#Gonna be lot of infighting and chaos

[butterflydm]

WoT 3x07 - additional thoughts

Spoilers through Knife of Dreams in the books, as well as through 3x07 in the show.

Singing the Manetheren song instead of giving a big speech was so perfect!

Shades of late book Perrin here - instead of making a deal with a Seanchan to save his wife, he made a deal with a darkfriend to save his people. I like this "deal with the devil" much better than what we got in the books, tbh. And it tracks with Perrin walking this line between war and peace, and wanting peace to win out in the end.

I am so curious about Fain's deal in the show, because it is VERY different than his deal in the books. He was definitely being affected by the dagger in s2 but now that he's away from it, he seems to be a pretty loyal darkfriend again. He's actually putting in the work to do what the Dark One/Ishamael would want (destroying the Two Rivers to try to help turn Rand dark) as opposed to the infighting that most of the Forsaken seem to be doing. Ishy really was the glue holding the side of the Shadow together.

Regarding Aram, for me, minor characters always need to be seen for what they bring to the main storyline, especially in such a short time frame as we have (similar to how I felt about the changes in Natti & Abell, and in Faile's mom in her backstory). The Tuatha'an & the Aiel served to narratively connect Rand to Perrin's storyline-- that's why Ila echoes the words from the columns, that's why Aram picks up a sword for the same reason that Lewin picked up a spear (immediate self-defense & defense of others). That's why we have Bain & Chiad connect Rand "al'Thor" to "al Thorin" from the Manetheren story that Loial tells them.

We had the Cauthon twins to connect Mat & Perrin together. We had the Tuatha'an & the Aiel to connect Rand & Perrin together.

(and, in Mat's storyline, he's actively on a quest to help Rand; and we've had nods to his friendship with Perrin in his dream where Perrin had made him a weapon)

Back when I thought Loial had died at the end of s1, I basically went - "this is heartbreaking but I understand why they might make this choice" and that is essentially how I feel now too. Loial is a lovely side character but he is not essential to any main storyline beats. The Ogier subplot can just be trimmed off. But it is heartbreaking! I love Loial! But narratively, I think it's not a bad call -- emotionally affecting but not plot breaking. This is also Loial living up to the speech that he gave the others at the end of s2 -- "we are all the heroes of another Age's legends."

Speaking of cutting off subplots, Valda's death here also implies a lot about what will or won't happen with Morgase in the future (though I've felt for a while that she's probably destined to die as opposed to escaping when she gets dethroned).

And Aram taking up blacksmithing instead of following Perrin around also cuts off a subplot -- and another one that I felt like the show might cut anyway, because it was really hard to believe that show!Perrin would ever ignore Aram spiraling the way that book!Perrin did. Show!Perrin would notice, show!Perrin would care and do something to help Aram before it got so bad.

The show continues to do a bit of 'the road not traveled' from the books - in the books, Egwene was ready to kill Renna & stopped because of Nynaeve & Elayne. Here, they didn't make it to Egwene in time, and Renna dies.

In the books, the Whitecloaks fail to help defend the Two Rivers, so Perrin doesn't go with them. Here, Dain does fulfill his end of the bargain & so Perrin also fulfills his.

It does make me feel that s4 (fingers crossed for renewal!) is potentially gonna have a lot less Lord of Chaos than people have been speculating, because Perrin was just given a plotline to fill the empty space where he is Sir Not Appearing in The Fires of Heaven.

I let the people on reddit influence me into thinking Dumai's Wells would happen s4 no matter what lol, even though I originally felt it would suit a s5 ending better. Maksim living here makes me lean towards Dumai's Wells being a s5 finale event instead (if we get the seasons, etc).

[kaontic]

Oh my actual Lord, the dream’s come true. O_O

*Kicks down door* OH THUNDERCRACKEEER~

BUSTER’S ‘BOUT TO GETTA NEW FRIEEEND~ (´∀`)//🐱

He’s got a pet human now too, I guess—

Why my dumb human ass, with my crappy art, could almost wish upon an evil shootin’ star, that it was me instead “What?” What—? 😶

Alright. Now we just need Skywarp to get one. Or two. Or a few. Someday. Maybe.

Um—

*Whispers* Psst, hey, Megs, I don’t wanna be that betch—I make unintentional mistakes I gotta edit for my sanity all the time—but, it’s “What do you say?”. That’s probably why they’re givin’ ya looks.

I mean, that’s pretty accurate Megatron dialogue ngl. Like this is the same guy that said in G1 “Power flows to the one who knows how”, as if that was an actual full sentence.

Ik, that’s beside the point of what the frag’s goin’ on, so, “respectfully” (with heavy emphasis on the quotation marks)—

Can ya just…rip out your own chain-smoker soundin’ aft voice box, and shove it? Pretty please? Mr. Geneva Suggestions?

“YoU kNoW tHe LiMiTs Of My PoWeR! i NeEd SoMeOnE tO wIElD mE!”

“But my leader, you have your fusion cannon—”

“Do NoT qUeStIoN mE sTaRsCrEaM!”

Unless Skybound’s gonna give us a “good” aft explanation for this, like some Cybertronian gunformer curse we dunno about yet (given the serious corruption goin’ on, from the looks of it, with Star and Op)—

I would say more about Megs’ gun mode as an effective concept, but I’ll save all that for another post.

Instead I’ll just spout out this scrap to review:

Most explanations are welcome for why villains do what they do, even if it’s just “Cuz I’m evil”. 😈

(TF One Sentinel tho…yeah. Gotta make a post regardin' him as well)

Here, they wanna save their home planet as energy sources dwindle.

Ok, so resources. Got it. Yes. #1 reason why wars are fought, and wars need soldiers to fuel ‘em. Enemies turned potential recruits who are prisoners don’t comply? Well, logically speaking then— 🤡

Or maybe, just maybe—this might sound crazy, but—how about not start a whole goddamn war that will worsen this crisis, Megs?

How about not turn fellow Cybertronians into the worst versions of themselves, and delete their innocence? Cuz great, now ya created a monster that will betray ya!

Ask yourself: what the frag are you fighting for?

Cuz you’re just makin’ the problem worse, mate.

At least Jetfire tried to look beyond Cybertron peacefully for a solution, which despite how well that went, sounded a helluva lot better than exhaustive infighting, but no, frag exploration.

Frag trading with “filthy” organic alien species.

Frag experimenting for new sources of energy (lookin’ at you, Shockwave. Now I know your aft was enabled).

Frag examining Cybertron’s history for answers.

Frag speaking with Optimus like a civilized individual.

Population control’s where it’s at, apparently. ಠ_ಠ)

Jesus, so many questions NOT ENOUGH DEETS. (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

WE NEED MORE FLASHBACKS STAT.

Skybound Megs so far, is coming off as a guy who, when the worst happens, will just use the situation/impending apocalypse to his advantage to do terrible stuff, and get away with it through all the chaos.

Furthermore, it’s like we’re watching him live out some sick fantasy of his while he’s all “This is for the greater good of Cybertron!”. Like no bitch! There’s other options! You have no excuse!

You wanna be a pred, who kills for pleasure and power, while demanding to share that experience with others with or without their consent.

There. That’s what kept me up last issue.

Well, this is one moral of this ongoing story, and life advice I guess:

BEWARE THE F*CKIN’ NICE ONES!

For they may be the worst of all. Great…

*Proceeds to pollute my sketchbook with more Megatron art cuz I am indeed that betch*

[worrywrite]

The problem isn't that the shooter missed. It isn't even (though it is troubling) that the secret service killed the shooter on sight so no one will ever truly know what happened.

The problem is that if the shooter had killed his target it would have worked and no one is going to see that. If Trump had died on stage, he wouldn't have been a martyr. Not really. The Republican party would have collapsed. They don't have another candidate. They don't have another unifier. They don't even have a unanimous voice on pretty much any policy. They're a fan club. His voters are a fan club.

And the odds someone is going to actually take a shot at Trump again have just gone up. And shooting a candidate, even just shooting at a candidate, is always a bad idea. Because if you miss you make them more powerful. And if you hit...

Despite the fact that the Republican party sucks, and that I personally don't want any of them in office and most people feel the same, it can't just collapse outright. I don't want it to collapse outright. That's bad. Infighting in the Republican party means people will try and be the next Trump, that means they're gonna try to go above and beyond the benchmark. They won't actually unify anyone, because they can't. It just won't work because it already doesn't, people are just in the fascist fanclub of one guy not a real political party. But in the process of trying to be that guy, republican politicians are gonna put a lot of people at risk and do a lot of harm and sow a lot of chaos.

[dozyrogue]

Next session is just gonna be chaos

Their working for the devil unintentionally

gwen is always getting beat the fuck up let them get up dude.

Slovie is gonna have sooooo many issues with the team

Stripe is good but they tried to just give away panic

Panic is also good but uuummm you know not this timelines panic

AND FUCKING PIERRE IS GONE DUDE.

I hope we have a lot of infighting to be honest.

[xaeyrnofnbe]

gonna be watching wwdits s5 episode 3 later tonight with my family but in the meantime i am dodging spoilers and thinking very hard about the characters playing Dungeons & Dragons so i’m gonna tell you my thoughts on that. i also welcome additional ideas and suggestions.

guillermo is the dm. he introduced the idea to the vampires, and is using it as a way to keep them out of trouble/distracted for whatever reason. he realizes the enormity of his mistake very quickly, as everyone gets very into it.

i do not have ideas for what races they would pick (for the most part,) but i do have ideas for classes. that’s what i’ll be getting into here.

nadja is a wild magic sorcerer. she’s also the second least familiar with the game and keeps asking if the enemies are dead after she hits them. she also keeps trying to bribe/threaten guillermo into making the game go more her way. she kills a lot of people

laszlo is a bard. obviously. you know what kind of bard he plays. and he gets VERY into the game and grasps the rules very well. he does feed into nadja and nandor’s rulebreaking antics when coerced, though.

nandor plays the game very similarly to nadja and also keeps killing people. he keeps asking if he’s winning. i’m the least sure about what class he’d play because i can’t shake the idea that he has paladin vibes even though that clearly makes no sense. so he’s a fighter until a better idea comes along. also he understands the rules the least.

the guide is present, she’s having the time of her life. or, unlife, i guess. she’s a druid, and she has no idea what’s happening, really, but she’s just happy to be there. having so much fun. a blast.

colin robinson is the rules lawyer, he makes it very frustrating for everyone at first, but eventually he also gets very into it and has just as much fun as the rest of the vampires while playing, specifically, a sexy orc. don’t ask me why. it came to me like a vision. his character is a rogue. he does a lot to stir up infighting and to torment guillermo.

i wanna say doll nadja is there as well but i haven’t given her too much thought yet. she also seems like a druid so idk. i guess a balanced party isn’t required. sure. there 2 druids. she plays her druid very differently from the guide, though.

it’s sheer chaos, they play all night and well into the day, guillermo all but forgets what he was trying to distract them all from, but they do somehow manage to have a fun and successful adventure. no idea where in the show this would take place. sometime around season 3, maybe? not sure.

again, suggestions welcome. hell, if you think i’m super wrong about something, tell me how things should be. i’m a big fan of collaborative creativity.

[captainkurosolaire]

Prompt #21 ~ The Sol Problem

Continuation: Prompt 18 ~ Black Spots - Reference - ♫All Eyes♫

In the confines of the mess halls aboard a voting was being committed whether or not to allow their current Shipwright stay aboard, many had squabbles and complaint's to issue out. In his short occupancy. While other's like the chaotic nature the ex-conscripted Garlean alongside more avidly importantly, Captain fellow matey from every generation of his Crew even originally. They were squabbling in bunches. Rowdiness gave the atmospheric energy Captain found homebody welcoming. Residing with a thud to demand attention on the table, "Alright mates, let's hear why, o' why, ye either want Sol t' stay or nay off." Of course the First Crewmate held his own gripes, "No offense Captain, but you're a handful enough in regard's to your feckless lifestyle. I didn't think incompetency could be ten in magnitude, but the Shipwright you assigned, is a ludicrous fool. His ship repair's were given a solution of a hammer and nails, alongside tape... We could literally get anyone else on the streets to do the same job." In the defense, Captain quipped, "But it b' free. Besides, his schematics and blueprint's fer the ship, alongside manufacturing all yer room's will b' worth it. Got t' get him motivated into his mad genius side. Some ov' us are creature's that only move once inspired." The Quartermaster came next, "Yeah, I don't know about that, him inventing bomb's aboard if it wasn't for me, handling that... Could've surface more reported problems or casualties but he's done better than anyone else in building my sock collection." There was a point there Captain couldn't refute, "Does keep us on our toes though mates. It can't be worse than the serial killer I had aboard last time, at least we got a positioned Therapist now. Also isn't as worse than the battle's with some Tribal Chieftain and Voidsent on our own base's lawn, every morning." This didn't help the case when comparing his array of former personalities. The Sniper lifted her arm up with an actual defense, "I think he's unique. Although, is pretty high of himself. I mean what's with that painting on his door." She gave mention to an artistic painting of man into creation, but was specifically him as both reaching out two-revolver's and shooting himself with unmatched ego. Like shattering a mirror's reflection.

A sea-wolf maiden gave her own risen announcement with a perspective of control and nothing ever really personal. "If I might inquiry, why Captain did you choose him aboard?" The Scoundrel showered a cheeky expression back. "I ain't n' disagreement with any of ye. His background alongside chaotic nature, alongside greed, is all a random roll roulette ov' fates. Though look at what has been achieved. Has gotten ye to unify and think. You see literally no squabble's cause you're pondering him. We're wild and diversified, but under this sail, is different from anywhere else. This is more than what the land dwells under. This isn't about something naive like backgrounds, or where we came or look or some insignia instantly mean's they're poor taste. We look around in this room and ye all r' outcasts beyond conceptions. Role's are assigned, the ship sink's simply as if one of us under-performs, I know, n' dire straits, he's dependable. Sometimes we need festiveness among each-other and remind us fun t' enjoy th' breeze or sceneries', some of ye represent humanity, some of ye are bred monstrous. We're paddling and hoisting together. We're wind's of this flag-vessel. Can't make our destination otherwise." Where a lot of opinion's were under the opposition of nay. The Crew distinctively reflected further and placed themselves under empathy. Actual form of thoughts. Some were unwavering in changing others had some resistance but they had no qualms to allow to be final. They'd respect the vote whatever it came too. Captain was only to hear and his vote didn't register since he allowed them to choose as they added to a ballet box. As began tallying them up into piles, listing them off. "Ten t' Two, he stays, fortune b' his fer now." Captain was conditioned in giving training exercise's and allowing mate's to vocalize. Already decisively structuring himself better than his past. Sol and Captain even bickered between as brethren of skulls. The crest and pact with the Founding Captain had ingrained them into a loyalty that had proved itself. Envy was poisonous, Captain had little depth of understanding just how much, Sol fostered in storage for his own leader. The veteran Seeker saw an opportunity in this to devise another means of exercising them in the future. Alongside this gave motivation to issue squad-missions into shifting seasons of four paired to get them accustomed. Door’s broke open from their hinges from barely conditioned bolts as a Silver-Disaster, Sol, the unwiser to the whole vote, came in, “I’m so talented! Look everyone I invented, a second me!” He recently took the dysfunctional cybernetic assassin and disassembled it into his own creativeness. The entire Crew grumbled with unity, “Can we get a re-vote?”

[a-random-whovian7]

What your favourite Doctor says about you (just like the Master and Companion lists, this is all just jokes and my own terrible takes, absolutely no offence intended towards anyone). This is gonna be a long one, so good luck:

One (I think):

Is somehow able to sit through The Keys of Marinus whilst completely sober. Their feelings on Twice Upon a Time completely depend on whether they are able to accept that TV shows made in the 1960s will inevitably have some outdated bits or not. Loves slow-burners and less science-heavy stories, and wishes the Doctor would go back to trolling his companions again. Prays every night for The Celestial Toymaker and Marco Polo to be found. Hates the Timeless Child with a burning passion.

Two:

Two fans deserve a lot better. Despite a large chunk of their era being limited to surviving audio, PowerPoint presentations telesnaps and the, er, mixed bag of animated reconstructions, they still contribute a lot to the discussion of Classic Who and are usually well versed in the lore of the EU. 2nd Doctor fans are remarkable, as they are able to get along with pretty much every other group of fans. However, there is plenty of infighting thanks to the UNIT dating controversy and which story should be reconstructed next. If they ship Two/Jamie, they have fully earned your love and are surprisingly good if you pass them the aux.

Three:

Pretty much blows a gasket whenever some idiot says that the modern era is 'too political'. Like, I'm sorry, but was the "England for the English" scene in the Claws of Axos a little too subtle for you? Were Malcolm Hulke's scripts absolutely apolitical in your eyes? Does the mere existence of The Green Death mean nothing to you?! Oh, well maybe you should try WATCHING THE SHOW and DOING YOUR RESEARCH before you start claiming that it's become 'tOo pOLiTiCaL' because the main characters aren't always played by Whiteguy McStraight now, shouldn't you?! YOU AND YOUR MEDIOCRE OPINION SHALL COWER BEFORE MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE THIRD DOCTOR'S ERA AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO STOP ME!

It is for this very reason that 3rd Doctor fans get along particularly well with 13th Doctor fans. Perfectly nice people with a great sense of humour and an excellent taste in episodes, unless a conversation resembling the above occurs, at which point you will see how much damage the repressed urge to do Venusian Akido can do. Refuses to admit that The Ambassadors of Death is two episodes too long.

Four:

Either a child of the 70s or chaos incarnate. Yes, 4 is pretty much the universally recognised Doctor, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the most unhinged Doctors. Loves more gothic horror-themed episodes and can ignore the somewhat questionable production qualities of early Baker stories. They have almost certainly attempted to make The Scarf at one point; whether they were successful or not entirely depends on their talent for knitting. Is surprisingly ok with admitting that Tom Baker stayed for a little too long and that his later seasons were a little underwhelming. Hasn't stopped them from watching every version of Shada though.

Five:

The tired parental figure of any group they are in. They immediately related to this Doctor when they saw 5 trying to hold it together whilst his multiple adopted humans argued, whined and got themselves trapped on doomed freighter ships. Has tried to play cricket once, but a general confusion over the rules and a few broken windows stopped that. You can take care of the cinnamon roll that is the standard 5 fan by providing them with cups of tea, giving them lots of hugs and removing all copies of Time Flight from your house.

Six:

Best fashion sense out of all the fans... somehow. Their favourite episodes are usually Vengeance on Varos or Revelation of the Daleks (both bangers), although they lean more heavily towards EU and Big Finish material, where the stories are more consistent and the costumes are less yikes. Either the best or worst fan to be around, either giving fair balanced views on the show or just being an absolute arse. Loves cats. Hates Michael Grade. Kind of ambivalent towards Mel.

Seven:

If 2nd Doctor fans are well versed in the EU lore, then these individuals are fucking academics. Constantly annoyed that 7 had two of the best seasons of Classic Who and was the darkest Doctor but is only remembered for Time and the Rani for some reason. Their favourite companion will always be Ace, which is what motivated them to watch Power of the Doctor. Usually excellent taste in stories, but is completely capable of dragging you to the depths of the EU. Wishes the Doctor would commit a few more genocides. Their religious beliefs can be summarised in the phrase "Cartmel Master Plan". Still annoyed that the most strategic Doctor was killed by the two most American things (guns and bad healthcare), but gets along well with 8 fans despite that. Somehow understands Ghost Light after just 3 rewatches.

Eight:

Big Finish fan. Basically willing to explain the entire plot of Dark Eyes if you ask them. Thinks the TV Movie is just OK, and has rewatched Night of the Doctor too many times to count. Loves a sad boy, and has definitely referred to 8 as a "poor little meow meow" at some point. Wishes 8's TARDIS interior was still intact and that he'll get his own live action series. Had an actual heart attack when he appeared in Power of the Doctor. Usually a bisexual from my personal experience, and looking at Paul McGann in the 90s, I can see why.

War (or is it Nine?):

We're stepping into the depths of the Moffat cult with this one. Wants a more traumatised Doctor, and kind of wishes we saw more of the Time War beyond the laser battle in Day of the Doctor. Content to sit back and watch due to the fact that the War Doctor had the perfect arc in his one episode, although they are happy that the War Doctor still pops up in the EU. Bridging the gap between the modern and classic series means they get along well with everyone except Shalka fans.

Nine (the Curse of Fatal Death one):

Does this one count? Just loves the classic series. Still praying for Joanna Lumley as the Doctor. Nowhere near as obnoxious as the Shalka fans and surprisingly funny.

Nine (the Scream of the Shalka one):

They pride themselves on being 'against the trend' and being fans of an overlooked bit of Doctor Who history. Doesn't quite realise that Scream of the Shalka was basically an B-tier Big Finish story with janky animation. Wants Richard E Grant to show up again. Constantly attempting to upset Eccleston and Hurt fans, only to get angry when everyone forgets Scream of the Shalka existed. They definitely listen to Weezer.

Ten, no, another Nine (the Eccleston one):

The word "fantastic" is permanently superglued to their vocabulary, and yet it never gets old. Owns a leather jacket too. Wishes that the BBC hadn't been stupid and Eccleston had stayed on for another series, but doesn't hold it against Tennant. Knows the Daleks were at their best in S1. Really wants the Reapers to return, and was utterly distraught after Chibs kind of ruined 9's role in the wider arc by blowing up Gallifrey again. Major nostalgia for the 2000s with this one, and is slowly becoming a member of the Big Finish cult thanks to Eccleston's return. Understandably forgot Adam was a thing. Both loves and hates John Barrowman.

Ten? Eleven? Ten and a half? The Tennant one. I hate numbers:

Their first experience to Doctor Who was during the golden age- wait, no, sorry, the RTD cult has threatened to terminate my membership if I'm not honest with this one.

Either a child of the 2000s, a member of the aforementioned RTD cult or someone who just likes the show to be more emotionally resonant. Well, that or they are the blandest person alive. If they acknowledge how good 10's arc was in terms of deconstructing the Doctor and setting up his fall from grace via misplaced attachments and vanity, then absolutely someone to be around. If they simply say "because he was popular", definitely bland. We all know Tennant was popular, it's still not one of the many valid reasons to love him. They have an easygoing relationship with 4 and 11 fans, and otherwise OK relations with the rest of Doctors fan groups, although there is a bit of friction between 13 stans due to 10 being dragged into a lot of 13's media post-2020 to boost ratings. They didn't like it because it cheapned 10's return and era whilst also overshadowing 13. 13 stans didn't like it because it basically gave the message that the BBC had given up on 13 before her era had finished.

Definitely excited for the 60th after the regeneration and the announcement of RTD's return. Has tried owning a pair of converses, only to find out that they aren't exactly cheap. Has fought for the Ten/Rose ship on multiple occasions. Tried hair gel once, with disastrous consequences.

Huh. This one was incredibly easy to write. All I had to do was look in a mirror.

Thirte- no, Eleven:

Major ADHD energy in the best possible way. Saw the chaotic excitable Doctor and immediately fell in love. They will not rest until they have forced every former Doctor to read the "Hello Stonehenge" speech. They have also cosplayed the most out of any fan, due to the availability of fezzes and bow ties. Definitely the most fun to be around at a party. Was disappointed by Matt Smith's decision not to return for the 60th, especially after the absolute banger that was Day of the Doctor. If they ship 11 with River, they're cool, even though 11 was very asexual in S5. If they ship him with anyone else, then yikes. Wishes for the show to return to a quirky fairytale tone again.

If they were present during the SuperWhoLock days, keep an eye on them. You're only one drink away from dragging us back to 2013, and I ain't reading any of that fanfiction again *shudders*.

Fourte- FUCK, Twelve:

A certified member of the Steven Moffat cult, or just someone who likes some of their stories to have a slightly more mature tone. Has tried to play the electric guitar more than once, only to be forced to stop by their partners or housemates. Either willing to admit some of the flaws of the era or strongly defends it, with no inbetween. Absolutely correct in their assertion that S9 and 10 absolutely slapped, although this cam be undermined if they try to defend Sleep No More. If they ship River and 12, then you can trust them with anything, and they will offer you good relationship advice. If they ship 12 and Clara in a romantic way (which is strange to me cos i always got platonic BFF vibes from them, but that's just me), they definitely have relationship advice, although waiting 4 billion years to get your memory wiped is a questionable means of resolving conflict. They have a pair of the sonic sunglasses. Cried when Capaldis majestic floofy hair got shaved off for a superhero film.

Thirteen? That's right? Phew, finally getting the hang of this. Ok, Thirteen:

There are two types of 13 fan. The first is cinnamoniest of rolls. Is just happy to sit back and have fun, thus allowing them to enjoy pretty much any episode (something that a lot of people could learn from). Immediately realised that Jodie is an amazing Doctor and deserves more praise and justice. Definitely shipped Thasmin, and are the best at constructive criticism, recognising what worked and didn't in a respectful, polite way (again, something we could all learn from). Wierdly enough, they get along well with all the Doctor fans, as they are a wholesome ray of sunshine that reminds us that every era has something to offer, no matter the general consensus.

The second type masquerades as the first, but gets all hipster-y and more than willing to use the term 'overrated' when RTD or Tennant are mentioned (so basically a healthy 80% of the #antiRTD tag).

Both are convinced that the Chibnall Era will receive a massive reappraisal like the 12th Doctor's era did, despite the odds of that happening being the same as an on-screen Thasmin kiss. I'm so sorry, that's a really mean line to end this bit on. Let's instead end by saying Haunting of Villa Diodati is an absolute banger of an episode.

Ruth:

Loves the admittedly cool concept of a mystery incarnation. The rest depends on their theory of where the Ruth Doctor fits in. If they use the season 6B theory, then they have an encyclopedic knowledge of the classical series and the EU regardless of whether they have watched it or not. If they use the Timeless Child/Division theory, then they basically settled for the easier version of 6B after looking into the insane asylum that is classic who and EU discourse (wise choice). If they think she's from an alternative universe, thinks that she's Omega, Rassilon, The Rani, The Master or any other figure, then they practically have a gold medal in Mental Gymnastics. Either way, all of them don't like to admit that they are unfortunately limited to 4 episodes (three of them being fairly mid, the other being a mild car crash) and a pretty good comic. Cool fashion taste. Gets along with 13 stans and, surprisingly, 2nd Doctor fans.

Fourteen- oh for fucks sake:

YOU ARE TENTH DOCTOR FANS. GO BACK TO EARLIER ON IN THE POST. YES, I KNOW THAT'S THE BBC'S OFFICIAL LINE AT THE MOMENT. YES, I KNOW YOU'RE HYPED FOR THE 60TH, I AM A HYPED RTD CULTIST TOO. JUST WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER. P L E A S E.

Fourt- no fifteen- no, fourteen- BBC, HAVE MERCY:

Only in the Doctor Who fandom can a Doctor who has only appeared in a brief clip and some photos have a fully developed fanbase. I should know, I've already joined it. Ncuti's photos in that suit sealed the deal. Either an RTD cultist or someone just looking forward to a fresh new direction. Also very fashionable. Has a somewhat complicated relationship with 13th Doctor fans due to the fact that Ncuti's first season and casting completely overshadowed S13 and the specials, but Ncuti also had to deal with the same levels of toxicity from the same 'fans' who threw temper tantrums at Jodie's casting in 2017. Best haircuts out of all the Doctor Who fans. Strange but true.

Full Fathom Five:

Y'all scare me.

Zagreus:

Y'all terrify me.

The Watcher:

Y'all confuse me.

The Valeyard:

Has wanted a darker series since god knows when. Was kind of annoyed when the Time Lord Victorious arc wasn't dedicated to a whole series. Also, the Valeyard is the Shadow the Hedgehog of the Whoniverse. I refuse to elaborate any further.

The Curator:

"Alright gang, let's see who the Curator fans really are!"

Pulls off mask

"Fourth Doctor fans?!"

All jokes aside, they just want a more experienced Doctor. Accepts that the show will have to end one day, and is cool with that, since they already have the perfect ending. Either cool grandad vibes or an actual grandad. Good knitwear. Their response to everything is simply putting the kettle on.

Doctor Moon:

Now these ones are very, very rare. I personally love the theory that Doctor Moon is a future version of the Doctor who is keeping River and the Library safe, but limiting your favourite Doctor to two episodes and an endorsement of the theory from Steven Moffat? Now that takes guts, and I like it. Usually partial to classy clothes, and talks in a very formal tone. Their best subject is usually maths.

Dr Who (Peter Cushing):

Unashamedly insane. Saw the absolutely glorious cheese-fest that was the 1960s Dalek movies and ended up loving one of the most unique versions of the Doctor. Is absolutely fine with bypassing 90% of the TV shows lore, making them really fun to talk to. Time Lords? Nah. Sonic screwdriver? Nope. Their Doctor is a wacky grandpa who built a multi-dimensional time machine in their back garden, and they love it. Is a sucker for Alternate Universe stories and usually loves classic B-movies. Knows that the movies kind of suck as adaptations, but as pure 1960s camp, they are unbeatable. Absolute legends.

All of Them:

The glue that holds this fanbase together. Enlightened individuals who have to check in every now and then to make sure that we mere mortals are behaving ourselves. They just simply enjoy the show and hold no biases. Absolutely infuriating to talk to for that very reason.

[greyborn2]

Ok just because brain is buzzing - some more info regarding the Locked Tomb campaign I was gonna run that I posted the sheets for over hereee: https://www.tumblr.com/greyborn2/718444295287390208/custom-character-sheet-thingy-i-made-for-a-locked All the stuff under the cut because it be LONGGGG

-Was gonna be set in the 91st century of the first myriad. So during Nonius' time. Had planned for him to make a small cameo at some point. -Basic setup for it was that the Emperor and his Lyctors had 'gone silent' for a hundred to two hundred years. A blink of time for them (and besides, they were busy fighting resurrection beasts and dealing with losing a few of them) but enough time for things to slowly start descending into a shitshow in Dominicus. The houses wernt at open war, but tensions were super high and basically it was a case of nearly every house or powerful adept making a play for declaring themselves the stewards of Dominicus in the Emperor's absence. Political intrigue, infighting, a war of polite words, intrigue and assassinations. Big regency drama vibes. -Player characters were the Crown Princess of Ida, played by the player who had never read locked tomb but INSTANTLY grok'd third house when I described them and, with no input from me, straight up made a hellish combo of Corona and Ianthe; The Mistress Templara of the Eighth House; The lady of the Fifth house; aaaaaand a traumatized sixteen year old war veteran from the Fourth who went to war and got his leg blown off and narrowly escaped with his life. -Eventual plan was that at some point near the end G1dion would show back up to see Dominicus like that 'everything on fire and chaos' gif from Community. Like full on "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON THE EMPEROR UNDYING LEAVES YOU ALONE FOR TWO CENTURIES AND THIS HAPPENS?!?!" and at some point he and Nonius would fight (and fuck. Lets be honest) in the background. Probably just an event the players would hear about in passing but a lil' nod to the fact that Nonius and G1dion crossed blades. -Mechanically a lot of the system was a stripped back version of v5 WoD/Storyteller system with a bigger focus on narrative > strict mechanics because I just prefer systems to work like that. Less strict "Ah yes, I have this specific power" and more... flexible magic within the three disciplines of necromancy and the three-tier system I wrote within each one. Hard to quickly summarize but ye. -As mentioned in other post, was gonna make a map of Dominicus for it! If you've seen the maps of the Sol system for 40k where they are all sorta gothic and fantasy-y despite being star maps was gonna go for that vibe. Might come back to it at some point as an art project. -Ended up making the executive decision that '''powder''' as an off hand is a single shot duelling pistol. Big regency vibes, again. -Was playing around with the idea of making the Eighth player's cav into the BBEG. TL;DR is that she (Gris Ochtu, the Cav) had previously been cav to another necro. At some point her and her old necromancer had gotten into a life or death situation, her necromancer tried to syphon her to death, and Gris found a way of basically 'grabbing on' to the syphon tether, pulled her necromancer down to the river in a bout of panic and flight/fight and drowned her necromancer to death in said River. The whole event left her with a talent for basically shrugging off necromantic theorems directly cast against her, unraveling theorems that got close to her, and 'swallowing' up other peoples souls (or, well, it was gonna be a power she unlocked later in campaign as she became more of a threat and revealed herself as the traitor), casting them into the River, and then letting revenants take over their bodies. Anyways, she was reassigned after giving a false report that her necro had 'died trying to save her' and was biding her time/playing along before at some point she'd fucking crack and go Wake against the Empire while all the political stuff was also happening. Add a threat beyond politicking. Was an idea I was -toying- with, anyways. Also she was a silver haired milf with hardcore battle scarring because, well, ofcourse.

[caughtthedarkness93]

Memory serves, executive orders also cannot overturn laws passed by congress and definitely can't override state laws.

Like yeah, Trump can say this shit but can't make it happen.

People are gonna tie this shit up in the courts for years, and we're only two years away from a midterm election that I expect the right is gonna eat shit on, and there's always the chance that Trump chokes on a big mac tomorrow.

Right now, the goal should be to be as annoying and obstructive as possible. Gum up the works. Make actually implementing this stuff as difficult as it can be, then gain as much ground as possible in the midterms.

And I'll reiterate the thing I've been saying from the beginning: I think fundamentally the American right is about to completely disintegrate. They have no consistent internal philosophy. They have no long-term goals. A party that used to be extremely unified is starting to show signs of intense infighting. Their biggest policy win was getting Roe v. Wade overturned, and it actually seemed to have backfired with how draconian a lot of the abortion laws it activated were.

And, most dangerously for them, they've basically been reduced to a cult of Donald Trump. And while that gives Trump himself a lot of power over them, that means they're also subject to his many, many weaknesses. Remember, this is a man who likes to have his associates constantly competing for his favor and enjoys cultivating chaos around himself. And in the last few years, Trump has become even more incoherent, unstable, and easy to manipulate. When he's gone, I think it's going to leave a power vacuum in the Republican Party that is going to break it. And Trump himself has no clear successor. I thought it was going to be Ron DeSantis, but voters loudly and clearly rejected him. So yeah. In two years, midterms happen. In that time, it needs to be as annoying as possible for Donald Trump. And once there's a more sane congress in place, things become much easier. Hell, maybe he even gets finally impeached.

I'll be real with y'all, I knew Donald Trump was going to do some henious, bigoted shit the second he sat down in that chair in the oval office, but - and I can't emphasize this enough - I didn't not expect him to immediately repeal the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Like I'm still stunned by it. We're back to the 1950's now. We on the left were trying to fight to maintain gains we made the past 10-15 years and trump comes in a sweeps the rug out from all of us. You can now be fired for being for your race, religion, sexuality, sex and gender, disability, or nation of origin.

Employers can now fire you for being black or brown or LGBTQ or blind or in a wheelchair or a woman or literally whatever characistic they want.

I can't convey just how fucked we are. The EEOC is one the most important win in the history of Civil Rights. He did it on MLK Day! That's extra fucked!

Y'all thought their anti DEI or CRT or whatever other acronym they were throwing out there crusade was going to start and end at stuff younger than a high schooler, but no they went after one of the bedrocks of civil rights.

The more I think about it the more my head spins.

[dirtytransmasc]

@butchpedia

I want to respond to this, because I think it's important.

before we even begin, my post was not just about what happened on AO3, it was the straw that made the camel say something, so to speak. I wasn't targeting no one, I was making a general announcement to the Steddie fandom.

now, I have recently found out my wording was wrong, it wasn't AO3 themselves, it was a moderator. that was my mistake, but it still stands for something.

secondly, this was not blown out of proportion, please consider we are handling an archive here, filling it with empty fics destroys the purpose of an archive. there were quite a few, some blatantly stating they were placeholder fics for the purpose of raising Steddie numbers. these fics were being made by people who were not only sure of what they were doing but they were promoting the behavior within the fics and even online. there were multiple accounts dedicated counting down the number of fics, with other accounts flocking around them to celebrate rising numbers. so yes, some docs had been made by kids who didn't know the right form wrong in this situation, but most of them were made consciously with the intent to do harm.

there were children doing this, but here's the thing, we are watching s fandom be torn apart, and fuck me for not wanting it to become nuclear war zone in the next couple months. children, especially from behind a faceless screen, can cause damage to any space, but very easily to a fandom space. they don't get off scot free for being kids. not everyone has the patience for dealing with children, and I know that in the keg gang fandom all we've done in response was make general untargeted posts. so I don't know who's doing the bullying but it wasn't us.

dealing with this now, while its small, is so important, cause this is how the downfall of a fandom that starts. people having no respect for the people around them, abandoning any form of fandom/Tumblr/AO3 etiquette, and creating spaces with so much infighting that it gets abandoned by people who may have enjoyed the space had it not be made of chaos, that's when a problem begins to fester. we have enough problems with the regular fanbase leaking into fandom and then being assholes to everyone. mitigating damage is the best thing we can do right now.

I don't think the Steddie fandom and the keg gang fandom need to see eye to eye, but we need to come to some sort of resolution. Because our archive is getting fucked up over numbers, a reign needs to be pulled on the Steddie side cause from what I've seen y'all are gonna burn out with all the infighting and slander. I mean Steddie Shippers are actively seek out anyone from the keg gang fandom and leaving slander in their replies/asks/reposts completely unprovoked. they go out of their way for this shit. do you not see the issue with that.

any good fandom has a foundation of respect and some structure of etiquette. no one has to like each other, they don't even have to pretend to like each other, but they have to respect each other within the means of the etiquette, it's the job of the older and more mature of a fandom to uphold said etiquette.

fandoms are like ecosystems, they have to have balance. that balance is upheld by weeding out bad behavior (acting a fool in an archive, slander, doxxing, death/harm/r*pe threats, etc.). it's not pretty, but it has to be done or we're gonna end up like every dead fandom.

that's why I made that post, and I was angry when I made it, but pretty rightfully so. for the last couple years I (and many others) have been bullied, harassed, and subject to blatantly incorrect assumptions because I like and enjoy a certain character (Billy) and the characters/ships he's associated with. this is just another round, and sorry I don't have a lot of sympathy or patience, cause we've been pretty quiet and resilient for years. we've (as a sub fandom) just rolled with the punches, taken what people said about us, and just moved on. but it gets pretty fucking tiring, and this is a lot of our breaking points. breaking point being a very loose term for the situation cause none of us really broke, we've just decided to say no more, we didn't snap and we aren't waging war.

but we ask for it to stop and it's met with slander, we stand up for ourselves, we're called bullies and met with more slander. do see how that can get pretty tiring, do you see why people are making posts telling Steddie Shippers to get their shit together?

we just want people to act maturely, to not act like children over fictional characters, and for the respective fandoms to manage the actual children in their spaces, because children have to act accordingly in fandom. it's always been this way and we've seen what happens over and over again when etiquette is ditched.

we don't want a war, actually we're against a war that is actively being thrust upon us against our will. we don't want to participate, but when we speak out against it, we're seen as assholes bullying children. we're frustrated and have been doing our best.

I'll even say, I'm a lot more stressed out then some of my mutuals or other fandom members, so take what I say as an individual with a grain of salt, but getting stress out and defending myself and my space is what I'm good at, so I'm not going to shut up. cause I want to be able to stay in this fandom, I love it here, I just want it to survive to see season 5.

signed sincerely - a frustrated, but calm keg gang fan who just wants people to chill out and coexist, but just saying that makes people mad, cause apparently my existence angers people.

[growup-thatbeautiful]

Cooler; Bucky Barnes x Reader

New Girl Inspired for @madjazzhatter

“I’m telling you, Buck, I’m not your cooler. Sure, a few times I might’ve been the reason you didn’t get some that once or twice, but 99% of the time it’s your own damn fault, Barnes.” It’s all true. He’s proving her point just by being himself right now, making one of those over the top faces he has and adjusting the collar of his coat. It’s not even his coat, she reminds herself.

“You’re both right, actually. Y/n, you have, on occasion, proven to be a terrible wingwoman. Purely awful. Bucky, you too have the tendency to, uh, discourage people from talking to you. I mean, you’re always frowning. You have a great smile, man, learn how to use it.” Bucky reaches across the sink and hits Steve upside the back of his head.

“Come on guys, we had a good vibe going. Let’s not have any infighting before tonight. Bucky, are you absolutely positive that that’s what you want to wear?” All three of them are standing in from of the bathroom mirrors, presumably making themselves look better to go to the bar at 5:30 in the afternoon, which is actually not that early for them.

“This coat makes me feel sexy.” Bucky does an awkward spin move, throwing up finger guns at himself in the mirror. Y/n rolls her eyes dramatically, patting Sam and Steve on the back before walking towards the door.

“Yeah, nothing says I’m a creep like a man in a women's trenchcoat,” add Sam. Y/n leans against the frame of the door, watching her boys make fools of fixing themselves in the mirror.

“So, just to be clear, you’re saying I can’t come tonight, right?”

They look at each other and shake their heads. “That’s fine, I have a lot of…things I need to do today anyway. You know, spoons to clean, yarn to yarn.”

“Gotta get that yarn yarned,” says Sam, practicing his facial expressions in the mirror and holding a thumbs up in the direction of y/n.

“See? You’re going to have a much better time here than you would have at the stinky old bar! We’re doing you a favor.” Bucky pats y/n on the head, earning himself a confused look.

She turns away from them, exiting the room just in time to hear Steve say, “You still work at that bar, Buck.”

They’re home within five minutes, and y/n is left to her own devices. There are times when she wishes that she had more nights like this, alone and able to do what she wants. Right now is not one of those times. It’s not that she doesn’t have things she can do, there just aren’t any things that she wants to do.

After fucking around for a little while, a noise at the door startles her. Her mind immediately goes to danger, causing her to call Peggy, even though she’s on a date, and Bucky, even though she was told that she was usually the downfall of his fun nights.

For some reason, Bucky answers his phone, but he sounds pissed about it. “Buck, you need to come home, there’s something at the door.”

“There’s nothing at the door, y/n. You know it’s an old building, maybe it has something to do with the pipes. You wouldn’t be worried if you listened to pipe talk during our loft meetings.”

“Those are boring. I’m surprised you listen to those talks.”

“They make me feel more like a man.” He pauses before continuing,”You know you’re being a cooler right now, right? Do you see it now?”

Yes, she thinks. She definitely see’s it now. “Just come home.”

Bucky, Steve, Sam, and two girls that are along for the ride arrive at the apartment. They find y/n curled up on the couch with their baseball bat, and she almost hits Steve when he comes into the room.

“So, this is our roommate y/n,” introduces Bucky. “And this is the place. Bathroom is down that hall… and so is basically everything else. Y/n, could you help me find some, uh, bottlecaps in the your room.”

“Sure, what kind? I have twist offs and the pop kind.”

“You know I’m not actually here about bottlecaps- actually it doesn’t matter. Listen to me. That girl out there, for some reason, is sexually attracted to sad men. You understand now fantastic that is for me.”

“Yeah, wow, that’s a goldmine. Now I feel partially responsible for your sex tonight, so I have an idea.” Bucky and I call everyone to meet in front of the couches, a cooler of beer beside us.

“The game is true american, but with a sexy new twist. Clinton rules! Everyone pick your interns and remember-“

The loft mates join in at this part, “The floor is lava!”

“Wait, this doesn’t make any sense. What are the rules? How do you play this?” The girl that Bucky brought asks.

“It’s easy. The floor is lava, doves versus hawks, the couch is the Mason-Dixon Line, no cabinets,” explains Steve helpfully, choosing the blonde, Carrie, as his partner.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Vanya, the girl that Sam brought, is sitting on the table and drinking, definitely not playing, but Sam seems happy talking to her.

The game goes as smoothly as a game with no rules can go. The loft is a mess, and most of us are missing various articles of clothes, which is a good sign for Bucky. Y/n, Steve, Carrie, and Y/n are all sitting at the table, different levels of intoxicated, trying to figure out who has to go behind the hallway door and kiss, a Y/n original idea that she’s positive will fix her spot as not a cooler. On the count of three they all put up numbers on their foreheads, chaos enduring between Steve and Bucky, both telling Carrie different numbers.

In all the confusion, on three, Y/n and Bucky end up with the same number, meaning that they have to kiss.

“Shit,” swears Bucky.

Y/n and Bucky look at each other, and say again, “Shit.”

“No, come on guys, let us out of here. This isn’t what I meant when I said kiss, I obviously meant, uh, a metaphorical poetic kiss. Don’t leave me back here with him!”

“Well,” says y/n, leaning back against the wall, sliding down to the floor next to Bucky, with his head in his hands. “I guess we should do this, then. They aren’t going to let him out of here anytime soon.”

“Yep. Let me just-“ Y/n stands up, while Bucky stays on the ground, crouching.

“What are you doing? I’m up here.”

“I thought we were staying on the ground.”

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. Pucker up, Mr. Buck.” As soon as it’s out of her mouth, y/n grimaces, regretting a lot of things.

“Come on, don’t do that. You’re making it weirder than it already was.”

“Yeah, I regretted it immediately. I think this does prove that I’m your cooler.”

“Yeah, you think? It’s okay, Steve’s just gonna tell her about his heartbroken Peggy-struck heart. This might be the only time that he wants to be sadder than me.” They spend a few minutes arguing back and forth about various unimportant details, like if they’re going to stand or sit, where they’re going to put their hands, and if Bucky should be so nervous about this. At some point in time Bruce, y/n’s boyfriend, came along and decided to join the rest of them outside.

Finally, after the constant chanting of “kiss kiss kiss kiss” from the hallway to get to her, y/n says, “Come on, Buck, just be a man and kiss me!”

“No! Not like this.” His eyes go wide when he realizes what he just said, and he starts shaking his head before I even get my question out.

“What do you mean, not like this?” Bucky doesn’t give an answer, opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He starts gesturing around wildly, trying to find something to say.

“No, I didn’t- it’s just not, like, you know- not like that.”

“Yeah, I’m out.” Before y/n can get another word in, Bucky is climbing out of the window. Without thinking, y/n yells at them to open the door, which they do. Steve and Sam are freaking out over Bucky, asking him all these questions, and Bruce is busy laughing about how Bucky would rather climb out of a window than kiss her. Luckily, Peggy is still thereto try and help her understand what’s happening.

Things dial down after that. Steve and Sam give Bucky a firm talking to and a night to think of over, and y/n goes to sleep alongside Bruce. She’s awoken in the middle of the night gm the same scratching that she heard earlier, so she goes to investigate.

Bucky must’ve heard it too, because he’s right there beside her with the baseball bat. Apparently their new neighbor has a dog that’s been causing all of the problems. It’s also the place where Bucky’s coat was supposed to go. As far as their neighbors go, it’s not the worst interaction they’ve had. This one only thinks they wear other people’s clothes and carry around bats.

“So, I guess you didn’t need to come over. Sorry I ruined your night.” They walk back to the hallway together, arms brushing against each other.

“Nah, it was probably for the best. French coat Bucky had a lot of unearned confidence, lot of random dance moves.”

They stand facing each other, y/n looking up into Bucky’s eyes. “Goodnight Buck.”

“Night, Y/n.” Bucky leans in, encouraged by y/n leaning in too. They’re lips touch, the kiss passionate and all at once. Bucky’s hands are in her hair, and as soon as they break appear she misses the touch.

“I meant a little something like that.”

This was so much fun to write! I love to concept of a new girl based au, feel free to send more of this or any other requests.

[acesydneysage]

My thoughts on how an Alchemist revolution could go

I turned some of the initial points into a one-shot, but I'm very unlikely to actually write anything that sees all of it through to the end, so I'm laying out what I imagine would happen. I could follow the initial fic's format and just write cutesy domestic fluff with hints of what is going on in the Alchemist revolution in the background, but who knows

In The Golden Lily, Sonya thought Sydney's blood might be key to a vaccine, since it was undrinkable to Strigoi. Later, in The Fiery Heart, in their visit to Inez, we find out that it's because her blood is coated in human magic. That makes it taste foul to undead vampires, and also broke her Alchemist tattoo, by countering the compulsion of Moroi magic with human magic.

She eventually uses a similar principle to make the tattoo breaking ink she gives to Marcus, and that she uses to help the other re-education inmates in Silver Shadows.

So, with that in mind:

My initial idea was that one of Marcus' operatives, who got tattooed with Sydney's ink, would suffer a Strigoi attack. Their blood would turn out to be undrinkable. Since Sydney's ink breaks the Alchemist tattoo, the receivers blood would get coated with human magic, like a witch's.

I would like it if that person was one of the people Sydney helped in re-education, because I'd like to think those people stayed loyal to her, and maybe see her as a leader. Just because it's really touching to me how she was still worried about others, and risking herself to help, while she was going through her worst nightmare.

In my fic I went with Sydney's roommate Emma, "the Sydney Sage of re-education", because I really love her. She really did turn out to be the Sydney of re-education, at least in part, because while she was repeating the party line and trying to seem cooperative, she was actually a badass rebel who fights back. There are other reasons, I'll get to that in the end.

Sydney's ink potentially working as a Strigoi vaccine is something important enough that she would risk her truce with the Alchemists to investigate. And since the ink also makes people immune to their mind control, the Alchemists wouldn't work with them like they did for the spirit vaccine. I truly believe that they value their control more than human souls.

I'm sure Declan’s blood will be important to the spirit vaccine. They couldn't mass produce it since it required a recent Strigoi restoration, trapping the spirit before it left the blood, while his blood is described as brimming with spirit. But Sydney and Adrian don't want their son to be experimented on, so that's just more incentive to seek an alternative.

I think Sydney’s ink wouldn't work on Moroi, going by the logic of the magic described in the books (human magic wins out in humans), but helping humans is already a big deal, and it could maybe work on dhampirs.

Meanwhile, the Alchemists have been getting polarized. When it's revealed that some of them were helping the Warriors of Light in the end of the series, while Warriors were keeping Moroi captive, that causes controversy. They eventually start to get divided into factions.

After the US re-education center burns down, those who oppose re-education try to defend that it not be rebuilt, and that other centers be shut down. There are symbolic concessions, but they eventually get basically re-education by another name. Similar things happen when it comes to demands for more transparency, and less authoritarianism in general.

And of course there's a reaction to progressive demands. A hardcore anti-Moroi faction is amenable to teaming up with the Warriors. They're tired of "fighting evil by cataloguing it."

If this faction wins out, they won't actually care that Sydney is blackmailing them into letting her live with proof that they worked with the Warriors, since they openly want that, and they consider her continued existence a humiliation. So Sydney and Adrian wouldn't be able to sit out this fight.

There are more and more defectors who simply leave and join Marcus (or go into hiding and try to stay away from that whole mess). But out of those who stay Alchemists, as things start to devolve into an actual civil war, the moderate faction has a lot of infighting about joining up with the rebels.

That's at least in part because Sydney is one of their most notorious members, and while they might not want to see all the Moroi exterminated, marrying one of them is still going way too far to a lot of them.

So, let's talk allies. Sydney definitely put Marcus in touch with more witches and taught them how to make the ink. And I think besides kidnapping Moroi and dhampirs, the Warriors could be capturing witches too, which would turn them against each other.

In re-education, when it's revealed that Sydney has magic they say that has happened before, and I imagine they handled it with the same amount of compassion. I think maybe Chantal is a witch too and that's why she was fown in the punishment level with Sydney.

Alicia definitely showed that some witches might be willing to work with them for their personal gain, but I think as a community they would protect their own. They wouldn't look kindly on Alchemists torturing witches. And even if they were born into the Alchemists, they chose to be witches, so their allegiance to them would take precedence in their minds. Sydney's coven and Ms. Terwilliger are definitely on board.

I think the rebels might be able to get the Keepers on their side, since they have a complicated relationship with the Alchemists, where they seemto deliberately keepthem dependent. Marcus' stated goal for a long time was helping Moroi on their own terms, that's what he did for a long while. He definitely didn't have any plans to topple the Alchemists in the Bloodlines era, he didn't thinkthat was possible. So they occasionally helped them get better technology and resources that the Alchemists don't want them to have, and they promise to help them further in the future. That gets them the Keepers sympathy.

The Moroi government obviously isn't gonna side with the anti-Moroi faction, but I think they'd try to stay out of the conflict and not be dragged into the fighting for as long as possible. But they've come to depend on the Alchemists too much to keep them hidden, and they're now in chaos.

With the Alchemists weakened by a civil war they aren't really doing a great job of keeping up the masquerade, Moroi secrecy gets very precarious.

Now. While Alchemists claim to be very worried about human souls, absolutely no one in the VA universe seems that worried about regular humans' lives. They don't even know about the existence of Strigoi so they could protect themselves. And yes, there are humans who'd work with Strigoi. Strigoi seem to have zero issue finding those humans as is, they simply tell them about vampires themselves when they wanna get servants.

Now there's a vaccine that could help protect humans, and really reduce Strigoi's capacity to feed, but you have to actually apply them to humans. And more and more supernatural events are being sloppily covered up since the Alchemists are otherwise preoccupied.

I'm sure there are some valid reasons for the masquerade, and humans might not behave amazingly towards supernatural creatures, but leaving them completely helpless to this threat isn't very ethical, and certainly not when you have a vaccine that could help them.

And honestly, as cliche as that argument is in discussions of monster hunting, humans could potentially take the Strigoi out, we have some pretty amazing weapons. Or we could be massively incompetent about a problem that we are fully capable of solving. You know...

So the supernatural world gets revealed, and that makes the Alchemists pretty obsolete. Of course, although they have been weakened by the decade(s) of infighting, that doesn't mean they lose all of their resources and connections all at once, but it would be a huge blow their relevance.

They get splintered into a lot of different groups that can still cause trouble, but they're no longer the omnipresent shadow organization they used to be.

And if this whole process took about 15 years, Declan and his buddies would be neatly protagonist aged in time to deal with the huge upheaval and the new mess of problems brought on by the integration of the Moroi and human world. And he'd more capable of thinking about his own relationship to the spirit vaccine and making his own decisions.

So most of this post was written to be understood whether or not you read Silver Stars, but this final bit is more about what could directly follow. When it comes to the fic I was more worried about the characters and their feelings, and excuses for domestic fluff and hurt/confort. So here's the fic on AO3 and on Tumblr.

In the end of The Ruby Circle, there's indication that Zoe Sage and Stanton, with the incentive of Sydney's blackmail, will be trying to reform the Alchemists. I don't really think they're reformable, attempts to extinguish re-education would basically result in rebranding. @sydneysageivashkov has some lesbian!Zoe head that I think are pretty compatible with my headcanons for an Alchemist revolution, and what Zoe would be doing during that initial period.

I think it could take a few more years, 3 or 4, for Sydney to actually have to leave her home and go into hiding. Declan foes actually get a little bit of a normal school experience. I imagine this whole process going very slowly, as the situation gradually deteriorates. And the witches would now claim Sydney as one of their own, making it a bigger problem for the Alchemists to attack her directly, lest they make enemies of the whole magical community.

By the time Sydney has to go into hiding I imagine Zoe is gonna have to leave the Alchemists as well. The other reason why I chose Emma for the first fic, is that she was in re-education in part for her sister's actions, so it shows that the Alchemists wouldn't be above hurting Zoe for Sydney's actions.

Sydney has very important reasons to join the revolution, and in fact she might eventually not have a choice, but she knows that once she officially breaks her truce with the Alchemists her whole family and even her fellow re-education inmates that she got amnesty for.

I imagine Sydney, Adrian, Eddie and Declan could spend a while hiding in a ranch very out of the way that Chantal and Duncan got themselves. Insert Adrian joke about that escape plan where cute blonde girls had to wear cow girl outfits.

Duncan has been shown to be pretty hesitant to risk going against authority, and Chantal is even more psychologically messed up than Sydney and the rest of them. Sydney feels pretty awful about placing them in danger, but they're both very grateful to her for helping them escape. Also Chantal is a really badass witch, although a bit unstable, I'll eventually find something to do with that, revolution wise.

But Sydney and Adrian would eventually leave and get more active roles in the revolution. I would very much like it to be an actual collective movement and not one special girl bringing down the Alchemists by herself, but I think Sydney would have a pretty prominent role after everything she went through.

This is way too long, but I had fun with it, and if you got this far, thank you for reading 😀

[kucherovv]

Character Motivations on the DreamSMP

I know I’m an ARG Wilbur account, but analyzing the DreamSMP has always been super interesting to me, so I’m gonna take a crack at it. Here are, from my perspective, the motivations and interests of each plot-relevant character. (PS: analyzing the DreamSMP is just like analyzing the ARG, except a lot less frustrating because we actually know things.)

Tommy: His motivations have always, always, been his friends, most notably Wilbur. Throughout everything, he never left Wilbur’s side despite everything Wil did. He followed L’Manberg because it was Wilbur’s dream, not his. He allows himself to be thrown around a little bit (”When I said you’re never gonna be president..,” The pit) to keep his friendships/his friends safe. Now, his motivation isn’t keeping L’Manberg safe, it’s staying with Tubbo Another interesting view of Tommy’s motivations is his hero complex- He just wants to be seen as the hero, and does everything in his power to do that. Either way, I feel like his motivations are going to be severely tested in the coming days.

Tubbo: I think Tubbo’s motivations are really interesting because there’s two. It used to be Tommy- which makes sense because they’re best friends- but it’s slowly warped to be L’Manberg. I think this mostly changed when Wilbur and Tommy were exiled and Tubbo was left in the Schlatt administration, and he realized that he needs to fight for L’Manberg in order to keep Tommy safe. This then shifted further to just protection of L’Manberg, to the point that now he’s willing to exile Tommy from the country to keep it safe from Dream.

Wilbur: One thing: Power. Everything he’s done has been to get, or keep, power. The Revolution was to have power over Dream in the form of their own country. He tried to rig the election in his favor by preventing everyone else from running to keep power, and when he was exiled he fought for L’Manberg so he could be President again. Even in the end, he blew up L’Manberg because he realized it would never be his again. This is where the “When I said you’re never gonna be President, I meant it.” quote comes back- Wilbur would do everything in his power to keep power over L’Manberg and its citizens- no matter who, or what, he hurts.

Techno: These are some of the most simply motivations on the SMP. Techno wants anarchy. He hates governments and wants to end them all. He joined Wilbur and Tommy because he wanted to take down the government, and ultimately betrayed Tommy in an attempt to end L’Manberg’s government. His motivations might be shifting towards Philza, but I’m not sure.

Philza: I think it’s a bit too early to tell these but I have two ideas. First, safety. Phil wants safety for him, his kids, and his friends. He goes out of his way to rescue people (See: him travelling hundreds of blocks to rescue Ranboo from lava) and performs rash actions to protect people/keep his kids happy (killing Wilbur..?). Another potential motivation is just his kids. He killed Wilbur to keep Wil happy, and wants to bring Wilbur back to life. His whole thing with Ghostbur and with Techno fits into this. His friendship with Fundy kind of does, too. Again, it’s way too early and there’s too little RP with Phil involved to truly tell his motivations.

Dream: Every single war has been caused by Dream. He wants chaos and control. He was the one behind the revolution, the disc wars, and every betrayal of L’Manberg, He even caused the election drama by allowing Schlatt back on the server, and provoked fighting by giving Tommy and Techno gear. Dream wants to be the one who causes chaos, in order to give himself full control over everyone. This recent arc is gonna build on- and potentially destroy- this motivation, as Dream is probably going to lose all of the support of his friends, and Tommy has realized that Dream doesn’t care and just wants to fuck with him.

Sapnap: I would definitely say that at the moment Sapnap is an anarchist with no true side. He has dual citizenship in L’Manberg and the SMP, and, though he might be willing to do things for both of them, he just wants to cause problems and kill peoples pets. Sapnap is literally the cause for the first war when he burned down Ponk’s lemon tree- he literally just wants to cause problems.

George: There are few motivations for George. He just wants peace, honestly, but won’t do anything to stop wars, so he just leaves. At first, he was a loyal, right-hand man to Dream, but became disillusioned with that when he became Quackity’s running-mate, and just stopped caring about anything. He just wants to live peacefully in his cottagecore mushroom house, but he keeps being dragged into things. I think that George just doesn’t really enjoy RPing but they keep writing him in, lol, but I am going to say that his motivations are that he wants to live a quiet life.

Schlatt: He just wanted what he believed is best for Manberg. IMO, he was never really the villain, and was rightfully elected, but no one realized that until Wilbur did. He realized that Wilbur and Tommy were pretty much war criminals who tried to rig the election, so he exiled them because that was what was best for the people, and then gave Tubbo a job so that he didn’t have to worry about leaving. Even the taxes were to improve Manberg. His policies and laws were not always the best, but he was doing everything he could (in his mind) to improve Manberg.

Quackity: Wilbur said that Quackity just wants a kinder, more peaceful world, and that’s definitely true. I tried not to base too much of this on Wilbur’s perceptions but this one is 100% accurate. Quackity ran for President to create a kinder world, and ended up leaving Schlatt to join Tommy and Niki after Vilbur happened. I think Mexican L’Manberg might end up changing this one, but I’m not sure.

Fundy: He just wants a dad. Everything he’s done has been for this, pretty much. Obviously, he followed Wilbur into the Revolution when he was a kid, and then wanted to be like him so he ran for President. After Wilbur’s exile, Fundy saw Schlatt as a kind-of father figure, but still spied for Manberg. The explosion was a wake-up call that made Fundy realize how shitty his dad was, and how much Wil doesn’t care about him. Fundy is unwilling to form a relationship with Ghostbur, instead attempting to be adopted by Eret and getting closer to his Grandfather. He’s realized that Ghostbur does not really remember Fundy for who he was, just that he was Wilbur’s son and Ghostbur should care about him because of that, so Fundy seeks out other people to be his father figures.

Eret: They had a huge swap in their motivation like.. halfway through the story. For the first half, Eret wanted power- so she betrayed L’Manberg. Dream promised him kingship in exchange for the betrayal, and that was all Eret really wanted- until Dream took it away from him. At this point, Eret realized that she really misses her friends, which is when she joined them in Pogtopia. TBH- I don’t really like these motivations and I think Eret’s character would be stronger if they stuck to one side, and at some points I think it was just to be involved in the RP again, but it kind of makes sense I guess.

Niki: First, she cared about Wilbur, joining him in L’Manberg and wanting to stay in Pogtopia with them. However, when Vilbur started, she realized that what she really cares about is L’Manberg, not Wilbur. The big shift could’ve also been when she saw the flag being burned. Either way, she realized that L’Manberg means more to her than Wilbur. 

BadBoyHalo: Bad’s motivations are my favorite. He wants chaos, just like Dream, but he’s planning to do it from the inside. He wants the Badlands to ally with everyone, only to spark infighting and create wars. This is why Sam is always the one to help people- he wants to gain everyones trust so the Badlands can incite chaos. This is an incredible arc and I really hope they go through with it because- unlike Dream- its not expected that they’ll be villains. Also, the speech where Bad explained this was so scary, he’s a great actor and I want to see him and the rest of the Badlands in RPs more.

[lordeasriel]

I really care about your opinion, how do you feel about the bbc show and the way it's going?

I feel like before I give my take, I need to say that I understand the show is its own thing, and while I do wish they did a better job adapting certain things, I understand that sometimes there is a need for radical change or cut, especially when your budget is not super high (which HDM does have a lot of money into it, still is not a super big budget production, so they have to worry about these things). And I do enjoy many things about the show, but my overall vibe is mixed, to be honest. I’m stating this now because people often question whether I like the show or not, becaus I do criticise it a lot, and I simply have a critic view of the things I like, which is why I discuss them a lot and it can be overwhelming.

My main issues with the show are these 3 things: (which I’ll put under the cut because this got a bit longer than I wanted to lmao sorry)

Lack of worldbuilding and loose lore: I’ve been talking about this since day one, and this mostly applies to season 1 because I can’t judge season 2 yet because it’s not fully aired yet, but the show suffers from lack of worldbuilding, especially in Lyra’s world, which is the world that sets everything in motion. I still dislike the fact they introduced Will mid-NL, I don’t think he needed all those episodes to establish something that easily could’ve been done in S2 and because they gave TSK a lot of time, other parts of Lyra’s world suffered considerably, mainly the witches and the Magisterium.

The show doesn’t really expand on those two groups, especially, and I think that’s not good, especially the Magisterium (which they have over simplified by making it one big baddie, or so it seems at least, not to mention that implying a single leader for them practically ruins Marcel Delamare’s arc in TBOD and I’m very mad about that lmao). A lot of the Magisterium plot has that infighting aspect, which creates tension on their side as well as against their enemies, but the show doesn’t really explore that or the nuances of the Church, and they also don’t explore how varied the witches are, and I feel like this is a serious mistake. (The portrayal of the witches is by far my least favourite thing in the show, if I’m being honest).

Dull parallel world (and lack of daemons): this ties a bit with the worldbuilding aspect, but this is mainly about design choices. I think the show doesn’t make Lyra’s world as unique as it should be. On its own the world looks pretty and the outfits of most of the cast are great, but when you realise that Will’s world is intertwined with that, you don’t really feel like these two worlds are vastly different.

There is an odd situation in which Marisa’s fashion feels 30s/40s, but most of the men from her social circle (not fair to compare with the gyptians) just wear plain suits and they look much more modern. And while I get that they went for a timeless vibes, with different eras and styles, Lyra’s world feels like a caricature and it doesn’t feel believable. The colour palette is mostly the same for both worlds (even in s2, it’s hard to tell much of the difference because either the scenes are indoors or at night.) This, paired with the lack of daemons (which has been discussed many times in the fandom) kinda bums me out.

Marisa’s oversimplification: I’m mentioning Marisa, specifically, because she is the one that suffers the most due to this writing issues, but other characters like Lord Asriel, MacPhail, the general collective of the Witches, they all suffer from the writing trying to take away the nuances of them and make them flatter than in the book. Marisa is the worst because without her complexity and her flaws, she simply gets dull and boring and flavourless, and it’s kinda what has been happening in the show in my opinion. All she does is weep and she has no strength that doesn’t rely on a random fit of rage that dies out and she gets upset. There’s some great moments, like when she mimics the Monkey, but most of the time she’s just a shadow of who she is supposed to be.

The show tries really hard to make her a Scorned Mother - right from the get go, they try to makes us see how she wants Lyra, how she struggles with her “bad nature” and how that affects their relationship. There is this lingering implication that Lyra was taken from her against her wishes; they make it seem like being a mother to Lyra is her driving force, the only reason why she seeks power and influence. And that is the opposite of Book! Marisa, who is a force of nature, ruthless and ambitious, with not an ounce of maternal instinct.

She does eventually decide to help Lyra, instead of harming her, but even that action comes from a narcisistic place: Lyra is to her a possession, something that belongs to her, and that she wants to preserve. The show just handles her badly, falling into overused, boring tropes that struck far from the book version.

These are usually my main complaints about the show, and they upset me every episode to the point I’m practically ignoring them now lmao The show does a lot of good things too, making Will less of a prick, restoring Lyra’s personality from the first book into S2 Lyra (so far, please keep it that way), Mary is looking great too. They have mostly a great cast, and they did improve the daemons this season (except uh, there are far less daemons to show because of the other worlds - and the Ruta Skadi daemon change pisses me off tbh).

They do have a lot of interest in the show, but the writing (the main issue to me) feels clunky and childish, with the show toning down most of the themes that make His Dark Materials so special, especially to me (which frankly I expected them to do, but it still stings a bit). They make the Magisterium a single bad entity that feels more Authoritarian-Fascist, than a theocracy (even if they sneak in the religious symbols and rituals and garments, it’s just not a good portrayal, it’s very tame and shy); and they try to justify Marisa’s actions (especially in current interviews, there’s lots of talk about how her background will play in the show to “explain why she is the way she is”). The fact the Magisterium is portrayed as pure evil makes it looks less familiar than it should be, and therefore they don’t look scary, they seem like a caricature, a joke.

A lot of the essence of the characters get lost, and the core message of the story too, like when Iorek and the Gyptians tell Lyra she can be one of them, to support her lack of “proper family”, when that is the opposite of the books message. It doesn’t make sense for them to change that, other than maybe Jack Thorne wanted to because it makes the story feels less hopeless, but it’s why he fails to adapt these character - he doesn’t capture the essence, he tries to write these character with gaps in them.

However, the thing that annoys me the most is how they portray Asriel. It’s just... it’s bad. Really bad, which is a shame cause James is talented as fuck, but he had little time to film for season 1, and then they portrayed him very poorly. That scene when he addresses Roger in episode 7 is ridiculous, Asriel would never behave that way; there was relief in him finding Roger was there too, yes, but not to that extent and not in such a cringe way. Asriel is not deranged or irrational, he is a man on a mission, and Roger was a tool (there is no pleasure in Asriel taking his life and no excuses - it needed to be done and he did it); they just needed him to sound creepy in the show for whatever reason.

I hated how they handled the bridge scene for Asriel, Lyra and Marisa, but that’s long and complicated for me to explain here. In S2, there has been some mentions of him so far, including the implication he might have ruined Cittàgazze himself and I frankly don’t understand where did they get that idea. But the cherry on the top was Thorold telling Marisa that Asriel was gonna kill Lyra and that’s just-- that’s so dumb. That’s genuinely dumb writing, because Thorold knows Lyra followed Asriel to the mountain, and while I do believe Asriel would have killed Lyra if Roger wasn’t there, there is no way Thorold should know or consider that Asriel was gonna hurt Lyra, because Roger was there. In fact, Thorold’s interactions with Asriel in episode 8 already disprove this, so either Thorold was lying in S2 for the sake of, I don’t know, chaos or whatever, or the person who wrote this was a five-star, solid gold, fucking moron.

I’m not gonna mention the lost episode because that was no one’s fault, but the fact that they discarded an episode that all information we have on imply that it was important to set up the backstory of the angels and the city, it’s... concerning. It means they wrote something parallel that should’ve been woven into the season.

The truth is, I still watch the show on Sundays, and I still like some stuff they do (especially Mary’s stuff, so far), and despite me slandering the show per your request anon lol (cause unfortunately my honest opinion is mixed, I just don’t try to overfocus on the negative on Tumblr, I mostly talk about it on discord or private), I do think anyone who has read the books should watch the show.

For me, personally, everything I love about HDM is barely on the show - complex characters, the philosophy, the oppression by religion, the interesting world - and the vibe I get is that they’re adapting a coming-of-age love story, which is the last and - being fully honest - the least important message these books give us, but unfortunately they were set to making a family show from the start, and my expectations were high and unmatched, and a family is what we’re getting: toned down, cute, pretty visuals and soulless (heh, pun intended), philosophically speaking. I expect a certain pattern going into S3, but I always like to hold out hope that they will hire better writers (apparently Jack Thorne already wrote 4 scripts, so there you go lmao), and try to give HDM the adaptation it deserves. The truth is, if you’re a picky, canon reliant person like I am, the show might be a struggle, but if you just like the story for the teen romance, or if you don’t care about overthinking a show/book, then most people can have a good time with it.

[hysterialevi]

His Name Was Isaac - Ch. 3

Fanfic summary: During a mission to avenge his mother’s death, Isaac hunts down the men responsible for her murder and kills them off one-by-one, only to discover that his last target is taking refuge among the Van der Linde gang. In an attempt to kill them, Isaac attacks the gang and unknowingly becomes enemies with his own father, who is in the process of fighting his own battle for redemption.

Point of view: third-person

Previous chapter | Next chapter

This story is also on AO3

ONE WEEK LATER

OUTSKIRTS OF BLACKWATER

Steadily moving his line of sight just along the distant horizon, Shay Mackintosh kept a close eye on the bank in Blackwater as a number of customers went in and out, completely oblivious to the gang that lurked no more than a stone’s throw away from them.

At the moment, the town seemed pretty calm. Normal. Ordinary. Not nearly as hostile as the last time Shay set foot there. That must’ve meant that the people had either grown too comfortable with their lives, or that there was someone else guarding the perimeter for them. And considering the rumors of Pinkertons roaming around Tall Trees, Shay assumed it was the latter.

...Dammit, he mentally cursed to himself. 

The last thing the Van der Lindes needed to worry about right now were Pinkertons. Dutch was already close to losing his mind as it was, and with the Skinner Brothers’ growing presence in West Elizabeth, Shay doubted the man would be calming down anytime soon.

If federal agents started going after them... well, he didn’t even wanna think about the chaos they’d cause.

Though... this could’ve been a blessing in disguise, depending on how one looked at it. As money-hungry as their gang was, Shay could see that everyone was anxious to get out of West Elizabeth and move on somewhere safer. Somewhere that didn’t have lawmen or rival gangs prowling around every corner.

A few of the other members had already expressed their concerns surrounding the upcoming robbery in Blackwater, and with the presence of Pinkertons now being an issue, Shay expected there would be even more infighting back at their hideout.

If too many threats presented themselves at the same time... perhaps Dutch would finally see sense and agree to relocate their camp. 

But... then again, that could’ve just been wishful thinking on Shay’s part. Dutch was known for his stubbornness, after all, and Mackintosh couldn’t remember the last time their leader ever swayed his mind about something without raising hell about it first.

If he truly had his mind set on robbing this godforsaken bank, then... Shay supposed that was what they’d do. Dutch was the boss in the end of the day, and his word was practically law.

It didn’t mean Shay wasn’t worried, though. 

“Mackintosh...!” A man’s voice suddenly called out from behind, cutting off Shay’s train of thought. 

The outlaw whipped around in alarm and instantly reached for his pistol, only to come to a halt once he saw who it was.

“Jesus, Arthur...!” he whispered in a startled tone. “I nearly blew your goddamn head off. Thought you was one of them Skinner boys.”

The older man chuckled, crouching down so that he was at the same level as Shay.

“I’ll try not to take that as an insult. What’re you doin’ out here?”

Mackintosh returned to his binoculars, focusing the lenses. “Dutch asked me to scout the place out before we move in. He wanted to know what we’re dealin’ with.”

Arthur leaned closer to Shay and squinted his eyes, trying to follow the man’s gaze. “...And? You see anything worth noting? How many guards are at that bank?”

“Well... I’ve counted about a dozen so far, though there could be more I’m not seeing. They switch every once in a while, but it ain’t often. Not many openings for us to charge in.” 

Shay lowered his binoculars for a second, turning to face Arthur. “...I won’t lie to you, Morgan. It’s gonna be difficult to rob this bank. The whole thing’s under heavy guard, and there are Pinkertons wanderin’ in the streets now. It’d be a huge risk to grab this score, even with all our men.”

The other man held his hand out. “Here. Lemme take a look.”

Passing the device over to Arthur, Shay patiently stood by as the man thoroughly scanned the area, picking up every detail he possibly could.

“Yeah...” Arthur muttered worriedly, “...security’s gotten real tight in Blackwater, that’s for sure.”

“And you still think it’s a good idea to hit this town?” Shay questioned.

“It don’t matter what I think,” Morgan replied. “It ain’t up to me.”

“No, but I imagine you still have a mind of your own, don’t you? As well as your own concerns.”

The older man gave him a cautionary side glance. “It sounds like you’ve got some, Mackintosh. Care to share?”

Shay sighed in a defeated manner. “Look, I know Dutch thinks this’ll be a easy score since Blackwater’s such a small town, but small doesn’t always mean easy. It just means more concentrated. I mean, look at this place.”

He gestured to the settlement in front of them. “Blackwater’s essentially one, giant square. All the buildings are more-or-less in the same area, and it ain’t nearly as convoluted as the other cities we’ve hit. There are fewer blind spots to worry about. Fewer entrances to keep an eye on. Fewer places for us to hide if things go south. And there’s also the fact that Pinkertons have been seen in Tall Trees. If this plan goes awry--”

“--It won’t.” Arthur interrupted.

“...If it does,” Shay reiterated, “we’ll be dead men. The law will have no problems cagin’ us in, and we’ll be hanged on the spot.”

As much as Arthur hated to admit it, the man had a point. Blackwater wasn’t exactly the ideal place for an outlaw to be right now, and with all the threats surrounding them in this area, he couldn’t deny that he thought they might’ve been better off staying the hell away from this town.

But even then, his thoughts were irrelevant. No matter what his opinions were, it was Dutch who always had the final say, and Arthur knew damn well that a few lawmen strolling about wouldn’t be enough to scare the old man off.

If they were going to convince Dutch to leave Blackwater alone, they’d need one hell of a good reason. And at the moment, Arthur couldn’t think of one.

“Look,” Arthur said, keeping his voice down, “I hear you, Shay. But like I said before, it ain’t my choice whether we stick around or not. That’s Dutch’s decision.”

Shay persisted. “Well, yeah, but you’re the only one he actually listens to. That’s why I’m tellin’ you this, Morgan. If you speak with Dutch, he might see where we’re coming from.”

Arthur put the binoculars down. “And if he doesn’t, we risk being accused of being traitors.”

Mackintosh quirked a brow. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“That’s how Dutch’s mind works now,” Morgan explained. “I dunno if you’ve noticed, but he’s a paranoid mess these days. He values loyalty above everything else in this world, and in his head, loyalty means you don’t question anything he does. If I bring up our concerns about this robbery and Dutch doesn’t see reason, he’ll lose all his faith in us. I’ve seen previous gang members get shot over less.”

Shay’s expression froze with shock. “Jesus. I knew Dutch was unstable, but that’s downright lunacy.”

Arthur sighed in frustration. “He ain’t a lunatic. He’s just...” he trailed off, unable to find the right words. “...look, forget it. Let’s just get back to camp. I’m sure Dutch is waiting to hear what we’ve found.”

Shay took his binoculars back, sliding them into his satchel. “And then you’ll have a word with him?”

The other man rose to his feet, nodding in response. “I’ll... I’ll see what I can do. I ain’t gonna promise anything, but I’ll try to make him see reason.”

Mackintosh followed Arthur’s actions and returned to his horse, preparing to head back to camp. “Thank you, Arthur. That’s all I ask. Lots of folk are nervous about this robbery, and I wouldn’t wanna see half our gang get wiped out all because of one mistake.”

Arthur thought back to the ferry job they did eight years ago, not even bothering to point out the extreme irony in Shay’s statement.

“...No,” he settled for, sounding much more regretful than before. “We wouldn’t.”

~~~~~~~~~~

A LITTLE LATER

AURORA BASIN

Opening the door to Dutch’s cabin, Arthur and Shay both sauntered into the cold living room as the smell of lingering smoke smacked them in the face, causing the latter to let out a series of coughs.

At the moment, Dutch was mindlessly chewing on the tip of a freshly-lit pipe and steadily pacing around the room, allowing him to think more intently as he listened to Micah prattle on about some nonsense.

It looked like the other man had just returned from his own journey, judging by the heavy satchel slung over his shoulder. There didn’t seem to be much in it other than a few dead rabbits, and considering the fact that there was still some blood on Micah’s glove, Arthur assumed the man had been out hunting.

About time he did something useful, Arthur thought. The man rarely ever lifted a finger around camp other than to swat flies, and when he wasn’t irritating the hell out of the other gang members, he was back in this cabin, doing whatever he could to lick Dutch’s boots. Though, this time... the tone of Micah’s voice suggested he may have been here for another reason.

“Shay! Arthur!” Dutch barked once his gaze landed on the two new guests in his cabin. “You’re back. What did you learn?”

“The bank’s locked up tight, Dutch,” Mackintosh answered, stepping closer to him. “We counted about a dozen guards standing outside of it, and I also spotted some new security measures while we was there. They’ve got more walls. More gates. More places to trap us if we ain’t careful. This is gonna be a risky job no matter how many people we bring.”

The older man didn’t seem pleased. “Well, that’s good to know, but I thought I told you to be discreet.”

Shay blinked in confusion. “We... were. We didn’t set a single foot in Blackwater and scouted it from the outskirts. Just like you said.”

“Oh, is that so? Then why is it that there’s someone in town looking for us?”

Arthur jumped in, his interest now piqued. “Wait, there is?”

Dutch gestured to Micah. “Yeah, Micah saw him. He was just telling me about it before you boys walked in. Said he spotted them in the saloon.”

The other man nodded casually. “Sure did. It was a young man. About this tall. Blonde. I didn’t catch his name, but he was askin’ all sorts of folk if they knew who the Van der Lindes were. Also if they knew Dutch. He seemed pretty determined to find us. Luckily, he didn’t notice me.”

Arthur rubbed his chin, suddenly feeling a lot less confident about bringing up his concerns to Dutch. “...Shit. Was he a lawman?”

Micah shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so. He didn’t look like one. Didn’t have no shiny badge neither. My guess is he’s a bounty hunter.”

Shay furrowed his brows. “A single bounty hunter tracking us down all by himself? That doesn’t make any sense.”

Arthur took on a more cautionary tone. “Who says he’s by himself? You’d have to be a fool to fight a gang on your own. It’s most-likely he’s got more friends that we haven’t seen yet.”

Micah shrugged. “That, or he doesn’t realize how close he is to us. Probably thinks he’s still got a ways to go before worryin’ about any sort of fighting. After all, no one expects to find what’s right under their nose.”

Mackintosh changed the subject. “Either way, if this man’s asking questions all around town, he’s gonna draw attention to us. We need to deal with him before anyone else takes an interest.”

“He’s right,” Arthur agreed, turning to Dutch. “You want us to deal with him, Dutch? We can go back to Blackwater. Take him out right now.”

“No.” The man responded, causing all three of them to fall silent.

“...No?” Micah asked, significantly more concerned now. “But if we don’t kill him now, he’s bound to find our camp later.”

Dutch grinned deviously at that. “Exactly. It’s too risky for us to attack him when he’s in the heart of civilization. There are too many obstacles. Too many guards. Too many people. So, instead... I say we let him find us. We’ll play along, let him think that we don’t know what he’s doing, and when he finally comes waltzing into the lion’s den -- that’s when we’ll strike.”

“But what if he’s not alone?” Arthur pointed out. “We’ll have an entire group of bounty hunters right on our doorstep.”

“Then we fight.” Dutch said plainly. “We have enough men to deal with a few guns. We’ll be alright. For now, though, just stay focused on the bank. I don’t want any of you worrying about no bounty hunters unless we have to. Understand?”

The three of them exchanged looks for a moment, ultimately deciding that it wasn’t worth an argument.

“Of course, Dutch,” Micah finally complied. “You’re the boss.”

The older man appeared satisfied with that answer. “Good. Now get back to work. All of you. This bank ain’t gonna open itself.”

Ending the conversation there, Dutch put his smoking pipe away and gave a simple wave of the hand, signaling for everyone to return to their lives while he wandered back to his rocking chair.

Shay and Micah were already halfway out the front door by the time Dutch took a seat, but as always, Arthur remained the odd one out and stayed in place, pondering what he should do next.

Unbeknownst to him however, he wasn’t the only one thinking.

“...I know that look, Arthur.” Dutch remarked, his back turned to him. “I’ve known it for the past eight years. There’s somethin’ you wanna say, isn’t there?”

The younger outlaw hesitated for a second, unsure of whether he should tell the truth.

“...Yeah...” he grumbled out, “but you ain’t gonna like it.”

Dutch chuckled. “Try me.”

Walking up to Dutch, Arthur took a while to gather his thoughts before joining the other man’s side, stopping to lean against a nearby table. He still wasn’t entirely certain if he wanted to express his true thoughts to his friend, but deep down, Arthur knew that what Mackintosh said at Blackwater had merit in it.

“...I think we should leave Blackwater alone.” Arthur admitted at last, earning a puzzled look from Dutch.

The older outlaw paused for a moment, wrapping his head around what the other just said.

“Leave Blackwater... alone?” He repeated, clearly not on board with the idea.

“It’s too risky, Dutch. We don’t even know if the bank is worth it. We’ve got no idea how much cash is really bein’ held in that vault, and on top of that, there’s a shit ton of guards patrolling the area. You heard Shay back there. They’ll shoot us down before we even reach the building.”

 “Which probably means there’s a lot of money just sittin’ in there waiting to be stolen! Why else would the security be so tight?”

Arthur knew he was going to say that. “And what about these Pinkertons? We’ve all heard the rumors. They’ve been seen in Tall Trees, Dutch. That’s right outside our camp! All they have to do is take one wrong step, and they’ll be on top of us before we know it. We have to leave now. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Blackwater eight years ago. You remember the chaos that led to?”

Dutch sighed. “Of course I do. But we won’t make that mistake again. This time, we’ll be better prepared.”

The younger man held his hands out in a perplexed manner. “How? We have even fewer men than we did for the ferry job, and the bounty on our heads is bigger than ever. How are our chances gonna be any higher for this score?”

“Because we have you now.” Dutch said. “You wasn’t with us for the ferry job, and neither was Hosea. And look how that turned out.” 

He stood up from his chair and placed a reassuring hand on Arthur’s shoulder, looking him in the eye. “But we have your help this time. Hosea may not be with us anymore, but I know for a fact you wouldn’t let me down, son. I have no doubts that this job’ll go just fine.”

Arthur saw right through the flattery and put his hands on his hips, completely at a loss for words.

There was nothing he could say or do that would convince Dutch to leave Blackwater, was there? The man was entirely obsessed with the city by now, and Arthur knew that at the heart of it, none of this really had anything to do with the money in the first place. It was purely about Dutch’s pride.

He knew that Dutch still hadn’t gotten over what happened to them all those years ago, and he knew that the old man wouldn’t take his eyes off this town until he managed to pull off a successful score. 

He was falling victim to his own insanity, and Arthur had no other choice but to try and pull him away from the edge. It was one hell of a risky move to make, but he decided it’d be worth it.

Arthur let out a remorseful breath and lowered his head, almost whispering his next words.

“...You’re losin’ yourself, Dutch.” He said vehemently. “I can see it everyday. More and more of the old you is just... vanishing.”

The older outlaw appeared taken aback by the abrupt notion and narrowed his eyes, almost looking offended.

“Losing myself?” He replied, his voice dangerously calm. “...How so?”

Arthur gestured vaguely at the room around them. “Look at what we’re doing, Dutch. How many men have we lost just tryin’ to reach Blackwater? Not to mention actually stealing from it. Our gang is dyin’ out here. This area’s too dangerous for the likes of us, and yet... we won’t leave. You won’t leave. The Dutch I know would’ve packed his bags long ago.”

The other man fell silent at that and tightened his lips, making an expression that said Arthur had just crossed the line.

“You think I’m losin’ myself.” Dutch parroted once again, his tone completely flat. “You think... I’m... losing. Myself.”

He took a few steps away from Arthur and began pacing around the room, chuckling to himself in a heartbroken manner.

“...Hosea is dead, Arthur,” Dutch stated, sounding more feral with every passing second. “John is a traitor. My health is deteriorating, we have the law on our tail, and now, the only son I have left thinks I’ve gone crazy--”

The tyrannical man brought his gaze back to Arthur, his eyes wide open with madness.

“Of course, I’m losing myself, Arthur! Wouldn’t you? This world... has gone to shit! Civilization has no room for folk like us, and even within our own world of murderers, thieves, and rapists -- we are still tearing ourselves apart! I have sacrificed everything to keep this gang afloat, even when we went through hell! You are my family, Arthur. You, Hosea, John, Miss Grimshaw... you were all my family. But just like the rest of them, you’re startin’ to lose faith in me too!”

Dutch pulled his revolver out, blatantly aiming the weapon at Arthur.

“Are you gonna leave me, Arthur? You gonna turn your back on me and leave me to the goddamn wolves, just like the rest of them? Are you a snake?”

Arthur held his hands up, absolutely bewildered by Dutch’s deranged response.

“What? No! I’m right here, Dutch. I ain’t gonna leave you.”

“That’s what they all said,” the older man dismissed, evidently unconvinced. “That’s what they all tried to tell me. But when it really mattered, they all--”

Coming to an abrupt halt, Dutch’s words were cut off when he was suddenly struck by a coughing fit, causing him to drop his gun as his entire body heaved uncontrollably.

“Dutch!” Arthur exclaimed out of concern, rushing over to him.

The man continued to cough aggressively and hurriedly searched for his chair, desperately wanting to sit down as he leaned on Arthur for support.

“Easy, Dutch...” he comforted, helping the man into his seat. “Just... take it easy.”

Setting Dutch down, Arthur kept a firm grip on him until he was sure he wouldn’t keel over and stood patiently at his side, waiting until the man’s coughing fit calmed down.

“You okay there, old man?” He asked. Dutch coughed a few more times, eventually hacking up some blood before spitting it on the floor.

Arthur eyed the blood with a worried glance, trying to hide how frightened he truly was about the man’s health.

“Jesus...” he murmured. “Dutch, I’m sorry--”

“--Don’t.” The other man interrupted, wiping his mouth clean. “I don’t want no pity.”

Finally back to his normal state, Dutch let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair, clearly worn out from the havoc his own body just put him through. His skin was much paler now, and just by listening to the shaky rhythm of his breath, Arthur could tell he was getting weaker and weaker by the minute. 

It wouldn’t be that long now before he was at Hosea’s side again. The only doctor who could’ve possibly given Dutch some sort of treatment was all the way in Blackwater, and even if they somehow managed to sneak him past all the law, Arthur doubted there was anything they could do to save him.

Dutch’s life was quite literally slipping out of his grasp these days, and much like everything else they had lost in the past few years, there was no way they could get it back. 

Even with Arthur at his side.

“...R’you gonna be okay, Dutch?” Morgan asked solemnly, despite the obvious answer.

The outlaw shook his head, throwing a glare at him. “What d’you think?”

Arthur’s shoulders slouched in despondency. “I know, I know. Stupid question. I just...”

He cleared his throat, deciding to drop the subject. “...Never mind. Forget I said anything. Just... take care of yourself, alright? None of us wanna see you go too soon.”

Dutch nodded in response, admittedly curious about what Arthur was going to say.

“I’ll try, son.” He reassured, his voice much softer now. “You know me. I was born to be an outlaw. All the way to the end. And I intend to go out like one.”

~~~~~~~~~~

ONE HOUR LATER

BLACKWATER SALOON

Humming quietly to himself, Isaac relaxed on the edge of his bed as he gently cleaned the Springfield rifle in his grasp, preparing for the storm ahead. It had taken him nearly three months to get to where he was now, but after all the traveling and searching and questioning... he was finally close to reaching the Van der Linde gang. And to killing Shay Mackintosh.

It was strange, Isaac found, to think about everything he had been through these past fifteen years. At the start of this hurricane, he was nothing more than a boy merely trying to survive with the men who killed his mother, but now... he was the one delivering them to Hell’s gate.

He knew it probably meant nothing to the people around him -- and some might’ve even considered him crazy for pursuing revenge for so long, but ever since Eliza’s death -- Isaac had had this sense of hatred burning inside him that he just... couldn’t let go.

It was always there. No matter what he did. Even when he smiled, or laughed, or cried... he could feel it growing within him like a parasite.

There were some days when Isaac managed to go from dawn to dusk without a single thought of what happened to him, but late at night, when he’d delve into his dreams, the same nightmare would come back every single time to haunt him, and he’d see her face again. Hear her final words. Her final breath. And the next morning... he’d have a gun in his hand, ready to hunt down the men responsible for her suffering.

It was agonizing sometimes, to deal with such a unique rage. Isaac wanted nothing more than to settle down somewhere and live a normal life, but every time his memories reminded him of the horrific murder, he’d feel the same hatred growing inside him again and set out on his journey for vengeance, craving the blood of those who wronged him.

Perhaps that made him a monster in some people’s eyes. Isaac recalled Minister Swanson mentioning that he saw something darker in the boy’s heart, but to him, this was the only path that made sense.

There was no justice out in the Wild West, after all. You were either the victim, or the victor. If Isaac didn’t go after Mackintosh himself, Lord knew that no one else would. And on top of that, he figured his mother deserved to rest in peace after fifteen years of watching her killers wander freely.

It was what Eliza would’ve wanted, Isaac imagined, and he wasn’t going to forget it.

Sighing in discontent, Isaac set the rifle down and stared aimlessly at the window in front of him, admittedly feeling somewhat torn about these upcoming weeks.

What was he going to do when he found Mackintosh? What was he going to say? Would the man even recognize him after all these years? Would Isaac recognize Shay?

Well, whatever happened, one thing was clear. Mackintosh had to die. However or whenever that came to be, Isaac didn’t care. The only thing that concerned him was landing the killing blow.

Mackintosh was the one who pulled the trigger when Eliza died, so Isaac only deemed it fitting that he’d be the one bring it into a full circle.

He may’ve not had any family left, but by God was he going to avenge them.

Interrupting Isaac’s thoughts, a knock suddenly came from the door and averted the young man’s attention, causing him to stand up from the bed.

“Just a moment!” He called out, quickly slipping into his coat before striding to the entrance.

Swinging the door open, Isaac found himself face-to-face with a rugged-looking man. He had graying blond hair, a horseshoe mustache, cold-blue eyes, and a special kind of demeanor to him that shouted “degenerate.”

The visitor threw a casual wave at him, clearly not realizing what sort of impression he gave off.

“Hey there, cowpoke,” he greeted, his tone oozing with connivance. “...Mind if we talk for a minute?”

Isaac subtly kept a hand on his pistol, trying to conceal his mistrust. “That depends. Who are you? What d’you want?”

The man chuckled. “Suspicious one, ain’t you? Have no fear...” he held his hands up, “I ain’t here for that. In fact, I’m here to help you.”

That didn’t make Isaac feel any better. “That so? Well then, why don’t you answer my first question? Who are you?”

He placed an introductory hand on his chest. “Relax, princess. The name’s Micah. As for what I want, well... I couldn’t help but overhear your conversations with some of the folk downstairs, and it sounds to me like you’re lookin’ for the Van der Linde gang. Am I right?”

Isaac nodded slowly. “...Yeah. Why? You have information on them?”

Micah smirked. “More than you think. And I’m willin’ to share some of it...” He held up a finger. “For a price, of course.”

The young man wasn’t even surprised. “Of course. And how much are you willing to share?”

Micah shrugged. “That depends on how much you’re paying. Information like this don’t come cheap, boy. If you want somethin’ good, you’ll have to pay good money.”

Isaac was still hesitant to accept the deal. “Makes sense, but how do I know your information’s legitimate? Anyone can claim they know about the Van der Linde gang.”

The outlaw grinned and crossed his arms. “Aren’t you a smart cookie. Well... what if I told you I was one of them?”

The boy froze, uncertain of whether he should take the man seriously. “...You’re just pullin’ my leg now. Why the hell would a Van der Linde talk to me if they knew I was lookin’ for them? How does this benefit you?”

Micah sighed in a melodramatic tone. “It pains me to say it, but our current leader, Dutch van der Linde... let’s just say he ain’t doin’ too good.”

“Speak plainly,” Isaac said. “What d’you mean?”

“He’s ill.” Micah explained. “With what, we don’t know. But he’s withering away with each passing day, and it don’t look like there’s much chance of him getting better. Thing is, though...” he leaned on the doorframe, “he has yet to clarify who’s gonna take his place once he’s gone. And at the moment, he’s got two people in mind. One of ‘em being me.”

It didn’t take long for Isaac to catch on. “So, you want me to get rid of your competition?”

Micah shook his head. “Not yet. First, I wanna see what you’re capable of. I’ll give you the information you need, see if you actually manage to find us, and then I’ll know whether you’re just some yellow-bellied pretty boy, or if you really know how to handle that rifle. Then, we can move on to... other business.”

Isaac considered the offer, admittedly still somewhat hesitant to do business with this man.

As strange as it may’ve seemed, Micah actually sounded like he was being genuine. He spoke about the Van der Lindes as if he actually knew them, and his information had been pretty specific so far. 

The only part that confused Isaac was why he would be so willing to endanger his fellow gang members. It was widely-known that outlaws weren’t the type to practice camaraderie -- Isaac had seen that for himself -- but even this was a new low.

Still, it wasn’t his concern what the Van der Lindes were up to. As long as Micah’s information got him closer to Mackintosh, nothing else truly mattered.

“...Alright,” Isaac finally agreed. “I’ll buy your information, Micah.”

The outlaw smiled slyly. “Glad to hear it. How much you paying?”

The young man quickly thought of an offer. “...Fifteen bucks.”

Micah looked impressed. “Good, but not good enough. How’s about we bump it up to twenty?”

“Seventeen.”

“Eighteen.”

Isaac settled with that. “Done.”

Micah shook his hand, a little too happy about where this was going. 

“Pleasure doin’ business with you, mister. I promise... you won’t regret this.”

[tessasocs]

Timeline #1 + Nymeria Martell

the timeline in which they live an ideal life, had no opportunities taken from them, were subjected to nothing terrible, where they grew up to fulfill their full potential.

OH shit. This is gonna be major AU real fast. Also this is 100% wish-fulfillment so don’t come for me.

So first things first, after Rhaegar married Lyanna in secret and annulled Elia, She found out and took Rhaenys and Aegon back to Dorne to raise them as Martells instead of Targaryens.

Robert’s Rebellion still happens with one notable exception: Arthur doesn’t die at the Tower of Joy. 

So instead he’s released from the Kingsguard by Robert and marries Elia to raise Nymeria at Sunspear alongside Rhaenys (who is masquerading as a Sand Snake). 

Eventually, he’s forced across the narrow sea to protect Aegon BUT he’s alive. 

Nymeria Dayne grows up loved by her mother and visited by her father and half-brother every now and then. She has a sister in Rhaenys and a friend in Arianne and there’s no Dorne plot. 

Doran is still ambitious though, so he decides to send Nymeria to be the official Dornish ambassador to the crown a few months before the start of the series while Arianne is prepping to rule Dorne.

Rhaenys also gets sent with her (because Doran is a poor schemer y’all!)

So Nymeria and Rhae actually have several spies at court and their own plans set in motion before Jon Arryn dies and Ned Stark comes down to Winterfell. 

Rhaenys heads to Winterfell instead of Nymeria, who stays in King’s Landing setting up dominos to fall for when Ned Stark arrives in the capital. 

Things largely stay the same as they did in AGOT except Nymeria spirits Sansa and Arya away to Dorne, not staying around to face the consequences of Ned’s death. And because this is before Myrcella is sent away, it makes things a lot easier.

Elia takes to Sansa and Arya so easily and starts giving them all the love they deserve. Doran decides to send them back to Winterfell as a gesture of goodwill and allyship, which ultimately convinces Catelyn and Robb to agree to the wedding proposal to Rhaenys.

The whole Targaryen restoration plot happens so much sooner than it does in canon. Because at this point, Daenerys has dragons, and Aegon and Arthur have managed to get her on their side (i’m thinking sometime after Drogo’s death but before Qarth so no House of the Undying)

At this point, Dorne has a ton of chess pieces in place. A) Rhaenys in the North, B) Aegon and Daenerys across the Narrow Sea, C) The Sand Snakes causing chaos in King’s Landing, and D) Nymeria and Arianne rallying Dorne to their cause. 

So I’m thinking, end of season 2, Aegon arrives in Dorne and marries Arianne while Rhaenys marries Robb, thus giving Robb 10X more men so Red Wedding doesn’t happen. 

Daenerys, Arthur, and Jorah march on Dragonstone after Stannis’ fleet has been decimated by Blackwater mid to late season 3 and take it back. 

The Tyrells, sensing the winning side, abandon the Lannisters at the very last second.

Idk what happens to Cersei, Jaime, and Tywin at this point. I picture Aegon giving Tyrion Casterly Rock just to spite Tywin and imprisoning Cersei and Jaime. Joffery gets executed Ned Stark style. 

Oberyn gets a spot as Hand of the King (because while I love Rhaenys as Queen, Westeros ain’t that woke), Nymeria is named Master of War, and the North gets the independence they were promised. 

But uh-oh, more issues arise. Daenerys isn’t happy being sidelined (as we expected) and to be honest neither is Rhae so Dance of Dragons 2.0???

There’s some infighting, possible assassinations, and a ton of politicking and eventually, Nymeria finds herself fighting AGAINST Rhaenys which is no bueno.

Throughout all this mess, Jon is voted Lord Commander and appeals to the crown for help with the White Walkers. Aegon lets Nymeria deal with him and THAT’s how they meet.

And I don’t know what would happen after all that because this is already too out of touch with reality so just assume everyone lived happily ever after.

a slightly altered timeline meme