#but like?? ursa was so important to him growing up??

[quirkylilcumlord]

so ur telling me that aang and katara named their kids after people they knew/cared for, but zuko didn’t name his daughter after his mother??

[yourhighness6]

What is your favorite Zutara headcanon?

I hope you have an amazing day! ^.^

I'm so sorry this has been sitting in my inbox forever! I haven't had a chance to answer asks and I kind of forgot about it, so I'm going to give an extra long answer to make up for it lol. I have a few that are tied for first and second, so bear with me.

Firstly, I absolutely love the idea of Zuko helping out Katara with the chores after he joined the gaang. It just makes sense that he would try to help her out, and that he would feel guilty and try to do extra work. Of course, it takes Katara awhile to actually appreciate his help, but after TSR they actually manage to have fun together while they're doing dishes and laundry together, and she can't imagine it any other way.

This one is kind of cheesy, but I love the idea of them both being musically inclined, but in different ways. Zuko is obviously great at the tsungi horn, but he's an absolutely awful singer, and Katara can't play an instrument to save her life, but she has the voice of an angel. They like practicing songs with each other to let off steam, and even after the war whenever Katara finds herself in the Fire Nation or Zuko in the water tribe, they still get together to make a bit of music. They're also both wonderful dancers, Zuko from growing up learning dances in the FN court, and Katara because it's a big part of her culture, and she also just thinks it's fun. Zuko never really liked to dance, because it reminded him of being boxed in at court, but Katara shows him some different steps and he actually enjoys himself for once. In an AU where they end up together, their kids grow up combining the dances of both their cultures and creating new trends in both the FN and the SWT.

This one isn't really Zutara-centric, but Toph teases the HELL out of them. She literally goes around making the snarkiest comments and she will not stop until they are both blushing like tomatoes.

In an AU where they get together, they are the second in the gaang to get married, after Suki and Sokka but before Aang and Teo (I said what I said). Their wedding is obviously a huge event, and Sokka and Aang are the groomsmen while Toph and Suki are the bridesmaids, obviously. Katara is super into wedding planning and picking out her dress. Uncle Iroh helps her with the plans and buys fireworks and organizes the guest list and Zuko rebels against the both of them at every turn because he doesn't really want a huge, ostentatious wedding. He eventually realizes that this is way more important to Katara than it is to him, though, so he stops trying to get them to tone things down and only helps her with the planning when asked, to give her all the creative freedom her heart desires. In canon (where they don't get together) I like to think that Zuko would be Katara's 'man of honor' at her wedding with Aang. Partially because of pining and angst, but mostly because they want to be there for each other and see each other happy, even if they aren't going to be the ones spending their lives together.

Zuko would be the first one to realize his feelings for Katara, but he'd be in denial for so long that by the time Katara realizes her feelings back, they're at about the same place when it comes to their relationship. She's the first one to say "I love you" and even though it takes him a little time to say it back, it's only because he's scared to be so vulnerable with someone at first. She gives him time, and his love confession ends up being simultaneously the most awkward and the most romantic thing in the world. Zuko is the one to propose and Katara says yes without question.

They end up having two kids, twin girls named Kya and Ursa after their mothers. Kya, the nonbender, is set to inherit the throne, and Ursa, the waterbender, has a special gift for healing. Zuko only wanted one kid because he was afraid of messing them up, but he ends up being a wonderful father. Katara is a great mother as well, of course, and she loves to teach Ursa waterbending while Zuko helps her incorporate firebending moves into her fighting style. Kya feels a little left out of these family training sessions at first, but Zuko teaches her how to use the dao swords, her Aunt Mai teaches her how to throw knives, and her Aunt Ty Lee teaches her chi blocking, so she's just as deadly as the rest of her family.

Katara's first project after becoming firelady is to help spearhead pollution reform and create industrial regulations that help the FN become more environmentally friendly. She eventually travels back to the village in "the Painted Lady" with her daughters to show them the value of respecting nature.

This one also isn't very zutara-centric, but I don't think Katara and Azula would ever really reconcile. Although she becomes good friends with both Mai and Ty Lee (who are dating, obviously), she can never forgive Azula for some of the most traumatic events of her life. Zuko and Azula do eventually have a healthy relationship after Azula realizes the error of her ways, but she decides to move away from the palace of her own accord. There are too many bad memories there.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my headcanons! These are the only ones I can think of right now but I probably have more somewhere in my brain.

[cienie-isengardu]

Zuko & Azula and the importance of Ember Island

As I’m not done with talking about ATLA: The Beach episode, so here comes additional observations about Zuko and Azula and how important Ember Island is to their relationship.

There are three major episodes that explore Zuko’s background and his relationship with family.

“The Storm”, told from Iroh’s point of view, focuses on physical and emotional damage done by abusive father

“Zuko Alone” gives us better insight into Royal Family’s dynamic, with a great focus on loving and supporting mother that one night disappeared from Zuko’s life 

while “The Beach” is primarily about Zuko and Azula on the rare occasion when they are far away from Ozai and aren’t forced to fight against each other.

The Beach is also the episode that introduces us to Ember Island, a place that Zuko fondly remembers as a time when his family was truly happy.

In the same episode, after he got in an argument with Mai at the party, Zuko is seen walking toward his family’s old vacation house. The first memory that comes to his mind?

Him and Azula running together, while we can hear children laughing in the background. There is an adult figure seen a few steps behind the happy children, but the shape is not detailed, so it could be Ozai or someone else. 

This is an interesting choice on creators' part, to make the first memory not about Ursa, the undoubtedly source of comfort and love in Zuko’s life, but about Azula with whom he currently has a complicated relationship due to father’s abuse and favoritism that shattered their childhood bond. What is even more interesting, this is not the first time we see young Azula and Zuko happily chasing each other, as such a memory was already shown in “Zuko Alone”.  

And mind you, this memory was presented after flashback how Azula asked Zuko to play with her, Ty Lee and Mai so she could make fun of her older brother. What implies that despite how annoying she could be, Azula and Zuko still enjoyed each other's company and genuinely liked spending time together.

Let's back to "The Beach" episode and the scene when Azula sought Zuko, figuring out the old vacation home is where he would come to calm down.

Azula: I thought I'd find you here. Zuko: Those summers we spent here seem so long ago. So much has changed. Azula: Come down to the beach with me. Come on. This place is depressing. 

This is one of three moments in the same episode, when Azula allowed himself to openly admit being emotional and/or upset about something. The house (past) is depressing. She is jealous how Ty Lee is liked by all boys while she has no clue how to interact with them. Her own mother thought she was a monster and how it still hurts. 

Azula’s way to talk with Zuko is much more direct and less confusing than how she talks with him in the palace. There is no Zuzu nor dum-dum nickname, no making fun of his scar, no sentences that in theory answers his questions but in reality does not set him at ease. Here Azula invited him to go with her to the beach because she doesn’t want to be close to their summer house (the place where they were happy once but none visited for years).

Both Zuko and Azula are influenced by the past and this is a rare moment when they allow each other to be vulnerable in a way they can’t be around Ozai and themselves at the palace. In a way they won't be around the campfire (for example, during Zuko's rant about his anger because he doesn't know anymore what is good and what is bad, Azula will call him pathetic. Here there is no insult, no anger, just some sort of understanding between siblings).

A supplement book, The Legacy of Fire Nation adds another layer to the importance of Ember Island. I won’t lie, I’m disappointed that Iroh did not provide that much insight into Zuko’s family and how little there was about Azula, besides some few remarks about how difficult it was for Zuko to grow up in the shadow of younger sister. In contrast, Zuko’s memories about Ember Island are, again, directly connected to Azula first and foremost. In his list to Iroh (who already passed away many years ago), an old Zuko wrote:

Dearest Uncle Iroh, Do you remember when I used to write you letters? It must be this place, having its effect on me, but here on Ember Island, I find myself introspective and thinking back about my life. I think I used to write to you to buy me presents. Such a cheeky child. I’ve retired now, given up my throne for the peace of this place, to be warmed by the sun and my own memories. I think of you often here. My good memories wash over the bad ones like waves on the shore, clearing the old sand and resetting. I remember summers on the beach, playing with Azula. We didn’t want to kill each other then, though sometimes we acted like it. But the island brought us together. It did that again, one time, in our teens. It was a golden time. One I never felt again until Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph and I had finished our journey and had a moment to enjoy each other’s company. [...]

I can't stress enough: Old Zuko compared his short stay with Azula at Ember Island to the joy he felt when war was officially over and he spent time with his best, beloved friends. A golden time indeed.

We sadly have limited insight into Azula's mind, even less the older version of her, and how she felt about summers spent on the beach with her brother or the one vacation presented on screen. In the episode, she clearly enjoyed some things, like winning the game (with such nice teamwork between Azula and Zuko) or devastating Chen's house where the fateful party took place. Here, on Ember Island, Azula bonded with his brother and admitted to being hurt because mother thought she was a monster, something she internalized as a truth (“My own mother thought I was a monster. She was right, of course, but it still hurt.”). But above everything else, the fact she finds the summer house - where she and Zuko were happy once but her family does not visit anymore - a depressing place implies Azula was no less affected by the past than Zuko.

Similar impression comes from "Azula in the Spirit Temple" comics, in which runaway Azula imagined all her family together, chilling on Ember Island:

The vision of a happy family is not just about Azula, Ursa, Ozai and Zuko but was extended to Iroh and grandfather Azulan and great-grandfather Sozin(?) - a people she wasn't that close to in the first place. It speaks a lot about Azula that her idea of a happy family, because it is connected to her childhood memories, not the Fire Lord's Palace that in itself representing the Royal Family's status and power. So I dare to say that Ember Island holds a special place in Azula's mind, the same as it does for Zuko.

All of the above makes me think that when Zuko talks about Ember Island, how once his family was happy here, he specifically means his relationship with Azula, before Ozai’s abuse shattered their bond.

[pilot-boi]

Plotbunny AU 5 - WELCOME BACK TO BEACON, LOVEBIRDS

(And we're back to this nonsense. Let's go, this world ain't gonna fix itself)

Come the day of Beacon's semester starting, Jaune gets to work being everyone's brother figure, while Alyx decides to get to know Jaune's siblings, her rivals for his hugs, his crush, friends.

Between Jaune hugging everyone who stands still long enough, the entire student body cooing over Juniper, and Alyx making commentary it all goes pretty good..

Then she drags him up to Weiss and Pyrrha, and Jaune becomes a stuttering mess. Alyx decides to ask the redhead who she is, since her saying hello gave Jaune a coughing fit.

Weiss asks Alyx if she knows who Pyrrha is, and when he says no, looks like she's going to start a tirade ,but Jaune plays peacemaker.

He thought long and hard, staying up late into the night: could he pretend he never recognized her again? Try and be ensure he becomes her partner again? game the system like that?

Manipulate her with false information and half-truths like everyone else did?

(No, never. Not in a million years. Never, ever. He's not the Jaune that loved and lost, he's a shadow of that man, but he could never dream of giving her anything but choices and support)

"This is Pyrrha Nikos, Alyx. She won the tournament in Mistral four times.... oh! And she's also sponsored by my favorite cereal, where I got the sweater from!"

Let it be known that Alyx is a reformed hellion and will game the system for Jaune's sake.

"Ohhhh, sounds important. You should partner up with Jaune here, he's brave and loyal and strong, and he deserves the best partner cause he'll be their best partner in turn! Like a knight from a storybook. Team Jaune will be the place to be-"

Jaune ain't having it. He'll protect Pyrrha from everyone, even his own misplaced feelings if he needs to.

"She's also a person who deserves to have her boundaries respected and for no one to project their wants or feelings onto her, Alyx. Come on, sorry you two, please have a nice day...."

(And Jaune misses Pyrrha watching him walk away with a laser focus.)

Initiation comes. Jaune takes Juniper out of his pocket and she grows to regular size, and Jaune lands safely in the forest...

And has a panic attack

He's already changed things, he's changing things, what if he messes up? What if it all gets worse? What if- THUNK

"Hello Again! Are you okay?"

There's Pyrrha, having jumped on her spear and ridden it like a surfboard after using it's propellant features and semblance to guide it.

Because of course she makes it look effortless; riding the spear until it landed in that tree, looking down at him while he looks up.

Something clicks.

She jumps down, hair falling, and without thinking about it, he catches her in his arms, holding her there for an instant that lasts forever before setting her on her feet.

There a small smile on her face, and his helm is hiding the tears in his eyes.

She speaks to him, a beaming smile on her face:

"So, is there anymore room on Team Jaune?"

He takes off his helmet, smiling in-spite of his misgivings as something seems to align within him. And from her beaming face, he thinks he eels it, too.

"Hardy har....partner."

Eyes lidded, Pyrrha calls her spear to her hand without a thought, smiling back at him.

"Then let's get going, partner."

Jaune helps her onto Juniper, and they rush off towards the Relics.

Together.

(It all mostly works itself out, to Jaune's relief. They kill a Nevermore and a Deathstalker, with style even, and Juniper actually dropkicks an Ursa over the horizon) (When he emerges from the Forest with Pyrrha as his partner, Alyx is very smug, the little brat. Jaune hugs her anyways)

While Jaune goes to classes, Alyx doesn't spend all of her time taking care of Juniper she needs to do other things or she'll go stir crazy.

If she doesn't distract herself from the fact that everything she knew is gone, she'll go mad.

So she reads, and watches videos on her scroll, but eventually, after reading her brother's book for the sixth time, she asks Ozpin for his thoughts on it, as the resident 'Legend Expert'.

Ozpin has many thoughts, and delights at the chance to discuss Legends and the truths behind them.

(And listen, Alyx is taking everything he says with a grain of salt, she has heard many rants from the Rusted Knight about him and his habit of omitting details, but his passion for Fairy Tales seems genuine)

And one day Alyx decides she wants to be Better, yes, but to help more people be Better as well.

"How would you like to help me write a sequel to this story my brother wrote? So everyone knows the truth, even if they don't know it...."

(Playing on that Ozpin seems to be the incarnation most obsessed with mythology and researching and lecturing about them)

And so they write, weeks going on and continuing even as the semester starts and classes begin, sharing hot chocolate and occasionally taking breaks to walk Juniper and check in on Jaune, training in the forest nearby:

>The Origins of the Rusted Knight: A story of the only son with seven sisters running away from his family's farm to become a hero like his family ancestor.

>The Girl Who Wished To Become Real: A tragedy that serves as a Stealth Prequel to The Girl who Fell Through The World, and touches on What Makes A Person.

>The Boy Who Returned Home: A tribute to Lewis, and all he did for her and her apology note and goodbye letter and thank you all in one.

(Ozpin does hug her after they write that and have Glynda let Jaune off from classes that day, strangely fond of this girl who understands him more than anyone but also takes none of his crap)

>The Four Who Finally Arrived: The sequel to the Tale of the Rusted Knight, featuring him surviving the original story, his long vigil coming to an end, and him returning home hand in hand with his friends.

>The Four Daughters: Ozma's own apology and farewell, memorializing his failures and regrets.

(Alyx gives him the hug this time, with Juniper purring. Jaune joins in, it's kinda his thing.)

>The Paper Pleasers: A Lighthearted Tale of a kind people who only want to beautify the land....... featuring the Rusted Knight in a comedic role for a change.

>Tales of the Ever After: A series of shorts and bits, telling fantastic blurbs about fantasy characters.

>The Tree and the Blcksmith: A creation Mythos story, featuring the beginning of everything, she who remakes others again and again, and two figures that become surprisingly important.

As the semester goes on, Alyx and Jaune call his family more often, and Jaune cajoles everyone else into doing the same. They argue a little, but eventually give in. Stupid himbo and his "call your family guys, cherish them!"

Weiss calls Whitley and Winter. It goes.... awkwardly. But by the third week of sunday calls, she could almost swear Whitley was looking forward to them. Odd. Stupid eyes, stinging when she thinks about it. And Winter is so, so glad to hear Weiss gush for minutes on end about her dorm's pets and her new friends.

Tai is relieved to hear his daughters are doing well and making friends. He's not so pleased to hear that their Uncle is apparently hanging around between missions, and says he might be hanging around Vale more himself. Weird.

Blake.... okay, Blake chickens out twice in a row. But the third time, Alyx slips in and presses the button for her before slipping out with a "Hi Mrs and Mr Belladonna, we got your daughter to call, don't worry we're keeping an eye out for her stalker, have fun catching up, bye!"

Brat.

But an hour later, Blake has red rimmed eyes and gives Alyx a hug, so she's not too mad.

Pyrrha calls her mother and, fortified with Jaune's hugs and everyone's encouragement, speaks about stepping back form her sponsorship deals while she's at Beacon and opens up about wanting to be more, feeling lighter afterwards.

Ren and Nora are dragged into Jaune's calls several times, and also Pyrrha's once she starts gossiping with her mother over things after their first call, and both will admit it helps more than they would admit to feel like they belong with these people.

And that's the dose of fluff. Tune in next time for Alyx's prank war against Cardin and Roman's second defeat at Juniper's paws (And Cinder getting rekked again, of course)

God. All the stuff about the new stories got me

Alyx not being quite as good a writer as her brother but trying SO HARD and wanting her new brother’s story to be told. Wanting his suffering to be KNOWN and talked about so it’s not like OG Jaune suffered for nothing

You’re doing great Alyx, you’re getting better

The Arkos meeting? *chefs kiss* Not lying to her because she deserves better than that? Pyrrha still rescuing him, but this time from his own self doubt? Top notch, all of it

ALL THE FAMILY CALLS!!! Blake getting reassured that her parents love her (because they’re the best). Weiss reconciling with Whitley and showing Winter that she’s loved as a person, because fight me they both need a hug

Tai being rightly concerned about Qrow because of the plot stuff that the girls don’t know about, but also taking it as prompting to visit his daughters more often. Because god dammit visit your kids, you know where the school is

PYRRHA SETTING BOUNDARIES BECAUSE SHES FINALLY GETTING THE SUPPORT SHE DESERVES!!! YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!!!

Thank you for the dose of fluff. Can’t wait to see Cardin, Roman, and Cinder get wrecked

Also I can’t remember if the Blake Faunus reveal happened already, but if it hasn’t I can’t wait for that. Also can’t wait to see when/if Jaune’s whole deal is revealed

Because I know it’s not HIS trauma, but god damn with him going above and beyond looking out for everyone, I want him to have his break down and be supported by everyone he’s helped build up

[icangiveitback]

By the way... that wing au

The air nomads are generally the people who got wings proportional enough to actually fly with considering their element and all, lots of sea bird wings and cliff diving wings there depending on if they were more or less nomadic. (Air Nomad dating custom? Death dives. Aang keeps asking katara to ride scary animals with him or watch him almost get eaten by sea monsters for a reason not that he knows that)

Earth Kingdom gets the opposite end of the spectrum as air and flight is very far away from their home element. Lots of burrowing bird types, flightless bird types. Some peafowl like plumage in some nobility lines.

Water tribe gets waterbird wings of course, or cold weather birds, again dependant on where they settled more or less water or snow (swamp tribes lent more towards the fishing / wading birds) they all have strong wings, for the swimming.

Fire nation get the rest. Wind is the sister element to fire, you know, and even if fire should stay rooted they've got flight in their bones. Lotsa diamorphic wings there like hummingbirds or birds of paradise. The fancy ones with fancy courting habits, you know. Partridge-grouse wings too. It's said that those particularly blessed get dragon wings.

After the war of course the national standard for wing beauty were agile statement wings of red and black. Fire Nation colors mostly, you know. Having wings too big or too small or too neutral toned was kind of a faux pas

Anyways. Zuko's wings are awkwardly large and pitch colored. They've always been oversized for him. It's unseemly especially because they make him clumsy. Any subtle gesture becomes unwieldy. Ursa coos over them obviously, she says they're perfect. Ozai wouldn't necessarily have a problem with them if Zuko could do anything useful with them (ozai's wings are half the size and a kind of mottled brown. He is absolutely not pleased his son is outgrowing him).

Azula has sharp, agile wings. Too small to fly with but flashy and perfect for posturing (she figures out how to fly by herself anyways). The pinions are almost transparent and are iridescent. They're sheened with an electric blue. I think she learns to weild blue fire entirely to match. Also, because anyone snickering about how ostentatious they are shuts up when they realize she color coordinates. With her fists. (Azula keeps flinging herself off cliffs. She keeps expecting someone to follow.)

Zuko learns to keep his wings bunched up tight against his back especially after being banished. (I cannot decide if ozai fucks up one of zuko's wings as well or if zuko manages to do it pre season 1. One of his wings Is fucked up though) They're a hazard in the ocean wind and spray anyways and he yells enough to cover for everything else (his scar, his wings, his failures) so they don't matter.

(Keeping them braced helps with his signature move. Not the Fire daggers; the break dancing kick. No one expects anyone to spin around on their back with fucking wings zuko what the hell??? But zuko has had enough of ending up on his back defenseless)

It's even more important after becoming a fugitive because his wings are too large for the earth kingdom. They draw too much attention. So do his eyes, and scar.

His wings are half the reason jet notices him on the ferry. (And his scar and his swords and his furious scowl and—)

(Zuko keeps throwing himself off cliffs. He does not know how to catch himself with jet flame the way azula does. He does not expect anyone to follow but he has, more often than not, latched on to someone and yanked them off with him.)

Zuko doesn't quite grow into his wings. Even if one wasn't messed up they're too big and heavy to fly with. But, little gold spots start growing in. Speckling along the plumage as he molts. Not ostentatious but pretty fetching.

Azula and Zuko make a pair, standing next to each other.

(So do katara and sokka. Katara's wings are round edged and wide. Fluffy, white and spotted. Insulating. Sokka's are sharp and blue-grey. A hunter's wings. A shore-diver.)

(Would it be funny if Jet had the wings of a wood pecker?)

Iroh keeps trying to get his nephew to relax but zuko has been tense since he was 11 there's no way he's relaxing now. His mom was the one to help preen zuko's stupidly large wings as a child, after she left he did a... passable enough job on his own and after banishment he just gave up. At first it hurt too much but after his wing recovered it was just too much work for something he didn't care for.

(Jet really wants to get his hands on Lee's wings. He'd thought Lee could fit in with them and preening was a group activity. Jet loved straightening out his kid's feathers. Jet does, decidedly, Not get to do this.)

(Jet lived most of his life in the trees, jumping from one branch to the next. He knows cliff diving when he sees it.)

It's the Gaang (it's definitely Toph, because she can't see and can only know that Zuko's too tense and stiff and holding his over large wings awkwardly as they go from temple to sea side to Ember Island and she decides that's it. He is gonna pick out the sand from her coverts and she is going to get his shoulders to untense if she has to throw rocks at him) (interestingly, and completely unrelatedly, because toph gets a lot of crushes but she's adopting zuko not courting him, did you know that some birds brings rocks to their loved ones. To make nests. The rock has to be a pretty nice rock to work) that finally gets Zuko to stretch his wings a bit.

(Zuko jumps off the ledge at boiling rock and sokka is the one that catches him. Locks talons. Pulls him back up instead of letting him fall.)

(Azula jumps off the gondola, and one of her friend's follows her just the once. And then they both turn away from her. She is dashed against the cliffside)

Enough that when katara and zuko confront azula the difference is pretty striking. Zuko's well groomed for once and azula is— well. She is definitely not the most put together out of the two of them.

(When azula sobs, defeated, wreathed in blue fire, her wings flap and flutter and beat, hummingbird fast and out of control)

(Zuko had used his signature move against her. No one expects someone with wings to spin around on his fucking back what the hell Zuzu)

Zuko is crowned and he makes his speeches and his friends pile against him like turtle ducklings or parrot-skinks afterwards.

(Azula doesn't stay on the ground. Because zuko helps her up and did she know dragons immolate to show their favor? Dragons use fire for everything, none of this flighty air nomad bull shit, they just spit plasma from their mouths and whatever not worthy gets incinerated and whatever is left is. Well, by process of elimination, figure it out Azula. You're friends burned you but you're still alive. You survived the flames.)

(They both do)

[marsconer]

the very long draft of the atla prequel fic i’ll never write

- title idea: oh, brother were art thou ?

- focuses on : iroh and ozai’s dynamic from childhood to the day he marries ursa. includes extras and dives into the fire nation royal family dynamic but it’s mostly about those two.

- inspirations: cain and abel’s story, the ballad of songbirds and snakes.

- characters included: iroh, ozai, azulon, the firelady ilah, ursa, iroh’s wife, ozai’s mistress. ( they will be named )

- characterizations :

iroh — sometimes we forget that iroh was the general. the warrior. the brother most familiar with blood and violent. iroh’s characterization should not shy away from that but also keep a core of goodness and questioning. he’s the one who should have a more reflexive internal monologue. it should be a growing difference between what he believes is right and what he actually does to the point where it breaks. the breaking point will not be part of the fic but it should be seeds planted yk? inspirations : regulus black, jaime lannister / faceclaim ideas : remy hii

ozai — the make or break character and the easiest to screw up ( i think ), too evil and the heart of the story is gone and iroh just looks stupid for loving his evil brother, not evil enough and it’s not ozai. his arc is not a corruption arc but the story of a man realizing he can get away with any atrocious act he decides to commit, his internal monologue lacks the reflexive nature of iroh’s, ozai never pounders on the right and wrong of an act only on how that could benefit him. as the brother who stayed home, ozai’s battle is mostly weeding out plots and schemes, of court drama and seizing power. inspirations: coriolanus snow, tom riddle, fc ideas: sebastian amoruso ( i know he played jet stfu ), dylan wang

firelord azulon — an absent father, i don’t care how his reign was, he is the definition of trying to rule with only force and falling ( being disliked by both high rankings and the people ), hard power ! he’s more of representation of a fire nation that looks down on weakness ( non-benders, women, children ) inspiration: tywin lannister

firelady ilah — a cruel mother who loves power but can possess none because she’s a woman so she tries to teach her sons her form of strength, manipulations, secrets, blackmail, iroh had more aptitude but he was azulon’s general so she had to make do with ozai ( who refuses to learn but will eventually ), she’s the bitterness of a fascist woman in a fascist man’s world. she’s frustrated in all ways possible and that bitterness turns to wickedness. inspirations: alicent hightower if she was like her haters think she is, morgana, walburga black. fc ideas: michelle yeoh

lady ursa — poor lady ursa, i haven’t read to comics and i don’t buy they are cannon so here’s my characterization of the pookiest of pookies. lady ursa was the daughter of important people, think courtiers, who never really wanted a child, ursa was also raised in palace along with many other high borns. she was also younger than ozai and a talented herbalist. she wanted to marry him and do her duty, he was good looking and a prince and she was barely sixteen. and she wanted out of her parent’s grasp. probably one of the most unlucky people in the story. at first ignored and humiliated before their marriage and after abused and controlled. inspirations: katherine howard / fc claim ideas : ashley liao, lola tung

aliya ( ozai’s mistress ) — this is a very self indulgent character bc i like parallels and the hope that some air nomads survived in secret and had children. aliya is this concept with the addition that she’s a performer on ember island who would really like a bridge to her ancestor’s culture and past but also probably is acutely aware of how she’s not the airbender she should be. she’s a dancer, she’s an acrobat, she’s artist, she’s vain and attached to material desires and smarter than she looks but also still just a girl trying to keep herself alive and her secrets secret. ( yes, ozai lowkey kinda kills her or at least thinks he and erased her and her family from history. snowbaird coded but also worse ) inspirations: lucy gray baird, satine / fc claim ideas : simone ashley

saori ( iroh’s wife ) — very minor character but all that can be said is that she’s no easy woman. she’s demanding of him after they are arranged together because she believes and sees that he can be better. she also grew up in the palace as a courtier and is known for being incredibly opinionated and sharp on her wit. inspirations: beatrice ( much ado about nothing ) / fc claim : jamie chung

[attackfish]

Part two of that post where Nonny asked:

I think I might have an au you don't have yet — what if Zuko or Azula had been sent back to Aang's time when they were young because of spirit non-sense, and had ended up in the iceberg with him?

This time it's Zuko's turn. Part One: [Link]

Let's say Zuko is a toddler. Azula isn't even born yet when her brother disappears. The shock of the disappearence sends Ursa into labor. The child, Azula, is full term, but it makes her birthday a day of pain and rememberence for her parents. Both her parents are relentlessly protective of her, even smothering. It's the only thing they ever agreed on. Without another child to soak up all his displeasure, Ozai is always unpredictable. Is his daughter the perfect child, a demonstration of his greatness as a father, or an unworthy child, who should be doing more?

Ursa tries to shield her daughter from the worst of her husband's capriciousness, but even though her mother is safer, and kinder, sometimes Azula just needs some time on her own, and neither of her parents will ever give her that. Lonely and isolated, constantly with her parents, she has an imaginary friend, her older brother, her parents' missing child. Sometimes he's two years older, and sometimes he's frozen at the age he was when he vanished.

Let's say Aang is lost in a storm, when suddenly he hears a child crying. There's a little boy, all dressed in royal Fire Nation red, sobbing his eyes out in Appa's saddle. Is this real? Is he sleeping? he tries to stear out of the storm, but the winds and waves drag them both down.

Or let's say Zuko grows up in the Southern Air Temple, one of several foundling children. He grows up an anxious young man, who tries to take responsibility for everyone, so when he spots the young Avatar running away, he slips out after him.

Le's say instead that Zuko is ten, and his grandfather ordered his death mere days earlier. His mother vanished, and now he is whisked away to this strange place, full of people who claim to be Air Nomads. He knows that's not true. He has to have been kidnapped by enemies of the Fire Nation. But surely his father will rescue him or ransom him right? Won't he? That gnawing, ever-present fear that his father won't, that his father just doesn't care enough, is proven right when the Air Nomads contact the Fire Nation government, and they get back word that nobody has ever heard of a Prince Zuko.

Azula is no dummy, and more important for this, though she doesn't understand that, she's around her father, and he doesn't shut her out, so she has the context for her mother's disappearance, so just like her father, she assumes her mother kidnapped her brother. He always was her favorite.

As Ozai sends search her after searcher, assassin after assassin, to find his wayward wife, and as they each come up empty-handed, as if the person they were hunting didn't exist, Azula lies in her bed at night afraid her mother will come for her next, to steal her away from her father, to steal her away from being the Fire Nation princess. But she's even more afraid, although she'll never admit it to herself, that her mother will never come, that her mother only ever cared about Zuko, that she really does think Azula is a monster.

Let's say Zuko is thirteen and newly banished when he vanishes without a trace. Nobody notices. Except Iroh. After weeks of fruitless searching, he is forced to contact Ozai, to let him know and ask him to look for his son. But Ozai's only, all too predictable response to his own child's disappearance is, "good." And Iroh can't help but think his brother made Zuko disappear, that he might have banished his own son so that nobody would notice when he did.

In the air temples, Zuko is a menace, convinced they are a secret group of Air Nomads hiding the Avatar, who he will find, and capture, and bring home to his father. He is difficult, and dangerous, and his psyche is a bleeding wound. The Air Nomads care for him as best they can. In return, he accidentally lets slip enough for the Air Nomads to know what's coming, to plan for Sozin's Comet. And when Aang runs, Zuko runs after him, convinced this is his great chance to capture the Avatar.

Let's say Zuko is sixteen and has just seen a light burst forth into the sky. As he stares at it, the world dissolves around him, and he is in the Southern Air Temple. He has found the Avatar in a way he never imagined. And when the Avatar runs, he gives chase. Hunted and hunter are lost in a storm together and dragged down to the depths.

Iroh barely has time to start looking for his nephew before he's out of the ice and causing him heartache again.

Let's say Zuko is an old man. One morning he wakes up at the Southern Air Temple over a hundred and eighty ears ago. Enough extremely strange things have happened to him over the years, first hunting in avatar, then becoming his friend, then traveling the world to help another Avatar, and along the way tangling with a whole bunch of spirit related shenaniganery, that this might as well happen too. He doesn't know if he has time traveled, or if this is the afterlife, but either way, this might as well happen too.

He tells the Air Nomads what to expect from Sozin's Comet, and after, the tactics the Fire Nation plans to use against any survivors. He claims he's a defector, that he heard the plans, and couldn't go through with them. And he graciously accepts a place to stay for the night. That night, unrelated to the news he brought because the boy knows nothing of it, the young Avatar runs. Zuko follows. He gets to Appa first, hides under a blanket, and it's not until they're in the air that Zuko pops out to scare Aang half to death.

He talks to Aang, asks him what's bothering him, tries to help navigate him to the Southern Water Tribe to find a waterbender, but Aang understandably doesn't trust him, and steers them straight into a storm. As the wind in the waves drag them under, Zuko thinks he might have miscalculated.

But then the two of them saw out together, and teenage Zuko shows up, and now as far as the gaang is concerned, there's cool old man Zuko, and annoying teenage Zuko both running around at the same time.

[debcroft13]

Thursday, Dec 7: Distance

She had always been a loyal Fire nation citizen ,luckily born a high born nobles with uneasy at tie to the royal family.

Her grandfather's crimes against the nation was a well told story by Sozin, but what actually happened that day at the volcano but only the royal family knew of Roku descendent and did keep decided close to control them.

The young granddaughter of Roku felt very fortunate, she had her family wealth of course,she took pride in her education at the finest all girl school on the capitol, but she also took solace in in the fact that it seemed like history was repeating itself with her and the youngest prince Fire Prince Ozai.

They two were thrust together in adulthood in an arrange marriage after a brief introduction royal court by their parents who both stated they be the prefect match. It was a long planned move. Two pawns founds themselves married trying to live up to their title of prefect match.

They were happy eventually after hard work, the two found solace within each other.

The couple were blessed with two children, but something changed over the years something changed between the two.

Ursa sat in her room as her husband grumbled at his desk, she had put her children down to sleep and had hoped to spend time with her husband, but he had barked at her simple kiss of his cheek while he had worked.

Therefore she had sulked away to her chair to read.

Ursa had no idea what had changed in their life, lately Ozai had created a distance between them and she couldn't think to why that had happened. zula had pushed her way too, then again she and her daughter were disconnected on another level.

However figuring out how to reconnect with Azula was for a different day, reconnecting with Ozai her beloved husband that was of the first and foremost of importance.

She titled her head as she held her book to her chest.

“Ozai?” she asked in a gentle tone

He griped the feather he used to write with tighter as he acknowledged her for a moment.

“if you tell me what wrong then maybe I can do something to help you know?”

He laughed in a mocking manner.

“You help me? With what? With getting my father to acknowledge me, to help him understand and accept how I want to help this nation grow and not stagnate? Can you make me his least hated child when you can't even be a good mother to our children.” He questioned mockingly

Ursa sat stunned as gripped her book as her husband shakes his head and returned to his work.

“Why are you saying such cruel words to me? Am I not still your beloved? I have put everything into raising out children into the prefect fire nation citizens.”

She raised from her chair as she placed her book down.

Ursa gripped her hands under her shelves as she tried to hold her emotional state at bay.

“You have been nothing more then a nuisance to me lately Ursa, if you going to to keep disputing my work then make yourself scarce.” He demanded angry

Ursa frowned as she moved to him and placed her hand on his and gripped his hand.

“Look me in my eyes and say that!” she demanded “Say those cruel words to me directly” she demanded strongly

He grinned as he stood up and looked into his wife eyes.

“Your nothing but a thorne in my side, you made Zuko weak with how your birthed him and now how you cuddled him. You can't deal with Azula's brilliance, you could never deal with her from her birth so that has become my role. “ He began coldly “ Your were nothing but a stepping stone for my goals, now I wonder if I even need you around any more.”

the prince watched his wife face dropped, her hurt her pain.

Ursa unable to speak or respond to his cruelty, his, to his confession.

The prince back away from her as her tears slipped from her eyes.

'Does he not love me any more?' she thought in dread

Ursa defeated back away from him and sat down heartbroken and in shock. She had been devoted, everything he had ever wanted for him and it seemed like it wasn't enough, she wasn't needed or wanted.

Ozai scoffed at her as he sat back down uncaring of her pain as he was already planning away his next moves to get the power he craved and desired and damn be her and anyone in his path to get it.

...Must turn this into a full fic

@urzaiweekblog

[dandelion-wings]

More of the darker end of the Bindings AU, because this has been in my head for ages and I wanted to get the whole thing down. That said, it starts kind of vaguely/roughly, because @theabysscomeshome and I haven't nailed down exactly the circumstances of Crepus' death (even having Dottore involved is mostly stuff I've been spinning in my own head, we haven't hammered that out and there are holes around Diluc then taking the Delusion-equivalent here), and also I have not done the heavy lifting on the magical worldbuilding that I feel like those details need. XD;; But! This is, as in canon, a fairly important bit of backstory for both Kaeya and Diluc.

---

Father's papers are more and more troubling the deeper that Diluc reads into them. Purchase records, business contracts, private correspondence with people he never should have dealt with--there's so much here that Diluc never knew. So much that Father hid for him. It's almost a relief to finally find the books on Abyssal magic.

Diluc skims through the parts on summoning and binding with barely a glance, though his father's notations are all over them. Those are old; he wants the section with bits of paper studded all through, the way Father always marked whatever he was currently studying, only moving his notes into the margins once he was sure of them. It has a bit more on bindings, but only those imposed after the fact instead of during the spell. The bulk is about making existing artifacts, ones whose spirits were imperfectly summoned and thus are dangerous, safer to wear and to wield.

Slowly, dragging himself through the antiquated and technical language, Diluc starts to put together the intent of his father's abbreviated notes. He'd always intended to use the artifact that had killed him, that fragment of the Abyssal spirit called Il Dottore. But he'd intended to do it with precautions. Harnessing some of Kaeya's power into new bindings, his notes say, taking advantage of- oh, that's a page number-

'Even the most well-restrained spirit takes up space within the magical aura of the one who wields them,' the book says. 'Thus the foolishness and difficulty of attempting to wield many artifacts at once, particularly of different natures. Such an array blunts one's own magic. Moreover, multiple spirits attached to the same wielder will blunt each others' powers, limiting their mutual abilities, just as a talented enough pairing of wielder and spirit can blunt the bond of a weaker pair and thus limit their spirit's power.

'This can, however, be used to make poorly-restrained spirits safer to wield, for a short time, though such practice is not advised. It may even allow a well-tuned pair to interfere with the connection of a predatory or possessive spirit to its unwitting and endangered host, allowing the human life to be saved."

Beneath that is a series of diagrams and abstruse equations. Diluc hasn't studied deeply enough into these arts to understand all of them, but he knows who can. A sick feeling gathering in the pit of his stomach, he reaches up to peel the eyepatch away from his right eye.

:Could you have done this?: he asks Kaeya.

A moment's pause, the always-odd feeling of Kaeya's eye moving in his socket as it flicks over the page, and then, with an odd reluctance, :I suppose.:

:But you didn't know you could?:

Another, longer pause. The sick feeling in Diluc's stomach grows stronger. It doesn't mean anything. It can't. Kaeya is simply being reticent because he was shocked by the day's events. He's been silent since that last burst of power that drove Ursa away, since Diluc knelt down and put his blade to his father's neck to keep the spirit-fragment in that cursed artifact from achieving full possession. That was shocking for both of them.

:You didn't order me to,: Kaeya says at last, and there's still that reluctance, joined by vague unease. Not fearful, exactly, but-

No, it is fearful. Diluc can't lie to himself when he can feel it creeping into his own body, his own nerves, his mouth going dry and his heart beating faster as giving Kaeya access to his eye inevitably bleeds over.

:Did you know you could save him?: The silence in his own head seems to resound, and Diluc doubles down, turning it to a command, calling up all the strings of the bindings upon Kaeya and twisting them. :Answer me!:

:Of course I knew,: Kaeya says, and laughs, that horrible echoing sensation that's halfway Diluc's own laughter and halfway his own voice. :What do you think spirits do in the Abyss, other than shove each other around? Il Dottore is far beyond me, but that fragment was nothing at all.:

:Then why didn't you?!: That comes out a command, too, a roar of anguish in his own head, the memory of his father's blood on his hands rising up into tears that spill from his left eye alone.

He spins away from the research and his gaze is arrested by the mirror across the room, the small one on the wall where Father used to pause to straighten up before stepping out of the office after he took one of his secret little afternoon naps. His left eye is red from crying, his cheeks flushed and damp. The right is Kaeya's, deep blue in stark contrast to his own orange, the four-pointed pupil at the center small against even the lantern's dim light. It seems to stare back at him, meeting his own eye, as Kaeya's answer is wrenched forth.

:Why would I?:

The bitterness in that question stops Diluc cold. He instinctively opens his mouth, closes it again, tries to organize in his own head the command, the clear question, that will draw out some reason for all the senselessness of his father's death--and doesn't have to ask.

:Your father is the one who dragged me here, after all. Summoned me by force and wrote binding after binding into my anchor, so that I would be perfectly safe and perfectly friendly for his precious, golden son. Did he tell you that, Diluc? Or did he just tell you he was giving you a present?:

Sarcasm drips from the words that Father had said the day he'd presented Diluc with the earring. He'd never said outright that Kaeya's anchor was one of the old artifacts that still floated around Teyvat, accessible only to the wealthy and the fortunate. He'd only implied it. The spirit inside had been alone for a long time, he'd told Diluc. Lonely as Diluc had been lonely, separated from the children of the Winery by his rank and from Jean by his mother from the other well-off children of Mondstadt by his awkwardness and the constant training to become a Knight.

:I had my own father, you know. Not that you do know, since I was never allowed to tell you that. He may not have been any better than yours, but he was mine. And your father took me from him to turn me into a weapon, so that you could look better for the Knights.:

:That's not-: It is true. In a horrible, twisted sense, a complete misinterpretation of the man Father was, of the bond Diluc and Kaeya share. But it can't be anything but true, because Kaeya's bindings forbid him to lie. The thought that this might truly be how he sees things pricks at Diluc's heart. :You're not a weapon, Kaeya. We were friends.:

:'Were,': Kaeya quotes back, in his own mental voice, and laughs again. The bitterness in it roils in Diluc's own stomach. :Not much of a friendship, was it? Not that it could have been, when I never had a choice.:

That does more than prick; it hits like a physical blow. Kaeya has been his best friend, at times his only friend, since the day Father handed his earring to Diluc. It's not only his powers Diluc has come to rely upon. His magical knowledge, his quickness with words, his occasional advice and his more frequent teasing, equally likely to be useful if Diluc puzzles out the meaning behind his words.... He's been a part of Diluc for so long that this sudden revelation feels, for the second time today, like his heart has been cut from his chest.

"If you don't want to be here," Diluc says aloud, his voice cracking, "I'll send you back."

He isn't sure whether the hammering in his chest is his emotions or Kaeya's or both, whether the way his hands clench into fists is his own furious hurt or Kaeya seeking subtly for control. It doesn't matter. He reaches up and rips the earring from his ear, ignoring the sting. Ignoring, too, Kaeya's voice, suddenly alarmed.

:Diluc, wait-:

Ruthlessly, he closes Kaeya out. The bonds between them snap them thread by thread, every binding that had brought them together ripped in half and left to fray away from Kaeya's soul. Fire gathers within him and flows through his hand into the false metal of the earring. It grows hotter and hotter in his grasp as he tears the last vestiges of the bonds away. When he looks down the metal is softening, the gem starting to crack and char. So is his palm beneath it, he only belatedly realizes, and his fingers clenched around. The pain registers all at once, searing through the betrayal and the grief.

He hurls the earring into the fireplace. It continues to melt, sparks bursting around it and catching on the half-burnt logs, until it's glowing too bright at the heart of the flames. The edges have deformed, false metal flowing like molasses, the false gem cracked across and dull. Diluc sends another pulse of magic into the center of the blaze, and it vanishes, all at once, into a burst of dark shadow as difficult to look at as the metal's glow. A moment later, it's gone.

Looking down at his hand, Diluc sees the burn stretching out across his palm, deep into the flesh and already oozing pus and blood, and the bubbled blisters on his fingers. He flexes his grip and feels the burn pull at damaged muscle and tendon. Yet it doesn't hurt nearly as much as the scoured-out place inside him where Kaeya and Father both had been.

Diluc sits down in the chair at his father's chest and buries his face in his arms amid his father's damning papers. Tears flow from both eyes, now, as he begins to sob.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Skin & Scale (Part 1)

So the survey results are in and making something of the dragon Azula fic won. So here’s the first part of that! It’s a combo of Dragon Skin and The Dragon’s Child. This first chapter is going to be very familiar as it is an updated and extended version of Dragon’s Child.

Summary: Some time ago, Ozai and Ursa stole a dragon egg in a quest for Ozai to have a perfect heir. Through the help of dark spirits, that little hatchling became a human child. They named her Azula. 

“We’re almost there.” The man hisses. The woman next to him remains silent. She is still wholly unsure of the entire endeavor. “We just have to cross the main chamber.” The light of his torch throws shadows across the cave walls. Shadows that put a chill in the woman’s soul and lifts the hairs on her neck. She swears that she can hear the groans and growls of the dragons. 

The egg cradled in her arms feels that much heavier. 

It is such a pretty thing, this precious thing that she holds. The egg is mostly gold with a few brilliant cracks of blue and splatters of turquoise chips. If she didn’t know any better she would say that it was a sea serpent egg that she is holding rather than a dragon egg.

“We can’t just take it.” She says.

“We can and we will.” The man snaps. “Now quiet down before they awaken.” 

 She decides not to tell him that his single sentence carried enough volume to wake a dragon three caves over. She clutches the egg tighter, it’s rough surface nicks her skin like thorns. “I don’t want to go through with this. We can still return it…” 

“No.” He replies through gritted teeth. “This is the only way that we will get what we want...what our Nation deserves.”  

They step into the light. 

The woman tosses a final look at the cave.

Not a dragon to be seen or heard. 

There is a part of her that wishes that there were one. 

Some outside force that can coerce them into saving themselves from their own foolishness. From getting themselves into something that is far beyond what they can reasonably handle.

 .oOo.

Zuko claws at his hairline. On days like these, he is more than half inclined to take Azula up on her offer. He can hand the crown over to her and enjoy his newfound leisure time. With several years of recovery, he feels as though she’d fit the throne well. Much better than he can and she would probably enjoy it much better than he does. She has the know how and the leadership skills for it, even if her compassion and diplomacy can be somewhat lacking. But he is committed. He made a promise to himself and his nation and he intends to be the best leader that he can be. 

Azula lingers in the room waiting for something to do, but until now, things have been quiet. There are no riots, no terrorists, no skirmishes to break up and so the princess is horribly bored. She wanders over to her brother and rests her elbows on his desk, deliberately obstructing his paperwork.

“Can you move? This is important.”

“I can.” She replies simply with a flippant and lazy wave of her hand.

He blinks at her. She blows at a tumble of locks that have fallen out of order and into her face. 

 “Oh, you actually want me to move.” 

Zuko massages his temples. Although, he supposes that there is some humor in that faux innocence. It is infinitely better than her former, outright viciousness. He can work with a more playful, mischievous Azula. 

 “Then give me something to do, Zuzu. I am terribly bored.” Evidently, it seems like she grows bored very easily. Now that there are no fugitives to capture, no wars to fight. She never did do well with the mundane and the day to day. It isn’t as exciting for her. 

“Read a book? Paint a picture? Feed the turtle-ducks?” 

Azula scrunches her nose. “Give me something worthwhile to do.” 

He really doesn’t know how to tell her that, these days, there aren’t really any truly impactful matters to attend, let alone life altering things. The sorts of thrills that keep her entertained and off of his growing pile of cumbersome paperwork. 

“If you let me finish reading these, I might find something.” He knows that he is lying and she does too. Truth be told, he is getting rather bored for himself. 

She moves her arms and stands behind him with her arms folded. He tries to ignore her as he flips through the pile for the letter detailing the most pressing problem. And just like that his thoughts begin to shift from that boredom and the prospect of a very lengthy era of nothing in particular to a growing sense that his days of peace are coming to an end. Amid the mundane tasks is a letter from a traveler. Each word brings him a step away from the prospect of prolonged relaxation and one step closer to another gradious adventure. 

Zuko doesn’t know how much stock he should put into the letter or if he should put any at all. The letter’s sender isn’t exactly credible. 

He digs it out of the pile and holds it out to Azula no less. 

“What’s this?”

“Read it.” 

He gives her a moment, watching her eyes sweep the page. “A joke.” She casts it aside. “Or a story.” 

“Why would someone write me a story about dragons wanting to go to war with us?”

Azula shrugs. “Maybe they are as bored as I am.” She sniffs. “Spirits, I pity them if they are more bored than I am…” She twirls her bangs around her pointer and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. 

“This is serious.”

Azula rolls her eyes. “Is it? The dragons are long dead.” 

She is as offensively blunt as ever. 

Zuko knits his brows. “No, not all of them.” 

“I’ll humor you, Zuzu. But only because I really have nothing else to do right now. What do the last dragons want with us?”

“I guess that we’re going to have to meet with them and find out.” 

“You mean that you will. I’ll stay here and make sure things stay in order.” He can see it on her face that she has been waiting for a chance to snag the crown, even if it’s only for a moment. “Don’t worry, I won’t destroy my own nation.” 

“I need someone to go with me.” 

“Send a messenger hawk to the Avatar, I’m sure that he’d be glad to go on another quest with you. It has been a while, hasn’t it?” She gives a nonchalant shrug. “Or I suppose that I can go…”

“You’re not going along.”

“You still don’t trust me.” She guesses flatly.

“No!” Zuko says quickly. “It’s not that. Believe it or not I actually kind of care about you…”

“I can take care of myself, Zuzu. I haven’t had…” she clears her throat, her face coloring ever so slightly. “A moment since the comet.” 

Zuko taps his fingers upon the table. “We can go together. I can leave Mai in charge for a bit.” Her expression goes curiously blank. It is an expression that he has come to know as resignation, perhaps disappointment. “Alright, fine.” He caves with a groan. “You can stay here and watch over things. I’ll bring Aang with me to meet with the dragons.”

She gives him the faintest flash of a smile. “Crown?” She holds out her hand and wiggles her fingers. 

He rolls his eyes and places it in her palm. “Just don’t change any laws or  policies on me.” 

“Not even the stupid ones?”

“N-not even the stupid ones!” He sputters. 

.oOo. 

That night she dreams of dragons. Flashes of red and blue scales and then gold and green. They are everywhere, pillaging the landscape with a power both awesome and fearsome. A power that she, even deep within the dreamscape, envies with all of her soul. She finds herself overtaken by a longing. 

A desire to be in the sky with them, mighty and unstoppable. To have wings of her own and scales and claws. 

The whole of the Fire Nation is consumed by its own element. The streets are a cacophony of screams. The pathways have a fine paint of blood, red as the banners that flap tattered and singed in the breeze. Claws swoop from the sky and steal lives away and she is in the middle of it all. 

In the center of the chaos and the destruction. 

Right in the center, at the heart of it all. 

There is nothing but horror and hopelessness around her from all angles and vantage points. Screams and pleas and people shouting their disrepair as claws rake through them and fire rains upon them. 

And yet all she feels is longing. 

Deep and terrible longing. 

.oOo.

Being the Fire Lord, she finds, is just as dull as pretty much everything else. Mostly it consists of sitting up straight, tall, and proud or–when she is alone and unmonitored–laying down and sitting in more ridiculous but significantly more comfortable positions. 

Much of her time is spent watching her fire shift and dance while she waits for Lo and Li to give her some business to attend or some urgent matter to address. There are no urgent matters, nothing but more letters coming in from their mysterious traveler. She doesn’t find these particularly exciting anymore; there is only so much, ‘we’re going to die a scaly, fiery death’ that she can read before her eyes gloss over and the words lose their impact. 

Azula lays back, clasping her hands atop her sternum and groans to herself; she should have just taken Zuzu up on his offer to let him talk to the dragons. But no, she just had to get a taste of the throne, of what she could have had. She supposes that she is somewhat grateful–at least now she knows that she can stop mourning what could have been. 

Evidently, what could have been is completely unsatisfactory and the more time she spends beneath the weight of the crown the less she can see herself wearing it for good. As much as she hates to admit it, Zuko, Uncle, Aang…all of them–they were right. She very much does need to figure out just what she wants and it isn’t this crown. 

She needs something that feels fulfilling and exciting. Something that can put her talents to good use. Something that doesn’t also leave her with a sense of longing, something that doesn’t make her feel bound and chained. 

In wearing the crown she begins to consider that it probably has more control over she and her life than she does of it. And she can’t imagine that it is any different for Zuzu if his drab expressions are anything to go by.

She taps her fingers against her sternum. 

The ceiling above with its golden reliefs shimmers above her. The metallic dragons coil and uncoil, having more fun than she ever can and they are only carefully sculpted depictions. 

Azula sighs. 

The dragons seem to reach down to her with their golden claws. And, just because no one else is around, she finds herself extending her hand to the ceiling. 

For a moment she can pretend like her warm hand is touching its cold claws. 

The fire around her dances, blazing a brilliant blue. 

Azula closes her eyes, feels the heat on her face. 

She wants to be close to that heat. Wants to feel the fire in her belly stir and sear. She wants to hold more power and fire than her own petite body could possibly allow. Sometimes she feels fragile and delicate; her skin is so soft and her frame is so slight. 

Sometimes she feels like the things inside of her are much larger than her body. 

Sometimes she feels like her mind has outgrown it. 

And maybe that is why she gets so bored so easily, why she always has to chase that thrill, that rush. 

Maybe that is what drives her mind to such dark and frightening places. Maybe it is not meant to be contained.

Maybe it was meant for something bigger.

[h0oty]

Tell me everything abt dusk shadows? Please? Theyre so so pretty and cool and edgy and i love them already and i know nothing abt thrm

ive waited my whole life to hear these words... this is going to be very long.

theyre my little skrunkle next gen oc i made when i was like 9 and have kept alive since then, their story has changed around throughout the years but i did make it when i was 9 so its not the best literature, keep that in mind.

basically theyre the mane character of my next-gen-mixed-with-au hootverse that all my silly little redesigns come from, some story elements are changed and this is important because Sombra takes the place of Chrysalis in season 9 because she accepted Starlight's friendship after she freed the hive.

so when the trio gets unfrozen to be reformed Twilight takes on reforming Sombra and of course it goes like this

because its a next gen and they get in a genuine relationship and Sombra works on himself and gets better, + they have kids but then he slips up one day and accidentally grows evil crystals or something by accident and the kingdom's ponies don't trust him and some even start saying shit like "what if their kids turn out evil like him >:((((" "i cant believe twilight loves tis guy what if SHES evil too?!?!?" and it was disrupting harmony and Twilights like "damn this is wild!!!!! i am going to start twilighting 24/7". so to 'keep her safe' in his eyes, while shes pregant with Dusk, Sombra acts like hes evil again and runs away and then when Dusk is born Twilight has to give them to up for adoption movie style on the doorstep in the rain because its the edgy 2010 oc backstory + ponies were threatening the children because of Sombra and all that (they couldnt give them to one of the mane 6 because it would be too risky for someone to realize it was her child)

Dusk goes to friendship camp one year as a filly and meets their first real friend, Firefly. They keep in contact until their teenage years when Firefly becomes a rockstar and stops talking to Dusk because of the pressure of keeping up a "popular" image. Dusk starts spending all of their time with their other friend Frost Lily, but their declining mental state causes them to see one of those waking nightmares (the ones Sombra trapped the castle with. they inherited it and like. cast it on themself by mistake somehow) and they see a vision of Frost Lily getting really sick and dying. They don't know this was just a nightmare their magic made them see, so they leave town, thinking there's nothing left for them there now. Their wandering leads them to Canterlot, where Twilight sees and recognizes them, and summons them to the castle, where she explains Dusk is her child and everything that happened and why she had to give them away, expecting them to be all happy huggy 'i love you mom'ing!!! But they were actually just really upset and angry at Twilight for not even trying and she kept and raised their other child, ect.

Twilight gets worried about Dusk's mental state which leads to her worrying about Dusk going down the 'same dark path' as Sombra, and she sends them to their own small town just like Celestia did for her when she was young so they can discover joy and friendship magic

this is getting SO long but they become a part of their own mane 6 of sorts that includes firefly, a griffin named boe, a dragon named Carbon, an axolotl named snorkel and a 'baby' ursa minor that goes by ursus once they get there. on the way they meet a suspicious trio of "ponies" that may or may not be demons summoned by Sombra to keep an eye on his child and report back to him on how theyre doing.

Eventually Dusk also turns into an evil alicorn thing but y'know their friends fix that with the power of friendship™  and then they defeat the demons too

wow look a window

i want you to know i was writing for an hour with no breaks i didnt even blink at all during this im so sorry

[000rion]

Chapter 4

Tears Fall Into The Sea

Masterlist

"You know how Ursa means bear? It's fitting that I end up with a Beast."

Ben Florian Beast x Ursa, daughter of Ursula (OC)

Trigger Warning: mentions of suicide and depression

✧༝┉˚❋ ❋˚┉༝✧

"Hey, Ursa!" Ben runs to catch up with her, finding Ursa alone and walking to her next class.

She turns and lifts her face in a little smile. "Hey, Ben."

He returns her smile brightly. "I've been wondering something."

"Yes?"

"Can you turn into a mermaid with tentacles, like your mother?" On a closer look, there's a glint in his eyes and a mischievous twist in his lips.

Ursa laughs. "I wouldn't even know that because of the magic barrier around the Isle," she said in a 'duh' voice. 

"Oh, right." Ben's smile falls a little at the reminder. 

Seeing this, Ursa tries to change the topic a little, "Is there any place to swim here at Auradon Prep? I would love to swim." She smirks a little. "I wonder if I get my mother's tentacles or my father's tail."

"Really? You might have a mermaid tail," Ben says, surprised.

"Really." She smiles.

"Does that mean that you can have the magic-dissipating tears and the siren-song mermaids have too?" 

"I mean, my mom was a mermaid with a tail before she was cursed by the trident to have tentacles, so I would still have the enchanted tears and siren-song either way."

"Right. I forgot King Triton and Ursula are siblings."

Ben pauses, then a shy smile grows back on his face. "Say, would you want to go to a lake with me? So you can check which one you have? And you can learn how to use it."

"I would actually love that," says Ursa.

Ben looks forward. "Let's go the weekend after the Tourney match?"

"Let's!" Ursa smiles at him.

While Ursa walks to her next class and Ben walks with her, they talk about anything and everything under the sun: their classes, Ursa's therapy, Ben's upcoming coronation, things they wish to do, places they wish to visit, how they were as kids, and much more. By the time they get to Ursa's Remedial Goodness class, their smiles are big, and they laugh together at a sarcastic comment Ursa made. 

Their laughs drew the attention of FG and the other Isle Kids, with FG smiling at them and Mal unknowingly frowning at their closeness. 

Once Ursa realized where they were, she said, "This is my class. Are you going to study here in the library?"

"No, I have to attend a meeting for my coronation at Beast Castle."

"Then why did you walk with me here?"

"I just wanted to walk you here, since I have time before needing to leave."

"You didn't have to, especially if you have an important meeting to prepare."

"It's okay, I wanted to." An unreadable smile lights up Ben's face. "You should get used to people wanting to hang out with you, you know," he says, nudging her shoulder with his.

Ursa blushes. "Whatever you say, your highness. Now, shoo, go." She pushes him away, towards the door.

He looks back and waves at her before he goes.

✧༝┉˚❋ ❋˚┉༝✧

At such a young age, adults have been telling Ben and Audrey, who were playmates, that they would be good together, and that they would lead Auradon well together. It started with Audrey's grandmother and spread throughout all the adults that would see them play.

It was only natural that the two of them would grow up close to each other, and when they were old enough, become together romantically. However, to Audrey, she had only wanted the crown and the prestige that came along with it, and to Ben, he had only wanted friends.

Despite being both of their playdates, Chad grew up distanced from the group, as the adults kept on pairing Audrey and Ben together. Later on, he thought he was jealous of their relationship because he liked Audrey when he only wanted to be as close to them, for others to refer to them as a trio of friends.

Ben grew up nice and kind, and the other two grew up prideful and full of themselves, as they were the esteemed girlfriend and friend of the crown prince of Auradon. Ben didn't like their change from being sweet children to haughty teenagers, but he was too fearful to lose their friendship that he didn't tell them or urge them to become better. Still, that doesn't mean he won't harbor distaste for their behavior in his heart.

"Do you think they actually paid for those?"

Ben and Audrey were at his locker when they saw a gaggle of girls whose hair Mal spelled.

"She did it to Jane's hair, too, and Fairy Godmother's not happy about it," continues Audrey.

"What's the harm?" Ben asks, shrugging and smiling.

"It's gateway magic! Sure, it starts with the hair. Next thing you know It's the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then... Where will I be?"

Ah, so that's what she's worried about. He starts, "Listen, Audrey-"

She interrupts him, "I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye, Bennyboo." She air-kisses his cheek.

"Bye."

A shrill voice calls behind him, "Hey, Bennyboo!"

He turns. It was Mal. "Hey," he says while putting on a smile on his face.

"I just made a batch of cookies. Double chocolate chip, do you want one?" Asks Mal.

"Oh, I, uh, I've got a big game. I don't eat before a big game. But thank you so, so much. Thank you. Next time. Next time."

"No, yeah," Mal says as Ben starts to turn around. "I completely understand. 'Be careful of treats offered by kids of villains.'"

"No, no, no," he tries to say.

"No, I'm sure every kid in Auradon knows that."

"No, that's not it. No, no, no, I... I really do..."

"No, I get it. You're cautious. That's smart. Oh, well, more for me, I guess." Mal grasps a cookie and tries to bite it, but Ben grabs it and bites into it.

"No, no. Hey... see that? Totally trust you. Totally."

"How are they?" Mal asks with a glint in her eyes.

"They're good. They're great! They're amazing! They're, uh..." His brain fogs over.

"I mean, they're chewy and, and you know, they... is that walnuts? I love walnuts. I mean, uh, you know, the... The chocolate... The... the chocolate... The chocolate chips are... I'm sorry." Why is it becoming so hard for him to speak?

"Um... Uh, they're... They're warm and soft. And they're sweet..." Her eyes...

"Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?"

He feels a hand on his shoulder, but all he can think of is Mal. "How you feeling, bro?" A voice says.

"I feel... I feel... I feel like... Like singing your name." And he does start to sing. "Mal, Mal." Mal's hand covers his mouth.

"I think you better go to your Tourney game, right Jay?" Says Mal.

"That's right, bro, we should go," Jay tells Ben.

He doesn't want to leave Mal. "But, Mal!"

"You'll see her later, Ben. Carlos help me here."

Ben feels two sets of arms grab his biceps and pulling him away from Mal.

"Bye, Bennyboo!" says Mal, wiggling her fingers as a sort of wave. So Ben waves back. Or at least, he tries to.

✧༝┉˚❋ ❋˚┉༝✧

Ben's head clears the farther he is from Mal. He lets Jay and Carlos go ahead for the Tourney game, while Ben goes to his room to retrieve his newly washed jersey.

On his way to the locker room, though, he sees Chad and Audrey cornering Ursa.

"You'll always be the filth at the bottom of the barrel," says Audrey in a sickly sweet voice. "Being at Auradon Prep, befriending the Crown Prince, my boyfriend, will not change that you're just a Villain Kid, a peasant in a world of kings and queens."

Chad pushes Ursa at her shoulders. "You will never be one of us. Understand?"

Ursa is close to tears but stands her ground defiantly.

Ben runs towards them. "Stop!" He peels off Chad and Audrey from Ursa. "What are you doing?!"

Audrey looks at him with guilty eyes. "Ben, we were just-"

"No, nothing can excuse what you've said to her," Ben rages. "I don't even know why I call you my friends, and why I call you my girlfriend," he tells the two of them.

"Chad, we're not friends anymore. And Audrey, we are over."

Audrey's heart breaks. Ben was her best friend. "Ben-"

"No." Ben realizes he's losing his best friends, but he is done with their attitude, especially toward the VKs, and especially toward Ursa. He grows cold towards them. "That's enough."

Tears roll down Audrey's cheeks as she rushes away from Ben.

Chad just looks at him with disappointment and sadness, as if Ben was the one who did him wrong, and chases after Audrey.

With her bullies gone, Ursa finally lets her tears run down her face after what feels like a lifetime of holding it in.

Ben feels his heart fill with sadness for her and runs his thumb over her tears.

Suddenly he feels the fog over his heart and his mind dissipate. He realizes what was done to him. The cookie, and Mal... Ursa's tears washed away the spell.

Remembering where he is, he cradles Ursa's head and brings her into a tight embrace, not caring for the tears that wet his shirt.

[seyaryminamoto]

Happy Valentine’s Day! I just read chapter 282, and you definitely are a master at pulling at the heartstrings. It was beautifully executed and I cannot wait till the real deal! Ursa was a big surprise but I am so excited! Glad you are not sticking to the comics with her, (I was not a fan of her story.) what her thoughts are on Sokka & Azulas relationship. What kind of role will she play in the near future for them? What does she know about the fate of her children? Fantastic work as always!

Happy belated Valentine's day for you too, Anon! Thank you very much for letting me know I brought on the feels like I meant to with 282, haha xD

Yeah, I've thought to drop another author's note in the next chapter to remind everyone, for the millionth time, that her backstory in Gladiator is 100% different from what the comics did. I don't even think it's all that necessary to say it anymore, but I feel like I should clarify it at least one more time, haha xD

As for those questions... answers will arrive relatively soon inside the story. But if you really must know... :'D

Well, first off, her thoughts on their relationship are somewhat complicated to explain as things are riiiight now. As you may recall, Ursa's current status is... a little bit chaotic. She's got some severe trauma she hasn't dealt with in any positive way, and her mind is not as clear as it could be. Therefore, as she is right now in 282, Ursa continues to be in denial of everything that suggests time has passed, that her children have grown up, and that she hasn't been part of their lives at all, just as she was in 207. Therefore, anything that implies her daughter has had a life she has missed out on is basically something she shuts the door on, harshly, because she refuses to accept this is possible...

... but that won't be her state forevermore :'D

Once Ursa comes around and accepts reality, which is big progress for her, she'll have a very long and thorough conversation with Sokka. It's a veeeery important, complicated and difficult conversation for them both. Part of why she wants it to happen, though, is the fact that Sokka is a wholly new person she has never really had a connection with before. Unlike how it is with Zuko or Azula, where she's in conflict and denial of who they are now as she clings to the past... it's easier to talk to Sokka and understand what's going on with him because he's someone new. Naturally, learning about Sokka and Azula's bond wasn't the easiest thing for her (though technically she, uh, doesn't learn about it from Sokka...), but the main thing she will concern herself with is...

... Azula's happiness! :'D

She wants to be sure that Sokka loved her and cared about her, first of all, and once she grows to believe that, she actually becomes a major supporter of their relationship. It's very much something that Sokka doesn't expect to happen... but this woman's full of surprises :'D she has changed a lot, really, and she even will acknowledge that, if she hadn't wound up where she is in life, if she had stayed with Ozai all along, she really might have been the nightmare mother Azula thought she'd be, shutting her down and refusing to accept that Azula could love someone so inappropriate for one of her station... but that's not the person Ursa is anymore. She has had some veeeery rude awakenings in life, and that means she grows to value Sokka very very quickly, for she can tell how much he cares about Azula and that their relationship was something wonderful for her daughter, even if Ursa can't quite confirm that with Azula just yet...

How much does she know about her kids... well, she knows more than she lets on, but like I said, she's mostly in denial about it all. So, in part, she kinda knows everything that's public knowledge, but in order to cope with reality she just loses herself in the past and refuses to acknowledge what's going on. So she's not reeeeally lost about everything, but it's only after she accepts reality properly that she can acknowledge her... knowledge? :'D

Her role going forward will be... mysterious (?) Okay, she's going to be a very big help for the group, and she'll be a major supporter of their cause going forward. She'll come and go sometimes, because unfortunately she's not really someone who should be involved in a lot of the dangerous stuff Sokka and his friends will get up to :'D in my sort-of-defense, I've tried to keep her around as often as possible x'D but yeah, can't really excuse it in some situations, so we won't have her around all the time. But one of her roles will also be... to serve us some flashbacks like Ozai does :'D we'll get a few flashbacks from her point of view, the first of which will be in the final chapter of the arc that begins this week. And yeah, when I said she'd be mysterious, I also mean because I'll keep a few things about her in the dark because... I really don't want to reveal EVERYTHING about Ursa to the readers until Azula is ready to learn about the core of it too :'D and as you may imagine... that's going to take A WHILE. So. Yeah.

Ursa isn't going to be a problem going forward, though, she's not going to have an antagonistic role towards our main characters... she's a complicated person who's gone through some reeeeally rough times, who starts trying to do better and be better in order to do right by her children, but who deep down is terribly scarred by the things she's been through (... and the things she's done), to the point where it sometimes paralyzes her and even throws her into downwards spirals. We won't see a lot of those... but we will certainly see that her flashbacks mean something very different than Ozai's do, for in her case, she's basically spent years living in her own memories and trying to build herself a safe place within her mind through those memories, out of fear and rejection of everything that changes around her...

Welp! There goes that explanation :'D I won't lie, I'm eternally shocked by how much I've grown to appreciate her character by writing her... she's always been one of the inclusions of Part 3 that I most looked forward to working with, and I'm really happy to feel that her presence in the story feels so powerful whenever I write her. I hope you guys will be thrilled to see more of her too! Like I said... she's complicated, but that makes her insanely compelling for me to explore as a character xD may it be fun for you guys to see those explorations, once we get there!

[jaegercat03]

Ok so since @idle-skull already made a rundown of their OC, Lark, I figured I may as well make one for my own OC, as she’s closely related to Lark. If you want the basic lore/premise for our AU, go to their post and read that first. Alright, with that done, here we go.

Guinevere / Marian Sanguina / Vidua Leonis(Dornian Heresy timeline)

So Guinevere (her original name) was born in the lower levels of Wisterium, and was picked up by the Ladies of Wisterium at a very young age. As she grew, she had developed a very muscular figure, as well as growing quite tall (She was naturally 7ft tall, no enhancements or Starcrawler yet). Upon her “graduation” and drinking the blood of the Starcrawler, she grew even larger, comparable to even a powerful Space Marine in sheer strength.

Due to this, her role among the LoW was quite different from her sisters. It’d be rather difficult to disguise the 7 and a half foot stack of muscle as a maid or servant, so she instead often took the role of a bodyguard or enforcer during her missions. She also took part in assassinations much more than her sisters, as she could basically just smash the target’s head in and bolt out of there without a struggle. For reference, Guin is a few years older than Lark (around 5 or so), and while she doesnt like him much, she doesn’t have the same hatred that many of the other LoW have for him. To her, he's more like a shitty sibling that gets in trouble and comes home in a police car every couple weeks.

Once Wisterium was incorporated into the larger Imperium, Guin had been assigned, much like Lark, to spy on a primarch. However, as she hadn’t displeased Ursa in the way Lark had, Guin was assigned to a much more prestigious Primarch, Sanguinius (in the “canon” timeline. In the Dornian timeline she is assigned to the Lion, but we’ll cover that in another post). Under the name Marian, she was presented to Sanguinius as an elite bodyguard, and entered his service. But, as it turns out, “Marian” actually began enjoying her role. As someone raised to be a spy, she was used to her whole world, both undercover and back on Wisterium, being terribly cutthroat and dangerous, so meeting someone so kind and genuine like Sanguinius was an entirely foreign experience, but one she could certainly get used to. Their relationship moved slow, but it steadily developed into a genuine friendship, and then into something much more. However, Guin knew that such a thing would NOT fly with the LoW, she was careful to keep things hidden. She began to feed Ursa less important information, enough to keep him satisfied, but not enough to actually give him anything useful. At the same time, she began covertly planning out how she would escape the eyes of her sisters and eventually manage to finally have the life she wished with the love of her life.

She never got that chance.

The Heresy breaking out laid all her plans to complete ruin. By the time it was over, a (now pregnant) Guinevere was left with her husband dead, most of her sisters dead or missing, and a paranoid imperium hunting down the forces of Chaos, which included the LoW. And so, she fled out into the depths of space, abandoning “Guinevere” in favor of her identity as Marian, trying to raise her daughter quietly as she slowly healed from her grief. Unfortunately, things just couldn’t remain that simple. Lark, shortly after the death of Kurze, had made contact with her, asking for a favor. Lark had given birth to his third child, Nightingale. However, after the twins and Kurze’s death, he felt unfit to raise her, and begged Marian to take her. Marian agreed, taking the child and fleeing back into hiding. And so there she was. Hiding from the largest regime in history, raising her two demigod children.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok that’s her personal story. I may write more on Falxia and Gale, as well as her story in the Dornian continuity (her path is massively different in that timeline.)

Again, check out @idle-skull for Lark’s stuff, and be sure to leave any questions about Guin for me!

[hellonoblesky]

hi. kaeya a nd diluc lore please

YIPPEE Under the cut. Because I am insane and ramble sooo much

Kaeya:

Kaeya's birth family, the Alberich Clan, rose to a place of prominence after the Cataclysm, because the ruling family of Khaenri'ah, the Eclipse Dynasty, had fallen, and the Alberich Clan took the initiative to gather survivors and protect them.

This is important because, due to the Alberich Clan's importance and prominence, Kaeya ends up being sent away as a spy.

(And I say spy very lightly, because I think it's more likely that he was sent to Mondstadt because 1) Mondstadt has a safer environment to grow up in than Khaenri'ah probably does, 2) If there's someone from Mondstadt, who Mondstadtian people Like and or look up too, who also understands Khaenri'ahn struggles and their way of life, it can make coming to peacefully agreements between the two a LOT easier, 3) if the worst case scenario does happen and Mondstadt and Khaenri'ah go to war against each other... Kaeya's knowledge of both nations will make him a very important asset)

So, at an undefined age (Personally I assumed it was 7-10 ish, because all we know is that it was a YOUNG age), Kaeya is left alone, in a rainstorm, outside of famed Mondstadt winery, home to the Ragnvinder Clan, the Dawn Winery, his father's last words to him being "This is your chance. You are our last hope. Forgive me, Kaeya," before Kaeya, as a young boy, was left to navigate an Archon's nation alone.

Kaeya, of course, ended up adopted by the Ragnvinders, Crepus Ragnvinder (Diluc's father) finding him on the road and hurrying him inside before the rains got harsher, deciding to have the boy stay as he got along with Diluc, and his father showed no signs of coming home.

So there Kaeya stayed.

Kaeya Alberich, one half of a pair, the left to Diluc's right, the gentle chill to Diluc's burning glory. They were a pair, Diluc, the Knight's youngest Cavalry Captain, and Kaeya, his right hand. Both of them battling as brothers through and through, enjoying life as siblings, in joy and care.

Until Diluc's 18th birthday.

Because on Diluc's 18th birthday, a dragon, known as Ursa the Drake (despite not being a Drake at all, Ursa was fr just a normal dragon, I have like a whole different post of thoughts abt him tbh), swept down and attacked the cart that Diluc and his father were traveling home in.

Crepus died jumping to Diluc's defense that night.

To Diluc, this was a massive blow, him and his father had been so close for as long as he'd lived, he didn't know how to handle the death, how to handle someone so important to him being DEAD. He is distraught, wrapped up in a anxious frantic worried thoughts.

But at least he had Kaeya, right?

Right?

Well, Kaeya, having lost his second father figure, was also severely rattled by it. Of course he was, Crepus was important to him, he was family!

But some part of him, the part that held it's loyalty to his original mission, to the people of Kahenri'ah, was almost relieved. Because with Crepus gone he didn't have as much to worry about when it came to being found out, or to complications in when he had to chose a side (and he WOULD likely have to choose a side).

But Kaeya still loved him as a father, and was wreaked with guilt over feeling that way.

So, Kaeya decided he didn't want to hide his past anymore.

And came clean to Diluc.

About everything.

Or at least, enough of everything.

He told him he was a Spy, he told him he was an Agent of Khaenri'ah, that he was of a nation wreaked in Abyss and hidden from the stars.

Diluc didn't take it well.

So he drew his blade, and the brothers battled almost to the death on the steps of the Dawn Winery.

That was how Kaeya got his Vision. In a battle of rain and fire and betrayal and grief and AGONY, he, who held no reverence to the gods, not really, was granted Celestial might, given a cold gem of ice.

And so the brothers parted ways.

And now Kaeya sees his Vision as a stern reminder that he must ALWAYS live his life bathed in lies. He must keep the shroud drawn over his true self at all times. He cannot afford to mess up or he will die or be hated, or be run out of the city, any number of horrid things that he can't afford.

(THAT'S ALSO WHY HSI VISION ONLY HAS TWO WINGS ON IT INSTEAD OF THE STANDARD MONDTSADT THREE!! ITS BECAUSE OF HIS CONFLICTED LOYALTY!!!!!)

So he took up the position Diluc left open in the Knights, and became the new Cavalry Captain, all silver-tongued and gently woven of spiderwebs.

Diluc:

Diluc got his Vision when he was 10, a symbol of burning resolve when he decided to become a Knight.

The Knights, of course, welcomed such a burning young prodigy into their ranks! Especially the son of the esteemed and loved Ragnvinder Clan!!!

And so Diluc, with his dear adoptive brother, strove to be the best the Knights had ever seen. And for a while, he was!! He really was!!

But then of course, his 18th birthday happened, and everything came apart.

You see, aside from the stuff with Kaeya, Diluc also had to confront a hidden past of his father's. Because Crepus had been dealing with the Fatui. Ursa the Drake's attack was orchestrated BY the Fatui (I assume it's because Crepus wanted to stop dealing with them and was cutting their business to an end and he didn't want that, but that's not rlly made clear), forcing Crepus to use the Delusion they'd given him to defend Diluc, the usage of which killed him.

And yet that wasn't all.

Because the Knights refused to acknowledge Crepus's sacrifice, instead intending to frame the incident as a tragedy that DILUC prevented from being of greater harm, despite Diluc's protest and clear discomfort with it.

So Diluc left.

He threw his Vision to the floor of the Knight's Headquarters along with his jacket and left, picking up the Delusion that had once been his father's and setting off to find his own answers in the world.

And for four years he made the lives of the Fatui HELL. He tore their strongholds apart in his search for answers, killed and maimed and became such an efficient destructive force that the HARBINGERS THEMSELVES took to hunting him down until he escaped their grasps by joining an intelligence network and returning home to Mondstadt.

He didn't pick his Vision back up until he broke his Delusion breaking out of Fatui custody after taking the fall for an escaped Fatui prisoner (Collei <3), and Kaeya gifted it back to him in a vase (that you can actually interact with in the Dawn Winery !!)

So now he dedicates his time to defending his home. He'll fight for Mondstadt until he dies. And maybe that doesn't bode well for the future, but it's what he's always done, and having been a Knight since childhood? It's really all he knows how to do in order to feel "Normal".

[julietwiskey1]

I posted 2,097 times in 2022

That's 1,855 more posts than 2021!

182 posts created (9%)

1,915 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@akiizayoi4869

@balsa-margarita

@prodogg

@zuko-always-lies

@frellingstarburst

I tagged 1,164 of my posts in 2022

Only 44% of my posts had no tags

#azula - 695 posts

#fanart - 284 posts

#zuko - 194 posts

#ursa - 167 posts

#ty lee - 74 posts

#mai - 59 posts

#iroh - 53 posts

#wiskey answers - 46 posts

#if you havent noticed i like ursa and azula having a good relationship - 40 posts

#ozai - 36 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#if he goes and does it we are days from watching the former anti-war and anti-nuclear crowd openly championing the use of nuclear weapons

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I think there is an important question thus far over looked in the discussion of cat!Azula. And that if whether or not she’s a good mouser. Does she keep the ship pest free, or would she rather steal food off of a sailors plate?

119 notes - Posted April 19, 2022

#4

Why did Aang never try to learn water healing? It seems like that would have been a very important redundancy for the team. He wouldn’t even need to be that good if you are worried about him taking away from Katara’s speciality. But just a second person around who could heal would be nice, especially if it ever happened that Katara was the one to get hurt and needed healing.

146 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#3

Could Zuko have fought Azula with flame dagger in their first encounter because he thought he would win that way? Or maybe even have a history of beating Azula in that manner.

After all the last time Zuko saw his sister was three years before than when she would have been 11 and him 13. He would have likely trained and spared with her before his banishment. Azula has always been a superior bender to Zuko though.

But flame daggers is much more like sword fighting then firebending. And we have no indication that Azula ever trained a lot in that form. Also Azula was a lot smaller when she was 11. Zuko likely had enough of a size and strength advantage on her to win a fight in that manner before he was banished. So when they were kids Zuko learned that he could beat Azula in a fight if he got in close and overpowered her.

So Zuko was unlikely being completely brash in that fight and actually fought in a way that proved successful in the past. The issue is he did not account for Azula growing up and becoming stronger and more experienced.

182 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

#2

In my own story I want to write Ursa as a firebender. But I think an interesting way to keep her different from her children is to have her specialized in Fire Dancing and not the combative forms that Zuko and Azula learned.

I think there is also the fun possibility of an arc focusing on Ursa teaching Azula to reconnect to what she loves about bending through a dance. While Azula teaches Ursa to defend herself by teaching her combat forms.

219 notes - Posted April 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Azula, I believe, is best written as a heroic villain. She has the qualities and attributes of a hero but the ideology of a villain. A true believer in the Fire Nation cause. Which can make her a hard character to redeem.

Azula has several noteworthy characteristics. She is loyal first and foremost to her nation. Putting herself at great risk for its profit, think of her powerless defending her father on the Day of Black Sun. She also thinks of the group before herself. It has been noted that when she talks of what she is doing it is in the vain of what is best for the Fire Nation.

She is also a hard worker. Tirelessly perfecting her bending if it is anything less then perfect. She is intelligent, thinking of new and innovative ways to tackle a problem. All are often characteristics we associate with good or heroic characters.

While she is undeniably mean to her friends and brother it is not in such an uncommon manor. And let’s face it. She’s a teenager. People do kind of suck around that age. And an asshole is not an uncommon character flaw for a hero to receive.

Yet it can’t be denied that she is in fact a villain. She believes in the good of what the Fire Nation is doing. A child soldier who sought out and eliminated what she believed was the greatest threat to her nation. An imperialist who captured Ba Sing Se for the glory of her nation. Stomping out what little freedom from the Fire Nation was left. All clearly actions of a villain.

And that is where redeeming her can get difficult. She believes all of those actions she did were heroic. The people in her life praised her for it and celebrated her achievements. Letting her know that those things were truly good and heroic achievements. So for her to get redeemed she needs to learn that it was wrong and bad of her to do those things.

It will take time for her to see that she was wrong. And for her to learn that it would take gentle guidance and prodding. Someone who is willing to work with her to show her the truth. Break her away from all of the bad things she has been taught from birth.

256 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

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