Assara Caught A Pretty Fish ❤️❤️

I can definitely perceive that from what I have understood until now, and Achilles being the ultimate comparison is both interesting and amusing in some contexts haha

Definitely right on that hahaha and he does indeed And that's great because it makes Odysseus a relatable character to some degree while still making his talents quite outrageous in a good way! He is, his name says it all hahaha (oh boy I remember you telling me that! Quite the theory! 🤣) exactly the poor guy 😂 I meant too good in his skills rather than attitude but yes definitely that too! 😆

Yes, Caleb has his flaws but when it comes to grey areas Odysseus connects a lot to Diego, because Caleb has a very straightforward moral compass hahaha and that is true as well 😆 I got too used to drawing Caleb in his 30es for the main action of our story (and I'm having more and more fun with the silver locks version too 😆), but even that could be considered a "lad" compared to Odysseus I suppose hahaha especially since he gets to settle down yeah!

They have amazing similarities yes 😂 and I love how it didn't even happened on purpose hahaha

Hahahaha don't you love it when characters in the homeric poems go like;

Agamemnon the warrior and king and Menelaus who has loud war cry we have Ajax who is huge and freaking strong we have Nestor the amazing peace maker and diplomat and so on and so forth and while we have kings and mariners hither thither and finally we get Achilles, the one known being fast, best in war, great with spear and sword and somehow surpassing almost everyone at almost everything (usually war related) and a capable musician...

And then we have Odysseus 😂

Like wits that rival the gods, master mariner, expert with the spear and great archer fast and fierce despite his age, ultimate survivor, master of disguise a diplomat and a speaker, hunter, carpenter and builder schemer and actor master tactician and a freaking goddess magnet

Like...Homer my dude...leave some talents for the rest of the crew will ya??

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Another original character I’m cooking up for a personal project.

His name is Azra.

Zzz

Moss and mushroom appreciation post 🍄🌿

Oh gosh here it is✨✨✨✨✨✨❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭😭

Just by the title, how the guilt and duty (or the sense of it) intertwine already hints and this absolute journey (and quite literally so) that this will be!! And what a ride girl this is both intense and so very inspiring 👀👀✨ it's so great to see how you put in motion all the explanations and perspectives you have given me about these epic tales!!

Oh man and it starts immediately with this poor guy struggling! I can only imagine how the hunger must be almost numbing to his body at this point... And all his efforts of enduring it only to find it was all in vain a mere moments later, for his companions just couldn't endure it themselves!! Oh man and the way you made him think his senses were messing with his head when he smelled cooked meat and then absolute panic, almost like the shock gave him sudden energy to rush there!!

And he begs and prays and curses even his sleep until his eyes land on what he mostly feared! Oh boy! And this definitely hits him even harder for the fact that he had lost the majority of his people in the last few years, now he must watch the rest doom themselves as they eat the forbidden animals!! This shows so well how human they are tho! How cruel their situation is, forced to remain without food dying slowly from it yet having such a temptation of the animals right close to them!

I love the way you wrote Odysseus' panic, the fact that internally he cannot blame his men, he knows any mortal would break in such a situation, yet he cannot contain his frustration either for he knows this action was their complete doom, and the gate possibly closing on them ever returning home! The detail of your description of the cows standing there almost mocking them gives a good idea of the cruel test, which seems like it was designed to fail, almost for the Gods to have the excuse that they needed!

Oh gosh I can almost hear his yells of desperation and frustration to his comrades! And such a human reaction of Eurylochus to get defensive and angry like that, it shows how men can simply break under such pressure, and that on pure survival mode you will take any risk and any chance you get to survive even if the only way out also leads to destruction... Plus after all these years, after all this suffering and now this agonizing hunger... his nerves and rage just surface even over common sense!

But of course the same can be said for Odysseus who also endured... who also suffered... for all in the hopes to save his men and see his family again only to watch it all go down the drain... That slap was deep! Your description of it even made me put my hand on my cheek hahaha damn!! Oh man and the way you describe him in the verge of tears from the sheer rage of it all, but also the grief of their eminent danger as he reminds them how a failed test from the Gods is a death sentence and even so much worse than that!

Oh man the way you wrote Eurylochus spitting that accusation to Odysseus now, like bitter poison accumulated! That it was his fault that all of this happened! I really like how you made Odysseus punch him even harder out of the sting of that accusation and even raise him by the shirt while the others can't stop him, but as he screams back how an ungrateful bastard he is and how much he has done for them he suddenly stops and internally his guilt starts to consume him and he ends up agreeing with Eurylochus...

Oh man and he thinks of all the actions that came back to bite him, with the cyclops and Poseidon and more... and not only doom him but all his people as well 😢😢 the war and the years that lead to it already left such a bleeding wound on his heart, but the fact that he had more than 600 men by his side up until and after that dreadful war, only to lose nearly all of them in what he tough would be his last voyage home is just too much... Oh gosh the way his absolute rage gives place to numbness and his body becoming weak and his eyes gosh... It's somehow so much sadder than his boiling grief, like the fight died in him and his spirit (and gosh he's about to enter such a worse situation than the one with Circe that he mentioned 😭)... And suddenly his guilt makes him want to try his best to save them once more! You gave such an awesome tornado of emotions in just one moment!!

I love how his hair covers his eyes and their darkness and how he just commands his men with all this storm inside his soul. And how he's desperate to find a way to make a sacrifice to save his people from the Gods... Man Eurylochus throws that as the sharpest of knives, using the title he probably used to say with respect, and now throw as an insult to Odysseus (while mocking him!!) and after he was so guilty to look at them anymore!

Man this description is truly sad... The way a person hardens and changes and how Odysseus witnesses that slowly and painfully happens to his friend, a heart becoming stone... And once again I love their tension even tho Odysseus understands it all he simply can't take it and it disturbs him so... And man once again how very human, Odysseus can't contain himself at the food anymore especially since the animals are dead anyway... Plus he knows there's no way to survive without food now that the gods surely will not allow them to have anything... This is so painful, the despair is real!

Yet I also love how Odysseus still curses him saying that he better forget what happened here or hell kill him hahaha that's somehow so funny even in the middle of the tragic situation 😆

Oh man and here they go... And of course the situation does not allow them to stay close to shore they must head out to the absolute danger and hope for the best, tho unfortunately all the hope was not enough 😢 Gosh this is definitely so unnerving! Knowing that without a doubt there must be consequences for the actions of eating the sacred animals yet nothing is happening for days, like a cat letting the mouse think it might be safe before it pounces!! Man I can so imagine Odysseus nerves breaking like that, and the fact that he too ate the meat just doesn't help! And man him not speaking while waiting for something to happen while his men are nervous all around him! And gosh a week has passed and Eurylochus is still suffering from that slap with a swollen cheek 🤣

It's touching to see Polites still on Odysseus side despite it all, and how he's balancing it out with Eurylochus anger. It's like reading the personifications of empathy and anger having a conversation hehe oh boy his come back of "He's not God for me to perfect blasphemy"!

The Aiolus sack contained the winds right? And they were driven backwards... What was the seclusion on the hole? Sorry still learning hahaha oh but I remember Skylla and how her heads would eat the men, but Odysseus never told them as to not discourage them, and perhaps in an attempt to save them as well! I love how everyone has their points here, yes Odysseus did it to spare them but yes Eurylochus has the right to be upset at their eminent danger being hidden from them, even if he's being extremely harsh as well... I love how complex this situation is and how everyone has a hand in it, both Odysseus and his men and yet in their frustration they clash. But I love how Polites manages to soften him up slowly and to reflect on his thoughts... In the end they are all just tired men wishing to return to their families which makes the next events all the more heartbreaking... This is their last conversation like this...

And of course it's understandable that the men are pouring their frustration onto Odysseus especially after he ended up provoking a God (tho ironically they did the same with the animals they killed, even if it was a dire situation), and it's touching that Polites acknowledges the mistakes yet he also acknowledges all that Odysseus did for them (oh man saved from being Circe's pig is definitely a big one hahaha) ... And how the silence makes him more eager to approach him to help... And gosh Odysseus reaction too is chilling... But man so it is the silence of the surroundings and a red flag to what is about to happen! Especially as Odysseus shushes him to observe everything better...

Oh man Polites is about to get his answer to that "Have we ruined everything?" The Gods themselves seem to have heard the question and are about to answer!! 😨

Gosh Odysseus realization!! You really made us accompany their dread so well with your writing and how wrong everything is in this instance... After days their judgement is finally coming... And the fact that Odysseus himself is so terrified really adds to the dread!!

And now I can see how you perfectly took reference from that Pocahontas scene and translated the moments into this story! Gosh how they thought Odysseus might be crazy right before hell just breaks loose... And Zeus thunder coming along with Poseidon's waves!! Man poor guy instantly begins to pray and you really made me picture the terrifying immense dark storm so well!

Gosh the sails being torn like that as the men tried so hard to secure them and Odysseus trying to guide them like a flock of terrified sheep following their guardian... The poor men rowing while their sails get destroyed only for the rows to be broken as well and the poor ship breaking like a toy in the Gods' hands oh man that description! Like I said before 2 Gods against this ship is just such an overkill! The hopelessness of these men against them... The way even Odysseus screams for the damage to be fixed even if he knows that it's hopeless and impossible at this point... And the way he can only pray and watch everything crumble around him, how raw your dialogs and descriptions are!

Oh man and here is the scene of the mast 😱 you captured this moment so well the suspense of the giant object falling, the way the pilot is crushed in such a gruesome manner and the splatter of the blood of his bones and head... 😨 Oh man and the panic that comes right after of the men running not even listening to Odysseus anymore... And the scene of Odysseus running to grab the bloodied broken stern, how chillingly realistic the way you described the blood staining him, and how he hurts himself with the effort, and the splinters of the wood... The way he begs "not again" is so heartbreaking 😢

And it seems as if all hope was broken at the same time that the steer broke on Odysseus hands!! Even if he's still screaming for his poor comrades to hold on... Oh man and here comes the end!! The way you wrote the thunderbolt striking is so scary!! The way he shields his ears and screams because the sound is painful and the light is blinding... And the remains of the ship both sinking and in flames is another level of hell... And Poseidon's giant wave appear to finish the job claiming his comrades and friends taking them away to the seas in a screaming mess 😢

Man and here is the part where Odysseus fashioned his raft (or anything close to a raft he could build in such conditions) it's still crazy how he manages to gather the pieces so quickly as even his survival mode is both glowing and faltering with his companions taken... And once again your writing surely described well this moment I could picture it all, as he searches throughout the ship desperate for the materials... And the poor guy is still praying for them!! It's too heartbreaking how he prays to be allowed to save at least just one of them and take him home 😭😭

And he rows to their direction with his bare hands after the ship goes down, but of course he can't find them nor does he get any answers as he screams for them 😭😭 I can fully picture those terrifying mountain waves...

Man the way he screams then falters once he realizes he's all alone, everyone else dead... And then him screaming he was the one who should have died in their place... Man the raw emotions, how he flows through them through your writing and dialogs 😭😭 his heartbroken mind going back to the moment he left with all those six hundred men saying he would do anything for them to return safe... and now he lost them all...yet he remains...

Man his survival guilt and more really is hitting him hard now... He still can't believe it and he's still praying and screaming 😢😢 you wrote his grief so well in the middle of this storm all alone, screaming and crying at the seas for them 😭

Oh man and this man trully can't have peace... So exhausted right after this nightmare, broken at sea alone without his men, and he goes right back into another hell! And here comes the monster the moment he just got conscious!

Man I love legends of deep sea creatures and monsters and the way you described the moan and the vibrations and whirlpool of Charybdis is chilling in the best way possible for this scene! Can see why this is perfect inspiration for Caleb sucked by the whirlpool in that second scenario! 👀👀

Poor guy just prays and begs and everything keeps going wrong! (Tho ironically he's extremely lucky to survive all this at the same time!)

Every time poor Odysseus rows with his hands in despair is heartbreaking, and the way he replies to Circe's words he just remembered as if she was there! And I love how all of this connects to your title his guilt turning into his duty to survive so the death of his comrades was not in vain! It's perfect ✨😭

Oh and the iconic fig tree scene! It's so good through your writing as well and chilling and intense 😱😱 especially knowing he's so weak already yet he pulls himself and holds on for dear life! It's realistic the way you wrote his cries of pain from hanging from his arms like that... The pain of his weight being held by them and feeling like they will tear apart... And man the hellish view of the whirlpool as he can only hang over it even with his wet hands!! And the way he had to master all of his courage to jump down again as his raft finally appears from the hole!! Also loved the description of how the water felt like boiling to his cold skin!

Man and thankfully he was spared from another monster even if he still has more hell to endure... Poor man the way you described him just collapsing on his raft and just enduring the rest of it while wounded and weak... And the way he just cries, he just can't take it anymore, it was all too much his lost men and his family which seems so far away... 😭😭 And he once again contemplates his low chances of survival and his survival guilt, thinking this is worse than his death on the ship oh man 😭😭

Man those words from his grandfather seem both encouraging and cruel... And that was such a good transition, how he's ready to give in to let go because the pain is too much yet the small glimmer of hope entices him to keep trying and fighting... To face death if it comes but still to try and live, that is so bittersweet the way he somehow finds his strength again and keeps paddling!

The raft being the remains of his lost favorite ship, the last reminder of his men also hits deep as it is the only thing he can hold on too... And he still holds on to it through storms and waves and burning suns 😭 until he at least has some rain and has to eat seaweed, oh man brutal!! And the way he is constantly almost falling and coming in and out of consciousness... (Dunno why this part made me imagine Ballard on the Titanic AU when he's holding on to some wood or something else when the ship sinks... Without the storms of course, but man, him feeling himself almost slipping and nearly losing consciousness with the bitter cold... Sorry!!) man the way he just stopped feeling the fish biting him and everything...

And finally he arrives at shore and he doesn't even notice it!! Poor guy's soul is closer and closer to the underworld at this point 😢😢 Oh gosh and here comes the mysterious figure... Another challenge still for this man... And more grief to follow but at least he gets the chance to keep living even if he will remain more years away from home!! 😭😭

Gosh girl what a touching, brutal, gut wrenching and beautifully written piece!! I know I'm always saying this but it's true, the way you write emotions girl!! It's always too good!!😭😭😭😭✨✨❤️❤️❤️ Beautiful piece! Truly amazing!! ✨✨✨❤️❤️❤️

Man that Dinosaur soundtrack is so fitting! The melody with the heavy notes portraying the danger is perfect for Charybdis!! And gosh of course that scene you showed me from the Les Triplets de Belville with the melancholic yet intense melody and the visuals of the seas and the giant waves 🌊🌊🌊👀👀❤️❤️❤️

Amazing girl as always a masterpiece!!✨✨✨

Survivor's Guilt and Survivor's Duty (P1)

Odysseus was hungry. That much he knew. Gods were really cruel with them the days that went through. He had returned from yet another hunt without any success. Not even a single rabbit was visible to Helios’s island. He was already feeling weary and light-headed with hunger; which was why he thought he was hallucinating when he smelt the finest smell of roasting meat he ever met in his life. However it took him no more than two brain cells of his infamous mind to connect the dots and realize what had happened.

“No! Gods no, let it be not what I think it is! Please gods no!”

His legs grew wings as he began sprinting towards the direction of the smell.

“Why did you lull me to that pointless sleep?! Why! It was all to ruin me? To ruin them?!”

He ran with all the strength of his feet to the field only to find what he hoped in all gods he believed in to be a hallucination. He saw what remained of his men from that eventful 3 year journey having lit a fire and roasting a fine cow to the pike, happy and well-fed. In the past days his men just broke. They could withstand hunger no longer and understandably they had only one source of nutrition on that island; those fat, well-kept cows that seemed to be mocking them. Of course his men would do that! Odysseus could not blame them and yet he pulled his long hair in desperation seeing the scene.

“ARE YOU ALL MENTAL? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?!” he yelled desperately drawing their attention, “I told you not to do that! These sacred animals will be our doom!”

Eurylochus, his trusted commander came forward. His eyes were full of snare and gathered anger.

“Captain,” he started, “did you expect us to starve to death? Not even one little bird was flying around and all the grass in this place turned poisonous for us! We would die anyways! This time we were doomed either way!”

The loud voice of the furious man was cut off from the sound of flesh striking against flesh and then Eurylochus’s head turned to the side. Odysseus was huffing and puffing; nostrils flattering aflame as he gathered his strong hand back.

“You fools!” he growled tears burning his onyx eyes, “you damned fools! This was a test! A test for our faith and we failed! We failed miserably! Haven’t you learnt anything? Insulting the gods is never a good idea! We should rather die of starvation than this! The gods will show no mercy on us now! We are doomed!”

“You would know of that!” Eurylochus suddenly bellowed beyond himself, “You doomed us all, Odysseus! If you haven’t done that we would be in our country by now! These three years happened because of you!”

This time it was a punch that stroke his cheek, not a slap. Eurylochus fell on the sand but he had no time to breathe for Odysseus grabbed him by the shirt lifting him up to his feet again. The comrades rushed there to grab him (oh they remembered his rage the other time nearly cost Eurylochus his life!) however Odysseus was almost as unmovable as a statue at that point. His face was red with fury.

“I tried to save us all!” he yelled, “Ungrateful bastard, I tried to save us all! I faced the beast that could have eaten us all! After everything I did for you! I-…”

He stopped. He shivered from top to bottom. Eurylochus was right. All had happened because of him. He had insulted Poseidon by blinding his son; he was arrogant enough to brag about it…no, even further back; Troy fell because of him. So many men died because of him. Ten years they fought a brutal war; they had endured the weather, the living conditions, the battles… More than 600 men started and finished the war with barely any loss…and now…less than 3 years out in the sea and… They started 12 ships and now they were one…less than 40 men left in one final ship…and all was initiated because of him…he could not deny it. He found no words to defend himself. Gradually he let go of Eurylochus, who wiped the blood off his lip with his fist. He noticed his men had gathered around to separate them from each other but it didn’t seem necessary anymore. The comrades had let him go, noticing he was almost limb in their arms. His onyx eyes were bottomless. No, it shouldn’t end like that! He had committed hubris to save his men and he doomed them, he had forced himself to bed a woman for one year after gods requested to rectify it and yet here they were again. None of the sacrifices seemed to be enough to wash that sin away. No, he couldn’t let them die like that! He had to try! He had promised he would repent! He had to save them before that happened!

“Gather up your stuff, men!” he ordered, eyes still shadowed by his hair, “We must go as soon as possible!”

“Go?” Polites asked, “Go where?”

“At ANY land!” Odysseus whispered, “Anywhere but here! We must offer a sacrifice of some kind! We must wash away this hubris!”

As he turned his back at them –oh he couldn’t face them now!- Eurylochus stood up and looked at him with eyes resembling knives.

“Should we take the rest of the meat too…Captain?” that word was almost spat like an insult, “Or shall we hope Poseidon will grace us with a meal?”

Odysseus winced. Eurylochus; his brave and loyal friend; the type of person that sure, didn’t tell him always nice things but he was always honest with him and always told him some things that needed to be said; now he seemed gone; All their adventures and torments had hardened him, killing his old comrade and giving him  in his place a bitter, hateful man who could understand no longer the difference between insolence, disrespect and honesty or couldn’t care less to tell them apart. Odysseus couldn’t blame him but at that moment he found his transformation disturbing and concerning. He glared daggers at him. The mention of the meat of the slain animals made even his mouth water. He was hungry too. They wouldn’t survive without food and yes, Poseidon sure wouldn’t allow them to fill their bellies with his fish given the situation and the sea birds even if they graced them with their presence, which he doubted, were inedible and poisonous. Gods forgive me, he thought, but I am just a man!

“Damn you!” he cursed under his husky breath, “Take what you wish! If we survive this, pray to all gods that I will forget this because by all gods one day I’m gonna kill you!”

He could hardly remember the process but he knew they were on their way again; so fast and so hastily inside their last black ship in the openness of the Mediterranean Sea. If it was in his hand, Odysseus would have stayed close to the shore but of course gods were cruel for yet another time as Helios’s magnificent isle lay in the middle of open sea. He had no choice but to head for the sea and hope for the best. He knew there were lands close by; if they could reach them… For six days the trip was uneventful and his comrades had as provisions the meat from the slain animals to feast upon. Even Odysseus had to admit he had tasted the magnificent flesh of the animals, for he could withstand hunger no more. However six days of such a trip and he was always expecting the worst, which never seemed to be coming. His nerves just broke. It was the seventh day of their journey; still no sight of any land and still he hadn’t spoken a word. He was staring at the endless blue of the wine-dark sea and he didn’t speak a word. He could sense his comrades’ tension in the air; he could almost cut it with a knife! And yet, Odysseus could not focus on that. Polites looked up from the deck towards him and then towards Eurylochus who still had his cheek swollen.

“He’s so lost in thought…” Polites commented

“He should be!” Eurylochus replied bitterly, “He might be our king but sometimes he has a lot of nerve to talk to us that way! It was HIS hubris that brought us to this position!”

“Now that is both unfair and blasphemous to our king!” Polites replied

“He is no god for me to perform blasphemy!” Eurylochus replied as a matter of fact

Polites sighed.

“We have our own share of responsibility, you know! If we hadn’t opened that damned sack we might have reached home as well!”

Eurylochus winced at the reminder of Aiolus sack. Yes, that truly was their mistake. They got overcome by greed and distrust.

“And, besides, what Odysseus said is true. You and I were never there. We didn’t experience the week of seclusion in that hole. Perhaps we would have done the same…”

Eurylochus sighed defeated.

“Yeah…perhaps you’re right. And he DID spend a year entertaining Circe till our comrades healed… However…” his face darkened a bit, “I still cannot shake it off, Polites! It is majorly his fault we ended up like this! And he DID keep secrets from us. Or have you forgotten how he kept his mouth shut about Skylla? Six of our comrades dead…and we didn’t even know what was coming…”

“He wanted to spare us…”

“Yeah I am sure he suffered, alright, but we still had the right to know! Perhaps we could have come up with a plan together. Perhaps we could have fought back!”

“Fight back an immortal six-headed dragon? I am not sure how that would have worked but…even if you are right and he should have told us, that doesn’t change the fact that he is here with us now. If he wanted he could have stayed with the witch, Circe and sent us off and we would have no directions and no warnings.”

“He didn’t do that for us, Polites”

“Not entirely, I agree, but wouldn’t be fair to say that he did it for us as well?”

Eurylochus sighed.

“Fine, but seriously it was such a long trip and even longer way… I just want to go home!”

“We all do…” Polites whispered concerned.

Yes, ten years of war plus three years of wandering and danger…more than five hundred good men dead… Everyone could understand the feeling.

“I agree with Eurylochus, though…” said another man, “It was all a big mess that initiated when Odysseus insulted Lord Poseidon. I had warned him that day! I said, stop provoking him! He didn’t listen… We are all paying the price now…”

Polites sighed. Yes, he couldn’t deny that but still it seemed rather unfair to say it was just Odysseus’s fault. If anything, Odysseus was sacrificing many things along the way to protect and save them. He shivered in disgust remembering that he was told he had turned into a swine because he entered Circe’s palace. He felt grateful to Odysseus for rescuing him from such a fate. And yet… He still couldn’t shake that ominous feeling that something would happen and Odysseus’s silence wouldn’t help. Not bearing it any longer he slowly approached Odysseus. He didn’t acknowledge his presence. The silence was deafening. Only the cricking of the ship and the sound of the waves could be heard. There was no land at sight anywhere. It was quiet…WAY too quiet…

“Odysseus…” Polites started, “we…”

“Sh!” Odysseus harshly shushed him

“Please, I have to say it…” Polites insisted, “We were starving we made a mistake but-…”

“Quiet!” came yet another whisper

Polites gulped soundly, opening and closing his fist nervously.

“Odysseus…” he started, “Have we ruined everything…?”

Odysseus looked at him and he seemed ready to reply but then he raised his head sharply towards the sail and then to the ripples of the waves. All color left his face.

“Odysseus…? What is it…?”

“That is Eastern Wind…” Odysseus whispered almost in a panic, “That is Zephyr that is blowing at us! That’s not normal! Not at this time of year!”

He almost jumped from his standing point, suddenly seen afraid maybe for the first time in a long time if not ever in his life before.

“MEN! PREPARE YOURSELVES! STORM MIGHT BE COMING!”

His comrades didn’t have enough time to question if he lost it or not (given the clear skies around them) because in a few minutes the weather changed so drastically and rapidly that people could only suspect a god was causing it. Black clouds filled the sky in a matter of a few minutes and then suddenly the distant sound of a thunder was heard.

“No…” Odysseus whispered, “No…please, lord Zeus no! Forgive us…please!”

Strong winds raised as a matter of seconds and suddenly the deep blue sea turned into a full-fledged storm. The waves rose in angry white foam and the skies were black like coal with flashes of lightning and thunder. Rain followed that was cold and whipping their faces like needles. The men cried out in fear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” Odysseus bellowed on top of his lungs, “SECURE THE SAIL!”

“SECURE THE SAILS!” Eurylochus transferred the order, “ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

The panic galore was not allowing the orders to properly pass however the soul of the sailor cannot be abided by panic! All hands on deck began to work frantically; they commenced running up and down grabbing the chords and the lines, some of them already climbing to the mast to secure the sail. However it seemed the rage of gods was stronger than the determination of men and their burning wish for survival. A strong current of wind torn the sail to peaces sending quite a few falling on the deck.

“LEAVE IT!” Odysseus yelled as a strong wave splashed over him, “BEFORE THE WIND! HOLD ON TIGHTLY MEN!”

As the ship was played around on the waves like a toy, the terrified warriors and tired sailors would be desperately trying to use the rows to turn the ship; do something, ANYTHING to prevent themselves from crushing on the waves. The sail was now torn to shreds; like the cape of a dethroned king, aimlessly whipping against the mast at the strong wind.

“BEFORE THE WIND!” Odysseus kept screaming over the wind, grabbing the line of the sail in a desperate attempt to keep the material from hitting anyone on deck, “ROW MEN! ROW!”

The ship was being pushed mercilessly upon the waves; creaking and moaning against the wind. Three pairs of rows snapped like twigs leaving the ship spinning aimlessly to the winds. The black ship began to tear apart as cracks and gushes appeared to the sides. The deck started taking water both from below and above from the waves.

“SHE’S TAKING WATER!” one of the sailors cried

“REPAIR THE DAMAGES!” Odysseus cried out in desperation running as he was already ankle-deep in water, “WE MUST KEEP HER AFLOAT!”

It was a pointless order and he knew it. No matter how many times they stuffed torn pieces of the sail in the holes it would be pointless. They were already soaked to the bone, they had no way of lighting fire or softening the wax to fix anything. They were just trying to delay the inevitable and they were failing miserably.

“Lord Zeus…father of all mankind and gods please forgive us!” Odysseus prayed again, “Please, we shall repent! Give us a chance! Poseidon! Oh, Poseidon, please give me a chance!”

The disturbing creaking of wood being slowly broken didn’t need much for Odysseus to understand.

“WATCH OUT!” he cried out

Both the fore-stays of the mast snapped like twigs. The mast began to fall in a disturbing creak and collapsed to the stern. The pilot did not have time but to look up at his upcoming doom as the mast crushed him. Even above the tempest the men heard the disturbing sound of bones breaking as his head was crushed and blood splattered upon the stern. The body fell into the black sea, lifeless and soulless. At the sight of that death there was panic galore. No one heard the orders Odysseus was screaming; no one had any mind but to run up and down aimlessly like ants that were seeing their colony collapse. All they could do was scream their upcoming doom. In a foolish hope or rather a crazy need to survive, Odysseus rushed to the half-broken stern, grabbing the remains of the steer; his hands being died with the blood of the pilot.

“No! No! NO!”

He used all the strength of his mighty hands to do something…ANYTHING to steer the ship away the storm. His hands began bleeding out of the effort upon the splints of the destroyed wood.

“Gods no! Not again! No! No!”

The waves were raising the ship to the heaven and dropping it back down like a walnut shell as people were holding for dear life at the remains of their already tearing apart ship. The steer snapped in the hands of Odysseus and fell into the black sea never to be seen again.

“PREPARE FOR IMPACT!” Odysseus cried out, “HOLD ON!”

Therewith the worst came; a thunderbolt stroke the ship and the sudden flash and tremendous sound left them all blind and deaf. Odysseus screamed in pain shielding his ears. The ship cracked from side to side down in the middle; splintering in the winds like it was a pile of leaves. Ears buzzing and his nose filled with smoke from the fiery fire that lit upon the sad remains of the deck, Odysseus staggered to his feet, struggling to get two steps straight, trying to see through the sulphurous smoke (the only thing he could see was his comrades or what was left of them staggering on the ruins of their ship like drunk) when the last tidal wave came to finish the job. The wave must have been as tall as the remains of the ship as it flooded with tremendous force on the deck sweeping everything…and everyone! Odysseus got violently banged against the hull but he watched in terror through his cloudy from water eyes his comrades falling into the water screaming aimlessly for it was the only thing they could do.

“NOOOOOO!” Odysseus could only cry out as he ran to the rim

He watched the bodies of his men almost like small white dots to the absolute blackness; already almost a mile away, sometimes disappearing under the waves at the force of the tempest. Odysseus nearly lost the remains of his wits as he ran about the ship trying to find literally ANYTHING he could use. Another surge torn apart parts of the keel and the mast snapped from it. Odysseus reacted almost automatically as he rushed to the broken ropes and parts of the keel and mast. His hands and thick fingers began working frantically, almost completely unconsciously as water was hurting his eyes and rain was feeling as if piercing his flesh. All his Being was screaming for him to save himself; to survive! However that tiny part of his brain was tingling to him; maybe there are some men who are still alive! Maybe there is time!

“Please Athena! Please Athena…let me save them! It can’t be too late!” he was mumbling as he was securing the ropes so that the two pieces of wood would tie together, “Please, Pallas please! Let me save just one! Please! Let me return home just one! Please! Please! It can’t be too late! I can’t lose them all!”

Yet another thunder from the skies made him jump and then the remains of his favorite ship were torn apart! Odysseus grabbed upon his last raft of salvation. He jumped into the merciless ocean, rowing frantically with his hand towards the direction he saw his men disappear.

“EURYLOCHUS!” he cried out over the waves, “POLITES! ANYONE! ANSWER ME!”

The only answer he got was thunder and wind. The waves were tall like mountains!

“POLITES!” he called out again

Tears filled his eyes as his voice broke.

“SOMEONE!...P-Please! Anyone! Anyone…!”

There was nothing on site…just waves and storm.

“No…” Odysseus cried, “NOOOOOOOO!!!”

Realization was crueler than what he would expect…there was no one…just himself! He cried…he cried loudly as he never cried before.

“NOOO! WHY! WHY! WHY!” he yelled over the waves, “IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN-…”

His mind and wits nearly escaped him. He remembered that day before their sail for Troy…there were more than six hundred men…waiting for their dangerous trip…

*

Odysseus was standing before his men; the future fleet that was ready for this uncertain trip. Odysseus, dressed in his fine clothes, his long hair neatly brushed and beard trimmed, was looking at them seriously.

“We are heading for a dangerous trip, my men…” he said, “The road is long and we have no idea how long it will take for us to finish with the holy castle of Troy… If we result in war…there is no guarantee it will end soon…”

His onyx eyes stared deeply within countless others of pairs.

“I cannot lie to you, men…I cannot promise you that we shall all return home safely”

He drew a deep breath.

“However I promise you this; I shall do ANYTHING within my power so we can return home safely! I won’t disappoint you!”

*

Back to the present Odysseus cried. He weakly hit his fist upon the mast.

“No…” he sobbed, “I won’t disappoint you…!”

Six hundred men…they were all gone…disappeared… He began hyperventilating. No, it couldn’t be true!

“No…No, Athena! No Athena!” he cried trying to fist the water beneath him as if it were sand, “No, Pallas…! No… No, my men…! NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!”

He yelled till his throat was sore…till his voice was gone…he sobbed and cried tears almost as plenty as the waves of the sea. The storm was roaming around him… There was no one there to hear his lament… His voice was carried around by the wind…his tears were washed away by sea and rain…His body was borne by the direful winds…

Six hundred men had started that fateful journey…

Now there was only one…

Now he was alone.

*

The tempest began slowly to subside and the eastern wind gave his place to a breeze from the south. Odysseus was hanging helplessly upon his supposed raft. The nightly fight with the waves had exhausted him and his tears had long now dried out like the salt in his curly hair. His head was already dropping in fatigue when something made him look up. His eyes widened in terror.

“No…” he whispered

He recognized the location. In his pure terror he recognized the narrow path of Skylla and Charybdis; the passage he had struggled so much to get his men out of; the passage that cost the life of six of his comrades. What was worse…he heard an unworldly moan from deep down the sea. His feet felt the low frequency vibration…and then there was a whirlpool. Charybdis had awakened!

“No!” Odysseus cried out, “No, gods, no!”

The merciless current and the frightening groaning from deep down the sea started drawing him. Odysseus at the edge of his wit began frantically rowing with his hand; desperate in his fear to get away from the deathly current that would suck anything to its path! At that moment he remembered Circe’s warnings;

“You must not be there when she sucks it down; for no one could save you from the ruin not even the Earthshaker himself…”

“I HAVE TO TRY, CIRCE!” Odysseus yelled towards the sky in his panic, “I have to try or else my men’s deaths were for nothing!”

The merciless current though wouldn’t bulge as Odysseus realized in terror his pitiful attempts could never save him from this hellish force. The two pieces of wood that were forming his only salvation were being dragged in the ruthless elix. The water was already foaming when he reached the grotto. In panic he scanned the perimeter. Only then his eyes remembered what his brain had erased in fear; the fig tree! Circe had said there was that fig tree shadowing Charybdis! The massive roots and branches were hanging over him; it was his only hope! With strength only panic and adrenaline could give him, Odysseus pushed himself on top of the last remains of his ship and kicked as hard as he could. He had only one chance. His wounded and red hands grasped for dear life onto the rough branches and thank goodness his fingers closed around them!

“ARGH!” Odysseus cried in pain feeling as though his arms would be uprooted out of his own weight, “GODS!”

His legs helplessly hanging over the abyss were desperately moving trying to find a footing but there was none! His arms didn’t have the strength to pull him up at the tree either so he could only hang and hold for dear life. Odysseus dared to look down and saw in terror the gaping hole sucking in the sea and with it his only safety raft. His wet hands would slip and fall if it weren’t for the sheer determination that held him! He prayed to all gods that he knew and didn’t know that this time, just this time, he would find salvation; that his small raft would be vomited out of that whirlpool otherwise he would be lost… The growling rumble from beneath the watery abyss signaled the begin of the outside movement to what it seemed like an eternity later.

“Please gods…please…please…” he was thinking like a mantra

And then he spotted it! The small brownish outline of his mast and keel. He would have a chance! Fear was biting his stomach as he looked down at the whirlpool vomiting out seawater. He knew he had to act quickly or he would have no hope to swim to his raft in that condition. Charybdis below him seemed ready to swallow him even if she was vomiting out the water. What if she really swallowed him if he let go? What if he would be destroyed by some wave? Odysseus looked and looked and the seconds seemed like eons to his tormented heart that was flattering within his chest. He shut his eyes closed; to not see; to not fear and he made his decision

He let go of the branch.

Gravity claimed his body as he fell to the empty space and within the foaming water. The water was hot; hotter than human body temperature and to the tormented king of Ithaca who was freezing from water that seemed like a boiling cauldron. His ears were filled with the sound of bubbles and the hellish growling of Charybdis. He didn’t dare to look; only he paddled like his life depended on it (and it did!) . The suction force that was pushing him upwards this time was with him. Odysseus felt his lungs burning for air and he nearly breathed in the sea water as he hadn’t got a proper breath before diving in the sea. And he was pushed up and up till he was vomited out of the water and drew a soundly breath. He swam frantically till his raft and grabbed onto it with his wounded hands for dear life coughing salted water; nose and eyes aflame from the salt. He rowed and rowed with his hand almost immediately after he caught some breaths. He turned around towards the OTHER dreadful site.

“If Skylla comes out…I’m lost!” he thought

However the dreadful cave that hosted the monster that claimed the lives of six of his crew remained dark and silent. Nothing came out. Odysseus wasted no time and rowed and paddled like crazy to get as far away as possible from that dreadful area. He didn’t know how far Charybdis or Skylla’s ranges were but he certainly didn’t want to know! That was knowledge that even Odysseus of Ithaca, the Man of many Ways could pass on! After what seemed like a full eternity and when the sun was setting for good at the horizon, Odysseus had covered enough distance to see the grotto from afar. He collapsed onto his mast, drawing raspy breaths till his chest began to hurt. He seemed he had no more strength to move. His hands were full of wounds from the ship and the tree branches and hurt from salted water, his lips were torn from the sea and salt had crusted onto his face and hair. Then Odysseus broke down. He cried silently alone in the middle of the sea; he cried for his men he lost, he cried for his dreams that seemed to becoming fainter and fainter; the dreams to embrace his wife and son and he cried for himself. He had barely any hope to survive. He had no men; sea had claimed them. He had no vessel; the storm had claimed it. He had no food or water; those were gone long time ago. He barely had any clothes on for even those were soaked and already tearing apart from the wind and sea. What was the point to keep going, he thought? What would be the point to struggle? He had slim to no possibilities to escape. He was alone in the open sea without protection in Poseidon’s territory. Any kind of sea creature from the usual sharks till the dangerous creatures he faced so far, could potentially kill him.

“I should have died there!” he thought, “Alas this fate is worse than the death in the ship! This agony! Oh, gods I can’t bear it anymore!”

“You are made to endure, Odysseus…”

That was what his grandfather had told him when he visited him in Parnassus what seemed like an eternity prior; almost in another life. However even the tormented Odysseus had his limits. And now these seemed surpassed. Maybe he should let go; allow the sea to take him and end his torment. Maybe he could meet his family in a few decades in the underworld… Why struggle for the inevitable? And yet a small voice to the back of his head made him think that he could not give up just yet; that he had to keep trying and if the sea would claim him then so let it be written, so let it be done. However he had to try and fulfill the prophecy of Tiresias. He felt like he owned this to the 600 lives that were lost under his command. He looked up at the stars that seemed to have started to form. Yes, he would follow the directions that the night dress of Nyx was pointing at. Finding strength anew, the Man Tormented paddled slowly and steadily away from the dreadful spot…

*

Odysseus traveled once more; this time alone and grabbing upon the last remains of his beloved black ship… The night came cold and he was shivering. By the morning another storm caught up with him and his mast was once more drifted by the huge waves that resembled white top mountains, tearing apart his clothes and his flesh. And yet his hands endured… It was as if his heart and hands combined turned into oak or stones. The Man of many Torments endured. Next day the sun was merciless over his head, sending him almost to the brief of hallucinations and heat as sweat was running down his already wounded body. The night the gods felt pity on him and sent a drizzle rain. Odysseus raised his head to the heavens trying to grab as much of the fresh god-sent water as if that would be enough to quench his insatiable thirst and the burning of the salt. Once a passing seaweed came close to him to which Odysseus made some sort of imitation of a meal for himself. How many times he nearly slipped off his life-raft he lost count…how many times he probably actually fainted on it he could no longer remember. And yet, the King of Ithaca endured…in strength that he had no idea he had. It was as if both his body and spirit had decided he had a duty to survive. He survived the agony and pain as well as the anxiety and fear every time something touched his foot beneath the waves or a passing fish would bite his legs. He had long stopped feeling much.

By night before the tenth day of his painful journey he had collapsed. He didn’t feel the sand beneath his body as his raft finally beached at a sandy beach. He didn’t move as some crab or beach beetle walked over his sea-beaten body. By dawn some hints of his consciousness returned. It was only for a brief second that the rays of sun touched his salt-crusted cheek but Odysseus saw or at least he thought he saw a tall slender figure picking something up from the beach many meters away from him (maybe a seashell). The figure turned towards him and walked there.

And then everything turned black…

~~~~~

Ooookay guys this the first part from my Odyssey story! Poor Odysseus loses everything and gets beached in Ogygia.

Rhapsody 12 must be the most intense or one of the most intense of all the Odyssey and honest the way that Homer describes how Odysseus survived had to be kept as it was from my part!

Poor Odysseus must have passed from all the stages of grief at once!

Now I get extremely inspired by music and soundtracks for my stories. For example the Charybdis description was heavily inspired by the amazing Disney soundtrack for the movie "Dinosaur" with the title "The End of Our Island"

For his eventful journey I was partially inspired by Mozart's "Kyrie" from the Great Mass in C Minor and also the scene from the film "Les Triplettes de Belville" for the battle with the elements especially the storm and all.

For the sinking itself I was inspired by various soundtracks and pieces of music.

For my story I kinda take the hypothesis that Ogygia was in fact the small island of Gozo in Malta

As the other time I shall tag some of my amazing commentors/rebloggers and friends! (again forgive me if I forget anyone)

@loco-bird @aaronofithaca05 @tunguszka20 @doob-or-something @jarondont @prompted-wordsmith @simugeuge @fangirlofallthefanthings @ilov3b00kss0much

Just leaving this here, without context :D good night ✨

Sankt-Peter-Ording I by Alexander Schönberg

So beautiful ❤️❤️ You always draw characters so delicately, always gives it a magic touch!

Finished commission for @plexytheghoul💜

Her OC (right) and @wittykilf.bsky.social OC (left) 🥰 Thank you so much for your trust and support! 🥰

Yes! Caleb, single-handedly building the Dilla army! 😂 That’s definitely the lovestruck cheesy poet singing endless verses about his beloved giantess, and making everyone roll their eyes because they’ve heard too much about how amazing his wife is. 😆 And that perfect description! The raven hair, the icy eyes hinting at her sightless eyes, yet glowing with kindness of her bright warm smile! After a few good mugs of ale you know Caleb is singing Dilla's shanty at full volume. 😆❤️

Others: So can you describe us your wife?

Caleb (in full volume):

Visual development by Paul Felix for Tarzan (1999)