LINKDING

<blockquote>Batman and Superman are fucking. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent are a great cover for fighting crime, and also might be dating. Bruce and Clark have no idea what they're doing; but they definitely aren't going to be able to talk themselves into stopping.</blockquote>

<blockquote>My take on South Downs: Aziraphale and Crowley decide to become professors. This is inspired by the headcanon that Crowley has 20 different degrees. He is the Serpent of the Tree of Knowledge after all.</blockquote>

<blockquote>After everything, Aziraphale and Crowley, by unspoken agreement, begin sharing their lives. / Why? Aziraphale wanted to ask him, why millennia of the way things were, and now this? But while Crowley seemed to have little issue upending every unspoken rule they’d ever written for themselves, Aziraphale was not so flexible, and they had spent thousands of years never quite addressing whatever it was this had stemmed from. Words, Aziraphale had always felt, were for bickering about where to eat for lunch, or hashing out ontological debates, or other trivial nonsense; there was no need to trifle with the imprecision of language, with phrasing and the possibility of being misconstrued, when it came to important matters if the other person simply understood, without needing it said. Six thousand years ago, when Aziraphale had met Crowley on the wall of Eden, watching the first two humans set out to begin the rest of history, something deep within him, more central even than his Grace, had thought, oh, it’s you, and that had been enough for him--for both of them, he assumed--for three millennia. However much he wanted to ask, he didn’t know how. The words simply weren’t there.</blockquote> ➤ sweet

<blockquote>“And what exactly am I supposed to have done?” He sighed. “Oh, don’t make me say it,” he said, “it sounds so silly. And, like I just said, I can’t prove it. Sure, I can point out that in the last year, forty-six people, rich and famous and influential people, who’ve had their portraits painted by you have suffered catastrophic strokes, leaving them paralysed and catatonic. But you would then point out, equally truthfully, that sixty-seven equally rich, famous and influential people have also been painted by you and are as fit as fiddles. And then you’d challenge me to tell the jury exactly how you’re supposed to have done these dreadful things, and I’d just shrug and admit I don’t have a clue, beyond basic philosophical and theological theory.” He was looking past me, at the bookshelf; Pacatian, and Saloninus’s Existence and Reality. I winced. A bit like hanging the murder weapon on your wall, mounted on a little plaque.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Eli was just about to give up on the evening when the cops arrived. A collective groan rose through the patronage as the lights in the bar snapped full up and a little joke of an air raid siren began to wail from over the bar. Eli glanced down at his watch before he remembered that he wasn’t wearing one tonight — or much of anything else, for that matter. He shifted his wig a little more securely into place, though he didn’t think it helped the illusion much, not at this hour, not after this many beers. Shit, why hadn’t he tried a little harder tonight? Maybe he could have passed as someone’s little sister, tagging along for a night on the town! Yes, Eli thought, because homosexuals brought their little sisters along with them to the bars all the time. The place was practically overrun with them. No faggots here, officers, just a bunch of little sisters out past curfew. He wondered how many palms the owners would have to grease to make the cops believe that.</blockquote>

<blockquote> "Just got my replacement First Officer. It's Poe Dameron." "You don't sound thrilled." "It'll be fine. Just…I've met him at a few of the company mixers and"—Luke cleared his throat, heat on his cheeks—"He has been...aggressively flirtatious, in the past. That's going to be fun to manage." "You know you could just go for it." Bodhi tone turned teasing, Luke could picture his sly smile as clearly as if Luke were standing in front of him.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“I see his dreams. A cure for me.” Hulk blows out a breath. He hates Banner so fucking much. “That’s bullshit,” Angry Girl says. “I wouldn’t let that happen. Fuck that. I’d beat the shit out of him and bring you back.” Hulk looks over at her. He can feel the idea, just out of reach. She looks back, turning her head in a way that means a question. Hulk knows things like that now. She’s the one who taught him.</blockquote> ➤ oh my god??

<blockquote>Bruce and Clark deal with kryptonite, get a coffee, are undercover, share a bed, face off against some tentacles, have feelings about holograms, and dream together. Or: six times Superbat didn't quite happen, plus the time it finally did. (Written for Superbat Week 2019.)</blockquote>

<blockquote>‘LONGEST NIGHT’ HAS BIGGEST NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD HISTORY Jaime Lannister’s historical epic, starring Joffrey Baratheon as Aegon Targaryen and Margarey Tyrell as Queen Sansa, broke box office records last week with the largest opening weekend in history. The Lion Hand Studios production netted a whopping $400 million dragons in the domestic box office and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon. The film made headlines three months ago when the movie’s stars announced their romantic relationship on the heels of the dissolution of Baratheon’s engagement with Sansa Stark, who penned the script. Although Baratheon claimed the split with Stark was amicable, sources close to the former couple insist it was anything but. “Joffrey wanted someone to make him famous, and as soon as Sansa wrote a movie for him that did just that, he left her in the dirt.”</blockquote> ➤ Didn't grab me right away but really enjoyed it once it got past the epistolary stuff

<blockquote>After his secret is out, Julian thinks he should feel guiltier. After all, he has been lying to everyone he knows for more than two decades. But, to his great surprise, no one seems to care. His friends—with one notable exception—have been understanding and accommodating. It is that exception who has just now cancelled another lunch date.</blockquote>

<blockquote>It's five years after the war and everyone's talking about the hottest new publishing sensation out of Cardassia, The Rose of Terok Nor. In which roses don't shine, spelling over instant messenger is still fraught, limited edition art books are acquired, and it's all true, especially the lies.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Thom survives the Coronation Day attack. It's hard to say whether this causes more problems for him or Alanna.</blockquote>

<blockquote>(it's more likely than you think) Warlock "Lockie" Dowling summons a demon. Or, he buys a book off a suspiciously familiar bookseller and is convinced into demon summoning. It goes about as well as you'd expect.</blockquote> ➤ YESSSSSSSSSS

<blockquote>Normally an image arriving on Earth was cause for celebration, because it meant the crew was still alive, or at least the ship’s systems were still functioning. Such moments affirmed they were still following their route to a habitable planet that could save mankind. But Steward Mafokeng recoiled from her module, and the image recently downloaded from the Lion’s Mane. “You think we should retire the ship?” she asked her fellow steward. The other steward was on the lunar base, while she was on Earth buried twenty stories underground, protected against the torrential storms. Steward Hutchins nodded his head on her communication module. “Clear evidence of cannibalism. Look at the missing hand. It was intentionally severed.”</blockquote>

<blockquote>Julian's research project in speculative reproductive xenobiology is turning out to be a little more complicated than he'd hoped... Silly and fun and very light. Highlights: second-season Bashir; flirtatious, fascinated Garak; Cardassian manners; lack of sleep; too much coffee; when when when can I see him again?? Note: this is a sequel, but can easily be read on its own.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Rosetta knelt to look at the stump in the corner of her client’s bedroom. It had the likeness of a ten-year-old boy, four feet tall, dressed in an oversized shirt and suspenders, and its features were flawless, from the newsboy’s cap cocked on its tight curls, to its pupil-less eyes fringed with long eyelashes. The only oddity was that stump’s hands were unformed, shapeless blobs. It was easy to believe that a sculptor had chiseled a boy out of wood and had stepped away just before finishing its hands. Rosetta sucked in her breath through her cloth face mask. The SPC hadn’t told her that her first stump extermination would look like a child. </blockquote>

<blockquote>New York is notoriously protective of its superheroes.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The staff at Charls’s bridal salon is no stranger to a difficult entourage. But when accommodating bride Lykaios brings along her opinionated mother, her fashion-conscious sister, her ex-boyfriend, her sister’s ex-boyfriend, a close friend of the groom, and the brother of her sister’s current boyfriend, it could prove a recipe for more drama than dresses - especially when those last four? Are the same person. It’s up to fashion-director Laurent to get this appointment back on track, this week on Say Yes to the Dress.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Although it takes constant effort for Coasts to mold herself into a human body when none live on her shores, and a far greater effort—even with her mother’s help—to sustain a flight of giant sea turtles across hundreds of miles, for once she is grateful; the focus required keeps her thoughts from the empty space beside her where Obsequies should be. There are three women Coasts loves more than anyone on the whole of Uloh-la, and Obsequies, her lover, is one of them. Her mother, in the guise of the turtle beneath her, is another. Both of them are mad at her. Dwellings, the third, would be angry too, if Coasts told her the truth.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Arya is the only one of them to have met the Targaryen’s Young Dragon, and even then it had been a short battlefield acquaintance when the Ironborn had tried to take the Rock and a hasty alliance had been formed to push them back. Arya had come back from the south covered in blood and filth and said, he’s adequate, I suppose, which meant he probably was the greatest living swordsman.</blockquote>

<blockquote>What if Rick had been a medjai from the start? One decision sets the adventure in motion, but the thing about decisions is that there's always more than one option to choose. Some things unfold differently, yes, but some manage to fall into place like the tumblers on a puzzle-box key, turning round and round until things go click.</blockquote>

<blockquote>“So, it occurs to me that I was making some assumptions,” David says, when Patrick opens the door. “Okay,” Patrick says. “About our sex life,” David explains. Patrick raises an eyebrow and leans one shoulder against the door frame. He looks relaxed and ironic, but David can see the little blush splashed across his cheeks. “You’re sure this is a conversation you want to have out in the hallway?”</blockquote>

<blockquote>Almost the instant Brienne was out of earshot, Bronn turned to Podrick, jerked his head towards Jaime and asked, “Has he fucked her yet?”</blockquote> ➤ I love how through Jaime's eyes Brienne is so....so clearly The Best

<blockquote>Lando is constructing plans to take back Cloud City and get the galaxy's only Jedi Knight into his bed. One of these things may be harder than the other.</blockquote> ➤ I am extremely charmed

<blockquote>Where Genly Ai went, after Winter. [Written for Yuletide 2010.]</blockquote> ➤ oh, wow. Very effective at grounding in setting such that it evokes a strong consistent feeling throughout. Plus excellent alien anthropology

<blockquote>The new life of Doctor Julian Bashir. It's dusty, he's tired, and Garak didn't intend his letter as an invitation, really doctor. I hope you enjoy sleeping with the door open.</blockquote>

<blockquote>The day I found out my Uncle Will was still alive, I had been out spraying the crops in a full crinkly hazmat suit. The Earthers I was working for were nice people, but they always whined about the suits. To me they seemed light and airy, hardly even an annoyance compared to a vacuum suit, so I was the one who would get sent out first with the sprayer when the blight warnings came in from the provincial capital in Edmonton. I didn’t mind. It was the tenth month of my indenture on Earth, and I had almost gotten used to the smell, but even so a little overlay of antifungal didn’t change it much.</blockquote> ➤ (I cried)

<blockquote>Nyalu squeezes my hand, burying a blunt talon into my flesh as if to wake me up from sleep. It’s time to wear our wedding rings—the gifts sent to the island two moons ago, for our husband to mark us as his. Nyalu slips one pearl-white ring over my wrist, then traces the chain to find the other one; I push it down gently over his hand. His fingers shake—it’s not the boat’s rocking. The pairs of brides around us are already restless, already standing on their feet inside the boats, wings flapping anxiously underneath their veils. The hairless, featherless arms of men are tying our boats to the pier, unloading the stacks of lacquered boxes. A gloved hand reaches out. Nyalu is behind me and almost loses his balance as he hops from wood over water and onto the earth. Beneath our feet we find flat, concrete rock. We careen through the silent faces of husbands, through a swarm of veils, feathers, hands, and feet covered in bridal tattoos. No words of welcome, no music or dance to celebrate the group wedding. No mothers-in-law to host us. This is a nation of men.</blockquote>

<blockquote>When the seeds rained down from deep space, it may have been the first stage of an alien invasion—or something else entirely. How much time do we have left, and do we even understand what timescale to use? As a slow apocalypse blooms across the Earth, planets and plants, animals and microbes, all live and die and evolve at different scales. Is one human life long enough to unravel the mystery?</blockquote>

<blockquote>Darling was in fact so tremendously remarkable by nature that Jack had resolved never to be astonished by anything he did. One had to expect remarkable sorts to be a law unto themselves, and besides half the fun of being Darling's friend lay in trying to keep a straight face. Nothing inspired Darling to greater heights of nonsense than the prospect of cracking Jack's composure. It was good fun and suited them both jolly well. This comfortable habit was thrown rather out of joint on the evening when Jack came into his rooms to find Darling perched on Jack's much-neglected desk and assiduously applying deep scarlet lipstick to his mouth with the assistance of a small silver-backed hand mirror. "Oh, I say," said Jack.</blockquote>