#this time its brown hair yue

[06sunnybunny06]

How he loves (Jun Lee)

Jun Lee's love is as traditional as he is. As the god of contracts, he has seen enough human relationships. It was also not without marriage contracts. Couples in love looked at each other with burning eyes and confessed their love almost every minute. But to feel it on your own skin, another conversation....

You are an adventurer from Mondstadt who came to stay in Li Yue. You were seduced by the traditional dishes, music, as well as the history of the region. One windy evening, when the leaves were falling in gold on the stone path. You sat down at a small table in the open air. The eyes of the people were directed towards the narrator, who, waving a fan, told the legend of the Lord of the Stone.

- May I join you? The other tables are occupied. - The man with brown hair smiled gently at you, asking for permission.

You gestured to the next chair-of course.

He nodded gratefully, taking a seat.- From your clothes, it can be said that you are not a local.

You nodded, yes. I'm from Mondstadt. It was interesting for me to look at the culture of other countries. To begin with, colleagues recommended visiting Li Yue.

- So you're a traveler?

- It's interesting to watch something new. In Mondstadt, legends are usually sung by bards in taverns or on the main square. But coming here, you might think that you found yourself in a completely different world.

- The culture of all regions has been different since the most ancient times, when the seven archons began to rule each his own people. But legends can sometimes be interpreted incorrectly, distorting its true meaning." he watched the narrator, sipping fragrant tea. - The true meaning of this story is not about the war, but about the salvation of the human race.

You looked at him, puzzled, then at the narrator. Was he listening all the time while you were chatting? - I'm sorry. Do you know how this legend ends?

He put his mug down on the table-Yes. Similar tales are repeated day after day. Many people may choose the wrong words or tilt the topic in a completely different direction. From which the whole meaning changes.

You listened to his version of the story with curiosity. He spoke the language well and looked aesthetically pleasing enough for a gentleman of local origin. He also liked your curiosity and endless questions. You could sit like this for the rest of your life, but time had its effect on people. It's time to go to bed. This gentleman introduced himself to you as Jun Lee. It turns out he was famous for his intelligence. Someone called it a walking library. Even the people of the older generation could not combine with his aesthetics and love of culture, as if the Lord of the Stone himself had blessed him.

The man did not leave you, offering to take a walk. It seemed to you that this acquaintance would remain within the limits of friendly conversations. And so it was, until the environment began to look at you as a couple. This was expected, given the close relationship between a man and a woman. You didn't give in to it because you weren't sure how he felt.

Over time, Jun Lee began to bring everything from flowers to small gifts to your meetings. He himself did not expect such gestures, but for him, as an archon who left his post and vowed to lead an ordinary human life, it should be the norm to start a relationship with a person.

This decision was very difficult. Immortality does not combine with an ordinary mortal soul, but if you think about it often, you can stay completely alone and go crazy. Right? Before it is swallowed up by Erosion, it is better to have time to enjoy your still stable life to the fullest. And so began the love story of a mortal girl with an immortal dragon.

His concept of love is traditional, which means there are no events ahead of their time. You still need to get to know his real self, and for this the human psyche must be ready. No one wants to wake up with a huge lizard in a small room when your loved one was lying there before. He should also trust you.

If your reaction to his true parentage is negative, then it will break his heart and he will leave you with a heavy burden. It seems that this is how it should be. That's fate....

But if the reaction remains positive, moreover, you will love him even more, then you will leave him no choice. He will melt in your arms.

Being in a relationship with the archon himself is scary, actually. This is a comparison of heaven and earth. Who would have thought that the Lord of the Stone himself would start dating an ordinary person? The concept of God for man is something powerful. Humans cannot understand their beings, just as the gods cannot understand humans. You asked yourself similar questions at first, but when Jun Lee was lying on your lap and almost purred from your stroking. All the questions immediately flew away on their own. Maybe gods and humans are not so different?

Kisses are mostly chaste. He usually likes to touch your forehead, temple, or hands with his lips. A real gentleman. You can't say anything, but this side of him is only shown in public. Indoors, it allows you to touch you more intimately. His kisses can be more sensual, longer. Until you finally suffocate from his love, he will not leave you.

His playful side and even possessive side don't show up often, but they are there. It's normal for a dragon to have treasures. His house is full of rare precious things and you are one of them. As strange as it may sound. - * All the jewels belong to me, my love*

When it comes to jealousy, which is also not a common occurrence. He trusts you, and trust is the foundation of any relationship. If it so happens that some impudent person claims your heart. Jun Lee calmly takes you aside, ignoring the outraged shouts. The main thing is your safety, and it is above all.

Speaking of security. You are a human being and your body is very fragile compared to it. So for your own safety, be kind enough not to stab yourself. If you're going on guild assignments, be prepared to feel someone's eyes on you. Xiao never sleeps....

What about intimacy? This is a level of trust that you must overcome together. In the past, Jun Lee would have been very liberated....he knows all about sex. If it used to be a common thing, now there is you. An innocent little flower that can be broken by carelessness. First, you have to be ready to accept it, and then everything will go by itself. He's trying to be careful.

His patience is a quality he prides himself on, so trust him. Well, if you want more. Well, you asked for it. His resilience is amazing. Therefore, while you're lying on the bed, you're exhausted. He will meow in your ear, offering to relax a little more.

You wondered when he often forgot his wallet. Why are there so many precious things in his house, in your gifts? Jun Lee only replied that the item was borrowed or a good friend helped him buy it. You mentally felt sorry for his friend, knowing how much your lover is absent-minded when it comes to money....He takes the best of everything, but he doesn't know how to bargain at all......

If his wisdom was worth the money, you would have been rich long ago...

Also, do not forget about his employment. Jun Lee is an exemplary citizen, and all citizens must work to survive. There are days when he is immersed in a routine. All this effort will be for the two of you. So that you can have a normal life. So you'll have to put up with being alone for a while.

There is one big BUT - time. You'll get older over the years, but he won't. Your mortality will win this battle by leaving a man at your grave. Jun Lee assures me that if necessary. He will stay with you forever, even after your death, his thoughts will return to you and he will not regret anything. Someday the time will come and he himself will be where all his colleagues and friends are now. You will wait for him and then you will definitely be together forever, even if not in this world....

#genshinimpact #headcanon #headcanonygenshin #genshinheadcanons #genshin_impact #Zhongli #zhongli #Genshin impact #zhongli x reader #zhongli genshin impact #genshin impact zhongli #genshin

[fanfic-gremlin-ft-trauma]

I've been cooking this one up for a while but early 90s (like set between 91 to 92) college au. Mai, Suki, and zuko are goths who does sokka's makeup every chance they get. they would chilling in sokka's dorm, and Mai would be like "someone hand me the white face paint".

the rest of the gaang + azula/ty lee is still in high school. they're doing a HS trip of the college. azula sees zuko and Mai eating lunch. she gets the attention of the tour guide, points at them, and says "I want THEM to tour us." also azula loves calling Mai and zuko, "Gomez and morticia".

she also does not hesitate to call zuko 'koko' in public and she will do it every time she sees him.

when toph is bored, she likes to fuck around with katara's answering machine at the ungodly hours of night. like when all the tv goes off (bc back in those days, the TV literally turned off. like It was just static), she'll call her, knowing she won't answer and just fuck around. katara would like wake up to fifteen messages on the answering message, all from toph. half of them are just her rambling about random ass shit, and the other half is jokes. Gran Gran would be like "your friend surely does talk a lot."

yue comes into town. she ends up going to the college and meets sokka, whom she becomes friends with. she's really heavily impacted katara's sense in fashion and makeup. yue's fashion & makeup is inspired by the 60s and 70s. she wears a lot of flowy dresses, skirts, and shirts. a lot of white, light blue, and other light colors in the blue family. yue teached katara some brown girl makeup hacks bc she knows how hard it is to find makeup for brown skin. she used to take katara shopping too like she was like the big sister she never had 😭

then zhao did some shit and yue & her family had to move.

SO SOKKA HAD A CAMCORDER WHICH WAS HIS DAD'S AND HE USES IT TO RECORD RANDOM SHIT AND DAY TO DAY LIFE 😭. one of the tapes was sokka and zuko trying to bring up their TV up the stairs since they just brought it. suki was recording. sokka's hand slips and the tv goes down the stairs and breaks. it just gasps and a beat of slience 😭.

and POLAROIDS. SO MANY POLAROIDS.

NDJISNDCNUOXSANUAOXSXNOSAUONAXSUUONASXNUO YOU GENIUS YOU INCREDIBLE HUMAN EATING THIS SHOVING IT IN MY MOUTH THROWING UP!!!!

ohhhhhhhh this gives me so many ideas. I could rave about every single one of these. Katara yue Bestiesm yes pls sharing makeup + fashion ideas would be so them. The 90s college vibes in fic are always immaculate and THIS. Sokka would absolutely use a camcorder ohhhhh I can see it. Nothing has ever been more canon than that. Him recording so many little fun aspects of their life and he gives it as a present to the friend group- like a lil memories vhs thingy. ALSO THE POLAROIDSSSS YES YES. omg that’s immediately reminding me of the wonderful @petricorah ‘s All Time art of modern au zukka in a Polaroid. I need more vibes like this I’ll invest actually.

Also thank u for truthing abt Zuko mai and suki gothism bc it’s so important to me. Also that toph and katara anecdote IM ROLLINGGG. SHE WOULD 💀. like she is such A Little Shit and would make Katara’s life hell (also god forbid in a modern modern au someone gives her discord. she’d abuse the /tts command to its full potential.)

Also omg Gomez and morticia so true bc mai is the hot unbothered kick ass goth lady and Zuko just. follows her around. adores n admires. as he should.

oh and I saw this addition and wanted it to be in the same post cuz. it’s just so amazing I’m LAUGHINGGGG

THIS IS SO CANON SO TRUE THEY WOULD DESTROOOOYYY EACH OTHER FOR THOSE YEARBOOK PICTURES. and like. what’s funny is Zuko’s one is kinda canon. Iroh absolutely did his hair in hs bc that boy was an awkward mess and had no time to worry about his appearance.

this is literally giving me life omfg thank u for this

#asks #sofia speaks about herself #atla #princess-irene #<- you’re just gonna get ur own tag cuz atp you’re feeding my hyper fixation and deserve recognition #literally obsessed obseeeeessed w this I’ll die actually #thank u for these asks like I don’t think u understand #had such a shit day this made it 1 million times better #atla hcs

[mooncakes-and-mochi]

Mikusagi 🌑 Tsukino

━━━ ･❪ ☾ ❫ ･ ━━━

🌙The Moon Witches:

…Moon Witches…Moon Spirits…

•Find themselves decorating their sacred space with Moon aesthetics

•Often wears jewelry and clothes that incorporates the Moon

•Physically feels the phases of the Moon and it can affect their emotions

•Dream divination is their way to receive insight and vision

•Moon witches are sometimes referred to as Lunar witches and center their witchcraft around the moon phases

•Moon witches gather strength and magic from the Moon and the dark, glittering twilight of each night

•They also tend to enjoy working with the element water and working with the subconscious mind

━━━ ･❪ ☾ ❫ ･ ━━━

🌙Characters based on:

🌙Fictional Characters

Greek Goddesses of Moon and Night(Nyx+Hekate)

Nagatoro

Blanche

Power

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Alice in Wonderland

Ochaco Uraraka

Usagi Tsukino

Anya Forger

Tinker bell

Hermione Granger

Katniss Everdeen

Katara

Yue

Tomie

━━━ ･❪ ☾ ❫ ･ ━━━

🌙Characteristics:

19|she/her|Bi🌙

Hot-headed

Chaotic energy

Cries way to easily

Aggressively wicked

Childish but trying to mature

Lives in her own world at times

Has a hard time trusting people

Is very confident-vain-sure of herself

Needs violence and chaos at all times

Doesn’t know the meaning of boundaries

Extremely powerful on nights of the New Moon

Goes by Miku🔮

Miku is a moon child who loves the night

She can easily read someone else’s secret emotions and desires by just observing them in a short amount of time

She exploits this gift by manipulating them to do things she desires

Although she is very clever, she easily gets sidetracked when her imaginative thinking reaches unrealistic levels, which makes her manipulative nature over others fail at times

And though Miku will call herself evil spirited, she is still fiercely loyal and affectionate to the people she truly cares for and loves

🌑Dead Moon🌑

Miku is the dark moon Witch also known as a dead moon Witch

She doesn’t fully understand her powers but receives dreams about her mother spontaneously through the years, which slowly makes things clear for her

Her mother was a powerful Moon Witch but died after trying to protect her other daughters from unknown reasons but is now Serenity, the Goddess and Queen of the Moon

Miku’s mother still watches over her using the crescent scar on her face

Has four older sisters she recently found out about and is closest to her oldest sister Serena

Miku reminds all her sisters so much of their mother

🩸Dark Form/Alter Ego🩸

Mysterious form

Caused by a Total Lunar Eclipse

Becomes the Blood Moon Witch

Becomes her most powerful form

🌙Loves and Hates:

•Loves cats

•Loves chaos

•Loves singing

•Loves Moonshine

•Loves everything mochi

•Loves water and the ocean

•Loves to create and drink moon water

•Loves romance and the concept of love

•Loves basking in the light of the moon

🌙

•Hates famous people

•Hates ordinary people

•Hates overly preppy people

•Hates who ever killed her parents

•Hates ordinary spellcasters/sages

•Hates people who hates cats and animals

🌙Appearance:

Miku has brown skin and has dark black hair with multiple streaks of dusky gold, darkened reds, and bright silvery white running throughout her strands

She has one silver/white eye and one black/crimson eye

Has many scars from childhood that she shows off with pride

Has a mark on her face shaped as a crescent moon since as long as she can remember

Miku has no idea of its meaning or how she even received the mark in the first place

This mark causes her to be obsessed at an early age with anything that has to do with the moon

Color Scheme - Black and Crimson and Silver and White and Metallic Gold

🌙Backstory:

🌑Miku🌑

🌙Mikusagi was born from a total solar eclipse that was created by her mother and father, Serenity and Dymion, the Goddess and Queen of the Moon and the Guardian and King of the Sun. This makes Miku immortal after a certain age and not born from earth like her sisters, except Kata, whose also immortal.

🌙Miku doesn’t remember her earlier years much, all she remembers is ending up in different orphanages and always being treated differently by others. She was forced to be an outcast by her so called peers until she runs away at 16 to try to live on her own. 

🌙Using her unique gifts to her advantage, Miku became a savvy business woman at the young age of 16. However, her evil-spirited nature always creeps up on her and forces her to relocate when she gets herself in trouble.

🌙Now at 19, she finds herself at a town called Forgotten Hollow, where she plans to start anew once again and set in motion her customary "Business".

🌙Things we’re going smoothly like always. Miku was loving this small dark and shadowy town, especially when she meets Stabastian, one of the local townies.

🌙However, as it is fated in the stars, Miku’s life will change drastically when Stabastian makes a permanent place in her heart and opens her eyes to a new mysterious world that was always here…

🌙Family:

•Serena🌕

The oldest sister of Miku's mother

The Full Moon witch

Motherly figure to Miku

•Iana🌘 Emis🌖 Ollo☀️

Middle

Iana is the Light Crescent Witch

Emis is the Dark Crescent Witch

Together they use the aura of the full moon

Ollo is the Solar Witch (Thinks there Special)

Iana is childish like Miku

Emis is serious and practical and puts Miku in her place when needed

Ollo is a mix of both

All three have middle child syndrome

•Heka🌗

The Youngest sisters

The Half Moon Witch

Relates to Miku the most

[ducktollers]

ID in alternate text

i forgot that parkas are usually pullover and dont open in the front please pretend that u do not see it <3 anyways space heater gf

#yueki #tryin out the alternate text this time 🤔 #not super happy w how this turned out but im posting anyways cuz wlw rights #ANYWAYSSS i am always pushing an agenda in my art #usually its giant hoodie zuko #this time its brown hair yue #brown hair is so lovely i think she deserves it #im sure its not culturally accurate but i had her braid in sealskin strips as ✨homage✨ to white hair #the sealskin and earrings r inspired by anouapik on instagram if anyone is inchrested #OH and also soft jawline chubby cheeks yue #i hope it comes thru i think she is so cute #small buff gf and tall soft gf #dont look at this

[lilacmooon]

Angstpril 2022 - Day 2: Can't Go Home

It was the middle of summer, but Lin felt so cold as she stood on Kyoshi Bridge, overlooking the placid waters of Yue Bay. Mist hung heavily in the air -- punctuated by the glittering lights of the city at dusk. It was a dull and gray sort of twilight tonight. Almost as if the Republic itself knew that one of its founders was now gone.

Unsure of what to do with herself, Lin walked the outskirts of the city aimlessly. In a complete and total daze. Her mother and Suki were working tirelessly, trying to find the people responsible. Toph hadn't been home in nearly two days. The sudden death of Sokka had rocked them all. Other than taking care of her little sister, Suyin, Lin was at a total loss of how to help. Tonight, after she had put Su to bed, Lin had went out for a walk, desperate to try and clear her head. Now, she found herself down at the docks, the ferry to Air Temple Island long gone for the night.

Their monthly family dinner was supposed to have been today, she suddenly realized. It would have been her Aunt Suki's turn to cook. Her Uncle Sokka, most likely, would have been organizing his usual old covert operation of stealing extra dumplings with Kya and Lin. Like he had since they were children. They had always been their favorites and Suki made them best. Lin felt a small smile tug at her mouth at the memory but then a tear fell down, rolling over her lips, breaking the once easy motion.

Part of her wanted desperately to travel over to the island, like she normally would, to see the others. Check on them? Offer her comfort or condolences? But she felt rooted in place. More than anything she wished she was old enough to be on the force already. So she could help her mother find who did this to her uncle instead. There was so much rage and restlessness burning intensely, just under her skin. It was impossible for her to concentrate on anything else. She was going utterly insane, trapped in this sickening, agonizing stillness. More tears sprung to her eyes, her face growing hot, as she flailed with the internal frustration. Paralyzed with indecision and grief, her chest tightened painfully and her breaths huffed out wildly as she tried frantically to compose herself.

"Lin?"

The sound of her name came broken and weak through the haze of the summer fog and the pounding of her blood in her ears. She turned around to find Kya standing there, tears streaking her own face too.

"What are you doing out here, Linny?" Kya asked, her voice shaky and thick. Lin's heart clenched as she watched her swipe at her face, trying feebly to dry it. "Are you alright?"

Was she serious? She was asking Lin if she was okay right now? What about her? When Kya reached out to her gently, concern splashed across her face, Lin surged forward, wrapping her up in her arms. She tangled her fingers in her thick, long brown hair. Buried her face into the warmth of her neck. Kya's heart fell even further when she felt the wetness of her friend's tears on her skin. The subtle, ever-controlled shake of her body so close to hers. And she broke.

"It's horrible at the temple, Lin. My mom...I've never seen her like this before. My dad is trying his best to be there for her but..."

"Kya." Lin choked back her own emotions as she held her friend while she started to cry quietly. She pressed her lips to her temple, squeezing her eyes shut tightly against the tears. "I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what's worse. The anguished sobbing or the silences between." Kya whispered shakily. Her hands grasped, firm and urgent at Lin's back, gripping at the fabric of her shirt. "I can't go home. I can't be there anymore. Not right now. I had to leave but I have nowhere to go. Please, Lin."

"It's okay." Lin soothed her, stroking her hair and taking her hand in hers, sealing their intertwined fingers between them as they embraced. "I've got you."

They walked back through the city together, taking their time. It was as if they both could sense what the other needed in that moment. The same thing they had both sought out tonight. Fresh air, the humming noises of a sleepy city, and the comforting isolation of a foggy and humid summer night, pressing in around them.

It was late when they made it back to the Beifong apartment. Lin led Kya silently to her bedroom, weary and forlorn. An unexpected part of her was grateful not to be alone. They changed out of their city clothes, Lin lending Kya something of hers to sleep in. As Kya dressed, Lin pushed down the covers of her bed and opened her window to let in the cool night air. She laid down, tucking Kya easily into the curve of her body when she joined her. Kya let herself soften, soothed by the feather light threading of Lin's fingers through her hair. And the rhythm of her breaths against the crown of her head, lulling her to sleep.

Nothing, not for a long time, would ever ease this pain they harbored, poignant in their hearts. For now, though, it was enough just to allow themselves to hold this grief together.

#angstpril2022 #tlok #kyalin #lin beifong #kya II #sokka #suki #toph beifong #aang #katara #and cause i always have a song with my writing here's this: #seastroke - wyldest

[lphoenixspiritl]

Artist: unknown - could not find, even via reverse image search :( There was a knock at the door, "The carriages are ready my Lord." a voice spoke through the closed door.

"Thank you." The Fire Lord himself called back.

"I have to go." she told him quietly.

"I know." he folded her into his arms gritting his teeth against the dull pain that spread through his chest. Was it from the nearly fatal blow he took to save her life or was this what it felt like to have your heart crack in two? He wasn't quite sure.

"You could stay." he whispered against black brown waves.

"He needs me." her words cracked as she spoke them.

She had already broken her promise not to cry.

"I need you." Zuko pulled her tighter as he fruitlessly prayed to Agni to never have to let her go.

Katara pulled back from him and brought a hand to his scarred cheek. Tears streamed down her face as she searched his golden eyes for some way to make this hurt less.

"You belong here." she gave him a faint smile, "You are strong Zuko, you'll be a great Fire Lord, I know it."

"I can be a great Fire Lord with you by my side." he nearly pleaded.

Katara shook her head, "You have your destiny and I have mine." She placed her hands on his chest trying to steady herself. Doing her best to anchor herself against pain of her rending heart, "There's so much more to do, the world, it needs us. We can't. Not right now."

But someday.

Pressing a kiss to her temple Zuko gripped her shoulders and rested his forehead to hers, "Even though we didn't end up together, you'll never change the fact that you changed my life forever."

Zuko watched as her tears continued to fall trying to memorize every detail of her while he still could.

Somewhere, Katara found a spark of bravery among the tears that threatened to drown her. Standing on her tiptoes she fisted the silk of his tunic in her hands pressed her lips to his. She poured everything she felt for him into that kiss and prayed to Yue he understood how much of her heart he held in his hands.

The kiss felt like being struck by lightning all over again. Thrilling, powerful and over almost as soon as he  realized that it had begun. She hugged him close one last time.

"I have to go." she reminded him.

"Come back to me." Zuko pressed one more kiss to her forehead before he unraveled her from his arms and let her go.

He dropped his head in his hands as the door shut behind her. The ache in his chest was replaced with heavy void of nothingness. The dark ruin was all that was left of where the shards of his broken heart had left on the tides with her.

…

The ship pulled into the docks nearly a day too early, much to the captain's chagrin. An eager waterbending master was to blame for their premature arrival. He swore she would have jumped off the bow and swam the rest of the way if she could. The young woman hefted her knapsack onto her shoulder and all but ran toward the gangplank. Somewhere on the dock a hooded figure spotted the blue painted canvas bag and long black brown waves dash onto the dock. He gripped the leather reins willing himself to stand still.  If he drew any attention to himself he risked being discovered. If Suki found out that he had snuck out again, she'd make him eat her fan, both of them.

Katara scanned the crowd and her stomach dropped. The royal guard wasn't here and there was no Kyoshi green and gold among the sea of red either.

No one was here.

Had she sent the messenger hawk too late? In the wash of sunlight the back of her neck prickled making her turn around. Across the dock stood a hooded figure near an ostrich horse. She'd recognize him anywhere, even in that pathetic excuse for a disguise. He had gotten taller, his shoulders had broadened and his inky black hair was almost as long as hers. Their time apart had been good to him. Wasting no time, she strode across the wooden planks of the dock doing her best to not break out into a run.

Dropping the reins he reached out and pulled her close, wrapping her familiar form in his arms.

"You're back." he whispered against her black brown waves.

"I'm back." he could hear the tears in her words.

He drew her impossibly closer, "I missed you." he murmured in her ear.

Katara pulled back and brought a hand to his scarred cheek. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she searched his golden eyes. The scared young Fire Prince was gone, in its place stood a confident Fire Lord. She couldn't be more proud.

"I missed you too." she gave him an elated smile despite the tears streaming down her face.

You have your destiny and I have mine In four years she had changed the world, there wasn't a corner of the globe she hadn't visited. At every stop, she had left things better than she had found it. Her small efforts had multiplied and the nations were better for it. He would forever be in awe of her.

Katara gripped the linen of his cloak trying to anchor herself. A part of her was scared that this wasn't real. That she would once again wake up and find herself in some far flung town, alone. But calloused fingertips brushed her cheeks and warm lips pressed kisses to her temples. The warm sun and balmy air clung to her skin, they were really here. They were finally together.

Come back to me

Zuko looked at the woman in his arms and brushed a lock of hair from her face. Leaning into her, he did the one thing he had waited one thousand four hundred and sixty nights to do. He kissed the woman who held all the pieces of his heart.

It had been four years since she left the Fire Nation. Four years of reminding herself that they were under the same moon, of putting her heart on hold. It took four years for her to return and this time, it was to stay.

#zutara #zuko #katara #fanfic #story #storysnippet #i'm sorry #don't cry #avatar #zutarian #ficlet #zutaraficlet

[alextir-creates]

Sukka Fankids by Tigrette-of-Fire

Hey everyone! After a month of debugging my computer so I could access Paint Tool SAI again, I am finally back! This time with more fankids. Alex Tir, chronic OC maker, strikes again.

Sokka and Suki were my favorite canon AtLA ship, so I always felt it was a shame they broke up post-canon. In classical fandom fashion, I have decided to disregard that entirely. In any case, meet Taiyin and Arnaaluk, Sokka and Suki’s twin daughters. They were a treat to design, honestly, and I want to touch on a few design notes before moving onto character backstories. (Cont. Under the cut!)

Taiyin’s hair is not in a Fire Nation style topknot, but is rather based off of an Inuit hairstyle (referenced here). Because I’m basic, Taiyin’s name is also a subtle homage to Yue, because I feel like Sokka and Suki would probably be open and honest with each other about that. (Also, bonus points if you can figure out how it’s a homage). As for Arnaaluk, the headband she’s wearing is a nod to her mother’s culture, given that her hairstyle is distinctly Southern Water Tribe. As a mixed raced, multi-ethnic person myself, it’s important to me when designing mixed OCs to have them celebrate all the pieces of their heritage. (Am I bitter about how Bryke handled that in LoK? You bet I am.) The clothing on Kyoshi Island (or, at least, the civilian clothing – I can’t say definitively for the Kyoshi Warrior outfits) is inspired by Ainu cultural dress. So, I did some research and did my best to design Arnaaluk an Ainu-inspired headband.

Taiyin and Arnaaluk are both waterbenders, though they ultimately choose different specialties. Arnaaluk specializes in healing (though she’s certainly capable of defending herself). She’s the epitome of “[this lady does] not start fights, but [she] can finish them,” and generally claims to be the twin in possession of the braincell, though she secretly enjoys shenanigans just as much as Taiyin. Taiyin is a combat waterbender (with waterbending first-aid training, of course). Studying under both her Aunt Katara and her mother, Taiyin fights with a fusion style of Southern waterbending, Northern waterbending, and classical Kyoshi Warrior martial arts (two words: ice fans).

Where their stories continue from there, however, is largely up in the air. Theoretically, I could just make the necessary modifications to fit Taiyin and Arnaaluk into the Legend of Korra timeline. And while I’m not adverse, to that, per say, the problem is that my feelings about LoK are overwhelmingly negative. Like, on a bad day when I’m being particularly uncharitable, the endgame Korrasami and what that did for lgbtq+ representation in cartoons is the only thing that justifies LoK’s existence to me. Before anyone comes at me – no, this is not about shipping, it’s about racism. While AtLA itself was by no means perfect (there’s some excellent meta outlining what AtLA did wrong by Hindu, South Asian, Central Asian, and Southeast Asian fans – I highly recommend checking it out), but the way Lok treated its cultural inspirations – more than one of which are cultures I belong to - was actually hard for me to stomach. I have no issues with other people loving the series – I get why it’s important – it’s just also not for me. So, the long story short is we’ll see if there’s a particular verse that’ll grow around these gals (admittedly, I would really love to have Arnaaluk succeed Sokka as Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, but that’s for another day).

Art © Me

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra © Mike DeMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon

Image ID: Neck up headshots of two teenage girls. The girl on the left, labelled “Taiyin” in writing below the headshot, has a bob of reddish-brown hair with the upper half of her hair tied into a bun. She also has two looped braids starting at her temples that tuck back into the bun. She has light-to-medium brown skin, and pale blue eyes (the same color as her father’s). She’s grinning in such a way that her teeth are visable, with the left side of her mouth (viewer’s right) pulling higher than the other.

The girl on the right, labelled “Arnaaluk” in writing above the headshot, has darker reddish-brown hair pulled into two long braids at either side of her head. The braids are each tied off with a blue wrap with white trim. Like her sister, she also has light-to-medium brown skin, though her eyes are dark blue (the same color as her mother’s). She has “hair loopies” (like those worn by Katara), though hers tuck into the beginnings of her braids behind her ears. She is also wearing a medium blue headband with a light blue pattern of geometric whirls and points.

Underneath the headshot of Taiyin are logo-style renditions of Avatar Kyoshi’s headband (in bronze) and the Southern Water Tribe crest (in blue). Kiyoshi’s headband is tilted, and slightly above and to the left of the SWT crest.

The entirety of the image is bounded by a teal square “frame.”

End ID.

#atla #fanart #digital art #captioned #my art #cartooning #original character #fandom ocs #my ocs #fanchildren #let me know if I should tag as lok critical

[jaceyneedsabetterusername]

I’ll Never Be The Moon

Pairings: Sokka x Reader

Summary: It’s hard to get someone to notice you when you’re competition is the moon but Aang’s always there to make you feel better.

Warnings: Talk of death, Aang says ass

Word Count: 2000

_________________________________________

Every night, there was always a little pocket of time when the camp was uncharacteristically silent and Sokka was sitting to the side, staring up at the night sky instead of cracking jokes and telling stories. It was your least favorite time of night because it was a constant reminder of what you’d never be. Katara, Aang, Toph, and you all usually talked amongst yourselves, used to this routine. Everyone knew why Sokka got like this, though, so nobody bothered him about it. Not even Toph. There were just some things that you didn't joke about and Yue’s death was one of them. 

But on some nights, like tonight, it got to you. Every single night, you watched the man you’d been crazy about for so long stare up at the moon, yearning for a lost love. He looked up at the moon like it held all the love and beauty in the world. He looked at you like you had mud on your face. 

You sighed and pushed yourself up from your seat by the fire amidst a story Toph was telling, “I’m getting warm. I’m gonna go get some air.” You excused yourself, ignoring the little comments of acknowledgement from the group. 

The view was beautiful here in this little piece of the Earth Kingdom. Camp was set up on the edge of a large pristine lake that was surrounded by a thick luscious forest. The mountains on the opposite side of the lake were reflected perfectly on the still surface of the water through the moonlight. 

Beauty always came back to the moon. 

You spotted a fallen log on the edge of the shore and found a home on it, just far enough away from the group to be allowed to have your own thoughts. But from here, you could see Sokka sitting there on the ground, his arms wrapped around his knees as he gazed up at the celestial being, mesmerized by her beauty.

“I’ll never be the moon…” You mumbled to yourself sadly. 

“Everything okay?” Aang’s voice asked from behind you. You spun around to see the boy walking up the path you took. 

“Hm? Yeah, I’m alright.” You lied, tucking your knees in and resting your chin on it. 

Aang walked around and moved to sit on the log beside you, “Are you sure? You said something about not being the moon?” 

You chuckled sadly. That must have sounded either psychotic or pathetic to him. “It’s nothing. Just talking to myself.” Were you even trying to not sound crazy? 

“About being the moon?” He questioned with a hint of humor in his tone. You didn’t know how to respond. All you’d done was make yourself sound dumb and you already felt inadequate tonight as it was. You weren’t exactly eager to continue that so you only responded with a shrug. “This is about Sokka, isn’t it?” Aang put the pieces together. But honestly, it wasn’t that hard to tell. Your crush wasn’t blatantly obvious or anything but if you paid attention, like Aang had found himself doing for the past few weeks, the signs weren’t difficult to see. 

You looked over at Aang with pleading eyes, “Please don’t tell anyone.” 

“Your secret is safe with me,” He crossed his fist over his heart with a confident smile. But when he saw that you were still down, he shrunk down to match your demeanor, “So I’m guessing it’s Yue, since you’re talking about the moon, right?” 

You nodded, cheeks squished up against the palms of your hands as you leaned over onto them, “I never had a chance compared to her. She was a princess! And she was absolutely beautiful and kind and selfless. I’d never seen Sokka so entranced by someone. I'm just me. A girl from a poor family in a small Earth Kingdom village. Sure, I can fling rocks but it’s nothing compared to being a beautiful princess. And who would want the Earth when you could have the moon?” 

“Y/N, you are beautiful, kind, selfless and more! And I really don’t think Sokka liked her because she was a princess. Yue wasn’t better than you; you two are just different people and that’s not a bad thing.” Aang comforted in his honest way. 

Crickets began to chirp around the two of you in the clearing. “I don’t know… I just… I know I’ll never be her.” 

“Why would you want to be her?” Aang asked, “I like you as you.” 

“Because she has Sokka,” You started before you chuckled and a small smile appeared on your face despite your down mood, “But thank you, Aang.”

Aang leaned back on his arms against the log, “Well, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but she doesn’t really have Sokka anymore. I mean, she’s the moon. It’s kind of hard to date the moon.” He pointed out the obvious observation. 

“That’s what I don’t understand! I know how bad that sounds. But… she’s gone.” You finally allowed yourself to say that dark little point (well, honestly, it was a pretty big point). Gosh, why did you feel like such a monster for saying that? “I know how terrible that sounds but when it comes down to it, Yue is literally the moon now. They can’t be together unless Sokka pulls some stupid hero stunt and gets himself blasted into the spirit world too but that seems pretty unlikely. I completely understand that her dying doesn’t take away his feelings for her or the hurt that came with losing her but it just hurts. It hurts me to see him hurting but it also hurts me to see him pining for a girl he fell in love with after three days when I can’t get him to give me a second glance.”

Your gaze fell on where the moon was reflecting in ripples on the water and followed its light back up to its large celestial source with a small sigh, “Even in death she’s beautiful. No wonder he’ll always love her.” 

Aang stood up with a sense of finality, “No,” He crossed his arms before grabbing your hand and forcing you to stand up, “I won’t allow this. You don’t get to think you’re worth less than someone else just because she was a princess or part moon spirit. Come here and look in the water.” He led you to the shore and leaned over the water with you until you saw both of your reflections. “Now what do you see?” 

Your face twisted as you made eye contact with your reflection, “Me? You? Us?” You guessed, not sure what he was getting at. 

“No, I want you to look at you and tell me what you see.” Aang insisted, pointing at your reflection. 

This time, you really tried to see what Aang wanted you to see. Though the reflection was dark from the limited light, you could still make out enough of your image. You just looked like you. Your hair was actually in place for once, which you attributed to not flying on Appa for the last few hours. You did have a smudge of ash on your cheek that you must have accidentally swiped across your face after moving a burning piece of wood back into the fire pit earlier. A small splice at the tail of your eyebrow was healing up but still visible, a "trophy", as Toph called it, after a run in with some Fire Nation soldiers the other day. You wore a green top that covered your shoulders and crossed around the front, held together with a tan tie. The top of your dark brown pants were visible but those looked a little ragged too. The wrappings that started around your thumb and went around your forearms, up to your elbows were getting dirty as well, more tan than off white now. Coming from the outer villages that were run by Earth Kingdom "soldiers", if you could even call them that after all the extortion, it wasn't exactly like you joined the group with super nice clothing to begin with. 

"I see a girl with a busted eyebrow, a dirty face, and clothes that she needs to wash tomorrow." You huffed a little, beginning to pull away before Aang pushed you back to stay where you were. 

You rolled your eyes before he started talking, "I see someone who fights for what she believes in, someone who didn't come from much but is going to help change the world. Someone that doesn't need to be a princess to be awesome or beautiful. Sure, you got a little scuffed up and you got ash on your face but who cares? I know Sokka sure doesn't. Besides, Sokka needs to do his laundry tomorrow too… he’s starting to smell kind of bad." You snorted as you stifled a laugh. Aang wasn’t necessarily wrong though. 

Before he continued, he looked over your shoulder to make sure you two were still alone. When he ensured it was still just the two of you in ear shot, he leaned in close, putting his arm around your shoulders and whispered, "And between you and me, Sokka was practically drooling over you when you took out those Fire Nation soldiers the other day. He thinks the badass thing you've got going on is super attractive." 

You turned your head to him with a skeptical look on your face, unsure if he was just saying that to make you feel better but when you thought about it, you didn't think you'd ever actually heard Aang lie before. That probably meant he wasn't lying now, though. "Really?" 

Aang nodded, "Yeah, but don't tell him I told you. He'll kill me." 

You couldn't help but smile at your friend. All he ever did was try and help people, even it was just dumb stuff like making a friend feel better about a boy. "Thank you." You reached over and pulled him into a side hug. 

When you pulled away, you looked back over to camp to see that Sokka had returned from his nightly mourn. He now sat on top of his sleeping bag, a stick in his hand, as if he'd been poking the fire, but instead of doing that, he was actually looking at you. It was only for a brief moment that your E/C eyes locked with his brilliant blue ones because he quickly looked down at fire, a tint of pink rising in his cheeks.

"Told you," Aang hummed, "He's been looking over at you for the last few minutes."  

A small glimmer of hope rose up in your chest but it felt tainted somehow, "Maybe he just zoned out…" Defeat already laced your voice, "I mean, if he likes me, why doesn't he say anything? He's never been exactly subtle with girls he's liked in the past." 

Aang stood up and walked around the log to the other side of you, "I think he just feels conflicted. A part of him still loves Yue even though he knows he can't have her, but he really likes you too." He put a hand on your shoulder, "I'm gonna head back to camp. But just give him a little more time, okay? I have a feeling that things are actually going to work out between you guys and my feelings are almost always right." He gave you a wink with childish confidence. 

Your gaze followed Aang as he jogged back to the camp, ready to follow suit, figuring the gang would start pestering you about being moody if you didn't return soon. Though you started watching Aang, you couldn't help but allow your eyes to flick over to Sokka again, just out of curiosity (okay, fine, maybe just because you really liked to look at him). Sokka's bright blue eyes were already trained on your firm when you glanced over but this time, instead of pretending to be burning a stick, he made a big show of reaching behind him to grab his boomerang, trying just a little too hard to look 'natural (if you could call it that). A warm smile crept up on your face and you giggled to yourself as you finally stood up from the log to make your way back to camp. Maybe Aang's feeling could be right after all. 

#sokka #sokka x reader #sokka imagine #sokka blurb #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #I'll never be the moon

[reinerispretty]

beneath the moon. (sokka x f!reader) pt4

good evening!!! it’s storming here so it’s perfect writing weather :D

pt1

pt3

pt5

“What have you been up to today?” She had questioned. (Y/N) smiled.

“I hung out with Katara and Aang again.”

“Seems like you’ve been doing that a lot lately.” (Y/N) shrugged.

“They’re nice people. I enjoy their company.” She slid past Yue and entered her bedroom, shutting the door in her older sister’s face. Yue blinked at the hard wood.

“You don’t enjoy anyone’s company!”

(Y/N) and Katara had devised a plan. After (Y/N’s) healing lessons and after Katara’s waterbending lessons, they would meet in the mountains in the outskirts of the city. There, Katara would teach (Y/N) the waterbending moves that she had been so desperately trying to learn. It was a risky ordeal for both girls, but Master Pakku had told Katara himself that she was fit to be a waterbending master. It wasn’t like they were going to take her bending away. 

(Y/N) knew one basic waterbending move: lifting water. It was necessary for transporting water to people who needed to be healed. Katara assured her that with that move, she had already learned the base of all other waterbending moves. 

They utilized the snow as the source of their water. It took her a bit to learn the moves that Katara was teaching her, but after practicing each day, Katara assured her that she was becoming an intermediate waterbender. Even Aang stopped by their lessons occasionally to give (Y/N) pointers. 

When she was waterbending, really waterbending, (Y/N) felt like she was doing what she was meant to do. The water moved with her, not because of her. When she was waterbending, it felt like everything inside of her was harmonious. 

(Y/N) usually spent hours with Katara and Aang on the mountain. When she returned to the palace for dinner, her parents paid her no mind, but she knew Yue realized something was afoot. She cornered (Y/N) outside of her bedroom, one immaculate eyebrow raised. 

“What have you been up to today?” She had questioned. (Y/N) smiled. 

“I hung out with Katara and Aang again.” 

“Seems like you’ve been doing that a lot lately.” (Y/N) shrugged. 

“They’re nice people. I enjoy their company.” She slid past Yue and entered her bedroom, shutting the door in her older sister’s face. Yue blinked at the hard wood. 

“You don’t enjoy anyone’s company!” (Y/N) laughed to herself. She desperately wanted to tell Yue just how happy waterbending made her, but she was scared. Yue was the kind of person who dedicated her life to their tribe and held their customs close to her heart. (Y/N) didn’t want to think about Yue potentially rejecting her happiness, or worse, sharing the information with her parents. So, as much as it pained her, she kept Yue in the dark about this certain aspect of her life. When the time was right, she would tell her. 

The next time she trained with Katara and Aang, the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly on the snow-capped mountain tops. (Y/N) spun around on her feet, gathering all the water she could and forming a wave. She propelled it toward Aang, who froze and broke the wave, sending shards of ice back at her. (Y/N) was able to return to water back to its liquid form, the shards turning into droplets as they fell from the sky. 

She turned to Katara, who smiled brightly at her. “You did it!” 

“Only took about a week of practice,” (Y/N) laughed. 

“You’re becoming a great waterbender,” Aang assured her. “You’ll be a master in no time as long as you keep practicing.” (Y/N) smiled sadly at her friend. She knew that once they left, she would be lucky to get a moment to herself to practice. The servants had been suspicious of her whereabouts for a long time, and would undoubtably be attached to her hip once everything returned to normal. 

“Can we go again?” (Y/N) asked. “I think I can make it even bigger this time.” Her friends obliged and (Y/N) spun her arms around, creating a wave that towered over all three of them. She laughed excitedly as it swayed with her movements. 

When she looked to her friends, she saw Sokka standing behind them. She immediately dropped her wave and stared at him. Would he tell on her?

“I, uh, wanted to know if you’d hang out with Yue and I for a bit?” He asked. (Y/N) furrowed her brows in confusion. “We’re supposed to hang out today and she hasn’t been comfortable with it since she’s engaged. I figured if you’re there...” 

(Y/N) looked to her friends and nodded. “Okay.” She bid Katara and Aang goodbye before starting her walk down the mountain with Sokka. 

They were both silent for a bit before Sokka started speaking. “You’re a pretty good waterbender,” He told her. She could feel his eyes on her face but refused to look at him. 

“Don’t mention it to Yue,” She said, but it came across like an order. Sometimes, she couldn’t control the bluntness of her voice. “I’d rather she didn’t know I was waterbending.” 

“Do you think she wouldn’t like it?” (Y/N) shrugged. 

“I think Yue’s loyalty will always be to our tribe first, so I don’t really know how she’ll react.” 

“I agree with you there,” Sokka sighed. “I’ve heard that she’s only engaged because it’s what she’s supposed to do.” 

“Trust me, she and I have talked a lot about this. I don’t think she should’ve accepted Hahn’s proposal at all. She didn’t even ask me about it. Probably because she knew I’d be mad.” 

“You don’t like him?” (Y/N) shook her head. 

“I hate Hahn. He’s been nothing but mean to me since we were children. When he told me that Yue had accepted his proposal, he asked if he would be chief one day, like that’s all that mattered.” 

“Honestly, that makes me feel a little better.” 

“Why?” 

“Knowing that you don’t like him, I mean.” (Y/N) crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. 

“Yeah, well, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about you, either. So don’t get your hopes up.” They were approaching Yue before Sokka could respond. Her smile widened as she saw the two of them. 

“What are you doing here?” Yue asked. She hugged her sister tightly and went to hug Sokka, but stopped herself. (Y/N) rolled her eyes as they both blushed. 

“I’m your chaperone for the day.” 

“I figured it would make you more comfortable if (Y/N) was here with us.” 

“That’s so sweet of you, Sokka,” Yue cooed. 

They walked along the bridges and canals, (Y/N) lingering behind as she let Yue and Sokka talk amongst themselves. It made her happy knowing that Yue had found someone that could make her laugh nearly as hard as she could, even if she herself didn’t know him that well. (Y/N) had learned to choose her friends carefully and only did so after she felt that she truly knew who they were. She had spent much more time talking to Aang and Katara than she had with Sokka. And while she loved Yue, considering that she was marrying Hahn, (Y/N) worried that perhaps she wasn’t the best judge of character. 

(Y/N) hopped onto the railings of the bridge they walked along, holding her arms out for balance. Looking to her side, she could see their palace glittering from the side of the mountain. 

Sokka must have noticed her doing this, because he and Yue stopped to watch her walk. “I can’t believe you guys live in a place like that.” 

“Do you not have palaces back home?” Yue asked. Sokka shook his head. 

“Where I’m from it’s all huts and igloos on a big chunk of ice. Nothing special there.” Yue laughed, placing her hand on Sokka’s arm. (Y/N) diverted her eyes away and quickly walked down to the other side of the railing so they could talk somewhat privately. 

She could see the solemn expression on both of their faces. This was something that she wouldn’t accept for herself. She loved and admired her sister’s dedication to their tribe, but (Y/N) couldn’t imagine putting her own happiness on hold for others. 

“I know what you need,” Sokka said. “You both need to meet my good friend Appa!” He took Yue’s hand and walked past (Y/N). “Come on, grumpy pants,” He called to her, a playful smile on his face as he led the way to the stables. 

(Y/N) couldn’t help but let a smile crack at her lips. She jogged to catch up with them, putting Sokka in between the two sisters. Yue had taken her hand back from Sokka and placed it within her sleeves. 

They approached the stables and for the first time, (Y/N) saw the air bison they had flown in on up-close and personal. It was huge, towering over her as it lazily ate hay. Its white fur looked as fluffy as a cloud. Its big brown eyes stared curiously at the group as they approached. 

(Y/N) couldn’t keep her mouth closed even if she tried. She had never seen anything so amazing in all of her fifteen years of life. She turned back to Yue, the smile on her face the biggest Sokka had ever seen from the normally-serious princess. 

“Appa and I go way back, don’t we boy?” He turned back to give the girls a smile and was immediately knocked over by Appa’s large tongue. The bison licked Sokka affectionately as the boy wriggled around on the ground. The sisters laughed as he broke free. 

“Looks like you haven’t been giving him much attention,” Yue called to Sokka. He huffed as he stood, wiping the slobber off of himself. 

“Would you ladies like to go for a ride?” 

(Y/N) nodded excitedly, but Yue seemed less keen on the idea. (Y/N) grabbed her sister by the hand and slowly approached Appa, holding out her palm so that he could sniff it. He pressed his large nose into her hand and (Y/N) squealed at the feeling. 

“Nice to meet you, Appa,” She said. She couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. “I’m (Y/N) and this is my sister, Yue.” Yue sheepishly pet Appa. He huffed in their faces, blowing their hair back. 

Sokka helped both of them onto Appa’s saddle. Yue sat at his side, her arms wrapped around his as they soared into the air. (Y/N) sat toward the back of the saddle, watching as the only place she had ever known receded into nothingness. 

“This is amazing!” She called to them, her voice carried away by the wind. Sokka and Yue both looked back at her. A soft smile painted Yue’s lips. 

“I think this is the happiest I’ve seen her since I’ve been here,” Sokka whispered in Yue’s ear. The elder sister sighed. 

“I think so too.” 

The large smile on (Y/N’s) face slowly fell as she watched the snow fall around them. Only it wasn’t the soft, fluffy white particles she had grown to love. They were dark gray and black, landing in her hair and dissipating into ash if she touched it. 

“Oh, no,” Sokka breathed, his expression turning into one of grave sadness. 

“What?” (Y/N) demanded. He didn’t answer as he turned Appa toward the snowy mountains on the outskirts of the city. They landed and hopped down from his saddle. “Sokka, tell us what’s going on!” 

“It’s soot,” He said as he picked up the black, mushy mixture with his glove. “I’ve seen it before my tribe was attacked.” 

“But what does it mean?” Yue asked. Sokka looked down at the ground. 

“Who attacked your tribe?” (Y/N) asked, but inside she already knew the answer. 

“The Fire Nation,” he replied. “And from the looks of this stuff, there’s a lot of them.” 

---

The inside of the palace was loud as the warriors and waterbenders discussed the impending battle. (Y/N) sat at Yue’s side, their hands interlocked as she stared straight ahead. It had seemed like in an instant, all of her worst fears had become a reality. Her tribe had done a great job at keeping the Fire Nation away during the war, but it seemed like their era of peace was coming to an end. 

The beat of drums signaled her father’s arrival. He took his place at the front of the crowd and immediately it was silenced. “The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe, but they will never vanish from our hearts.” (Y/N) looked out at the crowd, at the faces she had known her entire life. “Now,” her father continued, “As we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”

“Count me in!” Sokka exclaimed, rising from his seat. (Y/N) looked to Yue, who was fighting back tears. Just moments before they had entered the palace, she had called off whatever relationship she had with Sokka. (Y/N) could see that it had broken her heart, and her heart was breaking even more at the prospect of Sokka never returning from this battle. 

As her father finished Marking the men that were willing to give their lives for battle, Yue retreated further into the palace. (Y/N) didn’t follow her. She understood that Yue needed a moment alone. Instead, (Y/N) followed her father and Aang outside, where they watched as the Fire Nation ships approached. 

“It’s so quiet,” (Y/N) said, her own voice sounding much smaller. It was like all of the happiness of their tribe had been sucked out of the air. 

“The stillness of battle is always unsettling,” Her father agreed. She looked up at him. Her father was a brave man, who gave his heart and soul to his tribe. Yue had obviously taken after him. While (Y/N) didn’t always agree with him, she could acknowledge that he was a man worth admiring. 

“I wasn’t there when the Fire Nation attacked my people,” Aang said. Katara had joined them, taking her place at Aang’s side. “I’m going to make a difference this time.” 

The Chief turned to his daughter and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You should go to the healing tent with the other women.” (Y/N) frowned and shook her head. 

“No, I’m going to stay here and fight.” 

“You can’t possibly-” 

“I know how to waterbend.” Her father looked back at Katara with a disappointed expression in his eyes. “It’s not her fault,” (Y/N) said, redirecting his attention. “I ordered her to,” She lied. She would rather take the fall for Katara than risk fraying the group’s relationship with the Northern Water Tribe. 

“It’s too dangerous for you to fight, (Y/N), you’re just a child.” 

“If you taught the women how to fight like you taught the men, we’d have hundreds more soldiers and would stand a much better chance against the Fire Nation.” She stared directly into her father’s eyes to let him know that she was not backing down. “If we lose this battle, what will happen to the women and children? You and the elders have set us up for capture. I refuse to go down without a fight.” 

As if punctuating her words, the first fireball collided with the city walls. Its force sent (Y/N) and everyone else flying back into mounds of snow. She groaned as she lay on the ground, watching as Aang took flight on Appa to attack the ships. 

Yue ran down from the city and to (Y/N), grasping her sister’s hand to pull her up. “Are you alright?” Yue asked, her eyes searching her for any injuries. (Y/N) nodded, her eyes widening as another fireball approached them. 

“Look out!” She called out, wrapping her arms around Yue and throwing them both to the ground. It shook with the impact. They both lifted their heads to see a hole in the tower of the citadel. 

“Our home...” Yue said quietly. (Y/N) helped her to her feet and rushed over to Katara. The warriors had disappeared from the city, the elderly, women, and children had gone to seek shelter in the palace. The three girls watched silently as Aang destroyed fireballs and ships in the horizon. 

“When the Fire Nation raided your village, was it like this?” (Y/N) asked Katara. The girl shook her head. 

“This is worse.” 

---

Tag List!! 

@aangsupremacy , @treestarrrrrrrr , @beifongsss , @mdgrdians , @aroyaldarknessblr , @musicalkeys , @aimee1602 , @plxstic-rose , @davnwillcome @squeamishdionysus , @clowninfortodoroki @thia-aep , @jinxed-tea @sara5208 @valiantprincessthea @alrightazula , @awesomelupe , @itsivyberry , @thebluelcdy , @samsmultifandomblogs , @loganrwebb , @minifruity , @cuddlykoala101 , @dionnaea , @alive-ahahah-fuck , @pipsqeak1326 , @krxliesdexd , @wastelandbbyg , @milk-n-cheese , @the-firebender-girl , @zukosvice , @justab-eautifulmess , @awkwardnesshabitat , @tomshollandz , @mmmidek-blog , @lavendercrystals , @dailytrashypanda

#atla #avatar #the last airbender #sokka x reader #zuko x reader #aang x reader #aang #katara #sokka #zuko #iroh #azula #toph #momo #appa #writing #fanfiction

[azaisya]

no art for this week bc its been crazy so have 1.7k of alternate ending/sequel to Sleeping Awake (my de-aged shen jiu fic). This was where I was going with the original before I decided I wanted to focus more on the qijiu, so some of the stuff in the beginning is repeated. If I was writing a sequel (which I probably won’t), then this would probably be how it started.

“Take one of my robes?” Yue Qingyuan asked, voice small. 

Shen Qingqiu hesitated, his awareness of how underdressed he was going to war with the instinct to refuse anything from Yue Qingyuan. He’d spent the last however-many-decades violently exploding every time Yue Qingyuan gave him a gift. He’d assumed they’d been given out of pity or obligation, expensive baubles to cover up the dirt of Shen Jiu’s past. 

But—

He really was very underdressed. This robe was one of the outfits he’d worn to sneak out to the Warm Red Pavilion, back when he’d been a lesser disciple and in need of subterfuge to get off his Peak. 

Wordlessly, Shen Qingqiu picked up Yue Qingyuan’s outer robe from where they’d carelessly dumped it the night before and slid it over his arms. It was a little too big and he chafed at wearing another person’s colors, but the look on Yue Qingyuan’s face was worth it. 

With a sarcastic wave, Shen Qingqiu turned on his heel and strode from his room.

The robe was a little less worth it when Yue Qingyuan’s head disciple dropped a teapot in shock when she saw him. 

He ignored her. She was the overly candid girl who’d intercepted him and Luo Binghe yesterday, but that didn’t surprise him. Yue Qingyuan was too soft with his disciples, and she was clever. Of course she would be outspoken. 

At the thought of Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu grimaced. He’d specifically ordered that the beast wasn’t to be fed all weekend. Ning Yingying had probably ignored that and brought him food anyways, charmed as she was by Luo Binghe’s pretty, pitiable face. 

He should lock him in the woodshed for another week, just for that. 

The thought made him falter, and he spared a moment to be intensely grateful that nobody was around to see him trip on nothing. 

He’d always told himself that he was nothing like Qiu Jianluo. That he’d only ever beaten boys who deserved it, that they should be grateful that he hadn’t done worse. 

He’d never touched any of them, after all, no matter what the rumors said about him. 

But his younger self hadn’t even needed to think before equating Luo Binghe’s shizun with Qiu Jianluo. 

That was another revelation, Shen Qingqiu supposed, to add on to all the others he was having. He didn’t like that one very much. It wasn’t earth-shatteringly surprising in the way that Yue Qingyuan’s apparently unconditional devotion was. 

Perhaps that said something about him. 

He didn’t like that very much either. 

He was still turning the matter over in his mind when he arrived at Qing Jing Peak’s familiar landscape. It was late enough in the day that his disciples should already be at their lessons, and they would survive a few more hours without him. 

The bamboo house was almost exactly as he’d left it, but somebody had made his bed and moved the black and silver fan—Yue Qingyuan’s latest gift—onto a table. It was a deceptively plain thing, despite the value of its skeleton. Shen Qingqiu suspected that the painting—bamboo and distant birds—had been done by Yue Qingyuan himself. It had the hesitant, detailed brushwork of somebody unused to painting but had tried their best anyways. 

It was the most sentimental gift that Yue Qingyuan had ever given him. His other gifts were impersonal things worth exorbitant amounts of money that suit Shen Qingqiu’s carefully cultivated image. 

Shen Qingqiu would’ve thrown them away, if there wasn’t some part of him that balked at wasting that much money. Mostly, they just languished in the backs of drawers or vanished into boxes. He’d thrown some of the more egregious pieces into Yue Qingyuan’s face. 

The fan was different, though. He could see the time that Yue Qingyuan had spent on it, could see the care and emotion poured into every brush stroke. 

It’d broken him. 

With a sigh, Shen Qingqiu shrugged off the borrowed robe and, after a beat, laid it out on his bed. His own clothes were more complex. His younger self would have despaired at all the finicky ties and complicated layers, but Shen Qingqiu managed with ease. 

With each layer he pulled on, the more that strange, nervous energy in his chest settled. It was as if something inside of him had been knocked off-kilter by his qi deviation and then shoved even further askew by the discovery that Yue Qingyuan had returned for him and the sudden realization that he’d come far too close to the line that Qiu Jianluo had drawn. 

The clothes made him feel more like himself. A doubtful boon, given the scum that he was. 

He turned to leave again but then hesitated, eyes lingering on his bed. Yue Qingyuan’s robes were a streak of shadow across the green sheets. 

He’d been so afraid, when he’d woken up the morning before. 

He wondered if Qiu Haitang was still alive. He hoped she was. He hoped she was happy. 

Was that fucked up?

Maybe.

Setting his jaw, Shen Qingqiu snatched the closest fan—Yue Qingyuan’s fan, the one that had started this all—and swept from the room. He made his way towards the woodshed with a calm, steady stride, the black and silver fan held loosely in his hand. 

He could see the distant shapes of his disciples running around the mountain, tiny blobs of white and green. A sudden anxiety struck him, so sharply that the fan creaked as his grip tightened around it. 

What if Luo Binghe had told them?

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t imagine how his disciples—the children of wealthy lords and poor farmers alike—would look at him if they learned that he was nothing more than a worthless slave. 

A couple of his disciples—the quicker ones, talking cheerfully while their peers tried to finish their laps around the peak—noticed him and ran over. Shen Qingqiu panicked and opened his fan with a flick of his wrist, raising it over his face. 

“Shizun!” the short-haired girl—Lin Xieran—called, as uncomplicatedly delighted to see him as ever. Neither of them looked alarmed or disgusted. If anything, they seemed a little more cheerful than usual to see him, although they were well trained enough to bow instead of run up him and cling. 

Shen Qingqiu rewarded them both with gentle pats on the head. If his hand trembled, none of them mentioned it. 

Luo Binghe, he thought, that off-kilter uncertainty creeping back into his chest, What game are you playing?

Well. He would find out soon enough. Voice as smooth as ever, Shen Qingqiu asked, “Where is your Ming-shixiong?”

The shorter one—a round-faced boy named Sun Tiandou who looked younger than he was—wrinkled his nose. “Ming-shixiong is still running with everybody else.”

Shen Qingqiu nodded imperiously. That was good. Ming Fan had been raised by respectable parents on a comfortable estate, and so he was prone to panicking over even the most minor of injuries. If he’d gone out to run willingly without his shizun’s prompting, then he couldn’t be terribly injured. “Good. And—” The beast died in his tongue. 

Had Qiu Jianluo called him a beast? He couldn’t remember. 

“—and Luo Binghe?”

Sun Tiandou’s expression tilted uncomfortably, but Lin Xieran’s lip curled at the name. “Oh,” she said, waving a hand flippantly, “He’s still in the woodshed.”

Shen Qingqiu idly poked at his newfound disgust with himself and discovered that it didn’t extend far enough to compel him to scold Xieran for her coldness. “Very good,” he said instead, “You’ve both done well today.” 

Their expressions turned instantly starstruck, and Shen Qingqiu continued down the path towards the woodshed. 

To his displeasure, there was a figure sitting against the woodshed’s door. He would’ve thought it was Luo Binghe if it weren’t for the bright orange of Ning Yingying’s favorite hair ribbons. She spotted him and leaped to her feet, waving her arm with the enthusiasm of a child who’d never been punished before. 

Shen Qingqiu flicked his fan open and waved it gently at his face. “What are you do—” All his breath left him in a rush as Ning Yingying threw herself at him, hands flying around his waist. 

Shen Qingqiu sighed and waited for her to let go. She did quickly enough, dancing back a couple steps and grinning up at him. “Shizun!” 

He examined her over the edge of his fan, tracing the shape of her bright brown eyes and her round face. He wondered if she really did look like Qiu Haitang, or if his mind had just seen a bright girl with gentle smiles and made the connection for him. “What is Yingying doing here?”

Ning Yingying’s expressions turned as sly as it ever went. Mostly she just ducked her head and scuffed her feet. “Yingying is, um—” She looked around, spotted the dirty dishes lying where she’d been sitting earlier, and hastily said, “Cleaning! Yingying is cleaning.”

Shen Qingqiu raised one eyebrow and didn’t bother replying. 

Ning Yingying fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve. “And, um, waiting for Shizun!” She looked up, lips curling into a hopeful smile. “This one is glad that Shizun is feeling better!”

Fear beat another staccato rhythm against Shen Qingqiu’s spine, a desperate rattling of what did Luo Binghe say. He revealed none of it on his face. “Did Yingying bring food to Luo Binghe during his punishment?”

Ning Yingying visibly drooped. “He’s so small, Shizun—”

Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth and then shut it, feeling suddenly tired. The rebuke on the tip of his tongue faded, and he just sighed. “Take the plates back to the kitchens.” 

Ning Yingying peeked up at him, hope lighting her eyes. “Yes, Shizun!” She ran to grab the plates and then scuttled back, eyes wide. “Shizun isn’t going to punish A-Luo, right? He didn’t ask me to bring the food.”

Any other day, and Shen Qingqiu’s temper would have flared at the familiar address. Instead, he just said sharply, “I’ve warned you to keep your distance from him, Yingying. Do as I say.” 

Ning Yingying nodded. “Yes, Shizun.” 

Liar. He didn’t call her on it, though. “Go.” 

She sketched a bow, shallower than she should’ve, and dashed off. But that was alright, because she was his favorite and she knew it.

#hhh should i put this in the character tags?? #im just gonna do #shen jiu #svsss fanfiction #scumbagged villains #candleswriting #ok good enough #dw im v aware that this cuts off right when its about to get interesting #i too would like to know how the confrontation between sj and lbh would go #pity that my past self didnt write it #sleeping awake

[antimonarchy]

Some thoughts on Moonsong (Yue x Song) 

(Who cares that they haven’t met? They would be soft together, and that’s all that matters)

A few months after the war ends, Zuko brings back Song’s ostrich horse (He spent a month wandering from village to village trying to find it, it ended up having fled into the woods and living on its own, it took him days to convince it to let him ride it) and tells her who he is

Zuko asks her to represent her village at a conference on war reparations in the Fire Nation, she spends a few weeks dealing with old assholes but manages to secure a large sum to repair houses and signs a trade deal with the FN

In her free time she wanders around the capital, and ends up at a small hospital where soldiers injured on Sozin’s Comet are being treated. She offers her help, and with the help of the doctors there uses her traditional medicine skills she learned from her mother to create new treatments

When Zuko goes on a state visit to the Northern Water Tribe to formally sign a peace treaty and establish a Fire Nation embassy, Song asks to go with him so she can help spread new healing techniques in the North

Song spends most of her time wandering around the city and being in awe of the buildings that are so much larger than her little village. She enters an internship under Yugoda, and helps her incorporate non-waterbending techniques

One day she’s going for a walk beside the canals, and accidentally loses her balance and ends up falling in, right when Yue (who lived...ofc) is being rowed by on a boat. Yue insists on bringing her into the boat, and takes her to the palace to dry off and get a change of clothes. 

Yue is so soft, so kind, and Song realizes that oh shit she’s falling in love with her

Yue takes Song for a grand tour around the palace, showing her the fountains and introducing her to Yue’s father

When Song returns to her small apartment beside the ice wall, she can’t stop thinking about Yue...her hair, the gentle way she spoke, the way she glowed as if she was the moon...

Song begins writing romantic poetry in letters to Yue, never intending to send them but putting her most personal thoughts into writing

One day Song is helping Zuko read over the wording of a trade deal related to medicinal supplies, when he goes to find a pencil and accidentally opens the drawer with the love letters

Song is so embarrassed, and begs Zuko not to tell Yue, who she thinks will be angry with her. Zuko tells her that he knew the whole time that she liked Yue. 

Song: so...how did you know I liked her??

Zuko:

Zuko: ...you aren’t being subtle, you stare at her constantly

One day Yue asks Song to accompany her on a journey to a small village far away from the capital city, they travel on a white fox-bison over the tundra

Unexpectedly a snowstorm hits, and a lightning strike spooks the fox-bison, which throws them out of the saddle with nothing but a few containers of food

Song and Yue manage to find a small cave where they attempt to wait out the snowstorm

While rubbing her hands together to keep warm Song starts singing a song from her village under her breath, and then looks up to see Yue staring at her. Yue tells her that her voice is beautiful, and they sing songs for the rest of the night while sitting around a fire

As the night gets colder, they gradually move towards each other, before ending up in each other’s arms shivering

Song decides that she can’t keep it to herself anymore and begins reciting a piece of her love poetry about Yue. She turns away and begins apologizing, before Yue starts making up a poem about Song on the spot, describing her skill at healing, the way her dark brown eyes sparkle, her calming presence....*and then they kiss*

(They get back to the North somehow so don’t worry about that)

On the day that Zuko’s delegation is set to leave the North, Yue takes Song to the Spirit Oasis to say goodbye. As they’re hugging goodbye, Song exclaims that she doesn’t want to leave, that she wants to remain in the North with Yue. Yue tells her that she doesn’t ever have to return to the Earth Kingdom, and she can remain in the North for as long as she wants

Song becomes a master healer, and eventually the wife of Yue, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. 

#forgive me I'm having *thoughts* about these two #maybe I'll write a fic

[missturtleduck]

idk if this can be triggering but can you maybe do a sokka x reader who’s struggling with mental health? those fics make me feel less alone <33

Hey, anon! I hope you enjoy this oneshot, and know that my DMs are always open <3

The After

Sokka x Reader

TW: Descriptions of panic attacks + mentions of canon realistic injuries

Firebenders rise with the sun. Taking from the power its primal energy, they stayed as close to it as they could get, like child to mother. Waterbenders gained strength under the moon, changing and shifting with its phases as easily as the tides flowed. Earthbenders and airbenders were luckier as they were constantly surrounded by the source of their power, and yet it could be taken away.

Y/N rose when all others were asleep.

It had started at the beach house. Before Ozai was thrown to rot in a jail cell, she couldn’t let herself sleep. Something about staying right under the enemy’s nose made her skin crawl, let alone in one of the beds once occupied by them. The nightmares were horrendous that first night, leaving her to wake in a cold sweat, stifling a scream for everyone else’s sake. Her chest had tightened, throat constricting as if she were being crushed by a python. Y/N’s head went light, and her breathing shallow. Spirits, what was happening?

She needed to get out of there. The white sand under her bare feet grounded her, the salt-scented air opening up her airways. Even Momo, who snuffled from under the duvet to follow her out, licked the tears off of her cheeks, staring at her with those massive, inquisitive eyes. Giggling, Y/N scratched his head, focusing on his purrs.

A solution came to mind; she would stay awake whilst her friends slept. If she was awake, she could prevent them being ambushed, ensure their survival and victory. So, every night, Y/N and Momo sat on the stairs to the beach house, weapons in hand. Under a blanket of starlight, illuminated by Yue’s gentle glow, she would stay until Zuko awoke where she would creep back to bed and catch an hour or two. The beach was lovely to sleep on too, Y/N convincing her friends she was just relaxed.

The oncoming battle was insane, but they made it.

Y/N came out mostly unscathed. Her only physical scars were the burns along her forearms, trophies from her glorious victories against Fire Nation soldiers. Everything was fine – great, even. However, when it came to staying within the walls of Zuko’s palace, other scars came to light.

“Y/N?”

She looked up from her seat on Zuko’s doorstep, eyes glazed over and not quite focused. Taking a moment, the blue in her vision and the low, concerned voice was all she needed to work out who it was.

“Hey, Sokka.” Y/N quirked a smile, resting her cheek against the heel of her hand. “What’re you doing up?”

“I could ask the same of you,” He said, raising an eyebrow.

Patting the floor next to her, Y/N welcomed him to join her. As soon as Sokka was sat by her, her head tilted until it rested on his shoulder, her body relaxing in a sigh that took with it all of her energy. Frowning, he wrapped an arm around her, chin atop her head until they were practically tangle.

Sokka was warm, warm enough to sooth her into something close to sleep. Beneath closing, fluttering lashes, Y/N watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, moving past his still broadening shoulders to look at the gardens. It was later than she had thought as she looked at the turtle ducklings snuggled up with each other on the grass, their mother close by. The way the turtle duck stayed only inches from its children, half-awake and protective.

Y/N shot up. “I can’t fall asleep.”

“What do you mean?” Sokka yawned, nuzzling his head against her neck. “I could fall asleep right here.”

“No!” She shoved off of him, unsheathing her blade. “I can’t fall asleep, because if I do, Zuko’s in danger! The Kyoshi Warriors aren’t here yet, and I’m not risking his safety again!”

Sokka’s eyes widened as he rose slowly to his feet, hands out. “Okay, Y/N. We can stay here if you want, but you don’t need your sword out.”

Breathing hard, she absorbed the emotions on her friend’s face, realising the fear in it. Clattering to the floor, the sword slipped from Y/N’s hand as she began to tremble. As tears began to pour, Y/N couldn’t reach for the Ember Island sand, nor the open sky, and not even Momo. A crushing pressure pushed on her chest, leaving her gasping for breath that seemed stolen from her. Seeing how her hands shook, she looked at Sokka.

“I’m so tired, Sokka.”

Stepping towards her, he tested the waters, placing a hand on her shoulder. With no outwardly negative reaction to it, Sokka engulfed Y/N into a hug. Gripping his shirt into her hands, she shook out shallow breaths, trying to ground herself as she focused on the feelings around her. Sokka’s gentle hand threading through her hair was rhythmic, methodical even, and the shirt on his chest was soft in her grip.

As her breathing levelled, Sokka pulled away from their embrace, taking a gentle hand to cup her cheek. Brushing away stray tears with his thumb, he studied her face with such care. Y/N stifled a giggle.

“What?” He grinned at her. “You don’t laugh at my jokes, but you’ll laugh now?” Leaning into his hand, Y/N gave him a watery smile. “I’ve never seen you so careful with something that isn’t your boomerang.”

Sokka gasped, scandalised. “I am very careful, I’ll have you know.”

“I’ve seen you walk into a canal because you were too busy impressing a girl.”

“That was different,” He huffed, crossing his arms and leaving her cheek feeling suddenly cold. “I can be careful whilst impressing a girl.”

Y/N sniffed. “Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

His grin made her wonder whether she should have challenged Sokka, but it was too late as he hoisted her up into his arms, protests or weight be damned. Since his broken leg had healed, and he had more time to grow into his shoulders, he had only gotten stronger, and Y/N had only gotten more bashful about the fact it was harder to see him as just a friend.

The guards seemed unwavering at the sight, Y/N only catching a single smirk as she was carried away from Zuko’s quarters and towards the kitchens. Only when Sokka had decided the coast was clear did he finally put her down, placing her up on one of the countertops.

“What are we doing here?” Y/N asked, going to slide down to the floor.

Sokka’s hand stopped her, firm on her knee. “You haven’t been sleeping properly, so I’m gonna make us some tea!”

“You? Tea?”

“Yeah,” He said, hand still on her as he rummaged through shelves of dried herbs. “Iroh taught Zuko, who taught Katara, who ranted to me a lot about some medical nonsense, but I picked some stuff up.”

“Please don’t poison us,” She laughed, placing a daring hand over his.

He looked up at her, deadly serious. “No promises.”

Snorting a laugh, Y/N pushed down the clingy need to whine as he moved away from her, watching Sokka begin to heat tea. In the water, he strained some brown roots and dried purple flowers into the water. It didn’t look like poison, and it certainly didn’t smell like it. Nevertheless, she found some joy watching him focus on the tea, tongue stuck out to the side as he did.

After a few minutes, Sokka had served the tea in cups he had swiped from another cupboard. Tapping their cups together, they both took a sip.

“It’s certainly...” Y/N grasped for a word, “Memorable.”

“It’s not as good as Iroh’s, that’s for sure,” Sokka frowned, but still sipping at the tea.

“I like it,” She beamed, basking in the warmth of the herbal blend.

The smile on his face made her comment worthwhile. Tentative, he took a step towards her, placing his cup down at her side. “Do you feel better?”

“A little bit,” She said, looking down into the remains of her tea.

“I know you haven’t been sleeping properly for a while, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”

Y/N startled. “W-what do you mean?”

“Y/N, I’m not just a pretty face,” Sokka smirked, though it fell into concern near immediately. “Do you not remember ending up in your bed every time you fell asleep on the beach?”

Huh. She did remember that.

“I’d always assumed I had made my own way there and was too tired to remember.”

There was that hand again, soft against her cheek. “I’m not gonna leave my best girl to sleep on sand.”

“Oh.”

“Hey.” His voice brought her gaze to his eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

She nodded. His lips ghosted hers. The kiss tasted of bitter valerian root and was all the sweeter for it. She leaned into the warmth of his touch, feeling more content then than she had in months. Smiling against his lips, Y/N snaked her hand up the back of his head to untangle his hair from its wolf tail, running her fingers through it. Sokka only seemed more enthusiastic as he pulled her closer until she was flat against him on the very edge of the counter.

For a moment, he pulled away, and she couldn’t help the small whine that escaped her lips. “You need to sleep.”

“What?” She barked out a laugh. “You go from kissing me to saying I should go to sleep? I wasn’t that bad.”

“No! No, no, no,” Sokka said, panic overtaking his face. “I just worry about you, Y/N.”

Nuzzling into his neck, she grinned. “I could sleep right here.”

“Could we at least move to somewhere comfier?” He whined, wrapping his arms around her. “My room has a sofa I could take.”

Y/N looked at him. “And a double bed.”

With a low laugh, Sokka pecked a kiss on her nose. “Sure.”

Despite the laughs - and the kisses - Sokka made it known that he could be her safe space, and was happy to be it for her.

#anon request #anon #sokka x reader #sokka #zuko #post-atla #angst #fluff #happy ending #the after #mental health #self care #missturtleduck

[mystic-kitten-writer]

you should release limerence chapter 35 tnight bc in graduating today and its b so cool to come home to the smut😳😳😘😘 (im kidding omg pls take ur time ily)

Congratulations babes~!

I hope you had a fantastic evening, and I’m very proud of you and your accomplishments 🥰🥰

I do apologize for not being able to post chapter 35 for your special day, it really would’ve been the perfect treat 🤧

But here is a small teaser of chapter 35, just for you!

I hope you had an amazing night, and once again, congratulations; from both my Fiance and I 💜💜💜

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

           The tiniest of mewls left me, limbs stretching, down to the tips of my toes, like a cat who had just awoken from a well-rested nap.

           The muscles in my body tensed and then relaxed, basking in the beautiful warmth of the sunlight raining through the pulled curtains, a faint breeze entering the bedroom. I could feel the soft caresses of the blankets against my legs, sluggishly pulling my body back into the warm cocoon I had created.

           A morning yawn escaped my lips – cozy, warm, happy.

           When was the last time I fell asleep and woke up this refreshed?

           The ache that ran up and down my spine felt like a distant dream, my face snuggling itself further into the pillow, which I rested on. It was like someone put heating packs over my body during the night, my joints loose and body ten times more flexible. A good night’s rest, this is what I needed.

           I moaned lowly, a kittenish smile painting itself as I pulled the teddy closer to my chest. The giggles, the smiles, nose a blushing red as I hummed in delight. The bed felt so welcoming at the moment, beckoning me further in the blankets- it felt like home. The fur of the stuffy rubbing my face, its brown hairs tickling my chin-

           My eyes snapped open, body rigid as memories of last night flooded my mind at once.

           Kiyi.

           Shit-shit-shit-

           The soothing haze in my mind disappeared speedily as my body flung itself upwards. That blissful moment of peace gone as if Aang bent the happy atmosphere with a single swipe, the reality of the situation hitting me like a ton of bricks. I found my body twisting, hands frantically falling over the space beside me.

           A soft thud from where the teddy dropped onto the soft blankets, the area next to me seemingly untouched as the bed was perfectly made, pillow even fluffed. “Kiyi-” I gasped, shaking my head because she wasn’t here. The bed void of her cute chubby cheeks and contagious laugh. Did she go to the bathroom?

           My eyes shifted upwards, and the smile that was once on my face turned into a large frown. The bathroom door was open, just how I left it, and it was at that moment; I took in the fact that the whole room seemed too vibrant for it to be morning.

           No, it couldn’t be- The way the sun shined, no shadow present had my shoulders falling. It was too bright for it to be morning; it must almost be lunchtime.

           Did I oversleep?

           Why didn’t anyone wake me up?

           Did Kiyi go to school on time?

           “Oh no-oh no-oh no-” I anxiously spoke, my hands falling over my face as the stress of the day started looming. I had so many things I had to do today; a meeting planned for this morning-

           The delicate sound of ceramic clacking against wood caught my attention, carrying with the breeze.

           My ears perked, body stiffening- it was so light, almost nonexistent, that for a moment, I thought I was hearing things, yet again. Could it be coming from outside? I let out a breathless sigh between my fingers.

           What’s wrong with me?

           It seems that not even a goodnight’s rest is enough at the moment. I let the experience slide to nothing more, but my mind playing tricks, grumbling as soft huffs of frustration left me. But I found my breath catching because I could hear it once more.

           The distinct sound of papers shuffling, someone breathing.

           What-

           This wasn’t my imagination, and feeling the delicate wind brush against my skin, hair fluttering, made me take in one huge factor – I never left the window open last night.

           Someone-someone is in here-

           Wearily, my hands slide down my face, skin dragging as pins and needles ran throughout my body. The soft sounds of someone breathing coming from the left of me, heart pounding as I anxiously titled my head. The shiver that ran up my spine, the distinct memory of footsteps pattering along the floor, blankets being pulled last night flashing through my mind.

           I’m hearing things; there’s no one here. There’s no way it’s Zu-

           “Mmm, look who’s awake.” A low voice droned; tone dry.

           The way my hands dropped to my side, body weak, our gazes meeting – this can’t be.

           It was a dream.

           It was a dream-

           But he’s right there.

           The way his stunning gold eyes narrowed, effortlessly bringing the teacup to his pink lips. The green liquid in his cup swirled, the sound of him taking a slow sip ear-splitting. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, before letting the teacup slip from his grip, the noise from before – pottery resting against wood – mocking me.

           He leaned back effortlessly on the chair he rested upon, papers scattered throughout, a few in his grasp. And while his legs were spread, head titled as he idlingly stole another sip, the look in his eyes spoke overwise. The way he watched over me, taking note that the documents in his hands, they were wrinkled, fingers pressed so tight-

           My lips moved soundlessly, the feeling of fresh tears dripping down my cheeks, leaving tiny droplets over our bedspread.

           Zuko.

#zuko #atla #Avatar The Last Airbender #avatar the last airbender zuko #atla zuko #anon answered #ask me anything #happy graduation #i hope you like this #also I totally made that banner for you because im extra and ily

[seydaneencensusoffice]

Prince Borggaeir (son of High King Janse of Skyrim) meets Ruluril, a Falmer and future Lord Sorcerer of Skyrim. Windhelm, circa 1E 390.

    In the courtyard of the western wing of the Windhelm Palace was a rowan tree, tall and bushy, which was wreathed in clusters of tiny white flowers in spring and bursting with blushing red berries in autumn. The old tree had plenty of company. The palace was always bustling; servants in the household of Prince Borggaeir and Princess Saga, the two small children of High King Janse, used the courtyard as a thoroughfare between the kitchens and the royal quarters. They sneaked handfuls of rowan berries to eat on their busy days, cramming them into pockets stained red with juice. In the summer, precious and fleeting in that far-northern city, the palace gardeners rested under the shade of the rowan tree and ate roasted sunflower seeds, then tossed the shells to the squirrels and birds that made their homes in its boughs and raised offspring on its bounty year after year.

   That year, a pair of robins were nesting in a hollow partway up that majestic trunk. Borggaeir, the young prince Skyrim, had become something of a birdwatcher. In the winter, he took to sitting on the wooden bench in the courtyard to observe as the little brown-and-orange birds carried moss, grass, and leaves into the hollow to build their nest. One day, he had even seen the female of the pair arrive triumphantly with a scrap of blue silk torn from a cloak clasped in her beak. Spring came, and the robins took turns to forage for seeds and worms to bring back to the nest for the chicks that had hatched inside. Borggaeir smuggled handfuls of nuts from the kitchens and scattered them over the icy ground, then retreated to the bench to watch his robins hop over and snatch them up.

   The dreamy, curious child would rather study the birds in the rowan tree than the volumes of Nordic poetry, history, and war theory he had to study as a prince of the empire. While his sister Saga was a diligent student, sharp and witty and the apple of their father’s eye, Borggaeir had a habit of hiding in the courtyard when it was time for lessons. The royal tutor often found his young student sitting under the rowan tree, wrapped up in a fur-lined cloak, with his pale blonde hair braided neatly and tied back with a blue ribbon and his cheeks flushed rosy in the cold.

   Sometimes, another child hid in the courtyard, watching Borggaeir as the little prince watched the birds. One spring morning, when the servants in the royal household were tidying up after breakfast, he crouched behind the gooseberry bushes and winter roses, hoping that Aunt Yue wouldn’t notice his absence. He wore a standard issue servant’s grey woollen tunic and moccasins that were too big for his feet. Peeking out of the hood of his cloak was a wan little face, with grey almond-shaped eyes and skin white as the snow that was melting on the ground. As he watched Borggaeir play, the servant boy rubbed his icy cold hands together to generate warmth, envying the fine leather gloves clipped to the sleeve of the prince’s cloak.

   But all was not well under the rowan tree. The robin fledgelings had begun to venture out of the hollow and test their downy wings. That day, Borggaeir had found one of them lying cold and dead in the snow, its neck broken.

   The pampered little prince had not seen much of death. He understood it in the simplest terms, as a goodbye that was never remedied, a promise broken — like the bloodless hands of his mother, which had stroked his face the night before, but now lay folded and still across a chest that no longer rose and fell with the rhythm of breathing. His eyes began to prickle with hot indignant tears as he prodded the bird’s pitiful body with a stick, scolding it. How could it die? How could it leave its mother? Didn’t it want to learn to fly; didn’t it want to eat the walnuts he scattered on the ground?    

   Nearby, in the gooseberry bushes, the servant boy watched quietly, pitying the little prince who was so innocent that he would shed tears over the death of a bird. The prince had never seen villages go up in flames, bodies of friends and family burned beyond recognition, men slaughtered, women and children captured to be sold into servitude; such horrors were beyond his imagination. All that he wanted was for a baby bird to open its eyes and ruffle its feathers, as if waking from sleep.

   With thin fingers reddened by the cold, he parted the branches and peeked out between the leaves. All it took was clear intent and a rush of magicka flowing through his body toward the motionless body on the ground and the robin chick began to stir. Spreading its weak fledgling wings, the bird pushed itself up onto its spindly legs and began to peep.

   The prince gasped and leapt to his feet in shock, dropping the stick. How could such a thing happen? He looked around wildly, heart racing, and realised at last that he was not alone: A little ghostlike face stared out from the gooseberry bushes.

   “What did you do?” he demanded. He was no more than five or six years old, but already spoke with the imperious tone unique to royalty.  

   The servant’s hood slipped back, revealing black hair tied into a neat bun and long, pointed ears. Like Aunt Yue, the housekeeper of the prince and princess’ household, he was a Falmer.  

   “I woke it up for Your Highness,” he said softly, averting his eyes.

   “You’re strange.”

   The Falmer’s eyelashes trembled against his frosty cheeks. Worrying his lower lip with his teeth, Borggaeir crouched down again and held out his hand. The chick hopped onto his palm and he cupped it gently, unnerved by the coldness of its body and the way it cocked its head, more like a ball-jointed doll than a real bird. Still, he was pleased; now it could go back to its nest, and it wouldn’t have to be separated from its parents. A smile lit up his sweet childish face.

   “How did you —”

   “Ruluril! Prince Borggaeir!”

   Both children startled at the voice of Aunt Yue, who was shouting as she stormed across the courtyard in heavy boots. The little Falmer, Ruluril, disappeared into the gooseberry bushes with a panicked squeak, only to be dragged out unceremoniously by the sleeve of his tunic. Aunt Yue, a tall and wiry woman enveloped in a blue brocade cloak, seized Borggaeir with her other hand and began to march the two boys inside.

   “Both of you! Into the kitchen — NOW!”

   As he trembled in her firm grip, Ruluril’s pale lips moved in a silent incantation. The robin chick went still and collapsed into the snow. A cool spring breeze picked up across the courtyard, stirring the new green shoots on the branches of the rowan tree.

#they'll grow up to be the main antagonists fighting against the chimer and dwemer in the war of independence #a chapter from my current project...

[schmokschmok]

star dust imprints on her waiting skin

I'm really happy to finally share the pinch hit I wrote for @avatar-rarepair-exchange-2021 for @loopy777, I had so much fun writing this!

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Relationship: Azula x Yue

Characters: Azula, Yue, Zuko

Wordcount: 5100 (17 Triple Drabble)

Tags:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Arranged Marriage

POV Second Person

Summary:

This is the stranger you’re supposed to marry. The princess presented to your father as your equal. The girl you have never seen before.

aka: The politically motivated engagement of Yue and Azula that soft-boils Azula's heart over the course of several years. (5 facts disguised as secrets that Yue shares with Azula, + 1 secret disguised as fact that Azula keeps for herself.)

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29186226

Translation into German available: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29231442

CN: Food, Toxic Relationships (Azula and her father)

#1

You straighten your back before your father can reprimand your posture. Your pointy shoecaps point towards the door, and you clasp your hands behind your back to keep you from fiddling. They dressed you in your finest garbs, pulled your hair back into a perfect knot. It was your mother who crowned you princess with a sharp needle and golden hair ornaments. The incarnation of royal poise confined in the flesh and bone of your nine-year-old body.

They talk about contracts, safeguard, and tributes. They talk about localities and modalities, about peoples and connections. They talk about alliances, coalescences, and loyalty. – What they’re not talking about is you.

Zuko and you are stood unmoving behind your parents and their advisors, feet aching and fingers twitching for safe ground. He doesn’t reach for your hand, and you don’t reach for his, but you wished he were closer to you every time your eyes fall upon the white-haired girl on the other side of the negotiating table who doesn’t lift her head a single time to meet your gaze. You just want an allied soul in this room that can soothe the fire in your veins that flares up again and again and again as you examine the straight line of her shoulders; as your gaze falls upon the blue of her clothes and the brown of her boots; as her name is dropped as little as yours.

You can’t do anything other than look at her. Not only because she’s in your direct line of vision but also because you hope you can read your future in her clasped hands, star dust imprints on her waiting skin.

This is the stranger you are to marry. The princess presented to your father as your equal. The girl you have never seen before.

  #2

Your father beckons you to step forward. You’re supposed to bow and not say a word because everything has already been said without you. But perchance you’re able to catch a genuine glimpse of her face. The face of the girl who steps up in all her graceful serenity, fingers wound around an object in front of her body so firmly you can’t even see it up close.

Now she stands right before you and you can see the allusion of a smile on her lips; that small and invisible that no one but you may notice; a conspiratorial smile just for you, a secret between you that no one else is privy to. – You don’t want her intimacy, her conspiracy, but yet you answer by swallowing down the anger and helplessness that spreads through your veins. All that remains is the embers beneath your midriff.

In the hollow of her hands lie a dark ribbon and a blue, cut stone. She bows her head, avoiding your gaze and stretching out her hands, she’s offering you a necklace, and you don’t know if it would be justified to reach for it, so you reach for her hands instead and bring them to your neck, although everything in you rebels against the thought of strange hands on your vulnerable throat. But when her touch, as she puts the necklace on your neck, is feather-light you seek her gaze in surprise. You can’t find it. She doesn’t stop not looking at you. And as she lets go of the necklace and takes a step back, the weight of the stone brings down the weight of her gift onto your shoulders.

You’ll be married once you’re sixteen, and although your entire life so far is ahead of you, it feels like the end.

  #3

In the evening you put the chain on your bedside table, in the morning on your neck, at night it disperses the light of the moon and at noon your will.

Zuko says he’s your father’s heir and that there is no place for you anymore. Zuko says the only place for you is in the midst of ice and snow. Zuko says they’re going to send you away because you’re not getting married, you’re being married off. You, however, know he’s wrong. You know your father would never allow them to send you away. You know your place is on the throne of the Fire Lord and nowhere else.

Ty Lee says it’s so very romantic that you can carry around your fiancée’s promise every day for everyone to see. Ty Lee says it’s so very sensible that the stone was cut just for you, by hands that tried to create the perfect gift for you. Ty Lee says you’re so very lucky that you know what awaits you in your future. You, however, know she’s misguided. You know the stone is your brand mark. You know everyone should be able to see who you really belong to, that you don’t belong here anymore, like Zuko said.

Your mother says it’s alright to be sad. Your mother says you can cry whenever you feel the urge. Your mother says she understands how you feel because she had been in your situation herself before she married Ozai but she’s so very happy now with Zuko and you. You, however, know she’s lying. You know she’s the one who told your father to accept the plea of the Northern Water Tribe. You know she’s the one who doesn’t want you to be here, and that Zuko will end up being right.

  #4

They have kuspuk and parka and mukluks ready for you. Thick and lined und far too much too blue. In the clandestineness of your room, you slip into the heavy fabric and you don’t recognise yourself underneath all that winter. Your own eyes stare back out of the mirror but the rest of you that you can see belongs to the fiancée of the princess of the Northern Water Tribe.

Most of the time you’re able to forget what is awaiting you, the heavy necklace an everyday weight, but in moments like this the weight of the world rests on your shoulders. The day you must leave for good is approaching and no amount of hoping and pleading and begging will keep them from sending you away.

“You look like one of them,” Zuko says and in your haste to turn around you trip over the mukluks behind you. Arms crossed in front of his body and head tilted, he watches you struggling with your balance.

He’s about to turn away as if he has been only waiting for a chance to taunt you and disappear, coming away full-handed, but then he pauses and his wandering eye studies your room until it finds its way back to you. Maybe he views the hard line of your mouth as victory, maybe the fur-trimmed hood as triumph. Maybe he wants to bask once more in the realisation that it is you who was wrong; that your mother has achieved all her goals. You must go and Zuko is going to ascend the throne.

Before he finally turns to go, his gaze softens only for a moment, you almost don’t recognise him, and he says: “Blue suits you.” And suddenly, you’re alone again, drowning in a parka made for someone bigger than you.

  #5

The seasons pass you by, in reality, however, it is you passing by the landscapes. It doesn’t comfort you, the steady progress of the royal sloop, the constant trampling of the Komodo rhinos, the never-ending roar of the sea you can always hear, feet on board or land. The cold air an incessant memory that you have left the Fire Nation and its heat behind. Proof that it doesn’t matter that you’ve spent your entire life being better and best; that it’s worthless, the word of your father to whom you’ve given all your loyalty; it doesn’t make a difference that you would become heir to the throne if Zuko would misstep because you’ve already gone too far. You’ve reached the outskirts of the Northern Water Tribe and the masses of snow and ice are shining towards you.

From now on, this is to be your home, the place you’re going to live, the realm where you’re merely the consort of the regent. You are made for greater things but Zuko is the one who will end up on the throne because your mother’s care has ensured that you will never attain what you’ve fought for.

It is the first time in your life you will not get what you want; the first time you will have to submit to a decision made against your will; the first time it looks like you will just have to resign yourself to your fate. And your fate is to live out your existence at the North Pole while the cold drives the fire out of your veins.

But the reality is actually this: Your mother is no more and Zuko is gone, but they still didn’t call you back, all three of you were mistaken. You, however, don’t know anything about it.

  #6

You miss Mai, Ty Lee and your afternoons in the palace garden. You miss trainings fights and talking behind closed doors about the things Ty Lee and May can’t confide in anybody else. You miss the warm feeling of gratification that spread through the pit of your stomach whenever Mai asked in a low voice: “Don’t tell anyone, Azula, not even Ty Lee.” You miss the intoxicating feeling of sprinkling barely decipherable hints of all their secrets into conversations, always bordering on revelation. You miss the feeling of being needed, of being in control, of not being alone.

At the North Pole, you’re lonely, an oil lamp amidst arctic wind.

Sometimes you’re lonely together with Yue. Lonely because she doesn’t belong to you but to the Northern Water Tribe; expressions of loyalty would be nothing but hollow phrases. Together because sometimes she looks at you as if wants to whisper soft words meant only for your ears. But most of the time she blinks decidedly and averts her gaze from you as if she had just noticed who’s sitting in front of her. (That you’re sitting in front of her.)

(Sometimes you wonder what Yue could confide in you. You wonder what secrets lie dormant in a person like Princess Yue; what feelings and thoughts, that she wouldn’t share with anyone else, are hidden behind her superficially polite words; what vulnerabilities are buried beneath her introspective smile and kind eyes. You wonder how far you would have to dig to reveal what is hidden inside her. But most of the time you are preoccupied dealing with the anger that is constantly threatening to burn its way out of you that you can’t concentrate on anything but breathing in and breathing out and breathing away all the need for rash action.

  #7

The first secret she confides in you isn’t really a secret, it’s a “this one is my room, don’t hesitate to knock if you need anything, doesn’t matter the time of day” and an imploring “no matter when” as you walk past Yue’s door. But it feels like a secret, in this residence where every ice pillar looks the same and where, on some days, you can barely find your own room (which is not far from hers).

You try to think as little as possible about the fact that you now know the place where she is most vulnerable, because there can only be one reason why Yue has taken this step towards you: She is trying to gain a strategic advantage by laying the groundwork to be able to extract information from you without you seeing through her game. It doesn’t matter that you find yourself at her door on bad days, hand only moments away from knocking, because the thing is: Yue is not the only one capable of coming up with a game plan – a battle plan, really – and you’re tired of waiting for the situation to change on its own; tired of waiting for your father to finally bring you back home; tired of being passive and deedless and waiting. You want to finally take action, and maybe the only way to achieve that goal is to beat Yue at her own game; even if that means taking different paths than you’re used to go. (You know what your father would ask of you to win Azulon over. And how difficult could it be to conquer a princess that has already laid claim to you far too long ago? You can be perfect for her, you think, doesn’t take too much effort. A cinch, really.)

  #8

“I’ve never been interested in card games,” you say in way of greeting, your shoulder leaning against the doorframe and the offer of peace in your voice. Yue winces, visibly taken off-guard by your appearance. “My strength has always been more in Hide and Explode and the shell game.”

For a moment, her fingers fiddle with the Water Four she was about to place on the second pile from the left. Then she places the card next to the board and indicates for you to enter.

Your shoes almost slip on the ice, but you carry it off well that the floor catches you unprepared in unsuspecting moments and throws you off balance.

As you sit with her on the carpet in front of her bed, she says: “Usually, I play Pai Sho.” For a moment you’re reminded of Uncle Iroh, whom you have seen playing Pai Sho so many times but who never offered you teach you – just as he never wanted to teach you generating lightning. (You took up the lightning, discarding the Pai Sho.)

“I’ve never played Pai Sho,” you retort, while you can’t believe that a first opportunity to gain her trust presented itself so quickly and so obviously (a mundane opportunity, but you’re patient. This is your road to the throne, albeit the wrong one), and you swallow your anger at Iroh.

“Oh,” Yue says quietly. “I can show you how it’s played.” She makes no move to stand up. “But you’ll have to do something for me in return, all right?” A conspiratorial smile spreads across her lips; a smile you have seen before, and you brace yourself for the worst. But you do nod determinedly. “You gonna explain to me what Hide and Explode is.”

This will be even easier than you expected.

  #9

The second secret she confides in you is not necessarily a secret either, but you let it pass as one because it means moving a step forward. You sit outside the palace and she explains the rules of Ice Marbles, which, unlike Pai Sho, seems like something you might actually enjoy. (You’re good at Pai Sho, a natural-born strategist, but little comes close to the sweet satisfaction of a victory evoked by a game in which you had to really put yourself out.)

Her hand cups yours as she corrects your grip, and you concentrate all your strength on simply accepting her feather-light touch. (You remember the first time she touched you, you feel the stone on your neck, making you much less of an outcast here.)

“Since you’ve arrived,” Yue says suddenly, without taking her hand from yours, “I wonder how on earth it’s possible that you don’t freeze.” She looks at your red and black coat, clearly not designed for North Pole temperatures.

You stare at the marble in your hand and reply: “Fire.”

The temperature of your fingers increases, and with the melting of the ice marble, Yue pulls her hand away to avoid burning her skin on yours. You regret a little that you didn’t tease the same indignant reaction out of Yue that Zuko would have displayed in this situation. But you also don’t expect her to say in a low, concerned voice: “You must be awfully hungry from all that bending.”

She doesn’t ask why you’re still dressed in the thin coats of the Fire Nation and not the warm parkas of the Water Tribe, even though so much time has passed by. Instead, she shows you the way into the kitchen and the best way to obtain a midnight snack without getting caught.

 #10

Your hot fingers bend metal, that was once a necklace of yours, into a new shape and you wonder what exactly it is you are doing here. Or rather: You know exactly what you are doing, but you cannot explain why you are doing it.

For years, the betrothal necklace around your neck hasn’t felt as heavy as it did when you were still in the Fire Nation, and by now you know the necklaces are given away by the courting to the courted. You know that wearing the necklace marks you as courted, as ensnared, as smitten, and you’re so very tired of seeing Yue’s bare neck peeking out of the collar of her parka. You’re not the kind of person whose benevolence is ensured without wearing your sign, too. Showing your allegiance so very publically when Yue’s not also constantly reminded that you’re not the only one who belongs to someone else.

So, you sit in the snow, wrapped in your coat and focusing your full attention on the gentle, precise bending of the metal to make a pendant for the red ribbon you pulled from another one of your necklaces. (You have no use for all the jewellery they bestowed upon you when you were forced to leave. There is only one necklace left for you to wear until you’re married.)

You dip the pendant into the snow to smother the glow and you look at the teardrop shaped thing into which you still have to engrave flames to avoid any confusion about who Yue is belonging to.

(In the end they look more like churning waves, you’re not an artist by any means, but Yue’s smile is so frighteningly genuine and so surprisingly infectious that you don’t mind it as you put the necklace on her.)

  #11

The third secret she confides in you may not be a deep, dark secret but it must be enough to reassure you that you are on the right track.

“I know a spot,” Yue said before she led you outside late at night and posited you right behind her on a polar bear dog. You rode for quite a while and, after she asked you to, you actually kept your eyes closed. (You tell yourself that you did it because you want to convey to her that you trust her, so she can completely and utterly hand herself over to you. But she has never given you any reason not to trust her, hasn’t she?)

Suddenly, the polar bear dog halts and you feel Yue lowering herself from its back to the ground. You pause until you feel her hand rest on your thigh, the back of her hand facing down, the inner palm turned up so you can put yours into hers so she can help you down.

“All right,” Yue says after leading you away from the polar bear dog. She stops you and turns you in another direction, then, without letting go of your hand, she says: “You can open your eyes now.”

And as you open your eyes, the vastness of the cold tundra and the polar light stretching above hits you right in the heart. You feel so small and overwhelmed that only Yue’s hand in yours can stop you from turning back to the polar bear dog and fleeing. (You’ve never felt like this before, and you don’t know how to deal with so many feelings that aren’t anger or defiance or spite.)

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Yue asks softly, and you can’t help but look at her out of the corner of your eye.

  #12

The only reason you came back to the place she showed you was because you wanted to be alone. Truly and utterly alone. Just a few precious hours without another living creature, while the North Pole sleeps and you can be finally in your own element again. (The constant control of your own body temperature and the perpetual cold drains you because there is so much more inside you that isn’t allowed to come out.)

You stole a midnight snack from the kitchen and wolfed half of it down before shaking out your limbs and stretching them.

Everything in Agna Qel’a is made of ice and you can’t afford to lose the goodwill of the city by melting its infrastructure or damaging a few buildings. So you must use the empty expanse of the tundra to scratch the itch inside of you; to finally get back to doing what you were born to do.

At first your joints feel unwieldy and frozen, as if you’ve never bend fire in your life, but the longer you twist and turn across the ice, the smoother your movements become, until eventually you feel as if you’ve never done anything else in your life. Laboured breathing, you slip your coat off your shoulders, your upper arms and face steaming in the cold. As you stretch your arms above your head to stretch the muscles in your shoulders, you suddenly hear a voice you didn’t expect: “That was beautiful.”

Surprised, you turn to Yue, whose hand clasps the reins of a polar bear dog. You reply slowly: “Firebeding is powerful.”

Yue shakes her head and it almost looks like she is smiling at you as she says: “No, what I mean is: It looked beautiful.” And you don’t know what to do with that statement.

  #13

It’s the Avatar.

The damned Avatar is at the North Pole and you don’t know what to do. (Or rather: You know very well what would be expected of you. You know that if you father knew about the Avatar, he would expect you to report to him without hesitation. You know that he would expect you to put a quick end to the Avatar. And you could, because he is so young and so inexperienced and so powerless that it would be easy for you to overpower him. But why should you do what your father expects of you? Why, after all this time of not hearing a word from him beyond the order to report back, should you do what he asks of you? You have waited so long for him to explain to you why he left you alone. You have waited so long for him to take you back and tell you that it was just a gambit to give you the space you deserve. You waited so long and were disappointed).

(And then there’s Yue, who doesn’t want to hide from you that the Avatar is at the North Pole; who looks into your eyes with vulnerable, brittle faith and tells you not to tell anyone; who begs you to keep quiet, even though she knows your father would demand otherwise).

The damned Avatar is at the North Pole and you don’t know what to do. (And you remain silent, just as your father remained silent when you had to leave the Fire Nation. And you stay silent because you have to gain Yue’s trust after your father lost yours. And you just watch the Avatar becoming stronger and stronger, because he’s going to affect your father in a way you could never possibly have).

  #14

The moment you realise that your loyalties cannot lie with your family and the Northern Water Tribe comes in the form of General Zhao laying siege to your city. (It is the first time you think of Agna Qel’a as your city; feel Agna Qel’a as your city). You must decide which side you’ll extravert.

This acknowledgement should not be difficult for you, even though your father is everything you have ever lived for. But still you stand rooted to the spot in a pile of snow and cannot lift a finger. Everything inside you freezes and you can only watch as Zhao makes his way to the oasis.

Your heart wanders reluctantly to Yue, who asks you in a trembling voice to support the Avatar and help the Northern Water Tribe; who desperately grabs your hand and asks you urgently if you are on the same side.

(Are you on the same side? So far you have only ever been on your side and the side you would share with other people has always had to be yours. Mai and Ty Lee have been on your side and you’ve been kind of on your father’s side. But now it’s different, now everything is different, and maybe it’s time to take a side that you’ve chosen all by yourself).

“General Zhao,” you call out with all the potency in your voice, and you surprise yourself. Even though you live at the North Pole and no longer have the same power as before, you are still his princess and he must do as you ask. “What do you think you are doing? Whose orders do you think you are acting on?” And with that, your battle lines are drawn and you are not sure how you found yourself on this side.

  #15

The fifth and final secret she confides in you sounds like the greatest revelation Yue is capable of.

You sit together in the middle of the tundra, five-fingered gloves and thick parkas with fur-trimmed hoods protecting you from the icy cold of the wind. The only other creature in sight is the polar bear dog on which you sneaked out of town.

“Can I tell you something I’ve never told anyone before?” Yue asks quietly, without looking at your face. You brace yourself for her to tell you something that will somehow move you forward, that will tell you how to finally take another step further.

When she doesn’t continue, you encourage her to keep talking: “Sure. Go on.”

“When I became old enough to be inducted into political business,” Yue begins, and you perk up, because until now you’ve been kept out of most political matters, because as the princess’s consort you don’t have the right to participate in the conversations and discussions, “my father forbade me to keep on penguin sledding with the other children because it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to do so. But I still sneaked out one time at night because I couldn’t stop myself.” A blush spreads across her cheeks that you’ve never seen on her before, you almost don’t recognise her.

“Penguin sledding,” you repeat, bewilderment creeping into your voice. (You were expecting a mystery to match the abysses of yours, but this one is so far from your understanding of what mystery truly is that you can’t stop yourself from laughing a little.)

Her cheeks turn even redder and she tries to hide her face from your gaze as she embarrassingly exclaims “Yes!”, which makes you laugh a little more. Suddenly you are no longer sure if you remember the plan.

  #16

The scroll in your hands looks as if you had never opened it, only the broken seal proves that you know the contents. You look at Yue, who is sitting on the carpet in front of her bed, and you say: “I must pack.”

Frowning in surprise, Yue asks: “What?”

“My father wrote to me,” you reply, then hand Yue the scroll so she can read for herself that your father is ordering your intervention in the doings of Iroh and Zuko.

Her eyes dance frantically over his words and with strained disbelief in her voice she asks: “And now you must pack?”

“I must pack and begin to search,” you declare, your thoughts already half buried in a map of the world.

Yue sighs sea-bottom-deep before she can stop herself, noting: “You must obey his command, for your people, I understand.”

You snort, and the laughter that falls from your lips afterwards could almost be about Yue if it wasn’t so damn entertaining that it doesn’t matter how much time people spend with you because they fail over and over again at being able to read you.

“I must find the Avatar to teach him firebending,” you retort mockingly. There is nothing in this world that edges you on as much as malice and invidiousness and the mere gratification of doing something out of spite. (To your father, not to just anyone. The days he could enjoy your unquestioned loyalty are over. You want your throne, and the Avatar is the only one who can make it happen).

“I’ll come with you,” Yue says suddenly, already standing on her feet, and you can’t explain the warm feeling that spreads through your entire body. After all, you didn’t ask her to come.

You say: “Good.” And she smiles at you.

  #17

The boat Yue has organised for you is small and wooden and not at all meant for royal travellers in its sheer simplicity, but it will have to suffice to find the Avatar who is supposed to be in the Earth Kingdom. Yue has brought on board two waterbenders for your plan, who will not rat you out to Arnook (because they love Yue; a nonbender who is not even trained in combat, but who is so close to their hearts that they see nothing wrong with doing anything for her, even if their chief would not agree) and who are trained in steering boats.

You take one last look at the illuminated palace that has been your … home for the last few years, even if the thought doesn’t necessarily bring the same kind of comfort as knowing Yue at your side. (Yue, who, without questioning your motivation, has been immediately willing to do anything for her people, and thus somehow for you; who, in all your time at the North Pole, you haven’t had to convince of yourself in the same way as Mai and Ty Lee and your father, and in whom you can sometimes recognise parts of your mother that she only revealed to Zuko, but never to you).

“You want to tell them to put out to sea?” Yue asks, after checking her bag one last time to make sure she has packed everything. She has let you tie her hair into a topknot, and if it weren’t for the Water Tribe symbol on the medallion she has attached to it, you could easily mistake her for a Fire Nation princess.

You shake your head. “You do it.”

And then you reach for her hand and together you board the boat. Your journey is just beginning.

#schmok writes #avatar: the last airbender #azula x yue #fanfiction #atla rare pair exchange 2021 #atla

[infraaa]

Everyone always kept a close eye on two particular students at Nanjing University— the two student body council Presidents, Mu Lingchen and Mu Linghao. However, two of their individual student body associates were also worthy of watching...

tw// minor mention of blood (just for descriptive factor,) alcohol mention, implied manipulation, just in case...

Clouds painted the blue skies white that fortunate Saturday morning. No classes, just the painfully short weekend to study and catch up on coursework. On the second north street sat a small café, sheltering in warmth and the fresh earthy smells of tea and coffee and other baked goods, luring in the female students that would come and go. But, that warmth, comforting scents, and those beautiful amber, garnet, gold and silver lights weren’t the only things that attracted those young women.

An attractive young man usually worked the front bar by himself, long choppy hair that resembled oxygenated blood held high in a ponytail, pale skin that mocked the moon itself, and eyes of icy blue, that man was a student that belonged to one of the most top tier fraternities of the school-- Pi Kappa Alpha. The man loved his job, running that small coffee place with one of his good friends. Wan’er and Pan’An had always worked well with one another. Two serious people there to lower each other’s pegs and to get things done while still having a good time in the process. Saturdays were always the slowest. Normally, things would pick up around ten or eleven in the morning, but they got their first customer around nineish, which was sort of unorthodox, but not to be unexpected.

A woman in ruby and gold, eyes of red roses and pale dark brown hair-- half done up, half down. She always carried a pink Michael Kors purse with her, and her light, yet vibrant pinkish eye makeup never faulted. One of the most popular girls in the university, Daji, she never showed up at this little place, lest her friends were already there and they were always pestering Pan’An while his assistant was out on break. But why was she here now? There had to be a reason for her sudden arrival.

“Pan Yue?” She playfully mocked as she sat on his side of the bar. She knew that he hated being called by his birth name, He continued to polish the glasses in his pale hands, not a single sound being emitted from him. He knew that voice all too well, and he isn’t looking to try and get himself all tied up by her. “Pan Yue, I know you hear me,” she continued, “always such a stick in the mud, why don’t you just loosen up a little? You’re always so busy...” He put the glass up in its correct place in the cupboard and closed the soft shutting doors, turning his head over his shoulder in the process. “May I remind you ever so kindly to call me Pan’An?” His icy eyes, stern and darkening with each breath he took. Daji giggled at his passive aggressive temper. “My, someone’s grumpy this morning!~” The redhead sighed as he fully turned his body to face her, his hands cupping together around his abdomen. He raised an eyebrow at her, which made her cheekily smile in pride. “What will you be having this morning?” Daji scrolled over her phone, as she already took the time to scan the QR code sitting on the bar table. “My usual, if you could.” “I can’t serve anything alcoholic until after six,” Pan’An breathily stated, blinking, “If I may, I could make a recommendation—” “No, that’s fine, just give me a cappuccino, two extra shots of espresso.”

He immediately got to work on preparing her drink, being eyed by Wan’er, who was filing her nails to his right. She looked at Daji and sent her co-worker a look that stated, “I’m sorry for you.” He gave her a troubled smile before focusing back. The café was all set in silence until Pan’An finished with her drink with impressive speed, all the while, chaotic augmented screams were playing over and over, looping in his head like a faulty record. She received her drink, a rosy smile showing on her lips. “Would you like to pay your tab now or—” “I may just stay in here for a while, take up the atmosphere while it’s still serene, you know?” Those internal screams got louder and louder with each tick and tock on the clock that hung on the wall. He had a feeling now that she wasn’t just here to get a morning beverage, rather to talk with him, to see if she can get what she wants out of him. He sent Wan’er away to the back to perform weekly inventory before facing the brunette in front of him with his usual resting bitch face. “What?” he started. Daji snickered and put her phone down, drink in hand. “What?” “I know you want something from me. What is it?” He asked bluntly, almost in a rude way. She rolled her eyes at his tone. “Pan, you know the election this coming weekend? Next Sunday?” He nodded slowly, his mind already putting the pieces together.

“Mu Lingchen, I know he’s bound to go down! Literally, everyone is all up on him right now, which is my cue to make my shot known to the council.” Pan’An knew that a situation just broke out with Mu Lingchen and the new students that just enrolled, his younger sister, Mu Lingxi, she had already posted about the issue. It spread around social media like a chaotic wildfire, scalding the school’s populous with shade filled talk and frequent cat fights between the new girl and Mu’s current fiance, Xiao Lianyi. Mu Linghao had told his troop to stay out of the problems that had arisen, but, as a curious power person, Pan’An had already delved into it, having already invited the new girl over to his cafe, talking to her, all for the details about her current predicament with Xiao, Nian Suyan, and Miss Peace. He already had her wrapped around his pretty finger, allowing her to use him as a shield, a friend in all this chaos.

“I am already aware that Lingchen has already came onto Ling Ruo. His little crush to the ground however isn’t your opportunity to try and make his life any worse. He already has a lot on his plate, he doesn’t need you crashing down his castle.” Daji pouted as she swallowed a small gulp of her coffee. “Aw, come on,” she dragged, “You know you want to see Mu Lingchen go down. Aren’t you one of the boys that likes to watch the world burn?” He glared, his light pink cardigan sweeping past his calves as he walked around his station, just doing simple housekeeping as he listened. “I will not assist you in your climb to power. I’m not a fool, Daji. You only want to use me for your own gain because my position in the council is higher than yours.” He was right. As her superior. Pan’An had been in the council for about a couple years longer than her, thus, he had more power and influence, not to mention he was very much respected amongst the mainly female portion of the school’s population, and among men, he was feared as well as respected for his wit and unbeatable charm. Daji hated that. “No, it’s not that, you self absorbed little prick. I just think that if we were to work together, not only could I gain something, but so could you. It would be a win-win situation for the both of us, even if the council is separated into two teams, we could both get what we want, with me, more status, and with you, more power~. What do you think, hm?~” “Chénmò*!” Pan’An cut through Daji’s words like a heated blade, his voice normally raising up higher than normal in volume.

She chortled at his now rushing to surface anger, winking at him quite inappropriately for the situation. “You know, has anyone ever told you that you look cute when you’re angry? Especialy when you start yelling out in Chinese, that’s always very amusing.” Daji put on a dreamy looking expression, but it was seared away when he sent her a look that showed that he was close to rage. His back turned to her, eyed darkened, all se could see was the bottom of his pale blue irises. He didn’t have to say another word to her before she hastily got out her wallet and pulled out a ten, placing it slowly on the bar table before quickly walking out. He sighed roughly and got back to work, hearing Wan’er come out of the back. “I was contemplating on whether or not I wanted to come out. Are you okay?” She was smart enough not to disturb and angered Pan’An, but she knew that he couldn’t hurt her. He nodded. “I’m fine.” She could sense the negative undertone in his smooth tenor voice, chuckling slightly. She put a hand to his shoulder with a sorry looking smile. “Let me make you a Snickers Latte.” He looked at her and slowly smiled, his anger flushing out a bit. “I really am fine, Wan’er-” “Oh, don’t be like that! Go on, go on! Sit, sit!” She ushered him to the other side of her bar, starting to prepare that latte for him. He only sighed as he sat down in compliance. “I don’t understand your humor, Wan’er, and I don’t think I ever will.”

Translation Log

*Chénmò (沉默) - Silence

#Royal Chaos #royal chaos modern au #fanfic #character drabbles #infrawrites #tw//