#erylochus

Inspired by this set of YouTube comments/post

The lightning cracked down on the deck of the ship so hard it bobbed and dipped threateningly into the waters. His vision flared white as his skin prickled from the sheer heat of it against the chill of the wind as it lashed against him. Odysseus’ heart stuttered and he felt his stomach drop.

Zeus was just as intimidating as he had been that night in Troy almost twelve years ago, in the infant’s room where he’d given Odysseus an impossible choice in what to do. He expected to see lightning bolts striking down around him, to feel it humming against his skin as he watched his men die.

What he didn’t expect, in any capacity, was for Zeus to grab him before anyone could react and pull him close enough for him to feel the humming of power under the divine skin. Just as his cheeks flushed and he was about to yelp, partly out of surprise and partly from pain of the stab wound that had begun to bleed through the bandages...Zeus began to move, made Odysseus follow along and his heart skipped a beat when the god began to sing in a rich, dark voice.

“Pride is a damsel in distress

Hiding away where only I can undress her”

Odysseus couldn’t help the gasp, the way he twisted as Zeus’ broad hands slipped up his chest, ran along the edges of his tunic and tugged as if to pull it off before they slipped back down. Humming power followed every movement in almost soft pulses, quick fingers pulled his tunic up.

“Try all she can not to confess

In the end, it's all the same once I apply all the pressure”

His head fell back in a pained cry as fingers dug into the bandages, into the wound and his knees threatened to give out. In an instinctive act that in any other situation would’ve likely gotten him killed, he grabbed onto Zeus’ forearm.

There was a rumble of thunder in the air and against his ear, amused and a huff of what could pass for a chuckle before the grip loosened a bit. Then he was twisted around to be with his back against the god’s chest, that strong arm wrapped tightly around his waist despite the hiss under his breath.

“Thunder, bring her through the wringer, show her I'm the judgment call

The one who makes her kingdom fall~”

Odysseus’ shudder was a full body one, it was an easy threat for the king of Olympus to make, with the power of the heavens under his fingertips it wouldn’t be any stretch of the imagination for Zeus to be able to easily destroy what he desired, to leave scorches of ruin and blackened earth where buildings stood and people once lived- he was spun, his footing stumbled as he ended up half arched into the god’s chest.

“Lightning, wield her, use and yield her, show her what she can't conceal

For true nature will be revealed~”

The arch in his back curved more as the god leaned down, one hand on a hip to hold tightly and the other trailed up his chest in a slow caress as he started to pant. Zeus leaned in close, inches away as he grinned darkly.

The mortal was reminded of a trident under his chin, the sound of waves crashed around his ears, the deep abyss the sea around an air bubble, the sensation of a hand clenched tight in his hair to pull it back and expose his throat-

“Tell me, Odysseus

If I were to make you choose

The lives of your men and crew or your own

Why do I think they'd lose?~”

The voice in his ears jolted him back to the present, rich and dark like thunderclouds instead of sharp and fluid like crashing waves, he gasped like a surfacing diver out of his memories to focus.

The sound of his name in that regal tone made him shudder from head to toe, attention completely focused on the King of the Gods. Zeus wasn’t offended by his momentary lapse in concentration though, an amused yet dark grin flashed with teeth.

“Enlighten me, King of Ithaca

Since hunger was far too great

I wonder who'd take the weight of the damned

And suffer a gruesome fate to the”

“Thunder Bringer, here to ring your

Ears until you're deaf with fear and

Spear you while your death is near”

Odysseus’ head fell back in a pained shout, the scream barely locked in his throat as Zeus’ hand slammed itself on his wound, as he felt pure power flood his veins. The sound of sizzling, popping, the scent of burning flesh and cooking meat lasted for what felt like an eternity as the injury was cauterized but was really only a few seconds as his body jerked and twitched under the sky king’s touch.

It felt like his body wasn’t his for a second or two, tugged along the way Zeus wanted it to be directed. It was so easy…between one heartbeat and the next his body was his own as he heaved for air, tears in his eyes and body trembled like a leaf.

“Lighting wielder, here to yield your

Time for you have passed your prime

Sublime you for your act of crime”

A hand was suddenly at his throat, fingertips hot and crackling as they ran a path of danger and threat along his neck. A phantom slice to indicate the crime he talked about. But despite it his back couldn't help but arch, his head fell further back to give more room.

As his body moved on its own to submit to Zeus’ touch, despite the threat and danger, despite the situation not at all being the right moment for it, Odysseus suddenly understand exactly why Zeus had been able to bed so many, everyone knew about the ones that weren’t willing and it was despicable that the King of the Gods didn’t know the word ‘no’ then again the Titan Goddess hadn’t been the best to teach him that-but regardless there had to be some that were entirely willing even knowing who he was, what Hera might do to them when she found out. And no one ever knew about them because Zeus’ cruelty was all they focused on in the stories for the most part.

The hand at his neck pulled away and he was righted up, a hand curled around his jaw as Zeus spoke one word, oddly softer, but still with that undercurrent of command.

“Choose.”

Odysseus blinked a few times, his mind struggled to get itself from the state of near ecstasy and pain to actually think properly. He panted and echoed confused, lost in a way.

“Choose?”

Zeus looked almost soft, sympathetic in a way, completely at odds with his former confidence and pride. His breath caught in his chest and his heart skipped a beat, it…it felt almost tender. Almost sweet, even if it shouldn’t have been.

“Someone's gotta die today

And you have got the final say

You?

Or your crew?”

His head was turned to the side, to the faces of the stunned, fearful crew that had seen the entire thing. Unable to grab their Captain from the Sky God’s grip, forced to watch as he was pulled along like a puppet. The guilt and shame and the pure horror on their faces tore at his heart.

His knees shook, his heart ached as he shook his head hard, unable to look away from them, he felt like he was back in the infant’s room all over again. Faced with an impossible choice he didn’t want to make, he couldn’t do this again. He felt like he was going to fall to his knees, tears filled his eyes as he half cried. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t, not again, not more pain.

“Please don't make me do this

Don't make me do this!”

Gold, the color of the divine, of ambrosia, of power, of royalty-of lightning flashed and filled his vision with a rolling rumble of thunder that echoed to the point he almost felt deafened. When his vision cleared…he was in another space.

It reminded him of Athena’s Quick Thought, but instead of ticking clocks it was the white noise of static and sparks that made his hair raise and his chest felt tight, hard to breathe like the air was thinner.

Zeus’ hair curled around him like a living stormcloud, lightning arced through the currently storm black curls as the god tipped his chin up, sparks danced along his skin and made the human king tremble. That soft, almost tender tone again.

“Don’t you remember what you heard as you left Scylla’s cave? We are the same you and I”

“I…”

Odysseus couldn’t help but finish, his voice fell in harmony with Zeus’, just like he had before with Scylla as his head spun, partly from the thin air of this space created by Zeus’ power. Partly from being overwhelmed by everything.

He was not that prideful, not that stupid to think he was the same as one of the gods, but…that hadn’t been the point of it had it?…Scylla was a monster, and one could argue Zeus was too in many ways. Odysseus had sworn to do anything to get back to Ithaca, that he’d become a monster if that was what it took…and he had.

He could make out the voices of his crew, all of them seemingly all around him, repeating his own words back at him.

“When does a comet become a meteor?

When does a candle become a blaze?

When does a man become a monster?

When does a ripple become a tidal wave?

When does the reason become the blame?

When does a man become a monster?”

How many times had he heard that now? How many times had his own words all those years ago back at Troy come back to haunt him? To remind him of how much suffering he’d gone through, how much he could’ve prevented…..

“I can take the suffering from you”

His knees shook as he heard Penelope’s voice through his crew’s, tears in his eyes as his heart ached. It didn’t sound like the siren had, just too perfect to the point it was off, it sounded like she was right there, like he could reach out and grab her and never let go-

He tried, he reached out half blind out of desperate longing, out of need to see her again. To be with her, with his son who he hadn’t seen since he was a mere babe-

“Let me take the suffering from…”

He blinked as he only found his hand empty, the wisp of clouds almost lovingly seeped around his fingers. He was back on the ship, the rain pelted against him like ice yet he wasn’t entirely cold as Zeus’ chest was at his back, arms slipped around his shoulders like a weight in an embrace that was familiar yet alien and so warm.

Odysseus panted slightly, his head spun from endorphins of the increased oxygen, from what had just happened. His mind was split between being focused on the god wrapped around him and Penelope….oh his beloved Penelope.

Of course he’d heard her say that she’d take his suffering, that was what Penelope did for him, would do for him when he’d be home….her and, Telemachus, thinking of them was how he’d stayed sane so long, after so much death and bloodshed, even after he’d finally understood what it meant to be ruthless, to be a monster in human skin…they were all he could focus on.

His beloved wife, his dear son….they were his light, his drive, his very threads of sanity…he couldn’t be without them. He couldn’t leave them behind. He swallowed hard, he felt like he was going to throw up, he felt like he was never going to forgive himself….but he already blamed himself for everything else, what was one more time?

“Captain?…”

Eurylochus’ voice made him tremble as he looked over at each and every one of his remaining crew, by the look on his brother in law’s face-his sister was never going to forgive him for letting her husband die on the way home, even if he’d never say what exactly happened-he already knew what choice Odyssesus would make.

Because he’d have made the same choice if it was him that was only focused on Ctimene.

Odysseys’ voice was choked, watery and already grieving as he responded, as he tried to keep his vision clear and not let tears mix with rain.

“I have to see her….”

He expected rage, he expected Eurylochus to move to try to grab him from Zeus and stab him again, but his second in command, his brother just spoke in a matter of fact, resigned yet sort of detached hopeful tone? It was something that made guilt begin to curl like sour milk in his stomach.

“But we’ll die.”

The next two words that slipped out of Odysseus’ throat felt like shards of glass, were filled with so much pain it was almost a physical thing, his sorrow and regret thick like tar in his throat as he teared up, as he fought the urge to break down into sobs.

“I know”

Only he didn’t get the chance to cry as he was yanked off his feet, pulled up into the sky as Zeus leapt up into the air with the screech of an eagle reverberating in the sky. The wing tattoos on his arms glowed and lifted out of his skin to flare from his back, the stormclouds swirled around them both until the mortal king couldn’t tell the difference between them and the god that held him.

All around him he heard Zeus’ voice again, his back arched as power flooded through it, as pain lit up every nerve. His scream was lost in a boom of thunder.

“Thunder, bring her through the wringer

Show her I'm the judgment call

The one who makes her kingdom fall

Lightning, wield her, use and yield her

Show her what she can't conceal

For true nature will be revealed”

His body didn’t feel like it belonged to him anymore, a passenger in his own mind as the god of thunder forced his mortal form to take what it wasn’t meant to. Muscles locked up and convulsed and twitched, it felt like his blood began to boil, senses fired on all cylinders and knew nothing, his body began to glow, sparks flew off his skin, everything felt white hot and agony. Then just as he began to feel like his heart was going to explode from how fast it raced, he felt broad hands curl around his face and lips on his.

Instinctively in the confusion and pain he kissed back in a plead for any release from this torture, what flowed through in response was pure sensation that registered through every nerve ending as torment and suffering and he faintly tasted blood mixed with something almost sweet.

As his vision began to blur, his body felt less like it was going to melt into a puddle of ooze and more sturdy, more put together. Zeus pulled away and gold glittered on his lip as the sound of sizzling crackling filled his ears.

Then Odysseus was in freefall, body surged down towards the deck as if thrown it was just enough time to process what had been done to him, gold flickered to white as he made contact. Wood splintered and shattered, exploded underneath the symbol of raw fury he’d become at the god’s touch, he thought he made out his crew screaming, barely made out bodies being flooded by light, for a few split seconds he thought he heard Eurylochus…

“I’m sorry Ody.”

Fanart for Suffering and Monster lol

Eurylochus is such a DICK

Before he was willing to leave half of the crew in calypso's island TO DIE. The only reason they didnt is cuz odysseus still had some morals in his conscience. He was even questioning odysseus's authority when he himself did nothing to help his "best friend" in making sure no one dies.

But then the moment odysseus showed that he was willing to sacrifice ANYONE just to get home to his wife and kids (honestly valid, especially with how stupid his crew is) HE THEN BETRAYS ODYSSEUS???

And not only that but RIGHT AFTER HE CONFESSED TO OPENING THE WIND BAG AND BASICALLY PUSHING THEN FARTHER AWAY FROM THEIR HOME.