#Yes this is about that writing challenge

[khepiari]

Just say that you lack creativity and are jealous of people who can express themselves with their chosen medium of expression. There are millions of ways and tools to express oneself, yet you chose AI to do your hard work, which is “the act of creating”. Feel ashamed, not proud.

[bluerosefox]

So... This was inspired by listening to EPIC (FREAKING LOVE ALL THE ALBUMS, SO GOOD) and by @noxcheshire post of Tim being Odysseus reincarnated and Danny (maybe also reincarnated) being his Penelope (Here) so I had to turn it into a Dead Tired idea.

The song The Challenge is the main one here. (Cause I LOVE that song... along with Would You Fall In Love With Me Again)

So WHAT IF Danny IS the reincarnated Penelope, after becoming the Ghost King Danny's memories of his past life as Penelope returns and remembers how before dying/ or being reincarnated both Penelope and Odysseus promised to find each other in their new lives, no matter who they are, what new form they take, they will find each other.

So Danny/Penelope, just like before waits for their Odysseus to return to them, but also tries to find him in their new life (CW is laughing whenever Danny asks for hints and gets a 'In due time, just wait' answer, ugh Danny wants to smack CW for that)

However just like in his previous life with being in a high position of power, Danny is being pressured to marry/take a spouse (now its not just men/males though so its a huge headache, I head canon Ghosts don't care much for gender preference) mostly by the dang eyeballs that Danny is still trying to find a way to get rid of without upsetting the Infinite Realms dedicate (but slowly healing) balance even if Danny wanted nothing more than to punch all of the suitors out.

So Danny decides to play the long game again.

And waits for their Odysseus return.

Danny's wait is over when they suddenly feel the Realms shift one day, as if welcoming someone familiar home, and the same feeling Danny had when he had been Penelope and saw the storm that was sign of Odysseus coming home, Danny decides its time to bring out The Challenge once again. (CW gifted Danny a few things from his past as Penelope as a coronation gift, like Odysseus's bow (now enchanted to be unbreakable), a painting of when he was Penelope, with Telemchus, and Odysseus, and the Marriage Bed/Olive Tree, AND the Palace Odysseus made that Danny takes to being in over being at Pariah's Keep)

-x-x-

Meanwhile

Tim Drake, aka Red Robin, always had strange dreams as a child.

War, Death, Monsters, Gods, Goddesses.

His dreams were more like nightmares, haunting him and he sometimes woke up in cold sweat.

He hated storms. Hated being in the water for to long. Hated how he felt both tense but also at home when around Greek heroes, as if he was afraid to 'disrespect' them (Cassie was the only one he didn't feel that way around, mostly cause they had been somewhat friends before their heroing since their parents knew each other) but also knew how to appease them should he insult them. He also had a strange hatred for the CoO with a burning passion because he felt like they were mocking real Owls.

The worst part of nightmares that always pop up are of what feels like should be his home is being invaded by unwanted guests (they aren't guests), how they are angry over trying to string a bow and shot an arrow through axes, of the terrible terrible things he hear them saying they were going to do to his loved ones (two names that keep getting muted out).

How it ends in bloodshed with echoing of begging, pleading, mercy, and screams.

However in those nightmares at the end. He also finds himself looking for something in them.

Or rather he always found someone waiting for him at the end of the nightmares. Calling him by the wrong name but it sounds just right coming from them.

The dream always ends with the person asking 'How long has it been?' and before he can answer he wakes up.

So yeah Tim has horrifying nightmares/dreams he could never explain.

And the urge to find someone. To go home to them.

It isn't until he and his friends from Young Justice are hit by a spell from Klarion (who may or may not had a visit from a certain chaos encouraging Time Keeper) and sent to a place called the Infinite Realms in the middle of their fight, that Tim is hit hard with déjà vu when he spots a certain Palace in the distance and overhears some of the 'people?' (they glow and float and some don't even look human?! where are they?) talk about how the 'King' has issued a new 'Challenge' for his 'suitors'.

A Challenge involving a bow, and axes.

And Tim, feels like he knows this all too well and needs to do it.

[ganondoodle]

(OC Lore and design time!)

(it got longer again ... sorry ... idk how to make things short, i just need to talk, but i guess if you can read the written stuff in the pic thats the barest bare bones of what i wrote here)

i was asked what new lore story stuff i had thought about that made me sad which i mentioned a bit ago, and while that is too hard to explain given all the missing context i thought i could at least talk about lore having to do with it :D

so, (Lord) Eadrya is one of my fav OCs (big blue lad, here a rough sketch in humanoid form) they are both one of if not THE most powerful demon alive and the most battle trained;

at the mid point of the story the demon world gets invaded by the celestials (the angel inspired things i talked about in the previous lore post with Xaror) and Shargon, as the king, should be their first and only frontline, but at this point his life is only being sustained by maschinery after being mortally wounded, he cannot fight (he realizes what is going on, rips himself off the maschinery to get at least his youngest child to safety, barely managing it before dying- the guardian, the demons god, takes over his body to attempt to fight against the celestials but cant keep itself alive long enough since its host is already dead) Eadrya takes the role of the frontline fighter (despite being very full of themselves and aggressive they care about their 'job' of protecting their own, also giving them the chance to show off just how strong they are); the fight was going well for them all things considered, but when the guardian activates it drains the power of all elemental lords (which Eadrya is one of, and since they have the most strength it also takes the most from them), so much so that they lose the fight and suffer deadly wounds (the worst being a spear through the chest made of a material that grows hard, root-like formations when in contact with demonic blood like a fungus but worse, also stopping any self healing processes) after the guardian falls apart it creates a huge shockwave of energy that stuns every living thing within a certain distance and possibly more-

Eadrya (in true demon form, so like a blue whale in size at least) was likely taken through an active gateway to the human world in a large tidal wave also created by the guardians fall; they wash up in the harbor of a small secluded village, the head of which is 'lady 13'; although never having seen a demon before and everyone being afraid (largely thinking its a strange hurt animal, only she suspected otherwise), they still gather all villagers to pull out the celestial spear, which is diffcult and brutal given that its already taken root, but the village lacked both knowledge and means to help any other way- doing so damaged their heart which is how they were able to collect samples of all three demonic blood types ('normal' -red like humans-, energy -essentially purely magic- and heartblood -highly concentrated energy only found within the heart of a demon and the only one to contain genetic material) (this is the start of Eadryas character arc, having to deal with the fact that their world is likely destroyed, them failing what they didnt think they could fail, having lost a battle so badly (even if not really their fault) for the first time and not knowing if literally anyone else has survived .. also being now stuck in the human world, which they dont like)

Lady 13 (placeholder name? stands for experiment 13) is a human that was tricked by demon hunters to enroll into a series of experiments trying to create hybrids of demons and humans, which they hoped would be powerful and easily controllable tools for their endeavours, though the two are inherently not compatible, they tried grafting body parts of demons on humans to make them compatible- all experiments failed except for her, more or less, though she never got to see the hybrid she carried and was then told it had died too, they threw her out believing she wouldnt survive much longer either and all such experiments were cancelled due to the high cost of human life, research material (demons are still rare) and upkeep with no successful results Lady 13 survived though (perhaps even via the pirates picking her up?) and she ended up living in said small village far away, hiding her half demonic body, though most know there soemthing 'wrong' with her (her being this tall when it doesnt fit the rest for one), only few know the full extent; she enjoys the life she has now, perhaps on the more poor side but safer and more loved than ever before; she largely lead the efforts to try and help Eadrya when they ended up in the harbor, though there wasnt that much anyone could do it was still enough- they leave immediately after waking up, but return after really having nowhere to go and struggling to deal with everything that has happened; over time (probably years) they start to open up towards the people there (though not .. very much) enough to get rather close with Lady 13 too- she actually falls madly in love but after Eadrya (extremely aro/ace) rejects all her attempts quite clearly she respects their boundaries

However, after hearing news of potential demon sightings Eadrya decides to leave in hopes of not being the last demon left after all; Lady 13 then decides to reveal her secret to them (though hearing and seeing what lengths hunters would go to for their experiments makes them absolutely seething with rage- she insists on not being out for revenge) and asks if they would be willing to donate a small amount of heartblood; shes always wanted to be a mother but is now incompatible with humans too- through things she picked up back at the experiments facillity, hers and her doctors research she is sure that is all that is needed, she dares to ask since she does not know when, if ever, she will meet another demon, much less one she could actually trust enough for this though Eadrya hesitates (why would she want to go through the same thing again that didnt work and threatened her life, if it does work, do they want to be involved with any of this? what if hunters find out it worked after all?) but after her ensuring that they would have no part in it other than giving up a little blood and would not be considered a parent in any way, nor made responsible for anything that might happen to her, but considering it all in the end they agree to it

only for her to reveal shes had a small bottle of it already, along with multiple samples of the other types, which she collected when Eadrya was bleeding out into the harbor not knowing if they will survive, though not wanting to make use of it without their consent either way (they are actuallly rather touched by this)

alot later the main group returns here and it turns out to have worked (though she is unable to walk/bedridden for a long while bc it did alot of damage to her body, which can heal since its demons parts, but only really slowly bc she does not have a full functioning system and no demonic blood of her own -she uses the other samples for the healing process-) though its a little awkward to explain, especially considering that 13.1 took alot after Eadrya xD (their theory as to why it worked so "well" that time is that even though the sample was already taken, them giving their consent for it still made it less likely to be rejected; demons dont need partners to have offspring, and all can do it, they just have to decide to- so them agreeing to it, even though its long been outside their body, still had an effect on the blood sample)

[high-quality-assorted-chaos]

challengers (2024), luca guadagnino / almost (sweet music), hozier

[ervotica]

art donaldson whines when he cums i just know it

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

And remember kids, the next time someone tells you, "George R. R. Martin wouldn't make Jon Snow the typical fantasy hero because that's cliche".....

Oh yes he would!

One viewer wants to know what character would you play (on the show)? GRRM: If I could magically clap my hands and become a different person, it would be cool to play Jon Snow who's much more of the classic hero. Everybody wants to be the classic hero! ABC Interview, 2014

GRRM: And the character I’d want to be? Well who wouldn’t want to be Jon Snow — the brooding, Byronic, romantic hero whom all the girls love. Meduza Interview, 2017

In fact he already has ☺️

[dream-a-dream-for-me]

Clicker training puppy!Art has been the only thing revolving in my mind rn, so i treat you all to this

He felt so humiliated and exposed when you two first tried it. Looking up at you with those cute puppy ears, the headband covered by his hair, the puppy tail plug resting on the floor as he kneels. his wet pink tongue lolling out, beginning to drool while his arms bend at the elbow, fingers curling, wrist bent as though he were begging like the good dumb bitch he is. to top it all off, a collar is wrapped around his pale throat with a little gold tag that hangs down, reading "property of" with your name centered in capitalized bold letters under it.

"Who's a good boyyy?" You tease in an extremely condescending tone, exactly like you were talking to an actual dog. as much as he hates to admit it, his cock does kick, starting to grow half hard as he blushes in embarrassment, turning his head to break eye contact with you. Clicking your tongue, you grab his chin with two fingers, forcing him to look at you. 

"Look at me, and answer, mutt. Are you a good boy?" Your tone is soft, but he knows you're dead serious, "Speak, puppy, speak!" You encourage, grinning down at him. He moves his head forward slightly before letting out a tiny bark and his blush some how deepens.

Immediately you praise him, pushing the button on the clicker a few times, making sure he hears it before you give him his reward. "That's right, baby! You're such a good, good, dog! I think, for listening so well, you should get a treat. Don't you agree?" 

Again, he barks softly and you pet his head, scratching his scalp lightly before spreading your legs, letting him get a perfect view of your soaking cunt. He stares at your pussy, drool falling from the tip of his tongue and onto his chest, but he doesn't notice, too enthralled with your body. he rips his eyes away from your core, looking up at you expectantly, it takes a begging whine from him for you to realize what he's waiting for. Your permission. 

Grinning at how well you've trained him, you nod "Go ahead, Art, it's your treat." the second those words escape your lips he drops his hands down to the floor instead of gripping your thighs to keep himself stable, knowing he hasn't earned the right to touch you yet. then, he buries his face in between your thighs, lapping at your pretty cunt, taking your clit in his mouth and sucking on it. Anything that will give you pleasure. 

Burying his tongue deep in your cunt, his eyes hazy and unfocused, the only thing on his mind right now is making you cum. god, he lets out the sweetest whimpers when you pull his hair, his tongue working faster around your clit, needing you to use him. when you're about to cum, you click your tongue against your teeth twice, just as you'd do to get any dog's attention. His eyes flick up and catch sight of the clicker held up in your hand, immediately moaning into your pussy like an absolute slut. "Mhm, that's right sweetheart, m'gonna cum and you can lap it allll up!" he whines again, eyes wide with excitement. If he had a tail it'd be a blur with how fast it'd be wagging. 

Yanking his hair and grinding against his face as you cum, clicking the button three times again next to him, needing that noise to be ingrained in his mind. like a good boy, he doesn't waste a drop<3 

He doesn't stop until you pull him away, even then he tries to lick your cum off of his own face. "go on puppy, use your paws" he cocks his head to the side, confused for a second before he understands. wiping at his face with the back of his hand before licking it off. he looks so cute that you have to use the clicker again, only two this time but it's starting to rile him up anyways. His gorgeous cock hanging hard between his soft thighs, "oh? are you needy, baby? you need mommy to milk you?" he pushes his face into your thigh nodding slightly while blushing hard at your tone, so embarrassed that he gets off on this. 

"Up! On the bed, you're allowed," He crawls to the side, rubbing his face on your leg for a second before pulling himself onto the bed. "Roll over!" he falls back onto the bed, keeping his legs and arms up and bent at the joint. you laugh at how cute he is, running your hand up and down his thigh before moving to his soaking wet cock. 

He throws his head back, letting out high pitched moans, trying his hardest to not buck his hips up into your hands. rubbing the pad of your thumb over the slit of his cock, watching how much it leaks out all over your hand. leaning down, you flick your tongue over the slit then take the head into your mouth. his eyes screw shut, fingers clenching and unclenching the sheets, biting his lip while his cute thighs shake. he's always been extremely sensitive<3

He opens his mouth to tell you that he wants to cum, then promptly shuts it, puppies aren't meant to use human words! So he barks, louder than the times before, far more confident, "What is it, pup? Do you need to cum? Is that it?" He nods, barking again and whining, cute face scrunched up, so close to cumming. "Go ahead, cum for me. cum for me puppy, make a mess" of course, you use the clicker again and it sets him off, cum bursting from his dick, getting all over your hand and his chest. 

What a dirty pup

[t4tieflings]

In honor of pride month I’m out here not only supporting YuGiOh characters’ gay rights but also their gay wrongs. 

[watcherglowcloud]

wasn’t gonna drink tonight but i miss oscar malevolent

[arbor-tristis]

If I had a nickel for every time Llewellyn Watts found a potential love interest through an investigation I'd have four nickels which is not a lot but it's weird that it happened FOUR TIMES

[maenecoon]

tw (mostly mild) depictions of violence and blood, bc it's involves vampires, also major spoilers for a fic im working on rn

so

i may or may not have a vampire kimchay fic idea

except the execution of it is going to have me combusting into flames??

anyways, thoughts about kim finding an annoying baby bat in the forest. he wants to ignore it, but he can't. so fine, he takes it in.

except...

kim definitely doesn't know how to care for a feral bat.

anyways! cue sweet/fluffy/bat-and-vampire shenanigans! like babybat so sated with blood that he becomes a little drunk, or at least the bat-version of drunk. babybat who flies into the window trying to escape because he's not good at echolocatio. babybat who sneaks into kim's closets to bite holes in every single one of his silk shirts.

vampire!kim somehow being whipped af for this cute but annoying little shit that he's somehow adopted. feeds him blood pudding and gives him many head scritches. shows him his red string murder board and rambles about his murder plans and all. vampire!kim who started off detesting or tolerating this pest at best but unable to imagine starting a day without the weight of babybat curled up on his chest.

then the murder plan happens. kim wants korn (his father/sire) dead, bc who doesn't, and he sneaks in to "kill" him.

he's gone in, wooden stake and holy water and all.

he goes bat-shit crazy. bodies of full-sized vampires drop to the floor around them as kim works with ruthless efficiency. he's memorised the techniques of his father's men and their weaknesses. he's dreamed about this for centuries. and it's pays off.

and then enters korn.

korn was always going to be the issue.

kim had no plans of returning alive - he knows to end lorn by all means necessary even if it means his own life - but korn has gotten more powerful. sire bonds are difficult to break, and even if kim has been diluting the bond and doing his absolute best to weaken their link, korn still has kim in an iron grip.

(if you'd read my phayurain vampire fic, there's this thing about sires being able to control their fledglings because of a bond they share when a vampire (sire) turns someone into a vampire (their fledgling). )

anyways.

when suddenly a weight in his pocket starts to stir. it's the little shit, the bat. and kim's all panicked because little shit is small and harmless and now barely the size of half his palm? like, kim's on his knees and has his hands shaking with effort not to plunge the stake into his own chest, by the command of korn.

it takes just a second, but bat flutters out of kim's pocket. bat, with all the rage that a bat can muster, swings himself right on korn's face and digs his fangs into korn's eyes. the eyes are part of what maintains the sire-control that korn has over kim, and kim is able to use that split second to drive the stake into korn's heart.

the moment that korn falters, falling to the ground with a thud, is the moment that the bat drops to the floor.

kim thinks like yeah, fuck, that must've taken a lot out of this poor baby bat, and god that fall looked bad, when all of a sudden the bat is expanding. almost like his bones are breaking (and kim winces because that sounds anguishing) and reforming and he keeps growing bigger and bigger and bigger until kim realised that this was no bat.

this was a vampire, trapped in the form of a bat.

this is his fledgling, his fledgling who was supposed to have died.

chay.

yeah anyways!! fun little story that i'm working on rn!! lmk what you think/want to see, if you got to the end of this! !

[karaspal]

I just remembered about the existence of the Supergirl Special #1 and I got annoyed again. So now I shall copy and paste the review I left in comic geeks.

Perhaps Mariko Tamaki should stay away from Kara. I’m yet to read a good Supergirl story from her. I get that this story has some message about girlhood somewhere in these pages, but it poses an issue Kara has never had. She has never felt like she’s falling behind. That’s not a part of her character. So why use her to tell this story?

Another problem I have is her risking the lives of innocent people, and for what? Because she is jealous of Karen? She’d never do something like that. Helping people has always been her number one priority. And she’d never be jealous of someone else. Especially someone who had their entire charm assassinated by Leah Williams.

Kara can be arrogant and stubborn sometimes, yes, but not in the way it’s presented here. She is arrogant and stubborn in the sense she wants to save everyone and would never stop, even if she’s on the brink of death. Call it the indomitable kryptonian spirit, if you will. Call it stupid stubbornness, if you will. But it is who Kara is. Sometimes she can feel like she’s the only one who can do what it needs to be done, to save the people who need saving, and yes, it is arrogant, but the reason she feels so is because she can’t have anyone dying on her watch. Those “toxic” traits of her come from a place of selflessness and compassion, not jealousy. Everything she is, it comes from a place of selflessness and compassion. She suffered so much in her life, you better believe she’d do everything in her power and more to make sure no one else has to suffer the same way she did.

Kara is a competent woman who knows what she is doing. She’s confident and strong. Phillip Kennedy Johnson once described her as always being “the smartest person in the room”. It still baffles me how DC turned PKJ’s Supergirl pitch down, but green lit this.

It’s been half a year and somehow, I hate this more than the day it came out. Perhaps, it’s because this is last Supergirl thing DC published and it was last year. It’s never too late to let PKJ write her, you know.

[flythesail]

Jisbon really starts with the perfect ratio of annoyance/bickering/distrust to I actually trust you more than anyone

[diyasgarden]

In some ways, Tashi Duncan is the definition of a gold dust woman. Plus, a relationship with her could possibly feel like this song...

Well, did she make you cry? / Make you break down?

She is such a strong presence. She is sure of herself and always knows what she wants. Even for the people around her. She's blunt when expressing these things too. It doesn't matter how long you've known her or how much you care for her, it doesn't make her any less blunt with you. And yeah you know she wants the best for you, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. It's for your own good, the way she pushes you. The way she says it. It still hurts.

Shatter your illusions of love?

Regardless, you can't imagine not loving Tashi. It's so different than any other feeling you've ever experienced in your life. Your past relationships seem meaningless now. The possibility of falling in love again with someone else feels impossible. Sometimes you think the word love isn't the right word to describe what you feel for her. It's too simple. You need something bigger. Something stronger.

And now tell me, is it over now? Do you know how / To pick up the pieces and go home?

You dread the possibility that your relationship with her could fall apart. What would your life be without her? You don't know. You don't even want to think about it. You wouldn't know what to do. You can't even imagine moving on. You'd mourn the relationship for the rest of your life. Or could you even call it a life without her? You decide no. A life without Tashi, is not a life at all.

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

When I find myself in times of trouble, South Park comes to me, speaking words of wisdom,

Whump the boys.

[seyaryminamoto]

Scenes of a Peaceful World: Sokkla Saturdays 2024

Day Two - Pleasure

Rated: M

On FF.net//On AO3

The fire that burned in Sokka's throat would ease up in time… for now, though, it served as a painful but welcome reminder of what he had succeeded at doing on that momentous day.

Ten full courses of ramen were more than any normal person could handle. Spicy ramen? It was madness, but madness they had jumped into eagerly, with eyes wide open.

There was also the fact that, with the dragons' appearance, the whole matter had evolved into a full-blown festival in the streets of Firelight Town instead of a mere visit to the Dragon's Casserole – Jiare's restaurant. The name, naturally, pleased Xin Long: he and his draconic siblings basked in even more spicy ramen than Sokka or Azula had…

The kids had eaten recklessly as well, if not the spicy variety of ramen. They had gone to sleep already, in the room the three of them would share, while Sokka and Azula had their own quarters at the inn. Their social station merited the very best rooms for their family's use – and the parents certainly wanted privacy in case matters between them took the turn they often did…

It happened rather quickly after the mandatory nap resulting from eating in excess: Azula had woken Sokka upon leaving their bed to head to the bathroom. An attempt to cuddle and fall asleep again resulted in conversation, which then spiraled into far more intimacy than they'd meant to go for, just yet.

"I… I'm quite ready now," Azula laughed, legs spread, as her husband lapped at her folds greedily.

"You sure? I can go on for longer…"

"You've eaten a lot today, love… and I'd like some fun with another of your best assets now."

"Heh. One of my best assets, is it?" he smirked against her groin. Azula laughed. "My wife's a pervert."

"You're pleased that I am… don't pretend otherwise."

Sokka chuckled, rising over his wife on the bed, kissing her heartily. Their round of lovemaking took place once it was dark outside, with the voices and sounds of rambunctious laughter and song drifting upstairs from the inn's tavern and the town's streets. It only happened, too, because the children were fast asleep, and most likely would not wake until morning. Thus, hidden away within the room they had locked up, for good measure, they were free to indulge in their intimacy with abandon, with Sokka sitting with his back against the bed's headrest, the pillow cushioning his lower back, his legs flexed so Azula could sit on his lap, grinding against him as she rode his shaft.

She moved slowly, indulging in every blissful sensation, eyes half-lidded, lips parted and often engaged with his in long, lazy, deep kisses. Their motions, slow and smooth, starkly contrasted with those of their earlier years: quick bursts of energy, impulse, chasing a release as soon as possible, for who knew when would be the next time they could get away with their wild escapades?

No such troubles plagued them anymore. They could take their time now. They could savor the pleasure, beat by beat, without worrying about what the future might bring.

Sokka's hands roamed over her flanks, settling on her hips at times, dropping to her rear later, rising back to her breasts and fondling them mischievously, too. She swayed against him, arms locked around his neck, breathing deep as her sultry moans spilled out into their kisses.

"The more we do it this way… the more it grows on me…" Sokka chuckled, brushing his lips against her neck, sucking on it teasingly. Azula moaned and sighed, eyes fluttering closed as she leaned into his touch fully.

"Maybe we're getting… old…?" Azula suggested, with a teasing smirk. Sokka chuckled.

"Good. That was the point," he smiled. "Growing old with you… spending our lives together."

"Ah… we did promise each other that, didn't we?" Azula chuckled, brushing his hair with her fingers before kissing him long and deep.

Pleasure rushed between them, coursing and rising, ebbing as their arousal built and soared. Sokka's hips thrusted upwards eagerly once he felt his release approaching, and Azula's panting, accompanied by her erotic moans, triggered his climax mere instants after she found her own.

They didn't stop kissing even so. Their closeness didn't cease, didn't diminish, as Azula slowed the thrusting to a halt gradually, pressing her body fully against his. Their lips hardly had parted when they smirked mischievously, at the same time.

"Always the best reward for finishing the Spicy Ramen Challenge," Azula decided. Sokka chuckled.

"Agreed," he said. "Though… I still finished first."

"While crying because the spice in the final bowl was too intense, yes…"

"Hey, now, Jiare amped it up just to give you an edge, I know she did…"

"You accuse our esteemed ramen connoisseur of being biased?" Azula gasped, feigning outrage. Sokka chuckled. "How dare you…!"

"She's biased, just as much as I am," Sokka smiled fondly, cupping Azula's cheek. "I love you."

"And I love you," Azula smiled. "I love picking unnecessary fights with you, too."

"I'm aware. Always have been," Sokka kissed her softly, pulling her close for a tight hug. "Just saying… if she's biased in your favor, it's something she and I have in common."

"Does that mean you relinquish the victory to me? Are you biased still, when it means you'd lose…?" Azula asked, amused. Sokka snorted.

"Hey, now. There are limits to my generosity…"

"No doubt," Azula laughed. Sokka chuckled, hoisting her off himself only to press her on her back against the mattress.

"I won't give up… but I know you won't, either," he said. "Meaning… we'll have to come back here next year to settle who won."

"Ah, next year, then?" Azula smirked. "I look forward to it."

Sokka dove in, as enticed by her smiles as ever: they were ready to seal that new deal in the most pleasant way, succumbing to each other one more time.