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ginoeh · 4 months

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knocks gently on your door to whisper:

#99 for the spotify wrapped ✨️

Hey Vi, thanks for the ask! The song is Blood Be Fluid by Emilia Romana.

Okay, so this one turned out to be a bit more complicated than I first thought! I hope no one will want to skin me alive for what I came up with - there's no fluff here at all lol. Don't despair, though, I'll likely never write this one XD.

The song is a slow piece, dreamy with a dark voice and overall very thoughtful. The lyrics are more associations than story. So I did some quick association games myself to get the ball rolling.

This one would be a story about innocence lost, being in a dark and cold place and yet clawing yourself out of the lethargy of loss. And about the consequences of doing that at any cost.

I'd go for something featuring Hob, spanning the timeframe of 1589 to 2023. It starts out with his 17th century. He's miserable, starving, dying every other day, the bright future, the innocent awe with which he looked at his fortune is long trampled in the mud beneath the boots of the uncaring. And yet, his blood still flows…

What's there to look forward to, to hope for? Hob claws his way to the meeting with Dream. He starts anew, changes his doom into something better. There's nothing but hope and endless life for him, after all.

But hope and grit and the search for things lost can lead you astray.

So there is Hob, gorging himself on hope and life while stealing both and more from innocents. Things like that have consequences - need to have consequences.

This would be a try at a redemption arc for Hob, in which he, after recognizing what he did when helping the triangular trade along, finds out that there is a price to pay. Not to regain his own lost morals and make amends for his eternal soul, but for the simple act of running afoul his own destiny. He is given a task (by the fates/furies maybe?) that will persist as long as he keeps living: He must give all hope to others and keep none for himself. He is to be an eternal conduit of one of existence's driving forces.

(There is no punishment for him if he fails, not in the traditional sense. He doesn’t know what would happen, he only knows he wouldn’t suffer more or less than anyone else. But then again, what would humanity be like if there was no hope to gain, to give, to lose, to find? If there was no middle ground between dreams, desires, despair and reality? It would likely spell disaster on an unimaginable scale. And Hob really does love humanity after all!)

There'd be the meetings with Dream each century, with Hob trying to find common ground in 1889. Inbetween, Hob would meet the other Endless, learn about function without reward. This isn't a particularly easy lesson for Hob Gadling who was always greedy and mostly just interested in his own gain.

But it is what he has to learn by shadowing Death, Destiny, Desire and Despair. The 20th century isn't an easy one for him. He makes mistakes that cost more than he thought.

We'd meet him in 2023, finally a changed man, perpetually aware of what he's done in centuries past and much more attuned to the needs of humanity than ever before (instead of just his own needs). The last step of the journey (to where, he doesn't quite know) is to shadow Dream.

In the end, one way or another, Hob would become Hope - an incarnation of it that’s not just some kind of sparklingly optimistic can-do-no-bad Hope!Hob but the thing that lifts you up as well as cuts you down, bright and clear just as much as cruel and manic.

I don’t know how I would spin the end: it would not be softly romantic Dreamling. In a hopeful AU, we’d end with two entities that are endlessly drawn to each other just as much as they clash. But Hope!Hob will persist to the very end of the universe because hope always dies last.

Now an alternate idea is where more of the tw's come in:

In a much darker AU, after a hotly burning and unhealthily dependant relationship between Hope and Dream, we’d end it like the comics, nothing changed (and Dream lost Hope because both are ephemeral, gossamer) - after, Hob/Hope will have to decide whether he will keep doing his duty the way he has learned or if he wants to remember his human roots: maybe his lifetime as Hob is over, and he chooses another way to try and regain the lost innocence of his early years.

He has, after all, still the option to take Death’s hand and end their original deal.

Then, there'll be a new Hope.

But as I said, I’ll never write this. It dips into places where I don’t think I can safely go. If anyone else feels inspired to take this (or parts of it), feel free to run with it!

And that's it from me for The Spotify Wrapped Thing. Have a good New Year folks 🥂

#the spotify wrapped thing #hob gadling #the sandman #ginoeh writes #tw for mentions of slave trade #tw for mentions of canon compliant suicide #Redemption Arc. Maybe.#Sorry I'm fresh out of Dreamling fluff atm lol #I really finally need to wrap up this Spotify wrapped thing XD

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needcake · 8 months

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@hetaberia-week

Day 3: university

.

1550,

Valladolid

He had sent him a letter with an invitation to attend the debates held in the Colegio de San Gregorio, but, as often happened with the letters he sent to Portugal, he had not expected him to respond, much less show up.

What was Spain’s surprise then, when he spotted his black-clad somber figure sitting on the last row of the audience chamber like a sinister crow, watching de las Casas argue for the fifth day straight.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” he told him honestly and excitedly, coming to find him outside of the audience chamber at the end of the day while the crowd dispersed and conversation about the day’s discussions sparked loudly all around him. Intellectuals and theologians debating amongst themselves the merits of Aristotle’s definition of the natural slave and if it could and should be applied to their American colonies. Spain felt that they had made incredible progress since the beginning of these talks, but there was still so much more that he hoped would be accomplished.

“You invited me,” Portugal said simply, his voice sounding a little too dry to Spain’s ears and he looked him over a little more carefully, squinting his eyes slightly at him, his excitement giving way to wariness.

“Did you enjoy today’s debate?” he asked guardedly, but Portugal shrugged, glancing back at the open door to the debate chamber. “Perhaps we could discuss it over dinner,” he offered, diplomatically, testing the waters. Portugal was spending more and more time overseas these days, he hardly saw him for most of the year unless it was for official business between their crowns.

“What exactly do you hope to achieve here?”

It was the way he said it, in retrospect, that made Spain angry, not the question itself. It was how it sneaked under Spain’s excitement and attacked his unguarded sensibilities, how it poked at his insecurities until they were raw and swollen and inflamed. It was the way Portugal looked at him when his eyes returned to his face after glancing at the now empty space where he had seen his best philosophers and theologians discuss the rights of their new subjects in the colonies for the better part of the last few days and speak of it as if it had no more consequence than a debate on the merits of building their churches with two or three bell towers. Suddenly he felt foolish, gaping at Portugal without response, which in turn only made him angrier.

“What do you mean?”

Portugal shrugged again, glancing around the chatting groups around them, Spain’s anger building and building the longer it took for him to make his point.

“You’re letting de las Casas argue for five straight days while his opponent only had a few hours to state his case, it seems like you’re favoring one more heavily than the other. Why have a debate at all if your King has already made up his mind? Why not just have him decree it as law?”

“Because it’s important,” Spain said, shoulders set and jaw tight, and he could see Portugal straightening his back in front of him in response to his evident rising anger. “It’s important that these are ideas are discussed and accepted, not just imposed.”

“But they’re not being discussed with the colonists, are they?” Portugal countered, leveling him a hard look that only fueled the fire growing inside Spain. “What’s to stop them for disregarding your orders?”

“Because we’ll have them arrested if they do!” he shouted, attracting the curious glanced of the nearby scholars, feeling his face heat up with his temper. “They’ll have to obey or they’ll be facing the consequences!”

"And what consequences will those be?"

He glared at him, but Portugal continued to look at him with that infuriating calm, that maddening calm that made him want to throw a punch at his serious circumspect expression, made him want to get under his skin and make him feel as exposed and hypocritical as Spain felt.

“I’ll ask again,” Portugal said, and Spain had to curl his hands into fists by his sides not to hurt him, his anger corrupting the pull he felt on the bottom of his stomach that insisted on gravitating towards Portugal, making him want to push him away instead of bringing them closer together. “What are you hoping to achieve here?”

He glared at him through tightly clenched teeth and Portugal huffed softly through his nose, glancing around.

“If you don’t have the stomach for an Empire, you probably shouldn’t have one.”

He commended himself for keeping his composure until Portugal's dark figure had turned on his heel and disappeared down the hall, only yelling out a long string of curses after he was well out of earshot.

-

The Valladolid debate (1550-51), sometimes called the Valladolid controversy, was one of the earlier examples of discussions centered around slavery and whether or not Europeans should enslave the natives of the Americas. Despite Bartolomeu de las Casas arguing against the use of indigenous labor and the enforced conversion of the natives, his position being supported by the Spanish crown, little was done to actually enforce it and one consequence of denying colonists the use of indigenous labor was the import of enslaved labor from Africa, which was done by the Portuguese.

#hetaberia 2023 #tw colonialism #tw colonization #tw mentions of the slave trade #tw mentions of indigenous enslavement #hws portugal #hws spain #hetalia #a wild fic appears

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ecoamerica · 25 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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3katanas · 6 months

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@ladicsa asked: “I think I can handle it.”

Nodding he stepped back slightly, crouching down for her to step onto his shoulders. The window she had to shimmy through was just out of her reach, so the plan was for him to lift her up and then wait for her to let him through the side door just to the right. Normally he'd have just broken the door, but they wanted to get this particular group of stolen girls free before the thugs that had taken them noticed.

Waiting for her to gain her balance he then rose slowly, easily lifting her towards the window and then stabilizing so that she could work the glass open and slip through. Further down the wharf the other's were doing the same at two more buildings they'd found when tracking the slave traders from the market.

#ladicsa #bounty claimed (answered)#tw slave trade mention

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sanzuphobe · 2 years

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is anyone else just uncomfortable with the amount of hype there is for our flag means death when at least one character is based on a real life slave trader

#this feels like woobification of slave traders and thats. ick #like have ur fandoms and shit but i dont see a whole lot CRITICAL engagement #obviously i cant see whats going on in ur heads but like #this is in fact a public blogging platform so u know people are going to see the shit you post #and if youre only posting fun little fandom posts 🥰 of the slave trader shoe without being publicly critical also #that sends a very clear message #nf #personal #slavery mention tw #slave trade mention tw #those tags arent for white people who dont like to be reminded of racism btw its for black ppl who deal w this shit enough offline

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pretty-weird-ideas · 9 months

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Trauma Porn vs Representing Black Struggle in IWTV

TW: Domestic Violence (Focus) Rape (mentioned 1x)

Spoilers for the IWTV AMC Series

I think a lot of the distraught or incredibly positive reactions to Episode 5 of IWTV’s ending from black fans is because of the noticeable lack of genuine representation of black IPV let alone black queer people facing IPV at all. So not only was the scene without a trigger warning and absolutely out of nowhere (with of course the obvious foreshadowing and Lestat’s abusive behavior setting it up) but it was something that has barely been done for mainstream genre TV.

So as a black fan, seeing violence towards black people (trauma porn) is certainly not new to me... but seeing black queer people’s stories focus on IPV is something that I haven’t seen. It leaves me incredibly conflicted in ways that cannot be transcribed.

Genre TV, media in general, and even reality has an obsession with whitewashing (pun unintended) IPV towards black people unless it’s specifically meant to degrade us and utilize racist stereotypes. Rarely ever does IPV towards queer black people get spoken about in real life, let alone in fiction. So for a story to just be for real for a hot minute about that topic is both disturbing and jaw dropping.

I oscillate between “I can’t believe they would ever put this on TV” and “I’m so glad that they made this a plotline because nobody talks about this,”. IPV perpetrated by white people towards their black partners especially from a historical context is not talked about. And it certainly is not the focus of period pieces or literature as often as it should be.

This is even being taken away from us TODAY in history books; centuries of rape and domestic violence from the slave trade to Jim Crow is being censored RIGHT NOW. This is not isolated behavior.

And to see white IWTV fans sidestep this entirely back during the final stretch of season one to complain that having Lestat (who canonically abused Louis in other ways) assault Louis somehow ruined LESTAT’S character and THEIR SHIP. While completely sidestepping what themes they were intending and got across (you know like genuine media literacy) and the onscreen brutalization that happened without warning is disgusting.

Being able to cherry pick quotes and argue about whether or not slapping is “DV” is not only gross but it’s just not media literacy. That’s literacy... like good job bestie you can read! But it’s certainly doesn’t mean you have the range or comprehension to understand the intended themes of Episode 5 at all. And until white people begin to understand the nuances of being a black person being abused by a white person who holds power over you, it’s going to continue being out of reach.

It’s one thing to dislike it’s inclusion, because I also agree. But I’ve noticed that The Great Lestat Discourse TM has become the discussion rather than the perspective of how white supremacy aided in perpetuating domestic violence and the choice to show gory and unflinching physical abuse without a trigger warning.

White fans being disingenuous and asking Louis to fade into the background until Lestat (the white character) becomes the focus for TVL. While constantly mocking and ignoring the concept of IPV towards black people makes the point for me as to why this was an interesting and purposeful direction to head in. IPV is so ignored that when IWTV includes it, fans went out of their way to argue whether or not their favorite white boy would DARE TO DO THIS, and not why the writers did this and what they were attempting to say. IPV and queer victims of abuse are so ignored that after this happened people started making posts talking about APOLOGIZING TO A FICTIONAL LESTAT for writers “slandering” him! Discussions about abuse in interracial relationships during Jim Crow are so far ignored that people started to publicly doubt that actual domestic violence in interracial relationships existed at all! So badly that the writers had to come out and say that they wouldn’t make Louis “not the victim” when recontextualizing episode 5.

#interview with the vampire #iwtv #amc iwtv #TW:abuse #TW:Rape

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desperatelyseekingcannibals · 7 months

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Armour (Valhalla Enchanted) - Shortfic

Explicit // M/M // One Eye (Valhalla Rising)/Prince Charmont (Ella Enchanted) // Tags: Slightly AU/darker retelling Ella Enchanted, AU Valhalla Rising, soldier turned slave turned bodyguard One Eye, Prince Char, plotting, TW: snakes, canon typical violence, death (not MCs), getting to know each other, sexual tension, resolved sexual tension, sort of trans Char (see note), virgin Char, loss of virginity, masturbation, mix of masc and femme terms to describe Char's anatomy, vaginal sex, happy ending, brief mention of mpreg. Patreon prompt fill.

Young Prince Char employs a wounded soldier.

NB: As I was writing this I found I wanted to set it in a world where people might be naturally trans/multisex without being omegaverse. I.e. a place with natural gender variations similar to omegaverse, and completely accepted but without the social-cultural implications of dynamics. So here I have written Char as having a full penis, but in place of where his testes should be, he has a vagina (male futa?? I don't know what to call it, but hopefully you get what I mean).

Latest installment on my @hannibalbingo card: Armour (HEU)

Armour - (4k words):

Safe. The words were scrawled messily in the dirt, One Eye looking at him expectantly as he made a stay gesture. Char nodded that he had seen the writing and understood the poorly written word, before his companion gave a curt nod and brushed the dirt over with his foot.

Even so, as the man went about making them a small fire in this dismal cavern, Char found he couldn’t relax.

He hadn’t expected any of this. When he had first grown to suspect his uncle was plotting for the throne, Char had hired himself a bodyguard as simply a matter of precaution. He had never dreamed that the bodyguard would have to spirit him away from the castle, and the royal guards under his uncle’s command. He had expected the men that had been loyal to his father, to show him the same loyalty. But his uncle had a way of twisting words and poisoning minds. And so, he didn’t really blame them.

As for his bodyguard - if such a term could describe such a man as One Eye - the man was stoic and reliable. Char wasn’t ignorant of the fact that his loyalty was bought not earned, that he was little more than a slave trying to escape the life he had found himself in. And on days like today, Char could relate.

He had found the strong, silent man via unscrupulous methods. With no one loyal to him, Char had to rely on his money to buy what he needed, and that had led him to the blackmarket trade in people. Not slaves, they tried to claim - slavery was long illegal in Lamia - instead these were people imported to the kingdom expected to pay off their passage as indentured servants. It was crass and awful, something Char swore to himself he would put an end to as soon as he took the throne. But until then he needed protection, and there was the man they called One Eye, for an all too obvious reason. His seller had assured Char that the healed but evident injuries the man had received were not at his hand, and claimed them to be the markings made on, surely, a once great soldier whose name had been lost and was now simply One Eye.

At first, Char had just expected One Eye to watch over him as he slept, and be at his side during the day. To protect him from any harm his uncle might try to enact. But that action had come swiftly and strongly. After only a few days together, One Eye found himself fending off a night time attack of armed guards.

It was the snakes that woke Char, slithering in his bedsheets, an open window banging in the wind, but he had soon tuned into the noise outside his door. There, the guards that had been sent to finish him off - or perhaps discover his snake-bitten body - were being brought down by his servant. His saviour.

Char had barely dressed whilst One Eye beheaded the snakes, and taken up a small bag he had already packed. Then One Eye had ushered him into the dungeons of the castle, and out the same way that the waste water left.

That had been over a week ago and they were still running. Char was unsure where, but it was clear that One Eye had a plan and knew very well where he was and where he was going.

And Char had to trust him.

Continue on AO3!

#Hannibal #Hannibal Bingo #myfic #hannibal lecter #hannigram #fanfic #hannigram au #hannibal extended universe #Valhalla Enchanted #valhalla rising #ella enchanted #prince charmont #mads mikkelsen x hugh dancy #one eye

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rollinouttahere-writes · 11 months

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Actually , I wanted to ask for your opinion of this since , I actually never really showed my writings to anyone^^".

I will also leave a this too.

TW: Mentioning of Su!@ide and Ab!se

She ended her own life and due to the fact that such an act was considered as a call to abandon the current life. She was given a new life, but this is not a gift. She was quite silent and selfish - she lived a life that she didn't want and ended it to stop everything that gave in the consequences...not exactly the result she wanted.

Reborn in a world where all people had the opportunity to have powers that could surpass even God. In a world where you could become the Pirate King.

With a new life - she was also given a punishment for the actions that she committed without a drop of conscience.

Endless Despair.

At that moment, the First Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, did not yet have his crew. They met when Rey noticed a deeply suffocating silhouette at night, which was very wounded. The island on which she lived for some reason was shrouded in huge sea bushes that were also poisonous. Their spikes were extremely sharp and only the ships of the marine patrol could penetrate into the island without being injured and poisoned. This man is lucky.

After 3 weeks of treatment and help she provided him with, Gol D. Roger once asked her why she lived alone and where her family was. But....in fact, she was born into a family of a young woman and a fairly old man. And, the “Father” of the family wished for a son so that he could take his place and continue the business, but after the birth of his daughter, he decided to make a copy of his wife out of her. Obedient, soft and timid.

The marriage itself for financial reasons, Meliana - (Father's wife) was the only most beautiful woman in the village and her femininity attracted the attention of an influential person. When the village and the elders found out about it, they tried to persuade Meliana to marry him in order to feed the children and the elderly, because the village was not in the best position. But being born a blonde - she grew up the way she was in her previous life and the most interesting thing is that after death she remembered everything about herself and never forgot.

From a small gray-eyed blonde, a kari-eyed brunette with a non-childish behavior grew up. This introduced a stupor of parents and scared because it's hard to believe.

Despite how cruel her Father tried to seem, none of this really affected her. Calm ... no Cold attitude to insults, threats and even beatings - caused trembling. She never answered back and practically didn't cry in front of him or her mother. No, she did nothing but stare at him blankly and then nodded, walking back into the room.

This continued until the sea watchers arrived on the island to pay for protection. In fact, they were more slave trade officials than Defenders of justice - because regardless of the weighty reasons why the village could not pay for protection, they were always harsh and deceitful. This time, when the village failed to pay for the 2nd time, the Leader of the Sentinels was furious. He ordered his henchmen to kill everyone in the village in order to finally get rid of the village completely.

She went to get food for her mother when she heard this, she immediately hurried to inform other houses in which large families lived. But it was too late, lifeless corpses were almost everywhere and when she reached her house…She was already waiting for the corpses of her Father and Mother who stained the floor with their blood. She knew that the same fate awaited her. She felt a long blade at her neck.

And the voice that said:

― Here's the last one.

This did not surprise her in anyway, death would reach everyone just at different times. To his words, she only smiled a little and replied:

― You're right, I'm really going to die now, don’t I?

The sound of her flesh and bone being ripped was the last thing she heard at that moment.

...She thought it would be the last. Until, after two days of blackouts, she woke up in an already faded and ruined ruin of a place that should be home. She was unharmed...and alive.

It was...inexplicable.

She couldn't understand why... she was still alive. But even in a long stupor, she did not stayed in one place. Not when she saw the camp of young and not travelers. She was able to make friends with them by assuming the role of “victim" and needy. In the same way, she was able to convince them that she was sick and needed help. And they she was also helped to find a small house in which there is a place for one person.

After telling her past and without mentioning her thoughts and actions. Roger listened to her to the end. He had an unreadable facial expression and silence reigned in the room until the Man directly asked:

― Have you ever seen the ocean?

Roger asked the girl. She obviously did not expect the question and yet answered honestly:

― No, I've never seen the ocean.

To which Roger smiled broadly and abruptly stood up and said loudly:

― Would you like to?

The subsequent question no longer blinked at Roger's girl- misled her. In fact, she had never seen much less the ocean, she had never even seen the real seas and oceans – only in pictures and TV shows. She lowered her head for moment and answered no less hones:

― I think if I had a chance to see it, I would. However, what the tall man said was not in the girl's thoughts whatsoever.

― Then let's see it together!

She expected a lot of things, but the invitation...? Being in the world of her thoughts, she woke up from the thoughts in her head when she felt that she was on the shoulder of a tall silhouette.

― Come on! The sooner the better!

With these words, the Future Pirate King ran with the girl on his shoulder to the boat, which he did in secret while the girl was sleeping. A small girl who expresses almost no emotions and a tall and bright Man with a playful disposition, like the unquenchable sun. Since then, Roger and her have always been about each other. There was a bond of trust between and understanding which many did not understand. What was more incredible was that all the people of the crew, knowing the girl for at least years, never changed.

Not just her personality or manner of speech, but her appearance did not change. She was the person on the ship whom you could always call so that you would have a company that would listen to everything you say and silently covers the blanket when you lose consciousness from alcohol. Roger respected her for her honesty and understanding, which was necessary in critical cases. She was one of the few people who could calm Roger's ardor in a couple of moments.

One day, Rayleigh asked Roger what his relationship was with the girl, as many thought she was like a daughter to Roger. But everything turned out to be much more interesting…

Roger could not call her a child, not when she understood dirty jokes and teased other adults with an unsurprising facial expression, not when it came for forgiving certain crewmembers for the shameful to unforgivable crimes, she was the person who always gaved a very mature and logical point, thus becoming a non-public voice of common sense. When he first met her, he told her that for unknown reasons he wanted her to be on his side no matter what, no matter how strange and suspicious it sounded, he meant it. - Roger told Rayleigh that he felt an inexplicable sense of security and... completeness. As if she could make any of his days better with just a greeting or the usual 'Good morning'.

And one day in the morning, she was kidnapped by Golden Lion Pirates. In all their acquaintance with Roger, Roger's team has never... seen him so furious.

When the team found the kidnappers, Roger, despite him, asked to take her and take her to a safe place, which he did. Roger mercilessly and brutally shredded the Golden Lion Pirates.

After this incident, Roger vividly realized that he himself and , even his crew would not be able to be around forever, so for the time being, he did what he wanted. After so many years, he could only do one thing to be sure that if not him, then those who would become the next and worthy could.

At his last moment, Roger uttered the words:

― My treasures? If you want, you can take it. Search for it! I left them in one place with a person who can make anyone the happiest forever if you earn her trust and make her happy!

OOOOOHHHH this is very interesting! Being entrusted with the one piece is definitely a complicated position to be put in. Though the wording at the end makes it seem like she's part of it too?

The poor thing's going to have every pirate and marine in the world gunning for her, either for the treasure or because of being closely associated the Roger. It'll be interesting to see how all of Roger's former crewmates handle this too, seeing as that they all would have known her decently well.

This is definitely a strong prologue, it makes the reader curious about where this is going. It might be hard to dance around the fact that we still don't know what exactly the one piece is, but maybe she's just in the general area and isn't necessarily right next to it? Or maybe she's on the move? With how little we know about it, it could be mobile for all we know. I would take advantage of the lack of canon information and run wild with it if I were you, but you've probably already got that figured out so just do whatever feels right, you know?

Writing is all about throwing your story out into the world, even if it's a fanfic, so do that be any means you can. Have fun with it!

If you continue with it though, do tag me in it! I can even beta read if you'd like! And maybe repost this to your own account so you can have more direct interactions with those who read it. Best of luck!

#emtynessinmyworld #i really liked this #can't wait to see where you go with this from here

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herzgeist-writes · 11 months

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1) Freedom's Embrace

Pairing: Law x fem!reader | Word count: 1.5k | Warnings: Cussing, violence, angst, TW mentioning of sexual abuse

Dividers by cafekitsune

Cuffs the size of a man fall to the ground: "Why?“ Surrounded by packs of charging armed marines, the large man stares baffled at the mysterious person with a white hat and a nodachi leaned over his shoulder. Before the swordsman answers he gives the huge man a confident smirk: "Will you come along with me, Pirate Captain Jean Bart?"

Surprise widens the eyes of the freed slave. Still being targeted by the white and blue, with only one arm swing, the large one growls with brimming motivation, repelling everything marine: „It’s been a long time since I've been called that name", slamming aside more unrelenting yet foolish men coming for them, he accepts „If it means I can be free from the Celestial Dragons I'll gladly serve under you." In honesty the swordsman chuckles delighted: "Give half of your thanks to Straw Hat -ya."

The situation gets more heated. All kinds of pirates are holding off marines before they can harm any mates or slaves still running out of the auction house. "I believe we overstayed our welcome, Jean.“ the man with the white fluffy hat motions the large man to follow him, "We should get back to the submarine soon, or else we'll have to face an admiral.“

The sun passes by, giant bubbles float over the island, flying through the tree tops until finally vanishing with a distinctive „Pop!“ When wandering through the forest of massive mangrove trees, at the other side of the isle lie more secluded harbors. Not alot of people pass by, given the fact that more illegal wares and dubious trades are held here.

'''Let go of me!" - " Shut up you fucking bitch! You’re coming with me!“ With your hands and neck cuffed, you're being torn to an overly fancy looking ship. That man, having a gun in his one hand and the other grabbing around the chains bound to you, is about to bring you on board this monstrosity.

Something seems off. The ship is massive, but for a royal transfer, this is far less protected and too reckless than it should be. Where are the guards? By the by not to mention you got sold for far less than usual. This feeling of uncertainty makes your blood freeze.

You struggle pulling at your restraints, screaming in denial, when a fist punches you right in your temple. Oh, how you wish you could rip off this bastard's head.

Ferociously gritting your teeth you stare into that disgusting pig's eyes and spit him in the face: "You‘ll wish you’ve never been born“ - "Eh?! You are nothing but dirt beneath my feet. Either you obey, or I’ll get another cunt that sucks my dick!" Appalled, the creep swipes away your saliva: „I think I‘ll stick to option two…what a waste of Berry“

Now with the gun pointed at your head, his finger slowly pulls the trigger. This is it. Heart beat stuck in your throat, eyes torn open in fear. Temper got the better of you again. Faint memories replaying in front of you. Damnit, why is the world so fucked up? A light blue hue and a swift gust of wind washes over you. Is this the gateway to hell?

You hear the gun firing, but before the bullet hits it's target as expected, you hear someone yelling: "Takt!", in the distance. Astounded you look to your left. A tall man with a nodachi and a weird taste in hats calmy walks over to the pier, coming from the shore."'Who the hell do you think you are, interupting my transfer?!“ the Celestial screams.

Still unsure what just happend, you look the stranger up and down, only to realise: "Trafalgar...Law?" Tears well up in your eyes blurring your vision. The salty droplets rolling down your cheeks. His gaze meets yours, the fluffy hat on his head now shadowing the upper part of his face, leaving you intrigued. "My, this is not how you treat a woman nowadays", Law smirks at the asshole still holding your restraints.

A vein pops up on the side of his forehead and his eyes stare at the swordsman with insanity imprinted in them: "Go fuck yourself, pirate!" Once again the Celestial lifts the weapon, this time pointing at Trafalgar. Before he could pull the trigger, you hear a low: "Shambles". In a blink of an eye the wanted man stands in between you and the psycho, adding a quick: "Mes!"

It feels like an eternity until you preceive a dull thud onto the pier planks infront of you. A timid gasp leaves you. You knew exactly what that Supernova did just now. Falling to your knees you shiver in fear. Law notices your collapse, turns to you and gets down to your level, presenting to you a heart imprisoned in a transparent cube. „This might be of your interest", he sneers while the muscle beats in his hand.

Never more has it been your wish to kill one of those sadistic cunts, but in this moment your mistrust towards that beast of a man made you think again. Rather dumbfounded you stare into his grey irises. „Here, let me help you.“, he sofly reassures you while at the same time the cuffs that left marks on your skin fell to your side.

Relieved you breath out deeply and look at Law like he just gave you a pair of wings. A warm feeling of hope sparks inside of you. „So? What's it gonna be? I don’t think we should stay here all too long.“, he remarks, tapping his wrist to signalise that the clock is ticking. Your eyes wander back to the trapped heart.

This was not what you had in mind for your day, but it is clearly the better path. They used you, cornered you, and brought you back to your knees to please people even more. You didn't even know the word hope anymore. And now? All those vile memories form into a cube and lay in Law's hands.

Hesitance slows your movement, as you reach out for it. That feeling of the organ pumping leaves you engrossed. After one last look at the surgeon of death, you throw the cube to the ground, growling in furiousity and pound your foot onto it with brute force. Leaving the ground colored in red.

Law blinks, though he expected this outcome, it still surprised him to a certain point. The badge on the dead man’s chest gets his attention: „Will you look at that. He’s a fraud.“ He gets up, removes the body by teleporting it to god knows where and readies himself to make his way back to where he came from. The nodachi swung back on his shoulder.

It makes sense to you now. The messed up auction price, the reckless transfer, no guards. This had to be fake. Still frozen in place you watch the infamous man carefully and hear him mutter something about the recurring traitors who call themselves Celestials.

To your luck, the ship isn't occupied to wreak havoc in this area. Anyone killing a Celestial Dragon shall be executed on sight. If you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, you better face the sinister consequences. But Law shrugs it off like he just spilled some water on his shirt, in other words, he can't seem to bother for something this meaningless, especially when it turned out to be a betrayer.

'''Oi, Wolf. If your schedule isn't too packed, will you join my cause?“ a bearly visible smile forms in the corners of his mouth while glancing at you. This man means trouble. Though intrigued by the mischievous looks on his face and rumors of his presposterously dark acts, there still is something mesmerizing you about his mysterious demeanor.

Your voice finds it's way out of you again after fear took over your whole being until now: „Hm..well...I“, you give his offer a second thought and simper at him "I think I‘m free at the moment".

Offering you a hand you place your's in his to help you get on your feet. With a hint of worry in his voice he asks you if you're able to stand, you give a subtle nod and follow next to him. For the first time in ages you feel free. After all these years of being used to people‘s unspoken needs, life turned to the better.

Eyeing Law with a content and relieved beam you hum: "Thank you“. No response. His gaze is fixated into the distance , but amused he huffs and his expression turns slightly bashful to your surprise.

This day sure is to be remembered, Law thought to himself. What has the world come to? Seeing you like this, torn apart from the in- and outside. He noticed the tattoo on your neck. The particularity of the symbol is not to be mistaken.

How long has it been that the surgeon of death felt a painful sting coming from his heart, only by the thought: "She's a sex slave..."

#one piece #one piece law #trafalgar one piece #law x female reader #fanfiction #fanfic fluff #x reader #law x fem!reader #law x y/n #Beautiful Mind #+18 content #mdni

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chanelslibrary · 6 months

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🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

Babel by R.F. Kuang

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In 1828, Robin Swift is taken from his hometown of Canton after a deadly disease kills his entire family. He starts a new life in England studying Ancient Greek, Latin and Chinese under Professor Lovell’s tutelage in preparation for the day when he will start at Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. Inside the Babel tower Oxford’s translation students are proficient in the art of silver working-using translation to enchant silver bars-and this craft is the crux of the British power and colonization. Although Robin initially feels wonder with his work at Babel, he soon finds out that all that glitters isn’t silver. Will Robin betray the only life he knows at Babel to help the shady Hermes society? And can one boy start a revolution?

You know how one book just tilts your world view and you’re never the same again? THIS was that book for me. Babel is actually a 100⭐️ book lol! I knew very little about the Transatlantic Slave Trade (for multiple reasons I won’t get into) or British history/colonization so I loved that this story was a much needed history lesson but also had incredible characters and plot. What stuck with me was the found family aspect, and how marginalized people can find solace together. This book is one I will undoubtedly read again and again not only to revisit the characters, but to bask in the excitement of a band of rebels trying to take down one of the biggest governments in the world.

Read if you love:

🏛️: Dark Academia

🤍: Found Family

✊🏽: Black/Brown representation

✨: Magical Realism

📜: Secret Societies

TW:

•Racism

•Mention/description of slavery, oppression, colonialism

•Sexism

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transexualbutchfagdyke · 1 year

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tw mention of fictional slavery and forced fighting etc. idk if that's needed but imma say it anyway just in case

I'm writing my pathfinder characters backstory now, like fully fleshing it out and putting thr pen to paper type writing. and the quick simply rundown is "He was a slave forced to fight as a gladiator, he escaped and became a pirate". so I started it and I've gotten down How he became a slave (his mother was a wanted criminal and when thry caught her and sent her to jail they caught 12 year-old Azlan and took him to thr slave trade), right? but now I don't know how to connect "sent to the slave trade" to "was forced to fight as a gladiator". and I'm kinda struggling.

I'm thinking like. something something refused to cooperate and tried to fight thr person who bought him/handlers/whatever. so they were like "well if you want a fight I'll give you one" but I'm not sure how to put that into words too well. not sure how to put it on paper yknow.

idk I'm kinda just talking into the wind. open to suggestions but I don't rlly expect any I'm just rubber ducky-ing this

#ratt squeaks

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girlstripto-55-cancri-e · 2 years

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Two Months #1

Tw: talk of epilepsy, Relationship with soon-to-be-married woman, pet trade, bulldogs?

My first story!

“You bought a human being, you do know that right? Its basically slavery.�� Davion paced around his kitchen oblivious to the bulldog whining for food under the table. After a very confusing phone call from the local pet trade office, WRU, Davion had spent hours tracking down exactly why he was now registered on the WRU website and eventually traced it back to his sister. He was now pulling an explanation from a distracted and nonchalant Avery, as if she hadn’t spent hundreds of dollars on personal caretaker for Davion.

“They’re more like live-in servants, and it’s totally voluntary! Kinda like those people who help grandparents remember to take their pills and whatever.”

“So now I’m an old man who can’t handle himself.” Davion was preparing to argue that Avery was much closer older then himself when she displayed worry for Davion, a rare occurrence.

“Well, now that Aria’s moved out there’s nobody else in the house to help if you have another seizure.”

The mere mention of Aria’s name was enough to make Davion’s heart race. He absent mindedly traced his fingers across the mint-green walls they had painted together. He could still smell the ghost of her perfume every time he found something she had left behind throughout the house, mostly in Davion’s room. He pulled himself together just in time to reply.

“Have you met Liam, He’s insufferable. She’ll be crawling back by next week.”

“Dave, they're getting married. I think she‘ll be staying for a while.”

“What?”

Davion stopped in his tracks. Aria had said she was moving out because her mom wanted her to live closer. Besides, he had always thought she and Liam were temporary, that she was only staying because he constantly bought her jewelry and clothes. Clothes and jewelry that she had sensually removed in front of Davion many times. He never would have continued their secretive arrangement had he known that Liam was more than a side-fling. In hindsight, he should have seen this coming through the amount of money Liam spent on her, but whenever Davion brought it up Aria would flippantly deny any sense of commitment between them.

Stuck in his thoughts, Davion barely noticed that Avery had continued talking.

“He proposed weeks ago, didn’t she tell you?”

“What? Yeah, yeah she did. Sorry, I just forgot for a second.”

“It’s fine, anyway, could we get back to the matter at hand? You know, the pet you hate so much?”

“I don’t hate the little slaves, I hate the company and the idea and everybody who supports it. So at the moment, I really hate you.”

“Okay I get it, anyway it’s too late. I’ve ordered one, he’s coming in the mail tomorrow and WRU’s refund policy is that you have to keep the refurbs for two months before you can return them.”

“What does ‘refurb’ even mean in this context?”

“Look, I care about you enough to not want you to randomly die at 3:00 am in your sad little house because your brain got electrocuted or whatever happens when somebody has a seizure, but I don’t care about you enough to spend two thousand dollars. So I bought the second hand pets. They’re the ones that got sent back by their first owner. There’s a whole collection of them on the website. Only costs, like, three hundred dollars.”

Davion could vaguely hear an angry German accent on his sister's side of the phone, and took the advantage of her pause to hurriedly grab his dog's bowl with a metallic clatter, and pull open a plastic container filled to the brim with disgustingly moist dog food. The strong meaty aroma caught the attention of a large bulldog now pummeling towards her breakfast.

“Down Patty!” Davion narrowly avoided stepping on her paws, but managed to clumsily place the bowl in front of Patty, who passionately ate her expensive kibble, saliva somehow managing to get on the ceiling.

After fondly watching his adorably repellent dog, Davion gave his attention back to his sister ending her long argument in fluent German.

“I have to go soon, so I’m gonna make this quick—“

“Make what quick?” Davion worriedly questioned.

“You know how mom magically always knows everything I'm doing all of the time, even when I haven’t talked to her in six months?” Davion grunted his agreement to their mothers constant (and usually incorrect) knowledge of Avery’s life.

“Well somehow she found out that I bought you a pet, got absolutely wasted but still managed to remember her credit card number, found the WRU website, accidentally ordered another pet, and put it under your name and address. Just thought I’d—“

“There’s another one!” Davion shrieked into the phone, the stress painfully obvious in his voice.

“Yep just thought I’d let you know this one’s coming on Thursday and it’s another refurb okay bye.” Avery rapidly hung up the phone before Davion’s objections gave her ear damage.

Oblivious to this Davion continued to vent his frustrations to the phone until he threw it, along with his body, onto a couch. He was, without doubt, going to return both of the pets the moment two months were up, seizures or not. Avery was overreacting anyway, the only reason he came to this town was because his doctor recommended he get out of the city and somewhere quieter, that a less stressful lifestyle would help with his epilepsy. She had been right, in a way. The calm, quaint town and increased dose of medication had reduced his seizures to once or twice a month, and he was fairly content with his life. At least, until he met Aria.

When searching for a roommate she had passed the tests with flying colors. Her showers were short, she always paid the rent on time, and she showed some affection for Patty, which was rare considering Patty’s intimidating physique, and occasional ‘aggression.’ He and Aria had got along like a house on fire, though their passionate relationship needed to be kept secret because of Liam, her high school sweetheart. Davion had sunken deep into the ocean that was Aria. Only when his seizures increased to three or four times a month did he consider she and the stress of having to hide his adoration of her was the reason. He tried to break off their arrangement, but his attempt to return back to safe shore was interrupted by one long look in her deep blue eyes, pulling him back under her murky waters. Just because she’s moved in with Liam doesn’t mean Davion is any less smitten. Although, at the moment, what he missed most was her cut of the rent.

Especially because, according to Avery, he was to own two people by next week. And keep them for two months. Despite what he told her, Davion had never had much of an opinion on the pet trade. He and the rest of his generation has been born and raised with it, though he never took to it as quickly as Avery. Something about owning a human being gave him shivers, but he had certainly considered its benefits throughout his lonely school years. When he was diagnosed with generalized epilepsy his doctor had recommended buying a pet with a discount for his medical condition. Still, every time he made his way to the WRU website the sheer eeriness of the pet’s glazed over eyes and utterly submissive poses had been enough to scare Davion away.

Now though, he had no choice but to keep the two people that will soon belong to him, and that he’ll have to pay for them, and feed them, and Davion is certainly not ready for that. But, there’s no use moping around. Avery said the first one’s coming tomorrow, which means Davion doesn’t have much time to prepare. He needed to buy groceries, a bed, clothes, everything needed to properly care for a person. It hurt to admit that Davion was somewhat excited about this. He had always wondered what exactly went on in a place like WRU. Despite their many sponsorships and positive reviews and overall popularity, Davion’s felt in his bones that something was deeply wrong with that place. Now was his chance to finally find out the reality of it. But his journalistic instinct could come later, for now he just wanted to make sure Patty behaved herself when the pets came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That’s the first chapter! if you want to be added to a tag list just ask

#Two Months #Whump writing #New story #Bee writes sometimes #Tw light seizure talk

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ecoamerica · 25 days

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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anciientblooded · 1 year

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andy biersack , he and him , male . elek “syd” kovacs crossed the city limits into saints : you know , the one thousand year old ( thirty ) original vampire , who is told they give off raise hell by dorothy vibes . they've been here for three months , gracing the city with their sadistic but preceptive attitude .

Full name: Syd Whitechapel

Birthname: Elek Kovacs

Other names: Sydious, The Prince of Chaos, Einár the Bloodthirsty, Lek (family only)

Birthday: December 21st

Species: Original Vampire

Age: 30/1,000+

Gender: Male

Sexual orientation: Bisexual

Occupation: Unemployed, investor on the side

Language: Old Hungarian, Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, English, and many others

Traits: Moody, obsessive, violent, selfish, possessive, jealous, arrogant, intelligent, charming, dauntless, observant, adventurous, curious, and perceptive

Tw: mentions of child abuse, animal abuse, and murder.

- His childhood was normal like any other at first. Syd was given the love every child needed from their parents and was once close to all his siblings. He was a sweet boy who loved to laugh and was friendly to everyone who he met. However, this changed when eight-year-old Syd fell from a tree he had climbed for fun, landing on his head and causing brain damage. He slipped into a coma for a few days before Syd finally awoke, but the boy everyone knew had died the moment he fell from the tree. His change in personality became more apparent to those around him, including his father. The man had thought he had begun his rebellious phase early so he spent the next several years attempting to beat it out of Syd.

- As the abuse continued, Syd turned to the goddess Tasyn for support and prayed for her to put an end to his father’s beatings but they were never answered. So like any child that learned by example, he turned his anger and frustration on the small animals in their village, torturing and killing them until it calmed the storm within him. It became his only outlet after every beating he received from his father but it only made the older man hit him harder when he eventually caught Syd in the act.

- Syd’s relationship with his entire family started to fade once he entered adolescence. His hatred towards his father led him to bond with a man in their village who took Syd under his wing for all the wrong reasons. It was this man that accepted who he was completely and loved all the behaviors that his father despised. He encouraged Syd’s violent nature, nurtured his sadistic streak, and even taught him the art of homicide. This man was the one Syd believed molded him into the man he is today, the man who he considers to be his real father.

- True freedom came to him the night Tasyn cursed his family. They were supposed to be monsters that would forever roam the earth feeding on others, but Syd saw no such thing. A never-ending life that made him stronger than any other man wasn’t a curse to him but a blessing. He gladly said his goodbyes to the sun, beginning his new life with the murder of his wife. Syd had been forced to marry her despite his disinterest in her and was relieved to finally be free of her, leaving their children in the hands of others. From then on, Syd fully embraced his new abilities and used them to take what he wanted without consequences.

- A few months after the change, Syd disappeared into the night without a goodbye when he finally grew sick of his family. With nothing holding him back, he spent his time traveling and causing havoc wherever his feet landed. It wasn’t until he settled with the Norsemen that he found a place he truly belonged. There was where he would reinvent himself for the first time, shedding his birthname of Elek to Einár before he’d one day become Einár the Bloodthirsty for his love of battle. He remarried for love this time, living with his shieldmaiden wife and growing his wealth through the slave trade until the Viking Age came to an end.

- He returned to traveling once again for the next several centuries, reinventing himself with each one that passed. He lived many lives that took him from the royal courts of Russia all the way to the dark alleys of Whitechapel, England before he found himself in Saints again. Syd had visited many times over the years but hadn’t returned since the 1970s. Now known as Syd Whitechapel (an homage to Sex Pistol’s Sid Vicious and his time in Whitechapel all those years ago), he’s been living in town for the last three months with barely an interest in reuniting with his family.

Personality

He’s a narcissistic sociopath but is unaware of it as he’s never been officially diagnosed. Being raised in an abusive household only exacerbated this and turned Syd into someone who is not only reckless and destructive but manipulative too with no empathy for others. He’s also got a knack for causing chaos and messing with people for fun or simply out of boredom. To make things worse, Syd knows he’s good-looking and uses that as well as his charm to get what he wants from people. However, he can hide all of this whenever he wants to if it’s required to fulfill his own selfish interests.

Wanted Connections

#saints.intro #♦ ― sÿd : muse

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rainbowvamp · 1 year

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an unsent letter: 1789 (again)

So I wasn't going to post all my letters to Tumblr, but I have changed my mind because I'm really proud of them and also I want more of my original content on my blog.

TW: for mentions of Hob's involvement in the slave trade. This entire letter is him regretting that involvement, but we still want to make sure that we're warning for it.

----

It is so easy to get caught up in my feelings for you and forget. I forget the chastisement for just a moment, only for it to fall onto me like a lead weight, pressing in my chest and and shackling me. Maybe it’s what I deserve. You who gave me life unending and I who have used it to hurt and make money off of people.

I thought that it felt bad to be so thoroughly ignored, in 1589, but this. The disdain in your eyes, the disgust at my actions. I have loved your voice for 100 years, and I never thought that it might hurt me like this.

It’s not less than I deserve. To hurt. What is a little sting to my pride and a fear of losing you when I have been a bondsman, selling people like property.

Do you remember me, exhausting the good of freedom in the British empire? Do you remember me, in 1589, so ignorant, acting as though no evils were occurring in the world simply because I experienced none for myself?

I thought, after experiencing 80 years of unpausing destitution that I deserved better. Deserved more. And everyone deserves more than starvation and cold and pariahood, but that is not an excuse for cruelty. That is not a pass to do whatever unkindness needs doing in the name of seeking fortune.

What good would my money be to me if I lost you? What good would he world be to me if you looked down on my presence in it.

It is my choice, you said. I have taken that choice from others, but no more. At great risk to this name, I have ripped up my contracts and ended the preparations for a ship intending to leave the harbor soon. A great many men want my head for it, and maybe I should let them have it. I would, except my death is meaningless, compared to the good I could do with my life.

I will repent and recompense. I will do whatever I can, whatever I must, to undo the harsh wounds I have evoked upon this world. I will free slaves and rid myself of every pound of blood money that I hold in my coffers, giving it to people who have suffered at my hand or the hand of another like me.

I do not deserve to keep this gold if I have gained it by hurting, stealing, degrading the sanctity of human life as though people can be traded like animals.

I can never make up for the evils I have done. Men and women in chains give birth to children in chains. Generations to come will curse me, and I will deserve it. I will accept it as my due.

I thought nothing of my own evils, because I did not want to. I know, as I believe all men know, that to hold a captive and force their labor is the greatest wrong that can be committed against a person. We know this and we do it anyway, because profit outweighs the divine right of all people to freedom.

What eyes did I use to see the world? Would that I could pluck them out and crush them beneath my fight in punishment for their wrong doing. What mouth have I spoken this evil into existence with? Would that I could rip it off and throw it into the sea, it’s curses lost to the high winds of storms that come to rip down the homes of every man in this city who has caused suffering of the worst kind. What hands did I use to sign away the lives of people no worse and no better than I? Would that I might carve my regrets into my palms and bleed over every contract that deserves ruin, nullifying and purifying it by the virtue of destroying it.

Would that I could simply go back and stop myself from doing this. Would that I could remind myself, some short few years ago, that I once praised a world where no men were slave or bondsmen, to remind myself that these are not profits to be aspired to, but terrors of human greed, best left forgotten and lying in the street, like the destitute I once was.

There is no apology to be had. No punishment, either, that would satisfy me.

Instead, I can only work, I can only do right by those people I have wronged. Pay them restitution enough that they have a chance at lives that are of their own making.

What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?

---

AO3

#lore's dreamling letters

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redmusex · 4 months

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#003: MUSE - TOP 10 BOOKS OF 2023

I just started this blog so I'd better fill you in on something: I set a goal to read 100 books by the end of this year. Right now I'm at 101, and I still have about a week left before we wrap up the year. First thing next year I start grad school, which is not something I want to do but I have to due to a promotion at work. so I will not have nearly enough time to read 100 more books. So I'll probably set a goal of 20 or something for next year.

This list has 2 books from the following categories in the following order: graphic novel, biography, theory, poetry, and fiction. These books range from powerful to incredibly sad to just plain strange. TWs included in the description.

Anyway, here are my Top 10 books that I read in 2023 in no particular order!

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall / Hugo Martínez

Beginning the list with a graphic novel, this book tells an incredible story. It provides a visual depiction of what the Trans-Atlantic slave trade actually looked like. It describes the story of the authors journey to find the truth about her ancestors' past. It is as dark and haunting as it is illuminating. Rebecca Hall is a hero for writing this graphic novel. TW for depictions of anti-Black violence, slavery, and lynching.

2. The Harrowing of Hell by Evan Dahm (@evandahm)

Another graphic novel, this is a very intriguing rendition of Jesus' descent into hell. Its a subject that's only been mentioned in passing when I would attend church. To see it depicted in this very vivid art style is a very awakening experience. Although the art and sparse dialogue can be a bit abstract at times, overall the work is really solid and the liberating message comes across well in the end.

3. The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun, and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood by Julian Rubinstein

The most incredible thing about this book is that it is a true story years in the making. Anyone who lives in Denver or is invested in social justice must make time to read this very important chronicle of anti-gang and anti-police activists in Denver. I don't want to say too much about this book, but please do check it out. Also, I read this book as an audiobook—it is narrated by the author and contains original audio taken from archival footage of the events that take place in this book. TW for descriptions of violence, including anti-Black violence and police brutality.

4. Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured by Kathryn Harrison

I read this book for research I was doing into a poetic project that I may or may not complete one day. The author does a great job explaining in great detail the particular reasoning behind Joan's decision making and how her story fits into a messianic narrative utilizing the wealth of biographical information about Joan of Arc's life. The audiobook narrator, Cassandra Campbell, also does a decent job with the French names and terms. TW for descriptions of sexual assault and war.

5. Constructive Criticism: A Handbook by Vicki Legion

Written about 50 years ago, this book still contains practical advice crucial for organizers to struggle with each other and come to correct conclusions. Vicki does a great job explaining how our emotions develop in a dialectical way, demystifying communication issues between comrades. Activists, organizers and everyday people alike should read this book to learn how to communicate better. I'm re-reading it right now and I'm still learning upon the second read!

6. Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

We better talk about this book while it's still legal to do so! The PFLP released this text in 1969 (?) to elucidate the Palestinian and global masses of the conditions Marxist-Leninists face in organizing for a revolution within occupied Palestine. The information contained in this book is dated, written before the Intifadas and the formation and consolidation of Hamas, but the dialectical materialist methods of analysis are still crucial to understanding present-day conditions.

**You can get both this book and Constructive Criticism from Foreign Languages Press as a free PDF/audiobook or a cheap paperback.**

7. Short Film Starring My Beloved's Red Bronco: poems by K. Iver

This book fucked me up for real. This is a short yet devastating collection of poems detailing the loss of their childhood friend and lover. The speaker of these poems conveys the relationship between these two young people as one of mutual self-discovery, as both of them were trans and were having to learn to process this truth on their own. It's incredibly well-written and still sits with me months after reading. I borrowed it from the library but I may have to pick up a copy to keep on my shelf! TW for suicide and transphobia.

8. Abuela, Don't Forget Me by Rex Ogle

I guess the poetry this year fucked me up for real in general. If you're familiar with Rex Ogle's other works like Free Lunch or Punching Bag, you're already somewhat familiar with the main character. This is a sort of memoir-in-verse that tells the story of Ogle's relationship with her grandmother, his only safe adult caregiver whom he could trust. He was prompted to write the poems in this book when his grandmother was diagnosed with dementia. The poems are so simple yet impactful, great for young readers. TW for domestic abuse and neglect, and casual anti-Latino and xenophobic racism.

9. Mandíbula (Jawbone) by Mónica Ojeda

Rounding off the list with some fiction...and this was probably the weirdest book I read all year. I read the book in Spanish, which may have had something to do with it, but even so, the story of a bunch of high school girls at a preppy high school in Ecuador who are really into creepypastas and doing occult internet shit to torture each other was surprisingly well-written. The character development is also pretty strong between the two main girls of the group and the neurotic teacher whom they torture the most. If you were into really weird, fucked-up creepypastas as a teen, you might like this one. This book has also been translated to English under the title Jawbone. TW for abuse and kidnapping.

10. Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

Finishing with easily one of the strangest books I've ever read, period. This book tells the story of a vampire-like creature who wakes up in a cave and doesn't remember who she is. The story that unfolds is harrowing and confusing for the main character, but Butler does a good job of making sure the reader can keep track of the myriad of characters that the main character comes to encounter. I also read Octavia E. Butler's other standalone novel Kindred for the first time this year, but I wanted to highlight this one for how odd this story is and the risks that Butler takes with this book. I need to write an essay on Octavia Butler soon; there's so much to talk about with her novels. TW for genocide, racism, and war-like violence.

#top 10 #bookblr #redmuse #book review #poetry #black history #Palestine

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nightmarejim · 6 years

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Don't touch my sister!

Yan was walking down the night street to have a nice walk in the summer night, she went to say goodbye to King.

Her beloved boyfriend was out of town for the summer to be the councilor for some Boy Scouts.

It was dark before she began to walk home, and Yan thought tonight was perfect. It wasn't to warm, or too cool, you could see the stars and...there was a strange man in front of her.

Yan sighed before speed walking passed the man, just ignore him, you're near Dad's studio. Just make it inside the studio.

"Excuse me kid, do you happen to know the time?"

Without the hesitation Yan kept walking but shouted the time behind her, "9:30pm!"

She was near the alleyway near the backstage when someone covered her mouth and yanked her backwards. It was the man from before, "Tch, you a little boy? Why the fuck you dressed like that? You know you wasted my time, I'm supposed to be getting little girls. Maybe I can sell you in the warehouse... Yea that's what I'll do. Cross dressers aren't worth much but you'll get me a good thousand."

Yan struggled in vain as this man spoke out his plans, she tried her hardest to wail out but the man's fingers found their way into her mouth and she definitely didn’t think when she bit down.

"Shit!" He threw the distraught teen to the ground and quickly took off his belt to hit her, but once he got close enough...

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" A figure rammed into the assailant and into a large dumpster can.

Yan shakingly stood up in time to see Bim Trimmer, her Papa's assistant and protégé, lift the man by his throat and sink his nails in before ripping away and skin and bone.

Bim's lips touched the throat briefly before he bit down, at first Yan assumed it was to just kill. Though that thought was pummeled as he ripped flesh from the body and swallowed.

It was weird, Bim was like a big brother to her, how did she not notice that he was a cannibal?

The wet sounds of ripping flesh and cracking bone alerted her that Bim was packing up the body, though he froze.

His eyes grew wide as they stared at each other, and he scrambled up and backed away.

Even in the dim light, Yan could see the shame. Before she could say anything, "Y-Yan! I swear I won't hurt you, I thought you ran as soon as you got up. Oh gosh I bet you're disgusted by me, I'm sorry..."

"No Bim! Thank you! You saved me! Have you always eaten people? Oh! Does anyone taste the same? Are you into vore?!"

Bim held out his hands, "Um, yes I've alway eaten people, no everyone tastes different, Vore? I read it bit never wanted to try...y-you're not afraid?"

Yan grinned, "Nope, but it does explain what Papa does with all the bodies after certain shows."

Bim laughed, "Well let me put this away and get cleaned up, then I'll take you home."

Yan practically skipped into her Papa's building as Bim stared at the remains with distaste, maybe he can offer it to Dark's demon dog.

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@miyoki-kun here is the best I can do...I honestly never wrote cannibalism and hope this suffices.

#bim trimmer #yandere #tw: violence #tw: blood #tw gore #tw stalking #tw child harm #tw transphobic #tw mentions of sex trade #tw mentions of slave ring

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chronosbled · 3 years

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Anonymous asked: would you be interested in a boyfriend for hire, dick?

☣ || “I don’t think that I can actively answer that question, at least not properly anyway.” His life has been filled with nothing but science, human experimentation, and torture; do you really think he’d know what a boyfriend for hire is? “I’m not too sure what that is exactly. I mean, you can’t really buy a person, right? Not unless it’s a slave trade or something in the black market, but I seriously doubt that’s what that is. The most I can assume about it is that it’s like how one hires a mercenary.” This question could have probably been answered by someone else.

#☣ [ ' I αɱ ƚԋҽ ҽαƚҽɾ σϝ ɯσɾʅԃʂ αɳԃ I'ɱ ʅσσƙιɳɠ ϝσɾ ʂσɱҽσɳҽ ƚσ ϝҽҽԃ ɱҽ. ' ] - ✡ Iɳ Cԋαɾαƈƚҽɾ ✡#☣ [ ' Eʋҽɾყσɳҽ Lσʋҽʂ A Vιʅʅαιɳ. ' ] - ✡ Dιƈƙʂσɳ Gҽɾαʅԃ Rҽɠιɳαʅԃ Sιɱɱσɳʂ ✡#☣ [ ' Fσɾ ϝυɾƚԋҽɾ ɾҽʂҽαɾƈԋ. ' ] - ✡ Aʂƙʂ ✡#☣ [ ' Mαʂƙҽԃ Pαɾƚιƈιραɳƚʂ. ' ] - ✡ Aɳσɳყɱσυʂ ✡#{ Asking something like this to Dickson is a bit pointless honestly? }#{ He doesn't know what stuff like that is. }#{ He grew extremely... 'sheltered'... in the eyes of many which isn't actually true. }#{ He was more or less kept captive within the Simmons estate during his entire childhood and partial adulthood until his grandfather died- }#{ so his grandfather could use him in experiments and still keepthe next Simmons family heir nearby if he's ever needed. }#{ So things like boyfriends for hire or speed dating or anything normal humans do is like seeing a unicorn. Rare as shit. }#{ Of course I'm not saying not to ask these kinds of things. }#{ He just doesn't understand is all. }#tw; slave trade mention #tw; slave mention #tw; torture mention #tw; human experimentation mention

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