#Explore AZ

[dopescissorscashwagon]

Cathedral Rock is beautiful at any time of day, but we think it's incredibly stunning at sunset.

The golden light casts a warm glow over the rock formation, and the views of the surrounding landscape are breathtaking. Plus, the crowds tend to be smaller in the evening, so you can enjoy the hike without feeling rushed. If you're looking for a truly magical experience, we recommend hiking Cathedral Rock at sunset. @desert_badger

[grandwretch]

modern au; nonbinary steve

dustin bullies steve into playing their favorite MMO with them. to Dustin's disgust, Steve's favorite part is collecting all the different cosmetic items and making cool fantasy outfits for his avatar. unbeknownst to the party, steve creates an alt account where he can collect the female outfits and wigs, because there's a bigger selection and they're much prettier.

as Steve interacts w people on his new account, he realizes he likes it better-- for one, people pay attention to women in a way he isn't used to. not all of it is good attention, but steve relishes in it. also, he likes that people see him as a woman. he likes that they don't even think about it. quickly he joins a guild and actually starts playing the game in earnest, just so that he has these relationships with people who view and treat him as a woman.

he meets Eddie there. Eddie is charming and flirtatious with everyone, men and women, but it's clear that Steve is his favorite. Very carefully, Steve becomes closer and closer to Eddie-- close enough that Steve is full of guilt.

He feels like he's lying to Eddie about who he is, even though he's told the truth about everything but his gender. Even worse is the realization that he doesn't ever want Eddie to think of him as man-- which is confusing, because steve isn't exactly comfortable with someone he's falling in love with thinking of him as a woman.

Things get even worse when, after Steve drunk texts Eddie after a night out with Robin, they start sexting. Its fun, casual flirtation, nothing too serious, but Strve realizes he likes the idea of sex better as his alternate self. He likes pretending to have tits, he likes imagining what it would be like to have a cunt, he likes talking about wearing lingerie and being Eddie's good girl.

He thinks he can't come clean without losing the best thing he's ever had, so Steve pushes his guilt down and pretends he's not in love.

Of course he gets caught out, eventually. Dustin and Eddie become friends in real life and Eddie isn't an idiot. Steve is mortified and distraught, but once Eddie is sure that this wasn't all a cruel prank, he's quick to assure Steve that nothing has to change-- Knowing that in real life Steve has broad shoulders and a square jaw doesn't make him any more of a "man" than his online avatar makes him a "woman". Not if that's not what Steve wants.

So Steve doesn't have to give anything up. He gets to keep his amazing, supportive boyfriend. He gets to keep his pretty clothes and avatar. He gets to keep experimenting in the bedroom, finding out what makes him happy instead of what he thinks he should be doing.

And he gets more, things Steve never even dreamed of having: He gets to start buying pretty clothes in real life, too, and they hang next to his polos like they belong. He gets to grow out his hair. He gets to slowly find out what he likes, how he wants people to think of him, how he wants to think of himself.

[jadeazora]

Since we'll probably go to Kalos eventually in Horizons so they can advertise ZA and Zygarde, it would be cool to see AZ make his debut in the main anime and maybe draw a bit of a parallel to fellow immortal, Gibeon?

[silvermeww]

okay, when was someone going to tell me that

oh, idk, steven started at 19, burgh has a younger sister, clay actually isn't born american, skyla's whole fam thing and ELESA IS 15???? (even younger than skyla like wtf???)

(also the 'alder' at the bottom is supposed to be drayden lol)

and that's not all

say hello to:

viola being 18??? 'black whirlwind' korrina, RAMOS MEETING AZ'S FLOETTE AS A KID, genderfluid and apparently also age-fluid olympia, CLEMONT?? AND HIS WHOLE THING DOWN TO BEING 12 OF ALL AGES???

(you know what, marlon being 30 definitely makes sense with the hippie vibes)

wikstrom SAYING that he only wears that suit in pokemon battles but i've never seen his casual wear, malva being pr for flare lol, drasna selling dragon merch + great family lore if you want to know, siebold having to third-wheel lysandre and sycamore while eating (move aside malva, you're not the only elite 4 dealing with this) and 20?? YEARS OLD?? DIANTHA????????????

(way too many men in kalos are getting ladies, c'mon)

ethan being into history is such a neat detail hmmm, idk much of the frontier brains ngl, and we've finally got the region for looker and it's... hoenn??? you know what, makes sense with his chaotic vibes so i'll take it (throws away unova taped to a rock behind my back). also he's abolsutely cheating we all see that he's just relying on knowing us as protags, should've known smh

(um i think someone said that 'caitlin' should've been anabel but idk)

oh and the last one is charon, if we care about how much of a loser he really is. forget about birch and the poochyena, this guy is the lowest heh. imagine being charon (please don't).

(when the protags of johto are the same age as clemont lol) (yeah i know there are years between those events just let me have this)

and last but not least:

aaron 🤝 valerie: wanting to be pokemon (and ig gotta toss in shauntal with the ao3 writer gift heh, don't know if they would commission her or stay away), bertha's description???? i love flint just saying, cynthia 👀👀 is absolutely doing something illegal 👀👀, roark is WHAT??? (child labour laws in sinnoh must be lax ngl), maylene as well???? fantina watching scary movies is something i'll have to incorporate into my worldview and bryon?? are you okay??

so yeah. credit goes to @/KuroBlitz96 on the twitter/x for having this up, i'm just here to project sheer surprise at this massive dump of ages... my thoughts on pokemon have completely turned on its head once more lol (this is fine)

[agentc0rn]

Exploring

[sun-lit-garden]

“When your spirit cries for peace, come to a world of canyons deep in the old land.” – August Fruge

[unanswered-stars]

Based off of this post by @fourteentrout

While I am staunchly an Azris girly forever and I love Balthquin just think about Azriel x Balthazar.

His shadows report of the changes a young fae is making in his newly appointed garrison after being awarded the title of Oristian and how he welcomes females making the ranks of his warriors. They report how the young boys under his training are treated with kindness rather than cruelty.

He watches from the shadows as Balthazar celebrates starfall in Illyria and for the first time Azriel is able to see how deeply connected his people are to the land. He watches as Balthazar practically vibrates with joy as he flits from vendor to vendor sampling every cultural dish. The music of war drums fill the air as Illyrian’s begin shooting for the sky weaving an intricate dance among the falling stars. Any clipped females are held aloft by their sons and brothers as they toss and swirl them through the air before gently catching them again.

He watches in awe as Balthazar adorns himself with a ceremonial robe and joins a line of males and females alike as they chant their prayers to the passing stars.

His breath catches as the mischievous males eyes wander to his patch of shadows and stare a little to intensely as the songs builds and Azriel’s shadows join the many voices.

His wings have never felt so free as when he is tumbling through the sky later that night. A head of wild dark hair chasing close behind.

The world had never aligned more perfectly then when bronzed fingers grazed his own before gentle tangling against scared skin.

His listens closely as Balthazar pours his heart out about reforms in Illyria and how those placed in positions of power often hold to traditionalists beliefs and are able to smoother and strangle any voices of defiance with ease due to their position.

His heart breaks as he listens to Balthazar talk about his older brother who dreamed of being an artist but was tormented relentlessly for how useless he was and what a waste of a male for having such feminine inclinations. He watched as his brother was forced into training for the High Lord’s army and how unrecognizable his brother became. Azriel could feel the feel his guilt as he talked about how his brother came home to visit one month before the blood rite barely saying a word and when Balthazar asked if he had painted anything recently and how that haunted look in his brothers eyes nearly broke an 8 year old Balthazar. That was the last time he ever saw his brother.

He squeezes his hand in reassurance as Balthazar talked of his best friend from childhood who had taken control of her own life by ending it rather than allowing her wings to be clipped.

He simmered with rage and heartbreak as the male spoke with tears in his eyes about witnessing the execution of two males from his war band, for the sole crime of loving each other.

He spoke of a village tucked deep in the woods that is governed by women as is the only safe space for unclipped females and others like him who have been deemed as unworthy for their unnatural proclivities.

Azriel glows with pride as his male passionately describes the world he dreams for his people. The world that he has trained and fought so hard for. The world that he makes more of a reality with the dawn of each new day.

He is able to reconnect with his Illyrian heritage and finds that it was never being Illyrian that was the issue, it was being unable to move past the fact that his abusers were Illyrian. It was the fact that he hates himself so deeply that he cannot help but hate the very culture that created him.

With the passing of time Azriel found he was unable to love this male without loving the culture from which they both came and which so deeply entwined them.

Please tag me in your crackship headcanons!

[shutterandsentence]

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it Prone to leave the God I love Here's my heart, oh take and seal it Seal it for Thy courts above"

-Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing--18th century Christian hymn

Photo: Sedona, Arizona

[evermoredeluxe]

nesta wanting to have a threesome with cass and az being canon PLEASE. so real of her though lol

[tenderflint]

i feel so unversed in cassavetes studies yet according to letterboxd i've seen a quarter of his films. what being 19 in the first summer of the pandemic will get you i suppose

[ker-bee]

Dood day exploring desert roads.

[slightlyunconventional]

why am i tempted to write a k/az fic but with a/lina...... like i think they'd be silly together yk i reckon they'd have a cool dynamic and i also love her IM TEMPTED OKAY but i have no idea what scenario

[solcarow]

.

[agentc0rn]

not to sound biased or anything but genuinely az fans are some of the most creative and thoughtful people ive come across in the nooks and crannies of the pokemon fandom. i swear i learned so much both real history and poke lore history 😭 props to everyone out there with their theories, art, etc.

[stephenjams]

Aravaipa Canyon - az

[shutterandsentence]

Stay cool, everyone! It's a hot one!

Photo: Sedona, Arizona