The Firefox's Den

Let’s play the biggest game of kick the can on the internet.

Queen of the Dead part 2, 124

In The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Demeter herself takes Demophoon from the hearth and places him on the ground when Metaneira interrupts the ritual, which implies that this magic could only be worked in secret. It says nothing about the child dying. However, some scholars argue that the hymn-poet clearly alludes to his approaching death by using the word aspaironta for when he is left gasping on the floor, a word used elsewhere of dying heroes. In other versions of the story, the child is immediately burnt up in the fire when the ritual is interrupted (Apollodorus Bibliotheca 1.5.1 and Orphic frag. 49, 100ff). In Hyginus Fabulae it is the father, here named Eleusinius, who interrupts the ritual. He was killed by the angry goddess, but the child (who here is Triptolemus) was honored by Demeter and was given her chariot with flying serpents to spread the cultivation of grain to rest of humanity.

When you open a toolbox, there should be at least three drawers.

At the top, are tools for emotion regulating on a slightly shitty day. Maybe a power drill, a set of drill heads, and a variety of screws to choose from. It's going for a hike, or working on a WIP. It's things that give good, long lasting results, but take a little effort.

In the next drawer is a hammer and some nails. They'll definitely get the job done on days when you can't handle lifting up that power drill and the thought of finding the right drill head to match with the right screw head is too much, but the result is still good. For me, going for a walk or reading a book are tools in this drawer.

In the very bottom of the toolbox is stuff for when you practically can't make it out of bed in the morning. The bar is low, but staying put is not going to help. This is a roll of duct tape. It won't be a permanent fix with a particularly long term effect, but it'll work for now.

To me, the duct tape is getting washed up, brushing my teeth, eating or drinking, watching a show I've seen before. It's all about not digging myself even deeper down, but help with basic maintenance until I feel like a person again.

Female birds with confusing names.