#shes a koala Btw

[migorify]

[beanghostprincess]

i love sabo so much bc he looks like he's smart but he's just as dumb as his brothers. more than them, even. bc sabo actively stops, thinks about the situation, says "this is fucking stupid" and proceeds to do it. no hesitation. no questions asked.

[where-does-the-heart-lie]

Just to share the brain-rot. The brother remodeling art you drew looks like Sabo's weird druken night dream.

In the morning he wakes up to a real pillow under his head and his first still-hungover reaction is "LUUUUFFFYYYY??!!!? What have I done?" 😨😱😭

Imagining sabo getting white girl wasted mixing with his already present hallucinations just resulting in him thinking some You Are My Sunshine bullshit is happening to him again

kinda based on this vid btw

Thank you for adding to the brain rot, there will never be an end to it and thats how it should stay.

I was gonna have koala scream WTF but i figured shes prob used to it by now lol

[normal-thoughts-official]

karlach has to stop jokingly saying she wants something because wyll "hopeless romantic" "eager to please" ravengard always takes it way too seriously. they enter the mason's guild and she's like "maybe we'll find a nice big hammer for karlach" and wyll painstakingly collects every single hammer they find in there and presents it to her when they're resting catalogued by size and sturdiness and hand tested "although of course my technique can't hold a candle to yours, my love" and when she tries to tell him that was mostly a joke and those hammers aren't as good for fighting as the actual warhammer she already has he looks so dejected and disappointed she simply has to fight with some rusty lumphammer for a week. she's like "I'd like to dance a waltz" and at the end of the day wyll has somehow spontaneously learned how to summon an orchestra and decorated the whole camp. how did he do that? he was out fighting cultists the whole day! she has no clue but he did and by the gods is he going to waltz her until he physically cannot anymore. she almost regrets saying she wanted a hug so many times because now whenever they have free time he's all over her like a koala (she loves it). etc etc. it only gets worse in avernus too. "wyll i know i said i wished there was a banquet but we're in literal hell you didn't have to procure a chef" "id do it a thousand times over to see you smile". etc. all of this is canon btw the devs told me so in a dream

[am-i-interrupting]

the vees (that you write for lmao) and maybe Angel Dust with an s/o that sleeps like a koala. like arms around the character's neck, legs around the character's waist, and head in their shoulder/crook of their neck as they just sleep peacefully

🍗 anon

btw I loved the karen and regina hcs!! amazing!! you're writing is scrumdilicious!!

I don’t write for Angel but I can do Vox & Vel. I’m glad you’re enjoying what I’m writing! 🖤🖤

Velvette

Velvette is, at least by Hell’s standards, a small person. It is very likely that you engulf her.

She will likely send a picture of her predicament to Vox if she needs to be somewhere with the caption “Help.” He normally replied with a “Your partner, your problem.”

In which case, she’ll call Valentino, put him on speaker phone (pretend like she didn’t) and tell him some lie before sending Vox the same message.

It does wake you up without her having to do it directly though because damn, is Valentino fucking loud.

She does cherish the moments when she’s not busy though.

She likes being trusted and not just feared from time to time.

She’ll cup the back of your head with her hand and pull you closer, encouraging you to hold her tighter and just stay there.

Vox

Vox is a very busy man but he’ll try to do any work he has to on his phone or a tablet when you’re like this.

If you didn’t fall asleep on him in his office chair, which happens far more than it should.

He enjoys you laying on him though.

It slows his always too fast and stressed out heart to have you stop him.

If he absolutely had to get up, he will lift you so you don’t move and just cradle you as he goes to where he needs to.

There’s been occasions where he’s gone to meetings with you like this, just staring at the people one the room, daring them to comment. They never do.

At night though, he just cherishes the sound of you breathing and the feel of you around him, putting your entire body into embracing him. It makes him feel almost worthy.

[skiiyoomin]

wooo hii!! Been awhile since I made a request (I love what you came up with last time btw :] ) I was wondering if you could write some little headcanons about how you think different saiki K characters would act when tired? (Love Ur work Sm <333)

ღHow they act when they´re tired

ʚContent: gn! reader

⤑Back to navigation

a/n hi hi!! So sorry for the late reply!! Hopefully you enjoy it and thank you so much for your support!! <3 idk if i´m missing anyone, but if there´s anyone else you´d like to see then please tell me! :)

Saiki Kusuo

Such a grumbly baby!

everything annoys him and pisses him off more than usual when he´s tired

to him, you´re like his safe space so he looks for you when he needs to relax or he simply someone

don´t question why he´s suddenly more affectionate than usual!! he will get embarassed

honestly, a good ol´ cuddle session is all he needs

if y´all are out and about and he´s feeling tired, he will teleport you to his house to cuddle, no questions asked

honestly, you just go with it cause it´s not often he´s so willingly so vulnerable

give him a few kisses here and there and you´ll have him melting in your arms 100%

Kaidou Shun

very very whiny boy

clings to you like a koala

the second you run your hands through his hair he´s fast asleep

i´m talking snore mimimi typa sleep

absolutely refuses to leave your arms when he´s tired, he needs your warm hugs

like i said before, he´s super whiny, so he will beg you to cuddle with him with the biggest pout on his pretty lips :(

doesn´t care if y´all are out in public, can and will fall alseep on top of you

you´re gonna have to carry him back home

but the way he snuggles up to you is so adorable that you simply cannot find it in yourself to get mad at him

Kuboyasu Aren

DOES. NOT. ADMIT. IT

will deny it if you ask him if he´s tired

you literally have to force him to rest

he´s all grumpy about it until you give him kisses and cuddles

he´ll still grumble a bit but will definitely relax more

>:[ 

he be looking like that when he´s tired

i feel like when he´s tired he´s also a bit of a softie

but only behind closed doors where he´s only with you

like don´t get me wrong, he´s always been a softie for you

but when he´s tired it just boosts even more

Teruhashi Kokomi

super pouty!

you know those baby animals that get all sad and pouty when they don´t get affection?

well that´s her when she´s tired

she´s always been super affectionate, but now it´s more clingy than usual

not like you mind

loves loves loves!! when you wrap your arms around her

makes her feel safe and comforted

can and will fall asleep on you

she can be a bit of an airhead when she´s tired

will most likely forget about whatever it is that you said, it just be going from one ear to another

its okay, shes still cute

Hairo Kineshi

its so obvious when he´s tired

like this man is always so full of energy and hyperactivity

the second he starts moving a bit slower than usual is sign enough of his tiredness

zones out A LOT

he´d accidentally be staring at the back of your head for a good 5 minutes before you snap him out of his daze

a little clumsy

sometimes he doesn´t realize he´s heavy and he will just flop on top of you

yeah you´re not getting up for a good while

a power nap with a cuddle session is all he needs before he´s energetic again!!

[kisses4suna]

can you please give me some really soft suna bf headcannons !!!! i love ur works btw ur my fav suna writerr ahh

SUNA RINTAROU BF HEADCANNONS !

☆ featuring. suna rintarou

☆ a/n. OMFG. anon im so sorry this took me so fkn long to answer. im slowly starting to finish requests people have sent in months ago. i love this idea sm tho!! im so sorry again; i literally deleted tumblr and finally got it backk ill be finishing more requests soon and posting drafts, then during the summer ill post WAY MORE FREQUENTLY. (so be prepared for sm more suna content guys ;))

ps. i might make a p2 for post timeskip suna too so lmk if you’d want that !!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

PRE-TIMESKIP BF SUNA

- suna mfing rintarou will raise your standards to heaven bro. even if he’s only in highschool

- his face will be so deadpanned and neutral but the minute he sees you he grows that small smile that he hopes nobody sees

- he talks about you like crazy to his sister but doesn’t even realize it

- “did you see her new insta post? shes so pretty bro how tf did i pull her”

- “i miss my gf rn”

- “hey do you think y/n would want something like this?”

- his sister loves you, but is so tired of her brother constantly talking about you

- he would choose you over anybody, and anything. even over his airpods. which says a lot for suna

- will literally do anything to spend time with you. he will drop as much as he could on his schedule for you. he just genuinely wants you to be with him all the time. (he’s so clingy its cute but he hates admitting how attached he is to you hes like a lil koala bear hanging onto his branch)

- without you even knowing he signed you up to be a manager for his volleyball team just so you could spend time with him at his practice

- this mf so obsessed with you he got hit in the face with a volleyball because he was too busy looking at you instead of paying attention to the actual practice

- he will ‘go to the bathroom’ during practice just to sneak off underneath the bleachers to give you a quick kiss and talk to you.

- suna isn’t dumb he’s actually really smart just very lazy, so if you were in advanced classes he would literally get his grade up, request a transfer to your advanced classes, just so he could spend more time with you there

- plus he loves seeing you seem so smart and focused he thinks you look so cute like that ^^

- he unfollowed every girl on his socials besides you and his sister

- he has a whole instagram highlight dedicated for you and its filled with over 20 stories of you and him together or sometimes just pictures of how beautiful you are.

- his insta bio has your initial with a heart, and says “i love my gf” just for fan girls to back off

- his photo album is way worse. he organized his whole camera roll and has a full album of you which takes up half his storage, but who cares, he doesn’t mind having to delete games he downloaded cause he was bored ( especially if its for you )

- in his notes app he has every little detail about you written down, not in a creepy way, just to remember important stuff about you. like what you hate in people, your fav stuff, etc.

- he dedicates every long song to you.

- also hes like very touchy in private, i mean in public he is too, BUT IN PRIVATE. oh my. he is not afraid to cling onto you.. you will literally have to claw him off you if you have to use the bathroom while your cuddling

- he’s only like that because he loves you so much and he’s so attached to you, he just wants to stay with you forever because he cant imagine losing you

- he asks his mom if he can sleep over at your house as much as he could, the days he can’t, you either go to him, or he facetimes you and you both end up falling asleep on the phone.

- everytime he goes to the mall with his friends or something, he will ask them every 3 seconds “do you think y/n would want this ?” he really just wants to spoil you to show you how much he loves and appreciates you

- sometimes he sleeps late at night rewatching his volleyball games and analyzing his plays, so he bought you a sleeing mask and earplugs so you could fall asleep without the sound or light of the tv bothering your slumber

- he loves being in between your thighs, your fingers tangled in his hair while you both watch tv.

- but at night he loves burrying his face in the crook of your neck with one armed wrapped around your waist and the other placed diagonally on your back while his hand covers the back of your head, almost looking like hes protecting it.

- you’ve genuinely helped him become a better version of himself, when he’s with you he’s at his best, which is probably why he loves you so much. because when he’s with you it feels like he’s just at peace, he just falls in love with you even more everyday.

- he hates thinking your love is puppy love and it wouldn’t last, and some nights when he’s not with you, he’ll overthink like crazy, really just wondering why someone as perfect as you hasn’t left him yet, or why are you even with him in the first place ?

- little does he know, he means as much as you mean to him, and you don’t plan on leaving him anytime soon.

[imagines--galore]

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Twenty-Five

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

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

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

Previous Chapters - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen, Part Nineteen, Part Twenty, Part Twenty-One, Part Twenty-Two, Twenty-Three, Twenty Four

A/N: ............this got away from me.........btw I expect reactions from each and every one of you.

Orora was the first one awake.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, the sky was only just changing color. And yet, she didn't think she could go back to sleep. Rubbing away the tiredness in her eyes, the young waterbender yawned as she stood up. Stretching her arms above her hand, she rubbed the back of her neck as she looked around at her still sleeping friends.

Aang was still asleep. Thank the Spirits. She smiled at the snoring boy, before moving to put away her bed roll. Making sure she didn't wake anyone, Orora picked up her pack and walked off, enjoying the cool morning air as it caressed her face. She could hear birds as they began to leave their nests for food. The occasional sound of a koala sheep somewhere around the island would break the silence, but nothing else.

Everything was calm.

A blessing since today was the day.

The day of the Solar Eclipse.

The day the Fire Nation would be finally defeated after a hundred years of war.

Or so she hoped.

Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts for now, she instead focused on the stream she had visited a day or so ago. Quickly dropping the pack she had brought, the waterbender stripped and walked into the water. Allowing the water to carry her, she waded on her back, her eyes on the ever-changing sky above her, her dark brown hair framing her face. The last of the stars were disappearing as the sun's light dimmed their brightness.

She sighed.

"Why do you keep doing that?" She asked the seemingly empty air. There was a beat of silence before his voice called out.

"Doing what?" She didn't move from her afloat position, eyes towards the sky. "Appearing suddenly. I don't have anything to say to you so whats your purpose here?" Though her initial reaction had been a mixture of confusing emotions at seeing him, truthfully, she was getting a little annoyed at not figuring out the reason behind it.

"Don't you?" His voice came again. Orora closed her eyes, letting out an annoyed sound, frowning. "No." She stated firmly.

"Not even about what could happen today?" His voice was soft, almost as if he were pleading her to tell him. Her eyes were still closed, but she could imagine the expression on his face. "You mean what would happen when we defeat the Fire Nation and would have to defeat you and your whole family?"

The water rippled as she finally straightened, looking directly at him where he sat at the bank. "Or are you talking about the part where you would be in ch-chains?" Her voice hitched at the last word.

And she hated herself for it.

Despite what he had done to betray her, she still had feelings for him. Feelings she had tried very hard to ignore, and had pushed to the furthest reaches of her mind because, who had time to deal with them.

Not the healthiest way to go about things, but who cared?!

She allowed her fingers to gently skim the water, creating small ripples on the surface as she did. "I don't think I'll be able to cope with that." The girl finally confessed, her heart aching in her chest as she glanced at her string which began to emit a soft reddish hue.

Movement along the bank had her looking up to see Zuko standing with his hand above his heart. His expression was earnest and there was a strange gleam in his eyes. Almost one of determination, if she read it right. "I promise." He said, his voice solemn. "It won't come to that."

She blinked, and he was gone, leaving her standing in the water feeling like an utter idiot. Of course he would say that. The Zuko before her had been a projection of what she wanted him to be, and how she wanted to be reassured. Just her mind trying to make sense of the feelings she had for him. Orora still couldn't decide what they were, so best to leave them untouched.

Though having him appear in Fire Nation clothes, with his hair a lot longer then it had been in Ba Sing Se, was something new since she had never seen him in either before.

The sky was brighter by the time she finally stepped out of the water. Using her waterbending to dry herself off, including her hair, the girl turned her attention to the pack.

Time to show the world what her roots were.

First she made sure her under garments were secure around her chest and hips. She had to make new ones since she had felt a little constricted in the ones she had before. Probably a growth spurt, she mused to herself as she tied the chest binds behind her back. Once done, she pulled on the pants she had sewn. They were made of a dark grey slightly stretchy material that settled against her like a second skin. Next she turned to the new shirt she had been working on the past two days.

Rather then a light blue like Katara had chosen to wear, Orora had gone for a blue that was much darker in color. Almost as dark as the ones the Water Tribe Warriors wore when they dressed up for battle. The style was similar to Katara's with barely any sleeves, long in the front and back as well as split at the side to allow better leg movement. A light blue decorated the border of the entire shirt and the measurements had been accurate enough that it showed off her slightly curvy muscled figure while also allowing her room to move.

The one thing she had added, was a white patch in the shape of a full moon, with a crescent outlined within, just above her heart. A nod to the Moon Spirit who had guided her in her time of need. Next Orora pulled on the fingerless leather gloves she had bought, making sure they were snug and fit against her skin. They were the same color as her pants, bringing the whole outfit together nicely. Quickly pulling on her shoes, the ones she'd been using since she was sure she could bend through them, Orora created a mirror of ice to see her reflection. The entire outfit reminded her of the one she had first worn in Ba Sing Se. With a few tweaks thrown in here and there.

Picking up her comb, she quickly ran it through her hair. Now that her hair was long enough, it was easy to pull it up into a ponytail, tying it with a blue ribbon. But not before a simple swipe of her bending had some of the hair covering her forehead floating to the ground, allowing her to swipe her hair to the sides. They were shorter, meaning they couldn't be tucked into her ponytail, so they framed her face instead, allowing her features to appear much softer then they were. The white patch was parted now since it rested almost in the center of her forehead, so the majority of the hair on one side was white while the other side was a mixture of white and brown.

Satisfied with her appearance, she picked up the Fire Nation clothes she'd been wearing and bundled them up. With one final glance at her reflection, she bended the water back into the river, and walked back to camp.

                                          ————————–

It didn't take long for everyone, minus Aang, to wake up and go about changing their own clothes. Seems she wasn't the only one with the idea of fighting in the colors of her nation. Sokka and Katara had quickly changed into their Water Tribe blues, while Toph was eager to get back into her Earth Kingdom clothes.

While Toph sat around, and Katara handed her brother something to drink whilst he poured over maps, once again, Orora made sure she had the straps of her water skins wrapped tightly around her chest. She would be wearing them similar to Katara's, but there was a certain accessory she would be adding, but not until a little later.

There was a certain nervousness around their small camp. With everyone lost in their own thoughts, thinking of what was to come in the next few hours. Her blue gaze drifted towards the sky where the sun was shining.

"Top of the morning, Momo!" Aang's sudden voice had everyone's attention turning to the young Avatar. Orora smiled, seeing him well-rested and back to his old cheerful self. The kid had deserved that good night's sleep.

"Sounds like you slept well." Katara commented, a hand on her hip and a smile on her lips

Aang nodded, moving his hand aside in a sweeping motion. "Like a baby moose lion." He stated before assuming a fighting stance and raised his fists in the air. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." He called out in an exuberant tone.

Toph smiled. "So, what's your strategy for taking him down?" She raised her hands to her eyes and wiggled them around. "Gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?" She ended with a punch in the air. No sooner had her statement finished when Aang's shoulders dropped and he sighed.

"I can't." He said, his voice heavy with regret and sorrow. "When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe." Orora rose from her place to place a comforting hand on his shoulder, which he accepted with a small smile.

"You know what I just heard?" Toph asked with a roll of her eyes. "Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo blah, blah, something about space." Orora frowned at the younger girl before turning her attention to Aang.

"Well maybe the Eclipse will give us enough of an advantage that you won't need the Avatar State." She suggested, to which Aang gave a grateful smile, glad to have someone ease his worries a bit.

From the corner of her eyes, Katara caught sight of a thick fog coming their way. "Oh, no." She said softly, her forehead creased in concern. "Sokka? Do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" She asked her brother who was standing up and moving to investigate said fog.

"No." He exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "That is the invasion!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when all five children were racing down to the shoreline where the ships would be docking. Aang and Toph quickly bended several raised columns from beneath the water to form a makeshift dock for the ships to anchor. As she watched the ships dock one by one, Orora couldn't help but feel excited about all the people she would be meeting.

Sokka had told her about the plan in detail during their time after Ba Sing Se, when Aang had been unconscious. She had even added in her opinion, which he had greatly appreciated.

And now all those months of waiting and planning were coming down to this one moment.

The ships docked and people began to disembark. There were several faces she recognized, some of them standing out more then others, mostly those who had traveled with them after Ba Sing Se.

Katara and Sokka, catching sight of their father, hurried towards him with the other three following.

"You made it, Dad!" Katara exclaimed, embracing her father while Sokka grinned at him. "Were you able to locate everyone I told you to find?" He asked, eager to know.

Hakoda nodded. "I did." Behind him two men in strange leaf clothing stepped off the ship. "But I'm a little worried, Sokka. Some of these men aren't exactly the 'warrior type'." He stated looking back at the disembarking people. Orora pushed herself on her tiptoes to glance over his shoulder to see who he was referring to.

"Oooh-whee!" One of them said, swinging his arm around. "This place ain't nothing like a swamp." He stated before instantly pointing at a rock protruding out of the water. "What you reckon that is, Tho? Some sort of Fire Nation exploding trap what eat ya?" His words had Orora questioning Sokka's decision on calling upon old friends for help.

What kind of people had they run into before she had joined them?

Then again, they did have a run in with a man who could shoot fire from his mind while she was in the group, so they looked tamer compared to him.

"It's just a rock, Due." The man's companion responded to which his friend scratched his head, grinning. "Well, I'll be." He stated. Orora pursed her lips glancing at Sokka who looked positively delighted at the prospect of people actually coming.

Hakoda shook his head. "Is it just me, or are those fellas a little loose in the leaf-hat?" Orora grinned. "Maybe that's why Sokka asked you to bring 'em. So he would pass off as normal compared to them." Aang, Toph and Katara laughed while Sokka glared at Orora, a vein popping in his forehead. Hakoda shook his head, smiling as he held his arm out.

"Its good to see you still humbling my son, Orora." He said with a warm fatherly look in his eyes, one that had the young girl beaming as she took his offered arm in a warrior grasp. "Glad to have you with us, Chief Hakoda." She said, just as Bato stopped beside them, glancing at another who had stepped off the boat.

"I just wish they would wear pants." Was his only complaint to which Orora and Katara glanced at one another and then towards the figure who was wearing only leaves to cover his.........front. Sokka didn't seem to notice the looks his father, Bato, Orora and Katara were giving one another.

"Well come on! Lets get you all ashore!" Aang exclaimed, already leading the way to the shoreline where people from the rest of the ships were gathering.

It seemed Sokka had asked his father to travel all over the Earth Kingdom to gather as many of their allies as possible. It was strange seeing so many people of two different nations together. Blues and greens mixing into one.

Orora found herself being introduced to the Foggy Swamp members. She'd heard about all of them before, the others having told her all about their adventures, but now she could actually put faces to their names.

She was speaking to the pant-less Huu when she heard her name being called. Excusing herself, the girl quickly walked towards where Aang and Katara were standing next to several people from the Earth Kingdom. "Orora you remember when Katara helped bust people out of prison?" Aang asked, looking proudly at his soulmate, who blushed. Orora smiled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yes, I remember it rather vaguely." She jested, to which Aang rolled his eyes at her playfully.

"Well, this is Haru and that's his dad Tyro!" He said, gesturing to a boy who couldn't be that much older then her and an older man who was clearly his father. "A lot of earthbenders from their village came to help." She turned to smile at the two of them.

"Well I hope they're inspired enough today to help us defeat the Fire Nation." The waterbender said to which Haru nodded with a determined look on his face. "We've faced many desolate and hopeless situations alone, so one where we fight beside our allies and friends is sure to inspire us." He responded, to which Orora grinned and held out her hand for him to shake.

"Welcome aboard! Hope you have fun kicking Fire Nation butt today." They'd barely shaken hands when she felt her other hand being taken by someone.

Orora recognized the smaller hand before she even looked. Turning to Toph who was trying to pull her away, Orora smiled apologetically at Haru and his father. "I'll see you later then!" With that she allowed Toph to pull her away, leaving behind a smiling Haru, with his father nudging his shoulder and smiling teasingly at him.

"What is it Toph?" Orora asked, unable to decipher the distress the younger girl seemed to be exhibiting as they both stood a little ways away from the rest of the group.

Toph took a deep breath before she held up her left hand, pinky out. "I felt the tug."

No sooner had the words left her mouth when Orora gasped loudly and turned around to look at the various people milling about. "When did you feel it? Where were you? Who were you with?" Her eyes went from one face to the other, trying to see if she could somehow guess who it was.

"I felt the tug from the last ship." Toph said, pointing in the general vicinity of the ship. Orora squinted to see Sokka standing there speaking to several people. Two of whom she had never seen before, and yet the other two.

"Its The Duke and Pipsqueak." She muttered softly to which Toph nodded. "So is it one of them?" Orora asked when the girl remained. Toph shrugged in response, to which the older girl sighed. Even though she couldn't see her, Orora still dropped down to crouch before the younger girl, a hand on her shoulder.

"Whats wrong Toph? Why are you so hesitant about this? You know who it is don't you?" A moment of silence before Toph nodded. "And you can't tell him because......" She trailed off, allowing the younger girl the time she needed to explain her reasoning.

Toph licked her lips, before closing her eyes. "Because......I'm scared." Since the day she had known her, Orora had never heard fear in Toph's voice. Really the younger girl appeared almost fearless with how she faced the world. But now? She even sounded scared.

"Why would you be scared of knowing who he is?" The older girl asked her voice soft and kind. Toph reached out to place a hand on Orora's cheek, almost as if she were reassuring herself that the other girl was there.

"Because of what happened to you." Orora's heart plummeted in her chest. "You were so broken after what Zuko did to you, and he did it even though there was nothing wrong with you. Who would want a soulmate who's blind?!"

Orora bit her lower lip, understanding flashing in her blue eyes. "So you're afraid he would reject you, because you're blind." Toph didn't even nod, instead the hand against her cheek only tensed. Orora sighed.

"You know when I met Zuko, I was determined that I would never accept him as my soulmate, because he was from the Fire Nation." She hadn't really revealed the more intimate details of her feelings for the Fire Nation Prince, but mostly because she was confused herself. But to ease Toph's worries, she would gladly sift through her messy, tangled emotions. "And while he accepted that as a reason, he also thought I wouldn't accept him because of the scar on his face."

Toph frowned to which Orora explained further. "He has an ugly scar from where his father burned him. His entire left side is burned off." She shifted Toph's hand on her cheek so the girl could determine where the scar was. "He told me how the scar was ugly and that no one would accept him because of it." She paused, sighing wistfully as she smiled softly. "Truthfully? The scar was the least of my concerns. My main concern was trying not to have feelings for him though I failed at that front. Quite epically."

Finally, Toph cracked a smile. Taking both of her hands in her own, Orora continued to smile at Toph. "What I'm saying Toph, is that I had feelings for him despite the scar because of the person he was. That's how soulmates work. To them you are the most beautiful person in the world. And you are, on the outside and the inside."

Toph's unseeing eyes were swimming with tears as she sniffled. Orora couldn't help herself as she gathered the younger girl in her arms and just hugged her tight. "Thanks Orora." The girl said, her voice slightly muffled before she finally stepped away wiping the remnant of her tears.

Standing up straight the older girl patted her shoulder. "Just be yourself, and I'm sure he will worship the ground you walk on." Toph grinned, her old spark returning as her head and shoulders lifted. "I like the sound of that." She hummed as the two of them began to walk back to the assembled crowd.

"Well, you know what they say, 'Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.'"

"Really? Eye jokes in front of a blind girl?"

"Oh please since when have you found them offensive."

"Since now."

"Then the next one will be an eye-opener for you."

Thwack!

"Ow! Easy with the punches Toph!"

"But that's how I show affection Ice Princess."

"I think I prefer the hugs."

                                          ————————–

Phase One of the Invasion Plan was about to commence.

The speeches were made, the plans were explained, every detail was spelled out for all of them and leaders were appointed. There had been a little hiccup, when Sokka had began to explain the plan from the very beginning.

Literally the beginning.

But his father had stepped in to help out and now it was Battle Stations.

Orora stood beside Katara who was filling water into her water skins. She'd done that just a few minutes ago and was now creating several ice daggers to hang from the belt around her waist. She also created an intricate looking hair pin with the Water Tribe emblem within which she secured in her hair, just above her ponytail. Every aspect of her outfit was chosen to help her in the upcoming battle.

She would rather face some horrifying spirit rather then be defenseless and at the mercy of the Fire Nation.

The older girl glanced at Katara who was just finishing up with her water skins. The other girl met her gaze and gave a small smile. But that wasn't enough for Orora. Not after all that they had been through together. Katara seemed to have the same idea because the moment Orora stepped forward, the younger girl was meeting her halfway in an embrace that was just as affectionate as it was desperate.

No words were spoken, and really no words were needed. The two girls understood one another on a level that even sisters couldn't hope to achieve. Even though not a drop of blood was shared between them, Katara and Orora knew that the bond they shared ran deep.

"Stay safe out there." Katara urged, to which Orora gave a nod.

"You too. Watch your back." With that the two sisters walked back to the shoreline where everyone was beginning to assemble waiting for their next orders.

As Katara walked off to her father's side, Orora spotted Sokka and Aang returning. With Aang looking like his old self. She smiled at the younger boy who stopped before her while Sokka walked by, probably to speak to his father some more.

"Look at you. How does the head feel?" She asked, playfully rubbing the top of his newly shaved head to which he laughed. "Feels great! I feel like myself again." He admitted. "And thanks for the robe, I know it wasn't easy to make since it was burnt in places." Orora shook her head. "Katara came up with the idea and the design, so really you should be thanking her."

They both turned to look at the girl in question who was busy listening to what her father was saying. "You know, we might run into Zuko today."

Her heart jumped in her throat, her stomach roiled and her muscles tensed. Though on the outside she simply pursed her lips and nodded. "I realized we would, and I have made peace with that and accepted the fact that we might have to fight him today." Though she hoped it wouldn't come to that. This time it was Aang who took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "That is wise of you Orora, but don't think of your feelings for him as a weakness. Maybe he feels just as trapped as you. I mean, you did say he told you his string glowed as well didn't it? So that means he had feelings for you, and still does." He gave her an encouraging look. "Maybe those feelings will help him make a good decision."

Though his words were meant to give her some semblance of hope, Orora didn't have the heart to tell the boy how they only made her feel even sadder. Still she smiled at him as best as she could and nodded. "We can just hope things go well today. You're lucky your soulmate is fighting on the same side as you."

Aang nodded, though he didn't look very happy about that. "Yeah, lucky." He parroted in a strangely dismal tone that had Orora frowning at him. There was a brief beat of silence before the older girl spoke.

"You know you're always giving other people advice. I think it's high time you get some too." He turned to look at her curiously. The waterbender smiled gently at him. "Ever since I've known you Aang, you've always put the world before yourself. Even in Ba Sing Se, you were willing to give up your feelings for Katara to save her. But maybe, for once, why don't you try putting yourself first and just act on how you feel."

As she spoke the last few words, her gaze shifted towards Katara and Aang followed her line of sight.

The boy was silent for a few brief seconds before he finally nodded. Orora beamed at him before patting his shoulder. "It will all work out. I promise."

As they began to walk back to the others, Aang glanced off in the distance. "You know, I just realized, the others have been to Air Temples before but you and Toph haven't. Maybe after all this is over, I'll take you to the Western Air Temple. Its nearby and its really cool." Orora smiled at his plan and could only nod in confirmation.

"I'll hold you to that promise then."

                                          ————————–

At the Fire Nation Palace, everyone was starting to move out and into their secret hideouts. The Capital was getting quieter by the second and the Palace was emptying every minute.

However, Zuko made no move to follow everyone else as they took their places in their assigned bunker or whatever hiding place they had.

It didn't matter to him.

Nothing did now.

Other then what he had decided.

He removed his head piece and armor, putting it aside to reveal the clothes he was wearing underneath. Once done, he moved to sit down in front of his writing table and began to pen a letter he would be leaving behind for Mai, explaining to her what he was doing and why.

She deserved to know.

She was, after all, the only person who had supported him and listened to him during his time back here.

But now, it was time for him to move forward and do what he had been born to do.

The glow of his string was his only companion, making him feel a little less alone.

                                          ————————–

The fleet of ships were well on their way towards the Great Gates of Azulon. Orora stood on the deck of one of the ships. Every waterbender they had was divided amongst the ships, putting her on the second one with many of the Earthbenders.

A signal from the main ship had her nodding. "Fog cover." She called out, already dropping in the required stance, her arms moving in a fluid motion as she and the rest of the swamp benders helped create a thick fog that would cover them for the time being.

Though the moment was short lived.

A loud bell began to ring and in front of them, where the statue of Azulon was, rose a huge net from the water. And it was on fire. Her eyes widened at the sight, but Hakoda's command to get below deck was quickly heard over the commotion of the approaching patrol boats.

Orora followed after her retreating comrades, and to the submarine that was attached to the bottom of the ship. She slid down the ladder, her feet thumping against the metal floor of Sokka's invention as she took up her place with the rest of the swamp benders.

As soon as Tyro gave her the signal, each of them began to do a push and pull motion, allowing the submarine to begin swimming through the water. Out of the window beside her, she could see the other submarines as well.

"Seems your plan worked Sokka." She commented to herself, smiling as she did.

Phase One was complete.

                                          ————————–

The door to his cell opened, and when he saw who it was, Iroh couldn't help but smile.

"Lunchtime, General Iroh." Ming called, her tone respectful and soft, as opposed to all the other wardens. She knelt down in front of his cell and whispered. "And this time, I brought you an extra bowl of rice."

Iroh smiled. "Thank you, Ming. Your little gestures of kindness have made my days in prison bearable. He hummed to himself. "I think you should take the rest of the day off."

"What?" Confusion colored her tone as she frowned softly.

"You don't look well." Iroh insisted. "Maybe you should go home and rest. "

Ming shook her head, shrugging. "No, I feel fine."

"Trust me." He said, his voice soft and grave. "It is better that you are not here this afternoon." A beat of silence where Ming stared at him before a look of understanding passed over her features. She nodded before straightening up and walking out, leaving Iroh to his thoughts. He had already allowed one young girl to be hurt while under his watchful eye, and he would not see it happen again.

His heart ached to think of his young former pupil. So full of life and optimism.

Iroh could only hope his nephew would finally come to his senses and do the right thing.

                                          ————————–

The only downside of the submarine was the limited amount of air within. Which was why they had to resurface pretty quickly. And a good thing too, because some people had gotten a little motion sickness and had barely managed to hold everything in.

Quickly waterbending from one submarine to the next, Orora handed out some medicinal leaves for those who were ailing to chew on. She'd spent a majority of her money on buying different herbal leaves, roots and flowers that she knew would come in handy on the day of the Invasion. She'd built her small apothecary and had sewn a few hidden pockets in her dress to hide them in small paper packets.

"You're a life saver Orora." Haru said as she handed his father as well as other earthbenders some leaves. She only smiled in response, before quickly jumping to the submarine where Katara, Sokka and Toph were waiting for her.

"Chew on these." The girl ordered Toph, who looked more then a little green, all but shoving the bitter tasting leaves into her mouth. Though the earthbender made a disgusted sound she obediently did as Orora asked, and felt better almost instantly.

Aang, who had been guiding Appa underwater, landed near them. "So, this is it huh?" He said, his voice soft as his friends approached him. Sokka grinned. "Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know the Avatar is alive?"

Aang nodded without hesitation, a look of determination on his face. "I'm ready." Though the two boys moved in for a handshake, it quickly became a group hug as they all wrapped their arms around one another, holding their little family close.

"I hope you kick some serious Fire Lord butt, Twinkle Toes." Toph said, prompting the rest of them to laugh a little at her statement, easing the tension they all felt. Orora smiled at all of them, wrapping an arm around Sokka's shoulder, who mirrored her act, as Hakoda called to everyone.

"Everyone listen up. The next time we resurface, it'll be on the beaches. So stay alert, and fight smart. Now break time's over, back in the subs." Nodding at Orora, Sokka and Toph quickly followed after Hakoda disappearing into the Sub, along with Momo. Orora waterbended herself back to her Sub just as Haru and his father were beginning their descent.

She waited for them to disappear before she began to climb in. Orora paused as she reached back to grab the lid of the Sub, her eyes landing on the two figures that were still standing there.

Aang and Katara.

With Aang stepping away from his soulmate after kissing her.

Smiling to herself, the young waterbender closed the lid tightly, walking back to her previous station.

                                          ————————–

With every graceful yet powerful motion of her arms, as well as those of the swamp benders, they were getting closer and closer to the main shoreline of the Fire Nation capital. Orora would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous, but her nervousness was pushed aside in favor of determination and a sense of purpose.

This was what she had been training to for for more then half a year now.

And she was about to show the Fire Nation just how far she had come from the helpless girl she had been during her first encounter with them.

She would stand beside her family, friends and allies and fight to end the tyranny of the Fire Nation once and for all.

Through the water and metal wall around her, alarm bells began to sound, and she knew they had arrived.

Her sharp eyes caught the telltale sign of a harpoon from the window as it flew through the water from where it was fired from the surface. One of them skimmed by dangerously close to their Sub.

"Veer to the left!" She ordered, moving her arms in a certain motion that would push the Sub a little off course. The swamp benders followed her order.

"Orora! We need you upfront!" Haru's voice called from the front. She left her post, racing towards the small area where two earthbenders were loading a torpedo covered in ice.

As soon as it was in, and once she had the signal, Orora thrust her arms forward with all her strength, pushing the torpedo out into the water. There was a muffled bang which had the Sub lurching slightly, before things quietened down again.

"Swamp benders! To your positions now!" Orora called over the clamor of the earthbenders as they readied their tanks and other manners of vehicles.

Orora took up her position at the front of the swamp benders, just behind the line of earthbenders. She stood beside them, her water skins opening to allow her arms to be coated in water.

She waited in position for the Subs to rise from the water.

She waited with baited breath as the Subs opened and the sounds and smell of the battle hit her senses.

She allowed her instincts to take over as she raced out of the Sub, her battle cry merging with those of her fellow comrades as they faced the Fire Nation head on.

Sokka had told her that her primary target would be to take out as many tanks and other weapons of destruction with her water bending.

And that is exactly what she did.

The moment she stepped on solid ground, her cold calculated eyes zeroed in on a nearing tank. With a shout she threw her arm forward, allowing a part of the water she had to break away in the form of a sharp ice spear and hit the wheels of the tank. The spear jammed in the mechanism, toppling the tank over given the speed it was coming at, and rendering it useless.

Orora didn't even waited. She moved on.

There were several Fire Nation soldiers in front of her, and she wasted no time in taking them out. Allowing a ring of water to arch through the air, it sent the group of soldiers flying in different directions. Several of them were knocked unconscious after hitting the walls while others regained their footing and charged her.

Orora wasted no time.

She all but danced out of their way as they tried to land a hit with their firebending. Bringing up a wall of ice, the girl quickly propelled herself to the top of it, taking the soldiers on the other side completely by surprise. She landed on one's head, knocking him out, while the other she took out with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying. Another one was brought down with an ice punch to the face, while the one left didn't even put up a fight. Instead she raced off with a terrified scream.

Orora smirked to herself.

"Nice moves, Ice Princess!" Toph complimented as she came to a stop near her. "How about we show them a little Earth on Water action?" The bling girl suggested, prompting the older girl to drop in a stance as a new wave of tanks and war vehicles neared them with the battlements raining havoc from above.

Toph created a disc of earth, allowing it to rise from the ground a little to create a platform. Pressing her hand to the center of the platform, the older girl created spikes made of ice protrude all along the smooth surface of the pillar. With her hand on Toph's shoulder, she guided the girl where to launch the spiked discs. Once they launched, they would find their mark, and had barely allowed the Fire Nation soldiers around the to recover, when Orora would make a dismissive hand gesture and the ice spikes would go flying in every direction of the enemy. One after another found its mark, until nearly all their targets were taken out. Most of them being battlements. The ones left were being destroyed by Sokka, Katara and Hakoda.

"Stay safe!" Orora called to Toph who raced away to join her fellow earthbenders. Seeing several of the tanks overwhelming her fellow water tribe members, Orora quickly moved to take action.

Racing to get a little closer to the water, she threw her arms forward, pulling up twin strips of water. Her arms shook from the effort and sweat lined her forehead, but she circled her arms above her head, before spreading her arms wide, creating spikes at the end of her water whips.

"Take cover!" She shouted at her sister tribe. They barely had time to duck behind their shields before Orora's arms circled in the air, the water whips following her command the spikes at the end penetrating the metal surface of the tanks. Most of them stopped, the sharp edges catching important wires and rendering themselves useless. The few that were left running, were quickly knocked over by another swipe of her water whips, though this time she didn't use and spikes at the end.

"Is everyone alright?" She asked, racing towards Bato who had been a part of the group she had just helped. The older man smiled and nodded, clapping her on the shoulder. "That was some powerful waterbending Orora." He praised to which the girl simply shrugged, a pleased smile on her face.

"Well practice makes perfect, doesn't it?"

Suddenly the sound of Appa's groaning had her looking up just in time to see the bison land behind a wall to take shelter. Something was wrong, she felt it in her gut.

Throwing her arm out to create a shield lest one of the Fire Nation soldiers manage to hit her with their fireball, she raced across the battlement to where Appa had landed, dread filling her stomach as she went.

                                          ————————–

In the silence of the Palace, Zuko knelt before a painting of his mother.

"I know I've made some bad choices." He said, his voice soft and full of remorse. "But today, I'm gonna set things right." He promised before he rose to his feet. Picking up his swords, he covered his head with the hood of his robe. With one final glance at his mother's face, he left.

                                          ————————–

"What happened?" Orora asked as she came to a halt on her knees where she had skidded across the ground to reach the small family. Katara was working on healing her father, both children looking extremely distraught.

"He's hurt. Bad." Katara said, pulling her hands away to allow Orora to take a look since the older girl had more experience with healing. Her eyes quickly assessed the wound, her hand already flying to her pocket where she knew she would find the herb she would need. Good thing she'd already blended it into a paste before.

Using a small bubble of water, she allowed the paste to mix with the clear liquid, turning its color a murky green. The water settled over the wound as she pressed her hands atop it. Hakoda grunted in pain briefly before his entire body relaxed and his breathing evened out.

"That should stop the bleeding, but he'll need a couple more minutes of healing." She said just as an explosion sounded from beyond the wall they had taken refuge behind. Orora winced, glancing in the direction of the battle.

"I'll stay with Dad, go with Sokka." Katara urged, already moving to heal her Father some more. As Sokka moved to climb atop Appa, Orora made to follow. But stopped when Hakoda called out to her.

He was looking at her with a gentle smile. "Keep your brother from doing anything stupid." A swell of pride and a mixture of emotions rose within her. But now was not the time to act on them. With a firm nod, she jumped onto Appa beside Sokka and the three of them flew off.

As Appa landed, he took out a tank by himself, shoving it aside with a mighty roar. Sokka and Orora slid down, with the former taking charge. "Listen up, everyone. I want the tanks in wedge formation. Warriors and benders in the middle. We're taking that tower, and heading for the royal palace."

Quickly finding her place, Orora found herself standing beside Haru. "Fancy meeting you here." She said in a joking tone, to which he grinned back at her. "You know you don't usually find pretty girls on the battle ground." As she pulled out a stream of water from her other water skin, the girl shrugged. "Probably because Katara is helping her Dad out." She responded. From her other side, Toph let out a disgusted sound. "Blegh! Flirt in your own time Ice Princess. We got a Tower to take over."

Orora rolled her eyes. "Its called making conversation Toph." She said as she nonchalantly created several small icicle daggers, nestling them between her fingers as she prepared to attack, waiting for Sokka's signal.

"Charge!"

With a huge battle cry, the army moved forward.

                                          ————————–

They had taken the Tower.

Phase Two was complete.

Their tanks had formed a protective barrier around them with the earthbenders fending off any aerial attacks of fireballs. Orora had moved on to the second part of her duties.

Healing the wounded.

So far she had healed burns from explosions and firebending, quickly and efficiently sewn up split skin, mended a broken arm, and pushed a dislocated leg back into it's joint. Not to mention the amount of healing she had done using her waterbending abilities and the numbing salve she had passed around to anyone experiencing pain above a normal level.

With Katara busy working on her father, every task fell to Orora. But she made no complaint. The young waterbender shouldered the burden as she healed and did her duty. After nearly an hour and a half, the wounded were tended to and back in fighting shape. Orora slumped back against one of the tanks, tired and drained.

Behind her the air exploded with the sound of another attack and she winced at the loud noise.

A water skin appeared at her side, with Toph attached to the other end. "Drink up!" The girl urged. Thanking the young girl, Orora all but drained the contents of the water skin, her body gaining strength with each gulp of cool fresh water.

"Come on! Sokka wants to go over the next part of the plan with us." Toph said, reaching out to help the older girl up. Orora made no protest as she followed the girl, just as Hakoda and Katara appeared with the former leaning heavily on the latter.

"Dad!" Sokka called out and approaching the both of them. "You're on your feet again."

Hakoda nodded, though Orora could see he was still very weak. "Thanks to your sister and Orora. I'm in no shape to fight, but maybe there's some way I can help." He said, not wanting to sit by and do nothing.

"Heads up!" A voice called as a fireball flew their way.

Immediately Katara and Orora stepped forward, swinging their arms towards the sky, the two sent twin bubbles of water in the direction of the fireball, freezing it midway.

Katara stood with her hands cupped in front of her, towards which Orora took a running start. The younger girl boosted Orora up into the air, allowing her to fly upwards where she threw her leg out in an arc, swiping it across the approaching frozen fireball and disintegrating it into a thousand harmful blunt ice crystals. She landed on the ground in a crouch.

"See? Told you it would come in handy." Katara stated with a smug smile at Orora, who rolled her eyes playfully. "When did you two practice that?" Sokka demanded to know. Katara raised an eyebrow at her brother. "What did you think we did when we went swimming? Splash around the water?" The other girl laughed at Sokka's still dumbfounded expression.

As she quickly moving to stand beside Sokka he seemed to find his ability to speak once again.

"Everything's going smoothly and the eclipse hasn't even kicked in yet." He said, not noticing his sister who glanced at her hand and frowned before her eyes trained towards the sky above.

"Let's hope our luck holds out." Hakoda said before he noticed his daughter looking away. "Katara, you seem distracted. Is something wrong?" He asked.

Katara nodded. "Yeah. Is that ... is that Aang?" She pointed towards the approaching flying figure. Everyone stood up, eyes towards the sky. As soon as Aang landed, Sokka was on him.

"Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a big wimp and you didn't even need the eclipse to take him down." He pleaded as Orora moved to kneel down beside Sokka as Katara and Aang assumed the same position with Toph standing just beside them.

"He wasn't home. No one was. The entire palace city is abandoned."

Orora blinked. "But why would they-" She was cut off by Sokka who's eyes widened in realization. "They knew." A horrified silence filled the air once the reality of what Sokka had said settled in.

Orora felt her insides turn to ice.

They had known.

The Fire Nation had known about their plan and had time to prepare for it.

"It's over." Aang said, his voice full of dismay. "The Fire Lord is probably long-gone; far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

Sokka, however, had other ideas. "No." He stated, shaking his head. "My instincts tell me he wouldn't go too far. He would have a secret bunker; somewhere he could go and be safe during the siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."

Toph stepped up, grinning. "If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for," She pointed to herself. "Then I'm just the girl to find it."

Pulling out a small device, Sokka observed it quickly. "The Mechanist gave me this timing device." He explained. "It looks like we've got about ten minutes until the full eclipse. Ten minutes to find the Fire Lord." He added to which Orora pursed her lips, her mind already preparing for what was to come.

Aang nodded with a look of sheer determination. "We can still do this." He stated. "We can still win the day."

"Wait!" Katara stepped forward. "If they knew we were coming it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure we all get out of here safely."

Orora shook her head. "We can't wait for another chance to come our way like today Katara. We have to try and end this." She stated as Hakoda stepped forward.

"Everyone who's here today came prepared to risk everything for this mission." He gestured towards the still fighting army. "They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance and there's still hope, I think they would want Aang to go for it." He ended after which Sokka turned his attention to Aang.

"What do you think? You're the one that has to face the Fire Lord." He reached out to grasp his shoulder. "Whatever you decide, I'm with you."

Aang took a brief pause where he looked at each of them individually before rising to his feet. "I've gotta try."

As Toph, Sokka and Aang prepared to take off, Orora, who had been struggling with an idea forming in her mind, stepped forward.

"Wait! I-I think I should go with you." Her mind was running a mile a minute. "The Fire Nation family will be secured somewhere together. I can lead the way."

"But won't they know you're coming?" Katara asked, stepping forward and looking worried. Sokka frowned. "They won't have their bending, not much damage they can do. Climb on, Orora."

With a brief squeeze of Katara's hand. "I'll keep them safe." She whispered to the worried looking girl. Katara nodded, watching as the older girl quickly jumped on Appa's head. It didn't take them long to reach the outskirts of the volcano in which the capital city resided.

As soon as Appa landed, everyone jumped off, with Toph placing her hand on the ground to feel the vibrations.

"Do you feel anything down there?" Aang asked, to which Toph nodded.

"Yep. There are natural tunnels criss-crossing through the inside of the volcano." She responded before Sokka added.

"Anything else? Is there a structure somewhere?" Toph stepped back before digging her fingers into the surface to feel the earth even deeply. "There is something big, dense and made of metal deep in the heart of the volcano."

Sokka raised his arms in the air in triumph. "Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Toph quickly earthbended a hole into the side of the volcano and jumped in. Everyone, minus Appa and Momo followed suit.

Toph leaned over to press her hand to the ground once more, while Orora inspected her finger to try and see if she could feel any tugging.

"Anything?" Aang asked her, to which she shook her head. Toph, meanwhile, pointed in one direction. "This way! That one's a dead end!"

Without hesitation everyone filed after her. "What would we do without you?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Perish in burning hot magma." She stated as they walked past one that was just that. "Yeah, pretty much." Sokka stated as they carefully walked past. The deeper they traveled the hotter it got, and the larger the streams of magma became. Sweat lined her forehead, and Orora could feel her clothes sticking to her skin. After a minute or so the small group paused at the edge of a geyser field.

A very active geyser field.

"The tunnel continues on the other side and it leads right to the bunker." Toph stated as Orora stepped forward. Taking on a stance that was slight earthbending in nature, she pushed her hands to the ground, feeling the burning hot water below and keeping it all at bay for them to pass easily.

"We'll have to be fast, but careful." Sokka stated as they all began to make their way carefully across the field. Orora was able to hold off most of them, but some managed to slip past her as she began to loose a little control over the natural aspect that was inevitable.

Though soon they came to another problem.

A river of lava.

"There's no floor. It's just a river of lava." Sokka bemoaned.

Aang, who was not to be deterred, simply opened his staff. "Climb aboard and hold on tight."

Orora and Sokka glanced at one another and gulped.

A full three minutes of screaming in fear on Sokka, Orora and Toph's part later, they had safely passed over the lava river and were sprinting their way towards a large metal dome like structure with a huge door.

Sokka look rather impressed. "That's some door!" He said as Toph walked over to it and banged the metal with her fist. "Not a problem." She stated confidently. A few seconds later they were on the other side.

"I am so glad we added you to the group!" Sokka stated excitedly. "You feel anything yet Orora?" Aang asked as they raced down a series of more tunnels. Orora had no time to reply when they ran into a Fire Nation citizen just walking around.

Probably out on a stroll.

Immediately, the man found himself cornered by four young children, each wearing an expression of utter fierceness and cold calculation.

The man looked like he was ready to soil himself.

"The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left, and up the stairs, you can't miss it!" He babbled without any of them having to say a single word.

Aang was the only one polite enough to call a thanks over his shoulder. As the four of them departed, the man seemed to relax slightly. Only for a blue blur to fly through the air and envelop his mouth in an ice mask.

The man's frantic yet muffled sounds of distress followed them for awhile before they tapered off as they ran further into the tunnel system.

Pulling out his device Sokka checked the time. "Only thirty seconds until the total eclipse." He stated just as they approached a set of large doors.

Aang was the one to step forward this time, a look of determination on his face. "I'm ready." He said, standing tall and powerful. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord." Orora looked at her finger.

The string still wasn't tugging.

"Aang wait!"

But it was too late. Blasting the door open with his airbending, Aang raced inside, and with a brief moment of hesitation on Orora's part, the other three following right after him.

Though the sight of the Princess instead of the Fire Lord had them halting dead in their tracks.

                                          ————————–

Zuko stood before a small metal door, burning torches on either side of it casting shadows across his face as he briefly closed his eyes, inhaling softly.

"I'm ready to face you." He whispered to himself. With that he reached out to open the door. On the other side, his father sat on the far side of the room, drinking tea. He was surrounded by several guards from the Royal Procession, but their presence did not deter Zuko. Fire Lord Ozai set his cup down when he saw his son standing across from him.

"Prince Zuko?" His forehead creased in a frown, while a look of anger crossed his features. "What are you doing here? Why are you here?' He demanded to know.

"I'm here to tell the truth." Zuko stated, drawing strength from the memories of the two people who had stood by him no matter what.

Ozai raised an eyebrow. "Telling the truth during the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting." With a wave of his hand, the guards filed out of the room. Once the last guard had exited, the doors closed behind them, leaving the father and son alone.

"First of all," Zuko began. "In Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me."

Ozai blinked a little confused since he knew how much his daughter adored to take credit for everything she did. "Why would she lie to me about that?"

Time to break the news to him then. "Because the Avatar's not dead. He survived." Zuko revealed. The reaction he was hoping for was instant. Ozai straightened where he was, shocked, angry and horrified at the same time. "What?"

"In fact," Zuko continued, not at all deterred by the way his father's anger was rising. He was well past caring now. "He's probably leading this invasion. He could be on his way here right now."

Having had enough Ozai rose to his feet, pointing towards the door. "Get out!" He growled viciously. "Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you!"

"That's another thing." Zuko added, his voice calm and mellow, as opposed to his father who looked like he would burst from the anger at any moment. "I'm not taking orders from you anymore."

Of course that only served to make his father angrier. "You will obey me," The man hissed. "Or this defiant breath will be your last!" He warned.

"Think again." The sound of swords being pulled from their sheaths echoed in the room as Zuko took up a defiant stance in front of his Father. "I am going to speak my mind, and you are going to listen." He stated. There was a moment of silence before Ozai sat down. Clearly he knew he could not best his son when it came to swordsmanship. Best listen to what he had to say instead.

                                          ————————–

All those feelings of hatred and anger she had felt towards the Princess of the Fire Nation came back to her in a colossal wave. This was the girl who had nearly killed Aang. The sweetest boy anyone could ever hope to know.

A cold anger ran through her veins, prompting Orora to step beside Aang, almost in a protective manner, lest Azula try something, anything, untoward.

"Where is he?" Aang demanded. "Where's the Fire Lord?"

Azula rose from the throne she'd been lounging in. "You mean I'm not good enough for you?" She pressed a hand over her heart. "You're hurting my feelings."

"Stop wasting our time and give us the information." Sokka commanded, pointing his sword at her. "You're powerless right now, so you're in no position to refuse."

Toph walked to stand beside him, hands clenched in fists. "And stick to the truth. I'll be able to tell if you're lying." She warned, though it wouldn't have mattered.

"Are you sure? I'm a pretty good liar." Azula asked, as calm as could be as she paused before beginning to recite. "I am a four-hundred foot tall purple platypus bear with pink horns and silver wings."

Toph pursed her lips, annoyed. "Okay, you're good, I admit it." Using her bending she trapped Azula with stone slabs around her. "But you ought to consider telling the truth anyway!"

The resident waterbender all but growled at the Princess. "It wouldn't have mattered Toph. Azula always lies." She said, the very words Zuko had told her so long ago.

At the sight of her, Azula's eyes narrowed and a spiteful look came into her eyes. "So I see you're the one my brother has been pining over these last few months."

Orora's heart thumped painfully at the mention of Zuko, but she pushed the feeling aside. "I'm not here to chat about your brother Azula." She snapped. "We're here to take you down like I should've done in Ba Sing Se." So saying, the girl created a spike of ice, ready to throw it at Azula but stopped when the earth trap crumbled, leaving them all surprised.

"Speaking of," Azula mused as if making pleasant conversation. "When I left Ba Sing Se I brought home some souvenirs: Dai Li agents!" Two Dai Li agents descended into the room.

An angry sound escaped Orora's lips as they landed on the ground.

"I really hate these guys."

                                          ————————–

This was it.

The moment he had waited for for so long.

Nothing could stop him from speaking his mind.

"For so long, all I wanted was for you to love me, to accept me." Zuko began, his voice strong and determined. A first for him when it came to speaking to his father. "I thought it was my honor I wanted, but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn." All the words Orora had once spoken to him, he now understood that she was right. That she had been right all along. He pointed his sword at his father. "My father, who challenged me, a thirteen-year-old boy, to an Agni Kai. How could you possibly justify a duel with a child?" He demanded to know, his voice breaking slightly in the end.

Ozai only responded with a scornful look in his eyes. "It was to teach you respect!"

His son shook his head. "It was cruel! And it was wrong." He countered, using the exact words Orora had said to him once so long ago.

"Then you have learned nothing!" The man shouted looking as if he wanted nothing more then to smite his son down.

Zuko only responded with a voice that was louder and much more powerful then his father's. "No, I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own!" His mind began to fill with memories of all the people he had met during his time in the Earth Kingdom. "Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history. And somehow, the War was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world." He let out a short laugh. "What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation. They don't see our greatness. They hate us! And we deserve it! We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness." He ended his tirade of words in a softer and much gentler tone then from what he had begun.

Ozai only laughed in response. "Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?" He said, his words cold and full of disgust as he brought up his older brother.

In response, Zuko only smiled proudly. "Yes. He has." He stated. "Him," He paused briefly, knowing what he said next would not be well received by his father. "And my soulmate. Orora."

The look of pure shock on Ozai's face quickly shifted to one of sheer anger and utter hatred. But Zuko didn't care.

He was done hiding who he really was. And he was done hiding from the world that his soulmate was Orora.

A waterbender from the Northern Water Tribe.

And the most amazing girl he had ever met or could hope to meet.

And his string had glowed a bright blue the past few days reminding him of just that.

                                          ————————–

As she slammed into the wall, her arms wrapped tightly around Toph to keep the younger girl safe, Orora lent out a grunt of pain.

"I'm gonna feel that in the morning." She said, as Toph jumped out of her protective embrace and stood to face the Dai Lee agent once more. Orora slowly pushed herself to her feet, legs trembling underneath her.

The hairs ta the back of her neck stood up, and her head swiped to the side. The waterbender barely had enough time to create a shield of ice to take cover behind, as Azula swiped a hidden small knife through the air.

Exactly where her neck had been barely a moment ago.

Cold blue eyes met a cold amber gaze.

Twisting on her feet, Orora unfroze the shield, the water circling around her waist before flying towards the Princess. Her intention had been to allow the water to wrap around her waist and freeze her in place. But Azula danced out of the way, almost as if she were toying with her.

A sickening feeling settled in Orora's stomach as she slowly began to realize what Azula was actually doing.

The Princess smirked at her before taking off, flying through the small hole from where Sokka was only just emerging. Toph and Aang were in hot pursuit, as was Orora.

"Orora! We need to stop! She's just trying to-"

"Distract us I know!" The older girl said, reaching out to quickly help him down from the hole. They raced out of the room behind the other two.

"Wait! Aang! Toph! Stop attacking!" Sokka called out, his words barely audible from where he was panting so much. "Don't you see what she's doing?" He demanded, not even pausing to register the confused expressions on their faces. "She's just playing with us. She's not even trying to win this fight!"

Orora stepped forward, still on guard. "And when Azula wants to win a fight, she doesn't run." The girl stated in a matter of fact voice, prompting Azula to glance at her and smirk.

"Not true." She said, her voice as calm as it could be. "I'm giving it my all."

Toph stepped forward, her body trembling with anger as she pointed at the Princess. "You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Azula rolled her eyes. "Um, right, I think your friend just said that, genius." She said, before continuing. "And since you can't see, I should tell you I'm rolling my eyes."

Orora growled. She nearly stepped forward when Sokka reached out to grab her wrist stopping her.

"I'll roll your whole head!" Toph threatened to which Sokka placed a hand on her shoulder. "She's just baiting you again." He reminded her.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so what do we do, just ignore her?" He asked, looking to Sokka who nodded.

"We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow." The three of them turned around, beginning to walk away. Orora, however, walked backwards, never once taking her eyes off Azula. She may not have her bending, but the waterbender wasn't about to turn her back on the younger Princess.

"It's a trap." Azula called after them in a calm voice. "Don't say I didn't warn you." The words prompted Aang and Toph to stop and turn around, though Sokka continued, waving his hand in a dismissive manner at the Princess.

"Ignore."

The sudden smile and gleam that came into Azula's eyes had Orora's heart sinking in her chest.

"So, Sokka's your name, right?" She said, her voice echoing slightly against the tunnels. "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time." The absolute glee in her voice had Aang and Orora glancing at one another, a look of concern on their faces.

Behind them, Sokka stopped short, his face turning halfway to look at the Princess with a suspicious glint in his eyes. "She was convinced you were going to come rescue her." Azula continued, her voice growing crueler and more colder at every word. Orora glanced at Sokka, biting her lower lip at seeing him trembling with anger. "Of course you never came, and she gave up on you."

He had turned around completely now, as a look of absolute grief and heartbreak crossed his features as a few tears slid down his cheeks. His eyes snapped open, and he pulled out his sword, a cold anger swimming in his eyes as he charged forward in a blind rage.

Orora saw the glint of the weapon in Azula's hand before anything else. With barely any time to react, she threw her own arm forward, allowing one of the remaining ice daggers around her belt to fly towards the Princess, knocking the weapon out of her hand.

Just as Sokka grabbed Azula by the shoulder, slamming her into the nearest wall and pressing his sword to her neck, barely an inch of a distance between them.

"Where. Is. Suki?!"

Orora's heart plummeted.

                                          ————————–

"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He's the one who's been a real father to me." Zuko continued not wanting to stop while he was ahead. And while he had the courage to talk to his father.

Ozai let out a cruel laugh. "Oh, that's just beautiful. And maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure." He said in a mocking voice, his hatred for his older brother evident in the way he spoke about him.

But Zuko ignored him. Didn't even take the bait but instead went on to his next point. "But I've come to an even more important decision." He paused momentarily, closing his eyes and drawing strength from the light blue he could see out of the corner of his eyes.

"I'm going to join the Avatar and I'm going to help him defeat you." He stated.

Ozai smiled smugly. "Really?" He questioned, his tone matching his expression. "Since you're a full-blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait?" He held out his arms. "I'm powerless. You've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?" He asked, knowing is he could bait him, distract him, he could defeat him when the Eclipse ended.

Zuko shook his head. "Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." He put his swords away, moving to walk away. "Goodbye." He said, already turning and towards the door.

Not wanting him to leave Ozai stood, stalling for time. "Coward!" He screamed after his son. "You think you're brave enough to face me, but you'll only do it during the eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out."

And in one last desperate attempt to stop his son, Ozai cruelly broached the subject he had denied him for so long. "Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

That did it.

Despite his best efforts, Zuko couldn't help but turn around. The man smiled, and Zuko knew he was playing with his life by staying near the other man, but if it meant getting information about his mother, then so be it.

"What happened that night?" He asked, waiting with baited breath.

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son, and I was going to do it." His admittance didn't bring Zuko any sorrow. Ozai was incapable of loving him, he realized it now, and Zuko had made his peace with it.

"Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost." Zuko's heart constricted at the mention of his mother. She gave up herself to save him. "She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan, a plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared."

There was a pause before his father continued. "Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

Banished.

Not killed like he had believed.

Banished.

So Orora had been right about this too.

Tears filled his eyes. "So she's alive?" He asked, taking a step forward, wanting to know more. Hungry to know more.

Ozai nodded. "Perhaps. Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason." He closed his eyes and Zuko felt it. He could feel his firebending returning, knew that the Eclipse was ending and that he had to make his escape.

"Your penalty will be far steeper."

Now!

In a manner of seconds Ozai generated several bolts of lightning firing them directly at Zuko. But Zuko was ready for it. He brought his arms up, his fingers pointing outwards, just in time. The force of the bolts slid him back several feet but he kept his stance as he allowed the lightning to travel from his arm, down his stomach, and out his other arm.

Safely and successfully redirecting lightning.

The bolts crackled through the air and hit the wall just above where his father stood.

Zuko wasted no time to see the result of his actions. Instead he raced out, adrenaline coursing through his veins as made his escape.

Now to free his Uncle.

                                          ————————–

"Answer me!"

Azula didn't say a single word.

Orora was the one who stepped forward, her hand on Sokka's shoulder. "Sokka, she won't ever tell you. We have to go now!" The girl urged the young warrior, knowing just how much his soul hurt at the thought of his soulmate in chains somewhere.

"Where are you keeping her?"

Since she was standing so close to Azula and actually paying attention to her, Orora was the one who realized the sudden change in the Princess's stance.

"Sounds like the firebending's back on." She'd barely gotten the words out when she kicked her leg in a wide arc, sending a fire blast that would've hit Sokka had Orora not pulled him out of the way.

With a powerful tug the girl threw the boy behind her, dropping into a fighting stance as Azula freed herself from Toph's earth-shackles. When the other girl had done that, Orora had no idea. Azula flipped, her leg extended towards in incoming Aang, who would've been hit in the face if Orora hadn't brought up a shield of ice to protect him.

The Princess managed to land on her feet, smirking.

"Dad's all the way at the end of the hall then down a secret stairway on the left." She said, already moving to walk away. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to see you now."

Her cold calculated eyes suddenly found Orora and her smirk only widened. "And I'll be seeing you very soon." Azula all but cooed in a threatening manner. "You can hi to Zuzu in person."

With that she ran off, leaving Orora and her friends devastated and defeated.

"I fell for it!" Sokka said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I used up all our time."

Toph stepped forward. "It's not your fault, Sokka." She reassured her friend. "Azula was ready for us. She had every move planned out." Sokka simply shook his head. "And now it's too late." He stated sorrowfully.

Aang stepped forward. "Maybe it's not too late." He insisted. "The eclipse is over. But I can face the Fire Lord anyway." Orora's rounded on Aang, her features twisted in anger. "Are you crazy? Do you want to die again Aang?"

Alright so maybe she shouldn't have shouted at the younger boy, but her emotion were running high and Azula's words had jilted her to the very core.

Not to mention she could feel her finger tugging.

Though Aang looked at her in shock, Sokka backed her up. "No. Orora is right. I don't think that's a good idea."

Aang frowned. "But I'm ready!" He insisted. "I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me." Toph joined Sokka's side. "The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time. We thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't." Her voice became downcast. "It just wasn't our day. What we need to do now is go and help our friends."

Aang looked around at his three friends. Sokka, who was still looking sad and heartbroken, Top who wore an expression of acceptance and Orora who looked downright cold and angry. "I am not about to let Katara or anyone else live through what we did after loosing you in Ba Sing Se, Aang." She suddenly burst out, hands clenched at her sides. Memories of that night rose to his mind as well as all the worry and fear he had caused. He didn't want his friends to go through that again. Especially not Katara. Slowly he nodded. "I guess you guys are right."

Suddenly Toph tensed.

"There's someone coming. A lot of someone." She stated, her knees bent as she assumed a defensive position. Aang and Sokka dropped into defensive stances as well, facing the tunnel that Toph had pointed out.

Suddenly Orora stepped in front of them.

"No." She said, her voice cold and stern. The other three glanced at her in confusion. "They're here for me." She stated, her back towards them so they wouldn't see the true fear in her eyes. "Knowing Azula, she sent them to capture me so their focus will be on me."

Aang, realizing what Orora was about to do suddenly straightened. "We are not leaving you here to face them alone, Orora!" He insisted. Sokka's eyes widened before he shook his head, raising his sword in front of him. "We're all getting out of here together." He moved to step forward, but stopped when a small ice dagger shot through the air, landing just an inch away from his shoe. Orora finally turned, fixing them both with a cold hard stare. One that was intense enough to have both boys stepping back.

"Listen to me." She said, her voice urgent, stern and cold. "Get out of here. Get on Appa and go help Katara and the others. This is one battle I have to fight on my own without having to worry about anyone else." Toph was the one who stepped forward this time. "Orora there are five of them." She said, her voice full of fear for her sister.

Orora smirked as twin blades of ice materialized in her hands from the remaining water she had left in her water skins. "Then I'll make sure to leave none standing."

She turned her gaze towards Aang. "I'll meet you where you said you would take us after today." She said to which Aang gave a nod of understanding. "Tell Katara, I'm sorry. I had to stay, to keep all of you safe. Now go!"

They hesitated. "Go!" The girl screamed, briefly turning her ice dagger into a whip and hitting it near their feet. Each of them hesitated once more, uncertainty and heartbreak evident in their eyes before Sokka took Toph's hand and began pulling her behind him.

Unsure grey eyes met pleading ice blue.

"I'll be fine." She promised.

They both knew it was a lie.

Finally, Aang turned and ran after Sokka and Toph.

As she watched her three friends make their escape, each of their hearts was heavy, knowing that they had no other choice.

They had to stay safe to fight another day.

And Orora was willing to give up her life to make sure that happened.

                                          ————————–

His Uncle was gone. And the next best thing for him to do was make his own getaway.

And he was going to.

He was about to race towards the location where he had smuggled away the war balloon when a vicious tug on his finger had him stopping short.

Zuko glanced at his finger, the string glowing a bright blue. It was almost taut, leading him towards the lower base of the volcano that made up Fire Nation capital. His heart raced in his chest.

She was there.

Orora was there.

A feeling rose within him, one that had him stumbling forward before he broke into a run. He had felt that feeling before. It was so many months ago, but he still remembered it.

Still remembered the bitter taste in his mouth and the way his very soul grew heavy within him.

He had felt it once before at the North Pole.

That fateful night when he had saved a young waterbender girl from being killed.

A young waterbender who turned out to be his soulmate.

Zuko had felt this very feeling as he had watched the soldier raise his hand to fire at Orora.

To end her life.

It was pure, utter, and heart wrenching dread.

And that feeling was what propelled him to run faster, kicking up dirt as he went, his eyes wide with fear as he followed his string, his heart, his soul, as it led her back to her.

Back to his soulmate.

Back to Orora.

                                          ————————–

The tugging on her finger was what guided her towards the unexpected exit.

The Fire Nation soldiers were hot at her heels, trying their best to capture her, but she was much too fast and quick. Orora had honed herself to be the perfect fighter through sheer determination and practice, and though she could never be as naturally gifted a waterbender as Katara, she was not going to do her best.

Toph had been right.

There were five of them.

Well four now since she had managed to knock one out with a kick to the head.

She could see daylight up ahead, and it only propelled her to run faster. A blast of fire grazed the top of her head, prompting her to duck down but she didn't stop running. Gripping one of her ice daggers, she twisted on her feet briefly and allowed it to fly through the air.

Her aim was true, since the sharp projectile hit one of the mask-less soldier straight in the eye. His scream of agony filled the tunnel, but Orora barely heard it. At that very moment she burst out of the tunnel.

What she hadn't counted on, was one of the other firebenders firing too soon.

As she exited the tunnel, pain unlike any she had ever felt before radiated from her side. The young waterbender stumbled, her feet fumbling as she cried out. With the speed she had been running at Orora went careening into the ground, bouncing against the hard ground painfully a few times before she rolled to a stop.

Her breath was knocked out of her, and she was sure cuts and bruises littered her skin. She pressed a hand to her side where it hurt, crying out softly from the pain.

She'd definitely been burned.

Still, she had to get up. Had to try and get away.

With a groan, and despite her body throbbing with pain, she managed to push herself to her knees. "Give up girlie!" One of the soldiers called out as the other three surrounded her.

Reaching up she wiped the side of her mouth where she had cut her lip and was bleeding. "I would rather die." She hissed, her hands dropping to the ground where she pulled out the water from the grass around her.

The grass lost it's color, turning brown. Despite the pain, Orora created twin circles of water around her, that spun at a high speed. High enough and thin enough to cut through the thickest armor. She glared at the three remaining soldiers, gritting her teeth from the pain.

"Lets take her. The Princess wants her alive." One of them said.

Her finger tugged, almost viciously, and her eyes widened.

The soldier who had spoken stepped forward, only to be kicked aside by an extremely familiar figure as he emerged from jumped out from behind an outcropping of rocks.

The figure landed on the ground, wasting no time to reach behind and pulling out a pair of swords.

"You'll have to go through me." Zuko growled, his tone vicious, a clear warning in his tone as he stood over her. His heart was racing in his chest at the sight he had just been greeted with.

Orora on her knees, bleeding and hurt.

It didn't matter to him that she could defend herself.

In that moment, all that mattered to him was that she was in pain, and those responsible would pay dearly for hurting his soulmate.

"Prince Zuko!" One of the soldiers exclaimed while the other helped their knocked out companion. "Your sister asked us to capture this girl. She's the enemy, she was with the Avatar."

Zuko stepped forward, his presence commanding and yet dangerous at the same time. "Then you tell my sister, that if she ever even thinks of hurting her again, I will take her down. Permanently."

Perhaps it was the cold-blooded look in the Prince's eyes, or perhaps the soldier knew he would not be able to take down the Prince. Whatever it was, the three soldiers quickly retreated back into the tunnels.

Leaving a slowly calming Zuko and an injured Orora alone.

The entire time Orora had stayed still, her eyes wide and her heart in her chest as she scarcely dared to believe who was standing in front of her. Protecting her just like he had in her dream. The water circles she had created dropped to the ground as she lowered her arms, her body relaxing.

And yet as her body relaxed the adrenaline left her, and she finally felt the true extent of the burn at her side. A cry of pain fell from her lips as she hunched over. Tears sprang to her eyes as she raised a trembling hand to try and waterbend some water back from he ground to heal herself.

At the sound of her, the young Prince turned around and dropped his swords as he fell to his knees in front of Orora. "No, wait, use this." He urged, holding out his water skin that had clean water in it. Her fingers quivered as she coated them with the clean water.

Placing her hand to her burned side, the girl whimpered from the pain. Involuntarily, her free hand reached out to grasp on to the first thing she could grab.

His hand.

Which she gripped so tightly that he was sure there would be bruises later.

But he didn't care.

Zuko stayed still, his features creased with worry as he watched her close her eyes and the water begin to glow as she healed herself. Orora bit her lip, reopening the small cut that she had gotten a few minutes ago. A thin trail of scarlet snaked down the side of her mouth.

Zuko reached up, his thumb pressing against her skin as he wiped away the blood. His touch was what prompted her to open her eyes.

After so many days.

Soft blue eyes met warm amber gaze.

"Yo-you're here?" Came her voice, barely above a whisper. As if she were afraid speaking loudly would shatter the moment.

"I'm here." He responded, bringing the hand he held in his own to press it against the side of his scarred face.

Their strings glowed.

His blue.

Hers red.

Blue eyes rolled, turning skyward, and Orora fell against Zuko in a dead faint. He caught her, a pang of worry racing through his body. He had to get her cleaned up and bandaged otherwise she might get an infection. Besides, his sister would send even more soldiers if she knew Orora were still there.

Quickly sheathing his swords, he gathered Orora in his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder, with one of his arms supporting her legs while the other wrapped around her waist, being careful of her injuries.

He would find her friends later, right now, all he cared about was making sure that she was alright.

And that was all that mattered to him.

                                           ————————–

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[aithusarosekiller]

An Extensive List Of Ouizzy Hcs

Frenchie is a cuddler. If he gets the opportunity to latch on like a koala you know damn well that he will do it. This is often paired with soft kisses to wherever is closest to his face. He and Izzy were initially very casual with very little intimacy, until one day Frenchie just decided to cuddle up and Izzy had the realisation of 'oh shit, this is actually really nice'

Izzy's response to the first 'I love you' was a very panicked 'fuck off' until he remembered how similarly Ed had responded to his confession and freaked the fuck out because he didn't want Frenchie to feel that way. He was too emotionally constipated to apologise so he just left the room. It took two days for him to approach Frenchie and manage an apology, which was accepted a lot quicker than he anticipated.

Frenchie is so proud that he managed to pull the Izzy Hands and will not fail to mention it to EVERYBODY he comes across. He is very much the 'Well, yesterday, my husband said...' 'According to Iz- that's my boyfriend btw-' 'hey, this is Izzy, he's my beautiful boyfriend' 'I'm so lucky to have a husband like Iz' 'I have a partner too, his name is Izzy and-' 'sorry, I've got a date with my darling Izzy today' type of partner

Frenchie smiles in his sleep. It's adorable.

Jim is their no.1 supporter. They gave Frenchie the shovel talk, which he genuinely did not see coming. They think their relationship is 'cute', which made Izzy particularly grumpy and reluctant to talk to them for a week.

Izzy is a sub

Izzy always falls asleep first but he's a super light sleeper so Frenchie is careful to not move or even breathe too loud because he is terrified of waking him

Stede knew they were dating before Izzy did

Izzy will usually shut down Frenchie's superstitious theories but will occasionally indulge him if he's particularly adamant and it won't cause any harm bc at least it makes Frenchie happy to be believed.

The room they choose to hide Izzy in when he gets shot is the room the two of them had been secretly meeting up in for several weeks before the canon s2 timeline picks up. Frenchie just panicked and took him right there, having to come up with an excuse to give to Archie when she asked why he wanted to drag Izzy behind a dusty shelf.

Frenchie gives neck hugs, Izzy goes for the arms around the waist + face in shoulder hug. Occasionally Izzy will come up and hug him from behind but he finds it more intimate for some inexplicable reason so he rarely does it, especially in the company of others.

They can't go anywhere without walking into some big, scary guy Izzy once hooked up with. But Frenchie quickly grew to not mind because out of all of them, Iz still chose to stick the superstitious barely-pirate with no survival skills whatsoever so are any of them really that cool after all?

Lucius takes every opportunity to tease Izzy about their relationship. He will not stop until he gets a satisfying reaction. Or until he gets bored enough to make up an excuse for leaving...

Frenchie is a biter. No further information.

They don't usually do anniversaries but they DO frequently pretend that it's their anniversary when they want to get out of doing something for somebody else

In S1E4, Frenchie is the one that left the prosthetic at Izzy's door. He's also the one that told Lucius what to put on the note.

Izzy sometimes sings when he's really focused on something but he'll deny it to the end of time. Frenchie hears sometimes and just quietly listens. He'll switch between languages when he sings depending on his mood and Frenchie loses all human cognitive abilities when he brings out the French.

One day, Frenchie 'adopts' a rat he found onboard and calls it Maddy, Izzy hates it but still manages to convince Roach not to skin it and feed it to a seagull, all bc it made Frenchie happy. Ofc if you asked him, he'd say he had nothing to do with the thing being kept.

Frenchie manages to somehow slip the word 'babe' into every conversation

Izzy's a hand kisser. Especially the palms.

They both go to Wee John when they're stressing about gifts or smth and it gets to a point where he knows more about their relationship than they do

Izzy accidentally let the words 'my love' slip ONCE and is not allowed to forget it

There is nothing Frenchie wouldn't do to hear that man laugh. He'll do absolutely anything just to see him smile or laugh, which initially proves to be quite difficult.

They are girl dads idec

Izzy occasionally smokes, and it's one of the key ways Frenchie can tell if he is in pain or stressed out

They make bets about everyone else on the ship constantly. About almost anything.

Izzy tried to teach Frenchie how to read but his reading skills are relatively limited so it really didn't go well. They end up going to Ed for help because Izzy banned him from asking Lucius.

Frenchie knows a lot about flowers. He never says how but he'll go on about them for ages. Izzy secretly gives it endearing.

The black jacket Frenchie wears in s2 was given to him by Izzy. He made some adjustments and added the cat to the back and then started to wear it constantly; he quite liked wearing it because it felt like a comforting layer of protection and familiarity from the horrors around them

[yourfavekari]

lily 👅👅

♡︎ ୨ৎ⋅˚₊‧ 𐙚 ‧₊˚ ♥︎ ⋅ ˖ ᡣ𐭩 ⊹ ࣪ ౨ৎ˚₊ ♡︎

like that || l.m , o.h, b.j

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. like that - babymonster

genre: smut

synopsis: what if you were doing these things to lily, haewon, and bae while the other members of nmixx were watching a movie in the room?

pairing: bae jinsol x oh haewon x lily morrow x f!reader

warnings: you read the genre so do I even have to explain lol

note: i need them all at the same damn time it’s not even funny. btw thanks to my pookie for requesting dis

LILY. okay yall’s lets all be real. this bitch is fine as fuck, and I bet you all you nswers know that. straddling those damn thighs until you cum would probably be best for you! can we all agree that us lily stans would ride that damn thigh as if it’s her cock itself?! but wait.. what about the mess you made on her clothes, the couch, and the inside of your crotch?! probably not a smart idea, but at least it felt good!

HAEWON. oh you damn slut. you know you love haewon’s cock as if it’s the last cookie your siblings didn’t eat yet. you would be under that blanket, pretending to sleep, even though haewon’s cock is buried deep in your mouth. one thing about her, she damn well sure knows how to keep her personal noises quiet. she kept looking down at the floor, pretending she was checking the time. as she released in your mouth and a little on your face and her thighs, you immediately greedily slurped up the mess you both made, pretending to now wake up from your “nap” you took.

BAE. okay bro.. MISS JINSOL?! THE “INNOCENT” GIRL OF NMIXXUH?! oh lord have mercy on MEEEE.. because the way you would stroke her cock while greedily sucking haewon’s is just.. mesmerizing😫. you would definitely jerk that cock at a fast ass pace, not even stopping one bit. but I don’t think I told you this.. bae and haewon were right next to each other, so you would obviously take their cocks and take turns sucking on them. since haewon’s the most sensitive, i already told you she came first. but bae? if anyone cums whether she watches videos, watches others have sex in front of her, etc, then she immediately cums after. you greedily swallow their seeds, pretending to wake up from your nap.

LILY, HAEWON, BAE. alright little bro, the GANGBANG?! that shit would go crazy.. i mean, picturing it obviously makes it sound so fun.. when the girls are unfortunately out of popcorn☹️, kyujin, jinni, jiwoo, and sullyoon would immediately go get more snacks from the store. meanwhile, you four are having the most amazing time of your lives. lily’s pounding you hard from behind, and haewon and bae are making you suck both their cocks again. the feeling was so good, you were gonna die in bliss. soon enough, they all came, haewon and bae shooting their loads on your cute face and in your mouth, while your belly is now loaded with cum by miss morrow😏. (aka lily the koala 🐨)

[whack-patty]

gotta get back in the swing of posting things just to post things again lol hi

hopped on my homie @freyfall 's Minecraft server as a koala in a pirate fit, only played like 3 or 4 times but here's some shenanigans so far. Captain Koala is a little fella far lost from his home world, not quite sure he's liking the setup of a world where he knows the world's god on a first name basis and DEFINITELY not liking being weaker than everybody else there. (because I am bad at minecraft lol)

That enderman is his wife btw she showed up to his house and won't let him sleep. koalas need like 20 hours a day so he's dying

[elise-11]

Jenna Ortega Dating Hcs

Jenna Ortega x GN!Reader

She will likely take you with her to the set every time

To the point where you've befriended everyone in the cast, including the director

If you are a fan of horror movies, you'll probably watch something like The Conjuring, Annabelle, and Slender Man on one of your movie nights

If not then, you just spend most of your time hiding your face in the crook of her neck if she chose a horror movie

If you are taller than her, she'll probably take advantage of it, asking you to hand something to her on a higher shelf she can't reach.

Omg, the height difference is so cute

If you are shorter than her, let's say between 4'8 and 4'11. Prepare yourself 'cause she'll tease you to no end, even making you her very own armrest.

But she will fight anyone who ridicules you for your height (no one can mess with your height but her)

She'll miss you every time your not with her, especially when they're filming in another country.

She will text you every time she's free, sending you pictures and texts of what she's doing, what's she's eating etc.

Will get jealous if someone's flirting with you

She knows you're not flirting back because you barely even know that they're flirting with you. (you're that oblivious)

She will come up to you, hugging your arm, calling you by one of her pet names like baby, babe, darling, or Y/n/n. (The person quickly realizes and leaves without a word.)

If the two of you ever fought, someone will (mainly you, even if you're not the one at fault) apologize the day after. Jenna will feel guilty, (cause you always looked like a kicked puppy when you apologize) especially when she knows she's the one at fault, and yet you're here saying sorry anyway.

She'll pepper your face with kisses, saying sorries and I love you's.

Will constantly reassure you that they wouldn't leave you for anyone else, that your not annoying or a burden cause she knows how insecure you can be

She will cling to you like a koala sometimes, only letting you go if you had to go to the bathroom.

She hates to see you cry :(

She will absolutely do anything to make you stop crying. Like rubbing your back, peppering your face with kisses, wiping your tears, hugging you till you calm down, making you something to eat, or ordering your favorite food. Anything to make you stop crying cause it breaks her heart so much.

Dates every weekend, man. It's traditional by now.

She had to buy a new phone cause her old one is now full of storage. It has thousands of pictures of you and the two of you together btw.

The two of you had a shared playlist on Spotify for different occasions.

You'll sometimes go with her to another country if their filming is there, trying new foods with her.

She'll buy you everything you want. Oh, you want a new iPhone 14 Pro Max? Consider it done baby. You want that watch? She's already at the counter, buying them for you.

You're her precious and sweet darling, how could she not spoil you?

Sometimes, you'll tilt your head to the side resembling a puppy, and she can't help but hug you.

She doesn't care if the two of you are seen in public cause she wants the world to know she's dating the most amazing person in the world.

She thinks of marrying you one day and maybe starting a family of your own

Bonus:

If you search for any photo of the couple on social media, you will find them looking into each other's eyes lovingly.

I'm a huge simp when it comes to Jenna Ortega and this is my first time writing something like this...

I hope you enjoy this hcs tho

[ateez-himari]

HANZO TWITTER UPDATE [240128]

[NEW UPLOAD FROM HANZO]

HanZone @Off.TaegukCaptn

Congratulations on two wonderful concerts ATEEZ! It was such a great start that we could only go the second day because the first was sold out in minutesㅎㅎㅎ Yoongi hyung and Geum Jae hyung also came with me to support our little star🌟 #WILLTOPOWER #ATEEZ

Translated from Korean by Google

9:34PM · 28 Jan 24 · 5.2M Views 61K Reposts 3,917 Quotes 3.4M Likes

mikah @himaswife Replying to @Off.TaegukCaptn Wait you're telling me her brothers came to the concert?😦 The one where they performed cyberpunk and wake up-

sweethwa @weonfirewihomhae Replying to @himaswife someone posted a video of them reacting to it and they were horrified😭this woman was not holding back either she was just as bad as San if not worse...

Sani's Insta @fluffypuddingtiny Replying to @Off.TaegukCaptn see what we've been saying about the whole concert being a fever dream💀like not only was our precious sweet innocent maknae body rolling every 10 seconds but her whole hips were out, her abs were out...AND ALL 3 OF HER BROTHERS WERE THERE?!

Star 1117 @.constela.tion Replying to @Off.TaegukCaptn no cuz imagine being Yoongi 😭 he hasn't seen his sister in a while, he decides to use one of his days off to go see her on stage and then wake up comes on WHICH HAS NO BUSINESS BEING THIS SEXY BTW and she's the center of THAT

koala koala @koalazia Replying to @.constela.tion or being Geum Jae 💀 they have a whole 12 year difference so she's basically a baby to him- LOWKEY WHY IS HANZO SO CHILL WITH THIS THO LIKE THE WHOLE FANDOM WANTS TO MARRY HIS SISTER NOW (this is my official application btw i'll cook, clean, she won't even have to lift a finger)

HanZone @Off.TaegukCaptn Replying to @koalazia No one is so much as holding hands with my sister until she's at least 30🤺I've heard how loud you guys scream for her smh don't even think about it. AWAY DEMONS

Eri @ateenypresent Replying to @Off.TaegukCaptn wait until he finds out about all the suspicious clips we have of mingi and her DURING THESE 2 DAYS OF CONCERT ALONE he'll have a heart attack😭the amount of fancams i've seen where he's acting hella intimate with her should be a crime. san too these days like what's going on here 🤨

[doueverwonder]

May I request New York-Centered CaliIlliYork hc’s? Go crazy :3 /silly

his dumbass ALWAYS has to be in the middle, he sleeps in the middle, when they're holding hands he stands in the middle, watching a movie he's sitting in the middle.

Possessive almost to an unhealthy degree, someone even LOOKS at Illinois or California in a way he perceives as 'flirtatious' and he is SEETHING

I've said this before but i cannot emphasize how much he spoils both of them

York usually works late but when they visit and he still has to work his FAVORITE part of the day is when he leaves right at 5 and when someone says "leaving already?" he gets to say "Yeah, gotta get home to the husband and wife". he's always in such a rush no one can questions 'husband and wife'

it's own hc but also related to the last one he does call them his husband and wife at any given chance. doesn't matter that they're not married. he is aware he could say 'my partners' but he likes husband and wife more. they are his husband and wife case closed.

(he used to say 'my husbands' and when Cali came out the first time York referred to it as 'my wife' she LIT UP)

NY does actually want to get married the most out of the three of them. 90% of the time this man is glaring at Gov its actually bc he's mad that its illegal to marry two people :\

i need u guys to understand when I say age gap i don't mean like 3-4 years I mean substantial enough they get looks in public sometimes. York is OLD (<- not actually that old but someone thought he was Cali's dad once and she and Illi are still laughing about it)

every time York is late for work it's bc California was hanging onto him like a koala in their sleep and he doesn't have the heart to wake it up when he has to get up early. esp bc she's 3 hours behind and "if she were at home it would only be 4 am I can't wake them up at 4 am that'd be mean :("

this mans top drunken ramble is about how they're gonna get married and he's going to buy them a big house upstate and they'll have lots of kids and they'll. never have to step foot in a stupid city ever again. Illinois and California are trying to figure out how much of it is real bc he never mentions wanting to move out of the city or wanting kids when sober.

it's all real btw. he wants to fuck off to the countryside and have a dozen kids but he will die before saying this sober for some reason.

[beanghostprincess]

loved your post about yamato and ace and sabo finding out!

if it's not too much of a bother, can you give your hc in the same au of modern ASL living together and luffy trying to sneak in zoro? how ace and sabo find out and if possible, sprinkled with a *little(or more)* angst?

Aww thank you!! It was a sudden, random thought I had last morning and I loved it <3 And ofc I can!! I'm loving this AU, ngl.

I think Luffy isn't used to sneaking in people. Like, there's no need to do so. He often invites the whole group over (East Blue Crew + Vivi in this case, btw) and there are never any issues. In fact, Ace and Sabo like his friends. Sanji cooks for them (thank you, because most of the time they live thanks to his leftovers), Zoro isn't as loud as the others (unless he's arguing with somebody), Usopp is actually a really funny guy to be around, Nami keeps Luffy in the right path (they always thank her for taking care of him) and Vivi is the most surprising of them all but only Luffy would befriend a rich girl (Sabo didn't seem fond of her at first, but when he got to know her? She's the sweetest thing!). So Luffy isn't shy about things like this. However-

However.

Long post, by the way:

Sabo and Ace are a bit overprotective of Luffy. Well. Not really overprotective? They're not intense about it. They just treat Luffy (sometimes) like a kid and,, Honestly? It's understandable if you look at it from the older brother's perspective. Sabo and Ace have to take care of Luffy financially and I mean, have you seen Luffy's personality? He's actually extremely empathetic and pretty mature but he doesn't look like that at all, and he's seventeen. And it's not that they're worried about somebody taking advantage of him, because they know Luffy would never do something he doesn't want, but it's just,,, Seeing Luffy heartbroken? After everything they've been through together? After seeing Luffy crying already? They finally have a stable home, more or less, and he has a group of friends! They just don't like the idea of Luffy dating somebody they don't trust. But, you know, miscommunication and older sibling stuff. Sabo and Ace keep making fun of him and they say he's too young to date and have sex and understand these things. And they're not really serious about it? They just joke around. And Luffy is always complaining about it but y'know, whiny little brother, what's new? So they worry about him dating a stranger and that's why they always tell him to be careful (Luffy is SO done with them) and they just make fun of him because... Because they can. Older brother stuff. So, basically, they make a little bit of fun of Luffy and also keep saying he should be careful if he's going to date somebody, and Luffy takes it pretty damn seriously because he hates it when they treat him as a kid. Now, add the "Sabo's going to college and still takes care of them" layer here and the "Ace has his own issues and feels like a burden".

So when Luffy starts dating Zoro... It's a whole mess. He doesn't want them to make fun of him, first things first. He also doesn't want them to give him THE talk. He refuses to listen to them if they tell him he's too young and should break up with Zoro (which doesn't even make sense because Ace was even younger when he started dating people). And he doesn't want them to worry either because Ace seems more distant lately (Ace is dealing with the Yamato thing) and Sabo is always complaining about college being a scam and a shithole full of rich spoiled brats he hates (the only good thing there? Koala). So, of course, the most obvious thing to do is to hide the fact that they're dating.

Zoro is,, Luffy doesn't really know? Zoro is his best friend? But that doesn't feel right because that's what all of his friends are to him. Zoro is just something more. They start growing closer. And closer. And Luffy wishes they could be even closer but Nami tells him that that's literally just dating. That they're quite literally dating already. Luffy doesn't really get it? Like, the whole concept of dating is just dumb because it seems like a friendship with extra steps. Zoro is just- He's special but it doesn't really feel like Nami's crush on Vivi? He just knows that Zoro makes sense in his life and he doesn't want to do these things with anybody else (Luffy doesn't know that being Aroaspec is a thing, leave him alone). The fact that he feels the need to hide Zoro from Ace one day is what makes everything click. And it's funny like that because he asks Zoro if they're boyfriends and he's just like "I guess we are. Do you want to?" and Luffy couldn't be happier because well, at least now he has a word for it or whatever. And it's kind of exciting, isn't it? Like an adventure, the fact that they have to sneak in and hide from his brothers. Zoro finds it funny the first few times, but he thinks it'd be easier if he just told Ace and Sabo. But whatever, as long as Luffy is comfortable.

But Ace notices because Ace isn't fucking stupid and he's street smart and probably the one who knows the most about things like this. When the group is hanging out together, he notices the way the two guys look at each other. They're all very clingy, but he notices Zoro actively holding back and his touches lingering more on Luffy's body. He can tell when somebody is hungry and touch starved just by looking at them, for fuck's sake, it's horrendous to witness because it's painfully obvious. The way Zoro is always the last one to go home. That, and also that they're not quiet when Zoro ends up in Luffy's room. Zoro might do well with the "sneaking in" part, but the "staying over without your brother finding out" part? Nah. Horrible. Awful. They're idiots. Ace lets them enjoy themselves for a while because, meh, who cares? Besides, he's doing the same exact thing. For different reasons, but technically they're both lying to each other, so it's okay. He keeps an eye on them and tries to leave them enough food if he's going out with Yamato and that's about it. He isn't worried about Zoro. Because it's Zoro. And it only takes one glance at him to know he would do anything for his little brother.

Now, the thing is, Ace is angry. But he's not angry because Luffy is keeping this from him. Teenage years stuff. The thrill of having secrets. It's not as dramatic as Sabo would say it is. Ace is angry because one day Luffy comes home extremely irritable and visibly sad and he won't tell Ace why. He keeps asking but Luffy keeps yelling and pushing him away and Ace knows it's because of Zoro because it's the one thing he won't tell him. And now Luffy is sad and he can't tell his own brother because he fears he might get angry for the wrong reasons and Ace is angry because Luffy isn't telling him. The reason why Zoro and he fought isn't really important (although if you wanna know, it's linked to another AU I have that I just realized fits this thing too? So I'm just mixing them up. And basically, Zoro and Sanji were arguing and Zoro said something really fucked up without meaning to hurt Sanji that much, and Luffy didn't like that. And he could tell Ace about that but Ace would probably say "if he's just your friend why are you being so dramatic? Just talk things out. You've had worse fights with other people and haven't reacted like this" and Luffy isn't risking anything). Long story short, Ace ends up getting angry and telling Luffy that he knows he's dating Zoro. And it kind of goes like this:

Ace: Luffy, I don't want to get angry because I am not your babysitter and you're not a kid- Luffy: Liar. Ace: What?! Luffy: You're always saying I'm a kid. That I shouldn't date. Or have sex. Ace: Do you even want to have sex? Luffy: I dunno. Maybe? Not really. But it'd be nice if I could choose for myself! Besides, I don't mind if it's with- Ace: With who? Luffy: With nobody! Ace: Agh, c'mon now, Luffy! Don't act like a child. Luffy: See? You're always doing this! Ace: And you're keeping things away from me! What? You don't trust your own brother?! Luffy: You're gonna get angry. You are already angry. And you have your own things and you're going to go all worried older brother on me- Ace: I am not Sabo. Luffy: Oh, fuck, don't tell Sabo. Ace: Tell him what, exactly? Because you're not telling me shit. Luffy: ... But you already know. Ace: Yes, I know, I am not stupid. But I want to hear it from you. Luffy: Why?! Ace: Because I want you to trust me enough to tell me these things, you moron! Especially since he has hurt you so much. What the fuck did he do? Luffy: Nothing. It's nothing. Zoro didn't do- Ace: Okay, we're finally using his name. What did he do to you? Luffy: He didn't do anything to me! It's just- It's a silly fight. I'll be fine. I'm old enough. Ace: Nobody should be old enough to go through these things alone. Luffy, you don't have to deal with it on your own. I am here. Luffy: But... But you already have your thing with Yamato. And your job. And I can deal with this- Ace: You shouldn't deal with this alone. Even if it's a stupid fight that you're gonna solve in less than two days because it seems that if he spends more than five minutes away from you he fucking dies. Luffy: But- Ace: You always go to Sabo for these things, you know? It'd be nice if you trusted your other older brother too. Luffy: Sabo doesn't know. Don't tell Sabo. Ace: Then, tell me. Luffy. Just trust me.

Long story short, Luffy tells Ace what happened and Ace gives him some advice and they talk things out. So Ace isn't really angry at Luffy and he doesn't have to tell Zoro to sneak in anymore. Unless Sabo is the one home, because Luffy makes Ace promise he won't tell Sabo any of this. Ace just tells Luffy to do the same with the Yamato thing and they'll be fine. Basically, they're stupid because they keep lying to Sabo because they want him to not worry for them anymore. He has this older brother complex thing and he always tries to have everything under control and feels like he's the one responsible for everything? And they just would hate it if his finally stable mental health shattered just because of their own drama (bold of you to assume Sabo is well mentally in this AU, because he isn't. None of them are. Ace and Sabo are the ones who have more issues with mental health, tho, but Sabo is the one who tends to have more extreme emotions. Mental stuff headcanons, not important).

But it just makes things worse. For obvious reasons.

As I said in the original post about the AU, Sabo finds out about Yamato and reacts the way he reacts there. I think the fight is a bit more dramatic, but I didn't want to make it long. And of course, Sabo remembers what Ace said about Luffy "sneaking in" friends, and he asks him about it. Ace is just- He's so done with keeping secrets. But he also doesn't want to make Sabo more worried, even if he technically reacted well to Yamato staying over. Sabo is a bit more protective of Luffy (but in the sense I said before, not wanting him to get hurt because they know he cares A LOT about his relationships and a breakup or a fight would break his heart) so Ace is starting to question if it's a good idea to tell him about Zoro. Or if he should be the one doing it. Ace ends up telling him because it's Sabo we're talking about, and if they keep more secrets from him it's going to be a whole lot more drama. But the way he finds out is actually like:

Ace: Okay, don't get angry at Luffy for this. He was just worried about how you would take it. Sabo: Take what? I already told you, your idea of me is so fucked up. I am not a monster. Ace: I know. I know, Bo. But you know,, Ugh. Okay. Look. He's been dating Zoro for a while now. Sabo: The green-haired guy? The one who goes to the dojo next to the bakery? Ace: How do you even know that? Sabo: Because I listen to what others tell me? And why would Luffy think I'd get mad, c'mon. That guy would set himself on fire for our brother. I'm actually more worried about him than Luffy. Ace: He just- He just thinks we'd get too overprotective because we say he's just a kid. Sabo: But he told you. Ace: No, I found out. Sabo: But you told him I wouldn't get mad, right? Ace: ... Sabo: Ace. You told him to tell me, right? Ace: He asked me not to tell you. Sabo: What? Why? Ace: Look, I think it's better if we talk about this together? Just wait until he wakes up, please. Sabo: But he didn't tell me. Doesn't he trust me? I- If I have to drop out of college- Ace: Sabo, don't be stupid. You're not quitting. Sabo: But I don't want him to push me away like this! I- I feel like I don't know anything about his life. Ace: You know where his fucking boyfriend trains and you feel like you don't know him? Shit, I've been here the whole time and I recently found out they had a fight. It's not about colleg- Sabo: They had a fight? Ace: Oh, fuck, Sabo- Sabo: Is he okay? Why didn't he tell me? Ace- Ace: Just wait until he wakes up, c'mon.

So, Sabo is feeling like shit. Yamato is there having breakfast knowing that something's wrong. Ace looks at his boyfriend with the guiltiest of expressions. And- And Sabo is obviously not okay. So, everything is going downhill. They wait for Luffy to wake up because he's either an early bird or sleeps til noon, depending on the day. Right now, hours seem to be getting longer and longer. Until he inevitably wakes up and sees the whole thing and he's like "Oh! Yamato! What are you do-" and Ace rolls his eyes and says "Luf, he knows. C'mon. Of course he knows." and Luffy turns to Sabo smiling and saying "So you let him stay?! Of course you do, right? I told Ace he was being silly for worrying about that." (<- they're both stupid because they knew Sabo wouldn't get mad or anything, they were just worried about him getting too concerned. Idiots). Sabo sighs and he says that yes, he's obviously letting Yamato stay all he wants. Luffy acts like everything is fine, then, having breakfast and talking to Yamato like normal. But Sabo is digging his nails on the palm of his hand and he's not in a good place right now. Everything is normal until Sabo speaks up:

Sabo: Luffy, I- Do you think I'm spending too much time in college? Ace: Sabo, don't- Sabo: I've been staying at Koala's for a long time. Her apartment is closer to the campus, too, and- And I don't know. Would you want me to be around here more often? Luffy: Mmm? But you're always saying that you need to focus on studying! To have a good job and write your book. That's your dream. It's fine if- Sabo: But do you want me to be around here more? Luffy: I always like it when you're around. I don't mind. You still come over here a lot! Ace: Okay, but Sabo! Sabo. Dude. Even if you stayed at campus more often to write your book or study, it's alright. We can take care of ourselves. Sabo: I know you can. It's not about that. You know it's not. Luffy, do you feel like I've been... Like you can't tell me stuff? Luffy: What do you mean? I tell you everything. Sabo: Do you really? Luffy: I- Ace: He knows about Zoro, Luffy, don't lie. You're an awful liar, too. Luffy: Did you tell him?! Why?! Sabo: It's fine, I am not mad. Leave Ace alone. Luffy: You're not angry?! Sabo: See? Why do you even think I'd get angry? Luffy: ... Because I lied to you. And I'm dating somebody. Sabo: Luffy. I always tell you to be careful because I don't want you getting hurt by some random person. But it's Zoro! I- I know him. And you're seventeen. You knew I wouldn't get mad. So what's the truth here? Yamato: Ace, I can go to Deuce's for a while if you don't want me- Sabo: Please, don't be like that. You're family now. I- I'm not kicking you out. I am not mad. Why does everybody think I'm angry? You can listen to this. I'm sure you know more than Luffy now than me. Ace: Dude, you're being too hard on yourself. Sabo: But I am not here enough for Luffy to trust me! Ace: It's not that he doesn't trust you! He just doesn't want you to get like this! Sabo: Like what?! Ace: You're always blaming yourself for things that aren't your fault! Yes, Luffy didn't tell you he has a boyfriend. I didn't tell you Yamato was staying here. We didn't tell you because you're better than us. Luffy: Ace- Ace: We didn't tell you because you actually have a chance of doing something with your life and this? Teen drama? Luffy fighting and making up with his boyfriend because he said something mean about another guy? Yamato doing the same thing you did when you were a kid at twenty-six? This is not the stuff you should be blaming yourself for! You have this constant need to take care of everything b- Luffy: I'm not weak. I can take care of myself, Sabo. Sabo: Do I make you feel like you're a burden? Do I really- Luffy: What? No! Sabo: I just-I just want you to be able to tell me these things without thinking I'm gonna go into another episode. I'm fine. Just tell me these things and we can find a solution together. Isn't that what we've always done? Ace: Then you have to promise you won't try to carry everything on your own. Man, you already are stressed enough. Luffy: Yeah, and I trust you! Dumbass! I wanted to tell you. Ace: Shit, babe, I'm sorry you have to deal with us now- Yamato: Oh, no! It's really nice. Sabo: Nice? Yamato: You love each other so much you fight about it. Never seen that before. And you're letting me be a part of this! I think it's great. Thank you.

This is getting TOO long, but to end this: They obviously talk things out. Sabo tries to focus on studying but also calls them regularly so they can tell them everything about their lives. He also visits often with Koala. Yamato starts living there (not really because there are some issues with Kaido still, even if he's old enough to do whatever the fuck he wants, but he stays over most of the time). And Zoro meets Sabo finally saying he's Luffy's boyfriend (and it's literally just the same as always because they already know each other. Sabo is just happy they can be together in front of him).

Who would've thought the key would be communication, huh?

[seakayants]

One piece headcanons and redesigns (Ace lives Au) :

(Ace, Yamato, Isuka and my oc Benny in that order!! 🤓👆)

Ace

look at this ugly man.

(There’s also Oc content in purple)

he got his own room when he became second commander but rarely used it since he wasn’t used to sleeping alone (he was used to sleeping with his brothers) and he would go back to his division and sleep with them instead. 

His crew would use him as heater when passing cold islands (both spade and whitebeard) 

He almost drowned in soup and sake a concerning amount of times.

He doesn’t get hangover since he’s made of fire and doesn’t absorb the effects of the alcohol. Poison also doesn’t work on him (unless if its like a devil fruit or smth) 

He also gets insomnia due to his irregular sleep patterns, gets nightmares a lot. The crew’s nurses tried giving him medication to help with his narcolepsy but none of it worked since they would dissolve the next morning. 

Sometimes he touches a hot kettle or stove accidentally and says “Ow” but then remembers he can’t feel it. 

Had a crush on Isuka and would purposely run slower so she can catch up to him and fight. 

Makes self deprecating jokes about himself and concerns the crew (he secretly believes in all of them)

Parents and kids love him, the type of friend your parents compare you to. 

He used to bark at people on all fours when he was a kid.

Literally turned red as a tomato when Thatch told him about the implications of a vivre card. (Vivre cards are often used by lovers who are apart to keep track of each other (this isn’t canon btw i just think its too cute not to)) 

Stares at the tiny piece Yamato ripped off of his vivre card every night. 

Begged on his knees for Thatcher to fry eggs on his back but was always told no since it was unhygienic. 

Was used as a heat source in boiling, cooking, etc. 

the scars around his body are from Benny trying to mutilate him throughout the years.

Ace lives Au:

Doesn’t get into too much arguments with Luffy post marineford since Luffy would just pull the “I broke into prison to save your life” card on him and instantly win.

Would tease Sabo about his crush on Koala but immediately shuts up when Sabo brings up Isuka or Yamato.

Tracked down Isuka and asked her to join his crew but then they got into an argument and the people around them thought they were breaking up. (she still joined anyways)

Had to start wearing shirts so he won’t be too recognizable but thought they were too itchy. He’ll wear matching outfits with his crew to not immediately rip off his shirt. 

Took Luffy’s advice and tried to kidnap Benny to his crew but got his ass beat (he was still recovering from his injuries) 

Had to be physically restrained so he would stop moving so much and reopen his wounds. 

Lights a candle for whitebeard and garp during day of the dead with sabo and luffy.

Yamato:

look at this beautiful man

Ace botched his haircut. He tried doing that thing where you use fire in cutting hair but messed up cuz he has no experience, Yamato doesn’t care that much cuz his hair growth is fast anyways, plus he had the same haircut for like 100 years so any change is good change.

Manhandles people when he’s excited, it’s easier for him since he’s 8’8 and he can easily grab someone and throw them around like a rag doll. No one is safe.

Since Ace also manhandles ppl when he’s excited the two of them just start wrestling.

Tried giving himself a stick and poke tattoo of Oden’s name on his arm to mimic Ace’s tattoo…he wears long sleeves for a reason.(He started viewing Oden as more than just an inspiration and instead of an idea and symbol of freedom, that’s why he tried to tattoo him on his arm, it’s a lot like the Whitebeard tattoo for him. )

Doesn’t like wearing bracelets or accessories on his arms cuz they remind him of the chains that used to trap him.

Likes to put jewelry on his horns though, he puts them on like those baby stacking tower rings.

Didn’t bind because Oden didn’t need to. He also did his own top surgery. His scars are still visible in his wolf form.

Some wolfish traits stay long after transformation so sometimes Yamato would just:

Is a gym bro.

Started getting more body hair the more he transformed into a wolf, he likes it since it makes him look more manly.

Swings his kanabo around like a toy and scares the living daylights out of anyone close to him.

Sometimes forget not everything is as strong as him and hands extremely heavy things to ppl like its nothing only to be surprised when they drop to the floor.

Says “Okay, no more Mr. Nice guy” and rolls up his sleeves. 😭

Ace lives Au

Literally jumped up to the ceiling and hit his head when Ace asked him to join his crew, he didn’t even let him finish the sentence.

Now has a tattoo sleeve of scales running down his arms to cover up his old tattoo.

Wouldn’t stop crying and embracing Ace when they met each other again, Ace couldn’t understand anything he said through the tears.

Explored every inch of Wano with Ace’s formed crew before he left with them to become pirates.

Started his own logbook where he keeps note of all of his adventures.

Him and Deuce chat about their own respective books. They also both beat up anyone who makes fun of their handwriting. Half the crew are drawn with stink lines in Deuce’s book now.

Almost drowned like, 50 times cuz he kept admiring the sea. Jumped in after a Sea king cuz he forgot he can’t swim.

Likes getting scratches in and out of his wolf form.

Isuka:

okay she’s highkey unrecognizable but uhm let’s ignore that. Look at this beautiful woman.

She was teased by her colleagues about Ace and she had to threaten nailing them to the walls to shut them up.

Rumors started spreading that her and Ace were star crossed lovers and she had to explain to headquarters what happened 50 times so they won’t fire her for being in relations with a pirate.

Wrote letters to Ace but never sent them to him in fear of judgment and what would happen in the future.

Started to become less cruel after the incident in Sabaody and treated pirates with more mercy, she got shunned by the other marines about how she’s grown soft but she ignored them. No one will know the violence it took for her to become this gentle.

She used to be scared of even the smallest candles but her fear became smaller as she grew up, she still freezes up near burning houses though.

She never had the time to treat her burns when she was still in the marines so they were often itchy and irritated her in battle.

Gossips with other female marines in a sort of sleepover when its their break, they chat about anything there and almost NOTHING ever comes out.

Got stationed in Impel down as a guard for a couple months and had to physically stop herself from hurting the other guards cuz they keep torturing the prisoners for their own enjoyment.

She gave the prisoners extra food when no one was looking and would chat with them, she also apologized to some of the pirates she sent there and cried when they forgave her.

Used to be awkward with kids but now is really good with them.

She sometimes finds herself thinking like her late mentor and feels guilty about it.

Puked when she heard that Ace was sent to Impel down since she knows how cruel it is there.

Has a death grip on things, if she fell asleep holding something she would NOT let go.

Ace lives Au:

Once again, Ace botched her haircut. Stop using fire on people’s hair Ace. She hated it for a while and insisted on wearing Ace’s hat for the time being, after a few months passed and her hair grew out a little she started to like it since she’s always wanted shorter hair.

Got a burn cream from Marco and puts it on every few hours, Ace sometimes helps her apply it when she’s too tired after a fight.

Started dressing more tomboyish when she finally left the marines like how she always wanted to if it weren’t for those darn dress codes.

Braids Otama’s hair when there’s nothing else to do, she sees her as a little sister.

Immediately gave all the information she knew about the government to the revolutionary army the moment she quitted.

Met up with Benny to apologize for joining the pirates before she left and secretly kept contact through letters with secret messages and code names before they had to cut contact.

Is besties with Deuce and they both chat about medical stuff and whatnot.

Benny

bro thinks she’s part of the team 💀

Ace gave her some burn cream since he felt bad for burning her and Benny thought he was just making fun of her. (she still took it)

Was banned from using weapons since she kept wasting them on warlords and yonkos and the marine government didn’t want a war happening cuz their rookie marine shot Shanks. She had to start using broken musical instruments given free at the music shops.

She still threw pianos at warlords and yonkos.

The only reason she isn’t fired is because Garp took her under his wing, not entirely because she has potential to surpass him but because she’s funny as hell (unintentionally).

Listens to “It’s About Drive It’s About Power” in her training montage while being trained by Garp.

Ripped off Ace’s necklace with her teeth and almost choked on the beads so Ace had to perform Heimlich maneuver while her colleague was watching. It was a quiet ride back home to base.

Has thrown more Pianos on Ace than the average musician has played in their life.

has severe prosopagnosia and doesn’t recognize anyone until they introduce themselves to her again. Only recognizes the people she talks to daily but only through heir voice and mannerisms.

Thought a colleague was a spy for the enemies and confronted him in the entire cafeteria for it. He was just a closeted gay. Her friend called her homophobic for a week straight after that.

Has not gone a day after a month she enrolled in the marines where she didn’t wear the uniform. Not even on breaks.

Called Ace “Ass key” while trying to read his tattoo.

I’ll add more but I ran out of ideas. Thanks for reading guys.