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katerinaaqu · 3 months ago

Note

greetings!

kindly requesting some background info and perhaps some linguistic breakdowns on the compound names & epithets of the greek gods.

So far ive come across a fair few (like areia and kronides for aphrodite and zeus respectively) and wondered if theyre tied to certain myths, are markers of where the god is in theogony, or are as simple as greek honorifics.

tysm and have a wonderful day :D

Hello hello!

Oh my this is an amazing question but also so damn extensive! Hahaha because there are countless epithets given to the gods depending on their cult and worship, their attributes or relations even their appearance at times (ex. Κυανοχαίτης Ποσειδών aka "dark/blue haired Poseidon", or Γλαυκόφθαλμη Αθηνά aka "Athena with the blue/gray/bright eyes" or "eyes like an owl")! Only Zeus has a bunch of them! Much more the others! However I will try my best to scrap the surface of their names and epithets here.

For starters the gods, just like the humans in poems and such, bear the names of their heritage or parenthood. So, just like we have let's say Ατρείδης Αγαμέμνων (Atreides Agamemnon) aka "Agamemnon son of Atreus", we have also Κρονίδης Ζευς Kroneides Zeus "Zeus, son of Cronos" [Since whenever you see the ending -ίδης (-ides) at the end of a name means "son of" ]

They also might have an epithet depending on the area they are being worshipped or linked to their birth or residing, for example Κυπρία Cyprian, an epithet of Aphrodite to indicate her birthplace in Cyprus or even Κυθέρεια "From Kythera" for her other elleged birthplace, Kythera.

Gods also bear as epithets names that are linked to the lands they have their temples or sanctuaries in for example Ολύμπιος/α (Olymbios/a)= Of Olympus, Olympic, Πελάσγιος (Pelasgios) [Zeus]= Of the Pelasgic tribe, etc or Delphic (the one in Delphi) etc.

There are so many so I am not sure if I can touch them all but I will sure try! I am sorry if this message is long.

Zeus:

Zeus's name is ancient. In fact it is being rescued from the very first confirmed greek scripture, Linear B as di-wo among others. His worship is indeed linked to the ancient times. Etymologically his name is linked to meanings such as "divine" or "heavenly" among others very freely though given that the actual etymology is rather obscure and Zeus is one of the greatest examples we have in etoimology. I believe comes from an ancient root which means "to shine" According to Burket n Greek religion.

Zeus has a plethora of epithets and some of them have to do with his attributes and links to the sky and weather Όμβριος (Ombrios)= of the rain, Αφέσιος (Afesios)= the one who releases (rain or other weather phenomena), Σκοτίας (Skotias)= the darkening, the one who brings darkness (associated with rain and clouds), Κεραύνιος (Keravnios)= the one of the Thunder, Αστραπέος (Astrapeos)= the one of the Lightning, Κατεβάτης (Katevatis)= the descending one (from the verb "κατεβαίνω" in modern greek which means "to descend" or "to come down"), Κόνιος (Konios)= the one of the dust, Ικμαίος (Ikmeos)= of the moisture, Ευήνεμος (Evinemos)= of the good winds, Νεφεληγερέτης (Nepheligeretis)= Cloud-gatherer (Homeric epithet from greek νεφέλη=cloud and verb αγείρω= to raise or to gather) etc.

Other epitheds include his role among the gods such as: Βασιλεύς (Vasilefs)= King, Ύπατος (Ipatos)= supreme, sublime, the higest of authority, Κορυφαίος (Korypheos)= top, of the top, the highest of all (or linked to the top of Mount Olympus), Ύψιστος (Ypsistos)= the highest of all, the most sublime, the top authority, Θεός Αγαθός (Theos Agathos)= the Good God, Βουλαίος (Vouleos)= of the council, councilor, Κοσμήτης (Kosmitis)= the one who brings order to the world etc. even Πατήρ (Pater)= Father (aka "Father of gods and mankind")

Then we have a plethora of epithets that link Zeus to several things he represents such as justice or giving of goods for example: Ξένιος (Xenios)= of hospitality, Ικέσιος (Ikesios)= of the begging (here the ritual of begging see for example Odysseus begging Arete for heeding his plea for getting him home), Φίλιος (Philios)= of love, of friendship, of kinship, Γαμήλιος (Gamilios)= of the marriage, Καθάρσιος (Katharsios)= the one who cleanses, Σωτήρ (Sotir)= savior, Μειλίχιος (Milihios)= Gracious, merciful, Ελευθέριος (Elephtherios)= of freedom, Πανελλήνιος (Panhellenios)= of all Greece and all Greeks (from παν= complete, all and ελλας=greece), Αρείος (Areios)= of war, Στράτιος (stratios)= of the army, Σθένιος (Sthenios)= of power, Τρόπαιος (tropeos)= of the prices, loot, Σημαλέος (Simaleos)= bringer of signs/omens, Μοιραγέτης (Miragetis)= leader of Fates (μοίρα=fate and άγω=to lead, to bring, to raise)

And that is just a sample! Hahahaha! He has countless names and epithets depending on his worship, his attributes. In Homer he is even described by his appearance or what he wears, for example Aἰγίοχος (Aegiohos)= Aegis bearer (from the myth of Athena and Perseus where Perseus gives the head of Medusa to Athena, by some accounts Athena presents this aegis to her father Zeus). Some of his epithets that connect him to myths such as the attribute of being part of the top of the mountain of course leads not only to his battle with his father Cronos and his dominance over Olympus but also the second defeat of the Titans in Titanomachy where again Zeus defeated his arch-nemesis, Typhoon. His attribute to mount Ida in Crete is possibly due to the fact that he was raised there in secret so that Cronos wouldn't swallow him like the rest of Rhea's children. Multiple myths connext Zeus to sanctuaries such as the one of Dodona where he is also offering prophetic powers, similar to Delphi. Zeus also is connected to South Italy given that it is under Aitna that he trapped Typhoon according to some myths and traditions.

Hera:

Hera is also an ancient deity known already from mycenaean greek as well, written e-ra. Her name is of a little more obscure origins. I have seen people connect her to ώρα (hora) aka "time" or "moment" αήρ aka "wind" or "air" and some others. Plato says it comes from ἐρατή (erate) which means "beloved". Either way Hera has given her name in many figures of mytholgy including the infamous Heracles (Heracles= Glory of Hera).

Just like her husband, Hera has also a number of epithets that connect her to her nature as well as her attributes: Νυμφευόμενη (Nymphevomeni)= married, the one who gets married, Τέλεια (Teleia)= complete, adult woman, Ζύγια (Zygia)= married, of the marriage Ανθεία (Anthia)= of the flowers, Ακραία (Akraia)= of the top, of theheights (title she shares with her husband as well), Γαμηστόλος (Gamistolos)= the one who leads marriage (γάμος= marriage, στέλλω=to send, to lead to) Άνασσα and Βασιλίς (Anassa and Vasilis)= Queen. Βοῶπις (Vopis)= Cow-eyed (Homeric epithet, the one wit the big eyes. Also in Homer she is described as "white armed")

Other interesting epithets of hers are: Αλέξανδρος (alexandros)= protector of men (αλεξ= protect, repel and ανδρας= man, here is used as an epithet not as a name so it is female gender), Ηνίοχη (Iniohi)= of the chariot, the one who leads the chariot, Ὑπερχείρια (Hyperheria)= whose hand us up above. We also have one where she is called Αιγοφάγος (Aigophagos)= Goat-eater (Αίγα=goat and φάγω=to eat), linked to Laconia (Sparta) where Heraclesoffers a sacrifice in goats to her because he had no other sacrifice to give. Other names and epithets link her to specific heroes like Βουναία (Vounea)= of Vounos (a name of a hero) since many heroes offer temples in her name.

She is linked a lot with heroes due to her involvement with them both for the good and for the bad reasons. As charioteer we see her ride a chariot in Iliad as they descend together with Athena to assist the Greeks in the Trojan war. It also seems to be connecting her with her husband as his support and his co-ruler.

Poseidon:

Yet another god we know exists at least since the dawn of greek civilization in Bronze age, having his name engraved in Linear B as po-se-da-or among others, Poseidon is the second most powerful god in Greek olympian pantheon and like his younger brother Zeus is the god of the heavens, he is the god of earth as a living space for humans. His name is linked both to earth and to water since depending on the interpretation one can say his name comes rom "flow" or "earth" and of course one of his most famous epithets as earth-shaker. That is because earthquakes are by n large the former of the landscape.

Poseidon's plethora of names and epithets also link him to that. In fact many of his epithets include the term "gaea" which means "earth": Βασιλεύς (vasilevs)= king, lord, Πελαγαίος (Pelageos)=of the sea (πέλαγος=alternative word for "sea"), Αιγαίων (Aegeaeon)= of the Aegean sea, Προσκλύστιος (Prosklystios)= the one who strikes against (here waves probably?) Γαιήοχος (Gaeichos)= the one who holds the earth, Εννοσιγαιος (Ennosigaeos)= the Earth-Shaker, Εὐρυκρείων (Evrikrion)=wide-ruling (in Homer), Κυανοχαίτης (Cyanohetis)= of the blue/cyan/dark hair (in Homer from cyan and χαίτη which is a word used both for the maine of the horse but also means "hair" in general), Σεισίχθων (Sisichthon)= Earth-shaker (from verb σείω=to shake and χθων=ground, dirt, earth >see also "chthonian"), Ἐπακταῖος (Epaktaeos)= on the shore, worshipped on the shore (επί=upon, onto and ακτή=shore), Ποντομέδων (Pontomedon)= lord of the sea (ποντος=water, sea, μένδω=rule, stand steadfast -among others-), Φύκιος (Phykios)= of the seaweed, Φυταλμιος (Phytalmios)= plant nurturer

Other epithets can be seen as: Ἀσφάλειος (Asphalios)= protector (possibly protection for travelers in the sea), Δωματίτης (Domatitis)= of the house (as protector of kings and families and kin), Ἱππιος (Hippios)= of the horses, Ἱπποκουριος (Hippokurios)= the tender of horses (both these have the word ίππος=horse and the second has the term κούρα= which means "healing" or "tending", see english word "cure"), Ἐπόπτης (Epoptis)=overseer Γενέθλιος (Genethlios)=of the birth (here of the family or of the kin)

So by n large Poseidon is linked to some earthly values as opposing to Zeus who is connected with heavenly affairs. He protects the household and the kin, the partenthood and ansestors among others. Even the fact that his animal is a horse (symbol of status of nobility) plays its part. And of course on myths involving him we do know on the famous del with Athena over the control of the city of Athens but we also know the association of Poseidon with various monsters and monstrous creatures such as the cyclops and more specifically the cyclops Polyphemus. In one essence that could be an indicator of how nature is dangerous for humans who have to struggle their way to live through the unexpected turns of it. As a protector/patron god of Troy he is known for having built the walls of Troy after Zeus punished him for the coup he took part in against him. Poseidon had also sent a sea monster to protect Troy nown as Cytus of Troy, which was defeated by Heracles the first time he conquered Troy.

Demeter:

The other sister of the gods, Demeter also appears as far back as Linear B scriptures at least as da-ma-te with her name being associated of course to the cereal of earth but her name itself has multiple interpretations some of them I see is from a proto-indoeuropean "da" for "earth" and "mater" aka "mother" so in one way "mother-earth" aspect which makes sense given how Demeter is goddess of harvest, of nature, of rebirth of earth after winter and generally associated with earth. Also she is associated with the seasons and their changes. Consequently she is associated with wealth given how wealth comes from cullivating the earth. From the myth of Persephone and her struggle to get back her daughter and have justice for her, made her also associated with justice and law and also of course like many goddesses and gods that have to do with rebirth and the underworld one way or another, is also linked to mysteries and secret worships (ex. Eleusynian Mysteries).

Χθονια (Chthonia)= Of the earth, Χλοη (Chloi)= Green/Grass related, Καρποφορος (Karpophoros)= Bearer of Fruit, Θερμασια (Thermasia)= of the heat/warmth, Πλουτοδοτειρα (Plutodoteira)= giver of wealth, Παναχαια (Panachaea)= of all the Greeks, Ανησιδωρα (Anisidora)= Giver of gifts, Ὡρηφορος (Oriphoros)= Bringer of Seasons, Πολυφορβος (Polyphorvos)= Nourisher of many, Αγλαοκαρπος (Aglaokarpos)= of the Good Fruit, Καλλιστεφανος (Kallistephanos)= Beautiflly crowned, Χρυσαορος (Chrysaoros)= of the golden blade (perhaps cythe?) Μεγαλη Θεα (Megali Thea)= Great Goddess, Μεγαλα Μητερ (Megala Miter)= Great Mother, Προστασια (Prostasia)= leading/standing forard, Ευρώπη (Evropi/Europa)= broad-eyed, Λουσιη (Lusyi)= Bathing/Purifying), Μέλαινα (Melena)= Black (associated with both the land when fertile being dark of color but also her mourning clothing for Persephone's loss) also in this manner Κυανοπεπλος (Cyanopeplos)= Of cyan/black veil, For her association with Justice we have: Θεσμοφορος (Thesmophoros)= Bringer of Law, Θεσμιη (Thesmii)= of the Laws, Ερινυς (Erinys)= Fury (Associated with her fury when her daughter was kidnapped) Other descriptive titles: Σεμνη (Semni)= Modest, Ἁγνη (Agni)= Pure, Πότνια (Potnia)= powerful/noble, Ξανθη (Xanthe)= Fair-haired/Blonde (possible description as well as linked to the golden color of cereal), Ευκομος (Efkomos)= Lovely-haired, Ανασσα (Anassa)= Queen

So generally the most famous story of hers is her association with Zeus, the god of justice and heavens thus herself associated with justice and the change of seasons. With Zeus she has Persephone. When Persephone was taken by Hades/Pluto, she dressed herself in black in mourning and kept on searching for her daughter. Her sadness was translated to the change of season, making winter roam the earth. Eventually when Persephone was proven to have eaten food from the Underworld, pomergranate, Demeter demands to be able to see her daughter at least half the year thus we have the change of seasons for Persephone is sad at her daughter's departure in the Underworld, thus bringing winter to the earth. She is also associated with her other brother, Poseidon, through their worship for the fertility of earth.

Hephaestus:

Another Olymbian god is of course Hephaestus who also has a long history since he also appears to the Linear B texts as A-pa-i-ti-jo and known for his protection over blacksmiths and metalworkers and not only. Unfortunately one of his most prominient features is that he is limping (either by birth or because he was thrown off Olympus either by Zeus or by Hera depending on the myth) So many of his epithets reflect on that: Ἀμφιγυήεις (Amphigyiaes)= the laming one or Κυλλοποδίων (Kyllopodion)=the one who drags his feet.

However he has many other glorious epithets about his craft or glory: Αἰθαλόεις θεός (Aethaoaes Theos)= Sooty god, Ἀγακλυτός (Agaklytos)= very renounced (άγαν= very much, κλέος=glory, fame), Χαλκευς (Chalkevs)= the blacksmith of copper, Κλυτος (Klytos)=famous renounced, Πολυτεχνης (Polytechnes)= of many crafts (πολύ=much, many, τέχνη=art, craft), Πολυφρων (Polyfron)= witty, ingenius (πολύ+ φρην=mind) And one of my favorites: Πολύμητις (Polymites)= wily, of many wiles, of many devices [Yup! The god of crafts has the same epithet that Odysseus gets! How cool is that?!]

Now for myths involving Hephaestus and his nature to be a good blacksmith or a cunning fellow come from various myths that involve him binding gods wih invisible or strong chains to name a few we have the famous story where he traps his wife Aphrodite and her lover Ares by binding them on their bed. Or the myth where he binds his mother Hera in a chair and he needs to be made drunk by Dionysus to be coersed to set her free. His nature as a craftsman is connected to the attempt of rap of Athena and the birth of Erichthonius through the Earth/Gaea that gets fertilized with his sperm thus being technically the progenitor of Athens and the Atheneans. And of course the myths that involve him forging various armors for heroes and gods.

Ares:

So Ares is another deity with Mycenaean roots A-re and his name does seem to resemble the term αρά which means "curse" or even "wish" in ancient greek. God of war and courage Ares was not very popular around Greece due to his apparent savagery of character and his connection to war and slaughter and yet he too has a bunch of epithets based on his identity: Θηριτας (Theritas)= Beastly, Ἱππιος (Hippios)= Of the Horses, Αφνειος (Afnios)= Abundant and Γυναικοθιονας (Gynaikothionas)= Feasted by Women. Others such as Ανδρειφοντης (Andrifontis)= Slayer of men, Χαλκεος (Chalkeos)= Bronze or Χαλκοκορυστης (Chalkorystis)= Armed with Bronze, Θοος (Thoos)= Swift, Θουρος (Thuros)= Violent, Δεινος (Deinos)= Terrible, terrifying, Ενυαλιος (Enavlios)= The one sung by the flutes or Warlike, Χρυσοπελεξ (Chrysopelex)= The one of the Golden Helm and more In his case we talk more about epithets that have to do with war and violence which is why he was mostly hated god by the Greeks and represented by the obvious lack of lickiness that Zeus shows for him.

Ares is being connected to various of warriors in mythology and arguably he is responsible for the birth of the Amazons since he fathers many of them. He is also associated to Aphrodite (either as her husband or as her lover) in one way indicating how love or passion are oftentimes reasons for fights and combat). Ares also often gives horses to some strong wariors in myths (thus his association with horses and not just horses of battle). In one essence given how horses are signs of status, could be mythologically winking to the aspect of people gaining status through wars and conquest. Generally Ares is one of the most hated gods due to the aspects of violence he represents (even mythologically is shown as he is one of the least favorite children of Zeus) but his association with Aphrodite and arguably the birth of Eros from their union is to say the very least interesting

Aphrodite:

Aphrodite is a goddess witha plethora of epithets. Her name doesn't seem to be rescued from Bronze Age tablets but of course her name comes from te term αφρός (Aphros=foam) and the verb that means "to rise from" or "to give" or "bring to existence" but there are other theories too that seem to be under discussion. Her epithets of course reflect her notions of love and sexuality but that is not all

Ουρανια (Urania)= of the sky, Heavenly, Πανδημος (Pandemos)= of all people, of all that live, Επιστροφια (Epistrofia)= the one who returns (from verb επιστρέφω which stands for "return" or "turn back"), Αποστροφια (Apostrophia)= the one who reverts (here from aunlawful loves), Κατασκοπια (Kataskopia)= the spying one or even Ψιθυριστης (Psithiristis)= the whispering one So many of her epithets are linked to her lovey nature and to actions of sexuality. Even terms such as Μελαινις (melenis)= black of night (nightly actions such as love), Συμμαχια (Symmachia)=Ally (to love), Απατουρος (Apatouros)= Deceiving one (possible links to affairs), Μορφω (Morpho)= the one of appearances She is also linked to marriage having also the names Νυμφία (Nymphia)= of marriage, Μιγωντις (Migontis)= Unifying one even assciated with Hera by taking her name as an epithet Ἡρη (Iri)= of Hera (aka "of marriage") In Sparta she is worshipped for aspects of war as well thus getting names such as: Νικηφορος (Nikiphoros)= victory-bearer, Αρεια (Areia)= of war Ὡπλισμενη (Hoplismeni)= Armed While from her sea origins we get names such as Ευπλοια (Efplia)= of Fair Voyage, Ποντια (Pontia)= of the sea, Λιμενια (Limenia)= of the port and Ξένια (Xenia)= of the stranger/guest

Aphrodite is also associated like Zeus with her affairs with mortals and immortals alike. She is also the birther of heroes that eventually become founders of cities (like Aeneas) but she is also connected to the aspect of beauty which is very important in ancient Greek spectrum. Arguably her divine origins (either from the birth through the foam of the sea or through the god of Heavens, Zeus) is also associating the aspects of love and passion to a divine level for the ancient Greeks. Her association with war (either through her affair with Ares or by being a war goddess herself for the Spartans) is also associating the aspet of love with war and fighting (ironically we have the modern saying as well "All is allowed in love and in war"). Aphrodite is also associated with the rebirth of nature in one aspect through her love for the beautiful Adonis, who for her sake comes up every spring even if he is dead in the underworld. Her protective nature is also seen when she tries to take her offsprings out of harm's way even at the cost of her own pain (see for example the events of the Iliad) so in a way she is also a mother-goddes even if motherhood is not her ultimate attribute, in my opinion is a very important too.

Apollo:

For Apollo we do not have a steady association with Linear B tablets for it seems like a name we assume refers to Apollo could be written as "Hyperion" instead. Etoimologically it seems to come from roots that are used later to express a young boy coming of age as mentioned how Apollo is the "ultimate kouros" aka "ultimate youth". Homer also speaks on him as "the one with the silver arrows" to speak on his equipment. His association with archery and music but also prophetic powers earns a series of epithets linked to these;

Θεαριος (Thearios)= of the oracle, Προοψιος (Proopsios)= Forseeing, Κληριος (Klirios)= distrubuter of lottery, Μουσηγετης (Mousigetis)= Leader of Muses, Ἑκατος (Ekatos)= Shooter from afar (aka "archer"), Αγραιος (Agraeos)= Of the wilderness (here "of the Hunt"), Αιγλητος (Egilitos)= Shining For his association with healing and disease and plague we have also: Παιαν (Pean)= of the health, Ακεσιος (Akesios)= Healer, Σμινθαιος (Sminthaeos)= of the Mice [the ancient greeks probably did connect plagues with animals as well], Παρνοπιος (Parnopios)=of the Locsts, Επικουριος (Epikourios)= Helper, Αλεξικακος (Alexikakos)= Averter of Evil, Θεοξενιος (Theoxenios)= God of Foreigners (possibly also linked that he was a protector god of the city of Ismarus that was inhabited by Thracian people), Λυκειος (Lykios)= Of the wolves On myths on which associate him with rescues by dolphins (as well as that the dolphin is one of his sacred animals) he gets the name Δελφινιος (Delphinios)= Of the Dolphin, Ακτιος (Aktios) = of the shore and Επιβατηεριος (Epivatirios)= of the sacrifices before embarking, Πυθιος (Pythios)= of the Python (from the myth that he killed the python at Delphi), Διονυσοδοτης (Dinysiodotis)= of bestowing Dionysus (for his contibution to the deification of Dionysus)

Apollo has a very rich set of myths that is very hard to put them all. But of course his birth that is associated with the island of Delos, the moving island of the prophecy and his known myth of freeing Delphi from the python that was guarding the Castallia fountain gives him the association with prophets and omens. We also know Apollo from the tragic stories of affairs he has with both men and women. Apollo despite the fact that is a very beautiful god is being widedly rejected by his love interests. A known myth is his unfortunate story of Hyakinth too who even if he was reciprocating his feelings, their story ended in a tragedy. In one essence connects his aspect with music and poetry to the tragic aspect of life. He is also associated with the Muses through his attribute of music. His lesser known association with plague and disease and also healing or calling it off can be seen through myths such as the plague of the Greeks in the Iliad and his association with Asclepius and the teachings of healing of Chiron. Of course his association with Archery can be seen in the myths, one of the most infamous was the killing of the children of Niobe who was blasphemous towards his mother.

Artemis:

Apollo's twin sister ironically appears to the tablets of Linear B as a-te-mi-to and a-ti-mi-te (in gen. and dat. respectably) as for her name's origin there are various thoughts some of them that comes from the word ¨αρκτος" (arktos) which means "bear". Either way of course we also know Artemis as archer, goddess of wilderness and hunting and protector of the virgin girls (being a irgin goddess herself). A lesser known aspect of hers is that she is also linked with childbirth and raising children since according to the myth she was born first and then assisted her mother Leto give birth to ber brother Apollo. Also she was often associated with death, especially of women thus many figures in mythology call on Artemis for death. So her epithets also reflect on her roles:

Αγροτερη (Agroteri)= of the fields (here: of the hunt), Δικτυνναια (Dyctynea)= of the (hunting) nets, Φεραια (Pheraea)= of the beasts, Ελαφιαια (Elaphiaea)= of the deer (given that deer is also her sacred animal), Λυκειη (Lykii)= of the Wolves (sharing it also with her brother), Αριστη (Aristi)= the most noble, Καλλιστη (Kallisti)= very beautiful, Ἱερεια (Iereia)= Priestess, Ποτνια Θερων (Potnia Theron)= The leader of Beasts, Ἑκατη (Ekati)= shooter from afar (sharing it with her brother), Χρυσαλακατος (Chrysalakatos)= the golden-shafted (opposing her brother who is "silver shafted"), Ελαφηβολος (Elaphivolos)= shooter of deer, Ἁγνη (Agni)= pure, chaste, Παρθένος (Parthenos)= virgin, Αιδοιος παρθενος (Aidoios Parthenos)= reverted virgin, forever virgin On her attributes on children childbirth and girls we have: Παιδοτροφος (Pedotrophos)= the nurturer of children, Φιλομειραξ (Filomirax)= friend/beloved to young girls, Ορσιλοχια (Orsilochia)= helper of childbirth (since λοχία lochia, means "childbirth"), Ἡγεμονη (Igemoni)= leader (here of dance, from myths that involve dances in wilderness)

Artemis association with birth and labor is as I mentioned above, connected to her myth of birth. She gets born first and then helps her mother give birth to her twin. Her myths connecting her to wilderness are of course connected to the various animals she has as symbols. One myth involves for example the transformation of Aktaion into a deer and her sending his own dogs against him because he saw her naked while bathing in the river. Along with her brother Apollo she shoots the children of Niobe when she claims that she is better than their mother for having more children. Thus she is associated with death especially of females since she infamously shoots the female children of Niobe while her brother shoots the male (from what I remember at least, I could be wrong on that)

Hermes:

Hermes, the messenger of gods and also the sender of souls, the protector of all who travel (including merchants and thieves) also appears in Linear B tablets as e-ma-ha. For the origins of his name I do like the version of ἕρμα (erma)= stone heap. Onc again Hermes as a god that has multiple attributes not only as a god that brings the messages to others but also protect the travelers and interesting the thieves also (Hermes himself starts his life as a thief for he steals the cows of Apollo in his first day! XD) Thus he is also linked to pastoral life and flocks! So we have:

Διακτορος (Diaktoros)= Guide/Messenger, Αγγελος Θεών (Aggelos Theon)= Messenger of the gods, Αγγελος Μακαρων (Aggelos Makaron)= messenger of the blessed (or of blessed news), Χαριδωτης (Charidiotis)= Giver of Joy, Ἑρμηνευτης (Ermineftis)= Interpreter, Ψυχοπομπός (Psychopombos)= Sender of Souls, Κυδιμος (Kydimos)= Glorious/Noble As protector of flocks and merchants we have Επιμηλιος (Epimilios)= Protector of sheep/flocks, Κριοφορος (Kriophoros)= ram-bearer, Βουφονος (Vuphonos)= killer of cattle, Οιοπολος (Iopolos)= Sheep-tending/Shephard, Αγοραίος (Agoreos)= of the Market/Agora As protector of wandrers and thieves we have: Μαστηριος (Mastirios)= Of the searchers, Πομπαιος (Pombeos)= the Guide/the one who sends, Ποικιλομητης (Pikilomitis)= of the various wiles, Δόλιος (Dolios)= Wily/Planning, Κλεψιφρων (Klepsifron)= the one with the thefty mind, Μηχανιωτης (Michaniotis)= Deceiving/Trickster, Φηλητης (Philitis)= Thief, Εναγωνιος (Enagonios)= of th Games, Προμαχος (Promachos)= Champion And one of my favorites: Πολύτροπος (Polytropos)= of many turns/ways [YUP! Odysseus again shares his epithet with a god!]

So yes Hermes very early on is being assosiated with trickery and theft given how he steals the cattle of his half-brother Apollo and then pretends being innocent (also we have the creation of the lyre by him, which he gives as a gift to Apollo) and as a messenger of gods that is constantly moving to transfer the gods' will to humans and other gods, he is always associated not only with messengers but travelers in general (wanderers, thieves, merchants etc) also as a rule-breaker he plays an important part in the Odyssey as he helps Odysseus in Aeaea on his own accord also associated with the thief Autolycus to whom he gives special powers to disguise himself (according to traditions he is also his father). Hermes also has the task to guide the souls to the underworld till the river where they will be taken by Charon or wait for 100 years if they have no money to pay him. Thus later in alchemic traditions he is linked to transformation through death as well and many associated Hermes with Thoth in Egyptian mythology.

Athena:

The oldest and most known child of Zeus in Olympian pantheon is no other than Athena. Her name also rescued from Linear B scriptures as a-ta-na (in fact the full title we have is a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja =Potnia Athena) an there are various of suggestions on the name's etymology, I believe Plato says that her name deprives from Ἀθεονόα (Athoenoa) which deprives from he word "theos" (god) and "noisis" (mind) so her name says to be "godly knowledge" or "godly mind" (according to Plato's Cratylus 407b, they say the first α is an old and foreign way to spell η so technically he says Α θεονόα would go Η θεονόη aka "the god's knowledge/mind"). Either ay Athena is undoubtedly one goddess with various attributes that are also reflected to her names. Goddess of Wisdom born from the goddess of mind and wisdom Metis and Zeus, being born out of Zeus's head, Athena is goddess of war and war tactics, protector of crafstmen and goddess of weaving and culivation of plants (especially olive), protector of heroes and bearer of the Aegis of Zeus Athena is without a doubt one of the most prominient and mportant characters in the pantheon and some of her epithets go:

Παλλάς (Pallas)= Pallas (Arguably one of her most famous epithets. In Homer is used as part of her name, future writers such as Pindar or Plato deprives from the word "palleis" which means "to brandish" because she brandishes her aegis, others speak it comes from the name of a giantess that she killed but I believe the most beloved version is the one that has her taking this epithet from the name of the daughter of Triton who was her best friend and Athena accidentally killed and she was so devastated that in her mourning she adopted her dead friend's name as her epithet)

Τριτογένεια (Trigogeneia)= Born from the head (τριτύς=head), Κορυφασια (Koryphasia)= of the head, Γλαυκόπις (Glaukopis)= Owl-eyed (also light blue/gray or shiny-eyed), Οξυδερκης (Oxyderkis)= sharp (eyed or witted), Γοργολαφας (Gorgolaphas)= Gorgon-crested, Γιγαντολετειρα (Gigantoletira)= Destroyer of Giants, Αξιοποινος (Axiopinos)= the one of the Rightful Vengeance, Ανεμωτις (Anemotis)= of the Winds, Κελευθεια (Kelefthia)= the one who sends you on the way, Προναια (Pronaea)= the one before the temple, Παναχαια (Panachaea)= of all the Greeks, Παρθενος (Parthenos)= Virgin, Κορη (Kori)= Maiden, Αμβουλια (Amvulia)= Coincilor, Απατουρια (Apaturia)= of the deception, Μαχανιτις (Michanitis)= the one who comes up with plans, Ξενια (Xenia)= of the foreigner/of hospitality As protector of city of Athens we have: Πολιας (Polias)= of the City, Πολιουχος (Poliuchos)= the one who has the city (city-protector), Πολιατις (Poliatis)= City-keeper, Ερυμα (Eryma)= Defender, Σωτειρα (Sotira)= Savior As war goddess and associated with victory and such: Νικη (Niki)= Victory, Αρεια (Aria)= of the War, Σαλπινξ (Salpinx)= war-trumpet, Λειτις (Leitis)= distrubutor of war loot, Ζωστηρια (Zostiria)= gildred (in armor), Σθενιας (sthenias)= of the Strength, Πολεμηδοκος (Polemidokos)= war-sustaining, Ἱππια (Ippia)= of the horses, Χαλινιτις (Chalinitis)= the bridler of horses, Αλεα (Alea)= Escape (of refugees) As protector of arts and crafts: Εργανη (Ergani)= Worker, Παιωνια (Paionia)= Healer, Ὑγεια (Ygia)= (of) Health Also interestingly she also has the title Μητηρ (Mitir)= Mother even if she is not a mother-goddess maybe that is closer related to her association with helping heroes

Of course we know the countless myths Athena is involved in, from her quarrel with Poseidon over the city of Athens and the Gigantomachy where she gains her title of "destroyer of giants", in epic poems she is associating herself with some of the greatest heroes including Tydeus, his son Diomedes, Odysseus and his son Telemachus but also women such as Penelope. Of course her wonderous birth from the head of Zeus is also very important part of her titles. Also her association to her half-brotherHephaestus and their protection of crafts.

Dionysus:

Dionysus whose name literally means "Child of Zeus" or even "Young Zeus" is the youngest Olympian and the first one to be born of a mortal woman (Semele), starting from a demi-god and ending up being deified as olympian god. His name appears to Linear B tablets as di-wo-nu-so and is one of the most beloved gods to think of. He has various attributes although he is mostly known as the god of wine and festivities his rich cultural background can be also god of madness and ritual madness and ecstasy, of fertility of nature and the rebirth of it after winter, of theater and of wilderness. From the Orphic traditions he was born once more as Zagreus and killed by Hera or devoured by Titans and thus he was re-incarnated as Dionysus through Semele. His trip to the underworld and his rebirth connects him so with regeneration and rebirth and connects him to Eleusynian Mysteries. As god of madness and orgic celebrations he is also god of theater and culivation of the vine. From the orgic nature of his worship we also have epithets that connect him to the eating of animals, often associated with omophagia (raw-eating). So here are some epithets:

Δασυλλιος (Dasyllios)= of the forests, Λιμναιος (Limneos)= of the lakes/marshes, Σταφυλιτης (Staphylitis)= of the grapes, Ομφακιτης (Omphakitis)= of the unripe grape, Ληναιος (Lineos)= of the wine-press, Θεοινος (Theoinos)= God of Wine, Αγαθος Δαιμον (Agathos Demon)= Good God, Προτρυγαιος (Protrygaios)= the one who comes first for grape-picking, Οινοψ (Inops)= wine-dark (potentially reference to his dark hair according to his descriptions), Κισσιος (Kissios)= of the Ivy, Ακρατοφορος (Akratophoros)= Bringer of unmixed wine, Ανθιος (Anthios)= of the Flowers, Κιστοφορος (Kristophoros)= Basket-bearer (basket both for sacrifices also for grapes), Ερεβινθινος (Erevinthinos)= of the cheakpea, Πατρωιος (Patroios)= Paternal (god), Αισυμνητης (Asimnitis)= Dictator, Πολιτης (Politis)= Citizen Asossiation with sexuality and cullivation: Ανδρογυνος (Androgynos)= Androgynous (sexually), Φαλλην (Phallin)= Phallus, Αυξιτης (Afxitis)= the raiser in size As god of madness: Βακχος (Bacchus)= of the Bacchic frenzy, Ιοβακχος (Iobacchos)= of the bacchic-cry, Ιακχος (Iakchos)= of the ritual-cry, Μαινολης (Menolis)= Mad/Raging, Βρομιος (Vromios)= Noisy (or of the eating), Ανθροπορραιστος (Anthroporrestos)= Man-slayer, Σωτηριος (Sotirios)= Savior (recovering from madness) As a god of orgiac festivities and omophagia: Ταυροφαγος (Tavrophagos)= Bull-eater, Βουφάγος (Vuphagos)= cattle-eater, Μοσχοφαγος (Moschophagos)= calf-eater, Αιγοβολος (Egovolos)= the striker of goats, Νυκτελιος (Nyktelios)= of the night, Λαμπτηρος (Lamptiros)= of the torches/lambs, Ἑστιος (Estios)= of the feast, Μελπομενος (Melpomenos)= Singing From the orphic traditions and regeneration: Ζαγρεύς (Zagrefs)= Zagreus, Διμητωρ (Dimitor)= two mothers (or twice born), Λυσιος (Lysios)= releaser, Ελευθερευς (Eleftherefs)= Liberator, Σαωτης (Saotis)= Savior, Μυστης (Mystis)= of the mysteries, Χθονιος (Cthonios)= of the earth (also cthonic worshipping)

Without any exaggeration Dionysian worshipping festivities are some of the most ancient known n Greece and some of them survive one way or another even today. I have made some answers in regards to the dionysian worshipping process but in general he is associated with myths that involve the inducing of madness in various occasions. His followers satyrs and maenades also are involved in various of myths on their own. Dionysus is also known for being chased by Hera in various occasions and the inducing of madness by her and him being released by Rhea using the stone of Amethyst (crystal associated with wine due to its color). Dionysus is also one of the gods known for going to the underworld and reviving people or giving them immortality (such the reviving of his mother Semele and his marriage to Ariadne), thus associated with Eleusynian Mysteries and rebirth rituals. His status as god was earned from the myth that says that Zeus finished the pregnancy of Semele himself by sewing the fetus in his hip. His association with the vine has also many myths but I like the myth of Ampelos, the young Satyr that was his lover who got killed (depending onthe myth he has a different end) and was transformed to the first vine by Dionysus (or he died because he tried to pick grapes and thus Dionysus naming the plant after him) His association with theater comes from his dionysian celebrations where people wear animal skins or masks and dance in their ritual ecstasy, literally becoming someone else while also dancing and singing as a chorus (choir), thus the association with theater and the ritual offerings to Dionysus before a theatrical performace

***

Sorry I was so late my friend! Your ask was one of the most extensive I ever had and I wanted to include as many pieces of information as I could! And this is but a sample! I will be glad to analyze further specifics you might think you want to hear more and give you the myth behind it if it exists because man this is like a thematic for an entire book I swear! Hahahahaha

Other honorable mentions could be Hestia and Hades

Hades:

The last out of the three great gods including Poseidon and Zeus and he inherits the realm of the dead. In fact oftentimes especially after the 5th century BC the word "Hades" (Άδης) was used to indicate the underworld itself while the god was being referred to with the name Πολύτων which means "Wealthy" or "Wealth" and the name was later taken by the Romans as "Pluto". Hades was a hated god to woship because he was connected to the essences of death which Greeks disliked (in the homeric hymns for instance Hades is often not even named but he is referred to as "The one with The Many Names" The name deprives according to Plato from the word that means "unseen" Due to the fact that he was so feared because of the essence of death, by n large there is no cult for Hades in temples but Hades is honored to funerary rights and necromantic rituals. So epithets and cult names are rather scarce but interesting non the less:

Πλουτων (Pluton)= of the Wealth, Θεων Χθονιος (Theon Chthonios)= God of the Underworld, Ζευς Χθόνιος (Zefs Chthonios)= Zeus of the Underworld, Πολυσημαντωρ (Polysimandor)= The ruler of many, Πολυδεγμων (Polydegmon)= Host of Many, Πολυξενος (Polyxenos)= the host of many, Νεκροδεγμων (Nekrodegmon)= Receiver of the dead And my favorite: Νεκρων Σωτηρ (Nekron Sotir)= the Savior of the Dead

There are not THAT many myths that include him except of course the infamous kidnapping (and depending on source) rape of Persephone which also leads to the change of seasons. In one essence the way that he is worshipped during the dunerals AND is associated with this myth in a way seems to connect together the essences of life and death; rebirth and doom or even marriage and death which often go side by side (see for instance how often women died in childbirth or young). However I love the term "Zeus of the Underworld" showing how powerful he was feared to be. Especially since like Zeus he has a domain that is untouchable by humans (Heaven and Underworld) but I also love how he is known to be also a "Host" to the dead and also a "Savior". That last one touches me really much.

Hestia:

Hestia is one of the siblings born out of Cronus, the oldest one according to tradition. As a goddess she is the goddess of the house and household. She never leaves Olympus and rarely ever leaves the kitchen where she feeds all these endless mouths of Olympian gods and their entourages! Like Athena and Artemis she is sworn to remain a virgin and unmarried. Her worship is really important. For starters the house fire that burns in every Greek House is dedicated to her (her very name means "heath of fire" nowadays)

Unfortunately cannot find epithets as such dedicated to her. She is known as a Virgin goddess just like others before her in this list. She is known as the Goddess of Altars and Heaths. Oftentimes she is not even depicted, possibly to indicate her importance by the absense of image. Her sacred animal is the pig which again is an animal that can give to people pretty much everything from meat till blood till skin and bone.

Of myths again I know only of one, her attempt of rape by Priapus or rather that Priapus tried to sneak on her while she was sleeping, she wakes up and screams and Priapus is scared for his life and runs off. Generally she is worshipped and honored like a good lady of the house. She has altars everywhere (arguably ALL altars are in one way dedicated to her)

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max1461 · 7 months ago

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Here is an observation of common attitudes I see in tech-adjacent spaces (mostly online).

The thing about programming/tech is, at its base, it's historically and culturally contingent. There are of course many fundamental (physical and mathematical) limitations on what a computer can and cannot do, how fast it can do things, and so on. But at least as much of the modern tech landscape is the product of choices made by people about how these machines will work, choices that very much could have been made differently. And modern computing technology is a huge tower of these choices, each resting on and grappling with the ones below it. If you're, say, a web developer writing a web app, the sheer height of this tower of contingent human decisions that your work rests on is almost incomprehensible. And by and large, programmers know this.

I am not dispensing some secret wisdom that I think tech workers don't have. On the contrary, I think the vast contingency of it all is blindingly obvious to anyone who has tried to make a computer do anything. But tech is also, well, technical, and do you know what else is technical? Science. I think this has lead to a sort of cultural false affinity, where tech is perceived, both from within and without, as more similar to science than it is to the humanities. Certainly, there are certain kinds of intellectual labor that tech shares with the sciences. But there are also, as described above, certain kinds of intellectual labor that tech shares to a much greater degree with the humanities, namely (in the broadest terms): grappling with other people's choices.

From without, I think this misplaced affinity leads people to believe that technology is less contingent than it actually is. But I think this belief would be completely untenable from within; it just cannot contend with reality. I've never met a tech worker or enthusiast who seems to think this way. Rather, I feel there is a persistent perception among tech-inclined people that science is more contingent than it actually is. I don't think this misperception rises to the level of a belief, rather I think it is more of an intuition. I think tech people have very much trained themselves (rightly, in their native context) to look at complex systems and go "how could this be reworked, improved, done differently?" I think this impulse is very sensible in computing but very out of place in, say, biology. And I suppose my conjecture (this whole post is purely conjectural, based on a gut sense that might not be worth anything) is that this is one of the main reasons for the popularity of transhumanism in, you know, the Bay. And whatnot.

I'm not saying transhumanism is actually, physically impossible. Of course it's not! The technology will, I strongly suspect, exist some day. But if you're living in 2024, I think the engineering mindset is more-or-less unambiguously the wrong one to bring to biology, at least macrobiology. This post is not about the limits of what is physically possible, it's about the attitudes that I sometimes see tech people bring to other endeavors that I think sometimes lead them to fall on their face. If you come to biology thinking about it as this contingent thing that you must grapple with, as you grapple with a novel or a codebase or anything else made by humans, I think it will make you like biology less and understand it less well.

When I was younger and a lot more naive, as a young teenager who knew a little bit about programming and nothing about linguistics, I wanted to create a "logical language" that could replace natural languages (with all their irregularities and perceived inefficiencies) for the purpose of human communication. This is part of how I initially got into conlanging. Now, with an actual linguistics background, I view this as... again, perhaps not per se impossible, but extremely unlikely to work or even to be desirable to attempt in any foreseeable future, for a whole host of rather fundamental reasons. I don't feel that this desire can survive very well upon confrontation with what we actually know (and crucially also, what we don't know) about human language.

I mean, if you want to try, you can try. I won't stop you.

Anyway, I feel that holding onto this sort of mindset too intensely does not really permit engagement with nature and the sciences. It's the same way I think a lot of per se humanities people fudge engagement with the sciences, where they insist on mounting some kind of social critique even when it is not appropriate (to be clear, I think critique of scientific practices/institutions are sometimes appropriate, but I think people whose professional training gives them an instinct to critique often take it too far).

So like, I guess that's my thesis. Coding is a humanity in disguise, and I wish that people who are used to dealing with human-made things would adopt a more native scientific or naturalist mindset when dealing with science and nature.

#navel gazing

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tanadrin · 6 months ago

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It sounds like you likely side against the protesters in New Caledonia who were apparently protesting about France giving people who moved there recently the right to vote in local elections. (i.e. the native minority doesn't want the colonizers to have the right to vote)

I probably would! If you live somewhere, and pay taxes there, and use the public services and utilities there, you should have full political rights. That policy seems like an overcorrection for historical injustice--e.g., the French not granting Muslims voting rights in North Africa.

And there are other awkward questions you could pose for my open-borders-and-free-citizenship stance--like the fact that the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy was driven in part by immigrants of American background who felt excluded from representation (but who in turn wanted to exclude Asian immigrants from representation), or how small countries that suddenly find themselves in an advantageous economic position often find their demographics rapidly changing (Qatar, Hawaii in the early 20th century).

But the alternative--the whole hog of blood-and-soil nationalism, with a bit of anti-colonial lipstick--seems pretty bad to me. People move around. Places change. Cultures change. We can and should do everything in our power to ensure those changes and that movement is the result of, like, free individual choice, and not war or violent seizure of land or systems of brutal economic exploitation. And sometimes despite those changes, the things people love about their traditional cultures can persist--especially now, in a world that pays much more attention to the rights of (for example) minority language speakers than it used to.

But the desire for the world to remain culturally, linguistically, and economically static is basically reactionary. I mean really, it's the aesthetic heart of reaction. It's also an absurdity. Even perfectly isolated societies can change in dramatic ways. And, of course, very often "tradition" is a cudgel simply wielded in the service of entrenching a different kind of elite power: I am no more supportive of the Hawaiian monarchy, one born of bloody conquest by an imperialistic dynasty, than I am of the British; the British one just happened to be more historically successful, but the underlying principles are the same. Cf. also the way land tenure works in American Samoa, a system that is billed as keeping land in native hands--which it does, by institutionalizing the colonial system of blood quantum and being explicitly racist, and simply serving to prop up a different set of elites (in this case, traditional tribal elites rather than colonial ones).

I think the only way you can really escape the trap of reaction and nationalism is to refuse to play the game in the first place--to put the primacy of your bond to your fellow human beings, regardless of culture or race or origin, and thus inherent political equality (and solidarity) above other considerations. Tribalism, pillarization, byzantine ethnicity-based power-sharing arrangements, special rules for land tenure or voting rights--all these have a nasty way of turning into new forms of exploitation, of someone figuring out how to do the economic and political arbitrage at someone else's expense. The central insight of 1789 was correct here: the only solution is the universal equality of all human beings. The trick is to carry that insight through to its logical conclusion.

#which naturally is fully automated luxury gay space democratic socialism

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cellarspider · 11 months ago

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The Prometheus rant, Part 0/30

⛬ | (Index) | (Next)

I have promised a dissection of the movie Prometheus. It begins.

So, to summarize, and give you a taste of what we're in for.

I am a geneticist with a background in history, including some undergraduate archaeological field work. I'm deeply interested in linguistics as a hobby. Prometheus manages to be stupid in every one of these fields.

But I absolutely love H.R. Giger aesthetic, the cinematography is beautiful, and whoever did the editing was absolutely solid because the movie consistently cuts slow scenes at moments when the cuts feel just slightly jarring. It’s a very subtle way to maintain tension.

The soundtrack holds the intended tone well, the practical effects are numerous and impressive, and even though their story completely undermines it, they got an actual academic linguist to work with them on the language stuff: the guy actually has a speaking role in the film, as a virtual tutor of a reconstructed language he taught to one of the actors.

And on top of all that, there's at least one scene in the movie which is just unbelievably tense and well-executed body horror. It’s the scene everybody mentions as a highlight when they talk about the movie. So, it's a successful movie in so many ways.

But.

The writing does not back this up. There are stretches that are fine, even elevated by some of the performances. But you can feel the movie shift any time a scene has plot relevance, or a character is supposed to do their job.

Unlike Alien, where the main cast making dumb decisions is believable because they're a bunch of space cargo haulers and maintenance people who are not supposed to have any relevant expertise for the situation they find themselves in, Prometheus' characters are supposed to be scientists, doctors, and the best a trillionaire could buy for a mission that he expected would

make first contact between technologically modern humans and a race of aliens that had visited Earth thousands of years ago

convince said aliens to give him the secret to eternal youth, because he's an old rich asshole

so when things start going wrong, I felt less like "oh no these poor bastards don't know what the fuck they're getting into" and more like "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR CONTAMINATING AN ALIEN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE YOU BASTARDS"

this approximately culminates in a scene where the last surviving alien on the planet is woken from two thousand years of emergency stasis, gets talked at in something very much like Proto-Indo-European by Michael Fassbender at the behest of the old rich asshole, while a woman screams in English in the background. The alien proceeds to rip Fassbender's head off and beats the old man to death with it, which is just the funniest goddamn thing

That’s the TL;DR. Yes, really.

The actual rant will start next time. Well. Part One of the rant. This is going to be a multi-parter, because I want anyone who follows me on this journey to understand how the movie builds up into such a mess, and get some actual science out of this.

⛬ | (Index) | (Next)

#Prometheus 2012 #Abandon all hope ye who enter here #but bring some popcorn

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mirupiico · 1 month ago

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HELLO your art is delicious amazing stunning showstopping!!!!!!!!!! i absolutely would love to hear more about your oc <3 she's literally so cuteeeeee

(also i love your breakdown on the accents!!!! like yes give me as much lore as possible)

Ah, you sweet sweet soul. You have opened the floodgates fully. I don't think you understand, I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS OC.

So my Field of Mistria OC's name is Emilia Goldhart and she's from the Caldosian Empire! Since the game is still in early access, aspects of her lore will likely change depending on the more we learn about the world building of the game. With what little info we have, I HC the Caldosian accent to be more or less the same as Scottish English. I am a massive linguistics and dialects nerd, so having an OC from far away from the main town whose accent provides both a point of charm and a language barrier that melts over time is super fun to write. To super simplify her background...

She was a street rat adopted by an adventurer's guild, doing whatever quests she could handle for her age in exchange for room and barebones food. A basic bed and bread was all she really needed, and she did whatever she could to maintain her basic needs. By the time she got into her teens and her body started filling out a little more, they started sending her on more serious assignments -- a femme fatale for hire. She was tasked with luring in men who owed debts to others, and would "collect a debt" (lowkeyjustmurder) on her client's behalf. She was taught to charm others easily, sharpening her natural wit and love for banter. And most importantly, it certainly paid better than petty theft and small monster killing for sure. Her training in this field made her very adept with knives and daggers specifically, and she has a distinct fondness for throwing knives. She would often wear the one nice attire she owned, a red dress, and tie her abundance of red hair into a tight and heavily braided bun, having to infiltrate densely packed late-night fancy galas to find her target. It got to the point where the pattern of seeing a woman in a red dress at parties where men died started a rumor that if a rich man or a scammer died overnight, he must've spent the night with the Maiden in Red.

However, having to put her life on the line and entertain weird rich older men just to survive was getting old. She wanted to escape, but she knew she only really was suited for harm, and had no real prospects for any other kind of work. It wasn't until a particularly auspicious day that she saw a flyer for a free farm available in backwater town she'd never heard of called Mistria. Before any of her bigger more adept peers could find it, she stole the flyer and left the guild in the dead of the night, following the map on the back of the paper...

Emilia post-moving-to-Mistria is a much happier girlie. She makes fast friends pretty quickly with Celine, Reina, and Adeline, often staying over at Celine's house with them for tea and gossip and giggling. Her favorite part of farming, however, are the animals. Her first animal, a duckling named Finnegan, was a gift to her from Hayden, the farmer/rancher that lives at Sweetwater Farm (due west of the player farm). She treats Finnegan like its her own human baby, carrying him around in her overalls pocket until gets too big to fit. The first day she got him, she just sat at Sweetwater farm with him and cried, watching him exist, baffled that he was real and cute and hers and perfect.

Emilia's accent when she first comes to town is extremely thick. The vast majority of the townsfolk don't understand her most of the time when she first moves in, but after hanging around with her girlies (Reina, Celine, Adeline) they start understanding her a little better. Terithia, and Balor, having been well traveled, also understand her a bit better than the others to some extent. Despite having been in the capital for some years, she never really talked to anyone or got close enough to anyone for that to change. It's not until her move to Mistria that her accent begins to wade slightly, however she will often slip back into it deeply if she's feeling any kind of heightened emotion like sadness, rage, or intoxication. I'd made a chart of her accent, but I can also reiterate it here:

Based on the example sentence: "Where do you live? I don't know."

First arriving to town / After a few beers too many: Lots of lexical Scotticisms, very heavily rhotic pronunciations, uses SSE grammar patterns. Only Terithia and Balor can really understand her fully. Example: "Whaur dae ye bide? Ah dinnae ken."

Months into Mistria: Fewer lexical Scotticisms, but the rhotic pronunciations and grammar patterns in there. More understood in town both from her being around more and her Scotticisms being dropped on occasion. Example: "Where de ye live? Ah dunno."

She also has a pretty significant crush on the farmer next door. Emilia isn't really used to just... overt sweetness? So from how brutally kind Hayden is to her on a regular basis, she starts softening up to him and his endearingly goofy love of animals. And, since her usual manner of getting chummy with someone involves a lot of flirty banter and teasing, she really enjoys how notably he responds to being hit on. Making him blush becomes a hobby at one point, though it's all fun and games until he starts figuring out ways to return the favor.

They're totally not dating though. They're definitely just bantering for fun. It's completely platonic and friendly no matter how red either one gets. Totally.

Also she's barefoot the vast majority of the time, with the exception of being in the mines, when it snows, or when its too cold outside.

And that's it! She lives rent free in my head, and I have multiple AUs and fics and shorts written about her that I haven't posted anywhere yet. I love her so much it makes me insane. Thank you for the ask!!!

#oc lore #fields of mistria farmer #fields of mistria oc #original character #thank you for letting me ramble about my baby #she lives rent free in my head 24/7 #i havent had this much fun with an oc in like 5 years #i want to draw her all the time #if you draw her i will cry and sob and puke forever

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gallifreyinstituteforlearning · 1 year ago

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GIL Schedule + Masterpost 2024

Message from our Chancellor

Dear humans,

At the Gallifrey Institute for Learning, we firmly stand by the principle that every individual, regardless of their species or background, deserves the opportunity to access knowledge that is appropriate for their level of intelligence.

In our efforts to extend this philosophy, our dedicated human liaison on Earth has been working to develop social media content and comprehensive learning modules that are meticulously tailored to meet the unique needs and capabilities of humans. These modules have been crafted to be compatible with your extremely rudimentary technology, thereby ensuring that you can engage with the vast expanse of knowledge that we are eager to share. It is our hope that these learning modules will prove to be not only educational but also profoundly enlightening, representing a significant stride in narrowing the gap between Gallifreyans and humans.

This year marks an exciting phase for the Institute as we welcome aboard new members of staff. We are particularly thrilled to introduce Noraxoekodurosugofbyn of Prydon, who will be assuming the role of Translation Officer for Mutter's Spiral, following that rather regrettable incident. Additionally, we are delighted to announce that Myishu 'the Fryer' of Scendeles will be leading our catering team.

We are grateful for the attention you have bestowed upon us during your incredibly short lifespan. For Rassilon's honour!

Kowlignelokegalrasnorusowayfogilsha Chancellor for Gallifrey Institute for Learning

==================================

Daily content

Asks are open all week and usually responded to within 1-2 days. →📫Got a question / submission? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids

All week: 🔥Trending Tuesdays: 🩻Gallifreyan Biology Wednesdays: 🗨️Gallifreyan Language (con. lang) Thursdays: 🕰️Whoniverse Throwbacks Fridays: 🤓Whoniverse Facts Saturdays: 🌟Guides and content drops Sunday: 📢Announcements

Archive 😆Jokes & Incorrect Quotes [stopped]

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Weekly topics 2024

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Courses

Gallifreyan Biological Studies: Anatomy and Physiology

The Gallifrey Institute for Learning is excited to offer "Gallifreyan Biological Studies: Anatomy and Physiology", a specialised course designed to delve into the unique biological structures of Gallifreyan life forms. This course is a comprehensive exploration of the anatomical and physiological aspects of Gallifreyan biology.

Available content: →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (WIP) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP)

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Gallifreyan Linguistic Immersion

The Gallifrey Institute for Learning invites humans to join "Gallifreyan Linguistic Immersion". Designed by top Gallifreyan linguists, this course is tailored for those eager to understand the Gallifreyan language.

Available content: Pending

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TARDIS Systems: History, Theory, and Practice

The Gallifrey Institute for Learning proudly presents "TARDIS Systems: History, Theory, and Practice", a comprehensive course designed for those fascinated by TARDIS technology. This course offers an in-depth exploration of TARDIS systems, combining historical knowledge, theoretical foundations, and practical skills.

Available content: Pending

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Which Gallifreyan academy would admit you? (Quiz)

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Our Staff & Affiliates

Kowlignelokegalrasnorusowayfogilsha of Arcal - Chancellor Saralonoroxapligofmyityo of Arcal - Vice-Chancellor Noraxoekodurosugofbyn of Prydon - Translation Officer for Mutter's Spiral Shaplinortyovatshuagu of Drome - Regional Liaison for Mutter's Spiral Myishu 'the Fryer' of Scendeles - Catering @fatelesschild - Human Liaison for Sol 3 @fritzmetzger - Lead Artist for Sol 3 Joxer (the Mighty) - Feline assistant to Human Liaison for Sol 3

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Disclaimer

The information provided by the Gallifrey Institute for Learning is intended for educational purposes only. We do not accept any responsibility for information from the programmes being used to harm or harass any Gallifreyans, no matter how irritating or destructive they might be.

For humans

GIL is brought to you by its creator, researcher, writer, and all-around nutso Whovian, @fatelesschild, with art by the incomparable @fritzmetzger. It has no affiliation with the BBC or the actual Gallifrey. Sorry. I'm just your common or garden human gal pal, working full-time in medicine, putting a ridiculous amount of time into this.

So if you're finding joy in this part of the internet and fancy supporting the cause to help make new content, feel free to buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. I'm so tired.

#pinned message #doctor who #dr who #gallifrey #GIL #gallifrey institute for learning #classic doctor who #whoniverse #GIL announcements

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gemsofgreece · 1 year ago

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Hello! Firstly, I wanted to thank you for the work you do on this blog. My mother's side is Greek and came to the US around WW2, and as I've gotten older and tried to learn about Greek culture, I've found that it's hard to find sources that aren't inundated with American pop-history. It's been really lovely being able to learn more from your blog for the past couple weeks.

Second is my question -- re: the pop history issue, I've noticed that people in the American queer community have a knack for "reclaiming" figures in history and mythology without always having an abundance of evidence for their claims. And like, I'm trans. Obviously the idea of some of things being true is cool, but it also feels disingenuous sometimes. Do you know of any good resources or books written by actual queer Greeks about either their contemporary experiences, or the history of queer people in Greece that isn't just conjecture?

Thank you again! Have a great day :)

Hello! It makes me so happy that you found my blog suitable to inform yourself on this part of your ethnic / cultural background. I hope the blog will keep being a useful source of information.

Because I am not going to lie, the way Greek history and culture, more like a snippet of it, has been almost forced into American pop culture is indeed through a disingenuous conjecture. Honestly, it's not so much a matter of accuracy per se. It's more that a niche piece of the culture has been taken and presented as almost the entirety of this culture, which eventually leads to tremendously false impressions, no matter how earnestly this niche part is explored. There is also the tendency to shape ambiguous evidence into unquestionable conviction.

I will attempt to explain why this can be a problem. Let's take the axiom - because it has reached the lengths of being treated as an axiom - "Ancient Greece was gay or Greece is gay or Greek culture was gay culture or Greece is / was a gay haven". If we really study Greek history and culture in its entirety, in a span of 3,500 years or more if we also take into acount the pre-Greek civilizations which eventually helped produce the Greek, while the existence of gay people (i.e Sappho), non-straight sexual practices (i.e erotic amphoras), ambiguous literary relationships (i.e Achilles & Patroclus?) and varied expressions of sexual desire observed especially in male deities are 100% well attested and recorded, they still comprise overall a very tiny part of the Greek civilization. Whereas it is often portrayed in western pop culture as the very essence of Greek civilization, exploration and studies of sexuality and gender identity throughout its history could amount to maybe a 1-5% of all documented knowledge associated to the Greek ethnos, its history and its legacy. Think of it this way; Greece happened to be in the epicenter of many formative achievements of humanity; spreading, contributing or improving on science, arts, extant religions and linguistics. It has been an area extremely ravaged by war because it has a very strategic position on the map. It has been in the core of three of the world's largest empires and it has been positively or negatively influential to all three (and the generator of one of them). There are so many things, struggles and achievements, to study and explore and draw from as part of your identity, that a constant foreign obsession and trivilization and sensualization of the sexual practices of people long gone eventually will start sounding disingenuous or lacking or even demeaning. Just like every individual aspires to be acknowledged and respected for more than just their sexual or gender identity (i.e skills, feelings, talents, achievements, personality), it is the exact same with culture and heritage. People want their culture to be appreciated in its entirety and not for a super niche area that is also exaggerated, if not exploited to serve foreign agendas, trends and marketing (because let's be real, not all have noble representation motives).

Okay, now I have to ask: do you know Greek? Because I can recommend you some sources, however Americans do not translate Greek works unless they are from 750 BC :)

Here's a quick heads-up:

The Greek society is a pseudopuritan society - one where people act like puritans when it comes to judging others but not at all when it comes to themselves. The gay male community has by far the biggest visibility nowadays. Lesbians come second. Other sexual orientations follow i.e bi, poly, pan. Gender (trans, non-binary, fluid etc) identities have less visibility. Asexuals also have near non-existent visibility. Most non-het non-cis people face problems in their families rather than in their studies or in urban environments. Non-cis people, especially AMAB people, might also face hardship in the workplace (like not getting easily hired).

Because the society is pseudopuritan, it tolerated and embraced and worshipped several LGBT people, except if they attempted to communicate their experience. Great composers and authors were openly gay and Greeks knew it and loved them, because they didn't explicitly involve their sexual identity in their work or because they didn't expose the pathogenies of the Greek society. If they had done that, the reception could have been different. Because of all these reasons, most of my sources will be from the perspective of gay cis men (the most visible LGBT+ community) and it will be mostly the great work and legacy they left behind, rather than their explicit documentation of the experience of living as LGBT+ in Greece.

LGBT poets and authors:

Constantine Cavafy (1863 - 1933), one of our best poets. This can be useful to you because his works are actually translated in English.

Napoleon Lapathiotis (1888 - 1944), openly gay in such times, he wrote a lot of erotic poetry.

Augoustos Korto (1979 - ), a married gay man, successful writer and activist, he has written extensively on the topics of death, depression, motherhood and love, often drawing from personal experience.

Kostas Tachtsis (1927 - 1988), poet, distinguished author and activist for gay rights during the Colonel dictatorship in the '70s. He suffered in his life and in his death as well. His murder has not been solved yet. He has written an autobiography and numerous novels with autobiographical elements. He was gay, either cross-dressing cis or maybe trans or non-cis (we don't know that back in time how exactly he identified) and had also been a sex worker for some time.

Napoleon Lapathiotis

Music:

Music won't give you direct information however it could be a way to bond with people you could connect with over similar experience.

Manos Hadjidakis (1925 - 1994), one of our two greatest composers and a rare genius, was openly yet "discreetly" gay, not out of shame but because privacy on all aspects of the human experience was absolutely essential and sacred to him. He was also an Oscar winner, although he would hate me for saying this (he threw his Oscar in the trashcan). Besides listening to his music, I would recommend watching interviews or listening to excerpts from his radio shows, because of the ease with which he could challenge anyone's intellectual capacity.

Sotiria Bellou (1921 - 1997), a lesbian or perhaps bisexual woman, she is worshipped for her unique voice, which became the ultimate symbol of the heavy-duty (underground at the time + now part of UNESCO's cultural heritage) rembetiko music genre.

TV Shows with representation:

Maestro in Blue on Netflix, a big part of the story is the romance of a gay couple suffering in oppressive families in the province

Milky Way, one of the main characters is pansexual and non-binary, and the actor is gay IRL. There is also a brief lesbian romance or a side narrative of supressed female homo- or bi- sexuality. This show will soon get in some international platform but I don't remember which one (not netflix), so keep it in mind.

Milky Way

YouTube:

There are a lot of LGBT+ people in Greek YouTube but my faves are:

ΚΡΙΜΑ by ZoePreTV: Zoe is a lesbian or bi herself (not sure but I know she's openly in a relationship with a woman) and she makes lengthy very informative quality podcasts with celebrities or everyday people, often belonging to marginalized groups, and they talk about their experiences. If you can understand Greek, this might be the best source for what you ask. I watched a fantastic episode with a trans woman and sex worker talking about her life. It is one of the greatest podcast episodes I have ever watched, hands down.

Eponimos. Zoe's best friend, who is an openly gay man, although he approaches matters of sexuality very delicately as he values his privacy a lot. He doesn't talk often about such matters (recently he did) but his channel is awesome for his lighthearted humour and the maturity of his positions. I love watching his content.

youtube

The podcast I mentioned.

LGBT+ Magazine: ANTIVIRUS. ANTIVIRUS also has this list with recent queer literature, featuring both Greek and foreign writers. Here is the link. It's in Greek though, like everything above...

Art: Yannis Tsarouhis (1910 - 1989), one of the most influential and successful Greek artists. He painted a variety of themes, he was inspired and developed Greek folk and Byzantine art, however he was also particularly notable for his love for the masculine physique and he established the classic image of the "Greek sailor" in art, theater and cinema internationally.

A great photo of Tsarouhis in his atelier.

I wouldn't consider myself well-versed in the topic, so I invite anyone who knows sources that could also ideally be easily accessible to the Anon, to give some recs in the comments. From my side, Anon, hopefully I was of any help.

#greece #europe #lgbt #lgbtq community #lgbtqia #queer community #representation #greek culture #discussion #anon #ask

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i-only-ever-asked-questions · 7 months ago

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i just found your post about the baby delivery contract between Anthony J. Crowley. Well done, deciphering so much of what it said!

One question has been burning (hah) in my mind ever since reading the book is *what* exactly the complicated sigil is that Crowley draws there.

The book says, "'Sign. Here.' [Hastur] said... 'No. Not A. J. Crowley. Your real name.'

"Crowley nodded mournfully, and Drew a complicated, wiggly sigil on the paper. It glued redly in the gloom, just for a moment, and then faded."

To put the question another way, on the assumption that he writes some version of his " real name," *what* exactly is his real name meant to be here? Do you think Hastur and Ligur are referring to "Crawley," or something still more ancient? and how does the sigil represent it? What language, alphabet, or literary tradition does the sigil come from? Does it have any grounding in an ancient language that human historians, theologians, or linguists would recognize?

Not being raised in the Christian tradition, there's a fair amount of lore that went over my head, so if it's some arcane or even fairly well-known theological thing, there's a good chance I didn't catch it.

No reason you'd have the answer to any of this, but short of Neil himself, you're probably the best person I could ask. Just a shot.

And thanks!

Thank you. It was fun deciphering the thing :)

I wasn't really brought up in the Christian tradition. We were one of those families that showed up for weddings and funerals and that's it. So I am not really qualified but I'll do my best.

"Anthony J Crowley" looks like something he chose to go by in the human world. At the graveyard Ligur says "What’s he calling himself these days?" implying they think of it as an alias or something. Crowley may see it as his real name but as far as celestial bureaucracy is concerned, it is not his "legal" name.

Angels have a language that pre-dates humans. It is whatever Aziraphale and angel Crowley were speaking in the nebula scene. We can see it in Gabriel’s trial, the symbols/hieroglyphics are it, but we humans can't understand it. Crowley's name, whatever it sounds like, uses that alphabet, not the Latin one English uses, that is his squiggly.

This is how I understand it, but again I don't have a strong religious background. Hope it helps :)

#good omens #good omens 2 #contract from hell #language of angels

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acespaceacepilot · 1 year ago

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Genuinely the academia fic makes me want to read every poem you cited!! Oh my god. Obviously I looked up Staying Quiet and I had a moment of stunned silence and wonder that you specifically knew the poem and exactly where it would be at home. Insane. Also reminded me of other great academia AUs in that now I almost want to write my english lit end of semester essays, thank you for the motivation. Anyway I'm here and not in the AO3 comment section because in the author's note at the start you mentioned having planned out what the characters would be doing and since you were on point with what you showed I am so so curious what else you've got for this setting 👀 in any case thank you so much <3

up top, thank you so much!! amongst my friends, i am a known poetry heaux. i go to poetry readings and feel my feelings; my partner got me a necklace that's engraved with a buddy wakefield quote. i have one of his collections signed to me. i fucking Love poetry.

hieu minh nguyen is one of my personal favorites and something was pinging around in my skull being like "hey! listen! there's a poem from them that perfectly fits astarion!" it fell Perfectly into place, shout out to my adhd background thoughts that were So Sure that hieu minh nguyen's poem should be there.

i'm going to put the rest below the cut, because. i have A Lot of thoughts and feelings

let's start with what i directly used in all my visions converted to blurs:

wyll is a low-rung english professor at a state school when he Could be at an ivy league bc of his dad’s nepotism. but wyll doesn't want a position his dad gets him, obvi. i want wyll to want to be out of his father's shadow, damn it.

(ulder is dean of a business school at an ivy league in my mind. it just fits. as a person with an english/linguistics degree: ulder ravengard has hella business major energy.)

astarion has taken a year or four off from school at this point. i hinted at substance abuse being the main reason that it's taken him so long to graduate from the law program? when he was the same age as his classmates, i think he partied A Lot and ended up having to retake some classes during his undergrad. i think i landed on coke being his chosen vice? idk it's vague for a reason. he's trying to get his life back on track

wyll and gale share an office space.

now here's what i left on the cutting room floor:

astarion is Still older than wyll, but not by more than six years

mizora is head of the english department. wyll has to play nice bc he's waiting to defend his dissertation and she'll be on the panel. she uses this to push her work or responsibilities onto wyll

lae'zel is doing her doctorate in anthropology/paleoanthropology. she's researching ancient war strategies and how social norms impacted them.

minthara is lae'zel's advisor because they'd have a Great dynamic. she specializes in biological anthropology. she can ball park which century any given human skull comes from.

shadowheart is working on her doctorate of psychology and specifically writing her dissertation profiling the susceptibility of cult victims mixed with religious studies to compile information about modern worship

1000000000% there are rumors about shadowheart's personal experience with cults. people say she goes by shadowheart so the cult she escaped from can't find her. she's heard every joke in the book about midsommar. there's some frat boy in the greek row that swears up and down that she bit his buddy hard enough to draw blood when they hooked up.

halsin and jaheira do ecology and agriculture, respectively. environmental sciences people. they both have tenure. halsin runs an internship for wetland management in the summer. jaheira is like a leading expert in soil science.

jaheira told mizora she was a bitch during a whole university department head meeting once and that's why halsin's the department head now.

minsc is literally just a coach. he does not teach Any classes and hangs out with the university's mascot Constantly. he coaches rugby and crew in the summer, basketball in the winter.

gale is a double discipline professor for history and cultural anthropology. So Close to getting tenure. his rate my professor score is mid as hell bc students either love or hate him because boy does this man drone onnnnnnnnnn

he's been on like four different digs in egypt and will talk about them at length but does that thing of "my second time in cairo. wait.... no. it was my Third time in cairo."

i posted this on twitter, but here's the couch lore: the couch in their office is a hand me down from gale's apartment because tara scratched it to hell on the corner of the armrests + the reason why the couch doesn't have any throw pillows is because gale didn't want to be tempted to nap and he already has a terrible time maintaining a work life balance

karlach is in sports medicine. she coaches the track team and works with weightlifters that have olympic aspirations. she was good enough to go to the last summer games for weightlifting, but an accident with a treadmill that she doesn't like to talk about prevented her from going.

she still has beef with gortash because he was on the shortlist for open spot availability.

she's Convinced that he's on steroids

#lana talks #'behind the music' for all my visions converted to blurs #look i built this whole sandbox in my mind but only used a shovel and one of those molds you press sand into?#if that metaphor makes sense

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bitchiestcrochet17 · 10 months ago

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about me

hey, call me lee! it’s lovely to meet you all <3

unfortunately for everyone around me, i like to talk about things like

crochet (my beloved)

herpetology, specifically bearded dragons (i know they’re a ‘beginner pet’ but i’ve been raising them for 8 years and i adore them!) and snakes

trans rights (protect trans kids!)

reproductive rights (pro choice all the way, from a medical background)

anti-racism, sexism, xenophobia, ableism, any other bigotry i forgot to list just assume i’m not a fan

disability rights (from an autistic, adhd, depressed, and physically disabled/chronically ill perspective)

medicine (from a disabled and nerd pov)

weird trivia

the mormon “church” (read: cult) (exmormon and thankful for it)

ramblings about:

the post-WWII evolution of gender roles in america

generational trauma

the color green and blue

linguistics/anthropology

human sexuality

i am

trans/nb

bi/aspec

neurodivergent and disabled

certified medical nerd

fiber arts creator

jewish

in recovery from sh (pro sh please dni)

open to conversation! there’s a lot of things i don’t know, and i want to learn more. if you disagree with me, i’d like to have a genuine conversation with you so i can learn and grow as a person

#general

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peachtalia · 4 months ago

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hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

I’m Peach, I’m 23 and I go by they/them, my main is Peach+Fruit+Cake (remove the +’s, I just don’t want it found through keyword searching lol I don’t wanna get judged). I’m an artist and I have a deep interest in occult topics, different cultures and linguistics! Please take note that due to irl health/neurological issues, I may mix things up often so do keep this in mind

More info below the cut

This is my blog for my Hetalia hyperfixation that keeps periodically returning even after a whole decade, I tend to treat the characters more as ocs though. I'm open to making friends who share the same interests as long as you’re being mindful, so feel free to dm me even if I ever take a while!

I don't post nsfw. If whatever I mention does involve nsfw in it such as fics, movies ets I'll mention it as a heads up.

If there’s any issues to discuss or you have any questions or things to clarify with me/correct me on even, feel free to message! I’m always open to talk and I’m not one to snap or be rude unless spoken to rudely first. As long as you come in good faith, we’re cool :•3

While I love hetalia’s characters and the series does entertain me, please note that I’m still very critical of the source material and acknowledge a load of its fuckups loll. This series brings me a load of comfort and nostalgia otherwise. I also have the personal preference of often referring to the characters by their human names most of the time and I like depicting them as people with strong backgrounds in their culture’s traditions, kind of like a human au. I guess u could say a lot of this blog is for my own personal thoughts, ideas, indulgences etc.

example: I like to see Herakles having had a mother who was very involved in curating artifacts and artwork, teaching Greek history and tradition and took a huge part in cultivating Greek ruins. Maybe even some restoration work. And helped in arranging heritage festivals and exhibits. Perhaps she was a university professor

For a lot of the languages and cultures that I post about, please keep in mind that I’m still learning more and more about them and are by no means an expert on any of these topics! This page in a way is moreso for me to document the journey of learning about these things I love so much. I try my best to verify things, but of course I am still prone to mistakes here and there especially with how forgetful and spacey I can sometimes be, so please kindly let me know if I goof anything up!

Oh also you’re not welcome here if you contribute to racism in any way around here. No I don’t give a fuck if you don’t personally consider yourself a racist or “don’t see how xyz is racist/don’t see racism around here” when poc speak up about it. Especially if you’re a white person saying that, take a long hard look at yourself and what it is you’re thinking and saying and either stfu and improve as a person or go jump off a highway bridge thanks. Idgaf if it’s ironic that I’m saying this when talking about hetalia trust me I am Full aware but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna still rightfully shoot at others over it

My fav characters are Yao, Feli, Kiku and Heracles!

Oh also heads up, when it comes to characters I’m more emotionally attached to, I can be super picky and rigid when it comes to ships and I’m not the multishipper type. It’s not like I’m rabid about ships or whatever, it’s just something more personal for me. A form of deeper personal expression ig you could call it as corny asf as that sounds. I only hold these preferences toward the ones I’m emotionally attached to, other than that idgaf. I keep the preference to myself. Be sure to avoid mentally grouping me with negative fans of any of the things I like thanks 👍🏻

Besides that here’s ships that I like lol I’ve been obsessed with these as a child and still really like to this day!

- Kiku Honda x Herakles Karpouzi

(Heracles Karpusi is the popular spelling around here ik but I like to keep it accurate to the actual Greek romanization.) This one is my main fav atm! I’m not personally comfy seeing either of them with other characters romantically due to my strong preference so I hope you can respect that ( ¨̮ ) and yeah lol I went insanely hard for them back in the day

- Yao Wang x Ivan Braginsky

I love this one a lot and always have and sometimes re enter a period of obsessing over it lololol

- Feliciano Vargas x Ludwig Beilschmidt

Basic lol ik they’re cute, it was my first love like with every other guy here haha I don’t focus on them as much as I did as a kid though

#hi #intro #hetalia #looking for mutuals #lol #yeah

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vutrananpho · 2 years ago

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Blog #1 Self-Introduction

[For Interaction Design IID3004]

Hi everyone, I'm Pho. I am a junior who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Information and Interaction Design from Yonsei University. As an individual with a deep passion for creativity, design, and technology, I have found my calling in the field of interaction design. I believe that interaction design has the power to enhance our lives, by creating experiences that are both enjoyable and functional.

Career-wise, I am absolutely passionate about working in the intersection of technology, linguistics, human-centered design, business intelligence, marketing and management: this leads me to seek career opportunities in product/program management, UI/UX design, and consulting.

Outside of my college background in technology, I channel my passion through journalism and photography. An avid fan of MOOCs, I cultivated self-development by means of college-sponsored and technology-centric courses from various innovative university on Coursera, DataCamp, freeCodeCamp, and LinkedIn Learning.

In 2022, I went to Amherst College for a one-year exchange program. The time there changed me. I had various opportunities to engage with the campus in ways that I could never have imagined. I met with world leaders, interviewed impactful people, and received thank-you emails appreciating my articles. I As I took on a number of leadership roles, I realized that I belonged to my community by just being me -- and that was important.

As I look to the future, I am excited about the opportunities that interaction design presents. I believe that there is always room for improvement, and that we can continue to push the boundaries of what is possible with technology and design. I am excited about the potential for emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, and how they can be used to create immersive and engaging experiences for users.

In conclusion, interaction design is not just a career for me, but a passion. I believe that interaction design has the power to create meaningful and impactful experiences, and that it is essential to design interfaces that are both visually appealing and user-friendly. I am eager to exlore the beauties that the field presents, and I look forward to continuing to learn, grow, and contribute to the field of interaction design.

Reach out to me via email: [email protected]

#self introduction #first blog

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superlinguo · 2 years ago

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Linguistic Jobs: Interview with a Data Manager & Digital Archivist

This month’s interview is with Julia Miller, a Data Manager and Digital Archivist who uses their Linguistics background to archive high-quality endangered language materials. As a recent PhD graduate, I greatly appreciated Julia’s validating advice that the absence of a tenure-track position or a position in the tech industry does not qualify as “failing”. This message is on-brand for this series, as one of the intentions behind these interviews is to demonstrate that Linguistics training is applicable to lots of jobs, not just the academic ones. Additionally, this interview contains some refreshing and practical advice regarding postdoc and PhD management.

You can follow Julia on Twitter @Spectregraph.

What did you study at university?

I began my undergrad studies in Portland, focusing on art (printmaking) and languages (Russian, French, German, later adding Arabic and Latin). I loved languages and exploring the patterns; at this point I didn’t know about Linguistics. After a short break from school and a bit of reflection, I moved to Seattle, enrolled at the University of Washington, switched my area of study to Linguistics and ended up getting the hat-trick of degrees in Linguistics all from UW: BA (1998), MA (2003), and PhD (2013). My research focused on acoustic phonetics and sociolinguistics; my PhD project explored acoustic properties of lexical tone in two dialects of the Dene language Dane-zaa, spoken in NE British Columbia. During my MA and PhD studies, I was fortunate to have been part of the DOBES Documentation of Endangered Languages program, working on a collaborative documentation project of the Dane-zaa (Beaver) language, which offered funding for tuition and fieldwork, as well as providing me with training in field methods, language documentation & description, and archiving. When I was in the final stages of writing my PhD thesis, I relocated to Australia and began working with PARADISEC, based at their node at the Australian National University (ANU), in order to expand what I knew about digital language archives, building upon what I learned working with the Language Archive for the Beaver DOBES project. I then received a Postdoctoral fellowship at the ANU**, working on another DOBES-funded collaborative documentation project, working with the languages of the Morehead District, Nen, Komnzo, Idi, Nmbo, spoken in the Western Province in Papua New Guinea. The postdoc work included phonetic analyses, sociolinguistic interviews, mapping projects, as well data management and archiving. Despite my love of phonetic description and social network analysis, by the time I submitted my PhD thesis, it was clear that I was more interested in data management and archiving than in linguistic analyses. This was a difficult, yet freeing revelation.

**I do NOT suggest starting a postdoc when you are still writing your completely unrelated PhD thesis! I submitted my thesis in between field trips to PNG.

What is your job?

I am the senior data manager for the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL) as well as a digital archivist for the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC). I facilitate the archiving of indigenous and minority language digital material collected by CoEDL members and affiliates from the region, as well as other PARADISEC depositors world-wide. I offer training for researchers, students, and anyone interested in data management and archiving procedures. I liaise with other archives, cultural institutions, and language centres for collaboration. Despite not holding an academic position, teaching is still a large part of my daily work; I offer guest lectures in Field Methods and Digital Humanities courses and run intensive training sessions in digital archiving and data management for university researchers and job placement participants. I have developed curricula, technical workflows and archiving best-practice advice for audiences with different skillsets and goals. I also manage audio and manuscript digitising studios, where we digitise audio cassettes, reel-to-reel tapes, and field notebooks, etc. and I maintain a lending library of field equipment and offer training and advice.

How does your linguistics training help you in your job?

It would appear that my entire PhD path has prepared me for my current job. All the training I received in fieldwork, collaborative research, language documentation & description, and archiving allows me to understand the work our depositors are carrying out. I can offer informed advice and try to anticipate issues they may face in the field regarding data management, equipment failures, etc. And having archived my own materials in multiple archives, I can offer commiseration (and advice) as someone who has had to create metadata databases, follow strict formatting guidelines for A/V files, and adhere to deadlines based on funding agreements.

What was the transition from university to work like for you?

I am still working at a university, but the transition from an academic role to what is considered a non-academic role has been a bit of a challenge. I find I still do a lot of research for my work, and then try to pass on what I have learned in training modules and technical writing projects. I am fortunate to be in an environment that allows me to carry out what could be considered ‘supplemental’ work. Knowing that teaching and outreach are very important to me will help me on my career path as it evolves.

Do you have any advice you wish someone had given to you about linguistics/careers/university?

As a MA/PhD student, I would have loved to have been told of career options outside of Academia (or Big Tech), or even just been reassured that it is a valid option to not pursue tenure track jobs. I think many of my cohorts and I felt as if we failed or let down our professors by not getting a tenure track position in Linguistics. I’m glad to see that the culture of academia is changing and that there is support and advice made more available to students now.

Related interviews:

Interview with a Metadata Specialist and Genealogist

Interview with a Data Scientist

Interview with a Museum Curator

Interview with a Librarian

Interview with a Computational Linguist

Recent interviews:

Interview with a Natural Language Annotation Lead

Interview with an EMLS/Linguistics instructor & mother of four

Interview with a Performing Artiste and Freelance Editor

Interview with a Hawaiian and Tahitian language Instructor, Translator & Radio Host

Interview with a Customer Success Manager

Resources:

The full Linguist Jobs Interview List

The Linguist Jobs tag for the most recent interviews

The Linguistics Jobs slide deck (overview, resources and activities)

The Linguistics Jobs Interview series is edited by Martha Tsutsui Billins. Martha is a linguist whose research focuses on the Ryukyuan language Amami Oshima, specifically honourifics and politeness strategies in the context of language endangerment. Martha runs Field Notes, a podcast about linguistic fieldwork.

#data management #digital archivist #digital archiving #language archiving #endangered language archiving #ling jobs #linguist #language #linguistics #linguistics jobs #archiving

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 4 years ago

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Portrait of a Dangerous Man🎨3

Warnings: (series) non-consent sex and rape; slow creep; cucking; (this chapter) sleep paralysis, stress.

This is dark!mob!Clark Kent x reader and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: Your dream of having your work hung in an art show comes true but your first buyer is not all he seems to be.

Note: I’m so happy people are liking this story. Thanks so much to everyone reading and sorry if I’m a bit inactive lately, I’ve been exhausted and yesterday didn’t end, I swear.

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

On Monday, you yawned over your keyboard as your fingers moved on instinct alone. Your eyes ran along the text but the words were just letters to you. You had a lot to think about, a lot to do.

You decided you would skip lunch and get through your work day an hour early so you could head to Clark’s right away. He was hard to deny when he asked if you could make it back so soon. You told him you worked everyday from home and you had hours beside that at the gallery three times a week at least. He accepted it with a nod but his silence was telling so you caved and said you could make it but not until the evening.

You texted Marcus as you waited for your Uber. He had a few hours to go still and you left him everything he needed to make supper with instructions; the veggies were cut, the meat thawed, and the pans already arranged on the stove. You had faith he could manage on his own.

The mansion was just as intimidating as the first time you visited. You walked up the drive and to the front steps. It was human nature to be envious of the sprawling yards and lavish estate and yet, it didn’t feel as if someone could truly live here. It would be like staying in a hotel as you were always overly aware of your every move, afraid to break something or make a mess.

You hammered the large knocker when your soft tapping brought no answer. You heard someone on the other side and wiggled your foot nervously. The door opened and square-faced woman greeted you in another language. You couldn’t tell if it was Swedish, German, or some other dialect. You were never a skilled linguist.

“Um, hi, I’m…”

“Ah, you are the lady painter,” she said, “I remember. I am Nina, Mr. Kent’s housekeeper.”

She turned and beckoned you to follow her. You closed the tall door and trailed her across the spacious foyer and behind the stairs into the kitchen. She turned through another room and led you out through the glass doors that opened onto the pool.

“Miss, would you like a drink? Tea? Coffee?” she asked.

“No, thank you,” you said as the water moved and your eyes were drawn to the figure moving beneath the surface.

“Miss,” Nina nodded and left you.

You stood, awkward and listless, and glanced around at the loungers and the umbrella over the round table. You weren’t entirely sure what to do. Had he forgotten about you?

“Hey,” your gaze was drawn back to the pool. Clark waded to the edge, his broad shoulders and chiseled chest visible as he made his way to the shallow end, “sorry. Lost track of time.”

He grabbed the metal railing and climbed up the stairs. The water slaked off his tight trunks and down his thick thighs. He appeared even larger with less clothes. You looked away before your thoughts lingered too long.

“It’s fine, I should have texted I was on my way,” you said, “I can go wait for you--”

“No worries,” he took his towel and rubbed dry his dark hair. The scruff along his chin was thicker than before, almost a full blown beard, “you’re not in a hurry, are you?”

“No, not really, can’t really rush… painting,” you shrugged, “I just… I didn’t mean to catch you off-guard.”

“Pfft, I’m ready for anything,” he grinned, “but I should also listen to the artist. I’ll go get changed and you can get settled in the studio.” He directed you ahead of him as he approached the sliding doors, “you just finished work? You should take a few minutes to unwind.”

“Uh, yeah, but it’s just, um, typing, not exactly hard labour,” you said as he followed you inside.

“Work is work,” he said, “I will never fault anyone who works hard, regardless of what they do.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” you stifled a yawn behind your hand.

He let out a breath as you came out into the foyer, “I’m sorry, you could’ve… you’re tired. We could have rescheduled. I’m sorry if I came across… pushy yesterday. I don’t mean to take advantage of you.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” you assured him, “I’m fine.”

“Alright,” he said doubtfully, “but you let me know if you need a break.”

“Will do,” you murmured as you neared the stairs.

🎨

You weren’t even close to done just the background of the portrait. Clark really didn’t even need to be there as you shadowed the folds of the curtains around his figure and the marble bust. Your arm hurt from reaching across and up the gigantic canvas and your eyes burned from squinting at your work.

You backed off the ladder carefully with your paintbrush and palette balanced in one hand. The paint was drying and you needed to mix more. You set down your armful and wiped your hands on the rag. He was watching you, he was always watching you. Well, no, he was just looking in your direction; it was all for the portrait.

You hit the button on the side of your phone and gasped. It was midnight. You had several messages from Marcus and you blanched as you unlocked the cell and quickly texted back. You rubbed your eye as you hit send and turned to Clark.

“I didn’t realise it was so late,” you said, “I gotta go.”

“What time is it?” he asked and looked at his watch, “oh.”

He pushed himself to his feet with a grunt and stretched out his arms as he neared. You took your brush and rinsed it in the tinted water in the jar.

“I’ll just clean up as I wait for an Uber,” you said as you let the brush rest in the jar and lifted your phone again.

“I’ll drive you,” he said as he grabbed a rag, “it’s a long way. I’ll hire a driver for you from here on out. It’ll be easier and cheaper.”

“You don’t have to--”

You flinched as he wiped your cheek with the rag. He smiled and showed you the paint on the white cloth.

“I wouldn’t offer it if it was too much trouble,” he tossed the rag down, “and I did have something to talk to you about. The drive will be more than enough to get it sorted.”

“Oh, okay,” you eked nervously. Had you done something wrong? Were you not painting fast enough?

“I’ll meet you downstairs,” he touched your arm gently.

He left you and you finished scraping off the palette and cleaning your brushes. You dumped the jar in the sink just inside the nearest bathroom and rinsed the porcelain back to white. You left everything arranged neatly on the table and descended to the first floor.

Clark stood by the door in a different jacket, his tie gone and the top button undone. He held the door for you and showed you to the garage. There were at least a half-dozen cars inside and he took you to the same silver one he drove the night of the show. You settled in and groaned as the tension left your shoulders.

He started the car as the doors rose behind him and he backed out smoothly. He turned down the long drive and onto the desolate roads of the wealthy countryside. He kept one hand on the wheel and dropped his other to his thigh casually.

“So, your job, you like it?”

“It’s work,” you said, “I get paid to sit at home and type. Half the time, I’m just waiting for an assignment.”

“I asked if you liked it,” he said more pointedly.

“Oh, well, not… really?” you answered, unsure.

He could be so pleasant and then so blunt. He made you nervous and the more you thought of it, the more you realised you knew almost nothing about this man besides his name. You didn’t know how he made his money or what exactly he did outside of his extravagant mansion.

“If I doubled your fee, would you quit?” he asked without hesitation.

“Quit? This… the painting won’t take forever,” you said, “I can’t really just drop everything--”

“This is an opportunity,” he said, “you could spend your days doing what you love. And who’s to say it’s just one painting? I already have something in mind for the dining room and I have friends asking about you.”

“Friends? Who--”

“One thing at a time,” he said curtly, “I’ll introduce you to them in time. Is it a deal?”

“I… it’s all very sudden, can I think about it?”

He looked at you in the rearview and you caught his eye. For a moment, you were afraid. There was something in his expression that left you breathless. He lifted his hand and stretched his arm between the seats, his fingers gripped the leather just above your shoulder.

“Sure, I’ll give you a couple days,” he said at last.

“I--I’m sorry…” you didn’t know why you were apologizing but it felt appropriate, “I just, I’m tired.”

“It’s fine, sweetheart,” he assured and the epithet hung in the air.

“I have to go to the gallery tomorrow, I’ll get back to you on Wednesday,” you said as you rubbed your chin nervously. Your lips was quivering. He was smiling but you felt his impatience in the small space of the car, “if I… if I say yes, I have to talk to my boss and that might get messy.”

“No problem,” his voice softened, “you take some time and figure it out.” His thumb rubbed the leather seat and he pulled his arm away to grasp the steering wheel, “why don’t you close your eyes. We got some time left.”

You peeked over at him and nodded.

“Okay,” you murmured and hugged your bag against you as you tried to relax against the leather. You turned your head and looked out the window up at the starry sky. You closed your eyes as the fatigue settled over you but you could only fake dozing as your nerves stormed inside of you.

He was right, it was a great opportunity, but you just couldn’t believe it would last. Was it your own doubt getting to you? Or should you be weary of this fairytale buyer? It was late and you couldn’t think. All those worries could wait until tomorrow.

🎨

You crept into the dark apartment. It was after one and you foresaw a long day ahead of you. You’d get maybe four hours in before it all started again. You put your purse down and went into the bedroom, undressing in the shadows and crawling into bed next to Marcus as the colours of the tv moved around him. The playlist he was casting kept on even as he slept.

He grunted as you laid on your back and he turned to graze your arm with his fingertips.

“You’re home,” he grumbled and kissed your cheek, “I was worried.”

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, “I… it’s so far out there and it’s a lot of work. The canvas is like nine feet-- I’m sorry, I’ll let you sleep.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” his voice was gristly as he propped himself up on his elbow, “you’re gonna finish the job right?”

“I don’t know,” you said, “I don’t know if I can.”

“Of course you can,” Marcus insisted, “I mean, at that price, you can do anything.”

“It’s not about the money, Marcus,” you huffed, “I don’t know if it’s worth all this. Going back and forth…” you ran your hands over your face, “he wants me to quit my job and just paint for him.”

“You should,” Marcus said blithely, “why not? He’s paying you well enough.”

“And what about when I’m done,” you whined.

“You’ll find more work. Vanessa even offered to take on more of your work in her shows, so what’s the problem? Isn’t this what you want?”

“Y-yeah, it is but… I don’t know, it just seems too good to be true.”

“You do this and we might even have enough for a down payment,” he said, “something had to give after all these years. Why can’t it be this?”

You looked at him and tried to smile, “you’re only saying that because he has a pool.”

“Maybe,” he kidded, “but I also want it for you. You spend all your free time painting anyhow so why not get paid for it?”

“Mhmm,” you mumbled, “yeah, I just don’t know why I feel so… I don’t know. It just all seems off.”

“Sleep on it, you’ll feel better,” he leaned over and kissed your lips that time, “love you.”

“Love you,” you echoed as he grabbed the remote and shut off the tv.

You closed your eyes as the darkness shrouded you and despite your anxiety, you fell into a deep sleep. You didn’t even roll onto your side before you sank into your REM but found yourself caught in limbo. The abstract and intense sensation of paralysis overtook your body and your eyelids flicked open.

It was an awful feeling you knew too well. You knew you were dreaming, you knew it was all in your mind, but your body was filled with sand and your subconscious conjured visions of doom. The tall man stood by the door as he always did and just stared. He got closer, just a little at a time, and you fought to move just a finger and free yourself from the trance.

You felt like you were drowning as your body remained heavy and unmoving. He was getting closer and closer. As he did, his figure changed and his shoulders got wider as his features came clear in the slat of the streetlight that leaked between the curtains. It was Clark staring down at you, his blue eyes sinister and sparkling.

He reached for you and you woke with a start as your name rose from his lips. You inhaled sharply and looked over at Marcus as he snored. It was only the two of you. You reached for your phone, it was just after three. You turned onto your side but your heart still raced. It always happened when you were stressed, the dreams felt so real that you never really came back down after.

You stared at the wall and curled up under the blanket. You didn’t expect to get much sleep anyway, not with the question on your mind. Should you quit and live your dream or should you kill all hope before life did it for you?

#clark kent #dark clark kent #dark!clark kent #clark kent x reader #superman #series #portrait of a dangerous man #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #au #mob au #mob!au #dc #dcu

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