#a thing that wasn't much of an issue in brave

[julietwiskey1]

Have you ever thought of a Brave AU with Ursa and Azula?

I haven't. Or at least not until you sent this ask, which prompted me to watch Brave for the first time. It definitely would work well for an Azula and Ursa AU with some significant changes.

Assuming that you want it to be kept mostly Canon compliant and after the war when Ursa and Azula have found there place in the Fire Nation again it could be interesting. Though it could also work for a no war AU and stay more true to the original story.

For those who don't know in Brave Princess Merida is being set up for an arranged marriage by her Mother Queen Elinor. In all Merida and Elinor clash quite a bit over the Mother training her daughter to be the perfect lady and princess. A lot of demands and Merida is not that type of girl. She is tomboyish, would rather shoot arrows from a horse then command a room. Not wanting to go through with a wedding Merida is given spell by a witch to change her mother and therefore stop the wedding. But also changes her mother to a bear and the pair have to work together to change her back. Ultimately requiring them to repair their mother daughter bond. Just the type of thing that I love in my stories about Ursa and Azula.

So emotionally and story wise I would love to see Azula and Ursa experience something likes this. And come on, Ursa is just asking to be turned into a bear with her name. Ursa I think works quite well in the slot of Elinor, she wants the best for her daughter but making Azula the perfect princess is important. It also allows them to have tender moments like Merida and Elinor did.

The real issue with making this AU work is slotting Azula into the role of Merida. While they both are forced to be the perfect princess they react to the role in opposite ways. Merida chafes at the demands and requirements, outwardly rebels and seems to do a rather poor job. Azula excels at being the prefect princes and makes it look easy while enjoying it, but is also a rather submissive character to her father and mother. Azula also represents duty above own desires, the aspect of her character that makes me love character. And one that makes this AU difficult.

For Azula an arranged marriage isn't unexpected, but rather her duty to her nation. Such notions as a marriage of love probably wasn't a thing she grew up expecting or desiring. It just was never going to happen. And quite frankly I am the wrong person to talk to about "true love" and other such babble.

So I think changing the conditions Azula finds herself contacting a witch would change. Its most likely something that comes up in a moment of weakness and seeks her out, knows what she wants even if Azula would never indicate it. And in that weakness Azula takes the witch up on the offer and Ursa is turned into a bear. And the inciting incident is a lot more subtle then an arranged marriage, these character would be better served by it coming about by a ton of just inconveniences that build up unresolved.

The story would also change what needs to be fixed between Ursa and Azula. Most importantly its communication more than anything else. Why Azula used a spell wouldn't be anything she outright admits or says, at least not for awhile. It also requires Ursa to pause and push Azula to talk and to really listen to what Azula wants and the hints that she drops. For Ursa it would be putting together the clues to know and understand why her daughter is unhappy.

[theokusgallery]

I freaking love your au and your latest comic because MAN

I FELT THOSE LAST WORDS AND I WAS LIKE "OH FUCK"

First panel was already a bit unsettling itself - like you get it's just intimate manners as you do as a couple but he felt so possessive already and

Sunny's inner thoughts

I'm sure 100% his abandonment anxiety will increase drastically the more he stays with nick and honestly slay

I mean it's kinda obvious

But like I felt that

Yeah

Nick is unhinged

Nick is crazy

Y'all are gay for him

Good 😵💥

Sunny has soooo many issues. So many of them. He's so vulnerable and he makes himself vulnerable to Nick while still being intimidated by him, it's... Dude's got some problems.

[woso-dreamzzz]

Blood Sugar II

England Lionesses x Teen!Reader

Summary: You go on Bake Off

"This time, on the Great Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off, it's Lioness time. Four of the England Lionesses brave the tent in the name of charity to tackle three challenges in the hope of securing, not the Euros trophy, but the star baker apron. This week's celebrities are: Leah Williamson, England captain and defender, Alessia Russo, goal scorer for England, Keira Walsh, England's midfield maestro and y/n l/n, England's youngest star."

You stand in front of your countertop, drumming your fingers against the wood as you look at all of the ingredients in front of you.

"Now, for your signature challenge, Paul and Prue would like you each to make a baker's dozen of sugar cookies," Noel Fielding says and you contemplate slamming your head onto the counter.

You knew agreeing to be on this was a bad idea.

"Each cookie must be hand-shaped," Alison Hammond continues," And made with love. You've got one hour. On your marks."

"Get set."

"Bake!"

"So," Leah says suddenly," Is this a good time to mention I don't know what a baker's dozen is?"

You've never really been a bigger baker. It wasn't really your speciality like a lot of other things like cooking your own meals and doing your own laundry.

There was also the added thing of the fact that no one in your family baked because you couldn't eat it. Well, you could, but it would send your sugar levels through the roof and you hated injecting more insulin than normal because it always stressed you out.

"Less!" You yell out," How much sugar is too much sugar?"

"I'm not helping you!" She yells back and you stick your tongue out at her.

"This is discrimination!" You declare as you start pouring your sugar in, hoping for the best.

The judges leave it ten minutes or so before they start walking around.

They got to Leah first, congratulating her on captaining the team to victory which she graciously waves off before getting way too competitive over a baking show.

Keira is next and it's hard not to be endeared by Keira, clearly the only sane person in the tent.

Alessia ends up accidentally breaking the electric mixer and tries to get everyone to ignore it by throwing a dish towel over it.

Then, it's your turn.

"So, y/n," Paul says," Do you have much experience with baking?"

"No," You reply.

"Did you prepare at all for this?"

"No."

"Do you have much hope you'll win?"

"What I'm hoping for is someone else does extremely badly so I don't come last."

Prue laughs. "Well that's honest of you. So, you have done no preparation at all?"

"I'm planning on just winging it," You admit," I'm diabetic so I don't really eat sugary things so I'm just hoping that they're edible."

"So you're not going to be tasting as you go?"

You eyes go wide. "Am I meant to do that?" You hand goes to cover your mouth. "No, are you joking? Am I meant to be doing that?"

The judges have a little laugh as they back away.

"Wait! Don't go! Am I meant to taste as I go?!"

Even though you don't taste as you go, you don't end up losing the challenge (not with plain tastebuds Leah Williamson in the running) but you don't win either.

Clearly, Keira's just good at everything.

The technical round is a disaster for everyone involved, even Keira and somehow, after burning her first set of fondant fancies, Alessia manages to win.

Leah continues to be the worst, which is what everyone expects so even though you don't taste anything, you're not the worst and, honestly, that's what you're aiming for.

You're here to provide the jokes and not to humiliate yourself on national tv and, you know, also to show that diabetics can bake too - not that you really knew that was a big issue until you signed up for this but apparently it is.

The only one that you actually practiced for was your showstopper.

'Your Biggest Triumph' was the theme and you'd had to practice for this one.

"Leah!" Keira shrieks suddenly and you whip your head around to see Leah with her hand in Keira's bowl of batter.

"I'm sorry Kei," Leah says, sounding not very sorry at all," But you're going to win if I don't sabotage you. I'm sure you understand."

You hold your breath as Keira's eyes dart towards Leah's bowl of unsupervised batter, leaping over the countertop to do the same.

"Wait, Kei! Keira, stop!"

Keira doesn't stop and you notice from the corner of your eyes Alessia moving as well.

You snatch your bowl up before she can grab it, sprinting to the other side of the tent.

Alessia follows you until you're backed up against the fridges.

"Less, Less!" You shriek, voice panicky as Leah and Keira wrestle at Leah's counter," Don't do this! You don't have to do this!"

"I'm sorry." Like Leah, Alessia doesn't sound sorry at all. "But it's for the greater good."

"Greater good! This is pure selfishness!"

"This is baking!"

"This is sabotage. Stay away from my bowl!"

"Come on. Don't make this hard than it needs to be."

An almighty crash sounds as Keira and Leah accidentally knock a mixer off the table and in the confusion, you manage to shove Alessia away to pour your batter into the pan.

The carnage continues throughout the time limit, only dampening when a truce is called so you can all decorate your cakes. Apart from that, it's a free-for-all as you find yourself standing on Leah's countertop, throwing wooden spoons at Keira and Alessia whenever they try to approach the pair of you.

"Alright, y/n," Prue says at the end of the time limit," Tell us about your greatest triumph."

"Okay." You point at the various decorations on your cake. "So this cake is a representation of my Dexcom. I know everyone else is choosing football stuff and all that but when I was six, I started feeling really bad. I couldn't focus and I was sweating and I couldn't really move well and I felt tired. It went on for a few days."

You point at one of the little marshmallow figures you made.

"I was playing in Alessia's garden with her and I threw up everywhere and she insisted on having her parents take me to the hospital. I'd developed DKA and was about an hour or so from going into a coma. The doctors ran tests and stuff and found that my pancreas had shut down. So, my biggest triumph was being diagnosed with diabetes."

You give a little shrug, pointing out the way you'd shaped your cake to look like your Dexcom and how on top you'd decorated it with marshmallow versions of you and Alessia and the doctor that you still went to get check-ups from.

"That's a lovely story, y/n," Paul says," But let's see if the actual cake tastes good. What kind is it?"

"Victoria Sponge because it's my mum's favourite."

Each judge takes a slice and you hold your breath.

Paul holds his hand out to you.

Your eyes go wide. "Are you serious?"

"Shake my hand."

You do that gleefully. Getting a Paul Hollywood handshakes means a lot.

"I mean, there's not much I can say," He says," The sponge is perfect. The filling is perfect. The flavours work well. The story to go with it is fantastic."

"And you never tasted any of it?" Prue asks and you shrug with a grin.

"I'm on a strict diet."

"Well...I mean if football doesn't work it then baking certainly will."

The Star Baker Apron you win at the end hangs up on your wall with your Euro's medal.

[prideprejudce]

I think alot more people would enjoy the show if they learned to see Rhaenyra and Alicent as Unreliable Narrators, and characters who are supposed to have glaring flaws and weaknesses.

Mandatory preface- There are Issues™️ with season 2 that are its own other ask- but the complaints ive seen about character assassination on both women kind of tells me ppl just wanted to see the two just GirlBossing around, not being tragic characters trapped in their own circumstances.

For Alicent specifically- she just isn't written to be Cersei 2.0, and while it was really interesting to see motherhood from cersei's point of view, its already been done!! I actually prefer seeing Alicent's mercurial clinging to and abandoning motherhood- its interesting!! She was made a mother at what- 15? An age where you truly arent mentally developed enough to raise 3 kids, AND be a child bride, AND be a queen, (AND be a lesbian).

Alicent is interesting to me because she's stunted at 15 years old, she's an adult woman who talks to and sometimes bullies her kids as if they are her peers, and is obsessed with her childhood crush(es). She hasn't built any new relationships* past the ones she was entangled with as a teenager, she's obsessed with both acting out to make SOMEONE see that shes suffering, (she's honestly pretty blatant for someone who prides themselves on being the Temperate Voice of Reason) but also to erase herself and reset to before she had to marry the king, before aemma died.

I think most of her 'bad out of character' decisions are just these two impulses winning out, her trying to force a reset, go back to a time where none of this had happened yet, when things were simpler and she had love and every day wasn't the worst day of her life™️.

She sleeps with cole, the man she thought was pretty at 15 (her last uncomplicated attraction just before it all went wrong and aemma died) -she doesnt seem to like it that much, but she does seem compelled to seek him out, esp when upset- shes obsessed with, and desperate to reconnect with Rhaenyra, her childhood best friend (and first love) and get back to where they were as kids, AND she still treats and asks her father for absolution as if he's still the only authority that matters to her just like she did at 15. Alot of her 'victim complex/bewildered they took it so far' behaviour in the plotting of rhaenyra's usurption reads to me like a teenager in over her head, she talked big game and now its real and shes panicking!! She's tragic BECAUSE she's still a teenager- so stunted shes unable to meaningfully grow up and learn to make healthier choices for herself, or move on and stop trying to grasp at the 'if i could just go back' urge.

As a mother, I think this creates an interesting dynamic as well, and I do like that in the casting even, she seems closer in age to her kids than rhaenyra does to hers. I think the contrast ppl are drawing with Alicent Protecting Her Kids in season1 compared to her giving them up in season two isn't bad writing to me, just massive differences in context. Sure she protected Aemond in driftmark, but we cant ignore that she probably felt humiliated by her husband choosing rhaenyra's side over hers in front of everyone, did it seem like a grown woman fighting for her son?? or a teenager furious with her ex winning one over her again? or both!! both sides twisted together is still interesting! When she protected Aegon from Rhaenys, is stepping in front of her son the king to protect him from the enemies dragon fire not the most romantic daydream of a deserving death a child bride could come up with?? Was it the impulse to protect the son she couldnt decide if she loved or hated, or was it to have the most heroic death possible to escape the reality that she sees coming. And if Rhaenyra hears about how Brave she was in the face of a dragons maw, and cries about it forever and feels sooo bad and regrets it til the day she dies, thats an added bonus. I think Alicent loves her kids, but is teenager selfish about HOW she loves and protects her kids, and is unable to be a mature, consistant, protective mother to them when she also sees them as having ruined her life. I think in season 2 when she 'gives them up' shes relieved, and once again following the compulsion of 'if i reset to when Rhaenyra was heir, i had no sons, and i wasn't married or queen, everything will be better'. I think theres complexity to it, i think she does love her sons and feels insane about it, but I think Alicent has been trying to Go Back in more and more Intense ways ever since she got married, and we might be giving her sanity more credit than it deserves when it comes to the need to wipe the board clean and go back to being 15.

hey anon are you trying to get married to me or what

[rosesnbooks]

✨Leo placements✨

disclaimer: i am not a professional and i write this posts for fun, so keep that in mind love

☀️sun in leo - these people have big hearts and they love, love attention. however, i have noticed that even though some like attention most of the time, others prefer it in an environment they can control, such as on stage, where they have rehearsed and know about the possible outcomes. they like to take care of themselves and enjoy life. they also love to spoil those they love, and their love is bright and warm. most of them are very creative and especially talented in one domain that they pursue bravely, such as cooking or writing. people notice them wherever they go, and they seem approachable and a little intense. what i mean by that is they seem excited and loud, which is lovely but too much for some people. this isn't true for all of them though; some can be shy to a certain degree when you meet them. they love talking and making people laugh, and this fuels them. they need people in their lives and cannot spend too much time alone. some time is needed for retrospect, which they usually use. they hate failing because it impacts them greatly, but many of them try to process this and continue like nothing happened. unless it is regarding matters of the heart, then it takes more time to get over someone

🌝moon in leo - they like to see the best in people, and sadly many of them get disappointed with time, but there's a part of them that never gives up on people. they are very sensitive deep down and can get hurt easily. their ego truly is an issue, but if they recognize this and work on it, they can develop healthy relationships with others and themselves. they are very creative, and when they focus on their tasks and things they love, they can excel at them and don't stop until what they're working on is up to their standards. they are curious about many things, which is why they may start a hobby and then disregard it with time if their heart wasn't really in it. when they are angry, they can be really harsh and impulsive, similarly to aries, but i feel like they feel sorry about it more than aries because whatever they said to you remains ingrained in their memory. some of them tend to be selfish because their own happiness and worries are their main priority, which isn't bad per se, but it can get out of hand. they hate to waste time and feel like their life has no purpose or impact. i noticed that they have a competitive nature, even when playing games...they just love winning.

🌼ascendant/rising in leo - vibrant, brave, optimistic, and a bit intense people at first glance. they have a strong hunger for happiness and passion. people mostly like them, but some have mixed opinions since some can feel overwhelmed by their energy and self-love. nevertheless, many appreciate their lively nature, and they are easily noticed wherever they go. even if you don't see them momentarily, you'll hear them because they are often loud and like to talk. they might have issues with overindulging in things like binge eating or spending too much money. they can have a strong desire to lead, and if not, they still want to contribute greatly to something and see their influence. they put effort into their looks if they have the time and money because they want to present themselves in the best light (for themselves and others). people usually notice them by their hair, and i'd also like to add that their eyes are very sparkly and focused, and that they may have really quick mannerisms.

🌻mercury in leo - quite expressive when they talk! humor is important to many of them, and they love people who can make them laugh. many tend to speak fast as well. their comedic timing is really good. if underdeveloped, they can be bad listeners and only want to focus on themselves and when it's their turn to talk. they also tend to have a smile on their face most of the time when speaking, just my personal observation. people are charmed by the way they communicate; they cannot help but feel warm. this placement is really passionate about various topics, and it is interesting to listen to them. they often like telling stories, and it feels like you're watching a movie play out because they are really into it and dramatic. there's a lot of passion in their speech, and while it can be over-the-top for some, many enjoy it. honestly, they are so cute. a downside could be their stubborn nature, which may limit their worldviews or general views on some things. they may seem carefree, but they are not, so approach them with kindness and respect.

⭐venus in leo - they love romance and are very loyal and dedicated partners. they need lots of excitement and adoration in their relationship to remain happy. being with someone who takes life too seriously, doesn't praise them enough, and is not really active as a person is a big no for this placement. they love praising people and giving them thoughtful gifts and watching your face light up when you open them. you'll feel super special with them if they think highly of you. they can get crushes from time to time, but if they love you and want to commit, it is harmless. they are very loving toward their friends and are loud about their affections. basically, they adore all love languages, but primarily quality time, words of affirmation, and physical touch would be their top three (in my humble opinion). they also love going places with their loved ones because they have lots of energy and curiosity, and it's really fun to do anything with them. i'd also add that besides leo risings, i've found that leo venus also have curly or generally luscious hair.

♌mars in leo-very bold and a bit stubborn. they need to be active and pursue what they love in order to remain healthy and happy. they are go-getters and they love to spread their positive energy. their stamina is very good. despite their impulsive nature, they are very focused on their goals and try their best to be great. they often get what they want and might really dislike when things don't go their way, but they never give up. may be too stuck in their own ways without seeing the big picture or other perspectives, so they need to be more open-minded because this will help them achieve their goals and form healthier relationships. they are immensely proud of their achievements and especially of the things their loved ones achieved. they can get carried away by their passions, no matter how hard they try not to. their sweetness shines in this placement as well because they truly want to be friends with everyone. lastly, if you're their person, they will be extremely loyal to you

⚡saturn in leo—they may struggle with being more optimistic, putting themselves first, and taking leading roles in any area of their life. they can care too much about what people think or might think about them, so they need to snap out of it. they can be very strict with themselves and quit before even trying things out. just do it, hun; the only way out is through (sadly, but yeah). they are very capable people who already have everything they need within themselves, so trying things out even when scared can bring them lots of luck and, honestly, a better life. putting yourself out there doesn’t mean being vain, pathetic, or needy if you’re not hurting anyone in the process. this placement wants recognition deep down, but they remove themselves from such situations. i'm here to tell you that you’ll survive this and that you won’t lose your individuality in the process. you’ll gain confidence and naturally attract the people who are right for you. on the bonus side, they are often careful and responsible.

🏆jupiter in leo—people with this placement shine brightly when they are in the spotlight. they want to enjoy life and pursue their passions, and the happiness they feel during these moments is contagious. they are generous and inspiring, so many people admire them and feel influenced by them. their generosity is also admirable and fulfilling for them. they can thrive in creative environments and in those where they can express themselves. they are also often good with kids and expressing their childlike nature, which helps them enjoy life and see things more positively. basically, focusing on themselves and others is what brings them luck and joy. they have leadership potential, and at the end of the day, they want someone to recognize their efforts, kindness, and talent, and give them lots of love.

thank you for reading!💛🧡

©rosesnbooks

[readbyred]

may i request how the dps boys would react to realising they have a severe crush on a, preferably shy, reader! tysm <\3

Oh, I've been waiting for dps requests! Sorry for my late replies everybody, I got demotivated again because tumblr deleted a few of my x reader posts (and a few others). But I'll try to not let that happen again if I can even help it

I think Knox would have such a silly time trying to approach you. Because we all know he’s awkward, but determined at best and, well… pushy at worst. I'm trying to go with the version I saw in a play, because thankfully they cut out the party scene which means he’s still delightfully insufferable but not awful. Anyways, he would jump on every occasion to talk to you. And then just. Stand there. He’d try to give you flowers and poems, everything really. But he loses brain cells every time he’s around you. At least you’re both equally stressed about social interactions. He gets a little braver when you give him a smile or any other sign you like him. Not less awkward, but a bit more motivated to go for it. His main problem is that he can't read you well and despite being big on feelings and all, he still has a hard time actually talking to you. Clumsily, he showers you with over the top things, that most would find cringey but you think of as endearing. And if he thinks there's a chance he’ll lose you, he’ll confess right away. I think he is brave and pretty open about feelings. Just stressed out

With Neil, it's not an issue at all that you're shy. He’s more so taken aback by his own strong feelings. Because he wasn't expecting to fall this hard. But give him like five work days to process and he’ll be all in. I feel like he would take his time to confess but he’d make it known that he cares about you. He’d be checking up on you every time he can, bringing you coffee, asking to practice lines together, go to the movies in town. Even before you two start dating you just wake up and half of his sweatshirts are in your drawer (he likes to borrow you his clothes if you’re cold) and your desk is littered with poems he shared with you. He’s a gentle lover, but he knows what he wants and when the time is right Neil has no problem confessing

It's much funnier with Cameron because this boy is in panic mode 24/7. At first he legit thought he was sick because he always felt dizzy and distracted around you. And he’s a traditionalist. Everything has to be perfect when you’re around. Like he beats himself up about every little mistake he made around you. But also makes a point to treat you RIGHT. If you’re shy he might not know how to approach you at first, because he’s not sure if you’re even interested. And how to make you like him. After much teasing (mainly from Charlie, of course) he gets fed up with his friends and decides to make a move. It might not be the most romantic when he does, but it's sweet and genuine

Another one that would take time to confess is Meeks. He’s pretty quick to accept that he’s crushing on you. He’s like, yeah obviously they are amazing, now what do I do with that? He tries to give you things. Small things. Like maybe he could borrow you a book that you’ve wanted to read for a long time of buy you a coffee/tea if you’re out in the town. He doesn't explicitly say that he liked you but it's easy to tell and he’s not one to be shy about it either. So when you guys do get together, you already know his more… romantic side

On the contrary, Charlie takes time to process his feelings. He had crushes before, but real feelings (strong ones at that) aren't the norm for him. Sometimes he catches himself losing his cool around you and it messes with him so bad. He would probably ask Knox for advice. Which is a bad move. But he figures that at least his friend is more familiar with having those sorts of feelings. Nothing much comes of it because I can't imagine Knox giving him any good advice on the subject, but after he was able to talk about liking you, he decides to just go for it. Well, in small steps. Primarily because he’s just not an intense guy, but also because he’s surprisingly mature when it comes to respecting your levels of comfort. Doesn't mean it gets boring though, it's Charlie we’re talking about. Once you get together there's not a one dull moment with him by your side

With Todd, it might be difficult at first. He’s overwhelmed by fis feelings and has a tendency to talk himself out of making any sorts of moves. Why would you like somebody like him? He tells himself he doesn't have a chance, surely. It only confirms his suspicions when you don't take initiative. It's only after he’s been moping around for a few days that Neil approaches him about it and proceeds to give him shit for not doing anything to let you know his feelings. He’s like, bro, so you care about them so much that you’d rather not have them in your life because you want them in your life so much??? Make it make sense. So with Neil's encouragement, he tries to at least talk to you and see where it goes from there. Still shocked when you end up returning his feelings. You’re in his poems now, even if it's not very obvious (he's not as straightforward as Knox, so it's not ‘i love (yn) and I want them to be mine’ kind of deal). This is the only one where I'm sure you might have to make some sort of a move. Todd’s like a spider - he’s more scared than you are and if he could, he would just silently hang out in the corner of the room you’re in. But he gets a little braver after he starts feeling more secure

Lastly, Pitts is not as bad as Todd, but still takes his time. He’s comfortable with liking you and he knows what he likes, but he’s not in any rush to make things official. So any time he has any chance to talk to you, he does and just wants to see how things go from there. He jokes around with you, asks to come study together, tries to be close. He does care, just in a more chill way than some of the other poets would. If you two have been talking for some time, he would have no problem asking you to go out with him, doesn't make you feel pressured or anything. If the others are cool with it he will do his best to have you come to their meetings at night as well. So you do not only get an awesome boyfriend out of it, but also a great friend group

[chuplayswithfire]

I have more thoughts on how and why the sex was a mistake. I will be thinking about this all week. All year.

Let's start with: the sex was consensual, they both wanted it, and that does not change that it was the wrong decision for their relationship in that moment. They should not have had sex! Ed is 100% correct and he is not running away when he says that! He is not just avoiding his feelings or getting cold feet, he is genuinely correct, and here's why:

They continue to be on different pages. They have not had a chance to talk it through. It's been like 2-3 max since Ed woke up from the Gravy Basket, and emotions are still running high. Even ignoring that they were just tortured in front of each other and that Stede killed a man right after Ed asked him not to, they were not in the same space emotionally regarding their relationship.

Fir one thing: Stede did *not* get his heartbroken (prior to this). He got his romantic affirmation. Season 1 was an entire arc leading to Stede realizing he is gay, that he is in love, that he is loved in return. For him, for HIM, sex is a natural next step, and we already knew he wanted it from how he deepened their kiss in episode 5. Their relationship itself is not a source of trauma for Stede; he loves Ed and he walked away from his old life to be with him, and now he found him again, and they've agreed to do it together, figure things out, his romantic hopes are realized.

And in that moment, adding to that background informations, is that Stede also wanted to avoid all his messy feelings by being physical. He was tortured and he watched Ed and his crew be tortured, he was insulted and had to listen to Ed be insulted, and he wanted to regain control and power by killing Ned Low, and removing the threat. That's where Stede's head is.

Ed, on the other hand, did get his heart broken and while the majority of what he's working through is about his self-hatred, his dissatisfaction with his career, and his desire to find a life that feels worth living, he is also dealing with a significant amount of trust issues with his relationship with Stede, because Stede left him. He has heard from Stede that he loves him, but Ed's deepest fear is that he's unlovable, and he hasn't gotten over that, or his hurt from how things went, in the like two days it's been.

But he loves Stede, and he's attracted to him, and he wants him, so when Stede initiates and manhandles him a bit and things get hot and heavy, he consents. He's all in, carried away by the moment.

And he regrets it.

He especially wasn't ready because Ed is a planner. I know we were all joking about how they definitely weren't going to take it slow and they were going to rush through, but I do genuinely think he meant it. Ed's natural state is as a planner and tactician, everything has an angle for him and even when he wants to just be simple, he always has a bajillion factors in mind that he's juggling, so we can be sure that Ed probably did very much have thoughts about how he wanted their first time to go, and what he wanted them to do and grow into as a relationship before they had sex, and instead they got tortured, Stede killed a man, and then they fucked in the aftermath.

Not bloody optimal indeed.

Now back to Stede: he is utterly unprepared for the idea that the sex could be a mistake because to and for him it was the natural next step in their relationship. This is his romantic fantasy is the thing; he was a cool brave pirate captain who made an enemy walk the plank in defense of his crew and his boyfriend, and then Ed came to him and Stede got to sweep him off his feet and shove him against the wall, kiss him, bring him to the bed, and pointedly shut the curtains on an audience that doesn't exist, followed by a lazy morning after with breakfast in bed.

So it probably hurts extra that Ed is like that was a mistake. This is literally him living his fantasy from episode 1, Ned Low even has facial hair and is mean to him like Izzy used to be. He could ignore all the realities of that situation, because he was living his fantasy, and Ed dragged them both out of fantasyland, back to the real world, where their relationship isn't fixed 100% and sex didn't change that.

They weren't on the same page. They still aren't, because they need to talk.

[ficretus]

I am getting kind of annoyed both at takes I see at rwde as well as anon who spammed my posts few weeks ago. Basically, they argue that on top of being awful character, Jaune also completely ruins his literary allusion, Joan of Arc.

Of course, you are free to like or dislike Jaune, however, when people claim they hate Jaune because he is a coward, I get really confused. Jaune is not a coward, he is pretty brave, to the point of it being kind of flaw since he has low regard for his own safety. If he was a coward, he wouldn't have went with Ruby, Nora and Ren to Haven, he wouldn't have challenged Cinder to the fight, he wouldn't have tried to infiltrate Salem's base to save Oscar, etc. They are pretty on the nose with it in Volume 8 when Ren states Jaune feels no fear.

However, meat of my gripes is with people not understanding Joan of Arc and how to translate her character to the story.

No, Jaune not being giga chad isekai self insert protagonist level of strong is not an issue or insult to his primary literary allusion, it's the opposite. I don't know do people get their Joan of Arc knowledge from Fate Grand Order, but Joan herself wasn't skilled fighter. She was never properly trained and never directly fought someone. In pretty much every major battle she fought she was wounded or knocked out (hit by an arrow at Orleans, knocked out by a rock at Jargeau, hit by an arrow at Paris, knocked off from her horse at Compiegne). In fact her knowledge of sword fighting was so lacking she accidentally broke her treasured sword when she struck a prostitute with its side. There is no good reason for Jaune to be some kind of prodigy when he is based on a character that never properly fought anyone.

No, Jaune relying on his team to solve problems doesn't make him pussy and isn't unlike Joan. Once again, Joan of Arc wasn't front line fighter, she was moral support to the army. Her greatest triumph, siege of Orleans, was just her directing armies where to go whenever she got a vision. And Jaune's Semblance makes sense for someone based on Joan of Arc. It is essentially morale boost Semblance considering boosting an Aura buffs both your health, defense and offensive abilities. It matches what Joan did for her comrades. Jaune relying on his team to accomplish things is not a bug, it's a feature.

No, Jaune failing doesn't make him an insult to Joan of Arc. Joan of Arc herself wasn't perfect and suffered handful of failures herself. After her victory at Orleans, she won at Jargeau, but then lost the siege at Paris. After that she was stalemated in Perrinet Gressart campaign, won a battle at Lagny and was then captured at Compiegne. After failed siege of Paris, and especially after stalemate against Perrinet Gressart, Court started doubting her abilities. It is simply different order of wins and losses with Joan peaking in her first battle while Jaune was completely useless during the Fall of Beacon but has upward trajectory after that.

Jaune's Joan of Arc is the one without any special abilities but with the same aspirations. He wants to be the hero and save the world, but he wasn't blessed with divine power that gives him unnatural charisma and allows him to see future events. People's gripes and suggestions how to "fix him" usually boil down to turning Jaune into generic power fantasy protagonist. Which is not only boring and misses the point of the character, it also misses the point of Joan of Arc. If Jaune was some kind of prodigy kicking ass since Volume 1, he wouldn't have been Joan, he would have been Roland, Arthur, Lancelot or whatever famous legendary knight you can find.

[stsgluver]

synopsis. after too many years, gojo has his family together again.

wc. 810

tags. lovers-to-strangers-to-lovers!au

series link !

"so are you two back together?"

you and gojo share a surprised look that that was the first question that tsumiki asked. yes, you had acknowledged the status of your relationship would be brought up in this small cafe meeting with tsumiki and megumi, but admittedly you'd hoped it would've come up far later in the conversation. if at all.

beyond your initial comment about how leaving him had impacted you, there hadn't been much discussion on anything regarding the two of you together. the jujutsu world was one of heartache and pain and neither of you were brave enough to take the dive into another heartbreak that would surely kill you both.

you cleared your throat, ignoring the heat that had risen to your cheeks as you shook your head, "no, no, we are just friends." gojo gave a tight-lipped smile and nodded in agreement.

just friends aren't still deeply in lo-

"-being away from this place wasn't as... cleansing for the soul as i'd hoped it to be so i came back," you explained and tsumiki eyed you both suspiciously.

tsumiki had been thirteen and megumi twelve when you had left. they had always been insightful children and knew something was wrong before you and gojo officially ended things. neither had expected you to leave them, however, and it had taken megumi some convincing to come to the cafe at all to see you.

he'd barely acknowledged you at jujutsu high.

"so you're back for good?" tsumiki asked and you nodded, causing a wide grin to appear on her face, "yay! i've really hated being the only girl in the house-"

"-she's not moving back in," gojo cut her off more harshly than intended and he bit his tongue, sending you an apologetic glance.

you brushed it off, leaning across the table to lightly squeeze tsumiki's hand, "i'll definitely come over and visit. I've missed our friday girl's nights." it wasn't enough to make her smile as it had before, but at least one night a week was definitely better than the zero she'd had for three and a half years.

"are you sure you should be coming back?"

everything around you stilled and you're once again reminded of how observant megumi was, even as a young teenager. it reflected his muddled childhood and you felt a pang of guilt for only further causing an issue which forced him to mature more quickly than he should've had to.

"i'm okay now megs, i promise," you said sincerely, "everything was just getting a little too much and i could barely focus. i didn't want to get someone hurt on a mission because of my mistakes. you're stuck with me now though. forever." your promise did little to subside the unease that megumi felt but he nodded his head in recognition nonetheless.

the silence of a thousand unsaid words settled between the four of you, each of you deciding that staring at your drinks were more fascinating.

gojo decided that this was his opportunity to make his coffee to just his liking and began pouring in several tubes of sugar at once.

you scoffed at his behaviour as he reached for three more, "how do you have any teeth left?"

gojo gave your drink a disgusted glance, "if you tell me that you like the bitter flavour of coffee, i'll be the one who leaves this time." whilst you'd like to say that you were shocked that he was making jokes so soon, you'd be lying. this was how he coped. had it not been for the circumstance, you think you would've been a little happier for that - this gojo was still your gojo.

you diverted your attention back to megumi, "you still remember the pins to gojo's cards right?" he nodded with a smirk in gojo's direction. "perfect!" you placed your hand on gojo's forearm that rested on the table as you grinned up at him. he did his best not to visibly react to feeling the warm of your touch, even through the fabric of his shirt. "we'll be okay without you." however, the way your fingers naturally hold onto his shirt a little bit tighter than necessary screamed otherwise.

gojo dramatically rolled his eyes, tsking as you 'ganged' up on him, "oh so now you're all using me for my money? shocked but not surprised."

"well it's definitely not your personality that keeps us around," megumi quipped and gojo gasped as he clutched a hand to his shirt in faux agony. for a boy who so often kept his emotions hidden beneath a facade, no one missed the quirk of his lips into a small smile.

for a moment, a very brief fleeting moment, gojo was content. in front of him were the three most important people in his life and, relationships aside, his family was together again.

tag list below cut:

@trinityimagines ! @karmcrim15 ! @sagekko! @hoejosfavhoe ! @hilzup ! @planetnini ! @mariapierce789 ! @deegausserr ! @shoutoandsatorubrainrot ! @keilaq1 !

if you have any suggestions or any ideas for this series please let me know!!

[fandomxo00]

Midnight Rain - Logan Howlett one shot

The tension between you and Logan finally comes to a head when he goes for his job interview

character: worst!Logan x reader!

word count: 2.7k

warnings: sexual tension, sexual fantasies, ex-boyfriend tramua, steamy, logan is sooo in love with y/n

please vote below!!

Logan thought he was incredibly lucky and cursed to be roommates with you. You weren't a bad roommate by any means but that wasn't the problem. The problem is that you were the closet thing Althea had to a grandchild, your grandma had passed away and she had been best friends with Althea. Althea never had any children of her own, so she loved you very dearly. You practically grew up with an extra grandma and now she was the last piece you had of your grandmother. She had given you the no shit taking attitude but also treated you like the most precious thing in the world. Something that had astonished Wade the first time he met you.

Even though Logan hadn't been there at the time, he started going on and on about his new friend. Wade was already trying to set them up before they even met. When Althea met Logan, she immediately told you he needed a roommate, as you needed a good reason to quick your ex out.

You had alot of attachment issues, even after your ex cheated on you over a year ago. Jacob had let you sign the lease for a whole year, he said that you could move out. But you didn't want to liable for him trashing the place if you weren't there. Your ex had relied on his mommy for most of his life. One of the reasons why you struggled so much in the relationship and pushed him away is because he treated you like you were his mommy. Which at first you thought it was endearing that he liked being taken care. But he never did anything in return and if he did, he complained about it.

What kept you there was the fact that he was good in bed. So even after you broke up, you still hooked up from time to time. Most of the time it was him crawling into your bed in the middle of the night, asking for just a cuddle. Before getting into a late night fucking session that sent the both of you to bed afterwards. But you didn't trust him and when the lease came back around, you kicked him out, buying it out from him with Logan's help.

When Logan heard of your shitty situationship, it had pissed him off. He acted so cold towards you for the longest time, thinking that a women like you deserved so much more than to be used. But instead of showing you what a good man looks like, he was short, gruff and harsh with you. Though of course you had grown close with Wade, so now Logan heard all about your relationship issues. He also heard about how you stayed because you needed good sex. Of course that sent him on a thought spiral, dirty images of you filling his head.

But what he didn't like was the thoughts of taking care of you, being the one to make you dinner, help you in the shower, listen to you talk for hours and make you feel good (hopefully with his tongue or cock). He was consciously trying not to have feelings for you. But then you showed him kindness, pointing out when it seemed like he was in pain, dishing out your own bluntness. Though you didn't have to a complete dick to get under his skin, time and time again you show how much more mature you were than him.

When he was being mean, you confronted him to ask what was wrong. When he was being petty, you were realistic and always made him feel like there was no reason to be mad. But most of all, you were unrelentlessly brave, even when he was drunk, or even when he screamed at you because he was pissed. You never shrunk down, not even when his claws came out. You told him to put them away and have a real conversation with him, rather than being a petty asshole. How could he argue with that? How can he push you away when you never push him? You challenge him but you never ask intrusive questions or prod at his past. All you do is listen and then you tell him you feel.

Though sometimes he didn't know what to say. Most of the time if he was grumpy around you, was because he saw you in those tiny shorts that barely cover your ass, or when you were at you refused to wear a bra. And you always kept it freezing in the apartment, so more times than not you'd catch him looking at your pebbled nipples. Not that you minded, he knew that. The peaks only hardening with his gaze.

Logan had known about your crush from the get-go. Though most women thought he was attracted so he didn't think anything of it. Your heart just picking up in speed when you first met him, the lingering looks and at first you were shy. Logan thought it was merely physical,one day, it particularly hard for him not to throw you on the counter, he walked out of his room shirtless, you were resting against the bar, leaning over as your eyes trailed along him. Logan watched as your eyes basically screamed, 'Fuck me' and the notes of your arousal started to fill his senses.

After that point you started to tease him, bending over or squatting when he was in the room, especially when you were shorts or those grey leggings that clung to your thighs and hips. Logan just wanted to peel those things off of you and feel your skin under his hands. Because he knew your skin was soft, he always smelt your lavender lotion and the essential oil you put behind your ears and on your wrists.

You would go out of your way to touch him, and when you did you never pulled away first. You would skim pass him to grab a plate getting awfully close to him each time, the smell of coconut in your soft curls, or making up an excuse to hand him something, so your touch could linger on his. Your eyes always meeting his, the closer you got, waiting for him to reject you. But he never did, he just didn't have it him to actually reject you, but to avoid you? He could do that; he could also pull away each time you subtly came on to him.

The day that stopped, he thought he had done something wrong. A feeling of panic coming into him before the thought that this was the right thing flitted into his mind. The reality that he very much did have feelings for you was what held him back. You'd tell him that he was being pessimist if he told you he couldn't have you because he couldn't dare to lose you. That everyone he loved died, you were so young too, you had so much life to live, and he couldn't take that away from you. You were too good for him, you deserved to have a man your age, a man that could give you everything.

Logan knew that you wanted to get married, to have kids, to fall in love, it was all you ever talked about with Wade. Someone to grow old with, of course he couldn't give you that. But that fact that you were human proved to him that he couldn't. Before it was just a fear of losing you, but the reality was he would one day, lose you. He was pulled out of his thoughts as you walked by the bathroom. Leaning your hand against the door as you looked at him the mirror. A serious, slightly annoyed look on his face as his eyes were focused on his tie, before flitting over to you, the dip in his brow softening. "Need help?"

"Yeah." Logan breathed, offering you tight smile as you stepped into the bathroom. Moving to stand in front of the mirror, his eyes looking down at you before looking behind you in the reflection. Logan couldn't stop his eyes from landing on the curve of your ass, of course you were wearing his favorite grey leggings. That clung to each curve just perfectly, tight against your skin and thighs, made your legs look longer as they flared out to the side at the bottoms.

You looked so fucking good.

Logan's hands practically ached from wanting to touch you, he took all of him to keep his hands at his hands. "Where are you going?" You murmured, your eyes flitting up his, a hint of something he couldn't quite place in your tone.

Your doe eyes feigning innocence even when wearing the t-shirts that dip to show your breasts. Your smell always intoxicating as your hands came to the sides of his tie, pulling them together. You had casually leaned into him, his head dipping as he stared down at you, his eyes were a light brown with little specs of green in them. "Job interview." You took a shaky breath out, your heart race stabilizing.

Were you jealous?

Logan's eyebrow shot up, as your eyes kept moving from the tie, your hands slow in their movements, as you tried to focus on his words. "Did ya think it was something else?" he teased.

When his eyes shone with hindered desire, all you wanted to do was to stare into them forever, as the light brown in his eyes turned dark, almost as if the darkness of the green took over. Your hands shook as nerves came over you, the rugged look on his face, the lines that made his face so handsome, the way his nose curves and his jaw clenched, you felt your heart beating faster again. Logan's shoulders moving up with a shaky breath as he looks down at your long eye lashes, freckles that peppered across your forehead and just a few light ones on your nose. "No." Your voice shook, your teeth bit at skin of your inner mouth, his lips flickering to the gloss that covered your plump lips.

Logan swore that you were trying to take your time, as you undid the knot to try again, a shit-eating grin coming over his face, "Sure." His timber voice, sardonic. "You even know how to do this, princess?"

Princess.

He shouldn't have said that your hands paused as you looked up at him. Logan had seen you turned on before but not like this, mild attraction when you saw him shirtless or sometimes you just looked at him with this light look in your eyes. But Logan never watched your eyes dilate in real time, saw a deep red tint over your cheeks and running down your chest. The sound of your heart in his ears and the smell of what that nickname did you. Logan tried not to imagine your slick on his fingers, but it was what popped into his mind the moment he smelt you. "Don't call me that." You warned, as your eyes flitted back to tie, finishing it and pulling up to his neck.

"Why not?" His soothing low voice, running down your spine and straight to your core.

As you went to move your hand away, his large captured your wrist, your hand and wrist fitting in the palm of his hand. Your brown eyes connected with his, as you visibly trembled while he felt the thrum of your heart against his fingers. The way you consumed him was not like anyone else, no one took over all of his senses the way you did. The two of you stood frozen, as his eyes flicked back and forth from both of your eyes.

Your head tilted up your nose coming level to his, it felt like it was hard to breath as Logan looked at you so intensely. "Let me go." You whispered, as his hand immediately dropped yours but only to settle over his ribs, as you leaned into him.

"I can't." Logan grumbled, at this moment the two of you didn't really need to speak in full sentences. Your eyes were doing all the communicating, your words mere teasing gestures to drawn each other in.

"Why not?" You repeated his earlier words, your eyes burning into his with desire. The urge to set you on the counter and press his nose to your crotch was making his hands shake. Logan wanted to taste you so bad, maybe he could do that for you.

No.

He can't cross that line, your more than half of his age. You were too good for him, had too much potential in life for him to come screw it up. "What are you thinking about?" You pressed, your hand skimming up to feel the muscles tense under your fingers as you felt the smooth material of his suit jacket. His natural heat radiating off of him, making you subconsciously move closer to him.

Logan gave in to the temptation of touching you, his hand coming to sit above your collarbone, the weight of his hand made your eyes flutter shut. God, he wished he didn't hear the softest airiest little breath, you made. You almost fucking whined just because he fucking touched you. What would you sound like with his head between your thighs?

"You know what I'm thinking about." Logan assured; his voice was deep like the rumbling of the earth. Your hand kept moving as it creeped up to his neck, the feeling of your cold, delicate fingers made his grip on you tighten. Your soft hands meet the hair at the base of his neck before moving up into the nicely cut hair at the back of his head.

"No-. No I don't, Logan. Please tell me." You pleaded, as Logan practically growled as his hands came to your waist, only seconds passed as he backed you up into the bathroom sink. His hips pinning yours to the counter behind you as his head dipped in by your ear, you felt his erection in his pants, press up against your stomach the further you backed up,making a whimper fall from your mouth.

"You. I'm always thinking about you." Logan's voice was croaky and dry, what you had now deemed as arousal.

"Always?"

Then knocking echoed through the apartment, barely noticeable in the bathroom, you didn't even flinch, he met you didn't even hear it. Not with the way you were looking at him as if you wanted to devour him whole. Right now he really wished he didn't have his enhanced hearing. But Logan's hands fell from you, his hips moving back as he stepped away from you. You felt yourself deflate as Logan adjusted himself in his pants before clearing his throat as a familiar voice started yapping from the other side. "Peanut! Time for your interview!"

"Fuck." Logan gruffed, shaking his head as you stood by the counter completely quiet, when his eyes found yours again. That soft watery look in your eyes made it nearly impossible not to tell Wade to fuck off.

But if he wanted to stay here with you, he needed a job. Even though he shouldn't want you, the pull between the two of you was strong. There was no denying that you were attracted to one another and Logan would never admit that he liked your personality too. But it evident to anyone who knew him that he was infatuated by you. If he wouldn't let himself, have you, at least he could try to be around you.

Though he knew that it wasn't even safe to be around you. If Logan even interacted with you, it could risk the two of you being drawn together like magnetics. You'd tell him to stop thinking so hard about it, that he's only manifesting what he didn't want. The real truth of that matter was that he could think of every single reason of why he shouldn't be with you. But when he was so close to you, so easily being consumed by you. That's why he avoided you so often, but what would truly happen if you decided to fully pursue him?

All of his resolve would completely fumble.

Note: i got carried away this was supposed to a imagine, sorry not sorry, just want him to fantazie and have no choice but to want me plz, ive wanted to write for worst! Logan so badly, but usually the more i want it the harder it is to write lmao. i wanted to use the scene from the wolverine where mariko is fixing his belt but i couldn't find the gif, sometimes i wonder if i spend more time on the gifs than the actual imagine.

[goatcheesecak3]

Adam's Post Trap Coping Mechanisms Headcanons

Adam Faulkner-Stanheight x GN!Reader

Fic type: hcs, fluff

Warnings: brief mention of bullet wound

Caring for Adam involves a LOT of physical touch, he needs to be held, almost urgently, while he cries, feeling you rub his back and gently shushing him

He's hates his bullet wound, it reminds him of the worst day of life and he so desperately wishes it wasn't there. Every night you carefully rub ointment onto it to help reduce the scarring, all while reminding him how brave he is, and how proud you are of him.

He can't fall asleep in silence at all, in fact he's terrified of dark quiet rooms. You sleep with a small lamp on, and talk to him until he falls asleep every night. Sometimes you make up a story for him, which at first he thought was childish and silly, but he's come to find it comforting. His favourite is stories are about aliens and spaceships, he's a big sci fi nerd

Something else that he once found juvenile and immature but now loves, is stuffed animals. You bought him a cuddly monkey, since that was his favourite animal when he was a child, and now he can't sleep without it.

His comfort film is Alien, not the typical comforting film, but Adam isn't the typical guy. He loves to snuggle up under a blanket and fall asleep to the reassuring sounds of evil beasts being slaughtered - maybe it's cathartic for him.

If Adam's had a rough day, the best way to make sure he doesn't spiral is to really baby him, make his favourite food (pancakes with lots of chocolate sauce), put on his favourite film, and make him an Irish coffee with LOTS of cream and sugar.

When his panic attacks get bad, he loves to be held while you call him soothing nicknames. Just to name a few of his favourites,"my sweet boy," "honeybunny," "baby boy," and "sweetpea"

When he goes through really rough patches, he struggles with washing himself, being in a bathroom is just too scary for him. It helps a great deal if you run him a bath and stay with him, washing his hair and kissing his cheek the whole time.

Helping him with his laundry means so much to him, especially if he's had a particularly hard day. You set out a clean tshirt and pj bottoms for him, and even get him a pair of fuzzy slippers. He looks so sweet in his pjs, you can't help but smother him with kisses.

Another thing that he originally deemed as "too childish" for him, were fidget toys. He's still too embarrassed to take one out in public, but in the evenings, keeping his hands occupied with a stress ball or a rubber animal stuffed with orbeez really seems to soothe him. There's a drawer in his bedside table filled with different types of fidget toys for him to grab whenever he feels like it.

A/n hello!! Sorry I haven't written in a while, my joint issues have been flaring up more than usual for the last month, and typing has just been far too painful :^( on the plus side, I've got a physiotherapy appointment in the next few days, so if all goes well I'll be able to use my limbs properly soon!! I hope everyone is doing well :^))))

[allgremlinart]

you must decide. you must choose the ultimate MILF.

propaganda/MILF context under the cut

Kya I - Very brave. Died in kind of just a brutal and violent and sad way. Invisible presence of the show. Good mom, from what we can tell. Bagged absolute stud of a husband so good for her.

Ursa - What can I say ? Soap Opera Protagonist. Forced into non-consensual marriage. Killed her father in law. Loved both of her children very much but it still wasn't enough to save them. Unfulfilled stage mom. Magic Gay Grandpa.

Hei-Ran - Refers to her daughter by her military rank. Maybe killed her cousin and others in honor duels on purpose but it's kind of wishy washy. Had a thing with past avatar, new avatar ends up dating her daughter, which has got to feel kind of weird.

Lin Beifong - One of few characters in-universe with family name privileges. Not the mommy issues giver but the mommy issues haver. A cop but hey she's really hot. No social life. Miserable.

Liling - Going to give her children incredibly intense mommy issues. Capitalist. Engaged in corporate sabotage to ensure her own dominance in factory town. On like the worst possible version of an HOA. Prejudiced against own daughter.

Buttercup Raiko - One of few characters in-universe with family name privileges. Only mistake was marrying absolute cuck of a president. Barely on screen but when she was she served I can't lie.

Suyin Beifong - One of few characters in-universe with family name privileges. Kind of weird ex-hippy turned liberal mom vibes. Didn't give any of her five children mommy issues but DID give them to the ethno-nationalist with a mecha.

Kya II - Canonically lesbian. Hippie aunt. Underutilized. Shows up to beat ass and make fun of her brothers and then leaves to go smoke weed or something. Daddy issues but like they're pretty manageable, could be way worse.

Senna - Next to her husband looks about one apple tall. Long suffering mother of Avatar. Loves her daughter very much. Not really sure how she survived living with the personalities that are Korra and Tonraq but I think it has to be weed. Cute hair.

Izumi - Maybe has 30 seconds of dialogue but nonetheless present in plenty of f/f slash. The glasses are hot. We don't really know much about her besides the fact that her dad loves her very much.

Pema - Tenzin get OFF of that woman. I know she was only pregnant for like technically one season but it may as well have been the whole show. She needs to try weed and also abandon her family for a month. Low-key devious.

Tagaka - Self-titled Pirate Queen. Waterbender but also uses cool sword she stole off a dead guy just cus. Humiliates old men in front of their adoptive children. Ok so MAYBE she raids coastlines and takes prisoners/slaves from villages she plunders but she's hot when she does it.

[gremlinmodetweeker]

König's Self Esteem

cw self esteem issues and mentions of ptsd

So, König wasn't always very proud of himself. In fact, very much the opposite.

Growing up, König was bullied relentlessly for every single aspect of his very being. Nothing was enough for his classmates. He was considered a freakish nerd. He was called fat and later skinny. Girls would pretend to ask him out and laugh in his face when he eagerly accepted. Boys would make fun of König for how he spent more time reading than playing sports. Nothing was enough.

When König was a teen, things changed. Suddenly, König was tall and strong. His soft jaw sharpened, his pitiful round eyes hardened. The wiry teen became a muscular young adult thanks to his plentiful hikes in the woods, as referenced in this post.

So with such a change in König, surely, his relationship with his self esteem must be mixed, no?

More under the cut.

König has two layers of his self esteem. He has the self esteem that his team knows him for, and then he has the softer side that you know of.

On the battlefield, he is brave and, quite frankly, arrogant. He believes in himself like no other. Whatever he sets his mind to, he can do. Nobody can get in his way. His enemies are like ants beneath his boots.

When he saves hostages, he has mixed feelings. On one hand, the hostages are usually terrified of him. He's a 6'10 Austrian man built like a mac truck. Covered in blood and heaving with heavy breaths, children usually start crying when they see him.

But then he saves them. Then, the hostages that teared up at the sight of him throw themselves at his feet. They thank him profusely and adore him for saving them. He's had children named after him simply because he saved a few pregnant women. He keeps in touch with the families, too, to make sure they're still safe.

Teammates adore him, too. Nobody can do what he can. He barrels through a door and tramples his enemies under boot and bullet alike. He's like a bull with how he bores down his enemies. When enemies hear that König is coming, some of them defect immediately rather than face the wrath of the King.

Horangi in particular adores König. He's by and far one of the best hostage extractors they have. He's strong, brutish, but efficient. He's also incredibly reliable on the field. König has carried injured soldiers for miles before to get them back to safety. Legends of König carrying three men over six miles still fly around the base.

So, with all this success, König gets a bit of a big head. He is confident in his abilities and his success. He is incredibly proud of how hard he's worked for what he's gotten. He earned his place here. He was hand picked by KorTac. He is desired. He's important. He is powerful, honourable, brave and true. He's a killing machine, he's a guardian angel. He's the King.

But when he's off the field, when he's away and home with you, he can't be that König. He can't be king of the battlefield when he's at home. He can't order you around like a new recruit, and he can't expect you to treat him like an angel of death for saving you from certain doom. Instead, you see König as what he hates about himself; König is just a mortal man.

He never had to grow beyond being a teenager when he worked. He never had to face what lay under his mask. Now, with you, he has to see what you see, regardless of if he wants to or not.

He was so used to cruelty and brutality, but you bring forth softness and gentle touches. He is scared by the vulnerability you bring out of him. He's not used to being treated with love and kindness like what you provide.

Sometimes, when he thinks he's home alone, you might find him staring himself down in a mirror, a haunted look reflected back. He seems lost when he looks at himself. Soon, he rips himself away, but he can't wipe away his tears before you see them.

He'll sometimes grab at his stomach and pull, looking down miserably. You might ask what's wrong, but he'll shake it off and pretend it's nothing.

The worst are the nightmares he wakes from. He has so many memories he wishes to forget. He's made so many mistakes, and it's cost so many lives. How dare he live when others better than him have been lost? He doesn't know what to do with himself.

He hurts, dear reader. He can put on a face of being brave, but he will always remember the cruelty of his peers. When he goes into public, he feels like everyone can see the evil things he's done on the battlefield.

Sometimes, he'll break, and he'll admit all these things to you. Then he needs your kindness, your soft words, your warm touch. He might not ever be whole again, but when you kiss him and hold him close, he feels like a piece of pottery being glued together with gold. One day, he promises this to you whenever he can, he'll be better. You might not believe him, but you love him regardless.

No giant can walk through hell unscathed.

[fridayth13]

I just read your Zhongli reuniting with his wife fic and I absolutely adore it! Could I request a continuation of that where the two talk things out and forgive each other?

galaxies unseen in shavings of jade.

↳ zhongli × gn!immortal!artist!reader

↳ part one, part two

↳ genre: angst with a happy ending | wordcount: 2.8k | warnings: none that i can tell

↳ notes: HI 😭 god sorry that took so long. between the writers block and the anxiety i struggled to end it in a way that made sense. but i think im happy with what i made here. i really did enjoy writing both the first and second part of this :') so i hope you enjoy this one just as much

shoutout to @ad0rechuu for helping me out of writer's block :')

Truth be told, Zhongli had no idea how to talk to you. He was clumsy in matters of the heart. Despite all his years and experience, he could never have prepared himself for how thoroughly you bewitched him. He wondered if you noticed at some point and simply never told him. While embarrassing, it did relieve him in a way. It only meant you didn't mind it. The mere fact that you allowed him the grace of holding you close meant you might have even been enamored by his eccentricities. He would be lying if he said he wasn't terrified of you pulling away one day. What would he do with himself then?

Unfortunately, he'd gotten his answer.

Inexperienced as he was with the heart, the Geo Archon was steadier than the oldest rock formation; stubborn as a boulder that refused to break through the horrors of the Archon War, and through the deep ache of losing you.

He braved through it. Though not without the damage.

Five hundred years later, there was no more war in Liyue. No more strife and suffering tearing through his nation. But most strikingly, no you. He was plagued late in the night with the thought of giving back the era of peace if it meant he could have even a sliver of your presence in his life again.

He couldn't do that. He wouldn't.

But he thought of it. Frequently.

One day after the war, he couldn't find you anywhere. Sunrise had just begun to peek past the mountains, lightening the shadow of night, as if Celestia had descended to celebrate the end of the war. It had been a long night of fighting. Issuing orders among his adepti. Finding out what he should say to you when he got home.

You were both incredibly stubborn. It was a part of you Morax adored, no matter how many arguments the two of you went through because of it. But he feared the night before may have gone overboard. He'd thought you were being foolish, trying to risk your life on the battlefield. What were you thinking? Didn't you know how far everything would fall if you were to get hurt on his watch? Didn't you understand how much the guilt would consume him? How much he would crumble without you to steady him? You were his partner. His confidante. His everything.

He didn't understand you either. Didn't understand that you only wanted to help. That you wanted to prove he didn't have to be alone on the frontlines. That you would have his back as readily as he would have yours. Too late, did he finally think of it that way. It was only after the words have been said, like venom being spat. Morax had gone back to his war, exactly what you told him not to do. And as for you, it seemed you had followed suit.

He sought you out immediately. Days and nights of searching later, he found you speaking with General Musatas.

"I'm leaving."

All these years later, Zhongli knew how much of a mistake this was— he hid. Your words sent a chill through him, as if his blood had turned to ice. Despite the slight tremble in your voice, there was a bit of fire there. The one he recognized in you when you were set on a decision.

"Are.. Are you sure?" Yingda questioned. Her voice dropped to a hesitant whisper, and he had to strain to hear. "But Morax—"

"Forget Morax." You snapped. "I can't speak with him right now. Don't tell him where I'm going please."

"I don't even know where you're going." She exclaimed. "Yn.."

"I'll be safe. You know I can handle myself." Then, with some bitterness: "At least, someone does."

Yingda whined, unsure. "Will you return.. one day? Will we be able to see you again?"

The warmth in your voice made your lover ache.

"Liyue is at peace. I'm sure I will see you lot again at some point. Maybe even at the little harbor the humans have constructed. You spoke of wanting to go there with your fellow yakshas, haven't you?"

"Yes, but.. Are you sure? Truly sure you want to leave?"

You paused. Morax grasped at the silence with bated breath.

"Yes." You said.

Then all the wind was knocked out of him. The war was over. He'd been defeated. He couldn't even find it in himself to watch you go.

—

A moment of weakness was stolen in between the five hundred years of stubbornness.

You, wrought through nightmares of the Archon War and exhaustion weighing you down like an anchor, trudged through the harbor. Your arms wrapped around your figure in a feeble attempt to protect yourself from the cold night air.

It was a moment between moments— witnessed by only you and the swarm of stars in the heavens.

You'd stopped at the bridge, bracing yourself on the rail with a heavy exhale.

You missed him. His warmth. His voice.

Visions of spilled ichor and the ruthless clang of weapons filled your pained mind.

You wished you lost the argument all those years ago.

You hated that.

You hated him. You hated yourself.

You missed him more though.

For a mere second, slowed by fear and the precariousness of your hope, you opened your mouth, about to speak.

And then the second ended. Tears spilled from your eyes, warming your cool face. You thought only of bloodshed. From the war, and whatever it was that happened to your relationship after it.

You cursed yourself. You couldn't just call him now, could you? Not after deserting him and vowing never to come back.

You conjured the situation in your mind's eye. Rex Lapis, Geo Archon from even before the war— the most ancient and formidable of them all, summoned by his ex at the drop of a hat. It felt like a particularly unfunny joke made at your expense.

There was no way he'd want you anymore after all that.

And so that night remained a secret between you and the stars. And if you stayed at the bridge a few minutes longer with the unfounded hope he might see you there waiting for him, and still love you, then it was for only the stars to discuss.

—

The second biggest mistake of Zhongli's life was not running to you the moment he saw you again after all that time.

It was a little secret between him and the wind. And partially, Director Hu, who had accompanied him into the art exhibit in the first place.

It hadn't even been his intention to attend. A particular painting turned his head as he passed by— a meadow of glaze lilies. Not an uncommon scene portrayed by mortal artists. But there had been a certain feeling it evoked in him, catching his gaze a second longer than it ought to.

Hu Tao saw him looking at the painting and skipped inside despite his protest. And so, Zhongli breathed out a sigh and went after her.

"Was this the one you were looking at?" She asked.

"Yes." He eyed the painting with scrutiny. "Glaze lilies.."

Hu Tao hummed in agreement. "It is quite beautiful."

Zhongli agreed. But there was something else to it. Something that made him really rack his brain for the word— familiarity.

It had been centuries since a scene of glaze lilies bountiful enough to form a field so blue. He doubted any mortal would have lived long enough to have seen one, and yet, this particular depiction was spot on. Every azure brush stroke dashed over the canvas like rolling tides, perfectly recapturing the luster of seeing a glaze liliy's sparkling quality up close. Truly, a sea of them. Just as the poems of old described. Just how Zhongli remembered them before the flowers' numbers dwindled down to a rarity. Almost as if the painter themselves had been there with him to witness their bloom in spring.

Zhongli ended up enjoying the art exhibit, after all. He took extra note of the work by the artist of the glaze lilies. Whoever they were had a tendency for plain scenes. And yet, the depictions of things as mundane as jade shavings were as vibrant as galaxies, reflecting against the color of the harbor's light. He couldn't help but find a certain charm in the style. And the aforementioned familiarity. The longer he looked at each scene, the more he felt as though he was present when they were sketching out the shapes.

"Do you reckon we could find the artist at this very exhibit?" Hu Tao piped up.

Zhongli took a moment to realize she was speaking.

"Ah. Perhaps." He nearly stammered, then cleared his throat as he turned to look at her. "It is not uncommon for them to go about and ask opinions of their work."

"You know, you've been particularly attracted to this artist." Hu Tao teased lightly. "We do need your portrait done for the directory. Maybe I could ask them?"

Zhongli chuckled, about to respond to her quip.

Then there you were, turning around the corner. There were earthquakes with less magnitude than the effect you had on him.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The paintings were all yours. They were in your style hidden under a pen name. They were yours. As comfortable a sight to him as the ones you used to make sitting next to him in Jueyun Karst.

Panic seized him then. What would you think of him? Here? At your work? Would you spare him a glance after the first? Would you shun him? Remove him from the premises? No one knew who he was but you, but you alone was certainly enough for him to listen.

Worse yet, Hu Tao was present. She was an inquisitive woman. She was quite smart when she wanted to be, and Zhongli did not want to divulge five centuries worth of heartbreak with her, or even himself.

With a similar sentiment, he didn't know if he could handle being rejected by you a second time. He didn't want to cause you trouble at work where you were clearly enjoying yourself.

You made a coward out of him. You reduced the Archon of Liyue to a fumbling boy with a crush, even back then. Especially now. And in that moment, it was your brilliant smile that intimidated him most.

You looked happy without him.

—

You didn't know what had possessed Zhongli to run after you as you crossed the funeral parlor's threshold.

Brow creasing in bewilderment, you turned to him. It was only a few steps, yet he looked out of breath. Frantic, even.

"..Mr. Zhongli?"

"Please." You didn't miss the way he reached out, hand inches away from your own. It fell back to his side as he steeled himself to speak again.

You readjusted your bag hanging over your shoulder. "Yes?"

"Allow me to walk you back."

You raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's quite late. It.." He clasped his hands together behind his back, hesitating for a moment. "..I only want to be sure you reach your home safely."

So there you were, begrudgingly letting him walk you home. Only he didn't mention the fact he had no idea where you lived, so neither did you. For the moment, you were content with watching the pitiful jerk walk you in circles around the harbor, panicking and relaxing every few minutes as he tried to surmise which street he's supposed to lead you through.

Reach your home safely. What a joke. What, was he going to buy you flowers now too? The two of you had shared but a few conversations after all that silence, and he just.. Ugh. Did he think you were kidding? Did he think you would come crawling back or something?

Though, the longer you watched him, the more you felt as though you missed the mark. Maybe you had been getting ahead of yourself. He might only be being polite.

The two of you were standing by Chihu Rock, at the very edge of the bridge. For a moment, he turned to you as if he'd finally let the facade drop and admit he didn't know where to go, then he turned away again.

"Mr. Zhongli?"

"Yn."

You heaved out a sigh, tugging your bag closer over your shoulder.

"You don't—"

"I need to talk to you." He uttered, swiftly cutting you off.

Your throat seemed to close, leaving you out of breath despite the leisurely pace you'd taken throughout the walk. Unable to say anything, you only nodded.

Zhongli looked at you, amber eyes pinched with worry.

"I am truly sorry for what happened between us."

"You said that already."

"I–" Zhongli shifted his weight between his feet. He still couldn't quite look you in the eye. "I know, I just.. I don't think I'll be able to say it enough to compensate for the time I had spent brooding instead of.."

It was your turn to look away then, fingers twitching nervously along your bag strap. You could only watch his approach through the corner of your eye. He stopped mere inches away from you, his own gloved hands coming up like he didn't know where to put them; wondering if they still fit against you; shaking with the trepidation of it not being so. Of the very real possibility that you had.. moved on. Outgrown him. That he had been too late.

You remained strong, crossing your arms over your chest.

But your voice caught in your throat trying to get the words out. Your still couldn't meet his eyes. Then it all came out in a fragile whisper meant only for him. Hidden in the pocket of silence between you, under the hustle and bustle of the mortal night life, you whispered:

"What are you trying to say, Morax?"

Entirely unbeknownst to you, the use of his true name sent a shiver across his skin. Like a rush of adrenaline to push him along, it flowed through him in a spark of warmth.

He reached for your hand. He didn't quite hold it, moreso just your fingers, as if testing the waters of your tolerance.

How badly he wished he could kiss along your knuckles as he once had. How he ached for the blankness in your eyes to cease. To make way for the affection he allowed to get away from him.

What he didn't know was what you were thinking of: the night you went out to that very same bridge, aching for him in turn.

Well, there he was.

And there you were.

"Allow me back into your life." He pleaded at last. "Please, Yn, I.. I cannot afford to have you so close only for you to slip through my fingers once again."

"Morax.."

"I intend to fight for you this time." Zhongli's grip on your hand grew firm. "I should've done that long ago. I should have stayed with you, or I should have chased after you. I should have begged for you to stay, and I was a fool for not doing so. Forgive me."

You blinked at him. Your hand gripped the rail, thumb running nervously over the night-cooled wood. You were suddenly aware of the passersby at the edge of the city. A group of curious children watched you from afar, and in your attempt to ignore them, you looked up, and were forced to notice the glaringly close proximity you and Zhongli drew yourselves in. His cor lapis eyes cut like amber shards. Still, sincerity softened his expression. In turn, his earnestness softened you. You cursed him for how malleable he made you to his whims.

When you left, you had to build yourself back up. You learned how to stand on your own. You were so determined not to reduce yourself into some crying, besotted ex-spouse that you had confused loneliness for independence.

It hurt to realize that so late. It hurt that you could only realize that now, inches away from him, wanting nothing more than to forget yourself and cry into your lover's arms. It hurt just to look at him.

All this time, you could have just asked. There was no one to blame for your loneliness but you and your own foolish pride.

You sighed deeply, turning your gaze to the mountain ranges carving against the skyline.

"I don't feel like there's anything to forgive." You mumbled. His fingers crept into the space between yours as you talked. You held onto his touch with your very life. "I feel like I should be asking you that."

Zhongli frowned. "To that, I am not sure what to say."

You hummed, feet scuffing against the wooden planks of the bridge.

"Walk with me then? We certainly have time."

Your chest was alight looking at the brightness in his eyes when you said that.

"Gladly." Zhongli nodded, lightly squeezing your hand. You could see the corners of his lips fighting back a grin.

He really did miss you. As much as your emotional turmoil wanted to refute it, you knew him better than you could ever hate yourself. And you loved him more than anything.

You were only thankful he seemed to love you just as much.

[simpingland]

Hi hi! I would like to request a modern introvert aemond x extrovert fem!reader smut where reader just needs a lot of comfort because she's so drained from everyone and constantly putting on a brave front by being outgoing and happy. So she comes home and aemond just takes care of her and ends their night with soft smut

Thank you thank you!!

To Imagine// Modern!Introvert! Aemond x Fem!Extrovert!reader.

Summary: reader has been nothing but the the moon and Sun for Aemond, so when she breaks down for the first time in front of him, he just can't help but confess all she makes him feel.

TW: body issues! SMUT! (Fingering, oral sex female recivin, p in v).

Watching you from across the room, smiling and chatting with anyone you came across was Aemond's favourite pastime. You always managed to get a laugh out of them, a sincere smile, some gossip that you would pass on to his ears while he pretended not to care. The truth is that whatever you said to him mattered to him. Ever since that dinner when his family invited yours, he couldn't take his eyes off you, though your attention was focused most of the night on Helaena. You let her talk to you at length about stories she had dreamed, and yet you maintained such a tender interest that Aemond needed to find fault with you.

"My sister Helaena can be an...overwhelming girl," he said as he sat down next to you, the family distracted, and you turned away for a second.

"Your sister Helaena is a creative girl, and those people are always nice. Aren't you creative?" Your blunt answer caught him off guard, he didn't expect you to twist your attention to him.

"I'm much more logical..."

"Or so you think. You spend a lot of time looking."

"Looking? I don't know what you mean..." he turned red and very serious. You just smiled at him.

"Don't worry, it's okay to look. But when one looks so intently, it's to imagine."

"To imagine what?" he looked you in the eye.

You shrugged mischievously.

"I suppose you know that better than I do."

You kept your eyes on him, as if you wanted to know what he had imagined, but Aemond wasn't like you. He didn't feel as brave as you and your smile and your words. He sat there beside you as you spoke to him of all that you thought of his house. Your first impression of Aegon made him chuckle, and he leaned back to watch you prattle on and on. He had fully fallen for your charms.

Your first kiss happened that very night, in the corridors of his manor, apart from everyone else. Aemond had let his imagination run away with him as he watched you flee, and in your gaze he saw himself invited to follow. You leaned against a pillar as he loomed over you to make it clear that he too could be a determined man.

Since then, Aemond had spent his days and nights in love with you. He had known you well. He had spent weeks at your side, and those weeks when you were apart, he was always attentive to your messages, listening to your endless voice notes. You had long since ceased to be a mystery to him, although you never really were. He had rarely seen you upset, though he was slowly learning what things could hurt you and tried to avoid them. He used to be the one who brought bad news to the table because he knew it was you who turned it around, trying to put him in a good mood. He saw you cry for the first time in a shopping mall. He always waited patiently outside the fitting room, waiting for your orders to admire your dress or change the size of the garment. When he noticed your broken voice, he entered the fitting room.

"It just won't zip" you told him.

"We'll get another one," he replied as if it were obvious.

"It's just... this is my usual size..."

And he saw your little eyes sparkling with stress. He put his hand on your cheek and asked you to look at him.

"You're going to look as pretty as ever in a size up."

"I just don't want to be a size bigger."

"And I want you to wear that dress."

"...You don't control me..." you smiled mischievously again.

"No, but I do control this dress and if I pay for it, you keep it."

He bought you the dress ignoring the hundreds of "no"s and your soft swipes, and smiled when he saw you getting into his car with it on.

"I'm sorry I got all worked up over the dress, how ridiculous..." your apology surprised him.

"You don't have to apologise."

"Crying over a silly thing like that is stupid, there are so many worse things in the world. I'll stop eating so much bread."

"You have as much right to be sad as anyone else, love." He braked the car and before getting out he took your hand gently.

"I know...but you shouldn't feel sorry for me."

"You don't control me."

You laughed and Aemond smiled and let you kiss him on the lips before getting out of the car.

That night, as usual, Aemond lost you in the crowd. Many times you tried to pull him out of his corner, pulling him by the arm and forcing him to wave, but you used to respect him and let him drink in peace. You would meet him every now and then, updating him on everything you were told. This time he noticed a lack of brightness in your gaze towards the others. He could see the slight sadness that came over you as soon as the person you were talking to took your attention away from you. You immediately sought him out when you were finally alone. He was more than ready to go home.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"I'm a little tired, do you mind if we leave?" You grabbed his arm as you leaned against him.

"Of course not."

He kissed you on the forehead and watched you say goodbye to your friends with your characteristic good humour. Only the hostess asked you if everything was alright, to which you lied so as not to worry her. The trip back was quiet, Aemond listened to you humming the song on the radio.

"I've fantasised about having my house in silence and tranquillity but I miss your little voice too much, what's the matter? Aemond followed you with his eyes as you walked around the house, taking off your coat and making a cup of tea. You handed him a cup and stroked his hair, smiling at his concern.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired."

You took a sip of the tea as you went to the bedroom, he followed and watched you lie straight down on the bed, face down and hugging your pillow.

"Did some asshole say something to you?" He wanted to sound threatening and terrifying but it was more funny than anything else. You shook your head. "I'll punch whoever you want."

Suddenly, you began to cry. With a cry so loud that it frightened Aemond, who had never heard you cry like that before. He started to call out to you in whispers, but your face was completely buried in the pillow.

"Please, tell me what's wrong, don't cry, I beg you..."

You turned your head to look at him, Aemond had laid down beside you to put his face close. He stroked your hair and dried your face as much as he could.

"I feel... so overwhelmed..." you confessed.

"Why, my love?"

"I feel that nothing I feel is valid. That nothing I feel is important because that's not my role. Today I told my friends what happened to me in the fitting room and they laughed, and they agreed with me, I was stupid. You think so yourself."

"I don't think you're stupid, I don't understand you, please don't cry".

"I feel that if I don't stop talking, people will forget about me, because I really am a basic, boring woman and people use me to tell me about their lives and I mustn't show any kind of emotion other than that of someone who is sure of herself."

Aemond preferred to keep quiet rather than repeat himself, this was completely new and he wasn't sure if he understood you.

"I hope that one day you will understand that this is not true.

"There are things that even you can't understand."

"Do you want to cry?" Aemond saw you nod, and it broke his heart a little, but he walked away, but not before giving you a kiss on your tear-stained cheek. He didn't close the door, but left the room and stood in the corridor. There he listened to you sniffle and couldn't stop feeling that he was doing something wrong.

It didn't take him long to come back in, rushing to the bed to lie down next to you again, letting you hug and squeeze him as the last of your cries came out of you.

"You should drink some water, it will stop your headache." He felt your head nod and ran to bring it to you.

He admired from afar as you drank the glass and set it down on the floor to lie down again. There was no crying now, and your face looked up at him, and Aemond stood with his arms folded, admiring your figure, which still had your dress on. Only your feet were bare.

"I've always liked your feet," he confessed, running a soft finger along the sole of one of them, tickling you. "But I like your legs best of all."

"I like your legs too, Aemond."

"Really? What's so special about them?"

"...what's between them."

Aemond made a mock-tired gesture and heard your laughter echo through the room.

"I thought you were more romantic than me."

"You thought wrong. You're more creative than you always think."

"That's true...though maybe some people motivate my imagination more than others." He moved his hand down your calfs, slowly lifting your skirt. You were still lying on your back. "Not at all basic or boring people...generous in every sense of the word."

He bent down on the bed, lifting your skirt and uncovering everything underneath, raising his hands to caress your ass. He deposited a kiss on your buttocks and reached behind you. His massage relaxed you, but before continuing he sought your face, turning your face to give you a soft kiss. When you continued the kiss, he accepted your consent.

"It hurts me to see you cry, and I want to make you feel as good as you make me feel."

Then he nimbly removed your panties and with one hand lifted your pelvis, and with the other pushed one buttock aside. His lips went straight to your pearl. As he kissed and licked, he felt himself grow as he heard cries that were no longer of pain. He felt your wetness increase and didn't hesitate to slip one of his long fingers inside you.

"Aemond..." you whispered and gasped his name and it served to realise that he needed to feel you and soon.

He removed the rest of your dress, leaving kisses on every bare patch, and was soon removing his own clothes under your impatient gaze, still lying there and catching your breath. He moved back on top of you and groped where he should thrust. When he entered you, you both felt a wave of pleasure.

He moved slowly but decisively, as Aemond was. Nothing about him was clumsy, and he preferred to climax by enjoying all the sensations you could give him. He kept a rhythm that made you shiver and pressed his body to yours, his lips close to your ear.

"Do you want me to tell you what I imagined when I looked at you the day I met you?" his voice was even softer, almost purring.

"Tell me, Aemond."

"I imagined you like this...under me, touching me like you always do, I imagined what it would be like to kiss you...and what the moles on your back would be like."

His pace was no faster, but he did penetrate you deeper and deeper, making you gasp with every thrust.

"I wondered what a girl like you would be like in a place as quiet as my bed. I needed to know what it was like to hear you whisper so that only I could hear you..."

"Aemond...I'm going to cum."

"But imagination has its limited functions." You felt the tingles peeking out, Aemond was sliding more and more over your body in sweat, and your hand came to rest in his hair, you felt his kisses and his tongue run down your neck in almost the same way it had run over your clit.

His grunts grew louder, and Aemond began to pant with you. You came first, letting out a small cry as the pleasure stirred inside you. Within a minute Aemond came, cumming inside you, as he loved to do. And before he pulled out of you, he rested his head in the hollow of your shoulder blades, catching his breath and pushing your hair aside. You felt the coolness of his breath. It didn't take long for him to pull you to lie down in front of him and cover you with a blanket. Your smile was back, and he had that special colour that sex gives him. You were about to speak, probably to make a comment of yours, but Aemond silenced you with an intense kiss, long and sweet but serious. When you broke apart, which you regretted, you didn't want to talk any more. He stroked your chin.

"Nothing I could have imagined that night," he said, "could ever come close to what you have made me feel since then."

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

you once said that the ZK do not allow the canonical Zuko to show real, sometimes ugly signs of trauma. can you write more about this? because that's what I always felt when I came across their terrible takes, but I couldn't express it.

Gladly! But first, I need to mention the sign of trauma that Zuko usually lacks - and that, for some reason, the fandom insists defines his character:

Fear

Don't get wrong, I'm not saying Zuko never experienced fear. We all saw that poor boy on his knees, crying, begging his father not to hurt him.

But in "Zuko Alone" we also see 10-year-old Zuko get bitter that only his younger sister was expected to show off her firebending skills, and deciding that he would go against his father and demonstrate his own skills to the Fire Lord - that despite the fact that he knew Azula was better at it than he was. Even when it goes wrong, he is upset, but doesn't look afraid of the consequences.

That same episode shows Azula mocking him for playing with knives despite not even being good at it, and even though the fandom insists she was his worst fear ever since he was a child, Zuko responds with a "Put an apple on your head and we'll see how good I am." That little guy has exactly zero chill.

Let's not forget why he was banished either: Despite being considered too young to be in that war meeting, Zuko demanded to be there, eventually got his way, and despite having been told not to say anything, the second he hears a general suggest using their own men as "fresh meat" to lure the enemy, Zuko speaks out against it. And at the start of the Agni Kai, he looked 100% ready to fight a grown ass man with battle experience - until he saw it was his father/Fire Lord.

Let's not forget his Agni Kai with Zhao, which was his idea and that he actually won - and before that, he openly calls Ozai a fool, to which Zhao points out that banishment clearly not teach Zuko to watch his mouth. Or the time he openly challenged Azula in Ba Sing Se and they only didn't fight then and there because Azula knew she'd have the advantage by using the Dai Li. Hell, at the start of that very season, after she tried to lure him to a trap, Zuko's first reaction is to charge at her, fire-daggers in hand. That boy is the definition of "Fuck around and find out."

He has also done things like choosing to save his uncle from earthbenders instead of chasing Aang, crossing a blockade and going into actual Fire Nation territory even though he legally is no longer allowed to do that, and helped rescue Aang from Zhao as the Blue Spirit. It shows us that Zuko doesn't have an issue with temporarely deviating from his mission because of something HE deems important even though his father doesn't, openly disregarding Ozai's orders, and even basically saying "My father will have the Avatar as a prisoner only if I'm the one to capture him"

And, of course, on the day of the eclipse, Zuko grabs his swords and directly threatens Ozai, telling that bastard to sit the fuck down, shut up, and listen to his list of reasons why he sucks as a parent, ruler and person.

Zuko is brave. Unbelievably so. He is fierce, proud, and impulsive to the point of getting himself in situations that he should have known would not go his way (like fighting a waterbender in the snow, in the full moon) because he is very much a "act first, think later" kind of guy. So the fandom's insistence that he is constantly paralyzed by fear is a gross over-simplification of how his trauma affects him.

We only see him genuinely afraid of Ozai twice. During the Agni Kai itself, and then again when he WANTS to speak out against his father's plan to burn the Earth Kingdom to the ground, but can't bring himself to because he remembers what happened last time he spoke out against that kind of horrible thing during a war meeting, at that very room. It took something THAT triggering to make him cower before a challenge.

However, fear wasn't the only reason why didn't speak out during that moment, and that takes us to the first "ugly" sign of trauma that the fandom as a whole likes to pretend Zuko wasn't repeatedly shown to experience:

"My father is right about me, actually"

Zuko doesn't think Ozai was wrong to disfigure and banish him. How could he? Nobody in that entire room stood up to at least try to support him, not even his uncle - who also once said "Why would your father have banished you if he didn't care about you?" because, surprise surprise, nobody in that family knows how to help someone through trauma because they're all dealing with their own shit. Even his crew, who WAS sympathetic to him after finding out how he got that scar, were still 100% willing to not only support Ozai, but risk their lives for him.

Zuko isn't just trying to heal from abuse, he is trying to heal from victim-blaming, and to go against YEARS of indoctrination that say the Fire Lord can do no wrong. That's part of why it was so difficult for Iroh and others to help him: Zuko didn't believe that he needed or deserved help.

And that is also one of his three major unhealthy coping mechanisms. Claiming that HE needs to prove himself to Ozai, that HE needs to make up for HIS mistakes, not the other way around.

It might seem strange that this could be a way to cope, but look at it this way: If it WAS his fault instead of Ozai's, then that means his dad is not an unfair, abusive piece of shit that is unbelievably cruel and impossible to please. Zuko just needs to accomplish this mission of capturing the Avatar and everything will be fine, they'll be a normal family again, and he won't have to be afraid of someone he thought he could trust.

It was like Iroh said: Things are never going to be the same ever agin, but the Avatar gives Zuko HOPE. And that hope that his abuser will one day have a change of heart and be a loving father to him again is both what allows Zuko not to give into despair - and what keeps him trapped in that awful situation.

Misplaced Anger

Another "unpleasant" sign of trauma that Zuko has is how he clearly has an anger problem. Sure, he's a moody teenager with a short fuse, but we see over and over again that he tends to blow things way out of proportion, and that when faced a fact or opinion he doesn't like, he is quick to lash out at someone with VERY cruel words (see him calling Iroh a lazy, shallow, jealous old man in "Avatar State", or calling him crazy and saying if he wasn't in prison, he'd be sleeping in a gutter in "The Headband").

Through the entire show, many people faced Zuko's wrath - Iroh, Aang and friends, his crew, Azula, innocent people of the Earth Kingdom, Mai, Ty Lee, that one rando that talked to Mai, and even Zuko himself.

The one person that usually escapes said wrath is, ironically, Ozai. In "Zuko Alone" he refuses to believe his father would ever be capable of harming him, in "Avatar State" he snaps at Iroh for doubting that Ozai really changed his mind about the whole banishment thing.

He is mad at Aang for being too difficult to capture, and at Zhao for stealing his one chance to come home. He never stops to question if it's fair that his father had him chase someone that was presumed dead, aka an impossible task, as the condition to bring him home. He also never addresses how he feels about the reason WHY said banishment happened until the Day Of Black Sun.

He is mad at Azula for lying to him and trying to take him home as a prisoner. He never gets mad at his father for not only wanting to lock him away forever because ZHAO screwed up at the North Pole, nor how messed up it was that he put Azula in charge of said mission.

For fuck's sake, in the day of the eclipse, we find out that Zuko legit believed his mother was DEAD - and the entire circumstance was shady as hell and put Ozai in a very bad light. Yet Zuko still wanted his love, still wanted to be a "worthy" son.

He HAS to direct his anger at other people, otherwise he'll realize that no, his father, the adult that was meant to care for him, is a complete monster.

Everytime Zuko lashes out at other people before confronting Ozai, he's basically acting like someone who is drowning and, in a panic, is trying to pull the nearest person under so he can try to breathe. It is one of the most accurate and honest representations of trauma and abuse, and it makes me SO mad when people erase it in their fics because "poor, innocent, helpless turtleduck that can do no wrong" makes Zuko look like less of a dick - and also completely strips him of his agency.

And that isn't even the thing that fans ignore the most. That "honor" goes to the simple fact that Zuko, as expected of a child raised to believe the Fire Lord can do no wrong, decided that Azula had the right idea and that the best way to avoid being a victim again was...

Copying His Abuser

Zuko has REPEATEDLY let his "inner Ozai" out through the show.

He is all manipulative by not letting the pirates know he was chasing the Avatar who was worth A LOT more than the scrowl they'd get as a reward for helping him, and by using Katara's necklace as a way to try and get her to say where Aang was.

He repeatedly steals stuff from innocent people (including some who helped him, like Song) because, in his own words "These people should just be giving stuff to us" - aka he's very much an entitled prince.

He betrays his uncle by joining Azula in Ba Sing Se, leading to Iroh being thrown in prison. He also doesn't give a shit when Katara says "I thought you had changed!" and he sends a freaking assassin after the Gaang. Even him refusing to tell Azula that there was a chance Aang could still be alive works both as a "Zuko doesn't trust Azula to not use that against him, and for good reason" and "Zuko did not even stop to think that, since Azula was the one who killed Aang, him coming back also puts HER in danger, because he's too focused on his own problems to notice anybody else's."

More importantly, he rejected a chance of a ceasefire with the Gaang three times (The Blue Spirit, The Chase, Crossroads of Destiny), much like Ozai refused his shot at ending the war in the finale before his battle with Aang, and not only did he challenge Zhao to an Agni Kai and seriously consider burning him, he also threatened one of his crewmen by saying he'd "teach him respect" - which we found out later that episode was what Ozai right before disfiguring poor Zuko.

For fuck's sake, Ozai was literally designed to look like an older Zuko. One without a scar, one that was never banished, one that never had to see first-hand all the death and suffering war brings and reflect on the role he plays in it.

Finally, we have the war meetings in "Nightmares And Daydreams", in which Zuko doesn't speak out against his father's completely inhumane plans to deal with the Earth Kingdom. When talking about it with Mai, he says "I was the perfect prince, the son my father wanted. But I wasn't me."

That is the turning point for Zuko for a reason. It's him finally being forced to acknowledge that, to become Ozai's ideal son, to earn his (conditional) love, to not be his victim he has to be just as bad as he is, just as cruel, just as unfair - and we see in Azula's breakdown how Zuko likely would have ended up if he accepted that path.

But he didn't, and that was not easy because even though it was the morally correct choice, it'd require him to sacrifice everything - his title as a prince, his right to be in the Fire Nation, his relationship with Mai, his (extremelly complicated, sometimes good, often awful) bond with Azula, the "easy" way to get literally anything he wanted at everyone else's expense, and, of course, accept that his father was never going to love him, was never going to change, and was never going to feel sorry for abusing him.

Erasing such a central conflict of his character for the sake of denying he ever did anything wrong is, ironically, removing one of Zuko's most noble character traits: his inability to just live with himself after doing something horrible. There's a reason he is in deep conflict even after getting everything he wanted after the fall of Ba Sing Se - he knows he doesn't deserve it after what he's done.

If you ignore his mistakes and the horrible consequences it had for other people, you also ignore Zuko's growth. This puts him more in the position of a good guy being held hostage by the evil villain, not of a troubled child that redeems himself as he matures.

No flaws, no mistakes, no growth, no arc.

Trauma Doesn't Just Go Away

This one is, by far, the bad trope regarding Zuko's trauma that Zutarians are the most guilt of: assuming that if he just gets enough comforting hugs (mainly from Katara), all of his inner turmoil will suddenly be healed. No more sadness, no more fear, no more of the ugly traits they never acknowledge in the first place. Just a happy, fully recovered Zuko.

But that's just not how these things work. Having the support of a loved one helps victims feel better, but it won't magically make everything okay. Trauma is a really difficult thing to handle. There's good days, bad days, relapses, bad habits that are difficult to move past from. And not only are there cases in which people take YEARS to recover, there are also cases in which they never fully heal, and instead just learn to live with that burden that is still very much present.

I understand the desire to show in fics and headcanons that Zuko will eventually be fully healed and happy, but the way Zutarians make Katara act as not just his girlfriend, but as basically his therapist that needs to find miracle solutions for every single one of his problems, comfort him whenever any minor inconvenience happens until he's gotten enough hugs to be magically okay doesn't just reveal how hypocritical they are, since they insist Kataang is about Katara being Aang's girlfriend/mom/baby-sitter, but also that they legit do not understand a damn thing about trauma and how it works.

Which takes me to:

How Mai Actually Did Right By Zuko

Poor, poor Mai. She gets blamed for "bring out the worst in Zuko", for not being "supportive", for being too cold and unemotional, for not "seeing the real him" - yet she's one of the characters that CONSISTENLY help put Zuko back on his track.

She offers him emotional support and lots of signs of affection over and over again - telling him not worry when they're arriving at the Fire Nation, pointing out she doesn't hate him when she says she's beautiful when she hates the world, explicitly saying she cares about him in The Beach, being incredibly sweet and loving to him during all of Nightmares and Daydreams, and then again in the finale by helping him get dressed up and acting all cute as they get back together.

But she also holds him accountable when he screws up. She doesn't let him use his difficult life as an excuse to be a jerk and calls him out when he's being unreasonable, or when she feels mistreated/like he's making a mistake (see The Beach and Boiling Rock Part 2).

But since the fandom loves to completely erase Zuko's mistakes AND to not let go of a stupid ship war, this completely changes the context, making Mai out to be this awful, bitchy girlfriend, when in reality, she did a great job handling Zuko - sometimes even better than the fan favorite and mentor figure Zuko had through most of his arc.

Uncle Iroh Fucked Up

Before all of you try to kill me, let me make one thing clear here: I love Uncle Iroh. He is one of the most awesome characters in the show, and I fully believe he was trying his best to help Zuko.

But he is still a human being that makes mistakes, and he was raised in the same dysfunctional family Zuko was, meaning he often had NO IDEA how to handle his deeply traumatized teenage nephew/son.

Him spending all of book 1 trying to help Zuko capture Aang so he could go back to living with the guy that disfigured him is already bad enough, but we also have the episode "Avatar State" in which Iroh asks "Why would your father banish you if he didn't care about you?"

Obviously he only did these things because he didn't want Zuko give into despair and depression - but he is still, at best, ignoring the issue, and at worst actively making excuses for Ozai's abuse of his own son. This backfires on him spectacularly, as Zuko sides with Azula over him both in the first and last episode of the season specifically because he believes that appeasing Ozai is the right thing to do, as he was only banished "for his own good."

But THE biggest mistake Iroh made when it came to helping Zuko was his refusal to accept that no, Zuko was never going to be happy by living a quiet, simple life in Ba Sing Se - even after Zuko explicitly said as much to his face.

Obviously, to some extent, Iroh HAS to make Zuko accept that he won't ever be able to come back home after Ozai literally ordered Azula to capture him, but he could have tried to find some kind of middle ground with Zuko, since being a waiter clearly wasn't making him happy.

"Oh, but what about how Zuko started acting after his metamorphosis? He was so happy about working on the tea-shop with his uncle, and that was supposed to reveal his true self!"

Yes, it was supposed to do that. But we saw how Zuko acted after actually dealing with his trauma and redeeming himself. He was obviously in a much healthier place, both mentally and spiritually, but he was still moody, still sarcastic, still as proud as ever, and even Iroh recognized that he was meant to be Fire Lord.

Zuko's arc has a lot to do with identity, with how he sees himself. At that point, the only thing he still had in life was his uncle - so he was acting like him, because there seemed to be no other role model, no other path. Seeing that weird, cheery, relaxed, always-seeing-the-good-side-of-things version of Zuko was honestly unnerving.

And Iroh thought that Zuko basically giving himself the Lake Laogai treatment was okay because he following in his footsteps, doing what helped IROH heal and change - he didn't realize it was never gonna be able to do the same for Zuko.

The very second Azula shows up, even when she's being hostile, Zuko drops the facade, because she's a reminder of both his old life and what he thought his future would be. And when she offers him "redemption" Iroh tried to advice Zuko against joining her by saying "The redemption she offers is not for you" (as in not for someone who is doing better and doesn't need to return to the Fire Nation) and "It's time for you to choose. It's time for you to choose good." How is it a choice if Iroh is explicitly saying which option Zuko cannot pick, essentially making the decision for him?

Iroh didn't just get the way to help Zuko wrong - he didn't realize his nephew didn't believe he needed help. They were not on the same page at all, and that contribuited to Zuko betraying him.

Though, thankfully, it ended up being for the best, as Zuko found his own way to redemption by himself.

Conclusion

This fandom as a whole tends to not understand Zuko at all and just eat up a bunch of fanon while pretending to be so intellectual, which I very much resent it for.