#<- only mentioned

[avisisisis]

I feel so bad for Ares cuz there's Zeus who clearly loves and favors his children (Apollo, Athena, Artemis, among others) but doesn't give a shit about Ares. Like in the Iliad when Ares went to him for comfort, all he got was a lecture. Worse than a lecture. Didn't he basically tell him he hated him?

[lanayru-the-water-god]

After healing

Lanayru wakes up slowly, the weakest she’s ever been, but still realizes that Nerin isn’t quite right. Something happened…and Nerin won’t tell her.

(Lanayru is ~900 years old)

Word count: 1301

“…..ru?”

“…wait…takes a minute…”

“Lanayru?”

Slowly, the first feelings of consciousness emerge from the peaceful dark void.

“Lanayru.”

The Water Goddess groans, stirring only slightly.

“Shh…give her a minute…”

“Are you with me?”

…Nerin?

The black void begins to dissipate, pieces of awareness floating into her mind. Lanayru groans again, eyes too heavy to open and body melting into a soft surface…Where’s Nerin?

“….she’s coming around.”

Huh?

Who’s…that?

Her hands are cold, so cold, tucked under something warm and fluffy…her entire body seems to be covered. Almost like…a blanket.

Something, or someone, is pressing down on her chest, moving softly. Cool hands touch her face, making her wince, and she takes in a slow breath.

“Hrrmphhh…” With what little energy she can muster, she peels her eyelids open halfway, lifting her head only slightly. Through bleary eyes she can make out an incredibly blurry mass of white atop her blanket. “Wha…?”

“Lanayru!” The white shape moves suddenly, making her head spin. “Hi, waterdrop! Can you hear me?”

“Mmm…” She rests her head back down, closing her eyes. “…yeah.”

“Oh, thank goodness! It is so good to see you, my darling.” The pure relief is evident in Nerin’s voice…telling her something has happened. Her friend had been waiting.

“Lanayru, welcome back.” The other voice is speaking now. “It’s me, Starlight. Just relax, okay? Take it easy.”

Another groan escapes her lips, and she can no longer feel Nerin’s weight on her chest. It’s just the three of them, right here, in what she assumes is her bedroom…everything before that is…gone.

“What…happened?”

Nerin takes a second to answer.

“You don’t remember, waterdrop?” A hand nudges on her shoulder. “Come on, look at me.”

It takes an immense amount of effort to open her eyes, her blurry vision swimming, but she can see the outlines of her best friend standing above her.

“Here, what’s the last thing you can recall?”

Lanayru gazes blearily at Nerin, growing ever more fatigued from the attempt to think…

Nothing.

Nothing is coming to mind.

“I…” she croaks. “I don’t—“

“There has to be something! Please think, waterdrop!”

“Nerin, darling,” Starlight’s calm voice interjects. “I am afraid Lanayru’s memory has been compromised. You must tell her what happened.”

“No…no, I-I can’t…”

“She deserves to know. Please.”

Wh-what’s going on?

Something horrible must have happened. If only she could remember what…

“Lanayru?” A soft hand touches her chin, turning her head on the pillow. “No, don’t fall asleep, come on—“

Slowly she peels her eyes back open- when had she closed them?- and her gaze is once again met with Nerin’s blurry figure. From what little she can make out of her friend’s face, something stands out to her, something running down her cheeks…

Tears.

Nerin is crying.

“Hmmm….you’ok?” she slurs out, the deep exhaustion still evident in her voice.

“Am I—Lanayru!” Nerin gasps. “Look at me…look at you! Please…try to remember?”

She wants to remember, more than anything…but oh Gods, her fuzzy brain won’t comprehend.

“…‘can’t…’m sorry.”

Somehow, Nerin won’t tell her. It’s almost as if her friend is…dreading the thought of it? Her head pounds slightly and her weak body threatens to drift off once again…Stay awake, Lanayru. She keeps her bleary eyes open, heart aching at the sight of Nerin in such distress.

“Okay,” The Swan Goddess sighs, wiping the tears with her hand. “RuRu, you saved my maiden’s life. Ivory would have… died if it wasn’t for you, waterdrop, but you’ve been gone for…” She sniffles. “…a long time.”

“Thirty-five days,” Starlight adds. “Four less than last time, but your Swan Goddess couldn’t wait. She was desperate, she’s been waiting here for days—“

Nerin holds up a hand. “That’s enough, please, don’t overwhelm her.” She then moves her delicate fingers to Lanayru’s forehead. “Now, anything coming back to you yet?”

Lanayru racks her muddled brain, things sounding so familiar…you saved my maiden’s life…Ivory…thirty-five days…last time? Whatever she had done, it happened before, but what…

In front of her, a hazy image appears. Her body glowing white, the life seeping out of her, a woman’s pale form lying on the ground…

Healing Grace!

Lanayru lets out a quiet gasp.

“I…healed her,” she chokes out, and Nerin lifts the hand off. “…Iv’ry.”

“There you go, that’s it!” The Swan Goddess sighs, in what seems to be relief. “You just finished recharging, waterdrop. I know you’re still out of it, but I’m here, Starlight’s here…you’re gonna be okay, you’re back with us. With me.”

Lanayru blinks, as her companion’s face comes more into focus. “Mrmmph…” she mumbles, keeping the warm blanket over her ice-cold fingertips.

“How are you feeling, Lanie? Do you need anything?”

“…’m tired…” The image of a bleeding Ivory drifts through her mind again, the last thing she can remember. “…’s Iv’ry ok?”

“Yeah, she’s doing much better,” Nerin replies, smiling through the tears. “Back on her feet and fully recovered. Thanks to you, waterdrop.”

“But…you lost me…”

“Yes.” Another tear runs down her friend’s cheek. “It was a horrible situation, Lanayru, trust me that you did the right thing. No matter how hard it was for us.”

The Water Goddess groans again. She doesn’t know if it’s the exhaustion talking, but Nerin just seems…off. Almost like she’s hiding something.

Healing Ivory must have killed her. It had to…right? And Nerin’s tears are not of joy but of agony. Something happened. Something else happened…

Was she there?

Did she…

Lanayru whimpers, vision continuing to clear. The look on her friend’s face is enough to break her heart right in two. She almost wishes she was still unconscious.

“Hey, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“I-ugh, I…don’t know.” The more she tries to gather fragments of her memory, the more her head spins. “Y-you’re upset…”

“I’m sorry,” Nerin mutters, quickly wiping her eyes with one arm. “I shouldn’t overwhelm you, Lanayru. You’re still so weak, and chances are you won’t remember this conversation later. That happened last time—“ The Swan Goddess briefly buries her face in her hands. “Argh, I can’t help it.”

“It’s okay, Lady Nerin,” Starlight assures her. “And Lana, your friend is right. You should just focus on resting…I should have considered how you may not recall much of this, my apologies.”

Ignoring the Dweller’s comment, the Water Goddess continues to gaze at her companion with tired eyes.

“Lil’one…if I won’t remember this…then—tell me what’s wrong.”

“Lanayru, I can’t. It will upset you too much. Just listen to Starlight, okay? The sooner you recover, the sooner we can get this all sorted out.”

“But…’m recovered…”

“No, you are not.” Nerin’s voice is surprisingly firm. “You’re fighting just to stay conscious, I can tell. You are too weak to even sit up, waterdrop. So I would hardly call that recovered.”

Lanayru sighs, her heavy eyes drooping again. If Nerin really was there, then—

She thinks back to her friend’s head on her chest, and her own heart sinks.

Then Nerin saw me…stop breathing.

“Urrgh…’m so sorry, lil’one…” she groans, rubbing her pounding head. “So sorry…”

“For what? Oh, Goddesses—“

The darkness begins to welcome her with open arms…

“Lanayru?”

Slowly she blinks her eyes back open. “Hmm?”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. Ivory is okay, I’m okay…soon you’ll be okay too. You saved her, waterdrop, never forget that.”

“Nerin…were you there?”

The Swan Goddess falls silent, eyes widening. She seems to be struggling to respond, but that is all Lanayru needs. The answer is finally clear.

“You watched me…”

“Shh…relax, waterdrop.” Nerin gently soothes her. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

No…

I died and she watched me.

Floating on the edge of the comforting darkness, Lanayru feels the sharp pang of guilt in her chest, taking over her senses…

“You can go back to sleep, okay? I’ll be right here.”

[thedemises]

. . .  SARAH [BY ALEX G]! featuring kaoru takamura & kaname nishiruka!

contains! . . . lowercase writing, oc writing, about my two ocs (+ an additional oc), not shipping you weirdos..., uncharacteristically sad kaoru & empathetic kaname, no plot, hurt/comfort(?), only just two lines of dialogue from kaname, mentioned catherine collison. notes! . . .  thought about something sad while I was reading something that wasn't even sad and the tiktok audio going "she looks so angry... why does everyone always look at you that way?" with Sarah by Alex G (sped up) playing in the background (currently am listening to Sarah rn-)

“she looks so angry...”

a simple comment leaves kaname's mouth as he glances at the seemingly disappointed and frustrated look in his superior's—catherine's—face from the small crack between the door and the frame that leads to the main office , then the child look back at kaoru who sat on the stair's steps with a straight posture.

in spite of the bright smile she donned, that never erased the gloominess that ached in her heart even as she denies such thing.

she's undeserving of feeling any emotions with how unhuman she feels and expresses that she can be viewed as simply “apathetic” by others.

staring with an empathetic gaze, a basic question was asked by kaname— “why does everyone always look at you that way?...”

initially, kaoru doesn't say a thing as eyes kaname once but that demeanour shifts as the smile slowly but steadily falls off her face into a upside-down smile—eyelids drooping over her pink irises and eyebrows slightly furrowed, the corners of her reddish-tinited lips forms into a small line but slightly downturned enough that it looks like it's about to bend and crack into a frown.

tucking a small lock of chocolatey brown curls, kaoru softly sighs out through her nose into the silence between her and the young child. kaname quietly walks to her side and sit down beside her while still gazing at the middle-aged woman with a saddened expression, before deciding to lean his head against her body.

the two sat in silence, not daring to disturb the tranquil quietness in the air between them.

© thedemises 2024. all rights reserved. please do not repost, copy, or claim as your own. ━━  word count: 274.

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

as newspapers today dont tend to hire children, a modern day Tintin would run a clickbait YouTube channel, except the clickbait is 100% real every single time

he starts off as an irritating conservative pundit at 14, meets Chang then leaves the think tank paying him and launches his own independent channel and blows up shortly after. Chang helps with video editing and managing his socials and they often chat on video calls between adventures. Haddock, his foster dad, has absolutely no knowledge of his earlier videos.

[buttercuparry]

Reblog the fundraisers you mfs!!!!! I don't know why you all skip those to reblog some pic of a banner saying "FREE PALESTINE" or of news from Columbia University! Literally these people from Gaza have made an account on Tumblr and is writing in english to communicate what they need and you all are coming onto my blog or on the tag and not reblogging their posts. We have people both Palestinian and non Palestinian vetting the fundraisers! I mean more the reblogs, more the chance of the fundraisers gaining momemtum, the more there would be a chance of a donation. Please donate if you can and reblog!!! and follow them if it is possible.

@/mohammedayesh has posted about getting leaflets, telling them to evacuate Rafah. They are very low on funds. Go follow them and reblog their posts and donate if possible.

We have @/haneenatya too whose mother is suffering from eye stroke and need to evacuate. Please I have been following them for some days and it doesn't seem their own posts are getting much attention.

Follow them! They are on tumblr. Reblog their posts and donate. The protests in universities are being done on account of them. They should be our focus.

(EDIT: on re-reading my post it seems as if I am dismissing all that the students of universities are doing. I am not. I just meant, since all of it is to help Palestinians, we must not ignore them when they ask for help).

[wheatormeat]

His silly rabbit

[a-method-in-it]

You know that Chris Fleming line that goes "Call yourself a community organizer even though you're not on speaking terms with your roommates"?

I honestly think every leftist who talks about the "revolution" like Christians talk about the rapture needs to spend a year trying to organize their workplace. Anyone who sincerely talks about building a movement so vast and all-encompassing that it overwhelms all existing power structures needs the dose of humility that comes with realizing they can't even build a movement to get people paid better at a badly run AMC Theaters where everyone already hates the manager.

[beldaroot]

there has been more moments than i can count in the past seven months where i felt destroyed by all the death and carnage i've seen due to the colonialism and imperialism of the world. but there was something in particular about hind's death that made me think the world would stop turning bc how could anything continue given how gruesome and inhumane her death was? and yet, the world did not stop. and i thought we were once again left to remember her story only in our minds as she became another number, as her murderers went on killing unpunished, and as her mother grieved with rage when all she wanted was to keep her daughter warm and as safe as she could manage in this man-made hell on earth.

however, hind, a girl who only got to experience her kindergarten graduation, is now being immortalized in universities across the nation. her story did resonate to the masses and we will not let her be forgotten nor forgive those complicit in her death. real justice would be having hind alive, but these students are showing that they will stop the world and burn the status quo it upholds to the ground if it means her people can truly be liberated.

[inkskinned]

you're in the habit of denying yourself things.

if someone asked you directly, you would say that you love a little treat. you like iced coffee and getting the cookie. you drink juice out of a fancy cup sometimes, and often do use your candles until they gutter out helplessly.

but you hesitate about buying the 20 dollar hand mixer because, like. you could just use your arms. you weren't raised rich. you don't get to just spend the 20 dollars (remember when that could cover lunch?), at least - you don't spend that without agonizing over it first, trying to figure out the cost-benefits like you are defending yourself in front of a jury. yes, this rice cooker could seriously help you. but you do know how to make stovetop rice and it really isn't that hard. how many pies or brownies would you actually make, in order to make that hand mixer worthwhile?

what's wild is that if the money was for a friend, it would already be spent. you'd fork over 40 without blinking an eye, just to make them happy. the difference is that it's for you, so you need to justify it.

and it sneaks in. you ration yourself without meaning to - you don't finish the pint of ice cream, even though you want to. the next time you go to the store, you say ah, i really shouldn't, and then you walk away. you save little bits of your precious things - just in case. sometimes you even go so far as putting that one thing in your shopping cart. and then just leaving it there, because maybe-one-day, but not right now, there's other stuff going on.

you do self-care, of course. but you don't do it more than like, 3 days in a row. after that it just feels a little bit over-the-edge. like. you can't live in decadence, the economy is so bad right now, kid.

so you don't buy the rice cooker. you can-and-will spend the time over the stove. you can withstand the little sorrows. denial and discipline are practically synonyms. and you're not spoiled.

it's just - it's not always a rice cooker. sometimes it is a person or a job or a hug. sometimes it is asking for help. sometimes it is the summer and your college degree. sometimes it is looking down at scabbed knees and feeling a strange kind of falling, like you can't even recognize the girl you used to be. sometimes it is your handprint looking unsteady.

sometimes it is tuesday, and you didn't get fired, and you want to celebrate. but what is it you like, even? you search around your little heart and come up empty. you're so used to denying that all your desires draw a blank.

oh fuck. see, this is the perfect opportunity. if you had a mixer, you'd make a cake.

[magentasnail]

drawing is hard so i tried to illustrate my struggles as video game bosses

[the-art-in-arthesia-is-loud]

You Are Real

urgh ik i have a writing blog i can post my stupid oneshots in but maybe i'll make an exception for oc oneshots from now on

———

"There might be one thing you'd forget at times; your name. Though in truth, you may have never 'been' anyone at all..."

"But you; you are real. And you are, perhaps, the most wonderful thing in a world of endless wonder."

Those words from Ars were stuck in Lucas' head throughout the entire night, preventing him from sleeping. He thought back at it the morning after the restless night. How odd. Ars thinks that he is the most wonderful thing in this world? How preposterous!

"Why would he say such things to me? With such fancy words too...." The traveler muttered to himself as he sat on his bed. It was just last night too. They were having a heart-to-heart talk. Something about what happens after they defeat the God of Destruction.

Lucas knows he isn't leaving the Cantate Kingdom anytime soon. It's obvious at this rate. He's grown attached to Ars, and that wasn't apart of his plan.

And the words that spilled out of Ars' mouth made him grow even more attached to him.

It's strange. Lucas isn't usually the type to get attached to others. It was always the other way around. It always has been like that. So this happening to him instead is...strange.

He could feel his face heating up. Did Ars' words affect him that much? "Goddamnit. I shouldn't think about this. It's not like he actually cares, right?" Lucas knew that what he just said was clearly a lie.

Ars is one to care deeply for the people around him. He is no man with no empathy, after all. It would be out of character for him to not care. Lucas groaned as the words repeat in his head over and over again.

"Shut the fuck up...!" He muttered to himself, his head in his hands as his eyes squeezed shut. He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe what he is realizing right now.

He actually cared about someone after so long.

That's no good.

"Lucas.....Lucas, Lucas, Lucas. This is not like you. Stop this bullshit. You don't CARE about that stupid posh prince and he doesn't care about you. Stop thinking shit like this...!" Lucas tells himself, but it's no use. Being in denial is stupid, after all. He can't deny or escape the truth anymore.

He cares about Ars Cantate.

And, maybe, perhaps, he is in love too.

[captainjonnitkessler]

Do you guys notice how when Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union, started planning a general strike, he did it by a) targeting his messaging towards unions with the ability to safely and effectively strike in large numbers, b) laid out a clear, actionable plan for those unions to follow (setting contracts to all expire at the same time, since many unions cannot strike while under contract), c) is using union contracts to set clear, actionable demands that can be met in order to gauge success and provide an end goal, and d) started organizing FOUR YEARS before the proposed strike date to give people the chance to plan accordingly, because it takes a really freaking long time to get tens of millions of people organized?

You notice how he didn't do it by slapping a message on Twitter saying 'hey nobody go to work on Monday, that'll really show 'em'?

[nerdpoe]

Danny, due to his biology of being half dead, can eat very questionable things and not die. He decides to start a youtube channel with this.

He buys obvious shitty supplements online, clear and obvious scams, and takes them as directed for a month.

Then he reports what they did to him, and sends the samples to get tested. He's gotten more than a few scammers arrested by providing solid evidence that they used hazardous materials to make their product.

He gets away with this by claiming to have the power of abnormal metabolism, or an "iron stomach", so toxins aren't as likely to hurt him.

One of his viewers sends him an unmarked bottle of pills, saying that if he doesn't take the entire bottle on a livestream, they'll blow up a city.

Danny does his livestream, and goes out of his way to use the entire bottle of pills in extravagant recipes. By the end of it he's created a five course meal, all with the pills cooked/melted in, and it's become a mukbang.

The villain who sent it is watching the livestream pissed off, because they didn't specify how to take the pills, so this technically counts. The heroes they have trapped are losing their minds with concern.

[rafyre]

ask game:

☤ - a memory of death/loss

[6 MONTHS EARLIER]

"Briiiiing!"

Keys clack against Rafael's hand as he searches for his phone. He's dressed up, red leather jacket over a smooth black buttonup and slacks. His linoone, Pog, dances around Rafael's feet impatiently.

"Hold on, bud."

Finally finding his phone, Rafael quickly answers it and sticks it between his jaw and shoulder. Not giving the caller a chance to get a word in before he talks.

"Hey Sera, sorry, I know I'm running late. Damn keys ran away again -"

Hushed words interrupt him, making him pause just before the door of his apartment. Pog stills, head tilted at attention.

"Talk? Wha- are you okay?"

Concern fills his voice and Rafael readjusts, taking the phone into his hand as the other begins to tremble. The other voice on the line is sotto voce, an almost fabricated calm.

"Mom? No, no I just talked to her this morning what do you mean -"

"She's gone, Raf."

It's spoken with finality, regret tinting the edges of her voice.

"I- I-," a slow breath, "I'm coming to your place."

Rafael hangs up. His hands begin to shake, his phone dropping from his grip. Pog whines, concerned, and presses against Rafael's leg.

Rafael falls to his knees, breath hitching as tears trace down his face. Pog stands on his hind legs, leaning against him, and Rafael takes the linoone into a crushing hug.

They stay there, time seeming meaningless to Rafael, before he stands up - grabbing his phone as he goes. He straightens out his clothes and calmly wipes the tears from his face before finally opening the door and leaving the apartment.

[kaywavy]

icp has the chance to do the funniest thing next year

[chloesimaginationthings]

Abby has an important FNAF question for Glamrock Freddy