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yukidragon · 4 months ago

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Sunny Day Jack - Reversing Victim and Offender

Okay, okay, hear me out.

Jack being a creepy manipulative yandere.

Yes, yes, I know, totally a revolutionary idea there to have a yandere horror game’s antagonist do something creepy and wrong. It’s just that I don’t often play with Jack losing himself to his more depraved impulses. Long time readers know I tend to be quite a marshmallow who prefers the fluffier side of things, as evidenced by many cuddly posts of my OTP and Sunshine in Hell being overall a softer version of the game, but sometimes it’s fun to watch the world burn and see the characters we love get to be a bit unhinged. As a treat.

Content Warning: this post is about Jack being a naughty manipulative yandere, attempted murder, influenced attempted self-murder, possession, mental manipulation, bloody violence, and a sprinkle of horny.

We know Jack can be a manipulative little devil when it comes to keeping his sunshine. We’ve seen him use his honeyed words to lure MC into his arms in the previous demos. We’ve seen the classic chilling concept art where he talks his rival(?) into doing the dirty work for him when he wants them gone.

Credit as always goes to Sauce for their awesome art, as well as a quick plug to the SnaccPop Patreon. Speaking of the Patreon, there’s a members only post on this very topic, an absolutely chilling audio drama of Jack using his state as a ghost(?) to his advantage.

It seems that Jack has the ability to possess people, and his modus operandi in eliminating his rivals seems to be tormenting them to the point of self-harm. Nick received a taste of that in the older demo, and in the now removed trailer.

But what if the person Jack directed his rival to hurt wasn’t themselves?

Jack is of the opinion that MC’s friends (and potential love interests) are inferior to him, as we’ve seen in his profile. MC doesn’t need them, as Jack says in this unsettling animation by Sauce, as well as many other development art. He proves this by giving MC whatever they want and need, being whatever they want and need him to be. No one else would do that for MC, so that proves that the only one they need is him.

To some degree, MC seems to believe that, at least during the early part of the game. As we can see in the “No” route, MC is dependent on Jack, panicking when they can no longer touch him.

The idea of losing Jack terrifies MC.

What happened to Jack clearly disturbed him, as we saw by his haunted look, but perhaps he found some comfort in the fact that MC was so upset by it. It might at least reassure him that they care, even if it might not be as much as he wants them to.

As I’ve theorized in previous posts, Jack and MC seem to be able to sense each other’s feelings, and it was implied that Jack can read their mind, as well as impress his thoughts into theirs. Perhaps he even felt their fear and desperation at that moment… as well as their need to keep him.

As scary as that moment was, Jack might have been able to get some pleasure out of feeling his sunshine’s need for him, don’t you think?

Jack won’t disappear as long as MC needs him, and he doesn’t want them to feel unhappy or hurt, but wouldn’t being with other people trying to steal them away from him hurt them more in the long run? MC doesn’t see what Jack does, how much of a threat those rivals other “friends” are.

After all… Ian was someone MC once held so dear, and he hurt them so, so badly. He’s trying to come back into their lives, and MC clearly still cares about him even if they’re trying to move on. How can Jack just stand idly by and let MC get hurt again when they don’t see just how bad Ian is for them?

MC might not be able to see how Ian and the other love interests could hurt them, but perhaps Jack could show his beloved sunshine just how cruel they can be.

Of course, Jack doesn’t want MC to get hurt. He would never! But, well, some lessons can be a bit harsher than others. Learning them can sting a bit and even make us upset, but as long as the lesson doesn’t do lasting harm and improves things for them, well, then it’s a good lesson!

Besides, this lesson will hurt Jack more than it hurts MC… in the most literal sense.

This classic audio drama of Jack’s villainous monologue makes me think that he’ll eventually find a way to become much more tangible in the real world. Sure, he could be saying all this while possessing his rival, but it seems more like a face-to-face confrontation. Naturally, for a face-to-face confrontation, Jack would need a face that’s actually visible to the person he’s taunting.

Perhaps the closer Jack gets to MC, the more they love him, the more real he becomes. It could be a reversal of what happened in the “No” route. If that were to happen, Jack could converse with other people directly… and perhaps convince them to leave MC to him.

If they just won’t go away, well… Jack could always push their buttons, upset them to the point that they have violent urges, only these feelings would be directed at him.

While MC is there to see that person unleash their bloody rage on Jack, of course.

As we’ve seen in earlier concept art, Jack didn’t feel pain when being stabbed, and perhaps that might still be true. But MC doesn’t need to know that when Jack says he’s okay and that it doesn’t hurt, it really doesn’t. All they see is Ian, Shaun, Nick, or whoever else suddenly snapping and attacking Jack with a knife for no apparent reason at all, leaving him bloody and wounded in front of them, trying to act brave for their sake like he did in the “no” route.

Jack doesn’t want MC to be unhappy, but perhaps he might get to enjoy a guilty thrill if they got upset for his sake, especially if he could feel them being so protective over him. Their worry for his injuries and outrage that he was attacked… You could say that it’s another way for his sunshine to show him just how much they love him. It might even make him feel a bit more secure, more real.

Jack could even prep his target beforehand via possession, tormenting that person until they’re close to snapping. In the now gone trailer, Shaun sounds unhinged, saying what he’s doing is so wrong… Shaun sounds like someone pushed to do things he never thought himself capable of doing, and likely it was Jack who did the pushing.

All Jack has to do is pull the trigger at the right moment, when MC is there to see their other friend snap. He could use a phrase or gesture that seems so innocent as a means to torment them until they can no longer help themselves when they hear it. He could’ve urged them to carry a knife with them at all times.

Hell, Jack could’ve outright possessed their arm with his powers, unseen by everyone, to make his target stab him in front of MC.

So, as far as MC is aware, Jack being his typical friendly self, when all of a sudden their other friend loses their mind and stabs Jack, likely while shouting something unhinged. It paints a vivid bloody picture of their friend as the antagonist, and Jack as the innocent victim.

Even if the rival snaps out of it right afterward, horrified at what they had done, if Jack covered his tracks well enough, their protests would be empty. It’d just look like empty excuses.

Or perhaps they hate Jack, really hate him, but they have no solid evidence why Jack is a bad person. They could wind up digging the hole even deeper if they doubled down on their act of violence.

It would be really hard to claim that Jack is the dangerous entity when they were the one who suddenly stabbed Jack without apparent provocation after all. It’d just make them look even more unstable and dangerous.

Sure, it’d be an awful thing for MC to see, but at least they’re not the one that got attacked. Jack bravely made sure that he was the only one whose blood was spilled. He might not even really feel pain like they would if he can handle being stabbed, rotted, and bleeding and keep going, as some teasers and concept art have shown.

Personally I think Jack can feel pain, but it’s nothing compared to the 40 years of hell, or the fear of losing his sunshine.

A little pain is worth it to keep his sunshine. Forever.

The idea of losing Jack bloodlessly and painlessly is scary enough for MC. Seeing someone attack him, maybe even outright trying to kill him would be far, far worse. MC was so desperate to keep Jack from disappearing, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect that they would rush to his defense to save his life.

This is especially true if their feelings for Jack are so strong that he’s able to physically manifest now.

The moment would be a scarring memory for MC, but sometimes lessons can be harsh when we learn them. MC would at least know how inferior their other friends are compared to Jack, how harmful and dangerous they are. Those people don’t deserve to be in MC’s life, and it’s in their best interests to never see those people again.

Jack would also get to enjoy the perverse pleasure of knowing just how much MC cares about them, how much they love him. They could even nurse him back to health after they chase away that inferior friend for good. He can be pampered, appreciated, and loved. MC will better understand just how important Jack is to them, how much they need him, and how terrible the person who tried to take them away truly is.

Really, it goes to show that MC should listen to Jack more when he says he’s not so sure about them spending time with a particular person, don’t you think?

Of course, how well this ploy goes depends on MC’s compassion. Given what we’ve seen so far of the story, MC does care about Jack, and most people will at least be upset and alarmed that someone was stabbed in front of them. An MC that has strong feelings for Jack and deeply loves him will no doubt be enraged.

This sort of messed up scenario reminded me of how the Bad End AU went so horribly wrong, only Shaun and Ian knew to target the tape there, rather than Jack directly. Alice was hesitant to do more than plead for the three to stop, not wanting any of them to be hurt, and the result was the tape getting destroyed and Jack banished.

The altercation between them was vague, but what if we went down another dark path? What if Jack pushed Ian and Shaun, but they never found out about the tape, and they focused on Jack himself despite his imposing size.

Once I made that comparison between this idea and the Bad End AU, I got inspired to write a quick first draft flash fic about a timeline where Jack gives in to his darker impulses.

The story of Sunshine in Hell is one of broken people helping each other heal and become better versions of themselves.

The Bad End AU is what happens when the wrong choices are made and things only get so much worse.

By the way, for those wondering, a third part of the Bad End AU is in the works. This isn’t it, but more like a different option taken during a critical moment that resulted in blood being spilled instead of bits of plastic and torn VHS tape ribbon.

From wholesome to unhinged, my posts truly run the gambit of different sides to Sunny Day Jack. I hope you enjoy this little snippet of Jack getting worse instead of better, and taking perverse glee in bringing Alice along with him down a twisted path.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

…

Jack hated to see his sunshine upset. He ached for Alice every time she was in pain. There was nothing he wanted more than to see her smile, to bask in her warm, happy glow.

The last thing Jack wanted was to be the reason Alice was upset, and yet…

Somehow things had grown twisted. Jack crossed lines he knew that he shouldn’t, but somehow he always found ways to justify it. Somehow his fears of losing Alice were always stronger than the little voice in his head telling him that what he was doing wasn’t right.

Sadly, not everything in life could be solved with polite words and a smile.

Things had grown twisted until they spiraled out of control. Ian and Shaun dared to invade their home, their sanctuary. They wanted to take Alice away from him, to “save” her from his “wicked clutches” like Jack was just some cartoon bad guy.

All the things the two said about him were ridiculous, exaggerations! Jack feigned ignorance of their accusations, his confused act flawless. There was no reason for them to be afraid of him. He was just an innocent clown, someone who lived to take care of others, particularly his precious sunshine Alice.

Alice believed Jack had nothing to do with their accusations, but she didn’t chase them away. She listened, worried for them despite her faith in him. It warmed his heart that she believed in him, but the fact that she still listened meant that there was room for doubt to worm its way in.

Ian and Shaun could see that too.

“This… thing is dangerous, Alice,” Shaun said with a tremor in his voice. His eyes couldn’t remain still, bouncing between pleading with Alice and watching for when Jack pounced on them like a venomous cobra. “You need to get away from it right now.”

“You have to believe us!” Ian insisted, his voice cracking desperately. He kept one hand in his pocket, his shaking hand clutching his only form of defense tight. Would it even work on a ghost or whatever Jack was?

Could Jack even bleed?

Jack stood between the invaders and his sunshine. They had tried to take her with him, but he snatched up Alice before they could steal her away and tucked her safely behind his back. He kept one hand on her arm, his hold on her deceptively light, but as unshakable as iron. His expression was innocence itself, showing nothing but a mask of confused concern directed at the two terrified men before him. “Take it easy now. There’s no danger here. Let’s all take a deep breath and try to calm down.”

“Don’t give me that nice guy shit!” Shaun snapped as he glared daggers into Jack. His soothing words were grating in his ears, putting him even more on edge. “You’re more fake than a corporate account with a rainbow logo during pride!” His gaze switched back to Alice. “Alice, please, listen to us. This thing has been torturing us for months now.”

Alice felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. The way Shaun looked at her made her heart go out to him, but… how could it be true. “Torture-”

“Hey now, that’s a strong word to use there,” Jack said. His voice took on a more firm tone to it, but nothing more threatening than the gentle chastising he gave children on his show. “What makes you think I would hurt either of you?”

“Cut the bullshit!” Shaun snarled. “You know damn well you’ve been giving us nightmares for months now!”

“I gave you nightmares?” Jack asked. The confusion on his face was so convincing that Shaun and Ian might have questioned themselves if not for the countless sleepless nights filled with torment. “How could I do that?”

“With some sort of supernatural ghost zombie demon bullshit, I don’t know!” Shaun snapped.

“Alice, you can’t trust him,” Ian said, tightening his grip inside his pocket. Dark circles ringed his shaking eyes as he kept looking from Jack to the hand the creature had on Alice. “Why can’t you see that?”

How was Alice able to stand so close to that monster? Why was she standing behind it as if it would protect her? How could she not see that it was holding her hostage? How could she stand that thing’s cold, lifeless touch? Seeing its hand on her made Ian relieve those countless nights spent lost in a place that felt too real to be a dream, but too horrible to be reality.

The Jack before them now wasn’t exactly the same as the rotted, bloody corpse that haunted them night after night. That thing with mocking smiles that were too wide and wild, and strange eyes that had nothing behind them. This wasn’t the kind and caring boyfriend Alice talked about. This thing was a monster that only knew how to take and take and take. Its touch stole something from Ian every time it laid its hands on him, and left behind a coldness that went far beyond cold. It stole the very warmth from him until it was as if it never existed. It stripped Ian of his senses one at a time until there was nothing but its absence hissing at him like static.

And that voice. That voice mocked him even when the world went so silent that Ian couldn’t even hear his own screams. That thing was trying to sound compassionate now, but that was a lie. It twisted the truth until it was unrecognizable, but so believable. It sounded so calm and kind at the start of every nightmare, even as it told Ian so many, many terrible things, tore open old wounds and exposed all his flaws.

Ian was a sinner damned for hell. He didn’t deserve to be anywhere near someone as kind and gentle as Alice. That thing made it all too clear to him.

The thing countered his protests, even laughed, because they were so feeble. Ian was so selfish, so worthless.

That voice would then mock him, so superior, so much better than Ian in every way. He would never forget the sound of that voice, or that smile.

The smile Jack offered him now was supposed to be an encouraging one, but Ian knew that it was fake. He knew what the hand held before him in a placating gesture was a ruse to get just a little closer.

If Jack touched either of them it was all over. Now that they exposed the truth about it to Alice…

Who knew what it would take from Ian if it got its hands on him again?

“Let’s all calm down now,” Jack said soothingly. “Come on, take a deep breath with me.” He gestured to his chest as he inhaled, which only served to remind Ian and Shaun of just how much bigger he was than all of them.

Ian jerked at Jack’s sudden movement, his breath hitching as that gloved hand drifted close to him.

“There now,” Jack said encouragingly. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

The words struck harder than any blow.

There now. That wasn’t so hard, was it?

It was such an innocent phrase, something that would have been encouraging if Shaun and Ian hadn’t heard it in countless nightmares, spoken in mocking tones or breathless whispers, with fake reassurance or a true perverse glee. The monster praised them when they ran from the illusion of Alice, when they admitted that they were flawed and worthless, when they surrendered to his taunts…

When they accepted the knife it pressed into their hands to carve a smile in their throats to match its own.

Shaun flinched back while Ian tensed, his eyes wide and wild as Jack slowly reached out for him with an open palm and a smile. It was such a deceptively innocent gesture…

Instinct took over. A flash of silver and a cry broke the air as Ian used the knife he had hidden away in his pocket all this time to take back what Jack had stolen away from him.

Time slowed down as blood sprayed from the gouge carved from Jack’s hand to his forearm. He cried out in pain as he reeled back, then collapsed to the floor.

Shaun froze at the attack, staring at the bloody knife and wound it left behind in shock. It was as if he was watching a scene from one of his movies unfold before him, not real in the slightest, even though some of the blood splattered onto his face and clothes.

Ian held the knife in both hands tight enough for his knuckles to turn white. The blade shook in his too tight grip, then the rest of him soon followed as it sunk in what he had just done.

This was just another dream… right? Ian didn’t mean to hurt anyone, he just couldn’t let Jack touch him, not again. Not in reality. Not when he couldn’t wake up. He couldn’t let Jack take everything from him.

Ian couldn’t let Jack hurt him again.

Everything had happened so fast. Alice didn’t know what to make of it when Ian and Shaun practically forced their way into her apartment, throwing out wild accusations. They were jittery and on edge, hurling out vitriol towards Jack and pleas to her before she could sort out the accusations they made. They grabbed at her without warning, yanking hard while their fingers dug into her arms hard enough to bruise. It was only thanks to Jack acting quickly to separate them that she hadn’t been dragged outside.

They scared her. Alice worried for them, but their actions weren’t normal. The look in their eyes was terrifying. Ian and Shaun had been acting cagey for weeks now, avoiding her and not responding to her texts. She never saw this coming.

Jack reassured her with his gentle touch and soothing words. Alice could see that he was alarmed by their behavior as well, but he did his best to keep calm, to protect her when her friends were acting so strangely.

There was no way Jack was this monster they described. He was the kindest, gentlest soul Alice had ever known. He chased away her nightmares, comforted her when she needed it, and was there for her when she was left all alone.

Jack loved her more than anyone else in the world.

Alice barely had time to wonder about their claims when Ian struck without warning. When Jack screamed, her blood turned to ice. Red filled her vision.

There was so much blood.

“Jack!”

Alice moved before she could really register what was happening, her scream sounding far away as her heartbeat pounded hard in her ears. She threw herself between Jack and his attacker, falling to her knees as used her body as a shield. She clung to him, her best friend, her beloved, heedless of the blood soaking into her clothes, then turned her gaze to the monster that had dared to hurt the one she loved.

The ice in that gaze froze Ian, and the knife fell from his limp fingers. Suddenly he was all too aware of what he had done, the blood on his hands. He stared at them, at the sin he had committed, shaking and red, until he collapsed into a pool of tears.

“How could you?” Alice hissed, forcing the words out through her constricted throat. “How could you!?”

The world started to move again. Ian tried to say something, perhaps some form of protest or apology, but the words were half-formed and drowned in his tears. Shaun stared between the bloodstained knife and Jack, who lay curled against Alice, quietly whimpering while bleeding all over the carpet.

Shaun couldn’t reconcile the scene before him of the wounded man, weak and in pain, against the monster from his dreams that smiled through any attack he made. No matter how many times he stabbed Jack in the dream, the undead creature would just mock him, unfazed even as its blood was spilled.

Was this really the same monster that haunted them for months?

It was this dissonance that made Ian truly aware of the sin he had committed. He couldn’t handle it. He fled.

“Get out!” Alice snapped, bringing Shaun’s attention back from her and away from the fleeing Ian. “Get the fuck out of here!”

Shaun staggered a step back. “A-Alice, I-”

“Get the fuck out!” Alice shrieked. “I never want to see either of you ever again! If you ever come near me or Jack again, I’ll fucking shoot you!”

Shaun took a few more steps, his eyes trailing down to the blood that had been spilled. It still didn’t look real to him, but Alice’s screams were real. The hatred she had in her eyes directed entirely at him was real. It was far more real than any of his nightmares.

It was too much for Shaun, and he too left behind the scene of this macabre show he had taken part in.

Ahhh…

Jack had to use every ounce of his willpower to suppress his smile and keep his true feelings hidden from his sunshine. The pleasure he felt in that moment was exquisite, a shiver of euphoria that was so sinfully delicious it was practically erotic. Fear, shock, and anger burst through him like fireworks, but undercutting all of those feelings was the love Alice had for him. Those feelings of her burned fierce and bright, chasing away all the cold in the world. Even her hatred, directed at someone else, was beautiful, because it was for his sake.

How could Jack not feel pleasure when Alice’s love for him overflowed until it flooded his heart in a torrent of passion?

All that fear, worry, and rage was in defense of him. Only him. Only Jack had her love now. Whatever care Alice felt for Shaun and Ian was dead, its throat slit with a single slice of a knife.

It made all the nights spent away from his sunshine while she slept worth it. All those months of training those two obstacles had paid off beautifully. Jack finally exposed the true nature of those inferior other “friends” of hers. He knew that with just a little encouragement, they would finally show his precious sunshine just how worthless and filthy they truly were.

With them gone, her anger cooled, but didn’t disappear completely. It still burned inside of Alice, fierce and ready to protect him again at a moment’s notice. Her thoughts were all for him now, only him. She fussed over his wound, letting out concerned whimpers as she cradled him close while using her own clothes to staunch the blood flow.

Jack hated to see his sunshine so upset. He wanted to reassure her that he was fine, but he had to be careful about it. The episode he had written for them wasn’t quite finished yet.

“It… it’s okay… sunshine,” Jack said between heavy pants. He wore a weak smile that held none of his true happiness in it. “I-it doesn’t hurt.”

It was a lie, and they both knew it, but the pain didn’t matter to Jack. No pain compared to the thought of losing Alice. This little scratch was nothing compared to what he gained in return.

The love Jack felt from her, the pleasure that love gave him was so much better. It was a drug that left him feeling weak and dizzy, almost overwhelmed by the euphoria to the point he became partially erect. Alice’s love for him was so fierce that it was practically all that he could feel. Compared to that, the gouge in his arm was little more than a paper cut.

Those warm hands of hers touched him so delicately. Alice fussed over him, cried over him, her heart breaking for him. It was all for him, only for him. He was her world, and he reveled in it. She was the sun that would shine her light for no one else but him now.

Jack never wanted anything to make his sunshine unhappy, but how could he not enjoy himself? How could he not find pleasure even in the darker moments of anger and sadness that overtook her when it was for his sake? The way she screamed his name, the way she held him so close, the fierce way she defended him, worried for him… how could he not adore every second of it?

There was no stronger proof of the love Alice felt for Jack than this.

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #My Writing #Sauce-y Art

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drdemonprince · 10 months ago

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Hi Devon,

this might not be a question you can answer, or maybe it is! idk. this is about covid & alike

for context on myself, i’m a white gendrfucky trans guy who’s also autistic & an immigrant (so some cultural context is probably lacking)

as we know, we’re in a 2nd highest surge & the pandemic never stopped and it increasingly dangerous and disabling to so many

i wear my kn95 everywhere i go now, and while i tried last semester, it was a lot easier to abandon masking because of

1. others’ around me negligence

2. some classrooms being IMPOSSIBLY hot and close to unbearable with a respirator on

3. attending crowded events where people needed to hear me

i’ve reevaluated and am rebuilding my practices now, but what i’m finding really difficult is to get people i have in my life to wear a mask again

i feel so lost. i share the informational posts, i talk to my people, i offer masks- what else is there to do?? i know the exhaustion i feel is absolutely incomparable to what disabled and immunocompromised people feel, especially when they’ve done the work for years!

i just don’t understand how i’m supposed to keep moving through life. i mean ofc i’ll keep doing what i’m already doing but it’s so incredibly isolating to be the only person masked in a meeting of 20,30,50 people.

i don’t know how to make people care. i don’t know how to have conversations with my friends in a way that will let our relationship evolve with this new understanding of care. i don’t know how to not polarize people into defensiveness when i talk about the powers wreaking atrocities in falasteen being the same ones shortening an isolation period to 1 day.

i don’t know how to be eloquent enough to be listened to and firm enough where people take what i say seriously. i don’t know how to not start screaming WEAR A MASK anytime it’s a crowded (or even not crowded) meeting indoors with no air filtration.

idk how people don’t realize the “cold” they’ve had for 3 weeks is either covid or direct aftermath of it. idk how they stand for seemingly the right things and then come to work sick & unmasked.

i don’t know how to engage with most people in a meaningful way & find connections because the delusion, the “it won’t happen to me”, the “i don’t care if i catch it and die”, the “this is just the way it is” seems to be a wall made of unbreakable cement and i don’t know what will melt it.

i feel insane for having compassion towards the world and seeing how it can be better. i feel insane for being angry people don’t mask & downplay this issue. i feel insane for even trying to talk sense into people.

i’ve recently been called a lying phony by an account that talks about masking bc a lot of my recent pictures show my face without a mask. i archived the posts since, apologized and reflected. but a lot of pictures i take are in my own room so i am unmasked. idk

i feel like the gap between me and most people i know is growing wider by the minute and with every reading i do about interdependent revolutionary practices, etc.

i know that when one understands something, it is their responsibility to make an impact on their bubble of the world and transform it with their knowledge. but i doubt i’m the only one doing the reading and knowing what’s going on, i just seem to be the only one masking.

i don’t know. i’m sorry it’s such a long ask & i’m sure you have your own stuff you’re dealing with. i just don’t know who else to ask that might understand. i’m sure there are people around me who might but so many are in survival mode and i currently don’t know anyone with the capacity to hold space for this.

i guess it’s bold to assume you do.

anyway, i hope your day goes alright today<3

You are placing wayyy too much responsibility upon yourself as one compassionate and informed individual here, and expecting far too much perfection of yourself in ways that do not help you and do not help the cause. You've done a lot to unpack the terrible individualism that has led to anti-mask sentiment being so rampant, but you are in a way still applying that logic to yourself and your situation by imagining that if you, one humble person with limited power were able to be adequately persuasive, you'd somehow change the actions of thousands. That is not how behavior change works.

Persuasion almost never happens logically or instantly, almost never through one person's remarks. Behavior is shaped by a vast array of economic, sociological, emotional, and ideological factors.

It's also not helpful in my opinion to worry about the opinion of someone who would shame you for not wearing a mask at home alone in your bedroom, either. Obsessing over the optics of our actions and wanting all people to morally approve of us at all times is yet another consequence of individualism and Puritanism. as you well know as someone who masks in a crowd of maskless people, sometimes we gotta do what we know is right and disregard others' opinions.

What you can do, in my opinion, is this: keep masking. Your behavior reminds people of the need for masks and models socially responsible behavior. Bring spare masks with you. Offer them to your family and friends and the people standing near you in public. If they refuse, and you have a good relationship with the person where they have shown they respect you and listen to you, then you can tell them why masking around you is important to you. You cannot change the opinion of someone who has never shown you any respect so don't expect that to ever work.

Even if you do have a good relationship with someone, persuasion is a long, hard process. Do not expect yourself to change their mind. If you can get some people to mask at least around you, that is a victory. Perfection is an unrealistic goal here to expect of yourself, and for public health in general. Any improvement you can inspire is a victory. Even if it's just making one or two friends mask more often when they are with you. That still lessens risk. That still sends a visible signal to everyone around you. You have no idea of the impact you truly have on other people in the long term. It is both more modest and far larger and longer-reaching than you as an individual will ever know.

Please be easy on yourself. You are just a person. An average person with very limited power. So is everyone else for the most part. When you stop burdening yourself with the unrealistic responsibility of changing thousands of people's behavior, you will feel less resentful toward others as well. When we resent other people it always means we are doing too much.

And when you feel less overwhelmed and overburdened, you will be more effective in the conversations you do have with people about COVID too. People do not respond well to (what they perceive to be) guilt or intensity or someone presuming to know better than them. What people do respond to well is to be asked genuine questions, listened to, validated in their feelings, given help where they are facing barriers to action, and being treated with compassionate gentleness.

But to do that you have to work on believing that people who are flawed in their response to COVID have reasons for doing so that make sense to them, and that they aren't all foolish and lacking in compassion. As my friend @kim-from-kansas says, people do not do things that do not make sense. If a person's actions do not make sense to you, it is because you are missing a piece of their context. The sad fact is people have many reasons to think that masking doesn't work or is hopeless. People have been very heavily propagandized and trauma also makes many people value life less.

Convincing people to take COVID more seriously is a tall, tall order, but if you wish to do so, you will need to be more than correct. You will have to put real work into not making people feel judged, and you will have to make peace with not always (or even usually) succeeding. It sucks but that's how it is. Best of luck!!

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mo-the-gremlin-dandelion · 11 days ago

Text

Happy Coradrag AU

Last Coradrag post: HERE

Using the fanfic "I can't be with you (I want to be with you)" by Torens on AO3 as a reference. Dragon is the one giving birth here, so trans!Dragon.

Also, I read Dragon’s wiki article and did my best to work around the timeline there. So things are a little different than in the canon timeline. Here Dragon is still working for the marines until the Revolutionary Army is stable enough to leave.

This is a long post folks.

Canon Post Time Skip Ages:

Dragon - 55 (Birthdate: October 5 / 256cm = over 8ft)

Corazon - 39 (Birthdate: July 15 /9'7½ft )

(Corazon was 26 when he died - Google said Law was 13 at the time so:

26 - 13 = 13

26 + 13 = 39

Thus he would be around 39 if he was still alive in canon.)

Law - 26 (Birthdate: October 6)

Ace - 22 (Birthdate: January 1)

Sabo - 22 (Birthdate: March 20)

Luffy - 19 (Birthdate: May 5)

Bepo - 22 (Birthdate: November 20)

Shachi - 27 (Birthdate: April 7)

Penguin - 28 (Birthdate: April 25)

So in this AU, Corazon and Dragon have heard of each other before from their dads but never actually met each other in person. Corazon had probably heard Dragon’s name before from Sengoku or just through other marines. Dragon has probably never heard Corazon’s name before because Garp probably just calls him “Sengoku’s boy/brat” or something. So Dragon knows of him, just not his name.

Roger dies and then Ohara happens, so Dragon decides to start the Revolutionary Army. But while he is setting it up he stays with the marines until he can “safely” leave/the Revolutionary Army is stable enough for him to leave. Wiki says that Dragon formed the Revolutionary Army between Roger being executed (24 years before time skip) and Luffy (19) being born. It says that he became disillusioned with the marines after Ohara (it happened 22 years ago so he would have been 33).

Corazon’s birthday is July 15, so maybe they meet right after his 20th birthday and before Dragon’s 36th (his birthday is October 5th).

They meet in person for the first time and it’s just like:

“Oh! Your Dragon! I’ve heard of you!” - Corazon is excited to finally meet Dragon.

“Oh, Your [insert Garp’s nickname for Corazon here].” - Dragon, socially awkward and he doesn’t know who Corazon is due to Garp never saying his real name. Dragon is thinking: “Who the hell is this?”

They get to know each other. Maybe they talk about Roger dying, Ohara, Doflamingo, the marines, or whatever else. They become friends, but they don’t get any further than that. Dragon because he knows he’ll be leaving in a couple months and Corazon because… I don’t really know or have a solid reason. Maybe Dragon is just the one that's holding back. Maybe he thinks Corazon is kind and pretty, but Dragon thinks he is too old for him and he is leaving the marines soon anyway.

Oh wait, Corazon was a Celestial Dragon! Maybe that's his reason for being all nervous! He thinks Dragon won’t like him if he finds out!

Anyways, something happens and they conceive Luffy in a coat closet or something. A near death experience is always a good option or a drunken incident perhaps? Maybe this happens a couple times and Luffy isn’t conceived the first time in the coat closet. Anyways, they get a couple of months to do this before Dragon leaves the marines to run the Revolutionary Army full time.

Luffy is born on May 5th the year after they meet, so he would have to have been conceived sometime in like August or September. Or if he was born premature, anytime in November to December at the latest. (This being based on pregnancy lasting 9 months and that babies can survive being born safely, at the absolute earliest, at 6 months of pregnancy. Sorry if I did the math wrong, I just counted backwards from May.)

Luffy being born premature could explain why he is so small compared to Dragon (256cm = over 8ft) and Corazon (9'7½ft ). Or he could’ve gotten the average height gene from Dragon’s nonexistent mother.

Maybe Garp is trans too? Roger could be Dragon’s other dad if you want to make the plot even more convoluted. 🤷

Luffy being tiny could be why Dragon didn’t know he was pregnant. Due to his size and Luffy’s size in comparison, he probably didn’t show at all. He most likely just wrote off any sickness he felt to be a cold/flu, stress, or guilt of leaving the marines/family/friends behind. Basically, he doesn’t find out until either he gives birth or if/when he asks Ivankov to fully transition him.

Anyways, Dragon leaves and they're both sad. Maybe Corazon doesn’t know why Dragon left until he sees Dragon’s wanted poster. Maybe Dragon hinted about why he was leaving or left a note behind. He probably left a note for Garp. Which Garp would probably rant about to Sengoku, who would then rant about it to Corazon or Corazon overheard a conversation about it.

So Dragon gives birth to Luffy and he contacts Garp. Maybe Garp is hanging out with Sengoku and Corazon is within hearing range. Garp, Sengoku, and Corazon go to meet up with Dragon. Garp and Sengoku know that Dragon and Corazon were at least friends before he left, but they don’t know how close. So they think he’s just coming to see his friend that he misses. Maybe they find out on the way there. Conversation between Sengoku and Corazon on the way could be:

“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with the head of the Revolutionary Army!?” - Sengoku, exasperated.

“He wasn’t the head of the Revolutionary Army when we were together. At least not to my knowledge.” - Corazon

So they all meet up, it’s emotional, everybody finds out about Luffy. Maybe Dragon and Corazon talk about their feelings (or not yet - depends on if you like slow burn or not - I think they would at least have to have a conversation about everything/take things slow).

Anyways, they come to some sort of agreement where Luffy stays on Dawn Island because it’s a safe spot Dragon can raise Luffy. Sometimes he has to leave for revolutionary business and Luffy gets babysat by Dadan or Makino if Corazon is not there.

->->

Side Note:

Maybe Garp gave Ace to Dragon (Ace could go by Monkey D. in this AU for safety) instead of Dadan because Garp was pushy about the marines, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was also pushy about Dragon giving him grandkids.

Garp is like: “Here’s a newborn for you to raise son because it’s not like you're making any! You're already 33, you’re gonna die alone before you get married and have any kids yourself! >:D”

So Ace is already there on Dawn Island in the Monkey D. house being raised by Dragon for like the past 3 years or so. Maybe Ace traveled with Dragon when he was still with the marines and it was safe to do so. This would also put off suspicion of who Ace’s parents are because, again, Dragon is just over 8ft and could easily hide a pregnancy.

Also, there's probably not many people that are close enough to him to know if he is trans (depending on when he started transitioning) or knew if he had a wife. They could easily just say that he did, but she passed away and that’s why he has Ace.

Or maybe Garp was telling Dragon about his plans for Ace and Dragon stepped in offering to raise Ace due to having Garp as a parent. Dragon is just thinking about the many different ways that Garp could kill that kid with his questionable “parenting” methods.

This could also maybe be what brought Corazon and Dragon closer in the first place. Like Dragon might seem a little scary and unapproachable, but then Ace is there being held by him and Corazon is just like: “Ooh, hot single dil- I mean dad!”

Corazon could have watched Ace for Dragon if he was busy with marine business and that’s how they got close.

<-<-

So let’s say that is the case. That Dragon has already been raising Ace and Dadan is like the cool aunt that babysits when Dragon has to be away/Dragon can’t bring Ace with him.

So Corazon and Dragon are raising Luffy and Ace together. Maybe they are officially together or for the people who like slow burn again, they are getting there, slowly but surely.

Meanwhile, Sengoku is going gray fast because not only is Corazon involved with a criminal, it’s GARP’s son. Like he thought Rosinante had better taste, why couldn’t he have been with a nice marine? It could have been Bellemere or Smoker or hell he’d even take Kuzon if Corazon really is into older men! But no, he picked Garp’s CRIMINAL son! Now not only does Sengoku have to see Garp at work, they are in-laws now and he has to have family dinners with him! No offense to Dragon, Sengoku agrees that the marines have done terrible things, but he would’ve taken literally anyone else OTHER than Garp to have as an in-law. (Sengoku this could be worse, I could’ve made this Katacora and then you’d have Big Mom as an in-law, quit complaining. Just send Garp to the other side of the world for a little while.)

But hey, at least Sengoku has Ace and Luffy to spoil. So he does soften up a little because yay grandkids!

Eventually, Corazon goes on the mission to infiltrate Doflamingo’s group, he is 26 now. Maybe this is the time where Luffy meets Shanks. So it would be like a year earlier than canon but whatever. This would be perfect because both parents are away so it’s Ace and him being babysat by Makino or Dadan. So Luffy still stabs himself in the face, gets his devil fruit, and Shanks’ hat. Meanwhile Garp is at Marineford or somewhere else like: “‘My family wants to be pirates’ sense is tingling!” Sengoku is just looking at him thinking: “Is that Garp’s normal weird or something else?”

Maybe Garp won’t be as mad about Shanks because Corazon is a marine. So in his mind maybe Ace and Luffy will want to become marines too. (Sorry Garp, they ALL become pirates.😂)

Anyways, Corazon meets Law, decides to save him, gets Law his devil fruit, gets beat up by Vergo, and still gets shot by his brother but not enough to die. Like maybe Doflamingo is a bad shot and he was just able to shoot their dad accurately because he was right behind him. He still shot Corazon, but not in spots that would immediately kill him. Just slightly grazed him a bit and Corazon’s coat took most of the damage.

Dragon can be the one who comes and picks them up. Maybe Corazon called ahead of time to let him know what was going on and maybe he had a suspicion that Doflamingo had a spy in the marines so he called Dragon who could be in the area just in case things went bad.

Well, things went bad needless to say. So Corazon and Law get picked up by Dragon.

->->

Side Note:

Maybe they stop at Swallow Island for supplies or something and Law meets Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo. He could also meet them later on too. Like he asks to be dropped off in the North Blue at 17 to start his pirate journey and meets them. I just think the idea of Corazon and Dragon having to raise 6 feral kids and Bepo is really funny. So I am going to say they do pick them up too.

<-<-

Sabo meets Ace like in canon while the adults are away and everything with him happens just like in canon. Except, while Sabo is still very badly injured, he does not lose his memories. Like Dragon picks him up on his way back from rescuing Corazon and the kids. (We’ll say Corazon was gone for like a year: 6 months with Doflamingo - 6 months with Law. That gives plenty of time for the canon events to be squished into a timeline.)

Maybe Sengoku and Corazon decide to make it seem like Corazon did die so Doflamingo doesn’t come after him or Law. So Corazon either retires from the marines or he could just do paperwork from home or he could find something else to do. He also could be too injured to go back to active duty. I mean he did get beat up and shot multiple times. Either way, now he gets to stay with the kids full time or just doesn’t have to travel as much. Dadan and Makino still babysit from time to time. Dragon still visits as much as he can afford to without putting them in danger. Maybe after all the kids leave home, Corazon can join the Revolutionary Army.

Also, they do tell Ace about Roger and Rouge, but in a way that makes him not hate himself. Maybe he still feels a negative way about Roger, but not in a way that makes him think he isn’t loved or wanted. Maybe this is where he chooses to go by Monkey D. Ace or, continue to if he was already going by Monkey D. Ace since Dragon started raising him. That way he can distance himself from Roger and be slightly safer from the marines. Or he could decide to go by Portgas D. Ace when they tell him or when he sets out to sea.

So Law (+ Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo) go to the North Blue to start off their pirate journey when Law is 17. The Heart Pirates still meet Wolf, help him out, and get the Polar Tang. He still wants to take down Doflamingo but does it in a less self destructive way. Corazon and Dragon find out about his plans eventually and are worried, but they also trust Law to know what he can/can’t handle. Maybe Corazon goes to Dressrosa with Sabo to help.

Ace leaves when he turns 17 as well. Like in canon he forms the Spade Pirates and later joins up with Whitebeard.

Sabo joins the Revolutionary Army when he turns 17.

Luffy sets out at 17 and everything in canon happens until the Straw Hats meet Law + the Heart Pirates:

“Hey! It’s my brother Torao! :D” - Luffy all excited to see Law again after who knows how long. “Another one! How many brothers do you have!?” - Nami & Usopp probably. “Oh! Six! :D” - Luffy doesn’t elaborate further because it’s Luffy.

Then when Luffy sees Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo he is like: “My other brothers!”

Everybody’s probably really confused at this point. Like, the Straw Hats could see the resemblance with Ace in Alabasta, but these guys? Who are Luffy’s parents!?

Although having four brothers on one ship is pretty convenient for the Straw Hats because now the only sibling left to meet is Sabo.

Everything in canon from then on still happens, the Straw Hats all get sent away. [This also makes Robin the Straw Hat who knows all (I’m sure Sengoku calls/sends letters) of Luffy’s family members.]

Ace still gets captured and the higher ups still want him dead, but maybe Garp and Sengoku are trying to figure out how to stop it. If he is going by Monkey D. Ace the marines could just want him for being Dragon’s son or Blackbeard might have found out who Ace’s birth parents were and told the marines. Either way it’s a bad situation.

Marineford happens, but Ace lives. (This is a HAPPY AU! I don’t care how it happens, he just does!)

Maybe Garp was actually a decent Grandpa and was like: “He’s not Roger’s son! He’s my grandson, Dragon’s kid! Monkey D. Ace! Roger never had any kids, it was all just a rumor!” Akainu is just like: “Your son is the most wanted criminal in the world. We’re still gonna kill Ace.” Whitebeard could kill Akainu before he succumbed to his injuries or someone else could kill Akainu. I don’t know how, but I say Akainu dies in this AU. Then Ace, while still very much injured, was saved by Law along with Luffy and Jimbe.

Sabo can eat Akainu’s devil fruit in Dressrosa, that way he can still get fire powers. Or lava I should say. (Akainu’s ghost is shaking in hell watching his devil fruit being eaten and used by a revolutionary. 😂)

->->

Side Note:

Speaking of Dressrosa, that arc is even funnier due to: 1) Doflamingo is being kicked around by his nephews not only because of his war crimes, but he also almost killed their dad that one time. 2) The Straw Hats (minus Robin) reaction to finding out Luffy’s other grandpa is Sengoku.

<-<-

Maybe after this, Ace could join the Straw Hats or join the Revolutionary Army or stay with Marco (he would probably keep in touch with Marco regardless of where he goes).

I would say that Ace goes with Luffy, at least for a little while. Mostly due to the fact that Luffy goes to Wano and Ace told Yamato that he would come back. Maybe he could stay on Wano after that and help rebuild or something. Have his own kind of thing again/continue his own dream you know? He and Yamato could go on adventures together or something after Wano is stable.

This is all I have for now! If you want to write (or draw) something using anything from here, go right ahead. I would, but I am both busy and I can’t seem to write anything other than headcanons or AU ideas. Maybe I’ll actually write something in the future, but no promises.

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cyten0 · 6 days ago

Text

A Symphony In Crimson

The End of A World

𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞𝄞

Your name is Siffrin.

And you should never have existed.

But you are about to fix that.

▲ “Hey Sif. Nervous?”

You nod. This isn’t going to be easy.

After defeating the king, you started to look more into your home, as best as you could. Made counter wishes, dug up tomes, EVERYTHING.

And what you found shocked you. Your home wasn’t just forgotten. It was erased. You, and everything from there, are living typos in the script.

And it shows, if you look too long. Why you'd have such expensive clothing when living out of a seaside cabin. Why a child knew how to pilot a boat across open waters. Why no one helped you as a child, as you still barely existed at all. Why the star door in the house never actually had a question on it, just the idea of one. Why even after screaming yourself to death, your home's name couldn't be said, as there was nothing to scream.

As time went on, you found more and more. The inability to find any traces of the religion or culture beyond the surface. The technology falling apart into a useless mess if you try and take it apart. People sharing with you what tiny bits of history you've recovered almost exactly, with no deviation.

It took years after to find out what did it. You wanted to see if it was possible to do it again, in order to fix it. And by freak chance, it turned out you were the only one alive who could.

The last heir to a throne that doesn't exist.

◉ “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be fine! We’ve got everything planned out!”

Mirabelle sits at the dining table, cheerful. She’s really flourished since Dormont. Grew more confidant. Assured. The picture of the Revolutionary Housemaiden the tales came to paint her as.

𝄞 “Are you all. SURE. You are still Okay with this?”

✿ “Course Frin, especially myself! I know what’ll happen, but crab it.”

They are still cooking up food for you all. Biggest meal they’ve ever made, to fit the occasion. They’ve learned SO MANY recipes, that it took them a solid WEEK to figure out what to include, settling for at least only what can fit on the table. Fritters are, of course, included.

Bonnie has grown up into a fine adult. That wishcraft-made red hair and eyes looks good on them! They did mention they liked that you both match now.

𝄞 “I know, but still…”

✿ “Look, I know I’m gonna die, but it’ll only be for a bit! You just better meet back up with kid me as soon as you can, got it? And give them a list of my best recipes, while you’re at it!”

◆ “And let MY younger self know to get a Shattering cane earlier, OR ELSE. If I find out you knew about my leg and did NOTHING, I know I won’t be merciful.”

Odile meanders her way to the table. Last 20ish years plus the action at Dormont have not been kind to her, but she manages anyways. She struggles to walk, but you know if you tried helping her to the table she would still beat you senseless.

▲ “Yeah, you don't want to provoke the wrath of Odile!... Don't worry Sif, I know you won't have to. Still, Excited for my younger self to get to play with Fashion designs from your homeland. You better find me quick!"

He gives you a kiss. Hehe! It's been nice, being with him. Your bonding earrings turned out so pretty. As is everything else he's made since. He's been keeping you safe and sound, comfortable in your shared home.

◆ “That said, just to double check. I grabbed a sales report of that ‘bodycraft aid’. Even with the virus’s greatly reduced efficiency, the amount it’s distributed more then makes up for it.”

Right. It took ages to dig up that old virus, and while it’s baseline form as utterly horrifying, things changed when you realized it made those affected closer to the Universe, or specifically the Arcana. The Fool was very clear they are NOT the universe, just a part of it.

You had to reduce the Viruses effects SIGNIFICANTLY, but it still ended up as a net increase. And actually beneficial for people! Greatly eases healing crafts and of course, body craft!

◉ “On my front, think I’ve got blessings across the world, so we should be good on that front!”

Mirabelle used some of their savior popularity and leveraged rumors of their blessing to help seed star-stuff around the world. It DOES help crop growth, reduce disease, and increase peoples craft! People just accepted it was a divine blessing, and got to enjoy the perks. And since You and Bonnie were keeping yourselves safe, nobody knew about the caveat.

✿ “So, Fool, think it’s enough?”

The strange figure appears next to them on their command. A long tattered cloak, held closed with thousands of hands. A single, Red, floating eye for their face. A pale rose in one hand, and a walking staff in the other.

(✸) “For our own purposes? Not quite enough, but that is fine. It will still bring us closer together. We shall live again, if for but a moment. And with that time we shall be stitched ever so slightly tighter. May-hap next time shall be the last we need.”

It feels bad, but. You’ve done all you can. Short of causing an actual apocalypse, this is the best you can do for them.

Sure, everyone will die, but it’ll barely last a minute before they are all back. And none of them will remember. Odile even made sure it’d be painless, JUST in case. Enough they might not even realize they died at all if they do remember. Most importantly, It'll get all the Arcana summoned, and with that you can make things overall better.

(✸) “However, with your plan in mind, it should be enough for your own desires. It will not be easy, Lost King, even knowing your skill with time. We hope you are ready.”

✿ “Sure, but food first! I’m gonna enjoy my ‘last’ meal.”

The fool looks you all over, as you eat. It's hard to read them, but they seem... Happy?

(✸) “To think such a peaceful method of this was possible… And to fix our mistakes from before... We are grateful. And sorry, for the trouble.”

𝄞 “If it brings back my home, that’s enough. Consider us even.”

You all enjoy your meal. The Fool even shapes themselves into a human form to enjoy a little, on Bonnie's request.

You are glad for this. But, you know...

You’re going to miss them, for however long it takes to find your way back.

>>>

With full stomachs, and everyone ready, you all head to the room you set up. The view of the stars above, devices planted against the walls, specialized patterns to channel craft in the EXACT way you need it.

The Universe is watching. Time to heal a star.

Odile starts up the setup to make the needed modifications to the summoning rituals. Isabeau helps her out, running the numbers and double checking everything.

You stand in the center of the circle.

▲ “I think that’s everything! We’re ready as we’re gonna be.”

◆ “Indeed. Now remember, Siffrin, minimal changes! If this goes wrong, we need to leave the world mostly intact so we can meet up, get notes from you, and try again. And so you don’t unwrite yourself entirely, since you’ll be the only one to remember. Only act when you’re sure it’ll work.”

𝄞 “Gotcha! Alright, let’s do this.”

You lift your hand, and unleash the power in your blood. Rapidly, as quick as you can, you pull out each part! 3, 4, 5. One by one, you feel reality quake as you continue, but the setup holds strong. 18, 19, 20-

✿ “Hrg! YEP! That’s My cue! Okay, Painless sacrifice thing doesn’t work on me, That’s crabbing fun. Fair, I guess.”

You watch as Bonnie starts to dissolve into floating blood, as Judgment exacts their price. You nearly stop then and there, you don’t want to-!

✿ “I’ll be fine Frin! Finish it!”

You… You breathe In. And Out.

You call upon The World.

⋆｡°✩ “BY OUR HAND THE WORLD SHALL BE SACRIFICED” ✩°｡⋆

⋆｡°✩ “BY OUR HAND IT SHALL BE MADE ANEW” ✩°｡⋆

⋆｡°✩ “FOR WHAT DO YOU WISH FROM THIS WORLD” ✩°｡⋆

Alright. The curtains rise, time for your cue.

𝄞 “I wish for my home to be returned, and to have the life I was denied.”

⋆｡°✩ “A DIFFICULT REQUEST” ✩°｡⋆

𝄞 “But I know the path.”

⋆｡°✩ “THEN LEAD AND WE SHALL FOLLOW” ✩°｡⋆

You feel yourself get pulled into it’s embrace, to see things from it’s view.

As reality opens wide before you, you begin your journey.

First, you must reach when the island was lost.

《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《

You rewind all the way through your life, to when you washed up on Vaugarde. Following the path your paradoxical existence lends.

The Arcana are weakened, by reaching outside the Fool’s gate. But you’ve ensured they can, and that's enough.

Now. It must be here.

You start to look into yourself, resting on the coast. You peel back the threads around you, finding traces and bits of the island. Digging, digging.

THERE.

The gate of the old summoning. The point mere seconds after they faded away the first time. But the gate is there.

You leap through.

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

You are in an echo of the old world. A world that still has color. A world that still has your home.

Right at it’s end. But you don’t care about that.

No, you passed through via the gate. A gate unbound by time. Even if you've been weakened further, HERE is where you can make changes that MATTER.

You need to start at the beginning. See where it went wrong.

《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《《

You stare at the scene. A power-mad king, standing over the corpses of two. One you saw briefly before, performing the final summoning.

The other… is already dead. A woman with lightless hair like your own.

And the king, laughing above them, just started the cycle.

What to do. What to do. How can you fix things from here? You still have enough power to work miracles, but...

The fallen man’s quest started here, from what you presume is vengeance. But her life is already gone, you can’t bring her back. Even if you did, it wouldn’t stop this mad king. You can see in his eyes that if you leave him alive, he’ll ruin your home before you can live in it.

But with the blessing, you can’t kill him. Despite, right now, being essentially the being giving it to him, the nature of your time manipulation would make it too tricky. You need another angle...

Wait. What is.

You feel. Yourself. Nearby.

...Her womb. She… Is this your mother?

Your existence really is very tenuous. Perhaps this man’s subconscious hope on remaking the world is all that made you live. The only reason you live at all being a father's hope to see their unborn child. The only thread of truth in the Lie that was your life, held together by patchwork, coming apart if stared at too long.

Focus. Your other self is barely alive. And will die soon.

But. That might be your key.

You reach into this faint echo of you. And using them as the final thread, you-

《《《《《《

One week. You could only manage one week, with all you have. You are barely here at all.

But. That. Should be. Enough.

You search. Where is that man. The man who killed her. The man who started this all. The man who took EVERYTHING from you. From EVERYONE that stepped foot on this land!!!

You find him. He doesn’t have the blessing yet.

Perfect.

You pull your dagger from your hip. And with the last bit of your strength…

Dead.

The thread you made pulls taught, as all of reality spirals inwards towards this one single moment, dragging everything across the thread of time, inverting existence upon itself, blending both realities together in one cacophonous instant.

And you.

Fade from consciousness.

>>>>>>>>

You… you awaken. Where?….

A. Crib. A child’s crib.

You. You must be…

Did you merge with your other self?

...You did wish to have your life, you suppose.

HAH. Oh stars, this is gonna be WEIRD!!

But. Okay. It’s fine.

This means you're in the best position to make sure it doesn't happen again. That you don't lose this home again. It's fine.

You’re about 50 years late but. You got it.

Good luck Siffrin. You have a childhood to live.

#isat #in stars and time #symphonyincrimson!au #A lovely side story for ISAT's anniversery!#And the tale of the REAL Siffrin #The one we know.

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icaberries · 1 year ago

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Final Flight

(This brainrot won’t leave me alone, so have some MiShanks angst.)

(CW: Major characters death)

Imagine the final war erupting - the Strawhats, their fleet, the Revolutionary Army, and all their allies rallying against the Marines, Blackbeard, World Government, and Celestial Dragons. It’s total pandemonium and casualties rack up on both sides with no sign of stopping. The two forces are evenly matched in strength and forces, and the standstill is taking its toll on them. Something has to break the draw.

Then, somebody lands a fatal blow on Dracule Mihawk.

It feels like time has stopped. Everyone, both allies and enemies that were fighting near the former World’s Greatest Swordsman, are slack-jawed. Mihawk’s eyes are wide, as if he himself can’t believe that he’s been harmed. He staggers, tries to stay on his feet, but blood spurts from the large cut across his chest, and he falls to the ground.

He doesn’t get back up.

The Alliance is outraged. Although Mihawk was infamous, he was theirs. He was fighting for their side. The rage and disbelief ripples through their alliance, from the former Warlords whose acquaintance was just slain by the people they used to work for, to the members of Cross Guild who just watched one of their commanders fall in battle, to a trembling Buggy and an enraged Crocodile who just lost their third, to a disbelieving Zoro who was mentored and entrusted with the title of World’s Greatest Swordsman.

But none of that compares to Shanks’ reaction.

Shanks who’s been fighting a tireless fight for days on end, Shanks who just watched numerous, comrades get hurt and die around him, Shanks who just watched the love of his life go down in a spray of blood.

His Haki ripples throughout the entire battlefield. The sky splits open, and the seas shake with the force of his will. Enemy forces go down like a domino chain, enough to turn the tide of the battle, enough for their alliance to catch their second wind and continue fighting again.

But all Shanks can focus on is Mihawk.

Shanks rushes through the battlefield, through smoke and blades and gunfire and Devil Fruit powers. His crew surrounds him and fends off anyone who tries to get in Shanks’ way. His eyes are trained on Mihawk’s body on the ground, on his still, unmoving chest, until Shanks is finally up close.

The blow has nearly split Mihawk apart. The pool of blood around him stains Shanks’ pants as he drops to his knees.

Golden eyes look up at him, and even through the pain, they crinkle with fondness at the sight of Shanks. Those eyes that used to be bright with life and love now look up Shanks with a haze over them. It’s obvious Mihawk is struggling to keep them open.

Shanks calls for doctors, for anyone - Hongo, Chopper, Trafalgar, Phoenix - but their medical outpost is miles away, and they're in the thick of the battle. No one can come to help them and they don't have much time.

Then, comes the pleading.

“Please, you need to stay with me. I can’t do this without you.”

What’s the use of Shanks’ dream of peace if Mihawk can’t be there to see it? Who else is Shanks doing this for, if not for his love, who just wanted a quiet life?

Mihawk’s lips are stained with his blood. A man of few words and even in death he has nothing to say. But Shanks has known and loved him for a long time now. Mihawk looks up at him with a defeated look in his eyes, his hand wrapped around Shanks as tight as he can manage. Shanks sees Mihawk’s mouth move and without even hearing the words he knows what Mihawk is trying to say.

Dracule Mihawk takes his last breath in Shanks' arm.

Nothing can prepare Shanks for the heartache that followed. He thought he’d know better by now, that after Roger and Uta, the pain would be easier to handle. It isn’t. It feels like his heart’s been taken out of his chest and crushed underfoot, it feels like watching Roger on the execution stand and listening to Uta’s swan song all over again.

You are never prepared for this kind of loss.

Shanks' grief enchoes throughout the battlefield. His Haki trembles with his cries, the entire world shakes with the force of his will, but Mihawk stays still an unmoving in his arms.

(For added angst: Imagine Film Red took place only a few months before the Final War. Imagine Shanks losing his daughter and lover only within months of each other.)

#mishanks #akataka #mihawk x shanks #dracule mihawk #akagami no shanks #one piece #my posts #red hair shanks

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stvrmhondss · 1 year ago

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i was tagged by @fueledbyremembering to post a snippet from a wip, so here's a piece of the long live inspired fic that i've threatened you all with <3

“You always accuse us of sandbagging,” he sounds indignant, but Max can recognise a layer of humour underneath. “But this year, I think that you are the ones who are sandbagging, actually.” As the room bursts into laughter again, Max swallows heavily. Charles doesn’t know, can’t know, but his words hit him like a kick to the chest, right above his heart. He wishes his team was sandbagging, wishes there was something revolutionary or outstanding to hide from the other teams, but they’ve got nothing. The RB20 is just as it appears – mediocre at best, downright horrible at worst, if luck decides to not be on Max’s side. When he doesn’t join in on the laughter, Charles’ expression falls, worry etched into the space between his brows. Max tries to smile at him, to chase that concern away, but the expression on his face feels more like a grimace than anything else. The furrow between Charles’ brows deepens. Around them, the reporters move on. The next question is for Charles, picking up where the other one had left, asking whether he thinks that this year, the fight between their teams will be closer. “I would hope so,” he’s still looking at Max as he starts speaking and only looks away halfway through his sentence. “At the start in 2022, Max and I had some great fights, but as you probably remember, that ended very quickly and last year we weren’t that close at all, unfortunately. So, I hope that this season, we’ll finally have some good battles again because, as I've always said, I really enjoy racing against Max.” When he’s done, Max holds himself carefully still. He doesn’t want to give anything away – no one is supposed to see the disappointment on his face, the fear and dreadful hunch he has that this year, he won’t get to properly fight Charles for the championship again. Memories of a drunken night in Austin try to push up to the surface and he violently bites down on them.

i will be tagging @il-predestinato @gaslightgirlsummer @drivestraight and anyone who wants to participate (ignore the tag if you've already done this and i just missed it <3)

#lestappen #lestappen fic #f1 rpf #f1 fic #charles leclerc #max verstappen

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smidgen-of-hotboy · 8 months ago

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Our Angel of Brahma, pt. viii

Me: I gotta slow down on updates to finish this semester with a bang. Also me: WRITING MORE!!

@ceaseless-watchers-special-girl @ananxiousgenz @gwenlena @demonic-panini @the-private-eye

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING BEGINS. BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): It doesn’t feel real. Charlie he was just– he was just here last month. Ugh. I feel like a slug. Whatever Iris has been dosing me with I can’t stand. It’s making me sick. I need to eat. I can’t stomach anything though. I am hungry. But I can’t bring myself to eat. It is a vicious cycle. Iris bothered me again about trying to eat, and when I made the comment that I would sooner die from choking on vomit than starvation, they shut up and walked off. Serves them fucking right. Mrs. Camilla gave me my comms back. She… hugged me. Embraced me. If there was anything left of me, I might have cried. But there’s nothing of me. Nothing left to me. My revolution is dead. My parents are dead. Charlie is… dead. (SHAKING GASP) SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING ENDS.

SOUND: COMMS BEEPS AGAIN. RECORDING BEGINS. BARID (REVOLUTIONARY): Say that again. IRIS: Excuse me? BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): Say what you just told me, again. IRIS: Okay… I said, “You can continue to lie here, that’s fine, but I will drag you into tomorrow. And the next day, and the day after that.” BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): Why? IRIS: Why? Because you have to? BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): No, I don’t. You won’t let me go out and do dangerous things, you don’t acknowledge me throughout the day. I don’t have any friends left or any family left. You don't care about me. You feel obligated to stay because of a loose promise you made with my dad. (A LONG, DRAWN OUT PAUSE OF SILENCE. BABIES LAUGHTER CAN BE HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND) IRIS: Baird… I have never met someone say something, so… egregiously, arrogant, ignorant, and downright selfish. You don’t think I care about you? You don’t think I give a shit about you? I’m hurt. I’m truly hurt. I’m sorry I can’t bring back the dead. I’m sorry I’m not dead. I’m sorry your best friend is dead. I’m sorry I’m sticking around because I do give a shit about you. I’m sorry your parents are dead. And I’m sorry I can’t be your fucking parent. (IRIS LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY) Is that what you want? You want me to be your fucking parent? BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): No. IRIS: Then what the fuck do you want from me? And don’t tell me you want me to go away. Cause I’m not going anywhere. You’re all I have left, dammit. BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): I want… I want… (BAIRD’S VOICE CRACKS) I want my mom– (BAIRD BEGINS TO SOB. IRIS SIGHS) IRIS: Oh– come here. (FABRIC RUSTLING. BAIRD CONTINUES TO SOB) I’m sorry, Baird. That was– uncalled for. That was mean. I’m sorry. I forget your just a kid, I’m sorry. BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): You– you keep saying– saying that. IRIS: I know. I don’t think there’s anything else I can say… Oh, you poor mess. Where’s your comms? I have something I need you to hear now, and I want you to be able to listen back to it when you need to. (BAIRD PASSES THE COMMS OFF TO IRIS) I’m not going to be your parent, Baird. I promised Cyrus that I would look after you because he loved you. I’m going to look after you because I need you. Cyrus gave me hope when I had none. He made me believe in the revolution. I thought I would die before I lived to see past forty. But here I am. Three more years. And I don’t know what’s gonna happen to Brahma. Our future is uncertain. But that will always be. My hope for you, Baird, is to get you to where I am. I want you to see past forty. I want you to be alive. And the only way I know to ensure that, is if I drag you into tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. If you die, what becomes of Charlie’s legacy? What about your parents’? I know you can’t think of finding the light, or a will to live right now. And I know you hate me. That’s fine. You can hate me for the rest of your life, I’m still going to be here to make sure you live longer than me. Your voice is going to outlive all of us, Baird. Charlie believed that. And I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens. (IRIS SIGHS) I love you, Baird. I can’t be your parent, but I hope you’ll let me take care of you. We’ll take everything together, one day at a time. One step after another. That’s all we can do right now. (BAIRD WHEEZES AND COUGHS. THEY SNIFFLE) BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): Okay… okay. Iris? IRIS: Yeah? BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): I’m not a kid. IRIS: No, you’re not. BAIRD (REVOLUTIONARY): And Iris? (IRIS HUMS) I think I’m hungry. IRIS: Then let’s eat. Shall we? SOUND: COMMS BEEPS. RECORDING ENDS.

- How many times did Baird listen back to this recording? How much did it stick with them? Because clearly in the Decade recording, Baird is feeling better. They’re alive. He’s somewhat(?) thriving (as much as he can on Brahma). This recording would explain why though in that recording Iris is still around. This recording was the start of a mutual agreeance.

- Even if Baird is dead today, Iris and Charlie did it. They got Baird’s voice out to someone else. (HOW???) And I’m going to do my part, and I’m gonna get it out even further.

- UPDATE: Frannie’s friend emailed me with a list of every documented Baird in the galaxy born within the last 60 years. Half of them are already dead. I don’t know if this Baird is dead today. The New Kinshasan Threat was almost 30 years ago? It’s very hard to keep track of when Baird and the others all made these recordings. I’ll keep the list just in case, but if what Baird said is true in the first recording “Belief” then I probably won’t stand a chance to find any records of them anywhere.

#out of curiosity i checked the word count on this project so far #and we've hit a little over 8k #very pleased with this hoenstly.#our angel of brahma #private eye's keys go jingle jangle #the penumbra podcast #the penumbra fanfic #a hotboy's writing

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kakumeikalaila · 2 years ago

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So……

Finally we are actually getting some info and not skipping to someone else!

I gotta say… I did not see that coming but I’m loving it!!! Some good old war tactics and not just charging in head first (coughLuffycough). Love it. It shows exactly how long this has been building up for! So far we have only speculated how good of a strategist Dragon was based on few little cues but to actually see the extent… I’m glad I was right! No offense to Luffy: it’s fun to see him punch people, but this is more my piece of cake. Also… KARMA IS COMING BACK BITCHES!!!

Anything that can make Dragon make that face is a big no-no in my books… This is going to be fun: I can’t wait to see them all fight seriously!!! Also… is that Shanks? Or his evil twin maybe?

LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!! Finally! Someone said it! People really need to take Dragon’s words here and tattoo them on their foreheads. We need more of him in the real world… I’m real glad we are getting some answers to the key questions we (o at least I) had on the revolution. Again, we always speculated and there were debates around but to have it put black on white is great!

This opens a whole fucking gate on how different the revolution is from what Luffy is doing, for example. They are an army: they fight a war that is bigger than all of them and it needs sacrifices, it’s not all happy-go-lucky. Yes, they know there are bad and good kings. Yes, they are saddened if something happens to the good ones. BUT! They know the general public doesn’t and won’t understand that. They know that things are too complicated to be just black and white but that sometimes that’s all people can see. And they are not above getting their hands dirty if it’s what is needed. They all have a heavy weight on their consciences but they will gladly carry it if it means that the generations after them won’t have to. Sabo’s cold statement here and Dragon’s sarcastic comment just a second later make that very clear. Their hands are covered in blood already. And I adore that Oda is going with this more realistic version of a war and has not just decided to put together a bunch of idealists that are destined to fail. I love how it all works as a sort of balance to Luffy and the Strawhats. The revolutionaries are older, more seasoned realists and the Strawhats, while not exactly idealists either, are more dreamers and optimists. I know I’m generalizing but I think it gets the point across well enough. And I’m in love with all of this. Good job Oda!

Yeah, I can see why that might look quite incriminating… I wasn’t so happy about the revolutionaries all just believing Sabo did it so easily if it was just a headline but I understand now that we know there was an actual picture. Like: boy, I raised you since you were a child, you are my most trusted and my second in command but wtf are you doing with a dead body in your living room?!?!?

Happy to see them holding their grounds on a one on one. Sure, there were handicaps and all but still! That’s no small feat! It took like a fuckton of samurais plus a dragon to do that before and Morley is just here swinging that trident around!

This is gonna be bad. This is going to be very, very bad. God, I hope we are sticking to this storyline and not cutting to someone else. I NEED ANSWERS ODA! NOW!

And now that I said it, next week we are going to see fucking everyone but this. You’re all welcome.

Love the Strawhats to pieces but I am realky enjoying these last chapters without them. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, right?

#one piece 1083 #one piece spoilers #flame emperor sabo #sabo #monkey d. dragon #dragon the revolutionary #emporio ivankov #kamabakka queendom #revolutionary army #reverie #god’s knights #eichiro oda

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autumnalwalker · 10 months ago

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ROYGBIV Tag

Thank you for the tag, @sarahlizziewrites.

Rules: Search your your writing for the colours of the rainbow and post the excerpt.

Passing the (optional) tag to @ieppiq, @theimperiumchronicles, @void-botanist, @rickie-the-storyteller, @olivescales3, @sam-glade, @winterandwords, and the usual open tag to anyone else who wants to try to find pieces of a rainbow in their writing.

Red: Witch's Testament: The Fighter

One last painting for you then.

One tower within a city of towers has been taken and those at the top, literally and figuratively, have met the fate decided for them by those they meant to keep below. Down on the ground floor lobby, a witch sits on a bench as the building's lights flicker back to life, takes off his pointed hat, and uncoils his mind from his familiar’s. He’s prepared a poem for the occasion, one that he never thought he’d get the opportunity to read aloud. He just needs a minute or three to collect himself first.

He’s about to ask one of his fellow witches - a woman in plain clothes with a red backpack that her arachnoid familiar is beginning to crawl out of now that the need for secrecy has passed - to patch him into the building’s intercom system when one of their co-conspirators upstairs alerts them to a situation breaking out between the protestors - no, revolutionaries now - and the office workers.

He stands up - more out of habit than anything - and repeats his request to be patched in. There had always been a danger that this might happen and he’s prepared a whole different poetic speech to give as timely intervention to prevent anyone else needlessly coming to blows. It’s a shame he won’t get to recite the other one today after all, and he probably won’t get another opportunity, but such is life.

And so, as his voice echoes throughout the building once more, he speaks of love.

Orange: The Melts

Mil’s trip to the restroom to straighten up in front of the mirror was a perfunctory one. They might have arrived late to work, but no way were they going to be late to feed the weavers on schedule. Elam - in early and still in nir fall look of leaf-like orange hair and skin covered in gray keratin growths mimicking tree bark - gave a marginally less brusque than usual greeting when Mil pushed aside the heavy curtain separating the dim tailoring room from the shop, even going so far as to offer nir sympathies for Mil’s melts. Mil’s more solid hand glorped over one of the nutrient slurry canisters on the shelf as they insisted that they were fine. Just a minor case of the melts that would clear up by the afternoon.

Yellow: Empty Names - 20 - Changeling Child

“What I’m still hung up on,” Lacuna says, “is what triggered your change. Normally it’s the death of whichever parent made the deal, but…” She trails off as her eyes alight on one of the pins adorning Tam’s denim jacket. A heart of four stripes. Yellow, white, purple, and black. “How long ago did you start calling yourself Tam?” she asks.

Green: Kindly Basilisk

You’ll take two things with you. Two things worth mentioning anyway. The first will be a symbiotic gel suit designed for long-term all-environment life support. You will set its default texture to a shiny green the same hue as the broadleafed water plants you grew up around and always loved. Your exit interview will be the last time in a very long time that anyone - including you - will see your impossibly beautiful face with its perfect artisanally sculpted shape crossed with enthusiastically amateur self-modifications. From then on, everyone you meet and spend any time with will come to think of the mannequin blankness of the symbiote fully encasing your body as your face. It will be neither pride nor shame that causes you to present yourself as such, nor will you think of it as hiding your “real” face.

The second thing you’ll take with you when you leave the campus forever will be me.

Blue: The Archivist's Journal, Day 313

As we guided the boat into that cove it became apparent that there were once docks here as well, although now all that remained were scattered wooden pylons sticking up above the water and crumbling stumps of boardwalk on the shore. It had all gone unused long enough that a reef had grown among the submerged ruins. Ostensibly we slowed down at that point for safety, but just as much, we were taking our time to look around and beneath us. While the fish we saw darting in and out of our lamplight were not as colorful as their diurnal counterparts, the undulating polyps of the corals themselves (extended for nocturnal feeding I presume) had a fluorescence to them, subtle under the moonlight, but set off more dramatically under the light of our crystals. Once we reached a spot where we seemed unlikely to drift into anything, Lin told me to cover my lantern as she covered hers. After a moment of letting my eyes adjust to the dark I realized that since passing over the reef our rowing had stirred up a trail of soft blue bioluminesce behind us.

Indigo Dark Blue: Empty Names - 15 - Matters of Technique

Lacuna hands Ashan her phone, face blushing and not making eye contact. On the screen is a manga cover with the title Crystal Witch Arya. There, floating in the center of the screen with white staff pointed dramatically and a wry smile on her face is Ashan’s mentor. The face is artistically stylized and the real Aliana was never so well-endowed as this fictional “Arya” character, but otherwise the resemblance is uncanny. The midnight blue hair, the robe Ashan’s own was patterned after, the broad-brimmed white hat he had never incorporated into his own style, even the patterns carved into the staff; all of it certainly drawn by someone who met her.

Ashan thinks back to all the cases of mistaken cosplay identity this past convention season and groans.

Violet: Empty Names - 20 - Changeling Child

Ashan’s eyes flick back to the individual standing in front of the door, locking gazes.

“What was that?” he asks.

“I was hoping you could tell me. Now please, you gotta let me in. Before it -”

They double over groaning in pain. With effort they crane their neck up to reveal a face flickering between two forms. One of an unremarkably average brown-eyed human with two or three days of unshaven stubble, and the other violet-eyed with smooth, waxy leaf-green skin. Violet eyes or brown, the look of desperate fear and confusion is the same. It strikes Ashan how young they are. No more than late teens.

“Help me,” they gasp.

#The only instance of “indigo” in my writing I used the last time I had this tag game. I actually wrote that segment FOR the tag game.#writeblr #writers on tumblr #my writing #tag game #writing tag games #roygbiv tag #find the word tag #word find tag

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wooodyguthrie · 1 year ago

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Rubin vs. Ochs

Perhaps not Untypical

On March 31, 1968, in a move that surprised most, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not run for re-election in 1968. In the aftermath of Lyndon B. Johnson's sudden shocker a heated dialogue between Phil Ochs, folksinger, and Jerry Rubin, Yippie organizer, took place on the subject of America, Johnson, Kennedy and the movement.

Full dialogue under the cut

RUBIN: The six-gun has surrendered; the machine will now move back into control of America’s banks. Rationality will replace the sloppy hand. Kennedy, the mechanical consumer product, will replace Johnson, the existential gambler. And things won’t be as interesting up there.

OCHS: The machine has never relinquished control; the six-gun is now fully automated. The yippie is a political child reacting emotionally, like an artist, armed with intuition and numbers, and therefore effective in the current madness. Perhaps the politics of acid. The yippie is the child and creation of the insane technological society.

RUBIN: Only an emotional child could react properly to this world. What can a grown-up Harvard professor say about napalmed babies? What can a rich man know about black poverty? I try to react to America like an emotional child. I am also angry. I am angry with the machine that does not ask why, that smiles, that shakes your hand, that feels no emotion. The battle in America is not between Johnson and Kennedy, or Democrats and Republicans, but between children and the machine. Kennedy represents the basic evil of America, not Johnson. Johnson was just doing all he could in his own way to live up to J. Kennedy’s memory. I hate all rich bastards.

OCHS: You radicals are all alike, lashing out at the approaching armed tractor with yo-yo s. I agree with an essential part of what you’re saying, but I also sense the machine is developing a rather apparent emotion, that of survival. The system is in a state of crisis and I feel there may be a surprising number of radicalized establishment figures (“rich bastards”) who are responding to the lunacy of the times as deeply as we are. Many people are very mad, many are in a drugged stupor, and being a semi-yippie I’m hysterical.

RUBIN: OK, that draws the issue clearly. I do not want this system to survive. You do. I want to help destroy America’s military domination of the world, and her cultural imperialism. To me the essence of America is viewing man as a material, not a spiritual, object. In other words, the Death society. America at her essence is irrational to man’s freedom. Kennedy would rationally protect this irrationality. Kennedy is the enemy of the South American peasant and the Detroit black, and the dropped – out Long Island white teenager.

OCHS: Once again I essentially agree with you but I see a different pattern for the change. America must change the direction of its foreign policy and the character of its soul if it is to survive. The world at its essence has been historically irrational to man’s freedom and we’re just the new generation of actor-comedian-revolutionaries who get to face the impossible, but only worthwhile battle. I’m just as unpatriotic as the next guy, but I realize the revolution requires timing as well as militancy. Look before you leap and consider who else might be dominating.

RUBIN: Fuck your timing. Johnson quit because like you, he understands that the counter-revolution also requires timing as well as militancy.

OCHS: Johnson pulling back is either the noblest or the craftiest move he ever made. The advancing armies, panting on the verge of a major kill, pause and lift their visors to discover to their outrage that their helpless enemy has disappeared and joined their ranks through the night. Come back Lyndon, we need you.

RUBIN: Johnson hates Kennedy more than he hates Ho Chi Minh. He has robbed Kennedy of a Kennedy crusade. Johnson can now sit on the sidelines, amused. Both men have so confused their images with their heads that all they see is their images colliding in the media. And the whole charade is a technicolor movie distracting us, the yippies, from doing our thing.

OCHS: Yes, but it’s a great movie, and I suspect we’re all part of it, without our choice. In fact, we are probably creations of it. We’re trying to kill daddy by our underground films, forgetting that Warner Bros. can still come up with Bonnie and Clyde. Yes, that Warner Bros. can still come up with Bonnie and Clyde. Yes, one hand on the creation of the new society, but perhaps another trying to keep horseshoes away from the cossacks.

RUBIN: The change in the faces of royalty have no effect on Yippie. Chicago will still be a theatrical stage, and we actors. The Democratic Convention still smells of Death. Yippie and black power are the only ideas left to believe in in America.

OCHS: The change in the faces of the party will in fact diminish some of the natural organizing power of yippie. Johnson is the great theatrical enemy to have; it is much easier to get people to freak out over him than the memory of John Kennedy.

RUBIN: But in four months Bobby as the establishment candidate will reveal his fanged teeth; he will oppose revolution in South Vietnam; he will salute the flag; he will attack crime in the streets; he will embrace Lyndon B. Johnson; he will condemn extremism; he will court the South; he will have you arrested for pot; he will joke on camera. Bobby is the polar opposite to our alternative consciousness, alternative culture. In Chicago the freaky, emotional, communal underculture will expose itself to Bobby’s refrigerated mind.

OCHS: All presidential candidates are required to recite the defensive slogans of the corporation cold war; the question is what they actually do when in office. John Kennedy followed the natural political course, which was middle; Robert Kennedy will follow today’s natural political course, which is moderate left. I’m not proposing to blindly follow the man. I’m leaving open the possibility that he is hip enough, and charismatic enough, and powerful enough to make a major attempt to reform an unworkable system. If he really has no intention of making a change, he will fall like any nearsighted bureaucrat.

RUBIN: Phil, please take your thumb out of your mouth! Don’t swoon so soon! Bobby Kennedy believes in the corporate cold war with all his sawed-off soul. Bobby Kennedy has won your heart and stolen your head. Kennedy stands for the maintenance of property; we stand for the destruction of property and the establishment of community—never the two shall meet. The youth are building a real thing, and Kennedy is irrelevant to it. I suggest a five-month ban on the mention of Kennedy’s name.

OCHS: Jerry, take the joint away from your thumb. The day community stops meeting property is the day Kennedy loses his ambition. I believe the youth movement should define its separation from Establishment leaders so as not to have anything approaching the Stevenson disillusionment. But while we’re hacking our way out of the jungle, let’s not forget that we’re not the only tribe and we must carve our future out of our past, however corrupt. Kennedy doesn’t own me; I visualize him arm-wrestling in the wings with Che Guevara, and morally I lean toward Che’s side. I admit I’m confused about the current situation. I am blinded by movie star reform, and movie star revolution. But I can see reform on the way to youthopia.

RUBIN: Kennedy? Who is that?

OCHS: He doesn’t exist; neither do the yippies.

RUBIN: The yippies are a social movement, a dynamic youth energy force. International. Young people too alienated to become spare parts in somebody’s junk car. Young people ecstatic with the “now!” Demonstrations are becoming a way of life, a life style—a celebration of the future—without specific political demands—our politics exist in the very way we live our lives. We cannot be co-opted because we want everything. We do not accept the assumptions of America. Electoral politics is a trick-bag which has little to do with the way America works; America’s power lies in her cultural and economic institutions; and we are at war with them. The Vietnam war has taught us how to stand on our two feet. Once standing, we shall never kneel again. See you in Chicago.

OCHS: The energy of the youth social movement is there without the yippies, and the yippies are becoming the natural embodiment of that force. I’m a part of that force; I celebrate life; I also have specific demands, like the legalization of marijuana, the curtailing of the police, the end of an imperialist foreign policy. I am not kneeling, but my feet aren’t completely off the ground either. America is the beautiful shipwreck; we are the orphans of technology, and “now” is an illusion just as sure as my name is Eugene McCarthy. Keep flippy for yippee; see you in Chicago!

#articles #history #politics #musicians #activists #phil ochs #jerry rubins

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theanimeview · 2 years ago

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Muffy: Will You Give Her A Wonderful Life?

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/harvest-moon-a-wonderful-life--568227677956353515/

By: Casea Smith | @coffeewithkrow

On one fateful Christmas day, I got Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life. This was not only the first farming simulator I ever played but also the first game I had ever played that allowed (or, in this case, required) you to marry someone. It was revolutionary to me as a child, and it opened my mind to a new way of thinking about what video games can be in general.

As you can imagine, the announcement of A Wonderful Life’s remake (now under the franchise Story of Seasons) left me bouncing with joy and anticipation. With every teaser, the wait until summer simply feels longer and longer. While I wait, what better way to kill time than to write about my usual choice to marry: Muffy.

For clarification, in the Story of Seasons version, her name is “Molly.” Molly is the same character as Muffy, but, for this post, I will be referring to her by the original name of “Muffy.”

Muffy is an interesting character. She is easy to judge with one’s first viewing with internalized misogyny. She works at the bar and comes off as very bubbly and flirtatious. Muffy certainly stands out against the countryside background with her bold make-up and red dress, but there is more than meets the eye to this young lady.

In the subsequent game, Another Wonderful Life, you play as a female instead, allowing you to see things from a different perspective as same-sex marriages in video games weren’t an option in those days. So instead of always marrying her, I had to sit on the sidelines and experience the tragic progression of Muffy’s love life.You see, as the oldest of the bachelorettes, all she wants is to settle down and have a family with the love of her life. The problem is, there isn’t anybody in the village who has caught her eye, nor do they seem interested in her that way either, so she dates boys from the city.

Well, every year, you can catch Muffy standing on the bridge watching the sunset. At first, she’s there to re-examine her heartbreak over men not taking her seriously, and not wanting to settle down. Time passes again, and she tells of a man that cheated on her, and how he chose the other woman over her. Each passing year becomes bleaker as she ages. Meanwhile, you have already chosen your mate and are watching your son grow up while Muffy is found at the bridge mourning over what could have been year after year.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62DNLYrtj2M&ab_channel=ch0colatemilk

As a child, I felt helpless and completely willing to marry Muffy if only the game would allow it. So, whenever I re-play A Wonderful Life, I tend to feel a twinge of guilt when I decide to marry someone other than Muffy.As I try to figure out which candidate I will choose, I can’t help but wonder if it is even healthy to decide on Muffy out of guilt since I know she won’t marry anyone else or move on in life if I don’t choose her–it’s quite reminiscent of Penny from Stardew Valley in a sense.

Yes, their situations are vastly different considering Penny is living in a trailer with her alcoholic mother, but lots of people decide to marry Penny because they feel the need to rescue her. If more people knew of the progressing destruction of Muffy’s dreams, would that motivate more people to choose her out of the different candidates?

It might not be the healthiest reason to pick someone, but I don’t think it’s an invalid reason. Not to mention, the focus on the guilt can make it seem like you’re ONLY choosing them because of their trauma, when in reality you might see them as more than that.

However, after a long reflection, I believe that there are other reasons to like Muffy and marry her beyond pity or guilt. She is very sweet and is the only one to approach you first. A good-looking new farmer is in the valley, and she is not going to pass up the opportunity to make something happen. She also blossoms into the motherly role quite beautifully; it’s quite endearing to see her enjoying life on the farm with her husband and son. However, comparing Muffy with the other bachelorettes, I can’t help but think that she really is the best choice!

Celia is an obvious choice as she is also a farmer, and the child she bears will more naturally have an interest in running the farm, but, as a kid, I was disappointed by the fact that she doesn’t seem to farm anymore after you marry her (at least not that I could tell). It’s as though a major passion of hers is gone.

When it comes to the quiet and cold Nami, I always felt like I was tying her down and keeping her from being the traveling spirit she is, particularly when I know that she would be off traveling had she not married me in that playthrough. She’ll even express such feelings from time to time, and it would break my heart as her in-game spouse.

But now, with the Story of Seasons's remake, there are many candidates to choose from, as gender is no longer an obstacle when it comes to marrying someone. Though, I hope that those of you reading this and planning to play the game will give Muffy a chance if you haven’t already. If not, I’d love to hear your takeaways from her character, too!

#A Wonderful Life #Story of Seasons #Harvest Moon #Muffy #SOS #AWL #HM #HMAWL #SOSAWL #Analysis

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tilbageidanmark · 8 months ago

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youtube

Movies I watched this week (#167)

(I've gone overboard again this week!)...

🍿

'A spectre is haunting Europe, the spectre of communism...'

The Young Karl Marx is my second film by Haitian Raoul Peck (After his 4-part documentary about colonialism 'Exterminate all the Brutes'). An historical German biography about the birth of the labor movement, with lengthy discussions of the political theories of the time. It's so refreshing to experience an unapologetic look at the revolutionary ideology of class struggle, improving and uniting the impoverished workers and taking down the exploiting bourgeoisie. Vicky Krieps is lovely as Marx's sexy and supportive wife. 7/10.

🍿

Chan is missing, my 3rd by indie filmmaker Wayne Wang (After 'Smoke' and 'The Joy Luck Club'). Made for $20,000, this detective story was his solo directorial debut, and the first 'important' film about "ABC"s ('American Born Chinese') and other Asians living in Chinatown. I lived in San Francisco in the later 80s, and this brings back very fond memories to a long-forgotten time.

🍿

2 by Tricia Cooke:

🍿 Tricia Cooke is an editor, who worked on many of the Coen Brothers' films (together with "Roderick Jaynes"). She's also been married to Ethan Coen for 30 years (in an open, "non-traditional" marriage, according to Wikipedia).

Drive away dolls, the new comedy was written by her and husband Ethan, but without brother Joel. It's a "Lesbian road trip", in the raunchy tradition of 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!' and 'Bad Girls Go to Hell'. Andie MacDowell's foxy daughter is a free-spirit just looking for uncommitted, good time, but eventually falls in love with her girlfriend Marian. The romantic scene when it finally happens plays well to Linda Ronstadt's Blue Bayou background (but then, anything would!). The first 10 minutes were a bit confusing, but once they started driving, it got funnier (especially with the UNG soccer team 'basement party', and the Big Lebowski-style dream sequence). With time, it will earn its higher place at the Coen cultish pantheon.

"Who are you?"... "Democrats"...

🍿 Eve, (2008) an unexpectedly poignant story, Natalie Portman's directorial debut. A young woman visit her very old grandmother Lauren Bacall, only to intrude on her romantic dinner with very old beau Ben Gazzara. With score by Sufjan Stevens. 7/10.

/ Female Director

🍿

"...I'll see you in my dreams..."

First watch: First season of Twin Peaks. I've seen 4 of David Lynch's surreal films before ['Blue Velvet', 'The Elephant Man', 'Wild at Heart' and 'Mulholland Drive'] and none of these made me a fan. But I like to keep an open mind, so I gave this, his most popular work, a try. However, like many old classics you see for the first time many years after their production date, its charms were completely lost on me. I can see what a radical breakthrough it was for network television in 1990, but today it feels like the antics of a straight-forward Soap Opera with an added, pretentious 'quirk' to every move and character. The coffee fetishism, the dancing midgets and log ladies, the absurd police procedural, the eclectic twists and supernatural dreams. With every episode I hated it more. The mystery of who killed whom, or the obviousness of everybody sleeping with everybody else, were utterly uninteresting. I really wanted to like it, but after 6 arduous episodes, I had to just admit that it's not for me. 2/10.

But I always loved Angelo Badalamenti's theme, and I often listen to it on loop.

🍿

"I feel so low that I could get on stilts and walk under a dachshund"

It (1927), my first silent film with the original 'Manic Pixie Dream Girl', Clara Bow. "It" being basically sex appeal. Pre-Code, sassy and cheesy. This version is 'Colorized'.

🍿

"You notice things when you pay attention", and “We won’t be like them”.

Another frequent re-watch of my most cherished romance film, In the Mood for Love, with incomparable couple Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung. Her sad beauty, in these exquisite high-collar Qipao, and unrequited longings, are etched on my heart. With 2 different musical themes, the famous 'Yumeji's waltz', and the Nat 'King' Cole Spanish Boleros: I want to find an analysis of when and why each one was used. The 3rd act was unbearably sad. And what is exactly the meaning of the Cambodian coda? 10/10. ♻️

🍿

4 Winning and Nominated Shorts from Last Night's Oscars (plus 11 more):

🍿 The Last Repair Shop - deservedly - won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short this year. (Video Above). A quiet story about a shop that maintains and repairs the 80,000 musical instruments used by students of the Los Angeles school district. It's about mending broken things so they can be whole again, performed by people who were also broken, but are now whole.

Similar and even better than the 2017 Oscar nominee Joe's Violin. One of the best films I've seen so far this year! 10/10.

🍿 The previous short directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers was the wonderful A Concerto Is a Conversation, about jazz pianist Kris Bowers' relationship with his grandfather. Nominated in 2021. 9/10.

🍿 The Queen of Basketball was another Ben Proudfoot short which won an Oscar in 2021. Their trade in stock is a well-told emotional human interest angle. This one is about a black woman who was college basketball superstar in the 1970's. Heart-warming.

🍿 Proudfoot's 2021 Almost Famous: The First Report told the story of a Louisiana reporter who broke the story of the Catholic church sex abuse scandal, but who did it in the 1980's. He was too early, and eventually got a mention in 'Spotlight'.

🍿 War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko, a lovely alternate World War One animated short about two soldiers from the opposite sides playing long distance chess with the help of a carrier pigeon. Won this year’s animated short.

Also, Dave Mullins previous story, Lou (2017), another Oscar nominated Pixar pre-feature item. It's about an anthropomorphic Lost & Found Chest, at a school yard identical to the one Adora used to go to her first 6 years. 7/10 and better than many of the later Pixar shorts.

🍿 The ABCs of Book Banning was nominated in 2023, but did not win. It features intelligent kids of 7-15 questioning the mass removal of books from schools and libraries, mostly about race, women and LGBT topics. Knowledge is power and the American Nazis who ban books have their eyes on much bigger prizes.

/ Female Director

🍿Island in Between, another terrific nominee from this year, about the Taiwanese islands of Kinmen. Made by a Taiwanese filmmaker, who reflects on his family relationship to china, Taiwan and the USA. Got me to listen to the songs of Teresa Teng again.

🍿3 by Jay Rosenblatt: "What do you want to do when you grow up? What are you afraid of? What is power? What are dreams? What is most important to you?" Nominated for the 2022 Oscars, How Do You Measure a Year? hit me very hard. New father Jay Rosenblatt started recording his daughter on her 2nd birthday, asking her about her life, and continued doing it every birthday until she was 18. My Adora Project didn't end so positively. Another 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. 10/10.

🍿 In Jay Rosenblatt's 1998 Human Remains, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Franco and Mao share details about their intimate lives, what they like to eat and drink, their sexual preferences and bowel movements, likes and dislikes. Personally banal.

🍿 When We Were Bullies, a third reenactment by documentarian Jay Rosebnblatt, about a personal incident from his elementary school days, when he and others bullied a classmate. It gives some unpleasant ‘This American life’ vibes, but ends tenderly with a simple “I’m sorry”.

🍿 The Elephant Whisperers won the 2022 Documentary short with 💯 score on Rotten Tomatoes. An Indian 'Animal Planet' style story about an indigenous couple, caretakers of baby elephants at a large national park and elephant reserve. I wish it was me.

A couple of hundred years ago, most of the world was the space where animals lived, tigers, elephants, birds, monkeys. Then humans killed them all and took their place.

/ Female Director

🍿 The girl and the tsunami is an Argentinian animation about a 12-year-old Chilean girl who saved her island community in the 2010 tsunami.

🍿 Snif & Snüf, a little geometrical animation, by a guy who worked on 'Bojack Horseman'. It's a similar concept to Břetislav Pojar's Czeck award-winning Balablok from 1972, where squares and circles fight to the death.

🍿

Jim Jarmusch/Tom Waits/Rosie Perez X 2:

🍿 "Tasty Porcinis..."

Re-watch: The Dead Don't Die, his slow, absurdist apocalyptic comedy about flesh eatin' Coffee Zombies. Full of meta-connections and allusions to a cinematic universe: Sam Fuller, Cliff Robertson, Patterson, George Romero, and breaking the fourth wall ("Jim gave me the whole script!")

An ensemble piece with a special 'Thank you': 'Would anyone object if I gave credit to Atilla Yücer?' Such a Jarmusch thing to do! ♻️

🍿 Night on Earth (1991) is an anthology about 5 unrelated taxi drivers in 5 different cities, and the clients they pick on the same night. I found it irritating, and the rides in Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Roma couldn't end fast enough. But the last story which took place in Helsinki, as the morning was about to break, was sad and powerful. Jarmusch was a friend of Aki Kaurismäki, and this influence might have helped.

🍿

Craig Ferguson X 2:

🍿 “Congratulations, Mr. Stuart. You are tonight’s lucky Scotsman.”

Saving Grace, an well-written, well-played and funny stoner comedy, about middle aged widow Brenda Blethyn whose irresponsible husband left her in an enormous debt, forcing her to grow marijuana in her greenhouse along with her pot-loving gardener Craig Ferguson to avoid losing her large country house in Cornwall. 7/10.

🍿 I’ll be there (2003) was the only film Ferguson's wrote and directed (and rather competently). A sentimental but enjoyable story of an aging has-been rock star who discovers that brilliant teenage singer Charlotte Church is a daughter he didn't know he had. A different slant on my favorite theme from 'After the Wedding'. It ends with a perfect 'Happy End' when she sings 'Summertime' on a stage, whose lyrics sums up very nicely the whole movie.

🍿

I watched Larry David's Clear history last week, but I felt like laughing at it again. David is such an unbearable asshole, but it was a solid comedy. Now I'm considering seeing 'The Fountainhead' with Gary Cooper, which is mentioned as part of the joke.♻️

🍿

"Those aren't pillows!..."

After seeing again the "I want a fucking car" clip, a re-watch: Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the classic Thanksgiving dramedy with the classic 'Odd couple' plot. ♻️

🍿

René Laloux, who directed the amazing 'La Planète sauvage', followed it up with another psychedelic, experimental movie. Together with bandes dessinées artist Moebius, they did Time Masters in 1982. I had a very hard time with this worthless science fiction story. Except of a few sparks of visual poetry here and there, it was more like a terrible, boring 'Time Wasters'. 1/10.

🍿

I watched the super-light French comedy My Best Friend's Girl from 1983, but only because it features a young Isabelle Huppert. She plays a sexy, promiscuous temptress, who seduces 2 best friends at a ski-resort, so much so, that they both go crazy over her. Nothing wrong with some frothy ménage à trois, as she was glamorously prancing in revealing negligees for most of the time, but this was terribly-written and unwatchably juvenile. 1/10.

At least, I discovered this recording of Nirvana's 'My best Friend's Girl'.

🍿

Throw-back to the "Art project”:

“War is Over” Adora.

🍿

(My complete movie list is here)

#movies #the last repair shop #oscars

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