#fulfill the prophecy: allie

[uncanny-tranny]

I think what might actually help the families of trans loved ones is to actually engage with where the trans person is at - especially if the family isn't quite understanding yet. When I came out, I was completely alone in figuring out my manhood. I had peers and I had exposed myself to so many trans people who explored gender, and while it was amazing, it isn't quite the same at times. I grieve quietly, sometimes, about all the missed opportunities that might have just made it easier for my family to have seen how utterly happy I was. It took them a very long time to actually notice that I was happy, especially once I got on testosterone. I'm lucky that they saw that happiness eventually, and slowly accepted it. My manhood is completely detached from their influence, both to my relief and chagrin. It's sad to me that I learned to shave from a kind online stranger, somebody who didn't even have a father and yet, I do. I have a father. I grieve at the loss of a potential shared experience. I grieve about the pain I went through when I was in that stage of transition, especially because it was raw and vulnerable. I grieve that many trans people today are traversing the path I had to, because it's sometimes lonely (even when you do have other forms of support).

It's hard to know that I will never have gotten my sense of being from my family. In many ways, it has severed a lot of connection with them because there were so many times that I was begging them to see happiness when they were focused on the idea that I was almost in a state of purgatory - flesh which felt warm but held no familiarity to them. I don't harbor ill-will toward them, I hope I don't leave the impression that I despise them. I understand what they felt, even if I can't conceptualize it myself. However, it's a raw wound in my heart, and I don't want to leave anybody else feeling that way, either.

[theitcharchives]

It's here :D it's thin and simple but it's mine

After three tries, I've finally approved the print version of Inferno for Lulu's selfpub. It should be immediately available on Lulu's marketplace, while it will take several weeks if not months for it to be present on other marketplaces like Amazon and B&N, if they individually approve of it.

(the ebook version also exists of course)

I made that cover myself, too. Well I used Canva's text and star icons, but the image of Miff and Ember was drawn by my own hand :)

[spiltsoup]

Absolute train-wreck of a woman (I need her so bad it's not even funny)

[lovevalley45]

listening to zari and ray talk abt what would happen if she did save her family and knowing what DOES happen... it's fuckin brutal man

[anexperimentallife]

The Gaza genocide is going exactly according to the US Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian agenda, with which they hope to wipe out all Jews and Muslims

To anyone raised in the US Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian Dominionist movement in the US, the horror and inhumanity, the genocide Israel is engaged in against Palestinians right now is not a surprise. We all KNEW this was coming, and those of us who got out of the movement we were raised in have been trying to raise the alarm for decades, mostly to either deaf ears, or accusation of antisemitism.

(Because, they would say, "if you don't support Zionism, and stand behind everything Israel does, you must hate all Jews!" Ignoring that many Jews all over the world--yes, including many Israeli Jews--do not support Israel's foreign policy.)

Because everything in the orbit of Israel is going exactly to the Evangelical Fundamentalist Christian Doomsday plan--a plan that has been OPENLY talked about in Fundie circles since I was a little kid being indoctrinated into it.

In case you're not familiar, let me break down the Fundie thinking here:

Their support of Israel and embrace of Zionism is based around their beliefs that:

a) the return of Jews to Israel, and then Israel/all "unconverted" Jews being completely wiped out in an apocalyptic war, is essential to Jesus' return.

b) but that any nation that DIRECTLY opposes Israel will fall even if they defeat Israel. So that in order to fulfill prophecy, they must

c) set someone ELSE up to wipe out Israel/the Jews.

(To go into more detail: They believe that "the Jews were God's original chosen people until Christians took their place in God's favor when the Jews denied Jesus." But that God is still attached to his former faves and will punish anyone who wipes them out--thus the entire fundie idea is to get someone ELSE to do it, then serve as "the instrument of God's vengeance" by genociding the genociders.)

So they support Israel's increasing violence intentionally to create greater and greater conflict and turn more of Israel's neighbor states against them, meanwhile fostering the idea that with the power of the US backing them, they cannot fail.

And here's their next planned phase--maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually

Once things reach a tipping point, the Fundies (currently the single most powerful force in US politics, thanks to ANOTHER multi-generational plan openly talked about in Fundie circles, which was specifically designed to put Fundies amd their allies in powerful positions) will force the US to pull support from Israel so that its neighbors can destroy it, then use that destruction as a pretext for their own genocide against remaining Muslim/Arab (there is little distinction between the two in their minds) peoples.

Christian Fundamentalist support of Zionism has always been about the elimination of both Jews and Muslims, and bringing about a Christian/Capitalist (aka fascist) world.

They emphasize that they LOVE Jews, and maybe don't even entirely HATE the "evil Muslims," but that this is "God's will," and that they have no choice but to obey. They'll even shed crocodile tears about how sad all this is, but believe me--they are CELEBRATING inside. They are OVERJOYED, because they think this will bring about the Rapture, the end of the world, the Thousand Year Reign, and all the other crap in their shitty Doomsday prophecy.

(This is also their excuse for every other group they are trying to destroy. "Oh, I personally have nothing against the gays, but I have to follow God's will. Plus our children need to be protected from their recruitment efforts." During slavery, then segregation, Black folks were often said to have "the mark of Ham, meaning God said they were DESTINED to be slaves because of Ham's sin. Oh, WE'RE not saying it; GOD is!" See also: child marriage, and lots of other talking points.)

Don't believe me? Ask around on the EXvangelical tags. Listen in at some of the more conservative churches in your area. There are a lot of us who were raised being brainwashed with these ideas and had to deprogram ourselves.

[duncanor]

Million Knives is for the marginalized who felt like the whole world was against them and their only option for survival was to march on and bite back.

Which sound based until you realize you're biting everyone, including friends, family and yourself. It's not even survival anymore, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.

You're not even an ally to your own nor to yourself, just a sick and lonely creature.

[maybeiwasjustjade]

The High King theory truly makes me ill.

And knowing SJM and her obsession with making certain characters superior and/or have some kind of divine right to rule, I know she’ll try to make it happen at the expense of literally everyone else.

Moreover, I don’t see how it can happen without a major war. They just got out of 50 years under Amarantha, I doubt the courts are itching for another incompetent warlords’ attempt at HK/HQ.

Who exactly would bow to Feyre and Rhysand? The High Lords meeting showed that barely anyone tolerated them, nor did they have any actual allies that wasn’t Helion. And I doubt Helion would be so forgiving when he finds out about Lucien. Tamlin and Eris would never, so they’d have to die. Neither would Tarquin or Kallias agree, so that’s a given war with the Seasonal Courts. Dawn would stay neutral, or end up the rebel court. It really is the only toss up.

And even with Gwydion (which rightfully belongs to Nesta alongside the Trove) as some kind of divine symbol, feysand genuinely sucks at ruling. Conquer Prythian—yes, conquer because the other HL would never submit if they asked nicely—when they can’t even rule or play nice with their own people. Enough with the HK dreams, Amren; Rhysand would be lucky if Illyria and Hewn City don’t band together soon to stage a massive uprising.

(Y’know I’m not surprised nobody in the IC can empathize with the CoN citizens. They were all trapped in Velaris for fifty years, where they were free and the sun still rose. Imagine if they’d been UtM with everyone else; maybe then they’d get it. That life where even the sun and trees and anything worth living is out of reach at the whims of a dictator is no life at all.)

And I’ve seen theories floating around that the HK plot is set up for Nyx instead, because he’s destined to inherit all seven powers of the court. Yeah, that’s equally terrible. Divine right to rule and conquer is bullshit. Balance is something that should exist but doesn’t in Acotar. If it did, Feyre wouldn’t be as powerful as she is. 7 drops is not a lot of magic; so tiny and miniscule that each HL didn’t even really notice they lost it. It doesn’t make sense that she could go toe to toe with them with just a singular drop.

Which is baffling when the same author wrote ToG. Everything that was given was scraped together and fought for miserably, and even in all that power, they had to sacrifice so much. Aelin Settled and got her kingdom back, but at the price of losing almost all her fire and getting to keep one drop of water. Dorian still has most of his magic, but at the price of being made a demon slave, committing fratricide, and having the sole responsibility of redeeming his kingdom ala Zuko. Manon fulfilled the prophecy and united her people, allowing them the chance to return home for the first time in 500 years. All it took was losing the Thirteen, who would never see that dream come to life.

Nothing came without cost.

And while yes, Feyre deserved to be remade after her death saving Prythian, the amount of magic she wields is the issue. Nesta having so much magic made sense given she stole most of it; we have yet to really see how much is left. But where’s the balance if Feysand does end up HK/HQ, or Nyx does. What have they given up that makes them more worthy to rule the entirety of Prythian than literally any other character? Because I can argue that they’ve lost a lot lesser. Whatever rights feysand believes they have is no more than a lot of other characters.

And the bloodline of Theia? Yeah, I’m pretty sure the important ones are her female descendants, like Bryce. And Bryce gave Gwydion to Nesta for a reason. If SJM wanted me to believe Feysand was the best choice, she should’ve made Nyx be born full Illyrian. Or better yet, mostly High Fae but with no magic. That would’ve been a much more interesting story to follow, given that Nyx might not be the next inheritor of the Night Court. And what it would mean for the Hewn City. She’ll never do it of course, but it would be fun.

[fuckyeahisawthat]

Something I find interesting when viewing the two recent Dune movies as a whole is that initially, Paul is more than willing to use the prophecy and his visions for his own gain to convince Liet to help them, while Jessica whispers "careful!" at his side, and she later recommends they leave the planet entirely. But Paul decides they'll stay with the Fremen. Even at the beginning of Part 2, Paul is like "fuck yeah let's wage war on the Harkonnen" and Jessica is again counseling caution: "your father didn't believe in revenge." She goes through the Water of Life ceremony not because she wants to help Paul fulfill the prophecy but because she's forced to: do this or die. And even then, the old Reverend Mother had to use the Voice on her to get Jessica to drink.

That all changes when Jessica nearly dies during the ceremony. After that, Paul becomes more wary of embracing the prophecy, and she just throws herself into it. Paul nearly loses his mother (and his unborn sister) to a painful, agonizing poison - mere hours/days after losing his father and all their friends/allies to the Harkonnen slaughter - and decides it's not worth it. Meanwhile, Jessica gets a direct download of memories of millennia of oppression and goes "yeah let's burn everything to the ground."

It's an interesting, quick reversal at the beginning of the second movie, and it's great.

Ooh thank you for this great ask. I can always count on you for smart and thoughtful Jessica takes!

You make a really good observation about their reversal of positions--I had been struggling to figure out how Paul's line about "I must sway the non-believers" fit into his overall arc, but you are absolutely right that this feels like a continuation of how he talks to Liet. We're seeing the first stirrings of that little "maybe I am special" thought that later takes center stage.

For most of Part Two, Paul has several reliable counterweights pulling against that streak of arrogance and high-handedness that he's had from the beginning. Jessica almost dies drinking the Water of Life, which, like you point out, has got to make him think twice about encouraging people to believe in the prophecy. Then, he spends most of the movie surrounded by Chani and her friends and comrades, who seem the most skeptical of the prophecy and also aren't going to give his ego the time of day. And at the same time, he has an opportunity to pour his desire for revenge into collective political action that seems to be making a difference.

It's only when those countervailing forces start collapsing (the people who had started out as his equals are now becoming his followers; the Harkonnens attack Sietch Tabr and other civilian population centers, proving they are far from militarily defeated; Gurney shows up and immediately offers what seems like an easy solution to their problems that only Paul can access) that the little maybe I am special voice starts winning again.

As for Jessica, her journey doesn't get as much focus in the movie but it's also fascinating. She's a great character because she is so fucking smart at navigating power structures from what seems like an unenviable position. Did she have any choice about being sent to Caladan to become Leto's concubine? I am guessing she did not. But she sure figured out how to work that situation to her advantage. It happened that along the way she and Leto came to genuinely love and respect each other. But I'm sure she would still have figured out an angle even if that had not been the case.

In Part Two she starts out in a frankly quite terrifying position: she can undergo this unknown, dangerous ritual or die, and also possibly put Paul's safety at risk by raising doubt about whether he is the Lisan al-Gaib. But after she survives the Water of Life, she is launched into a powerful position in Fremen society and pretty quickly realizes she can use that to both protect Paul and get her revenge on the people who tried to kill her whole family. And unlike Paul, she is much more cognizant of the intergalactic power structures at work and aware that the Harkonnens themselves were a pawn in all this, so her target is the Bene Gesserit and the emperor.

I would have loved more time to explore Jessica's relationship to Fremen society and her POV in general. Because in some ways she becomes as Fremen as it's possible for her to be--she has access to thousands of years of memories of Fremen history and culture and politics; she becomes instantly fluent in the language and she is immersed in Fremen daily life in the sietch. (If there's one single thing I wanted more of, it was daily life in the sietch.) But she's still the same person she was, so she hasn't lost that ability to be ruthless and calculating and see people as forces to be manipulated. In Part One, her love for Paul and Leto provided an interesting counterweight to this that allowed us to see some moments of vulnerability from her (ie. she knows Paul has to undergo the Gom Jabbar test but she's terrified for him while it's happening). In Part Two she is so isolated for most of the movie (away from Paul; surrounded by followers who were never friends; I think we can all agree that talking to your unborn fetus doesn't really count) that we don't get a lot of these more unguarded moments from her. (I would have loved some Jessica/Stilgar action and it seems like the potential was very much set up for that, but I understand why they didn't have time.)

But in general I thought they did a great job of setting up this contradictory tension between Jessica and Paul, where they both want so desperately to protect each other and they both want revenge, but the way they each go about it ends up putting them in direct conflict with each other.

[joseefinwrites]

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Josie

[beth-fiction]

A Prophecy Undone is set in a world named Iomarion, where two nations, Istegar and Sútfold, are locked in a never-ending war against each other.

They said destiny was immutable. They said the chosen one could not die. They said prophecies would come true, one way or another.

They were wrong.

Your father, chosen of Ateus, was supposed to unite Sútfold and Istegar. Yet on the eve of the final victory, he was murdered by none other than his trusted Hand. When you tried to expose the traitor, your words fell on deaf ears; instead, the death was falsely attributed to the assassins among the Sútfold ranks.

Deceived by these lies, vengeful knights of Istegar gathered in front of the Sútfold court with their blades drawn. It was inevitable that the night of celebration devolved into a feast of slaughter from which none emerged victorious. There was no choice but to retreat and nurse the wounds. Your uncle took your father’s place, and you were demoted from heir to spare.

Will you attempt to take your rightful place back? Will you make the Hand pay for their treachery? Most importantly, will you fulfil the prophecy in your father’s stead?

Play as a vengeful prince/princess and customise your personality and appearance.

Take back your throne by hook or by crook. Or are you the type that enjoys controlling everything from behind?

Choose your divine ally carefully. Will it be Ateus, the Lord of Light, or Ulfric, the Great Winter Wolf? Or will it be none of them?

Discover what really happened during that fateful night. Learn the scheme of your enemy, and punish them for what they have done. Alternatively, fall in love with them.

Choose one RO from characters with a wide range of backgrounds and personalities. Define your relationship: will it be simple manipulation or is there something more?

Ingvar/Ingvild (Gender selectable: M/F) Previously a Northman, the sellsword fled south after they defected from the Wolfpacks of Ulfric. You found them when they were homeless and starving, and made them your blade. They will serve you faithfully as long as you keep the coins flowing.

Lysander/Lysandra (Gender selectable: M/F) Your father’s killer is no longer the young person they once were, but time only makes them an even more dangerous foe. Now at the height of their power, no one - sometimes not even the king himself - dares to say no to their request.

Desmond/Desmonda (Gender selectable: M/F) The Speaker of Ateus is said to have high hopes of becoming the next Lightbearer. Kind and compassionate, they have many friends among the commoners, but their unwillingness to please the nobles made them unpopular in upper circles.

Mori (F) The mysterious envoy from the North turns out to be a Seasider. You sense too many contradictions in this woman — it makes you wonder.

Demo

Forum thread

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Current word count: 90k

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

SUMMARY: At the scene of a bizarre murder, L.A. homicide detective Thomas Dagget discovers a lethal heavenly prophecy now being fulfilled on earth. In his fight to stop the forces of evil, he finds an unlikely ally in an elementary school teacher.

[cybertron-after-dark]

You said you like megadac. Yap to me. I beg

Ohooohohohohooohohohhhhhhh my favorite terrible toxic human x robot ship. They are horrible in some of the best ways and their whole dynamic fascinates me because it's such a fucking mess, and not all of it is anyone's fault

(under the cut bc this is a LOT of yapping)

Sumdac never really understood how much he was hurting Megatron by poking around in his remains. How could he know? He never had any indication, he just found a severed robot head with unbelievably advanced tech in it. How could he have ever known that was a person? How could he know it's a person that would come back from the dead? He couldn't. But his lack of awareness doesn't negate how badly it clearly traumatized Megatron (regardless of whether megs would ever admit that, even to himself)

And of course, the extended, months-long ordeal of having to pretend to be an Autobot as Sumdac's unwilling roommate. God. The degree to which that complicates things is just fucking [chef's kiss] absolutely terrible. The nightmare of being completely immobile, completely vulnerable, near-helpless to defend himself, and his only consistent contact is the guy that strung up his guts and plugged it into the central computer of his factory, who happens to be up close and personal with the Autobots that killed him. Like girl that's nightmarish!!! One slip up and he gets sold out to the people that want to fucking execute him, or worse, and he can't even run away.

So he bides his time. Puts on a mask. Hopes to the Allspark he can keep up the charade, keep all his pride and rage and disgust shoved down. And it's miserable. And he hates it. But when something terrifying and sickening and hopeless is your normal for so long, with no place to escape to, it becomes kind of perversely mundane. Familiar. This godawful place is home. This creature that violated me is my only company.

It's just such a fucking tangled mess.

Honestly, if Megatron was at least a little more honest about his position, Sumdac probably wouldn't have sold him out. He likes Megatron, he doesn't really have any reason to distrust him, and he does want to make up for the position he put him in.

"The Autobots do not much care for my kind, me especially. If they were made aware of my location and the state I am in, it would be the end of me. Do you know what happens in Autobot stockades?"

But this is Megatron we're talking about. To him, banking on people's compassion is not an option. Vulnerability is not an option. Trust is not an option. He can't just reveal what he really is with no solid backup plan, it's too great a gamble, and, given Sumdac is the guy who took him apart, it's probably a little difficult to conceive of a reality where putting his life in his hands goes well.

And then, after Blitzwing restores his body, when he's finally free, of course Sumdac is angry. Of course he helps in the ensuing fight on the opposite side. He was right not to trust him, he was an enemy all along, this whole spark forsaken world is.

At least, that's what Megatron tells himself, because he doesn't want to believe all his cynicism was a self fulfilling prophecy he created, and not a deep understanding of the cosmos and the inherent cruelty of his fellow sentient beings.

And then of course, of COURSE, keeping Sumdac in that tank in the cave was all perfectly proportional revenge in his eyes. All that time vulnerable, miserable, hopeless, separated from his allies, exploited, afraid for his life, all of that gets paid back to Sumdac in full. It feels good to hurt him back. This is right, this is justice. This is what fate allows him to inflict back on him, so it must be right.

But Sumdac didn't know. How could he? How could he when Megatron never told him how much he was hurting. And how could Megatron ever tell him when Sumdac gave him so many reasons not to trust him?

It's the inherent tragedy of a missed connection, it's the self-sabotage, it's the fear and the mutual betrayal and the obliviousness and the utter lack of communication, it's the deep familiarity and intimacy (including physical) between them even with that giant chasm they could never bridge. It's wondering if Megatron only took Sumdac with him because he wanted revenge or because some part of him would have missed the only person he's consistently interacted with for the past 6ish months, even with all the horrible feelings attached. It's wondering what the fuck was up with Megs sticking Sumdac in a bondage harness up against his chest, like hey what the fuck? It's Sumdac thinking Megatron was just his Wacky Alien Roommate for the whole ordeal, his special, secret friend who helped him get to be as successful as he is (even if he was unaware at the time), who talks to him about not wanting his autobot friends to see him in such a sorry state, and made a birthday present for his daughter once. It's Megatron being Sumdac's "I can fix him" project gone horribly, horribly wrong. It's wondering if there was ever a reality where they could have had a happy ending. It's knowing they never could.

[theitcharchives]

(Ao3 heads-up: all my works are only shown to registered users)

Once upon a time, I wrote a really short story about pitfalls and downfalls of the one and the collective. In truth I'd had a brief spark of inspiration about a time-travelling plot twist.

Teenager me was very proud of this short piece of very amateur literature, because I thought being extremely vague about the gender of the space tyrant was incredibly progressive and not at all a manifestation of my own oblivious and not unique agender ass.

My go-to idea for publication was self-publishing, so a few months ago I had decided to test it out with a novelette titled Inferno. Well, self-publishing is darn hard, and I've had enough of testing, so Inferno has been retired and is not only free in full on Ao3 and Wattpad, but I've changed its title into Legacy of Mayhem and several paragraphs while I was at it.

---

~15k words

[Interesting tags: Science Fiction & Magic, Self Fulfilling Prophecy, Time Travel, Fall From Grace, Reluctant Allies To Dysfunctional Friends, Angst, Gen, First Person POV]

Star-children aren’t an oddity, but Ember, volatile like fire, born of death and new light, sure is–a very troublesome, talkative one, who has been kidnapped (twice) by a very miffed warrior, survivor of an apocalypse yet to come.

Duly named Miff, said warrior has the mission of challenging Time itself and its rule over History. After a first merciful, failed attempt he must find another way to avoid the rise of a tyrant to lunacy.

To avoid Mayhem.

Two stubborn people on the run from governments and monsters, from the past that becomes the future, with the task of saving the universe twice–once each. If they don’t drive each other crazy first.

Focusing on the interactions between Ember and Miff and their conversations, this work's purpose is to explore how the burden of society’s greed and expectations brings about the downfall of the individual and of itself.

[riacte]

Team B.A.T.S. of Ninth Life — (MCC9 Blue Bats in Life Series terms):

It’s the ninth season of the Life series with a rotating cast of 40 players per season. False and Ren loyally ally every single season they’re in and their factions end up being the second faction to be eliminated three seasons in a row so they’re like “okay we’re going to do better for Ninth Life”.

Enter HBomb, winner of two Life series so far (Second and Seventh Life) and beloved leader. He has a meta of blessing his allies and propelling them to great heights. He is also a renowned prophet. H is present in a lot of final showdowns, losing Sixth Life to Fruit’s faction and is crushed by the “rivals to teammates” meta in Eighth Life. H has never really talked to False before, but the power of ✨prophecy✨ befalls upon him and he predicts False will do really well in a final showdown given that she’s on a faction that gives her what she needs.

Fruitberries is a winner of Sixth Life but his performance was not as expected in Seventh Life, leading people to think he’s not that skilled. However, this is the kind of thing that allows the Faction Mechanic at the beginning of the session (controlled by a mysterious being called Scott) to team up two skilled players while keeping it balanced.

Team B.A.T.S form and they get matching jerseys with letters on the back. They undergo a training arc. H famously claims, “It's kinda crazy how 86% of people sleep on their belly, I sleep on my side and the entire Life Series community sleep on Team BATS.” People predict they’ll be the fifth faction eliminated out of ten factions. They invoke the power of the Underdog meta to keep them safe and hidden. They have a brilliant session one and got their comms sorted by then, and while they did well, they weren’t the biggest threats. False and Ren comment this is the longest they’ve lasted before going down to yellow.

In session seven, a freak TNT explosion gets all of them down to red and they claim it’s the worst thing ever and start dooming themselves. But they raise morale and push forward and start killing everyone else instead. They are aided by Grian, who has turned red and his faction is mostly dead. Grian eliminates 3/4 of a major powerful faction. Team BATS continue slaying everyone in sight and in the end they reduce everyone to their red lives and even claim a few permakills. They break a kill record. Fruit rises up to the peak.

Naturally this makes them a big target and everyone comes in for them. Things initially don’t look good at the final showdown— BATS keeps on being knocked down, the public doesn’t want them to win, like 75% of people believe they’ll lose, it’s the year 2020, Hermitcraft fandom is in the trenches, but they miraculously reverse sweep and in the end Fruit gets the final kill. Ren gets a crown and his role playing is irreversibly changed. Fruit is pushed to S Tier status (an even higher rank than your average Life series winner).

This is the first time hermits win so it’s very exciting. The major consequences of this is that 1) H gets invited to Vault Hunters 2) Hermitttwt rallys around this victory (and that of Tenth Life) and becomes “officially recognised” 3) Ren takes this crown and does a royalty roleplay which irreversibly changed a bunch of people and helped to normalise non canon shipping.

Tldr: the BATS significantly impacted fandom landscape as we know now.

H’s prophecy gets fulfilled in Tenth Life when False permakills four people in a row (an ace) at the final showdown :)

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

Reading your post about buggy and shanks. I get a lot but why guy like shanks would care about guy like buggy?

Their interactions in marine ford for me were just nostalgia with using buggy for what he needed. The way he talked about him with white beard also seems just nostalgia vibes. He doesn’t even know if he is a pirate or not.

Shanks seems so much more open to others. He parties with Mihawk. Drinks with Whitebeard. His crew interactions. All of them are much better. More honourable. Have courage.

Let’s be honest, buggy is one of the worst people. He is greedy and selfish af.(( I think it’s good he gets some shit from cross guild) I don’t see any reason other than my childhood was with this guy so I have soft spot but nothing special here.

well, if you don’t like buggy, i can see why you’d have trouble imagining what shanks might see in him.

but one of the worst, really? the guy who lied and stole to get a devil fruit is on the same level as the guy who murdered a decades-long ally for a devil fruit? like, yeah, buggy’s greedy and selfish… he’s a pirate. i know most of our heroes are Good And Noble Pirates, but it’s not strange to see pirates in one piece who have more ordinary motives.

imo buggy’s worst trait is not either greed or selfishness, but his two-facedness. he’s got a very very small number of people he actually feels loyalty towards, and everyone else is one bad situation away from getting metaphorically stabbed in the back. he tells himself it’s their fault for thinking they could trust someone like him—or in the case of his impel down followers, that they admire him so much they’d want to die in his place. sometimes he feels bad about it! (he wouldn’t bother trying to justify his actions to himself otherwise!) but self-preservation is always buggy’s highest priority.

he’s made himself into a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy of untrustworthiness, acting like this… and i find it kind of funny, because buggy takes other people at their word even when they’re obviously manipulating him! a very trusting, very untrustworthy guy. these contradictions are a big part of what i like about buggy as a character.

as for cross guild… i might enjoy the shit buggy gets from them more if it was for anything he did on purpose. like, beat him up for making unilateral one piece-hunting announcements, sure! but he didn’t design that boat. it just feels like punishing him for having followers who buy his hype… who mihawk and crocodile are also taking advantage of, so it’s not like they have any real moral high ground there. they’re just embarrassed to ride on the clown boat.

anyway, you aren’t really asking about buggy’s qualities, you’re asking about shanks’ feelings. and as i’ve mentioned a time or two before, we don’t really have any insight into those in present day! my big shanks/buggy post is about their thoughts and feelings in the past, because those do seem a bit more transparent to me, so i feel more comfortable speaking on them.

but present day shanks…

he says natsukashii when whitebeard brings up buggy, which is usually translated as “nostalgic” or “fondly remembered.” he’s not like buggy, when they parted ways he didn’t linger over any hurt feelings and let them grow bitter. that’s good! that’s healthy behavior! and his knowledge of buggy’s current status is kaze no uwasa de mada kaizoku wo yatteru to kiita, “heard a rumor on the wind [he’s] still being a pirate.” shanks has been on the grand line, in the new world, for years, why would he know anything concrete about a minor east blue pirate? he only learns about luffy’s first east blue bounty because mihawk brings the poster to him; i think we can assume shanks doesn’t have the time to search through newspapers from a distant ocean in the hopes of maybe seeing a one-line reference to an old friend.

i do find it amusing that the verb he uses to describe their separation is also used to mean “break up/divorce” but i’m sure you don’t care about that.

as for being more open with others… it’s not like they reunite under good circumstances. ace and whitebeard have just died, along with who knows how many others; massive bloodshed is only being held off by shanks’ presence and attention. shanks uses buggy to keep his old promise with luffy from being broken because that promise matters to shanks but he cannot afford to put in the time himself, he has to keep the marines from starting shit while they sort through their dead and wounded. it’s not exactly a “let’s get a drink and catch up” moment.

and that’s the only time we’ve seen them interact as adults!

claiming that because shanks wasn’t open with buggy in that moment he would never be open with him in another time and place is an ungenerous interpretation of the character. even if you don’t think the chapter 581 cover is canon, one of the few interests we’ve seen the buggy pirate crew and the red-haired pirate crew have in common is their love for a party. (probably taught to their captains by roger back in the day!) why wouldn’t they hang out and get day drunk if the opportunity presented itself?

and saying “my childhood was with this guy” and “nothing special” in the same sentence cracks me up—it’s not like they were in school together with dozens of other kids! buggy is the only other person who went through that experience. everyone else on the oro jackson was an adult, many of them 20-30 years older than those two. their experience of those events was inherently different. sharing an experience like that with one other person is special, even if that’s all there is between you.

and that’s what your question is ultimately about, right? is that nostalgia for their childhood all that exists between shanks and buggy? i don’t know. i don’t think we’ve seen enough of shanks around buggy in present day—or heard any of shanks’ present day thoughts about buggy—to make a definitive claim one way or another.

sure, on paper buggy seems like the kind of person shanks would look down on at best. but he smiles when buggy chews him out for saying hisashiburi (long time no see/it’s been a while) like he didn’t just lie about having a treasure map for buggy. now, maybe that’s just shanks being amused by a tiny yappy dog who’s no real threat to him. maybe it’s a real, sincere affection for this dumbass who still doesn’t see shanks as a threat. or maybe it’s nostalgia for the dumb fights they used to have as kids, with a hint of disbelief at how little buggy has changed.

even if it is, i don’t think that’s all their relationship has to be. an old fond feeling is a fine place to start from, to build something new—if that’s what they both want.

[cinderkaliningrad]

Targtower family and the cost of war.

Listen to this with the Sabaton song - Lifetime of War. and 1916 (Another Sabaton song).

Aemond: Should not now us prevail?

Alicent: Not like this.

Okay, Alicent. "Not like this?" I ask for the VAR. ⬇

Let us remember the famous phrase: "I wish to believe that honor and decency will prevail." - A hypocritical phrase said from the mouth of a person manipulated by her father, who is trying to survive as a woman in a man's world. (We are talking about the hypocrisy of the Greens, not the crimes of the Blacks.)

Alicent blames Aemond for starting the war by killing Lucerys. But it was Otto Hightower (the series' ultimate villain) who manipulated her into marrying Viserys. The House of the Dragon, aka "the place where those who are at fault never pay what they owe."

LET'S START.

Otto Hightower starts it all off by drooling over the Iron Throne and plotting to dethrone Rahenyra.

Otto manipulates Alicent into believing that Rahenyra is ruthless enough to kill her children. Something that seems to be corroborated when Rahenyra asks that Aemond (her younger half-brother) be tortured to find out where she got that her children are bastards.

Cole kills a lovely grandpa council member and no body gives a fuck. Nothing new, because he killed Laenor's lover in his wedding (Laenor and Rahenyra) in front the whole nobility of the realm.

We all have recorded the multiple payments that Alicent makes to her allies by offering her body. Very much like Cercey: "Tears are not a woman's only weapon. We have the best one between our legs." We talk about her walking by the sword of Ser Criston Cole and showing her feet to the depraved Larys.

The use of the death of a child prince to win over the people. Causing great suffering to the parents of the child Jaehearys, Kings Aegon II and Helaena. The two characterized by not being the most mentally stable people in the world, let us also remember that they are 22 and 20 years old at the time of the boy's death. (They are literally, in today's terms: university students).

No shame in using a boy who is barely two decades old from birth for their own selfish plans. - Poor Aegon, he just wanted to get away and live in peace.

Espionage, the elimination of witnesses. Shatter the minds of three generations for a throne. (Queen Alicent, her children the princes and the princess, and their children). - Alicent has not hesitated when it comes to using them for its benefit. For "honor and dignity."

Queen Alicent wants to crown her son Aegon, after her dying and senile husband talks about some King Aegon guy and a weird prophecy. When we know 3 Aegon so far: Aegon the Conqueror, Aegon the drunk prince, and Aegon the Young (son of Rahenyra). Did anyone thought that maybe the words of the dying king weren't too logical? Aegon (the drunk one) was right about not being the chosen one.

A long etc.

How do you want to win, Alicent? Your son Aemond is little nothing more than a child trying to fulfill the desires that have been imposed on him all his life: to keep his brother on the throne no matter what the cost.

How are wars won, Alicent? Sending people like Aemond to die: children who have grown up with the wrong ideas, who have grown into fanatical men for a cause. People forced to grow up fast and therefore die young. And of course, dirty game. A lot of dirty game. So that? Alicent (spoiler alert) will spend the rest of her life crying for her children. And the realm will never recover. The saddest thing is that Aemond and Aegon will die thinking they did the right thing.

What was the cost of your greed, House Hightower? If you are not prepared for war, don't do it. You could have stopped it, Alicent, too late to regret it. No? War is like lighting a fire, once it starts, it will destroy everything in its path without control. And it is foolish and naive to think that you can enter a war without dirtying your hands and everyone around you.

WHERE THE 7 HELLS IS HONOUR AND DECENCY, HIGHTOWERS!?