#and also throwing a little tease in there by accusing him of being in love with the guy

[muniimyg]

1: the confession // series m.list

note: been daydreaming abt this jk... enj <3

taglist request: send a request with the title of this fic “aao” // DO NOT comment here or on the masterlist . it gets confusing and i prefer answering and tagging through asks !!!

🏷️ permanent taglist: @joonsjuice @taetaecatboy @pb-n-juju @miss-rainy-days @firesighgirl @whoa-jo @vantxx95 @pamzn @kakixaku @casspirit0705 @tae165 @defzcl @sopebubbles @leefics @ggukkieland @bebebutbetter @yoongimentita7 @boraength @era-genius @4ksj @vampcharxter @miss-jupiter @floweryjeons @taegijns @jeonqkooks-main @ellesalazar @jkslvsnella @thekookiecorner @parkinglot-nights @seagulljk

fic taglist: @peterstarkchrishiddleston

//

The library is your favourite place. 

At least, that is until your predictable love for it comes to a disadvantage. May your tranquil moments alone rest in peace as your friends corner and gaslight you to leaving your sanctuary. Sometimes, it’s for parties. Other times, it’s for something stupid like driving to the next town to watch a movie at their theatre because their theatre chairs recline better. 

You won’t have it this time. 

No way. You have so much work to do!

"Oh, come on! Please, ___?” Hobi begs. “Come tonight! It'll be fun!" Suddenly, he’s clinging to your arm, making it harder for you to ignore him. You try shaking him off, but he pouts at you and clings on even tighter. 

“Hobi,” you whine. “Go to the party if you wanna go. Jimin said he’d meet you there! And Nam Joon, and Taehyung, Jin, and even Yoongi!” 

“But I want you to come!” He cries. “I need someone to keep count of my drinks—”

“Use a marker and tally it on your arm.”

“But then what if I need to throw up—”

“Then throw up.”

“... Jungkook will be there!”

You blink at him. 

“So?”

Hobi lets go of your arm and raises a brow at you. “What do you mean so? Isn't he your boyfriend?”

His accusation has you tongue-tied. This is the first time you’ve ever heard such an absurd thing! Jungkook became a part of the friendgroup after you. He’s the newbie. Actually, he has a whole other set of friends aside from you guys. Why? Because he’s cool. That’s it. Everyone on campus knows him and truth be told; he deserves his hype. He’s good-looking, kind, and a little weird (in a good way). He’s funny and smart (but not in an obnoxious way)... He’s just… Kind of good at everything? It intimidates you and often leaves you daydreaming. 

Come to think of it, everything happens by coincidence. Yours and his lectures usually start and end around the same time. Not to mention that he also loves the library! He usually walks you home after your study sessions. But, yeah… Aside from these things—you and Jungkook aren’t actually that close.

“W-what? I’m not dating Jungkook! Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” you ask, careful not to sound too noisy. 

Hobi shakes his head. “Girlfriend? Yeah… You.”

Your eyes widen.

In a panic, you hiss at Hobi. “Don’t start rumours! That’s embarrassing for him to be associated with me—”

“Oh shut up,” Hobi laughs. “Do not get all insecure and pick me when the campus crush has literally been drooling over the past few weeks. Everybody knows. Everybody talks about it! Besides, they talk about him being all lovestruck—not you! So, spill it. What did you do, huh? Did you manifest it or some shit—”

“With all the time I spend in class, work, and the library… You think I have time to manifest?” you chuckle at him, ultimately trying to dismiss his suspicion. 

Hobi rolls his eyes at you. 

“For someone who reads fanfics and book loads of romance stories… You’re dense as fuck.”

Tilting your head at him, you try to find the words to defend yourself and fail. 

He’s right. 

You are dense. 

But that never hurt anyone before… So why does it matter?

“Earth to ___?” Hobi waves his hands to your face. You blink, brushing your thoughts away. Offering him a tired smile, he looks at you weirdly. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” you exhale. “Why?”

“You’re blushing like crazy,” he teases, poking your cheek. Your hands fly to your cheeks. He’s right. They feel warm and the sudden embarrassment just made you feel even more flustered. Then, he nudges you. 

“Get it together!” Hobi mutters, “Your boyfriend is coming!"

Turning your head, you see Jungkook making his way through the doors. He has his backpack on one shoulder and his eyes glued to his phone. Like muscle memory, he turns his heels and walks toward your direction. 

“Oh my god,” you hit Hobi’s arm. “Why did you plant these thoughts when he’s literally—”

“Plant thoughts? Babes, it’s reality. Helllooooo?” Hobi sings, tauntingly. 

You pout at him, unable to take this lighthearted. 

Then, before you know it, Jungkook approaches you. 

He pulls the seat next to you out and settles in. After offering a fist bump to Hobi, he quickly leans his body over and places his hand on your knee. He’s always done this but why was it suddenly so different now? Was it always like this and you never noticed until now? Until Hobi…

Wow… 

“Hey, you.” Jungkook greets you warmly.

“... H-hi.”

He gives you a weird look. You avoid his eyes in return. Clearing his throat, he asks, “Why aren’t you packed up yet? Aren't we going to the party?”

Jungkook eyes your spread of notes on the table. You clunch your iPad closer to you and shrug. “We? It’s you. Aren’t you going to the party?”

Jungkook returns your question with a grin. “No. Us. You, specifically. You, especially.”

“Yeah, ___!” Hobi chimes cheekily. “Aren’t you going to the party?”

Hesitantly, you shake your head. 

“N-no… I have too much work to do. Here! I’ll just—” you pause your sentence and reach for Hobi’s arm. Pushing his sleeve up, you take the sharpie from your pencil case and write on his arm. 

If piss drunk, please return to ___. 

(xxx) xxx-xxxx <3

Hobi reads it sideways and yanks his arm back. 

“I hate you,” he utters. With laser eyes, he glares at Jungkook. “Tell her you’re coming to the party. Drag her to come! She’s always here! Homework can wait for tomorrow!”

Jungkook exchanges looks with you. With a soft gaze, he shrugs and turns to Hobi. 

“She doesn’t wanna go.”

Hobi groans. 

“Fine. Let’s go. Let’s leave—”

“I’m staying,” Jungkook says calmly. "She's not going... Neither am I."

He picks his backpack up from the ground and begins to unzip it. Taking out his notes and laptop, he looks up and smiles at Hobi. “Can I see your arm?”

Huffing, Hobi shows Jungkook your note. As Hobi rambles on and on about how you and Jungkook are party poopers, Jungkook takes your Sharpie and crosses your number out. 

If piss drunk, please return to ___. Jungkook

(xxx) xxx-xxxx <3

(xxx) xxx-xxxx

For the second time tonight, Hobi reads his arm sideways and yanks it back. He squints at the unfamiliar number. 

“Why’d you cross her number out? Whose number is this?” Hobi asks. 

“Mine,” Jungkook states, smiling at the correction. “Call me if you need anything.”

“What? Why?”

Jungkook blinks. “I’m not really crazy about ___’s number being on your arm for other guys to have and call her with.”

Hobi’s mouth drops. He slowly turns to you and gulps. Blinking at you slowly, he gives you crazy eyes. “You can not be this dense, ___. Jungkook is literally ripping me into shreds in his head right now—”

You laugh.

“Go. Have fun! Call me if you need anything.”

Hobi turns to Jungkook. 

Jungkook smiles at him sweetly with his eyes closed. He shakes his head slowly and wiggles his finger at him. “Don’t call her.”

With that, Hobi grumbles a few exchanges before packing his stuff up. He waves goodbye and tells you that you’re lame one last time. You agree with him and wave him goodbye. As he leaves, Jungkook moves his chair closer to you. 

“So… Same schedule? Study until 9PM and then I walk you home? Or are you hungry tonight? Maybe we can wrap this up by 7:30PM and grab a bite to eat? I know a really good burger spot just up campus—why’d you do that?”

Your body stiffens.

“Do what?”

Jungkook eyes your chair distance. 

“You moved away.”

What the heck… How did he even notice? It’s not like you moved across the table! You just moved like… Half an inch. 

“No, I didn’t,” you deny. “But yeah… Sure! I’ve been craving a good burger with extra cheese—what are you doing?”

“I’m moving closer to you.”

“Why?”

“Because you lied to my face and moved away.”

“N-no!” 

Jungkook inches his face closer to yours. He boops your nose and scrunches his. “You sniff whenever you lie. Did you know that?”

“N-no…”

“Now you do.”

For the first time ever… You lose your breath. It’s like you forgot how to breathe. He’s so close to you. His eyes are so doey, you’re literally getting lost in them. The scar he has on his left cheek… You can see it so clearly—the detail of how his skin healed and all. His hair is brushing above his eyebrows and you can’t help but realize how much you like the way it falls on his face. He’s… Cute?

Oh god. 

“D-dont do that—uhh—” You move away from him. This time, there’s an obvious space between you two. Jungkook straightens his posture, completely confused by your burst of emotion. It’s… Conflicting? He swears you two were about to kiss… Now, what’s going on?

“___? What’s wrong?” Jungkook asks with a gentle tone. 

You turn away and shove your notes to your face. Mumbling into the paper, you tell him what’s on your mind. “Everyone thinks you have a crush on me and it’s embarrassing.”

Jungkook doesn’t hear you well. 

“Say that again,” he requests. Without warning, he takes the paper from your hands, leaving you to face him. “Don’t act all cute. What is it?”

You stay silent and contemplate.

Was this worth saying? Was this worth addressing? Would it change anything between you two after? What about the burgers? You’ve been craving a cheesy burger like crazy—

“It’s fine if you don’t feel comfortable. You can tell me later or never. I don’t mean to be pushy—”

Then, you blurt it out. 

“Everyone thinks you have a crush on me… Or something.” 

Jungkook doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t hold his breath. 

He doesn’t deny it. 

“I do have a crush on you.”

Your throat feels dry. What?! Has he lost his mind?

“W-what? You can’t j-just—”

Jungkook tilts his head and pouts. 

“I don’t really understand why I should deny it. Why should I lie? Why should I make an excuse? This is how I feel. You just found out earlier than the confession… I guess this is it though, right?” He laughs. 

You hit his chest. 

“This isn’t funny!”

“Why can’t it be funny?” Jungkook laughs even harder. He catches your wrist and holds you still. “Doesn’t it make you laugh? That everybody on campus watched me wait outside your classes every day for almost 3 months… That everybody waits on me to go to parties but I don’t show up because I rather walk you home and stay home… That everybody on campus watched me enter this goddamn library of a snoozefest—”

“Hey! I like it here.”

“Yeah,” he rolls his eyes at you. “I like you. That’s why I’m here.”

“I… I thought you wanted to study.”

Jungkook laughs even louder, earning a few hushes from others nearby. He groans, throwing his head back. “I can’t even fucking laugh in here without getting in trouble. Why the hell would I like this place?”

“... To study!”

“To be with you.” 

You shut up. 

No words, no thoughts, no feelings. 

Okay…

Feelings. Lots of them. 

“I don’t understand why you’re so overwhelmed,” Jungkook murmurs, leaning his head against your shoulders. “I thought you knew. I thought you figured it out by now. I wasn't exactly discrete."

You sit still, not knowing if you should move or let him settle in. Before you can decide, he sits himself up and grabs your hand. He squeezes it tightly and brings it to his lips. Kissing your hand, he looks at you. 

“Doesn’t matter if you’re dense. Doesn’t matter if you don’t know how you feel right now. I’ll win you over… You’ll fold."

You yank your hand away from him. In response, he leans over and kisses the side of your head instead. You gasp, but your cheeks blush. Quickly, you cover your face with your hands. He laughs heartily, tugging you close to him. You bury your face in his chest and groan at the sinking feeling of wanting to be anywhere but here. This was humiliating!

And just when you think it can't get any worse, Jungkook wraps his arms around you and hugs you tight. As he pats your back, he murmurs—

"You're falling for me already, aren't you?"

[musclesandhammering]

This. And it’s so braindead because I might understand if they skipped over both parts of the statement- but they don’t! They use the “look at us both” all the time to prove that John is secretly in love with Sherlock!! And yet.. they never acknowledge that it also applies to Irene.

Like you can’t look at a sentence that literally says “we both love this guy” and use it as proof for one ship and refutation for another! That makes no sense.

Irene is a lesbian and she even admitted to it. I do not really believe that Sherlock and Irene were in love. They are both extremely gay but they were intrigued by each other. Irene was fascinated with Sherlock because of his amazing ability to solve crimes and Sherlock was fascinated with Irene because of how clever she was. But there was no sexual attraction. Sherlock always looked at Irene’s brain and never her body, he only looked at her measurements to solve the case. Never for love.

[beddybites]

how do the 21 trio babies interact w each other… both in and out of baby mode. also what do they think of each other’s baby modes

anon i absolutely love this question. im sorry this took forever to answer, i wanted to draw something with it!!!

long answer under the cut :D feel free to ask more about this subject or anything with this au, im happy to do so!

Giyuu: hes the first to go baby mode bc hes also just the most chill. obanai & sanemi immediately realize somethings wrong when the avoidant water hashira is suddenly smiling and snuggling up in shinobu’s arms. obanai gets pissy with giyuu because giyuu tends to look out for him (since obanai is the smallest and weakest baby). if he loses his paci giyuu crawls away to retrieve it. obanai’s not eating? he’s sharing his food. sanemi can’t help but tease the hell out of the two until he is also met with giyuu’s friendship and finds himself being patted on the cheek and having a blue stuffed fox forced into his hands.

giyuu isnt really embarrassed when he snaps out of it— he’s just looking out for his friends so why would he be? if anything he just gets flustered when he remembers he fell asleep while shinobu sang to him. mention a bottle and he’ll short-circuit

Sanemi: obanai & giyuu temporarily united in their panic at seeing sanemi go from a super angry and stubborn person to a giggly baby being entertained by tengen. they watched on in shock as he willingly let tengen pick him up and kiss his little head and immediately turned to each other like what the Hell. sanemi proceeds to try and play with the other babies. shinobu checks on them later to find sanemi forcibly snuggling the two— giyuu is very conflicted and tired and obanai looks ready to jump off a cliff.

sanemi wakes up later and remembers what happened and angrily accuses the two of doing something (he knows they didnt. hes just embarrassed and pissed) and throws things and essentially just has a baby tantrum until gyomei can calm him down. the cycle continues

Obanai: cold and judgmental and sensitive guy is suddenly a little shy sweetheart who is still very very sensitive. sanemi & giyuu are fearing for their lives when obanai is suddenly bawling his eyes out because he woke up and mitsuri and/or muichiro weren’t anywhere to be found, so surely this means they want to get rid of him. sanemi ends up screaming with him so one of the two can put an end to the chaos, and hes mostly just unnerved by how different obanai is acting. giyuu finds it pretty endearing, especially because baby mode obanai actually likes him!

hes very snuggly and always has to be in someone’s arms, especially when he’s doing something as scary as eating. he also tends to be more touchy; he loves petting muichiro’s nose or playing with mitsuri or rengoku’s hair. obanai is always sucking on a pacifier or needing to put his mitten in his mouth and if he doesn't have either hes rlly weepy. cue sanemi and giyuu crawling around trying to find something to help. obanai tends to snap out of baby mode after waking up from a nap, and he’s extremely flustered and defensive. he apologizes profusely to mitsuri/rengoku/muichiro for inconveniencing them, and threatens sanemi and giyuu before hiding under a blanket until he recovers from how embarrassed he is

when they are all baby mode they are inseparable. sanemi basically drags them around and forces them to hang out with him. giyuu likes to look out for them (particularly obanai) and play patty cake with sanemi when they arent cuddled up to each other. obanai shyly observes their games and cheers them both on (alongside kaburamaru) by clapping his mittened hands. when its time for them to nap, they stay close together and cuddle. gyomei is in hysterics at this, and the other hashira must console him before he wakes up the babies with his crying. when they are out of baby mode the following morning they lose their minds and try to avoid each other as long as possible out of embarrassment and frustration

giyuu secretly wishes they will be friends by the end of this transformation, but he doesnt think he deserves it. it always makes him feel better when sanemi is dragging him into games or obanai is cooing in greeting and petting his head. 

sanemi has trouble accepting that he enjoys being with them. he cant help but think about his fallen comrades and his siblings, and its easier to push them all away then accept their care. besides, he’s supposed to be the strongest hashira! how can he outrank gyomei when he’s a baby? 

obanai hates being the smallest of the bunch, but he can’t deny how nice it is to be looked after for once. hes weaker, so he needs more special attention as well. his trust issues prevent him from accepting their kindness. what are their intentions? are they trying to mock him? he isnt used to being loved, and he is scared of loving them back)

sorry for the giant tangent hello. the demons

[battydora]

masterlist | rules | pinned post

synopsis: they lose a bet and they have to take a shot from your breasts (inspired by: this tiktok)

cw: suggestive, drabbles, modern au, human hantengu (i refer to them as demons anyways lol), gn. reader (afab), written with a chubby reader in mind, reader has big breasts, pet names, consensual, mentions of alcohol, drinking games, teasing, + sekido's confession

note: i saw that tiktok and can't stop thinking about it, so i decided to do it with hantengu clones, self indulgent because i want to stop feeling insecure about my chest and i need them to drink a shot from my tiddies, yeah that'll do it. i wanted to do this only with sekido but the others can join too bye im so gross about these four (btw sekido is my favourite so his part is longer, i'm not sorry) btw karaku is shamelessly dirty lmao i love him

UROGI

"haha! you lost, urogi!" karaku's voice yelled as he jumped from his seat on the ground, throwing his cards to the table out of excitement.

"ah, screw you, karaku" the joy demon complained, also throwing his cards to the table aswell looking rather annoyed, side eyeing you. he hid the fact of actually being excited about losing a bet, i mean, with a bet like that who would like to win? whatever's the case, he remained calm and collected despite everything.

"oh that's a shame" your voice spoke, sarcasm asserting presence in your tone, you were obviously not against the idea, you agreed this from the very beggining because, come on, how could you not take the chance of any of these four to bury his face into your chest?

you grab the little glass and the bottle of vodka from the table and start serving a shot. the four demons dagged their glares at you as you unbottoned a... suggestive amount of bottons of your shirt, a little smile growing on your face as you -tried to- hide your excitement for the upcoming events. you grabbed the glass and stuck it between your breasts, your hands pushing both of them together so the glass didn't pour. urogi, sekido, aizetsu and karaku looked at you a bit astonished, sekido glares away quickly, aizetsu stares for a few seconds before also looking away and karaku looks at urogi with a devilish grin, almost encouraging him. urogi didn't hesitate and, with a wide smile, walked towards you and knelt infront of you.

"okay babe, are you ready?" he asks, clearly full of confidence, he seemed excited, like a small child who just got gifted a candy.

"i was born ready" you teased pushing your chest closer to him, he flinched slightly, his eyes widen just as his smile in response, however, he was no chicken. his hands were about to hold your waist but karaku stopped him instantly, a grin on his face.

"ah, ah. no hands!" you both look at him, then at eachother. you smirked once again and winked at urogi, challenging, he only chuckled as a response and, with his hands well hid behind his back, he buried his face in your chest. he missed a few times before actually getting to the glass, his tough lips made contact lightly with your chest, making him laugh just a little bit, you bit your lower lip with a grin as you saw him struggle. you giggled as he took the glass out and threw his head back drinking the liquid within the glass, now grabbing it with his hand.

he sighed out a laugh after, shaking his head due to the alcohol burning his throat. he looked directly into your eyes with a wide smirk.

"now that was fun!"

KARAKU

"oh man, come on!" karaku throws his head back as his hands slam the table, grunting at loosing to aizetsu "you cheated!"

"you can't accuse me of that, you cheated in the first place" aizetsu protested, putting his cards down calmly "stick to the consequences"

"yeah, you're no one to speak, karaku" your teasing voice said, as you crossed your arms with a grin, karaku's annoyance dissapeared in less than a second when he shrugged and smiled back at you.

"ah, as if the consequences were so terrible anyways. let me see 'em babe!" he was shameless while asking, you laugh at him before unbottoning your upper buttons, exposing your bare chest only covered by your bra, his eyes and smile widen in excitement, he looked like a puppy.

"you will excuse me" he added taking the bottle and glass to fill it himself and stuck it between your boobs, you laughed at his lewd and fun look on his face when he stared at your chest "cheers!"

those were the last words you heard from him before he buried his face in your breasts, purposefully staying in place for a few seconds wrapping the glass with his mouth to have you close for a little longer.

"get it over with, karaku!" sekido was the one to scold the green eyed for staying there for more time that he should have, not that you minded tho.

so, just to tease both sekido and karaku, your hands pushed your boobs up just so karaku would sink in them even more, his laughter was muffled by his mouth being busy with a glass to then finally pull it away and drink the alcohol within. he took the little glass and chuckled with his precious laugh and looked at sekido.

"in your face, sekido!"he mocked and the red eyed just grunted, looking away. karaku then looked at you "sorry babe, i'm tempted, can i give any of your buddies a hickey?" he shamelessly asked, your eyes widened as you saw from the corner of your eye how sekido and aizetsu grossed out at him, which only made you laugh out loud.

"yes baby boy, go ahead" you heard an annoyed 'oh come on! you're disgusting!' coming from sekido aswell as you heard urogi laughing at the whole situation, granting you some sort of satisfaction, this was fun.

"man, cheating was so so worthy!" karaku cheered to himself before putting his mouth to use again.

SEKIDO

"this is ridiculous, i'm not doing it." sekido is the first one to make an objection against the bet HE accepted.

"oh no! you're not backing away like a coward!" urogi laughs at him, shaking his head.

"yeah, man, you can't bet and then not confront the consequences" karaku backs up urogi, laughing at sekido's face right now, man's infuriated.

"shut up both of you!" he states loudly, crossing his arms, avoiding any sort of eye contact with you, he is denial... and embarassment.

"you accepted the challenge, sekido. don't be a pussy" you say now, your elbow resting on the living room table, your face is one of amusement and your eyes locked on the anger demon. he does not answer to you so karaku speaks again.

"if you're not gonna do it, i will" his grin is devilish, he tries to touch a nerve in sekido. the red eyed demon turns to him absolutely furious, more than he normally is.

"fine, shut up, let's get this over with" he grunts and sighs, karaku laughs at him.

"that's the attitude, i knew you weren't so stubborn to let this chance pass by" urogi teases now, you laugh at all the teasing to the poor sekido and serve the drink in the small glass. the red eyed simply groans and decides to ignore them, now putting his attention solely on you.

he kneels infront of you, his knees glued to eachother and fists sitting on them almost shyly, he frowns at you but then looks down, avoiding looking at you, only for a second until he notices you begin to unbotton your shirt, then is when he becomes nervous, he tries so hard to not look at your chest, he is already so embarassed for doing this and can barely look at you. he can't avoid it any longer and eventually lifts his gaze and takes a look at the glass sitting between your big breasts, a beautiful black bra cupping them so prettily. the view is arousing and makes sekido actually thirsty. you stare at his astonished look and make him snap back by pressing your chest lightly.

"what's the matter? gonna try to chicken out again?" you tease in a playful and sweet voice, making the blush on sekido's face grow wider. he gulps and responds.

"of course not, i'm no coward"

he builds up courage from his own words and leans to your chest, his face flushes in dark red when his skin touches yours as he tries to catch the glass with his mouth and pull it out as soon as possible to end this embarassment. his hand lands on your thigh for support (yeah, support...) squeezing softly before finally pulling out the little thing out of your chest, throwing his head back drinking the alcohol in it. the hand touching you takes the glass and slams it to the table.

"done." yep, you definitely enjoy when he's upset like he is in this very moment, his fanged grimace remaining on place as he returns to his seat, avoiding eye contact with you for the rest of the night, because he knows you're looking at him with that look, that exact look you make when you want to tease someone. not that he feels disgusted, he just doesn't want to lose himself infront of his friends.

later that night, you stay over at the hantengu's place, karaku, urogi and aizetsu went to bed a little bit tipsy from a fun night and you're about to do the same until you come across sekido in the hallway, he is dressing the loose t-shirt and shorts he uses as pijamas, his angered expression looking strangely soft right now, or maybe you are imagining it, the hallway is dark and the alcohol in your system is not entirely gone.

"hey, i just wanted to say, i wouldn't mind taking another shot from that chest of yours anytime" he states confidently but in a low voice, the statement surprises you but you play along, whispering some words in response.

"oh yeah? what changed your mind? you seemed vexed carrying out the bet earlier" you look directly into his deep red eyes, he frowns before answering.

"i don't like being watched, those bastards were putting a lot of pressure, i didn't enjoy it as i wanted to"

"aw you're adorable" you say, smiling playfully. you walk to him, standing only a few centimeters away from him, your hand landing on his muscular chest and going down, teasingly "how about we go to your room and try again? bet you'll enjoy it accordingly this time" his angered expression changes for an instant when a teeth showing grin appears on his face, nodding in agreement.

"i would love to rip off that pretty black bra after"

AIZETSU

"do i really have to do this...?" the sorrow demon asks, as if he could back away now that he is kneeling in front of you, chest on full display, a glass of vodka already waiting for him.

"i mean, can you really chicken out now?" karaku says, chuckling to himself.

"yeah, you have to do it" urogi follows, giggling knowing aizetsu has the fattest crush on you and that this was definitely not in his plans.

"i guess i don't have other choice..."

his lips are twisted in an awkward grimace, his face is red as sekido's eyes, he is so ashamed and embarassed right now, he just wants to end this.

'why do i get myself in these situations...' he thinks to himself, trying not to panic as he leans forward, his hands are shyly sitting on his lap.

he is a sweetheart, he loves you (and desires you) deeply but he will do anything in his power to have the littlest touch with your breasts as possible, even if you consented to this. he is very respectful of you no matter the circumstances. however, he kinda fails his commitment because the glass is unfairly buried in your chest (you did that on purpose to tease him, poor thing) so he had a hard time getting it. after some hard work, he finally manages to pull the glass out and drink the alcohol within, his face is red as ever and his eyes avoid yours at all costs.

"d-done, i'm going to my room now, excuse me"

"oh, aizetsu, man come on! it's okay!" urogi tries to cheer him up but the blue eyed already headed to his room, you start to feel lowkey bad for him, what if he didn't like it?

"i feel bad now... was that really okay? he seemed upset" you say with a guilty tone, furrowing your brows, thinking you might've ruined the night for aizetsu.

"no babe don't feel bad! ... i'm not sure if we should tell you this but-" karaku begins to talk but is soon shut by sekido interrupting him.

"the dumbass has a crush on you, it's so dang obvious" he grunts crossing his arms, his revelation actually surprised you, i mean aizetsu kinda hit on you in past situations but you may not have noticed it because his signals were a bit subtle, so it wasn't so obvious for you, maybe to them it was because they're his closest friends.

"oh... is that so?" you ask, still a bit shocked.

"yeah" karaku speaks again "so, if i were you, i would check on him" he smiles rising a brow at you with a smug smile, clearly suggesting you should have some alone time with the blue eyed.

"yeah! we won't bother you" urogi chuckles, winking at you.

"just don't make too much noise or i'm kicking you out" sekido adds, frowning.

you try to hide your blushing face laughing amusingly at them, you loved these dorks so much, supporting you in this whole thing, maybe the night isn't exactly ruined, more seems like it just begins.

thanks for reading!

[liliavanrougelover]

If it's ok, could you please write the vice housewardens with an s/o who treats their housewarden the way sebek does malleus!!! (so with jade for example, the reader would be a huge azul fan, just to clarify :3) platonic with ortho ofc

-🍩

Housewarden's fan

Characters: All vice-housewardens (Platonic Ortho) (Ruggie is Savanaclaw's honorary vice-housewarden)

A/N: This took longer than I wanted. I'm a top-tier procrastinator.

Trey Clover:

He’s really thrown off

He’s happy that you like Riddle, but he wasn’t expecting it

And he definitely didn’t expect you to tell him that you’re a fan of Riddle

And if you’re as intense about it as Sebek is with Malleus, it will definitely throw both of them off so much

Riddle himself won’t know how to feel

“That was amazing, Riddle! You’re so talented.” He just poured a cup of tea. What do you mean?

Riddle does get an ego boost from it. It won’t show but he’ll feel so good about himself

Trey is just happy that you two get along

Ruggie Bucchi:

“Join the club.”

Ruggie isn’t a fan of Leona (obviously) but he’s aware that Leona has a fan club

Leona’s a prince, of course he has a fan club

Leona has to ban you from Savanaclaw because of how intense you are

You’re gushing about how cool he is to someone else and gets so creeped out over it

Ruggie messes with Leona about it, but also asks you to tone it down so you can come back to his dorm

Do you expect him to study all alone?

He’s also a little weirded out about it, but not to the point that he’d leave you because of it

He sometimes gets a little pouty because it feels like you like Leona more than him, even though he knows you don’t

Jade Leech:

Well, of course you’d be an Azul fan

Shut up, Jade. We all know you’re secretly surprised

He’s unfazed, to be honest

He will accuse you of liking Azul more than him to get kisses

He’s a little shit like that (affectionate)

When Jade actually gets jealous, he’ll just drag you out on a hike

Floyd also teases you for being an Azul fan

Azul will use it to get more money

Jamil Viper:

No

No

He can’t deal with this. Please

Say it’s a joke, say sike

The one person that he loves more than anything else is a Kalim fan

You tell him this and he just walks away. Literally turns around and walks away

He’s so conflicted

On one hand, he loves you. On the other hand, you’re a fan of Kalim

Don’t bring it up around him ever again, please

Rook Hunt:

Him too

You tell him you're a fan of Vil and he’s just like “Of course you are. Who wouldn’t be?”

You and him will sometimes just gush about Vil. Whether it be how pretty he looks today, his acting, his singing. Anything

And Vil…

“There’s another one…” -Vil

Rook wil also rant about Neige to you, even if you aren’t a fan of his

Ortho Shroud:

His best friend is a fan of his brother?

Well then, do you want to meet him?

Come over to Ignihyde and he’ll introduce… He’ll try, at least

Idia doesn’t let you into his room under any circumstances

Ortho brings you over and Idia is having a heart attack

Ortho tried

Lilia Vanrouge:

Immediately compares you to Sebek

He also introduces you to Sebek now you guys are friends

He’s happy that you like Malleus and Sebek (and Silver)

He’s just listening as you tell him all the things you like about Malleus

He just this soft little smile on his face

[thetriumphantpanda]

Come Away With Me | Joel & Tommy Miller (Sunday)

Summary | The final day, but at last, not the final goodbye.

Word Count | 3K

Chapter Warnings | Familial fluff, plenty of emotions, explicit smut, breeding kink, cumplay/cum eating, unprotected PiV sex, creampie, breath play, possessive!Joel, lots of feels, but lots of happiness too.

Authors Note | Okay I know I teased DP but it ended up not fitting the vibe, please forgive me. BUT HERE WE ARE. THE LAST PROPER CHAPTER. We still have the epilogue to go, but I can't believe we're kinda wrapping up here. Thank you for all the love you give this series. I know this one is shorter, but I didn't want to drag it out, I hope you think it's a perfect as I think it is. If you enjoy this, please consider commenting, reblogging or coming into my ask box to scream with me. And, as always, If you want to support me, you can donate to my Ko-Fi.

A reminder that I no longer use taglists - to keep up with my writing, please follow@thetriumphantpandanotifs and turn on notifications to keep up to date.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Ko-Fi

Tommy is still snoring softly into your ear when you wake the next morning, but the hand that Joel had kept clutched in his own all night is empty, his side of the bed cool again like it had been a few days ago. You let yourself have a moment wrapped up with Tommy, the warmth of his body almost lulling you back to sleep until you remember your son is here and one of you needs to get up to go and see to him. 

You extricate yourself gently from Tommy, being careful not to wake him. He’s spent the last week being at the beck and call of Joshua, so you decide to let him sleep in a little this morning. You throw on some comfy clothes that have been lying around the room for most of the week before heading down to the room you’d put Joshua down in the previous evening, but the door is open, and the bed is empty. The door to Sarah’s room is also open so you make your way down into the living area, but that’s also empty. 

The door to the back porch is slightly ajar, and when you step out onto it, you can see Sarah and Joel sat on the benches near the fire pit, where you’d been a few evenings before, Joshua sat on Joel’s knee as he bounces him up and down gently. It makes you heart swell and your eyes glass over with tears as you watch Sarah break off a little bit of her toast to put in his hand. One big, happy family. 

“Good morning.” You smile when you reach them, Joshua looking up at you with his hands sticky from the jam that had been on Sarah’s toast. 

“Mama!” He outstretches his arms for you to pick him up from Joel’s knee, which you do, cradling him to your neck in your usual morning hug. 

Sarah shuffles over, making room for you to sit between the two of them, you try not to sit too close to her father, but you can still feel his warmth through your clothes, as he moves his arm to put it on the back of the bench. You wish he’d wrap it around your shoulders as you move Joshua to sit on your lap. 

“You okay this morning, baba?” You ask him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. 

“Sarah fed me toast!” 

“You’re a lucky boy, aren’t you?” You chuckle, “She didn’t feed me any toast!” 

You’re still chuckling when Sarah’s hand comes into your periphery with her last slice of toast, holding it in front of you for you to take a bite, you let out a hearty laugh but take a bite none-the-less, because it looks like the toast Joel makes, covered in butter and slathered in fruity jam. 

“Don’t want anyone spreading rumors about me having favourites.” She laughs, taking her toast back for herself. 

Joel leans forward so he can see Sarah around your body, his hand resting on your arm so casually to keep you still while he speaks to her, “What about me?” He asks. 

“You’ve just eaten three slices,” She accuses, “You don’t need anymore.” 

“Rude.” He grumbles next to you, keeping his hand there, like he was just waiting for an excuse to touch you. 

You really want to turn around and kiss him. Tell him that it’s okay, that you’ve sorted everything with Tommy, that his faith in you worked out. You wonder if the time they spent together last night means he knows? Did Tommy say something? Does his hand on your arm, thumb rubbing soft circles on your skin means he knows he can have you whenever he wants now? Your mind is racing a mile a minute when Tommy joins you. 

He's found a tray somewhere, and it’s got four mugs of steaming coffee on it, plus a box of juice for Joshua. He hands them out, stabs the straw into the box of apple juice for Joshua before he takes his son from you, sitting him on his lap on the bench across from the three of you. 

“I miss you all.” Sarah says softly next to you. 

You turn to her, wrapping your own arm around her shoulder, because she sounds sad. You pull her closer into your side, leaning down to press a kiss to her head like you had done with Joshua. 

“Ah bug, we miss you too,” You say softly, listening as she sniffs, “But you’re doing amazing things, babygirl,” She’s only been gone a few weeks, but you think it must be hard for her, having spent her entire life around three people who would have died for her if necessary, “We’re already so proud of you, but think of what this one,” You nod your head towards Joel, digging your elbow into his side slightly, “Is going to be like when you graduate, when you find the cure for mankind,” She chuckles a bit at this, wiping her eyes, “And you can come home and see us whenever you need to, or we can jump in the car and come to you.” 

You give her one last squeeze into your side before she pulls away with a smile. You make the mental note to make more of an effort to call her and see how she’s doing each week, you’re sure there are things happening that she won’t want to tell Joel. 

Once you’ve all finished your coffee, Tommy is the one to speak, “We should probably think about making a move soon,” He nods to you, “It’s a long drive back with this one.” 

You nod, trying not to think about having to go back to real life, having to go back to work and juggle that with being a mom, but it was inevitable really. You’re always running out of time with this little bubble you’ve created. 

Packing up is easy, you hadn’t unpacked many of the clothes you’d bought, Joel had made sure to keep you naked often, and you pack up the leftover food for Sarah to take back to college with her. She’s particularly excited about having steak for dinner when you pass the pack of meat you hadn’t used last night to her. You wave her off as he drives away, holding on to Joel’s hand as he tries not to cry. It won’t ever get easier for him, watching his little girl drive away, no matter how old she’s going to get, how much she will continue to grow on her adventure, she’s always going to be the girl that begged to ride on his shoulders, begged for pretty much anything and got whatever she wanted.

Tommy heads inside, Joshua on his hip to finish packing everything up, and you press up on your tiptoes to kiss Joel’s cheek, “She’ll be fine.” You say simply with a smile, “And so will you.” 

He wants to say that he knows, but he’s not so sure. His bubble is about to burst, he’ll drive home on his own, to his empty house, and get up tomorrow morning and go about his day as he always has, but with the memory of what it’s like to have you to himself burnt onto his brain. He’s scared. Scared he won’t feel this happy again, but he doesn’t want you to know that, doesn’t want to ask you for more than he already has. So he tells you he knows, kisses your cheek right back, and resigns himself to being lonely once more. 

It takes you ages to get home. You’re tired. Joshua is fast asleep upstairs having slept most of the journey home too. Your home is familiar, warm, but you can’t help the feeling that something is missing. He’s missing. 

“What did he say?” You ask Tommy as he settles onto the couch with you, glass of whiskey in his hand to unwind before you go to bed. 

“Huh?” 

“What did Joel say when you told him I could see him more?” 

Tommy looks at you with a confused look on his face, like you’re talking to him in another language. 

“I thought you would have told him?” 

Your heart sinks. You have a lump in your throat. God fucking damn it. You put your head in your hands. You let that man leave you not realizing he wasn’t saying goodbye until it was the right time of the month again. Not realizing you kept your promise, fixed it all. Not knowing he could be happy. 

“When would I have had the time?” You ask. 

“That’s why I left you outside when Sarah left!” He exclaims in defense, “I thought you’d tell him then.” 

“I didn’t!” You cry, trying not to freak out, “Oh Tommy, he’s going to think the worst.” 

He puts his hand on your shoulder, trying to ground you, to soothe you, “Why don’t you tell him now?” He offers softly, “He’s only a few streets over.” 

“I’ve been gone so long.” You try and fight, the guilt at being away from this part of your family weighing on you. You've neglected them, you think. You should be here, with them, you think.

“Sugar, we coped a week without you,” Tommy muses, leaning forward to press a kiss to your forehead, “We can go one more night,” You look up at him, eyes glassy, because now you realise he truly meant it, that he honestly wants his brother to be happy, and if that means having you then so be it, “Go on,” He nods his head towards the door, “Go get your man.” 

It’s late. Joel is sitting on his couch, TV on low, bottle of beer half-finished on the side table. He should go to bed, he knows he’ll have a long day catch up with work tomorrow, but he can’t switch his brain off. He feels lonely. Sat in his house, alone, after a week of having the love of his life curled up next to him. He almost pulls out his phone, shoots a text to the girl he’s been seeing, but he doesn’t want to fuck, he wants someone to cuddle. Someone to fall asleep next to and hold as she snores into his skin, and she never stays, always catches her breath and leaves as soon as she can because that’s what they agreed. 

He's about to call it a night when his doorbell rings. He panics, mainly because he wonders if it something to do with Sarah, has she hurt herself? Was she in an accident on the way back to college? He knows it isn’t, because she messaged him a few hours ago with a photo of the steak she’d cooked, but he still panics as he walks to the door, expecting to open it and find a police officer standing there ready to tell him something awful, but when he opens the door, it’s you. His pretty girl. The woman he’s spent less than twelve hours away from and is already yearning for. 

He moves to open his mouth, ask what’s wrong, but you launch yourself at him. Jumping onto him with your legs wrapped around his waist, his hands on your ass to keep you upright as you plant your lips right on his. He doesn’t argue, steps back and kicks his door shut, kissing you right back. You open your mouth against his, and he follows, letting your tongues work together as he carries you to his kitchen, setting you on his countertop. 

“What’s all this for?” He asks quietly against your lips, pressing his back to yours lightly before he lets you answer. 

“He knows,” You speak softly, gripping onto the collar of his flannel, “He’s known all along, how much you love me, how much I love you,” You kiss him again as his heart flutters in his chest, “Says you can have me whenever you want Joel, you can share me, if that’s what you want.” 

He holds your face in his palms, looking into your eyes for any sign this might be a sick joke, but he only finds them filled with love, the same way you’ve looked at him all week, “Is that what you want?” He asks, because he only wants what you want. 

“Yes,” You breathe against his mouth, “I want you, always I want you Joel,” You kiss him again, “Now please, put your fucking mouth on me and tell me you want the same.”

It’s desperate this time, when he kisses you, all teeth and tongue and moans as his hands pop open the button of your jeans. You lift your hips off the counter so he can drag them off you. You whine when he pulls his lips from yours, but he drops to his knees, pulling you as close to the edge of the counter as he can without dragging you off him. You expect him to tease you, to work you up, but what he does this time is use his thumbs to spread the folds of your pussy and sucks your clit right into his mouth. Your hands fly to his hair, tangling your fingers in his curls as he lets your clit go from between his lips, but uses the tip of his tongue to flick at that bundle of nerves. 

You keep your eyes on him as he devours your cunt, how own eyes looking right back up at you, challenging you to come, challenging you to come undone for him. Using the flat of his tongue to give wide licks to you, then swapping to those delicate kitten licks that make your hips buck into his face. He’s proving himself to you, proving to you he’s worthy of this, of having you around more than he’s used to. He will spend the rest of his life on his knees, worshipping at your altar like this if he must. 

“Fuck, Joel,” You groan as he sinks two of his fingers into your pussy, curling them upwards into that spot he knows makes you sing, “Gonna make me come.” 

“You gonna cover me, pretty girl?” He asks, pulling away from your cunt just enough to speak, “Want you to soak me.” 

It’s filth like that which always tips you over the edge, like right now, as you clench around his fingers, his tongue back on your clit as you do exactly what he wanted, those fingers coaxing you to gush around him, soak his face as he groans into your cunt, coaxing out every last drop of your orgasm before he stands, giving you barely any time to compute what’s happening, before his thick cock is sinking right into the depths of you. 

You have no idea whether you’re still coming from before, or whether this sets another one off, as he drags your mouth back to his own, your taste so prevalent on his tongue, but you’re fluttering around his cock, arching into him and crying out his name again. It’s too much, he’s too much, but you don’t want him to ever stop as his hips snap into yours and his hand settles on your throat. 

He uses that hand to push your head up, looking you straight in the eye, “Mine now, aren’t you pretty girl?” He punctuates this with a thrust into you. 

You nod as he squeezes his hand around your throat a little, nibbling at your jaw line, “Yes Joel,” You whimper, “Yours.” 

Because you are. You might be someone else’s as well, but in these four walls, when you’re on your own? You’re just as much his as anyone else’s, and that makes you melt. He’s close, you can feel it, hear it in the way he’s groaning into your skin. 

“Come on Joel,” You coax breathlessly, “Give it to me, come inside me.” 

“Fuck,” He spits out, “Gonna give you a baby, give it to you right now, mama,” You choke out a sob as he speeds up the snapping of his hips into you, “Give you the fuckin’ moon if you asked me.” You don't doubt him, you know he would, you're tempted to ask for it right now, just to see what he does, see what he gives you.

He pushes himself into you so deep you can feel him in your stomach as he comes, biting down on your shoulder, hands gripping your hips as you feel the ropes of his cum fill you up, praying that this, or any of the times before during the week, have planted his baby right inside you. You want to swell with him again, to make something beautiful with him again, and to be able to properly share the joy with him this time. 

He slips out of you, but as is the norm for Joel now, he sinks his fingers into you, stuffing you full of him, giving you as much of him as he possibly can, leaning over to kiss you as he does. He lets you suck his fingers clean, kisses you again, totally unbothered that he can taste himself on your mouth. He pulls away, resting his forehead on yours. 

“You gotta go?” He asks softly. 

“I’m yours,” You smile, leaning up to peck his lips, “I can stay as long as you want.” 

So you do. You stay all night. Curled up in his bed with him. He wakes you up once in the night, slowly easing himself inside your cunt from behind, body clutched to him, rocking his hips into you so so slowly, coaxing your orgasm out from you like he has all the time in the world, because he does now. He doesn’t need to rush with you anymore, your time won’t run out anymore, because you’re his just as much as you're Tommy's. 

As he clutches you to his chest, his heart full of so much love, with finally somewhere to put it, he thanks the Lord, he thanks you, but most of all he thanks his brother, for loving him this much, for loving him enough to give him his own slice of happiness. Because for the first time in a long time, he truly is happy, whole again, because of his brother, because of you. Because of his pretty girl.  

[bad268]

Actually obsessed with your Arvid stories omd!!!!!!! They're too cute

Could you do one about reader being a part of prema and in challenges and vids there is a lot of moments between them and fans catch onto that

+Heyyyy

The arvid stories are way too good omd ur writing>>

Anyways had a request for him if that's okay, arvid and the guys are in some prema promo vid (Dino and them) and they start teasing him about girls or smth and he's like "I don't think my gf would appreciate that" and them and the fans are shocked

What Are The Odds? (Arvid Lindblad X Prema! Reader)

Fandom: RPF/F2/F3

Requested: Clearly (hope yall don't mind I combined this <3)

Warnings: Aged up Arvid

POV: Second Person (You/your/She/her)

W.C. 1276

Summary: What are the odds?

As always, my requests are OPEN

MASTERLIST // HITLIST

~~(^Pinterest)

You and Arvid were like a package deal. You met in the Italian F4 championship and went through your entire F4 careers together. You two were the youngest F3 drivers, and now, you were in F2. This time, for the first time, you were teammates at Prema. 

That being said, fans of you two always searched for crumbs of interactions between you. It was pretty difficult because even though you were friends (publically), you were always on different teams, and you two preferred to hang out in the privacy of your shared apartment. Your lives are already so public that you wanted a sliver of it to be behind closed doors. No one could blame you, but the fans made it clear they wanted more. This also didn't stop your friends from making sly comments during videos.

Back in F3, Dino made it his mission to constantly tease Arvid mainly because he thought you two were cute. They were paired together for the Taylor Swift or Shakespeare challenge, and Dino really amped up the teasing.

“Do you think Taylor Swift would ever give you a chance?” Dino joked before they even started the challenge. 

“Uh, I don’t think my girlfriend would appreciate that,” Arvid dragged out before he thought about it for a second. “Actually, she probably wouldn’t care because she loves Taylor Swift.”

When that video went live, you immediately texted him that he better not get with Taylor Swift, and he responded, saying he was going with the bit. Honestly, the fans didn’t want to believe he had a girlfriend because they shipped you two so much. Little did they know. 

When you both were announced to take the places of Kimi and Ollie, the fans didn’t hide their excitement. They knew Prema was known for their challenges, and they were practically begging Angelina in the Instagram comments to pair you two up. Luckily, Angelina read most of the comments, and she already planned for you to be partnered going forward. 

The first video was a “How well do you know your teammate” challenge. Easy peasy for you two right?

“What is my family heritage?” All went downhill immediately. 

“You started off difficult for a reason!” You accused, pretending to throw your cards at Arvid.

“That was the first card!” He defended, using his own cards to shield his face. 

“Well, I know you’re British, duh,” You deadpanned to the camera, “You’re dad is Swedish I think, so Swedish. Is there another?”

“Yeah, technically one more,” Arvid smiled at you as he nodded along with you.

“I don’t know where your mum is from. I thought she was British.”

“She is, but her parents are from India.” 

“Damn, I could’ve guessed that,” You laughed as you looked at your first card. The plan was t alternate between the two of you. “What is my favorite warm-up?”

“Jumping rope,” Arvid said immediately, snapping toward you.

“No,” You responded just as quickly. “I hate jumping rope. You should know this.”

“Is it the tennis balls or good mornings then?” Arvid gave up.

“Neither,” You gasped, honestly horrified that he gave up so quickly. You held your cards out in front of you as you turned them much like you would with your wheel. “It's the wheels.”

“I should’ve known!” He shouted, smacking a hand against his forehead. “I’m sorry I don’t know you.”

“You should know me at least a little given the circumstances,” You jokingly lectured.

“When’s my birthday?” Arvid got back on track.

“You should've started with this!” You exclaimed, throwing your hands up before pointing at him. “The eighth of August, 2007.”

“I shouldn’t doubt you when it comes to remembering dates,” Arvid chuckled quietly to himself.

“Now, what is my worst habit?” You eyed him suspiciously, trying to communicate with him to not say anything weird.

“Well, you take forever to wake up in the morning,” Arvid started with a laugh. “You’re always late.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s all my fault! My bed is just so comfy!” You gushed leaning further into your chair, imagining it being your bed. “Yeah, I could go for a nap right now.”

“I think that’s the end of the video then,” Arvid laughed as he wrapped it up quickly, so you two could go home.

When the video dropped, you did not expect the influx of messages and comments. They were generally saying that Arvid should break up with his girlfriend or that you two should be together. One comment on the Instagram post said, “what are the odds they're already together” and you ran with it. You talked about it together and decided it was finally time to announce your relationship.

You screenshotted the comment and took a picture with Arvid. You two were leaning your foreheads together smirking, and you shared that picture with the screenshotted comment to your story. You laid down on Arvid’s lap as you gave everyone a minute to freak out before posting another picture of you laying with Arvid with the caption, “what are the odds?”

The next video was going to be interesting. In true Angelina fashion, she started planning the perfect challenge for you.

“Hello everybody! I’m Y/n, and that’s Arvid,” You introduced, gesturing for Arvid to continue the start of the video.

“And we’re playing the Mr and Mrs game,” Arvid explained all of the rules as you nodded along. When he wrapped up, you played rock paper scissors to see who would listen to music first. He won, so he put the headphones on while Angelina asked you the questions.

“What is Arvd’s favorite track?”

“Silverstone,” You answered immediately, “Man is more patriotic than an American.” You looked back at Arvid and gestured for him to come forward. He took the headphones off and wheeled his chair over to you again. “What’s your favorite circuit?”

“Silverstone,” Arvid said immediately, and he was going to go into a tangent, but you cut him off.

“What did I say? I knew it!” You exclaimed with a laugh as you poked his cheek, “You’re just too British.”

“Ok, I’m going back under now,” Arvid muttered, embarrassed at all of the attention being caught on camera. He put the headphones back on and wheeled back, nodding his head to the music playing.

You continued with a few different questions ranging from racing topics to favorite foods and dream holiday destinations. When you got the the end of the list of Arvid’s questions, you swapped.

“What was Y/n’s racing number in karting?”

“How am I supposed to know that?” Arvid argued. “I didn’t even know her then!”

“She knew your heritage, so you should at least know their karting number.”

“1?” Arvid answered with a question as he looked back, beckoning you to come forward. “What was your karting number?”

“What did you say?” You teased. You never told him what it was, so you wanted to see what he said.

“1,” Arvid answered simply.

“What are the odds you didn’t know that?” You teased lightly, “So, it’s actually a trick question. I didn’t have a single racing number since I got handed down karts. Generally, my numbers were 17, 25, 99, and 33. In F4, I chose (#) as my racing number though.”

“How was I ever going to get that?” Arvid said in disbelief as he shook his head. “You’re done. We’re done. This has been the Mr and Mrs game.”

“And clearly this Mr doesn’t know his Mrs, but we’ll settle that later,” You cut in before Arvid could completely wrap the video up. “We’ll see you on the track or in the next video. Bye!”

~~~~~

© BAD268 2024. DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION.

[charlottesbookclub]

easy love (eddie munson x f!reader) 🖤🖤

for my dear @theold-ultraviolence because you deserve a nice day with eddie 🥰🥰

Summary: you and eddie attend the county fair near hawkins

Warnings/Tags: femme!reader (terms like "my lady" are used, but there are no physical descriptors); absolute pure tooth-rotting fluff; I think that's it, but as always, let me know if I've missed anything! ☺️

Words: 2857

Recommended Listening: Easy Love – Parris Mitchell

Helpful Info:

Beholder – a monster from dungeons and dragons that looks like a giant floating eye

Funnel Cake – a sweet fried dessert that is a staple at US fairs (I'm sure they're eaten elsewhere as well, but to me they're very much associated with the fair ☺️)

Author’s Note: eddie isn't a character that I've written a lot for, so I hope this feels in-character for him 🥰💕 I've mostly written this for a dear friend who deserves a little treat (ily irma 🥰🖤), but I hope it can find anyone who might need a fluffy little pick-me-up ☺️🥰 also it is a complete coincidence that the "easy love" lyric video features a ferris wheel – I had never watched the video until I was finding the link to put here after I'd already finished the fic and was prepping the post 🤯🤯 guess it just proves that this was meant to be 😌💖 as always, I hope y'all enjoy! ☺️💕

            The scent hit you the instant you popped open the passenger side door of Eddie’s van and prepared to jump out: dust and sugar and animals and fried food and sweat. A unique combination of smells that heralded your arrival at the county fair. Before you could push yourself off the worn leather seat, Eddie came sprinting around the front of the van.

            “Hold up waitwaitwaitwait,” he ushered you back into your seat. “This is a date, right? I’m supposed to get the door for you.”

            “Oh, I didn’t know I was being courted by such a chivalrous gentleman,” you laughed. “Please, Sir Eddie, continue,” you invited as you pulled the door closed again. The next second, he opened it once more with a dramatic flourish and deep bow.

            “My Lady, your humble suitor awaits the honor of your hand,” Eddie said in a terrible posh accent before offering his hand for you to take. You couldn’t help but laugh at his theatrics as you maneuvered yourself out of the van, using his hand for stability as your feet hit the dusty ground of the lot. He shoved the door closed with a practiced kick, but did not release your hand as the two of you began walking toward the fair entrance.

            “Munson, was this whole thing a ploy so you could hold my hand?” you asked in teasing accusation, holding up your still-linked hands as proof of your claim. Eddie’s deep brown eyes widened in mock surprise as though seeing your intertwined fingers for the first time.

            “You would accuse me – your loyal and devoted knight – of beguiling you?” he gasped in exaggerated shock.

            “Oh I just might,” you giggled, knocking your shoulder against his as he tried to dodge the movement – a difficult endeavor considering that he still refused to let go of your hand. He then pulled himself back toward you, pressing his mouth close to your ear, his dark curls tickling your skin.

            “And you might be correct,” he whispered, an edge of barely-contained laughter in his voice, “but don’t tell anyone else my secret – I have a reputation to maintain, you know.” You nodded with mock seriousness and mimed zipping your lips and throwing away the key. 

            “Your secrets are safe with me—oh look: cows!” you interrupted your own sentence as you passed a small round barn and caught a glimpse of the animals within. Switching direction, you pulled Eddie toward the entrance. 

            It was cooler in the barn, shielded from the sun and with huge box fans blowing from the rafters. The sweet smell of hay and dusty scent of the cows lingered in the air as the two of you made your way down one of the rows of animals. 

            You stopped at the stall of a particularly sweet looking cow, her mostly cream-colored face flecked with brown as she slowly chewed some hay. You reached your free hand out gently and touched the soft patch of fuzz on her forehead. Seeming to like the gesture, she nuzzled her wet nose against your palm, and you giggled. Her expressive, soft, deep brown eyes reminded you of something, and it only took you a second to realize what.

            “Look Eds, you’ve got the same eyes!”

            Eddie rolled his own chocolatey eyes, but stepped closer to the cow nonetheless. He reached out a tentative hand to stroke her head like you had, and when his hand met her fur, he let out a noise of surprise.

            “Oh – it’s really soft!” he exclaimed. Almost as though in response, the cow let out a low moo and pushed her nose against Eddie’s outstretched hand just as she had to yours. He pulled his hand back abruptly, wiping it down the front of his shirt. “Ewww – it’s wet!”

            “The great knight Eddie, laid low by the wet nose of a cow,” you lamented in feigned sorrow, shaking your head mournfully.

            “Hey! How was I supposed to know it would feel like that?” he retorted, unable to keep the light sparkle of a laugh out of his voice. “You’re right though – about the eyes. I thought you were joking, but I take it as a great compliment to share eyes with this noble beast.”

            “Of course I meant it as a compliment, silly” you knocked your shoulder against his again, much more gently this time, “you know I couldn’t resist either of you, looking at me with those sun-warmed melted-chocolate eyes. Practically got me in a trance.”

            “Then you wouldn’t argue if I suggested we go try some games?”

            “I wouldn’t have argued anyway, but now I’m going to need some convincing – show me what those big brown eyes can do.”

            With a great deal of theatricality, Eddie brushed his curls back and bent slightly to make sure he could look up at you properly. He drew his mouth into a little pout and widened his eyes, ribbons of gold and deeper brown visible in the warm sea of his milk chocolate irises, even in the dim light of the barn.

            “Please?” he begged in the most pathetic voice he could manage without breaking into laughter.

            “Of course!” you responded, laughing, and Eddie instantly snapped back to his full height, joining in your giggles. The cow mooed again and rocked her head to the side, almost as though telling you two to get out of the barn and enjoy the rest of the fair.

            “See?” Eddie pointed to the cow, “she thinks so too!” He popped a small salute at the cow as you rolled your eyes and pulled him back out of the barn. From there, he led the way as you wound through gaggles of sticky children, packs of sweaty teens, and pairs of exhausted parents. Your hand was growing incredibly warm in Eddie’s firm grip, but you didn’t mind at all. You were happy to let him guide you through the crowd to whatever game he had his heart set on.

            He finally came to a stop outside one of the many colorful tents that populated the fair. Under this one was a large table, covered from edge to edge in glass bowls, some of which had goldfish in them.

            “You’re not serious?” 

            “On the contrary, I’m the most serious. Other guys are winning their girlfriends weird stuffed bears and lame plastic roses. I want to get you something cool!”

            “Eds, that is so sweet, but you know this game is so rigged, right? One of my friends spent all their tickets on it last year and never got a fish.”

            “Well, lucky for me, I’m different, and I’m going to win my girlfriend a fish,” he huffed with exaggerated bravado and another theatrical bow. You laughed despite yourself and shook your head with bemused affection as you stepped back and watched him exchange a couple tickets for a handful of rings.

            He lined up each throw carefully, holding the little plastic rings lightly in his hand as he flexed his wrist back and forth, preparing for the toss. The first few landed well, but on the exterior bowls that were filled with decorative rocks and crumples of colorful paper. The points could be added up for smaller prizes, but he rejected those, opting to pay a few more tickets for another set of rings. You could see him hitting his stride, these rings landing closer to the center, some even bouncing off the edges of the bowls with real fish in them. With each near-miss you noticed him leaning forward in anticipation and then deflating a little as the ring failed to find its mark. You were about to walk back up to him and pull him gently away, tell him that you really didn’t need a fish; you couldn’t bear to see him disappointed.

            Before you could though, he handed a couple more tickets to the attendant in return for another set of rings. The first couple landed so close that you found yourself holding your breath a little, waiting to see if they would come to rest over a fishbowl. By the time he was down to his last one, you were determined not to let him waste any more tickets, and had begun to move towards him when he released the final ring with a measured flick of his wrist. The little circle of orange plastic sailed through the air and came to a perfect landing around the centermost glass bowl on the table – the one with the biggest fish. You stopped in your tracks, looking on in shock for a moment as the attendant went to remove the ring and transfer the fish to a little plastic bag. You snapped yourself out of your stupor and rushed the last few steps to Eddie, wrapping your arms around him in a tight hug.

            “You actually did it!”

            “Of course I did – I promised you I would, didn’t I?” He struck a heroic pose, but underneath his exaggerated confidence, you could see relief, and perhaps even a little bit of surprise.

            The attendant handed the bag with the fish to Eddie, which he took with the utmost care. He then turned and presented it to you with a flurry of flourishing hand gestures and a series of deep and dramatic bows.

            “My Lady, in your name I have slayed the great Dragon of the Rings, and I present to you its great treasure!”

            “Sir Eddie!” you echoed his theatrics with an elaborate curtsy of your own, “I am honored and flattered by this great gift!” 

            You held out your hands with great seriousness, ready to receive the fish, and his placed the bag carefully into your waiting hands with a final bow. Picking up the top of the bag, you studied the little creature within. It was a shimmery golden-orange with feathery fins that trailed a little in the water and huge, bulging eyes that projected from either side of its head.

            “Hmmmm… now to think of a name for this little guy,” you murmured. Then an idea came to mind:

            “Beholder!” you exclaimed at the exact same moment as Eddie. A beat of surprised silence passed before you both broke into peals of laughter.

            “It’s the eyes, isn’t it?” you wheezed.

            “Yeah – it’s the eyes,” Eddie agreed in gasping breaths between laughs.

            “Shall we take our new son Beholder to see the rest of the fair?” you asked when you had both recovered a bit.

            “After you, my lady,” Eddie gestured for you to lead the way.

            Your first stop was the fun house where Eddie had to guide you through the spinning tunnel painted with black and white spirals since you kept losing your balance. Despite the dizzying swirls that kept causing you to trip, you relished the casual closeness of Eddie behind you, his arms pressed against yours as you held Beholder to your chest, gently directing you through the tunnel. At the end you held Beholder up to the series of distorted mirrors, both of you dying of laughter when the warped surfaces made his buggy eyes even bigger than they already were. 

            Next up was a food cart selling funnel cakes. Your comment that the pile of fried dough resembled guts resulted in you and Eddie pretending to be orcs consuming the entrails of a slain enemy. The little container of raspberry jam that accompanied the funnel cake made this all the more convincing, as it proved to be a sticky but delicious fake blood that Eddie slathered over the fried treat. Beholder watched from his bag on the old wooden picnic table, eyes wide as you both took turns dramatically ripping pieces from the cake with your fingers and dipping them in even more jam.

            Satisfied with your meal of the viscera of your enemy, you both returned to the games, taking turns holding Beholder while the other played. You won a little bear while picking ducks and Eddie got a small plastic sword at the dart toss. You only had a couple tickets left as the sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon and the heat of the day was fading to a more comfortable evening.

            “Wanna spend our last tickets on the ferris wheel?” Eddie asked.

            “Sure! If you don’t think it will make the baby too sick…” you replied with feigned seriousness, stroking Beholder’s bag protectively. You couldn’t keep up the act long though, and both of you devolved into laughter as you made your way toward the large circular structure at the back of the fair.

            When you were both settled in your seat and the creaking metal frame lurched to life, you watched as the little carriage slowly lifted from the loading area and into the air. Glancing over at Eddie, you found him looking anxious, his long fingers fidgeting with the rings on his hands.

            “Hey Eds, you good?”

            “Can I tell you a secret?” he dodged your question, answering with one of his own instead.

            “Of course,” you pressed yourself closer to him on the metal seat. “You can tell me anything.” He smiled a small, nervous smile, turning his eyes back to his hands and letting his dark curls fall over his face.

            “I uh—I practiced at the ring toss for weeks to get it right. Wayne has all these old mugs and uh… well… I would set them out on the table and make little rings out of tinfoil. I think the weight was a little off from the real thing, but…” he looked up at you finally, his big brown eyes rimmed with gold as they caught the glowing light of the setting sun, “I really wanted to get it right for you.”

            You were speechless. A thousand sentences started to form in your mind, all of which screamed I love you I love you I love you. But you couldn’t get any of them out. You opted for wrapping your hands around his, hoping the way your fingers intertwined with his said the words that you weren’t able to force from your mouth. They must have, because he just squeezed your hands like he understood and rested his head on top of yours as you tucked yourself against him.

            “This is… easy, y’know,” he said after a long moment as the carriage continued to climb toward the top of the wheel. He pulled back to look at you as he stumbled over his words: “Like… I thought it might be awkward or like weird or something, or that I wouldn’t feel like myself. But it just feels normal. Or right. Just easy I guess.”

            “Eddie Munson, are you calling me easy?” you clutched at your invisible pearls in mock horror.

            “Nononononono – that’s not what I meant at all I—” you cut off his stammering apology with a gentle finger to his lips.

            “I know, Eds. I was just teasing,” you assured him. “But I feel the same way. It’s just… nice. You’re right – it just feels easy to be with you like this.” You took a deep breath, closing your eyes for a moment before speaking again: “Now can I tell you a secret?”

            “Of course,” he repeated your words from earlier, beaming at you, “you can tell me anything.” You leaned in closely then, your noses almost touching, your quavering voice barely above a whisper.

            “I’d really like to kiss you right now.”

            You were so close you could hear the breath catch in his throat at your words. His heart had to be racing as fast as yours was, but now your blood was rushing in your ears and all you could hear was the sound of your own fevered heartbeat. You closed your eyes then, afraid you might start seeing spots if you kept them open. Leaning in, you sensed him doing the same. You could feel the warmth radiating from his skin. And then his lips were on yours. Soft. Tentative. Warm. Gentle. And so utterly overwhelming in best way possible. You couldn’t focus on anything but the feeling of his skin against yours, your mind a mess of color and sound – fireworks ignited by the touch of his lips against your own.

            Then the whole world lurched, and you snapped back into reality. The carriage had finally made its way to the top of the ferris wheel and had jolted as it reached the highest point. The fairgrounds spread out below you, strings of lights flickering to life as the evening sky faded to a welcoming lavender. The chiming music of the carousel floated up on a slight breeze as you watched the fair light itself up in sparkling bursts of green, blue, yellow, and red. High above the dust and heat and noise, it almost looked like something out of a fairytale.

            “Wow, you can see everything from up here,” you breathed, squeezing Eddie’s hands in yours.

            “Yeah, you really can,” he agreed. But when you turned back, he wasn’t looking at the scene below – his eyes were only for you. Almost without thinking, you pulled him back in to finish the kiss.

[imagines--galore]

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Thirty-Three

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Masterlist

A/N: Hello loves! Sorry its taken me so long but I haven't been feeling the best lately but I'm slowly getting back on track and hopefully whatever bad juju I've been cursed with is now dissipating. Also slight mention of a dislocated shoulder and it being put back in place, so I hope you don't get too squeamish! Anyway! Back to the story! And get ready for a LONG ASS chapter!

Though she had finally removed her bandages from around her abdomen for good, Orora still had the area covered with the sash she had put together. Mostly to hide the hole at the side of her shirt where the fabric had been cut by Zuko to tend to her wound, but also because, well, the remaining sight wasn't exactly that pretty.

Not that she had anything against scars. She had plenty. It was the looks of pity she wanted to avoid whenever she was around her friends. Though mostly, she didn't want Zuko to see it.

The idiot would go ahead and feel guilty about what had happened, even though it hadn't been his fault.

So it was best to keep it hidden.

Out of sight, out of mind.

"You should go back Orora. We'll both be fine!" Sokka spoke up from where he stood next to her, watching as Zuko prepared the balloon for launch. Glad to have a distraction, the Waterbender didn't even spare her brother a glance as she secured her gloves around her forearms.

"I find that a little hard to believe Sokka." She said. A look of offense creasing his features, he turned to Orora. "What? You don't trust us!?" He demanded, his tone high and accusing at the same time.

Sighing the girl shook her head. "Oh no, I trust the both of you." She paused before continuing. "It's just you and Zuko tend to rub each other the wrong way. And sure its hilarious to see you two get on one another's nerves, I would prefer you didn't do it on such a high stake mission." Her admission had Sokka blinking in surprise. Yes, he did tend to tease and make fun of Zuko, but mostly because he was so uptight about everything. Well everything except Orora.

There was also the fact that Sokka still hadn't figured out how to act around Zuko. They'd been enemies for such a long time that sometimes, when he would see Zuko walking around camp, doing chores, or even just sitting and having dinner, it would throw him off a little. These were all such normal tasks and if there was one word he would never have used to describe Zuko, it would be normal.

Honestly, there was nothing normal about their situation.

Clearing her throat, Orora bit her lower lip. "So my aim on this mission is to make sure you two don't argue to the point of getting caught, getting in trouble, or worse."

Worse was bad.

Worse was very bad.

Katara would kill him if he got into worse.

Seeing the genuine worry in her blue eyes, Sokka sighed, before reaching out and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. "You don't have to worry, Sis." He reassured her with a soft smile. "I promise my main focus will be the mission, and not making fun of Zuko and his grumpy expressions."

Though she offered Sokka a smile in return, she couldn't help but ignore the tightness in her stomach at his words. Hopefully he wouldn't become too focused and ignore every sign of danger that came their way.

She would just have to be super vigilant to make sure her boys stayed safe.

"I also don't trust either of you from making needlessly dangerous plans, trying to overdo everything and getting into unnecessary trouble."

Sokka looked utterly aghast at such a deceleration. Orora grinned. "I mean you were about to go off to a highly secured prison surrounded by water without a waterbender, which kind of proves the point I made just now." Playfully patting him on the head, she shouldered her water pouch and walked off to join Zuko in the balloon.

Leaving Sokka to follow after her, grumbling under his breath.

                                            ————————–

Leaning back against the metal railing of the war balloon, Orora allowed her fingers to flit through the clouds as they passed by. She'd almost forgotten how calming it was to travel by air. Or rather traveling by an Air Bison. Dragging her eyes away from the open blue sky, she shifted her attention to her two traveling companions.

Two rather awkward and wary looking companions.

It was strange to see how stiff the two boys were being around one another. If it weren't so painfully awkward, she would be laughing till she cried. But Orora kept her mouth shut and lips pressed in a thin line.

Throwing his hand out, Zuko sent a burst of fire into the tank to keep the hot air moving upwards and into the balloon. As he closed the metal door, she saw the both of them glance at one another before looking away.

Spirit, this was ridiculous.

Over Zuko's head, she caught Sokka's eye and mouthed at him to say something.

Sokka looked panicked for a moment, his head swiveling from one side to the other, as if he were looking for an interesting topic.

As if it would fall out of the sky.

"Pretty clouds." He finally stated, prompting Zuko to glanced around as well, missing the way Orora smacked her forehead and let out a silent groan of frustration.

"Yeah." The Prince responded, nodding in agreement. "Fluffy."

Another beat of silence, one where Sokka avoided any eye contact with his frustrated sister. Zuko, meanwhile, glanced in her direction with a helpless look on his face. Knowing this was so new to him and that he was way out of his depth here, Orora gave him an encouraging smile and gestured for him to continue.

Normally she would jump in now and act as the medium between the two boys, but not this time. They had to learn to get along on their own.

Just then Sokka began to whistle, prompting a slightly panicked Zuko, to turn to him. "What?"

Sokka stopped whistling. "What? Oh, I didn't say anything." He stated, a little defensively.

Maybe it would be better if she just threw herself off the war balloon and avoid this awkwardness altogether. She did the next best thing though, and that was closing her eyes.

"You know," She heard Sokka say. "A friend of mine actually designed these war balloons."

Zuko hummed in interest. "No kidding." She opened her eyes to see him opening the metal hatch once more.

"Yep, a balloon.....but for war." Sokka continued, looking a little dismal that someone had taken something as innocent as a balloon and turned it into a weapon of war.

Zuko blasted more fire into the tank, prompting the balloon to rise higher. "If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war." His tone was dark as was his expression as he turned his eyes downcast. A surge of protectiveness raced through her, yet Orora stayed quiet.

Sokka nodded. "Yeah, it seems to run in the family." He was referring to Zuko's ancestors, though the Firebender wasn't about to agree with him.

"Hey, hold on." He said, the defensiveness in his tone evident as he turned to face Sokka. "Not everyone in my family is like that."

Holding up his hands, Sokka nodded. "I know, I know, you've changed." He said, his voice placating. To which Zuko shook his head.

"I meant my uncle." He said, the mention of him prompting both him and Orora to feel the wise old man's absence even more so then ever before. "He was more of a father to me. And I really let him down." She'd told herself she wouldn't interfere in the conversation, but that didn't stop Orora from reaching out, taking Zuko's hand in her own and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Zuko closed his eyes briefly at the contact, drawing comfort from her presence.

Sokka crossed his arms over his chest, a contemplating frown on his forehead. "I think your uncle would be proud of you." He said after a moment of silence. Zuko turned to look at him, a little surprised at the words of encouragement that followed. "Leaving your home to come help us? That's hard."

Glancing briefly at his soulmate, who was pretending she wasn't actively listening in on the conversation, Zuko felt the corner of his mouth lift in a small smile. "It wasn't that hard." He said, his voice soft, his hand sliding out of Orora's grip, only to take it again, this time with their fingers intertwined.

She was standing on his other side, which allowed Zuko's form to hide their little touches of affection from Sokka.

Sokka, frowned. "Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?" He asked, finding it hard to believe that Zuko didn't have anyone who cared for him in his own home.

"Well," He trailed off, glancing at Orora out of the corner of his eyes before he continued. "I did have a friend." He admitted. "Mai."

The water tribe boy frowned, though there was a smile on his face. "That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" He asked, to which Orora glanced at him from over Zuko's shoulder. "Wait, you've met her?" She asked, genuine interest coloring her tone. Sokka nodded. "Yeah! She was one of the girls who attacked us with Azula."

Orora blinked, raising an eyebrow in Zuko's direction who was smiling sheepishly. "Way to go making friends with people who have a vendetta against your current friends Zuko." Her tone was heavy with sarcasm, as was the look she gave him.

"Well none of my relationships have ever been easy, so I guess the same could be said about my friendships." He responded with a laugh. Finally letting go of her hand, which neither of them had noticed they were still clasping, he sent a burst of flame into the metal box.

"Everyone in the Fire Nation thought we were dating, but I was only helping cover for her while she visited her Soulmate. And before I left, I made sure to cut all ties with her. In the eyes of my Nation I was effectively betraying them and I couldn't drag her into the mess I was leaving behind." He briefly wandered how Mai was doing. It had been days since he had thought of her.

Hopefully she was happy with her Soulmate, just as he was with his own.

Orora, however, was a little fixated on a minor detail. "So, the entire Fire Nation thinks you two were dating?" She asked, a sting of jealousy coursing through her body as she crossed her arms over her chest. Zuko shot a slightly panicked look in Sokka's direction, who mirrored his expression. "It was all just pretend." He quickly said, hoping to amend the situation. "She even encouraged me to go out and find you again."

Orora, however, continued to give him a skeptical look.

Thinking that perhaps his intervention would help, Sokka opened his mouth and said the first thing that popped into his mind. "My girlfriend turned into the moon." He blurted out.

The news were more then a little surprising to say the least, and it had Zuko turning to look at Sokka with a shocked expression. He glanced towards the sky, as if he would be able to see an actual girl walking among the clouds. Turning his head back towards Sokka, he gave him a sympathetic look.

"That's rough, buddy."

Not exactly an appropriate answer, but then again, what did you say to someone who's girlfriend became the moon?!

Though as the two boys continued to talk, Orora figured it was better then anything.

At least they were past the awkward stage.

Somewhat.

                                            ————————–

She fell asleep while the boys talked, and only woke up when the sun was setting, accompanied by the sound of someone snoring. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and picking her head up from where she had placed it on the side of the war balloon, Orora was a little surprised to find a blanket covering her. One glance in Sokka's direction told her that he was fast asleep. Zuko, however, was still awake and tending to the fire inside the metal box.

He turned his head in her direction, smiling slightly as he watched her run a hand through her slightly ruffled hair. "Perfect timing. We'll be there in an hour or so." He said, reaching down for the pack of food they had brought. She'd slept through the meager lunch he and Sokka had shared.

Taking the bread, Orora bit into it, realizing just then how hungry she was. Though the gnawing in her stomach was nothing compared to the strange heaviness she felt in her chest. Averting her gaze from Zuko, she continued to nibble on her lunch, hoping he wouldn't broach the subject she was sure was bothering her.

"You know, nothing happened between Mai and me."

Sometimes she cursed just how well Zuko knew her by now to know exactly what was bothering her. She heard him close the small metal door and leave his post to come and stand next to her, the both of them gazing out at the orange and yellow hues the setting sun cast all across the sky.

Taking her silence as the invitation he needed to explain himself further, he continued. "I mean she was insistent at first, but then she saw me talking to you or rather, talking to your illusion that only I could see and hear. She confronted me about it, and I had to tell her everything." His head turned slightly so he could look at her as she stood beside him, her gaze unwavering as she stared straight ahead. "And she admitted to finding her own Soulmate, and we-"

"Zuko, you don't have to explain yourself to me." Her voice finally came, low and soft as she began to break pieces of the bread and dropping them to the ground. "She's your friend and you helped one another out because that is what friends are supposed to do."

Sensing her hesitation, Zuko reached out to gently lay a hand on top of her forearm. "Then whats on your mind?" He asked, his voice gentle, as he tried to coax her to unburden her mind. Closing her eyes, and throwing the last bit of bread into the wind, the girl allowed her head to fall forward, drawing comfort from his strong, warm presence.

"Its just," She sighed, before raising her head and continued. "Your entire Nation accepted the fact that you were dating Mai, even though you weren't. And I just can't help but think what their reaction will be when they find out that your Soulmate is not only from the Water Tribe, but also a Waterbender. I doubt either of those two things will work in my favor." She had wanted to pause there and give him the chance to speak, but the flood gates had opened, and all the worries and thoughts she had kept hidden began pouring out.

"You're a traitor to your Nation already, would having me as your Soulmate win you any support if we ask for it? And I've read how rigid the Fire Sages can be when it comes to the Royal Family, and I don't want to cause any more rifts between your people more then there already is. Then there's also the fact that ever since we've gotten back together we haven't even kissed yet, which has been making me think that maybe you're treating me a little more cautiously because of what happened, because if you are then know that I have forgiven you and that you don't need to prove yourself to me anymore an-"

The rest of her words were cut off with a gentle yet firm hand covering her mouth. Orora turned her head to glare at him, but found Zuko shaking his head at her. He stepped forward so that they were almost chest to chest.

"Orora." He said her name in a manner that had her heart skipping a beat. "I don't care what my Nation or people think about you being my Soulmate." His admittance had a flare of surprise running through her body, though it was more pleasant then she had expected it to be. "There was a time when I would've thought the exact same things and just gotten angry and frustrated at the entire situation, but I've learned not to do that anymore." The hand over her mouth slowly slid up to press against her cheek, cradling her head. Orora, in turn, nuzzled against his warm touch, sighing softly, her eyes never looking way from his. "I spent so long trying to deny what fate had already decided for me when it came to my heart, and I don't want to do that anymore. I just want us to be together." He stated, his expression just as honest as his voice as he gazed at her.

"And as for not kissing you." A blush stole across her cheeks at that part. She'd been hoping he wouldn't focus on that. Zuko simply shrugged with a smile. "If you want me to kiss you then fine I will, but I was kind of waiting for a special moment to do that."

Orora blinked at him. "What kind of special moment?" She asked, her words coming out a little breathless as she found her hand lifting to trace the scar that marred his face.

He shrugged, keeping his eyes on her, despite the urge to close them just so he could savor her gentle touch. "I have no idea." He admitted, prompting her to let out a small laugh, before stepping forward to wrap her arms around him. He returned the embrace, closing his eyes and feeling that warmth in his chest spread throughout his body.

There was a small stretch of silence, broken only when Sokka would let out a particularly loud snore.

"You know," Zuko said softly. "Its weird that I'm the one telling you not to worry when, just a couple of months ago, you were the one doing it for me."

Orora rolled her eyes at him as she pulled back from the embrace. "What? Only you're allowed to freak out in this relationship and not me?"

"Well you are the more rational and emotionally mature one out of both of us."

"I'm overall more mature then you Zuko."

"We're the same age, Orora."

"And yet, I've never tried to get myself killed during a lightning storm."

"......."

"That's what I thought."

                                            ————————–

True to what Zuko said, it was nearly an hour later, when night had fallen, that the prison came into sight. It was rather an impressive construction. Built in the center of a volcano, a gondola the only way in and out of the massive building that apparently housed every single dangerous individual in the Fire Nation.

Or rather those who had been deemed dangerous. Sokka had woken up at Zuko's exclaimation, and all three of them were watching as they neared their destination.

"There's plenty of steam to keep us covered." Zuko said as he assessed the surrounding steam rising from the boiling water. "As long as we're quiet, we should be able to navigate through it without being caught." No sooner had he said the words when the balloon began to loose altitude.

Frantic, Zuko began to blast even more fire into the tank. "We're going down! The balloon's not working anymore!" As a last resort, he blasted fire up into the balloon itself.

Orora's eyes darted towards the island that was getting closer and closer, as well as the boiling water as they began to drop at an alarming rate. "The air outside is just as hot as the air inside so we can't fly!" Sokka exclaimed, quickly realizing the scientific reason behind the balloon's failure.

The balloon began to sway from side to side, prompting all of them to grab the sides and hold on. "So what are we supposed to do?" Zuko asked, the panic clear in his voice.

"I don't know! Crash-landing?" Sokka responded. Orora quickly stood, raising her arms to create a sheet of ice over which the balloon could glide over. But the faster she tried to freeze the water, the faster it melted.

"Argh, its no use! The water is too hot. I'm gonna need to freeze the a big patch of ice, and I can't risk anyone seeing that even with the mist." She said, frustrated at being unable to help. Just then the balloon skidded along the boiling water, forcing Orora to hold on to the side railing for dear life. The balloon floated along the lake enough to reach the island atop which the prison stood, and tipped over, ejecting the three of them onto the rocky shore.

They sat up, groaning and rubbing whatever sore spot the tumble had caused them. Zuko was the first to look to the now destroyed balloon. "How are we gonna get off the island if the balloon won't work?" He asked, standing up before reaching out and pulling Orora to her feet as well.

"We'll figure something out!" Sokka stated, a hint of resignation in his voice as he did. "I suspected it might be a one-way ticket." Orora's mouth fell open in surprise, an emotion Zuko mirrored as he said. "You knew this would happen and you wanted to come anyway?"

"Sokka, are you insane?" Orora shrieked in a low voice. Truthfully she wanted to scream at him, but that meant drawing unwanted attention. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Sokka ignored them both as he walked towards the balloon and began to gather up the broken parts. "My dad might be here! I had to come and see!" Orora pursed her lips, making a mental note to talk to Katara about whether or not Sokka had been dropped on his head too many times as a baby.

"Uncle always said I never thought things through. But this," He threw his arms out in frustration. "This is just crazy!"

The resident waterbender nodded. "I agree. Sokka you should've thought this all through. This recklessness could get you hurt, captured or killed."

Shooting both of them a glare, Sokka paused in his work. "Hey, I never wanted either of you to come along in the first place! And for the record, I always think things through! But my plans haven't exactly worked, so this time, I'm playing it by ear. So there." With that he kicked whatever was left of the war balloon into the boiling water and watched as it disappeared under the steaming surface.

Zuko stepped forward, a little alarmed at the rather mild mannered water tribe boy's show of aggression. "What are you doing?"

Sokka shrugged, walking towards the prison as it loomed over them through the dark and fog. "It doesn't work anyway, and we don't want anyone to find it."

Behind him, both Zuko and Orora glanced at one another, uncertain and yet determined at the same time. The girl quickly reached out the catch her brother by the shoulder. "Sokka, just try not to overdo it. I don't want you getting hurt." She said, hoping he would start thinking with his head rather then let his emotions rule his every judgement. "I hope you know what you're doing." Zuko stated as he followed after Sokka. "There's no turning back now."

                                            ————————–

Finding a way in wasn't that hard to do. A pipe that was clearly used to pump water into the prison was their way in. The metal grate that covered it was quickly sliced to pieces by Orora. A task that didn't take her too much time since years of water damage had rusted the metal rods already. Bending the water out of the way and keeping a firm control on the pressure of it, she lead the way in, with Zuko holding up a small flame in his hand to guide the way, while with his other, her did his best to bring down the temperature of the water to a more tolerable level.

Luckily they entered the water storage room, with the water cascading into a large metal tank.

"How do you suppose we sneak around the prison?" Orora asked as they climbed out of the water tank, completely dry thanks to her creating a small ice platform to slide down from. Sokka looked around the room, assessing it to the best of his ability.

"Since this is the water storage room, I'm willing to bet the room where they keep spare guard uniforms is nearby too." He glanced in Zuko's direction, who gave a quick nod. "I'll go out and see. Even if someone sees me they might not raise the alarm since I'm dressed in Fire Nation clothes."

With that, he quickly exited the room, sparing Orora only a brief glance of reassurance as he did.

The time he was gone, the girl paced the floor, chewing on her lower lip, hoping he wouldn't get caught. Sokka looked around the room, spying a small unused cupboard he figured they could store their stuff there once they wore the uniforms.

The sound of the door opening had both teenagers dropping into defensive positions, only to heave a sigh of relief to see that it was only Zuko with a large sack over his shoulder. "I was only able to find the men's uniforms." He said, setting the sack on the floor and pulling the items out. Sokka shook his head.

"Its fine. Its best if we stay together even while we share sleeping places. Plus Orora can disguise her voice can't you?" He said, looking to where Orora was collecting the pieces of her uniform, a helmet tucked under her arm.

She nodded. "I won't speak unless I'm spoken to." With that the girl walked away to change behind one of the coolers that were placed throughout the room. A few minutes later, all three of them emerged from the room, disguised and barely recognizable with the helmets covering their faces.

"Lets take the rest of the night to explore the prison. Get a bit of layout." Sokka suggested, to which the other two nodded. As the boys moved to walk away, Orora suddenly stopped them with a hand around their wrists. "Wait! We have to decide on some sort of signal." She whispered, prompting Sokka to raise the visor of his helmet and look at her curiously. "Why would we need that?"

Orora scowled at him. "Use your brain Sokka. Everyone will be dressed the same with their faces covered. How would you like to walk up to someone who you thought was either Zuko or me and blab about everything?"

A beat of silence.

"Can't believe we didn't think of that." Zuko said, sounding a little admonished that such a minor yet major detail was about to slip past them. Sokka pouted briefly. "I don't blab Orora, but you're right. We should come up with a code word. Something neutral." He hummed under his breath, tapping a finger against his chin as he did.

Orora rolled her eyes at his attempt to put so much thought into something so simple. "I think there's a full moon tonight." She said, adjusting the braces of her armor. "Its easy to remember and if we drop it in a conversation, it can just be taken as an observation."

The Fire Prince nodded. "We'll meet back here in two hours."

                                            ————————–

"Well the only thing I learned about this place is that its near unbreakable." Orora whispered to Zuko as they both walked into the Mess Hall and picked up their trays. He hummed in agreement. "Except for where we got in from." He reminded her, to which she shrugged. "Only if you're a waterbender. And I haven't seen any waterbender prisoners. Though I doubt they would keep them so close to a water source." She mused to herself as she picked up a bowl of soup and placed it on her tray.

It was only the two of them at the moment, since Sokka had been ordered to take one of the prisoners to the Cooler. Whatever that was.

They'd spent their time scouring the entirety of the prison and so far hadn't seen any water tribe prisoners. Then again, they hadn't talked to the guards yet.

Orora glanced over her shoulder at the various guards as they ate, drank, chatted and laughed while on their break. It was a little strange to see such normal faces under the helmets, but then maybe that was the reason they were forced to wear them as part of their uniform. To make them appear terrifying to the prisoners. "We need to get information about the prisoners here without raising suspicion." She whispered to Zuko who was loading his own tray with food.

Of course neither of them had removed their helmet.

"We can always just ask directly." He stated, looking around at the guards as well.

Orora made a face, her forehead creasing in worry. "Won't that be too obvious?" She asked, nervous that they would get caught instantly. Zuko, feeling a little in his element with so many Fire Nation people around him, shrugged. "Lets find out."

She realized a second too late what he was about to do. "No! Don-" But he was already turning away and walking towards a nearby table, asking his questions as he did. Orora stayed where she was, gathered her food, and quickly made her way towards an empty table. Not even ten minutes later Zuko joined her.

"That was reckless." She whispered, lifting her bowl of soup to her mouth and taking a big gulp of the warm broth.

"I got the information we needed so, it worked didn't it?" He responded with a slight grin as he finished up with his own food.

Orora pursed her lip and slammed her elbow into his side. Zuko nearly choked on the gulp of water he had just taken. He coughed harshly, clutching his ribs as he did. "That is not the point." She growled, picking up her now empty tray of food. "Come on, lets go find Sokka before he does something reckless like you."

"Yes, ma'am." He coughed.

                                            ————————–

Returning to the platform, Zuko approached the lone guard standing there, Orora a few paces behind him.

"Hey there, fellow guard, how goes it?" He asked, prompting Orora to clench her hand to stop herself from reaching out and punching her idiot Soulmate for not using the code phrase. Then again, her brother wasn't the brightest either, since he lifted the visor of his helmet and exclaimed loudly. "Zuko?"

"Spirit! Its like you two want to get caught." Orora hissed, glancing around to make sure no one was listening to them. Thankfully the platform was empty.

The two boys did wince at their mistakes, but quickly shook it off, eager to share what they had found. Or rather hadn't found. "Listen, I asked around the lounge." Zuko said, shaking his head. "There are no Water Tribe prisoners." He, too, lifted the visor of his helmet. "I'm afraid your father's not here."

Orora felt her stomach churn at the realization that they had failed their mission. Or rather, the mission had been a failure from the start. "What? Are you sure?" Sokka asked, not wanting to believe they had come all this way for nothing. "Did you double-check?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Zuko nodded, as Orora lifted her visor as well, a sympathetic look on her soft features as she approached Sokka. "We both asked around Sokka. I'm afraid he isn't here."

But Sokka was done listening. He banged his fists against the metal wall, growling in frustration. Orora quickly reached out to stop him from hurting himself by grabbing his wrists.

Zuko stood with his own eyes shining with sympathy for the clearly anguished boy. "I'm really sorry, Sokka."

He was trembling, she could feel it from where she clutched his wrists. "So we came all this way for nothing?" He asked, eyes closed in frustration. "I failed.......again." His shoulders drooped, as Orora quickly wrapped him in a comforting hug, hoping to reassure him somehow.

"We'll find him Sokka. Even if we have to break into every Fire Nation prison." She promised, conviction running through her veins as she thought of the kind, brave man who had taken her under his protection. In the few weeks when they had traveled after escaping Ba Sing Se, Hakoda had shown her how a real father acted. And though she had been envious of Sokka and Katara, she couldn't help but thank the Spirits that at least she had caught a glimpse of what true fatherhood was. Something that Hakoda had extended to her when he had claimed her to be Sokka and Katara's sister.

Her brother's breath slowly calmed, and he pulled back from the embrace, giving her a small smile of gratitude.

Holding his chin, Zuko hummed under his breath. "What would Uncle say?" He mused to himself, hoping a few words of wisdom would ease Sokka's frustration and worries. He glanced up to the sky where the clouds lazily passed by. "Sometimes, clouds have two sides." He said, walking towards the railing. "A dark and light." The two Water Tribe siblings glanced at one another, utterly confused at what Zuko was saying. "And a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich!"

Orora clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud at what her Soulmate was saying. Meanwhile, Sokka had moved to stand by the railing as well, looking down at the prisoners as they milled about in the yard below.

"So.......when life seems hard......take a bite out of the silver sandwich!"

She could feel her ribs cracking from holding back her giggles. Sokka, however, had completely lost interest in both his companions as his eyes caught sight of a very familiar figure in the yard. He gripped the railings excitedly, his whole face lighting up as he did.

"Maybe we haven't failed after all!" He exclaimed, his excitement prompting Orora to forget her own mirth and stare at him inc confusion.

Zuko grinned. "That's the spirit!" He encouraged, folding his arms. "I can't believe that worked. I didn't even know what I was saying." He muttered to himself.

"No, what you said made no sense at all." Sokka stated, quickly shattering whatever notion had been forming in Zuko's head that maybe he could go around sharing his wisdom with the rest of the world. His mouth dropped open. "He's right. If I knew it wouldn't attract attention, I would've been laughing my head off." Orora added, which only made Zuko grumble under his breath, a little miffed that the both of them would think that.

Pointing excitedly in the direction of a lone girl sitting in the yard, Sokka nearly fell over the side of the railing. "It's Suki!" He cheered, barely noticing as Orora grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him from tipping over. Though his reveal had her own eyes widening.

"Suki?! You mean your soulmate Suki!?" She asked, turning her own excited gaze in the direction he was pointing. Sokka nodded. "Yes!"

Ice blue eyes blinked. "But then why didn't you feel your string tug?" The girl asked, a little confused. Though that confusion turned to sheer frustration with her brother's response.

"I did. I just thought it was malfunctioning or something."

Without missing a beat, Orora reached out to completely remove his helmet, and slap the back of his head. Hard.

Zuko couldn't help but let out the bark of laughter at Sokka's reaction. Orora was seething because how in the world was she saddled with two complete idiots?!

"Soulmate strings do not malfunction you dodo!" She hissed.

But her frustration was short-lived, as they began to form the next steps of their plan that now included breaking out Suki.

                                            ————————–

Of course, all their plans went down the drain and up in smoke the moment Zuko was thrown in prison.

"Oh this is bad! This is really bad! What if someone recognizes him and tells the Fire Lord where he is?"

Both Orora and Sokka were in the water storage room, with the latter watching his sister pace the length of the room as she ranted and panicked over the minor hitch they were currently facing.

"What if he gets into a fight and gets hurt? You know how his temper can be. What if someone inside the prison recognizes who he is and the prisoners turn on him? He won't be able to fight all of them off." Sokka glanced over the edge of the water tank he was leaning against. Sure enough the water within was churning and roiling, responding to Orora's emotions.

She'd been ranting for a good ten minutes now, or maybe more. With Orora, Sokka had learned that it was best that she had her emotions out of her system, since she would allow them to fester inside her.

Reaching out, he grabbed Orora by the arm as she walked by, pulling her to a stop and gripping her shoulders so that she was facing him. "Orora." He said, his voice firm and yet gentle at the same time. "Nothings gonna happen to Zuko. He'll be fine. He knows he has to keep his head down and he will."

Her eyes were still wide and panicked, so Sokka continued. "We're all gonna get out of here safe and in one piece. I already have a plan to cross the boiling lake so don't worry about that."

That caught Orora's attention.

"You do?" She asked, to which he nodded, finally letting go of her shoulders. "I do. Now go tell Suki and Zuko to meet us by the northern stairwell during cleaning hour. I have to do some scouting work for our escape."

Nodding, the panic and worry being replaced by a sense of determination, Orora quickly pulled on her helmet. "I'll meet you there too." She said. Sokka nodded and smiled. "We'll be fine Orora." He reassured her again, using the voice he reserved for both his sisters that he knew would calm them down.

This time the girl nodded, lifting the visor of her helmet briefly to flash him a smile before running off to do her task.

                                            ————————–

Her first stop was Suki's prison cell.

Quickly slipping into the room, she closed the door behind her and turned to the young girl sitting on top of the uncomfortable looking cot. "Sokka?" The girl whispered as she stood up. She couldn't be much older then her, Orora guessed as she quickly reached up to lift up her visor. "No, but I'm a friend of Sokka's. I'm-"

"Orora." The girl interrupted, prompting the Waterbender to frown in confusion. "Sokka mentioned he was here with you. Said I would recognize you by your hair." She gestured to the small white patch that was only just visible from being pressed against her forehead under the helmet. Orora couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Trust that idiot to give you a physical description where it won't do you any good." She grumbled to herself. Suki grinned. "I tried to tell him the same thing, but we kind of got interrupted by the fight outside."

The Water Tribe girl winced, remembering the skirmish that had resulted in Zuko's capture. "Oh yeah, that was my Soulmate covering Sokka's impromptu meeting with you so the both of you wouldn't get caught." She explained. Suki blinked. "Wait, Sokka said he was here with you and Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." The girl's mouth fell open as she raised a finger to point at Orora.

"Does that mean he's your...." She trailed off, while Orora lifted her finger which had the now always glowing string tied around it and nodded. "Yup! He's my Soulmate." She let out a slightly derisive laugh. "Fate really has a sense of humor doesn't it?"

A moment of silence, where both girls simply stared at one another before Suki shrugged. "I guess you win in that department. I mean my Soulmate kissed the Moon Spirit herself, so really your Soulmate being the Prince of the Fire Nation shouldn't be too surprising." The other girl hummed. "I suppose. But hey, at least he's on our side now, so that's good."

A development she was thankful for every single day.

"Well he did burn down my village, so it'll take me some time to trust him again." The information had Orora wincing. "Yeah, I guess I should apologize on his part, but I'm sure he'll be sorry for his actions as well. He was a different person back then." Suki shook her head. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'll judge how much he's changed when I meet him." Orora nodded, before a small smile pulled at the corner of her lips.

"You know, its strange. I've never met you before but I feel like I can trust you with anything." Suki grinned. "I'm glad. Cuz that means I'm not the only one who feels the same way."

Orora laughed softly before holding her hand out for Suki to shake. "I'm Orora." She introduced herself, as Suki shook her hand. "And I'm Suki, its nice to meet you Orora."

The Waterbender all but beamed at the prospect of a new friend. Normally it took her a long time to trust someone and open up to them. She'd had months with Zuko before she had learned to trust him. Not to mention with Aang, Toph, Katara and Sokka, it had taken her time to get used to having them around and trusting them to keep her safe, just as she tried her best to keep them safe as well.

And here she was. Speaking so openly with a girl she had only just met.

Strange happenings really.

The sound of the bell ringing notified her of the change in shift. "Sokka said to meet by the northern stairs during cleaning hour. We'll catch you guys up with the rest of the plan there." Suki nodded, a determined gleam in her eyes. "Got it. I'll meet you there."

Sliding her visor back in place, Orora opened the door to the cell to step out. She paused at the threshold and glanced back.

"We'll get you out Suki. Don't worry." She reassured the other girl who smiled and nodded. "I know. Thanks Orora."

With one final smile, Orora locked the door behind her and walked off.

                                            ————————–

Her second stop was Zuko's prison cell. Easy to find. All she had to do was follow her string.

"You going for a new fashion statement?" She asked as she closed the door behind her. Zuko had been stripped off his guard uniform and given the standard prison clothes to wear. Her Soulmate gave her a deadpanned look. "At least it isn't brown or green." He retorted, recalling back to the time they were hiding in Ba Sing Se and he had to wear Earth Kingdom clothes.

He really hadn't liked those colors.

Orora rolled her eyes, an act that was visible to him since she had removed her helmet to allow her hair to breath a little. They were all out of place from being stuffed inside a helmet for so long. She looked oddly flyaway in her current state, and Zuko found she looked adorable.

Maybe it showed on his face, because Orora raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" She asked, knowing there was something on his mind. Zuko shrugged, the start of a smile on his lips. "Nothing. Just noticing how cute you are."

The effect of his words were instantaneous.

Pink flared across her tanned cheeks, and a gasp of surprise escaped her lips as she averted her gaze, suddenly feeling shy. It was ridiculous how Zuko had the ability to make her want to wring his shoulders and elbow him for being an idiot, to becoming shy and uncertain in a matter of seconds.

Trying to get back on track, she cleared her throat, the pink still evident on her cheeks. "Sokka says to meet by the northern staircase during cleaning hour. Suki will be there too so we can make the rest of our plan......there."

The last word was spoken in a slightly breathless whisper. To distract herself, Orora had begun to fiddle with her arm braces, and had not noticed Zuko walking towards her. Only when she looked up did she realize that he was standing before her, with barely an inch between them.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, while a teasing spark glinted in his golden eyes. She gulped. "You know we really shouldn't be letting our guard down." The girl whispered, gaze darting to the closed door over her shoulder. Gentle fingers coaxed her to turn her head back in his direction. He smiled at her. "I timed the guard's rounds. We have half an hour before they make their rounds again. We're safe." Zuko reassured her, his thumb stroking along her chin.

"For now." She whispered, the last dregs of worry dissolving as she lost herself in his warm, familiar and loving golden gaze.

Not exactly the location to have a moment, but they neither of them were about to complain.

His head began to lean down, his intent obvious with the way he tilted it as he closed the distance between them. And Orora wanted to let him close that last few breath of distance between them.

She really did.

But her hand came up to gently press her fingers against his slightly parted mouth, stopping him. Zuko blinked at her, a little surprised. "You said you wanted our kiss to be special." She reminded him, to which he nodded. "What did you mean by that?"

The boy shrugged as Orora removed her fingers to allow him to talk. "Its just something silly." He admitted, not wanting to say his thoughts out loud. But the expectant expression she gave him had the Prince sighing as he reached up to toy with her silver hair. "Its just our entire journey as Soulmates has been full of unexpected and, at times, unbelievable, circumstances. I mean how many other people can say they met their Soulmate while saving their lives?"

She hummed. "True, but that's what makes us unique doesn't it?" Zuko chuckled at her response and nodded. "You're right it does. But since I came to the Air Temple I've been planning on going about things normally."

"Normally?" She repeated, a confused look on her face that had him shrugging and looking away from her, suddenly feeling uncertain and sheepish. "Yeah normal, like, going out on dates, just hanging out and acting like a normal couple and not with the weight of the entire world on our shoulders." He admitted. "Is that too much to ask?"

A small moment of silence followed his admittance. Orora smiled softly. "Zuko? Did you want our kiss to be after our first date or something?" Looking more then a little sheepish, as well as uncertain, the boy shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't be opposed to it." He admitted, and Orora felt her her heart turn to mush inside her.

"You know what." She said, the smile evident on her face as she looked up at him. "You're right. We do deserve a bit of normal in our lives. And when we have it, we'll go out on that date like normal teenagers do."

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" Zuko asked, to which Orora shook her head. "Mind?! I would love that! And yeah kissing for the first time as a couple in prison sounds exciting and all, but we've had too many exciting moment in our lives and having a normal boring story to tell would be amazing."

Zuko grinned, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to her cheek. And if he lingered there for much longer then was necessary, neither of them mentioned it. Or were bothered by it. "In that case, I promise, that when we get one moment of peace in our crazy lives, we'll go out on a date."

"I'll hold you to that."

                                            ————————–

The next part of Sokka's plan had gone off without a hitch.

Aside from a couple of hiccups.

One of them being Chit Sang, another prisoner, who wanted in on their escape plan when he overheard them talking about it.

Alright, no problem. Easily taken care of. And since he helped get Zuko thrown in the Cooler, that worked out well.

The second hiccup came in the form of Sokka being unable to retrieve Zuko from the cooler. He was pulled away for some guard duty. Luckily Orora had been standing next to him, and he had quickly told her where to find Zuko and let him out.

She was only ten minutes late to her destination, and opened up the Cooler, her heart hammering in her chest at the sight of Zuko crouching on the floor.

"I'm here to take you back to your cell." She stated in a deep fake voice for anyone around to overhear her. "If you've learned your lesson that is." She added, using the code-phrase she had insisted upon since they couldn't ask outright if the screws had been removed or not.

Once again Sokka had been about to overlook the minor detail. Which Orora had remedied quite quickly.

Orora watched as Zuko slowly raised his head from where he had it buried in his arms. A small burst of fire escaped as he exhaled, before looking up at her and smirking. "Yes I have."

He lowered his arms to reveal the bolts and screws he had removed. "Completely."

Trying her best to suppress her smile, the girl quickly leaned forward, lifting her visor as she whispered. "Sokka is getting Suki and Chit Sang out of their cells. They'll be waiting for us at the shore." Sokka had found a door that led to the shore. It had been hidden behind one of the boilers in the water storage room.

Zuko was about to step out of the Cooler when the sound of footsteps accompanied by voices had him halting. "Someone's coming." No sooner had he hissed the words when he was grabbing Orora by the wrist, and yanking her into the freezing Cooler and shutting the door.

The cold instantly reminded her of the temperature at the North Tribe. A shiver ran through her entire body, prompting Zuko to pull her against him, his warm body providing her with instant relief.

With bated breath they waited for the people outside to pass.

Only to learn a crucial piece of information as they did.

"War prisoners." Zuko whispered, recalling what the guard outside had said a few moments ago about the new prisoners arriving the next day. "It could be Sokka's father."

Orora nodded. "I know." Either they escape now and not investigate further. Or they forfeit and see whether the war prisoner was really Hakoda or not.

Zuko turned his head to look at Orora. "Well, what should we do? Are we going ahead with the plan or are we waiting another night?"

Shaking her head, the girl opened the door of the cooler and stepped out. "We have to tell Sokka. This is his mission. He gets to decide what our next step should be." She stated firmly, as she led him down the corridor towards their escape.

Though she had her doubts they would be escaping that night.

                                            ————————–

The moment Orora burst through the door and caught sight of Sokka, Suki and.....three other prisoners, not the problem right then, she blurted out what had been burning at the tip of her tongue the entire time she had Zuko had been sneaking their way through the prisoner.

"Sokka! New prisoners are coming in tomorrow. And there might be war prisoners in the batch." She panted out, having dragged Sokka away from the other four so they could speak without being interrupted. Barely drawing a breath she continued. "Hakoda might be..." She trailed off once she caught sight of Sokka's face. A plethora of emotions flickering in his eyes.

Zuko stepped forward. "You wanna go through with this?" He asked, knowing just how torn he must be feeling. "Or do you want to wait?"

Running a hand through his hair, Sokka pursed his lips. Uncertainty and hope swirled inside him, drawing a cloud of confusion around his brain. "I don't know!" He whispered, more to himself then the two of them. He glanced up to where Suki was looking in his direction, the curiosity evident on her face. "Is it right for me to risk Suki's freedom, all of our freedom on the slim chance that my dad is gonna show up?" He turned to look at Zuko and Orora, almost as if he were silently begging them to make the decision for him.

"It's your call, Sokka." Zuko said, his tone soft as he reached out to place a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you sure you wanna go? You're the one who said you wanted to redeem yourself. Redeem your honor. Rescuing your dad is your chance."

Normally, Orora would've recommended putting everyone's safety over honor, but she knew that Sokka needed to do this. Needed to get his confidence back and start thinking with his head straight on his shoulders once again. Too many rash decisions had been made up till now, all based on emotions.

What was one more?

"Your dad?" Suki's soft voice cut through the tense silence as she finally approached the trio. Orora nodded. "He might be transferred here tomorrow. But we don't know for certain" She explained.

Turning to Zuko, Sokka sighed in a resigned manner. "If I had just cut my losses at the invasion, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess." He glanced away, looking dejected and hopeless. "Maybe sometimes it's just better to call it quits before you fail." His shoulders drooped and for the first time, Orora saw the look of defeat cross her brother's features and settle into his very being.

And she didn't like it one bit.

Her Soulmate seemed to think the same, since he shook his head. "No, it's not." A determined look in his eyes had Orora stepping back towards Suki, giving the two boy the space they needed to talk. "Look Sokka, you're going to fail a lot before things work out."

Sokka scowled. "That supposed to make me feel better?" He asked in a slightly miffed voice before he began to walk away. But Zuko was persistent as he followed after the Water Tribe boy. "Even though you'll probably fail over and over and over again-"

"Seriously, not helping."

Reaching out, Zuko pulled Sokka to a stop with a hand on his shoulder. "You have to try every time." His eyes flickered in Orora's direction, prompting the girl to stand up straight, tilting her head curiously. "You can't quit or stop trying because you're afraid you might fail."

Silence followed Zuko's words.

Sokka stared at the scarred Prince, a little surprised at how much what he had said made sense.

Chit Sang, who had been standing by the cooler boat, and was growing impatient, called out. "Hey, if you two are done cuddling, can we get a move on?"

His entire demeanor changing, Sokka turned to the giant man. "No. I'm staying. You guys go." He turned to Suki and grasped her hand. "You've been here long enough."

Orora knew the answer before Suki even gave it. "I'm not leaving without you, Sokka." The Kyoshi Warrior stated firmly, prompting Orora to step forward and make her decision known as well. "I think I can say for both Zuko and myself that we're not leaving." She glanced in Zuko's direction, who nodded in agreement. "I'm staying, too."

That was all the confirmation the other three needed. The boat was pushed off and the three escaped convicts disappeared into the mist.

The four teenagers stood on the bank of the shore. "We gave up our only chance of escaping." Sokka said, sounding just a bit unsure. "I hope we haven't just made a huge mistake."

                                            ————————–

It would seem the Spirits had decided to side with them for the mission.

Chit Sang and his friends were caught rather quickly, and were hauled away into solitary confinement.

But the real winning point?

Was when Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe stepped off the gondola and reaffirmed Sokka's faith in himself. Orora couldn't help but smile at his relief. Glancing in Suki and Zuko's direction, who were mirroring the relief the son was feeling at seeing his father, she nudged Sokka forward.

"You go talk to your dad." She said. "I'll get these two back in their cells. Meet me back here in an hour and we can start making the new plan."

With a nod Sokka ran off to locate his Father's cell.

                                            ————————–

Gently knocking on Suki's door nearly two hours later, Orora slipped inside, locking the door behind her as she did. "Sokka met with his dad, and they've come up with a plan." She whispered softly as the two girls leaned their heads forward. "He's gone to tell Zuko, but I wanted to talk to you about a minor detail before he decides to execute the plan."

Suki frowned slightly. "What detail?" She asked, prompting Orora to purse her lips briefly before speaking. "Hakoda suggests that we take the Warden as our prisoner."

A surprised look was all Suki responded with, before she raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh, and how does that plan go?" She asked to which Orora let out a groan of frustration. "That's just it. That is all they've come up with. Honestly, sometimes I think its just pure luck that Sokka has survived this long in life with the way he plans things and forgets the minor details."

Suppressing a smile at Orora's obvious frustration, Suki shrugged. "Well, its a good thing he has us to help him out." She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as she did. "What do you propose we do?" She asked, to which the other girl grinned.

"I have a few suggestions." The excited glint in Orora's blue eyes had Suki mirroring her grin as the both of them began to iron out the finer details of their own plan.

                                            ————————–

No sooner had Sokka explained the plan when Zuko found himself being escorted away by a couple of guards. Or rather being dragged away, since he wasn't about to let them take him without a fight.

"What are you doing?" He demanded to know, his voice echoing in the otherwise empty corridor. "Where are you taking me?" Of course the guards offered no response. Instead they opened a door and three him inside a bare room where the only item was a wooden chair in the middle. "I didn't do anything wrong!" He called out as the guards disappeared, leaving the door open.

"Come on, Zuko." A familiar voice cut through the darkness. His head whipped towards the corner of the room where a very familiar figure stood half-concealed in the shadows. "We all know that's a lie." She stepped forward, the anger that was evident in her voice, flashing in her eyes as she glared at him.

He felt his mouth fall open in shock. She was the last person he had expected to see here. "Mai! How did you know I was here?" He asked, his mind racing, wandering if his sister was here as well. The three of them did tend to travel in a pack.

"Because I know you so well." Mai responded. While any other time, Zuko would've picked up on the heavy sarcasm that laced her words, this time his brain was a little slow to catch up.

"But, how-?"

Loosing patience, Mai simply snapped. "The warden's my uncle, you idiot." A beat of silence, before Zuko facepalmed. He should've remembered that little detail. Orora would have his head if she knew he'd forgotten such a crucial piece of information.

Pulling out a scroll, Mai held it out in front of her former friend. "The truth is, I guess I don't know you. All I get is a letter?" She demanded. Angry wasn't the appropriate word to describe what she was feeling in that moment. Enraged came in pretty close. But there was also, hurt and the feeling of being betrayed. "You could have at least looked me in the eye before ending our friendship."

Guilt gnawed at his stomach. Unable to meet her gaze, he dropped his head in his hands. "I didn't mean to-" He said, his voice muffled, but was cut off as. "You didn't mean to?" She demanded to know, before unrolling the scroll and reading his words to her in a slightly mocking tone.

"Dear Mai, I'm sorry that you have to find out this way, but I'm leaving."

The urgency within him to find Orora and the others rose tenfold. He had to get out of here if he wanted to make it in time for their breakout. "Stop!" He said, standing up. "This isn't about you." His voice was firm as he continued. "This is about the Fire Nation!"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Mai rolled her eyes. "Thanks Zuko, that makes me feel all better." She hissed, throwing the letter at him. Taking a step towards her, he changed tactics, his tone imploring as he spoke. "Mai, I never wanted to hurt you. But I have to do this to save my country." The last few words had a tinge of desperation in them. Something that Mai picked up on, causing her to purse her lips.

And yet her anger remained. "Save it? You're betraying your country!" She said, her voice getting louder with each word. "I told you to go after your soulmate Zuko. I didn't say you could go and betray your entire Nation."

Zuko's own voice raised in retaliation. "That's not how I see it." Mai only scowled at him. "I've traveled the world Mai, and I've seen the devastation and destruction the Fire Nation has caused since the war began." Memories of all that he had seen but never noticed before rose to the forefront of his mind.

"We have been fed nothing but lies since we were born. The Fire Nation isn't interested in sharing its glory with the rest of the world. Its only looking to destroy it and take what it can give." He paused to draw breath. "Mai, I've seen families torn apart because of the Fire Nation. Mothers, father, children, sisters, brothers, Soulmates. No person has been shown mercy by our people. My great-grandfather wiped out an entire Nation, Mai. Aang is the last of his kind in the world." Mai's face began to loose some of the rigidity and anger as she gaped at him. "Children are starving and their parents can't do anything about it. Our people are being forced to serve the army. They're just as effected as the rest of the world. And I have to stop it." He declared, standing up straight, tall and proud.

"Its my destiny to restore the Fire Nation's honor and help Aang. I was so blinded by my own problems that I never looked beyond that. Uncle and Orora helped me see. They opened my eyes to what I was blind to and I'm not going to turn my back on those I can help."

His eyes were fixed on Mai as he added. "And if doing the right thing labels me as a betrayer then fine. I've lived with several titles, whats one more added to the roster."

Silence.

Which was quickly broken by the arrival of a guard, claiming to have been sent to protect Mai since there was a riot happening. The information prompted Zuko to act and he quickly made his escape using the guard to knock Mai down.

He locked the door behind him, glancing back to see Mai glaring at him through the slot at the top of the door.

"I stand by my beliefs Mai." He stated. "And I won't apologize for it."

With that he ran off.

                                            ————————–

One would think that starting a prison riot would commence with a punch being thrown.

But in this prison, that was not the case.

All it took was for Chit Sang, who they had to add into their group as well since he didn't give them away, was picking up another prisoner, holding the squirming man above his head and yelling out two words.

"Hey! Riot!"

A beat of silence.

And then all hell broke loose. Prisoners started to punch, kick, scream, claw, bite and do all manners of bodily harm. The Firebenders began to use their bending as well. All around them was chaos.

Exactly how they had planned.

But even better.

Hakoda looked shocked at the sudden turn of events. "Impressive." He praised, a little reluctantly.

Just then the panting figure of Orora ran over. She'd gotten rid of her helmet and was wearing her water bending gloves. "Hey guys! Have you guys seen Zuko?" She panted out. Pausing, she briefly turned to Hakoda and smiled brilliantly. "Its great to see you Chief." She said, sounding genuine and relieved at seeing him safe. The older man smiled. "And you Orora."

Another brief smile before her attention turned to Sokka.

"Where is Zuko?" She asked again, though barely had the words left her mouth when she felt her string tug. The boy in question, somersaulted over a prisoner, slamming them to the ground, and landing flawlessly in front of their little group.

"You called M'lady." He said with a teasing smile, making Orora roll her eyes at him before she moved to stand beside Suki as Sokka stepped forward.

"Zuko! Good, we're all here. Now all we need to do is grab the warden, and get to the gondolas!" The Water Tribe boy stated excitedly. The Prince nodded. "Right, and how do we do that?" Sokka's shoulders dropped and a sheepish expression overcame his features as he rubbed a hand behind his head. "I'm not sure." He admitted, prompting Zuko to groan and facepalm.

"I thought you thought this through!" He yelled out in frustration, which had Sokka responded at the same level of volume. "I thought you told me it's okay not to think everything through!" Zuko growled in frustration. "Maybe not everything, but this is kind of important!" He rubbed his forehead, his mind racing, trying to come up with a solution to their new problem.

Just then, Chit Sang spoke up.

"Hey, uh, fellas. I think your girlfriends are taking care of it."

Both boys jumped up and peeked out from behind the wall they were taking refuge.

And sure enough there was Suki and Orora.

With the former hoping on the heads of the rioters, using her momentum to push her forward. Never once did she loose balance, or miss her target. And even if she did, she found a small pillar of ice boosting her whenever she would run out of heads.

Orora, meanwhile, had decided to take on a more direct approach. The moment she had stepped out from behind the wall, she'd waved her arms and tiny drops of frozen water had emerged from her person. She'd spent the entire time in prison with the greatest weapon concealed in her uniform. And now, she was using it to the best of her abilities.

Which was saying something since she was only a few steps from becoming a true Master.

She was sliding along the ground, a sheet of ice creating a path for her through the crowd. Anyone who stepped on the ice slipped. And anyone who stepped in her way, retreated when several sharp ice daggers would be thrown in their general direction.

She was only a few paces behind Suki and as the Kyoshi Warrior began to scale the wall, Orora threw her hands out, creating ice-holds that would help the girl boost herself up faster then her already hurried pace. Creating a whirlpool of water around her, Orora quickly rose to the top, using the same whirlpool to create a wave that swept away any remaining firebenders that Suki hadn't already taken out. They went over the edge of the tower.

Suki, meanwhile, swept her leg out, defeating the final guard who was protecting the Warden and grabbed the man-in-question, grinning in triumph as she did.

"You wouldn't dare." The man growled, though he did look intimidated with the two girls looming over him. One who had defeated his high trained guards with just her bare hands, and the other who'd only used her abilities at the bare minimum when it came to the actual fighting.

Suki grinned, tying his hands together and using his headband as a gag. "Sorry warden. You're my prisoner now." She slammed the warden against the wall. "Impressive." Orora said as she quickly threw her leg out to waterbend a few straggling guards who were trying to sneak up on them. "You're not so bad yourself." Suki said, grinning from ear to ear. Shrugging, Orora gave a modest smile. "I try." She said, before the two girls giggled.

Spying the rest of their group approaching, Suki called out. "We've got the warden! Now let's get out of here!" The four males paused to catch their breath, funny since none of them had done the actual fighting.

"Those are some girls." Hakoda said, once he'd caught some of his breath.

Sokka and Zuko, both still trying to catch their breath, looked proud and a little love-struck at the same time.

"Tell me about it."

                                            ————————–

Getting to the gondolas was a bit of a challenge.

Luckily, they had two highly trained warriors, one seasoned warrior, two formidable benders, and a criminal who had probably done shady stuff in the past to have landed at such a high-security prison.

"We're almost there!" Suki called, even as they were stopped by two guards who launched twin fire blasts at them. Zuko quickly shoved Sokka out of the way and blocked the fire. Another two tried attacking from behind, only to be thrown aside by one of Orora's water whips.

As more guards approached, Zuko called out. "Back off! We've got the warden!" His words had the desired effect. Every single one of them stopped dead in their tracks and dropped their stances. "Let's go!" Zuko urged, grabbing Orora's wrist and pulling her beside him, her with twin ice daggers clutched in her hands, gleaming threateningly, while he never dropped his defensive stance, ready to attack should anyone make a move.

But no one did.

Reaching the gondola, Suki quickly opened the door. "Everyone in!" She called, which had Zuko quickly pushing Orora in the direction of the gondola. "Get on!" He called to her, racing towards the lever which would start the machinery. As everyone piled in, Zuko began to kick the lever several times.

"Zuko!" Orora called out in alarm as the gondola began to move. Several guards tried to move in on him, but a few threatening ice daggers being embedded where their feet were had them stepping back.

The lever broke, and Zuko raced towards the edge of the platform before leaping off and towards the gondola. Orora threw her arm out, ready to catch him, with Sokka right beside her.

But what she hadn't factored in was the momentum behind Zuko's jump, as well as his weight when gravity caught hold of him. He did grab her arm, while also grabbing Sokka's, but Orora's arm took the brunt of his weight.

And was pulled clean out of it's socket.

A scream of sheer pain sounded from her lips. And she would've dropped Zuko if Sokka hadn't gotten a hold of him as well. Stumbling backwards, Orora dropped to the floor, clutching her shoulder, whimpering as she saw her arm bent at such a strange angle.

"Agni! Orora! Are you alright?" The moment she had scream, Zuko's heart had plummeted in his stomach. And seeing her on the floor, with Suki and Hakoda already hovering over her, he crouched in front of her. "Spirits! I'm so sorry!" He said in a low voice, guilt racing through him. Orora shook her head frantically, breathing raggedly through the pain.

"Not your fault." She whimpered, as Hakoda inspected her injury with a critical eye. "We need to put the arm back in place." He said, gently but firmly, grasping Orora's arm. "Brace her." He advised Zuko and Suki, who both grabbed her by her uninjured shoulder to keep her in place.

"Hold on Orora. This will feel better soon." Hakoda said reassuringly. The girl simply nodded, panting as her entire body tensed. "On three." He warned.

Though he didn't bother counting.

The shoulder popped back into place, and Orora's entire body jerked as she roared from the pain. Or rather her body tried to jerk but both Suki and Zuko kept her in place. The relief was instant, but now a consistent throbbing seemed to run through her entire arm. "I'll be alright." She whispered softly. Suki stepped back, as did Hakoda. Zuko, however, cradled Orora's face, brushing her hair back as he did.

"What was that? Why'd you stay behind?" Sokka demanded, not liking that Orora had gotten hurt because of what Zuko did. "I had to make sure they didn't stop the gondola." The scarred Prince responded, barely looking up from Orora who was now breathing a little normally as she began to calm down.

Sokka blinked. "Huh. Way to think ahead." He praised, making Orora laugh softly as she patted Zuko's hand where it rested against her cheek, signalling to him that she was fine.

"We're on our way!" Suki said, sounding a little in disbelief as she stared at the other side of the platform as it neared. She'd been locked up for so long she didn't think she'd get free.

And now it was so close.

"Wait!" Hakoda called out from where he was standing in front of the window. "Who's that?" He asked, his question prompting Sokka, Suki and Zuko to race to the window, with the latter helping Orora to sit on one of the chairs along the wall.

"That's a problem." Zuko said, pursing his lips. "It's my sister and her friend." His words has Orora looking up from where she had water pressed to her shoulder, about to begin her Healing Session. "Azula?" She exclaimed softly, moving to stand but falling back down as pain radiated up and down her arm. "You stay where you are Orora." Hakoda said, resting a comforting hand on her uninjured shoulder.

"Yeah, cuz this is a rematch I've been waiting for." Suki said, her eyes narrowing in determination as she glared at the two girls on the platform.

Zuko flexed his fingers, feeling them burn hot as fire rose to the tips. "Me too." He added, before moving to the window to climb out to the roof.

"Be careful you three." He heard Orora called out to them.

The Waterbender, meanwhile, turned her attention back to her shoulder. The water on her hand glowed as she slowly began to heal herself. "Chief Hakoda, I'm gonna need you to make a sling for me." She said as the gondola began to sway from side to side and there were thumps and sounds from above.

Clearly the fight had begun.

She reached into the bag Sokka had brought and pulled out a piece of cloth she had cut especially for an injury like the one she had. Once she'd healed herself as best as she could, and the throbbing had dropped to a dull pain, Hakoda quickly had her arm in a sling, tying it behind her neck.

With Chit Sang looking up to the ceiling where the fighting was happening, none of them realized the Warden had wriggled free of the gag around his mouth and was shouting through the window for the lines to be cut.

Wasting no time Orora threw her arm out, slamming a block of ice around the Warden's mouth and effectively shutting him up.

But the damage was done.

"They're cutting the line." Zuko said as the three fighters slid back inside. Orora stood up, feeling a little better after her Healing Session.

Hakoda glanced around in worry. "I hope this thing floats." He muttered. "Maybe I can freeze some of the water underneath?" Orora suggested, stepping towards the window and glancing down at the boiling water below. "Zuko can't you bring the temperature down a little?" She asked to which he shook his head. "Even if I bring the temperature down at one spot, the heat will quickly come back." He said. Orora frowned, trying to come up with another solution when something caught her eye.

"Who's that? And why is she stopping the guards from cutting the lines?" She called out, which had everyone rushing towards the windows and peering towards the platform.

Zuko's eyes widened in shock. "It's Mai!" He whispered, sounding just as surprised as he looked. Whatever she was doing, it worked. The lines weren't cut. Azula and her friend had left the gondola long ago.

They reached their destination, the gondola rocking to and fro as it hit the platform. Everyone rushed out, with Zuko helping Orora make her way down the side of the volcano.

"Sorry Warden! Your record is officially broken." Hakoda called to the struggling captured man as a goodbye.

Climbing over the rim of the volcano, Zuko helped Orora sit down on a small boulder. "Wait here." He said, his gaze flickering around as if he were looking for something.

"Well, we made it out. Now what?" Suki said, looking around a little lost. Sokka noticed Zuko's strange behavior and stepped forward. "Zuko, what are you doing?" He asked, as Zuko came to a sudden stop.

"My sister was on that island." Sokka made a face. "Yeah, and she's probably right behind us, so let's not stop!" He urged, grabbing the other boy's arm and pulling at it to get him to start walking.

The Prince shook his head. "What I mean is she must have come here somehow." He walked up to a large hill and saw what he was looking for. "There!" He called out, pointing towards the airship.

"That's our way out of here!"

Suki helped Orora up before their small group began to make their way to commandeer the airship.

                                            ————————–

Mai stood atop the platform, detained by two guards with Azula and Ty Lee before her. The latter looked terrified and concerned as she glanced between her two friends. Azula, meanwhile, had her signature poker face, devoid of all emotion. Though Mai knew her friend good enough to know what was going on beneath the surface.

"Leave us alone." Azula commanded. The guards gave the Princess a bow before exiting. Mai stood her ground, the defiance evident in her very body language as she stood before her friend.

Well, former friend.

"I never expected this from you." Azula said, the disbelief evident in her tone. Ty Lee's eyes began to water as tears rose to the surface, her entire body trembling as she waited for what was to come.

With her hands behind her back, and her forehead creased in a frown, Azula continued. "The thing I don't understand is 'Why?'. Why would you do it? You know the consequences." She added, wandering if perhaps she hadn't made those clear during the years they had known one another.

Mai scoffed. "I guess you just don't know people as well as you think you do." She said, her voice taking on a rather mocking tone when she said the next two words. "You miscalculated."

What Zuko had spoken to her about, had shattered whatever denial had been left within her.

"I value my friendship with Zuko more than I fear or value my so-called friendship with you."

Whatever intrigue had plagued Azula went up in smoke as her face contorted to one of absolute rage. "No, you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" The Fire Nation Princess angled her fingers, ready to strike her friend with lightening. Mai readied herself, gripping one of her knives between her knuckles, ready to attack.

But before either of them could move, someone else moved first.

A few quick jabs, and Azula found herself falling to the floor in a helpless heap. Ty lee stood by, a little shocked at what she had done. Mai too was staring at her friend.

With no time to loose, Ty Lee quick ran to Mai and shook her out of her stupor. "Come one! Let's get out of here!" They're barely taken a few steps when they were surrounded by guards.

"You're both fools!" Azula hissed from where she was being helped by two guards.

"What shall we do with them, princess?" One of the guards asked, keeping a firm hold on their prisoners. They may be children, but the guards were now aware just how deadly these youngsters were when it came to the skill set they were experts in.

They'd already had a breakout. They weren't about to loose anymore prisoners today.

"Put them somewhere I'll never have to see their faces again!" Azula spat out, sheer anger and disgust behind her words as she glared at her former friends.

"And let them rot!"

                                            ————————–

It was nightfall, by the time the airship reached the Air Temple. Sokka, Zuko and Orora stepped off the platform, looking more then a little pleased with themselves, with the latter two holding hands and smiling brightly.

Katara was the first to step forward. "What are you doing in this thing?" She asked, looking up at the construction in awe. "What happened to the war balloon? And what happened to Orora's arm?" The girl added. Despite the minor squabble that was still ongoing between the two girls, it didn't stop Katara from showing her concern for her sister.

"Its alright, Katara. Nothing too bad." Orora was quick to reassure the younger girl.

Letting out a sheepish chuckle, Zuko shrugged. "The balloon kind of got destroyed." He explained, sharing a look with Sokka who shrugged his shoulders in a What can you do? way.

Aang chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sounds like a crazy fishing trip." Toph stepped up next to Orora, sensing her heartbeat. Once she was sure it was normal, she turned her attention to more important matters. "Did you at least get some good meat?" She asked.

"I did." Sokka proclaimed proudly. "The best meat of all. The meat of friendship and fatherhood." He looked way too proud for someone who had been trying to come up with something clever to say for the past few hours. But that didn't matter, as Suki, Hakoda and Chit Sang all exited the airship.

Though Chit Sang tried to introduce himself, his words were drowned out by Katara who called out for her Father and raced up to embrace him. Hakoda returned the hug just as fiercely and lovingly as it was given. "How are you here?" Katara asked, her voice high with both joy and disbelief as she grinned at her brother. "What is going on? Where did you go?"

"We kind of went to a Fire Nation prison." Her brother responded with a grin. Orora smiled as she watched Hakoda pull his son into the embrace. Tears burned behind her eyes, which she quickly blinked away as she moved to rest her head on his shoulder. Beside her, Zuko was smiling as well, their hands still twined together as he leaned his head down slightly to rest his head atop her own.

Of course, Toph had to go and ruin the moment by saying:

"Seriously? You guys didn't find any meat?"

                                            ————————–

Tag List - @wavesofchaos​ @violet-potter​ @rennysketch​ @emma-andrea1 @lovesammikinzz @fuzzyfestcat @msrawog @notsaelty @lust-for-pan @aces-tattooartist @jinxxangel13 @lotr-got @bitterspoons @realrintaro @gatorgirl151 @inutheangel @heartfully10 @lucaaahhh @juniper-july19 @anuttellaa @gfksz @bussyvussy @punksnotdeadbutiam @ablofftoneverland-blog-blog @slut-for-menn @vyliie @army-moa75 @juwhls @aqlodun @lovelybaka @glowyruby @niktwazny303

[isa-ghost]

Any specifically avian related qphil headcanons? I love that Phil being a bit more birdy is canon in the qsmp but whenever we get lore about it its angst

/I don't know why I'm asking if you have any, I know you got them /

*cupping my hands together and holding them out*

/give em here/

/pretty pleasee/

Oh fuck yeah man. I have an angel OC based off Phil, I've got PLENTY of avian headcanons >:)

Previous Headcanon Sets (x8)

MORE: Avian Edition

I've stated it in a prev set I think, but if you put this man in water his wings will sometimes involuntarily flap like he's in a birdbath. It's somewhat of a stim, bird brain just goes "you gotta."

I've also stated before that when he's stressed, his wings will flap kinda like the way someone might nervously shake out their hands.

Another restate, sometimes his laughs and startled yelps sound almost like squawks. Also his hiccups. It's very rare, but whenever it happens, he gets teased for it. Especially by Etoiles.

Another restate, sometimes his echolalia is his bird brain mimicking a sound he heard if it scratches an itch.

Yknow what just skim the previous headcanon sets I linked bc I talk so much about his wings & what he does with them & how he communicates using them. All those apply here.

Obligatory mirror and windows struggles mention.

Obligatory molting & preening struggles when stressed mention.

We've all seen the way he perches above everyone. It's probably his most prominent/noticeable avian trait.

Apparently camomile calms birds down. If this fool liked hot drinks, he'd have another way to settle his anxiety.

His obsession with noodles got him accused by Tubbo of enjoying them bc bird brain likes worms. He was NOT pleased. Almost gagged.

As long as you're careful around his wings, he LOVES back rubs. (It's bc the dumbass mf slept in that damn chair too much so now his back riots)

DO NOT THE WINGS. Petting them is one thing, he loves when Lullah hugs them, he thinks it's cute. But omg do not dig your fingers into his feathers. They're very sensitive. And that could mean tickling OR pain.

However if you gently do it, his wings will spread a little and his feathers poof up, which is kinda funny. It's like how if you touch a cat's foot the right way, their toes will spread out to present The Beans(tm). Blessed.

He likes to gift his shedded feathers to people he trusts. Chayanne, Lullah & Missa each have one. Although he's extremely close with Etoiles and Fit, he feels too awkward to give one to them yet. Feels a little too intimate.

Gift giving in general is a HUGE part of his love language though. Crow brain must give shiny things to people he loves yesyes.

Bird zoomies!! Wings poof up, he starts hopping all over the place like a big dork. He'd fly all over too, if he could.

Bobs his head to music. Those videos of pet birds dancing? That's Phil babey!!

Another one of his fave bits is pretending to understand and have a full-on conversation with birds. Loves pretending to gossip with them right in front of the person he & the bird(s) are "gossiping" about. However the crows he DOES understand & gossip with.

When he can fly, he's an expert at dive-bombing targets like a bird of prey. It's TERRIFYING. And very attractive depending on who you are (*cough* Missa *cough*)

Lullah once tried to test if throwing a blanket over his head would make him fall asleep like how if you put a blanket over a bird's cage they'll think it's night time and go to bed. It didn't work. He was very confused.

Birds whenever they're happy to see you will stretch their wings out like "Hello yes!" Phil do happy wing stretches when he see the kids :D

His hearing and eyesight are fucking amazing. The only reason he's able to be snuck up on is bc he hyperfocuses on things or the things that sneak up on him are super fast.

Rare Isa Fluffy Headcanon: He make blanket nests.

When stressed or overwhelmed, he'll wrap his wings around himself or raise them to shield his head. He doesn't do this so much after his wings were clipped & injured. They hurt too much.

100% will spread his wings all the way out (when they aren't hurting a lot) to look more threatening towards enemies. They almost autopilot do it when he's angry, but if they hurt too much they'll stop. He's pissed they don't look as threatening after The Federation clipped his wings

[zoeykallus]

Hello! If your asks are open, I have a prompt: How do the batchers react to their brothers dating someone? Sometimes it's awkward to imagine your sibling kissing someone, or maybe you have a sense of relief ("finally, someone who really understands them!")?

Are the others shocked when Crosshair gets caught kissing his girl? Happy that Wrecker has someone to laugh with? Annoyed that Tech's significant other is just as chatty?!

I apologize if you've already answered something like this! I absolutely adore your writing btw! ❤️

Aloha! Interesting Question!

Let me think about this for a moment....

The Bad Batch (x Fem!Reader) HCs - The Girlfriend (Brotherly Love And Bickering)

Crosshair

Even if it takes him a while to come out with it or become noticeable, surprisingly, Crosshair tends to daydream a lot and be absent-minded. Of course, this is noticeable. Most people leave him alone, don't really tease him. But Wrecker has other ideas.

Whenever Crosshair's mind obviously drifts to you, Wrecker is there to annoy him. He throws Lula in his face and yells, "Surprise attack!"

Crosshair glares at Wrecker like he wants to barbecue him alive with his stare, but Wrecker isn't impressed. Wrecker regularly teases his brother affectionately, and is fascinated by how touchy Crosshair is when it comes to you.

But like the rest, Wrecker naturally doesn't begrudge him being with you, he is happy for Crosshair, having a beloved, trusted person by his side.

Hunter

Is also a daydreamer and very secretive. The others notice that something is different, but not really immediately what is going on. Sooner or later, Hunter tells his brothers as matter-of-factly as possible and introduces you.

Wrecker enjoys the fact that you also understand fun and join in his jokes, and Hunter is much too patient to be annoyed by little pranks and teasing comments. He is happy and comfortable enough in his relationship with you that nothing can upset him anytime soon.

His brothers are happy for him, only Crosshair is critical of the relationship between you and accuses Hunter of letting you distract him from more important things. A certain jealousy may well play a role in this.

Wrecker

He makes no secret of it, there is nothing to be caught. As soon as he falls in love, even before you are a couple, he talks about you all the time and gets on everyone's nerves. The guys are as lenient as possible, only Crosshair unabashedly leaves the room as soon as Wrecker starts talking about you. And Echo asks him to keep his mouth shut in a friendly but firm manner occasionally.

The Sniper doesn't begrudge his brother this happiness he feels, but he is so at odds with himself and unsettled that he is uncomfortable with Wrecker and your togetherness. It takes a long time, but that eventually settles, at the latest when he himself has found his better half.

Tech

He talks about you constantly from the moment he fell in love with you until you are a couple and beyond. He talks about you as if you were an absolute phenomenon that no one should be denied of knowing about, and often at inopportune moments. Tech is so engrossed in his thoughts of you that he can't read the room sometimes.

"Ask her out on a date! Please! So you can stop nagging us about it," Echo blurts out at one point.

Tech says downright indignantly, "Impossible! What if she says no?"

Crosshair growls, "Then you cry for a couple of nights, and hopefully you'll be a little quieter."

Tech looks at him, almost pouting.

"Rude," he says simply, looking at Hunter for help.

Hunter says, "Echo is right, if you don't ask her, it will always be dreams, and you'll never find out if she likes you too."

Of course you like him! And much to Crosshair's chagrin, Tech is even more talkative now, happily elated like a young cadet.

Echo

Is very introverted and keeps a low profile. He neither peddles his feelings to his brothers, nor does he introduce you too early. Echo wants to have you for himself first and above all his peace.

Of course, the others will inevitably find out sooner or later. But no matter how incredibly in love Echo is with you, the way he handles it is very unobtrusive and doesn't bother anyone, not even the 'grump-master' Crosshair himself.

In fact, the guys are a bit surprised when they unexpectedly meet you.

"Echo has a girlfriend?"

"Don't act so surprised," he says with a roll of his eyes, and retreats with you.

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

@andyoufollowyourheart @clone-whore-99

@brynhildrmimi @kaliel2310

@misogirl828 @tech-deck

@meshla-madalene

@chxpsi

@thebahdbitch

@nahoney22 @ladykatakuri

@darkangel4121

@ttzamara

@arctrooper69

@padawancat97

@agenteliix

@allsystemsblue

@palliateclaw

@either-madness-or-brilliance

@ortizshinkaroff

@andy-solo1

@hunterssecretrecipe

@heyitsaloy

@greaser-wolf

@extrahotpixels

@hated-by-me

@hunterxcrosshair

@malicemercy

@bebopsworld

@echos-girlfriend

@cpnt616

@dangraccoon

@jediknightjana

@starwarsnerd111

[the-passenger-if]

We get to see Roach tease the MC about their romance insterests; how would Roach tease the ROs about being interested in or having a crush Newman? Roach's sense of humor is great and them embarrassing everyone around them is top tier friendship trolling.

Happy May!

And happy October to you, anon n_n”

I imagine Roach would tease Fiama while they're stuck in the cabin, maybe while Newman is cleaning themselves in the bathroom:

“Good for you,” Roach says, and Fiama looks at them.

“Are you talking to me?” She holds Bruno closer to her.

Roach chuckles. “No need to use the kid as a shield. You’re obviously taken.” They throw a pointed look at the bathroom, before looking at her again, “In more ways than one.” When Fiama's only answer is staring back at them, Roach stands up and stretches themself. “Hey, it's fine. To be honest, you duped me; I thought you would get up and leave, yet here you are.”

“And I should care about what you think because…?”

Roach grins. “Oh no, you shouldn’t.” They look like they want to add something else, but their amused expression turns softer little by little. “You’ll take care of them, won’t you?”

“I’m planning to,” Fiama replies, her chin high, and Roach realizes she doesn’t appreciate the sudden probing. It’s fine; they wouldn’t either.

“Good. Good for you,” they repeat. “Good for them.” And they mean it.

●○●○●○●○●

They would tease Jonny in the cabin too because Roach has no chill:

“How does it feel to be the latest obsession of a monstrosity from space?”

Jonny doesn’t look at them, but his eyes jump to the tiny bathroom before shooting elsewhere.

Roach sighs. Thinks about resting their head against his shoulder for half a second before just going for it. Jonny doesn’t shake them off, but he tenses up—more than he usually does, for a longer time than he usually does. “Jonny-boy…” It’s a plea but they don’t care.

“You two are laughing at me.” Not an accusation, just facts being stated, which is worse somehow.

Roach rests their forehead against his shoulder. “We so aren’t.” They nudge Jonny until their friend sighs. When they look up, he is watching them with a blank expression. “Maybe you’re just that enchanting?” Jonny clicks his tongue, and Roach hugs him. “They are into you, dumbass. They really are.” He says nothing; he just stares wide-eyed, so ready to believe them, and also so afraid. “Don’t chicken out now.”

“I… no, I won’t.” Jonny swallows down and makes to stand up so Roach lets go of him.

When both of them are on their feet, Roach gives his skinny ass a friendly slap. The unimpressed look Jonny throws them has them holding up their hands. “For good luck. Go get them, stud.”

●○●○●○●○●

Lastly, they would tease Horizon before shit hit the fan in CH7. They would invite themselves into the Domini’s cabin one evening receiving a vexed look for their trouble:

“So,” Roach begins, paying no mind to Horizon. “Domini, you are a smart cookie. Do you like crosswords?” When they blink in confusion, Roach holds up the magazine they brought along. “Been squeezing my brain for over ten minutes and I can’t find the right word.” They lie the magazine on the table, clear their throat. “Group of whales. And it’s a three letter word.”

Horizon thinks about it for a moment before saying, “A pod.”

Roach grins as they jot down the answer. “Hah, I knew asking you was a good idea. Alright, another one, a container for holding and pouring liquids that usually has a lip or spout and a handle.”

This time the reply is immediate. “Pitcher.” Horizon approaches the table as Roach counts the squares and lets out an impressed whistle. “You’re a walking thesaurus, Domini.”

“Well, I—”

“Third one: someone who is in love slash sexually aroused by their own deity.” They look up at Horizon forming a perfect o with their mouth. The shocked look on the Domini’s face almost makes Roach crack up then and there. “Well well well, this crossword is spicy.”

After that, Horizon isn’t in the mood for games anymore; they are quick to usher Roach out and close the door behind them. Roach is giggling to themself when Horizon reappears.

“And the word is theophile,” the Domini hurls at them.

Roach opens their mouth, reply at the ready, but Horizon shuts the door in their face. Of course, that doesn’t deter them in the slightest. “And you would know everything about that, wouldn’t you?”

[raya-rhaenyra-ahsoka]

My Thoughts on Ep.06 - We Take a Zebra to Vegas, A rant (SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Actual Iris-messaging on screen! Good way to start the episode.

Yes, toss the drachma, SEAWEED BRAIN!

If you want the gods’ attention, you have to pay for it. Eh, not surprised since it’s kinda how children have to do to get their parents’ attention these days.

Wtf is Luke Castellan doing in Chiron’s office?

We know who stole the bolt. (Book-readers, we know who stole the bolt!)

*Calm expression* How do you know? and not *gasp* Really? Who is it? Very sus. 🤔

I do have a love-hate relationship with Clarisse La Rue as a character, but accusing her as the lightning thief? OH, HELL NO!

This convo:

Luke: Guys, what is this?

Percy and Annabeth: What?

Luke: When did you turn into an old married couple?

Percy and Annabeth:

Everyone in the fandom:

Luke channeling his big brother energy by teasing Annabeth, his little sister, to a boy her age. Annabeth’s going through that older-sibling-embarrassing-you-in-front-of-your-crush stage. It’s just typical sibling stuff.

Annabeth, externally: *pokerface*; Annabeth, internally: STOP EMBARRASSING ME!

Confirmed: Luke ships Percabeth. 🥰

Percy changing the subject because he’s also embarrassed.

Annabeth cuts off the connection before Percy can mention Hermes and tells him Luke and his dad aren’t on good terms.

Grover just figured out that the truck is driven by animal traffickers and insists that they free the animals is absolute peak characterization.

They’re like artists. Proceeds to release the animals in the middle of traffic.

How that convo basically went:

Percy: Idk about this, man.

Grover: Oh, they’ll be fine. I gave them the satyr’s blessing so they’ll be able to reach the wilderness safely.

Percy: Dude, I meant for these people.

Grover: Oh, uh, it’s fine. These people destroyed nature so idgaf about them. But the animals are fine, so let’s go!

Percy: So, which hotel is the Lotus Casino? It could be any building-

Annabeth: Duh! Obviously, it’s the one with the giant lotus blossom on it.

Percy: Seriously?

3 minors walking into a Casino hotel. Totally normal and not suspicious at all.

Dua Lipa’s Levitating instead of Lady Gaga’s Pokerface. I ain’t even mad.

WISE GIRL! WISE GIRL! WISE GIRL! HE CALLED HER WISE GIRL! 😍🥰

Of course, Annabeth insists Percy goes with her. Percabeth! 😍

Annabeth tells Percy about May Castellan, Luke’s Mom. It’s kinda early to know about this, but I’m not complaining. It just justifies Luke’s resentment of Hermes in the show.

Grover: *finds Augustus, a fellow Satyr* *Forgets everything*

Please tell me someone else heard some kid calling out BIANCA in the background. It's not just me, right? Please tell me it's the di Angelo siblings in the Lotus Casino. UNCLE RICK, WE NEED ANSWERS!

Percy explaining his nightmares and asks if they are real.

How that convo went:

Annabeth: Hmm, idk

Percy: How do you not know?

Annabeth: I may be smart but there are things I don’t know.

Percy: Wtf does that make me then?

Hermes/Alexander Hamilton not throwing away his shot. How does a bastard, son of a god and a Pleiad. Grow up to be a master trickster, according to Homer’s Illiad…

In Vegas you can be a new man...apparently, not.

Hermes: I’m not doing this again. You’re on your own, kids. Bye!

Annabeth: We’re friends of Luke’s.

Hermes: *surprise pikachu face* Damn it, let’s talk.

Hermes being an epitome of another crappy absent godly parent. Not surprised.

Annabeth doing what probably Luke taught her to do:

Annabeth: So I stole Hermes’ keys.

Percy: You what?

Annabeth: I turned invisible and picked his pocket.

Percy: You stole from the god of thieves?

Annabeth: Yes, I’m multi-talented. Lol

Percy: *lowkey falls in love*

The lotus fruit being pumped into the air is something new.

Percy: Grover got really old. 🤣

Percy and Annabeth chases Augustus around while Grover’s playing VR games.

Grover forgetting things because he was alone, while Percy and Annabeth remember because they have each other. PERCABETH!

Grover acting all carefree like a dentist just sedated him with nitrous oxide, while Percy and Annabeth are frantically looking for Hermes’ car will never be not funny.

TO THE DUMB KIDS. Yep, that note is for you.

Percy: So, who’s driving?

Percy and Annabeth turning to Grover because he’s the adult.

Grover: *still high* Idk man. Idk what we're even doing here.

Percy: Ok, I’ll do it. How hard can it be. If I killed the Minotaur, I can drive a cab.

Percy: How hard could this be? Proceeds to hit the car on several columns.

Percy getting angry because another car didn’t slow down and nearly hit them, then slamming the horn. Bruh, you’re inner New Yorker is showing and I’m here for it.

This scene: 😍😍😍

Me, watching this scene:

Percy and Annabeth smiling at each other then realizing the car’s scraping the wall. This shit cracked me up.

The truck nearly hitting them gave me a mini-heart attack. Good thing they’re in Hermes’ cab.

Percy half-nervous and half-excited to finally meet his Dad only to find a Nereid instead, giving him 4 teleportation pearls as a gift.

The title implying they took a Zebra to Vegas but we see no zebra? Come on! Anyway, that was a good episode. Can't wait for the Percy vs Ares showdown next week.

[kimetsu-chan]

~Zeno Headcanons~

A/N: headcanons for my lovely wife, @larz-barz! I will probably add to these every now and then, I’ll reblog it when I do!

It is no secret that Zeno is tall

Like, man is a giant

A whole 6’1”(or 6’2”, I can’t remember-)

Point I’m trying to make is, he likes to carry people around

Like, even if the person is taller than him or the same height, he will swoop up behind them and carry the bridal style

He also likes putting people on his shoulders

Especially kids

OH MY GOSH HE LOVES KIDS

He has no siblings, so when he interacts with young children, he gets really happy

He wants to have at least 2-3 kids so they won’t grow up lonely like he did

Zeno lore drop? 👀

Zeno has a very weak immune system, which was the cause of most of his loneliness

Super big lore drop, Zeno has lymphoma—

Its minor though, it doesn’t hinder him much besides making him get sick a lot

But his parents didn’t want to have more kids in case they had lymphoma too

And since he was sick often, he wasn’t allowed to play with other kids much as to not get them sick either

OKAY THAT’S ENOUGH ZENO LORE FOR TODAY-

TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR HIS ✨ MOMMY ISSUES ✨

*Ahem-*

ANYWAYS-

Zeno’s favorite food is Zosui, a Japanese rice soup!

He likes it because he learned to make it from a very young age (like… 9?) and his cousin taught him how to cook it

Zeno is very good at household chores. He cooks fairly often, even more so when he becomes a demon slayer since he’s out on his own

He also enjoys cleaning, finding the process rather satisfying

He also sewed his haori himself!

Zeno took a collection of fabric of his two favorite colors, and turned them into a haori

So in conclusion, the man is good housewife material

Someone better wife him up rn

*AHEM* Larz *AHEM*

….. yall hear smth?

Moving on, Zeno obviously is a very teasing dude

He LOVES to tease the living daylights outa people

Whether that be flirtatiously or not

But he is also, ✨ easily flustered ✨

Perfect combo, I know 😎

He’ll tell someone how cute/handsome/gorgeous they are without breaking a sweat

But the moment they throw it right back at him, he is suddenly a very blushy blushy boy o////o

He’d freeze for a few seconds then probably rub the back of his neck, a habit of his

OH YEAH

HE ALSO HAS VERY WARM HANDS

Larz can confirm, this is in one of our rps

His hands are like little heating packets

Oh, you’re shivering? Zeno to the rescue 🤩

GOSH IM RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS-

Zeno is a very pretty sleeper

Bro looks majestic in his sleep and I have a photo to prove it.

:>

Also yeah, he got some long lashes

Bro is just pretty 24/7

One thing that really irks Zeno, is when he gets accused of being a player/fboy bc of his personality

And yes, this has happened before

He was jokingly flirting with Aoi when he was helping her buy groceries and some random lady from the street stomped up to him and started lecturing him to “not play with a young lady’s heart”

Yeah-

Zeno has his own house(ik, weird for a 17yo)

But he stays there the days/nights he doesn’t have missions

He lives alone(poor lonely bby 😢) but likes to have people over often

He also likes to cook large portions of food and take them to the elderly people who live in his village, that way they get a free meal and they don’t have to eat alone(if they live alone)

He’s just a cutie patootie + bbg

A/N: THATS ALL FOR NOW, ILL ADD MORE WHEN I THINK OF THEM!

[bookswithsyd]

Ghost Kings, Dice Rolls, & Lucky Crown Princes | Heaven Official's Blessing

After the full, intense story that started with book one, book two keeps up the high stakes. When the group returns to the Heavenly Realm to report what has occurred in Banyue Pass, Little Pei does his best to shift focus off of his wrong-doings of the past and put to light the fact that a Ghost King was lingering. Pulling the corpse to prove that the injuries could only be inflicted by Crimson Rain Sought Flowers, Little Pei does his best to attempt to put down Xie Lian for the closeness seen during the mission.

I might not be a Heavenly Official, but I would expect them to appreciate the fact that they can have a good tie to the most powerful Supreme in the land. But, I guess that is asking too much.

Not even getting a chance to breathe, Xie Lian is asked to hunt down a Heavenly Official who sent out a distress signal. With many odd things happening in the Upper Court, he is paired with the Wind Master and sent into Ghost City (which, of course, is overseen by Hua Cheng).

With Ghost City, comes the Gambler's Den, and my favorite scene in the whole book. The tension throughout the entire time in the den is just superb. Xie Lian has to stay quiet, trying to hide from Hua Cheng but also wants to see him in his true form. Crown Prince Tai Hua being... Crown Prince Tai Hua and running in solely on instinct. Wind Master suggests they gamble their way to winning back Tai Hua. The whole scene was hilarious to read and even better to watch.

Hua Cheng was the strawberry on top, with his teasing of Xie Lian during his dice-throwing lesson. I feel like that scene was such a window into their dynamic. Hua Cheng loves to joke around and tease Xie Lian, but will still be very protective of him. Xie Lian goes almost blindly with Hua Cheng (just wait, an upcoming event screams this).

After ending up in Paradise Manor, we see even more actions done by Hua Cheng to prove that he is head over heels for Xie Lian. Even went as far as giving Xie Lian a little bit of his amazing luck along with a pair of dice. After getting a moment by himself, Xie Lian snoops around the huge mansion with Wind Master, and bad roll after bad roll, they are finally able to find the Earth Master. Beaten and broken, they carry the Earth Master away only to run straight into Hua Cheng in his glorious armory (that he offered to just give to Xie Lian because he liked the weapons).

This scene was sad to read and watch because the tension in the room is thick. Tai Hua jumping end and starting a one-on-one fight with Hua Cheng leading to Xie Lian getting hurt made me want to pull out my hair. I know that he is impulsive, but to take on a Ghost King with such a dangerous weapon? And of course, the fire engulfs Paradise Manor while Hua Cheng just stands there! This series is excellent and gets you invested in the characters and boy oh boy does this scene prove that.

Now most would hope for a break after two back-to-back missions. But, this is Xie Lian, and like the God of Misfortune that he is, he is accused of murdering Tai Hua's whole family... And to add on top of that, Xie Lian confesses to it!

Now, here comes the thing that I mentioned earlier. After being put on house arrest, Xie Lian gets "kidnapped" by the cruel Ghost King and taken away from the Heavenly Realm. Where does Hua Cheng take him? Oh just to visit the Green Ghost Qi Rong, who just happens to be Xie Lian's annoying little cousin who became the looked down upon fourth calamity.

In the span of a night, it comes out that the murder of Yong'an's royal family was not done by Xie Lian. A back-and-forth between the cousins ensues as Qi Rong announces that the remaining royal family of Xianle were the real killers. With the shock of a lifetime to poor Tai Hua, this section sets up perfectly for the second arc where we see Xie Lian in his youth.

The Gambler's Den might have easily been my favorite scene, but the confrontation with Qi Rong has become my second favorite. The drop that Xie Lian is related to one of the Four Calamities and that Xie Lain WAS LYING about being the killer was such a great way to wrap up an arc.

Through the end of the book, we see little Xie Lain up til his point of ascension. We see the morals that he had prior to becoming a Martial God. The main premise that is touched on is how during the Lantern Festival, Xie Lian jumped off stage to save a falling child from certain death. The Crown Prince states that he did nothing wrong and that the life of a child is more important than staying on the stage. The main issue is that the child caused the float to turn in early, and cut the performance short. Xie Lian still says he did nothing wrong, and therefore should not repent for his actions.

This part did feel a bit slow, I didn't love this section nearly as much as I did the first half of the book. But, I do appreciate the lore that is given in this part, I feel like this will give us a better look at the choices that Xie Lian will make in the future and it also already gives us a better look at his relationship with Qi Rong.

[frenziedslashers]

I'm Not In Love;;

A/N: I was feeling silly goofy and got this idea while listening to the gotg soundtrack.

Pairing: Peter Quill x Reader

Warnings: reader uses he/him pronouns, alcohol consumption

"You're going to see him, aren't you?"

Peter jumped when Gamora spoke. Her voice slightly echoing in the hallway of the ship as he leaned against the wall. His heart was racing. A mix of being caught sneaking out, and also the fact that he was on his way to see you.

"What? No. Who? Who am I going to see... Exactly?" He asked, his ears turning red at his stammering. She only laughed, rolling her eyes while shaking her head. "You know who I'm talking about."

Peter could own up to being caught. It wasn't like the whole crew didn't know that he was sneaking out to see you. You were the only person he ever made time for anymore.

"Psh, I have no idea," he played dumb. A fowl play. "Is Peter sneaking out to see the silly earth boy?" Peter jumped yet again. Flailing his arms a little while he jumped to this time face Drax.

"You guys need to stop doing that! And he's not a boy, he's like six months younger than me! Don't make it weird," he scoffed, causing a rumble of laughter to escape Drax's throat. Gamora smiling in amusement.

"Well, if you have no idea who I am accusing you of hanging out with," she sighed, "I guess you won't mind if I invite the silly earth boy over to hang out with us all." She toyed.

Peter felt his stomach bubbling with anxiety. He could throw up if he really wanted to, but he didn't. That'd be one more thing for them all to make fun of him for.

"Why are you inviting him?" He blurted, certain that they would catch onto how enthralled in you he really was. "Well, just to talk. That's all." That definitely was not all if Gamora was the one inviting you over.

Quill was defiant though. He wasn't about to admit that he was sneaking out to surprise you at your apartment. Hopeful to spend any amount of time with you, even if it was short lived. He wouldn't care. Just seeing you made him feel better.

"Why are you so obsessed with the silly man anyways? Haven't you got a billion other people to sleep with? Or are you in love with him?" Drax accused, and Peter felt his face heating up more than before. God, he needed a drink. Or to be knocked unconscious. Anything works.

"One, I do have a billion other people to sleep with. They're all just... Busy, and he's not. Two, I'm not in love!" He shouted, and Drax only smiled. "That's what a man in love would say!" He boasted with a laugh. Peter only grunted. Slumping his shoulders forward a bit while he headed back for his room on the ship. "Whatever," he scoffed, making Gamora and Drax smile at each other.

"Oh, he's in love," she teased loud enough for him to hear. He was sick of it. Even if they were right.

When you got to the Milano everyone was sitting around the main table. Laughing and shouting at one another. It wasn't long before you were spotted, though.

"Quill! Your funny earth man is here!" Drax yelled, a curse coming from beside you as Peter entered the room with more drinks in his hand. He looked over at you. Smiling softly when he met your gaze. "Hey," you grinned back. "God, this is disgusting! You two are always fucking with your eyes," Rocket slurred. Having a few too many drinks.

"I am groot," "It's not cute! It's burning my eyes!" Rocket cringed, rubbing his eyes with his hands in an attempt to make his point. You just laughed, rolling your eyes while you approached the table. Sitting beside Gamora and Groot. Peter across from you when he finally did sit down.

The conversations you all had were quick to turn into banter. Nothing important was really shared. Outside from old stories, gossip, and some minor advice from Drax.

"So, how's your love life going?" Gamora had asked you, and you felt your stomach bubble. A familiar nervousness boiling within you when you noticed how intensely Peter was staring at you from across the table. "Well, it's interesting," you smiled, and everyone was all ears now.

"I met this guy, he's really nice. Sweet, even. He knows just how to turn my bad days into good ones, and he's got the craziest life I've ever heard of. I like him quite a lot, actually," Peter scoffed at your words. He hadn't meant to, though. "Who is he?" He asked, and now it was everyone's turn to look at him. "Are you jealous? I think he's jealous!" Rocket hooted which caused Peter to raise his hands in defense. "I ain't jealous!" "No need to be jealous anyways, he's sitting right in front of me," you told him while nervously fiddling your fingers in your lap.

Everyone was quiet. Looking between the both of you. Everyone was wide eyed with disbelief, besides Gamora. Who was just smiling smugly over at Peter. Waiting for him to either progress the relationship between the two of you. Or fuck it up with something stupid. It was a fifty-fifty chance with Quill.

"Me?" He asked, causing everyone to sigh or groan. "God, you're so stupid, yet it's you!" Drax shouted. More stressed over the situation than you were. You only giggled, raising your hand up to rub your jaw. "Yeah, you," Quill had no idea how to respond to that. He only stared, dumbfounded.

"So much for 'I'm not in love'!" Rocket mocked Peter's voice, and the man sneered. "I do not sound like that!" Drax and Rocket were laughing now. Gamora still looking between the both of you. Groot was truthfully lost, but he supported whatever was going on.

"So?" Gamora spoke to Quill. He just stared, shaking his head with wide eyes. "What?" He asked, and she groaned for you. "Are you going to say that you like him back? Or are you going to keep acting like you know nothing?" She nearly shouted, and Peter through his hands up. Opening his mouth to speak, but then it closed. He couldn't muster up the courage to say anything.

"If you don't like me that's fine, Peter. Don't let Gamora scare you into something that you don't want." He did want you though. In more ways than just sex. He wanted to wake up to you next to him every morning. He wanted to explore the galaxy with you. He wanted to be able to call you his.

"I do uh, like you." He stammered, "And I do want you," he nearly whispered. A sheepish smile gracing his lips. Cheers were heard from around the table, but neither of you really paid mind to them. You were both too focused on looking at one another from across the table.

"Jesus, quit doing that," Rocket sneered, and Peter sighed. "Doing what?" He asked, and Rocket waved his hands between the both of you. "That thing with your eyes, you're practically undressing each other! Just get out of here if you guys wanna be weird and sappy," he scoffed. Making a fake gagging noise in the process. Peter only rolled his eyes, standing from his chair while you did the same.

"I have to get going anyways," you told Rocket, and Quill frowned. "How come?" He asked, watching as your smile grew mischievous. "That guy I was talking about? His bed's calling my name right now," you hummed, waving to the group before heading through the ship to where Peter's quarters were.

Peter stood there for a moment, smiling as he watched you walk off. "Hear that guys? This guys not only got some sort of relationship going on now, but I'm also getting laid," he snickered before moving for you down the hall. Practically jogging down after you. Everyone else slowly lost the fondness of the idea of you two being together. Now they saw how big of an issue it could be.

"It is like living with my parents all over again. Just hopefully Quill will not tell us how they have sex," Drax informed the crew, and they all let out noises of disapproval. "I'm sure Quill'll let us all know without his words," Rocket grumbled, sinking into his chair. The rest of the crew doing the same as they drank the rest of their booze.

What a night for you all indeed.