#arete rants

[soufre-de-paris]

i was tagged by @lowgardn for a getting-to-know-you meme! and now i have the spoons/energy/time to finalize! :>

last song: last song i myself chose to listen to was still taca a xereca pra mim by mc kaique but A was loudly playing lady gaga's telephone yesterday as some sort of homage to their feelings of being freed of the necessity of having a cell phone by having had it stolen

favorite color: in which i am true to my brand™. i genuinely love soft pastels pink (up until i remember they have been so inextricably linked to gender, and then i remember gender exists, and then i'm sad) yay! pink!! keep in mind i have chosen pink bc i don't think "oil slick plastic" counts as a color.

currently watching: A and i are watching the original star trek series, because they have never seen it, and it's been excellent but also Does Not Hold Up Well when it comes to gender relations. amazing that they could conceive of aliens and humans living side by side (with some issues, of course) and deep space exploration in a post-fucking-capitalist society, but not that Women Are People. but it's also some of the best television i've ever seen, so like, wtf. i am considering watching good omens by myself during my sabbatical but we will see.

last movie/tv show: barbie. too many thoughts. before that, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.... probably shin ultraman???? which was so fucking great, god, hideaki anno!!

sweet/spicy/savory: what about… all of them… at once… yes, yes, this is Ideal

relationship status: i have a partner and a girlfriend and other untitled attachments. i routinely forget i am poly bc i am not actively looking to date anyone new. lately i've been really enjoying thinking about my polycule as a series of underground wires, and the connections between people who have never met and never will have chance to meet, but who are inextricably linked through the connections they form. my partner's girlfriend and my girlfriend's boyfriend have a zero possibility of ever meeting, but who can claim their lives and choices don't influence each other? furthermore, (picture me being dragged offstage by a sheep hook as i start to rant about compersion, arete, and social responsibility)

current obsessions: bg3/DROW FACTS (obviously) and the canon time-travel d.a.i fic i'm still spinning around in my head to nintendo wii sounds. and now that i'm home and our apartment is almost ready, i can start thinking about working on my own writing again… and 「glass」 is due a draft revision…

last thing you googled: colorpicker (for the image of pink above) and dumb phone with gps (for A)

tagging @maeaneke (i don't know your favorite color????) @k0gaball @the-local-gremlin @gomjabbars @thesandsofelsweyr and @birenza, no pressure!

#tag game #funfun

[morkedisblog]

Seçim geliyor her lider onu bunu vaad edip sallıyor ama hiç birisi Doğa ve Hayvan hakları bakanlığı düşünmüyor Çevre bakanlığı var ama canadalı maden şirketlerine doğayı katlettirip yandaş şirketletlere zeytin ağaçlarını kestirip tarım alanlarını zengin araplara deprem alanlarının müteahitlere peşkeş çekilmesine ses çıkaramıyor trişkadan bakanlık tıpkı diyanet gibi mit bakanlık değil ama o da gereksiz beceriksiz😠İster asın kesin beni gerçekler böyle😈Kedisi doğuran yavruları getirip bırakıyor tamam aç ve bakımsız kalmıyorlar ben dahil hayvanseverler sahip çıkıyoruz masumcuklara ama annelerinden ayrılıyorlar günâh oluyor o zaman hayvanını kısırlaştırt hem zavallı yavrusuz yavru annesiz kalmasın hem sokak hayvanı sayısı kontrollü olsun ayrıca veterinerler çift vardiya çalışsınlar suriyeli afgan pakiler de kısırlaştırılsın Kurtuluş savaşı tabii soğan edebiyatı yoktu çünkü savaştaki toprakları köylü elinden geldiğince ekerdi kilosu 30 tl değildi haaa kim için aç kalacağım İstiklâl savaşında ülke kurtarıldı şimdi saraydakine ejder sana ajdar yedirmek devlete çökene rant verdirmek basma elbise bulamayana ipek giydirmek ayakkabısı pençeliye marka geçirmek için mi aç kalacağız benim sorunum değil bana ekmek getirecek şoförüm de bahçıvanım da aşçım da yok Rahmetli Sivaslı Aret dayımın deyimiyle deee gidin be😤ayyy uzatma Fatih gardaşım önce partiye mührü basıp üfleyeceksin sonra Cumhurbaşkanına basıp onu zarfa koy parti kağıdını sonra koy milletçe iyice geri zekâlı olduk İşçi partisi Hdp ile işbirliği yapıp başta hata yaptı oy verecek milliyetçiler bile vardı Hdp ile ittifak yapınca soğudular İşçi partililer de ayrı kafasızlar😕 haberlere de cevap yetiştiriyorum bıktım😲

#Instagram

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 94: Lilith’s Only Appearance

Revelation is the third and final route, released as DLC a few weeks after Birthright and Conquest. The idea of Revelation is that it’s a middle ground, where Corrin refused to pick a side and instead works to unite the two kingdoms to destroy the ultimate evil that one of the kingdoms works for. In theory, this route acts as the big, climactic finish for the game, bringing all the plot threads together into a single, satisfying story. It does not succeed in this. Again, it’s been years since I last played this game, but I can confirm that route isn’t the perfect golden route we want. Still, I do remember liking some aspects. Maybe Revelation has aged like fine wine into a good game. It won’t, but it’s nice to hope.

Revelation Chapter 6: Into The Ground

I start up a new save file, deciding to finally let the game call its protagonist Corrin instead of Moron, partially because the joke has gone stale and partially because I genuinely hope this route’s version of Corrin will be a character I like.

So anyway, future dream that doesn’t make sense, duel with Xander, refuse to execute prisoners, Hans tries to kill us, meet the Hoshidans, Mikoto dies because Garon is the worst, Azura calms Corrin down, yada yada yada. We’ve done this before. Revelation proper begins at the route split in Chapter 6.

This time, when forced to choose between Nohr and Hoshido, Corrin refuses to take a side. As a character choice, this honestly makes sense. Corrin isn’t going to side with Nohr, because they aren’t a braindead asshole, but they also wouldn’t want to fight their family. Corrin begs everyone to lay down their weapons and find a peaceful solution. Xander and Ryoma say fuck this and decide instead to have a fight to the death over ownership of Corrin. Azura and Jakob/Felicia show up and Azura recommends Corrin kills a commander from both sides, because that’ll get the big brothers’ attention. That’s a dumb fucking idea. The idea is fighting neither side, not killing random men from both. Also, this goes back to this game’s constant player-centered morality; those soldiers probably had families too, Azura.

After Corrin quickly kills two random boss units, Xander and Ryoma stop fighting to ask Corrin what the fuck. Ryoma and Xander both decide Corrin has turned traitor and order their capture. Azura and Corrin retreat to avoid being punished.

Azura tells Corrin that they must chose a side, because apparently both kingdoms will forget about the whole murdering their soldiers thing. Corrin vows to protect both families. Azura praises this, mentioning that her mother lost her life protecting Nohr. Except, no, she didn’t; Arete died when she told Azura about Valla. I mean, I guess telling her toddler about the game’s big bad could save Nohr...except Azura never does anything with this information. Couldn’t she have told someone more important? And I know I’m ranting about plot elements we haven’t gotten to yet, but this line is stupid.

Azura vows to follow Corrin and the game’s intro plays again, now edited to show a massive stone monster deep underground in Valla. Lilith shows up again and gives Corrin the keys to her pocket dimension. This is the only time Lilith shows up in this route. She only shows up again in Birthright and Conquest to die, and she doesn’t die in this route, so why would she show up? I mean, sure, this is the route featuring dragons, and her homeland, and her father, but why would Lilith be important? Why should she be anything else than a forgettable character with two lines who sits around in your castle?

Lilith’s funky castle realm is the same as in past routes, except now it allows you to get both the Hoshidan and Nohrian versions of each building. Neat.

Also why was this chapter called Into The Ground? That happens next chapter.

Support: Camilla/Jakob

C: Camilla thanks Jakob for taking care of Corrin before telling him to fuck off cause Corrin's hers.

B: Camilla tells Jakob to stop working for Corrin again. Jakob says no, because Corrin is his liege.

A: Camilla apologizes.

S: Jakob says he's jealous of Corrin because they're close with Camilla. They get together, swearing to protect Corrin over the other if they have to.

Review: Jakob's great, Camilla sucks. Also very repetitive.

Support: Niles/Odin

C: Niles informs Odin that the army needs names for some new weapons. Odin is overjoyed.

B: Niles turns in names without Odin, because otherwise they would be late with their submission. Odin gets mad. Niles mocks his names and mentions his suspicions over Odin's mysterious past.

A: Odin apologizes, which is good because Niles did nothing wrong. Niles apologizes for looking into Odin's past.

Review: This is a weird situation that just exists for this Support. Also this one is kinda mediocre.

Support: Charlotte/Leo

C: Charlotte makes Leo lunch. Leo is annoyed at her bothering him.

B: Leo does some tactical planning and realizes that Charlotte is stronk. Charlotte admits that she pretends to be weak because men don't like strong women. Charlotte has never spent one moment on the internet.

A: Leo tells Charlotte to stop concealing her strength because he has no use for soldiers who can't fight. Also he points out that some men are fine with strong women. Like literally every single man in our army who isn't an old man, for example.

S: Leo proposes. Charlotte declines, because she cannot tell if she is marrying him for wealth or love. Leo takes that as proof of her love.

Review: Overall, pretty decent, but a bit unoriginal. A lot of Charlotte's Supports are painfully similar to each other.

Support: Arthur/Beruka

C: Arthur spots Beruka talking to a shady character and, as an enforcer of justice, asks her about it. Beruka asks what justice is and Arthur lists off good deeds.

B: Beruka informs Arthus she's been hired to assassinate a government official. Arthur informs her that he has been hired to protect him from an assassin. Why do they take side jobs there's a war going on. Beruka informs Arthur she always finishes her missions. Arthur bluntly replies the same.

A: Arthur is run over by a carriage. Beruka, think there's another assassin, retreats. Beruka is happy she didn't have to kill Arthur, because he believes in justice. Because he's an idiot.

S: Arthur explains that there is no assassin, just his bad luck trying to kill him. Beruka laughs and they get married.

Review: Arthur repeating Beruka’s implied threat is great, as is the idea of Beruka thinking there’s an assassin out to get him. Plus, Arthur feels more likely to warm Beruka’s heart than most characters. Overall, pretty good.

#azura fire emblem #corrin fire emblem #xander fire emblem #nohr #hoshido #ryoma fire emblem #Fire Emblem Revelation #fire emblem fates #fe 14

[alarisblake]

Rant número 2 I guess

Hoy una chava toda linda llegó conmigo sonriendo y me dijo “no te quiero hacer ojo ¿puedo tocar tus aretes? (Esos que piensas they’re just too much) y le dije que sí, emocionada de que también fuera fan de Sailor Moon, se rió y dijo que le gustaban, que me veía bonita. And I was fucking ecstatic to that. Because I’ve been told so by friends and family it doesn’t feel like the truth, but here’s someone random out of nowhere saying that too.

I was happy so I decided to call you and tell you all about my day, just like I do when you’re in the mood. Guess today wasn’t it. Porque me contestaste muy apenas como cuando estás en un modito muy tuyo, que hasta ahora que lo pienso debí adivinar. But again, I was still tingly with happy feelings out of someone calling me pretty because I’m simple as that. Te dije que había conocido a autores que me gustaban en estos cursos de escritura, que pensé te interesaría porque te encanta presumir lo mucho que te gusta leer. And you belittle every person who doesn’t do so, as if putting an “ignorant” sticker on their head. Pero se me olvida que no te gusta que te hable tan efusivamente de algo que no es mi carrera en ingeniería. Y al decirte conseguimos sus autógrafos mi amiga y yo, tu primera respuesta sin vacilar fue: ¿y trabajo no consiguieron? Consternada es poco para como me sentí ¿CÓMO? Pensé y ¿cómo? te pregunté. Creí capaz y se refiere a un trabajo en escribir, pero mi lógica me gritaba que no podía ser así. Pues sí ¿no andan ahorita dando trabajos en tu escuela? Sin palabras me quedé la verdad. I truly can’t fathom where she got something like that from. Because she doesn’t get involved in my school at all, not now, not before, not ever (even if she says otherwise). But her lies are so bold that she believes herself. Carrying on she said ¿entonces no encontraste trabajo? The woman who told me not to fret that I should worry about my masters. It was easy for me to say I was getting cookies from the store that I needed to hung up.

-Galletas ¿a esta hora? ¡Nombre, así bien bonito vas a rodar!

I keep forgetting to guard myself when we speak,

to always come prepared for some battlefield,

minefields made of lies.

But because I didn’t train beforehand,

once again my self esteem got struck.

Me: 0 Mom: a lot + 1

#rants #mommy issues #fatphobia #pressure #frustrated artist #high achiever #sorta #online diary #entry #numero 2

[thottybrucewayne]

That narrative that Argentina is the most racist country is such bullshit. It’s a very ignorant country that’s for sure but no one gets killed here for being black. No one will hate you for being black either. That’s more than you can say for the uk, usa, even brasil and many other countries in the world but y’all have time for Argentina bc Americans are trying to install this narrative and other latam countries but into it it’s crazy that y’all don’t realize it

The white Argentines in my inbox yet again, don't you got sum to colonize?

#...who the fuck you think you talkin to? #You gon sit in my face and lie like white Argentines aret anti black as hell SHUT THE FUCK UP #thotty speaks #yall know damn well how yall treat Indigenous Argentines and afro latines lets not even go there #thotty rants #also do i fuckin LOOK like in out here defending the us? #death to settler colonialism PERIOD DUMB HOE

[judecz]

damn, lucy, back at it again. this is the second love of my life, jude ! i am here for all the plots, so please, slide into my IMs & i’ll love you forever. click under the cut to hear me rant some more about this jerk, or give me a like to slide into ur d-scord ;~) ! you can check out his factfile here and his pinterest here !

TW: addiction ( drug + alcohol ), physical abuse, death !!!

 [ LORENZO ZURZOLO / ARETE / MNEMOSYNE / MUSE 20 ] / [ JUDE CZERNY ] is a [ 21 ] year old [ MATHEMATICS ] major. [ HE ] is known for being [ GRITTY & LAID-BACK ] but [ FLIPPANT & MOODY ].  when i think of them, i imagine [ BLOODY KNUCKLES, SOUR CANDY, SPRINTS TO THE FINISH LINE, CHEAP T-SHIRTS ]. and even though they’re a proud HU student now, we all have our roots. theirs run back to them being an [ OAK PARK - COPERNICUS ] graduate.  i asked around and it turns out they [ ARE ] an AOP student. in their interview, they managed to woo the admissions team by [ CREATING A NEW PROOF FOR THE BIRCH AND SWINNERTON-DYER CONJECTURE ]. i guess that’s all there is to know! unless…

when you’re born, you’re an inconvenience. it’s 9pm on christmas eve when you come wailing into the world. neither the nurse that swaddles you tightly nor your parents particularly want to be in the cold hospital, shivering under neon fairy lights in the depth of a south chicagoan winter. neither do you. 

while you’re young, your mama is your hero. you don’t realise it yet, but she’s got a problem; there’s a reason why she sits zoned out on the couch as you tug at her cardigan, why your older brother has to cook you breakfast, brush your hair. and god bless him, he does it dutifully. when your mother tries to sober up, though, she’s perfect. she sings you lullabies in czech and kisses your nose, and you wish every night on the streetlight outside your window that the next day will be a good day.

most of the time, it isn’t. ruth sits complacent on the couch, glazed eyes fixed on the broken television. yet, even when she’s like this; she’s still better than your father. john drinks like a fish, and it brings out the worst side of him. he’s the most violent person you know. after every lost bet, every long night in the bar, you cower with your brother in your shared bed, head underneath the covers. yet it’s always still you that bears the brunt of his wrath.

it’s not your fault. thomas is the oldest, and the only useful one. phillip’s still small and cute, a couple of years younger than you, and looks exactly like your father. it’s you that’s stuck in the middle; you have your mother’s dreamy eyes and the sharp nose of your father, and it’s not enough to stop him from picking at you, pulling you apart. you always disliked him because he disliked you, right from the start.

you live like this for a long time. it’s not until you’re thirteen that your father drinks himself to death. he picks a fight with the wrong person, and bleeds out in an alleyway outside his favourite bar. despite all this, you can’t bring yourself to grieve. too often has your skin been tainted the same shade as your funeral suit from your father’s fists. good riddance.

your mom tries. she really does. but she can’t bring herself to get clean, even with your pleading. one day, they walk in on her shooting up. it’s essentially a death sentence for your family.

so instead, you three boys were torn from the last semblance of normality you had. no one wants three dysfunctional delinquents, but you cling together. screaming, tantrums, breaking things; you’ll anything to stop them from splitting you up. you’re not allowed any contact with your mother, and it breaks your heart, over and over again.

you never find a home for longer than a month. moving from group home to group home, they all have one quality in common: no one there really cares about you. quickly, you turn to crime. your father had taught you how to hotwire a care when you seven, baby-cheeked and innocent. he taught you how to pick a lock when you were six. it was the only thing he was good for.

it started with breaking and entering. you usually get away with it, too. burglary is easy when you were scrawny and small, and can shimmy in a window in seconds. besides, the money helps provide for the three of you; you run away often enough. you have to fend for yourself. at one point, you manage to spend an entire month homeless. but at least you’re still together.

as you grow older, you grow better at what you do. carjacking and vandalism seem more and more fun. the kids at the foster homes aren’t exactly shining examples, either; you were either being tossed around by the older kids, or asked to join in their schemes. you much preferred the second option. 

your life continues like this until you’re sixteen. you learn to throw a solid left hook quickly. you switch from high school to high school as you move from house to house, never able to settle. but you have your brothers. you’re as close to happy as you can be. then everything goes wrong. thomas gets caught.

you can’t let him get locked up. he’s just turned eighteen, and that means prison time. so instead, you take the fall. vandalism. breaking and entering. theft. willful destruction of property. you stand in front of the judge; she’s a pristine blonde woman from the lake forest suburbs, and she is not lenient on you. it’s juvenile prison or nothing. as your brothers watch on, you’re led away.

you spend a year there. it’s worse than any foster home, but you develop a thick skin. at least all the punches you take aren’t for nothing. it’s here that you learn you have dyslexia & adhd. it’s here you’re blinded in one eye after another inmate gets hold of a knife, catches you in the dark, makes you pay for someone else’s sins. it’s also here that you learn you’re extraordinarily gifted at maths. a prodigy, someone calls you. it’s funny. at school you had sat at the back of the classroom, never able to see the blackboard in maths class.

when you turn seventeen, you’re let out. thomas is nineteen, working as a mechanic, trying to make a legitimate living. quickly, he gets the paperwork sorted to make him your legal guardian, and phillip’s too; for the first time, the three of you are reunited again. 

you finish your final year of high school at oak park academy. you’d won a scholarship while in juvy, swearing you’d never return to the halls of your old school. oak park is an opportunity you’d never even dreamed of. you keep your head down and for the first time, you enjoy school. you make a few friends. no one here knows your troubled past, and you don’t tell them. you fly through maths problems like they’re simple sums, but english still evades you. you persevere, however, and graduate at the end of a long twelve months. not long enough. you wonder what your life would be like if you’d been here all along. 

and with the opportunity of oak park, comes hatchett. you applied to every university in the country, but you have your eye on one in particular. you turn up to your interview, stomach churning and hands shaking. still, you spit numbers like they’re silver, quick fingers scraping chalk across the blackboard, ignoring the observant eyes of the panel. you work like you’ve never worked before. by the time you leave, your arms are dusted with white, your brow sweaty; but from the approving looks, your heart soars. you get your acceptance letter, and you glow. a full ride. it’s a blank page, simply waiting. 

before you leave chicago for good, however, you have one last thing to do. after a mile long trail of paper and records, of doors slammed in your face and unanswered calls, you find your mom again. you’re surprised she’s still alive. she cries when you show up at her door, and your heart still bleeds when you watch her. even now you still call her, your voice thick with affection; yet you still tell people both your parents are dead. it’s easier that way.

your label is mnemosyne; memory. the memory of the life you used to live haunts you, like a ghost, long fingers digging into every corner of your brain. you’ll never forget the sharp glint of a knife, the screeching sirens of a police car, the smell of blood fresh on your knuckles. still, you tell yourself. you can change, you can change. you’re a shapeshifter now, boy. you’ve erased your old life from both your memory and everybody elses’. no-one needs to know — so you keep the memories of the real you tucked away deep inside your mind. you remember the soft smell of your mother’s hair. the pattern on your childhood duvet. your brother’s laugh, your brother’s crooked smile. you remember the important things, and leave the rest to be washed away by the tide of memory.

#hatchet:intro

[cafeleningrad]

bengalaas a réagi à votre billet “bengalaas a réagi à votre billet  : bengalaas a...”

One of these days we'll have to go into YA market and Get Things Done Properly :D Look on the bright side -- you've already done the market research of the competition :D

Admittedly this topic riles me into a polemic ranting mood ^^ But I actually have an idea in which I take the most sadistic take on the tropes just to write it off my sole. In that sense my personal wish fulfillment in the genre.

But please, you have a style setting a scene like a good film editor, and you adre charm in characters! Maybe the aret also misses out on Latvian mythoogy inspired stories. :D What kind of story would you personally like to create?

So how's your asshole prince story coming? :P 

Steaditl coming into place actually. (Even though it’s fantasy, not YA; In the age of 9 years Ezra is too old for the prototypical YA protagonist. Not to say, he’s way too emotionally immature for a love interest, that comes way later.) Finally I found a stable footing in my art stlye which I want to use for character designs, and story telling. First I need to finish my bachelor thesis but afterwards I planned getting deeper into learning the structure of comic pages. :3

#bengalaas #Lewis rambling

[xanthiasonadonkey]

Diomedes in the Iliad

   Well,   socratitillated discussed some very good themes in the Iliad involving Diomedes, and now I want to vent.  

   Fine. I don’t really rant all THAT often, so it’s not like an occasional fit of verbosity is going to harm anyone.

Beware, a WALLOFTEXT awaits.

Because *sarcasm mode: ON* I don’t talk about Diomedes very often *sarcasm mode: temporarily OFF*

Tydeides is magnificent in a million ways, great and small. And, while I can’t express such things eloquently enough, you can be damn sure I’ll try.

  Calliope help me, I’ll try.

  Because, while it is easy to get attached to the drama!!-generating hurricane that is Achilleus, or to Hector the devoted family man just dealing with other people’s fuckups, or to Helen who honestly didn’t deserve any of this shit, or to mr. Nobody (don’t be greedy, man, you got a whole epic just to yourself!) – sure, they are a riot to read and talk about, but…

  The Argive king is never talked about as much as he deserves.

  And it’s a shame, because he’s damn complex and not just “that badass who, with Athene’s help, made frigging Ares run to daddy.”

   Which does not mean Diomedes is not a badass. That part is obvious. But.

There’s so much more going on with him. So. Much. More.

  For example, I will never get over the interplay of courage and discretion in this figure.

  Where does the former end, giving way to hubris and/or savagery?

  What separates caution and cowardice, when they can look so similar to each other?

  What does it take to stop before crossing that line, when almost everybody around you is letting their own personal demons run amok?

   And why shouldn’t they? It’s not just a war. To them, it’s THE war.

  Well, to Peleides (and Agamemnon, most likely) it’s also HIS war. HIS path to glory. That’s what’s matters, right? Right?

  So, a certain very offended nereid’s child decides his erstwhile comrades should pay for that dishonour, and he has the means to make sure they do. Or, rather, Thetis does.

  Individualism versus conformity, sure. In some ways. But Achilleus’ desire to affirm his value as a person, ironically, blinds him to the value of other individuals, so he messes up.

  Agamemnon, of course, is a mess-up of cyclopean proportions in general.  

  Somebody has to step up. Somebody has to stand between the Achaean host and disaster and do everything possible and impossible to keep things from going to Tartaros in a handbasket.

  Several heroes do. They work hard, they think hard, they fight hard. But among them, Diomedes is probably the one who can shoulder the greatest part of the burden. So he does.

  Let others be unreasonable. Let others quarrel. There’s work to be done.  

  And so, when Ares takes the field, any fear, any hesitation, are trampled by an understanding that somebody has to go and stop an immortal God.

  Good thing another immortal is there to help. But you can bet anything She would never favour anyone unworthy. Divine help is not chance – it’s kharis, and kharis is earned.

  Many people have noted how seamlessly divine interference and human free will blend into each other in the Iliad. An angry, but still mostly rational, Achilleus is physically restrained by Pallas before he attacks the high king. Aphrodite and Helen have a complex relationship, mirroring Helen’s feelings about her own circumstances and Paris. Agamemnon is ridiculously susceptible to deception – his mind clouded now by madness, now by a false dream. Athene’s wise words are most often heard and acted upon by those who are wise themselves.

  Some go so far as to suggest that the Gods and spirits are merely “metaphors” for more mundane things. But… no. Let’s stay away from that slippery slope.

  The Iliad, without doubt, treats the Gods as real. But just as real are the very human emotions, motives and qualities the heroes act upon (or don’t). Nothing mutually exclusive there.

  The Gods do not force Themselves on the world. They are OF the world. So, when They infuse a warrior with valour – the recipient will almost invariably be someone who surpasses others where that particular virtue is concerned. When good advice is given, it is given to a man of good sense. And the victim of every deception is, of course, an individual already in a confused state of mind.

  Divine favour is not a whim. It is earned. An exceptional relationship with the Gods – or a particular God – denotes an exceptional individual. So, when we are told that Athene loves Diomedes (and Odysseus) more than others – this means she has a reason to.

  He’s the kind of man who would stay silent when bombarded by undeserved insults because any more dissent would be poison to the Achaean host – but make a fairly demoralized army listen to him when the high king breaks down. He’s the only one who goes to save Nestor when everybody else is saving their own nether regions. He’s a mortal who respects the Gods, but will not allow that respect or fear stop him from doing his damn duty.  

  And Pallas, Who guides heroes, Who loves excellence tempered with wisdom -  Who IS excellence tempered with wisdom - harsh but just Pallas notices this mortal.

  How can She not? He is unflinching – so Atrytone stands by him. He proves himself in battle – and Promakhos lets him go even further than he otherwise would. He is wise – and Polymetis whispers warnings and advice to him.

  They are Goddess and worshipper, they are teacher and pupil, they are comrades who respect each other immensely, they are friends who know each other’s minds.

  At the same time, they are a man and his sense of duty, maturity and strength of character.

  Gods are both *who* and *what* at once. Pallas acts, but She also IS.  

  When She interacts with Telamonian Aias – staunch, reliable, straightforward Aias – it only ends in disaster. Because Aias also happens to be temperamental, petty and, frankly, childish.

  Not so with another hero.

   The ruler of Argos is an excellent charioteer. He reins in his wayward passions the same way he deals with horses. Anger? Pride? Fear? Good. He controls it. He makes it work in his favour. Tempers each important decision with an understanding of its potential consequences.

  That iron self-discipline is more than an individual’s adherence to societal expectations. It’s also more than a desire to keep away the madness his father lost to. While both factors are present, his own innate sense of responsibility is what determines his behaviour.

  It would have been easy to say that he simply respects Agamemnon’s authority and therefore avoids conflict when insulted in rhapsodia IV – oh, Peleides would not be so meek!  But then, we see Diomedes speaking out against the Mycenaean king’s cowardice when nobody else does. In both cases, he does what needs to be done for the Achaean cause.

  *sigh* Okay, said cause doesn’t look so hot from a modern point of view. But that particular can of worms should probably be set aside for later. Let’s just establish that the Achaeans actually have a complex set of reasons to be invading the Troad. Deal?

  Tydeides is not just here for glory, or because he took that ill-omened oath. He is fully convinced this war is necessary. That’s why he’s ready to go so far to achieve victory. And, whether right or misguided, that determination is a thing of beauty – even if that beauty is cold and deadly as a blade.  

  When he promises to stay and fight even if all the other chieftains turn tail – he means it.

  When he honours the guest-friendship of Oineus and Bellerophon, and reinforces that bond by exchanging gifts with Glaukos – he also means it.

  He’s a scary, scary man, that Diomedes.

  Maybe that’s the point. A warrior whom others have no reason to fear is useless.

  But so is a warrior who is only a source of fear. Sophrosyne, moderation, is the watchword.

  Arete, too. And kleos, and aidos. But it is the balance granted by sophrosyne that makes our hero’s other qualities truly shine.

  Shine like the brightest star of autumn, bathed in the ocean’s waves, as it were.

  This poetic comparison from rhapsodia V? It’s not just there to be pretty. When Achilleus or Hektor are compared to stars – the descriptions are entirely different, more fitting to their personalities. One can NEVER pay too much attention to detail with the Iliad.

  And, when one does begin to hunt for all those details, all those subtle and unsubtle hints, one realizes, that this story does not belong to Akhilleus. Neither does it belong to Hektor or Agamemnon, or to Helen. It’s not even a tale of “rage” or “war”.

  It’s a story where every figure, every theme, large or small, is a centre of gravity. Odysseus and Thersites, Priam and the daughter of Khryses, every soldier whose pathetic death is so meticulously described, every simile, every digression or story of times long past – are an omphalos unto itself, the navel of the world, even if just for brief moment.

 Let’s just say, that among all those centers of gravity - I know which one interests me most.

  But, let yours truly remember sophrosyne now, and fall silent for some time. There is much to discuss yet: the Theban cycle, those star metaphors we only briefly touched upon, the Doloneia, the chariot race, Italy and those pesky seabirds, but… moderation, right?

#rant #wall of text #talky stuff #aarrghh #this is entirely too long #tl dr: that guy is amazing #diomedes #tydides #tydeides #iliad #Homer #epic epics #heroes #classics #tagamemnon #boen agathos #hellas #rhapsodia V #ancient greece #mrsharkinamartiniglass #socratitillated #whew #arete #sophrosyne #Athene #Pallas Athene

[comechaos]

Hey friendly remember that reblogging posts about allyship doesn’t mean shit when you don’t 1) read the fucking post and 2) treat actual poc like shit

#friendly reminder 😌 #saw some shit and I just. are these people fucking serious #arete rants

[fatesdeepdive]

Entry 27: A Tiny Smidge of Morally Greyness

It has come to my attention that I made a few mistakes during my rant in the last entry. Hinoka is not, as I believed, Corrin’s younger sister. Hinoka is older. I had her and Takumi’s ages mixed up. This doesn’t really alter my point, because Sakura and Takumi are still younger than Corrin despite having the same mother as Ryoma and Hinoka, but it was an error. Now, I could own up to this error, which was absolutely my fault, but I’d much rather blame the game for never giving ages and keeping how long ago things happened in vague terms, which makes it hard to get a good mental timeline. I’d also like to note that I’ve been assuming Corrin was a toddler when kidnapped, which seems to be wrong. Corrin’s younger than Hinoka, who was seven at the time of the kidnapping, so she was still a young child, but Corrin was at least old enough to form memories with the other royals. Now that I’ve corrected myself, let’s go back to mocking the writing in Support conversations.

Support: Kagero/Ryoma

C: Ryoma, grateful with all of Kagero's recent work, asks her what he can do to reward her. She says his thanks is a good enough reward. Ryoma orders her to think of a better gift idea.

B: Kagero asks Ryoma to reward her by sparring.

A: After sparring, Ryoma invites Kagero to have tea with him.

S: Kagero has been working herself to death. Ryoma asks her why and she reveals her inappropriate love for him. He says he loves her too.

Review: Kagero and Ryoma are both very stern, very serious characters, and putting them together in an ordinary fluff Support line ends up being incredibly dull.

Support: Kaden/Orochi

C: Kaden is looking for a lost cat when he runs into Orochi. She gives him a cat summoning talisman, but he runs away before she can explain its horrific downside.

B: Kaden starts drowning in pussy. To clarify, the talisman, which is just a bunch of catnip, attracts every cat in the area.

A: Orochi explains that she likes cats and uses the talisman to summon them.

S: Kaden and Orochi play with kittens. Orochi says he likes Kaden because he's like a cat. The two of them make a lot of cat puns.

Review: Cute and fluffy. Like a kitty.

Support: Oboro/Subaki

C: Subaki finds Oboro working in a store, skillfully convincing customers to buy things. She explains to Subaki that she's helping out the store's sick owner and that it reminds her of working for her parents as a child.

B: Oboro continues working in the store. Subaki helps her hide this from the army.

A: Oboro thanks Subaki for covering her and says she's surprised Subaki did so. Subaki says that he noticed Oboro enjoying herself and thought it would be mean to screw her over.

S: They get together, because Subaki likes Oboro for working in a store and Oboro likes Subaki for keeping her secret. What.

Review: Ignoring the clumsiest confession yet, this one wasn’t too bad. Oboro being an old-timey merchant is fun and it’s nice when Subaki isn’t a dick.

Support: Azura/Hinata

C: Hinata spends all of his money buying bamboo shoots from a cute girl at the market. He gives them to Azura, who calls him an idiot.

B: So, this is a weird one. The girl who sold Hinata bamboo shoots, actually a Nohrian spy, follows Hinata back to our secret base in the Astral plane that apparently anyone can just waltz into. Azura actually recognizes the spy as a Nohrian noble she knew as a child. The spy runs away and is never heard from again.

A: Hinata gives Azura more bamboo shoots, which makes her smile. Azura reveals that the spy bullied her as a child. Fucking bold for her to do that, considering Azura was the stepdaughter of the infamously violent king.

S: Hinata returns from the mountains with more bamboo for Azura, who is apparently a goddamn panda. He then uses the bamboo to propose to her. She says yes because he’s fun.

Review: This is such a weird Support. First off, himbo Hinata is nice and I like Azura calmly worrying about him. But this Support also introduces a new NPC, who is never mentioned again, who has interesting relationships with both Hinata and Azura. I want to recruit her!

Birthright Chapter 22: Hidden Capital

The gang arrives in Windmire. Oddly, the city is completely empty. Silas explains that that’s normal, and that most people just hide in their homes all the time to avoid being killed by the faceless or bandits that are apparently common in the capital city. Silas also explains that Nohr is kept in perpetual darkness, which means crops don’t grow, which is why Nohr invades neighboring nations. It would have been nice to have this tiny bit of moral greyness to the Nohrians at any point earlier in the game, but I’ll take it where I can get it. Ryoma says that because Hoshido has an abundance of resources, they should share them after the war. Which I guess Mikoto never considered doing.

An Outlaw named Shura shows up and tries to mug the group. After a quick battle, Azura asks Shura if he knows about the secret passageway into the palace she was kidnapped through as a child. Shura explains that he used to live in Kohga, a ninja nation destroyed by Mokushu, and that his family served the Hoshidan royal family. When his country was destroyed, the Hoshidans refused to accept refugees, forcing him to move to Nohr. I guess King Sumeragi wasn't all that good after all, not that the game will ever acknowledge that fact again.

Ryoma offers to help Shura reclaim his homeland and Shura joins the team. Shura also monologues internally about how he kidnapped Azura as a child. Shura leads the group to an underground marketplace where they recruit a quartet of rejects from the academy. The marketplace, hidden from the king's soldiers, is the true heart of Nohr and is very lively.

Corrin runs into Elise, who is in the market visiting her old nanny, Cassita. Elise explains that the family has fallen apart and that Garon has been acting more and more evil lately. Cassita explains that Garon was a good man when he was younger, but became bitter after the death of Xander's mother Katerina and Azura's mother Arete. This does, admittedly, give a hint of depth to Garon. It isn’t much, but it’s something.

#fire emblem fates #fe fates #shura fates #ryoma fates

[comechaos]

White men are so fucking fragile

Like literally all that happened was pratt lost some fucking Twitter poll of four guys who, quite frankly, all look the same anyway and then people started pointing out that he follows right wing politicians on social media (true) and attends a church known for homophobic views (also true).

And because white men already have so much privilege, he could have literally done nothing and no one would have cared.

Or if he wanted to go for the “look at me, I’m an Activist™️” approach (like ruffalo, evans, RDJ to an extent), he could have just released a statement with something like “I realise people have been questioning my positions on some stuff and I want you guys to know I love and support everyone, regardless of their lifestyle.”

And that literally could have been the end of it.

But no.

HE fucking called in the calvary because his white man feelings were hurt

RDJ and ruffalo and whoever else typed up their little white man “holier than thou” manifestos.

And none of this would be a problem if he wasn’t such a fucking bigot to begin with.

He has no one to blame but himself

#anti chris pratt #anti rdj #anti mark ruffalo #marvel #arete rants

[comechaos]

One of the many things that pisses me off about the pr*tt situation is that people are condemning him, but then saying “I still support rdj/ruffalo” and making excuses for them (“pr teams probably made them,” “it’s different if you know someone personally,” etc.).

And then on the other side of things, you have people calling Zoe Saldana the n word and c*** because she supported him.

Like these are two sides of the same coin.

You cannot claim moral superiority when you’re doing effectively the same thing someone else is doing, just as you cannot claim moral superiority when you’re calling the other person a slur

#anti chris pratt #anti mark ruffalo #anti rdj #arete rants

[comechaos]

People don’t want children, people want someone who is completely dependent on them for every little thing and then is expected to worship the ground they walk when they provide their basic necessities.

People want control and to feel good about themselves, they want to feel part of the club where they can complain about the same people they claim to love.

People don’t want children, people want an accessory they can tote around to show off what a good person they are, or how rich they are or how they’ve accomplished something in life.

People don’t want children, people want power and acceptance and much of that is gained via having children, which people seem to forget are also human beings.

(This is talking specifically about white middle class people, I can’t speak for any other groups)

#arete rants

[comechaos]

I know we talk about how cis men need to respect and not shame people who have periods and need to educate themselves, etc. and that is really important, but I think it’s also important to discuss women’s roles in upholding this stigma, specifically regarding mothers with their daughters.

I got my first period at 11 and I was a bit unsure of course, but I was never embarrassed or ashamed about it. Even with the “hush hush” attitude general society has, I didn’t understand it and never picked it up from that, I learned it from my mother.

I remeber being in a public bathroom and going to pull a pad out of my bag (not even to just carry in my hand, I was gonna shove it up my sleeve) and my mother grabbed my wrist and snatched the bag off me, acting like I was about to pull out a severed limb. That’s not an exaggeration, she was genuinely horrified (and then wouldn’t believe me when I told her I wasn’t just gonna pull it out, but that’s a whole other thing).

And a lot of people I know are the same. They picked up their shame and embarrassment regarding completely natural bodily functions from their own mothers, the people who should be able to empathise with them most.

On top of this, I think women also encourage cis men to ignore and remain uneducated on this stuff. There have been plenty of times my father has tried to comfort me when I’ve had cramps and my mother has given him a look to discourage it. Granted some of those times I didn’t say anything to my dad, but that was because I was in pain, not because I was embarrassed.

The only person who has ever used my period to invalidate what I’m feeling is my mother. Whenever I do anything she doesn’t like, if I’m “moody,” or whatever, her first and tbh only question about how I’m feeling is “are you having/near your period?” I have been around cis guys who’ve been more sympathetic about PMS symptoms.

And besides, periods don’t magically create negative feelings, at least not in my experience. Rather it just makes it harder to bottle those feelings up, or it exacerbates them.

TL;DR - cis men need to be educated properly on periods, but quite frankly so do A LOT of women, and pretending otherwise is extremely ignorant

#arete rants #tw periods #periods tw

[comechaos]

Honestly it makes me so sad that no one likes Steve. Like he’s always just used to prop up other characters or as an emotional punching bag and I just. Idk yeah sure he’s not perfect but neither is any other character but other characters flaws are put down to bad writing whereas anything Steve does is STEVES fault

#remeber when tony made a rape joke in aou and everyone just dismissed it #:/// #arete rants #pro steve rogers