#I LOVE KYA I CAN NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT HER

[kyas-wife]

HIHIHI I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OHMYGOF!!! Ima and Kya my loves i Iove THEM SO MUCH !!

Theyre so canon guyS I LOVETHEM SO MUCH

idk whats happening here theyre just silly littlewifes!!! I LOVE THEM

i lovekya im losing my fucking shit over her GOODLORD

[starlight-bread-blog]

Katara is More Patient Then We Give Her Credit for

Katara has been getting a lot of flak for supposedly being hot headed and getting angry at very minor things. Even those who love Katara seem to accept this as the truth. But it's not. In reality, Katara is simply a female character who owns her rage. And I feel like there are two main components that debunk this notion.

Warning: Long, long post.

1. In the instances where Katara is angry it's either justified or makes sense in context.

The Waterbending Scroll

Katara stole, wouldn't you know it, a waterbending scroll. She practices before giving it to Aang, and fails hard. Then Aang who she's supposed to be teaching, gets it right and explains how to do it. Katara has an outburst.

Katara: Will you please shut your air-hole! Believe it or not your infunite wisdom gets a little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!

Why is Katara that mad here? Why did she have an outburst? Because she was carrying the burden of being the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe her whole life. Because her waterbending is the reason Kya died. Because she have been independently studying waterbending her whole life. And now her student is having it all easy and is trying to teach her.

And wouldn't you know it, she realized what she did immediatly. Literally, a second later.

Katara: Oh my gosh Aang. I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again. Here [the scroll] is yours. I don't wanna have anything to do with it anymore.

She even apologized to Momo. Katara had an isecurity rooted in trauma and pressure. When Aang try to teach her she hit a breaking point and lashed out. And not one second later she's already apologizing.

The Waterbending Master

Katara and Aang are going to see Pakku, the waterbending master. But when Pakku sees she's a girl, he says he won't teach her. This is why Katara gets angry. She flew across seas just to get rejected due Pakku is being a sexist freak. I think we can all agree that being denied something because of sexism is a good reason to get angry. And when Katara realized Pakku won't teach Aang if she'll keep insisting, she drops it abd tells Aang to drop it too.

However, that doesn't mean she won't study in secret. She deserved to learn waterbending and she knew it. She took the consequences into consideration and decided to not make a fuss.

But of course, they both get caught. Pakku says he will no longer teach Aang, the Avatar who absolutly needs to study and still refuses to teach Katara because he's still sexist. Only then Katara challenges him to a duel. Only when they have nothing to lose. She challenged a sexist prick to a duel, one who shamelessly denied her oppretunity because of her gender.

The Chase

At the start of the episode Katara gently hints Toph to help unpack a camp for the night. This is when she's not tired yet, and shows patience.

Katara: So Toph, usually when setting up camp, we try to divide up the work.

Toph: Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go.

Katara (still calmly): Well, actually, what I'm trying to say is, some of us might fetch water while someone else might set up the fire pit or put up the tent. *smiles* Even Momo does his fair share.

Toph (slightly irritated): Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire. I've already collected my own food. And look. *earth bends a tent* My tent's all set up.

Katara: Well, that's great for you but we still need to finish-

Toph (loudly): I don't understand. What's the problem here??

Katara: Never mind.

Katara then goes to apologize. While also attempting to make sure her and Toph are on good terms by having her acknoledge that she wasn't 100 absolutly in the right.

Katara: Hey Toph, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves.

Toph: Yeah, you do seem pretty tired.

Katara (slightly irrutated): I meant all of us.

Toph: Well, good night.

Katara: Good night.

By all means, Toph is in the wrong for the sheer refusal for communication. At first Katara calmly explained to her what was needed without even spelling it out. Toph was being passive, so she dropped it. And then she apologizes after doing nothing wrong just so they could be on good terms. Toph was the one being passive agressive. And Katara pretty much let it slide.

This is Katara. The patience she showed right here is her natural, normal self. The rest of the episode is under the context of sleep deprivation and how it's making them all hostile to each other. Including the pacifist Aang. Who's outburst leads Toph to leave. After she does, both Aang and Katara express remorse.

(Side note: I heard people take issue with the line "The stars sure are beautiful tonight, too bad you can't see them, Toph". It's been interpreted as Katara making fun of Toph for being blind, but it's just another instance in the recurring joke of the Gaang forgetting Toph is blind, and listed as such in the official A:TLA Youtube channel).

The Runaway

Update: This section, especially, is majorly outdated.

The episode has a silly opening where Aang is trained by Toph and Katara. Toph misses and accidently hits Katara with a big rock. After Toph doesn't apologize, it leads into a fight which is absolutly not to be taken seriously, that ends with Aang pointing out that it was supposed to be training.

It doesn't work as an exapmle for supposed hot-headedness because the reason this whole thing started because Toph hit Katara with a rock and refused to apologize.

But moving on to the real conflict of these episode, Toph scammed someone and Katara makes it clear that they shouldn't do it again, it'll draw attention to them. Aang promises her it won't happen again but.. um.. you know what happened.

Katara, being responsible, told them to quit because they'd potentially get exposed. Toph didn't reach well, telling her to lighten up. Katara rightfully gets angry, because they really might get exposed and Toph is dismissing her like her concerns are nothing. They have a short argument and Toph storms out.

This is why Katara was angry this episode. Her reasoning for being upset is the Gaang potentially exposing themselves for easy money. That's the conflict.

The Painted Lady

In this episode Katara sees a starving Fire Nation village but Sokka won't allow them to stay due to time limits. So she faked a disease for Appa so they could. Sokka confronts her. At first, she gives up and packs to leave. But since she destroyed the factory that's been polluting the villages water and taking their medicine, the people in charge assumed it was the civilians, and were coming to attack. Sokka and Katara get into a small but intense argument. Important to note, that she doesn't react intensively until Sokka does.

Katara: Well, what was I supposed to do?

Sokka: Leave! Do nothing.

Katara: No! I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me.

Her anger here doesn't highlight hot-headedness, it highlights compassion. Compassion is one of Katara's core traits. She's angry because she's being angrily demanded to see people suffer and stand by. And she will not tolerate it. She will never, ever turn her back on people who need her.

2. In reality, Katara is defined by her patience and compassion.

What I did here was listing off times where Katara did get angry. But Katara is generally a caring, kind person. Rather if it's cheering up Sokka, going shopping with him after he admitted to feeling useless; if it's pulling Aang out of the Avatar state, putting herself at risk when he's out of control; if it's helping deliver a baby of a stranger; or if it's freeing prisoners of the Fire Nation. She demonstrates impressive patience throughout the show.

The Deserter

In this episode Aang was asked to just control fire. Aang gets irrutated himself at this, but Katara assured him that it's probably for a good reaso. But when his master left, he firebent. He was being extremely careless with his new found Fire Bending and burned Katara's hands.

Did she...

A. splashed some water at him.

B. Yelled at him.

C. Ran away crying.

Yeah, she didn't express anger at all. Sokka was who's angry at Aang.

The Desert

The sand benders stole Appa and the Gaang is suck in a desert. Katara demonstrates her patience a lot this episode.

Toph and Aang are arguing about Toph not stopping them.

Aang: You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone.

Katara: Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives.

Sokka: Who's gonna save our lives now? We'll never make itout of here.

Aang: That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves. You don't care whether Appa is okay or not.

Katara: We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now.

Aang accused the Gaang of something horrible. Katara told him to stop, but still understood his anger and calmly explained to him that it's important not to fight in a life threatening situation.

Aang then storms out to look for Appa. Katara's response?

Katara: We'd better start walking. We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se.

She didn't get angry, she was rational and thought about the greater good.

After Aang comes back, Katara suggest they should try sleeping, gives the Gaang all of her bending water without drinking herself. And then finds a way to get to Ba Sing Se using the locations of star systems.

The Gaang spots a cloud and mistakes it for Appa. But Katara realizes the potential in a cloud. She tells Aang to fly and bend the water from the cloud so they could drink.

Katara (disappoibted): Wow, there's hardly any in here.

Aang (intensively): I'm sorry, okay? It's a desert cloud, I did all I could. What's anyone else doing? *Points at Katara* What are you doing?

After dealing with everyone's tireness, Sokka's high nonsense and Aang's attitude, carrying everyone, thinking of possible solutions to ensure they'd all survive, how did she react to Aang accusing her of not doing enough?

Katara: Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head this direction.

And after everything she did for everyone, she pulls Aang out of the Avatar state when he's raging, out of control.

Katara is not so hot headed.

She's sweet, nurturing and caring. She demonstrated incredible patience and perhaps even saved the Gang's life in The Desert with her resilience. Katara's compassion is her defining trait.

But that doesn't mean she's not a human being – she's allowed to be flawed, and in the moments where she does, she's very remorseful. And in the moments where she doesn't, people will still hold her accoutable for simply feeling a justified emotion.

Does it make you oh-so-hot headed to stand up to a sexist denying her opportunity? To make sure your friends don't destroy your chances to win a war? To not tolerate being told to see people in need and do nothing in a middle if an argument she didn't start? Of course it doesn't.

And other characters are allowed to express anger, to be flawed, in ways that are way worse than Katara without being labelled annoying hot headed by the fandom.

Katara is widly known to be irrational, letting her anger get the better of her, but it's simply not true.

[kaze-khaos]

"You were just not meant to be an Airbender, Bumi. . ."

ART BY @yikes-kachowski

This drawing has me in a choak-hold, Istg, the artstyle, the emotion in Bumi's face, the way he painted the Air Nomad tattoo ink onto his skin to feel less of a failure.

I feel Bumi would see himself as a failure and try to make up for that in other ways. He just feels he'll never compare to anyone, especially Kya and Tenzin since Katara focuses on teaching his sister waterbending and Aang focuses and teaching his brother Airbending.

He feels he doesn't amount to much and isn't as loved as his other siblings - pushed aside and left to his own thing.

I always thought Bumi would go through a Rebellious phase where he would run off and hang around the wrong people, being well aware their not the right people for him to be around but they make him feel accepted and worth something.

Or in another case he spends all his day training for the United Nations, thinking unless he pushes himself past his limits he'll never get anywhere, wearing himself out to the point he's physically and emotional tired.

Just imagine a young Bumi, after spending hours of training in different fields, trying with his fists and swords or other combat weapons and his fists being bruised and bloody - sitting alone in his room as he contemplates his next session and what he can do to improve.

Then, in walks Kya. She's staring at how beaten up he looked. Bumi looked up at her, his knee bouncing as he just exchanged a silent look with her, a cut on his cheek from his sword fighting practice. He looks tired. He sniffed, wiping some blood from his nose as he now avoids her eyes.

Tenzin comes to find his elder siblings for dinner, raising his brow at Kye before looking into Bumi's room himself.

Bumi refuses to look up at them, feeling their stare, the same stare his parents gave him when he was younger and covered himself in the light blue ink, tears falling down his face.

"You were just not meant to be an Airbender, Bumi."

Aang said softly, kneeling down and putting his hand in Bumi's shoulder before glancing back at Katara, frowning at his wife.

"How about you wash up for dinner, sweetie?" Katara suggested, standing at the door, holding Tenzin in her arms.

Bumi didn't answer and looked down, clenching his fists as he looked at him. Bumi feels his fathers hand move away and shuts his eyes tightly as Aang leaves the room and then looked up at the mirror as the door shut, blue ink falling down his forehead as he sniffled and hiccuped.

Bumi looked up at them, narrowing his eyes and his brow before getting up, storming towards the door and slamming it in his siblings face.

He grits his teeth before sliding down against the door, pulling his knees to his chest and sobbing.

[waterfire1848]

could you do a blind azula with sokkla au

Hello, anon!!!

1. Azula is born blind. No one knows why but she is. Ursa tries to argue that Azula will be a strong child and capable of bending to her full capacity but Ozai doesn’t believe her. Azula is still a strong bender but Ozai thinks that her blindness will keep her from being a real firebender. Ursa, desperately trying to keep her baby alive, gives her away in the hopes that someone else can protect her. Azula is bounced around for a while until she ends up in the South Pole and found by Kya and Hakoda, who take the infant in and decide to raise her.

2. Azula never let her blindness stop her from playing, doing chores or fighting with Sokka. She and him would constantly run around the village, chasing each other with snowballs, and try to out do each other in different chores. Hakoda tries to go easy on the girl when it comes to fishing or carving, etc but Azula doesn’t like it and demands to be treated the same as Sokka and Katara. By the time she’s six, Hakoda gave up on trying to go easy on Azula and gives her the same tasks as the other kids. Kya, for her part, never treated the kids differently except to tell Azula that she wasn’t from the Water Tribe. Since she can’t see, Azula would have no way of knowing Kya isn’t her mother but Kya makes it clear to Azula very early on that she isn’t and her real mother is probably in the Earth Kingdom somewhere (this isn’t done in a malicious way more-so in a way so that Azula knows the truth). Azula also learns to see by “seeing” heat. She can basically see heat sources and therefore knows when people are around her.

3. When Kya is killed, Azula swears off firebending. Mother or not, Azula loved Kya and her death really hits her hard. No matter what Hakoda says, Azula refuses to bend. She keeps that promise for years afterwards even when they find Aang, Azula introduces herself as a nonbender. She even refuses to teach Aang any firebending for a while because she’s dedicated herself to not bending (Actually turns out to be a blessing because Ozai doesn’t identify her as Azula until after the North Pole siege). Speaking of, Azula sees Sokka in trouble during the siege and uses her bending to protect him. (Azula: Sokka?! Are you okay?! Sokka: I’m okay. I’m okay. You…you firebent. Azula: I guess I did. Sokka: To help me. Azula: Oh, no. Sokka: You like me! Azula: No! No, I don’t! Sokka: Azula likes me! Azula likes me! Azula: Hey! Is there any other soldier who wants to kill him for me?!!)

4. Ozai changes Zuko’s mission to instead capturing Azula and the Avatar and gives him Mai and Ty Lee as support. Azula is now using her bending so it’s a bit easier to track her (a blind firebender has got to attract some attention) but they can’t capture her. And, since Azula left the palace when she was a baby, she has no idea who Mai and Ty Lee are and she and Zuko don’t know they’re related. (Of course Ozai twists the story when he tells Zuko and says Azula was stolen from them by the Water Tribe which is why he needs to get her back). Throughout this, the Gaang really doesn’t know any of that and instead are focused on finding Aang an earthbending teacher: enter Toph. Toph and Azula would make every blind joke known to man and are constantly helping each other out with little tricks. (Sokka: Spirits, there’s two of them). Just a Toph & Azula friendship. (Toph: So, anything you want to tell me. Azula: About what? Toph: About you and Snoozles? Azula: What-are you-no. No, there’s nothing to say. Toph: Really? Because if I didn’t know any better I’d say you have a massive crush on him. Azula: I do not! Toph: And you’re heartbeat increasing when you hear him voice, constantly going to his side, sitting right next to him at dinner and holding onto him when you can’t see is all…Azula: Shut up)

5. In BSS, Azula joins Zuko’s side (let me explain) and returns to the Fire Nation with him. She never mastered lightning but the Dai Li does being down a cave on Aang and Katara, believing them dead. The siblings, Mai and Ty Lee return to the Fire Nation and declare the Avatar and his friend dead. Unknown to them, but known to Azula, Toph was right behind them and kept them from being crushed. The Gaang now is able to travel with everyone thinking they’re dead and having Azula as a secret double agent (something Sokka isn’t too fond of but it was his and Azula’s idea). They’re reunited during the DOBS, a time when Zuko tries to tell Azula what Ozai told him and Hakoda, who is there, tells Zuko that some fishermen found Azula and dropped her off in the South Pole—they didn’t steal her—and he pokes a few holes in Ozai’s lie, but Zuko doesn’t want to doubt his father (since he spent most of his time under Ozai’s thumb and all). The invasion force is still captured, while the Gaang escape to the Western Air Temple, with Hakoda eventually being sent to the Boiling Rock. However, this time, he comes across a woman with a very familiar face who introduces herself as Ursa.

[zukosdualdao]

through all of the shadowy corners of me

zutara month, day three: (re)meet ugly/meet cute. @zutaramonth

summary: as katara's plans on the anniversay of her mother's murder fall apart, she ducks into a teashop to wait out the storm and finds herself familiar with the rude tea server she comes face to face with and promptly bursts into tears. because of-fucking-course.

warnings: grief, nightmares, references to kya's murder (and ursa's disappearance, though that is less explicit), and references to ableism wrt facial differences. also, just, some lightly gratuitous swearing, on behalf of katara's no good very bad day. she deserves it.

other notes: title taken from landon piggs’ falling in love at a coffeeteashop. because i am basic in that way.

Katara’s pretty sure the universe is conspiring against her.

First, it was the fucking felt-tip markers being all dried up—damn it Sokka—she needed for the posters for the protest she was supposed to head.

(She tries not to think about how really, first, it was the dream she woke up from, that she wakes up from often, but especially on this day, the dream with fearful eyes and the ominous drip of blood and the feeling of too late too late too late. The dream that is also a memory.)

Someone had to make the posters—because seriously, why was the school shutting down the campus food bank when a third of the student population was food-insecure?— so she missed her first class of the day to get new ones from the closest craft store, over half an hour way with traffic. There was supposed to be a quiz, too, and the professor is notoriously stubborn about absences and make-ups. 

And then there was this huge storm, so they couldn’t even have the protest today like they’d planned.

Now, as Katara ducks out of the rain and into the tiny little hole-in-the-wall ambient tea shop—The Jasmine Dragon, the sign had said—which is all warm lighting and soft ringing laughter from the bare few patrons inside, she figures she can at least get a cup of something hot to drink. It’s been a truly horrible day, and she can’t wait to get back home, sleep for ten hours straight, and wipe it from the record of her memory, but right now, this is her one saving grace.

So, when she gets to the second place in line, very patiently waiting as the server at the front snipes at the man in front of her, part of her wants to reel up to confront him. Sure, she knows customer service can be a day-in, day-out nightmare—she didn’t spend her first two semesters waiting tables because it was fun—but really, he could at least try to be a little nicer. The man wasn’t doing anything wrong, as far as she could see.

When she gets to the front, Katara opens her mouth to say—something, she doesn’t know what—and is caught off-guard to find that she recognizes him faintly. With his eyes the color of amber, swoopy, dark hair, and a shiny, painful-looking burn scar set against the left side of his face, on her right—yes, he was a boy who was in Sokka’s class back in high school. And he was a total jerk, barely speaking a word to anyone except to get into arguments, whether with teachers or other kids. She didn’t know him all that well herself, but she’d never liked him from the stories Sokka told or for the way he seemed to bristle at everyone and everything as she watched from a morbidly curious distance.

Zuko. Yes, she remembers him.

“Can I help you?” he asks, his voice almost a snarl when she spends a beat too long taking in his features, though he’s not looking at her, instead glancing down at his scratchpad. “I’m supposed to tell all of the customers we’re out of the oolong,” he adds in a rough voice, without looking up.

Katara wants to rage, wants to scream, why does he think he gets to treat people like that, god, at least have the decency to look me in the eye and treat me like a person when you’re being a dick—but instead, she bursts into tears. 

Very loud, messy tears. It’s been a long day.

And, well. He certainly looks up then. 

“Um,” Zuko says in lieu of an actual reaction, his right eye wide. His expression has softened considerably, his mouth shaped in surprise, his browline furrowed. “We have jasmine?” he tries.

Well, she thinks as he stands there stiffly, the perfect image of a deer in headlights, before reaching over the counter to push the napkin dispenser toward her, this is humiliating.

At least it’s not terribly busy in here. There’s no one standing beside her, and she only feels one or two worried glances from the tables, the shop mostly empty.

“Sorry,” Katara says through her tears. “God, I’m sorry. I just—I’m having awful day,” she says, motioning to her face as a way of explanation before yanking a napkin out from the dispenser to dry her face.

Zuko’s lip curls in what she thinks might be sympathy. 

“Me, too,” he admits on a sigh. “Sorry. What can I get for you?”

“Um,” she says, shaking her head and smiling through still teary eyes. God. “A cup of jasmine tea would actually be nice.”

“Sure.” 

She pays quickly and tries to ignore his eyes as they follow her over to the tiny round table she chooses in the corner. One cup, she thinks. She’ll drink one cup of tea and be out of here quicker than even the lightning flaring outside, before anyone can say anything about it, and then head back to her apartment and think through every turn in life that got her there, sobbing in line at a tea shop as a mean boy she knew from high school tried not to call her on it.

But he has other plans, because when he brings her order to her, he doesn’t just leave like he’s supposed to, standing there for several awkward moments that feel as though they’re spanning lifetimes.

Yeah. The universe is definitely conspiring against her.

“So… you’re… good now?”

Katara stares at him blankly for a moment, feeling her jaw grow a little slack.

“Are you… checking on me?”

A beat. “I’m just very committed to customer service,” Zuko deadpans, and Katara can’t help but laugh.

“Right,” she says. “Yeah. I’m… good. Thank you.” He nods—just once, a rigid jerk of his head—and starts to turn on his heel to leave.

But for some reason, she suddenly doesn’t want that. He’s being… almost kind of sweet, and it’s so incongruous with the memory she has of him that it kindles a new kind of curiosity.  “We went to school together, you know,” she says quickly, before he can fully turn around. He pauses in his tracks. “You probably don’t remember, but—”

“I remember you,” Zuko says before she can even finish. She frowns, intrigued. “You always wore your hair up in a braid and those loops. And once, even though we barely knew each other,” he adds with the faint traces of a smile, “you told off that kid when he was… uh…” The smile fades.

Katara remembers suddenly. It was an overcast day, not unlike the way this one had started, and Zuko had been sitting alone in the courtyard, not bothering anyone (for once) as Katara made her way to lunch when she saw some other kid go up to him to start needling him, saying horrible things about his scar. Very loudly.

Katara hadn’t liked that, so she’d marched right over and told the kid so. Also very loudly.

She’s pretty sure that’s the only time she and Zuko even tangentially interacted, and even then, they hadn’t spoken any actual words to each other. Everything else she knew about him came from stories and distant observation.

“When he was being a dick,” she finishes for him.

“Yeah,” Zuko says. Peering through his eyelashes, he adds more quietly, “I’ve always remembered that.”

“Really?”

A shrug of his shoulders. “You didn’t have to do that, but you did anyway.”

“I don’t like cruel people.” He nods, hands in his pockets, eyes suddenly downcast and looking almost a little ashamed. It makes her sort of sad. “Do you have time to sit?” Katara asks suddenly.

He looks surprised as he glances back at up her. “What?”

“I mean, I know you’re working, so don’t worry about it if not,” she adds in a hurry, tripping over he words. “I just thought maybe…”

“My shift’s actually over,” he answers, and suddenly, there’s a soft, sort-of-shy smile playing on his lips. “I—I could sit.”

He pulls the chair out and sits while Katara sips at her tea. It really is quite good.

“This is almost making up for the rest of my day,” she laughs, and his face scrunches up, maybe almost amused.

But then, the expression morphs. “Why was your day so bad, Katara?”

She’s surprised to find he ever knew her name, let alone remembers it now. He really is full of surprises. 

She could tell him the simple version, the actual events without the why she was taking it so hard, without divulging what it was really about… but, well…

He seems sincere enough in asking, at any rate.

“I just… I lost my mother when I was really young,” she begins to explain, feeling sort of choked-up and tight in her chest again, but no tears threaten to fall right now.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly, and she looks up to meet his gaze, swimming with undeniable sympathy. “That’s something we have in common.”

She looks at him for a long moment, surprised. This is something they share, then. Something they can understand about each other. “I’m sorry, too. It’s awful. And… today is the anniversary. I usually just try to keep busy, but…”

“But everything went wrong?”

Katara hums.

“That’s the fucking worst,” he says bluntly, and Katara laughs then. He has very little tact, it seems, but also, yeah. It is. And it’s nice for someone to be able to… just say it. To feel it with her.

“It is the fucking worst,” she agrees. “But… I really am doing better now.”

“I’m glad,” he says, but he frowns, staring down at his hands, which are splayed on the table. “I really shouldn’t keep you from your day."

“I mean… the rest of my plans for the day have sort of fallen apart, and I should probably wait out the rain anyway, so I might, uh,” she says, feeling suddenly shy and hesitant. “I might stick around for a while. Get one more of these,” she nods down to her cup, warm and solid in her hands. “You know.” She takes another sip.

His smile glints, but it’s soft, too, definitely as shy as she feels. “I could do with a cup.”

Katara’s own smile grows wider.

The kindly older man who runs the shop—Zuko's uncle, Katara learns quickly—brings them out another round of jasmine, two cups this time, and Zuko slowly raises his in a cheers motions motion, a little awkward and a lot funny.

“To awful days?” he says with a raise of his brow.

“And to perfect storms,” she adds in agreement, laughter bubbling in her chest.

They clink their teacups together.

[risingsoleil]

i just realised we didn’t get to see AU linzin on their wedding day!!!

Hello! Yes, we haven't yet and that's a crime lol

I don't have concrete ideas on how it goes, but I did drop a few hints in one of the Choices, Chances, Changes chapter, which was that:

Lin and Tenzin each combine a handful of sand into a bag to represent that their love can never be separated

It was on a full moon night and Linzin danced at the beach at night right after their wedding

So for the spontaneous ideas that come to mind, here is what I got as I freewrite this:

Small wedding at sunset on Air Temple Island. There's a spot on back that not many people venture and is large enough to hold a gathering. It's got a great view of the sunset and is close to the beach

Rather than wear the colors of their respective elements, they switch. Lin wears a red hanbok with Air Nation designs. Tenzin wears metal cuffs and a green traditional hanfu

The acolytes were not invited

Tenzin wanted to see Lin in her wedding attire when it was time to meet and walk down the aisle. His jaw dropped as soon as he saw her and couldn't be more proud of himself that he was the one to walk down the aisle as her husband

Lin is gifted something from each nation to incorporate into her wedding fit

Poppy helped her with the dress and had it custom-made, and she also gave Lin a jade and gold hairpin (Earth)

Aang gives Lin traditional beads (Air)

Lin wears the betrothal necklace Tenzin carved for her (Water)

Izumi gifts her priceless jade rings carved in the Fire Nation and also norigae (Fire)

Lin is so nervous about these precious items rather than the wedding itself lol

Izumi: Do you know how many groupies want to be in your spot? Lin: Yes Izumi (puts an extra jade pin in Lin's hair) then shut up and wear them proudly

Dialogue that I brainstormed with Peach a long time ago xD

Katara: You look so beautiful, Lin! Kya: Tenzin is gonna be stunned Toph: He'd be happy if she was naked too

When Lin and Tenzin kiss, he swirls some wind so that their clothes can flow perfectly + Lin's hair is spiralling up in beautiful curlsand a photographer gets the perfect snapshot

Flowers arch over them and Aang airbends the softest wind so that flowers fall above Linzin while they kiss

[scarabsinthestardust]

Tender // Ch. 4

MASTERLIST

word count: 2200+

CHAPTER WARNINGS: language; mentions of drinking/alcoholism; arguing/one-sided arguments; depression; anxiety; unspecified undiagnosed mental illness; tiny little spoiler for Better in the Morning, but nothing that will be a shock to readers that are caught up on it

The trouble with things going smoothly is that one tends to get complacent. They get comfortable and let their guard down. They make mistakes and people suffer for it, mostly the ones they never wanted to hurt in the first place.

Josh and I have been going strong for the last six months. We’ve not so much as bickered since the first argument. He’s somehow convinced me, on some uncertain level, that maybe I do deserve this happiness. The fear is still there, of course, but Josh has found a way to quell it, and suddenly I don’t feel like I’m drowning. He’s my spark, my ever-burning flame, and I think maybe I might be able to keep it from going out.

I never wanted kids, and that hasn’t changed, but watching Josh light up around them only increases my love for him. It’s no different with his new niece. He’s been fawning over Kya and Jake’s baby nonstop since she was born and has made it his life’s mission to ensure he’s the ‘favorite uncle.’ He talks about her constantly, and I’m surprisingly not put off by his incessant chattering these days. But I suppose all good things must come to an end.

We’re in his kitchen, cleaning up after dinner. Although I still have my own place, I find myself spending most of my time at his house. He’s talking a million miles a minute about his day, and his most recent visit to Kya’s. He tells me practically everything the baby did, which isn’t much considering she’s, well, a baby, but Josh is excited, so I let him have his moment. Then he says something that makes my heart stop.

“Jake said they’re probably gonna go to West Virginia soon to visit… uh, whoever you guys know up there. I thought maybe we could tag along, make it a whole family trip.”

“No. I’m not going to West Virginia.” Bile is rising in my throat at the thought, and I’m infuriated he would even suggest it.

He reaches out to touch my arm. “I mean, I’d be there with you the whole time. I think it’d be-“

“I said no.”

“I want to see where you grew up, and whatever happened out there, we can-“

The last remaining calm in me dissipates, and I snatch my arm from him, slamming my fist on the marble countertop so hard it shoots pain up to my elbow. “Drop it!”

He blinks at me in shock, and I pretend I don’t notice the way he flinches. I’ve never raised my voice like this toward him, but now the dam has broken, and I can’t stop. “Why can’t you ever just fucking leave shit alone?”

“Finn…” His voice is so small and soft that I almost feel bad. Almost.

“Stop. Fucking. Talking. For once in your life shut the fuck up. I don’t understand why you always have to keep pushing and pushing for shit you know nothing about! Maybe no one’s ever told you no, you’re so used to getting everything you want, but it doesn’t fucking work like that. And you don’t even understand one piece of what you’re prying for. So, stop acting like a spoiled fucking brat, and quit digging!”

I know he doesn’t deserve any of what I said, but the damage is already done. His eyes are filling with tears, and he takes a step away from me. His jaw tenses and he nods, refusing to look me in the eyes. “Fine. Okay.” He doesn’t argue, the first indication that I’ve truly hurt him, only turns away and disappears down the hallway.

My heart’s racing, my skin feels like it’s on fire, and I’m squeezing my fist so tightly my nails are digging into my palm. The house is too small; the walls might be closing in on me. I don’t hear anything, and Josh doesn’t come back out. I should go apologize, but it seems like such a daunting task that will only result in more confrontation, and will inevitably lead me to hurt him more. That’s the last thing I want to do, so I grab my keys, slam the door on the way out, get in my car, and drive.

I don’t have a destination, I just need to get away. It’s already dark; the bright oncoming headlights in the opposite lane make my eyes water. Or is it the guilt and anxiety? I very much wish I could go back and do things differently. Maybe it’s not too late to salvage my relationship with him, but I can’t return to him like this, when my mind is still mottled with rage. I don’t trust what I might do. Instead, I’ll do what I do best – run.

~

JOSHUA

When Josh told his twin he was coming over, Jake wasn’t expecting to find him with bloodshot eyes and splotchy, tear-stained cheeks. “Shit, what’s wrong?” Jake ushered him inside and directed his attention to Josh, concern painting his features.

“Finn and I got into a fight. And he didn’t come home. It’s been 24 hours. His phone’s going straight to voicemail. I checked his place, and I don’t think he’s been there either. What if something happened to him? What if-“

“Josh, calm down. I’m sure he’s fine.” Jake coaxed his brother to sit down on the couch. He gently reminded Josh to keep his voice down, so he doesn’t wake the baby. “Did he say anything before he left?”

“No. No, we argued… he was so pissed off so I tried to give him some space and he just left.” Josh didn’t want to elaborate on the details; he knew how Jake would react to Finn being the primary aggressor, and he didn’t want to make his boyfriend out to be the bad guy. He blamed himself for it anyways. “I don’t know what to do. I’m worried about him. And I checked the weather, there’s another storm coming through. What if he gets stuck out in it somewhere?”

Jake shook his head. “What are you talking about? He’s not a fucking dog, Josh. It’s just rain. He’ll figure it out.”

“No, he’s right to be worried.” Kya’s voice came from behind them; they didn’t hear her come around the corner until she spoke. “He’s always been terrified of storms. I don’t know why. He used to hide in the closet when we were kids, until it passed. But that also means he watches the weather like a hawk. I’m sure he’s found somewhere safe to hunker down until it passes.”

“Is this normal for him, to just disappear?” Josh’s eyes pleaded with her for some kind of reassurance.

Kya shrugged sadly. “He’s always been a little ghost-y, I guess. But I didn’t think he would just drop off without telling you. What… was it that bad of a fight?”

Josh swallowed as he fought back tears. “It… no, it was stupid. And I’m the one that upset him. I started it.”

Kya watched him carefully; there was something he wasn’t telling them. But she didn’t call him out on it. She figured if it was something serious, he would have said something. “He’ll come around,” she said. “He doesn’t handle confrontation well. I’m sure he just needs some time to cool off and clear his head. He’ll come back.” She didn’t let on that she was suddenly doubting her own words.

When Josh eventually returned home, dejected and depressed, he curled up on the couch under a soft throw blanket. He held his phone close and made sure the volume was turned up in case Finn did call him back. He wanted to stay up, wanted to wait just a little longer, but exhaustion won out and he soon drifted to sleep.

~

It’s barely dawn by the time I make it back to Josh’s house. His car is here. He’s probably asleep, which makes me falter. I don’t want to wake him up, but I know the longer I stay away, the harder it will be. I’ve rehearsed a hundred different conversations in my head, like memorizing a script that will change based on how Josh responds to each line. I’m honestly quite terrified. I considered just staying gone, but I know Josh well enough to know that kind of uncertainty would only hurt him more. If I’ve lost him, at least we’ll both know it.

I ring the doorbell. I know where he keeps the spare key, but I don’t feel like I’ve earned the right to use it. I don’t realize I’m holding my breath as I wait for a response. I’m surprised at how quickly he comes to the door, and I’m even more shocked when he throws his arms around me so hard I almost stumble backwards.

“Where the hell have you been? I was so worried about you. I thought… I thought something happened to you.”

He was worried? About me? I coax him inside so I can shut the door. I’m not keen on providing intel on our private lives to the neighbors. He sniffs and rubs his eyes with the back of his hand. When I finally get a good look at his face, my chest aches. He hasn’t slept; he looks exhausted. I know he’s been crying, and I hate that it’s my fault.

He allows me to lead him to the couch, but instead of sitting with him, I kneel on the floor in front of him. “I’m so sorry.” It seems like a good place to start. “I’m sorry for how I treated you. You didn’t deserve that, Josh. I lost my cool, that’s all on me. And… I understand if you want me to leave, if you don’t want this anymore.”

“Where did you go?” he asks quietly.

“Uh, Wichita.”

“Kansas? What the hell is in Kansas? Or… who?”

I’m mildly taken aback at the implication, but if the roles were reversed, I’d be thinking the same thing. “I promise you, it’s nothing like that. I didn’t plan to go to Wichita, I just ended up there. I…” I hesitate to tell him the whole truth. Hiding it is easier, and he may not ever forgive me. But maybe he’ll pity me instead, and that’s almost worse. “I messed up, though.” I pull my AA chip from my pocket and place it in his hand, careful to avoid his eyes. “I’m sorry. I know you’re probably disappointed in me. I found a meeting before I came back, but if you don’t want-“

“I don’t want you to leave.” He looks at the chip in his palm before holding it back out to me. “This doesn’t define you, Finn. You’re allowed to make mistakes.”

Mistakes get people killed. “You deserve better,” I admit. I’m giving him an out, an escape route, and the small piece of me that is still decent wants him to take it. I slip the chip back into my pocket, although it feels dirty now, contaminated somehow.

He’s staring down at the carpet, and I can see the wheels turning. “You weren’t drunk, though.”

“I got drunk. I went to a bar, and-“

“No, I mean before you left. You weren’t drunk when you screamed at me.”

“No,” I whisper. “I… I can’t go back there, Josh. You trying to convince me to, it… it triggered something in me, I guess. I can’t stand feeling like I don’t have a choice.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I know you didn’t. I’m working on it, though. And I know it’s a lot to ask, but I promise if you give me another chance, I’ll do better. It won’t happen again.”

He stays quiet for a moment, sniffling as he considers my words. I’m still not confident that he’ll forgive me, and I brace myself for the worst. But instead, he leans forward, resting his arms on my shoulders and pulling me to him. “I’m sorry. Just please don’t leave. Let me help you,” he practically begs.

I give into his pleas, and we stay like this until he asks me to come to bed with him. “Will you just lay with me?” I hold him then, neither of us saying a word. His fingers absentmindedly trace my skin, just under the hem of my shirt. They trail along the small scar just above my right hip and I tense up involuntarily. The little patch of marred flesh is just a reminder, another in a long line of stories I will never tell him. He’s learned to quit asking about it, now.

I don’t think I really sleep. Josh eventually drifts off and I’m left alone. I don’t want to admit it, but my gut is telling me this is wrong. Something in me is screaming to get away from here, from him. Except it’s not because I’m in any kind of danger. It’s because I know he is. No matter how many promises I make, how many times he forgives me for the things I’ve done, or how much he pleads for me to stay with him, I will inevitably hurt him over and over again. There is no doubt in my mind that everything he’s tried to build in himself, I will bring it all crashing to the ground. I do love him, more than I’ve loved anyone this way. Some say if you love something, you need to let it go. But my love for him, and my own selfishness, is why I know I never will. I’ll hold onto him for as long as I can, even if all I do is drag him down with me to the pits of wherever the hell I end up.

///

@hollyco @fleetingjake @musicislove3389 @hailthegodsong @josh-iamyour-mama @katuschka

TAGLIST

Let me know if you want to be added!

[boobo13cambridge]

Sheila Ki Jawani | Kylian Mbappé

"I know you want it, but you're never gonna get it.

Tere haath kabhi na aani

(I will never come into your hands)

Maane na maane koi duniya yeh saari,

(Whether anyone believes it or not,)

Mere ishq ki hai deewani.

(This whole world is crazy behind me.)"

The music was blasting from the Bluetooth speaker that Kylian had got you for Valentine's Day after you had complained to him that your iPhone wasn't enough to jam to your favorite songs while getting ready.

Kylian, ever the attentive one, couldn't possibly not buy his bébé anything she asked for. Carefully applying the shade Limitless on your eyelids from your Huda Beauty palette, you were jamming to one of your favorite songs of all time while getting ready for your friend's birthday party. You were so happy that Kiara decided to make it Bollywood-themed because you wanted to wear the gold saree that your mother had gotten for you from her trip to India last month.

"Ab dil karta hai haule haule se,

(Now slowly my heart wants,)

Main toh khud ko gale lagaun.

(Me to embrace myself.)"

You continued shaking your hips in a sensual motion while you curled your lashes and applied a coat of mascara. To be honest, you were running a bit late and hoped Kylian wouldn't come home too soon so you could blame any tardiness on him. As a girl, you felt that being on time was overrated; no matter how much you prepared in advance, it didn't matter. What can you say? Beauty can't be hurried.

"Kisi aur ki mujhko zaroorat kya,

(I don't need anyone else,)

Main toh khud se pyar jataun.

(I'll express my love to myself.)"

This was your favorite part of the song. While waiting for the eyelash glue to dry, you struck a pose at every line.

"What's my name?

What's my name?

What's my name?

My name is Sheila, Sheila ki jawani.

(My name is Sheila, young Sheila.)

I'm too sexy for you,

Main tere haath na aani.

(I will never come into your hands.)

No no no no Shei-"

"Having fun, mon amour?" your husband's voice cut through the music as you stood there, your index finger shaking in front of the mirror with your expression stuck in a deer caught in the headlights motion.

Smirking, your husband stood there leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Kyky! What a surprise! I didn't know you were going to be home so early!" you blushed, trying to quickly put your lashes on, while wholly ignoring the fact that you were obviously late.

"Early, bébé? Really? T'es sérieuse?" he said, raising his eyebrows and walking behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. "It's 8:00 pm, and we are supposed to leave by 8:15 pm."

"Honestly, Ky. When you really think about it, does it really matter? I mean, it's an Indian birthday party; no one's on time," you rambled on while applying your primer. "Besides, time is just a con-"

"Bébé,"

"-cept. According to Allen Bluedor, time is a result -"

"Bébé,"

"of humans interacting with each other -"

"BÉBÉ!"

"-and socialization processes," you trailed off as he spun you around in his arms and gave you a stern look that made you immediately shut up. Kylian looked positively over your antics, as his dark eyes peered into your soul. The stern press of his mouth made it clear that he was less than impressed with your incorrigible habit of not getting ready on time.

"Qu'est-ce que je t'avais dit la semaine passée quand on a failli être en retard pour la fête à ma mère?" he asked, his thumb tracing circles on your exposed hip bone. There was a predatory gleam in his eyes that had your pulse suddenly racing. A slight shiver went down your spine as you had a hard time looking into his eyes.

"Euh, que j'étais vraiment belle et que de toute façon on avait juste failli être en retard?" you said while fluttering your eyes at him. You knew you were in trouble when you felt his hands tighten around your hips, as he frowned and pursed his lips, almost surprised by your audacity.

"Et maintenant, tu mens, eh?" his growly voice sent a spark of heat into your lower belly as he slowly backed you into the counter. Feeling the edge digging into your back, you placed your hands on the planes of his chest, the soft fabric of his black kurta providing comfort despite the tension in the air.

His right hand, which was on your hip, slid up your body slowly, wrapping around your throat and giving it a light squeeze. Your breath hitched as you felt your panties dampening.

"I asked you a question, and I expect an honest answer, bébé."

"Okay, fine. You told me that if I were late one more time, you would bend me over your knees…"

"Don't get shy on me now, princesse. You've literally had my cock in your mouth."

"Oh my god, Ky. You're such a perv sometime."

"Answer me."

"You would bend me over your knees and spank my ass raw," you mumbled quickly.

"Unfortunately, mon amour, I don't have time to bend you over my knees but I'm sure this counter will do," he said while his left hand slid down your ass, giving it a possessive squeeze.

"Turn around, and bend over."

At this point, you were so turned on that you wanted him to do it, all previous traces of nervousness vanishing from your body as if it was never there in the first place. Gulping, you bit your lip, as you slowly turned around and bent over the cold countertop. you weren't wearing a bra underneath your silk robe, so your nipples were hard as they touched the cool surface.

You heard Kylian inhale sharply as he slowly lifted your flimsy robe, gradually exposing your derrière. You heard him curse as he caressed your soft flesh. A sharp smack on your ass had you whimpering as the sting left behind a film of ecstasy in your soul.

"You're going to count for me now, bébé," he said, his commanding voice slowly seducing you into submission.

"One…" The word barely left your lips when Kylian let out a snort, shaking his head not in amused disbelief at your antics. "T'es drôle. Celui-là ne compte pas."

Despite the dark lust clouding his deep brown eyes, a glint of mischief and a touch of affection shone through. You drove him absolutely mental but he loved every second of it.

"T'es méchant, tu sais," you retorted, a pout forming on your lips, challenging his authority with your audacity.

Smack.

"Deux," you said, your voice laced with defiance, determined to test his limits as the sting of his slap reverberated through you. Glancing at your reflection in the mirror, the person staring back seemed almost like a stranger. A flush of red painted your cheekbones, a vivid testament to the intensity of the moment, while your teeth sank into your plump bottom lip.

"You're such a brat. I shouldn't let you cum for a week," he admonished, his tone firm as he caressed the bruised flesh.

"No! How could you even think of doing that?" You protested breathlessly, alarmed that he would even dare deny you your pleasure.

Just as he was about to retort, the sudden ring of your phone sliced through the charged atmosphere of the room, the beginning notes of Standing Next to You breaking the intimate bubble that you were both confined in.

"Who is it, Ky?" Your voice was curious, a slight edge of impatience cutting through as you tried to peek over his shoulder at the glowing phone screen.

"Oh putain, it's Kiara."

"Oh shit, she's going to kill us. We're so late." The words tumbled out of your mouth, a laugh hiding just beneath the surface, acknowledging that your best friend was about to tear you a new one.

"I wonder whose fault that is, mon amour," Kylian smirked, his gaze teasing and accusatory all at once.

"Ugh, get over it, Ky."

Smack.

"Cheeky brat." His words were a playful growl, the affectionate smack a punctuation to your ongoing banter. "C'mon, let me help you with your saree."

"Je t'aime, bébé." you said blowing a kiss in his direction, giving him a quick peck.

He just rolled his eyes at your antics, the gesture full of love and a resigned acceptance of your playful nature.

╚══════╝ A/N╚══════╝

Hi lovelies! I had this in the drafts and finally decided to post it! Yay 😁

I think I’m leaning towards writing short prompts because i have a hard time doing longer ones.

Anyways, I hope you guys like it 😊😊

[writer1]

Tales of Kya

Chapter 2: Chances taken

Kya curls up in her bed, her eyes closed as she tries to stay asleep. She can’t do this right now, it’s time to go to the lab but she can’t. She can’t put on a brave face yet.

It’s been hours since she saw the kiss, and she needs to work through her feelings first of risk breaking into tears when she sees them.

Kya nuzzles her face into her blue blanket, smelling deeply. It smells like her dads. Vander and Silco. Not as much like Silco anymore, but it’s still a comfort to her soul. She misses him, wishes that he… that he had loved her enough to at least write to her or something.

Kya closes her eyes tiredly, a few tears slipping out and rolling down her cheeks. She’ll… She’ll go in tomorrow when she can finally face Jayce and Viktor.

Suddenly, a knock startles her out of her thoughts. She sighs and tries to ignore it, she’s not in the-

“Kya!”

That’s… that’s Jayce? Why, she sent a message? What is he doing here? 

“Kya, please open the door. We have something to discuss with you.”

That’s Viktor’s voice… fuck, both of them? Seriously? No no this can’t be happening.

“Guys… I’m really not feeling well.” Kya fake a cough, not getting out of bed. She really hopes this deters them.

“Really? Then we better come in.” Jayce hums, and Kya hears the door unlock. That makes her jump up, fuck why did she give them an emergency key.

“Guys! What if I was naked!” Kya huffs, storming into the living room where Jayce and Viktor stand in the doorway.

“We really needed to talk.” Viktor sighs and sits on Kya’s couch. “Come.” He says softly.

“Maybe I’m too sick to talk.” Kya says softly, looking away.

“Kya… we found this outside our door.” Jayce says softly, pulling out the paper. The letter.

Kya’s heart drops. “No… I forgot… I dropped it?” She feels the tears return.

Now they’re going to leave you.

They hate you.

You won’t even be friends-

“Shut up!” Kya huffs tearfully, covering her ears. She hiccups softly, when suddenly she feels a pair of large, callused hands gently cover her ears. When she looks up, her eyes go wide seeing Jayce there.

“Shhh, Angel. The voices, whatever they’re saying, it’s a lie.” Jayce promises, and that gets them to leave for now, and then Kya is gently lead to the couch, and she’s sat gently next to Viktor, who bumps his knee against hers. A small touch that helps to ground her in the here and now. 

Kya takes a shaky breath, looking at the two men on either side of her. “I understand… if you want a new partner. I’m sorry, I never meant to fall for either of you.” She tries to compose herself, she’s stronger than this. “And I get it, I’m glad you two love eachother.”

“Kya, that’s what we need to talk about.” Jayce gently takes her hand in his. “Viktor and I are together, we just… haven’t announced it. It kind of just happened, but… we’ve also discussed how… we both love you too.” He admits softly. “We have since that day we first invented hextech. We fell in love with eachother and you. We just…weren’t sure how to approach the topic. Then we heard someone running and found your letter… I’m so sorry we hurt you like that. That I hurt you like that.” He whispers.

Kya can’t believe her ears, eyes wide before she feels a hand on her knee and she turns to Viktor.

“Yes.” Viktor cups her cheek. “We love you, and… if you’d like, we want to try to make this work. I’m sorry too, though I’m glad we know.” He gives a small smile. “What do you say, Partner?”

Kya looks between them, before leaving in and kissing Jayce, then turning and pressing a kiss to Viktor. It’s like a dream come true as fireworks explode in her chest.

Jayce laughs. “I guess that’s our answer.” He smiles. “So… how exactly does this work?” He hums. “I mean, we’re gonna need a bigger bed.” He wiggles his eyebrows.

Kya snorts. “Take me on a date first.” She says softly, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry for running last night.”

“Don’t be.” Jayce assures. “We understood. And don’t worry, m’lady. We will escort you on an amazing date.” He says dramatically. “Won’t we, Vik?”

Viktor sighs. “Not too much in public?” He pleads.

Kya smiles, listening as they start bickering and she can’t help but feel so relieved. She… doesn’t have to choose. Maybe things are looking up for her now, hopefully Janna keeps that going. Kya closes her eyes and lays her head on Viktors shoulder, just basking in this.

[broomballkraken]

Title: Like Fine Wine

Fandom: Fields of Mistria

Pairing(s): Terithia/Landen/Errol

Word count: 3377

Warnings: Implied Sexual Content

Summary: Terithia didn’t know how it happened, but she somehow managed to fall in love with both of her best friends at the same time. As she struggles to come to terms with her conflicting feelings, she meets Landen and Errol for dinner and drinks, where the tension finally reaches a breaking point…between all three of them.

It had been an average spring day in Mistria for Terithia. Up before the sun, she scarfed down a quick breakfast of canned sardines before heading off to do some river fishing until noon. She stopped by the inn for a hearty lunch and made her way to the beach in the afternoon to hopefully fish up something special for dinner tonight, for she would not be dining alone.

Meeting with Errol and Landen for dinner on a regular basis was nothing new for Terithia. They were best friends after all, and had been ever since she moved to town and they all hit it off right away. Theirs was a treasured relationship that she’d never had with anyone else before.

Terithia’s ocean fishing turned out to be a rousing success, and she quickly made her way home with a basket full of fresh mackerel. Errol liked them grilled, she knew for a fact, and Landen also happened to be a fan. She breezed through the messy cleaning part of the process, and in no time at all, she had three mackerel fillets grilling to perfection, filling her house with a delicious aroma.

Normally she wouldn’t bother cooking her own fish, preferring to take her catch to the inn and have it cooked up there. Her company tonight, however, made her want to pull out all the stops herself, and it wasn’t just because Errol and Landen were her best friends…

It was also because she was in love...with both of them.

Terithia winced as the knife she was using to cut up vegetables slipped from her grasp, coming dangerously close to slicing her fingers open. Biting her lip, she took in a calming breath, letting it out slowly before resuming her dinner preparations. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly when she had fallen in love with Errol and Landen, but what she did know was that it was getting harder and harder to keep her feelings to herself as time went on.

Hiding them seemed like her only option, however. Terithia was held back by the fact that she had no damn clue if either man saw her in a romantic way, and she sure as hell didn’t want to potentially jeopardize their friendship by expressing feelings that wouldn’t be reciprocated; Terithia knew that would make things incredibly awkward, for her at least.

So for now, Terithia had to bite her tongue and endure Landen’s suave and playful teasing, or Errol’s endearing lectures about any new museum donations and his heaping praise whenever Terithia told him about her successful fishing ventures. That was far easier said than done...

When she had finished cooking and set three places at her dinner table, a broad smile crossed Terithia’s face when she heard a loud series of knocks. She made her way to the door, slow enough so that she could fluff up her hair and push her bangs out of her face, and she opened it to find her favorite people in the world.

“Evening, Terithia!” Landen said, winking as he stepped inside with Errol just behind him. “Whew, I’m glad we made it before the storm started back up!”

Errol nodded in agreement. “We were rather lucky. The rain stopped just long enough for us to get here.”

“Heh, that is lucky!” Terithia beamed as she shut the door, trying and failing to calm her rapidly-beating heart as the three went over to the dining table. “But, it did allow me to fish up tonight’s dinner, so I can’t say the rain’s all bad, kya ha ha!”

The way Landen was smiling at her gave Terithia pause, and she could only hope that she looked away in time to hide the flush in her cheeks. Errol chuckled, which was an incredibly pleasant sound that never failed to make Terithia’s heart skip a beat. He set the bag he had been carrying on the table and reached inside.

“I baked up a hefty helping of sweetroot. That new farmer’s got quite a knack for finding them,” Errol said, and Landen laughed and slapped a hand to his back.

“Ha! That really takes me back!” he said, slapping his other hand to Terithia’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Remember when we used to roast up the sweetroot that Errol brought back from the mines? Those were some great times.”

“They sure were.” Terithia couldn’t help but smile when the memories came flooding back to her, but she frowned when Landen removed his hand from her shoulder.

Setting his own bag on the table next to Errol’s, Landen pulled two large bottles out of it. “This wine is my contribution tonight. Balor got a hold of a nice vintage, and at a discount too!”

“Nice! Sometimes I wonder how Balor can afford to do that kinda thing.”

“You’re not the only one. Nora’s been trying to get him to spill his secret for ages now,” Errol said, causing Terithia to bark out a laugh.

“Kya ha ha! She’d have an easier time trying to get Holt to quit it with the puns, or getting March to be nice to the new farmer.”

Errol and Landen laughed along with her, and they all settled into their routine dinner. The mackerel was good, but Terithia new that Jo or Reina would have done a better job cooking it. That fact didn’t stop Landen and Errol from gushing about how delicious it was, and Terithia hoped that the blush that rose upon her cheeks wasn’t too obvious.

As they ate, the trio fell into a familiar pattern of pleasant conversation. Terithia regaled the men with how her day of fishing went, while Landen showed off some new furniture concept sketches, which he quickly confirmed to be strictly for fun and Ryis’ training when Terithia reminded him that he was supposed to be retired.

Errol proudly talked about how well the museum was doing, especially since the new farmer started donating the various specimens and artifacts that they came across. It warmed Terithia’s heart to see how happy they both were, but a pit of longing formed deep inside her gut; she wished that they could do this kind of thing every single night.

After they had finished their dinner and dessert, Terithia found herself lounging on the couch in between Errol and Landen, and the latter smiled as he held up a half empty bottle of wine.

“Another glass?”

Terithia gave him a vigorous nod. “Well, sure!”

“Yes, please,” Errol said, and Landen was quick to fill all three of their glasses.

“Cheers, to treasured friends,” Landen said as he held up his glass.

“To treasured friends!”

The word ‘friends’ hung heavy in the air, and Terithia couldn’t stop a slight frown from crossing her lips as she took a sip of her wine. Sure, she wouldn’t trade her friendship with Landen and Errol for the world, but that didn’t stop her from hoping that it would grow into something more...

Terithia was glad that the wine was so good, as that helped to distract her from her negative thoughts. Letting out a content sigh and licking her lips, she said, “Ah, delicious! And aged to perfection, as the fancy folk would day, kya ha ha!”

“If you’ll let me be so bold,” Landen said, a mischievous glint appearing in his eyes as he swirled his glass, “you’ve sure aged like fine wine, Terithia.”

“I wholeheartedly agree,” Errol was quick to add, and Terithia barely managed to keep herself from choking on her drink. Damn it, it was comments like that that made it so hard for Terithia to keep her mouth shut about her feelings. If they kept this up...

Terithia cleared her throat before letting out a half-hearted chuckle. “Well, that goes double for you two then.” They both offered up some light laughter as well, but when it faded a heavy, awkward tension settled upon the room, like fog suddenly rolling in from the sea in the wee hours of the morning.

Swallowing thickly, Terithia cast a sidelong glance at Landen, who was staring so intensely at his glass that she thought he might burn a hole in it. She then looked at Errol, who had gone a bit pale in the face; she hoped that her dinner hadn’t made him sick...

Terithia stared down at her hands, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. What if Landen and Errol had figured out that she loved them? Maybe they were so quiet because they were thinking about how to let her down easy? The very thought made Terithia’s heart sink into her stomach, but she gave her head a quick shake and grit her teeth. No, that couldn’t be it...but she would never know if she never asked. She knew what she needed to do now.

“Is something wrong, Terithia?”

Landen’s concerned voice snapped Terithia from her thoughts, and she chewed on her bottom lip and leaned back against the couch. “No, it’s just...got a lot on my mind.”

Errol crossed his arms over his chest, his dark eyes locking with hers. “Do you need to talk about it? We’re all ears.”

‘Here we go...It’s now or never.’

Downing the rest of her wine and setting the empty glass onto the coffee table, Terithia took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever happened after she asked the two men seated next to her a question:

“So...this might be - ah, no, it is - a weird question, but...” She felt her face heat up when both Errol and Landen turned to face her fully with eyebrows raised.

“Have either of you ever...been in love with more than one person, at the same time?” She winced, preparing herself for their inevitable laughter at such a ridiculous notion, but it did not come.

Instead, Landen shot up straight as an arrow, and Errol choked a bit as he spit out the wine that he had been trying to drink. Terithia blinked, confused, as she gave Errol a few firm smacks on the back to clear his airway.

“Er, ahem...” Landen said when Errol had recovered, and he averted his gaze as he rubbed at the back of his neck. “Funny you should ask, because my answer...is yes.”

“...M-Mine too, actually.” Errol’s cheeks had gone pink, and Terithia had to pick her jaw up off of the floor as she looked between the two as if they both had grown a second head.

“You...oh, u-uh...” Terithia fumbled over her words, and it took a moment for her to force out a coherent sentence. “I-I see, and do any of those feelings still...linger?”

To her immense surprise, both men nodded in response, Errol’s face flushing red while Landen cleared his throat, and Terithia swallowed thickly before asking her next - and most important - question:

“...and are either of those people in this room right now?”

“Yeah, both of them.”

“It’s the same for me.”

Terithia smacked her hands against her thighs and squeezed hard to keep herself from squealing like an infatuated schoolgirl whose crush had just asked her to attend the Spring Festival with them (she would have never lived that down.) The wave of relief that swept over her threatened to knock her right off the couch, but she managed to collapse against the back instead.

“So, you two are telling me that you’ve been in love with me - and each other - and me with you, and we’ve all been keeping it to ourselves because...?”

“I wasn’t sure if either of you felt the same way, and I didn’t want to muck up our friendship if I was wrong,” Landen said as he tugged at his collar with a rare, shy smile on his face.

Errol averted his gaze and scratched at his beard. “I...was just really nervous.”

Looking between the two of them, Terithia barely managed to hold back a laugh. Well, she felt incredibly foolish now for keeping her feelings all bottled up like that, but the overwhelming happiness that swept over her entire being in this moment was quick to eclipse anything else.

Terithia sighed and dragged her hand down her face. “Well, don’t do that again. I’m too damn old to be fretting that much.” She decided to pretend that she hadn’t also put off confessing her feelings for way too damn long.

That mischievous glint reappeared in Landen’s eyes, and he reached out to take Terithia’s hand. “I don’t know about that. Like we said before, you’ve aged quite well, right Errol?”

Errol smiled and shared a knowing glance with Landen, before they both leaned over to place a kiss on Terithia’s cheeks, causing her heart to race and face to flush with heat.

“Mmm, like fine wine indeed...” Landen whispered, his lips brushing against Terithia’s skin as he spoke, causing a shiver to run down her spine.

Errol chuckled, and the deep, rumbling vibration made his lips tickle her skin, and he managed to coax a light laugh out of her.

“The finest.”

Well, this was certainly going to take some getting used to, and Terithia could barely hear herself think over the roaring of her heartbeat in her ears. Her face felt hot and stayed that way, even when Landen and Errol finally pulled away.

“You two sure are laying it on thick,” Terithia said with a chuckle, and she gasped when Landen’s hand cupped her cheek, making her turn her head to look at him.

“Not thick enough for me, I’m afraid.” Landen’s voice had dropped low, and his face had moved dangerously close to hers. Terithia’s breath caught in her throat at the intense look in his pretty brown eyes, and she thought her heart was going to burst from her chest when he leaned in to press their lips together in a soft, tender kiss.

Terithia had her fair share of first kisses in her life, but none could hold a candle to just how right this one felt...but she had a feeling that her next one would be just as unforgettable.

Landen pulled away first, and he lifted her hand to his face to place a kiss on the back of it, causing Terithia’s heart to skip a beat. His gaze moved to the man sitting at her other side, and she turned around to face Errol, who was watching her and Landen with a deep fondness in his eyes, as if he was looking at the most precious of treasures. Terithia smiled and reached up to cup his face, her fingers settling in his soft beard. She wasted no time and pulled him close, causing him to let out a startled ‘oh!’

“Your turn,” Terithia whispered, her lips lightly grazing his as she spoke, and she kissed him before giving him a chance to respond. He seemed a bit stunned, but he made a swift recovery and cupped Terithia’s face, tilting her head so that he could deepen the kiss. Oh yes, she was very right; this kiss was just as incredible.

When they parted, Terithia felt light-headed in the best way possible. She had finally kissed the men that she had harbored so much love for, and it was a moment that she would never, ever forget.

A cheeky smile crossed her face and she leaned against the couch again, looking back and forth between Landen and Errol, who were suddenly acting quite bashful. Rolling her eyes, Terithia leaned back further against the couch and reached out to grab both of their hands.

“C’mon, don’t be shy now. You two still have to seal the deal,” she teased, tugging them towards each other. She laughed when Errol’s face somehow flushed a darker shade of red and Landen sputtered; Terithia didn’t think she’d ever seen the latter look so flustered.

Landen smiled fondly and reached out with his free hand to take Errol’s. “Heh, sorry Errol. I thought I could keep my cool for a bit longer, but...finding out I’m loved by not one but two incredible people is a bit overwhelming, even for me.”

Errol averted his gaze for a moment, and he gave Landen’s hand a gentle squeeze when he looked back at him. “I...feel the same way. It is quite a...surreal feeling, actually.”

“Yeah.”

“Y-Yeah...”

“Get on with it!” Terithia said, rolling her eyes and giving both of their hands a few quick squeezes each.

“You’re a bit too excited for thi-” Landen started, but he found it hard to continue speaking with Errol’s lips pressed against his. His startled noise was muffled by the kiss, and Terithia watched the intimate moment with an overwhelming look of adoration in her eyes. She never imagined that this routine dinner of theirs would turn out quite like this, but Terithia was so glad it did.

When Errol and Landen pulled away from each other, both breathless and with a sparkle in their eyes, Terithia slipped her arms behind both of their backs and pulled them flush against her. Landen chuckled and wrapped his arm around her waist as he nuzzled his cheek against hers, while Errol leaned down to place a kiss against her temple.

“Errol, Landen…I love you,” Terithia said as her arms tightened around them, “and I’m really damn happy that I can finally say that out loud.” All three of them chuckled at that, and Landen brushed his lips against Terithia’s cheek before lifting Errol’s hand to his face and kissing his knuckles.

“I love you both too,” Landen said with a wink. “Can’t say that I’ve ever felt this strongly about anyone else before either.”

Errol wrapped his arms around both of them, pulling them even closer together before he placed a kiss onto both of their foreheads. “And I love you two as well, with all that I am.”

There was no trace of the awkward tension that had filled the room before, and all that was left in its wake was a comfortable, secure feeling that could only come from being cuddled up to the two men that Terithia loved more than anyone else. She let out a content sigh, feeling herself practically melt into their embrace, until she was startled by a loud crack of thunder.

“Oh my,” Errol said, rubbing his chin as he looked out the window. “It seems that the storm has returned, and with a vengeance.”

“Ah, listen to that pattering rain on the roof!” Landen said, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against Terithia’s shoulder. “Like music you could dance to!”

Terithia laughed at that, and she hummed thoughtfully as a sly grin crossed her face. “Looks like it might storm all night long. You two better stay here tonight.”

Landen raised an eyebrow at her, before throwing his arm over her shoulder and gently traced her jawline with his finger. “You say that as if we weren’t already planning on staying.”

“I agree.”

Terithia felt a heat begin to stir within her gut, and she twisted herself so that her legs were thrown over Landen’s lap, while she leaned back and rest her head on Errol’s thighs.

“You know…it’s pretty rude to just assume that you can stay overnight at someone’s place,” she said, and she shivered when Landen ran a languid hand over her thigh and chuckled.

“Hmm, well, I’m sure Errol and I can find some way to make it up to you, right?” Landen shared a sultry glance with the larger man, who brought a hand to his face and cleared his throat.

“Yes, I’m sure we can think of something that would be quite beneficial…for all of us,” Errol said, his voice dropping low enough to almost resemble a growl, and that sent another shiver down Terithia’s spine.

“Let’s get on with it then.” Terithia didn’t have to ask twice, and it didn’t take long at all for the three best friends turned lovers to lose themselves completely in each other…

When Terithia woke up the next morning - blissfully happy, sore in all the right places, and wedged rather snugly between Landen and Errol - one thought and one thought alone crossed her mind:

‘I need to get a bigger bed...’

[delulu--lulu]

Henry runs into the room. “Guys, we need your help!” The two girls sigh before getting up and following him. Henry takes one look back at Azusa’s state before whispering, “I still will love you even like that.” 

The door closes and Mara stares wide-eyed and red at his words before smiling. 

“Oh, my moon what the-” Kya pauses before staring at her six friends in front of her. All of them have injuries and either ice packs, bandaids, tissues up their noses, or just straight up beaten up. Those six idiots are Genji, Ito, Juniper, the twins, and Ron. 

“What happened?!” Hayami demands. 

“Some idiots jumped us,” Haru grumbles. Hayami just scoffs, before going over to sit next to Kotoko. 

“This hotel is literally the entire hood in a building.” 

Genji nods in agreement. “Sure they jumped us, but this idiot over here started it.” He moves out of the way to jab his finger in Juniper’s way. She looks with a sheepish smile. 

“In her defense… They were troubling this little boy.” Haruki says. “But then they switched up and ganged up on us instead.” 

Juniper puts her finger up. “But, but, but, but, but! We did stop one of the biggest drug dealers.” She looks proud of herself. 

“That was only one of 50 of them,” Kotoko says. She sighs before looking up at the night sky. It’s currently 1 in the morning. Nobody has been able to get back to their regular sleep schedule since the stuff with Azusa getting possessed and all the housekeeping supplies being gone and people disappearing at night. 

It doesn’t help anymore knowing that Kotoko already has insomnia. Everyone only just wishes that Ms. Sky was here. Mr. Richie isn’t exactly on their good side after what happened with Juniper. 

“Come on, is this mission really necessary? I mean, The Sun and Moon hotel probably won’t ever change even if we do something. It’s just always been like that.” She says. “Ms. Sky is just stressing us out.” 

Everyone stares at her shocked. “Come on, Koko, you’re not giving up are you?” Hayami questions. 

“Maybe I am.” She replies and Hayami scoffs at the answer. “So what?! I’m tired, I really am.” She sits down before leaning against the wall as if her speaking just exhausted her. Henry walks toward her with a frowning expression before feeling her forehead. 

“Are you okay? Guys, I don’t think she’s doing too hot.” Genji comes towards her before carrying her to the infirmary while Henry leads the way. 

“Great.” Ron starts. “Now everything and everyone is screwed up.” Henry comes back holding Kotoko steady by the arms as she drinks from a water bottle. He sits her down gently before turning his attention back to everyone. 

“Um.. how about we just sit here and talk, y’know… about what changed in the past two years?” He softly suggests. “Like a bonding type of thing.” 

They need to talk. They really do… but… where to start? 

There are so many unanswered questions, bottled-up feelings, hidden pasts, and questionable actions. 

“Um, since I suggested it. I’ll go first.” Henry says as he rubs his neck and tries to smile. Though it comes out more as a grimace. “I… I'm sorry.” 

He takes a deep breath and everyone patiently waits for him to continue. 

“Uhm, I’m pretty sure you all know this but… I have Tourette's and ADHD.” Henry squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as he finally spills out the truth. 

It’s silent and all Henry can hear is his thundering heart. He squeezes shut, suddenly terrified of everyone's reactions. He’s never been so openly confessing about his condition to people like this-it’s so blunt for him and it honestly feels like he’s holding out his heart and trusting it with everyone to not break it. 

Henry is trusting them to not shatter the trust he has in them. 

“Okay,” he opens his dark eyes to meet everyone’s soft gazes that shine with care for him. He stares in shock at the person who says it; Genji. “Is there anything we need to know? Any triggers we need to know in case we need to help you?” 

“Well, it’s mild Tourette's but when I’m in a stressful situation my tics get noticeably worse.” He stutters over and feels his cheeks heat up when his head jerks painfully at the nerves that are coursing through him. “Or when I’m angry or really happy it can trigger them.” 

He takes a deep breath before explaining everything to them. 

“You wanna know what I think, Cat boy?” Hayami says, placing her hands behind her head as she relaxes back on the wall. 

“Not really, but go ahead,” Henry says dryly but his smirk is still there and it brings out a few chuckles from the others. 

“I think you’re the bravest one of us all here.” 

Henry immediately opens his mouth to deflect or agree; he doesn’t know but Hayami continues. 

“Why? You were the first of us to speak up-open up and that was hard. I don’t know how you did it, but you managed to and you should be proud of yourself, idiot.” The girl ruffles up his already messy hair and Henry huffs but can’t hide the smile on his face. 

Hayami’s lips pull up sideways as she grins sharply at the shocked brunette. Everyone else nods along with and adds their own words of encouragement.

They all care for him. 

At that moment he looks across the room and locks eyes with Juniper. The wide smile on her face makes his lips twitch upwards automatically. Her brown eyes are alight with happiness and the brunette can’t believe that this girl liked him.  

A bubbling warmth builds up in him and he swallows it down immediately. Reminding himself that he can’t. He can’t like her or love her because he knows he really truly doesn’t.

“Whoever cries first buys lunch the next time we all hang out.” Henry grins as everyone rolls their eyes at him and starts immediately firing off insults. 

Is it insensitive? Probably, but none of them care-not anymore. Kotoko hands Kya her water in exchange. 

All of them calm down and look at each other, silently urging someone to go next. And someone takes the bait, albeit, rather bluntly. 

Kotoko spurs out her words as if she were drunk. “My grandmother forced my mother into a marriage with my father so that they would have children with her genes.” Kotoko drunkenly explains, unaware of the damage she’d done. 

Kya spits out her water, Juniper slaps a hand over her mouth, the twins look like they’re about to have a mental breakdown, Hayami’s eyebrow is twitching, Sunflower looks like she’s about to cry, Ito just sits there already aware of her past, Genji stares blankly at her and Ron stares wide-eyed. 

“Do you know the definition of blunt?” Kya nudges Kotoko who doesn’t look bothered at all. “Koko, what the moon?”

“But… wasn’t Queen Roshanee a leader?” Haruki says questionably before he lowers his voice to almost a whisper. “Isn’t she supposed to-?” 

Kotoko cuts him off with a scoff. “Protect people? Well, she destroyed my family, she's no leader to me.” 

No one says anything, all of them being able to sense she’s not done talking with the way she bites her inner cheek almost painfully-as if suppressing some words she wants to say. 

“My grandmother basically kidnapped my mother, not letting her leave for 20 years. Because her purple hair and gray eyes were considered an angel gene to them.” 

No one interrupts her. They can sense this is years of bottled-up information and trauma, stored away in her brain which brews and keeps reminding her of the dark memories she’s forced to live with every day. 

“I hated my grandmother so much-she was a part of so much of our culture and was labeled as a goddess because her grandchildren had the purple hair and gray eyes of angels. But some people believe that she had something to do with Princess Yasmina’s murder.” 

Naomi vaguely remembers the notebooks Kotoko used to read so much, the ones about princess Yasmina and how she was so engulfed with them and also filled with so much emotion just from reading them. 

“One day I went to go get a snack from the kitchen,” Kotoko sucks in a deep breath, and no one comments on the way her hands shake slightly in her lap. “I was walking towards the fridge to get water when I saw her. My mother was holding a knife in her hand that hovered above her wrists.” 

The purple-haired girl closes her eyes as she whispers the next words. 

“She grabbed her left arm and although she couldn’t see me she still did it. She cut her lines. I accidentally gasped out loud and she saw me. She looked so hurt when she saw me standing there.” 

With gritted teeth, she continues. “I’ll never forget that look. It was an expression of regret. Her look still haunts me to this day.” 

Kotoko has told his story to her teammates but not this in detail. She didn’t want to seem like she was a monster out of control of her own life. After all, why would someone believe the most world-known queen of Wind would do something so horrible just to have ‘angel’ grandchildren? 

No one would-so Kotoko kept quiet; until now.

“Then she did something else that surprised me… she turned back around and without a second thought, she cut her other wrist. Then she fell unconscious and died.”

She remembers that day so clearly. 

Kadejah was a baby, she was so oddly quiet and rarely cried. Roshanee said that was because she was an angel baby and would grow up to be calm and collected.

If only she could see Kadejah now. 

Klyna was only three years old and Kotoko was five. 

That evening it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, obviously, that seemed like the time to do it. Sreeja cried in the kitchen repeating herself over and over, “I can’t do this anymore.” Kotoko knew that if Sreeja didn’t die that night because of Roshanee she probably would’ve had a lot more siblings. 

“Did she,” Ron bites her lip when the purple-haired girl raises her head a bit backward to look at her and she doesn’t miss the way she shuffles towards her slightly. “Did she say anything to you?” 

Kotoko doesn’t say anything.

“Koto-” 

“It’s fine, she’s just talking.” She cuts Kya off with a sigh, ducking her head slightly so no one can see her face.

“That’s not the point.” Genji hisses through clenched teeth. “It doesn’t matter if she’s just ‘talking’ to you or not. It doesn’t matter if she isn’t as ‘bad’ as she was in the past.” 

Genji runs a hand through his hair and lets out a long breath, shoulders visibly shaking as he tries to calm himself from breaking out into an animal.

“What matters is that she shouldn’t be putting those thoughts through your head. That’s the point, Kotoko, no one is going to let her do that to you.”

Kotoko bites her bottom lip as she stares at the carpeted floor. She nibbles along it before soothing the slight sting with her tongue as she thinks about every experience she’s had with her grandmother.

“No one will believe me anyway, what’s the point in coming forward? Even if I do, nothing will happen-they needed her as a queen.” She explains mundanely. She stretches her leg out from underneath the blanket and looks up with her usual expression.

“Nothing will stop my grandmother anyways. I’ve given up trying to fight back against her.” 

No one knows what to say and Ron hasn’t taken her eyes off Kotoko the whole time. She looks deep in thought, lost in her own world but nobody pays attention to her. 

“Hey Koko,” said girl immediately looks at Ron and her breath nearly gets caught in her throat when she sees her gray eyes stare at her with a fond warmth she doesn’t dare think about. “You can always come to the Yao estate if you ever need a break, y’know.” 

Kotoko smiles with her beautiful pearly white smile that makes Ron almost blush instantly. She doesn’t get a chance to compliment her when Haru meekly pipes up beside her. 

“Ito and I are always going to be by your side when you need us to.” 

“Thank you.” She smiles again. 

Out of curiosity, or an attempt at lighting up the mood slightly, Henry adjusts his position on the floor slightly. “How many of you have daddy issues?”

His hands go up along with Kotoko, Tadashi, and Genji who playfully shoves the brunette beside him to unbalance him. 

Genji glances at Kya with a small smirk. “What about you, Kya? You got any dad issues?”

Hayami snorts at the question and grins sharply. “Her dad is so nonexistent in her life it’s physically impossible for her to have daddy issues.” 

“You have grandmommy issues, Hayami!” Kya immediately points out that sets off another fight between them. 

“So do you, nitwit!” 

“And? At least I don’t make it obvious!” 

“What the moon is that supposed to mean?”

“It means someone takes one look at you and already knows all your problems. You scream of ‘I lacked attention as a child!’” 

“You lacked attention from both of them. Sorry, just your mom-you don’t have a dad.” 

“Shut up! You go to sleep at 8:30.” 

“So? You got a problem with that?!” 

“It’s freaking weird.”

Ron bends over by the floor and picks up two random shoes that are lying aimlessly on the ground. Then she throws them with perfect accuracy and all of them watch with amusement as they whack off the two girls' heads-effectively shutting them up and breaking up their argument.

They both fall to the side groaning dramatically. Kotoko is laughing into Genji’s shoulder and he and the twins are snickering to themselves as they watch the girls curse aimlessly at Ron as she rolls her eyes. 

“Next up in trauma sharing?” She looks at everyone who contemplates if they want to go next or not.

Kya and Hayami sit up again and Kya throws a leg over Kotoko’s lap who looks unbothered at the action. 

“Guess I’ll go next,” she says while relaxing against Hayami who writhes and scowls trying to push her off. “I’m fatherless-” 

“Oh shoot, the dad jokes were real?” Ron and Henry snicker to themselves while Kotoko and Genji choke on a sputtered laugh. 

“That’s what I said!” Haruki cries out while Ito looks at Kya with a raised eyebrow. For once, an emotion other than anger and pure deadpan were present on his face. 

“That’s sad.”

Kya rolls her eyes and throws her head back, her head brushing against Haruki’s calf as she stares at the ceiling. “Yup.” 

Henry meekly speaks up. “Azusa was telling me she found your dad’s files. Kairon Green, right? Presumably, he’s dead, right?” 

“See?” Kya says. “Emphasize on the ‘presumably’. That man isn’t dead.” She softly goes with an ‘I would know’ that only Hayami hears. 

Hayami sucks in her cheeks and looks away for a split second, clearly remembering it. The two girls were playing one day when they overheard Alize and Temiri talking about him. 

“So… about Kairon?” Temiri started leaning toward a fuming Alize. “You said he messaged you today?” 

Alize nodded. “That’s right. Talking about how he wants to see the kids. I’m not going to take them to him, he should’ve been there from the start to see them.”

“My mother got pregnant with Kai when she was 15 and my father left her but came back begging for forgiveness and she took him back, that most stupid mistake of her life because then she got pregnant with me and he left again.” 

“That dirtbag!” Henry cries out in disgust. All of them have faces of disgust after listening to Kya who sighs with a smile on her face. 

“He is. Thankfully I don’t have to live with him in my life.” The girl explains and Haruki can’t help the way his heart cracks at the sight of her arms slightly shaking. 

“I’m okay.” She says gently when she takes in Haruki’s worried expression and it looks so genuine that he nods solemnly. 

Though, Hayami doesn’t believe it. 

She directs her gaze to Naomi who’s been quiet for nearly the entire time, quietly listening to everyone else while curled up against Ron’s side. 

“How long have you guys known each other?” She nods between her and Kya and immediately everyone sits up a bit straighter to listen to how they became friends. 

Both Hayami and Kya scowl at each other and grumpily mutter under their breath at the same time. 

“Since we were born. We weren’t really friends then.” 

“Yeah, but how?” She questions staring at the girls with a face. 

Kya hums to herself. “Our moms took us out for a walk the first week of summer and her dumbass decided to climb on a log near a small river. She fell in and I went to help her-”

“I didn’t need your help!” Hayami hisses between clenched teeth. 

“But she got really offended at that and tried to set me on fire.” Kya finishes off with a bright smile. 

Everyone blinks, slightly startled. 

“Is that,” Ito stops looking completely confused and done. “Is that it?”

“Yeah.” They both say. 

Naomi chuckles to herself which has everyone turning to her. “Now that I think of it, that sounds like how Hayami introduces herself. I mean, she tried to set me on fire when I first met her.” 

Henry thinks thoughtfully to himself. “She was trying to set someone on fire when I met her.” 

“Same with me,” Kotoko murmurs and smiles nervously when Hayami glares at the two. 

“She tried to set me on fire as well,” Tadashi mutters and the twins say the same as him. 

Even Sunflower agrees. “She was trying to set fire to someone else as well tonight. You have pretty bad anger issues, Hayami.” 

“Shut up.” She says with not much bark or bite in it because she doesn’t want to accidentally upset Sunflower after the night she’s had. 

“What dysfunctional family caused those issues?” Haru jokes and Hayami doesn’t have that much effort other than to offer him the middle finger. 

“My family is pretty functional in all honesty.” The Hira mutters and everyone but Kya and Henry seems surprised by her answer. 

Nearly everyone was expecting her to have one of the worst pasts with the way she acts. Her temper is sky high and nearly anything can set her off-a sign of someone who could come from a dysfunctional family home. 

“My mom’s treated me right my entire life. But I’m the only child they have. They’re also the only child in their family meaning I have no aunts or uncles.” 

Juniper purses her lips, trying to understand where she’s getting at. 

“Meaning everyone expected me to be amazing-the best at everything; to make them proud and it’s all I’ve known since I was born practically.” 

And suddenly everything clicks. 

Hayami’s pride and ego stem from being the best at everything when she was younger. Sure, she was treated nice and had one of the best upbringings someone could ask for-but the way her parents praised her, how all of her family would have their eyes on her when she did something good or came first was addicting and she liked being acknowledged for being the best at everything. 

This developed her ego and she strives to do everything. 

She was the first person in her class to master a side power, finish a test, complete a puzzle, and read a book-she was the first and best at everything. 

Which was the complete composite of her best friend; Kya Hirasawa.

No one liked them being friends. Teachers, kids in their class, and especially her grandparents. They all felt like she was being held back by being friends with Kya; the ‘charity case’. 

But she was the only one who didn’t force expectations on her. She treated her like a normal kid and wasn't afraid to rough play with her even though she was weaker. Kya was the only one who was able to keep up with her, with her attitude and ever-changing temper and that’s why she stuck to her side. 

Unfortunately, it caused a lot of arguments with her ‘other’ friends. 

Hayami would be dragged into fights to protect Kya from getting beaten up, and would sneak out of her house to meet up with her friend at the park. 

Hayami would often skip school with Kya to mess around in Kalama which had her end up in the bad books of her middle school even though she was an amazing student. 

They had a counselor come in for her to ‘help her’ with her ‘mental health’ because her anger issues had become a problem for everyone. In reality, it was just a way for Temiri’s mother to try and convince Hayami that Kya was bad for her. 

Of course that never happened. 

Soon enough she and Temiri’s visits to Fire Island slowly became less and less often to see her grandmother. 

“And she said she didn’t have a dysfunctional family,” Tadashi mutters to himself with a snort. 

Hayami stands up with a scowl, athletic arms stretching upwards which expose a sliver of her slightly toned stomach before she drops them again. 

She rubs her shoulder as she walks away. “Your family is probably more messed up than mine, Weasel.” Hayami grunts as she walks away. 

Kya frowns at her retreating figure, noting the way Hayami brushed over her past like it was nothing. It’s obvious she still finds it tough at her home and from the way she talked about it she made it seem like it wasn’t that bad in comparison to others she’s in a good position. 

This isn’t the case, no matter what type of home you have-the pain you feel is just as valid as the person next to you. 

And that is something a lot of them will need to start to understand. 

“My family is a lot more messed up,” Tadashi smirks before looking at Naomi, Juniper, and the twins with narrowed eyes. “You guys look ready to drop. You wanna talk about it or say it in the morning?” 

“Morning,” Juniper’s quiet voice rings out. “I need more time.” 

Haru nervously scratches his neck. “Yeah, we’ll wait till morning if that’s fine.” 

“We won’t force you guys, it’s fine Haru,” Kya says through a yawn before sitting up a lot straighter on the floor. 

“Let’s guess Tadashi’s trauma. I say… deadbeat dad as one.” Henry clicks his tongue with a cocky grin. 

“Correct, bonus points for those who can say what he did,” Tadashi says dryly which has them all laughing quietly to themselves. 

A moment of quietness comes over them and they all take the time to realize that they all know more about each other now. They’re finally communicating with each other and talking about their problems, not just being in a classroom pretending everything’s okay when it’s really not. 

Hayami steps back into view with a frown on her face. She turns to Naomi and points a thumb out into the hall. 

“Why are there a bunch of people climbing the stairs towards us? Any idea why that is?” She questions before throwing herself against Henry who evidently whacks into Juniper before all three of them fall down. 

Naomi frowns and looks out into the hall with furrowed eyebrows. “No. No one should be here-”

[worldscollidinginone]

Chapter 2 - A Stolen Kiss And A Party

Book master list

The next thing I remember is me lying on my bed in the room I was sleeping, in the dormitory. I felt full as well as I have eaten. It was very dark. I realised the reason why I woke up is because Aman had his hand around my waist, making me come closer to him. I could feel his breath merging with mine. I started panicking. I have never seen him so close. He seems so calm. His big black eyes were so beautiful closed. I noticed that there was some hair that was bothering his right eye, so I slowly tried to remove them, so it wouldn't bother him sleeping. 

He woke up. 

I looked into his big brown eyes, coloured like chocolate, and sometimes when the Sun would penetrate into his eyes, I could see his golden specs in his eyes. It was magical. 

I said to him that I wanted him to go to his room quickly before anyone else gets up. I was becoming very nervous and started making some noise, so to shut me up, Aman kissed me on the lips. It was a short, sudden kiss. Then, he started biting and sucking my lower lip. I was getting aroused and then he kissed me again, this time more passionately, to the point that I was gasping for air. I was shocked but relieved that it happened. I don't know why. After that happened, we were both smiling, because we knew that whatever it was, it felt right. Then he left to go to his room. 

From then on, I couldn't sleep. Well, I tried to, but my mind did not want to switch off as it was replaying the moment when Aman kissed me. 

The next morning, I felt very happy as I was still reliving what happened the night before. Anjali, one of my roommates, was trying to talk to me, but as you know, I was not focused so she threw me a bucket of ice-cold water on me, so that I listen to what she was saying. Like what.... Are you completely nuts!!! 

I knew she was mad, because uncle and aunty ji told me, but not this mad! But she is a very sweet person, though. We've been best friends for the past 7 years and it is still going strong.... My parents and Anjali's parents have been knowing each other for a long time, so we had to be best friends, by default. At that point in time, I was sharing my room with Anjali, Sanjana, Farah and Juhi. We are five best friends. Sometimes they come over from Mumbai and stay with me for a couple of weeks and then they go back home. Sometimes I come over to their house with my brother. They shower me with so much love.... it's incredible. Even Nikhil is very attached to all of them. 

Then, that day came, and everything changed for the better.... or not.... I don't know...... 

There was a Valentine's Party planned for the weekend. And like every time when asked if I was going to come or not, I said that I'm not going to come. What's the point of me going there? Aur waise bhi, kaun mera Valentine banega? I went to my room. It was empty as all of my friends were at the mall, planning on what to wear for the party. I started thinking of what I should do to pass my time. I then remembered a test was coming up for Economics. I might revise for that actually, waise bhi who topic pasand nahin hai aur waqt bhi lagega. 

Unexpectedly, someone knocked at the door. I opened the door. It was Aman. He wore a very elegant suit, and he had a red rose in his hands. 

He asked me: "Why are you not ready? Come on, get dressed. I am waiting for you." He then gave me a peck on the cheek. I was startled and started blushing. I was thinking about what has happened to him. Why is he looking so attractive today? Why is he not with the other girl that he always goes out with? Uhm... Lucy... No... Sweety... No... I can never remember her name. 

I then replied to him: "What's the reason I should get ready? Mere saath koi nahin jane wala. Aur waise bhi mere pass koi acchi dress bhi nahin hai. Waise tum kyun mera wait kar rahe ho? Who ladki hai na, uska naam kya hai...uhm...Lucy...no... Sweety, are uske saath jao na." 

"Kisne kaha tumse ki koi tumhare saath nahin aana chahata? Saare ke saare ladke maare ja rahe hai. Baas immat kar nahi pare hain. Tum agar chaho toh har ladka tumhare kadmon mein gir jai ga, tum itni khubsorat ho." 

"Achcha tareeka hai mujhe pata ne ka. Lekin yeh best friends ki party nahin, yeh Valentine's party hai!" 

"Haan toh? Tum ek ladki ho aur mein ek ladka hoon. Come on, get ready, the party is about to start." 

"Kyu? Party toh aane vaala kal hai, na?" 

"Darasal the party organiser decided to prepone the party, as he had some other commitments to fulfill. Chalo, jaldi tayyar ho jao." 

As soon as he finished speaking, all my friends came into the room with a beautiful strapless black and red dress, accessories, basically, everything that was required to get me ready. I must tell you though that all my friends were all drooling over him, by the way. But I was sensing something else. They kept looking at Aman, who was waiting for me and for some strange reason I was also looking towards him. 

I then got ready, with the help of my friends. 

I got out of my room and then Aman came towards me, and I held Aman's hand. I don't why I did it, though. He looked at me lovingly. He then gave me the rose that he was holding all along. 

"A beautiful rose for a beautiful lady." 

"Thank you." 

"Chalen?" 

I nodded. I was really happy that Aman was with me. I felt as if all the desires I had were getting fulfilled, as I now had everything that I wanted in life, Aman. 

I just hoped everything for the best.

Go to Chapter 3

[only-lonely-lovers]

08.12.2022 (2)

tags: masturbation

Bird is あ / Avvy is つ

つ：there are so many possibilities for the wizard and nerd boys it is fun to spin around. like an alternate thing is almost as a result of the sheer… lack of any and all challenge, and therefor non-discovery of paraphilia through like the misery of near-loss, Amane being like, so inert. for so long. if only Nene could sortof kickstart something and tsukasa just be like :y …… this is very fun. i like to see this new thing. thank you nene-chan. watches Amane struggle to jerk off and do worse at his robotics. fuck up… late for class. Woooow❤️

あ：He's such a funny little particle to think about , it's how Amane indeed has some..? like….?? withdrawn quality, it's the nonsexual interest in space and sciencey things, combined with the sheer asociality, like they could kiss in a way that results in a turbo virgin subdued boy. with no challenges in life nothing kickstarts anything, the sheer comfort provided in tsukasa gets to be this perpetual crutch. Nothing stops you from being hyperfixated on stuff for hours , its like if my puzzle brain just had perpetual fuel but also i had no stressors. like since i was. doing mathsheets to pass time at school recreationally and playing sudoku etc. AND i literally never jerked off……. it's so easy to imagine actually

actually its funny this is almost like, a sunny-amane fusion… when you like your comforts and your toys. nonsexually.

つ：its like you dont need to think about sex, for a long time.

あ：Nene engaging with him really challenges his little brain like. [just so confused someone not tsukasa is talking to you regularly] 6.6 ………………[stilted replies when asked about special interest… rambles a tiny bit] ……………….. [she is turned to face you pleasantly, the updraft of her hot pussy like makes you shut down]

I do love her pose here, it makes me feel like she turns around in her chair and hugs the back of it while talking to him pleasantly

[receives her pheromones] augh………………

つ：its good to have a world amane is maybe harassed a bit you know. girl really talking you up while youre doing a sheet… but you are into her….

あ：a little equilibrium its funny though to get derailed by thinking about poon

like mghhh starts leaking in the middle of the day. NO….!!! why……….. tsukasa observing this can just feel like well………………….. a little challenge is good for amane maybe :3 its like, enrichment it seems he is learning about himself. his body. kya

つ：I help in all matters. Perhaps its such a funny situation to think abt bc its like. YOU'RE THE LOSER NOW in its own way.

あ：its funny that it is reversible amane's endearing lack of self awareness at times. its like at its max here. having sexuality would just mean being fully accosted by it like mgh whuhh….. why is this happening…………………

つ：seeing amane has not finished some sort of thesis in time and is panicking and crying and tsukasa getting to be like ahhh don't worry❤️ I'll explain something to your teacher…. you'll get an extension on it…. don't worry❤️ just stay home for a few days, we'll say you're sick….. !

the talent of being perfectly convincing. meanwhile amane struggling to not just take the extra extension time to jerk off more. aouurgh

あ：💭 it feels like i AM sick……………………………………………… how long is this going to keep going on……. is it gong to pass like a fever…. a week…. two weeks…[a month goes by] 😭 no im scared

ahhh my robotics tourneys its like i dont have new ideas or concepts anymore idont want to keep tinkering with my drones. BUT I CANT KEEP RUBBING MY WEINER ALL DAY

but i am thinking about how i could use the time i'm usually granted to go to robotics events and just skip and stay home and touch my wiener. starting to wish to know what pussy looks like

つ：yashiro in her short short skirts and much more whore looks just needs to happen in order to tip the scales here you know she cant be a… subdued normal girl. in this AU. if amane is a little nerd she has to be the skank. its crazy but true

we really reverse it all in this one so funny, aidairo

あ：its soo funny but like im listening its like well but nene is skanky in her heart

its so funny if it remains to be true that no one here is conventionally attractive though A yashiro of whom is going to be flashing you bra straps more and like you see her panties when she bends over. its necessary

its crazy shes in like thigh highs in that drawing its so like hello. what are we doing. I guess brandishing absolute territory

つ：you need to make amane feel very like…. shy…. and reserved… like ah… no. please dont….

あ：Its kind of funny though that making him more feeble doesnt change the fact that he is going to be evasive and avoidant i think…. its like there's no timeline where your boy is open. i think being attracted to her does scare him in all worlds lol

its like please god… dont provide me temptations…. [rests textbook over my lap]

Yashiro like damn pussy on blast today…. oh well………. [later, Amane is like smelling the air unconsciously but like a lot. like wehn i dont realize im smelling avvys pussy] [this just creates a sort of ohhh??? emotion] [sucks in mouth]

i do think seeing amane have feelings makes tsukasa like [salivates] like wtf . my little nerd guy. is he horny. hi

つ：hi sweetie!!! I will enable everything. I will gradually let you procrastinate and shirk off your robotics and encourage you to take time off and quit clubs until you don't notice you have little going on

[thewinecoloredsea]

Tbh, I think debating (in canon) which child preferred which parent is a bit of a moot point because we don’t have any scenes of them pre Kya’s death, so everything we have is after their family unit was splintered. It’s really all headcanon. For instance, sokka running off to go help his dad fight is probably because that is what is expected of him, especially because he’s the oldest child. Katara running off to find her mom is because she’s younger, but also because she’s the tribes only waterbender. They want to protect her until she can protect herself and they probably drilled her into running to find her mother so she could hide both of them.

While katara and sokka want to live up to their mom and dad respectively, I think that has more to do with gender and the expectations placed on them, kind of like sokka’s s1 sexism ie men hunt women tend to the home. Also, zuko was not ozai’s fav kid and he still tried to emulate him in s1 and s2 instead of his mom. Azula emulates her dad but secretly craves the love and affection, like what her mother prized.

I also think Kya and Hakoda didn’t overtly favor one child over the other. Katara and Sokka might’ve had a fav parent but that doesn’t mean their parents played into that dynamic, which would also explain why they both try to fit into their respective gender roles.

We also don’t know much about Kya, other than she was kind and loved her children so much she was willing to die for them. Was she also someone moved to righteous anger like Katara, or was she the clever one like Sokka? Based on Hakoda’s character in the show, I would argue Katara gets her sense of justice and anger from him. He’s not clever and smart in the way Sokka is.

And I think you made your point just fine! It’s a really interesting discussion with no clear answer because, as I said before, we don’t have any scenes of them as a whole family, we just see how Kya’s death affected them. Her death haunts Katara in a way it doesn’t for sokka because she feels responsible, if only she was faster, if only she didn’t run etc. She was also the last of her family to see Kya alive. Sokka, on the other hand, seems to have shut himself off from it, probably because the grief is too much for him. He never really talks about his mom, or how her death affected him, maybe because he’s afraid the pain from it would never be overcome.

It's absolutely criminal that we were never given any insight into the dynamics of the Water Tribe sib's family before Kya died beyond simply "katara was a mama's girl and sokka was a daddy's boy". And Kya! We only have one scene of Kya! We don't know basically anything about her personality besides that she was incredibly dedicated to her children. If anyone has any headcanons/ fic recs about the water family I'd 100% love to hear them

[poeticmoonspirit]

These Things I've Done - Part V

Part I Part II Part III Part IIII Part VI

The anger beneath Sokka's skin boiled, hot as fire, and would probably burn anyone who tried to convince him to be otherwise. It wasn't in his nature to be hotheaded. That's what Zuko was for, no pun intended. Sokka was the calm one. (And yes, Zuko was very mature and rational, but you'd never hear it from him.) The voice in their ragtag group that kept everyone sane and levelled out enough to where they rarely ever fought. Arguments happened, sure. There were two twelve-year-olds with them, after all. But nothing could've prepared him for what happened today. You could say he was completely blindsided, though Toph would've probably just waved her hand in her face, her milky eyes wide with sarcasm plastered all over it.

He loved his mother, he loved Kya and Hakoda and Gran Gran. He loved his village. He can almost taste the ice that covered just about everything there. Cold and rigid, just like Katara's element. But when he thought of Kya, he couldn't picture her. Every year it became harder for the young warrior to remember her face, her smile, her voice. It was as if she were a distant relative, so far and wide that he didn't feel that immense feeling of joy and longing that his sister did.

Katara had a connection to their mother that he didn't. It wasn't that he didn't love her, he did. He knew that. He felt it. But it was nothing like Katara's sentiments. Even seven years later, he finds her huddled beneath thin blankets, crying out for the woman. It was as if that moment, that short and bitter moment, was on repeat in her mind. She took responsibility for the tribe, for their grandmother, for him. He can't imagine the grief that must be welled within her. That's why he supported her in finding Yon Rha. He didn't care what happened to him because he knew his sister would do what she saw fit.

The murder of Kya of the Southern Water Tribe affected her a lot more than it did him.

And part of him loathed himself for it.

He put Katara in a very risky situation, one that jeopardized her sanity and was the pinnacle of her existence today. He should've shouldered that burden with her so that she wouldn't feel alone.

Because that's how Katara felt. He knew that now. She felt alone.

The anger in his veins was hot but not at Yon Rha anymore, though he'd never ever forgive the man. It was for Aang.

For a split second, he saw a blur of blue rush past him and out the door, flinching at the noise of the door slamming shut. He rubbed his temples, very grateful for the brief nap he had. Putting aside his anger at the nomad, he ventured off into the night.

It didn't take him long to find her. She was sitting on the sand facing the water, her knees propped up so that her chin laid on top of them. Her arms braced them as if she were freezing and unable to find shelter from it all. But Sokka knew better. They grew up in a frozen wasteland. She wasn't cold. Nowhere near it.

She was devastated.

He made his way to her slowly, careful to not startle her. She turned her head slightly, but still not entirely facing him. There was a full moon tonight; the glint in her eyes spoke unspoken words between them.

"Hey," he said. He sat down next to her, giving her a respectful amount of space, but not too much to where it was weird.

She looked at him then, unshed tears in her eyes. Lines of white ran down her cheeks. She had been crying.

"Hey yourself."

There was a moment of silence, with Sokka reaching into the depths of his soul to find the words to comfort his sister. And like crashing waves they came to him suddenly.

"Katara, I'm so sorry. For everything." She looked at him in utter confusion. She wasn't sure what she was expecting from him, but it wasn't that.

"Sorry for what?" He shifted, moving so that his legs wouldn't grow numb under him.

He gulped, his hands clammy. "When—after mom died and dad left, I should've shouldered the responsibility of being the oldest. I should've made sure you were okay."

Her mouth was slightly ajar, not sure where this was going. He never talked about that day. Not like this. Not in the manner he was speaking and definitely not with watery eyes that mirrored hers.

"I talked to Toph a while ago, about—about you. About how stiff and courageous you are. About how bold you can be. And I said that whenever I tried to picture Mom, I always thought of you."

Katara sobbed. She couldn't hold it in any longer. He placed an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his chest so that she could cry in his shirt. He'd fuss over it later but right now he couldn't bring himself to care.

Her voice trembled as she spoke, navigating this unknown territory. They had never been this open before. "I—I kind of overheard you two talking that day. And I'll be honest Sokka, part of me was glad that I was able to have been that rock in your life. You needed someone to be there for you. But I hated—I hated that I had to be there for everyone like that, and not have anyone do the same for me."

His grip on her tightened, shame flooding his being at her words. He had hurt her, not intentionally, but it happened. He had never felt so sorry in his life.

"But you were there for me today and a few days ago, in a way that no one's really been. Except maybe Zuko. And it felt really really good."

"I promise to be a better brother to you, Katara. I swear to Tui and La, I will." She allowed herself to smile, barely, but Sokka caught it and made sure to store it in his memories.

Another thing had been bothering him, but he wasn't sure how to voice it without sounding silly.

"I also...well," he began drawing shapes in the sand to quell his nerves, "Sometimes I feel bad for not feeling the same about Mom as you do. Sometimes I feel like I'm not even her son."

There, it was out there, an unspoken truth laid out in the open for them to see. Katara turned to him quickly, reassurance on the tip of her tongue. Her brother saw this and tried to stop what he knew was coming.

"Katara—"

"Sokka."

She said his name with a sense of finality, as if she were daring him to say another word. He bit his lip so hard that he began to taste copper.

"She was your mother, too."

Maybe it was the way she said those words, the conviction behind them that weakenedhis defenses. He swore he wouldn't bawl his eyes out like a baby, but sometimes he wished he could feel how Katara feels. Not love, he loved his mother dearly. But the intensity of it, the longing and grief that seemed to plague his sister in her nightmares and daydreams. Anything would be better than feeling like he shouldn't have been born.

They cried together then, their hearts bled out and intertwining with years and years of trauma between them. They cried until they had nothing else left to give, making their hearts feel whole once again.

Another moment of silence came, with Sokka's thoughts drifting towards Zuko. The banished prince of an abusive psychopath that was willing to do whatever it took to see his enemies burn.

And unfortunately, that meant his only son.

Sokka then thought of the boy's unwavering respect and loyalty to his sister. He might've doubted him before, but that was months ago. Zuko had changed and had proven time and time again that he was here to make a change. And the proof was in how he looked at Katara.

"He loves you, doesn't he?"

Katara's eyes widened in shock, the firebender never told her that, so why was Sokka saying it? Something told her that he knew a lot more than he led on.

"W-what? Did he tell you that?" Her heart was the sound of a soldier's footsteps, ready to jump at the slightest movement.

Sokka smirked, wiping his eyes, "Nope, just a hunch."

A moment of comfortable silence blanketed them again before the tribesman spoke again.

"He's a good guy. Zuko's lucky to have you." Despite the tears on her face, the reddened and swollen eyes, Katara smiled.

Sokka fidgeted, "Will you be okay? I mean after... you know." Katara looked away. She could still remember the look on Yon Rha's corpse afterwards. Shocked, bloody, lifeless. Katara let out a breath.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm still a little...shaken....but I'll be fine. As long as I have you all with me, I'll be okay."

They say there for hours more, holding onto each other for dear life, as if someone would try to separate the two. They admired the moon and its stars, the moon casting a brighter glow on the two. Katara knew then that Yue was watching over them and if they looked closer, they could see her smiling.

[pansexual-lilychen]

what i think is boderline really sad is that with the characters from the last hours and their parents (aka the characters from the infernal devices) we have a set up that mirrors the situation of the characters from the legend of korra and their parents/grandparents (aka the characters from avatar the last air bender) where the older generation are really well beloved by fans in their original medium (in this case tid & atla) but turn out to be mainly bad or not great parents to the characters in the follow-up medium (in this case tlh & tlok).

we see this for example with katara and aang, who were fan favorites, overall great characters with amazing arcs and developments, but over the course of tlok we see how bumi, tenzin and kya were partially neglected, excluded and to a small fraction even pitted against each other. we as the audience of course understand that both aang and katara had legacies to carry on as benders, especially aang as the last airbender who had to rebuild an entire nation all alone, but they both try to pass on their legacies by putting this immense pressure on kya and tenzin, and by neglecting bumi.

and it is similar in the last hours, where we unfortunately have to see fan favorite and well beloved characters, tessa & will and charlotte & henry, ultimately fail as parents. i know this sounds harsh and a lot of fans are not ready to hear this, but we can see this repetition of the avatar pattern here again:

henry and charlotte are both very ambitious and selfless people, who see their work as a mean to help everyone around them, which ultimately results in them throwing themselves into work and neglecting their children. which results in charles trying everything to be like his mother to win her affection and matthew not trusting his parents anymore and feeling like he doesn’t even know them, which leads to him not only shutting himself off of them, but also relying on a truth serum to find out the truth rather than just asking his parents. (not to say that the truth serum thing was henry or charlottes fault)

and as for tessa and will, tessa is overall just seen as insanely passive all through the last hours, she barely interacts with her children, and she barely notices that something is up with them until it is too late. and then she leaves them all alone after their father dies to basically never return as if she was the only one who lost someone when will died. and as for will, he told james growing up that “herondales love but once” ingraining this utterly false and toxic narrative into this child’s mindset, resulting in him not letting go of the idea of grace very often (with or without the gracelet). i really did not expect this from will, especially not after the events of the infernal devices, where his curse was so connected to the idea of love only to find out that everyone loved him all along, shaping this idea of love entirely new for him, did he forget all about that? at this point i could go into a whole ass essay about will herondales fucked up idea of love and why it is not only toxic and a terrible lesson to teach a child but also just plain stupid and wrong, but we’ll leave it at that.

overall i hope that chain of thorns can redeem these characters as parents so we don’t start to resent them as avatar fans did with the gaang.