#will shuggy ever get their happy ending

[beanghostprincess]

Roger telling Shanks about the world sinking and therefore Shanks refusing to go look for the One Piece is something very plausible, and somehow it only makes the story between Buggy and Shanks way more painful than it already is. Because there is no winner here.

Buggy finding out now about this and how his crew kept it from him and the rest of the world is already asphyxiating, but realizing Shanks knew too must be even dehumanizing, making him feel more left out and fueling the theory of Roger playing favorites with them. And the current situation makes it even worse because he is not finding this out from one of his allies, but from a damn world announcement. But even if he had found out years ago... Even if Shanks had told him... It would've been the same all over again and he would only have more reasons to hate him. Shanks will always be the face Buggy sees whenever he thinks about his lost dreams despite not being the one to blame. He is just always in the right place at the right time for Buggy to do so.

And that takes me to Shanks' POV of the situation (and yes, I am making this Shuggy, because there is no way I wouldn't) and how I believe he would refuse to tell Buggy. At least not right away. Because he knows Buggy resents him for things that aren't his fault. He was aware then, and he is aware now. But back then he still clung to the hope of Buggy accepting to go with him and become pirates together. Grow up together as they have always done, side by side. Teenage Shanks (in this concept of him knowing about the world sinking) wants to run away from what he knows it's a complete loss of time and enjoy the unknown time they have left together with Buggy. Telling Buggy would mean being the one destroying his dreams once again. The one thing Shanks knows in the uncertainty of their future is that he wants Buggy to come with him.

But since he doesn't say anything, Buggy mistakes that silence as cowardice, and Shanks understands why it happens and accepts his decision instead of chasing after him. Because no matter what truth he tells Buggy, it will always have the same outcome.

Also, this comes from a conversation I had with @m0thcl0wn yesterday and I believe Oda owes us quite a few sessions of therapy after making us suffer like this with these theories.

[mlmshipbracket]

ROUND 2: POLL #10

ROUND 2 POLLS [HERE]

PROPAGANDA BELOW

Shanks/Buggy:

Childhood friends/lovers, got separated after their captain died. Shanks clearly still adores Buggy, and Buggy pretends he doesn't reciprocate the feelings, but this is clearly untrue, as he takes every opportunity to talk about Shanks.

Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas:

Karkat is Alien Jesus, and Dave is a repressed bisexual with a sword. they watch rom-coms together. Their combined childhood trauma would bring licensed therapists so far past the breaking point that the breaking point recedes and becomes just a distant happy memory. neither of them has ever been capable of shutting the fuck up. Look, sometimes you get stuck on a meteor for three years with a guy you barely know and at the end of it you would do anything for each other. their blood is the same color.

[shanksxbuggy]

Pls pls pls rant more about ur theories and thoughts abt op and this recent chapter i need ur analysis sm thank you for ur posts ur one of shuggys greatest blogs!!!

Thank you for liking my humble little offerings!! Every day I toil in the shuggy mines ⛏

In this spread, if Oda really did intentionally put a mirror parallelism between opposite forces, then it might imply that Buggy and Shanks would clash in the future because of their differing ideologies.

I’ve also seen people worrying that the parallels might signify a battle to the death, where only one side can come out on top. Basically pairs with contradicting desires that conflict with each other.

So I’m thinking, what kind of conflicting ideology between Shanks and Buggy would put them on this level?

Out of all people in this race - his arch-nemesis Blackbeard, the authoritarian government who slaughters innocents - it’s Buggy who mirrors Shanks as his polar opposite.

What’s interesting to me is that Shanks seems to have his own plans for the One Piece.

Since Buggy is about materialistic greed and wants to find the treasure for his own gratification (not for any grander scheme involving the fate of the world), when I think about the opposing side, maybe Shanks wants to destroy the One Piece so no one can have it, which would put him in direct conflict with Buggy’s interests.

Imagine there’s a big pile of treasure and priceless artifacts, and Shanks says ‘well I’m going to destroy all of this so no one can have it’. That would be enough to piss Buggy off and start a fight.

When Shanks uses the word ‘get’, the word he uses has the implication of ‘take by force’ or ‘steal’, almost as if someone else has it.

If I consider the possibility that Shanks plans on destroying the One Piece, this wording could imply he’s going to ‘take away’ the One Piece from anyone trying to possess it.

Since Buggy’s goals are selfish, as his direct opposite, Shanks’ goals might be selfless. Shanks doesn’t want the One Piece for himself, and if anyone does want to claim it, they’ll have to defeat him to do it. So in that way, he’s safeguarding it.

Just from how different Shanks’ expression is from the other Emperors, it’s like he’s the only one who’s not having a fun pirate adventure hunting unknown treasure.

Compared to every other ‘opposite parallel’ in this spread, Shanks vs Buggy seems very different. They’re the only opposites who actually care about each other despite their differences. Compared to the other matchups, their conflict seems kind of petty and personal.

I don’t think Shanks and Buggy will truly have a fight to the death. I’m not sure Shanks would even be able to fight Buggy seriously.

If they ever were to face off against each other, it might end up being like the challenge between Dorry and Brogy, where it’s a match between two people who care for each other and in the end won’t be happy seeing the other person lose. Unlike everyone else who’ll probably have to kill each other to stop their opponent, Shanks and Buggy have the desire to save each other. So their outcome won’t be the same as everyone else.

Honestly, besides comic relief and leading characters like Mihawk and Crocodile to the One Piece, Buggy doesn’t look like he has much of a role in the final battle royale. He isn’t important to the main plot or Luffy’s development, he isn’t strong and doesn’t have useful information, he doesn’t represent some moral good or ideology, even as a villain he’s not so evil that he needs to be defeated. So what is his purpose, why did it have to be Buggy with this important role in the finale? It’s likely that Buggy, as a character, exists for Shanks’ endgame.

Whatever Shanks’ endgame is, Buggy will play an important part in it, because narratively their fates were written to be intertwined. They were set up as narrative foils from the start, and even more so now they continue to foil each other. Buggy was written for Shanks, though we don’t know for what future purpose it’ll be. Whether they’ll cause each other’s downfall or save each other’s lives, some kind of redemption arc for Buggy or character resolution for Shanks, they’ll both have an effect on each other’s fate.

It’s all just me speculating, of course, because I crave analysis.

When did this answer get so long! I started writing this out and it just went off on its own and kept going.

[midydoof]

I WAS WAITING SO LONG FOR YOU TO HAVE ANON OPTION ON! GET READY. You are my favourite one piece artist there is. It’s incredible how well you portray those characters. I love how in character you keep your art. It’s always new fresh idea. Every one piece art of yours is immediately becoming my favourite. You make my imagination run wild everytime. You inspire me to rethink aspects of the series. You make me notice some things. Your art style is amazing. I love everything about your art. I love watching it. And looking through your blog using tag to just spend time and look at your art. Nothing else. Just watching details, zooming in, smiling to myself. I don’t even know what makes it so special tbh? Because I’m being honest, it’s not my preferred artstyle, but you make it work for me. Definitely the fact that it’s never OOC. It works in universe so well. Gosh I’ve been just writing without even thinking, I hope it’s not too much. I’ve been watching you since your first shuggy art. Seeing you make art to my favourite fanfic was incredible. I was excited to see new chapter and knowing you put your part there was making it even better. And you always choose the best moments to portray. I think me and a lot of people would make different choice but yours worked perfectly. You make me love buggy new outfit, it’s pastel mess but it looked so cool in your art. I hope it’s not too much, I’ve worded it badly because I’m nervous to send this. I could never do it off anon. I’m shaking rn, hope I didn’t annoy you but it’s positive message and I just wanted you to know how I feel. That’s how I’m gonna end this. You’re my favourite fanartist in one piece fandom.

Oh damn, thank you kindly anon! Don't worry the compliment certainly came across, and how! I'm happy to hear it left such an impression on you, especially since I do put in consideration for real minor details I'm unsure ever gets noticed. thank you very much!

And also I thought I actually had anon on this whole time, but I think I must have turned it off during a spam surge like 8 years ago or something and forgot about it.

[clood]

20 questions for fic writers

tagged by @storybookprincess, @hxhhasmysoul, and @subdee—given the triple tag by such lovely folks i can't just not xD

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

44

2. What’s your total ao3 word count?

211,669

3. What fandoms do you write for?

so far i have only written for hunter x hunter, even though i haven't written and posted much for it (or anything) this year. i am soooo close to catching up with one piece and i want to write zosan and shuggy and when i do it's over for everyone. it's been the only other thing in a long time that has tempted me to write fanfiction!

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

similarly to subdee, most of my top kudos-ed fics are some of the very first things i wrote for the hxh fandom and the fics i am most known for still xD

however, similarly to liv, i don't love looking at my stats by kudos lmao. instead i shall list my current 5 favorites, regardless of their kudos standing heehee

housewarming: leorio and kurapika have planned a small dinner with their friends to christen their new home, though it does not go exactly as planned. aka the only happy leopika i have written to date xD including any and all wips

until death: after finding the nostrade boss dead, kurapika must make a decision that could change the course of his life, and, perhaps, someone else's. this is a criminally underrated fic, in my not so humble opinion!!!

just a little fun: leorio finds himself drawn to a stranger at a club and ends up with just a little more than he's bargained for. I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS ONE LOL

where are you roaming?: Gon has been sent by his father, the illustrious ghost hunter Ging Freecss, to investigate the Zoldyck Manor and its many instances of poltergeist activity. What he finds is nothing at all like the stories he's heard. this one is always always always going to be a favorite, i love it so much

night watchman: Gon has nightmares and Killua saves him from them. (aka five times Killua was there to save Gon from himself and one time he wasn't) a Clood Classic (TM) that will always have a special place in my heart. she's dramatic. she's second person. she's one of the first ones i ever wrote

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

oh god i try to. basically i will be staring at my inbox for a week after i post something so i can reply right away, but then comments on fics i haven't recently posted remain as unread emails so that the notification haunts me. i have some i need to respond to now.. actually..

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

by far it has to be until death. that whole fic is angst city usa and the ending is no exception xD

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

hmmm a lot if not most of my fics have a happy ending... i vote housewarming for sappiest, arms unfolding for most classically romantic, and long lost for most heartwarming.

8. Do you get hate on fic?

if anyone does hate on me, they do it in the private confines of their discord chats, and this is how i would prefer it to stay. closest i've gotten i think is once someone was annoyed that i probably wasn't going to make gon and ghost-killua get it on and then i guess they got embarrassed that i replied to that comment and they deleted it hajdkshajdhak

9. Do you write smut?

i have written precisely one smut fic: hands on a clock, hands on your hips. i was so embarrassed about it i published it anon originally then decided that was stupid and un-anoned it. however i will be writing buggy/shanks smut soon because detachable hands has me thinking all sorts of thoughts.

10. Do you write crossovers?

crossovers are not really my thing, never have been!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

nah, i am not famous (tm)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

no but i think i would cry if i did!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i actually have—as part of a greed island server event! spirit astray, september leaves, havoc in the hot springs, and hacker say what were written with kessya, shal, and hanamii as part of a 4-person fic exchange event :)

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

the nostalgia for my 2021 killugon days is screaming that the only answer is killugon...

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t?

the only wip that's live on ao3 is chip aisle, which i think someday maybe i could be persuaded to finish. i was on an idol au kick when i started it and it was originally just gonna be a oneshot, but then another greed island card led to another couple chapters.. maybe someday.

16. What are your writing strengths?

unsure if this is a strength but i can write some fat ass sentences. and nice chunky paragraphs every now and then. i like to focus on the little details in a scene too, which i think is fun.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i suck at planning ahead and outlining. i feel like i end up patching a lot of plot holes because of it lol. i also feel like i can be repetitive and long-winded sometimes

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i'm on the fence about it, honestly. it has situations where it could fit, but i don't think i have encountered one yet in my own writing where it didn't feel awkward or forced to have it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

DELTORA QUEST ON FANFICTION DOT NET BABEY!!!!

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

i think where are you roaming? is my all-time favorite. i just love it so much, i think i did a good job with the world/situaion-building even though there are definitely some of those plothole patches i mentioned earlier.

i believe i'm supposed to tag 20 people but i am simply not capable of sending a notification to 20 people's inboxes so... @extratt413, @chubsthehamster, @shalnarkonice, @fireolin, anyone who used a blue mug today to drink their coffee, and anyone else who wants to do this you can say i tagged you!!

[105nt]

My 2022 in books

With my kids a little older and a lot more into their own stuff, I have had a good run. These are all the books I read for the first time this year in reverse order (I've not yet finished with The Time Traveller's Wife):

The books I enjoyed most in 2022:

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue A hotpot of motherhood, abuse and atonement - in which science comes head to head with faith and both succeeds and fails. I was impressed by the way the story gives weight to every consideration - Anna's autonomy, Ireland's suffering, the duties and limits of love. Outstanding.

Normal People by Sally Rooney I came to this having loved the TV version, and I wasn't disappointed. A very raw, and very true, portrait of what it is like to live and love, and how that differs from what we're told to expect.

Precious Bane by Mary Webb I'd been planning to read some Mary Webb for some time, but it was never top of my reading pile. Then I read a biography that reignited my interest, when I found she once occupied a house about 100 yards from my back door, and I found an old cloth copy which I liked the feel of more than the paperback I'd already bought. I thought I knew what I was getting from Precious Bane - everyone knows that the heroine has a cleft lip which she feels sets her apart in solitude, and that the book abounds with rustic scenes, homilies and events, and that there will be a handsome man who will choose her. I'd read Cold Comfort Farm the year before, and so in some sense had already laughed at Precious Bane before opening it. I was not expecting it to be littered with events that were genuinely shocking and dramatic, or to be convinced by the romantic ending, but I was. I really felt it managed to transcend the fun that is poked at it.

The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith I've been totally absorbed by Strike for nearly two years now. A lot of people didn't rate IBH but it arrives and takes its place in my top five with flick of its strawberry-blond mane. I was expecting another book like Troubled Blood - meaty, satisfying, layered ... I am back to hotpots again (must be the weather) but I spent the whole week I managed to stretch this over on the edge of my seat; disturbed and fascinated, wanting to be drawn in and pampered the way I had been with TB, but constantly having the rug pulled from under me. I will never forgive her for killing the sofa.    

Shuggie Bane by Douglas Stuart It's a rare skill to keep your reader wanting a happy ending long after it's clearly hopeless and yet make them unable to abandon the story. Douglas Stuart has that skill. He's a dangerous man and should be on a list somewhere.

A few other things:

My least favourite book was Worst. Idea. Ever. by Jane Fallon. I just can't ... I don't get it. Please. Someone. Explain.

My favourite audiobook this year was The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. I'd never listened to an audiobook before and, to put it mildly, this was a good start. I also listened to all the Strike novels 1-6, Anna Karenina, War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo, Dracula, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and The Iliad. I go for the classics in a big way because 1. they are free, and 2. they go well with the ironing.

If I could only have had one of these reading experiences, it would have to be The Ink Black Heart. 

[cowboy]

what are your like top 10 oM songs?

this is SUPER hard to answer so I’m gonna try to be accurate but this also changes very often. but also I’m just gonna go with my long term favorites. in no particular order bc i don’t think i could put one as number one

1. anyway just kidding my number one of all time is Party’s Crashing Us no contest. this is because it was the first song i ever heard of theirs, and I really only had heard sunlandic twins because it was the one my sibling played the most. (I started liking oM because of my sibling lol). It just makes me so happy and sad at the same time it’s such a beautiful song. I only feel alive when the vus flashing.. alarms going off in my heaaadd.. i wanna grab you and just kiss you maybe i should sit down no sense in cashing us nowww..... the partys crashing us nowww....

2. okay from now on actually in no particular order, an elurdian instance is still one of my favorite songs, and the one people tend to say is a “very me” song. although it’s really hard to choose off of skeletal lamping bc that used to be my favorite album of theirs for like a couple years. anyway it’s such a nostalgic song.. the bit about the mountain goats and the last summer as independents and stuff always makes me so ;_;

3. we will commit wolf murder I swear to fucking god it’s SO good. I’m considered ugly from every angle... youre the only beauty i don’t wanna strangle... the lyrics are beyond amazing and like his voice is so soft and he doesn’t overdo the falsetto (though his falsetto is always good). and i dont even dislike the weird ending which i usually do (he overdoes it on this album too but im aware shes just that kind of girl and has to do the weird artsy instrumentals). good fucking song

4. speaking of paralytics stalks, what an UNDERRATED ALBUM. I LOVE dour percentage. “this planet is an orphanage” is such a good line also his falsetto here is extremely good. i love singing to this song. he also wrote it about a friend breakup which i love and well it’s just a good song. I’m also gonna have this be a tie with malefic dowery which has a similar vibe; so soft and singable...

5. ok paralytic stalks again maybe but spiteful intervention is easily possibly my second favorite song of theirs. the beginning makes me acutlaly insane. i used to listen to it at 5 AM on my way to work on the freeway and hearing him say “oh god the morning light, sunrays bring my paranoia, I CAN’T FUNCTION UNLESS I’M THE ONLY ONE -- AWAKE” literally unlocked something inside of me. SUCH a good song

I’m manic right now

6. faberge falls for shuggie thank you very much. hissing fauna used to be my favorite album for a very long time and the intro to this song would just live in my mind forever. i love his screaming/yelling and weird voice in this one. he’s like speaking to himself in it (did shuggie do it yet? no. not yet) and i love when he does that shit. the instrumentals are so good. and the scream bit at around 2:00 is so delightful.

i’m starting to realize i don’t actually know my top ten favorites and i have like top 20 actually. this is hard

7. i have to add in some satanic panic of course, so climb the ladder is on here. he has such a sweet little gift for making such nice love songs. i also love lysergic bliss of course but i think a lot of the songs off that album are so underrated including this song. wahh

8. sleeping in the beetle bug!! such a delightful tune and i love the key it’s in. i love cherry peel. the lyrics are so funny and the breakdown in the song is great. he is so good at guitar man

9. stag to the stable is my #1 lyrical depression song what a GOOD song to have a little breakdown to. rune husk is such a sexy EP too. i want the cover on a shirt

i’m extending this to 12 songs i really dont care sorry

10. Empyrean Abattoir. this album is an underrated basic rock album of his but this song in particular does something to my brain... the breakdown is also super good on this. when he transitions between the softer mellower parts into the yelling... the beginning is still my favorite part though . TBQH

11. feminine effects is such a sweet little song and the “bobby baby” makes my heart go SOFT so so so soft. i dont know who the vocalist is but I LOVE her voice. i think shes the one on lousy with sylvianbriar as well? is that nina?? anywho. WAIT SPEAKING OF NINA shoutout to heimsdalgate like a promethean curse i love that line. dancing to this song live is like crack to me. i shout the lyrics every time

12. tie between triumph of disintegration, imbecile rages, and raindrop in my skull off of lousy. what a great country-esque album. i always listen to it when i’m chillliing. raindrop in my skull is one of my favorites because the aforementioned singer has such a nice voice.

(shoutout to miss blonde your papa is failing for being the saddest fucking song of all time)

okay so the rest of his albums are pretty poppy and i love pretty much all of them (except ur fun . ur fun sucks) but there arent top 10 favorites on them really. i will say i love IFSWYT and i think there are some songs that might become a top 10/20 song if i get more time with them. well anyway. sorry for the ranting but i love all these songs so much. god bless

[yourownoscar]

Thank you for tagging me @montressori ❤️❤️❤️

Favorite comfort food: Tomato Soup :)

Favorite alcohol (or hot drink): I like just regular coffee and sometimes I’ll drink lemon tea

Favorite relaxing activity: I like to hang up laundry or to just sit outside reading

Favorite calming scent: Vanilla and cinnamon

Favorite relaxing (or uplifting) song: The Lengths - The Black Keys, Poor Fake - Kelsey Lu, Strawberry Letter 23 - Shuggie Otis, Roses are Falling - Orville Peck. These aren’t relaxing or uplifting really they’re just songs I like

Favorite white noise: crackling fireplace

Favorite book to get lost in: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan made me feel seen in such an uncomfortably intimate way. Just the idea of being stuck somewhere between two separate cultures and the loss of identity that comes with it is something that really resonates with me. Also, not having any idea who your mother truly is and this strange connection between your mother, and her mother, and her mother after that- this feeling that you hold inside of you a long chain of broken women - trying to shape an identity out of it not knowing what part of you ends with them and begins with yourself... I also like If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin and The Waves by Virginia Woolf.

Favorite chill out TV show: The only tv shows I really watch are true crime documentaries, but they make me stressed :/ I do not enjoy them

Best advice you’ve ever had: I’m not good with words so idk if I can explain it right, but my step mother once sat me down at the kitchen table and wrote out the word 喜怒哀楽 and described it to me as is the “inner essentials of all mankind.” Basically if you separate the individual characters of the word you have 喜 joy, 怒 anger, 哀 sorrow, and 楽 happiness. Each character follows the other, and if you tried to remove even one the word would no longer make sense. There is no joy without anger, and yet no sorrow without happiness. I think it’s like... we can’t live our lives clinging desperately to one emotion and refusing to face the other - people who do not suffer can never grow, and people who devote to suffering can never heal. The only way we can ever face forward is to accept every coming emotion fully and with an open heart.

I tag @wampiry @fridayinlove and @shrimpcolors 🧡🧡🧡

[e8luhs]

TAURUS.

LISTEN ON SPOTIFY.

tracklist/annotations under the cut! and make sure you check out my other astro playilsts for your moon/rising if you like this one

I. DIVINA / TORO Y MOI

[instrumental]

II. HOLY ROLLER / THAO & THE GET DOWN STAY DOWN

i am a woman of leisure i've been looking for the end of want i don't want it, but I need it well come on baby won't you give me some?

III. SEASON 2 EPISODE 3 / GLASS ANIMALS

baby, now my head is on backwards and my feet at funny angles and every time i take a step, we're moving forwards faster and lately i can't take it

IV. NECESSARY EVIL / UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

transform into the animal you need to fly from a destiny infested with chemicals you need a new drug not invented by the C.I.A i wanna be your friend but don't have the self-control we're in love, but i don't get what you see in me

V. THE LESS I KNOW THE BETTER / TAME IMPALA

she said, "it's not now or never wait ten years, we'll be together" i said, "better late than never just don't make me wait forever" don't make me wait forever don't make me wait forever

VI. WILL DO / TV ON THE RADIO

anytime will do, my love anytime will do, no choice of words will break me from this rule anytime will do, my love anytime will do, what choice of words will take me back to you?

VII. MINOTAUR / THEE OH SEES

men get sick at their work, each and everyday there ain't no cure but to stay stay home today, go to the beach instead and the dreams, in their heads cannot be found in the maze, or so they say

VIII. SHUGGIE / FOXYGEN

if you believe in yourself you can free your soul my heart is breaking in two, i don't know what to do you were right with the words, you make it too loose i'm happy if she's happy

IX. WASTING AWAY / STRFKR

[instrumental]

X. SAME SUN / REAL ESTATE

when does one thing ever end and the next begin? every day back then felt like a hyphen i do not wish to retrace the steps i've taken all that madness now is where i'm going

XI. NEW PERSON, SAME OLD MISTAKES / TAME IMPALA

the point is, i have the right not thinking in black and white i'm thinking it's worth the fight soon to be out of sight knowing it all this time going with what i always longed for

XII. PASS THE HOURS / MORMOR

days wash over me i felt it all i'm caught underneath and you're falling through, through, through

XIII. SO GOOD AT BEING IN TROUBLE / UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA

now that you're gone it's been a long, lonely time it's a long, sad, lonely time rolling along i'm in a strange state of mind it's a strange old state of mind

XIV. 10:37 / BEACH HOUSE

chances are, like night you’ll disappear caught in the atmosphere where you go she casts no shadow still, you know she's near

XV. LATE AGAIN / STRFKR

[instrumental]

XVI. DISAPPEAR ALWAYS / WILD NOTHING

and this house is now a grave i've been sleeping here for days i'm too hidden to awake so i disappear always

XVII. PATIENCE / TAME IMPALA

just growin' up in stages (lay down, lay down) livin' life in phases another season changes and still my days are shapeless

XVIII. THE BUS THAT COULDN’T SLOW DOWN / THE J ARTHUR KEENES BAND

don't stay home we're all sick of you lazing around don't stay home keep looking until you've been found

XIX. SOME PLACE ELSE / MORMOR

another day like yesterday where it all just slips away a change of scene, a change of pace i'm waiting on some better days

XX. EVENTUALLY / TAME IMPALA

but i know that i'll be happier and i know you will too said, i know that i'll be happier and i know you will too eventually

[catecaterina]

Things I Read in 2020

I know it’s traditional to write a “Best Books of 2020” list at the end of the year in question. However, my considered opinion is that it’s OK to write a “Best of 2020” list for as long as it’s too early to write a “Best of 2021” list. And, therefore, May June certainly qualifies.

Well, 2020 was a bit of a weird year, wasn’t it (I feel the question mark is unnecessary). For a while there – right about the time then-PM Conte announced all of Italy was going into the RED ZONE, and the walls closed in – it was hard to concentrate on very much at all, let alone reading. Flights and bus routes vanished from web pages soon as you looked at them. Dog dealers hung out in the shadows at street corners, or in the closed-off parks (€10 for a 15 minute walk). Police cars roamed the city ordering people to “Stay at home” over the loudspeaker. Police officers checked the papers of people queueing to get into supermarkets. One weekend the ambulance sirens were never-ending.

But it’s amazing what comes to seem normal, isn’t it, and one day you even start reading again; one book I’d recommend, if you’re in a can’t-concentrate state of mind, is Cultural Amnesia by Clive James. It’s made up of brief essays on various individuals – Charlie Chaplin, Jean-Paul Sartre, Hitler – which you can dip into as and when you feel like it, thus avoiding the need to concentrate for more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time. And it has bits like this in it: “Chamfort was the one who supplied the lasting definition of fraternité: ‘Be my brother or I will kill you’. That, in fact, was the joke that killed him: he was arrested soon after making it”. Cultural Amnesia isn’t on my “Books of 2020” list, but only because I haven’t finished reading it yet (there’s an Italian word “centellinare”, which means to prolong the pleasure of consuming something by sipping it a little bit at a time. I guess that’s what I’m doing).

Here are some other books I enjoyed reading or re-reading in 2020 (or at any rate, which made an impact!):

Asymmetria (Asymmetry) by Lisa Halliday

Averno by Louise Glück

Citizen Doctorow: Notes on Art and Politics by E.L. Doctorow

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Dolenni Hud (Magic Links) by Owen Martell

L’Estate del ‘78 (The Summer of ‘78) by Roberto Alajmo

The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

House of Glass: the Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family by Hadley Freeman

The Long Take by Robin Robertson

On Chapel Sands by Laura Cummings

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

La Peste (The Plague) by Albert Camus

Say Nothing: A True Story of Memory and Murder in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Spying on the South: Travels with Frederick Law Olmsted in a Fractured Land by Tony Horwitz

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Still Life by A.S. Byatt

A Stranger City by Linda Grant

Summer by Ali Smith

Twilight of Democracy: the Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum

Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

A Village Life by Louise Glück

The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt

La Vita Bugiardi degli Adulti (The Lying Life of Adults) by Elena Ferrante

Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury

One non-fiction book I loved was Hadley Freeman’s House of Glass. Starting from an old shoebox of photos and documents belonging to her grandmother, she explores the story of her family as they moved west through Europe in the 1930s and ‘40s, to Paris and finally to America. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Hadley and has a particular vividness. She started out as a fashion journalist, and one of the things I found fascinating about her story (especially as someone who loves sewing) is that we’re used to thinking of clothing and fashion as frivolous and unimportant, and yet in her own family, those things were not only a way out of poverty but also, for some of her family members, even life-saving. On the fiction side of things, I discovered Emily St. John’s writing after reading a review of her most recent book, The Glass Hotel. Her novels are thought-provoking, meditative, and stay with you after you’ve finished reading them. Station Eleven is even about a pandemic, if you haven’t heard enough about them already. I’ve read three of her books so far and am about to start a fourth (the only one of her books I haven’t read), Last Night in Montreal.

My goal last year was to read more books not-in-English, although given I only read one such book last year, this wasn’t a high bar. At any rate, I’m happy to report I read seven books in a mixture of Welsh, French and (mostly) Italian. One of these was Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetria, which I’d already read in the English original. It was one of my favourite books of 2018, but then I gave it to my aunt for Christmas, and ever since then I haven’t been able to read it due to an explicit extract from one of James Joyce’s letters which appears near the beginning of the novel, in which he describes having sex with his wife Nora. Every time I picked up the book, it was as if my aunt was reading it over my shoulder. Then I had the inspired thought that perhaps reading the book in Italian might make it less awkward to read. And I was right! Turns out “È meraviglioso scopare una donna mentre scorreggia” sounds far less embarrassing in Italian than it does in English.

I should probably set some reading goals for this year too, while there’s enough of the year left to achieve them. So aside from my usual target of reading 100 books during the year, never yet achieved (Goodreads: “You are 8 10 books behind schedule”), I thought I’d try to read more books in Welsh. As I only read one last year, this seems achievable. And more poetry: I read a couple of collections by Louise Glück last year, which reminded me how much I enjoy reading poetry, and the way its melodies find their way into your brain. Plus the collections tend to be short, thus contributing to Goal One as well: killing two goals with one stone, as it were.

[dirtyfilthy]

I know you got soul

My soul playlist is over ten hours long. I need more recommendations, please help!

Al Green - Driving Wheel Al Green - Here I Am (Come And Take Me) Al Green - Let's Stay Together Al Green - Love and Happiness Al Green - Take Me to the River Al Wilson - The Snake All The People - Cramp Your Style Ann Peebles - 99 Pounds Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand the Rain Ann Peebles - I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home Anna King - Mama's Got A Bag Of Her Own End Archie Bell & The Drells - Strategy Archie Bell & The Drells - The Soul City Walk Aretha Franklin - [You Make Me Feel Like] A Natural Woman Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools Aretha Franklin - Respect - Remastered Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady Aretha Franklin - Soulville Aretha Franklin - Think Arthur Conley - Sweet Soul Music Ben E. King - Stand By Me Ben E. King - Supernatural Thing, Pt. 1 Ben L'Oncle Soul - Soulman Betty Davis - Anti Love Song Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different Betty Everett - The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss) Betty Wright - Clean Up Woman Big Joe Turner - Shake, Rattle And Roll Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine Bill Withers - Better off Dead Bill Withers - Lean on Me - Single Version Bill Withers - Lovely Day Bill Withers - Use Me Billy Preston - Nothing From Nothing Billy Preston - Outa-Space Billy Preston - Will It Go Round In Circles Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears - Livin' In The Jungle Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle Bobby Byrd - I Know You Got Soul - Single Version Bobby Byrd - Never Get Enough Bobby Hebb - Sunny Bobby McClure - Peak Of Love Bobby Womack - Across 110th Street Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Green Onions (45 version) Charles Bradley;Menahan Street Band - How Long Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - Express Yourself (Remastered Version) Clarence Carter - Back Door Santa Clarence Carter - Looking For A Fox Clarence Carter - Snatching It Back Cody Chesnutt - Everybody's Brother Curtis Mayfield - (Don't Worry) If There Is A Hell Below, We're All Going To Go Curtis Mayfield - Move on Up - Remastered Curtis Mayfield - Pusherman Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (Album Version) (2014 Remaster) David Ruffin - I Want You Back Diana Ross - Love Hangover - 12" Version Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto Doris - Beatmaker Dr. John - (Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away - 2006 Remastered Version Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood Esther Marrow - Baby That's What I Need (Walk Tall) - 2002 Remastered Etta James - At Last - Single Version Etta James - I'd Rather Go Blind - Single Version Etta James - Something's Got A Hold On Me - Single Version Fats Domino - I'm Walkin' Fontella Bass - Rescue Me - Single Version Gil Scott-Heron - The Bottle Gladys Knight & The Pips - The Nitty Gritty - Single Version Gloria Jones - Tainted Love - Original Single Version Grover Washington, Jr.;Bill Withers - Just The Two Of Us (feat. Bill Withers) Harold Melvin - If You Don't Know Me by Now Idris Muhammad - Could Heaven Ever Be Like This Irma Thomas - Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand) Jackie Wilson - (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing James Brown - Night Train James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag James Brown - The Boss James Brown - The Payback Janis Joplin - I Need A Man To Love Jean Knight - Mr. Big Stuff Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Shotgun King Floyd - Groove Me King Floyd - Hard To Handle King Floyd - I Feel Like Dynamite Koko Taylor - Voodoo Woman Koko Taylor - Yes, It's Good For You LaBelle - Lady Marmalade Lee Dorsey - Everything I Do Gohn Be Funky (From Now On) Linda Lyndell - What A Man Little Richard - Lucille Lou Rawls - Trouble Down Here Below - Digitally Remastered 00 Lulu - Feelin' Alright Lyn Collins - Think (About It) Marlena Shaw - California Soul Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street - Single Version Marvin Gaye - A Funky Space Reincarnation Marvin Gaye - Got To Give It Up (Part 1) Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) - Single Version (Mono) Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On Merry Clayton - Gimmie Shelter Nina Simone - Baltimore Nina Simone - Feeling Good Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You Nina Simone - Plain Gold Ring Oliver Cheatham - Get Down Saturday Night Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding - Stand By Me Otis Redding - Treat Her Right Otis Redding;Carla Thomas - Tramp People's Choice - Jam, Jam, Jam (All Night Long) Percy Sledge - When A Man Loves A Woman Rare Earth - I Just Want To Celebrate Ray Charles - Hit The Road Jack Roberta Flack - Killing Me Softly With His Song Rose Royce - Car Wash - 7" Mix Roy Ayers Ubiquity;Roy Ayers - Everybody Loves the Sunshine Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan;Chaka Khan - Tell Me Something Good Rufus Thomas - Walking The Dog Sam & Dave - Hold On, I'm Comin' Sam & Dave - Soul Man Sam Cooke - (What A) Wonderful World Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come Sam Cooke - Another Saturday Night Sam Cooke - Bring It On Home To Me Sam Cooke - Cupid Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put a Spell on You Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings - I Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Is In Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letter 23 Sly & The Family Stone - Family Affair Sly & The Family Stone - If You Want Me to Stay Smokey Robinson - Cruisin' Solomon Burke - Let Me Wrap My Arms Around You Stevie Wonder - Higher Ground Stevie Wonder - Living For The City Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster (Jammin') Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) Stevie Wonder - Superstition Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright) - Single Version The Bar-Kays - Soul Finger The Beginning Of The End - Funky Nassau - , Part 1 The Coasters - Down In Mexico The Coasters - Girls Girls Girls - aka Part 1 The Coasters - Little Egypt (Ying-Yang) The Coasters - Three Cool Cats - Remastered The Coasters - Yakety Yak The Dramatics - Get Up And Get Down The Dramatics - Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get - Single Version The Drifters - On Broadway The Five Stairsteps - O-o-h Child The Impressions - People Get Ready The Isley Brothers - It's Your Thing The Jackson 5 - ABC The Jackson 5 - I Want You Back The Meters - Just Kissed My Baby The Miracles - Shop Around The O'Jays - For the Love of Money The Spinners - The Rubberband Man - Remastered Version The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There The Staple Singers - Respect Yourself The Staple Singers - The Weight The Staple Singers - You've Got To Earn It - Single Version The Supremes - You Can't Hurry Love The Temptations - Ain't Too Proud To Beg The Temptations - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - Single Version The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes The Valentine Brothers - Money's Too Tight (To Mention) [Fades In] Third Coast Kings - Give Me Your Love William DeVaughn - Be Thankful for What You Got (Pt. 1 & Pt. 2) Willie Bobo - Evil Ways Willie Hutch - I Can't Get Enough Wilson Pickett - Engine Number 9 - Single Version Wilson Pickett - In The Midnight Hour - Remastered Single Version Wilson Pickett - Knock On Wood Wilson Pickett - Mustang Sally

[beanghostprincess]

Talking about Shuggy wedding I just… god I wonder how that would even look like if I’m gonna be honest. Like, no doubt it would be funny as fuck because bad luck follows Buggy like a shadow, but just…. The entire thing….

I like to use the headcanon of them being in their outfits from that Gacha game that I’ve seen around so often, but under which circumstances did they pick them? Did Buggy have to threaten his spouse to clean up a little for him or was Shanks smart enough to know Buggy would just flat out bolt again if he saw him in his regular getup? (Cute thought actually: Buggy being convinced Shanks will just go… casual business at most, but no, BAM! Shanks brought out the suit combo just because he knows Buggy will like it)

What the fuck would the ceremony even look like? Who’s officiating? The Luffy joke is funny of course but also I think Buggy would protest. Rayleigh? I know he was only second in command but like… they are pirates. Do you really think they care about shit like official papers? Especially since both of them are emperors now, who’s gonna step up to them and be like „Well acshually.“?

Who’s at the wedding like, PERIOD? Shanks seems way more to be the type of fella who just wants a good party with his crew and his Bug and the alcohol flowing, but Buggy likes a SPECTACLE, would there be canons and doves and wine flowing like water, or would the fact that he’s marrying SHANKS of all people, his lifelong adversary, the thorn in side, the most annoying man he’s ever known, the love of his life, embarrass him enough to make him want this to be a smaller event? How fucking ridiculous do the wedding presents from Buggys followers get?

Just… god what would that look like?

I'm certain their wedding would be the most chaotic and memorable thing ever. Yes, bad luck follows Buggy, but the same goes for Shanks with good luck. So it's kind of like, a mess with a happy ending, maybe???

I think Shanks would sooo pick the matching suits because Buggy would spend months complaining about how "Shanks can't dress" and letting him choose only one thing for the wedding would result in a nightmare. But Shanks surprises him with this and Buggy just can't say anything good about him out of pride, but Shanks knows he's more than happy.

OKAY SO- I don't know much about pirate weddings but what I do know is that Luffy being there would bother the shit out of Buggy and that'd be hilarious. I think the one who should marry them is Rayleigh for obvious reasons tbh it'd be both hilarious AND meaningful. Also, the one who'd step up saying "actually" would be Luffy 100% and Nami has to force him to sit down.

And tbh keep in mind they're both emperors and like a good party, it'd be HUGE. In a Buggy style but definitely partying the way Shanks likes. I get Buggy not wanting to show everyone he's getting married to Shanks of all people but Buggy focuses the party on him more than he does on the marriage itself (that's something they keep in private and Shanks is more than happy I think).

It'd look like the messiest most beautiful wedding ever btw

[shanksxbuggy]

Your answer shocked me af I honest to god thought every shuggy shipper BELIEVES they would be together again and you don’t think they don’t have any desire to make up. That is a twist, I never seen take like that among the shippers. You think they will stay separate at the end

Oh, I think there’s a good chance they’ll stay together. I just don’t think they’ll have a deep heart to heart about their feelings where Buggy tells the truth about why he left. From what we’ve seen they never tried to contact each other, even just ringing each other up to see how they’re doing. They will probably reconcile, but I don’t think we’ll ever see them really talk about their past hurts.

They need a really strong outside force to push them together. But I think their fates are inevitably tied together, and willingly or not, they’re going to end up in the same place together.

I think most of it relies on Buggy. Shanks would probably be happy to be contacted by Buggy, but Buggy needs to resolve his own feelings over Shanks first. I’m guessing Buggy will probably have his own redemption arc where he helps Luffy out or tries to save Shanks from dying somehow.

Shanks and Buggy will both probably fail at getting the One Piece after being beaten by Luffy, and I think that’s when they’ll find peace in each other. Once they both no longer have to worry about achieving their goals and after all the shit they’ve been through, they’ll take that chance with each other again.

[beanghostprincess]

To be saved from drowning (Shuggy Fic)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Category: M/M Fandom: One Piece (Anime & Manga) Relationship: Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks/Buggy Characters: Buggy (One Piece)Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks Additional Tags: Drowning, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Cuddling, Protective Akagami no Shanks | Red-Haired Shanks, Buggy-centric (One Piece), POV Buggy (One Piece), Character Study, hand-holding, Near Death Experiences, Young Shuggy

Words: 7,133

Summary:

Shanks buries his head deeper in Buggy’s back, legs tangled together. Praying, wishing, and begging for a closeness that could never happen because they reached it a long time ago, and Shanks just wants more. “I’m sorry.” His voice is completely shattered. Buggy wishes he could put him together again. He has never been good at that. He wants to ask why he is sorry. Is he sorry for the map? Is he sorry for ruining his only chance of escaping and having his own life? Is he sorry for making him unable to sail the seas on his own? For getting rid of the one piece of liberty he had left? Nothing Shanks says will ever fix it. Nothing Shanks says will ever be enough. Nothing Shanks says will ever make them go back in time. But he has saved him. And he was so– Fuck. Buggy doesn’t want to die just yet. Is that something so unfair to ask of the sea? To not kill him?

[AO3]