stepped out of line

Suitors:

As it was, there were one and the same to her (that is, they were none of them the husband of her heart) but on his better days, Galenos was clever and inquisitive and might have gotten along well with Odysseus himself.

If only he hadn't been trying to steal the man's wife.

It was just too bad that Penelope (and her presumed inheritance) was such an attractive prospect.

Galenos was also prevented from growing too close to the other suitors by a childhood illness that had left his leg badly withered and of mostly no use; a lifetime of exclusion had left him with a secretive disposition.

So it was that Galenos (inquisitive, secretive, and smitten with the queen of Ithaca) first noticed that the shroud for Laertes had already been six months in the making, and - even through the haze of stolen wine -- even with his thoughts slowed by a belly of ill-earned food - he grew curious.

He did not share his thoughts with the other suitors. Nor did it occur to him to consult with his mother, or his sisters, or especially any of the slaves who did most of his houses' weaving - his own infirmity had left him with the habit of despising women and holding himself above them.

(It had been so necessary that he be superior to someone.)

He would not even lower himself to watch them at their work. Instead he took away a great deal of spun wool and set to work in the middle of each night to see how long it would take his untutored hands to weave something resembling a shroud.

Galenos did, eventually, prove the queen's duplicity to his own satisfaction. But he had done more than turn wool into cloth - he had learned something of a bent back, tired eyes, sore fingers, and even a hint at the pleasure and pride of creation. 

There had been an alchemy of understanding that could not be so easily undone.

The one-hundred-and-nine suitors became one-hundred-and-eight, and on very bright nights Penelope could lower down a basket, and pull it back up in the discreet hours of the morning full of news and fruit and the occasional freshly sharpened knife.

Bookish Resonances

The game is just to take one book, and give a few other books that I was reminded of while reading it. It does not mean that the books are necessarily super similar, but that one of the core elements of them resonated in my mind

So today my starting book is The Works of Vermin

And the resonances are as follow:

“Do Dead Malls Go To Heaven?”

Northern Cardinal, 4/10

I'm sometimes worried the male is sexually harassing the female but I'm pretty sure they're just doing some elaborate public pickup roleplay. The rest of us didn't agree to participate in your kink, guys.

American Robin, 1/10

Literally just some dude hanging out. Never bothered anyone but worms. Big fan of the way you just stand there in the middle of the grass like you forgot what you were supposed to be doing.

House Sparrow, 10/10

You're a gang. You're participating in gang violence. There's ten billion of you living in a single wood pile and it's been civil war for three years now. When will the bloodshed end?

Tufted Titmouse, 1/10

A shy baby. A pretty little guy. I saw you on the neighbor's garage roof and time stopped. There were anime sparkles around you. Come back.

European Starling, 9/10

Why is it always you? Listen, I know, I KNOW the sparrows are the problem, and YET. When the fighting starts, it's always you in the middle of it, provoking them and then screaming like you're an innocent bystander defending yourself. I'm onto you.

Carolina Wren, 3/10

This rating is not for physical violence, which you don't engage in, but for your role as an incurable narc. A tattle tale. I know they're fighting again, okay? I see it. Our yard has been a warzone for years, you don't have to make a big announcement every time someone misbehaves.

Eastern Wood-Peewee, 0/10

If this were "birds who think they're better than everyone else," you'd get 10/10.

Red-bellied Woodpecker, 6/10

It's a utility pole. It's not a tree. You're surrounded by trees that are full of bugs. But there you are, on the utility pole. Committing vandalism.

American Crow, unrated

For who am I to cast judgment on the actions of La Famiglia? I assume you are doing what is best for the neighborhood. If I could, though, without criticism, make a single observation. That when large numbers of you gather in the ominous dead cottonwood - no? No, you're right. None of my business.

Great Crested Flycatcher, 5/10

Frankly, I think you could be doing more. I think your name implies a great potential. I think you should massacre the insects. I think your beak should drip with viscera.

Common Grackle, 7/10

La Famiglia does not suffer you to stop in our neighborhood long, and I trust their judgement in this manner. You have the look of a guilty bird.

Tennessee Warbler, 2/10

You keep to yourselves, and I respect that. I get the sense that you could defend yourselves if it came to it, though.

Brown-Headed Cowbird, 3/10

You're not a crow, and eventually they ARE going to figure it out, kiddo.

Gray Catbird, 5/10

Would you. Respectfully. Would you shut the FUCK UP.

Eurasian Collared-Dove, 0/10

You're doing great, sweetie, everyone loves you.

Red-Breasted Nuthatch, 4/10

A comedian. A little jester of a bird. You're so silly. Sure sometimes you incite violence in others but, really, is that your fault? If it is, we forgive you.

Blue Jay, 12/10

If you could learn any human behavior you wanted, it would be how to build a bomb.

Honorable mention:

Turkey Vulture, 5/10

Author/illustrator Trung Le Nguyen has been live posting reading Pride and Prejudice for the first time on bluesky and just hit the first proposal. The replies are basically the sickos meme

Johnny Weir (USA)

Johnny Weir (USA)

>ask the narrator if their House is creepy or wet

>they don’t understand |pull out diagram explaining what is creepy and what is wet

>they laugh and say “The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite”

>move in