Oooh!!! I'm so happy to see more EPIC the musical agere stuff!! Got any cg!Athena and little!odysseus headcanons? These two are probably my favorite pair to headcanon as little/caregiver!
This is TECHNICALLY extremely close to one of the things that was in my surprise egg asks... so let's just go ahead and open up Egg #14!!
Platonic Caregiver! Athena with Little! Odysseus + Little! Telemachus.
Odysseus: [TW For PTSD Symptoms.]
As I've stated in the past, I truly believe Odysseus didn't think Athena would answer his call when he was on Calypso's Island. Athena WAS less than satisfied with his past wrongdoings, sure... but her little boy was in trouble. Nothing he could have done would have prevented her from coming to his aid in his worst moment.
Needless to say, she is fuming at Calypso. But she didn't have enough time to direct her anger at her. She's more worried about what she can do to get Odysseus out of that situation he's in.
Athena is the ONLY one Odysseus will let cuddle him, and not think that he's cheating on his wife. He sees Athena in a big sister/motherly type sense, he would never cheat on his wife with her. Penelope knows that for certain.
He calls Athena 'dada.' Mommy/mama is reserved for Penelope! Besides, Athena would love how masculine caregiver terms make her feel.
Athena gets Odysseus a Wild Boar plush and he LOVES IT. His name is Oinky, and it's the ONLY comfort item he has throughout the entire Odyssey. [In my headcanons, at least. I let him have that.] When he makes it home, Athena gives him a toy horse, carved from beautiful, polished wood. It has wheels so he can roll it along, or a string where he can pull it all along the castle.
Athena loves challenging his little mind. She gives him puzzles to do, or blocks to play with and balance. He loves those sorts of things.
When Ody is really little, Athena will play peekaboo with him, and it's his favorite thing. She'll take her helmet off, and put it back on. "Ody... wheeeere's dada? Here she is!!" And Odysseus giggles and giggles forever until she does it again.
Telemachus: [TW For Bullying + Derealization.]
Athena practically raised Telemachus alongside his mother. His boyhood was spent playing outside with Athena. And... not everyone could see Athena, so that had some problems.
Everyone told Telemachus he didn't really know Athena, and that he was stupid for having an imaginary friend. He started to question if he ever did see Athena, or if he made it all up... From there, he talked to Athena about it. It broke her heart he questioned his own knowledge so much... she always reassured him she really was there.
Athena loves playing all sorts of games with Telemachus. He started regressing when he was a teenager, I think. Athena begins to wonder why all his peers have stopped playing and he just... hasn't. But she doesn't mind at all! Some days when they stop playing, Athena is more tired than Telemachus is!
Telemachus has a stim where he howls like a wolf pup. He's embarrassed of it, but Athena thinks it's sweet, and encourages it. When he's little, she'll ask him, "sweetheart, what does the wolfy say?" The little one hesitates, but eventually makes a quiet 'awoo' noise. "No! Louder than that!" Athena encourages until he does it proudly.
Telemachus doesn't like traditional toys. He gets bored with them easily. He much prefers playing with things he finds outside, like sticks, and rocks. He has one exception: his wolf stuffie, Barky. He's had Barky ever since he was born, and has a very worn out speaker box. Years and years of permanent dirt stains Penelope couldn't wash out. He would have lost that stuffie 100 times over if it weren't for Athena retrieving it.
Telemachus throws tantrums. He mostly regresses to his "terrible twos" and he doesn't know how to regulate his emotions when that little. Athena doesn't mind, she holds him and lets him get through it safely. "Little wolf, I know... 'Thena knows, honey... Let it out, it's okay... we're in our own little world, and you're safe."
Thank you for the ask!! It was really fun to answer. Epic is becoming a special interest of ours!
