Chương 721: Day Seven Hundred And Nineteen

Dear Diary,"Your intent matters to me, It should matter to you too, Why you choose is important." - Tabitha Diaz, Doctrine of Tabitha, Book of Agency The sixth Verse of the Book of Agency speaks of another facet of Agency. Prior to this, our Goddess has spoken of what Agency is, the right to make our own choices, and the limits of Agency, which is bounded by the effects our choices have on others. Here she speaks of another aspect of Agency: Intent. She plainly states that Intent matters.

That the Intent of her followers will be taken into account, that it holds meaning and value for her. It may seem a break from form that our Goddess speaks of what 'should' and 'should not' matter to her Worshippers, even as other Deities who bother to record the rules they wish their Followers to live by are often little more than tales of the Deity's prowess and injunctions for their followers to Worship, to seek Glory, to in all ways seek to please them.

Yet even here, where she speaks of 'should', she is not saying that her followers 'should' do any particular thing. Only that they should examine their own choices. She does not force a particular choice upon us, but asks us again to choose mindfully. The final line re-emphasizes this, stating that the reasons we make choices are important. So often theft of food is used as an example in the morality plays handed to us by philosophers and priests.

So often a minor theft is shown as having far reaching consequences, and the person committing the theft is demonized for each and every one of those consequences. Here, in this verse, Tabitha tells us that reasons matter. A goddess of Revenge and Redemption both is saying that Mortal concerns concern her. That the starving beggar stealing an apple from the prosperous vendor is not morally equivalent to a plutocrat stealing an orchard from a farmer.

That a soldier killing to defend his home in time of war is not the same as a conqueror killing to expand his wealth and influence. She tells us, in this verse, that why we do things matters as much as the consequence to others, and as such, it behooves us to be mindful of why we choose what we do. - Priestess Most High Above All Others, Archmage Imperator Saffron Aetos-Diaz, Commentary on the Doctrine of Tabitha Shit. I'd laugh if this shit wasn't so serious. Honestly, I'm tempted to anyhow.

Because somehow my brilliant, beautiful, and let's not forget bouncing and buxom Kitten has taken my vague ramblings set to a meter designed to make my eyes roll back due to what I thought was a prank by aforementioned Kitten, and somehow turned them into actual fucking life coaching.

Shit that not only makes sense, that I agree with when my brain is functioning and not chuckling nervously that someone might come up and thank me for all her hard fuckin' work, but shit that makes me think that the Doctrine of Tabitha might be an actual book of useful advice on how to behave if you don't want to be a complete and utter asshole by accident. I mean, so far it's a little soft on being a complete and utter asshole by design, but I guess nobody's perfect.

Also, I really ought to be thanking somebody who is an asshole by design, because they've basically painted a bullseye on their forehead along with 'punch' and 'here' on right and left cheeks respectively. Then again, I'm not sure which I dislike more; somebody who sets out to be an asshole and accomplishes that mission, or somebody who didn't care enough to think about it and did just as much damage.

Honestly though, if all the Doctrine does is make people stop and think a little bit, I guess that'll be an improvement. Enough that I think I'd like to shake the hand of the woman who wrote it. Maybe on a Friday night, where 'hand shaking' can very quickly become 'consciousness stealing joysplosion'. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Then I remember that I am, in fact, the bitch who wrote this shit, and I'm left staring at the wall thinking, 'What the fuck, Diaz'? Like, where is all the wisdom normally hiding? Or maybe it's actually just rizz that makes other people see Good Things in me that aren't really there, and that inspires them to be better versions of themselves. That actually makes a lot more sense. Kitten? Yes, love? Thank you for the Commentary. You've finished it already?

Weird, how I get the impulse to shake my head when she's nowhere in sight. Used to do that on the phone, too. No. Just a few Verses in, really. Taking my time with it. Thinking about things. And I've realized that you are taking an Epic Trickster's prank and turning it into a real Holy Book. I... I don't deserve you. First, we will agree to disagree on that point. Second, I will make my full position on this clear shortly after sunset.

I managed to get everything together for a variety pack of pizza for dinner for the Homestead. Mostly the classic tomato and spicy hard sausage. Not quite pepperoni, but nobody here knew the difference, so they didn't miss what they'd never had. A couple garlic ones, a couple alfredo ones. While everyone else started eating, Saffron stepped over to me, slipped her hand into mine, and said, "shall we?" I stepped us both to the Temple in Calverton, where a wave of cheers and another of Worship greeted us.

I turned to look at Saffron after waving to the crowd, and he Grinned up at me. My smile got even wider.

"Oh, no. Time for more baby roulette?" He chuckled and said, "not tonight, Goddess. But," she took me by the waist and lay me on the Altar, "I'm sure you won't be able to tell the difference." So after Saffron came Oliver from Calverton, who had all the advantages of youth and a physical job. Took a while, but Saffron smiled in her sleep as he managed to get a gentle, overwhelming word salad out of me. I pulled him down into a kiss before ruffling his hair and letting him cuddle next to Saffron.

The Calverton Altar was kinda on the big side, and Oliver and Saffron were both kinda little. Next came Crystal, who just wanted to be held. I held her, sang to her, and gently massaged away the aches of age and fatigue until she fell asleep. I lay her down and turned to Archibald, who seemed to be torn between wanting to do as Oliver had done and needing what Crystal had gotten. So I held and massaged him with tentacles, while gently moving him, helping him do unto me as he wanted to.

I whispered savage words of satisfaction for his ears alone as we finished together. Last of the night was Willow, who showed off her flexibility. I'm not sure if she was Human or Human Adjacent, because normal Human spines don't twist around that much. Still, we had fun with it. Really enjoyed spanning her waist with my hands, her ass grinding in my lap, while we played some serious tonsil hockey. She tasted nice, too, and the smile never left her lips, even as her eyes fluttered closed.

Carried Saffron to her office when the sun rose, settling her in to start coding. Another of me got the Infirmary open, while another took Tallulah to the Overlord's throne room. A dozen of me went to work at the Academy, and one stayed with Siobhan to hold her hair and gently coax food into her. Finally, I took my girls to school, sitting with each of them at breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

I also went back to something that left me laughing as I did it, because it was weirder than getting my groove on with half a dozen people in front of a crowd. If anybody told me back in the day I'd become a porn star, or even a cult leader, I might have wondered about the sanity of my fellow humans, but I wouldn't have thought they were off their rocker. But... Me, a Math Teacher?