#on the other hand...

[masteri-0]

Just had a sudden thought of Dragon!Shen Yuan (or any creature really) AU, where it was like a normal rite of passage for parents to raise their young (protectively, they're not jerks, just uh, very unsafe for human children, or just humans in general...), then throw them into some sort of extreme trial to prove their strength, when they're deemed ready. Oh, and it was normal, expected, even, to take a go at your parents and try to murder them as a proof of superiority, or smt like that. Doesn't mean they don't love each other! Dragons just have a different way of showing care, that's all. What's a lil play fighting?

Anyw, main point is, SY transmigrates into SQQ with this mentality. Sees his cute little sheep. Falls in love instantly and adopts him. But oh! Oh, the protagonist is so weak, so malnourished! He's gonna nurture him and make sure he's well taken care of! Such a scrawny little sheep can't possibly survive anything! Oh? What's that? He has to push the scrawny baby into the abyss? Well! Makes sense, but that's years into the future, and he has time to make sure they grow up big and strong yet! Cue all the canonical pampering.

I'd imagine during LBH's disciple days, he receives a lot more comments about him going out into the world, and there's less matchmaking from Shizun, since SY believes that girls will flock naturally to him if he's strong enough, so there's also more emphasis on his training, as well as the training of other disciples on the peak. I'm not sure how he'll react to Bai Zhan disciples. Does he comment on their strength and set off the QJP disciples, causing an interpeak war? Does he still hold the same annoyance for them and property damage?

By the time the IAC rolls around, SQQ has already sent his not so little white sheep all over to gain experience, and deemed him ready for his 'coming of age' (close to human adulthood too, he'll do fineee). There is far less tears and hesitation. When the time comes and LBH's seal is broken, SQQ feels the increase in power and the last of his worry dissipates. He basically just looks at his kid, nods, and chucks him in. Dusts off his hands and pats himself on the back. One child down, however many more to go. Oh, they grow up so fast... (Was LBH freaking out during this? Oh well, must be the nerves, he knew the feeling well. But he's read the book and knows what's going to happen. His kid will be okay, and he'll naturally gain confidence after surviving in there!... No one ever said dragons were GOOD at feelings ...)

Of course, it takes some time to adjust to the absence, but there's less grieving and freaking out over his impending doom. Sure, he's judging the original work a little. Limbless and hanging, really? SY much prefers a clean death, thank you. (How he died in his previous life is up to interpretation). But that's besides the point, his favourite is off on his trial, and it's about time to test a few of his other kiddos too (single dad to, uh, how many?)

Shen Qingqiu gains reputation as a sadistic (?) teacher that puts his disciples through dangerous missions seemingly without care, but unlike in the past, he seems to love the kids and dotes on them off-missions, so no one's really sure what's going on with... That. (He's still waiting for one of them, any of them, to try and kill him? Where's the bonding?? Was he not doing enough???)

So when LBH returns, things go uh, differently. SQQ is just here, waiting in anticipation, appreciating how his kid's all grown up, and seeing the scheme to unfold. Safe to say, people are confused. (Him, especially. What do you mean, his kid isn't trying to kill him?? Really, where did he go so wrong in parenting? None of his kids want to bond with him the proper way!!)

(I imagine SY being a better fighter than in canon due to literal trial of fire as a dragonet, and I'm not sure if he would've gotten hit with without a cure at all during the invasion in consideration of this)

[hisbutlerbreathing]

omg it's so kurover isn't it

[amputatedhearts]

my yaoi

[lynxgriffin]

Would love to know how much the Light World religion conflicts with the actual Prophecy in the Dark World. The three heroes are in both, as well as 'The Angel'... but the Light World doesn't mention anything about the Roaring Knight, the Titans, or the Angel's banishment. Quite interesting if the Light World's interpretation of the Prophecy is just more uplifting and, overall, inconclusive, whereas the Dark World's is epic and, ultimately, tragic.

I'd like to know how those two versions compare as well! Alvin does mention that "parts of the prophecy were lost to time" and that "not everything important was written down," so it's likely some parts of the prophecy got lost in the shuffle...especially depending on how long it's been around.

However, we have only seen one church service for the religion so far; it's possible they did know about the Knight, the Titans, etc., and just didn't mention it in this service! That said, I don't think it'd be hard to believe that the light world's version is ultimately a more uplifting version of events.

[spaghettiandart]

I mostly tweeted my reaction but you can bet I went "WHAT THE FUCK???" when HE showed up

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Zen priest, Peter Coyote, on protest: "I’m watching the Los Angeles reaction to ICE raids with trepidation and regret.

Three years ago I taught a class at Harvard on the “theater of protest”— designed to help people understand why so many protests turn out to be Republican campaign videos working directly against the interests of the original protest.

A protest is an invitation to a better world.

It’s a ceremony.

No one accepts a ceremonial invitation when they’re being screamed at.

More important you have to know who the real audience of the protest is.

The audience is NEVER the police, the politicians, the Board of supervisors, Congress,etc.

The audience is always the American people, who are trying to decide who they can trust; who will not embarrass them.

If you win them, you win power at the box office and power to make positive change.

Everything else is a waste.

There are a few ways to get there:

1. Let women organize the event. They’re more collaborative. They’re more inclusive, and they don’t generally bring the undertones of violence men do.

2 Appoint monitors, give them yellow, vests and whistles. At the first sign of violence, they blow the whistles and the real protester sit down.

Let the police take out their aggression on the anarchists and the provocateurs trying to discredit the movement.

3. Dress like you’re going to church. It’s hard to be painted as a hoodlum when you’re dressed in clean, presentable clothes.

They don’t have to be fancy they just signal the respect for the occasion that you want to transmit to the audience.

4. Make your protest silent. Demonstrate your discipline to the American people. Let signs do the talking.

5. Go home at night. In the dark, you can’t tell the cops from the killers. Come back at dawn fresh and rested.

I have great fear that Trump’s staging with the National Guard and maybe the Marines is designed to clash with anarchists who are playing into his hands and offering him the opportunity to declare an insurrection.

It’s such a waste and it’s only because we haven’t thought things through strategically.

Nothing I thought of is particularly original.

It was all learned by watching the early civil rights protests in the 50s and 60s.

And it was the discipline and courage of African-Americans that drew such a clear line in the American sand that people were forced to take sides and that produced the civil rights act.

The American people are watching and once again if we behave in ways that can be misinterpreted, we’ll see this explained to the public in Republican campaign videos benefiting the very people who started this.

Wake up.

Vent at home.

In public practice discipline and self control.

It takes much more courage."

Zen teacher and author/narrator with Ken Burns

Note: Carry an American flag. As the administration creates a fake emergency to justify a state crackdown, it's important to honor the values and vision of democracy for which we're advocating.

When the Enquirer came for pics back in 2017, I smiled a big toothy grin and held a big flag as it felt so empowering and good to stand with my adult daughter, pastors, Franciscans, nuns, kids, parents, grandparents and some women from our women's groups for the values we tried to pass on.

After the protest, we sang and marched to a church where we heard poignant witness of immigrants trying to build a better life for their families against insurmountable odds.

Many Marines, National Guardsmen and vets are over on Threads and Substack expressinging their disagreement over being used by this lawless administration.

Peace, santi and shalom to all. ☮️

* * * *

Peter Birkenhead 

 I’ve always liked Peter Coyote, but wow that post of his that’s going around is so wrongheaded.

A protest is not an “invitation to a better world.” A protest is a disruption of the status quo. An attention-grabbing blast of sight and sound meant to be unavoidable. An insistence.

Coyote says, “No one accepts a ceremonial invitation when they’re being screamed at.” True enough. Nobody wants the enemy at their ceremony. Or their achool, or their workplace.

Nobody wants ICE at their Quinceanera, or naturalization ceremony. That’s the whole fucking point. The screams of protestors are the opposite of an invitation. They are a demand that the enemy leave town.

Dr. King’s Birmingham Campaign was a means of gumming up the works, of illegally disrupting lunch counters, businesses, churches and libraries with sit ins intended to overwhelm local jails. The march from Selma to Montgomery purposefully blocked traffic, to draw the attention of both law enforcement and a national television audience.

It was a wrench in the machinery, meant to stop its terrible work. To stop segregation, stop discrimination, stop police brutality, stop murder. It was meant to save lives.

ACT-UP was similary focused on purposeful confrontation to save lives. It was guided by a one-line statement of principle: “Direct action to end the Aids crisis.” The organization was unafraid of alienating institutions of power, or offending the sensibilities of genteel liberals. It led a movement that was, by necessity, as in-your-face and immediate as it could be. ACT-UP isn’t remembered today for polite invitations to ceremonies, but for screaming “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!” It is remembered for its insistence.

There will be a time — maybe — for invitations and ceremonies. Peter Coyote describes a vision of a better world, and I’m all for working towards realizing that vision. But the point of the protests happening in Los Angeles and across the country is not to make peace or forge unity with our enemies as a means of finding Utopia. The point of the protests is to save people’s lives.

Right now.

[demonking-propaganda]

Someone normal...? In this economy MANGA?!?!