02 | Video

[halfblaked]

As a professor, whenever a holiday comes, it's always an opportunity for learning, and today happens to not be an exception, despite the personal nature of the holiday.

I suspect there are not many who celebrate such things, but perhaps it is a nice time to speak of them, considering it's father's day. I'm reflecting on fathers of myth, of course, not real ones -- but, ah, if you need someone to listen, I am, of course, here to listen.

There are, unfortunately, not a terribly high amount of good fathers in mythology, at least from my world. Sometimes, if you think of yourself as a poor parent, you can at least remember that you are no Zeus, or Hiranyakashipu. One was merely...devoted to sowing his progeny around Greece, as we all know, but Hiranyakashipu attempted multiple times to murder his son, because he worshipped a god he hated. [ A soft chuckle, and a shake of his head. ] I worried about moving too much, with mine! I suppose things could be worse. Then again, there is also Cronus, the god who ate his sons, [ he starts ticking on his fingers, ] Tantalus, Izanagi, Abraham...

Well, we're not short on those, are we? [ A soft chuckle, and a shake of his head. ]

I suppose there's something to be said, when we consider ourselves bad parents, yes? Not that we should ever excuse ourselves. [ A beat. ] I suppose I'm just...thoughtful, today. Moreso than I thought I would be. [ Another pause. ]

Are there others out there, who are thinking of things like this today?

Comments

[lesterzeppelin]

Yeah, I'd say so. It helps that we're not even in the same dimension right now.

[ It's weird, knowing that Zeus isn't remotely responsible for the garbage that's going on in this Earth. He really is a myth, for better or worse. (Probably for the better. Has to be for the better.) ]

But time heals all wounds, right? Now it's a matter of waiting and seeing if that's true.

[halfblaked]

So some say, and we can hope, yes! [ David shook his head. ]

Perhaps someday your father will be here, and you'll be reminded of all those little annoyances all over again, and then the cycle will begin again.

[ A beat. ] Although, I suspect you are less fickle than that, to forget something simply because he is not around.

[lesterzeppelin]

Like the circle of life?

[ Now he's just being cheeky, but Lester can get what this guy means. Kind of. ]

No, but if there's anything I've learned since I was here... it's that forgiveness and forgetfulness aren't the same thing. You can forgive without forgetting.

[halfblaked]

Perhaps, yes. [ A half-smile. ]

We can all hope for that, yes. Forgiveness is...something hard-won, of course. I suppose they must want to do better, as well. Such things are no good if they are given freely.

[lesterzeppelin]

Yeah, but we're talking about a hypothetical conversation down the road. By then, the other party might want to do better too.

Humans change all the time, right? That's what makes - [ "them" ] us so special.

[halfblaked]

Mm, yes. Evolution, isn't it? It's not just a theory, the idea of changing over time is...ingrained into what makes us unique, I agree.

[ After all, David had changed. Although not for the better. ]

And, it's our strength, as well.

[lesterzeppelin]

Also what makes us different from gods. [ he can say this genuinely, given that this guy has no godly expectations about him: ] The gods you talked about, Zeus and all of them? They remain the same forever.

They're... static. No matter how many times they learn something, it never really sticks.

[halfblaked]

I suppose immortality will do that. [ A beat. ]

In my world, they do not display such a lack. They're...surprisingly human, in their own way.

[lesterzeppelin]

Really? [ headtilt, ] Have you met a god, Professor?

[ must be from a different pantheon... Apollo knows his inside and out. ]

[halfblaked]

Erm -- A few. I've met... The Norns, and Persephone... And all the ones of my pantheon here.

[ A soft laugh. ]

I have been very fortunate, for someone who studies the pantheon, to have such opportunities.

[lesterzeppelin]

Sounds like it. The gods don't grace themselves in just anyone's presence. [ Lester beams, ] Or, you know, so the stories go.

That would make you a Classics professor, then...?

[halfblaked]

Something like that, yes. I'm a professor of Pantheon Studies and mythology. So here, that would be Classics, yes.

In my world, the pantheon certainly does like to walk among the mortals, although normally they don't collaborate with us like I've had the opportunity to.

[lesterzeppelin]

Just so I'm clear, your Pantheon is the one that reincarnates every ninety years, right? It's... [ what's the right word: ] different. Back home, it felt like each pantheon mostly stuck to each other.

Makes sense that they'd work with someone who's studied them for so long. Probably flatters 'em.

[halfblaked]

I can hope so, but I'm only here for the academic side, I'm afraid. Having someone with a vast knowledge can...assist with readouts, and we can start to disseminate where things come from.

I'm not quite sure if it's helping, but... the honor is all mine to help them.

[lesterzeppelin]

It's helping in your own way, which counts for something. I think.

[ most of this is going over his head, but it's the thought that counts? ]

[halfblaked]

Mm, yes. I suppose that's true. At the very least, I can say that I helped.

[ Or, you know, in reality: Did everything to fuck it all up. ]

It's...a grave responsibility. I don't think most humans have ever had the opportunity.

[lesterzeppelin]

Not usually, no. When we try to help gods, the stories don't usually end well. [ . . . ] I hope yours has a different ending, Prof.

[halfblaked]

Ah, I see. [ A beat. ] I hope it does, too. It would be nice to show them all how it's done, hm? How to have help by mortals without burning them out.

[lesterzeppelin]

Or getting turned into a plant... or being eaten up by the sun...

[ his voice is quiet as he dwells on those memories, and on the very mortals he once thought he was saving from even more gruesome fates. (daphne didn't deserve that. icarus only wanted to love the sun. even the plague-riddled towns deserved to live.) ]

As long as you don't get cocky, I think you can manage it.

[halfblaked]

Well! That's...excellent advice. I'll try to keep myself humble in all of this.

Which is probably the best advice I can receive, when it comes to serving the gods.

[lesterzeppelin]

I don't know how powerful the Pantheon is here, but if they're anything like the Greeks and Romans... they're [ stupid ] full of pride. Can't take being less than the best.

[ He frowns, ] So even if you are, yeah. Humility seems to always finish the race.

[halfblaked]

Oh, I think that sums up my pantheon just as much as it does each core pantheon.

But yes, perhaps it will. [ A sigh. ] But...then again... people are always going to survive. I fear for my gods, for what they have to face soon enough. The cold comfort of humility and survival is nothing compared to what forges them into the gods they are.