friend before he left. But now, she didn't know where they stood, not after that fight they had about Jason the day before he left. Y/N really didn't want to become centurion of the fifth cohort, they got the worst weapons, the worst bedding and bathing times. It had been more of an insult than a honor. But Renya had just mindlessly agreed with anything he said, like a lost puppy. It was ridiculous and Renya should have known that, but then he had to go and disappear, and now, Y/N regretted that fight more than ever.

Her and Jason Grace weren't on the best terms at the moment but that didn't stop her from snapping at the boy who was causing even more problems. Why was it always boys?

"No one," Y/N spat and started walking towards Temple Hill without checking to see if they were following.

Instead of cowering away like most of the campers did, all Percy said was, "You remind me of someone."

"Well, if they are anything like me then they must hate you a lot," Y/N growled and threw her hair up in a ponytail. It was knotted and greasy from lack of hygiene, but lack of hygiene had never been one of her top priorities on her quest, on any quest for that matter.

"You remember someone?" Hazel asked, "Who?" Y/N had almost forgotten he had lost his memory. Losing memories isn't common in a demigod life, but concussions were.

"My Mom," Percy said wistfully, then turned to Y/N, "She's not who you remind me of though. I don't know who that is."

Y/N nodded and rolled her eyes, then why did he even mention his Mom, "Have you always had memories of your Mother?"

"Ya, her names Sally and I remember some brief memories of when I was young but that's about it."

"Have you had him checked for a concussion yet, Hazel?" Y/N asked.

"No-"

"Why does it even matter," Percy moped, "I'm going to die thanks to Octavian anyway."

Y/N laughed, "Don't worry about him. Everyone is just stressed, no one is going to die."

"Ya," Hazel added with a teasing smile, "Besides Octavian has a soft spot for Y/N. I think that's why Renya sent her with us."

Y/N had just finished roll call when she saw Hazel skid into line. Fortunately, Dakota hadn't reached the end of his list of names and Hazel had made it just in time to squeak out, "Present!" The younger girl had nectar dripping off her fingertips and she had half a mind to go ask her if everything was okay before Octavian started.

"Colors!" he shouted and the standard-bearers stepped forward. Each drenched in lion-skin and poles with each cohort's emblem. When her cohort presented their own pole, Y/N flinched from embarassment. The stupid eagle was still missing, and Y/N would be damned if entire career at the fifth cohort went by without finding it.

Despite everyone snickering about the eagleless pole, Renya carried on, "Romans!" she called. "You've probably heard about the incursion today. Two gorgons were swept into the river by this newcomer, Percy Jackson. Juno herself guided him here, and proclaimed him as a son of Neptune."

Glancing up at Percy, she found herself shocked at his modesty. He had been led to Camp by a goddess, and not just any goddess, the queen of gods herself. Then, he managed to slash two gorgons, and merely raised his hand and said, "Hi."

Something fishy was going on. She couldn't name one guy who wouldn't flaunt this feat, even Jason had been one to brag about taking down Kronos' throne during dinners.

"He seeks to join the legion," Renya continued. "What do the auguries say?"

"I have read the entrails," Octavian announced, his eyes were locked on her form and Y/N almost stumbled back in surprise. She hadn't been expecting him to be looking straight at her when he said that. Before Y/N could turn to Dakota and see if he had noticed anything odd about that encounter too, even though it probably wouldn't have done any good, Octavian remarked, "The auguries are favorable. He is qualified to serve."

The campers all shouted, "Ave!" One kid in the third court screamed it so loud that Y/N stopped glaring holes into Octavian's head to look at him. Him and his friends had only snickered.

Renya gestured for the centurions to come forward and with a sigh, Y/N took a few steps forward with a roll of her eyes. How was she supposed to take this seriously when she was stuck in the fifth cohort?

It wasn't until Renya had glared at her did Y/N start to pay attention to what was going on.

Percy shifted. "Letters? Um, no."

Octavian smirked and wrinkled his nose. She noticed him glancing at her again and she scoffed, loudly. Octavian did a double take and it seemed that this had gotten the rest of the camper's attentions too because everyone was staring at her.

"Do you have anything to say for the fifth cohort, Y/N?" Octavian asked, his smile widening when everyone started to laugh.

Y/N glanced at Renya. She sighed and then looked at Percy, then sighed again, "I don't mean to interupt, Senior Centurion," Y/N mocked, Octavian's own eyes narrowing. If there was one thing in the world that Octavian wanted, it was to be Praetor. He wasn't yet and Y/N prayed to every God and Goddess there ever was that he would never become one. "But Juno did purposely lead Percy here, and if the Queen of Gods decides to take the time out of her day to bring Percy to us... Then, I mean, what better recommendation could you really want?"

Octavian fumed when murmured agreements were heard throughout the cohorts. Y/N looked at Percy, who was looking back at her with a type of sincerity that made felt her stomach flutter. Her hand subconsciously made it's way to brush back some of her hair that was still wet from the baths, and she noticed her cheek felt warm from under her fingertips. She was just thankful that she couldn't blush. (or, if you can then, She was just hoping that everyone took her embarrassment from all the attention she had received in such a short amount of time.)

"No letters," Octavian said regretfully and Y/N's mouth dropped open, appalled, "Will any legionnaires stand for him?"

"I will!" She heard Frank from behind her, "He saved my life!"

Almost immediately, there were shouts of protest from every cohort. Renya raised her hand for silence and glared daggers at Frank, "Frank Zhang, for the second time today, I remind you that you are on probatio. Your godly parent has not claimed you yet. You're not elgible to stand for another camper until you've earned your first stripe."

But before anyone could open their mouth to stand for Percy, Hazel took over, "What Frank means is that Percy saved both our lives. I am a member of the legion. I will stand for Percy Jackson."

However, other campers started to whisper between themselves again. Hazel was barely eligible. She had only gotten her first stripe a week or two ago, and her 'act of valor' had been more of an accident than anything.

It seemed Renya realized that too because she looked at Y/N for help, and once again Y/N sighed. "I will stand for Perseus Jackson." Y/N said, quietening everyone down to silence. Twice that day Y/N had stood up for Percy, it was enough to make rumors circle around. "I am not only a full member of the legion, but also a centurion. Perseus Jackson will be in good hands, if you do not accept Hazel's then accept mine."

Over the chaos that had ensued after he speech, she thought she heard Percy say, "It's Percy, not Perseus." But Y/N couldn't bring herself to care, especially when they had decided Y/N would be most eligible to stand for him.

Her chest burned as she stared at the idiot in front of her. Dakota and Renya glanced at each other uneasily out of the corner of her eye but she paid them no attention, Mike Kahale was the only thing on her mind. He was rolling his eyes as if no one's lives mattered except for the legions.

"Come on, L/N," he said after no one dared to say anything, "Why don't you calm down? Have some of Dakota's pathetic kool-aid."

"Hey," Dakota remarked looking appalled, "Leave the kool-aid out of this!"

"It's bologna! Octavian obviously killed her!"

"I could do for a bologna cheese sandwich right now," Someone that sounded suspiciously like Percy said behind her.

"Ya," Dakota remarked, "Y/N, your curse words always make me hungry."

Mike took another step towards her as if to try and intimidate Y/N. Her hand trembled beside her as she fought against the urge to punch him in the face. , "Don't make assumptions, L/N. You have no clue what you are talking about."

"Well, it's remarkable that the plium belongs to the first cohort, and Octavian had managed to lose his right before this happened," Y/N hissed as she turned to look at the man himself, "Did you drop it on the floor, or no let me guess. Did one of your stuffed bears hit Gwen with the plium?"

Octavian only stared at her silently, which only fueled her anger. How could he just stand there after he killed another camper? Shaking her head, she turned to Renya who looked to be on the verge of tears.

The sick feeling in her stomach worsened, and she felt as if she was about to throw up and scream at the same time.

She felt Mike brush against her as she walked over to Renya and whispered, "We all know you are upset just because I took your place in the senate and your place as centurion in the first cohort. How does it feel to step down to the fifth cohort, Y/N? I'm sure you are happy. Afterall, you are with your pathetic greek boyfriend."

Y/N froze, how does Mike of all people know about Percy's potential past? Did he overhear Renya? Oh gods, does Octavian know? She is going to die because of her stupid decision to stand for the fish prince.

"Well, are you?"

Just as Y/N was about to tackle Mike to the ground she felt a grip on her hand. It was Percy, who looked just as shocked to be holding her hand as she did. He quickly removed it and rubbed his neck, "Uhh, Gwen, I think that's her name, ya, Gwen is alive."

A flood of relief washed over her. But it didn't make sense, and soon the grief was back just as quick. Percy had to be wrong. She was dead, they had all seen her die. The medic had announced her dead. But all Y/N could manage was a, "What?"

He nodded and Y/N looked over to see Gwen looking as if she had never been dead in the first place. Her mind raced, and suddenly Y/N felt dizzy, as if she had been the one dying. She will be, if what she thinks is true.

"Who are you," Y/N hissed and grabbed his arm bringing him closer, "Who are you really?"

Percy looked completely alarmed by her sudden closeness and he shook his head wildly, "I'd tell you if I knew, honest."

She searched his eyes as if she would find the answers in there, but found none. They looked remarkably like the ocean, probably something to do with being the son of Neptune, or Poseidon, or... either one. Ugh, she was just so confused.

"Alright," Y/N said and took her grip off his arm, then reached for his hand instead to pull him away from the crowd,"I believe you, but I'm not sure everyone else will."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Y/N paused for a second to get her bearings as to where the crowd ended and started, "It means that strange things are happening, Percy. And you seem to be in the middle of it. People are going to want to blame you. You show up with a goddess on your back who talks about a prophecy, defeated gorgons single handedly, and you have no memory what so ever, but still managed to live to sixteen years old without coming to camp. Plus, you are a son of Neptune which is never a good thing."

"Wait, wait," Percy said and stopped her from moving any further. But that meant they had to get very close to talk so no one else would hear. She couldn't really move to face him because of the amount of campers around, so it left Percy muttering in her ear. His breath felt so warm against her neck yet still managed to give her shivers, her hand throbbed from his contact, and she noticed he smelled distinctly of the ocean. It all somehow made her feel very calm and dizzy at the same time.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and it such a strange and unfamiliar feeling yet Y/N managed to feel comfortable the whole time. What was he doing to her? Was it a part of his powers he had inherited from Poseidon?

Y/N didn't think so, she had only felt like this when she was near Venus' children. Only this time it seemed to draw her in more and more until she would lose her train of thought.

When Percy turned to her, she realized he had been speaking the entire time. She turned to face him (the kid that had been blocking her finally moved) but was met by a disgruntled Percy. He was looking far in the distance as if sensing something. Y/N wondered what he was doing, but she didn't have time to think about it.

A thunderous voice rolled across the field: Death loses its hold. This is only the beginning.

Campers drew weapons. Hannibal trumpeted nervously. Renya's pegasus reared, almost throwing her off. Percy's hand squeezed hers tighter, almost like an attempt to ground her, but Y/N barely registered it. The voice angered her more than she could comprehend.

"I know that voice," Percy said. He didn't sound pleased. Y/N couldn't agree more, a visit from her Father was never a enjoyable experience.

An explosion boomed throughout the camp, close enough for Y/N to feel it but far enough to not catch fire. Everyone scrambled backwards as a huge soldier stepped out from the flames.

There stood Mars, weapons and all. Y/N only glared, but he didn't seem to notice her, he never had.

As everyone stepped back, Y/N stepped forward and it was only until she felt Percy's hand yank her back that she realized what she had been doing. Maybe drawing her in was part of being a daughter of Ares. Whatever it was didn't matter because a second later Frank knelt in front of him. Y/N followed suit as many other people had started too.

"That's good," Mars said. "Kneeling is good. it's been a long time since I've visited Camp Jupiter."

Y/N noticed that her hand had slipped from Percy's. It didn't matter too much as they barely knew each other and Y/N felt more embarrassment than anything for holding his hand for that long. What bothered her the most was that Percy remained standing. He was the only one not kneeling. His sword was still in his other hand, and he glared at Mars. Y/N yanked on his shirt as if to try to remind him to kneel next to her.

"You're Ares," Percy said. "What do you want?"

Oh Gods, Y/N thought, of all the times to pick to be Greek he had to choose now? Why, oh why, did Renya choose her to take care of Percy? She was going to get blasted to bits and at the hands of her Father, it really couldn't get any worse.

Y/N wanted to do something, maybe yank Percy down or say something to excuse him, but she didn't know what.

However, instead the god grinned.

"You've got spunk, demigod," he said. "Ares is my Greek form. But to these followers, to the children of Rome, I am Mars-patron of the empire, divine Father of Romulus and Remus."

Y/N wanted to yell out, "You're my Father too! It would do you some good to remember that!" But she didn't.

"We've met," Percy said. "We... we had a fight..."

Y/N wanted to cry. She choose to risk her life to this idiot, who lacked the brains to not only pick a fight with her Father, but tempt fate to do it again?

Instead of picking a fight, Mars, Ares, whatever, scratched his chin, as if trying to recall. "I fight a lot of people. But I assure you-you've never fought me as Mars. If you had, you'd be dead. Now, kneel, as befits a child of Rome, before you test my patience."

Y/N felt herself start to nod and agree with her Father before she remembered that she was in charge of Percy.

"Percy," she whispered, hastily taking hold of his shirt, "please."

Percy glanced at her, then looked back at Ares. He clearly didn't like it, but he knelt next to her.

"Romans, lend me your ears!" He bellowed with a laugh, "I've always wanted to say that. I come from Olympus with a message. Jupiter doesn't like us communicating directly with mortals, especially nowadays, but he has allowed this exception, as you Romans have always been my special people. I'm only permitted to speak for a few minutes so listen up."

He pointed at Gwen. "That one should be dead, yet she's not. The monsters you fight no longer return to Tartarus when they are slain. Thanatos has been chained. The Doors of Death have been forced open and no one is policing them. Gaea allows our enemies to pour forth into the world of morals. Her sons the giants are mustering armies against you-armies that you will not be able to kill. You must find Thanatos and free him from the giants. Only he can reverse the tide."

An unconscious smile made it's way onto her face. A quest? This would be the perfect time for her to show her true potential to the senate and maybe finally, finally join them and achieve her dream.

Mars looked around as if in a trance, and realized everyone was still kneeling. "Oh you can get up now. Any questions?"

Renya got up slowly, "Lord Mars, we are honored."

"Beyond honored," said Octavian. "So far beyond honored-"

"Well?" Mars snapped.

"Well," Renya said, "People will stop dying, therefore Gwen returned?"

"If left unchecked," Mars said with a nod, "even mortals will eventually find it impossible to die. Can you imagine a world in which no one died-ever?"

Octavian raised his hand. "But, ah, mighty all-powerful Lord Mars, if we can't die, isn't that a good thing? If we can stay alive indefinitely-"

Y/N snickered quietly, a world without Octavian was a good one. But then she realized what she had thought, and mentally smacked herself a few times. She would never with death upon anyone, not even Octavian and his creepy staring.

"Don't be foolish, boy!" Mars bellowed. "Endless slaughter with no conclusion? Carnage without any point? Enemies that rise again and again and can never be killed? Is that what you want?"

"You're the god of war," Percy spoke up. "Don't you want endless carnage?"

Y/N's eyes widened and she almost wanted to smack Percy on the back of the head. Again, Y/N waited for the god to strike both of them down, but Mars just grinned like they were two old buddies talking trash.

"Insolent, aren't you? Perhaps I have fought you before. I can understand why I'd want to kill you." Ya, Y/N could understand too. Absolute idiot. "I'm the god of Rome, child. I am the god of military might used for a righteous cause. I protect the legions. I am happy to crush my enemies underfoot, but I don't fight without a reason. I don't want war without end. You will discover this. You will serve me."

"Not likely," Percy said.

Y/N finally found he voice again and scoffed, "Did you not just hear anything he said before the last comment?" Percy turned towards her blankly, "Boys!"

The god laughed, "But you know that it's not just boys, don't you, my daughter?" Y/N's breath hitched. She felt like all the blood in her body had seeped down to her feet. Her Father was talking to her. "I order a quest! You will go north and find Thanatos in the land beyond the gods. You will free him and thwart the plans of the giants. Beware Gaea! Beware her son, the eldest giant! Perhaps if the quest succeeds, and you return by the Feast of Fortuna.. perhaps then your honor will be restored. If you don't succeed, there won't be any camp left to return too. So my advice is: Don't fail."

Percy moved to face her and she felt her hand go along with him before realizing she still had her grip on his shirt. She quickly let go, but Percy didn't seem to notice. He only muttered, "I still don't get what's so great about this feast for tuna."

Y/N burst out laughing and quickly placed her hands over her mouth to stop her giggles. It had been so loud that even Mars turned towards her with a well placed brow but then turned towards Octavian again. "It's feast fortuna, Percy."

"Ya, that's what I said."

"No," Y/N said shaking her head and still laughing, "It's latin for... something. I forget. But the feast is not for tuna, specifically."

"Oh," Percy nodded with a hint of a smile, "That would be cool, though."

"Ya, it would be," Y/N said agreeing, even though she really didn't think having a feast for the worst kind of fish would not be very nice. Actually, catfish would be worse.

Before she could voice her idea about catfish, campers started screaming and she realized that Ares was holding a grenade. Percy pulled Y/N behind him as if she hadn't been trained for this and he was grenade proof.

She stepped around him with a roll of her eyes, Percy smiled sheepishly. Y/N just glared at him.

"There!" Mars finished writing and threw a scroll at Octavian. When did he get a scroll? "A prophecy. You can add it to your books, engrave it on your floor, whatever."

Octavian read the scroll. It seemed he was confused because he looked up at the scroll then to Mars and back again. Y/N wasn't suprised, Mars should have given him a stuffed bear, Octavian seems to understand that more. "This says, 'Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die."

"Yes," Mars said. "Is that not clear?"

"Well, my lord... usually prophecies are unclear. They're wrapped in riddles. They rhyme, and..."

Mars casually popped another grenade off his belt, "Yes?"

"The prophecy is clear!" Octavian announced quickly, "A quest!"

"Good answer. Thought I was gonna have to blast you, which would have been fun, but you like my daughter, so I have to give you that or Venus will- Nevermind." He tapped his chin. "Now, what else? There was something else... Oh, yes."

Octavian turned bright red. He grabbed the scroll, and then turned around only to look at Y/N again. He sure was looking at her a lot, it was creepy.

She had been so confused about Octavian's actions that she had barely noticed Frank finally get claimed by Ares. She smiled, Frank was her brother! He was a good kid, and an even better friend to Hazel. Y/N liked him.

"My kid Frank Zhang is gonna lead the quest to free Thanatos, unless there are any objections?"

Of course, no one said a word, but she saw Hazel look even more worried. "You can take two companions. Those are the rules. One of them needs to be this kid." He pointed at Percy, "He's gonna learn some respect for Mars on this trip, or die trying. As for the second, wait, isn't there one of this dumb rules where the legionnaires who stand for him have to make sure he doesn't die, or something? I don't really remember. Whatever. Who stands for Percy?"

No, Y/N thought. Her legs turned wobbly. A sense of dread settled over her, worse than the day she had arrived at Camp for the very first time.

She knew what was coming, but she couldn't stop it. She stepped forward against her will.

Mars grinned, "Ahh, yes, my daughter. Nice job taking Kronos' throne, kid. I haven't seen that kind of bravery in a while. I remember mocking Jupiter about his son's job paling in comparison to mine. That was my kid, I said to him. Then, he got Senate instead of you. Who's Prateor?"

Renya raised her hand.

"You were there, weren't you? Unless, you were blind, that was an MVP play. You're not blind, are you?"

Renya looked like she was trying to swallow a mouse. "No, Lord Mars."

"Then make sure she gets her place on the Senate. If anyone has earned it, it's her. Not some cheap lousy job in the Fifth Cohort. We can't have Jupiter's stupid son stopping her potential because he's jealous, can we? Especially now that he's gone." he yelled at the legion, in case anyone hadn't heard which was impossible, she was pretty sure the entire world had heard. Y/N wanted to melt into the dirt and just die. He entire body trembled. She wasn't sure whether to be happy that he noticed her or die form embarrassment and mortification, that he was happy Jason was gone, all because of her.

Mars seemed to realize his mistake too late because his image flickered. Lightning cracked across the sky. "Ugh, well, he's pissed. Whatever. Y/N can be the third, or the fourth. I don't care. You can add another companion because Y/N has to be there for the sea slug. Pick whomever you want. Have one of your senate debates. You all are good at those. Until next time, Romans! Do not disappoint me!"

The second he was gone, Y/N felt a overwhelming amount of eyes on her.

"Holy cucumber sandwich."

#percy jackson x reader #percy jackson #amarauder writings #camp jupiter #perseus jackson x reader #percy x reader #perseus x reader

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dvarapala · 4 years

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pjo & co

send me a series & i’ll tell you: @badmusesdoitwell

Favorite character: lou ellen blackstone, definitely. always and forever and always. she has so much potential! so many family members are mentioned throughout the books! lou ellen is a treasure trove that the author never really got into! her brother is one of the strongest children of their mother, if not the strongest and he chose kronos’ side, led his army, and led a lot of his siblings to an early grave. and lou ellen canonically fought for / with the demigod camp! there could be something there! did she hate him? did she renounce him? does she still love him? percy and annabeth canonically met circe! pjo!circe is related to lou ellen! that could’ve been a connection! reyna was one of circe’s attendants! that could’ve been a connection! piper met (and fought) medea! pjo!medea is (distantly) related to lou ellen! that could’ve been a connection too! hazel is literally lou ellen’s mom’s chosen champion! how does lou ellen deal with that?! does hazel know that lou ellen’s mom has children in the greek demigod camp? nico canonically knows her / knows of her (as she, will, cecil and nico himself briefly make up #team onager) but do we know if he ever spoke of her while he visited hazel? nope, we don’t! how did she become a cabin counselor? was she the oldest and did she get the job by default? did the other surviving children of cabin twenty pick her because they thought her to be suited for the job? lou ellen’s gimmick is literally turning people into pigs through pig bombs and she never met circe???!?!!! circe who turned people into animals???!!! circe who would’ve glowed with pride - i assume - because her baby sister favors the same type of magic that she does?!!! i probably shouldn’t have assumed that she’d be in the books more than she was because she’s a minor character but she’s descended from the titans! why does that not mean anything in canon?! her maternal granddad’s ephitet is literally ‘the destroyer’ and you mean to tell me that she doesn’t have some seriously strong powers?! dang if she couldn’t have been the string that ties everything together. dang if she couldn’t have met carter and sadie. and magnus. so much wasted potential. sometimes it makes me sad. scratch ‘sometimes’. it makes me sad. she could’ve been so much more. i’m glad i get to do that for her.

Second favorite character: (castor and) pollux. they’re both children of dionysus and they’re named after the original dioscuri and the author never did anything with them and they didn’t get to meet their half brother, dakota, and i’m mad forever. i’m sorry but they deserved a spin off too. like, i’m sorry but i call bs on the fact that they didn’t get - excuse my language - shit. look i know that pollux was a couple of years older than percy, and i know that he couldn’t have been part of the seven, but wouldn’t it have been glorious if he was? (wouldn’t it have been extra glorious if lou ellen was, too?) wouldn’t it have been absolutely super duper amazing to see him talk to the roman aspect of his father, to show off his vine powers? i know that one of the pegasi called pollux’s father ‘the wine dude’ but that’s so disrespectful because, like, his father is more than just the wine dude and pollux is more than that too. pollux who has the power to cause or cure madness - i assume, because once again, he didn’t get anything in canon except a dead twin, a dead half brother and a nameless mom who we don’t know anything about! pollux who broke his favored hand in battle and said: ‘fuck that, i’ll fight with my other one instead!’ and he would’ve if percy hadn’t made him sit it out as per pollux’s dad’s request. and also alabaster c. torrington, for the reasons outlined above. also: josephine (who is also related to alabaster and lou ellen) and emmie. also: katie gardner and miranda gardiner and sherman yang (i do so ship sherranda and i want to know how / when they got together!) and basically every minor character in that series. i’m sorry, i’m mad again. i’m always gonna be mad.

Least favorite character: idk kronos, i think?

The character I’m most like: malcolm pace. i’m quiet and i like books too.

Favorite pairing: seeing as i’m all about the minor characters, i’m gonna say one (1) thing and that is: pollou. i’ve shipped pollux and lou ellen since 2012 / 2013 and i’m still doing it. i don’t care if they haven’t met in canon. they’re soulmates to me. (also in my head, miranda was lou ellen’s first girlfriend and then they broke up.)

Least favorite pairing: circe / her island going under. medea / death (yes i know she did horrible evil stuff but like. couldn’t she have died after meeting lou ellen? :P)

Favorite moment: every moment lou ellen was in the books.

Rating out of 10: ten out of ten because i grew up on it. however, it’s not perfect and i can readily admit it.

#badmusesdoitwell #ooc.#//omg i'm sorry i wrote so much xD #queue.

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queenofnohr · 4 years

Text

Aeaean Spring Breeze - Ch. 1: Breathe Like it’s Any Other Monday Morning

(Here’s the dreamwidth link for easier reading)

[in My Room]

Circe: Ugh…… For some reason…… Motivation…… Dwindling…... Fou: Fo~u...... Mash: Once again, Circe is slacking off in Master’s bed…… Circe, every time you do this, senpai turns up with “perfect” timing. Circe: It’ll be fiiiiiiiine. This time I’ve set up detection magic, after all~. Mash: I see. But isn’t that a violation of privacy? Circe: Just be cool, be chill. I’m worried about Master, so it can’t be helped.

[you come in]

> No, it can be helped

Circe: Gah!!

*the sound of her falling off the bed* *the sound of her shakily getting up*

Circe: H- Hey, Piglet! How did my detection magic get disabled? …...Medea! This is SO getting old and that girl is getting downright vicious! Always butting in on other peoples’ love lives, this is why I’ll never find a new partner! Fou: Fou, fo~u. (Translation: Like student, like teacher.) Arjuna: ......Circe. We are of different classes and different places of origin, and as such thought it prudent to avoid conflict due to our different values. However— I cannot overlook your actions. Go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done. Circe: Eugh. Who appointed you head of the disciplinary committee? Arjuna: Disciplinary committee……? Perhaps I am. After all, even Osakabehime said that I was like a “white-uniformed disciplinary committee member or student council president as a second pick” Mash: Yeah! You really do have the good sense of a Japanese student! Fou: Fou, fofo~u......! (Translation: Your good sense is a little off, Mash……!) Arjuna: ......No, this is all beside the point. We confirmed the existence of a Micro-Singularity. Circe: Huh. Mash: ! Arjuna: The Chaldea staff are busy with the investigation and analysis of Lostbelts, so they want Mash to be in charge of monitoring it. Mash: Leave it to me. I’m happy to receive orders straight from the student council president himself! Circe: So, where is this Singularity? Arjuna: Right— It’s at Aeaea Island. Circe: ...... ...... What did you just say?

> Aeaea Island Circe: Guh…… Mrr…… Ugh……

> Isn’t that the island where you lived, Circe?

Circe: ...... ...... ...... ......Yeah, it was.

Arjuna: Then I’ll make this briefing quick. The era seems to be the Age of Gods, if not, somewhere close to it. Circe: Ehhhhh…… About that island…… I only have bad memories of it, so…...

> Was it painful?

Circe: ……I feel like I had a bad dream about that island recently.

> Is that so……?

Circe: Uhm...... Errrr......

Jason: Ha. That’s not a reason, you just wanna skip out. And I wanna skip this mission too! Orion: I- I- I also wanna skip out. I mean, Artemis isn’t even gonna be there. And if she’s not there, I’m useless. Arjuna: Putting Jason aside, Orion…… What happened to that goddess? Orion: It was something weird like a meetup for goddesses in a relationship or something. And thanks to that, I’m free. Arjuna: Then that’s even more reason to take you along. After all, it’ll be easier to keep an eye on you if you’re with us. Orion: Why do I get this kind of treatment!? Jason: Sounds right to me. Georgios: It’ll be good for both of you. Circe, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I will be departing for the front. Jason: What? That’s unusual for you, Georgios.

> I meant to ask Chiron, but—

[flashback]

Chiron: If I go, Jason might be nervous. When he tries to show me how much he’s grown, he ends up making mistakes…… that’s the impression I get. I’m terribly sorry to suggest a replacement, but how about Master Georgios? If you bring him along, he’ll surely help balance the party.

[end flashback]

Jason: Huh!? HUH!? What the hell is Chiron on about!? I don’t get nervous at all just because he’s around! I’m the man who journeyed across the sea on the Argo! Orion: I don’t really know what he’s talking about, but you probably will have a lot of screw ups. Arjuna: I agree. To be honest, I can picture it all in my mind. Jason: Since when did you guys get to be such a bunch of know-it-alls!? ……Well, it’s fine. So, what are you gonna do, Circe? It doesn’t matter if you go. It’s a Micro-Singularity, so three Servants should be more than enough. Orion: Including me? Jason: Why would you think you’re included in that number? I’m not gonna rely on the skills of a stuffed animal.

> Orion is pretty calm

Orion: Oho, so you’ve finally zeroed in on my strengths, Master. That is, being able to pull back and look at everything from a bird’s eye view. Fou: Fou...... Circe: Oh…… I— I’m sorry. It’s kinda…… Um…...

> You don’t need to force yourself.

Circe: Thanks. No, wait a second…… Let me think…… Orion: (......Why is this “Great Witch” frozen and twitching in a corner of the bed) Jason: ……We’ll be on our way now. I think we can manage without one or two Great Witches. Circe: Wha!? Jason, isn’t that super rude of you? If you don’t have a Great Witch, won’t you be in trouble? Jason: ……Alright, let’s go! Circe: Agh, wait. I said wait! Let me think on it a little more——

[we Reyshift]

> In the end, she just sorta went with the flow……

Jason: The result was gonna be the same either way. Let’s go, Great Witch. Circe: I have a bad feeling about this. Guh…... Georgios: Mm. Even so, it’s quite picturesque. The color of the Greek sea is beautiful. Then, I’ll take one……

[he snaps a photo]

Orion: I’ve been thinking this for a while, Master Georgios, but where’d you pick up that camera? Georgios: Well, it became my hobby without me realizing it. Perhaps I used the Grail to wish for it in some Holy Grail War. …...I’m joking, of course. Orion: …………You got me! (I have no clue what to say when such a grave guy cracks a joke) Mash: ……Ah, everyone, we’re getting a Servant reading immediately. Jason: A stray Servant? Mash: Yes. It seems to be an unknown Heroic Spirit whose Saint Graph has yet to be registered with Chaldea. Arjuna: We don’t know if they’re friend or foe. Let’s approach with caution for the time being. Orion: …………Not that it matters, but. Why “stray” Servant? Jason: Because calling them “wild” Servants totally changes the meaning. Wild Servants are ones like Atalante, Penthesilea, and other meathead Servants. Mash: Jason, Jason— Those two are currently in the control room, so…… Penthesilea: Hey, Jason. I’ll be sure to give you a “warm” welcome when you get back. Atalante: I think I will as well. Tell me, captain, which do you prefer? Being a target or being a crash dummy? Jason: Mash, tell me who’s in the room with you sooner!! It’s a matter of life and death for me! Arjuna: ……Perhaps it’s better for you to keep your mouth shut? Jason: Shut up, Mr. Logic! I’m the type of person who’s got something to say for everything! Georgios: So you admit you talk too much. Circe: *sighhhhhhh*...... This is a total bummer…...

> You okay?

Circe: Yeah, it’s just mental strain, I’m fine physically. Mash: Are your memories of Aeaea Island that bad? Circe: ……Overall, the memories I have of it are good ones. I have just one bad memory. But you know what they say, right? One rotten apple is all it takes to spoil the barrel…… Jason: Odysseus? Circe: Has anyone else ever told you how insensitive you are!? Jason: They have. Circe: What’s with that attitude!? Orion: I mean, sooner or later it was gonna come up, right? Your legend is super famous. Even you know it, right, Master? Circe: !!

> Of course I know it.

Circe: *grumbles* Well, at least there’s no need to explain. Right, moving on! Jason: Well, the gist of it is she was totally rejected by the guy she fell in love with. Circe: Can you be a little more tactful—!? Is this just what human royalty is like!?

> Not very well……

Circe: Yeah, exactly. It’s nothing you need to know about, Piglet! Orion: Oh, then I’ll explain it. Circe: It’s. Fine. Just. Drop. It. Orion: It was after the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus got on a boat to return home…... Circe: You’re rea~lly doing this, huh. Orion: But he was set adrift. A bunch of other stuff happened, but long story short, he ends up washing up on Aeaea Island. Jason: But the witch who lived there didn’t trust humans, so they got turned into animals. Stuff like pigs and lions and wolves. Orion: Even though they were welcomed in, Odysseus’s men were also transformed into pigs. But she sure apologized quickly when Odysseus got angry and pulled a sword out. Circe: Agh- Geh- Guh…… (She’s writhing) Jason: And then, in exchange for turning his men back to normal, she got Odysseus to stay. ……Now that I think about it, you’re pretty good at doing business…… Circe: You think that’s what’s admirable!? Orion: But, ya’know, from the start Odysseus already had a wife, Penelope. After recuperating his strength on Aeaea Island, he decided to return home. Circe: (She’s starting to get into the depressed loner at PE pose) Jason: And that’s the story of how Circe got rejected! Circe: ーThank you all for your “courteous” explanation. I’m so gonna turn you guys into pigs!!

Orion: ......Huh? Hey, Master, do you think that guy way over there is the Servant? They’re collapsed on the beach. Jason: Oh, maybe they smell bad and that’s why all those Phantasmal Beasts are gathering around.

> W- We have to help them!

Georgios: Indeed. Let’s move out! Circe: Fine, but I’ve still got a number of complaints, so— Jason: Forget about that and help!!

[battle]

Georgios: That should be it. Now then, everyone, if you would be so kind. Everyone: ? Georgios: Smile.

[he snaps a photo]

Jason: I smiled on instinct, but is there a reason why you had to take a picture? Georgios: For the memories, of course. Circe: Well, we should probably get to waking up this Servant, right? Good grief, we really are a bunch of insensitive heroes…… Hey, are you okay? …… …… Hm? Hmmmmm?

> What is it?

Circe: I- It’s nothing. Super, totally not even a thing, ya’know? Jason: I thought the back of their head looked strange, but it’s a helmet, huh? Oi, they might be drowning in there. Why don’t you take off his helmet? Circe: ...... ...... Orion: Georgios, teacherー please helpー. Georgios: Right. And-a-one, and-a-twoー ???: Ug…… Ugh…… W- Where am I……? Jason: Oh, he’s alive. ???: Who are...... you people......?

[Circe is constantly at the side of the frame while we’re talking]

> We’re from Chaldea

???: Chaldea......? Jason: If you don’t know Chaldea, does Jason or Orion ring a bell? ???: ......Those are the names of legendary heroes…… Are you saying you are too? Georgios: I am Georgios. The thing that looks like a bear at first glance is Orion. And the man who’s crossing his arms, slowly backing away, and thinking things like “When I get my chance I’ll turn tail and run”...... That one is Jason. Jason: Why do I get roasted for my introduction!? Georgios: Moving on— Oh? What happened to Circe?

> Huh?

???: ......Circe? Mash: Circe seems to have slipped away. Orion: Just what does she think she’s doing…… Hey, you guys stay here. Master and I will find her. Jason: So she ended up skipping out after all. ???: Circe…… Georgios: She’s the famed Great Witch of Aeaea Island. You’ll meet her in a bit.

Node 2

[at a waterfall]

ーAll at once, I ran away. I don’t understand what’s happening right now. All I knew was that I had to get away from that suffocating atmosphere.

Circe: *pant*…… *pant* *pant*…… So that bad feeling I had was right……

……I thought this day would come. Because he is a hero. A hero among heroes. Of course he would be summoned, the only question is when.

Circe: It probably wouldn’t be a problem if it wasn’t a chance meeting.

Why did it have to be this, of all things? I just had to find him summoned to Aeaea Island. Where it all began.

Circe: What’s gotten into me, running away like that!? I’m not usually this bad. Right now I am first and foremost— Guda’s Servant. …… ……

……If I could just breathe and sort my feelings outー But even as I think this……

[there’s a noise]

Circe: Can everything just be quiet!

> Circe!

Circe: Guh, Master!!

[she starts shifting around]

Circe: *fiddles with her hair* *pulls her own cheeks* *checks her face in a hand mirror* *turns away, then looks back with a smile* Hey hi, what’s up, Piglet! Orion: Stop looking in the mirror and help us fightー!! Circe: You’re just a bear that doesn’t understand a maiden’s heart!!

> Preparing for combat!

[battle]

> Now then, what’s wrong?

Circe: ...... ......Ugh. It’s about that guy we found on the beach.

> Do you know him?

Circe: I do know him. I know him very well. That man’s name is— ......Odysseus. He’s one of the few heroes that survived the Trojan War. The man who devised the Trojan Horse and led the Achaean forces to victory. ……A man who was set adrift for a long, long time on his way back to his beloved wife. ……A man who spent a bit of time with me here, on Aeaea Island.

---

T/L: Only one! The section where Circe is “frozen and twitching at the corner of the bed” is a phrase that I do believe got translated (re: her connection to Penelope in Material Book VI) as “curled up in a fetal position”. I think, perhaps, the description in the Material Book could be translated as that, but that turn of phrase seemed much too severe for Circe in this moment. The feeling here is more like “are you sure you want to think on it” rather than “oh something is seriously wrong here”

Prologue ← → Ch. 2

#fgo #fgo translation #grand order #aeaean spring breeze #my translations #long post

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octaviadblake · 5 years

Text

Ὀδύσσεια + τό ἑκᾰτόν

OR The Odyssey + The 100, an in-depth look at parallels to Homeric canon in season 6, and how the themes and motifs present on Sanctum mirror Odysseus’s 10-year journey back to Ithaca.

DISCLAIMER: I was a Russian Lit major, not a Classics major, so I’m not an expert on this. I did study Ancient Greek and Ancient Greek Drama for 6 and 2 semesters in college, respectively, though, but my expertise is more on The Iliad than The Odyssey so just...cut me some slack lol

If you’re not down for this 2.7k word mini-dissertation, here’s your chance to turn back.

So for those of you who don’t know me, I’m a major Classics nerd. I studied The Iliad in the original in college (and yes, I will be writing a series of metas about how s1-5 are The Iliad so keep an eye out for that), but The Odyssey remains, arguably, Homer’s most prolific epic. I’ve never parsed the text in the original, so I’m not going to be doing any sort of text-to-quote analysis because I think using a translation would be a disservice to the text (major Classics nerd. cannot stress this enough.), but I’m gonna be doing a rundown of all the major stops on Odysseus’s journey and how The 100 has mimicked each and every one of those stops in season 6 thus far.

Still reading? Cool, let’s do this thing.

Some of you may have already read my theory on the anomaly and how I think what lies inside is something like the Island of the Lotus Eaters. If you haven’t read it, you can check it out here, but brief summary: the Lotus Eaters is the first stop Odysseus and his crew make. The Lotus plant is so entrancing that it makes people forget all about their lives outside the island and coerces them to stay there, stuck in a sort of opiate-like blissed out haze of chillness for the rest of their lives, and I think that may be what’s happening in the anomaly, not time travel like others have theorized. Cool, moving on.

The next stop of Odysseus’s journey is the island of Polyphemus, the cyclops who intends to eat him and his men.

(Giulio Romano, Polyphemus)

They manage to escape when Odysseus (using the fake name of “Nobody”) blinds Polyphemus and they hide under the bellies of his sheep in order to avoid detection as they escape his cave.

Let’s think, how does this relate to our heroes? What’s happening right now on the show, going into episode 6x12?

(gif credit: @commander-anya)

Clarke is pretending to be Josephine in order to blindside the Primes and help her people escape.

In The Odyssey, this is a continuation of the theme of “hosting” or “guest-friendship” (a term I’m borrowing from wikipedia since I’ve been out of school for over a year and don’t feel like actually thinking for this pseudo literary analysis). We saw this with the Lotus-Eaters, and we see it again with Polyphemus. But the Cyclops is a bad host. So are the Primes.

Polyphemus’s host gift to Odysseus is that he tells him he’ll eat him last. He won’t spare him, but he’ll give him longer to live than the rest of his men. One of the drawbacks, is that means Odysseus is going to watch all of his people die, one by one, until he meets his demise.

God, how many times have Clarke and Bellamy watched their people suffer? And now the Primes have a way to make nightblood. They’ve turned Echo into a nightblood. Who’s next? Presumably all of them, one by one, until all the Primes are brought back to life. And with Clarke masquerading as Josephine, how many of her people is she going to watch be tortured? How many might she lose in tonight’s episode and in next week’s episode before they manage to beat the Primes and escape? How much have they lost? How much more must they lose?

We also get our first hint of the theme of “cunning over strength” (a term I’m borrowing from SparkNotes because, again, I really don’t feel like putting more effort into this than I already am lmfao) at this point in The Odyssey. Odysseus devises a plan to escape the Cyclops that involves very little violence compared to the blood-soaked battles that we saw in The Iliad. Rather than brute force, he uses his cunning to escape.

Clarke is going in as Josephine. She's not going for brute force. She’s not barging in with an army (that part comes later). This move is pure Clarke, all head. Going with the most cunning plan, not the most direct, not the most violent, the most strategic.

Clarke Griffin is Odysseus.

GODDAMN IM LOVING THIS. I digress.

The next major plot point in The Odyssey is Odysseus running into Aeolus, the god of the winds.

(source unknown by me, but this image is public domain)

He gives Odysseus a bag containing the four cardinal winds which, when opened at the right time, will send him straight home to Ithaca. His men think that the bag secretly contains a treasure that Odysseus is hoarding for himself and they open the bag, releasing the winds, and sending their ship even further off course than before, prolonging their journey.

I stumbled over this one for a second because it could be a few different moments in season 6. Gabriel giving Clarke info on how to take down the Primes? No, where’s the sabotage there? Murphy attempting to help Josephine to get mind drives for him and Emori? No, he ends up doing the right thing and puts them on the right track. Spacekru & friends devising a plan to defeat the Primes and Madi attacking them, sending them off the proverbial course? Hmm, sounds about right.

To make this easier for me, let’s call Bellamy, Echo, Emori, Murphy, Jordan, Miller, and Madi Spacekru 2.0. Well, they’re trying to make their plan to “work with” the Primes so they can get a compound, a home, for them and their people. But Madi is the crew to Spacekru 2.0′s Odysseus. She has her own agenda. She wants the treasure, she wants her revenge.

She attacks the Primes, releases the winds as it were, and all hell breaks loose.

(gif credit: @bellamyblakepositivity)

They’re thrown off course. How will they ever get their compound now? How will they get their home?

[Fun etymology fact break: Homecoming is stylized in The Odyssey as “νόστος” (nostos), when an epic hero returns home via voyage by sea, aka the MAIN theme in this epic. We get the word “nostalgia” from nostos, mixed with άλγος (algos) which means pain. Nostalgia is the pain of yearning for the past or for home. Is nostalgia/homecoming not one of the key themes of The 100? Is it not one of the key themes of The Odyssey? (also you could probably write an analysis of how nostos is a hero returning by sea and the way that space and the sea are often visually/metaphorically compared, the way you navigate both domains in a ship, the way you have an odyssey and a space odyssey....but that’s a discussion for another time)]

Next up on the journey? Aeaea, Circe’s island.

(gif credit: ? if anyone knows, hmu so i can give credit please!)

Circe was a witch who turned men into animals (mainly pigs in The Odyssey, but in another myth, into a woodpecker, which isn’t relevant, I just think it’s funny). Here we get the motif of transformation and false appearances, a continuation of the Nobody plot, and a motif that we also see with the Primes taking over other people’s bodies, constantly transforming their appearances.

While climbing a mountain to reach Circe’s palace, Hermes points Odysseus to a plant which will make him immune to Circe’s transformation magic. Why does this sound familiar......

The neural mesh in Clarke’s head gives her resistance to the mind drive allowing her consciousness to survive the “transformation.”

Like the Island of the Lotus Eaters (and the anomaly) Circe has the ability to manipulate the passage of time, or rather, the perception of the passage of time. Odysseus loses quite a significant amount of time trapped on her island. (It’s not actually 5 years, the mini-series fudged that bit a little since Homer never specifies how long it is, but I’ll forgive you, The Odyssey mini-series, because I love you so very much that I cried when I found you on DVD in a tiny Wal-Mart in the backwoods of Tallahassee two years ago)

We also get another look at the complicated theme of guest-friendship on Circe’s island. She is, quite simply, a terrible host. She traps Odysseus’s men, just like the Primes trap Spacekru 2.0. Odysseus frees them. It’s on Clarke to free her people from the terrible hosts that are the Primes. There’s a joke in there about the Primes bodies being hosts to the mind-drives. Anyway.

Odysseus’s next stop is the land of the dead. He descends into Hades (a very perilous feat) to talk with the blind prophet Tiresias. He also talks to Anticlea, his deceased mother.

My god, if that stop isn’t exactly 6x07 Nevermind.

Clarke talks to Jake Griffin, and tells him she thinks she’s dead, she’s ready to give up, she’s ready to let go. Odysseus tells Anticlea he feels the gods are against him, his journey is fruitless, he’ll never make it home. I don’t think that parallel could be more obvious if it punched you in the face.

I think maybe Monty is Tiresias in this scenario, giving Clarke advice and helping her navigate the mindspace so she can send a message to Bellamy that she’s alive which will give her the advantage of having an ally on her side. Odysseus promises Tiresias he’ll make a sacrifice to him once he gets back into the world of the living bc the dead feast on blood or something like that, but that’s like Clarke promising Monty she’ll do her best to continue to honor his challenge to her to do better. So cool. Love it.

(gif credit: @janemichaels)

Thematically, this mimics the theme of “testing” that’s present in The Odyssey (thank wikipedia again for helping me on this one lmao). You get Odysseus’s men’s loyalty being tested, and you get Odysseus’s identity itself being tested.

Clarke is tested when she is faced with the option of giving up and letting go. Spacekru 2.0 (and particularly Murphy and Emori) are tested when they learn Clarke is gone, then learn she’s alive. Will they be loyal enough to her to save her? Hint: yes, obviously, because Spacekru 2.0 is way better than Odysseus’s crew. Will Clarke decide to push forward and fight for her life? Hint: yeah, duh, because she’s just as badass as Odysseus.

Next comes the sirens.

Odysseus’s ship sails through the isle of the sirens, whose song lures sailors to their deaths. Odysseus makes his men stuff their ears with beeswax so they won’t be tempted by the song, but he ties himself to the mast, wanting to hear it. I kinda struggled with this one, but then I realized, at this point, we’re not looking at Clarke as Odysseus.

We’re looking at Octavia as Odysseus.

Octavia is faced with her greatest fear. She ends up running into the anomaly after Diyoza. If I’m right about the anomaly being sort of the Lotus Eaters, then we could assume that the anomaly holds Octavia’s deepest desires; that might have been what she’d have seen if she’d chosen the green box. She hears the call, and resists. The temptation and the overcoming thereof.

I think that’s clear enough, so I’m gonna skip ahead to the passage between Scylla and Charybdis.

Earlier, Circe had warned Odysseus of this choice he would have to make. Choose the 6-headed monster on the left and lose at best, 6 of his men. Choose the whirlpool on the right, and lose them all.

[Sidenote: how interesting is it that the anomaly is associated with a spiral shape, mimicking that of a whirlpool? Should we believe that if they enter the anomaly it is, in fact, certain death that awaits them? Or is it a metaphoric whirlpool, and they’re just being sucked in, never to return to their original mission of returning home (*cough* Lotus Eaters again *cough*)?]

(gif credit: @aryastarktheshewolf)

So I think this choice is reminiscent of Octavia’s choices of the red box versus the green box. Presumably, face her greatest fears or her deepest desires. She chooses the red box. Better to face her fears and risk dying that way than face her desires (the same green of the anomaly anyone??) and risk getting sucked in like Diyoza was, never to return.

She never saw her deepest desires in the forest (from what we saw) so it makes sense that she would choose the red box. She knows she can escape her fears. Blodreina no more. But if she faces her desires, who’s to say she could ever turn back?

(gif credit: @daeneryskairipa)

Cool cool, so freaking cool, I love these parallels so much, y’all.

Now we get to explore the most Prime-like example of “guest-friendship” in The Odyssey.

Ogygia. Calypso’s island.

[Fun etymology fact break: “Kαλύπτω” (kalupto), the word that lends its root to Calypso’s name, means “to conceal” or “to deceive.” Calypso is “the one who conceals,” she’s “the deceiver.” “Ὠγύγιος” (ogugios), which lends its meaning to Ogygia, means “primeval” or “primal.” The Primes...the first settlers of Sanctum...the ones from the earliest ages (another interpretation of the word). The Primes, the deceivers. The Primes, the primeval ones. Hmmm.]

(screencap from The Odyssey mini-series, 1997. btw, Vanessa Williams will ALWAYS be Calypso in my mind)

Calypso offers Odysseus a home on Ogygia, but he will have to abandon his dream of returning to Ithaca, to his home, to his wife, Penelope, and to his son, Telemachus. She actually prevents him from leaving for seven years (more warped passage of time a la the anomaly), effectively keeping him prisoner. But he wants for nothing there. He is fed and clothed and bathed and sheltered.

Our heroes are offered a home on Sanctum, but it’s not all it appears. It’s not the paradise they’re lead to believe it to be. They’re deceived.

[EDIT: Leah @braveprincess offered an interesting take on Calypso, which I absolutely HAVE to share with y’all:

Anyway, let my rant continue]

In order to stay, they must sacrifice Clarke, Madi too, and well, now, all of their people the Primes want to make into nightbloods. They’re prisoners in Sanctum. They can’t leave, not only because the Primes won’t let them, but because what awaits them is the Children of Gabriel and the mysteries of this new planet. Their best chance at survival is with the Primes. But that also means compromising and losing people they refuse to be without.

Bellamy is Odysseus now. Clarke is his Penelope.

(gif credit: @bellarkedaily)

He won’t negotiate with the Primes. He won’t sacrifice Clarke. Shut up, I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Athena asks Zeus to intervene, so he sends Hermes to tell Calypso she must release Odysseus. Odysseus leaves to continue the next, and last, part of his journey. His return home.

Bellamy leaves Sanctum to save Clarke. Once he has her back, they can continue their final journey, building a home on this new world. Or so we hope.

But who knows? We haven’t seen the finale yet. Maybe they’ll stay on this world. Maybe not.

Some people have been theorizing that they’ll return to Earth (via time travel or whatever it is, which I don’t really buy but whatever), which would be a really nice conclusion to the theme of nostos, but the problem with that is right now, there is no Earth to return to. Nostos only works if there’s a home to go back to. And that home, usually, must be unchanged from when the hero left to fit into the proper meaning of the word.

So, what would be the best way for The 100 to get our heroes back to Earth to fulfill this Odyssey-esque narrative that they (probably unwittingly) have set up?

SEND ‘EM INTO THE ANOMALY!

Let them chill there, enjoy a little bit of paradise, let time pass super fast in the outside world while it passes normally for them, let Earth recover, and send ‘em back. But that bit is more of a pipe dream than anything else and I doubt that’s what they’ll do. I’m not a big fan of most anomaly theories, but I think that could be a cool one. Who knows.

Anyway, that’s all I have for today. Next week post-finale, I’ll probably work through the rest of The Odyssey, with Odysseus’s return to Ithaca, defeating the suitors, and winning his wife back, if all goes to plan with beating the Primes. So if you liked this (admittedly rambling half-cocked mini thesis paper), keep an eye out for that one.

After this season, I’m gonna be doing a series on how seasons 1-5 are actually The Iliad, so if you wanna scream about Classics & The 100 with me, just drop a line in my ask :)

#the 100 meta #meta #the 100 #the100meta #the 100 spoilers #the 100 is homer and you cant convince me otherwise #my transliterated greek is ancient greek pronunciation not modern greek #so dont @ me about that lmao ik upsilons are different in modern #i hope u enjoyed and uhhhh come yell with me about classics

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gamearamamegathons · 5 years

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Dragon Quest VI: Finally, a JRPG With Class

Circe here! When we left off, we had just saved the world. So that's pretty cool, but apparently that's not enough to win a video game anymore. So we venture out into the world to explore. At this point, we're free to sail the sea as we please, but we're still enclosed in a little circular area that limits how far we can travel. Our first destination is to revisit the Shrine of Dhama. The chancellor in Reidock said that he dreamed the shrine was restored when Mudo died. When we go back to the shrine, it's still in ruins, but remember, we can travel to the dream world from here. When we do so, instead of traveling back to the big hole in the ground, we find that a second Shrine of Dhama has reappeared when we defeated Mudo. Apparently he sealed this place away, because...this is where the class system comes into play!

I very much enjoyed the class system when I originally played the DS remake, so I've been looking forward to this. The way classes work is quite different from previous games. Here, you can assign any class you want to a given character, and as they fight battles, they will gain ranks in their class and learn new skills and spells permanently. Mastering different classes will unlock higher-tier classes that are even more powerful. In practice this means that, with a bit of patience, it's possible to teach any character pretty much any ability. For now, though, I make Sen and Hassan soldiers, Muriel and Barbara wizards, and Chamoro a priest.

With that done, I set off to find the plot. The next place I stumble across is a town called Monstros. All the townspeople are talking about the town hero Amos, who recently protected the town from monsters. However, he was bitten in the fight, and has been ill ever since. The townsfolk act very suspiciously and don't want us to stay at the inn, but they relent when Amos invites us to stay. When we sleep at the inn, we are awakened in the night by a loud comotion outside. The innkeeper doesn't let us leave, but we can climb onto the roof and jump off, to find a monster rampaging through the town. We fight the monster, but before we can finish it off, a townsperson intervenes. They say that this monster is really Amos, and sure enough, the monster transforms into an unconscious human form. The townsfolk finally explain that ever since Amos was bitten, he transforms into a monster every night, but they put up with it because he's a hero. He isn't aware of his transformations, and they keep it from him, because if he knew he'd leave the town to protect everyone. Thus, they demand that you keep this a secret from him.

So this is quite a lot. After all this unfolds, you can go talk to Amos if you like. The game gives you the opportunity to tell him what happened. If you say yes, it asks you if you're really sure. Now, at this point I have a bit of a side note about this. When I first played through the DS version of the game, I was thinking about this question from a roleplaying context. Ethically speaking, it seemed to me that it would be wrong to withhold this information from Amos. So I gave it some serious thought, and I decided that yes, I really do want to tell him. At first, he laughs it off as nonsense, and nothing else comes of it. But, even though the game doesn't make it clear, telling him about the transformation makes it impossible to complete this sidequest. Amos will apparently change his mind and believe you, and will disappear from the game permanently. As a bit of game design, this still really bothers me, because it really just seems like a big trap for the player, especially since it deliberately misleads you about whether telling Amos will have any effect.

But, knowing that, I just don't tell him. You're supposed to talk to townsfolk and learn about a cure for the transformation called a Seed of Reasoning, which can be found on a mountain to the east. So, I head off in that direction. The mountain is kind of a tough dungeon, but there's no boss at the end, so it's not too bad. There is a talking plant at the top, which is *not* the Seed of Reasoning. The seed is just lying on the ground nearby. So, er, I have no idea why the talking plant is here. Oh well. We bring the seed back to Amos, and, I guess, crush it and rub it on his face? That seems like a weird thing to do without explaining first, but it works, so that's cool. Now, Amos gains the power to control his transformation, and he joins our party. I dunno how much I'm gonna use him, but he can use his transformation in battle, which is potentially quite powerful.

Time to go wandering some more! To the northeast I find a castle called Arcbolt. On our way in, an adventurer passes by carrying a coffin behind him. Normally this indicates a dead character, but he doesn't seem interested in explaining his situation, so I just go on into the castle. It appears that the kingdom is trying to dig a tunnel to the north, but construction has halted due to a monster attack. The king's soldiers are testing strong warriors to find someone capable of taking the monster on, so that means a series of boss fights. Things go pretty smoothly for me till we get to the captain of the guard Brast, who manages to kill off everyone but Hassan, who pulls off a last second final blow. Kinda loses out a bunch of EXP for everyone else, but at least we pulled that one out. The king is suitably impressed, and he says that he wants us to put the body of the monster in a coffin and bring it back as proof of our success. I guess that explains the other guy's coffin, then. We learn that the other adventurer's name is Terry, and there's only one prize for the person who kills the monster, so we'd better go catch up with him.

After getting my ass kicked pretty hard by Brast, I end up playing this dungeon pretty conservatively in anticipation of a difficult boss fight. But it turns out I needn't have worried so much. When we get to the end of the dungeon we see Terry facing off against an axe-wielding dinosaur, because why not. You might expect that we would join Terry in battle or something, but nope, turns out he kills the monster all by himself. He takes the monster's body and heads off, leaving us with nothing to do but leave.

Back at Arcbolt, we find that, of course, Terry got the prize, a Sword of Thunder, and we get nothing. Everyone in town is singing Terry's praises, as though the game is quite determined to rub it in. More importantly, though, the tunnel is now clear, and we can reach the other side. On the other side of the tunnel there's a few small houses, and a staircase that leads back up to the dream world. Going up the staircase leads us to an island with a town called Calcado, which looks almost like a desert ruin with a handful of people living there. Everyone is talking about a floating island that stops at the western peninsula sometimes, and will take people to a Land of Happiness. Everyone seems quite eager to go, and it seems that nobody who gets on the floating island comes back. Sounds extremely suspicious, so of course we should do this immediately. When we enter the church and chat with the nuns there, it shifts the game to night (serving as a somewhat awkward reminder that the game has dumped the day/night system, I guess) and the floating island appears.

The island has a building on it that seems quite crowded, with staff serving the passengers. We rest there overnight, and when we wake up, a couple monsters are there to lead us away. Turns out that this is as predictably fishy as we expected. The monsters lead us into a temple, in front of a big crowd of monsters. Speaking to them is some sort of griffin-like creature named Jamiras who talks about Mudo's death, and his plans to lead monsterkind in Mudo's stead. Apparently the humans are brought here to be sacrificed, and he kicks things off by attacking us. Luckily, I'm able to pretty comfortably take him on, and once Jamiras is defeated, we free the humans who were captured, and we commandeer the floating island back to Calcado. The villagers have no use for this island boat thing, so they let us keep it. So now it seems we have a means of sailing over the seas in both the real world and the dream world. That's convenient.

As an aside, it strikes me that over time I've spent less of my posts talking about the mechanics of these games, and more about their plots. I was thinking that over, and I think that a big part of it is that, in addition to having more plot, these games are becoming more and more recognizably what we might call "generic JRPGs". Dragon Quest is the base template for what people consider a JRPG to be, and while the early entries were in some ways unusual, the series has become more refined into a more familiar form. Aside from this game's class system, I'm not sure there's anything new to say about it, mechanically. I would be worried about this becoming dull, but don't worry. After this game, we're going to hit a big patch of spinoffs before DQ7, and things are going to change quite a lot. So in the meantime, let's enjoy our time with Dragon Quest 6 before we start to see some radical departures from this formula.

#circe #marathon #dragon quest #dragon quest vi

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metalandmagi · 6 years

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July media madness

Hello and welcome to another exciting episode of How Did I Waste My Life This Month? The self imposed life experiment to see what and how much media I consume in a month. Let’s jump into it!

June media

Movies!

Arrival: 12 mysterious spacecrafts appear around the world, and a renowned linguist is hired by the military to try and communicate with the aliens inside. It is an alien “invasion” movie involving no action or world destruction, and as someone who majored in speech pathology, may I just say holy shit this movie is fucking amazing. I know I’m super late to this party, but if you haven’t seen it please watch it. It’s on Amazon Prime. Go now. 100,000/10

Set it Up: Two overworked assistants to extremely narcissistic employers try to set up their bosses in an effort to get some time off. Naturally, because it’s a romcom, the assistants fall in love along the way. It’s The Parent Trap meets The Devil Wears Prada, and it’s pretty adorable! 7/10

The Incredibles: Pixar’s version of the fantastic four that works better than any actual fantastic four movie. Come on we all know the Incredibles, I just watched it because it’s my favorite Pixar movie and I was hyped for the sequel! 10/10

The Incredibles 2: The sequel we’ve been wanting for FOURTEEN YEARS has finally come to the big screen, and it’s amazing. It has everything I ever wanted: the family fighting crime, Elastagirl being an amazing role model, an adorable baby, more Frozone, jaw dropping animation, more creative superheroes....but somehow I still like the original better. This one just didn’t have the spy feeling that I loved so much in the original, and they family didn’t have a lot of scenes with all of them together. And the fact that it’s so unfriendly to people with epilepsy doesn’t help. But still amazing 9/10

Jaws: I was browsing Amazon Prime videos and realized I had never seen Jaws before...it’s pretty good. There’s a big shark...and government corruption...and good cinematography...and that’s all I have to say. 8/10

Despicable Me 3: Those gosh darned minions are back and- wait there’s actually not as much of them in this movie...have the animation gods finally answered our prayers!? Anyway is there even a plot to this movie? Lucy continues to be the funniest and most interesting character while Gru is off doing...something with a long lost twin brother. I have no real excuse for watching this. 6/10

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rollercoaster of Friendship: The girls have to deal with Equestrian magic at an amusement park where an evil blogger/internet star who inexplicably runs an amusement park gets the power to teleport people...for some reason. These specials have no rhyme or reason to them anymore, but I just can’t get away from this franchise. 6/10

The Last Jedi: Yeah I’m just gonna leave this one here.

Books!

This summer has not been great for my reading life

Circe by Madeline Miller: AKA Local island witch just wants to be left the fuck alone.

If you thought Song of Achilles was a rollercoaster, be prepared to laugh, cry, and throw up while following the story of a woman whose name you heard once during your classic literature class. It is a very slow read, but every page is worth it. Circe is probably my favorite female character of the year so far, Odysseus still deserves his own Madeline Miller version of the Odyssey, Penelope turns out to be a badass bitch to the surprise of no one, and I want my own pet lion. 10 badass Greek women out of 10

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater: A short story taking place shortly after the end of The Raven Cycle series. It is about Opal. She’s an adorable half goat child, and she represents the entire fandom because we too don’t want Adam to leave for college and would happily spend all day spying on our favorite boys making out and taking naps together. And I swear if the Ronan trilogy doesn’t bring up who the hell was snooping around the barns I will personally come to Maggie’s house and shake the answer out of her. 10/10

TV Shows!

Nailed It season 2: Regular people bake insanely professional complicated stuff in hopes of winning money. I just like seeing cool looking baked goods. 8/10

Queer Eye: Makeovers! Okay, all the guys guest starred on Nailed It so naturally I had to watch it for context! 9/10

Glow: A bunch of women in the 1980s star in a tv show about wrestling. Honestly, I don’t even know if I like this show. It’s very well made. But the characters jump between being likeable and unlikeable like they’re in a hopscotch tournament. It’s offensive, but it’s supposed to be offensive on purpose...oh well. ?/10

Dreamworks Dragons: I finally finished all 8 seasons of the How to Train your Dragon tv show! Two seasons from cartoon network, six from Netflix, and holy cow that show is way better than it has any right to be. Now I must patiently wait for the third movie...which had better include a Heather cameo, and a Mala cameo, and a Dagur cameo, and the Wingmaidens. 10/10

Honorable Mentions

Mean Girls the musical: As someone who has never really seen the movie, this was pretty fun. 8/10

Season 2 of Tangled the animated series started. Make that two shows based off of beloved animated movies that are way better than they have any right to be.

JULY STEVEN UNIVERSE BOMB

I finally listened to The Lightning Thief musical soundtrack. I think there’s some sort of contractual obligation for George Salazar to sing incredibly self deprecating depressing solos in every show he’s in.

#media madness #long post #arrival #set it up #the incredibles #jaws #despicable me #the last jedi #the lightning thief musical #mean girls #httyd #glow #queer eye #nailed it #circe #opal #mlp

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mst3kproject · 7 years

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Hercules

Now that we’ve all seen Starcrash, I’m sure we can agree that there was only one question on our minds while we watched it – namely, what would happen if the same group of people got back together and made a Hercules movie?

Well, okay... it was probably more like “what drugs were these people on?” or “what terrible secret did Christopher Plummer have, and who found out about it and blackmailed him into this movie?” or even “who was wearing more eye makeup, Caroline Munro or David Hasslehoff?” but I don’t have answers to any of those questions. I can, however, answer the Hercules one, because that's more or less exactly what we have here: Luigi Cozzi, Golan and Globus, and their insane design team made a Hercules movie, and it's a legitimate fucking masterpiece. If not the Mona Lisa of terrible movies, this is at least the School of Athens. I found the DVD in the ninety-nine cent bin at Zellers back when Zellers was a thing, and it was the best dollar and six pennies I ever spent (pennies were a thing then, too).

The so-called plot is an absurd mess. It's as if one movie starts, then another, then a third, and it's only by complete accident that most of the threads are sort-of-but-not-really tied up by the end. After the most confusing history of the universe you will ever hear, the god Zeus creates Hercules to be a hero among men and sends him to be incarnated as the prince of Thebes. Sadly Zeus' timing is not very good, for shortly thereafter the King and Queen of Thebes are overthrown and murdered by agents of the evil King Minos of Thera, and baby Hercules is saved only by his nanny putting him in a boat to drift downstream and be found and adopted by some childless peasants. So surely this story will be about Hercules discovering his royal heritage and reclaiming the throne, right?

Nope! Our hero's origin story is more or less immediately forgotten. He grows up on the farm, doing useful chores like uprooting stumps and pulling a triple plough, only to be tragically orphaned again. First a bear mauls his adoptive father, and then his mom is killed by a giant robotic fly created by Deadalus, goddess of science, at Minos' behest. Okay, so this movie is going to be about Hercules searching for the killer of his adopted parents and taking revenge for that, right?

Still no! Instead of setting out on a quest for vengeance, Hercules rather more practically goes looking for a job. This brings him to the court of King Augeas, who needs a new bodyguard for his beautiful, be-veiled daughter Cassiopeia. Herc gets himself hired but falls in love with the princess he's supposed to be protecting, whereupon Zeus for some reason strikes them with a lightning bolt. Maybe this is because Cassiopeia is already supposed to marry somebody else, but I can't see that mattering to Zeus of all dieties. The lightning incapacitates the lovers, so Minos and his daughter Adriana kidnap Cassiopeia in order to sacrifice her to the phoenix who lives in their volcano. So the movie's gonna be about Hercules rescuing his true love and taking her home to marry her with her father’s blessing, right?

Well... sort of. We never do see King Augeas again or meet Cassiopeia's original fiance, but after considerable sidetracking Hercules does manage to save her from the Phoenix. In the process he also defeats Minos and Adriana, but I'm not sure whether he has any idea that Minos is the one who killed both sets of his parents. It's apparently important that the Phoenix is now free from Minos and 'its fire can serve the universe', but this comes out of nowhere and I'm not sure what it means. At the end, Hercules and Cassiopeia kiss and then ascend to the stars. Over the course of the story, Hercules did a number of 'heroic' things like separating Europe from Africa, slaying some monsters, and retrieving Circe the Sorceress' amulet from hell, but there's no real sense of him having 'saved the world'.

The ending still kind of works, though, possibly because nothing else in the film makes any sense either. Hercules has shown us a bunch of scenes that don't really fit together into a coherent narrative but kind of look like a movie, so as long as the ending kind of looks like an ending, it's a fitting close.

If you want humour, the major source of giggles in Hercules is the special effects. These are a mix of poorly-chosen and poorly-executed, often both, and sometimes one and then the other in succession. The only effects moment I can think of that looks all right is Hercules pushing Spain and Morocco apart – and it comes only seconds after the utterly ridiculous shot of him growing to enormous size to accomplish the deed! Swordfights are accompanied by flashing lights and laser noises. The miniature robots are atrocious. Hercules beats up the bear that killed his adoptive father and then throws it into space, as represented by a shot of a completely stiff model bear in a crucifix position tumbling head over teakettle into a starfield. I've only got room for one screenshot here, though, so my vote for the worst effect in the entire movie is the moment when Zeus' hand reaches out of a waterfall to catch the boat with baby Hercules in it. It looks like a plasticine octopus. It's so awful, the first time I saw it I nearly pissed myself laughing.

The movie's attempt at mythology is not even worth mentioning. Names appear out of a dozen different stories, many of them in places that have nothing to do with the characters they're supposed to belong to. Cassiopeia, for example, was the mother of Andromeda in the legend of Perseus – she had nothing to do with Hercules. Daedalus was a male human inventor whom Minos imprisoned, not a hermaphrodite deity he worshipped. Circe lived on one of the islands in The Odyssey, and never met Hercules – she doesn't even turn anybody into a pig in this movie. The one thing Circe is known for in popular culture to this day is turning people into pigs! Ducktales knew that, for crying out loud! Why would you put Circe in your movie and not turn anybody into a pig?

There's exactly one place in the movie where it really got its mythology right, and weirdly enough it's something almost everybody gets wrong. The container given to Pandora was a pithos – a clay pot – rather than a box. How did Hercules get that right while screwing up practically everything else? The Italian Wikipedia article for 'Pandora's Box' is titled Vaso di Pandora, even though the illustration on the page shows a box, so it appears the correct translation is common knowledge there. That explains it... and then, having done that right, the movie dives cheerfully back into its totally bullshit creation story about how the planets formed from the pieces of the broken jar!

Does any of this matter? Well, no, not really. The whole movie is so completely divorced from its source material that it's hard to even think of it as Greek mythology. It's more a piece of particularly bizarre heroic fantasy with some mythologically-inspired names. Between the weird sound effects, colourful stars, robotic monsters, and jarring appearance of a literal rainbow bridge, it feels like what you might have got if the early eighties had tried to make a Thor movie.

Is Hercules trying to say anything? Rather shockingly, I think it is. Throughout the film runs a theme of science as being something opposed to the gods. Plenty of movies have tried to take a look at the complicated relationships between science, magic, and religion, but Hercules goes about it in a particularly strange way. After all, this is a world in which the gods actually exist. How can Minos talk about science when he's standing on the moon talking to a divinity, and when his secret weapons are a fiery bird and a magical sword?

I think maybe what this is getting at is that science is how humans become gods, by learning to do things that only the gods ought to be able to do. Either that, or once we have science and technology, humans no longer need gods, either for protection or as an explanation for what's going on around us. If either of these is what was intended, it's pretty muddled... not least by the fact that in the final battle, science loses and the gods, via their champion Hercules, win! What are we supposed to learn from this? Should we put curiosity aside and go back to trusting in deities to make the world work? Or does this dichotomy actually mean anything at all? Maybe somebody just thought it sounded cool, and I'm seeing meaning where none exists.

The only place where I'm confident that somebody was making a point was with the figure of Daedalus, goddess of science – I'm not sure 'goddess' is the right word here, but I don't know what else to call her. Daedalus is played by trans actress Eva Robin's (that's how she spells it), and wears a costume with both a sweetheart neckline and a codpiece to emphasize her nontraditional gender. The gods of Greek mythology were male and female, and susceptible to the passions of lust and jealousy that go with that – Daedalus, as personification of science, is not subject to such irrational emotions. She is male and female, both and neither, in a single body. I'm not sure what this says about Luigi Cozzi's views of trans people, but it does seem to be the only place where anybody thought about the theme very hard.

So yeah, Hercules seriously is all-around terrible in every possible way – and it's one of my favourite movies ever. If I had to pick one movie to watch every day for the rest of my life, Hercules would be on the short list with real movies like Back to the Future, The Martian, and Lilo and Stitch. It misses out on being my favourite Hercules movie only because the Disney version had catchier music. This is not only the Starcrash of Hercules movies, it's also the Space Mutiny, entertaining in its very incompetence, and I love it. Wait'll you see the sequel!

#mst3k #reviews #hercules #episodes that never were #my cheese steak #80s #just fuckin weird #magic voice recommends

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queenofnohr · 4 years

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Aeaean Spring Breeze - Ch. 4: Like Iron, Like Steel

Dreamwidth version here

---

[we begin with a storybook segment]

Once upon a time......

—There was a man who was like iron. He had a strong will and a tenacious spirit. A hero who loved the gods, and was beloved by the gods. A warrior who departed for home after a long, long war.

......He was tired. Tired of war, tired of thinking. Tired of killing. And it was the same for his men. Fighting so much for so long had worn away at their very souls.

Witch: Then it would be better if you became beasts.

……And perhaps it was. Being able to simply live without thinking. It must be very fun to be a beast.

It was only a single man. One man who stubbornly refused such a fate.

Man: —I must return home.

Not, “I want to return home.” “I must return home.” The witch refutes the man’s words.

Witch: Why do you need to return? Everything you want is right here.

Man: It’s not. Penelope isn’t here.

The witch is at a loss for words. Out of everything in this whole wide world. It was for the sake of a single woman. He would risk his life to go home for one single woman.

Witch: —I can’t. I won’t let you go, how could I let you go?

Perhaps it was because he was the first thing she’d ever felt an attachment toward. She wanted this man, wanted to show the world she had him. In some respects, it was the mismatched desire to own him. In that way, the witch was still a witch. ……If she could just be with him. If that wish was granted, she would be okay.

[end storybook segment]

Mash: I’m not picking up on…… anything, in this room. Arjuna: So it seems. No signs, no fire, no ice. Orion: Then should we go ahead? Circe: Hm...... Odysseus, try tossing that stone. Odysseus: Like this?

[he throws it]

Arjuna: …...I’ll amend my previous statement. There isn’t any fire or ice, but there does seem to be invisible beams set up. Odysseus: ......You’re sharp. Circe: The eyes of a Great Witch can’t be fooled. Arjuna: So…… What should we do? Should we go back down the previous path and try to see if there’s another route? Odysseus: That would probably be a futile effort. If we take into account the layout of this labyrinth, even if we follow other branching paths, they’ll likely just lead us back here. Jason: ……Huh, looks like there’s a button on the other side of the room. It’s like it’s screaming “Please push me!” Arjuna: Then, shall I try shooting it? Jason: Wait—

[Arjuna shoots it]

Arjuna: ……There’s something repelling my arrows…... Jason: Can you warn us before doing something like that!? What if it exploded!? Orion: Ya’know, I’ve been thinking this for a while but…… Arjuna kinda acts like an accelerator rather than a brake…… Like, instead of stopping us from acting rashly, he tends to take the lead when it comes to rushing in…… Arjuna: Preposterous. I’m the picture of serenity. In fact, it’s my role to keep the rest of you calm. Orion: It’s pretty scary to have a catalyst with no self-awareness…… Circe: Hm, hmmmmm, how about this……?

[lasers appear after Circe uses her magic]

Circe: Alrighty, now we can see them clearly. Jason: Okay, we can see the laser trap. Then all we have to do is run and press the button, right? If we do that, then we should be able to clear the room. Circe: *sigh* Looks like it can’t be helped. ......’Kay, then you guys wait here a sec. Odysseus: Are you going to be okay? Circe: Huh? What’s with that look? Are you gonna say you’re worried? Odysseus: A little. Considering the traps so far, I doubt the solution would be so simple. Circe: ……Yeah, I think so too. But for now I’ll put up a defensive barrier and give it a go. Now then, let’s go, Master!

> Take ca—

Circe: Huh?

[Circe explodes]

Circe: Gyah!!? Ouch ouch ouch ouch! What the hell was that!? Orion: The second Circe entered the room, it’s like all the lasers entered attack mode and homed in on her…… Circe: Th- This sucks! It broke through my boosted defenses like they were nothing! Even some of my clothes and hair got singed! Odysseus: ......Are you okay? Circe: I’m fine! But what are we supposed to do? We’re not gonna be able to get through like this! ???: Oh my, not with that attitude you won’t.

> That lovely voice…...!

Euryale: Hello, everyone. It is the goddess who both walks with and is clad in with loveliness, poise, and purity— That’s right, it is I, Euryale. Now then, what are your complaints? Odysseus: I have no complaints, but I do have questions. Euryale: Oh, you’re scary. Like a hunter shooting prey. So this is what it means to be a warrior who puts intellect before heroism. And it is because of this that you are a hero of humanity. I wonder how you’re different from savage warriors.

> Why are you doing this?

Euryale: ...... ...... Rather than answering that, I’ll tell you how to get through this room. Jason: (She dodged the question!) Euryale: The trick to this trial is to synchronize your breathing with another. Two of you must step in time and synchronize your breaths as if dancing to avoid the lasers. I wrote down detailed rules. Here, read and memorize them. Circe: Th- This is really complicated. Euryale: It’s complicated, but not impossible. Just believe in your goddess. Orion: ……That’s the least trustworthy phrase in the entire world…... Euryale: What did you just say? Orion: *silence* Odysseus: …...Goddess Euryale. I have a question. Euryale: What is it? Odysseus: Until now, if there was a trick to solving a room, there was also a hint to help solve it…… Why wasn’t there a hint this time? Euryale: No reason in particular. Don’t get carried away, human. Those hints are both the kindness of a goddess and her fickleness. Whether or not I give you a hint is all on a whim. Asterios: Euryale, I found the lost sign! Look, look! Euryale: Ah, wait. I’m broadcasting right now, so don’t come over! ......Anyway. That’s why! Jason: In other words, it’s just a run-of-the-mill mistake on your end. Arjuna: ......Hmmm. In that case, the problem is who Circe will sync her breathing up with. Master is out of the question. We cannot put them in harm’s way. Then, out of those remaining…... Jason: Syncing my breathing with Circe? The Great Witch? With me? ......That’s impossible...... Orion: I’m with Jason. Georgios: Arjuna and I have different places of origin and are from different eras. ……Isn’t Odysseus the best choice for this task? Circe: ......Absolutely not. Georgios: Why? Circe: I don’t really have a reason, but I still don’t wanna. Teaming up with Odysseus for this is totally unreasonable. It’s like the gods are toying with me! Orion: Well, that goes without saying. She admitted herself she does whatever she wants…… Circe: Totally! Jason: Oh my god. Master, say something.

> Circe, even if you don’t want to, it can’t be helped

Jason: Right!? Circe: Ugh...... W-When you put it like that...... It’s not like I’m trying to be unreasonable, damn it.

> Is there anyone besides Odysseus?

Circe: Hmmmm…… First of all, Jason and Orion? Hard pass. Totally out of the question. Jason: What was that!? I didn’t wanna team up with you anyway, but “totally out of the question”!? Orion: Yeah, that’s super whack! Circe: Medea. Jason: Urp. Circe: Artemis. Orion: Oof. Circe: Arjuna and Gerogios…… Hmm, it feels like I’m already out of sync with the two of you…… Georgios: How harsh. But I do agree with you.

Circe: So that leaves…… Hmmm…… Just like before...... It comes down to…… You, I guess…… Odysseus: Seems like it. There’s no need to feel embarrassed, though. We’re dead, after all. Circe: I mean, you’re right, but…… It’s totally more complicated than that! Odysseus: It’s for the sake of getting through the labyrinth. ……You probably have a good reason to hate me. But I’m asking you to please bear with it for just a little bit. Circe: ......That, right there! That’s the exact sort of thing I hate! Do you get it!? Odysseus: It seems like you hate my existence. Circe: ......Ugh. I’m SO glad I put that limiter on my emotions. If I hadn’t, we’d probably have killed each other by now. It feels like this is going nowhere, but whatever. Let’s get this over with, Odysseus. Just follow my lead. Odysseus: Very well. Circe: ……Keep close to me. Odysseus: Like this? Circe: That’s too close, idiot. Move away a bit. ‘Kay, let’s go. Let’s see…… Step here first. Odysseus: .....We were able to avoid it, however narrowly. It’s just as the goddess said. Circe: We’re still going. Left! Right! Center! Crouch! Jump! Stay close and turn! Jason: So breathing in sync was the correct answer after all. Circe: Quiet, peanut gallery! 1, 2, 3...... Turn here! Mash: It’s like a ballroom dance. Circe: This is pretty frantic for a dance! Odysseus: Naturally. If a goddess has something to do with all this nonsense, then of course this laser trap is serious business. Circe: Crouch! Odysseus: Rahhhh! Jason: Ha, ha, ha, seeing Odysseus so frantic is pretty unexpected— ……Oi. Some of my beautiful golden locks burnt off. Wait, this trap is seriously lethal!? Circe: Why else would we be jumping around like our lives depended on it!? Georgios: Be that as it may, it really does look like you’re dancing. Smile, you two. Odysseus: In this situation......!? Circe: As if we can smile like it’s nothing! Crouch now!

[They do smile for Georgios]

Circe: We made it! Switch off! Arjuna: The lasers disappeared. Let’s move.

[something rumbles]

Arjuna: Hm?

[an alarm sounds]

Circe: All of that and we still have to fight!? Odysseus: It’s simply the whims of the goddess. Our move will be to counter-attack.

[battle, and after Odysseus gets some of his memories]

Odysseus: Mm. This is...... Circe: More of your memories? Odysseus: Correct. I’ve regained another portion of my memory. But the question of why I was summoned here still remains. Putting that aside— ......Circe. You’re Circe. Circe: So you’ve finally remembered? That’s right. I’m Circe, the Great Witch of Aeaea Island. Odysseus: Those words are finally sinking in. ......It’s been a while. Circe: Your memory came back, and while it’s an unfortunate feeling, I’m not really shaken up. Fufu. Odysseus: ......Did you use magic again? Circe: Again? Odysseus: You did it a couple times while I was on Aeaea Island. Circe: Huh, really? What did I use it for? Odysseus: ......You don’t remember? Circe: Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. I don’t remember at all. Odysseus: ......To be frank, it might be too much coming from me. Circe: Just tell me! Odysseus: Hahahaha. Forgive me. I was joking. Circe: ...... ......? Odysseus, now that you’re here again, what do you think of me? Odysseus: Let’s see. You’re a proud Great Witch who has acquired all manner of knowledge. ……I’d like for you to break your bad habit of turning people into beasts. Circe: Hmph. I always choose who I turn carefully.

> You do!?

Circe: Gah, Master! Arjuna: If I may speak frankly. ......Circe would change anyone into a pig, regardless of who they were. Georgios: Yes, I think so as well. Do you have any standards? Circe: I do! I have standards. But, I won’t tell you what they are. Odysseus: ……Yeah, I’m aware. I know what your standards are. Circe: !? ......I’ve never told you, though. Odysseus: Indeed, you haven’t. I might also be wrong. Nonetheless, I don’t want to say it, so I’ll keep it a secret. Circe: ......Hmph.

> (Those two have a secret……!)

Mash: (It makes your heart race just a bit, doesn’t it senpai?)

> I don’t want you to turn anyone into a pig……

Circe: ......Oh no, Piglet, it’s my— Policy, I guess? Just a kind of feeling. Jason: You just do it to whoever annoys you enough!

Georgios: Hmm……

[Georgios snaps a photo of Odysseus]

Odysseus: Another photo I presume, Georgios? Georgios: You had a nice expression on. Odysseus: I’ll take that as a compliment. Now then. Let’s go confront the goddess who stole my memories and made this Singularity. Then it’ll be case closed. Hopefully. Circe: ……That’s right. Let’s go! Odysseus: ......Though, I’m hungry. It seems like a stray Servant’s fate is a lack of mana.

> What should we do?

Odysseus: Forming a contract would be the quickest way, but...... Arjuna: I would advise against that.

> Should we form a contract?

Odysseus: ……No, let’s stop that train of thought there.

Odysseus: Although this is a Micro-Singularity, a goddess is involved. You shouldn’t form a contract thoughtlessly with a strange Servant. Arjuna: You think yourself unworthy of our trust? Odysseus: Indeed. Circe: Then, do you want to supply your mana with food? And by that I mean……! Everyone: Kykeon. Circe: That’s right! Jason: Kykeon, huh……? Circe: What’s with that look of disgust? Odysseus: I don’t hate it. On the contrary, it’s quite nostalgic. Circe: Really? If that’s the case, I always have ingredients to make kykeon on me! Jason: What in the world would possess you to do that…… Arjuna: Then let’s take a small break while Circe treats us to kykeon.

---

Ch. 3 ← → Ch. 5

#fgo #fgo translations #fate grand order #grand order #aeaean spring breeze #my translations #long post

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queenofnohr · 4 years

Text

Aeaean Spring Breeze - Ch. 2: Once Upon a Time

Dreamwidth version here.

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[We open with a “storybook” segment.]

Once upon a time... On a certain island, there lived a very powerful witch.

Witch: I can do anything. Healing people, transforming people, making poison, giving advice, dispensing prophecy— there is nothing that is beyond my power.

And it was true. Living all alone on an island didn’t hinder her at all. But, even if it wasn’t a hindrance, it was lonely. In truth, when she walked along the sandy beach, or looked up at all the stars strewn about the night sky, or when she ate her meals, or when she would lie down at night to sleep— she was always faintly longing for another to stay with her.

—However. She was a witch. And as a witch, loneliness shouldn’t exist for her. Those who knew the witch thought as much, and she, herself, thought so as well. It was a small thing, really, but it was enough to bring about a fatal discrepancy.

—Some time passed. A boat came ashore on the witch’s island. The warriors on the ship were finally on their way back home after a long, long war.

Witch: —That man looks like he’s made of iron.

One look, and the witch took a liking to the ship’s captain. So she thought she would do to him what she did to any other warrior.

[Storybook segment over]

Mash: The Great Hero Odysseus! You mean he’s the same Odysseus who’s not only celebrated for his feats in the Trojan War, but also the origin for the very word that encapsulates “adventure”!? Ah, but that would also mean he’s Circe’s— ……Oh, pardon me. Circe: I don’t mind if you say it, Mash. Go ahead and say whatever you were going to!

> So he’s your ex……

Circe: HE’S TOTALLY NOT!! Or, no, would he be considered one? …...No, no, it’s totally different. He’s definitely not my ex. Orion: ……Here’s my interpretation. This smell…… Yes, it’s the stink of a 24 karat, undistilled, 100% romcom. Or something like girls gossiping about the guys they like at a slumber party…… Mash: Girl talk!

> Romcom!!

Circe: Kuwah! (She made a totally weird noise) Orion: Be honest, you! Circe: Well, let’s see…… …… …… ……No, it’s like…… or is it? I give up, I don’t really understand myself. Even though I’m a Great Witch. Orion: In any case, we should return to the others. If you’ve got lingering feelings, bring ‘em up. If you don’t, leave it be. Even separation is important when it comes to romance. Circe: Being lectured on love by a stuffed bear is so humiliating……!! Orion: Kokokokoko. (He’s laughing.) I may look cute, but on the inside I’m a romance veteran!

> It’s because Artemis is far a—

Orion: YOU’RE MISTAKEN!!

> Only because a certain goddess isn’t here……

Orion: Hyohyohyohyo (He’s laughing) Circe: (One of these days, this guy is gonna get slapped for going along with this)

Circe: Well, wait a sec before we head back. I’m gonna give myself a little something so I don’t act out.

> A little something?

Circe: ...... ...... There we go. Orion: What did you do? Circe: I put a little limiter on my emotions. This way, no matter what happens, it’ll be like I’ve reached enlightenment. ……Well, I don’t really know if “reaching enlightenment” is the correct turn of phrase, it’s just the feeling I get!

[back at the beach]

Arjuna: Oh, you’ve returned. What happened? Circe: Well…… this and that. Anyway, about that guy— Arjuna: Speaking of that Servant, I have some deeply disappointing news. Circe: ? ???: It seems I’ve lost my memory. Circe: Your memory......? Georgios: I thoroughly interrogated him, and it doesn’t seem like he’s lying. Orion: Oh, don’t worry, we know his True Name. Arjuna: How? Orion: Circe knew it. His name is Odysseus. It goes without saying he’s a hero from the Trojan War. Arjuna: —I see. Odysseus, huh? If that’s the case, I want to gauge his skill. Circe: Oi, oi, are you really picking a fight? Arjuna: I’m a warrior. Even a small glimpse of his conduct in battle, and I’ll have a good grasp of his skill level. Odysseus: ……So, I’m Odysseus. Georgios: Did hearing your name bring back some memories……? Odysseus: Unfortunately not. It’s like being caught in a maze. Odysseus…… Even if you tell me it’s my name, even if I know it’s my name, I can’t quite comprehend it. Georgios: This is quite the pickle. Circe, do you have any potions that can restore memory? Circe: If I can think I can make it, then I can make it…… ...... ......Ugh. L- Let me troubleshoot a little. I don’t know what’s interfering. Odysseus: Please do. Circe: ...... ...... Circe: There’s residual magic on him. This can’t be treated with a potion. This means— Someone robbed him of his memory. Everyone else: !! Georgios: Then what should we do? I believe that perhaps he has a deeper connection to this Singularity than anticipated. Odysseus: I think you should account for the possibility that I’m the culprit. Jason: In that case, maybe we should tie him up and leave him be.

> Are you able to come with us?

Odysseus: Certainly. By learning that my True Name is Odysseus, the only thing I remembered was how to use my Noble Phantasm. ……It seems that as a Servant, there is some inherent knowledge and records I possess. If it isn’t a problem, I should be able to use that, at least. Arjuna: That’s promising. Then we’ll search for the solution to this Singularity together with Odysseus. Circe: ...... ...... Mash: Circe, are you okay with that? Circe: ……I guess I’m fine with it. Odysseus: Oh, so you’re Circe? Circe: Right on the money, Odysseus. …...Well, I suppose I’ll work with you until your memory comes back. Odysseus: I look forward to working with you. Circe: *being unsociable* Odysseus: ...... ...... Orion: Circe, you’re a little, uh- maybe smile a bit……? Circe: What are you talking about? I’m always like this. Well, let’s go, Master!

> What’s with this strength……!?

Circe: Don’t be rude to a Great Witch!

> Circe?

Circe: It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s go!

Odysseus: ...... ...... What a close Master-Servant pair. That’s nice to see. Orion: (……She’s totally gonna break Guda’s wrist……)

[we’re in the jungle]

Circe: For now, let’s follow the residual magic left on him. Though it’s hard to track with all these Phantasmal Beasts hanging around…… Well, just leave that part to me. Odysseus: I’m counting on you. Circe: Oh, uh, right. Well, let’s give this a go……

> Seems like you're having a hard time……

Circe: Of course I am!!

> Is Odysseus weighing on your mind?

Circe: Can you stop with that tepid look, Piglet!? I think you totally have the wrong idea!

Odysseus: What’s wrong, Circe? Circe: It’s nothing so don’t you dare come over here! Odysseus: ......Okay. Arjuna: ……I have a problem with the way you’re acting right now. Georgios: Even if you’re only joking, aren’t you being a little impolite to someone who was an old acquaintance? Circe: What is this, a combo attack from the righteousness police!? Jason: No, from a third party’s perspective your behavior is totally that of an evil woman persecuting someone who’s already demoralized by having his memories lost. Circe: Yeah right. That guy is iron. He’s a man whose bones, flesh, and nerves are all made of steel. Odysseus: I see. So that’s how you see me…… Certainly, it’s as you say— I’m not hurt. Because I understand you have a reason for acting this way. Jason: He has total faith in you, O Great Witch. Circe: ……How about I toss some cursed pancakes on you for blessing us with your horrid laugh? Jason: I’ll stop. Circe: Hm. Sorry, but can someone take care of the Phantasmal Beasts ahead of us? We could go around them, but it’ll make it even more difficult to track the residual magic. Jason: Hm. Then looks like you’re up, Odysseus. Odysseus: Me? Jason: Show us the hero who could compare to Achilles and Hektor in the Trojan War. Oh, the greatest hero in Greece is Heracles, of course. I won’t concede that fact, but you can compete for second place. Odysseus: Understood. It’s certainly true that I can verify my existence with my behavior in combat. Georgios: If you’re apprehensive, I will follow you into battle. Odysseus: Please do. It’ll be welcome in the unlikely event that I’m defeated. Jason: Isn’t the usual response, “I’ll do it alone”? Odysseus: With how I am right now, even if I had said that, it wouldn’t be from my pride as a Heroic Spirit…… it would simply be arrogance. I don’t intend to solely rely on another, but I won’t refuse help. Now then, Guda. Your orders!

[battle]

Odysseus: ……Right, how was that? Arjuna: There’s a solidness to the way you fight. It’s beyond reproach. Rather than a warrior, the way you fight is like that of a strategist. Odysseus: That seems to be in-line with how I lived. Circe, can you continue tracking now? Circe: ...... ...... Odysseus: Circe? Circe: Oh, er, yeah. That was just the first time I’ve seen you fight. Odysseus: Really? Since we knew each other in the past, I assumed we fought alongside each other. Circe: No, Aeaea Island was peaceful. Jason: Because you turned everyone into beasts? Circe: That’s right! Because I’m a Great Witch! Orion: I feel like that isn’t something to brag about. Circe: By the way, I turned your subordinates into beasts. What do you think about that? Awful, right? Odysseus: No, not really. I don’t think it’s acceptable to make snap judgements about a situation. If I’m going to blame someone, I’d want to have all the facts straight first…… To begin with, I’m just a vestige of who I was when I was alive. I have no intention of continuing to hold the grudges I had when alive, especially over strange circumstances. Circe: ...... ......Hmph!!

[she storms off]

Odysseus: ?

[Odysseus follows; they're separate from the rest of the group]

Mash: Circe?

[with them]

Circe: Sorry, it’s nothing. No, let’s see. I’m blaming you for things you didn’t do. But it really is nothing. Odysseus: ……Because I don’t remember, I wanted to avoid answering. Circe: —Fufu. As expected of the Achaeans’ #1 strategist! Alright! The trail is clear again with those Phantasmal Beasts gone. With this it’s a straight shot! Odysseus: Yes, let’s go!

[they walk away, and a picture is snapped]

Jason: Do those two get along or not…… Arjuna: Are we being underhanded and rocking the boat by butting into their business? By the way, Georgios, what did you take a picture of just now? Georgios: Oh, those two looked quite good on camera so I snapped one unintentionally. Jason: So you’re a battlefield photographer…… Mash: About Circe, do you think that she’s still, you know, toward Odysseus……? Er, I mean, do you think she still loves him? Orion: No idea. You’d probably have to ask her yourself. My guess is she finds it amusing and wants to mess with him. Jason: I agree with Orion. That witch wants to take advantage of his weakness. And wants to use him as a shield in a pinch. Arjuna: Ah, I see. So this is what Lady Medea had to deal with as a wife…… Jason: That’s in the past! Circe is Circe, and I’m me! I won’t comment on anything ‘cause I’d like to continue living, thanks!

[switch to Circe's PoV]

—Even lacking his memories, there’s no change in his personality or the way he acts. It’s infinitely frustrating, but also relieving. Because that means he didn’t change how he acted just for me back then. ……It’s reassuring. Even though it’s me, he treats everyone the same. ……It’s also just a bit frustrating. How complicated a maiden’s heart is.

Odysseus: ……I see something. Circe: That’s…… Odysseus: This is your island. Any idea what it is? Circe: ......Not at all. No, to be specific I know what this building is, but…… Why it’s here…… I haven’t the faintest idea. Odysseus: Hm. ......It seems like this is a matter of great interest. Circe: Piglet, can you come here for a sec—?

> What is it?

Circe: Take a look at this. Jason: The stairs lead underground...... It’s bad, that place is giving me a bad feeling! Arjuna: Circe, what do you think of it? Circe: Well, an underground staircase never existed on Aeaea Island! Georgios: If that’s the case, then this place is a clear discrepancy with the original. Odysseus: In other words, we should go down there. Now then, Guda, what do you want to do?

> We have no choice but to go.

Odysseus: Roger that.

> Any objections to going?

Jason: Yes! I say we abandon this Singularity and go home! Georgios: Ha. Ha. Ha. That’s not a valid answer. Denied. Jason: Tsk. ……Isn't this just an open invitation to an underground labyrinth? This is like saying you need a tiger cub— no one needs a tiger cub, not even a little.

Orion: ......Well, I second that bad feeling. Arjuna: Then I’ll be the scout. Georgios: I’ll join you. Master, Circe, and Odysseus will be in the middle. Jason and Orion will bring up the rear. Jason: Oho, that sounds good. …… …… Orion: Jason, if you desert, you’ll become a wandering ghost. Jason: Don’t read my mind! Odysseus: Then, shall we go? Guda, your orders.

> All units, forward!

Arjuna: Roger that. Go, go, go! ……Why did I do that. Jason: Aren’t you the one who did it!?

> Let’s go—!

Orion: Right!

[he goes, then comes back]

Orion: Are you coming or not!? Everyone Else: Sorry.

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Ch. 1 ← → Ch. 3

#fgo #fate grand order #fgo translations #aeaean spring breeze #my translations #long post

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