#but at the same time struggles because he's a prodigy in what he does and while for him it's something that he can do with his friends

[blade-liger-4ever]

Why Cody Burns succeeded where Rafael Esquivel failed

Honestly, Raf is one of those characters I never thought much of, in part because he was so forgettable. More often than not in Prime, Raf was just the sweet baby who everybody thought the world of and wanted to keep out of harm's way, even though the most he ever did in the show was provide technical help with Earth machinery or play the part of innocent child. This was not helped by the fact that he was buddy-ed up with the mute Bumblebee, who's sole contributions up until his two part arc and the series finale was additional man power and adorable mimic. While this was good for background humor, it ultimately did nothing to the overall storyline in the series, both for Raf and for Bee, and for the series itself.

By contrast, Cody Burns - the resident team baby, beloved by all and unwaveringly helpful in rescue missions - stood out far more than Raf. And what's more, is that he never had "his own" Autobot/Cybertronian partner, when literally his whole family had one of their own.

Allow me to delve into this, hopefully, final observatory post regarding the TFP kids.

Of all the humans, we quite frankly get the least out of Raf. We know he's a prodigy, given that he's twelve (and a quarter) and jumped straight into the same classes as Miko and Jack, the former of whom is no slouch as I've already covered. We're shown that his family allows him free reign of Jasper, as he's playing by himself near the road, although he's alone. That tells us that his family is either extremely lax in their attention for their youngest child, or that Jasper is an actually safe location for a kid who's barely filling out his shoes to be on his own. Whether or not either option is true, that's dangerous and shows that Raf goes unnoticed by his family. I'm not saying they're abusive or willfully neglectful of him, but this points us to the conclusion that Raf has a very lonely home life, and we already know that he's got zero friends until he meets the Autobots.

This could have been a great plot-point for the series: by giving Team Prime a small child with no one for company, the writers could have more clearly given the Autobots hope for the future of the War/after the War, while Raf could have gained confidence and security from having people who actually cared and listened to him. It could have been fun, having him be the human cycling through the Autobots for various needs. Imagine Raf going to Optimus for comfort after another day of feeling ignored, talking to Arcee for ideas on how to stand up to Vince (being the sole child in class makes you a target, after all), or coming to Bulkhead for how to struggle through the physical aspects of his school regimen (i.e. the time he brought up the rope climbing to Ratchet.) The possibilities were endless.

But instead, he's specifically handed over to Bee. Bee, who is the disabled child that is also largely forgotten, and who, while he does bond with Raf and provide him with much needed company, offers nothing else in the way of development or storylines. We got something marginally better when Raf started spending time with the grumpy grandpa that is Ratchet, which was great to highlight Ratchet's soft side that nurtures his own character progression, but it's not enough for Raf's development. I greatly prefer the company of the Autobots to the human characters in virtually every series, but there needs to be a noticable human presence to ground the Autobots' protective instincts toward Earth and to push along the story. Raf ended up being a token character not even halfway through the first season, which is a shame given his potential, especially since he and Bee ended up being background décor.

Now, as a counterpoint, we come to Cody Burns.

Like Raf, Cody is the youngest child of the Burns clan - and I say clan because his family has been the one providing Griffin Rock's safety and protection for about...roughly three hundred years? (Correct me if I'm wrong, but his family were the ones in-universe to discover the island. Thus, there's a large claim and respect to his family's name.) His father Charlie is the chief of police; his oldest brother Kade is the chief firefighter; his older sister Dani is the helicopter pilot and primary search and rescue operator; and his brother Graham, who's about eight years older than ten year old Cody, is already a chief engineer and inventor himself. Clearly, Cody has an impressive family. Clearly, they're the best of the best, and he couldn't be prouder of them.

And clearly, Cody feels the need to earn his stripes given their talents and the family's reputation.

A recurring subplot in Rescue Bots is how Cody is insecure about his role on the team, and that often leads him to attempt to provide help and find his place in life in the family. Sometimes, this works; although he's often left monitoring the situations across the island at home through the cameras, Cody finds ways of giving advice or pointing out a hazard that the others are oblivious to that would have likely killed them. And this is a noble occupation his fills, with his aid saving many lives and much trouble.

However, sitting around and merely being an observer wears on him. It makes him restless, and he often seeks aid from the 'Bots to figure out his problems before typical shenanigans ensue that rectify the current episode's dilemma.

This is an important part of Cody's characterization because while he does occasionally feel left out/ignored by his family, he understands it is because of their duties. Charlie has to daily wrangle different criminals and legal offenses while Graham is eagerly going to town on his latest project. Kade and Dani each have their own lives that are beginning and that they're pursuing, but additionally maintain an intense sibling rivalry due to them being not even three years apart. Thus, while they're seeing they're respective girlfriend and boyfriend, they're also competing in various childish ways that, sometimes, result in massive fights. It's no small wonder Cody rarely goes to them for advice.

For this, he's left with the 'Bots, and because they view him as their darling little brother who inspires them every day to give the humans of Griffin Rock and Earth a chance, they listen and advise him. Heatwave is the oldest of the 'Bots, and thus more experienced; additionally, Heatwave more than once nearly threw in the towel in the early days, but only relented due to Cody's convictions and virtues. Therefore, while they have a special bond without it being the sole focus, Cody tends to run to Heatwave the most when emotionally unwell and Charlie is unavailable. Heatwave in turn gives him comfort and advice, and backs him up in most situations. Chase is one he less often seeks help from, mostly due to Chase's nature of being a rigid rulebook. Most times Cody helps Chase understand human expressions and terms when Charlie is busy or otherwise engaged, with both their efforts helping the police 'Bot to loosen up. There are times when he needs Chase's input, as strange as that aid might be, and Cody doesn't hesitate to seek it.

Boulder he goes to almost as regularly as Heatwave, and the two get along fantastically. Boulder provides him with loving company he's hungry for, and sound advice without being overbearing. Blades sometimes needs more encouragement than anything, and thus Cody plays the rare part of helping guide someone through their numerous fears. Because of that, the 'copter 'Bot is extremely loyal and protective of Cody, and when Cody does ask for his help or companionship, Blades readily gives it. Sometimes, Blades will even go above and beyond what is asked, and never asks for anything in return.

These are healthy, constantly growing relationships that Cody develops with the 'Bots, as well as magnificent characterizations that are always expanding. While the focus tends to be shown through Cody's eyes or centered around him, it never fixates on him more than is necessary. Rather, by setting him up as the show's heart, the writing team is able to stretch out towards arcs related to other characters, both the 'Bots and their specific partners, and the other human cast members who interact with the 'Bots on a less frequent basis.

This is how Cody takes the potential of Raf from Prime and not only runs with it, but builds up countless heartwarming moments and strong characterizations over the course of Rescue Bots' run. Cody is positively and rightly shown as the glue of the family element of the show, and is given the autonomy to maintain his own personality and growth without being forgotten like Raf consistently was. That's why Cody stands out, and poor Raf is left hanging.

Well, that's my thoughts on the matter. I felt I should tackle Raf, given I covered his two peers, and Cody is a cute, fun, and constantly evolving counterpart to Raf that explains much of why I feel the poor baby of Team Prime was ultimately misused and unnecessary. I hope you enjoyed this, and that it got some gears turning in your heads.

I'll be seeing you guys!

"Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!"

[kaisaerinlover]

tw: dubcon, self depricating, unbalanced power dynamics

the re al facilities are rich enough to give everyone their own dorm, their own luxurious dorm. so why is it that sae itoshi and michael kaiser don’t have their own dorm? well, technically they do, but they barely use both at once. why does one of them always find themselves sitting on the bed of the other’s dorm? that’s probably what everyone at re al wonders; sae itoshi who doesn’t speak to anyone and has nothing but a cold and indifferent attitude no matter what words you throw at him. and then michael kaiser. michael kaiser, the ultra talented prodigy striker - he could probably carry this whole generation of players on his back with his skill. and his ego too, his ego is so inflated it’s impossible to have a normal conversation with him. it’s quite clear this man has no respect for anyone who he doesn’t deem on the same level or above in terms of talent. no one in the re al facilities at all whatsoever is worthy of any semblance of respect from him. sae has a similar mindset, he sees everything and everyone as lukewarm; but he’s not exactly disrespectful. but the pair just don’t think highly of anyone or anything but themselves.

so why are they nonstop spending time together? their personalities don’t seem like they’d mix well at all to most people. and they don’t; you are the icing on top. the thing that they have to agree on. to communicate for. kaiser doesn’t think anyone in the re al facility is worthy of any of his attention, except for you. and itoshi, he supposes, considering they do talk a lot. but it’s only for you, really. sae and kaiser don’t exactly hate each other, but he doubts they’d talk if you weren’t here. you. you were the cute housekeeper paid the bare minimum to keep everything tidy and cute. that’s what was on the resume anyway; you are a glorified maid. not anymore though, kaiser and sae don’t really let you do your job. if they lust after you so will everyone else here. they don’t even know what compelled them to start sharing you in the first place; but this arrangement works so there’s no need to alter it yet.

the only two people you’re allowed to tend to is those two, which is annoying, but for some reason you’re yet to be fired so you guess it’s okay. but you’re a bit uneasy around them always. you know you don’t really have any choice but to go along with what they want because they’re just so influential it’s pointless to argue with them; you would definitely lose your job if you opened your mouth. and that’s what they adore about you - you’re so pliant and cute. so quiet, too shy to speak up about the mistreatment they both make you suffer. kaiser likes the power he has over you and sae likes the fact there’s little inconvenience when it comes to you. not to mention you’re not too harsh on the eye in that cute little uniform they insist you parade around their dorms wearing. dressing you up like you’re actually a maid. you really want to convince yourself you hate this, but being doted on is nice. unsettling, but nice.

you’re sitting between the two on the bed, you don’t even remember who’s dorm you’re in right now. probably sae’s, but your memories mesh into one all too often. you’re not sure why, you’re struggling with remembering anything at all these days. maybe it’s how stressed and tired the two men end up making you, but it’s hard to put your finger on it.

they think you’re so cute, all out of it and pliant between them. it was kaiser’s genius idea to start drugging you; you know, just a bit. just to make you that extra bit more obedient. a bit turned into a lot, poor thing, can you even remember anything except the two men? you’re looking down at your legs toying with the stockings they insist you must wear with the already stereotypical frilly maid dress they make you wear. you feel all hot and dizzy, and nervous. sae reaches out to lift up your head and squeeze your cute face in his much bigger hands, and kaiser is twirling your hair around his fingers. you’re embarrassed; you didn’t really start noticing until recently how they’re actually attractive, and it’s making you all hot and bothered. you’re trying to be discreet but it’s hard. it’s embarrassing to feel your panties dampen with slick over the two men who have so much power over you and terrify you so much. feminism is truly dead because you’re so perverted. you chastise yourself in your head for your sluttiness until one of them speaks up.

“what’s wrong? how come you’re not looking at us, hm?” it’s kaiser. he’s smirking at your squished face in sae’s hands, still messing with your hair. sae releases your cheeks just a bit; enough for you to be able to speak a coherent sentence. “what’s so interesting in your stockings, you lukewarm girl?” he scolds you. and you hang your head as best you can with sae’s strong hands around it in shame. it’s so embarrassing to have to squeeze your legs together just to semi satisfy the tingling sensation in your pussy. it’s so embarrassing; your inexperience precedes you it really does. they can tell too, you’ve never had a man before either of them stepped into your life.

kaiser laughs at your cute antics, the way your plump thighs press together. the way they look in your stockings. “are you wet? you fucking slut” he patronises you whilst laughing. he tugs your hair a bit so your head is yanked a little out of sae’s hands. sae looks up and deadpans him “watch it, we’re sharing remember?” kaiser just grumbles and rolls his eyes. “look at her itoshi, writhing under our touch and presence” his fingers wander from your hair down to your tits as he squeezes your nipple hard enough to make you cry out in pain “isn’t it funny?”

sae does find it funny, see, the two are not emotionally in tune at all. kaiser likes inflicting pain on you and sae doesn’t care too much; he just uses you for his own convenience. and right now they can feel themselves hardening at the sight of you being all worked up over them, your comfort or wellbeing be damned.

that’s how you find yourself on sae’s lap with his fingers shoved deep inside of you as kaiser watches and smirks. sae itoshi has long, slender fingers; truly good at their craft. that stupidly dehumanising outfit they have you wearing is discarded and you’re only in the cute matching bra and panties set they make you wear beneath it so often. sae and kaiser are mean, but you could literally just walk away at any time. this job isn’t worth much; especially with the way they treat you. they know it too. they can subject you to whatever treatment they want because you secretly enjoy it. enjoy the way sae is fucking you on his hand as kaiser smirks as he does. your pussy is aching in the best way possible and drool rolls down your chin. sae just wipes it off and licks it before he kisses you.

after a bit kaiser chimes in though “don’t just keep her for yourself, why are you so greedy, itoshi?” he’s standing next to you as sae withdraws his fingers from your sopping cunt, and he wraps his hands around your throat and looks down at you. sae just looks up at him “your turn for now then” you’re pushed off of sae’s lap and onto the floor. they’re a bit rough with you, you wish they’d be more gentle. but whatever, you can’t have everything in life. kaiser takes sae’s precious position on the edge of the bed and sae sits next to him palming himself at the sight of you on the floor. you’re a bit nervous, sae isn’t sadistic on purpose really, he just indulges himself far too much. kaiser is though. kaiser wants to make you hurt. sae just watches to see what he does next. you know he won’t help you, you gave up thinking that after the first few times.

your throat is hurting, kaiser’s hands are as strong as sae’s. he’s looking down at you with a big smirk plastered on his stupidly attractive face. “you know, you’re a real slut, kätzchen.” and all you can do is bow your head in shame. it’s true what he says; but he props your chin back up and pushes open your mouth with one thumb. he spits in your mouth like you are worth nothing, maybe because in the grand scheme of things you aren’t. when he pushes your mouth closed again you take it as a sign to swallow, so you do. it pleases the two men greatly, sae lets out a low, gutteral groan and kaiser just laughs and pets your head. “it’s okay if you’re a slut, ‘cause you’re still good for us”. it’s true, you’re awfully good for them. you don’t need to be really, but you still are. still open your mouth when kaiser pushes his cock past your lips again. you still reach out your arm from the floor and stretch as far as you can to be able to jerk off sae at the same time. you can exercise your free will in any way you want to and this is how you choose to do it. letting kaiser pull at your hair and gag you on his fat cock whilst you push yourself to the limit and bend uncomfortably at weird angles just to be able to keep pleasuring sae at the same time. you’re doing it just to please and make these two prodigies cum. they have you in the palm of their hand and they know it. god, you’re pathetic.

sae thinks it’s cute, he won’t tell you that out loud too often; but you’re terribly cute. he has his hand wrapped around your smaller one, helping you jerk him off. god, he wishes he could fuck you right here and right now; but he can’t whilst you’re down there. kaiser wants the same. he wants nothing more than to bend you over the bed and destroy you, lift up your head as he fucks you from the back just to see your pretty tears as you cry and tell him how bad his dick is hurting you. but they have to share. and your mouth does just as good. you’re so pretty like this anyway, they both agree on that. hair pulled up in kaiser’s tattooed fist, tears rolling down your cheeks, lips all bruised and reddened, rosy red cheeks and a red nose, big eyes wide open looking up at kaiser and then at sae, trying so hard to please them both. you’re a little people pleaser, always slaving away just to make the pair feel good. even with smaller gestures like eye contact.

even the way you move your face closer to the middle just to make it easier when they both start jerking off over your pretty face. make it easier for them to be able to cum all over your face. in your mouth, wherever they choose to. you don’t even like it, you think it’s gross and you feel oh so very used, but you still sit there and squeeze your eyes shut as you wait for both men to finish and paint you with their seed. you even perform after they’ve finished. licking up their cum so erotically, scooping it into your mouth with your fingers, devouring their cum like it’s the first meal you’ve had in ages. the cum you tell yourself you hate so much. you try so hard to convince yourself you don’t like to be treated this way, but when you look up at both of their faces after they’re done with you, how can you hate it? the way sae looks at you with softness only reserved for you, and kaiser pets your cheek almost sweetly after all the cruelness he inflicts on you. it’s so difficult to tell yourself you hate this, because you’re living the dream of so many girls.

it’s really difficult to hate it, especially when you make them get along. it’s sweet in a way. watching them work ironically harmonious to clean you up and get you in bed after you were so good for them. how sae strokes your back and plays with your hair as kaiser kisses you to sleep gently. it’s harder to hate it than it is to like it, so you should just give in, shouldn’t you?

sae has his hand on your head stroking it gently, and kaiser has his hand on your neck. he likes feeling your pulse against his fingers. and the softness of your breathing in your sleep. you’re out cold, they always tire you out this much. “she’s cute, isn’t she prodigy boy?” kaiser smirks at sae. he thinks the relationship the three of you have that keeps growing and growing is funny. sae usually isn’t talkative; he wouldn’t even entertain stupid questions like this in any other context, but here he just sighs and nods. “very.” his face doesn’t betray his true feelings, he feels guilty deep down. maybe him and kaiser are the lukewarm ones, unable to give you what you deserve; a real relationship. not this. they do love you, he’s sure of it, he knows he loves you infact, as embarrassing as it is to admit, even inside. but they can’t not share you; they like you too much. you don’t deserve this but what can they even do against it? kaiser feels the same guilt, he’s mean with you, projecting his past and his need to be the best onto your fragile body. subjecting you to his malice for no reason at all. not giving you the normal relationship every girl your age craves. but this works best for them.

maybe they’re stupid for it, but they don’t mind indulging nonstop in this temporary pleasure, future be damned. future gratification is tenfold more important than this. everyone that’s smart knows that, especially this duo. but when they look at your exhausted, sleeping form between them in bed, they just share a knowing look.

how can they let you go now? you’re just too precious.

[eocon-fr]

ᯓ translation of an interview of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly about Isack Hadjar by Canal+

Esteban Ocon : I saw that photo again. He was really small in the photo! I had been to Le Mans at the time. It was in 2017 or 2018. And he had actually gone to see a small mini-kart race. I remember taking a photo with a little one that day, but I didn't remember it was him! And yeah, crazy thing because I was in his place too at one point. Where I was the young guy who was arriving, who was watching the great F1 drivers. I imagine what state he is in now and how eager he must be to start. Yes, he is a young prodigy, and obviously, we will follow very closely what he does.

Pierre Gasly : I know, Isack. I saw Yuki, we were at the hotel, he said to me, "Now I understand the struggle you must have gone through a few years ago when I arrived in F1!" About what it's like to be the driver with a little rookie next to you. Because he says, "Now I find myself in the same situation with Isack!" And then, Isack is making his debut at AlphaTauri, where I made my debut, with Pierre, the French engineer I had when I was there too. So there are a lot of parallels. And of course, I wish him the best. I know he's a very, very talented person. I think he brings a lot of freshness with his personality, too. So it'll be good to follow that.

[littleblueberryartist]

hi hi as therapy is expensive and your yui lives au has given me unrepairable brain damage, so I'll leave a few questions :Dc based on your last post, how would the interaction between the twins post-ssv be like? yui finally having his brother back, them being able to catch up on lost time? also, smth that i find quite funny is the idea of these two acting like normal 14-year-olds bc they deserve to act their age. bc imagine walking past these two and they just start shit-talking you. they're teens. they know no remorse. no mercy no idea how plausible such a scenario is in your story, but just a silly idea :]] and lastly!!! now with mui fully back again, would yui strive for a hashira title? or remain happy with his current status? also kokushibo. just. yeah kokushibo bc bro.

Don't worry yui lives gives me unrepairable brain damage too <3

(ty for the questions I love an excuse to yap :DDDDD)

To put it simply post ssv is the happiest both twins have been in a long time! That's not to say they had no happy times before or that everything is completely fine now (trust me it's not and it Will come up later ;)) but you get it.

Yui is so damn happy to have his little brother back. He's missed him so much and seeing him without his memories hurt a lot, even if they did eventually adapt to it better with time. It's a lot of stress off his shoulders because he's been trying tirelessly to take care of Mui for years so he feels a lot lighter now,,,

More importantly, he's so glad that Mui isn't suffering anymore. Yui knows Mui better than anyone else (even if it did take him a while to relearn how to read Mui after he lost his memories) and as such he knows better than anyone else how much Mui was also suffering and struggling with his amnesia where the rest of the corp saw a self sufficient prodigy. Muichiro is canonically anxious about his memory loss and I hc him to have horrible brain fog and fatigue from it as well I am going to eat my shoes-

Yui's also gone through his own character development over the years and is nicer, more like the Yuichiro from before their parents' deaths! He gets to apologize for how he treated Mui before and explain why he did the things he did,,,,,,,

Meanwhile Mui gets to finally find himself again, and while his memory probably won't ever be as good as it was before (I hc that he had really good memory before which hammers in harder how much the trauma of what happened messed him up), he knows who he is and has a sense of purpose beyond just kill demons and protect Yui. He feels like he's got so much to see and experience now that he's mentally present again and wants to make up for lost time. He's still very duty oriented don't get me wrong, that hatred of demons and duty to the corps is still there. But he's also more inclined to take breaks, and he's pretty excited to try new things and have a bit of fun. With Yui alive and the happiest Mui has seen him since their parents died, it heals a part of him that canon Mui doesn't get to, so he's closer to how he was as a child compared to canon Mui as well.

These are mostly during the recovery period (ft. the Yoriichibot au by corvidel on tiktok/bluesky! he's got more crossover doodles btw <333) but the twins are so silly and goofy together trust. It's not fully the same as it was when they were kids, they're more mature now, and traumatized. But they're doing a lot better,,,

In fact, during the hashira training arc, Yui's the one that suggests for Mui to loosen up and take a break which leads to everyone getting to make paper planes together! (he recovers first and arrives at Mui's training before Tanjiro does so Tanjiro and the other slayers that come after get to have a Mui that still trains them very hard but is kinder and more encouraging with his words compared to the guy that tells them you suck and will die 3 times over lmao)

They totally still shit talk people though I love these two little shits dfsgdsfgdfsdfg

Sanemi in particular is victim to this because @goldngazes and I both adore Mui and Genya's friendship in canon and in kimetsu gakuen (Yui hates both of the Shinazugawas for other reasons but they also remind him a lot of how he and Mui were like before the demon attack and it pisses him right off)

And nope! Yui never truly wanted to become a hashira, only to protect his brother. He would like to get stronger yes, but he doesn't really care for the responsibilities that come with being a hashira. Each hashira has their own region to look after, so in the event Yui were to become a hashira he might not even get to see Mui as often as he already does. And while the master might make an exception for him, he's happy with his current ranking since he already tags along with Mui on non hashira level missions.

Admittedly, after Rengoku's death he kind of spirals a little because oh god not even being a hashira is enough to guarantee survival. He feels like he *needs* to become a hashira so he can go on those high level missions to protect Muichiro. But he learns to trust in Mui more post ssv, and focuses more on growing at his own pace.

As for Kokushibo you'll just have to wait and see :]

[urautismdiagnosis-wistie]

Do you have anymore sad headcanons for Peso? Sorry if I’m asking for too much I just like your writing😭💓

hm well, I definitely do have some ah, sadder things planned for him (he'll be ok in the end but its gonna be a rough ride) they just haven't happened yet in my comic tho lol

Although I suppose he is rather homesick and often. Its a strange kind of homesickness though, to miss a place that was incredibly stressful to you all the time... he doesn't really want to ever "go back" for good even if his dad is gone. Its more he misses some family, the physical environment, and cultural traditions and such. And also not having to crane his neck up at LITERALLY EVERYONE. Hes like an average height by penguin standards actually-

He misses the vast feeling of the arctic and the closeness of family. He makes sure to keep tabs in family group chat and such (where the autines do bombard him the most atrocious medical questions and internet rumors) but its not the same as *being there* and feeling a part of his family.

Alot of times in life you can't entirely win. You can go down this path that you'd never trade the world for, but you can still miss parts of your past.

Another thing he struggles with is just octonauts specific struggles. And im not referring to the self doubt complex or whatever either. Everyone on the octopod knows that their jobs have an inherent amount of danger but they all still trust him. Its not that they don't see him as a person with fatigue from working and etc, but its like they don't understand what danger they're actually in.

And it isn't even about things like gup crashes from storms, and an animal lashing out, or whatever that he means.

Yes peso is quite the prodigy. At least half of the octopod are just prodigies in their own fields. But the thing is they DONT understand how much they rely on luck.

He knows- he knows because he made sure- of all the safety regulations, preventive measures, failsafe and so on- he KNOWS there's so many things to prevent the worst-

But peso doesn't have an entire hospital at his disposal. Peso isn't a MEDICAL SPECIALIST. So if one time one bad specific thing happens- (it doesn't matter if he has medical databases at his disposal either-) he knows if someday-

If someday one thing happens, and it happens in just a specific way that the worst case scenario happens he won't be able to save them.

Peso can do surgery. Mostly for things like objects stuck within a creature or removing certain faulty parts. But he-

Its so so hard to explain or express but he can't help if he doesn't have the specific supplies or skills to do a specific operation- he can't help safe someone from a deadly venom that doesn't have a cure! He can't treat a type of TIME SENSITIVE damage when he doesn't have the machines for it- he can't DO ANY OF THAT. He can't save them if someone has some random fcking type of attack and he cant reach them! He can't just magically procure medicine they may need!

It doesn't matter HOW much he tries to prepare in advance and it doesn't matter what all he learns-

But he can't save them from everything. And its like they don't even know. They don't know how many times survival is just a hit or miss. They don't understand how hitting your head at a slightly wrong angle means you can instantly DIE.

But he does. He knows it better than anyone else.

They know "accidents happen" and that they COULD die, they'd prefer to die in some FREAK ACCIDENT cuz to them its be honorable or something. But to peso its a fcking failure. And not because he did anything wrong, but because he's the medic and he has to help everyone no matter what.

Yeah he takes anxiety medication. 💀👍 lik bro has wayyyy too much anxiety to be contained in his lil body man

He has successfully bullied/guilt tripped/blackmailed the others (barnacles kwazii AND DASHI no one ever talks about how casual dashi is about danger sometimes and yall need to) into actually taking proper precautions. >:|

He also wonders if he'll ever find true love or etv but eh he does have a pretty great crew (family)

[deadchannelradio]

this part of your fic is so meaty, i’d love some dvd commentary:

“And your stupid knock-off gimpsuit-,”

“Oh, it's a knock-off, is it?” Midnighter asks, mocking. “What’s it a knock-off of? Why does that piss you off specifically-?”

“Do not,” Dick grits out as Midnighter rolls his cock under his thumb, “if you want to continue getting laid-,”

“Me? Me? You brought him up-,”

Dick jerks his leg to the side and knees him in the neck, cutting him off. “You think you know everything! Shut up, for the love of god, you talk too fucking much-” Midnighter cackles in his face, tightening his grip on Dick’s leg right as Dick thinks about kneeing him again. “You leave all your bloody messes for other people to clean up, you’re irresponsible, the problems don't actually go away once you've punched ‘em real good and bailed, just so you know-,” Midnighter pinches his cock. Dick will deny to the end of his days that what comes out of his mouth is a squeal.

“You’re almost cute,” Midnighter says, giving him the same pout you give the least adoptable pomeranian at the pound. “You’re like a little dog, yapping at me-,”

Dick does his best to make an error noise, difficult with how he’s trying to keep himself from moaning. “Not into that one,” he informs Midnighter quickly, because he’s driven down that road many times before and it doesn’t lead anywhere he’s wished it would.

“Damn. What a crying shame that is,” Midnighter says with a prodigious sigh. “You done yelling at me now? Never in my life have I met anyone this mad they want me to bend them over-,”

“God, fuck you! I do not fucking like you!” Dick hisses, shifting and tensing as Midnighter’s focus starts to shift, touching him with intent and not just to tease. He’s struggling to find words, he could have sworn he had more of them. “Fuck! Shit!”

“You’re done now,” Midnighter says, sounding very sure of himself.

“I’m never done,” Dick promises, and Midnighter rolls his eyes, forcefully enough to roll his head with it.

“Brats,” he says in a philosophic drawl. “You just like the sound of your own voices, is what I think. You’d prattle on all goddamn day if I’d let you.”

“But now who’s talking?” Dick snipes back, and then gasps sharply when Midnighter presses a finger into him.

“But that’s all you are, huh? Only talk.” Midnighter slips a second finger beside the first- Dick can feel every one of his callouses, stroking inside of him and searching for what will make him whine and quiver. “Look at me, look at me everybody!” He’s found his rhythm now, relentless, making Dick wriggle in the paradoxical pull-away that always seems to happen to him when something feels a little too good. “I’m so big and important! I’m so smart! I’m so cute!”

“I am,” Dick agrees, sheer willpower alone making him sound very nearly normal. Midnighter pinches his inner thigh hard enough to make him yelp.

from attention economy

ill commentate under the cut to save some dashboards.

ohh dickie. the thing about dick grayson's most excellent sexile is that he objectively is having, like, the worst eighteen months of his life jesus christ, and he has NO outlet and is NOT allowed to behave like himself- it's very easy to look at who dick acts like as agent 37 and go oh well tom king can't write his way out of a paper sack, of course it's inconsistent- but my view is that 1) dick has bipolar 1 and is using a technology designed to destabilize the mind- he's really good at using it, it's really good at making him Crazy with a capital C and is actively destroying him and his psyche 2) dick has created a persona that is not himself in order to survive spyral 3) acting as that persona all the time with no breaks and being gaslit by his own mind and very aware that his body is not his own right now is making him Lose His Mind.

A lot of what he's saying in the first bit (most of it right before you started your section is of course both projection and directed at Bruce, who he has no contact with and cannot say this shit to. Midnighter is aware of this. Midnighter has had roughly a hundred twinks/twunks/otters/young bears project their daddy issues onto him and thinks it's deeply funny to call out every single time, even though it does kind of ruin the mood to have someone go "are you fucking me because you're mad at your dad?" that's not exactly the case here- this guy pisses him off in a way that isn't his typical. Were he not in spyral he would find midnighter, while somewhat infuriating, much more funny. if they met in a world outside of spyral dick would be letting M grab up his hair in public after doing the splits and loudly comparing their ages and then forcing M to try sugar cereal for the first time. hell midnighter might even let him top if he begged and pleaded and wheedled about it long enough, but with the weird energy he's exuding and the two distinct personalities he's flipping between Midnighter is not letting this guy anywhere near his butthole. were i to write this all again i would take it in a much darker/sadder direction, but then i wouldn't be writing porn so much as porn would briefly happen in a story about dehumanization and loss of sense of self and psychological torture, which may yet happen (or my partner will do it) who knows.

i just think M would be really into petplay. he's into it in a way i'm not he has a pup mask (for himself) and everything probably but he'd also HAPPILY put dick in one and try to leash train him. unfortunately i think dick has tried being walked like a dog many times (kori, helena, probably a small handful of grindr meetups) and just has not enjoyed it. he likes collars fine on occasion but he just finds it all quite silly and it doesn't get him wet, let alone off. he liked it best with kori but kori could probably make him like anything. Midnighter is kind of broadly sad about that but in a oh well there'll be other twunks to collar sort of way.

Midnighter's overall view of Dick here has just been mostly a God Damn does this dude need to get laiddddd. M loooves brats he looooves them he loves breaking them down so much if he could just sit around and tame brats all day he would do it. there's hints to him that something bigger is going on but dickie immediately being slightly less horrible after getting his shit rocked does kind of confirm that theory for him. he's also not wrong. dick does need to get laid regularly and well in order to function and when his vibrator has dust on it his life tends to have gone to hell. but yeah. M is mostly having fun with him. something has pinged as not quite right, but there doesn't seem to be a future where dick talks to him about it, so he'll just do what's most fun for him, as is Midnighter's way.

the rest of M's monologue after this is just a big introspection on what dick is doing in essence here, which is bratting! although he's def on a very extreme end of the scale here due to his mental happenings i think dick probably brats somewhat often even when he's doing just fine in the brainpan, although it looks very different from person to person. Midnighter is getting the motormouth/physical aggression a little moreso than the 'you can't make me' that he doles out to people like kori, who does not get the physical aggression. lots of that is who midnighter is and their relationship with each other, but some of it is psychological: dick has a lot of extra physical and emotional aggression to bleed off and is taking an opportunity to do it (see: his i don't fucking like you speech, them physically brawling a beat before this), he's trying to get his deeply annoying agent 37 on, who is different from the sulky and recalcitrant person he's been on their field trip, and he's been being forced to do things he doesn't want to do against his will for months, he doesn't want another person to prove to him that they can make him do whatever they want. Everything in this fic, in spite of how off the wall or poorly negotiated it is, is something dick both wants to do and is excited for, even if he runs his mouth or is annoying about it.

also, he is so smart and cute. he doesnt always fully believe that of himself, but people have been telling him as such since he was like, a day old. so.

yeah. i thought a lot about attention economy, so thank you for asking!! i'm so happy to talk about it haha

[anidiotonloose]

I really like the fact that in Wiege, we see a completely different version of Luka.

In every video we’ve seen before, Luka always has this air of superiority, like he’s the final boss (he was), like he’s a prodigy among prodigies, untouchable and unparalleled. On the stage he’s calm, composed, and arrogant in the way he performs, declaring to the world that he IS the best.

In round 5 he had an arrogant smirk as he forcefully made Mizi dance with him, controlling her movements to trigger her.

in the top 3 video he was sitting high above to portray how “unreachable” he is.

in round 7 he was laughing when Till struggled to compete as flashes of Ivan’s death plagued his mind.

so when he saw Hyuna i was so sure that, aside from being super shocked, he would still be his narcissistic self. He’d probably, idk, act indifferent maybe? Maybe he’d approach her but still maintain some sort of distance cuz at that point of the time i believed they grew apart or Hyuna cut off Luka when he killed Hyunwoo.

obviously i was wrong.

He was so so happy he looked like he was a child again. I wouldn’t have believed this was the same Luka that manipulated his opponents to win. In fact they even drew him to appear younger, to add to his happy and childish moment as he saw hyuna and approached her for a hug.

he approached her for a hug.

…

interestingly enough, we see that Luka probably does not like himself

I feel like Luka murdered all his clones with that knife in his hand.

And that reminded me of this art:

The caption for this was “Disgust”.

He’s disgusted with his clones, or maybe himself, hm?

Then this reminded me of this:

What if Luka was the one who marked this? If he can stab his clones then who’s to say he couldn’t scratch out his face from this photo? He even scribbled on Hyunwoo because he’s dead.

Hyuna was the only person he loved and that’s why shes the only one untouched.

To conclude this, I love how Luka seems to turn a 180 when it comes to Hyuna and is so different from the Luka I (and probably most of you all too) had imagined.

[sortofshea]

On the 12th day of @hprecfest this fandom gave to me...

Day 12: a fic by your favourite author

Title: Heal Thyself by @astolat

Pairing: Draco x Harry

Teen | 46.9k words

Summary:

"Are you going for the course?" Lovegood asked. "You have the NEWTs.”

“What course?” Draco said, then, “No, don’t be ridiculous,” when he realized she meant the notice pinned up on the board he’d been staring at: Applicants To The Introductory Mediwizard Course For The Coming Term Shall Present Themselves In The Chief Mediwizard’s Office By August 24th.

"Oh, I thought you might,” she said. “Well, goodbye.” And off she wandered again in her addled way.

Why I recommend it:

Choosing a "favourite" author from this fandom is an impossible task. Astolat won this spot despite a whole host of other contenders because I cannot simply pick one, but many of my other favourite authors are featuring in other prompts and I've read just about every single scrap of HP fanfiction she's written.

This fic is an absolutely stunning exploration of Draco's journey to redemption after the war. It is very apparent that he only begins the course to become a healer out of pride and spite, but after a few years, he starts to realize that he also wants this for himself. He struggles and fights his way through a wand that is reluctant to cooperate with him and the reactions of the public and his peers to his presence in the course.

Through gritted teeth, Draco works hard to make ammends for his past. He lives, breathes and sleeps his studies and work. This guy stops going out unless his very beneficent senior tells him he must. Even after he graduates and goes on to become a special consultant for only the most difficult of cases, he has to be kicked out of the hospital by the Chief Mediwizard. Not for good, of course, just out of the permanent residences and told to get a real flat and work no more than 5 days a week.

Draco has found something that he is not only good at, but is also benefitting both his patients and himself. His patients recieve care from literally the best Magister in England, and Draco finds that he is able to heal the bits of his soul that have been eroded by dark magic and corruption.

Listen, House, MD is one of my all time facourite shows. Draco doesn't give Dr. House per-se, but he is portrayed as a grumpy, tortured prodigy who is more often than not, the only one capable of saving his patients. The story is full of such beautifully crafted magical theory and magical medical lore, its truly brilliant. I crave this. I eat that shit right up. I will never stop rereading this fic.

As for the drarry of it all, Harry comes into the story when Draco has reached the top of his game, essentially. He's rebuilt his life in as successful a fashion as he knows how, and he's found a certain fulfillment and even peace with himself. Harry is deeply mistrusting of him and holds an unfairly harsh opinion, even after Draco saves his life. Having coincidentally discovered that fragments of all 3 killing curses Voldemort hit Harry with had not exactly vacated his body, Draco begins operating at once. It is a long, exhausting and harrowing procedure, but he does it. After the fact, Harry decides he's lying about something, hiding something and reverts to his basic programming; he begins stalking investigating Draco Malfoy.

When he discovers absolutely nothing, not a single hair out of place, he is baffled. He realizes that somehow Draco has literally managed to cleanse himself of all darkness. Despite all odds, he has crawled out of the corruption that was bred into him and come out a changed man - but also very much the same Draco he has always been. Honestly, after Harry has his come to Jesus moment and realizes he has feelings for Draco, its all very quick and easy between them.

Watching Harry fall into old habits and expect absolutely nothing but the worst from Draco, it's so stunningly relieving when he finally clues into it all. After realizing that Draco is a changed man, Harry mostly just finds it incredibly amusing to hang around and annoy him. It takes some time before he realizes that he has feelings for Draco, but when he does, these two quickly fall into such an easy rhythm with each other.

I need to end this outrageously long rec, thanks for reading for this long. Just do yourself a favour and go read this phenomenal fic. Also go leave kudos and comments!

Honourable mentions also go to Erosmancy, House Proud, The Compact, Reparatio and Slithering, which are some of my other favourites by Astolat.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

My personal hot take about Azula and Zuko and bear in mind, this come from someone that is indifferent about the idea of Azula getting a redemption:

The only thing that makes Azula worse than Zuko, befero he changed sides and joined the Gaang, is that she was a bigger threat the heroes that he ever was, she got closer to beat then than Zuko or Zhao.

And even then, her biggest victory against then is arguably a shared sucess beetween her and Zuko, so if she is beyond redemption for that action,.by that logic Zuko is too.

I agree that her being a more sucessful/intimidating villain is why she's PERCEIVED by the fandom as being worse than Zuko, and that, yes, if you consider Azula irredemable, Zuko can only be described as the same because they ARE very simmilar characters... but I have to say, I DO think she's a worse person than Zuko, but merely as a result of her situation being different from his, not some virtue/flaw that one of them has and the other lacks.

Zuko is as stubborn and proud as Azula, but he's used to failure and to course-correcting. He's used to feeling like he messed up, and to enduring serious, harsh and even disproportionate consequences for making bad choices, even if he had good intentions. He's used to having to try over and over and over again, failing in a ton of humiliating, physically and emotionally exhausting ways until he FINALLY figures out what he needs to do different.

So when he's told "Your entire world view is bullshit, your nation's very history is a lie, your family is a disaster of proportions you cannot even begin to imagine, and you need to COMPLETELY change the way you treat people because you're the bad guy here, not the wronged hero" sure, he'll struggle to accept it because of a lifetime of indoctrination, but the seed of doubt will be planted in his head regardless because the universe has screwed him over in so many different ways already, would this really out of question?

But as the prodigy, the golden child, the one that has been seen as PERFECT, Azula very much suffers from the curse of being a gifted child. When she does something wrong, she's SURE it's actually everybody else that messed up, because, well, she never screwed up before. She'll keep doing the same thing the exact same way, despite always getting the same result, because she never had to change her worldview and behavior that drastically.

And even if she is, reluctantly, willing to try something new... how is she even supposed to start? How is she supposed to not be paralyzed by fear at having to stray from the tactics that had worked fine her entire life? How can she find the strength to swallow her pride and ask for help? WHO can she turn to for help after everything she did? How can she be sure that they won't dismiss her plea for help as insincere considering both her history of manipulation AND "perfection"? WHO would ever even assume that Azula of all people could genuinely not know what to do and need guidance?

Azula is "worse" than Zuko because she's stuck (both by her own doing and by circumstances completely outside of her control) in a truly terrible situation where she can't even truly look at the state she's in to figure out what she was supposed to have done differently.

That's why her breakdown is so shocking to the audience, even though we've always known she'd eventually lose something since she's the villain. But we expected her defeat to happen because the heroes out-smarted her or got some power boost. We didn't expect her to be crushed by the weight of the burden that is being the golden child, because we had been led to believe that was a privilege, not something that was eating her alive the entire time.

That's why Zuko NEEDS to be there to see it - this was almost HIS fate. And that's why it made perfect sense to me when Aaron Ehasz said he had been planting the seeds for Zuko to step up as Azula's Iroh figure if the show got a book 4 because WHO else could ever hope to understand Azula's position better than the guy that spent his entire life fighting for it, only to then realize, before it was too late, that it would bring doom instead of glory?

Like Zuko himself said, his banishment (although cruel and traumatizing) ended up being the best thing Ozai ever did for him - it saved him from becoming Azula.

[patroxlos]

home base . ch6

"friends who are stuck together" - 5.7k words

ultraman: rising (2024). kenji sato x reader

master post. ao3 link.

previous: ch5. "friends who fuck things up"

next: ch7. "friends who use their phones in bed"

kenji is confronted with his life abroad, his relationship with his dad, and your confusing back and forth

---

Ken Sato is born during his first week at the private school his mom enrolled him in when they moved to the States.

Being the only Asian kid in his class does not help. He is noticeably more tan than his peers and his angular eyes drew attention wherever he went. He cannot eat any of the hefty, greasy viands without rice— because what do you mean you slather the thickest cuts of beef with the sweetest sauces and expect him to eat it with dry bread?

But what confuses and frustrates him the most as a seven year old boy is how difficult it apparently is to say his name.

Kenji Sato. The most direct four syllables. And somehow they are still mispronounced everywhere he goes.

Ken-jay.

Say-toe.

And when they do not bother, children are surprisingly creative with making racially-motivated nicknames.

Sure, English does not come easy to him at that age. He cannot tell the difference between “knew” and “new”, and he struggles with his letter Ls, but if everyone around him is going to be smart about it then why can’t they pronounce his name? He cannot even recite in class without some little brat at the back named Bartholomew mocking his accent.

Still, Bartholomew shortens his own name to Bart.

And he becomes Ken, because it is easier that way.

Even so, all his awards and trophies throughout his professional career keep the ‘Kenji,’ simply because his mom gave him that name. His dad refrains from using Ken at all to this day, and it is not an aversion born from simple preference. You call him ‘Ken’ and ‘Kenji’ interchangeably, but you use ‘Ken’ the most when you are mad or to simply tease him.

He remembers his mom’s frown when his homework starts to get signed as Ken, and throughout the first year at the States it never stopped coming out to all his little changes. He knows she misses who he used to be; a bright, eager boy is now reduced to a sullen, quiet kid. Admittedly, that time is not filled with his fondest memories— he still remembers the smell of her opening up the spoiled, untouched bentos from his bag at the end of the day.

But, on the plus side, he definitely learns a lot of new English words from sitting outside the school office as his mom meets with just about everyone— the teachers, the principal, the district officer.

Failing.

Bullying.

Discrimination. He is proud when he eventually figures out how to spell this one.

It helps a lot that his mom shouts it out so he can hear it even with the door separating them. Will dad do the same if he was here?

It feels like nothing can make his mom smile during those days.

So he signs up for baseball, and she is thrilled.

He is too, until he meets his minor league team, and it turns out boys are meaner in sports than they are in the classroom.

This isn’t tee ball. They jeer, as he is easily one of the smallest there. He struggles to defend himself, but the only thing he can say are roughly strewn-together syllables. He can feel the bright beam of his mom’s smile being directed at him from the bleachers, and he will not be messing this up for her.

His teammates’ taunts don’t end until they see him swing.

He gives them something else to talk about as he sends the first pitch at practice to the other side of the field. He hears his mom cheering a loud ganbatte! and she is as glowing as ever.

He learns a new English word that day from his coach. Prodigy.

But even more so, he learns the quickest way to shut annoying shitheads up.

Because when he also hears one of his teammates guffawing about his mom speaking Chinese, he delivers another expert swing right at his face.

Despite the lecture his mom gives to him publicly in front of the other well-meaning parents, she still takes him for icecream right after practice.

“Kenji.”

“Yeah, mom?”

“Don’t go around starting fights like that again, but when you do, always make sure you win, okay?”

Ken misses her a lot, especially now.

“Dad, I can’t make more time to help completely change Emi’s potty sched again.” He pinches the bridge of his nose as he sits across his dad at the dinner table. Not much dinner was being eaten, as papers were strewn at the center with their meals pushed to the side. Seriously, with all the technological advancements in this house you would expect them to at least use some laptops.

Hayao Sato points more insistently at one particular document. “Please just help me test out this theory, Kenji. Since her diet has increased by a lot now that we are letting her hunt for her own food, most likely her excretion needs have changed.”

“Well I think her poopies are just fine.”

“Kenji—”

“I believe you, okay!” He slumps back into his chair. “Believe me, I really do. But on a practical level, I’m already stretched thin as it is. Those books say that when babies establish a schedule it’s best to stick to it or else they’ll get confused. Now, if you could transform to do more than being a helicopter dad, so we can have at least two Ultramen on the team, then that would be fantastic!”

His mom might have been quick to argue back if she was here, but his dad carries a somber air that permeates into his skin and strikes his heart with guilt whenever he raises his voice against him. Hayao Sato is not the man he used to be— he is frail and feeble, and cannot raise his voice too high without straining his throat.

Even when his dad gets mad now or gives another of his droning lectures, Ken’s subconscious brain tricks him into feeling like the villain for making his dad stress his body like that. A year ago, he will not have cared at all. He might have thought it as reparations for abandoning him.

“You know I can’t transform yet…not right now.” Hayao bounces his leg under the table, an unconscious tick activating from the tenseness of their conversation.

There is a growing silence between father and son, and unknown to Kenji, his dad is also praying at the back of his mind for the grace of Emiko to teach him what to say. 

He misses you.

Other than his mom, you will know what to say to his dad. Hell, you’re closer to him than Ken is, given how you regularly visited him while he was alone in Japan. He ignores the bubbling envy as he broods over it. At least you have always been kind enough to never talk about his dad more than he was comfortable with.

Ken leaves the dinner table wishing his dad was a shittier person. He wishes his dad had taken the more traditional absentee route instead of being a literal superhero. It might have even been easier if Emiko actually divorced Hayao, but his mother never fails to remind Kenji that she loves his father very much.

He has always been made to feel like his resentment is more akin to selfishness. Millions of live depend on his dad, so what importance does a little league baseball game have compared to that? What right does he have? His parents make enough for his comfortable life. He is lucky enough to be in his dream job. And yeah, he’s mature enough to admit that he hated the Ultraman gig at first but now he has kind of grown into the service of it all.

So he hates his temper instead, because he does want to get along with his dad. He really does. It has been a few days since they have started tackling Emi as a team, but this newfound bond is not enough to patch the past two decades of empty chairs, curt calls and missed graduations.

He finds himself on a makeup chair the next day for his upcoming motorcycle ad under Motsubishi.

His makeup artist tuts as he looks at Ken’s black compression shirt. “It’s a shame you have to be so covered up for this one.”

From behind Ken, he hears his hairstylist giggle at that. “Motorcyclists have to get all covered up if they don’t want road rash,” she explains. “Of course, our baseball star knows his way around motorcycles.”

“Maybe he should start knowing his way around the ball field as well,” his MUA teasingly comments as he powders up Ken’s face.

He winces at the remark, and he tries not to show too much displeasure. Ken knows that if he blows up at them it will only spread around the industry that he is a sore loser. Which he is, and everyone already knows. He stays still on the makeup chair as he gives a nonchalant shrug. “Unlucky streak I suppose. Working on it.”

His hairstylist playfully swoons as she brushes his hair. “We’re still fans, Sato, don’t get us wrong. Being your fan has been pretty expensive lately though, with the amount of bets we put on you.”

“Hey, thanks for the love,” his media persona turns on with full charm. “I know I’m not supposed to promote any gambling, it’s all just family-friendly fun at the field, but you’ll get your money’s worth soon.”

“Now don’t go making empty promises.”

“My game can still pick up,” he defends himself.

His makeup artist rolls his eyes in jest. “Girl, your numbers aren’t looking too good now. I’ve seen Moneyball.”

“And that makes you a baseball expert? What, you gonna compute my ERA?” Ken flings back, but with an easygoing smirk.

The studio thrums with organized chaos as the entire shoot falls into place. The set managers are shouting out orders to the crew and large boxes of equipment are wheeled across the floor. The commercial director can be seen muttering to herself as the lights crew test out different lighting layouts on the sleek motorcycle positioned in front of a greenscreen. While the noise gives him a headache, Ken still takes the experience as a welcome break from his dad and all that is going on at home. At least, until he overhears a nearby conversation mention your name.

“I heard that she’s stopping by to do an ocular on the shoot.”

“Doesn’t she have a fashion week to go to instead?”

“What is she even going to do here except cuddle up to Sato?”

“I bet she’s only visiting because he’s here.”

“She’s acting as if she knows what she’s doing but all she’s done is fuck up all the current systems.”

“These fucking influencers, man. They don’t know any actual shit about business, and think they can coast by with botox and veneers.”

“If she wants to fool around with her boy toy she should’ve asked her daddy to—”

“Hey,” His makeup artist speaks up before he can say anything. “Do you want to chat louder for the rest of us? We can’t hear you.”

The small group of crew members startle from the sarcastic bite, and hastily, they file away to get back to work. Ken only realizes then that his knuckles were turning white from the grip he had on his chair.

For the world always constricts you to specific S words. Scion. Socialite. Slut.

He notices when he scrolls through social media that it has gotten worse in the past few months when it was made public that you are officially being groomed for your new CEO position. It’s all sinister, from the comments on your body to the tweets regarding your shallowness.

He is pulled out of his thoughts when his makeup artist taps his clenched jaw.

The hairstylist coos at him as he tries to relax. “Aww, it’s okay Sato, we know how much your girlfriend means to you.”

“She’s…a friend,” Ken corrects her uncertainly. His makeup artist snorts in disbelief, but surprisingly does not comment.

The silence is getting a little uncomfortable for Ken. He bites his tongue to prevent himself from saying more.

“Ex?” His hairstylist supplies, hoping to be helpful.

“...no?” He sounds even more unsure now.

The group does not notice how the room goes a bit silent.

“She wasn’t asking a question.” His makeup artist points out as he contours his cheekbones. He cannot keep his curiosity at bay any longer as he continues, “So…baby mama?”

“She wishes,” Ken jokes to try to get them to drop the topic, and it is immediately greeted by a small round of amused snickers between them, including one that makes his stomach flip a bit.

“Do I?”

His hairstylist drops the brush she was holding, and his makeup artist nearly topples over his kit when he jumps back. Ken turns in his makeup chair to see you crossing your arms with a smirk on your face. You naturally draw attention, especially in the bold power suit you are wearing.

You turn to the head stage manager, who is standing near you. “How many minutes ‘til shooting?”

“T-thirty.”

“Thank you thirty.” You give her a glamorous smile. “I’ll borrow our star for a bit until then. I’ll have him back in fifteen.”

Before Ken can tell you to wait, he stumbles out of his chair as you grab his elbow. You escort him out of the studio and into the hallways, all eyes on you both. He regains his bearings, and tugs himself out of your hold to get you to stop your brisk walk.

“I need to get back there.”

You wave at him dismissively. “We have time.”

“You don’t understand,” his words firm up as he grabs your wrist to tug you back in the room. “We can’t be seen out here alone.”

Your attention is elsewhere, and when you spot a supply closet nearby you use his grip to pull him with you inside. He stumbles again as he follows you in, uttering protests when you proceed to lock the door.

The lighting of the closet is dim, and he has to steady himself with one hand against the shelf above your head with how cramped the space was. A mop falls and whacks the back of his head as you two adjust yourselves, and you stifle a giggle as he looks down at you, unamused.

Ken has no time for your jokes. “Do you have any idea what this would look like if people saw us like this?”

“They make stuff up all the time,” your breath hits his face with the familiar taste of your toothpaste. “This is urgent.”

“We can talk after the shoot,” he tries to reason with you. “Look, I don’t want to hurt your feelings but I heard them talking shit—”

“—you know that doesn’t matter to me—”

“And they’re saying that you came here just to see me—”

“Dude, I—”

“—so we need to get back as soon as possible before the shoot gets delayed.”

You clasp your hands over his mouth, shushing him to be quiet. Like instinct, his hands reach for you, softly holding your elbows. You look him dead in the eye as you say “But I did come here to see you.”

His stomach does a flip, and he eases closer to you. You rest your back uncomfortably on the shelves of detergent and floorwax.

“Y-you haven’t messaged me since the call,” you stammer, and he can feel from your touch the little anxious tremors that wrought your body. You have always been so confident out there, but just like Ken, you can get so vulnerable when you are alone. “I know this is inappropriate but my anxiety has been acting up the past few days and I can’t stop worrying that I did something wrong.”

He takes a sharp breath as he pulls your hands off his mouth by your elbows. Your hands slide down to the corners of his shoulders. “Oh shit— oh shit I’m sorry. I completely forgot— so much has been happening…And this doesn’t mean that I wasn’t thinking about you. I was. I always do.”

You relax at his rambling, and he struggles to shut himself up before he embarrasses himself.

You gently squeeze his shoulders to calm him down. “Okay, okay…that’s good. I was worried…that you started hating me again.”

“I never hated you,” he is quick to assure, even though deep down he knows that he had moments where he was close to. “I get mad but I don’t…I can’t imagine ever hating you.”

His hands fall from your elbows to rest against the shelf digging into the back of your waist. You loosely hold his biceps as you purse your lips. Your voice nearly cracks a bit when you say “Even after what happened three years ago?”

“Especially then.” He glances the soft bump of your throat as you take a nervous gulp.

“Kenji…” You look up to the low ceiling. “I…I shouldn’t have asked you to come over. It was stupid and impulsive.”

“I shouldn’t have agreed so quickly. I was being impulsive too.” The distant proximity is palpable to him as he counts the inches apart his chest is from your face. His neck aches from hunching over you.

“No, but I knew you would say yes,” you wearily sigh. Your head lolls to the side, still looking away from him. “I’m always the person who sets the boundaries and ends up breaking them.”

His silence says it all.

He agrees.

But it’s not like he doesn’t enjoy it when you do.

“I’m just standing by what I promised you,” he finally says. “Friends. We’ll always be that.”

You slowly nod. “It’s for the best. Did you record that call?”

“I was too worried about your arm.” He looks down at the sleeve of your suit jacket. You instinctively cross your arms and he misses the familiar warmth of your palms against his skin. His hand reaches up to touch the soft wool fabric. “Does it still hurt?”

“It’s healing pretty well. All in all it’s just a big bruise,” you shrug. “I’m… I’m glad you didn’t record it. I’m kind of embarrassed by…” You look down to your shoes. “...By what I said.”

There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, he wants to say. But he knows he might be inviting something more, encouraging more in the future.

He changes the subject. “...You haven’t seen my dad in a while. He told me the other day.”

You finally look up at him again. “Been a bit busy, but I’ll make time. He still staying with you?”

“Yeah,” his tired tone tells all.

And he hates the look you put on whenever he mentions his dad— that measured, cautious stare marked by a hesitance to broach the subject. He cannot fault you for it because he never likes talking about his dad with anyone, but he doesn’t like it when you get like this.

“It’s fine,” his words cut through the quiet before you can say anything. “It’s…added company. It isn’t just me and Mina anymore.”

“But you see others all the time right?” You try to cheer him up.

“...What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, maybe like, your other friends?” You explain.

His mouth fills with a bitterness. He has never had any other friends he can say he is any close to. “...right,” he drawls.

“Ken, I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to be with you at any moment,” you say it so sincerely he almost winces. “Of course you have friends. You were getting along with the staff earlier.”

“That’s just small talk,” he deflects.

You look like you want to argue more, but you hold it in.

“Anyway, are we done here?” The closet was getting stuffier by the minute. “I don’t want them gossiping any more than they probably are right now. We’ve been in here for a bit.”

“They’re not saying anything new.”

He gives you a sharp glare, mirroring your crossed arms. “I don’t want you getting used to it.”

“I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt,” you snip. “It just doesn’t concern you. I’m doing my best to handle it.”

Now that is the stupidest thing he has heard you say in a while. “By openly pulling me out of the room right in front of everyone? Yeah, you’re doing a great job at handling it.”

“What do you want from me?” Your voice raises higher than you want it to.

“To stop being so confusing with what you want!” He says before he thinks. “One day we’re just friends the next you’re pouting about me being too busy for you.”

“So if we weren’t interrupted by your dad, you wouldn’t have went to me?” You laugh without humor. “You’re the one who always acts like you’re going to die if I don’t give you attention. You haven’t changed in ten years.”

“And who is the one who is risking getting kicked out of the company just to see me for a few minutes? Who is the one who always looks like she’s about to cry over worrying about messing up with me?”

“I don’t—”

“You do,” he towers over you.

“You know, you have a lot to say for a guy who always comes to me when I ask him to.”

He does not flinch.

You stand facing each other, the walls closing into you. Ken can feel the beads of sweat forming along his hairline as the temperature rises inside the closet from the heat of the tension.  If he was a weaker man, he might have just closed the seven inches that kept you apart. 

“This brings back memories,” he admits.

“Memories we’re not going to repeat,” you finish his thought, trying to take a step back in the minimal space.

“You practically pulled me in here.”

“Believe me, if I wanted to fuck you I would’ve pulled you into the restroom.”

“Like at that gas station?” He relishes in the way your face contorts, and he can’t help it— a chuckle escapes him that has you smacking his chest.

“Okay that was really fucking gross,” you cringe at the memory as he chuckles even harder. “It’s not funny!”

“You were definitely ovulating back then.” He lets you smack him some more, and he nearly bumps into the shelf in front of him as he hunches over even more in laughter. You struggle to keep the smile off your face as you let out your own small giggles.

You take a small step closer to Ken, and your back aches from the posture of having to look up at him. “That was years ago,” you whine but your giggling says otherwise.

“Okay, okay,” He raises his arms up to stop your assault, each hit getting weaker after the other. He cannot help the fond smile he shows when he looks down at you, and as you slowly stop shoving him against the shelves behind him, he lets you bury your face into his chest to hide your mortification.Together, your giggles slowly die down in the warm closet. He ruffles your hair comfortingly.

You mumble nonsense against his shirt. “You’re an asshole.”

“I know.”

“You promised you wouldn’t bring it up again.”

“I never said that.” He tries to peer down to your face but you refuse to lift your head up.

“You deserve to die in a fire.”

“Aw, you don’t mean that, baby.”

You lift your head up to give him a dirty look. “Ugh, shut up. ”

Without ceremony, you both shuffle out of the closet. The stale air of the hall feels chilly as it wafts through you two. Ken subconsciously fixes his hair and shirt even if there is no need to, the muscle memory of being close to you like that is kicking in.

“You better go back. I’ll hang around here for a bit before following so that it doesn’t look like we were doing anything,” you say as you wipe the sweat off your temple.

Ken bites the inside of his cheek. If they would’ve talked about us like that anyway, we should have just done something.

But he respects your agreement.

The shoot goes well and on-schedule. His makeup artist does not question why he needs a small touch-up, his bronzer slightly muddled from his sweat, but all in all he is a professional. The director gushes that he should go into modelling full-time when baseball stops working out. He cannot see you the entire shoot. The studio lights are too bright for him to see anything beyond the cameras pointing at him.

He tries not to make it obvious after they wrap that he searches for you throughout the studio, but when it is clear you have left midway the schedule, he says his polite goodbyes and heads over to the parking lot.

“Mina,” he commands into his motorcycle helmet as he climbs onto his ride. The AI buzzes to life. “I need you to send a quick email.”

Ken comes home to his dad doing yoga with Emi at the center of the Ultrabase. Emi’s large head combined with her tiny little arms makes her struggle with the triangle pose, but she is diligently following her grandfather. She lets out tiny squawks to ask if she is doing it right.

“That’s it little Emi,” Professor Sato encourages her gleefully. “Just stretch out to the sky.”

Before Ken can say anything, Mina flies circles around the baby. “Look, Emi! Daddy’s home!”

The baby kaiju nearly falls over when she spots Ken coming out of the elevator. The floor rumbles with every step as she runs towards him, and he sees his dad struggle to keep himself on his feet from the mini earthquakes. His ears fill with her excited gurgling. The sight of a large monster bounding straight at him does not faze him any longer, and with practiced proficiency he transforms into Ultraman in a blink of an eye and catches his little Emi.

“Hi cutie Emi! You’re bonding with your jiji?” His fatigue melts away when she immediately chirps in response. She wiggles in his hold excitedly. Ken sits cross-legged as he sets her down on his lap, letting her crawl around as much as she likes.

His dad finds his walking stick, and he slowly hobbles towards him. He looks more frail when Ken is in his Ultraman form. “She’s getting more flexible by the moment,” he shouts for Ken to hear. “Emi saw me do some of my physical therapy exercises and she wanted to join in.”

Emi purrs in agreement. He strokes her head as she settles into his lap.

“That’s good. She’s been kind of gaining weight—”

“Kenji, that’s not nice to say about a young girl,” Mina chimes in.

“You know that’s not what I meant Mina.” His bright irises shoot daggers at the floating robot, who only beeps back.

“I understand,” his dad says mirthfully. “Better to keep her in a healthy weight or else she might struggle to hold her head up by herself.”

“Thank you, dad,” He exhales before giving another pointed look at Mina, his emotionless silver face saying it all.

This is the first time they have agreed on anything in the past few days.

“So…dad…I…” It is easier for him to talk to his dad in this form, oddly enough. It creates a good distance, a boundary. It feels less real and intimate.

Professor Sato tilts his head to the side when he hears his tone. “Yes? Did anything go wrong today?”

“No! No, everything was fine today. Great day at work,” he stalls. “Thanks for looking after Emi while I was away.”

“Anytime, Kenji.”

“And thanks…thanks for…sticking around. I wasn’t being fair to you last night and I shouldn’t have gotten mad.” He slumps in his gigantic form, a show of penance.

Professor Sato grips the head of his cane a little tighter, as he looks up at his son. “Kenji, I hope you know I’m proud of you for apologizing like that. You didn’t have to because I know you didn’t mean what you said, but…It means a lot to me that you still took the opportunity to.”

Ken’s shoulders might have sagged in relief if he didn’t hear the words ‘I’m proud of you’ come out of his dad’s mouth. If anything, he freezes up.

“Kenji?”

“...Y-yeah…Um, thanks, dad.” He tolds Emi tighter on his lap, and the baby just purrs more at the added comfortable pressure.

“He got something for you,” Mina tells Professor Sato as she hovers nearby.

“You didn’t have to do that,” his dad brightens up. “What is it?”

He pauses a second too long, so Mina projects a screen showing your calendar schedule for the next day. While the other appointments are censored, at the bottom it clearly states ‘8PM - Meeting with Hayao Sato.’

“I, uh, I know you haven’t seen her in a while so I emailed her assistant to schedule something,” He mumbles, sheepish about doing something nice for his dad for once. “She’s coming here, so you two can stay upstairs while I watch Emi in the basement.”

“That’s…” Hayao is silent for a moment. “That’s really kind of you Kenji. Thank you.”

“No problem….dad…”

Hayao let out a loud sigh, and Mina brings over a stool for him to sit on. “Honestly, I’m glad she still wants to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t she?” He asks, confused. He never hears about you and his dad fighting. He does not think you ever have.

“Well…She must have not taken the fact that you’re Ultraman quite well.”

Now Kenji was fully at a loss as to what his dad was talking about. He leans forward to hear him better. “She doesn’t know. I didn’t tell her. You and mom made me swear not to tell anyone.”

His dad startles at this revelation. “You never did? I…I was afraid of seeing her because I thought she knew.”

“Why did you expect me to tell her?” He is annoyed. Sure, you are his closest friend, but he understands the gravity of concealing his hero identity.

“Because I told her I was Ultraman.”

The revelation shocks him stiff that his colortimer goes off. The sudden shift to his human form causes him to trip over himself and fall on his bottom. Emi cries as she suddenly falls down to the ground as well, but she mitigates her stress to turn to her own daddy to check if he is okay. She squints her beady eyes in concern for him as she crawls towards his smaller form.

But Kenji treads around her to walk straight for his dad.

“What do you mean she knows?! She knew all this time and she didn’t tell me?”

Hayao raises a hand to gesture for him to calm down. “I only told her when I got injured. She was the only one left here that I can trust.”

“That’s still months. Why hasn’t she said anything?” He laughs bitterly. Fuck, you think you know someone.

“I don’t know,” his dad croaks. “And she has her reasons, but that’s not important now—”

“What do you mean it isn’t important now? My best friend knew my deepest secret this entire time! I, I needed someone to talk to about this, dad. You don’t understand—”

“You can shout at me more later.” His dad got up from his seat, impatient. “What I need to know now is if you’ve told her about your ultra.”

“For the last time, no!” He spits out. “I would have, if either of you fucking told me she knew about you.”

“Then you best keep it that way,” his dad grunts, muttering to himself.

Kenji runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Hell no. I’m telling her as soon as I see her.”

“That is a bad idea.” His dad stomps his cane into the floor. “Under no circumstances should you tell her or anyone else that you are the Ultraman. You can let her know that I used to be, but you absolutely cannot tell her about yourself.”

“She’s probably smart enough to have figured out that I am Ultraman! What’s the issue?”

“No, no she wouldn’t think you are…” His dad mutters to himself, and Ken is confused as to why he sounds so sure that you don’t. “She most likely thinks I have taken up a protégé.”

Emi chirps with more worry as she watches them fight. The yelling makes her flinch, and Ken can tell that if this stretches out longer, her fear response will kick in.

He runs his hands over his face, groaning, before reluctantly nodding. “Fine, you win. But I’m definitely asking her why she never said anything.”

“Okay, okay good…” Hayao collapses on the stool, the fight tiring him out. The absolute relief on his face stuns Ken, who takes a step back before walking away without saying anything else.

He leaves the basement angrier than he was when he left the dining table last night, feelings of shock and betrayal coursing through his blood.

His dad is hiding something from him.

You are hiding something from him.

And this definitely goes beyond regular superhero secrecy.

A/N: okie fun stuff abt the process of writing this chapter

- i actually wanted to write an entire fic exploring and showcasing my character analysis of kenji sato especially centering on his relationship w his dad, but i was worried that it was going to be boring lmao since last chapter that him sucking faces with u so i decided to stagger it throughout the rest of his story. it's bc i saw some ppl online saying like "others only care about kenji bc hes hot but they mischaracterize him bc of it they dont know him like i do." and when i saw that i went. "hm this definitely isnt abt me...maybe it's u who doesnt know him like i do" so i feel the need to prove that i understand hes sexy but with layers lmao so that i can have the license to slut him out as much as i want !!! it's because it is really important for me that the reader in the story feels like an actual character who contributes to the plot as opposed to just being tacked on the movie, and with that, it means figuring out what you can do for kenji.

- a lot of the comments tell me that i characterize kenji well and i feel like it's because i relate to him so much? it feels like his spirit possesses me when i write for him lmao he and reader werent actually supposed to fight in the closet but while i was writing the dialogue i felt him being pissed off by what u r saying and i just went w it.

- "thank you (time)" is actually a time-keeping courtesy during productions because it shows that you are aware of the time! not everyone does it but it's fun

- moneyball is a really popular baseball film that uses baseball as a backdrop for us to explore the human experience of being undervalued for who you can be. u should watch it!

- i will write the gas station scene and it will be explicit. >:) . yes it's as gross as it sounds but in a hot way.

finally, i want to give you a warning: the next chapters might be lighthearted, but soon i will be delving deeper into kenji's insecurities and abandonment issues, coupled with the situationship. if you have ever been in a situationship or seen one happen, you know that shit qualifies for a veteran discount due to all the horrors you witness. dare i say it is worse than testicular torture. What makes a situationship so devastating is when both people involved bring in their insecurities with them. i need to give the reader a solid amount of flaws for this to work.

u may hate urself and what u will do. (i doubt it's anything new lmao)

[waterfire1848]

Au where Zuko also is a prodigy + has white flames

Hello, anon!!

When Zuko is born, he's born as a powerful bender. Ozai is very happy to see a strong flame in his son and it keeps Zuko from being in danger of being killed. Zuko is allowed to be a normal kid for a few years (because Ozai knows an infant isn't going to firebend) and Ursa tries to raise him as best she can but Ozai is also pretty much there from the start which keeps Zuko from fully learning from his mom like he did in the show. Instead, Ozai raises Zuko and Azula to be mini versions of himself and since Zuko is also a prodigy now, Ozai has two weapons who want to earn his favor. Ursa, again, tries to do what she can for her children but there isn't much that can be done once Ozai gets his hooks in them. (Azula: Zuzu! Look what I learned! *Does a kata* Zuko: Yawn. I learned that move five weeks ago, Lala. And I got it down in one session. Azula: That's impossible! No one can master it that fast. Zuko: Well, I am father's oldest prodigy. The one who will be taking over for him one day. I think you are....Oh, how did that general put it? The spare. The forgotten child. Azula, angry: Yeah, well-have you learn the Flying Dragon move yet? Zuko:.....I'm going to very soon. Azula: I've already started. Zuko: I'll have it mastered by the end of the week. Azula: A move so complex even uncle struggled with it? I'm sure.)

When Lu Ten is killed and Ozai asks for the throne, Azulon orders him to kill Azula because Zuko is the older child, male, and a prodigy as well (Azula is powerful, yes, but Ursa and Ozai can always have another kid as far as Azulon is concerned since they already had two prodigies. The new child will just be a bit younger than their older brother. Nothing that would seriously hurt the family in the long run). Azula panics and flees to her mother, begging her for any kind of help. Ursa makes the same deal she does in canon but this time, since she did it for Azula and Ozai agreed to kill her, Azula starts to wonder if her father really is as amazing as she once believed him to be. She spends the next few years starting to doubt her father more and more but keeping quiet because she's not an idiot. There is no Agni Kai scene since Zuko never speaks out. Ozai raised him here. If anything, he would be congratulating the general on his plan. Rather, Ozai keeps both him and Azula around to train until they are 14 and 16 which is when Azula gets her blue fire and Zuko gets his white flames. (Zuko: White flames are better. Azula: Huh? That's interesting. I could have sworn blue fire burned hotter than white. Zuko: Just means you're going to burn out before me.)

Aang is still broken out of the ice by Katara and Azula is sent after them (because...again spare heir). Azula eventually catches up to them and pretty much partakes in Zuko's role in canon except she had the authority to throw Zhao off a boat. But, since Aang is constantly slipping through her fingers, Ozai takes her off of the mission and puts Zhao in charge. Azula, not wanting to fail in her first mission outside the Fire Nation, ignores her father's order to return home and follows the Avatar to the North Pole. Zhao still murders the moon (Azula: How did this man become an admiral?) and is then killed by the ocean spirit. Azula fails in getting the Avatar again but refuses to stop in her mission, making it clear to the team that she is still after them. Meanwhile, Ozai realizes Azula is not returning and sends Zuko after the Avatar and her. (Ozai: Azula is a failure. I have a task for you, my son. Capture the Avatar and your sister and bring them here. Do you understand? Zuko: I do, father.)

Zuko and Azula quickly start competing with one another to try and capture Aang. Zuko had more resources behind him since Ozai isn’t currently mad at him, but Azula has more experience fighting Aang (basically Zuko gets taken out by airbending and waterbending more than Azula does). Now, because both siblings trained under Ozai they’re both incredibly smart as well as powerful. Zuko knows Azula is going to get Mai and Ty Lee and decides to recruit Mai before Azula can get to her, so it becomes Azula and Ty Lee vs Mai and Zuko for who can capture Aang first. When Ba Sing Se comes around, both siblings have the idea to sneak in but while Azula and Ty Lee sneak in with the Kyoshi Warrior disguises, Zuko and Mai sneak in as refugees. In the upper ring with the Gaang, Azula believes she had the advantage and decides to act and capture Katara. Her plan is to use Katara as bait and then attack and capture Aang when he comes to free her. Meanwhile, Zuko and Mai are in the lower ring and make their way up to the upper ring while chatting which is when Mai realizes that the Zuko she knew is kinda gone. Zuko at 10 and Zuko at 16 are two very different people after 6 years under Ozai. She tries not to let it bother her but it’s very clear. Eventually, the final fight breaks out and ends with Azula aiming the lightning at Aang but Zuko, who refuses to let Azula win, takes the lightning blast and sends it back at her. The blast is strong enough to disorient everyone and knock Aang out, who is quickly captured by Zuko. He and Mai flee the city before they can be stopped leaving the Gaang without an Avatar (thankfully in a still standing Ba Sing Se) but with a captured Royal and acrobat.

Ozai isn’t happy. Zuko’s job was to bring Azula back but instead he just did half of his job. Zuko tries to argue that Azula is taken care of since she’s in enemy hands. (Zuko: I give her a week before they kill her for not giving up information. Ozai: I didn’t ask for the Earth Kingdom to kill her. I asked you to bring her back! Zuko: Father, please, I….I thought it would be a good idea for the war. Ozai: Explain. Zuko: Sozin’s Comet is coming soon but we haven’t been seeing a spike in morale- Ozai: You’re too concerned with regular soldiers, Zuko. Zuko: I know, but hear me out. How would citizens feel when they find out the enemy murdered the princess? The princess who was trying to save her nation from Ba Sing Se’s tyranny gave her life to defend the Fire Nation. Ozai:….Hmmmm. I will consider this. It’s not a horrible idea. You’re dismissed. Zuko: Thank you, father.) Meanwhile, Azula is very much alive and pissed at Zuko for abandoning her in the city. The Gaang knows they have to get Aang back if they want any shot at ending the war and, to do that, they have to get into the Fire Nation. Thankfully, they just so happen to know a familiar princess who knows the nation like the back of her hand. The Gaang make a deal with Azula and Ty Lee: they help them get into the Fire Nation in exchange for saving them from Earth Kingdom execution. Azula initially refuses, saying she doesn’t want to betray her father or her nation. However, it becomes clear to her that this might actually be a blessing, a way to return to the Fire Nation with the Avatar’s team, capture them all and stop the eclipse invasion: three birds with one stone. After talking to Ty Lee, Azula agrees and the five head off towards the Fire Nation.

[cocoa-rococo]

thinking about the koopalings again, and i feel like a lot of people gloss over the interesting angst of larry and ludwig being parallels of one another, in the sense that both want what the other has, and NEITHER OF THEM fucking realize it.

it's a somewhat common headcanon that larry is a bit of a slacker; it's confirmed in his bio that he mainly does what he does because he's driven by being hungry or not wanting bowser to yell at him (which honestly? same). he's often imagined as the youngest of his siblings, and when you have six other highly accomplished people before you, having done some amazing things, living up to those standards feels nigh impossible, especially when you're constantly asked "why can't you be more like your siblings".

ludwig, meanwhile, is a prodigy. he excels in magic, leading both his siblings and part of an army, an outstanding performer and conductor, and being overall a role model to many. he's a perfectionist, striving to maintain his image as being competent and in control of any situation, but when you have not just your siblings, but almost an entire army looking up to you, that image needs to be held up constantly, with little time or room for experimentation and mistakes.

ludwig is always asking larry why he doesn't just apply himself more, since he can easily accomplish things if he puts his mind to it, not realizing that larry IS. he's trying desperately to be good at everything he does, whatever it might be, just like ludwig, but when your sibling is able to master things in what seems like one night, being told he's just not trying hard enough doesn't feel very encouraging.

larry is always asking ludwig why he can't just take a break and calm down, seeing as he's already amazing, not realizing that ludwig ISN'T. he's working so hard to thrive in whatever he does, staying up late to finish perfecting his work, unable to tolerate errors even when juggling several tasks, but when your sibling manages to do well by doing almost nothing, being told to just take a break isn't helpful nor useful.

larry is so envious of ludwig being effortlessly talented at everything and managing to never fail at anything, completely unaware he's one potential failure away from shutting down. ludwig so desperately wants larry's ability to relax and take things easy, completely unaware larry is struggling to be productive and accomplish anything at all.

ludwig wishes he could be mediocre, because everyone is watching him. larry wishes he could be perfect, because nobody is watching him.

they're so, so close, and yet so far away.

[gaylittlemans]

I am so inexplicably tired and vessel!Dazai has been haunting me so I will info dump about this dumb little AU because I can

This probably will not make sense, will make it seem like I don’t understand his character (who actually does? Besides his creator, obviously. Probably), or won’t have proper grammar but in the world of this shit, he will become a part of my personality if I do not write him down. So!

First, little stuffs about this AU because I can:

Dazai is trans here (FtM) because I kin him inexplicably and so am I, but he doesn’t experience that much gender dysphoria (mostly because he feels just a little disconnected from his body) and honestly what is the point of worrying about what body you have when the embodiment of the allure of death is currently using your body as her host? Exactly. There isn’t one. Also because I want to give this man a break on hating himself.

Basically everything about this AU is the exact same as the original, but Dazai is the vessel of a god, similarly to Chuuya. Some people do know about the whole kinda being a god thing, but not everyone. When he was Demon Prodigy, Mori kept and convinced Dazai to keep the vessel thing mostly a secret because it was better to keep as much information about him shrouded in mystery and basically make speaking his title mean the invitation of death, rather than let Dazai go and murder everyone as a vessel. I will sort of expand on this later. Probably.

Chuuya still has Arahabaki. He gets called ‘Baki’ in the rare times his name is mentioned in their world because I refuse to respect the god of destruction (Dazai started calling Arahabaki ‘Baki’ and Chuuya eventually found himself calling him that too). Dazai’s possessor’s ‘Machiko’, but might sometimes be called ‘Chiko’ or some other nickname instead.

Dazai is just slightly cannibalistic.

I ship Soukoku, which will probably be obvious by the way I write them. Neither revolves around the other, but they are both permanently drawn to one another.

Dazai struggles with skin picking in this au because he kinda craves the taste of blood thanks to Chiko so he does care a little bit more about his hygiene in this au so he doesn’t have anything to pick. His hands are very soft in his world. My man is moisturized 😚

So, Dazai.

He’s around seven years old. His life has been nothing but dehumanizing and cruel and cold. He’s being raised in a neighborhood of rich assholes who think they’re all better than one another because of meaningless, materialistic means. (Death will claim all of them in the end, so it doesn’t matter what they do, anyhow. He won’t say anything about them, though. If they need to hide from Her gaze, he won’t judge.) His parents are controlling and overbearing and want him to grow up to be some rich asshole’s trophy wife. He doesn’t want that to happen, but his body will not let him say anything to disappoint them. He can’t afford their ire; he’s seen what they do to people who think they can and the least he can say is that it looks painful.

He’s been raised by nannies and caretakers his entire life thus far and some of them were nice, but most of them just followed his parents orders to make him behave.

Modest, pretty, demure.

Modest, pretty, demure.

Those were the most important things for a little girl his age to learn. Of course. He is nothing, he is not human, if he doesn’t behave. If he doesn’t act modestly and polite. If the boys in the neighborhood tug on his skirt, he is to hold it still so they cannot expose him. If the girls in his private school pick on him for his doe eyes and thousand yard stare, he is to be reserved and accept their insults graciously and not respond to their taunts.

He is a monster if he raises his voice, or disobeys his parents or caretakers or teachers, or acts out of line—acts like a child. His purpose of being brought into the world is to grow up to serve his future husband and children and be pretty.

So he kills them.

The voice of death herself whispers in his ears at night, when the moon is full and bright, that they do not deserve their gifts, they do not deserve their gifts of breath and life.

So he takes them away like she says to.

He stands in the woods beyond the gated mansions in a white, blood splattered nightgown and a pair of what are probably Mary Jane’s, but he’s not for certain and white, just as blood splattered, socks. He doesn’t remember much of what he did, but he does not mind. The cool night, late summer breeze reaches his skin through the minuscule layers he wears. He has always run cold, kind of like what you would expect a corpse to feel like (they’re actually room temperature), and has yet to build the habit of halfway mummifying himself. Bad circulation, doctors had told him. How fun.

Here is where he sees her for the first time, the woman—the God—who changes his life forever, with the handle of one of his father’s expensive kitchen knives grasped in his right hand as the left toys with the seam of his dress. She’s beautiful. She speaks to him, but he does not remember all of what she says. He remembers “Machiko”. It must be her name. He also remembers her permitting him to call her a nickname, as he’s young and he deserves to choose what he calls his friend.

Chiko offers him her hand and Dazai’s left hand goes numb. As if puppeteered, he moves to take her hand and she smiles at him. For only the second or so time in his life, he feels warm.

Dazai learns a lot from her. He would kill without her influence, but she tells him to embrace death and its endless, inescapable dance and he does.

Perhaps too much.

Mori Ougai was a man, a doctor, whom was highly praised by rich folks he’d grown up around (and consequently been raised by after the murder of his parents). He had met the man before, who had said he was interesting and reminded him of himself. In his adulthood, Dazai was ashamed to have felt pride at the fact Mori found him intriguing, or that the man saw himself reflected in the shattered, blank soul of his.

At fourteen, his adoptive parents rushed him to the doctor another attempt at death. He woke up, hazy and exhausted, and strapped to a bed with an oxygen mask, IV in his arm, and a heart monitor. Machiko screamed at him, for his safety and his body, to not listen to the man in the white coat who offered him a reason to live, a purpose to life outside of being a vessel. Just like he’d subconsciously been searching for.

He did not listen to her.

Dazai would say he was built to be a mafioso. And it was easy enough to sever ties with his adoptive family—they weren’t too attached, anyways—and old life.

When he was fifteen years old, he met the most annoying person on earth; Chuuya Nakahara.

Every move the boy makes is so completely full of life and energy. Dazai would say he was envious, but he was not. Machiko was drawn to the boy, though, or—as he truly found out—she was drawn to Arahabaki. Death and destruction go hand in hand, he supposed. And it seems Dazai wasn’t the only one who felt that pull towards the other.

Boo. Feelings sucked. He wouldn’t say he had a crush on Chuuya, no, never, but he was drawn to the redhead like the pull of gravity said redhead controlled.

But the first time he had seen Corruption, seen the final form of Upon The Tainted Sorrow, Dazai had been mesmerized. For all his wit and bravado, he still had no explanation as to why he found this redheaded slug so enchanting, even seven years later.

Machiko still hailed over him, but she was not his puppeteer. She guided him and attempted to help him through inexplicably human issues, but she did not attempt to forcibly take control of him. If she was in charge of his body, it was entirely because he had allowed her too. He spoke with her on the regular—she was a mentor who hadn’t forced herself into that roll exactly as Mori had.

Machiko was the god of death, yet also the god of allure, of temptation, of beauty, and of yearning. Some called her the moon. Others simply didn’t know of her existence. It didn’t matter to Dazai. His mentor knew how to be merciful, despite the blood and desolation she craved.

Chuuya clearly remembered the day he’d discovered Dazai was also a vessel.

Things had been dangerous and he had still been injured from a mission Mori had sent them out on previously. He had been occupied by a horde of enemies when he’d lost track of Dazai amongst the commotion. Grunts were incapacitated or dead at his feet before he knew it.

Now, he would never admit it, but looking around and not finding the dark, sullen eye of his partner watching him from a safe distance had scared him. Made him anxious.

He pushed his way into a corridor that had been blocked by debris during the fight that he could almost sense Dazai’s shenanigans coming from and walked—maybe just a bit quicker than normal—until he saw bodies scattered and crimson pooling. In the center of this crop circle of cadaver was his partner, small, white, star-like marks twinkling across what very little skin was exposed to the open air, ripping out the throat of one of their enemies with his teeth. Blood soaked his clothes and his bandages.

Chuuya felt unreasonably calm, and oddly awestruck, at the sight.

And that’s all I can write 😚 ‘cause I am so tired. I dunno what else to say, ‘cause this is just about all my smooth little brain has let me know about the blorbos of today, but yeah. Thank you if you actually read all of this. :3333

Have a good day/night/morning/afternoon/evening!! Remember to drink water, eat, take your meds, all that.

Byeeeeee <3333

[lollytea]

Delighted myself thinking about the witch kids again, specifically their various attempts to build a replacement portal during the Summer. I'm picturing lots of brainstorm sessions that stretch late into the night and when they get tired enough, they devolve into arguing over who gets the last piece of pizza or playing truth or dare or whatever.

Hunter is feeling really proud of himself for having helped Belos rebuild a portal before. He has experience! He can make himself super useful! And then Amity 'Woman in STEM' Blight is also aiming for the same thing. She's an inventor's daughter. Her Dad's main area of expertise is using magic to power technology. She has plenty of opinions on the mechanical side of things.

Hunter and Amity either click extremely well and are plotting away at a prototype immediately or they disagree on every trivial detail and cannot go five minutes without arguing about it. There's no real resentment here. They're both just used to doing everything themselves and struggle to work as a team.

I don't think the project would get off the ground without Luz. She keeps everybody from wasting time with dud ideas because she's already spent tons of time in the Boiling Isles attempting to build a portal home. She knows exactly what WONT work cuz she's already tried it. She's also got a knack for thinking outside of the box and knows that even though glyphs are rendered useless in this realm, they can still be utilized. If she draws just the right glyph combo and finds a bit of magic for the glyphs to soak up, she's pretty sure they can light this portal's engine up.

Vee reminds them that she's still got a supply of Hexes Holdem cards, which have been working pretty well for keeping her human form. Luz, who had forgotten those things existed, nearly hits the roof in excitement.

Vee doesn't contribute much to the whole construction process, but while she does supervise. She did a health and safety course while at Summer Camp and is diligently making sure nobody is getting their asses blown up.

Portal Building is not Willow's strong suit. She does not have Luz and Hunter's experience, Amity's engineering knowledge or Gus' enthusiasm for tinkering with human technology. So she does what she does best and offers support. She hypes her smart friends up. And when they start doubting that they're actually making any progress, Willow swoops in to encourage them that if ANYBODY can build a portal, her best friends can!! Once the team realizes that they're gonna need something super strong to hold the portal upright, Willow beams. Her vines!! Her vines are tough as hell!! She can do that!!

Gus falls behind a little at first. He might be a prodigy but his skills are quite dependent on the existence of actual magic, so he struggles a bit to find his purpose here. He's very eager to work with human technology but Luz knows more about them than he does. He's smart enough to offer ideas but Hunter and Amity always come up with them before he does because they're both annoyingly STEM brained and have gotten a bit competitive about it. Gus is given the task of gathering equipment for the portal with Vee and he tries not to pout about it. After they managed to track down a half busted TV at a lawn sale, Vee takes him to a petstore to cheer him up. Gus gloomily stares at the hamsters running in their little wheels. He idly thinks about an article he read in one of his human magazines. About how hamsters in wheels can create energy. Unfortunately, hamsters aren't magic.

Cut to 2 days later when the team realizes that the Hexes Holdem cards just aren't gonna cut it. They don't possess nearly enough magic to power up a portal. It's not gonna work. All the time they've spent on this, and it's not even gonna work. They need something else. Anything else.

Luz looks like she's gonna burst into tears. Amity is pacing back and forth. Hunter is like this close 🤏 to slamming his head against the wall in an effort to rattle a genius idea out of his brain. Willow is making a valiant effort to keep everybody from having a full blown meltdown.

Gus is staring intently at Flapjack who is pecking away at the floorboards again. Then he's like "Hey....hear me out....what if-?"

[absolutelyhugh3s]

jersey giant | jh86

y’all i am so so sorry this took so long to get out!! i’ll try my best to start getting things out quicker and more often!!

but we’re back with the song blurbs!! i’ve recently been obsessed with jersey giant by elle king and for some reason it makes me think of the devils

pairing -> graves!sister!oc x jack hughes warnings -> mentions of blood, mentions of injury, slight cursing, mentions of death not my gif!!

word count -> 2.12k

7 months ago

since i was a little girl, I believed everything happens for a reason.

no matter how hard i search, there was no reason for this.

i remember that day like no other. i sat in the living room of my hoboken apartment, which i shared with my older brother, of course.

today my anxiety had been like no other. with ryan at hockey practice, i feared something happened to him. i texted him an upwards of 30 times, to be graced with a response of “dw cupcake i’m doing fine :)”

however, that did not calm my rambunctious mind. so i turned to my music. i’ve been writing music since i was in high school, not for the people, just for me. music was my escape, an outlet for me to express my emotions.

i don’t remember much from those few hours, the only thing i remember was my raw and bleeding fingertips after playing for so long.

it was about 3 o’clock when the front door opened. “i’m home cupcake!” ryan called, though it wasn’t his usual tone. it seemed gloomy and sad.

my brother seemed to drag himself into our shared living room, shoulders hunched, a solemn look on his face.

“how was practice?” i ask cheerfully, trying to lighten his mood. “i’m so sorry darcie” ryan croaks out, tears pooling in his eyes.

“for what ry? what’s the matter?” i ask, cupping his face and wiping the few tears that had fallen.

“they’re trading me.”

his words cut me like a freshly sharpened knife. he opens his mouth to speak once again and i brace for the impact.

“to pittsburgh”

the knife was twisted. for the past two years, i was blessed to call the garden state my home, and blessed to call the devils my family.

i was struggling with my schooling a lot a few years ago, trying to cope with the loss of my brother at home. so my parents thought it would be a good idea to send me to live with him.

so to new jersey he went, with me in toe.

i’ve made great friends while being here, johnny, dawson, nico, jesper, timo, they were all such great company.

but no one’s company could compare to that of the devils prodigy, jack hughes.

being very close in age, we became best friends immediately. we spent almost every day together except when he had morning skate or roadies.

jack was my person. at first i thought it was just platonically, but after a few months of our friendship, i developed feelings.

and after a hard loss, denying them a spot in the 2022 stanley cup playoffs, i discovered he reciprocated those same feelings.

so we started dating in secret. it wasn’t easy, but we made it work. and about 6 months in, we told our siblings. 

luke was accidentally first to know, after an awkward walk in that lacked clothes. quinn followed soon after, because jack felt guilty that the younger hughes knew but not the older hughes.

ryan was the last to know. it took a while for him to warm up to our relationship, but he eventually came around. plus, the boys became even closer than they already were. everything was perfect, until it wasn’t.

“so what does this mean” i ask, looking down at the dried blood on my fingers, my voice cracking as i try to conceal my true feelings.

“we have to leave jersey. and move to pittsburgh” he said, clearly just upset as i was. “trust me darcie i don’t want to leave” he sighs

“so don’t!” i exclaim jumping up from my place on the couch. ryan looks up at me with tears in his eyes. “darcie you know it’s not possible. if it was i wouldn’t be leaving”

“but ryan my whole life is here” i cry “my friends are here, my job is here, for fucks sake my boyfriend is here!” tears begin to stream down my face. “i cant just uproot my life because you got traded!” 

“darcie lynn graves you know we have no choice.” he says sternly. brushing his long hair out of his eyes. “better get packing” he says, looking around at the decor. “our flight leaves tomorrow night.” and with that, he walked through the apartment to his bedroom.

just as i’m about to pick up the phone and call jack, there’s a knock on the door. i look out the peephole to see non other than my boyfriend, with tear stained cheeks on the other side.

i immediately open the door to see jack still in his practice clothes. “nico was the first player to know. he told the rest of us and i came as soon as i could” his voice cracks.

i wrap my arms around his shoulders while his encircle my waist. “i don’t want you to leave me” he mumbles, placing his head in the crook of my neck. “i have no choice baby” i sigh “this is the absolute last thing i want to do”

“how long do i have?” he asks me, tears falling down his cheeks. “what?” i ask, caught off guard by the question. “until you have to leave. how long”

“my flight leaves tomorrow night” i brush the strands of his messy hair out of his face.

it looked as though that statement broke his heart. it’s scary, being young and in love, not knowing if this could possibly be the last time they ever meet face to face.

“then let’s make these next 24 hours, the best we possibly can” he says feigning confidence.

we did everything together for the next 24 hours, just as he had promised. we had the time of our lives. we went skating together, a late night 7/11 run, movies, the whole nines.

all knowing it could possibly be the last time.

then came the part i dreaded the most, leaving. ryan insisted on taking my ginormous suitcase, as jack and i walked through the airport hand in hand.

we stopped before we got to tsa. i bit my bottom lip, knowing this is what had to happen. knowing that i was leaving and he wasn’t coming with me.

jack turns to me with a sad smile on his face. “i’m gonna miss you so much baby” he says, trying to hold back tears as well.

“i’m gonna miss you too jacky” i said, my tears finally falling. he wipes them away, the sad smile remaining on his face. “i love you to the moon and saturn” he says cupping my face in his hands.

“i love you forever and always” i smile “no matter how far away i am” jack dips his head down placing a passionate and loving kiss on my lips. “dars let’s go!” ryan calls out.

“promise me you’ll call me if you need anything ok?” a big goofy smile appears on the brunette boys face. “only if you promise me the same” we laugh and share our last goodbyes as ryan and i headed towards tsa.

present time

i left jersey almost seven months ago now, but i miss jack like crazy. being without him has been really tough for me, and everyone can tell. however, i was able to spend a few weeks with him over the summer at his lake house. i met trevor, alex, cole, and ellen and jim officially, and i loved every second of it

believe it or not i’ve made some great friends in pittsburgh. if you told twelve year old me that i was friends with sidney crosby she would laugh at you and tell you you’re crazy.

“whatcha doing kid?” sid asks as he sits next to me on the couch. ryan had invited the guys and their partners to our house for a team get together. he says it’s to “celebrate the start of the new season” but i think it’s to get on their good sides.

i point to the large flat screen tv currently playing the devils game against the st. louis blues. “ohh i see” sidney chuckles “ditching the boys to watch the boyfriend”

i laugh “don’t get too pissy sid” “no no i see where i lie on your rankings of favorites” he jokes, taking a sip of his beer.

“jack hughes goes down and he’s hurt!” the broadcaster says. sid and i freeze.

“no no no”

“cmon kid get up”

“god jack get up!”

“cmon kid cmon!”

we begin to panic, yelling everything we can at the tv, as though it could be heard all the way in st. louis.

i try to hold back my tears, as i pick up my phone. as my shaky hands attempted to open my phone, jacks contact photo appears.

i look to the tv to see he’s already in the locker room. “hello?” i ask, voice shaky and palms sweaty. “hello is this darcie graves?” the man asks, clearly not jack.

“yes how can i help you?” i ask “im michael coyne, the head physical therapist for the new jersey devils. now, i’m not sure if your aware but jack sustained a significant injury to his shoulder tonight, and he keeps asking for you. and if possible we would fly you into jersey and we can meet you there. now he has informed us of your current situation, we will cover all fees needed, we just want to make sure he is ok.”

“absolutely, um- i- yeah i’ll- i’ll go” i stutter. “perfect. the flight leaves in an hour, is that alright?” he asks. “yeah that’s perfect” i sadly smile. 

“any questions?” he asks sincerely. “yes there is. can i talk to jack?” micheal almost cuts me off, “absolutely here he is now” 

“hello?” i hear my boyfriend hiss in pain. “hi jacky. i’m coming ok? they’re flying you home and i’ll meet you there. it takes to hours to get there babe, but i’ll make it to the airport in about an hour or so” i ramble.

“ok.” he hisses again “i never expected you to come back” he says. i can tell he’s frustrated by the situation, he hates being away from hockey.

“i’ll come back if you just call” i say sweetly “now i have to get packing and head down to the airport. i’ll call you as soon as i can alright?” i begin to throw my clothes into my suitcase.

“ok i love you”

“i love you more jack, i’ll be there soon.”

3.5 hours later

i landed in newark just before jack and the trainers did. although it was around 10 pm the city was still alive. so to take my mind off of the stress, i walked to the prudential center. once i arrived the trainers were already there and assessing jack.

as soon as i walked through the doors i was met by devils personnel, who ushered me into the training room. 

it was there that i saw jack sitting near a pt table with ice wrapped around his shoulder.

“you gave me the worst scare of my life” i said making my presence known to the older boy. “oh thank god your here” jack goes to get up “god fucking damn it” he hisses, sitting back in the chair.

i run to his side “can i get you anything? water, ice, a heating pad? i can order chipotle if you want? have you eaten? oh god your probably starving” i ramble.

“hey, i’m alright darcie. i’m not going anywhere” he says cupping my jaw with his healthy hand. “but what if you weren’t? something serious could have happened, you could’ve gotten a concussion, snapped your neck, jack rowden you could’ve died!”

he doesn’t respond, only chuckling under his breath at my rambling. “stop looking at me like that! it’s not funny! this is serious!” i giggle, trying my best to stay mad at him. i failed miserably.

“come sit” jack says, patting the seat next to him. as i sit down he places his good arm around my shoulders, carefully pulling me into his chest. “thank you for being here. it means a lot to me” jack says, placing a kiss on my temple.

“i’ll always be here for you baby” i smile up at him. he leans down and places a slow and sweet kiss on my lips. 

i plan to stay in newark for the next few weeks, since luke and jack have an extra room in their house. “are you gonna play doctor?” jack asks as i help him into the car. “i guess so yeah” i giggle.

“can you wear one of those sexy nurse costumes?”

“jack rowden hughes!”

[shakespeareaddict]

“Zuko distrusts father figures and projects his experiences onto Hakoda” well I can see where you’re coming from but what you have to remember is Zuko spent 16 years thinking his relationship with Ozai was, if not normal, then okay. Insanely high standards Zuko struggled to meet? Makes sense. Pitting your two children against each other at every turn? It encourages growth. Punishing disobedience with permanent scarring/disability and also banishment? It’s tough, but it’s what Zuko needs to make him worthy of his position in the succession and in his father’s love. Zuko knows he doesn’t have Ozai’s love, but he has happy memories of when he did (or thought he did) and he’s desperate to regain that. Every time Ozai punishes him (& while we can’t rule out physical punishment I think most of it prebanishment was more emotional neglect or “do 500 push-ups and also no supper”) it’s because Zuko messed up, or Azula ratted him out after he messed up. The problem in the relationship is him, not his father.

And it’s not like he has a lot of healthy counterexamples! Azula is born lucky, a prodigy, etc, of course she’s “earned” Ozai’s love. Azulon was probably not a warm and fuzzy grandpa or father figure; whether he actually ordered Ozai to kill Zuko as punishment for Ozai’s disrespect, or that was a misrepresentation or useful lie (to Azula and Ozai), Zuko still believed Azulon was *capable* of ordering that. Iroh probably was more of a hard ass before Ba Sing Se but somewhat soft compared to his brother & father—he’s Azulon’s heir so he’d get preferential treatment compared to Ozai which impacts how he raises Lu Ten; I think we can imagine him as a “stern but fair” father and an indulgent uncle. And anyway Lu Ten is significantly older than his cousins; if Lu Ten isn’t getting harsh punishments like Zuko is, it’s because he’s doing things right, obviously, he’s outgrown his bad habits or never had them at all, and Zuko just needs to do the same. & if another family doesn’t involve the kind of harsh discipline he’s used to then obviously it’s because they’re not royals, so the standards are lower, and anyway the kids aren’t as wrong as Zuko himself is. The problem is Zuko, always.

And then the first two and a half seasons of AtLA happens and we see that conviction weaken in real time, coming to a culmination during the eclipse where he *calls out his abuse as abuse*. “I was a child! It was cruel and wrong!” He *knows* it was not okay for Ozai to banish him, to *maim him*, to force him to fight an honor duel at thirteen! All the excuses that made it right—that Zuko deserved it, that Zuko is uniquely the problem, that the royal family needs to be held to a higher standard—he finally sees them for lies. Nothing makes scarring your children okay. *Ozai* was the problem all along.

So obviously, if Ozai abusing him isn’t okay, then any parent abusing their child isn’t okay. But that does not mean *every parent is doing the abusive things he thought were normal*. Zuko assuming that all dads are punishing their children with emotional neglect and that in extreme cases banishment is on the table—that makes sense for (early) season 1 Zuko, for pre-series Zuko. Zuko thinking “hm those water tribe kids, children of the chief, are probably held to the same impossible standards I am” is an s1 thought! But by mid season 3 he may not know exactly what’s normal for parent-child relations, but he knows that *his experience* isn’t it. He’s never seen what’s normal for WT families—*maybe* his Avatar research included that but it’s unlikely—and if he got propaganda about it, well, he knows the war is a lie and he’s now interacted with the Gaang directly for a few weeks so he’s had a chance to start rethinking some of it (even if complete deprogramming is a ways off). But he’s not gonna jump to “Hakoda is just like my father and I’m protecting Katara and Sokka by talking them up in front of him” because that’s nonsense! He might be hyper vigilant, he might misread cues, and he’ll probably fuck up at some point. But if he assumes (wrongly) that Hakoda is a danger to his kids, his reaction should be “that is wrong of him, do Sokka and Katara know that’s wrong? How do I help them tell off their shitty dad? They can’t exactly redirect his lightning and go join MY dad….” And it’ll blow up in his face in some spectacular fashion cause that’s his luck. (Especially pre Southern Raiders—imagine Katara’s reaction if she thinks Zuko thinks Hakoda is abusive! “Not everyone is like your sick family, eating puppies and sending people to kill innocent women in a country that’s not even *fighting* yours!” Brings higher stakes to that episode and their conflict)

(And one last thing—Zuko figuring out “my banishment and the Agni Kai were wrong”=/=“I know exactly which parts of my childhood were kinda abusive”. He’s still gonna run into things that he thinks of as normal but probably weren’t. BUT I think he’d get there a lot faster than some people think; knowing Ozai is an asshole, he can start to go “maybe x was also a thing he did cause he’s a jerk”, and he can seek help/advice from his support system (Gaang + Iroh + …I hope he has other friends eventually) on untangling his past)