#anyway is this rushed? maybe

[wren-kitchens]

how long has it been?

1218 words

despite it all, however, i will not claim that there is anything more akin to a child than the wonder for the world, and the terror for the unknown. gods have little that is unknown to them, undoubtedly due to how easily they may procure information from mortals or prophets or other immortals, and so most of their childish nature tends to stem from awe. but what could be more unknown to an immortal than death?

hi i saw this art by @nikoisme and wrote this in like an hour

cw: discussions of grief and death!

there is nothing childish about the gods—it is almost entirely against their nature, after all. hermes was thieving cattle mere hours after his birth, as artemis made demands of what she wished to rule over in her first years of life. athena never even had a childhood; born fully grown and armoured from zeus' skull, ready to become the goddess of wisdom and war. the first gods, of course, were born and subsequently eaten in very short succession, and so when they once again emerged from kronos' guts, they were adults in all respects. 

and yet, there is something so incredibly childlike about how the immortals traverse through the world—creating mortals for their amusement only to throw tantrums once they are not exactly as they wished them to be; singlemindedly pursuing something one moment, and once they have been satisfied, they forget it the next. the demands of offerings and prayers and respect, lest the unfortunate mortals meet the wrath of whomever they have insulted with their lack of devotion- or sometimes their misguided devotion to a rival god.

despite it all, however, i will not claim that there is anything more akin to a child than the wonder for the world, and the terror for the unknown. gods have little that is unknown to them, undoubtedly due to how easily they may procure information from mortals or prophets or other immortals, and so most of their childish nature tends to stem from awe. 

but what could be more unknown to an immortal than death?

the goddess of war and strategy knows of death. she knows that many soldiers must be lost to win a battle, no matter how one tries to minimise the damage; she knows the carelessness of mortals so often leads to loss where loss did not have to be; she knows that look of blankness that passes over faces when the spear finds its target, or when the healing does not work. athena knows death.

she did not.. know grief. 

she didn’t know how often she would think of something to say to him, only to remember he was long gone; she didn’t know the way it never truly felt like it actually transpired- like she would turn around and see him waking up the hill to greet her; she didn't know how.. lost she would feel. as if someone had hidden a part of her just out of reach, just out of view. 

it had to come, eventually—athena knew this in the rational way everyone knows of death. it never felt as though it would.

the second hermes arrived, she knew. he was solemn in the way he only is when he accompanies souls into the land of the dead, looking at her with that dreadful knowledge in his eyes, and a kind of apprehension that she did not truly understand until long after. he had seen her furious, and joyous, and frustrated, and pleased. he had never seen her in the kind of agony that odysseus' death had brought. 

without so much as a word between them, ares took on some of the most pressing responsibilities of athena's. by then, she hadn't even had time to neglect them before he stepped in. she supposes now that he has been in her position before—whilst she is the goddess of strategy, he takes on the brunt of war. death is not an unusual sight for him, and neither must be grief. 

telemachus had long since sailed to egypt, but began his journey back once hermes visited him with the terrible news. athena could not bring herself to say it aloud, for fear of making it permanent—not that she told hermes this. regardless, she's fairly certain he knew anyway. penelope passed not so long after, and athena has never felt more guilt than how little support she was able to offer telemachus in those first few days in the empty palace.

for reasons she neither knows nor bothers to find out, apollo made a brief visit to telemachus. he told him.. he was living in the world where the best outcomes had come to pass, and that he would find solace in the years he was able to spend with his father and mother, as they truly were—whatever that was supposed to indicate. athena found no hope in those words, but telemachus seemed to at least. perhaps he had seen something athena had not. 

a year passed. and then another. telemachus settled into his new role as king of ithaca, flanked by his husband—they just so happened to meet under an olive tree. athena would like to claim credit, but in truth, she had no sway over the situation. she has since decided it is that foolish thing mortals call 'fate'. they have a child- a young girl with all of odysseus and telemachus' wildness and love of adventure, and penelope's levelheaded stubbornness, and those brains that athena still cannot tell from who they come. she loves archery, and the sea, and she visits the graves of her grandparents almost every day, along with her fathers.

athena continues to sit above them, in the olive tree telemachus planted, as an owl. she wants to pretend that telemachus has no idea it is her, and that her disguise remains infallible, but he talks of when they first met and how, even though they have not spoken for a decade since he set sail for egypt, the wisdom goddess still guides him every day. he gives the owl a smile every time he departs, and athena wishes she had the strength to speak to him. 

"he is not lost." hermes says one day, perching precariously below her on a spindly little branch that, if he were not a god, would undoubtedly snap beneath his weight. 

athena doesn’t speak. she isn't quite sure what she would even say—if he is not lost, she is scylla. 

hermes seems to understand what her silence indicates. "souls never leave, you see. the underworld feels impenetrable for us who will never leave this realm, but.. he is still there."

"i see no point to this visit." athena says shortly, and hermes looks sickeningly sympathetic. "i know this already."

a beat. the leaves rustle softly as a light breeze sweeps across the landscape. 

"i see him sometimes." hermes finally says, a touch of melancholy to his tone. "i am not to visit too often, but. i see him."

it's as if athena's breath is caught in her throat. "and?"

hermes smiles. "he is happy. i have told him of telemachus and his new family, and he is proud." he pauses, as if considering what next to say—which is truly a novel experience for the trickster god. "he says he has one regret."

"i would imagine he has many more." athena says to the gravestone, ever so slightly humorous.

"that is exactly what i told him." hermes grins. "no, he said very specifically. all his men, he has seen once more. his mother, penelope, even telemachus will not be lost to him." hermes looks at athena. "he says he misses you."

for a moment, athena forgets how to breathe. "i miss him too." it's a whisper of a sentence, almost lost entirely to the gentle breeze. but hermes hears. 

"i will let him know."

[aweebshitdrawings]

From the lovely minds of @babyblankyerror and @aroace-get-out-of-my-face I bring you ford hating a puppet more then Bill lol

Ford hate room requested in this

[thekittyokat]

you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah

[pennumbra]

Lil Nowhere King-themed mini doodle dump! 🦌🧁

[puppppppppy]

id fumble him so bad

[lies-of-fox]

Okay, for real now :D

[ghostlylulla-by]

Let's go, Agent 4!

Wait... Is that...? CALLIE?

I told you to leave...

Callie... Why?

Now you leave me no choice... Prepare to be rocked!

Hey, DJ!

[johnslittlespoon]

Tough And Sweet (Like You And Me)

Ch. 11/? – 'I Bloom Just For You'

[WC: 173K | Gale Cleven/John Egan, College AU, The Bikeriders AU, Age Gap, Emotional Slowburn, Hurt/Comfort, Porn With Plot, Set in 2005]

College student John Egan ends up in an old pub on the other side of his small town, where he has a chance encounter with biker and mechanic Gale Cleven. His life is forever changed.

[AO3 LINK]

[hyakunana]

Encounter V — Reverse Boost

+

[cubedmango]

klapollo week day 7 - aa4 sequel

you still have me

[bitchslapblastoids]

do you remember exactly where you were when basically im gay dropped? are there other d&p videos/content that you’ve had that experience with? am reminiscing and curious

[scoriarose]

The Language of Love

If you are already convinced snakes are incapable of love, this post is not for you. But if you are open to the possibility that maybe they do, and maybe they love us too, this post explores that thought. Perhaps snakes feel it differently, perhaps they feel it the same humans do- though even humans experience love, be it platonic or romantic, differently from individual to individual. Different people also show their love in different ways as well! Yet still even with a divide between species most of us have felt love from our furry and feathered friends. Perhaps our scaly friends are also telling us they love us, we just might not understand.

When I first got my girl Scoria, if I could tell her only one thing it would be, "I love you." When I held her, I wondered if she understood how much I cared about her, and would do anything to protect her. When I pet her, I wondered if she knew how amazing I thought she was and enjoyed spending time with her.

And then I started watching livestreams of wild snakes, and how they act toward each other. (The above still is from Project Rattle Cam!) When the babies see a trusted adult, they slither all over them! How many times had my girl happily slithered all over me going no where in particular? I imagine that my finger petting her soft as a feather was probably quite similar to another snake greeting her in such a way.

Sakura is much more shy, yet wants to form a bond with me. I see it when she fights her fear to vibe with me. Sometimes she'll sit for hours at the edge of her tank nearest me, not wanting to come out, but just be near me.

Snakes like rattlesnakes and garter snakes will vibe peacefully with each other, with baby rattlesnakes sleeping near the adult rattlesnakes they trust to keep them safe.

Perhaps, when our shy snakes sits with us, facing their fears they're saying, "I'm scared, but I want to be closer with you." And maybe when our snakes slither all over us, going nowhere in particular, like their wild counterparts do with each other they're saying, "I'm so happy to see you! You're my favorite to be with!" I wonder if they could tell us one thing it would be "I love you, best friend!" And it's okay, best friend. I love you too, and already know. <3

[beaulesbian]

so unfair i'm on my third playthrough and only for the first time i see a romance-only option added into a dialogue like this (that wasn't just between rook and their romanced companion)

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Held at gunpoint by a friend to doodle these two /lh

Side characters are cool

[st4ngray]

I would eat flowey, just cuz of the way you draw him.

Feed him to me.

HELP okay uhh

Here you go

[gambeque]

therapy sesh