imagine me with a chalk board, pointer and tinfoil hat.
So Odysseus drags Achilles into the war and then has a sorta paternal relationship with him while having a very non paternal relationship with Diomedes who is younger than Achilles. Diomedes and Achilles totally have that sexual tension going on but then Achilles dIES so Odysseus and Diomedes drag Neo into this and then Ody fakes a relationship with Neo to keep the kid safe from advances from any other men who would be in a position of power over him. Neo then has a weird obsession with Diomedes who arguably replicates the relationship he had with Odysseus but with Neo and then Neo pulls Telemachus into this. completing the daddy issues cube and putting Telemachus into the position that Achilles was in with Neo as his Diomedes and Odysseus as himself.
Which does highlight other Telemachus/Achilles parallels such as the water deity on the maternal side, angst over belonging and glory, and dying violently while still young (if the telegony is to be believed)
I dont know exactly what this means but i feel like it's something. Maybe Achilles and Tele should kiss about it? We just don't know.
I am CHEWING on this. Especially fake relationship Odysseus and Pyrrhus. Like Odysseus is SO uncomfortable initially because "That is a baby. A child"
But he has to go along with it anyways. And Diomedes is having fucking whiplash because Pyrrhus is the son of his hatesex situationship who VERY RECENTLY kicked the bucket, and is also the fake eromenos of his OTHER situationship, and on top of that he's also imprinted on him like some weird murderous duckling. And it's obviously not exactly innocent on Pyrrhus' part but what is he supposed to do? The kid is in a vulnerable position and it kinda feels nice to be admired like that so he lets it be even though it is developing into something distinctly unhealthy.
And like Pyrrhus is getting emotionally and mentally fucked up because he's having to pretend to have a relationship with a much older guy who he has a sort of hero worship of, and is genuinely obsessed with Diomedes, and his dad is dead and he's a tween/teenage boy who is like maturing in a very weird environment.
And like the war ends but then as time passes Pyrrhus only gets more attached to the memories, and maybe his perception even starts to warp in a way that he believes that the relationship with Odysseus wasn't fake. And at some point Diomedes comes in and Pyrrhus is so like earnestly desperate and weird and somehow successfully seduces him.
And then Telemachus also comes into the picture and he's like desperate for paternal approval and latches onto both of them because they knew his dad, and Diomedes is more weird about it but Pyrrhus likes it because it's a weird sort of power play- Like he's taking something from Odysseus because he has a mess of resentment and anger and attraction towards him that he channels towards Telemachus and Diomedes.
And FUCK when Odysseus gets home it's gonna be a mess. He's still very much attracted to Diomedes but Diomedes is dating his son! And his (???)! And it's all so messy and delicious. The guilt the attraction the awkwardness the pining.
Naturally the only way to resolve this is an incestuous foursome /j
