the day had felt endless, so full of meetings and expectations that every ticking minute weighed on your shoulders like a modern form of torture — you'd been running on pure anxiety, spite and the thought of coming back to your bed and husband. you had already slipped into the fine silk of your robes, the fabric brushing against your skin when you noticed the untouched sheets.
of course, you sighed.
soft light peeked from the office he had made out of the small room attached to your shared bedroom. the crimson curtains hung low in the doorway, separating the two rooms from one another.
your steps barely broke through the wind's late song.
at first, it was a rare sight, but as time went by, you missed the picture of him resting right beside you.
zuko was once more slumped over papers and worries. one arm securely tucked under his unscarred side while the other loosely held onto a bleeding brush, dark ink already leaving its traces on unfinished documents. calligraphic words were scattered all over the oak's smooth surface, a sea of empty teacups resting amongst them.
you couldn't help but stare for a moment; how his shoulders rose and fell with each soft breath he took, eyelashes brushing against his skin. hair had fallen from his usually neat bun, framing his face until you reached out to tuck it away. touch lingering on the roughness of his scar — a gesture he used to flinch away from, now he leaned closer.
the tiniest of groans escaped him, your name slipping from his lips, feeling your presence rather than recognizing the silhouette. "did I fall asleep?" his voice came out groggy and low, blinking slowly against the candlelight.
he shook his head like a newborn puppy, trying to shrug off any fatigue clinging onto him like sand on wet skin. you caught a glimpse of the boy you once knew before burdens weighed his shoulders, and he refused to set them down, even for a moment.
your fingers grazed over his, setting the brush aside. "again." you smiled, more fond and tinged with concern than anything else.
"i didnt mean to," focusing took him a second, golden eyes struggling to concentrate on the needs of his nation all laid out before him, yet uncompleted. "I still have to—" he straightened up, or tried to.
his words caught in his throat, adam's apple bobbing in his throat as you draped your robe over his shoulders, stepping between his knees to cup his face in your hands.
"It's too late." you began, thumbs tracing every imperfection he had grown to hate until you showed him love differently, in ways he wasn't familiar with. "Come on. bed."
zuko didn’t argue, not this time. he just pressed his face against your stomach like the world's worries couldn't quite reach him when he had his arms wrapped around you — shelter was in your fingertips as they threaded through his hair until he could only breathe freely again, steady, safe.
ꨄ︎ it's moments like these where zuko, the respected firelord, completely feels utterly at peace peace.
cw. fluff. suguru and zuko have the same haircare routines btw.
you're talking about something, a conversation you had with a merchant, or the state of the flower garden? he would be lying if he said he was paying attention to the words exiting your lips, not with the heavenly sensations he's currently experiencing by your hands.
your fingers are massaging soap into his scalp, expertly weaving through his dark strands to ensure every inch of his hair is cleansed of any sweat it may have collected throughout the day.
it's a task you handle with great care, you know zuko faces immense responsibility as a leader, pressure that he often tries to keep himself from confiding in you about, but you love your husband, and just as he does for you, you make sure to give him as much comfort as you can.
it's only when you the absent minded humming he was offering in response to your yapping seems to have stopped that you finally look down at his face, pausing your movements as your eyes soften at his sleeping face.
"zuko. zuko, wake up..."
he jolts awake, confused for a moment before his eyes lock on your perfect face and he offers a sheepish smile, "sorry, you can continue talking."
you smile, kissing your teeth playfully as you begin to rinse his hair, "you should pay more attention to your wife, firelord." you scold, though your eyes hold no malice.
he scoffs, his eyes closing once more, "yeah, yeah, hurry up, you? so we can go to bed and i can hold her."
There's a few (many) things i don't like about how people mischaracterize Ren, and i need to rant about it for a little.
Warning: Spoilers for his Repeat and Debut routes below the cut!!
Ren is usually described as a ladies man, a womanizer, a flirt, and in many fics he's made out to be a heartless playboy who only thinks with his dick. Now, is it a lie that he is a ladies man? No, considering his own words in the first season ''I live to give love to the beautiful ladies'' (ep.2 14:19), but they never explain the full reasoning as to WHY he became like this in his late teen/early adult life.
The anime does little justice to talk about his past and that's a big reason as to why he's so mischaracterized so often, considering most of the fandom never even touched the games (i can't blame them, not only are the games expensive, but they're not localised and many of the fans don't speak japanese).
What the anime does touch on, is on his mother's death and the neglect he suffered by his father and older brother. But it's roughly spoken of during his two main episodes on the first two seasons (ep.4 - 1st season and ep.6 - 2nd season).
In Repeat, it's shown to us multiple times that Ren would rather hurt others (his ladies, or in other words, the fans he'd take on dates during his free time) than let his feelings cause him pain, he'd never let a relationship get too deep so he wouldn't end up heartbroken in the end. That was entirely due to two reasons:
A) His family (more specifically, his father)
B) His butler, George (the person that actually raised him)
Ren is the third and youngest son of the Jinguji conglomerate, having a big age gap with his siblings (he was around nine or ten years old in the flashbacks shown in the anime, while Seeichirou was already an adult. Not only that but Ren himself states in the game ''my mother was quite old when she had me'') and in his own words ''A corporation only needs two sons, a third one is an extravagance'', making it clear he felt like an outsider in his own family due to him being the only one to not inherit anything from the business and being actively excluded due to his age.
And due to a little fact the anime never touches on.. His father died believing Ren was never his son. Due to the age Renge got pregnant at, he believed she had an affair and that Ren was not a Jinguji. That's also the reasoning as to why his father threw every single one of her belongings in the trash after her death, he was furious with her for supossedly cheating on him and for dying and leaving him alone, considering Seeichirou stated once that she was the ''love of our father's life''.
It's stated in one of the routes (i don't remember the exact one at the moment) that Seeichirou did a DNA test in secret and found out that Ren is indeed his fathers child, so the old man was clearly an ignorant fuck.
Now, how did Ren become a ladies man?
Through George. Simple as that.
George is actually Ren's uncle, considering that he is Renge's cousin, and he was tasked by her to take care of him since he was little. The man was clearly not fit to raise a child (if i'm not wrong, Ren said that he was an assassin? in one of the music 2 memorials, but i think he was just messing with Ranmaru..), but there was no one else to do it.
He raised Ren very roughly, even though he did care a lot for his nephew, he simply did not know how to raise a kid. So he thought Ren how to play darts (a very child friendly hobby, might i add ☝🏻 *sarcasm*), and how to flirt with women. And for a boy that grew up wanting affection from his family while never getting it, he quickly learned that flirting could give him what he desired so badly.
Due to his family's status, he began working as a model from a very young age, gathering many fans before he was even close to being an idol, making him be used to the constant attention.
Ren also had a few relatioships before entering Saotome, even though he'd hardly date the women he went out with, and the only reasoning i'm poiting this out is because he was groomed. He was 17 when he entered the academy, but he had dated Seira before we met him in the first game while she was already an adult (i believe she's around Ringo's age). He was 19 when we first hear about her and their past relationship in Debut, she is also stated to love ''attractive young men'', making it clear she groomed him when he was a teen and tried to get back with him in Debut thinking he was still the same easy to manipulate boy she met years prior.
We also learn that after his father died, he ''lost his way in life'', in his brothers words. He dropped out of high school at 16 and lived in a carefree maner, spending his days going on dates, speding money and wondering around without aim. Thus why his brother forced him to enter Saotome academy. Yet the way Seeichirou worded it made it seem like he wanted to use Ren as a comercial asset instead of trying to give his little brother a future, making Ren hate him until they were able to clear things off (season 2, ep.4 for the anime, march in his Repeat route).
Seeichirou had always seen how much Ren loved music, but he knew that with their father alive and controlling the family there was no way he could encourage Ren to persue a career as an idol, the old man would never allow that (both from the trauma of losing his wife who was an idol, and because he never saw Ren as his child).
In the end of his route in Repeat, after he wins the graduation audition, Haruka runs off scared of confessing her feeling after his captivating performance (he had rejected her before back in january, even though he was head over heels for her), and he runs after her. That's how we learn that Ren was actually starving for love and affection, craving a partner that loved and understood him, not someone that only saw him for his looks and family name. After he realized his feelings for her, he actually stopped having a group of fans follow him all the time, due to knowing she was quite jealous of his fans spending too much time with him and not wanting to upset his beloved (Haru-chan is rather possessive of him, i can't judge her though..).
He's very devoted the one person he falls in love with and makes it clear he only wants them for the rest of his life (he literally calls Haruka ''my future wife'' in the true love ending.. my man you just turned 18, calm down..).
Fun fact, he actually talks about this on an interview:
2. A phrase that will make you fall in love?
- I don't really get told it often, but if someone says "You're interesting/funny", my heart will jump. It makes me feel like they were listening to what I had to say, and because I think saying 'you're interesting' is harder than saying 'you're cool'. If I were complimented like that, I'd soar.
9. Are Love and Marriage two different things?
- Different. Doesn't it seem like it'd cause trouble to put them together? I think it's okay to have a lot of romances. It's part of experiencing life. But only marrying once is nice. I can spend my whole life with this person. I believe romance exists in order to meet a person like that.
translation by: Amuxx (link)
Although he is a little (at times very) irresponsible and is extremely hard headed and an asshole when he wants to, he is a very sweet character and a very loving and caring partner, not to mention an incredible friend. We get to see him evolve and mature in the series, and learn that he was not selfish, just conflicted in life.
I adore him, and i truly hate to see him be labeled as a fuckboy.. But not everything in life is perfect, unfortunatelly.
All i can think of is going to sleep and waking up besides Ren now.. those voice alarm clocks are messing with my head, i need one of them.. 💭
Just imagine, seeing him fresh out of the shower as he gets ready for bed, probably only wearing sweatpants and shirtless if he's at home, a towel around his neck as his damp hair drips down, spraying a light body mist on himself (he wears perfume when going to bed), before laying on your shared bed and waiting for you with open arms so he can shower you with affection.
''Come sleep in my arms. I want to feel your warmth, so that I can dream the same dream as you, my lady.''
When morning comes around, you wake up in his arms, snuggled under plush sheets as the golden streaks of sunlight shine through the windows in your bedroom. He had been awake for some time now, staring at his darling deep in dreamland right in front of him, his favorite way to start the day.
''Did you wake up, my sleeping beauty? I want to hear you say “Good Morning” with that cute voice of yours.''
Translations for the voice lines by: @erikanyanko (line 1 / line 2)
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: How would it be like to be Ren's girlfriend? (+ a little analysis of my man)
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1,383
➺ His description for the games on a few sites state specifically that there is a lot more to him than what he shows, and it's absolutely true. He has a very well developed story, and is an amazing character in general (i might make a more detailed analysis on him one day, he just fascinates me).
𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐜𝐬:
♡ The guy everyone thinks wouldn't be a good boyfriend due to his flirty/womanizer persona. Specially back when he was still a student and had a hoard of fangirls always surrounding him during the day;
♡ During the 4th season, he tells Van ''I believed i'd never belong to anyone'' and that was due to how he was treated by his family when he was younger. He has a hard time speaking of his childhood, believing he was hated by both his brothers and their father, specially with how he was treated after his mother passed away. It's stated in the games he believed he wasn't his fathers son for a very long time because of it;
➺ His father threw away everything related to Renge, his wife, due to his grief after she passed away in a car accident when Ren was still little. That led to Ren believing his father hated his mother and consequentialy him, since he resembled her so much.
♡ He matures a lot during the series, there is a clear difference from the 1st season to the ova for 'Maji Love ST★RISH tours'. He went from this carefree teen to a very dedicated idol as an adult, you can see he acts almost like a father to 'ST★RISH' when they're out together after their debut. It's a little shocking at times, even to the boys themselves;
♡ Stating the obvious here, he is the human definition of romance. From how he acts to his songs, all of it just screams love, it's a little dizzying even. And that's how i imagine him as a lover, easy to love and maddeningly addictive;
♡ Is the definition of gentleman once you actualy get to know him, he will kiss the ground you walk on;
♡ It will take a while for him to confess. He might look confident and strong on the outside, but he has a rather fragile heart, meaning he never let his past relationships be more than a passing fling. With you however.. He's terrified of ruining what you two already have, so he won't speak of his feelings;
♡ But that doesn't mean he won't show them through actions..
♡ He will go above and beyond for your happiness, even if it means loving you from a distance while his heart yearns for your love;
➺ Speaking on the 'Lovely Eyes' episode again, while speaking with Van he also lets out another insteresting fact, he doesn't confess to Haruka because he knows her worry is the groups and her love for music, not her love life. He also hints at that during the 'Orange Rhapsody' episode in season 2, when he tells her ''But i need you, so i'll wait until you become an adult''.
♡ Makes sure to learn everything about you, to the point he knows you like the back of his hand. His main priority is your wellbeing, if you're not happy then he'll do anything to fix it;
♡ Becomes a diferrent person once you two get together, the flirty side of him is now all yours, he's sentimental, understanding and very sweet. He's also very protective, and makes sure to always be close to you, even when he's busy;
♡ He's surprisingly clingy and melts when anyone plays with his hair. Basically an oversized cat, good luck getting out of bed in the morning with this man holding onto you;
♡ Is very touch starved, will always find a way to be touching you when he's close. Kisses you all the time too, his favorite place to give kisses will always be your neck (other than your lips, he loves to kiss you until you're breathless..)
♡ He can be insecure at times and will need a lot of reasurence from you, so please, treat his heart kindly. He needs you like he needs air to breathe;
♡ It's shown both in the anime and in the games that he can be hard headed when he wants to, that doesn't make him any less loving.. just a little difficult to deal with at times. Have some patience with our prince, please;
♡ Romantic gestures are his love language. From renting a whole restaurant just for the two of you, to giving you anything you show interest on, to writing multiple love songs for you, to making sure to celebrate every little milestone in your life, to flowers on your nightstand every day, he will do it all;
♡ Is insatiable with you. You are his definition of perfect, his muse, his world, so everything you do will make him hungry for you;
♡ His main hobbies are travelling and going on car rides to clear his mind, so be prepared to always find yourself somewhere new with him. He will plan everything perfectly, so make sure to not worry your pretty head and just enjoy your time;
➺ Going back to the ova, Natsuki points out Ren is a very smooth driver and he wouldn't mind just riding along with him from how good it was. Just imagine him having a blanket in his car for you to nap while he drives :((
♡ During his route in the games, he shows that he's far more possessive and observant than in the anime. He's always looking out for you, but also makes sure you're only his.
♡ He makes sure you always remeber he loves you more than anything, be it through simple gestures or leaving you sore and sleepy after a night in his arms. It's hard to say which one he does more frequently (both.);
♡ Knows your body inside and out like no other, he can make you see stars with a surprising ease. Won't let you take the lead in bed though, he loves being the one caring for you and giving you pleasure (however he will let you top him, but his hands will always be guiding you);
♡ Roses, so many roses. He grows them himself for you, all curated to your person;
♡ Is always taking care of you. Didn't eat? He'll make something for you (it's canon that he cooks really well). Didn't sleep well? He'll hold you while you nap, maybe even lay down to nap with you. Had a nightmare? His arms are your safe haven, he'll even sing lullabies to calm you down. You ended up sick? He'll make it all better, don't worry!
➺ Like, look at him taking care of Haruka!! Such cuties :((
(by the way, this happens during march in his route of the first game, before he debuts!!)
♡ He is terrified of losing you. The more he falls for you, the more scared he becomes, to the point he believes you'll just leave him for ''someone better'' one day. Please don't let him listen to these thoughts, or he'll end up hurting you both without meaning to;
♡ Won't think twice before asking you to marry him. He wants you to be his wife, to have you by his side for all of eternity;
➺ In the true love ending of the first game, he calls Haruka his ''future wife'' and they hadn't been dating for even a year, so you best believe he'll be down on one knee with the most enchanting ring in hand ready to propose the moment you least expect..
♡ Would make sure you live comfortably by his side for as long as he breathes, only the best for his queen! You'll be spoiled by his side;
♡ Lady and Little lamb wouldn't be the only petnames he'd give you, trust me, he'll always find a new one just to see you blushing;
➺ Out of memory, ''my honey'', ''my love'' and ''princess'' are the only others we hear from him during the anime and game.
♡ In conclusion, he'd be the most perfect lover. An ace through and through, surprising no one.
Please take care of his heart, no matter how difficult he can be at times. You are everything to him, he wouldn't be the same without you.
𝐀/𝐍: Just as a little bonus for you guys, here's my favorite image of him from the game. He's so- AAAHHHH 😩😩 my heart can't handle it - 𝐿𝓊𝓁𝓊 🌷
Hihi!!! I hope you’re having a great day!!! May I request Jakurai wedding headcanons? Stuff like how he’d feel before and during the ceremony getting married to reader that type of thing!! Feel free to delete this and thank youuuu <3
Ahh...I love this so much! ✍️
Also, I'm sorry im like, so many months late...Enjoy!
Jakurai Jinguji Wedding HCs!
Jakurai would very much be hands-on with helping you plan stuff for both of your weddings.
"Why the long face?" Jakurai asked you softly. "Its just...The dress I want is a little over budget, I'm looking for something similar to it though." You answer him back as you continued scrolling the catalogues.
"Get it then." He spoke and planted a kiss on your head, "It's our special day. I believe we can afford to be selfish for a bit." He smiled and walked away, "If you really feel you want something else, then that's fine with me too, as long as youre happy." He added before walking out.
Tasting food with him would be a bit challenging. He'd probably tell you to get what you think the guests would like, and you'd have to remind him it's both of your weddings.
HE WOULD BE A CRIER. I firmly believe he would cry by the altar as you walk down. Hifumi and Doppo beside him would also tear up and pat our beloved doc.
His vows will be very thought of, he's not like those guys you see in tiktok that just says crazy stuff, he would make youCRY from how much his vows come from the heart. (LET ME KNOW IN THE ASK BOX IF ANYONE WANTS A FIC OF THIS?? OMG?)
At the reception, you will have to genuinely hold him back from having any kind of alcohol please, make sure no one switches his drinks 💔
After the wedding, you two just sit on the couch of your shared home, talking about the whole day, then you decide to get out of your formal wear. He helps you take off your dress. He obviously admires you more before he does, complimenting you the whole time.
I hope I did this in character for Jakurai... I enjoyed doing this! 💜✨️
your big boyfriend varka taking up the whole bed. . .
the grand master spends all day working, leading expeditions, training knights, and then on top of that swings around not one but two claymores like they weigh nothing!
so by the time he finally comes home, he’s exhausted. and unfortunately for you, his favorite place to rest is on top of you.
you start the night with your own side of the bed, your own pillow, and your own blanket. room to breathe.. that is until varka falls asleep.
sometime during the night, he rolls over. then there’s an arm around your waist, and a leg over yours. then an entire six-foot-something wall of muscle attached to you like a blanket.
a veryyy heavy blanket.
you wake up for the third time that night when something nearly knocks the air out of your lungs. opening your eyes, you immediately find the blonde-haired culprit.
his head is resting against your chest, one arm locked around your middle while half his body is sprawled across yours.
the man looks completely peaceful.
you, meanwhile, are being pressed into the mattress.
“varka…”
nothing… you just stare at the ceiling.
carefully, you try pushing him away, but it’s like trying to move a mountain.
one blue eye cracks open. “..mm?”
“..you’re crushing me.”
he blinks slowly, looks down and looks back up— then closes his eyes again.
“liebling.. so comfy..”
“for you.”
before you can argue, he shifts closer, and his face ends up tucked into the crook your neck while his arms completely surround you.
you let out a long sigh, and he hums sleepily, and a few moments later, you hear soft snoring again.
played 4.3 and i do wanna take some time writing about linh’s relationship with blade and how it evolved today
4.3 spoilers under cut
anyways so i thought that instead of having linh go along with dan heng like she did with most of the time, i decided to have her go with trailblazer since she got nothing else to do but also she wants to finally face blade with her own eyes
at this point in her character, she has come to peace with her spirituality and even admits that she “is still in the middle of meeting who i am” (quoted by kim namjoon ehe).
i think linh would start to finally recognize blade as a fellow companion as when she meets him again, she just told him “i’m not here as part of the astral express, i’m here as myself. an old companion even.” which to me (and those who know her lore) is a huge moment to recognize of the development she gone through bc 1.3 linh would barely look at blade in the eye and never consider him as such
linh even quietly admits that the one regret she has is that she never properly befriended yingxing like she did with dan feng. maybe in another life, would they be good friends? what kind of things would they talk about? linh doesn’t know but believes that yes, the two would’ve been closer than they were in this life. but she still cherish the times she spent with him because there were a few moments where they had friendly exchanges and hell he even gave her her own weapon which she still kept to this day but just barely used anymore. it’s something that she never got rid off because she realized deep inside, she could never truly hate him.
also just a little funny interaction and how linh is around blade now like
phainon is a tit man for sure. big, small, perky, or sagging, he just can't keep his hands off them!
you could be doing literally anything and here he is coming up behind you and nuzzling into the crook of your neck before whispering a pitiful little, "can i?" just to make sure.
upon your assurance, he snakes his warm hands underneath whatever big shirt of his you have on and cups your tits like it's his favorite thing to do. (it's definitely one of them)
he loves how soft and warm they are in his hands, so perfect to just hold. he could spend all day gently groping your chest, always being careful not to squeeze too hard or do anything that could possibly cause his sunshine any discomfort <3
