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lacroixqueen · 4 days

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embers and earth ch. 1 (zuko x jin angst)

Summary: jin finds out "lee" is actually firelord zuko, the new leader of the fire nation. angst and mental breakdown ensues

Word Count: 1.2k

Pairing: zuko x jin

Tags: angst, jealousy, yearning, prince x peasant

Author's Note: this was inspired by fan art but I for the life of me cannot find the artist's name just if you are out there just know you inspired this fic so thank u :v

Jin was absolutely furious the day that she found out.

She remembered being over the moon the night before when the Earth King announced that the Hundred Year War was finally over. That the fire nation inherited a new leader who would forge peace between all four nations at long last. She recalled sleeping a little bit more deeply that night. A sigh of relief. A breath of fresh air.

She even had a pep in her step when she ambled into the main marketplace of the Lower Ring in the morning. For the first time in her life, she didn’t need to worry about her safety. She remembered having to escape with her family when fire nation soldiers attacked her village when she was only a little girl. The fear in her father’s eyes. Her mother holding her tight and telling her not to make a sound when she cried.

But today was a new day. A fresh start.

She was picking out the ripest cabbage in the stall when she noticed a couple of Dai Li agents putting up posters around the square. She swore to herself she saw a glimpse of a face that looked all too familiar for comfort. She almost didn’t want it to be true. Because if it was, it would confirm too many questions she would stay up asking herself over and over again.

A small crowd was already beginning to form around one of the posters. She eventually elbowed her way through and made it to the very front. And there it was.

Firelord Zuko. Future of the Fire Nation. Forging an era of peace.

Except it wasn’t “Zuko”, or whoever that was. It was Lee. The boy with the scar from the tea shop. She reached out reluctantly, as if she touched the poster he would come walking off the page. She placed the tips of her fingertips over the purple scar that ran across his triumphant face.

But it’s not possible. Lee said he was of the Earth Kingdom. A traveling circus, was it? Now that she thinks of it, it did sound a little bit too barbaric to be real. But none of that mattered.

She was fascinated by him. She hung onto his every word. Even though it’s not like he had much to say in the first place.

After their date, she remembered how excited she was to see him again. She planned out an entire day with him in her mind, replaying the scenarios in her dreams like she was the director of a play. She recalled feeling a bit ridiculous about it, like some giddy fangirl. But she didn’t care. She had never wanted anything more in her life.

But surprise quickly melted into confusion, which devolved into anger.

How could he? she thought to herself, trying to piece together the puzzle but it still didn’t make any sense.

The last time she tried to reach out to him, she burst through the doors of the tea shop, wearing her heart on her sleeve and ready to confess her undying love to him, without so much of a care in the world. But he was gone. In the blink of an eye, tossed away into the wind.

“Where did he go?” she asked one of the workers, almost dissociated from reality.

“To the Upper Ring,” he replied, sweeping some dust out of a corner. “His uncle got a job offer to run his own tea business. The Jasmine Dragon, was it? Yeah something like that.”

She felt her own blood run cold. She would only ever occasionally venture up to the Middle Ring, but Upper? She wouldn’t stand a chance. She would be ushered out as quickly as she came in. Not to mention she had no idea where this new store was even located.

She was inconsolable for several days, of course, but in the back of her mind she knew she couldn’t cry forever. Because time heals all wounds, as her mother would say.

And she eventually moved on, even though there was always longing within her that she could never quite shake. An ache that pulsated every time she remembered that she would most likely never see him again.

Her thoughts were beginning to spiral at a rate of a million miles per second. Was he lying to her that entire time? Was that what he meant when he said “it’s complicated”?

She paused, her entire body frozen.

Was that how he lit up the lanterns at Firelight Fountain?

She couldn’t even process what was happening, but next thing she knew, she had already scrunched up that stupid poster, much to the crowd’s bickering and dismay, and shred it all up into several pieces.

Tears were beginning to bud at the bottoms of her eyes. So that’s it. He was a firebender this entire time. But why lie about it? Why keep something so important from her, when he knew how much the fire nation had hurt her family.

Why was she acting like some sort of dramatic schoolgirl? It’s not like they were officially together or anything. It was just one silly date. Why did it mean so much to her anyway?

She walked briskly home, attempting, but failing horribly to conceal her tearstained face.

She opened the door to her modest home, without even bothering to close it gently, and stormed up the stairs to her bedroom.

“Jin, were you able to get the vegetables I needed?” her mother called from the kitchen but she wasn’t even able to muster up a response.

She flung herself onto the cot splayed out in the middle of the floor, grabbing her pillow and holding it close to her chest.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, she kept telling herself. Why did she care so much anyway? It doesn’t even matter. None of it.

Lee or Zuko, what difference did it make?

He was still going to be a million worlds apart. Whether that was the Jasmine Dragon in the Upper Ring or the palace in the Fire Nation.

She could weep and yearn for her entire life, and then what? He would just descend into the dilapidated shacks of the Lower Ring and sweep her off her feet? She knew the chance of that happening was zero to none. So why hope? Why cling onto this tiny shred of faith that had no meaning otherwise?

She played with the thought a little bit, after all, she was a hopeless romantic at heart. But the fantasy dissipated as quickly as it formed.

It’s best to forget any of this ever happened, she decided for herself after an entire afternoon of contemplation. There’s no use in staying in the past. Besides, he probably never thinks of her these days. He’s busy running his own country, and creating a new era for the world.

After all, why would some Earth Kingdom peasant ever cross the firelord’s mind?

#atla #avatar netflix #avatar the last airbender #zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #atla zuko #jin x zuko #zuko x jin #zuko x reader #zuko fanfic #zuko fic #zuko atla #the gaang #atla gaang #netflix avatar

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lacroixqueen · 4 days

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I had a scientific theory I needed to sketch out.

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lacroixqueen · 1 month

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Hunter Schafer as Jules Vaughn in 'Euphoria' (2019) dir. Sam Levinson

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lacroixqueen · 1 month

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an unspoken attraction (ghazan x ming-hua fluff/smut, 18+)

Summary: Ghazan and Ming-Hua go to Misty Springs Oasis to stake out in search of the Avatar and find themselves in the pool.

Pairing: Ghazan x Ming-Hua

Word Count: 2kish

Tags: fluff, smut, childhood bffs, sexual tension, choking

Warnings: none

Ming-Hua scowled out the window as she hoisted herself up onto the small wooden stool that Misty Springs’s “deluxe suite” offered. The night wasn’t getting any younger, and she was already annoyed that Zaheer gave her the “stake-out” assignment instead of something actually worthwhile.

“Looking as radiant as ever,” a deep voice chortled from the back corner of the room.

Ming-Hua shot a nasty glare toward Ghazan, her irritatingly tall dark and handsome accomplice in the entire debacle. It’s not that he doesn't make smug comments like that all the time, but it was getting late and Ming-Hua was getting tired. Besides, she hadn’t eaten anything since the morning.

“Whatever,” she shot back. Not the best comeback, but. “This is the most pointless task ever. I doubt that the Avatar is even here. We got one tip from what, someone in the spirit world ? Give me a break.”

“It’s best to trust Zaheer and just go with it,” the lavabender shrugged off as he rose up from the creaky twin bed that was pushed in the corner. The bed shook as he lifted his weight off. “He sent us here for a reason.”

“I suppose,” the waterbender grumbled, looking down at her empty stomach. “Hey, don’t you think we can get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Ghazan replied as he shimmied over. “Here.”

He slipped her a small parcel wrapped in bamboo leaves.

“What is this..?” Ming-Hua asked, but was already beginning to undo the meager string that held the package together with her water hand. “And where did you even get it?”

“Stole it from the marketplace downtown from before,” Ghazan shrugged. “Knew you would start moaning and groaning about it sooner or later so..”

Ming-Hua’s face lit up when the tea leaves came apart to reveal a hefty portion of fried bean curd, one of her favorites. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get too used to it,” Ghazan said, crossing his arms across his chest. Ming-Hua took note of his muscled triceps and the veins and tattoo that striped over them. “We might not be able to get food for a little while after this.”

“Aren’t you going to have a bite too?” Ming-Hua suggested, breaking off a piece of the bean curd.

“Not hungry,” Ghazan replied, a little bit too quickly. “Just eat.”

The waterbender didn’t argue back, using her icy claw to bring the delicious cube up to her lips and enjoying her meal happily. But she knew he was lying. Ghazan was very subtly selfless like that. It was one of the things that made her fall so hard for him when they were just kids.

Ghazan stood close over her, leaning against the wall and slightly parting open the curtains as she ate. “You know..” he mused. “That pool looks mighty tempting right about now.”

“Absolutely not,” Ming-Hua shot down. “What if the Avatar sees us? We can’t just blow our cover like that.”

“Weren’t you the one who just said she’s not even in there?” the lavabender teased. “Besides, it’s the middle of the night. She’s probably asleep by now for fuck’s sake.”

Ming-Hua contemplated for a bit in silence. Ghazan had a point three, and she was definitely getting some major cabin fever from just sitting around all day.

“We could even skinnydip ,” Ghazan suggested, leaning over her shoulder. He placed his large hand gently over the back of her neck, caressing her skin ever so softly.

“We are not swimming naked,” the waterbender snapped back, slapping his hand away with her fluid arm. “People could just look out their window.”

“Doesn’t that make it all the more exciting though?” the lavabender chuckled, rubbing his hand.

Ming-Hua sighed, peering out the window. The Misty Springs pool actually looked somewhat appealing. The pool lights were on and the moonlight poured over the surface of the still water, which was ebbing gently with the warm breeze. It was practically beckoning her to dive in headfirst.

“Fine,” she finally relented. “But you go in first. I’m going to change. And don’t peek.”

“God, you’re such a prude,” Ghazan scoffed, already beginning to undo his belt and remove his clothes. “Besides, if you wanted to see me shirtless so badly, you could’ve just said so.”

Ming-Hua found herself mesmerized by the tattoos across his shoulder and neck, also unable to remove her gaze from his toned chest. She was so preoccupied she could barely summon a witty remark.

“J-just go!” she stuttered, flicking him with her water tendril. “You are so annoying.”

“I won’t say another word,” Ghazan smirked, grabbing a towel off the nightstand and flipping it over his shoulder. “Don’t take too long.” The lavabender was already out the door and cannonballing into the pool.

Ming-Hua let out another resounding sigh, looking at herself in the mirror and smoothing out some of the pleats in her clothes. She gradually began to remove her robes, stripping down to her bra and underwear.

She looked over her almost nude body once more, skipping over the blemishes and imperfections that she would rather forget. She liked her round hips and tight stomach. And how her long, jet black hair draped over her slim frame. Her teal, lacy bralette cupped her perky breasts just right, and her matching turquoise panties complimented her skin tone quite well.

She hoped Ghazan would think the same.

Shyly, Ming-Hua cracked open the wooden door to their dingy motel room and peered out towards the pool. Ghazan had his chiseled back turned to her, his elbows resting on the concrete ledge. Once he heard her tiptoe over, he turned his head around and flashed one of his signature grins.

“Took you long enough,” the lavabender teased.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ming-Hua replied, stepping gingerly into the still waters of the pool. Her tendrils gently dissolved into the water, and for the first time, she simply allowed it to happen. The temperature was cool, but not cold. The warm winds of the desert lightly brushed up against her skin.

“Well, why are you sitting so far away?” Ghazan asked, sliding slightly towards her.

“I feel alright here,” she snapped back, a little bit too quickly for comfort.

Ghazan rolled his eyes, scooping her up in his arms, carrying her over to the stairs that led into the pool.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” the waterbender cried, trying to wiggle out of his iron grip.

“Just expediting what’s inevitably going to happen,” Ghazan said with a hint of laughter in his voice. He gently sat down, placing Ming-Hua’s smaller body between his legs so they were both resting comfortably. The water level was swaying gently over their shoulders.

Ming-Hua pouted. “Idiot.”

“I know you want me, Ming-Hua,” Ghazan whispered softly. “You don’t have to keep fighting it.”

“Well, you make it too obvious sometimes,” Ming-Hua replied. Her muscles gradually relaxed, though, and she found herself leaning into Ghazan’s torso. She hadn’t felt this safe and quiet in a very long time. Not since before she went to prison.

Ghazan smiled as he felt her practically melt into him. He took note of how soft and supple she felt against his callused, hardened. skin. How she cradled so perfectly in his arms, and how she trusted him enough to let her guard down around him. It was an honor that Ghazan did not take lightly.

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes.

“So..” Ghazan interjected. “Do you ever think about what it would be like if things were different?”

“What do you mean,” Ming-Hua mused, her eyes closed. She felt the lavabender’s hand glide over her bare stomach and around her curved waist. She always felt at peace when she was surrounded by water.

“I mean.. if we never joined the Red Lotus. If life took us in a different direction,” Ghazan proposed.

“Hmmm..” Ming-Hua hummed, re-adjusting her position a little bit. “I suppose if that happened, we probably would have never met. I most likely would have been married off from a young age. Maybe become a healer.”

“Yeah?” Ghazan said, his hand gently moving its way over her chest to wrap lazily around her neck.

“Mhm,” the waterbender sighed. She secretly loved it when Ghazan would cradle his hand over her neck, or sometimes even squeeze slightly.

“I think I probably would have been a merchant. Or maybe a pirate if I felt like it. I don’t know. Things were very different back then,” Ghazan murmured, as he began applying some slight pressure around Ming-Hua’s throat.

The waterbender moaned quietly, molding her body even closer into his, her legs shuddering as he slowly began to choke her just the way she liked.

Ghazan planted a soft kiss in the curve of her neck, causing her to whine, harboring an undying need for him that she was all too familiar with.

“Ghazan..” she whispered. “We shouldn’t. People might see..”

“Then let them,” he reassured, continuing to kiss his way over her collarbone.

Ming-Hua relished in the feeling of Ghazan’s hot tongue piercing the sensitive parts of her skin.

“You really are too good at that,” she muttered, leaning further into him. Ming-Hua absolutely adored it when the lavabender would devote all his attention to her. Like the way he would grip his hands around her waist when he felt protective of her. Or how he would grunt and hold onto the headboard of the bed when she went down on him. And the way he would bend her over a table and begin pounding into her relentlessly, sliding his hand over the curve of her back while she cried out with glee.

“It’s because I know you, Ming-Hua,” he whispered into her ear. “I have known you very well for a very long time..”

His hand gently meandered its way down her abdomen and into her panties, two of his fingers hooking up and massaging her swollen clit.

To know someone. Ming-Hua played around with the thought in her mind. It was true. She and Ghazan practically grew up together. She joined the Red Lotus when she was young, when she barely even knew who she was. I mean, hell, they were just kids at the time.

Ming-Hua always harbored a sort of secret crush on him. He was a few years older, more talkative, more laid back. She always felt like a certain sort of darkness swirled within her. But Ghazan carried with him a lightness, an ease. He wasn’t so easily bothered by his past, or the current state of affairs, or any silly details that Ming-Hua liked to obsess over.

Ghazan was now stretching Ming-Hua wide open, his index and middle finger working expertly, churning inside of her and causing a jolt of electricity to ascend up her spine.

The waterbender lazily turned her head to the side, kissing him on the lips and resting her head into the crook of his neck.

“You know, we really should be keeping watch..” she murmured, glancing up at the darkened rooms of Misty Springs.

“I’d rather look at the stars,” Ghazan said, returning her kiss.

Ming-Hua rolled her eyes. Always so needlessly poetic.

“See that one?” the lavabender unwrapped one of his hands from around her neck, breaking the kiss, (much to her dismay), and pointed up at a smattering of stars in the inky night sky.

“Uh huh,” she replied, as if she was waiting for the punchline of a joke.

“That one is called Zhinu, and the one next to it is called Niulang,” he continued, carving out the contour of the constellations with his finger. “Zhinu was a weaver lady, and Niulang was a cattle herder. They ended up falling in love and neglecting their duties.”

“How romantic,” Ming-Hua yawned. She secretly liked how Ghazan took interest in these trivial things, though. She found it to be endearing. “Can we go inside now? It’s getting cold.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ghazan agreed, helping the waterbender up on her feet and guiding her back inside the room. Ming-Hua took note of how his hand never left her hips, almost as if he was transporting precious cargo.

“We don’t want you getting sick,” the lavabender teased. “After all, you do have the immune system of an emaciated child.”

Ming-Hua slapped him over her shoulder with her water tendril, drenching Ghazan all over again. He quickly bit his tongue, a lesson he learned all too well with the waterbender.

The pair spent the rest of the night drying off, warming up, and cuddling together, not a single worry wasted on spying on the Avatar. That would be a concern for the following day. Right now, the time belonged to them and them only.

#ghazan #ming hua #red lotus #p'li #zaheer #korra #legend of korra #avatar korra #netflix avatar #avatar netflix #atla #avatar the last airbender

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lacroixqueen · 1 month

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lacroixqueen · 1 month

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meet me in the pouring rain (ghazan x ming-hua fluff)

Summary: ming-hua doesnt feel pretty when she tries to do her hair. ghazan lends a helping hand.

Pairing: ming-hua x ghazan

Word Count: 1.3k

Tags: red lotus, korra, minghua x ghazan, fluff

Ming-Hua stared back at her own reflection in a crystalline puddle tucked in the corner of the back of the cave. The Red Lotus has decided to camp out for the night, since Republic City was still a few days away. Zaheer concluded that it would be best for them to rest on their laurels, even just for a little bit, instead of burning out before they even reached their destination.

Ming-Hua sighed, tilting her face this way and that, trying to find an angle in which she didn’t find herself to look absolutely repulsive. Needless to say, prison had aged her, both physically and mentally. Before being locked up for 13 years, she liked to think of herself as quite pretty by conventional standards, at least her face, that is. Long, silky jet black hair that reached her waist. Slim, but not scrawny. Dark, hooded gray eyes. Good bone structure. Demure, even.

But prison changed that. All of it. Ming-Hua tried not to think about how humiliating it was to slurp up slop from a bucket thrown into her cage like a dog. How the back of her throat was always itchy and dry, yearning for even a droplet of water. How slimy the warden’s hand felt when it lingered over her face for a moment longer than comfort.

But that wasn’t even the worst part. What made Ming-Hua’s stomach twist and turn into an unbearable knot were the guards. No. It was the things they would say. After her face transformed into a sunken version of what it once was, it was as if she became the punching bag for the projection of their worst insecurities. How they spoke about her like she was the ugliest, most pathetic thing in the world.

“Wonder why that hag has no arms..” one of them would spurt out.

“Look at its face! It looks like a skeleton on the verge of death!”

“As if anyone could ever love something that hideous.”

She tried to shake them off. Pretend it didn’t bother her the least bit. But she could only lie to herself so many times.

While lost in her thoughts, Ming-Hua tried her damned best to put up her stupid hair. She tried to fasten it into the half-up bun, her favorite hairstyle, with a thin branch she picked up from their journey earlier. But it was so flimsy that it wouldn’t hold it up no matter how hard she tried.

On the verge of tears, Ming-Hua flung the twig to the side of the cave. Whatever. It didn’t matter anyway. Who could ever want someone as undesirable, as grotesque as her. It’s not like fixing her hair into a bun would magically change anything.

“Don’t look so upset, sweetheart.”

A familiar, deep voice boomed from the mouth of the cave.

Ming-Hua peered over her shoulder out of curiosity only to roll her eyes and cross her water arms over the other.

“What do you want, Ghazan.”

“Always on the defensive,” he commented, stepping closer towards her. “I just saw an old friend in distress and wanted to cheer you up.”

“Yeah, well it’s a little late for that,” Ming-Hua replied, her voice glacial. She was trying so hard to fight back tears but they cascaded down her face as easily as a waterfall. “Just leave me alone.”

“Now why would I ever do that..” Ghazan placed his hands on either of her shoulders, massaging her tense muscles with the most aching gentleness she has ever felt. “You know, you don’t have to be so strong all the time.”

“Whatever,” Ming-Hua shot back, flicking away his hand with one of her tendrils.

“You know, I can always help you a little bit with that,” Ghazan said, gently scratching the top of her head. “If you want.”

“Fine,” Ming-Hua sighed in defeat, handing Ghazan a thin comb. He was always so good at bringing her guard down. “But don’t get your hopes up. I’ve tried everything.”

“So you underestimate my skill,” Ghazan smirked, taking the comb.

“No, I’m just being realistic,” she replied, easily combatting his witty remark. “It’s not like you are exactly the world’s greatest hair stylist.”

“Well, prepare to be surprised,” he said, carefully brushing through her long, inky hair. Ming-Hua tensed up at first, but relaxed momentarily. His ginger touch caught her a bit off guard. She half expected him to just yank it all back so hard he would rip off some hair. But there was a lightness to the way he moved. An ease.

Ghazan worked quite efficiently, gathering her smooth locks into his hands. He expertly sectioned off her hair into top and bottom halves.

“What are you doing-?” Ming-Hua asked, turning around, almost causing the sections to slip out of Ghazan’s hands.

He pulled her hair back firmly but not forcefully. “Stay still.”

She listened. Even Ming-Hua knew not to test his patience. Although Ghazan was very laid-back, when he was focused on getting something done, she knew not to get in his way.

Ghazan continued his skilled handiwork, twisting a piece of the top section into a bun. He quickly earthbended some nearby pebbles into two perfect stone hairpins.

He placed them between his lips while working diligently to fashion the bun into the perfect shape. When he was satisfied, he quickly slipped them into the bun to secure it properly.

Now, Ming-Hua would never admit this, but she was surprised. In fact, that would be putting it lightly. She always thought of Ghazan as a meathead earthbender who only knew how to smash boulders and bring down mountains with his lava. So watching him craft together a delicate hairstyle was not something she would have predicted to come from him at all.

“Are you almost done?” she muttered impatiently, raising an eyebrow.

“Now, now,” he said. “You can’t rush art.”

Ming-Hua rolled her eyes so far up into her head. But she also couldn’t help but crack a smile. And she caught herself. It was probably the first time she had genuinely smiled in years.

Ghazan was just adding the finishing touch by taking a lock of hair adjacent to the bun and braiding it. He then proceeded to wrap the new braid around the bun, encircling it around like a crown. He finally took the last stone hairpin between his lips and secured the braid to the bun. “There. All done.”

Ming-Hua hesitated for a moment before freezing the end of her water arm to form an ice mirror. She looked into her reflection skeptically, tilting her face from one angle to another. She contemplated. And Ghazan waited patiently.

She was needless to say, shocked. For the first time in a long time, she actually felt and looked pretty. She appreciated how Ghazan knew her favorite hairstyle like the back of his hand. How she preferred to have a few strands of hair dangle over the side of her face. And how she liked to use two hairpins, not just one. The braid was a bit out of the ordinary, but she thought it was a nice touch.

“It will do for now, I guess,” she murmured softly.

“You are welcome, by the way,” Ghazan smirked, dusting his hands and standing up.

“Th-thank you,” Ming-Hua sputtered out. “For doing that for me. You didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. He knew she was always so prideful, so even mustering that sentence was a lot for her. “Now let’s go get some grub. I’m starving.”

Ming-Hua hoisted herself up and followed behind him out the cave without another word. Now, she would never admit this to him, even if she were held at gunpoint. But something about Ghazan’s presence always brought her a level of comfort.

#korra #legend of korra #atla #avatar the last airbender #ming hua #ghazan #red lotus #white lotus #fluff

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