Happy Tlou Hbo Day :-)

coming out of my cave to say laurance, katelyn, and nana are the skincare fiends of the group

all to various degrees

kate pampers herself once a month

nana once a week

laurance is the guy who tells his friends to reapply sunscreen and cry when garroth tells him he only washes his face with water and soap

matching icons for you and your worstie ✨ (+ miscellaneous enemies –> reluctant allies –> ??? doodles)

“As Zuko watched the lanterns light up those dark nights, he found it hard to believe that a world with such beauty and life could also be the one of danger and destruction his father so frequently warned him about. He hoped, more than anything, that one day he could see it for himself.

“And now, here is where I come in…”

(or, a Zukka Tangled AU)

(art by the incredible @flynnpaff!)

‘now that i see you’ is here!

chapter one: a horrible decision, really

chapter two: this is the strangest thing i have ever done

chapter three: kind of the biggest day of my life

chapter four: i thought i’d never see you again

All of the Jackson parents being super jealous of Joel because his kid actually seems to LIKE him and will like walk with him and sit next to him and go in for hugs and stuff

Family breakfasts with Tommy have become somewhat of a routine.

He comes over on the days Maria leaves for her work early (which is more often than not), eats her granola and drinks Joel's coffee, and they talk about whatever they feel like, though Ellie loves asking him about his recent patrols. She kicks her feet up into Joel's lap and draws it out as long as she can before sprinting all the way to school, but it's worth it if it means just one more story.

Today, though, she's late. Really fucking late. It's not her fault she got a bit distracted by the new book Tommy had brought her last afternoon (it's about SPACE Joel, that trumps school and sleep by a mile), but now she had about five minutes to get out of the house and into the classroom. Ellie barrels down the stairs, bag slung over her shoulder, and has to catch herself on the banister to not slip on the floor once she jumps over the last few steps

"Careful, baby," Joel calls over, worriedly watching her put on her shoes while standing on one leg, jumping to keep her balance. Tommy, on the other hand, looks majorly amused, and she can hear him chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah, old man, I can keep my balance just fine."

She ties her laces so she doesn't trip once she starts running and is about to leave when Joel whistles to call her back.

"Breakfast, Ellie."

Fucking Joel and his stupid rules, but Ellie spins on the spot and uses the kitchen door frame to propel herself toward the counter and pick up two apples for later, stuffing them into her bag with a happy? thrown over her shoulder.

"Mh, have a nice day at school, kiddo," he tries to sound all parental, but she can hear the softness bleeding through and just knows he's holding back a grin. Ellie crosses the distance between them with two big steps and slings her arms around his neck, allowing herself the luxury of melting against him for a few precious seconds when he gently rubs his thumbs over her wrists and lifts her clasped hands to press a kiss to her knuckles.

With a heavy sigh and a silent fuck you to whoever invented math, she pulls back, but not without pressing a kiss to Joel's cheek, basking in the smile he gives her; it's so easy to make him happy, and she does it as much as she can.

Ellie can feel Tommy's eyes on them, he always watches them with a gleeful mixture of amusement and affection, and over the last year, he has settled into the warm parts of her heart, too. He is right between her and the door, sipping on his coffee, so, really, it's not even a conscious choice, more of a reflex.

Her hand comes down on the table when she steps toward the front door and away from Joel, balancing herself so she can lean around the back of his chair and press a quick kiss to his cheek, too. Ellie bites back the small laugh bubbling up when she sees the expression on his face, mouth slightly open, eyes seeking help from Joel, who simply shrugs and picks up his cup again.

Another minute ticks by on the kitchen clock, and she is finally on her way out, the goodbye she yells at them cut off when the front door slams close behind her.

-

("What the hell was that?"

"She is laying her claim on you."

"Whatever that means, Joel, she's your kid, not mine."

"Better get ready to give up your personal space and half your closet."

"My clothes, really?"

"You never know what she might do next, prepare for the worst."

"Are you sure she's not yours? 'Cause this sounds oddly familiar."

"Oh, she is, she just found me all on her own."

"Glad she did, haven't seen you smile like that in twenty years."

"Give it a week and I'll tell you the same thing.")

Hijacked Lesson

(A de-aged Azula ficlet)

“No! Go away! This is my lesson!” Aang whispered harshly at the little girl with sparking fingers. A spiteful, mischievous gleam entered her eye and Aang braced himself for an attack.

“Zuzu! Aang’s being mean to me!” She shouted, running over to interrupt Zuko’s demonstration. Aang took a deep breath, his hands curling into fists. He did not hate Azula. He didn’t hate her when she nearly killed him as a teen. He absolutely should not did not hate this small five year old version who kicked his shins under the table when he dared to sit next to her brother and jumped into Zuko’s arms every time Aang went in for hug (and stuck her tongue out at him while she was getting his big brother Fire Lord cuddles). “Zuzu! Can you show me how to do the form? Aang clearly isn’t ready to learn it!” Aang’s eyebrow twitched. 

He didn’t hate the baby Azula… But he did not like her. 

For Hearth and Home by @sword-and-stars has been giving me brainrot for the better part of a month

everyone always writes jet as super suave and zuko getting all blushy and easily flustered and thats great but have you considered; jet tries laying on the charm and saying the lines. three quarters of the time zuko has no idea what he's talking abt and misses the insinuation entirely, sometimes throwing a 'none of that bullshit' look bc when he has no idea what ur saying he assumes hes being proverb'd on. the other quarter of the time is him just blinking confusedly in response and being like 'oh. uh. thanks?' and giving a sweet little smile. zuko, due to being an unsocialised gremlin boy, sometimes just says sorta romantic things in a super intense way seemingly out of nowhere - like 'you know, i think could stare into your eyes for hours and never get bored' - with literally zero shame or impulse control. every time, without fail, jet goes super wide eyed and stumbles over his feet and words, attempting to respond in the charismatic way but sounding so choked up and flustered that he butchers it every time (zuko thinks those attempts at suaveness are the cutest things hes ever seen and goes to hold jet's hand every time he gets like that)

Zuko's crew. T_T I'm now convinced every night had some sort of family activity soused with boiler room hooch. Zuko has zero poker face on mahjong night, while Jee wipes everyone clean with his RBF. And let's not forget Zuko and Aang are Azula-lightning-scar buddies, too. In through the chest and out through the back.

SOBBING!! you are so right about everything omg. I mean zuko lived on the ship with that crew for three whole years, and like. ok yeah he was at peak bastard mode during that time but they MUST have bonded in some way!! Mandatory game night at least once a week! zuko might be shitty at table games but they find out he obliterates everyone at charade.

And AAA OMFG DID U READ MY MIND. I DO HAVE a doodle of aang & a very crispy zuko being “mortal wound from azula” buddies lmao. Slapped some color on it just for you. mwah.

(while we’re at it they also have an epic tsungi horn duo going on as a side gig)

i think we as a society need to talk about this more