#joining an all girls team and being THE guy??? hes just like me fr the trans kid experience
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YES THANK U
tim being the only bloke in a group of girls named Batgirls i love him hes so trans coded
Jason Todd's not-Robin vigilante names
#joining an all girls team and being THE guy??? hes just like me fr the trans kid experience#tim drake
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I keep seeing these Gen z is task force 141 and I wanna join
Anytime you use a computer, you do that stupid movie hacker trope of exaggerated typing and say "I'm in"
Saying "POV" in front of sentences
In the group chat saying "1 like and I'll kms", liking your own message and then saying "damn guess I gotta"
I see a lot of these posts were Gaz and Soap would understand y/n....bffr, no those geezers would not
No one knows what the gen z kid is saying they just know it's probably not good
"You're telling me a shrimp fried this rice?"
You have a small photo you keep tucked in your chest pocket and after enough times seeing you looking lovingly at it, one of the guys asks who it is. Is it a s/o from back home? 😏😏
You say no and pull out a photo card of your fave singer and they're like ??? Really
One time during a particularly physical scuffle with the enemy, you get thrown to the ground and huff out "one hop this time" only to promptly tackle tf outta your assailant while saying "take it back now yall"
Reads everyone's zodiac charts except ghost bc he won't tell his birthday let alone the time he was born so you just make one up
Price calls a 6 am meeting to which you say "double it and give to the next person"
*Alexa, play teenagers by MCR*
If you had time describe the base, you'd say it smells like ball sweat, blood and war crimes which everyone took offense to for different reasons
Would absolutely get soaps doodles tattooed
Actually speaking of which, imagine getting caught giving yourself stick and pokes with a pen and being banned from using pens period
You'd be in a meeting with a #2 pencil
Ofc a gen z member would be absolutely feral which very little regard for their own safety much to the dismay of the others
Quoting "Oh these aren't homemade, they were made in a factory....a bomb factory......they're bombs." All the time around soap even though he has no idea what you're talking about
You don't spent too much alone time with ghost bc he likes quiet and you can't be alone with your thoughts which is why you lean more towards spending time with soap or gaz
I just like puns so I'm gonna add this but gen z love borgs (a customized gallon jug of alcohol that is usually given a name) and yours is appropriately named taskforce 1-borg-1
this is mainly for my americans but i know pretty much the whole world got beef with engl*nd: before you met Soap, you thought the entire 141 was en*lish so when you finally did meet him, you said "oh thank god" with a sigh
americans 🤝 scotts
making fun of english "people"
"Pull up in the monster, automobile gangsta With a bad bitch that came fr-" "....sergeant, comms off please"
you show Ghost WAP and he has to take a walk
*price yelling at gaz and soap*: KYLE GARRICK AND JOHN MACTAVISH GET IN HERE- Y/n: oop not the government name
Another for my US baddies: if your'e ever arguing with any of the guys, the nail in the coffin would be "and it's called soccer"
"one more like and i'll-" "enough!"
you call Price "ms. girl" and he could not be more confused
someone asks "do you serve?" and u reply "yah, serve cunt"
when asked why you decided to join the military you said something like: "well i didnt think i'd live past 18 so when I did, i ended up here".....crickets from the rest of the team
"good thing we only have showers on base because i would have already taken a toaster bath by now"
ask Gaz "no bitches?🤨" one more time see what happens
price: the enemies have taken civvies hostage and blocked off all exits and entrances to the town-" y/n: "omg tea"
Also calling price "capt. Save-a-hoe"....I wanna be saaaavvveddd ;)
If you took a shot every time you said "rest in peace to all the soldiers that died in the service, I dive in her cervix", you'd be dead lmao
When asked if they like the military they'd say "it was either this or the psych ward so yah, I'll take it"
Quoting MPGIS constantly and no one even sort of knows what that is ("Crack. Is that what you smoke? You smoke crack?")
Some detainee being interrogated is spilling some nonsense, so you hit them with "oh brother this guy stinks!" And then with the butt of your gun
"Little bad trini bitch but she mixed with China, real thick vagina, smuggle bricks to-" "SARGENT ENOUGH"
Falling asleep on team mates (minus ghost's) shoulders mostly because the most peace they get is when you're unconscious
*when y/n hears any slightly suggestive/dirty phrase*: what are we talking about 😏 (iykyk)
Same energy as: " born next to a nuclear power plant, has an IQ of 2 and was hit in the head with several Rocks as a child"
Vine quotes out the wazoo, it's just awful for the rest of the team lmao
Replying to everything with "on god?"
soap: "what are you 6?" y/n: "yah 6 inches deep in your mom".....you did not walk away from that unscathed to say the least...worth it tho
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hi daisy! congrats on 500! that’s such a huge milestone!!
could i join the celebration with the “thy enemy” event? supernatural fandom please!
some random facts about me:
-INFJ personality type, blonde hair, green eyes, 5’ 6”
-i love music! my fav artists are mazzy star, lana del rey, arctic monkeys, nirvana, mitski, and so many others.
-i’m going to college to double major in french and creative writing :) i LOVE learning (my college advisor literally told me that i couldn’t take anymore classes)
-i play the bass guitar! and i just started a band!
-i’m a sam girl, but don’t let that influence your response hehe
i can’t wait to see what you come up with! much love!
- @star-wrote <333
thank you @star-wrote!! first off i'm in love with the facts you gave me and i too love arctic monkeys!!
okay here's what i think:
⟡ lover: sam winchester
sam would be so attracted to your innate drive and love for learning and absorb everything eagerly. you guys would be a great team when it comes to researching for hunts and be surprised at the facts you can rattle off the top of your head. he'd want to know the stories you write and hopefully be able to read the ones you do write one day if you aren't comfortable with sharing with him just yet. he would be really interested in the fact that you're able to play bass and want to listen to you and your band practice and even go to your gigs to support you! sam would also find the fact you can speak french very interesting (and hot lets be real here) and maybe even ask you to teach him some!
⟡ best friend: dean winchester
dean would find the fact you play bass so cool and would ask if you could play certain riffs from his fav songs. he'd also go along to your gigs if you invited him and be the one of the loudest supporter you have (right next to sam). i think dean would tease you about being a nerd but it would be in jest like he does sam but if he found out you could speak french, he'd be asking you to teach him all the dirty words bc its dean winchester we're talking about here.
⟡ (fr)enemy: meg masters
considering she's a demon and you're with the winchesters, the way the two of you meet isn't pretty. but she'd be intrigued with how you got mixed up with the brothers and strangely enough you built a rapport with her. she would think that you're too cool to be with sam after learning that you play bass but then she finds about how you love to learn, it clicks in her brain as to why the two of you found each other and she thinks it's disgustingly sweet how the two of you are together. it's not like you hate her but i would say you have a frenemy dynamic with her.
thank you again for participating and i had a lot of fun with your request!!
⟡⟡⟡
come and join the celebration!
#daisy's celebration#daisy's 500+ celebration#🗡️: thy enemy event!#supernatural#spn#sam winchester#dean winchester#meg masters
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The Shadows in her Reflection: Sokkla Saturdays 2023
Day 5: Fire
Rated: M
On FF.net//On AO3
A/N:
Recent developments in ATLA's canon have basically decreed that this canon/comics-compliant fic is, of course, no longer canon/comics-compliant. This is no surprise to anyone, I'm sure. It's not even that the changes were huge, they weren't, but there's certainly one important difference between this story and the comic that I'd like to... talk about, I guess?
Azula's Kemurikage group, the Fire Warriors, what have you, have always been an awkward team due to the absolute lack of personality, development and fleshing out of how, exactly, they ever ended up working together. Azula broke them out of the asylum: why did they follow her afterwards? No one knows. Did she get along with any of them? No one knows. Everything is a huge question mark and, unfortunately, the new comic basically did nothing to answer these questions. Instead, it twists them even more by featuring the team being perfectly normal, adjusted, decent individuals while Azula is the only one who is a terrible, no-good person. This invites new questions: why were they in the asylum at all if there's no sign of mental illness or any unusual behavior in these people? Were they locked up under false pretenses of mental illness? If so, that should be fleshed out a bit more, right? Maybe being sent to an asylum when they were 100% okay, mentally speaking, is what makes people like them crave vengeance against the system!
... But that's not really how it reads, and it ends up proposing an interpretation of these characters that I frankly can't describe as anything but shrugworthy. Somehow they're not competent enough to avoid capture but they're competent enough to break free their imprisoned member, without Azula's help...? It's all too convenient, I'd say.
Point of all this is... the Zirin I wrote in this chapter was very much written over a month ago, probably two months ago instead. The character I decided to portray was not going to be a perfectly normal cute girl who loves her friends, because someone with that kind of personality doesn't make a lot of sense joining rogue Azula's terrorist group, if you ask me. I've constantly used Zirin's only line at Yang's hands to decide how to portray her, in which she comes off as brash, harsh, impatient, goal-oriented and willing to defy Azula. In this story, I've granted her a certain unique danger as a firebender that clearly is of my invention and has nothing to do with her canon portrayal. I'm saying all this to make it very clear that I understand how different this character turned out to be in the newest comic, and I acknowledge those differences... but I'm not rewriting this chapter, or this whole story, just to make a terrorist gang look like innocent little lambs who were just guided by a bad shepherd. If they could walk away as easily as they did, I don't understand what was keeping them with Azula in the first place.
Anyway. That would be that, as far as author's notes are concerned here. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!
A tense silence hung in the air as Azula's placid mood shifted rapidly: she glared at her brother, whose golden gaze carried a mercilessness in it that starkly reminded her of someone else… someone he would do best not to try to imitate in any way.
That cruelty diminished when he turned his attention towards Ursa: his brow drew together slightly, puzzled by her presence around Azula, but he stepped towards her, reaching a protective hand to his mother's shoulder, as though to reel her to safety, away from his sister.
"I didn't know you were here…" Zuko said, his voice softer now. "Are you okay? Did she do anything to you?"
"She… no! Of course not!" Ursa exclaimed, startling Azula by her vehement, firm response. Zuko froze, eyes wide – the last thing he'd known about their bond, of course, was that Azula wanted to kill her own mother…
"W-well… good, then," Zuko said, still urging Ursa to pull away from the table she had been sitting at with Azula…
She didn't move.
"Mom?" Zuko frowned, glancing at Azula with eyes that turned from confused to accusatory in a heartbeat – he thought she'd done something to twist his beloved mother's mind, did he? As usual…
"What is the meaning of this?" Ursa huffed, shaking Zuko's hand off and folding her arms across her chest. "What do you think you're doing, Zuko?"
"What…?" Zuko scowled. "Mom, it's Azula! She's a hazard to your safety, to everyone's safety! You knew that, you've known that for years, she's been causing unnecessary trouble and chaos all across the Fire Nation and…!"
He faltered, frowning more heavily as the utterly confusing situation started to sink in: Azula… sitting placidly at a table with their mother. No screaming, no crying, no accusations, no murder attempts…
He froze on the spot, staring at Azula as though she'd suddenly twist herself into some manner of wicked spirit that could shapeshift as it pleased. Naturally, no such thing happened.
"And she's your sister. My daughter," Ursa said, firmly. Azula's heart jolted upon hearing her speak those words with such confidence. "And you? As far as I've understood, you issued out actual wanted posters asking for her death, Zuko? Did you, truly?"
For once, Zuko paled and backed down. It was almost amusing to see the Fire Lord balking over his mother's fury… but Azula couldn't help but dread whatever Zuko's ultimate reaction to this apparent betrayal might be.
"I… look, I've learned since then that I was wrong in some of my assumptions, but I only did that because it looked like she had kidnapped Sokka!" Zuko exclaimed. "Which… damn it. Guards! Search for Sokka in the rest of the house. Is he here, or did you ditch him somewhere when you had no use for him anymore?"
His snarl towards Azula displeased Ursa, but Azula wouldn't simply hide behind her mother throughout this conversation. Instead, she smirked at his words.
"What makes you think I'd find no more use for him?" she said. "He's a rather helpful ally…"
"What the hell did you do to him? How did you get into his head?" Zuko huffed, glaring at her. "Sokka wouldn't have teamed up with you willingly, leaving his sister to think you'd have kidnapped or killed him…!"
"I was led to believe that he'd written a letter to explain he was leaving. If she overreacted to it? That's no fault of his…" Azula shrugged. Zuko scoffed.
"Everything about Sokka's disappearance was fishy as hell! And then I find out that the two of you have been traveling all over the place, trying to shake off pursuit…!"
"That's not what we were doing," Azula said, hands on her hips. "At least, not at first. We certainly had to put more effort into shaking it off once you and your unhelpful guards turned up, but we weren't always shaking off annoyances, that's for sure…"
"None of this makes a smidge of sense," Zuko said, glaring at her. "But whatever you've deceived him with, whatever nonsense you've done to manipulate him, it's over now: we either do this the good way or the bad way, Azula."
Azula scowled: the guards near Zuko were ready to chain her down, were they? Never again. Whatever she had to do to stop them from…
"Absolutely not!"
Azula froze: again, Ursa's demeanor and determination to protect her caught her off guard, much as it did Zuko.
Then, that surprise increased all the more when her mother clasped her hand, urging her to stand behind her… offering herself as a shield to the disbelieving Azula, as a wall to overcome for the utterly aghast Zuko.
"Mom! W-what are you doing?!" Zuko exclaimed: the guards behind him, whether brandishing weapons or shackles, hesitated to move now.
"I'm doing what I have to do! What you're making me do, I'd dare say!" Ursa declared. "What do you think you're doing, treating your sister this way? I don't care what terrible things you think she has done, she's your sister! Stand down and tell those guards to put aside those horrible shackles!"
"Mom… come to your senses. Whatever she's told you…!" Zuko said, pleadingly. Ursa snarled.
"She has told me the truth! She has been honest, human, real, in ways most people refuse to be around me, these days!" Ursa exclaimed, startling Zuko. "I… I have a chance, for once, to do right by Azula and you will never persuade me not to take it! Whatever you intend to do to her, you'll do it to me first! Be it imprisonment, or moreover, execution!"
"Mom!" Zuko's eyes were struck with utter horror… whereas Azula's widened with amazement: could her mother truly be that courageous when she wanted to be? That was a rather pleasant surprise. If Zuko had been Ozai, he would have laughed in her face and subjected her to the exact treatment she had demanded…
"You are a better man than this," Ursa declared, firmly. "I know you are. So either you listen to me now and stand down… or you're losing me, just as much as you're willing to lose Azula."
That threat, evidently, didn't sit well with the Fire Lord: he glared at Azula in confusion, in horror… did he think Azula had taken Ursa from him? If he hadn't grown up at all, he might just believe that. Azula truly wondered if he might conclude something like that…
"You don't have to…" Zuko said, staring at Ursa in chagrin. "Why are you doing this? Mom…"
"Because it was about time I did," Ursa said, fists tight. "I've never been the mother she deserves. I never have been the one you deserve, either… but even if she doesn't truly need me, it won't change that I finally know what I want to do, and who I want to be, now that I can be part of her life anew. I never imagined the first person I'd have to defend her from would be you, Zuko… but I'm not afraid to do it."
Zuko stepped back, confused betrayal plain across his features: to this day, he prized the approval of those he admired and loved far more than would ever be healthy, Azula suspected. He didn't know what to do, or how to react to the possibility that his sister would have anyone on her side anymore… let alone that the person standing with her would be none other than his mother.
But the gravity of the situation didn't sink in properly for him. No, it couldn't possibly do that… not after a rather unflattering scream pierced their ears, drifting from the direction of Sokka's room.
"Sokka…!" Azula gasped: had he still been resting? Oh, she hoped he had at least been about to come out for breakfast by the time the soldiers stormed the room…
Naturally, Sokka's luck wouldn't favor him: he pulled the covers up to his chest, bashful and confused when several guards barged into the room, hands raised in defensive katas until they flinched out of form over what they found.
"W-what the hell is this?!" Sokka squealed. "Get out! Go away! W-where did all of you even come from, what…?!"
Heavier footsteps down the corridor marched straight to the room: Sokka had no time to prepare himself, or hide better under the bed, when Zuko marched in, unceremoniously.
He froze on the spot, face paling, upon finding Sokka's upper body appeared to be bare.
"W-what…? Sokka?!" Zuko squealed.
"Zuko! You… you can't just invade someone's privacy this way!" Sokka squealed, cheeks flushed as he struggled to find any way out of this predicament.
"Y-you're just… asleep? You didn't even notice we were raiding the place…?!" Zuko exclaimed… eyes drifting around the room warily to find clothing items scattered all around. His eyebrow twitched at the sight of a very evident male undergarment… "Sokka?"
"Yes?" Sokka said, with a small voice.
"Are you naked under that sheet?" Zuko asked, a dangerous glint in the harshness of his glare. Sokka winced. "You… you were naked, in a house with my mother and my sister?! That's what's going on, you idiot?!"
"I…! I…!" Sokka struggled to come up with anything to say, anything at all: he couldn't possibly fight Zuko off like this, he had no weapons at hand, for they were in his actual room… for this was Azula's, actually. Half the clothes scattered around were hers…
Zuko might notice that sooner than later. If he did, he'd realize he had slept with Azula, and then Sokka would be dragged out of here and paraded as a heathen all across town for inappropriate behavior… well, perhaps the townsfolk wouldn't really judge him for that, considering the previous day's festival, but Zuko would certainly judge him non-stop for it. He might even declare him a criminal in the Fire Nation for desecrating the Princess's virtue, as estranged as she might be from her family…
Said Princess, however, suddenly burst into the room, pushing past her brother and startling Sokka with her arrival, welcome as it might be, even if it terrified him too. It suddenly crossed his mind that she would have been better off running away, out of Zuko's reach, out of sight… he would capture her otherwise. She wouldn't be safe…
And yet she seemed to be here to protect him, instead.
"No need… to kick up a ruckus," Azula said, spreading her arms in a defensive gesture as she stood between Sokka and Zuko, without sparing even a glance over her shoulder at her lover. "Sokka is just… unrefined that way!"
"He… you're not telling me that you two have been traveling together for months and he's been constantly sleeping naked near you, are you?!" Zuko squealed, his face a mask of disgust. Azula gritted her teeth as she sought to spin her lie far better than she had…
"I only do it in the Fire Nation!" Sokka suddenly exclaimed, picking up her slack when she faltered briefly. "It's… way too hot around here! So, I just wanted to sleep comfortably and I did it this way! Nothing more to it!"
"Oh, really? And my sister and my mother being here didn't deter you from acting like a creep?!" Zuko asked. Azula scoffed as Sokka processed now that Ursa was back already…
"How do you know that neither me nor Mother do the same thing in the privacy of our rooms?" Azula asked. Zuko yelped. "The three of us might just have a perfect understanding when it comes to preferences in attire, or lack thereof, during nighttime, and we can very well keep… proper, respectful boundaries, in those instances. Such as not barging into other people's rooms without at least knocking first."
"Y-you…" Zuko grimaced, glaring at Sokka with disgust again. Sokka smiled, waving at him, still holding the sheet to his chest. "You have a lot to answer for, Sokka. I mean it."
"Yeah, yeah, well, unless you want me to answer it with my business hanging out in plain sight, I suggest we discuss that later," Sokka smiled awkwardly. Zuko winced, shaking his head in disgust as he turned around.
"Everyone, out! Sokka, get dressed, and come out here to answer for this mess!" Zuko bellowed. "And if you try to run away, I'll… I'll hunt you down all over again! Understood?"
"Geez, fine, damn it, so loud and authoritarian…" Sokka sighed, shaking his head: Zuko shot him one last glare over his shoulder before stepping out of the room. The guards followed… and Azula lingered behind, even though they kept watching her from the corridor, in case either one did anything dangerous. Sokka smiled sadly at her, and Azula responded in kind.
"He just barged in a while ago. Don't even know how he found us yet, but…" Azula said. Sokka sighed. "Go on, get dressed. I have no idea what's going to happen next, but… at least Mom seems to be keeping Zuko at bay, mostly."
"Heh. Come to think of it, he's one hell of a momma's boy, isn't he?" Sokka smirked. Azula smiled at his statement. "You have a reliable ally in Ursa, if she meant what she said yesterday… though I'm surprised she's already here."
"She came by early. Tried to cook. Didn't really go so well," Azula explained. "Anyway, so far she's on our side, and we might just be safe, to a fault, for as long as she is. So… dress up and get ready for anything. I don't know what Zuko's going to react like, going forward."
"Okay… okay," Sokka nodded. Azula nodded back, wistfully gazing at him before walking through the doorway and marching away – she would have gladly kissed him, helped him dress up, but not under those guards' watchful glares.
They hadn't really talked about keeping their relationship secret, but it seemed an obvious decision to do so, particularly when they hadn't truly settled the terms of their dynamic yet. It was difficult to label it as anything specific, after all. By the time they decided on those things, they'd also decide on whether to keep matters quiet still, or be entirely open about what they meant to each other…
After around ten minutes – Sokka had to dress in his same clothes from the previous night, to then return to his actual room and change into a proper, clean outfit there –, the Water Tribesman returned to the kitchen area, where the Fire Nation Royals remained at a standstill. The guards had backed off out of the room, providing them with more privacy than before. Zuko glared pointedly at Sokka, who held his hands up defensively.
"No need to be so cranky, Zuko. Curses, you'd think I took a dump on your favorite portrait or something," Sokka huffed.
"Heh. Might as well do it if he keeps treating you that way, at least you'd earn the scowls fair and square," Azula smirked at him. Sokka snorted, shaking his head as he laughed at her remark.
"You two…" Zuko snarled, as Sokka fastened his hair into its proper wolf's tail.
Azula bit her lip as she watched him, probably more shamelessly than she should have. The way his muscles flexed… and curses, as used as she had become to seeing him with his hair down as they traveled, as shocked as she had been by how well it complemented his features, now she realized the attraction she had experienced towards him hadn't diminished in the least now that his hair was tied up again.
"What?" Sokka pouted, hands on his hips once he was done fixing his hair. "Got a problem with my, uh, partnership with Azula?"
"What the hell are you even partners for?!" Zuko squealed. "Sokka, come back to your senses, can you? Mom, well, she's Mom! She's protecting her kid, but you? What do you get out of all of this?"
"Me?" Sokka started: the immediate, obvious answer could not be spoken. He felt Azula's keen stare on him, and his cheeks flushed as he struggled how to convey something that wouldn't set off Zuko any more than he already was…
"And you!" Zuko scoffed, glaring at Azula next. "Of all people, you… joined up with Sokka. Sokka! You two are… well, not the biggest mismatched pair of all time because you clearly are thrilled to be terrible influences on each other, as your last exchange proved…!"
"Come on, now, I'm far worse for him than he ever could hope to be for me…" Azula said, bringing Sokka to smile fondly at her.
"Point is, you two used to not want anything to do with each other and I'm not exactly aware of when the hell that changed," Zuko growled. "Or why, for that matter."
"Uh… you wouldn't believe it, I think, if we explained," Sokka swallowed hard, glancing at Azula with uncertainty. She sighed.
"Promise you won't drag me by the hair to the asylum or anywhere of the sort if we do explain…?" Azula said. Ursa, beside her, winced.
"He won't do any such thing to you. He can't. And if he ever tries to take you elsewhere, I'll see to stopping him," Ursa said. Zuko flinched: Ursa being on his sister's side was devastating, infuriating, even…
"Mom…" he said, pleadingly.
"The thing is, I… have been seeing visions of someone," Azula said, with a dry grin. "Someone Sokka was close to. And it's not just random visions, but a strange, mysterious, deeper connection than that…"
"The hell are you talking about?" Zuko grimaced. Sokka sighed.
"Azula is connected to Yue," he said. Zuko's eyes widened, and he turned his attention to Sokka again.
"What? Yue? The girlfriend who turned into the moon?" Zuko asked, confused. "Wait. Azula? What the hell did you do?! Is that weird thing with the moon darkening or fading from the sky your fault?!"
"Right! Because I'm so damn powerful that I can annihilate the moon altogether, isn't that right?" Azula said, with a sardonic smile. Sokka stepped forward, placing a placating hand on Zuko's shoulder.
"Azula didn't do anything intentionally. We don't actually understand what happened to the moon. As far as Yue explained to her, a comet crashed into it somehow and maybe that's what started all this," Sokka said. Zuko scoffed.
"And how do you know it's really Yue?" Zuko nearly squealed. "She could be tricking you!"
"Right! Let's see: did you ever tell your sister about Yue?" Sokka asked. Zuko frowned. "My relationship with Yue wasn't exactly public knowledge, you know? Only a handful of people were aware of it, mostly people close to me, and the only one among those people who has frequently crossed paths with Azula is you. How did she know Yue and I had anything going on if none of you told her, huh?"
"I… don't know! Azula has ways of figuring things out! She's smart in… messed up ways!" Zuko huffed, shaking a hand in Azula's direction. The Princess rolled her eyes and drew the mirror from her pocket.
"No doubt I'm smart enough to know exact details about how Sokka flirted by asking to do 'an activity' with Yue, huh?" Azula said. Sokka blushed a little, though he smiled fondly at the embarrassing memory.
"An activity?" Zuko repeated. "Is that some kind of… innuendo?"
"What? No! Get your head out of the gutter!" Sokka winced, lightly shoving Zuko for his remark. "Seriously, dude, we were just kids! I had no idea what I was doing, so I said something dumb and silly and… it's endearing, damn you! That's all it was!"
"Yue certainly agrees," Azula smiled. Sokka grinned back at her, and Zuko brought a hand to his forehead.
"All I'm getting out of this is… she figured out your weakness. And she's manipulating you through it," Zuko said, with a dry grin: both Sokka and Azula glared at him, unamused by his assumption.
"You really underestimate Sokka's mind that much?" Azula said. "Tell me again, why are you friends with my brother, exactly, Sokka?"
"If he keeps that up, maybe I won't be one for much longer," Sokka grumbled. "You know what? Azula! Did I ever tell you about what Zuko did in the North Pole?"
"Uh… no. I kind of forgot he was there for the siege, come to think of it," Azula said, raising an eyebrow. "Mustn't have been very impactful if I can't remember any reports of anything noteworthy he did…"
"More like he did something incredibly stupid that he most likely doesn't want us to bring up…" Sokka said, staring at Zuko sternly. Zuko grimaced.
"Look, I was another person back then…!"
"Ask Yue to tell you, Azula. Go on," Sokka said.
Azula blinked blankly, glancing at the mirror. Yue grimaced.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. My brother's on the verge of a nervous breakdown, maybe, but I'm alright," Azula said. Yue smiled warmly. "Did you hear the question?"
"I did, and I… I do remember what happened. It's not very flattering for your brother, though…"
"Any unflattering stories about Zuzu are worth his weight in gold," Azula declared. Zuko snarled at her, but her attention remained on the mirror. "Go on, tell me."
With that, Yue began her retelling. Zuko glared at her as Azula raised her eyebrows slowly.
"She says… she was with Katara when the Avatar started meditating in the oasis," Azula began. Zuko's eyes widened. "Says she panicked about Aang crossing over suddenly, he was glowing and all… and that's when Zuko showed up. Huh. Apparently, you mocked Katara and said she was a 'big girl now' because she was confident that she could protect the Avatar by herself?"
"Woah, woah, woah… you said WHAT to my sister?!" Sokka squeaked. "I didn't know that part!"
"I…!" Zuko's cheeks reddened: Sokka hadn't been there to hear that, it was true…
"That is incredibly inappropriate. Shame on you, Zuzu," Azula said, before focusing on the mirror again. Sokka's eyebrow twitched as he stared down his friend ruthlessly. "Alright, then… Yue says she left, but Katara explained later that you defeated her once the sun rose and then took Aang forcibly even though they weren't supposed to move his body at all, so he'd know where to return once he came back. Why was he going to the Spirit World to begin with…? Uh… oh. Huh. He wanted to get help from spirits to defeat the Fire Nation forces, then. Anyway, after that… Katara, Yue and Sokka flew on Appa to find you, because you ran off through the tundra. They found you by some cave and… heh. Yue says Katara beat you in a single move. Nicely done."
"That was very gratifying to see," Sokka said, with a dry grin. Zuko groaned, covering his face with a hand.
"And after that… you and Katara wanted to leave Zuko to freeze to death?" Azula asked, glancing at Sokka in disbelief. "Yue… apparently had no opinion on the matter. Aang's the only reason why Zuko didn't actually just… wow."
"Let's just say, months of being chased by someone makes you very unfriendly towards them," Sokka said. "But you know what's funny, Zuko? I actually regret having said that nowadays. Even if I know why I did it, and I don't think there was any way I wouldn't have, under those circumstances… ultimately, I'm glad you survived. I'm glad you're here, and that we became friends when we did."
Zuko eyed him with uncertainty, aware already that Sokka was going down a rather unpleasant road with that particular reasoning…
"So, as hard as it can be for you to fathom that maybe someday you'll look back on your relationship with your sister and feel the same way about it? I can guarantee that I already reached that stage," Sokka said, arms folded over his chest. "She's the real deal. She's not lying to me, I know she's not. That's Yue in her mirror, in her reflections, in her dreams… it is her. And we're traveling together so we can help Yue see all the sights and places she never could while she was alive, so she can experience the cycle of the seasons, all those things!"
"Right," Zuko grunted, his eyebrow twitching. "And what happens after Yue's had her fill? Do we go back to terrorism, Azula?"
"I…" Azula gritted her teeth, and Sokka scoffed. "I know it's hard to believe I don't intend to do that, but I… won't do that. Not anymore."
"You really don't need to talk to her that way, damn you," Sokka huffed.
"It's going to take a while to convince you of anything, I know it will, but…" Azula said, breathing deeply. "I don't feel the need to do that sort of stuff nowadays. And yes, that doesn't fix all the chaos I caused…"
"You messed with Uncle Iroh not that long ago!" Zuko exclaimed. Azula winced, and Sokka snorted.
"Come on, now. What she did there wasn't terrorism, it was… a prank," he said, with a shrug.
"A surprisingly tame and yet amusing one, at that," Ursa agreed. Azula grimaced, eyeing her mother with uncertainty.
"Here I thought you'd found it terrible too…" she said. Ursa huffed, shaking her head with certainty.
"Zuko is concerned, or should be, about things that endanger the Fire Nation," she said. "I hardly see how a playful, if ill-spirited prank, could achieve that."
"Don't make excuses for her!" Zuko groaned. "Mom…!"
"Making excuses?" Ursa asked, raising her eyebrows. "Do tell… what did you do, exactly, when I told you about how my terrible, no-good choices had resulted in your father treating you as poorly as he did?"
Zuko froze. Ursa smiled sardonically.
"I told you I was unforgivable. You said you disagreed. You made excuses. You said I had no choice," she said.
"But that's different…!"
"Yes: what I did to you and your sister was far worse than what Azula did to Iroh," Ursa finished. Zuko groaned. "So, for that matter…"
"Why the hell are you both so determined to protect her from me?" Zuko exclaimed, looking at them helplessly. "When did I become the bad guy in this situation?"
"Why, I would gladly say you're not… but you certainly pushed your tiles to that corner when you issued out wanted posters calling for her to be caught dead or alive," Ursa said. Zuko winced.
"Well, I don't really want her dead! I just don't want her endangering anyone, simple as that!"
"You just saw she's not doing that right now, so for that matter, you can just as well leave the way you came," Sokka said. Zuko scoffed.
"Your sister's worried sick about you," Zuko said. Sokka winced. "And you have a lot of answers to give her too. Me? I'd rather focus on my own sister, but if you would be so kind and go back to Republic City, talk to Katara and Aang, and tell them what's going on…"
"Yeah, no. I'm not leaving Azula," Sokka said, firmly. Her cheeks flushed upon hearing his certainty. Zuko snarled.
"If you don't trust me to be reasonable with her, at least trust that my mother will keep me in check!" Zuko exclaimed. "Besides…! Why the hell are you standing up for her like this? Why are you so sure that you're making the right choice here? Sokka…"
"Do you really think you know the first thing about Azula?" Sokka asked. Azula scowled.
"If he doesn't, you're not about to start giving things away, now, are you?" Azula scoffed. Sokka shrugged.
"Nah, but… I'm just saying, he doesn't understand how I spent months with you, does he?" Sokka said. "And not only do we not hate each other after all that, we're getting along great! At least, on the most part."
"What's that supposed to mean? In what regards do you not get along…?" Zuko scowled. Sokka ignored him.
"My point is, if your own brother has no idea why I'm protective of you, maybe that's the very reason why I should be," Sokka said. Azula raised an eyebrow. "I'm not letting anything bad happen to you."
"Nor will I," Ursa said. Zuko snarled, rubbing his brow in frustration.
"What makes anyone think I'm going to…? Ugh!" he growled, shaking his head in disbelief. "I still don't understand how exactly I'm the bad guy here, but have it your way!"
"Zuko…" Azula called him, earning herself a resentful glare. "If I agree to go with you for questioning, or whatever you want from me… what would my status be, exactly? Would you deem me your prisoner, or…?"
"I…" Zuko gritted his teeth: evidently, affirming that last question would be utterly stupid. But what would she be, if not a prisoner? He sighed, shaking his head. "You'd be… an honored guest. That's what."
He spoke the words with poorly contained bitterness. Azula sighed, hands on her hips as Ursa scrutinized her son intently.
"Whatever you intend to inflict upon her, you'll subject me to it first," Ursa said. Zuko pouted. "I figured I'd remind you of that. But if Azula is an honored guest, I'll probably be pleased with my own treatment too."
Zuko snarled, rubbing his brow with his fingertips and shaking his head. Even the sight of her son in apparent distress didn't change Ursa's tune.
"Whatever. I… I'll wait for you outside. Get your things, if you have any. You're coming back to the Palace with me. Guests," Zuko reiterated, with a dry grin, before turning on his heels and leaving the room – clearly, he needed some time to himself to stew over the shocking betrayal of seeing his mother taking Azula's side to that extent.
"Well, that wasn't a total disaster. Almost, but not in the end," Sokka said, smiling awkwardly before turning towards Azula. "You okay?"
"I'm… I'm fine. Which is not what I expected to say after being face-to-face with Zuko again," Azula admitted, raising her eyebrows. She turned towards her mother, who still seemed slightly displeased… "You didn't have to go that far…"
"What, you mean by telling him he'd have to do to me anything he did to you?" Ursa asked. "Considering that was what it took for him to restrain that hostility… I suspect I did have to."
"Heh," Azula said, with a weak grin. "You might just have lost your mind slightly, then."
"Maybe it's Zuko who did," Sokka said. "We're, uh, going with him? You sure? I mean, even if I know it wouldn't be the nicest thing to do, we could run away now…"
"No. I think running now would seal my fate, who knows if yours too, as an enemy of the Fire Nation," Azula said. "If this is the first and only time that I'll have a chance to settle things with Zuko, I'd do best to take it."
"Well, if you say so. But I'm standing by you through and through," Sokka said, stubbornly. Azula smiled at those words, perhaps more fondly than she should have.
"You'd better hold some of that back. He's going to start, well… suspecting that you weren't sleeping like that just because the weather is too warm," Azula said, cheeks flushing. Sokka winced, eyes flickering towards Ursa warily. She eyed them with a knowing grin.
"Well, that's for the two of you to discuss. I'm sure you'll figure out a plan on what to do, going forward," Ursa said. "I'll keep an eye on Zuko and make certain that he's not combusting over this. Go gather your things. Mine are at the inn, after all… oh, but finish the mochi at least before we go, Azula. They're edible, if nothing else is…"
"And Zuko cut me off just as I was having them… that's a bigger crime than any I ever committed," Azula groaned, eyeing her guilty pleasure sweets with longing.
"What about you?" Sokka asked Ursa. "You'll eat something, or…?"
"I'll make Zuko's staff feed me, why not?" Ursa smirked. "It's still early anyway. I'll have them set up proper breakfasts for the two of you later. Maybe I'll even stay and watch how they make the meals, that way, once we're on the road again after Zuko lets us go, I'll be able to cook some food…"
"You… w-wait, what?" Sokka blinked blankly. Ursa raised an eyebrow.
"Oh. Uh. Well, you'll have to discuss that first," she said, with an awkward grin. "I'm sure you'll want to have a say upon that. I'll just… go now."
"Right…?" Sokka watched Ursa walk away with confusion… but he turned his eyes on the blushing Azula before the woman was out of sight. "I guessed I'd missed a lot of things, but that's a bit more than I expected. What was that?"
"Well… we talked. It's probably the best conversation I've ever had with her," Azula said. "I never really thought she might be plagued by her own set of troubles, truth be told. It seems she's a little lost in life, too. Might be expected for someone to feel that way, after having two lives to conciliate into one…"
"Might be," Sokka agreed, nodding. "And after getting to understand her better, does she understand you a little better too?"
"I think my outburst from last night saw to that," Azula sighed, leading Sokka back to the corridors where the rooms were. "I, uh… I'm sorry I blew up as I did. I may have inflicted a lot more strife upon you both than I should have."
"I wouldn't call it that," Sokka said, eyeing her with heartfelt compassion. "I'm sorry too, I kind of antagonized you and pushed too hard when we were alone later too…"
"I'm glad you did," Azula said. Sokka raised his eyebrows. "Though you're starting to grow a little too good at understanding whatever I need, whenever I need it. It's, uh… disconcerting."
"Heh. It's always nice to know I'm surprising you in a good way," Sokka grinned. Azula smiled back at him. "But… you really seem calmer now. Was it Ursa, or…?"
"Actually… it was Yue."
Sokka froze, uncertain of what those words meant. Azula, however, smiled as she shook her head in his direction.
"Does it ever bother you, being right about things as often as you are?" she asked. Sokka blushed slightly.
"About… which things?" he asked.
"She doesn't hate me for… well, us. She actually… asked me what sleeping with you had been like, the utter weirdo," Azula laughed. Sokka smiled, cheeks flushing further upon hearing that. "I apologized, but she… she didn't need apologies. She didn't feel betrayed. She said she loved you… and that she loved me, too."
Sokka's eyes widened, though his heart soared upon hearing that: of course Yue would love Azula. Of course she would have grown to see what he had, surely far earlier too…
"Seems like she really just wants us to be happy together, so… guess we'll have to figure out how to achieve that, huh?" Azula smiled teasingly at him. Sokka chuckled, shrugging.
"I'm sure we have an idea or two on how to start," he said, stepping closer and taking her face into his hands.
This time, Azula was aware of the weight of Yue's mirror in her pocket. She didn't draw back from Sokka's kiss regardless, hand upon his chest as they pecked each other multiple times, relishing in a moment of privacy that they weren't likely to find anew once their journey to the Capital began.
And they might not have much of that even after they left, either.
"But the thing is, I… may have extended an offer to my mom to come with us," Azula whispered against his lips. Sokka raised an eyebrow, puzzled, and Azula kissed him softly once more, as though to coerce him into accepting that. "I know it'd mean more restraint for us, and we wouldn't be able to be crazy as much as we were yesterday, but…"
"Heh. That side of it is a shame, no lie, but… I'm fine with it," Sokka smiled warmly, brushing her hair with his fingers. Azula sighed in relief.
"If you're sure… go get your things. We're damn lucky that my brother isn't smart enough to realize half the clothes scattered in the room you were naked in were mine…"
"I think he was too appalled to stop and confirm who they belonged to," Sokka smiled awkwardly. "I'm not sure he'll ever be ready to know that we, uh… canoodled a little too much."
"That's the word you're going to use?" Azula asked, amused. Sokka chuckled and shrugged. "You're a goofball. Go, pick up your things, I'll get mine… and I'll pick up the mochi on my way out too. Let's get ready to face Zuko and his nonsense, shall we?"
Sokka nodded enthusiastically: they shared another thorough kiss, one in which Sokka dared sneak a few bold caresses, and Azula wound up entering her room in a perfectly blissful mood afterwards, as though she weren't about to march into a likely tricky situation in a matter of moments…
Zuko was upset, but he couldn't be too upset, could he? She hadn't done anything wrong right now. Ursa's support had been a shocker, but it might just be the best possible defense from her brother's wrath. Resolving her conflicts with Ursa certainly was one thing… figuring anything out with Zuko would be much more difficult, if just because of his disposition. Merely a few weeks ago, Azula would have told herself that she'd rather deal with her brother's hostility than her mother's emotional manipulation, her sad doe eyes, and her meaningless apologies… but Ursa's reaction to her rant, as well as the conversation they had shared just that morning, had caught her by surprise. She never imagined she might be able to start over with Ursa, and there truly would be no erasing their past… but it was about time to ensure that whatever troubled history they shared would not preclude the possibility of a better future.
The liveliness of Ember Island appeared slightly stunted, as most its population watched in confusion when their Fire Lord led a march towards the largest, grandest ship docked in their harbor: his Royal Barge would rush through the internal waters of the Fire Nation fast enough to bring them to the Capital in a couple of hours, at most. Thus, neither Sokka nor Azula bothered choosing cabins or even asking where they would stay for now: after enjoying their breakfast aboard the ship, sharing the mochi Ursa had found for Azula, they chose to wait on the deck instead of finding any private cabins, sitting together by the ship's railing… meanwhile, Ursa had dragged Zuko inside the ship's tower in order to have a thorough conversation about many things that Zuko appeared to need to hear.
"Well, despite it all, looks like we're going to end up in the Fire Nation Capital," Sokka reasoned, with a slight grimace. "Did he ever explain how he found us?"
"Not really," Azula said, relaxing against the ship's railing. "I suppose we were seen at some point. I'll try to ask later, or maybe you can… but Mom appears to be quite busy scolding him right now. Never thought I'd see the day…"
"A nice surprise, huh?" Sokka smirked. "Guess your mother wasn't as far gone as we thought she was…"
"We? You thought so too?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.
"No offense intended to her, but… she sounded like the exact opposite of my mother," Sokka said. Azula hummed, eyeing him with interest. "My mom sacrificed herself, lying to some piece of shit from the Southern Raiders to tell him that she was the last waterbender, rather than Katara. He… he killed her because of that."
Azula's stomach clenched. A swirling fear gripped her chest, with misplaced guilt that might not be as far out of place as she wished it were… for the ideology, the regime, responsible for the death of Sokka's mother was the one she had fought for, across all those years. She knew there were plenty of deaths and sacrifices throughout the war… but she hadn't known Sokka had faced one quite as close as that of his own mother.
"Katara's still working through it to this day. I didn't realize that was why it had happened until she told me, and she didn't even explain until a few years after she confronted the killer directly," Sokka explained. "Anyway… I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like, if my mother had been married to a bastard like your father, she would have never forsaken her kids, just as she didn't forsake Katara. Meanwhile, your mother…"
"She left us and forgot about us, yes," Azula said. Sokka shrugged.
"Even back when we found her, in Hira'a, I didn't really know how to feel about that," he said. "I kind of convinced myself to stay in my lane because it wasn't my business, you know? Who cared how I felt about something like this? But… as time goes by, I've realized I can't really help myself. It's just not fair, Azula. It never has been fair on you."
"No, I suppose not," Azula whispered, glancing at Sokka with uncertainty. "But a mother who would forsake her kids is… is probably less painful to lose than one who loved them with everything she had."
Sokka grimaced, glancing at her with uncertainty: Azula reached out to take his hand, careless about the sailors and soldiers who might see her.
"I'm sorry. Doesn't count for a damn thing, I had no real say upon what happened to your mother, but…" Azula said, gritting her teeth. "It was a lot easier to support the Fire Nation's war by closing our eyes to the rest of the world. That's what everyone seemed to learn how to do. Your mother should have never died that way."
"No, she definitely shouldn't have," Sokka said, with a fragile smile. "But… well, nothing can be done to bring her back, I guess. Though… huh. Wait a second! Ask Yue about the Spirit World! Ask her if the spirits of our people actually go there…!"
Azula blinked blankly, pulling out the mirror. Yue seemed as perplexed by the question as she was, and she offered her a sad smile along with a shake of her head.
"Looks like she doesn't know much about that," Azula said.
"Most souls don't really make it into the Spirit World that way, I think. They tend to be, well… sent back to the real world? Until the soul achieves enlightenment, I guess…"
"Says only the souls that achieve enlightenment would enter the Spirit World," Azula concluded. Sokka sighed and shrugged.
"Worth a shot," he said. "Anyway, your nation's soldiers are nasty, yeah, but… it was a long time ago. We were as good as babies back then. Don't feel responsible for it."
"So, it doesn't really matter that I wouldn't have cared about this one bit if I'd learned about it a year ago?" Azula probed him. Sokka snorted.
"Matters to you now. That's enough for me," he said, smiling at her. Azula shook her head.
"You're too nice for your own good. Still… I'm sorry you that didn't have a mother while growing up either," Azula said.
"If this subject had come up any sooner across our journey, I would've told you not to worry if yours never tried to do better for you," Sokka pointed out. Azula raised an eyebrow. "I mean… if she hadn't done anything but piss you off, the way it sounded like when you confronted her when she first turned up? Well, I would've understood if you hadn't wanted to give her another chance. Though… I suppose you do now, huh?"
"I don't know what's gotten into all of you," Azula said, startling Sokka. "Starting with you and Yue, having it in you to see more to me than anyone else did… and suddenly my mother is taking stands against Zuko for my sake?"
"Don't forget that Toph let you out of prison and handled Kuei and Zuko for us, though I have no idea how that turned out. One more thing to ask Zuko about," Sokka reasoned, tapping his chin with a finger. Azula sighed.
"None of you make any sense. How is it possible that the person who sees things and hears voices has a clearer understanding of reality compared to all of you?" Azula asked. Sokka laughed and shrugged.
"Guess you're special that way," he said. Azula's heart somersaulted in her chest at the sight of his affectionate smile. "Anyway… it's good that your mom wants to help you. Definitely improves my opinion of her so far. Honestly, it was about time someone in your family came through for you. Though I'm still a little surprised that we'll go as far as traveling with her…"
"I know that means we'll have a lot more pressure, and less privacy, and, well… it's going to be awkward. But to be fair, she already walked in on us once so, not much left to the imagination there anymore…" Azula sighed, cheeks flushing at the memory. "How the hell did I manage to talk to her or look her in the eye after that nonsense, exactly?"
"I can't say I know, but I'm glad you did," Sokka said, squeezing her hand gently.
"Of course you are," Azula sighed, glancing at him uneasily. "You sure you're fine with this? With… traveling with her?"
"Might be a bit awkward, sure… but she'd be more likely to keep us in check than Yue was," Sokka smiled awkwardly.
"The sneaky little troublemaker said she caught a few glimpses of us in the bathroom, through the mirror there…" Azula said, with a grimace. Sokka's cheeks flushed slightly. "She said she looked away after a while, but I'm starting to worry that she might not have. Naughty brat. Teenagers do have an inappropriate interest in these matters…"
"Well, I'd like to think she… has better sense than that. Restraint? I don't know," Sokka laughed. Azula scoffed as she pulled the mirror out, startling Sokka. "What, are you going to ask her if she'll behave herself right now?"
"Might as well," Azula said, glaring into the reflection. Yue smiled at her, cheeks slightly flushed, clearly having overheard their conversation. "You wouldn't look intentionally, or hear intentionally, whenever he and I are up to no good together, would you?"
"… Nooooo?"
"That's the most convincing negative answer I've heard in my life! Your lies are getting a lot worse now, mind you," Azula smirked.
"I wasn't lying as much as you think I was before! Maybe I am now, though… but Azula, I'm curious!"
"Well, that's unsettling. Tone down that curiosity," Azula huffed, shaking her head and staring at Sokka. "You're not wrong, my mother's definitely going to be a good asset. Otherwise, this one would get corrupted by how filthy we are, too."
"The Filthy Royals," Sokka said, proudly. Azula snorted and laughed. "It's not that bad, is it?"
"Sounds terrible," Azula as good as cackled. Sokka scoffed, shaking his head.
"Always so judgmental. We still don't have a team name and that's not very nice, mind you. Now that your mother's joining in too, it's going to be even harder to find a unifying factor."
"How about 'Sokka and the women he can't keep up with'? Sounds like a good name to me…"
"Very accurate, but too extensive. You'll have to be more concise," Sokka smirked. Azula laughed again, glancing at him sideways.
"Say…" she breathed in, holding his gaze briefly before tearing her eyes away. It wasn't easy opening up to people, but it was easier when it was Sokka. "I… thanks for not running out on me over my outburst from last night. I mean, you're probably the one person who has every chance to leave me and yet you've chosen to stay without fail. I might not deserve it, but I… I'm glad you chose to do that. I'm glad you didn't run away."
"I'm afraid I'm not the type to run from beautiful women. Instead, I chase them all over the world and fall head over heels for them without even trying," Sokka said. Azula snorted, staring at him skeptically. "I know we have a lot to figure out still, there might be more bumps along the way… but we'll do it, in time. Don't fret about it right now, okay?"
"Well… we should figure out what to do about Zuko, though," Azula pointed out, raising her eyebrows. Sokka blinked blankly. "By which I mean… that absurd nonsense we fed him about why you were sleeping naked apparently worked. He has no idea you and I, well…"
"Yeah, you know, he's very gullible sometimes," Sokka smiled awkwardly. Azula laughed and nodded. "But I guess what you mean is… do we keep it quiet still? Or do we talk things over, so we decide whether to come clean about it or not?"
"Thing is… do any of them even know that you and Suki are done?" Azula asked. Sokka shrugged.
"Toph knows. Don't know if she told Zuko, though," he said. "Though, frankly… is that a big cause for concern?"
"I'd rather they don't give you shit for cheating on her with me. You have to know what this looks like," Azula said, staring at him skeptically. "A hopeless man clinging to his past love has too many clashes and conflicts with his would-be wife, and as a consequence runs off to start an affair with the dangerous, deadly but apparently beautiful woman who's so very bad, absolutely no-good for him…"
"So, what, I'm having a midlife crisis at twenty-seven?" Sokka snorted. Azula laughed, dropping her head against the railing. "Well, guess when your life is as weird as mine has been, it's kind of justified for it to start earlier. Didn't you say that's what's going on with Yue too, as a spirit? Then… the Midlife Crisis Royals! Ha! That actually bonds all of us together, why not?"
"That's awful… most of all because you're not wrong," Azula snorted, bending over forward as she laughed harder. Sokka smirked proudly, arms folded across his chest.
"Gotcha with that one! We have a team name now, like it or not!"
"No, we don't! There's no way we're keeping that one, Sokka, anything but that!"
"C'mon, bet Yue agrees with me," Sokka said, taking the mirror from her and pointing it at Azula. "Hey, Yue, tell her! My idea is the best idea!"
"… I actually don't like it at all. Don't let him use that one, Azula."
Her negative broke Azula with further laughter – so used as she was to hearing Yue agreeing with Sokka on most accounts, she certainly didn't anticipate the opposite happening now.
"Well, well? Bet she thinks it's great! I'm sure she does!" Sokka snickered, waving the mirror proudly in front of Azula.
Standing by a window, in the ship tower's second level, Zuko scowled at the sight of his sister laughing quite so vividly at whatever Sokka was saying. Even in their younger years, he couldn't remember anyone, not even Aang, laughing that way at Sokka's nonsense. An uneasy feeling spread in his gut, one he wasn't sure how to interpret, or what to make of… for it had been quite a long time since he had experienced it over Azula.
Was she a better fit, a more fun companion, than he ever had been? If given a chance, would she mesh perfectly with his friends, better than he ever had? Would he lose everything he had gained to her, if she was granted the chance to heal that their mother was asking him to offer her?
"You didn't send her to the asylum when you did because you thought she was a lost cause, or did you?" Ursa huffed. Zuko gritted his teeth, tearing his gaze away from the pair by the deck. "Otherwise, you would have chosen prison. Even if you didn't understand the full extent of what they did to her in the institute, you had to have believed it was a better choice for her health than a fate as bleak as your father's."
"Had better conversations with my father in prison than I did with her, though," Zuko said.
"Maybe that's more of a reflection of what that asylum could do to a person, rather than anything that determines whether your father or your sister are better people," Ursa said. "Truly, Zuko… as difficult as this may be for you to wrap your head around, it shouldn't be. I'm not going to change my mind about her. She's not manipulating me."
"Right, because this initiative to go travel the world with those two isn't their doing?" Zuko asked. "Say what you will, Mom, but she could have guilted you into wanting something you actually don't…"
"And what if I do want it?" Ursa asked. Zuko gritted his teeth. "What if I need time away from home?"
"But…" Zuko said. Ursa raised an eyebrow.
"But what?" she said. "You forgave me when I abandoned you and your sister all those years ago. This time, I'd be choosing to travel with her and hopefully help her find peace…"
"It's not the same," Zuko said: his heart churned upon realizing the real reason why it wasn't, but he bottled it in for now. "She's dangerous, Mom. Right now, she's saying she sees Yue, but what if she goes off the rails in some worse way later too? You can't know what you're going to get with her."
"You think she's going to kill me and Sokka eventually?" Ursa asked. Zuko winced. "I'm not sure I believe that would happen. Fact is, I… I would even argue that it wouldn't. She has been with Sokka for a long time, and if anything, it seems they're getting along marvelously right now."
"That doesn't mean much. Sokka, Aang and Toph didn't give me a hard time when I joined their group. Only Katara did," Zuko said.
"So, you'd only learn to trust her if Katara did?" Ursa asked. Zuko winced.
"No, I'm just saying…"
"You wouldn't trust her at all, not even if your friends do."
Zuko shivered, lowering his gaze. Ursa folded her arms over her chest.
"Zuko, dear… I love you. You know I do. I've done terrible things, I've made awful mistakes… and I haven't made up for many, if any of them, so far. You forgave me regardless because you loved me. Because you prized me. Because your need for my wellbeing, my safety, my happiness, was paramount to finding justice. Am I wrong?"
"Well… no? But you're you, and she's her!" Zuko scoffed.
"And what if you could heal your bond?" Ursa asked. "What if you could sit with those two and laugh alongside them, too?"
Zuko froze. Ursa shook her head slowly.
"You've been poisoned terribly by your father, Zuko. In ways you never truly understood," Ursa said. Zuko winced.
"That's not… I'm not my father. I'm not!"
"I never said you were. But treating your sister as a wanted criminal, to be hunted all across the world? Isn't that the same thing your father did to his brother? To you?"
Zuko yelped. Ursa sighed, taking his hands in hers.
"No, Azula didn't do things so terrible that she cannot be forgiven for them. By all means, Iroh's death toll will always be far greater than either yours or Azula's could have been," Ursa said. "And yet you can accept him, while turning your back on her. I don't blame you, dear, for your uncertainties and your fear, for not wanting your sister to be around you constantly… but there comes a point in life where we need to stop running away from the harder truths we don't want to face. Azula brought me to realize that. She told me many things I didn't want to hear, but that I had to. And maybe that's what you need to prepare yourself for: listen. Don't just talk back, don't just defend yourself… listen. You have good intentions, dear… but you cannot do anything with them if you refuse to open your heart to other people's needs. More so when you're actually trying to help them."
"Well… I wasn't really trying to help Azula," Zuko confessed, frowning. "And I'm not even sure I want to. I keep thinking she'll just spit it all right back at me if I try."
"Is that any reason not to try at all?" Ursa asked. Zuko flinched. "Your uncle didn't give up on you even when you didn't make matters easy for him, he's told me so, as did you. It wasn't until you opened your heart to him, until his needs mattered as much as your own, that you learned to appreciate him properly. Azula? I think she's at that stage with Sokka, and maybe with Yue, too. Your sister isn't some nightmare to fend off, or merely a terrorist to fight against: she's your family. And you're one of the most powerful people in the world right now, dear. This nation is full of people who believed in the same things she did, and if they'd had the power she held, they wouldn't have acted any differently than she did. You're their Fire Lord: you're her Fire Lord. Wouldn't it be suitable for you to do right by your every subject, no matter how difficult it might be?"
"It's different when you're talking about Azula," Zuko scowled. "She's… not my subject. I haven't thought of her as that ever before."
"Then maybe it's time for you to start," Ursa said. Zuko winced, uncertain. "You're her older brother. And you cannot hope to heal this world, this nation, if you'll give up on members of your own family just because it's hard. In her case, half the work, more of it, even, was already done by others. If she could reach an understanding with me, she surely can with you too. All you have to do is… try."
Zuko gritted his teeth, a fist tightened: that sounded like a taller order than he was ready to commit to… even though, objectively, it shouldn't have been. Trying something didn't necessarily translate to sticking with a set course for good. If Azula went off the rails again, as she often did, Zuko very well could prove to everyone how wrong they had been about his sister.
But if she didn't… then maybe he could be a better brother, starting here and now. It was difficult to fathom, it made him deeply uncomfortable… but if Sokka and Ursa were right to stand by Azula, if she truly was seeing Yue and changing in more ways than he knew? Perhaps… they'd have a chance to be a real family one day. Perhaps.
"I'll talk to her once we get to the Palace," Zuko said. Ursa raised her eyebrows. "I… will try to mend fences. But she does have things to answer for… and I hope she's ready to do it."
"I'm sure she will be," Ursa said, with a genuine smile. "Thank you, Zuko. Your sister needs this, so much more than she realizes. Her heart is finally on the mend, thanks to Sokka and Yue… we could be part of that too. Wouldn't you like to have a positive impact on her life, lead her on a better path…?"
"I… guess I might not mind that. But we'll see," Zuko said. Ursa sighed, smiling still as she approached Zuko.
"Thank you for trying, dear. Thank you."
He hugged her back, uneasy, unsteady. A part of him wondered if Ursa would regret her earlier harshness… but he didn't dare ask. If she didn't, she might just be upset at him for so much as suggesting that she should…
Would she stand up to Azula similarly, if their roles were reversed? The realization that she would, that she might just have gone further for his sake, chilled Zuko's heart as he held his mother closely. He was a fool, wasn't he? Envying his sister for having their mother's attention, if just briefly… she was Azula's mother too. Just as she was Kiyi's. As special as his bond with Ursa might be… he would be an utter bastard if he tried to keep Ursa to himself when she had other children to watch over, too.
He sighed as he glanced through the window anew: their destination approached. His conversation with Azula wouldn't wait for much longer.
The Princess was visibly unsettled upon being in the Fire Nation Capital as herself this time. Her attire, far too casual, suited Ember Island so much better than the grand seat of power of her people. She'd change into something else as soon as she had the chance, maybe ask Sokka to fix her hair too…
But Zuko wouldn't give her that chance: as soon as they crossed the threshold into the Palace, the Fire Lord turned towards her with a stern frown.
"We'll talk privately," he said. Sokka huffed. "And I don't know why that bothers you so much, Sokka, but this doesn't concern you."
"It… doesn't," Sokka said, begrudgingly – he couldn't claim to be concerned over Azula's safety to that extent, not unless they were ready to set off Zuko's alarms regarding their relationship.
Still, he sighed as Azula shrugged – clearly, she wasn't all that pleased for this outcome, but she wasn't about to run away from her brother either.
"See you when I get out, I guess," she said, simply. Sokka sighed.
"Hey… wait."
Azula had merely taken one step forward when Sokka took her hand, placing the mirror carefully in her palm.
"I'd taken it earlier, before we arrived, remember?" Sokka smiled a little. "You won't be alone if Yue's with you."
"Heh. Sabotaging Zuzu's attempt to speak privately with me, I see," Azula said, though she couldn't hide her genuine, fond smile. "Thank you."
Sokka grinned brightly: Zuko scowled upon realizing he hadn't seen Sokka in such a good mood in… years, at least. Perhaps since around the years of the end of the war…
How, exactly, had Azula brought him to be that happy? Was it Azula at all, or was it Yue? It was much easier to believe it'd be the latter… but the fond smiles between them left an awkward feeling nestling in his gut.
He tried to ignore that sensation as he led his sister into a private sitting room. There'd be no pleasantries, no shared tea… they'd just talk. Hopefully, Sokka and Ursa would know better than to try to eavesdrop as they spoke.
"Well… looks like things are looking up for you," Zuko said, turning towards her with a prominent scowl on his face. Azula raised an eyebrow as she stood across him, arms folded over her chest. "Mom's… defending you without hesitation. I'd never seen her do that."
"It's hard to believe for me too, so you're not alone if you're confused," Azula said.
"I feel like I don't understand any of it," Zuko said, shaking his head and staring at her in confusion. "You're having new hallucinations, visions, whatever they are… and yet you sound more like yourself than you have in ages. You have people standing up for you and defending you to this extent, it's… weird."
"It's quite alright, I don't know how it happened even though I was there the whole time," Azula admitted, with a shrug. "Though… you're not the only one confused about certain things regarding each other. How, exactly, did you find us in Ember Island?"
"Oh. It took us a while to pick up on your trail," Zuko said, bitterly. "My guards eventually sought the Mechanist, he told them he'd given Sokka a hot-air balloon. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for sightings of unregistered, non-military hot-air balloons anywhere. Someone caught sight of you by the western Earth Kingdom, so we traveled there… once the next military sightings report claimed the balloon was sighted landing in Ember Island, I didn't hesitate to go there as soon as possible."
"So, you had all your soldiers looking for me, huh?" Azula said, raising her eyebrows. "I almost feel important and everything now…"
"Yeah, well… sure," Zuko huffed, shaking his head. "I'm sorry that I misunderstood that you'd kidnapped Sokka, but I hope you realize you… you don't make it exactly easy to think any better of you."
"Well, I didn't for all these years, that's certainly true. Do you expect me to throw a tantrum over how you don't trust me, or like me, or treat me with respect?" Azula asked, with a slight smirk. "Though I suppose that last one might be a fair one to protest against, come to think of it…"
"I don't want you to throw anything, I just… I want to understand what exactly is going on," Zuko scowled. "You abandoned your group, you traveled to the north, you're ride-or-die with Sokka suddenly… you have to realize it makes no sense. And after showing up in Ba Sing Se and causing unnecessary trouble…"
"Did you only hear about Ba Sing Se?" Azula asked, raising an eyebrow. "That wasn't our first stop, actually. Didn't Suki reach out to you?"
"Was she supposed to?" Zuko asked, frowning.
"That's… odd," Azula blinked blankly. "Here I thought she was that mad at Sokka once they broke up, threatening that she'd only give us one day to leave before alerting everyone that we were there. Maybe she actually had a soft spot for him still. The truth is we went to Kyoshi Island first, they had the break-up of the century, then we left again. That's where I found out that you were hunting for me, dead or alive…"
"I… I'll rescind that order," Zuko said, self-aware and uncomfortable. "I thought… you'd crossed a line. Turned out Sokka joined you willingly, though…"
"There really was no sign that he hadn't done that," Azula pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Zuko winced. "Whichever one of you lot decided I could only have kidnapped him, well… you'd have to give me a smidge of credit after this and admit that at least one weirdo in the world would travel with me willingly rather than dragged into it kicking and screaming."
"We jumped to conclusions and we shouldn't have. But… you do have to admit it looked weird. And like I said, you really…"
"I don't make it easy? No, I don't. Did I say otherwise?" Azula said, with a slight smirk. "I don't pity you at all, Zuzu, you have it pretty damn hard, being my brother. I don't know what you brought me here for, if what you want is an apology you might as well wait forever…"
"You're not sorry for any of what you've done over the last decade?" Zuko asked. Azula winced.
"I… didn't exactly say that," Azula said. "Just said I wouldn't apologize for it."
"So, you're not."
"I'm sorry enough for a lot of things," Azula said, glaring at him. "But… I was vindictive. I was angry, bitter and frustrated and I wanted to hurt you so you'd suffer as much as I was suffering. That's the truth. If you don't like it, that's not my business. I wanted vindication, revenge, what-have-you… and nothing I did actually got me any closer to attaining any of it. So, I failed at my quest to piss you off, and I joined Sokka in a weird journey to please a spirit that only I can see. It's… strange how different it is, living life that way. It wasn't all that comfortable at the start, but it is now. I can't fathom going back to what I was doing before."
"Because Sokka is… more fun?" Zuko asked. Azula shrugged.
"Would it be a problem for you, if that were the sole reason for it?" she asked. Zuko scowled. "Still would mean you're free from being tormented by me…"
"Until you get bored of him," Zuko finished. Azula laughed.
"I'm afraid that's not very likely. He's… a surprisingly resourceful man," Azula said. "Always has something to say that catches me off guard. Like Yue put it once… we're two master strategists in a battlefield of words, somehow. He's far more interesting than you or any of his other friends likely realize…"
"Or maybe you're both just weird in similar ways. Which I'd never have expected, but frankly, his sense of humor is about as strange as yours," Zuko pointed out. Azula laughed.
"I've noticed. I hate laughing at his jokes, but he makes it too easy sometimes," Azula admitted.
"Then… all this stuff about Yue?" Zuko said, eyeing her warily. "Sokka and her were a thing once. You said your entire purpose is to get her to see the world and experience the seasons and so on? I'm not going to say it's a bad purpose, I mean, it's by far the most harmless thing I've ever heard you want to do. But it sounds like a temporary diversion or so. Once she's satisfied, what will you do?"
"I suppose… that's something I'll figure out once we get there," Azula said, with a shrug. "Though if it makes you feel any better, I…"
The words got stuck in her throat at first, and Azula actually smiled a little as something deep inside her seemed to snap. Something she didn't really know nestled inside her broke off, leaving her untethered… forsaken, somehow. Her hand trembled, and she glanced at Yue in the mirror briefly as she processed what a treacherous thought had crossed her mind… a thought she couldn't help but feel keenly, acutely, in her heart. She breathed deeply, and Zuko frowned at the strange sincerity in her voice.
"I actually never imagined I'd come back to the Fire Nation peacefully… and I certainly have no plans of staying here forever."
Zuko's eyes widened. Azula gritted her teeth: those might just have been the most painful words she had ever spoken. She offered Zuko a dry grin then, covering up her vulnerability as best she could.
"So… that," she said. "I think I'd just wait and see what Sokka has in mind. He's weird, sure, but he's the most reliable ally I've ever traveled with. Seems like he wants to stick with me for the foreseeable future too, so…"
"You think he'd stay even after Yue is gone?" Zuko asked. Azula's heart clenched.
"I… hope so," Azula said. "He's said he would, at least."
"Really?" Zuko blinked blankly. "W-wait. Why?"
"Why?" Azula repeated, slightly affronted.
"I'm… not sure I follow," Zuko said, blinking blankly. "You two are, uh… best friends now?"
"Huh. I'm not sure that we are. Which one of them might be my best friend, come to think of it?" Azula said, glancing at Yue in the mirror. She giggled and waved in her direction, and Azula smiled at her.
"Sokka. Say it's Sokka," Zuko said, with a wild grin. Azula crooked an eyebrow.
"What's it to you, exactly…?"
"Toph said weird shit and I would like to confirm that she's wrong about it, is all," Zuko said, bitterly. Azula raised her eyebrows. "She said you'd… seduced Sokka and that's why he was completely wrapped around your finger, basically."
Azula snorted, then cackled by throwing her head back – a slight relief to Zuko, who smiled awkwardly at her reaction.
"Seduced Sokka? She sure gives me too much credit if she thinks I'd have the first clue of how to do such a thing," Azula laughed, shaking her head. "If Sokka fell in love with me, it'd be his fault entirely. I sure as hell did nothing to make it happen, I can guarantee that much."
"Huh. You know, that's not very tranquilizing either," Zuko grimaced. "Sokka's… weird. Suki was too normal for him, I guess…"
"Oh? So you're saying he needed an abnormal kind of partner instead?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Zuko winced, raising a hand as though to stop her.
"I didn't mean… I just mean I'm not really sure how Sokka was having a good time by dating her! If anything, I'd think he wasn't. Which is possibly why they broke up."
"Sounds like it," Azula said, stubbornly. "Believe me, if he dated me, I'd give him far more interesting and entertaining reasons to break up with me."
"I'm not sure he'd choose to date you just so you can break up with him by… ugh! Could you not entangle my head with nonsense?" Zuko groaned. Azula smirked. "Look… I get that I can't change you or make you become the perfect sister for me…"
"Do you?" Azula asked, eyeing him skeptically. Zuko frowned. "Worth noting I can't do that to you, either. You're far too set in your ways for you to be my dream brother too."
"You… you'd change me?" Zuko asked, frowning. Azula smirked.
"I just said I wouldn't. But I'm not the one who replaced the two unpalatable members of my family with new, pleasant ones instead," she said. Zuko's eyes widened.
"I… Kiyi isn't a replacement for you! And I'm not even close to Noren…"
"Your little sister who loves and gushes over you isn't a replacement for the one who made your life a nightmare, apparently?" Azula smiled sadly. "As for Noren and father… if you're not close to him, then he's gotten the fundamentals of the job right, wouldn't you say?"
Zuko gritted his teeth: Azula's words hurt… but he couldn't help but notice that Azula, too, was hurt. He didn't usually notice as much… but this time, he raised his gaze to find that she appeared mournful of the fate they were facing as siblings.
"Point is… you haven't been optimal yourself. I've tried, yes, to mess with you and cause you grief… but I never really imagined you'd ever conform to being the brother I'd want you to be. Doesn't seem logical for you to start trying now."
"Why not?" Zuko asked. Azula laughed.
"I'm not challenging you, Dum-Dum. You're so ridiculous when you get like this," she said. "I'm fine, Zuko. I have no… no right to ask anything of you. That's not what this ever was, I… I admit it's pathetic to say it, but I just wanted to matter and I knew I never would if I went about it in any other way. Or, at least, I've never learned how. Point is… I fucked up, purposefully and intentionally. I'm not here to apologize because I don't think you have any real reason to forgive me, no matter if I'll never do it again. If that's what you were waiting for…"
"I… I don't know what I was expecting," Zuko said, frowning. "But probably more along the lines of you admitting that you're only traveling with Sokka out of convenience, and that you don't actually want him around much but he's useful so far…?"
"You really think I can only manipulate my way through life, don't you?" Azula said. "Granted, I know why you think so, but that's not the case. Sokka joined me, Yue roped me into this journey in the first place… the few times I've tried to do anything mischievous in this trip, it hasn't gone all that well. And somehow… they keep me busy enough that I can't really focus on doing anything to trouble you. Which, then, translates to me losing my taste for messing with you."
Zuko sighed, lowering his gaze.
"Would you get that taste back if I'm not paying attention?" he asked. Azula rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. You say that you weren't really trying to do anything that terrible with your actions… but the thing is, you did cause trouble and when it wasn't you, it was them. Your allies."
"Right, but…" Azula said, frowning. "While we certainly destabilized your rule, caused chaos whenever we cared to, we never did anything quite as bad as to truly hamper your efforts to fix the Fire Nation, did we? If anything, I've been a perfect villain for you to show the whole populace just why things need to change, or am I wrong? It was either you or me on that throne, and the more irresponsible behavior I display, the happier they'll be that it's you. Isn't it at least slightly beneficial to you?"
"You're acting like none of what you did had lasting consequences that could harm the nation…" Zuko said, gritting his teeth. "And you know what? Maybe you didn't. Even if you might have tried, maybe you actually showed some restraint I never truly registered as such before, and you never did something that devastating. But them? You have no idea what they did while you were gone, do you?"
Azula frowned. Zuko gritted his teeth, fists tight by his hips.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice unsteady: she had a feeling she knew what Zuko would say, but even so…
"They burned down the asylum."
Silence.
Azula's heart thumped with triumph… and fear.
"Did… did they get them out?" Azula asked. "The other patients, even the staff…"
Zuko's frown spoke for itself. Azula's sinking dread hit square in her gut, and she snarled as she tore her eyes away from him.
"I thought it was your final move," Zuko said. "Your full-blown act of war. By the time we got there, it was too late. Whole place… burned. Fifty-seven casualties. Some, family visitors. Most of them, patients. The rest, staff. Everyone dead… and not by any mistake. No, everyone in the building died because the people responsible for that crime ensured to shut the doors, the windows, every single exit…!"
"You can't be…" Azula snarled: even if she wanted to deny it, she knew she couldn't do it. Zirin… she would have done it. Azula knew as much.
"Everyone in the premises died… and we tracked down the culprits shortly afterwards. That's when I caught Zirin, and when she told me where you were," Zuko said. "They're in the Prison Tower right now. Awaiting their sentences."
"What are you going to…?" Azula asked, glancing at Zuko with uncertainty.
"I don't know," he admitted. "But I'm struggling to figure out how to show them any mercy."
"Zuko, you… you don't understand what the asylum was like," Azula said, staring at him warily. Zuko scowled. "You never were there as a patient…"
"That doesn't justify what they did!"
"I agree!" Azula exclaimed, startling Zuko. "But… they unleashed the pent-up rage and wrath that place stirred inside them. That place, their families, everyone who played a role in putting them there… do you understand what it feels like, being forsaken in a place that constantly demeans you, dehumanizes you, subjects you to every kind of humiliation whenever you try to fight back, and affords you no dignity anyway, even when you don't fight at all? To be treated like a beast more than a person, to be spoken to as though you were some inferior kind of being…!"
"I don't think I get it, no, but it's not like I haven't been through dehumanizing, cruel things myself," Zuko said.
"The difference is the man who subjected you to the worst of yours is rotting in jail. The one who did it to me is standing right in front of me."
Zuko froze. Azula's accusatory glare caught him in an uncomfortable spot, and she shook her head.
"I… I understand why you did it. I'm not stupid. I know you had no time for me, I know you had no idea how to help me, you had a nation to run… but you don't know what it's like to be truly forsaken. Say what you will… you had Iroh. If you didn't have him, you had Mai. You had our mother. I… I had our father? Do you think he would have ever visited me, if he had been free to do so? He would have denounced me as unworthy of being his heir, if anything… imperfect, broken, damaged as I am. And even if I'm wrong… he was in prison. How could he check on me? But it wasn't just him… it was you. Iroh. Mai, Ty Lee… not a single one of you ever thought that reaching out to me while I was locked in that blasted place was a good idea. And you know what that looks like? It looks like you just want me out of the way. Like I was someone else's problem now, not yours. Like you just needed me to stop being a hazard to your goals and maybe then you'll try to be my brother… and that's a big 'maybe' anyhow. And you're none other than the Fire Lord, with all the resources and power at your disposal… and you couldn't even hire personal physicians to look after me in your home. You threw me out to a distant institution… so I wouldn't be a bother. Even if that wasn't your intention, that's what it looked like.
"And that's what they went through, too, with their own families. Every woman who didn't conform, every girl who dared have ideas different to what their relatives wanted them to follow, anyone who didn't behave exactly as they were expected to. Their own families and loved ones did it to them just as you did it to me. They were angry. They hated that place, more than I did even, and that's saying something. It was a glorified prison, where you could be subjected to the worst of alleged treatments only to be told that you hadn't been through enough of it yet and you needed some more still. I probably didn't even get it as bad as the others… I was only there for a year. Point is… it's not that I don't understand your position. I do. But I don't think the answer to what they did is… killing them. All you'd do is add to the catastrophe's death toll."
"They're more than just casualties of an accident: they instigated it. They're dangerous, Azula," Zuko said. Azula shrugged.
"I'm dangerous too," she said. "And in case you forgot? So are you."
Zuko winced. Azula wasn't accusatory, even if she could have been.
"You're not as healthy as you'd like to think you are," Azula said. "You're not okay, Zuzu. Maybe you never have been, to begin with. But as messed up as your choices were… you got out of being locked up in a place like that and then managed to join the winning team before the war ended. You could have very well ended up in a place like the asylum, by Father's orders, if I had brought you back as he wanted me to, at first. As a prisoner."
Zuko shuddered: he didn't want to think of that possibility. But Azula appeared determined to make him do exactly that.
"Would you have shown restraint?" Azula asked, frowning. "If you had been told you were not human, incapable of love, a rare case of madness, an intriguing subject to study… if you had heard them laugh off your misfortunes, talk about how loaded they'd be because you were of the Royal Family and they'd finally fill the institution's coffers that way, thinking you were too badly out of it with the medicine to overhear what they were saying? If they'd forced you to swallow food, herbs, unknown remedies that would make you feel numb and close to death? If they had… had messed up their dosage to the point where they killed someone in the stretcher near yours?"
Zuko flinched: the picture Azula painted for him clearly was taking a toll on him. Azula shook her head.
"I'm not saying Zirin and the others deserve to be forgiven. As much as every bastard working in that place was unforgivable, I had no intentions of killing them if we ever decided on taking revenge. Zirin made me design a revenge strategy, you see… I did it, and she kept asking for more violence. For a stronger revenge than just sabotaging the place or burning it once everyone was out safely. I refused to do it, I constantly told her we wouldn't make any moves on the asylum until we could get all the remaining patients out safely…"
"And she never listened," Zuko finished. Azula gritted her teeth.
"I was the leader. She listened solely because of that. It's no surprise that the first thing she did, once I wasn't there to keep an eye on her, was destroying that place recklessly."
"You would have saved the other patients?" Zuko asked. "Granted, the most dangerous ones would have been the ones you brought with you, but…"
"That's not necessarily true," Azula said. Zuko frowned. "You don't understand, do you? We were the family pests that nobody wanted to deal with. I had hallucinations? No doubt. But half of them had no conditions of any kind. I don't know how many people were admitted in the asylum without being mentally ill or disturbed in any way to begin with. It felt like… like they force-fed them alleged medicine that caused unwanted, unacceptable behaviors in people, just to justify keeping them there. That's what that place was like. That's why I'm not sorry to learn it was destroyed… and that's why I can't help but be furious that Zirin would decide not to save anyone who still could be helped."
"Would you have saved them?" Zuko asked. Azula shrugged.
"I tried when I broke out my allies in the first place," she said. Zuko's eyes widened. "I offered them the chance to leave. Over half the patients were too scared to try. They wanted to stay because they hoped… maybe by putting up with all of it, they'd get to go home one day. I won't pretend any of them trusted me, no doubt several must have thought I was more dangerous than the asylum staff and that must be why they didn't join me… but I never thought they should have died the way you say they did. They were no different from the rest of us."
Azula scowled: that this would afflict her quite so strongly came as a surprise to her, too. Initially, she had told Zirin they wouldn't destroy the asylum altogether because it would be deemed an act of war. Their team didn't need that kind of publicity, most of all when they were about to begin their act as the Kemurikage. But then she asked again, and again, and again… Azula didn't overlook the extent of the damage Zirin had suffered, but their group couldn't afford, couldn't field, a mission quite so dangerous. Zuko was never going to let that one go… just as he didn't. Massively murdering everyone in that building was not a laughing matter: Azula had asked Zirin if she was ready to pay the price for that destruction, and Zirin never failed to scoff at her sentimentality. Only practicality had kept her at bay for some time: they'd get too much attention otherwise, they couldn't afford that. But now… now, after putting so much distance between herself and that place, after seeing the world through different eyes, Azula's heart grieved for the people who weren't saved. She snarled, fists tight.
"Are you going to execute them?" she asked. Zuko sighed.
"I don't know. Maybe not," he said. Azula glanced at him in confusion. "But you have to understand this kind of chaos cannot go unpunished."
"I don't disagree. I just… don't know if I want you to kill them for it," Azula admitted. Zuko sighed, shaking his head.
"I don't even know what I'd do anymore. When I captured them, I was ready to do something final. Right now… I don't know," Zuko admitted. "Truthfully, I don't want them in prison. The Boiling Rock might sound like the best choice, going forward, but… it's not, is it? They could escape just as well, set it on fire, kill everyone there…"
"They'll always be a hazard, is what you're thinking," Azula said. Zuko shrugged.
"You don't expect that to be different now just because I caught them, do you?" he asked. "The only way they won't cause chaos is if I keep them contained, chi-blocked, fully restrained…"
"And then you'll just give them further reason to cause chaos as soon as there's any weakness, any leniency for them," Azula said. Zuko frowned. "That's the thing about hurting people, holding them against their will… it tends to breed resentment and grudges strong enough to last a lifetime. You wouldn't ask anyone who was a prisoner of war to forgive our father for what he did to them, would you?"
"It's different," Zuko said.
"Not where the imprisoned person is standing, it's not," Azula said. "The way they see it, you're complicit in the hell we faced in the asylum. You even left your own inconvenient relative there, too. They'd see it as no reason to change their ways."
"And yet you want me to believe you did change yorus?" Zuko asked. Azula shrugged, raising the mirror in his direction.
"Not that I was looking to change in any way, I certainly didn't care to at first. Took well over a year for Yue's influence to start gaining ground on me," Azula said, glancing at the mirror. Yue smiled wistfully. "But… I think the main thing that helped was having something in common, a goal that all three of us were striving for. We had to work together, and that meant each other's struggles and problems were everyone's concern. I don't know how anything like that could be achieved with Zirin."
"You could talk to her," Zuko said, simply. Azula sighed.
"You'd let me?" she asked. "I wouldn't even know what to say."
"Tell her you're not doing any of your destabilizing efforts anymore," Zuko said. "Tell her you're done with that, and that she'd better be done too unless she wants to deal with…"
"Then… heh. You want me to control her with fear?"
Zuko froze. Azula eyed him with a compassionate smile that turned mirthful shortly.
"As far as my personal experiences go, controlling others with fear can be terribly effective until it's not. People have ways of finding more courage than they ever held inside their hearts and turn on you when you don't expect it," Azula said. "Sounds easy enough at first… but it means you'll most likely end up living in fear your whole life, too. Can't advise it if you don't want to face more hardships than you'd be comfortable with."
Zuko snarled. He knew Azula was making sense, perhaps too much of it. He sighed, covering his face with his hand before shaking his head.
"What's your idea, then?" he asked. "What would you do to fix this?"
"Why are you asking me?" Azula said.
"Because you're making too much sense, so maybe you know how to make this better," Zuko asked. Azula grimaced. "What made you change was… Sokka and Yue? How do we give your allies anything of the sort?"
"You can't force something like that," Azula warned him. Zuko scoffed. "I mean it. They'd be more likely to set an olive branch on fire than to ever accept it smoothly if you hand it to them with the obvious intent of making them change and adapt to a life they don't care to live. If you'd personally showed up in front of me and entrusted me with Yue, somehow, I would have never listened to a single word she said, let alone would I have treated Sokka as anything but a would-be jailor following me everywhere. You had nothing to do with that, hence why I had a much easier time learning to… trust them."
"Then what do we do?" Zuko huffed. "I don't think keeping them in jail forever is going to be fine, or that they'd even stay there forever, they're likely to find a way to escape. Right now? I think… I think they're waiting for you."
"They expect me to break them out," Azula concluded.
"They wouldn't take it well if you show up as newly pardoned and allowed to be part of the family again, though, would they?" Zuko asked. Azula scoffed.
"But I'm not those things… am I?" Azula stared at him skeptically. Zuko winced.
"I… I guess it remains to be seen," he admitted. "But the point is, if I'm the one sending you… they're not going to take it well."
"They'd take it far worse if I pretend not to be your ally and it's inevitably discovered that I was talking to them by your command," Azula pointed out. Zuko sighed.
"Is there no solution to this damn madness?" he asked. "I don't even know what I was expecting from you, but it definitely wasn't… that you couldn't help me deal with them."
"I don't know that I can. But what, exactly, did you hope for me to accomplish?" Azula inquired, crooking an eyebrow. Zuko sighed.
"I don't even know. Talk things over with them. You understand what they did. Say… that I won't execute them for the asylum, even though a lot of people are demanding that I do. Say that I won't take it that far, and I mean it. What you've explained is… alarming. I don't know why I never thought…"
"You had no time for it. It's not really a defense… just a fact," Azula said. "Besides, you had very little cause for concern, right? I'm the problem and if someone's causing chaos, it's most likely me rather than my captor – or, rather, the physician attempting to control my every move…"
"Did they… make it worse?" Zuko asked. Azula frowned. "I mean, whether for you or the others. Your breakdown… was it a sign of something bigger, deeper, or did they just take advantage of my belief that it was, when it wasn't?"
"That's hard to say," Azula admitted. "I don't have the most accurate memories, frankly, when it comes to what happened. But it's possible, yes, that they weren't trying to help anyone heal. I'm not sure if it takes a year to recover from what I went through, but their grand treatments typically only made my mind more chaotic, and their therapy attempts didn't help matters either. They convinced me of… of the worst things I believed of myself, I suppose. I'm only realizing that they might have been wrong now."
"Then… could you talk to them from that angle?" Zuko asked. Azula raised an eyebrow. "Tell them the truth about what they did, and whatever they convinced them of. Make them understand that… well, the point should have never been to treat anyone interned in the asylum as a criminal. You're not undesirables in society… you were people who needed help, not to be tossed aside. And I… I did exactly that to you."
Azula frowned: it wasn't every day that Zuko seemed so torn up about whatever mistakes he had made… more so, when those mistakes concerned her. Azula waited patiently as he composed himself, and he raised his gaze towards her.
"I don't know where we'll go after this. I don't know what to offer you. I can't make up for my mistakes," he said. "But… I can try to break the cycle. To stop treating you as I have. To… to be a better brother, even if I barely know where to start with that."
"You'll have to figure that one out yourself. I have no expectations and no demands," Azula said. "But I do believe I should clarify one thing, Zuzu… I already said it earlier, but I'll say it again: I'm not back to stay."
Zuko eyed her with uncertainty upon hearing those words anew. Azula swallowed hard.
"Maybe I will do that one day, I don't know, but… I haven't finished my duties to Yue. And once I do, I might still not end up here again later anyhow," Azula said.
"You say that, but going to the Earth Kingdom would be very dangerous for you," Zuko said. "The manhunt for you in the Fire Nation will end, but…"
"And that's good to know, but I might not need to stay here forever even so," Azula shrugged. Zuko's eyes widened. "Did you hope I would?"
"Well… after what you've said, I figured you might go on the road for a while longer. But this is your home, isn't it?" he asked. Azula smiled.
"Did it still feel that way, once you returned from your banishment? I was under the impression it didn't," she pointed out. Zuko gritted his teeth, fists tight.
"If that's how you feel right now, well… it's bound to be my fault. But that was never my intent," Zuko said. "If I can…"
"I don't know that you can, and I don't know that you should have to," Azula said, shaking her head. "We're having a productive conversation right now, and you're finally listening to me, which I appreciate a lot, Zuzu… but I don't think this should be for the sake of ensuring that I stay at your beck and call constantly. If you've been running this nation without my help, you can carry on doing it too. If you want my aid, it's still up to me to decide that I'll give it. But for now… life has enough things left to offer me, even though I figured it didn't. If all signs point to the Fire Nation, I'll come back, but… I'm enjoying everything else far more than I thought I would."
"Dad would be cross if he knew that. Which is always a good thing," Zuko said. Azula smiled a little.
"You never really did get to see the world just for the sake of it," Azula said. Zuko shrugged. "You were on a mission, and just surviving eventually… but you didn't see the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes for what they were, with no pressures. I suppose… I recommend it. Maybe you'll want to abdicate by then, though I'm not sure who you'd hand the throne to if you did. I… I really don't want it."
She said the words casually… but a stronger smile spread over her face after she did. A soft laugh left her lips and she smiled brightly. Zuko's heart clenched at the sight of it… of such clarity and certainty in his usually troubled sister's visage.
"I don't want to be Fire Lord," Azula said, closing her eyes. "And that's probably the most liberating thing I've ever come to realize."
Zuko nodded, accepting her decision: it was different than him claiming she'd never take the title for herself. Azula had reached that point without him pushing her to it, even if not necessarily by herself… it wasn't a struggle anymore. It wasn't some chaotic, unnerving conflict. Azula didn't want the throne… she finally had accepted that. Zuko would be free from the chaos she could unleash with her antics until something else inevitably rose to take her place.
He just hoped it wouldn't be Zirin.
"Alright. That's… good to know. But… can I ask you to talk to them, then? To your old allies? At least, to Zirin?" he said. Azula's smile waned… but she shrugged.
"Might as well try. Though I don't think the outcome is going to be any more positive than it would have been if you'd tried this approach with me a year ago," Azula said. Zuko nodded.
"I'll try to brace myself for it. Azula… thank you," he said. The Princess smiled as she rose to her full height.
"For finally giving you a break? I'll find some other way to make you lose your temper, Zuko, don't you worry about that," Azula smirked.
"Heh. I won't lower my guard a lot, then," Zuko said. "Look… maybe I should've said something else first. I just… I wasn't ready to accept I've failed you in more ways than I thought. As far as I could tell, you were a problem indeed, you were someone I had to keep at a distance because you'd only ever hurt me…"
"And I was," Azula acknowledged, with a shrug.
"You weren't," Zuko countered. Azula scoffed. "You were my sister. And I never really thought about what that actually meant until… until I realized you had a whole group of people who had found your value and were helping you shine, and I wasn't one of them. It's not that I feel like I have to be there too… but it feels like I failed you anyway. Like maybe you could have reached this stage if I had tried a little harder… if I had been there for you in ways I wasn't. I kept seeing you as an enemy to defeat, no matter if I already had this crown on my head and… and I was wrong to do that. I can't help but think your life might have been a lot different if I had been less impulsive and stupid over some things. I'm… I'm sorry, Azula. I'm really sorry."
Azula's heart clenched, her throat thickening with tears that seemed to bloom out of nowhere. That wasn't what she had expected from Zuko… wasn't what she would have demanded from him, either. He didn't have to apologize to her… but he had. It was difficult to know what to say to that… though perhaps, it wasn't all that different from how she had responded to Yue, upon hearing her say she loved her.
She hadn't intended to say the words at all, regardless of how she felt. She hadn't thought they'd change anything… but regardless of her reasoning, her instincts pushed her to speak unlikely words to her brother all the same:
"I'm sorry too," Azula whispered, at last. Zuko gazed at her in astounded silence. "I did a lot of things just to make you suffer, I won't sugarcoat that. I wasn't ready to reason with what was going on in my own head, and I took it out on you. Before all this, well, yes, I certainly teased you a lot and I did hunt you down under Father's orders…"
"You don't have to apologize for that," Zuko admitted, with a small grin. Azula raised an eyebrow. "Well, we were kids. It looks a lot simpler now than it did before. I just couldn't seem to make sense of it back then… I was more troubled than I thought, too. Maybe I still am… but I'll try to reason with myself a little more than I always do. Without just… thinking everything's someone else's fault, every time."
"That'd be a good life choice," Azula said, with a slight grin.
Zuko sighed, stepping towards the doorway as Azula glanced down at the mirror: Yue smiled giddily, no doubt thrilled over having witnessed what appeared to be an unexpected reconciliation between Azula and her brother. The Fire Nation Princess smirked a little, shaking her head at her friend's excitement.
"Well, then… ready to go see Zirin?" Zuko asked.
Azula's heart clenched again… but she nodded, steeling herself for a reunion that promised to be a lot more chaotic and unpleasant than this one had turned out to be.
__________________________________
Prison Tower wasn't meant to be a friendly place. Azula's heart clenched as she approached it about an hour later, a foreboding feeling lingering in her heart: her father was there, but she wasn't here to see him today. Maybe one day she would be ready to face him… but the way her mother had explained her own visits to Ozai, it sounded like Azula wasn't remotely prepared to meet her father yet. He had expectations of her that she hadn't fulfilled… and that she never would.
She didn't really know what her future would look like, but she clenched her mirror tightly and let herself bask in the peace, the freedom, of knowing she would no longer serve the purposes that had damn near destroyed her. At the very least, Yue had died but succeeded at saving her people by doing so: Azula's sacrifices had amounted to nothing. Her vindictiveness had achieved nothing, too. She was tired… and ready to move on, now that she finally had a chance to imagine a future, vague and confusing as it might be, by Sokka's side…
Who, of course, stood right beside her at the moment, arms folded over his chest as he frowned at the prison ahead.
"You really had to come?" Zuko asked him, an eyebrow twitching. "You could have stayed with my mom…"
"You could have stayed with her too," Sokka scoffed. Zuko gritted his teeth and glared at him.
"I'm the Fire Lord! Azula can't talk to Zirin if I'm not here to authorize it!" he said. Sokka pouted.
"Then you'll have to put up with me being here too, nothing more to it," he said.
Azula smiled as they marched into the tower: Sokka's devotion to her hardly seemed real most times, and yet she knew it was. She had a baseline as to what his lies looked like, and it certainly wasn't the confident, strong front he was showing Zuko right now.
"You okay? Ready for this?" Sokka asked her, once Zuko took to speaking with the warden, who appeared alarmed to see Azula as a visitor rather than another prisoner.
"I doubt it," Azula admitted. "You didn't have to come, Zuko isn't wrong about that… but I'm glad you did."
"Oh. Uh, heh," Sokka smiled, cheeks flushing slightly as he ran a hand over his hair. "I'm glad you're glad! Though, you know, if you need anything…"
"I'd reach out, but… I don't know if I will be able to do it," Azula said, frowning sternly again. "You'll be right outside?"
"Yeah. And you can handle this Zirin, right?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged.
"I'd better. She's usually not enough of a bender to be a cause for concern for me, I'd dare say," Azula mused, frowning slightly. Sokka smiled and nodded.
"You're the strongest firebender there is, after all. Nothing she can do should faze you… but in case it does, I'll stay nearby and even cheer you on."
"Well, I've never really fought with a supportive audience like that, but fair enough," Azula said. "Besides… we shouldn't need to fight at all. It's… a conversation."
She said the words while knowing they weren't entirely true: Zirin would make this a battlefield if she had reason to. And if Azula told her what Zuko would expect her to? It might just be a guarantee that they'd wind up in conflict indeed.
The warden led them to the room where Zirin had been brought moments before they arrived. Zuko and Sokka remained tense by the door, and Azula breathed deeply as she readied herself to enter…
"Good luck," Sokka whispered.
"If you need any help, let us know," Zuko said, frowning. "You don't have to face her alone."
"I'm not sure about that last thing… and I'll try not to make it come to the first thing, too," Azula said.
She stepped between them: she gripped Sokka's hand gently as she passed beside him before pushing the door open. Sokka gritted his teeth, gazing after her hopelessly, his anguish increasing once the door closed, leaving Azula alone with her previous second-in-command.
Zirin sat in a slovenly position on a chair, in the center of the room. She appeared to have been bound to it. Azula frowned as she stopped before her… and Zirin scowled as she raised her gaze, gradually astounded upon realizing this wasn't just another visit by Fire Lord Zuko.
"You… you're back," Zirin said, a spark of hope in her gaze… one that went away quickly, replaced by distrust. "How? Who the hell allowed you to visit me officially? Or did you kill your brother and took his appointment instead?"
"I didn't do that," Azula said. Zirin scoffed.
"Of course not. You don't have the spine for it. Had the spine to get rid of your inconvenient friend yet, or was that too much to ask too?" Zirin asked, spitefully. "You were gone long enough. I thought… did it work? Are you yourself again, or…?"
"It didn't," Azula said. Zirin snarled. "She's still with me. Nothing has worked so far… and I don't think anything has to, either."
"Oh, right, so you're just going to keep botching up operations and messing up our objectives by being completely swept up by stupid arguments with the damn girl in your reflection?" Zirin asked. "You're unbelievable."
"I have no intentions of letting that happen because… there will be no more operations or objectives for us," Azula said. Zirin froze. "Which is your fault in no small part. If you hadn't gotten caught, the whole lot of you could have gone on to cause chaos without me. Begs the question of why you were so eager to be the leader when you botched it up so badly as soon as I was out of the way. Isn't that what you were always looking forward to? Isn't it exactly what you wanted?"
"I…!" Zirin snarled, shaking her head. "What's it to you, what I wanted? You…! You kept us chained down, locked to your whims! You saved us and broke us out of that hellhole, and we owed you because of that…!"
"The hellhole you finally burned to the ground, or so I hear," Azula said: Zirin had the gall to smirk. "With all the remaining patients still inside."
"They were as bad as the physicians," Zirin said, shrugging. "Content to live in their chains, emboldening them to do it to others, like us. Don't like it? Not my problem. They got what they deserved."
Azula scowled. Zirin's demeanor didn't change for it.
"I've prided myself in being a terrible person, you know?" Azula said. "In not particularly caring who I hurt and who I didn't… but I guess I overestimated myself. Compared to you, apparently I still have boundaries and sense…"
"You mean you're a coward. Spineless and weak when you should take action… always been in your damn brother's pocket even when you acted like you weren't," Zirin hissed. "Did he offer to pardon you because you weren't part of the destruction, maybe? Might have offered you the chance to execute us by your own hand too. Was that why you were allowed to come here?"
"I'm here… as your final salvation," Azula said. Zirin snorted in disbelief. "If you won't listen to me, if you won't forsake what you're doing, the way I did…"
"Ha! You're done, then? All done destabilizing the Fire Lord's pathetic rule?" Zirin cackled. "You're quitting now? And why's that, exactly?! Who's caught your leash now, Azula? Who's pulling at it?!"
"I don't have one anymore. You, on the other hand…" Azula said. Zirin laughed, shaking her head.
"Don't give me that. I'm no one's beast," Zirin said, her eyes growing colder as all mirth fled from her face as quickly as it arrived. "What was it? The Fire Lord…? Nah, you'd need a stronger incentive than that. Maybe… heh. The pest in your reflection? Is that who?"
"Shut up," Azula hissed impulsively: Zirin laughed again.
"Controlled by that thing, just as you were by your mother. Funny," Zirin said, coldly again. "You're so weak. So spineless…"
"I have more than enough strength and spine to stand here and see you for what you are," Azula snapped. Zirin raised her eyebrows.
"And what's that?" she asked.
Azula breathed deeply, glaring into Zirin's dark eyes… before giving her an answer:
"A lost, helpless, desperate fool looking for purpose and drive and finding none," Azula said. Zirin scoffed. "You've convinced yourself that destroying the asylum was the right choice but it wasn't: all you achieved was proving them right in fearing you… in wanting you out of their way. You've never imagined a way out, a chance to become something different, to start anew elsewhere. You don't even know the value of that kind of opportunity… because no one has ever granted it to you."
"And someone granted it to you?" Zirin asked, derisively. Azula gritted her teeth. "What? Pfft. Your brother?"
"It's not him," Azula said, gripping the mirror in her pocket. "It's someone I never thought would have any manner of compassion for me and yet he did. So…"
"Ah, don't tell me… you found a boyfriend," Zirin said. "No doubt you're thrilled, what you always wanted…"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Azula scoffed.
"You're so sad and anguished by loneliness, aren't you? I guess you're clinging to the first moron who overlooked… well, all the crazy shit and just latched onto how pretty you were?" Zirin asked, with a sarcastic smile. Azula smirked.
"If that would make you feel any better, go on ahead and believe that. But he's… he wasn't part of this because of me. Not at first. We haven't been journeying together just because he's craving me. He's the one who's helping me fix what's wrong with Yue…"
"And you love him, do you?" Zirin smirked. "Well, wait a few months after the novelty wears off and see how he likes you once you become the harpy that screams at him over anything and everything, just as it goes in all fucked-up marriages. You can't exactly expect to do better than that, can you? Either way… this is stupid. Someone who caved in to something as pathetic as falling for some stupid guy, lecturing me on what to do with my life…"
"I've said I'm your last chance at something better than staying locked inside this building for however long you have left to live," Azula said. Zirin rolled her eyes. "Zuko will kill you if no one stops him. Is that what you want?"
"I want the old Azula back. The one who would break us out of here in a heartbeat," Zirin snapped.
"Oh, you mean the one who laughed when she heard you'd gotten yourselves locked up in jail?" Azula smirked. Zirin tensed up. "I did exactly that, you know? I thought it was a beautiful irony: so much badgering me and pestering me about how you were such a better leader, all your plotting, all your talk behind my back… and you were an even bigger failure than I ever was, in the end. Funny how that works, isn't it?"
"Shut up," Zirin snarled. Azula glared at her coldly.
"That's the Azula you were asking for, though. The one who would walk away and let you get crushed under my brother's boot out of vindictiveness alone," she continued. "I'm here to tell you to turn over a new leaf and set aside your intent, or you're only going to continue paying the price for it. And I won't be paying it with you."
"So that's it, then? You're forsaking me and running off with… with that fool in your head, with the idiot who somehow wants to date you or whatever?" Zirin scoffed.
"I wouldn't be forsaking anything… provided you and the others agree to stop, for good," Azula said. "Zuko is an idiot in many ways, and he didn't truly understand the gravity of what happened in that place. What you did to the other patients is unforgivable, Zirin… were the circumstances any different, I would be advocating for your death myself. But I know why you did it… I just cannot accept that you found no way to spare them. Even so, you can rot in this cell forever or you can make something of yourself…"
"Something to aid this wretched nation?" Zirin asked. "I'd pick the pyre."
"Really?" Azula asked. Zirin scoffed.
"The Fire Nation should go down in flames… and I don't care for it to be reborn from its ashes," she hissed. "You, your accursed family… you all just prove there's no saving this nation. And maybe I'm the one who can do it… by laying waste upon it all. That… that's my fate. There was no Phoenix King, in the end… but I could be the Queen."
"The fuck are you…?" Azula frowned, but she froze: she had seen that look on Zirin's face before.
It was a sudden burst of vacancy that preceded a storm.
The reason why she had been sent to the asylum in the first place.
"Zirin. Zirin!" Azula called her, stepping closer to the woman. "Snap back here! Zirin!"
She was tempted to slap her, but she held back out of knowing that violence might just unleash the very worst of reactions from the firebender even faster than Zirin intended: heat began rising within the room, and Zirin continued not to react… but something seemed to be instants away from boiling over inside her. It was as though she had grown comatose… focusing her power so much that every shred of her energy would become firebending.
"Zirin!" Azula snapped. "I will do it! I will chi-block you!"
It was the only way in which she had been stopped once, when she had withdrawn into that state at night, setting their campsite on fire as a consequence. The others had hidden away from Zirin, and only Azula had reduced her. She had spent hours writhing furiously afterwards, sputtering flames out of her throat all the same…
But this time, Zirin was faster.
This time, Azula raised her hand to stop her just as Zirin screamed.
A violent burst of flames caught Azula just as she had been about to prevent it from rushing out: she was flung back, falling hard against the closed door, as the flames pouring over Zirin's body, charring at her skin, burned and melted the chains and restraints, destroying the chair where she had been perched…
She stood up, fire still alight over her body. Azula snarled, rubbing her back as she felt the door shifting behind her.
"Azula?! Azula! What's going on?! Azula?!" Sokka's voice reached her, and Azula snarled as she pushed herself away from the door.
"YOU'LL NEVER BREAK ME! THERE WON'T EVEN BE ASHES LEFT WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Zirin shrieked: her hand rose towards Azula, and she leveled a new firebending blast in her direction.
Azula snarled: the door swung open violently once her weight no longer kept it shut, for Sokka shoved it. He had a perfect view of how his princess caught an onslaught of pouring flames in one hand, brandishing it in her control, stealing it from the woman before her…
How? How was Zirin unleashing that kind of power? The room was as good as an inferno, one that Azula was restraining with every ounce of her strength…
Her left leg was unsteady.
There was something dark trickling down her trousers.
"Azula!" Sokka roared.
"GET BACK!" Azula rebuffed, building her power over the flames and wrestling them out of Zirin's control.
This wasn't new, even if it was far more potent than whenever it had happened during their previous mishaps on the road: Zirin's firebending was a threat to anyone around her, even herself. Long ago, Zirin had learned to channel her body's energy in ways completely unknown to Azula until then, as good as shutting down as she gathered her energy in a single point. Even her heart would stop beating for that small moment… and then everything would bloom again, unleashing from her body as an explosion, a storm of flames for which her body was the conduit.
It was more akin to a phoenix than anything Ozai had been. Zirin died for a blink of a moment only to return shrouded by flames. She had hurt herself with her own fire with these stunts in the past, destroyed her childhood home, she had always been restrained with chi-blocking when she had dared do it in the asylum… and chi-blocking was how Azula would keep her in check whenever Zirin's temper got the better of her while they were part of the same group.
She had surely used that technique to lay waste upon the asylum. She had gathered her power and unleashed all of it in one violent, suspended burst that would last for as long as she could sustain it.
And now, Azula struggled against the onslaught of fire that Zirin unleashed through her throat, her body seemingly burning alive as she unleashed her flames into the small room.
She couldn't scream forever, Sokka counted on that: he stood beside Azula, behind her, worried about the wound she had most likely sustained in her left leg… then, Zirin finally slowed her outburst, even as sparks poured from her closed mouth.
"Had enough yet?!" Azula roared: the room turned blue, as Azula brandished Zirin's remaining flames…
She could very well return them at her former ally.
But she didn't do it.
The fire diminished in size and strength, stifled gradually by Azula's expert bending: Zirin laughed, though, raising a hand menacingly.
"You will pay for all your broken promises!" Zirin shouted. "Your cursed family… I will destroy it at all costs! You… the Fire Lord!"
Azula had never understood Zirin's particular hatred towards Zuko: her brother hadn't even entered the room, but Zirin knew he was out there, somewhere. That, alone, would suffice to motivate her into destroying him at once.
She geared up to roar again, and Azula tensed up…
Her left leg buckled.
She gasped: why had she lost her grip? Why had she…?
She reached down to touch it, and only then did she realize her thigh hurt: blood. Her hand was stained with blood.
She shuddered at the sight of it, failing to understand the implications, only realizing now that there was something painfully imbedded in her skin. She couldn't rise back up. She couldn't stand. She couldn't…
Zirin unleashed a new burst of flames.
Azula wouldn't be fast enough to stop them.
A projectile flew violently through the flames, spinning fast in the direction where Zirin stood... but Azula didn't see it strike her.
She couldn't, for she was wrapped in protective arms as the remaining flames of that inferno fell upon the back of the person holding her.
Sokka cried out in pain as the flames charred his body: Azula yelped…
And just as suddenly as it had arisen, the fire extinguished.
"Sokka! Sokka, why would you…?!" Azula gasped, struggling to push herself back upright: Sokka weighed heavily on her, and he snarled with pain under the damage he had sustained. "Sokka!"
"Azula!" Zuko's voice reached them: the Princess turned towards him in anguish, seeing he had retrieved help, but not fast enough to stop Zirin from hurting Sokka.
Zuko's eyes widened at the sight of Sokka's burnt back: his shirt's back had been charred, leaving solely blackened fabric at the edges of the hole across the extension of his spine. Redness underneath betrayed that he had sustained a strong burn… even if the person bending the flames that had hurt him now lay unconscious, bleeding from the forehead.
Sokka's boomerang had spun awkwardly back to him, landing a few steps away, after he struck Zirin down before she could destroy the room, the Prison Tower, everything around them.
"Help…" Azula gasped, gripping Sokka firmly. She looked to Zuko with vulnerability most unlike her… uttering a word she most likely had never spoken to him. "Zuko…!"
The Fire Lord frowned with determination: he gave orders to his soldiers, and he stepped up to take charge of the situation. The guilt inside his chest would be resolved later: for now, Zirin would be contained anew, and Sokka and Azula would be taken to safety.
____________________________________
Sokka sighed, smiling sadly at Azula as she sat by his bedside, her brow furrowed:
The shards of the mirror nestled in a pouch, in her hand.
The mirror had broken against the door in the impact when she had been flung back with Zirin's initial outburst. She hadn't realized it, at first. She hadn't wanted to believe it was true, either, when she understood that her first gift by Sokka had been destroyed by Zirin's attack.
"I know she can show up elsewhere, I do, but… this sucks," Azula huffed, shaking her head and setting the mirror aside, trying to ignore her bandaged thigh. The damage hadn't been that deep, certainly not enough to endanger her, but she wasn't supposed to move around much for the next few days while her body amended the damage.
"We'll get you a new mirror. A prettier one," Sokka said. "One more suitable for you."
"That one was fine," Azula said, sighing as she set the pouch down on Sokka's nightstand. "But I shouldn't complain. You… you matter more than a broken mirror."
"Do I?" Sokka smirked. Azula scoffed. "What?"
"Are you really going to twist my concern for you into some weird flirting or something…?" Azula asked. Sokka laughed, nodding awkwardly as he lay on his back, head turned towards her. Azula scoffed, amused nonetheless. "You're so ridiculous."
"You like that I am, though," he said. Azula lowered her gaze.
"You know… Zuko once did what you just did, too. For your sister," Azula said. Sokka's smile waned slightly. "I was the one on the offensive that time. It's rare enough that I was the one trying to defend others this time… that I was the target of someone out of control, rather than being the one who was out of control or out of line. But it's weirder still that someone would jump into the fire for me."
She raised her gaze towards him, and Sokka smiled a little. Azula shook her head.
"No laughing matter. No smiling matter, either. You could have been burned far worse than you were. It's fortunate that they think you'll recover safely," Azula said. Sokka scoffed.
"Your fire's definitely stronger than hers," he said. Azula rolled her eyes, though she smiled a little. "You overestimated her strength."
"I'm quite sure I did no such thing," Azula said, shaking her head and reaching out a hand to stroke his hair gently. Sokka grinned giddily. "You didn't have to do that, is my point."
"Azula… I love you," Sokka said, earnestly. Her heart jolted to hear the words from his lips again. "I'm sorry to say that's what love means to me. Maybe you don't like it… but I'm going to jump into the fire for you. I'm going to stand between you and any knife that comes your way. If I get hurt… well, it's fine if you won't be."
"That's… you're an idiot," Azula said, frowning. Sokka shrugged.
"Most people think so too…"
"Well, most of them are wrong because they're saying it for the wrong reasons," Azula said. Sokka snorted. "You… you can't go around pretending your life and your safety matter less than that of everyone you care about."
"So… am I supposed to protect myself instead?" Sokka asked, puzzled. Azula gritted her teeth…
A most confusing, surprising epiphany hit her as consequence of his question. Sokka appeared to await an answer… and she was surprised to find she actually had one:
"You're supposed to fight by my side," Azula decided. Sokka's eyes widened. "We're… we're a team. Successful strategies don't require the sacrifice of your own allies. If you need to discard them as you progress towards your goal, you're probably not that good a strategist. More capable and able-bodied allies mean you have more resources at your disposal. It's simple and obvious."
"Heh. So… a practical, reasonable point of view encourages you to believe that I shouldn't jump into danger," Sokka smirked. "You know what? That's exactly why I like you. Love to hear it."
Azula smirked back at him, shaking her head: she couldn't help but grow fonder of him for that reaction. She suspected anyone lesser would have been cross with her for responding with practicality rather than sentimentality after a sacrifice that great… but not Sokka. They certainly saw eye to eye when it came to strategic matters, if nothing else.
"The next time we're in danger, if we are… and we most likely will be, considering who I am, and what your luck in life has been like," Azula pointed out, to Sokka's amusement. "Please… work with me. Don't jump into danger that way. It… it means a lot, that you would. But I'm not exactly eager to lose you. It was good thinking to knock Zirin out with your boomerang, you sure threw it hard for it to cut across her fire that way…"
"Well, these muscles aren't just for show," Sokka said, tightening his biceps to her amusement. Azula laughed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "See? See?"
"Dork," Azula smiled. He snickered proudly. "I'm grateful anyway. Just… don't do that again, will you?"
"I'll try not to," Sokka smiled warmly, reaching up to clasp her hand, pressing a soft kiss to her palm.
The tingling feeling of being treasured by someone to the point where he might sacrifice himself for her sake hadn't receded. It almost brought her to tears. Her throat tightened as she pondered it, as she realized that perhaps love did look a little bit like what Sokka had described for her before, even if it shouldn't be as self-sacrificial as that…
She leaned closer to him on his bed, pressing her lips to his cheek. Sokka grinned mischievously at the feeling.
"That's nice…" he said.
"You do realize… that we're not going to sleep together until your back recovers?"
"What?!"
Sokka yelped, and Azula laughed at his extreme reaction: he even seemed to rise from the bed, and she had to reel him in so he'd stop being so careless.
"Come on, you won't be able to lie on your back…"
"Well, I won't lie on it. I don't need to. You'll have to put up with being under me more often!" Sokka pouted.
"You really are that eager to get back to it, are you?" Azula smiled, stroking his hair and kissing his cheek again. Sokka groaned needily.
"When you're being this nice, it's hard to help it," he said. "C'mon, I could just lie on top and even as we sleep, I'll just rest on, uh, the best pillow in the world…"
"You like my breasts far too much for your own good," Azula said: Sokka smiled wildly, glancing at her chest even if her clothes covered her bosom fully.
"What's not to like?" he said. "You're delightful. And delicious, too."
"I'm… ugh, you don't have to be so crude, Sokka," Azula blushed, shaking her head as she pushed him slightly on his mattress. Sokka snorted at her remark.
"If it disgusts you so much, why are you climbing up here right after I said something stupid?" he asked: Azula was halfway on the mattress by then, and she shot him a fierce glare.
"Because I… had already meant to do this before you started being embarrassing," she huffed, lying down fully beside him. Sokka giggled, and Azula rolled her eyes before reaching towards him. "Come here, you annoying jerk, you…"
"Woah, wait…!"
His request was not heeded: thus, before he knew it, Sokka was left to lie his head down happily, comfortably, atop Azula's chest.
"I hope this will help you recover. At least, might brighten your spirits," Azula said, unsure of why she felt bashful after what she'd done. Sokka, of course, beamed with delight.
"Sure brightens them," he said. "Though I hope it won't help much because that means I'd recover too quickly. If I don't, then I'll get to do this even more often, and…"
"If you recover faster I'll sit on your face sooner than you know," Azula declared, boldly: Sokka smiled wildly, raising his head from her chest eagerly.
"You will?!" he exclaimed. Azula snorted and laughed.
"Guess you're happy when I'm the one who's crude. You know, you're delightful too. And ridiculous," she said, cupping his face with her hands before kissing his eager lips softly.
It was a tender, meaningful kiss for the two of them, and they extended it for as long as they dared with sweet, gentle pecks, as well as deeper, thorough explorations of each other, interspersed between the chaste kisses. His hands dared touch her with desire, even if he wasn't about to act on it… and Azula let him. She felt his fingers trailing her weak spots and she thrived in it, quietly, letting her lover trigger her pleasure at his leisure.
"You didn't need to do this either, you know?" Sokka smiled a little, raising his head to gaze at her. "Could've just left me to rest quietly while withholding yourself from me…"
"Why would I want to do that?" Azula asked, stroking his hair gently. Sokka chuckled.
"Don't know. Because I'm the annoying guy who put himself in danger for your sake when he should have been fighting alongside you?" he said.
"Well, lesson learned now, I hope. You're… a little forgiven," Azula said, with a smirk. Sokka laughed, his brow pressed against hers.
"Good to know," he said. Azula bit her lip.
"Maybe we're not so different, you and I. You jumped in front of an inferno to protect me because you love me… and I let you rest on my chest because I…"
"Azula?" Sokka raised an eyebrow, looking at her with surprise.
Azula breathed deeply before meeting his eyes: it felt like the biggest risk she had ever taken. She didn't know what was so frightening about uttering those words, she had already spoken them to someone else…
But doing it with Sokka felt like a greater commitment. Like deciding she was throwing her lot with him for the rest of their lives, if he could stand her for that long.
The way he gazed at her suggested he was capable of that, and so much more.
So she had to do it. She just had to jump… and wait for gravity to claim her, or for her wings to burst from her back and help her take to the skies.
"I love you."
Sokka's eyes gleamed with emotion, reflected by the tears that were born in the corners of his eyes. He laughed softly, and Azula smiled warmly too, if tearfully: he kissed her sweetly, and her arms locked around his neck as she kept him close.
"Azula…" he managed to say, with a broken voice. Azula shook her head.
"It's okay. We'll… talk things over later," she said, caressing his cheek. "We'll decide whatever we need to decide, alright? For now, just… just live in the here and now. Just… just let me love you even if I barely know how, okay?"
"You know more than you realize you do," Sokka smiled warmly: the affection in his eyes caught her so off guard she nearly melted into his next kiss, into his warm, loving embrace…
Yes, there were many things for them to work through still. Yes, perhaps she'd regret having said those words once it sunk in that she had done it, whenever she lost her mind to anguish over not being good enough for him… but right now, everything felt just right. His kisses were as warm as sunlight, setting her inner flame afire with potent emotions she never knew she could experience.
Fire could be so deadly, so devastating. It could lay waste upon everything, just as Zirin had tried to… but it could be warm and gentle, too. It could embody passion… it could embody life. The dark shadows fire cast around itself were intricately connected with its light. The hand of the bender wielding it would determine the true purpose of flames: destruction or creation, hatred or love, life or death…
And right now, the fire in her heart burned with unequivocal devotion for the man whose brow pressed to hers, as they basked in their newfound peace. A part of Azula wickedly wished to ask if this was exactly what he had been missing with Suki… but she didn't dare mar a perfect moment of shared tenderness with any matters besides the two of them. All teasing could wait for later.
Though they would be forced to interrupt that crystallized moment of happiness rather quickly, too, once they heard footsteps approaching Sokka's room, as well as the quelled voices of Zuko and his physicians, who no doubt were informing him of Sokka's state.
"Uuuh…" Sokka grimaced: Azula flushed as she squirmed clumsily, awkwardly, out of Sokka's embrace.
"Lie down quietly there. Nothing happened here," she said, bashful, carefully moving so her leg wouldn't hurt.
"Right. Right. I'll… pretend I was asleep, yep. That's it," Sokka smiled, closing his eyes and relaxing.
Azula's heart raced as she took her seat: Zuko barged in moments later, without knocking.
"Still can't bother announcing yourself before entering any rooms?" Azula asked. Zuko grimaced, slowing down at first before stepping closer to Azula, sitting beside her.
"I guess I ought to work on that," he said. "How is he?"
"He's… asleep. As you can see," Azula said, trying not to show her bashfulness too overtly – while there was much they would need to work on and decide, one of such things was settling on whether to keep matters quiet a little longer or blatantly sharing the truth of what their relationship was with everyone around them… such as Zuko.
"Well… yeah. I can," Zuko sighed. "The physicians say he might… might have light marks left. Fortunately, the fire receded fast enough so it isn't as severe as, well… my face."
"It wasn't a third-degree burn," Azula concluded. Zuko nodded.
"Still… I don't feel like this is the right choice," Zuko said. Azula raised an eyebrow. "I mean… my physicians are the best the Fire Nation can offer. But is Fire Nation medicine going to be enough?"
"I have no idea. I hope so?" Azula said. Zuko sighed.
"I think we should get him to someone who could alleviate his pain much faster. Maybe even heal him enough so his skin isn't damaged forever," Zuko said. "Not even with light marks."
"Is that even possible?" Azula asked.
"Waterbending healing is impressive. You'll see," Zuko said, reassuringly.
"You're bringing a waterbender here?" Azula asked. "Or… do you want us to go to the Northern Water Tribe again?"
"I, uh… didn't mean for us to travel that far. A little less far, frankly," Zuko said, twiddling his thumbs awkwardly. Azula frowned.
"What?"
"There's… a really great waterbending healer who would gladly look after Sokka and make sure he's okay. And I think we should trust her to take good care of him. I know I do… though I'm not sure you do. Sokka would, though, I mean, she's… uh, well… his sister."
Azula had started to suspect what Zuko was getting at right before he arrived at his destination: her jaw dropped, and she inched away from him before blurting out the one answer she could give her brother's suggestion:
"Absolutely not."
"Azula, he's her brother. She'll kill us if we don't tell her he was in danger, if we don't take him to her…!"
"She'll kill you for harboring me at all, and then kill me for being, well, me! So as far as I can tell, the casualties will be minimal provided we just… avoid her. Forever."
Zuko snorted, slightly amused by the panic Katara elicited in Azula's heart. The Princess glared at her brother in displeasure, and he shook his head.
"I'll go too and make sure she understands that none of this is your fault. If anything… it's mine," Zuko said. Azula winced…
"As touching as it is to hear you admit that? I still don't want to go. Nope. Not a chance," Azula said, eyes wide.
"You might just like Air Temple Island…"
"What does that even matter?! I'm not going to jump right into their hands when they thought I'd kidnapped Sokka to begin with!"
"Well, I'll clear that up too! It'll be fine! Maybe we can call Toph too, I bet she'd help clear your name! Maybe she even told Aang and Katara that you're not a hazard to Sokka already…!"
"Right, and you think they believed her, if she did? You're as gullible as…"
"If you guys argued any louder, maybe you'd finally make sure that no one gets any rest around these parts, you know?"
Both Azula and Zuko froze up at Sokka's accusatory tone and deadpan glare – evidently, his attempt to pretend that he was sleeping had ended very quickly. Their apologetic grimaces brought a smirk to his face, and he shook his head at them.
"We can go to Air Temple Island. I'll handle Katara… and I'll make sure to have a loud argument with her just as you two are trying to fall asleep, too."
"Haha. You're hilarious," Zuko scoffed. Azula chuckled, shaking her head at Sokka's promise. "But then… once you're okay to travel? We'll… we'll get going. We'll get you some more healing, Sokka. You'll make a full recovery."
"As noisy as you may be… that's nice of you, buddy. Thanks," Sokka grinned.
Zuko didn't stay for much longer, busy as he was: Azula's nervousness over the next leg of their journey didn't diminish at all… but once Zuko was gone, she reached out to take Sokka's hand in hers: he smiled as he fell asleep holding it, and just by the sight of that gentle smile upon his face, Azula allowed herself to believe wistfully that everything would work out for the best…
They were gone. No light. No reflections. Nowhere for her to peer through and understand what had happened. The mirror was shattered, stained with her host's blood.
"You see? You hurt her! And you keep hurting her! Your meddling ruined her bonds with her allies, and you couldn't save her from another betrayal!"
Yue gritted her teeth, closing her eyes as she tried not to listen to the cackling cruelty of her captor. She didn't want to hear it. She didn't need to…
"Yue… Yue… Yue…"
A second voice. The one she heard at times, a familiar voice… it was kind, it was reaching out for her…
The dark restraints around her body tightened. She closed her eyes and hoped they'd hold. She needed them to hold. Otherwise…
"It won't be long now. It won't be long," her captor giggled with cruelty: she refused to look at him. She wouldn't meet his gaze. She had always refused… and he would never stop pushing her. "It won't be long before you're mine forever… once no one needs you anymore. Once you're well and truly gone from that world. Once every memory of your existence vanishes…
"Once they forget you. The Princess, the warrior… they will give their hearts to each other, and you will be forgotten for good."
A tear escaped Yue's cheeks: she might never be free again… but so long as they were, she would endure this nightmare and face the dark fate that swirled closer and closer around her, threatening to fulfill the dark promise of Oblivion.
#sokkla#sokkla saturdays 2023#sokklasaturdays#sokka#azula#this one should finally stop all the frantic Zuko characterization police#you know#the ones who told me I was writing him perfectly IC but I was doing character bashing#it's beautiful to hear something so ironic#guess nowadays OOC is where it's at in fandoms#anyway#there's a lot of crazy stuff in here as usual#but it was a lot of fun especially the first scene#I thrive in Sokkla being together what can I say#we are shippers we need this#they are the fuel to my fire#*sobs*#and I damn missed writing them like this ffs#... also um yes Yue is... in a situation... as we all know...#it'll become a lot clearer next time around...#just gotta wait a week :'D
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hi nia, i hope u r doing good! i just wanted to drop by and lyk that to me u r The Keiji Expert, like u know him so well!!! and have such a good grasp on his character and everything i love it !!!!!!
pls drop any and all of ur thoughts for him, i live for them
GUH?! guys every time i write him i'm like wowww... this is kind of ass.. LOL it's the same thing w aki.. don't trust myself... agh. anyway. THANK U VERY MUCH!!! 🙆🏻♀️🙆🏻♀️ this + bkak + being nice silly and fun are all i need to be known for so i've basically succeeded in Tumblr atp. yeagh. AKAASHI!
when it comes to merch and decor,, he's more likely to focus on walls + figures.. he doesn't know where to put a bunch of plushies BSHSJDJS i don't think he'd get Big figures, except maybe a couple for his absolute favourites.. twas an investment. that shit is expensive. < girl who wanted this aki figure ☹️
^ picture of u on the wall that's always visible while he works. Always.
even if his background isn't a photo of you guys, he'd do photo widgets on his phone !! ^____^
i don't think he does anything with phone contacts... it's just their name and a lot of the time he doesn't put an icon or anything 😭 he'd add a heart emoji next to ur name and of course have a photo for u though!! 🥹
his bag has a dedicated sort of trash pocket that's just a mess a lot of the time BSHSJDJ he throws sticky notes, wrappers, etc. in there if there isn't a garbage can nearby 😭
Cosplayer Keiji 🤯🤯 GELLOOO my god. he could be hirotaka just by putting on a suit tbh. and then i'd explode obviously. but like... cosplayer keiji.... if anypony has ideas for who/what he could cosplay Pls let me know. HAAGHHHH
couple cosplays 😂🤣😂🤣😵 MY LEG. i just keeled over HOWL AND SOPHIE mmmgmynhgsieonHAJAOAN🤯🤯🤯
whatveer. idont even care
tucking him in 🙂↕️🙂↕️ you do it as a joke but of course he goes with it and lets you wrap him up and take off his glasses and kiss his head and he's smiling the Entire Time ohlymgocxnomymekdjn
going with jokes. yeah. he just goes with your shit a lot of the time because he trusts you LOL. you try couple trends and pranks and he gives you suspicious looks but does what you ask anyway.
^ the lipstick trend ☹️☹️☹️ WHYYY MYGODD WHYYY . YOU. 🫵🫵 Reader. take a breath and imagine him with a baggy t-shirt and messy hair and glasses and lipstick stains all over him and his hands on your waist while you kiss him and him going "another one?" with a breathy laugh WJYYY MY MISERABELLFIEEJEID😭😭😭😭😭
hhahh... Haggghhhhhh......... my chest iscaving ijn
Ok. you know the "his gaze softened" thing. yeah. well. for keiji it's not like. mean cold broody guy who gets soft. it's the quiet but nice guy who evidently feels out of place and is anxiously looking around who relaxes and smiles when he sees you enter the room WHO'S WITH ME!
He likes I Will by Mitski. he's a Mitski Enjoyer. Because I Say So. he's my beautiful boyfailure prince angel loser cat who fell into a bowl of water of course he likes mitski guysplels keiji i thinkzYou'd love a loving feeling and the frost and real men and humpty and pink in the night and nobody and should've been me And
occasional punk/metal enjoyer keiji .? walk with me. someone take my hand. ptv slipknot soad korn orbit culture somebody needs to walk with me here
doesn't have a huge appetite... if he's at hot pot he can probably finish but 1) he's full and 2) he planned what he'd get based on past failures to finish his food. like i love boyfriends who can finish your meal if you can't (< girl who gets full) but i think things may end up a team effort 🫡🫡
just lies on the floor and listens to music sometimes. if you walk in on him he doesn't move but will welcome you to join him with open arms ! 🫂
oh 🥹 keiji working super hard on gifts for you... coloured paper and youtube videos so he can figure out how to make a paper flower bouquet 🥹 he starts getting paper crafts/origami skills because of this fr fr
you get it.
#🧾nia.answers#<3 anon#6okuto.txt#tried to keep this on the shorter side Lest I Run out of content...#my bad if ive ever mentioned any of this before. will not be checking. LOL#keiji im always like. am i projecting way too hard. and aki its like Well what if im just straight up super wrong HDOENDKSN#will kick my feet and giggle at this 4ever#really not sure where all u nice anons come from but ☹️☹️🥹🥹 i appreciate u very much u make my day for realsies#REALLY AND TRULY!! ive been an emotional shit show since october so im vry grateful 4 u guys 🫡☹️🫵🫂#hope U r doing good nonnie!!! im doing ok btw. spring term soon but im doing a soc class so im happy 🫡🙂↕️
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Lime time :D I’m watching Sniff
Their setup is suffering lmao
The extended discussion of if this team is family friendly or not and then Ollie’s “Okay FUCK” 😂😂😂
“Sometimes it’s hard for me to shoot people because I’m bad at the game” Sniff my beloved!!
Guqqie’s excitement over there not being fall damage is so real
Sniff kinda popping off!!!!
This team is so silly goofy, this is gonna be such a fun time :))
Sniff muting to gush about how nice their team is <333
“I’m gonna run to the bathroom real fast” “Go piss, girl” SNIFF /pos
She said that to Purpled lmao 😂😂😂
Ollie being offended at the implication that he doesn’t sound Spanish enough
“I will be deafening during ace race to sing the I’m Just Ken song” “That’s fine” “Yeah, for sure” “That’s so fair, that’s just morally correct” Guqqie BASED
Rocket Spleef
THEYRE SO PREPARED!!!!!
Purpled is such a tryhard, I love him
“Not the puzzle pieces […] If I do bad in this game, I’m calling up Autism Speaks and I’m having a word with them, I’m just saying” that’s my audhd icon!!
“I’ve never been drunk before” and I believe him because Purpled Bedwars would never lie
Ableist map!!!! /j
“I love how we all look like little flies hanging out” Sniff Snifferish is only correct all the time
On the fence, what a legend!!!!!!
Purpled is too powerful you guys
Hole in the Wall
This isn’t a great game for them rip, at least it’s out of the way tho
Sniff and Guqqie <333
Everyone getting their chance to pop off my beloved
Sniff’s Purpled appreciation speech :(( them <3
Skybattle
“We don’t want people, we don’t like people” so true Purpled
SNIFF SNIFFERISHHHHHHH!!!!!! my streamer won skybattle
*Ollie instantly dies, is still screaming* “It’s okay, we move on” this team is everything to me, their energy is so
Ok but Guqqie managing a team kill in skybattle is so iconic of them
Yellow is a strong team, Ollie is one of the only players expressing a healthy fear of their raw power and I love him for that
Meltdown
Purpled and Guqqie being so excited about the new routes my beloved <333
They’re killing it!!!!
Purpled is such a good igl I will not shut up about it
#1 pink supporters fr :))
That fight against red was so uncomfortably close quarters lol, they did great tho
Sniff sacrificing herself to save Purpled, team player of all time <33
Guqqie and Sniff digging into Purpled for calling them “chat” my beloved
Battle Box
They did that!!!!
They popped off!!!! Absolutely destroyed!!!!!
Ace Race
The mega chicken’s betrayal was brutal
“I’m just Ken” 😭😭😭
NOOOOOOOOOOO SNIFFFFFFFF ;-;
Xeir recovery though!!!!! He’s making back that time!!
Grid Runners
“I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m barking orders” “You can bark, you can bark” “Yeah, you can meow if you’re up for it” this team 😂
Purpled losing his mind at that one pig is so valid but it’s also very funny to me
They’re on a roll!!!! Golf and dunk tank were clean
Purpled is confident with redstone, didn’t know that lol
Sands of Time
Excited about this strat :))
Guqqie do not apologize omg /aff
They’re so low on time, it’s stressing me out
Love them appreciating how much yellow popped off, they did incredible and it might be the biggest lead in season 3 (am definitely going to look into that now whoops)
Dodgebolt
“I love my girlfriend!!” “Really? No way, I never would’ve guessed” sapphic on sapphic violence lmao
Purpled asking if Walli can join the call lmao
You could tell me Purpled and Walli were boyfriends and I would believe you tbh, only inkling of hesitation is Purpled’s intentional token straight energy
Sniff popping off!!!! You owe corporations nothing and transphobes can fuck off
Purpled’s sympathy for Fruit’s plight my beloved
Them manually translating, language barriers lose!!!!
“I have adhd, I’m off my meds, please forgive me” SAME, WHERES MY FREAKING ADDERALL REFILL @mypsychiatrist
Great team, great times, great vibes :))
#mcc33#mc championship#snifferish#guqqie#olliegamerz#purpled#nerdy’s MCC reactions#cw swearing#cw caps
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Connie Springer Headcanons!!
did a part 1 to this months back, but i have more to say about this loser <3
one piece avid. he grew up watching it and is STILL obsessed. he does not understand why people complain about how long it is.
"one piece isn't that long. i watched it when i was a kid-" BECAUSE IT CAME OUT WEEKLY, YOU-
middle school boy sense of humor
not in the tiktok and making fun of people’s interests for no reason type of way, just being immature and saying the most out of hand things
does not understand math above third grade level. pls do not even try helping, he will not retain the information-
BUT he has surprisingly good grades in chemistry
during science class once, mr. ackerman (the janitor) walked into class to yell at prof. zoe for something and connie misguidedly whistled, "marriage issuesssss”
bro got wrongfully sent to the principal’s office for that one ☝️
knows all the tiktok dances since he is in historia's main tiktok dance team (with ymir, sasha, and him ofc ofc)
the kid in school with godly attendance
watches all the new netflix shows and thinks they're actually good
if you're his s/o, beware. he LOVES horror movies and will drag you to the couch, you kicking and screaming, just to watch one.
brought you, sasha, and jean to watch megan with him and laughed so hard you guys cried
his most used apps/websites are omegle, tiktok, and then random ass mobile games
OMFG he was that kid who asked "got games on your phone?"
joined the school choir w/ sasha for shits and giggles but ended up getting to travel to italy to perform
learned mime because he thought it'd be cool
he had his first girlfriend when he was twelve and he was on omegle fucking around
they still keep in touch, actually
read chainsaw man in one day and felt numb asf afterwards for a month straight
still can cry on whim about it
denji is just like him fr major denji kinnie (hey im an asa mitaka kinnie pls connie one chance ily-)
he had a phase where he thought he was bruno mars 💀
is the one who brings jean back to earth whenever he brags about getting all the girls in his grade and how every girl is obsessed w him and how-
doesn’t use spotify, uses apple music
has dyed his hair (or whatever tf that hairstyle is lmao) red and blue. he had red hair first, but then he decided to switch to blue. unfortunately, he dyed it without having the red removed and he got a yucky purple color…
listens to funny love songs whenever he’s down
bo burnham enthusiast. watches all the specials and the youtube analyses on how ‘inside’ is a masterpiece and how it is revolutionary for comedy standups and- (it is)
one of those people who could talk endlessly if you allowed him to. he could get REALY deep and start talking about some really sad and painful things that happened to him.
BUT he also is a good listener since he works well in teams. he listens and adds to others’ ideas.
he listens to female rap (doja cat, lauryn hill, megan thee stallion) but you didn’t hear that from me-
can’t cook and, when his mom isn’t home, survives on instant noodles, cereal, and protein shakes
fast runner. he isn’t even trying hard, he just has lots of stamina and speed.
VERY accident prone, but he always brushes it off with a laugh
my loser boy <3
#connie springer#attack on titan headcanons#shingeki no kyojin#attack on titan#connie is my bbg <3 <3#he’s such a little loser in my mind and i love it#asaden au connie x reader when???
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zack for the hcs ask post?
Oh gosh I didn't expect someone to ask me anything from that post LMAO but I can never say no to spewing my thoughts about mister Zack Fair <3
Headcanon A: what I think realistically —
Has ADHD!
Zack's favorite stim is doing squats!
He catches social cues but will ignore them (exhibit A, the girl at front desk who didn't care for his flirty advances until he became 1st class. Zack probably asked her on a date before and got rejected, and he didn't try again) (exhibit B, very often people tell him that Shinra/SOLDIER is in the wrong and
Gets the zoomies (which is a great quality for a SOLDIER operative)
Gets distracted easily! Look at how many side and fetch quests he has piled up...
2. He gives the gentlest of hugs to his friends, but when it comes to Angeal he gives him the bear crushing hugs
3. BISEXUAL KING <333
4. Naturally had brown eyes before he joined SOLDIER and got mako blue eyes
B: what I think is fucking hilarious —
Zack thought of Angeal as his dad. Sephiroth and Genesis were secondary fathers, so the entire events of Crisis Core felt like a huge divorce (I mean, the events of the game are still painful, but it hurts less by thinking of it as a divorce)
He shows to be grossed out by bugs in game, but I believe he ate them as a child. Gongaga was full of them! He outgrew it when he moved to Midgar and there weren't as many bugs everywhere
Zack adopted several pet fish in his lifetime, all of them eventually died due to Zack being gone for long periods at a time for missions. But Angeal didn't have the heart to break the news to Zack, so he replaced them fish with a googly eyed rock. Zack never knew the difference.
Takes a lot of selfies because he knows he'd gorgeous
C: what is heart-crushing and awful but fun to inflict on friends —
After the events of Nibleheim, the only thing Zack had were Cloud and Aerith. One comatose, and another a memory.
Cloud only due to circumstance since they were in the same boat of being science experiments. Normally we see Zack suspicious towards those in Shinra, even if they were friends before (Cissnei and Kunsel are the two prime examples. Cissnei eventually earned his trust, but Kunsel never got the chance to because there's limited things he can do through text.)
Aerith was his only connection outside of Shinra, if anything, he sympathized with her since she was under the Turks watch. The two never talked about it, but they didn't talk about a lot of things. There was always an unspoken escapism that they found within each other. But 4 years is a long time, and the reality of that hit him when he found her 89th letter.
He couldn't even reconnect with his parents, who he hasn't seen since he was 14yrs old. Shinra took that away from him too.
2. After the Wutai War and Angeal disappeared, Zack ate apples more often to feel connected to him. (He couldn't find Dumbapples so he made do with red apples.)
3. After Angeal's death, Zack changed his hairstyle to represent his growth, but it's slicked back to resemble his late mentors hair.
4. He really wanted to see Sephiroth as a friend, but Sephiroth closed himself off too much for them to make a real connection. But that doesn't mean that Sephiroth didn't care, just that he kept Zack at arms length.
D: what would never work with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway —
I would've loved to see him in a team setting! Because I headcanon that he's so used to working as a lone wolf (or in a unit) that he has a hard time working as a part of the team. He's always given or taken orders! He would likely butt heads with whoever else tried to give orders, if he didn't ignore it entirely and run in head first.
I said it before but BISEXUAL KING I would love to see him flirt with a guy in canon :') he came close with Kunsel but it was written off as a joke ("I love you man!" @Kunsel )
I hc him as native american because I'm indigenous and he's just like me fr look at his black hair its practically canon
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EXO 엑소 'Power' MV
WARNING - PHILIPPINE - MEDICAL - PROFESSIONALS
YOU’RE - NOT - DRESSED - LIKE - WHORES OF MIAMI
YOU’RE - NOT - SHOWING - BREASTS
NOT - SHOWING - BUTTOCKS - NOT - WEARING PANTY
BAYSIDE - MARKETPLACE
BISCAYNE BLVD
WARNING - PHILIPPINE - MEDICAL - PROFESSIONALS
YOU’RE - NOT - ALLOWING - FEMALE - MIAMI POLICE
2 - TOUCH - YOUR - BREASTS
WARNING - YOU’RE - NOT - ALLOWED
NOVOTEL - HOTEL, INC.
THE - HAMMOCK - PARK - INFRONT
WHAT - U - DO - U - MUST - KEEP - WALKING
REMEMBER - OUR - 1ST - GOLD - MEDAL
121 LBS - A - WOMAN - ZAMBOANGA CITY
TOKYO - JAPAN
OVER - 25 MILLION - YEARS
EXOTIC - PINAY - DANCER - THEY - BOXED
HER - KICKED - HER - BEAT - HER - KICKED
HER - THEN CUSTOMERS - BOYS STABBED
STABBED - HER - 2 - DEATH - THEN - THEIR
ORGY - TOKYO - GIRLS - SAID - CAN - WE
JOIN - AND - STABBED - HER - PHILIPPINE
STORAGE - SAID - ‘CORONARY - FAILURE’
WHEN - IT - COUNTED
AFTER - 1924 - PARIS - FRANCE
OLYMPICS - ONLY - ZAMBOANGA
MISS TOURISM - AGE 25 - DROPPED DEAD
FR - SMOKERS - ZAMBOANGA - CITY - SO
FOR BOTH - GIRLS - ANOTHER ZAMBOANGA
2 - DEFEND - THEIR - HONOR
OUR - FIRST - GOLD - MEDAL
WOMEN’s - WEIGHTLIFTING
121 LBS
BEATING - GREEDY - CHINA
CHINA - AIRLINES - THE - ONLY - ONE THAT
ACCEPTED - RICH - GUY - NINOY JR
24 AUGUST - MANILA - INTERNATIONAL
AIPORT
2 - PINOYS - AS - THEY - TOOK - NINOY JR
HE - WASN’T - DEAD - YET
BECAUSE - HE - WAS - LOITERING - HIS
BODY - THEY - TOOK - HIM - 2 - BURN HIS
BODY - 4 - FERDINAND E MARCOS
WHAT - I - MISS - THE - MOST
FORMER - ROYAL - PHILIPPINE - ISLANDS
WOMAN - KISSING - A - MARRIED - MAN
REPORTED
ONLY - MALES - TALL - HANDSOME - YES
ROYAL - SOLDIERS - VIRGINS - ONLY AS
THEY - ALL - UNIFORMED - WENT
AND - WITH - ROYAL - SWORDS - AS THEY
SLICED - THEM - 2 - DEATH
THEN - THEIR - BODIES - GENTLY
PUT - IN - THEIR - WHITE - SANDS - AS
THEY - DIGGED - WITH - WATER - THAT
HELPED - AS - THEY - PUT - THEIR
BODIES - THERE - PIECES - THEN
THEY - GOT - BANANA - LEAVES AS
THEY - KEROSENE - BURNT THOSE
BODY - PARTS - SMELLS - BETTER
AS - THEY - WORSHIPPED - A GOD
WHO - WILL - NOT - TOLERATE
UNHOLY - LIVING - THESE - SLIME
MARRIED - MAN - BEING - KISSED
BY - A - WHORE
NON-VIRGINS - ALSO - SLICED TO
DEATH - AS - THEY - ROYALTY
ASKED - HOW - DO - YOU - LIKE
THESE - LAWS
ALL - SCREAMED - WITH DELIGHT
AND - MULTIPLIED - LEGALLY YES
EVEN - FRIENDS - PRODUCED KIDS
MIAMI - POLICE - IN - BICYCLE
WANTED - 2 - KNOW - IF - THE
‘PHILIPPINES - IS HOMELESS - IN - MIAMI’
WARNING - WARNING - VIOLENCE
DISCRIMNATION - OF - NATIONAL ORIGIN
RACE - GENDER - AGE - ME - REALLY - 60
ME - FACE - WRINKLED - PRUNE - I’M YES
QUITE - UGLY - THEY - JUST - LIKE - THE
BODY - OF - NON-300 LBS - IN - FLORIDA
AS - AMERICANS - ALWAYS - TALKING - IN
PHILIPPINES - NOT - OUR - LANGUAGE
BUT - TALKING - THEIRS
OUR - WAY - IS - BETTER
GOD - SAID - ‘LIVE - HOLY - AS - HE - IS
HOLY’
THOSE - PINOY - MALES - UGLY
UNIFORM - NOT - LIKE - ROYAL
SOLDIERS - OF - PAST - BY - HEIGHT
FAMILY - NAME - BY - INTELLIGENCE
BY - VIRGINITY - BY - VOWS - 2 - YES
PROTECT - THE - ISLANDS’ PEOPLE
HERE - MIAMI - POLICE
‘ARE - YOU - HOMELESS’ - HE - WAS
GOING - 2 - SHOOT - ME - BECAUSE
I’M - A - FOREIGNER - AND - WOMAN
MISOGYNY
HARM - ABUSE - MURDER - OF - WOMEN
AND - NO - BREASTS - GIRLS
WARNING - PHILIPPINES
AFTER - HUB - LOCKER - AT - A - HILTON
MUST - CARRY - 220 LBS - DON’T - STOP
AT - ANY - PARK - FALL - ON - THE - YES
STREET - JUST - FALL - AS - THEY - IN
BRICKELL - WILL - STEAL - YOUR BAGS
THEIR - PROSTITUTES
BY - MARRIAGE - CLIENTS
$300 - PER - HOUR - WHORES - NOT
ALLOWED - TITHES - AND OFFERINGS
AMERICANS - LOOSE - SINCE - AGE 3
KOREANS - BORN - IN - MIAMI - ALSO
FAGS - LESBIANS - WITH - EACH OTHER
SINCE - AGE 3 - LIKE - KOREA - SEOUL 2
AMERICANS - LOOSE - WITH - COUSINS
INCEST - ALL - THE - WAY - WITH - YES
PARENTS - COUSINS - TEACHERS ASSISTANT
ALL - THE - WAY - WITH - TEACHERS - AND
PRINCIPALS - WITH - SPORTS - TEAM
VARSITY - FOOTBALL - IN - LOCKERS
ALL - THE - WAY - JUNIOR - VARSITY
ASLO - MBA
MARY - BRICKELL - ACADEMY
KIDS - SAYING - THE - ‘F’ - WORD
THEY - WENT - ALL - THE - WAY - WITH
THEIR - DOORMAN - THEIR - MAIDS
THEIR - BABYSITTER - AS - BOYS AGE
18 - KIDS - WENT - ALL - THE - WAY
WITH - THEIR - UNCLES
AMERICANS - DUMB - AND - NOT YES
VIRGINS - SINCE - AGE 3
WHY - BECAUSE - AFTER - 3 DAYS
JESUS - ROSE - FR - THE - DEAD AND
THEIR - MOMS - ALL - THE - WAY FOR
CASH - WITH - HUBBY’s - MALE
FRIENDS - AMERICANS - ARE - VERY
ALL - THE - WAY - SINCE - CHILDHOOD
WHY - NOT - VERY - BRIGHT
GOD - DOES - NOT - BLESS
NON-VIRGINITY - AS - NOT - LEGALLY
WED - GOD - DOES - NOT - BLESS
FOUL - MOUTHS - GOD - DOESN’T
BLESS - UNHOLINESS - TOUCHED
GOD - BLESSES - VIRGINITY - YES
IN - HOLINESS - AND - PURITY NOT
MASTERBATES - THEIR - BODIES
AS - QUESTIONABLE - VIRGINS
THE - USA - AGE 246
IMMORAL - AND - MIAMI
VERY - IMMORAL - BREASTS ALWAYS
SHOWING - BUTTOCKS - SHOWING 2
IN - CHURCH - ALL - THE - WAY WITH
THEIR - PASTORS - THEIR - WIVES
ORGY - BIBLE - STUDIES - THE USA
DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,
SEOUL - KOREA BETTER
‘JESUS - IS - LORD’ - KR
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OOO if you ever did I’d love to see what teams you make…if you do it I’ll do it too HAHA and fr!! I love the pokemon universe the stories and lore like sure there’s the happy go lucky my bff pal narratives but there’s also the darker more serious stories which I think is great
No fr….like I can only imagine if there were more women in bllk something tells me they’d just be slapped in for fan service only….
And yeah!! With the exception of aiku and sendou I don’t really see any of the others making it…I think narratively it’d be cooler that way too to show how bllk really managed to hijack the team and prove their worth!!
Bestie going through it fr LMAO she’ll have her moment…this is just for the plot and character development lolollll
Ok good because I was about to be like am I really out of the loop wtf is rhyming ping pong…I can’t see it being played any other way either so I’d also assume your interpretation is right LOL
SHSHS BUT IF IT LEADS TO A GOAL ITS ALL GOOD crying fr like was no one concerned?? Also I always lose it at the fact that Rin literally had his face smashed in and the only one to check in on him was hiori like…Bachira and reo just spectating a few feet a way like guys call an ambulance or sth?? /hj LMAO
Karasu having beef with not just water but sea life is something I’ll now be integrating into my brain, like maybe his fear is heightened by those scuba diver videos where people like documenting their animal encounters and he’s like “bro they’re jumpscaring the dude that’s so not cool”
ANGST I can’t wait, gonna go back and forth between those and fwtkac like remy the rat took a bite of cheese and a grape and savor them all HAHA it’s actually crazy how writing acts as a conversion medium fr like piece was so good it’s changing my inner morals LMAOO (me rn) totally get it though life is crazy!! Make sure you get some rest in between!!! Will definitely read the hell out of it if it ever comes into being LOL I did indeed see your shitposts and omg the most recent one LMAOO you really got converted by fwtkac HAHAHA (honestly so real)
Oh god…there’s so many!! That nagi opp is one LMAO the global version also localized one of the ones with Bachira and Isagi where Bachira goes “ooh Isagi you got that rizz” (I died a little) but even better are the lines in the jp server right now!! I’m not sure if you’ve seen any translations for them so I’ll slap them down here (forgive me if they’re a bit rough the general gist at the very least should be accurate LOL) I’ll pick out the funniest bits because some get a little long LOL
Otoya and Chigiri:
C: why are you staring at me like that??
O: I was just thinking that if you put on some makeup you could become a really high level girl
C: wtf I’m not doing that, don’t you feel pathetic having such fantasies about guys like me
O: I’m desperate, bllk has some great training facilities but there’s literally no girls here it’s bringing my mood down
C: as if I care, I’m not playing soccer to get girls anyways
O: I bet your popular without trying
C: yeah yeah thanks
O: so were you? I was popular (said with audacity)
C: no comment. If you’re so popular why don’t you score enough goals and go meet girls outside for a day
O: good idea, thanks princess
Tabieita:
O: Nice practice is over. Good job Karasu
K: yeah you too. You had some nice off the ball and kick moves today
O: You were able to join my moves too, that hyped me up
K: ‘course, if I can’t understand your movements I wouldn’t be able to pass to you
O: you can see through my movements? Scary. You’re like a stalker
K: who are ya calling soccer idiot!
O: ooo an authentic Kansai comeback, I’m hyped
K: so you were just saying that stupid joke to get me to react like that huh…
O: nah you rlly are scary, it’s rare to find somehow who’s able to join my off the ball/shadow sneaking moves, idk what I’d do if you were my opponent
K: I’d abuse your weak points and make it so ya couldn’t sneak off
O: hah? No way you wouldn’t be able to keep up with my moves
K: oh ho ho is that so? Then let’s test that right now idiot
Hiori and player (Karasu crumbs)
P: …good work Hiori. Do you…want a towel….?
H: nice timing, thanks…but you’re looking even more worn out than I am, and I just finished practice. Did something happen?
P: yeah….actually I just pissed Karasu off….
H: Ah Karasu huh, I feel bad for ya. What’d he say?
P: After practice, Karasu said “Ah I need a towel, swap this one for a dish** for me”…
H: Ah~ “dish” huh…you thought he wanted something to eat too didn’t ya?
P: seems you get the picture. I asked him back “why do you need a plate?”
H: Ah I bet he was exasperated
P: Then he said “Do ya wipe sweat with dish ware?? I meant a new towel ya idiot”
H: ah but you didn’t know huh, what “dish” meant, it comes from the idea that a new one should be sparkling clean, like a china plate
P: looks like I didn’t study enough about kansai dialect..if I’m not more careful from now on…
H: well karasu’s the only one who make such a big fuss about it, don’t worry about it too much…oh if you ever don’t understand what I’m saying, just ask
P: thank you!!!
H: o-oh you don’t need to thank me like that, I think Karasu was also just trying to point it out purposefully. Kansai dialect is hard to understand sometimes
**in kansai dialect “sara” is used to mean new, but in normal Japanese it means dish/plate so the player gets confused like why are you asking me for a plate when in reality Karasu wanted a new towel LMAOOO I was trying to think of a way to translate it but couldn’t find anything appropriate unfortunately but I laughed so hard!!
Will def share any other funny moments I see but this fr just teleports me to fwtkac squishy hiori and bad mouthed Karasu LMAO
- Karasu anon
OMG OKAY I’M ABT TO SLEEP BUT TMRW I’LL DEF DO IT AND POST IT!! and i agree i think pokémon is mostly aimed at a younger audience so they never lean into just how dark the verse is but honestly some of the lore is super fucked up 😭 tons of fic potential honestly i think a really well done pokémon au could be FASCINATING to read
fr the fan service is already bad enough w anri….so glad they toned it down in the anime it’s BRUTAL in the manga!! why does every panel of her w the jfu mention her breasts 😓 like i get they’re trying to show that they don’t take her seriously but there’s so many other ways to accomplish that. like she’s 22?? have them make fun of her for being so young!! idk believe me i get that it’s realistic but the way it’s gone about is so 😐 especially given how much care is put into the boys’ backstories and appearances and whatnot…just feels like more of an excuse to sexualize her than to show her genuine struggles esp given how ego treats her
yes 100%!! aiku is def making it and sendou scored so he’s probably good but otherwise it would be a weird writing choice for any other u20 boys to be included like they were all irrelevant asf and had no build up…though ig that’s how hiori and kurona were and look at them now!! ig we will just have to trust the process 😔
bestie doesn’t realize that an enemies to lovers arc requires an enemies arc before the juicy stuff can happen 😱 she’ll get there one day HAHA if you think about it there is one hell of a red string tying her and otoya together because what are the odds that this random guy you meet once at some movie theater near your cousins’ house (not even close to where you live) ends up being invited to the same soccer camp as your best friend’s boyfriend, becomes bffs w said best friend’s boyfriend, and then play as a starter in the first soccer match you have ever attended/watched in your life?? lowkey fated to be together if i say so myself.
RIN WENT THROUGH IT IN THAT GAME AND NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON CARED (except hiori and kind of karasu?? at least he acknowledged it by arguing for a yellow card even if his motives weren’t to be caring 😭). reo and bachira treated that shit like television bro 😫 but honestly can’t blame them…also wait this is only slightly related but shidou being 18 and rin being freshly 16 (like he turned 16 right before/during blue lock i think??) is SO FUNNY BROOO why is shidou beefing w a child 😰 he is OLDER than sae and karasu!! like sae turns 18 during the second selection and karasu has an august birthday but shidou was born in july so he at his big age is just going around and beating up kids. idk why but i thought sae was older than him it’s crazy he’s not. that also makes it funny that karasu is all “they’re so immature 🙄” abt him and rin fighting because he’s literally older than you buddy…though you could argue that that actually makes it worse so maybe karasu has a point 😭
OMG BECAUSE HE’S AGAINST SURPRISE PRESENTS you know he does NOT trust the ocean nor any of its creatures…he heard about how much of it is undiscovered and noped tf out 😐 first time he saw a pic of an anglerfish he knew he would never be a swimmer even if his life depended on it!! PLEASE idk if you have a roku but he gets so pissed by the default loading screen being a fish tank that he makes his sister change it to be the roku city instead
i love going between angst and humor!! i wrote the first part of fwtkac and white butterfly days apart and sometimes i’m like wow these do not even feel like they’re by the same person 😫 omg the me x otoya post LMAOAAO listen it’s canon we’re actually kaneshiro’s fav couple 🙄 get ready for the episode otoya movie coming out next year…1h 31m of our beautiful relationship ❤️🔥 SKJDHGKJ i am afraid i have been well and truly swayed to the dark side as you can see 😔 tabieitaken the men of all time bro one chance w ANY of them and i’d be happy (although realistically i’d be happiest if it was karasu because he’s the most likely to stick around and also because he’s #bae)
OTOYA IS SO DESPERATE HELP??? someone save chigiri fr he does not need to be dealing w this nonsense 😰 and omg tabieita trash talk they’re so goofy i love them 💖 the “authentic kansai comeback” otoya is just stirring shit up for no reason 😭 such an instigator
PLEASE THE HIORI CONVO IS SO FUNNY it’s giving child apologizing to the retail worker their dad just yelled at…they are never beating the father son allegations i’m afraid 😭
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well, if it's only the end goal that matters, it doesn't really matter how you get there... right?? RIGHT??? idk y'all would've bickered as much no matter how you became friends in the first place😭
hannie is pretty good at basketball now though?? i never would've guessed😭😭 AND WDYM YOU DRAGGED JENO INTO THIS? WERE YOU IN ON IT????? JOLENE ISTG😭😭 i mean he got better eventually, and he is decent now. but i thought that was because I TAUGHT him not some random ass guy from our rival school😭 istg i considered joined their team so many times, but i loved my other teammates (and dk ig😔😔). no cause👀👀 i know i was the one who said it, but i would've been so distracted if he was a cheerleader😭 i remember everytime i ran past hoshi and dk during a match i would try my best to look as good as possible😭 one time i even stumbled and fell, but it all worked out cause dk ran out and took care of me🫶🫶 i'm just imagining that x100 if he was a cheerleader😭 cause he is LOUD as well
and that makes no sense to me😭 like i literally remember tryouts our sophomore year... i think double the amount of girls tried out and you're saying this has something to do with hoshi and not ??? us ?? being good?? or both?? i refuse to believe it😭
lmao ask him not me😭 dk can't manage shit though, so i suppose he thought it would be easier and that he'd be asked to just run around and pick up balls idk
ohhhh right😭😭 now i remember why i never actually went through with the plan... it wouldn't work for shit cause y'all needed to sit down with your feelings and talk😭 that is so much more difficult than just making y'all make out. i'm glad you figured it out by now, but i still get so mad at hannie when i think about it😭
awee a part of me always wished you'd end up with jaehyun, bc i imagined you and hannie could never work out after your rocky start😭 but look at you now!! no one's more perfect for each other🫶
but lmao that reminds me of when i tried to date ten and on the first day he just went "ida, look, you're so in love with this other guy, i'm not even going to try to get inbetween that" 😭😭���� made me cry fr, but he was right. and i never tried dating anyone but dk since😭
you know what? crazy is my middle name😌😌 besides, i was already infatuated with dk, what was i supposed to do😭😭 and wonwoo and hao kept me sane fr + you were literally my bsf from day 1. i was stuck with y'all. i'm starting to think he might've pretended to be bad at soccer but ??? why would he do that😭 so i would teach him (i did)? wouldn't it be better to look cool😭
the way all their secrets are literally just one of the boys making a joke, which seems like a bad and untrue inside joke so i never thought much about it until it's revealed to be true?? like i distinctly remember soonyoung bringing up that dk joined the team for my sake, but i was like "soonyoung is not funny at all🙄🙄"
like the way i am extremely afraid of birds (like no. 1 fear), but i can deal with pigeons now and i think part of the reason why is dokyeom and his stupid impression😭😭😭 made me realize they're not all that scary
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Hunted Friends | Lucas Sinclair x Reader
Summery - You go with Lucas Sinclair to ‘hunt down’ Eddie Munson.
Requested? Yes/No - By Anonymous
Warnings - Jason. Just Jason. Mention of Jason being abusive to reader when younger.
A/N - I forgot to save the post when I wrote it last so the entire story deleted itself, so I procrastinated it for a while, I was that mad at myself.
“Lucas, you don’t think Eddie actually killed Chrissy, do you?" You sat next to him, the rest of the Basket ball team planning Eddie's 'talk'.
"I don't think so, but it doesn't make sense why she was even at his house," Lucas groaned, sitting up from the lounge, and pressed his face in his palms.
"What if it was someone else? And he just happened to witness the murder? Like say someone took both of them, brought them back to Eddie's house and killed Chrissy, but Eddie managed to escape?"
"Too over the top."
"Right, did Eddie do anything on the side? Like, say he's a male prostitute. What if she was tryin' to get some?"
"She was dating Jason. Why would she need to cheat, and that still doesn't explain how she died or who or what killed her."
"As in something else other than human?"
"What?" He looked at you, straining his eyes to see you as it was still dark in the old burger joint.
"You said 'who or what.' It seems like you're implying something else could've killed her."
"No, I meant that like a an object could've somehow killed her. Like she could fallen down on something and it killed her."
"You saw the autopsy photos. It doesn't even look like a human could've done that."
Lucas tensed up, he was starting to think of every reasonable excuse, which were none.
"Remember how you told me about all your nightmares with the Demogorgon, Mind Flayer and the Flayed people. Not to mention the government attacking you and a super powered girl saving you. What if the nightmares are real. You know I believe in the supernatural."
"Y/N, they're bad dreams, Chrissy was murdered. Like I told you before, the nightmares haven't happened since last summer."
"But none of it makes sense. How did your brain predict the Mall Fire, how would have you guessed that your friends family would move away and take Hopper's adopted kid who showed up randomly last year."
"Cause they're not nightmares!" Lucas was fuming. He was stressed, tired and hungover. He didn't need his ‘friends’ sister talking his ear off.
"So then what are they?"
"It all happened! The Government attacking us, the Upside Down, El, the Demogorgon and the Soviet Union trying to open the Gate to the Upside Down! Everything." He wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying, he just wanted silence.
"Everything you told that you said was a nightmare was 100% real?"
He remained quiet, only now registering what he said.
"Sinclair, whats with the yelling?” Jason stormed into the room, looking angry and his eyes red rimmed.
“Just stressed.” Lucas said, still looking at the floor.
Jason glanced at you, narrowing his eyes. You shrugged, and Jason rolled his eyes.
“Mom wants to know where you are, call her and tell your with me, she isn’t listening again.”
“Okay,” with one finale glance at Lucas, you stood and left the room, Jason following close behind you.
“Your gonna hunt Eddie down? How do you’ll know he won’t attack you?” You argued with Jason, his friend packing everything into the back of the shitty van.
“He sees all this? He sees us? He’ll shit his pants and cry for mommy. This guys no fighter.” Jason retorted
“Hope he does. Gives me a reason.” Andy flipped the crowbar around and placed it into the back with the rest of the weapons.
“Hell yeah.”
“Well, well, look who’s decided to join,” Andy said, as he turned to look at Lucas who was walking out of Benny’s old Diner.
“What are you guys doing?”
“We’re gearing up.” Patrick informed him.
“Preparing for the hunt.”
“Being idiotic.” You clarified.
“Hey, man. Relax. We’re not killers like Eddie. We just wanna talk to him. Get him to admit his crime.” Jason attempted to calm the panicked Lucas.
“Yeah, a little friendly neighbourhood chat,” Andy added.
“Hey. You didn’t know Chris. If you’re not up to this, you can go home. There’s no judgement. You’ll still be one of us, all right?”
The older males starred at him intensely, you shook you head to him, hoping he’d just go home.
“No. I’m good.-“ he shook his head feverishly, swallowing the lump in his throat. “-I wanna help.
Jason smiled approvingly, nodding to Lucas. “All right.” Jason patted him on the shoulder and stepped back towards the van. He reached up the boot door. “Let’s capture us a freak.” He slammed the door closed, walking toward the front seat.
You glanced at Lucas, disappointed.
“Y/N! Lucas! C’mon in the car already!”
You walked to the front seat, jumping in and pulling the door closed. You pulled your uniform further down your legs. The heater in the car was broken and Jason had yet to get it fixed.
Lucas quickly ran back into the diner, and reappeared a moment later with your and his jackets. He jumped in, seated behind you and passed you your varsity jacket.
“Thanks, Sinclair.”
Lucas could tell you weren’t happy with him. The look from when he agreed to hunt down Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson to how you kept ignoring and staying close by Jason, was enough to tell he had made a shit choice.
Eventually, the 5 of you split up, and fortunately for him, he was paired with you.
“Y/N, Why-“
“You an idiot.” You cut him off. You knew to quickly what the question would be. “Eddie is your fucking friend. And here you are ‘hunting’ him down with my piece of shit brother.”
“I know, but-“
“You’ve supposedly given away his safe spot, and for what? To be popular and to liked by Jason?”
“You’re on the cheer team, and you’re his sister, why are you talking shit about him?”
“I’m on the cheer team, yes, not cause I wanna be popular but I actually like it, Chrissy enjoyed it. I don’t give a damn about popularity. Neither did she.”
“I like basket ball, too.”
“Yeah, but you see it as an advantage to get popular. Cause, what, you don’t be picked on anymore? It might seem like your whole plan was smart and you’re in the it click, but Jason is a shitty person, he picks on everybody, even his own teammates.”
“Better than being picked on by the whole school, at least.”
“Listen, if you wanna ruin your friendship with the Hellfire Club, go ahead, but don’t fucking cry about it when you’ve realised what a idiotic decision you made.”
“You don’t get it.”
“Jason has been picking on me my entire life. He once knocked me out by hitting me in the head with a baseball bat several times. There are other incidences where he has caused physical harm to me and others. I don’t see why you wanna be associated with that.”
“I know it’s a shitty thing to do bu-“
“Then fucking run. Go to your friends. Go to Hellfire and help them. They need it. You know what they’re tryin’ to do Eddie.”
“You know more. You know what Jason is like. You’ll know how to avoid him and you can help us. You won’t have to be near Jason.”
You considered it. Sure, when all of this was over, Jason was more than likely going to murder you. But, it was better being dead than alive, constantly worried about being somehow screwing up and being beaten the shit out of by your brother.
“Fine. But please tell me this isn’t Eddie’s secret location.”
“It’s not, I swear.”
“Good.”
You grabbed your bag that you dumped on the floor, and ran out the house, following close behind Lucas.
He slowed, enough to be at your pace, and grabbed you hand, pulling you along with him, and away from the house which was abandoned.
You ran for around 20 minutes, taking breaks every now and then.
“You sure it’s not a bad idea for me to drag you away from your brother. We can just say we found Eddie, he made a run for and we chased him. But he ultimately got away?”
“Nah. Fuck him. Let’s go save Eddie.”
#stranger things#stranger things 4#lucas sinclair#lucas sinclair x reader#Lucas Sinclair x Carver! reader#request by annoymous#hellfire club
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How Satoru react if s/o was bonding with his students and becoming a parental figure/older sibling to them and was super protectively them, even going so far fight off a deadly curse to keep them safe?
oh god Gojo with someone who takes care of his students 😭😭😭
He calls u two a power couple, like he loves having someone being just as hyped up about his students as he is.
Whenever you two talk about the students, he makes u refer to them as “our kids” as if you two were parents 😌
“Hey did you drop our kids off yet?”
You can literally hear him smiling over the phone,“Yeah, our kids are at the school.”
“Ok, thanks. Love you bye.”
He squeals and rolls around when you hang up 💀 wtf is wrong with this man....
Expect him to make custom shirts with your first names on the front and on the back it says “Gojo power couple” Good day💀
If ur willing to fight off a curse for his students he’s going to hype you up from the sidelines, even going as far as to make a poster with your name on it 😭.
“If you have the energy to make that then help me...” You would say.
“I don’t want to ruin this poster! Team Gojo you got this!”
He’s lucky he has Itadori to cheer back while the rest of you glare from behind...
You’re super protective of the students when there’s a curse, so you always hold your arm out, pushing them away to explain what they all need to do.
You’ll be explaining the team work they need to do, looking super serious and trying to focus but like,,,,
Ur kinda hot......
*cue Gojo internally squealing.*
If he has to join in, he’s so excited to work with you. At the end of every fight he says, “wow! Look at us? Aren’t we just the best?? Look at the examples you guys have, you must be so happy to have parents like us!”
“Gojo, were not your kids.”
He waves Megumi off and tries to make out with you, as if the kids are not standing right there.....
sometimes the student’s will be watching a movie and pull you in.
They update you on the current part and get all excited talking about it and aw ❤️ theyre so cute.
You have to physically hold in all of your squealing and cooing as you see Itadori do his dorky character impressions.
Honestly?? The kids love hanging out with you, it’s so fun!
You’re mature enough to call them out when they’re wrong, and also laid back enough to laugh at their jokes.
They eventually get really comfy with you, not minding if you’re in the same room as them, kinda inviting you whenever you walk by.
They all have specific things they like to do with you!!
Nobora likes it when you paint her nails, Itadori likes it when you pet his hair, and Megumi likes it when you cook dinner with him.
They all see you as a parental figure okay💗guh ugh dawwww
He feels like he’s apart of a family when you’re around, you being the serious parent and him being the fun one.
When he sees you interact that way, he fr cannot help but join in, it makes him warm and sticky inside🥰.
When Satoru isn’t around they go to you for help, asking for advice on cursed energy and sometimes!! If you’re lucky!! They ask about dating or life advice!!
you overheard Itadori talking about the topic once, you were passing by his room when you overheard him on the phone speaking loudly with someone.
He was talking about his love life, and you being the nosy person you were, decided to hear just what he talked about.
You listened in as Itadori talked about this girl he had his eyes on, “Yeah, she’s great. I think she’s the most beautiful girl in the world.”
You nearly choked on your spit, Itadori actually liked someone??
You didn’t expect to hear this content, especially not by just walking past his door!
You leaned your ear closer, “Her smile is so beautiful! I’ve never seen anyone like it, I have to marry her.”
Your eyes popped out of your head, marry!? Marry who!? Did your ears stop working or did you hear that right?
“She’s in my room right now actually, if you want to see.”
Your jaw was on the floor. Your hands nearly shaking from his confession. Who was this girl that Itadori thought was beautiful, marriage material, and had in his room???
Though you loved the idea of him having a girlfriend, as an adult you couldn’t allow Itadori to be alone with a girl in his room, especially without telling anyone she was even in there!
You took in a breath before knocking at his door.
You heard a thunk and shuffling on the other side as he opened the door, probably hiding the girl as he walked over.
When he opened the door, his hair was disheveled as wide eyes adorned his face, “Hey, is something wrong?”
You shook your head, then backtracked and nodded. “Yes Itadori, I was passing by and couldn’t help but overhear your conversation about a girl being in your room.”
“Oh you heard that?” He cocked his head, and you pitied the poor boy, you didn’t want to be the one to bring such down information. “I thought I was being quiet.”
You shook your head, “No, and though I think it’s great you’re getting into a relationship, it’s not appropriate for her to be in your dorm. Especially without you telling anyone.”
His eyes seemed to race in thought, probably going over an excuse of some kind that you could only shake your head at, “Oh but—“
“No but’s Itadori, do her parents even know she’s here?”
“Well I don’t think...they do.”
You sighed, you hated having to set rules, it sucked being the bad cop in the situation.
“Itadori, that’s so dangerous! How did you plan on taking her back home? Her parents must be worried sick.”
This was so unlike him, to hide something from you, you wondered if Gojo even knew about this.
“Uh well,” he fiddled with his thumbs, “maybe it’d be better if you saw her...”
He pulled the door open to reveal Gojo posing behind him in a skirt.
“Hi honey!”
Was shocked the right word to describe the situation?
You stared dead at your husband with your mouth dropped. How... how were you supposed to react to that?
“We were trying to prank Fushiguro and Nobora if it helps.” Itadori said, holding his phone up.
Nobora’s face popped up on the screen, “Don’t worry, it didn’t work.”
You could see Megumi studying in his room and shaking his head. “Go get your husband, he’s been bothering us for hours.”
You always wondered how long you could drag Gojo by his ear for.
Answer: 45 minutes
(He bribed you with food if you let go...)
So he likes the way you interact with the kids and he really likes playing around with you😌
#jjk#jjk x reader#jujutsu kaisen x reader#fluff#gojo satoru x reader#gojo x reader#Satoru x reader#Satoru Gojo x reader#Gojo x reader fluff
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Sorry for being specific but Can I request Atsumu and Kageyama with a fem!crush who is the top female highschool volleyball player and is the only female invited to the National youth training camp and basically they were paired together for training or something? Thank youuuuuu 💞
hand in marriage anon ?? also the trainings mentioned below were from my own experience in vb training camp !! enjoy bbies <3 aLSO ATSUMUS PART GOT SELF INDULGENT SORRY YALL - jamie
atsumu & kageyama with a crush who was invited to the youth training camp
masterlist here request or talk to us here
atsumu
before we start can we appreciate the photo of tsumu like bc THATS MY MAN -jamie
you were a second year volleyball player in itachiyamas girl vbc
and it just so happened you were the top highschool female ace and server in all of japan !!
but atsumu’s never heard of u because he was too focused on his own competitors
and so when you walked through the doors of the gym, he was confused
everyone was confused
why is a female here ?? in a training outfit ??
answer was the female’s youth training camp was canceled due to the lack of eligible female players
and it just so happened you were the only one eligible for a youth training camp so you were redirected to the male’s youth camp
and thus u were the only female invited to the camp
searches how to be a y/n ...
let’s just say you were friends with sakusa and komori and they were the only ones in the camp informed of you being a part of it
and when you entered komori jogged up to you with a wave and greets u !! <3
“hello everyone !! im l/n y/n, i look forward to training with you all !!” “wAHH A GIRL IS WITH US ??” “WE GOTTA IMPRESS HER GUYS HOLD UP”
when atsumu saw u something inside him just felt good ??
like why does he suddenly feel like the world got just a bit brighter whenever he sees you
inwardly panics in jealousy when he sees u with sakusa and komori during lunch
he assumes you must be rlly good in vball because how else would one girl out of all be invited to a national camp meant for boys ??
the first time you guys talked was basically in a practice match
you were the temporary captain of your team and he was the temporary captain of the other team
before the match started you both shook hands like the good captains u both are lowkey wheezing abt how that was a fat lie
“let’s have a good match now, miya !” “u-uh, yeah- same for yer’ team.”
he wasnt his usually flirty self around you BYEHAHHABDBF
he was trying his hardest to actually look smooth and talk to you
but he fails 99% of the time and his crush for you just grows even more
but on the last day of training, the serving practices basically required a partner on the opposite side of the net
your mental list of desired partners slowly narrowed as they all got their own parters, leaving atsumu for you to ask
when you went up to him with a smile he short circuited
pls help him he’s malfunctioning
“oi, miya, do you wanna be my partner ?” “yeah, yeah.”
DONT BE FOOLED BY HIS OUTER SELF HES LITERALLY DYING INSIDE
as the practices started he didn’t know what this boy has gotten himself into
atsumu is the top male highschool server
and he just so didn’t know his own partner was also the top female highschool server so it turned into a competition REAL QUICK
god damn this boy needs to read the volleyball magazines more ..
“hA YOU WERENT ABLE TO RECEIVE THAT BEAT THAT LOSER” “iTS JUST A FLUKE ILL BEAT’CHA JUST YA WAIT”
you guys turned into best friends real quick bye
sorry not sorry komori
after a long day, you were already in the bus station abt to go home
it was basically atsumu’s last chance to actually talk to you before he has only luck to see you again
so he went up to you in the bus stop like the smooth boy he is
spoiler, he wasnt. he looked real awkward tryna sit next to you
you were just scrolling on your phone until he asked u out which made u choke on AIR
like dude r u fr ??
“so um, y/n.” “yeah ?” “go out with me.”
he’s literally a blushing mess good bye
you smile bc u were literally hoping he would ask u out before u went home
you kiss him on the cheek and say yes <33
HOW TO GET AN ATSUMU MIYA IN YOUR LIFE ??????? THIS IS FUCKINMG UNFAIR
a bonus “why do you have l/n as your phone wallpaper, ‘tsumu ??” “SHUT UP ‘SAMU”
kageyama
okay so youre a first year and still the top ace and server in highschool ykyk
but this time you were on shiratorizawa’s girl vbc !!
you got invited to the camp cause they needed another person for an even number but couldn't find a male
so you got invited
kageyama would probably know who you are already
he’s been to one of your games in the nationals and that’s where his crush started <33
like he seemed to pay much more attention when it was your turn to serve !!
he wasn’t exactly oblivious about his own crush on you but he is definitely confused on why does he look at you like you’re the only player on court
it was kinda obvious so when hinata pointed it out to him it just clicked
oh shit ,, he does have a crush on y/n l/n
literally panics on what to do with it but honestly he doesn’t see you much unless you guys are on the same court
which is exactly what happened in the national youth training camp because you guys are ON THE SAME COURT
he got really flustered about it, thinking that he was to spend the next few days with you
when you get partnered together he got very quiet at first
ya'll got partnered because kageyama didn't want to ask anyone so the coaches put you together
"why did it have to be her?" "she's going to find out ,,"
very shy around you at first
but eventually once you two get comfy he becomes more like his usual self
he's a lot more caring and observant when it comes to you
i mean a lot
he would offer you to join his table during lunch
your both very good servers, so you help each other practice serves
you would need to be the one to ask him out
probably would be second to last day of camp or the last day
"hey kags? would you wanna meet up after the camp ends? like a date or something."
boy would malfunction right then and there
it would take him a moment, but would eventually accept <33
doesnt talk about it when he gets back to karasuno
but the others on the team can just s e e somethings different
he seemed happier and more motivated then usual
we all know hinatas gonna spill about his crush on u tho just saying
cause u both made a promise to see each other at nationals finals !!
and he wanted to keep that promise <33
a bonus “kageyama-kun, was that l/n from shiratorizawa you were talking to ?” “wAIT WHAT I DONT KNOW HER UM” “but you even hugged her ..”
#sakuatsutingz#atsumu miya#tobio kageyama#kageyama tobio#miya atsumu#haikyuu#haikyu#haikyuu x reader#haikyu x reader#haikyuu x y/n#haikyu x y/n#atsumu x reader#atsumu x y/n#kageyama x reader#kageyama x y/n#karasuno#karasuno x y/n#karasuno x reader#inarizaki#inarizaki x reader#inarizaki x y/n#atsumu imagine#atsumu imagines#kageyama imagine#kageyama imagines#haikyuu headcannons#haikyu headcannons#atsumu#kageyama
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Writing Exercise // AssClass x Tower of God AU - Catching Up
Assassination Classroom - Tower of God AU
Summary: There was a sudden change in team line up and so Nakamura decided to make a call with someone who is floors away.
Word Count: 1,791 words
• ▪ • ▪ •
"Huh? Asano-kun joined your team?"
Nakamura hummed in reply, her eyes focused on the screen before her, going through the video recordings she had captured earlier during the previous floor test using one of her lighthouses in hopes of finding anything she could use in the near future. "He and that Sakakibara guy apparently got separated from the rest of their teammates during the previous test."
From the other line, Chiba let out a noise of mild disbelief, which Nakamura couldn't blame him for. For an E-rank Regular, Asano Gakushuu had proved himself to be quite the gifted Light Bearer countless of times that just the mere idea of him being separated from his teammates because of a floor test, with how organized and strong the Asano kid had made his nearly perfect team to be as their leader and strategist, is almost laughable.
But considering that the 28th Floor had nearly caused their own team to lose members for good, only having members to be separated seemed more like a blessing than a misfortune.
Nakamura shuddered at the memory.
"Surprisingly, it was them who first approached us when we arrived at the 29th floor," she mused. "Well... the Asano kid to be exact."
"Seems smart on his part, I suppose," Nakamura suddenly heard doors opening on the other line. She assumed that Chiba must have been taking a night walk when he had received her call, as it was currently evening to where she is right now. "I've heard that you guys were the only team to pass the 28th floor for this wave of Regulars... so I guess it's a no-brainer for that guy."
Nakamura swore she could almost see Chiba shrugging his shoulders just as he said those words.
"It's been days since they've joined, you said? No troubles with them so far?"
"Not at all. They've been surprisingly civil with all of us the past few days." Though there was a voice at the back of Nakamura's mind telling her that it was likely because a certain redheaded Light Bearer wasn't around to provoke the Asano. "They even sometimes help nurse some of the others who are still on bed rest."
Chiba chuckled at the other line. "Well isn't that a sight to see?"
Nakamura had discretely installed lighthouses as if they were security cameras at each room of the rather large apartment they had been sharing since their arrival on the 21st floor. It would only take few clicks on her main lighthouse to retrieve the saved recordings of Asano fussing over their injured teamates as he nurses them.
Snickering, she made a mental note to send some of them to Chiba after she's done with her current work.
"Also we definitely appreciate having a rear-type Light Bearer and a Wave Controller since, you know?" Nakamura fought the urge to roll her eyes. "The only ones we had are now floors behind us after stopping their climb to compete at the Workshop Battle?"
Chiba somewhat hissed at that. "I guess that explains why Karma seems to be in a bad mood when we called last month..."
"Yeah, we weren't in agreement that time," Nakamura sighed deeply, closing the tabs and turning off her lighthouse. She supposed it can wait tomorrow.
"I get why."
If Nakamura was being honest, it wasn't the fact that Group 4 joined the Workshop Battle that got the whole team in disagreement. It was the fact that Group 4 have already been planning to compete since they had become E-ranked and yet had never once told the rest of the team until the day they had to claim tickets to join.
Karma may be Team END's key strategist, but the redheaded Light Bearer still had the infuriating habit of strategizing and implementing plans without consulting with the rest of the team, sometimes even executing said plans on his own without anyone's help nor even knowledge.
Nakamura supposed that it was because Karma had initially been trained as a Fisherman before switching to a Light Bearer, but that can't be an excuse anymore since he had over 8 years to break out of that frontliner habit.
It's annoying, really.
Even when Group 4 had won the Workshop Battle with a powerful weapon as their winning prize, it still left a bitter taste on her mouth.
Nakamura hoped that this will be the last time Karma involves their other teammates into his lone wolf shenanigans. They can't afford to be separated much longer the higher they climb the tower.
Not when they still have yet to close the gap to catch up with Chiba and his team like they have promised.
"How are things at your end?" Nakamura asked, wanting to change the topic.
Chiba let out an exhausted sigh. "A bit too fast, I guess. Especially since Kaho's been antsy the past few months."
"Oh?" Nakamura picked up the nearly forgotten tea on the table next to her, prepared by Hara. "What gives?"
Nakamura barely had any recollection of what Tsuchiya is like in personality, as the last time they had personally met was when they were still fairly new to the tower, during the Floor of Tests, which was already about a decade ago. But from the few times that Chiba had mentioned the Light Bearer in their talks, Tsuchiya seems to be a quick thinker who strategizes and improvises well under pressure, especially during battles.
Perhaps that's why Team DREAM had been ridiculously quick with their climb, Nakamura mused.
Well, aside from the fact that they have an insanely solid team line up.
"I'm not entirely sure as we weren't around when it happened but..." There was a slight hesitation in Chiba's tone as he trailed off. "Ever since we saw her with a girl that I believe was from the Harukawa Family, based from her hair and eye colour, she's been like that for some reason."
A Harukawa huh...
Nakamura wasn't exactly the most interested in the Ten Great Families, let alone their relations with each other. But she was at least aware of the common knowledge about the tension between the Tsuchiya and the Harukawa, seemingly started by the Head of the two families themselves.
Could it be rivalry? Mortal Enemies? Nobody knows. But one thing's for sure was that a Tsuchiya and a Harukawa, whether they are direct descendants of the family Heads or not, do NOT get along.
Which is ironic considering that what the two Great families are known for made it seem like they would be a perfect team - The Tsuchiya Family known for their Defenders and the Harukawa Family for their immense talent in Spear Bearing.
But Nakamura supposed that the Tsuchiya daughter already had Chiba for that, who is a talented Spear Bearer himself.
"I mean both families don't get along anyways," Chiba remarked, echoing Nakamura's thoughts. "But it seemed like they personally knew each other beforehand from the way Kaho talked about that Harukawa girl. They probably met during the Floor of Tests... or even before they got called into the tower. Who knows."
Nakamura had never looked so amused. "Childhood rivals?" She snickered.
Chiba chuckled at the other line. "Perhaps."
"So what happens now?"
"Uh well..." Nakamura could hear some rustling from Chiba's side of the call and she swore she just heard faint screeching right after. The sudden noises concerned her a little, so she asked, "Chiba?"
"Nothing. That was Eiji, probably ate something spicy again," Chiba sounded very unamused and deadpan as he said that. Nakamura could faintly hear arguing at a distance if she listened more carefully. "Anyways, Kaho had a burn out. That's one thing."
"It took that to stop her huh," Nakamura replied with a huff. "How many floors have you guys cleared then?"
"Five in 3 months."
What the fuck.
Nakamura's jaw hung wide open when the words had registered in her mind. A normal team would take at least a year to complete 3-4 floors, nevermind five. This is ridiculous. This team is ridiculous. "Geez... and you guys still managed to keep up with her plans and all..."
"To be fair though, the previous floors have been relatively easy," Chiba waved her off nonchalantly. "I would even say that the 20th Floor was much difficult than these five."
Nakamura sighed, leaning back to her chair. Considering it took Team END a whole year to complete the 20th Floor after numerous fails, she supposed she could believe the Spear Bearer's words this time. "Say, how many of you all are from the Ten Families?"
There was a short pause at the other side. "Well there's Kaho of course, then Miki, Daisuke, Miho, Jungyoon, and then me..." he counted.
If Nakamura was smiling right now, she was sure it would have tightened uncomfortably.
It had always slipped from her mind that Chiba himself is a Ten Great Family member despite not being a direct descendant of the family Head, the family tree he's in known for their Water Users, which Chiba had utilized to form his own spears.
But nevermind that. Team DREAM had 6 members from the Great Families? No wonder they're climbing at an incredibly fast pace.
Chiba really found himself a formidable team after he had gotten separated from Team END.
"But even then, only Miki is a direct descendant. The rest of us are too unimportant to be actually feared of as a whole..." Chiba laughed sheepishly. "Well except for our family names of course."
Nakamura would beg to differ.
"Anyways, we're at the 46th floor right now," He continued the previous topic before Nakamura had made that short intermission. "But we'll be taking an indefinite break until all of us had recovered enough to continue our climb again." He informed.
Knowing where he was getting at, Nakamura sighed for the umpteenth time. Unamused, she replied, "So you want us to catch up quickly while you all are basically dormant then, is that right?"
Shit. There is no way they could clear 17 floors before the monster team springs back into action.
Nakamura could feel the cheeky grin that Chiba must be wearing right now.
"Well you have a direct descendant from the Asano family with you now, right?" His tone sounded almost challenging when he said that. "Should be easy enough."
"You can be really annoying sometimes, Ryuunosuke." Nakamura glared at the visible Pocket floating in front of her, as if she can somehow magically transfer a sort of attack towards the other line. It didn't help that there were chuckles coming out of the mechanical sphere.
"Well, what can I say? I learned from the best."
Maybe she shouldn't have teamed up with him and Maehara at the 2nd Floor.
#i do not have a plot for this au whatsoever#just felt like squeezing this out idk#It's been a while since i finished writing something#let alone in a few hours#this was more focused on that characters themselves rather than just the au#so hopefully the terms and all aren't too confusing#assassination classroom#ansatsu kyoushitsu#assclass#assassination classroom x tower of god#tower of god × assassination classroom#tower of god au#chiba ryuunosuke#ryuunosuke chiba#nakamura rio#rio nakamura#ansatsu kyoushitsu oc#assassination classroom oc#my writing#fanfiction
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( brittany o’grady / demi woman ) WESLEY McCARRICK is 23 years old and is a SENIOR at thales university. SHE is majoring in FILM and is known for being THE MAVERICK as THEY can be HUMOROUS and OPEN-MINDED as well as DITZY and IMPULSIVE. every time i see HER/THEM, THEY remind me of PURPLE SKY IN THE DESERT, SKATING AS FAST AS YOU CAN TO FEEL THE WIND ON YOU, A JOKE TOLD WITH A TOOTHY GRIN.
hero’s back w character no. 2 and yet......
full name: wesley ‘wes’ elaine mccarrick
birthdate: february 2, 1997
age: 23
gender: demi woman
pronouns: she/her/they/them
zodiac: aquarius
nationality: american
ethnicity: black (louisiana creole) and white (irish)
hometown: santa fe, nm
languages: english, intermediate spanish
family:
theodore mccarrick, father
elaine barlow, mother
ruby mccarrick, older brother
delphine mccarrick, older sister
sherri barlow, maternal grandmother
many cousins
orientation: bisexual biromantic, pref. towards women/nb people but will date men
religion: agnostic
height: 5 ft 4 in
distinguishing features: eyebrows, hair, lips
character inspo: ilana wexler (broad city), harley quinn (dc comics), phoebe buffay (friends), prob more
𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃
TRIGGERS: divorce, mentions of crime, drug and alcohol use
the youngest child of ted and elaine mccarrick, wes was a kid who is full of life. she’s the kind of kid who did things to make you smile, and it usually worked. she was warm and inviting, a little naive, but she had a strong support system.
her parents divorce when she’s six, she doesn’t quite understand it but her dad moves out, and her grandma and multiple cousins move in. it’s a lively household, between her mom, who works as a nurse, and her siblings, and her cousins, it was never really quiet and there was never a lot of room.
despite the split, her parents maintain that their children have a relationship with both of them, and truthfully, wes is a daddy’s girl. she and her dad were cut from the same cloth, happy go lucky, fun loving, a bit silly, he’s the one who introduces her to movies. it’s their thing, watching and critiquing them together, and it’s not whatever is in theatres either. they went for all times of filmmaking, new wave, surrealist, and more.
it really stuck with wes, who herself had begun making movies, mostly horror/fantasy/scifi stuff with her friends-- she writes and directs and occasionally, she’ll don a costume and star in them. they’re silly little things, but her family always sat down for her “premieres.”
her formative years are marked with plenty of things, sports, deaths of distant family members, a cousin or two who gets caught in the wrong crowd and ends up in jail, and throughout this, wes remains a rock for her family.
she’s in high school, and she gets into the eclectic crowd, the outcasts, the weirdos, the ones who smoked under the bridge, and partied out in an abandoned trailer near the desert. these freaks were her freaks. they accepted her with open arms, as she them.
she chooses thales because she always wants to see the east coast, and frankly, as much as she loves her family, she wants to be free of them. and they have a fantastic film program. so!
she meets steven in their first film class together, and they’re fast friends, despite her usual weariness of YET another film bro, steven proves to be a good egg. so she thinks. she finds out through him talking that he might not be the most faithful to his girlfriend, and as much as she doesn’t like meddling, she thinks it’s only right to let clarissa, who she doesn’t really know well, know. however, before there’s a chance, everything happens-- now she’s stuck wondering if she should reveal the truth, or let sleeping dogs lie.
nana is different, nana and her dated her sophomore year, nana’s freshman year. it wasn’t serious. but they were fond of each other. they eventually break up, but they stay friendly, waving to each other in the halls, chatting at parties.
both the disappearance and the murder is weird for wes, who by all accounts, isn’t great at dealing with bad shit. she prefers to laugh about things. laugh about everything. because if she doesn’t laugh, she’ll cry.
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
wes is a mess, a free-spirit, a walking contradiction. she’s very independent minded, the kind of person who does things without thinking so much about the consequences, this leads her into trouble sometimes. like nicking something from a convenience store, or stealing a stop sign as a prank. she’s definitely the kind to goof off and not exactly dedicate her full attention to something. and while she’s in genuinely good spirits on most occasions, she has a staunch ‘no asshole’ policy. the type to defend the underdogs, and go after bullies. she’ll punch you with a smile on her face, and yet it ends up being more unnerving than you realize. she’s a bit of a ditz, as well, never the best at school, but can talk your ear off about the going ons of the world. she’s a lovable dumbass, for sure, and loyal to a tee once you get her as a friend.
𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐒
horror movie fan! her favorites are some of the oldies, like dracula and the bride of frankenstein! and some new ones! big fan of jordan peele’s work, as well as ari aster’s! but mostly really advocates for women directors and directors of color!
also does roller derby! she picked this up her first year at thales and fell in love with it, i can’t think of a name for her yet, but she’s a blocker, won’t hesitate to elbow some dick at the bar
kinda a tomboy? she’s always been! she’s rough and tumble and not afraid to get down and dirty with someone, i.e. will join those football games on the quad or crawl through the mud for a scene to shoot
doesn’t know if she wants to be a director/writer or a cinematographer honestly.... she loves the technical aspects of film as much as the making the stories
definition of a bruh girl, says it a whole lot, but also just if you tell her you love her, she’ll just roll her eyes and be like you’re an idiot (which means she loves you too) she’ll be affectionate if she’s close to you
kinda a wh*re oops....... texts multiple girls at a time and doesn’t want to hurt any of their feelings she doesn’t know how she keeps ending up in these situations... also a bisexual disaster
a stoner as well..... always has a massive jar of weed
unclear whether she lives on campus or off campus but if she does live off campus she has a pet turtle named elsa lanchester after the bride of frankenstein actress
a drummer! she’s in a band (name tbd) she started drumming at a young age and found it was a good way to manage her aggression
doesn’t really do well with emotions, so she’ll either be like there, there, or try to make jokes.... she really said kids can you lighten up
walking meme... such a walking meme... doesn’t know so many things she’s like a cute puppy with no thoughts head empty but she’s so fun to be around
life of the party.... nana she came fr ur spot and she took it and she’s not sorry but she does miss u a lot
doesn’t rly feel like she’s allowed to be upset anyways bc some people have it...... way worse.... can u say Imposter syndrome
kind of an enabler...... will be that person to push u to try things but not in a peer pressurey way, more like if u are unsure abt sending a text she says do it
wears fun earrings and socks! think lollipops or gummy bears or found objects like she collects that shit it’s her lifeline
boxes! she’s been boxing since she was abt 12, courtesy of her older brother (who is now a doctor thx ruby) and it’s a good way to exercise and release stress
𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
best friend -- two of a feather, cut from the same cloth, or complete opposites it doesnt matter to her (the abbi to her ilana)
roller derby friends -- she’s p close to the team, margs on her
makeup artist pal -- i think it would be neat fr someone to try and teach her makeup whether its normal or sfx bc she wants to look like a monster or smthn
she’s gullible, u take advantage of that -- u just tell her lies p much and she’s like yeah ok that sounds right
party friends
classmates
fwbs (f/m/nb) -- tbh she might have one or two of these but they literally are the def of pals who bone sometimes... like v good abt being like you good? u dont want more? cool me too
exes (f/m/nb) -- mostly dated women or nb people but def cld have had a guy
she smokes you out -- p much the only reason u hang out w her is bc she has good weed
someone she’s fought -- like fully decked in the face, prob said something that rubbed her the wrong way and it just devolved from there
people who dislike her -- she could definitely be seen as annoying bc shes loud and dorky and funny so ??
breaks someone out of their shell -- p self explanatory, pushes them to have fun, w everything happening shes rly like lifes too short to not take the opportunities around u
cousins! probably on her dad’s side! i figure she has some east coast fam
anything? truly?
#pyrrhic.intro#intro.#divorce tw#crime mention#drug use tw#alcohol use tw#i pulled this out of my ass
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