#but instead of the elements of harmony

[ravenrambles6229]

these shows are fucking identical, fight me

[caracello]

fuckinf you insignificant buck joke has been making melaugh for like 2 hours straight

[nylpad]

DANCE OF STEAM

Warnings: enemies to lovers, war

In the heart of the Water Tribe, there lived three siblings: Katara, Sokka, and you, Y/N. You were the youngest, born with a unique gift of waterbending unlike any seen before. Your abilities complemented your siblings', and together, you were a formidable team.

When Aang, the long-lost Avatar, was discovered, your life changed forever. You joined him, along with Katara and Sokka, on a journey to master the elements and defeat the Fire Lord. But among your adversaries was Prince Zuko, a firebender with a fierce determination to capture the Avatar.

At first, your encounters with Zuko were fraught with conflict. His fire clashed with your water, his anger with your calm. Yet, as the moons passed, you began to see the pain behind his eyes, the burden of a destiny he didn't choose.

During a skirmish, you found yourself face-to-face with Zuko. Instead of attacking, you reached out with your waterbending, not to harm, but to heal a wound on his arm. Surprised by your act of kindness, Zuko hesitated, and in that moment, something shifted.

As the Gaang continued their quest, Zuko's path intersected with yours in unexpected ways. He saved you from a dire situation, and you, in turn, offered him understanding. Slowly, the enemy became an ally, and the ally became a friend.

When Zuko finally joined your group, the balance shifted. You found in him a kindred spirit, someone who understood the weight of expectations. Together, you trained, your water tempering his fire, creating a harmony that resonated within the group.

The war ended, peace was restored, and through it all, your bond with Zuko deepened. You balanced each other out, the yin to his yang. And as the world began to heal, so did your hearts, entwining like the merging rivers of your homeland.

In Zuko, you found not just love, but a partner who stood by your side as you helped rebuild a world where balance reigned supreme. And in you, Zuko found not just a lover, but a beacon of hope that guided him towards a brighter future.

[enchantedwitchling]

Respecting Nature: How to Be an Eco-Friendly Witch.

🌿🌎✨

Witchcraft and nature have an unbreakable bond—one that invites us to celebrate and protect the very world that inspires our craft. As stewards of the Earth, it's essential to practice our craft with the utmost respect for nature. Embracing eco-friendly witchcraft not only honors the environment but also deepens our connection to the magic that surrounds us.

In this blog post, we'll explore the art of "Respecting Nature: How to Be an Eco-Friendly Witch," discovering the importance of eco-conscious practices and offering alternative, sustainable tools to traditional witchcraft practices.

🌟✨

1. Sustainable Altar Decor 🌿

Consider incorporating natural and biodegradable altar decorations like leaves, flowers, and twigs instead of synthetic materials. These elements not only infuse your space with a touch of the Earth but also return to it without harming the environment.

2. Eco-Friendly Candles 🕯️

Opt for candles made from sustainable materials like soy or beeswax. These alternatives burn cleanly, emit fewer toxins, and support eco-conscious practices. You can also repurpose candle stubs into new candles, reducing waste.

3. Ethical Crystal Sourcing 💎

When collecting crystals for your practice, research ethical sources and suppliers. Be mindful of the environmental impact of crystal mining and choose to support companies that prioritize sustainability and fair labor practices.

4. DIY Herbal Magic 🌿

Grow your own herbs and harvest them responsibly for spells and rituals. This not only ensures their freshness but also reduces the carbon footprint associated with store-bought herbs. Consider creating your own herbal oils and teas, infusing your magic with the essence of your garden.

5. Natural Incense and Alternatives 🌬️

Explore natural incense options made from herbs, resins, or dried flowers. You can also choose sustainable alternatives like dried sage or palo santo sticks from ethically sourced providers. Remember to set your intentions and respect for the environment.

6. Biodegradable Offerings 🍃

If you offer food or other offerings to deities or spirits, choose biodegradable options. Fruit, bread, or grains return to the Earth without harm, symbolizing your gratitude for nature's gifts.

7. Sustainable Journaling 📓

For your magical journal, opt for notebooks made from recycled paper or even explore digital journaling to reduce paper usage. This mindful practice also preserves trees and forests.

🌟✨

Being an eco-friendly witch aligns our practice with the very essence of witchcraft—an appreciation for the natural world and a commitment to living in harmony with it. As we tread lightly upon the Earth, our magic deepens, and our connection to the elements flourishes.

So, let us continue to embrace the magic of nature while protecting it, weaving eco-conscious practices into our craft's tapestry. By honoring the Earth, we honor ourselves and the beautiful world we call home.

🌿🌎✨

[charmedreincarnation]

So, I was watching ATLA and LOK for the millionth time, and there are so many elements in these shows that I have applied to my life, it's not even funny. This isn’t even really meant to be particularly educating but honestly I could have used atla and lok alone at the beginning of my journey and still come to the same conclusions as I had today. They’re both some of my fav shows since I was a child, and looking back and seeing its influence on me is very nostalgic. Also the live action is getting produced soon so I can’t think of a better time to make this post.

Chakras

Anyways In Avatar: The Last Airbender," Aang learns about chakras from Guru Pathik. Chakras are like energy points in our body. Each one is linked to a different part of life, such as love, truth, or survival. When Aang clears blockages in these chakras, he can use his Avatar powers better. I had made a post about I will link here but honestly watching the scene in a kids show is more appealing 😭😭

Meditation

Meditation is used a lot in the Avatar series. It helps characters like Aang to focus, feel calm, and understand themselves better. In real life, meditation does the same thing! It can obviously help reduce stress, improve focus and make us feel happier. In both shows I saw characters use meditation to induce a plethora of things.

Talk to Past Lives: Aang uses meditation to talk to his past lives for advice.

Ask for Help: Aang meditates to ask spirits for help.

Clear Minds: Characters meditate to think clearly and make good decisions.

Astral Projection: Aang and Jinora can travel as spirits, separate from their bodies, and etc

Yin and Yang

Avater uses the Moon (Yin) and Ocean (Yang) spirits to symbolize balance. Yin (Moon spirit) is like the subconscious mind, it's quiet, internal, and creative. Yang (Ocean spirit) can be seen as the conscious mind, it's active, external, and logical.

Just like in Neville Goddard's teachings, both aspects need to work together for balance. In the show, when the Moon spirit is killed, chaos ensues because the balance is disrupted. It's only when the Moon spirit is revived that harmony is restored. This is similar to how our subconscious (inner self) and conscious (outer self) minds need to work together to achieve our desires as we want to experience both of the worlds as they work in unison.

Astral realm and the sprit world

Atla and lok also talks about a spirit world. This is like another dimension filled with spirits and mystical beings. It's similar to what we call the 'astral realm' - so a space beyond the physical world where our consciousness can go. Also Jinora, a character in "The Legend of Korra," has a unique spiritual ability that allows her to astral project. So she can separate her spirit from her physical body and traverse both the physical and spiritual worlds in her spiritual form.

Jinora displays astral projection abilities multiple times. For instance, in Season 2, she uses this skill to guide Korra, who is lost in the spirit world, she also uses it to find and save Kai in seasons 3. Her astral form appears as a glowing butterfly-like spirit, and she used it multiple times to lead her friends to safety.

The Void state

In lok a character named Zaheer learns to fly. He was put in jail for trying to kidnap the Avatar. But he obviously didn't waste time while in jail. Instead, he used it to meditate and try to reach enlightenment. He does this by entering a 'void' state when he meditates. He lets go of all his earthly attachments and desires, and this makes him weightless. His ability to fly is deeply intertwined with his spiritual beliefs and his interpretation of the teachings of Guru Laghima, an ancient Air Nomad.

In the show Guru Laghima, who lived 4,000 years before Zaheer's time, was the first airbender known to have unlocked the ability to fly. According to his teachings, one could achieve flight by "entering the void" - which meant letting go of all earthly attachments and desires to attain true freedom. When his gf dies This emotional event helps him truly let go of his last earthly tether, thus allowing him to "enter the void" and unlock the ability to fly.

Reincarnation and the avatar cycle

I knew the shows were probably based of real life because I’ve seen air nomad clothing, and I know monks are very closely reflected onto the show but really every aspect rings true and is similar to beliefs in Buddhism. This is especially true when looking at the Dalai Lama, who is a spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism.

People believe that the Dalai Lama is a new version of Avalokiteśvara or Chenrezig, who is known as the Bodhisattva of Compassion. When a Dalai Lama dies, it's believed he comes back to life in a new person. Then, high-ranking lamas look for signs to find this person.

This is like the cycle of the Avatar. When an Avatar dies, they come back to life in a new person from the next nation in a set order (Air, Water, Earth, Fire). The new Avatar is found using different tests, which is much like how the new Dalai Lama is found.

But there are some differences. For example, the Avatar can remember their past lives, but the Dalai Lama usually doesn't say they remember theirs. Also, the Avatar is special because they can control all four elements, which is a fantasy idea and doesn't have a real-life counterpart in Buddhism.

I was researching my a specific Lama and his story was a reflection of Korra’s character. It's interesting to note that both the Dalai Lama and Korra knew from a young age that they were special. In the show, Korra knew she was the Avatar when she was very young. Similarly, the Dalai Lama also recognized his identity at a young age.

Honestly, it's just a really good show to watch. I probably even missed some elements from the show bc I’m more concerned about watching it than learning something. But I love both ATLA and LOK and I've even shifted to LOK and will shift to ATLA as well! I really suggest watching its so good y’all. Byeee

[spockandawe]

And finally, the big conclusion! When I was planning to not really binderary, getting copies of these books was my big goal. And then when I did binderary after all, I, uh, ended up with two sets of two books. And let's not even talk about how late these are in the grand scheme of things, these have been in my plans for literal years, and I originally intended to get them done well before official translations started releasing (I'm doing great!!). But here they are! Thousand Autumns and Peerless! TWICE!!!!

Okay. Okay. So here's the thing. These books are long. Thousand Autumns is something like 450k, and Peerless is closer to 550k. I hate splitting cnovels. I didn't want to sand instead of trimming. I wanted to keep these books as pairs (because Peerless has my favorite danmei ship of all time, but doesn't hit as hard without the Thousand Autumns context, and EVERYTHING hits less hard without knowing that yan wushi is out there. existing.)

These goals are not terribly well aligned with the facts! The facts are that those are awfully big books to fit into a single volume, if I want to use my guillotine! This is another driving force behind my small text theme of the month. It made the typesets a goddamn nightmare, and my initial copies of the books were done on half-legal paper, which I've never done before and may never do again. I finished those, and those are... big, heavy books. Not super portable. Time to see if my eyes are good for four point georgia, and spoilers, they ARE.

Set one, the large set, I wanted to use more of my snake leather. I had this GORGEOUS purple and green and black iridescent hide that i was determined to use, and fortunately I had just enough of the perfect fabric to pair with it.

But.... meanwhile, I've been buying peacock fabrics since 2021 for the sake of Feng Xiao. I had to use at least ONE of them! Fortunately, I've hoarded enough fabric that I was able to find a nice harmonious floral fabric to cover thousand autumns, and then had a nice duo bookcloth to make spines for them both! These books are quarter-legal, and the font is genuinely SO small, but still, pleasantly readable for me, my favorite customer 😂

These books were SO MUCH work to typeset snd bind, but I'm still so excited about how both sets came out! Because of my own impatience with repeating myself like, literally two days later, i redid a number of decorative elements in the typeset as well as the binding. Different chapter headers, different dividers, totally different vibes for the endpapers! This was a big project to ask from myself in such short order, especially when I was starting to flirt with burnout, but I genuinely couldn't be happier with the results :D

[sanctus-ingenium]

hi im so sorry if youve already answered this but how do u go about selecting the colors you use for your works!

hi! i've had this question a few times and every time i've only been able to answer with a vague sort of 'ehhh i just pick them'. but i think i'll actually talk some more about it now since a lot of my art actually takes a lot of beating before i decide on a final palette. but with a lot of them admittedly i already know what palette i'm using, and i organise the whole composition around those colours.

i use like two main palette methods and here they are (once you see it in my art, you won't unsee it). It mainly involves picking one main hue, and then a contrasting secondary colour.

So the most basic is to have a drawing be mostly a small range of hues, in this case the reds and oranges, and adding a single contrasting shade. Here it is the bounce light on the metallic metal parts, and doesn't appear anywhere else. It looks blue but it isn't - if I used actual blue, it would be too jarring and the colours would not appear unified. This is a warm and nice scene. So instead I pick that strong blue and blend it into a small swatch of the base colour. Then I pick from the blended portion, and what I get will be more blue than the base, but not actually blue. In fact it is yellow-orange :) The entire drawing looks warm as a result.

When working with marginally stronger contrast, here I have a cream unicorn on a green background. The main shadows on the unicorn will be the colour of that ambient room temperature bg - green. So I use the same test swatch method to pick a shadow colour which LOOKS green without being too disruptive of the cream unicorn. I increase the saturation and darken the value (moving the colour dot diagonally to the lower right hand corner of the box) and also spin the whole wheel towards green just a bit. Then I blend into the cream and colour pick a shade in the middle. But for the bounce light, I chose to use a common contrast of green - pink. It looks like pink in the drawing but in fact it is a low saturation orange! Using that real pink would be disharmonious. I do the exact same thing - I blend the pink into the bg colour and come up with that orange shade. It looks harmonious.

Now (top example) I am using two contrasting hues side by side. I decide the shadows will be warm, and the highlights in that contrasting zone. That means that for every colour i pick - Islin's skin, hair, his glasses, his shirt collar, his coat - every colour gets slid around the colour wheel until it falls inside that narrow band. And when I am highlighting his skin, I turn the wheel towards green. When I am shading his skin, I turn the wheel more red. I do this for every single element in the drawing.

It's the same for the Rua cover but this time I am not using such a wide band of available hues on the colour wheel, it's much tighter. I did this to replicate the look of a faded print, intentionally lowering the available contrast I had to work with by removing black as tool. It's all in that small cream to red window but it LOOKS purple - it looks like Pascal wears a purple shirt and that the smoke in the bg is lilac. Well, it isn't. That's all red and orange. I pick those colours by, again, choosing my goal "look" - a low-saturation purple, and then turning the wheel into the red range.

Okay so! for this it's just... the exact same thing again. Literally it always is. But since this one is recent I still have the process fresh in my mind. I envisioned it in the car, and I wanted this empty sort of desolate blue bg and a cold, distant overall tone. I ended up making the white on the chessboard & white pieces warmer, cream instead of white-grey, which worked out great. I wanted the blue, I wanted the pale cream/white, and the black of the chessboard. I didn't envision a colour for Pascal's shirt. but when the time came it was an obvious choice. It has to contrast with the bg both in value and hue, without falling outside the cream range already established by the chess pieces. So it's shiny salmon pink :) or orange, whatever you think it is. The only disharmonious part of this palette is the red velvet under the black knight piece - it works, but if I'd taken more care I might have spun the wheel more into orange and it would stand out less. But I don't mind.

[plutonianeris]

pick a pile: how you secretly intimidate others ⛓𓌹*♰*𓌺⛓

this is a general reading & for entertainment purposes only, take what resonates and leave what doesn't. scroll through the images & choose based on your inner guidance and gut feeling. ⛓️

♱☾pile one☽

“don’t call me baby! im not your baby!”

you intimidate others with your individuality. There’s something about you that’s very weird or kind of quirky. not in the “oh im not like other gwurls 🤪” cringey way. but rather you’re kind of blunt even when you don’t mean to be other people might think that what you say is too harsh or direct. This seems to be some thing that might throw off men as well but at the same time it’s also make some desire you. That free spirit can be seen as something that other people want in their life but it’s not always with the best intentions. It’s kind of like they want you to fulfill something for them. Kind of like to conquer you in a way. But it seems like that literally never happens because instead, you’re literally a tower moment for other people in their lives.

Just by being you, you unconsciously force other people to reflect on certain things in their life. you guys people specifically to reflect on their insecurities, and also their childhood. You could find that people, especially women project onto you. they could look at you and mumble under their breath or too each other like “what the fuck is their problem” or talk about how you think you “know it all”

it seems like people are just really intimidated by your knowledge and what you have to share with other people. you might have some Aquarius placements. Whether what you share with others is topics about religion or spirituality or “taboo” subjects, other people could be thrown off by your words, while at the same time secretly want to hear more.

this pile, gave off a lot of scorpio and/or aries and/ or libra & taurus energy and 8th house/ pluto aspects energy. when I asked about qualities people associate with you I got “ regeneration, suspicion, passion, beautiful, art, experimentation, intelligent, creativity, wisdom.” 🕯️

🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️ tip jar 🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️

♱☾pile two☽

“no, I’m killing boys.”

people are secretly intimidated by the way you can rise from the ashes and transform completely after going through super traumatic shit. The way you seem to be able to recover from stuff that can be straight out of someone’s nightmare and manage to come out on top is inspiring but also it makes other people feel insecure. pile two, other people seem to think that you somehow just “get lucky” when something really good happens to you. People might think that you didn’t have to work that hard for it. They could secretly send you evil eye and think oh I wish that would’ve happened to me instead..

shit I’m not gonna lie I feel in awe and a little shook reading these cards describing your energy. you are literally an alchemist. You transform everything you touch and you transform after every experience with a lot of grace and harmony. lmfaoo the quote from “what? like its hard” from legally blonde popped up. The thing is that it actually is hard but you’ve been doing it for so long. There’s no other way for you to really function. You manage to continuously strengthen your spirituality over and over again.

and there’s a certain element of privacy that you also keep when it comes to your home life and the space you live in and also in regards to what you’re even thinking. It kind of leaves people in constant speculation of who you are what you actually do or where you even live. but this privacy seems necessary to you, sacred to you actually. Your personality, ego, and the way you view yourself are in a constant state of fluctuation. But never in a way that ends up being super detrimental to you. even when you “mess up” you learn something and get better.

you are someone that is very strong and I don’t wanna say that like in a corny “omg ur saiuuir strong u went through so much :(“ pity way. I literally mean just a very unique kind of perseverance within your spirit where time after time you just can’t be knocked down. And other people wonder about that, but they’re not even close to being able to dissect it & that intimidates them.

You could be someone that has a lot of 12th house or fourth house placements, as well as Jupiter, Sagittarius, or Pluto prominent in the chart. when I asked about qualities/ words that people associate with you, I got “independent, knowledgeable, transformation, roots, subconscious, potential, hope” 🔐

🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️ tip jar 🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️

♱☾pile three☽

“how do you feel about yourself now stupid motherfucker? you couldve had some pussy.”

people are secretly intimidated by the way you run shit. You have a very straightforward and innovative, and out of the box solution for many of the obstacles you face in life. Similar to pile 2 there is resentment in response to the way you succeed. But when it comes to you it’s more because of the way you do things. people might think “oh it’s not fair that they did it that way and won..” but in reality, you have a unique power being able to bounce back really fast from shit. you don’t mind being someone brand new every single day or changing your habits or routines, or the way you connect with people were your resources very quickly.

In fact, you’re constantly flowing in these spaces of rebirth and attatchment and security. and that intimidate people because they wonder well how is it possible that you’re changing your character and your appearance and your own self all the time and YOU dont care if people label it as a fake or weird. Like I’m not gonna lie this piles giving off someone who has such a range of random aesthetics that ppl r like seeing u as someone who dresses up or is wearing a costume when in reality you just feel transformed by your experiences so frequently.

its giving “im not the person who i was yesterday” so don’t try it today energy. it intimidates people that you’re not ashamed of changing your mind and being like “ well actually I used to like that and now I don’t like it anymore, so can you please respect the boundaries I set up now.”

you TRUST yourself. and not only does that intimidate people but it also makes them MAD. chiron aka trauma, wounds, healing, pain etc popped up, so it doesn’t mean that all your life you had this confidence or ability to listen to yourself and your intuition. If anything you suffered a lot and had a period of time (especially in childhood) were you were taught to not listen to yourself or your intuition. where you were told that if you showed leadership and willpower, and if you used your anger and embraces your anger, that bad things would happen.

But then, finally, you did and you realized that you get so much more from life when you show people how to treat you from the start. And other people want to be able to do that. And you securely inspire them to do that but it’s also a mixture of envy as well thats included in those feelings toward you. oh well. protect your peace! you could be someone that has aries, first house, 8th house and 2nd house placements. 888 also popped up if that has any significance to you. when I asked about qualities/ words that people associate with you, I got “secure, possessive, leader, warrior, loyal.”⚖️

🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️ tip jar 🕸️𓆩♡𓆪🕸️

© plutonianeris 🕷

[skyscrapergods]

How did Twilight feel growing up with they eyes of a Goddess on her, the high (for mortals anyway) expectations of a divine being. As a mortal I can see it being suffocating. How did the ponies around her besides friends and family treat her before her ascension? Was she an important public figure even before her ascension due to her connection to Celestia?

As a filly, she didn't really get it. It was kind of like Yay the president thinks you're cool! Without really realizing that's not the president. that's god.

Plus Celestia had a hooves-off approach for a while, speaking to twilight's teachers instead of her directly.

She had them teach twilight in the ways of magic, and was pleased to see how skilled and powerful twilight was. But then when she checked in next, twilight was alone. Eschewing other ponies for books. This is not the best for a foal who got Celestia's attention through an act of friendship. She was hoping that Twilight would be able to harness the Elements of Harmony, but the foal had changed.

In the blink of a god's eye, the filly became a reclusive, academic mare. How could this diligent but uptight adult use the elements of laughter, loyalty, generosity, honesty, and kindness, when she had no one to be loyal, kind, honest, and generous to? And she Never laughed.

No no no, this was wrong. Having her studying magic all her life was a mistake. There's no way she could be more than a scholar. No way Celestia could get her to solve... the nightmare moon problem.

Twilight had spent so long in her books, she uncovered the thousand year anniversary was approaching and had reached out to the sun for help.

The sun, in response, sent her away. She looked all over equestria for a place that would work... aha! Here was a place with friendship overflowing. Send her there before it's too late.

Get out of your books Twilight Sparkle! you will need more than Magic alone to face the challenges the cosmos has in store. Perhaps the citizens of Ponyville can teach her lessons the goddess could not.

[botanicalsword]

Slow-burn love • Astro observations (Synastry / Composite)

Slow-burn love takes time to grow but deeply roots itself in the hearts and minds of couple.

Intimacy is not a sudden burst of energy, but rather a gradual flame that is nurtured through the cultivation of shared values, vulnerability, respect, and authenticity over time.

✧✧✧✧

This is just my personal take from what I've seen and been through. The compatibility depends on how the two aspects play off each other.

✧✧✧✧

Photo credit : @le.sinex

11H synastry • Venus in 11H

Sun in 4H, 11H synastry

Mars in 10H synastry

Pluto in 7H in composite

Stellium in Composite : 6H , 9H, 11H

Earth elements stellium

Capricorn placement in composite

Taurus placement in personal planet

Juno / Neptune aspect

Mars / Venus aspect

Mars / Uranus aspect

❥ Pluto in 7H in composite

The combination can create a secretive and captivating story.

Pluto represents secrets and mystery, as it holds the deepest aspects, the secret spaces, and the hidden motivations. When Pluto falls in the 7th House of a composite or synastry chart, it indicates that the relationship between two people has a naturally deep tone to it.

This yearns for depth, intensity, and serious exploration into all the ways of being in a long-term close partnership. Such a relationship seeks to resolve any and all wounds in the relationship and develop a truly interdependent relationship filled with wholeness for each person as well as the relationship itself.

Pluto in the 7th House can signify that the relationship is shrouded in secrecy and filled with hidden desires and motivations. This can create a sense of forbidden love, as the intense emotions and deep connections between the couple may be perceived as taboo by others. The slow burn of the relationship may also add to the tension, as the couple navigates the complex layers of their feelings for one another.

Ultimately, the relationship has the potential to be transformative, as the couple delves deep into the inner workings of themselves and their relationship to create a strong and lasting bond.

❥❥❥❥

❥ Capricorn placement in composite

The key aspects emphasized in this context are cooperation, results-driven approach, behavior awareness, inner values, and hard work. The focus is on cultivating a work environment where individuals work together towards achieving common goals and objectives. This requires a high level of collaboration, communication, and mutual respect.

The relationship between colleagues is akin to that of work buddies, where they support each other in achieving their targets. If their aspects allowed, it will be a colleagues to lovers relationship.

They are expected to be aware of their behavior and its impact on others. They are encouraged to develop their inner values which are reflected in their actions and decisions. Hard work is highly valued and recognized as a key driver of success.

The foundation of a successful work buddy relationship is built on trust. This is established through promises made and commitments upheld. When they deliver on their promises and fulfill their commitments, they demonstrate their reliability and build trust with their colleagues. This, in turn, creates a positive relationship where they feel valued, respected, and motivated to perform at their best.

❥❥❥❥

❥ Taurus placement in personal planet

Taurus has a peaceful and harmonious influence from Venus, which reflects in their approach to love and relationships. Their love language is expressed through a serene and natural demeanor, where they quietly take care of their loved ones. They do not prefer extravagant displays of affection or grand romantic gestures, but instead, they show their love through practical actions and gestures.

Taurus is known for their refined taste and appreciation for quality over quantity. They prefer simple, yet sophisticated experiences that hold meaning and value, over superficial and lavish ones. They have an eye for beauty, whether it is in nature, music, or art. They are not drawn to luxury for the sake of it, but rather as a way to enhance their enjoyment of life.

Stability, security, and comfort are highly valued by Taurus in their relationships. They seek a partner who shares their values and is willing to forge a strong and long-lasting connection based on trust, respect, and authenticity.

•┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈•

Houses show areas of life impacted and aspects describe the effect and compatibility.

To determine if the connection will work, consider the full chart.

Masterlist @botanicalsword

[snarky-art]

The Grand Mages, my version of The Major Fairies in my Winx rewrite.

The reason for the term Mages instead of Major Fairies is that they weren’t all Fairies throughout history and it isn’t a requirement that they be fairies either. The reason for them all being fairies now is that they’re simply the most common group of magic users left on Earth currently after the great scourge of death and purging magical beings experienced on the planet.

The Grand Mages are chosen by The Grand Council, the delegation for magical beings on Earth, which is now on Tír na nÓg presently.

The current Grand Mages are as follows, some with a lot of info (mainly Sybilla) and some with simple brief descriptions, including so e job descriptions, personal histories, believix info and general lore below the cut:)

Nebula, Grand Mage of Peace. Her title is kept all throughout her history, not changed like it is in the series to war, for peace comes as the end goal, and to that with the Grand Mage title, if war is needed to achieve that, then so be it.

She is the second youngest, older than Aurora by about 900 years, born around the year of what we would call 400 CE. She is around the same age as Morgana, only a few years younger.

She would be classified as one of the Picts in the eyes of humans, born in what would later become known as the area of Scotland at the time before the Celts. As I mentioned in my first ask with her, I know there are issues of debated anachronism regarding The Picts and blue war paint, but it fit her color palette and I thought it looked cool on her so we’re going to say it was indeed a thing in this version of history, but as a result of the magical beings there mainly being the ones who utilized it.

As also mentioned in my original ask with her, she doesn’t always use her magic to treat her wounds, taking certain pride in her battle scars, showing them as a way to say “you see? No matter how many times you try to beat me down, I cannot be quashed. You cannot best me, I will always retaliate and I will always come back and so long as I am alive, I will win.”

Aurora is The Grand Mage of The North, a title given to the being who guards the Lovix transformation. She is the youngest of the current Grand Mages, being only 700 years old. It is her job to preside over the domain that Lovix is connected to (the areas of what are labeled as Fennoscandia) for if the connection to the areas the transformations were birthed from is severed or lost, those transformations cannot be accessed anymore. Her dedication, quick wit, and drive to protect and honor the land her master, The Grand Mage of The North before her guarded, is what lead to her being selected as the next one despite her relatively young age when compared to the other magical beings who served under the previous Grand Mage. This retired Grand Mage now lives at the small community that is located in what we would call Northern Sweden in the wilderness that she and the other followers dedicated to this cause call their home. This area acts as their headquarters of sorts.

Aurora is in change of overseeing all areas of Earth’s Northern Hemisphere and doing what she can to ensure general harmony with the energy of the planet and its environment, with her main focus being on guarding that area Lovix is tied to. Her primary way of combatting any serious issues humans intact on the environment and any disruption they cause is through the use of environmental influence, such as extreme cold, blizzards, long winters, early frosts, etc, causing things like famine, poor harvests, or direct death from the elements.

Diana is The Grand Mage of The South, her main location insulated to where she was born in what is referred to as modern day Bolivia. Sophix is connected to what is known today as The Amazon Rainforest, and this area must be protected with regard to the transformation for the same reason as Lovix. Much like Aurora, she is also in charge of doing what she can to ensure general harmony with the nature and environment of the southern hemisphere of Earth’s planet.

A strong warrior and combatant, she has resorted to more direct force as a tactic to deal with the issues humans have been enacting on the planet, doing what she can to still stay as hidden from them as possible while attacking, or leaving no survivors. Her and Nebula are close, a love of sparring and battle strategy being a large basis for what they choose to do in any of the spare time they manage to have together.

She is the second oldest of The Grand Mages.

Sybilla is the oldest of The Grand Mages.

Her wings are present here, but she doesn’t usually have them out, simply not seeing a need to most of the time.

Lady of Justice is the title given by those of the order of Tír na nÓg, and this was the title given to her by many, magical and non magical, even before all magical beings were either sequestered away to there, killed, fled, or managed to blend in with the non magical beings.

She is much more elusive than the other Grand Mages and despite her very present record in that of history, she isn’t one to be easily reached, only deciding herself if it is worth it, answering to no single allegiance, creed, nation, etc. She is included in the category of The Grand Mages mainly by the choosing of the other Mages, and only agrees within her own terms to be accounted for as such.

Parts of magical history intermingle with non magical history in my thing. Her influence is felt in artwork, dress, customs, and tales from Greco-Roman antiquity, and even the time before that, during the eras of The Bronze Age with the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean civilizations, and then even before that.

Much like the term irl, Sybilla is a term that simply means prophetess and sprung forth to give to the term sybil, those being what they are in our real world tales too. In my thing tho, this term stems from her name first and went on to become synonymous and defined as prophetess.

There were other sybils just like in old stories, these being followers of hers who wanted to act in her stead and honor and provide their services too.

Sybilla is the supreme head though, and is the grand origin for this.

She goes into stasis for longer periods of time so despite being the oldest, turning to stone by choice, this time acting a long sleep for her. When she awakes, it feels like she has only blinked. Sometimes towns would be built around her stony form, alters erected around her, offerings brought, pilgrimages made. And then suddenly, the mortals will see her “statue” is suddenly gone, and when she chooses to rest again, the cycle begins anew. Sometimes new statues are erected where she used to rest, legends telling that it actually is her and not just a statue, others believing it was just a statue put there long ago and someone decided to steal it so a new one must be placed.

There are many of her form in many places for that reason among other, her acting as a type of saint or figure to be kept to watch over places or people or whatever is deemed to need watching, memorabilia of her present in the forms of previously memorials statues, small talisman type objects, her figure on handkerchiefs, tapestries, walls of buildings, etc.

She has a history of intermingling with non magical beings far more than any of the other Grand Mages, even more so than most magical beings in general. With regard to that and her actions, she chooses to sleep when she feels she has done her job for the time being, overseeing and acting as whatever the mortals feel she is during times of great strife, whether that label be as a guide, an oracle, a prophet, or sometimes even a god or goddess.

She also chooses to rest after helping with grand issues with magical affairs too just the same. She awakens when she chooses to, whether that be because something in the ambient energy of the Earth feels off, signaling a great change, she has been sought out by a being, magical or not, that has made a great plea that she deems worthy, or she has decided she simply doesn’t want to rest anymore.

Her form appears through much of human history in the areas of the modern day Mediterranean and she has many stories about her weaved through old long gone told tales and legends, many lost to time, some still present.

Her aging is less visible than on Diana as a result of her sporadic periods of stasis, who has stayed active and present for her whole life, which has resulted in peak milf status.

She has no eyes, having had them voluntarily removed to be fully dedicated to her cause of what she deems proper judgement and action.

[ravenrambles6229]

Born to be a ninja, forced to pay taxes

[universitypenguin]

Chapter XXI

Summary: Lloyd is disturbed when Princess has another close call. He struggles with his feelings before having an epiphany about their relationship.

Word Count: 6,839

Masterlist

Warnings: 18+ readers only. Smut, erotica level explicitness, use of nipple clamps, allusions of impact play (Lloyd threatens to spank Princess), semi-rough sex. Criminal elements including stalking, domestic violence, and murder. Major health scare requiring an emergency room visit.

Chapter XXII

You stepped out of the police station and into blinding sunlight. The moment the sun hit your eyes it felt like a thousand needles being stabbed in your retinas. You dug in your purse for a pair of sunglasses. The gradient style lenses weren’t dark enough to provide sufficient shade, so you shielded them with your hand as you scanned the parking lot. Refracted light from Jake’s glossy white Toyota 4Runner hurt your eyes, even though it was idling in the shade, under the porte-cochère.

You climbed in, hoping the vehicle’s dark windows would block the sun. Instead, the reflection off the hood was so bright that your eyes watered. With a hiss, you flipped the visor down.

Jake raised an eyebrow. “Rough day?”

“Not really, we had a great interview with Aliyah this morning, but I started getting a headache after lunch. My eyes are killing me.”

“Do you want to stop by the pharmacy?”

“I’d kill for some ibuprofen.”

In CVS, the pain relief aisle was completely stocked with everything - except ibuprofen.

Jake peered over your shoulder. “Should we try another store?”

“No. I’ll just grab something else.”

You picked up a box of Excedrin that proclaimed itself ‘extra-strength’ and flipped it over to study the label.

“What are you looking for?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. My mother hates this stuff, she always takes ibuprofen.”

On the walk back to the car you swallowed two tablets and found that you were grateful for Jake’s presence. Since the incident in his backyard Lloyd had decided it was too risky for you to be alone anywhere that wasn’t secure. Outside of his cabin, the only places that met his security standards were the police station in Harmony and his office at Bishop & Howard. Lloyd had taken to dropping you off at the station in the mornings. In the afternoons one of the guys would drive you back to the office and deliver you directly to Lloyd’s office.

You’d agreed to the arrangement without hesitation because it was the logical, prudent course of action. Even so, you couldn’t help resenting that your freedom had been so harshly curtailed. The stalker had made you dependent on others in a way you’d never experienced before and hoped to never experience again. The rotation of bodyguards driving you back and forth between the police station and the office made you feel like a child caught in the middle of a complicated custody dispute.

Jake glanced at you out of the corner of his eye.

“Maybe we should stop by the emergency room,” he said. “You had a concussion recently and-”

“No. I’m fine. This is just a tension headache.”

You adjusted your sunglasses and tried to blink away the spots that danced in front of your eyes. Jake was still trying to persuade you to go to the ER when your throat started to ache, and then the ache became an itch. The itch spread slowly, like a persistent whisper of discomfort until you coughed and wheezed.

Your lips started tingling.

“Jake? I think… maybe we should go to the hospital.”

- - -

Six minutes later, you crossed the threshold of the Forest View Hospital emergency room. You were leaning heavily on Jake and choking on air instead of inhaling it. Your airway had constricted to a terrifyingly narrow passage that seemed to contract even further with each passing second. One look at you and the triage nurse was out of her chair. She guided you to a wheelchair while quizzing Jake about peanuts and shellfish… there was more, but your ears were ringing and you didn’t catch the rest.

A second later, a man in a white coat shoved a needle in your thigh. The injection stung, but the relief was so intense you could’ve kissed him. As the medicine coursed through your veins the feeling of suffocation gradually eased. The man in the white coat took a stethoscope and listened to your breathing.

“Not too bad,” he announced. “But we’ll need to keep you in observation for a while. I administered epinephrine to counter your allergic reaction. Can you tell me about any food or drugs you’ve consumed in the past few hours?”

You were still catching your breath, so Jake stepped forward. “She took an Excedrin about twenty minutes ago.”

Navy blue embroidery on the breast pocket of his white coat proclaimed the man as: Kennedy Knox, M.D., MSc; under his name were the words ‘Family Medicine.’ His nose was slightly crooked and he’d chosen a daring color for his footwear - the neon purple running shoes clashed with his burgundy scrubs.

Jake’s phone rang and he stepped around the curtain to answer it.

Dr. Knox noticed you were shivering and brought you a warm blanket from a glass cabinet before sitting down to take your medical history. Your voice was scratchy, but you managed to answer.

He finished typing and clicked back through his note, scanning the text. “It seems like you might have a sensitivity to aspirin. You said your mother avoids it?”

“She only uses ibuprofen and tylenol,” you confirmed.

“I’m almost certain anaphylaxis was triggered by aspirin, but until you can be tested by an allergist, avoid NSAIDs altogether. I’ll write you a referral.”

He typed another few lines into your chart.

“I see that you suffered a concussion last week?” Dr. Knox said.

“Yeah, I hit my head after getting out of the pool.”

“The Excedrin was for a headache… have you had problems with them since the injury?”

“Just today. The light started bothering me after lunch. By the time I got off work, it was a full-blown tension headache.”

Dr. Knox nodded. “Post-concussive headaches can feel a lot like tension headaches.”

He asked a few more questions and did a palpitation of your neck before picking up his prescription pad.

“Here, you can fill this at any pharmacy in the area…”

Sloppy handwriting on the note read: Pick up some very, very dark sunglasses, ASAP!

You giggled.

Knox winked.

“Doctor’s orders. They’re a must-have accessory for any fashionable concussion survivor. Think of it like wearing a scarf in Alaska.”

“I can get behind a prescription like this,” you said.

He chuckled. “Take care, and remember - no more Excedrin, no aspirin, and always read medications labels from now on.”

After signing the discharge papers you made your way down the hall. Your knees were still shaky but you could breathe. You continued until the sterile hospital atmosphere gave way to the softer, earth-toned decor of the waiting room.

Jake was standing beside Lloyd.

When your gaze clashed with Lloyd’s you almost stopped short. He looked furious, but then you noticed the wrinkle in his chin, a feature that only appeared when he was concerned. His pale eyes were like flint. You crossed to them and he opened his arms, enveloping you in a tight embrace. The weight of his hand smoothing down your back lulled you into relaxation and you wrapped your arms around his neck and laid your head on his shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Turns out I might be allergic to Aspirin.”

Lloyd sighed and squeezed your waist. His next words were directed to Jake.

“Thank you for taking care of her.”

“Don’t mention it.”

You were so exhausted that you didn’t bother listening to the rest of their conversation. It only lasted a minute or so. The whole time, Lloyd’s arms were snug around your waist and the warmth of his body seeped into yours, helping ease the residual shakiness from the epinephrine. Soon, Jake’s footsteps faded away, but Lloyd’s hold on you still didn’t relax. His hand kept stroking up and down your back. You yawned.

“Let’s get you home,” Lloyd murmured.

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

He was anxious. It was an unusual condition for Lloyd, so the emotion struck him like a foreign disease, a pathogen that his immune system hadn’t been exposed to enough to mount an effective defense against. His skin prickled with hyper-awareness, his shoulder muscles were rigid and tension had gnawed a hole in the pit of his stomach.

You were asleep. He’d loaned you his jacket and you’d nestled into the makeshift pillow and nodded off just a few minutes into the drive. Lloyd snuck a glance at you, his lips compressing into a scowl. This was the second time in the space of ten days that he’d nearly lost you. His fingers clenched on the steering wheel. Wasn’t having a stalker enough? Did you need to have a life-threatening undiagnosed allergy, too?

When he pulled up to the cabin the sun was setting. You didn’t stir when he unbuckled you, so he rounded the vehicle and lifted you into his arms. Navigating the security system keypad and undoing the multiple locks on the front door with you in his arms was challenging, but he managed. By some miracle, your breathing was still deep and even when he laid you on the bed. He removed your shoes, covered you with a throw blanket and settled into the armchair by the window.

Anxiety continued to simmer in his blood. Lloyd did the breathing exercises Dr. Blair had taught him and stared out the window. He wished Nguyen would show his face. There was only one thing that would ease his mind, and it wasn’t breathing exercises.

Lloyd allowed his thoughts to turn toward violent imaginations. A normal person would’ve been horrified by the what ran through his head, but to him cruelty was the height of banality. It was something he’d been born into, a force that shaped his childhood, and then patterned his future. Violent ideas circulated in his mind without sparking the slightest flicker of emotional distress. Accountants had more passion for cash flow strategy than Lloyd did for his plans to end Shun Nguyen’s life.

It wasn’t long before his thoughts turned to more pressing issues.

He had to tell you that Nguyen was your stalker. It was his responsibility. Telling you was necessary and keeping the truth from you was wrong - he understood that very clearly. Lloyd’s teeth ground as he anticipated the impending conversation and wondered why it made him feel so awful. When had he become such a coward? As friends your communication had been seamless, but now that he was your lover, things had shifted.

You weren’t expressing yourself as freely. When you’d just been friends, you’d expressed your thoughts without hesitation, but over the past couple months, that had faded. Lloyd frowned. Why? What had prompted the breakdown in communication?

A soft groan from the bed interrupted his ponderings. You sighed, stretching, then squinted into the darkness.

“Lloyd? What time is it?”

“Just after seven-thirty.”

He crossed to the bed and sat down beside you, smoothing a hand over your hair.

“Did you sleep well?”

You adjusted the pillow. “Mmhmm.”

The words to begin the necessary conversation were right on the tip of his tongue, but then your arms curled around his neck. Lloyd was drawn into your arms and at the press of your lips, all his carefully organized thoughts scattered. His hands framed your face, thumbs sliding under your jaw to tilt your chin up. The kiss started out light, a brushing of lips, and steadily increased in pressure. When he pulled away, your eyes were dilated and you were both breathing raggedly.

“I’ve missed doing that,” you murmured, touching your swollen lips.

Lloyd groaned and kissed you deeply, enjoying your enthusiastic response. He gripped the back of your neck and held you still for a long, tender kiss, sliding his tongue against yours, then flicking and teasing, until he was rewarded by a delicate whimper of need. You gripped his shoulders and he sighed, contentment banishing the anxiety that had been riding him for the past few hours.

You mumbled something against his lips that he didn’t quite catch, but the demanding tone was clear enough. He slid his hands down from your face and gripped your waist, rubbing and squeezing at your hips in a gentle massage before moving to cradle your breasts. The distinct texture of lace was palpable through your thin blouse. He could tell it was an unlined bra by the way your puckered nipple stabbed into his palm.

You shivered and arched against his hand as you tugged him closer. Lloyd swept his thumbs over your nipples and was rewarded with a breathy moan and a delicious tremor. He groaned and allowed you to pull him down to the bed and rolled so that he was on top, straddling your hips.

His mouth never left yours. The kisses were hungry and charged with desperate need. When you began clawing at the buttons on his shirt, he undid them. Your hand sank into his chest hair, fingers twining into the sparse dusting with a purr of delight. Meanwhile, he found the fastening of your skirt, unclipped it and peeled down the zipper to access the hem of your blouse and yank it over your head.

When he saw the lacy purple bra with the front closure, he growled. You reached for the clasp but he batted your hand away.

“No.”

Your protest was silenced with a kiss and when you tried for the clasp again, he caught your wrists and raised them above your head. You whined in protest when he pinned you down, but the complaint was cut off when his tongue shoved into your mouth. He teased you with a series of thrusts and parries that elicited a soft chorus of whimpers and cries for him to enjoy before he shifted to a one handed grip on your wrists and slid his fingers under the lacy bra cups and stroked your taunt nipples.

“Oooohhh…”

Lloyd smirked. “Sensitive, Princess?”

He could feel your heartbeat hammering against your ribs. You moaned and arched when he scissored his fingers to pinch your nipple with his index and middle finger, squeezing until you gasped. Lloyd crushed his lips to yours as you undulated against him. He kissed you long and hard until you turned your head, breaking the kiss.

“Please, Lloyd, please…”

“You like it fast, don’t you, baby?”

You whined, struggling against his restraining grip. “Please…”

Lloyd chuckled. “If I let you go, you’ll start trying to undress me.”

Your pupils were blown wide and your lips were swollen from his rough kisses. Lloyd brushed his mouth lightly over yours. His smirk widened when you shuddered.

“Fuck me,” you whispered, breathless.

“Princess…” the hunger in your voice broke his self-control.

He released your wrists and unbuckled his belt. You squirmed underneath him, wiggling out of your skirt. By the time he’d gotten rid of his pants you were rolling down your thigh high stockings.

Lloyd hissed. “No, leave them on. Take off your panties unless you want me to rip them off.”

You obeyed and the second your panties were off, Lloyd moved between your legs, pressing himself against you, separated only by the thin barrier of his boxers. He felt your wetness seep through the silk and groaned.

“More, Lloyd. I need…”

He unfastened your bra and pushed it open, tweaking a pert nipple and squeezing the other breast. Your eyes rolled back, lashes fluttering as he bent to suckle at your tit. When you thrashed under him, he used his weight to hold you down as he tended to your breast. When you screamed in frustration he nipped your skin and ground his erection into your core. He could feel the scorching heat and his dick twitched, anticipating how good you’d feel wrapped around him.

“I need you inside me,” you pleaded.

“Yeah? How bad, Princess? Does it ache? Are you throbbing for me?”

You tossed your head back, making a noise that was part scream, part wail, and gyrated against him, trying to find relief.

“Someone’s naughty tonight, aren’t they? You know I’m the one who sets the pace in the bedroom, Princess. We need to work on your patience.”

You snarled, a startlingly realistic sound. Lloyd laughed and nuzzled your breasts, kissing each nipple, satisfying himself with a final suckle on each of the puckered little buds. They were still wet from his saliva but he continued to take his time and draw out your torment, enjoying the way you writhed and begged for more in disjointed, nearly unintelligible sentences.

“Fucking hell, baby. Your breasts are sensitive, aren’t they? Your pussy is gushing, you’re getting my nice silk boxers all sticky.”

You moaned, the sound faint, but raw. He recognized the pitch and knew you were getting close.

“I bet you could come just from this,” Lloyd mused, tracing the delicate tip of your breast with his tongue.

“Lloyd! Fuck, damn it…” you squirmed and fought his restraining grip.

He countered your struggles by shifting his weight to put more pressure on your hips, immobilizing you completely.

“You’re in a naughty mood tonight, Princess. I bet that aching pussy’s to blame. Ten minutes of me working on your nipples and you’re acting like an entitled brat. Let’s see what state you’re in after twenty…”

“I want you inside of me, please, please…!”

His cock thickened at your desperate cry. “You want my dick, baby?”

“Fuck me, Lloyd. I need you so bad.”

He moved his hand down to your center and stroked the delicate skin of your inner thighs, making you shiver.

“Hmmm… your thighs aren’t trembling yet. I love it when they do that. What if I gave you my fingers, Princess?”

Lloyd released your wrists and eased back, this time using both hands to caress your thighs. You keened when he ghosted his thumbs over the outer lips of your pussy and slipped them inside to spread you open, exposing your sex to his gaze.

“Let’s try that before I give you my dick, yeah? A nice round of fingering to get you warmed up?”

“I’m… warmed… up… damn it!” you were panting as he teased your clit.

He didn’t touch it directly, but took advantage of knowing the underside of your clit was your most sensitive area and stroked the vulnerable spot.

“I can see that, Princess. Your clit’s nice and puffy from grinding on my boxers, getting ‘em all messy with your pussy juice.”

He slid down to lay flat on the mattress and lowered his head to your core. For a moment, he just breathed on your clit and watched you tremble in excitement. Lloyd licked his lips, imagining the sharp flavor of you, tart and tangy on his tongue. You were sobbing, asking him to fuck you, to use his fingers, to give you his cock. It was music to his ears.

There was nothing hotter than the breathless cries of a woman desperate for pleasure. He closed his eyes and sealed his lips around your clit, listening to the sounds you made, allowing them to direct him. You were gasping, offering strained whimpers, choked moans that dissolved into senseless babble, which told him you were really, really close. When he heard the urgent litany of cries, he released your clit. You screamed and twisted as your hips chased the pleasure he’d taken away. Lloyd pinned you down with both hands, forcing you to be still.

“I thought you wanted dick, Princess? Do you? Or do you want to come on my tongue?”

Your response was incoherent. Taking pity on you, he slid a finger in your pussy. When the powerful muscles clenched around the digit, his balls tightened.

“Fuck, that’s hot. Literally - your pussy’s burning up, sweetheart. It’s throbbing already and trying to suck me in deep. Ah… good girl. That’s it. Spread your legs.”

He inserted a second finger and watched as your face creased with pleasure. You were so wet that he had no qualms about adding a third finger. The soft, spongy walls stretched to accommodate him and you keened.

“Open your eyes, Princess. Look at how good you’re taking my fingers. Your pussy’s so soft for me, fucking welcoming, isn’t she? Watch.”

Lloyd adjusted the angle, reaching past your g-spot, and probing for the deep area that would make your toes curl. The effect was instant - your breath caught, air hissed out of your lungs, and your thighs trembled. His cock was leaking in his boxers and his balls were aching, but the sight, the sounds, they were too good for him to heed the demands of his body.

He eased his fingers lower and teased your g-spot. When you were shivering, right on the brink of release, he shoved the digits deep, returning to the spot that affected you so intensely, mixing up the pleasure points so that you couldn’t get off. He was amazed at how receptive you were to the deep penetration.

Your expression was one of utter bliss, with your lips parted on a needy whine, your eyelids half-closed, and your forehead creased in rapture. When he retreated to stroke your g-spot some more your legs jerked, trying to close and protect the vulnerable area.

“Ah, ah… Princess. Naughty. Bad girl, you keep those knees apart or I’ll spank you.”

“S-s-sorry,” you gasped, tears streaming down your cheeks.

He rubbed your inner thigh, loving the way your muscles quivered under his fingers. It echoed the frantic clenching of your pussy. His thumb teased your clit and you shrieked, throwing your head back and bracing your arms behind you as your back arched off the bed. Lloyd pressed harder, rubbing your clit in firm circles. As he expected, your thighs seized, trying to push him away as the pleasure became overwhelming. He pressed your knee down and forced your legs to remain open.

You screamed, bucking against his hand. He was relentless. Your arms gave way and you crumpled to the bed, falling flat on your back.

“What’s wrong baby? Can’t handle my fingers? Do you want me to stop?”

“No! No, no, please, please, Lloyd!”

He kissed you fiercely, then eased into a slower tempo, gentling the kiss. You whimpered and clawed at his shoulders in a silent request for more. When he broke away, your eyes were filled with tears and wet tracks marred your cheeks. He kissed them and murmured.

“Poor baby. Can’t get off from me sucking your nipples, couldn’t come when I suckled your puffy little clit, and now you’re running away from my fingers. I don’t think you really want to come…”

“Please, I need you inside of me. Fuck me, damn it!”

He groaned, cock twitching, and rubbed your hip to soothe you.

“Are you gonna keep your legs open, Princess? Or will I have to take you over my knee?”

“Lloyd, don’t tease me, I can’t take anymore. I need you now. Right now!”

You broke down in tears and he drew you to his chest, kissing you as you sobbed.

“Okay, okay, it’s okay, Princess. I won’t tease you anymore.” He squeezed the fleshy part of your inner thigh. “Turn around, get on your hands and knees, and put your ass in the air.”

You scrambled to obey, going on all fours and positioning yourself like he’d requested - almost.

“I told you to put your ass in the air,” Lloyd said.

“It is!”

He realized you hadn’t understood the request. Moving behind you, he cupped your breasts and pinched your nipples, rolling them between his thumb and index finger. You pushed your hips back into his, whining. Lloyd tugged on your nipples, pulling them. You gasped and arched, lowering your chest to ease the sting. He used your nipples to guide your chest to the bed.

“That’s it,” he praised. “Put your ass up, honey. Just like that. Stretch your arms out. Reach toward the headboard.”

When you moved, your chest came off the bed. Lloyd pressed his palm between your shoulder blades and growled, “Princess…”

“What?!”

Your ass lowered and he jerked it back into position.

“Chest down, ass up,” he growled. “You stay just like this, or you’ll have a sore ass and raw nipples tomorrow morning.”

To emphasize the point, he smacked your ass lightly. You raised your hips and lowered your chest into the correct form. Lloyd traced the curve of your spine and admired the deep arch of your back.

“Now, how hard was that? Not too bad, huh? It’s easy to be a good girl. All you need to do is hold this position, sweetheart. I’ll do all the work.”

He dipped his fingers in your sex, circling your g-spot, and then sank the digits as far as he could reach. Your back arched into an even lower position at the sensation and he knew you were ready.

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

Lloyd’s threat of giving you a sore ass and raw nipples echoed in your mind. You knew exactly what he meant by the latter because the other night you’d opened his nightstand drawer to borrow some lip balm and found the toys.

A bullet vibrator and a thick, curved stainless steel rod that you’d had to examine before realizing it was a dildo, were inside. In a small wooden box behind them, you’d found an anal plug and a fancy pair of nipple clamps. You’d slammed the drawer shut and forgotten all about borrowing his lip balm. Though you’d tried to put the matter out of your head, the nipple clamps had ignited your curiosity. You’d been wondering what they’d feel like for the past twenty-four hours.

Lloyd rubbed your lower back as he lined up your bodies. The broad head of his cock breached your opening, easily parting the slick, delicate tissues. His thrusts were slow as he invaded you inch by inch, making sure you could feel every ridge and vein. Even though you were soaked, the stretch was intense. Every part of your body was pulsating with need until the lust was a force of its own. When Lloyd eased back, you pressed your elbows into the mattress and rocked against him. His hands tightened on your waist, hips forcing you to stop.

“Lloyd,” you whimpered.

“I told you, Princess. Chest down, ass up, stay. Your chest isn’t down, is it?”

You groaned, feeling the heavy crest of his erection drag against your insides as he pulled out until just the tip was left.

“It’s not hard, is it, Princess?”

“Lloyd… don’t stop!”

You lowered your chest and extended your arms, assuming the correct position.

He leaned forward, and for a moment you thought he was going to use his body weight to pin you down, but he grabbed the handle of the nightstand drawer.

“You’re being a bad girl again. I warned you, Princess.”

You moaned at the sight of the silver nipple clamps, connected by a thin chain. Lloyd hauled you up and drew your back flush against his chest. He nuzzled your neck and rubbed the cool metal over your nipple, letting you feel it.

“What do you think, Princess? Do you want to try something new?”

“Yes.”

“You’re sure?” Lloyd murmured, his lips brushing against your ear.

“I want to try it.”

He squeezed your breast and guided the clamp over the nipple, opening the claw and teasing you. Goosebumps rose on your arms.

“Ready, Princess?”

You nodded and the clamp snapped shut. Pain raced straight to your core and you both groaned at the clench of your pussy.

“How does it feel?” he asked.

“It hurts!”

“Good.”

When he lifted your other breast, rolling your the puckered nipple to prepare it for its punishment, you assumed you knew what was coming. However, instead of a sharp sting, this clamp hurt worse. You lurched back, slamming into Lloyd’s chest. Immediately, you reached for the clamp, but he caught your wrist.

“No, don’t. Breathe, Princess. Deep breaths, that’s it.”

Tears swam in your eyes as he coached you. His hands stroked your body and the distraction of the calloused palms rubbing your waist and hips eased the pain. Suddenly, your breasts felt heavy and plump, despite the uncomfortable bite of the clamps.

“Fuck, you’re so wet,” Lloyd grunted.

You became aware of the flood between your legs and realized juices had dripped down your inner thighs. He thrust hard, seating himself deep in a single advance. This time instead of pushing your chest down, he grasped your wrists and used the leverage to force you to arch your back. His next thrust made you shudder.

“That’s a good girl,” he murmured.

His thrusts made the clamps rattle, their weight tugging on your breasts and triggering a wave of pain. You cried out.

“Easy, let me make it better.”

Lloyd reached between your legs, his fingers dipping into your folds and stroking your clit.

Instantly, the pain from your nipples faded, replaced by a fierce wave of pleasure. You clenched around him and the rough sound of male desire it elicited from Lloyd had you quivering, on edge. He rocked in and out, keeping his fingers moving on your clit to distract you from the searing pain of the clamps.

“Hold on, Princess.”

That was your only warning before he impaled himself deep, the head of his cock pressing at the entrance to your womb. You shuddered, gasping when his thrusts grew rougher and harder. Fire sizzled across your skin, the sensations racing up your spine until your entire body rippled. Lloyd’s grip on your wrists tightened as you twisted in a moment of ecstasy.

He growled. “Don’t round your back, Princess. I wanna go deep… come on, be a good girl and arch for me.”

You moaned and tried to meet his demand but your body was reacting, writhing and squirming of its own accord as he rooted himself so deep that you saw stars.

“Aaahhh! Lloyd!”

He jerked your wrists, forcing you to lower your shoulders, and jostling the clamps. You squealed and Lloyd growled in response. Your reaction seemed to spur him into action. Suddenly his deep, powerful thrusts were making the headboard rattle against the wall. It was so deep. In seconds, you were shaking on the edge of orgasm and the sensation of the nipple clamps had dulled to a pleasureable tightness.

Lloyd drew back, the width of his cock stroking over all your tender spots, before pausing at your entrance, leaving just the tip inside. You gasped as he slammed into you hard, burying himself all the way in a brutal thrust that made you scream. He shifted his hands higher, moving his grip from your wrists to just above your elbows. Held in this fashion, you were prevented from retreating or twisting away when the head of his cock ground into your g-spot.

Involuntary undulations rippled through your muscles, each invasion causing your channel to squeeze as it tried to entrap him. Each time they failed, your pussy reacted to the next thrust as a fresh chance to lock him in a vice grip. The sizzling pain from the nipple clamps acted like a conductor, carrying the sensations from your core and spreading them through your whole body. Violent waves of pleasure encompassed every muscle and nerve you possessed.

Lloyd grasped the chain that connected the nipple clamps and tugged. You screamed. He grunted, panting as he increased the pace, pounding you even harder. His teeth scraped against your shoulder and the flash of pain made you quiver. You could feel the orgasm approaching and knew it would be more powerful than anything you’d experienced before. A ripple of fear passed through your dazed mind, questioning if you could survive something so intense or if you’d disintegrate.

“That’s it, Princess. Good girl, squeezing my cock, taking me deep… ah, fuck!”

He swirled his fingers on your clit, thrusting faster, making the clamps rattle. Each impalement made you cry, until unintelligible words were all you could manage. He was rooted so deep, your nipples hurt so bad, yet at the same time, they felt so good… his fingers were tormenting your clit… you couldn’t catch your breath, it was too much…

The orgasm stole your breath. When you collapsed, Lloyd’s grip was the only thing that kept you from crushing the nipple clamps into the mattress. Your legs trembled, jerking and twisting as your muscles spasmed and pleasure turned you into its puppet. You were only vaguely aware of Lloyd’s release. You wouldn’t have noticed, except that the rush of wetness against your cervix triggered another, smaller orgasm. The second climax soothed the brutality of the first, easing your muscles from shaking into quivering. Slowly, your pussy relaxed its vise grip and your sex began pulsating with soft flutters that were as sweet as they were intense.

Lloyd rolled onto his side, taking you with him. One brawny arm curled around your waist as he wrapped himself around you like a human blanket. You whimpered, caught in the vestiges of climax still wracking your body. Lloyd held you tight and murmured soothing words that your frazzled mind couldn’t comprehend.

You felt disjoined from reality. The strongest sensation was the throbbing, molten heat, that pulsed between your legs - everything else seemed dulled and faint in comparison. You would have been content to lay boneless in Lloyd’s arms forever, but after a few moments he separated your bodies. The sticky trickle of liquid down your thigh made you stir, but physical exhaustion was stronger than discomfort. Lloyd nuzzled your shoulder.

He said something and even though you heard him, your brain just… refused to process. Then he was pulling you into his chest and arranging your legs across his thighs. His arm supported your back and your head fell limply against his neck.

“Princess… Come on, Princess. Open your eyes,” Lloyd purred, stroking your cheek.

“Tired...”

“I bet you are, but I have to take off those clamps, sweetheart.”

Your lashes fluttered. The dull throb of the nipple clamps wasn’t so unpleasant any more.

“They’re okay.”

“It’s better if I take them off now.”

“M’kay…”

You were so lost in the afterglow that you didn’t care what he did.

“This’ll hurt,” Lloyd warned, his fingers brushing the side of your breast.

Perhaps if you hadn’t been so relaxed, you would’ve been more concerned. When he opened the right clamp, you weren’t prepared. You shrieked, almost lurching out of his lap.

“Ow, ow, ow! Fuck! Fucking hell, damn it, holy shit…!”

Lloyd caught you when you tried to crawl away. He wrapped both arms around your waist and hauled you against his chest. You let him hold you, but hissed when he palmed your stinging nipple, rubbing it briskly.

“I know, it hurts. Let me rub it out.”

The sensation was intense, a blend of pleasure and pain that confused you.

“Ready for the other one?” he asked.

“No!”

“It has to come off, and it’ll hurt worse later.”

You grit your teeth.

“Fine, do it!”

His lips brushed your temple. “Deep breath… three, two, one-”

“Aaaaahh!”

Tears spilled down your cheeks.

“It’s okay,” Lloyd murmured, already stroking it, rubbing circulation back into the flesh.

He kissed your shoulder. “You did so good, Princess. Did you like the clamps? Hate them?”

“Yes.”

Lloyd chuckled.

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Considering your limited sexual history, Lloyd planned to spend more time than he normally would have on aftercare. What he didn’t anticipate was that you’d snuggled into his chest and fall asleep two minutes after he’d rubbed the blood flow back into your nipples. Figuring that it was probably the thought that counted, and cuddling was still a form of aftercare, he stayed in bed and held you while you slept. It was just past eight o’clock and he wasn’t tired, but he lay there and let the sound of your steady breath relax him. He let his mind drift.

His thoughts returned to Shun Nguyen.

Lloyd’s arms tightened around you, wondering why he hadn’t seen it himself. Nguyen was walking a red flag. Why had he let you speak with him alone for the second interview? The man had direct knowledge of his girlfriend’s murder and highly credible domestic violence accusations. Lloyd had put you in a room with him anyways; now you were being stalked. You snuffled in your sleep, mumbling. Lloyd stroked the length of your spine until you settled against him. He needed to wake you up and feed you, but he didn’t have the heart to do it yet. You’d been through a lot today.

He should be more careful with you. In the dark, quiet room the weight of his mistakes, of his errors in judgment, felt closer than ever. The communication problems you were having… those were probably his fault, too. He needed to mend the rift in your friendship and earn your trust again. Granted, he couldn’t tell you that he had every intention of killing Shun Ngueyn when the opportunity presented itself. When he did, he wasn’t going to be stupid about it. He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize himself or cause you distress. Thinking about your distress made him uncomfortable.

Why had he gone for the nipple clamps tonight? They were hardly a beginner friendly choice. The bullet vibrator would’ve been more appropriate, but he’d been curious to see what effect a little pain would have on your pleasure. Choosing the clamps wasn’t his only error in judgment tonight. Even if the intense orgasm that unraveled you in the end was something rare and beautiful, the position he’d put you in had been too dominating.

Lloyd tried to focus on the positives, reminding himself that you’d trusted him. You had consented to the clamps and didn’t that prove how deep your trust ran?

But he hadn’t let you bail out when the second clamp hurt. He’d pushed your limits without asking for permission. Lloyd closed his eyes and ran a hand over his face. He didn’t want to take advantage of you. If he did, it would be by accident, but he needed to be careful. In the future, he had to slow down and make sure he only used toys that suited your experience level.

Guilt seared his conscience. The emotion, like anxiety, wasn’t one he usually suffered from. Feeling guilty was one of his triggers for rage, so he tried to explore the emotion and search out its roots.

You’d trusted him tonight and now he was feeling unworthy of it. The lack of communication when you’d chosen not to tell him about your stalker… that must have come from a lack of trust. You didn’t think he could remain calm and help you instead of flying off the handle. Your behavior suggested that your trust in him was more physical than emotional.

He frowned, astonished by the revelation. You were his closest friend. He trusted you with his feelings… No, that wasn’t true.

He hadn’t told you about his estrangement from Joe. He hadn’t told you about helping Elliot get into rehab or seeing his ex-girlfriend when he was in Idaho. He hadn’t told you that he had sisters or that his mother had abandoned him and left him that horrible box of cassette tapes. He hadn’t told you that his father used to lock him under the tack room floorboards in a sunken coffin. You knew a lot about him - more than anyone else did - but not enough. The root of his guilt was suddenly clear. You weren’t communicating with him because you didn’t trust him. What had seemed like a failure to communicate ran much deeper.

He hadn’t done anything to earn the level of trust he was expecting from you.

His chest tightened, compressing with each beat of his heart. He wanted to address the problem but at the same time he was afraid of making a mistake and unraveling the delicate threads of your relationship. What if those delicate threads were already fraying, and he was just now noticing it? Something had to be done. Retreating wasn’t an option. Your friendship would never be enough for him again, not after having you as his lover. At the same time, he couldn’t bear the thought of tethering you to him and stifling your freedom.

Was there a balance that accommodated both of your needs?

Claiming you as his own would be selfish. Lloyd stared at the ceiling, trying to work out what he wanted. Monogamy, a shared home, your complete, unhesitating trust - those were the desires surged to the forefront of his mind. In a word, he wanted commitment.

Commitment.

The word churned his stomach. Lloyd couldn’t help the revulsion that welled up at the idea. He couldn’t stop the revulsion anymore than he could prevent himself from yearning for it. He repeated the phrase in his mind, as if exposure could resolve his phobia.

Commitment.

Lloyd shut his eyes. He did the breathing exercises again, but this time the anxiety refused to loose its grip.

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Masterlist

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Next - Chapter XXII

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The Princess - Tag List:

@denisemarieangelina @before-we-get-started @buckysteveloki-me @patzammit @badassbaker @meetmeatyourworst @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @thiskindahotkindamusic @jesgisborne @charmingprincess @amiets2 @seitmai @elle14-blog1 @chaoticsteverogers @fangirl-and-doctor-help @jesevans @openup-yourmind @kandierteveilchen @adoreyouusugar @awkwardgiraffe726 @pono-pura-vida @mysweetlittledesire @liecastillo @marantha @literaturelove @babyevansblog @lizzzaaaaaaaaaaa @thegirlnextdoorssister @ladygrey03 @cynic-spirit @rosedpetal @jeremyrennermakesmesmile @bambamwolf87 @yiiiikesmish @calwitch @peachiestevie @texmexdarling @crayongirl-linz @bigcreatorwombatdreamer @andydrysdalerogers @here4thefanfics @rogersbarber @spikeluv84 @dear-fifi

[comradekatara]

fact is, in a version of the post-war world of atla that's actually more congruent with the themes already established therein, would republic city even exist, and if so, how would it work, how would it be governed, and what would the gaang think of it (if they're involved in it)? i'm thinking that, as with anything like this, it's gonna be messy and complicated

i mean….. this is a big ask (which is why i’ve been putting off answering it, but i guess i’m already on a roll). the thing is, i actually like republic city as a setting. i think writers with a better understanding of politics (just generally. like literally i don’t even believe they’ve ever read a book. collectively. zero books) would have been able to construct a genuinely complex and interesting setting that functions as a critique of the powers and violence at play in maintaining its illusion of liberal democratic international progressivism and the capitalist and colonial systems undergirding it. i mean, all the pieces are already in place: hiroshi sato on one side of the coin, mako and bolin on the other. they just clearly didn’t know how to employ these critiques with the elements they already had, because they’re um. how do i say this nicely. fucking stoopid.

i think the existence of republic city in the first place is more controversial, however, because it’s obviously quite a cynical vision for postwar reconstruction. arguably zuko becoming firelord already belies that the radial anti-imperialist vision for a better future is not in the cards, but they could’ve actually done something with that. lok could’ve been a critique of that kind of cynical liberal complacency that happens after the revolution and former revolutionaries are put into power and begin replicating the systems they had initially resisted against (tbh i maintain that this would never actually happen to katara but like….maybe i’m biased lol). it would be tragic of course, but it would also be compelling and realistic in its own right.

lok could’ve also been a critique of obama-era neoliberal identity politics, the way democrats basically gave up on critiquing these institutions the second they felt that someone sufficiently “good” was in power, the way a shiny veneer does not justify the exploitation necessary to uphold the superficially appealing system. but instead it wholeheartedly played into that centrist ideal in ridiculous and embarrassing ways.

this quote from the rise of kyoshi has always read to me like fc yee making that same critique of lok that i fundamentally have:

“Out there is an entire nation crammed full of corrupt, incompetent people who will try to use the Avatar for their own purposes. Buffoons who call themselves ‘sages’ when all it takes in the Earth Kingdom is having the right connections and paying enough gold to plaster such a title on your brow […] You’d end up a living party trick, a bender who can shoot water and breathe fire and spit useless advice, a girl who paints the walls a pretty color while the house rots at its foundations.”

in the yangchen novels, the white lotus is also framed very uncharitably, so i have no doubt in my mind that yee similarly understands the harmful role they play in korra’s narrative, is implicating the “sages” trying to use the avatar for their own purposes “while the house rots at its foundations.” in fact, jianzhu (and to a lesser extent, the rest of kuruk’s team) do embody the tragedy of heroic figures working for a vision of global harmony who grow cynical as they age and begin to occupy more typical positions of power. obviously kuruk was never a revolutionary and jianzhu probably always sucked, but it’s still a way of exploring that idea in a way that feels realistic and critical of the institutions and systems being employed, never once undermining the tragedy of that through arguing that their liberal cynicism is “good, actually.”

if we wanted to be more idealistic about republic city, there are many routes one could go down that aren’t simply a complacent uncritical portrait of a neocolonial cesspit of capitalist exploitation, or a ruthless criticism of the cynicism of former revolutionaries who become liberals (or worse) upon assuming power. it could be a conflict handled internally, instead of the pet project between the avatar and the firelord. it could still be earth kingdom land that happens to have a strong international makeup due its location and former history of occupation. it could exist as it does but established to be something katara (at the very least, dear god) was always vocally critical of. as long as it functions in a way that centers the myriad of issues the show actually does present (without ever fully acknowledging let alone complicating), i don’t mind its existence as a setting, even if it is quite cynical.

obviously they’d still need to address the latent issues of class and colonial power imbalances (mako and bolin are literally mixed race orphans who grew up in poverty ITS ALL RIGHT FUCKING THERE!!!!!!!) and the notion that the police force would be controlled by earthbenders and not firebenders is….silly, but i do think that a republic city that ostensibly belongs to the earth kingdom but is also pretty clearly advantaging people of inherited fire nation wealth, that critiques the neoliberal paradigm exploiting, for example, our favorite bending brothers, could function far better as the central setting through which to critique the exploitation and denial of agency through unjust hierarchies of power and control (both on small and large scales) that would, ideally, serve as the central theme of korra’s arc in a far more focused and coherent way.

[sophieinwonderland]

The Plurality of... Avatar: The Last Airbender

Major Spoilers For Avatar: The Last Airbender ahead! And minor spoilers of related properties.

Water. Earth. Fire. Air. Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. Then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.

Welcome to the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. A world where some people are born with the gift of bending, an ancient art that allows them to control one of the four elements. But only one. Even if they came from parents who were different types of benders, each bender only gets a single element.

But there exists a single exception to this rule. The Avatar. The one person in the world who can master all four elements.

But we're not here to talk about the Avatar's cool bending powers. We're here today to talk about…

The Plurality of The Avatar

Plurality: A state of multiple self-conscious agents, or "headmates," sharing a single body.

The Avatar isn't merely a jack of all trades bender. Simply knowing how to use the four elements is only a small part of their toolbelt. And perhaps one of the least important. Despite the series placing a strong focus on the need to master all four elements, perhaps the actual most important thing about the Avatar is that they reincarnate and are connected with their past selves.

This allows each Avatar to speak to and learn from the experiences of past avatars. This is most prominent in what's called the Avatar State, a sort of super form where their eyes (and downvotes) glow as they channel the skills and abilities of all the past avatars through them.

(Art by @joeyscomics)

Aang's avatar state is a sort of blending of the avatars without a distinct identity of its own.

Additionally, there were also a couple instances through the show where Aang, the current avatar, switches into other avatars.

During the season 1 mid-season finale, The Winter Solstice, Aang first contacts Avatar Roku, his firebending predecessor. Trapped in a temple with no way out, a group stands outside the door prepared to strike as soon as the avatar steps through. They expect to see a small child walk through the doors. But what they see instead is Avatar Roku.

Once the enemies have been defeated and fled, Roku turns back into an exhausted Aang, who drops to his knees.

In season 2, this happens again with Aang switching into avatar Kyoshi. Again, sure to spirit magic, Aang physically transforms into Kyoshi.

(Obviously, real plurals don't physically transform, as cool as that would be. But spirits in the avatar universe do have shape-changing capabilities, being able to alter both their own forms and the forms of others. There are many examples in Legend of Korra and the comics, but one big one we see in A:TLA is Koh The Face Stealer, who as you can guess, steals people's faces, physically transforming their bodies. Simply put, we can accept the Avatar Spirit as having the ability to naturally shapeshift.)

So there's the basics of the Avatar's plurality. We have multiple people sharing a body. We have system-like internal communication. We have switching. And we even have a state that could be best described as blendy.

In the plural community, a system that's formed from past lives is sometimes called Fenigenic or Phoenigenic, drawing its name from the phoenix; The mythical bird that dies and is reborn from its ashes.

From Pluralpedia:

Fenigenic is a system origin that describes systems who formed from past lives in some way. They may believe they left their past life and were reborn again as a system, came into the system from a past life into the body (causing plurality), were a system in a past life and were reborn again with the same one, and/or various other scenarios. This is an intentionally broad label that can describe many different experiences.

With these established facts, without a doubt, the avatar would qualify as a Pheonigenic system.

But I want to delve even deeper. Because at its core, Avatar: The Last Airbender isn't just a story about a kid who happens to be plural. It's a story about plurality. It's a story about dissociation. About connecting with and building connections with parts of yourself. And about taking responsibility for those parts, even when you aren't actually them. And all of this is what make the series so fascinating from a plural perspective!

The Avatar State as a "Self-Defense Mechanism"

At the beginning of season 2, Aang enters the avatar state while scared of losing his friends, and talks to Roku again. Roku explains to Aang what the avatar state is.

The Avatar State is a defense mechanism, designed to empower you with the skill and knowledge of all the past Avatars. The glow is the combination of all your past lives focusing their energy through your body. In the Avatar State, you're at your most powerful... but you are also at your most vulnerable.

At this point, Aang learns that if he dies in the Avatar State, the cycle breaks and the avatar will never reincarnate again.

Let's take another look at that wording though. "The Avatar State is a defense mechanism." It's a word choice that you wouldn't expect to find in a fantasy cartoon. "Defense mechanisms" are more a psychological term, having their origins in psychoanalysis.

Why does this matter?

Because the avatar state, at its core, is a dissociative state. And dissociation has often been described as a defense mechanism itself. From Wikipedia:

In mild cases, dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanism in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress – including boredom or conflict.

And later when talking about traumamatic dissociation, it goes on to explain:

Symptoms of dissociation resulting from trauma may include depersonalization, psychological numbing, disengagement, or amnesia regarding the events of the abuse. It has been hypothesized that dissociation may provide a temporarily effective defense mechanism in cases of severe trauma; however, in the long term, dissociation is associated with decreased psychological functioning and adjustment.

What's interesting about the avatar state is that, while there are some times Aang goes into the Avatar State to protect himself, often he enters it as a response to stress in general.

The first couple times we see Aang go into the Avatar State, it's to physically protect himself. Once to freeze himself. Then again to fight Zuko. But the next time he enters the Avatar State, there's no danger. There's no need to use it.

This is when he's at the Southern Air Temple, and sees his old friend Monk Gyatsu. It's when he really learns and has to process that he's the last airbender and everyone he ever knew is dead.

Aang doesn't use the avatar state as a physical defense mechanism here. Rather, he enters the avatar state as a psychological defense mechanism.

It takes over because he's disengaging. He just learned something traumatic and he can't come to terms with it. He shuts down, and his friends have to reach him through the pain.

This becomes a pretty common theme throughout the series from then on. Sometimes, it's the physical danger that causes him to transform. But other times, he's triggered into this state by his friends being in danger, or from losing Appa.

Time and time again, we see the Avatar State as being triggered by extreme mental stress more often than by any sort of physical stress.

A big part of Aang's journey though the series then becomes learning to master the Avatar State and the dissociation that comes with it. To take control of it instead of letting it control him.

Avatar's Take on System Responsibility

"System responsibility" is the concept in the plural community that if one headmate does something, then the entire system of headmates is responsible for it. Some feel this is unfair, but for practicality, it makes sense. If someone steals something, then obviously you can't send only one headmate to prison. So a big part of being plural ends up having to accept that if someone else you share a body with does something wrong, even if you don't agree with it or don't even remember it, you're responsible for it.

And Avatar has its own form of this, where all Avatars have a single spirit that is reincarnated, and are therefore responsible for the actions of their past lives.

This is most exemplified in the episode Avatar Day.

In this episode, the Gaang wander into a town that's celebrating the titular Avatar Day. They see a parade with massive wooden floats of the past three Avatars. Aang, Roku and Kyoshi.

What appears to be a nice festival that the Gaang is enjoying is quickly turned on its head when a villager sets fires to the figures and the crowd begins chanting "down with the Avatar" while the figures burn.

It turns out, this town believed Avatar Kyoshi murdered their leader, Chin The Great.

In order to prove he wasn't a murderer, Aang volunteers to stand trial. Even though Aang and Kyoshi are separate people in a way... in another, they aren't. And Kyoshi being a murderer is something that would continue to follow Aang around.

So he agrees to go on trial, and refuses encouragement from his friends to escape. And he could escape if wanted to.

When viewed through the lens of a plural system, what we see here is a demonstration of system responsibility, where Aang is showing himself willing to take responsibility for the actions of past Avatars.

Later in the episode, Katara decides that they need to call Kyoshi herself to prove their innocence, and dresses Aang in Kyoshi's clothes to "see if it might trigger something."

And it actually does! This stunt causes Kyoshi to take front! (With a full body transformation because spirit stuff.)

In the end, Kyoshi confesses to killing Chin, who she calls Chin the Conqueror, and Aang is willing to accept the outcome of the trial.

It's not just this one episode though. It's a running theme of the series.

The franchise even.

In season 3, Roku reveals that the whole reason the world was in danger was because of his connection to and weakness in stopping Fire Lord Sozin, who went on to wipe out the Air Nomads. Aang is left with the responsibility of making up for Roku's mistakes.

In the books, it's revealed that Avatar Kyoshi's earliest trials were a direct result of the failings of Kuruk, the avatar before her. And his were a result of Yangchen's mistakes. And in the sequel series, avatar Korra is left to make up for the mistakes of not just Aang, but also Avatar Wan who started the cycle.

The Avatars are people who share a single soul. Each new avatar can be viewed as a new host in the same system. And each one therefore is responsible for making up for the mistakes of those that came before.

This is what the avatar franchise, at its core, is about. A single system making mistakes through life after life, and having to fix those mistakes in the next, hopefully making the world a better place and keeping balance along the way.

A Story of Connection and Balance

With all of this in mind, Aang begins his journey is a system cut off from his headmates.

A central theme of the story is restoring that connection. This story really begins with Aang entering the avatar state in the Southern Air Temple. This is the first time he loses control and nearly hurts the people he cares about.

The avatar state here is something powerful, yes, but also something to be feared, making him a danger to his friends. He doesn't understand at the time what that state is exactly. It's something that leaves him confused and scared.

Through the series, he gradually learns more about the avatar state and his past lives. He begins to learn from avatar Roku. Then from Kyoshi. He learns about their lives, and has to reconcile their past mistakes. He also has to learn to accept himself as the avatar. Something which he struggled with throughout the series, and led to him fleeing his people.

At the end of season 2, Aang nearly dies in the avatar state. In a canon webgame called Escape from the Sprit World, while unconscious, Aang enters the spirit world and goes on a journey where he has to reconnect with the past avatars in order to prevent the avatar cycle from being broken, going back all the way to meet Avatar Yangchen, the airbender before him.

After meeting and learning from all these avatars, he's able to awaken with a new connection to them. (Albeit with no memory of this side quest.) Although he's told he won't be able to enter the Avatar State for the time being.

After this, on the Summer Solstice, he was able to meet with Roku once again to learn about Roku's own past, and his history with Fire Lord Sozin.

All of these events laid the groundwork for a final realization in the series finale. That the past avatars were always with him. He's able to meditate and reach out, and commune with each of them.

Finally, Aang has become a fully-realized avatar, tearing down barriers that kept him separate from the rest of his system!

And in the final battle, Aang is able to access the avatar state with full control over it for the first time.

Some would say that this was because of a conveniently-placed rock. Which, yes, that might have been the literal trigger that unblocked his chi. But narratively, I would argue that it was the connection with the past avatars that truly allowed him to access the avatar state again. That finally connecting with them all was how he truly earned this ability!

Conclusion

So there we have it! The story of Avatar: The Last Airbender is not just an incredible story, but an incredible story of plurality and connection between headmate.

This was really fun to write about, and I enjoyed talking about the plurality of the Avatar.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read!

I think with that, I've covered everythi...

Oh... right...

I guess I didn't cover everything about the plurality of the Avatar, did I?

Guess I need to plan for a Plurality of The Legend of Korra in the future! 😁

(And if you're interested in more of my ramblings about plural representations, you can check out my post about the Plurality of Batman. Or you can read about The Plurality of The Hybrid Chronicles: What's Left of Me, where I analyze a novel about a world where everyone is born with two souls.)

[oizysian]

IX. PRETENDING TO BE HUMAN

All Eyes on Me masterlist

Word count: 1.8k

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Two weeks came and went and it was finally the day of the Hattie Harmony book tour in New York City.

I nervously paced in my apartment, my anxiety kicking in full force at the thought of not only being around Lizzie again, this time without Brie, but being around strangers and out of my element.

I took a deep breath and checked my phone again for the hundredth time. It was nearly time for me to leave and I couldn't help but think of all the things that could go wrong.

I unlocked my phone and went to my messages, texting Claire that I was chickening out. My phone rang almost instantly and I hesitated a moment before answering.

"Do not chicken out!"

"I'm freaking out. The first time was okay 'cos I was with Brie, but now I'll be on my own."

"And you'll be fine. I know you don't go out much because of your anxiety, but you need to do this. You'll regret it if you don't go."

"I know, you're right. I'll hate myself if I stay home instead of being there for Lizzie's big day."

"See? Do you wanna let your wife down? No, so get yourself ready and get down to that book tour."

"Okay, mom." I laughed, saying my goodbyes to my best friend and finally getting myself ready to go out.

It took me no more than ten minutes to get ready and call an Uber to take me into the city. I was beyond nervous - hell, I was damn scared, but I had to play it cool. I had to pretend that I was a normal human with no issues going out and functioning around other human beings.

The crowd in front of the bookstore was insane, and I realized most of them were decked out in Scarlet Witch gear. I smiled to myself, hanging back as everyone piled into the store. She had loyal fans, that was for sure.

I fixed my hat and walked in, making sure I had enough standing room in the back to be comfortable. Most people were scrunched up in the front, sitting in front of a few chairs that were placed at the head of the room.

There were some young children there, but it was mostly teenagers or older people like myself. She wrote a children's book for adults by the look of the room.

When Elizabeth and Robbie entered the room with their copies of Hattie Harmony, the crowd erupted into applause, and I could see her smiling and waving at everyone from where I was hiding out.

They took their seats and I watched as she scanned the room, looking for something, or someone.

Our gazes finally met and I could see her beautiful green eyes light up with happiness as she gave me a little wave. I smiled and waved back, and she began reading the book to the crowd.

I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she read. She looked so happy sitting there with Robbie, both of them taking turns reading the book they wrote together.

It was at that moment I knew I had absolutely no chance. She would never feel for me the way she does him. They had a book together, a life, a home, and I was just a streamer. I was nobody. And I always would be a nobody.

I heard whispering beside me and I turned to look. A young boy was talking to his mother, looking up at me with big, bright eyes. I smiled at him and he pulled on her sleeve excitedly.

"That's Y/N!" His whisper came out a bit louder than his mother would've liked.

I nearly blanched at his words, realizing that I had just been recognized. In public. I looked from him to Lizzie, who was still reading to the children sitting in the front row. His mother turned to me and gave me an apologetic look and I just smiled at her silently. This was Lizzie's moment, not mine.

A few kids around us had heard the little boy and were looking around for me. I nervously inched towards the door, not exactly ready to flee, but definitely needing some space from all of the young people about to recognize me.

I met the eyes of a few people and I brought my finger up to my lips, then pointed at Lizzie. They nodded and smiled, returning their attention to the woman of the hour.

I let out a sigh of relief as the attention was finally off me and back on the couple at the front of the room. This was the first time I had ever been noticed while I was out, which is probably because I didn't get out much. I also forgot to take into consideration that I had just been photographed with Lizzie not long ago, so people were bound to recognize me.

They finished the book and everyone applauded, and they started setting up tables so they could give out autographs. I got in line, grabbing a copy of the book as I waited. I didn't particularly want Robbie's autograph, but I knew Lizzie would get a kick out of me asking for one.

When I finally got up to the front, I handed her the book and she looked up at me briefly before doing a double take and smiling brightly at the sight of me.

"You came." She said as she happily signed my book, passing it over to Robbie and letting him sign it as well.

"I promised."

"Here you go." Robbie handed back my book, smiling at me.

I smiled back, a hint of guilt creeping up from the pit of my stomach as I looked at him.

"Can you hang around after the signing?" She asked and I nodded.

"I'll be back by the manga."

"What's manga?" She asked, her head tilting in confusion.

"It's cartoons on paper. You'll find me."

I smiled at her and walked off, letting her finish her event and browsed through the store. After about five minutes of wandering around, I found the manga section and waited, mindlessly poking at the books on the shelves.

"Excuse me." A voice said from behind me.

I turned around and saw a girl, probably in her late teens, standing with Lizzie's book in her hand ... and my hat on her head.

"Can you sign my hat? You're a huge inspiration to me and I just love you and Lizzie together."

I blushed a fierce, deep red at her words, taking her pen and her hat and signing it wordlessly.

"Thank you! You guys make a really cute couple. Bye!"

She waved and walked off and I stood there dumbly, unable to comprehend what just happened. Did that actually just happen? Do people actually ship us together?

"Hey!" A voice called out to me and I turned around, seeing Lizzie and Robbie approaching me.

"H-hey." I stuttered out.

She gave me a look and furrowed her brow at the look of me.

"You okay? You're all flushed."

"Yeah, I just ... a girl asked for my autograph. It took me by surprise."

"Aw, that's sweet! Have you ever given one before?"

"No, this was my first time."

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you!"

She closed the distance between us and hugged me, squeezing me tight. I wrapped my arms around her after a second of hesitation and took in the moment. This would be the extent of our intimate moments; hugs and cuddles. No, no more cuddles. Those are dangerous. Just hugs.

She pulled away and took hold of my hands, bouncing ever so slightly in excitement.

"Do you have plans? You can come to dinner with us!"

"N-no, I really couldn't." I couldn't tell her that I felt horribly awkward around her and her husband.

"Please join us," Robbie cut in. "I'd love to know more about the woman Lizzie can't stop raving about."

She gave his arm a light smack, her face turning a slight pink at his words.

"How could I say no after hearing that?" I teased her and she covered her face with her hands.

"I just told him about all the fun we had." Her voice came out muffled.

"You wouldn't even know Brie was there from how she was telling it."

"Robbie, shut up."

She was red as a tomato now and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm glad you had such a good time with me - I mean us." I smirked at her and it was my turn to get a smack.

"Don't start. I had a good time with both of you."

I smiled widely like a happy fool and followed them out of the bookstore, letting them lead on to wherever they planned on having dinner.

•

They picked a fancy Italian restaurant which I had never been to before, and they ordered wine - which I declined. I wasn't about to say or do something I would regret in front of Robbie.

Lizzie and Robbie sat next to each other and I sat across from them, eating contently. Suddenly, I felt something touch my leg and I peeked up at Lizzie. Her head was down, looking towards her food, but I noticed a shift in her eyes and saw that she was looking at me from under her eyelashes.

I nudged the thing that touched me and it nudged back. I held in a laugh as I realized Lizzie was kicking me under the table.

She let out a giggle and Robbie gave her a strange look before switching his gaze over to me. I tried to keep a straight face, but I couldn't. Her giggles were infectious and I joined in, both of us laughing at the fact that we were acting like children, having a good time.

"Am I missing something?" He asked, chuckling slightly himself at the sight of us.

"Lizzie kicked me." I said as she kicked my shin. "Ow!" I laughed. "You meanie."

"I'm sorry," she said, completely unapologetic. "I didn't realize you were such a softy."

"I'm very sensitive."

"Sensitive, my ass. You kicked me back, remember?"

"Only 'cos you didn't stop."

"Children, do you both need a time out?" Robbie said and we both laughed again, fully enjoying our time together.

Even being with Robbie wasn't all that bad. He seemed like a nice guy and he made Lizzie happy so I had no reason to dislike him other than the fact that he was married to her.

As the night ended, they dropped me back off at my apartment, Lizzie getting out with me to hug me.

"We still need to get that pumpkin ice cream."

I made a face.

"I was hoping you'd forget."

"No way. And I still have your sweater."

"That's true. Okay, name the time and place."

"How about I pick you up? I'll text you the time, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Lizzie. Bye Robbie." I waved at him through the window and gave Lizzie one more smile before turning and heading inside.

I watched from the window as she got back in the car and they drove away, and I let out a deep breath. I was exhausted. Pretending to be a human really took a lot out of me.

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