#Wisdom to know the difference

[thetimetravellercat]

It's weird that despite how complicated my childhood was, i still feel nostalgia and yearning for parts of it that were and parts of it that never were.

I struggle with anxiety and though I work on it, it is quite complicated to live with everyday, and so I yearn for times that weren't as complicated as it seems now. For times where my responsibilities felt appropriate and not too many too much at once.

I yearn for a time where I knew less. Not because I'm unable to recognize that knowledge is useful and powerful, but because my world keeps getting more and more complicated and scary and i find myself ill-equipped to deal with it.

Some of that knowledge feels trivial. I wish I didn't know the dangers of tickborn illnesses because it drives my anxiety crazy anytime I'm in the countryside. I wish I didn't know bats carry rabbies and actually crash into things all the time because, combined, those facts make any nighttime walk an anxious endeavor. I wish I didn't know...

Some of it feels less trivial. I wish I didn't know some people hate people like me so much they would rather I be dead than a contributing member of society. I wish I didn't know we've known about climate change for decades and that we don't have infinite time but we haven't done enough to change things for the better yet. I wish I didn't know...

I would argue that, in the end, it is important I know those things. But most importantly, I do know those things. And I'm not forgetting about it. So I have to recognize that it is part of my life, but it shouldn't have to hinder my life so much it makes me reconsider living it.

And ironically, i do know my childhood was not really better than my life now. Yes, I knew less. Yes, I did not have as many responsabilities and burdens.

But I also didn't know myself as much. I didn't love myself as much. I also knew so much less about the wonders of the world and the good things in it.

I am happy I now know I'm allowed to get excited about seeing animals. I am happy I now know diversity in native flora attracts pollinators which play such an important role. I am happy I now know...

I am happy I now know the gift of being loved and supported. I am happy I now know the power of communities. I am happy I now know...

Does this erase the yearning? No. But it does provide hope. Because one has to have hope. Because hope is the thing with feathers. Because hope allows me to live. Hope allows me to move forward.

#to be deleted #probably #I've been having an anxiety attack for the past few days #and it's not easy #but i do still have hope #and saying it helps #personal #just some thoughts on yearning - nostalgia and hope #i also often think about the serenity prayer #i only ever encountered it on TV #but it always spoke to me #the serenity to accept the things i cannot change #courage to change the things i can #wisdom to know the difference

[demigods-posts]

strongly dislike athena. because how are you gonna construct a daughter. someone who seemingly perfect. so perfect that they don't wound your pride. but refuse to acknowledge her existence for years. and then give her a crumb of a mother's approval. only to disown her like a year later. and then send her on a quest that no child of your has ever come back from. so much for the goddess of wisdom.

#i get that minerva and athena are different people #but they both get on minerva #because annabeth is the most impressive in fucking ever #she is the moment #you should take great pride in knowing your child became the amazing young woman she is #but it's not because of you #because your about as useful as a bottle cap of water in the desert #some wisdom goddess #anyway 🙄 #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo text post #pjo #annabeth chase #i love annabeth #annabeth is the moment #annabeth is a legend #whatever athena/minerva #i love her with my whole heart

[elftwink]

one thing thats so interesting about being a vegetarian is you get to hear all about everyones hypothetical activism that they care about very deeply when talking specifically about your diet and why it's stupid, but literally will never bring up ever again in any other context

#good idea generator #ppl will honest to god hit me with a 'well what about the dmg caused by plant agriculture' when i say im vegetarian for the environment #oh please tell me more about all the things youre doing to try to minimize your impact on the environment #and all the things you know about agriculture. in your infinite wisdom of [checks notes] doing the exact same thing you always have #or is the argument that because individual choices make little difference that we shouldnt even try or talk about it in case its annoying? #its not necessarily that these people arent making good points also #its just that when you have these same conversations 75 times over and over and over and OVER and get nowhere #it starts to become obvious most people learn these arguments in order to avoid genuinely interrogating their eating practices #either on an individual or communal level. am not asking you to cut out meat or go vegan (not a realistic demand of everyone on earth) #but i AM asking that you please do some self reflection on why the idea makes you so defensive #and about what exactly is so terrible of the idea that we may need to produce and consume less meat #i thought about 75 disclaimers i could put on this post but honestly if they become necessary it would prove my point

[mayasaura]

do you think tamsyn is intentionally drawing a connection between the Buddhist eightfold path and the eightfold word?

the eightfold path is supposed to lead to liberation from the cycle of rebirth (I’m drawing a parallel to lyctoral immortality) and the last element is right samadhi which is often described as “meditative absorption or union” (a parallel to the consumption of the cavalier and absorption of the soul)

idk just food for thought i’ve been mulling over

I've been pondering this for a while myself. I've never heard the word "eightfold" used in any other context. Like, it could very much be a coincidence because #-fold is a Portentous Word Form, and eight Houses contributed to the theorum, but let's assume for now there is a connection.

I would say it's less of a parallel and more of a reflection. This framing of the Eightfold Word would make it kind of a warped mirror of the Eightfold Path.

Following the Eightfold Path delivers you from samsara, right? The ultimate purpose is to break the cycle of reincarnation that binds a person to the worlds of mundane suffering. That last element, right samadhi, it's about the illusion of existence being transcended in meditation to see the true nature of being. The Path leads to understanding of the self as transient—an illusion created by a much larger whole. Or something like that. I'm not a priest or bodhisattva, or even a scholar dedicated to understanding these things.

Speaking the Eightfold Word is entirely the opposite. The lyctors have subsumed the other into the self, making the self the center of their being. They haven't been freed from the cycle so much as they've jammed the wheel, leaving themselves trapped in the suffering of their existence for, theoretically, eternity.

I don't know if it's an intentional reference or not, but I do enjoy considering the implications of lyctorhood from that perspective. John and the lyctors have become so consumed by their obsession with the self and ensuring its continuance, it's broken all the bonds that would make them part of a larger whole in this life and left them each alone together in their own private hells. Speaking the Eightfold Word means that they'll never reach the other shore.

#tl note: 'transcendent wisdom' in sanskrit is prajnaparamita - literally translated as the wisdom of the other shore #prajnaparamita is more relevant to the bodhisattva path than the eightfold path #but I do think it's interesting that it's a heresy unto Jod to believe in another shore beyond the River #I'm not confident that any of this was intentional in the text because I know christian teachings conceptualise the soul differently #as being immutable and eternal in a way buddhism does not which (might?) justify the obsession with continuance #but the nature of the soul in TLT seems to be somewhere between those understandings #and closer to a Buddhist or Confucian understanding of the soul as something that can be divided destroyed or changed #that could totally be a bias in my reading #but the way communal souls like RBs and Alecto work and that John saw Alecto through contact with Cristabel's soul has me thinking twice #the locked tomb #tlt meta #the eightfold word

[eye-of-yelough]

realising that gortash’s uhhh. mind control (i guess that’s the right word?) over aeryn would’ve made his wisdom stat decline, not his intelligence… right? like being psychologically malleable and easily subdued is a sign of low wisdom, not low intelligence, right?

(can you tell bg3 is my first dnd media and my lowest stat irl is intelligence?)

which sucks a little bit. a lot actually. because wisdom is also generally the stat that makes you emotionally intelligent, intuitive, insightful, good at reading people, etc, which aeryn is. so. i don’t really know what to do with that.

#also aeryn being autistic but having high charisma/being good at reading people/being generally duplicitous #is very funny to me. masking is his special interest fr #back to stats aeryn and gortash having the same levels in wisdom and charisma but using them in vastly different ways is important to me #especially since aeryn learned almost all of what he knows about reading people/using people from gortash. #hearing your abusers words come out of your own mouth….. crunchy crunchy #anyway if anyone has any comments or advise on how to handle this or if you think i should just ignore it and keep having fun lemme know #your daily dose of idiocy #oc aeryn #aeryn and gortash #<- i guess? it’s implied.

[rawliverandgoronspice]

re: my stupid poll, but the truth of the matter is, I'm not sure I believe in Wisdom as a concept enough to value it that much? Especially in the context of Zelda, I'm still not entirely sure what it's supposed to mean. I'm not sure Zelda ever has any more insight over anything than anyone else. Very rarely does she do anything because she understands something about the world no one else does, honestly? To me, Wisdom in TLoZ seems more akin to "balance" than actual enlightenment? I don't know, Wisdom is a weird one honestly.

#tloz #zelda #botw zelda seeks knowledge #but to me knowledge and wisdom (and intelligence) are all pretty different concepts from each other #to me Impa is wise #as in: she understands things about the equilibrium of the world and its nature that almost nobody else does #some kings of hyrule end up becoming wiser #but zelda.... never really does? #I don't know maybe there's a shinto concept I'm not entirely getting it's very possible

[slowdesire]

have to keep reminding myself i'm only 22 turning 23 in a month so it's not surprising i feel lost as a person and still have little understanding of who i am. that one post that said people become more specific going into their 30s or 40s ...

#i still feel like so many ppl act as if 22 is old and it's really not. we are BABIES in the grand scheme of things #like i know people who are 26 which is only a few years older than me and their lives + wisdom are drastically different from what i know #and even they are still growing and learning and can feel lost a lot of the time #lumine.txt

[juniepops]

I don’t think Laios would necessarily be trans by human especially binary standards and I don’t think he gets anything that would approximate gender dysphoria from his appearance but I do think he dislikes a lot of what constitutes “taking care of” yourself in human society for autism reasons (like cutting his hair and shaving) and he definitely has a lot of desires to be more bestial or monstrous in ways that could be considered dysphoria or dysmorphia so if someone asked him about being a girl and he gave some answer like “ohh well it just isn’t for me, I think I’d know if I was a girl haha” and then got weirdly quiet and contemplative he would be being totally sincere and just thinking about how bad he wants wings and a tail

#of course wisdom is knowing therianism is not truly so different from transgenderism and you can absolutely be trans in an otherkin way

[b4rfbrain]

#the wisdom to know the difference….

[beansnpeets]

Canada finally announced a universal dental plan for Canadians making under 70k a year. But unless you're elderly or disabled you can't apply until 2025.

I suppose I will continue to wait to deal with my dental stuff...

#personal #i havent seen a dentist for 10 years #my wisdom teeth were supposed to come out two and a half years ago #havent been able to afford any of it #like i get that the elderly and the disabled need it too #but like #if we are all making less than 70k a year what difference does it make if someone is elderly or disabled or not?? #we are all still poor #i KNOW i have cavities that i need filled #but its very many hundreds of dollars #its over 300 bucks just for a cleaning #never mind however many cavities i probably have

[bluffmotel]

while only a minority share this view, i do find it somewhat tone deaf when people claim jay's ending is the best outcome for an abuse survivor -- either directly or indirectly implying everyone in the holt house was an abuser that jay, their sole little victim, had to get away from. for starters, none of his endings are happy ones. not even the fugitive path where he's holed up amongst nature, has a dog, and is bathed in solitude. maybe if you close your ears to what jay's saying during that scene you could see this as good for him, but his dialogue is stifled with an achingly loneliness, a sadness. this idea that he craved being alone in the wilderness is not one jay paints himself, it's only something that's said by tyler ; someone who clearly doesn't understand the younger on any level, much less grasps his desires. yes, jay wanted out, he likes nature, though no human can stew in their own space for years without this affecting them mentally. and that's not even taking into account that his entire life is over! he can't travel, he can't visit other countries or get lost in other areas of wood lands or plains, jay is infinitely stuck where he is. it's not a prison cell but it's a cage nonetheless, as the old saying goes : a golden cage is still a cage, after all. he tells zoe these beautiful sights have grown dull on him, laments about missing his family, vanessa, and is so chained by his want for connection he reaches out to a desert dream victim of all people. like, what about this muted cynicism, this barren home, seems happy? maybe he wanted this, some whimsical dream of this, before. now though? it's not what jay thought it'd be, and he lacks any power to change it. this is not some amazing ending for abuse survivors, it's still sad in a melancholy way, simply because jay is visibly unhappy with said circumstances.

but moving on to this, ah, ‘poor little victim in a lion's den’ narrative ... what? i think a lot of people fail to grasp how complex the holt household is in terms of toxicity and abuse. something that's very common nowadays due to how much people project rather than see what's in front of them. and don't get me wrong! projection is fine, you do you, we all consume and parse through media differently -- but this narrative is, by canon evidence, rather fictional. to be completely blunt, jay is not the only victim stuck in the holt house ?? the abusers have always been bear ( physical abuse, verbal degradation ) and sharon ( passive in the face of her kids' abuse, emotional manipulation ) ... and we are literally told point blank by the story itself and another character that these two favored jay immensely compared to their other children. now i'm obviously not saying that he has not faced trauma, he has! favoritism in a house like this does not shield you from the toxicity, sometimes that favor makes things worse, but he was protected to an extent, in ways tyler and dale were not. those two very clearly faced the brunt of bear's physical abuse ; for each other, for jay, and just overall caught their dad's ire more because they stood up to him. tyler takes a beating, a sight that's not at all new by his grim acceptance of this and the fact he states he's been doing this since young :

so, this is normal for tyler. getting beaten by his dad ( which isn't even mentioning the horror story bear can tell to ash, about how he literally threatened to cut tyler's ear or finger off ) and having his mom overall turn a blind eye to it, even going as far as to dismiss this fighting as childish behavior rather than what it is. and dale? we don't see much of him and bear in general, yet the second he steps up to defend tyler, with something as measly as a shove back, bear wastes zero time in hitting him so hard he's practically out of commission for the rest of the fight. he didn't even think about it, merely swung at dale as hard as possible on instinct alone before tyler hastily stepped up to defend him. what happens when jay tries stopping the fight, though?

both parties grab for him so they can toss him out of the way so he doesn't possibly get hurt. you can speculate bear was only doing this in order to finish his punishment on tyler, he'd deal with jay later whatever, although why not punch him like dale? why, out of all the moves on his belt, does he do the more merciful option? bear, who is nothing if not made of violence and has been molded to respect it? his fist that's raised in the air isn't for jay, since the next frame is jay shoved out of the way and him hitting tyler again ... hell, in dialogue where bear and jay are sitting on their porch, the youngest can even say bear beats on tyler and dale specifically. why not say “you beat on us”? like, the game is heavily implying that while jay is traumatized, there are some methods of abuse he simply did not face. one of them being the physical abuse prominent at home. and no, i'm not counting whatever pranks dale's pulled on jay ( like shooting him six times with a bb gun lmao ) because honestly? that's just older brother behavior, and we know that despite the morbid pranks, he still looked out for jay in the ways that counted. like protecting him from pa and to an extent tyler, something which, again, jay says himself!

back on topic a bit, the notion people seem to have of jay and his family seems overly simplified to me. people just looked at dale being his usual asshole self and went ‘abuser’, people looked at tyler's rather drastic and not usually like himself reactions to a high stress situation and went ‘abuser’, and that's a bit ridiculous to me. can't say i'm shocked! since so many people nowadays just see someone mean to their favorite character and decide woobifying said fave while demonizing their opposing force is exactly what canon intended. as dusk falls couldn't be a game more clear about it's main theme of family and the fact there's no purely good or bad people in this world, two statements that correspond directly to the holt family. are they bad for each other? probably! but that's a different discussion compared to, say, every single soul in that house violently abused poor jay and they should reap the consequences of that. dale and tyler, like their beloved younger brother, are also victims of abusive parents and a toxic home life. in turn, they both show signs of this abuse in ways that aren't entirely sympathetic or easy to swallow, especially when they've been dealing with it longer than jay and have never had their parents' favor the way he did. i see people get angry at tyler for the famous cabin scene, but nobody turns a critical eye to sharon ; who for all intents and purposes is watching this unfold without a care. she never physically stops tyler and her attempts to kill the fight are weak compared to her previously steely commands. and, honestly, the fact that tyler was that stressed about sharon getting on that bike so she can be protected, when she's the most capable out of the three of them, is way more strange than tyler's outburst -- when he's in a high stress situation, his baby brother's dead, and his life as he knows it is over. a life he didn't even have to begin with, since it was stolen due to his abusive upbringing.

whether this excuses what he did or not is entirely up to the player! i personally don't think it does, though i also understand where this is coming from and the game makes it clear this is not usual tyler behavior. throughout other people's views it's hammered into us that tyler has a cool head relatively, is the most sensible and smart out of his brothers. so, no, i do not think he was choking jay out all the time for his misplaced resentment -- i think his obvious disliking came from his stilted interactions with jay, and his lack of bond with him at all. we see in book one two times he reaches out to jay, demanding that he eats ( a minor, small thing to fret and worry about ) as well as panicking when he sees jay away from the rest of them during a shoot out. dale constantly looks out for jay as well, going as far as to take the heat from romero if they get caught and something as small as taking blame for jay's mistake in the barn scene. are his brothers more prone to violence and apathy? sure! yet they clearly love jay regardless. abusive households are not easy and see through. in fact in many cases the different levels of abuse the kids suffer does breed life altering resentment later on, envy that can damage these bonds permanently. honestly the holt family intrigues me deeply because of how well written they were as a unit, the effects of abuse and toxicity subtle and not overt in a ‘psa message’ kinda way. and these horrible relationships and ideals shared do not negate from the even more horrible fact that there is love in this messed up family, even bear clearly loves his sons, but that doesn't make it better. it almost makes it worse, seeing all the good intentions and care. knowing it doesn't excuse what they've done to each other nor does it make them better. they're a picture perfect family of an ugly wound! which is fascinating! i only wish more people saw that wonderfully shown depth rather than this bland and lukewarm take on the holts overall.

jay is a victim, he is traumatized, he deserved to one day spread his wings and put some distance between himself and his family ... but he was not the only one who deserved that ending, and he was not the only victim there. he was merely the only one with easy to parse trauma responses.

#as dusk falls #interior night #jay holt #dale holt #tyler holt #the holt family #meta post #ngl i'll make fancier tags eventually because i do not wanna clog the adf tag but this'll do #this was not supposed to be my first post yet i feel very strongly about this topic and the holts so um #here we go i guess! #cannot stress enough the literal dev of interior night has said the holts do want what's best for each other #they just have different ideas of what that best is! so it comes out wrong and warped and sometimes mean spirited #but they aren't just 2-bit abusers with signs on their heads saying : i hate jay and abuse him on the regular im a monster kill me #like do you know how much it wrecked me going through variations of the jay in prison scenes and seeing him say like #that tyler might even be happy out there as a fugitive. and that jay wants that for him? for tyler to be happy? #even jay himself comes into his wisdom which has always been there and acknowledges his love for his family #and the fact tyler and dale were miserable going on the way they were. just like he was! #the game centers around the holts and the walkers because they are two families that love each other and fumble the landing of it #jim lies to vince over something unforgivable. yet lying is all he knows. yet he did it out of a selfish love for his son #michelle cheats on vince which is awful and tries to paint it as something not important but she loves vince #is even willing to let him indulge in petty revenge ( which is missing the point ) so that they can stay together! #terrible things they're doing but it never takes away from the fact they love vince and zoe #a sentiment echoed by the holts! #idk like i know this take might get me killed but seeing morally gray games get the black and white treatment kills me #you are missing the true brilliance of adf's writing! you are missing some amazing characters! #also jay is not some unflawed creature. he literally can get so jealous over some girl that he isn't dating to the point of MAIMING a guy #he could've killed todd. he probably almost did! vanessa even says he might be more like his family than he thinks #and even if you don't choose this option it is still inside him. this paranoid jealousy and brutal violence #he can shoot vince or watch him die. he can let his dad die. he can bury someone alive. he can kill a cop and some poor ranger #dale and tyler and jay might be different characters and were shaped differently but they're still the same at their core

[witch-from-a-block-of-flats]

The look on her face after Astarion said "I love you" in act 1.

So in love yet so concerned.

Babe I love you too, but you told me yesterday that you were a slave for 200+ years and I think we should kinda talk about it.

#Yes I know that he is technically lying in this scene but Solveig has 10 wisdom and is a simp #love this game with my whole heart #also i'm obessed with th lighting in this screenshot #HER SCALES GLOW! #her scales glow in different ways! #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #tav #my tav #astarion

[butchviking]

like its not enough to just have the general natural struggles that are going to come with being part of a minority group its not enough to feel kind of isolated and weird and different and left out of things for being gay theyve got to actually make a point of telling you youre bad and youre doing something wrong or its a moral fault or something like you could choose to be different. if i could choose to be into dudes i would in a heartbeat and its not even because of the homophobes its not because of anyone who tries to actively make me feel like theres something wrong with me its just because of the general sense of social alienation from the majority of people being heterosexual. the actual homophobia is just like. pointless and unnecessary girl if i could change this i already would've so what do you think you're doing here. what do you think you're achieving.

#sorry i know we're all dykepride around here but i am not always at all. #i still think if i try hard enough i will someday magically discover i was bisexual all along. if i just focus really hard. #and all these people are basically saying 'yeah girl dont give up! you can do it!' bro no i need to accept the things i cannot change!! #god grant me the serenity the courage and dear god please the wisdom to know the difference jesus fucking christ

[xserpx]

‘Be charming. You can be charming, when you want to be. You charmed me.’

‘Really? The way I remember it, you seduced me, fell pregnant, then talked me into a match.’

A hint of an exasperated sigh, and Savine took her hand away. ‘Talk him into a match, then.’

That felt like a dangerous choice of words somehow.

— The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

‘Come on.’ Jurand’s turn to give Leo a nudge. ‘You know you can be charm itself when you want to be. Just flash that smile of yours and King Jappo will be putty in your hands.’ Leo grinned in spite of himself and Jurand grinned back. ‘That’s the one.’

...

‘I just hope you know how much I love—’ That word felt oddly dangerous, of a sudden. But he couldn’t think of another that fitted.

— The Trouble With Peace by Joe Abercrombie

The way the TWOC chapter is called "Different This Time" and yet it repeats certain sentences from (TTWP) "Grown Up". I'm not crying. 🥲

#joe abercrombie #the first law #leo dan brock #jurand #leo/jurand #leo/savine #savine dan glokta #the age of madness #the wisdom of crowds #the trouble with peace #i love how leo is flailing in different this time #i know everyone canonically ships it (except leo) but savine is the ultimate leo/jurand shipper #leo's lucky his wife is a good wingman

[woolandcoffee]

I think the time has finally come for me to re-enter my clog era.

#woolly rambles #y'all remember a couple weeks ago on insta when everyone was posting pictures of themselves at 21? #i didn't participate but i did go back and look through photos of myself from that time #i sort of always forget that because i was working at a yarn store in my early twenties that i dressed like a middle aged norcal lady #like okay not exactly because i was also a broke college kid #but i tried alright #and oh my god the CLOGS #i had a pair of danskos that i purchased #they were the first shoes i ever bought as an adult that weren't from a thrift store and were actually well-made #genuinely wish i still had them but w/e #along with my danskos a couple of the ladies at work gifted me old pairs of their clogs that they no longer wore #at one point i had four different pairs of clogs that i wore literally all the time #and you know what? it fucking whipped #my feet were comfy as hell and i genuinely liked how they looked #plus #while everyone else's 2013-ass ballet flats were falling apart the second a foot got near them #my clogs were solid like a damn brick house #loved those things #anyways i'm returning to the wisdom of my youth #i'm getting a pair of clogs

[softquietsteadylove]

Vc poderia fazer uma história onde Thena e Gil tem um bebê? Obrigada.

(hello love! I asked a friend for help and she said that your ask is in Portuguese? I hope it's okay the reply is in English! @dalhia28 has a story about them actually having a baby on Ao3 which I always recommend to people looking for a biological child story)

"Gilgamesh, I have--oh."

Gil looked up at her with a sheepish little smile and whispered, "sorry."

The Warrior Eternal shook her head to dismiss his apology. She came into the gathering hall - one of many in Babylon Temple - and sat on one of the benches next to him. "Should I be concerned?"

He chuckled, bouncing the bundle in his arms lightly as it stirred. "Her mother is with Sersi and Ajak. She's the healer among the humans, and she pretty much jumped at the chance to learn a thing or two from them. They said they were taking her to look at some herbs that were maybe not the safest and next thing I know I'm-"

"With child," Thena murmured, eyeing the infantile human in Gil's arms.

"Babysitting," he clarified and corrected. He looked up at her, both of them still somewhat hovered over their tiny guest. "What were you saying?"

"Hm," Thena mused, tilting her head and examining the child. "Oh, just that my turn of watch is completed. I am free."

"Ah," Gil grinned and nudged her gently with his elbow, their armour meeting with a dull and metallic thud. "All mine now--is that it?"

Thena smiled, indulging him and his humour silently. She changed the angle of her head again, "it seems comfortable with you."

Gil shrugged, though, although he made sure that the slight movement that it was didn't disturb the baby. "Got me--maybe it thinks I'm like a big soft bed."

His arms were firm, but they did have a certain softness to them as well. Thena knew that very well, first hand. The baby was snuggled properly into the crook of his elbow, her head supported, her body enclosed in its soft cloth.

"Oh," Gil uttered completely softly. The baby stirred before blinking wide brown eyes at them. "Well hello."

Thena looked at the baby, who seemed caught off-guard at best (terrified at worst). She tensed to stand from her seat, "I am frightening it."

"You are not," he chuckled, catching the edge of the gauzy material attached to her armour and creating a 'skirt' of sorts between her legs. "Just look at her."

She was doing that. Thena was looking at the baby, who was looking at her in turn. Humans were already so soft and fragile; their young were infinitely more so.

"She's not gonna break from you looking at her," Gilgamesh advised her. He had possessed the very same fear she did when he had first encountered human children and their smallness.

But he had surmounted his fear. Children adored him--his playfulness, his humour, his eagerness to bend a rule or two. That and Sersi and Ajak had showed him personally how to handle human babies.

"I do not think her fondness for you extends to me," Thena muttered, although she had to admit that the baby's massive eyes had a certain transfixing quality to them.

"Mm," the baby pressed her little lips together, shimmying in her cocoon of blankets.

"Sh, little one."

Gil looked at her as Thena whispered and shushed the girl, even letting her capture her wiggling finger for comfort. Such small hands, they had. He smiled at her, "see?--you're a natural."

"I would not make any such claim," Thena discouraged, but didn't pull her finger away from the baby. If anything, she pursed her lips at her, encouraging the infant to do the same.

The baby giggled.

Thena smiled reflexively, as if the sound could physically stimulate her own muscles.

"Hard to resist, huh?" Gilgamesh asked gently as she entertained their new ally.

"Indeed," Thena lamented, although she couldn't claim to be too upset by it. The baby waved her arms - still grasping Thena's finger in her little hand - and earned another smile from the Warrior Eternal.

"It's a good look for you."

"Hm?" she looked at him, but he had that expression on that implied that he had been looking at nothing but her since she arrived.

"This," he nodded, still charmed by the exchange between her and the little human. "I daresay you could be fond of human kids."

Thena tilted her head at the young one, who almost mimicked it back to the best of her tiny abilities. "Perhaps...some."

"I think the feeling is mutual," he smiled, now even adjusting the baby to engage her more with their interaction.

"Do not speak for her, Gilgamesh."

He chuckled again, "yes, dear."

She looked at him, also making soft eyes at the young life in his hands. He was so soft at heart, despite having the toughest shell in this and probably any other galaxy. "And you."

He looked at her this time.

She eyed the young girl and then her partner next to her. She tried to articulate the thoughts she had with the words - usually not bountiful - she could muster. "This life--it suits you."

"What, this?" he blinked, bouncing the baby again. He made a face and shook his head, "it's not that--it's not for any of us."

Thena shook her head gently, letting the baby bring her hand closer to her chubby little cheeks. She was so, so soft--even softer than the typical human. "I think Ajak and Sersi would excel in the raising of young."

"Well, when you put it like that."

But she smiled. "Their caring, their nurturing, their gentle natures; I think if they could, they would desire it."

He raised his brow at her, "do you think I do?"

She paused. Perhaps she couldn't picture what Gilgamesh would be like fathering a young one. Something about those two concepts just didn't meet in her mind. But looking at him with the young one in his arms now did warm something within her heart. It was intangible and distant, but she desired to feel more of it. "I think you would make a wonderful father."

Gilgamesh blushed, as Gilgamesh was wont to do. He was sweet, like that.

Thena went back to admiring the guest of honour, whose eyes were drooping despite waking mere moments ago. "Sh, little thing. Rest and grow."

Gil gave her one of his more indecipherable looks, "maybe I could...with the right partner."

Thena looked up at him, their eyes meeting.

"Ada!"

Thena rose, her finger still entrapped by the baby's hand. "Excuse my intrusion."

The mother all but ignored Thena's attempt at formality, giving her a wide and warm smile. "Warrior, please, I would entrust you with this one here as much as I trust the Strong one."

Thena and Gil traded a look before Gil leaned to hand over the woman's child to her. Thena's finger left Ada's grasp, feeling colder for it. She drew her hand back slowly.

"I hope I have not burdened you too greatly, great Gilgamesh."

"No, no, really," he waved his hands in defense of her apology. "I don't mind at all. Thena doesn't either, right?"

The mother looked at her, and she caught a hint of Sersi and Ajak hovering just outside the room. Thena smiled down at the human woman, "she's beautiful."

The woman began to glow with pride, smiling at Thena with all of her teeth, "thank you, Warrior. I must agree."

#Thenamesh AU #I hope it's okay that it's a little different! #I still don't think any of the Eternals can have kids #but they also shouldn't be able to swim so what do I know #anyway I think Thena wouldn't really consider kids a thing #but then she sees Gil with them #sees how happy this new little life makes him #and she thinks I could do that #I could do that for him--with him #she could do anything that would make him that happy #and maybe she would be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little fond of the sweet little human in his hands #Gil and Thena start interacting with more kids #although true to her word Thena doesn't love every baby she meets #especially when they start going places that ask them to 'bless' their babies as gods #she's asked to kiss babies in Athens for wisdom and she's like bye *evaporates* #Ada though...she grows up and Thena and Gil are like her cool uncle and aunt #maybe one day Thena meets another human child - a boy - who reminds her of the first young human she ever bonded with