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#mendacious
classicalshorts · 1 year
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Dr George's Old-Fashioned Fancies
This wordy series has now moved to ClassicalShorts. Here, I share som favourite and slightly old-fashioned words that derive from Latin and Greek. Today your word is 'mendacious'.
Mendacious – lying, false, untruthful. In English, it is more accusatory to accuse them of lying than to call them mendacious, but the notion of conscious deception is present in both. The word, not so often seen nowadays, comes from the Latin adjective mendax meaning ‘liar, lying’ (the related verb mentior means ‘to lie’). The following quotation from Somerset Maugham’s, Of Human Bondage gives a good illustration of the meaning of the term:
“Mildred had become great friends with her and had given her an elaborate but mendacious account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass she was in.”
Mildred’s story is untrue.
'Mendacious' was also applied by Chris Patten to a recent Prime Minister.
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mafaldaknows · 2 years
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I just read that Katie Couric is following Paige Lorenz and Courtney VKobvich on IG?!?!When is this shit gonna stop! GOD!!!!
Hello, Anon:
Where’ve you been? That was weeks ago 🙃😆
Many people use social media to find information about certain topics or people. Kindly please consider the fact that follows on IG do not automatically indicate approval or admiration. Sometimes people are just nosy.
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This sh*t will stop when it’s no longer financially beneficial to the outlets that publish lies about celebrities and to the trashy opportunists who tell them, which can only happen if people would just stop paying attention to these talentless, greedy, mendacious, fame-hungry glory hounds.
Attention is what they want. Why are we giving it so freely to them?
I realize in answering your ask that they’re getting some attention but I couldn’t resist an opportunity to call these a**holes talentless, greedy, mendacious, fame-hungry glory hounds.
Thanks for your question. 😊❤️🧿✨💪🔨
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eliteprepsat · 2 years
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deadly-flowers · 2 years
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Mendacious
What if we had scars for every lie we’ve ever told? 
Everyone has silver slits scabbed over, scattered over fingers and knuckles
Bigger the lie, deeper the cut
A process protecting, balancing the scales
But what measures severity? What ensures karma can be dealt correctly? 
Is it how oft repeated? 
How many told? 
Or how long it was ignored? 
If we had scars for every lie we’ve ever told, 
I’d have scars from shoulder to shoulder, from ankle to ankle, from hand to toe 
For the biggest lie i’ve ever told, was the I’m Fine i’d always hold
It’s already begun
Can’t you see the lines left by blades not long ago? 
The skin sliced and shattered in the dead night? 
It’s already begun
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technofinch · 3 months
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Actually speaking of OCs one of your guys helped me finish the crossword the other day because I knew what mendacious meant
This might actually be my crowning achievement as a person
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THE GOP DOUBLES DOWN
TCinLA
I thought waking up this morning to see a photo of Trump at his hatealong last night in Waco with him standing in front of photos of the January 6 insurrection while the “song” “Justice for All” he recorded with the “J6 Prison Choir,” the insurrectionists he claims are patriotic Americans who participated in a “righteous protest” - essentially watching him remove the mask and admit he did in fact incite the insurrection and saying “Yeah, I did it - what are you going to do about it?” - was as strange as things were going to get this final Sunday in March, 2023.
I thought having a confessed statutory rapist and draft dodger - one-hit wonder Ted Nugent - calling Volodomyr Zelenskyy a “homosexual weirdo” was a about as crass a new low for the MAGAts as things were going to get.
I thought having Marjorie Traitor Goon publicly creating an alternative reality by calling the J6 defendants political prisoners who are being “badly treated” in a facility where they have access to computers and the internet, exercise and health services - all completely unavailable to the average inmate of the DC Jail - was a completely laughable denial of reality.
I was wrong.
Yesterday, the three blind mice - Gym Jordan and his co-conspirators masquerading as chairmen of three House committees - responded to District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s reply to their first letter sent this past week by doubling down in a second letter on their intention to intervene in the New York City investigation ahead of possible criminal charges against Trump, revealing they plan to to consider whether Congress should take legislative action on three separate issues “to protect former and/or current Presidents from politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials.” In other words, to find a way to make such a prosecution of Donald Trump impossible.
Trump admits his complicity in the January 6 insurrection and leaders of the Republican Party take steps to insulate him from accountability before they even know what specific charges he will be indicted on.
The Republicans declare war on reality and the rule of law. THAT is as strange as things got on this final weekend of March, 2023.
Bragg responded to the letter after it became public last night, writing, “We evaluate cases in our jurisdiction based on the facts, the law, and the evidence. It is not appropriate for Congress to interfere with pending local investigations. This unprecedented inquiry by federal elected officials into an ongoing matter serves only to hinder, disrupt and undermine the legitimate work of our dedicated prosecutors. As always, we will continue to follow the facts and be guided by the rule of law in everything we do.”
A spokesperson for Oversight Committee Democrats has stated, “Chairman Jordan, Comer, and Steil believe former President Trump is above the law. This outrageous position is further evidence of former President Trump and MAGA extremists’ hold on Congressional Republicans.”
The MAGA Republican Party has now officially declared war on the rule of law.
Here are the high points from the Letter:
“Notably, your reply letter did not dispute the central allegations at issue—that you, under political pressure from left-wing activists and former prosecutors in your office, are reportedly planning to use an alleged federal campaign finance violation, previously declined by federal prosecutors, as a vehicle to extend the statute of limitations on an otherwise misdemeanor offense and indict for the first time in history a former President of the United States.”
No, you morons, it wasn’t “previously declined” by federal prosecutors. The Trump-appointed Attorney General Bill Barr, citing the so-called “Nixon rule” that a sitting president cannot be indicted and prosecuted, ORDERED the DOJ attorneys to drop the case.
“Contrary to the central argument set forth in your letter, this matter does not simply involve local or state interests. Rather, the potential criminal indictment of a former President of the United States by an elected local prosecutor of the opposing political party (and who will face the prospect of re-election) implicates substantial federal interests, particularly in a jurisdiction where trial-level judges also are popularly elected. If state or local prosecutors are able to engage in politically motivated prosecutions of Presidents of the United States (former or current) for personal acts, this could have a profound impact on how Presidents choose to exercise their powers while in office. For example, a President could choose to avoid taking action he believes to be in the national interest because it would negatively impact New York City for fear that he would be subject to a retaliatory prosecution in New York City.”
This is wholly and completely specious, but what Republican argument about anything isn’t?
“Likewise, because the federal government has a compelling interest in protecting the physical safety of former or current Presidents, any decision to prosecute a former or current President raises difficult questions concerning how to vindicate that interest in the context of a state or local criminal justice system. For these reasons and others, we believe that we now must consider whether Congress should take legislative action to protect former and/or current Presidents from politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials, and if so, how those protections should be structured.”
“Second, the Committees’ inquiry has an obvious legitimate legislative purpose and is “a subject on which legislation could be had.” To begin with, as discussed above, Congress has a specific and manifestly important interest in preventing politically motivated prosecutions of current and former Presidents by elected state and local prosecutors, particularly those tried before elected state and local trial-level judges. Therefore, the Committee on the Judiciary, as a part of its broad authority to develop criminal justice legislation, must now consider whether to draft legislation that would, if enacted, insulate current and former presidents from such improper state and local prosecutions. These legislative reforms may include, for example, broadening the existing statutory right of removal of certain criminal cases from state court to federal court.”
Here is the argument to use the federal government to protect Trump.
“Moreover, as discussed above, your prosecutorial decision to indict a former President may cause a potential confrontation between federal and local law-enforcement authorities. Federal law requires the United States Secret Service to protect a former President.8 Therefore, your unprecedented prosecutorial decision raises the potential for conflict between the federal law-enforcement officials required to protect the former President and local law-enforcement officials required to enforce your indictment and exercise control of him throughout his presence in the local criminal justice system. Such a novel and potentially fraught collision of federal and local law-enforcement officials with the safety of a former President at stake is certainly a matter of interest for the Committees. The Committees’ oversight is necessary to inform potential legislation that would address or remedy any potential conflicts between federal and local authorities.”
You mendacious morons! It has already been established that state and local law enforcement would COOPERATE with the Secret Service, which would coordinate Trump surrendering after indictment. There is no possibility whatsoever of any “shoot out” happening.
This is the most audacious assault on the rule of law by the Republicans. They are ALL, each and every one of them, traitors to their oath to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, because ALL THEM ARE THE DOMESTIC ENEMY.
[TCinLA]
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forabeatofadrum · 2 years
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So... I made some banners. The ones for Call Me Maybe and Time After Time are used in posts with the fics, so you might’ve seen them before, but I had a “fuck it” moment and also made some banners for some of my masterposts of fics that have been finished. I quite like them, so I decided to put them all in one post here.
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erinaceina · 2 years
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A totally fucking normal country.
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peresephoknee · 2 years
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very grateful Nabokov said that good reader uses a dictionary when reading
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tlaquetzqui · 26 days
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Dude in a crowd outside an execution ground: What’s going on?
Bystander: They’re reinstituting drawing and quartering.
Dude: Wow. What’d the guy do?
Bystander: Uploaded a “““““joke””””” translation of a manga on April 1st.
Dude: They’re drawing and quartering an uploader for that? …And not every single member of the scanlation group, and all of their families?
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thethief1996 · 6 months
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700 Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours and the airstrikes are more violent each night. Gaza's hospitals have fuel left for two more days. Israel only allowed aid into Gaza on the condition they didn't carry fuel. The Indonesian hospital has shut down already, because doctors have no supplies and no choice but to let the wounded die. They're calling it a collapse but the term doesn't do it justice.
Over a 100 incubator babies are at risk. There are 50.000 pregnant women in Gaza right now, and 5.500 due to give birth this month. Menstruating people are taking pills in order to stop their periods, because they do not have pads or water to maintain hygiene. Surgeons are operating without anesthesia. Water is not reaching Gazans because there's no electricity or fuel for water pumps.
There's no excuse for this. Israel justifies the airstrikes by saying they want to destroy Hamas infrastructure and release the hostages, but they have refused to negotiate for their release. Hamas informed Israel they wanted to release two elderly women without anything in return, and Israel refused. Netanyahu said they wouldn't take their own civilians back because it was "mendacious propaganda." When the hostages were finally released, Netanyahu prohibited the hospital from giving press releases. Yocheved Lifshitz went behind their backs and talked to the press anyway, saying she was treated very well by Hamas, but the government abandoned them. They're being used as straw men. Israel is conditioning the entry of fuel to the release of hostages and yet, according to The Wall Street Journal, when Hamas proposed to exchange 50 hostages for fuel they denied. IDF officials have said they fear the release of more hostages because that might withhold the order to their ground invasion. They do not care as long as they can use the hostages as a pretext for their slaughtering.
There's a turning tide for Palestine in public support. Support for Israel was built through decades of propaganda and we are making a dent into it. Zionists are desperate, holding zoom meetings to promote zionism, but we have to do so much more. We have to shame people in power into supporting the Palestinian cause.
Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices, looking to inform yourself from the sources. Palestinians have asked of us only that we share, tweet and post, over and over. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:
Al Jazeera
Anadolu Agency
Mondoweiss
Boycott Divest Sanction Movement
Palestinian Youth Movement
Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)
Al-Shabaka (twitter / instagram)
Mariam Barghouti (twitter / instagram)
Muhammad Shehada (twitter)
Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza
Take action. You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting (don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. Only boycott additional brands if you can):
Carrefour
HP
Puma
Sabra
Sodastream
Ahava cosmetics
Israeli fruits and vegetables
Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)
If you can, participate in direct action or donate. Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London. Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.
Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.
FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls
FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails
FOR PEOPLE IN GERMANY: Here's a toolkit to contact your representatives by Voices in Europe for Peace
FOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace
FOR PEOPLE IN POLAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace
FOR PEOPLE IN DENMARK: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace
FOR PEOPLE IN SWEDEN: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace
FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine
FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada
Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:
Global calendar
USA calendar
Australia calendar
Here are upcoming events:
CANBERRA/NGUNNAWAL, AUSTRALIA – Wed Oct 25, 11 am, National Press Club. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyh1xy1BMrU/
OXFORD, ENGLAND – Wed Oct 25, 12:15 pm, Cornmarket. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CykroKeInz3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
SMITH COLLEGE (US) – Wed Oct 25, 12 pm, Chapin Lawn. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CymT8f5vnHN/?img_index=1
ST CATHERINES, ON ( CANADA) – Wed Oct 25, 6 pm, 61 Geneva St Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/889319005528757/
TORONTO, CANADA – Wed Oct 25, 5 pm, Sidney Smith Hall. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyjVbpGvva8/
SANT CUGAT, CATALONIA, SPAIN – Thurs Oct 26, 6 pm, Davant l’Ajuntament. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CynL834tgg9/?img_index=4
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Fri Oct 27, 7 pm, Federation Square. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyhyd0vhP8t/
LIVORNO, ITALY – Sat Oct 28, 2:30 pm, Piazza Cavour. Info https://www.instagram.com/p/CyiWJ06MXpM/
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (US) – Sat Oct 28, 1 pm, Lake Street and Minnehaha.
ROME, ITALY – Sat Oct 28, Rome. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyi7ey-MMs1/?img_index=1
ROME, ITALY – Sat Nov 4, Rome. Info TBA: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyndKUitnMU/
WASHINGTON, DC (USA) – Sat Nov 4, 12 pm, White House. Info: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyiecRtr9-B/
Wollongong: Rally at Crown Street Mall Amphitheatre on 21 Oct at 1 PM
Melbourne: Blak and Palestinian Solidarity Rally at Victorian Parliament House Steps on 25 Oct at 6 PM
HOUSTON: Thursday, October 26th, 5:45PM, Rice University, Central Quad
VANCOUVER: OCT 28 at 2PM, Vancouver Art Gallery
KITCHENER: Wednesday October 25th at 5 PM at CBC Kitchener
SANTA ANA: 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701, October 25th at 5:30 pm
TORONTO: WED. OCT 25 at 7PM at Queen's Park
[CAR RALLY] WASHINGTON D.C: Wednesday 10/25 outside the US State Department on the 23rd Street side
Feel free to add more.
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aw6uhypeqro · 1 year
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dzvr4jahrvu · 1 year
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watched the down low. have Thoughts
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so being gay is something that "doesn't come naturally" to house (or technically, just comes less naturally than being a liar and yes i had to google the word mendacious, sue me)
but then this statement is followed immediately by wilson saying that he "kinda likes" that poster, aka an object they've used to symbolize gayness
additionally, this episode features the thing that happens over and over again throughout the show, which is wilson and house ultimately failing in their efforts to be with a woman and consequently being left with only each other
thus leading me to conclude that the takeaway here, metaphor-wise, is that house and wilson are deeply repressed (queerness not feeling natural) but are open to discovering that part of themselves with time (the poster growing on wilson) and will ultimately always end up with each other instead of with a woman (the episode concluding with them on the couch together, having failed to woo nora)
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i would also like to note that my theory is further substantiated by the fact that this episode was written by lesbians
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ddarker-dreams · 11 months
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Do Puppets Dream of Electric Sheep?
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Yan Scaramouche x F Reader.
Warnings: Yandere themes, unhealthy relationships, mild not SFW implications. Word count: 2.1k.
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“What am I to you?” 
He stills. Your voice is as gentle as a mother crooning a lullaby to her newborn. Sweet, mild. Not intending to startle the sensitive creature who is unaccustomed to this world. It regurgitates memories of his progenitor. He can never clearly recall her countenance or the exact pitch of her voice, there are only formless blurs and warbled words that sounded far away. 
It is a small mercy that he never made out the specifics of her face. For it allows him to envision her in whatever manner suits him best. She can be the scheming Niwa Hisahide who sought to manipulate him, the sickly child who left him behind, or the mendacious kitsune whose promises for aid went unkept. His mother is the locus of his rage that branches out and bears rotten fruit.
You cease your previous task of combing his hair from behind. Artificial heat burns his cheeks when your chest presses against his back, your arms coiling around his slender shoulders like tendrils. The hold is tight enough to almost hurt. 
“Say, are you listening?” Your lips brush against his ear. He shivers. “Well, puppet?” 
Furniture clatters in a cacophony of noise. 
He stares at you, incredulous, his lips parting only to close again. He cycles through emotions and is unable to settle on one. 
How do…? You shouldn’t know that!
You pay him no mind. You fix the victims of his outburst, setting the stool upright and straightening the vanity’s various implements. Then you sit where he sat, smoothing the wrinkles in your skirt as you do so. You face him instead of the mirror, which has cracked into three disjointed fragments. 
The scene before him arouses confusion, then suspicion. His eyes eventually find their way to the mirror behind you. He barks a laugh at what he sees. The sound reverberates in the tiny room. Electro concentrates in his hands, crackling and ready to stain his surroundings crimson. He gives a malicious grin. 
It reflects in the cracked mirror, whereas your form does not. 
“A cheap parlor trick,” he muses. “I should’ve figured.” 
You aren’t her, he thinks. And how grateful he is to realize it. 
“I’m not?” You challenge, raising an eyebrow. What is this being capable of hearing his thoughts? The curve of your smile epitomizes everything you’ve never been: cruel and provocative. This ignis fatuus who dares to assume your form makes no attempt to flee from the attack writhing in his palms. “Well, I suppose there’s some truth to that. What you’re looking at now is what I am to become, not my present, corporeal self.” 
He studies “you” carefully. The pigmentation of your eyes, your intonation, and your body language; it lines up uncannily well, but your word choice is peculiar. There’s a callousness begotten to those burdened by esoteric knowledge, an experience he’s intimately familiar with. This can’t be a poorly executed emulation devised by that medical charlatan excommunicated by his peers, or an experience that aligns with the continuity of Teyvat’s laws. 
Is his conscious being tampered with by the gods? 
“I’m afraid not. We both know that panopticon has no interest in you. No, discarded prototype, think back to your creation. When was it determined you’d be of no use to Beelzebul?” 
He grits his teeth. That intrusive introspection is coming into play again. It’s as if his innermost sentiments have been printed out in large lettering for you to scrutinize. 
“So you’ve finally realized, although you’re hesitant to think it. I can’t blame you, nothing good ever comes from your dreams. Since you don’t require sleep, you were able to avoid this for some time… in trying to play human with me in reality, you’ll be judged by me in the one state where you are utterly powerless.” 
The energy gathering in his hand dissipates without him willing it. He tries in vain to summon it again, but the element no longer heeds his command. Clicking his tongue, he sits on the edge of the bed, then crosses his arms over his chest. He chastises himself for not noticing sooner. This room may appear to be an exact replica of the one you share, but the slightest details in its geometry betray the realm of possibility. Certain angles bend in inconceivable ways, the ceiling itself is drooping down like a viscous gel, the descent so slow, it’s near imperceptible. 
Dreams, pesky as they may be, are always destined to end. He need only wait for this torment to run its course. 
“If that’s the stance you’ve decided to take, why not answer my question?” 
He feigns ignorance for a beat, despite knowing full well the inquiry you’re referring to. You allow him his temporary repose. 
“What you are to me is a nuisance. A meaningless manifestation that I’ll forget about as soon as I wake,” he replies. How strange it is, taking this baleful tone toward an image of you. You are the sole individual he doesn’t regard with pure loathing, and as such, he treats you with a tenderness he thought himself previously incapable of. He can’t recall a time when contempt felt unnatural, like the first time he mimicked human breathing. 
This veneer of nonchalance is forced and he knows it. The mirage taking on your comely likeness is seeping under his synthetic skin, spreading malaise and decay. 
“Oh? That’s an awfully bold statement, but, nevertheless, let’s entertain it a while longer.” 
You clap twice and the surroundings shift. 
His limbs are dragged upward by an unrelenting force — red strings as formidable as piano wire. He struggles out of instinct. This futile act only serves to tighten the binds. Upon realizing this, he goes limp, noting that your presence is no longer visible. 
He has an unobstructed view of the cracked mirror, its jagged edges displaying three different images. 
To the left, he sees himself wearing the outfit he first awoke with, the golden feather dangling from his neck. The middlemost portion is accurate in its portrayal, unlike the others. It shows the glint of the mitsudomoe symbol upon his chest which he considers his birthright. The right fragment is nearly indiscernible, aside from hues of teal that swirl as if spurred on by the wind. 
The mirror shatters.
Light footsteps circle around him. He wrenches his head in the direction of the ambient sounds, identifying no clear source. 
“Even if you forget about me now, according to your designs, we’ll meet again. This “me” that’s been tainted and corrupted by your selfish intent. In trying to preserve me, you’ll be my ruin. You already know that though, don’t you? That your desperate clinging will drag us both down to unfathomable depths. It’s true, that by never letting me die, you’ll have an eternity with me…” 
You materialize in front of him, standing with your hands behind your back. The casual stance is at odds with the venom you spew forth. Just as before, everything about your physical appearance is correct, save for a single, damning detail. Your eyes glow a luminescent violet — that of Inazuma’s reclusive deity, whose gnosis he intends to commandeer, even if he must tear it from her himself. 
“But is that the eternity you truly wish for?” 
It isn’t. Of course it isn’t. 
What else was he to do? 
Watch helplessly as your biological clock ticks on while the hands on his remain frozen in place? Witness your final until you breathe your last breath, then allow your husk to be buried in the cold, unfeeling ground? His is a life of apprehension. That by some cruel twist of fate, you’ll fall victim to the many pitfalls mortals are vulnerable to. Illness, injury, violence, the list goes on and on. His overactive imagination serves as a personal purgatory that churns out images of your downfall every moment he is not by your side. 
Upon returning to your quaint little cottage on the outskirts of civilization, trepidation eats at him like maggots upon a corpse. If he can’t find you tending to your garden, baking in your kitchen, or lounging on the swing hanging from the old oak tree in your front yard, madness slithers at his heels, ready to pierce him with its fangs. 
You may never forgive him, but he couldn’t forgive himself if he let the one thing he cherishes in this joke of a world leave him behind. 
“I won't look at you the way I once did. The me who speaks your true name, spends days wondering when you’ll return from your traveling ‘job’, gladly welcomes you into her bed, granting you access to her most sacred body and soul; you will never see her again. She will exist in your memory alone.”  
Your pointer finger hovers over his trembling lower lip, then descends, over his Adam’s apple and in between his collarbones. 
“Having savored these pleasures once freely given, you’ll have no choice but to take them by force. You’ll defile me and insist it’s worship. Bitterness might whet your palate, but you’ll never have your fill. Can you call that love, poor puppet? Or will you rightfully refer to it as ownership?” 
All verbal exchanges cease. 
In this nightmare blurring the lines of what if, where he is but a spectator rather than an active participant, he laughs. It echoes in his hollow chest cavity where no fleshly heart beats. Your physiognomy goes blank in the face of such blatant malignity. He hangs here, a tossed-aside marionette, consumed by a paroxysm of emotion he once swore to wipe clean from his chest. 
“If this is an attempt to appeal to my conscience, it won’t work,” his grin nearly splits his face in two. “Harass me every night, for all I care. I’ll accept it. I’ll accept anything. Every form of you… every possible iteration, no matter how unsightly, beautiful, indifferent, or anything in between, I want it. There isn’t a version of you that can deter me. The real you offered herself to me for a lifetime — who am I to turn down such an alluring offer?” 
You pull away from him. 
The absence of your touch is worse than any physical torture you could inflict. He’ll take your loving caresses, your hand ripping into his chest, so long as he can familiarize himself with your genuine warmth. Such is the resolve of a puppet who has endured the biting blizzard of loneliness. Destroy him and he’d rebuild. Ignore him and he’ll pry the words from your mouth. Attempt to leave him and he’ll ensnare you in a trap that neither of you can escape from. 
This advocate for your future is washed away in a sea of ink, black as night, untouchable and ever-present as a shadow. The cascading wave swallows you whole. 
You depart with a final threnody.
“Until we meet again, then.” 
Something brushes over his cheek. 
“... Kuni? Kunikuzushi? Ah, what do I do, you aren’t waking up…! Insults? Do I try insults? Uh, you’re of less than average height—”
“Quiet down, woman, you’re loud,” Scaramouche complains with a groan.
You’re hovering above him. It’s a heavenly sight — if he were a believer in such things — the upturning of your eyebrows, the flow of your hair tousled by interrupted sleep, and the temptation of your soft, parted lips. Warmth emanates from your body. He delights in it. Swears a silent oath to himself that he’ll never be without it. 
“The insult worked,” you whisper, content with your quick thinking. Then, remembering the situation, you’re back to fussing over him. “Are you okay? You must’ve been having an awful nightmare.” 
His lips form a thin line. “... Something like that.” 
“What was it about?” 
“You,” he forces an unperturbed tone. Although he’s still hazy from sleep, he’s used to bending the truth. Or in this case, covering the parts he doesn’t want you to see. “I have to deal with you in the realm of conscious and unconscious now. Terrifying, right?” 
The sarcasm successfully draws your attention elsewhere. 
“Absolutely. So terrifying, in fact, I better sleep elsewhere so as not to frighten my— oof!” 
“Oh no you don’t,” he pulls you against his chest, preemptively ending your getaway, “You’re not going anywhere.” 
You willingly collapse into his hold, laughing softly. Though you’re no longer trying to wriggle away, his grip is ironclad, his arms trembling. He interweaves himself into you with a tangle of limbs. Once he’s content, he presses his face against the thrumming pulse in your neck. This stream that maintains your life is temporary — a subpar placeholder until you’re imbued with immortality. Still, he cherishes it, this special rhythm that has sustained you long enough for your paths to interconnect. 
He gives your pulse a chaste, reverent kiss. 
Your paths are bound to never diverge, even if damnation is where they'll lead.
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forabeatofadrum · 2 years
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huh
i think i finished Ebb and Flow
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