#tkati

Ooooo!!! Boy, do I have ideas [insert shakey turtle of excitement here]

So, it's a little bit complicated, and I don't want to give too much away since it relates to what I'm currently working on, BUT!

I GOT YOU, FAM!

Basically: after Diomedes gets kicked out of Argos (it's very sad, the poor man), he realizes he has nowhere else to go except literally anywhere but the Eastern Mediterranean. So, he sets off for Hesperia (aka modern Italy) to start a new life there. But in this time of heartbreak, he's missing Odysseus even more (they had a sad goodbye on Crete; it's a long story), and he decides to stop at Ithaca on the way to get some supplies and maybe visit Ody. But when he gets there, he finds that Ody is MIA and Penelope is running things. So he hangs out for a while and gets to know Pen and Telemachus (who is about 11 or 12 by this point), and quickly figures out why Ody would talk about her literally any chance he got. She's beautiful, yes, but she's also just as cunning and wise as Odysseus is... The same qualities Dio fell in love with. And Pen is curious about Dio, too. She's heard many stories and news about her husband's schemes with Dio, and she starts falling for him a bit, too. But Diomedes doesn't want to dishonor the Bro Code by getting with Penelope. Ody loves Penelope! Dio could never hurt Ody like that. So... He leaves. He says goodbye to Pen and Telemachus and heads off to Hesperia. He and Penelope wonder what could have been since they believe they will never see each other again.

Get excited people. But… probably not too excited. I finished the rough draft of chapter one and just started writing chapter two.

If you’re wondering what I’m writing, it’s a fanfic (What else would you expect from me? Honestly?) about the Odyssey that will be posted chapter by chapter- eh… weekly? Yeah. Weekly.

“Oh it’s a retelling? We have a bunch of those! Sure they’re good but like- ok?” I hear you say.

I know! I know. But hear me out!

This work will follow Odysseus from the Fall of Troy, through the Odyssey, and a short time afterwards, but with a twist: Odysseus adopts Astyanax, the infant prince of Ilium (Troy). Also, Ody will get home in half the time. Of course there will be some EPIC: the Musical inspired happenings and events cus that play caused my Greek Mythology hyperfixation to return with a vengeance by hiding in my love of theater. A “Thespian Horse,” if you will.

I’m anticipating it to be as long as the Odyssey in word count, give or take. Idk tho cus I haven’t written it yet lmao

I’m also not sure what I want to do with Polites. I know I want him to be more important of a character than in the Greek epic, but I don’t know what his fate will be.

Will he die at the hands of Polyphemus like in EPIC? Will he perish with the rest of the remaining crew for eating Helios’s cattle like in the original text? Will he find a secret third fate, somehow survive everything, and become the best uncle ever?

Who knows! Certainly not me.

This has been picking at my brain for months, and I’m so happy to be writing again! It feels so nice. I even got notebooks. This is gonna be sick! >:3

Here’s a little sneak peak:

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It was dark inside the horse.

No one dared to even light a torch for fear of alerting the sleeping Trojans outside. The air was warm and dank from the hours the Achaean soldiers spent hunched over in the cramped wooden space. Blind to the outside world, but not deaf.

They heard everything their enemy said throughout the previous day and the splintering of wood as one of the Trojans pierced the horse with his spear. They heard the grunts and strains of the Trojans pulling the horse to the gates. The crumble of stones as the masons of Troy chipped away at the walls to make room for the supposed gift to Athena. They heard Helen of Sparta, daughter of Zeus, the reason for this decade-long siege, impersonate their wives and call out to each of them.

The plot would have been discovered if not for Odysseus, the king of the island nation Ithaca, the mastermind behind the plan to take Troy and end the war. As Helen knocked and changed her voice, he felt Anticlus, a warrior beside him, begin to call out. Odysseus did not hesitate. He quickly and silently clasped his hand over Anticlus’s mouth, stifling his voice before he could speak. No one dared move as the citizens of Troy celebrated their victory over the Achaeans and the war's end.

The party lasted long into the night, and Dawn’s beautiful rays were fast approaching by the time the festivities ended, and the city fell quiet with sleep.

When Odysseus felt the time was right, he turned to Diomedes. They both nodded to each other, knowing Athena was with them and urging them that it was time to strike.

“Listen closely, my brothers,” Odysseus said, standing up and lighting his torch, “These past ten years, our numbers have been slowly depleted. The Trojans, our enemy, killed our friends, brothers, and fathers. But tonight, we will be the ones who slaughter all they hold dear.”

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