#it could never be enough

[baejax-the-great]

In the version of Ajax's story that would have been around during Homer's time, Ajax didn't lose the contest for Achilles' arms because he is dimwitted or because Odysseus is clever. Neither of these things had anything to do with it (and I would argue the former isn't true).

Ajax wanted to prove himself. We'll never know exactly what he'd accomplished in his life pre-Iliad because two of the sections where these things would have been laid out, the catalog of ships and Helen's introduction of all the Greek generals to Priam, were in all likelihood tampered with and erased (probably by 5th century BCE Athenians). You ever wonder to yourself why Ajax's section in the catalog of the ships is so short and also contradicts other parts of the Iliad regarding where Ajax's camp/ships are? So have historians. And the Megarans (who took Ajax as a hero of their city), who wrote their own satirical version of his section mocking the one that got canonized in the version of the Iliad we have today. The exact why and how of that erasure is an unknown, but it's a fairly accepted theory (and more supported than my original thought on reading it--wow, did Homer hate Ajax or something?).

Regardless, Homer does mention repeatedly that Ajax is the second best of all the Greeks in the Iliad. He is also, notably, the one main hero who doesn't receive direct help from any of the gods. The closest he gets is Poseidon giving him a burst of energy, but that's about it. Compare to Diomedes who has Athena driving a chariot for him, or Paris who is spirited away in combat before Menelaus can kill him, or Achilles who has Athena tricking Hector and retrieving Achilles' spear for him--Poseidon handing Ajax the equivalent of a Red Bull is pretty paltry. But it's enough, because Ajax can get shit done.

By that same token, Ajax doesn't ask the gods for much. Notably he never prays to Athena, and she never interacts with him at all. Because she hates him.

As the older story goes, Ajax believed that the way to prove himself the best of the warriors was to eschew the help of the gods and show that he could accomplish his great feats alone. In a less sympathetic version of this, his invulnerability makes him cocky enough to believe he doesn't need the gods to prove himself (I actually think both these sentences mean the same thing, but the framing is a bit different--is he saying that the gods' help is beneath him? Or is he desperate to prove himself without getting a leg up from powerful beings?). Athena likes her little toy soldiers, and dislikes being ignored by great warriors who by all accounts should be begging for her favor, so this didn't sit well with her.

In eschewing the gods' help, Ajax does prove himself more capable than the other Greeks. His accomplishments are his alone. Nobody is going to compliment Paris for surviving his duel with Menelaus because they all know a goddess helped him. At various points throughout the Iliad, warriors accuse each other of having the gods helping them (such as when Little Ajax eats shit while racing Odysseus and blames Athena for favoring him), thus cheapening their victories.

Nobody can say this about Ajax. Everything he did, he did himself.

And for his pride, Athena hates him. And because of this, she will deny him the one thing he wanted--recognition of his abilities. When the time comes for the Greeks to give their respect to Ajax as their greatest warrior, something they all know he is, she rigs it so that they don't. Ajax is snubbed. His abilities will go unrecognized.

He goes mad--and we already know he's not the kind of guy who can ask for help--and so he is killed by the only warrior strong enough to defeat him--himself.

#he had it all #the skill the beauty the accomplishments the seven feet of height #and it wasn't enough #it could never be enough #there was no way for Ajax to win on the path he took #I love him #sorry but sophocles can choke on a dick for his interpretation #ajax the greater #tagamemnon #greek mythology #trojan war #the iliad #once again diagnosing greek heroes with gifted child burnout #forty years of frustration and despair pouring out at once until a guy throws himself on a sword #5th century bce athens release the forbidden ajax knowledge

[tapakah0]

@somerandomdudelmao *cough-cough* *COUGH* Sorry I'm still not over this arc... *disappears*

Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life

#I know that there's already... so many EVERYTHING with Donnie but HA-HA MMmm it's never enough SORRY and we kind of had point of view from #Donnie and I didn't know how to properly continue this thing from Leo's perspective #I guess it could have been about resistance time but I would make it more symbolic... #Anyway *looks away* I didn't want this one to be very polished #it is as it is *giggle* *runs away* #animation tag #cass fanart tag #rottmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #rise of the turtles

[aunmenosheteroenespanol]

2.12 Chimney Begins - 2.09 Hen Begins - 2.16 Bobby Begins Again - 7.04 Buck, Bothered and Bewildered

Tommy's family arc

#911 #911edit #911 abc #911 show #911 spoilers #911 season 7 #tommy kinard #evan buckley #evan 'buck' buckley #kinley #bucktommy #kinkley #tevan #pick a ship name you guys and thanks for picking tevan the most correct name #anyway analysis time! #looking back with Modern Knowledge tm about why tommy acts the way he does in the past... babygirl you were so closeted I'm so proud #babygirl was back there getting into narnia #he was so resistant to letting go of the pseudo-family he'd found at the 118 in chimney begins #even tho it was a good old boys club that he knew he really didn't fit into he was making himself fit because at least it was something #but then he let chimney in and then hen came around and he saw a very queer person being openly queer and not giving a fuck what they think #and I think his behavior in that episode was trying to support hen as much as he could without outing himself #because like. how do you give up years of relative safety with people who do care about you they just won't like you anymore if you're *you #then he meets buck in s7 which is like 10-20 years later timeline is fake and he's like oh. this is what unconditional family is #and he's like oh. maybe I can come back. maybe I can be part of this again somehow. maybe we've both grown enough #or at the very least he'll be close to something he never believed would really happen for him #rant over tevan my beloved tim minear pillow cold both sides god bless #my edits

[celebrate-lesbianism]

Dear butches,

You are not second place to a man. You are not an experiment, a backup plan, or a shameful secret. You are someone's first choice and she will love you, all of you, as you are. She will treat you like a serious and equal partner, she will be proud to be with you, and your love will see the light of day 🧡

#When I was newly out I never thought I could be loved this way #hell I didn't even think I deserved it #there are women out there who will do you wrong yes but there are women who will love you wholeheartedly and they make it all worth it #everyday we are bombarded with messages that we are not good enough. not “man” enough to love a woman. #those messages are WRONG #butch lesbian #butch #butch positivity #lesbian positivity #lesbian #lesbian self esteem

[thedreadvampy]

Losing my shit about this article in which a transphobic Tory was so busy panicking about existing in the vicinity of a Trans that she almost certainly misheard "jeans" as "penis" and decided that not only was this a problem with the other woman, but also that the world must be informed of this pressing danger.

"a trans woman! I had to stand directly behind her....I thought, 'this is going well', I'm handling The Situation fine'..."

translated: I saw a tall woman with broad shoulders. How would I get out of this alive? I thought. she has a PENIS. PENIS PENIS PENIS. through some force of PENIS I mean will I managed to PENIS behave normally towards her. My hands were PENIS PENIS PENIS shaking as I tried to dry them. summoning up all my PENIS courage I said 'dryer's crap innit'. she turned to me and said " yeah I'm just goiPENIS PENIS PENIS"

It's been a week and I'm still shaking. This proves trans women are the problem and I'm not weird. I'm fine. It's fine. If you think about it I'm the hero hePENIS!!!!!

very this

#red said #it's just. I'm obsessed. #everyone on Twitter is saying 'never happened' and i think they're wrong #this absolutely did happen and she's been obsessing over how vindicated it made her feel enough to WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT IT #because she MISHEARD SOMEONE IN A CASUAL CONVERSATION #i lay out my reasoning thusly: if you were INVENTING a scary trans woman in bathroom story out of nothing. why would it be this? #why would you go with 'we had a banal conversation until she said a sentence that makes no sense and that no human has ever uttered #but which does coincidentally sounds almost exactly like a mishearing of a very NORMAL thing to say in the circumstances #then she left and nothing else occurred' #if you were going to INVENT a story you would probably make it MAKE SENSE or SOUND THREATENING #i truly believe this is a very authentically told account of what she thinks happened #because who would. by means other than mishearing. think 'I'm going to wipe my hands on my penis' makes any sense at all. #a) 'I'm going to dry my hands on my genitals' says the presumably fully clothed woman #b) who then proceeds to leave without doing anything threatening #c) WHO SAYS PENIS THREATENINGLY? sorry it's writing out 'penis' repeatedly that made this jump out to me but like. who says that? #you might hear someone talk casually about their dick or cock but i stg it's only doctors and TERFs who casually use the word penis much #it's so. clinically descriptive. it's a weird use of language. but it IS. something you could plausibly mishear from 'pants' or 'trousers'

[inkskinned]

one of the things about being an educator is that you hear what parents want their kids to be able to do a lot. they want their kid to be an astronaut or a ballerina or a politician. they want them to get off that damn phone. be better about socializing. stop spending so much time indoors. learn to control their own temper. to just "fucking listen", which means to be obedient.

one of the things i learned in my pedagogy classes is that it's almost always easier to roleplay how you want someone to act. it's almost always easier to explain why a rule exists, rather than simply setting the rule and demanding adherence.

i want my kids to be kind. i want them to ask me what book they should read next, and i want to read that book with them so we can discuss it. i want my kid to be able to tell me hey that hurt my feelings without worrying i'll punish them. i want my kid to be proud of small things and come running up to me to tell me about them. i want them to say "nah, i get why this rule exists, but i get to hate it" and know that i don't need them to be grateful-for-the-roof-overhead while washing the dishes. i want them to teach me things. i want them to say - this isn't safe. i'm calling my mom and getting out of this. i want them to hear me apologize when i do fuck up; and i want them to want to come home.

the other day a parent was telling me she didn't understand why her kid "just got so angry." this woman had flown off the handle at me.

my dad - traditional catholic that he is - resents my sentiment of "gentle parenting". he says they'll grow up spoiled, horrible, pretentious. granola, he spits.

i am going to be kind to them. i am going to set the example, i think. and whatever they choose become in the meantime - i'm going to love them for it.

#writeblr #i was doing a lot with high school students. over and over again #other teachers kept asking me what i was doing differently - why the kids listened to me. i am not particularly foreboding #and i have a pretty firm personal policy of never reacting in anger #godhelpme. #i was always kind of taken aback #because in general the kids were pretty easy. i explained i needed to keep everything “PG-13” because this was my workplace #and it was kind of their workplace #too. besides #i love swearing #and since i couldn't swear #neither could they - so if they were going to say “fuck” or become violent #they needed to choose a really specific time #because we only get “the one”.. sure enough - nobody wanted to waste the one very specific “fuck” utterance. kids listened. #i think just because - that rule makes sense. the kids understand that i don't want to be unfair to them #that censorship is stupid #but that i'm under these rules too so like let's ride it out together #also i look young and tbh between me and u nobody wants to make the nice english teacher cry #the way these kids defended me to their friends was really genuinely so heartwarming bc the Grouchy Frat Boy #would be like MISS RAQUEL DOESN'T DESERVE THAT KIND OF AN ATTITUDE BRO DON'T TALK BACK TO HER

[holyantenna]

#my art #sketch #could never muster up enough energy to finish this #but cropped and rotated like this looks kinda on purpose and complete?

[tinynerdycthulu]

tbh i dunno why so many sj apologists are anti-yqy. because like????? he is your mascot. he was the originator. the head honcho of excusing sj's levels of unmitigated villainy. look into my eyes and tell me that qi ge wouldn't blush and kick his feet if he saw xiao jiu commit murder. actually we don't NEED to imagine bc jiumei did just that and yue qi just grabbed his hand and ran, no thoughts head empty. arson? child abuse?? yue qi doesn't care. whatever makes xiao jiu happy <3

#qijiu #shen jiu #og!shen qingqiu #yue qingyuan #inspired by pro-sj anti-yqy fics on ao3 where yqy is just...so OOC #stop bullying yqy agenda 2024 #mtxt hates him enough he doesnt get a happy ending in pidw or svsss #bc living the rest of your live believing that the person most important to you and whom you love most is happy without you is #EXTREMELY tragic on its own but i think yqy could at least find satisfaction knowing his xiao jiu is happy #but he's not. it's an imposter and he'll never know #anyway yeah!!! sj might bite but yqy doesn't care because xiao jiu is xiao jiu. #svsss #mtxt

[dangoulains-devotion]

#FF7 #FF7R #FF7 Rebirth #Final Fantasy VII #Final Fantasy VII Rebirth #aerith gainsborough #barret wallace #my favourite synergy ability... solely for the animation its so cute and cool #sorry papa wallace for i am 1) not good at drawing facial hair and 2) was not mentally strong enough to draw your gun #one day i will but today was not that day #i worked on this for 9 hours straight it got to a point i zoomed out and was like why doesnt this look right #and it was bc i forgot his tattoo....... he's naked iwthout that #also i've never tried to do comic-y explosions and text before so i kind of just looked at clip art for reference and then yolo'd it #i hope it doesnt look terrible i've decided i no longer care to fret over it #i need you to understand that if you were to zoom out the camera on this photo #barret is proper crouched down and aerith is standing on a pile of books #so that they could attain a pose where she is leaning on his shoulder #I FORGOT MY OWN ART TAG bro im so tired #my art #<- i am moonlight elegy on twt

[pangur-and-grim]

this broken leg experience has made me realize how much muscle you need just to move around the house. I can walk without the cast now, but squatting to pick something up? kneeling and then rising? even standing for a long period in the kitchen takes a lot. and carrying things too, that’s something I couldn’t do while hopping about on crutches. every night I’ve been going to sleep with sore legs and arms just from performing my normal non-intensive household tasks.

#my body also holds onto muscle tone very poorly #like to an unusual extent. I could never keep up with my peers when I was a kid #and I’ve never been able to do a push up #it’s why I dedicate so much time to working out (when I’m healthy enough to) #I have to train hard just to reach the bodily strength of your average desk worker lmao

[tapakah0]

@somerandomdudelmao, happy day of birth, Universe

#Cass #One of my love languages is animatics #I've mentioned it many-many-many times and I will just explode if I repeat it one more time #So I will just say thank you for appearing in my life and putting wonders in my head that I could never see #I'm just happy to know that somewhere on this planet exist a creature that can brighten every lantern of my life #That's enough for me to keep moving #Thank you Cass

[chiricat]

acheswan 🔥

#cat’s art #penacony #honkai star rail #hsr #hsr fanart #acheron #black swan #acheswan #it's been a while... alas #i've either been super busy or having generally less than pleasant feelings about my art ... #enough about that though #MY PROTAG NUIS CAME!!!! THEY ARE SO CUTE AND LOVELY AND SOFT #and i'm almost finished with p3re! I'M SCARED... EVERYONE ALWAYS SAYS THAT THEY WERE BAWLING AT THE ENDING SCENES #also what is wrong with ryomina. RYOJI IS SO FUNNY LIKE BRO... BRO? ARE YOU G #will i be able to ryomina or will i get paralyzed by “they're too beautiful and i could never do them justice” ... find out next time

[tubbytarchia]

For the ranchers a bit more shleep i just really like charakters comfy and nice:Dc /nf

Eepies. Jimmy woke up to really sore wings but its okay because Tango

#(I cannot imagine avians sleeping on their backs lest they have special mattresses or something but hnng. For the domestic fluff...) #team rancher #rancher duo #solidaritek #I imagine Tango is not nearly as much of a ray of sunshine in the mornings as Jimmy is. Jimmy finds it endearing though 100% #I also imagine Tango moves the hell around in his sleep and tangles them both up with his tail #He's gonna try to apologize a thousand times for “making you sleep on your back” but Jimmy won't let him #ALSO what does /nf mean lol. Every other day I see another new tone indicator that I cant figure out the meaning of #please feel free to use brackets to circumvent my stupidity. I do not know the hip things... I am but a boomer noobie #trafficshipping #trafficblr #I have so many other rancher asks in my inbox that could fall under this #Rancher cuddles and smol Tango and this and that hhrr but I will... I will get to them... in time.... #never enough rancher content #also laying on someone when they laugh so their chest bounces up and down etc. Oh it makes me weak. Not that I know what its like lol #but it feels cute... #tubby art

[booperbeanv3]

drawstuck #4: june edition

alt june shirt under cut

i jst thought it would be cute

#homestuck #june egbert #dave strider #junedave #srry to the cargo shorts june enjoyers lol #img 2 is post meteorstuck if it wasb't clear #idk abt you but if I had access to a magic machine that could make anything i wanted i WOULD try to synthesise hormones #while i also believe in t4t junedave i love writing oblivious cis ppl #if dave isn';t trans he's probably never heard of a tran outside of anime #june egbert is wish fulfilment for me (<- unfortunately no nerdy gf) #not to be straight but god im straight straight as hell straight as an arrow straight as a mf skyscraper #haha jk enough thirsting for now #john egbert #johndave #pepsicola #mayb ill do junekats next IDK depends on my mood #art stuff

[yashley]

#critical role #cr lb #ygifs #imogen #and now I'm like did imogen have her own reason for not even going near the raven queen did she pray to her for her mother #thinking her mother was dead was gone and the goddess of death had her and it was just a little girl praying at her bedside #take care of her mother. tell her how much she misses her. she misses her so much. and the raven queen never answered #and she could find no comfort not even in a deity who brought eternal rest there was no solace. and there was no correction #did she pick a god and pray? for her mother to come back. for her father not to hate her. for someone to look at her like shes not a monste #that all this time this certified atheist to have zero interest in the gods or helping them not because she genuinely didn't care #but because once upon a time the little girl she used to be cared so much. and prayed so hard. never seeing the red veil around her #damning her from the grace of the gods #and isn't that just what a monster deserves #not even a gracious god will find you special enough you feel like nothing to them because you are nothing to them #and it's like is that true or is such an evil force preventing their light and it's like I'm chewing but I'm choking #I had to stop looking at laura's face because it was making me too craaazzzyy she'd just be like (bafta) and I'd be like (SCREAMING) #hey matt if this is a birdcall to make imogen a paladin tweet tweet beautiful man

[cosmicwhoreo]

SO, I made my own tragic legendary sea cookie since that seems to be the theme for devsis in between comms-

Beneath the dark, forgotten waves of the west sea, amongst a once bustling and colorful coral forest is it's sleepy monarch; Grand Reef Cookie. A jolly, yet strangely complaisant individual who spends his frail, doddering years tending to the decaying remains of his children's once proud homeland.

They have all left, of course. Some more hesitant than others to leave their loving father's side. But, Grand Reef Cookie was insistent of their retreat. That, unlike him, they were not bound to their namesake in soul and body. That the ocean held much more plentiful and vibrant sights that were not to be wasted fretting over a forgotten relic of the past. That doesn't stop many from visiting though... Bringing with them trinkets and offerings to help alleviate his wistful loneliness.

But, unlike some of his children, Grand Reef doesn't harbor any resentment for cookies. It's just not in his nature to harbor any hatred for... Well, anything, really. A reef is meant to be a nurturing and peaceful place for even the most ruthless apex predator, to be unwelcoming and unkind to even one creature would go against his very nature. ________

Why be a betrayed and/or volatile tragic, when you can be a sweet, hospice patient kind of tragic? That, and sea pollution and global warming tragic, I mean it's right there-

#Yes he leaks oil-like substances whenever surfacing from the water #He's just a sweet old grandpappy #I wanted wholesome but also sad #so here he is #Grand Reef Cookie #Devsisters if you want my ideas you can dm me my rightfully earned 5000 bucks- #also sorbet's here #I really wanted to draw him but could never get inspired enough to until now #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #CRK #cookie run oc #oc #fan character #Character idea #i'm taking a nap now gnite