the-ocean-sings

These are the undisputable rules of friendship as laid down by the teacher of all the "special people" classes I was forced to be in as a high schooler. I consider her to be the foremost authority on all interpersonal relationships simply because... she has friends and I don't.

1. You both genuinely enjoy being together and speaking to each other, and you never get bored with each other.

2. You have visited each other in your own homes at least once each.

3. You are both readily willing to do things you don't like for each other and enjoy it.

And ALL the boxes have to be checked if you want to assign someone the "friend" title, let alone the "best" distinction.

I wish it wasn't this way, but I don't make the rules.

I've done A LOT of revision to my One Piece OC Moriko Nissa, her backstory, and the story of how she becomes a Straw Hat Pirate. If any of you want to know more about how the story will go now, shoot me a note.

So... before I make major changes to any of my head-continuity, I just wanted to run potential revisions past a group of people who like what I do to see how it goes over.

I believe some context is in order...

I want to retool Nissa's first meeting with the Straw Hat Pirates to not quite be as smooth as it originally was. Sure, in the beginning she would still be shy but polite and civil to them, however as she gets to know them more her sense of resentment slowly builds until she just can't suppress it anymore. The reason for this lies in Nissa's greatest desire; like a lot of lonely depressed people Nissa wants to have friends, but after losing Jasmine as a little kid and being continually sh** on verbally by Sheila she has spent years and years building a case in her head that trying to forge deep meaningful relationships with any other people is a losing battle and she just doesn't want the trouble.

Then in comes Monkey D. Luffy, who has actually managed to amass a whole crew of close companions who care about each other and want the best for each other, coming by each member via a series of fortunate happenstances. He also doesn't really have an actual job, mostly just wants to enjoy himself with his many friends, and isn't actively looking to change the world for the better. Unlike Nissa, he sees life in general as something to be enjoyed rather than put up with and survived. Upon further getting to know him and the crew, this kind of drives a wedge between Nissa and Luffy.

Be honest with yourselves, how many times have you immaturely resented a perfectly nice person simply because they are happier than you and appear to have gained everything you would like to have without actually trying to?

This is basically what leads to the interaction that will be written out below. Some of my followers may see this as VERY out of character for someone built up to be generally soft-spoken and nice like I have previously portrayed Nissa, but I repeat that this tirade occurs AFTER Nissa has been acting polite and civil with the crew. As she learns more about their history and Luffy's, she just keeps gritting her teeth until some final straw causes her to snap (no, I don't know what the final straw is yet.)

I think that concludes the context that properly fleshes all that will follow out.

-And now our excerpt...-

(Nissa is going off on Luffy for being happier than her despite being unemployed and not actively working to improve the world, a la Frank Grimes in "Homer's Enemy.)

Nissa: ... And what do YOU have to show for your lifetime of gluttony and recklessness?!?!

Luffy: What?

Nissa: EVERYTHING!!! This awesome ship! A group of people who care about you! A gorgeous girlfriend!

Nami: I'm not his girlfriend.

Nissa: WELL YOU SHOULD BE!!!

-Excerpt over.-

The reason why I want this interaction to happen is because I want to build a more sturdy character foundation for Nissa. I know she's come a long way since her early days of being "generically nice Moriko 'Mary Sue' Nissa who ends up with the main character," but I still feel like I have a lot more work to do before she can be considered close to the same level as canon OP characters.

So I've been thinking a lot about art and media and how they affect society at large. Whether we want to admit it or not, the two do feed into each other, so it only stands to reason that if we want culture to improve we need to really put effort into what we create.

So in that spirit, I have finally come up with a design for my character Moriko Nissa that is completely uncontroversial, untriggering, and all-over not offensive in any way. Now nobody can complain that she promotes being overweight or underweight, and she can't be adopted as a mascot for toxic body positivity.

So, here she is! The new and improved... NISSA!!!

Fresh ripe peaches or nectarines cut into small chunks, with or without skin (must be freestone)

Fresh chunks of pineapple

Fresh strawberries cut in quarters

Flaked unsweetened coconut

Combine all fruits in whatever quantities and ratios you prefer, sprinkle with a little flaked coconut and enjoy!