#tw famine

[craftyjellyfishcat]

Story idea: a royal family was started when a humble farmer saved his community from a famine by donating every coin and food he could.

Now before any member can ascend to the throne, they must grow a plant to honor the farmer who saved many lives.

You seemingly can't grow anything, and many worry you never do so. One day however, you discover you can grow plants in a different way...

[vrnicky]

Lore dump!

@janeelyakiri

TW: mentions of famine, death, eating humans, dark stuff.

This is the backstory behind Fennec! I made this like a chat she had with her therapist.

.

.

"Ready?"

Fennec: I.. think so..

"We can chat about something else if you're not ready yet."

Fennec: N-no! I.. I can't handle.. keeping this secret anymore..

"I understand. Does this have to do with your disgust of blood?"

Fennec nods.

Fennec: it was.. some years ago. Before all this, skeletons appeared..

We got trapped.. in a cold place, there's was snow everywhere.. and slowly the food started vanishing.

"You were with a big group of people?"

Fennec: Kinda.. people who also got trapped with us..

"Understood. Continue."

Fennec: At first we thought, we could hunt some animals down but there wasn't anything there besides us..

My brother has always been a quiet one and even though he wasn't the leader, people respected him.

And without food.. everyone started going crazy when it happened..

"What happened?"

Fennec's grip on her chair tightens.

Fennec: someone started bothering my brother.. even tho he ignored him.. he just snapped and when he slipped h-he.. his neck hit a-a rock and.. and he.. h-he died..

Fennec holds down a sob.

Fennec: t-the other people quickly yelled at the body saying.. "it's still warm! We can eat it!"

M-me and my brother.. w-we couldn't handle it..

"If you need a moment.."

Fennec nods.

Fennec: after that moment.. we just.. started eating his poor body.. I-i.. I didn't wanted to! W-we.. I.. I was just so hungry.. we were so hungry..

Then.. the group we were in decided to started killing.. the weak ones.. I.. was a weak one.

"What?! They tried to kill you?!"

Fennec: yeah.. that's how I got most of my scars.. mostly because they trapped my brother down so he couldn't stop them..

I never saw Wolf.. full of rage before that moment.. he just.. killed them all out of anger..

"This means.. the ones that tried to kill you made you the scar in your eye and your knee problem?"

Fennec nods again.

Fennec: after that we left that place.. we needed to go somewhere else.. we were.. just beasts at this point..

As I didn't know how to fight or defend myself.. Wolf was the one to get food and me.. the one that alert him someone was coming..

"I think that's enough, thank you for cooperating."

Fennec: ...I knew you would judge me..

"I'm not saying that, that was clearly traumatic for you! Just go home and rest."

[bluestone-dragon]

Hi! I'm anon. These are the images (atrocious quality, sorry). The portraits are (I assume replicas of) silkscreen paintings of Chairman Mao by Andy Warhol. [source: Metropolitan Museum of Art]

I'm an American who visited the UK and went to Harrod's, where I saw these. I didn't like them, but I've also done a lot of research into the Great Chinese Famine (death toll: 15-45 million) and Cultural Revolution (death toll: 1 million) so I didn't know if I was being too sensitive. Thus, poll.

I'm aware that replacing Mao with Hitler in the question is an imperfect comparison, and I want to explain my thought process. My main concern with the poll was that people would vote differently if they knew it was Mao. In my experience, based on research I've done into World War 2 and the way I was taught in US schools (sorry, I don't know what British schools teach re: Mao), people generally know less about Mao and the Famine/Revolution in comparison to Hitler and the Holocaust. In addition, there's been a lot of propaganda spread about the Famine/Revolution that minimizes or redirects the blame for the suffering people went through, and even today, these topics are heavily censored by the Chinese government. In China, for example, the Famine is euphemistically called "Three Years of Natural Disasters."

(For evidence about the propaganda point, consider these articles about China during World War 2, by The Guardian and Britannica, both purportedly reliable sources. The Guardian says, "[For the Chinese Communist Party] Being holed up far from the invading Japanese had its advantages. Although the CCP doesn’t highlight it, the burden of the fighting against Imperial Japan was borne by Chiang and his armies, who also suffered the bulk of the casualties." Britannica says, "While Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces basically sat out the war in Chongqing, the CCP tremendously expanded its strength by fighting the Japanese invaders." The Guardian is right, but it's telling that as recently as September 2024, Britannica was flagrantly incorrect. By the way, this part of the Britannica article's been changed now to be more accurate, but I haven't reread the whole thing, so there might be more problems. I know these articles aren't about the Famine/Revolution, but they are about the beginning of the Chinese Communist Party, another topic that the CCP is really touchy about. The point is that there's a lot of CCP propaganda and it affects available information; I wouldn't have known Britannica was incorrect if it hadn't been for some talks with people IRL.)

Because of all these reasons (education, propaganda, and more), in my experience, people seem to think that Mao is "less bad." I'm not going to play comparison bingo; the Famine, Revolution, and Holocaust were all horrifically violent and inhumane, and I don't have the words to convey just how terrible they were. This Washington Post article phrases it well: "The fact that Mao’s atrocities resulted in many more deaths than those of Hitler does not necessarily mean he was the more evil of the two. The greater death toll is partly the result of the fact that Mao ruled over a much larger population for a much longer time. I lost several relatives in the Holocaust myself, and have no wish to diminish its significance. But the vast scale of Chinese communist atrocities puts them in the same general ballpark. At the very least, they deserve far more recognition than they currently receive."

In the context of this poll, I thought people might vote differently if they knew it was Mao. (If you think you would've been okay with it if it was Mao, consider reading this Guardian article that mentions some of the individual atrocities during the famine. TW: cannibalism, torture, starvation... honestly more TWs I don't know how to phrase. This Guardian article goes more into the bigger picture. Same TWs apply.) I didn't want people voting differently; thus, I changed it to Hitler, who's someone much more entrenched in the Western consciousness. If you think I shouldn't have changed it or should've used someone else, I'd love to hear about it. I tried to do everything in good faith, but like I mentioned, I’m not European and don’t know anyone killed by Hitler, so if you think this is insensitive or inappropriate, please let me know.

Lastly! If anyone has questions about the Famine, Revolution, zero-Covid policy, or other stuff about Chinese history or China now, come talk to me! I can't promise to know the answer, but I'll do my best.

And with that, I'm posting and going to bed, because I’ve got school tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to read all this! :D

Some people who asked for context: @evenintragedy @dormiebasne @monacatowadefender @redwoodtators @aliosne @gobbluthofficial @swirly592 @13th-floor-in-moonstone @emberindigocymbee Sorry for notifying all of you, but you mentioned in the comments you wanted context, so uh… here it is?

Scenario:

A big, famous department store has four portraits of Hitler as decoration on a wall. Two of the portraits are hanging behind a small statue of two hands making a heart. The portraits are lifelike, but in bright colors. They are replicas of work by a famous artist, and art critics think the artist was probably criticizing Hitler. Neo-Nazi politicians dislike the originals and, when a museum included them as part of an international tour, called for the originals to be specifically excluded from the tour.

There are no plaques or anything explaining any of this history, paying tribute to Hitler's victims, or even naming the artist-- anon found out who created the original works by Googling it. (If you know the store/artist/portraits anon is talking about, please don't spoil it.)

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[sayruq]

[aropride]

[kelocitta]

rat concepts feat. not looking at a bone for reference

[drifting-moon]

🖤 fami / famine devil graphics for anon !!

like/rb and credit if using <3

[thestressedsimmer]

April 7th, 1316: The Picard Farm, Willow Creek

Iseie had not yet slept through the night. That was why, when they did not hear a single cry until the morning, both Éduin and Edelinne rushed to check on him - as much as they wanted to be happy and celebrate this milestone, there was a sick feeling in their guts. Their parental instincts screaming that something was wrong.

Éduin got there first, leaning over the cradle to check. He was silent for a long, long time as he stared in shock at the boy.

"He's not.... He's not breathing." He mumbled, softly. "He must have passed in the night." Their boy had so much energy. Sure, he was hungry more often than he wasn't, but he thought that his son was thriving better than the rest of them.

The scream that came from his wife broke him out of his shock and disbelief. It was a scream of pure pain. Pain, anger, despair. . .

As she fell to their knees, their daughter awoke startled. She was only a year old, there was no way she could understand why her mama was screaming but she did know that she was scared.

"It must be my fault. My milk... I haven't eaten enough and my milk dried. He was so hungry and I couldn't help him, what sort of mother am I?"

Her husband sat beside her, tugging her into his arms. He felt his own tears streaming down his cheeks, but his wife needed him now.

"It is not your fault." He said, forcing her to look at him. "Everyone is hungry. He just was not strong enough. Let's just be grateful he is with the Watcher now and will never experience hunger pains again."

The 'comfort' rang hollow to even him. It's hard to believe that any place is better for a child to be than with their parents, even if that other place is with the Watcher, but what else are a father and mother to do to ease their broken hearts?

[ummick]

wec fuji full access, but it's just mick - october 4, 2024

[shysheeperz]

[deadontheinsidesexyontheoutside]

As Sudan’s civil war rages on, what price do women pay? | The Take

[hiba91]

For those who said we are lying 👍👍

#Repost @palestine.pixel

——

| The child Yazan Al-Kafarna.. he is suffering from bad health conditions after his displacement from northern Gaza to the city of Rafah, and he is at risk of death at any moment due to the lack of food and oxygen in hospitals and health care.

Via @hassan_eslaih

[bebemoon]

FAMINE .

[littlemistit]

Are you guys capable of creating aesthetic art of beautiful women getting eviscerated where they aren't super hyper skinny or would that be too grotesque for you

[sayruq]

TW: A dead body

[thefourchimes]

Talking more about The Four Chimes AU because yes

so there’s been an interesting surge of apocalypse four (though most people call them vecna four) content recently, which i am very much thrilled to see

in line with that, i’m gonna share a bit more on the au that has been built from the ground up ever since last year, having definite arcs and various aus and sub aus of it already

the four chimes au

this universe has been mine and @lumaxramblings 's blood, sweat, and tears for the past year, ever since July 14

i've made a few posts about it, and shared some snippets on it in some wip weds and weekends, but i never fully explained the universe beyond the little bubble of the discord thread in the discord server im in

so let me explain now. we know this already but the apocalypse four are vecna's four sacrifices to make the four gates, but in this au, they're not just the four sacrifices. they're the four chimes too.

you see, vecna had a vision. he had remembered the story of the four horsemen of the apocalypse from a time victor creel had brought him and alice to the Church to listen

the four horsemen of the apocalypse, he had mused...and inspiration struck him.

he had a vision, and he saw it through.

and he got them all. he won.

and now he has his four horsemen of the apocalypse, or in this universe rather...his four chimes of catastrophe.

you all know who they are, but the question is, who is who? well, as @lumaxramblings has said in that fateful ask that started this whole universe in the first place, it would be:

chrissy = famine

fred = death

patrick = war

max = pestilence

as for the reason, canon itself gives some details and evidence to point out who would be who. (tw ed mention on chrissy's part)

chrissy is famine because of her eating disorder and her "hunger" to be free in a sense. fred is death because of his survivor's guilt and all the constant grave and death visuals. patrick is war because of his home life and how he's always in constant conflict. and finally, max is pestilence because of her thought process on being something that plagues others...and vecna!lucas' "you are sick."

there's quite a few more points that can be brought up, along with how some of the canon scenes actually fuel this universe, but i'll talk about that another time

so now, vecna's sacrifices are no longer who they were before everything.

now, they are his soldiers, his little experiments, his four chimes of catastrophe.

and just as they had been broken, they will now be the ones to break the world.

...

(but then...you remember, the apocalypse 4 weren't the only ones who got caught in vecna's curse and vision.

you know who else did?

nancy wheeler.

and in the four horsemen of the apocalypse lore, wasn't there something going on with the white rider of the horsemen? the fact that...there's a bit of confusion on whether the white rider is pestilence...or conquest?

...in another universe, nancy is conquest, the fifth chime of catastrophe.

an incomplete chime.

...but maybe that's a story for another day...)

—————————————————————————————————

i actually had started the fic of this already, but it's been a few months since i've updated it, oof :")

anyway, that's a bit of an explanation on the four chimes au.

it kind of becomes a s5 alternate universe in a sense? finnthony and i already have an idea on what happens all throughout the main story, complete with arcs already lmao (and that's not even talking about the sub-aus, like the conquest au...)

its lots of angst though, lemme tell you

i dont want to reveal too much but there is a lot of platonic and romantic dynamics here

platonic being the party's friendship (heh), the teens' friendship, best friend soulmates stobin ofc, and all other platonic relationships that can be connected with each member of this ragtag, traumatized group

for romance, we got lumax (with future elumax), byler, duzie, ronance, stongyle (aka steve x jonathan x argyle), jopper, and...well. a few others too, but i'll be keeping those quiet for now.

i’ll likely post more stuff at some point, to get it out here lmao and because this au is just <3

tagging the people who’ve been here all through out:

@laurienotteddy @mitski-slope @itsanotheridiot @hellsfireclub @history-of-stories @she-wont-miss