#bet my whole tribe

[babythegod]

[sidabro]

revoke all of my historic credibility on western europe. i needed to look up a cerrain french costume for a piece depicting war that took place in the 1800'ies, and. I looked up the 30 years' war, and with full certainty that it made sence to depict, mm, D'Artagnian from the three muscateers in the second halve of 19th century. Please shoot me to death.

[infernalwitxhcraft]

All About: House Spirits

Well, it's about time I brought them up once again, in their own post. This guide may be on the lengthy side, but it's here to explain what they are and how to begin working with them.

What the hell is a house spirit?

House spirits come from all different cultures and folklore. Known as, you guessed it, guardians of the home. They protect the house itself, the land around it (they get along with the land spirit(s) most of the time), and they also protect the family if treated right. A home certainly doesn't feel like one without these presiding spirits helping. In fact it gives the home a life of it's own.

What do they look like? Are there types?

Across many cultures, there are these spirits and the folklore varies for each. In my tribe, we consider them to usually be little dwarves or goblins that must be appeased, otherwise they will cause bad luck or even resort to curses. Regular offerings are required. Then there are the land spirits, which is a whole other topic. If given regular offerings and respect, we believe that they will not only generate good luck and events for us, but protect us and help with our daily lives. For the witches of the tribe, they will often assist in rituals and spells. That all being said, this has carried over into my personal beliefs. Many cultures describe house spirits assisting with the same things and if they are displeased, bad occurrences following. As far as looks go, it depends on the folklore surrounding your area and your cultural background(s). You may believe in one or two types or an entire spectrum of house spirits from the realm of the fair folk. You could have one house spirit or twelve. It's entirely up to your home. In some cultures, there are door spirits (yes, that guard the doors) and ones that work in the kitchen, among others for different functions of the home.

Okay so, I live in an apartment building. Can I still work with them?

Yes. When I used to live in apartments, I found it was an either/or situation regarding how many were there. Some buildings have only a few that roam around, sometimes only one that protects the entire building, or there may be multiple hanging out in one apartment. Most complexes have multiple however. And then for the lucky buildings that have one for each apartment...those are nice. I've included a short offering ritual at the end of this post, which you can use to ask questions about whatever you wish to know, including how many there are in the building.

What kind of offerings do they like?

Milk, honey, bread, and herbs are a safe bet. They especially like bread baked by you, as they see it as a labor of love and that your energy is in there. Taking time to tend to the garden and taking care of your property & home in general are things they like to see. Don't leave the house a huge mess, as many prefer a tidy atmosphere. Not an offering per say, but important to mention nonetheless.

What should I put on their altar?

I keep my altar for them in the kitchen, as it is in a place that is undisturbed and can't be torn up by my land shark (aka, my dog). I also feel that most of the house spirits I have worked with in my life enjoy hanging out in this area of the home. They seem to like assisting in kitchen magic and cooking in general and the warmth of the stove. You may also want to include a small area near the front door if you believe that there are separate spirits for there. I'd recommend a shelf, as it won't take up as much space in the entryway.

Okay, back on track. Plants (if the space gets enough light), a cauldron, candles, offering bowls, a chalice, glass, or mug of some sort. A special spoon to stir the drinks or potions with. Decorative pieces from nature. Things you craft by hand.

How can I begin working with them?

Anytime, in reality. However, you do have to develop an actual relationship with them. This can take time and the more you speak to them, give offerings, and invite them in as you cook or clean, the more they will be willing to help with your spellwork, wards, and healing. Try the introduction ritual I've included. See what happens. Document it. Try again another time the following week. And just...keep going. Make sure that they know you haven't forgotten about them by leaving a small nightly glass of milk out before you head to bed. It doesn't have to be filled to the rim (hey, cost of living is ridiculous right now). It can be a splash with a squirt of honey added. Or a sprinkle of herbs on their bowl. Or maybe a small helping of what you whipped up for dinner. Point is to show them that you acknowledge and respect their presence. That will be the biggest component. Do the ritual once a week until you start seeing signs of contact. Once you do, make your own ritual with them. Incorporate them into your daily life. Ask them to help with blessing your cooking. Ask them to make sure your wards are in tact. Ask the door spirit to purify the energy of anyone that walks in & make bad people resist coming by. Start seeing if they'd like to sit in on a ritual, if you feel comfortable with that idea. Ask for a blessing when you clean the house & to assist you in removing all the bad energy.

Brief introductory ritual

To introduce yourself to your house spirits, I recommend sitting in your kitchen. If you consider your hearth to be the living room, you can choose to do it there. Make sure to bring offerings with that you feel will be applicable. Freshly baked bread (from your own hands) and some milk with honey stirred in would make a wonderful first treat. I usually introduce myself in a new home by bringing these treats to the location of choice, and start by speaking my intention aloud which goes something like:

"Spirits of the home,

Guardians and Protectors of this dwelling,

Please come sit with me and enjoy these offerings.

I wish to have a working relationship where we can honor, respect, and help each other."

I usually spend about ten-twenty minutes meditating after this is spoken aloud. Sometimes you will feel a strong presence. This is the time I take to set up my kitchen altar as well. If there is a place that I am able to create a mini-altar by the front door, I do so there for the door spirits. The land spirits get their own little thing out in the backyard. I've found in the many places I've lived, they almost always work together and some house spirits spend quite some time out there too!

From here on out, you'll develop your relationship with regular offerings and take it from there!

[innershoesuitcasebiscuit]

I've got this headcanon in my head about the hearts pirates. Remember that time when Law introduced the hearts pirate to Luffy?

I kinda imagine that his crew actually bugged him to introduce them to Luffy. That's why when he just introduced them as a whole crew not one by one they felt slighted.

I bet that each one of them expected to have a character introduction and they already planned each pose like for example.

This Bepo our navigator, he's from the minks tribe and he's the crew's baby.

These are Shachi and Penguin these two are left hand slash Bepo's nannies.

This is Hakugan our helmsman

Ikkaku our shipwright.

That would have been so funny.

I just hope that the rest of the crew were fine 🥹.

Is it fine that I worry more about Law's crew more than himself. After all I'm a big fan of Law he belongs to my top 10 list of fav One Piece characters.

🐻‍❄️🐻‍❄️🐻‍❄️

[flagellant]

Hey! Please correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem like you actually know things about wend*gos and I genuinely want to have a better understanding.

Based on my limited understanding, the association with deer and wend*gos is more of a pop culture thing and the original concept of wend*gos arent like that at all. They're regular humans who got cursed for being cannibals, right?

Dont get me wrong, youre completely right in saying that people need to stop associating deer imagery with cannibalism as pop culture doesnt erase appropriation, but am I at least right on the history?

No pressure to answer if you dont want to, thanks for taking time to read this regardless.

Alright, it's been a while since I've spoken about the winter hunger so it's time for the perennial disclaimer: I am not Anishinaabe, and I cannot be considered a true authority on their practices and beliefs. Native America is, after all, not a monolith, and I can only speak for what I know through research and seeking to learn about this topic in order to be more respectful of them and advocate for that respect due to my audience's size.

With that said: You're correct. There is absolutely no deer imagery aligned with the Anishinaabe culture's portrayals and understanding of the being in question. I'm not 100% sure on its origins, but I'd be willing to bet that much of the inspiration would come from the Witcher 3's depictions of leshy--they click all of the buttons through visual language, and I can see why people would see that sort of iconography and begin applying it disrespectfully. Like I keep saying--fucked up deers are cool and spooky as hell! It's not a shock that through law-of-large-numbers and a history of oppression and thievery that the horror genre can often be anti-indigenous bc of that!

For clarification of the most commonly understood appearance of the winter hunger--and this is not so that you can more accurately use it, it is so you can more accurately defend against racist and inaccurate depictions--it takes the shape of humans. Often of people you know. There are sometimes qualifiers like frostbite or lack of feet but at the very root of it, it is supposed to look like a human being.

Further disclaimer: What I'm about to say may be an entirely wrong interpretation of the winter hunger, but it is rooted in my culture's understanding of a very similar evil being which exists in Dine and other desert-dwelling native tribes such as mine. It's further rooted in my specific understanding of religion through anthropological lenses, since that's why I love studying religion so much--because it doesn't exist in a vacuum it is defined by our understanding of our surroundings.

Picture it this way: Both the Anishinaabe and my own people are in some way considered extremophilic cultures. We both live in an environment which reliably becomes lethally dangerous to exist within if you aren't prepared, willing to sacrifice your own comfort for the survival of everyone, and combines a level of isolation during those extreme climates with a need to be able to trust those around you implicitly because you all want to survive. Deserts, be they snow or sand, are difficult places to live within. There are enough resources to go around, but it's not exactly uncommon for there to be enough to go around and that's all. You're surviving because you and everyone around you are putting the survival of everyone over individualist comforts.

The winter hunger and the desert swallowing you whole are always taught as something which looks like a human. Which sounds like a human. Which can trick others into thinking it is human. Beings which have the shape of a person, but have no humanity--they lost it or they never had it. And both of them are things which gain power over you when spoken of and thought of--they're a type of memetophage. They feed on people who know about them, so you're forced to balance "aware that this danger exists" with "need to know what the danger is". They often will try and trick you into evil deeds or danger yourself by wearing the face and voice of family and loved ones. People you know well to let your guard down.

Now remember that you are a culture which needs to prepare itself for extreme climate survival. Everyone has to rely on everyone else. But sometimes people aren't going to like the people they're surviving with. People will resent other people for whatever reasons they choose, justified or not. Living so close together and in such tight quarters can be stressful and bring out the absolute worst in us.

Imagine, for a moment, going out into a snowstorm or the bitter desert night, looking for food for everyone else, sent with someone you hate. It's a harsh life. Even at your safest you are at risk of death for whatever reason--getting lost, being attacked by an animal, taking a bad fall. It happens. It's a fact of life. It's horribly tragic but it's acknowledged as inevitable.

Imagine the knowledge of how dangerous what you two are doing worming its way into your head during this time. If you were willing to hate this person enough to kill them...it wouldn't be hard to convince everyone it was just an accident. Just something which happens. Kill a stag, then kill them and jam the stag's antlers through the wound. Or just disable them somehow and leave them to freeze in the snowdrifts and say they got lost. Or push them down a ravine. There are so many possibilities and all of them exonerate you of any complicity, because yeah, you didn't like them...

...but you trust each other to survive. You trust that you're all willing to give up things to make sure everyone is able to survive and get through these things. You trust that when you are in danger, you don't need to worry about it coming from someone you know. And so why would anyone suspect you? And maybe you convince yourself that what you did was good, actually. One less mouth to feed. More food for everyone. Or it's just easier for you--someone who you hated so much, and now you never need to worry about them again.

Imagine the way that knowledge that you've done it once would show up again and again. Anyone and everyone is now in danger because you've become aware of the benefits of being greedy. Of choosing to hurt and kill other people to further your own goals and desires. Of deciding that the sacrosanct ties of the whole community's survival is not a priority over your own violent impulses. The knowledge of what you can do to other people is, itself, a danger. You put the idea of it, the possibility, in someone's head, and there is every chance that it could start dwelling in there and taking root, changing them from a good person, someone you know, a member of the community, into an evil, selfish monster which has lost its humanity and merely wears that person's face. Uses its voice to lie to you. Wants you all to have your guards down around it. Something waiting to strike where it can.

Now remember that we turn rainbows into the bridges of gods because we needed to create a reason for them. That's the history of magic: we don't know how to explain something, or we don't know how to process it, or we do and need to obfuscate that knowledge through a layer of fiction to cope with it. We don't invent the divine for no reason, on instinct, without thinking. We do it because there is something that creating it offers us as a species and culture that would otherwise be lacked. So think: Why would tribal cultures who need everyone to be willing to set aside personal wants and grievances to ensure that everyone survives through harsh climates need to have something like the winter hunger or the desert swallowing you whole? What benefit does it offer the community? What is the purpose of sharing knowledge about this monster? Where would it fit into that culture's way of life and philosophies?

The answer becomes self-evident soon enough. We all know what it looks like when one person decides they can sacrifice other humans for their own personal greed. We call them oligarchs.

[k4nzi]

(I'm always gonna include the ref in any major posts about Asha)

There's a thought that's been in my head since I created Asha.

What would Asha's reaction to finding out Peppy never told Poppy about her and Viva be?

Y'know when you hear something you don't like but instead of immediately lashing out in rage you're just...numb? Like you're angry but on the outside you look calm? Way too calm? Yeah. That's Asha's reaction. It'd kinda go like this:

*dry chuckle* "What do you mean he never told you about us? He didn't just assume we were dead...right?"

Her tone in the above dialogue is rather neutral. Too neutral. Menacingly neutral with a little bit of bite when she says "...right?". Asha prides herself in being unpredictable and unreadable. When she asks if Peppy assumed she and Viva died during the escape, that's code for "ain't no way he made the entire tribe believe we were dead for the past 20 years". She's angry that her tribe made a silent agreement to forget she and her older sister ever existed but she's trying not to show it. Her chuckling before speaking could be interpreted as a warning.

To add insult to injury, Asha was just 15 during the escape. She was a teenager. You bet she vividly remembers huddling in a corner of Hole N' Fun mumbling to herself that everything was fine and surely her dad was looking for her. Imagine finding out that not only your own father but your whole tribe found it easier to assume you were dead rather than at least hope you survived. In fact, it reminds me of a verse from Drift Away from SU.

"You keep on turning pages, for people who don't care,

People who don't care about you,

And still it takes you ages,

To see that no one's there,

See that no one's there,

See that no one's there,

Everyone's gone on without you"

So yeah. She doesn't take finding out that Poppy didn't know about her as well as Viva seems to.

[theplatypusblue]

Okokok dragons rising s2p2 REWATCH thingy it’s mostly me noticing small details and shit I missed the first time. Ramble-y at points lol

Many many big spoilers below (also it’s long)

Ok so like….. first episode it gets established that all the dragon tribes fall under the jurisdiction of each of the source dragons…. Neato. More world building shenanigans

WYLDFYRE PEAK YIPPEE. Nya said Lloyd was helping her with her precision, and there’s this really cute animation moment where’s she’s firing her flames like she’s shooting a gun lol

Ok so like Frak taught Arin how to make Merlopian Berry Crème pie…. Frak is merlopian question mark(?) (I don’t think it makes sense timeline wise lol don’t listen to me)

I like the scene of Zane training it reminds me a little bit of that scene from all the back in s1 where’s he’s just tuning everybody out

So like the tournament thingy takes place at the same spot as that flashback with Wu and Bonzle in season 1 (maybe?) I wonder why Wu was hanging out there so long ago lol. (I mean lily might have been at the last one too but like who knows)

ROBY PEAK!!!! My only issue with him and Bleckt is that I wish the writers would’ve really hammed up the comedy between the two. Made them just completely unserious. Would’ve made Bleckts betrayal a little more impactful maybe. (Imagine a bunch of goofy cartoony gags between the two, only for the eventual reveal that bleckt actually genuinely wants roby dead. Woulda been crazier)

Ok so seven headed source dragon thingy. It’s either symbolism like roby said or we are eventually gonna build up to an ultra-dragon adjacent situation. Somehow. Idk how. But maybe it would be cool

Ok random thought. I think it’s pretty clear at this point that elemental powers come from and are associated w the source dragons. You can extrapolate the connections (fire and heat come from motion, plants is probably from life, etc). I think you can remedy the whole “the new elemental powers are stupid” thing by thinking about them more as the elements of the source they are associated with , rather than elemental powers in the traditional sense of our world (If that distinction makes sense lol idk how to explain it non-stupidly. It’s just a matter of framing)

That being said, I really like zant-tanz lol I think it’s his voice teehee. Silly whimsical snail man. Shame he had to get kicked out but then again…. He had some rock stacking to do at home

Ok ok ok I think some parts of the Jay fight are kinda lame (“and I will always hate you” 🙄) but things make more sense from jays perspective I think. Imagine you’re coming from a place where everyone devalued ur individuality and didn’t care abt you as a person, and then you come to this tournament where ur opponent (who ur literally fighting against in this ~tournament~) suddenly starts telling you you’re the love of their life n stuff (and ur also being manipulated but besides that even). I would also just assume that they’re being weird and try to kick their ass.

“Not sure I can pull it off… it’s arriving too soon” what exactly was Wu trying to pull off lol? crazy theory time 100% NOT real NOT going to happen: Wu is trying to bring someone (I’m betting his dad) back from the dead, cuz like departed realm shenanigans and the merge maybe. But we also don’t really know how departed realm stuff works yet, so there’s not much we can extrapolate from there. Idk.

I’m sorry but I always think it’s really cool when cinder bounces people around like a basketball teehee. He’s a very fun character to watch during fights.

Similar-ish point to my Jay spiel from 2 seconds ago but like. Arin’s convo w Frak abt how shatterspin is super evil actually makes me laugh a little bit. Cuz Arins going on about like “oh dude it ~~shatters your goodness~~ you can’t ever do shatterspin” and internally Frak is like “is this guy actually fr” lmao. On my first watch through I was literally like “Arin stop you sound so fucking brainwashed rn” shfjfjjfkfkgkgla

Ok ok so Ras wanted all the elemental powers so he could get a dragon icon somehow…. Lloyd just got his gifted to him tho. (Might be another matter of force vs harmony — you can either do all the hard work to get all the powers and make ur own icon, or the source dragons will just like. Give you an icon. If ur cool enough or whatever)

Dragon Ivory stores powers, dragon horns can give u power but then they make u angry or smthn… dragon ivory can also be used to communicate w the nether space….... hhhrrrnnngg dragon lore im trying to make it make sense in my brain hrrrnngg

Frak is so nice and respectful he’s such a good guy lol (I have to DRAW HIM. Being COOL. Because he IS. I’ll get to it eventually)

Small nitpick but like. The way the tournament is organized kinda makes no sense….. cuz all the plot relevant fights involving the ninja happen at the beginning, so they’ve been in multiple fights and get multiple powers. Then there’s a montage of them fighting other elemental masters who only have one power. So the whole thing is actually completely unbalanced and unfair. Turns out Roby does suck at organizing tournaments lol

God that one shot of nokt running at the camera hunting the arc dragon is so fucking perfect the colors are just mmmmmmhhhh so good I gotta redraw it I gotta redraw it so baddddddddhhhhhhhhhh

Ohhhhh the final couple of fights the composition and the coreography were sooooo good we are backkkkkk we are soooooooooo backkkkkkkkkkk

TLDR: I remember it being good and then I rewatched it and it was still good. Yayyyyyyyy

[oneatlatime]

A Precariously Stacked Pile of Random Season 2 Thoughts

These are notes I took as I watched the season. Usually after I’d already posted about the episode in question, and I thought of something I would have added to the post. Rather than edit them into my posts, I’m rounding them up and posting them all at once. As such, they are vaguely chronological. Unfortunately, because I made the notes legible to me and me only, I didn't bother to write down what episode I was referring to. I've also added some notes in as I was editing these notes. So this is also a bit of a scavenger hunt. Enjoy!

Iroh poisoning himself: dumbass moment or 5D chess?

My autocorrect corrects “Sokka” to Sock, and “Sokka’s” to socks. This causes double takes when editing.

Badgermoles have excellent eyeliner. Is that where the Kyoshi Warriors get their jaw dropping cat eye?

Why is Ty Lee spelled Ty Lee and not Tai Li? Why is Dai Li spelled Dai Li and not Dy Lee?

Sometimes Sokka makes me think of Mulan. Am I crazy?

Are the swampbenders’ moves based on a real martial art style too?

Why didn’t Aang use his swamp sense to locate Appa post-appanapping?

Where did Toph, who spent her whole life as a prisoner of her parents’ house and a moonlighting WWE wrestler until Team Avatar busted her out, get such emotional intelligence?

Why did Zuko’s dad put forward the plan to disinherit Iron in favour of him less than 24 hours after Lu Ten’s death? Why did he think that moving quickly was the right approach? Does the Fire Nation not do grieving periods? In what world was 'strike while the iron is hot' the correct course of action here?

Looking back, I’m amazed that season 2 didn’t end in Zuko’s redemption. I didn’t much like Zuko Alone, but I was sure that a season that included that much set up for a Zuko redemption arc would prioritise finishing that arc.

I haven’t even met this Firelord guy yet, but I am peeved that that twerp has a name as cool as Ozai.

Why haven't I met that Firelord guy yet?

I really thought that the older brother character in Zuko Alone would make an appearance later on in the season, giving Zuko a chance to flex some newly acquired morals. But the parallel to Lu Ten and the general message about the evils of war lands better if we never hear of him again.

Zuko in the first half of season 2 had me so annoyed that I was incredibly uncharitable to him in my write ups. Reading through some of the stuff I wrote while watching episodes, I kind of wince now. Zuko in the second half of the season was much less annoying. Which I feel bad for saying, because he’s clearly not in a good place in the second half of the season.

I would love to know why the writers decided to have Toph and Iroh meet in the wilderness. I think it’s a good choice, but I want to know how they came up with it, and why those characters? Is there anything about Toph (especially at that point, when we’ve known her for 1 episode) that suggests that she and Iroh should meet? Or would get along if they did?

Zuko has so many rock bottom fake outs this season: Zuko Alone? Nope, he gets worse in The Chase. The Chase? Nope, he gets worse in Bitter Work. Bitter Work? Nope, he gets worse in the finale.

I’m still peeved that Azula won a 6 on 1 showdown. Sorry, but that breaks immersion.

I bet the Blue Spirit could make lightning.

If water is the element of change, why does the Northern Water Tribe have such strictly defined traditions? I get that it's literally the element of change, in that water can exist in different physical states, but shouldn't the metaphorical interpretation also be true?

I like that Toph can think like an Airbender sooner than Aang can think like an earthbender.

What is Sokka’s boomerang made of? Is it metal? Because if it’s metal, does that mean that there’s a blacksmith somewhere in the South Pole? With a forge?

I still can’t get over how dumb the whole eclipse plot was.

Suki is TINY!!!

I mocked this guy’s 80s aerobics video leotard aesthetic, and I stand by that mockery, because this guy is ugly. Those colours are awful. But do you know who else has those colours?

Jet this season fascinates me. He’s positioned as genuinely repentant and legitimately seeking a second chance and I don’t believe him for one minute. Why don’t I believe him? This show has a theme of learning from mistakes and doing better, so shouldn’t Jet be a perfect fit for this show’s themes? I should be primed to believe him. And yet I don’t.

I have to applaud Iron’s enthusiasm for their new life in Ba Sing Se. A lot of that cheer (at least before the tea shop) is put on for Zuko’s sake. I don’t know where Iroh gets the energy to keep trying with Zuko after years of minimal results, but I’m glad he does.

I think Aang and Ty Lee should hang out. They have similar circus energy. Or maybe it’s that they’re the only two characters in the show so far who are remotely playful.

Aang = surface silliness, core of calm. Not that the silliness doesn't run deep, but he seems to have an untouchable anchor of calm deep within that rarely gets disturbed. Gyatso raised him well.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~Poetry bouncer ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

I need next season to have more Appa & Mono subplots à la their escapades in The Swamp. Not à la Momo’s Tale.

Tales of Ba Sing Se definitive ranking: Momo Aang Sokka Zuko Iroh Katara & Toph

I love that Momo still sleeps in the Momo bag from The Blind Bandit

Are Suki and her warriors sitting in the middle of some Earth Kingdom forest in their underwear?

So are Smellerbee and Longshot just done? Will they be back in season 3? What happens to their life now? They are known associates of an enemy of the state who was just executed. It doesn't look good.

Everyone on this show has big ears. Zuko has the smallest ears simply because he has the least amount of ears remaining. But everyone else? Big ears.

Can I have more Gyatso? I forgot how cool he was. More Guru too please.

Hakodilf.

Everyone in the SWT has such wonderfully fluffy hair.

I like Sokka’s boots. Southern Water Tribe boots in general.

If this is the grand total of the SWT, I have some bad news about population dynamics.

Is there a proper naval term for what the SWT are doing? They’re a stealth strike force that seems to be going after individual enemy ships, using both direct and indirect tactics. Not pirates, because as far as we know they aren't going for FN supplies. They're doing what submarines do, but above water. There’s got to be a proper name for that.

Is there a raft of FN corpses chilling in the waters in front of the NWT's big wall?

I saw ATLA described as a show where all the characters are Asian-inspired people of colour, but isn’t Suki a blue-eyed redhead?

I had no idea that you could decline an Agni Kai. Zuko should have done that.

Why are the Dai Li so in love with Azula? I get that they're pissed with Long Feng for getting arrested, but wouldn't the logical choice be to direct their loyalties to the Earth King rather than a wildcard princess? I'm not going to pretend for a minute that the Dai Li are loyal to the Earth Kingdom or to Ba Sing Se, but the Earth King is a known quantity. Seems to me that it would be easier for them to re-puppetify him, rather than a FN princess.

Katara & Zuko bonding over their missing mothers is the same “makes sense until you think about it for five seconds” as Song & Zuko bonding over losing their fathers to war. Technically the same, sort of, on paper, but actually kind of rude to equate them once you know the full story. Same with the parallel between Lu Ten and the older brother in Zuko Alone. The proper dead mom parallel is Katara and Jet. Although Katara doesn’t object to the Zuko comparison, so I have no grounds to do so.

I’m really glad that Katara didn’t remove Zuko’s scar with her spirit oasis water. Both because she kind of really needed that water, but also because one thing this show has always done right is permanence. No quick fixes, no fake outs, no take backs. Lu Ten is dead, and he stays that way. Princess Yue is the moon, and she stays that way. Half a dozen people’s moms are dead, and they stay that way. Aang is the last Airbender, and he stays that way. Zuko is scarred, and he stays that way. There are no hand waves, no easy fixes. All the characters can do is learn to live with it, and go forward. And I’m grateful the show is like that, because that permanence, as well as being a good lesson to learn, functions as a reward for audience investment.

Aang did come to a crossroads of destiny in the finale, chose his duties to the world over his friends, and got aggressively slapped down for it. I have a feeling that he’ll take the wrong lesson from that, since he was already inclined to shun that path.

Overall Season 1 was prettier.

Ty Lee was the cause of more than one Beat Up Sokka Quota fulfillment this season. Make of that what you will.

Will Zuko & Azula spend season 3 bouncing between the FN and Ba Sing Se? They could be heavily involved with establishing the FN governance over Ba Sing Se, since the city is already inclined towards royalty.

Favourite episode this season? The Guru. The Blind Bandit and The Swamp are tied for second place.

[sadly-in-active]

My request is for some headcannons of your favorite cookies.

Easy (I have too many favorites)

My Favorite Cookies: General hcs

Summary: I didn’t know if this was going to be an x reader type of thing so I just made it into some random and goody headcanons because I love these four more then any others.

TW: None probably.

Espresso Cookie

He’s never actually visited the Coffee Tribe, or the remains of it. (I’m not taking what he said in world exploration as canon)

As a child, he used to love walking in the mud with Seaweed Cookie, and finding seashells with her as well. He still comes back to see her every once in a while, usually during most of his very rare break times and for the holidays.

Espresso was once friends with Butter Roll before the latter was expelled from whatever school they went to for unknown reasons. I also think that Butter Roll once lived at the Crème Republic’s higher area and that was how they also became friends. (Because Butter Roll probably snuck into the Lower City to see if there was any other kinds of science stuff never seen before.)

Affogato Cookie

He’s allergic to some types of fruits (Mango Cookie should steer clear from this guy)

Affogato definitely had a wide range of hair care products as well as makeup. However, ever since he was banished, his hair is pretty messy now. He probably tried to sneak into the Citadel once or twice to get his stuff back. It was a failed attempt, but now he pays his ex-followers to smuggle his stuff out of the wall.

He smells more like coffee then ice cream.

Affogato’s pupils can narrow and dilate depending on the light, or his mood.

He owns a kaleidoscope (shapes and colors :O)

Mozzarella Cookie

(I deadass used reverse psychology and thought she was a dude at first because Devsisters tricks me all the time)

Mozzarella probably has a Marzipan Cookie specifically programmed to play games with her and track her movements to see if she’s being predictable throughout each game

She has very warm hugs

This gal would probably be a great caretaker for kids, but a bad mother (I’m not gonna explain)

She flew a chair at someone because she lost a bet (Not even the Marzipan Cookies could hold her back that one time)

Silent Salt Cookie

Silent Salt is blind, but the helmet that they have is enchanted so they can see. However, taking off the helmet means taking away their sight.

They’re very light on their feet, despite having a whole set of armor and a sword

They definitely have a lot of scars on their body from sparring against their fellow Beasts

And I personally hc that Shadow Milk is their goofy younger brother

So they try to keep him safe and may even be seen as overprotective sometimes

[everythingfiction13]

Disclaimer: I may have cried while writing this.

Korra and Asami, along with Mako and Bolin, Tenzin and his family, Kya, Bumi and a-very-much-deprived-of-any-fun Lin decide to visit the Southern Water Tribe for one of their many festivals.

Once there, the others are quick to jump into the action, and Mako wins several gifts for Ikki who still isn't over her crush on him. Meanwhile, Bolin and Meelo playfully race along the roads of the SWT, but the general rule is that they don't use their bending. It is purely a test of speed and power, and nearly all of the gang has placed their bets on either boy, mostly in favor of Bolin. It is not quite a surprise when Meelo actually wins.

Jinora, for once, decides to let her hair down and enjoy the parades with Kai, and through much persuasion, Tenzin sort of relaxes thanks to his mother and Pema. After all, the children won't be as such for much longer, a fact that the Airbending Master can not get over, no matter how old his children get. Lin and Kya spend much of their time together, drinking and placing bets, trying to showcase who is stronger and who can hold their liquor, and at some point, Korra could have sworn she'd seen them flirting though they would surely deny it later on.

All in all, everyone's having fun and enjoying a much needed respite from saving the world from anyone who thinks of wreaking havoc again. All except for Asami, but nobody notices. Korra has her suspicions, deems it wise to let her girlfriend confide in her when she's ready. They'd already had this conversation before with Asami confessing that sometimes, when things got a bit overwhelming, she just needed her space. And Korra gave her all the space possible, letting her hang back while the others threw themselves in a series of shenanigans, yet always kept a watchful eye on the heiress. At some point, Korra was distracted long enough for Asami to slip away, this particular bout of uncertainty taking longer to shake off than normal.

Asami could feel her chest tightening, the air in her lungs barely enough to keep her on her feet, but she was well-versed in the art of hiding her turmoil, a smile always at the ready to protect her from any inquiring looks.

A gentle hand finds her shoulder, big enough to clasp her whole bone, yet tender and warm.

"Hey kiddo." Tonraq. Asami would always recognize his voice.

She turns to him a moment later, flashing that same practiced smile. But a look of concern furrows the man's brows, and he towers over her, large and imposing and so caring that the heiress can't help but feel so small.

"You feeling alright?"

"Yes, yes," she says, though the lump in her throat threatened to choke her.

Tonraq sees right through her. "Asami, you know you can confide in me. I may be Korra's dad and all, but I'm still here for you."

Tears swell in her eyes, but again, Asami will always hide her feelings in such moments. She can not afford to be weak, to let herself be so easily uncovered. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. But I promise, I'm fine."

"Have we not passed over the formalities? You are dating my daughter."

At that, a genuine grin curled Asami's lips. It feels weird, however, to call him by his name, almost as if she is breaking some unnamed rule. "I suppose so. I'll need some time to get used to it, though."

"As long as it takes, honey. Are you sure you're alright?"

Asami nods, swallows the knot in the back of her throat. Tonraq, she knows, is not convinced. There is little, however, she can do about it, only hopes that he isn't as persistent as his daughter.

He isn't. With one last smile, he rejoins the others, leaving Asami to her own thoughts. Relief washes over her, but she still can't find herself to breathe properly, the need to disappear for a moment gnawing at her.

Later, when everyone is fast asleep under the heavy covers to keep them warm, Asami finds herself clutching at a cup of tea she's made herself, sitting on a chair in the private kitchen even though the main hall was all but empty. This place was smaller, cozier. It suited her mood just as well. In her other free hand, Asami holds the one thing Lin was able to salvage from the wreckage that was the hummingbird Hiroshi and her had used in the battle against Kuvira, a pair of bent golden spectacles with no glass to keep it together. Asami can't bring herself to look at it, but it feels good to have it between her fingers, clasp at the very last thing that connected her to her dad.

"Oh, sorry I...I figured it would be empty," Senna breaks the silence. "Asami, are you okay, sweetheart?"

The young woman's lips quiver, unable to hold it together any longer. She swallows, her voice wavering. "Not really, no."

Senna pulls the chair beside her. She does not fail to notice the glasses, but makes no move to reach for Asami's hand. The latter doesn't blame her, she wouldn't touch something as tainted with blood either. Her father was a criminal after all.

"Sweetheart."

A single tear streaks down Asami's cheek. "My mom used to call me that. All the time. I miss her."

Another tear. Senna ticks with compassion, grabbing the younger woman then in a hug Asami had not been privileged with for so, so long. And for once, she hangs on, fingers clutching at Senna's shirt as her tears flow freely down her face.

"I can't...I can't breathe," she chokes out. "I can't breathe."

Tender hands clasp her face, and Korra looks so much like her mother, just as Asami reflected Yasuko's features, only older.

"I need you to breathe with me, sweetheart. Can you do that?"

Yet again, Asami nods. Her tears do not stop. Her breathing becomes erratic instead, but Senna's touches, firmer now, ground her. "You're okay, sweetheart. I got you. I got you."

"Why does it...why does...hurt...? Why did they leave me all alone?"

"Oh honey, they didn't. They never did leave you."

"They did. Everyone leaves me. Everyone..."

"Asami, sweetheart, that's not going to happen. Your friends are here, and you have Tonraq and me, and Korra..."

But the words fall on deaf ears, try as she may to take them in. "I never got to say goodbye. It hurts..."

"I know it does. But believe me, your mom and dad are with you, Asami. They will always be a part of you. Always."

"You don't...know that."

"But you do. In everything that you do, Asami, every waking moment, your being alive and well and happy is a testament to how much your mom and dad loved you." Senna brushes the girl's tears, pulls her in closer so that her head rests upon her chest. Tea discarded, glasses still clutched in her hand, Asami lets herself cry for what feels like the first time in years.

Of course, she'd done so before, several times, when the hurt became so much she was going to explode, but those were in her private moments. Never in front of anyone. Never.

"Sen?"

Great. If she had felt embarrassed at the start of her confession, Asami doubled in it.

Tonraq catches on quickly, and he wraps his arms around them both, setting a soft kiss on Asami's head. He does not need to say a thing because with Senna's words and his embrace, Asami feels safe again.

[talesfrommedinastation]

My redneck neighbor Doug on 'Tribe'

When not turning his home into a giant light hazard for Jesus's Birthday or getting into yelling fights in the alley with Bobby Lee (another redneck neighbor who is a DIE HARD 'Bama fan) about SEC football, Doug's been randomly texting me things about the Jedi.

I'll update y'all on that soon enough. (Plo Koon = Sexy Shrimp Daddy?!)

Meanwhile, here is his review of his favorite episode of Season 2 of The Bad Batch...TRIBE, or as Doug calls it 'Chewbacca Junior and the Weed Business'.

Yes, a random fetch quest one in which Clone Force 99 helps out a random Wookiee kid. His favorite. Don't ask.

Need a Doug refresher? Check it out under Doug Talks Star Wars here.

TW: Doug Doug's as is his Doug-like wont. Hold onto your butts. A little calmer since Daddy Warcrimes is MIA in this one.

-----------------------------------------------------------

So we got Daddy Rambo and the gang making counterfeit licenses for underage drinkers or whatever. You gotta do what you gotta do, I guess, and Daddy Rambo will do a lot of things, but obtaining gainful employment ain’t one of them. 

Ryan-from-Accounting is smug as hell about his counterfeiting operation. You’re so smart, Ryan-from-Accounting, why don’t you go to law school and start practicing corporate licensing? At least you can get equity there, ya dingaling.

And Little Orphan Blondie runs away because she’s embarrassed to be seen around them. I get it, kid.

Woah, it’s Chewbacca Junior! Are the lizard and robot people trying to sell him to the circus or something? Oh, he’s a Jedi?! When did this happen, this is awesome! I loved Chewbacca! I love Wookiees! AWESOME!!!

And Little Orphan Blondie is protecting him, go Little Orphan Blondie, go! 

I hope they adopt Chewbacca Junior and get him a collar and a nice bed on the floor of the HMS Search Warrant. They need a pet. Little Orphan Blondie can brush him and put bows in his hair! Do you think he uses a litter box?

They’re taking him home, and look! Little Orphan Blondie is giving him her Lunchables. I’m proud of the Dad Batch, they’re teaching Little Orphan Blondie good morals. Oh, poor wee Chewbacca Junior, he has no family and when he talks it sounds like Jimmers when he’s treed a squirrel*.

But Ryan-from-Accounting can understand him! Ya know, I wonder if his helmet can translate Bitch and that’s how Ryan-from-Accounting talks to his Bitch Wife Laura. 

It would be awesome if they adopt Chewbacca Junior and he attacks people with his lightsaber. He’s like a pet version of an MR-15! Imagine the DAMAGE his furry ass would do on the battlefield! 

Ooh, they made it to Wookieeland! Ya know, it always reminded me of where Jenny and I used to camp in northern California. I wonder if there’s a brewery nearby? I bet Toaster Strudel needs to throw back, that man needs a beer and a restraining order from Daddy Rambo. 

Oh SHIT, looks like the bugs from Klendathu made their way down to Wookieeland. Somebody call the Starship Troopers! Oh, wait, they can talk to those things like Dougie Houser did? Woah. Neat. 

Looks like the Empire found the Wookiee weed farm and torched it. Poor Wookiees, they’re just trying to make an honest living growing herb. Leave ‘em alone!

Which planet makes meth, my money’s on Tatooine, it looks like New Mexico and that place is meth Disneyland, there was a whole TV show about it. 

(Above is...Tatooine?! - Dr Meat Muffin)

Oh man it’s Houma-BBQ-Bitch’s shitty brothers and they’re burning the whole weed operation to the ground. Guess they work for the DEA.

Kick their asses, Wookiees! Now they want Chewbacca Junior, but the Dad Batch is saying FUCK YOU! 

Go Dad Batch go! Fire ‘em up! Destroy the tanks! GO JULIO GO! It’s like Apocalypse Now with Bigfoot!

More Wookiees! And they’re riding giant monkey-cats! AWESOME. Man, I feel stoned just watching this episode. Why can't I stop giggling.

Granny Wookiee says come on in and have some weed! Oh, shit, are they doing ayahuasca? Toaster Strudel ain’t having it, but Julio’s down. Julio’s down for anything, he’s probably gonna stick around, use his pipe laying skills, and get some free ganga out of the deal. Man, we all need a Julio in our life. Love him. 

Oh, poor Chewbacca Junior can’t find a home. Come on, Granny Wookiee, just let him crash with you guys! He can clip weed on the side, he’s got that lightsaber, let ‘em have it. But first, let’s talk to the trees! Did they take mushrooms before this scene, Jesus Christ this really does take place in Humboldt County, doesn’t it.

Ah, nevermind, the gators that run the DEA are here. With Stormtroopers. Oh shit, are the gators wearing Wookiee pelts while fighting Wookiees? That’s some Silence of the Lambs shit right there.

Welp, time for fire fights, Smokey the Bear does not approve of this episode, especially as one of the lizard men chases Chewbacca Junior and Little Orphan Blondie into the woods with a flamethrower. 

Oh shit, there are the bugs! Shit, am I actually cheering on the bugs from Starship Troopers? What is going on here, I’m so confused. Whelp, they’re eating Houma-BBQ-Bitch’s brother, good for them.

Back to Granny Wookiee’s Pot Palace, where Toaster Strudel and Julio throw back her questionable moonshine and smile at each other. If they end up with Wookiee girlfriends, it will be weird, but I will be happy for them. 

And Little Orphan Blondie and Chewbacca Junior are talking to the trees, again. Just watching this episode makes me wanna go back to Electric Forest. Except I don’t think Oceana County has wookiees, but it does have crazy people in the woods I guess. 

*=Jimmers is Doug’s extremely handsome poodle mix dog. His full name is Jimmers Jimothy Jimerson III and they found him as a stray when he was eating trash behind a bowling alley in Nacogdoches. 

Where my Doug fans at? @amalthiaph @eyecandyeoz @merkitty49 @sued134 are the biggest, but let me know if ya wanna be tagged in the next installment!

[cappycapital]

Slugcats based off of one of my DnD Parties

I think they're real silly

To me The Haunted is a purposefully made slugcat to remove dangerous predators from its iterators tower- But got fucking SLIGHTED by those yellow fucks and goes on a whole campaign to track down the queen of the yellow lizard hivemind

The Strawmans campaign has them semi-mindlessly wandering around farm arrays until they reach Karma 10 (that O symbol with the X through it), to which they are able to go and speak with other iterators and get some weird advice from them or something, you also cannot communicate with Echoes.

The Gamblers campaign has them losing a bet to the current Scavenger leader and having to retrieve a particularly valuable Data Pearl from the innards of an iterator. During this escapade however he gets infected with Rot, which will basically be what replaces Cycles for his campaign, and each hibernation removes an amount of rot, you can then either bring the pearl back to the scav leader or bring it to another iterator who will remove your rot and direct you to ascention

The Doe's campaign starts waaaaaay back, and you spawn at Journeys end, your goal as a slugcat is to try to enlighten other animal species and unify them in peace, ones you successfully tame you can bring back to your slugcat tribe and that is how you gain Karma.

The Reaper is sorta like Anti-Saint and spawns in a box in Sliver of Straws old body, the lands are extremely desolate after Saints rampage, and you instead do the duty of destroying the echoes, eventually ending with destroying saint's echo

[bonefall]

Thinking about that one post about the 5000 year old teenager girl found buried with her collection of 180 sheep ankle bones but specifically the addition of how ankle bones were used as dice back then and she was a gamer.. what I'm getting at is: would clan cats make bone dice and Are They Gaming

First let me teach you a little bit about Knucklebones: The Game.

You probably know one of its variants better as Jacks, that game you play with a rubber ball and little metal spikes. There's a version of Knucklebones in nearly every culture, where the basic idea is to throw an object up in the air, pick up as many of the smaller objects as possible, and then catch the larger object before it hits the ground.

In cultures with a lot of access to livestock, usually the hand and ankle bones of sheep would be used. Places that don't have them might use rocks, seeds, shells, whatever. It was Ancient Greece that had such an extreme take on the game that it eventually evolved into dice-throwing-- a totally chance-based game where you would just throw the biggest foot bone of a sheep (the astralagus; equivalent to the talus in a human) and see how they landed.

So the girl they uncovered in Kazakhstan with the 180 sheep bones wasn't really buried "with dice," make sense? It's more like being buried with jacks. Central Asia is actually jam-packed with knucklebones-types games. Mongolian Shagai is recognized by UNESCO.

And it makes a TON of sense, because those regions are grasslands absolutely ideal for raising sheep.

SO. CLAN CATS.

There's two major considerations here;

ONE: The access to, and size of, sheep bones.

Clan cats don't kill sheep. TRIBE cats actually have access to sheep and kill one or two a year! I would actually like to give them a bunch of special uses for various parts of the sheep. I think the eagle-killing thing in canon is actually pretty ridiculous for several reasons

BUT THAT SAID, an astralagus is the size of a cat's paw.

[ID: A human holding an astralagus in the tips of its fingers.]

You'd need to play a different sort of game with this. It's more like a square softball to a cat than a little rubber ball.

Boar also have bones like this, though. A muntjac probably produces bones that are sized properly for a cat. Hares and rabbits are probably the BEST bet here though, which, somehow feels right. I'm not sure why, but WindClan seems like the gamerclan Clan that would think up these sorts of cute games.

Something about it fits their whole savvy culture, tunneling, emphasis on trade and invention pre-Heatherstar. ShadowClan and WindClan share a cultural value of innovation, but ShadowClan seems more... chemical and competitive.

Hard to explain it. ShadowClan invents flax retting and WindClan invents the drop spindle. There's overlap but it has a bit of a different flavor between them.

TWO: Range of motion

I've made BB!Cats have the same range of motion as the cats in canon, which is higher than a real cat. They're able to WEAVE, you can't do that without a basic pincher grasp. They're also able to mix herbs, wrap things up in leaves, and apply bandages.

I haven't actually given my reworked cats much more ability than they already had, I just codified rules based on what we already see.

But that said, they DO have less range of motion in their hands than humans. They have little thumbs and a better ability to grab, but can't twist their paws completely upwards. There's no way they can toss an object straight up, then catch it again.

So any games they do play would need to accommodate that. So far I've got Scratchstone, Teeterstrike, and an unnamed rhyme game. The bone game would need to look more like a game of marbles than jacks. Or, maybe more modified to accommodate swipes and strikes, somehow? Or a two-person game of catch?

Gotta think about it.

[fandomsheadcannoms]

I LOVE YOUR TAKES AND HEADCANONS FOR THE CHARACTERS!! COULD YOU DO CLIVA (Clay x Viva) OR CLIVARB (Clay x Viva x Barb)??

Ooooh I haven’t seen much Clivarb before!!! Lemme try!!

Clivarb Headcanons ~

💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️

Barb and Clay have a secret competition to see who they can make Viva the most flustered. Viva is well aware of this "competition" and is on her own mission to make them flustered instead.

Barb (expecting Viva to blush or stutter): Hey baby, you busy today? 'Cause I can think of a few things that might take up your time Viva: *Gets up in Barb's space and smirks* Oh yeah? What are you thinking then? Barb: *Barb.exe has malfunctioned*

Viva loves her partners very much, before they started dating she had a crush on both of them and soon asked them if they would ever be open to a poly relationship. They both said yes, but it took a little while for Clay and Barb being open to sharing Viva.

But after a little while Clay and Barb learnt to love/fell into love with each other and all three soon became an actual couple afterwards!

They cuddle pile every chance they get, it's very tiring looking after whole tribes of Trolls and whats better than having a power nap while wrapped around the trolls you love?

Barb will bring her partners things that remind her of them, just little trinkets that she finds around. Like a bright pink clip for Viva or a green pen for Clay.

Clay steals jumpers. He doesn't wear them that often he just steals them for the sake of having them. Viva will always do a lucky dip in Clay's collection to decide who's jacket she's wearing that day.

Many trolls who unaware of their relationship and have an on going bet of who is dating who, Barb dating Viva and Viva dating Clay are the most popular bets, but there are a few who ship just Clay and Barb. Clay, Viva and Barb secretly put in the bet that all three of them are dating, they await the day when they win that bet.

If you haven't figured it out already all three of them are wildly competitive. Game nights get extremely chaotic and they often have to invite some others to play with them so their competitiveness doesn't get out of hand.

Monopoly is banned.

No one, ESPECIALLY Clay and Barb, is safe from Viva's braiding rampages. If Branch's hair being put into two braids by Viva meant she liked him platonically imagine the state of Clay and Barb's hair considering Viva like likes them, romantic styles.

Viva will drag her partners to dance with her, she'll spin around and they all slow dance together, just holding one another tight and swaying to the music.

Clay often teases Barb about being so soft, but it's one of the things he loves about her, he loves that he gets to see her soft side and loves that it's for him and Viva only.

💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️

I think Clivarb would be such a fun dynamic omg!!!! Clay and Barb would seem like they'd just piss each other off, but in a relationship they'd be teasing each other all the time and with Viva it all kinda falls into a perfect balance!

Anywayyyyy with might be one of my new favourite poly ships.

Thanks for the request!!!

[axailslink]

Furs

Shuri Udaku x Jabari tribe FEM reader

Warning: Vulgur language, fingering, and a bit of original character personality from the first movie.

A/n: You all can thank my geeky side for this fic I found the second pic and just made some shit up.

Summary: Truthfully not really story based I just needed a reason to practice writing smut on my own accord.

Snippet from the fic: “ "Speak. Up." Shuri fidgets reaching for your hand but you glare at her daring her to touch and see what happens. "Please touch me" you hum in satisfaction but you wonder just how much more you can make her say ”

Your eyes are on Shuri the whole time she speaks with M'Baku she's a beautiful woman one who when you first met was full of vengeance and truth be told she definitely had your attention then so much that your waking nights were just thoughts of her and what you'd allow her to do to you. Truthfully it's a little sad how a woman you've only seen every so often can just run free in your mind like this without a key, card or permission. You're so in your mind that you don't notice M'baku giving you your orders "Y/n I hope your ears are working fine" you nod "yes they are" he bites on his carrot of course to drag this embarrassment out but you truly don't mind he gets a light laugh out of it and honestly the man needs one after putting up with Shuri's always serious attitude. "Then why are you not following her?" You quickly catch up to an already disappearing Shuri who seems to be walking rather fast when you're used to a normal paced stride. "Prince-" she doesn't even let you finish because of how wrong you are "queen" you do love a woman that'll correct you but good Hanuman she's a bit much. You take the safest bet and call her "panther if you do not mind my question I have to ask what is my assignment?" She stops walking and stares at you in the dark hall "are you all just this incompetent and forgettable?" You can't help but take this to heart because who in the hell does she think she's talking to? Definitely not you. Surely not. You bite your tongue "no I'm a bit out of my head my apologies" Shuri seems surprised seeing that you don't argue with her even though what she said was a bit much and bitchy but you know better than to argue with the queen of Wakanda especially with how heartless she's become.

The path that you and Shuri take is one completely familiar to you from the trees to the way the ice thickens on the ground it's only when you're there that you realize it's your home. "Oh?" Shuri turns to you and finally states your orders that you would have known if you weren't so zoned out by her threatening beauty earlier "there's no more room for people there and M'baku being the dear friend he is has asked you to provide shelter for me while we work to restore the beauty of Wakanda." You gawk for a moment because how in the hell did you miss such an order!? The queen is going to be living in your house you can't help but feel nervous now your house is never nasty or dirty but now nothing seems fine now you're wondering if the curtains have dust on them or if you washed those last dishes good enough but Shuri pulls you out of those thoughts just as quickly as they arose when her soft voice starts to shake from the cold biting air "are you going to invite me in?" You quickly open the door and invite her in offering her something warm when you both get settled she's on the couch and she's almost cute as she holds her cup of warm herbs to her lips with both hands but you block those thoughts out of your mind as you walk up the stairs to find her something of warmth. That suit looks swell but you can tell it was made in a hurry and from her voice wavering earlier she surely didn't make it with thoughts of being in the mountains. You grab what you hope she can fit and come back downstairs "you seemed cold earlier this may be warmer would you like a blanket too?" Shuri isn't surprised to see someone worry about her that's all everyone's been doing since Namor started the war but now that it's over and people are still seeing her as weak it can get a bit irritating. "I don't need them" you look at the furs in your hands and then her suit "you obviously do vibranium does a lot of things and protects a lot of people however I don't remember it being able to keep you warm. You are in my home and I will not be responsible if you die of frostbite but please be my guest." You gently toss the furs on the couch beside her and walk back upstairs Shuri is of course taken back by such lack of care when you speak to her. You're not afraid to say what you really want to and she likes that because with anyone else they just say what she wants to hear or what they know won't upset her. You don't she likes that. This prompts her to glance at the furs and then her suit before she places the glass in her hands down.

Shuri undresses herself slowly unzipping the suit of hers and she's careful as if a tug with too much strength might rip it. You're doing the same in the privacy of your room except you cover yourself in a blanket instead of a robe since you gifted Shuri your handmade robes. Finally undressed and comfortable a loud knock makes your heart pound "yes?" Shuri opens the door taking this as an invite inside but thankfully you're already covered with your blankets when she does the only thing her pretty eyes can see are the dips of your collarbones and a bit of your exposed leg. While on her you can see a lot more the robe is heavy on her you can tell she's not used to carrying that much weight so she's holding most of it in her hands while the rest wraps around her. The fur looks beautiful against her skin it's wrapped around her neck but then it takes a swooning dip in-between her breasts you honestly can't help but stare but as quickly as you do you look away. "Thank you" you nod but Shuri doesn't leave she's staring at you too admiring your scars "how many of those do you have?" You furrow your brows unsure of what she's talking about "oh I have many furs and they're all ha-" "-scars how many scars do you have?" You nod and look down at your body before turning around and showing her the ones on your back.

"Many."

You don't notice Shuri's moved from her place until you feel a cold finger trace over the scars on your back you let out a quiet gasp but Shuri's intrigued she moves your hair to better see them now. "They're beautiful" you smile as you grab your blanket and pull it over your chest "thank you" Shuri hums as her hands rub down your sides "my queen" you can't deal with this kind of touching from anyone especially not Shuri Udaku. "My apologies you're just so beautiful to me" she pulls her hands away and you swear your warmth goes with her "I don't think you should touch me like that." Shuri nods while you continue to stare at the wall "I once again apologize for over stepping boundaries you offer me your home and your furs and I just take advantage of that I'm sorry." You nod as you feel your bed lighten a bit. You're ridiculous her touch is something you've craved yet when you get just a bit of it you allow her to stop you swallow trying to push away your nerves "I'm beautiful to you?" You ask as she makes her way to your door barefoot "yes... I think so but it's possible I could just be missing home and... Other things." You nod pulling the blanket over your shoulders "I'm sure there's no woman like me at home." Shuri smiles to herself "you are so right about that."

"I know because no woman you know would do or risk what I'm about to" you turn towards her now your feet dangle off the edge of your bed as you let the fur blanket pool around your waist exposing your naked body to Shuri who doesn't let her eyes leave you. You can feel that stare of hers looking at every part of you from your round breasts to your bare feet her stare is one you can't avoid one that makes you warm without even trying. To even the air now Shuri drops her furs at her feet exposing her naked body she walks closer to you now and it's your turn to admire. You stand in front of her and take the time to just look for a moment and to your surprise your stare has the same effect hers does on you and you can tell as her chest rises and falls as her body silently begs you to touch it but you don't not right away. You let the cold air bite at her as you size her up glancing at every piece of ink upon her skin. You've seen the hand one and the one on her neck but never have you noticed these new ones but you always imagined what lay beneath that suit of hers and to finally see it you're amazed.

The tattoos paint her skin they're beautiful.

Finally you trail your fingers from the tattoo curling around her shoulder to the one wrapping around her waist she shivers from your touch you're not sure why so you come to a stop whispering to not ruin the moment "do you want me to stop?" She shakes her head "no." You continue letting your hands gently caress her skin and moment after moment you get more comfortable and so does she as you start to leave kisses on her tattoos. You find your way to your knees in front of her and she watches expectantly but you tease because you want her to beg or ask nicely. You kiss your way around her pussy avoiding it as if it's not staring at you begging to be touched screaming at you as it drips from nothing but the soft touches of your lips and hands against her body. You're convinced she hasn't been touched like this in a while because she's so needy you can see it on her face but breaking that face of hers proves to be a bit more complex than you would think. The room being filled with nothing but gasps and light moans finally changes when you mumble against her skin "do you want me to touch you?" Shuri nods but that's not the answer you want you want words and you're going to get them. These sweet whimpers and gasps are pretty but nothing compares to begging and crying. Especially with Shuri's pretty eyes you just know she'd look amazing crying before you and begging you to touch her. Crying goodness maybe one day but you won't go that far... No. Not today. You give what you consider to be a light tap on Shuri's ass but it doesn't prove to be as light as you thought when Shuri cries out "shit." "I'm sorry baby but I want to hear you. Can you speak up or can you only use that pretty voice of yours when you're commanding someone else to do something?" Shuri mumbles "I want you to touch me."

Just to be a bitch you say "I'm sorry?" Shuri speaks up repeating herself but it's still not enough for you so you use two fingers to tease her wet cunt gently patting it letting your fingers get covered in her liquids and letting her get riled up. "Speak. Up." Shuri fidgets reaching for your hand but you glare at her daring her to touch it and see what happens. "Please touch me" you hum in satisfaction but you wonder just how much more you can make her say "touch you how my queen?" You keep your fingers still now gently but firmly pressing onto her clitoris "I want you..." She pauses as if to muster up the courage before finishing her sentence "I want you to touch every part of me I want you to do whatever you want to me." You're the one at a loss for words now but you don't stay like this. You pull her to your bed and make her sit down on the edge propping her legs up "I want to hear everything I want to hear your moans your gasps and your cries can we do that? If I see you thinking about covering your mouth I'll leave you just like this needy and craving an orgasm. Uyaqonda? (Do you understand?) Shuri nods earning a hard smack on her thigh "yes."

You take the time to admire her pretty pussy everything about her is pretty her lips her eyes her hair her thighs but this... What sits in front of you waiting to be touched as it leaks holds a beauty that the goddess Aphrodite herself must have gifted. you rub her thigh and she sighs but seeing her obviously irritated only makes you smile as you suck on her clitorus causing her body to hitch not expecting that so suddenly but you only hum loving the way she's currently trying to stay still. Yeah you've got to get rid of this whole not doing what she so obviously wants to do thing it's holding her back and can ruin this moment for her you don't want that so you give her a little motivation slipping two digits inside of her wet pussy causing her to let out a sweet whimper. Pulling away from her clit for just a moment you tell her "don't be shy you can ride out your orgasm reach your high as you please shit you can grab my hair but I want to see that you're enjoying this too... Okay?" Shuri nods "yeah I...yeah." you're not rough with her from the get go no you ease into it starting off gentle massaging the inside of her walls occasionally curling your fingers causing them to hit the right spot just where she seems to love it because she gets louder when you do this and her body lifts off the bed trying to fuck herself on your hand. It's cute seeing how when she's near she doesn't run away from the feeling instead she runs to it head first. That's good it lets you know that she's comfortable now but letting her be comfortable for too long can be boring so you of course have to change it up getting faster and rough with her using your free arm to keep her in place as she gets louder and finds it hard to be still fucking herself on your hand. The sounds coming from both of her lips are sinful and just like you imagined her moans are beautiful and remind you of a melody but the rasp behind them itches your brain just right and the lewd wet sounds coming from soaking pussy only encourages you to continue.

You watch with a smile on your face as she bucks her hips into your hand "mhm c'mon baby" your encouraging words bring Shuri to her climax. When she looks at you her expression immediately reads embarrassed but you lick your hand clean watching her as you do to show that none of that matters right now and she surely has nothing to be embarrassed about. "You want me to run you a bath?" Shuri nods and you get up dusting your knees off "princess" earlier she corrected you and you wonder will she do it again? "Queen" you hum as you run her some hot bath water and she follows behind you. "You seem embarrassed" Shuri shrugs "maybe... it's just been intimate in a while and I don't think one time did enough for me." Oh... You're surprised but not all too much you knew from the start she could go rounds and that's great because you have a box of toys with her name on it. "So what? You already staying the night we could let this water cool hm" Shuri nods as she glances at your lips just for a moment she hopes you didn't see her but you did and you smile "you want to kiss me?" Shuri stares at your lips now licking her own at the thought of yours on hers. "Can I?" "No. Not if this is casual I don't kiss hookups. They don't deserve it." Shuri nods as you turn on your heel to walk out of the bathroom but Shuri's voice cutting through the air makes you pause in your steps.

"So what if it's not casual?" Did you just touch your way into a relationship with the queen of Wakanda? Yes. Yes you did.

A/n: gentle reminder I do not write smut so please be respectful and think of that before you comment. 😀

Taglist: @verachii @mocha-aya @shuriszn @lolas-bunny @lucillele @shuri-lover @quintessencewrites @yamsthoughts @saintwrld @rxcently @lunax0654 @karimwillia @adeola-the-explorer @garbagesleepschedule @bratydoll @trixielwt @6-noir @annoyingtidalwavequeen @atssukoo @shuri-my-love @inmyheadimobsessed @letitias-fav @rxcently @iwillbiteabitch

@malltake12 @mxyx-rx444 @kiwidreamersstuff

[randomwriteronline]

"I am getting married."

Ferfax hummed: "To whom?"

"Vastus of the Jungle Tribe."

This time, the elder actually raised her eyes from the sheet of parchment she had been busy reading to pivot them right at him with a flabbergasted look.

Tarix continued to stand, unbothered.

"Their first Glatorian?" she sputtered - just to make sure she had heard correctly.

He nodded.

He watched her put her head in her hands.

She sighed heavily: "Must you give me a headache too, now?"

"It's just a marriage."

"Just a marriage - you know you can't get married if you can't share a house," Ferfax bit back: "And I'll be dead before I send you to Tesara, and I'll bet you Racans will be of the same opinion about sending their best Glatorian to live in Tajun!"

"If you make me an ambassador to the Lebori I have a right to a home in Tesara," Tarix argued with a shrug.

"I told you I'm not sending you there!"

"I'm not talking about living in it. Just having it."

"What would the point of having one if you'll never use it? And how is that supposed to solve the problem, anyhow?"

"Nobody ever said it can't be someone else's house. Like Vastus's."

The elder glared at him. He held her gaze.

At last, she gave a long, suffering groan, head heavily settling on her palms: "I'll have to discuss this with Racans."

"Thank you, chief."

"But I'm not marrying you."

"Fair enough, chief."

"You'll have to find somebody else to do the parchmentwork for you."

"Will do, chief."

"And quit that!"

Tarix ducked under the bone stylus thrown at him with a cackle.

-

"How's your calligraphy?" Vastus asked in a staggeringly casual manner as he pulled off his armor.

Strakk eyed him carefully: "Legible," he replied.

"If I get you the material, would you be keen on marrying me and Tarix sometime in the next month or so?"

The Koniri blinked.

"Why me?" was his argument. "Shouldn't your elder do it?"

"Racans said we've caused enough from trouble for them and Ferfax already with the whole housing situation," the other shrugged. He picked a small bucket filled with sand, moving to the other corner of the room so it wouldn't mix with the melted snow his fellow Glatorian was cleaning his fur with, and dumped the whole thing over himself. "So they don't want anything else to do with this. And since you're already here, might as well ask."

His opponent crossed his legs and hummed loudly as he massaged his mechanical chin, deep in thought.

He leaned his head to the side: "It would require me to be very flexible, but I could make myself available, yes. Of course, since it's still precious time stolen away from my life, I'd probably deserve some kind of compensation..."

"Enough to buy the stuff," Vastus cut him off.

"Excuse me! I'm over here, offering you my services-"

"You're accepting to provide a service," the Lebori corrected with a chuckle as Strakk rolled his eyes and waved at his semantics: "That's quite different."

"It doesn't change anything! I'll have to get the stuff, wait for the right date, come over to wherever you are, write it all twice - marriage is no little thing to officiate!" the Koniri rebuked, giving himself plenty of airs while his opponent shook the sand in excess off of his body. "I will be laboring on it for weeks! I demand proper payment!"

"Your proper payment is me letting you win those reparations we'll have to give Iconox, how's that sound?"

The Koniri gave an exaggerated huff and pulled back some of his dark fur to show a large, very recently formed bruise on his arm: "You call this 'letting me win'?"

The woman poofed the last of his bath out of his feathers: "I could have done worse." he grinned.

He gave a hissing laugh when the other Glatorian scoffed theatrically.

"Alright, fine, I'll get you a wed-gift as payment. What do you need?"

"Money."

"You know that's not how it works. Here - think of something you need, and that will surely save you money and trouble."

The addition did prompt Strakk to ponder if there was something like that in his list of necessities for a few more seconds.

His gaze fell on his axe, running a very quick check on it with his good eye - since the prosthetic one, despite being immune to snow burn, wasn't as good at telling details apart.

He hummed at last: "I'm not planning on replacing my weapon anytime soon, and I've got polishing material of my own already - but I've got an inkling that sharpening the blade with just a stone is degrading it little by little. You wouldn't happen to have...?"

"Powder and oil, got it." Vastus nodded while collecting the last few things before he could journey back to Tesara. "I'll fetch you some."

"And it better be good quality stuff!" the Koniri called after him as he left room, waving a wet rag threateningly in his direction: "Don't go be a cheapskate! You hear me? I'm the man who'll marry you, you better show some gratitude!"

The Lebori laughed at him and waved, very grateful indeed.

-

"Do you have plans?"

"What kind?"

"In general."

"What do you need to know that for?"

"To check if you'd have the time to spectate my wedding."

Ackar turned to him with a weird look.

"You're getting married?" he asked.

Tarix nodded: "To Vastus."

"Yes, I imagined - what I'm asking is, why?"

At that, the Gaquri shrugged, eyes growing whistful and mouth tugging itself into the shape of a small smile: "Love?" he offered.

He jabbed the Tapyri when he whistled sarcastically.

"You've been courting out of love for a long while too. Can't you just keep doing that instead?" the other insisted. "It's not like you'd get much else out of marriage that you don't aready have... I'm not even sure you can get married - with the whole sharing-a-house part."

His friend smirked, chewing the stem of his pipe: "We already found a loophole," he gloated, "And that's why our elders got mad at us and refuse to have anything else to do with this."

"Figures..."

A few cries rang out: Malum barked something at a group of rookies in a strict Tapyri dialect, and Ackar hollered right back at him in tone to shut whatever he was trying to start down before anybody got hurt. He got back a furious glare, but nothing else. Both Glatorian watched the younger warrior stalk back to an armored dummy in a corner of the arena from their seats.

They noticed how he reached under his armor to rub at his chest.

His prosthetic ribcage must have been giving him grief again.

"Seriously," the Gaquri registered lazily as the words slithered in his ear with a whisper: "Why marriage?"

He swatted at the other's nose: "Now you're getting on my nerves."

"I just want to understand! It's such an old-fashioned thing," the Tapyri defended himself.

That made Tarix chuckle: "Old-fashioned? Go look in a mirror, that'll give you something old-fashioned," he mocked his friend.

But Ackar remained serious: "Is it because you want children? That used to be the reason. But in a time like this-"

"Of course we're not having one now, we're gonna wait until the situation's a little more peaceful! Why don't you stick yourself to my ass while you're at it yapping about how I should live my life? Great Beings' sake, you're turning into a nagging old man. Next question's if we're sure about this because we're still too young and stupid to make our own choices?"

"The point is that you aren't young," his friend bit back: "And things don't look like they'll be getting better anytime soon."

The Gaquri glared at him, but said nothing to counter him, only puffing nothing out of his pipe twice in a pensive manner.

He shook his head, sighing deeply: "Listen, I don't know if we have a reason and I don't care. Maybe we were just raised like that, maybe it's because we do hope to have a kid sooner rather than late, maybe it's something else... Point is - would you spectate us?"

Ackar leaned back in his seat, silent for a moment.

At last, he smiled: "I'd love to."

The other veteran grinned back at him: "There," he huffed playfully, "Was that so hard? Now tell me what you need for your wed-gift."

"Nothing."

"That's not how this works and you know it, now tell me."

"I can't think of anything."

"Make an effort."

"Hm, nope. It's a barren wasteland in here."

"Get fucked, then!"

"I'll try to."

Tarix laughed so hard that the faulty spring in his knee almost burst out through his prosthetic flesh.

-

"What's that?" Gresh asked.

Vastus continued to work the clear amber resin without looking at him: "Did you grind the flour like I told you?"

"I did. What is that?"

"Then go make some dough for the dumplings."

His nephew huffed loudly, purposefully blowing on his ear to bother him; his concentration remained unbroken as he carefully plucked a down feather from his arm to press it into the small band.

He covered it with another layer of malleable matter while the younger Glatorian fetched a little water to mix in with the ground up bugs, listening to him bristle quietly all peeved about his unanswered question as he definitely pressed the heel of his hand into the slowly solidifying solution far too forcefully, as he always did when he was mad about something.

"You're gonna ruin your wrist like that," he told him distractedly.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Maybe I wouldn't if I had some help."

A little smile tugged at Vastus's lips as he stood up: "You'll make a poor Glatorian if you're defeated by dough," he laughed softly, fetching some wood.

"That's not what I meant!" the younger Lebori snapped.

His aunt gave a hissing giggle that made him puff out his feathers angrily, like a Gravel Hawk chick.

He side-eyed his mentor while he tossed the kindling under a pot, which he poured enough oil into to fully fry something small enough; after placing whatever it was he'd made on the small flammable pile so that the heat would harden the resin into some sort of gemstone, he threw in a few lit matches to spark up the fire, fanning it until he found himself satisfied with its lively state.

He stretched back up with a terrible crackling of his spine prosthesis, yawned, and sauntered over to the small table his nephew was still digging his hand way too hard into the soft somewhat viscous mass.

Gresh handed it over with a pout when Vastus gestured at him, rolling his eyes in annoyance but quickly going back to watching his aunt's expert movements carefully - as he always tended to do, since he was a visual learner first and foremost, and he still strived to avoid making mistakes.

After a few minutes, the dough had been successfully domesticated.

Vastus pried a chunk out of it and held it up: his nephew was quick to snatch it and roll it into a ball before squishing it into a flat circle, laying it back on the table before doing the same to each subsequent piece he was presented with.

"It's my pawn of affection for Tarix," the veteran Glatorian finally saw it fit to explain.

Gresh furrowed his brows a moment before understanding: "So you're getting married?" he asked, turning to the other with eyes wide and feathers fanned out in genuine surprise.

The woman nodded.

"When?" the rookie inquired.

"When we have time."

"Can I be there?"

"I don't know if you'll have time, but of course."

"And what's it going to be like? The wedding, I mean."

"Oh, it'll be a practical thing. We'll exchange pawns, Strakk'll write it down, and then we'll sign all that."

The Koniri's name caused his nephew to wrinkle his nose: "Why him?"

"Because he's got good handwriting," Vastus smirked, "And he was the nearest person I knew who I could ask to do this for us."

"Ackar wasn't there?"

"Nope, but he's our spectator anyways. Besides! Strakk isn't that bad. You're just hung up on the fact he's mean."

Gresh grumbled something, crushing a ball of dough into a wobbly mess. His mentor nudged him gently: he quickly rolled the whole thing again and properly flattened it.

"And is that going to be it?" he asked after a moment.

"The wedding? Yes, of course. Should there be something else?"

"Racans said theirs was followed by a party. They had a big supper and a dance and all."

The older Glatorian sighed: "Yes, that used to be a thing - but those were different times, kid," he explained: "We don't have the sort of time or resources for something like that nowadays. A wedding like that is a big ordeal, and we've got to work, you know? The easiest way to get the four of us together already is pick up a match at the same arena and get everything done in-between rounds. There's really no space for big celebrations."

"But you could still have a special supper," Gresh insisted. "Even if it's just you and me. Or you and Tarix... Are you moving to Tajun?"

"Nah, we found a way." his hand descended on to of his nephew's head, scratching at it gently to bother him as he bristled and whined. "I can't leave a little thing like you all on tir own, can I?"

The rookie swatted at him: "I'm not a 'ti' anymore! I'm an adult!"

"Are you? Last time I checked you were a few centuries and a good bunch of centimeters short of outgrowing childhood..."

"I'm not short!"

"Can you even reach the top of the pantry?"

Vastus laughed his hiccuping cackle as he watched the younger Lebori storm off to climb all the way to the highest shelf, at last throwing the filling for their dumplings at his aunt's head.

-

"Oop, there they come," Strakk warned him.

Tarix lifted his head and the stylus from the second piece of parchment to see Ackar limp in, hands on the lower half of his back and a pained grimace on his face. He smiled as Vastus appeared next to him, looking a little less worse for wear: he excitedly waved his hand at his soon-to-be spouse, who answered him in kind.

"I'm not built for riding Sand Stalkers anymore," the Tapyri grumbled.

"Here I thought I was the one who needed a prosthetic spine," the woman quipped back at him: "How did you even manage to get hurt? We would have gone faster if we'd walked! It took us ages getting those grains here from Vulcanus."

His partner clicked his tongue and shook his head: "Should've asked for some painkilling ointments for your wed-gift."

"You know those get lost in the mucus and don't work," Ackar argued.

"Then should've asked for a few medicinal sghitts."

"Ough, don't even mention those - I've already got Perditus reeking of them bad enough he can't wash the smell off most of the time, I'd rather not live with a permanently plugged nose."

"Are you going to cut the small talk or would you like to postpone the wedding altogether?" Strakk cut in, his overly polite tone dripping with sarcasm. He was fanning the ink on both parchments with his hand so it would dry faster, sitting astride on a bench. "I get it that the rest of you have today free, but I'll be up against Kiina in about twenty minutes and I'm not getting my pay docked because I was late getting the two of you married."

"Your pay's not getting docked," Vastus called his bluff.

"But it could!"

"Fine, fine, get on with it then."

The Koniri bowed his head with as much annoyingly unnecessary deference as possible to express his thanks and shooed off the groom from his seat so that he would go stand over with his wife.

He then stretched his back as Ackar stood beside him, groaned a little, and hunched over to the two almost identical pieces of documentation he'd prepared: with one hand he picked a parchment at random, while the other went to cover his organic eye so that he wouldn't get a headache as he tried to read.

Finally he staged a couple coughs to clear his throat.

"Before tomorrow, possibly," Tarix teased him.

"Shut up."

There were a few snorts.

Strakk squinted a one-eyed glare at the three of them, but let the whole thing slide with an exaggerated sigh to start reading aloud.

"With this document, Koniri Strakk of Iconox records the lawful marriage of Lebori Vastus of Tesara and Gaquri Tarix of Tajun, on... What's the current date?" he interrupted himself. Ackar leaned in to whisper it to him: he wrote it down. "Alright, thanks - now where was I - bababa, in the Glatorian arena of Tajun, as spectated by Tapyri Ackar of Vulcanus. So I declare. Now offer the pawns..."

While he handed over the stylus to the Tapyri so that he could sign his participation on both parchments in advance, the spouses dug into their pockets for a moment, each one of their hands emerging at last wrapped around something.

The exchanged a few glances to determine an order between them: in the end, Tarix went first.

"I offer you a pawn of my affection," he recited; his arm bent forward mechanically, and his fingers lifted to reveal a snail shell with a long, careful cut in which he'd wedged one of his scales so it couldn't fall off, and a metal wire around it. "For the honor of being your husband."

"I offer you a pawn of my affection," Vastus echoed him in both words and motions, presenting him instead with an open ring of amber encasing a feather within: "For the honor of being your wife."

Strakk shifted his hand over his other eye to get a better look at the small charms. The other two Glatorian helpfully leaned their palms a little closer to his face so that he could more accurately take note of their details.

The Koniri hummed and jotted down a quick description of both, planning to copy it on the second parchment later.

"And do you accept?" he asked the spouses as he finished writing.

"I accept, and take you as my wife," Tarix declared, placing his palm over the ring.

"I accept, and take you as my husband," Vastus declared, putting her hand over the shell.

The bone stylus scratched at the levigated Sun Serpent skin, leaving on it deep brown letters that seeped into the shallow trenches dug into the parchment very slowly.

Satisfied with his work, Strakk waved his hand and decided there was no point in keeping up any pomp: "So on and so forth, lawfully wedded, so I declare, exchange pawns and a kiss and congrats on the marriage."

"Aren't you the voice of romance," Ackar snickered.

The Koniri grinned as he speedily copied everything onto the second document: "Why, thank you."

The newlyweds ignored them, having tuned them out already. Their fingers tightened almost in unison, linking their hands together; they leaned forward to press their noses against one another for a few interminable seconds, making the flat silhouettes of their faces adhere all but perfectly like two halves of a whole.

The kiss their mouths shared instead was a small quick thing, barely held long enough to be seen at all. It still lingered in the wide smiles that squinted their eyes into slits after they came apart.

Ackar's few polite claps made them snicker: "May you have much happiness and healthy children!" the Tapyri wished them heartily.

"Aaah, thank you, friend," Tarix laughed.

Vastus sighed: "We'll need those, I think."

"And I'll need you to sign these over here," Strakk piped up, waving his stylus at the bride: "Your husband already got it done while we were waiting for you."

The Lebori's feathers vibrated in pure joy for a moment, causing his silhouette to be shaken by long waves.

While he leaned down to leave his signature, Tarix pulled a satchel from one of his pockets and offered the wed-gift to Ackar with a grin: "Here's a little show of gratitude for your trouble."

"Spectating you was no trouble at all, but I'll take that," his friend thanked him. His eyes lit up as he recognized the rattling sound of the pouch's contents when he shook it: "Nacre snails?" he asked, flummoxed. "How many even - a dozen or so? They must have cost you a fortune."

"Not as much as you'd think. Kiina's little brother's real good at finding them, and he makes a good price."

"Berix?"

"He's a good kid."

"I know that. I didn't know he was a hunter, too."

"Well now, hunter might be too generous--"

"And before you mention it," Vastus interrupted them as he too pulled out a present for their officiator, "Here's the gratitude I promised you, for your troubles."

"Oooh, thank you," Strakk howled as he eagerly wrapped his hands around his offering. "Right on time too, I'll bet you that hellish girl is going to find a way to chip my axe today... Alright, sweethearts - and Ackar, I'm entrusting you the result of my hard work for your elderssince I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave now. I've got a Gaquri to fight, you know - business as usual."

In one fell swoop he stood up from the bench, closed his ink bottle, whisked it away with his stylus, made them both disappear with a slight of hand, and regaled the three Glatorian with a deep overly flourished bow.

"Much happiness and healthy children," he bid them goodbye, and with his axe in hand he disappeared into a corridor.

The others watched him go.

"Bet you a batch of Thornax Kiina's gonna wipe the floor with him."

"I HEARD YOU, TAPYRI!"

Ackar laughed loud enough for the whole arena to hear him as he followed him suit, waving at the married couple.

Tarix turned to his wife, the word dancing in his stomach like a fluttering sparrow: "Wanna go see 'em?" he offered, playing with the amber ring before slipping it on a finger, reveling in the sound it made against his scales. "Or do you want to visit your second house?"

Vastus snorted, carefully sliding the snail charm into a thin thread he tied around his neck, letting it dangle on his chest: "I'm afraid I don't have time for that. It's a long way to Tesara, you know..."

"All the more reason to stay."

"I already gave my word to the merchants we escorted earlier that I'd stick to them until we got to the village."

"Can't get in the way of your work, then. But in that case..." the Gaquri rummaged on his person for the third time. He handed his spouse a small, specially made sack giving off the distinctive scent of kelp jades - round sticky fruits produced by certain algae found in the watery caves of Tajun. "Have these - for our nephew. I bet he's mad he couldn't come. A little treat should cheer him up."

"Well, wouldn't you know?" his beloved mused as he took the food: "A week ago or so he was wondering why we wouldn't have any other celebration, like a special dinner..."

It would have been nice to eat together, the two of them thought; but some things just weren't possible in these times.

They sighed.

Suddenly, they realized they were still holding hands.

They made no motion to pull them away from one another. On the contrary, they just looked at them for a moment, small smiles growing larger on their faces, hearts beating a little faster with every passing second.

They met each other's eyes again.

"We're married," Tarix said, grinning wider.

"So we are," Vastus replied, eyes shining.

They giggled to themselves like little kids as they pressed their faces together in another nose-kiss, giddy with a certain euphoria they weren't sure they could compare to many other things in their lives; they kissed on the lips, once, twice, cackling softly, and they would have gone on much longer if Tarix's diaphragm hadn't started collapsing, and if Vastus's name hadn't echoed around the corridors to remind him they had to go.