#content warning: death

[leaderoffestivals]

Poltergeist Chapter 15

The Neverland of Grudges Ch 7

Arashi: It’s just like Neverland, isn’t it? An island of dreams one has to leave once they grow up. 

Scenario Writer: Akira Season: Winter Characters: Mikejima Madara, Narukami Arashi Content warning: Murder/Death, child labour

Arashi: Well, let’s not dwell on that. The pressing matter here is that the children of Dancing Cranes Home still bear the traumatic scars of that terrible fire.

That’s why when the scene in Snow White was read to them—the one where the evil Queen was forced to dance on the red-hot iron plate—

It triggered flashbacks to the fire that day, causing them to cry or throw up uncontrollably.

Madara: It hasn’t been that many years since the fire, after all. The children who witnessed the fire wouldn’t have had time to heal their emotional scars yet.

Arashi: That’s right... Moreover, only the older children have experienced the fire; the younger ones moved in after the incident, so they don’t share the same psychological trauma.

Madara: That narrows the group of affected kids down to the ages of ten to fourteen years old. 

Apparently, when the kids here turn fifteen, they’re forced to relocate to other facilities that focus on training and labour support skills.

Arashi: It’s just like Neverland, isn’t it? An island of dreams one has to leave once they grow up. 

Madara: Well, not quite. Dancing Cranes Home may have set the age for children to leave at fifteen in their charter, but the reality seems to be that the children are regularly sent off to the other facilities once they turn ten years old.

Arashi: That’s indeed the case. Dancing Cranes Home is fundamentally an institution dedicated to the providing of care for children—

However—“We want these kids to pull their own weight and fend for themselves as soon as possible”—is the wretched truth of what the adults here really think, deep down inside.

That’s why the children are turned out to those other facilities for labour training as early as they can, all so they can earn their keep as soon as possible.

That's why there’s only one child of middle-school age (1) still remaining in my Rafflesia Group, and one other in your Kaijuu Group—

—meaning there are only two such children in the entire facility right now.

Madara: That does seem to be the case. It’s possible the terrible experience with the fire caused the older kids at Dancing Cranes Home to evolve into such troublesome characters—

—with twisted personalities and violent streaks a mile wide.

In that Kaijuu Group of mine, all of them are older kids except one, and they exude such terrifying auras of killing intent for their age that it shocks even me!

They’re really out for blood. 

Arashi: I don’t believe the children’s hearts were distorted to such an extreme because of that one tragic experience alone. 

These children absolutely loathe adults. 

… … I’ve heard it said that lo~ng ago, there used to be a girl who was dearly beloved by all the children in Dancing Cranes Home, like she was a goddess, or perhaps a princess. 

Madara: Yes, I’ve heard about her as well. She was the centre of their universe; an existence akin to a leader for them all.

The eldest boy in my Kaijuu Group said something to that effect as well. “I’m just a stand-in for The Boss”—those were his words—

—and it’s only because “That Person” isn’t here anymore that he had no choice but to step up as the acting leader.

Arashi: That’s so. The identity of that person who seemed such a central figure to them all remains unknown. All the records have been meticulously erased, and not a single photograph remains.

She’s such an enigmatic figure, you know? It seems she simply appeared in Dancing Cranes Home out of the blue one day. Also, she’d been living at Dancing Cranes Home longer than any of the staff or children.

She was given incredibly preferential treatment, with specially prepared meals and everything.

Madara: Fufu. It aaall makes her sound as if she’s the illegitimate child of some aristocratic family. From what I’ve heard though, despite the special treatment, she was an ordinary child through and through.

In fact, it should be said she intensely despised the special treatment, and feeling isolated, actively strove to get along with the other children here—

Even going so far as to share the fancy sweets she alone received with everyone.

It may sound off-putting to liken what she did to setting out lures to entice the others closer, but that's how everyone came to love and accept her.

In the beginning, the kids probably saw her as someone who would hand out the occasional treat and their grateful feelings towards her started from that. 

Arashi: Even if that’s how it started, genuine bonds formed between her and the other children over time.

She would make use her position to resolve disputes within the facility for them as well.

For some reason, she had a lot of authority. She would get the staff who mistreated the children fired and bring about the construction of facilities which the children wanted.

Madara: Haha! She removed the unpleasant things from their lives and gave them joyful delights. If so, it's no wonder she was revered like a God—

—or perhaps, like a beloved hero, whom all boys aspire to be. 

Arashi: Yes, indeed… ... To this day, all the children who’ve interacted with her still speak very highly of her.

She was a dearly beloved friend to everyone in Dancing Cranes Home, and their fondly cherished princess too.  

Arashi: … … But then one day, that child suddenly passed away.

No, she was murdered, in a fire made to look like an accident.

Not only did the adults declare it a mere accident, but for some reason, they insisted that such a girl never existed in the first place.

They silenced the staff and children, destroying every single record that could be associated to her—

So they could erase every trace of a forsaken child from the world.

That's the reason why all the children who loved her are still enraged, to this very day—

—at the adults who tore their beloved person away from them and tried to erase all traces of her.

Madara: ——Murdered in a fire, and the death made to look like an accident... ...

Would Anzu-san have any idea of who that pitiful child might be? 

Well, no need for that. I think anyone who’s been a student at Yumenosaki Academy would recognize that child’s name immediately.

Arashi: That’s right. It seems no one knew about that child’s real name; she was always going by a nickname—

And that nickname, apparently, was "NEGI."

The child who was beloved by everyone at Dancing Cranes Home, and is now deceased, was Anzu-chan's friend, NEGI-chan. (2)

—————-To be continued——————

Chapter 14 / Chapter 16

Translator’s Notes: 

Middle school age in Japan is 12-15 years old. So Madara’s Kaijuu kids are made of one 12-14 year old, four 10-11 year olds and one <10 years old?

A new character who appeared in EnStars Main Story 1.5, together with the character, Hitsugi. Arashi interacted with NEGI/Hitsugi during the Seven Bridges Tour.

This chapter isn't proofed, so if you've any feedback, please get back to me.

[m0r1bund]

Hi. It’s been 3 months. I am still alive, I have just been busy with… stuff… and things… haha… a…

This is not The Thing that i have been busy with, but it is A Thing that i have been using as a siesta from The Thing. You are getting my no-effort warhamster art, because everything else is firing on all cylinders right now. And boy am i more of a no-cylinders kind of gal.

This is Frey and the Oracle of Caeres. They are very messy and also in nemeses with each other. I should probably stop making up gay people who are in nemeses with each other, because the messaging and social commentary about the Empire is suffering. But here we are.

Long image descriptions and essays about made-up gay people under the cut. Read on below or at m0r1bund.com ▶︎

[Image: A sketch page of Frey and the Oracle of Caeres. The Oracle is a rather distinguished-looking individual with a sharp profile, perpetually lidded eyes, and a knowing smile. His lips are painted red, with a single streak running from his lower lip to his chin. Her hair falls past her shoulders in loose curls, while her embroidered galero casts deep shadows over her face that are only vaguely sinister. He wears circle-rimmed glasses that hide his eyes when the light catches them right, and a long, loose cloak that obscures his silhouette. Under it, her double-breasted overcoat is tailored to her svelte frame and broad shoulders. She has no business being as tall as she is, and carries herself completely secure in the knowledge that everyone around her knows this.        

Frey is a severe-looking mechanic who is rough around the edges, and really is quite full of edges in general. She has strong features and a tall nose, and her hair is styled in a messy undercut, with her bangs bleached white. They fall over her eyes in such a way that she looks chronically pissed. She wears her old mechanic’s jacket with its sleeves cut off, the ragged edges framing her strong shoulders and lean, muscled arms. She’s on the smaller side overall, though. The rest of her uniform has seen better days, and in many places has been defaced so that the Imperial cog symbol is broken or obscured. She totes around a revolver with a shiv taped to it, because of course she does.

The two are drawn butting heads over this or that. In one scene, Frey holds up the Oracle at gunpoint, just after executing the poor sap who was sitting at his desk. The blood spray doesn’t faze the Oracle, and neither does the revolver. She seems inconvenienced at best by the thought of getting this all cleaned up later.

In another vignette, Frey is locked behind bars in a dingy little cell (perhaps for sending that man into an early retirement.) Her arms and legs are bound, though she tries to gnaw the ropes off her wrists. Suddenly, a ring of keys comes soaring through the bars and into her lap. She jumps, and looks up. The Oracle gazes down at her through lidded eyes, her expression unreadable. She walks away before Frey realizes that the keys don’t exactly help her current “no hands” predicament, though.

Another scene shows Frey and the Oracle sitting across from one another. The Oracle holds Frey’s wrist in his hand, so that he can daub perfume on it.

He says “It has notes of jasmine and bergamot. I think you’ll find it too delicate for your tastes, though.”

Frey is distraught. She came here to kill him, and this is not how she imagined it would go. She’s probably revisiting the thought in another doodle, where the Oracle leans over her shoulder and gets uncomfortably close to whisper something in her ear.

Finally, there’s a teeny scribble of an even teenier Frey climbing through the Oracle’s arched window with a shiv in hand. She is furious and singular of purpose, even if she does not seem to know what that purpose is. The labels above her head read “Mistaking attraction for rage” and “mistaking rage for attraction,” with arrows pointing to her. The Oracle just sits in the foreground and reads, smiling placidly, apparently oblivious. The label next to her reads “ambiently infatuated,” with an arrow pointing to her.]

◆

Content Warning: Blood, injury, death, messy relationships, abuses of power, typical Empire fuckery.

◆  

The Caeres, Kairos, The Oracle of Caeres, The Sacer Vates, the Oracle, the Seer, whatever. Our mans is all titles and no names that the living can remember.

Mercurial and mysterious, the Caeres creates no “Great Works” of his own, as far as anyone can tell. She commands no armies and governs no territories, and no one alive today remembers who she is, where she came from, or how long she’s been with the Archive. Most people don’t even know what office she occupies, because—like most Archivists—she hardly ever works.

Unlike most Archivists, the Caeres doesn’t spend his free time quibbling with his peers for power. The running joke in the Archive is that “the one person we see less than the God-King Himself is the Oracle of Caeres.” He only makes an appearance when he is needed, though these interventions typically don’t make sense until after the fact.

She is someone who holds many cards but plays very few. When she does, she would rather give others the glory of making history by ‘massaging fate’-- passing on a secret message, a forgotten relic, a key piece of intel, and so on. The annals of the Imperial Archive all have her touch on them somewhere. When Kairos can’t be found, one can only imagine that they are out there, somewhere, watching and waiting while their delicate machinations unfold.

The other Archivists recognize her power, and often consult with her behind one another’s backs on matters of politics, military strategy, and petty blackmail. But the Seer gives no innocent answers– if he gives them at all. Most people come away from their meetings with a poem or a proverb, and no meaningful directions for where to go next.

When he does offer more than pretty words, one can’t help but feel like they’re being used as pawns in a much larger game. The Seer does not lie; he gives counsel that is sound on paper and in practice. He has made kings, moved mountains, and brought empires to their knees. And yet she has ways of turning the sweetest success to ash in the victor’s mouth. Some chase headlong after their ambitions, only to become locked in bitter wars of attrition, while others win pyrrhic victories and lose it all. Others yet will live their whole lives owing their good fortune to the Oracle of Caeres, and only years after their death will anyone realize the significance of his involvement. Most are just left wondering what, exactly, the Oracle has in mind for them…

◆

Frey is the unwilling martyr (can any martyr be said to be willing?) of an industrial hellscape manufactory world. She used to be a mechanic, a forgettable cog in the manufactory’s labor machine. She wasn’t singled out because she was particularly disobedient, nor was she distinguished among her peers as gifted, respectable, or charismatic; she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Dissent brewed in the manufactory, as it always does, in places where the straw boss can’t see. But by the time the manufactory’s Foreman caught wind of the rebellion, it was too late. He sought out the Oracle of Caeres for advice, desperate to get his colony back under control before the Powers That Be took notice and got him under control.

The Oracle was not interested in resolving petty administrative disputes. She blew him off with a nonsense prophecy: the Foreman could crush the rebellion, but only if he could find its head and cut it off. “You’ll know the false idol by her mark: yea high, dark hair, brown eyes, work-related injury scar on her right shoulder,“ or something like that. He made up a description of a rebel leader that was so specific and yet so statistically average that it should have been impossible to find… Or so he thought.

It came as something of a surprise to Frey, then, when the orderlies dragged her out of the ironworks and brought her before the Foreman. She had every mark the Oracle said she would–everything but the scar. Delirious with fear and frustrated out of his mind, the Foreman decided that if he could not find his figurehead, then he would have to create her.

Frey gained a scar that day, and lost everything. The awful spectacle was like a spark to a powder keg. The works went up in flames, as the factory floor descended on the Foreman.

Frey was not thinking about anything but her own survival when she crawled out of the wreckage, days later. She disappeared. Ironically, the rebellion was crushed, in the end–it lost its figurehead–but perhaps not in the way that the Foreman had imagined.

For her part, Frey isn’t interested in being made into something that she’s not. She left home bitter, lost, and angry with the hand that she was dealt. The Foreman might have been taken care of, but, it seems, there’s still another who hasn’t answered for what they did to her...

◆

[rachelspoetrycorner]

47 Minutes (2014) / Sudden (2000) by Nick Flynn

In Episode 206, Rachel shares two poems: the two sides of Flynn's "poetry coin".

Rachel: [...] he kind of ping-pongs back and forth between like real, like deep kind of sadness, and then like really, really funny. So I wanted to read two poems, one that kind of swings on the sad side, and one that swings on the funny side.

Griffin: All right, as long as it swings, you know me.

Rachel: I think to swing from 47 Minutes —which is kind of like a lighthearted poem— to like this poem about like extreme loss, uh, just kind of speaks to like the range and ability of this poet.

Griffin: Yeah. But he made me sad, so I will never forgive him.

Listen. If someone names their memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City what else are we expected to get from their writing, other than greatness?

If you’d like to hear more while laughing and crying at the same time, you can do so here: Big City Boil, from 4:58 - 12:12

[bamsara]

some scenes in my head for my fic. emotional support lamb.

[morganmerylhodgepodge]

Ow my heart

[SACRIFICE NORTH]

[shepscapades]

49. Moon Waltz - Piano Version — Cojum Dip

Tuna, i don't know HOW you picked this song but it's literally one of the most heart wrenching things on dbhc Tango's playlist so. congratulations. i think <3 I think I said ages ago in some tags that Tango was about to get the dbhc Etho Angst treatment, and i got very quickly distracted/consumed by Destruction and Doc/Xisuma related Angst, but boy oh boy am i glad i get to finally hit on a little bit of this poor man's trauma LDFKJGDFG

I'l try to keep this brief but. I'm insane enough about the hermitcraft season 8 finale as is, and even more than that i'm crazy enough about Tango's hermitcraft season 8 finale, and then on top of all that, you're telling me a jaded, bitter android whose characterizing moments of anger and failure are carried on his sleeve is the same android who tried to be the hero and save his friends, only to let an oversight be the reason he not only fails, but destroys his body in the process???? ?? ? A machine who isn't supposed to make oversight mistakes???? A machine who somehow let a rabbit be the reason he failed ? ? ??? I dont know what you expected from me other than to be extremely unwell about him and this whole arc in general

The base version of this song is just as good, but something about the piano version gets the vibes just right for these scenes... Something about the waltz-style cheeriness of the vocals contrasting to how horrific the lyrics and situation actually are. Idk man i'm fine don't look at me

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Welcome to the Dungeons of Fear and Hunger.

[cry-ptidd]

"And she had brown eyes like a lamb, innocent and golden"

[woodland-goth]

"Lucy's Funeral" by @abigaillarson

[abacus051601]

average lawrence moment

[pinetreevillain]

Death of Me Part 1

Viewer discretion is advised for this comic folks!

Next

[zhuzhee]

baby girl its pipe time!!

[froody]

I think Tommy’s death was a trauma within itself. It feels strange to say that about the non-violent passing of a pet but the whole thing fucked me up in a way I haven’t recovered from.

My best friend of 6 years. The only real purpose in my life in that moment. Missing her insulin and evening meal for the first time. Searching for her for hours, finally going to bed at 1 am, assuming she just needed to hide for a while because she’d been through so much lately. Waking up to find her food hasn’t been touched. She’s missing her second dose of insulin and she hasn’t eaten. She’s in bad shape. I need to find her. I can’t find her. She’s not meowing like she usually does when she’s stuck somewhere. She’s a screamer. That’s how my dad found her in the rafters when she was a kitten. Finally I get on my hands and knees to look in the hole behind the water heater and she’s there, lying under the water heater, obviously dead and had been for 12 hours. Her eyes are open. Her mouth is open. I touch her and she’s stiff and cold. I carry my cat upstairs in full rigor mortis and I know she died alone sometime during the early evening the previous day and I had slept while she went into rigor across the house. I sit next to her and I cry. I call my mom and I’m crying so hard I cannot breathe and she says she’s jumping in her car and I should call my dad and talk to him while she’s driving. I call my dad and he says she’s been sick for a while and it’s probably been coming for a while and I should get a new cat. I hate him. I hate that man in the moment. I’m sitting next to my dead, stiff, cold best friend who had mouth surgery days prior and he’s telling me to get a new one. A new Tommy. Such a thing can never fucking exist. And it never will. And the reason I woke up in the morning, my purpose in life, to give her her meds and feed her and love her. Gone.

I don’t think I’ve recovered mentally. I disassociated so heavily afterwards and I’m still not myself. The whole Daphne bullshit did not help the healing. I love Philomena and Odette but they’re not Tommy. Nothing will ever be Tommy again. That is the permanence of death. A closed door on your favorite room.

[oozeandgoo-art]

i did the meme. i think i did it wrong LOL

bigger version of the corner panel + cornerless vers under the cut:

[serenetoru]

cw: fem!reader, maternal death, unintentional manipulation(?), just ANGST💔

just imagine.

you and Satoru has been inlove for the longest time, completing eachother like yin and yang. He was your highschool sweetheart and you two loved eachother so dearly. The two of you got married a few years later, everything was going fine mostly. You two has a very demanding job as sorcerers but something has been going on through Satoru’s mind lately and that is to have a child with you.

One night he asked you if you wanted to build a family with him, he had a big and happy smile on his face but all of that changed when you told him something that he didn’t expect for you to say. He was stunned, he doesn’t doubt your love for him ofcourse but its just the way you look so scared and rigid. It makes it seems like you dont want to have a child with him. He was heartbroken and felt betrayed just because he got denied to make your love eternal by having a child. Yes, he knows the consequences of having a child with you but he will try his best if you give him the chance.

Ever since that day he asked you constantly to atleast give it a thought but with each passing day he grew more and more agitated because of your replies.

“please love, just think about it. Having a mini you— or a mini me running around the house.. wouldn’t that be wonderful?” he pleads to you but as always you just look away and frowned. Saying that line he always hear. “Satoru, you know with our demanding jobs as sorcerers make it impossible right?” his eye twitched at those words. He out of all people understood the consequences but he was willing to pay the price. He was mad, ofocurse he was. Baring your very soul and love to the one person you love just to get shut down, he was hurt.

He became cold and nonchalant ever since that and it made you feel like a wreck. You confronted him about his lack of communication and asked him if you did anything wrong, coaxing him with a gentle touches and affection only for him to shut it down. Now you are mad. The two of you argued for the longest time, asking what was wrong with him.

“oh you wanted to know what’s wrong?” he looks at you daringly, you wanted to cry at that spot and when a tear slips down your eyes he finally snapped back. His eyes widened and came rushing to you. The two of you talked it out and you gave him the reason why you don’t want to have a child right now. He understands the reason and knows how much of a burden it was. But he was willing to carry it all, to experience your love even deeper.

once again the idea was shot down by you even when he had coaxed. “Ofcourse i understand your worries for the future and our children, but that doesn’t make me selfish from wanting to start a family with the love of my life right?” you only looked down in shame. “its not fair because i do want to have kids with you too. More than anything. But-“ Satoru's heart felt like it's twisting and churning in his chest. he wanted to believe you, he really did. He loved you so much, to the point where he would do anything for you. But still, he was hurt that you always gave him an answer he didn't want to hear. it felt like it was just one excuse after another. "but not enough to agree with me." he says quietly, his tone sounding slightly bitter.

after a lot of convincing and well, guilt tripping— you finally agreed to have children with him. He was ecstatic, giving you the best things he could ever lay his hands on. Spoiling you nonstop.

it was time for the labor and he was nervous yet also excited about it, he couldn’t wait to finally meet his son. After hours of waiting and pacing around the room like a nervous wreck he is the doctor finally came out of the room. His eyes widened as he looked and touched his son for the first time, his eyes were watery and couldn’t contain the happiness he felt. But something was wrong, incredibly wrong. The doctor looked down and handing the baby, Satoru felt like his chest was tightening from the pressure and he felt like his world just shattered when he heard the doctor said that you passed away.

he felt like he wanted to puke, his face was pale, and his ears were ringing. There was no way that you died. There just no way-

“h-how.. why..?” he managed to croak out, his voice was broken and hoarse. The love of his life was so easily ripped away from him in the matter of hours. It was just yesterday when the two of you had talked about the future you two wanted together and now you were leaving him alone and empty in this hollow life. The doctor told him that from the start you have a very weak uterus, that you could only give birth at the cost of your own life. His heart shattered at that, he couldn’t move. You had warned him from the start, all those talks and he was completely oblivious at the signs.

he had ignored everything you told him simply just because he wanted to start a family with you. He selfishly asked you and now he was left alone in his miserable life, someone he cared about was once again been taken away from him and it was all his fault. He was the one that wanted the child right? the one that continued to insist on starting a family. And he was just paying the price. The price of the love of his life. He should’ve listened from the start but it was too late now the damage has already been done and there was no way to reverse it.

-

A/N: just a quick summary of this bot that i chatted with!😋 enjoy guys👊

[dramaintherain]

DEATH'S GAME (2023) ☠ » Death ▫﹙episode 1﹚