#but his redemption with K felt rushed

[toph-bi-fong]

I feel like K.atara’s forgiving of Z.uko would’ve been more satisfying if she was actually shown how much Z.uko was willing to protect Aang. It would at least convince her that he is on the path of wanting to change. His forgiveness in TSR felt rushed.

[babyiamperfectforyou]

The Unleashed Desire (Pt.2)

Summary: Princess Y/N had the most unforgettable experience of her life with a demon in the forest. Would she go back to him, leaving behind her royal life? Part 2 to this.

Warnings: Smut, smut, smut! Name calling, blood.

Word count: 2.5 k

A/n: We are back!!! We finished our exams, which means that we'll be active more! Enjoy ❤️

Xoxo,

G and M

Masterlist

-----------------------------------

Darkness made its way through the western horizon. Everything was hushed, except for the melody of rain sprinkling the walls and pillars of the palace of Elorda. Something dangerous was lurking behind the darkness, princess Y/N could feel it in her bones. But as usual, horror excited her. She leaned to the corridor of the eastern end of the palace which was in front of her room. Sky was dark with rain clouds. Chirping of crickets could be heard from the forest far away. A glimpse of the raincloud - coloured forest was enough to retrieve the memories of the most adventurous journey of her life. She couldn't stop thinking about the emerald eyed demon waiting for her at the far end of the forest. She wanted to relive those memories; retrace those sculpted muscles and sharp jaw with her slender fingers.She wanted to pepper kisses around those crinkles near his eyes. And those lips, she wanted to crash her lips onto his to get another taste.He tasted like elixir. All this was possible if she could make up her mind to leave behind all her duties to the world. 'But was he worth it?'

Her trail of thoughts were interrupted when a strong arm wrapped around her. She was pulled towards a hard chest. A small rumbling could be heard from the owner of the hands.The smell of pine trees and rain along with a strong masculine scent invaded her senses. She took another whiff of air to retrieve the unmistakable scent.

"Har….ry?" Her own words seemed impossible to her ears. It couldn't have been possible for Harry to enter the Palace of Elorda. But she was sure it was his hands that snaked around her waist like he fucking owned it.

"Shhh '' the owner of the hands mumbled.He dipped his face into the curve of her neck, breathing her in like a man who struggled to breathe. It seemed like if he couldn't get a whiff of her right then, he would die starving. His sharp nose traced her jaw. Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn't even turn around. She was rooted in the place when he nibbled on her earlobe.

"You took a lot of time darling, I can't wait a fucking second more. So be ready for your punishment."

The word punishment excited her like always. The memory of him punishing her by tying her up in a rock, beat inside her like a second heart. She hissed with pleasure when he pressed a feathery kiss against her jaw. She felt herself whimpering when he retrieved his hands from her body. She felt empty and lost. Like she lost her path to redemption.

"You never came back " The statement was delivered with what she thought was hatred and she expected a look of anger while turning around. But what she saw broke her heart. His eyes were filled with pain and vulnerability that shook her heart to its core. He knelt in front of her, like she was the only one that could give him salvation and that shook her defenses.

"Please " he pleaded like he was unsure why he was doing this. She was also unsure why her eyes filled with tears and admiration for a demon who knelt in front of her to plead her not to leave him. All her life she felt like a burden to everyone around her, a mismatched piece that couldn't fit into the mold; a doll to be used and thrown away. And here a demon that could make her his slave with a snap of his fingers, was on his knees for her, with his eyes filled with veneration.

She could feel herself getting lost in his eyes. He looked at her from behind those lashes like she was his Goddess. In the heat of the moment, she rushed to him and fell onto her knees crashing her lips to his. She kissed him until he could see only her. It was a kiss of urgency, like they couldn't get enough of each other. His hands snaked around her waist to secure her close to him. She could feel the erratic pumping of his heart. Her own heartbeat matched the rhythm. His rain clad cloak engulfed her nightgown.She squealed with excitement.

His fingers traced the shape of her bosom like he was cherishing his memories.The only barrier between his hands and her body was a night gown. Her lips left him in a gasp for air.

"You….." he couldn't complete the sentence. He was panting heavily like he ran a marathon.

"You are the only one that could do this to me , like ……"

"Like? " her voice was barely a whisper .

"Like, like you could break me into a million pieces and yet I'd gladly bestow my bleeding heart at your feet "

She couldn't breathe under the intensity of his gaze. She felt immortal under his scrutiny.

"You're the object of my admiration, the only joy of my heart and delight to my sensation.You are the light to my broken heart and only salvation possible to me. I know I'm not enough for you. I'm just a demon, a brutal one.But…”

"But ?" She rasped.

"But I'm not ready to give up on you. You would be my queen, my world for whom I would get on my knees willingly; for whom I would tear down the world. If you want me to be your knight I'll be your knight.If you want me to be your slave I'll be your fucking slave. If you want me to be your guard, I'll be your guard breaking down the bones of every fucking fingers that dare to question you. Will you come with me?"

Her lips found their way to his. This time it was a desperate kiss. They kissed like they would die without the taste of each other. It was sloppy, harsh breathing and teeth clicking filled the room. Harry bit into her bottom lip with his fangs. Strong metallic taste filled her mouth. She whimpered when he lifted her up from the ground without breaking the kiss. She was cornered against a wall. His arms secured her waist in a safe hold. His hard chest flattened her breast. His tongue traced the outline of her lips tasting blood from her lips. Something about the fucked up situation aroused her. No, she was aroused at the very first moment she smelled his intoxicating scent, as creepy as that sounds.The pain of his nails raking her shoulder blades and his fangs biting her lips made blood buzz in her ears. His tongue invaded her mouth like he had conquered that territory a long time ago. Her tongue rolled over his in urgency. She fumbled with his buttons. He left her mouth to nudge his face between her shoulder and neck. She dug her fingers into his shoulder trying to keep the balance. His fangs bit her shoulder blade making her see the stars. Blood oozed from the spot to the valley between her breast.Harry looked straight into her eyes with eyes darkened with lust and lips red with her blood. He lowered his head to lick the blood with his hot tongue. She threw her head back in pleasure when his hot breath caressed the spot he bit. She bit his shoulder while hooking her legs around his waist. He growled in a carnal voice that made her weak on her knees. She fumbled with his cloak buttons. Her back hit something feathery. It was only when Harry crawled to her that she realised that she was on her bed. Him fucking her to oblivion in her own castle stirred something inside her.The thought itself made her dazed. He stood on his knees tearing down his cloak in one go like it was paper. He lowered himself towards her ears.

"Ha…."He stopped her by placing a finger on her lips. His hot breath tickled her ears.

"Let me worship you " He murmured in a rough voice that was sent straight to her core.

His hard cock was pushed into her stomach. She bit back a moan. He grabbed a handful of her hair, making her arch her back. He wrapped the other hand around her throat. His hold was strong enough to choke her. His lips came back to her. He devoured her like she was his most treasured conquest. He choked her, wrenching their mouth apart. She panted and begged for more .

She took hold of his cock gently, giving it a squeeze and an animalistic groan escaped his mouth. Suddenly he became the demon he was. He tore her nightgown apart in one Swift motion. Her panties followed suit. She lay there, naked and vulnerable in front of him. He touched every inch of her skin with his eyes like he was memorizing each and every word in his favorite book. When his eyes met hers she was taken aback by the devotion in it.

"You….you're the most beautiful piece of art to ever exist in this world, my darling. You're fucking gorgeous"

It made her confident and desperate for him. She pulled him back to the bed straddling his lap and she peppered feathery kisses along his jaw, stopping at the nape of his neck, biting him there. His cock twitched against her belly.

She took his hard cock in her hands giving it a hard squeeze. A carnal moan escaped his throat and it sounded painful. She rubbed his hard cock up and down.

"Fuck " Harry cursed under his breath,

"Princess, you better not touch my cock. I'd come within seconds if you look at me like that."

"Like what?", she cooed.

"Like you'd straddle me and ride my cock and allow me to fuck you to the oblivion."

"Your wish is my command " Y/N teased him.

She straddled his lap, his hard cock lining at her opening. She hissed in pain while adjusting to his size.He was huge.

"Fuck, you're so tight "

''And you're so big "

They were so desperate for each other that she didn't wait any longer. She rode his cock with urgency while he grabbed her hips to guide her.

"You're such a slut for me, my queen.Taking me like a good little temptress "

His degrading words and praise stirred something Inside her. Her pace increased. He was moaning at the sight of her perfect tits bouncing up and down. He took a nipple in his mouth while his other hand squeezed her boobs. She shuddered when he bit her nipples. His claws left marks around her breasts.The sight of his handprints on her breasts aroused her, her walls clenching around him. She could feel fire pooling low in her stomach, her pace becoming erratic. He flipped them around so that he was on top of her.

"Fuck, I'm coming" He growled.

"Harry….."

"Yes darling,come for ..

He couldn't finish the sentence, both of them pating while they came together. Their moans and whimpers filled the large castle room.

"I'll be yours Harry. No, I am yours. I had been, since the moment I saw you in the forest. "

"And ?" She blushed while Harry teased her thighs with his long calloused fingers.

"And what, darling?"

"Are …are you mine ?"

"You still doubt whether I'm yours. I'll be yours forever. I was yours from the moment I saw those fierce eyes of yours daring me to break your defences, from the moment I got a taste of you. You're it for me. "

Her gaze traveled across his body from his sweat clad forehead to the perfectly angled jaw.Her mouth went dry at the sight of the hard ridges of his chest and how his abs flexed under her fingers. She was so engrossed in his beauty. He was gorgeous. He was completely hers .The feeling aroused a sense of completeness within her. Her breath hitched when he pulled her against him. He hovered over her .

His eyes were filled with so much adoration and words unsaid. He was looking at her with so much warmth that made her skin prickle. She was overwhelmed by his gaze.She was sure her eyes were also filled with fondness towards him. Their eyes conveyed a lot of things their words couldn't. Her breath hitched as he pulled her by the hips until his cock was at her entrance.

“You're mine princess .” It wasn't a question.

He slid inside her, slowly caressing her walls, cherishing the feeling of being inside her. She shivered at his warmth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head when he started riding her.

"Oh God. That feels euphoric" she gasps.

"No, princess.You feel euphoric. My fucking salvation. Mine" The word mine was uttered with so much possessiveness that it made her tremble.

"And you're mine, Harry. Let anyone else touch you, you'd see how fast I can burn her into ashes." Bile rose in her throat at the thought of someone else with him.

His lips found her and she lost herself in that kiss.

She closed her eyes and savoured the feeling of him inside her. He started moving slow and steady as his mouth devoured her. His hand reached between her thighs to flick her clit.

The moment was so intimate. The confession along with the slow passionate movement of his body against her felt really intimate to her. Soft moans teared past her lips as he picked up his pace slowly but steadily.

"Please " she murmured.

He bit down on the lobe of her ear, drawing a shudder from her. He picked up his pace, groaning against her lips.

" You're so beautiful that it hurts, my love. I never thought there would be a day where I'd feel complete.You filled a void inside me that I never knew existed." He said without breaking eye contact. With each word, he thrust deeper and harder into her. She felt like she was in heaven. A jolt of pleasure consumed her body.

"I Love You " She couldn't help but pour her heart into her mouth. She didn't regret confessing her feelings. He abruptly stopped, looking straight into her eyes like he's searching for her to laugh at his face any moment. He couldn't believe the idea of someone loving him. She caressed his face with her fingers making him see the genuineness of her words.

"Fuck " he gulps. He slams deeper into her.

"You drive me insane, Princess. You drive me insane with the fire in your eyes, your stubbornness and your fucking laughter. And I fucking Love You for that. I Love You."

Her orgasm washed over her like a hurricane. He came with a groan. He lay there, pulling her towards him gently brushing her hair behind ears and whispering sweet nothings to her.

He was home.

--------------------------------------------

Hey y'all, Feedback is appreciated 😁❤️

Please let us know if you want to be tagged or removed from the taglist. Thank you 💓

Taglist: @violetsandfluff @reveriehs @a-strange-familiar @swiftmendeshoran @daphnesutton @f-folkwhore @buckybarnessimpp @lokis-girl03 @drwho06 @faith-in-midnights @walkingintheheartbreaksatellite @thedesibitch @jjsgirlp4l @tobesocoldasyou @harrys-flower @tiaamberxx @rebelbelle

[edenpoise]

“I will never let you go.”

⁽ @metaladam ⁾ ― ： meme ( accepting ) from here .

E . ― YOU HAVE PARK-TAKEN IN THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT- AND SHALL BE CAST FROM EDEN. Cast from Eden. Cast from EDEN- CAST FROM EDEN- The bile that had risen to her throat as the consequences of her foolish actions begin to play out in front of her. The words haunting and echoing through her ears- the once INNOCENT &. CHEERFUL woman having faded - the realization that this wasn't a g a m e anymore. That the ANGEL dressed in white and gold wasn't around to use his SERPENT tongue to surprise her- to tell her that it was a j o k e. That she hadn't just ruined PARADISE.

But nothing like that came- there was no g e n t l e words that promised her freedom. There was no redemption for merely allowing her curiosity to rule over her choice.

In bitter sense, she could still taste the sweetness that cursed APPLE was drenched in. She could still feel the overflowing of KNOWLEDGE that suddenly overcame her- the once excitement to tell her p a r t n e r- to give him the gift of choice. All of these emotions were no longer.

Fearful. Scared. Sick. Embarrassed. Defeated.

Those words described her now- as her legs trembled and eventually gave out beneath her- knees crashed against the grass. Her arms gripping her bare shoulders as she nearly slid into a hunched over ball- her breathing never felt so hitched before- like she couldn't even take in something as simple as a breathe. Everything she use to find so easy, now was more difficult to do. The thoughts that rushed through her mind- the temptation to scream, to beg, to simply plea that she had done was a simple mistake. A mistake that she could fix- that it hadn't been her fault- ! That she never would've broken the ultimate rule if it hadn't been for- ! That she was innocent in all of this, that she didn't want this !

Despite the still warmth of Eden surrounding her- she had never felt more cold. Despite the bright gardens that surrounded her- promising a Paradise, but no longer for her. There was a simple thought that crossed her mind now, ' How can I continue ? '

Suddenly it was warm again- as a body much bigger than her own suddenly wrapped around her- nearly bringing her back life as a gasp escaped her. Her head tilted up, vision blurry from the tears that no longer threatened to fall ( for she had no strength remaining to keep them from her cheeks ) - even with blurry vision, she could see his gold eyes. She could see the disappointment, the anger, the ... f e a r. But there was something else, something that caused her to hiccup in pause- her body continued to shake as realization came down upon her. Her punishment was no longer hers to bare alone. And as she came to realize this, Eve felt her world shatter and rebuild itself around her, eyes widening in the brief moment as his voice broke through. Almost instantly vanishing her troubled thoughts-

" I will never let you go. "

She stared in disbelief- for how could she imagine someone willing to say that to her now. For someone to look at the ORIGINAL SIN and dare to speak like that- to give up a life of PARADISE- Eve finally found her voice, shaking as her tears feel rapidly, " I've ruined us ... " She uttered, voice broken as her body leaned forward- closer to the embrace. Closer to h i m. " I've ruined us ... Adam ... " Eve cried to him, her guilt overwhelming her as she had come to her senses. Her actions would ruin them both, her actions would punish them both. She was dragging Adam down with her, and she never felt more horrible than she did now. Face burying deep into his shoulder as she sought the only comfort she could now gain, the only person that would continue to be by her side- even in the face of demise. Even as HEAVEN condemned her- even as the last sight of Eden would fade from her vision- that the once warm and comforting lands of a garden would no longer be hers to ever see again. The cold and r e a l world that would instead be forced to face.

Even as they were cast from Eden, the brilliant golden light replaced with the darkness of a slumbering earth- Eve still found herself being selfish a last time- even as her body would succumb to morality- she held him tighter, begging with ever part of her person that if she was to be damned, that she wouldn't be looked at with hatred. That he won't r e g r e t choosing h e r. Her lips opened, a plea falling from them-

" Please don't let me go. "

[folkloreguk]

an angel for a demon (2)

A/N: Part one came out like two years ago lmao but I’ve always wanted to write another part, and here it finally is! I’m always open to feedback of any kind! x

genre: smut, optional bias (male), demon!bias, angel!reader, reader’s first time, unprotected sex bc we pretend angels and demons can’t have babies or STDs apparently

words: ~ 3.4 k

PART 1

PART 3

Three days had passed since you had begun to live with him. It had taken you some time to get used to your new surroundings and to realize this is where you would spend most of your time from now on. His place was not what angels called beautiful. Had it been yours, it would have been filled with antique statues of heavenly beings, light, soft colors and comfortable pillows and blankets. But his taste differed gravely from yours. He had a love for black marble and accents of red. Not the beautiful, bright red of strawberries in summer. It was dark crimson, like deoxygenated blood fresh out of a wound. You felt like you had entered a side wing of hell itself, sometimes. But you knew hell had to be much, much worse.

On the second day, you had set yourself the challenge of making the place feel at least slightly homier. No one who entered this apartment would, even in their wildest dreams, assume that an angel lived there. Although you weren’t sure you could call yourself that, anymore. Your trip to the grocery store was the most humane thing you had ever done on earth, but surely wouldn’t stay the last. You wondered, while you had strolled around the isles, whether one day you could find yourself working a job on earth, now that you couldn’t call heaven home no more. You still had the desire to help the humans, and maybe you could earn a living whilst doing so.

On that note, you had pondered countless times how a demon could afford the luxury he lived in. But he wasn’t one to tell you about his day when he returned home after being out all night. He called it ‘demon business’ and ‘nothing that should concern a little angel’. One day, you would winkle it out of him. Although maybe you really would be better off not knowing. But you knew, as always that sooner or later your curiosity would get the best of you.

When he came home on the second day and laid eyes on the cotton candy-colored flowers on the table, he couldn’t help but smirk at how proud you were. The contrast was stark against the dark ebony table and seemed like an accurate representation of how you had felt in his home.

“If you wanted me to bring you flowers you could have just said so,” he said.

“I like going out to the store myself sometimes,” you replied. He was always so stern when he returned home. Sometimes he had tired eyes, and often he seemed physically exhausted. But the moment he laid eyes on you, his strained expression softened. Then, he’d stroke away a strand of your hair and gaze at you with utmost admiration. He had offered to buy you whatever your heart desired, but your angel life had never required you to have possessions. There was no greed or yearning for luxury, and you liked it that way.

One thing, however, you never seemed to get enough of on earth. No matter how many books you opened and got lost in, you always wanted more. And he knew of your wish to learn more about the world. He had gifted you books of philosophy, biology and physics, and yet he had no idea it wasn’t science that interested you the most.

Every night you lay awake for too long, reflecting on what he had said to you that one night. That there was more for you to learn. Before him, you never knew what real pleasure felt like – you weren’t supposed to, even now – but now that you understood, you only wanted to feel it again and again. A few times you had contemplated asking him to show you more. To let you feel the pure bliss of what heaven called sinning again. But he seemed tired when he returned home, and when he didn’t you were too scared to approach him with such a topic. Plus, you didn’t even know how to. Too new was the idea of you – an angel – even thinking of doing such unholy things.

So you spent your days pacing around the apartment, sitting by the window, looking out at the city and waiting for him to come home. One night, you couldn’t fall asleep, as on many other occasions. He wasn’t there next to you, and the bed felt too big for just one lonely angel in it. There was an almost burning sensation between your legs. Once again, you squeezed your eyes shut and thought of other things – floating on clouds, watching older angels’ wings flatter, inspecting your little village you used to guard from above. But nothing helped. It all led back to black eyes, razor teeth, a sharp tongue and hands so hellish in their actions, you should have wished he had never touched you. And yet you never did.

Your eyes shot open when you heard the shower turn on. The alarm clock on the table read 1:57 am. Not so patiently, you waited a few minutes until the sound of the water died down. Then, you tip-toed out of the room and down the hall.

The sight of him made your cheeks heat up. He was sat, in the dark, on the sofa. A towel was around his waist, a few drops of water glistening on his bare chest as he lifted the glass of alcohol to his lips.

“What are you doing standing and staring, little angel? Why don’t you come join me?” he suddenly asked. Your heart skipped a beat at his voice. Heaven help me now, you thought.

“I thought you didn’t…,” you started, slowly moving across the room as if you were floating.

“I didn’t notice you?” he finished your sentence. You hummed a quiet yes. “Your glow is hard to miss.”

You weren’t sure what he meant by that. Was he saying, that just as he had a dark aura around him, you radiated a bright one? It made sense to you. You stopped in your tracks when you stood in front of him.

“You’re wearing your angel dress again,” he pointed out. He had brought you clothes, but nothing felt as right on your body as your white dress you had always worn.

“I always sleep in it,” you said. “You never see it, since you’re never here.”

“Does my little angel miss me?” he said. His dark eyes watched you intently, but they softened when he realized you had meant your words. “Come here, let me make it up to you.”

Not knowing what he meant by those words, you plopped down next to him.

“I meant come here,” he repeated, tapping his lap. Oh. Obediently, you swung one of your legs over his waist. Suddenly, you were hyperaware of the fact that his towel was the only thing between your center and his bare skin. Carefully, you watched his eyes for instructions or assurance. You kept your hands tightly by your sides, not daring to touch his skin that shined so beautifully in the moonlight. It was almost ironic, how ethereal his perfectly sculpted muscles appeared to you.

“Tell me, angel, do you sometimes think about what we did three days ago?” he asked, softly brushing his fingers along your arm. You should have felt ashamed to admit it. But with the way he watched you, he seemed to already guess your answer.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about it,” you said, the words spilling out after keeping them in for too long. “I want to know more.”

He smirked, hooded black eyes watching your every breath while his head remained on the backrest of the sofa.

“Is that so?” he almost teased. “Why don’t you kiss me, then? Go ahead.”

Hesitantly, you bent forward until your forehead was almost touching his. Now, you didn’t look into his intimidating gaze anymore, but instead the closeness only made you more nervous. But more prominent than your nerves was your curiosity and your desire you hadn’t been able to shut out for the past days. You smelled a faint note of alcohol before you softly pressed your lips against his. Your kiss was the tender flutter of butterfly wings, like a singular snowflake landing on warm skin, as careful as a little bird in a lion’s cage.

But he kissed back, so overwhelmingly and suddenly, it robbed your breath in an instant. His body straightened up now, arms pulling you closer to his chest. Humming contently, he took your lifeless hands from your sides and placed them on his shoulders. His warm skin was inviting, making it easy for you to melt into his touch. Still, you weren’t used to this feeling. Maybe you would never get used to it. Perhaps it was supposed to be this exciting every single time. He breathed against your mouth heavily and his tongue swiped across your lips. The sensation was enticing and combined with his coaxing hands digging into your waist, your guilt washed away far too quickly. But there had been no redemption after the previous time and there wouldn’t be one now. Or ever. For a moment, you pulled away, needing air.

“Too much? Too fast?” he asked, cradling your face in his hands. A rush of comfort overcame you.

“No, I’m fine. It just feels – really good,” you said.

“Of course it does,” he bragged, smirking infamously.

“Can you…I want you to touch me…like you did last time,” you said. Even you were surprised at yourself. You could have just waited for him and he surely would have made you feel amazing. But now that you knew what it could feel like, you weren’t able to swallow your impatience.

“Such a sinful confession from such holy lips,” he said, voice dripping honey while he brushed two of his fingers across those very lips. “I wonder what other things those could do.”

What could he possibly be talking about? How much was there for you to try out? Whatever it was, you wanted to do it all. You had no idea what had come over you. Was there a secret demon that had taken possession of your body without notice? Or maybe you were simply an angel tired of acting like one.

Slowly, his hands dropped from your sides and to your hips. All while he watched your face like it was his favorite meantime to make you squirm under his touch. When he progressed to your thighs, something dropped in your stomach. Again, your body reacted before your mind did and you wanted to press your legs together. It felt familiar, but just as thrilling as the first time. His head tilted slightly as if to ask ‘do you like this?’ as he lifted the hem of your satin dress. And how you liked it.

You were very aware of being bare in front of him. So, in order to avoid feeling his eyes on your body, you bent forward again to kiss him. Bad idea – because the lack of oxygen and the loss of your sight when you closed your eyes only intensified the need. His fingertips were fleeting, rather non-demon-like, but you knew how fast he could flip his actions, had he wanted to.

They ghosted over your slit, collecting your wetness that had been pooling there. At even the slightest contact of his finger on your clit, you let out a quiet noise. He had been biting his lip, but when he heard you, his eyes met yours in an instant and he smirked.

“Let me hear you, little angel,” he said, before placing a kiss on your neck. While he continued to suck purple marks into your skin, his fingers toyed around your center, figuring out what made you react in the best way. And as the angel you were, always eager to please, you made sure you didn’t keep your mouth shut anymore. It felt weird, noticing the sounds he produced from you so involuntarily, but the more you concentrated on the feeling of his hand between your legs, the easier it was to ignore them.

Maybe you were easy to please, or perhaps you were completely see-through for him. It occurred to you he had you figured out head to toe. How did he know exactly which spots to touch to have you clinging to him, as if you would have fallen had he not held you? He drew random figures on your clit, variating the pace just to keep you on edge right where he wanted you. Now and then, his digits slid further down to your core, almost entering you but not quite yet. Your moans came out in a muffled manner as you had your face buried where his neck and shoulder met.

“Look at me, angel,” he said. So you did. No matter what sort of menace could have possibly lay behind his black orbs, the sound of his voice made you want to give him everything. And judging by the way your hips were moving and pushing against his hands by themselves you had already given your body to him. Against all odds, after all the horror stories you had been told to ensure an angel like you would stay far away from hellish beings, you trusted him.

“What a disgrace…They kept you locked up in heaven all this time,” he spoke. “I should have had you all along. You should have had me.”

It had never occurred to you that you could have looked at it this way. You had been happy in heaven. But then again, you hadn’t known what you had been missing. That’s when he slowly inserted one of his fingers into you. The sensation was unusual, but then he curled his digit and you understood.

“Oh god,” you let out when he touched a certain spot inside of you. It felt so right, you wondered why when you were able to feel this way, you should have been abstinent all along.

“Not exactly a good time to bring up god, huh?” he said, teeth nibbling on your neck. You laughed before you could have stopped yourself, and he looked stunned. But then, his lips curled into a malicious and content grin. At the same time, he added another finger into your core. His thumb remained rubbing against your clit, and like last time, you could feel a knot tying in your stomach as time went on. A string of whines and whimpers fell from your lips and your eyes shut tightly. But he decided you’d have to wait longer for your release.

“Do you think you can handle more?” he asked. You sighed when he retracted his hand from your core and watched as he brought his fingers up to his lips to taste you. His gaze didn’t let you decide whether he eyed you like prey or his most treasured thing in the world.

“Yes, I want you to show me,” you said quietly, almost breathless from the sight in front of you.

“Let’s go to the bedroom, then,” he announced. “It’ll be more comfortable for you.”

Your legs felt like jelly as you walked with him. This time, you didn’t hesitate to get onto his black bedsheets. It had become one of your favorite places to be in his apartment by now and the familiarity of it took away some of your nerves.

“I might be a demon, but I promise I can be gentle,” he said. His eyes were probably the most mellow they had ever been since you had met him. Carefully, he helped you slip out of your dress. “So don’t be scared, little angel.”

You had to admit, when he removed his towel from his waist and your eyes fell on his hard member, you weren’t sure if you would be okay. But then he bent down to you and kissed you. His hands softly stroked your cheeks, making it a hard contrast from his devilish image.

“Still sure?” he asked between kisses. It was like he was sucking the fear out of you, although he should have terrified you all along. You nodded and hummed but then changed your voice to a small whimper when he used his hand to run his cock over your slick center. Ever so carefully, he pushed himself inside of you. The stretch was uncomfortable, at first. He must had noticed by reading your face, because his eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“It’ll feel better in a bit, I promise,” he said. You relaxed your muscles the moment he kissed you again, his plan of distracting you surely working. When he had completely filled you up, he stayed in place while your tongues touched and you moaned at the feeling. It felt like he had always meant to be there, on top of you, inside of you.

“If you need me to stop or slow down, you’ll tell me, right?” he asked.

“Yes,” you answered. Once again you debated how you ended up this way. In bed with a demon. And said demon had his hooded black eyes on you, while he thrusted into you ever so slowly, and you couldn’t believe how out-of-this-world-perfect he looked. Although you would surely need more time to get used to the feeling, there was a hint of pleasure you felt every time he dragged his cock against your walls and that once special spot he had touched before.

Upon hearing how he moaned for the first time, you realized it wasn’t just touch that could make your stomach clench in a deep desire to be close to him. It sounded animalistic and you kept your eyes on the way his sharp teeth dug into his bottom lip. You sucked in a breath when he caressed your breasts, fingertips toying with your nipples.

“This is the closest to heaven I’ll ever get, right, little angel?” he spoke, and his gloating smile was so wicked, but handsome, right at that moment. You could only hum a ‘yes’. His lips on your neck were gentle, but your head spun whenever his teeth grazed your angel skin.

“You wouldn’t like it there, either way,” you said. His hand snaked down your body, between your legs where you had been missing them. He let out a growl-like moan when you clenched around his cock from the sudden added pleasure. In no time, he found your clit and used his skilled fingers, and he was right, this should have been the definition of heaven.

“And why is that?” he asked. “Because I couldn’t have you this way, in heaven?”

“Exactly,” you whimpered. “Oh- my-“

The desire to close your legs around him became bigger with each second, the knot in your belly tightening and your mind clouding with nothing but bliss.

“Doesn’t matter. You’re my own personal heaven,” he said. His free hand brushed away your hair delicately. “Are you gonna let go for me, sweet angel?”

You weren’t sure how to let go, exactly. But if by that he meant for you to close your eyes and just let the feeling wash over you, you would - without a choice - do so. Your high made your back arch against his chest and a small cry escaped your lips. He pushed his digits down on your center, slower now, but making sure to draw out every last second of your orgasm.

He had been speeding up his thrusts but then he pulled out, not wanting to cause you discomfort due to overstimulation. With his hand around his cock and quick movements of his wrist, he managed to bring on his own release, letting his cum spill out onto your thighs. You didn’t realize you had been holding your breath until you finally opened your eyes again, blinking tiredly and wetting your dry lips. He lowered his head until your foreheads touched. The more you looked into his black eyes, the more at home they made you feel.

“How was that, angel?” he asked, his breathing still unsteady.

“Heavenly,” you replied, pulling him in for a kiss. Even against his lips, you recognized his devilish smirk. And up to that point, you had believed ‘heaven on earth’ was just some silly little human saying. Until he proved you wrong.

[honeybunny-sawamura]

P.S. I Love You

Pairing: Sawamra Daichi x Fem! Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: established relationship (marriage), dad! Daichi, babies

Word Count: 1.1 K

A/N: Happy Valentine’s Day darlings! Hope all of you have a lovely day! 💝💝💝

It’s the soft chimes of your alarm that wakes you, which is odd because it’s not how you usually start Sunday mornings. Your hand drowsily fumbles around to grab your phone from the nightstand, but you find that there is a post-it note stuck to the screen. You bring it close to your face, blinking the sleep away, to see the sharp handwriting that belongs to your husband,

I know you don’t like getting up early on Sundays, sweetie, but today’s Valentine’s Day and I thought we’d do something special... So up up up, sweetheart <3 P.S. i love you

Valentine’s Day. You peel the note off to check the date on your phone and sure enough, February 14 was displayed sweetly on your lock screen. You softly snort in amusement, wondering what Daichi could be up to as you turn off the alarm, before rolling over and getting out of bed. As you stretched, you looked at your empty bed, a little put out that you woke up alone. Sundays were always for lazing about and it starts with your husband urging you awake with kisses. Sometimes it was soft kisses, sometimes playful ones, and sometimes it was kisses that lead to naughtier things. But you always woke up to Daichi’s lips presses against yours. It felt a little odd that today you woke up with none. You pressed the post-it note into your journal, giving it a lovely pat, before heading to see if Daichi was in the kitchen making breakfast. You peeked into the room next to yours to find it empty and again you’re a little put out at being greeted by nothing. Another note is stuck onto the open door,

Needed some assistance with your surprise… Though I think I’ll have more trouble than help P.S. i love u

You chuckle this time and peel the note from the door; the handwriting on this one looks a bit scribbly as if he was in a rush. You think about the trouble Daichi could be in right now, but you’re more entertained with that thought than alarmed. You know he can handle anything; he has been dealing with rowdy and commotion since he can remember. And if something was truly wrong, he knows he can come to you for help; regardless if this surprise was for you or not. For better and for worse right? You continue your way down the hall to the bathroom where you find a pretty dress hanging in front of the door with a note. It’s a dress that you had bought recently but haven’t had a special occasion to wear it for yet. You remember eyeing it on a day out with Daichi and when you pulled him into the changing room to show it off, you loved the way your husband’s eyes lit up at the sight of you in it. You wanted to wear it for him again and it seemed he wanted you to do so as well.

You looked so beautiful in this dress. Honestly, you look beautiful in anything but ;) I wanna see you in this. Please? P.S. i love you

You can imagine him giving you a pout and a pleading look while he asks you to wear the dress; rubbing your hips and pulling you close. You blush a little at that thought before shaking it away, heart fluttering that even in your imagination, Daichi can get you flustered. You tenderly fiddle with the fabric of the dress, admiring how pretty it really is before taking it off the door and stepping into the bathroom. Inside, you delightfully discover a large heart made of sticky notes plastered onto the main mirror; something lovely written on each one. You can’t help the smile that grows wide on your face as you read them. Messages like ‘You’re so beautiful, the sun can’t compare’ and ‘Can’t start the day right without your kisses’ or ‘I’m so happy you came into my life’ fill your chest with so much love for the man who has written them for you. Each note is different, but they’re all finished off with ‘P.S. i love you’ and it makes your heart flutter every time.

You piddle around reading and re-reading each note; basking in the warm fuzzy feeling they give you. Even as you wash up, dress up, and get prettied up, each of Daichi’s love notes linger in your mind. You head into the kitchen once you’re all dolled up, hoping to find the love of your life waiting for you there, but you disappointingly find it empty. Yet you do find another sticky note and your mood perks up,

Waiting for you in the backyard, sweetheart <3 P.S. i love you

Your heart does a little flip as you read the note and does another one when you hear a sweet call coming from the back. You twirl around and excitedly head to the backyard to find the small terrace there decorated for a sweet Valentine’s Day brunch. Strings of small heart shaped lanterns and soft pink fairy lights hang about while bundles of red, pink, and white balloons huddle around a small table. A crimson tablecloth drapes over the table while a lovely spread of a hearty brunch sit on top with a vase of your favorite flowers sits in the middle. A trail of rose petals leads you from the back door to the terrace where your husband Daichi is waiting for you with a handsome smile and holding your small son, Daisuke; both of them looking so dashing with matching wine-red dress shirts, white bowties, and black pants. They light up at the sight of you and Daisuke calls happily for you again.

You heart is so full at the sight of them and their surprise for you that you rush over to throw your arms around them. Daichi catches you with his free arm and with a deep chuckle, pulls you close while pressing a kiss to your hair. Daisuke squeals and nuzzles his cheeks to yours, sweetly chirping out “Mama” at you. You nuzzle him back before peppering kisses all over his face then look up at your husband whose eyes shine with so much love and affection for you that it makes you sigh blissfully. You two stare at each other for a moment before Daichi leans down to slot his lips over yours in a captivating kiss, pouring all his love into it. Even after so long, he has you falling over and over again. You pull away to catch your breath and rest your forehead against his, both of you smiling. You rest a hand on both of your boys: a hand on your son’s back and the other on Daichi’s chest, feeling the heartbeats that sync with yours. They both lean in to kiss you and you let out a soft laugh that Daisuke join in with his own giggles that Daichi revels in. He once again presses a kiss to your hair and softly says,

“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart.”

tagging: @kiyoo-omi​ @suzuyamitsuki​ @vs-redemption​ @cursi-bitch​

[dabiboy]

A/N: This is a personalized piece, since it is a Christmas gift from the secret santa event on the Konoha Simps discord server, aka @konoblog-simps! Sooo, @vs-redemption here it is! I hope you enjoy it 🎉😊

Christmas Night

''C'mon, Miruko. I swear this one is the last time, please'' Hawks pleaded her, for the fourth time that night.

''No, Hawks. I've done this for you lots of times in the past and you haven't done anything about it! You wasted my help, now man up and ask her out already.'' The hero hissed, wanting to smack his arm but it wouldn't be a nice action, especially not in the middle of the Christmas party.

''Listen, I know I've fucked it up but I get nervous, ok? I can't seem to-'' She interrupted him.

''You look more like a chicken than a hawk, honestly.'' Miruko oppressed a laugh at the same time she crossed her arms over her chest, making Keigo look at her with threatening eyes. But more than threatening, it made her laugh even more.

''You're insufferable. Don't be mean, just one last time!'' The winged hero spoke again.

''Even if I do it, what am I supposed to tell them?''

''I... Just tell her that you forgot something on the roof and you need her to go for it.''

''As if I couldn't just hope there. She won't buy it.''

 ''She would if you put just a little bit of attitude. As if you actually wanted to help me''

''Want my opinion?''

''No-'' Keigo hissed as Miruko kept talking.

''I think it is pretty obvious that she's into you too. I mean, the two of you spend a lot of time together. You should just say it!''

''Is not that easy. Every time we're together things flow, and I feel I would ruin the moment if I say something and-'' His breath was caught inside his throat as he saw you walking in. Should he just listen to Miruko, invite you a drink, and just confess everything? That was the most ideal plan, but he saw himself dominated by his instincts. ''Of fuck she's here. I'll be on the rooftop, k'? Thanks, I love you''

Hawks said as he rushed away from you and the rest, because the press that was taking pictures of the event were going to ask him why the hell was he sneaking out through the window.  

On the other hand, there were you. And having a party surrounded with important people, popular heroes and the annoying reporters was not the best plan, and with all the chaos happening and consuming everyone's peace, spending one cold winter night at home sounded great, but there you were, holding a cup with and looking around the big hall to see some familiar faces. Or that specific familiar face.

But was it a good idea? You and Keigo were very close, and everyone was aware of it. Not only because the two of you worked together, or because you met before he started his agency. You fit well together, that was it. He knew how to read you and you knew how to read him, besides the fact that thanks to some late-night patrols turned into honest conversations about life and feelings surrounded by the city noises. But of course, none of you were capable of saying how you feel for each other. It was just pure comprehension, and that was the main trigger. Of course, the way his golden eyes stared at you, or how his perfume was overwhelming were also the reasons why you fell for him. Those and many more.

For Keigo, it happened the same. After years of holding an image, of being the perfect hero, you were the only one who saw through that. Maybe it was an attempt of making your feelings oblivious to the rest, maybe you didn't want to look at him with bright eyes as the world did, but the truth was that you were good at faking it, because no one looked at him with eyes brighter than yours, the difference was, that you were looking at Keigo Takami. The man behind the hero persona, the one that he allowed you to meet after uncountable nights and moments spent together. How could he avoid feeling something for the one person that comprehended him and made him feel at home?

The voices of some other pro heroes you knew took you out of your thoughts, and giving them a smile you started an easy-going conversation, cautiously asking them about the winged hero. 'He must be hiding somewhere, the reporters were looking for him too, and also some fangirls' one of them said with a chuckle, and you couldn't help but feel jealous at the idea. It was true, he had a lot of people going after him, and it was not difficult to imagine that maybe, only maybe he had found an interesting girl and had gone with her.

But there was one person who knew where he was and what he was doing. Or better said, what he was about to do.

''There you are!'' Miruko said as she walked towards you, giving you a warm smile.

''Looking stunning as always'' You said in a compliment, making her smile. And before you could notice, the heroes that were with you had suddenly moved away to carry on with their night.

''Speak for yourself, girl. Did you come alone?'' Tilting her head to the side, she gave you a curious look ''I thought you were coming with Hawks'' Oh, the red cheeks. There they were.

''I-no, I haven't spoken to him, actually. Have you seen-'' Abruptly, Miruko cut you off, hissing in pain.

''I hurt my leg on a mission yesterday, and I forgot my purse on the rooftop. Could you get it from me? Please?'' You looked at her in confusion at the sudden petition.

''Yeah, sure.''

She gave you a wide smile, but you notice something was off. But still, she was your friend and you couldn't say no to such favor. After placing the cup on one of the tables, you took the elevator heading to the rooftop, continuing your way through the small number of stairs leading to the heavy metal door.

The cold air gave you chills, and despite the light of the rest of the buildings it was hard to see around. But then, in the pure form of a silhouette, you saw something that looked like a small box placed on the edge of the building. That should be the purse, or so you thought. Walking slowly to the edge, a voice made you stop right in your tracks. And instead of getting ready to attack, you got scared.

''Damn, kid. How come are you a hero if you get scared that easily?'' There it was. That voice.

''I hate you so much, Hawks!'' You raised your voice a bit, slapping his shoulder when he laughed at you.

''Relax, it was just me.''

''What if I had lost my balance and fell?''

''I would've caught you, obviously. I could never let ya' fall'' He shrugged his shoulders and sat right on the edge, feet hanging.

''I don't trust you that much'' Again, the comments made in order to hide your feelings.

''How mean'' Hawks chuckled one more time, and you couldn't help but join him.

''Shut up'' you said sitting by his side. ''What are you doing here?'' This time you asked, voice filled with curiosity.

''I just... There were too many people down there. And the reporters didn't leave my ass alone for a second. Besides, this view is sick'' He smiled watching the city beneath the two of you.

''Really? Is it better than being down there with all that delicious food, drinks, nice temperature, and music?''

''Yeah, you were not there either. So what was the point?'' Your heart stopped for a second, but before you could say something that made sense, Keigo spoke again ''The only thing that is missing here is some yakitori''

''Yakitori'' You said at the same time as him, making Hawks look at you and smile at you.

''Exactly'' He laughed lowly again.

''By the way, there was a tiny thing here... I think it was Miruko's purse'' looking around, you couldn't find the small box looking object.

''Oh, you mean this?'' Suddenly a feather appeared in front of you, on it was the mysterious item that was far from being a purse. ''Is not Miruko's. It's yours. For you'' And if there was light, Keigo's cheek would be more than red. ''Open it''

No words left your mouth again. How come didn't you get him a present? It was Christmas, and you had nothing for him, but the truth was that Keigo didn't seem to care. He was only worried about you liking his present or not. It was a small box, and you could tell it was dark blue. When you opened it, your eyes went wide. It was a simple bracelet, with a moon pendant hanging. A subtle detail, but a wonderful one.

''The lady at the store said it you could like it. I suck at giving presents'' He placed a hand on the back of his head, a nervous smile on his face.

''I love it, Hawks. It is beautiful'' Pure honesty was in your words. You set the box aside, putting the bracelet on your wrist faster than you thought. ''Thank you, so so much'' Your eyes went back at the blonde man, smiling at him ''But now I feel terrible, because I didn't get you anything'' You covered your face with both hands, as if you were hiding the shame.

''Don't worry about it. I wanted to make you happy, you deserve it''

''But you deserve it too! I want you to be happy too, Hakws. Truly.''

Someone once said, that eyes could speak louder than words. And that was what happened in that moment. Even if you wanted to hide it, even if you wanted to stop yourself from feeling that way your eyes betrayed you, you noticed it and so did he. Your body moved at its own will, and you place your hand on top of Hawk's hand.

His eyes were shining too, and just the sound of the cars down the street and laughs from further buildings seemed to be a perfect atmosphere.

''Well... There is something you could give to me, kid'' Hawks said, sounding kind of shy and serious at the same time.

''And what would that be?'' You whispered.

A loud noise made you look at the big metal door because it opened abruptly, and a feather flew all the way towards the two of you, stopping right above your head. But it wasn't only a feather, it was holding a mistletoe.

You couldn't help but let out a small laugh, but you felt relieved. The two of you knew what you wanted, but words were not enough, so that old tradition that was now there did the job. There were no dates, no confessions, only a selfless gift and the warmth of a hand over another one that did the job. Moving yourself a bit closer, you looked down at his lips for brief seconds before kissing him. His hand went to your cheek, and your lips moved softly and tenderly against his. Time stopped, and so the noise and everything else. You could taste the wine on his lips and his familiar perfume making you feel week. As for him? Not even flying up in the sky he felt that way, comfortable, free, at peace.

The kiss was broken because of the lack of air, and his forehead was resting against yours as his thumb caressed your cheekbone at the same time you squeezed his hand delicately.

''Hawks...'' You murmured.

''Keigo. With you I'm Keigo'' He whispered too, eyes still closed as he pulled you in for another soft and short kiss.

''Merry Christmas, Kei'' You said in a way of telling him that the kiss was your present, and a smile appeared on both faces.

''Merry Christmas, to you too'' After leaving another touch on your cheek, he spoke again ''Wanna leave this hell hole and get some yakitori?'' Keigo smiled.

''Sounds like the perfect plan'' You nodded, pulling away so you could look at him.

He stood up, jumping off the roof. A smile was on your face again, finally seeing him better thanks to the light that was where he was, and the way he was smiling made your heart beating crazy against your chest. His wings looked beautiful too, contrasting with the dark blue of the city, and the yellow lights.

''Do you trust me?'' He said with a loud voice, stretching his arms towards you in an invitation of jumping off the roof.

''Only if you promise you'll catch me'' You raised both eyebrows, standing right on the edge, the cold wind hitting your face.

''I said it before, I will never let you fall!'' He screamed again without erasing the smile on his face.

Keigo was right in front of you, arms spread wide and his wings moving swiftly and graciously, at that point, someone from the building across the street must have seen him, but he only cared about the person standing on the edge.

 And you thought for a second, even if you didn't have wings as he did, you were always going to catch him too. And then, with no more hesitation, free from all insecurities, fears, and doubts, trusting with your heart and soul on the man you had in front of you, you jumped. 

[wiseabsol]

WA Reviews “Dominion” by Aurelia le, Chapter 15: Lost

Link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6383825/15/Dominion

Summary: For the Fire Nation royal siblings, love has always warred with hate. But neither the outward accomplishment of peace nor Azula’s defeat have brought the respite Zuko expected. Will his sister’s plans answer this, or only destroy them both?

Content Warnings: This story contains discussions and depictions of child abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and incest. This story also explores the idea that Zuko’s redemption arc (and his unlearning of abuse) is not as complete as the show suggested, and that Azula is not a sociopath (with the story having a lot of sympathy for her). If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, I would strongly recommend steering clear of this story and my reviews of it.

Note: Because these were originally posted as chapter reviews/commentaries, I will often be talking to the author in them (though sometimes I will also snarkily address the characters). While I’ve also tried not to spoil later events in the story in these reviews, I would strongly recommend reading through chapter 28 before reading these, just to be safe.

Now on to chapter 15!

CHAPTER 15: LOST

 Alright, I’m a little late on this one, so let’s just dive into the ugly sadness of “Chapter 15: Lost,” shall we?

 The A/N mentions that Toph, Suki, and Sokka will be back in five or six chapters, and a part of me can’t help but think, “Good, you three are distracting us from the Surround Sound Stereo Angst for the Royal Fire Family.” Joking aside, I am looking forward to Toph’s character development later on, because even though I know some of what is going to happen in future chapters of “Dominion,” I legitimately don’t think that Aurelia and I have discussed Toph’s arc yet. It’s a blind spot for me, but I’m okay with that, since I want to have some surprises in the wings, rather than just enjoying how X and Y parts are executed. Both ways of reading this story are fun, but the former is more enjoyable for reader in me, rather than the editor.

 If the outline mentioned in chapter fifteen is still accurate, then that means that we have seven chapters left of “Dominion” at present, before we move on to “Thrones.” That number might be off, though, because Aurelia tends to be more verbose than she expects and has to split the chapters into multiple parts.

 On to the chapter itself. Ty Lee and Mai are meeting in a sitting room. Ty Lee is nervous and Mai wonders if Ty Lee thinks that she’s mad at her, but Ty Lee hastens to reassure her. Mai’s aura indicates that she’s anxious and struggling to maintain control during this conversation. Mai is upset about “Zuko’s mistake,” but she doesn’t blame Ty Lee for it—she knows who to blame (Azula, probably, but maybe both her and Zuko). Mai doesn’t think that it was a bad idea for Zuko to team up with June, because the bounty hunter will track Azula down in short order and have her back in custody.

 Ty Lee is not enthused about this idea. Despite knowing that Mai isn’t going to like it, she tells Mai that Azula shouldn’t be put back into the asylum. As trash of a human being as J. K. Rowling is, I can’t help but think of the quote, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends.” Ty Lee, you are the overlooked and unsung hero of this story. There should be shrines in your honor.

 Mai never likes it when Ty Lee brings up Azula, and usually deflects the conversation. Ty Lee also sees Mai less than she sees Azula, so they don’t get much of a chance to talk anyway. “Ty Lee still felt a little guilty about that, but Mai was always so busy, and Mai and Zuko would never even talk about Azula when she was the one who brought them all together in the first place….”

 A few things here. Ty Lee and Mai are maybe a little like Ty Lee and Zuko, in that they call each other friends, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is putting in the effort to be friends. Mai could be making more time for Ty Lee. Mai could be trying to empathize with Ty Lee over the Azula issue. At the same time, I think Mai has been trying to set a boundary with Ty Lee about Azula, but either Mai hasn’t made it clear enough to Ty Lee that this is a boundary, or Ty Lee isn’t able to respect it because Azula is so important to her. It seems like there are competing needs at work here, and the feelings on both sides are valid.

 At the same time, this situation has been festering for years. It’s clear that Mai has never been at peace with her feelings towards Azula, and that this is hurting her as much as it’s going to hurt Azula. I think Mai’s hatred for Azula is founded on the love she once had for her. While a large part of her might think that Azula deserved her fate, and even found it satisfying to see Azula brought low, there might also be a small part of her that wonders if that fall was partially her fault (it was, since Mai accidentally slammed down on Azula’s triggers), and feels guilty for it and for feeling that satisfaction. Also, from the way she’s been behaving, Mai might very well have been just as toxic and false a friend to Azula as she accuses Azula of being to her. She didn’t communicate her needs or desires to Azula, but instead let herself boil alive with resentment. She might blame Azula for how things went down, but she’s ignoring the role she played in it.

 As the conversation continues, Ty Lee dances around why it would be bad to send Azula back to the asylum (because Azula is pregnant), and Mai says, “‘She tell you they abused her? And here I thought it was her dad.’”

 Which brings another layer into this. I’m going to discuss this in more detail later, but Mai has now been confronted with the idea that Azula was an abused child—just as abused as Zuko was. And besides this recontextualizing Azula’s behavior, now Mai is left to wonder, “How did I never notice?” I think there’s a tiny part of her, one that she denies, that is appalled over what happened to Azula.

 Ty Lee, who loves Azula whole-heartedly, is HORRIFIED by this revelation. She feels like the ground is “rushing up to hit her” and remembers how Ozai treated her, the last night she spent in the castle as a kid. And then she…well: “But Azula was so strong, she wouldn’t let anyone do that to her, would she? At least she would have told Ty Lee, they were best friends!” Oh Ty Lee, honey. That’s not how abuse works. Azula wouldn’t have told anyone, both because she was ordered not to by her abuser, but also because that would have meant being vulnerable around someone else. Does that sound like something Azula would do?

 Mai says that Azula must have been lying about the abuse, but the thing is, Azula didn’t tell Mai about it. Zuko did. And even Mai doesn’t really believe it is a lie, if Ty Lee’s aura-reading is accurate. Mai’s just trying really hard to believe in her own lie. Mai argues that Ty Lee only ever sees the good in people—which isn’t true, since Ty Lee can see the flaws in people, but is more forgiving of them than the other characters are (except for Aang). Mai wonders if Ty Lee has convinced herself that there’s goodness in Azula where there is none.

 And that’s…a lot. Because there’s a mix of good and bad in everyone. Some people lean more towards one end of the spectrum than the other, but if you look hard enough, you’ll always find something that humanizes even the most saintly or heinous of people. My stepmother, who was emotionally and psychologically abusive, wasn’t pure evil. She made my father happy. She was fiercely protective of those she loved. She made the best oatmeal cookies in the world and shared my passion for sappy romances. I’ve progressed enough in my healing that I can see these things, and see her as a troubled person who made mistakes and never got the help she needed. But Mai…she hasn’t healed the way I have. She hasn’t forgiven Azula. She might never be able to do that, either, given recent events (and she doesn’t have to—that’s her choice to make). And as long as that’s the case, it’s so much easier for her to demonize Azula, because if Azula is a demon, then Mai doesn’t have to grapple with the messy reality of Azula as a person, or grapple with how Ozai’s, Zuko’s, and Mai’s own choices damaged her.

 Then we get this passage, which I’m going to quote in full, because it’s a slap in the face to absolutist thinking where Azula is concerned:

 “‘I know she did some bad things, some awful things even, but that was four years ago and she was just a kid! We all were!’ [Ty Lee] argued [ . . . ] ‘And most of that stuff she did on her dad’s orders, and who knows what he would’ve done if she refused—’

 ‘Oh yes, poor helpless little victim,’ Mai interrupted coldly, rising to her feet with more grace than Ty Lee. ‘It’s not like she ever had a choice.’

 ‘She had a choice, but this stuff makes a difference, Mai!’ Ty Lee insisted, desperate to make her see it. ‘It makes a difference how we judge what she did! And we know now she was crazy!’ Ty Lee seized on the horrible truth with more enthusiasm than she would ever have guessed, spreading her hands to offer explanation. ‘Doesn’t that make a difference to you?’”

 Context. Matters. It matters so much when you’re judging someone’s behavior. If someone is under duress, or isn’t fully in their right mind, or if they have no good choices, can we really blame them from making bad ones? And in Azula’s case, she was a child. Should she really have been written off by anyone, let alone our heroes?

 Mai doesn’t believe that Azula was mentally ill, though. That was just a part of Azula’s scheme, you see. Ty Lee is rightly appalled by this. “‘Even if—you thought she just made it up—to avoid prison or something,’ she grasped at the logic only loosely, because it was disgusting, ‘you can’t deny what it did to her! She starved herself almost to death, she almost died!’” I really appreciate that Ty Lee is disgusted by Mai’s reasoning here. You go, Ty Lee! Four for you, Ty Lee! You’re the only reasonable person from the Fire Nation in this cast, I swear.

 Ty Lee reminds Mai that there were witnesses to Azula’s deteriorating mental state, but realizes that Mai is in denial about this: “Realization leaked through cold and creeping as the egg Ty Lin broke over her head that one time. ‘Or maybe you can deny it,’ she whispered, horrified, and took a swift step back with hands raised before her when Mai lifted her head.” Yeah, I’m fully in agreement with Ty Lee’s horror. She’s looking at a friend who is so twisted up by resentment that she has lost sight of reality, in favor of believing a comfortable lie—namely, that Azula is irredeemable and so Mai doesn’t need to care about what happens to her. Even though Mai does need to care about this, because Zuko and Ty Lee will be gutted if Azula dies, and the Fire Nation will probably go to war over it.

 “‘I didn’t see her because she treated me like shit,’ Mai spoke deliberately.” Mai is right that she doesn’t have to have Azula in her life if she doesn’t want Azula there. You don’t have to have anyone in your life who has hurt you. But that isn’t all that’s going on here. Mai is still smoldering with anger four years later, and her inability to let that anger go has been eating her alive. It’s making her lash out at Zuko and Ty Lee when they try to broach the subject of Azula. This isn’t healthy for her or anyone else. This is just a continuation of the behavior that plagued her as a teenager—suppressing all of her negative emotions until they explode outwards, rather than allowing herself to feel them, accept them, learn from them, and move on.

 When Mai points out that she doesn’t owe Azula anything, Ty Lee replies that she wouldn’t have met or fallen in love with Zuko if she hadn’t been Azula’s friend. This stings for Mai, given that the siblings have had sex: “‘She gives, and she takes away….’”

 Ty Lee, being more perceptive than anyone gives her credit for, figures out that something must have happened. She’s very sympathetic, asking if Mai wants to talk about it. Mai panics and has another angry outburst, thinking that Azula must have told Ty Lee about what Zuko did. “[Ty Lee] was reminded uncannily of how Azula reacted to Mai’s rejection at the Boiling Rock, and found it hard to fathom how Mai hadn’t run for the hills on receiving such a look.” This is interesting, because it suggests that part of the reason why Mai loathes Azula so much is because of the similarities between them. There is nothing more unsettling than seeing a dark mirror of yourself in someone else.

 Ty Lee doesn’t know what Mai is talking about, and then kicks herself for revealing that to Mai: “Azula would have known enough to pretend she already knew, so Mai would tell her.” Mai shuts down at this point and tells Captain Tadao to take Ty Lee to her rooms, because they’ve “embarrassed each other enough for one day” and that they’ll talk later.

 Ty Lee knows that’s bullshit. “They wouldn’t because Mai never wanted to talk about Azula, and was extra unlikely to want to talk about Azula when she had problems of her own with Zuko.” I’m sure that Mai was reluctant to talk about Azula with Ty Lee because she didn’t think that Ty Lee would let her vent about her anger towards Azula, or understand it and not make excuses for Azula. Which is fair, but Mai should have found someone else to vent to to get the poison out, and then circled back to seeing Azula as a human being who fucked up.

 Actually, you know what Mai probably needs? She needs to confront Azula about what happened between them, because she hasn’t seen Azula since the Boiling Rock. Yeah, Mai had a cool line about loving Zuko more than fearing Azula, but that didn’t get into her specific grievances, or allow Azula to address or apologize for them to give Mai closure. And we know that Azula feels bad about what she did, because it was what haunted her the most when she was having her breakdown. If Azula really was a monster, then she wouldn’t feel that remorse.

 “Ty Lee felt bad about that, and she wanted to help Mai, she really did”—Ty Lee is too good for this sinful Earth—“but Mai wouldn’t tell her anything, and even though her problems seemed bad, Azula’s could get her killed—” Yeah, the most reasonable one of the bunch, our Ty Lee.

 Ty Lee begs Mai to do something to help Azula, because she’ll die if the Earth Kingdom catches her. Ty Lee has this heart-wrenching speech: “‘I know you guys had problems, and—maybe you think she was never your friend [ . . . ] But she thought of you as a friend, Mai, she told me so! She fought so hard to get better, she’s a better person now, and she deserves a second chance! But she’ll never get that chance unless we help her.’” Carve my heart out and eat it, why don’t you?

 And Mai…is unmoved by this. And condescending about it. “‘I hoped your actions might prove you were ready to cut ties with her too. But clearly you can’t be trusted to know what’s best for you” She’s referring here to Ty Lee seemingly choosing the Kyoshi Warriors over Azula. But also, it’s gross that Mai assumes that she knows what is best for Ty Lee. Fuck off with that, Mai.

 Mai doubles down on the whole, “Azula’s awful, I don’t owe her anything, and don’t come crying to me when she hurts you” schtick. If she’d met the adult version of Azula and seen that version of her hurt someone, such as Ty Lee, then this reaction would make sense. What this is instead is Mai holding onto a grudge that is years old and using it as a weapon. She’s clinging to the idea that Azula can never change…even though that’s not how people work. Especially not people in the formative years of their lives, which they all still qualify as.

 Aaaand Ty Lee, panicking now, reveals that Azula is pregnant as a last-ditch effort to get Mai to get her head out of her black-clad butt and see reason. Mai goes into despairing shock at this news and accidentally cuts herself with her own knife, much to Ty Lee’s and Captain Tadao’s alarm. One of the guards tries to grab Ty Lee, but Ty Lee chi-blocks him and he collapses. The next one manages to grab her. Mai orders them to remove Ty Lee from the room, and instead of putting Ty Lee in her guest bedroom, they stick her in a study.

 We learn that Ty Lee actually likes Tadao, because he works hard and doesn’t dismiss Ty Lee’s suggestions on how to improve palace security. He’s the one who comes to see Ty Lee instead of Mai. He tells her that Mai is going to be fine. She might have a scar on her hand, but she’ll still be able to use it. When Ty Lee wonders why she got so upset, Tadao points out that since Mai and Azula are sisters-in-law, Azula’s condition will have an impact on Mai. This is also “the latest in a recent line of insults.” To put it another way, Mai is bitter at Azula for having sex with Zuko and throwing that wrench into her marriage (namely, by revealing that Zuko is not the person she thought he was). Then there are the political considerations, given that Azula’s kid could have a place in the line of succession, if the kid gets legitimized someday. Which then puts little Lu Ten’s claim at risk.

 This also reveals that Captain Tadao knows what happened between Azula and Zuko. For a second, I thought that he was Mai’s uncle, and so the ugly secret was just between them and the Fire siblings. But no, more people know about it, and that is NOT GOOD. But Captain Tadao seems like a good guy (sidebar, but was he the guy who escorted baby Ty Lee out of the palace during the abortion episode? It would be a sweet connection if so), and when Ty Lee asks why Mai won’t confide in her about what is going on between her and Zuko, Tadao is gentle when he tells her, “‘I think you know the answer to that question.’” Ty Lee’s love for Azula and Mai’s hatred of her is something they cannot reconcile, and given how important Azula is in their lives, it’s a potential dealbreaker for them, at least as far as having a close emotional, trusting relationship goes. A casual friendship is still possible, but probably not if Mai or Ty Lee keep pushing each other.

 Mai has decided to pack Ty Lee off to Kyoshi Island, and has gotten her a ticket and an escort to the harbor. Ty Lee has written Mai a letter to continue their conversation. I’m struck by how fast Mai is pushing Ty Lee out of the Fire Nation. What if Ty Lee wanted to visit her family? What if she wanted to enjoy some spicy homecooked Fire Nation food? What if she, god forbid, decided to visit Ozai for a nice shouting match (well, shouting at his comatose body, more like)? Alas, the plot beckons us forward!

 We find ourselves back with Zuko and June. Hooray? I put a question mark there because Zuko doesn’t appearing to be having a good time with the bounty hunter. He is, in fact, puking his guts out. Traveling with June has the feeling of a boot camp to Zuko, because she keeps trying to “toughen him up”: “It reminded Zuko uncomfortably of his father’s early tutelage, before Ozai gave up shaping him into an unfeeling weapon of war, and turned his sights to Azula instead.” Oh Zuko, if you knew what Ozai was trying to shape YOU into, then why blame Azula for—at least in your eyes—becoming it?

 June puts all of the gross chores of their journey onto him, and tries to steal his food to see if he’s cunning enough to get it back. I’m sure she finds this amusing, but I remember how hard Zuko’s journey apart from Iroh was, and I think she might have an overly inflated opinion of her teaching skills.

 In any case, they find the Dai Li agent hiding in a cave and June forces Zuko to interrogate him. It sounds like June is doing the heavy-lifting where torturing the man is concerned, though. June keeps telling Zuko to burn the man, and reminds him that Azula will be tortured if she’s captured. Eventually, the man begs Zuko to kill him, and Zuko has a flashback to when he was burned by Ozai: “he could only think of a hand wreathed in flame, reaching for him.” It’s at this point that Zuko throws up. He tries to argue that the man deserves this: “He would have blackmailed me, hunted my sister down like an animal. He wouldn’t flinch from torturing her, even killing her if he was ordered.” This line of reasoning doesn’t give him any comfort, though.

 I do want to point out that torture, despite what fiction would like us to believe, is an ineffective tool for getting reliable information out of someone. Oftentimes it’s bribery that works better, such as, “You know we can’t let you go, but if you tell us what we want to know, we can make sure that no harm comes to your loved ones.” People in pain will say anything to make it stop, so gentler methods are more effective. However, it’s become ingrained in our cultural consciousness that torture works, despite what studies have shown. And since hurting the villain can be cathartic to an audience, and a hero hurting the villain can tell us something about them as a person, it comes up a LOT in action stories. And while I am exhausted by it being used in this way (torture as a tool of the villains tracks better, since there is no shortage of people who find satisfaction in making other people feel pain), I do see why it is used here. It’s only recently that the ineffectiveness of torture has become more generally known, whereas Zuko lives in a time period analogous to…probably the late 1800s?

 I do wish that the torture here hadn’t yielded the information that it had, or that this information turned out to be bunk upon investigating it. As if it, the Dai Li agent is mostly filling in non-vital information: that he worked as an orderly at the asylum and had a partner there, hence how he got to the beach house on Ember Island so fast. So the partner needs to be taken care of at some point soon. Zuko better remember to send that letter!

 Then we get this chilling thought from Zuko: “Zuko considered for the first time what might have happened, if she had not run from the asylum. If the Earth Kingdom grew impatient [ . . . ] it would have been appallingly easy to make her death look like a suicide, an accident overdose, a bad reaction to her medication….” Yeah, she was definitely a sitting duck there.

 “He wondered if Azula knew, or suspected, that she was in the care of her enemies when she decided to run [ . . . ] She had an instinct for these things. The only time she hadn’t seen it coming was when her friend betrayed her. And when Zuko left to join Aang in ending the war, if her converse [sic] with absent fathers was to be believed—" I don’t know if Azula ever knew that there were Dai Li agents lurking about, but even Zuko is starting to see why Azula has such bad trust issues.

 It looks like June continued with the torture and got the location of her dad out of her victim. I really wish she’d gotten a fake location, but I understand that the plot necessitates a swift end to this subplot. June hopes that Zuko is less squeamish about violence when someone is out to kill him, but I’m sure he would be fine in that situation, because that would be a fair fight, rather than causing someone who is helpless and incapacitated a useless amount of pain. June killed the agent in the end, and when Zuko argues that torturing him wasn’t right, and she replies with, “‘It was necessary. You head one of the most powerful nations in the world, don’t you know what that is?’”

 And…(sigh)…yes, leaders need to make tough calls sometimes. But if they choose to do something this ugly, they really shouldn’t be fine with it afterwards. They should acknowledge that it was evil, but that they couldn’t see another way to accomplish their goal. That route accepts more responsibility than hiding behind the idea that it was for “the greater good” and that no one else could have thought of a better path forward. When June says that the torture was necessary, that doesn’t make it not evil. It just means that she didn’t see another way to get what she needed.

 June then points out that Ozai was a helpless prisoner when Zuko burned him, which stings Zuko. I would argue that Zuko is right about it being different—his crime was one of passion, whereas June’s was coldly calculated. But both ultimately led to human suffering, so both of them were wrong to do it.

 Zuko takes a deep breath to keep from lashing out at June, which tells us that he CAN manage his anger when he wants to. He’s struggling, though, because he’s tempted to tell June what Ozai did to Azula to justify burning his dad. He decides not to: “It didn’t feel right somehow, telling anyone else about the abuse. He wondered if this was how Uncle felt when he found out, and why he didn’t say anything. He still should have said something….” Zuko is right—Azula’s trauma isn’t his to share. He also goes from having empathy for Iroh to being angry with him in a split second, which makes sense. He’s conflicted about how his uncle handled the discovery. At the very least, Iroh should have told her doctors, so she could get the care she needed.

 “How many more of [June’s] cruelties would he have to witness or take part in, before this was over?” This is rough and why I am not a fan of characters like June. Azula’s actions in this fic are calculated to minimize harm; June has no such scruples. She’s too much in “the ends justify the means” frame of mind.

 Zuko has two thoughts that suggest that Azula is the devil on his shoulder, as far as his brain is concerned. “You would [burn Ozai] again” and “You could kill [June . . . ] Remove the threat.” He describes the latter thought as being “so alien and disturbing Azula might have suggested it herself.” No, my dude. Just like hallucination!Ursa is a reflection of Azula’s doubts, whispering!Azula is a reflection of Zuko’s darker thoughts and impulses, which he deflects onto her because that is easier for him to do than face the darkness within himself.

 He then has some off-color thoughts about June, besides the idea of murdering her. “Sometimes Zuko thought she was more animal than woman”—Gross!—“and didn’t know whether to be turned on or disgusted by her antics. He had even wondered once in the long hours he spent riding behind her how Mai would look dressed all in black leather like that.” This would be a much lighter story if Zuko and Mai had just embraced his leather kink, rather than him embracing his toxic desire to possess Azula.

 As June taunts him about how he wouldn’t win if he tried to kill her, he figures out that she knows that he slept with Azula. She confirms it: “‘Your secret’s out. I might have forgot to mention our mutual friend let that slip, before the end. He got a message to the others. Looks like we should’ve moved faster.’” This means that Zuko, Azula, Mai, Mai’s uncle, Tadao, June, and now some unnamed Dai Li agents—who will probably pass this information along to their superiors—are in the know. That is very bad! Zuko had better hope that they’ll be able to spin this information as slander against him and his family, because if people believe it, his family is going to have a tough time holding onto the throne.

 June throws in that now she knows why he has problems with women, which Zuko denies. I feel like he’s better about women than Iroh and Ozai, but his treatment of Azula is definitely skeevy. June, in any case, isn’t bothered by this information, because she doesn’t have siblings as far as she knows. She also doesn’t have the same cultural teachings as Zuko, so she doesn’t have the same taboos that he does.

 We switch over to Mai, who is sulking in Zuko’s study. She’s read Ty Lee’s letter a few times by now and is not impressed. She thinks that she’s entitled to be upset, given the situation, and I can’t fault her for that. “That a man so endearingly awkward and painfully sincere would betray her with anyone, let alone his manipulative bitch of a sister, was a permissible source of surprise.” While I don’t like how she describes Azula, I agree with the rest of her sentiment.

 “That Azula would take fullest advantage of his lapse was not.” This is ridiculous, though. What, did Azula plan to escape while she was ovulating so that she would become pregnant when she seduced her brother? Is that how the story is going in your brain, Mai? Why would Azula do something like that? She’d be disgraced if anyone found out, just as much as Zuko (unless she spun it as rape, which IT WAS. But Mai seems to be thinking that Azula would make a false accusation). Azula certainly will be disgraced if she has a bastard. Also, her being pregnant is going to slow her down and make her more vulnerable. That’s such a stupid plan, and when have Azula’s plans ever been stupid?

 “Mai bent her head and gripped her bandaged hand, to draw a deep breath against the grief that welled inside her like an aching void. A void that demanded how he could do this, how he could still defend her, how he could think she didn’t plan this, why—” Mai is struggling because she knows that she was mostly betrayed by Zuko (she no longer trusted Azula, so how could Azula betray her?), but she can’t help but think that Azula had an evil plan. Probably because if Azula did have an evil plan, then maybe Mai could someday forgive Zuko for falling for it.

 Her uncle arrives and she tells him the news. “And Mai felt a rush of ruthless satisfaction, upon seeing the warden back into the desk adjacent to her, revulsion etched in every line of his aging face. It wasn’t just her. Zuko tried to act like this was a terrible but legitimate mistake, like it was at all comparable to anything he’d done wrong before. But her uncle knew. He knew it was an abomination.” Yeah, Zuko and Azula committed a big cultural taboo. It’s unsurprising that other people are reacting this way. Also, I’m sure some of Mai’s satisfaction is that finally, someone is on her side, rather than on Zuko’s or Azula’s.

 Her uncle voices the idea that maybe the child isn’t Zuko’s at all—that Azula is trying to trap him with a lie—but Mai responds that whether it is or isn’t, Zuko will think it is, and that’s what will matter. She then reflects on her own sexual history with Zuko. They were sleeping together before he defected, and they continued to carry on without protection when he returned. It took two years before she became pregnant with Lu Ten, long enough that she’d wondered if Zuko was waiting to marry her until he was sure she could get pregnant. Which even she knows is a silly idea. He probably just didn’t think to make their union official until she got pregnant and he realized that he should do the “honorable” thing and wed her.

 Mai is salty about Azula getting pregnant from one night with him, when it took so much longer for her. When her uncle asks her what she plans to do, she comments that Azula’s medical records have gone missing. Zuko might have them?

 “‘Supposedly she almost died in the asylum,’ Mai explained, her words ringing strangely hollow to her own ears. ‘Her doctors said she would never fully recover. I wanted to know if I could reasonably expect this to kill her.’ She tried to imagine the princess bleeding out, that she might die screaming in the same agony Mai endured when Lu Ten was born—and couldn’t. But there would be time enough to consider why later.” Mai can’t imagine her ex-friend dying. As much as she hates Azula, I don’t think she genuinely wants Azula dead, as convenient as that would be for her.

 She then subtly suggests to her uncle that they could make it look like Azula just bled out like that—a tragic turn of events, but not anyone’s fault. Mai then accuses Zuko of being irrationally protective of Azula and that he’ll set Mai aside if she moves against Azula openly. I’m not sure Zuko would really do that, since he loves Mai deeply, but I don’t think their marriage would ever recover if Mai killed Azula.

 Her uncle notices her hand, and we get this sweet moment: “Mai put her hand in his offered palm without hesitation. A reflex born of the first months she spent training with knives under his tutelage, when he had often [sic] to tend nicks and cuts gained in her practice. When Mai showed no signs of firebending by her fifth birthday, it was her Uncle Tom who first put a blade in her hand, and offered his home for the summer, so she might learn to use it.” When Mai mentioned that her current injury was an accident, her uncle adds, “‘A man like that isn’t worth hurting yourself over.’”

 This is a genuinely sweet relationship, and it makes me wish that he had been the one who raised Mai, instead of her parents. She probably would have learned how to express her emotions in a healthy way, rather than bottling them up. He also doesn’t seem to care that she was a girl and had gender roles to conform to. Really, I’m glad that he’s in her corner. She needs someone to be, because this situation is legitimately awful for her.

 Mai gets a hug from her uncle, which I think she’s needed for a while. She thanks him for being there for her and not saying, “I told you so,” because her uncle never approved of Zuko. They even make a joke about the situation, about how neither of them thought Zuko would cheat on her with his sister, which is some very dark humor.

 Things take a turn when her uncle comments that the Royal family has been corrupt since Sozin, to which Mai replies that he should be careful, because her son is one of them. Tsutomu then suggests that he doesn’t have to be—that if something happened to Zuko, Lu Ten could be raised away from the toxicity of the paternal side of his family. Mai doesn’t like this idea, but her uncle keeps pushing, suggesting that if Zuko has cheated once, maybe he’s done so before and will do so again. Mai shoots this line of reasoning down, because she’s questioned their household about it and knows better, and doesn’t think that Zuko will stray again. Tsutomu keeps suggesting that they could have Zuko killed, and Mai tells him to stop thinking about it. He insists that he would never do anything without her consent. I want to trust him on this, but given later events, I worry that he might have some involvement there. If he does, it will be a case of him thinking that he knows what’s best for her, rather than respecting her wishes.

 We then shift back to Azula, who was being pursued by Fong’s men, but managed to shake them when she entered the swamp. Unfortunately, her mount broke its leg when they were running down the mountain, so Azula had to put it down. What a waste! It would have been cruel to let it suffer, though. Azula wanted to trade her ostrich horse for a different mount, but the sandbenders never showed up. She travelled in the desert for a while, keeping the mountains in sight to avoid getting lost, but she needed more water before long. That was when she was discovered by Fong’s men, and she has a couple of sardonic thoughts about how her “famous luck” hadn’t helped her out.

 She then starts trekking through the standing water in the marsh, and I’m already shuddering at the thought of all of the mosquitos there. Though they’re probably crossed with something like a wasp to make them extra horrible. Azula climbs up a tree to see if she can spot her pursuers, and thinks about how stupid they were to advertise their intentions in a fight. Fair! We also get the interesting tidbit that benders and nonbenders in the Earth Kingdom tend to work together in squads, whereas this team was specifically all earthbenders and was patrolling during peace time. Azula takes this to mean that they were searching for her. We also learn that Azula is heading to an avatar shrine.

 Azula’s pack is waterlogged at this point, and she sighs in a way that reminds her of Mai. This thought leads her to reflect on her ex-friend, much like Mai was doing earlier in the chapter. There is a humous moment where Azula thinks that Mai would have given herself up to avoid stepping into the swamp, and then a bitter one as she thinks, “You never minded getting your hands dirty except in the most literal sense. Yet it was you and not Ty Lee who finally suffered a crisis of conscience—” Meaning that Mai’s betrayal really did come out of nowhere for Azula.

 At this, Azula starts hallucinating Mai. She nearly falls out of the tree in surprise, with her pack opening up and her supplies tumbling into the water. Hallucination!Mai is offended by Azula’s thoughts, reminding Azula that she loved Zuko and didn’t want his blood on her hands. Azula, after a moment, reminds herself that she’s not in the asylum anymore, so what she’s seeing could just be a trick of the light or her imagination…except the Gaang ran into visions in this swamp, so it might be magic at work.

 Azula tries to get herself back onto the branch properly, but can’t manage a full crunch. Oh buddy, I feel you. She then does the way more impressive thing by swinging backwards, releasing the branch, and grabbing the vines to stop her fall on the way down. She notices that her pursuers are spreading out around the edge of the swamp, probably to intercept her when she emerges. She figures they’ll wait for reinforcements and might try to flush her out when they have better numbers.

 Azula considers that there might be dangers in the swamp that she’ll have to deal with, such as “deadly beasts or hostile primitives.” (Sigh.) Sometimes, her being from an imperialist society rears its ugly head. She figures that she needs to make her way to the far end of the swamp before her pursuers do. She takes some time to regather her supplies and then starts the wet trek, while being swarmed by mosquitos. She decides to heat the air around her to try to drive them off. I wish I could do that on summer evenings!

 We shift over to Zuko, who is fighting with a team of Dai Li. Looks like he and June have arrived at the hideout! June has coated her whip in shirsu weapon, which works well and makes her match with Nyla. Zuko notes that the Dai Li are trying to use lethal force on him and June, since they aren’t there on official Fire Lord business, so no one will know who killed them. June at one point does a handspring that would have impressed Ty Lee, which is a fun detail, and then Zuko pulls a leaf out of June’s book and makes some fire whips. Once they’ve taken care of the team, they go through the cave and pass by the crystal cells, which June doesn’t bother to check because there are no guards around. Zuko has a sinking feeling that some of the guards must have smuggled June’s dad out and they’ll have to start the search all over again, which means that one of the unconscious men they left behind might get a spot of torture. BUT Nyla knocked out the guards before they could flee on ostrich-horseback, so June’s dad is fine and trying to get his cuffs off.

��June’s father is a balding man with a squarish face and glasses. He teases June for taking so long, and then notices Zuko. There’s an argument about the logistics of the fight, the point of it being that June wasn’t sure if Zuko was going to hold his own, and that if he got caught, she was worried that he would have told them which way June and her father ran. Zuko is insulted at the idea that he would have ratted them out, and asks if they would have left him behind. June says that they wouldn’t have, mostly because it would have come back to bite them if they had. Zuko reminds her that now that her father is free, it’s time for her to fulfill her part of the deal and track down Azula. June asks him if he has a scent sample from Azula on him, because the last one they had is ashes now, and led Nyla to him anyway.

 He thinks there are still things in the house on Ember Island that they could use, and remembers some of what happened that night: “Her lips moved silently, forming the same word over and over again. He knew what word she spoke now, two months too late…. I used her no more kindly than him.” Yikes! That word is father and just…ugh. This twisted family. I was trying to explain the appeal of this fic to a friend last night, and I kept saying, “It’s really dark and heavy, but it’s fascinating from a psychological standpoint!”

 The trio decide to head to Ember Island. If nothing there works as a sample, they’ll go to the palace. I don’t think there would be fresh enough scents there, so the beach house will have to work. Zuko thinks that after they find Azula, he’ll “make amends, the only way he had left.” Presumably he means to Azula, but he could also be talking about Mai, since Mai also wants Azula caught, though his sister’s fate afterwards would probably be darker than what Zuko wants.

 We switch back to Azula, who is being badgered by Hallucination!Mai. I am a little amused about the joke she makes about Azula never lacking direction, though the direction was sometimes the wrong one. If this is Azula’s self-doubt talking, then that’s an acknowledgement that she’s made mistakes and hasn’t always gone down the right path, which flies in the face of her usual self-confidence. There is a suggestion that this hallucination is actually a swamp vision, rather than a symptom of Azula’s mental illness. Unlike her normal hallucinations, this image of Mai vanishes as soon as she looks too closely at it. “Strange that the hallucinations at the asylum never did that.”

 This Mai talks more than the hallucinated version of her did. “‘You ever think maybe I didn’t say much, ‘cause I knew you didn’t care what I had to say?’” this Mai says. Azula, tired and bitter, snaps back sarcastically, pointing out that she asked for Mai’s council many times and trusted her as much as she allowed herself to trust anyone. I suspect part of what’s going on here is that Azula is grappling with her fear about how other people—specifically the people she loved—view her. She fears that they see her as a monster and that they’re right to do so, because of the choices she’s made. It’s one thing to have your family by blood betray you, but another thing to have your chosen family do so.

 Azula admits that she used Mai’s “infatuation” with Zuko for her own self-gain (clearly not realizing the depth of Mai’s love for Zuko), but that she “still expected Mai to be smart enough to act in her own self-interest.” She was secure in that belief, otherwise she wouldn’t have brought Mai to the Boiling Rock or let Mai have the “first crack at Zuko.” From the sound of it, Azula thought that she was giving Mai a chance for revenge over being left behind by Zuko. Except that Mai couldn’t stand by as he was killed….

 Which Azula doesn’t understand. “‘He was a traitor!’ Azula screeched in disbelief, her fist clenched so hard she could feel every bone in her hand. ‘He betrayed you just as much as me! And you still chose him!’ Her voice broke. I was your friend first. He wasn’t anything to you anymore. He ended it in a letter, too much of a coward to tell you to your face. He hadn’t even left her a letter, or any warning of what to expect, the next time she was called before their father….”

 While it was a good thing for the world that Zuko chose to help Aang, these are all solid points. Zuko did betray his Fire Lord and nation, so from their perspective, he is a traitor (who, in addition to defecting, then took the throne from Ozai’s appointed heir). He didn’t break up with Mai in person. He didn’t think about what Ozai might do to Azula afterwards. Zuko could certainly have handled the latter situations better.

 Vision!Mai devalues Azula’s friendship next, saying that it didn’t compare to his love, and that Zuko was the love of Mai’s life, whereas Azula was a monster. It’s playing right into Azula’s deeply held belief that the reason no one loves and chooses her is because there’s something inherently wrong with her—something that isn’t wrong with Zuko (even though Zuko has fucked up in this story real bad).  

 Azula punches a tree in anger and thinks that the hallucinations have said worse to her than this, which is super sad. What’s even sadder is that Azula thinks the same things about herself, even without them around: “didn’t Azula think that about herself every day?” She needs some real therapy, not whatever she was getting in the asylum.

 Azula is lost by this point, and decides that she needs to find a dry place to sleep and recover, rather than continuing to drain herself by wandering around. Once she gets into the hollow of an old tree trunk, she takes off her socks and boots to avoid trench foot. Good plan! Though couldn’t she also dry out both with her bending? Probably for the best to let her feet air out, though. She then tries to eat, but her food has bog-water in it, and the rice apparently looks like maggots. Gross! She gets sicks, which could be from her morning sickness, from a blood-borne disease from the mosquitos, from the contaminated food, or from a combination of the above. After throwing up a second time—the Fire siblings both have delicate stomachs this chapter!—she decides to stick to drinking water instead.

 Azula is getting chills now, which suggests that she’s genuinely sick. She then sees Vision!Mai again, who gives her a nasty Reason You Suck Speech. She accuses Azula of not knowing what love or trust is—excuse me, Ty Lee is proof that that’s not true!—and then adds, “‘You never respected me, or my boundaries, or anything that was mine.’” I’m trying to remember if there was evidence for this in the show, or if this is Azula trying to come up with reasons for why Mai turned on her, and wondering if it was these things? That Azula feels guilty about this, though, shows that she is capable of seeing what she did wrong and learning from it. She can grow as a person…though she needs to be allowed to do so by the people around her. Ty Lee gave her that chance and now their relationship is much healthier. But it’s hard to grow when the people around you keep punishing you for what you did, and never believe that the growth you’ve made is genuine.

 Mai then asks, “‘Why else would you seduce [Zuko]?’” which Azula denies, saying she didn’t mean for it to go that far. Apparently, Azula hoped that the kiss would distract him, and then she’d be able to chi-block him so he couldn’t move. Unfortunately, he reacted by throwing her into a nightstand, and after she twisted her ankle, there was no running away.

 Mai accuses her of lying—that she did it because she saw Zuko’s weakness and was exploiting it. She asks, “‘How did it feel when he did that to you?’” and Azula doesn’t respond. I think this is where, if she’d felt any pleasure or satisfaction from the sex, it would sneak in and provide an extra layer of shame. That it doesn’t suggests that all Azula felt was violation and pain in the act.

 Mai says that this must be why Azula hates her—not because of the betrayal of their friendship, but because she “played the game better than [Azula]. And [Azula] lost.” If I’m parsing this right, Azula thinks that Mai believes that Azula wanted Zuko, and that because Mai won Zuko, Mai got more political power than Azula, beating Azula at the political game. It’s an ugly take, and while I don’t think Mai’s accusations are fair—because we’ve seen from Azula’s perspective what her motives were—this does show that Azula knows Mai quite well, because the real Mai’s thoughts run along similar lines as the vision’s. Real Mai believes that Azula seduced Zuko to blackmail him and continue playing the political game, when in reality, it was a terrible mistake. Azula might have “started it,” thanks to Ozai’s training, but she never would have considered kissing Zuko if Ozai hadn’t done what he did.

 Azula asserts that she hasn’t lost until she’s dead. I don’t think she means “winning Zuko” when she says this. She then puts out the fire and goes to sleep, dreaming about her father. After Zuko was banished, her training went into high gear, with more lessons on statecraft and the like. She was so busy that she didn’t have time to miss Zuko—which is definitely a lie—and he would have spoiled her happiness anyway by sulking and trying to get their dad’s attention. “It had been a source of amusement one, but they were not children anymore.” Oh honey, you both were children during canon. Maybe Zuko and the water siblings came of age during the show, but that age was still below what we would currently consider the age of majority.

 Azula wondered what Zuko would have thought about the sexual training Ozai inflicted on her. Not that she would ever have told Zuko. We then get a series of thoughts that were almost certainly things Ozai told her: “[Azula and Ozai were] willing to do whatever it took to succeed, to survive. [Zuko] would never realize that people will use anything against you, unless they are too afraid of your doing the same.” This is a paranoid way of looking at the world and the people around you, and also self-defeating. If people are afraid of you, they will turn on you the moment they think they can get away with it (and sometimes even before then—Mai knew that she was throwing her life away when she saved Zuko, but she did it regardless). Love and trust, on the other hand, are what makes people will stick by you, even if you’re a walking disaster.

 “[Zuko] never saw his own peril, until it was too late. Sometimes Azula thought he still didn’t see it.”—Foreshadowing!

 Azula then thinks about the training itself. “Her father said it would hurt the first time”—that’s a myth. If you have a vagina and are aroused and lubricated enough, even the first time shouldn’t hurt. “—but it didn’t only hurt the first time. Sometimes it was hard to know what he wanted, and he was as intolerant of failure in this as in her firebending.” This is awful, but also, Ozai sounds like a terrible sexual partner. You’re supposed to communicate what you want and don’t want during sex. You can’t expect your partner to intuitively know that. They’re not psychic!

 “As he should. It made her strong.” Azula, that training didn’t make you strong. It destroyed your boundaries and your ability to approach sex in a healthy way.

 “It wasn’t always—Sometimes he would stay with her after, and just talk. She liked those times. It made her feel important. It made her feel loved.” She’s shying away from thinking of it as awful, even though she clearly felt that it was. The implication is also that she didn’t feel important or loved during their other interactions. Ozai, you are a TERRIBLE parent!

 Which I think some part of Azula knows, because when she starts to feel the vines from the swamp wrapping around her, she imagines her dad molesting her. Still half-asleep, she lashes out with fire knives to free herself from the vines and runs out of her shelter. It’s daytime—Azula missed rising with the sun—and Azula is sicker now than she was the night before: “Her head pounded, her heart hammered, her joints ached like she took a beating. Her skin burned so hot that steam rose from her body when she hit the water.” This could suggest that she was beaten by Ozai at some point, but then again, all of these characters have been in combat, so that might be what this comparison is referring to.

 The plants keep trying to grab her, which I think indicates that the waterbenders in the swamp are trying to catch her. I seem to remember them being the ones in control of the vines, rather than the vines themselves being predatory. Azula manages to escape, but is winded from it, which means that she won’t be able to bend. She’s also dizzy, nauseous, and shivering uncontrollably. Plus, it’s actually evening now, so she slept through most of the day. Azula realizes that she has no idea where her old shelter is, so her supplies are lost to her. She’s experienced abdominal cramps, too, and wonders if she’s miscarrying.

 “This was what you wanted, she reminded herself pointlessly, though she knew very well what her mother would say. That she deserved this, for wishing her baby dead. Her tears fell on the water when Azula bent forward to hug herself, head bowed as if she could hold the pain inside anymore—” This might be the first time that Azula thinks of the fetus as her baby, which indicates that she might not want to lose it as much as she thinks she does.

 She then hallucinates child!Zuko, which is heartbreaking. He tells her not to cry, “his round face scrunched in the look of unstudied concern their mother loved so well, and which Azula could never recall him directing at her.” Ouch! The dysfunction in their relationship went back really far, didn’t it?

 “Didn’t he know the world would beat him down over and over again so long as he kept that way? That not just Father and Azula, but every person with an ounce of cunning would take advantage of him when he wore his heart on his sleeve like that? She told him so many times, but he never listened until it was too late.” So she acknowledges that she and Ozai took advantage of his naivety. She certainly did when she tried to trick Zuko into coming home early in season two. But also, Azula has a point. There are people in the world who take advantage of emotionally open and giving people. I don’t think that the solution to this is to harden your heart, though. Instead, you need to surround yourself with people who genuinely care about you. Zuko did that with the Gaang, which is part of why he succeeded and Azula failed. I’ll also note that Zuko would have done better with Azula as his ally, since she would have been more discerning about who was allowed in his court, and could have told Zuko about their ulterior motives and told him the unpleasant truths he wouldn’t want to hear. As it is, Mai has taken on that role.

 “Yet in the end, he prevailed. The world bent to him. He got to be himself without condition, but not her. Never her. She didn’t understand….” Zuko allied himself with what wound up being the winning side, due to Aang defeating Ozai. If Aang had fallen, Zuko’s fate would have been much grimmer.

 Zuko made a better choice than Azula did, but it’s important to note that he knew he had a choice. I don’t think Azula realized that leaving was an option for her. Why would she, when she believed that her nation was the best in the world, that their cause was right, and that if she stayed loyal, she would be the ruler of it all in the end? She would have lost everything if she’d left, and gained…what? The Gaang, Iroh, and Zuko hated her, so she couldn’t go to them. Mai and Ty Lee hadn’t defected yet, so she would have been abandoning them. And while she would have escaped Ozai’s abuse, she also saw Ozai as the only person who valued her and loved her for who she was. Even if being around him hurt, it was better than being alone.

 No one except Ozai, at any point, held out their hand to Azula and asked her to join them. So while she is responsible for her own choices, how much can we blame her for what she chose, when none of her alternatives seemed viable?

 Child!Zuko says that they are playing a game of hide-and-seek, which is true in the grand scheme of this story. He claims that he’ll always find her, which Azula says she no longer wants. He’s disappointed, but insists that it’s getting dark out, so he’ll help her find her way. He then lights the tiniest flame in his hand. “Azula’s stomach clenched painfully at the sight, plucked out from her earliest memories and brought freshly to life. How desperately she wanted to bend when Zuko made his first flame, and she saw how their parents explained over him….” This suggests that neither of Azula’s parents paid much attention to her before she first firebent. No wonder she came to believe that their love was conditional, and that she had to excel at what she did to earn it.

 Child!Zuko, seeing her sadness, assures her that she’ll learn how to firebend when she gets older. I think it was mentioned already that she learned when she was three, which is mind-boggling to think about, since she would have been a toddler. He adds that she’ll pick it up in no time, since she’s “smart for a girl.” Ah, that sexism. He could have left it at “you’re smart,” but he had to add that qualifier. While the Fire Nation is less overtly sexist than the EK and the NWT, it’s clear that sexism is still a problem there. That baby Zuko is saying things like this is symptomatic of that.

 “Half of what he said might be condescending bullshit, but this was still more supportive than Azula could ever remember him being.” This is very sad, since it means that Zuko started treating her as an adversary very early on in their childhood, once she proved better at something than him. He was jealous of her for earning their father’s interest, for all the good that did her. He was “resentful” when she survived her fall at the Western Air Temple, which is so ugly. He should have been relieved. She thinks of other moments where his hatred for her was apparent, like during the Agni Kai, at the asylum, aaaaand….

 “The night he raped her.” And there it is. She can’t bring herself to see what Ozai did to her as rape, but she views what Zuko did as such.

 “And she couldn’t reconcile it. How the little boy who stood before her could do—” This is a fascinating parallel to Mai’s thoughts about Zuko earlier in the chapter. Neither of them can understand how he did this. I’m reminded of how shocking it is to find out that someone that you know and care about sexually assaulted someone. What do you do afterwards? The safest option is to cut ties with them, but that doesn’t address the difficulty in doing so when they’re your family, or the grief of doing so when you’ve loved them for so long, only to find out that they weren’t who you thought they were.

 Azula starts to ask him why he did what he did, but I think she knows the answer to that—because Zuko hated her and wanted to punish her that night. So instead, Azula asks where this good, caring version of her brother was when she wanted him—which, in the context of this fic, was from the time she was a toddler until now.

 “‘Dad killed me,’ the hallucination said forlornly. ‘And you laughed.’” Ozai destroyed Zuko’s innocence just as much as he destroyed Azula’s.

 I thought this was a reference to Zuko and Ozai’s Agni Kai, but this seems to actually be referring to when Azulon told Ozai to kill Zuko, and Azula’s teasing about it: “Her chest clutched painfully when she remembered that night, the night her mother left. And Azula thought it was cruelly appropriate that it was not Ursa here with her, at the end.” Ouch!

 “She whispered, ‘I didn’t mean it.’”—I believe her, but unfortunately, the real Zuko never realized that.

 The vision version of him does, though. “Azula felt his presence as clearly as if he sat on the edge of her bed, when she pulled the covers over her head.” At some point, Azula was just a little girl who hid under the covers. “‘I know,’ she dimly heard him speak. And the last thing she felt was him hugging her shoulders, his head laid against hers.” This is heartbreaking. It’s an exchange they should have had in reality years ago, but one that they might never be able to have, now they’ve hurt each other so badly. This is one of the scenes that sticks with me the most, because of how tragic it is and how poignant the imagery is: of the tiny, kind version of Zuko hugging the adult version of his sister, who is being eaten away by sickness, grief, and remorse.

 And on that tearjerking note, we have reached the end of chapter fifteen. As always, thank you for the read, Aurelia. Thank you also to the folks on FFN and Tumblr who have been encouraging me to work on these reviews. Your support has been keeping me going!

 Until next time,

WiseAbsol

[behindheremeraldeyes]

sasusaku month 2020

day 2 - gravity

title: Falling

summary: The entire team 7 is at the training grounds, when he suddenly finds himself staring at her. He doesn’t really understand why he can’t look away from her, but apparently, his loud, best friend does. . Rated K (or F for fluff) . a/n: I thought about this idea while searching Pinterest for some inspiration for the theme (I really had NO idea of what to write) and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. It's simple, cute and Naruto is in it, so... I guess it should be a nice story. I hope you enjoy it and please, forgive me for any mistakes you might encounter. My beta-reader didn't proof-read it for me, but I decided to post it anyway so I wouldn't be THAT late. Have fun!

.

.

.

It had been long four months since they had been discharged from the hospital, and yet, only now they were able to feel their muscles stretching like before. For their injuries during the war had been quite serious— and mostly because their pink haired doctor had kept them at bay— neither Naruto nor Sasuke were sent in any missions, being ordered to stay in the village instead so they could fully recover. The’ve spent months on physiotherapy and on healing sessions at the hospital, and only after begging Sakura day after day were they authorized to go back to the training grounds. However, just because they were back, it didn’t mean they could go full out.

As the strict medical ninja she is, Sakura didn’t allow them more than 2 hours per day at the training grounds. She had also made them a list of what exercises they could do, and by no means, were they to stay out there by themselves. The girl certainly knew better than to believe her two teammates would hold back if they were left alone, so she took it upon herself to supervise their training routines. 

No punches, no kicks, no sparing and no ninjutsu. Genjutsus were also off the list, as well as any other kind of move that involved molding a considerable amount of chakra. In other words, they could only do some basic work out. She didn’t want to risk all of those months of intense care just because those idiots wanted a rematch. And even if they both hated her terms, they figured that arguing with her would take them nowhere, therefore, after being scolded at least three times, the boys settled for her rules.

Even if doing some push ups wasn’t enough to satisfy their physical needs, the Uchiha figured that, at least, they could spend some time under the soothing sun.

Spring had arrived Konoha a couple of days earlier than expected, and for the first time, his eyes could truly see the beauty of the fields around him. Flowers were blooming, the grass was green, and soon the cherry blossoms would start falling. A gentle breeze played with his dark locks, and even as he was hanging upside down in order to do some abdominals, Sasuke could see the changes in the world around him.

The village had changed, indeed. Tress had grown taller, new houses had been built and even the sky seemed bluer. People had changed, too. After so long, those he used to call teammates were now true shinobi, each of them with an important role around the village. He was on his path towards redemption, his sensei was going to become Hokage, his best friend was also on his way to the top, and Sakura…

Oh, Sakura.

Amongst all of them, the pinkette was the one who had changed the most. Apart from mastering the medical ninjutsus and healing the entire shinobi alliance during the war, she had grown taller and stronger until she became this admirable woman who was sparing with Sai right in front of him. His mismatched eyes followed her moves, and he couldn’t help but notice how clean and powerful they were as she blocked the attacks with her own blows. Her eyes moved fast, too, as they were constantly examining her opponents’ moves, and even from afar, he could tell she was very aware of their new teammate’s openings. Though he still didn’t know much about her new combat skills, he was sure she could’ve ended him many times already.

She had turned into an impeccable kunoichi, indeed, and that diamond on her forehead was not the only evidence of her victories. There was confidence in her expression, lightness in her feet and the way her body moved and stretched was just—

He could feel his cheeks growing hotter, and he knew it wasn’t only because of the blood going down to his head. Apparently, he had been staring at her for too long, trapped in whatever nostalgic thought that had crawled from his childhood memories, and even if she hadn't noticed, it was still not something he would’ve normally done. It was odd and very unlike him to do such thing, but considering all the changes going on, perhaps, that was just another thing he was going to get used to.

Perhaps, that was also a part of his new normal.

Or, at least, that was what he thought.

“Oi, Teme, quit staring at Sakura-chan. It’s getting weird-ttebayo.”

The blonde’s voice caught him by surprise, and suddenly, the Uchiha was reminded that Naruto was also there by his side. For he was also with his legs hanging on the tree-branch, his golden locks, though shorter, were also being affected by gravity. His cerulean eyes were glaring at the Uchiha, and it was possible to see them judging him for staring at his girl best friend.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous, Dobe. I was not staring at her.”

“Yes, you were! You were checking her out and you haven’t heard a single thing I’ve said, you bastard.”

“Tch, you’re delusional.” Sasuke closed his eyes in annoyance, a pout taking over his lips. “And besides, I’m pretty sure it was nothing important since you were the one saying it.”

“It was very important, you jerk! I was talking about this new jutsu I’m gonna use to beat you! ”

“Shut up, you moron! Don’t make me kick your ass!”

“Hmph“ He scoffed, a foxy grin spreading across his face. “You can certainly try and get your ass kicked again-ttebayo!”

“Bring it on, the—“

“Oi, knock it off, you two!” Sakura shouted from across the training grounds, her sparing session clearly interrupted. Her hands were resting on her hips, and her brows were knitted in a very angry expression. “Shannarou! Just focus on your own training! Don’t make me go there and smack your heads!”

Both the boys widened their eyes in surprise, and as soon as they looked at her expression, they understood she was very serious about the smacking part. It would take her no more than 5 seconds to get to them, and they knew that, if she did, their heads would hurt and she wouldn’t let them come back to the training grounds that soon.

They bit their lips, then, swallowing dry and staying silent as the two, stubborn boys they are. After a couple of seconds, Sakura and Sai resumed their activities, focusing on their own moves, and leaving the boys to their own training routine. For all the pinkette cared, they could argue all they wanted later as long as it didn’t escalate to a battle between titans that would hurt them and destroy the entire village.

Perks of giving god-like powers to two idiots, she would say.

And even if they didn’t agree with her, their previous actions were all she needed to prove her statement.

“I guess Sakura-chan just saved your ass, Teme.” Naruto whispered, his abdomen flexing as he focused on his training.

“Tch, as if.” Sasuke scoffed. “Now will you just shut up? Sakura is going to get mad at us again.”

“You shut up! This is all your fault-ttebayo!”

“My fault!? How so!?”

“You were the one eating her alive with your eyes and getting all worked up with your hormones, you pervert!”

At the blonde’s loud words, a wave of embarrassment rushed through his face and it was as if he could feel his cheeks on fire. His lips went agape as he was at loss of words, and the simple idea that the Haruno girl could’ve heard those words made him want to be swallowed whole by the ground.

What on earth was wrong with that idiot?! How could he say such things like that?

The Uchiha’s eyes started to look around desperately, frantically moving from Naruto to the pink haired girl. The tips of his ears were as red as two tomatoes now, and listening to those words reverberating inside his head wasn't helping at all. 

Eating her alive 

His heart stated beating faster, his mouth going dry.

Hormones

He began sweating, and he felt something burning down his throat.

Pervert 

His eyes drifted to her legs, going up to her face and her rosy lips.

Sakura. 

At that moment, his heart skipped a beat, and in a matter of seconds, he could feel his upside-down world spiraling. The embarrassment became too much, and soon, he lost control of his balance, falling face-first on the ground. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact as his body made a loud noise when it hit the dusty floor. 

Uchiha Sasuke was down. Even if he hadn’t fallen from a place high enough to actually hurt him, his pride as a ninja was ruined. Once he opened his eyes, he saw his best friend laughing at his face, a shy tear escaping his eyes. Naruto’s voice was annoying, and he made a mental note to punch him for that as soon as nobody was looking. He placed his hand on his lower back, massaging the area that had made contact with the hard ground, and at that moment, he just wanted to go home and hide his face somewhere.

But things wouldn’t be that easy.

He closed his eyes once more, and that was when his ears finally captured the sound of rushed steps coming towards him. For he knew who was coming, he chose to linger in the darkness for a couple of seconds more than he should, only then deciding to open his eyes. As expected, the first thing he saw was the green of her orbs, and though he was still too embarrassed, it was undeniable that her eyes calmed his heart.

“Sasuke-kun!? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She was now crouched near him, her hands carefully reaching to his torso so she could help him up. Her worried eyes were scanning him clinically, looking for bruises, and he could hear the concern in her voice as she spoke to him.

“Aah.” He said, not wanting to worry her any longer. He let her help him sit up, and their proximity didn’t go unnoticed by him. His nostrils were invaded by her floral scent, and it made it harder for him to face her directly. “I'm okay.”

“Are you sure? Do you feel any pain?”

“Does your ass hurt, Teme?” Naruto teased, then, jumping down from the branch and standing near them. Sai was now next to him, too, and suddenly, the Uchiha started to feel a bit claustrophobic with all of those people surrounding him.

“Naruto, knock it off!” Sakura scolded him, her eyes now glaring at the blonde.

“Tch, I’m fine, really.” Sasuke said, looking at her with a soft expression on his face. He felt more relaxed now, and even if he was still embarrassed, at least he felt like he could breath normally. 

“What happened?”

“Yes, Sasuke-kun” Sai started, that creepy smile on his face. “Could it be that you forgot the basics of being a ninja?”

“Oi, Sai! Not you, too!” Sakura said and Naruto had to suppress a giggle.

“What? It was a valid question.”

“No, it was not! Shannarou, if you two are going to keep making fun him, you’d better as well get going!”

“It's okay, Sakura.” The Uchiha stated, her eyes returning to him. Sai kept looking at them and Naruto just crossed his arms across his chest. There was a pout on the blonde's lips, and it pleased him to see such scene. “Gravity happened. I just lost balance, that was all.”

“Are you sure? Did you feel anything strange? Did you get dizzy or something like that? Do you feel like throwing up? Do you know where you are?”

“Tch, you’re clearly overreacting now, Sakura.” He started, sighing at her worried stare. “I’ve said I’m fine already. No dizziness or anything like that.”

“Not even a sudden heat?” Naruto asked, mockery evident in his voice.

“No.” The Uchiha glared at him, and that only made the blonde grin even wider.

“Promise?” The pinkette asked, her eyes filled with a sincere concern. Normally, she knew there would be no reason to be asking all of those things just because of a minor fall, but since they were still recovering, he knew Sakura was being overprotective towards them. She was wearing her heart on her sleeve ever since the end of the war, and he figured it didn’t cost him anything to be more sensible around her.

“Yes, I promise."

“Okay…” She nodded, tugging a lock of her pink hair behind her ear. “I guess we should call it a day, right? Why don’t we go grab something to eat at Ichiraku?”

“Now you’re speaking my language, Sakura-chan!” Naruto jolted, throwing his hand in the air. Even if the blonde wanted to work out a little longer, he could never say no to ramen.

“What do you say, Sasuke-kun?” She looked at him, her round, green eyes giving him no choice. She probably didn’t know the effect she had on him, and perhaps, that was for the best.

“Sure. Ramen should be nice.”

“Great!” She smiled. “You're coming too, right, Sai?”

“Oh, yes. Eating together is a good way to strengthen the bonds!”

“Good! I’ll just go grab my things, wait here.”

“I'll go help you.” Sai said, simply.

In a fast move, the pinkette was up on her feet, and before she could walk away in order to retrieve her stuff, she reached out with her hand and helped the Uchiha stand. She offered them a soft smile before departing with Sai, and he couldn’t help but feel his chest growing warmer at the sight.

She really knew how to make him feel better. His lips twitched upwards at the thought of seeing her like that, and—

“God, you’re pathetic, Teme.”

Once more, Naruto’s bothered voice interrupted his train of thought, and if he had been considering to smile the moment before, it was all gone now. His stoic expression was back and the Uchiha was once more pissed at his best friend.

“What is it this time, Dobe?”

“Don’t you think it’s already time for you to tell Sakura-chan that you like her?”

“What?” He sounded surprised, his eyes widening at his words. “Stop saying weird stuff. My relationship with Sakura is not like that.”

“Oh, really? Then how is it? You don’t actually believe you two are just teammates, right?”

The Uchiha stood silent for a while, trying to think of the words he could use to describe his relationship with Sakura.

How was his relationship with her?

Though he had tried to think about it a couple of times before, he would always end up settling for letting time guide them. He knew their relationship was not the same as the one he has with Naruto and the rest of the people around him, but never before had he reached a conclusion.

Was she another friend? Just another teammate?

No. None of those options felt right. Sakura was more than that. She has always been more than that. Could it be that Naruto was actually right? Could it be that he really liked her ?

Sasuke really didn’t know. At least not yet. There were still so many things he yet had to understand about himself before he could actually dwell on these feelings. His feelings for her— whatever they were— deserved more than his broken self, and he wanted to give them some time so he could finally be true to his emotions.

Perhaps, soon, he would be ready. And perhaps, then, he could reach the answer his heart already knew so well.

“Hn, it’s none of your business.”

“Tch, you bastard.” Naruto scoffed. “All I’m saying is that you should just make up your mind already. Sakura-chan is probably the most amazing girl ever, and well, you guys have history.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

“You should! After all, you can’t always blame gravity for falling in love-ttebayo!”

A silly grin took over the blonde’s face, and before Sasuke could even answer anything, Naruto was already running towards the pinkette. His lips were left parted for an instance, but he soon closed them as he allowed those words to sink in.

Falling in love, uh?

He really didn’t know. 

But perhaps, like gravity, there were just certain things he couldn’t control.

fin.

[shortstories-13]

Supergirl really went downhill in second half of season 5 in every area. With ratings, audience and critics because they made every wrong decision.They tried to make w/k couple. Gave too much attention to lex, made everyone his lackey and sidelined women in the show including kara. So much more.. but I digress.

The first half wasn't perfect but it had potential. Kara and lena stuff was amazing. We got one heartfelt apology from kara and one big long overdue rant from lena. Their stuff was great. Then crisis came and it was the perfect opportunity for show to kinda rush forward their resolution which they did anyway. If they were never going to make lena a full blown villain, I don't why they wasted another 7-8 episodes and did their resolution in the finale. It felt rushed that way.

Here what should have been done. So during crisis when everything is vanishing. Alex and lena are somewhere and they know their death is near. They have horrifying expression on their face. Alex says she wish her sister were here and then tells lena that kara was really heartbroken about their situation. Lena for the first time when in the face of death realises how insignificant her problem seems. That maybe she might have overreacted a little and now may never get the chance see kara ever again.They both hold hands and get vanished by the wave. It would have been the prefect moment for lena to really see that no matter how much kara hurt her ,she still wants kara in her life .

After crisis when she comes back and she feels remorse for her action. Also her company ,everything she worked for the past 3 years is gone. It just makes her more angry at lex. She wants lex behind bars. But there is still hurt and she still doesn't trust kara fully. This could have been lena's redemption arc which they rushed. Instead of making lena turn 180° in one episode,there should have been a slow progression of trusting kara and making amends for her own actions.

So she goes to kara, same scene as we see in 5×18 . But in this kara is still guarded. She doesn't let lena in easily, same way we saw in 5×19. Maybe even gives the same speech about absolution.

But they start working together anyway.

Lena also works with lex and act as double agent and double crosses him as it is canon that she is smarter than him.

Things aren't good between her and kara.There is still so much hurt, betrayal, sadness and awkwardness between them. They can't even look at each other without feeling regret. Forgiving is easy, forgetting is hard.

Lena is trying a little more than kara but it is not working. kara just feels trapped. She can't go back to their happy place but she can't lose lena either.

Our sweet and heroic kara just wants everything to be light and breezy like before.100th episode could be same ,as mxy offers kara that chance.

But in the end kara realises that she can't just go back in time and change history everytime when things get hard. They both have to take responsibility for their actions.

This time kara goes to lena and tells her they have to let go of past if they want to move forward. Same speech they both give in the finale about getting hurt and evolving from pain.

In the end they make their way back to each other maybe with a hug 😬 or a kiss( kidding this is CW, unless😉)

Wouldn't this be better.

[miss-lumiere]

Redemption – Part III

Pairing: Obi-Wan Kenobi x reader

Summary: A young sith apprentice on their first mission. Although a chance to prove yourself to your dark masters presents itself, you do the exact opposite of what is expected of you. Putting yourself at the jedi master Kenobi’s merci, you plead him to lead you from the dark side and show you the way of the light. But will your attempt to redeem yourself be futile and the pull to the dark side be too strong?

Wordcount: 3.2 k

Warnings: slight angst, otherwise fluffy bonding (there will be more in the future!)

A/N: I already have a lot of ideas for the next chapters. This is more a filler chapter to set the story and have the characters’ relationships evolve. Let me know how you like it and what it was you liked best! As always, enjoy! :3

 Masterlist   Chapter IV

   The next morning you were awakened by the soft rays of the morning sun on your face that were falling through the blinds of the window. Opening your eyes you were confused were you were at first, the events of yesterday coming to mind slowly. Excitedly although slightly wary of what was to come you got out of bed, starting to get ready for the day ahead of you.

Today would be your first day as a… Jedi trainee? Whatever your place was, you certainly weren’t trusted enough to be considered a Padawan yet, but too old to be a youngling. You moved in unchartered regions, a grey area of the Jedi code. According to the reaction of the masters at least, this was a new situation for everyone.

 After you had put on the extra robes you had been given for training and entered the small bathroom space to take in your appearance you heard a hesitant knock coming from your door.

Moving to your door expecting to see a guard at the other side of it, you were surprised to see a young togrutan woman standing in front of you. You had seen her before, she was the padawan of Skywalker that had been sneaking curious glances your way. Something told you that she wasn’t supposed to be here.

 The padawan was carrying a plate with some bread and fruit in one hand and a decanter filled with water in the other. She seemed to be maybe a few years younger than you.

“I thought you might want to eat something before your first training.”, she stated hesitantly.

Taking a moment to process, you stepped to the side allowing her access to your room, closing the door after her. Turning around, she had already placed the food on the floor next to the bed.

“I’m Ahsoka, by the way.”, the Togrutan said fiddeling with her hands awkwardly. “I hope you feel welcome here.”

 You slowly walked towards the bed, before sitting down on it, her doing the same on the floor a few feet away.

“Well, there are guards posted in front of my door at all times.”, you stated tensing slightly.

“Oh, of course, you’re right. But at least that’s only temporary.”, she said smiling for the first time.

“It’s okay, I get it. They don’t have a reason to trust me, but I plan to change that.”, you said with a sigh.

She nodded, silence engulfing you two again.

 “You aren’t really supposed to be here, are you?”, you inquired with a small amused smile.

“I-…No, I don’t think my Master would approve of me being here.”

“Well, I won’t tell if you don’t.”, you replied mischievously, taking a bite of a Jogan fruit. You thought back to the fight between her and her Master against Ventress, how protective the two Jedi had seemed of each other. They seemed to share a strong bond.

 “My Master can be very protective and stubborn. He thinks it’s not safe for me to be around you.”

“He isn’t wrong. I was still a member of the sith a few hours ago.”, you acknowledged furrowing your brow in thought, the contrast of your own relationship with your former master compared to hers coming to mind.

As you had spoken the words you noticed her tensing, realizing that she didn’t have much to trust you either. “Don’t worry. I don’t mean to harm you or any of the Jedi.”, you added, Ahsoka relaxing visibly.

 Ahsoka opened her mouth as if to say something, just as her eyes snapped to the door. “Someone’s coming. I should go before they see me.”

“Good luck, today.”, she said with a reassuring smile before she silently slipped through the door out of your sight.

  You had just finished eating as a guard entered the room to escort you to the training area. Kenobi was already waiting for you, his back turned towards you as he meditated.

Stepping closer, you took in your surroundings. The guard had led you outside to a courtyard that was supposedly the training grounds of the temple. In the center of it, in front of which Kenobi was meditating, sat a large tree. A rare sight for the vegetation-less coruscant.

 “I see you changed your attire. I’m glad, we couldn’t have people getting the impression our doors are open to sith now.”, the Jedi addressed you as he had stood up, ending his meditation.

“Wouldn’t want to destroy your reputation.”, you sassed back with a smile. He laughed before turning more serious again.

“The robes fit you well, you almost seem like a different person entirely.”, he stated with a genuine smile. You smiled awkwardly, not used to being complimented even though it managed to make you feel more at ease. “You must have many questions, but before I answer them I would like to test the extend of your training.”, he continued.

He stepped towards you, pulling a lightsabre from his belt that he handed you.

“Isn’t it too dangerous to hand me a lightsabre? I thought we would start with testing my force ability first.”, you asked a little confused. You hadn’t thought that they trusted you enough to hand you such a dangerous weapon, given the Jedi Order’s cautiousness. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to, your own lightsabre being taken from you had felt wrong as every force wielder had a connection to their weapon, you simply hadn’t expected that action.

“You will only be given the sabre during training. The more delicate training will be reserved for later, don’t worry.” Pushing his outer robe of his shoulders, he activated his blue sabre.

 Rolling your eyes at the master’s dramatic antics, you activated your own lightsabre. It had a blue color and a very different energy than your own. No, that wasn’t your lightsabre any longer, it belonged in the past.

With a reassuring smile, the Jedi gestured for you to attack, your heart beating rapidly against your chest. This was only training, neither of you would attempt to cause actual damage. And yet this situation reminded you of the training under your old master. Taking in a deep breath to calm yourself you raised your new weapon.

Charging forward your blades clashed together once again. The action was familiar, yet the energy between you felt very different. You weren’t angry and neither of you pushed as strongly as the last time you had found yourself in this situation. His fighting style was very different as well; he was more passive and held back, observing your movements closely.

Parrying strike after strike from you, you slowly grew frustrated. Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed calm and focused and none of your attacks seemed to phase him.

“Don’t focus too much on using as much strength, you will tire very easily. Use fast and efficient movements as they are to your advantage over a physically stronger opponent.”, the older man observed as you huffed in frustration after another futile attempt at retaliation.

 Training under your old Master was very different. He had never cared whether you were injured as long as you pushed yourself to the edge. Pushing to break you physically and mentally, showing his dominance over you every chance that he got. Many times had you found yourself in the medbay of the sith’s ships, broken and bruised.

Letting the anger fuel your movements you pushed your sparring partner forcefully backwards making him land on his back, his head hitting the sand-colored stone.

 With a shocked expression you rushed to his side, letting out an alleviated sigh as he didn’t seem to be injured. Lending him a hand you pulled him to his feet with a groan on his part.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to harm you.”, you apologized still a little shocked. You awaited your punishment.

“I do believe I am fine, although you need to learn to control your emotions. Anger is only going to distract you in a fight.”, he sighed brushing the dust off his clothes.

 As you didn’t seem to relax he added, “I really am fine. Mistakes happen, that is why we are doing this.”

 “I think I have had enough for today, please excuse me.”, you stated as you pushed the deactivated weapon into his hands turning around not capable of showing him the extent of how irritated with your actions you were, with losing control.

With fast strides you made your way to return to the guards that had waited at the edge of the training grounds.

   The next days had turned out much better - you had returned to training even if it meant swallowing your pride. This time you had focused on staying calm and had managed to not lose control again. You had never thought about how letting your emotions control you would affect you in battle, let alone that it would influence you negatively.

 Hurting someone on accident had never been something that had worried you in your old position since you had only ever fought on a battleground or in training with your master or Ventress where violence was welcome and restraint unappreciated. You had never feared it either as that required caring for someone, something you never had since you had been taken from your family. The family whose memory slowly faded more and more.

Thus the connection you had been forming with the Master Jedi that had been training you had scared you. You had grown fond of his disarming honesty and kindness he treated you with. Developing relationships with others was new for you, at least ones build on mutual trust, making it understandable that you felt a little uneasy.

The only other person that you had had contact with next to Master Kenobi thus far had been Ahsoka, but you hadn’t seen her since. Most of the other Jedi eyed you with either curiosity or suspicion and stayed out of your way. So you spent most of the days training with Kenobi and the times you weren’t on the training grounds you spent alone in your room, eating your meals or reading any of the books that you had been supplied with.

 You hoped to perhaps spend more time with Ahsoka in the future although you weren’t sure that she was fully comfortable around you yet. Despite the kindness that she had offered you she seemed on edge the time you had met. On the other hand, it had been her seeking you out in the first place. That hadn’t been just morbid curiosity, you supposed.

Perhaps she simply wanted a connection with someone as much as you did.

   Today you had been surprised to find out that your training had changed to strengthen your connection with the force. Finally, some variation in your schedule, you thought.

Well, you had been wrong, you would have preferred the sparring over this any day.

You had been meditating with the Master for hours now, or at least that’s what It felt like. And it felt more like not trying to fall asleep while you were sitting in total silence with your eyes closed than meditative. Honestly, you didn’t really get what you were supposed to do or feel or even why you did this. It’s not like the siths had deemed mediation relevant.

 “I can feel your restlessness radiating off of you.”, the man meditating in front of you stated seemingly amused.

Sighing you opened your eyes, giving up your attempt to focus on your breathing.

“I have never done this before and I find it very hard to stay focused when there are so many things on my mind.”

“What is it that keeps you distracted?”, he inquired now opening his eyes as well.

You paused positioning yourself more comfortable, letting your gaze wander over the wide area of the training grounds behind your master. Another Jedi master was currently training a group of younglings on the other end of the courtyard. You smiled at the excited looks on their faces.

 “You are aware that you can talk to me about anything that bothers you, are you not?”, he added with the thick Coruscanti accent of his.

Feeling conflicted about opening up to anyone, even him, you pondered making up some excuse. Yet one look at his face and you wavered. You didn’t know what it was about Obi-Wan Kenobi that disarmed you the way he did, but his caring expression made you want to spill all of your secrets.

“Go on.”, he retorted, his blue eyes observing you patiently.

“I don’t really belong here. I mean you are really the only person that I talk to.”, you explained with a frown. “After all, I can’t blame them. I was their enemy.”

“You are not anymore. Nevertheless, it is true that they do not trust you yet. Give them time and after you have proven yourself to the council you will be integrated into our Order. Yours is an unprecedented case. It is rare for a force wielder who has once succumbed to the dark side to return to the light path. It is only natural for others to be sceptical.”

His words soothed your anxiety and irritation that used to plague you lately. From the beginning on he had been this calming, reassuring influence. You wouldn’t have made it without his empathic and forgiving nature.

“I suppose you are right. Thank you for believing in me. For everything really, all you have shown me is kindness since I turned away from my past.”, you stated, tears filling your eyes that you quickly blinked away.

“Do not forget that you saved my life. I would call us even.”, he said winking. “But let us get back to our meditation, I am sure you will be able to concentrate now.”

“What is the use of this exercise again?”, you asked a little exasperated. The master sighed, having explained it a few times already.

“The meditation is meant to strengthen your connection to the force. In your case, it will help you focus on controlling your emotions better.”

 Groaning you closed your eyes again at which the man in front of you chuckled amused. Taking up the appropriate pose for the meditation, you found that getting things off your chest indeed had helped you focus.

  Later that evening as you walked back to your room, sweaty and exhausted from training you heard two familiar voices argue. The council had granted you more freedom meaning that you were allowed to retreat to your quarters on your own. The halls of the temple were contrary to the living quarters opulently designed. Large pillars framed the walls, leading to the high ceiling and the floor was covered in a long carpet that muffled your footsteps .

The voices, now louder the closer you got, could be identified as belonging to Ahsoka and her Master Anakin Skywalker.

Hearing your name being dropped you hid behind a broad pillar, too curious to know what was being said about you. The two figures just rounded a corner becoming visible to your eyes.

“I told you I want you to stay out of her way.”

 “I understand, Master, but I don’t think that she is trying to deceive us.”

“She was Count Dooku’s apprentice. If all those years of fighting against the separatists should have taught you anything it is that you cannot trust them no matter the circumstances.”

The Master’s voice was unmistakably angry and aggravated, just as the man himself was rumored to be often. The Count had once called him unusally emotional for a Jedi.

“I know that you are only trying to protect me, but I do believe her. I just feel that she is being honest about her intentions.” Turning around to face his padawan the young master looked at her sternly, running a hand though his chestnut hair.

“Ahsoka, keep your distance.”, he admonished, before turning and leaving without another word.

 You heard Ahsoka huff in frustration before walking in the opposite direction, vanishing from your view as well.

You sighed returning to walking back to your quarters. Would the Jedi ever accept you?

 To be continued ...

Tags:

@rockyrocket15 @hellotheregenerallkenobi @glitter-rian @blue-space-porgs@rainyrebelconnoisseur @irrelevant-86​ @whatsasetitoff​​

 Tell me if you would like to be tagged!

[battlestar-royco]

Z/utara is very much R/eylo to me. The similarities are way too striking, hence I could never ship them. I much more prefer M/aiko, they understood each other, and loved healthily. In comics she dumps his ass when he's toxic, even tho it breakes her heart. Love it.

R***o for me will always be a very loaded ship that will probably (… hopefully jfc) never compare to another. Their shippers infiltrated every fandom and every website for 5 years with galaxy brain nonsensical metas and gifsets, so on that level alone R***o just annoys the crap out of me. Not to mention all the racism and sexism rampant in their fandom. Also I would never consider Zuko’s character and redemption arc comparable to Kyle’s. On a meta and in-text level, the work was done to make Zuko a better and dynamic person where the same can’t be said for Kyle imo.

Mai/ko doesn’t do much for me personally because it felt kind of rushed and I also never got a good sense of Mai’s character outside of her being Azula’s henchwoman and dating Zuko. Overall, I wasn’t invested in any of the ATLA ships as I watched the show, so I don’t have a preference to Z/utara, Mai/ko, K/ata/ang, Sokka/Suki etc.

[klaus-in-a-whole-foods]

hoo boy this is gonna be a post

i’m putting my star wars spoiler rant here because nobody will see it 

that movie was....... weird. it had a lot of good moments and some really cringey ones. i don’t actually blame the last jedi as much as i do the disney execs you know were calling the final shots. 

I agree with John Boyega that they did not do justice to Finn’s character, but in this movie the one i really feel sorry for is Rose. I mean she did kinda annoy me in the last jedi but then here she just got completely sidelined And they stuck Finn with A NEW female companion, WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN COOL YA KNOW THE WHOLE EX-STORMTROOPER THING, except they only had like 5 seconds to mention it. 

The biggest problem was just that they couldn’t make the movie 4 hours so it all felt very rushed. no breathing room in this movie, Force awakens had much more space without being slow. 

Ok so i’m cool with Rey being a palpetine, although she really should have been like his great granddaughter. Both because he was already old in episode 1 AND because it would be easier to believe that the grandson of the Emperor had managed to escape him and live on jakku with a family. but like how did his son get that far? like wouldn’t the emperor want to make his son join the sith, and like if his son wasn’t force sensitive he still wouldn’t have killed him, to see if the next generation was force sensitive. but i find it hard to believe he would have let him escape. and if palpatine’s son was born before the rise of the empire so that palpetine didn’t care yet, he should have been much older than he was shown. 

K SO THE WHOLE KYLO THING

as much as i wanted kylo ren to just die like a bitch, because that’s what he was, i’m ok with them “redeeming” ben overall. “redeeming” and then immediately dying. Because then it gets to be an end to all the Skywalkers, and Han, Leia, and their son get to be together as spirits. so i’m ok with it. 

BUT THE KISS. WAS BULLSHIT. 

WHAT THE FUCK. 

there were so many other ways they could have done that moment, much more powerful ways, just with dialogue. I can’t write dialogue so i don’t know exactly but, something like Rey saying “Ben, you came back” or “you saved me”

OR EVEN Better

“she knew there was still good in you” (referencing what Leia said in force awakens)

and he didn’t really have to have a line but just there were much better things that could have been said in the moment of his redemption right before the death of the last skywalker. come on disney. 

ALSO WITH THE AWKWARD FORCED IN HETERONORMATIVITY

poe and that smuggler woman i couldn’t roll my eyes hard enough. uuuugggh. 

butanywayreyisacebutisalsoinapolyrelationshipwithfinnandpoeandtheyareallveryhappytogetherok THE HUG AT THE END. POE AND REY HOLDING HANDS AROUND FINN. AAGH. my heart. we finally get to see them be a trio and now there’s no more movies with them. 

THERE’S JUST LIKE STILL SO MUCH POTENTIAL WITH ALL THESE CHARACTERS???

also chewy breaking down when leia died like actually almost made me cry in the fricken theater

also they gave him a medal finally!!!

i don’t know man i have a lot of mixed emotions about this movie. i should go to bed. 

each trilogy is great in it’s own ways....... and boy is each trilogy bad in it’s own ways. 

but like in the end it’s all a cheesy space opera ok. calm down people. 

[familiarlyfrigid]

Ruin or Redemption Chapter 5: Rescue

[Part 1]

Bhir walked outside to scan the city for alien animals. Her metal body reflected the light of the rising sun in white sparks of light. She activated the jet boosters in her legs and rocketed into the sky, leaving a cloud of dust on the ground. She flew above the city, too high for anyone to see more than a blur in the sky. She landed at the edge of the city and hid herself in a patch of trees.

Bhir walked through the trees along the city's border, scanning for alien life. When she reached the end, she started down an alley. This section of the city was mostly empty clearings and storefronts that never had anything in them. While she walked along a fence enclosing an abandoned building, she found a long, thick thorn stuck in the fence wiring. Bhir picked it up, recognizing it as a quill from one of the animals that attacked her. She quickly flew back to the base to analyze it.

When she went inside the house, Gir was sitting in front of the TV. She rushed past him and went down to the lair. Zim and Kay were at the computer.

“Kay!” she yelled, “I found evidence of one of the animals!”

Kay turned to face her robot.

“What did you find?” she asked.

Bhir held up the large quill.

“Put it in the DNA analyzer,” Zim ordered.

She went over to a machine, put the quill in one end, and turned it on.

“While that’s analyzing,” said Zim, “let’s go explore that planet I was talking about yesterday. I found out its name is TS-43. It’ll take a while to get there.”

Kay thought about it for a moment and said, “I guess I have nothing better to do. And I wanna be there to laugh at you for trusting internet rumors.”

They went to Kay’s ship, which used the same holographic technology as her disguise to make it invisible, and brought it to the backyard. The Ripper was bigger, faster, and controlled better than Zim’s Cruiser.

“Since you’re not going to help, I’m piloting,” Zim said snarkily.

Kay glared at him. “If anything happens to my ship, you’re fixing it.”

After gathering everything they needed, they called for their robots and got in the ship. Zim entered the planet’s coordinates into the ship’s version of a GPS. Then, he started the engine, and the cloaked ship blasted off into the sky.

It took nearly two hours to reach TS-43, with Kay apprehensively telling Zim how to pilot for most of the way. The planet looked a lot like Earth, only smaller, with smaller oceans, and large bodies of water scattered across the continents.

They landed in the Northern Hemisphere, at the base of a towering mountain range. A white haze of snow fell from the sky, making it impossible to see into the distance. The Irkens came out of the ship in heavy coats and snow boots. Zim took out a device that looked like a remote and scanned the ground with it.

“I’m picking up traces of energy,” Zim said, grinning. “It’s close.”

They walked towards a valley between two mountains. Anything that wasn’t buried in snow was coated in ice. Gir ran around the others, throwing snow in the air and jumping in mounds of it. Bhir flew above the ground so she wouldn’t sink into the snow.

“It doesn’t look like there’s any ancient ruins around here,” Kay teased Zim.

“Well maybe they were destroyed by the weather.”

They stopped as they heard a muffled crash ahead of them. They looked up a mountain to see chunks of rock rolling down the mountain, pulling sheets of snow down with them. The rocks crashed to the ground, and they heard a loud crack.

The ground around them suddenly started to shift. They didn’t realize they were standing on unstable ground, now knocked loose by the rockslide. The land beneath Kay started to sink, the snow dragging her down. At the bottom was a cave, partially flooded by the snow.

[Part 2]

Kay brushed the snow off herclothes. It didn’t burn like the water on Earth did.

Bhir hovered above the slope. She called out, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered.

“I’m gonna go look for the source of this energy reading,” Zim said, holding up the tracking device he was using. A red light was blinking on the small screen on it.

“Ok... I’m going to look around this cave. Bhir, watch Gir.”

Zim wandered into the valley and Gir ran off to play in the snow. Bhir followed him.

Kay looked down the dark, monochrome tunnel ahead of her. Instead of climbing up the pile of snow she slid down, she decided to see where the cave led to. The cave was wide, but natural walls of stone split it into narrow pathways that often crossed each other. When light from the surface faded, she took a flashlight out of her coat pocket and turned it on. The cave system looked longer than it really was with all the twisting paths.

She wandered in silence through the cave for a few minutes before seeing sunlight filtering in from the other end. Kay could barely see the snowy surface in the distance between the walls of stone that blocked her path. She turned off her flashlight, put it away, and started climbing over a chunk of rock. After she climbed over it, she stopped. Slow footsteps faintly echoed ahead of her.

Kay slowly and quietly stepped towards the sound.

She thought, “It can’t be Zim... Who else— or what else— would be down here?”

The footsteps stopped. Kay slowly walked around a pillar of rock. Then, she froze, staring in total shock at what stood before her.

“That sound,” she thought, “the footsteps... it was... another Irken!?”

She stared at the Irken for a moment, awestruck. It felt as if time had stopped. He was quite short and thin, and looked surprisingly young, only seeming to be a teenager. He wore a torn black coat with a fur hood that was once white, black gloves, worn black pants, and dirty black hiking boots. His eyes were jet black, and Kay just barely noticed that he had pointed teeth—the same defective traits she had. He stared back at her, wide-eyed and exhausted, shivering in his tattered clothes that were soaked from melted snow.

The young Irken staggered back, uncertain if this new stranger was a threat or not. His antennae were flattened under his hood. He quickly noticed her unnaturally dark eyes, though. She was a Defective, like him.

“Who... are you?” Kay finally asked.

“K-K-Krest,” he stuttered, his voice hoarse and shaky. It had been so long since he’d spoken to anyone that it felt strange to hear his own voice.

“How’d you get in here? And why are you on this planet?” She asked, although she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

He said nothing, but pointed at the other end of the cave where the ground had collapsed. A slope of snow and rocks led up to the surface.

“What are you doing on this planet?” Kay asked again.

“I was e-exiled...” he said quietly, ashamed to admit he was kicked out of his home.

Kay stepped closer to him. She expected him to have been exiled, since he was defective. She asked, “What happened?”

He leaned against the hard wall, shifting his gaze to the ground. “I-I wouldn’t fight... I d-didn’t want to be a soldier l-like they wanted. I said Irkens sh-shouldn’t fight with everyone... they w-wouldn’t listen...”

His voice became more strained as he nervously glanced up to see her reaction. She just stared, shocked. Krest avoided making eye contact and wouldn’t say more.

Kay suddenly remembered the times in her training when she’d avoided fighting because she thought it was unnecessary.

“You... wanted to be peaceful?” She asked.

“Yes...”

She thought, “I used to say Irkens should only fight when we don’t have any other options. I’ve handled missions peacefully before... It’s part of strategizing. Why did Krest get exiled for trying to do the same thing I did?”

“I’ll get you out of here,” she said. She wanted to help him—she felt like she had to. What Krest said was genuine. Kay was going to give him a chance.

“My ship isn’t far from here. I’m living on a planet called Earth. I’ll take you there.”

“R-Really?” He looked up at her, a faint flicker of hope in his dark eyes. He started to relax. He had to trust her if he wanted any chance of survival.

“Come on,” she said, walking towards the snow-covered exit of the cave. He slowly followed behind her.

Kay climbed up the mound of snow to the surface and waited for Krest. He used his PAK’s spider-like legs to pull himself up. Their pointed ends needed to be sharpened. It wasn’t snowing as hard anymore and Kay could see the other hole where she had entered the cave. She headed towards her ship, Krest stumbling through the snow beside her.

They got to the Ripper and went inside. Kay turned the ship on and got it ready to take off. It was much warmer inside.

“I came here with someone else, so we have to wait for him to get back,” Kay said. She wanted to know more about Krest, so she asked him, “How long have you been on this planet?”

He answered, “About... two years. This planet’s years.”

After talking to him for a little while, she found out that he’d studied survival techniques for a few years and that he was afraid of being forced to be a soldier. He couldn’t say much before he was too tired to keep talking. Kay looked at the ship’s screen and saw the SIRs approaching, followed by Zim. She told Krest to wait in another room. They came into the ship, Bhir carrying a cluster of light green crystals.

“You found something?” Kay asked. She was admittedly surprised they brought back that much of anything.

“Yes,” Zim answered arrogantly. “I found a vein of these crystals that can store energy,” he paused, “but they’re not that strong on their own. I’ll have to combine them with something else.”

“I told you not to trust everything on the Internet. Anyways, I need to tell you something,” her tone was suddenly serious. “In the cave... I met an exiled Irken.”

Krest hesitantly showed himself, staying behind Kay.

“HI!” Gir shouted and waved.

“What?! What’re you planning to do with him?” Zim snapped, glaring at Krest, who shuffled closer to Kay.

“I’m bringing him back to our base. He’ll stay with us until I find him a place to live.” Kay decided Zim didn’t have a choice.

“Letting an exiled Irken live with us?! What if the Tallests call and find out?” he retorted. “What use is he, anyways? He was exiled for a reason!”

“He’s still a kid. I can’t just leave him to survive on his own,” she said sternly. “He doesn’t have to stay for long.”

Zim continued arguing about there not being enough space for someone else to live with them, and that they’d get in trouble with the Tallests, but Kay ignored him. She started piloting the ship.

During the long flight back to Earth, Kay told Bhir everything she knew about Krest and told her to keep his information a secret. She only told Zim that his name was Krest and he was a skilled survivalist.

Bhir set the pile of crystals down and walked up to Krest, who was sitting on the floor of the ship. He could barely stay awake, even though Irkens don’t normally need to sleep.

“Will you let me take a look at

your PAK?” she asked.

He nodded weakly, too tired to be afraid of her. Bhir examined his PAK, which had dark grey ovals on it instead of the usual pink. She checked for any damage, and opened one of the panels to examine the inside. She took a chord out of her head, with one end plugged into her, and plugged the other end into Krest’s PAK. She read all the information she could, then disconnected herself.

The ship reached Kay and Zim’s house and landed, disguised to be completely invisible from the outside. It was midday on a weekend and there were a lot of people outside. They made sure nobody was around before getting out of the ship and entering the house.

Zim put on his disguise went back outside to unload the ship and bring in the crystals he’d collected. Krest took off his coat and boots and practically collapsed onto one end of the couch. He grabbed a blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and covered himself with it. Kay sat on the other end and turned the TV on. It was only a few minutes before Krest fell asleep.

[tamgerines]

KH3 First Impression and Complete Thoughts

BACKGROUND: i've played kh1, com, kh2, bbs, 2.8, and a bit of khux. i've watched coded and 3d on yt, so i know the story relatively well. this is an impression of my first playthrough. i did my run on standard mode and watched the secret ending on yt. i mostly did this for story, so this will have my initial impressions based on my run that will not cover extra content like the phone mini games and cooking.  my opinions are subjected to change if i ever do any later playthroughs. pls, feel free to disagree w/ me.

!!! WARNING: THERE WILL BE A LOT OF STORY SPOILERS!!!

AUDIO: 

Music: utada is queen!!! that opening song!!! also i kept noticing how lit the songs are in each world esp frozen???  and aqua's. worth a replay just for the soundtrack alone.

Voice Acting: everyone sounded great for the most part. sora’s va have certainly improved and sounds less strained. his vanitas voice has suffered significantly though lolololol. i think i read that someone called it a wannabe dark knight voice? the organization sounded incredible, w/ my fav being xemnas, marluxia, and larxene. the disney and pixar va’s are incredible w/ my fav probably being randall in monster’s inc. 

some ppl did not get vas like xaldin and laxeaus. and phil in hercules. which were all very disappointing bc in the scenes that they were in, they would just stand around woodenly, and it’s very noticeable. 

VISUALS: 

mostly a+. environments are beautiful. water and frost textures are amazing!!! you can really feel that waterga and blizzaga. fur textures in monster's inc. could use some work. little details like the sails moving in potc rly make the worlds come alive. this could be a me prob, but environments in certain worlds make it very hard to see map markers, treasure chests, and disney emblems (which are supposed to be hard to find, but still). mostly in tangled.

strangely enough, this is the only game where i prefer in game graphics to cgi. it's already highly expressive and there's something creepy and uncanny about the cgi esp in the final fight. and it's mostly bc sora's thin chapped lips throughout the entire game suddenly becomes full.

DESIGNS: 

i don't love everyone's outfit or sora's outfit changes in this game besides toy story. this is something i alrdy knew going in, but i've always felt like the outfits in kh1 and 2 rly suited each of the character's personalities. and this is not just destiny trio but even chars like roxas, the twilight town kids and the hollow bastion crew. the move towards a uniformed look makes no sense to me like is it to unify the key bearers as one force against the organization? i could understand why destiny trio was wearing plaid but why the twilight town kids also? by the end of the game, almost everyone was wearing black and it's just boring to me. like there's a right way to do uniform while retaining characters' individual looks, and that's the wayfinder trio in bbs. in this game, not so much.

an aside, but i'm sort of disappointed in the hud moving to 3d too. the 2d portraits have always been part of kh so it's kinda a bum to see it go away.

i don't love the lvl designs but it might also be due to a narrative and pacing issue that i'll expand on. any case, vertical maps are a challenge to figure out. i don't consider myself bad at directions but there are so many moments, esp in hercules and tangled where i would be like where the heck do i go next (and i have the map) only for me to look up and find a shotlock teleport point (and this isn't so much a thing that heightens the difficulty but a time waster).

lvls and bosses in previous kh games have always been known for their gimmicks and mechanics, but in this game particularly i found it to be more tedious? and this mostly applies to frozen: who the fuck designed frozen? who the fuck thought it's a good lvl design to have sora climb a mountain, get kick off it twice, and climb it again as good lvl design? who?

all the disney bosses started blending together for me bc they're literally all giant monsters and rly easy. i think the mistake here is the fact that the disney worlds are put back to back whereas in kh1/2/bbs you have the interruption of original worlds and an actually playable important parts to the main story, in this game all the important storyline in radiant garden are locked in cutscenes interspersed throughout the game between finishing disney worlds.

a lot of ppl might disagree w this, but i miss the cinematic reaction commands and limit attacks. we still have them but i find them to be on a much smaller scale in the form of drive finishers and situation commands, but i find them to be less imaginative in kh3 in order to be less """"disruptive""" to the gameplay. i've always found cinematics charming in previous games as a way to show sora interacting with his party members during combat. little things like beast putting a hand on sora's shoulder, aladdin leaning on him, or riku bumping his fist have a way of making the friendships he forms feel organic. outside of link commands/ summons, in this game, he........just throws a lot of ppl around or is thrown around?

GAMEPLAY:

already sort of went through parts of it in the previous section, but overall combat was smooth. i love how mobile sora is in this game. the improvement to his running speed and addition of all the mobile skills like dodge roll, super slide, flow motion, blizzard skating, etc. makes combat feel fast paced and juking so easy.

magic is super improved on ever since 2.8 and feels satisfying to use esp bc i feel like ur given a lot more mp now and with the ability to save the last of your mana for cure, it feels like you're not always budgeting your magic.

underwater combat was smoother than i expected.

it's a mistake putting almost all the commands on the triangle button. there's so much options you can do in combat and you'd mean to activate one thing, but then an attraction flow comes out and you just want to die. it gets a bit easier as i went on and got more used to the controls, but in general, i still think it's a mistake to not to have an ability or something to disable certain features like in kh2 fm.

gummy ships continue to be a thing. why. i don’t like how i have to turn the camera myself now ;;;. 

i'm not a speedrunner or anything, so i can't say too much else about fighting. the physical combos to me did feel like he was spinning a bit too much tho.

STORY: oh, fucking boy.

i'm not mad, i'm not disappointed, and i'm not even surprised. i already knew that post bbs, kh has already departed far from the franchise i loved as a kid and still today, at least story wise. but let's walk through it.

Disney Worlds: the disney worlds was literally a retelling of their movies. and unlike in kh2 and bbs, where visits to disney worlds were split into two parts, with the first part following the disney story and the second part being heavily tied to the main kh story and thus having original content, the disney worlds in kh3 only get one long visit. and the integration of kh into disney was just done so poorly. remember how kh villains used to kidnap princesses? remember how they used to actually conspire to take disney characters' hearts and turn them dark? remember, you know, when they were still evil and actually interfered with the worlds? in almost every world in kh3, an org member just comes says vague menacing things to sora, calls him stupid, and then leaves. yeah. and oh, maleficent and pete looks for a black box only to not find it, and leaves. AND THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE FOR THE REST OF THE GAME.

the pixar worlds + bh6 were the only ones with any actual new content and they feel so fresh. i esp loveeeeeeeed toy story omg. the script was so good, funny, and heartwarming. the pixar consultants should have helped kh all the way tbh.

like previous games, there's an attempt for each disney world to thematically tie into the main kh story. in this game, it was as heavy handed as ever, probably even more so. 

Original Worlds: onto the meat of kh, the main story was rushed up until the end. you have a slew of disney worlds, then bam, they slam you with all the human bosses and the important story stuff. 

the ‘awakening’ of roxas, xion, and ventus were very rushed. you literally have one moment they’re no there then two seconds of white screen and all of a sudden they’re there. 

there’s a shit ton of shoehorned character redemption arcs: vexen, demyx, saix, eraqus, xehanort, xemnas, ansem. all were done either offscreen or by some miracle, they reached an epiphany after sora beat his keyblade into their heads. 

the only death scene that i actually liked, that a lot of ppl complained about, was vanitas bc yes, although i thought his character had so much potential, it was at least a consistent and sympathetic death. bless him, born a villain die a villain. same with xemnas bc i loved his last speech. 

xehanort was a shitty villain through and through. no one understood his motivation; it’s like nomura took a page from thanos’ guide of how to write villains, gave him some stupid ass goal to have a keyblade war to restart the world, and then just have him...get everything he wanted? his estranged friend comes back in ghost form for whatever reason and is just like ok we’re cool man even tho u took my student and indirectly murdered me and then gets taken up to heart heaven, like O K. and like what’s the most frustrating is that it’s implied they’re keeping him as a villain??? bc fucking ymx is like ooohh imma just go back to my own time via time travel. it’s too late for u sora hurdur. 

and the younger members of the organization, the ones that we do know were in khux. we don’t get to know how they became nobodies and they don’t get a redemption??? really???  

you can tell they tried, TRIED, hard to give everyone closure. and they miserably failed to close plot points. they actually opened more. who the fuck is the unnamed girl in lea and isa’s storyline? why the fuck did you mention her if you were going to play the pronoun game and not name her??? what the fuck was in the black box??? why are they looking for it when no one know what’s in it??? why the fuck was repliku inside of riku the whole fucking time??? why have org members be norted if they can still have agency and choose to betray xehanort??? why the fuck was BOTH sora and riku in different worlds in the secret ending????? ? ? ? 

and tho i’m very glad that wayfinder and sea salt trios get their happy ending, the destiny trio had their characters assassinated. kairi was teased to become an independent character of her own and fight alongside sora, only to get shafted to become a damsel in distress, again, literally replaced by xion in one of the last battles, AND referred to as ‘motivation’ for sora by xehanort lol. sora, the guy who’s always going my friends are my power, ONLY grieves about losing kairi, accrediting all of his strength ONLY TO HER. riku, who spent the first game desperately trying to get kairi’s heart back, and who protected her from saix in the second, suddenly doesn’t give a shit about her and is just there as sora’s moral support. it’s so frustrating that nomura has the audacity to say that this series is primarily about friendship and then pull this shit lol. it’s transparent. 

CONCLUSION: 

i think for me, the quintessential kh trilogy has always been kh1, com, and kh2. as far as i’m concerned, the story should have ended there for destiny trio. and it’s like nomura said, how he feels more sympathetic towards villains now, i think nomura’s ideas have outgrown his main character. 

sora’s journey worked in 1, com, and 2 because he had an overarching goal to find kairi and riku and return home. not everyone has to understand heartless vs. nobodies or dark vs. light but at least, anyone can understand the desperation of saving your friends. when that framework is taken away, sora’s goals and motivations become unclear; he’s a kid and has little reason to be caught up in xehanort’s plans, the keyblade war, or the organization’s agendas. and his failure to grow with the increasing complexity of the plot, to investigate for himself the bigger picture or even come into a similar realization of his own darkness/ balance like riku, makes him unfit; he’s a reactionary character instead of an active one. that’s why this game, being experienced from his point of view, felt mostly like a catch up to speed for sora and a set up to nomura’s next big thing instead of a genuine ending.  i honestly don’t think nomura knows what to do with him and with kingdom hearts anymore. 

kh3 is a game wrapped in nostalgia and promised something bigger than it could fulfill. and aside from better graphics and improved gameplay, the story wasn’t worth the wait. 

[youcantkillamutant]

A Map Made in Heaven (Epilogue)

Prologue…Chapter 1…Chapter 2…Chapter 3…Chapter 4…Chapter 5...Chapter 6

Author: youcantkillamutant

Fandom: Marvel (Black Panther)

Pairing: Erik Stevens/Killmonger x Black!OC

Summary: Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens is the biggest bootlegger in South Carolina, but he wants to be more than the middle man. After he receives a letter from an ‘old friend’ of his father, he embarks on a quest to find his homeland. Enter Audrey Cade, the finest mapmaker in the County.

Warnings: None!  😊😊😊Okay maybe a lil angst but other than that....

Words: 1K+

A/N: So...This happened! This is the last bit of my 1920’s AU! Thank you to everyone for reading liking and reblogging and recommending (!?!??!) this story. I love that y’all read and review. That stuff always makes my day! 😘😘😘

I only own my original characters of course. As usual Marvel don’t sue me I’m broke.

Listening to: Bitter End by the Dixie Chicks, Shine by Leon Bridges, and Redemption Song by Bob Marley

EPILOGUE

July 10, 1922: Charleston, SC

Two years, four days, and…5 hours, since Audrey Cade left Erik in Wakanda. She never heard from him again, and after that first year she stopped waiting. Well as much as she could. That first year was…a bit of a frenzy. She convinced the US government to commission her to remap that Francis Marion National Forest in Awendaw, and she spent half a year searching for that tree.

Audrey mapped over 200,000 acres of vast expansive green searching for a baobab that shouldn’t have been there. It took her six long months to find it within the maze of slender trunked trees, and when she did Audrey lost her breath. Where there was once a strong wide tree, stood only a stump. It was withered and wilted, rotting from the inside and curled in on itself.

Audrey had held out hope for a while that Erik didn’t do it, that he didn’t destroy Wakanda. But she hadn’t heard from him, or Shuri, or even Ti for that matter and seeing the entrance to Wakanda shriveled and dying… She cried for hours that day, gut wrenching sobs pulled from her aching heart. Audrey felt as though an entire part of her had been scooped out and left bare and raw.

To be fair, Junie let Audrey wallow for a while. Too long if you asked Junie, but she could hardly get Audrey to talk about it. In all honesty Junie had never been one for feelings, her husband took over when the kids were crying but this is Audrey. Her little sister, her partner in crime, the smartest person she’d ever met.

Junie will never forget what Audrey said at Oakies, that first night back.

“I found it Junie. I found home.”

Audrey did her best to tell Junie all she could stomach.

“Erik is—was a prince. Lost royalty.”

Junie lost it of course, couldn’t understand why Audrey left Erik in the first place. Audrey tried to explain, she really did, but it seemed that the difficulty of the situation was between her and Erik.

“They hurt him and I couldn’t—he wouldn’t listen Junie. I’m afraid I’ve—”

All Junie could do in the end was hold her friend. She took her home and fed her sweets, and when that didn’t work she forced her back on a schedule. The shop reopened two months after Audrey returned, and she would go running with Junie every morning before the shop doors creaked open to the public.

Mrs. Floyd from the County Clerk’s office was the first to click her heels through the door, on the third day she opened. A few of her grandchildren tumbling in alongside her. Audrey softened at the babbling children, setting them up with paper and crayons at a smaller desk she reserved for these occasions.

“You let Mr. Stevens know I am keeping his place nice and clean sweetheart. And when you get a chance, come on down to the library and read to the kids, they’ve been missing you while you were away.” Audrey jolted at the mention of Erik. Junie hadn’t said his name since she had spilled everything, and to hear about him when he wasn’t there…hurt.

“Oh—okay Mrs. Floyd.” A deep inhale. “Is there anything I can get for you now?” Mrs. Floyd went on to describe the commission she needed and Audrey did her best to focus. That’s how it’s been since she reopened.  

Audrey used some of the money she had gotten from Shuri to make some upgrades to the shop as well. She’d found the best mechanic around to rig her a lightbox like the one in Wakanda, and a carpenter to get her the smoothest table money could buy. It still didn’t compare to vibranium, but her commissions shot through the roof after.

She had three sketchbooks full of Wakanda and Jabariland. The ornate palace halls, shining solar paneled automobiles, and the vast fields of Wakanda colored the pages. When she flicked through them now…It all seemed like a dream. She still reads the letter she got from Ti all those years ago. Ran her fingers over the splotchy ink of the map and uneven pulp of the paper.

Some days, bad days, she thought about what life would have been like if she had stayed. We he have burned her with all of Wakanda. Would he have reconsidered? Would she have ever returned home if he did? Erik was so set on his ambitions, Audrey was never truly sure if he had enough time for her. Sometimes she wasn’t sure she would have time for him. After she found Wakanda, her thoughts opened up to finding other lost lands. Discovering worlds people hadn’t seen in centuries somehow seemed possible after finding Wakanda.

The door to Cade’s Atlas swung open interrupting her musings, and all Audrey heard were the pitter patter of little feet.

“Bincinke!”

“Ti?” Audrey could barely speak. Before her was a girl, skinny and sprouting and covered in furs from the mountains, hopping from foot to foot.

“You remember! I knew you would! Baba wasn’t sure but I knew it!” Audrey’s heart was full to bursting when Ti released a triumphant smile. Babbling on and on.

“Uncle said I could run ahead if I bring you this!” She waved a wooden box around, nearly dropping it before she set it down and leapt into Audrey’s arms.

“I missed you bincinke.” Audrey squeezed Ti tight. Please don’t let this be a dream.

“I missed you too princess.” Another squeeze and Ti jumped out of her arms, shoving the box into Audrey’s shaking hands.

Ti gestured for Audrey to open it, so she did. It took her a moment to find the silk pull tab on the sleek box and the tab pulled the lid off slowly. The inside of the box was laced with soft, shining fabric. Silver, like vibranium. Inside was a beer bottle. Long necked and clear, filled with glittering blue liquid, the label read: Wakandan Brews, Est. 1921. There were a few Wakandan words at the bottom, Audrey only catching the words ‘home’ and ‘family’ before it fell from her hands back into the box.

She was so busy staring at the bold lettering that she barely heard the door clink open. Soft boots squeaked on the wooden floorboards, and long denim pants covered the man up to his waist. A soft cotton shirt hugged his shoulders and Audrey stopped breathing when she got to his handsome, brown face.

“Hey babydoll.”

“E—Erik?” Audrey’s breath left her in a rush. Wakanda lives.

—o—

Translations

Bincinke: Explorer (Hausa)

A/N: So here we are! The finale! This is the scene I imagined at the end, no crazy touching reunion, just Audrey seeing that Erik is alive. That’s all I wanted, I nice soft ending 😊

I know I say this in every chapter, but I want to thank everyone for reading this little AU. This is my first fic ever, and going into it I wasn’t confident that anyone would even read it let alone like it. I am forever grateful that I started writing fic for this wonderful fandom. I know that there are sometimes petty squabbles and shit, but everyone of y’all is amazing and I’m so happy to write amongst my amazing peers 😘😘😘

Taglist: @muse-of-mbaku​ @k-michaelis​ @princessstevens​ @nemesispawn​ @queenamaniii​ @dreadedphilosphy​ @killmongurl​ @thelovelyliterary​ @elaindeereads​ @thedom223​ @bidibidibombaclaat @thatrandomfangirl98​ @panthergoddessbast​

[salixj]

For those who don’t understand. Here are a few problems I have with the comics. Note they are not (save the last two points) connected to an Azula redemption arc. Note most aren’t even about Azula, except tangentially.  1. How Zuko attempts to get Azula’s help in finding Ursa. Does the scene where he speaks to her in the hospital come before or after his “how to be a ruler class” when he talks to Aang about his father being in prison, his mother lost, and his sister in a hospital.    a. If before, it is illogical that he wouldn’t say anything to Aang about attempting to get help from her.    b. If after he should, if he had understood the lesson even a little bit, not have approached her as he did. Okay, he shouldn’t have approached her that way period, but especially after a class such as he was given. So which is it? Does he illogically keep information from Aang that he has a solution to the above situation?  Or does he not understand the word dignity? I think it is the later because he also speaks disparagingly about her in front of her, to others, when explaining how he will treat her with dignity. Go figure.  Also, it terms of father in prison, sister in hospital, both of these are easily remedied. He could put his father in some form of house arrest. As far as his sister goes, has he thought of, oh I don’t know, visiting her? Telling her he loves her? Yeah okay.  See, that’s all really about Zuko. Azula is on the side, it is about how Zuko acts and behaves.  2. I can think of reasons why Jun couldn’t find Ursa. That should have been disclosed. The fact that she got a new face doesn’t necessarily mean she would have a new scent So explain it. Her pet died. Her scent ends here in the woods. It is too old. SOMETHING.

3. I can think of a lot of reasons why Zuko, once he learned of the town, could have told Azula, no... you already violated your promise. Back to the hospital. For her sake that would probably have been better. 3. The letter.    a. By simply calling Ozai “love”, Ursa manages to prevent Ikem from becoming shish kabob after he threatens the Firelord, which I imagine under the pen of any author of quality, would have been considered, treason. However, she can’t think of a better way to get Ozai to allow her to write to her parents other than by a letter which throws Zuko under a bus. Yeah, tell the abusive man his wife was either an adulteress, or already pregnant when brought in. Being a cuckold generally does bring a man’s temper down.     b. Even if she wanted to write a letter and trick him via a letter, there were better by a 1000 times letters to write.     c. But wait! He wasn’t a cuckold Ozai twirls his mustache (figuratively) and declares “I knew that! I had you watched!”  So nu, why was he so angry? And if he wanted to keep his letter thieving to himself and the maid, why did he even respond? Why wasn’t his reaction a hearty laugh at his wife’s expense and then toss the letter “in with the others”, and instruct the maid to let her know “letter has been sent.”     d. Why keep the letters? Was Ozai that short of good reading material?    e. Zuko was so close behind her that the door felt hot, yet Azula manages to open up and read all the letters so she find the right one just as he enters.     f.  Azula, really, hiding that letter in your sash and then in your shin guard and no one is going to notice? How stupid is Zuko? Nevermind. 4. Seriously, no one knew Ursa was from H’iria? Seriously? Because he told Ursa say goodbye you will never talk to them again and this caused nationwide forgetting? The parents didn’t mention their hometown to others sitting at the table? The people in H’iria didn’t know why she went? Why her parents went to court for a wedding? What, it was common in that town for the court to take a daughter and then the parents to leave and come back and never speak of where she went or why? SERIOUSLY? Iroh didn’t know? The servants who fetched them didn’t know? So that when Zuko went looking for mommy dearest none of them would have thought to say “Well maybe she returned home?” 5. a.Ikem finds the Mother of all Faces within a few months. So does Ursa. So do Aang and the gaang. The water siblings? decades. It never occurred to them I guess to pick a watering hole and WAIT. That would have been a year at most.     b. Also, why would Ikem return to the village? Imagine walking about trying to pretend to know no one. It is also quite probable that someone at some point would have made some comment about poor Ikem.  There was a much simpler solution to being the recipient of pity. Move somewhere else.   c. Also, really mom of all faces? You can’t imagine that someone who looks beautiful would want to trade in her face? Now I can imagine someone who was deformed, or who had become scarred would want a prettier face, but if someone with a pretty face came to you and wanted a change I’d figure it was because they wanted to hide. And how quickly you believe Ursa’s story. Also how quickly you believe the water siblings.  6. Ursa dear, if you don’t look like yourself you could have found your way into the palace and knocked off Ozai.  Did you really think the servants would kill the new Firelord or the new Firelords nephew? Ozai would be dead. He’d sort of lack in power there. At the very least you could have tried to get in touch with Iroh and gotten his help.

8. Oh btw that tried and true trophish undetectable poison,  you make a poison and give that poison to the man who had threatened to kill your so and tell him “do with it what you want.” Doesn’t sound smart. I’m kind of seeing a pattern here. What was to keep your dear ex from offing daddy then offing son?     And it still wouldn’t make him Firelord.      Also, being an herbalist means you know how to knock off people with an untraceable poison? Did mommy teach you that in between teaching you had to make a salve for rashes and a tincture for toothache? I really want to know how those lessons went down.  9. Ah yes. Ozai. Being in jail must have soften your head. Why would Ursa, who is standing outside your cell, have to grovel?

10. Why wasn’t Zuko killed with that blast? 11. How come Ty Lee can’t chi-block Azula? 12. How did Suki “secure” the palace. (not well) Does it really take a genius to figure out that she needed to look in Kiyi’s room for clues? 13. How did Kiyi hear Zuko through a thick door? How does Zuko hear Kiyi and neither Ursa nor Ikem wake up? And how did Zuko’s presence loosen Ursa’s grip? Was another room all made up and readied for Kiyi? How did Azula know which of those rooms Kiyi was in? (And no, knowing the palace like the back of her hand means she could negotiate it in the dark, not that she would know where Kiyi was sleeping. Same for all the other children. After all their costumes weren’t exactly low profile, and throwing smoke everything is also not very low profile.) 14. Ursa’s talk with Iroh over how he got over the death of his son. Her kids not even gone 24 hours, and there is no sign Kiyi’s death and she’s already planning on how to get over her mourning.  These final two are Azula centered, however they aren’t about how Azula got ripped of her redemption, or how her redemption was too slow. The opposite.

15. Ah yes, here’s a girl who has several psychotic episodes over the course of what? 24 hours? 48 hours? Yet a sojourn alone in the woods cures her. Medical breakthrough! 16. Speaking of that sojourn. She has no money, change of clothes, or even her purse. She’s hallucinating wildly. I’ll forget the lack of blankets and food. She’s smart enough to forage.  And in one or two months time she is able to:    a. get out of the woods.    b. get back to wherever the hospital was.    c. free six women from the hospital.    d. get back to the capital.    e. freak Ukando into helping her.    f. create a hideout complete with 7 or 8 bunk beds (at least), rugs, linens, a table, chairs, I’m guessing places for her friends and herself to sleep as well.    g. develop smoke bending.    h. obtain gas and some method of using that gas to knock kids out but not permanently.    i. figure out a way that that she and her fellow kidnappers don’t knock themselves out.    j. get costumes.  k. and there is a huge difference between the eye patches and the masks. They don’t have peripheral vision in those masks. Try it out yourself with a patch and a made up hard mask that covers the whole face save for a small hole for one eye. Yet they all negotiate just fine thank you. Without even turning their heads. Maybe the stone like masks were actually like one way mirrors, in which case, she scores again!   l. teleportation! via smoke. My fave. She invented teleportation.  m. kidnap 14 or so kids, and get them all to the cemetery. Did they all grown through the secret passageway or did they have to roll the dice? Either way, no one seems to have noticed three strangely dressed people rushing through the streets with a kid in their arms or at least have noticed and connected it to the kidnappings. There is actually so much more but I can’t think of them all right now. Why do I think the comics were poorly written? There you have it. It is not about how slow Azula’s redemption is taking, not at all. It is about poor writing.