#day 5: Scars

[queercontrarian]

one more sweet boy to be butchered by men

@cassianappreciationweek Day 5: Scars

some scars take a very long time to heal.

title from hozier's swan upon leda

for this prompt i wanted to explore a confrontation between a grown up cassian and his child self, a past that is so far removed from him yet one that still heavily affects him over five hundred years later. a little boy forced to fend for himself and a general putting weapons into the hands of children just like him. how can his scars heal when he sees the same wounds reflected in his people every day?

for some reason i feel like the sketch just hits harder. if you're interested in that drawing you can find it under the cut here

[alicefromwhichplanet]

The Phantom of the Opera

My treat for 2024 Blitzbee Week!

Day 5: Scars

@blitzbee-week

Summary:

A little walk that turned into a chaotic role-playing of a humans’ musical, that almost caused serious consequences.

P.S. The fiction comes with two songs in “The Phantom of the Opera (original London Cast)”:

“The Music of the Night” and “The Point of No Return”

I wrote this while listening to these songs. You’re highly recommended to listen to them as you read (the later half of the story in particular). ;)

The story came from a headcanon of @xiaoddexingjiutang Thanks for your brilliant idea!

P.P.S I really love Bee learning to be the harbor of Blitzwing’s madness. And, Beeverse Blitzy is reaaaally maaad.

P.P.P.S. I actually don’t like the musical itself very much, plot-wise. However, I think the musical serves as a perfect backdrop.

[cassianappreciationweek]

⚔︎ Day Five Round-Up: Scars ⚔︎

Fics:

Scarred (Nessian & OC Daughter) by @lady-of-tearshed

Home (Cassian x Reader) by @littlestw01f

When We Howl, the Moon Will Cower: Chapter 5 (Nessian) by @c-e-d-dreamer

If These Scars Could Speak (Nessian) by @unhealthyfanobsession

Art:

Cassian and Young Cassian by @queercontrarian

Cassian fanart by @linarttz, commissioned by @melphss

Cassian fanart by @jayfeather323, commissioned by @c-e-d-dreamer

Cassian fanart by @nesta-apologist

[morrocoyconchuo]

Day 5: katara keeps her scars

They're comparing scar-care tips, and she's just making sure that Zuko is following her care instructions. Clearly, he isn't, because the scar on his chest is dry but also hot and maybe wet? Who knows.

Another one for the archive. @zutaramonth

I also want to take a moment to say how lovely this fandom is. I love you guys. We will never let anyone cut up our sails.

Made in the Sketchbook app for Android.

[aurorangen]

But why does pain always come in the end?

Transcript:

[After a few months, everything started going downhill. You could say my Dad started disappearing]

[Not entirely though. Our morning routine was normal and I'd get dropped off at school by my Mum. Usually, my Dad's workday ends at the same time as school finishes, so he'd come to pick me up. But he began missing those. I didn't know what he was doing or where he was. Probably work. To this day I still don't know]

[It got to the point where this was happening frequently. I lied to my teachers and said I had permission from both my parents to walk home by myself, and that I only lived around the corner. An 8-year-old walking 30 minutes home, alone through the busy city streets. Any adult would be concerned if they knew]

[No one was there when I got home. I'd spend a few hours alone waiting for my parents and always my Dad came back first. He'd come home frustrated either ignore my existence or shout at me. Sometimes he'd start swearing or hitting stuff. I stayed far away. And when my Mum came home, he was completely normal]

[I started becoming afraid of him. He showed a split personality and I was the only one who knew it then. I was scared of telling anyone and kids were whispering about me. That's why I lied to my teachers to get out of there quickly. What if I told them the truth? Would things have turned out differently if I did?]

[stiffyck]

Since valentines day is getting closer I thought I'd share this little thought:

Aroace scar who prepares little notes and letters for all his friends. He gets them all flowers and chocolate or other snacks and then he goes one by one and gives them all their little gift, he hugs them and tells them how much he appreciates them.

Scar, Grian and Mumbo then hang out for the rest of the day together, watching movies and just spending the day together.

I think it should be more normalized spending valentines day with your best friend or family and not just a romantic partner.

So anyway scar does exactly that! He spends the day with his friends and they just appreciate each other and spend the day just having fun doing whatever.

(Scar also definitely gives them cheek kisses and lots of hugs and cuddles)

[eluminium]

Skizz Week 2 day 5! This one is short and sweet! Just the hermits being helpful in the silliest ways. As always, thank you to @skizzlemanweek for today's prompt!

Prompt 5: Work / Rest

The first thing he notices is the darkness. His base is completely coated in it, which he finds pretty strange. Usually, he can see moonlight peaking through the various openings to his base, or at least one torch somewhere! Actually, how did he even get in bed? He doesn't remember going to sleep last night. Eh, he's not slept at all lately, so a memory gap isn't the most unimaginable thing.

The second thing he notices is that he's tied to the bed, but not uncomfortably so. He can still shift around and even grab things on the nightstand next to him. Whoever tied him here clearly took great care in doing it, even using softer leads and knots to make sure his skin wouldn't be rubbed red. Heck, there's even a few extra pillows strategically placed so he won't hurt his back or neck! How sweet!

The third thing he notices is that someone is in the room with-

WAIT.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-" He eloquently yells as he sits straight up, now fully awake and aware. And tied to his bed. HE'S TIED TO HIS BED???

In the darkness, three instantly recognizable laughs taunt him. One of them lights a torch, and yep. Just as he suspected. It's Gem, Grian and Scar. His fellow Magic Mountain people have betrayed him!

He scowls at them, which makes them laugh harder.

"Awww, don't look so grumpy! It's not helping with the wrinkles," Gem says with a wink. Little does she know that he's fighting for his life to hold that scowl on his face. Watching his friends laugh makes him want to laugh, okay? Even if they're laughing at him tied up on his own bed.

Grian approaches him, finally getting himself together after having had the laugh of his life. Skizz raises an eyebrow, and Grian only grins. "It's for your best, homie buddeah!"

"Oh yeah, for my best, totally. I'm not buying that for a second, G!" Skizz counters, crossing his arms. He's grateful that he always sleeps with something on, otherwise this would have been way more awkward. For them, not for him!

Gem walks to stand beside Grian. "It is, though! I found you passed out on top of your pyramid yesterday! ON TOP! How- How did you even do that?!"

Oh, so that's what this is about. How much he's been working lately

Well… Erm…. UHMMMMMM… Shit, they kinda have a point.

"I plead the fifth!" He squeaks, knowing he's been cornered. Gem gives him the most unimpressed look. "You're going to stay in this bed for today. No working! We don't want you to get sick again!" She says with an accusatory point.

Now, normally Skizz would fight this. Say that he's got everything under control. But honestly, he is really tired.

"Fineeeeeee. Only because you asked so nicely," he surrenders. They've gone through all the effort to make sure he's comfortable and also they TIED HIM TO HIS BED. Might as well take advantage of it.

"Wait wait wait! We're not done yet!" G interrupts, before he points to Scar. "We're not gonna leave you tied to your bed alone. Scar is gonna stay and make sure you don't try anything."

"Hey! You told me I was gonna get to talk about the Sequal trilogy and that new Outlaws game-!"

"SHHHHH YOU'RE SPOILING IT!"

Skizz rolls his eyes. Of course. He'd been goading Scar into his rant-able topics lately just to piss off Grian.

"You know this is not very good revenge, right? I like listening to Scar talk about what he loves!" He points out. He doesn't like how Grian gets an evil glint in his eyes.

"Well, you keep saying that…So we're gonna put it to the test. We'll leave Scar here with you, and see how long it takes until you break. Your comm is on your nightstand for when you give up."

Now this is something Skizz can get behind! A challenge where he basically does nothing and wins!

"Bring it on, G!" He smugly comments, knowing that he's using the tone that will activate Grians own competitiveness. He sees it work in action as the avian's face hardens.

"You guys are..something special alright," Gem comments with the most deadpan tone.

Grian grabs her shoulder and pushes her towards the exit. "You two have fun! See ya!" is the last he gets out before both he and Gem leave Skizz's base.

Scar and Skizz meet eyes.

"Between you and me, Skizzy, I know they put me here to make sure I didn't try to work, either. They're not very subtle." Scar says with a wink.

A hint of surprise crosses Skizz's face. "Really?" Scar nods in response.

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to, I can just-"

"Nonsense!" Scar cries out, wheeling himself closer to Skizz's bed. "I wasn't going to get any work done anyway, and now instead of being bored in my base, I get to hang out with Skizzy Wizzy! Now, don't you think it's really stupid that Disney made Kylo Ren and Rey kiss-"

And the conversation goes from there. Back and forth, back and forth. Star Wars to TOOL to Watches to Poker and on and on and on. For any other Hermit, it would probably be a nightmare scenario. But for these two talkative nerds, it's a dream come true.

If this is what constitutes "mandatory rest" on Hermitcraft, Skizz can't help but feel even more grateful that he gets to be in such a wonderful place, with such wonderful people.

[suffarustuffaru]

Hi so i found this post about a reinsuba soulmate au? but I can't remember the name of it I don't remember the person who posted it I've search everywhere for but can't find it I only remember some of it I think it was a soulmates has the others scars there was also a were reinhard is desperately searching for his soulmate because they were fine just a awhile ago and suddenly they just started getting the scars and doesn't know it's Subaru because of return by death I think The scars are in gold on the other soulmate? I think I saw your name somewhere it's fine if you don't know but if you do know please let me know.

OH i absolutely know which post youre talking about!! it was an idea on the fanfic thread a few months ago, and i do sometimes go on rezero reddit so i contributed to some of the ideas in this thread here.

yeah so for everyone else who doesn't know - the fanfic/AU idea was basically that soulmate pairs get each others scars (physical OR psychological) in gold on their skin. think of it like kintsugi art, where you repair broken pottery by filling in the breaks with gold -

like this basically!! (meaning subaru might notice the similarities between the whole soulmate system and kintsugi itself yes)

yeah so to summarize all the ideas me and a few other people had in that thread, basically reinhard and subaru are soulmates (this can be platonic or romantic or however youd like to see it). reinhard takes on ALL of subarus physical and psychological scars so reinhard's basically Covered in them. meanwhile because reinhard doesnt physically scar, subaru only gets psychological ones - a collar mark around his neck to symbolize the collar of submission (a collar the kingdom puts on reinhard to suppress his powers; reinhard isnt allowed to leave the country without this collar on), and later in arc 5, subaru also gets a giant slash mark across his chest (to symbolize reinhard's death in arc 5). subaru's physical scars are self-explannatory - the psychological ones though include markings around the lips (for the rbd taboo :(( ) and a handprint on his chest right over his heart (because. satella/witch of envy).

meanwhile reinhard is guilt stricken because oh god my soulmate is SUFFERING and i cant even save them :(( i cant even find them!!! but at least i can take on all the burden of their scars for them ahahah i deserve this. and then reinhard looks over at subaru and goes hm. a collar mark. reminds me of the collar of submission :(((( but i cant possibly be subaru's soulmate!!! slavery is unfortunately commonplace in this world, subaru, perhaps you should go look in kararagi? :<<< so then reinhard ends up going on a wild goose chase for a soulmate that was LITERALLY right in front of him. subaru either doesnt notice the growing scars on reinhard until later (because they dont see each other very often) orrrr subaru is sweating buckets because he of course cant explain ALL of those scars so hes like haha im gonna keep quiet until i figure out how to break the news.

but then reinhard dies in front of subaru in arc 5 and then subaru watches as not only does reinhard come back to life, a new golden slash mark appears across subaru's torso that perfectly matches the wound reinhard just died from.....

yeah anyway!!! im quite fond of soulmate aus actually and this idea is particularly fun yes :o both in concept and aesthetically. ive always rotated a bunch of different rezero soulmate aus in my head and this idea is pretty cool i think!!

[soul-nymph]

i headcanon that Shang’s body is covered in scars from all the beatings he took as a snake oil salesman. thoughts?

[caeran]

I made him look so cute 😭😭😭

[hyper-cryptic]

(I DIDN'T FORGET A CAPTION... YOU DID!)

He pop'd in my brain and some demon took over my body to draw him n' other sillies from this au. :3

[lightsofatlantis]

"What will you sacrifice, Staci Pratt?"

[bota--bonk]

GORETOBER DAY 5: Claw. (By @rnoon_ on instagram)

His gauntlets are off but the claws still feel like they are there. Hands have been washed but they are still red.

@eternalglitch <- Their Au :3

[red-velvet-0w0]

drew some fanart of one of my OC's

Tw for blood (under cut)

(Jack, He/Him, Bisexual)

*smacks his head like the roof of a used car* you can fit SO MUCH trauma in this bad boy!

@rosiiclouds because you're the only person who knows any of this guys deal

[reblog-house]

Hermitcraft S5 has made me appreciate Scar even more. Thought that wouldn't be possible. I just. Really like the talks he does while building sometimes. The things he says. Like all the stuff he's said so far about his relationship with disability, how sometimes it's hard, but as his swim coach used to say, a situation is 90% what you make of it 10% the situation itself and how he tries to think of what he can still do rather than what he can't. Or also rn (ep 23) explaining that the reason he loves Disney and such so much is because of the storytelling aspect in a physical, tangible, space. Talks like that really make me feel more connected and it humanizes him more in my eyes. It's nice. If you haven't watched his S5 of hermitcraft, I'd suggest doing so. Something about it, man.

[lulu2992]

Hey ! First thanks for this blog, it's full of really great posts :) And second, I saw you gave advices to fanfics writers for John and Jacob but I didn't see anything about Joseph, I believe I'm not the only one to think The Father is the hardest to write ! Any tips, advices or anything else ? Thanks a lot and continue this wonderful work !

Hi! And thank you :D

I suppose you’ve played the game and already know Joseph’s story, but as I did in my previous posts, I’m going to give you (and anyone reading this who might not be familiar with the Far Cry 5 universe) a few links and resources:

The Book of Joseph: an official but rare book that seems mostly canonical. Its real-life author is unknown, but it’s written from the Father’s point of view and provides details about his life before Hope County. Contrary to popular belief, though, this is not Eden’s Gate’s sacred book; that’s The Word of Joseph and we can’t read it (except one page; see below).

Joseph’s sermons: the “first” one, “Soul Search”, the one about “the elite”, and “The Truth”. The latter is him reading the only page from The Word of Joseph we can find in the game. There’s also this one for Jacob’s Armory, and this, supposed to be broadcasted in the Heralds’ bunkers when the Collapse has arrived.

His only radio call.

The message he left for John at Seed Ranch.

His lines during the final fight against him.

His Arcade lines: Part 1 & Part 2.

His scars and tattoos.

I wrote a summary of what other characters say about him (masterpost here), but the cultists and Resistance/civilians’ comments can be listened to here and here. And chances are they’re not relevant anymore, but you can listen to his deleted lines here and read even more here.

The Far Cry 5 lore is all over the place if you want to take all the content they’ve ever released into account, but there’s also:

The song “Now He’s Our Father” (choir version here and reinterpretation here)

The two live-action trailers, The Sermon & The Baptism

The novel Far Cry: Absolution (not legally available for free)

The short film Inside Eden’s Gate (and, as a bonus, the long version of one of the scenes)

The comic Far Cry: Rite of Passage #3 (not legally available for free)

The game has an official sequel, Far Cry New Dawn... but it’s not really canon to me because of the retcons. And I have to talk about it because it exists, but there’s also the Far Cry 6 DLC, Collapse. It takes place in Joseph’s mind, and you would think that would make it the most reliable source of information regarding his psyche, but it was developed by a new team and there are many discrepancies between it and Far Cry 5, so I would personally advise against using it as a reference... Finally, this isn’t only true for Joseph, but take everything you see on the Far Cry Wiki with a grain of salt, especially unsourced information that makes you go, “oh, I didn’t know that”; that’s very suspicious :’)

In the Far Cry 5: Official Collector’s Edition Guide by Prima Games, the game’s Lead Writer, Drew Holmes, said the following about Joseph:

What we really focused on was creating an enemy that truly believed in his mission—that only he could protect humanity during the end of days. We wanted to create a villain who had pure intentions but who was so consumed by his own madness that he could not see his own evil. He views himself as Noah—but everyone else sees him as a madman. (...) Joseph Seed is a villain we haven’t seen before in Far Cry. Yes, he’s magnetic and crazy...but there’s also an honesty to him that makes him compelling. He believes he has purpose. He’s not crazy for crazy’s sake—he has a very clear message that he’s trying to impart on the Player—and hopefully makes you stop and think whether or not he’s actually right.

He talked about him in other interviews, such as this one.

Joseph was co-created and has always been played by the same actor (except once), Greg Bryk, whose opinion on the character is always worth reading/listening to. Here’s a selection of videos, some of them also featuring Drew Holmes and Dan Hay (Executive Producer/Creative Director/Writer):

Cult of Personality (UbiBlog)

Meet Greg Bryk Joseph Seed Actor

Interview - Greg Bryk and Drew Holmes (Gaming Trend)

Greg Bryk (Joseph "The Father" Seed in Far Cry 5) - Game On Expo 2018

FORGED ep10 - W/ Guest Greg Bryk

SacAnime Summer 2018 Greg Bryk Far Cry 5 Panel

Joseph Seed "The Father" aka Greg Bryk talks FAR CRY 5 & FAR CRY NEW DAWN

How Far Cry’s Iconic Villains Were Created (IGN Inside Stories)

Fans also asked him questions on Instagram and I compiled his answers here (and here). In the latest live stream, he said Far Cry 5 had been “an amazing chapter in [his] life” but that Joseph’s story was “finished”, implying he didn’t feel like playing him anymore...

Finally, it’s not really informative, just fun, but there’s this.

Now, my analysis and interpretation! Despite the fact Joseph is an antagonist in Far Cry 5, I wouldn’t really call him “evil” or describe him as a villain because he’s (weirdly) well-intentioned. His followers undeniably do awful things for him and his siblings, but even though he’s a cult leader, he’s neither hypocritical nor a liar, and his primary goal isn’t to take advantage of people. Joseph heard a Voice he believes is God’s and It entrusted him with a mission. Although who that Voice belongs to is up to interpretation, it’s clear to me It’s not a figment of his imagination; It’s real, and It’s powerful. Joseph has unwavering faith in It and will obey It, whatever It asks him to do, even the worst, because he’s extremely devoted and convinced he’s only doing what’s right. He genuinely believes the Collapse is coming and that he’s the prophet chosen to save as many “souls” as he can (at least 3,000) from it to march them to Eden’s Gate, which is why he started his Project.

I said he was well-intentioned but, as the saying goes, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”, and I think Joseph embodies this proverb perfectly. The fact he’s convinced his actions are righteous is precisely what makes him dangerous and almost unstoppable. He won’t let anything or anyone prevent him from fulfilling his destiny and get in the way of his divine purpose, even if it means people have to die. To Joseph, this is “God’s will” and those non-believers will perish when the Collapse comes anyway... The people his Family saves might fight or not want to join them now, but he thinks that in the end, when they finally understand he was right, they will be grateful. As the Father, he feels he knows what’s best for his Children.

I believe the Voice showed him several versions of the future and that Joseph isn’t sure which one(s) will come to pass. He may know his siblings are likely to die and not see the New Eden, but he hopes they will live because he truly loves them. As for the Deputy, they’re the person destined to trigger the Collapse, so they’re special to him and he doesn’t want his followers to kill them. That said, he also hopes he can make them join his Family so everyone can be safe in “The Garden” the Voice promised.

I think Joseph hasn’t really moved on from the loss of his wife and is still, in some way, in love with her. That doesn’t mean he could never love someone else, but in the game, he’s not quite there yet. That may seem paradoxical, and he’s still convinced he did the right thing, but I also believe his daughter’s death was a tragedy to him because evidence suggests he loved her more than he loved himself. Joseph is a man of strong convictions… and contradictions.

He’s usually calm and collected but can still feel and express extreme emotions in some cases. When he speaks, it’s like he’s naturally solemn and charismatic, which is probably why so many people follow him. Again, the fact he doesn’t lie to them and sincerely believes in his message is probably the reason others started to believe in him in return.

Because of what he went through in his life, it appears Joseph is always desperately trying to build a family and surround himself with loved ones. Sadly, he also seems doomed to always lose them, one way or another… His commitment to the Voice is absolute, and serving God is what keeps him going. In the end, he’s certain everything he’s endured and sacrificed will be worth it. Unfortunately, while he always aims to do “what’s right”, the tragedy of Joseph is that he usually ends up inadvertently making things worse, for him or the people he loves. His faith is his reason for living, but it’s also, too often, the main reason for his suffering.