What is Nostos in the Odyssey?

Fun fact - nostalgia’ is a term not coined until the 17th Century:

νόστος (nóstos), “yearning for home”

nostos + ἄλγος (álgos), “pain” or “ache”

= Nostalgia – “the pain of yearning for home/the past” (C17thAD)

We look at the world once, in childhood.

The rest is memory.

Louise Glück

Dünyaya bir kez çocukken bakarız.

Gerisi hatıradır.

"The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return."

Milan Kundera

An Illusion of Competence

Hehehe. SURPRISE! Happy early birthday, @kookaburra1701! Chaos weekend here, and I channeled that energy into a chaos thief Orc, Luzrah gro-Shar. She's amazing, and I love her. Thank you for the brainwyrm! She didn't even have a tag, you know lol that's how much of a shell she was. We love a good shell NPC! I can't wait to see what you do with her in your fic universe!!!!!!! 🤩

without further ado:

An Illusion of Competence

Shit. No. This couldn’t be right! How could they possibly have found her already? Who would even think to go looking for her in this hellhole slum of the city, anyway? Damn it, but if she didn’t get out of this, Vex was going to be so pissed off at her for royally screwing up this job over almost nothing—you know, just like the last one. She couldn’t help herself—the opportunity was right there, and who cared if pickpocketing wasn’t supposed to be the task at hand? The Guild needed the gold desperately, didn’t it? Ugh. Distractions aplenty, unfortunately.

Luzrah gro-Shar snuck around the corner of the Grey Quarter, pulling the hood of her cloak up to cover her very obvious flame-red hair, trying and failing to blend in with a passing crowd of Dunmer. No matter where she went, she didn’t quite fit in, so this was nothing new. She was taller and stronger than most Nords, for one, and green, for another—which caused all kinds of people to stare at her in open disgust. That, and she was a bard, more or less. Or—she could be, given practice. She carried a lute around and everything. It wasn’t what Orcs were known for, generally speaking—she’d only ever met one other who also happened to be a bard, and he was…yeah, he was not a good singer, to put it bluntly. She could at least carry a tune in a bucket, but the bucket was, technically, rusty and full of holes—you can take that as you will. It certainly said a lot more about her thin cover story the closer anyone looked, but now was not the time for worrying over that—it had served its purpose perfectly fine. That is, until now.

She sighed as the sound of the guards clattering along in their Stormcloak blues echoed off of the ancient stone walls. Windhelm, as unforgiving and cold as ever, was nothing but a patch of clear ice over here in the Grey Quarter. Figures. Luzrah wasn’t any stranger to the weather this far north, but she was not dressed for this kind of sport. She struggled to keep her balance as she slid down a slight incline in boots made more for trudging through mud in the Strongholds rather than through all this abysmal weather. Malacath’s toenails, but she wished these imbecile guards would give up already! Her legs ached as she turned a corner and then another, ending up in the market outside of the Alchemist’s shop, mind racing and looking for an escape route. Did they need a bard? It was possible. If she slowed down and acted natural, maybe it would—no. Nope, it wasn’t—she’d tried that in Candlehearth, where it made sense at least, and look where it got her. You’d think she’d learn to work around the misfortune by now, but of course not, otherwise she wouldn’t be in this mess. She could, at least, attempt to lose them. As far as she’d known, they hadn’t seen her face yet.-> Read the rest on AO3!

Nostos Region | Regional Variant

Clefairy → Clefebrije

Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon (Fairy/Normal-type)

The people of the Nostos region believe that the Clefairy that arrived in this region changed over time in an attempt to become closer to the moon. They are festive Pokémon and seen as connections to the world of spirits.

Ability: Magic Guard or Magic Bounce | HA: Friend Guard

- Evolves with a Moon Stone -

Clefebrije, the Alebrije Pokémon (Fairy/Ghost-type)

Nostosian Clefairy’s almost spiritual connection to the moon has allowed them to evolve into a new form that gains the Ghost-typing. These Pokémon are extremely loving and caring and will do their best to guide and protect their trainers and loved ones. It is believed that Clefebrije are also spirit guides and help the deceased through their journey in the world of spirits.

Ability: Magic Guard or Magic Bounce | HA: Friend Guard

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Inspired by piñatas, alebrijes, Land of the Lustrous, and alebrije bobblehead figures.

NOSTOS Franco Piavoli

[Nostos.]

Do you have any expectations about this upcoming "The Return" Odyssey-based movie by Uberto Passolini with Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and Juliette Binoche as Penelope? What are your thoughts? Do you think they'll respect the material, and include the magical elements (a realistic approach would be way more difficult than in a Troy adaptation tbh)? Do you feel they'll cast Greek/Mediterranean actors (at least for secondary characters, the Ithaca trio roles are already taken) or will they prefer the already classical "diverse" casting that excludes Greek actors while recreating the most famous Greek myth?

Hmm it looks promising! The director and the actors are good, and the shooting was done in in Kerkyra and the Peloponnese so the landscape will be accurate. The fact that they got into the trouble of coming here could show their dedication to accuracy.

They were filming in the old acropolis / Byzantine Fortress of Angelokastro and that's where the palace of Odysseus will probably be. Which makes sense because for all the Hellenic settlements the fortresses/acropolis were always at the highest point of the landscape - since the Mycenean years. So, that's a good sign for me.

I think both Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes can pass for local Greeks but I'd like more Greeks in the cast. (My tongue will grow hair from so many times I've said it!!) Thankfully, the cast has many Italians (our literal and metaphorical bros) and some Greeks as well in the production. (Aslanian as a surname sounds Armenian? Overall it's good that people from cultures close to the Mediterranean are involved.) And since it's filmed in Greece perhaps there would be smaller actors or extras that are locals.

I think it will be a quality movie, but let's see!

We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.

Louise Glück, Nostos

En gång betraktar vi världen, i barndomen. Resten är minne.

Louise Glück, Meadowlands (ur dikten Nostos)

Nostos is a thematic narrative used in Ancient Greek literature, in which a hero [as Odysseus] returns home by sea. A return weaved by algos, a thread of pain longing for an unreachable past.

Nostos (return) + Algos (suffering) =Nostalgia

becoming a nostos stan account like oomfie

Nostos Region | Water-type Starter

Zonaut → Crustopod → Carcivader

Zonaut, the Curious Pokémon (Water-type)

The exact origins of Zonaut are unknown, but they have become an established species in Nostosian aquatic ecosystems. Their biomechanical bodies allow them to explore the ocean and land. These creatures are naturally curious and love learning about the world.

Ability: Torrent | HA: Protean

- Evolves at level 16 -

Crustopod, the Explorer Pokémon (Water-type)

Upon evolution, Crustopod lose their tails and develop a stronger, iron-like exoskeleton. This increase in weight, however, grounds this Pokémon. This does not deter its curiosity, as tagged Crustopod have been reported to travel many miles outside their original homes.

Ability: Torrent | HA: Protean

- Evolves at level 34 -

Carcivader, the Extraterrestrial Visitor Pokémon (Water/Psychic-type)

Early reports of Carcivader suggest that this Pokémon was first encountered flying out of the sea after a meteor shower. It is unknown whether this suggests Carcivader arrived with or were awoken by the meteor shower. It was once feared to be an invasive species, but research has shown that this species does not disrupt Nostosian ecosystems.

Ability: Torrent | Hidden Ability: Protean

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Inspired by gogglehead tropes, blue crabs, green crabs, brain crabs, Mars Attacks, UFOs, and invasive species.