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TVSTRANGERTHINGS
One Nice Bug Per Day
if i look back, i am lost
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
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ojovivo
trying on a metaphor
dirt enthusiast
noise dept.
YOU ARE THE REASON
Andulka
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PR's Tumblrdome
AnasAbdin
oozey mess
almost home
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@dienli
indie, selective legend of korra OC. hi! i'm sid, and i've been roleplaying on tumblr on-and-off for over a decade.
carrd <- rules, verses, etc minglinger <- main/shitposting blog 1 2 3 <- i also rp characters from tolkien's legendarium
happy [early] birthday, sid!
Rei @dienli seeking a moment of comfort at her wedding to Iroh the Younger; she gets anxious at big social occasions, and they don't come bigger than the crown prince's wedding!
I like highligting the Southeast Asian aspects of the Fire Nation, so I couldn't wait to see Rei [birth name Lệ] in Thai national dress.
I also wanted to see Iroh in Fire Nation general armor; I like to imagine it's what he goes for in the most important ceremonial occasions, basically the fanciest thing possible that's still distinctly soldierly.
@isatpanart did an absolutely fantastic job on this, everyone go check them out and commission them if you have the budget, rates are very reasonable.
Iroh took the napkin to clean his upper lip; he was more careful taking his next sip around madame fussybritches, so no residue remained. When he finished, he was going to tell her to stick to one question at a time, but sadness filled his eyes as Rei described the beautiful future robbed from his sister.
"That's the thing. She's not in PreMed any more. Being cut off from the family fortune, she had to make ends meet as a medic at the Arena. She drew bonus pay for knowing fire-healing. But she was vulnerable. During the uprising, there was no one to protect her, and," he gave a weary sigh, "Amon took her bending." He took a deep breath and decided to just plow though the rest.
"We got back in touch when I retook the city . We started getting tea together every week at a nice downscale place, neutral ground. Apparently, even when Korra restored her bending, it still didn’t work for her. She couldn't heal anymore, so she lost her bonus pay; without that, she had to drop out of her studies and work full time as an apprentice apothecary to make ends meet. Even that's a precarious existence." He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter, gazing out the window at the rundown neighborhood around them, not so different from where his MeiMei lived and worked.
"She was still too proud to accept her brother’s direct help, but I can't have a sister in a homeless shelter, so I went behind the scenes. You saw the papers. I have her next year of rent paid in case she falls behind, insurance, things like that. A cushion in case something happens." He turned his gaze back towards Rei. "Something always happens."
Rei nodded her agreement, but her eyes were absent as she took it all in. "I can't imagine what that's like. If she was raised like you, then bending must have felt like part of her, as natural as breathing. Even to me, it's a constant presence, and you know what my bending is like."
She slowly rotated her mostly-empty cup of tea, making the light slanting in through the glass align with the pattern on her tablecloth.
"I know nothing about the taking and giving of bending," she went on. "And if Avatar Korra couldn't figure out how to fix it, then it's far beyond the knowledge of any academic I know. But I do know that plenty of non-benders are healers, and now that she's in contact with you again, she's in a good position to continue her studies in a different way." She looked up, her gaze suddenly sharp again. "How much are you comfortable with meddling?"
@dienli cont from x
“She thought she was conceived as a backup child, in case you died?” Rei reasoned. For a moment it seemed like her brow might furrow, but it didn’t. “I understand how that might be existentially troubling, but isn’t it typical in families that have to worry about succession?” She paused. “Maybe your mother wouldn’t have even had you if not for those concerns. I imagine she didn’t have much of a choice. But somehow I doubt you’ve dwelt on that possibility much. Why did she? Was her childhood very focused on it?”
"Mother had a vision for us both, but neither of us turned out quite like she hoped, as politicians and diplomats. Part of me always wanted a life of adventure, and I found it in the service. She wanted to be a healer." Iroh squatted down to look through her icebox, a minefield of labels precisely enumerating the different boxes' contents as a ward against theft. At least there was a can of coconut milk up for grabs.
"I wasn’t there when it all boiled over, so this is all second hand, but apparently things were said that can’t be unsaid. She cut herself off, booked passage to Republic City, and enrolled in PreMed at the university." He shook the can to remix the contents, popped the tab, and took a sip, the rich creamy beverage coating his upper lip until his lower teeth scraped it clean.
"So then the answer is no, you haven't dwelt on whether your mother would have had you unless she was under an immense amount of pressure to have an heir," she said, making a face as she watched Iroh drink her coconut milk in one of the most repulsive ways she could imagine. She handed him a napkin so he could attempt to be civilized. "You didn't even try to answer that.
"Well, I feel terrible for your sister, but I'm glad she's here in Republic City and pursuing what she wants in life. Do you think there's a chance they'll ever reconcile? It might not be the path your mother envisioned, but surely having a healer princess isn't a bad look for the family. If she goes on to become one of those doctors who travel the world to help underserved communities, I imagine it would be a very good look."
Rei waited until a convenient time to ask her questions, after a pleasant dinner at her place. The weather was fine, her building was neither baking nor freezing, and dinner had been just the right size and flavor, in Rei’s view. The perfect time to make him uncomfortable. “Now that we have the charges straightened out, you should tell me more about your sister. What happened?”
Iroh had come to enjoy his humble bourgeois weekends at his companion's house. There was something almost exotic about flipping on the radio and gathering up the dishes, sorting the trash from the scraps to reuse or toss to the cat, and submerging them in the sudsy sink water; he'd scrub and rack them later, unless Rei insisted on his doing it now, as she often did. It was peaceful, carefree even compared to the pressure of his work bound up in his mind with the luxury of his main residence.
Until Rei shattered that, asking after his poor sister. He sighed, squatting to deposit the scraps of fish from tonight's soup in Izzy's bowl as he thought of where to even begin. The fat old girl came jingling over, stuffing her face down to scrape and lick them clean.
“Meiling is a lot younger than me. Younger than you, even," he began, almost delicately. "I mostly only saw her on holidays, since I was already serving abroad when she was born. She’s a smart girl, so it didn’t take her very long to jump to conclusions. Mother always said it was because she was lonely with me overseas, but she couldn’t ignore the timing.”
He stood up and stretched, his love lines peaking out from under the hem of his tank top. A prick of the ear confirmed the radio's droning was nothing interesting enough to change the subject. He cast a discrete glance Rei's way to see if he could pick up on he subtleties -the sole visible substance- of her reaction, highlighted by the shadows the flickering dining table candle cast.
“She thought she was conceived as a backup child, in case you died?” Rei reasoned. For a moment it seemed like her brow might furrow, but it didn’t. “I understand how that might be existentially troubling, but isn’t it typical in families that have to worry about succession?”
She paused.
“Maybe your mother wouldn’t have even had you if not for those concerns. I imagine she didn’t have much of a choice. But somehow I doubt you’ve dwelt on that possibility much. Why did she? Was her childhood very focused on it?”
“Happy Mother’s Day, my love.”
Though she wanted to smile and thank him, Rei was given pause by the twins, also in her field of vision, currently trying their best to break a wooden turtleduck on a string. She could always visualize a calendar when she needed to, and so she noted they were about two years, two months and three weeks old. Hm.
"Thank you, beloved," she said, with more caution than one would think was warranted. She never called him beloved. "You seem oddly enthusiastic. You know the purpose of Mother's Day isn't to bestow the title, right?"
Find your own fruit 🍉 🍎 🍌 ✨
tagged by: @flamecarrier 💖 tagging: if you see this, consider yourself tagged!
Good/bad matches:
He pulled back from her shoulder to meet her eyes -so calm, yet so vibrant- for just a moment before leaning in for a kiss, capturing that plump lower lip whose imprint had adorned so many anxiously awaited letters. He groaned hungrily at the feeling of her breath against his face, squeezing her tightly against his body. When their lips finally separated with a satisfying pop!, he rested his forehead against her, eye half-lidded.
"Even if it doesn't. Even if it hastens my passing," he said, playing up the drama and smiling to himself. "Just as long as our ashes can rest together." He grinned crookedly and made to kiss her again, heart aching to make this moment last forever.
Rei waited until they parted again before speaking, not much more than a whisper. "They wouldn't rest together. Aren't the ashes of Firelords themselves interred in a different area? I hope your mother outlives you, but we can't assume you die a prince."
Her hand came to rest over his heart, feeling the reassuring beat underneath. Though she wanted to tease him further, she was pleased with the progress they'd made that night: he was himself again. She was content to rest beside him for now.
❝𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑮𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑳𝑬 𝑨𝑰𝑹𝑩𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹❞ ┊┊ 𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐄. 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐈-𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄. 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆 for 𝑶𝑷𝑨𝑳 𝑩𝑬𝑰𝑭𝑶𝑵𝑮 from 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙇𝙀𝙂𝙀𝙉𝘿 𝙊𝙁 𝙆𝙊𝙍𝙍𝘼! Granddaughter of the legendary 𝚃𝚘𝚙𝚑 𝙱𝚎𝚒𝚏𝚘𝚗𝚐. One of the lucky few who were graced with 𝐴𝑖𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 in the new era of 𝙍𝙖𝙖𝙫𝙖. A venture into forging your own path, forming bonds, and standing up for what is right, no matter the lengths you will go to achieve your goal!
𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑲𝒊𝒑 (kippy/kiki. Canadian. f 31.) since July 11th, 2014. [Previously Opalbeifxng] Promo ɑrt on the left drɑwn by me.
"I am aware," she said dryly. "I haven't changed my mind." She still had her misgivings, but they had nothing to do with his injuries, and recent events had, ironically, done quite a bit to alleviate her worries. Wars made everything that wasn't life-and-death seem less important for a while, even things like social class, her legacy standing on its own merits, and discomfort with being a public figure. "Being engaged surely confers certain protections already."
Turning onto his lamed side to face her, Iroh pulled her in by the hip to nuzzle his face in her shoulder and squeeze her close. "Nope. Not until the deal is sealed." He had no idea of the case law either way, that was something crushingly boring people like his mother concerned themselves with. Whatever his future with her at his side had in store, it wouldn't be boring.
"I'll take you to court after the wedding." Rei got her other arm under Iroh's head and around the back of his neck, so she could hold him as close as he was holding her. It felt better to have him in her arms again than she expected; it wasn’t relief, or joy, but a deep feeling of rightness, like when she organized a bookshelf or formatted her notes. He was where he belonged again.
“If it helps speed your recovery,” she said, “maybe you should start making the plans.”
It was the first time since their engagement she had dared speak of setting a date, an idea that had terrified her and proven impractical in wartime; but now, holding him close as he began to live his life again, she was sure of herself. The crowds and fuss would be a fair price to pay for being allowed to call him her own.
BBC Sherlock + incorrect quotes: 36/?
Iroh leaned into her touch, letting his eyes -eye, and the phantom sensation of its opposite number- slip closed. His still ragged breathing steadied slowly. He couldn't suppress a smile at her pseudo-forgiveness; he'd take what he could get after that ungentlemanly remark.
When she mentioned the old irreverence law, he riposted without even thinking. "You'll have to marry me first." The gravity hit him a moment later and had him stammering. "If you want a consort's protection, I mean. To punish someone for insulting you."
"I am aware," she said dryly. "I haven't changed my mind." She still had her misgivings, but they had nothing to do with his injuries, and recent events had, ironically, done quite a bit to alleviate her worries. Wars made everything that wasn't life-and-death seem less important for a while, even things like social class, her legacy standing on its own merits, and discomfort with being a public figure. "Being engaged surely confers certain protections already."
Iroh leaned forward and lifted up her hand to hold it against his cheek, her middle finger just brushing against the scar that crossed his now empty eye socket. He knew deep down he could count on her for the unvarnished truth, whether it hurt or healed. That's just who she was.
He was silent for a long time.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier."
Rei shifted over on the bed, abandoning the edge to lie (very carefully) beside him. Her hand could more easily caress his cheek now, her thumb gently tracing the scar.
"Yes, you are," she said; it was as close to forgiveness as he was going to get tonight, and her tone was soft and affectionate. "And if you ever call me a name like that again, I will cut your tongue out to make an example of you. There must be some relic of lèse-majesté still on the books that would legally justify it; your mother would support my case."
He reached to hold her hand in place with the one he had left. He gave it a squeeze as he listened to the perspective she provided. It wasn't easy to hear, but looking back, some of the times he'd undergone the most growth in the past ten years were when she stood her ground and pushed back against him. She was right, was the thing.
"Of course you take her side," he groused.
"No. I don't think you would have been happy in civil service." Picturing it was horrifying; he'd be this grouchy at all times, instead of just after catastrophic injury, because every day would demand of him performance that went so counter to his nature. It was like imagining if she had stayed on Xidai Island.
"...not that you're particularly happy right now, but you know what I mean: you wouldn't have felt as fulfilled, or experienced the life you've led, if you had done what she wished; and I doubt that life will stop being interesting because of an admittedly serious injury. You've already crafted your career into something that will not become boring, even if you end up pushing paper most of the time."
Iroh tensed up feeling her touch, but did not recoil. Slowly he breathed out and relaxed, or whatever passed for relaxing in the state he was in. As sharp and jagged as his edges had become since the incident, he still craved the comfort of her touch.
"Am I just cursed then? It seems like every time there's a crisis, I get hit with something I can't fight but couldn't avoid. The Equalists, Unalaq, Kuvira's colossus, now this." His voice started to rise in pitch, exasperated. "Maybe I'm not responsible for every misfortune, but that's almost worse. I'd rather be a failure than a cosmic plaything."
"All of those threats were neutralized, your side won, and you survived with not only your body but your looks intact. I believe that counts as blessed, not cursed." She let her hand rest there, not daring to move it yet. "No one wants to be a cosmic plaything, but we all are, and you're the one who chose to join the military. This is probably why your mother wanted you to go into civil service."
He realized she was getting on his nerves on purpose; what he didn't realize was that the argument -the need to be right, to be the best, to win- was starting to distract him from his spiraling feelings, at least for the moment. The ludicrous image of babies performing surgery certainly didn't hurt. He riposted immediately, as though she had left herself wide open. "You can choose to take responsibility. That's basically what I did seeking this post. What happens might not be my fault, but it is my problem."
"So, what, declaring yourself responsible means you are, for all moral, ethical, and interpersonal purposes, to be held accountable? You're a farmer beating himself to a pulp because it didn't rain."
Rei tried again to touch his knee, very slowly. She was ready for him to flinch, and to pull away without a fuss if he did.
" don't know as much as you about war, but I doubt you're going to perform at your best if you feel you've become such a god among men that you, personally, are responsible for winning or losing the war, and no one else is held to that standard."
Iroh bowed his head and laughed bitterly. When she put it like that ...
"Ah, but it's different. Ability and responsibility aren't linked. I can be less capable then Yozei and all the rest, but still be responsible for more than all the Avatars put together." Part of him knew he was being ridiculous on some level, but he had to wallow in it anyways.
"That's good to know. We should let all of the surgeons know they can leave their jobs immediately, since having the skill doesn't really mean they need to use it. We can give the jobs to toddlers instead. But which toddlers?" This was all delivered in her characteristic deadpan; if not for the substance of what she said, one would think she was serious. "What characteristics other than ability makes a person responsible? I think we can say 'causing the problem' is one. You didn't cause this war. So what else? I can't wait to pick a toddler to perform your enucleation revision next week."
