#sot asks

Bro, that's not accusatory at all. I'm WELL aware it's been over 2 years since the last update 😭😭😭😭

I've been super busy with school and writer's block sure love messing with my motivation aksjdhfkajhrgiuwerg. But don't worry, the story IS NOT discontinued!!! I do plan on finishing it, even if it takes forever to do so. My goal is to one day print it for myself and have it on my bookshelf lol

Ooh lovely question

So, if we're going with the homeric epics- yes! They did seem to hold affection for each other, as shown by Diomedes wanting to reveal himself when Helen used his wives voice (and the voice of the other wives) on the greeks inside the trojan horse as told in the Odyssey when Telemachus visits Menelaus and Helen in Sparta

In the Iliad Aphrodite makes a claim that Aegialeia should mourn Diomedes when he falls in battle, as punishment for him injuring her - though id say here it's less clear if its actual affection much more than social expecation

Beyond that I don't remember any sources that properly adress their relationship before the Trojan War, beyond that they married.

And we also have to keep in mind that the sources that have Diomedes exiled arent necessarily compatible with the Homeric Epics! The stories had different versions and variations throughout the centuries and different places and some things are only a topic mentioned in later times. Its blurry!

Now when it comes to my personal headcanons I like to think that while they were close and held affection for each other - a familial, more on the platonic and duty-bound kind of love - their marriage was strained from the start, having been partially a result of Aegialeus' death - Diomedes uncle and Aegialeias brother (or father in some other traditions) as well as Adrastus' death - Diomedes grandfather, or at least in parts, resulting in a lack of direct male heir, because Aegialeus' son was too young to rule, which only left Diomedes as male heir. (Sorry for the many names i hope its still clear gjsjdjs)

They hold affection and try to make it work, but grief and what should be and shouldn't have been is still casting a shadow on their relationship that later draws them apart - Again thats a headcanon not from any sources that indicate this

And yeah, in most sources it's a payback from Aphrodite making Aegialeia cheat with Stheneleus' son ...or the entire argolian youth :") though theres also a version or two where it's Palamedes' father (or brother? In maybe one version?) sows rumors that the greeks are taking trojan woman and scorn their wives at home as payback for Odysseus (and Diomedes) killing Palamedes and not receiving punishment. Those rumors cause Aegialeia to commit adultery with Cometes in the end. So yup!

Tltr; yes, I believe initially they did

So hopefully I remeber the lore I have put out about what foods they likes.

But Khash can't stand sweet stuff, especially sweet rolls. However does make an exception for Watermelon which were in Cyrodiil. She also likes mudcrab legs. Another thing she loves is any alcoholic drink. Mainly mead tho. But at that point it depends on wether or not your dragonborn would let her have that.

For Caryalind, he has very bland tastebuds. The man can't take strong flavors. Mostly spicy or sour stuff. He loves cheese danishes, and any sort of pastries like that. Though, I wouldn't put any wine on him. Caryalind strays from drinking alot. Not only can one single drink send him into a night of drunk crying, but he did have a very bad experience with poisoned wine at one point. Since then, he's been very cautious of it.

(I would explain him myself but I'm still not that far in the Iliad.)

Hello, thank you soooo much for this ask and sorry for the late reply!

First of I want to say that we’re by no means experts on Diomedes. We’re still in the process of learning more about him and discovering and exploring him through this musical, so people with a background in ancient studies might have a more detailed/accurate analysis of him than we can provide at the moment. But we still try to answer you to the best of our abilities!

(You’re welcome to correct us in the comments/reblogs ^^” )

In the words of @holy_mother_of_whumpers:

Diomedes kicks ass more than anyone in the Iliad, is scolded more than anyone. Odysseus best friend (according to historians). Shitty childhood (incest, prophesies and and a lot of dead relatives, which is almost as ancient Greek backstories go), shitty post Troy (banished from his city, cursed by Aphrodite). Actually happy ending (founder of cities, immortalized by Athena).

He’s like Odysseus, but with an unbelievably tragic childhood and less disaster energy. He gets stuff done and slays doing it

But here’s our answer…sorry if this is turns out too long!

Starting out with your question about his motivations

Oath bound, Diomedes avenged his fathers death at the age of 14, sacking the city of Thebes (the epic surrounding it is called “Epigoni” but unfortunately it’s a story lost to history, also he was 4 when he took the oath, should that count rly? shouldn't there be an age of consent for oaths? anyway)

The story surrounding his fathers death is tragic and a bit disgusting (he ate brain and Athena who wanted to gift him immortality was too disgusted to do so)

Diomedes doesn’t remember his father, and he still gets compared a lot to him (just see Agamemnon low-key trash-talking him by stating how much of a better fighter his father was to motivate him for battle) so that kind of plays into his motivations

Additionally like so many other heroes, glory and honor are definitely also motivations of his. Often it is Athena who pushes or motivates him to many of his greatest deeds and other feats (like wounding Ares, throwing the spear at Dolon, beating everyone in the funeral games,…..yeah Athena HATES loosing)

What’s interesting that despite the fact that he was raised on war, later on – after Troy (and admittedly, even more warfare) – he’s said to have wanted to settle down more, founded his cities in peace (or as peaceful as life for kings was back then haha)

In the Iliad Diomedes is always the first to volunteer, and despite often getting treated rather badly (Nestor kicked him awake, my boy was even sleeping in his armour, Agamemnon calls him a coward) he tends to keep a cool head and doesn’t retaliate (…except that one time….or two?) BUT he also definitely doesn’t take BS, he calls out Agamemnon for being a bad leader when he suggests to leave (Diomedes insists they stay and fight until they won)

For his way of thinking…he’s rather pragmatic, a good strategist (mentored by athena), first to jump into the fray, trusts his own strength, knows when to back down/when to talk back, can get caught up in the heat of the moment in battles, doesn’t shy away from violence, lies & trickery…. (correct me on this if I'm wrong or missed something)

Strengths & Weaknesses

One thing that makes him stand out among the other heroes is that arguably, he’s one of the few greek heroes whose lives don’t end in a complete tragedy because of his hubris against the gods (…….wellll………..his wife betraying him after he injured aphrodite and being exiled for arogs is an instant where he still pays for his acts against the goddess, but its tame compared to many other heroes fates, who committed lesser crimes) and in the end he even gets deitified (or at least in some versions, like athena wanted to do with his father, but his father messed upppppp so…..)

He’s more level headed than many other heroes (cough Odysseus “i am in the infamous odysseus” King of Ithaca)

He’s one of the best fighters - or THE best fighter of the greeks next to Achilles, the trojans were more scared of him than of Achilles (….since Achilles didn’t fight) without him the Achaeans….would’ve probably lost the war

As for his weaknesses….one thing is something that’s not even within his own control: his young age (compared to the other kings), almost nobody realllyyyy respects him despite his badass deeds on the battlefield and good battle advice, his many ships he brought and his battle experience even before the war and two) the kind of lingering shame of his fathers final moments (nom nom brain, and failing to take Thebes), but also his fathers supposed greatness that he keeps getting compared to and has to live up to

Now…..his relationships…oh boy theres so many, I’ll try to sum up the most important ones I know in once sentence for each

His family:

His father: he doesn’t remember him, but people keep bringing him up and comparing him to him

We dont know much about his relationship with his mother

most…of his other (male) relatives die in his early youth (which is how he ends up as King of Argos) like his grandfathers, and his uncles…

The achaean kings:

Agamemnon: the boss who’s a bully, but Diomedes talks back to him sometimes at least (…unless he’s insulting him, he just accept that)

Ajax: Diomedes almost kills him during the funeral games….the acheans have to break up the fight

Achilles: Diomedes doesn’t like him, Dio is the only one who wants him punished for killing Diomedes cousin that everyone else hated

Odysseus: LOTS of tea to be found here (he seems to see Ody as a mentor figure and keeps picking him as companion for missions, they both have Athena as their patron goddess but while Odysseus leans a little bit more on the wisdom part, Diomedes leans more into the pure strength of battle, they work well together and have a bunch of missions together)

Comrades

Most noteable are Sthenelus (known him since early childhood) and Euryalus, who are with him in Troy, they were part of the Epigoni (its rly a long story)

His wife: is his cousin, he marries her to strengthen his rulership, in the end, its said that she betrayed him with a new lover and exiled him from his own kingdom (another long story)

Glaucus: they met on the battlefield and realized their grandfathers were bro’s so they didnt fight each other, and instead exchanged armours (but Diomedes got the better, golden armour, while Glaucus got the bronze armour..)

There is sooooo much more to say about him, all the stories of the Iliad, the events before AND after it, his relationship with Athena, etc. I barely scratched the surface here so maybe we have to make a whole series of posts about this one day so we can get more into detail because its so much! (Let us know if we should???)

Oh my! :O We did not expect this so soon, but thank you so much for this ask !!!

Here's our design concept for Diomedes:

Our design is based on the myths and sources & symbolism for the musical, but it might end up changing in the future with voice actors or other changes to the storyline!

General looks:

golden/tawny eyes (appearing grey sometimes?)

probably quite tan and dark haired

his beard is rly short (just enough to count as a beard at the beginning of Troy) but a full/mature beard over time especially after Troy

Tydeus is said to have been short, but we like the idea of Diomedes eventually outgrowing him, physically (and his armour) as well as symbolically

Clothes:

subtle olive branches and leaves woven onto the hems of his tunic, maybe owls too (hinting at his connection with Athena)

his base colors scheme are probably red, pale & golden

potentially a golden circlet to symbolize his rule (if he's not wearing the helmet)

a lion shaped pin that holds up his cloak

a mesh shirt underneath his armour

Armour/Weapons:

a bronze spear

a sword from his father, adorned with a lion and a boar

a round shield ornamented with the image of a boar

potentially a helmet with boar tusks and a horsetail ornament (these are all mostly based on the descriptions in the Iliad and historical/archeological finds, could help with references)

leg splints (optional)

Curiass made by Haephestus

breastplate from Tydeus, blessed by Athena, also with a boar→ he exchanges this one with Glaucus during Troy, so afterwards, he wears a different armor

Boars and lions are VERY prevalent in his symbolism in the Iliad

Overall for his design the earlier sets of armor are very clearly tied to Tydeus' legacy, and as time goes along we can see Diomedes' outward appearance visibly become less and less like Tydeus

Scars:

Before Troy:

a scar on his weapon wielding hand (symbolizing the oath of the Epigoni: the other members of the Epigoni also have such scar)

talon scars on his shoulder (symbolizing Athenas influence)

a (longer/larger) scar on his back, from the events of the Epigoni (symbolizing the backstabbing in regards to his wife and then entire kingdom, also the whole epigoni mission backstabbing him in every way, with his family members dying (Aegialeus, Adrastrus - leading to him marrying Aegialia, which leads to the betrayal after Troy -, Oeneus, Tydeus and even Thesander dying later before Troy, as well as symbolizing his initial vulnerability/youth in the Epigoni, he did not make it out of there unscathed)

During Troy:

scar on his shoulder (an arrow, right before he fought the gods, human inflicted)

scar on his foot (an arrow through his foot from Paris)

Scars from the Gods:

burn scar from Aphrodite's ichor that splayed on his wrist/arm with which he held the spear, a scar that look almost pretty - something beautiful to look at, that causes a lot of agony - not huge, but just enough to be noticeable

the scars from Ares ichor are more noticeable and harsher, a more violent version of Aphrodite's burns, just a light dusting of scars, a speckled scarring effect where the ichor hit his breastplate and sprayed to his more exposed skin: a little on one side of his face, heavier on his arms and a bit on his legs too, a fanning effect of explosion scars radiating out from his heart

the scars from the gods blood's both have hints of gold remaining

After Troy:

throat scar form the time he almost got sacrificed to Ares

Dares the Phygian

This is the most description we get in any ancient sources about Diomedes' "appearance", though they don't really apply to his looks itself (and they're also a later addition, but we take what we can get!)

courageous

steady

graceful self

somber expression

most active in war

filled with shouting

hot angered

impatient

not acting by feelings

daring

Of course you're VERY welcome to take creative liberties as you want :D These are merely our thoughts we had so far, though we by no means want to restrict your creative freedom!

Thank you so so so much for this ask!!!

Genuinely we had a LOT of fun thinking about our interpretation of Diomedes

Initially we expected to keep it very vague but as we kept talking we ended up with a bunch of ideas that barely let us sleep ^^"

Yes. Anything else would be a crime!

I don't have a playlist for SoT. Whenever I write, I often listen to the soundtracks of Outlander or instrumental/Celtic music from composers like Tony Anderson or Tartalo Music. And it's mostly for the vibes for me to focus lol

I also don't pay much attention to lyrics, like to the point it took me a year to realize one of the songs I was listening on loop was really vulgar xD. Since then, I've been trying to pay more attention to lyrics, but again it's not something I do very often.

But I do have a couple of songs that may count as a playlist, or at least makes me think of SoT for specific reasons:

Centuries by Fall Out Boys: the chorus makes me think of the impact North's actions have/will have in the past/present.

Run Boy Run by Woodkid: That's pretty on point on how North feels for being stuck in the past.

The Chase by Tartalo music: That's for a very specific scene in a future chapter under the same name. All I can say is that the North cannot catch a break lol.

Song of the Sea by Bruno Coulais and Kíla: Bit of a lore drop here, but this was the song Ireland used to sing to North when he was a baby. I headcanon that it was a lullaby Ireland's mom sang to him when he was a baby. North doesn't remember it now (or does he?👀👀).

Black Velvet Band by The Dubliners: The first verse of the song is used in a scene for a future chapter, but like with a dark twist.

The Irish Pub by The High Kings: For a dumb joke in a gloomy moment later in the story lol.

Of the types of male voices (Countertenor, Tenor, Baritone, Bass) I think that they should give my child the range of a Bass Baritone.

My man needs a deep, powerful, dark, manly voice. A voice that shows strength and courage, that symbolizes how hard his life has been and how much it has weighed on him.

I don't want him to have the typical tenor voice leading a musician (no offense to tenors, I love them), he needs a different voice, Because honestly the image of Diomedes (fierce, lethal warrior, among many things) does not match that type of voice, in my opinion.

I have a pretty good idea of the type of voice each of the characters would have, which would characterize them. From the Achaean generals to the gods. With some examples of people who would transmit that vibe to me.

It all came to me while I was cooking with my sister and we started to rant about this idea. I know you are in a more conceptual phase, but I want to know your opinion.

(I hope you understand, English is not my first language)