#sok does the talk

[msdk-00]

do i say hello back to the hookup who sent me a hey text after a year just to see what he says. or will i regret it

[frost-queen]

What fire reveals (Reader x Sokka)

Requested by: anon Forever tag:@missmelodramatic  , @merlin-dahlia, @alex--awesome--22, @elllie-does-the-posts, @floatlosers, @merlieve  , @queen-of-books , @glimmering-darling-dolly    @denkisclown, @wildieflower  , @meyocoko , @bubblybrianna, @justanothercoco, @subjecta13-thefangirl, @m-rae23  , @harleyquinnswifeyfrfr   , @swampthing07, @melsunshine , @panhoeofmanyfandoms , @venomsvl, @the-uncoordinated-house-cat    , @rosecentury   ,  @imagines-by-her,  @evilcr0ne, @vviolynn   , @niktwazny303  , @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 , @sweetheartlizzie07

Summary: You are a superb fighter that doesn't need saving, yet that doesn't stop Sokka from wanting to protect you. Leading to some bickering and arguments. When Kyoshi islands get's invaded, Sokka confesses why he wants to protect you. Leading you to accept it even though his timing could be better.

A flock of birds flew up from the trees. It made you look up, sensing something was up. Sokka noticed that your attention was elsewhere. He moved a bit closer to you, touching your elbow. – “What is it?” – he whispered, still eyeing his sister and Aang a bit. You pulled out tiny knives from your belt as it made Sokka take a step back, blinking wonderous at you. – “They are here.” – you only said, having a sense the fire nation was close.

Having followed you all to Kyoshi island. It appeared no where was save. – “The village.” – Sokka breathed out with worry, looking down. He stumbled back when he saw a blast of fire come in contact with one of the buildings. – “Stay here!” – Sokka ordered getting in motion. He paused seeing you follow him. – “I was talking about you Y/n.” – he said with a quirked up brow.

You puffed loud. – “You can’t stop me.” – you replied annoyed. Sokka groaned frustrated that you wouldn’t listen. – “Go!” – Katara called out. – “I’ll protect Aang. Sokka, take Y/n with you. You’ll need her.” – Katara finished, bossing her brother around. Sokka wanted to contradict that, but seeing that scold of his sister made him groan.

Katara ushered him away as you were already running down the hill. Sokka easily caught up with you, already with his weapon in his hand. – “Stay close.” – he said nearing the village. – “I can’t predict where I will end up!” – you responded as you had no control over it. – “At least try!” – he called out seeing the flames on the roofs. You groaned bothered a way of letting him know you would try your best.

Sokka and you arrived at the village, eyes widening at the havoc. Fire benders going after the villagers. Most of them running away and screaming in agony. Fire benders kicked over baskets and lighting up the houses. A few of them spotted you and Sokka. They slowly walked up to you, hands burning with fire. You tensed your hands around the little knives in your hands. Sokka exhaled anticipating for that first strike that he needed to block.

He swallowed nervously, glancing briefly at you. A blast of fire went your way as you moved your arms up, stopping the fire with the armour around your wrists. You then threw your knives at the soldier, hitting him in both legs. The soldier cried it out, hands trembling over the knives in his legs.

With trembling hands he pulled them out, throwing them annoyed at the ground. Sokka’s eyes widened seeing the rage in his eyes. He tackled you to the ground just as the fire blast flew over your head. Grunting, you rolled with him over the ground. – “Sokka!” – you called out as he laid on top of you. – “Leave the taunting to someone else.” – he made clear. You noticed the same soldier coming closer.

It made you push Sokka off you, jumping up to your feet. He send another fire blast at you, making you dodge it easily. Eyeing the building beside you, you ran over to it. Jumping up to set yourself off the wall, punching your fist on his cheek. The soldier stumbled to the ground as your feet found ground again. Sokka had gotten up punching his weapon in another soldier’s stomach. 

Sokka looked over his shoulder to you, seeing you easily tackle a fire bender to the ground. Sokka’s eyes widened again seeing another fire bender approach from the side. – “Y/n!” – he called out wanting to run in for help. With just a brief glance, you threw a little knife at him. It hit him in the shoulder, setting him off guard. You then kicked on a speer that laid over a basket. The speer twirled in the air as you caught it with one hand up.

Swiping the speer across, the soldier got swooped off his feet, falling down. You were about to hit him in the face when a boomerang took you by surprise. The soldier got knocked on his helmet. The helmet moved a bit up as the soldier fell back. The boomerang returned to his owner, making you glare at Sokka. – “I had him!” – you let out annoyed. – “A thank you would be welcome.” – Sokka replied with a sneer.

Puffing loud, you took a run for it, going over to assist a helpless villager. Sokka wanted to go after you but a fire bender stopped him. He punched his weapon against him. Then another one joined as he grabbed Sokka from behind, throwing an arm over his throat. It was briefly as Sokka felt his grip falter on him. Grasping for air, he looked to see the fan return to Suki.

He gave her a nod as Suki nodded back. Sokka had lost his sight on you for a moment, looking around worriedly. He would do anything to protect you. Even though you didn’t really need to. He just felt compelled to do so. His gaze fell on you running over the rooftops, setting yourself off as you jumped. – “Oh come on!” – Sokka blurted out at your boldness as you jumped on a few soldiers that had regrouped.

Exhaling loud, you moved some hair out of your face. – “Hi.” – you casually said within the group. One of them, clearly a figure of authority looked questionable at you. The soldiers around you slowly circling around you to close you in. – “Where is the Avatar?” – he asked, hands behind his back. – “Who?” – you answered dumbfound. Clearly your answer didn’t humour him. – “Seize her!” – he ordered. The soldiers jumped at you, grabbing for your arms for control. You grabbed one by the arm, pulling him around till you made him crash into another one.

There was a grip on your wrist, making you lift your head up with a snap and a soft gasp. Grabbing his wrist as well, you ripped it off, turning around, twirling under his arm as you then kicked him in the back. A soldier grabbed you from behind, locking your arms to your back. – “The Avatar!” – Commander Zhao called out wanting an answer out of you. You smirked. He thought he had the upper hand, but he was wrong. – “The Avatar, where is he girl!” – he grabbed you by the collar raising his fist at you.

You spitted at Commander Zhao as it made him stumble a bit back. Eyes closed in disgust as he wiped your spit off his cheek. Now you had him where you wanted him. Leaning a bit back, you set your feet ready. Your foot swept up ready to hit Commander Zhao in his face when someone came in your vision. Another person blocking your move as you kicked them in the face instead.

Sokka groaned in pain, dropping to the ground. – “Sokka!” – you called out. Sokka tried to get up to his feet as the man behind you, held you tighter in his lock. – “Are you insane?” – you shouted at him for putting you in an even worse position. Sokka got pulled up to his feet, held by a soldier. You saw a thin line of blood under his nose from where you had kicked him. – “I wanted to save you!” – he yelled back at you, ignoring the soldiers around him.

As if they weren’t there. – “I had it under control!” – you answered frustrated at him. – “I didn’t need your saving.” – you made clear. – “I don’t care!” – Sokka shouted back trying to wiggle himself free. – “No matter what, I want to protect you Y/n!” – he said as Commander Zhao interfered. – “Where is the Avatar?” – he wanted to know. – “Get lost!” – Sokka cursed at him for interfering.

He didn’t care at all for him, only you. – “I can fend for my own.” – you told Sokka. – “I know!” – Sokka responded sarcastically. – “I’m sorry am I interrupting your little tea session?” – Zhao said with a mocking undertone, gesturing at the both of you. – “Yes!” – Both Sokka and you yelled at him to shut him up. Zhao gritted his teeth being told off by a bung of teenagers. – “Don’t you understand Y/n, I always want to protect you because I like you!” – Sokka confessed being able to pull himself a bit closer to you.

Your expression softened, smiling back at him. – “Alright protect me.” – you answered as Sokka’s eyes widened a bit. – “You mean right now?” – he whispered to you. You hummed loud. – “You can do it Sokka, save us.” – you replied reassuring. Sokka swallowed nervously. He made an attempt that failed miserably. He got punched in the stomach, doubling over as he coughed loud. – “How much do you like me Sokka?” – you casually asked still being held by the soldier.

“A lot.” – Sokka coughed out trying to stand again. You smiled again. – “Good.” – you whispered stepping on the soldiers foot hard. You then smacked the back of your head against his nose. He stumbled back as the other fire benders got in action. One moved his arm forwards, blasting fire. You ducked down, re-appearing at his side. Grabbing his arm, you punched his armpit.

He winced from the pain as you elbowed him in the face. Zhao wanted to send fire to you as Sokka got up, throwing himself at Zhao. They both stumbled to the ground. Sokka called it out as he punched him against his chest. Zhao puffed out air. Sokka’s eyes widened when Zhao was about to attack him.

You pulled  him back by the back of his shirt, letting him fall on his back. You then set your foot on Zhao’s chest before he could rise again. Sokka had gotten up as he looked briefly confused when a fan flew past him. Suki and some Kyoshi warriors came to your aid. Sokka grabbed your hand, pulling you back. You stumbled against his chest, feeling a bit flustered.

The Kyoshi warriors fought the fire benders. One of the warriors bumped against Sokka making him self aware of his surroundings again. Sokka and you turned back to back, fighting off the fire benders. His weapon hit them repeatedly. You were with your back beside Sokka, trying to keep a bender at bay. Sokka’s eyes widened seeing Zhao had risen. His expression angered.

He moved his fist back to release a punch of flames towards you. Sokka gasped taking the fan of Suki who fought on his other side. She furrowed her brows confused at her sudden empty hand. You turned your head. Eyes widening as you saw the fire blast come your way. Then your vision was partly blocked by Sokka. He had come in front of you, swaying the fan aside as it deflected the fire.

He then flicked his wrist, throwing the fan at Zhao. It hit him in the head. The fan bounced off his head as it flung back. Suki catching it. Sokka was panting, turning around to you. You shook your head worriedly approaching him. Grabbing him by his shirt, you pressed your lips against his. Kissing him strong-willed. Once the shock wore off, he positioned him more casual, placing his hands on your hip as he joined your kiss.

“Kiss later, fight more!” – Suki called out interrupting the moment. Sokka and you stopped. He was smiling goofily at you, making you teasingly push his cheek aside. Sokka chuckled flustered. – “Anytime now.” – Suki groaned out trying to break the fire benders grip off her. Sokka and you nodded, joining the fight to defend Kyoshi island from the fire benders.  

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[ukfrislandembassy]

Lexember 1 - New man, new conlang

So I've decided I'm actually in with a shot of doing a full Lexember this year, so I'm taking this as an excuse to start a new conlang! Frislandic's nice and all and it's not going anywhere, but 2 years into a PhD at the Surrey Morphology Group has made me want to try out some of the really funky morphological that make up our bread and butter (morphomes, stem alternations, inflection classes, syncretism, defectiveness, overabundance etc.). So I'm taking the opportunity of Lexember to try and fashion a conlang that does more of that stuff that I've been able to add into Frislandic so far. Name tbd; orthography is IPA so phonology should be evident.

So the first word that I'm going to talk about will be a pretty basic one: sok 'man, person'. Simple, right?

Except no, of course not. Firstly, let's have a quick note about the actual inflectional paradigm. The good news; there's only four grammatical cases (let's call them nominative, oblique, ablative and locative for now) and a two-way contrast of number. What's more, these two categories aren't mixed to any great degree. In fact, the ablative/instrumental and locative/allative are pretty consistenly marked with a final -m and -tʃ respectively.

The bad news is everything else. Firstly, there are a series of stems to learn. In the singular this consists of a nominative stem and an oblique stem, the latter serving as the basis for the oher cases, while the plural usually just has the one (separate) stem. However, in this instance we have an additional wrinkle of the plural being suppletive, and furthermore, since this suppletive form arose from what was presumably a collective noun, it exhibits an additional nominative-oblique stem alternation not otherwise found in the language (we'll get to more regular plural stem formation another time, maybe even tomorrow!).

And what are these stems for sok? Well, to make sense of them we need a little bit of history. In the proto-language, the nominative had the shape *sog with a final voiced stop. Normally this consonant would have given a reflex ɣ, but as it came word-finally in this form it was instead devoiced, giving the current shape. However, the oblique stem, like many nouns of this shape, added an echo vowel with stress shift: *soˈgo. Subsequent vowel reduction and syncope gives the current shape sɣo.

A similar story holds for the plural. This was originally *ˈlin(i) in the nominative but *liˈni in the oblique, giving the modern stems ɬinʲ and ɬnʲi respectively (palatalisation in the nominative is inconsistent for some speakers so might be analogical). Use of the nomintive stem is optional: the nominative-oblique contrast is otherwise generally collapsed in the plural, so nobody will get angry at you if you generalise, however the nominative plural here is frequent enough that it's not likely to disappear in the near future.

Putting this all together gives us the following paradigm (Tumblr please give us the ability to make tables natively).

SG PL N sok ɬinʲ~ɬnʲi O sɣo ɬnʲi A sɣotʃ ɬnʲitʃ L sɣom ɬnʲim

[swiftsaltsweet]

Thief in the Avatar’s Estate: Chapter 4- It gets worse

Characters: Rangi and Kyoshi and Yun (plus whoever appears in Rok)

Pairing: Rangshi

Summary:   Yun decides to head off to bed after his travels from fighting with the Fifth Nation. But as he does, he and his bodyguard, Rangi, hear strange noises coming from Kelsang’s room. When they go to investigate, they are surprised by what they find.

(Canon divergent AU-What if Kyoshi was raised by her parents?)

Prev chapter

Other Sites: AO3 and Fanfic.net

A/N:  “Thief in the Avatar’s Estate” aka “The fanfic where I make Rangi and Yun sweat” ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) They don’t get to know peace anymore. It’s Anxiety Land for them now baby! B)

Since this fic actually predates “The Hunt for Kyoshi,” the format is a taaaaad bit different. HfK has a new POV every chapter, the early chapters for this one switch sometimes mid chapter. Obvie I have breaks but sorry for the wonkiness, I believe it only affects ch 4, 5, and 7 but yeah just wanted to give y’all a warning. 8U (I know SoK/RoK do it too but it bothers me a bit now since I switched formats TT0TT) It might happen again in the future but eh…..we’ll roll with it.

______

It took all of Rangi’s effort to choke down her despair as they walked. 

Yun was wrong, it most definitely got worse. It was bad enough when they thought they were beholden to some common thief, but a daofei? 

She might as well cut her sacred hair and have the spirits take her right then. There was no way for her to recover from the shame. 

A daofei! She nervously tried to smooth the loose strands of her hair back onto her head. Forget owing her anything, if word gets out Yun was saved by a daofei. He’ll never live it down. They’ll think he’s in their pocket! They’ll-

Yun put a hand on his friend’s shoulder to calm her down.

“Rangi, stay focused,” he whispered. “We’ll worry about the consequences when we get out of here.” 

Rangi took a deep breath trying to center herself. This day had just been the worst, just been mistake after mistake. Nothing had gone right since they ran into Lee. 

Her brain began to play all the highlights of the day. If only she hadn’t tripped when they first confronted her. Or maybe if she sped up at a certain corner, or risked throwing a fireblast into the dense woods. 

I shouldn’t have lost my grip, I had her pinned down and- her brain worked against her, reminding her of the very reason why she’d loosened her grip on her target in the first place. Rangi buried her face in her hands and clawed in frustration, while a hidden flush ran down her back.

_____

Little did Rangi know, Yun was experiencing something similar beside her. Something about that Lee woman bothered him. It made him feel off kilter like it had with Rangi. Well, not exactly in the same way she had the effect on Rangi, his was more on the unpleasant side of things. Something like a dark foreboding.

He let out a small sigh, he should heed his own advice. Calm down, stay focused. One step at a time. So many steps, they’d been walking for hours with no sign of getting out of that accursed forest.

Yun looked at Lee who led the charge, she would move the unique Spirit World foliage out of the way with her earthbending every so often. A long wavy flow of her arm, a form that resembled a waterbender’s motions rather than a typical earthbender’s.

Interesting. Yun thought.

“Your form is fairly unique,” he commented.

Rangi lifted her head up from her face, small fingernail indents made in ten different places of her face. For the most part she seemed to have calmed down.

Lee flinched for a moment but didn’t stop her motions. “You don’t like the way I bend?”

“No, no! I just found it to be an interesting style, for an earthbender, you know?” He put his hands up in a friendly manner. “It just looked like a motion a waterbender would use.”

“You come across a few waterbenders in my line of work. Maybe I picked up a few of their moves. What? Is that illegal?”

“No, just….. making small talk.” He said simply. Really he was just trying to fish for information. Which daofei organization was she a part of? Which ones had waterbenders and earthbenders working in unison? Fifth Nation? Iron Fins? Lotus Blossom?

Hopefully it wasn’t the Fifth Nation, she might not like the news of their downfall of her kin caused by him.

Yun looked at the way she walked. Her movements were more delicate, like they had been during the chase. Her airy way of walking on the dust was well…..almost like air. Almost like an airbender. 

No, no that wouldn’t make any sense. Airbenders were a peaceful lot, there’s no way one would get tied up with a daofei. Waterbending and airbending could overlap in movements, so that must’ve been what it was. 

“Lee, I have a question.”

“No, really? Just one? Sigh, what is it?” It seemed like the past few hours of prodding information from her was wearing her patience thin. A lot of the earlier questions revolved around her knowledge on the Spirit World or who she was/why she was doing what she was doing. The former was met with many ‘I don’t knows,’and the latter met with tight lips. Thankfully, those same lips appeared to be loosening up now.

“What are your thoughts on the Fifth Nation?”

The snort turned boisterous laughter that came from the woman made it instantly clear she wasn’t a part of them, nor did she think highly of them.

“Haha, those flaunting peacock cats? Getting too big for their britches I’d say!”

“You don’t like them?” Rangi interjected.

“In the same sense you don’t like a nosy neighbor, sweetie. Or just a neighbor you have beef with.” 

 Rangi narrowed her eyes at Lee. If it was because of Lee’s comment or for the question she was following up with Yun couldn’t tell. “So you’re rivals?”

“I guess you could say that. But isn’t everybody?”

Yun’s eyes scrunched up. “No, what do you mean?”

“Everyone’s fightin’ somebody about somethin’,” Lee continued, swishing some ground to the side to move a small boulder in the way. “‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’ Or ‘You have something I want.’ And so on and so on. There’s only so much stuff to go around, people are bound to fight over it.”

“That’s a fairly pessimistic way to look at the world.” Not that Yun disagreed exactly, with the amount of info he was privy to, it was hard to stay optimistic with all the fighting that was going on behind the scenes. He supposed that the daofei world must work on a minor scale compared to the bigger governments around the world. Which both intrigued him, and disheartened him.

“I’d say it’s just realistic,” she said with a grunt, moving giant boulder out of the way with more ease than any average earthbender would. She didn’t even break a sweat!

Yun wasn’t sure what to make of her earthbending, her styles were all over the place. But one thing he did gleam was that she could move very heavy objects easily. Actually, the way she moved the foliage in big clumps was a bit overkill as well. She didn’t have to move trees and rocks that far away, wasn’t she afraid of disturbing the spirits? Or maybe she just lacked control?

“And you have an issue with the Fifth Nation because they’re too powerful? Or because they take too many resources?” Rangi asked. “I’ve also heard you lot really like to follow the ‘might makes right’ ideology. Afraid they’ll eat you up?”

“Depends on the group.” Lee shrugged. “It wasn’t their power that made it an inconvenience. Yeah, someone having more power can always be a problem. But attracting attention is also a real hassle as well.”

“Yeah, I’m sure a thief would hate attention,” Rangi muttered.

Lee stopped walking and turned on them, annoyed. “And I told you about a hundred times already! I’m not just a thief. If you’re going to call me anything then it’s a daofei!”

“Like it matters! You’re a pathetic, low-life criminal regardless!” Rangi took a defiant step forward towards Lee.

“It matters to me!” Lee marched her own way to the smaller firebender. As she did, she put her hand up and started visibly counting on each finger. “I saved your life outta the goodness of my heart. I’m getting you outta here outta the goodness of my heart, and you can’t even respect me!” 

“Oh great! Two whole ‘goods’ that were caused because you got us into this mess in the first place!” Rangi scoffed sarcastically. “And ‘Get us out’?” We’ve been walking for hours! What if you’re just leading us into a trap? Do you even know where you’re going?!”

“I may not know where we are exactly, but at least I have an idea on which way is better! If I let you lead we’d be in Koh ‘The Face Stealer’s’ territory!” She rudely pointed a finger at Rangi, and in a patronizing voice said, “And I bet you wouldn’t want your pretty whittle face stolen would you, princess? Wouldn’t get far in life without it would you?”

Rangi made a lunge for Lee, but Yun grabbed her. Luckily he got in the middle of the two before they were within arm’s reach.

“Yun, move.” Rangi glared over Yun’s shoulder, about to shove the Avatar out of her way. This thief had challenged her honor, and she wasn’t about to let her get away with it.

“No, you two need to stop. Fighting is going to get us nowhere.” He understood why his friend was upset, as pretty as she was, she worked hard to get where she was. Insanely. So Lee’s jab might’ve prodded deeper than she’d realized. But as justified as Rangi’s anger was, fighting wasn’t going to get them out of the Spirit World.

“Oh it’ll get us somewhere,” Rangi made an attempt to get around him, but as she sidestepped him, Yun grabbed her from behind, locking his arms under hers and pulling her back with all his might. He cursed inwardly at how strong she was. “Back at the Fire Academy, fighting was the best way to resolve a dispute.”

Lee gave a cocky grin at the struggling firebender. “Let her go Lil’ Avatar, this girl is finally speaking my language. C’mon Firecracker, I’ll have you on the ground before y…ou….can-”

Lee took a step back, her exposed skin paling to the same pallor as her white makeup.

“Yeah I’d run too if I was you!” Rangi made another lunge but Yun pulled her right back.

Lee’s eyes widened in horror, “S-shut up.” She whispered oh so quietly, Yun almost didn’t hear her at first. 

“I’ll shut up wh-” Lee took the risk of Rangi biting her fingers off, and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Shhhh! Behind you!” she whispered.

Yun and Rangi slowly turned around to see a very giant and very, very angry looking spirit behind them. It looked like a crossover between a Kanga-frog and a deep sea angler snake-fish. It had the head of the more angler fishy side, and the body of the kanga-frog.

It appeared to be blind, its milky eyes drifting off in all different directions, the light hanging off its forehead acting as a means of detection. Black goo pooled and oozed off of the spirit, giving it a tainted appearance. 

Before Yun and Rangi could think about fight or flight, they were both pulled by their collar and were booking down the forest.

Lee had picked them both up like sacks of flour, throwing Yun over her right shoulder, and carrying Rangi under her left arm. The two were still too shocked by the spirit to even marvel at the woman’s strength.

Lee was running at full sprint, forsaking the floor entirely this time. Having only stayed on the ground floor on the hike as a courtesy to the companions who couldn’t walk on dust like she could.

However, despite her soundless flight, it appeared that the dark spirit was still alerted, as a deafening shriek echoed through the forest. Vibrations of its running soon followed.

Lee let out a string of curses that only a daofei would be accustomed to, “Is it following us?!”

Yun and Rangi looked behind them, and they could see the light bobbing ever so closely.

“Yeah it’s gaining!” Yun yelled.

“Then do something about it!”

“What do you expect us to do?!” Rangi yelled back.

“I don’t know! He’s the Avatar-'' Yun braced himself, for the woman to demand something from him that only the Avatar could do. Fire-air-waterbend or use the Avatar state or something along those lines. All the things he wasn’t capable of doing yet. “-build a big Earth wall or something! Just slow it down!”

Yun wasn’t prepared for that, an earthwall. That was something he could do. He flexed his arms and brought up several pillars of walls. Which got knocked down almost instantly. No matter, Yun could keep bringing them up as long as he had earth to work with. 

“And Firecracker-!”

“Wh-what?!”

“-If he gets too close, light his ass up!”

Rangi looked at Lee and smirked. “Can do!”

She proceeded to twist around in Lee’s arm, grabbing at Lee’s waist and trying to climb up the woman.

“W-what are you doing?!” Lee’s cries came out a little more high pitched than she probably wanted.

“I need to get in a better position!” Rangi threw her left leg around Lee’s waist, and then threw both her arms around Lee’s shoulders, almost like a rucksack. Her right leg was almost in position to attack the spirit freely.

“Well hurry it up, you’re making this harder than it already is!” Lee slowed down from stumbling a bit while she tried to readjust her hand on Rangi’s waist, but regained her momentum as Rangi finally got into position.

“Rangi get the blast ready! I don’t think it cares much for earth!” Yun yelled to her as the spirit kept crashing through each of his earth walls, none of them slowing it down. He tried mixing it up with tripping the creature like he did Lee back in the mansion’s forest, by grabbing it by the ankle, but each time it broke through the hold easily.

Rangi took a deep breath while angling and bending back her foot. Right when the spirit was just a human length away she jutted her foot out and unleashed a giant fire stream right into its face. Coincidentally as she did so, a giant gust of wind flew by, causing the stream of fire to expand bigger and rage out of control onto the spirit.

“What? Argh!” Rangi grunted, trying to get the flame under control, but it kept expanding as the wind mixed into it, feeding off the wind’s power, before suddenly cutting off.

The spirit stumbled back from the blast, at the same time the same blast thrusted the trio forward…..right off another cliff.

“Agh! No, no, no, nooooo not again!” Lee complained as they started rapidly descending, this time it was more controlled thanks to her dust. She was taking giant leaps downwards like you would if you lost control running down a mountain. Risky large steps. But she controlled it all the same.

The landing spot was in a grassy meadow, and the second Lee’s feet touched the ground, she collapsed…. Right on top of Rangi, with Yun crushing Lee’s shoulder.

“Mmmrrrphf!” Was all Rangi could make intelligible.

“Sorry Firecracker,” Lee heaved, exhausted. Yun could hear small attempts of shoving being made against the wall of a woman, but Rangi might as well had been trying to push a mountain with her bare hands because it yielded the same effect. “You’re gonna have to blast me off of ya, I’m too beat to move.”

Yun unceremoniously disentangled himself from Lee, before rolling Lee off his friend. Rangi was redder than he’d ever seen her. Her face bore an expression akin to a mouse cat having been caught falling off the furniture. Total and complete embarrassment.

Five. Yun humorously made a mental note to himself as he stared at Rangi’s flushed skin. That makes five… I think?

“What was that?” Yun gasped out, his arms were tired from all the tough bending he had to keep up.

“A dark spirit,” was all Lee could manage to say, and Yun briefly wondered how a child was able to survive this accursed place. 

“Why did it attack us?” Rangi asked, making a point to have her back facing the two, but Yun could still clearly see the redness still creeping up her neck.

Lee shrugged. “No idea, I don’t think they like humans.”

“So we just need to avoid them?” Yun asked.

“Pretty much.”

“What about other spirits?”

“They can be iffy, it’s best to avoid most of them if we can.”

The trio sighed. Escaping the Spirit World was going to be harder than it looked.

Yun looked at the exhausted Lee and realized the literal opportunity that literally laid before him. “Lee, can you get up?”

“I think I need a minute, sorry. You guys are heavy.”

Rangi turned around and gave her a light kick.

“Ow!” Lee gave a half-hearted moan, it sounded more amused than anything else. “Is that how you treat someone who saved your life twice?”

“Sorry,” Rangi muttered, and she almost sounded like she meant it.

“Oh, that’s good,” Yun said cheerfully as he squatted down next to Lee, a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Then I guess that means I can have my stuff back.”

Lee suddenly paled whiter and whiter.

“L-let’s not be so hasty,” she squeaked. She made a futile movement to get up, but exhaustion must not have been a lie as she barely budged.

“Oh c’mon now, this is a great time to return my items that you stole,” he gave her his award winning smile. He figured they were probably in some hidden pocket near the arm sleeve. 

Lee, visibly sweating, put one arm over her chest, “C-c’mon, you wouldn’t do something so lecherous, would you? T-the Avatar isn’t a creep! R-Right?!”

Rangi whipped her head around so fast an audible snap could be heard, her expression horrified. Yun stopped his hand, completely confused. He looked at the arm he thought the items might be, and where Lee’s chest was. Back to the arm, and to her chest. Then to Lee’s panicked face, and then back to Lee’s chest.

As if he was shocked by lightning, he took his hand off Lee’s shoulder, and then scurried back a few feet away from her. It was his turn to blush from head to toe in embarrassment. 

“I-I-I’m not a creep!” he protested, sweating profusely. “I-I thought you’d hide it in the sleeve pocket! H-h-how was I supposed to-Why would you put it there of all places?!”

“Girls have more pockets than boys! Sue me!” Lee protested back. Yun wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by that, but who was he to argue?

“I didn’t know! I’m not a girl!”

“Thank the spirits for that!” Lee threw her hands up in annoyance and relief.

While Yun recovered, upset by the dirty tactics, he noticed Rangi was now sighing in relief. A childish idea ran through his head.

“But you know who is?” Yun put out hand, palm facing upward, as if offering something to Rangi. “It’s true it’d be lecherous if I did such a thing, but the same couldn’t be said if it was Rangi now would it?”

Rangi’s eyes widened bigger than a pai sho board, Lee started sweating even more. Yun suspected that Lee knew she wouldn't have such an easy out, and she was spinning her wheels. 

“W-what do you want me to do?” Rangi asked, taken aback.

“You can retrieve the items!” Yun smiled. “I mean, you’re both girls so it’d be fine right?”

Rangi looked like a panicked cat mouse yet again, her face reddening and fanning down her collar. She, however, made a motion to stand.

Lee crossed both her arms over her chest, “T-that doesn’t matter! It-it’d still be dishonorable!”

Rangi stopped her motion and went rigid at the word. The Fire Nation’s core values were rooted in what was honorable and dishonorable. Yun could see his friend spiraling, weighing the honorable and dishonorable actions in her mind. It’s honorable for her to follow the Avatar, but he’s asking for a dishonorable act. But disobeying would be dishonorable.

Yun realized, in his attempt to take the heat off of him, and to tease Rangi a bit, he may have created an unwinnable scenario for her that deeply shook her to her core.

Lee, however, was willing to grab onto anything that would dissuade Rangi, which would in turn twist the knife deeper.

“T-that’s right! It’s dishonorable! You’ll be dishonoring your family! Your country! Your topknot! Your cow!” Lee wasn’t really making any sense as she continued down the list, but it didn’t matter. Every word made it look like Rangi took another physical blow. 

Finally, just as Lee finally ran out of nouns and adjectives that could be dishonored by Rangi. Rangi stood up.

She was stiffer than a statue, her voice was devoid of any emotion or inflection that Yun had ever heard. “It’s been hours since we last ate. I’m going to go look for some food.” Despite her monotone nature, she still bore a slight flush.

She then turned around and stiffly, but hastily, shimmied off into some nearby foliage, and quickly went out of sight.

Six. Yun thought. 

“Wow, she really negative jinged outta here,” Yun sweatdropped, feeling a little bad for putting his friend in an uncomfortable situation, not that he’d planned for it to be more than a joke. He was going to need to apologize…. And to figure out how to retrieve his stolen items some other time. 

“I thought she’d do it to be honest,” Lee sighed. “She seems like a real hard ass-turtle.”

“She is.” The duo sat in silence for a good long time, while Yun pondered over what to do next. “Lee, can you get up yet?”

Lee sighed, “No, still tired.”

“Ok,” Yun stood up. “I’m going to go talk with Rangi, you stay here.”

Lee gave him a thumbs up as Yun left in the direction Rangi went in.

It didn’t take long to find Rangi, she was crouched near a bush full of berries. She only looked up at him when she heard a branch break behind her. 

She held up a handful of strangely colored berries. “I’m not sure if these are edible, I’ve never seen anything like this…..”

Yun shrugged, “They kinda look like forbidden sweets.” He got closer to her and gave her a sheep goat’s grin, and tried to make sure his voice showcased his pure sincerity, “Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to put you in a crisis. It wasn’t supposed to be that serious.”

“Oh,” she said while she turned her attention back to the bush. “Don’t worry about it, I’m over it.”

Yun blinked at her and then teased, “Really? Huh, you forgive pretty easily. Do you happen to get over crushes that fast too?”

Rangi whipped her head around, Yun was concerned she was going to have severe whiplash at the rate she was going. “Crush??? I don’t have a crush. What are you talking about?! What would give you such an idea?!”

Yun tapped his chin, “I think I recall someone ogling some very nice abs earlier today, don’t worry, I understand. I was looking too.” He winked at her. Rangi’s eyes bulged a bit, possibly realizing she had been caught staring? He slapped one of his own shoulders with his hand, and then rolled the shoulder. “For your information, her shoulders? Very steady too! Oh wait, you probably already realized that, considering you were clinging to her like a spider monkey a second ago…..” 

“You’re talking about the daofei?! No I wasn’t-That’s not-that wasn’t- I looked away!” she finally said indignantly, and then stopped her foot. “Th-that’s all circumstantial! You have no real proof. Honestly! What would ever make you think this?!”

Yun put his hands up, as if he was in a hostage situation, but his grin said he was going on the attack. “The six intense blushes-that I’ve happened to notice- in the past 13 hours make me think that.” Rangi went ridged where she stood, realizing she’d been caught. Yun’s grin grew wider. “Listen, I get it! She’s a very pretty lady, and maybe you’re into the whole bad girl kind of thing-”

Rangi spluttered at him. “I. Do. Not. Have. A. Crush. I carry no attraction for that criminal!” 

Yun sighed, as fun as it was, he decided not to push his luck any farther. “Fine, fine. But if that’s the not reason, why are you so upset-”

Rangi punched the tree behind her, letting her fist heat up into a flame, and slowly ignited it.

Yun jumped back in surprise, “Ah! Rangi what’s the matter with you?! I stopped, so w-?”

“It’s my firebending!” She yelled at him, shame leaking into her voice. She moved her hand and extinguished the flame on the tree, leaving a smoldering hole. “It’s been messed up since we ran into that criminal!”

Yun recalled how Rangi’s flame extinguished when she’d almost caught Lee, but when were the other times? “What do you mean?”

Rangi began pacing in a perfectly straight line, “First, it’s extinguished out of nowhere! And then with that spirit, I lost control! It just started getting bigger and-”

Rangi continued her rambling, she was quickly wearing a rut in the ground. Yun thought about his training on firebending. Firebending came from within, and emotions could heavily influence how the flame took shape. It’s possible she got surprised by Lee earlier, and then was scared by the spirit. The latter, however, seemed so out of character for the military trained firebender in front of him, but it was the only plausible explanation.

“Maybe your emotions aren’t in check,” he offered.

“My emotions are in check!” The girl yelled, in a tone that showed they were, in fact, not in check.

The two sighed and pondered, at a loss. Sure, it'd only been two instances. But both happening under twenty-four hours and to Rangi of all people? It raised some concerns.

It was highly unlikely Lee herself had anything to directly do with it, she was just an earthbender after all.

Wait, Lee! Yun thought with a shock. They had left her by herself for a bit too long, and fear that she may have slipped away coursed through him. He and Rangi decided to quickly head back, foregoing the little foraging Rangi had found.

When they arrived at the clearing, Lee wasn’t there….but a message dug into the ground was.

You took too long. I got thirsty. Found a river this way.

An arrow pointing in the direction they assumed she’d went.

When they arrived at the river, they saw Lee crouched by the bank, her gloves laid next to her as she appeared to be washing her face in the river. A warm fire was lit nearby, with a few strange large fruits on sticks roasting over it. There were also three haphazard earth beds bent nearby as well. 

Yun wondered how Lee had gotten all this set up, it wasn’t like he and Rangi were gone for that long.

“Ah I was wondering when you two would be back,” Lee said, turning to the two. “I figured this would be a good place to set up camp and get some rest.”

Yun’s breath hitched when she fully faced them. She had pretty chestnut skin, with freckles that starred her face as brightly as the stars shown in her grayish green eyes. The only thing that marred her face was a small crescent shaped puckered line running from her lower lip downwards. Possibly from where Rangi bit her earlier. However, it looked less worse for wear since they had last seen her, and he wondered how that could be possible.

He could feel a slight flush taking over, the girl was very pretty. And she appeared a lot younger than her height had let on.

“C’mon what are you two gawking at?” Lee gave them a lopsided smile that turned both the other two teens’ stomachs lopsided too. “I found us some food, let’s eat”

She walked over to the campsite, beckoning them over.

It took all of Rangi and Yun’s strength to snap out of their daze, and follow the pretty girl.

[jaguarys]

2023 fanfic wrap-up!

Thank you to everyone who read my fics this year! Here's to writing even more in 2024!

Star Wars

It's Quicker and Easier to Eat Your Young!

Shmi dreams of fire and a dark mask and a red blade made of light and death. She wakes, sticky with sweat despite the cold, and knows something has changed. Knows, somehow, that this is true, this is real, and yet not. She looks down at her son and she knows. > OR: Vader returns to TPM–– from everyone else's eyes.

There's Something in the Static

Owen, Anakin, and the last few hours of Shmi's life.

Naruto

He's a Knife in a Wound, He's a Suture

Of everything, Sakura perhaps most hates allowing herself to be weak. It’s a flaw, perhaps, the inability to admit to no one, not even herself, when she is acting her age. Because she is a soldier, and she cannot allow herself that. (But she is still a kid, and she does not always have the foresight to see this.) So she kids herself that refusing to engage with Sai is not an immature act, though she knows this isn’t the case. > Sakura, Sai, and growth.

Apex Legends

Two Slow Dancers, Last Ones Out

“I always knew the only thing you were built for was this,” Sok Leng says, more gently than he wishes she would. “I always knew, and I loved you despite. I loved you because of it.” It feels like a gut punch. It feels like forgiveness. It feels like confirmation that he will never escape the games. They are a part of him, and he is a part of them, and this is something undeniable. > Sok Leng comes to give August the glasses. They talk.

Les Légendaires

That's the Thing About Survival

Gryfenfer, Danaël, Jadina, and quiet moments.

[pocket-gems]

Woah! Rambling time about art?

May be interesting to artists, specially ones who have a hard time drawing and finding motivation.

I usually talk or think about art of just do it, don't doubt it. The more you think it the more it will cost you

But honestly, for something to go right you gotta fail many times. And if you wanna fail until you finally get an idea of how does it work, how much it costs and if you're happy with it, then you may get something going on

Maybe it's not pretty on your opinion, but again, that's your opinion. For others your art can be amazing, stunning. It came from you! But if you don't continue drawing and you keep letting yourself down and comparing your art to others', you'll get stuck and won't be able to keep it up as much as it should

There's many ways to think of art and there's also many ways to twist an idea up. No shame to ask for help, for opinion. "My art is not as good as x. I should stop drawing" maybe twist it a bit "My art is not as good as x. So I'll keep drawing until it's as pretty"

I consider myself a creative person. I have many project and ideas flowing and 80% of them fail. They can get discarded, loose interest, or just can't be done because of the situation. And for each defeat, something is learned. One can learn more with defeats than victory! What to do, what to avoid, growth as an artist. Sure, that drawing now looks bad, but if it wasn't because I did it, now I wouldn't be happy with the way I draw!

Needing to find and figure what fits you. Experimenting. Looking for inspiration. Those are great things about art! Even some old art can still look good because after all, it's art! Opinions are subjective.

Everything has something that you can apply for later, something learnt along the way. No one is born with infinite knowledge. Oh I wish. I still have a long way to go and many things to learn.

Anyway this was longer than I wished just for a "Keep drawing you're doing amazing". You're perfect in your own unique way

Okay bye

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Every Bit Of Better

For Sokkla Saturdays: Wounds

Summary: Sokka wonders why Azula is suddenly so prone to accidents and mishaps. He speculates that they aren’t accidents at all.

Warnings: Self-Harm & Passive Suicidal Thoughts

It isn’t uncommon for Azula to make her appearances bloodied and bruised. Sometimes Sokka thinks that she likes it. More often than not, he speculates as much because it is becoming increasingly common to see her cut and swollen. Increasingly common to spend the night tending to her wounds; dabbing them clean and dressing them. 

He doesn’t ask her if she is ready, he had stopped several days ago; he brings the alcohol doused cotton to the first of her cuts. The smallest of them. She doesn’t flinch or tear up. 

She smiles. 

Every time he brings the cotton to a new cut, she smiles. 

And he knows that it stings, that it hurts like hell. 

He doesn’t understand why she smiles. 

“What did you do this time?” He asks. “Another fight?” 

She nods.

“Duty or recreation.” 

She is silent for a while and he has his answer. 

“You have to stop doing that!”

She shrugs, “why should I?” 

“What if you get really hurt one day.” 

Another shrug. Something tells him that maybe she wants to. So he isn’t surprised when she returns one day with a broken leg. She swears that she was only trying to get from the tree branch to a nearby roof--that she had misjudged the distance. But he isn’t so sure, she is more careful than that. She has never made an error like that before. 

“Try not to move it too much.” Katara mumbles as though Azula even has the ability at the moment. She blankets the firebender’s leg in water. She sighs, “it’s much harder to heal bones than skin.” 

“I’m a patient person.” Azula replies. Laying with her eyes closed and her hands clasped just beneath her chest, she looks much more nonchalant than she ought to. Sokka cups his hand over hers and squeezes. 

He studies her face for a moment; she doesn’t look all that troubled or sad. Not now and not prior to her fall. In fact, she has been rather good spirited these past few days. “Why did you do it?” 

She cracks an eyelid. “Do what?” 

“Alright, Sokka, you’re up.” Katara gestures. Azula waits for her to take her leave before continuing. Sokka begins carefully bundling her leg into a cast while she replies, “why did you jump.”

“I already told you…”

“I don’t believe you.” He cuts her off. “Do…”

“I don’t want to die.” She answers his unspoken question with a startling plainess. “I wasn’t high enough for that anyways, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Then why jump?” 

“Why not?”

He gestures to her leg.

“It’ll heal. It always heels.” She crosses her arms. 

“Aren’t you worried that it won’t?”

She hums aloud. “I suppose I never thought about that. It wouldn’t matter, Sokka, I have a lot of wounds that don’t want to heal.” 

And he knows that they are all in her mind, heart, and soul. He can see that much in her eyes. The battles she wages within herself are growing lazy and weak and he isn’t certain that she is winning the fight. He reaches for her hand and squeezes. He wonders if she can see what he does or if she thinks that she has made very little progress. She closes her eyes again and rolls onto her side. He winces. “You have to be careful with your leg!”

“It’s fine.” She doesn’t even open her eyes. 

He gives a sigh of his own. He wishes that she would be more gentle with herself. She nuzzles her head against the pillow.

This isn’t uncommon, she usually sleeps after getting herself hurt. This time he lays down next to her. This time he brushes her hair out of her face and presses his forehead against hers. This time she reciprocates. She rests her head beneath his chin. 

.oOo.

They gather around  and give her well wishes and words of comfort. TyLee is fond of hugs and snuggles while Mai is content with sitting on the edge of the bed and talking about nothing in particular. Zuzu likes to bring her blankets and tea while Toph makes ridiculous jokes. Katara offers physical healing and Aang is soothing to talk to. Sokka does a bit of everything and nothing at all. Mostly he is just there. 

Even if he isn’t doing anything, he is there.

She has to space her more serious wounds out, lest they lose their draw. Most of the time she is content to get a few ‘are you okays’ and a session of wound tending. But every now and then, when things grow turbulent in her mind, she needs something more. 

Today the loneliness is unbearable.

Today she isn’t sure if she is truly welcomed or not.

Today she needs something more.

But she is running out of methods, perhaps a ‘misstep’ that could lead to her falling upon a nearby pole that protrudes from the ground. The idea has its allure but is ultimately a risk that she isn’t willing to take--she might not fall the right way, could fall just a little too far to the left and get herself killed.

She climbs down the wall. Another opportunity, but she has already taken a fall, that won’t hold enough weight. She holds out her hand and lets a flame flicker in her palm; she could have a firebending accident.

She has been putting that off because she is much too careful...too skilled for one of those. But there is a first time for everything. She could tell them that she was having an off day.

They find her in the yard, lightning still dancing upon her twitching body. Everything hurts.

Everything burns.

And then there is nothing at all.

Nothing at all until she opens her eyes again. Things are still hazy; a cloud of muddled sensations from muffled voices to an unpleasant tickling, stinging feeling. There is a spot of coolness upon her rib cage. Her breathing sounds louder in her ears and things get dark again.

When she comes around a second time, Sokka is still on the bed with her. He is rubbing her back in small circles. She squints and mumbles, “where is everyone else?”

“What was that?” He asks with one of his soft smiles.

She repeats herself. 

“Having dinner, they’ll be up with yours soon.” His smile fades. “What happened?”

“I misjudged how much lightning I was…”

“No you didn’t.” He cuts her off. “You know your bending and limits so well.”

“I can’t always have good days.”

“But you’ve sure been having a lot of off days lately.”

Her tummy flutters. She should have timed things better, should have spaced her accidents further apart. 

“Why do you do it?” He pesters again. “And don’t tell me that you aren’t doing it on purpose.”

Azula props herself up, wincing at the pangs that fan up from her ribcage. “Does it really matter why?” A stupid question; of course it matters to him. He wouldn’t be so persistent if it didn’t. “Why do you care?”

He tilts his head. “Because one day you’re going to do some real damage.”

“This is very real, I assure you.” She holds her hand against the bandages and grits her teeth against the burning beneath them.

“Real damage that you can’t fix. You know, the permanent kind.”

She sighs. “So what? What if I do? Would that bother you?” She holds her breath but she doesn’t know why.

“Yeah, it kind of would.” He nods. 

She releases that breath. “But why? Why do you care?”

“Tell me why you keep hurting yourself and I’ll tell you why I care.”

Azula presses her lips together and fidgets with her robe, tightening it and then loosening it when it bites too harshly into her burn. “Because sometimes I need confirmation or a reminder and I need…” She trails off. It sounds entirely ridiculous out loud. 

“Confirmation of what?” He furrows his brows. 

“That it would matter to people if I died.” She replies bluntly. Though it is more than that. Sometimes she needs a reminder that people care for her. Sometimes she forgets that it is possible. 

“Of course it would matter!” She thinks that this is the tightest that he has ever squeezed her hand. “You can’t die now, you just started being a nice person.” 

She wonders if he is aware of the implications of that response. She doesn’t let herself wonder for long.“But it wouldn’t have mattered if I died before that. It would have been a relief?”

He flinches. “I didn’t say that.”

She wants to tell him that he very much did. “So you would have saved me, even if I was calling you a barbaric peasant the whole time?”

He hesitates. “I wouldn’t have let you die over a few insensitive remarks.”

“There would have been more than a few.” She is not making things easy and she can’t even say why she is being so difficult. Maybe it is one more way of testing the waters, pushing the limits to see just how much he will endure before he realizes that he shouldn’t care.

Maybe she needs to know his reasoning to care for her at her worst so she could have one for herself.

“You’re still a person, Azula. We all know that.”

Maybe everyone but her. 

“We wouldn’t have killed you or let you die no matter how many nasty things you say to us. We didn’t kill your dad.” He pauses. “What else? Why else do you keep hurting yourself?”

“There is nothing…”

“You said ‘and’. There was an ‘and’.” 

He is annoyingly observant. “I like being...attended to.”

When she is hurt they flock to her. They take care of her, it is the only time she gets any sympathy. The only time that they seem to see her as human. 

He gives a light chuckle. “If you want affection and comfort you can just ask for it, you know that right?”

“It doesn’t work like that.” She can demand whatever she likes, it doesn’t mean that they will oblige. It doesn’t mean that they will take her words the right way. 

Truth be told she doesn’t know how to ask. Truth be told, she might be afraid to. 

“We can give you all the medical care in the world but that’s not going to fix what’s really hurt.” He holds a hand above her heart. “If you want that kind of comfort, you’re going to have to ask for it.” 

“I...I am?” 

“In your own way, I guess that you are.” He agrees. “But it’s kind of hard to tell.”

“Then how?” She frowns. 

“Have you tried saying that you’re sad? Have you tried asking someone for a hug if you want one?”

She shakes her head.

“Have you tried cry--”

“I refuse.” 

He laughs. “Well that’s probably the easiest way to get people to comfort you if you’re upset.”

She finds it much easier to shoot questionable amounts of lightning at herself. “Nobody wants to hear me cry, Sokka. It’s annoying. And I can ask for a hug or comfort but it doesn’t mean that anyone will humor me.” 

“We’ve been humoring this.” He gestures to her rolls of bandages. 

“That’s different. You have to humor this or I will die. Nothing would happen if you ignored me should I ask for affection.”

Sokka quirks a brow. “But something would happen and it already has.” Again he gestures to all of the medical equipment. “I have a feeling that you wouldn’t be doing this if you got some affection.” 

Azula stares at her blankets. 

“Do you want a hug, Azula.”

She would very much like that. With her nod he carefully wraps his arms around her. It is only for an extended moment before his embrace loosens. She opens her mouth and closes it once more. 

“Go ahead, say what you wanted to say.”

She frowns again. She thinks that he already knows what is on her mind. Her face colors. “Longer.” 

“So you want to be held?” 

She clears her throat. “Yes.” 

.oOo.

He should probably show her at least a little mercy before pride gets the better of her and she retreats again. He takes her back into his arms and lets her get comfortable in them before curling his fingers in her silky locks. 

She closes her eyes again. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asks after a span of quietness. 

“Talk about what?”

“The things that are hurting.”

“My side.” She gently rests her hand upon the burn. 

He takes that hand and laces his fingers with hers. “I’m not talking about the physical stuff. I’m talking about the stuff that makes you upset.” 

“Not right now.” 

He nods. He supposes that he should just be glad that she had opened up to him even a little. Lucky that she is letting him cuddle her. Ultimately it is better if he doesn’t push that luck. “That’s fine. You can tell me when you’re ready to. Just...no more hurting yourself okay? You don’t need to.” 

“Okay.” She replies quietly.

“Okay, what?” He pushes.

“I...I don’t need to hurt myself. People just...care about me?” 

The uncertainty in her voice puts tickles of sorrow in his belly. “People care about you. We do want you to be happy.”

“You do?”

He smiles and nods. “We thought that you were doing better.” 

She seems to think for a moment. “I am.” And after a healthy pause she adds, “of course that’s relative.” 

“Every bit of better counts.” He squeezes her arm. 

“Your turn.”

“My turn?”

“Why do you care?”

“Right.” He laughs. “I care because, I don’t know, I just do? You’re nice to talk to when you aren’t calling us peasants and throwing fire at us. You’re the only one who’s willing to talk about history with me. Everyone else seems to think that it’s boring. And Aang likes talking about philosophy with you.” He pauses for a breath. “Which is actually really good because hearing how much you and Aang seem to agree on certain things is reassuring.”

“Reassuring?”

“I can tell that you care about your nation and the people in it. I think that you care about people in general.” He smirks. “I think that underneath that stoic expression and that scary demeanor, you’re a softie.”

She pulls herself out of his grasp, “I am not! Take that back.”

He doesn’t have time to laugh because she is wincing and clutching her side. 

“Careful.” He remarks. “No more sudden movements until you heal up.”

“Where is your sister, anyways?”

“She went back to the poles to check on things so you’re going to have to do most of the healing on your own this time.”

“Fantastic.” She grumbles. 

“Well that does mean that you will be getting more comfort from everyone else until you heal.” 

“I suppose, yes.” She agrees. She crawls her way back into his arms and makes herself comfortable. Perhaps he was approaching her the wrong way. Perhaps he should have told her to try initiating hugs instead of vocalizing a need for them until she is ready for words. He rests his chin on her shoulder. 

“Would it be easier if I told the rest of the gang that you want comfort? The emotional kind.” 

She considers. “It would be, yes.” 

“Alright. I think that I can do that for you.” 

Finally she smiles back at him. 

[herglowinggirl]

Hello, familiar anon here, I didn't ask the question about an SOK ending where Yun lives and gains redemption. I also wouldn't mind having my own tag. I haven't found any other evidence of Yun shipping Kyoshi and Rangi outside of "The Boy From Makapu". How does Kyoshi view Yun later in her life( up to the first year after "The Meeting", creating Kyoshi Island nearly 25 years later, the last years of her life)? Would Kyoshi ever mention or talk about Yun after the events of The Shadow of Kyoshi?

hello! and yes I have some thoughts on this and how it would impact the advice Kyoshi gave to Roku and Aang. this got long but I’d love to break down parts of it to write fic, which I think I will do and perhaps post before Kyoshi Fortnight. But I digress, it’s long enough that I have decided to use subtitles. If anything skip to the end about the advice she gave Roku and Aang I think it’s most relevant to what I want to say and also my favorite part.

what I talk about under the cut: the ways I believe yun’s death would impact kyoshi’s actions after tsok and what the advice she gave aang and roku actually means (my thoughts on “only justice will bring peace” means)

would kyoshi talk about yun during her lifetime?

Yes. First off, it would be impossible to avoid him in the political landscape, because it is mentioned that he passed lots of judgements and signed treaties, ect. Although Kyoshi has grown in her leadership style and it’s turned a little (a lot) anti-establishment, she would still need to deal with the fallout of Yun not being the Avatar, because there would be a need to re-sign treaties and settle disputes with people seeking to take advantage of others now that the Avatar has “changed” would have to be dealt with and in tandem, Yun’s legacy.

But also, in a duology that features grief, I find it a natural continuation of the narrative that Yun would be mourned. You don’t stop knowing or loving someone after they pass, and I feel like mourning all of Yun—the boy he was, where he came from, his legacy, the decisions he made, the impact he had on the people around him, even how he hurt people—is only natural and is slightly unavoidable. I think Kyoshi mourns all of her deceased loved ones. 

Just, like the concept of this: she’s always hated pai sho but now when she faces a board in her gut and in her throat things feel wrong because it reminds her of what Yun had to do to survive. A breeze smells like the flour and air Kelsang sent into her face the moments before everything changed. She collects pebbles that Lek would’ve liked. Rangi brings her fire lilies for an anniversary and she starts crying. She sings songs with Wong that were her parent’s favorites that coincidentally, Kelsang knew too.

community in grief and kyoshi’s relationships

He was Rangi’s friend, too. Auntie Mui and Hei-Ran are sure to mourn him in their own ways. In tSoK Kyoshi calls her team Avatar a group of contradictions and misfits and in his way, Yun was too. The false Avatar. What a title! 

A continuation of the concept: Rangi and Kyoshi remind each other of him every day for a while, swapping stories about him when it gets to be too much, making eye contact when they can hear his voice making light of something stupid an official has said. Hei-Ran makes her do drills she made Yun do. Auntie Mui makes his favorite dish on his birthday that they do not pass in silence, because then what would they be, that group of misfits, to forget another outcast? If they don’t mourn the boy from Yokoya who will mourn them, or who would’ve mourned them if they hadn’t been so lucky? Who will care for the beggars and orphans of the world if not the Avatar who was once one of them and her companions? In a way, the retribution and pain of it all is justice for the life that Kyoshi took. Like, there’s just so much to unpack in the way she says “Was I right about anything at all? What will they say about me? Avatar Kyoshi, who killed her friend because she couldn’t save him?” But I don’t think her guilt would silence her. 

That being said, Yun was fundamentally a victim of a system that failed him. The same one that failed Kyoshi. In another way, her actions are justice on a world that failed her and her best friend and the similarities they shared, and she’s able to take those actions because of the way that Yun impacted her, for better or for worse. So yes, I think during her lifetime, she would speak of Yun and who he was, not letting people forget the ways they (and she) failed him and how easily everyone wants to forget their failure. It brings me to the way she was so angry with the Earth Kingdom establishment for discarding him and trying to hide history away. I don’t think she’d ever do that, even if she did...uh, dispatch him.

kyoshi, immortality, and her role as an avatar

I’d like to turn to two passages:

Kyoshi: “The way you describe it, you’d have to decide what version of yourself you’d be stuck as, forever.”

Lao Ge: “Exactly! Those who grow, live and die. The stagnant pool is immortal, while the clear flowing river dies an uncountable number of deaths.”

and

In the future, perhaps, she’d become finalized like carved stone. It would be easier to deal with the world then. She could only hope.

[...]

She still had to be careful not to lose her balance and fall. Kyoshi kept her eyes focused on her difficult path, sometimes stumbling but making sure to catch herself, taking one step at a time.

This isn’t directly related to what I think she would say, but more about how she lets her experiences, and therefore, her experiences and relationship with Yun, affect who she is. Here, F.C. Yee is detailing the person we see in her cameo in A:tLA. It’s a testament to her growth, yes, but also to how she lived so long. She’s allowed to grow now, while she’s young and still learning. But eventually Kyoshi’s growth will wane, leaving us with the iron woman we saw in A:tLA. 

Remember when I said I would call F.C. Yee a sap for the very last Kyoshi POV line? It’s the last sentence in my second excerpt, is that Kyoshi is allowing herself make mistakes. It’s pretty obviously a little deeper than the concept of walking down a slope: She became one of the most revered Avatars, we know how her story ends, if not lots of the in-betweens, but F.C. Yee tells us right here in that sentence. She changed and she learned. 

I think, however, that eventually she had to pick a place to stop in order to stop aging. If I had to pick a point where she became “immortal” I’d pick Rangi’s peaceful and timely death surrounded by her loved ones on Yokoya (not Kyoshi Island since I’m going to maintain that her A;tLA cameo was “immortal” Kyoshi) and I think Lao Ge killed her—or at least convinced her to let go.

further thoughts on her longevity: rangi’s role and future

Ok before anybody comes into my inbox like “um zey herglowinggirl I need you to know that actually Rangi also lived to 230 😌″ because I understand the sentiment it’s more like here’s what I’d like to discuss: Kyoshi can’t be immortal around Rangi because Rangi is in so many ways her catalyst for growth. First off, it would be completely out of character for Rangi to be immortal, because she’s constantly moving and being and feeling and judging and that changes her. Positive jing. And Lao Ge says it: “those who grow, live and die.” Rangi believes in the best and strives for the best, for perfection. For Kyoshi to freeze herself and become immortal, that would require picking an imperfect state. And as we know, Sei’naka women do not accept imperfection 😤. 

Although Rangi promises to always be by Kyoshi’s side, I think in the latter years of Kyoshi’s live it’s more like the impact that Rangi has had on her in that frozen state. That voice of Rangi’s is part of Kyoshi in those years. However, without Rangi, it is unlikely that Kyoshi will always or commonly choose to act on it. It’s stated multiple times throughout the novels that Rangi is Kyoshi’s center and that she doesn’t know who she’d be without Rangi, but I think the logical conclusion is immortal. With Rangi’s death she becomes her own center by stopping her growth; with Rangi’s death she just becomes...that stone she was talking about, where it does get easier to make decisions because you’re not striving to constantly change and grow. It’s almost a coping mechanism, if you will. Because Kyoshi is more than Rangi, can function without Rangi, it’s just not necessarily pretty.

lao ge’s role and future

Which brings me to my “in my personal version of canon Lao Ge kinda maybe killed Kyoshi” point. Rangi is in no way Kyoshi’s morality, but she is very much the idealistic ‘better’ half. With this catalyst of hope and change gone, I think back to the creation of the Dai Li—it very much sounds to me like something Jianzhu would do. Kyoshi, who had previously been the breakdown of negotiations, created a secret op police force? 

I think the moment Kyoshi started being the establishment, the moment she was the band-aid instead of the solution (much like Yun was, hint hint) Lao Ge would’ve paid her a visit. Either this or the creation of the Dai Li created a catalyst for perhaps an existential crisis, perhaps just being tired, perhaps simply knowing what is best...Kyoshi is, and always will be, a sworn criminal who cannot uphold the law, only her own judgements. She is both the law and the breaking and bending of it, and when she loses this balance when Rangi falls from her side and she becomes her own rock I think it would swing her away from her center, and this is where she becomes immortal. Eventually, it would become enough of an issue for people to intervene and tell her that her time as an Avatar is coming to an end. 

advice to future avatars

This is my favorite point and I’ll tie it back to Yun in just a second. I have posted about thinking about the impact of Yun’s death on Kyoshi and how that would’ve impacted her legacy and the advice she gave Roku and Aang before. Honestly what strikes me is how proud Kyoshi would be of Aang. The way that each Avatar must learn to forge their own way and become their own person and what their era needs, balancing themselves, is something so lovely. I think Kyoshi would’ve absolutely loved how Aang took the advice of his predecessors and said “no, I know what would be better for me,” and I think post-tSoK Kyoshi, who has learned she has to forge her own way and style as a leader, would love and be so proud of him for that. 

However, that doesn’t mean that her advice doesn’t have weight. I think mainly her “immortal” phase would perhaps have an impact on the way Yun impacts her advice. I think “only justice will bring peace” also speaks to the finality of death. Just like immortality, death keeps growth from happening. “only justice will bring peace” is also a nod to the way you must learn to cope with your actions and the way you feel about them. It’s also about Aang’s inner peace, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen mentioned. Everyone always wants to talk about what he should’ve done and how Kyoshi was right because she told Aang about her choice to let Chin die, but I think she actually guided him to the idea that you should be ok with yourself. To be confident in what you do and take up responsibility for your actions. Kyoshi wasn’t telling him murder was good. She was telling him she owned up to her actions and chose to make those decisions as an Avatar. To me, this finality speaks of growth after Yun’s death and the end of tSoK. She has grown and then frozen, but that means she has changed.

And although I don’t have an answer for what advice she might’ve given Roku, I think it’s a good way to interpret this. The only thing keeping Kyoshi from being honest about Yun’s death is the fact that Zoryu has “Yun” locked up. I think this is likely one of her biggest regrets, that she cannot be honest and responsible for something that weighs so heavily on her soul. This, I think, guides her advice. Only justice will bring peace. Now that I’ve thought it out, perhaps it wasn’t Lao Ge, and perhaps it was the idea that Yun had never been done justice and perhaps that turmoil never changed, which made her long-lived but not quite immortal. She cannot quite know the peace of death nor of life.

I think she must’ve told Roku that no matter what, he must accept the consequences of what he does. He’s not willing to loose that friendship and I think Kyoshi would’ve understood that, and the questions Roku would’ve had to pose himself as an Avatar. That is Kyoshi’s advice. Only justice, true justice in the form of accountability and self-actualization as a leader, will allow you to make good decisions. The acceptance of this: that whatever he does, he must be willing to accept it’s legacy, learn from it, and teach the next Avatar just as she let Yun’s death affect her leadership and what she taught. And I think that’s probably incredibly poetic, even if I’m getting a bit ahead of myself. 

[kyoshi-lesbians]

I once very briefly mentioned that I think Kyoshi’s conversation w/ Lao Ge in RoK about the method for longevity is important to understanding Kyoshi later in life.

At the time I wasn’t even considering what SoK shows about that subject, and thank goodness it changes things completely because if the novels ended at RoK the implied reasoning would be so fucking sad and my heart can’t take that.

Here’s what I mean:

In RoK Kyoshi has no desire to live past a normal life span. She thinks that, “Desperately grasping for more power and control over life was what people like Jianzhu did” (p. 334 RoK). She view extra time like hoarding wealth, and imagines it is what her worst enemy would do. She doesn’t want this. 

But once she’s learned Lao Ge’s method for longevity, she thinks, “Kelsang’s absence had put her in stasis. If Lao Ge wanted her to be stagnant and forever trapped, she’d already mastered that lesson” (p. 335 RoK).

Now, Kyoshi’s grief for Kelsang is still fresh. It’s easy to forget sometimes but the timeline of this novel takes place in little over a month. It’s understandable that she cannot imagine a world where she heals from losing her adopted parent in such a horrific way.

I do not have experience in loss like this, but I’ve heard it expressed that the trauma and sadness from losing them can become a part of your relationship to them after death. That these painful emotions can become a reminder of them and keeping the reminders can be preferable to the memory of that person fading away. 

Kyoshi may have felt her grief to be the last connection she had to Kelsang.* It’s possible that she would have chosen to keep that grief fresh within her so that she could continue feeling close to her adopted father. 

If this was the end of the series, going off RoK alone, the likeliest contextual explanation for Kyoshi living to be 230 is that she was unable or unwilling to move past her grief for Kelsang for those 230 years.

(*It’s worth noting that Kyoshi has no keepsakes to remember Kelsang with. The clay turtle was destroyed the night of his death, when she practiced her earthbending on it. Her earthbending, which she practiced, because she found out she was the Avatar. After losing her father, who died, because she found out she was the Avatar.) 

Yeah.

… 

(this is why i was in pain)  

But wait!!! There’s a whole other novel!!! It’s okay!!! 

Because by the end of SoK, Kyoshi isn’t keeping grief at her core. A key moment of Kyoshi moving on occurs when burying / saying goodbye to Yun. She grieves, but she lets him go, and I imagine that this process helps her do the same for Kelsang. In fact throughout the novel, we see that her love for Rangi is now what centers her. (someone wrote a great post on that, if i can find it again i will link it!) Similarly, where before her Avatar identity was tied to tragedy, she comes “to accept the mantle of Avatarhood proudly” (p. 334 SoK). 

From her conversation with Yangchen, we can infer that it’s her duty as the Avatar that drives her to live to 230. When talking Yangchen, Kyoshi thinks about justice and wishes that, “In the future, perhaps, she’d become finalized like carved stone. It would be easier to deal with the world then. She could only hope” (p. 335 SoK). 

Although she doesn’t think in such words, her conception of justice becoming finalized is part of what Lao Ge meant for organizing the mind to never change. This marks her first interest in fixing herself into a moment of time, and the interest is so she can better handle being the Avatar. 

It’s not a hard jump to assume that she makes the decision to commit herself to Lao Ge’s method as her sense of justice solidifies. Kyoshi already feels it is her duty to provide stability to the world for as long as she can to make up for Kuruk’s short life, for her own delay at Avatarhood, and to bring peace back to the fractured earth kingdom. 

The final scene of the SoK directly alludes to Kyoshi’s long life. When Lao Ge delivers Kyoshi’s threat to Fire Lord Zoryu, he yells, “She can’t watch over me forever!” (p. 341 SoK). The last line of the entire series is Lao Ge’s response to this: “The old man tilted his head back and laughed to rival the thunder” (p. 341 SoK).

Lao Ge laughs because yes, Kyoshi can do just that, and it seems that he believes she will choose to do so. And she does. Kyoshi would’ve outlived Zoryu’s grandchildren’s grandchildren. There’s no evidence that Kyoshi would have wanted a long life for herself, yet she did what she saw to be her duty as the Avatar and put the needs of the world before her own desires.

The Kyoshi novels bring it full circle: Before anyone even knew Kyoshi was the Avatar, Kelsang told her that one of her “Avatar-worthy merits” was “selfless humility”(p. 53, RoK). And he couldn’t have been more right about his daughter. 

(And you know he would be so proud of her.)

[ijustkindalikebooks]

You know, I knew things this yeat would not be simple or easy or you know 'normal' because normal is so far away now, I think that we will be dealing with things that we are not used to forever, I mean really that's life, but I did not expect these things, these such big things.

I know I am in a position of privilege, I live in England, I have a government under very little pressure to keep me safe and a family I'm not worried I'll lose, but please if you can donate to organisations that can help people in Ukraine during this, please do. I will try to leave links at the bottom of this post so that those are easily found (I want to ensure any links will actually help).

These are my favourite books of February.

The Book of Gutsy Women by Hillary & Chelsea Clinton - An excellently diverse and educational collection of stories of incredible women, The Book Of Gutsy Women is a great book and with the two narratives really works to see two perspectives of these women from two different generations. I would read more if these two worked on more books like this one, it's a fascinating read.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson - A graphic novel about a girl who wants to join the roller derby, it's a great middle grade read that feels realistic. Sometimes I think that books when aimed at younger readers can feel a biit easy, however this has growth and has a real depth to the characters that makes for such a great story. The representation here is also excellent.

Familiar Things by Hwang Sok-Yong - A Korean Young Adult Historical Fiction, Familiar Things is a book that leaves you bereaved, shocked but also hopeful. No matter where you are in this story it feels you are there seeing it through their eyes and these characters just blossom in front of you while they go through incredible hardship and loss. It's a great book.

The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I know everyone talks about this book and how good it is and even I was sceptical going in but holy cow this book is good. The story, the growth and the deeply unexpected ending well at least for me, kicked my ass. Jenkins Reid leads you to believe you know everything, and actually you know nothing. Amazing book.

The Lady's Guide To Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee - I think either the second or third book in this series, this one focuses on Penelope and her pursuit of being a doctor and how life happens when you're busy making plans. A truly great read that takes you through Europe and beyond, I loved reading this and highly recommend it for the rep and for the story.

Natives: Race & Class In The Ruins Of Empire by Akala - A book that I believe should be essential reading for anyone, this book is part memoir part non fiction taking moments from his life to discuss different topics around race and class. I appreciate his style of writing and how he delivers each chapter with a combination of the personal and the political. Such a great book of Britain and inequality.

What did you read in February? I would love to know!

Please stay safe, and I hope you are well.

Vee xo.

Link to the work Doctors Without Borders does in Ukraine.

Link to the Emergency Fund - Save The Children.

The GlobalGiving Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund.

[hiimsociallyawkward]

a servant of two masters

hi friends welcome back to me aimlessly ranting about merlin. up today we have 4.06 and this episode. wow. literally just the title gives me everything i need and i'm absolutley here for the chaos that will ensue. hi bestie @lady-ofmagic-andstars

i love them in their capes

i want a cloak

dude the 'oh it's not gonna happen' and then it happens trope is so dumb but i laugh every time

notice how the knights ripped off their capes

dude people are falling off of horses and out

MERLIN

ok ok but how is he injured. ik this is rated for kids but i really dk how badly merlin is injured. it looks like just his shoulder but he shouldn't be almost dying like his yk?

:,) arthru making jokes

ok but i love arthur taking care of merlin

alskdjflsadk them trying to make jokes to make each other feel better :,)

stop arthur. stop telling the truth merlin's not dying here 😭

bestie vibes only deadass

HAHA

a s s

side note, the site i get my screenshots from- this picture has 61 views while others average maybe like 10-15?? perverts HAHA just kidding

sok i'm actually really curious as to what merlin's injury is

alsdjf;lasdfjsaldfjsaldf merlin making the rocks fall

idk if it's jut the angling but i felt like the enemies were way too close for merlin to create an entire rock barrier. i don't have any screen shot evidence but so you're just going to have to take my word for it

ok but like who even are these men. they were working for morgana trying to capture arthur?

and what's morgana going to do once she has arthur? kill him and take his place on the throne? remember how well that turned out last time she tried that? no one wanted her. idk idk morgana is just confusing as to what she wants

pls die agravaine

haha strangely fond of the boy? there's nothing strange about it

ok i laughed but i also felt bad when morgana splashed merlin awake and flailed around like a fish

dude merlin is so snarky here and i'm HERE for it

ok i like the knights being competent. thank you thank you

and now they're riding back into camelot with their capes on? you're telling me they traced back their steps to find their capes, dusted them off to make sure that they weren't too dirty and didn't have any leaves or branches still sticking to it before riding back to camelot? iconic

poor gaius. ok he's the worst but he does think of merlin as his son and this makes me sad

ok i have a dumb question. do you think merlin understands whenever other magic users are casting spells? ok i feel like this is a dumb question now. but like, is magic a language? are all incantations in a different language, so when other person who knows magic is watching you- they know what you're trying to do and such? i feel like "of course they'd know" but i'm basing that assumption on hp where everyone knows that alohomora is alohomora and where everyone knows that lumos is lumos. but what about here? does merlin know what she's incanting? can he slightly understand it even if he's never seen/done it before? is magic a language like latin, and even if you aren't completely fluent, you and parse together things and make an assumptions?

arthur is just so sad here

i just, i have to have these here

yes bby figure out that we have a traitor

gaius is not slick in the slightest. yes. look at the traitor king

wow morgana being able to bond with the snake? i wonder how

ok question, does the fomorroh have some sort of loyalty to whoever calls them?

✨kill arthur pendragon✨

ok that snake going in his neck is actually scary

pretty castle counter: 5

btw this is actually my zoom background sometimes. it depends from call to call but it changes between this pretty castle and peeta mellark

G E O R G E

ok i've seen all the tumblr posts but it doesn't get less funny. the 'merlin's missing and we can't find him so we're going to replace him with another manservent dressed EXACTLY like merlin so arthur feels better' makes me chuckle every time

i would like to have that for breakfast

i like the loyalty arthur thank you. i love the loyalty pls. i love that they're friends. like, i love the romance but i love just people being friends too

ok this whole scene. arthur wanting to look for merlin because he has to at least try, gwen just wanting arthur to be careful and to come back to her, gwaine being buds. i love all the friendships in this and just yes thank you

ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok i'm not at the hug scene yet but i know it's coming and i'm beyond excited

ok this sound track is so cute.

saldkfj;asldkfjasldkfsd

matching icons for you and your best friends

deadass if someone wants to change their tumblr icons so we can match hmu bc i'm 100% down with that

another pretty castle scene

SASSY MERLIN PLS

ok ik this is dumb to comment on because i feel like it's not tremendously hard to execute but i love the differences that colin made in regular merlin and fomorroh merlin. it's the best

they say it later in the episode but i find it hilarious how bad of an assassin merlin is

dude pls you're pouring poison in front of EVERYONE else?

BOG MAN. ok guys i'm calling you guys bog mans now.

ASLDJFALSDFJS THE JEALOUSY SCENE

i am cringey but laughing at the same time you don't understand why am i this childish

ok but arthur is being so sweet right here. i feel like he's not trying to be showy in front of gwen, i feel like he wants merlin to rest and that's so sweet. he's so patient right here and i love him

i miss the gwen and merlin friendship actually

dude merlin is roasting gaius so hard today

leon geeking out over weapons is so cute. omg he's such a tiny nerd i love him

laskjflasdfj THIS SCENE. this makes up for the stew jokes that i may or may not still be mad about

i love that the knights LITERALLY turn a blind eye it's actually hilarious

LOOK AT MERLIN BEING COMPETENT?? HE'S SO SMART WITH THE ARROW RIGGING THING

it's literally treason leon pls and you're laughing you're the best 😭😭

i wish we had a pervical back story arc

ok i think it's dumb that i laughed when merlin ducked but i stand by that

ok why do i feel bad for arthur a little. he's talking abt some semi-deep stuff. not deep deep but like, he's trying to ask for advice from his friend, his close advisor. he would've never talked to merlin like this is season 1-2 but here he is, talking about trust. and MERLIN is trying to MURDER HIM. yes. i admit it's a little funny when i'm just watching merlin trip over things and such, but when i listen to arthur talking i feel slightly sad

literallly. merlin's passed out on the floor and arthur doesn't even think anything is wrong

gwen's face when she knocked merlin out is so cute

oop. why is arthur standing in agravaine's door way like an absolute robot

cyes arthur. figure him out

i hate agravaine. i just want arthur to be happy. he's only trusting agravaine because agravaine is family.

stfu agravaine 'you're all that's left of my dear sister' SHUT THE FRONT DOOR

ok there's a repeat of the castle from earlier but i'll spare you

pls this bath scene is so awkward. tt not being able to trust anyone anymore and we're laughing at merlin but arthur's talking so sad and deep

pls this bath scene is so awkward. that's all the notes i have

again, i miss gwen and merlin

merlin is MONCHING on those berries. i'm craving berries now

ok but like. yk that pouch that gaius is using to make the forromoh dormant? what if merlin tucked it in his neckerchief as a precaution. i'm just saying.

aslfkjasdaskdjf the tavern

yall why did merlin have to stop his horse to drink the potion

i want the knights to have a cool band name or smth yk what i mean?

i like that merlin is still a little in the camelot red. it's not the same shade but yk what i mean

HAHA LEON AND PERCIVAL BEING PUSHED TOGETHER. I JUST KEPT ON SCREAMING SUBTEXT SUBTEXT

damn morgana wants RESUKTS. i dont blame her

the frist interaction with merlin and morgana in the hut is so awkward. pls.idek how to comment on it

deadass morgana's dress is so pretty.

magic fight! magic fight!

stfu 'rightfully mine' pls

hehe there's a leaf in his hair

ok i feel like i should've commented more on the magic fight but idk bro

so ik that colin was in this whole episode but it really only just now feels like merlin is here and i think that's fun

arthur is the cutest. i'm loving this dynamic you have no idea. i live live live live LIVE off banter. pls

guys i'm sad apparently i can only put 10 pics in a post but pls enjoy this one pic of arthur right here 😭

ok idk abt you but i'd love to hear jokes abt brass

agaragvaine pls die already

YOU'RE SUCH A PERV LITERALLY

GO

AWAY

NOW

dude that last scene was actually really pretty and i'm sad that i can't attach it now

anyways thanks for reading my long ass rambles. but i'll be back next week to the secret sharer i'll catch you on the flip side

[atelier-dayz]

On Skin and Melanin

As promised to @cacodaemonia​, here's my very unnecessary crash course on skin and melanin, because I'm a Ridiculous Nerd, and looking at skin microscopically was part of my job for almost 2 years before medical school and is now part of my job as a pathology resident. I tried to simplify this so hopefully it makes sense to everyone! 

So to start off, very basically, there are three layers of skin: 

Epidermis

Dermis

Hypodermis (aka subcutis or subcutaneous tissue)

Above is a graphical representation of the layers of the skin, from Wheater’s Functional Histology: A Text and Color Atlas by Barbara Young, Phillip Woodford, and Geraldine O'Dowd. (Figure 9-1) Don’t mind the other things labeled unless they interest you LOL

The epidermis is the most superficial layer of the skin, and the layer I'll be focusing on for the post so I'll come back to this shortly. The dermis is the supportive layer of the skin, where the collagen and elastin fibers are, which determines your skin's tensile strength, toughness, elasticity etc. The hypodermis is actually the fat layer below the skin and consists of mostly fat cells, blood vessels, and nerves.

This is what the layers of the skin look like under the microscope (stained with H&E, the principle stain used in histology):

(An aside for anyone curious about burns: a 1st degree burn is when the burn affects only the epidermis; a 2nd degree burn affects the epidermis and part of the dermis; a 3rd degree burn goes down through the epidermis and whole dermis; a 4th, 5th, or 6th degree burn involves the underlying fat, muscle, or bone respectively.)

Since this post is partially about melanin, back to the epidermis. As I said, the epidermis is the uppermost layer of the skin. It’s in contact with your external environment and thus acts as a protective barrier for your body to the environment.

The epidermis is also divided into layers from superficial to deep:

Stratum corneum

Stratum granulosum

Stratum spongiosum

Stratum basalis/basale (AKA basal layer)

(There’s another layer, but it’s only in thick skin so I won’t go into it here.)

Here’s what they look like under the scope:

The epidermis consists mainly of keratinocytes (skin cells) which continuously proliferate starting from the stratum basalis. As these keratinocytes mature, they’re pushed up to the surface (so the cells move from basalis → spongiosum → granulosum → corneum). And as they move up to the surface, the keratinocytes lose their contents (meaning they’re dead now) and flatten out into layers of keratin (otherwise known as the stratum corneum). Over time, the uppermost keratin layer is shed (hence the regular skin shedding you hear about), which maintains normal skin thickness.

Moving on, besides keratinocytes, other cells found in the epidermis are:

Melanocytes

Langerhans cells (immune cells)

Merkel cells (cells associated with sensory nerves) 

We’re going to ignore the latter two and focus on melanocytes! Melanocytes live in the stratum basalis and produce the pigment we all know as melanin. In the picture below, I’ve drawn arrows to a couple of them.

They can be tricky little buggers to find at times. Sometimes, we need to use special stains to identify them, just to be safe, like when checking for melanoma (cancer from melanocytes) following treatment. (Related but total side note, certain forms of melanoma can look like anything [like some other cancer I mean] under the scope and therefore can be very scary.)  

To simplify a somewhat complicated process, melanin is produced in an internal structure of the melanocyte called the premelanosome. Once enough melanin is produced, the premelanosome becomes a mature melanosome. The melanocyte donates its melanosomes and melanin contents to neighboring keratinocytes. The melanosomes and melanin in turn sit inside the keratinocytes on top of their nuclei, like little hats or umbrellas :D 

See picture below, (Me = melanin):

Image from Wheater’s Functional Histology: A Text and Color Atlas by Barbara Young, Phillip Woodford, and Geraldine O'Dowd. (Figure 9-6)

So to answer @cacodaemonia​’s question that started this whole thing, melanin is found in the keratinocytes in the stratum basalis of the epidermis -- when we’re talking specifically about melanin in the skin. (Melanin is also found elsewhere in the body, such as your eyes and hair.)

In the day to day, melanin production is triggered by exposure to UV radiation, and the donated melanosomes act exactly like a hat or umbrella and shield the cell's DNA from the radiation which could cause damaging mutations. And thus how tanning happens!

So what about skin color? I want to note that there isn’t a big difference in the number of melanocytes between light- and dark-skinned people, so someone light-skinned will have about the same number of melanocytes as someone dark-skinned. The difference is in the melanocytes’ activity level. (This distinction is something exams try to trip medical students up on.) Dark-skinned people have more active melanocytes, and as a result more melanin will accumulate in the keratinocytes at the stratum basalis. 

See the difference in melanin accumulation between various skin colors below:

(Here, the Fontana-Masson stain makes the melanin stand out especially well in black.)

(Del Bino S, Sok J, Bessac E, Bernerd F. Relationship between skin response to ultraviolet exposure and skin color type. Pigment Cell Res. 2006 Dec;19(6):606-14. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0749.2006.00338.x. PMID: 17083487.)

I’m sure many of you know this, but the large amount of melanin in darker skinned individuals helps protect against high sun exposure. However, this is not 100% protection! More melanin does not mean darker-skinned folk can’t get skin cancers! Use sun protection, everyone! (Sunblock, hats, umbrellas, etc!)

And on that note, I’m gonna end this talk here before I go on and on and end up on more tangents. If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them! :D 

[Endnote: Unless otherwise stated, the pictures I’m sharing are from my own collection saved from medical school! I’m sorry if the pictures don’t make sense or are hard to decipher. Histology and pathology involve a lot of distinguishing between colorful dots and smudges and a lot of creative ways of looking at things, and it’s definitely not for everyone LOL]

[helmihel]

Kurang Dari 100 Menuju 22. (I)

2022 sudah mulai menyapa, “Halo, sudah siap denganku? Kamu mau ngapain nih”.

Sedang asik-asiknya menikmati pekerjaan pertama lalu diingatkan bahwa status hanya kontrak dan tidak ada jaminan diperpanjang akhir tahun nanti. Betul, saya harus segera mulai bersiap-siap. Bersiap menghadapi segala macam ketidakpastian yang sebenarnya selalu ada setiap detiknya, tapi jadi terlalu terlena dengan dunia. Bisa saja kan besok tiba-tiba mati dan belum sempat membawa bekal apa-apa? Berbakti pada orang tua? Sedekah yang konsisten? Ibadah yang tepat waktu? Bacaan rutin dan tartil? Wah jauh semua ternyata coy.

2022 sudah mulai menyapa, “Kontrak mau berakhir nih, lalu kalo ga ada tawaran perpanjangan gimana nih? Kalo diperpanjang yakin masih mau ngerjain beginian? Udah mantep emang terjun di EdTech?” 

Well, sebenernya ga begitu kepikiran apa akan diperpanjang atau ngga, cenderung lebih bodo amat mungkin. Toh saya cukup percaya diri dengan modal apa yang saya punya, masalah kemampuan mah sangat bisa dilatih. Perihal dunia edtech ini, saya kepikiran terus buat bikin sesuatu yang belum ada, masalahnya adalah belum sempat dikerjakan. Lelah muncul lebih dahulu sebelum semangat membuat, dan kadang malah bikin menanyakan ulang “apa iya perlu bikin begituan?” , tujuan utamanya memang keuangan. Alasan kenapa UUD ya karena biar bisa menolong orang lebih banyak. Akan sangat disyukuri jika bisa sustainable. Sedikit mendisrupsi edtech indonesia dengan satu program ini lalu kemudian diakusisi dengan menukar kepemilikan perusahaan. Endgame nya ga jelek-jelek amat kan? Yah buat sampe titik itu perlu ekstra kerja keras banget karena akan dikerjain sendirian. Bukan karena ga percaya yang lain, lebih ke belum ada yang bisa dipertukarkan dengan tenaga teman-teman. Kalau merefleksikan lagi, jadi lone wolf kayak sekarang ini ga sekedar jadi aja. Tapi ya dari keseluruhan pengalaman hidup yang ngebentuk punya sifat begini. Meskipun sok-sokan ngaku lone wolf, kadang ngerasa kesepian juga sih hahahaha sial banget. Tapi yah cukup percaya diri sih, tingkat kemampuan survival lebih tinggi karena udah ga asing sama sepi. Terlalu melebar, oke balik lagi ke 2022 mau ngapain. Ya itu tadi, ekspektasinya bisa langsung jadi akhir tahun ini, alih-alih ga dapet perpanjangan bisa ngerjain proyek sendiri full dan mendisrupsi edtech di indo. Ga tau ya apa kenalan-kenalan di twitter ini baca tulisan ini apa ngga hahaha. Tapi ya gitu, ga semua hal dishare langsung. Kalo ada yang baca ini dan kemudian ngasih semangat, that would be very pleasing. Hahahaha. I would treat her/him like she/he does on the given words. Yang pertama bakal ngabulin “pengen gofood apaan?” at that time. I need someone to talk, to discuss, to share some of my thoughts. Segitu aja dulu, tulisan ginian mending dibikin series aja kali ya haha. Mayan buat refleksi menuju 2022, biar keliatan keluh kesah progress ngejain proyek ini.

[rwbyvein]

Firen Lhain:  Chapter 612:  Tin Woodsman:  Part II/III

The group filed themselves into the CIC. Ironwood looked over and pointed his arm at a room, and they all filed in. Ironwood was second to last, with Winter as the last. She closed the door, and typed onto a keypad.

"This room is under the highest levels of secrecy." Ironwood stated. "Nothing said in this room will leave this room, and not only will there be no records or recording, your scrolls will not be able to connect. Most of the people checked their scrolls, proving it was true. "For those have not met me in person, I am General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy."

Oscar slowly raised his hand, "Um... a General... AND a headmaster?"

"I hold both seats on the Atlas Council." Ironwood stated.

"The first one ever." Winter stated.

"Un-precedented." Weiss quipped. Winter developed a sour look and the sisters briefly glared at each other.

"This is Specialist Winter Schnee." James stated. "Yes, older sister to Weiss Schnee."

Nora raised her hand, "Special what?"

"ASOCU", (pronounced Ask), "Atlas Special Operations Command Unit."

"Ah-sok-u?" Nora asked, causing Ironwood to break an extremely mild smile.

"Huntresses." Blake said.

"Enslaved to the military." Jaune grumbled.

"Mr. Arc?" James asked him, "I can assure you..."

Jaune grumbled again, and Ironwood paused. "I suppose," Jaune said, "that in the name of full disclosure, I suppose I should tell you my story. I'm from a former knightly house." he said, and paused.

"But?.." Ironwood asked, "the knightly houses haven't exist since?.."

"The Great War." Jaune stated. "Do you know who ASKED us to disarm?"

"That would be the good king?" Ironwood asked.

"We called him Oz." Jaune said, and Ironwood looked at him with shock. "That's... basically how I acted when I found it out, too. Now, why were the knightly houses shuttered?" James Ironwood just stared at him. The look said he knew exactly what Jaune was talking about. "He felt that armies always lead to war. That's why the Huntsmen Academies were created, and why Huntsmen were... what now?"

"Traditionally?," Ironwood asked, "independant."

"This is why I'm so against The ASOCUs." he grumbled, and then looked at Winter, "It even put sister against sister."

"Me and Ruby fight all the time?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to guess," Jaune said, and looked at Weiss, "that the Schnee sisters don't fight."

"Rarely." Weiss stated, "Though when we do, it's not a pretty sight."

"It would be pretty cool." Nora said, and Ruby let out and affirmative huff.

"I can assure you..." James said, but Jaune held up his hand.

"I know you mean well." Jaune said, and Ironwood stopped in his tracks. "You might be one of the only people that does. And while I can certainly criticize some of the things you've been doing, I just brought this up so we know what page I'm on."

"Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Arc." Ironwood said to him, "It's good to get the air clear."

Jaune then looked around, seeing no one else wanting to say anything. He then looked to Ironwood and Winter. "I guess I'll do our introductions. I am Jaune Arc, this is Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, the survivors of team JNPR. This is Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, team RWBY. Next we have Aurora Ainsley, personal assistant to Weiss schnee. Ilia Amitola, a... friend?.. of Blake's from Menagerie. RWBY and JNPR received our letters-patent as Huntsmen and Huntresses." Each of them had voiced or voiceless affirmations after he said their name. "This is Qrow Branwen... who's as shifty as he looks."

"Hey?!" Qrow stated, "Don't forget I'm also a drunk!"

"Which," Weiss quipped, "seems to be happening less frequently..." and Qrow just glared at her.

"I've never gotten along with Schnees." Qrow voiced.

"Last by certainly not least," Jaune stated, "Oscar Pines." Oscar's eyes began to glow green, "The newest incarnation of the Great and Powerful Oz."

Oscar/Ozpin spun his cane about before leaning on it, "Sadly, the Great and Powerful part has not been true since before I was king. As it is, right now, I put tremendous strain on young Oscar's body at the battle of Haven, and am trying to limit my time. We will have to talk, James."

"I can explain!" Ironwood said to the boy, and Oscar/Ozpin just warmly smiled at him.

"I - know very well, that you can explain." Oscar/Ozpin said warmly. "But, I have gotten quite used to waiting, and we have a long journey ahead of us, so I believe I will allow beauty before age for the time being." Oscar's eyes reverted to normal, his stance weakened, and nearly toppled himself over.

"uh... hi?" Oscar weakly said.

"I'm so sorry about pulling you into this." Ironwood said to him, "If there was any other way?.."

Oscar then did his bet to mimic Ozpin, "These are the circumstances we have."

Nora then raised her hand, "Are you sorry about us?"

Ironwood rolled his eyes and smiled at her, "I gave you all a choice. While I was against involving your before your graduation, you have done everything you can to involve yourselves."

"What the hell was that?!" Qrow asked.

Ironwood shook his head and looked at Qrow, "What was what?" Ironwood asked.

"Are we sure it's not that green-haired girl?" Qrow asked, and reached for his weapon, and the air in the room suddenly tensed up. Qrow then pulled his fingers forward like a pistol and pointed them at Ironwood, pretending to drop the hammer and fire, "He actually smiled."

Ironwood looked around for a moment before looking back at Qrow, "This is hardly the time to..." he tried to say, but Ruby, Yang, Nora, and Taiyang were all laughing out loud. Blake was chuckling. Jaune and Ren were smiling. Weiss, Winter, and Raven were doing their best to not smile. "Apparently it is." Ironwood said and sighed.

"Alright, enough fun and games." Taiyang stated, "It's time for dad to say something."

"Dad?" Nora asked.

"Well," Taiyang stated, "I am dad to like five of you, so I invoke my right to dad taxes."

Weiss looked scared whereas Blake looked confused.

Ruby angrily pointed her finger, "Dad tax only applies to Dark Eventide!" Causing Weiss to look embarassed and confused.

"I think we're a bit old for a dad tax." Yang stated.

"What's a dad tax?" Nora asked.

"And married." Yang added.

"Dad taxes," Ruby said to Nora, "are an evil tradition where dads get to claim a portion of your candy."

"Do we have to pay dad taxes?" Nora asked. "I mean, he is our glorious leader. So, we're like his minions or something."

With this Taiyang sighed, "I'm so sorry you had to grew up without someone to explain the dad tax code you to. I'll do my best to make sure you don't get left behind any more."

"No one is paying dad taxes!" Yang shouted at her father, eyes and hair aflame.

"Still unbalanced." Taiyang said to her, and stepped towards his daughter. RWB_ and _NR around her stepped back to clear room for them to fight. Jaune then stepped in front.

"What the hell?" Yang asked.

"You're the one who taught her to be afraid of her emotions, aren't you?"

"And who are you?" Taiyang semi-jokingly asked him.

"Not everyone has to fight like you." Jaune said to him.

"And what do you know about how I fight?" Taiyang asked.

"I fought Yang." Jaune said.

"Fought?" Raven asked.

"Sparred." Yang said to her mother.

"I can see the direction you were pushing her," Jaune said, and then looked at Ren, "and so does Ren."

"You seemed to be pushing her to a soft style, when Yang's entire karma is about hard styles."

"It doesn't hurt to train in different styles."

"It does," Ren stated, "if it requires you to compromise your primary style."

"Alright, alright," Yang said, stepping between Jaune and Tai, "enought talking about me like I'm not here."

Jaune looked at Taiyang, "I'm sorry if I came off..."

"It's fine." Taiyang said. "It just proves how much you care about her, and how much she cares about you. If you want to make me happy, though?.."

"Dad..." Yang admonished.

"Just take care of her." Taiyang said, and Yang's scales flushed orange as she looked about nervously.

"In the spirit of?.." Raven asked, and paused, "I really don't know. I'm Raven Branwen, Yang's mother, and Qrow's older sister."

"We're not sure about one of those." Yang stated, and looked Raven in the eyes.

"She's still your mother." Taiyang said to Yang. "Even if you have... issues... with her... She's your mother, and you can at least show her respect."

"So long as she doesn't try to bake me cookies, or something." Yang said.

"That's my job." Aurora said with glee.

"Aren't you like... a banker... or something?" Yang asked.

"Being an executive assistant requires you to be a bit of a polymath." Aurora said with glee.

Ironwood took a step foward, and everyone looked towards him.

[sunshineseung]

ok hear me out, there’s a new group that 3Racha is helping debut and the maknae of the group is a huge fan or sumn. so since they’re debuting and getting help from 3Racha, they get to meet the other members of the group. which leads to the maknae freaking out cause they might have a crush on jeongin and it’s super awkward. maybe they’re socially awkward or anxious around new people. the group is probably really sweet to the maknae tho, always helping them with what they need, giving advice, etc. but y’know chan is starting to notice that they aren’t close to jeongin for obvious reasons. like innie tries to be close to them in public but it’s always awkward. little does chan know, both maknaes already know each other quite well and are probably lowkey dating. so chan is trying to get them together even though he doesn’t know, but one day he catches them having a cute at home date and they kiss or something. and chan wants to keep that he knows a secret, but this is chan we’re talking about. when he asks jeongin if he’s seeing anyone, he lies. anyway, what i’m saying is chan would go all detective on their asses and be protective as fuck cause he doesn’t want them to have a bad scandal or something. none of this made sense as i went with it, but i think u get it. 🙇🏽‍♀️

Damn Chan really said “Oh I’m curious yeah sajin sok niga sungan georeo nawa wae Oh I’m so curious yeah I’m so curious yeah”

I feel like Chan would be very worried about the rest of skz’s love life for some reason. Like obviously he lets them, especially Minho/Changbin, do whatever they want, but he’ll always be worried that they might get their heart broken or theyll miss out on dating someone, so when he sees that you and Jeongin would be a great match, he feels like he as to step in and get his youngest son laid! Although when he sees you guys being all cute and maybe kissing he’ll be like “did I do that?”

[coreastories]

Corean Awards Night: Was the queen hidden in plain sight?

This year, the Corean Awards Ceremony was held in the winter palace in Pyeongchang 

Usually held in Gwangyeongjeon Palace in Busan, the awards ceremony relocated to the mountains where the queen is currently recuperating from the car crash that shook all our collective knees on November 13

Ahjummas still haven’t recovered and there was talk whether or not the awards ceremony for November 29 would be postponed to a later date

But new invitations have not been issued

The Royal Public Affairs Office announced instead that the media and nominees are cordially invited to the winter palace for the Corean Awards Ceremony, with every change in transport and accommodation for this to be satisfied by the palace 

Who'd complain? 

Exclusively televised by the the Corean Broadcasting Service, this humble reporter didn’t really have to do much but enjoy being there

Gyeoulgungjeon, literally “winter palace,” was completed in 1926, a royal gift for the current king’s great grandparents on their wedding. It served as a recovery hospital during World War II. 

Security protocol doesn’t allow me to post photos of the palace, and you’ll find no aerial shots of it anywhere. For international readers who haven’t seen the televised broadcast, you can look at the Pillnitz palaces in Dresden so you have an idea of what Gyeoulgungjeon looks like, nestled in the snow-covered slopes of Pyeongchang. 

Gyeoulgungjeon has the same Baroque style, though more gracefully situated in the mountains, with a charming rustic landscaping to match the scenery rather than Versailles-formality

The Corean Awards Ceremony was both luxurious and casual. It was black tie, and almost all the men were in tuxes, but the king himself wore a simple black suit and tie rather than any of his grander uniforms and coats. 

We were seated in round tables with glittering candelabra. The banquet hall left plenty of space for camaraderie, and people were on their feet, switching tables, and mingling in a friendly atmosphere. It was an evening among colleagues and the best people in the fields honored in the Corean Awards, but there were no huge egos walking around. It was delightful. 

We were served delicious makgeolli, which I’ve been told was made right there in the winter palace. Aside from the sumptuous Corean and continental buffet, I also had a whole year’s serving of carbs in irresistible hotteok and bindaetteok. Gods. 

The new Corean Laureate in Medicine: Chae Song-Eun Seonsaengnim

We’ve mentioned before that more than half of the nominees were under 50. Many of them won. Every Corean Award winner was decided by the most renowned in their respective fields around the world. 

Go here for our coverage of the Corean Awards Winners 

Dr Chae Song-eun, the queen’s OB, won the Corean Award in Medicine for her pioneering work in in-utero surgery. The award was presented by Dr. Fouad M. Abbas, one of the top doctors of the world specializing in oncology and obstetrics-- one of the judges of Corean Award in Medicine, and among the special guests that night. 

In her speech, Dr Chae announced the prize money of 2 billion won is going to Daesang Medical Group, to support international surgery missions to countries and patients in need.   

DMG has the queen as patroness, and is headed by Dr Chae’s husband, CorGen Chief of General Surgery, Dr Lee Sok-jun. 

Dr Lee Sok-jun: “I’m very proud of her. But then she always amazes me every day. This is nothing new.”

Congratulations, Dr Chae! On your Corean Award and your husband! 

Confirmed: The Prime Minister has been staying in the winter palace

Rumors have been circulating, of course, because the PM is supposed to be in Seoul but she  hasn’t been there. She wasn’t in Cheongwadae either. 

We can now confirm: The PM has been working from the winter palace for the past week.

This too-close tie between the palace and the government has drawn some raised eyebrows from the international press (and some local dissidents from the Jinsun Party, but no one listens to the parties). Within the kingdom, however, it’s just an accepted and beloved fact that the queen and the prime minister are friends. 

They work together to the benefit of the kingdom, and these two are always in lists of the most powerful, most admired women of the world. 

The PM worked closely with the king and queen at the palace. It seems Their Majesties are tying up loose ends for the year and for the next, with the PM expected to take over some diplomatic duties until well into July next year. 

While we weren’t able to get a comment from Her Excellency, we did see her power walking in one of the palace’s service halls in her half-tux, half-tartan skirt outfit. Hmm. Not crazy about it, but not too bad either. 

After flashing that mischievous grin like the proverbial cat with the canary, she was both friendly and curt, and we didn’t press her. She did tell us she was leaving after the Ceremony.  

I would love to be a bug on the wall for the past week. I want to know the dynamics between those three! 

Speaking of three…

The royal love triangle was together again-- although one party wasn’t aware of it

Part of the fun and anticipation of the Corean Awards was seeing Gong Shin and his blatant crush on the queen. 

My assistant was shaking too much when she took the photo for this to turn out any good, and we’ve enhanced it as much as we could.

We met him on the way to Pyeongchang, and the Corean star was all smiles, saying he was looking forward to the evening with Their Majesties, and he was really glad the queen was well. 

I was quite sad for him that night. 

Before the sun went down, we were treated to the sight of the king arriving amid the Royal Guard. 

No queen until evening fell and the lamps lit up the palace. Shortly before the ceremony started, it was announced the queen was not attending. 

You’ve all seen this photo of Gong Shin with a flute of champagne in what looks like a dressing room in Gyeoulgungjeon. His expression does look a little forlorn.

Ahjummas are speculating it’s because he was disappointed about not seeing the queen. 

Now we have these low quality photos of the king, in a different room, in a different suit, with a different expression, looking rather amused and gleeful. And we know very few people who can make the king look so happy. 

The same ahjummas awww-ing over Gong Shin awww-ed over this, and speculate that the queen had entered that opulent room, or maybe the king had been told something good?  

The king seemed in good spirits during the evening. We have this breathtaking photo from the Royal Public Affairs Office, of the king now in the suit and tie he’d worn that evening. 

I feel like we've published the same photo before, but it's not the king's fault he looks the same bright eyed happy king he always does, is it. 

And along with that photograph, we received one other: 

Her Majesty the Queen, Corean Awards Ceremony, Gyeoulgungjeon

The label is succinct as always. So it looks like the queen did attend the Awards! We don’t know how they’ve managed to hide the queen, but the palace can be terrifyingly efficient like that. I’m just glad to see her even in this photograph. 

And of course it’s her right to watch without being obligated to present an award or be there for the guests. It’s Her Majesty’s prerogative. And perhaps Gong Shin is smiling at the discovery that the queen saw him present the award for the Corean Award in Film, yes?   

The Royal Public Affairs Office assures us the queen continues to mend. She will still be in a sling for another 2 to 4 weeks, and she has started therapy. I’m sure the queen is snug and absolutely getting the royal treatment-- pun intended. 

Now if only the Royal Public Affairs Office could add something to their labels to elucidate why the queen was hidden away, hmm? 

Ahjummas have weighed in on this, and said it was perhaps the old tradition of keeping the expecting mom away from the public as she goes past the first trimester, to protect her from jealous bad spirits. 

After that car crash, I can get behind that!

Stay safe, Your Majesty!  Stay tuned, dear reader. 

------------ With thanks to @ms-interpretation​ for the screenshot of the king and the Royal Guard. :)   If I added a watermark on a photo, it means I did some hard work on it that ate time, so the conceit of adding a watermark. Argh. Lol.