#i mean. if specific people he was with are the straw that broke the camel’s back for u then i get that

[l8tof1]

Idek what the drama is actually about bestie. The fact he's allegedly dating someone? Or the people he's supposedly with?

i’m with you anon, i don’t really get it. people just love to create drama

none of these things are shocking either? for as long as i’ve been following him, he’s been hanging around some questionable people, he’s gone on ridiculous rich people adventures, and - i would just have to assume even though this is truly the least relevant part of it all - has been hooking up with whoever tf he wants. 🤷‍♀️

[common-dace]

so i have not stopped thinking about gillion's banishment ever since it was revealed, but episode 114 has got me feeling fucking unhinged over it because it has given me new thoughts.

cause like, here's the thing. gillion's banishment never made sense to me. clearly, the prophecy and the chosen one are extremely important to the undersea. it is literally about whether their people continue to live or are exterminated. it is so vital to them that they took a literal child away from his family and trained him under the most important, highest-position figures in the entire undersea. just think about all the resources and time and effort they piped gill's way.

so the idea that they would just… send him away doesn't make sense. if they send away their chosen one, they're basically fucking over the entire undersea. according to the undersea's version of the prophecy, they need their chosen one or it's literally the end of the world. and even if maybe the elders didn't fully believe the prophecy, they'd still have to answer to their people who definitely believe the prophecy. (hence why the whole shebang was swept under the rug, to the point they refused to tell edyn anything about it.)

obviously, there's unseen factors at play here.

it's possible that it was, indeed, the elders' choice to exile gillion. maybe they decided they were wrong that gillion was the chosen one - after all, he'd spent the past decade or so failing in his training, and maybe this was the straw that broke the camel's back. they sent him away as punishment for the incident and to get him out of their hair, kept the whole thing on the down low to keep the people calm and preserve their reputation, and started searching for who they believe is the real chosen one.

but i can't believe that. it doesn't make sense to me, especially since time and time again, various people have been able to look at gillion and see the sheer divine energy he radiates. the elders - the most powerful people in the undersea - would surely be able to tell.

or maybe they simply didn't care whether gill was the chosen one or not, just that he had disapointed them one too many times. like it's one of those things where the people care about it much more than the government. but frankly, that just seems too convient and doesn't really line up with the intensity of gillion's training. i don't believe it either.

which means, the most likely scenario is that it was not the elders' choice to exile gillion.

i can only imagine what kind of a diplomatic nightmare it would be to try and sort out the aftermath of such an incident. it's wasn't just some rando stabbing a human - it was the chosen one, one of the most important figures of the undersea, stabbing a vice-admiral, one of the most important figures of the navy. entire wars have been declared over less. there is no way the navy would just let this slide, especially considering how hostile the navy has become and how their desire for an alliance with the undersea was really an attempt at manipulation. any opportunity for control they see, they will take.

perhaps gillion's exile, then, was simply punishment by the navy. if the navy did not know exactly who gillion was (it's not like he introduced himself to jayson prior or anything, and it's possible the elders did not tell the navy) then it would be an act that doubles as justice and as an example that resistance would not be tolerated. maybe it was part of a larger suite of demands, including opening a line of communication with the navy - after all, it seems that there might be some sort of communication going on at some level, given what gillion overheard at the all-port base in episode 61. (or maybe there is no communication, and the chosen one they talked about transferring was already in navy hands after being forcibly captured. who knows.)

speaking of, something about that whole all-port bit doesn't sit right with me - specifically, the alternate chosen one thing. the undersea seems to have appointed another "chosen one" after gillion's banishment. however, a few questions arise. did the undersea do it on their own accord, or at coercion of the navy? does the navy know that this isn't the original chosen one, or did the undersea manage to keep the whole switcheroo secret? was this chosen one even appointed by anyone or did they just kinda assert themselves? there's still so much that's unknown.

if we continue with the assumption that the navy did not know that gillion was the chosen one, then that would indicate that this secondary chosen one was likely chosen in an attempt to save face - possibly in the eyes of their people, possibly in the eyes of a navy threat (after all, it wouldn't be good to look weak). it would also indicate that the navy believes that this person is the true chosen one, which paints one hell of a picture. one of the things gillion overheard in episode 61 was that the chosen one was being transferred, presumably away from the undersea and the people they're sworn to protect. it seems like a very intentional move to try and lower the undersea's defenses and open them to attack.

i'd also like to add: i saw this wonderful post by here-there-be-drag0ns that you should totally check out if you haven't already that talks about how the gathering of undersea leaders might have been a front by the navy in order to get them all in the same place at the same time to take them all out. i just wanted to say that if this is true, then the idea that the navy would pre-emptively take out the chosen one to leave undersea folk more defenseless fits too well for my liking. they're making sure that the undersea's supposedly-best warrior is not present at this mass murder meeting where they're trying to decentralize the undersea. fucking yikes.

however, as much as all this makes sense to me and is a possibility, it still feels like there's something missing. it's up to some debate whether the navy (at least the higher-ups) know if gillion is the chosen one or not.

so. uh. episode 114, huh? what an episode. the tritons hanging on meat hooks and the triton skin on the ground was extremely striking to me, mainly because this is the first time we've actually seen other tritons in the campaign. for 113 episodes, the only tritons we've seen were the three tidestriders (and technically that one elder but like that was in gillion's mind so it doesn't count. also does gillion even count? anyway). that made the scene hit so much harder, and it really stuck in my head. in the time between gillion being exiled and now, the navy managed to get their hands on tritons without our resident pirates having any idea. this led me to a new thought:

what if the navy knew that gillion was the chosen one, and they knew exactly what they were doing in demanding that he be banished?

i'm not sold on this thought because it would make the whole "transferring the chosen one" thing kinda pointless (unless that was just a symbolic move meant to instill complacent despair into the undersea folks, etc.), but shit, it does make some sense.

because again, the undersea probably wouldn't banish their chosen one without some sort of coercion, and it doesn't make too much sense to me that the navy would particularly care about some rando (i.e., i think they'd leave the punishment to the undersea and instead focus on more significant ways they could use the incident to acquire control). the most likely reason they'd demand for gillion to gtfo is if they knew who he was, because then, they'd definitely want him gone. if you had the opportunity to get rid of one of the biggest obstacles between your plans of domination and the people you want to dominate, you'd fucking take it. it would make it all the easier for them to do what they want with the triton people.

but if this is true, then an even larger question arises: why wouldn't they just kill gillion?

well, maybe they wanted to. maybe they made that demand to the undersea, but the undersea refused. maybe they knew that the undersea wouldn't do it so they didn't even make the demand. maybe they knew that if they pushed for it or did it themselves, it'd piss off too many people and things would get a whole lot more messy. maybe they originally planned to secretly kill him and then replace him with someone under navy control to placate and manipulate the people, but it didn't go as expected.

or perhaps - and hear me out - gillion's banishment was not a punishment forced by the navy, but rather, an act of protection by the elders.

surely, the undersea knew they were in deep shit. for the first time possibly ever, the navy had come down to the undersea with attempts to manipulate them, but before they could turn the navy away peacefully, their goddamn champion barges in and all but makes a war declaration. shit could only go downhill from there.

obviously, the elders are shady and not morally great. they're flawed people who have caused a lot of hurt. they're as transparent as mud and withhold (and even lie about) significant information. however, i'm convinced of one thing - the prophecy and long-term survival of their people are important to them.

which means… the chosen one must stay alive.

but "oh, wouldn't it make more sense for gillion to stay in the undersea so he could fight off the navy because he's the chosen one and-" no. nope. we've all heard the way gillion talks about his training. the elders definitely saw him as a failure, no ifs, ands, or buts. they would have no confidence that he would do anything but be killed. so if your only options are 1) have your people be taken over by the navy but your chosen one is probably alive somewhere, or 2) have your chosen one be killed and then your people get taken over by the navy anyway, you're gonna go with option 1. you're gonna sacrifice the current well-being of your people with the hope that some day, destiny will lead the chosen one back when it is time and prevent the undersea from being wiped out entirely. an awful choice to have to make, but if you truly believe the prophecy, then you're gonna do what you have to to make sure it is fulfilled, even if the immediate consequences are dire. literally a last hope type of moment.

but "oh, wouldn't they at least tell gillion some of this because, again, chosen one, and-" nope. gillion is gillion. mf would absolutely go hero mode and try to stab another navy vice-admiral, get himself promptly killed, and fuck over the undersea worse. but if gillion thought he was banished as a punishment, well. that's not exactly something you can just return to the undersea from. it's a serious charge and gillion would know it. he'd be more likely to stay away and, by extension, stay out of navy hands. the best choice for the elders was to keep him in the dark and send him away, praying that destiny will lead him to where he needs to go.

but if we go this route, then it doesn't really work with the idea that the navy knows who gill is. it's possible that the undersea told the navy they killed the chosen one to try and cover their tracks, or maybe the navy knew they just exiled him and it angered them enough to react with a stronger iron grip and more demands, but… that doesn't really jive with me. if the navy knew the current "chosen one" wasn't the real one, there'd be no need to transfer them out. also, gillion has come face-to-face with jayson multiple times since the incident, and surely, if he thought that gillion was anyone of real significance, he'd remember his face (although, perhaps he's so preoccupied with jay that it was the last thing on his mind). plus, it's also worth noting that gillion's bounty from the navy only ever increased in connection with his pirate shenanigans. surely, if they really wanted the chosen one gone, they'd place a high incentive to lure in bounty hunters. in general, the idea that the navy knows who gill is just doesn't mesh well - it seems that they really don't know.

another possibility blends the banishment as protection idea with the concept that the navy doesn't know that gillion is the real chosen one. perhaps the navy, not knowing this, didn't really give a shit what the undersea did with gillion as long as he was punished and made into an example. however, just because the navy didn't know who gillion was then didn't mean they would never find out. again, gillion's got one hell of a hero complex - he simply would not stop at a single attack. he would persist, endangering any diplomatic attempts by the undersea to straighten things out and revealing himself as a very important figure and target.

this paints an interesting picture. perhaps while the navy did not directly force the undersea to exile gillion, banishment was still the best choice. it keeps the screw-up from making things worse, keeps the chosen one out of certain death, and keeps him a secret. in his place, the elders scrambled to find a suitable replacement to show to the navy and avoid suspicion. this way, if the navy exerted their newfound control over the undersea and did something like, say, transfer the chosen one out of the undersea to do gods-know-what, the real chosen one would still be hidden, safe, and ready for the day destiny pulls him back to liberate them all. gillion would be their plan b and secret weapon, should they fail.

("hidden," "secret," i say, like gillion hasn't spent the majority of the campaign immediately introducing himself to everyone as the champion of the deep and the chosen one. oof. never said my theories were solid. maybe in his long list of titles, the navy didn't notice those.)

anyway. i don't know. i have many thoughts, few of which are coherent. i have no idea what to believe. there's still so many missing bits of information, like everything regarding edyn. maybe i'm totally misinterpreting the transferred chosen one thing. there's also that whole storyline where gill was in the luxbris pearl and it was clear the (technically imagined?) elders banished him as punishment. there's that comment by that hanging triton where he says gillion abandoned them, which makes me feel like i am so off on the elders' intentions because maybe they publically blamed gill to save face. or maybe the elders didn't blame gill on their own accord, but rather were coerced to blame it on him by the navy, which, by this point, surely has deep hooks in the undersea government. fuck, dude. brain's going conspiracy theory mode now, i feel like i'm losing my mind. if y'all have any thoughts or better ideas than me, i'd love to hear them.

[cikrovat]

spoilers for crosscode

while writing down my dream I had an urge to just tell my thoughts about Sidwell, because this man doesn't leave my head. this man is probably the most gray villane I've seen in a while, but the more I read everyone's else's thoughts about him, I'm thinking "am I weird of thinking differently about that guy?"

so, Sidwell, the evil person without sympathy or any remorse. or is he? we know for a fact that he didn't cared for any other evotars, using them as a profitable business, source of income

everyone but one - Lea. He gave her name, he cared enough to show his "face" because he didn't wanted to scare her, he cared enough to teach her, to spend time with her, to talk about himself, to comfort her. But reading wiki I just see

Despite this, he didn't seem to care about her being deleted for completely malfunctioning.

what do you mean he didn't seem to care, what, what do you mean. if he didn't cared about her, he wouldn't just even attempting saving her, giving her a key access to Evotar server, in the server dream he even breaks because nothing seems to work, nothing is helping Lea. He was so desperate to save her that he gave her a key to Evotar server, Sidwell, the person that didn't trusted even himself, gave a key access to Lea.

In the end you know that it didn't helped because it was all plan Satoshi, because he broke Lea intentionally to get the access to server, but before "deleting" Lea, he gave Sidwell one last hope in form of trying to "delete her memory's", maybe if she could forget everything she could return to normal state. And Sidwell agreed on this, this is how Satoshi was able to secretly upload Lea to CrossWorlds server, and then telling Sidwell that welp sorry all hope lost

Satoshi used the only weak spot Sidwell had - his care for Lea, because of how strongly she resembles Manuela to him.

Manuela. She is interesting character because we don't fully know what happened to her, wiki suggests that she simply left Sidwell when learned that he lack sympathy, but my theory is - she is dead. Thing is, Sidwell always use very specific wording when he talks about Manuela, he always talks about how "she was" or "she would've loved that place" like she couldn't now. So for me she probably died and it was the last straw that broke the camels back, also seems like Sidwell works not in the cleanest cycles possible (he is probably selling information through black markets and he stated himself that he had a lot of connections here and there) so he probably was tied to the crimes even before picking up Satoshi, Shizuka and Gautham. And in the crime world you had to adapt, you had to break yourself, because everyone having a knife and you never know would it ba aimed at you.

Note, I'm not justifying Sidwells actions, he chooses to do everything himself, yes he is probably a very broken man, who lost someone who he actually cared about, and then proceeded to spiral further, because of his involvement in the criminal spaces, that killed any of his trust to anyone

but that not how you handle things my guy...

I just think he is very complex and interesting character, he is still bad, he did a lot of bad things to others, but when we had the last dream before the raid, I really questioned myself "what if everything was better?"

But that we slowly drifting towards the Boy. The Tronny. oh boy where do I start.

He literally the answer to that question, without memory's he slowly developed into his own character, but thing is he absolutely has resemblings with Sidwell, like Lea has some with Shizuka. I bet Sidwell also loved ice cream and nerding about stuff before he broke, and thing is I think that Tronny is probably Sidwell, but when he was student, before he was unburden, before he became what he is today. And expiriance really do making a difference, even if we talk about two similar people

Sidwell really interesting character, very complex, he made a lot of people, who Lea cared about, suffer, but she remembers him way more nicer. But even though he is upset that now Lea know everything, the part of him also glad that Lea gets to meet so many people, see so many places, and just grow up as a person. he is genuinely, truly glad

well, at least The Boy wouldn't go by his steps, he is definitely in much more nicer environment and he is just not Sidwell we know anymore. Even tho their emotion faces are REALLY similar with each other, its not even funny how eery similar they are, you don't even notice it until the dlc and now I cannot look at The Boy's face because God dammit Tronny

[jackwolfes]

What would you give as advice for writing a character study/ a more emotions-driven fic, rather than a plot heavy one? Love ur writing!!🌼

so i really need a strong sense of narrative if i'm going to get anything written, and the fics i find easiest to write are the ones where there is a VERY clear progression from a to b to c. having spoken to other writers i know lots of people struggle with character studies precisely because they feel a bit loose around the edges and wishy-washy, so my key piece of advice if you're wanting to do emotions driven fics and struggling would be: get that baby a plot! by which i mean a suuuper clear narrative. like, it doesn't need to be a long-form fic level of plot, but i find i can do fics like these well when the sense of narrative is super prominent

just personally, this is my process for planning these sorts of fics:

1: figure out what specific thing you're looking to "study" (re: character study)

this is the ✨ idea phase ✨ which i'm sure you've got down but taking time to dig into what one focal point is really really helpful for me

2: pick out the very very broad narrative beats

by this i mean like. where are you starting. where do you want them to get to. what needs to happen to get them from point a to point b (alt: what is happening to them along this journey and how do they react to it)

example - in pain-share soulmate au it was like, hyper chronological? so i went "they are children > they are in ketterdam pre-meeting > they are on the heist > they are dating", which went in lockstep with "they dont know they're soulmates > they know they're soulmates". but in something like my will solace depression fic it was very much a journey of "he is sad + depressed > he is less sad + starting towards healing"

i say this because like. just generally but with these fics especially it really helps to have some idea of where you're going and what you actually want the characters to get out of this? there's nothing wrong with legit just writing random interconnected scenes but if you want a holstic sense of development and resolution i personally think you need at least some form of actual narrative

3.1: figure out what you think they would feel about your first focal point and what needs to happen for them to feel it to the utmost extent

when i'm writing character studies i always start by thinking very basically about how they would react emotionally to something related to the fic's focal point, and then figure out what situations would bring that feeling out in a way that feels narratively compelling (ie the most intense way, the most difficult way, the way that would most damage their relationships, etc).

example - jesper as a character is someone that does not dwell even slightly on any negative emotion he feels. if he were in a situation where someone were to try and make him to confront how he actually feels about a situation he would laugh it off until someone were to quite literally force him to introspect, at which case i think he'd react volatilely in some form because that's what happens when you ignore your feelings and this boy's been doing that for a while.

(which is what happens in the books, frankly, but is also effectively the plot of my arranged marriage au. no i'm not still salty about the person that said it had no emotional resolution, why do you ask)

but yeah once you know how a character would feel about the focal point more broadly you can figure out what specific situations would provide opportunity to show examples of those reactions: what would push their buttons just enough to build up to a largescale blow out; what external scenarios would make them really start feeling those negative emotions in earnest; what would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

so: "in a fic dealing with xyz, this character would feel abc and THIS sort of scenario would bring that out"

3.2: figure out what you want to write and what they would feel about it

it should surprise no one that i am a VERY self indulgent writer but after i work out what situations would be necessary to show enough of the focal point i'm trying to write about i pad it out with like. the fun stuff. ie this is where i cram in alllllll the shit i just really wanna write (usually angst, sometimes sex, often both) and figure out how the thing i'm studying would manifest for a character in that scenario.

example - in dead jesper au i like, REALLY wanted to write wylan trying to sleep with someone else and jesper watching as a ghost, bc they're both very jealous characters and that was narratively interesting, and also i like writing sad people thinking sex will fix them when it in fact won't. ergo, make jesper watch wylan try and fail to move on from his death by trying and failing to fuck someone else and explore how grief plays out for both of them.

so: "i want to write xyz scenes and scenarios and will figure out what emotional reaction they would cause"

points 3.1 and 3.2 kinda end up happening at the same time for me but i feel like it can be easier to start with the first one (what the characters would/need to feel) to like, block out the narrative, at which point you can fill in all the fun self-indulgent bullshit

4: write write write and hope for the best quite frankly

---

tl;dr -

figure out what one thing you want to explore

figure out some sort of overarching/broad narrative

figure out how your characters would feel in Situations TM and then push those Situations TM to the max

figure out what you really want to write and include that because life is short and fic writing is for including self indulgent fucker

pray to the writing gods and do your best

[granulesofsand]

Stepping Stones to Stories

I like to pretend we’re the main character. There are lots of interesting people in our system, but the real reason is because it’s crushing to think our history is inconsequential.

We are a filler in someone else’s story until we learn to make our own narratives.

I think it was Bill Woodburn, but I could be wrong, who does workshops on telling your story. There never has to be an audience, but it shows us how to move from a historical perspective to a personal and later mythological one.

The premise was that there are variations on truth depending on the perspective of the story. It’s how we get from “John dropped his toast as he fished it out of the toaster” to

“It was one more misfortune, the straw that broke the camels back, watching the bread fall and knowing it would land butter-side down” to

“There was a glory in the smallest mistakes that reminded him he was still alive”

It’s the connecting meaning for yourself, without the external interpretation of others. You are the author and you are the protagonist and you are every piece of that myth because it is your version and still the truth.

When you put the myth together, which is the last step of narrating the memories, the moral is whatever you took away from it all. You —and your system if you’ve got that—can put a full plot within one scene or combine the whole of the body’s experiences or anything you want.

Systems specifically have more negotiating to do, whether each member prefers their own narrative or a few combine for a cohesive approach or everyone works together for one history of the body. Which you do depends on your goals, but it’s still possible to work with whatever you have.

Some of our alters are good at that already, stories and meaning and planning for the future. Most of us aren’t. We’re getting there, and it’s better without the judgement. We’re weaving our stories, and everyone can do the same.

[oxydiane]

I desperately wish we’d gotten the logic behind Sn*pe having a muggleborn best friend and still planning on joining the Death Eaters, a group specifically about killing people like Lily. Like, buddy, those two things are mutually exclusive, you can’t keep Lily as a friend and join a group dedicated to wiping people like her out. He goes to speak to Lily after calling her a mudblood, and then doesn’t understand why Lily won’t forgive him, so he clearly didn’t actually understand the issue; it’s not just the public slur, it’s that she knows for a fact that he will join the group that wants her dead and that he truly believes she is scum because of her parents; she just got undeniable proof that “Hey, my childhood best friend thinks I’m filth because of my birth” and when she says he wants to be a Death Eater, he doesn’t deny it, so she also now knows he’s not just passively thinking she’s less than dirt, it’s not just beliefs but murderous actions, he’s planning on actively taking part in the killing (or helping to kill but whether he’s holding the wand or just standing guard he’s equally complicit in the killing) of muggleborns, so like, why on Earth would Lily go “Yeah, there’s no reason a thing like joining a murder cult based explicitly on the idea people of my birth deserve to die is no reason to end our friendship, I forgive you”? Sn*pe is shocked by this, but he’s evidently intelligent enough to later become a professor (no matter that he’s frankly not a good one, but that’s a different rant), so like, where’s the intelligence behind planning to become a Death Eater while friends with Lily? Lily’s made excuses for years, this was not a one-time thing but was rather the straw that broke the camel’s back, so I desperately want to know why Sn*pe thought Lily would be okay with his allegiance.

*Papers are displaying more and more deaths from the Death Eaters, frequently being about how Muggleborns are being slaughtered*

Sn*pe: Not all Death Eaters are like this

Everyone else: Yes, actually, all Death Eaters are, that’s the literal basis of the group.

The answer is painfully plain. He never cared about whether Muggleborns really deserved to be killed, he never cared about Lily as a Muggleborn, he just saw her as Lily. It’s not as if he looked at her and acknowledged her blood status as something that couldn’t be separated from her person. To him, she was Lily and he could ignore her being Muggleborn (that made her be seen as less-than by his peers) because he considered her “different.”

"I was. I would have done. I never meant to call you Mudblood, it just--"

"Slipped out?" There was no pity in Lily's voice. "It's too late. I've made excuses for you for years. None of my friends can understand why I even talk to you. You and your precious little Death Eater friends-- you see, you don't even deny it! You don't even deny that's what you're all aiming to be! You can't wait to join You-Know-Who, can you?"

He opened his mouth, but closed it without speaking.

"I can't pretend anymore. You've chosen your way, I've chosen mine."

"No-- listen, I didn't mean--"

"-- to call me Mudblood? But you call everyone of my birth Mudblood, Severus. Why should I be any different?"

This isn’t him saying “I don’t think people like you are less-than”, this is him saying “I do think that people like you are less-than, but you are different, because you are my friend.”

No matter how much he “loved” Lily, it could not fix his bigotry.

[freshthoughts2020]

BREAK UP THE BOYS CLUB OR INVITE NEW MEMBERS

BREAK UP THE BOYS CLUB OR INVITE NEW MEMBERS

August 10, 2023

I.KHALED’S NEW SINGLE

Khaled just announced a new single for his yet to be titled LP, titled “Supposed to Be Loved”. I like DJ Khaled and respect his legacy as a DJ and an artist. Each release is actually something I looked forward to. When the single was announced I looked at the lineup and lord behold it was the usual suspects; Lil Baby, Future, and Lil Uzi Vert. My honest initial reaction was just a big sigh.

This Khaled single was the straw that broke the camel back, I’m tired of seeing the same people work together man. I understand people are playing the game at a higher level at this point and Khaled releases are basically music blockbusters but can the art take a little more priority? I feel like Khaled can get more interesting albums if he tap into his actual skill of A&Ring and put together unexpected combinations that would sound fire.

Besides the commercial aspect, I understand he may be sticking with the same people because the relationships developed over the years makes getting verses/hooks extremely easier. Everybody know how its like pulling teeth getting verses back sometimes.

As I stated Khaled was the straw that broke the back but this annoyance really started with my guy Metro.

II.METRO’S SELECTED FEW

Now I love Metro, I told him he was the best producer in the game back in 2014! Real deal supporter. I also think his new album is incredible but the only downside was it was the same people on every song. I think Metro talent and star power is strong enough to collaborate with anyone in the world, I mean anyone! Now I understand each of his album were following specific themes and everyone was probably hand picked to fill a certain role but I done heard Metro with these people a billion times!

I like when he collabed with James Blake and even the Coi Leray linkup on the Spiderverse soundtrack. I want Metro to get deep into his producer bag and introduce us to some new voices or get with some active people we never seen him work with. But the Travis Scott, 21 vibes I think we done had enough for a min. I’m not including Future because him and Metro is an unbeatable combo and we are actually overdue for a new project from them + the superhero song was wayy too good, we need more of that ASAP!

All in all its like there is a boys club of 21, travis, future, thug, migos, drizzy, uzi,swae,nav,don, and weeknd. I want to see and hear some great suprises. I wanna see random stuff like DVSN and metro or like Monica on a Khaled song, or Wu tang on some Metro beats. You know just something unexpected. If Metro can get Morgan Freeman he can definitely expand his reach and if Khaled can consistently get HOV verses it ain’t no problem for him to get people either. Its time to dial back the priority of blockbuster music and increase the priority of great/groundbreaking collaborations!

follow me on twitter.com/onlyonejaevonn

visit gettothecorner.com

[notquitejiraiya]

I want to ask! 3 - 14

Absolutely absolutely! I answered number 8 and 14 in my precious post (replying to the lovely @clumsydragon28) but I’ll answer the rest under here:

3) screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

Oh god, many many many. The first that comes to mind (if I try and keep this Naruto related) was something about Temari being forced to birth Shikamaru’s misogynistic son?? like mate, please calm yourself.

4) what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

I don’t often block, but the straw that broke the camel’s back with the most recent block was just someone’s persistence ignorance and lack of interest in learning and improving, despite pretending to. Not even just of a craft, just of being a better, more personal and understanding human

5) worst discord server and why

A server entirely made up of Paul McCartney stans I was invited to and quietly observed for like 6 months before being chucked out for being inactive. I sent like one message — I was too scared to speak — and I don’t even like Paul McCartney past a general appreciation of his music. Not the worst as in a bad place, but worst as in I didn’t belong lmao.

6) which ship fans are the most annoying?

I personally don’t think any fans are THAT bad anymore. Not bad enough to be mean about. Back in the day found a fair few shippers whose main ship has Naruto as one of the characters to be a right pain in the arse. But that’s only my memory of the old, bad shipping war days (from the sidelines) and honestly, it’s not that bad. Not bad enough to broadly label as annoying.

7) what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

Not necessarily hate, but Sakura. I always found her just fine in canon but all of the pointless discourse around her absolutely drives me up the wall to the to the point where I see her name (outside a fic as a non-main character, which is rare for me, too) and I just groan.

9) worst part of canon

Do I even need to say it? It’s the fucking aliens.

10) worst part of fanon

Maybe it sounds dumb, but for me it’s just when people write Naruto himself. I can’t think of a single fic I’ve read where Naruto hasn’t annoyed me. He was already so precariously on the edge of bearable for me in canon that seeing interpretations of him is always bound to drive me nuts.

Alternatively, across various fandoms, bragging about how niche things are as if that makes them better. This always gripes me in fandoms: spaces that are supposed to bring people who enjoy the same things together. Of course please do like what you like and be proud; I’m happy for you that you like that thing, but the popularity or lack of popularity of something is no bearing on how much more nuanced, clever or deep your level of thought is.

11) number of fandom-related words you've filtered

Grand total of 6 muted words on twt if that’s what this means. 0 on tumblr because I can control what I see better :)

12) the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I mean, I don’t think anyone in my fandoms is that unpopular. Maybe I just got good at not seeing bullshit, but nobody. My violence for this one is that there’s content for most things in this fandom to a level that reflects canon and that doesn’t make things “unpopular”. Less popular, maybe. But obviously your fave with 1 minute screen time or 3 lines in a novel isn’t gonna have an insane fandom following probably. Doesn’t make them unpopular, they’re just a nobody.

If I have to give a “proper” answer though, I say Rasa. Just cause I find him interesting and he’s perhaps not widely enjoyed.

13) worst blorboficiation

Think as of late it’s got to be Kankuro. But specifically the cat-boy stuff I see. I just don’t get it. The man might have a good and the capacity to be silly and soft and dorky, but the cat-boy stuff just doesn’t align with him at all for me. Not a fan.

[sabineelectricheart]

In an Empty Bitterby Parking Lot

Summary: Bryce gets fired and is thrown into a withdrawal crisis. All that he needs right now is his girlfriend. If only she answered her phone…

Rating: T - Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

Words: 1500

Notes: I’m the queen of daddy issues. Between having them and dating people with them, I know them inside and out.

“Come on…” Bryce mumbled to himself, his anxiety building in his throat, pressing against his windpipes. “Pick up the damn phone, Y/N.”

The other end of the line continued to ring until he reached her voicemail again.

Hello! You’ve reached the number of Daphne Lichtenberg. Sorry I’m not able to take your call right now, but please leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great day, bye!

Her voice, sweet as honey, grated on his nerves. That cheerful trill normally had a soft smile peeking from his lips toward the girl, but now it had him gripping his phone tighter until he swore that he heard a slight crack from the plastic casing around it.

The irony does not escape him, and if he ever gets to meet Trish in a friendly setting, he promises himself that he is going to apologise for all the times that he left her on read. He needs his girlfriend, but she does not answer and it absolutely fucking sucks. He is about to go set her workplace on fire if that is what it takes, and this time he means it.

Once the recorded message came to an end, Bryce hung up and tossed his phone into the passenger seat of his truck before lowering his head against the steering wheel. His forehead just barely escapes the horn, a positioning issue he learnt to resolve after the fourth time a loud noise took him off his reverie.

All his pent-up anger and frustration seeped through him like a sickness, some sort of evil miasma squeezing his throat and churning his stomach, until everything seemed to stop. His shoulders curved inwards and a heavy sigh escaped his lips.

“Where are you?” He whispered to no-one in particular, feeling pathetic about it.

Today had been just like any other day this summer: working with his father at Montgomery Asset Management, going over spreadsheets and contracts and discussing plans with potential clients and venture capitalists. It was meant to ease him into the work that was set out for him from birth, and, if he was honest about it, he knows that he has it easier than any other intern in the firm.

Just like any other day, however, Bryce had somehow managed to fuck something up. One morning, it had been accidentally knocking over his coffee onto important documents his father had entrusted him with keeping until a few of his clients were ready for signatures. A few weeks ago, it had been him forgetting to drive to the post office to pick up a shipment of who even knows what for the office.

Specifically, just this afternoon, what was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back, he had sent a letter of agreement for collaboration with a highly-esteemed company to the wrong email address. Little things here and there that continued to add up until Mr. Montgomery could not take any more screwups from his newest employee and only child. Today the older man had finally had enough.

His dad had fired him. His dad.

As if that was not bad enough, his hankering for another hit of cocaine just added insult to injury. His hands were shaking from withdrawal, most likely causing most of his mistakes anyway since he could not fucking think straight without the white powder coating his nostrils, and he wished he still had an extra stash hidden away in his glove box like usual.

However, he had promised Daphne that he would stop with the hard drugs, and he fully intended on keeping that promise. He had remained sober and completely clean for six weeks now, since the end of the school year, but it was not getting any easier. He had to erase Rafi’s number from his phone so he would not be tempted to call, and he caught himself driving east to Toffee Springs out of habit only to groan in frustration before flipping his motorcycle around and going back home.

She had saved his ass more times than Bryce could count, and damn him if he did not somehow make it up to her. Besides, he can understand that she is not asking it of him for her benefit, that cutting down on coke is a gain to himself first and foremost, and, considering her money troubles, he admires how this is her only demand upon him.

Now, this is always easier when he has her active support. If only she would pick up, if only he could just hear her live voice instead of a recording, he knew he would be okay and this burning in his veins would go away. He took the hour drive to Bitterby just so he can reach her faster if she picks up the phone, but now he is alone in an empty parking lot, far away from home. It is starting to feel like a mistake.

Daphne… Oh, how naïve he was when they first met each other! He thought that he could play with her, that he could control her, make her his and go on in his merry way, completely scot-free. She was smarter than him, she knew how to put him in his place, and he found that he rather liked it.

This girl meant more to him than he could ever explain, that he could ever understand. He might as well have replaced one addiction with another, but he would much rather be dependent on her than a substance that would just end up killing him a few years down the road.

Bryce banged his head on the steering wheel of his truck, setting off the horn for the fifth time and startling himself. God, he was so on edge, it was driving him crazy.

Reaching over the console for his phone to try giving her another call, just one last time before going back home, he jerked back when the passenger door suddenly opened and the familiar scent of vanilla wafted inside the vehicle and tickled his nose.

“There you are!” A beaming voice called from the side. “I thought I saw your truck parked out here. Thank God I wasn’t mistaken! Can you imagine? Do you want to go for a drive? I think I saw a sign out advertising a new ice cream shop that just opened down the street. I could totally go for some ice cream right now, it’s so hot…”

That honey-sweet voice Bryce had been craving so badly reached his ears and he would be lying if he said his heart did not jump a bit at the sound. His blue eyes met hers as she rested back against the passenger seat, already buckled in and ready to go, sporting the biggest and brightest smile he had ever seen, but it faltered slightly at the look on his face.

“Bryce?” She asked, so softly, that he nearly wept at the gentleness communicated in her voice. “Are you okay? I just got your message, I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, I…”

Her words got muffled in the fabric of his shirt as he pulled her against him. He could practically feel every muscle in his body sigh in relief at the contact. Daphne, his Daphne was here. Finally.

“God…” He whispered, almost incredulous. “You’re really here.”

The girl frowned at the tone of his voice, so fragile and breakable, dissolving in the air between them like a wisp of smoke.

“Shh, it’s okay.” She said, rubbing her hand across his back in soothing round motions. “I’m here now. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I took so long, my phone got busted and then work... I’m sorry.”

She could have sworn that she felt the wetness of tears against her collarbone, but she did not dare say anything. He is upset enough, and if he needs the release, pointing it out might just shame into bottling it up all over again.

Bryce pulled back slightly, putting enough distance between them so that he could meet her gaze, and her heart cracked at seeing his blue eyes brightly contrasted against the red rimming them.

“Thank you.” He said, conjuring up a smile just for her. It was small, but it was there nonetheless.

Daphne ran her thumb along the delicate skin beneath his eye, wiping away a stray tear, before gently bringing her finger over his brow bone, down the slope of his nose, and across the dusty pink hue of his bottom lip.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything, honey.” She pressed her lips to his cheek in a whisper of a kiss. “So, how about that ice cream, hm? I got paid today! It’s my treat.”

That brought a full grin to his lips and he pulled away from her to start up the truck again, wrapping his arm around the headrest of her seat before backing out of his parking spot.

*_*_*_*_*

College Craze Masterlist

[munsonsduchess]

Hello there, lovely duchess <3

I'd love to see what you come up with for prompt #8!

Take care! :)

-bee

summary: You and Bucky are FWB and you've been together for a while now but that's all about to change warnings: kissing, fluff, swearing, gambling (don't do it kids), mentions of smut a/n: yeah so this took an age and that's because my motivation went on vacation and i had to wrangle it back through customs

Prompts from this list

»»————-　♔　————-««

You’d met the Avengers when Tony had finally had enough of your constant nagging and had agreed to let you meet the team he always spoke so much about - not to mention you wanted to see the people he couldn’t stop complaining about in the flesh - so he’d finally relented and introduced you to everyone as only Tony knew how. With a party.

You’d been so excited to meet everyone you hadn’t even minded when the dark brooding man at the bar had spilled your drink on your dress, he was too handsome for you to be mad and with the gleaming metal arm on his left side there was only one person he could be,

“It’s perfectly alright Sergeant Barnes, it’s just a drink” you’d given him your best smile and offered to buy him a drink instead but he’d refused and you hadn’t seen him the rest of the night. Much to your dismay, he’d been someone you’d been looking forward to meeting the most.

In Bucky’s mind anyway he wasn’t planning on getting too close to you, figuring that if you were Tony’s friend there was a high chance you were just another upper east side park avenue princess. A socialite who only cared about wealth and who she could be photographed next to in newspapers and he didn’t have time for that anymore. He was a different man now.

Then you were around more often, spending time at the compound with Natasha, getting lunch with Wanda, offering to bank roll the team since you had “more money than I know what to do with” and it didn’t seem fair for Tony to have to do everything when he had a family to support as well.

Slowly but surely you wormed your way into the team’s hearts and it got to the point where everyone was asking Bucky what his issue was with you, why did he not like you? Had he even spoken to you?

Bucky had brushed off every question, he’d just ignored the needling and the nagging until finally he couldn’t. He’d blown up at Peter who’s eyes had gone wide as the teenager stuttered out an apology. Bucky hated himself for it, even more so when everyone was walking on eggshells around him afterwards, even Steve and Sam who knew him best.

He’d gone out to clear his head and off all the gin joints in all the world you had to be in the one he chose. With your warm smile and offering to buy his drinks, telling the bar staff to put everything on your tab despite Bucky’s protests that he could buy his own drinks. You just rolled your eyes at him and moved to sit next to him instead.

It ended up with just the two of you in the bar that night, your cheeks rosy from the alcohol and your eyes glassy with tears of joy as you listened to his stories and laughed at his jokes. Maybe you weren’t as bad as Bucky originally thought but he still wasn’t planning on getting closer than he needed to, until you’d put your hand on his thigh when you settled the tab and offered to split a cab.

You’d both ended up tangled in your bedsheets, laughing and joking, gasping and moaning well into the night. It had been a while for both of you and this release was definitely needed, plus you’d ended up teaching Bucky a few things when the initial groping like horny teenagers had worn off.

You’d also introduced him to the term ‘friends with benefits’ which is where you found yourself currently. Of course you both went on dates separately but you found yourself cancelling plans more and more to spend time with Bucky instead. To be curled up on the couch watching a terrible movie which was usually forgotten about halfway through for other more entertaining activities that could be partaken in on a couch.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Maybe it was silly of you to think you could resist having feelings for someone like Bucky, someone so kind, caring, funny and someone you felt so comfortable around but that’s exactly what happened. You’d woken up one morning with the smell of him cooking in your apartment kitchen with the radio playing something you didn’t really care about. You’d curled up in the blankets on the bed and revelled in the domesticity of the whole situation and it had struck you. You really cared for this man and not just as a random hook up.

The only problem was, did Bucky feel the same? Everyone else seemed to think so, when you’d spoken to Steve and Sam and Natasha and Wanda and even Scott they’d all seemed to think you and Bucky were already a couple. So you’d enacted a plan, was it your smartest plan? Probably not. Were you going to do it anyway? Damn straight.

You’d created a new tinder profile and specifically matched with the most boring man you could find. The poor bastard had no idea what he was in for or why you’d decided to go out with him but you needed him to be the human equivalent of the colour beige for the plan to work.

Bringing the man around the compound to meet the team, telling Bucky you couldn’t spend time with each other sexually anymore since you and … Dave were serious now and it wasn’t right to cheat on your boyfriend.

Bucky to his credit had wished you well and was happy you’d found someone, outwardly anyway. He’d known the ‘relationship’ the two of you had couldn’t last, that of course you’d move on and find someone worthy of your time and attention. Did it hurt? Like a bitch but he was going to be the bigger man.

Or at least he had wanted to be. The more you brought Dave around the more Bucky wondered what the hell you were doing with a man like that, he couldn’t make you laugh the way Bucky could, where your nose would crinkle in the middle and you’d gasp for breath. He didn’t know how you liked your coffee in the morning, iced usually and loaded with sugar. He sure as shit didn’t know how you liked to be touched.

It had come to an ugly head one evening when you and Dave had gone for dinner, in a restaurant you and Bucky would hang out in all the time. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, that and the asgardian mead that Thor had left on his last visit. Bucky had taken a shot for some dutch courage and driven his bike straight to the restaurant pushing past the staff who tried to stop him,

“Y/N” he yelled, causing you to look at him with wide eyes and a surprised expression.

“Bucky, what are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something happen to Steve or Sam?”

“Forget them and forget this guy too, you’re coming with me” he reached down to where you were sitting and wrapped his metal hand around your upper arm, “come on”

“Bucky no, I’m on a date I can’t just leave!” you protested, “David, I'm so sorry about this”

David opened his mouth to say something but a glare from Bucky told him that wasn’t a wise move. Instead he seemed to shrink back into his seat under the weight of Bucky’s icy glare,

“Come on doll” Bucky said again, hoisting you up from your seat by his grip on your upper arm, “we’re leaving”

“James Barnes! I am not your property, let go of my arm right now! If you have something you want to talk about we can talk about it later, I am with David and you have no right to barge in here like this!”

“The hell I don’t”

“Leave James, we’ll talk about this later”

Bucky was about to rebuke you again but was interrupted by a man in a fancy suit clearing his throat, apparently you and Bucky had caused enough of a commotion that several guests had complained and now both of you were being asked to leave. Which suited Bucky just fine. He grabbed you and pulled you from the booth ignoring your cries and protests and simply pulled you along with him until you both were stood at his bike,

“Come on”

“No! You do not get to manhandle me like you own me and then act like nothing is wrong, if you had something you wanted to talk to me about we could have done it like grown ups”

“Oh yeah? Like Dave? Is that what you do with him? Talk like grown ups?”

“What David and I do is none of your business Barnes”

“It is my business cause you’re my business, you’re my girl not his!”

You blinked at Bucky a few times before you huffed out a laugh, that was definitely confusing. Why were you laughing?

“Oh my god! You couldn’t have said something earlier? You had to make a scene? How am I supposed to come back here now?” you were still laughing, “not to mention I owe Steve $50 because he bet you couldn’t last the month”

“Wha? You and Steve had a bet goin’ about me lastin’?” Bucky was beginning to get agitated now, what the hell were you and Steve betting on?

“Yeah! I mean honestly Buck did you think I really liked David? He’s the most boring human being alive! I mean yeah he’s nice enough but oh my god of course I wasn’t serious about him!”

“Then why were ya out with him?”

“To see what you would do!” you said exasperatedly. Bucky raised his eyebrow, what the hell did you mean by that? “Oh my god how can you be this dense, it’s you I want to be with Barnes, not David. You! So I picked David to see if you would just let me be or if you felt the same way!”

“Wha? You couldn’t have just asked me?” Bucky shoots back, “you had to make this whole convoluted plan?”

“Right because if I’d asked you you’d have said you wanted whatever was best for me and if I wanted to see other people that would be fine and you’d never tell me what you really wanted. At least now I know” you said batting your eyelashes at him “you like me, you called me yours”

Bucky groaned and ran a hand down his face. He’d been an actual idiot. He’d told himself he was fine with you seeing other people, that this was just how the modern world was like. He couldn’t expect to hold onto someone like you forever. Now he’d gotten you kicked out of your favourite restaurant and had put his hands on you in a way he swore he never would. That being said, none of that would have happened if you’d been honest with him, no matter what you thought he’d say to you. Now here you were batting your eyelashes at him like nothing had happened,

“Don’t you dare give me those sex eyes right now! This is a serious situation, here!”

“Oh shut up and kiss me Barnes”

That he could do. Repercussions from his actions be damned. You were his. All his.

»»————-　♔　————-««

Taglist: @metalbuckaroo @doasyoudesireandlive @spicynudlesoup @calisamcro

[whatifxwereyou]

Ashes Chapter 5: The Three Day Hike

Pairing: Liu Kang x Reader

Oh, what was that you said about progress? Liu reveals what you could only guess and you reveal a deep secret that's been eating you alive. It doesn't go well.

A/N: I love writing you yelling at each other and then having deep emotional baggage moments Lol. I also just love angst, idk. I just do. It's fun to make characters hurt! Hope you guys are doing well. Smooches. As always, open to suggestions for nonsense.

First Chapter << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

A wall of shadow rose into the heavens above, melting into the clouds, and spreading darkness like ink through veins. Red light shone through the gaps in the clouds and the ground began to freeze before your feet. Kung Lao’s face was just before yours. His familiar long face, broad jaw, worry in his dark eyes, all things you missed so desperately. You touched his cheek and his skin turned gray beneath your fingertips.

“Wake up, Y/N.” He begged you and your fingers froze. Ice crackled over your palm and spread up your arm. “Please.” He grabbed your shoulders and you gasped at the feeling of cold in your chest, sudden and violent. Shutting your eyes tight you tried to breathe but when you opened them, you were in the little cabin, tucked neatly into bed, the bag with Kung Lao’s trinket in your arms.

You were alone in the cabin and trembling, so you pulled the bag closer to comfort you. A nightmare, of course. You’d had them a thousand times since he’d died but this felt different. Your hands were stained with ink and that worried you too. Kung Lao had been so desperate to wake you up and the imagery had been so obscure and yet specific. You’d suffered a curse of visions once, but Raiden had helped you through it. It had been worse when you were a kid but back then it had disappeared after a few years too. You’d grown out of it.

This hadn’t been a vision, right? Not in any way that you could interpret. It was just you missing Kung Lao and feeling guilty for living without him. Probably feeling guilty for sleeping with Liu Kang. And feeling guilty for making it harder on him.

Guilt. That was to blame.

You got ready for the day and slung your bag over your shoulder and stepped outside the cabin. The sun was shining and it was unseasonably warm. Liu Kang sat near the door in the grass meditating. That was much more like the Liu Kang you were used to. You smiled. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad. Last night had been nice. Even a little comforting.

“They offered us supplies for the hike. We should grab some before we go. Food at least.” You greeted him and he heaved an annoyed sigh and looked to you as if frustrated that you’d interrupted him. “Sorry-“

“I’m good.”

“…but it’s a… three… day….” You began and he returned to his meditation without hearing you out. Never mind. Bitchy Liu Kang was back. So much for that. You bit you tongue and decided it best to leave him be. There was no point in fighting so early in the morning. You were too shaky from your nightmare and had bigger things to think about than hot and cold Liu Kang. It was like he’d borrowed Kung Lao’s ego to make up for the loss of his brother. “Fine.” You went on your way. If he wanted to be a moron about it, then you would let him be a moron.

Once away from the intoxicating stink of Liu Kang, you felt much better. The people of the village were exceedingly kind and generous. You took only what you thought you would need for your journey and a day’s extra just in case something went wrong. Both you and Liu were resourceful so if you got into a pinch, you would manage. He’d trained his whole life for survival, and you’d gotten pretty good at it since coming to Raiden’s Temple.

You packed up the supplies and then thanked them again for their hospitality before heading out of town with Liu who was silent the whole time. He didn’t even say goodbye. It was going to be a long hike if he continued like this. You wished that Raiden would have just sent you alone. He had the foresight to know that it would be uncomfortable. Then again, you weren’t sure just how much Raiden knew of your complicated history. He was a god, what was he aware of? You didn’t know and you didn’t want to ask. You did kind of want to shake him and cry though.

Liu was infuriating for the rest of the day as if he were making up for being nice the night before. You’d fought about every crossroad. Fought about when to eat. When to sleep. When to take a break. What kind of tree was on the hill. Everything. Every time one of you opened your mouths it was a fight. He couldn’t be blamed for all of the annoying arguments. You were annoyed too and every so often you caught yourself saying things that you hadn’t meant to say in a tone that was far harsher than you’d meant it to be. You supposed one good conversation wouldn’t eliminate two months of snippiness and one wild night of passionate lovemaking gone wrong.

You tried to remind yourself that Raiden had known you were both grieving and had probably hoped that you would work through some of your grief together. You could picture him saying it. But you also could have strangled him by the end of that first day. On the second morning, you’d meditated on it and decided to focus on patience. You would try to listen to Liu Kang’s suggestions and come to an agreement with him rather than argue with him. But that only worked if Liu wasn’t picking a fight with you. Which he was. He was absolutely picking fights with you. Why was beyond you.

By the second night you were out of patience and had no grace left to deal with him. You had agreed upon a path that morning and he was changing it for the fifteenth time that day. You were tired. The more tired you became, the more aggressive he did. His attitude had drained you and so had the hike. So had the fighting. “If we go up this path then we can shave off some time.”

“Or we could get stuck again and end up backtracking for six hours and since you wouldn’t come with me to get supplies, we’ll run out. Then we’ll have to forage and waste even more time. Is it so much to ask that we just stick to the damn plan?” You were snippy again but tried to check your tone by the time you’d finished speaking.

“You can do whatever you want. I’m going this way.”

That was the problem. Your fighting was less like fighting and more him just being stubborn and obnoxious. You threw your bag down and marched in front of him to stop him from walking. That was it. The proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. “What is your problem? What is going on with you?” He was taken aback, surprised by your harsh tone. “I get it, Liu. You’re grieving. But you know what? I’m grieving too and your attitude the last couple of days? It’s absurd. You’re being a child. A petulant brat. Here I thought we’d made some headway and then you double down on being a bastard. You have to argue about every single thing. Every single decision is a fight! Then when I’m right you just don’t listen to me! You march off and do your own thing, which would be fine if you were alone or in charge. But you’re not either of those things.”

“Y/N, I…” He was stiff. Rigid.

“It’s exhausting! You are exhausting me! So, please, enlighten me and tell me why it is that you insist on being this exhausting! Why do you keep belittling me and then going out of your way to make this journey so much harder than it already is? We used to be a good team, I thought. We talked, I thought. You even kind of look at me with a little pity before you just…” You clasped your fists and let out a sound of frustration and then felt the blood pressure in your head as you finally breathed. Oops.

Liu was looking down at you, jaw clenched and you expected him to yell at you and correct you on what you thought like he’d done all those years ago when you’d been sleeping together. Your heart raced again as he looked you over.

“Every time I look at you, I see how hurt you are. How much worse I make it.”

You swore steam was coming out of your ears.

“How the fuck is you being an asshole helping any of that?”

“Maybe it’s easier for me to be mean. To argue with you. Maybe it’s better than watching you suffer for the same reasons I’m suffering on top of losing my best friend. And having to remember that I lost you to him in the first place.”

“Oh, don’t you dare.”

“Then thinking about the other night and…”

“Liu, I swear. Don’t do this shit. Don’t. Just don’t.” You pointed an angry and accusatory finger at him and tapped his chest with each of your next words. “Don’t turn this into that. Don’t.”

“You’re the one who got all high and mighty and asked why. I answered.”

“I came to you.” You had not expected to have this conversation with Liu in the middle of the woods or really ever. “I came to you before I gave him an answer. Don’t you dare make me feel guilty about that. I gave you a chance and you were a complete dick. Like wildly…. A dick!” You stuttered in frustration.

“I was a dick, huh?” He laughed in disbelief, rubbed his hand over his jaw, then walked away from you. He returned and pointed at you and then with a smack of his lips he threw his hand in the air as if to say fuck it. “Kung Lao came to me before you did. So yeah, I was a dick.”

“Excuse me?” You did a double take. What was that supposed to mean? Some of your anger deflated.

“Kung Lao… came to me… before… you… did.” He spoke slowly as though you’d had trouble understanding what he’d said. You could have smacked him right in the mouth. “He was already head over heels for you. How was I supposed to compete with that? Asked me if I was working up to something with you since you hesitated to tell him yes. I was honest… to an extent. Didn’t tell him that we’d already been there and done that for months.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. He was asking to be slapped. Just the way he chose his words and the bite that he spoke them with. It took every bit of your restraint not to just smack him to shut him up.

“I told him I was attracted to you and I’d been thinking about it. Kung Lao asked me to step aside because he thought he could love you.” Liu deflated a little too. The anger he’d built had petered out. Talking about Kung Lao drained him. You were still mad but also shocked. You were lost between being floored by this revelation and furious with his behavior. “So, I did, Y/N. I stepped aside.”

“And you had to be a real dick about it, huh?”

“Yeah. That’s why I was a dick. I watched that one conversation completely destroy our entire relationship. Our friendship.” Liu shrugged and looked suddenly exhausted. “Kung Lao deserved you more than I did. He was ready to jump in headfirst and I was just… nailing you.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip and looked away from you but there was something smug about the way he phrased it. Then it was silent.

Where did you begin. Surprised? Confused? Hurt? Speechless? He’d crushed you. You’d thought that you’d had something tremendous and then he had made you feel cheap and worthless. You hated this conversation. You just wanted to be mad and move on. Accept that this wasn’t working and deal with it civilly. But the reasons it wasn’t working were too complicated. “You really hurt me.” You managed but your voice cracked and betrayed you. You were mad, dammit! Don’t cry, brain! You wanted to stomp off yelling about how he had some nerve dragging this baggage into the middle of a three-day hike, but you didn’t.

“It hurt me too, believe it or not.”

This couldn’t have gone worse. You supposed it actually could have but it felt pretty bad. To find out that it had been a lie after years of repeating it in your head? You were devastated. And you had to let it go. You didn’t know what would have happened if Liu had asked you to stay with him instead of being with Kung Lao and it hurt too much to theorize because that wasn’t what had happened. You loved Kung Lao. Your relationship had been far different than the one you’d had with Liu Kang, but you’d loved him nonetheless.

“I…” You began when you realized he was waiting for you to say something, almost desperately and that he had taken a step closer and invaded your personal space. “I’m sorry.” You were though you weren’t immediately sure what for. You just knew you were sorry. Sorry that you’d brought it up. Sorry that it had come to this. “That it wound up like this. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” Liu looked past you. “You and Kung Lao were happy for a time.”

“And what about you?”

“Does that matter?”

“Of course, it matters. We were friends first. Even when I was with Lao we were eventually close again.”

“Yeah, well, I was pissed at first. Mad at you. Mad at him.” He turned his gaze back to yours and dared to step closer which made you instantly on alert. It was obvious now that this had been on his mind for some time. You hadn’t considered yourself that important. There had been plenty of moments where things between you had been unsaid. You had never known and had no right to his innermost thoughts. That attraction had never burnt out. Even now, you were torn between smacking him and throwing your arms around him. “With time I realized that all I wanted was for you to be happy. You were happy, right?”

That was a probing question and you hated it. You meant to say yes. You had been happy, but instead you hesitated. Had you been? Of course, not all the time and things had been difficult the past few months, but Kung Lao’s memory was one that you would always cherish as having been happy. “Yeah. Yes.”

That had sounded terrible and forced.

Shit.

You walked away from him and sat down next to where you’d set your bag, defeated. Liu stood awkwardly before tapping a finger against his leg as if deciding if he wanted to pursue this conversation or return to the uncooperative mess that he’d been before. He sat next to you, leaving almost no gap between you. You were either going to have to remind him of your personal boundaries or get used to him being close.

“What does that mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything, Liu.”

“You hesitated like… in a really big way. Weren’t you happy?” He was watching you but when you turned to look at him, he turned away.

“I love…” You hadn’t gotten used to the change in tenses yet. It was painful to misspeak. “I loved Kung Lao, but we were in a weird place before this and I… I don’t know what would have happened. I can’t pretend I do. We fought a lot these last few months over stupid things. Over big things. Over nothing.” You teared up but fought it back. You were not going to cry in front of Liu Kang after he had been a complete ass for two days straight. “And then he died, Liu. And finding out was like losing a part of myself. Something I’ll never get back and must learn to live without. I don’t know what would have happened because that chance was stolen from me. And I won’t complain about it. I won’t… because you lost your brother and I lost… a boyfriend and there’s no comparison.” You hesitated on the words, and you hated that you were struggling to breathe out of your nose. “We’d been together for years but…” You drifted off. The guilt was too much. Did he really expect you to air all of your dirty laundry to him? And why were you? He’d been such a dick.

“But what?”

“I don’t want to say.”

“Did you do something bad?”

“That’s relative.”

“I can help be a deciding factor on that if you like.” He half-heartedly joked but even as he did, he groaned in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair. Then he rested his hand on your arm. “But what, Y/N?”

“I think I might hate you right now.”

“Don’t deflect.”

“Kung Lao proposed.” You hadn’t told anyone that. There was too much guilt for how it had happened. “Right before I left to run that errand.” Liu Kang shook his head as though you had doused him in cold water. “I told him no, not yet. I turned him down. I told him that we would talk more about it when I got back.” The guilt of turning him down and then having him wind up dead was unbearable. “I will live with that guilt forever. The look on his face when I didn’t jump for joy when he got down on one knee with a ring… oh I’ll never forget it.” You shook the image out of your head. You’d had nightmares about it on repeat. You should have just said yes and pretended it was a dream come true. That would have made him happy.

“I’m…” Liu Kang rubbed his temples then started again. “Why didn’t you say yes?”

“I meant what I said. We weren’t ready. We fought literally all the time. We had no clear vision of what our future looked like. We’d never talked about marriage or families or anything like that. On top of that, we were in a weird place. The tournament was coming and I… commitment makes me kind of itchy, you know? I felt like a villain, Liu. I feel like a villain. He just wanted to love me and tease me and be loved by me. That was it. It wasn’t more complicated than that for him.” You were proud of yourself for not breaking down into a sobbing puddle as you spoke. “And he died not knowing any of the reasons that I told him ‘not yet’. He died before we got to figure it out. That was all I wanted. Was time to figure it out. Time for us to just be and to figure out if it was right for us.”

“And now there’s no time.”

“Yeah.” You couldn’t help it. You were going to cry. You closed your eyes and allowed the tears to gather and tried to keep them from falling. Liu was quiet and contemplative next to you. You’d both thrown huge revelations at each other. It was a lot to process.

You felt like a monster.

“You would have married him, huh?” Liu broke the silence, somewhat bravely you thought.

“I have no idea what I would have done because he’s gone and I’m alone.”

“You would have made him a very happy man.”

“Maybe. Even if I had, I don’t know if it would have made me happy and that kills me.”

“Yeah, that’s the tricky part, I guess.” Liu leaned his elbows on his knees. “You would have done it.”

“Bold of you to assume after everything.”

“I know you. You’re a people pleaser, Y/N.”

“Excuse me?”

“Come on. You always folded when you and Kung Lao fought. Even with the big stuff, you just rolled over and let him have his way.”

“I am not arguing with you about this again especially not after losing him.” You’d had this fight before. Liu Kang had always tried to keep you from folding and stick to your guns. You had refused to talk to him about the personal stuff with Kung Lao but somehow Liu had always known when you were upset and managed to get it out of you. He’d always been there, you’d realized.

Guilt.

“If I had known it would end the way it did then I never would have once complained. I would have just made him happy for as long as I could.”

“So, what, only he got to be happy? You’re being ridiculous.”

“Liu Kang! I was happy!” You stared at him aghast. You had been happy. Most of your relationship had been incredibly happy. You’d fought and you’d been hurt sometimes, but that was normal.

“Yeah, except you weren’t sure if you were which is why you hesitated, right? That’s the real reason you turned him down.” There was that snippy tone again and you stiffened up as he grabbed your arm to turn you toward him. “At least have the guts to admit it, Y/N. Don’t fool yourself and definitely don’t try to fool me.”

“Fuck you, Liu.” You pulled your arm free.

“Yeah, that was probably part of the problem too, wasn’t it?”

You smacked him across the face and hard, then pulled your hand back to your chest, surprised you’d done it. He rubbed his jaw that immediately turned red and turned his gaze away from you, nodding his head slowly.

“I deserved that.”

You picked up your bag and walked away from him. You didn’t need this. You didn’t need him rubbing your failures and guilt in your face. You didn’t need him taking his complicated feelings and burying you in them. You didn’t need him making you second guess yourself. Kung Lao was dead. You wouldn’t dishonor his memory with this crap.

You weren’t sure how long you marched away for, but it had been long enough. Leaning your head back, you breathed, and fought tears that you knew you should just let out but god dammit, if Liu Kang followed you and found you crying then you would be furious. The last thing you wanted was his comfort right now. Besides, every time you got close like that you ended up naked and you couldn’t emotionally do that right now!

His comfort was double sided with guilt. There was no comfort for you like this. You leaned against a tree and held your bag close and closed your eyes. Sometime later, Liu Kang joined you but he didn’t try to talk to you even if you could feel him watching you. It took ages but you finally fell asleep, angrily holding your bag against your chest.

Next Chapter >>

[yanderecandystore]

Rip Tumblr D-do you have any dragon ocs that might kidnap their s/o? Also I know that this is a stupid question but can I call myself Cold anon? ;-;

Hello 🍨 Cold ❄️!! I'm really glad you sent me this request!

 The current app that I use for writing is bugging out a lot, so I'm sorry if there are many grammar errors and mistakes here and there.

 And uh... Cold? I think I fucked up your ask? I think I got a little too excited and went in a different direction?? If you don't like it I understand, I could always do another one 😳😋

 TW/Tags: Guess who is being an emotional ball once again?? Me! Yey! Send help! // look, I'm sorry but, low-key? This is edginess overload lol (medieval bitch times, which by that I mean: dark times with terrible people in it) // deaths // abuse of power // Reader said: eat the rich // non-binary reader just because // cursing // slight plot twist? But, like, bad plot twist // soft dragon boi 

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

You curious little thing - [Yandere!Dragon x Reader - Short Fanfiction]:

" Deep in the forest, up in the mountains, legend says that a dragon sleeps deep within the caves. And as the old story goes, gold awaits inside his domain, but only those courageous enough to enter the deep cave and defeat the dragon, would be able to take the creature's treasure.

Many have persuaded the quest of defeating said dragon, yet no one ever came back to tell the story.

And while you sit at the comfort of your small cottage reading about the old tales of the dragon's cave, you can't help but consider the story to be just that, a story. A piece of fiction made to scare the local children away from the mountains, or to enchant those that were easily invested into these types of stories.

It seems like you're one of those that were fascinated by the old tales. Regardless of if you find it true or not. The old tales still hold a mysterious charm that manages to keep you intrigued no matter what age you re-read them.

Tales of the forest spirits protecting their land with mischievous wit, tales of monsters that crawled out of your bed to cause nightmares on the simple minded, tales of mighty dragons who could easily rule the world if they so pleased to.

Yet they didn't. Either because they didn't want to, or maybe they really didn't exist. Who knows, right [Y/N]? Not that you, a simple commoner, would know any better.

Although, from the tales you read, isn't always the common folk the ones to first encounter these things?

It always ends bad, but still.

A commoner would be the first one to be affected by the wrath of such supernatural creatures.

However, as stated before, there is no way of knowing if such a thing is real or not, right? It's been eons since the last time someone even mentioned a dragon's presence in your kingdom, and it's been centuries that the concepts of dragons had fallen into the mythological category.

There hasn't been a single person to mention the beast's names in years. There was no visible way of them being remotely real, right? That sounded absurd.

But of course, like all tales are written, your's seem to have reached the beginning of your own personal adventure when the king mentioned the need of soldiers willing to face the beast inside the cave, who was presumably hibernating throughout this whole time.

And of course, the public had only laughed at this sort of news. You see, your king's authority over the entire land has been dangling by a thin thread. The taxes, the frauds, the imminent wars threatening to occur at any second now, has helped a small portion of people to start questioning if not downright rebelling against him and his reign of terror.

The revolution was rising slowly, yet something needed to push it forward, the straw that broke the camel's back.

"What could it be?" You might be wondering.

How about kidnapping and force recruitment with the help of blackmailing? Specifically targeting the poorest people in the kingdom and taking their family members hostage if they don't comply?

Sounds so evil that you may think it's bullshit right? So inhumane, that the villain of this story might as well be your crazy king, right?

Oh, [Y/N]. You're absolutely right, yet a little bit wrong considering that even if such an evil act sounds absurd, it's absolutely real. It's part of your reality now.

And even if your king is a vile creature of pure hatred and deserves to be fed to the rats, by being a terrible ruler, husband, and father- You were soon about to learn that there are worse, more powerful forces that can easily overpower the insanity of that sad, pathetic evil man.

To your dismay, your family was one of the chosen ones to suffer from this. Because of poverty, you and your father lived in the outskirts of the kingdom. It was perfect for the king and his soldiers, as you and your father lived distant from the main town, if any of you two ever die on the process of going into the beast's cave, or disobey the king's orders, no one would notice if you two were suddenly wiped from the face of the Earth.

And of course, holding hostage just one person was easier than multiple family members. Although your king was absolutely insane if not completely psychotic, you could at least understand how he moved his pieces in this massive game of chess.

I mean, yes, you understand his reasoning. Still doesn't mean he is right.

Soldiers didn't wait too long to show up and try to force your father to go with them. But you didn't take none of that, you wouldn't let your dying father be taken by them.

You screamed, you shout, you let venom spill out of your mouth by each profanity you threw at the soldiers and the king they claimed to serve. It didn't take long before the general noticed that you were one of the rascals forming a rebellion. Well, you didn't really need to be officially part of the revolution, just disagreeing was enough to make the general decide to take you instead of your old father.

You can still remember how he was trying to scream his lungs out, to stop the soldiers somehow.

This was it, right? The day, for you and possibly all these other commoners to die in the name of an asshole. How honoring.

Among you and other miserably unlucky individuals, there were all kinds of different people. From innocent, to criminals. From young to old, from poor to… Well, mildly not as poor. Nobles would never be subjected to this, you know that. All of these individuals were carried away by a carriage. All crammed into one little vehicle, away from the public sight.

After being far enough from the town and now deep within the forest, the soldiers commanded all of you to get out of the carriage as now you'll begin to walk straight to the mountain while carrying… Gold?

"- It's a gift from the king. Survive long enough, and you'll be able to take it with you." The general said, his tone being condescending as ever.

You could…. Technically run away, right now. They haven't really put any restrains in any of you-

"- Over there!" A soldier alerted the general, who looked little surprised by seeing two of your group running away with the gold in hands.

Without hesitation, or even a slight hint of empathy, the general shot both with his crossbow. Their bodies fall flat in the forest ground, with all that gold and jewelry accompanying them. All that gold being wasted and left behind, just like the bodies of the people carrying them.

You felt sick, the need to vomit was surfacing through your stomach. This- This is terrible!? This is so cruel! How can they continue to walk like nothing happened??

God, how did a once prospering kingdom has now fallen in such a low pit?

As you can imagine, the walk was torturous and it felt like it was going forever. Of course, a lot of questions were emerging about the strange situation.

One: how did the king know and was certain that the myth of the dragon was real and that the dragon was awake?

Two: why didn't he call his own army to attend to such issues instead of the common folk being forced to go with his wishes?

Actually, now that you think about it, why are there so few skilled, trained soldiers taking a bunch of people to a cave unprepared?

Carrying a bunch of gold for fucks sake, this stuff is heavy!

If it was truly a gift from the king to your group, then why were you obligated to carry it all the way to the cave? Sounds unreasonable and if anything, absolutely ridiculous. It would only slow your group down, and for what?!

Sounds like a trap to be…. Honest. Wait a minute-

"- Shit!" You whisper to yourself at the sudden realization that you're fucked, which unfortunately, caused a soldier that was near you to hear it.

"- Nothing sir, I just stabbed my foot in a rock." You weren't lying though. This whole walk bullshit your doing has destroyed your low quality sandals, and now you could basically feel the ground stabbing you every time you stept.

The soldier just grunted at you, and as much as you wished to take his sword and shove it up his bum, you couldn't help but go back to your original train of thought before you got interrupted.

You were going straight to death right? You're not supposed to fight a dragon, but rather serve as an offering?? What?!

You can't even speak or alert your fellow companions in any way. The last three people that have spoken without being directed to, were shot in the head.

The realization has sadly come in too late for you to make any plans now, as you forward as your group walk upwards, following the mountain's trail, you find yourself facing not only the entrance to a presumably dangerous cave infested with predators, but also the gates to your inevitable death.

You would now have to think of how to escape the soldiers and their arrows, or how to possibly make your death less painful. Being eaten by a dragon doesn't sound really fun.

When entering the cave you're met with more-

"- Are you fucking kidding me?!" Someone screamed, while easily accepting their death.

You couldn't help but agree with the person. While entering the cave, you're met with a great ravine, going in a spiral fashion deeper into the cave.

In other words, you have not only walked all the way up to a fucking mountain, but you would now need to get down into a creepy cave.

You almost considered asking for some eternal peace before remembering that your father's life was still in line. You just… Don't want to go away like this, you don't want your father to go like this.

And once again your group, that was now a lot shorter due to the amount of deaths along the way, was now following the general once again. Only this time, the soldiers were behind all of you, probably to guarantee no one ran away. Too late for that now anyway, so why even bother?

You didn't realize how you were on the very front of everyone, side by side with the man that was leading you to your doom.

You felt his eyes fall into your form a couple of times, but he never really turned his face to look at you. After a long silence of just a bunch of miserable people stepping closer to a terrible plan that was not well thought-out, he said:

"- You know it already. Right?" His voice was rough and still held the nonchalant tone that was written all over his face. You doubt this man could have ever smiled once in his life.

You almost choked with your own breathing, the nerve of this man! You couldn't help but let out the only thing you have wanted to say this whole time:

"- I hate you." You say as your eyes start to become a little watery. The feeling of desperation was eating you up ever since you entered the carriage, but only now you felt how bad the teeth of despair hurt.

"- I know kid. Me too." He responded, his tone never changed, even while saying that.

You guess he didn't really appreciate his job as much as you thought he did. Yet, you couldn't find in your heart to pity the man, as he was complicit in all of this mess. But I guess, you do hope for this man to find some sort of redemption, either presently or in his after life.

You still think he did a lot of bad things of course, his crimes are probably never gonna be forgiven. But just because of that, it didn't mean he couldn't start to do some good actions now, not for the sake of finding inner forgiveness, but for the sake of others. For the sake of the innocent people being not only met with unfair treatment, but also being ruled by a psychotic tyrant who is a complete imbecile. No wonder the queen and his son were missing for so long, you would probably have run away if you were them too.

When finally coming down, with your feet now hurting like a bitch, you can find some time for yourself to appreciate the beauty of this place.

You know, before you lose your head? To a freaking dragon??

Honestly, you at least hope that the stories you read were true, because holy fuck- Imagine how exhausted your body is from walking for what it feels like an eternity, holding jewelry made with gold, only to find an empty cave?

Then you would be able to go feral kill one or two soldiers before getting your ass beaten. As you don't have enough reason to just do that right now, right?

You expected to be met with disappointment, but what you truly saw while finally getting into the dragon's territory, you were able to not only feel enchanted by the magnitude of these treasure places, but also forget the danger of the situation, as you look around and remember the tales you read.

This is so much better than what you have imagined it to be like. It's… Mesmerising! It 's beautiful! The underground pond, the glowing crystals, the pile of gold, the stolen statues of the great warriors of your kingdom, golden weapons all scattered across the floor, the white feathered looking dragon staring down at you from his nest, that little tea set that is really cute and fragile yet it probably cost way more than your house, your clothes, and all of your furniture all together.

Oh no wait-

"- We came with what you asked for, Artemio." Said the general fast walking his way to be in between you and the beast.

To say you were freaking out would be an understatement. You knew dragons were huge, but you didn't expect it to be so… Huge! You know??

Oh my God, you're dead-

You looked around to see only you, your group of commoners ready to be probably eaten, and the general. And while looking for the soldiers, you noticed them trying to close the opening with a man built gate, created to keep the beast.

But obviously, that gate looks absolutely ridiculous, there is no way this guy couldn't destroy it by simply slapping it. It's quite laughable, yet…

You feel this is not just a coincidence or a bad made joke. You have a feeling they know the gate is essentially useless. It was really old, so, clearly this has been going on from quite some time.

Has… Has your kingdom been doing this for centuries?? Bringing offerings to please the dragon and beg it to sleep for more centuries to come?

"- This is absolute bullshit!" You screamed, not noticing how your heart was racing and your breathing had started to become frantic. You were panicking while coming to terms with the fact that your whole world was collapsing in front of your eyes. Your scream clearly surprised your fellow companions, yet it didn't surprise the dragon or the general.

The dragon had, well, a dragon face, so you have no idea what it was thinking, and the general was still with the same non-expressive face since the beginning of this stupid trip!

"- What?! You have nothing to say?? You brought us here to die, at least say something, you coward!" You were fuming with rage. How can a person like this be so annoying even when he is not saying anything.

He looks at you with an understanding expression, yet you don't think about what it could mean as you reach to one of the many golden weapons spread around across the floor. They were heavy and quite frankly completely useless, yet you still hold into that golden sword like your life depended on it.

And it did, actually.

Have you gone insane or just completely blind with rage and the instinct of survival? You're not sure just yet, but you'll lose your last bit of sanity to stand your ground.

You aren't going down without a fight.

"- Come at me, you big bird!" You yelled, looking kinda epic and kinda goofy at the same time. You probably shouldn't insult a dragon who hasn't decided who he'll first, it may change his appetite.

Before the general could interfere with your foolish behavior, the one and only had spoken:

"- Where exactly is what we had agreed on?" Like in true entitled brat fashion, Artemio asked the general while putting his head in his pawn.

"- We had to eliminate a couple of the troublemakers. In the end some of the gold was left behind in the progress-"

"- No, I mean, where truly is what I asked for? The jewelry is quite frankly ugly, the gold coins don't matter as I already have plenty, and none of these humans look really edible. Or well… Appetising." You could swear a pouty face was appearing in Artemio's face, yet only one thing had taken your attention. That's the reason why they needed so many disposable people? Oh… Wait a minute, did the dragon just call everyone here too ugly to eat?

"- If you can't compromise with your promises, then I think we'll have to change the deal-" Artemio started getting up from his nest, stretching out like a cat.

"- Oh, please no, can't you just-" The general panicked, thinking that the dragon would destroy the village.

"- I want that one." Artemio said. Pointing at you.

"- What?" You looked behind you just in case you were in the way of someone else. No, you weren't.

"- Uhn… What?" Oh look, even the general was confused as you, and well, the entire cast of people that were thrown in this hell hole.

"- Yes, that one holding the spear."

"- Just… That one, or-"

"- Just that one. And I won't get out of the cave for at least a century, I promise!" He sounds and acts like both a child and a cat, preparing himself to pounce on its prey any moment now.

"- ….. Okay then, fair enough. It's your problem now kid." He said, making a motion for all the other captives to follow him. Which they gladly did, because, you know, they aren't the protagonist of the story.

"- What?! You can't leave me here, you bastard!!" You screamed, although subconsciously you already knew his answer.

"- I think I'm just doing that!" He screamed from the other side of the cave, fuckz they really didn't waste no time at all, did they?

Sigh, who are you kidding? If you were one of them, you would have ran away as fast as you could. At least some gave you sympathetic looks before going back to their "freedom".

You heard the heavy gate closing. Well, shit. It's you and him now.

You tried going back into your original threatening stance, but before you could, you saw a glimpse of Artemio coming in at full speed, taking no time to jump at you. This is it [Y/N], send your last prayers to your father and your old life before-

Before he starts licking you... like a dog? What?

He pauses and you tense up, looking up and seeing a dragon powerful enough to destroy villages, looking at you like a precious little gift.

Artemio picks you up and hugs you in an almost bone breaking hug. Confused and frustrated with how the situation was going, you asked:

"- A-Aren't you going to kill me?" Yes, it was a pathetic question, if a dragon isn't killing you, then why ask it to do it??

"- I have been so lonely since the last human that I chose! I usually prefer to have many friends around but all of the other options seemed so boring, you know?" His voice is oddly cheerful and sweet to someone that sees humans as pets, or "friends". So… What is really going on here?

"- I thought you ate people." You said, still frustrated that you were betrayed and lied to through this entire day.

"- Well, I guess I can eat humans-" Says the giant bird-lizard acting like a child trying to lie about doing something wrong- "- But I really don't like doing it, I promise!"

"- I just wanted someone to play with, you know? All the dragons that I know are just so boring and take everything seriously." He huffed in annoyance.

"- Well… Do you-" You started questioning if you really want to to know the answer, but curiosity sure is killing this cat!- "- What happened to the other humans that were here?"

"- Oh, they… Uhn, they died, because of your shirt lifespan and all ya know." He responded.

"- Oh… Then why did the soldiers bring us here saying you were going to eat us?" Why not go full balls in and ask everything, right?

"- It's- Sigh, it's really embarrassing, but I didn't know any other way of how to ask for company down here." He said shyly, which only confirmed your suspicion of this being complete bullshit.

"- And you threaten to burn a whole kingdom just because of that?" You asked.

"- Yes!" He answered with no shame whatsoever. This guy was a dog wearing a dragon costume, you couldn't believe what you were hearing.

"- Sigh, oh my God…"

"- Hey, uhn, what's your name?" Artemio spoke, he thought that he should also ask questions as he wants to be able to enjoy every second with his new pet.

"- It is [Y/N]. And you're Artemio, right?" You can't believe any of this, really. You went from an absolutely terrible life or death situation, to a… Well, you can't even tell what the hell is going on anymore!

"- [Y/N].... [Y/N]! [Y/N], that's such a good name!" The excited dragon repeated your name multiple times before interrupting your peace once again. You can't be mad at him, but-

Come on, you needed some time to accept everything that just went down. You didn't even notice you were on the floor until Artemio was in front of your view again.

"- [Y/N]!" He was so easy to please, that just saying your name was fun to him.

"- Sigh… Hey Artemio." You sighed as there was no way in hell this dragon would leave you to deal with this weird feeling of emptiness arising in your chest.

"- What do you want to do now?" He asked cheerfully, but not completely oblivious to your feelings of being abandoned underground with him by force.

You stayed silent for a second, again, trying to come with terms with this new lifestyle that you were subjected to. You technically could ask Artemio to open the gate, he doesn't seem to have any intention of hurting you. But who knows? He has a different point of view in this whole thing than you do.

Silence was taking over the cave, but not exactly an awkward silence, just… A comforting one.

The water dripped from the ceiling. You felt the ground underneath you shake a little as Artemio followed your "guidance". He decided to lay on his back near you.

He wasn't really doing any self reflection at all, he just wanted to join in with you, yet all he could think is how happy he is to have someone else to spend time with.

You may only see him slightly from the corner of your eyes, yet you still feel a little, strange, by seeing a dragon mimic your ways.

You don't feel nessecerally homesick, but you do miss your father. You absolutely hate the idea of coming back to the kingdom, but… If you could see your father one last time, and probably help him with the gold that is in this place….

Maybe you could even-!.....

"- Artemio."

"- Yes, [Y/N]!*

"- AAH!" He turned himself to meet your face so fast that you whimpered because of his sudden motion.

He was going to check if you were okay, but you stopped him showing that you were fine, just a little spooked.

"- Hey, Artemio-" You said again, as you were still reformulating your question in your head-

"- Do you know how to burn an entire castle?"

🍭꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍰꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖♡🍮꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖🍭

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

What your opinion on the Agni Kai was better then aang’s fight with ozai

I want to first say that “better” is a completely subjective statement. Both the final Agni Kai and Aang’s battle with Ozai have huge importance thematically, but are also demonstrative of different aspects of A:tLA, so comparing them in an attempt to determine the “better” battle is really an injustice to the show imo. That said, the final Agni Kai is certainly the more popular of the two big battles, and honestly I can break down its popularity into three main points. People tend to favor the final Agni Kai because:

They see the final Agni Kai as the reason Z.utara should have been canon (no, this is not the same as seeing the battle as crucial to Z.utara’s development; I mean they full-on think that the final Agni Kai matters largely if not entirely because of the brief ‘Z.utara’ moment.)

They recognize the significance of the Agni Kai being framed as a tragedy (specifically regarding Azula).

Their lack of understanding regarding Aang’s arc (or, to be kinder, their personal disinterest in Aang) prevents them from fully appreciating his battle with Ozai.

There are a few other reasons the final Agni Kai tends to be favored (e.g. it’s a much faster-paced battle action-wise; Aang’s battle with Ozai is over twice as long and because of how the show was structured is broken up into several sections and thus feels even longer), but I think those are the main three. So let’s take them one at a time!

First, I have to start with the obvious:

People favor the final Agni Kai because they interpret it as their holy grail of why Z.utara should have been canon.

Firstly, I am not getting into the K@taang vs Z.utara ship wars. I don’t have the time or the energy lmao. But there is a huge difference between shipping Z.utara based on the content provided in the show (because y’all know I love me some Zut@raang) compared to somehow thinking that Zuko and Katara were both ready to be and should have gotten together at the end of the series. In short, Z.utara would not have worked in canon based on where the series stood by the finale, and that’s okay! That fact does not negate the appeal of Z.utara nor does it mean Z.utara shippers should not be allowed to interpret the final Agni Kai as involving Z.utara content (they absolutely can and should! we love to see that!). But the final Agni Kai was not some secret sign that Z.utara was meant to be canon, and people who interpret it as such are sorely missing the point of the battle.

Here are a few metas discussing the final Agni Kai in regards to Z.utara’s importance within canon A:tLA, if you’d like to read some analysis going more in-depth than I intend to. My thoughts regarding Z.utara and the final Agni Kai are pretty simple:

Zuko catching/attempting to redirect the lightning aimed at Katara was not because he was in love with her. For him to sacrifice himself because he was “in love with her” would entirely undermine his redemption arc, which is learning to earn forgiveness and accept unconditional love from his family (both Iroh and the Gaang), not because of romantic interest. (Again, this does not mean someone shouldn’t ship Z.utara; if that’s what you’re taking away from this post, then you might as well stop reading, because I assure you that’s not even close to the point here.)

Katara is set up as Azula’s primary foil (e.g. by and large her relationship in canon with Zuko is aimed as a surrogate sibling); her saving Zuko parallels Azula’s attempts on his life (though her most important moment as Azula’s foil is arguably bringing Aang back to life after Azula kills him, but that’s a subject for another time lol), and Zuko catching the lightning for Katara demonstrates him saving the sister he can save versus Azula, the sister he cannot save (hence her breakdown at the end of the battle while Katara walks away largely unharmed; Zuko’s decision is also a direct parallel to him siding with Azula in “Crossroads of Destiny”, having first chosen the sister who harms him over Katara, the sister who ultimately heals him).

The significance of Zuko catching/attempting to redirect the lightning aimed at Katara is not because it was Katara he was saving; the viewer sees Zuko’s decision and recognizes that he would have done so for anyone. Anyone in the Gaang, plus Mai and Iroh, and possibly even Ty Lee (hell, he’d probably have taken the bolt for Appa and Momo). Zuko’s redemption arc is sealed by his selflessness, his willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of someone else. While the moment is especially powerful because of Katara’s position as a foil to Azula, it is not the Z.utara holy grail I’ve seen it portrayed to be.

To be honest, the interpretation of the Agni Kai as some big Z.utara moment is both superficial and a massive disservice to Azula and the completion of her arc, which is the focal point of most if not all of the battle, and also entirely undermines the power of Zuko’s redemption (as I discussed). So moving on to the next point!

People favor the final Agni Kai because they recognize its importance to Azula and how the key element of the battle’s emotional weight is its framing as a tragic, heartbreaking moment.

I rewatched both the final Agni Kai and Aang’s battle with Ozai before I wrote this, and I had to try so hard to not cry at the end when Azula breaks down, sobbing openly for the first time in the entire series. It is a powerful, devastating moment, and it is so heartbreaking because of how fitting it is for her. Does she deserve redemption? Absolutely. But in the context of the series and how A:tLA played out, rock bottom is where Azula needs to be, and the audience recognizing that fact is what makes the scene so painful to watch (and also why you can’t take your eyes off the screen). For me, the power of the Agni Kai never came from Zuko’s sacrifice (although I understand why that part resonates with some people more); instead, it was always about Azula’s downfall, her descent, the straw the broke the camel’s back - whatever you want to call it. I’ll try to keep the essence of my feelings towards Azula and the Agni Kai and why this battle is preferred short:

Azula is a much more established antagonist than Ozai. We know from the beginning the Fire Lord is the big bad, but his presence in the show is relegated largely to flashbacks and to the second half of the final season. Azula is introduced in Book Two (technically she appears twice, I believe, in Book One, but she has no lines so I’m not counting those moments lol) and becomes the key antagonist throughout the final two books. The viewers admire her intelligence and strategic capabilities, appreciate her wit and ability to turn a person’s words around on them, and even feel sympathy and pity for her when her difficult relationship with her mother is revealed (in “The Beach”) and when Ozai’s conditional love is demonstrated to apply to her, too (“Sozin’s Comet Part 1: The Phoenix King”). Thus, the final Agni Kai has multitudes more emotional potency in terms of the antagonist, as Azula is more pitiable and developed than Ozai, so it’s understandable that feeling a greater connection to Azula might result in someone preferring the final Agni Kai over Aang’s battle with Ozai. (That said, I will be discussing more about the significance of Ozai as a character later.)

The tone of the Agni Kai is that of tragedy (verus the more action/intense battle of Aang vs Ozai). While the debate of drama vs action is largely related to personal preference, I think it’s worth noting that no other battle in A:tLA (that I can think of) has the slow, drawn-out, orchestral music that is present in the final Agni Kai. The viewers realize this battle may be about power on the surface, but in reality it is a painful, devastating moment about a family irreparably torn apart (at least in terms of the series run). For me, that has always been the captivating factor of the Agni Kai. The viewers mourn for Azula, who has lost herself. Yes, she did so partially in her quest for power, but more importantly in her search for love, as she did not have a support system in her life like her brother (Zuko always had Iroh), and the audience grieves for her. Her mother both feared her and was disgusted by her; her father loved no one (including her) and only valued her for what she could provide to him; she hurt her brother and her best friends to the point where they were forced to turn away from her; and her uncle, as far as what is shown, never extended a hand to her. Azula is a victim of abuse (though this does not excuse any of her actions; in fact, her role in A:tLA as a victim who was abandoned and lashes out before breaking down on the inside is just as important as Zuko’s role as a victim who was given support and was able to heal). Thus, to me, the power of the final Agni Kai is all from the tragic tone (hence why Azula’s heartbreaking end brings me close to tears every time).

Bonus: The way Katara takes out Azula is incredibly clever and badass. (I don’t think I need to expand this one. We all love narrative foils!)

For some people, they prefer the final Agni Kai because of the emotional weight of the conclusion of Azula’s arc; that weight combined with the conclusion of Zuko’s redemption, in my opinion, are pretty valid reasons to deem the final Agni Kai their favorite battle of the series. That said, there is one other important factor to consider in the question of the final Agni Kai vs Aang’s battle with Ozai:

People prefer the final Agni Kai because they blatantly misunderstand and/or misinterpret Aang’s arc of reconciling his being both the Avatar and the last airbender, thus preventing them from fully understanding and appreciating the weight of his battle with Ozai.

This point is more complex than the two I discussed previously, so I’m going to break this one down further to help simplify it. Let’s start with the most obvious thing:

“The lion turtle and energybending were cop-outs!”

I cringe whenever I see this; imagine admitting to the entire fandom how blind you were to the extensive foreshadowing about the lion turtle and energybending. Downright embarrassing. There are so many metas out there explaining how the lion turtle and energybending were not cop-outs and how A:tLA did foreshadow their influence (some people need to admit they just didn’t watch the show tbh). I’ll try to provide a quick summary:

Chiblocking demonstrated how chi/energy and bending were intrinsically linked from Day. One. Moreover, it did so numerous times; trying to claim that blatant foreshadowing is not there is… well, kind of embarrassing.

The lion turtle was foreshadowed in “The Library” (and moreover the lion turtle only appeared after Aang called out to the Spirit World; his meditation was an appropriate attempt to seek help from those wiser than him to resolve his dilemma, and thus his plea was answered).

If you’re gonna argue the lion turtle/energybending were convenient cop-outs, you better also critique how Suki conveniently was at the Boiling Rock/the ferry, Pakku conveniently had been arranged to marry Katara’s grandmother, Toph conveniently inventing metalbending, every other time a spirit showed up conveniently, etc. etc. etc. Don’t cherry-pick, hypocrites.

The lion turtle/energybending were not necessarily predictable, no, but they also were not meant to be. You’re not supposed to guess every detail of every finale of every show. So yes, the lion turtle/energybending were foreshadowed, and this foreshadowing done so in a way where after they were revealed it was intended to be an “oh my god, how did I not see that connection before?!” moment. (At least, so it was for me.)

Dismissing the lion turtle and energybending as a cop-out is an age-old, boring misinterpretation of Aang’s battle with Ozai, and by and large I think most of the fandom is tired of hearing it. Thus, if people don’t understand the lion turtle/energybending and their roles in the A:tLA finale, then they’re less likely to appreciate Aang’s battle with Ozai and therefore would prefer the final Agni Kai. Next common argument:

“Aang was able to re-enter the Avatar state because of a rock? Really? Another cop-out!”

Again, if you’re gonna criticize the rock, at least criticize every other plot device used in A:tLA. I mean come on. Some people will really just cherry-pick instances solely with Aang. How very convenient for them, huh?

But the fact of the matter is that the pointy rock is actually pretty important! No, it didn’t necessarily have to be a rock that allowed Aang to enter the Avatar state again, but it was necessary that the Avatar state was unblocked for him by a physical trigger. The Avatar state was removed from Aang by Azula’s lightning striking him (after he’d done the spiritual work to control it, too!), which is a physical block, thus requiring something to physically unblock it. By the end of Book Two, Aang is able to enter the Avatar state of his own accord (he successfully unlocked his chakras, after all) and had Azula not struck him in the back and killed him, he presumably would have been able to do so throughout Book Three. Did that physical item have to be a rock? Again, not necessarily, lmao, but where he and Ozai were fighting, well, there certainly were a lot of rocks, so it’s not like it didn’t make sense. (There’s a meta here that touches a bit on the necessity of the Aang needing the Avatar state physically unblocked, too.)

“Ozai was a stereotypical, boring villain! He was barely given any screen time!”

This isn’t entirely untrue. Everything viewers are told about Ozai is from other characters in the narrative; mostly Zuko, but also Azula and I’d argue Iroh, too. Ozai certainly was the big bad of the series, and little is provided regarding his personality beyond being power-hungry, racist, xenophobic, and abusive. But… that’s kind of the point. Ozai is written to have zero redeemable qualities. There is supposed to be zero sympathy for him. Hell, there’s arguably even zero reason for him to live on (which actually makes Aang’s decision to spare his life all the more powerful, but that’s for later). There’s one line in particular that really defines Ozai’s character to me:

“You’re [Aang is] weak, just like the rest of your people [the Air Nomads]! They did not deserve to exist in this world… in my [Ozai’s] world!”

Ozai is the epitome of fascism, imperialism, and a superiority complex if there ever was one in a cartoon. His words remind the audience that maybe he didn’t initiate the Air Nomad Genocide, but he continues to seek the same goal - obliteration of anyone he deems inferior (which is, well, every nation except his own). Aang’s battle with Ozai is literally a fight against fascism, and that’s a hell of a powerful metaphor. So while I understand leaning towards the Agni Kai in terms of familiarity with the antagonist (aka Azula), I do think some people gloss over Ozai too quickly. Yes, everyone knows that Ozai is a genocidal dictator, but I don’t think the implication of that position - especially what it means to Aang - really sinks in for everyone.

And now for the big one:

“Aang should have killed Ozai!”

If you are reading this and for some godforsaken reason think Aang should have killed Ozai, I beg of you: read these metas and analyses about Aang and his arc explaining exactly why that’s the wrong take. This point has been argued a million times over and the fact of the matter is that Aang choosing to spare Ozai’s life and thus uphold his beliefs as an Air Nomad is the ultimate triumph (a direct parallel to the Air Nomads being forced to fight back against the firebenders during Sozin’s attack and were thus not able to uphold their beliefs - the ultimate sacrifice). Furthermore, Aang choosing to spare Ozai’s life but take his bending is arguably a fate worse than death for Ozai. Ozai now lacks all of his power/prestige, will be forced to watch the son he despises rebuild his country, and any lingering supporters he may have can’t argue “oh well the Avatar had no reason to kill him!” because Aang didn’t kill him. He chose mercy. He proved himself better and stronger than Ozai could ever hope to be.

Furthermore, Aang staying true to his beliefs as an airbender is central to his character. The core belief of the Air Nomads was that all life was sacred (such was why they were all vegetarians). If he had killed Ozai, if he had been forced to betray his spiritual beliefs, then he would have completed the genocide of the Air Nomads that Sozin started a hundred years ago. Ozai’s death at Aang’s hands = the death of the airbenders’ culture. Full stop. How could he be expected to bring balance to the four nations if only three remained? Maybe this is just me, but the message of Aang being an airbender (the last airbender) and finding another way (e.g. energybending) to defeat Ozai in order to uphold the beliefs of his people is a much more powerful message than him having to kill Ozai (especially because no one else understood how important Aang’s spirituality was to him [not even the Gaang!]; Aang did what was right, even when the world insisted he was wrong).

(Sidenote: The previous Avatars did not tell Aang to kill Ozai. That’s right - not even Kyoshi. I believe she gave him this advice: “Only justice will bring peace.” Great news! Aang did exactly that. Why are some people still so pressed about it??)

Furthermore, if someone calls Aang’s beliefs and his decision not to kill Ozai childish (we’ve all seen those posts), I’m giving you permission to deck them, because so much of the roots of the Air Nomads’ spirituality is rooted in Buddhism, and like,, we know westerners struggle to comprehend any narrative that isn’t our own, but the dismissal of Aang’s beliefs without making the connection that they’re also dismissing the beliefs of many, many real people? Yeah, please sock those assholes in the jaw. Give them the finger. Glare at them. Whatever works for you. Those are the people with the most superficial opinions on A:tLA, and to be honest, it really shows. Please: make an effort to understand the eastern narratives at work within A:tLA. If you don’t, there are so many things you will miss out on, and you’ll also just look like a prick.

For me, Aang’s battle with Ozai is so powerful (and my favorite) because of the ending and its importance to Aang:

“I’m not gonna end it like this.”

Aang chooses mercy by taking Ozai’s bending instead of killing him.

Aang chooses to uphold the beliefs of his people and guarantee the Air Nomads live on in him.

Aang proves his soul is unbendable.

Aang enters and controls the Avatar of his own accord (not induced by trauma or a spirit).

Aang reconciles his being the Avatar with being the last airbender.

Aang is finally at peace with himself and the world around him.

In short, if a person doesn’t understand Aang and his character, then the significance of his final battle with Ozai will largely be lost, and thus it makes sense that they would gravitate more to the Agni Kai (which is arguably a less nuanced battle, as Azula’s position as a victim of abuse and Zuko’s tale of redemption are not exclusive to either western or eastern narratives, while Aang’s arc is largely more eastern in nature and thus something less familiar to western audiences).

I have no doubt that my personal bias influences my admiration of the final battle with Ozai, as Aang is my favorite character and his narrative is easily the most powerful to me (he is the sole survivor of genocide who still chooses to seek kindness in life instead of revenge), but regardless I’d argue the sheer thematic weight of Aang’s battle with Ozai outweighs that of the Agni Kai any day (although, to be fair, they are presenting different subjects, so take my feelings there with a grain of salt).

The Agni Kai is a tragedy. It is devastating. It makes you cry. Aang’s battle with Ozai is a triumph. It is hope. It makes you take a deep breath and look to tomorrow with a brave smile. And that is why it is the battle that concludes the series.

TL;DR - Both are fantastic battles in their own merit, but Aang’s battle with Ozai is underappreciated because of the fandom’s incomplete grasp on Aang’s arc and character while the final Agni Kai is often appreciated/hyped up for the wrong (*cough* shipping *cough*) reasons.

[problematicfavesareproblematic]

If You Need It, Then I Need It

Johnny Martin x Reader

Summary: The death of Eugene Jackson weighs heavy on each and every soldier in Easy Company. You and Johnny find comfort in each other

Warnings: mutual infidelity, SMUT, ROUGH SMUT, BADLY WRITTEN SMUT, weak attempts at making it fluff, a terrible example of safe sex (don’t risk it, wrap your biscuit), unhealthy coping mechanisms, ANGST PROBABLY BC I HAVE A PROBLEM

And ,guess what? Another song-inspired fic! Title and feels brought to you by Need It by Half Moon Run!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You never knew a kiss could hurt so sweetly.

The way John’s mouth pressed against yours was bruising and unyielding, tasting of salt and guilt and such a deep sadness you feared you may drown in it. 

But it was everything you wanted- everything you needed.

The death of the young Eugene Jackson had been the metaphorical straw that broke the camel’s back for many people, all the years of death and destruction and cold and hunger and loss seeming to come to a head in the sleepy town by the river. You felt as if you had aged decades in the span of five years.

Hope had died for you somewhere in Holland. The painful ache of disappointed resolve could only take you so far, and for some reason Johnny Martin’s face had made it clear that it was no longer sustainable.

You were lonely, you all were so hollow and lonely that you were amazed no one had yet cracked in two.

When the two of you had found each other that night, it suddenly didn't matter that you were both spoken for. You didn’t care that you were expected to marry a cold man of your father’s choosing when you got home, and when John had locked the office door behind him you knew that his loyalty to Patricia was the furthest thing from his mind.

The song the two of you had been dancing to these past four years had finally reached its crescendo, all of the shared nights of quiet reassurances and lingering looks and too-affectionate touches finally demanded resolution.

And he’d been the one to kiss you, after all.

But any guilt you’d expected to feel failed to come, your hands clutching at him as if he were the only thing keeping you alive.

A broken sob slips out of your throat when he bites at your lips, but he doesn’t seem to hear it.

Maybe he’s worried about drowning, too.

You shove his coat off of his shoulders, the cold in your bones crying out for the warmth only his skin could provide.

“I know, Baby- I know…” he mumbles against your lips, his own hands clawing at your clothing as well. “I’m comin’, I’ve got you- Fuck—”

You claw your nails down his back, knowing you were probably being too rough but the fire in your veins sings for more, more, more.

More of what? You had no idea.

John seemed to, though. He seemed to know exactly what you needed.

Hands in your hair crank your head back until he’s looming over you with kiss-swollen lips and bright eyes.

He shakes his head in something akin to disbelief. 

“You’re gonna be the death of me, aren’t you, Kid?”

When you let a wicked smile curl your lips upward, he growls like some sort of beast.

“I can think of worse ways to go….Sir.”

The hand that latches around your throat only makes you grin wider. 

He’s gotten you down to your tank top, and you watch his eyes catch how your nipples pebble in the cold night air. His jaw is slack with desire, the hand on your throat pulling you from your seated position on the table so you are standing toe to toe.

“You want this, right?” John’s breathing is rough, his warm breath washing over your face and making you drunk. When you don’t immediately respond he tightens his hand around your throat ever so slightly and brings his other hand down to fist the material of your shirt at your breastbone.

 “Hey- look at me. Tell me you want this or I’m not doing another fucking thing—”

You cut him off with a vicious kiss before quickly slipping your hand down the front of his pants and squeezing. Swallowing his groan greedily, you nuzzle at his cheek until you get him to turn his head enough for your lips to find his ear.

“No,” you whimper, and when you feel him about to pull away you bite at his earlobe. “I fucking need this….I need you, John Martin.”

With a curse of your name, he seals his mouth back to yours, hands sliding down your torso and tugging your clothes out of his way.

No one called him just ‘John’- not his mom or his sister or his men or even Patty. It rolled off of your tongue so sweetly that before now he’s always had to fight the urge to chase it with his lips. 

No one had ever just wanted John Martin.

Yet here you were, needing him.

You could feel how much he liked knowing that.

As your pants slide down your legs you feel his bruising grip on your freshly bared flesh, desperately hoping that you’ll have marks on your skin after this is all over.

“You don’t mean that,” Johnny chastises, gasping against your neck as hips buck unexpectedly into your borderline torturous touch. “Fuck, Baby- don’t say that to me unless you mean it….”

One of your hands fists in his hair and brings his face between your newly exposed breasts for him to explore with his tongue.

“You told me to be selfish, didn’t you?” You remind him. “You said that if I wanted something, I needed to make it mine and take it, didn’t you?”

At the time, he’d been trying to reassure you that it was okay to say no to things- more specifically, John had been referencing your family’s predetermined plans for you and your happiness.

“Your life is your own, Y/N Y/L/N. And after all that you’ve seen and done- you deserve to be happy. Take what you want and make it yours, take it if you gotta. You’re too bright to be snuffed out…”

When you look down your chest and see the piercing heat in his eyes, you almost lose your nerve.

He’s sinfully beautiful, the hungry incubus your mother had tried to warn you of when you told her of your plans to join the Airborne’s medical staff. 

Debauched, single-minded, dangerous.

God, how you loved it.

His teeth bite into the soft skin of your breast, refusing to free you from his wild and wanting gaze.

“If you won't give it to me, let me go so I can find someone who will.”

Judging by the snarl that twists his face, he doesn’t like your insinuation one bit.

As he straightens up to shuck off his trousers, you turn around and shove your underwear down to your knees, pressing your forehead onto the cool wood of the table you’d been sitting on and offering your backside to him like a crude and carnal oblation.

Biting kisses are bestowed across your shoulders and down your back as his fingers spread your slickness across the petals of your sex, pinching and plucking at you until you are writhing before him. You know that you’re breathing too loud but cannot find it in yourself to keep quiet.

“Please,” you mewl, hands reaching blindly behind you in a vain attempt to get a grip on some part of him. “Please please please please—”

Rough hands grip your hips and twist you back around so you are facing him before you are shoved back almost violently.

Your head is spinning, a foggy delirium of desire making you pant stupidly up at John.

Hands press your knees upwards and outwards, opening you up for him to admire and praise.

“Don’t beg, never beg—goddamn it, Kid, you never gotta beg me for anything….Fuck, look at you. Never hide your face like that again”

His cock is in you before you can fully process his words (namely the word again), a broken cry being swallowed by his kiss before it can grow any louder.

It’s rough and sloppy and desperate- your bodies twisting and turning like flames of a wildfire. You’re sure the table beneath you will break but John is holding you so fucking tightly that you think that it almost wouldn’t matter if it did.

You babble mindlessly into his ear about how good he feels and how good he’s making you feel, and in turn John calls you beautiful and perfect and tells you how good you are which only serves to drive you crazier. 

In a move you hadn’t expected, his rough fingers reach between the two of you and pinch at your clit, jerking it up and down in a motion similar to the way you’d stroked his cock.

Good God, you’d never considered touching it like that.

“Oh shit,” you curse, back beginning to bow at the overwhelming heat coiling in your lower stomach. “You like that, huh?” his voice is smug in your ear. “God knows I like it, Sweetheart- fuckin’ do this whenever you want, Baby—”

“Shut up,” your voice is high and wavering, unfamiliar to your ears. “Don’t say that if—”

“I do fuckin’ mean it. Come.”

Lightning- that’s what it feels like. Electricity dancing wildly against your skin and throughout your body, the crackle of release curling and skating from the top of your head to the tip of your toes.

And it just doesn’t stop.

You know that John is kissing you, you know that he is shooting deep inside of you, you know that he’s apologizing while he pumps into you without hesitation.

“I know I shouldn’t I’m sorry I’m sorry I didn’t ask I didn’t mean to Please don’t stop.”

Your eyes are open and unseeing, relying on your hands to find his ass and pull him into you so he doesn’t stop.

“It’s okay It’s okay I need you so much You feel so good Please don’t leave me.”

The lips that had been at your cheek kissing tears away now give way to gritted teeth, John’s breath hot and wet against your skin as he rolls his hips once, twice more before stilling inside of you.

Still quaking beneath him, you turn your head to share his labored breath and open your mouth obligingly when he licks at the seam of your lips.

“Too much?’ he asks breathlessly, the damp strands of his overgrown hair tickling your face as he lets his head fall into your shoulder. “Was it….did I take too much?”

You shake your head no, kissing at his sweaty temple and lethargically wrapping your arms around him.

“You’re perfect, John Martin. God help me, you are nothing less than perfect.”

In this moment, you can’t think too much about what you’ve done- the implications and inevitable fallout for your transgressions that you will both will have to face once the afterglow has faded and the cold morning takes its place.

As if he knows your train of thought, John nuzzles further into your neck and kisses your sweaty skin sweetly.

“Stay here,” he commands, his voice a soft and sleepy rumble in his chest. “I’m not going anywhere, just stay here with me….”

Closing your eyes you nod and rake your hand through his hair.

“Okay,” you say. “Okay.”

Your sins can wait. 

You can both be selfish for a little bit longer.

~ ~ ~

*toes ground awkwardly* so...here we are again. me: writing smut unprompted, you: wishing I would knock it off and finish a multi-chapter fic FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE. WELL, GUESS WHAT? I totally understand and am working on it I PROMISE! Thank you for reading and I love you more than Nixon loves alcohol ok bYE!

Taglist: @mrseasycompany​​​ @itswormtrain​​​ @mrsalwayswrite​​​ @happyveday​​​ @sunsetmando​

[guiltysecretpasttime]

Happenstance

(title edited)

Note: Heads up – this is end game Linumi with a side of Tokka. With very very slight Pema / Tenzin bashing. Zuko and Katara will feature as well but will not be Zutara (nothing against it though haha). This is def not proofread. This is also definitely not my usual so let’s see. 🤓

---

One-shot, Linumi (Lin / Bumi II), pre-LOK AU

__________

Air Temple Island was lit up tonight and the noise level was way beyond its usual.

A slender woman sat at one of the tables set up across the courtyard, clad in a gray and cream hanfu, hair piled up in a bun. While her attire allowed her to blend in among the other guests, the surly expression indicated that she clearly wanted to be somewhere else.

Someone commented to her earlier about the decorations and how exquisite they look; the couple getting married was tasteful in their choices. She simply stared back blankly without responding until the person excused themselves, getting embarrassed.

Ha. That would teach them.

The lady sniffed at the glass that one of tonight’s waiting staff placed at the table. Their dinner plates have been cleared (not that there was anything she found substantial enough of the dishes served to them).

She threw back the glass, an ugly grimace on her face.

As expected, the drinks were bad.

She groaned, leaning back in her seat. When they had planned this day, she envisioned it going differently. For starters, there would have been meat.

Something has to be said about old friends and loyalty. If it weren’t for that, she would not have deigned attending today’s festivities.

She snorted.

Yeah, right. Politics and majority of her adult life spent on civil service practically ensured her attendance.

Most of the attendees were hypocritical brown-nosers. A while back, they had been clamoring and clapping for the union of an airbender and an earthbender. Today, they all stood by and cheered for the same airbender and his young bride.

A clatter and a huff from her side told her that she was not the only one not enjoying dinner.

“I’m going to find my sister.” Her companion announced, pulling back her chair.

She could distinctly feel the emptiness of the other seat at the table. The ceremonies were over and even dinner was nearly over, but the seat remained empty.

“She was not supposed to be on duty today.” Was all she could respond to that. “There were other people who can easily take the job; she insisted leading today’s security team.”

The younger woman simply shrugged. “Of course.”

Toph Beifong could only close her unseeing eyes as Suyin went off to find her eldest, who they last saw briefing the officers on duty some time before the start of the wedding ceremony of the last airbender.

The scraping of the chair and a thunk signaled her to the presence of another person joining their table.

“The food is a bust and the drinks are a flop. Wanna leave before they start dragging people to the dance floor?” The man nudged her shoulder. “I’d have you know that I smuggled in high quality booze on the island; I have bottles that my sister did not confiscate.”

She wanted to ignore the man but the promise of alcohol got her attention. “What kind of booze are you talking about, Sokka?”

The Water Tribe man told her what he had brought over; it was enough to convince her.

“Let’s go.” And she allowed herself to be dragged away.

 ---

Suyin Beifong had gone down to the docks and back up to the welcoming arc. Yet, she has not found any trace of her sister. All of Lin’s colleagues had told her that she had already gotten to the main courtyard an hour or so ago.

She was about to go back and report to her mother that Lin was missing when she saw that the table was empty.

Great, even Mom has escaped.

Truth be told, Su did not really have to go this hard in searching for her sister. A few months ago, they had not even been on speaking terms (her fault, of course, she admitted to Lin years late).

 ---

When she opened the newspaper weeks ago and saw the wedding banns announcing Tenzin’s marriage to someone who was not her sister, Su took the first ride to Republic City and boarded the ferry to Air Temple Island…

And promptly punched the airbender on his large and crooked nose.

Before leaving, Su, in true Beifong fashion, let all her power and anger loose and managed to wreck a sizable section of the island.

As she went her merry way in Republic City, towards the familiar path to the Republic City Police Headquarters, with the intent to seek an audience with her sister (hoping against hope that the usually irate metalbender will not throw her out), she spotted her unsuspecting target.

A young (too young! She thought) woman clad in orange and yellow was browsing some produce in one of the market stalls.

Without even looking around and without even a moment of indecision, Su slid her foot on the ground, commanding an almost imperceptible piece of earth to jut out in the direction of the woman.

The next moments of chaos would forever be imprinted in Su’s memory.

The woman she knew from the photos as Pema tripped as she moved to the next stall. Su quickly flattened the earth to avoid detection.

Pema attempted to regain her balance and ended up grabbing the nearest thing she could – which was a chopping board from the fruit stall. This resulted in the fruit on it (sliced watermelons) being flung off and hitting the stall owner across the street. Unbeknownst to them, the two stall owners (both selling fruit) already had an on-going and long-standing dispute.

The flying fruit was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Chaos broke lose.

Fruits, vegetables, feathers and even animal blood started flying around.

Whistles and sirens permeated the air.

With a sense of schadenfreude, Su found herself paralyzed at the edge of the commotion, watching what she intended to be an inconvenience to an individual turn into a full-fledged market fight.

Before long, members of the Republic City Police Department started swarming the area and arrests were happening right and left.

“Little Suyin, is that you?”

Su stiffened, recognizing one of her mother’s captains approach her (Lin’s captain now, she supposed).

“Heeeeeeey, Captain Ryou.” It was all she could say with a smile too innocent to be believed.

“I don’t know why you’re back in Republic City but I have a strong feeling that you’re somewhat involved in this.” The metalbender shook his head.

Su froze her smile on her face.

“Can’t prove it though.” Captain Ryou gave instructions to his second-in-command before continuing the conversation with the youngest Beifong. “What brings you to Republic City?”

“Can you bring me to meet my sister – I mean – Chief Beifong?”

 ---

“Where is she?”

The door slid open revealing Chief Lin Beifong.

Su immediately stood up and quickly held up a hand to stop the older Beifong from talking. She offered her sincere apologies and she practically grovelled (grovelled! No Beifong has ever grovelled and here she was grovelling) at her sister. She even offered to participate in community service *and* shell out money to pay for damages and/or bail.

Lin looked stunned. It was apparent that it was not what she had expected of their first interaction since her sister was sent away to Gaoling.

To Su's surprise, Lin was quick to forgive. Then again, Lin always was the mature daughter of Toph Beifong (even more mature than she is). She was taken aback.

“But wait -there is something that you should know about what I did earlier today -.”

“I heard and I saw - I'll take you up on covering the damages of Air Temple Island. Tenzin was not pleased when he arrived at the station earlier to report you." Lin frowned. "Then we were both surprised to hear that his bride was in holding."

"Ah." This was Su's opening. "About that -."

"What on earth did you hit him on the face with?"

 ---

Earthbending.

Right. Kicking herself mentally, Su used seismic sense to look for her sister and quickly found her at the kitchen that the caterers had set up for the event.

Su was relieved to see Lin garbed in the form-fitting dress that she bought the other week specifically for the wedding (eat your heart out, Airhead).

“Finally found me, have you?” Lin lazily spoke, twirling a goblet of what could be that horrible wine being served earlier.

"Enjoying yourself?" Su thought it was a pity that Lin was all dressed up and there was no one to appreciate it.

A shrug. "No security breaches, no gate crashers - I'll say it was a job well-done for RCPD today."

Su rolled her eyes. "Well, of course, they practically hired the Chief of Police to provide security for their miserable wedding."

Another shrug.

“Oh come on.” Su petulantly pulled at Lin's arm, effectively sloshing the rest of her drink on the floor.

"Watch it!" Lin grumbled. "Is the party that good that you want me to share in their joy?"

"No, don't be daft. When was the last time did we have fun at a party that Tenzin threw?" Remembering that maybe her sister and the airbender actually had an engagement party in her absence, Su quickly added. "We are going to have our own beach party."

 ---

"We didn't do well, did we?"

"Excuse me?" The waterbender was startled from her passive people-watching, uninterested to join the festivities.

"This is the second wedding among our children that seemed to be under duress."

Katara did not deign to reply to the Fire Lord because she agreed.

"Izumi," Zuko nodded towards his daughter who was seated with other Fire Nation dignitaries and her husband, a Fire Nation nobleman who had a position in one of the older colonies. "At least seems to be getting along better with her husband."

Indeed, Katara noticed the difference in body language of the Crown Princess and her husband compared to how they were during their own wedding.

"Enough about my child -what about yours?" Zuko could not miss how stiff Tenzin was on the dance floor as he led his wife for their first dance.

Katara could only shake her head. "He has embarked on his own family life now - all I can do is support him."

They watched as Izumi laughed delicately while her husband whispered something in her ear and gently offered his hand before leading her to the dance floor.

Both of them sat in comfortable silence now when the waterbender's attention was caught by her brother leaving the head table from the other end.

"Are they going public tonight?" Zuko asked, surprise tainting his question as Sokka sat beside Toph and appearing to be wheedling her to stand up with him.

She sighed. "I don't know who they think they are fooling." When they were younger, she struggled to understand how her brother's mind works. Now that they were older, Katara simply gave up.

"Here's hoping they finally get their happy ending tonight." Was all she could say as Sokka was successful in prying Toph from being disapproving at her seat.

 ---

"I could have sworn there were more bottles of cactus juice." Sokka scratched his head when he got to their meeting place.

They parted ways when they left the reception. Toph had gone off in search for actual sustenance and had returned, clutching several pouches of jerky and fireflakes ("Where did you-?" "Don't ask. Can't tell you.")

"Meh." Toph tore open a packet of jerky, popping a piece into her mouth before grabbing one of the bottles and taking a swig out of it.

Sokka made himself comfortable at the stone bench that was situated at far from the courtyard, a slope semi-hidden by trees. Their seat provided them an excellent view of the bay and the shore below them.

There were well within the private area of the island where only family and close friends are allowed. Most guests probably did not know about the area itself.

…Which made it unusual for two individuals to be walking at the shore at this time.

Sokka struggled to identify them in the dark but snippets of conversation floated up to them.

"Lin -it's okay to be mad. This is the perfect time to let loose!"

"My daughters are down there, aren't they?" Toph's uncharacteristically whispered, holding Sokka's forearm.

Sokka swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yes, your daughters."

 ---

The older metalbender glared her sister, who sat down on a nearby rock.

Lin curled her bare feet on the sand, one hand holding her shoes and the other hand a bottle of the swill that airhead deemed to serve as wine.

It barely had alcohol in it.

Today was supposed to be her wedding.

But shit happens.

No one really knew the main reason of their falling out - except for her and Tenzin.

Good riddance.

She took another sip.

"Why are you forcing yourself with that? We got the good ones!"

Bumi and Kya arrived from beyond the greenery that hid the path to the beach.

Lin shot scowl at her sister looked as surprised as she did.

"I didn't invite them!"

Bumi guffawed. "No one invited us - we used to live here, you know."

He got a punch to his arm, care of his sister. "What he meant was we saw that the Beifongs had deserted their table and had correctly assumed that you would be here."

Here meant this short stretch of the shore which was inaccessible or unknown to most. Even acolytes who might have lived their entire life on the island were not aware how to get there. This became their go-to place when they were younger, a respite of sorts from their life. It seemed fitting now.

"Wouldn't you be missed?" Su accepted the bottle that Kya offered.

The waterbender snorted. "They're all enthralled by the program."

Lin tossed aside her empty bottle and Bumi handed her a newly opened bottle of cactus juice. "Fancy that."

 ---

"So that's where my drinks have gone!"

"Well, Snoozles, you probably did not hide them properly."

 ---

"Come on Lin, be petty! You get a free pass today!"

A cheer was heard from above, where the party was still on-going.

"Damn right you do."

Lin took another gulp. The more she drank, the more she felt relaxed.

The bickering of Bumi and Kya and Suyin goading her… It harkened to their childhood days.

The only one missing was, well, her best friend.

Ex-best friend.

Bumi tossed her a pack of fire flakes.

 ---

"So that's where you got the fire flakes!"

"I didn't steal it if that's what you think." A sniff. "I ordered boxes of it from Bumi; he did say they were docking at the Fire Nation before heading here."

 ---

"That's the spirit!"

"You're welcome!" Lin shouted to the bay. "You're welcome for planning all this," She waved vaguely around. "For the past months! This is the thanks I get for your instant wedding and reception!"

"What! No way." Kya's eyes widened. She thought her younger brother was full of it but this was beyond what she expected (and she had low expectations).

"What - why do you think that the color palette?"

"Tenzin said it's because Pema came from the Earth Kingdom…" Bumi said slowly.

Su snorted. "Earth Kingdom colors would not exactly match the Beifong family colors though. But they're quite close."

"The menu, of course, they had to scrap." Lin leaned on her sister as they had all now sat on the sand, facing the water.

"Mom was most disappointed at that; she took all the food tasting seriously."

"I told her we can still order our choices as a set menu one of these days."

"I heard Uncle Sokka griping about meat to Mom earlier as well." Kya added. "So, what else did they repurpose from your wedding plans?"

As if on cue, music was carried over to their spot.

Bumi saw Lin's lip twitch. "Your playlist, huh?"

Lin looked away, eyes glassy.

 ---

The military man knew what he needed to do. He usually worked on impulse and tonight was no different.

He got up, patted his hands on his pants to brush off the sand that had stuck to his sticky palms.

Bumi extended his hand to the still seated earthbender.

”May I have this dance?"

 ---

“What if the Chief of Police was never meant to be with the councilman?”

Toph remained silent. She sat straight, bare feet firmly on the ground, sensing with clarity how her eldest slowly stood up to accept the offer of the eldest of the previous Avatar.

What if indeed…

Had they all been blind blind?

Sokka was probably reading too much into the scene below them.

To her surprise, Lin and Bumi began to move in time with the music, more in sync with each other than they had ever been with anyone else. And that was saying something – both had been at the top of their respective classes in their academies. Both had passed team tactical tests with flying colors, where working flawlessly with their colleagues is imperative.

And yet…

“What if she was meant to be with the easily overlooked non-bender?” Sokka’s whisper was now much closer to her ear than it was earlier.

Toph's breath caught in her throat.

Was he still talking about her daughter and his nephew?

 ---

“I never knew Bumi was a dancer.”

“He isn’t.” Bumi’s sister confirmed. “He probably learned his fancy footwork from the military.”

“Lin always was graceful,” Su leaned forward, enthralled by the movements the pair did on the sand. “Grandma forced us to go to dance class."

 ---

“You know, Aunt Toph used to call Uncle Aang fancy dancer.”

“Excuse me?” Tenzin unwittingly echoed his mother’s words as he was caught unawares. He quickly faced the person who interrupted his solitude.

“There you are.” Izumi was leaning on the railing of the path that led to the shore. “Hiding out during your own wedding banquet?”

“I needed air.”

“You can create your own air.” The Crown Princess rolled her eyes. “Lin was right, you are an airhead.” She nodded to the group of four dancing, laughing and drinking by the bay.

The airbender let out a sound that was a cross between a snort and a scoff.

The two of them simply watched the group below, unmindful and unaware of their observers.

Izumi heard the man beside her gasp as Bumi suddenly dipped Lin and then lifted her up. “Don’t look like a kicked turtleduck. It's your wedding night. You made your bed and so you better lie in it." With that, she left the brooding groom.

With one last look at the group by the way, Tenzin soon followed, ready to plaster on a smile as he made his way back to the courtyard and guests.

 ---

Heaving in exertion of the dance, Lin found herself leaning forward, trying to catch her breath. “Where's Kya and Su?”

"They got bored. Maybe." Bumi noticed their sisters were nowhere to be found.

Before Lin could even respond, he let out a loud belch before excusing himself.

She laughed.

He reddened with embarrassment but quickly recovered. He scrambled to the pile of food that he and Kya had smuggled earlier.

Plopping beside him, sand disturbed, she took a drink and rummaged through the junk food (some of which she had vowed never to even touch, an influence of having a vegetarian partner for a long time).

She racked her memory as to the last time she felt this carefree and impulsive; she came up empty-handed.

Lin decided she liked the feeling.

 ---

"What do you have to lose, Lin Beifong?" He breathed against her lips.

"We don't do commitment well." As though that explained it all.

"You wore it well but he didn't. You would not need to worry about that with me - no strings attached."

That she could live with.

Sometimes things happen because they had to.

But maybe sometimes there was no reason why.

 ---

The next day had the makings of an auspicious beginning.

Tenzin felt he barely slept when Pema (his wife) began rousing.

Whenever the Fire Lord stays over, his father used to have meditation with him. The years had passed so did his father (and the Fire Lady). The children sought to continue traditions.

Each family would be represented during morning meditation. It just was their custom.

Tenzin thought this would be the best opportunity to introduce his wife to their family traditions.

Surely they'll remember that he would be bringing Pema over?

 Apparently not.

When they reached the family pavilion, everyone was in place - Izumi beside her father and the two Beifong sisters.

The Beifong sisters who were bickering at this early hour.

“What are you doing here?” Su’s voice rang clean in the air, almost accusingly at her sister. Said sister simply shrugged.

“Hi Uncle Zuko.” Lin bowed before the Fire Lord.

“Ah, Lin, Suyin.” The old Fire Lord’s eyes twinkled happily. “Two Beifongs for the price of one.”

The older Beifong finally turned to her sister. “Mom told me.”

Su rolled eyes.

Izumi clicked her tongue. “Well, she tricked you both and just wanted to make sure that the House of Beifong is present this morning.”

Tenzin cleared his throat, diverting the attention to him. “Good morning.”

“Ah, the newly-weds.” Zuko remarked, inclining his head.

“I suppose you’re here because we can hardly expect Kya to be up.” Izumi observed.

“Same goes for Bumi.” Tenzin cannot help but quip, observing Lin’s reaction.

“Tenzin, we weren’t expecting you.” Zuko said not unkindly. “Specially for Pema to wake up this early. But it is appreciated. Let us begin.”

 Tenzin’s mind wandered.

 Pema was fidgeting beside him.

Had she always been fidgety during meditation?

 At the opposite end, Lin looked calm and unbothered. He had supposed that she would be bothered by their presence but, she barely batted an eyelash.

And where was Bumi?

Maybe nothing happened…

He knew Lin would have taken the chance to sleep in if ever.

 ---

To Tenzin’s irritation, the first person they encountered upon reaching the dining area was his brother.

“I’m surprised you’re awake.” He bit out.

Bumi threw him an amused look as he placed a large platter on the long table. “Of course – were you expecting me to be hungover?” He smiled and greeted his sister-in-law.

“You cooked!” Pema exclaimed in astonishment.

Bumi blinked while other people started to filter into the room. “Someone had to help mom, and, no offense, I don’t fancy eating meatless grub.”

“I knew I liked you better.” Toph Beifong entered the room, punching Bumi’s arm, her hair all puffed up from being in bed. “Well done.” She yawned, walking towards the seat in front of her daughters.

Sokka lazily slid beside her, rubbing his eyes and pulling out the chair for Toph.

 “Someone had a rough night.” Su snickered at the pair.

A smirk and a blush were exchanged.

“Did not.”

“Please, I sensed what you were up to.” Lin smirked at her mother. “Wanna bet?”

“No, thanks.” Toph ignored her daughter’s dare and reached over to get a cream bun.

 Everyone started to dig in when Katara sat at the head of the table.

Bumi hesitated before sitting down at Lin’s other side.

Tenzin looked around the table to see if people noticed it.

No one was reacting.

Then again, he realized it was usually Bumi who picked up on undercurrents like that, being observant himself.

Well, Tenzin considered, Bumi, Toph and Lin.

He had fully expected either Bumi or Lin to give more credence to the night’s romp.

Neither seemed worse for wear though.

Unless…

He frowned.

 Kya nudged him and whispered. “You’re a newly-wed, why do you look far too displeased?”

Tenzin then became a little bit more conscious and focused on his plate.

Pema was no help, who was simply quiet and seemingly in awe.

Belatedly, Tenzin remembered that this was the first meal that his wife would have with the entire extended family.

 Just then, several acolytes entered the dining room, carrying trays of food.

Katara beckoned them over and asked them to place the food on the table. She turned to Tenzin and Pema almost apologetically.

“We didn’t expect you to be up and I had asked the acolytes to prepare food for you in bed.”

“That was thoughtful of you, Master Katara. Thank you.” Pema meekly responded, dipping her head in deference.

 Something twisted in Tenzin’s chest.

It was not a well-kept secret that when Lin was over, they tend to eat breakfast in bed.

 ---

Tenzin felt everyone was waiting with bated breath.

Every time Pema would shake her head as her courses arrived – well, the airbender could only nod back.

They better try harder.

 Tenzin did not know what else to do.

 ---

The first time was fun.

The second time was on a whim because why not?

The succeeding ones – they barely thought about it, making no more excuses other than that they enjoyed each other’s company.

They could live with this, they reckoned.

Two misfits, Bumi had said. Failures in the eyes of their parents.

Unfit to continue a legacy.

 ---

One night, Lin had opened up to him – to both of their incredulity.

It was painful to share but at the same time, there was something cathartic about having a non-judging listening ear.

It has been a long time since she had someone like that, Lin mused.

“You’re better off without him.”

The metalbender had looked up in wonder at that statement.

No one had ever told her that before. It was always in the vein of her deficiencies and how she did not measure up to expectations.

Surrounded by air acolytes and the White Lotus, their patriarchal stance and beliefs had woven its way into her previous relationship. Motherhood, apparently, was one of the few things that they see a woman’s way of self-actualizing. Never mind that the wife of the previously last airbender was a master healer and warrior in her own right.

 “You’d think growing up under Mom’s parenting would disabuse him of those misconceptions.”

As much as he thought that his brother was spineless, Bumi would not dare disparage him in public. Blood is blood and truth be told, he would never know the pressures of being the last airbender (and the non-bender was forever thankful of that).

Family is family, just as Lin and Su fell into an easy kinship despite years of estrangement.

Nonetheless, the disgust he felt at his brother’s treatment of Lin was propelling him to head on to Air Temple Island to knock sense into him (albeit it would be too late). Lin managed to dissuade him stating that this was why she did not feel comfortable about sharing why it all ended.

“I know you don’t need protecting or saving.” Bumi scooted over the bed, tightening his arm around her. “But I want you to know that someone’s always got your back here.” He placed her palm on his chest (his heart, though he was not about to reveal that to her any time soon).

 “I do want kids. I did. I probably still do.” It was a whisper. “I guess it wasn't meant to be.”

She held her knees to her chest.

Bumi moved closer, hugging her unmindful of the tears.

“Hey,” He gently tilted her chin up. “We can always be the cool uncle and aunt these brats have ever seen.”

Lin managed a weak laugh.

“After all, where else can they find an aunt who can rappel down a skyscraper without a safety net?”

 ---

He wondered.

When had it all changed to something more, something beyond friendship?

 She certainly enjoyed his company, at least behind closed doors.

He let her be herself. And vice versa.

It wasn't meant to be a secret. He understood she was burned.

And so he let it be.

He admitted her one time that they were watching the dawn that he liked their arrangement - the thrill in hiding, of being caught.

He wondered if it was just the daredevil in him that sought this excitement in his life.

 ---

Slowly the press left her alone outside her capacity of being chief of police.

All focus was on the council and its youngest councilman.

 She used to see his name on the papers and feel a stab of regret.

Then it dissolved into a twinge.

Then simply a phantom pulse of hurt.

Until it was nothing.

 ---

“You’re looking at the United Forces new liaison officer!”

It had taken a while but the powers that be had surmised that the overall situation has stabilized. No more pirates and, definitely (to his immense relief), no more cannibals.

 “Seriously?” An arched eyebrow was the disbelieving response to his announcement.

He felt hurt but masked it with a grin. “Yes.”

“It wasn’t a jab at your capabilities.” Lin rolled her eyes. His façade did not fool her. Not one bit. “It’s just that – is this what you wanted?”

Bumi was taken aback. It has been a while since anyone cared to ask or know what he wanted.

“Yes, of course.” It was surprisingly sincere.

He didn’t mind that he would be staying put in Republic City for the time being.

He did not mind at all.

---

It has all hushed up.

The public relations guy that Lin hired at Bumi’s suggestion was wonderful at his job.

 One of Lin’s trusted staff at her home placed a call to the Bumi’s direct line.

Bumi’s heart caught in his throat and he hurried home to the Beifong manor.

 “I'm good.” Lin did what she did best – downplay her injuries or illness.

Leave it to a Beifong to hire a private nurse and doctor to see to her after a fainting spell at work.

Bumi approved of this. None of that hospital stuff – Lin’s reputation as the Chief of Police would suffer and the criminal underbelly might see it as an opportunity to wreak havoc.

Seeking to lighten the air and shake off his concern, “You may be good now, but after I'm done with you I don’t know if you’ll still be good.” He waggled his eyebrows, hinting at a naughty past time.

“Oh, I’m all yours – be as bad as you want to be.” To his delight, Lin quipped back. “I’ll have you know though that that’s what got us into this predicament.”

His jaw slackened, he noticed Lin’s eyes shining.

Could it be?

He gently placed his shaking hands on Lin’s still flat abdomen. He gazed at Lin’s face, a question unspoken.

She nodded, placing her hand over his, smiling.

“I’m going to be a father!”

The man’s howl echoed throughout the manor.

 ---

Bumi was a superstitious man.

Having encountered various peoples and learned different cultures in travels through the course of his military career, he had picked up practices and folklore along the way. He was adamant that where necessary, they will practice them if only for the health and safety of mother and child.

 For the most part, Lin let him do what he wished. She understood at some level the trepidation that the man felt regarding their impending parenthood.

However, after the boisterous man had frightened yet another one of her household staff as he crept into the manor in the wee hours of the morning, carrying yet another exotic fruit for her, Lin had invited him to stay in.

 She leaned at her windowsill, enjoying the breeze.

Bumi was chatting with her gardener, a kind old man hired by Toph when she first had the manor constructed years ago.

He had readily assimilated into the life at the manor.

And she, meanwhile, was contented, oddly enough.

 ---

From Su

It’s your ex’s birthday (Lin looked heavenward at her sister’s juvenile terms) next week and I received this gaudy invitation for his party.

I’d expect you’d be going too? As a family friend, I mean, and don’t you dare use the police card.

Anyway, sending you this book – it’s a good read. It helped me understand Baatar a little bit more.

 ---

From Lin

I intended to attend in my professional capacity, of course.

But some snitch sent a letter to Aunt Katara to request that I should not be part of the security detail.

And, Su – what is this garbage? This is not going to help me in any way.

 ---

 The Five Love Languages

 ---

From Su

Oh come on. I’m sure there is someone special in your life. And before you even accuse me of sending spies (not that I didn’t think about that), it’s how you’ve been writing back to me.

You’re less acerbic. And the point is – you have been writing back!

Sweet Agni, even Tenzin wasn’t able to induce you to respond to any of my letters.

 ---

From Lin

Su: Mind your own business.

 ---

Nonetheless, she read the book.

 ---

“Whoa there! What was that?” Everyone paused to pay attention to the blind earthbender who raised a hand, requesting silence. “Who else is there? How many are we in the room?” She volunteered a number to be confirmed.

Sokka counted each individual.

Toph Beifong was off by one count.

---

Katara eyed Tenzin and nodded towards Pema.

The airbender shook his head.

 ---

Lin gripped Bumi’s arm in alarm.

This was not how she wanted it to be revealed. Not here, not now, not yet.

Not on Tenzin’s birthday.

 Toph quickly shot a look at her daughter, no doubt feeling the increased (and additional) heartbeats. Her eyes widened subtly.

 Lin and Bumi held their breath.

 “I might have been mistaken.” She raised her glass. “Tipsy, you know.”

“Yeah, dear that's likely it.” Sokka laughed. “You must be getting old.”

 Bumi saw his mother look shrewdly at their joined hands.

Of course. Mothers knew best.

And mothers knew all.

He caught her eye and nodded – a promise to speak later.

 ---

Then came the toast.

Drinks were provided around to the guests, save for the birthday celebrant and the air acolytes who were given another set of drinks.

“To good health!”

“Cheers!”

 “Lin, why aren’t you drinking?”

Lin froze.

They had not counted on their uncle.

“You never passed up the chance for wine.” Sokka was oblivious to Toph pinching his arm to stop talking. “Is there something wrong with the selection?” He was taking offense at it since he was the one who provided the libation for the celebration.

“Uncle…” Bumi attempted to intervene.

“You took after your mama here – the only time she stopped was when she was carrying you or Su.”

There was a palpable shift in the room when comprehension dawned on all the guests.

Bumi’s proprietary and protective posture beside Lin did not go unnoticed.

 All eyes turned to the airbender who had slowly approached Lin.

Tenzin suddenly hugged her and slid down, kneeling in front of her, causing the metalbender to gasp.

He shook as he had his arms around Lin’s legs.

 “Leave us.”

 Pema’s stony countenance clearly expressed her displeasure at the request but left nonetheless.

Bumi looked like he wanted to argue but he recognized wordless plea on Lin's face.

His heart sank.

 ---

I’m sorry.

It’s all my fault.

I was too weak.

I’m sorry Lin.

You did not deserve all that.

Not at all.

I’m the one who was not enough – I’m the one who failed you.

 ---

I know that now, Tenzin.

  I must go.

 ---

Bumi tossed a rock into the bay.

This was where it all started. How fitting.

On the night of his brother’s wedding.

 And maybe, as his hearing picked up the unique steps of Lin, this was where it will end as well.

And on the night of his brother’s birthday.

 He sighed. It was good while it lasted.

He supposed he would always be the Avatar’s screw-up son.

 “I thought I'd find you here.”

 Before he could even form the words to ask how soon he needed to move out, Lin’s lips were on his.

 Well, maybe Sokka was right - the Chief of Police was meant for the non-bender.

--

What do you think? 🤔💭

[animatedminds]

Splash Mountain, Br’er Rabbit, and the Tragedy of Being Represented By Other People.

So, this is probably going to be the realest post I’ll make for a while - or at least until The Boondocks arrives, but it seemed apropos. Immediately after this I’ve got rants about sci fi and Star Wars and other unrelated things coming up, but for now we have my earnest opinions on a decision I feel should have been better thought out than it was. This is going to read more like an article or an essay than a review, but I think it needs to be said.

It hasn’t come up too often on this blog, but I am African American. It’s my life and my perspective. And as an African American, a lover of animation and - though this definitely doesn’t come up on the blog - a passionate folklorist in what you could call an academic sense (in that I’m a writer and a student, and folklore is the subject of most of my research), people I know in real life have asked me more than once what my opinion on the removal of Splash Mountain in favor of Princess and the Frog, how I must be glad it’s finally being removed, what my take on the history there was, and…

Well…

To really give that opinion, I’ve got to start at the beginning. Not Song of the South - that, if anything, is the very middle. We have to start with Br’er Rabbit and who that character was. Sit back students, info dump incoming.

Br’er Rabbit is an folklore character of African American origin with - like many folkloric figures - a difficult to place date of origin, but he was known to have existed at least since the early 19th Century, He has obvious similarities to the far older figure of Anansi - with several Br’er Rabbit tales even taking elements of Anansi stories verbatim - though with a the notable difference that unlike Anansi, Br’er Rabbit was more often a heroic figure: an underdog and seemingly downtrodden figure who used his wits and his enemies’ hubris rather than physical force to win the day. The meaning of that kind of figure to an enslaved people is obvious, especially when you compare Br’er Rabbit to another, contemporary trickster figure in African American history by the name of John. Br’er Rabbit’s stories could even arguably be seen as a more child-friendly version of the John tales, in which a human trickster pulls the same kind of momentum turning ploys on villains - but those villains tended to be explicitly slave masters or overseers, and John’s payback often came with explicitly deadly results. The existence of John as escapism for the enslaved or just-post-enslaved (IE Reconstruction) populations is clear: a person who with no power who could fight back with nothing but their mind, preying on the fact that their enemies see them as incapable and helpless, and the connection of Br’er Rabbit to that message is difficult to deny. If anything, Br’er Rabbit comes off as a somewhat more child-friendly version of the concept.

But the most important thing to glean from this is who and what Br’er Rabbit is: a product of the African American community and its history, as a means of those people to express themselves and their values in the face of oppression.

Now we fast forward to 1881, and along comes Joel Chandler Harris: a white Georgian. Harris was a folklorist himself, and travelled the country collecting stories - most famously Br’er Rabbit stories. His stated reason was to bridge African American and white communities by sharing stories, but he was tainted by the perspectives of his world and his place in it, infamously creating a framing narrative for those stories in which the character telling them exuded the imagery of subservience and simplicity that was typical of perceptions of African Americans from the post-Civil War Southern environment in which he collected them: Uncle Remus, in other words. Harris is hardly the only white curator who adapted stories of black or brown peoples in a way that played up the people the stories came from as something of a theme park piece, as if noble in unintelligence and simplicity, but he’s one of the most famous ones to do so - and that’s because of the adaptation. To note, when people criticize cultural appropriation, this is the kind of thing that really triggers the outrage. Not any situation in which a white person is inspired by someone who isn’t white and creates something accordingly, but situations where someone else’s creation is taken and used for the fame and profit of others, to the detriment of the people who made it. It’s these situations like the one Joel Chandler Harris created centuries ago, specifically, that people are trying to draw attention to - even if sometimes social media gets a bit trigger happy sometimes, that’s the real, underlying problem. With that in mind, let’s put that aside and move forward.

Fast forward again to 1946. Walt Disney Productions, then less the company of grander, wider scale stories of epic quests and emotional upheaval that make us all cry and more a company more known for folktale adaptations in general, were looking for a but of American folklore to headline a live action, animation mix - a medium that allowed a bit more financial benefit, as straightforward animation was not always particularly profitable those dates. This wouldn’t be the last time they produced an adaptation of an American folktale or short story - their version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow a few years later being actually one of the more faithful adaptations of that short story put to film. Disney, who evidently read Chandler Harris’ stories, put together a project to see if they could adapted. Which they did. Pretty much verbatim. This is actually worth pointing out: the actual Br’er Rabbit stories in the films are very accurately adapted, and the actors involved in the story (including James Baskett, how also played Uncle Remus) did a fine job characterizing them. The issue is that Disney also adapted Chandler Harris’ stereotypical and offensive framing device pretty much verbatim, bringing Uncle Remus. And therein lies the problem.

To put the issue with Song of the South in perspective, the movie - with the framing device - can be categorized as something called Reconstruction Revisionism - which is basically a genre of post-Civil War media meant to present the pre-war South was perfect and idyllic, and that people are racially more natural in that environment’s dynamic and never should have left. One of the most infamous movies in history, Birth of a Nation, is the crowning example of this genre. Obviously, Song of the South is nowhere near as awful and inflammatory a movie as that, but there’s a degree to which it was seen as the straw the broke the camel’s back for black depictions in media, only a couple of years after Disney’s Dumbo also did the same. The end result, an African American creation was used in a film that ultimately demeaned the African American community, a decision that Disney has been ashamed of ever since.

Fast forward to now. Disney is removing Splash Mountain, the sole remnant of Song of the South that focuses exclusively on Br’er Rabbit - a choice we’ve had reason to suspect was coming for about a year now, but which was unveiled conspicuously in the middle of protests and campaigning for better treatment of people of African descent worldwide. The reveal was a rousing success, with people applauding the decision to finally wipe away the rest of that movie - though remember that for later, that the response relies on the perception of Br’er Rabbit as something that starts with Song of the South - and replace it with something else. Surely, as a black person I should be happy that they’re finally getting rid of that racist character for good and replacing him with something more positive? And again, well…

To put short, Br’er Rabbit has finished his journey from African cultural symbol to discarded pariah, all because others used the character in racist ways that they themselves now regret. And for that… let’s be clear, I’m not angry so much as saddened. I’m not railing against the company for making the choice, since I can see how from their point of view it was the wisest and most progressive thing to do. Song of the South is a badly old fashioned movie that they’re right to want to move on from, and it’s their right to downplay characters within their purview if those characters reflect badly on the company. I’m just outlining the tragic waste of it all.

For now, compare Princess and the Frog - the thing they’re replacing it with. I do love the movie, or at least any problems I have with it have little to do with representation, and I definitely don’t have anything against Musker and Clements and their beautiful visions and creations, but it’s difficult to deny that its an adaptation of a European story, adapted by a collection of mostly white creators (with Rob Edwards comprising but one third of the screenwriting team, but not of story conception), that’s ultimately just dolled up with African Americans characters and a very Hollywood-esque depiction of a African diaspora religion (Voodoo, which unfortunately has a long history of such portrayals). If we’re talking about representation specifically - which this move had definitely been presented as a champion for - it’s not the perfect example, more of a story with a surface covering of the black experience than one with an especially strong connection. That wouldn’t necessarily be a problem (Tiana and her story do well depict strong black characterizations, and approach an interesting (if light_ implication about racism and hardship during the 1920s) if Disney had yet created any other franchise that was another actual adaptation of an African or African American tale or story (with involvement from such actual people), but Song of the South is actually it. They legitimately have nothing else to call on.

This is something I feel we should do more to remedy. I am a writer/prospective screenwriter myself, and trying to put more stories out there is one of my primary focuses and goals should I ever truly enter the industry, but at the moment we just don’t have very many options.

This is hardly the only time that people of color have had little control over depictions of their own culture - literary and film history is full of such situations in both minor and terribly major ways - but it’s something that stings especially hard due to being such a current example, and because of sheer irony of the end result. Now we have a situation where African Americans are being told that something their people created to represent themselves is negative and wrong, because years ago other people appropriated that creation and used it to paint a negative picture of the people who actually held claim over it, and now the enterprise that those people created wants to save face: another example of culture being treated like a possession of the ones who are poised to make money of off it. And what’s worse, while the culture is used and abused like trash, the people are now presented with this removal like it was a prize - like they’re finally being given something - when little has really changed.

Ultimately, the Splash Mountain news - though it had been coming for a while - made me rather upset for that reason. As a studier of folklore, I suppose I knew better than most where these things came from, and so the buzz around the move being a belief that Br’er Rabbit was an intrinsically racist character just highlighted the tragedy of how African Americans and their culture tended to be tossed about by American media. So no matter what, I can’t feel particularly happy about it.

Let me iterate, in the film industry, being represented by people who aren’t of your culture group is basically inevitable. That’s essentially how the industry works. I’m not saying we should rail against anyone who would try to represent cultures that aren’t their own. The people who produce and create are few, and eventually the truth is that you have to be represented by other people - at least for the moment. We shouldn’t be railing against representation by others in general, as that wouldn’t be cognizant of the situation and thus self destructive. What I’m saying is that we - both we trying to be represented, and those doing the representing - should be aware of the problem there: that when others choose to represent you in media, you essentially have to trust them to have a real interest in you and your best interests when doing so, and when they don’t that depiction is there forever. So it behooves us to try to be the ones who are representing ourselves as much as possible, and in situations where we can’t, to remind those who want to represent us that they have a responsibility to do so effectively.

This is Animated Minds for Animated Times, and really this blog is ultimately about emphasizing what makes animated media work, what makes it fun, and what makes it worthwhile no matter how old you are. And so in several years of sporadic and infrequent reviews, reactions and fandom posts it’s been rare for me to get this real about a topic, but this is something that is a serious issue feel was overlooked. Representation is complicated. And more often than not solutions that are handed to us are more band-aids that look like cures than necessarily being actually helpful, and that’s what happens when ultimately the decisions about how you’re represented lie in the hands of other people. Representation is one of the biggest things we need to work on in coming years, especially with stories and adaptations - which refer to history and culture that are often not widely known or accepted. Ask someone if they think there should be an African princess, and they’ll tell you they didn’t even have kings and queens in Africa - something that’s bluntly wrong, but is widely believed simply because those elements of culture are never represented.

And that’s the sum of my thoughts on the subject. I hadn’t updated the blog in months because this whole thing was stewing in me, and I couldn’t really go back to cheerful posts about new things until I got it out. I’ve got great thoughts about the Owl House, Amphibia, the new seasons of BH6 and Ducktales that are totally coming up soon. But for now, just a few sobering thoughts from someone who grew up loving cartoons, and desperately wishes people like me had more to look at in that field beyond apologies and promises.