Enneagram System

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.

Real image of the Gorbo Factory:

Do you ever pretend you're a doctor scrubbing in for the biggest surgery of your career and give yourself a pep talk to make it a success while washing your hands? Or is that just me

ultimate hate circle 😍😍

Close up shot of somebody's lover

The End of the world as we know it- Armin Arlert

Armin watches as a bloodbath of horror unfolds in front of him, the sounds of cries echoing the infinity of deaths that occur in less than an instant. Armin's chest swells with fear as his comrade's blood splatters like paint on a disgusting canvas of death. With Armin standing on the city's rooftops, he could see that this could be the last time he ever felt the air fill his lungs, the last time he could grasp the feeling of life before it was ripped away by the jaws of death.

Armin finally looks at the girl beside him as the steam gusts toss his hair around in the daylight. He noticed how her arms were lifeless at her side, her swords numbly clasped in her hands, long forgotten. He knew she was thinking the same thing he was;

“How are we going to get out of here alive?"

The thought causes Y/n’s hands to tremble. She couldn't imagine this being her final moment; her mind wouldn't let her. All she knew was that she was terrified and that she was paralyzed. She takes a hesitant breath.

“Y/n?”

As he glances up into her eyes, Armin's calm voice rises, a little sob escaping from the back of his throat. She cocks her head slightly, her gaze locked with Armin's cold blue ones, focusing on his words.

"I have something to say to you. I've never had the the words, or even the confidence, to say this to you before."

Armin takes a tentative step forward and reaches out to take herhand. He immediately observed a difference in the experience surrounding them when he joined their fingers together. The horrors he felt inside were contrasted by her warm, reassuring touch.

“So I'm just going to say it. I adore you. I've always admired you. Everything about you is unique. The way your eyes smile before your lips do, how you laugh at every stupid joke anyone tells you even if it's not funny, and, most importantly, how you have always comforted others even when you are in pain.”

Her vision became blurry as tears streamed down her cheeks after hearing Armin's confession.

"You're lovely, beautiful, and sweet. I don't know what life would be like without you, and I never want to find out. Y/n, I, I..."

Before Armin could finish his sentence, he felt Y/n’s lips brush against his. That kiss was the sweetness of passion, a million loving thoughts condensed into a single moment.

*********************

Hey! The writer here. This is my first official Armin one piece! I love this man sm omg.

ADHD Ask!

1.When were you diagnosed?

2.What type do you have? (Hyperactive, Inattentive, Combination)

3.Do you stim?

4.What is your favorite stim toy?

5.Looking back what behaviors did you do that you now realize are ADHD related that no one noticed?

6.Did you ever receive special education services because of your ADHD?

7.What are the positive qualities you have associated with ADHD?

8.What techniques help you cope with your ADHD?

9.Do you have any comorbid diagnoses?

10.What sensory things do you love?

11.What sensory things do you hate?

12.What is your experience with RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)?

13.What part of ADHD do you struggle with most?

14.What part of ADHD have you learned to love?

Six: You’re always so calm, no matter what happens. How do you do it?

Nine: It’s easy. You just got to make yourself dead inside. Then it doesn’t matter what happens… good… bad… nothing gets through, so nothing bothers you. Easy.