#dive into the deep log (rp)

[sentient-rift]

(Continued from here.) @snatchfreedom

"Yep. The Multiverse. Turns out, there are many out there. If you think a good guy Dr. Eggman is strange, there's also an evil Sonic on the enemy team..."

Meanwhile on the Dreadnought... (@fallen-symphony)

"Alright... Ears are twitching... Who's talkin' about me?"

Back with RiFT's crew.

"Anyway, wanna go meet the guy in charge? I heard he was doing more recruiting, but I'm sure he'll still have time to answer your questions and to send you back to your dimension."

[fallen-symphony]

(Continued from here.) @poka-toons

Metal Knuckles came closer, ready to destroy the intruder, when...

"Well, what do we have here?"

Dr. Starline walks into the lab, turning off the alarm.

"Stand down for now, Metal Knuckles. I want to interigate this bat before I decide whether or not they should be destroyed..."

Metal Knuckles nods and remained still for the time being.

"Now then, child, tell me who you are, what your purpose is for breaking into my lab, and give me one good reason why I shouldn't let Metal Knuckles tear you apart."

[sentient-rift]

"Oh... No problem... I have heard that some parts of Kanto aren't aware of what Shiny Pokemon are..."

Ryu noticed Electra's unease.

"Don't worry. RiFT and ARiA will answer your questions. Those two are experts when it comes to the Multiverse, and RiFT has a connection to the enemy who started it all..."

Goober being Goober, waddled towards Electra and gave her a big smile, hoping to put her at ease at least a little bit.

*Happy Clodsire noises.*

"I can take you to the control room where they usually are so you can speak to them, if you would like."

"multiverse war?!"

"I'll explain it to you another time, Electa, honestly it's not a subject I know much about either…"

Maga now had a happy face, finally understanding what he is

"So that's it! I finally know what I am! Hahah, the Pokémon in the forest always asked me why I was like that and I didn't know the answer, thanks, both of you, partners!"

"Can someone explain this war to me…?"

[divepromo]

divehq ; where your greatest dreams fuel your nightmares.

LOGIN. SUCCESSFUL.

excited to play deep dive you spend hours creating your avatar and discovering the world of emberfort. only to realize upon trying to log out that you are trapped. wecome to your new reality.

LOGOUT. SYSTEM ERROR.

summary: this roleplay follows a group of people who have logged into a videogame called deep dive, set in the fictional world of emberfort, and are unable to log out of the game, making it their new reality. together they must try to complete the different levels of the game in order to have any hope of returning to their real lives. the roleplay will be accompanied by various plot drops that will allow players to discover the different floors and progress through the game. the rp begins one month after the game’s release, when the players have settled into their new lives.

— read the full plot & discover the main.

[capucapo]

Brothers' Battle part 2/4

(( rp log continued from here !!! directly copied from Discord w minor editing for typos and formatting. yes, we played out an entire Duel. it's going to be a little bit of a read but I'm really, REALLY proud of this group effort to rewrite the VR World arc and there's so much good Character behind the card games.

Seto Kaiba @blueeyesking , me as Noa, Mokuba, and the Yugis. Wyatt @seashaper , Hika @nameless-brand , and Pyre @redeyesandchilifries coming in next installment ))

Seto

Seto takes a few precious seconds, after being hit by Red-Eyes's flames, to reflect on Mokuba's claims. He had to bankrupt an entirely different corporation in order to build the money necessary to get his shares of KaibaCorp. He hunted down every last Blue-Eyes White Dragon card using KaibaCorp's assets, and then ruined their owners' lives to get them… even causing one to kill himself. He's not proud of it. Not anymore. Maybe before his duels with Yugi… but not after. Before Yugi Mutou forced him to confront himself and his own pitfalls, his own venom, he had been obsessive, and dangerous, and hurt Mokuba for failing. But even a genius like him can be made to reconsider their path in life and make changes for the better.

He considers his words, and turn, carefully, before acting. After drawing Monster Reborn (and noting how few truly sacrificial monsters he has in his deck), he sets Cyber Jar face-down in defense mode, then casts Monster Reborn to bring Mokuba's Red-Eyes Archfiend back from the graveyard onto his side of the field, intending to use its Effect to destroy Mokuba's Red-Eyes Black Dragon before it can do any more harm.

"I don't believe your faux-brother will let me survive in any capacity once he's finished getting his so-called "revenge" for our adoptive father. He may be saccharine now, but I can see it in his eyes, Mokuba: this boy is even more dangerous than I was, back then, and will discard you once you've fulfilled your purpose in his scheme."

Mokuba

Mokuba gives his opponent a harsh glare as his monster reappears on the opposite field, though in his mind he's already prepared his next move. His eyes flicker down to his hand to read that card text one more time as his look turns to a smirk.

"yeah, probably not!! so since we agree it's inevitable, maybe you should just get it over with and take a swan dive!!" Mokuba giggles gleefully as he sends his Effect Veiler monster card from his hand to the graveyard, negating Archfiend's destructive effect.

"duh. but at least Big Brother can ADMIT he's dangerous, he knows what he's capable of and he's not going to WASTE his potential on games and toys!!! but you're wrong. I'm going to make him proud, and then we're going to stay a happy family forever, long after you're out of our lives!!"

Seto Kaiba

Seto takes a deep breath.

"I will never give up on saving my little brother, no matter how many times you're taken from me."

His Red-Eyes Archfiend attacks Mokuba's Red-Eyes.

Mokuba

Mokuba's eyes narrow again, his smirk persistent.

"I am NOT your little brother."

he ignores the weird way his stomach suddenly aches as he activates his set Enemy Controller, switching the Archfiend to defense mode before it can launch its attack

Mokuba draws for his turn, and he can't hide the way his smile grows. His second Return of the Red Eyes? Already? What luck !! He immediately sets the trap face down, then plays a magic card from his hand.

Red Eyes Fusion, the card he had selected from his deck with Insight, the card that had also sent Archfiend to the graveyard the first time.

His Red Eyes Black Dragon disappears, replaced by the more fearsome Red Eyes Slash dragon instead. the Crimson Ninja that the fusion card had allowed him to take from his deck skips over the graveyard, going instead to a magic/trap slot as an attachment to the metallic dragon, raising the dragon's attack from 2800 to 3000.

Mokuba declares his battle phase, attacking the Archfiend and returning it, again, to his own graveyard where it belongs.

Seto Kaiba

Seto smiles, despite himself, proud of how well Mokuba's deck synergizes. He then draws a card. Kaiser Sea Horse. Well, it's at least useful for when he wants to summon a Blue-Eyes… For now, he goes into his main phase, and flip-summons the Cyber Jar he set last turn. It destroys Slash Dragon and itself, then resolves its effect: Both players reveal the top five cards of their decks, and immediately Special Summon any 4 or lower monsters revealed; the rest of the cards go into their hands.

Seto reveals Crush Card Virus, Luster Dragon (6), Polymerization, Lord of D. (4), and Vampire Lord (5). Looks like he only gets his Lord of D. The rest are acceptable… Depending on what Mokuba draws, he will have to determine his next move carefully.

Mokuba

Mokuba's gleeful smile disappears, his slash dragon destroyed as quickly as it had been summoned. And without another Red Eyes monster on the field, his trap will be useless.

He can only hope for the best as he draws 5 cards from the top of his deck to reveal Dragon Nails, Pot of Greed, Red Eyes Retro Dragon(4☆) Monster Reborn, Blade Knight(4☆).

Retro dragon(1700/1600) would have been more useful in his hand, but at least it will work to trigger his Return trap once again. That and Blade Knight(1600/1000) are summoned to the field in attack mode, the three spells going into his hand.

Seto Kaiba

Seto looks at Mokuba's summoned monsters and feels yet more pride. Strong, themed cards with yet more excellent synergy. If he destroys Retro Dragon, Return will let him resummon it if he uses Blade Knight as a tribute for any other Red-Eyes. If he doesn't, he'll tribute it to play another Red-Eyes card from his hand, and then return it again… or worse. The only way to stop this is to destroy that second Return. It's an excellent strategy.

"I'm impressed, Mokuba," Seto admits, "Your combo promises to be extremely effective. The synergy you've created is hard to combat without a lot of controlling spells in one's deck."

Luckily for him, Lord of D. prevents Mokuba from altering his Retro Dragon in any way- say, with Dragon Nails- and so Seto uses his only Polymerization to Fusion Summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100), discarding the two Thunder Dragons in his hand. He'll have to prevent Mokuba from keeping a Red-Eyes card on the field to power Return!

As such, Seto moves into his Battle Phase, having Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon attack Red-Eyes Retro Dragon. Lord of D. can't hope to defeat Blade Knight, and so, does not attack, instead staying on the field to protect Thunder Dragon. Surely Mokuba will try something with that Monster Reborn…

Mokuba

Mokuba tries hard to hide his excitement, to keep himself from reaching for that set Return too soon. He wants to wait until the end of Seto's main phase, to give him as little chance to counter as possible.

He definitely does not see that fusion coming. His stomach turns again. His head pulses.

Thunder dragons? Ah. He used to play that deck, before he had gone all in on the new Red Eyes support. Why had he switched to using Joey Wheeler's ace monster again? He can't remember--

Mokuba shakes his head to clear his thoughts and squints at the powerful dragon on the field as it lobs an attack at his Retro Dragon. He can't stop the attack, but he can activate his Return of the Red Eyes to bring Red Eyes Archfiend back to the field just before the Retro dragon disappears. But that counter does little to soften the blow of losing 1100 life points. He flinches in pain, arms wrapping around his torso as he struggles to stay on his feet despite the attack. It takes him a second to steady himself before he can move.

"gee…" his voice cracks a little as he glares across the roof at his opponent. "you keep saying you care about me and you wont hurt me anymore… but you sure aren't hesitating to try and kill me, are you?" and with that, he takes his required 11 steps back, closer to the rooftop's edge

Seto Kaiba

Seto's jaw sets. "No, Mokuba, I'm not. I'd do anything to protect you. I've told you as much before," he states, matter-of-fact, as Mokuba takes his steps. "But that doesn't mean I'm not going down without a fight."

And he'll concede if it looks as though his victory is assured. Seto would never kill his little brother, though he's not above tit-for-tat duel damage. With Mokuba at 1550 LP, the duel could still resolve either way…

He moves to Main Phase 2 and sets Crush Card Virus, leaving only the two monsters he already revealed in his hand as well as Kaiser Sea Horse and Ring of Defense, then moves Lord of D. into Defense Position to finally end his turn. No matter what Mokuba returns from the graveyard next turn, Seto feels as though he'll be royally fucked in this duel.

"I know that you can handle yourself; I would be disrespecting your skill and intellect if I just laid down and conceded."

Mokuba

"then why do you keep on hurting me, seto?" Mokuba's voice drips with false innocence as he puts on his best puppydog face. But what Seto says as he ends his turn makes the teenager's stomach hurt again.

He draws for his turn. Summoned skull. With Red Eyes Fusion in his hand already, that card's no more useful here than it was in his deck. But it doesn't matter. He gives a nervous glance to Seto's face down card, contemplating whether or not he can bring this duel to an end this turn. He can't do anything about that potential trap, but he's feeling confident enough to give his plan a shot anyway.

He gives up his normal summon to activate Archfiend's effect once more. Lord of D's effect may shield dragons on the field, but it can't protect itself. and with that gone, he can equip to his own dragons once again.

He plays monster reborn, his Red Eyes Slash Dragon rising from the graveyard. he could activate Return, but that trap card gives him pause. Instead, he goes into his battle phase.

Slash Dragon's attack sits at 2800, tied with the Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon. But ordering it to attack allows him to take his Crimson Ninja from the grave, equipping it to the dragon to raise its attack to 3000. Mokuba watches the monster he'd played once upon a time disappear, taking 200 of Seto's life points with them.

And more importantly, leaving the older Kaiba wide open for a direct attack

Mokuba stares at that face down card. A Mirror Force of any kind would ruin everything. Leave him with nothing to activate Return again. He looks up to make eye contact with Seto.

"so. any last words before I bring this thing to an end??? anything you want to tell your stupid little rivals over there before I send you to hell and take back our company??" Mokuba hooks a thumb at the Yugis as he taunts, delaying while he contemplates his next call.

Seto Kaiba

Seto glances at them, briefly, locking eyes with Other Yugi. He nods with respect before focusing again on the duel at hand.

"No."

He can sense this duel is coming to an end. Drawing… he's not sure what he's hoping for, but what he gets is one of his Blue-Eyes. Under any other circumstances, this would be fantastic… but staring down the Slash Dragon and its matched ATK score, his stomach simply drops. He's lost. Even if they take each other out, Mokuba has his Archfiend and Return trap- which means Slash Dragon will be back on his turn. Seto's out of options.

He summons Kaiser Sea Horse and immediately Tributes it to summon Blue-Eyes, hoping facing down his signature monster in as close to reality as possible will jog something.

"This is it, Mokuba!"

He sounds like he has some way to win up his sleeve, all confidence and finality, as he commands Blue-Eyes to attack Slash Dragon.

yugi!

Over on their tower, the Yugis have been quiet as they've watched this sick battle play out before them. Now, the gentler Yugi braces himself on one of the tower's parapets, his violet-red eyes wide, a look of pained concern on his face as he looks in Seto's direction. Begging him. Pleading with him to find a way to end this peacefully.

The Other Yugi stands beside him, only inches apart, his back straight and his arms crossed. Though his expression usually leans toward tension, there's something sympathetic in his own red-violet eyes. He returns the nod just as respectfully. This is a Duel that he can find no joy in, no honor, no Justice. But he's so proud of his rival, and he trusts in him too.

Mokuba

Mokuba deciding to end his turn without a direct attack results in the worst possible outcome. As the great and terrifying dragon of light materializes on the field, the youngest Kaiba can't help but take half a step backwards in awe. His eyes go wide, his grip tightening on the cards in his hand.

He can't breathe.

His stormy eyes meet sapphire as they watch the mascot of their company, his brother's favorite card-- come to life before him--

Wait

No

[ He loves that dragon more than you and you know it. ]

Mokuba stomps a foot in frustration as he snaps himself out of whatever had overcome him, just in time to hear the Imposter-- the fake-- the Man Who Stole Their Company-- his brother-- order an attack. He expects it to be Archfiend, a guaranteed hit. Then he expects that face down card to turn over and reveal something like Metalmorph, something to turn this Duel against him.

Instead, he watches as the two great dragons, evenly matched, go head to head. As they destroy each other and themselves, both falling to their own graves on opposite sides of the rooftop.

He feels himself shake

NOA

[ On his own tower, Noa Kaiba swells with arrogance, his once gentle mask long since fallen away. No, he wears an openly wicked smirk, one hand on his slender hips as he watches the show before him. He's been quiet, but what does he need to say? Mokuba is already doing such a good job speaking for him.

As he watches the great White Dragon finally take the stage, a wicked idea comes to mind. He'd already left the other parties to their own devices when this battle began, allowing their monstrous opponents and puzzles to run on autopilot in the background. But with a flick of his wrist and a few electrical pulses, that all changes in an instant.

Two more towers rise up from the ground below, forming corners around the rooftop. The sky above each turns briefly to shimmering cyan honeycombs that fall away, creating holes in the sky itself. And from those holes tumble the heroes deemeed uninteresting to this world's diety, now cast as spectators to this awful game.

On one tower land Madison Rook, Levant and Téa, on the other, Joey, Duke, and an odd robotic monkey named Tristan.

"Welcome, my esteemed guests, to the downfall of Seto Kaiba!!! Huh. I'm surprised to see that you've all made it," Noa purrs. But he doesn't give the newcomers more than a second to collect themselves.

"Look!! You're just in time!!"

As the two dragons destroy each other, he can't hold back his gleeful laughter any longer.

Noa claps in applause ]

Seto Kaiba

Heedless of Noa's displays, Seto Kaiba stands steadfast, head held high but arms resting by his side, white coat billowing from the rush of air the dragons caused before they dissipated into smoke. He gazes at Mokuba, warm pride in his eyes and a slight, rueful smile on his lips.

"I end my turn."

He'll be killed next turn, and he's so incredibly proud of his Little Brother.

[sentient-rift]

"Um... I... Don't know what to say about that..."

"Aww! She has a crush on you! You should feel flattered, RiFT...

"Wait, why do you look upset, iCO?"

"What?! I'm not upset! Jealous?! What are you talking about?! You're crazy!"

"Uh oh... Looks like you got competition..."

I think I have a crush on RiFT... Is it possible to date a multidimensional protector? Hehehe, just kidding... Or maybe not?

@sentient-rift

[miraiq]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

repost, do not reblog this

NAME: Prince/Jehr/PJ. PJ is just a combo of the two alias' first letters. Jehr was my original when I first started out using aliases ever, which was created for me by my best friend at the time. I slowly tried to make a new alias for other muses I wanted to write without having them be associated with me-- for some reason? Wanted to hide or start fresh or something I guess? Same friend also made me take a HomeStuck quiz to get my... uh... vibe? I don't recall what it was, but the answer was Prince of the Light and I used that as my personal url for years, so I actually took the newer alias from that.

PRONOUNS: He/Him

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord is the fastest way to get responses from me, simply because the app is always logged in on my phone and pc, while tumblr is only logged in to my personal tumblr via my phone. Any mutuals that would like to add me on Discord: princem0n

NAME OF MUSE(s): For my sanity, google doc for full list. Otherwise, main/actively in use muses: Severa/Selena(FE), Caelus(HSR), Serval(HSR), Kyo(Fruits Basket)

BEST EXPERIENCE: To be perfectly honest shit-posting/memes are always a welcome relief and the best way to destress. I recall previously that myself and group of fellow hooligans would constantly make photoshop edits of stupid things that would go around on the dash. Example(s) of something(s) I made during that time:

But I also really enjoyed being able to deep dive into characters relations and how they worked against or with each other. Especially when it came to characters who didn't have their entire story brought to the forefront, like most videogame characters. You don't get to see the behind the scenes stuff with them, most the time, so it's fun to see how they could have gone about or reacted to different situations/after the fact/how it affected them.

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: Lack of communication. Sometimes I forget things, so I'll typically come ask for an answer or reconfirming that I didn't miss something or misinterpret anything. If there is an issue, I am begging, please just approach me. I often will do this if I have a problem, all I ask is the same in return. I can't stand constantly being left on read, especially when trying to discuss stuff plot related. We can't be on the same page if we don't have conversations going BOTH WAYS.

Other than that I'm pretty relaxed. I, as a slow writer, won't hound people practically ever for responses. We're adults, life happens, things come up, muses hide or aren't as strong as others. As long as you aren't actively ignoring me/our threads, there's no problem. If I don't see you posting at all then I know you just need a breather and that is A-OKAY. This is a hobby for fun. Why be fussy and cause problems due to impatience? I guess that is another pet peeve- impatience- lmao.

MUSE PREFERENCES: Bottoms. I notice myself writing of lot of "tsundere" types? Or redheads. I just love them. Misunderstood but fight against the world because they don't want anyone to know that they're broken.

PLOTS OR MEMES: Both. Both is good. Everything in balance. I used to meme a lot, and I've definitely toned it down. But I don't know, sometimes getting too serious or having too many think-hard-about threads can be tiring, and lil shitposting is a good breather to be able to let you get back on with it.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Both are nice. I tend to overwrite, simply because my style will typically go into my muse's thought process(es), or if the thread is still being established, I try to set the scene or give background information. But, short replies are nice. Gives you a small thing to work on and take a rest between lengthier threads. That's also why I like random inbox prompts. Not all of them have to go anywhere- just gives you a space to do something else aside from your drafts.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: I am absolutely not a morning person. Night owl to the max. You will see me up still at 3am more often than not. I typically wake up around 10am-1pm, so I'm usually writing right around dinner.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): In some aspects, sure. Not entirely like one-for-one with any muse, but there's always at least a piece of myself in each muses. Helps write them better, in my opinion. Only exceptions typically being any "self-insert" like characters. (ie. Robin/Avatar from Fire Emblem: Awakening). Most of those characters still have a base personality to them though, so unless you completely customize them, they're still pretty "how do YOU respond" choices change how they are.

Tagged by: Stealing dis from Rath Tagging: Yo who wants to let me know their lore?

[tasteful-side-blog]

I was wondering if when you asked for their discord or when you exchanged discords, they were also verified? Cherp rules are kinda confusing and contradictory in certain parts like when it says you can���t move off site unless all are verified, but then the next rule says no discord exchanges or any social media exchanges. So then how would we move off site? Is it even okay if all are verified, but then you can’t even drop your discord handle without being banned?

lmao thank you for reminding me abt all that shit with Cherp it's been so long since i checked up on it. For the record it's still the only place (online or irl) I've ever been permanently banned and I think it's a really funny example of how you can take an active IP with a built in user base and still manage to fuck it up by being so deeply unprofessional and toxic that you're not worth putting up with. Twitter wishes it could blow up like Cherp.

If you think the rules are confusing and contradictory now you should have seen them back in the day, Throughout Cherubplay's entire existence there was never a ban on off-site promotion or exchanges and Cherp's rules about when/how interaction are acceptable have been showing up piecemeal ever since. At the time i was permanently banned the website had recently updated their rules stating that exchanging information was liable for a week suspension. Another user and I (who told me they regularly requested discord usernames with no issues and was not suspended when I was) exchange discords, I log in the next morning, my account has been permanently removed.

I join their discord group and learn that in the discord they decided the rules are changing now and all information exchanges are a permaban, if you weren't in the offsite discord to know that then tough shit, you're still gone.

I went through most of the important people on the mod team trying to discuss this, most seemed pissed that I dare question their supreme judgement Reddit mod style. I'm not exactly surprised the types of personalities who ran and ruined old-school RP forums still exist in lots of nerd spaces. I remember specifically bringing up that at the time the rule I'd been perma'd for still showed up on the website as a max 1 week suspension, the response was "we can decide to ban you for any reason, go away."

Like yeah! You sure can do that! It also just makes you a raging asshole and the last person that should have a customer facing position in your team.

One day someone's gonna do a YouTube essay deep dive on all the random bullshit that happened with their donations/ID verification/etc. but my brief experience with the whole team made me feel like they were the last people you should trust your personal information with. Also I'm not saying I'm a cyber crimes expert but either the problems the site faced w the FBI were unique (in which case, what the fuck) or they were trumped up to cover their asses when they faced public pushback (in which case, what the fuck).

idk dude all i can say is that i hope one day the nerds get the roleplay site they deserve

[sentient-rift]

(Continued from here and here) @thepersonaking56

As Bass brought Jordan to RiFT, Mr. Tinker and his robot boys were bringing Jenny to RiFT around the same time.

"Ah. Hello, my friends. I see you brought some visitors with you...

"Greetings. My name is RiFT. It seems you two might have stumbled into some stray dimensional gateways and found yourselves here."

[fallen-symphony]

(Continued from here) @thepersonaking56

"I have many on my team, and I plan to recruit some more very soon. I think it's best I just introduce you to the team rather than name them off one by one. If you will follow me, you can see them for yourself."

[queenofbaws]

Talking about being greedy…

🧠🤔💻🍰

we're all ABOUT greed here at queenie enterprises, inc!!!

🧠 What’s an idea you have that you can’t quite call a WIP yet? god. there are. many. the ones i've been trying to piece together in my head lately though have mostly been me fighting the urge to (1) write just. hundreds of thousands of words about my hawke from dragon age II and (2) start writing for vampyr even though i don't even...no one...no one would want the unhinged violence i'd be bringing to that XD

🤔 What is the hardest part of writing fic? no questions asked, for me it's the speed at which i can get stories out. i hate it. i HATE it. when i know what a story is, i want it out of my head IMMEDIATELY, i want it out into the ether IMMEDIATELY, and so hitting roadblocks or just not writing as fast as /i/ want to drives me up the fucking WALL. (this is not helped by the fact i usually write the ends of my fics first, lol)

💻 Do you do research for your fics? What’s the deepest dive you’ve done? you can't see me. imagine i'm on the floor. i'm staring at the ceiling. my eyes are squinted. my hands are folded on my stomach. i am thinking of root beer. i am thinking of an hours-long research spree i went on for one. fucking. sentence. in the (almost)s that i ended up getting rid of anyway. i am angry.

a less jokey answer is that i tried really, REALLY hard to approach the topic from a place of respect and spent WEEKS doing a super deep dive into the mythology and lore surrounding what went down at blackwood pines and with the miners because, like, those aren't stories i was brought up with, and i wanted to be sure i had all the info available before i started writing anything about it instead of just going 'OOH SCARY MONSTER BAD,' and i really hope that came across in the end product

🍰 Name one of your fave comfort fics (doesn’t have to be your all time fave). now see, here's where i show my ass because while i'm trying to get better at it, i really and truly don't read all that much fic :\ i'm tryin!!! so idk that i have any comfort fics per se, but i WILL say i have a habit of going back into my old rp logs and oc drabbles with @malum--in--se whenever i need a pick me up :P

fanfic asks!

[sentient-rift]

Spider was quick to see the sudden hostility of the kunoichi woman, and he had a pretty good guess why. That blasted Redips... Despite this, the bounty hunter remained calm.

"...Am I safe to assume you think I'm Redips? That must mean you were once an ally of X...

"You don't have to worry, though. I'm not Redips. I'm the original Spider that blasted Maverick ambushed and stole DNA from. You better believe I hate that guy more than you do."

Despite trying to clear his name, Spider knew deep down that it would probably take more than words to convince them that he isn't that scum of a Maverick. Fortunately, he had someone back him up.

"He's telling the truth, Marino. This isn't Redips. He's the real Spider. I promise."

💎(For Spider)

"Ah, well-I find his attire to be quite dapper. Even if some might find it to be a little archaic..."

The kunoichi's eyes only widened as she quickly reaches behind for her weapon. "!"

[second-chance-stray]

RP Log: Dorn and Cravs talk over a campfire.

Cravendy Hound - Weather and the coming of night would interrupt Dornn and Crav’s training session, though by the time they stopped, they had already been beating each other up for several bells. With rain at their backs, they would find shelter underneath a rocky alcove and watch as the sky steadily went from blue to black.

Cravendy Hound had kept an eye out for firewood and, by the time they settled, she had gathered a sizable pile. For now, she simply dumps the wood onto the ground and takes a seat next to it, exhausted.

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn had just about finished the wrapping of his old bandages--his ivory bicep now surrounded with a pristine, new layer of cloth coddling it warmly. Once the lass found her footing back, the male planted himself on his knees, dipping his chin approvingly of her yield. The brittle clink and brutish thud of the wood, as it piled together, prompted him to wind his palm lower, diving it into the confines of his pocket... And withdrawing a moderate pouch from within. Fishing thereonafter inside, he finally plucked out a diminutive, crimson crystal, before chucking it haphazardly into the midst of the wood, and gripping each piece of lumber readily, assembling a proper pyre upon a circle of stones. His runic palm danced alight anew, as he bore it before the hearth--and with the ignition of the runes, so too did the crystal within the wood grow saturated with fiery aether... Until a spark came to life, rupturing from its breast. Clapping his palms together, he drew back, exhaling profoundly. "...Aye, there we are."

Cravendy Hound takes half of her hair in hand and wrings it out like a washcloth. A line of water drips down between her fingers and falls from her wrist. It seemed every outing she went on resulted in her becoming absolutely drenched - perhaps it was Llymlaen? It certainly seemed that the gods had some beef with her. With a sigh of relief, she sidled up to the fire and warmed her palms.

Cravendy Hound: “I’m gonna be feelin’ this for days, ugh...” She gives her arm a painful stretch, sure of the bruises that were hidden underneath her glove. “Guess I should’ve expected as much, given that ye’ve been trainin’ on rocks for who knows ‘ow long.”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn gripped the loose end of his bandage betwixt his fangs, straightening it firmly, as he tied the remnant around his arm until the runic light was snuffed out from beneath. A wholly entertained rumble stirred within his breast, hinting at his approval of her predicament. Shuffling on all the closer, he'd rip the bandage's end off with a jerk of his burly neck, before planting both of his paws atop his thighs, wistfully exhaling. "...Mm, not too long. Should be 'round two moons now, dependin' on what day it be t'day..." Admittedly, the lattermost part infused his voice with a lasting confusion, only to be broken by a raise of his palm behind his head, idly scratching away at his pelt. "...Eh, apologies fer the sudden downpour earlier. Seems I let loose on me control a tad too much, so do try to dry up now, aye?"

Cravendy Hound shifts forward, arms wrapped carefully around her knees. Now that her body had time to relax, it was like all her soreness could now be at the forefront. Cravs lets out a hiss as she moves in just the wrong way for a split second. “Well, when did ye start? And don’t tell me ye’ve been out in the wilds this entire time. Don’t ye come back to town for supplies?”

Cravendy Hound - Dornn’s second claim goes unnoticed at first - she’s too busy warming up by the fire and licking her wounds to notice his odd statement immediately. She makes a sound of agreement but, after a delay, tired contentment twists into confusion. “Whuh? Are ye claimin’ control over the weather? It did get stormy back there but...”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn appeared all too befuddled by the erstwhile sentiment, prompting his furred noggin to turn sideways in a quizzical tilt. "Nay, I... Hunt fer my supplies? Y'can find just about all you need in the wild, from berries t' meat an' lumber alike. The Shroud is known fer its rich game, 'fter all." The Aerslaentean tint to his voice swelled with pride, as his Northerner accent grew all the bolder. "Not that the Lohengarde will tell ye aught different. Twelve know me life's condemned t' their company more oft than not, as it seems..." A fond smile washed those words down, before his palm swatted the idle recollections away. "Bah! I claim no mastery o'er the elements, nay. 'Tis one of the highest staples of our people to possess such skills to command the weather... Yet it comes with some ease, with a clear plateau at yer disposal... As well as the teeny-tiny presence of the Red Moon's vast aetherial reserves amplifyin' me command o'er the weather. Blame me uncle fer puttin' me on this path." With a somber shrug of his bulky shoulderblades, he peered up at her, inspecting her thoroughly. "So, a vaunted... Drunkard an' ne'er-do-well, then? Strange track record ye've claimed so far, accordin' to that runt from afore."

Cravendy Hound mouth curves into a smile. “The Shroud is also known fer, what’re they called...the Elementals? So ye best be careful, unless ye want a swarm of bees to be sent yer way for takin’ too much honey. That, and I’ve never found a good bottle of drink in the wilds.” With that, she pulls out a metal flask half full of liquor and unscrews the top. After taking a hearty sip herself, she offers it to him over the fire. “‘’Ere ye go, weather boy.”

Cravendy Hound: “Seems...dangerous to be tappin’ into that aether. Ye must ‘ave a good reason for seekin’ such power,” Cravs muses, gaze shifting over towards Dalamud’s general direction. “Ye best be careful to not let it taint and control ye.” She raises a brow.

Cravendy Hound then stares back into the fire, red refractions dancing in the pit of her sea blue eyes. A somber mood takes hold. “That’s a good way of puttin' it. A lotta folk get riled up by the way I live, or the fact that I’m still livin’. Or both.” She lets out a prolonged breath. “And it’s fair, most of the time.”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn hoisted an index digit aloft knowingly so, waving it up and down as he spoke. "Somethin' akin to that. The Elements 'ave yet to catch me, alas an' alack. All you hafta do is know how to conceal yer aetherial print with that of earth, wind and stone." Though, the mention of honey /did/ make his ears perk up at attention. "Kind of ye t' remind me, I could go fer fetchin' a comb or two right 'bout now..." Regardless, the offered flask made him rumble with even more curiosity, yet his customs compelled him to accept the offering, gingerly grabbing it out of her palm's domain. "Many thanks, yet I be 'ardly a -boy,- tsch." Peering over his shoulder as he pressed the drink to his lips, his concealed hues scoped out the outline of the lesser Moon. A generous chug or two, and he'd take abandon of the lid, handing it over with a hearty sigh. "...Aye, I ain't got plans t' mingle meself with whate'er that abomination behind me be. As fer ye, lil' munchkin..." His keen hues refocused upon her form, pondering over her own aetherial stream. "All the more of a reason t' piss 'em off with spite, I'd say."

Cravendy Hound takes back her flask. Without hesitation, she finishes off whatever’s left and shoves the thing back into her pocket, not bothering to cap the now emptied container. “Oy, if yer gonna be callin’ me shite like munchkin, then I can call ye whatever I want, -weather boy-.” She chuckles to herself. Both names fitted terribly, like a baby’s glove on a hulking beast. But that just gave her more reason to use them.

Cravendy Hound: “I’m done bein’ like that....or at least, I’m tryin’. Only so far ye can go til ye find the ‘ole ye’ve dug is too deep to get out.” She shakes her head. “Maybe it’s already too deep, but one can try to make things better anyway.”

Cravendy Hound: “‘Aven’t figured out the logistics, though, of ‘ow to make up to someone who wants ye dead without givin’ up my ‘ead as an peace offerin’.” Cravs shrugs.

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn kept a valiant vigil over her form as she spoke her case, his lips twisting into a half-smirk as she insisted on the nicknames. His barreled breast soon slumped thinner, as he exhaled a generous gale... Though her story had him issue no sentiment until it was fully told. At length, he'd plant his palms back onto his thighs, a timid growl rumbling in his chest. "Mm... Matters are e'er as simple or as complex as we think 'em to be. The truth is always somewhere inbetween." Nodding sagely, his digits patted against the plate of his legs, ere her resumed. "Northerners value deeds o'er empty words and silvery tongues. It has proved a grand solution t' solvin' disputes--either by trials by combat, or by feats o' heroism t' redeem one's name. Sometimes, all ye hafta do is look back to tradition, an' a simple solution may present itself, lass."

Cravendy Hound cranes her neck downwards and places her hand above her neck, each finger balanced on a boney ridge. Face hidden by untamed locks of hair, she lets out an even longer sigh. “But we’re not in the North, brother. We’re ‘ere. And specifically, we’re where Ul’dahn influence can reach, and the games they play in court are far beyond me.”

Cravendy Hound lifts back up and pulls her hair back behind her shoulders. Her eyes remain downcast, haunted. But the moment passes. “So, son of Hyrtfyr, ye claim to be a captain but I don’t see any crew. It seems clear to me yer in some kind of trouble. What ghosts do ye ‘ave locked in the closet?”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn balled up a fist proper with the might of his right hand, his pale, bare thumb stroking over the index digit next to it. "Ul'dahn courts, huh..." He mused to himself, seemingly drowned in a deeper well of thought. "We be not in the North, aye--but peoples' hearts dance the same, even if a few scores more cowardly they be. Though, I be curious as to who 'zactly ye've stepped on, now..." On the subject of his own ghosts and mates, he momentarily fell quiet, only to wave a dismissive paw away. At length, he'd raise it to his breast, pressing the fist against his collarbone. "Eh, I'm 'ardly worth talkin' 'bout, as are me... Ghosts. Still, if ye've a mind to visit me crew, they live in no mountains, I promise ye--fancy a lil' hideout in the Mists, even. Can show ye 'round one day, if ye'd like."

Cravendy Hound is taken by a bout of incredulous snickering. “What? Ye claim to be hardly worth talkin’ bout, but then ye go around introducin’ yerself as Captain and throwin’ around some oldblood names. Yer an odd one.”

Cravendy Hound: “W-who I stepped on isn’t yer concern. All ye need to know, is that while wounds are things that’ll ‘eal, a man’s pride is ‘arder to put back together. And I may as well ground my victim’s into mincemeat,” Cravs waffles, arms crossed and lips lifted in a pout. She dips her head in thought. “Crew in the Mists? Guess I wouldn’t mind meetin’ them but do they know yer out ‘ere?”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn rebutted with a simple, affirming nod of his chin. "Aye, I'm but a simple Sea Wolf man, no more, no less." He took vast pride in his heritage, that much was certain--yet he also did his best to shy away from her further prodding. Still, he managed to pursue the subject until she would yield no more answers. "Aye, pride is a bloody fickle mistress t' please. I'd know, 'tis me prime vice." A slight smile crowned his lips, as he confirmed her suspicions. "They be used t' me fleein' out an' about unannounced, worry ye not. I make sure t' leave them in proper care an' situated ere I sod off t' train me runic brawlin', 'fter all... An' apparently that entails bumpin' into fledglin' lil' she-Wolves in the wilds. Not e'en the Styrm whispered any o' that, aye."

Cravendy Hound: “What an introduction that’d be...oy, crew. ‘ere’s some random, wanted lady I found in the wilderness while I was out wagin’ war against rocks.” Cravs smirks somewhat, though it’s quickly brought back down into a snarl upon hearing his next few words. “F-fledglin’?! Oh, think yer a smart one, don’t ye? Call me somethin’ like that again and I’ll give ye a new ‘ole right between the eyes, ye oversized snowman."

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn presented both of his palms before himself, raising them in a surrendering fashion near-like. "Now, now, fair's fair... Those mean rocks had it a-comin'. Standin' 'round there, all... Menacingly... An' gray..." He hissed under his breath; the mere thought of rocks sent his blood to near-boil. Or so. Regardless, her reaction elicited a far more amused one from his end. "Somethin' like what, an itty-bitty she-Wolf that be by the fire sitty?"

(Cravendy Hound) the mere thought of rocks sent his blood to near boil.............. (Cravendy Hound) I am living (Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn) Heph. Heph. Heph.

Cravendy Hound hates this. SO MUCH. But as much as she wanted to grab her gun and turn her smug companion into swiss cheese, she had -just- spoke on not wanting to dig herself deeper into holes. And murder over sassy remarks, while something she had done in the past, was no longer acceptable. Think happy thoughts, Cravs. Think. Happy. Thoughts.

Cravendy Hound can’t. She instead gets up and menacingly steps (for the second time today) into Dornn’s space. If there was scruff to grab him by, she would’ve tried to lift him onto his feet and over the fire. However, his size and armor made such a gesture impossible. Frustrated, she simply puts her hand over his hat and pulls it down.

(Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn) Down as in off or down as in one of those comfy ear-warming caps that you just grab by their dangly things and pull over your eyes-- (Cravendy Hound) the second for sure (Cravendy Hound) bonus if this messes up his hair too xD

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn || The pale giant stood--or sat, rather--oddly calm in his perch, even as she abandoned her own lodge to assault his. Watching her near-boil over, then attempt to pacify her own thoughts, then inevitably fail and fall flat on her proverbial rear seemed of great amusement for the lad. Yet, as the rather fluffy, warm pelt of his head was tugged lower, he squinted momentarily up at her, only to grunt something fierce. Without a second thought, his ivory paws latched onto her wrists, commanding her to stay her movement in an instant. "Grh. Now'en, ye've had yer fun--don't make me make roasted cinnamon rolls from the cinnamon roll o'er this fire, 'ere."

Cravendy Hound winces from his grip, her body still tender from the training that had happened less than an hour prior. But like a wild animal caught in a trap, she didn’t know what to make of the situation. When you can’t bite anymore, the only thing left to do was bark. “Tch. ‘Hope ye like yer rolls with salt instead of sugar.”

Cravendy Hound - As Cravs rages on, tendrils of fire sputter from campfire, pulled thin from its source by an unknown magic. Like swirling threads, they reach towards the small of Crav’s back, eliciting a surprised yelp from her. “Bloody ‘ell! Dornn, I didn’t think ye were serious about roastin’ me, gods! Pull me out afore I melt!”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn knocking his helm back into place with a stern jerk of his noggin, the man's lips, ever-confident, now equally proud, bent upwards in his trademarked, half-smirk. At once, his feet collected beneath him, elevating him to his natural, imposing height. At eight full fulms he stood, towering and proud--but still, he clutched onto her wrists, this time invading -her- personal space--snout to snout, nearly. "Lass... I'm a Sea Wolf. Salt runs in me veins." He appeared wholly entertained by her antics, going as far as to smirk right into her own face. Regardless, the proud brawler only tantalized her by the fire for a spell longer, intent on the innocent torture for just a few more moments.

Cravendy Hound: “When ye finally croak, I ‘ope ye dry into a piece of jerky, saltblood, and get eaten by the gulls,” Cravs tells Dornn off, the fire behind feeling like blazing flowers blooming along her spine. She sweats under the collar and then finally shoves herself free of his grasp. When she turns, the campfire has gone back to normal, and despite the sensation, her armor remains unscorched.

Cravendy Hound brushes herself off. “I don’t know if I should ‘ate ye or like ye. But, by the goddamn twelve, does bein’ around ye wind me up like a pissed off cog. Bah, I’m too sober for this.”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn seemed in higher spirits from the ordeal indeed--as she wrung free of his grasp, he gestured with a free palm before him, while its twin saddled his hip in earnest. "Would ye -really- prefer t' see me in such a state?" He inquired with an innocent smile donned upon his lips, and a puppy-like tilt of his noggin to boot. "Sounds t' me like ye welcome someone bein' straight with ye... Even at the cost of it bein' infuriatin', eh lass?"

Cravendy Hound narrows her eyes at him, and if looks could kill, this one could’ve sent a primal whimpering back home. But despite that, he had hit the nail on the head. A small part of her enjoyed his company. “I’d pay a premium to get front row seats. But unluckily for me, ye seem the type to cling onto life like a bloody determined tick.” She slouches over, wrung out by his sass. In a much smaller voice, she speaks to no one in particular. “Lucky for ye though...and. For me. I guess.”

Rhotdornn Hyrtfyrsyn maintained his good posturing and hearty attitude to the extent of planting his large paw upon her shoulderblade, issuing no small amount of comrot through a tap upon her shoulderblade. "A premium, aye? Ye honour me, lil' she-Wolf. Though ye don't stray far from the truth o' the matter--ain't allowed the Sea t' swallow me up yet, despite its efforts. Yer tongue, while a fierce contender fer it, shan't avail ye either, am 'fraid." Giving off a tender squeeze, he'd mull over her previous sentiment, his own shoulders now rumbling with a baleful storm--that not of thunder, but of bones crackling, as he stretched prim and proper. "Mmh... That be 'nough trainin' fer the moon, methinks. Parched o' throat, are ye? Care t' join me on the road back? Y'seem like ye bear a good tale or two on yer breast."

[divepromo]

divehq ; where your greatest dreams fuel your nightmares.

LOGIN. SUCCESSFUL.

excited to play deep dive you spend hours creating your avatar and discovering the world of emberfort. only to realize upon trying to log out that you are trapped. wecome to your new reality.

LOGOUT. SYSTEM ERROR.

summary: this roleplay follows a group of people who have logged into a videogame called deep dive, set in the fictional world of emberfort, and are unable to log out of the game, making it their new reality. together they must try to complete the different levels of the game in order to have any hope of returning to their real lives. the roleplay will be accompanied by various plot drops that will allow players to discover the different floors and progress through the game. the rp begins one month after the game’s release, when the players have settled into their new lives.

— read the full plot & discover the main.

[prestigedocumentary]

Hello, internet!! Mason Mayberry here, director of an exciting new documentary series called The Prestige Project. Never heard of it? Don’t you worry, you will. In this production, we’re gonna be taking some deep dives into the personal lives of willing participants — what’s the prerequisite for being a part of this project, you ask? Well, us common folk gotta know who you are... whatever you’re famous for doesn’t really matter, but as long as you’re a public figure who's got something interesting to say, we’re ready to pore over the video logs you send in. And hey, that’s all you have to do! Tell us what’s going on in your life, the stuff we don’t hear about from the gossip magazines and Hollywood Reporter type shows. Get intimate, get specific... this is all about shedding some light on the things that make you just like us!

In addition, we’ll be requesting more detailed interviews from our participants at random, so be ready for that!

Happy video-journaling, folks~

( continue reading below for more specific details!)

TO ALL PRESTIGE PROJECT RP PARTICIPANTS: To “submit” a video journal to the docublog, all you have to do is write it out on your own blog and tag us in it @prestigedocumentary ! You may write this video journal in first or third person, depending on how descriptive you want to be — the more description the better! This will help us flesh out good interview questions to approach you with at a later date, so give us as much as you can! You can write these entries as often as you like, there’s no pressure or strict time frame; have fun with it!

ADDITIONALLY: this blog can function as a typical gossip blog as well. anything you submit to the ask box could be used in future interviews!

[shadowsong26fic]

Some Stuff

Not a proper Coming Attractions post, that’ll come out on the first Monday of the month as always, but...a more general update on some projects (and also possibly looking for input?)

Basically, I’ve accepted the inevitable, that I’ve fallen back into ATLA in a big way. I haven’t actually rewatched the series yet, because my roommate was doing so and I kept popping in and out and I didn’t want to confuse myself by trying to do a straight rewatch while she was doing hers, but I have reread a bunch of old fanfic/RP logs, and have some plots I kind of want to work with again? Either as fulltext or as an AU Outline. Behind the cut are some more details, as well as seeking Opinions on which, if any, I should actually work on.

I am also Determined to not fall out of SW as this is going on, lol. More details about that behind the cut, as well.

(Also, I’ve talked about some of the stuff listed here on my writing discord, which feel free to come stop by and hang out! It’s basically an extension of this tumblr, only a little more interactive. Find us here!)

Star Wars Stuff:

I plan to take next weekend to bang out at minimum the next Precipice chapter, and possibly the next two (though I’ll stagger posting if I do manage to get both done). And then try and give myself a more active schedule to get the next parts of the series out.

I’m also working on a dragonshifters AU, which I’m enjoying a lot. I think OFLAM may be relegated to the back burner for a while, though I’ll probably kick it up again if I end up doing it for SWBB next year (unless I tease out enough of a Plot for dragonshifters to do that instead, lol). I’ve talked about some of the worldbuilding on my writing discord, too.

I also still owe some meme responses from way back, which I do intend to get to at some point I promise <.<

And I haven’t forgotten some other extant projects--Devoted!verse, the Ventress outline, Bail Unfucks the Timeline, Distaff, etc.--but they’re pretty back-burnered for the time being. If something Sparks in any of those, I’ll probably dive into it, but for now I’m not actively working on them in the way I am on dragonshifters and Precipice.

AtLA Stuff:

So, there’s sort of...four or five projects spinning around in my head right now, lol. One of which, if I do it, would not work as an outline so it would be fulltext. It’s canon-compliant, for the most part.

...well, I should interrupt myself here to say the following: I haven’t read a lot of the comics or tie-in novels, and my familiarity with more recent Word of God is limited. I’m basically operating out of canon defined as “it’s in the original show or WoG I’m specifically aware of, drawing in stuff from other sources as it appeals to me but otherwise ignoring it.” Where WoG contradicts itself (i.e., the timeline for Lu Ten’s death),I go with whatever answer I prefer.

In terms of worldbuilding details added in Korra--ehhhhh, it’s sort of held a little higher than the comics, etc. (in that, if I remember it, unless it Josses something I really, really liked/was foundational to something I’m doing, I’ll probably include it); but most likely whatever I’m doing will go AU enough during the first series for a lot of the other detail work/character-specific stuff to not matter.

Anyway! Back to the fun stuff.

There’s one story I’m playing with that’s not going to work as an AU outline. Depending on exactly what I focus on, there’s a couple different fulltext fics buried in it, and I’m not sure which I’d work on (or if I’d braid the two of them together). Basically, it deals with the siege of Ba Sing Se and Lu Ten’s death, and some of the fallout from that, focusing on an OC of mine and her daughter. I found a short fic I wrote for a challenge back in the day that ties into this concept, which is at the very end of this post. If I work on this, I’d probably change the names of the two relevant OCs and possibly how she gets her memory back (it was written specifically for a “what happened in the rest of the world when Zhao captured Tui” challenge; guess how many of them were Hama-related), but. Anyway, building on either the Siege portion of the story (which has a lot of West Side Story on its soundtrack in my head lol), or focusing on what she does after she remembers him. Or both! Both is also good.

The rest of the options are mostly Zuko-centric canon-divergence fics.

First option, Airbender!Zuko. This occurs because The Spirits Said So; he’s gotten very good at fake firebending using airbending. Probably to the point where he’s so deep in denial that he can’t even see the pyramids anymore, to stretch that analogy to the breaking point, lol. Basically, not much changes until the north pole, but there’s some ways for it to go from there...

Second option, Avatar Zuko. This one has been floating around in my head more lately. Reading old RP logs, my partner and I played through a bunch of different variants on how this all worked, but the one in my head right now is basically--a few months before he’s banished, they’re at Ember Island or something and he’s out on the ocean/fishing or something. Sudden storm, he stops the boat from capsizing through panicked waterbending. No other witnesses, for whatever reason. He initially decides he imagined it, something else must have happened. Except then, when he’s in the palace infirmary after getting his face melted, he does it again. At that point, he basically decides that his options here are “get turned into a weapon and kill A Lot of people, or get disappeared into some dark hole somewhere where I can’t cause any problems.” Neither of those is particularly attractive, so he decides to run away. He doesn’t know what his long-term plan is at this moment--if he’ll use the comet to regain favor/save his nation based on the context he’s operating under right now, or do something else. But he has about three and a half years before then. He figures he’ll spend a year at the Western Air Temple, looking for texts/mosaics/something to get him at least vaguely airbending; then go to the North Pole to learn waterbending for a year, then spend a year in the Earth Kingdom to learn earthbending. Planning, for the last two, to present himself as mixed and while he has a lot of his Fire Nation father’s features, he inherited bending from his other parent (or grandparent, when he goes to the North Pole). For those of you familiar with my original fic, this will also include the first iteration of a prominent secondary character from Feredar/The Farglass Cycle. Mostly so Zuko has someone to talk to at the WAT XD. 

Third and fourth options are a bit more nebulous, and both break off during the Ba Sing Se arc. First option, Zuko gets injured during the stampede when Aang moves the zoo (this will probably draw in at least one of my BSS OCs because I am pathologically incapable of not creating OCs, lol). Second option, Zuko leaves his mask behind in Lake Laogai, which means Aang will know he’s in the city. Not sure where either of those would go from that point but there’s some Significant Differences there, lol.

...anyway, that’s where things stand now. Which, if any, are y’all interested in seeing?

As promised, the clip from the Lu Ten story, originally written for a challenge back in...yeesh 2010 XD. Again, this is canon-compliant at least up until Iroh and Zuko arrive in BSS, and I’d possibly change the names and/or how she gets her memories back.

An Wei sat by the window, holding her little girl and watching the sky. Today had been one of Huai's bad days, so An Wei had her hand resting lightly on her daughter's neck, counting her heartbeats. The doctors had told her, back when Huai was a baby and they'd figured out what was wrong with her, to hope for seven years--but only to hope, not to count on them. So An Wei took special care to always, always watch. She never regretted her child, no. Occasionally, she wished she had never met Huai's father, but...well, she couldn't remember much about him, other than the kind golden eyes (false kindness?) that had taken her in so completely during the Siege. She didn't think about him very much. It was too painful--and dangerous. Above and beyond the dangers in thinking about the War That Was No War, her own father had... Well, he hadn't been pleased. She didn't remember the argument, but her uncle wouldn't have brought her to the Lower Ring midwife who had cared for her during her pregnancy if she hadn't needed to hide. Despite all of her vigilance, it was her own heart that skipped a beat when the moonlight filtering in through her window turned an eerie, dull red. She gasped and clutched her daughter a little tighter, praying that Huai would sleep until this went away, so it wouldn't frighten her. That is, assuming it would go away. She shivered and shifted Huai so the little girl was facing away from the window and watched in horror as the bloody moon failed to return to normal. "Please..." she whispered. "Please be normal when she wakes..." As if in response to her desperate pleading, the moon flared silver again after a half hour. But she barely had a moment to relax before it winked out completely. An Wei jumped and stifled a scream. "Don't be afraid of the dark, this'll light your way home." She jumped again. There was no one here in the room with her and Huai, but she could have sworn... The moon blinked back into existence and a pretty girl with long white hair rode in on one of its beams. An Wei stared up at her, still frightened, pulling her daughter away from the girl as best she could. The moon-girl bent down and kissed An Wei's forehead. "Remember now," she murmured, then faded out of sight. ** "Don't be afraid of the dark." He smiles and makes a little light in his palm, carefully transferring it to a bundle of sticks. "This will light your way home." ** She studies the hairpiece he wears in his topknot, turning it over and over in her hands. "There's something you should know about me, too. About my family." ** "We can make this work, Itsu." He's determined, hopeful, his golden eyes shining. "We'll talk to my father. He'll understand. We'll make it work. Meet me here, at the usual time." "I trust you." ** She waits and waits and waits, until long past dark, but he doesn't come. ** She hates speaking with her guardian, but she's scared and has nowhere else to go. "Please, help me," she finishes quietly. He nods. "I'll keep you safe, Highness. You and your child. I promise." ** The light spins around and around and around, and she forgets her name, forgets her lover, and in her place is An Wei, a young woman trained as a scribe, seduced by a nameless Fire soldier, rather than... ** Itsu let out a little sobbing breath. Huai shifted in her arms. "Mommy?" she whispered, still half-asleep. "It's okay, baby, everything's okay. Go back to sleep." "'Kay." Huai closed her golden eyes again and her breathing evened out as much as it ever did. Itsu held her daughter close. Twice over a princess, at the worst possible time, born with a broken heart. No wonder Long Feng hid us so deep.

[to clarify--Itsu is Kuei’s sister. I forget how I set the relative ages, but assuming, as seems to be the case in flashbacks, that Lu Ten is about 10 years older than Zuko, he’d be somewhere between twenty and twenty-two when he died, depending on which date you believe; Kuei is around the same age (possibly a year or two younger?) and Itsu within two years of them.]