Author of The Fergen
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A little bit about me... I'm Zelphin, and a lot of people call me Zelly, Zel, or Z. I'm a traditional Christian, author, actor, and college student! Posts will always be inconsistent, mainly because I just get too busy or forget to post...
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Okay, I've watched the whole film. And honestly? I should have expected the Internet to just hate on things because assumptions were made and the full movie wasn't watched.
Here's my full opinion down under the cut.
I liked it. Heck, I liked it a lot. It takes a very realistic position on the Trojan war with SOME historical details and little god interactions, and more how the gods influence their culture rather than the outcome. As someone who is writing an Iliad and Odyssey isekai, I appreciated this approach. I took notes during the watching so I could remember some key talking points.
Pros:
The sea people were a major plot point! I found that super cool. They're mentioned in history as the people who came across the sea and collapsed the bronze age, which morphed into the iron age. There is only a few texts about them in Egypt, so I was SUPER happy to hear that they were mentioned and a plot in the story.
It was also mentioned in the movie that Agamemnon used the excuse of Helens capture to secure trade routes from Troy, which is ALSO a historical reason why the Trojan war happened.
Penelope even mentions to Odysseus she suspected Helen ran off with Paris, which is also historical considering the Greeks think she was kidnapped and the Trojans think she came on her own free will. It's a major plot point in my own series and I'm glad to have seen it mentioned.
I ADORED that they stuck with Agamemnon sacrificing his young daughter to appease the gods and Penelope thought it was monstrous when she was told about it, (it is). It was a great factor in the movie and good piece of lore from mythology that doesn't often get mentioned.
They mentioned the pillaging Odysseus crew did before the lotus eaters, which doesn't get mentioned a lot in adaptations! Really appreciated that.
The Cyclops scene? OH. MY. GOSH. I FELT the fear in the theater. It was SUPER well done and really felt the stakes.
Telemachus acted like a homeschool kid seeing a big crowd of people for the first time when going to Sparta haha, it made me laugh and was a good bit.
I appreciated how Helen asked Telemachus to relay to Penelope that she was sorry for the war. Great tie back to the Iliad.
The scenes of the Greeks taking over Troy were PHENOMENAL. I thoroughly enjoyed whenever those came up. Tense, action-packed, in the moment, and felt realistic too.
They did cover the giants that took the majority of Odysseus crew. I liked how they portrayed them to have iron armor, one of the many reasons they overpowered Odysseus crew.
The crew showed signs of mutiny and disobeying far before the calf scene which was great. They thought Odysseus had sinned and wasn't asking for forgiveness so they took over in parts, when in reality the gods were screwing them over. REALLY liked that.
Agamemnon told him to disguise as a beggar when he got home on account for what happened to him. (They did explain the wife was upset at the daughters sacrifice and killed him for that). It played nicely into the movie.
They didn't let us viewers hear the siren song as if we had earwax in ourselves. I thought that was AMAZING, along with Odysseus reaction to hearing it. One soldier took his earwax out and jumped in, which goes along with the myth of if a group sails across them without stopping they die (iirc) so it was a neat detail to have at least one jump in. The way they described the song was amazing as well.
I LOVED how Odysseus met Telemachus and changed his view on burying the dead in times of panic, as well as them honoring with them in flames which in consequence burnt a temple down. Great symbolism for how Odysseus was feeling, loved that.
THEY LET ODYSSEUS PET HIS DYING DOG 😭😭😭 HE GOT TO SHOW AFFECTION AND SAY BYE.
They portrayed the suitors REALLY well so much that I hated them. Kicking Argos, beating on beggars, being mean to Telemachus and being derogatory to the queen, her wishes, and the servants, it was all portrayed very well. Actors did a good job because I hated their characters. Kinda symbolized Troy a bit too, they ate and never went to war, grew fat, hid within the walls of a kingdom, so when the REAL soldier came home they were swatted like flies.
Really liked Odysseus talking with Penelope scene, that was so sweet.
I don't like Agamemnon in Greek mythology, but oh boy did he AURA FARM with the way he stood in center frame when Troys gates were opened? He ATE. Bro gained so much aura from that one scene. Makes sense since he's the high king but MAN you just HAVE to see it, it's wonderful. Never cheered so hard for a man I extremely dislike.
Some of the suitors bowed to Odysseus before the fight ended to spare their lives and it felt super real and like something that actually happened. I appreciated some of them having sense, even though in the book I think they all get slaughtered.
Odysseus and Penelope get to sail into the horizon and beyond at the end, yay :)
Cons:
I did not like all the tension Telemachus had with his mother, it was like the movies had them arguing every scene they were together to further the plot and not on the same side against the suitors. The movie stressed they had different ideas on how to handle the suitors and they could never agree and talk in love.
I wish they would have implemented Odysseus cunning 'nobody' scene with the Cyclops or other people SOMEHOW, but it was completely cut from the movie.
Oh gosh, the way they portrayed Menelaus was AWFUL. if I remember correctly, Menelaus was HAPPILY married to Helen before and after the war and during the Trojan War Helen actively MISSED Menelaus. That was NOT the case in the movie. Menelaus scarred her in the movie, and actively talked down to her. He was portrayed as cruel and rude. His response to Helen's antagonizing was pretty bad too.
I also didn't like how they portrayed Helen. Her being black wouldn't have upset me if she wasn't literally described as white skinned in the Iliad, along with being depicted with blonde or strawberry blonde/red hair to fit the beauty standards of that time. She was also super condescending to Menelaus, antagonizing him with Agamemnon's death and not happy to be with him at all. Her sass would 100% be intolerable historically. It's like they tried to give her a voice of frustration and just made her a horrible, angry person instead.
Circe's scene was AWFUL, but in different ways. 1, she was alone and had no servant girls, and she was portrayed like a victim when the men came only asking for food (I understand she might have had trauma before that but she literally turns them into pigs so, I don't know why she was acting so afraid?) also they asked quite nicely and she still did it.
Speaking of the pig scene, HORRIFYING. I'm scarred for life. She like rubbed their faces into pigs and put her hands into their mouth as they transformed, horrid, never want to see that again. and the men were already eating like rabid pigs before the transformation but the way it was presented made it look like a bad thing? They were STARVING, I got the message that "men are like pigs" already with the suitor scenes, but Odysseus men were STARVING and they still asked politely in the movie, and she made it seem like they came onto her and forced her to feed them and ate like pigs as if they could have gotten it elsewhere.
Really didn't like the message she gave Odysseus either, how she was like "your men are going to die" that wasn't your job, ma'am. That was for the underworld.
Didn't care for how big of a role Sinon had in the movies, I don't actually know if he's related to Antonious (suitor, did I spell that right?), but it was just a weird subplot that I didn't think was needed.
They ALSO tried to portray Calypso as good(ish)? Like she was like "I saved your life!" Yet she was like trying to help him remember his past and what he did because apparently he forgot after eating lotus, and she grew to love him and wanted him to stay, but like "let him go" because "his heart was elsewhere," like, kinda felt like the movie had a hard time letting the women make bad decisions or be "evil." In the book from my understanding, Calypso kept him there against his will and forced herself on him for YEARS. why did they like try to make her like she was suffering just because he wanted to go home? She was super floppy in her character, helping him remember but wanting him to stay, as if she was a comforter to him rather than his abductor and captor. Didn't like that at all.
This is more just a creative liberty critique although it makes sense, Odysseus blamed himself throughout the movie, and although it was still a good plot point, he actively admits "yeah, Athena inspired the horse yet I'm still being punished for it" and "yeah the gods casted winds on this island and we were stranded and had nowhere to go and our food ran out" and "yeah we've angered poseidon for hurting the Cyclops but we hadn't stolen anything and we had to get out alive" like it was clear everything was the gods fault, and he still blamed himself. I get that's their culture but there were times were Odysseus wouldn't honor the gods and would try to defy them, I wish they leaned in more to that (because it's what got him home).
They made Penelope like weirdly throne hungry and like "why can't I hold it myself?!" And she was super mad that a woman couldn't just have the throne? She wanted the suitors to burn yes, but she was also super against Telemachus taking the throne, which was weird, and she wanted to hold it herself until she died? It was odd and I didn't like it. She did miss Odysseus yes but that part just felt so out of character to the rest that was portrayed.
I understand that Emily Wilson's version (the one Christopher Nolan based the movie on) is more feminist and wants to give the "women a voice" but it didn't really feel like giving them a voice over just voicing feminist propaganda through their tongues, I don't think the women would have said what they said in their culture. Sure they want to be heard but I believe not like it was portrayed.
Neutrals:
They skipped over the lotus eater part entirely, but included lotus on Calypso's island, and had her feed it to him so he would forget and wish to stay with her, which makes sense imo.
They used the pillaged people to identify Odysseus and Ithaca to the gods rather than the Cyclops, for he was mute, kinda? He didn't really talk. And it was his men who said their kingdom rather than Odysseus himself.
Troys walls were short in the movie, I think they should've been, historically, a little bit more tall for accuracy.
They didn't have traditional Greek or Trojan armor, but honestly I didn't hate it nor liked it? They portrayed the Trojans in white, fitting, no stains on their clothes because they hid in their walls for nine years.
No mention of Achilles.
No mention of Hermes, he was completely removed via the Circe and Calypso scene.
The portrayal of Hades was more like a "they went to this part of the world, offered sacrifices and resummoned the dead." Weird how the dead had to lick the sheeps blood before they could talk, kinda unnecessary imo. Makes sense for pagan practices and their religions but it was just too odd for me personally.
Aeolus the god of the wind, and the wind bag were skipped over entirely as well.
Athena's role was USELESS, you could have probably removed Zendayas parts from the film and none of it would change.
Tiresias tells Odysseus his men are going to die rather than being like "oh if this happens, then this will happen," he just states a matter of fact they will die at the island or by the sirens and Odysseus is like "no we won't, I'll defy the gods." Though, ironically, the only one defying the gods is the one who made it out alive, vs the rest of his crew tried to honor the gods and they died. Interesting how that worked.
It was eurylochus who made the decision to go against Odysseus and go to the Scyllas lair rather than the whirlpool. He then 180s and blames it on Odysseus when 6 men get eaten, tho Odysseus didn't really help by admitting he knew that would happen.
They only showed Scyllas snakes heads and a big of the body as they retracted.
Odysseus revealed it his men that they would die should they kill the cows, they swore not to, obviously they did in the end but they were content with their fate I guess, despite begging Odysseus to ask the gods for forgiveness for their lives. Like bro YOU killed the cow and knew what would happen, YOU pray!
They skipped the whole scene of Odysseus going to another king and telling his tale, as well as receiving a boat and gold from them.
There wasn't too much color in the movie but honestly color did NOT fit the vibe of the movie, it was like thriller horror and color would've thrown it off. I do remember Agamemnons wife purple dress tho.
They didn't develop Odysseus crew a lot, a little bit but not a lot for their deaths to feel super heart-wrenching in the movie. If they would've given us more I felt like I could feel the heartbreak of the crewmates but I don't hate that it was not there.
They had the pillaged captives speak a different language.
And wow, that's it. I really did like the movie overall, like a 8/10 for me, but nothing higher because those cons were DEFINITELY cons that took away from the movie for me.
If you read this far, please let me know your thoughts on my thoughts! I'd love to discuss this.
Follow for more historical Greek content and if you're interested in an isekai of a 21st century woman going into the Odyssey and Iliad. Thanks for reading my thoughts, let me know what you think.
Meh, I was bored.
DON'T ASK QUESTIONS - No, I'm not coming back into the fandom.
Masterpost
Chapter 3 <--> ???
“You’re thinking about it too much.”
Iro shoved him into the snow, sword pressed to his throat. “And you’re thinking about it too little.”
Papyrus didn’t fight back. He just lay there, staring up at her with that same distant look he’d had all week; the one that made her stomach twist. The wind swept across Snowdin, cold enough to sting bone. Iro winced as a few spots crawled up the side of her skull, pulsing with that familiar ache.
Three years, and none of them had gone away.
She stepped off him and shivered, rubbing the back of her head as if she could smooth the spots down. She couldn’t. They never listened.
Papyrus rose slowly, brushing snow off his jacket. He unwound his scarf and draped it over her shoulders without hesitation. “We need to get you warmer.”
She muttered a quiet thanks, eyes drifting away.
Papyrus sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “...And now your mind wanders to where mine is.”
He was right. He was always right. Papyrus hadn’t been able to focus on training for days… no, weeks. This was the worst it had been in three years. He kept insisting something felt wrong in the underground, something off, something shifting. And Papyrus’ instincts were never wrong.
But they couldn’t find anything. Nothing in the patrol logs. Nothing in the castle reports. Nothing in Undye’s briefings. Nothing in Asgore’s lessons — though those were hardly lessons at all. Their education under the king was nothing compared to what Gaster had taught them. It was shallow, rigid, and full of holes.
And their senses were paying for it.
“We should look like we’re doing something before Undye gives us a good talking to,” Papyrus said, forcing a smile as he raised his sword.
A “talking to” was a generous understatement, but it made Iro grin anyway. She lifted her katanas and the two fell into familiar motions: basic drills, nothing fancy, just enough to look busy.
“So,” Iro said between strikes, “what did the king ask of you this time?”
Papyrus parried half-heartedly. “He wanted me to teach some of the other kids the techniques we learned with the swords.”
“Sounds boring.”
“Heh. What’s not boring to you?”
Iro scoffed. “Anything that doesn’t involve babysitting.”
Papyrus chuckled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His swings were slow, distracted. His stance was off. His shoulders slumped between movements.
Iro lowered her swords. “Paps… you’re barely trying.”
“I know.” He exhaled, long and heavy. “I just… can’t shake it. This feeling. It’s like the air is different. Like the ground is waiting for something.”
Iro frowned. “You’ve had bad feelings before.”
“Not like this.” Papyrus’ voice dropped. “This one feels… big.”
Iro hated how that made her chest tighten. Papyrus’ instincts had saved them more than once. She didn’t want to admit it, but her mind had started drifting the same direction — toward that uneasy, invisible shift in the underground.
She twirled her swords, trying to shake it off. “Well, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it when it comes.”
Papyrus nodded, but his eyes stayed on the horizon. “Do you think… we’re fighting on the wrong side?”
Iro opened her mouth to answer, but the wind shifted—sharp, sudden, carrying a familiar scent of lavender and ash. Papyrus froze. Iro felt her soul tighten. Oh, gosh, please let the wind drown out the question you just asked—
Footsteps approached through the snow, heavy and deliberate. The crunch of ice under armor echoed across the clearing. A tall shadow emerged between the trees, framed by drifting flakes.
King Asgore.
His cape fluttered behind him, catching the wind like a banner. His expression was soft, almost fatherly—yet his eyes held that same unreadable depth that made Iro’s bones ache. They had been that way since the day they took she and her brother in, as if they had no other emotion to portray in front of them.
As if he was hiding something.
“Children,” he greeted, voice warm enough to melt the surrounding frost. “Training so early in the morning? How diligent.”
Papyrus straightened immediately, sword at his side. “Your Majesty! We were just practicing our forms.”
Iro lowered her katanas but didn’t bow. She felt the spots on her skull pulse again, growing with each resenting thought. They made her head ache.
Asgore’s gaze lingered on her for a moment too long before continuing. “You both have grown,” he said, stepping closer. “Stronger, sharper, more capable than most monsters your age.”
Papyrus beamed at the praise. Iro didn’t. She thought it would be obvious why they were ahead, they knew how to learn on their own, thanks to their father. The others had peas for brains. Her head ached more at the thought of her dad. No, not now. She pressed the middle of her skull.
Asgore’s smile widened, focusing on Papyrus. “It is good to see such dedication. The underground needs protectors like you.”
Papyrus’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you, sir. We try our best.”
Asgore nodded, then clasped his hands behind his back. “Speaking of protection… I have a task for you.”
“Yes.” Asgore’s tone shifted—still gentle, but with an undercurrent of command. “The rebellion has gained ground near the eastern border. Their walls have expanded. Their presence grows bolder.”
Papyrus swallowed. “We… noticed that.”
“I’m sure you did,” Asgore said, smiling as if Papyrus had pleased him. “Which is why I want the two of you to patrol the perimeter today. Observe their movements. Report anything unusual.”
Iro’s grip tightened on her katanas. “Sir… isn’t that usually assigned to senior guards?”
Asgore turned to her, his expression unreadable. “You are senior guards now, Iro.”
Her soul throbbed. Right. I guess that much time has passed.
“Is your head hurting, soldier?” The king probed. “What seems to be an issue?”
“Just a headache, sire—” Iro tried to brush it off.
“Those spots on your head don’t lie. Maybe ease up a bit.”
Iro could’ve sworn she snapped the katana hilt in two with how hard she gripped it, and the crack she heard from it. Are you TRYING to piss me off—
Papyrus stepped forward. “Your Majesty, we haven’t been briefed on the rebellion’s new territory yet. Shouldn’t Undye—”
“Undye is handling other matters,” Astore interrupted, his voice firm. “And I trust you both more than anyone else.”
Papyrus blinked, stunned. His eyes shined with promise, and his hands turned into fists as he waved them up and down eagerly as if he was still a boy.
Iro didn’t buy it. Way to give us the boring job.
Asgore approached them, placing a large hand on Papyrus’s shoulder. “You have your father’s heart,” he said softly. “And your sister has his strength. Together, you are unstoppable. Gaster would be so proud of you too.”
Papyrus’s eyes softened at the mention of Gaster, he lowered his head and didn’t meet the king’s eyes. He took a moment to silence himself in order to honor his father in passing.
Iro’s spots burned, they grew slowly, becoming more and more clustered. She had no reason to be upset at Asgore talking about her dad, but it was the way he said his name, the undertone, of what felt like disrespect rather than a good memory, that pissed her off. Can you still not put your disagreement with him aside and respect him in memory?
Asgore stepped back, his cape sweeping across the snow. “Patrol the border until sunset. Do not engage. Do not provoke. Simply watch.” He paused, then added with a quiet intensity: “And do not let Toriel’s rebels deceive you. They are misguided and dangerous. They would tear this kingdom apart if given the chance, as you know. Do not engage in any conversation.”
Papyrus nodded slowly. “We understand.”
Iro didn’t respond.
Asgore’s gaze flicked to her again. “Iro… do you understand?”
She forced her voice steady. “Yes, sire.”
“Good.” His smile returned, warm and heavy. “I expect a full report when you return.”
He turned, walking back toward the castle path. Snow swirled around him as he disappeared into the trees, leaving a silence that felt heavier than the cold.
Papyrus exhaled shakily. “Well… that’s new.”
Iro stared at the path Asgore had taken, her bones tight with unease. “He’s pushing us closer.”
“To what?” Papyrus asked.
Iro didn’t answer. She didn’t know.
But she felt it—deep in her soul, in the spots crawling across her skull, in the way the wind seemed to whisper warnings through the trees.
Something was coming.
And Asgore wanted them standing right in front of it.
***
Still wearing Papyrus’ scarf, Iro didn’t let him take it back as they wandered toward the edge of their territory. The fabric trailed behind her like a banner, brushing the snow with every step. Papyrus didn’t complain. He never did when she needed it.
The border was quiet today—too quiet. Snowdin’s usual hum of distant monster chatter was gone, replaced by a heavy stillness that pressed against their bones. The rebellion’s wall loomed ahead, tall and imposing, its surface lined with runes that flickered faintly in the cold.
The rebellion had finally gained some land. It was well protected, reinforced with magic and guarded by monsters who didn’t hesitate to attack anyone who came too close. Only the best guards were ever assigned to patrol it, which is how Papyrus saw it. Asgore didn’t like the idea of losing more soldiers than necessary.
To death, or to propaganda?
To Iro, it was a dull, mind-numbing task. There was nothing more boring than watching the snow slowly rise over hours as if it was paint drying. Nothing moved, nothing happened; Iro was convinced Asgore had never actually BEEN this far out. He fretted over their advances but day in and day out, nothing ever happened.
Papyrus always said it was because the best guards were put on duty, and no one would ever dare try them.
Iro thought it was because there was actually nothing interesting going on.
“Well,” Papyrus said, glancing to his right, breaking her thoughts. “Do you think we’ll see anything today?”
Iro shrugged, her melancholy almost visible in the way her shoulders slumped. “Doubt it.”
Papyrus huffed and shoved her shoulder lightly. She didn’t resist and toppled into the snow with a soft thud. “Have a little faith, sis,” he teased, grinning down at her. “Surely something will come out of their walls.”
Iro pushed herself up, brushing snow off her robe. “Papyrus, nothing ever comes out of their walls. They’re too smart for that. They know we’re here.”
“As they shouldn’t! We would tear them to pieces!” Papyrus grinned and tapped his foot, staring at the towering structure. “Still… something feels different today.”
Iro rolled her eyes. “You say that every day.”
“And every day I’m right,” Papyrus countered, though his voice lacked its usual confidence. He paused, for once, the smile on his face fading. “I don’t know. It’s like the air is… heavier.”
Iro paused. She hated how much she agreed.
Their patrols had become routine: walk the perimeter, watch the wall, report nothing. But lately, the silence felt wrong. It was too intentional. Too expectant. As if the rebellion were waiting for something… or something too prevalent was going on inside, they couldn’t spare any monster to watch the outside.
Are they… having disagreements among themselves? Iro crossed her arms, rubbing her gloves together for warmth. “Even if something did happen, it wouldn’t be anything we could actually do. Asgore said not to engage.”
Papyrus frowned. “I know. But I don’t trust him.”
Iro blinked. Her brother, the second biggest boot-licker in the kingdom—right after Undye—doesn’t trust the boots he licks? “You don’t?”
Papyrus shook his head slowly. “Not anymore. Not after Dad.”
Oh, well he had mentioned that before. The spots on Iro’s skull pulsed sharply. She looked away, swallowing hard, her throat suddenly craving a fistful of snow. “Let’s… not talk about that.”
Papyrus nodded, though his eyes stayed fixed on the wall. “Sorry.”
They stood in silence for a moment; the wind brushing past them, carrying faint whispers of magic from the rebellion’s territory. Iro’s eyes glazed over as she stared at the wall, the same wall she’d stared at for months. The same wall that never changed. The same wall that felt like a prison.
Her bones ached with boredom.
Papyrus’ bones ached with dread.
“Hey,” Papyrus said softly, nudging her. “Do you remember when Dad used to take us to the forest? Before all this?”
Iro’s chest tightened. I thought we weren’t talking about dad. “Yeah.”
“He always said the forest talked to him,” Papyrus chuckled. “Said it told him when something was wrong.”
Iro’s voice dropped. “Do you think… that’s what you’re feeling?”
Papyrus didn’t answer right away. He stared at the wall, his expression unreadable. “Maybe.”
She didn’t remember any specific moment Gaster talking about the trees, if they swayed differently, if they gave him information or not. He did talk about how the code would shift when something in the world was changing, and the world would react to it. But that could only mean he could read the code of the world, and would know how to get out of it.
She wouldn’t put it past her father to know that, but he never shared that kind of knowledge, so it was always left up to myth in her mind. I feel like he would have told us how to do something as important as that before he…
“Why are you so hard on yourself?”
Iro glared at her brother as his fingers touched a few of the black spots on her head. “Hey—”
“You shouldn’t have these many spots. You need to be kind to yourself,” he looked concerned down at her.
Iro shoved part of the scarf over the back of her head where the spots grew. “I don’t get how you don’t have any.”
Papyrus paused, before turning his back to her. “I have a few,” he gestured to the three singular dots near his spine.
“Three dots, wowww.”
“Hey, they’re still there. We all had them: could never hide our regrets well.” Papyrus sighed, turning back to face her and looking her in the eyes. “But you have so many, at least fifty. You shouldn’t—”
“I’ll be fine, Paps,” Iro curled up and looked to the dull wall of a tower again. “...They’ll be gone before you know it.”
He didn’t believe her at first until she forced a smile. He reciprocated it and glanced back to the tower.
An hour passed, maybe two. The wind howled and the snow grew in the millimeters. The wall croaked, its ever-stagnant state never changing. No sunlight meant no appealing color shifts for the eyes to enjoy.
Iro became convinced the monsters with insomnia could find good, hard sleep watching this wall. She sighed and stood up fully, brushing off the last of the snow. “Let’s just go, Papyrus. There’s nothing here.”
Papyrus tapped his foot again, harder this time. His soul pulsed with unease, a faint tremor Iro could almost feel through the ground. “But…” He grunted, knowing what Iro would say, as she had any day: a feeling’s just a feeling. His bad feelings meant, likely, nothing here, as nothing had ever changed when he had them. Eventually, and followed Iro as she turned away.
They took three steps.
Four.
Five.
The wind shifted,, slicing through the air like a warning. A deep, resonant click echoed through the storm.
Both skeletons froze. That was not a familiar noise.
The sound didn’t belong to the wind, or the trees, or the distant hum of magic. It was mechanical. A sound neither of them had ever heard from the rebellion’s wall.
Papyrus whipped his head around so fast his cape nearly flew off. Iro’s jaw dropped, her soul thudding violently against her ribs.
The massive door embedded in the rebellion’s wall was opening. There was a door? By the looks of it, there was nothing to be seen. It was just a blank slate. Yet, part of the lower wall hitched open slowly, making a faint creaking noise.
Snow swirled around the widening crack of light, casting long shadows across the frozen ground. The runes lining the wall flickered, reacting to the shift in the code. The air itself seemed to hold its breath.
Papyrus’ hands trembled. “Iro—” he whispered.
Iro’s bones locked in place. No way I just jinxed myself.
The door groaned as it continued to open, its heavy frame pushing against years of ice buildup. A gust of warm air spilled out from within — warm, impossibly warm for Snowdin — carrying the faint scent of earth and something unfamiliar.
Something from the touch of the sun.
Iro’s breath hitched.
Papyrus’ eyes widened, glowing faintly with instinctive magic.
A figure stepped out. Small, shivering, wrapped in torn clothing and clutching their arm as if it hurt to move.
It was a human.
A real human.
Papyrus inhaled sharply, his voice barely a whisper. “Iro… that’s—”
“I know.”
Gaster’s words came flying back into her mind just as fast as Asgore’s instructions did.
Never let Asgore near the humans, ever! Do not let him know when they come!
Tell me immediately when the humans arrive, as it is foretold they will. We shall throw a feast for them, and always keep our eyes on them. Don’t fail me.
The instructions froze her in place more than the ice did.
The human stumbled forward, collapsing into the snow.
I'm trying to create a fake pantheon for a story. I want to create a pantheon of concepts that really change humans at their core. Things like love, reckoning, and death/grief, but I'm not sure everything that really, really changes humans comes to mind immediately. Do you have any ideas for concepts in life that change humans at their core, good or bad? How I want this 'pantheon' to feel is if they are very 'hands off' and some believe they don't exist at all and they are just human concepts. The gods only really have one goal, to see a human *change*. They only show themselves if that is the way to change them. They are neither for or against them, they don't control them, rather they want to see the human transform and grow. They are forces that push the human to do things themselves. Any idea for concepts that push humans to change as these gods?
Pyroglossa, the name Diomedes calls Saga, meaning "fire tongue" which has layers of meaning to it, including but not limited to "the one who speaks with insults". It is the first name she's given that isn't "Odius", which means "hateful, despicable," which happens because Saga forgets to say her own name is not the name of the captain she looks for.
Stay tuned for "beyond the Bound pages: Iliad" updates.
