#in another timeline... why not this one?

[verysadlesbian]

THEY SHOWED EACHOTHER WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN!!!!!!!!!!

[muffinlance]

Consider: Post-canon Zuko wakes up in the body of his childhood self, the morning of That War Meeting. Would he still speak against the plans, knowing his fate? What do you think he would do differently the second time around?

"Turned away at the doors, Zuzu?"

"Shut up, Azula," her brother sulked. But sulked weirdly, after staring at her too long and too wide-eyed, not like she'd surprised him but--

But like he hadn't expected her to be there. At all.

He turned away. ...He turned back. "Hey, Lala? Do you think you could help me practice that one set?"

He didn't meet her eyes.

She narrowed hers. "Which set?"

"The one I'm bad at."

She scoffed. Pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning against. "That's all of them, Dum-Dum."

He didn't shout or stomp or yell about the nickname. His lips twitched.

"It's okay," he said. "If you're afraid you won't be a better teacher that my instructor..."

It was the most obvious manipulation ever.

Perhaps if he proved an adequate firebending student, she'd work on his courtly survival skills next. Honestly, it was good that not even Uncle Gets-Cousins-Killed had been fool enough to take Zuko into that war meeting. She could only imagine how terribly that could have gone.

"Keep up," she said, and turned her steps towards the training grounds.

He did. There, and during the katas she ran him through.

Azula kept her eyes narrowed.

"Hey," he asked, "do you know how to bend lightning yet?"

As if he could have missed it, if she'd been able to get more than sparks. "I will soon," she said.

"You will," he agreed, and flowed through his next set. The one she'd only just mastered.

Father didn't notice how weird Zuzu was being. Uncle never noticed anything. Zuko ate dinner and asked a servant for seconds and didn't stutter or flinch or lose his appetite when father asked, coolly, what he'd done with his day. Azula's shoulders tensed, because one mention of how she'd squandered her own training time teaching him--

"Azula hogged the training grounds. For hours," Zuzu scowled, exactly like a petulant thirteen year old.

Exactly like he hadn't been acting all day.

By the time Father was looking her way, Azula had her usual smirk in place. "I'm sure there would be room for both of us," she said, "you're not afraid of a little friendly fire, are you, brother?"

Zuko sulked. And ate his seconds, like he was enjoying each bite. There was something in his eyes, like a joke no one else was getting.

---

Father died that night. A heart attack. There were the faintest of burns to either side of the treacherous organ; the royal physician hypothesized that he'd grabbed at his chest, fingers burning hot in his final moments; so hot they'd only exacerbated the problem.

The royal physician would never have been brought any victims of lighting strikes. Those that occurred in the capital did not generally require a doctor in the aftermath.

Zuzu ate a hearty breakfast.

He didn't order seconds. Azula gave him points, at least, for not being tacky.

---

The sages named Iroh as regent.

They named Zuko as Fire Lord.

"No," the tiny Fire Lord in his perfectly miniaturized Fire Lord robes said, sitting at the head of his war council. "We're not doing that. And I'll be reviewing all recent battle plans, as well. What's this I hear about a division of new recruits being deployed to the front?"

He did not mention how he'd heard of the 41st Division. No one asked.

"Prince Iroh, surely--" one of the generals tried to appeal.

The young Fire Lord's regent was looking as startled as the rest of them, for a moment. Then he sipped his tea, and smiled.

"Your Fire Lord is correct, of course. A change in our leadership--a change the other nations may mistakenly view as weakness--will necessitate a change in our strategy."

"Now," said their lord, "what, exactly, is our overall objective in this war?"

War, the new Fire Lord decreed, was not an end unto itself.

---

The new Fire Lord continued to have time, to pretend to be trained by her. Azula watched him. Adjusted her footwork. Did not tolerate, and was not offered, any commentary on who was teaching who.

"What did you do with my brother?" she asked, as they flowed from one set to the next. As her hands, poised to throw fire, just so happened to be pointed his way.

He missed a step. It didn't look like an act.

"I'm, uh. Right here?"

She didn't bother to dignify that.

He didn't bother to look worried about her hands, one movement off from a true attack.

He looked around, then grabbed her sleeve, and tugged her further from any walls that may hide ears. The royal family's private training grounds were wonderfully large, and wonderfully open.

"It's me," he said. "It's still me. Just. More of me? Longer of me?"

She narrowed her eyes. A familiar expression, by this point. "Explain."

"...I found the Avatar," he said. "And this is definitely his fault, but--but I guess it started at a war meeting, when I was thirteen."

Azula listened. It was a very Dum-Dum story.

[home-of-the-squirmle]

Oh how you are loved

[aashidoodles]

What about Shiguang kissing each other in greeting on autopilot even though they're not officially dating yet?

This timeline of Link Click has morphed completely from a mystery thriller to a slice of life romcom

Thanks for the prompt! ♡

[idkaguyorsomething]

the convoluted doctor who lore gets extra funny when you realize that, at two separate points in the past, two different companions to two different doctors ended up running into rasputin but both came to the conclusion that he was a pretty nice and normal guy. which, depending on how you interpret the power of the doctor, is either a nice subversion of a lot of tropes of stories used in pre-soviet russia, or side-splittingly hilarious as you start imagining the master getting roped into various adventures with different versions of the doctor that he can’t fuck with yet or else he’ll destroy the timeline, forcing him to play nice with the humans as part of his 4D Time Chess Master Disguise Plan #3852

[varpusvaras]

If someone ever asked Roy what Jason reminded him of, he would've said a cat.

A big, black, fluffy cat that would pretend to not even notice you for half a day, but would then proceed to flop right on top of you when you least expected it and leave you coated in fur.

A very cute, big, black, fluffy cat, of course, if Roy was being precise.

Yeah, that was his boyfriend.

His boyfriend, who was currently curled up on the bed like he truly was the cat he so reminded Roy about, his face pressed against Roy's thigh. Combined with the dimness of the room, it was almost enough to hide the fact that there was a large, nasty bruise covering half of Jason's face at the moment.

Almost.

"How did you even manage to get this?" Roy asked. It was mostly a rhetorical question at that point, just whispered out loud, because it was in the middle of the night and Jason was definitely ninety percent asleep already and was not going to give Roy a coherent answer. That was what one got after finishing up a two-days long mission and then deciding to instantly drive to the other side of the country, instead of staying put and resting after said two-days mission.

To be fair, if Roy was being completely honest, he did like Jason being home sooner than later. It wasn't a particularly big secret that Roy didn't hold much love for Gotham, after all, even if Jason still called the city home as much as he called their house home. He just...felt better when Jason was with him, especially after more grueling missions, and he was pretty sure that Jason knew it, even if they had never outright discussed it out loud.

Jason made a noise under his breath that quite honestly sounded like a kitten whining, and Roy had to bite his lip a little to not laugh at it. It would've been an affectionate laugh, of course, but better not risk it.

"Yeah, yeah." Roy ran his fingers through Jason's hair. "Mister always wearing a helmet. I'm gonna fix it up for you."

Jason made another noise, a softer one this time, and he settled further into the mattress as Roy continued to stroke his hair. Roy waited for a moment, then two, and when he was positive that Jason had fallen asleep, he slowly got up and made his way to the garage.

Despite being probably already bone-tired by arrival, Jason had still meticulously gone through their agreed homecoming routine. Lian knew about their identities, of course, and she was a smart girl, but all of the gear still belonged outside the main house. It had been Jason making most of the rules when it came to his own gear. He hated the thought of others touching it without his permission, and he especially hated even the idea of Lian touching it and somehow getting hurt. Sometimes it was like Jason was convinced that even looking towards any part of his gear would hurt Lian, which was something Roy felt like needed a licenced therapist to fully unpack. He did appreciate the care Jason displayed towards Lian, though, so he wasn't going to complain about it to Jason's face.

Thinking about Lian and Jason's face made Roy grimace. Jason didn't like letting Lian see him hurt, no matter how big or small. A bruise that was covering half of Jason's face was going to be hard to hide, though Roy knew that Jason would somehow be able to manage it. Painfully and by gritting his teeth, but he would.

Roy knew what it was all about. He wasn't stupid.

Roy flicked the lights on in the garage, before making his way to the cabinet Jason had claimed for himself. By this point, Roy had an open invitation to Jason's armor and weapons, as he was the only other person who knew how everything worked precisely. Roy was also pretty sure that Jason knew that Roy liked fixing things up for him, and he let him do it because it was an easier way to accept a display of affection than having to listen someone promise him everything, once again, while holding all the power to take their words back without a warning.

Roy went through the plan of action in his head while he unlocked the cabinet. He would need to fire up the workbench and get the electrical tools out in order to get the helmet fixed. Maybe he could draw up some plans how to make the front more durable while keeping it absorbant enough that it would still be the helmet taking the brunt of the hits and not Jason's head underneath it. It would take some time to figure out, but Jason would probably let him make him a new one if Roy just managed it. It would mean that the times of Jason having hard to hide-injuries would be lessened, after all.

Maybe he could manage to adjust the color, too, just to make it a little less vibrant. Roy was starting to seriously think that the helmet was beginning to act like the red capes in bullfighting, inviting more and more hits directly towards it simply because it was there. He wouldn't have been surprised if it really was so. Gotham was messed up, and the rogues playing a game of "who manages to break in the Red Hood's helmet and face first" sounded entirely plausible. This wasn't the first time Jason had come back sporting similar injuries, though usually they were either a little smaller, or Jason had had to stay in Gotham for longer and they were already fading by the time he got back.

Jason would most likely say no, though. The red was part of his brand at this point, it was meant to make an impression to anyone seeing it. Just Roy's luck that he had fallen for the theather kid who had not yet left the phase behind.

Not that Roy was ever going to say that to Jason. He was fully aware of the fact that he was the one running around with a bow, after all.

What a pair they made.

Roy smiled. What a pair, indeed, he thought, as he pulled the cabinet door open and proceeded to have Jason's helmet stare right at him from the upper shelf.

The helmet, which was very much not broken.

Roy stared at it for a good while. It was definitely the same helmet Jason had left with to Gotham. There was a small scratch on the paint, just unde the left lense, that Jason had meant to paint over but had not had the time yet. Roy had watched him pack it up with his own two eyes.

If Roy was anyone else, he would've been able to convince himself that there was probably a perfectly simple and harmless explanation. But Roy wasn't anyone else. Roy was who he was, and that was someone who had been fighting increasingly dangerous fights since he was a teenager, and who had seen harm being inflected over and over again and the marks it would leave behind.

Roy stared at the helmet. The helmet seemed to stare back at him, silently daring him to say it out loud.

Roy didn't say it. He closed the door and locked it back up, while something cold settled firmly at the bottom of his stomach.

He stood there for just a little longer, gathering himself, before he silently made his way out of the garage the exact same path he had walked in mere moments ago.

Lian was still asleep when Roy checked on her, and so was Jason when he slipped back into the bedroom. He stirred a bit when Roy laid down as well, not enough to wake up, but enough to turn towards Roy. Roy could see the bruise now in all of its glory, stretching across Jason's skin like a shadow.

Jason's hand was laying between them on the bed, and Roy laced their fingers together, gently and carefully.

Jason's hand was warm. It was enough to chase away some of the cold inside Roy, and he held onto it tightly.

[just-honey-dewd]

LINK CLICK S1 EPISODE 5.5 - The Silly Goose allegations

This is a post dedicated to collecting instances showcasing Lu Guang's uncharacteristic behaviour throughout the episode. Compared to other episodes that take place in S1, I find that he never actually takes things as seriously as he would elsewhere. Which genuinely raised alarm bells for me, so here's my attempt at providing evidence of my accusations!

1) THE COCKINESS OF THIS MAN

"I don't hit girls" is one of the earliest instances of Lu Guang betraying his mature and sensible image -- specifically displaying immaturity in admitting his incompetence at video games. BONUS IMAGE: Still blushing in the background even after the moment's passed.

2) NOT GIVING HIS FULL ATTENTION TO A MISSION'S DETAILS

Granted, there is precedence to Lu Guang doing tasks in the background while Qiao Ling relays information about the case and client (in s1 e2), but Lu Guang usually spares a glance into the photos before determining whether he'll need Cheng Xiaoshi's involvement.

3) THE SNACKING AND AFTERNOON NAP

This is the only time Lu Guang is seen literally sleeping on the job -- not including the Emma case, because sleeping while the client is inactive is valid practice. In this case, it communicates a carefree disposition that Lu Guang knows he can afford. Which reads differently to how he usually acts during dives that don't require his constant supervision for a long period of time. For example, his behaviour during the first third of the Chen Xiao case -- a mission which partially involved Cheng Xiaoshi remaining on the bench for 20 minutes. The actual goal was getting Chen Xiao's message to Lu Hongbin, the outcome of the game wasn't important -- but Lu Guang remained on high alert and in constant communication with Cheng Xiaoshi (until he went ominously quiet for unconvincing reasons, but that's sth else). Point is, Lu Guang usually remains awake to watch over Cheng Xiaoshi, and doesn't usually snack on the job -- the way he leaves a mess on the table also feels more callous than typical Lu Guang fashion.

4) TIMING RIGHT DOWN TO THE SECOND

"Don't move a muscle!" You don't need glasses to see how extra Lu Guang's being with his insistence on accuracy right down to the second. Does the moment Liu Siwen's foot touches the last step matter in the long run? I doubt it. But apparently it matters to Lu Guang -- who's literally looking at his watch to confirm the seconds -- which seems incompatible for the same guy who teaches Cheng Xiaoshi that the major nodes are what must remain unchanged. It feels like misplaced priorities. Since the mission is "learn Ouyang Bubai's secret move", and the automatic outcome will be losing to him -- the major node won't change if Liu Siwen was slightly tardy or too early. And another thing I find strange are that in similar instances where Lu Guang is timing events down to the second, he's not looking at his watch to do it -- rather he seems to have a sixth sense for counting in sync with time's rhythm: in s1e1 he only opts to close his book audibly in order to alert Cheng Xiaoshi to initiate the event (no need eyeing his watch), and in yingdu e3 he drums his fingers to the last seconds before a canon event occurs.

5) Backseat gaming

This manner of instruction is superfluous and doesn't align with other instances which display Lu Guang's rather hands-off approach to instructing Cheng Xiaoshi. The approach he adopts immediately afterwards is much more successful in aiding him (also note that it's Cheng Xiaoshi who instructs Lu Guang to adopt this approach): CXS: Just predict the attack's direction. I will handle everything else.

Knowing to only give Cheng Xiaoshi limited prompts necessary for him to intuit his next course of action is crucial Lu Guang 101 behaviour. From what previous episodes have established of Lu Guang's character -- he usually knows what to say, and what little needs to be said, in order to coordinate Cheng Xiaoshi to do what is required to meet the objective. This backwards behaviour suggests Lu Guang's inexperience in understanding how Cheng Xiaoshi's mind operates. Inconsistent since the Ouyang case takes place after the EMMA case, which shows Lu Guang utilising the hands-off approach.

6) The genuine shock

Between these scenes, there's a very visible shock marring Lu Guang's expressions that simply isn't present in other episodes, and isn't seemingly appropriate for the context of the revelation, nor with his time traveller status in mind. When Cheng Xiaoshi looks as though he's about to land a critical hit on Ouyang Bubai, Lu Guang sighs pre-emptively -- as though he expects that Cheng Xiaoshi has the upper hand against Ouyang Bubai (though that would also suggest it slipped his mind that the mission was to observe how Ouyang Bubai's secret technique works). Then after Ouyang Bubai's move is executed on Cheng Xiaoshi, Lu Guang's jaw drops. Something we only get the luxury of seeing in s2, when he's possessed by Cheng Xiaoshi. In the next scene, when Qiao Ling reveals the full context of Liu Siwen's determination -- Lu Guang full body flinches, which contrasts Cheng Xiaoshi's relatively conservative head tilt. This is not the body language of someone who's gone through this before.

7) The open hypocrisy

Cheng Xiaoshi points out Lu Guang's blatant disregard for his rules. Specifically "Past and future. Don't ask questions" -- directly involving themselves in Liu Siwen's life is interfering with his future which is technically a violation of that rule. But Lu Guang snubs him with a half-hearted "I came to watch over you."

What we see immediately after seems to be the key to understanding the driving force for Lu Guang joining to support Liu Siwen against his strict rules. If we were to believe this was Lu Guang's first experience with the Ouyang case, he came without the knowledge that Ouyang Bubai would finally surrender and allow Liu Siwen and Ouyang to be married. So he came to witness Liu Siwen's determination first-hand. If this wasn't the first experience, Lu Guang expects Ouyang Bubai to surrender, so he approaches the old man to understand the reasoning behind his stubbornness.

Let's say I'm of the opinion that it's the former... then the question becomes this:

Why does Lu Guang take a particular fascination in Liu Siwen?

To that, I think this scene in particular provides some suggestions.

The dramatic lighting and music accompanying this exchange emphasizes the weight of Lu Guang's conviction in Liu Siwen's resilience. And Cheng Xiaoshi voices the sentiment aloud. "What is it that gives him the strength to keep fighting?"

Following this train of thought, Lu Guang wasn't looking to ask Ouyang Bubai to understand why he finally lets go, but came to watch how Liu Siwen persists against all odds.

Thematically, that's why Liu Siwen has the last words in this episode. He embodies the theme of this episode: to cherish and fight for that which you hold dearly.

[beneathsilverstars]

been thinking about the differences between SASASAP and ISAT lately. because looking just at ISAT and the two hats ending, you'd think loop went through the exact same house as our siffrin, but looking at SASASAP, it's different. it's mixed up. it's obviously a condensed prototype.

but. that doesn't have to mean it's a different universe entirely.

maybe that's just what happens after a thousand loops.

the house warped in act 5. siffrin lost their shit and the house got changed and corrupted, far past its baseline king uncanniness. so it wouldn't be too out-of-the-question for it to be able to warp in more subtle ways as well, due to a more subtle breakdown.

like a jpeg uploaded and downloaded a thousand times, siffrin changed, and the loops changed. over a thousand loops of efficiency, the house got more efficient. rooms combining. items moving. data compressing. and of course, run in a changed house, the script changed as well. it did so slowly, one bit at a time, over a thousand loops of zoned-out half-listening – and by the time siffrin would have noticed each difference, they were already used to it. (and in the moments that they did look at a room that was less familiar than it should be and realize that they had no idea where to find the key, well. that's just classic siffrin, isn't it.)

through sheer repetition, siffrin was corrupted, and the loops and the house along with them. all purpose lost, all signals distorted, until finally they couldn't recognize the meaning in any of it. it was all noise and despair.

so they made a wish. and the loop restarted. not just a reboot, but something more complete.

the data was backed up onto a star – a guide, a warning, a reference – and the loops were factory reset. and for the first time in a thousand loops, siffrin woke up to a clear mind and the crisp sound of birdsong.

[arttsuka]

what’s the bad ending to mer-fidd?

Getting cannibalised by Bill probably

[mortifying-macaroni]

Saw this ship chart going around so ofc I've taken the opportunity to make one for the Sabbat's power couple™

[001-mirage]

The more I look at him the more I fall in love with him.

Help.

[reverseisekai-richie]

The Queen in White

The Lord in Black

More than rulers, they are the living Black and White itself, unable to ever fully rid themselves of the other.

Wanted to add some more Yog-Sothoth “knows the gate, is the gate, is the key and guardian of the gate” and Azathoth “our reality is his mindless dream” flavor to Wiggly and Webby in my headcanon in a few ways, and also an idea on why gods have a 5-v-1 stalemate. 

[basedonconjecture]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @mythals-whore & @seaglassmelody 🫶

adding gentle tags for @introvertedfangrl, @propenseverbosity, and @kindlyfeline if y’all have anything you want to show offf

I thought I didn’t have anything I could share this week but then I remembered I started this for a Thursday Banger prompt that I did not finish in time. It’s from the post-canon timeline so it might (eventually) still make an appearance in some fashion :)

At this time of night, the upper stories of the Diamond were more crowded than usual, but if Lucanis Dellamorte noticed the wide berth he was given as he moved swiftly up the curving staircase, he made no mention of it. His cousin, however, was swearing colorfully under his breath behind him.

"Lucanis—" Illario tried only to receive a murderous glare for his effort.

Lucanis didn't wait to see the other man throw up his hands as he reeled back a step, his own fists clenching and releasing at his sides in an effort to control the rage threatening to sear right through his skin. There was an undercurrent of cold fear tempering it—but only just. He wasn't even entirely sure who he was angrier at: Rook, or Viago for putting her back to work.

It had only been three days—

A fledgling scurried out of his path as he turned a corner, a prickle of guilt scratching at his conscience as he watched them flee out of his peripherals. His feet carried him almost entirely on their own, the mental mapping of the casino guiding him from beneath the tempest of his thoughts, as they oscillated between visions of Rook dead or dying, and snippets of their last conversation.

Argument, rather.

Regrettably.

[sysig]

Cards 👏 cards 👏 cards 👏 (Patreon)

[capnhanbers]

so out of curiosity is it no-dead-kids as in "i'm not re-writing all that" or no-dead-kids as in it's truly just Frisk on the road trip and such?

I'm soo glad you asked because this is where my "i can't be surface level about anything i have to think it all through" comes in for the throupleverse

in order for it to work, sans and toriel must stay together. in order for that to happen, sans can't break his promise to toriel and get in his own head about being with her (he considers the geno fight and the joat specific frisk smackdown breaking it). in order for him not to do that, frisk can't do a big reset. in order for them not to do THAT, they can't sneak back to the underground for flowey and chara. they have to let go and keep living.

so yes. by no dead kids, i do mean that frisk is alone.

[harocat]

the followup to this sketch commission from @crab-milk!

This is for a fanfic I'm working on where post-canon!Miaomiao and Ziqi fall asleep one night and wake up the next morning stuck in their forms from the parallel world. Oh and also, it's a week before their wedding. It should be pretty sweet and silly, hopefully much like the series itself. 💖