#when i tell you i ASCENDED when i saw that example answer

[eli-is-an-idiot]

shout out to whatever brave soldier decided to write ride the cyclone fanfic for their english language gcse, which is now being used as an example in writing workshops for bored year 11s

[sombersummerskies]

A Champion's Love: Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Alone Together Word Count: CW: NSFW, 18+

Want all the chapters? -> Masterlist

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Your eyes go wide and you practically choke, “an heir?”

He winces at your reaction and clarifies, “or rather, your ability to give me an heir.”

You laugh, but it comes out sounding sharp and sarcastic, “oh yes, that makes it so much better. You’re not even king yet, why are they worried about heirs?”

Sidon lets out a deep sigh, running one of his hands over the silver garments that adorned his neck and shoulders, “it is tradition that when the heir ascends to the throne, whether it be a prince or a princess, that their spouse ascends with them. On the same day that I would become king, I would also need to declare myself and my wife wed. If, for example, I become king and I choose you as my wife, what would be expected of you afterwards is-”

“To produce an heir to the throne,” you mutter, a sour taste in your mouth, “I really hate tradition, you know that?”

He chuckles, though it’s a dry laugh, “I can tell, little one. But, the royal bloodline of the Zora has always been pure Zora. There may be Zora that hail from other regions and kingdoms, but they are still Zora nonetheless. The bloodline has never contained a Hylian before, so it is unknown and also unlikely that an heir could be produced.”

You mull over his words in your mind. “Well,” you say, “a Zora and Hylian relationship has never been documented before, right?”

“To my knowledge there have been a few here and there,” Sidon replies, “but based on our records no child had been produced from those relationships. Believe me, I checked with the historian.”

“... did they try?” you ask, absent-mindedly stoking the flames of the campfire.

The prince thinks before answering, “I suppose we do not know. The records never indicated if there were attempts to, well, conceive.”

You notice the blush on his face.

“Well if it was never documented,” you reply with a nervous laugh, “how do we know that they tried? How do we know that it’s so impossible and unlikely?”

Now you’re blushing too.

“Darling, are you perhaps insinuating that… the two of us try?” he asks, leaning closer to you.

You stammer, noticing how the glow from the fire makes his gaze more intense, “I mean- I didn’t- well I am curious, but- well- we don’t have to- if you don’t want to-”

You feel like an idiot for even bringing it up. But you can’t stop talking.

“Obviously, um, it’s far too early in our relationship to even be considering- y’know- like, kids, but- and even if we could it is not the right time- what with- all of the… um… training…”

In the midst of your rambling Sidon had brought himself closer to you. With his height he was able to corner you against the trunk of the tree, bringing his face near yours. You promptly shut your mouth.

“I agree that it is far too early for children,” he murmurs, his breath against you making you shiver, “but I do not think that there is anything wrong with curiosity. If I am being honest, I have been rather curious as well.”

“Curious?” you repeat, feeling quite small beneath him.

“About you,” he continues, nuzzling against your cheek, “I must admit that yesterday when I saw you in that gorgeous outfit from the Gerudo… it made my mind race.”

“O-oh,” you stammer breathily, “really? How so?”

He pulls back, his pupils dilated as he looks into your eyes, “would it be awfully wrong of me to say that I wanted to take you, then and there? To make you unravel in my hands.”

You feel heat curl in your abdomen as he speaks. Suddenly everything feels far too hot.

“I- ahem-” you clear your throat, thoroughly flustered, “I wouldn’t say it’s wrong… I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of it…”

“Oh, yes?” he replies with a teasing tone to his voice.

You hum and nod your head, an intense blush on your face. “I’ve had dreams about you… and there was that one time in your room where you left that mark on me… and I wanted more,” you admit to him.

He chuckles, pressing a kiss to your cheek, “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you as flustered as you are right now, my darling.”

“W-well,” you stutter, “I’ve never- um- when I became a solider I never had the time to- you know- date or anything, so I haven’t-”

Sidon pulls back, blinking as he gazes down at you. “I…” he trails off, “I had never even considered… little one, I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable in anyway-”

You quickly shake your head, “no! No… I’m not uncomfortable, I would let you know if I was… I just don’t really know how to… y’know… do this…”

Becoming a soldier had meant you didn’t have the time for something as silly as dating, and it certainly meant you never had the time to be intimate. Some of your peers had flirted with you, but you never paid them any mind. There were more important things to focus on, after all. 

The prince tilts his head to the side and smiles softly at you, “would you like for me to show you?”

You swallow nervously. At any other time if you were in less of a daze you would have declined. You’re out in the open, you’d be exposed to attacks, and there’s still the concerns of the Yiga spying.

But the way that Sidon looks at you is so warm and inviting. He gently trails his fingers down the side of your cheek and you want nothing more but to melt into his touch. You can feel the way your heart hammers in your chest as you look into his eyes.

“Yes, please,” you whisper, the words coming out of your mouth before you can even register them.

He relaxes against the tree and holds his arms out to you. Effortlessly he lifts you up onto him, and you blush when you find yourself straddling his torso. Beside the two of you the fire continues to crackle.

You ease into him as he presses a kiss to your lips and let your eyes flutter shut. You can feel the way he smiles against you before deepening it. You feel his hands drift across your body. You’d already set your gear and weaponry aside when starting the campfire, so the only thing in the prince’s way was your clothing. 

He trails his kisses from your mouth down to your jaw and you feel his hands tug on the bottom of your tunic. You hear him murmur something against your skin and it takes your hazy mind extra time to register exactly what he says- which was asking permission to remove your shirt.

You flush but nod your head.

His hands guide you, leaning you back as he lifts the blue fabric off of you. Beneath your armor you tended to wear an undershirt or camisole with straps that supported your chest. Today it had been a camisole, and your blush deepened further as Sidon slipped this off of you as well.

You were completely topless. Instinctively you want to raise your arms and cover yourself, but the prince’s eyes are full of nothing but adoration and awe at the sight of you. 

“You are simply the most gorgeous being I have ever had the pleasure of gazing upon,” he whispers softly, his hands on your hips as he admires you, “the moon and the stars must agree as well. Their light makes you glow.”

You tug on his sash and look away nervously, “it’s different, isn’t it? From a Zora…?”

He pulls you close so that you’re pressed flush against him. His jewelry and adornments are cold against your skin, contrasted by the heat of his body. “It may be different,” he murmurs, “but that does not make you any less beautiful. If I must worship your body day and night to convince you of that, I shall.”

You shake your head, a nervous laugh spilling past your lips before you can stop it, “that won’t be necessary-”

You cut yourself off as Sidon presses his lips to you neck once more. His kisses are feather light as he trails down to your collarbone, then across your shoulders. Each kiss sends shock waves through your body. He uses his hands to lean you away and arch your back, giving him access to your chest. The prince is incredibly gentle, careful not to graze you with his teeth. He experimentally drags his tongue across one of your breasts-

You shiver, a sound similar to a whimper spilling out of you.

Sidon chuckles against you, tilting his head back, “you are awfully cute like this, you know.”

“S-shut up,” you stammer, though there’s no real anger in your tone.

He continues. He places kisses and licks on any part of you that he can reach. Occasionally he teases you with small nibbles that make you squirm. Effortlessly he’s able to lift you higher as his kisses travel lower- one on your abdomen, then one on your belly button, and another below. 

Once he reaches the waistband of your trousers you’re a breathless mess.

By this point he’d slid further down, and instead of straddling his torso he’s lifted you up high enough for you to be sat on his shoulders. The sight of him between your legs like this is something you catalog in your mind to remember for later.

He gazes up at you, smirking as he drags his nails down your back. Casually he tugs on the band of your pants. His eyes ask you for permission.

“Y-yeah, let me,” you reply. Your hands shake with anticipation as your fingers fumble with the buttons of your trousers. You take a moment to shift your weight so that you can tug them down, as well as your undergarments. Sidon easily slips the rest of the fabric off of your legs.

Now you’re completely nude, hovering over the prince’s shoulders.

He tilts his head and presses a kiss to your inner thigh. Your either thigh gets a squeeze from his hand, before his fingers drift to your pelvis. A smile plays on his lips as the tips of his digits glide across your womanhood.

“Darling, you’re dripping wet already,” he chuckles.

Your legs can’t stop shaking as you do your best to hold yourself up. His teasing touches are driving you insane. You’d never let anyone see this part of you, let alone touch it. You should be far more nervous, but with how gentle the prince is being you can’t help but feel soothed.

Before you have a chance to respond he lifts you up closer. Now you’re sitting on his face.

“Sidon-” you start, only to be cut off.

His tongue licks a long, languid line across your cunt.

This time when you say his name it comes out as a breathless moan. Your hands hold onto the fin behind his head desperately. His grip on your waist tightens, keeping you in place as he gets a taste of you. He drinks you in as if he’s a man starved of water. 

The heat at your core only coils tighter and tighter. His tongue finds your clit just as he easily slips a digit inside of you, making another incoherent cry spill past your lips. He curls his finger inside you, and you can’t keep your eyes open anymore. It’s all you can do not to squeeze him between your thighs as waves of pleasure wash over you as he thrusts his finger, eventually adding a second when he feels less resistance. Another moan escapes your lips as he sucks your clit gently before going back to a circling pattern that has you seeing stars behind your eyelids.

“Sidon- ah!- please-” you whimper, tripping over your words, “close- so close- nmnh- please!”

You can’t stop yourself from rolling your hips as you get closer- and closer- until-

Your whole body is racked with shudders and shakes, crying out into the night as the coil finally snaps. Sidon doesn’t cease, he continues to happily drink up every last drop until you breathlessly tap his shoulder.

“Too much,” you pant, “too- sensitive-”

You’re red in the face and you feel dazed. At the same time it’s quite literally the best that you’ve ever felt in your life. The prince grasps your hips and shimmies you down so that you’re sat on his torso again. You watch, blushing, as he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes are full of mirth, clearly proud of himself.

“That was… just… wow,” you whisper, still trying to register what just happened.

“Agreed,” he grins, “you were spectacular. Tasted wonderful, too.”

You fluster and lean back- slightly confused when you feel something hit your back.

Two somethings.

You look behind yourself and gasp. Sidon’s cock- er, cocks, stand at full attention. You can see droplets of precum drip down the side as they throb.

“Oh,” you murmur, turning to look back at the prince.

“If you would like to we can stop here,” he replies, but you shake your head.

You lean forward, pressing your palms against his chest, “I want to help you too…”

“Are you sure?” he asks.

You nod, shyly smiling at him, “I am.”

He re-adjusts. Once more he sits himself against the trunk of the tree, but this time you’re sitting facing away from him. Your back is pressed against his chest. His grip on you keeps your legs spread apart, and you blush as you peer down. Both of his cocks stand proudly between your thighs.

He presses a hand to your abdomen before trailing it downwards. His fingers slip between your folds- you’re still soaking wet- and he spreads them apart. You shiver. You get a better look at his members and realize just how big they both are.

“Are you sure they’ll fit?” you ask in a quiet voice, tilting your head back to look at him.

“Both? No,” he chuckles, “I think just one will be enough for you.”

You nod and nervously look back down. You feel him press a kiss to the top of your head, relaxing you. You watch as he grasps one of his cocks, the one closest to you, and presses it against you. A shaky moan slips out of you as he grinds himself against your cunt.

“Please,” you whisper. You hold onto his arm desperately, “I want you Sidon, please-”

“You’re all I want,” he murmurs against you, “and I have wanted you for so long.”

He presses himself inside of you and you both moan in unison. You find yourself panting for air as you sink further onto his length. Both his hands find their way to your hips once more and he tightly, desperately holds onto you.

You hear him groan your name and you melt at the way it sounds. “So good,” he whispers, “you are doing so good for me, darling.”

Experimentally you roll your hips and are rewarded with a shuddering gasp from the prince. This fills you with confidence. His hands guide you as you find a rhythm, bucking your hips as he slowly thrusts in and out of you. Everytime you close your eyes you see explosions of color and stars as he manages to hit all the right spots inside of you effortlessly.

You’re both repeating one another’s names as if they’re pleas and prayers. The rhythm of Sidon’s hips stutters and he sharply moans, “I’m- nghh- close-”

“Please, please-” you repeat without thinking, “please- I want you to feel good too, please-”

He brings your hips down hard on his lap. You feel him shudder and gasp behind you as he comes undone, filling you with his warmth. The twin member to the other cums as well, shooting out thick ropes that mostly land in the river.

Just as he reaches the brink you do as well. You cry out his name as you unravel for a second time, momentarily going rigid in his grasp. Your chest heaves as you pant and relax back into him. A thin sheen of sweat covers your body but you feel too amazing to care.

After a few moments of lying together he slowly lifts you off of him- which you’re thankful for with how terribly your legs are shaking. You look back at him and laugh sweetly, charmed by how flush his face is and how full of adoration his eyes are.

“Does it always feel that good?” you ask.

He chuckles, “well, it depends on your partner. But I would wager a guess and say that between the two of us it will.”

A sleepy smile spreads on your face, “good.”

“Does that mean you’d like to do this again, darling?” he replies, tracing his finger along your jaw.

You nod, grasping his hand and pressing a small kiss to his palm, “I would, if you would.”

He grins, “of course, little one.”

You shiver from the cold night time breeze and figure it’s as good a time as ever to clean yourself off. After a quick dip in the river (which feels incredibly odd, you’d heard about the other soldiers going ‘skinny dipping’ back in your early army days but had never done it yourself) you dry yourself off and pull on your undergarments and your tunic. You’ll worry about pants later.

You curl up beside Sidon beneath the tree, wrapping your arms around him. His heartbeat pounds softly against your ear.

“Comfortable?” he asks with a small laugh, brushing his fingers through your hair.

“Very,” you whisper with a smile, “and thank you.”

“Whatever for?” he replies.

“Being my first… and being gentle,” you murmur, pressing your face against him.

He pulls you into his arms and presses a kiss to your forehead, “you need not thank me for that, darling.”

“Still…” you whisper, stifling a yawn.

You hadn’t quite realized how exhausted you were. Sidon is warm and his arms make you feel safe. You don’t notice how quickly you doze off.

…

You grumble as you slowly wake up. You can hear birds chirping. You feel oddly warm, as if the sun is shining on you. You blink as you open your eyes.

You’re still in Sidon’s arms. You’re still by the lake. The fire’s gone out. You’re not wearing pants. The sun is up.

The sun is up.

“Shit!” you curse, “shit, shit, shit- Sidon!”

The prince is still asleep, only responding to your panic by wrapping his arms around you tighter.

“No!” you groan, shoving his shoulder, “Sidon, get up-”

Ever so slowly the Zora is roused awake, his sleepy eyes bleary as they look up at you. He smiles, “good morning, my darling.”

“Sidon, we’re still by the river,” you say, urgency in your voice.

He blinks as he peers around, taking in the scenery. You see his eyes go wide with realization. “Oh dear,” he mumbles.

In a rush you pack all your belongings. You get fully dressed (and ignore Sidon’s comments on how he prefers you without trousers on) and hastily shove your feet into your boots. You strap your gear back on and make sure to stomp out your campfire. With the sun up you’re able to look at your reflection in the water’s surface and groan when you see how disheveled you look.

“No time to worry about that, c’mon,” you say to the prince.

You run back to the stable, hoping, praying, that Zelda is still asleep. You know it’s unlikely. Maybe today is your lucky day though- you know that this is also unlikely, you are very rarely lucky.

You run uphill and away from the river. The staff of the stable are staring as you and Sidon sprint up the path. You run into the building and throw the curtains open, panting as you bring yourself to a stop. 

Zelda is staring at you with a raised brow, hands on her hips.

You pant for air, adrenaline coursing through your veins, “morning, Zelda.”

You force a smile on your face.

“_____,” she says your name in the tone that a disappointed mother would use.

The prince runs in behind you, nearly crashing into you.

“Sidon,” she continues, now crossing her arms.

You give her a nervous grin.

“Would you like to explain yourselves? Or do I already know the answer,” she asks.

You laugh awkwardly and rub the back of your neck with your hand, “you uh… you probably already know the answer.”

She purses her lips, “lucky for you two, this does not put us behind schedule. However, we need to be leaving as soon as possible if we want to reach the Tabantha Bridge Stable by nightfall.”

“Yes ma’am,” you reply, sarcastically saluting her with your hand.

“I’ll prepare the horses,” Sidon says behind you. You hear the rustling of the curtains as he walks outside.

Zelda walks up to you, dropping the serious facade. A girlish smile plays on her lips. “I want to hear the details once all this pilot training is done,” she whispers to you with a grin.

You smile at her as she walks out. You enjoy the moments where the two of you get to ignore your duties and just be best friends.

After quickly packing your gear back into your traveling bag you return outside. Persephone waits for you outside of the stalls and whinnies as you approach. “Hello pretty girl,” you say as you attach your bag to the saddle.

Soon enough your trio is on the road again, this time heading north to Hyrule Ridge.

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Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

[sizzleissues]

Thoughts on conformation and recreation

Going to put heavy spoilers and theory stuff under a cut but just starting off saying I liked it. I do feel negative about certain aspects but I’m 90% certain that was intended. We’re supposed to be going ‘wait a minute’ about this ending.

The action was amazing and the animation gorgeous in parts. I really like BugNoire’s design.

Overall it didn’t disappoint me which I feel is the only thing and ending shouldn’t do. You can happy, mad, sad etc. about an ending but those emotions are most of the time intentional. But if it comes with disappointment then something has gone wrong. (Excluding minor stuff)

Anyway time to get specific

I love the mystery we still have with all that happened. I think it’s concluded what needed to end and left us with questions to answer in the following two seasons.

Are we supposed to think this was a ‘good/happy’ ending?

What’s up with Gimmi?

Will Marinette tell Adrien/ will Adrien find out and how will it impact both of them?

Is it Emilie or Amelie?

Who the heck visited Lila at the end?

What’s going to happen next?

Those are the questions I see people asking and trying to answer. None of those questions feel unanswerable and it’s plenty of fodder for speculation and fics in the coming year as we wait for season 6. I do want to know whether the special is pre or post season 5 because that will definitely affect things. I can’t see the reveal happening in a special but it’s certainly something to think about.

I think what made the finale special is the many layers it has, things that at first viewing you might miss. For example I saw someone in the last hour point out Marinette quite literally had a nightmare about what would happen if she reacted harshly (aka killed that motherfucker gabe) towards Monarch. Even though Marinette is shown to be an empathetic character and would probably try to talk it out anyway if she saw victory through it, that nightmare definitely pushed her to be more trusting.

In a way it worked. I believe that Gabriel’s wish was to trade his life for Nathalie’s and be able to join Emile. Marinette’s passion sort of proved to him that there were people who cared about Adrien still around even though he’d run out of time by the time he’d realised that neither Emile or Adrien wanted this.

He’s still a villain, he died a villain but that minor change of heart (as he said to Gimmi for his desire to simply read his heart) ensured Adrien would have Nathalie as a parental figure, maybe even bringing Amelie over to take more active care in her nephew and the freedom to be with Marinette, a girl who proved in Gabriel’s last moments that she would love Adrien no matter what. He’s still a villain in that his narcism demanded Marinette not to reveal the truth, remade the world to praise him for his sacrifice and probably a whole bunch of other issues that will unravel in season 6.

(In terms of him and Emile ascending, I don’t believe Gabriel got to go to ‘heaven’ or dragged Emile down to ‘hell’. He just got to be with her and got to have a peaceful death where they can be buried side by side. He isn’t getting an eternal reward for this.)

((If turns out to be Emile alive we’ll just have to see))

Whatever happened, there is obviously something wrong with this new world. It goes against all the motifs set up in previous episodes. I agree with the consensus that we are not supposed to feel entirely good about this ending. Uneasy for the future, nervous for Adrienette, curious about how it’ll unfold.

My feelings about the finale will probably change with season 6 coming out.

(Istg if when Lila-moth is taken down it’s not both Adrien and Marinette I will scream. Let them defeat her together. I get why they couldn’t be together for Gabriel, Adrien would still freak (especially with the nightmares) and he’s still under Gabriel’s control. I’d hoped they’d make it work but I think all the previous reveals/endings proved they couldn’t both take him down. Adrien would be made too fragile and Gabriel is difficult to reason with. I think the only thing that made him a little bit more able to listen to reason was because he was dying so the wish would have had to fix that too etc.)

[aluveras]

Not too much fun!

Peter parker x Female reader

A/n: I wanna clarify that all my female reader fics and male reader (if i make them) are trans friendly since i see =trans people as the gender they identify as, if its not trans friendly (use of genitilia for example but you can just imagine you had ur surgery) i'll say it in the fic.

Warnings: suggestive content, fluff, may being a character i enjoy way too much.

Word count: 1.2k

____________________

‘’Can you be any more obsessed bro?’’

Pete whips his head over to Ned. He could barely hear him over the crowd of people in the cafeteria.

‘’What? I’m not obsessed what are you talking about?’’

‘’Hey, it’s fine I get it. She’s absolutely gorgeous.’’

‘’Tell me something new’’ Peter answers dreamily while his chin rests on his hand.

‘’You guys are weirdos.’’ MJ says out of nowhere

‘’Yeah, well you sit with weirdos.’’ Peter says back immediately.

It was silent for a few seconds.

‘’That sounded a lot less pathetic when I thought of it...’’

‘’Yeah that’s with most of what you say I think.’’ Ned answers

‘’Ned come on dude, you’re supposed to be on my side.’’

Too focused on the conversation Peter all of a sudden felt his peter ting-  Spider sense, sensing in a very weird way.

‘’Hey Peter.’’

There you were. The most beautiful, drop dead gorgeous, jaw dropping girl he had ever seen.

Ned shoved him to say something.

‘’H-hey Y-Y/n’’ You giggle at his stutter and he swears he is ascending into heaven hearing that sound.

‘’I was wondering if you could help me with the decathlon practice,  I don’t really know anyone on the team and you seem nice. And I’ve seen you in class you’re in incredibly smart. So could you help me?’’

This is a dream. It has to be, he thinks.

‘’If you don’t want to you can say so, it’s okay. ‘’ you say because of his silence.  A hint of disappointment in your voice

‘’No! I would love to!’’ Peter squeaked, immediately cringing at how he said it.

Ned and even MJ can’t help but chuckle a little, neither can you.

‘’Okay great! At your place after school today?’’

‘’Yeah, I’ll walk with you to my place if you don’t mind?’’

‘’That would be great! Thank you.’’

You walk away with a big smile and so does peter as he watches you until you’re out of frame.

- after school –

You walk up to Peter at the entrance of the school.

He feels you coming and turns around quickly, his cheeks already starting to blush                                                    at seeing how beautiful you look.

‘’Hey Pete! Ready to go?’’ if he wasn’t blushing already he sure as hell was now that you used a nickname for him.

‘’Yeah just follow me!’’

-After walking for a bit you arrived at his apartment-

As he allowed you to step in you immediately saw and smelled a cloud of smoke and a middle aged woman cooking…or at least trying to. As she turned around you made eye contact and her face immediately lit up.

‘’Peter! Who is this beautiful young lady?!’’

‘’May, this is Y/n, Y/n this is my aunt May.’’ He said happily finally getting to introduce you to his aunt who he has been ranting about you to.

‘’Hello miss Parker, it’s nice to meet you!’’

‘’It’s May to you sweetie and it is lovely meeting you! I’ve been waiting for this ever since peter couldn’t stop talking about you.’’

‘’She’s joking!’’ Peter says quickly

‘’I don’t talk about you at all! Well that’s not true, I don’t never mention you or pretend you don’t exist or something I just-‘’

Peter was cut off by your laugh, he wish he could have that his alarm in the morning. That would make him wake up and make sure he hears it again. (he means the waking up part in a good way)

‘’It’s okay Peter, if it makes you feel better I talk a lot about you too’’ You smirk.

Peter starts blushing like crazy as he clears his throat and says,

‘’So we’re gonna go study together in my room, if that’s okay?’’

‘’Yes of course, have fun…’’

You and Peter walk to his room and just before he closes his door you hear May say,

‘’But not too much fun!’’

‘’May! Really?!’’ Peter whines

‘’Sorry, I had to!’’

As you sit by Peters bed and he sits next to you, you finally start to realize what you’re gonna do.

You’ve been having this crush on Peter for a while now, you kept seeing him stare and somewhere along the way when he wasn’t staring at you, you would stare at him.                                                             You waited for him to do something but he just never did, just kept staring and never doing anything.

So one day when you had enough of the waiting you decided to form a plan.                                               You didn’t even need help for school, it was just a perfect plan to hang out with Peter and tell him how you feel. Though when you sat there, you couldn’t even think about actually doing it.

There were times while working you two looked into each other eyes and didn’t even say anything, it would feel like the time stopped and all that there was Peter and this feeling. This feeling. A feeling that is hard to describe but so pleasing.

A warmth in your chest, a smile that you can’t hide because it’s just so strong. Your heart going faster than ever and your hands shaking like crazy. Your brain could barely focus on anything other than his eyes.

‘’Y/n?’’ Peter says softly.

‘’Hm?’’ you hum also softly.

Then Peters body works faster than his brain and he just leans in. And you meet him halfway.

As your lips softly meet, the feeling is stronger than it’s ever been. As you depart you are both blushing insanely.

‘’Thank you.’’ Peter says

‘’Thank you?’’ You giggle

‘’For letting me kiss you! And not getting mad that I didn’t ask before.’’

‘’Peter, I wanted to kiss you and you gave me enough time to pull away, don’t worry.’’

‘’Really?!’’

You start to full on laugh now.

‘’Hey! Don’t laugh I was really nervous.’’

‘’I know, so was i!’’

‘’What! Why? I’m just Peter, a lonely nerd.’’

‘’You’re not lonely! You have Ned and MJ plus I like that your nerdy, I want a hot nerdy boyfriend!’’

You immediately regretted saying that.

‘’Not that I expected you to now immediately be my boyfriend! If you don’t want that then that’s fine.’’ You just wanted to disappear. (Like peter did in infinity way)

‘’I would actually…love to be your boyfriend…’’ Peter says softly

‘’Well then…’’ there was a silence which you expected to be awkward, but you just stared into each other eyes comfortably.

‘’Can I-‘’ He clears his throat before speaking again. ‘’Maybe kiss you again?’’

You giggle.

‘’We’re together now Pete, you don’t have to ask.’’ You laugh

And by that Peter (surprisingly easy to you) lifts you up a bit and makes sure you straddle him comfortably.

‘’Wow, who knew Peter had such mo-‘’ and before you could finish your lips were in a heated make out sesh with peters.

Just as he slips in his tongue into your mouth and he leaves a long groan, the door swings open.

And there stands a shocked and happy May.

‘’You got the girl!..’’ and quickly after that she says ‘’but I meant the not too much fun part not until your further into the relationship!’’

You laugh as Peter whines again ‘’May!’’

_______________________________

[astrologylife1]

DONT GET CONFUSED ‼️

This will be the SPIRITUAL & BIG PICTURE DESCRIPTION of my post regarding ASC OPP ASC.

Astrology is a spiritual tool that tells what has already happened. It is not the answer to your life and up to you to perceive the results spiritually.

Ascendant OPP Ascendant are KARMIC RELATIONSHIPS

Like the example I gave a Scorpio rising with a Taurus rising. This is my personal relationship. I am a scoripo asc and my first love I met at 15 is a Taurus rising.

When two OPPOSING ascendant form a connection it is very strong attraction, likeness, simple similarities and harmony. Meaning it isn’t hard to form the bond, there’s no playing games or with each others feelings because it’ feels meant to be.

When I was 15 I had no idea of astrology but when I met my partner I told everyone he looked like Chris brown LMAO. Like I was CONVINCED this 17 year old was Chris browns TWIN. All my girlfriends thought I was delusional, saying he looked nothing like Chris brown. But that was the first impression I had from him and who he reminded me of for whatever reason….

We ended up being together for 6 years and still very close today. When we got into a relationship on paper it seemed meant to be. People at work, family and friends would call us Mom and dad. They would say we argued like husband and wife at such young ages. So it was like we continued our relationship becuase it was SO ideal. But internally I could never say or felt that he was the one for me. Like i never saw myself marrying him even though we already lived like we were married.

This is where the KARMA comes in. When I was younger my parents had an on and off relationship. My mom was 15 and my dad was 18 met in high school. They tried to make it work for almost 10 years but never married. As a young girl I used to tell my mom they were meant for each other.

From the outside looking in my parents were BESTFRIENDS, they made it each other laugh and it was so easy. But when they fought it was DESTRUCTIVE and TOXIC and OFTEN. One minute there love birds next they hate each other in matter of hours.

Low and Behold my dad is a Leo rising and my mom Aquarius rising rising.

Opposites attracting ‼️‼️

Back to my relationship and the chris brown comment.. my ex is a Taurus rising but has NO Taurus placements he’s a Aquarius sun lol Chris brown is a TAURUS sun and moon.

As a Scorpio rising I’m always going to be attracted to Taurus energy.

The karma or lesson with this attraction is teaching you the downside and downfall to the typical ideal relationship. It draws you in and things move quick and fast but the lack of actually getting know each other is a recipe for disaster. There’s a underlying feeling of missing something in the relationship you feel but can’t figure out what it is.

The ascendant partner presents themselves like the ONE. But together you don’t agree or understand each other to feel that true love. This is why I brought up the 4th house examplesS

Scorpio rising- 4th house home is sacred but to me home will always be detached and I have to feel like an individual. I’m not attached to my family.

Taurus rising 4th - he desperately wants that traditional home and wife. No matter how bad his family acts he will never turrn his back away from his family .

-Hence one of our biggest consistent arguments was about family.

Another example 5th house

Scorpio rising- Pisces I am very spiritual and dream like when it comes to my expression, fun and romantic energy.

Taurus rising - Virgo he is very boring. Doesn’t care to explore and would rather do practical things.

The most important parts of ourselves our literally OPPOSITES. So not only did I learn that lesson in Ideal love but also understood and forgave my parents Becuase I used to believe they didn’t try hard enough. But they were only surface level compatible. The rest of their placements show why they weren’t compatible.

[holystormfire]

John 1:43-51

'Come and see’ replied Philip

The Martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew,

Painted by Jusepe de Ribera (1591 - 1652),

Painted in 1634, Oil on canvas

@ National Gallery of Art, Washington

Gospel Reading

After Jesus had decided to leave for Galilee, he met Philip and said, ‘Follow me.’ Philip came from the same town, Bethsaida, as Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, the one about whom the prophets wrote: he is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.’ ‘From Nazareth?’ said Nathanael ‘Can anything good come from that place?’ ‘Come and see’ replied Philip. When Jesus saw Nathanael coming he said of him, ‘There is an Israelite who deserves the name, incapable of deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ said Nathanael. ‘Before Philip came to call you,’ said Jesus ‘I saw you under the fig tree.’ Nathanael answered, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel.’ Jesus replied, ‘You believe that just because I said: I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.’ And then he added ‘I tell you most solemnly, you will see heaven laid open and, above the Son of Man, the angels of God ascending and descending.’

Reflection on the painting

Have you ever found yourself responding negatively to a suggestion of someone and then thinking further about it and having a change of mind and heart? I certainly have. Someone makes a suggestion as regards to parish life for example, and initially I respond with maybe little enthusiasm. I can only see the downsides, the problems, the complications, the demands it might make on time, etc... Then over time, I begin to see the suggestion in a different light. The words that that person spoke still linger in my mind and I mull it over. Then I come around to seeing that maybe there is something very worthwhile here after all.

That is exactly what happened to Nathaniel. Philip came up to him to share his enthusiasm for Jesus of Nazareth declaring that he and others had finally found the Messiah that the Jewish Scriptures had foretold. Nathanael’s initial response was dismissive, ‘From Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?’ We can indeed all be prone to dismissing people on the basis of where they are from or where they were brought up or their social background or even the colour of their skin or whatever. However, thanks to the gentle persistence of Philip, ‘Come and see’, Nathanael came to see Jesus and did change his mind! In fact he completely changed, as he gets on declaring ‘You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel’. Jesus then responds that he hasn't seen anything yet!

The next time we meet Nathanael in this Gospel of John, he is to be among the group of disciples who went back fishing after the crucifixion of Jesus, to whom the risen Lord appeared. Nathanael did indeed see greater things...

When it comes to our relationship with the Lord, where we begin is not so important, because the Lord can always move us on, as long as we are open to being led by him.

Most Bible scholars believe Nathanael and Bartholomew were the same apostles. Our painting by Ribera is a profoundly moving work portraying the apostle's final moments before he is to be flayed alive. His body seemingly bursts through the surface of the canvas. His outstretched arms embrace a mystical light that illuminates his flesh. His piercing eyes, open mouth, and petitioning left hand convey an intense communion with the divine. He was a man who wasn't afraid to change his mind, even to the point of dying...

Article by Father Patrick van der Vorst

[sorcerous-caress]

sorry if this is annoying but why don’t you like astarion?

Hey it's alright, it doesn't sound annoying and I'm happy to answer.

I like Astarion, I actually love Astarion a lot. He was the sole reason I bought the game in early access and learned DnD mechanics, i have never played a game like Baldur's Gate 3 before.

A detailed overview below bc I love talking.

I saw a tiktok, thought he looked hot and he is an elf that's a bonus and I installed the game thinking it will like the witcher where you waltz around sleeping with any hot person.

I was severally wrong. I was so blind to his manipulation ingame at the first act because I was too focused on sleeping with him. And when act 2 came and he confessed how he truly felt, It was like a waking up slap to the face.

But i managed to move on yk? Bury it and keep playing the game. Part of me still hoped there will be some hot scenes in the future and this is just a stepping stone.

Again, I was very wrong. When the Cazador fight came and Astarion had to face all the people in the cages, when he tells you that you would've just as easily been one of them. It made me leave the game, stop playing for a week despite how big the hype was since I was at the end of it.

I just felt disgusted with myself, it made me feel very uncomfortable how I used to precive him, how he encouraged it. Especially since I resonated with his storyline, I myself have been in a relationship where someone only used me for sex, it hit deeper to home than I could've imagined.

Which is why I don't do nsfw requests of him, it feels too inappropriate. The wound is still fresh and I can't do it without sacrificing my self respect because of how I saw myself in Astarion.

His ascended treatment of us, it was everything my act 1 self wanted out of him in terms of powerful hot vampire craving you, but to the current me, it felt unimaginably gross.

His writers are amazing, you get to know him throughout the game. You are a witness to how clumsy he is with romance, how reluctant he is with sex when he gets the choice. You see the 180° flip and know this is someone else wearing his skin.

But I have zero problems with other people writing his nsfw. It's not a holier than thou deal where it's sfw or bust. Just because something isn't my preference it doesn't mean I can police people about it.

And I did read nsfw Astarion stuff a lot before, before I reached act 3.

Maybe my opinion will change one day and I'll go back to taking his nsfw requests, maybe it won't. It doesn't really matter, there are a lot of talented and good writers who make nsfw works for him and I'm happy for their existence.

-

As for why I don't write solo pieces for him in general? Well I only have so much free time and inspiration to write with, and Astarion has a chokehold on both the writers and artists of this fandom. He probably has more works under his name than Wyll, Halsin, Minthara and Karlach combined.

There is a lot of Astarion content, it feels like everything has been explored already. Every idea pushed to the limit then flipped, every concept fullfilled.

I only write for him when someones requests it, or when I feel like I have something new to say that no one did before. Like my only story about him posted "to dance with you."

I much rather explore the characters that no one paid much attention to like Wyll, Minthara etc. Npcs too.

Astarion is very loved by the fandom, he will be fine.

-

My third point is that he can get too loved by the fandom, borderline obsessively so by certain groups.

Part of the reason why I didn't write for Astarion at all at the start of the blog, and why I'm still hesitant to write about him is because I don't want to interact with his fanbase.

Take your ask for example, i won't assume malice anon, I hope you just sent this out of curiosity.

But literally no other characters fanbase would ask this. I'm one of Minthara's biggest simp and if i thought someone didn't like her, I'd be like "understandable, have a nice day."

For so long I have been slandering Gale and bashing on him, and yet never received a single ask about why I dislike it. Which I don't for thr record i just like bullying him.

But it only took a single Astarion slander post, that wasn't truly about him, for someone to ask this.

I thought it was a hehe haha joke at the start when everyone was talking about how much better he is than the others, how they can't even imagine romancing someone else. When they called the game Astarion dating simulator.

It wasn't a joke. Larian got the most spam and hate reports to fix Astarion's kissing but while Minthara's whole romance is still broken.

I saw a tweet that mentioned how some Astarion fans act like araj oblodra in moonrise tower, the drow that wants him to bite her, and they're really spot on.

He might as well be second coming of Edward Cullen. People are writing paragraphs upon paragraphs in response to every small joke about him and how he approves morally bad stuff? Spinning a false narrative that he wouldn't hurt a fly that he is a sweet little bean that needs to be protect but also he is super loyal and would only want their blood?

Which yeah i get the irony of since I am writing paragraphs upon paragraphs of me complaining about it, and to that i say, shut up :"(

I hate how watered down he is, I hate how artists draw him romanticly thin and hollow. I hate how forgotten his trauma is unless it's time to baby him. I hate the wrinkles removing mods, I hate the ereasing of his flaws and I hate how they run up to the voice actor to confirm their headcanons.

His voice actor is great, even amazing. But he is still a stranger and you shouldn't ask him nsfw questions, you should keep it respectful and still admire his other works, not just flood him about Astarion.

But maybe I'm wrong, i won't pretend I know what his voice actor feels. But I hope the Astarion fanbase aren't being weird to him.

And let's be honest, Cazador is just as bad as all the other evil characters in this game. Gortash, Ketheric and Orin probably commited more bad stuff than him, yet he is the single unpopular evil guy.

Can you guess why? Does him being tied to hurting the beloved golden goose of the fandom ring any bells?

Mizora hurts Wyll, Gortash sold Karlach, Viconia abused Shadowheart. Yet all of them are seen as evil but loved, while liking Cazador bc of how much of a fucked up character he is, gets you blocked.

That's why I include him in my works, there is no content for him, but also so it weirds out any hardcore Astarion fan and they leave my blog.

Man, I talked a lot. I hope that answered you anon, again no hate for you if you happen to be one of the hard-core Astarion fans. You do you and I do me, i genuinely wish the best for you <3 at the end of the day they're just fictional characters and can't be hurt, but you and me are real people with real feelings.

[alias-sam]

Pierced by a Golden Soul

Chapter 17. Alfred Hitchcock Can Bite Me

Platonic Jojo's x Reader

Summary: Fate is a bizarre concept with countless more bizarre implications. In life sometimes such extraordinary events happen that the only reasoning left must be fate. The tragedies that constantly befall the Joestar bloodline for example may be the unluckiest series of cards drawn in human history, or perhaps the work of a greater power. There is no way to tell for sure. Had Dio Brando or Jonathan Joestar moved slightly on a divergent path the world itself would be left very different. The fate or luck of the noble Joestar bloodline has led to destruction of evil likes of the Pillar Men and DIO. This story is of a similar caliber to that of the other Joestars (as I am sure you are familiar with them). This is a story of lost souls, compassion, hope, and above all fate.

Word Count: 1,494

(Crosspost from Wattpad, full fic is already posted there.)

"What do you mean there wasn't a car?" You asked, but Jaya was preoccupied dragging you across the street before the crosswalk could run out of time. "I saw it with my own eyes!"

"I'm telling you there was definitely no car." Jaya replied sternly, firmly holding her ground on the argument. When you two reached the other side of the street she placed her hand on your forehead. "I doubt you're sick, but maybe you should take it easy for a little bit? You look really shaken up. Did you hit your head when you fell?"

"I definitely didn't--!" You were cut off by Jaya's phone ringing.

"Huh?" Jaya fished through her pocket, taking out a compact flip phone. "That's odd..." She mumbled, looking at the incoming call. "He never calls me during work hours." Jaya hit the accept button. You couldn't make out what was said over the line. Whatever it was seemed to rattle your friend. A panicked expression flashed across Jaya's face, you were half expecting her to puke right then and there. "Oh my god..." She whispered, covering her mouth. Before you could ask what the problem was, Jaya flicked the phone closed. "Sorry!" She spoke quickly. "I need to go! No time to explain!"

"Wait- What?" You yelled after her as she suddenly bolted down the street. She didn't stop. "Okay then." You watched your friend run off. Whatever news she just got definitely didn't seem good. Hopefully everything was going to be alright? As you walked home you slowly found you couldn't shake the adrenaline rush from Jaya being in the street. Even as you neared home you found your pulse was more elevated that usual. Along with that, you once again couldn't help the feeling of being watched. Every so often you would glance over your shoulder, but there was never anyone there. Tired, you entered the bakery without even announcing your presence.

"Good afternoon!" Senora Jones was busy fiddling with the cash register. "How can I- Oh my!" When your mother looked up, she gaped at your appearance. "What on earth happened to you?"

"Smoothie. A smoothie happened to me." You answered flatly.

"Head upstairs and clean up." Senora Jones didn't even try to hold back her laugh. "I'll grab you a change of clothes."

"Thanks." You sighed, already heading to the nearest shower.

"Try not to drip on anything." Your mother playfully teased as you ascended the stairs.

"Will do." You called back, starting to laugh at the situation yourself.

......................................................

An undignified sound of disgust made its way past your lips as you peeled off your wet, sticky clothes. You listened to the shower's hiss as the water slowly warmed up.

Footsteps made their way down the hall and stopped in front of the bathroom. You assumed it was Senora Jones getting you a change of clothes. As soon as the shower was ready, you rushed in, wanting to rid yourself of Blueberry Blast forever. You sighed in satisfaction as the warm stream of water washed away the sticky sensation. For several minutes you simply stood there, relishing in the feeling of finally being freed from such discomfort.

You suddenly winced as an acute throbbing pain reverberated from your wrist up to your forearm. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the pain subsided. Warm water ran down your arm as you examined the area. A strange dark spot stained the skin of your inner wrist. At a glance it could have been a bruise. You had tripped a LOT as of late, you probably just hit it on something a little too hard. After looking over your wrist, your gaze trailed down to the rest of your arm. It was littered with scars. While the way they looked didn't bother you that much, being reminded of the various painful experiences from the past few days was taxing. With that in mind, your thoughts wondered to the stories behind the scars. Sometimes you could still feel the stinging pain of Metal Health's blade on your skin.

Past the sound of running water and the echoes of your own thoughts, there was a faint squeak from the bathroom door opening.

"Mom?" You asked while mindlessly returning to scrubbing smoothie juice from your hands. "I thought you'd just leave my clothes in the hallway or something. You don't need to come-" The next word caught in your throat as the silhouette of a man appeared in the shower curtain."...inside...." You muttered, watching as the person walked closer.

In a state of disbelief, you simply froze as the figure approached. In just a moment you saw the outline of a knife and screamed. Despite your initial fear, you were fully prepared to fight. With one fluid motion you pulled back the shower curtain. "What are you doing in-!" Your eyes widened as you let go of the curtain. "Here." You whispered.

Nobody. There was nobody in the bathroom with you. A chill ran up your spine in spite of the warm water rushing down your back.

Without thinking, you quickly stepped out of the shower, leaving the water running in the process. Nothing looked to be out of place, everything was in order, the door was even closed. This was an incredibly small bathroom, so there was absolutely no space for someone to hide without you noticing. But you knew you hadn't imagined it, there had been someone here in the bathroom with you!

"Y/n!?" Your mother yelled from the other side of the bathroom door, followed by a few knocks. "Are you okay?! I heard you scream from downstairs. What's going on in there?"

"I'm fine mom!" You called back. "There was-" Your thoughts raced as you stepped back in the shower. "A- uh.. spider!" You hastily explained. "A spider crawled up my leg while I was showering."

"Please...." The sound of your mother sighing loudly came from the other side of the door.

"Ti voglio bene." She tried to hide it but there was an obvious tiredness in her voice. "My heart please stop scaring me like this. I'm not so sure I can take another startle." A pang of guilt shot through your chest as you turned off the water.

"Right, sorry mom." You apologized, listening as Senora Jones' footsteps retreated down the hallway. You stepped out of the shower and glanced around the empty bathroom. That was weird, really weird.

.....................

After getting into some clean clothes, you put the sticky ones in for a laundry cycle. Meanwhile your mother was back down in the bakery finishing her workday. As you walked down the hallway to your room you took a quick look at every window, making sure it was either locked, or inaccessible from the outside. It was odd given there was no way for someone to get in besides the front door or the fire escape, but both options were locked shut while you were showering earlier. Plus, the floorboards in your home weren't exactly the best, each and every one squeaked unless you stepped on them in a very specific order that you had perfected to a science since you were a kid.

You took a deep breath when you reached your room, deciding to just drop the subject for a while. When the door to your room squeaked open you were greeted by an strange sight...

There was... a raven... sitting in your open windowsill. You stared at the creature, and it stared back, not moving. For a moment you thought it was a statue, but suddenly, the bird let out a loud gurgling squawk sound and flew from the window in your direction.

You jumped back from the doorway, slamming the door behind you. In a state of shock, you just listened from the other side as the bird cawed and flapped its wings.

You heard the front door open and close, briefly catching a glimpse of Senora Jones as she passed by.

"Hey, mom?" You called down the hallway.

"Yes darling?" Your mother poked her head past the corner to look at you.

"When you grabbed those clothes for me earlier...." You glanced at your bedroom door as you heard the raven scratching at it. "Did you...open my window by any chance?"

"Of course not." Senora Jones looked at you oddly. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing!" The sound of another squawk and the beating of wings reverberated from your room. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay... whatever you say darling." Your mother shrugged before returning to what she was doing. You were surprised she didn't hear the racket coming from your room. As she left, your gaze returned to your bedroom door. Suddenly, there was no sound coming from the other side. Carefully, you twisted the doorknob and nudged the door, letting it slowly swing open. There was no bird in sight. But that was the least of your worries. You stared at the open window; a light breeze was billowing the curtains. Even as you stepped into the empty room a single thought persisted in your mind.

You locked the window last night.

[someone-give-me-a-hug]

update timeeee

Ello there guvnor! tis I! Huzzah! 

Yeah i dont know what that was either. hello hello! much better. it has been a little longer than expected to update but i wanted to wait until after my exams finished to give you a reply! 

first of all, i think I've only ever had a tomato once. my grandma gave me one and i felt too bad to say no after absolutely hating it. But hey maybe I’ll try it again! Beans however? well i could live off of beans on toast, which granted aren’t the beans you are probably on about but omg maybe its that British in me but beans on toast is an absolute banger of a meal (and was the first thing to come to mind after Bean Crock, which we eat in the winter, another classic).

To answer your very valid question about the number of exams i had, it was 21. 21 exams :) In all fairness exams sorted out my sleep schedule like a charm. i decided to get up at 6am everyday i had an exam so i could have breakfast and revise the content. which then meant i went to bed earlier (around 23:00) and slept like a log the whole night! the longest exam was 2 hours and 30 minutes. and let me tell you, i made a big fat mistake; i decided to take my friends advice and go through the paper backwards. what an oopsie that was. I ended up forgetting that the outside world even existed during that exam, it felt like lifetime! but honestly, oh well too late to change it now. 

We had a BAV (Beliefs and values) exam (3 actually, catholic christianity, judaism and then philosphy and ethic) becuase it’s required to learn. we needed to use a source of wisdom and authority in most answers and the one i mustve used a hundred times was ‘Love thy neighbour’. I’m also pretty sure I made a few up but hey ho it’s done now. 

It’s officially the summer holidays and school doesn’t start again until September so I’ve got so much time on my hands I have no clue what I’m gonna do! when I go back though I’m doing my Level 3 certifications (A-levels) in history, English lit and philosophy and ethics!

on the note of wildlife, there are so many birds in my garden it’s insane. I’m starting to think they’re building an army to come hunt me down and peck out my brains. although i doubt they eat brains, maybe I’ll have to stuff my pockets with seeds as a sacrifice. Also i had to search up what a bull moose was but oh good heavens THEY ARE HUGE!? I swear i’d literally cosplay Jesus and ascend to heaven if i saw one of them. I love the fact that you get to see wildlife, it’s so cool! I once got chased by a flock of geese and that was scary enough. I think geese talk to each other because they always seem to stare me down. Now listen, I may have a seriously moody resting face but come on! I just want to go about my day and here I am getting glared at by the most viscous bird ever. unfair if you ask me. 

Oh oh oh! about the tumble drier situation, I have been known to lack common sense at times. For example, when i start a task and don’t plan ahead. Imagine I’m baking something and as I wash up i haven't got out a tea- towel to dry my stuff. i will freeze like a moose in headlights (see what i did there? eheh funny). It’s like i have no issue remembering what the emergency quota act did during the red scare in USA history yet if something is missing or new my brain just grows legs and goes on holiday. 

In the words of my grandmother, if brains were made of dynamite i wouldn’t have enough to blow my cap off. 

Random thought I had the other day to finish off: the saying ‘Hold you horses’ comes from literally slowing down a horse. like ‘stop, slow down’ ‘Hold your horses!’. it has taken me an unbelievably long time to realise that. like what else was ti meant to mean?! I’m literally as thick as a plank of wood sometimes. 

Anyway, I hope you are well! I hope everything is good and that you’re good! 

Love ya! Little sib!

[heyhua]

I can’t stop thinking about the idea of god and human in tgcf.

Disclaimer: It has not been long since I finished reading the books so my thoughts are still a bit scattered on the topic. Might add to this later once I am more settled.

Also, spoilers - Book 4 and Book 5.

I remember when I first started reading tgcf, the concept of god that stayed with me was helping the people because the first god that was introduced to me was Xie Lian and while he was nothing to the glory of a god that I had expected, he was always helping those around him, taking everyone along.

As I progressed, of course, I was introduced to the idea of gods not being too distinct from humans. And somehow, I always recall what Guoshi had once told a young Xie Lian – ‘When humans ascend, they are still human, when they fall, they are still human.’ This can and does obviously have a lot of interpretations but right now I am thinking of it in this context.

Each god which was introduced to the readers in the heavenly court, was just so human when passed through the lens of their pasts. Each having events in their lives where what they did was right and what they did was wrong – all depending on the choices they made and the paths they chose to take.

Now, we come to Jun Wu. The most elusive and the grandest of gods. He, at least for me, was someone who matched the criteria in my mind of being a god before starting the books. Sitting on a high throne, managing the affairs so smoothly, the ease of his being, all mighty and right, the grandiose that came with every word he spoke, every move he made. Even his voice in my head, whenever I read his lines, was calm, tranquil but firm at the same time. Truly a god.

However, now that I think about it, I feel like I have been deceived. Sure, he was noble once, truly wanted to help his people but in the end chose the wrong path when pushed to the extreme, which, I am going to be bold and say, is fine and let me circle back to this point after making the point below.

Xie Lian. Xie Lian had a similar path to Jun Wu and he was pushed to the extreme by the white no-face and what did he do? He too, chose the wrong path, even if only momentarily.

He robbed and almost became the white-clothed calamity himself, the keyword here being, ‘almost’ and let me tell you why I emphasize on this.

Throughout Xie Lian’s story, we consistently saw one thing, which was how would humans react after being pushed to their extremes and the answer was that they would react badly. Very simple to understand. The worst of the situations brings out the worst in them too.

But they always come around in the end. They do.

The biggest example of it was Lang Ying. The man was pushed to his limit, took a path he knew was wrong but in the end? His heart was not full of hatred. If anything, he had gratitude towards Xie Lian. While I wouldn’t say he regretted the path he took, because in his vengeance, he needed that release but, in the end, keeping that coral pearl and passing it down as a family heirloom was probably his way of remembering his saviour which was confirmed later by Lang Qianqiu when he informed Xie Lian that the founding father of Yong’an called the owner of the pearl his saviour, someone who helped him, a very good man and admitted to having wronged him.

The simplest example and the one I love the most, was that man who placed the bamboo hat on Xie Lian’s head when he was lying on the street in the rain, wounded. And I can’t help but think, how that ordinary man (the bamboo hat man) and Xie Lian are so similar. The two pushed to their extreme, in their own sense (the man cussed that he had worked so hard to buy just a bit of rice – a telling sign of his poverty, and now the rice was all ruined and gone because he tripped over Xie Lian’s body on the street). And what did the man do? He chose the wrong path. Cursed at Xie Lian, even though it wasn’t really Xie Lian’s fault, to release his emotions.

But. But. He came back. He regretted the way he had shouted and let the situation get the best of him and in the end, he placed his bamboo hat on Xie Lian’s head.

Is this not what Xie Lian’s story is?  Pushed to the extreme till the point where he finally broke down and let the situation get the best of him. Burned down the new palace as his release and wanting to unleash the human face disease on people when it wasn’t their fault but, in the end, he came back, even if you want to call it a ‘one last test of seeing whether it is worth going back’, Xie Lian still chose that over unleashing the disease.

And in this sense, what I am saying is that Xie Lian maintained his humanity. This was such a human thing to do.

Jun Wu didn’t. And so, going back to that point earlier, that Jun Wu choosing the wrong was fine because he too was pushed to his own limit but, in the end, he loses his humanity. Even after his revenge, his release, there is still so much hatred inside his heart that he never came back.

And this makes me wonder, that for me, Xie Lian was a god, but I can never see Jun Wu as one. That the most similar to human was a god, but not the actual heavenly emperor.

[angeltreasure]

Hello friend, sorry if this is a silly question but could you explain what the Eucharist is and why it is important? I’m in the beginning of my journey and feel so overwhelmed by google. Have a beautiful day 😊💛

I’ve been saving this ask for a while so this is so exciting! I apologize for my lateness. I usually answer right away but we have had trouble with the WiFi setting up. Anyway! Welcome Anon!!! I am so excited for your faith journey!! Welcome. 😊🙏🏻

Don’t worry, this isn’t a silly question at all. No, it’s a very good question! I am a Catholic, so I will be explaining my Christian denomination believes what the Eucharist is. In fact, this is a VERY important topic to learn about. I will give you my answer then give you some quotes and videos. Hope you enjoy.

The Eucharist IS Jesus Christ. You know how traffic lights are different colors? Red for stop, yellow to caution; slow down, and green for go? Well, you must understand if you choose to join the Catholic Church that the Eucharist is not a symbol. Although the appearance is a wafer bread and tastes like one, it is not plain like a traffic signal. When a priest blesses the host at a Catholic mass, the host transforms into the body of Jesus Christ. You will not see Jesus appear in the priest hand when he raises the host up for that blessing, and you will not taste human flesh when you eat of it. The veil between this world we live in and the afterlife block us so the appearance and taste remain as a wafer host but the substance has really changed into the body of Jesus Christ. Eating the bread means Christ becomes a part of us and makes us stronger in faith! ♥️

Here’s what the Bible says about the Eucharist, taken from my favorite New Testament book called Matthew. I will color the specific verse in the story as red to help you understand what we believe. In the story, Jesus and His disciples were preparing to find a place for Passover. There is a lot to unpack since you are very new to the faith, so I will skip right to the verses of what Jesus spoke. [Passover: “Passover is a Jewish holiday that honors the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. Before the ancient Jews fled Egypt, their firstborn children were "passed over" and spared from death, thus dubbing the holiday "Passover."”]

….. “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” - Matthew 26:26-29

You see, at this point in time, His disciples did not fully understand the mystery surrounding what was to come. After this night, Jesus was betrayed by Judas (one of His followers) gave His life to die on the cross. In doing so, He saved us from the punishment of all of our sins and opened the gates to Heaven. Back in the past, animals were often given up a sacrifice. Jesus Himself was the perfect sacrificial lamb for slaughter in order to save us from death. This image is the very best that I love that describes the Eucharist Transubstantiation.

I love this one too…

So when you eat the blessed Eucharist and drink the blessed wine done by a Catholic priest, you really do consume the substance that is Jesus’s body, blood, soul, and divinity. Ever hear that phrase, “you are what you eat”? When we consume Jesus, that doesn’t mean we are cannibals, become God, or re-sacrifice Jesus. It means we become a better reflection of Jesus.

Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because Jesus tells us this is true in the Bible: ““No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” John 6:44-66

Fun facts!!!:

Eucharist: “is a transliteration of the Greek word eucharistia, which is itself a translation of the Hebrew word berekah. All three words have the meaning of thanksgiving, or praise for the wonderful works of God.”

Bethlehem: the city where Jesus was born means “House of Bread”!

Transubstantiation: “the conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ at consecration, only the appearances of bread and wine still remaining.”

I saw a poll that only one third of Catholics really believe in Transubstantiation. If you decide in your journey to become part of the Catholic Church, please do not ever forget the words Jesus spoke about Himself to His people and those who read today. He truly is present as the Eucharist and wine.

Did you know there is evidence that the Eucharist is truly Jesus?! They are called Eucharistic Miracles. There are sooo many stories from around the world of bleeding Eucharists that scientists and such have actually tested in their labs to find real they had human blood down to a specific blood type AND material evidence of finding human heart tissue not healthy and strong but distressed! Blessed Carlo Acutis (a young man that passed away that is currently in the process of sainthood here on Earth) created an amazing website that collected examples of Eucharistic Miracles. (See link below.) This subject itself is just extra icing on the cake but don’t fall down the rabbit hole so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Bishop Barron on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

Explaining the Faith - The Eucharist In Scripture

Explaining the Faith - Eucharistic Miracles: Scientific Proof

The Veil Removed, what really happens during a Catholic Mass

I could give you so much more but this was just so wonderful to be able to teach you. Know that it’s ok to feel overwhelmed. The topic of what the Eucharist really is and why it is so important is so rich in history and traditions. I hope I was able to satisfy your curiosity. If you ever have any more questions about it, I highly recommend reading sections about it in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (revised edition) but more importantly, reach out to a Catholic priest or bishop by calling them, e-mailing, or even dropping by in person. I am not part of the clergy at all, so talking to a Catholic priest or bishop, you will be able to answer any more questions you have to the Eucharist and they will explain it so well. If you are interested in wanting to know more about the Catholic Faith, I strongly suggest asking about the RCIA, free classes offered by your nearest Catholic Church which will allow you to explore what the Catholic Faith is and answer any questions you have. No pressure though, but just know we are here for you. I am so happy you were chosen as well by God! I will pray that you have a wonderful, exciting journey! God bless and you have a wonderful day/night as well.

[lordviridis]

Ask for Ty/Caitlin: 5 things about them

Thank you for asking and patience in waiting for this answer. I clearly can't write short headcanons anymore xD the one under the read more is nsfw.

The biggest challenge to their relationship was when Ty ascended to the throne after Vowrawn’s death. The stress from being the Emperor put more stress on their relationship than they expected. It’s taken many mistakes, lot of patience and forgiveness to settle into their new roles as the Emperor and Empress, keeping their relationship together, and their kids happy. Ty’s learned to tell her when he’s stressed, and Caitlin’s learned to support him even before he asks for help.

For two Sith who have an army of slaves at their beck and call, the two love spending time in the kitchen. Ty loves to cook and Caitlin to bake/make desserts. The first time Ty cooked for her, bringing this amazing meal with a towel thrown over his shoulder, Caitlin was very much in love. They still cook together when they want to relax, on occasion making a three course dinner because they feel like it.

Caitlin never saw herself as very maternal and the example she’d gotten about raising kids from home wasn’t very warm either. Ty is very much the opposite, he loves playing with the kids and thinks it’s important they spend time with the kids. So slowly Caitlin gets into the habit as well, from taking the kids to swimming since they are babies to reading bedtime stories, and baking with them. She still doesn’t understand how Ty has the energy to play with them on the floor for hours, but she has to admit it is very cute.

The longest running argument between Caitlin and Ty has been about the wrats they have. Caitlin would prefer having none, but when Ty and Khazur, their oldest child, came to her with puppy eyes, she gave in. And then several years later it was again Ty and their twin girls with the puppy eyes for another wrat because Khazur didn’t want to share his wrat. Caitlin is not looking forward to rest of their kids growing up and wanting one of their own.

These days Ty and Caitlin have a very kinky sex life, even if it took years to get there. Caitlin used to be active in the Dromund Kaas BDSM scene before starting a relationship with Ty. She felt she could go back to vanilla sex for the right guy, and it did work for a long time. Then Ty realised she liked spanking, and they ran into someone from her former Dungeon. Turns out Ty was kinkier than he thought, but he had lot of catching up and learning to do to get to the level Caitlin was used to. She loves him all the more for being willing to come on this journey with her.

[nejibaby]

Paper Rings

Pairings: Neji x Y/N

Song reference/inspiration: Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

A/N: HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! I WROTE THIS ON A WHIM. AND NOW I AM GOING TO ASCEND BECAUSE OF THIS. Please let me know your thoughts~

The birds were chirping by the time you woke up. As you stretched your arms, a smile had found its way into your face.

Usually, you’d be so grumpy in the mornings because you truly weren’t a morning person, yet there are random days like today where you find yourself waking up with bursts of happiness.

Most days there were reasons why you were feeling such a way, like when you’d get a full eight hour sleep, when you’d have a great dream, when you know you’re going on a date with your boyfriend Neji, or when you’d get your payment for your missions. This time, however, you didn’t know the reason why you’re this happy first thing in the morning.

You quite literally woke up on the right side of the bed today, which has always been Neji’s side of the bed, but he was nowhere to be found. You would’ve preferred to have woken up in his arms like you normally did.

You raked your mind trying to remember Neji’s schedule for the day. It was his day off so he didn’t have to go on missions and he didn’t have to meet up with Team Guy. You wondered where he went at such an early hour but you didn’t put too much thought about his whereabouts.

He was probably called in for an emergency mission or maybe he had an unexpected meeting with the Hyuga clan. He was, after all, going to be the new head of the clan. After the Fourth Shinobi War, he was recognized by his clan for his contribution during the war and for representing the clan with dignity, honor, and strength — the traits that the Hyuga clan deemed necessary for the next leader to have.

Regardless of the reason why Neji wasn’t there by your side when you woke up, you knew you didn’t have to worry because you knew he’d be safe. He can handle himself and besides, it was a time of peace.

You didn’t have any plans for the day so you found yourself going out and about. You found it amazing how your good mood could drastically change your perspective. For example, on most days, you wouldn’t take your time looking around the village and the people in it, yet today you found yourself entranced with the village. The sun was shining bright yet somehow the village seemed to be brighter.

As you walked through the streets, you caught sight of a stall selling accessories. It was no secret that you were a fan of these things. Even the merchant knew you by name from the amount of times you bought from their stall.

More often than not, you’d buy earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and anklets from the merchant. You just generally like shiny things. But this time however, your eyes strayed towards a simple lavender hair clip. It reminded you of Neji’s eyes and you couldn’t help but reach out for it. Without even thinking twice, you bought it.

Neji wasn’t the type of boyfriend who would stop you from buying things you don’t need. He wasn’t controlling. However, he sure was blunt in telling you that you don’t need that much accessories. Who would need eight necklaces when you only have one neck anyway?

You almost giggled at the thought of him commenting on your recent purchase when you still have four unused gold hair clips at home. As a response, you could always tease him for buying a ton of books when he doesn’t have enough time to read them. Although you wouldn’t admit the fact that you’ve read all the books beside his bed.

The thought of Neji made you smile, making your day much, much better than how you felt waking up. Your good mood seemed to be infecting the others as well since there were a lot more people smiling at your direction.

At one point you came across Tenten too who beamed upon the sight of you. You had a whole conversation about how your day went and even got a compliment from her about your new hair clip. Was she chirpier than usual or was that just your imagination? Either way, her company was great.

“So have you seen Neji yet?” She asked.

“Ah, not yet. Do you happen to know where he is?”

It was a good thing you were both walking and you weren’t looking at her direction, rather, you were staring at a bird that flew by. Otherwise, you would’ve noticed the way her smile faltered for a second.

“Uh, I don’t t-think so.” There was a hint of nervousness in her answer.

Normally, you would’ve pried as to why she answered that way, but you were still happily watching the bird flying freely in the sky.

“Hmm? Oh, alright then. I’m sure I’ll find him somewhere,” you distractedly said.

“Ah, I’ll have to go! I forgot I have to meet with Lee today. Bye Y/N!” Tenten quickly said.

You finally tore your gaze from the bird and looked back at her to wave her goodbye. “Okay. Tell Lee I said hi,” you yelled with a smile while watching her figure walk away.

You continued your trek around the village, just contentedly watching the citizens do their own thing. It was after an hour and a half of Tenten leaving your side did you see Neji. He was looking rather anxious so you immediately went to his side.

For someone who had an amazing visual prowess such as the Byakugan, he still got startled when he saw you standing in front of him despite you being in plain sight. You wondered what was going on in his head. He must’ve been thinking hard about something for him not to notice you.

“Neji, baby, are you alright?” You worriedly asked.

“Ah, uh, yes.”

You weren’t satisfied with his answer so you pulled him to an alleyway, away from people’s prying eyes since you knew Neji was a private person. Whatever’s plaguing his mind was definitely something important for him to look that much anxious. Because if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t have trouble masking his emotion.

“Is there something troubling you?”

“Nothing.”

“Was this about your mission yesterday? Or were you assigned on another S-rank mission today? Are you worried about it?” You blurted out the questions one after the other.

He shook his head, “No it isn’t about a mission.”

“Is it about Naruto or Hinata? Or both?”

“No, not really.”

You frowned. “Well then, is it because of me? Did I do something wrong?”

His breath hitched at your question. Then he looked at you tenderly. His eyes found your newly purchased hair clip and his hand gently touched it. “This looks good on you,” he softly said.

“Yeah, it reminded me of you,” you automatically answered. Then you realized he didn’t truly answer your question. “So it’s me, right? I probably did something wrong. I’m sorry I’m not sure what I did but if I hurt your feelings in any way, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it,” you babbled on.

“No, you didn’t do anything. Don’t worry.”

“It’s the Hyuga clan, isn’t it?” You guessed again.

“No, the clan is doing fine. There isn’t any issue.”

If those weren’t the cause of his worries then there was only one more thing that would make him feel this distracted — thoughts about his father.

“Is it… is it about Hizashi?” You almost whispered.

A small smile had appeared on his face at the mention of his father’s name. “I do miss my father, but that’s not what I was worried about. Frankly, I’m not worried about anything at all.”

That was clearly a lie.

Neji used to have a habit of keeping things for himself back in the day but he changed. It seemed like today he reverted to his old ways.

However, you’ve already asked a ton of questions and you knew well enough when to stop prying. If Neji was ready, he would tell you at his own pace.

“Okay… You must’ve had a long day,” you said. Instinctively, you gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Neji certainly wasn’t expecting that. He blinked a few times before regaining his bearings. A blush crept into his cheeks. “What was that for?”

“Nothing,” you cheekily said.

Then another peck on his lips.

This time a genuine smile was etched on his face.

“It’s going to be alright,” you told him with a sweet smile.

“Thank you,” he looked at you lovingly.

“No problem, baby,” you chirped.

And then after a minute of looking into each other’s eyes, he paled, as if he was hit by a sudden realization. You only looked at him curiously after he reacted that way. He cleared his throat, “I remembered I had something to do with Lee.”

You furrowed your brows and tilted your head. Neji almost swooned at how cute you looked. Then you asked, “What are you guys up to?”

Neji could feel a sweat forming at your interrogation. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, I caught up with Tenten a little while ago and then all of a sudden she dashed out saying she was supposed to meet with Lee,” you told him. “So what are you guys going to do?”

“We, uh… Lee… is, uhm…”

“You know what, you don’t have to tell me,” you cut him off. You knew well enough that Lee could talk Neji into doing ridiculous things. Tenten would be a little more apprehensive but if Neji would do it, she would give in eventually. And you knew Neji preferred not talking about whatever Lee had him do.

You could hear the sigh of relief Neji released when you answered that way. Without saying anything more, he quickly made his way to meet his friend.

You chuckled at your boyfriend. He looked absolutely endearing whenever he was flustered. You shook your head and got out of the alleyway, deciding that it was time for a quick snack.

You made your way to the bakery to buy your favorite cinnamon roll. It wasn’t surprising that you found Hinata there as well. Your friendship with Hinata was furthered by your common love for cinnamon rolls after all.

You chatted with her for the entirety of your time eating the delicacy. She always reminded you of Neji despite them having different personalities, so you were quite comfortable in her company. You continued your conversation with her even after you both finished eating. Even as you both left the bakery, you couldn’t be separated. It’s been a while since you last saw her and you had so many stories that you wanted to tell and hear from her as well.

Hinata seemed to be talking a lot more this time and she looked so excited as well. Why? She didn’t say, it felt weird to ask. Maybe she woke up in a good mood just like you? In any case, you were happy that she was happy.

The subject of your conversation shifted to the wedding preparations for her and Naruto’s wedding. You offered to help in any way you can but she told you everything was coming along just fine. Then she made a comment that if you needed help in some things, she’d be there to help too. It sounded like she was talking about something and you wondered what she meant but thanked her anyway despite not knowing what she was possibly implying.

You were rambling about your most recent mission at the Hidden Cloud Village where you bumped into the Eight-tails jinchuriki, Killer B. You were telling her about this rap he did. You were too deep in your story that you didn’t notice she was leading you to the riverside.

Hinata waited for you to finish your story, giggling in the right parts. As your story came to an end, she said, “I’m glad you had fun with your mission. I hope you had fun spending your time with me too,” she smiled, “but I’ll have to go now. I still have to talk to Iruka sensei about something.”

“Of course, I had fun with you! It’s been awhile since we last hung out together. Sorry if I took up too much of your time though. You should’ve told me earlier you had other plans.”

She giggled and told you it was fine. Then she walked backwards, waving goodbye.

When she was out of sight, it was only then that you noticed that the sun was setting and that you were right on time to witness it.

A few minutes later, you heard someone behind you clearing their throat. When you turned around, you saw Neji.

Instantly, you beamed and went to hug him. “Neji baby!” You greeted, voice muffled because you’ve buried your face into his chest.

Neji shook his head at your antics but with a smile on.

You pulled away and asked, “So how was your day with Lee?”

“Tiring. How was yours?”

“It was nice. But it became better now that I’m with you.”

A blush had formed on his cheeks at your statement. He avoided eye contact too. Then he suddenly grabbed your hand and led you away.

“Where are we going?”

He didn’t respond. You just went along. But it only took a few steps before he came to a stop. You peeked over his shoulder to see where he led you. It was your time to blush.

In front of you, just further down the riverside where Hinata left you, was a picnic mat that had been set up with a basket containing fruits. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunset.

“Was this what you’ve been up to?”

Neji nodded.

Your heart swelled. It wasn’t everyday that Neji did grand gestures like this.

“Oh, Neji!” You hugged him tightly. “You’re so sweet! Was this also what you were worried about?”

“Ye— I mean, I told you I wasn’t worried about anything.”

“I’m sure you weren’t,” you teased. “This is nice, come on let’s watch the sunset together!” You said as you tugged his hand and sat on the mat.

You both sat on the mat side by side, silently watching the sun and the soft golden glow it casted on the sky. Unbeknownst to you, Neji’s eyes were only on you.

All of a sudden, Neji spoke up, “I love you.”

You tore your eyes away from the sunset and focused on Neji. In this lighting, he looked mesmerizing. “I love you too, Neji.”

But once again, Neji looked unsettled. “But I have so many flaws and I’ve done so many wrong things when I was younger…”

“I still love you just the same, regardless. Besides, everyone makes mistakes and if it weren’t for those, we wouldn’t be who we are now. We probably wouldn’t be here together too.”

“...and my clan is just... They aren’t that great too…”

“It’s fine, Neji, that’s fine.”

He was going to say something more but the words got stuck on his throat when you said, “I love you. In your entirety. Even with your flaws, complications, and problems too.”

He then went to grab something in the basket. You curiously watched as he searched for something. Then when he retracted his arm, a small box was enclosed in his palm. As if on cue, you noticed fireflies flying around, making the moment look more magical.

When he opened the box, you gasped. Tears had started forming in your eyes.

“I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

In that moment, somehow the rest of your time together as a couple flashed before your eyes. You remembered the bickering between the two of you. You remembered how you got together. You remembered the days you spent training with each other. You remembered him moving into your place. You remembered the fights between the two of you and how you made up. You remembered how you almost lost each other during the war.

Neji panicked at your silence. You were close to tears and he didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

The first thing that came out of your mouth after the silence was, “I love you, Neji.”

And then you stopped talking again.

“It’s the ring, isn’t it? I know it’s simple, I should’ve just got the other one,” he nervously rambled.

“The ring is perfect,” you cut him off.

“But—”

“I like shiny things but I’d marry you with paper rings.”

Neji looked shocked. “Really?”

“That’s right. Darling, you’re the one I want.”

“So…?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Neji.”

[hello-nichya-here]

Why Ozula Makes Sense & Why It Should Be Canonized

Note: Massive Trigger Warning

Note: Yes, I already know's Nichya's opinion on Ozula. But I want to see her specific thoughts in regards to my post.

In a fan base filled with split opinions, two of the few universally held truths are that Ozai is a horrible parent and that Azula has a lot of issues. But there is a lack of consensus on whether Ozai even abused Azula and even more of a lack of consensus on the nature of his abuse if he did abuse her.

  And for the record, I personally believe that at bare minimum Ozai did emotionally abuse Azula (“Trust is for fools, fear is the only reliable way” did not come out of nowhere). Not to mention turning Azula into a child soldier is obviously abuse.

  But is what we see, or what is heavily implied, enough to explain everything about the Ozai-Azula relationship? 

  In other words, does the abuse we see, or is heavily implied, enough to explain why Azula was utterly loyal to Ozai to the point she would gleefully risk her life for him while he sat in a bunk, despite Azula being utterly pragmatic in the other aspects of her life? 

  Does it truly explain why Azula utterly broke after he left to burn the Earth Kingdom despite being made Fire Lord and becoming the presumptive heir to the Phoenix throne?

  Moreover, where did Azula learn to flirt and/or why does she come off as sexually charged with nearly everyone she encounters (ex. Ty Lee, Sokka, Zuko) when it is canon that she has no life experience outside of being a soldier or a princess in court?

  Other people have come up with headcanons and theories involving, among other things, historical context and meta-textual evidence to explain the questions that I brought up, but what if there was a more sinister answer to all of them?

  What if Ozula was a thing?

  Yes, I know, there is very little evidence or subtext to support this but I think that if it did occur in canon, it would not only explain a lot about Azula’s character and/or issues, but also shed some much needed light on the Ozai-Azula relationship and even Ozai himself. Especially since, despite all the extended universe material we have gotten in the decade plus since ATLA the show ended, we still don’t know that much about their relationship, or Ozai himself.

  So, what is my personal take on how a canon version of Ozula? 

  I think that Ozai sexually abused Azula in part to replace Ursa once he “had” to banish Ursa and also in part to prepare her to produce super powerful heirs like herself in addition to using as a tool to keep her under his thumb by making her more attached to him than before he started coming on to her.

  In regards to the first reason, Azula is a dead ringer for Ursa and most people would agree Ursa is one of the attractive women in the ATLA-verse. Thus, considering Ozai’s canonical entitlement issues, it must have been hard to no longer rape have sex with Ursa...that is unless he copulates with Ursa’s mini-me. 

  This ties into the second reason, which is the desire to produce more superpowered heirs. 

  Thanks to The Search, we know that Ozai married Ursa in order to fulfill a prophecy that said would have produced exceptionally powerful benders. And that prophecy was mostly proven right since Azula is the GOAT Firebender as of current canon and Zuko has surpassed, or is close to surpassing, his father while still in his late teens or very early twenties.   

  For most people, being the father to such prodigies would make them content in life, proud that they could call themselves father to such talented people. 

  But Ozai isn’t like most people for, as Ursa aptly put it, Ozai is a small man trying to appear bigger than he is, which is obviously proven by Ozai’s ambitions and desires over the years.

  It was not enough that he was a prince of the most powerful nation in the world, so he must become Fire Lord at all costs. And once he achieves that by ripping his family apart and traumatizing the remaining members was enough that he was Firelord? 

  No! He must become the Phoenix King and build his new empire on the ashes of The Earth Kingdom despite already having it under his rule. 

  And it was not enough that he had a cult of personality, for Ozai commissioned larger than life statues with his package being accentuated to the point of absurdity. 

  So is it crazy to believe that he believes that not only is he entitled to the most beautiful woman he knows of (and if he can’t have her then he’ll have the closest thing to her even if it is his own daughter) but the most powerful heirs he could possibly have? Especially considering Ozai is a narcissist who made Azula his golden child because of his daddy issues caused by being the unfavored son of Azulon. 

  In other words, would it have been out of character for Ozai to fuck "himself" aka the person he thinks he would have been if Azulon recognized his “superiority” over Iroh? Especially when he can make more prodigies like himself Azula?

  And in regards to the third reason, did you see how needy Azula was in regards to Ozai when they had their short little talk before Ozai crowned him as the Phoenix King?

  I think Ozai, more than anyone, realized that Azula would soon quickly surpass everyone who was not a fully realized Avatar and wanted to ensure that Azula wouldn’t do the pragmatic thing and off him once she realized that she didn’t need daddy anymore. Especially after he offered his own father and betrayed his brother to take the throne. 

  For if he was paranoid enough to banish Ursa for her ability to make that OP poison, what makes you think he never had similar paranoid thoughts about either of his children? Especially Azula considering how strongly she takes after him and how he has been molding her in his image and ideologies ever since it was apparent she was a prodigy?

  So by sleeping with her, and therefore bonding with her, he would ensure that Azula would have no motive to ever overthrow him. 

  And how would this work in practice? 

  The same way he praised her for her firebending and ruthlessness. He would likely tell that he needed her; that she was a much better (pseudo) Fire Lady than Ursa could ever be (the old nick site said Azula was renowned in court and it is plausible that she did the duties that Ursa would have done as Fire Lady); that it was one more thing that Zuko could never do better than Azula and more proof that she deserved to be his perfect tool by his side; etc.

  And for the most part I think that Azula “responded” really well to Ozai’s false praise by further latching on to him, convinced more than ever that Ozai does love her and would never leave her. Especially since Ursa is gone, Iroh and Zuko are both gone at this point due to Zuko’s banishment, and Mai and Ty Lee are also already gone, or going to leave soon, leaving Azula with only Ozai as the only family and/or friend who hasn’t “abandoned” her.

  Ok, so I know what you guys are going to ask next; “cool theory but how does it explain anything other than your sick fetish?”

  Well, I think canon Ozula would explain a lot of things about Azula’s and Ozai’s behavior that really isn’t explained by canon or is, currently, only lightly implied. 

  For example, why did Ozai never remarry or produce more heirs in the five years he ruled despite putting his real heir, Azula, in constant mortal danger and spending most of that time either disowning Zuko or hunting him down as a traitor? Especially considering that he was only able to ascend since his brother was a dumbass and only had one kid himself? Not to mention the fact that Ozai is likely has a very high sex drive (have you seen his body?) yet we never see any concubines in the palace.

  Well because he wanted to produce heirs with Azula and so waited until she was of age to marry her and then have his new heirs.  

  Why did Azula collapsed after being told to say behind despite getting the title she always desired, Ozai having a logical reason to leave her behind (people would try to invade the Fire Nation..which is what happened with Zuko and Katara), and Azula eventually getting to inherit the Phoenix Empire? 

  Well, Ozai leaving her behind shows that Ozai thinks all Azula is worth after her numerous failures is producing heirs, making Azula realize that his bedroom talk was all lies and that he never loved her, only saw her as a tool. Moreover, all his words about her being a better Fire Lady than Ursa are lies since they both ended up in the same spot in life; only existing as Ozai’s (unwilling) broodmares. 

  Why does Azula hate and hallucinate Ursa despite Ursa being by all accounts a loving mother? And why does Azula avoid and hate reflective surfaces? 

  Well, because Azula’s subconscious wishes that Ursa was there to protect her from the abuse and also subconsciously reckoning with the long buried knowledge that part of the reason why Ozai came onto her is because she looks like a clone of her very beautiful mother. 

  Moreover, it would explain why Azula thinks Ursa thought of Azula as a monster when Ursa never said anything like that or gave any indications of seeing Azula like that. 

  For Azula would likely think, subconsciously, why would my mother leave me with a monster unless I am a monster?

  It would also explain, partially, why Azula goes from someone who is a bully, but loves & plays with her bro at 8, to someone who smiles when Zuko is burned at 13. 

  This is because Azula would think that all Zuko has to do to be in Ozai’s good graces is be a good firebender, a ruthless leader, and follow Ozai commands perfectly & without any hesitation. 

  Yet Zuko can’t even do any of that while she, in addition to previous requirements, has to give her mind, body, and soul to Ozai.

  It would also explain why Azula is so frantically loyal to Ozai (and even loves him) even when it is obvious to everyone that Ozai only cares for himself (he literally groomed her); why someone could be so fucked up and go insane at the age of 14 (victims of child sex abuse end up suffering from mental illness thanks to their trauma; and also explain why Azula has such sexual mannerisms (ex. her interaction with Sokka on DoBs) and voice acting while also being the only main female character to constantly wear makeup that is quite similar to her mother’s (she is trying to appear much older than she is while also trying to “replace” her mother for her father’s sake and maybe even for her own sake as well).

  Finally, it would contextualize that infamous bedroom scene, or more generally the subtle incest vibe between her and Zuko, by explaining her behavior towards him as attempt to unnerve him and/or an attempt to pass on her abuse to another person (which is very common).

  So the next thing you guys are likely going to say,” Ok then. Maybe Ozula might explain a lot of things but how would you explain the fact that Azula has never shown any indication that her father touched her like that? Moreover, what would be the benefit of introducing such a dark topic into the franchise.”

  Well to the first question, Azula would never bring it up because of some combo of: it is shameful as hell, she doesn't think it is wrong because it is all she knows, she still loves Ozai deep down, and/or thinks it her fault just like it was Zuko's fault for getting burned by Ozai and banished for talking out in the war council and/or not fighting back at the Agni Kai.

  And as to the second question, well there would be a lot of benefits. 

  For example, imagine the lore/story potential we could get out of a canon Ozula, as outlined in the headcanon down below?

One of the reasons why the places like Yu Duo became quickly filled with mixed families was due to a mix of sex slaves and families selling their daughters to their wealthy colonziers. 

  Also the Fire Nation had an extensive sex trackiffing network to service wealthy nobles and the Firelord; Ozai was in charge of this network and was able to blackmail people like Mai's father into supporting him in court and eventually his regime, especially in the early days when it looked like Iroh might challenge Ozai. 

  The reason why Zhao kept getting promotions despite his incompetence was because he was the best at capturing girls/women to keep the supply running high and Ozai had to keep him happy or else Zhao would spill the beans. 

  The reason why Ukano supported the NOS despite Zuko offering him a job and most likely becoming his father-in-law is because he was part of the network and it was a matter of time before Zuko found out and exposed him. 

  Azula helped procure women for Ozai during the 3 years Zuko/Iroh were away and this is part of the reason why Ty Lee and Mai distanced themselves from her (they thought they were next even though Azula would never do that to them) & why they followed her despite loathing her until someone they cared about was going to die (they thought Azula would punish them by making them into sex slaves though Azula “cares” about them too much to ever do that to them). 

  Azula was also abused by Ozai in those 3 years as raping women and girls weren't enough for him anymore and needed a new kink, incest, especially since Azula looks like her mom, who is one of the most attractive women in ATLA and Ursa was long gone.

And even disregarding the lore potential, there is the potential (positive) real world impact a seriously written Ozula could have.

  For it one of the best things about the Avatar franchise is its ability to deal with complex & sensitive topics such as child & spousal abuse (The Fire Nation Royal Family; Yakone’s family; Toph’s family), abusive/toxic friendships (The Dangerous Ladies), sexism (S1 Sokka & Pakku), PTSD (Korra), genocide (Airbender genocide & Southern Water Bender Genocide), propaganda/brainwashing (The Fire Nation schools & the Dai Li), and imperialism (Post-Sozin to the start of FL Zuko’s reign Fire Nation) with the respect they deserve while making it palpable to kids. 

  And considering the post-MeToo world we live in, what better dark and taboo topic to tackle than sexual abuse?

  Especially considering that most people aren’t really aware that most victims of sexual abuse where abused by someone close to them, that most people don’t seem to recognize when such grooming occurs or that it is a bad thing until it is too late (ex. Drake Bell, Kyle Massey, Drake (The Rapper), R. Kelly, etc.), and most victims don’t react to their abuse the way most people think they should (ex. Fight back or tell others). 

  Thus, couldn’t Ozula be used to educate people on the signs of such grooming and/or abuse and how to properly help such victims?

  I also think that seeing Azula overcome the effects of a canon Ozula could also provide healing for someone who played a pivotal role in bringing Azula to life: Grey DeLise.

  It was a shock for me to find out, but Grey DeLise has repeatedly said that she got abused by people her mother let into their home and that her mother did nothing despite obviously knowing what was going on. 

  Considering that DeLise heavily projects onto Azula (including Azula’s relationship with Ursa), has a history of sexualizing Azula (she explicitly said she voiced the bedroom scene with Zucest in mind), and went to really dark place to record Azula’s breakdown, is it crazy to say that DeLise had Ozula as her one of personal headcanons and that it affected her Azula performance?

  That is why, in combination with everything else I have said, I think Ozula has the potential to have a real impact how sexual abuse victims are treated and viewed.

  Imagine Ozai plotting to remove Ursa, Azulon, Iroh, and Zuko from the palace so he could "play" with Azula unimpeded after almost being caught several different times while also taking things to the next “level”? 

  Imagine the goading of Azulon/Ursa's banishment and Zuko's burning/banishment all part of this plot?

  Imagine Azula making inappropriate jokes about fathers breaking in their daughters to Mai & Ty Lee, causing them to be unnerved while Azula wonders what was wrong with her apt description of father-daughter relationships?

  Imagine Ozai spending the next three years molding Azula to not only be his perfect pet weapon but also his future consort once she is of age.?

  Imagine his anger when Azula comes home with her childhood friends and Zuko, cutting down on their alone time?

  Imagine his horror when he finds out that Azula non-ironically enjoys her time with them more than him despite the fact Ozai had groomed her from a young age to only love him? 

  Imagine his happiness when Zuko leaves and Mai and Ty Lee are later jailed, allowing him unlimited time with Azula again, despite the hardships Azula’s lapses in judgment regarding her friends & brother. Not to mention Ozai thinking that he once again gets to be the sole attention of Azula's affections? 

  Imagine Ozai finding out Azula non-ironically misses her brother and friends and so he leaves her behind during Sozin's Comet as punishment for her conflicted emotions & past failures?

  Imagine Ozai defeated coming home to see Azula chained, physically and mentally broken, screaming for her bitch of a mother. Only then realizing, for a fleeting moment, the damage he did to his daughter, only to go back to feeling rage at her humiliating loss & even more humiliating loss of sanity?

  Imagine Ozai patiently waiting to be reunited with his pet heir and once they meet in his jail cell, convincing Azula that they can be together again if Azula can get a hold of that accursed letter and kill Ursa, the only person who could possibly refute it?

  Imagine Ozai hearing that Azula failed in her mission due to being unable to kill her mother despite having Ursa literally in her hands, marking the first time Azula ever disobeyed him? Moreover, imagine his rage once he hears how she disowned him and basically dismantled from within an organization trying to reinstate him on the throne?

  Imagine Ozai confronting Ursa, Iroh, and Zuko once they find out about his abuse of Azula, thinking he has once again found a way to manipulate them? Only to find out that they are through with him for good and that they will help Azula heal from his abuse.

  Imagine Azula finally going through a healing arc, where with the help of well-trained healers and her mother (who she bonds with over both being victims of Ozai), she learns that what Ozai did to her was wrong, how healthy relationships actually work, & how her abuse never justified her abuse of others?

  Imagine Azula then undergoing an atonement arc, where, among other things, she becomes a leading advocate for mental health issues and sexual abuse victims, eventually working with Zuko & Aang to to create shelters & a proto-CPS in addition to radically changing the Fire Nations views on sex & consent?

  Imagine Azula eventually finding a loving partner and engaging in a mutually loving relationship, eventually having her own child who she raises in the exact opposite fashion that Ozai raised her while also being a loving aunt to Izumi?

  Imagine Ozai thinking that Azula will one day return to him, thinking that he has irreversibly molded her to need him the same way a baby needs its pacifier. Only for him to die never being visited by Azula again, who has long stopped caring for Ozai and hasn’t spared him a thought for a long time & will never do so again?

  Therefore, in sum, Ozula has the potential to do to victims of sexual abuse what the depiction of the Ozai-Zuko relationship, and Zuko eventually realizing his father is abusive & disowning, did for victims of abuse while also maybe giving DeLise some form of catharsis.

Thus, in the long list of bad things Ozai did (abuse his wife/son/daughter, kill his father/ruler, illegally urusp his bro, attempt a genocide of a continent, attempt to kill a 12 year old, turn Azula into a child solider/general, etc.) is molesting Azula the worst thing he could have done? 

  Or I am crazy with a need to go to a therapist for my many unresolved issues?

More Notes:

https://youtu.be/UjLzX1xPW1U?t=316

Grey: they're like 'why are you sexualizing everything?" because i do that in my whole life, my whole life is sexualized Olivia: same. that’s why Grey and I get along Grey: we've... got... abusive childhoods Olivia: uhhh Grey: uh... well I do Olivia: I don't, I just like sex! Grey: depending on who i'm doing it with... then yeah. Olivia: visibly uncomfortable Grey: I've not liked it a lot as much as I've liked it. Olivia: 0_0 Brad is like what... the hell.. is happening

Grey also talks about her abuse in an interview with Mental Illness Happy Hour where she details how her mother abandoned her to people she knew were raping her. And Grey has repeated her story in multiple interviews over the years.

----

Looooong-ass post ahead! You're not crazy, and there is subtext for Ozula... just like there is for Maizula, something I actually like but that I personally believe didn't happen - and if anyone reading this has not yet seen my first answer to why I don't think Ozai sexually abused Azula, I recommend you do so: https://hello-nichya-here.tumblr.com/post/650918965929000960/trigger-warning-i-know-you-talk-a-lot-about-how

While I see the merit of any good story, and I have read good stories that interpret Ozai and Azula's relationship as having involved sexual assault at some point, it is far more likely that in the actual canon (be it just in the show or also taking into account the comics) that simply neved happened, and I'll explain why.

About Ozai never remarrying

It would be very strange for Ozai to never try to have more heirs, and constantly endanger the ones he does have... until we remember that the only noble family in Avatar that has more than two kids is Ty Lee's, and that there are people like Kyoshi who literally over two centuries old when she died. Avatar is a very mature kid's show, but it is still a kid's show, with characters who control the elements and don't get a single scratch on them in situations that would severely injure or kill a normal human being, and the writers likely didn't want to add more characters to an already complicated, political plot like the Fire Nation Royal Family - which is why Iroh never remarried, Azulon's wife was already dead, there were no Lu Ten flashbacks, etc. If they went to such lengths to avoid creating too many characters, it makes sense that Zuko and Azula have no step-mother and no half-siblings in the show. Furthermore, the show clearly wanted to push Azula and Zuko's rivalry - adding another sibling would force their attention (and ours) to shift to said sibling, which is why Kiyi only was created in the comics that were focusing on the royal family, after Zuko became Fire Lord, and even then she is Ursa's daughter but not Ozai's, meaning Azula is still the only real "rival" Zuko has.

Ozai's supposed obsession with Ursa

Despite the radical change in the story of their marriage, I'd say that Ozai was NOT obsessed with Ursa, be it in the show where she consented to marry him, or in the comics where she kidnapped and raped. Princes were expected to marry and have heirs, and the war meant they'd need to have powerful heirs. He married Ursa (against her will or otherwise depending on the version of the story), had two kids with her (the standard in their universe), and encouraged said kids to be ruthless, punishing them when didn't meet his expectations (the Agni Kai and Zuko's banishment were cruel, but they were the type of behavior the Fire Nation rewarded). We need to remember that Ozai's only real problem with the hierarchy and expectations of his nation was when he had to see his brother be Fire Lord instead of him, because Ozai's only real obsession was the crown.

Yet he didn't kill his father until Ursa came up with a plan to do it so she could save Zuko, didn't kill Iroh, smiled in disdain when Zuko said he would help the Avatar defeat him, and constantly endangered Zuko and Azula despite having no other heirs. That behavior might seem strange, until you realize Ozai did truly respect the autority of Fire Lord at one point, but after he managed to steal the crown, he felt like he won absolutely everything - and to prove that he became the Phoenix King, showing he was above even that. He didn't need Ursa, Azula, or any other woman to give strong heirs, because Azula was already filling that role. There is no evidence he was obsessed with Ursa because he only married her because it was the norm (same logic applies to the possible sexual abuse she suffered - she was supposed to give her husband heirs, so Ozai forcing himself on her could easily just be him doing what was expected of him), and then once she was no longer needed and he would actually be in a more favorable position if she disappeared he CHOSE to banish her - the law said he had to punish her for killing Azulon, but the law also said he shouldn't have let her kill his father in the first place. And in the comics he threated to kill both their kids if she came back. If he was obsessed with her, he would have used their kid's lives to force her to stay and never say a word about what happened to his father. But didn't do that, because he didn't want Ursa around.

Could he be obsessed with Azula herself instead of thinking of her as a replacement for Ursa?

I personally don't think so, mostly because of his actions towards both his kids and because of the intentions the writers had. During The Beach, Ozai sends Azula away for a little while with Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee. On the meeting before the eclipse, he had Zuko at his right hand. On their last scene together, Ozai looks annoyed that Azula is around, stabs her in the back, lies to her face, and then leaves her. Finally, when he is last seen on screen, he doesn't ask Zuko what happened to her, if she is in prison, if she lost her bending too, if she is dead... nothing.

Ozai's behavior towards Azula is much more similar to his treatment of Zuko than most people realize. He shuts them both down when try to be anything other useful weapons - be it when they are showing "weakness", failing on their missions, trying to betray him, or trying to be equals to him. His reaction to Zuko's "All I ever wanted was for you to love me" was basically the same he had to Azula's "I thought we were going to do this together/This was my idea/I deserve to be by your side/You can't treat me like Zuko". He instantly told them both to shut the fuck up. He has no affection for them - for Azula - be it a normal one or a twisted one. They might as well not exist when they're not winning him battles.

On top of all that, comics!Ozai full on said he'd kill Zuko and Azula if Ursa didn't stay away, and considering how little regard he showed to anyone and how easy it would be for him to find a new wife if he had to, it is very clear he meant it. And a plot-line that was originally going to happen in book 3 but was cut (likely due to there not being enough time to explore it) had Ozai planning an arranged marriage for Azula - if he wanted her for himself, why was he more than ready to give her away to some rando the second she was old enough to marry?

Intention of the writers VS Intention of the actors

Assuming Grey did want there to have, at the very least, subtext for Ozula, we still run into a different problem: her intention goes against what is presented in canon. With something like Zucest or Tyzula, it is easier to make it work despite the pairings not being canon - they are meant to be complicated, unhealthy dynamics in which the characters involved have both negative and positive feelings for each other. So you could say Zuko and Azula were attracted to each other AND were still rivals. You could say Azula was in love with Ty Lee, and the feeling was mutual, but Ty Lee still chose to save Mai at the boiling rock regardless because it was the right thing to do for her friend.

With Ozula, however, it'd lead to a Zutara-esque situation (again, assuming Grey really did want that subtext to exist, since she didn't specify if that was what she meant when she said she went into a dark place while acting Azula's scenes in the finale). Dante Basco, aka Zuko, is the capitain of the Zutara ship, so any scene between Zuko and Katara gets at least a bit of subtext (and Zutara actually had full on ship-bait moments)... but the show also made it clear that the characters were NOT interested in each other like that, and they both ended up with different people. That means Zutara has some base for it, but it is still NOT CANON. Ozula is on even less solid ground since the overwhelming majority of the text activelly goes against it - again, Ozai seemed uniterested in both his wife and his daugheter, and activelly tried to distance himself from them.

How Azula flirts VS how she acts around Ozai

If we assume all of Azula's behaviors towards people like Zuko and Sokka was indeed intentional, we need to ask ourselves: was it really flirting or an attempt to unnerve them?

With that assumption in mind, I mostly see her actions towards Sokka as having been based on a display of power instead of flirting, but I can understand if people disagree. I fully believe she was attracted to Zuko and wanted both to intimidate him and flirt with him, and even discussed it at length on the link bellow (and offered another possible explanation of why she might not have been interested in Sokka after all) https://hello-nichya-here.tumblr.com/post/654197363889635328/zucest-is-it-really-flirting

When we take that behavior into account, regardless of motivation, and then compare it to her actually trying to flirt with Chan, we see that Azula has different styles of flirting, both of which are based on warpped perceptions of how normal interactions work - one having a predator/prey vibe with open ridicule, and the other with awkward/false flattery that is accidentally insulting and/or scary.

However, if we look at how she acts with Ozai, we see that she acts like a completely different person. She is very respectful and very distant - sort of how servants and guards act around her. That shows that despite her love for her father being actual canon (unlike any attraction she possibly felt for any character) their relationship is VERY formal. Azula doesn't take any liberties with her father, making it very unlikely that she learned her more "inapropriate" behaviors from him.

Azula's trauma

Azula was neglected by her mother and turned into a child soldier by her father. In Zuko Alone, we see Ursa spending a lot of time with Zuko but not with Azula, harshly reprimanding her without trying to understand her motives (like when she asked Zuko why he hurt the turtle-ducks), and even asking "What is wrong with that child?". Add in the over the top neglect she faced in the comics, the obvious guilt Azula was starting to feel for her actions in book 3, as well as the fact that a parent suddenly leaving like Ursa did can severely affect their child's mental health (which was likely to have been fragile in the first place considering Azula's more distressing behavior as a kid, as well as the psychological torment and hallucinations she dealt with in the finale) it makes perfect sense for Azula to believe her mother saw her as monster. Her claim that their mother liked Zuko more and her reaction to Mai's "I love Zuko more than I fear you" shows that her problems with her mother come believing she was not loved while her brother was - could she have also wanted Ursa to be there to protect her from sexual abuse? Sure. She could have simply wanted her mother to procted her from literally anything, or just be by her side and be proud of her.

This trauma also explains her freaking out as Ozai left her in the finale. She had recently lost Zuko, Ty Lee and Mai - the later of the three having accidentally touched an old, open wound of hers. Ozai was all she had left, and he turned his back on her after all she did for him. That was the last straw, and finally broke. You can add sexual assault or literally any kind of abuse to the story to explore a new theme/possibility, but it not existing in canon is not a plot-hole because the story works perfectly without it.

Imagine...

"Imagine Ozai killed Azulon and banished Ursa and Zuko so he could have Azula to himself, abused her, and then was mad when she brought Zuko home, with Mai and Ty Lee coming along"

I can imagine it. What I cannot is remember it. It can be a good, important, cathartic story, but is not the story we saw in the show. In the show we saw Ursa planning Azulon's death, not Ozai. We saw how his abuse was 99% purely psychological. We saw Ozai banish Zuko years after he supposedly got rid of the other two impediments of his abuse to Azula. We saw him not giving a damn about Mai and Ty Lee being around, welcoming Zuko home and rewarding him for "killing the Avatar", and then making Azula leave with them. And above all, we saw him shut Azula down the second she tried to have any kind of relationship with him that involved being anything more than a killing-machine.

Ozula can be an interesting plot, but said plot exists solely in theory and fanfics, not in the actual canon.

[reverielix]

Excuse me Sir, Sorry to bother you. But frankly I'm new to this astrology topic but it's very fascinating to say the least.

Friend asked me to do a natal chart? No clue. Have no clue. Saw the previous post, was wondering if you help a stranger out here ? Lol.

Hi haha!

I’m a Miss but OFC I CAN TELL YOU MORE ABOUT IT! (Can you tell I’m excited? Lol) I’ll be seizing this opportunity to make an...

Astrology basics masterpost

Okay first off, the natal chart is a “snap shot” of the sky when you were born with the earth in the middle. There are 4 compounds that birth charts are made of:

1. The signs

You’ve definitely already heard of zodiac signs. In astrology, the sky is divided into 12 equal parts, each reserved for a sign starting at Aries and ending at Pisces. It goes like this: Aries ♈️, Taurus ♉️, Gemini ♊️, Cancer ♋️, Leo ♌️, Virgo ♍️, Libra ♎️, Scorpio ♏️, Sagittarius ♐️, Capricorn ♑️, Aquarius ♒️, Pisces ♓️

Basically, each sign is associated with certain character traits (which range many more than I or any singular source could encompass in short, I left a few links for gathering information in the end of this post). But it always depends on how evolved the person is. Aquarians CAN be detached if not evolved, but also have many more qualities such as their modality and element (which imply traits such as their innovative nature, intellect, hunger for knowledge, empathy, sociability,...)

So basically there are 4 elements (fire, earth, air and water) in astrology and 3 modalities (cardinal, fixed, mutable) which all carry certain meanings to them. Those elements and modalities are evenly distributed within the zodiac and move along the signs in the order I wrote them up above. So we start with cardinal fire (Aries), then we follow up with fixed earth (Taurus), after that we’ve got mutable air (Gemini), then again a cardinal sign but this time belonging to the water signs (Cancer), and so on. Additionally, all earth and water signs are of negative polarity while fire and air are of positive polarity.

The signs are the outermost circle you see when looking at your birth/natal chart. (On the left, where the arrow points, for instance, was Virgo ♍️ when & where you were born) They represent the way that you express a certain core part (3rd point) of yourself.

2. The houses

The numbers you see around the innermost circle with the lines in it are the houses. Each house is ruled by a sign in modern astrology: Aries is the first sign, so it rules the first house,...). This means that each house is afflicted with one sign and its qualities and traits.

Each house represents an area of life: The 4th house—ruled by Cancer—represents the home, comfort zone, where we crave for stability and emotional support as well as a lot more.

The angular houses ruled by cardinal signs, so: the 1st house (ascendant/rising), the 4th house (ic/ Imum Coeli), the 7th house (descendant), the 10th house (mc/midheaven) show in the picture you sent me with arrows and have a special significance in the chart + also have aspects (4th point) to them shown.

The first 6 houses are afflicted most with yourself and the last 6 houses have to do with your social/public self (e.g.: 2nd house has to do with resources and the 8th with shares resources). This can also be applied to each sign ruling the house.

3. The celestial bodies

When somebody asks what your zodiac sign is, you would answer with Capricorn, when in actuality, it’s just your sun sign (so one of many zodiac signs in your chart).

Each celestial body represents a core part of the human psyche/personality and also rules a/two sign(s) and with that a/two house(s). Another terminology for rulership can be domicile (e.g.: Saturn is in domicile in Capricorn).

Every planet is afflicted with the signs (and houses) in the form of essential dignity (whether in terms of exaltation/fall or detriment/domicile)

The sun rules Leo and the 5th house. These connections are made as to better understand each house/sign/planet and clarify/stress the connections between these three “compounds”. So, ruling Leo and the 5th house, the sun represents how we express ourselves and how we perform along with our egos, overall sense of identity and self-awareness among other things.

Before you say that you (know people who) don’t relate to their zodiac sign or don’t seem to present yourself/themselves like that at all: a placement (celestial body in a sign in a house) always depends on the aspects and also the house that nobody talks about. You’re not only a Capricorn, but a Capricorn sun in the 4th house conjunct Mercury,... (+ other aspects). Your sun in the 12th/7th/8th houses (houses, among others, afflicted with the subconscious) can mean that your way to express yourself is more in the background or not quite figured out yet. (With Leo in the 12th house that may also apply to you:) In the case of the 12th house, you may want to express yourself, but don’t exactly know how to...

Also, all of your chart matters! The sun sign is only a part of it, though one of the 3 most important placements (sun, moon, rising).

For the following paragraph keep in mind: personal/inner celestial bodies/planets (houses and signs matter equally), generational/outer planets/placements (houses matter most because they move slowly along the zodiac. the slower they move, the less the sign matters.)

The celestial bodies used in astrology aren’t limited to a certain amount as asteroids can also be interpreted/also have meanings but the most commonly used and talked about are: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars (Nodes, Vertex — aren’t celestial bodies but fall into the “sign & house are important” category and are a tool that function/are illustrated like celestial bodies), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto (Chiron, black moon Lilith)

You can see each celestial body’s name listed with its symbol in the bottom right corner of the screenshot you sent me and can then look at the circle between the signs and house numbers for where they are placed.

Lastly, planets are afflicted with each other as well since generational planets can be higher octaves of personal planets, and “get along” or don’t “get along” just like the signs, whose compatibility is determined by...

4. The aspects

The expression of every planet depends on these! Aspects show the relationship between two placements and how they connect into one whole personality (Additional information about humans in general: our personality integrates at around the ages of 7 to 9. Before that, we have different needs and wants but not one integrated personality that is made of interwoven traits, qualities,...). They point out how many degrees two or more placements are away from each other (e.g. 180deg = opposition). So when you look at your own chart, you can see that Virgo ♍️ and Pisces ♓️ are in opposition to each other. This also means that people born during Pisces season and people born during Virgo season celebrate their birthdays approximately 6 months apart from each other (because the sun needs a year to transit through the signs).

There are major and minor aspects. Major aspects are usually displayed in the innermost space of the circle using different colored lines and are an umbrella term for: the opposition, the square, the conjunction, the trine and the sextile. Minor aspects are usually listed in extended chart selection options (semi-sextiles, quincunxes, quintiles,...)

Those are then divided into hard/challenging (square, opposition,...), neutral (conjunction,...) and soft/harmonious (trine, sextile,...) aspects. Example: your Sagittarius Mercury (communication, (early) education, rationality, speech, day-to-day expression, perfectionism/detail-orientation,...) in the 4th in a trine (same element, a “flow of energy”) with your Aries moon (emotions, empathy, feelings of security, nurture, comfort,...) in the 8th can indicate potential for the verbal expression of your emotions. You may let your emotions out by talking to people who you live with or your immediate family. Moreover, you could have a desire to write about your emotions in a philosophical/educational way to make others think, but decide to keep your writing to yourself or your closest circle nonetheless. One could chat about an aspect for sooo long just because there are so many things associated with the houses, signs, aspects and celestial bodies. There are so many different angles to take and you’re never done learning about astrology.

Whenever you ask somebody what sign is most compatible with yours, you’d look at the aspects between your sign and other signs to determine if your placements are in a harmonious relationship with each other, though synastry (astrology of compatibility between two birth chart) is much more complex then that.

Lastly, aspects don’t go specifically with one sign/house/celestial body, and some placements can also be unaspected. There are also things such as retrogrades, chart shapes, aspect patterns, dominant signs, persona charts, interceptions and much more but that would definitely go beyond the scope. Let me know if you’d like for me to make a post going in depth regarding those things.

How astrology on social media and day-to-day life has been altered to be regarded as something it is not:

The key is to view modern astrology less as a predictive tool or proof for assumption—because frankly it isn’t—but more as a tool to recognize psychological patterns and behavioral tendencies, which ultimately are what astrology illustrates through elements in the sky. So, no, actions cannot be justified because somebody has a certain placement. (As I mentioned above, it is crucial to regard that placements can be evolved or not evolved and therefore can “manifest” (not the candles in a circle for clear skin and money kind lol) differently). Lastly, astrology doesn’t tell you what to do and you alone have the power over your behavior. You can break free from the patterns illustrated and tendencies pointed out. It’s all about who you choose to be.

Please mark that the links for planets, signs and houses don’t encompass everything that the planets/houses/signs illustrate. For more information I recommend Hannah’s Elsewhere, astro-charts, astro.com, cafe.astrology or astrology.com (lmk if you know about more sources).

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

Early Check-In

A/N: Another pre-Blasted Scorn story about the crew and their routine in the morning! Nothing much going on except a crew that’s united by the chaos around them and into taking from the rich.^^

Word Count: 925

TW: None

***

At a distance, a red and orange glow streaks the horizon as the sun starts ascending. It fiery hues reflects across the sea's surface while waves sparkle. Shadows over shore disappears at an approach of morning.

Seagulls screech while perched on rocks as they watch something sail nearby.

On a deck of a pirate ship, someone marches down the hall. They greet their crew-mates by tipping their hat then continue on their merry way.

Titanrin stops on their tracks as a girl bounces towards them.

"Morning, Captain!" Eubha chirps, grinning. "Did you sleep well, yesterday?"

"Splendidly," they drawl, bestowing a half-smile.

"Yay! That's good!" Eubha jumps up and down, keeping her hands close to her chest. "Where do you think Monoky is hiding?"

"Uh, her ruffled features might be on the cabin," Titanrin answers, pointing in said direction. "Be sure to be careful upon seeing her."

Eubha salutes then goes past them.

Monoky tends to hide from others whenever. . . well, she's intimidated by certain crew members.

They reach the main deck, finding Kumari sitting beside a wheel. She runs her fingers along the wooden surface as if lost in thought. She's not usually quiet unless she's pensive about something. Or caught up in thoughts of a particular someone. Not that they'd know which person that Kumari fancied, of course. Completely none of their business in any way.

So, Titanrin lets Kumari be as they turn around to another area.

As they stroll down, they observe the morning activity in the ship. It turns a bit more lively in night, however, they were some moments they make morning rowdy than possible. For example, some crew members are throwing portraits of the rich into a barrel. Then they rolled it across the plank. They close their eye and nod upon hearing a crack within their earshot.

Hah. One less painting of those so-called 'powerful' bastards.

As wind moves past their face, they open their eye again. They move onto their next location, exploring the ship further.

When they raise their head upwards, they step back in disbelief.

The ship's main mast is occupied by Ianette, who seems to be arm wrestling with Billigan. Oh no. May Bast help them both if either lost the competition. They'd wage except they'd rather keep their money safe.

Titanrin snorts, shaking their head. They opened a nearest door, slipping into a corridor that leads to an interior of the ship.

Kentway's standing near a window, looking outside. So, they approach her to take a better look.

"Captain," Kentway says, lifting her hand with a salute. "I didn't think I'd see you around here."

"Is everything alright?" they ask, arching a brow. "You seemed trouble. It's alright if you can tell me what it is."

"Nothing to be worried about." Kentway's smile is trembling. From a lack of shadows beneath her eyes, there's no deception. "I'm only. . . only thinking of my homeland. It's been a while since I saw my sister and her childen. I miss them, it's what I'm thinking about."

Titanrin's chest loosens.

"I understand. Perhaps, I can tell Kumari to set the ship to that specific course then?"

"Oh, dear. No need, Captain. I'll be alright, somehow."

"I hope to Bast that you'll be."

Kentway nods, turning to look back at the window. Titanrin bows then resumes on their stroll. They hear a rage of seagulls and grimace. Whatever they might be up to, they better not lay a single claw on this ship. It suffered and endured several damages, going through dreadful repairs.

Leaning their head back, they find a half-open door with a person in there.

By slightly pushing it, they enter the library. Nishan sits on a chair behind a wooden table, sticking her nose onto a map. Plenty are scattered across the table along with books, ink spilled, and reading glasses on top of them.

With a low hum, Titanrin swipes a coin off from a chair and store it in their pocket.

Nishan's dark curly hair hangs down her shoulders in waves. She presses her mouth over her knuckles while staring at the map's design.

Like this, she seems to prefer to not be disturbed. So, Titanrin takes a bow out and leaves, letting their chief navigator to her duties. After all, she has small spare time to focus reading and being on her own.

When they walk out to the deck once more, a beam of light lands on their eye. They carry a hand above their head, attempting to shield themself from the sun's heat.

It leaves their view as they saunter down the deck.

Grabbing a telescope from their pocket, they scan the sea for any sign of land ahead. They have new purchases to make at a market in exchange for a valuable item to find. Without further guidance, the ship has already started moving towards it. Okay then, they'll manage to arrive there soon.

They lower their telescope and shrug. Sailors burst into tune, singing the first verse of a song.

Titanrin takes a moment to feel the wind and inhale a salty scent of their beloved steady seas.

A new dawn provides opportunities and time to spend their day on their own way.

They don't have plans for a heist at the moment, intending to enjoy their break for a bit of peace and quiet.

Well, not exactly since Monoky won't be the best creature to understand the concept of it all.

With a fulfilling strange tiredness, Titanrin leans closer to stillness of daylight.

***