Ultimate Hate Circle 😍😍

Let's talk about "Monster" ... and one of Odysseus' criminally underrated traits: his lack of judgment.

I was re-listening to "Monster" the other day and it kind of just hit me... Overall, that song isn't my favorite (it's somewhere in B tier; the lyricism is great, and the part after "So if we must sail through dangerous oceans..." absolutely slaps, it's just not one that I go back to frequently.) But there are some things I genuinely adore about it because I adore the way it progresses Odysseus' character arc as clearly not a "corruption" and how this is conveyed through the way the song is set up and presented.

First of all, I simply have to yap about how Odysseus isn't justifying his foes' actions the way that I have seen some people falsely assume. He's describing what they did or do and essentially saying, "They aren't letting themselves be stopped by guilt from doing what they think they have to do, so why should I?"

Polyphemus doesn't overthink whether it's right or wrong to kill some people because they harmed him or his sheep.

Circe may deep down feel guilt but isn't letting that stop her from turning men into pigs to prevent any more harm from befalling her nymphs at their hands.

Poseidon isn't losing sleep over drowning a fleet because that is what gods do to retain their infamy and status.

Odysseus and the rest of his soldiers didn't use the Trojan horse tactic out of malice or bloodlust, but out of pragmatism. It was the most efficient way to win a war that would have only cost more lives on both sides if they hadn't ended it then and there.

You look at that and you may think, "That's all very fair, but that doesn't mean any of those actions are justified" ... and you'd be right. None of the actions above are actually right or justified.

But the thing about "Monster" that I love so much is that it's specifically NOT something like, "These people I've encountered are all evil and ruthless and they are right and justified in being that way; I'll be the same." It's actually, "These people I've encountered act with ruthlessness; it clearly aids them in achieving their goal, and they seem to have figured out how to not feel guilt over their actions. I want to reap those benefits too. So far, I've been acting with mercy, which seems to have disadvantaged me. If they can do it, I can and should do the same to level the playing field."

Odysseus isn't saying that their actions are right, wrong, or justified. He's simply exploring why these people act the way they do. And he does so entirely without judgment.

I'm not surprised about him not judging Circe; while she was still wrong since she went overboard and struck preemptively against people who were not guaranteed to ever cause harm, she was pretty much redeemed in the end and her point is the easiest out of these to understand.

But the rest? Polyphemus killed his best friend. Poseidon drowned his whole fleet. The Trojan horse? It never comes up anywhere else but since he mentions it here, I think it's safe to assume that Odysseus feels guilty for using a tactic such as this. And still... Odysseus talks about his foes' actions with understanding and an open mind. He acknowledges their points of view—all of them, even if none besides Circe ever acknowledged or understood his.

The only time we genuinely see Odysseus act out of resentment is when he tells Polyphemus his name... After that, he never shows anything of the sort ever again. If he ever held any resentment toward any of his foes, I feel like this is where he lets it go for good.

Hell, even Poseidon, whom he would have by far the most reasons to resent, Odysseus doesn't actually judge or resent. I wrote a whole mini-essay on why the Vengeance saga proves that Odysseus doesn't actually seek or want vengeance on Poseidon. One might argue that he sounded like he was avenging his crew in "Six Hundred Strike" but it's important to remember that he offered Poseidon forgiveness one song earlier. He didn't lead with vengeance or resentment, but he rekindled his anger when Poseidon rejected his mercy.

My point is that Odysseus doesn't judge or resent any of the people who attempt to stand between him and his home... which shows incredible character strength in and of itself. This occurs later, but he acts similarly toward Calypso in "Not Sorry for Loving You" as well.

This is such an underrated trait of his, especially considering it fits perfectly with EPIC's themes, which revolve around seeing every perspective and balancing between ruthlessness and mercy. Honestly, I don't think those themes would even work with a protagonist who isn't so open-minded.

Coming back to "Monster," as we've established, Odysseus doesn't pass judgment on his foes. Similarly, he isn't saying that his decision to embrace ruthlessness and "become" a Monster (read more to find out why I put that in quotation marks) or any of his future actions as this Monster are justified.

I genuinely despise it when people call his arc a "villain arc" or "corruption" because that's pretty much missing the entire point. He isn't actually becoming a monster, corrupting, or genuinely changing his personality—hence why I put those quotation marks earlier. He is deliberately choosing to embrace a certain ruthless way of acting, fully knowing that it is not actually right or justified. "So what if I'm the Monster?" is self-gaslighting. He knows it's not "so what?" But he's doing it anyway because he has seen this way of acting aiding his foes. He literally says, "I must become the Monster / And then we'll make it home." He is convinced that this is what he must become because he keeps being told this by everyone.

From the top, his values or person isn't actually being corrupted. He's not really internally changing. He's merely adapting a way of behaving because he thinks it's the only way he'll still get home, and only because of that. It's really f*cking sad actually. Especially because he is wrong; his not being ruthless is not actually the problem, as we find out later.

Genuinely, his monster act lasted exactly 3,5 songs; in the second half of "Mutiny" it's already all gone because he is so afraid for his crew and what they're about to do to themselves that he instinctively goes back to wanting to save them despite how they just led a mutiny, despite how they don't listen to him regarding the cows.

Odysseus' entire arc can be described as, "He tries out mercy, and it doesn't get him home. He tries out ruthlessness, and it doesn't get him home either. In order to get home, he needs to learn balance, in Hermes' words "Every trick in his domain"." And that is also, as I believe, the main theme of EPIC: Neither ruthlessness nor mercy by itself is the solution. Both have their place; one needs balance. Or: treat people as they ask to be treated.

Only by the time of the Vengeance saga does Odysseus seem to have finally figured this out, and that's where he genuinely starts succeeding.

So no, Odysseus is no longer "The Monster" by the time of the Vengeance saga, no matter how much the visuals in "Six Hundred Strike" try to convince us otherwise. But he isn't "Just a Man" either. Did anyone besides me notice how he stopped calling himself this or justifying his weak moments like that in "Monster" and how he doesn't go back to it even after dropping the monster act?

And here we have the perfect segway into an essay I haven't written yet that might answer the question, "If now he's not a man and not a monster, what is he then?"

Well, technically Odysseus told us himself that one time he acted out of resentment... "Neither man nor mythical." But that's an essay yet to be written... I'll get to it soon, and there we might answer what actually happened in "Six Hundred Strike" and why the line "If you dance with fate I know you'll enhance your state", that I see is mostly overlooked, matters so much more than we probably all think.

Until then, know that I am not actually the first one to address the "Neither man nor mythical" significance. Credit goes to @glisten-inthedark; coming across her post on this matter genuinely enhanced my understanding of what happened so much and I need all of you to read it because it's a truly brilliant conclusion. I'll write my own essay on this topic soon, I promise. But without that post, I would've probably not come to this realization for a long while.

Either way, we end this essay with words that I will never tire of repeating: Stop villainizing Odysseus, y'all. It's not cool, not only because it's undeserved but also because it pretty much shows that you have successfully missed the point and core theme of this musical.

... See you when we inspiration for another essay strikes me. In the meantime, have a brief introduction to what that essay will cover in meme form because I can.

Reminder to self: The goal is not to be free of insecurity or imperfection *before* building relationships. The goal is to learn how to own and work through insecurity *while* being vulnerable with the people you love.

Some expression practices from Smosh's newest Reddit stories video.

Tommy and Amanda really went through it all in the second to last story.

And bonus Shayne.

god. just… the change in 2085’s lyrics from “you’ve gotta get better, you’re all that i’ve got” to “i’ve gotta get better, i’m all that i’ve got”

Avatar 2 characters as Vines

Jake @ Lo’ak: when will you learn?! When will you learn?!? That your actions have CONSEQUENCES!

Neytiri the entire movie: release all of the sounds that are trapped in your mind… “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaahhh”

Neteyam the entire movie: aaaaa…Aaaaa…AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Lo’ak the entire movie: Kevin—Kevin don’t—Kevin, watch the light dude! *smashes light*

Tuk getting captured by the RDA: Well, when life gives you lemons!

Kiri watching her bros fighting with Ao’nung: can I get a waffle? Can I pleeeaase get a waffle?

Spider @ Kiri: don’t tell your mother 😏 kiss one another 😏 DIE FOR EACH OTHER!!!!

Tsireya @ Lo’ak: accept yourself! Love yourself! Accept Yourself!

Rafayel is for the people that grew up fast.

Rafayel is for the people that couldn’t fully enjoy being a child.

Rafayel is for the people that needed to see a loved one leave and got attachment issues ever since.

Rafayel is for the people who couldn’t express their emotions as a child since this was dismissed as “overreacting and now be quiet!”.

Rafayel is for the people that wanted to start a new hobby but no one believed that they would stick to it.

Rafayel is for the people who got called lazy all their lives.

Rafayel is for the people that got a late adhd diagnosis.

Rafayel is for the people that cry alone in their room.

Rafayel is for the people that despite their hardships in life, they still think the world is beautiful🩷

Violet is teeny and frail the way that so many ya female protaginists are. But the difference is that the story recognizes her weaknesses and addresses them. Everyone can see she is breakable but what makes her scary is that she's fully willing to break herself to get what she wants. She isn't just anger in a cute tiny package she is rage shoved into a glass bottle with a crack running up the side. She doesn't just fight through pain, she functions in pain constantly. She's brutal and resilient and so willing to throw herself on a knife just to give others a better chance at survival.

Sylus is for the ones who want security

Sylus is for the ones whose feet always seem to find the cracks in the pavement, who always seem to stumble over themselves as they try desperately to make something- a name for themselves, a conversation, a new relationship, a stronger existing one, anything- only to fail again and again.

Sylus is for the ones who find themselves holding up their hands as they watch them shake. Why you? Why was everything always on you? Why did you always have to make the effort, the connection, the fake-happy face to appease someone, just so that they might love you?

Sylus is for the ones who truly try, but have longed since reached the breaking point. Don't worry darling. Hide the cracks. If they're hidden, you surely can handle a little bit more disappointment. A little bit more 'being alone' no matter how hard you try. A little bit more on focusing on everyone else's needs while neglecting your own. Why are you breaking? Why are your pieces on the floor? Chin up, darling. It's only for a while longer. How much longer? Well, how much more do you have left to give?

Sylus is for the ones who sit wondering why. Why is there suddenly the foreign feeling of care, of love, of endearment? When everything has been 'nothing' for so long, how are you supposed to cope with 'anything' at all? Much less 'everything'? The stack of bills are paid, the cupboards no longer have ramen, rice, and beans. The texts come frequently, and your phone rings randomly whenever you cross someone's mind. When have you ever crossed someone's mind? And the clothes bought for you fit like a glove.

Sylus is for the ones who have given everything all of their life, who have found themselves desperate for connections that no one wants to make with them, who give their everything in exchange for more anxiety and demands at their expense.

Sylus is for the ones who want security.

amanda going shayne you eat CEREAL????? only to reveal she cannot have cereal or she’ll eat three bowls like a fiend is so funny and so amanda

musical lyrics as truths the types need to hear

ESTJ: “Life is never what you planned. Life is moments you can’t understand. And that is life” (Falsettos)

INFP: “You pretend to create and observe when you really detach from feeling alive” (Rent)

ISFP: “Make just a ripple. Come on, be brave. This time a ripple, next time a wave” (Anyone Can Whistle)

ESTP: "You may know what you need, but to get what you want, better see that you keep what you have” (Into the Woods)

ISTP: “Prefix ‘ordinary’ with ‘extra’” (Finding Neverland)

ENFP: “Don’t fall apart at the seams. It’s called letting go your illusions, and don’t confuse them with dreams” (Merrily We Roll Along)

ISTJ: “You can like the life you’re living. You can live the life you like” (Chicago)

ENTJ: “So scared of what your enemies will do to you—you’re the only enemy you ever seem to lose to” (Hamilton)

ESFP: “Nice is different than good” (Into the Woods)

ENTP: “Well, I’ll sing you the story of a sorrowful lad. He had everything he wanted, didn’t want what he had” (Pippin)

ESFJ: “Nobody but me is going to change my story” (Matilda)

ISFJ: “Stop worrying where you’re going. Move on. If you can know where you’re going, you’ve gone” (Sunday in the Park with George)

INTJ: “You’ve got so many reasons for not being with someone, but…you haven’t got one good reason for being alone” (Company)

INFJ: “The choice may have been mistaken. The choosing was not. You have to move on” (Sunday in the Park with George)

ENFJ: “Hey, buddy, don’t be afraid it won’t be perfect. The only thing to be afraid of, really, is that it won’t be” (Company)

INTP: “Give me pain, if that’s what’s real. It’s the price we pay to feel” (Next to Normal)