I enjoyed it, I don’t think it’s my favorite, but I still really like it.
I think it’s because this is the first saga to come out after I started listening, but the transitions to each song seems a bit abrupt.
Cause when I think about it, the cut from Just A Man to Full Speed Ahead, Open Arms to Warrior Of The Mind, and The Underworld to No Longer You are all pretty abrupt as well.
Pretty sure this is an unpopular opinion, but Calypso is… fine? She’s not good by any means, but people act like she’s evil incarnate.
I don’t know if I’m missing something here, but why are people making her out to be most evil character in all of EPIC?
Polyphemus thinks it’s fair to kill 600 people over the life of one sheep (That he would have killed and eaten anyway?)
Poseidon kills over 500 men all for his own pride (I really don’t think he actually cared that much about Polyphemus given how crass he sounded about killing him)
Circe turns men into pigs (And eats them?) without giving them a chance at proving that they mean no harm
Odysseus sacrifices the lives of his men who he is captain to, and I might be talking nonsense, but I feel like that means that he has a responsibility to them and their safety, he is their captain, they are saying “I trust you with my life and to take me home” and he betrayed that trust
All of them do these awful things, but you can understand why they do. But for some reason the same is not given to Calypso, she literally says he is all she’s ever known. It’s not fair for her to keep Odysseus on the island, but can you blame her when letting him go means she’ll be alone again? Would you be able to let the one and only person you have ever met go? Knowing you’d likely be alone again forever?
Anyway what I don’t see nearly enough is hatred for Antinous, I hate that man, he’s literally a child abuser (I know Telemachus isn’t a child, but he was at one point and Antinous was there [Telemachus literally doesn’t even know how to fight] do you really think he didn’t abuse that child?) That man is (assumedly) already nobility, but that’s not good enough for him, he needs to be king and will force himself onto Penelope and kill her son.
Okay rant over, anyways Dangerous is a bop.
I really do adore Troy’s voice, and really like his music (I’m actually listening to his music as I write this)
Dangerous is probably my favorite song this saga, but only in terms of “I will listen to this outside of a full listen of the musical” I probably wouldn’t listen to the others without context of the rest of the musical.
How do you pronounce Charybdis?
I do feel like he got past Charybdis really easily, but I get that Poseidon was the focus for the saga, so I don’t mind it.
Steven Rodriguez’s voice is so good.
I was kinda hoping for one more verse from Poseidon before Odysseus’s line but that’s alright
At this point I shouldn’t even be surprised if there’s a Polites cameo
Also I feel like this is a given, But Jorge’s voice is also amazing, and he really gave his all for the screams and yells this saga.
Okay, time for another tangent, I’ll admit the wind bag jetpack is kinda goofy, but it’s really not that bad to me. Ancient Greece also didn’t have high fives (I’m pretty sure anyways) but people don’t say anything about that, also the slang “sick” probably wasn’t invented in ancient Greece. (I will say, I did like one idea I saw that someone say [I’m sorry, I don’t remember who] that the wind bag split the ocean and they were fighting on the ocean floor)
I’ve seen a lot of people be mad that Odysseus beat Poseidon, but I feel like it would have been unsatisfying if he just lost. Like say he didn’t beat him, and was getting beaten up until Zeus or someone was like “Yo, chill bro that dude is like fine or whatever, let him go” I feel like that would have been an underwhelming conclusion to the Vengeance Saga.
Like sure, should Poseidon been able to kill Odysseus? Yes. But don’t humans beat the Gods in some stories? (I‘ll be honest, I don’t know a whole lot about Greek mythology and most of what I do know is from PJO which I haven’t read in a while.) Like Arachne was a better weaver than Athena, or Diomedes wounded Ares (?) so I feel like it’s not that unreasonable.
I’m not saying you have to like it, I just feel like people are saying it’s bad without giving an alternative that would be narratively satisfying. Like, it’s satisfying to get to see Odysseus knock Poseidon down a peg, it’s compelling to see how much Odysseus has become a monster, and wonder how much more he will fall to monstrosity before he returns home.
To me, the story is a tragedy about a man who wanted something so much he gave everything he had, his morals, his companions, his compassion, he gave everything for it, and in the end he became someone else entirely.
Ody beating up Poseidon shows how much he has changed, if he had lost and just pleaded with him, how is he any different from the Odysseus that got on his knees and begged a god to spare a life in the very first song? He’s not that man anymore, he has changed so much that it’s, at least in this moment, a god kneeling and begging.
Honestly, I think it's a mix of both people taking everything from the original Odyssey as gospel and the fact that Calypso is a dark skinned woman of color that she's being treated as this evil being not deserving of any amount of nuance.
I saw the exact same level of hatred and vitriol towards Eurylochus immediately following Thunder Saga, and as far back as the casting of Ares. Characters and actors with darker skin either get harshly criticized, or in some cases, heavily fetishized (you would not believe some of the shit I've seen regarding Antonius). It's just that Tumblr isn't nearly as open about this as tiktok.
Jay has made it a point to only allude to certain elements of the myths. He has NEVER been explicit about there being actual assault like that in the musical towards certain characters on screen in the present time. It's only ever been implied threats or referenced in backstory. He's been good about avoiding certain topics when adapting the myth to his vision. Unless he comes out and says "yes, Calypso did that", we can't just assume she did in Epic the Musical.
I think the fandom really needs to chill and recheck their biases. They don't have to like Calypso. I certainly don't. But the level of hate I'm seeing towards her in comparison to the other gods? Seriously making me second guess being in this fandom.
I haven’t read The Odyssey, but I know that EPIC made a lot of changes, so it’s weird to me that people would stick so closely to that interpretation of Calypso, especially when people seem to really like Circe, who I think also assaults Odysseus (or at least coerces him?)
But yeah, it’s also probably a lot of racism and sexism that has made her so hated. It is truly shocking sometimes how some people will be so harsh and critical to a character (or actual real life humans) just because of their skin tone, cause you know they turn the other cheek for the same actions or worse if they’re done by someone pale and hot.
Yeah, I think Jorge does a good job at only alluding to things like that, not that those kind of things should be ignored, and I think if people want to analyze the original source material through a modern lens that’s all fine and good. But that’s not what EPIC: The Musical is about, and to try and handle that subject well would take too much time; it’s just not the story that is being told here.
(Within the Musical itself, if people want to explore such things in fanfic, go off I guess? But also maybe if you’re on the topic of someone forcing themselves onto an unwilling partner, maybe talk about some other characters than just Calypso. *Side eyes Antinous and Circe)
That’s completely fair, but I’ll be honest, if you don’t want to be in a fandom with any racism or sexism (Or any kind of bigotry) then you’ll basically have to never be in a fandom. There’s always going to be hateful people about those kinds of things, so I just avoid them and try not to let it ruin the rest of my fandom experience.
(Also sorry, wasn’t trying to lecture you, just saying that I don’t think we should let those people drive us out of fandoms we want to enjoy) (also if you just decide to take a step back and only consume the source media, that’s also fair)
“Felix seemed ravished with delight when he saw her, every trait of sorrow vanished from his face, and it instantly expressed a degree of ecstatic joy, of which I could hardly have believed it capable; his eyes sparkled as his cheek flushed with pleasure; and at that moment I thought him as beautiful as the stranger.”
I heard of the slothful Asiatics; of the stupendous genius and mental activity of the Grecians;
"This is what it is to live,” he cried, “now I enjoy existence! But you, my dear Frankenstein, wherefore are you desponding and sorrowful!” In truth, I was occupied by gloomy thoughts,
They have barely more than a week left of their Kickstarter and only have a third of the funds raised. If you can’t donate, please spread the word to fellow Dracula enthusiasts and folks out here looking for good inventive horror podcasts!
Ok new game. What’s the thing you’re a fan of that you’re the most pretentious about. NOT the most pretentious thing you’re a fan of, I mean the thing that makes *you* act like one of those “oh yeah? Name five of their albums” people. There is a difference
Bad news: everyone who has said some variation of “umm actually I don’t do that 🙏 I’m a good person” is more annoying than the rest of us confessing to our nerd crimes. Yes you do. I guarantee it you do. You’re saying Um, Actually right now
As of this morning we stand at 68% completed - that’s a whopping £15,720 funded to create more of The Holmwood Foundation! We are overwhelmed by everyone’s love and generosity but please remember at this stage that we are an all or nothing project.
If we don’t hit our goal, the money doesn’t go to us, and we can’t make the project.
We have only 6 days left to make the remaining 7,280 we need
Please like, comment and share with all your friends and family and see if we can make the last of the money we need!
Please help us pay our cast and crew and put more Jeremy/Jonathan, Mina/Maddie out into the world!
Malevolent, TMA, and Dracula Daily fans! Lend me your ears!
Are you looking for a new spooky horror podcast? Then might I recommend, The Holmwood Foundation?
Malevolent fans, do you like possession and co-dependency? How about traveling on a cross country road trip over the English countryside with a decayed magical possessed severed head? Do you like fighting the Horrors™️ with impractical weapons like a stolen camping stake? Then you’ll love Holmwood!
And Magnus Archive girlies, you like tape recorders and bureaucratic secretive organizations investigating supernatural artifacts and events, right? How about archivists actually doing an archiving job? We can only hope Then you too have lots to look forward to with the Holmwood Foundation! And don’t forget a healthy dose of queer representation to go with that 😉
For the Dracula Daily and Re:Dracula fans out there, this one is for you at heart! The story takes place 130 years after the events of Dracula with the main characters Madeline Townsend and Jeremy Larkin getting possessed by the spirits of Mina and Jonathan Harker after Dracula’s skull is uncovered in an archaeological dig and something dark and dangerous is released into the world trying to claw its way back. Follow Maddie and Jeremy under the guidance of Mina and Jonathan as they attempt to end the threat of Dracula coming back once and for all.
ALT
The Holmwood Foundation is currently being kickstarted with about 4 days left in their campaign as of writing this (10:30pm CST, November 9, 2024) and they are about 76.5% of the way towards their goal. I really want to see this podcast come to fruition and see where the story goes, so if you are interested, listen to the first episode that’s already out now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Acast, or anywhere you can listen to podcasts, and if you like it, consider donating to the campaign!
You can find the kickstarter here and the first episode for the podcast here!
The Holmwood’s original posts can be found linked here and here
And a list of the episode titles can be found here!
Just to clarify, I’m not being paid to promote this or anything, I just have an unhealthy obsession with Dracula content and a desire for More that I can’t get if the story doesn’t come out :(
But it’s so good guys, I promise it’s so good, please listen to it I love it so much 💕
So apparently there are two ways to get the drinking water, and I only really learned about it recently. My sister and I always used the spring under the bridge, but my brother always used the waterfalls.
So recently, we were all playing it together (blindfold challenge) and we got the empty bottle and we were like “ok, where do we get the drinking water again?” and my sister and I were like “oh, we know, it’s the little spring” and my brother was like “what? What are you talking about? You get it at the waterfalls.”
Anyway, we got it at the spring, and my brother, who has been playing this game for over 20 years, was absolutely dumbfounded, he honestly thought we were gaslighting him or something.
You know what I think about too much? How Jon’s ability to trust was absolutely obliterated by the Not-Them. How when he finally makes the active choice to trust again, nobody trusts him.
How he has to make a choice to trust, how he can no longer naturally believe in others and what they say, and has to try and convince himself that he can trust them.
How his Stranger induced paranoia led him to distrust genuine concern and fair criticism, how later he overcompensates and takes others’ unfair criticism to heart.
How it’s probably only in season 5 that he can somewhat naturally trust anyone, and that’s only because he can literally Know what their intentions are.
I haven’t really posted anything about the new season of DnDads, so here are some of my thoughts so far:
Tucker can go die.
I thought that Tucker was actually an eldritch horror when the makeup lady said “our son”
I hope Trudy gets to murder Tucker
I also think Francis should do more violence actually, mostly because I think it’s funny
I think Will is doing a really good job DMing this season
I kinda wish Tony survived, but I’m interested to see where Blake is going to go
Do you think he’ll meet pennywise or something?
I honestly don’t have anything to say about Kelsey, she’s fine.
Haven’t listened in a bit, and zoned out a bit when I listened to the last episode.
Ok, I’ve listened to the new episode, so here’s a few more thoughts:
Tucker can go die.
The amount of rage I felt when he said he wanted a divorce, I wanted to puch him so hard.
I holding out hope that Blake will have some better traits than Tony, but it’s not looking too great.
Also when Kelsey kinda said that Francis isn’t a good person, Ma’am you made a deal with a eldritch being, plagiarized, and did illegal boxing, maybe take care of your glass house before you throw those stones.
The IP address is definitely the best one so far.
Marbles better make it out of this.
I am intrigued by the time shenanigans.
Still don’t have much to say on Kelsey.
I feel like Beth is really carrying all the emotions this season. Probably because it’s usually Beth and Will’s characters that have all the emotional moments and Will’s DMing now.
What’s up with Mothman? Like what’s he up to now? Why’s he in Peachyville?
I’m gonna make a guess right now, and say this season will have 55 episodes. (Roughly 8 per key, 10 for the introduction, and 10 for final stuff.)
It’s honestly shocking to me how much of the book was just describing the scenery.
Also, because I self project constantly, Victor seems kinda Ace to me, maybe Aro with a QPR with Henry, but that might be actual romance.
Kinda surprised that no one ever stops Victor to ask why he’s collecting so many body parts, they’re just like “eh, Victor’s experimenting on corpses again, I guess.”
Absolutely wild for Caroline to adopt a child for the sole purpose of “gifting” her to her son.
I wish I could be motivated in to a hyper-focused frenzy where I actually complete my projects, maybe not for 2 years though.
Alright time for all my unpopular opinions. (this will likely be very long)
Y'all are babygirl-ifying the Creature way too much. My dude murdered at least 4 people. (Technically murdered 3 and framed the 4th for murder.)
Hey, remember when the Creature murdered a child? Yeah, that happened.
Or when he framed a woman for murder, knowing full well what would likely happen to her? (The Creature didn’t even know she had any connection to Victor, he fully decided to frame her because of the idea that she would reject him)
or when he murdered 2 people just because Victor cared about them?
I’m not saying the the Creature isn’t sympathetic, and it really is unfair that everyone shuns him, but that doesn’t mean he gets a “Murder innocents” pass.
On a similar note, and this is maybe just me, but Victor is way more sympathetic than anyone gives him credit for.
When he made the Creature he was a dumb kid that was messing with things he really shouldn’t have, but he was grieving his mother and coping very poorly.
So he thinks “what if I could bring her back?” or at least “Maybe I can prevent losing anyone else” so he tries “”“Playing God”“” but it’s not because he has a god complex, he’s mourning a loss and is doing anything to not think about it while also trying something that might prevent such loss in the future.
I do think he’s a bit self-centered, but not in a “I’m superior” way , more in a “Why is this happening to me?” way that makes him forget others’ perspectives or how his actions may affect them.
I don’t think he’s always thinking about how every other person is dumber than him or how great he is.
I do think he has a very strong desire to have his achievements seen and known, because for quite a while everyone dismissed his interests. (Which, just saying, can really do some damage on a kid)
Should Victor not have abandoned the Creature? Yes, but he also didn’t exactly have the mental or emotional capacity to care for the Creature at that time.
When the Creature awoke, Victor was faced with the reality of what he was doing; he wasn’t bringing someone back to life, he was creating something else entirely, so he ran. And afterwards the Creature was gone, and then Victor had a psychotic break for like several months. He wasn’t really in peak parent mode then.
(Side tangent, but any of those “I wouldn’t run from the Creature” people are absolutely lying, you’re really going to react calmly to a 8ft shambling monster made from dead bodies?)
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Victor is entirely innocent, but there’s a lot of things that he get’s blamed for that were not his fault.
Not one of the deaths in the book are Victor’s fault.
William died because he screamed and revealed his family name, so the Creature killed him to hurt Victor.
Justine died because the Creature framed her because he thought she would reject him and because she was pressured in to pleading guilty.
Henry died because the Creature wanted to hurt Victor.
Elizabeth died because the Creature wanted to hurt Victor.
If you think any of those deaths are Victor’s fault, then you’re victim blaming.
Yes, the Creature likely wouldn’t have done any of that had Victor not ran, but you know what else would have prevented those deaths? If the Creature didn’t kill them.
The Creature is an incredibly intelligent being, by the time he kills William he has learned enough to properly frame a woman for murder.
You can not say he accidentally killed William, he knows what death is.
He didn’t accidentally frame Justine for said murder.
He didn’t just so happen to kill Henry because he got caught off guard by him.
He wasn’t looking for Victor to kill on the wedding day.
He chose to kill every single one of them, and to put all the blame on Victor is unfair to Victor and the Creature.
The Creature is his own person, which means he also needs to be held responsible for his actions.
You can understand and sympathize with the Creature, but that doesn’t mean he’s infallible.
The Creature has every right to be mad at the world, his first experience in the world is being abandoned by the one who gave him life, and then he is constantly shunned, feared, and hated for the rest of his life, it’s not right.
But that doesn’t mean you murder people, or if he had to, he should have killed Victor, the person that actually wronged him.
And listen, I understand every minority feels a kinship with the Creature, but for me, there’s something about Victor that is so unbearably relatable.
The thing about Victor is that he has people that care for him, but none of them understand him in the slightest, even Henry, he may love Victor but I don’t think he really understood him all the time.
So you have Victor, who has people who care for him and who he cares for in return, trying his best to act normal, to pretend there’s nothing wrong.
He’s trying so, so hard not to worry the people he cares for, but on the inside he’s miserable, paranoid, and overall just incredibly mentally unwell.
And that is something that is just so intriguing to me. (Not saying the Creature isn’t also very nuanced and complex, just that Victor scratches some itch in my brain.)
Anyway, this is already very long, I honestly have more I could say about it, but this is good for now.
Genuine question, does Victor actually ever compare himself to God?
Like, almost every single Victor hate post is like “this dumb idiot with a god complex is just a college dropout haha, if I made the Creature I would love and nurture it, not like loser McGodComplex over there.”
But I looked it up, and the word “god” is in the book 26 times, and most of them are just exclamations.
The only time that Victor is likened to god (that is relevant, Walton does describe him as “God-like in his ruin” or something else really gay) is when the Creature claims he “should have been thy Adam, but is instead a fallen angel” or whatever he said.
So the one that sees Victor as a god is the Creature, and not Victor himself, which I think is very interesting. It’s a kinda like how kids think their parents always have the answers or can fix anything.
I also wonder if the Creature thinks that Victor made him for some “divine purpose” or something. (Sorry if he already said something of the like in the book)
