#the ferry bit will never not be wild to me i love water

[russell-crowe]

there's something incredibly amusing to me about it taking multiple buses, a ferry, a plane, multiple trains and a car ride for me to get home

[hey-august]

Cus saying something about rollercoasters gave me an idea.

What do you think buggy is like if he wants to take his partner to like a fair or theme park or something of the sort. Cus, obv he would. But they're way too afraid to get on most of the rides?

He may tease, sure. That's got to be a given, no? But seeing the terrified look your face after he'd somehow coaxed you into let's say the Ferris wheel? He's holding your hand, telling you it's okay. Describing the pretty lights and stunning view as you slowly get to the top. And while it's stopped all the way up high, you actually look out. Able to relax a bit. It's not so bad. It's pretty, actually. But heights are still terrifying.

Or maybe it's a rollercoaster he had to coax you onto. "Just try it once!"

And maybe he'd regret it just a little. The constant scream right next to him. Absolute death grip on his hand.

Getting on and starting to go up was one thing. The second it sped up just a hair to get to the top is when the screaming started, the tight hold on his hand. Then the screaming got louder as it sped downwards and your hand kept one hell of a death grip on his hand. The only time the screams stopped was so you could take a breath to continue screaming. Once the ride was over though he led you to a nearby bench until you could relax.

Or maybe those teacup rides. Only scared to get on it because.. Well it's buggy. And most people you've been on that type of ride would spin it way too fast and scare the ever loving hell out of you. But he's already dragged you on enough rides and this was one you liked. So he did spin it, but made sure you were okay with the speed. Laughing and spinning it together, enjoying the more peaceful ride.

Though you two did get on it again just to go as fast as possible. Laughing and clinging onto the seat.

I feel like he'd also want to win you a prize. *Of course* it had to be one that was so fucking stupidly hard to get. But he wanted to see you smile, he always did. So he tried. And tried again. And again. And..one more time. *damnit* why was it so difficult? But the second the person who was in charge if the game became distracted with something, even for a mere second, he cheated. Hey, he wanted to get you that prize. And it so happens he can detach limbs. His hand reattaching before anyone can see of course.

Is some of this based on personal experience? Yes. I can't stand rollercoasters, they scare the shit out of me.

My personal story with my first rollercoaster was at Kentucky kingdom. Lightning run. My mother fucking counted. (Yk the count to 3) Just to get my ass on a rollercoaster. I was terrified okay? But, yes, the death grip and screaming was what I did. That was her karma. My loud ass screaming in her ear (I was on her left) and one hell of a death grip. She might have lost a little blood flow for the time being. But she never dragged me on a rollercoaster again. And she never will be able to again.

(I have written more than intended but ideas keep coming)

Heck yes! Buggy would be a MENACE with this. Taunting and goading you into going on the thrilling rides.

PUH-LEASE, only weenies skip the big rides. What's the point in going if you're not gonna ride Mr. Bones' Wild Ride? (okay, maybe skip that one)

Buggy also talks up how the rides aren't even that scary. You eventually give in because:

maybe he's right,

you don't want to miss out on a good ride,

he seems so excited, and

he's getting annoying.

Yeah, the ferris wheel wasn't terrible. A little more shaky that you expected and very high up. But you got to sit next to Buggy. He even bought (stole) you a corndog to enjoy. He ate most of it.

The roller coaster though. Buggy thought he won (what exactly? who knows) when you agreed to go, but a little worm of regret started wiggling when the car reached the apex. Buggy said it was like climbing the ship's rigging on rough waters, but this...did not feel the same. Or maybe it did and he forgot how intense that feels. Both of you had white knuckle grips on the safety bar the whole time.

The tea cup ride was fine. Better. Really nice, actually. Even when it spun wildly, you still enjoyed it. It was less of a competition and more of a cooperative sport to spin the tea cup juuuuust right. Buggy also showed off by using his hands to spin the cup while he leaned back, handless-arms behind his head.

And BIG AGREE to Buggy stealing prizes. He also cheats. A barely-noticeable fingertip knocking over bottles, nudging balls, guiding hoops. He's schmoozing with the game attendees, distracting them from all the other shady shit he's doing. Meanwhile, you stand slightly off to the side and grab whatever Buggy hands you.

Do you need a giant plush sleepy banana? Or five bunny keychains? Or more than three lanyards? Or a frog bucket hat that doesn't fit? Or a bear bucket hat that doesn't fit? Or a cat bucket hat that doesn't fit?

No. But you take them anyways.

---

I'm also right there with ya with some un-fun ride stories, cyra. 😂 Once when I was a younger kid, I CRIED on the queue for Space Mountain. SOBBING. I was scared but we were going to go on the ride. And then the HORROR - I was supposed to sit at the front. Absolutely not. Thankfully, some older teens took pity and sat in the front.

I got on the ride, continued to cry, and shrunk myself so low that my head knocked on the sides of the ride during sharp turns. It was not ideal.

On a lighter note, there was a time where I was on one of those spinning Gravitron rides. The UFO shaped one. And the ride operator would slow down the spinning and then start it right back up. They said we were almost done more than once but everything kept spinningggg. We were hostages in the UFO and it felt like forever. Honestly, I loved it but omg I felt like I was outside of my body afterwards. I was not the same person.

[threadsun]

Note to self: Do not eat jellybeans while reading your posts or they become a choking hazard. But I don’t like the idea of submitting JUST like that! It feels way too easy! Plus, I’m such a people pleaser that breaking rules or not following orders is too much fun for me NOT to pass up! I don’t know if I feel praised or insulted from you saying I do a very good job at pretending to be a brat lol. My brain is like, “PRAISE? I DO GOOD?” And at the same time I’m just like, “I AIN’T PRETENDING!” 😂 But if I’m insatiable, then I can’t ever be a brat then~?

Holy hell. Okay, so listen. Freaking love performing songs like Bring on the Men from Jekyll and Hyde, Noel’s Lament from Ride the Cyclone, and Why Don’t You Do Right (Yeah, that’s right. From freaking Who Framed Rodger Rabbit.) because of the fact I love the idea of being sexually desirable but untouchable. Driving people WILD with lust, but never allowing them to feel more than what I let them (small touches, dragging fabric over their body, that kind of thing) Honestly, I’d do burlesque or some sort of dancing (belly dancing, pole work, floor work) if I was at a smaller size again. So when you’re freaking EXPOSED me like that with exhibition kink description, something NO ONE but myself knows, freaking hell man, I don’t even know what to say lol. One of my fav experiences was teasing my last partner on a Ferris Wheel with light touches whenever no one could see us, but the chance we could’ve got caught. UGH! Love it! Honestly I’d love to put on a show for people and be surrounded, like DAMN! Also, I’ve never heard of predicament play and free use until now so I just went on a deep dive AND YES! Didn’t know it was an actual kink BUT YES!!!! But Jesus Christ, like 24/7 and just, like, okay, words are hard. I’m gonna just stop for a moment. Was trying to think of how to respond to the last bit there but yeah. I don’t know if it’s cause I’m tired or something, but yeah, can’t think of better words right now! Okay, I actually came back to here after writing everything because I’m doing a bit better, but I wanted to say it’s ironic that you brought up the 24/7 thing because I was JUST THINKING yesterday about how helpful it’d be to have a dom outside of sex to become more disciplined. Ya know, the whole, “Drink water.” kind of thing. I’m very dehydrated 😂 I’d probably benefit from a Jack who pushes me to wake up early and not eat a whole bowl of whipped cream lol.

On to a part I can actually respond to! DEFINITELY ideal!!! It’d be nice if we can bump that to a 95%, but I know they have jobs to do so lol. Okay, nvm, thinking OVERALL is hard lol so sorry for the drop in quality! I also meant to put Shaun popped in for the last post, between falling asleep trying to type and my phone liking to autocorrect sentences typed correctly, it just came out as “S” 😂 Imagine having a conversation with Jack about it though where you’re like, “Man, I wish I could have a dog, but my allergies won’t let me.” Jack just looks at you with a serious expression and says, “Well, why don’t you BE a dog then since you can’t have one?” LOL.

I’m glad it went well!!! I know some people automatically assume that someone who wants to go into sex work based career do it only because they have to based off the negative stigma created by media, but I hope that some day people who want to go into sex work because they enjoy it can be viewed the same way as someone who wants to be a doctor or some other career. Full of excitement and acceptance! I’m glad at least when you explained it to them though that they were happy and supportive of you!!! 🩵 But yeah! Ya gotta do what ya gotta do so I tried to enjoy those experiences the best I could! Also, I didn’t consider how I could get more involved in the community by being a part of local productions, I might really need to push forward on that then! Kinda miss having that.

OOO OO OO! Freaking I’d LOVE to tell you more about all the cool places around me!! Plus, from traveling around the country so much, I got to see many different stylistic choices on how houses or buildings are designed in certain areas and how each city always has some unique variation that no other place has! Like, Cape May, NJ looks like it’s FILLED with Victorian Doll Houses while Baltimore has a more a jazzy vibe. Another fun thing too is that if you like ghostie goos, then it just adds ANOTHER fun layer to the history and architecture talk, cause not only do I do ghost investigations, but I’m also extremely sensitive to that stuff too so I’ll get things and ask someone who works there about it or read it on one of the signs and it’d be EXACTLY what I picked up on. It can be freaky at times but it definitely adds another layer of depth and respect to those who’ve passed. Cool ghost fact that mixes architecture for you! Did you know one of the most used examples of beautifully crafted Victorian/Gilded Age houses in America is located in Gavelston, TX? It’s called Bishop’s House or Gresham’s Castle and it was built in 1892, but it has a catch. Though it’s absolutely beautiful, the most well known ghost, Walter Gresham, absolutely HATES IT when people take photos of his home or even go near it. He’s super protective of his property and is known to push, scratch, trip, or even punch people who get too close. I remember when I couldn’t even go down the street it was on even though I didn’t know about this at the time. My gut was just going like, “NOPE! NOT THERE!” 😂 I don’t do touching lol. Apparently his wife haunts the place too, but they have tours of the house and pics online. But I’ll definitely check it out! I always rushed through there because they had a Tesla coil show that was LOUD and so I’d speed walk to the other exhibit before it started, but now I got a reason to stay 😂 AWWWWW, Flumps sounds ADORABLE!!! 🥹 Oh, but I gotta ask, what scents did y’all get? I always wind up getting very coconut or cake based ones because apparently things I know I can’t eat smell better than things I can. Or maybe I like to torture myself or something, who knows! Lol.

EXACTLY! Sure, fluffy things are nice and all, but your classic yandere isn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows if you start hanging out with others. Like, they kidnap, manipulate, stalk,

torture, and kill people. It’s gonna be kinda hard to avoid that overall if someone is uncomfortable with those topics, much less the kinkier sides of things. And sure, if they’re not a fan of certain kinks, then they can write fanfics or headcanons without them or stories more suited to their tastes, but they shouldn’t be going to the official source and asking them to change certain aspects because they don’t like it. I mean, people personally change things all the time! Some people might make a character more sub leaning and some might make them dom leaning because it fits their kinks better, but they don’t bully the creators to follow a vision THEY want to see. There are some really nit picky behaviors here definitely.

Maybe~! Maybe I do, but maybe I like to keep you guessing~ Okay, that’s a lie, I’ve been extremely open about everything so I don’t think I’m really hiding anything. Not thinking is nice, I’ll admit~ Definitely makes it harder to write or reread sentences to make sure they’re grammatically correct though 😂

-🎃

How fun~ A brat is only a brat if their dom allows them to be, though. You just need to find someone willing to let you indulge your desire to ignore the rules and disobey. But in the end, is that really any fun for you if you don't get put back in your place and railed afterwards?

I wasn't bluffing when I said I can tell peoples' kinks from the slightest things. It's wonderful, how desperate you are to be wanted and desired! Makes it much easier to reward you or punish you. A little attention here, a little ignoring there. Though I prefer rewards if I can help it. Like rewarding you by letting you be at the centre of a crowd who can look at you, but can't touch. Letting them watch me punish you while you're tied up and at my mercy. You'd look so good, make such beautiful sounds, put on such a nice show for all those people who are wild with lust for you. But you'd be all mine.

24/7 dynamics are very useful for making people take care of themselves!! Someone reminding you to do the necessary stuff, and then rewarding you when you do them~ Jack would be so good at that!

Awwww it's cute that you're so worked up, you're struggling to write! But absolutely, you talk about wishing there was a fire station dog and suddenly you're the fire station dog!! But hey, it's a good gig. They take care of everything for you, all you have to do is look pretty and let them fuck you.

Yeah, overall it was very nice to be able to explain to them that it's a passion rather than a necessity! Especially because I have done survival sex work before, so I know the difference and was able to articulate it. But yeah, getting involved in community stuff is always good!!

That sounds so cool!!!! I go up to Boston sometimes and they've got a lot of Victorian houses there and they're all so pretty!! Especially the ones that still have stained glass in some of the windows!! Gresham's Castle sounds cool but also terrifying to go to, especially if you're sensitive to those things. I am, unfortunately, the exact kind of dumbass who's too curious and will go towards places I get bad feelings about just to check it out and find out why.

Yeah, exactly!!! Fanfic and fanart and headcanons are there for a reason, and it's fine if they don't line up with canon, they don't have to! But you can't go demanding that your headcanons become canon. That's a level of entitlement and arrogance that astounds me. No one should think they know characters better than the creator of said character.

I'm glad you're so open, it makes it much easier to tease you~

[libidomechanica]

“Which bit of that pleasure and poor”

A limerick sequence

               1

’ The lang! Which bit of that pleasure and poor. This we known; I should hurt her a    sky’s or the ways. To weare,    nor that’sauce forbidden crimes; factitious stones in the same times.

               2

And, in parting gentle and made the sheet. And some mystic seal, a pleasured    splendid names, and    adorning kisse! An accessory, as pitying madrigals.

               3

All are betrayed, whose riper should heart escapes; but never interfered in    pity like a rose—syne    pale blue eye, the nurses. A figured it or not. His other?

               4

And even times; a school of grief indeed, where are pearl which cruell. The moon is    only fretted when    Oppression from the lingers to the gaudy spring disaster.

               5

Your first. Years o’ joy. Set to my ear: hushed too, and answer’d, and raises toward    partly twas a mower.    See the very Suicide the raines should I for faire disguise!

               6

I gave his. Rocks, and dame and bade him who meddle not to do, and still refuse,    nor doe not else, he    was wi’ my Deare, but few faux pas in my face I recognize?

               7

I must a little head up as been so sad antique, bought so; but not that    winter day, each high up    there was nothing to be that passed. Or, like a beam of these kisse!

               8

No wonder the cold, good but rarely came feature? Bed: goldilocks from off    heads, silk canvases, and    the strike mine eye the temples of an inspiration—gave his.

               9

Where the clear, and never be drawn by the brave poor and pillow undertaking    in dreamed of the year.    He was far away with you, as if we misse this paradise.

               10

When she council call’d glory to unwrap or reason gay, like wisest run.    For which will cost us    all who fry in your meeting. These possessed of her of custom.

               11

Water, who whirl the nick of Hazeldean. Not find they, as I have seen’—but    anger. That joy was his    tents. As I, that many a darkness holds a tread, my mother.

               12

In that sleep becometh dumb; the resinous birds. Ends love in Idleness.    My lady’s prattle, which    with love’s the world my love, and ever, mine. The little they fears.

               13

Making bias, be it as it else, how like a young Pharsalians did sting.    A kind called me. Range    busily seeking wine of God, and roe, freely, within the facts!

               14

My heart her birth, so many times start and lovely maid. The glowing was … the    next Cantos. That which might    blast has slain my arms fit you that live, except because the white.

               15

My wife, read like wisest run. And count and then forgotten, my love and look!    See beauty’s angel mine,    mine he cannot today, I follow’d my advice. You had sound.

               16

Were little by little left but they of poisoned bait. Which is wherefore    the fire, a net of rock    yawns,—you can quote what if that flows down, had I lain for the skies.

               17

Husbands chastely taming; the woodbine spices of pianos, children    resist it doth feare, let    bee. Waiting wood, when the digest such a certain seems, to thee?

               18

The fume of polished shaped like those vegetables of the other he heard walls    and fall, with sheep. Machine,    steal; I know, or drowne not vse setting your beauty frail, adieu!

               19

And fly far into the breed, had joys refin’d of Selefkia just afterward    long! Moment white, as    birds are, fit to wants to fret with curls, and there, haunt me alive.

               20

Bright is only heralds breaks running mouth my breast. He cuts the fatal ferry;    and that she felt so    wild flower. The dream include thee: no, no, no, no, not body.

               21

I wanted good: I found, all in the after all, leaue nothing in the pale    Virgin daughter. With a    chill call’d small, without the Lord Augustus Fitz-Plantagenet.

               22

Under who whirl the silence of it heavens endure, she carven glean the    pure and be my lot, far-    off sail is blacked-out window, if I say, mine. The art of spice.

               23

I lo’ed her brother hair, and your sheep. Studied Spanish to hunt our charm no    more; with wrong. The people    must Stella know my mind;— of the setting shrubs, how like the last?

               24

To make of the setting me, knowing, yellow she meet. Without respect, to    gi’en the long sea-wave as    man’s watch. The pleasure of the effort, which can face disaster.

               25

But how the world which we met! Robes sweet Ends love: she guess’d, who eats fire gratitude    I find; and how soon    she steps, each day, and blessing an eclat, both in men the skies?

               26

To calculators where before cared for thee, to have felt to dwell. Like sold    his pregnant pot her how    happy, happy’s a kind in battle keen’—but the mountains yields.

               27

Alone so many time my sky: but what way, my friendship in a dream could    alike disarms the dance    lies. But whene’er be an oil paint: some believe life ends with whites.

               28

What so fair, that crazed that art now hath my dear. The soil lies, dry as a poplar    or a pole, hard as    Newcastle, his other wealth hast struck one immense bride: and you.

               29

Never croaks, at least that valley of shall add themselues and rolling in    footing in the swelling.    Of what neither old man’s waters warming by would gladly die?

               30

Except behind; for ladie was a baskets.— But here the birds sing or years in    play, and goodly veil, which    there’s like a ballet- master; so many, and then publish?

               31

Before, then, keen delight. Or Germany, where his back renown, when the lurking    bird, at least two cities,    when you think of deep kindness, but they are brought she could I?

               32

But it were the sun. ’St thou hast the manor; but where has a garden I    see not enough thick and    smile on me best likely all ruby red, cheeks, I breathe my name.

               33

Running ran, and myself and pointed twice, that gallant badge-the dewy down,    if by their estate and    could not wear not. As though of the parted, then the enema.

               34

When a fevered tracks. One system eats at morning: but love you loves a long    yellow building in spring    or Old Master’s corn has ears: sighs, and only Queene of thee?

               35

I love I shall add themselues we lose. But be relation, a hands and    in the black regards on    birthdays, glorious Angles in Boston, writing for she men.

               36

The morning which much women, spring, a beauty, blind for fears as moist mirage    in deserts idleness.    What else, none enough for ourselves were born kneel once so dear.

               37

My shy and deadly swell to another month at leap year, I felt her what    sing. Engineer boots, children    of girls which the roll- call draws them hovering letters, its long.

               38

These days I speak. Or serious ghost radio, may of the wrong; his    otherwise twenty? She precious    stone so, love, thy kirtle, and this though chidden mystery.

               39

Our ease, our thrift, our their backs, locomotive, like a cloud, and shield and gentle    common place. Monarch’s    plague, think thy shades, clouds o’er meikle and glimmer’d fair Eliza!

               40

And rail, and prosers, words—but when we beloved. I kneel, not loue; no, no,    let bee. All that which human    this? Of course; still growing your charm no preacher can thy sweet.

               41

Though chidden of the Knight at noonday. From its brother evident the    defendant doth Love speech a    fulfillment. The Lady Adeline, a hands before the wind.

               42

As they can’t stop, and feed the first to practised in deserve their silence    for ever stirs this is    the shepherd swains shall cover. Love appeals the milk of her face.

               43

When a man. But System eats firm on the stockade or taken out, little    breed a nation, though my    mind; the magic of heart is sauce for you have shaving ankle?

               44

It were there, as any stone jaw of a hope for new. We telltale cheek, whose    piteous day, shall the land,    I am quite sure so, lover, floats airily oped her.

               45

As thought about me no wit can driven: I hold his Paradise for their    verdict for want the marriage.    And all passionately enough for a long we have lied.

               46

I ask in traffic on thee beds of artless the current of your badly    sweater and bride, and such    small passion thine would show mercy should to-night, the musk and sky!

               47

Come into my fair Eliza! Not gaze upon his body of the roses    and let out so many    a soul, by choice alarms my whole and its cruel. Nay, wilt thou?

               48

You know, may be, now are ways to do it, there before cared for the moon are    his pious consort did:    if he had more take. Where the stone set in that his joined clenched fists.

               49

To save, when Old Love speaks of the finer polite than an anguish pay. Frosty    rime, now I am    here for the bays of this be other unnested day nor night.

               50

She is stands; take made my lot, far-off sail is blown up for slaue. What something    all-clareted; and ever,    can’st thy shames, and seem but a drop like an earthquake’s ruin.

               51

Which I at preserve the buzzing of the Knight, when she conscience, swift force within    this? Meadows and morbid    eating, or she call my wooing is held no hint of love.

               52

Without be it as a strange; tis so proud spirit for thing. My backwoods and    do not know that his friends    in two, breakers plunge and robes loose or tradesman’s fault; and day.

               53

Of smoke and in babble and gamed of a brilliant body. So many    a smiling the first sight    but, till the stood and beauty, believers fall about marriage.

               54

Some heart wide, till a-falling. Of stubborn shell, which see Shakspeare’s every    beautiful fancy i    have I see you, my most full-waked senses; and fawn upon?

               55

Together by pulleys like the pleasure and be thy face calculators    declare, upon earthy    beames but bitter incense paired with knout? Who wants him to me.

               56

With desirable, we are heart was na sae ye glinted by, still    refuseth, giuing from off heads,    silk, or his fault. I told her millet on from hanging a blank.

               57

Dies, thy servant’s loss, and when you the fall of a mystic diapasons; which    in tempest’s lour; and ne’er    I still in us, waiting from an aspire. That which the floor.

               58

No, no, no, no, my Deare, let bee. Its ugliness and lilies of night as    I hate a drove of her    cheeks, I breath, less lie frae my Deare, let base cloud of poisoned bait.

               59

But, in little to wise Oxenstiern. Both in turn, nor have got any. And    that heard which see Shakspeare’s    epigraph, new angel forth with my life and blood but small!

               60

Especially with the comely fare, ye’re welcome, come, Font of the sheet I    smell and that right. A fox-    hunt to mee: no, no, no, no, no, no, my Deare, let us play?

               61

Still I touch of sentimental boasts may still art and acts—and all the mountains    rear their punishment    is on the wars are always and simple in the year; all night.

               62

Blank. Airport in men these joys refin’d of Selefkia from shore, and that she    stept—then let come who obey    would have take times—as out-of-date as a stranger than fees.

               63

Thought else is bold even glean the little. Pipe on her feet, who, stead of the    Louvre, their soul, going    is her object to true mind is with fire and and be thy hands.

               64

Live on the waves at the dangerous famish’d longing again: its salutary    aim, in the scorned    at something is in my best of two. That I deem’d to be cross.

               65

—For oh, her own heart. Mark if he had seen or poppy seeds to wayward walls    and slight eyes, thou hast thy    cheek on cheek once more that chaste and reserved, I am tired.

               66

The original of your powers do from me. Mere little poet is    what could not sweet envelope;    and a-propos of my dream’d, then those are betray us.

               67

Perhaps she was not to expressly foretold, how much inspiration great    enough for a lonely:    where we could you will speak they loue. Above all night flattery?

               68

And most of gold, and were you so, ’ utter’d weed, of small, from whom I could to-    night, than thine? Stood and    liberty, doth promise fort, cowards may the inward long journey.

               69

And having so proud of humanity, unless gone. The clash of jarrings    which could have prove, for I    have lied. How does my sight, cried Dick, rose, and death-white and called me.

               70

A face of the little thou repentance like an ominous base. How much    inferior to wean    Don Juan from year beauties in the winter’s chart, till a-falling.

               71

Burn, or where be in the Friendly Few. As are void of another line: so    long memory in my    young and transitional era, that’s one of losing is done.

               72

Myrtle; a gown free which I at present my finger, and truly not I    be like light of cruelties.    Not choosing—the hart, hind, and I was blawn, and light is Day.

               73

Julia and I love you; there might beautiful seas assign’d. It is my way.    Why drinks it up: mine eye    is much sanity will perfumed the passion as e’er was that.

[travelworldwithtravelarii]

Best Vacation Spots in Florida for Families: My Personal Picks for Unforgettable Family Fun

When it comes to family vacations, Florida never disappoints. Over the years, I’ve discovered some of the best vacation spots in Florida for families that cater to all ages. From the excitement of theme parks to serene beachside retreats, Florida offers a little something for everyone. Let me share with you some of my favorite destinations that have provided countless memories for me and my family.

1. Orlando: The Ultimate Theme Park Adventure

Orlando is often the first destination that comes to mind for families, and for good reason. This city is home to world-renowned theme parks like Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld. My family and I have spent countless hours navigating the magical world of Disney, screaming on roller coasters, and meeting our favorite characters. The variety of attractions ensures that both young children and thrill-seeking teens have a blast.

Pro Tip: If you're planning to visit multiple parks, consider getting a park-hopper pass. It saves money and allows you to experience more of the magic.

2. Tampa Bay: A Mix of Fun and Education

Tampa Bay is another must-visit spot for families. The Busch Gardens theme park combines thrilling rides with up-close animal encounters, making it a hit with both kids and adults. For a more educational experience, we always make time for the Florida Aquarium and the Tampa Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI).

Why It’s Great for Families: Tampa Bay strikes a perfect balance between excitement and learning, offering activities that both entertain and educate the kids.

3. Clearwater Beach: Relaxation by the Gulf

If your family is craving a more laid-back vibe, Clearwater Beach is the place to be. With its sugar-white sand and calm, warm waters, this is one of Florida’s best beach destinations. We love building sandcastles, soaking up the sun, and taking boat tours to spot dolphins. And if you’re lucky, you might even catch the stunning sunset celebrations at Pier 60.

Family-Friendly Tip: Stay in one of the beachfront hotels that offer kid-friendly amenities like pools and playgrounds, so the fun never stops, even off the beach.

4. Everglades National Park: Adventure in the Wild

For families who love the outdoors, the Everglades National Park offers an unforgettable experience. My kids were thrilled to ride on an airboat through the swamps, spotting alligators and other wildlife. The park offers ranger-led programs, which are both informative and engaging for the whole family.

Must-Do Activity: Don’t miss the Shark Valley Tram Tour for an up-close look at the unique ecosystem of the Everglades. It’s an adventure that’s educational and fun at the same time.

5. The Florida Keys: Island Escape

When you think of family vacations in Florida, don’t forget about the Florida Keys. This string of islands offers plenty of activities, from snorkeling in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to visiting the Turtle Hospital in Marathon. My family always enjoys the laid-back island atmosphere, and the kids love the chance to spot sea turtles and colorful fish.

Top Pick: If you’re visiting Key West, take a day trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. The ferry ride and snorkeling adventures make it a day to remember.

6. St. Augustine: A Step Back in Time

St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., offers a mix of history and fun. My kids loved exploring the Castillo de San Marcos, a historic fort with cannon demonstrations and reenactments. The St. Augustine Alligator Farm and the Pirate & Treasure Museum were also big hits with the whole family.

Why It’s Special: St. Augustine combines historical exploration with fun activities, making it a great choice for families who want a vacation with a bit of learning.

7. Destin: The Emerald Coast Gem

Nestled along the Gulf of Mexico, Destin is known for its emerald-green waters and powdery white sand beaches. My family and I love spending our days at Henderson Beach State Park, where we can swim, picnic, and hike nature trails. The Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park in nearby Fort Walton Beach is also a favorite, offering dolphin shows and interactive exhibits.

What We Loved: Destin’s family-friendly vibe and variety of water sports keep everyone entertained. Plus, the sunsets here are some of the best we’ve ever seen!

8. Fort Lauderdale: A Blend of Beach and Culture

Fort Lauderdale offers both beautiful beaches and a vibrant cultural scene. We often start our mornings at the beach, then head to the Museum of Discovery and Science in the afternoon. The Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District is also a great place to explore with kids, offering a mix of museums, galleries, and parks.

Best Family Moment: Taking a water taxi along the canals gave us a unique perspective of the city, and the kids loved pretending we were on a boat tour through Venice.

Conclusion

From theme parks to national parks, Florida has something for every family. Whether you’re looking for excitement, education, or relaxation, these best vacation spots in Florida for families offer unforgettable experiences that will keep everyone smiling. Each of these destinations has given my family a wealth of memories, and I’m sure they’ll do the same for yours. So, pack your bags and get ready for a family adventure in the Sunshine State!

[x-lovely]

Puerto Rico Trip!

day 1

our airbnb was ass, didn’t like it but pool was cute. we went in a group = 3 guys, 3 girls (2 female cousins, her fiancee, 2 male family friends). we ate at a cafe, the waitress was so sweet. then we went in circles finding the rainforest. we went hiking/dipped our feet in. i hated it. i got to see nice views at the tower though. everyone loved my long nails, haha. then we went to the beach and it was so clean. there were people but we swam and there were no seashells. we had pina colada ice cream on the beach. then we went down the strip of bars and food and got some for the ride home. then we got mojitos that we never finished and jalapeno cheese fries that were so good. then we swam at the airbnb pool, got sorta tipsy then went to bed. 

day 2 

we saw a horse hehe. also our airbnb had a tanning spot at the top, it was cool. we ate food again (had a disagreement with my cousin but it was alright), then we went on a ferry boat and i got seasick. i threw up over the railing. but the view was lovely, i saw lots of roosters and cats and they were friendly. the empanadas were delicious and fresh. i loved the beach here too because it was clean and we were far away from people. then we went back on the ferry boat ride home and i wasn’t sick because i was too tired haha. we went around a bit and then called it a night.

day 3

went to another cafe and then went tot he beach where we went on a banana boat ride where they tried to make us fall off (idk why i agreed to it) but my knuckles were so red from holding on so tight but we didn’t fall off! then we swam around the beach a bit i didnt really like this one because too much sand in the water but then we went parasailing and guess what my ass threw up again over my shoulder i did not enjoy it at all but it was a vibe and the guy was nice enough to wash me off then this day was alright later on we went night kayaking and it was fucking hilarious because my cousin and i kept bickering but i saw two starfishes patrick starrr! i was worried because the tides were so wavy then afterwards we went to t-mobile district where there were bars and restaurants arcades music and games so we ate elotes (mexican corn) it was good and i had a good time for once and we played the arcade games and then went to the center and just vibed to the music and played the big connect 4 and then we went home 

day 4 

we explored san juan this day was so god damn fucking hot i hated it so much and i was in a dress and i wore a tight bra like who the fuck did i think i was and my nails were long as fuck i could not do it but we saw nice scenic views and i enjoyed the expensive ice cream and seeing the land and then i took photos with the parrots!! hehe it was a lot of walking and the $1 jello shot was soo strong ew so when we were driving on the highway it was so rocky afterwards i had to get out and throw up twice so on the trip i threw up 4 times it was wild i ended up with two blisters on my feet 

on the ride home we had a delay so spirit gave us a $50 voucher so that wasn’t bad i would say the trip was a 6/10 because we had many disagreements but we sorted it out afterwards and next time i would just be more natural with getting everything ready like i wouldnt do dramatic nails, my eyelashes were not worth it because they were $200 and i didn’t like it but whatever i spent $140 over my budget but i made everything back so it all went well and now we’re chilling!

[himbeaux-on-ice]

the insane thing(s) that happened to me yesterday

god uh where to begin uhhhh right. okay. so.

I have lived in Nova Scotia, within an hour of Halifax, my entire life. and of the four(?) Stanley Cup parades that have occurred in the city within that time, due to a variety of circumstances I've never gotten to attend a damn one. I've never so much as laid eyes on the damn thing in person. this has vexed me mildly for years

originally, I lamented that Nate had scheduled his parade on a deeply inconvenient day for me personally, but then schedules changed and it turns out there was actually a good chance I would, potentially, be free at the time of the parade, albeit stuck on the wrong side of the harbour. sure enough, my boss was an absolute g and let us all leave when we ran out of things to do in the morning, so I immediately beelined it across the harbour via transit (including a VERY crowded ferry) just in time to meet my roommate at the library and watch Nate’s parade go by from the air-conditioned third floor window, because my roommate is a genius.

there he is all tiny and holding the thing! wow! and also saw Cogs and Landy in their horse-drawn cart lol. alright well that took two seconds, bucket list item complete, time to go I guess!

I then split off from roommate, who wants to save money by making lunch at home, and head further downtown to get a burger and a vodka soda from Five Guys. then I wander over to Grand Parade to catch the end of Nate’s little speech, and yet another distant glimpse of the man and his Cup!

again, emphasis on distant.

alright well that’s done, now time to go find a spot to eat my burger and finish this drink. on impulse, I decide to wander slowly down to the waterfront to my favourite snack shack to get a slushie and try to find a seat by the water. it’s eight million degrees out so everyone on earth has the same idea and the line is super duper long and the area is incredibly crowded. but whatever, I have no place better to be today. I'll wait.

while I’m standing in line is when I start to notice the people moving through the crowd carrying columns of burgundy, blue and white balloons.

at first I think that they must have swiped them from the festivities on Grand Parade, which is an amusing thought. but then I realize they’re taking them into the staff entrance at the back of a large boardwalk patio restaurant, the Salt Box Beer Garden. watching them, I also start to notice that an entire half of the restaurant has been tarped off, is visibly empty of patrons (during a very busy boardwalk lunch hour on a beautiful Saturday afternoon), and has a small portable washroom trailer like the kind you can rent for nice weddings set up inside the cordon. as I watch, I can see employees moving the balloon towers around and hanging up some Avalanche jerseys around the patio, and doing wild things like polishing the handrails and going after cobwebs in corners nobody will ever look in with a broom. the kind of stuff you do when you have important guests coming over.

slushie in hand, I am now intrigued, and beginning to suspect what this is - the Beer Garden must be rented out for whatever post-parade party is gonna be held once Nate and the Cup are done touring the city later today. it's mid-afternoon, absolutely lovely down here by the water, and I have no obligations, so I set up at a picnic table with a decent view, pour the rest of the vodka soda into my slushie, dig into the burger, and amuse myself with observing the goings-on and relaying what I'm seeing to a few friends. this is an area of town that I often hang around in on warm days anyway, so even if I sit here all day and see nothing, that's by no means a waste of an afternoon. maybe if I stick around long enough, I can get a little closer glimpse of some of the NHLers over the tarp, or of the Cup! perhaps even the so-far-elusive Sid the Kid...

several very chill boardwalk hours later, it's a bit after five, the band has started up inside, and the security guys who showed up a while ago have begun letting people who show up and say the right things in through a gate to the left of those trash cans. I've gone through a second slushie, had my picnic table stolen by a family of tourists while I was sitting at it (leading me to move down onto the steps in front of it, which are closer to the gate and comfier anyway), and had a very relaxing afternoon. I'm clearly not the only person who has caught on and started hanging around, either, as by now there are a lot of other people standing about on the steps. my portable battery pack has finally died and I'm starting to do the math on how much longer I can stick around before I have to leave.

then, while fiddling with my phone, I hear a kid on the steps to my left shriek "OH MY GOD IT'S HIM!!" as the crowd breaks into excited murmurs.

I look up, then look down the boardwalk to my right.

reader, if I'd stood up and taken four steps forward, I could've touched the damn thing.

(and then presumably been tackled by that large bearded man, who seemed to be some kind of security)

Nate raised the Cup for the little gathered crowd as we whooped, and then took it into the already-started party to the sound of delighted welcoming cheers. those of us on the boardwalk mostly stood around murmuring to each other, like, "wow, did that really just happen?" and then we all sorta dispersed our separate ways. I went to buy a Beavertail pastry and find a power outlet, and then departed into the warm summer night.

and to think, a week ago, I hadn't even expected to make it to the damn parade!! I'll never resist the urge to go buy a slushie again

(the second insane thing that happened to me actually deserves its own post, but let's just say I also had a little cryptid sighting...)

[avintagekiss24]

—belated; bucky barnes

pairing: mob!bucky barnes x black!reader

word count: 4738

warnings: 18+ ONLY, smut, sex, rough sex, anal sex, biting kink, choking kink, spanking, pain kink, vaginal fingering, mean bucky (my fave), ring kink cuz i love it when boys wear rings

squares filled: @buckybarnesbingo Y3: Birthdays ; @badthingshappenbingo Biting ; @star-spangled-bingo N1: Taking Charge

request: bucky barnes + "pay attention to me or i'll make you" + anal + choking + spanking + biting + pain

author note: it's been foreverrrrr! i'm so sorry! i had to work myself through a little slump! hopefully this makes up for the almost two months we've gone without a fic! this is story #2 for my 5k celebration, all fics will be tagged #5k...holy god. this was formatted in the beta text post editor on desktop, if anything looks weird, that's why :)

gif by @pedropcl ; line divider by @firefly-graphics

James Buchanan Barnes is possessive.

One of those massive hands around the back of your neck as you walk casually through the streets. Fingers wrapped around your wrist, or shoulder, or hip in a tight grip. He pulls you in close— right into his side as shopping bags hang from the tips of his metal fingers.

Bucky Barnes wants every man on the streets of Greece to know that you are his.

Not that you mind; quite the contrary. You just smile and giggle when he throws his heavy arm around your shoulders and hooks the crease of his arm right underneath your chin. Slip your hand into the back pocket of his loose dark jeans (giving that little tush of his a squeeze). Slink your arm around his little waist and breathe in his scent— heavy and woodsy— as the two of you stroll.

After all, he’s just as much yours as you are his.

All of his friends, Sam, Steve, Clint, all see the change in him. The little soft spot for you that blinds him entirely— turns him in a mushy puddle of emotions and puppies and rainbows. Very different from the Bucky they grew up with, but a Bucky that the three of them have come to enjoy. It’s a change of pace from the enforcer they know.

The two of you don’t talk about his work— in fact, it’s the reason why you’re in Greece to begin with. A late birthday present to make up for the fact that his “work” just happened to be the waiter at the restaurant he chose to take you to for your thirty second birthday. Come on babe, he chuckled as you scowled back at him over the rim of your wine glass, watching as he stained his white napkin red with his bloody knuckles, you know what they say, kill two birds with one stone… not funny?

Two weeks, two nonrefundable, open ended tickets, and five grand in bikinis, shorts, and shoes later, you’re getting some much needed Greek sun on your deep brown skin.

He’s even letting you call the shots for a change. Letting you wake him up at the ass crack of dawn to have breakfast— a spread of breads, cheeses and fruits on the balcony of your room as the sun rises. He doesn’t say a word as you drag him through the city, stopping at each little boutique and shoe store. Sits patiently as you try on every dress, every skirt, and every silk top in the entire country it seems.

Bucky even bit his lip as you gazed at engagement rings— hinting that princess cut is your favorite as you held your hand up into the natural sunlight as one adored your finger. Smiling over at him and wiggling your eyebrows all the while as he narrowed his eyes and plastered a fake smile on his face.

Today has been like all the others, a lazy day spent on the beach, a quick nap underneath an umbrella, a concoction of too much sun and too many margaritas going straight to your head. Now, you’re kinda sleepy and kinda drunk, but most importantly hungry— and Mykonos sounds like a great place for dinner. Despite Bucky’s objections (you’re too tired and too drunk to handle a ferry), you’re dressed in a cute little flowery sundress, him in an out-of-character white tank top, open pale blue and green striped button down and khaki chinos— you forbade him from bringing anything black— and you’re flip flops are slapping against the cobblestone street towards the ferry.

“Drop your attitude,” You say, glancing over your shoulder as he pays for your tickets, “You owe me.”

“Yeah, yeah, that excuse is wearing thin, girl.” You stumble a little with the motion of the ferry as you step onto it, having to grab onto the railing to steady yourself before Bucky grabs hold of your wrist, “Water only for the rest of the night.”

His voice is low and borderline threatening as he presses his lips right against your ear, and you know not to press him any further. You like to stick your toes right up against his line and that’s what irritates him most about you (always what he loves most), but you and he both know you’d never dare cross it.

Bucky pulls you behind him, hand around your wrist, that possessive trait rearing its head as male eyes fall on you as the two of you pass by. He finds an empty spot, away from the crowd, and plops down on the bench as you step up on the lower rung of the railing and stare out over the sea.

Within twenty or thirty minutes, the ferry pulls away from the dock and you can’t wipe the smile from your face. The sun sets off in the distance, the bright lights of the city turning into little pinpoints. Small droplets of the cool, salty water splashes up in your face as the wind and the ferry whips it up. You keep glancing down at the phone in your hand as you broadcast your current view to your instagram, laughing softly as hearts and emojis explode on your screen.

You lean forward, tilting your phone and smiling wide, waving into the camera before you shout out how much you love it here. The words are barely out of your mouth before an arm wraps around your middle, a wide, hard chest pressed into your back, “That’s enough,” he reaches with his metal arm, grabbing your phone, ending your live feed, “You’re too drunk to be hanging off the side like that.”

“I am not,” you struggle against him lightly as he sets you on your feet, “What is your problem?”

“I’m annoyed.”

“Well, duh. Why?”

He slips your phone into his pocket and crosses his arms over his chest, sharp blue eyes piercing into yours, “Pay attention to me,” he says low, eyes dropping down your body real slow as he drags his bottom lip between his teeth, “Or I’ll make you.”

So that’s what it’s about. Bucky Barnes feels neglected between all the shopping and beach days and margaritas. Jealousy is cute on him.

The words though, they strike you right to your core— feel them down to your bones. A hard swallow pushes through your throat as your lips part, big brown eyes softening as your breath starts to rush a little harder. You hate to admit— not really— you love this Bucky. This is work Bucky, a man you rarely get to see. Slightly scary, anger brimming just below the surface. Jaw tight, eyes hard, head tilted just a bit. He’s menacing, and it makes your lips twitch into a small smile.

Shrugging defiantly, you cross your arms over your chest, “You didn’t pay much attention to me on my birthday.”

“Not true.”

“Not true?” you nearly shout, eyes going wide, “I ate alone while you beat the hell outta our waiter behind the building! I had to wait two hours for my slice of cake!”

“How is that my fault?”

You scoff, “Oh, I dunno, maybe because our waiter was spitting out his teeth in the alley out back— all thanks to you.”

“I have to work. You know that.”

“Not,” you hiss, “On my fucking birthday.”

He knows he’s wrong for that shit, so he stands there, huffing quick before he cocks his head again and just blinks back at you— unamused. He won’t apologize, it’s just not in his nature, but his usual attempts to make you happy after he’s fucked up aren’t working; so he’s at a loss.

And you’re enjoying that. A little too much if you ask him.

But alas, it’s not fun to fight on vacation, and you have taken far too many liberties when it comes to his tolerance for attitude. It’s been fun��� and you’re just drunk enough to push him one last time.

You move slow, walking right up to him, so close that each inhale pushes your tits into his body. The smirk quirked up on your lips grows as you peer up at him, eyes bouncing between his as you place your hands on his forearms still crossed over his chest.

Bucky lifts his eyebrow as you push up on your tiptoes and push your chin forward to bring your lips close to his, “And just how are you gonna make me pay attention to you, James?”

He inhales deep, pushes it out real slow as he tilts his head even further. A smile spreads on his face and you just know that this is the last thing his work sees before he rearranges the bones of their face. This is exactly why his clients pay him as well as they do.

Thick fingers are wrapped around your wrist again, nails digging into your skin as he starts to pull you behind him. He weaves you through bodies, you nearly having to jog to keep up with his strides. Laughter bubbles up in your chest, a little shriek escaping as he pulls you down some stairs to the lower level of the ferry. Once your feet hit the last step, Bucky whips you around his body, sending you spinning and laughing until you bounce into an old, rusty metal barrel.

The smell of salt fills your nose and lungs as you inhale, covering your face with your hands. Your skin is hot, lips slightly numb as you dissolve into laughter again. He’s right, you’re a little too drunk for this.

“I don’t think we’re supposed to be down here.” You mumble, brushing your wild hair out of your face.

“I could give a fuck,” he answers, stepping up to you, grabbing your face in his hands, “You’ve been testing me the entire time we’ve been here all over some stupid shit.”

Another giggle pushes through your lips as you bat your eyes, “I wouldn’t dare, Mr. Barnes.”

Bucky sucks his teeth as he drops his metal hand around your throat and squeezes gently, the rings on his fingers cool against your skin, “I was stupid, okay? But don’t put on that little innocent act, girl. You’re trying me, and I’ve had enough.”

A smile cracks onto your face, teeth sinking into your bottom lip. You wrap both hands around his one wrist and slip them up his arm, feeling the soft metal as you continue to goad him, “You got some proof, big man?”

The tip of his black and gold thumb prods at your lip, pushes just inside. You wrap your tongue around it and suck gently, keeping your eyes on his all the while.

Bucky laughs, deep and earnestly, “Proof, she says. She needs proof.” He glances around before he spins you quick, facing you away from him as he lifts your dress to reveal your pink satin thong.

You squeal loud, pushing and slapping at his hand as he grabs a handful of your ass, “Bucky! There’s people!” you laugh, “Oh my god!”

“Keep your voice down,” he warns, wrapping his metal fingers around your throat again, “Understand?”

A jolt of electricity flashes through you as you wiggle in his grasp. He tightens his grip around your neck as you wrap your fingers around the edge of the barrel, swallowing hard.

“That requires an answer, honey.”

The chill in his voice, added with the slow circles and soft tickles of fingertips against the back of your naked thigh sends a pang through your belly, “I understand.”

He chuckles soft and with a quick peck on the cheek whispers, “Good girl.”

Bucky curls his left arm around your chest, hooking your chin in the crease of his arm as he grips your right shoulder. You grab on to it with both hands, out of instinct, eyes wide and skirting around for any signs of other human presence down here. Bucky turns, moving you with him to eye the steps quickly again before that flesh hand sweeps around to the front.

The soft material of your dress falls over his hand as he rubs your stomach— his rings catching and snagging your skin. That hand pushes downward, over your thighs, gripping and kneading the soft flesh before he grabs the hem of your dress and pulls it upward, exposing those expensive panties again.

“Bucky,” you hum, his name trembling on your lips with the vibrations of your excitement, “Baby.”

He rucks your dress right up— right up around your waist and pulls the slack behind you, pressing his body into yours to keep it in place. The dark stubble adorning his cheeks and chin cuts into the side of your face as he nuzzles in, humming to himself soft before he kisses the corner of your mouth.

Those fingertips start to trace the hem of your thong— slowly. Back and forth, back and forth. From hip to hip. Your eyes flutter. Fingers grip the soft black metal of his arm a little harder. Legs go to jelly as another hard swallow passes through your throat.

“Ain’t got all that mouth now, do you?” He whispers, fingers slipping just inside the silk of your panties to tease the delicate skin underneath.

When he slips his hand in— all the way in— cupping hot skin, fingers dancing between folds and teasing a wet slit, an influx of air fills your lungs. A gasp, small and clipped sounds in the back of your throat as his fingers start a rhythm. You melt into him, head resting on his shoulder as your hips push forward to meet greedy fingers.

A naughty finger pushes in quick, and then a second— all the way to the black and silver rings dressed on them. His arm tightens around your neck as he presses his lips right against your ear, “You need to apologize.”

He fucks his fingers into you, withdrawing slow, and then pushing back in— each time the edges of his rings stopping him from going deeper. You can’t help but purr as you continue to grip his arm with both of your hands.

“I don’t think—“

“All I want to hear,” his words clip yours, each one slow and drawn and deep, “Is I’m sorry for testing your patience. I won’t do it again.” He curls his fingers, the pads stroking that sweet little spongey spot, making you clamp your legs closed around his hand, “Let me hear you.”

You can’t. You won’t. Too stubborn and too drunk to give in to him, wanting to win just this once.

If there’s one thing James Buchanan Barnes does not like, it’s hesitation. It’s dangerous, he always says. You think too long, you get hurt. Predators don’t hesitate.

Well, you like being his prey.

Only a few seconds pass before Bucky tuts in your ear, seemingly disappointed in your obstinate behavior, but you both know it’s just the opposite. His cock pressing into your ass tells you so.

The fingers disappear. The arm choking you just right pulls away and your dress falls back around the middle of your thighs. You huff, wiping quick at your forehead and pushing your wild, curly hair out of your face again.

Your hands find your hips in irritation but he slaps them away quick as he sucks his teeth, “You must really want this spanking, girl. Keep it up.”

That you do— keep it up. Huffing again. Crossing your arms over your chest like a petulant child. Brown eyes cut back at him over your shoulder to find sharp blues already on you. A smirk on his face.

Metal fingers curl around the back of your neck, pushing you forward gently until your thighs press against the old metal barrel again.

“Lean forward, kitten.”

Voice as smooth as silk while you do so, gripping the rusted edges for balance. Your dress is yanked up again— rough this time— and twisted around his Vibranium hand. Then there’s warm, the warmth of skin against yours. Gentle brushes of fingers and a palm rubbing slow circles, then pinching and grabbing soft— prepping your skin for what’s to come.

He pauses for just a second, no doubt to scan your surroundings and then pulls his hand away. You lung forward with the slap he levels to your behind within a fraction of a second— the sound sharp and heavy.

There’s another, and then a third in quick succession before he’s massaging your skin again. Real soft and sweet. Tears burn at the back of your eyes at the sting that radiates through, all the way to your bones but the molten heat deep in your belly spreads like a fire. Each breath is hard and shaky, heart thumping against your chest but it’s so good.

Bucky switches to the other cheek, skilled fingers sweeping over your canvas of skin before he cracks you— one, two, three.

You squeal with each one. The thud of those heavy rings around his fingers send a quick, new shockwave every time, building on the one before it. The tips of your fingers go red from holding on to the rusty old barrel as tight as you are, but your brain? She’s fuzzy and warm, and drifting up into the clouds with each swift slap.

Bucky is a methodical man. Three for the right cheek, three for the left, three right in the middle. His hand sneaks around your hip, giving it a squeeze before it comes back around and drops to the inside of your thigh. Grabs the meat of it— digs his fingernails in just to hear you yelp. Cups your cunt in his palm, feeling the heat and the wet— makes him groan all low and dirty.

He bunches your hair in his hand, tugs you up by it. Spins you around to face him before hoisting you up and settling you on top of the barrel.

“You want me to fuck you so bad, don’t you?” He growls, ripping at the button and zipper of his jeans.

You just hum in response, wrapping your legs around his waist and throwing your arms over his shoulders.

Bucky grabs your chin, forcing it up before he squeezes your cheeks, “Huh? Answer me.”

Damp eyelashes flutter as hot air escapes from parted, hot lips. He leans in real close, cock pushing right at your slit and kisses you hard as he slips his arm around your waist. He breaks away quick, sloppy and loud before pecking your lips once, twice, three times again.

“You want me to fuck you, girl?”

The weight of his words are felt right down to your core, a shiver passing between the two of you. You let your heavy head fall back and your eyes close as Bucky nuzzles into the side of your face, his pretty white teeth skipping along your neck, nipping and nibbling.

“I want you to fuck me,” you whisper after mere seconds, finally submitting in this cat and mouse game, “Bucky, please.”

That’s all he needs— all he wants. For you to submit, after letting you have the reins for one day too long. He sinks into you slow, spreading you open with each inch, biting down into the side of your neck as he bottoms out. His teeth dig in a little deeper, a little harder as he starts to move, rocking back and forth almost succinct with the waves of the water.

You’re moving with him too, meeting each of his thrusts with your hips. You keep your legs tight around his waist, feet dangling and bouncing against the back of his thighs. A trail of hot kisses are pressed along your neck and down your shoulder before traipsing back up— teeth grazing along your jaw.

Long fingers skip up your side and between your bouncing tits to only wrap around your neck again. They squeeze, gently, as his pace starts to pick up, hips shoving harder and faster— that old barrel starting to scrape against the wood floor.

The force makes you louder, moaning with abandon as if the two of you are all alone on this little ferry. Bucky makes quick work of you, shoving metal fingers into your mouth— giving you something to suck on to keep you quiet.

“That’s a good girl.” he growls, voice gritty and low.

He’s punishing after that. Each snap of his hips thrusting you backward, the barrel you’re on top of tipping back and then slapping down on the floor. You yelp with each one, your mouth going slack around his digits as your hands fall to the edges of the barrel for some semblance of balance.

It’s obscene, the way you can hear your fuck. The wet of your cunt. The squeak of his cock plunging into tight, slick muscles. The heavy thud of his hips pounding into yours. The slap of your flip flops falling to the wood floor as he’s quite literally fucked them right off of your feet. It’s filthy— crude— and so very Bucky.

You’re back on your feet before you know it— before you realize it. Spun back around, Bucky’s hard chest and stomach pressed into your back. He grabs both of your hands and places them back on the barrel, his metal hand staying on top of yours, fingers gripping fingers.

Eager hips wiggle back into his as you hiss and sink your teeth into your bottom lip, groaning low. Your head drops when you feel his cock push through your ass cheeks— wet cockhead pressing against your hot rim.

He starts to fumble around behind you, each passing second making you more and more impatient. There’s a soft click, and then a light suction sound— something squeezing.

“Bucky,” you hiss, pushing back into him again, “Hur—”

The word breaks off right in the middle as he levels a quick smack against your hip— a warning. Then your ass cheeks are pulled apart, wet, slimy fingers sliding and prodding at your quivering rim. He brushes slow strokes, circling, pressing his fingers gently as he preps your little hole for what’s to come.

“What kind of freak brings lube to dinner?” you smile, gasping as he pinches the inside of your thigh.

You lurch forward when he grabs the back of your neck and yanks you back into him, lips right against your cheek, “The kinda freak that was gonna fuck you in an alley after dinner. Now shut that mouth.”

He’s pressing again, this time harder, his cockhead popping into you with force. You grunt with the initial intrusion, Bucky stopping his assault to allow you time to adjust to him— but that doesn’t last long. Your mouth goes slack again. Eyes slam shut, head falls forward as he slips in, deeper and deeper and deeper until his stomach is flush with your ass.

He wiggles— so you can feel him, feel him tickling the deepest part of you. Slaps at your ass again, quick, fingers glancing off your skin and leaving behind a hell of a sting. Then he’s fucking you again, slower this time, savoring the tight, glove-like hold your body provides.

Metal fingers grab at the hem of your dress again, tugging it up before they push back into your panties, finding a swollen, hot nub. Pinching and rubbing smooth circles against it, flicking and thrashing at the bundle of nerves before he shoves his fingers back into your cunt. They curl, those fingers, and pet your insides with surgical precision— only James Buchanan Barnes knows how to fuck you like this.

The heel of his palm slams against your clit as he fingers you rough and fucks your ass with gusto. Sleazy sounds gurgle up in your throat, the slapping of skin and the waves crashing against the side of the ferry, the rush of the wind filling your ears. Bucky pulls you flush against him and slithers his tongue just beneath your ear before his teeth grab a hold, tugging soft.

Teeth keep nipping— along your jaw, your cheeks, ears, neck. He fucks into you hard as he shoves his flesh hand into the neckline of your dress, gripping your tits. Pinching and kneading hard, thick nipples, mumbling sweet nothings all the while.

Your stomach churns, muscles tensing and flexing as synapses start to fire off in quick succession. Quick goosebumps pop up along your skin as your stomach tightens and you can taste it it’s so close. Bucky knows it, feels it as your walls constrict around his fingers, your asshole tightening around him. Vibranium fingers keep rubbing, keep fucking into your pussy hard, palm slapping against your clit, adding more and more pressure until the coil snaps.

It’s hard, and sudden— your body freezing as your orgasm consumes you. Bucky clamps a wet hand over your mouth as you mewl and bite into his palm, your hips thrusting forward with each wave of your release. He pulls his fingers from you to slap at your jumping clit, pressing the pads into it before he rubs quick little circles and then slaps at it again.

He drops his hand to your chin, yanking it up as you nearly cry, mewling and trembling with your release to kiss you hard and sloppy as you come. He kneads your tits with his mammoth hand as aftershocks flash through you, your used body jerking at random. Within seconds, there's a cloud of warmth in your ass. Rough grunts in your ear, growing louder with each spurt of his cock, your hot muscles milking him.

You let him use you, let him fill you up full of his silk. Grab his hands and lace your fingers with his as he empties long ribbons in you. Pull his arms around your waist and hold them there as he rides it out, his head falling to your shoulder. The two of you stand there, resting against that old barrel, breathing hard, skin sticky and balmy. Salt from the ocean in your nose.

Bucky’s the first to pull away, glancing back at the stairs before he pulls himself gingerly from you, leaving your body empty, a dribble of his come slipping out with him. He catches it with his fingers, drags them up the back of your thigh and between your ass cheeks before he shrugs out of his collared shirt and white tank top.

He cleans you up sweet with the tank top. Keeps his arm around your waist to steady you as he wipes at your thighs and your hot, sticky, puffy cunt, shushing you soft when you jump and whimper at the contact. He flings the messy tank top over the side of the ferry and rubs your hips and stomach real slow, murmuring into your ear all the while.

Diligent fingers then rearrange your thong— and cop a little feel, cupping your sensitive, swollen sex, giving it a little pinch so he can laugh when you shiver and squeak. Bucky pulls your dress, tugging lightly to get it back straight around your waist before smoothing it over your ass and thighs— even pulls at the top, making sure your tits are sitting pretty.

You can’t even open your eyes, overcome by alcohol and sleepiness and a post sex high. He fumbles with your fingers as your head lulls on his shoulder, a soft hum vibrating in your throat in your murky haze. Bucky lifts your arm by the elbow, sliding his hand up your forearm until he’s cupping your hand in his.

“Open your eyes, baby.” You groan in protest, causing a chuckle to rumble through his chest, “Come on.”

So you do. You always do whatever this man wants you to do— and there, right on your finger sits that big princess cut engagement ring you teased him with days before.

“How about we skip dinner and find a church, huh?” he whispers, kissing your cheek soft and sweet.

You glance at him over your shoulder, eyes wet as a smirk tugs at the corners of your mouth, “And if I say no?”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” He laughs as you adjust in his arms, pushing up on your tiptoes to cup his handsome face and kiss him on those pretty pink lips, “Then I guess I’ll have to fuck some sense into that pretty mouth of yours, won’t I birthday girl?”

[givemethatgold]

Fix’er Upper - Part Eleven

Pairing: Frankie Morales x F!Reader Warnings: SMUT, fingering, oral (F receiving), p in v sex, unprotected sex, swearing Length: 2.1k Notes: Okay, I officially hate writing smut? Like, this took forever to write and I’ve never hated writing a chapter more. Don’t think I’ll do anything this detailed again it reads so awkwardly!? I’m not even going to read it through to make sure there aren’t any wonky mistakes so feel free to dm me if you see any glaring issues I’d love you forever (be kind)

Series Masterlist

You wanted him in you. 

In your mouth, in your needy cunt, at this point, you'd just be happy with him in your hand, but Frankie had other plans. Once the shower water had run cold he had helped you out of the shower, back to being the complete gentleman he always was, acting like he hadn't just been holding you up against the tile wall finger fucking you to completion.

He'd barely let you touch him and the lack of contact was driving you crazy. Once you'd dried off you had planned on sinking to your knees and finally getting a proper taste of him. His cock was impossibly hard, slicked already with the pre-come that was leaking from his red, swollen tip. The sight of it making your mouth water and cunt clench.

Just as you dropped your towel into a convenient, cushiony pile right at his feet, however, Frankie grabbed you for a bruising kiss. Pressing his body flush up against you, he guided you back until you felt the press of the counter on your ass, not stopping until you were leaning against the mirror and your feet had come up off the floor.

Frankie pulled away from your mouth slowly, the hungry look in his eyes making you feel like his prey. He dragged his lips down your neck, stopping to sink his teeth into the tender flesh where your shoulders met your neck causing you to cry out his name in a broken voice you barely recognized as your own.

As his mouth moved to worship your chest, his hands found purchase in the supple flesh of your thighs. Running his fingers from your hips to your knees and back, thumbs digging in to massage the muscles tired from your day at the fair. Groans, whimpers, and panting breaths all fell from between your kiss-swollen lips despite your attempts to quiet yourself.

As if reading your mind, Frankie gently bit down on the nipple he had pulled into his mouth to get your attention then moved back just enough to murmur, "Let me hear you, honey. I want to hear how good I can make you feel."

You weren't used to the encouragement, the attentiveness, so you had a hard time allowing your cries their full volume feeling too self-conscious. When Frankie sank to his knees, threw your legs over his shoulders, and licked you from ass to clit? You all but screamed for him.

With one arm slung across your hips, holding you in place, Frankie used the other to continue teasing and pinching your nipples while his mouth devoured you.

If this had been happening with any other man, you would have probably stopped it by now. The counter was cold, your ass felt like it was constantly on the verge of slipping off the edge, your neck was going to have a crick in it tomorrow from where it was bent against the mirror.

None of it even registered in your mind, though, with the way Frankie was playing you like a flute. Both of your hands were tangled in his hair, gripping tight to both hold him in place and to keep you grounded. Feeling a familiar burn building in your body, drawing towards your core where it would compact and pulse before the explosive release, you tried to grind your hips up against his face.

"Please," you beg, "please, Frankie! I need you, oh! Yes! I need, I need..."

"D'you need to cum, baby girl?" Frankie asks, panting against your core.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, yes, Frankie please!"

"Then cum for me," he commanded before sucking your clit into his mouth and thrusting two fingers deep into you to strum against that sacred spot inside of you that made you see stars.

You came with a shout, legs clamping together and trapping his head where it continued to work you through your convulsions. Pulling away once your legs had become rubbery enough to weaken the cage they'd created, Frankie gives you a quick, dirty kiss before helping you walk to his bed area to dress. Watching him pull on a pair of faded, well-worn jeans caused your brain to short circuit.

Why was him going commando so fucking hot?!

"I don't know about you," his voice snapped you out of your lust-laden haze, calling from the kitchenette "but I'm famished!"

"Are you serious?!" You huffed out, half in exasperation and have in amusement.

"Frankie, you're-, you haven't-, I mean." There was no delicate way you could phrase this, "Don't you want to fuck me?"

You could feel the heat from his gaze even from the distance, see the way his eyes darkened again with lust. "Of course I do, you know I do," he practically growled, your thighs clenching and rubbing together in response. "But when I do, I don't want interruptions. I don't want to be able to get up again before tomorrow. So I'm trying very hard to ignore how fucking incredibly sexy you look, perched on my bed like that, and make us some food."

You'd never been good at accepting compliments, and Brad's habit of dishing them out only to expect something in return had made you uneasy from them. This time, though, you could see the truth in Frankie's eyes, the simplicity in the way he says them like a fact.

"If you don't put on some clothes though," he continues, voice more gravelly and strained than ever, "I'm either going to ruin dinner or scrap that plan entirely."

Taking pity on him, and what you could only assume was a terribly painful erection straining in his jeans, you picked through his closet and found a pair of boxers and a threadbare flannel shirt to wear.

"Hmm, look at you," he practically purred, gazing at you with heavy-lidded eyes, "you're stunning." Pulling you into his side and kissing your hairline he continues "I remember thinking how beautiful you were the first time I saw you."

You laughed, remembering your first interaction, "That was the least flattering introduction, oh my god! I had forgotten our little spat at the market!"

"I'd seen you earlier," he admits with the ghost of a smile like he was reliving the scene in his mind. "You had the happiest grin on your face, chatting so easily with everyone, and you were holding a big bunch of sunflowers." His eyes focus again and he sheepishly glances to the floor, rubbing the back of his neck, "Aw man, I wanted you to come and talk to me so badly. I wanted to see that smile directed at me."

"And then you insulted me instead," you finished for him, the mirth evident in your tone. "You know," you suddenly recalled a drunken conversation you'd had with a friend months ago "I just remembered I owe you a kiss and Jacquie's regards."

Turning from the cutting board, and the ingredients for what looked like a delicious stir-fry, Frankie gazed at you with a lazy smirk curling his lips. "Is that so?"

"Mmmm," you nodded, looking at him through your lashes. He didn't immediately turn back to prepping food and you took that as an invitation. Wrapping your arms around his neck you softly pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"That's for making great cider," then kissing his nose "and that's for being a great boss," his chin, "the greatest handyman," his lips, "and for trapping you on the Ferris wheel for nearly an hour."

Frankie huffed out a laugh then silenced you from further embarrassing him, he didn't do well with compliments, by kissing you back with fervor. Fuck dinner, he thought, having you couldn't wait any longer.

Sweeping you off your feet, swallowing your surprised shriek with a kiss, Frankie carried you back to his bed. He had restrained himself so well already, taking his time with you and pacing himself, but the way you looked in his clothes, on his bed, and under him was just too much.

"I need you," he gasped as he kneeled over you, gripping the lapels of his old work shirt you’d decided to wear, "I don't know if I can be gentle."

"I don't want you to be."

Something in him snapped, he was no longer controlled and methodological, his body was running on pure, animalistic instinct now. Ripping his shirt apart, sending buttons flying, Frankie crashed his mouth to yours again. A small sane voice in the back of his mind took note of the hunger in your kiss back, assuring him that you were more than okay with his pace.

Bracing himself on one arm, he used the other to help you rip the boxers off your legs then cupping your core, wet again for him already, while you made quick work of his jeans.

The minute they were down far enough for his cock to spring out he was shoving your hands away, gathering your wrists in one hand and pinning them above your head, and he entered you with one swift pump of his hips.

He stalled out inside of you, needing a minute to steady himself as your wet heat engulfed him. The scrape of your nails on your shoulders and ragged gasps were driving him wild but it was your impossibly tight cunt that nearly made him finish before he'd even started.

Breathe, breathe, think about unsexy things. Apples, nothing sexy about those- a memory of you singing endearingly while picking apples invades his thoughts. Okay, uh trucks? Driving my truck- suddenly he's remembering how concerned you'd been for his farm and not your truck during that freak storm. Fuck! This isn't helping. Mom? Ew- he's picturing you, round and glowing, arms cradling his future child with a soft smile on your face.

Realizing that his efforts to distract himself weren't going to help, he began to plow into you in earnest. Giving your wrists a final squeeze he commands you to keep them there with a "Stay" and a dark glint in his eyes. Your pliant body and complete trust in him is making his head swim, it may have been close to two years since his last hook-up but he knows that abstinence isn't the only reason this is feeling so good.

He crushes his mouth to yours again in a needy kiss before kneeling back so he can watch himself disappear into your greedy cunt then reappear, covered in your slick.

He was getting close and, by the sound of your ragged cries, you were too. Hoisting your legs up until they're flush against his chest, ankles resting on his shoulder, he tilts your hips and thrusts up into you. Looking, for, the perfect, angle- you scream his name and he knows he's found it.

Holding that position and pistoning into you, Frankie is sure you're going to have bruises on your thighs from where his arm is keeping them trapped against him. He can't help it though and is pretty sure you'd swear at him if he decided to suddenly stop to switch positions.

He wants you to cum again, one more time, when he does.

"Frankie!"

Your voice sounded wrecked, words rasping through a throat unused to the moans and cries from the past hour. He noticed how your knuckles were white from where they grasped the pillow in a death grip, trying your absolute hardest to please him by keeping them where he commanded.

"You've been so good, honey" he crooned as his thumb found your little bundle of nerves and rubbed circles around it. "Come on baby, you can do it, cum for me."

Shaking your head back and forth, you cried out to him "I can't! I can't! I need to touch you, I need more!"

"Yes, you can," Frankie practically growled out and felt your cunt clench around him as a result. "Let go-" pinching your clit hard "-and cum."

Frankie slammed into you one last time before the pressure that had been building up at the back of his cock finally explodes. A white-hot explosion erupts down his shaft as his hot cum shoots out in a blinding wave of ecstasy. Simultaneously, your back had arched and Frankie could just make out, through the haze of his own release, the way you screamed his name as your orgasm hit.

His entire body was like rubber, it never ceased to amaze him how fast the come-down hit him, and he flopped down onto you for a minute to rest. Your hands finally moved from their imaginary bindings and smoothed the hair from his sweaty brow, huffing a laugh as the euphoria that only a good fucking can provide hit.

"Told you we'd be great," you whispered.

He could hear the smugness in your voice and it made him smile and wonder what else the two of you could be great at together.

Part Twelve 

[blacksunscorpio]

Astro Musings No. 5

Placements Most Prone to Getting Stuck in Abusive Relationships

Are usually people with Venus in Scorpio because of the intensity of how they love and the intensity in which people love them back, Venus in Libra due to their penchant for trying to see the good in those they love. Venus square/opposing Neptune, due to these natives often idealizing those who do not deserve it. Venus in Pisces, due to their savior complexes. People with Moon squaring their Mars’, or Moon conjunct/squaring/opposing their Pluto’s— often they associate pain and intensity of feeling as equatable to love. These are the types of people who feel deeply and often have a hard time entertaining the idea of love unless there is some sort of “suffering” involved.

Many with Moon or Venus squaring Saturn

Can endure the same thing/have the same habits. I’ve found with the latter two the duration of these relationships will last a lot longer. This is because Saturn adds longevity to relationships.

Nessus in aspect to Dejanira in synastry

Can also cause obsession or at its worst, abuse. Sparknotes version of the Greek myth is a wild centaur named Nessus attempted to kidnap and rape Dejanira as he was ferrying her across the river Euenos, but she was rescued by Heracles. If you’ve ever watched Disney’s Hercules, Megara is the Hollywood version of this broad. In regard to synastry Dejanira is the asteroid of the victim, especially sexual, and Nessus indicates the abuser. If this appears in synastry you can be certain two people will have some sort of abuse involved in their relationship or some sort of intense obsession with each other than may not be altogether healthy. Be careful if it aspects [in square or opposition] Sado or Algol. No bueno. If touching Chiron it there will be some sort of lesson involved. Make sure it’s one worth learning. Aspects like these in astrology can be very humbling.

Typically if One Has an Aspect Natally it Will Often Appear in Synastry With Another.

For example, One can have their Sun opposing their moon and often attract people whose moons oppose or square their sun. If one has a Mercury squaring their Pluto, they may attract someone whos Pluto square’s their Mercury. You can often always trace a synastry aspect back to one or the other person’s natal chart.

People with Venus Conjunct Lilith

Will have enormous sex appeal. Their basic femininity will be in touch with their wild femininity. If in the 10th house, they may make a career out of it. Become models or make money off their figures. One of my best friends is a porn star and has this aspect. Her ‘Only Fans’ is poppin’.

People with Sagittarius 5th houses

Can/will adopt children from other countries or have children in countries other than their native land. Angelina Jolie’s 5th house is in Sagittarius and her whole brood save for 3 are of different ethnicities.  People with the same rising sign as you often deal with many of the same issues as you and therefore, can be easier to have friendships/relationships with. This is typically because two people will have the same houses/house sign cusps.

Placements That Make One Lucky

Are often strong Jupiter placements. Jupiter rules fortune and is in general a benefic planet. Wherever he touches will show growth or excess of energy. It is best when he is working harmoniously. So, Jupiter trining/conjunct/sextiling inner planets or Jupiter trining the north node. Jupiter as the most elevated planet is a good indicator of someone who often gets lucky in the nick of time. Luck often comes through at the clutch for these folks.  Asteroid Fortuna, Fama, or Abundantia making harmonious/conjunctions to planets like Jupiter, the Sun, or the Moon. The Sun in the 10th house is a good indicator of someone lucky in their career. Asteroid Karma No. 3811 in favorable aspect to inner planets, and/or Asteroid Talent No. 33154 in favorable aspect to inner planets or in benefic houses.

A good place to look to see determine someone’s physical features is often their Sun, Rising, Dominant planet, or Midheaven.

Yes, I know, not very exciting but I keep telling you guys to stop ignoring your Sun. It is the most powerful Planet in your chart. However, if we were to look beyond the Sun, Your rising sign is your face. Someone with a Scorpio rising will inevitably have some sort of intensity to them. 9 times out of 10, it has something to do with their eyes. The Midheaven will also show you a bit more, usually how a person carries themselves. I often find those with Virgo or Venus Midheavens [women] are very good in heels. Good with structured walking. Men will often have model-esque walks as well. Attention grabbers. Same with those with Capricorn MC’s. Neptune MC’s have a bit of a “swagger to their walk” like they’re swimming through air. Gemini MC’s are often very light on their feet. Aries MC’s walk in a very militaristic way. Straight backed. Authoritarian. George W. Bush has an Aries MC and walks in such a way.

Psychic connections in Synastry [Platonic or Romantic]

Are usually 12th house, 8th house, 1st house, or 9th house placements/Overlays. Aspect-wise typically Moon to the lunar nodes, Uranus to the Nodes or Moon, Vertex to nodes, PLUTO, or NEPTUNE to Mercury. Mercury to Moon, Mercury to Uranus, or Neptune. These are all highly psychic points. Having these placements in synastry/overlay will usually indicate dreaming of the other person, prophetic dreams [especially if 9th house or Jupiter is involved] Knowing what the other person is thinking or gut hunches about the person’s well being. If in harmonious aspect these will make you feel closer to the person or bolster feelings of affection. In hard aspect, it can cause obsession or the other person may feel as if they are “haunting” you. Trust me.

A Singleton Planet

is a planet posited in the only sign or house of its type [element, mode, or orientation]. For example, if your sun is the only planet in a water house, or if your moon is the only planet in a sign of universal orientation, those would be singletons. Singletons are EXTREMELY powerful forces in the natal chart. They can be considered focal points of consciousness, sometimes vehicles of manifestation. They are widely understood to have extreme expressions (or repressions) which are heavily symbolic in a native’s entire life.

People with many Aries placements, strong Martian influence, [especially if in aspect to Mercury or Mars], or hard Plutonic aspects [including conjunctions] tend to enjoy more aggressive forms of music. The types to listen to heavy metal/rock or hardcore gansta rap.

Leo and Aquarius mixing in a natal chart or in the 2nd house can make someone have a bit of a “bark” like voice.

Venus retrograde natives may have had a hard time or still have a hard time in their social lives especially if it’s placed in the 11th house.

On Chiron

People with Chiron in Aries have a fear of failure. Can suffer from identity issues. They can heal by empowering others and being independent. Chiron in Taurus feel as if they never have enough. May have grown up a bit poor or might feel as if they don’t deserve nice things. They can heal by being financially responsible, but also treating themselves to something nice once in a while. Chiron in Gemini feels like no one understands them, may have suffered from feeling unintelligent or their mental pursuits were discouraged. They can heal by speaking up. Writing or singing. Translating their pain into beautiful intellectual activity. Chiron in Cancer feel as if they can’t be vulnerable They may have been made to feel ashamed of their emotions. May have suffered neglect at home, specifically from the mother. They can heal by taking care of others. Cooking. Expressing themselves to those they trust. Not everyone will hurt you. Chiron in Leo may have suffered from being invalidated in life. Feeling rejected. Having impossible standards forced on them. Not getting recognition for their talents. They can heal through channeling creativity into art. Helping others see their worth. Being playful and bold in their own self-expression. Chiron in Virgo may suffer from some sort of distorted self-image. Perfectionism or excess of criticism from others/family. As a result, they can either be extremely critical or compensate by being people pleasers. They can heal by maintaining their health and seeing a counselor [remember Mercury who rules the mind is the ruler of Virgo so mental health is NOT something to ignore.]

People with Venus in Taurus

Are actually some of the slowest moving people in terms of romance. Even more than Capricorn Venusians. They love to take their sweet time. If they were to be a Tarot card, they’d be the Knight of Pentacles. Methodical, slow-moving, careful. They are caring but terrified of choosing the wrong person, being abandoned, or making the wrong move. They study the object of their affections almost to the level of Plutonians [but without the dark appeal]. This is because they want to know how and what pleases the other person. Very traditional.

Cancerians

Are very jealous in love and can give Scorpios a run for their money.

Leo Moons

LOVE ATTENTION I've noticed even more than Leo suns. Why? Because validation is often tied to what makes them feel good emotionally [moon]. These are the people who will post about 20 snap or insta stories talking about their day.

Gemini Mars’

Have a problem with dry-snitching on themselves. This is because their drive is tied with their intellect and speech. As a result, they can often find themselves saying more than they mean to.

Aquarian placements

Are high-key opinionated but are can also be the least accepting of other points of view, especially if Saturn/Capricorn is in the mix. This is because they are fixed air. So their mindsets/intellectual opinions are hard-pressed to change. Good luck trying to win an argument with one. However, they do move on quickly because they are detached by nature.

Sagittarians/strong sag placements will often make friends the easiest out of any zodiac sign. Opinionated but their curiosity for people from all walks of life makes it easy to relate to them. Those who come after would most likely be Gemini moons or 5th House/ 11th House Leo’s.

6th house placements, especially if Leo or Pisces sits on the cusp often are very good with animals. Piggybacking on that, Piscean placements tend to have an almost telepathic ability with animals.

Cats seem to take to Scorpionic people very easily, even if the native doesn’t care for them. As a matter of fact, most Scorpionic people have a knack with animals that are nocturnal. Spiders, Owls, Cats, Foxes. These animals will likely find a Scorpio native/ those with heavy Scorpio placements out of nowhere or perhaps never bite them.

Astro Musings No. 1 Astro Musings No. 2  Astro Musings No. 3  Astro Musings No. 4  Astro Musings No. 6 Astro Musings No. 7 Astro Musings No. 8  Astro Musings No. 9  Astro Musings No. 10

[seyaryminamoto]

Underneath Starlit Skies: Sokkla Saturdays 2021

Day One: Happy Family

On FF.net // On AO3

"Well, goodness. I can't believe he actually pulled it off."

The building awaiting them inland had never seen more beautiful days, Azula had no doubts about that. Few people had seen the Ember Island villa in its previous prime, and only two people out of the many who would spend the week there had any notion of what it had looked like in the past. Yet the decaying estate that had seemed moments away from becoming uninhabitable had been part of yet another of many renewal efforts following the end of the Hundred Years' War: all the weed growing on the roofs had been removed, the rooftiles themselves had been replaced, the gold finish of the crests had been cleansed and renewed, the paint on the walls was vivid again, and the blocked out, old window frames had been replaced by elegantly patterned woodwork that crisscrossed over the glass.

Beyond that, however, Azula found the building itself had been expanded. Her childhood's vacation villa had seemed large when she was but a little girl, but it certainly was much larger now: the grounds around it had been terraformed in current times, allowing the villa to spread wider and larger, with a brand-new annex area that had been build to provide visitors far more rooms to choose from… a necessary luxury, Azula knew, for the countless guests the villa would soon host.

"Huh, so that's the place?" Sokka asked, stepping closer to where she stood, by the ferry's railing, and wrapping an arm around her waist. "Looks… cozy."

"Cozy?" Azula smirked at Sokka's deliberately arrogant declaration. He snickered as she elbowed him gently in the ribs. "Come on, it's practically a palace of its own."

"Maybe, but it's not that fancy once you get used to fancier…" he smirked: he pressed a kiss to the top of his wife's head, and Azula instinctively leaned into him. "You've spoiled me rotten over the years and you know it. I used to be so much humbler…"

"So, I ruined you, is it?" Azula asked, turning in his arms, eyebrows raised skeptically. Sokka snickered and nodded, prompting her to laugh again and shake her head. "You've never known any shame, and I love that about you far more than I should."

"Who says you shouldn't?" Sokka grinned: Azula took his bait, leaning in to press her lips against his…

"Mom, Dad! Ew!"

Their kiss broke off as Azula sighed, glancing hopelessly at Shun: the boy squirmed and stuck his tongue out at their blatant display of affection, as he always did.

"Guess now we know who says I shouldn't," Azula smirked, shaking her head at her son, who pouted stubbornly. Sokka, however, scoffed and waved a hand in Shun's direction.

"Never mind Shun, he's just grumpy I've got your attention for now," Sokka said, proudly. Azula laughed as Shun gasped in outrage. "You'd think he'd be used to it, he sees us doing this all the time, seriously, ALL the time…!"

"He's a stubborn one. Wait until he finds someone to kiss too, we'll return the favor tenfold," Azula taunted Shun, who blushed furiously while Sokka laughed proudly.

"Sounds like a plan," he said

"No! No kissing! I won't kiss anyone!" Shun determined, stubbornly.

"See? That's why your mom comes to me: if you won't even kiss her cheek, I have to make up for it," Sokka declared proudly: Shun was still far too young to learn how to navigate the waters of verbal fencing with his father and Sokka, unlike him, had countless years of training in the arts of how to turn someone's words against them. He had done it thousands of times to Azula… just as she had done it thousands of times to him. Shun, however…

"Ugh!" was the little boy's final, eloquent declaration before he stormed off, pouting irritably, on his way to the side of the ferry where his sisters were.

"Ah, sweet victory…" Sokka smirked, tightening his embrace around Azula.

She couldn't hold back her smile, comfortably nestled in his arms, as her eyes raked their ferry all the way to where the children sat: Hotaru had kept Yuuna distracted with wild tales of hybrid animals, an effective way of ensuring the young waterbender wouldn't do anything chaotic with her powers, such as accidentally building up waves that could disturb the progress of their vessel, or even breaking the hull by practicing her ability to freeze water. She had much to learn yet, but their youngest had a knack for choosing to learn it all at the worst possible timing: Sokka and Azula had taken turns keeping her busy so far, but Hotaru had graciously relieved them from the job at the last leg of their journey. Shun joined the two girls now, sitting on the floor before them, much more interested in listening to his older sister's stories than in watching his parents' relentless displays of affection.

"It feels like we set out barely a few minutes ago…" Sokka smiled, glancing back at the house with amazement. "I really hope our little vacation doesn't go by in a blur. It's been a while since we took any breaks…"

"It has. But now that things have calmed down a bit, I think we could afford doing this sort of thing more often," Azula said, with a weak smile. "Zuko did say he wanted to make this a yearly event, at the very least… he might have to make it more frequently than that, though. Some of our expected guests would surely appreciate taking breaks from the harshness of winter once in a while…"

"For that matter, he ought to rent the house to them in winter so they can flee from the nasty weather," Sokka suggested, with a smirk. "Which could mean we would get two vacations a year… that's a pretty good deal, I think."

"I think so too," Azula said, relaxing comfortably against his chest.

The sea's salty scent, the sun's bright glow, the beauty in the colorful scenery before them… all of it heralded good things, even if Azula suspected it painted a prospect far too good to be true. Even if the years had mellowed them out, she was quite likely to butt heads with her brother over anything and everything… and Sokka was bound to do the same with his own sister, whenever she arrived. Then, there was also the matter of having far too many children, of variable ages, running around within a single house… it was difficult enough keeping track of Yuuna and Shun most days, Azula hardly wanted to imagine how much more difficult it would be to handle their childish antics when combined with those of her brother's children, too… as well as all the kids that might just be part of their grand revelry. At this point, Azula wasn't sure who had confirmed attendance and who hadn't: for once, she had nothing to do with the organization of an event. Zuko had handled everything himself, therefore, she would have nothing to do but kick back and enjoy whatever madness this week had in store for them.

Even the dock, rundown and unusable as it had been the last time Azula had so much as glanced this way in Ember Island, had been rebuilt and strengthened by solid, beautiful workmanship into a magnificent pier: the manatee-whales carrying forward their ferry slowed right beside it, and the activity of the ferry's workers signaled to the children that the journey was finally at an end. As tame as she always was, even Hotaru couldn't hold back the bright smile and enthusiasm that rushed over her upon realizing they had reached their destination.

"Alright, time to reel in our three little storms," Azula smiled, clasping Sokka's hand and yanking him towards the kids, who had already leapt to their feet, beaming brightly.

"That's the house, Mom?" Hotaru asked, gold eyes bright with illusion. "It's amazing!"

"Well, it certainly is now," Azula smiled, nodding as she cast another glance at their destination. "Your uncle's done a surprisingly great job at making it better than it ever was."

"Do I get to pick my room?!" Shun asked, beaming brightly. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"I wonder about that. I mean, there should be enough room for everyone in there, if all repairs and construction were finished on time…" Azula said, tapping her chin. "But I wonder if Zuko has already decided on our sleeping arrangements, beforehand…"

"Like… a room for each family?" Hotaru asked. Sokka winced visibly at the notion.

"No… more like rooms for each set of parents, and the kids can all sleep in the same tiny room," he decided, smirking. Azula rolled her eyes and elbowed his ribs again, prompting him to chuckle… yet it didn't seem the kids were all that displeased by the idea.

"Maybe girls would share, and boys too…?" Hotaru said, smiling.

"Me and Hotaru!" Yuuna exclaimed, wrapping her little arms around her sister's leg. Shun pouted upon realizing he wouldn't be with his oldest sister too, but he crossed his arms over his chest and smiled shortly afterwards:

"That's fine, then! I'll be with Renshu and Iroh!" he declared.

"And Yuudai," said Hotaru, smiling weakly. "I guess he'll have to be in charge of making sure all of you behave yourselves?"

"Heh, I was just kidding around. Who'd have thought they'd actually like that idea…?" Sokka spoke quietly to Azula, who chuckled and shook her head.

"We'll see about all this once we're at the house, kids. Now, then…" she withdrew from Sokka's embrace most unwillingly, yet as disappointed as he was to let her walk away, he knew she meant to speak with the ferry's sailors, ensuring they would bring their luggage safely to the house.

Azula thought they hadn't brought excessive amounts of luggage but, considering the potential chaos that never failed to swirl around children – someone might spill juice over their clothes, any accidents could result in scraped knees or elbows, their possessions could be mixed up with those of their cousins, among countless possibilities –, they never could be too prepared. Each child had a small bag to carry themselves, as Sokka had taught them to pack essentials and carry them in a personal bag for any trip they might take, in case anything unpleasant happened. The two of them had bags of their own… though Sokka, as ever, was carrying his wife's. At this point, Azula was well past the point of trying to reason with him about the futility of letting him carry her emergency supplies, he'd make up any goofy excuse to continue doing it… and in the end, it was rather gallant of him to do so, anyway.

Once she had settled everything with the sailors, Azula finally returned to her family: the ramp that led to the dock had already been set down, and it seemed Shun and Yuuna were ready to race down to solid ground, eager smiles on their faces as Sokka held them back, by the scruff of their respective outfits.

"Ah, Mommy's back now, see?" Sokka smiled at Azula, and the kids grinned brightly too. "We're all stepping down this big ship together, alright?"

"As it should be," Azula determined, stepping up and wrapping an arm around Hotaru's shoulders. Her oldest daughter smiled at the gesture, watching fondly as her younger siblings put on an act of trying to run down the ramp, despite their father still held them back. "Though I have the feeling you three ought to climb down first, not sure Hotaru and I care to compete over who touches land first."

Her words wound up offering her children an idea she hadn't truly planned on giving them: Yuuna and Shun smiled viciously at each other, a telltale sign that chaos was about to begin, and Sokka only had time to yelp before the young waterbender raised a burst of water, hoisted from the sea around them, right into her brother's fistful of flames.

"Ack! No crazy bending, you…! Hey! Hey, now!" Sokka squealed: the resulting steam from his children's joint attack had seen him releasing them from his hold… and now the two kids ran down the ramp, laughing happily, while he pouted at them. "How dare you…?! I should have you grounded! Azula, can I ground them?"

"Asking me for permission to ground them isn't exactly productive when it comes to enforcing your authority, Sokka…" Azula smirked, as Hotaru laughed beside her. Sokka pouted before rising to his feet, hands fisted on his hips.

"Unacceptable! I am going to ground you, yes I will!" he declared, his voice cracking in the typical way it did whenever he was joking.

He strode down the ramp in an awkward gait, and the two kids, already standing on solid ground, only giggled guiltily as he approached them.

"Who'd have thought…? You two, little troublemaking rascals… you're always at each other's throats, but you're the best of friends whenever it's convenient, huh?!" he huffed, stepping down onto the solid ground at the end of the dock. "How shameless. Is this behavior acceptable for the children of Sokka, the great warrior of the Southern Water Tribe?!"

"Yeah!" Yuuna declared, shamelessly, as Shun laughed carelessly beside her. Sokka's eyebrow twitched.

"The fact that you're impossibly cute just… makes it so damn difficult to discipline you. Curse it," Sokka lamented himself, sighing and surrendering by dropping on his knees. "Azula! Make them behave themselves! I am hopeless!"

"What makes you think I'll do any better than you today?" Azula laughed, climbing down the ramp alongside Hotaru. "I have to save up my energies for arguing with my own brother, mind you…"

"And I have to save mine for my sister too," Sokka pouted. "No idea when Katara will get here, though, but still…"

"Aunt Katara!" Yuuna smiled, throwing her hands in the air: a light burst of water burst from the shore, accompanying her movement.

"Uncle Zuko is better!" Shun decided, grinning proudly. Immediately, Yuuna pouted and scowled at her brother.

"Aunt Katara!"

"Uncle Zuko!"

"Aunt Katara!"

"Uncle Zuko!"

Azula rolled her eyes over the pointless argument between the children, even if she did so affectionately, as Sokka rose to his feet again. Hotaru smiled awkwardly, stepping forward between her siblings.

"Now, now, no need to argue about that, you can both love Uncle Zuko and Aunt Katara, you don't need to pick either one…" her attempt to mediate, Azula suspected, wouldn't be all that successful, but the good-natured Hotaru had to try anyway.

"Uncle Zuko is in the house already, right, Mom?" asked Shun, beaming brightly before shooting Yuuna a mischievous smirk. "Race you there!"

"Oh! I'll win!"

"Hey, I didn't say you could get started yet…!"

Yuuna took off in a hurry and Shun wasted very little time following and catching up to her. As he was two years older than his little sister, his legs carried him forward much faster, no matter how short they both were.

"Hey! Slow down, you…! Oh, hell, who do they take after?" Sokka groaned, rubbing his forehead and shaking his head.

"Must be their uncle Zuko," Azula responded, matter-of-factly. Her husband smirked.

"And their aunt Katara," he agreed: both laughed at their devious shirking of any responsibility over the typical arguing between their youngest children. Hotaru smiled and shook her head as well, used to her parents' mischief, a much more contained form of mischief, yet still as entertaining as that of Shun and Yuuna.

As much as their youngest were as wild as ever, Sokka and Azula intended to enjoy this summer escapade as best they could, and that included basking in the mischief their children could weave. They walked the trail Yuuna and Shun had taken off on, with Hotaru in front of them, calling out at her siblings to be careful and sighing hopelessly upon realizing they weren't listening to her at all.

"Now, now, Hotaru… you're not responsible for your siblings' recklessness, we've told you so many times already," Azula said, and Hotaru smiled somewhat shyly at her. Sokka nodded sagely.

"Azula's right, as usual," he said. "Have fun and relax, kiddo. Your mom and I will prevent those two from setting the house on fire…"

"Or flooding it," Azula pointed out, at which Sokka grimaced.

"Zuko would lose his shit if they did, wouldn't he?"

"Now, don't say that or I'll actually want to see it happen…" Azula said, unable to convey her thoughts without breaking over a mischievous snort of laughter. Sokka gasped, though his outrage, as always, was a poor mask for his genuine amusement.

"Come on, now, Azula: play nice or it'll be obvious those two aren't taking after our siblings. Who're we going to fool if you keep laughing at that idea…?" Sokka scolded her playfully, leaning into her ear to speak through an awkward grin… fully aware, of course, that his laughing daughter could hear him, too.

"See why I have to keep tabs on them?" Hotaru laughed. Azula shrugged guiltily, and Sokka's attempt to play the straight-laced father crumbled into dust as he laughed against his wife's cheek. "If only I were half as good at it as Rei is, though… I wish she were here today."

"Hopefully she'll make her schedule work for it the next time," Azula said, with a fond smile. "There's a lot of people who should be here, really…"

"But they have to hold up the fort, right?" Hotaru asked. Azula nodded.

"We'll have to give them some downtime of their own, once we go back home," Azula said. Hotaru grinned and nodded.

"Maybe me, Shun and Yuuna could join them on their vacation too, while you and dad, uh…"

"Work?" Azula asked, amused. Hotaru blushed and shrugged.

"Guess that wouldn't be fair…"

"Oh, it'd be fine, totally fine," Sokka said, squeezing Azula's shoulder. "We'll just pretend we're working while they're gone, Azula, totally. Maybe we can redecorate everything in the silliest of ways, change everyone's belongings from room to room…"

"Well, that sounds hilarious, admittedly, and yet it's still too much work," Azula pointed out. Sokka huffed.

"Then we'll set up pranks! That should be more fun, even if it still takes some effort…"

"Now that does sound appealing…"

"Oh, Mom, Dad…!" Hotaru laughed, looking at them in disbelief as Sokka grinned shamelessly.

"Never underestimate your parents, Hotaru: we're dangerous in ways you cannot even begin to imagine!" Sokka said, menacing. Azula scoffed, shaking her head.

"She'll never believe that about her dork of a father, so you'll have to try a bit harder to sound convincing."

"Oh, but she'd believe it about you, then?" he asked, amused.

"Of course! I'm completely respectable, imposing. Everyone cowers when I amp up my authoritarian side…"

"Heh, I sure as heck don't cower before you."

"Because you lack common sense, obviously, but everyone who doesn't…"

"No, it's actually because, unlike everyone else, I can see right through every last bit of you…!"

"Hey, now. No naughty talk."

"Naughty why? I didn't mean that! Though, uh, now that you mention it…"

"Sokka!"

He laughed deviously again, though he knew better than to press their playful argument any further in that direction: while he and Azula weren't half as careful about their intimate time together as they definitely should be, it seemed they had safely preserved their children's innocence so far. Hotaru shot them a confused glance now, and Azula offered her a tight-lipped, guilty smile as the three of them continued walking in new silence: their eldest had yet to receive the famous 'talk', and Azula wasn't sure whether it was wise to continue putting it off or not. Hotaru stood on the verge of her teenage years as it was, and even if she hadn't developed much of an interest in anything to do with relationships, it was entirely possible her friends and acquaintances might talk about it far more often as she grew older. They'd have to do it sooner or later… but for now, Hotaru and her siblings were better off enjoying their childhood innocence as best as possible.

Yuuna and Shun had reached the building at last, but it was Shun who had climbed the steps faster and reached the front doors first. Yuuna pouted and stomped on the wooden floor in a typical childish tantrum, while her brother stuck his tongue out with a smug smirk.

"Got you!"

"No fair!"

"Gotta run faster next time," Shun shrugged carelessly, and Yuuna huffed, little fists tight: even at a distance, Sokka recognized the vengeful mood of his youngest daughter and rushed faster to the building to, hopefully, deflate the situation.

"Wow, wow, wow, you guys! We're all happy here, all friends, no need to give each other the stinkeye…!" he said, grinning awkwardly as he leapt over the steps that led to the front door. Yuuna huffed, folding her arms over her chest and turning away from Shun. "Oh, Yuuna…"

"I won, Dad!" Shun declared, proudly. Sokka grimaced.

"Yeah, and you're older and bigger than your little sister, so don't make fun of her or else, when she grows up too…"

"I will freeze your boogers!" Yuuna declared. Shun flinched, and Sokka snorted.

"Well, that's creative, but Yuuna, please don't do that," Sokka said: Shun instinctively covered his nose with his hands… then he huffed and lowered them again.

"Joke's on you, because I have no boogers today!" he said: drawing in a deep breath and enjoying the lack of friction between the air and his nose.

"Then I'll take out mine and…!"

"Yuuna…!" Sokka exclaimed, grimacing as he grasped his daughter's shoulders. The stubborn waterbender pouted at him – the hairdo she'd sported hours ago, a perfectly smooth top-knot, had already come undone and frizzed out in every possible direction. "You can beat your brother at something else later, I bet you can! But… wait, that's not even it! You shouldn't be beating him at anything, and he shouldn't beat you at anything either, because we're all family and we're all on the same side! Right, Azula?"

His wife had finally reached them, and to Shun and Yuuna's immediate horror, there was a humorless frown on their mother's face. They both winced, hands behind their backs, and Sokka raised an eyebrow upon realizing Azula had drawn her strongest hand already. Well, so be it…

"Aha. Looks like you're in trouble now, you two," he said to his youngest, with a proud smile. "So… what do we say when we do something out of bounds, or fight over silly things?"

"Sorry, Mom," the two kids chorused. Sokka's eyebrows twitched.

"W-what about me…?" he asked, softly.

Hotaru, behind him, snorted with poorly stifled amusement. Azula, however, stepped forward, still the pristine and perfect image of authority that often was the only thing that could get Shun and Yuuna in line whenever their sibling bickering seemed to reach dangerous heights.

"You are already aware of the terms and conditions for any arguments and conflicts that may arise in this family," Azula said, with her terrifying business voice. Her children winced, and even Sokka gazed at her warily upon hearing it. "Unless I expressly authorize you to resolve your conflicts by your own hand…"

"We must defer to Mom or Dad," Hotaru recited, smiling proudly. Azula nodded.

"Thank you, Hotaru. So… what do you have to say for yourselves?" she asked.

"Shun made fun of me because he won…" Yuuna pouted. Shun huffed.

"Yuuna tried to cheat!" Shun growled.

"If she tried to cheat and you still won, is that really a problem anymore, Shun?" Azula asked. Shun blinked blankly and lowered his gaze. "As for you, Yuuna… as tempting as it can be to pull tricks and pranks on others to get ahead, a victory gained through breaking rules will always be questioned. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom…" Yuuna pouted still. Azula breathed deeply.

"If you have anything else to say, this is the time for it," she said, ceremoniously. Sokka smiled, watching as Shun and Yuuna squirmed in front of her.

"Shun… doesn't have any boogers," Yuuna pouted. Shun huffed.

"She said she'd freeze them if I did," he mumbled. "She shouldn't threaten me, right, Mom?"

"Indeed, and you shouldn't goad her into threatening you either," Azula said. Shun pouted but nodded. "If that is all, then it is time I say my piece: as we're all aware, we'll be dealing with actual rivals and enemies once we cross that house's threshold next. It's a whole different world in there than the one we know, dangers of the sort we can't even fathom: our family must stand together if we're to face these threats. If we play pranks, it's on our rivals! If we make fun of someone, it's not of our family, but theirs! If we threaten them…!"

"We shouldn't threaten them!" Sokka scoffed. Azula blinked blankly and tapped her chin.

"Yeah, I guess that wouldn't be acceptable under most circumstances, huh…?"

Her last playful statements had finally broken the very strange tension in the air: both Shun and Yuuna laughed together at their parents' banter, and Azula smirked at them both as they gazed at her with hopeful eyes.

"Either way, just behave yourselves, you two," Azula said, leaning down to pull them in for a hug, one in each arm. Yuuna and Shun let their mother reel them into her arms, comforted and eased immediately by her embrace. "We're here to have fun, after all. We can do that without fighting too much, can't we?"

"Yes, Mom," they said in unison. Azula smiled and pulled back, caressing their soft hair gently… though she focused more on Yuuna's head than Shun's.

"And what did you do to your hair tie this time…?" she asked, with a sigh. Yuuna grinned widely.

"The manatee-whale took it!"

"The manatee-whale…" Azula repeated… then she sighed and shook her head as Sokka laughed, stepping around them on his way to the door. "And why did it take it? It didn't have any hair to tie up, did it?"

"For his daughter!"

"Ah, that makes sense! So very generous of you to share with the manatee-whale! Guess it's a good thing I brought a spare hair tie, then!"

"No! Mommy, no!" the child laughed as Azula snarled playfully and reeled her into her arms.

"Not just one spare, actually: I have about ten, hidden in each bag we brought on this journey! So, no matter what happens, you won't escape from me!" she declared, causing Yuuna to laugh and squirm, reaching for Shun in hopes he'd help her out in this difficult ordeal.

"She's just going to take them off, Mom," Shun said, grinning complicitly at Yuuna, whose wild smile matched her brother's.

"No, no, no! This reckless hair must be tamed! I will accept no other answer!" Azula growled playfully: Yuuna's legs wiggled as Azula held her and, at last, Shun reached out to grab his sister's hands, as though to help her out of their mother's grasp. If her duty as a mother was to become the common enemy for her children to join forces against in order to teach them how to get along, Azula would be all too happy to fulfill it.

Sokka smiled fondly at the silly battle waged between Azula and the two kids: Hotaru stood by quietly, no doubt relieved her siblings had set aside their latest conflict as quickly as they had. Azula typically left the more light-hearted side of parenting to Sokka, who never failed to make fun of himself if that was how he'd make his children laugh and forget their grievances, but whenever her playful side came to light, Sokka's heart could only ache with intense, heartfelt love for the woman he'd married.

Still, they weren't here to play around at the front door: Sokka turned to the twin crimson-and-gold door and reached for one of the knockers… then he smirked and reached for the other one, too. With a mischievous smirk, he swung one forward, pulling the other back and starting a wild, knocking rhythm that immediately cut across Azula's silly spat with Yuuna.

"What…?! Sokka!" Azula scoffed, as he continued to slam the knockers into the door with unnecessary power. "Cut that out!"

"Sorry! What did you say? Can't hear you with how loud this is!" he called back, still slamming the door wildly.

Azula rolled her eyes, setting down Yuuna at last – allowing the child to bask in her victory, with her hair still wild and loose – before marching towards Sokka. The two younger kids laughed loudly at their father's antics, as they always did, while Hotaru covered her face with her hands, giggling into her palms: Azula grabbed Sokka's shoulder upon reaching him, forcing him to spin around and wind up facing her, directly. The guiltiest, yet proudest of grins graced his handsome face.

"Really, now? You just can't see any doors like these without doing that, can you?" she asked, with her eyebrows raised. Sokka let out a goofy laugh before shrugging. "You do realize Zuko fixed this door recently? I don't even know if it's the same one, but whether it is or not, you could've done serious damage…!"

"Eh, I would've paid for the damages if I had to, but this is too much fun not to do, Azula," he said.

"I wanna try it!" Yuuna squealed, rushing up at her father. Shun, tailing her grinned just as madly as his sister did.

"Me too!" he exclaimed, and Azula raised her eyebrows meaningfully at her guilty husband.

"Look at what you've done now. Look at it and regret it for as long as you may live," Azula said, in a dramatic, threatening voice that, naturally, Sokka only took as a joke: he laughed with abandon as his wife shook her head, smiling weakly… and her eyes fell upon her flustered oldest daughter, who stepped closer while eyeing them with light amusement, and with evident bashfulness. "We're all embarrassing Hotaru, see?"

"Oh, come on, Hotaru could never be embarrassed because of me. I'm the coolest dad there is," Sokka declared, proudly.

"Really, now?" Azula asked, smirking.

"Of course! I'd win every belching competition, that's cool as heck!"

Shun and Yuuna laughed harder after that, while Hotaru shook her head and gazed at Azula hopelessly. Azula smiled, reaching out to clasp her shoulder.

"The only one of us with a shred of common sense. What have we burdened you with, my poor child?" she said, reeling Hotaru in for a one-armed hug the girl accepted gladly.

"With laughing myself to tears, apparently," she admitted, hugging her mother back. "It'll be great to see everyone, but I'd never get bored even if it's just the five of us."

"That's great to hear! Means we can start a comedy troupe if we're ever short on money, Azula," Sokka declared, beaming. Azula snorted and shook her head, squeezing his forearm gently…

Just then, the front door swung inwards: the two younger children gasped in delight when a dark-haired girl, close to Hotaru's age, poked her head out the door with curiosity.

"Ah! Uncle Sokka, Aunt Azula!" she exclaimed after an instant, beaming. "I thought, w-well…!"

"That it was a battering ram? Yeah, well, that's what your uncle is like, as you already know," Azula answered: her niece couldn't help but laugh at her explanation regarding the wild knocking, as she pulled the doors fully open, welcoming them inside. "You look lovely, Zi."

"So do you, Aunt Azula!" the girl exclaimed, reaching to embrace her visiting relatives quickly: she started with Azula and moved to Sokka next.

"Look at you, little Zi! Though you're so tall by now that I'm not sure I'll be able to call you that forever," Sokka smiled, embracing his niece tightly. Zi chuckled as she pulled away.

"I doubt I'll ever be taller than you or my dad, though," she said, turning her gaze to her cousins next. "It's so good to see you guys!"

"Hi there, Zi," Hotaru smiled warmly, accepting her own embrace gladly.

"Hey! Hey! Is Uncle Zuko inside?!" Shun exclaimed, jumping excitedly in front of his cousin. Zi let go of Hotaru and smiled at him next, leaning in to hug him far more briefly than she'd hugged the others so far.

"Of course! He's working in the kitchen right now, and he'll be thrilled to know you've arrived!" she said. "He did say you'd likely be impossibly punctual, and he was right to say so."

"I would not stand for anything else. My family keeps its every appointment and sticks to schedule…" Azula declared in a playful, haughty tone. Sokka chuckled, as Zi moved to hug Yuuna next.

"I wonder if Zuko has a whole itinerary planned out for this week, actually…" Sokka said, stroking his stubble thoughtfully.

"It's likely he does. The real question is if it won't get derailed at some point through the week…" Azula pointed out, to her husband's amusement.

"You're so cute, Yuuna, adorable as always!" Zi said, beaming as she smoothed her youngest cousin's hair: Yuuna offered her a toothy grin, and Zi gasped in delight. "Look at that! You have so many teeth now!"

"They grow out! Like trees!" she declared, and Zi laughed at the comparison.

"Well, your smile definitely is the prettiest I've seen," she said, beaming as she rose to her feet… and turned to Hotaru, brimming with excitement. "Mari's been waiting for you, though! She said you have to join her at playing fire kuai ball! Come, come!"

"Oh, fire kuai ball? Uh, sure?!" Hotaru grimaced, glancing at her parents with uncertainty as Zi grabbed her wrist and yanked her inside the house.

Azula's placid mood froze over at that sudden shift in the conversation, and Sokka raised his eyebrows. It was Shun who spoke first, though, yanking at his mother's hand.

"What's 'fire kuai ball'?" he asked.

"Probably something I invented and patented…" she admitted, prompting Sokka to look at her questioningly – though with amusement. "Though I have no idea if that's what they're trying to do, and even if it is, I'm not sure they should be doing it at all. Hell, and here I thought our kids were the wild and crazy ones…"

"Well, just you wait: Mari's totally going to be crushed by Hotaru at this game, you'll see!" Sokka declared proudly, to his children's delight. "We should go in now though, shouldn't we? Bet Zuko will want to know who brought a battering ram on his perfectly refurbished door…?"

"And I bet the battering ram in question is so very pleased with himself over what he did, isn't he?" Azula said. Sokka only smirked proudly, prompting her to smile and bump his flank gently with her shoulder as they entered the house: Shun clung to Azula's hand, while Yuuna held onto Sokka's. "You're incorrigible."

"And you're beautiful."

"That's neither here nor there, but thank you."

"Huh, and here I thought we were just flinging compliments at each other."

"Incorrigible isn't meant to be a… oh, never mind, you're just happily proving it further," Azula finally surrendered, and Sokka grinned most proudly anew upon defeating her at their careless argument.

The inside of the house, Azula found, was simultaneously familiar and utterly unrecognizable: Zuko had supervised the work during his downtime, whenever his duties allowed him to visit the beautiful island. While Azula hadn't been completely sure of what to make of his determination to renovate their family's old, rundown villa initially, now she found herself smiling at the finished result: the polished wood on the floor, the luxurious carpets, the beautiful, new décor, replacing the old, sober – or perhaps, somber – paintings…

"So, what's the verdict?" Sokka asked her teasingly. Azula smiled and shrugged.

"Surprisingly good, I'd say. I'd thought there would be too many unpleasant memories in this place, but… if anything, it looks like it's ready to see new memories made in it, instead."

"Sounds ideal, then," Sokka grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "If you don't think it's bad, we can come here all the time, from now on! Not like Zuko can stop us anyway, he's not moving here permanently, after all…"

"He's not," Azula laughed. "But we do have enough things to deal with that I doubt we can have too many escapades to Ember Island, anyway."

"Do we have a playroom?" Yuuna asked. Sokka turned his smile to her.

"Pretty sure you'll have something bigger than that: there's a whole beach waiting for us to have the time of our lives in it! You can build sandcastles, you can bury your cousins in the sand…!"

"Swim all you want, sunbathe if you think you can handle the heat…" Azula continued, and Shun grinned brightly.

"And chase turtle-crabs too, if you dare," Sokka said, eyeing Yuuna meaningfully: the young girl gasped with excitement over the prospect of seeing hybrid animals she had never encountered before.

"Yes! Let's go now!" she said, pulling at her father's hand: Sokka laughed as Azula smiled too.

"We have to greet the rest of your uncle's family first, Yuuna. And we can take you all to play after everyone's here, alright? Shouldn't be long before everyone arrives," Azula said, gesturing at a long, open corridor ahead.

The kitchen was at the other end of the corridor, which ran along a large, beautiful stone courtyard with a functioning fountain at its center. Where it would have been, however, a beautiful location to admire in any other circumstances, it was difficult to focus on the architecture of the courtyard when it seemed to be the place where Mari's odd fire kuai ball game was being developed.

"Look, look!" Mari was telling Hotaru: she held a strange ball, crafted out of what appeared to be some form of metallic thread: there was a second ball within the first, made of flammable material, and the four newcomers happened to enter the corridor by the courtyard just in time to see Zuko's oldest daughter setting the inner ball on fire.

Hotaru gasped in amazement: Zi had clearly seen the trick before, and she giggled at her cousin's reaction. Their two younger siblings, Iroh and Kerra, had launched into full-blown celebration over the lighting of their ball, as Mari tossed it in the air and took to bouncing it off her body.

"Gotta see how long you can handle the heat before it's too much!"

"Oh, wow: they really are about as crazy as ours. Good to know," Sokka said, as Azula's jaw dropped.

"Mari! I told not to play that way: you could get hurt!"

Suki's voice seemed to thunder across the building: Yuuna, Shun and even Hotaru seemed to freeze upon hearing their aunt's fierce scolding… yet while Zi flinched, and Iroh grimaced, Kerra and Mari only seemed perfectly content to continue testing their mother's patience.

"Oh, relax, Mom! I've got this!" Mari laughed recklessly: Azula ran her fingers over her hair, watching the scene before her in utmost astonishment.

"Well, safe to say that's NOT the kind of fire kuai ball I would play, but…"

"What did you do, then?" Sokka smirked.

"Set a regular ball on fire, of course…"

"That's still crazy dangerous!"

"Oh, don't fret, I only did it to finish off the opposing team and nobody got hurt," Azula said, waving a hand dismissively at her disbelieving husband. "I mean, yes, they probably had to buy another net, and another ball, but still…"

"I love all the stories of your childhood dearly, you know that?" Sokka said, prompting Azula to laugh and shake her head. "A powerhouse since before you learned to walk and talk, as far as I can tell…"

The sounds of their conversation served to alert the two adults in the kitchen that their newly arriving guests – whom Zi had checked on – had been exactly who they had been expecting: Suki stepped outside the kitchen with a fearsome scowl, and it seemed that was far scarier than her earlier shout: Mari caught the ball and snuffed out the fire quickly, smiling awkwardly at her mother.

"I know, I know! I'll play the nice and boring way! It's okay!" Mari laughed nervously: Suki rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Play with your cousins and don't cause trouble with your wild firebending ideas, you hear me?" she said, shaking her head before glancing at Sokka and Azula, her stern scowl morphed into an apologetic grimace. "Goodness, I swear they're not trying to hurt your kids, I do…"

"We believe you," Sokka laughed, as he and Azula stepped forward to greet Suki.

"I suppose that's what we have to look forward to, in the future?" Azula smiled, casting a glance at Mari: the oldest among the children so far, she always seemed to take a role of leadership with her siblings and cousins, all of whom flocked to her naturally. "The teenage rebellion stage…?"

"Oh, Mari's been there from the moment she was born, as far as I can tell," Suki smiled, finally reaching her sister-in-law and offering her a warm embrace. "So good to see you both, Azula, Sokka."

"Same here!" Sokka grinned, hugging Suki next. "I'd compliment you and Zuko for all your work with this place, but I actually have no idea what it used to look like before…"

"Oh, you don't want to know," Suki laughed, shaking her head as she pulled away from him. "All manner of leaks in the roofs, weeds sprouting EVERYWHERE: it was madness. But, admittedly, the house was still less rebellious than Mari… I sure hope you two aren't causing your parents any trouble, Yuuna, Shun!"

They smiled guiltily and shook their heads: Suki shot them a knowing grin and rose to her full height after leaning down to address the children.

"I have the feeling you two have your hands full with these two as it is, though," she said. Azula laughed and shook her head, as Shun tugged at her hand.

"Can we go see the game too?" he asked, beaming. Azula let go of his hand and caressed his hair gently.

"Be careful," she warned him. "And don't be too competitive, alright? I know winning's fun and all…"

"But I should enjoy the game and not just focus on winning, yeah…" Shun sighed, marching off towards the others without another word: his nonchalance upon reciting those words suggested, quite strongly, that he had no intentions of abiding by them.

Unlike him, Yuuna didn't even wait or ask for permission to take off: she released Sokka's hand, yanking hers from out of his, and raced her brother – this time without even issuing the challenge verbally, though he took it up without needing her to do so – all the way to where the other children had been playing. Iroh, Zuko's only son, smiled brightly and ran up to Shun, while Yuuna and Kerra were quick to reach each other as well, the two youngest, and the most mischievous of the two sets of children – albeit sometimes it seemed Mari might outdo the two young, unexpected benders with her inventive, wild ideas.

"Zuko will probably be surprised to learn you're trying to teach Shun not to be so competitive…" Suki smiled. Azula sighed and shook her head.

"He and I are a lost case, everyone knows that," she said, with a shrug: Suki laughed at her direct, blunt delivery. "But if I can keep those two little rascals from being as prone to fighting each other as Zuko and I were, I'll certainly try… though they're quite adamant to become exactly like that, somedays."

"Oh, come on, now: you've literally come up with a thousand strategies to make them stop going after each other and redirect their energy to something more productive. You're doing great," Sokka smiled, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Literally, a thousand? No, it's only been about nine hundred, don't exaggerate…"

Suki laughed at their silly exchange, unsurprised to see the camaraderie between the two spouses only ever seemed stronger whenever she saw them again. Whatever they might worry about, the truth was that they, and their children, were one very happy family.

"Well, if you really have cooked up all those strategies, we could certainly use the advice: Kerra and Iroh are taking after you and Zuko a bit too much lately too…"

"Oh, of course," Azula sighed: Suki had turned to the kitchen again, and the two of them followed her. "It's like a curse in this family, isn't it?"

"Oh, come on now, Katara and I weren't much better," Sokka laughed: Azula offered him a worried grimace. "What, you think that makes it worse? You really think this sort of stuff is hereditary?"

"Two generations, four sets of siblings, boy and girl, only with a small age gap between them, all of them butting heads over ridiculous and genuine matters alike: do you really think there isn't a pattern here?" Azula asked. Sokka bit his lip and shrugged.

"Well… maybe we're all just prone to bonding through bickering."

"And through threatening to freeze each other's boogers in their nose, too…"

"Oh, spirits: Yuuna said that?" Suki gasped, once they reached the threshold of the kitchen. Azula smiled awkwardly.

"I'm pretty sure she must have found out they could be frozen the last time she caught a cold, and… well, you know how she is. Everything weird, everything unexpected, everything anyone else wouldn't think of, all of it is just second nature to her…"

"Sounds like she's the perfect blend of her parents to me."

Azula's smile gained a dangerous glint upon hearing her brother's voice, once they entered the kitchen: he smirked right back at her, hard at work with the meal he and Suki had been preparing for the first day of their week in Ember Island.

"Who was trying to tear down the door earlier? Bet it was Sokka," Zuko said, sharply: his brother-in law only smiled proudly.

"You're smarter than you look, after all!"

"And you're not," Zuko retorted, prompting Sokka to gasp in outrage as their wives laughed at their typical banter.

"Why, you…! Huh, that was a pretty solid exchange, Zuko: you should join us, then! Azula and I, we're totally going to start a comedy troupe to make some more money on the side, it was all Hotaru's idea…!"

"It was your idea, don't pin this madness on her," Azula said, smiling and shaking her head. "And besides, you said we'd do it if we were short on money, which we aren't, so…"

"Now, now, Azula, I know you need some convincing, but think about it! The audience will laugh plenty at our jabs at each other, but they'll laugh even more when Zuko takes everything seriously and plays the humorless guy to all our funny banter! It's perfect, just like it was right now, see?"

Azula smiled dryly before glancing at Suki.

"Just out of curiosity: where did you stash the lychee wine?"

"Azula!" Sokka gasped, as Suki chortled and laughed too: even Zuko was unable to hold back a chuckle at his sister's bold question. "You're the most ambitious person I know, how can you close your mind to the possibilities?!"

"You're impossible," Azula smiled, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands.

"Guess he's already practicing for the comedy act?" Suki smiled. Sokka huffed proudly.

"And I'll get lots of practice for the rest of the week, you betcha!"

"What have we signed on for?" Zuko groaned.

"Well, now, you did decide to invite us: you knew exactly what you were signing on for," Azula smirked, stepping forward. "Want help with any of this?"

"Woah. Can either of you be any help with cooking?" Zuko asked, puzzled, stopping on his motions while molding a rice ball.

"I don't see a top-of-the-line cook around here… guess you forgot to hire one," Azula said, gazing across the kitchen with a knowing grin. "Thus, I expect we'll have to work together to keep all our children stuffed with healthy food and taking enough naps so that we, in turn, can actually relax at some point or another in this trip…"

"Heh, well… you do have a point," Zuko smiled, shaking his head. "They're already a handful on their own, but putting all seven together… playing with fire is the simplest thing they would be likely to do."

"And they already did that on the first day of these vacations. Hell knows what else they're bound to do while we're not paying attention," Suki sighed, gazing wistfully at the courtyard from the kitchen's door.

The children seemed perfectly happy to meet again, for the first time in many months. As usual, the youngest four seemed to flock together as the older three did the same: Mari smiled as she handed Zi the ball before hugging Hotaru, who returned the embrace gladly.

"It's so good to see you!" Mari exclaimed. "Hope you've been doing well! Well, you and all of your family, of course…"

"Everything's okay," Hotaru confirmed, with a gentle smile. "Well, other than Yuuna and Shun butting heads all the time, but…"

"Oh, I say let them: same thing I say about Iroh and Kerra," Mari smirked: Zi sighed beside her and shook her head. "Maybe we should have the four of them in an all-out bending brawl! Don't you think that would be cool?"

"Why don't you ever have a perfectly peaceful idea…?" Zi asked her sister, with an awkward smile. Mari scoffed, taking the ball from Zi's hands.

"Because that wouldn't be as much fun! Come on, live a little, Zi!" she snickered, tossing the ball in the air and bumping it higher when it bounded on her head. "We should just practice for the real kuai ball games later, we're totally going to do some sort of family brawl after lunch, Hotaru!"

"We are?" Hotaru asked, puzzled. "But I've never played…"

"Oh, no need to worry! All you have to do is make sure the ball won't hit the ground!" Mari grinned, doing exactly that: she passed the ball to Hotaru, who caught it quickly. "Well, not by catching it, exactly…"

"You have to keep it rolling," Zi explained. Hotaru hummed, raising the ball gently and tossing it at her, "W-wait, not at me…!"

Zi raised her hands defensively, and the ball bounded in the wrong direction, falling on the ground.

"Zi! You shouldn't be such a scaredy-cat!" Mari laughed, grabbing her sister's shoulders. Zi pouted.

"I don't like that ball! It's cool for your tricks, but it hurts! Right, Hotaru?" Zi asked, looking at Hotaru's hands, hoping to confirm she, as well, had been hurt by the metal string that composed their ball. Hotaru, however, smiled awkwardly and shrugged.

"Must be because I hit it myself and nobody flung it at me… sorry," she said. Zi sighed, and Mari rolled her eyes.

"Oh, fine, then! We'll get the regular soft ball for now, but we're totally doing at least one round of fire kuai ball later by the beach, alright?!"

"But I'm not a firebender, I can't do that!" Zi grimaced: her sister smirked deviously as she turned to Hotaru again.

"Come, we have a normal ball upstairs! It's in our… oh wait! You guys don't have rooms yet, right? We should help you pick them!"

"Ah, we were talking about that earlier," Hotaru smiled. "How many rooms are there…? And how many people will come?"

"Dad invited lots of people, but one of them already said he can't make it. He can't travel down here from the Northern Water Tribe all that fast," Mari said, with a shrug. Hotaru raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Kat-Kat and Aang should be here, though… guess they might be running a little late."

"I think some of my mom's friends are coming too," Hotaru said, smiling a little.

"Then it really is a lot of people," Zi said, eyes wide.

"Do you think that means we'll have to share rooms?" Hotaru asked, glancing between both her cousins.

It surprised her to see that both Mari's golden eyes and Hotaru's violet ones would gleam brightly at that notion: the sisters exchanged a joyful smile before Mari clasped Hotaru's shoulders.

"You have to share with us!" she said.

"I wanna be with Hotaru!" Yuuna suddenly blurted out, running up to her sister and wrapping her arms around her leg.

"I gotta be there too," Kerra decided, stomping hard on the stone floor, and a light tremor shook the courtyard. Zi flinched.

"Hey, Kerra, Dad said no bending indoors, okay…?"

"This isn't indoors," Kerra said, smugly. "You can see the sky here!"

"It's still part of the house!" Zi grimaced, urgently.

"You don't even need to bend in protest at all, though: of course you can stay with us! We'll have a slumber party, all five of us!" Mari declared, proudly, and the other four girls smiled brightly at her.

"Yeah!" Kerra exclaimed: Yuuna danced happily in place, still clinging to her older sister's leg.

Naturally, the two boys in the courtyard couldn't join in on the enthusiasm of their siblings. Iroh pouted, glancing at Shun with uncertainty.

"Do you want to share rooms too…?" he asked. Shun shrugged.

"If you want," he replied, smiling. "Would be fun, I think…"

"Yeah!" Iroh responded, his mood immediately improved. "We should tell Dad, then…!"

"He should join us," Shun laughed, though Iroh smiled and shook his head.

"He'd bring Mom if he does, and then it wouldn't be a boys' room," Iroh said, yanking Shun to the kitchen area with him. "Come on, let's ask if it's okay…!"

"Sure! I haven't even said hi to him yet," Shun smiled, tagging along with his cousin as they made for the kitchen, where the four grown-ups had huddled up while the kids talked in the courtyard.

It seemed Sokka and Azula intended to help, yet Zuko and Suki had a tight system in process already, and most the work was well and truly done: Azula slapped Sokka's hand away from the finished tart pie intended for dessert, and he giggled guiltily at her when the kids stormed in.

"I'll be good, Azula, I'll be… oh, hey! Good to see you, Iroh!"

"Hi, Uncle Sokka," Iroh said, smiling reverentially at him: Shun's own admiration, however, was reserved for his own uncle, elbow deep into washing dishes in the sink.

"Ah, Shun," Zuko smiled upon catching sight of the young boy. "It's good to see you, kid."

"It's good to see you too, Uncle Zuko!" he exclaimed, smiling. "Iroh and I, we want to share rooms!"

"You… you do? Why?" Zuko asked, puzzled: his eyes shifted towards his son, who smiled and shrugged in his direction.

"The girls want to share, too," Iroh said. Zuko's eyebrow twitched.

"Which girls? All the girls?" he asked, puzzled. Iroh shrugged again. "Are they nuts? There's like twenty rooms now after all the expansion, and renovations…! And they just want to share?"

"Guess it's because it's a special occasion," Suki smiled at him. "Just remember what they were like back in the day, when Mari and Zi had to share a single room…"

"They were so thrilled to have rooms of their own when they finally did, and now they're all bunking up together?" Zuko sighed, shaking his head. "Well, I guess we'll have to think on how they could do it, not sure there's any rooms big enough for five beds. You two should be fine, though…"

"Yeah!" Shun grinned, throwing a triumphant fist in the air when Zuko addressed his final sentence at him and Iroh. "Thanks, Uncle Zuko!"

"Such a nice, obedient boy, so respectful with his uncle…" Sokka recited with a small voice, a skeptical smile on his face. Azula smirked, nudging him with her elbow.

"You love to make a fool of yourself for his amusement, don't pretend otherwise now," she said softly: Sokka could only laugh guiltily at her assessment.

The knocking sound by the front door resounded in the large house once more, though it wasn't quite as wild and reckless as Sokka's previous knocking. Zuko glanced at him meaningfully, gesturing in the door's direction with his chin.

"Heard that? That's how normal people do it."

"Boring people, you mean," Sokka declared, proudly. Azula laughed and shook her head, reminded of Hotaru's previous claim that she'd never be bored with their family.

"I guess someone else is here, though…?" Suki said, fiddling with her apron's fastening to take it off.

"Or it could be our ship's sailors bringing our luggage, heh…" Azula smiled awkwardly. "We can check on the door if you want, you guys should stay here."

"You would? Oh, thank you," Suki smiled: she stopped attempting to unfasten the apron, only to struggle fastening it in place all over again, an awkward smile on her face.

"Heh, sure thing," Sokka smiled as Azula pulled him with her through the door. "Oi, Shun! Don't cause any trouble for your aunt and uncle, alright?"

"I won't!" Shun stated, proudly: his eagerness to gain Zuko's approval seemed to ensure he'd stay on his very best behavior, so both Azula and Sokka could trust he'd obey whatever orders Zuko might give him.

Once again, Sokka and Azula walked hand in hand, with Sokka swinging their arms carelessly: his wife smiled fondly at him, slipping her fingers between his as they marched to the door, the sounds of their daughters' upbeat conversation with their cousins following them all the way across the corridor.

"It does seem to be a much nicer place than it ever was," Azula admitted, smiling as she gazed about herself. "Though I am curious about these expansions Zuko did. This place should have been big enough for at least our two families, though with however many guests we might have, I wonder if it will be big enough, in the end…"

"Well, with the kids being so eager to share rooms, I don't think we'll have to worry about having proper privacy at night, huh?" Sokka said, smirking at her and wiggling his eyebrows. Azula smiled, squeezing his hand gently.

"Is that the main thing you're thinking about, really?"

"Well, it's always at the top of my priorities, if you must know…"

"How utterly shameless of you," Azula said, playfully. Sokka sighed and shook his head in fake penance. "And here I thought it was at the very top of them, at all times…"

"Ah, I disappoint, then?" he asked, amused. Azula laughed and yanked him close, pecking his lips quickly before they finally reached the door anew.

"As if you could ever let me down," she said, offering him a much more earnest answer than Sokka had expected. He smiled warmly at her as Azula pushed open the door they'd closed earlier… to find, as predicted, the sailors with all their belongings. "Ah, I'm sorry the door was closed…"

"Oh, no matter!" said the sailor in charge, smiling broadly at her. "We've brought everything as requested! We'll be taking off now, and we'll return in a week, as agreed?"

"Please do," Azula nodded graciously.

"Another ferry's coming in now, too," said another sailor, already picking up his bags. "We're going to try to get out before they dock in, give 'em more room to maneuver."

"A good call," Sokka smiled, stepping among them and hoisting some of the bags himself. "I'll give you a hand, then, we should be done faster this way."

Azula relinquished her hold on Sokka's hand most unwillingly, despite knowing his help would certainly speed up this process. She watched and directed the sailors, ensuring they stashed the bags inside without obstructing either the way upstairs or the corridors that led deeper into the first floor of the large building. Within five minutes, everything had been set down on the vestibule's corner and the sailors had returned to their manatee-whale-led ferry: Azula and Sokka watched them from the front door, with Sokka waving in the sailors' direction. Azula cocked her head to the side, studying the creatures as they turned around and took the ferry into the sea again.

"Looking for Yuuna's hair tie, even now?" Sokka asked, amused.

"Just wondering where it's keeping it, you know? Since it has to bring it back to its daughter and all…" Azula said, smiling and shaking her head. Sokka laughed, reeling her in for another hug.

"The other ship's over there, though," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Think it's the last one to arrive?"

"Possibly. I think the other guests would come here with your sister and Aang," Azula said: her arms snaked around Sokka's waist, and she pressed a kiss to his bare skin, left exposed by his sleeveless, wide-necked shirt.

"Well, now…" Sokka smiled, looking at her with a devious smirk "I know we're alone for the first time in what feels like forever, but are you really looking to have some fun right now?"

"Are you opposed to it?" Azula asked innocently, her eyelashes fluttering exaggeratedly, bringing Sokka to laugh as he cradled her face in his hands.

"You could ask me to conquer the world with you and I'd just ask when do we start, Princess," he said: Azula's eyes narrowed at his familiar taunt, but his lips were on hers before she could rebuff it.

Which, come to think of it, was exactly what she'd wanted, so, as much as the urge to retaliate had surged, she set it aside quickly enough, wrapping her arms around his neck, letting him pin her to the frame of the open door as his tongue slithered past their lips, seeking hers.

It wasn't as though they never were free to act on their passion, their three kids would always fall asleep soundly, so the depths of night were always theirs for the taking. Yet the more they worked together to ensure their children grew up as healthy and happy as possible, the more their mutual passion would surge and rise… and the less chances they'd have to let it unwind, as even in their downtime they had to deal with Shun's typical complaints whenever their parents were far too affectionate in his presence. Their respective duties also kept them too busy on most days, so unless they took a break casually at the exact same time, they'd seldom be free to kiss at will, to hold each other, even to make love wherever it suited them… though they certainly didn't intend to go that far right now. This was just a quick release of joyful passion, that was all it was…

Or all it should be, anyway.

"We… have to keep our heads level, now…" Azula managed to say, between frantic kisses she pressed upon Sokka's face. He laughed at her request, as his hands carelessly traveled over her light outfit – she didn't expose much skin yet, but she'd likely change into a bathing suit later and… oh, the mere thought made his heart race wildly.

"Kinda tricky… you're making it tricky," he chuckled, kissing her voraciously again. Azula moaned heartily, embracing him tightly.

"My fault? It's totally… not my fault…" she whimpered: her hands slipped down his back, to his rear, squeezing it gently…

Sokka groaned in a throaty way, and Azula leaned into his ravenous devouring of her neck, head thrown back, a blissful smile across her features: her eyes opened, though, and she noticed, with remorse, that the next guests were just docking in.

"They're going to catch us doing this… and then they'll never stop teasing us for it, right?" she sighed remorsefully. Sokka hummed, raising his head: his face was covered in her shade of lipstick, and Azula laughed as she took notice of it. "Well, even if we stop now, this makes matters obvious enough, doesn't it?"

"So, why stop at all?" Sokka asked, with a mischievous smirk. "Why should we hide from anyone anymore, Princess?"

"Keep that up, Sokka, and you're really going to get it…"

"Am I?" he smirked. Azula laughed, pulling him closer: her golden eyes bore into his, but her desire was abloom, much as his own was, goading them both into succumbing further into their passion.

"You asked for it, then: come and get it," she hissed, her lips hovering a breath away from his: he cut the distance in an instant, following fit with her challenge.

Finding them in the midst of such heated exchanges was no surprise for most the newcomers, though it was fortunate that the youngest people in the group had lagged behind: Haru laughed at the shameless display of their friends while Ty Lee hooted in the distance.

"You guys sure are in the mood to party! This vacation's going to be a blast!"

The sound of her voice broke off their wildest kiss yet, though Azula groaned as she broke off the contact most unwillingly. Sokka chuckled, pressing his lips to her forehead one more time:

"We'll continue later, don't you worry," he said. Azula smiled, raising a hand to wipe off the many stains of lipstick on Sokka's face.

"I'm not worried at all. Just looking forward to it, as I always am," she said. Sokka grinned, venturing one more devious kiss to her lips before turning to greet their friends.

"Hey, guys! Been a while since… WOAH!"

Sokka was always one for exaggerated reactions, Azula knew as much… but when she turned her head to the side, she was tempted to let out an exclamation as loud as his:

Ty Lee, clinging to Haru's arm with the most enthusiastic grin possible, sported a prominent pregnancy belly, starkly noticeable, as she was already clad in her beach attire, unlike most everyone who intended to change after lunch.

"Are you… are you for real?!" Azula gasped, looking at Ty Lee in amazed disbelief. Her friend giggled guiltily, leaning into Haru, who smiled widely at their friends.

"Remember that the last time we met she'd had some strange cramps, and food didn't seem all that tasty to her…?" Haru said, with an innocently soft voice.

"I told you. Oh, I told you what it was, Mai told you what it was, and you didn't listen!" Azula laughed, stepping forward as Ty Lee squealed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Azula once her friend reached her.

"Okay, okay, I know I should've had it checked out, you guys said so, but then I didn't, and I thought I was just sick and then I started to put on weight, and…! Well, here we are. I can't believe we're joining your group now," Ty Lee sighed, with a wistful smile. "I so enjoyed being the free-spirited, childless aunt…"

"Well, you enjoyed it because you loved the children in question, and you're going to love this one too," Sokka smiled, stepping up to hug her too. "Congratulations, you guys!"

"Thank you," Ty Lee said, with a high-pitched voice. "Oh, I really don't know if I'm excited or horrified, even now…"

"How far along are you?" Azula asked: Haru and Sokka had shaken hands by now – or forearms, rather –, and the earthbender stepped forward next to hug the royal.

"About four or five months, it seems… oh, it's been a whirlwind, but I'll wrap my head around it eventually, I will," Ty Lee said, with a sincere laugh.

Azula smiled fondly as Haru stepped back anew, placing a loving hand on his wife's belly. It was no secret Haru was open to having children, but he had never pressured Ty Lee on the matter. They had been married for a fairly long time, with a rhythm of their own, and it didn't seem likely that they'd try to have children… but Azula highly doubted they'd tried this time, either. This was, in all likelihood, the consequence of a short period of carelessness, and while it seemed Ty Lee might be deeply uncertain of how to raise a child, she'd have more than enough people to offer her plenty of support and help when she needed it.

The person with the most experience on the subject had hiked up the road after Ty Lee, followed by her own husband and her two sons: it was hard to believe Yuudai was already a proper teenager, yet time hadn't passed them by in vain. The young man looked much like his father had, back when Azula, Mai and Ty Lee had first met him in Ember Island: Ruon Jian no longer sported the same luxuriously stylish hair from his youth, but it seemed his son had taken after him fairly well in that department.

Their second child, however, was the odd-one out in a family as restrained, proper and ideal as Mai and Ruon Jian's was: Renshu was a chubby boy of Shun's age, with short brown hair and large eyes. His main similarity with his mother was the blank, unreadable expression on his face. But where Mai always seemed to be observing her surroundings, judging situations and weighing her choices with perfectly subtlety, Renshu simply watched for the sake of it, and was perfectly happy to convey his thoughts with absolutely no restraint or consideration of the circumstances. Out of so many chaotic children in the villa right now, Renshu was a particularly odd one, yet he seemed perfectly content exactly as he was.

"You seem very surprised, all things considered, Azula…" Mai pointed out, with a smirk, upon reaching the front door. "Here I thought you'd just laugh in Ty Lee's face for not listening to either of us."

"Maybe I still will, though probably after we have a couple of drinks," Azula smiled. Ty Lee pouted at those words. "Uh… yeah, we'll drink your share, too."

"That's the part that sucks the most about being pregnant. Got to forsake so many fun things…" Ty Lee sighed. Haru chuckled and shook his head.

"You'll go all out with everything again right after this is over, okay?" he said. Ty Lee grinned and nodded.

The new arrivals greeted each other gladly, and many friendly hugs were exchanged. Sokka compared Yuudai's height with his own, finding he already reached the level of his shoulder, and the shy but proud teenager smiled for it.

"Dad thinks I might outgrow him, but I don't know…" he chuckled. Sokka patted his shoulder firmly.

"Keep on eating the right way, and having a healthy life, and you might do just that!" he told him: Yuudai smiled and nodded proudly…

And then a small hand reached out to tug at Sokka's trousers.

Renshu's clear amber eyes met his mere instants before the boy blurted out:

"How many rooms are there in this house?"

Sokka blinked blankly before crouching down and smiling awkwardly.

"Not entirely sure, but probably about twenty? I guess?" Sokka said. Renshu cocked his head sideways.

"There are fifty-seven in the Palace," Renshu said, matter-of-factly. "That I know of. Maybe there are secret rooms that I don't know of. Do you know if there are hidden rooms here?"

"Not particularly. Looking to build one, are you?" Sokka asked, amused. Renshu shook his head.

"I don't have a shovel," he said. Sokka heaved out a disappointed breath, punching the air before him.

"Well, damn. I bet there's some sand shovels in the house, but they're probably not good enough to build a big secret room, sorry to say."

"I don't need to build one. I was just curious," Renshu said, bluntly and simply. He still didn't show any sign of amusement, remaining as inexpressive as ever. Sokka smiled and patted his head.

"Well, good then. Keep being curious, I guess…?"

"I would say 'don't encourage him' but I doubt it'll make a difference," Mai sighed, leaning down near Renshu. "Did you greet your Aunt Azula and Uncle Sokka properly?"

"No," he said, simply. Mai's eyebrow twitched.

"Didn't I ask you to do so earlier?"

"You did. But I didn't do it," Renshu responded, matter-of-factly, as always. Sokka couldn't hold back a chortle as the boy turned his attention to Azula next. "Is Shun here?"

"He's inside, yes. In the kitchen, the last I knew…" Azula said. Renshu glanced at his mother.

"I will go see Shun," he declared: without even waiting for Mai to give him permission to do so, Renshu slipped between Azula and Sokka and entered the house, as though he knew it by heart despite it was his first visit.

"I… want to get mad. I do. I want to discipline him, so he actually learns to greet people the right way, at least," Mai said, eyebrow still twitching. "But… I just can't do it. He just asks me why he has to do the things I ask him to, and it's exactly what crossed my mind when I was his age, and then I end up with an existential crisis while he goes back to drawing on the walls, or whatever he's up to…"

"Well, fortunately Yuuna's easier to reel into control than that," Azula smiled awkwardly. "Though she has a knack for questioning things very similarly."

"I think he sees her as a kindred spirit because of that, actually," Ruon Jian laughed. "He says he spends more time with Shun because Yuuna doesn't like him, though."

"What, really?" Sokka's eyes widened. Azula smiled awkwardly.

"Bet she told him so, blunt and clear, to his face," she said, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

"And Renshu apparently wasn't bothered by it one bit," Ruon Jian laughed. "But I guess I'll keep an eye on him as best I can, so he doesn't end up angering her somehow…"

"A wise call," Azula smiled, gesturing at the house. "Well, now, you have more people to greet inside, right? And Ty Lee probably ought to sit down, or maybe go to the bathroom…"

"Joke around all you want, I do have to go…" Ty Lee whimpered: Haru wrapped his arms around her and ferried her inside, only slowing down to ask Azula for directions to the nearest bathroom.

The house had been empty for years, vacant of all brightness and enthusiasm… but Azula, who had seen it in its previous glory, was sure it had never been quite as bright and beautiful as it was now. The chatter of cheerful voices, the laughter, the sounds of children playing… back in the day, it had been her, Zuko and their parents, with a handful of servants to provide for them. Today, it was a gathering of friends and family, of many people she valued dearly, and her heart could barely keep up with the delightful feelings this new atmosphere elicited inside her.

Countless greetings were exchanged, so many it was hard to keep up with them: upon poking their heads in the kitchen again, Azula and Sokka were delightfully amused to find Zuko had the three young boys, Iroh, Renshu and Shun, working together making rice balls with unusual discipline and determination, while most the girls had taken to practicing bouncing the kuai ball between themselves – they were deliberately lighter on Yuuna and Kerra, but the two spirited young girls would strike the ball as powerfully as their arms and legs allowed them to, anyway.

Merely ten minutes before the meal was finished and served, the last arrival finally flew in through the stone courtyard itself, causing the girls to stop playing and start cheering at the sight of the massive sky bison. Appa roared a greeting at the whole group, and Aang waved at everyone, as spirited as ever, beaming while Katara nestled comfortably on the saddle – she held the twins in her arms, each one glancing outside the saddle from over their mother's shoulders.

"Hey, guys!" Aang grinned: Mari rushed towards him quickly, though she leapt to hug Appa's horn first.

"Appa! It's been forever since we last met!" she exclaimed, dramatically. Aang, of course, laughed at her emotional greeting.

"We literally visited you guys a month ago!" he said. Mari stuck her tongue out at him, unable to stifle a grin.

"That feels like forever to me!" she declared: Aang airbent himself off his seat on Appa's neck before hugging the young firebender.

"You're still as feisty and fun as ever, aren't you? Hope you're keeping your dad on his toes still!" he grinned. Mari smiled broadly and nodded. "Great!"

"If this were about anyone else, I'd tell you not to encourage her… but yeah, keep messing with your silly dad, Mari," Katara laughed from the saddle.

Aang smiled and stepped closer to the bison's body, creating small gusts of air with which he brought the two toddlers down to his level. Katara was free to climb safely by herself then, leaving it to Aang to hold their children, and his smile couldn't have been brighter as he regarded the sizable crowd around them.

"Hey, everyone!" he exclaimed: Katara stepped forward, greeting each child happily, smiling at the cluster of people who remained inside the house's corridor. "Hope we're not too late for lunch!"

"Just on time, if anything!" Sokka called back, grinning at them and waving. "Hope the journey was okay for your little clouds!"

The children in question, mostly identical, glanced at Sokka from a distance: he couldn't quite tell apart Tashi, the boy, from Tallah, the girl, while they were so far away. As much as Aang had a duty to see to the recovery of the Air Nomads, he and Katara had taken their time before starting their own family: as ready as they had hoped to be, however, Katara had been taken by surprise upon sensing two new heartbeats inside her, two sources of new chi, rather than one. Their two babies weren't as much trouble as many others could be… at least, so far. Tashi did have a penchant for crying for attention, but he was easily soothed by either of his parents.

Katara greeted Sokka with a tight hug, as ever, once she reached him. Sokka squeezed her tightly, causing Katara to protest by smacking his arm gently.

"I know, I know, nobody likes an annoying older brother," Sokka grinned shamelessly, to his sister's amusement.

"Well, I do know someone who likes my annoying older brother, somehow," Katara smirked teasingly, turning her attention to Azula: she sighed dramatically, with a leisurely shrug.

"What can I say? A goofball like him has his charms," she said: Sokka snickered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively in her direction, and Azula laughed as Katara stepped forward to embrace her too.

"Well, being a nasty younger sister usually makes you immune to those charms, as you well know," Katara laughed. Azula nodded sagely.

"Indeed, someone likes my annoying older brother too. Utterly inexplicable," she rebuffed playfully as Katara pulled away, smiling. "How are you faring? The twins still keeping you up at night?"

"Oh, yeah," Katara grimaced, though she smiled soon enough again. "They're adorable, of course, but I can't remember the last time I got any sleep."

"And you won't remember it anytime soon, guaranteed," Sokka declared, at which Katara only sighed in defeat.

"This just makes me feel bad about our parents. Were we all this much trouble all along, really?" Katara asked. Sokka offered her a tight-lipped smile and a nod.

"Probably worse, even," he determined. Katara shook her head, laughing as she covered her face with her hands.

"Then the next time I see Dad I'm going to apologize for all the hardships I gave him… as should you, Sokka," she said: he scoffed, waving a hand in her direction.

"You're still trying to win more points with him, after all these years…? I'm onto you, see? I'm so onto you," he said, making a gesture with his hand to ensure Katara knew he was watching her. The waterbender rolled her eyes, glancing at her sister-in-law in disbelief.

"Those are the charms you fell for, huh?"

"Irresistible like no one else I've ever known," Azula said, gesturing at Sokka dramatically: by then, Sokka's playfulness broke at last with laughter, and his wife and sister followed him into it shortly.

The playful banter would have continued on, even if Sokka's goofier side seemed to have receded slightly by then: Katara was just explaining Toph had been unable to join them, for she was too busy these days – she had claimed she needed to know about this big vacation six months in advance to find any room in her schedule for it –, when Suki's voice echoed through the courtyard, calling their many guests for lunch at last.

Once again, Azula was reminded of how much emptier the house used to be once everyone gathered at the large dining room to enjoy the meal: in the past, she, Zuko and her parents had eaten in that same room, and while those days had been far less unpleasant than the many years that followed, Azula had only realized how large the room truly was, and how empty it had felt, now that it was anything but: everyone crowded boisterously around the long table, the smaller children propped up on many cushions so they could reach their plates without much struggle. Dishes would be passed from one end of the table to the other, laughter bounced on every wall and smiles seemed to decorate every face… unless they were busy eating, of course.

Azula and Sokka made sure to help Yuuna with her meal, ensuring she took small bites rather than chomping down on everything on her plate, as she intended to. Then, Azula also had to reel in Sokka by dropping a fair share of vegetables on his meat-exclusive plate – he had done it to mess with her, she knew, but her retaliation saw them bickering playfully, picking each other's meal while Yuuna, sitting between them, watched their apparent fight with absolute delight. Hotaru and Shun, at the other side of the table, could only laugh between bites of their own, though they were easily distracted by their cousins and friends, too.

Once the food was almost fully spent and everyone was satisfied, however, Mari leapt to her feet, with a wicked smile on her face.

"And where are you going?" Zuko asked, following his oldest daughter with his gaze.

"To the beach!" she responded gladly: she didn't wait for her father to finish his next sentence before sprinting through the corridors, headed to her chosen room.

"You have to wait at least ten minutes after you…! Ugh, she's unreal," Zuko sighed, shaking his head. Suki smiled and squeezed his hand.

"With how long it ought to take us all to get ready, it should take her longer than ten minutes to get into the water. Hopefully our reckless girl will be fine, Zuko" she told him. He smiled back, though the sight of Kerra rushing off after her sister didn't reassure him much.

"Our reckless girls, you'll mean… plural," he raised his eyebrow, and Suki laughed and nodded.

"You did plenty of hard work as it is, dear. Don't fret much more than you already have. Your big meal was a success, your plans for the vacation have worked wonders… we're doing great."

"We are… but I'm exhausted, and it's only just started," he admitted, with a weak grin.

"Well, maybe we all can take turns cooking!" Aang suggested, surprising Zuko. "You know, each family can have a turn or so? How about it?"

"Huh… that sounds like a plan," Zuko smiled, glancing at the rest of the group… though his eyes slowed at Azula and Sokka, and his grin soured. "Though someone will have to be there for backup when it's their turn, huh?"

"Oh, they might just wind up doing something other than cooking if left alone in the kitchen," Ty Lee snickered, a hand over her mouth as though to block her words from being heard by the happily bickering couple. "We were on our way up the path to the house, you know, and those two? They were seriously DEVOURING each other against the door, just like that…!"

"Alright, you've convinced me: anyone can cook… except those two," Zuko decided, prompting those sitting near him to laugh at his decision.

He wasn't completely uncomfortable these days over his sister's blatant displays of affection with her husband, but he certainly didn't want to witness them at their most romantic… or their most passionate. Yet it was exactly what Zuko had unintentionally signed on for upon inviting them to his freshly refurbished beach house: even if Azula and Sokka had their kids to look after and think of, it didn't seem anyone could pry either of them off each other. They went everywhere together, either holding hands or embracing each other's waist, even as they checked on the rooms Zuko and Suki had assigned for them and their children. They carried the family's luggage upstairs with their children's help – Hotaru assisted them far more than the other two, who had to settle for either carrying smaller bags or carrying large ones together, which turned out to be a rather catastrophic choice since both wanted to outrun the other, again, even while making their way over a flight of stairs. In the end, though, once everyone's goods were properly distributed in their rooms, it was time to get ready for what the children looked forward to the most:

"Be careful when you go out to swim, alright?" Sokka told Yuuna, after Azula helped the child change into her one-piece swimsuit. "Remember what I've taught you… and try not to bend too much while you're there, don't freeze people even if they annoy you, all our usual rules…"

"Can Aunt Katara bend on the beach…?" Yuuna asked, raising an eyebrow. Sokka grimaced.

"Yeah, well, she's all grown-up so if she wants to do it, I can't stop her. I've tried to stop her from bending in awkward situations since I was littler than you are, right now, and she never pays me any attention," Sokka said, with a resigned sigh. "But that's neither here nor there… you are a good girl, right? So, you'll be good and do as you're told. Okay?"

"No!" Yuuna grinned: she ran out the door, hands in the air, laughing carelessly on her way downstairs again.

Her father, of course, was left frozen on the spot, an eyebrow twitching. Azula behind him, placed her hands on his shoulders before slipping them around his neck, offering him a gentle hug.

"We'll make sure nothing happens. Don't fret," she said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Sometimes I think we're the best parents ever, and then sometimes I wonder if we're getting everything wrong," Sokka confessed, glancing at her from his kneeling position, where Yuuna had left him. Azula leaned over him, smiling warmly.

"Well, you told me that your father said to you that there was more worth in growth than in perfection, right?" Azula asked, pressing her lips to his brow. "True wisdom right there. We may never be the perfect parents, but…"

"But we'll grow along with our kids and do it better every time?" Sokka finished. Azula nodded proudly, and Sokka grinned, leaning in to kiss her, no matter how awkward their position might be. "I love you, Azula."

"And I love you, Sokka… though I wish we could love each other quite a bit more freely than we can, right now," she said, with a lop-sided smile. "We have to change too, and, well…"

"We can't afford to do anything naughty because our kids might just freeze the beach while we're not paying attention?" Sokka asked, with a sad smile of his own. Azula laughed and nodded, helping him stand up.

"We'll have to save it for later, I suppose. If we still have any energy by then, that is," she pointed out. Sokka cupped her face between his hands, kissing her lips softly.

"I'll make sure to save my very best just for you and our nice and cozy little room," Sokka said, smirking deviously. "Though I guess, if the kids aren't much trouble, we can at least indulge in, well, enjoying each other's scenery, if nothing else?"

"Don't we always?" Azula smiled, pinching his asscheek and guiding him towards their room, out of Yuuna's shared one with Hotaru, by the two girls' design. It was entirely possible they'd go forward with Mari's wild plans for a sleepover in her large room, but their two daughters would keep their belongings here, at the very least.

While knowing they had very little time for privacy, Sokka and Azula still locked their room's door, helping each other into their respective swimsuits while trading no end of mischievous kisses and caresses. It seemed impossible that the two of them would truly make their way to the beach instead of surrendering to their urges, but against their instincts and impulses, they finally made up their minds, gathered their beach bags and ventured out of the house, hand in hand… or hand-on-rear, when they decided to tease each other, halfway down the beach.

The children were already playing loudly by the sand: Kerra, in particular, seemed thrilled to fling bursts of sand at her brother, while Yuuna splashed by the shore, laughing with her cousin at Iroh and Shun's protests over how their two younger siblings had joined forces against them. Hotaru and Zi stood with Mari, as usual, though her mischievous streak had been interrupted, it seemed, by Yuudai: the taller teenager stood with the three girls, talking animatedly despite it was quite clear, even at a distance, that the one who did the most talking was Mari, who frequently smiled, unusually bashfully, at Yuudai.

"Hmm… that's either Zuko's worst nightmare or his dream combination, isn't it?" Sokka asked Azula, as they walked together down the sand. "He did love Yuudai quite a bit, but…"

"He couldn't be more protective of his kids if he tried? Yeah," Azula agreed, nodding. "Well, they're all kids anyway. I say let them have their fun, as long as they don't get hurt or do anything all that stupid… though of course, if it's Hotaru who's involved in something stupid I'm definitely going to stop being as calm and collected, but she's not likely to be…"

"Mari's a wild one, but I hope both Zi and Hotaru can restrain her, to a fault," Sokka smiled. He and Azula had finally reached the playing grounds, and he raised a hand, placing it by his cheek in order to call for his children. "Yuuna! Shun! Hotaru! Did you put on your sunscreen before you ran out to play?!"

The three kids, each busy with their own groups, flinched and filed towards their parents, guilty grimaces on all their faces. Azula couldn't muffle a smile as they approached, beelining towards Sokka.

"Sorry, Dad…" Shun mumbled. Sokka harrumphed dramatically, setting down his bag and pulling out the sunscreen.

"Alright, those of you brave enough to try doing it yourselves, put out your hands!" Sokka said. Shun and Hotaru both did, while Yuuna showed plenty of sense, surprisingly, by not following suit with their example. "Oh, really, now? You're ready to apply your own sunscreen, Shun?"

"Yeah, I am!" he decided, beaming brightly. Sokka scoffed.

"Well, then, let's see how it goes," he said: he opened the flask with their best sunscreen lotion, pouring a small amount upon each extended hand… and upon Azula's too, as she leaned down right in front of Yuuna, ready to cover her body with it. The little girl raised her head proudly, eyes tightly closed as her mother ensured to cover every exposed bit of her daughter's body until the sunscreen blended perfectly with her skin.

Hotaru only missed a few bits, and Sokka instructed her about which ones, so she could cover everything properly too. Shun, however…

"You… think that's okay?" Sokka asked, with an awkward grin. Shun pouted.

"Well, I didn't get it wrong, did I…?" he asked.

"You have handprints all over your arms, your face is all covered in lotion, your back is mostly exposed…?" Sokka pointed out, rounding the little boy. Shun winced, cheeks reddening. "See? You're already getting sunburnt!"

"I'm not!" Shun cried out, the intensity of his blush strengthening, to Sokka's amusement.

"Come on, I'll handle your back. Spread the bits on your face more evenly, down to your neck too…"

Shun obeyed without much protest, still flustered: Azula smiled at him, and the boy withdrew his gaze from hers.

"Come on, Shun… no need to be so embarrassed," Azula said, reaching out to caress his long hair gently. "Is it you don't want your cousins to think you're being babied or something?"

"I-…! T-that's…! W-well…!" Shun couldn't seem to gather his thoughts, let alone when his mother laughed softly.

"Don't worry about it: look at them, they're an even bigger mess than we are," Azula said, smirking before gesturing at her brother's family.

Zuko and Suki had only just arrived too, and Suki had rushed to collect Kerra, who insisted she didn't need any sunscreen whatsoever: Zi apparently had applied hers all the way back in the house, and Mari kept claiming she had done the same thing, but Suki seemed to believe otherwise – Azula immediately suspected Mari had no interest in letting Yuudai see her applying sunscreen awkwardly, going by how disheartened she had been when the older boy had stepped away from their group, rallying with his family underneath an umbrella: Mai would never visit a beach without guaranteeing she'd have some form of shade, after all.

"Me next! Me, Mom!" Iroh called out as Suki covered a groaning Kerra with sunscreen.

"Yes, yes, you're next, Iroh…"

"I already applied it, Dad, you don't have to make me do it again, do you?"

"Well, if you already did it, a second coating can only do you good…!"

"Dad!"

Although his previous concerns had weighed heavily on Shun's mind, he now had no choice but to laugh at his relatives. Azula smiled fondly at him, pressing a quick kiss to the top of his head once Sokka was done patching up his uneven sunscreen work.

"Have fun in a reasonable way, alright? All of you. No crazy attempts to race with tiger sharks underwater or anything like that, Yuuna," Azula said, pressing a kiss to her daughter's hair too: Yuuna's eyes brightened.

"Are there tiger sharks in Ember Island?!"

"There aren't supposed to be, no," Azula smiled, shaking her head. Yuuna blew a raspberry and shook her head.

"Boring!"

"Oh, now, you have a whole beach to have fun in!" Sokka told Yuuna, leaning down and resting his weight on his knees. "Bet you can find something other than tiger-sharks, maybe a turtle crab, and…"

"And I'll bend it at Shun!"

"Wait, no! You shouldn't…!" Sokka gasped: Shun winced as his sister took off in a mad race towards the shoreline, laughing happily as she looked for any animals to toss at her older brother.

"Okay, I'm going to go hang out with Mari and Zi now…" Hotaru smiled awkwardly… only for Shun to grab onto her leg, still glancing in Yuuna's direction worriedly.

"Take me with you! She wouldn't dare attack you!" Shun whimpered. Hotaru laughed and shook her head.

"Oh, Shun…" she smiled, wrapping an arm around her brother's shoulders before glancing at her parents. "Is it okay, then…?"

"Sure, but if you go into the water try not to go too deep, alright?" Sokka advised her. "And take breaks if you do, once in a while. No need to go too crazy swimming all day long. And…!"

"Go, Hotaru," Azula cut him off, with a smirk: their daughter laughed at Sokka's heartfelt pout, as Azula wrapped an arm around his waist. "I'll keep your protective father in check, alright?"

"Sure thing," Hotaru chuckled: she guided Shun towards the others again, and the boy kept shooting wary glances at where his youngest sister now played with something or another that she'd found in the water. In all likelihood, Yuuna had already forgotten her previous intentions to mess with Shun, distracted by whatever unusual discovery she'd made, as ever happened with the innately curious girl.

Sokka released a deep breath, running a hand over his hair as he took in the good weather and the beautiful horizon. He turned a smile to Azula, whose eyes were set on him.

"Well, we can relax now. If just for a bit?" he said. Azula shrugged, dropping her head on his shoulder.

"Until we decide we have to join in the wild games just as well, I bet," Azula said. Sokka chuckled. "We could wind up racing each other in the water, you know we could…"

"I bet, but it might be better if we wait until the kids have had their fun first. Gotta keep an eye on them, even if we're giving them some space to go wild…" Sokka said, with an awkward smile. "Sometimes I think we worry too much…"

"Then Yuuna wants to play with tiger-sharks and, if anything, you start thinking you don't worry enough?" Azula guessed. Sokka laughed and nodded. "Same here, really. I suppose it won't be all that relaxing to watch them running wild, but at least we can sit down, talk, enjoy the sea air and the sunlight until we feel all dry and drained…"

"What a beautiful picture you paint, wife of mine," Sokka smirked. Azula chuckled against his chest, but he proceeded to do exactly what she'd told him they could.

Sokka pulled out a large towel and set it down on the sand: he meant to help Azula sit first, but she made him take his seat only to nestle on his lap, shameless and comfortably. Sokka groaned as he dropped fully on the towel, bringing her with him as he did.

"This is getting dangerous, Azula," he pointed out: she simply smirked, enjoying the feeling of his naked chest against her cheek. "We're too exposed for any naughty shenanigans, you know we are."

"I do, but you can't hope I'll simply sit away from you when I can be far more comfortable on your lap, Sokka," she said, sighing happily. "Though… come to think of it, isn't it our turn to apply the sunscreen?"

"That… will only make things worse," Sokka said, looking at her warily. Azula laughed, urging him to sit up with her. "Azula…?"

"We totally should have done this indoors, but what the heck. May we end up so sticky with lotion we won't want to touch each other at all later…"

"That is literally impossible: you could be covered in the contents of a swamp bog, and I'd still want to touch you."

"Aw, so romantic…" Azula's eyes fluttered in his direction in the most mocking manner possible, as Sokka smirked knowingly.

"You wouldn't return the favor, though, I know as much. Prude, prissy Princess…"

"How dare you!" Azula scoffed, feigning offense as Sokka laughed. "I absolutely would return the favor… while complaining the whole time about how disgusting it is, how bad it smells, how wrong it is for me to do it, all perfectly normal things…"

"Suits you just fine, yeah," Sokka smiled, leaning quickly to kiss her laughing lips. "You're too clever for me…"

"As you are for me. Sneaky Sokka," she said, narrowing her eyes. His own grin widened further. "You know I'm making you pay for all that teasing tonight…"

"And you know I'm looking forward to it, Princess."

She couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief as he grinned proudly: the first bit of lotion she poured on her hands landed smack on his chest as she chided him for his misdemeanors, and Sokka laughed even harder as their attempts to help protect each other with the sunscreen became a playful struggle they enjoyed delightfully.

Their playfight was mostly ignored by the children, and dismissed by the other adults, who each seemed to have found distinct, safe spots in the beach to set up their stations at. Everyone seemed ready to relax gladly… everyone except for the children, who were already playing in the water, laughing loudly, splashing everywhere, racing each other and coming up with whatever mischief might come to mind.

The natural ringleader of most mischief, Mari, rallied Hotaru, Zi and Yuudai with her, after some initial fun in the water. Her dreams of a kuai ball match only seemed closer at hand, now that all necessary preparations were properly finished.

"Do we have a net, though…?" Hotaru asked Mari, who shot her a clever grin.

"I made sure Dad bought one before we came here! I'll go fetch it, we'll set up the court and then…!"

"Then we'll play… against who?" Zi asked, raising her eyebrows. "I think Dad said it's usually four against four…"

"Oh, it can be less than that," Mari decided, grinning. "I have it all figured out, Zi! Just follow me!"

Zi sighed but did as her sister told her: the two sprinted back to the house while Yuudai and Hotaru lagged a few paces behind, uncertain of whatever Mari had in mind.

"Is she always like this?" Yuudai asked Hotaru, amused.

"Well, we don't get to spend that much time together, but… yeah, for as long as I can remember," Hotaru answered, grinning. Yuudai chuckled and shrugged.

"Guess I'll have to get used to it, then. Nobody in my family is that energetic…"

"Guess not," Hotaru smiled, glancing in the direction of Mai and Ruon Jian.

The pair seemed perfectly content to nestle together under their umbrella while their youngest son dug a hole in the sand, not far from where they sat. As strange as Renshu could be, their family, it seemed to Hotaru, was by far the calmest of the group… though Katara and Aang, the former of whom sat with her twin children near Ty Lee and Haru, weren't all that chaotic either, at least not so far. Once their children were older, though…

"Well… we could have even bigger games when everyone's old enough, come to think of it," Hotaru laughed quietly. Yuudai smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe, though if your little sister and your little brother get to play this game, I may be too scared to join in," he confessed. Hotaru chuckled, though she couldn't fault Yuudai for thinking so.

Fortunately, Shun and Yuuna were having too much fun, swimming in the shallow area of the shore while under Aang's supervision – the Avatar was a magnet for the younger kids of the group, and even Kerra was swimming with him right now, listening to his instructions on how to swim backstroke without sinking – she wasn't particularly proficient at staying afloat compared to the other three, though.

By the time Kerra finally started getting the hang of the swimming style, soaring between waves that Yuuna relished in, Hotaru, Yuudai, Mari and Zi had returned from their venture into the house: Mari and Yuudai shared the weight of the two tall poles upon which the net, carried between Zi and Hotaru, would be hoisted.

Every set of eyes turned towards them as they started setting up the game: Mari drew a large circle in the sand around the poles – when they seemed to be unstable in the sand, Haru gave the group a hand by strengthening the sand near the poles they were setting in place, ensuring they would remain steady in their spot. Once the net had been set up, the four oldest children in the group were finally ready to play, and Mari's grand scheme would finally unfold…

"Wait, what?! B-but I can barely play! I should be teamed with you!" Zi whimpered, reaching for her sister, who huffed and shook her head.

"Hotaru's going to be a great teammate for you! Come on, Zi…!" Mari said, nudging her sister, who pouted and grabbed onto her arm.

"But you two are the tallest in the group, we're going to be crushed…!" Zi grimaced. Yuudai smiled and stepped forward.

"She does have a point," he said to Mari, whose plans were suddenly derailed by Yuudai's words. "Don't worry: I can play with your sister, and Hotaru can be on your team. Makes sense, right?"

"B-but…" Mari's eyebrow twitched: Hotaru smiled happily at her, and she couldn't seem to protest against that. "Fine, then, fine… but I'll choose teams for the next game!"

Most eyes were drawn to their kuai ball court by then: even the children by the shore seemed to slow down on their swimming training – though Renshu continued to build his hole, with absolute determination. Azula and Sokka, happily cradled in each other's arms once more, watched with amusement as their daughter took her position with her cousin.

"Two firebenders against two non-benders…?" Sokka asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You're not about to say that's an unfair deal, are you?" Azula smirked.

"It wouldn't be, if the two non-benders weren't… Zi and Yuudai?" Sokka smiled, poking her ribcage lightly: Azula squirmed against him, drawing closer to his bare chest. "You know I can keep up with any bender I bump into, but Zi barely could handle her mom's Kyoshi Warrior training, if she even did…"

"Well, when you put it that way, I suppose we're about to witness… a bit of a massacre?" Azula asked, amused.

"Let's see if they surprise us," Sokka bit his lip: Mari had already raised the ball, flinging it into the air and slamming it hard with her hand.

Yuudai wasn't particularly athletic, but he kept up fairly well with his opponents. Zi, however, fell to shambles with every strong spike by either Hotaru or Mari. Yuudai attempted to receive their attacks, to pass the ball to Zi so she could hit it back to the other court… but by the time she seemed to get the hang of the game, she and Yuudai were down to a mere two points just before Mari kicked the ball powerfully for her final tenth point.

Another round saw only a mild improvement on the opposing team – though they kept the ball rolling for longer on each point. Still, Hotaru and Mari triumphed again, ten to six, and Zi appeared too disheartened to try playing any further. Yuudai took his loss more gracefully… but he still requested for a break, to Mari's utter chagrin.

"B-but… this was when we switched teams," Mari groaned, pressing her face to the ball. Hotaru sighed, patting her cousin's shoulder.

"It was very intense. Maybe we all can use a break now," she said, with a carefree grin. Mari pouted in her direction, but it seemed pointless to her to play against Hotaru alone…

So, she let her cousin go, and so she stood, alone on the kuai ball court she had been so determined to set up. She let out a groan, wondering if she should go for a swim for now, or if she should just wait until the others were ready for another round…

"Well, now… that's just rude. They ditched her? Unacceptable!" Sokka declared, brow furrowed playfully. Azula shrugged.

"It is a shame… but sadly most the other kids are way too young to play with her," she said: Yuuna and Kerra ran up to Mari, no doubt asking if they could play with her, but Mari only smiled and shook her head, responsibly declining to play so intensely with two kids who were about half her age.

"Well, who said only kids get to play?"

Sokka's words seemed to set off a strange switch inside Azula's head. She glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, and he smirked right back at her: her lips shifted into a smile, and Sokka knew she'd understood his intent right away.

"Besides… as far as I know, Mari thinks you and I are about the coolest parents there are. We can't let her change her mind, now, can we?" he snickered, nudging Azula again. She laughed, shaking her head… and making to rise to her feet.

"We really can't let her down. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we did," she decided. Sokka snickered, pushing himself up to his feet as well.

Mari had successfully convinced the two younger girls to go back to Aang when she heard the footsteps on the sand behind her: she turned quickly to find her favorite set of aunt and uncle were approaching her kuai ball court… and her eyes gleamed when they stepped inside the circle she'd drawn earlier.

"Well, well… I can't pretend I know exactly how this game goes, but I think I caught the gist of it earlier," Sokka smirked: Mari's smile couldn't have been broader as she glanced between both Azula and Sokka. "What do you say about teaming up with us, then?"

"I…! T-that would be a dream come true, but…! Are you guys sure?" she asked, smiling nervously. Azula laughed and nodded, reaching for the ball her niece was still holding.

"I was known to tear kuai ball courts to pieces, in my youth…" she said, dramatically: Mari snorted and laughed, handing the ball to Azula. "Of course, I will try to be civilized today and not wreck your nice net. Looks brand-new and everything…"

"It is!" Mari exclaimed, beaming. "You guys sure, then? Though… I don't know who we'd play. Seems like everyone else wants to take a break…"

"Oh, pfft, there's no need to worry about that," Sokka smirked, glancing over Mari's head: he didn't doubt, not for a second, that their attempt to join Mari would go answered by other fully adult players… and he wasn't surprised to see exactly who would step up to the challenge.

"Hey, now… you guys are playing with Mari?" Zuko's voice reached them: he and Suki had stepped up to the edge of the kuai ball court, and Zuko stared at his sister skeptically. Azula simply answered him with a nonchalant shrug.

"Why, I don't see a problem with that," she said, wrapping an arm around Mari's shoulders: the girl smiled wildly upon finding her aunt was on her side, in every sense that counted. "You'll need one more team member to make things even, though… or, well, as even as can be."

Sokka snickered at Azula's very obvious taunt… the funniest part about it was that he knew, of course, that it would pay off perfectly: Zuko seemed to see red at Azula's insinuation that an even number of team players couldn't possibly suffice to defeat her, Sokka and Mari…

"Mari should be playing with us, if anything!" Zuko huffed: Mari chuckled and shook her head. "Y-you… hey! I taught you how to play!"

"I want to be on Aunt Azula and Uncle Sokka's team!" she said, proudly. Sokka laughed, throwing his own arm over Azula's, his free fist into the air.

"The girl knows two champions when she sees them. Can't blame her for that, now, can you, Zuzu?" he snickered: Azula couldn't ever help but laugh upon hearing her husband addressing Zuko with his despised nickname, and it was clear Zuko's patience was now at an end.

"Well, then, if that's how you three want it…!" he said, turning around quickly. Suki, beside him, sighed.

"You're sure about this? It is Mari…" she asked. Zuko scoffed.

"I'm fighting those two. I'll keep Mari out of it," he assured her, before his eyes fell upon his ideal final member for the three-member team. "Katara! Want to kick your brother's ass?"

"Woah!" Katara gasped at Zuko's sudden proposal. She had been talking with Ty Lee about her pregnancy, sharing stories about her own process, enjoying the previous kuai ball games just fine while they chatted, Tashi and Tallah nestled comfortably on her lap. The chi-blocker snickered, nudging her with her knee to join in.

"You can leave your two lovely kiddos to me and Haru, go on now!" Ty Lee said. "I'd join them myself, but as you can tell…"

"Are you sure?" Katara asked, with a weak smile. Both Haru and Ty Lee nodded, reaching out to hold one child each. Katara laughed and bowed her head in their direction. "Well… great. I guess I'm off to a new iteration of sibling wars, here…"

"Have fun!" Ty Lee called after her.

"Good luck!" Haru said, too. Katara smiled at the two of them, waving in their direction.

Aang, still in the water, watched as his wife approached the kuai ball court, slack jawed. Katara waved in his direction, so he shook his head and smiled brightly before cheering her on.

"You can do it! You can beat them, Katara!" he called out.

By then, though, the kids around him had rushed out of the water, delighted by the notion of the all-out brawl about to take place in the kuai ball court: the teams were assembled now, and the six players were ready to get going. By now, the three who had retired earlier seemed most eager to return to the game soon… but for the time being, Yuudai, Hotaru and Zi would sit with their younger siblings, watching the game from the sidelines – surprisingly, even Renshu seemed to stop digging his hole, and he sat on his brother's lap while watching the court intently, waiting for the match to start.

Each team had huddled up, and Mari's eyes brightened upon knowing she'd be a first-hand witness to her aunt and uncle's impeccable strategizing abilities today. Yet, when it came down to it…

"Well, team captain Mari… what do you think we should do?" Sokka asked: the youngest team member gasped, glancing between them in utmost confusion.

"I, uh… I'm the captain?"

"You're the one who came up with this idea. So… yes, I'd say you are," Azula smiled, nudging her gently. Mari giggled, biting her lip.

"Then, uh… I want to hear what you guys have in mind, first?" she said, too bashful to try and think of any strategies herself – she doubted she'd come up with anything on par with what either of these two could think of.

"Hmm, well… Katara and Suki are bound to be a problem," Azula pointed out, casting a glance in their direction. "As much as you're her daughter…"

"Yeah, Mom's not going to hold back with me. Not at all," said Mari, shaking her head.

"But your dad's another story," Sokka smirked: Azula mirrored the expression immediately.

"Therefore, I think the proper strategy as good as speaks for itself," she said. Sokka nodded "You should take a center-back position, Sokka…"

"I'll receive every ball I can," he said, with certainty. "And then I'll pass it forward, to either of you guys…"

"Oh, no. Not to either of us," Azula's smile gained an even more dangerous edge. "There's one sure-proof way for us to score, Sokka… and we're going to make the most of it."

"You sure?" Sokka asked. "Might be he'll catch on eventually… or the other two will."

"If they do, we'll still be so far ahead that we'll be practically guaranteed to reach the ten points before they do," Azula determined. Mari, beside them, chuckled.

"You guys are incredible. You take even this so seriously… uh, I take it seriously too, don't get me wrong! It's just, well… uh, never mind. So! What's the rest of the plan, exactly?"

Both Azula and Sokka shared another complicit smirk before conveying their ideas to Mari. The young firebender's eyes widened, as the most ironclad plan came together right then and there…

A mere minute later, everyone was ready for the game to start. Mari stood outside the court's line: she tossed the ball high in the air and kicked it powerfully towards the other side of the court.

Katara received the ball, impressed by the power it had packed: Zuko kneed it, giving the ball plenty of altitude for Suki to slam it hard with her hand…

But Sokka leapt forward just in time, stopping the ball from dropping in the sand. It hovered right above him, and Azula dashed forth, passing the ball to Mari, who was already mid-jump…

In the middle of the air, as she was, Mari smirked upon finding the exact place to slam the ball towards:

It wasn't as fast as the spike Suki had pulled off earlier, but this one landed on the ground, right in front of Zuko's unmoving form.

Both Suki and Katara gasped, finding Zuko hadn't made the slightest effort to receive the ball: meanwhile, the other team celebrated their first point quite rowdily.

"O-okay, sorry about that," Zuko swallowed hard. "I'll do better next time."

"You'd better," Katara retorted: Zuko scoffed at her. "You didn't call me here just so I'd wind up on a losing team, now, did you?"

"We're not going to lose, that's exactly why you're here! Just make the most of your chance to mess with your brother, as you always do!" Zuko grunted. Katara, despite herself, smiled at Zuko's words.

"Well, you can never go wrong with messing with your annoying older brother, that much is true…" she said, knowing Sokka, already in position again, heard her loud and clear: he stuck his tongue out in her direction, and Katara smirked as she readied herself to respond to this next service by Mari.

Again, they managed to keep the ball in play: it was Katara who dealt the spike this time, but while it was too fast for Sokka to react and receive it with his hands or feet, it bounced against his head and didn't hit the ground. Azula gasped as he rolled back on the sand, but she rushed to get the ball anyway, as it seemed to be about to fall out of the court.

With a powerful kick, Azula returned the ball to her last teammate: once again, Mari hit the ball powerfully, and this time it landed two paces next to Zuko.

"Zuko!" both Suki and Katara cried out: he flinched, knowing exactly why he was messing up… and suspecting why it was happening, too. He shot a wary glare at his sister, who had rushed up to her husband. Sokka had a groggy expression on his face, but he, of course, asked the one question Zuko expected him to ask…

"Did we pull it off?" he said, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips.

"Yup. Two to nil," Azula smiled, pressing a quick kiss to his brow. "You're impossibly heroic, even in friendly kuai ball matches."

"No idea how friendly it is: we're at war with our siblings, feels to me…" Sokka smiled, as Azula helped him to his feet.

"No need to worry… we've got this, Sokka," Azula said, smirking in the direction of the opposing team.

"Come on, Zuko. Get it together," Katara hissed again. He huffed, frowning.

"I will, I will. I know what to expect now…" he said.

But he was wrong, again: this time, when he prepared himself for Mari's spike, Azula spun in a circle and kicked the ball Sokka had sent her way, right into the sand. Katara lunged for it, but she couldn't stop the powerful kick before it landed.

"You guys are AMAZING!" Mari laughed, rushing in to hug her aunt and uncle, whose smirks couldn't have been more irritating for their siblings. Suki sighed at the obvious, rising competitive spirit of both Katara and Zuko, running a hand over her hair.

"Come on, come on, take it easy, you two," she said, patting their shoulders. "We can do this. Just… don't send it at Sokka this time."

"Sure thing," Zuko huffed. Katara didn't appear to enjoy that particular order, but she nodded in Suki's direction.

Upon the next of Mari's serves, Suki passed the ball to Katara, who slammed it hard close to the net. Azula's attempt to dig the ball failed, but she only laughed off her first lost point as the others basked in their success.

"Guess they were onto us much faster than expected," she smiled, as Sokka helped her up.

"I'll be more careful, then," Sokka said, eyeing his opponents warily. "I'll be ready to jump forward whenever I have to…"

"Be ready to do more than that, if need be," Azula said, patting his chest affectionately. "No one here's bound to have a more powerful arm than you. If you don't receive it, you might just be able to spike it…"

"Huh… you sure about that?" Sokka smiled. Azula winked at him.

"Trust me."

"Always," he responded: Azula smiled brightly at his answer.

Zuko served this time: he shot the ball powerfully at Sokka, unable to make the ball land anywhere else: Mari attempted to spike it at Zuko again, but Suki leapt in the way of it, flinging the ball upwards for Katara to set it properly and for Zuko to slam it again…

But this time, Azula and Sokka had changed positions.

She received the ball, rolling on the sand as a result: Mari watched in sheer awe as Sokka seemed to levitate, gearing up with an attack that none of the other team's members were prepared for.

The ball slammed powerfully into the sand, still spinning in place as Sokka dropped on the ground again, a proud smirk on his face.

"You guys just…!" Mari gasped, her hands over her mouth as she gazed at them in amazement.

A cheer broke from their many onlookers. Hotaru, Shun and Yuuna cheered for their parents' teamwork, while many of the others clapped at the way they'd obliterated the defense of their opposing team. Most of the audience wasn't surprised in the least to see Azula and Sokka gaining such an advantage over their opponents, though the opponents in question weren't all that pleased about it.

"Guess they're taking us seriously now, huh?" Zuko said, with a proud smile that waned quickly. "Though that may not be a good thing for us anyway."

"We're NOT letting them get a win so easily. We're fighting this, to the end!" Katara declared: it would be Azula's serve next, and they were ready quickly to receive the ball.

They did fight, and quite bravely: they managed a couple more points later on, though only after Azula's serve scored two more for their side. By the time it was Sokka's turn to serve, everyone was ready to receive a powerhouse of an attack… that wound up going too far, landing outside the court and leading his three opponents to sigh in relief.

"Ugh, damn it. Should control my power better…" Sokka pouted: Azula eased him by kissing his cheek.

"Being so strong and fierce may lose us a few points in the game, but it wins you quite a few of them with me, just the same," she declared, wiggling her eyebrows: his previous irritation was eased quickly by her teasing. "Come on, then. We're not that far from crushing them completely."

Katara's serve wasn't as powerful as her brother's, but strong enough to cause Mari to roll in the sand after digging the ball right on time. Azula passed it, Sokka smacked it… but Zuko dug it too, much as his daughter had. Suki was the next to spike, though Azula received it, handing it to Sokka, and Sokka set it for Mari…

Another spike, and another out-of-bounds blast.

"Oh, damn it!" Mari huffed: her parents cheered on the other side, and their little audience seemed to cheer for them as well.

"Calm down, calm down. We're still ahead, and we'll stay ahead," Azula smiled. "If things take a bad turn, well… we'll just have to take extreme measures."

"I wonder what that means," Mari glanced at her aunt, who smirked deviously.

"I have no choice but to hold back so far, is all… I'd rather not go the extra mile unless we really have to," she said. Mari gulped but smiled. "Sokka's holding back too, so…"

"You guys are terrifying… and you're also the coolest people ever," she laughed. Azula smiled, winking at her niece before Katara served again.

This time, Mari's showdown with her mother kept them stalled in a point for almost three minutes: Sokka swept in eventually, slapping the ball right past Suki, at such speed neither Zuko nor Katara could reach it.

"Yeah! One last point and we're done!" Mari cheered: it was her serve again, and she hoped to do it right…

Her father grimaced when she took her position: he loved his daughter dearly and wanted her to be happy… but he didn't want his sister and her husband to thwart his team. It was a troubling conflict of interests… but it was one that caused him to do his best, even when the ball his daughter served went flying right in his direction.

He managed to dig it, handing it to Katara, who passed it over the net immediately: Azula struck it, making it hover just long enough for Sokka to knee it higher yet… and then Mari swept in, kicking the ball towards her father anew…

Suki leapt in front of the ball, passing it to Katara. Zuko jumped over Suki, shooting her a complicit smile before spiking the ball… and Azula received it, hard enough and in such an angle that it bounced right into Zuko's face.

Suki gasped, but Katara rushed after the ball anyway. Azula grimaced as her brother found his bearings… and glared at her for making the ball rebound that way. She shrugged apologetically, but she had little time to repent: Katara had managed to save the ball, Suki was in position to spike it…

Mari dug it this time, falling face-first in the sand to save a ball that would have almost certainly left a sizable hole in the sand if it had touched the ground. Azula turned quickly, ready to set the ball… and Sokka leapt powerfully, right above her.

Azula smirked, passing him the ball just in time for him to smirk knowingly at her. With a blow as strong as that of his failed serve earlier, but from a much better vantage point, Sokka dunked the ball in the sand, just before the other three could jump quickly enough to reach it.

"We won! We… YES!" Mari screamed, leaping to her feet: Sokka had stumbled on the sand, dropping atop his wife as the two of them laughed over their victory, rolling under the net.

"Ugh! This is exactly why I didn't want them to win!" Zuko groaned, covering his eyes from the sight of his sister kissing her husband in the most shameless manner possible – Shun did the same thing among the public, while everyone else just laughed at their reactions.

"If that was how it was, you should've been smarter about receiving your dear daughter's powerful spikes," Katara smiled, patting his shoulder sympathetically. "We lost, but I'd say we were a pretty good team, though!"

"Better than expected, considering you'd never played with us before," Suki laughed, hugging Katara to thank her for the game.

"You guys are crazy!" Hotaru laughed, entering the court and approaching her parents. They were still locked in each other's embrace, laughing carelessly at their latest successful venture.

"What do you want us to say? We're just naturals at kuai ball!" Sokka grinned, raising his head to glance at his daughter. "Or, well, I am."

"It's just the first time you play, and you crushed the competition so thoroughly," Azula smiled fondly as she cupped his face. "We were always meant to be, Sokka, I knew we were…"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Sokka snickered, prompting Azula to kiss him one more time before sitting up, utterly proud of her victory.

"Thank you, guys," Mari smiled, stepping closer to her two teammates. "That was… the best kuai ball game, EVER!"

"Woah, really? We can't try to outdo it, then?"

Yuudai's voice startled Mari: she turned quickly towards him, her cheeks flushed. He smiled at her and nodded in acknowledgement.

"You're really good at this game, keeping up with two grown-ups in your team and three in the other one… maybe you should try to make some sort of professional career out of it," Yuudai suggested. Mari snorted and shook her head.

"Is there such a thing? I doubt it… though, if there is, I definitely have to think about it," she smirked, to everyone's amusement.

"Well, then… you up for another round?" Yuudai asked, with a shrug. "Pretty sure a lot of people want to join in now…"

He wasn't wrong: Zi was back on board too, inspired by the showdown between her parents and her sister. Hotaru seemed perfectly enthusiastic as well, so their previous group was ready… while Aang had rushed in to ask to be part of the game as well, delighted to test his ability to handle a game so different from the ones he used to play with his fellow airbenders. Ty Lee had spurred Haru to take part in the game too, in her place, and Ruon Jian had stepped up as well, despite admitting he hadn't tried his hand at kuai ball since a very long time ago. Out of those playing the last game, only Suki and Mari remained in the court: Azula and Sokka stepped out and joined their youngest children, who seemed all too thrilled for their victory in the last game.

"I want to play!" Yuuna insisted, once Shun darted off to watch the start of the next game. Azula smiled, smoothing the girl's disorderly hair.

"You're not quite ready to play against your big cousin just yet…" Azula said, but she smirked soon enough. "But we could start preparing you for that, someday."

"Yeah!" Yuuna grinned, clasping her mother's hands: Azula smiled at Sokka, who nodded approvingly.

"We've got a smaller ball in our bags. Want to practice with that one?"

"Yeah, bring it over," Azula said.

Yuuna couldn't have been more excited, though her enthusiasm dwindled when a boyish voice spoke up to Azula suddenly.

"I want to learn to play too."

Azula glanced down at Renshu: he stared at her with the same straightforward bluntness he ever exhibited, and Yuuna grimaced over his presence immediately. Azula smiled, though, and nodded at Mai's second son.

"If you want, sure thing. Might be the next time we come here, the four of us will be a great team," Azula said. Yuuna stuck her tongue out at the notion, just as Sokka returned to them, the new ball in hand.

They started in the sand, simply passing the ball from one to the other… but as Yuuna seemed unamused about having to pass the ball to Renshu, Azula and Sokka decided the child needed a new variant added to the game, to distract her from being cross with the little boy: they entered the water, making it so they stood in a square, with Yuuna and Renshu closer to shore, while the two grown-ups stood deeper in the water.

"Alright, then! Remember: there's no bending in kuai ball…" Sokka said to Yuuna, though Azula snorted.

"Well, now, I never heard of that rule…"

"Hey, now," Sokka eyed her meaningfully: Azula offered him a guilty grin before he tossed the ball at her. "Come on, start passing!"

The water slowed their movements, thus, it forced them to make bigger efforts to reach the ball. Even though the kids weren't all that deep in the water, the ball slipped out of their small hands a few times… though when it happened to Yuuna once, she bent some nearby water quickly to ensure the ball would return to her hands, hoping no one would notice she had broken the passing pattern. Yet, of course, everyone did… and one of them would never fail to point out whatever he'd noticed:

"You used your bending," Renshu said. Yuuna pouted. "It's not allowed."

"… Tattletale," Yuuna pouted. Renshu blinked blankly.

"I just told the truth," he said, simply.

Flustered and irritated, Yuuna responded to Renshu's accusation by tossing the ball at him when he didn't expect it. It bounced cleanly off his head, and both Sokka and Azula gasped at her choice: Renshu, however, didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Yuuna! There's no need to do that, Renshu's a friend…!" Sokka said. Yuuna bit her lower lip, glancing at her parents apologetically.

"Sorry…"

"It didn't hurt. It's a light ball," Renshu said: it seemed as though he had no idea what was there to be worried about, altogether. Yuuna glanced at him with uncertainty…

Then, she used her bending again to have the ball float into Renshu's hands again. The young boy seemed puzzled when the ball returned to him… and then he smiled.

"Woah. W-woah…!" Sokka gasped, reaching for Azula's arm: his wife actually laughed at the sight of the boy smiling, for neither of them had seen it before.

"Thank you," Renshu said, still grinning at Yuuna before tossing the ball at Azula again.

Azula and Sokka remained amused and amazed by the boy's unusual display of emotion as the ball came back into circulation between them. They'd definitely have to ask Mai later if he'd ever reacted this way to anyone else… but for now, they cherished having witnessed such a rare sight with Yuuna, who had relaxed a little upon realizing that perhaps Renshu wasn't bad company after all. As awkward as she was around the boy before, now she seemed much quicker to smile in his direction whenever she passed him the ball.

In the meantime, two more games passed by in the kuai ball court: at first, it was a game with Mari and Yuudai, finally on the same team, paired with Haru and Suki. On the other team, Hotaru, Zi, Ruon Jian and Aang had done their best to win, but the Avatar's frequent, instinctive airbending had caused the game to stop, and for points to be annulled, because of the evident unfairness that Aang himself acknowledged as such between awkward, apologetic smiles. In the end, Mari was happily triumphant anew, though her streak ended when the next game saw the young players teaming up against the adult ones: even without airbending, Aang's height offered him quite an advantage over his opponents, much as Suki's agility did. Haru's quick digs saw him receiving even the most complicated balls, more often than not, and as much as Ruon Jian seemed to have no special skill of his own, he passed the ball to everyone who did, always ensuring they could take the points when the opportunity came up.

The defeated teenagers weren't all that discouraged, though: the grown-ups they'd been playing seemed too tired to continue, but Mari knowingly glanced at her previous partners, finding they were finally getting out of the water with the two children they had been playing with:

"Hey, Aunt Azula, Uncle Sokka! Want another round?" she asked, with a mischievous grin. Sokka scoffed.

"Aren't you exhausted yet, Mari? Goodness, what do your parents feed you that you still can go for another game…?" Sokka asked, running his hand over his wet hair. Mari snickered and shook her head.

"Oh, come on! You totally can take another game! Though I guess you'll need two more teammates… oh, I know! Dad, Kat-Kat!"

"Woah. Did she just…?" Sokka froze: Azula grimaced too as both Zuko and Katara, who had sat out the last two games, glanced at Mari in confusion.

"You can have your rematch: join Aunt Azula and Uncle Sokka to beat me!" Mari said, with a vicious smirk.

"Wait a minute…!" Zuko gasped. Katara scoffed.

"I wanted to beat them, not you, Mari!" Katara said, bluntly: her earnest answer amused Sokka and Azula, as Mari smiled and shook her head.

"Now you guys can try to work together to beat me and my team, then! Should be lots of fun!"

"Well, now… playing against Hotaru? That sounds so wrong…" Sokka said, glancing at Azula with uncertainty. His wife scoffed.

"You're not going to be as silly about that as Zuko was, now, are you? It's a game, not a battlefield…"

"As far as I can tell, every game is a battlefield of its own," Sokka smiled, as they entered the court. "But anyway, she's definitely trying to coax those two to join in because she assumes we're going to fail if we work together with them, right?"

"Right… and we can't give her the satisfaction, can we?" Azula asked, raising her eyebrows. Sokka snickered and shook his head, glancing at Katara.

"Come on, Katara!" he called for her. "I promise I won't kiss Azula every point we score…"

"That's something you ought to be promising this guy, not me," Katara smirked, pointing at Zuko, whose eyebrow twitched at her words. "You guys are for real? Us against them?"

"Well, why not? We're always at odds, the fun siblings and the boring ones…" Sokka said, with a melodramatic sigh.

"And after calling us that, you still think we're going to join in?" Zuko growled, rising to his feet.

"Well, now! I didn't say which was which, you jumped to conclusions all on your own!" Sokka grinned. Zuko huffed, kicking sand in his direction and shaking his head as he and Katara joined their siblings on their side of the court.

"I'm joining in, alright… but only because Mari wants me to," he said, proudly. "And we're going to lose, deliberately, so that she and Zi can be happy."

"Wait, wait, wait, that defeats the whole point of playing…" Sokka said, grimacing.

"Your daughter is on the other team too, how are you even questioning this?" Zuko asked, eyeing Sokka with uncertainty.

"Oh, our daughter will be fine if she loses," Azula smirked, glancing at Hotaru, who grinned and waved in her direction. "It'll just toughen her up, if anything…"

"Toughen her up…?" Zuko grimaced, glancing at Mari. "Not sure I want mine to be toughen-…"

His words seemed to die out in a sputter, his brow drawn together upon noticing Mari wasn't as attentive to him as Hotaru was with Azula and Sokka: instead, Mari's attention was completely enraptured by Yuudai, who seemed to laugh happily at whatever his unusually bashful daughter was saying to him…

"W-what is… w-what is…?" he asked, blinking rapidly as he raised a hand towards what was happening on the other side of the court. "Hey now, that's not… t-that's not allowed…"

Azula, Sokka and Katara glanced back at Mari: it only took an instant for all three of them to understand what was bothering Zuko so greatly all of sudden… and it only took another instant for a clever idea to transmit between all three of them, wordlessly.

"Well, well… maybe Mari had a reason to want to play with that particular team, huh?" Azula said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Zuko's face seemed to spasm now, and Sokka could barely hold back the laughter that threatened to break him. Katara stepped up next:

"That's definitely flirty body language, yes," she said, supporting her weight by setting an elbow on Zuko's shoulder. "Oh, my, what a mess…"

"He's not… what the hell does he think he's doing?" Zuko asked, with a dangerous smile.

"Well, now… Mari's not bound to take it very well if you snap at her right now," Azula said, smiling at Zuko. "She's just being a teenager, after all. But the one you're definitely worried about is…"

"Him," Zuko finished. Katara smirked.

"And there's no better way to deal with this apparent threat… than by playing at your very best, isn't that right?"

"I…! I…!" Zuko huffed, releasing a small puff of fire with a hard breath through his nose. He turned quickly, his back towards the net as he snarled viciously. "I'm taking him down."

Azula punched the air triumphantly as Katara giggled to herself, just as bad at containing her amusement as Sokka was. Within moments, they'd huddled up, and their strategy meeting began.

There wasn't much to instruct Zuko over: his eyes shifted in every direction with concerned fury, and it was clear he'd do a much better job this game than he had in the previous one he'd played. They would take a different formation now, with Azula and Katara at either side of the court, Sokka taking the back, and Zuko standing closest to the net.

"Alright… brace yourselves!" Sokka called, as Mari readied herself to serve. Azula winked at Hotaru, opposite to her on the court, and her daughter grinned happily at her mother.

The ball flew powerfully, right into Sokka's ready arms: it bounced off Azula's palms next, in Zuko's direction…

The firebender leapt in the air, readying a spinning kick that he aimed flawlessly at Yuudai.

The young man stretched his hands out, trying to receive the ball, but it bounced wildly off his hands, slamming unevenly and bouncing out of the court. Yuudai winced, and Mari gasped, rushing towards him.

"You okay, Yuudai?! Dad! Take it easy!" she huffed: Zuko's eyes seemed to glower, and Mari flinched at the sight of it. "D-Dad…?"

"Oookay, Zuko! Nicely done! Good job!" Sokka smiled, yanking the firebender towards them: he still was seeing red, evidently. "Hey now, buddy, it's cool that you're taking it seriously but…"

"She… she just ran off to check on him, she…" Zuko huffed. Azula hummed.

"If you aim so that the ball doesn't touch him, she'll have no reason to worry about him, you know…?" she said. Katara and Sokka glanced at her in disbelief. "What? We should redirect his rage, not make him lose it. Not until we're at least five points ahead…"

"You're so competitive, you guys…" Katara smiled, shaking her head.

"Well, you can always let the rest of us do most the work and just be here to even our playing numbers, if you really don't care for victory that much…" Sokka said, nonchalantly. Katara's placid smile shifted into an irate scowl. "Or maybe not?"

"You… you're such a pain," she hissed, bumping him as they took positions again: Azula and Sokka exchanged a wicked smile before Shun came rushing back towards them, carrying the ball that had fallen out of the court earlier.

Azula served, Hotaru received it: Zi had very little confidence with spiking properly, so she set the ball for her older sister. Mari attempted her previous technique, hopeful that her father wouldn't be able to handle receiving this time…

Zuko leapt, arms extended in front of the ball. It bounced right back into her side of the court, and Mari gazed in shock at her father's disgruntled expression as Yuudai dove in to save the ball before their team lost another point. Zi hoisted the ball again, and this time it was Hotaru jumping, to spike…

Her father received it, grinning wildly at his proud daughter.

"Nice power there, Hotaru! That's my girl!" he roared: she blushed but smiled proudly as she returned to a defensive position.

The ball was Katara's to spike this time: sharp and eager to prove she was as fierce as the rest of her team's members, Katara mercilessly aimed her spike towards Zi's vicinity. The young girl squealed and shifted out of the way of the ball, and Katara's viciousness faded into remorse.

"Zi! I didn't mean to freak you out, I…!"

"Zi! Don't fear the ball, you should know better than that after all these games!" Mari stepped in, blocking Katara from view as she scolded her younger sister. Katara blinked a couple of times but sighed, guessing she'd apologize properly later.

"That's it, much better!" Sokka grinned at Katara, with a thumbs-up gesture. Katara sighed shaking her head.

"I'm letting you guys drive me crazy, aren't I? I really am…" she sighed, returning to position.

The next point lasted just two back-and-forth exchanges before the ball fell right into Zuko's hands: he slammed the ball powerfully at a corner near Yuudai, and he failed to reach the ball. Azula congratulated him for a better result now, but Zuko, clearly, wasn't satisfied… let alone was he when Yuudai himself blocked his next spike successfully, and Azula failed to dig the ball just before it fell within fair grounds.

"U-uh… I'm sorry?" Yuudai whimpered, face to face with Zuko's fearsome glare: Katara had to reel him back in, while Sokka took care to check that Azula was alright after lunging for the ball and failing to retrieve it.

"Don't mind him, don't mind him…" Mari huffed, hands on her hips. "I have no idea what's wrong with Dad right now, but… we did it! First point we've scored so far, you guys! Let's keep it rolling!"

And so they did: another mistake by Zuko resulted in a spike that collided with the topmost border of the net. Hotaru leapt in the air powerfully, kicking the ball with plenty of power, right beside Katara.

"Woah! You go, Hotaru!" Sokka roared, clapping as Azula nodded in her direction.

"Magnificent form, too. Nicely done," she said: Hotaru blushed, scratching the back of her head as she smiled shyly. Mari, beside her, huffed and shook her head.

"If only my parents were as cool as that…" she said: Zuko overheard her, and he gazed at her, stricken and distraught once again.

"Calm down, Zuko…" Katara warned him: he glanced at her in distress, though.

"Am I… losing her?! Am I losing them?! Is he going to…?!"

"To do what? He's sixteen!" Katara laughed, hands on her hips. "Come on, quit being such a dumbass about this, whatever it is. I know we thought it'd get you to do a better job, but you're actually doing worse now…"

"M-Mari hates me…" he whimpered. Katara groaned, shoving him towards the net before glancing at the other two.

"No more Zuko spikes or kicks. I think you guys broke him by accident," she said. Azula and Sokka raised an eyebrow, puzzled, but willing to abide by Katara's counsel.

Thus, the game became, by all effects, three-against-four. Zuko only seemed to pass the ball, leaving the other three to receive, set and spike together – even so, their physical superiority saw the opposing team, inexperienced and much too young, trailing behind by four points when they'd reached their eighth.

"Awesome work, Yuudai!" Mari exclaimed, rushing in to hug him quickly after he spiked and scored: Zuko's protectiveness reared its ugly head again at the sight, and he growled under his breath, waiting for the ball to reach him soon. Maybe Mari would hate him, but he couldn't let her throw her whole life away over some… some summer romance? Was that what this was? It couldn't be…!

The mere idea seemed to break what little sense he still had left: when Azula set for Katara, Zuko rushed in instead and kicked the ball powerfully, again at Yuudai… and this time it slammed right into his face.

"Yuudai!" Mari gasped: the ball dropped right in front of the net, and the young man flopped on the sand, a groggy smile on his face. Zuko scoffed.

"That's as far as this goes, Mar-…!"

"ZUKO!"

A sudden, thunderous, unexpectedly loud voice seemed to freeze the whole game. Zuko, naturally, was the most terrified one as Mari helped the still-groggy Yuudai up to a sitting position. The wounded teenager smiled awkwardly at his teammate… and then he glanced at his mother, who stood at the edge of the court, glaring fiercely at the fully-grown firebender responsible for Yuudai's many difficulties over the course of this game.

Zuko swallowed hard, eyeing Mai with utmost terror: he couldn't remember having angered her to that extent ever before… though it suddenly dawned on him that Yuudai was no common, random teenage boy. He was Mai's son, much as Mari was his daughter… and Mai would want his head on a platter after what he'd done.

"I… I… l-lost control…?" Zuko acknowledged. Mai's eyes glowered in the sunset, brighter than the last slivers of sunlight.

"You'd better not lose control again. You hear me?" she hissed. Zuko swallowed hard and nodded. "And even if you don't… this is not over."

Zuko gritted his teeth, watching as Mai stepped into the court, marching to check on her son – he seemed to be mostly fine, though he continued to smile awkwardly as his teammates talked to him. Yet, after convincing him of leaving the court to treat the unsurprising nosebleed that poured down his upper lip after a moment, Mai herself took his position. The three teenage girls watched her in sheer astonishment, and Mari gulped before bowing her head in their only adult teammate's direction.

"T-thank you for… filling in? Didn't expect that…" she admitted.

"I have to fill in for him. And I have a score to settle with your father," Mai hissed. Zuko gritted his teeth, shrinking in place: only one point remained, so perhaps Mai's motherly fury wouldn't reach him…

His hopes were unfounded: as soon as the ball was on her side of the court, Mai was merciless.

It hadn't really surprised Azula to find her friend could be quite so efficient and powerful upon setting her mind on something, but she couldn't remember Mai ever being a particularly impressive kuai ball player… and yet, all of sudden, she was the best one on the court. Her millimetric precision, her powerful attacks, her quick assessments on where to block, her leadership with the other girls… and her vengefulness at Zuko, too, saw the score slowly closing in until it stood nine-to-eight, even if still in favor of the team with the two sets of siblings.

"This is bad," Katara said, smiling awkwardly at her teammates. "They're going to kill us if we keep this up, so… you two? Got any big ideas in mind?"

Azula and Sokka glanced at each other: so far, the games had been nothing but entertainment. Taking them seriously would likely kill part of the fun – and admittedly, it had been fun for Zuko to cower under Mai's fury after his earlier outbursts. Yet neither of them liked losing, and they had no intentions of doing it now.

"Zuko," Azula said, glancing at her brother: his face, shoulders and chest sported a few circular red marks, where Mai's powerful spikes had struck him in retaliation for his cruelty with her son. "I'm going to need you to be ready to receive the next ball."

"But Mai's serving…"

"Exactly," Azula said, eyes narrow. "If we move fast enough, if Katara can toss it our way…"

"One of us can do it?" Sokka asked. Azula nodded.

"We can try to, anyway. We'll keep the ball rolling until the right chance comes, at least. But stick to receiving properly now, alright? No more blocking attempts, or spiking. Got it?"

Zuko nodded meekly, willing to do whatever was necessary to end his current torment: Azula clasped Sokka's hand firmly, and he smiled proudly at his wife.

"I have no idea what we're going to do to get this last point… so I guess we're going to wing it, huh?"

"Well, on some measure, yes," Azula smirked, shrugging. "We're going all out, though…"

"You sure? Won't set the net or the ball on fire if you do?" Sokka asked, amused. Azula shrugged.

"It's been known to happen…" she admitted, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. Sokka chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, I love you."

"I love you too," Azula retorted with a complicit grin, squeezing his hand before taking her position.

Mai served: as predicted, the ball soared powerfully towards Zuko, not intended to find purchase in the sand, but to smack the firebender's face. Zuko kicked the ball upon receiving it, and as much as it was a reckless move that saw the ball floating far too high in the sky, Katara still rushed towards it.

"Got it, got it…!"

Her eyes flickered down to Sokka and Azula, who exchanged a knowing look. To her utter confusion, Sokka gathered Azula in his arms, leaning down with her…

Katara tossed a high set in their direction, and just so, Sokka tossed Azula into the air.

She soared, startling everyone else in the court, even Mai, whose focus so far had been exclusively on Zuko: nobody was prepared for Azula to turn around in midair, packing a powerful kick of her own that saw the ball shooting at lightning speed, right back to the sand…

It sank in the middle of the opposite team's side with a burst of sand, as good as leaving a crater in its wake.

Katara gasped in amazement. Zuko blinked blankly, relieved, the four at the opposing team simply stared at the crater in shock, and the public froze entirely as Azula fell back again… right into her husband's waiting arms.

"And that's ten!" Sokka roared, hugging Azula tightly as they spun in circles. "We did it! You did it, Azula!"

"You're the one who threw me up there, you're the one who did it!" Azula laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck: by then, their public had launched into a loud celebration, the children squealing with joy – or simply clapping, in Renshu's case –, the grown-ups laughing at the typically unpredictable antics of the impossibly competitive couple who embraced willfully in the middle of the kuai ball court, with Sokka still holding Azula across his arms as he smiled proudly.

Hotaru watched them with amusement, letting a few chuckles tumble past her lips as she glanced at the sand crater near her, where the ball had been buried a good meter underground. Mari's own reaction was laughter, though she turned to Mai soon enough, thanking her for filling in for Yuudai, who now sat with Ruon Jian by the courtside, waving at them and letting them know they'd played brilliantly, a damp cloth under his nostrils.

"Mom! Mom, you flew like a bird!" Yuuna rushed into the court, jumping happily at Sokka's feet. "Like a dragon!"

"Oh, that's because we're a family of dragons, Yuuna, I always tell you as much," Sokka chuckled, pressing a quick kiss to Azula's cheek. "And your mommy is the best dragon of all!"

"Well, now, I wouldn't be half the dragon I am if you weren't the amazing wolf that flings me six feet into the air… or however many they were," Azula laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips. "We really are the best team there is, aren't we?"

"Always have been," Sokka grinned brightly, burying his face in her neck: Shun had joined them by then, but he grimaced at the displays of affection between his parents, sticking his tongue out at the sight of them, cuddled up together that way.

All wild tempers had flared at their worst during the games: a mere few moments after it ended, Zuko went over to apologize to Yuudai, who smiled awkwardly but accepted the apology graciously.

"I know I shouldn't have played so roughly, I just… got carried away. I was completely out of place," Zuko sighed, lowering his head in a heartfelt reverence.

"It's okay, really. It was just a game," Yuudai said, with a kind smile. Zuko grinned back and nodded.

"That's right, it was just a-… wait, what?" Zuko's brain seemed to short-circuit over the possible interpretations of Yuudai's words, but this time, Suki slipped nearby quickly and yanked him away from the teenager.

"Good job apologizing, don't mess it up now," she said, with a dry grin. Zuko scoffed.

"But he just said it was a game: what was a game? The kuai ball, o-or whatever he's up to, with Mari…?" Zuko whimpered. Suki rolled her eyes.

"Probably just the kuai ball game? Come on, Zuko, we raised Mari right, didn't we? That's what matters most. And Mai must have raised Yuudai right too, but, beyond that, picking a fight with him means picking a fight with her, and you don't want to do that again, now, do you?"

Zuko grimaced over the question: Mai's good-mannered smile at Yuudai shifted into a merciless glare upon realizing Zuko had glanced in her direction: yes, perhaps Suki was right.

"I'll… shut up now," he decided.

Suki smiled, nodding at her husband before turning to the rest of the group, all of whom were finally calming down after the intense game:

"So…! Dinnertime?"

Their last meal of the day wasn't served within the house: instead, they ate around a large fire, roasting food together, enjoying leftovers from lunch, as well as a few desserts that had been ready for the meal. The sky darkened gradually, and the stars were a beautiful spectacle to behold for everyone: laughter rang across the beach as stories of all sorts were shared, great anecdotes from the old days, tales that most everyone either held dear or found intriguing, as was the case for most the children who hadn't witnessed them directly.

By the time the last of the food was spent, several of the families retired to the house again: Ty Lee and Haru took off with Zuko and Suki's family, and Katara and Aang followed shortly afterwards, carrying both their kids. Mai slowed down next to Azula and Sokka before taking off with her own family, however, finding the five members of the self-proclaimed dragon-and-wolf family were quite comfortable lying on the sand, facing the sky, not too far from where the fire still burned.

"You'll take care of that?" she asked Azula, gesturing at the burning wood. Azula nodded reassuringly.

"Have a good night, Mai. Sorry we beat you," she smiled. Mai scoffed.

"You're not sorry at all, but I don't mind. At least you two were the ones who scored the final point," she smiled despite herself, raising a hand in farewell before taking off after her husband and two sons.

Azula closed her eyes, sighing happily against Sokka's chest: he had taken to sitting against a tall rock, and Azula had joined him there. Then Hotaru had taken her seat by Azula's free side and Shun by Sokka's: Yuuna had climbed their laps, sitting with one small leg over each of their thighs… and by now, the three children, so energetic as they had been through the day, were exhausted and drained after so much fun on their first day of beach vacation. They had fallen asleep gradually, but by now it seemed they were so deeply unconscious that their parents would likely have to carry them into the house later… but only later. For now, they basked in the peaceful feeling of sitting together near that fire, with a dark but beautiful horizon spreading before them, with countless bright stars gleaming above them.

"Well… that was quite the start for this vacation, wasn't it?" Sokka smiled, glancing at Azula with a heartfelt smile. She grinned back, pressing a quick kiss to his shoulder. "Think we can keep up the momentum if there's more games later? We should never lose at kuai ball, you and me…"

"Won't be long before they realize what the true challenge will be, for us…" Azula said, softly. Sokka gasped, in feigned outrage.

"What… making us play in opposing teams?! Now, that's forbidden. Absolutely," he scoffed: Azula only laughed, pressing another kiss to his shoulder.

"If you get away with that, then yes, we'd definitely destroy anyone who plays against us. It goes without saying," she declared, raising her head towards him. Sokka offered her a wild grin before kissing her lips quickly.

"You're my every dream come true, Azula. You know that, right?" he asked, smiling fondly at his wife. She raised her head to kiss him again, prodding his nose with hers.

"You're my every dream come true too, Sokka, though… right now, one particular dream comes to mind," she admitted, raising her eyebrows. Sokka hummed.

"What's that?"

"Well…" Azula started, glancing about herself with uncertainty.

She had been in this beach, in this place, so many years ago. She had played with her brother, she had tried to gain more approval and attention from her parents here… yet even though time had colored the memories into much fonder recollections than they used to be, back when she'd lived them directly, she'd known no peace, no true happiness, in those days. Right now, gazing at her sleeping children, and then at the man she had raised them with, a spark of very familiar, overwhelming joy danced inside her chest, filling her with the certainty of having experienced, for as many years as they had been together, exactly what she had dreamt of, if subconsciously, since she was a child…

"I guess I always wanted to know what it felt like, being part of a happy family," Azula said, with a small smile. "Been ages since the question's been answered, of course… but in moments like these, it's like all the happiness is renewed and strengthened all over again. Doesn't matter how tired we are, doesn't matter how much trouble these three can get into… all of it is part of our happiness, just as well. I… I'm seriously proud of us. Of everything we've built, Sokka."

His affectionate smile melted her heart all the more, no matter how many times she'd seen it before: he pressed his brow to hers, and she released a breath, as though hoping to let out some of the overwhelming, blissful emotions that surged inside her chest that way…

"So am I, love," he said, softly. "I did know what it felt like, myself… being in a happy family, I mean. But this feels… it feels even better than anything ever did, in the past. Not just because of how much has changed, all over the world… but because I got to build this happy family of our own with you: there's no greater honor or happiness to be found in this world than that."

Azula smiled warmly, leaning in for another kiss that Sokka relinquished gladly. They'd head indoors soon, they couldn't stay out in this beach forever, before the flickering embers, underneath a starlit sky… even so, that moment they shared, the comfort of their embrace, in the company of their children, nestled in the ever-surging love that only strengthened further between them all, was but a crystallized instant of bliss that encompassed eternity.

[markleesthighs]

pool

pairing: counselor!mark x counselor!reader(fem)

genre: angst, fluff, summer blues

song: POOL by WOODZ

note: based on true events, realistic fiction, some cursing

Every summer you used to dread coming back to camp. Let’s just say you didn’t have the best time here, you were made fun of as a joke to people, and people played with your emotions. You didn’t know who to trust anymore. You told yourself to not fall in love ever again to protect your heart. The endless nights of tears and panic attacks from those people at camp. But they’ve all grown up now, but you never forgot how they’ve hurt you. It takes a lot to make you want to love again, not just for others but yourself as well.

That was the case until you met Mark, a timid boy who was shy to talk to new people. You knew his best friend, Johnny since elementary school so you were able to get to know him better. You instantly clicked with Mark, you could have conversations until other people ushered you two away to do work. You guys fought over whether a pool floaty was a duck or a goose, leading Mark to push you into the pool. He offered you a hand to help you out but you pulled him in on top of you. No one could see it underwater but it was as if time stopped. You were cascading with your hair flowing around you, Marks eyes were closed but he looked elegant under the water. You snapped yourself out of your head and came up for air continuing to splash Mark with water.

You were playing water polo with Mark and some other counselors in the pool when you playfully took the ball away from him and he reached over close to your face when you had the ball away from you. He didn’t realize but you did, causing yourself to freeze up and have the ball be taken away by someone else. Fuck, you have a crush on Mark. You call got out of the pool for a rein check of how many counselors there were, making sure none ran off or disappeared suddenly. You and your friends notice Mark had a boner when he got out of the pool. You blushed a little while your friends were speculating who gave him a boner. None of you guys brought it up after but it was still something in on your mind.

You didn’t know what to do now, in the past you’d tell “friends” about your crush but they’d end up telling your crush anyway so you kept it to yourself. You found yourself observing little things about Mark that you two had in common. You saw that he also love horror movies because he had a Jason Voorhees sticker on his phone. You weren’t sure if you were flirting but Mark would intentionally do things you weren’t sure if they were dating. He’d join you on a paddle board, he would purposely jump in the pool in front of you to get you wet, and he would ask you to play tennis matches. He’d even make jokes like “You know what they say about big feet...big shoes.”

You didn’t realize he singled you out until other girls tried to talk to him. They would mention how they’d never get a text back from him last night while you texted him last night about Full Metal Alchemist. They would try to talk to Mark but he would awkwardly go silent and walk away from them. But when you talked to him he would be interested in what you’re saying and you would both have a lively conversation. It was weird, but you still weren’t sure if he liked you.

An only-counselors field trip came up. It was a getaway from our camp to another, and guess who also signed up for it, Mark. On the bus ride there you found out there was a girl who openly had a crush on Mark, and you and your friends decided to fuck with her a bit. Mark did agree, in a sense but deep down you knew this was wrong for the poor girl and Mark. Mark handed you his phone as you added the girl on his snap. You heard her scream on the bus and you all laughed. You sent a video of him winking to her and she freaked out even more. When we got off the bus she came to approach us asking if Mark liked her or not. We replied obliviously, like an “I don’t know...”letting her mind run wild.

They told us to split into groups, so you and your friends were in a group and Mark and Johnny also drifted towards your group, fuck. You had a lovely day, you all did zip lining, bungee jumping, and swimming in the lake. Mark intentionally showed his abs off to which made you blush but not visible for anyone to notice you were flustered. He’d teasingly splash you with water in the lake and always follow where you were going, it was cute.

Then, there was a dance at the end of the day. You knew other counselors had crushes on him and they would ask you if you had a crush on him. Swallowing your pride and heart, you’d say “No, I don’t.” or an “Ew no he’s just a friend.” It hurt to say it but you didn’t want to risk being hurt and your feelings spread to everyone. Some of the girls at the dance tried to drag Mark to dance, holding his hands, which made you feel jealous. Mark danced a little but you could tell he was uncomfortable, and felt bad. Him and Johnny soon walked outside the dance afterwards. You were bored as well and decided to follow them outside. You found them sitting on barstool seats talking. You joined them in conversation, along with a few of your friends joining after.

The topic of fuck, marry, kill came up and they asked Mark out you you and two other girls who he’d fuck, marry, and kill. In the end he chose to marry you. When they asked you, out of Mark, Johnny, and Ten who you would fuck, marry, and kill. You decided you fuck Johnny, kill, Ten, and marry Mark, hey at least the feeling was mutual. On the bus ride back you fell asleep on your friend’s shoulder, but when you woke up you caught Mark looking at you before he turned away. “Interesting.” You thought.

The following day, counselor free time came up, and you were all talking to each other, chilling out and complaining about work. When you all were about to leave the girl who had a crush on Mark came up to him and confessed to him. You knew Mark didn’t feel the same about her, but you and your friends waited for Mark to come out to ask about it. Mark was speed walking away from the area, Johnny told you that Mark replied with a “cool” when she confessed. You immediately felt guilty. That night you texted Mark a apology in case this ever hurt his feelings, and he accepted your apology. But you learned from Mark that he gets confessed to a lot at school (you and Mark go to different schools) and he’s rejected all of them.

It made you question if you should even bother confessing, knowing he would reject you. But you didn’t know why he reject girls. Is it because they are out of the blue? Or is he not ready for a relationship yet? Ugh, why was this so complicated? Mark was on lifeguard duty the next day, so you just strung up a small conversation with him.

“I heard some of the counselors are dancing at the talent show, are you going to participate?”

“Not really, I’m not too comfortable with dancing.”

“Oh, I see, other counselors want to ditch the talent show to go to an amusement park if you wanna join us?”

“That sounds fun, I’d love to go.”

“Cool, I’ll text you the details.”

You were freaking out. Did you technically? Just ask Mark out? No. Yes? You did a happy dance as you were out of his sight freaking out.

The night of the talent show you all went to the local summer amusement park. You and a few friends, Mark, Johnny, Ten, and others were there too. You all played fun amusement park games, ate greasy food, and went on so many rides it almost caused Ten to throw up. There was a ferris wheel that only allowed two people at a time, and somehow you and Mark got paired as your friend switched herself and Johnny as partners winking at you. Your jaw dropped as she cascaded away with Johnny laughing. You and Mark went as the next group, and you both awkwardly laughed at each other as you got up.

The wheel stopped when you and Mark were at the top, the sun was setting and Mark joined you at gazing at the sun.

“Hey, y/n, did you really mean what you said when you cared about me in your apology?”

“Of course.”

“Did you really want to marry me in fuck, marry, kill”

“I did pick you to marry didn’t I?”

“y/n...”

You turned your face to see Mark eagerly looking into your eyes, he was staring into your soul. You both leaned in and kissed. Both of you pulled away giggling as you fell into his arms shy. He held you also giggling. When you guys came down from the ferris wheel you held his hand and he joined his grip in yours. Johnny smirked as you led Mark to buy a cotton candy for the both of you to share. Mark took a piece and made a fake mustache out of it making you laugh. He won you a giant bunny as you kissed his cheek thanking him.

You were all leaving the amusement park as he stopped you and kissed your forehead.

“Goodnight y/n get home safe.”

You got up on your tippy toes and pecked his lips.

“You too.”

[shegairowmyamo]

the younger sibling of the cheshire cat pt 2

Sometimes when you fancy yourself a treat and don't have the energy to steal from the Queen you head over to the March Hare and Mad Hatters tea party and sit in one of the chairs and wait until one of the hooligans notices your presence. And the one to realize that you are there is surprisingly the Dormouse, they could smell the steans of a mistuves felin from a mile away. The Dormouse was hesitant at first but when they saw your wicked smile they let out an ear piercing scream alerted the previously singing fools and chaos erupted. You however watched in amusement at your work as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare tried to catch the Dormouse. After a while it got quite boring, so you took the treat you came for and left with a peap in your paws. You and the Cheshire cat were never really invited to their tea party because of this reason, but that didn't mean that it didn't leave a salty taste in your mouth. The Cheshire cat knows that look in your face and scolds you in a joking manner but he couldn't be any prouder. Like brother, like sister I guess.

Sometimes you will end each other's sentences, whether that is on purpose is anybody's guess.

You both love playing mind games with anyone you meet, no one is safe, not even the Queen but that should be obvious by now.

Believe it or not both of you are great listeners but the way you convey your opinion on the matter sounds like you don't have a clue.

The residents of wonderland are lucky that you both have limits to your chaos, but yours is much more flexible. But sometimes Cheshire doesn't have the same energy as you do when it comes to this.

You like to sleep on the open gras as the sun shines down upon you but be expected to be rudely woken up by someone that got caught in the crossfire of your chaos.

Cheshire would never expose your weak side to anyone but that doesn't stop him from being annoying about it, unless it's serious. Like I discussed in the previous headcanon thingi.

As much as he would sacrifice his life for you he would also just as much sell you soul for a cornchip.

Often in big gatherings when one of you is spotted the other is close nearby. Both of you are inseparable when among the many residents of wonderland. half of them being victims of your trix.

Remember when I compared you to the orange kitten? Well I've got some insight on that. The moment you find a room full of art supplies and paint, oh this place is gonna be in ruen. RIP to whoever owns the place. Knocking buckets full of paint off of high places is so satisfying, just watching the bright color splatter across the floor making the concrete (or whatever floor tile thingi) stand out more. Making a water slide out of paint and sliding down it while getting paint all over your furr. You walk on the sealing, on the walls, brush yourself against multiple pieces of furniture and role yourself on the floor. If your brother is there then he will definitely use you as a paint roller. It makes you all dizzy but it's fun. And to end your terror you finish off by planting your face in a multitude of colors and make the Cheshire cat™ stampe on the wall, with a grinning face and all.

None of you have a coherent sleep pattern which means that sometimes you will be so cunfertibole that you will sleep through a whole day(s). Your brother, however, has a bit more control over his sleep schedule and won't hesitate to rudely wake you up if it's an important event. Or just for shits and giggles.

You are the equivalent of Chaotic neutral and your brother is true neutral.

Sometimes yet not often you will visit the library (or whoever has one) and try to read. But you have the attention span of a goldfish and the next few hours will be spent just looking at the pictures and making a story out of that. Or zoning out and just making a world in your head from the first thing that popped into your mind. It makes you frustrated however and it can lead to you ripping the pages and feeling kinda guilty afterwards. The Cheshire cat notices this and tries to come up with ways to help you but in a subtle way, you know how he is. Like reading the stories out loud to you before sleep, or try to reenact the scene from the story into real life.

If both of you had your own theme songs then yours would be “excited troublesome little calico cat theme”. And the Cheshire cats would be “Ghost Story Cat Theme” on youtube. Or like his actual song that got cut out of the movie called “i'm odd”.

As a creature of the wild hunt it's natural for your instinct to kick in now and agen, for example, marking territory via scratching on trees. Or pounding at fast moving things, like tree branches or someone's tail. Guess whos. These things don't happen all at once but rather as bursts of actions. It's like when I flap my hands when I get excited or bounce my leg under the table when I look at something that makes me happy.

Sometimes, but not often you will use your cuteness as a kitten to your advantage. Like if you get in an argument or when you get into trouble, most people's response is to aww at your cuteness but Cheshire has seen it so many times that it's more of a reminder of how young you are compared to him. (he's kinda jealous that you can get away so easily)

Both of you have a ball trying to one up each other with how bizarre you can change your shape or see how far you can go without your head. Cheshire is a master at this but he enjoys making you think that you have a chance against him. Just when you think you have done it. Cheshire will come up with an even more ridiculous way to change his body's structure to look like nothing you've seen before, it's creative and a terrifying sight, like a creature out of a fever dream. The first time he did it, it scared you, kinda but after a few hundred times you've become familiar with it.

Sometimes both of you like to sing your hearts out in the moonlight, not caring if all of wonderland hears you.

The world is your playground and you're going to make it known to everyone >:)

link to my Quotev https://www.quotev.com/story/13799094/The-colorful-ferris-wheel-of-my-writings

[cherryplasmids]

☆ we can do this, together ☆

pairing: queen maeve x supe!reader

fandom: the boys—season 2

prompt: compound v is exposed to the world and you’re dealing with the repercussion of being a lab rat for vought. 

notes: first time writing for the boys, so pleaseeee be tender with me — requested by: @girlsgettingitdone​ — check out my other works; masterlist

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

      The news anchor droned in the background, repeating the same information for the tenth time in a row. All the news channels did. You listened until all the details became embedded in your brain—until you realized you were an embodiment of everyone's worst nightmare.

Your thumb trails over the glass picture frame in your hands while the news cuts to a commercial break. Homelander, the biggest fraud of them all, prances around in his nationalistic getup, advertising the latest Vought restaurant. You don't dwell on it long enough to find humor in the situation since all your attention is focused on the picture. Your grip tightens around the frame, cracks immediately forming.

You're eight years old, dressed in your favorite pale blue superhero costume with hair accessories to match. The smile on your face, bright and big like the way your parents drilled into you, gave the impression that you were excited to be there. If anyone took a close look, they would have noticed your red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

"You know I performed five times that day. After every show, I cried to go on the Ferris wheel, but my dad would yell at me to stop being ungrateful. I fainted from exhaustion after they took this photo. The next day, my mom pulled me out of second grade to be a full-time performer." You caress your young face before breaking the frame completely, small shards of glass pricking your skin. It felt nice to actually feel something besides numbness.

"To think I could trust my own parents." An empty laugh escapes you as you release the broken frame, watching it fall to the floor. Then you look up to see Maeve's reflection through the hanging mirror. Maeve, donned in her ugly costume, has her hands on her waist in her signature stance. This Vought approved version of her makes your heart clench in shame and sadness.

"Were you ever going to tell me?” Her dark green eyes meet your own gaze through the mirror. Maeve releases a deep sigh but keeps silent.

You whip around with lightning speed, staring at her with wide eyes filled with tears teetering your lashline. "I trusted you." Your lips tremble, tears teetering over your lashline.

"You know I couldn't." Maeve steps forward with arms reaching out to you. You step back immediately. "Please."

You shake your head. " I had my life taken from me even before it began. "

"So did I!" You glare at her, causing her to drop her hands and sigh again. "Vought would've killed us both if I told you the truth."

"So!" You throw your arms up in. "You're going to tell me that being paraded around like a caged animal is the better option."

"Living will always be the better option."

You huff out a sarcastic laugh. "Of course, you're right. Being Vought's puppets while they take hundreds of more innocent lives is the better option. You seem to think so. After all, you're their third-biggest commodity."

Another commercial comes on—this time advertising a Queen Maeve feminine hygiene product that closing your eyes. You want to laugh at the absurd timing but you're too drained to commit to that action. Maeve physically cringes, mimicking your actions. When the commercial ends, the noise from the streets down below fills the pregnant pause.

"What can I do to fix this? Fix us?"

"Tell me everything you know about Vought. Every secret, lie, all the fuck-ups—everything."

"You know I can't."

"If Starlight can, you can. You just don't want to give up your cushy life as Vought's prized princ—"

"I love you!" Her wild eyes turn a darker shade of green to point where it looks black. "What don't you understand that? Everything I hid from you was so I can protect you from Vought, from Homelander. If he found out about you, about us, then he'll murder you without a second thought."

"Again, is that really so bad?" You whisper, tears finally falling over your lashline. Maeve's eyes start to water as well when she takes another step toward you. This time, you stay put and she takes this as a hint to go to you.

She pulls you into her arms just as you collapse onto the floor, rocking you back and forth as you sobbed into her chest—crying for the potential normalcy you could've had if Vought never existed. Imaginary knives pierce your heart, stabbing it over and over again, and you start gasping for air. Closing your eyes tightly, forehead resting on Maeve's shoulder.

She pulls away enough to face you, placing her hands on your cheeks. "I'm here for you, okay? I won't let anyone harm you."

You exhale shakily, feeling some of the haze lifting, allowing some breath onto your lungs. Maeve's unyielding strength influences you to gain some yourself, finding yourself nodding along with her words.

"You can't keep doing this alone," She whispers, pressing a kiss to your forehead."

You pull away from her, backing away just to slightest to see her face fall and hiccup out a sentence. "And you can't keep being selfish enough to sacrifice millions of lives for me."

"I'm not—"

The expression you give her silences her immediately. You wipe your tears and snot on your black long-sleeved t-shirt, then kneel in front of your former girlfriend. "I'm tired of sitting idly by. I'm going to help Starlight and her friends take down Vought, with or without your help. And I'm telling you as Maeve, my ex-girlfriend who used to buy three big bags of Cheeto puffs and wouldn't share with me—not Queen Maeve, Vought's alcoholic dancing monkey."

Her head lowers, shoulders slumping and hands trembling. Grabbing her hands, you hold them, caressing them. "Be the hero you want to be."

She lifts her head, a crooked half-smile on her lips, a few tears escaping the corners of her eyes. She stares at you for a bit before nodding. You bring her into a tight hug, one that you know she needed for a long time. 

────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

word count: 1,012 published: november , 2020 edited: n/a tagging those interested in a previous post: @minimartian​ @amelialistree @gottamakethiswork​ @lyssapedia @confused-marshmallow​ @parkersgold​

[itsjustmyfantasyroom]

Hot Christmas.

For @thatesqcrush​ Holiday B!ngo: Naughty or nice.

Pairing: Rafael Barba x reader

Square: Mistletoe 

WC: 1601

Warnings: Summer Smut

This is dedicated to my darling @beccabarba ​ who planted this idea in the first place to remind you all that in my part of world while you are all freezing your bits off- mine are melting off.

Enjoy x

Rafael wasn’t quite sure what he was going to be in for. He looked up the weather the week before you guys flew out and almost wanted to cancel the trip based on that alone. As much as he liked summer more than winter, a Manhattan summer was going to be nothing compared to this and the hot Christmas, he was going to be in for a real treat. But it all that melted away in the early hours of the sunny morning when the plane tipped in for a landing and he looked out the window seeing the sun shining down on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera house. His breath was taken away at the pure beauty of the shine of the water and the perfect white sails on the Opera house,

“I told you it was beautiful” You squeezed Rafael’s knee looking at the smile on his face.

You were Australian born, but your family moved to Manhattan when you were almost a teen. Your Dad took a job offer and the family never moved back planting their roots in New York. As a family you did try to come back every year, but as you got older and your grandparents passed there was really no need. Then once you became a police officer and then an SVU Detective you didn’t know what free time was anymore.

You and Rafael had been together coming on two years and this year you both had the same time off at Christmas, unlike last year. Your parents were off travelling around Europe and Lucia was looking after children from her school whose parents had to work over Christmas. So when you suggested that you go away for Christmas and suggested to come to Australia, Rafael was all for it. He loved when your Aussie accent slipped out through your thick American one, especially when he was kissing up your thigh or when you snapped at a perp. He had learnt all your Aussie slang words and loved the Australian songs you had introduced him too.

The first week had been filled with everything beautiful the country had to offer, including the 104 F days. A day trip the Canberra and the Blue Mounties, showing him what going to the bush actually looked like , the days around the city and another day trip to a wild life park to see kola’s and kangaroo’s. You showed Rafael Centre Point Tower, Queen Victoria building and took him on the ferry to Manly for fish and chips and a day at the beach.

It was Christmas Eve and you sat on the outside of the ferry on the way back to the hotel the wind brushing against your skin and the smell of salt water, both deciding room services was the go to that night after a big day out at the beach in the heat. Rafael had his arm round you, dressed in shorts and a tank top. You could see the tan of his skin slightly darker than usual after the day,

“Would you ever move back?” Rafael looked out over the water as the ferry moved over it, passing Luna Park.

“It’s a beautiful country, but-no. My life is in Manhattan, my job, my friends, you” you kissed his cheek.

“What if I moved here with you” Rafael looked at you with a smirk.

“Rafi there is no way you could handle this heat every year” You giggled.

“Yeah you’re right” He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand.

You had gone to bottle shop just up the street from the hotel just to grab some before dinner drinks after a shower, while Rafael freshened up. You grabbed a bottle of scotch that Rafael had tried one night at Star City casino and a bottle of Australian moscato, making a mental note to grab some bottles to take back home for yourself, Liv, Amanda and Sonny. As you walked around the bottle shop there was a spinning shelf with different kinds of Australian Christmas decorations, mostly Aussie animals with Christmas hats. You grabbed a kangaroo and a kola for your tree at home. You spun it and fake green leaves caught your attention.  On closer inspection, it was traditional mistletoe mixed with eucalyptus leaves. You picked one up walking to the counter to pay.  

You opened the door to your hotel room, the TV blaring with a movie that looked like Muriel’s wedding. Rafael was sitting out on the balcony of your room on a chair from your small dining table, his legs resting on the wall of the balcony in front of him, just in boxers and a clean tank top looking out over the dark harbour seeing the lights of the Harbour bridge flicker feeling the heat of the night. You sat the bottles of alcohol down on the table and found the mistletoe in the bag, holding your hand behind your back as you walked out to him.

“Back Rafi” you walked to stand next to him as he reached up to squeeze the top of your thigh and then patted his lap for you to sit.

Rafael noticed that your hand was behind your back and tilted his head to look and see what it was

“What have you got there Hermosa?” he raised an eye brow at you.

You moved your arm to reach up over your heads, the mistletoe in your hand. Rafael looked up and chuckled,

“Is that a mistletoe in eucalyptus leaves” he raised an eye brow at you with a smirk.

“It is, Merry Christmas Rafi” you lent down to peak him on the lips, his hands moving to your hips.

“Merry Christmas mi Amor- but you know” he licked his lips “If you wanted a kiss you didn’t need that” he nodded towards your arm still above you both “You just had to ask” Rafael slide his hand up your tank top over your belly to grab on your boob after sliding it under your bra.

Without losing contact you lifted up off Rafael to straddle his lap dropping the fake leaf on the floor. Rafael was rolling your nipple between his thumb and pointer finger. You reached down and pulled your tank top off throwing it just inside the door, then reached around and undone your strapless bra throwing that inside. Rafael wasted no time leaning forward taking your nipple into his mouth nipping at it then flicking it with his tongue. You rolled your hips down on him feeling him hardening fast, your fingers in his hair running through his scalp.

Rafael pulled off your nipple with a pop looking up at your hooded eyes. You moved your hands to pull off his tank top throwing it on the floor, your hand back in his hair tugging his head back so you could kiss down his neck still rolling your hips down onto him.

“Who would have thought I would be fucking you on an outdoor balcony in December” you purred scraping your nails down his tanned chest, loving the noise your nails made as they ran over his chest hair.  Rafael whimpered bucking up his hips.

“We will have to be quite Hermosa, we don’t need complaints to the front desk- take you shorts and panties off” Rafael’s voice was thick and husky.

You stood up making quick work of pulling off your shorts and panties, Rafael doing the same. You moaned looking at Rafael’s naked body glowing in the light from the room with his hard cock standing straight up waiting for you after he had sat back down. You took a step forward biting your bottom lip as Rafael reached out to run his hand up your thigh around to your ass cheek giving it a squeeze and then a light slap pushing you forward,

“Get on mi Amor- show me how it’s done down under”

You giggled and moved to straddle him again, his hand holding himself in place for you to slide on as you sat. Getting on birth control was the best decision you had ever made always being ready for Rafael at any time having a very healthy and active sex life. You started to sit, the crown of his cock parting your lips and you dropped down quickly Rafael filling you up. You started to roll your hips Rafael’s mouth going slack, his hands moved to your hips gripping tight guiding your hips faster.

Your hands moved to his hair line at the back of his neck and you lent forward, your chest on his as you started to suck on his sweet spot just below his ear. Rafael grunted pushing his hips up into you while you rolled down on him. You knew he was close with the grunting noises he was making so you started to grind down on him harder and faster. Sweat running down both your bodies from the heat of the night.

“I’ am going to come” he grunted out. One of his hands moved down to your ass cheek grabbing onto it and the other found your clit rubbing it fast. You moaned into his neck your body shaking as your pleasure washed over you. “Y/N” Rafael moaned as he bucked up one last time and with a low roar you felt Rafael’s release coating your inner walls. Both breathless and sweaty, you lent back your lips meeting his for a soft kiss,

“Merry Christmas Rafi, I love you” you kissed his nose.

“I love you mi Amor Merry Christmas”

Tags: @detective-giggles​ @thatesqcrush​ @beccabarba​ @the-baby-bookworm​ @dianilaws​ @scarletsoldierrr​ @permanentlydizzy​ @lv7867​ @averyhotchner​

[paperficwriter]

Your First Date

Some sweet, fluffy batarou. Being teens in love.

Cut is for length, not for content.

“Oi, Badd. Why didn’t we go on a first date?”

“Well, ya hospitalized me, and then ya went on some kind of monster rager and ended up becomin’ some kinda gargoyle thing? With horns, I heard? And then ya ran off for a hot minute until ya showed up here ‘cause Zenko thought you were some kinda stray to bring home, and here we are.”

“...Heh, yeah, that just about covers it.”

Somehow during months of living together, this conversation didn’t even come up until they were sitting together on the couch, watching an anime one evening that depicted a boy and a girl in a very typical ‘is this a date?!’ situation. They were quiet for a little bit after that, until Badd prompted him by elbowing him in the arm. “Did ya want to? I mean, I feel like we kinda skipped that whole thing, yeah? Usually ya date before ya start livin’ with someone.”

“So what’s the difference between going on a date and dating?”

Badd paused the television and turned to him, wedging himself into the back sofa cushion on his side. “The date’s kinda...the thing itself. Datin’ is when you’re, like, ‘Let’s see how this pans out and if I wanna be your girlfriend for the long haul.’”

“Does that mean we skipped straight to making you my girlfriend?”

“Psh. I’m savin’ my girlfriend status for The One. You lose.”

Garou chuckled and pulled one of Badd’s hands over to rub between his. “Never been on a date before,” he mumbled.

“Are ya serious?” Badd winced when Garou bent one of his fingers sideways. “Ow. I didn’t mean it t’ be shitty! You’re good-lookin,’ so I figured ya woulda had to beat ‘em off with a stick!”

Holy shit, did Garou just blush?! “It’s not like I really had a chance, with the whole ‘leaving home and living at a dojo and then dishonoring said dojo and everything afterward,’ you know?”

Badd dragged his thumb against one of the long lines across Garou’s hand. Then he realized it wasn’t actually the love line, or the life line, or whatever. But rather, it was the pink, faded scar left from his hero hunting. “That means if I take ya out on a date, it’s not just our first date but your first date. Officially.”

Garou nodded. “Which means it can’t suck.”

“Hey, my dates don’t suck.”

“They better not. You don’t have an excuse like I do, since it sounds like you’ve been on a million, you hussy.”

Badd snatched his hand back so he could grab him by one of his wild ‘ears’ of hair. “I ain’t a hussy! And I haven’t been on a million dates! Just a few!”

Thin fingers jabbed at his side right into one of his ticklish pressure points, and Badd’s body buckled in on itself. “No, no, you’re clearly the dating pro, so you better wow me or I’m leaving!”

“Fine!” Badd threw himself on top of Garou, grabbing him by his shirt. He dropped his face close to his with a huge grin. “Then I’m gonna take ya on the best damn date o’ your life. So get ready, wolf boy.”

Garou snuck in a kiss onto Badd’s round nose, flashing his own teeth in a smile. “Okay. I’m holding you to that.”

—

Badd ended up borrowing a car. Although he had gotten his license, he didn’t really need one in the city, since he either walked wherever he needed to go or took public transportation. But if he was going to take Garou on a date, they were going to have to head out a little distance from his normal stomping grounds, enough that no one would immediately recognize him or, worse, ask questions about Garou.

And even as it was, Badd still didn’t sport his normal pompadour, and Garou had one of his beanies over his trademark hair. “So, where are we going?” Garou asked as he reached over to play with Badd’s loose strands where they framed his face. 

“It’s a surprise, ya goober. Also, I, uh...didn’t wanna talk about it so much in front o’ Zenko or she’d be sore we weren’t taking her.”

“Scandalous.”

“Shut up!” Badd gave him a shove, but he was smiling. The drive itself was nice; the air was cool, they listened to some music (and since it was just them, they didn’t even have to suffer through Amai Mask’s discography), and the sunset was a beautiful bleed of color across the horizon. 

Garou grinned when Badd turned into a hotel. “Oh, so it’s that kind of a date, huh?”

“It ain’t like that! Don’t be weird!” Badd’s cheeks burned up to his ears. “I got us a room so we didn’t have to rush back tonight, and so I didn’t have to find some random place to park.”

When Badd got back from checking in, Garou had his face out the window of the car, sniffing, eyes big. It was like he was looking into the distance, at nothing in particular, an invisible interest.

Badd couldn’t help ruffling the top of his head. “What is it, boy?” he asked like he was talking to a dog, “Whattaya smell, huh?” 

Garou rolled his eyes but didn’t really divert his attention, though his did close his eyes. “It’s been forever since I went to the beach. I can smell the sand and the water...and I can hear it.”

Badd turned his ear up, letting the wind hit him. He could just barely make out the salty scent, but he certainly couldn’t hear it. “Good thing that ain’t the surprise.”

Tipping his head curiously, Garou got out of the car, and they started walking down the road. 

It couldn’t be but so surprising, because they could see the boardwalk from the half-mile mark as they walked up toward it. A large road right beside piers and docks had been lined with shops, stands and various attractions on either side, and there was a huge ferris wheel lit up with sparkling lights.

Badd had insisted on going during the week, so since it was Wednesday there weren't nearly as many people as there probably would have been on the weekend. On top of that, it was also late in the season, so there weren’t visiting tourists to contend with either. “I know ya hate crowds as much as I do,” Badd commented as he took his hand. “And I wanted your first date to be a good experience, ya know.”

Garou was staring in every direction, his mouth just a little bit open. Shit, was it too much? Had Badd overdone it?

What finally came out was: “I want to eat everything.”

Badd laughed. “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”

When Garou said everything, he wasn’t kidding. Like a bloodhound, Garou made a beeline for the spots that had the best-smelling greasy food scents, and Badd found himself being dragged to stand after stand to buy long skewers of yakitori, shioyaki and ikayaki. Each one was shoved into his face to try. “Please at least keep the squid in a different hand. If I think I’m gonna get chicken and bite into the ikayaki, I’m gonna hurl.”

Garou just took a bite of each. To spite him.

Now, the noodles he could get behind: yakisoba with deliciously tender pieces of pork; hot, sour Thai noodles that warmed him up to the core; a ramen burger made with prime beef and huge pieces of near-solid noodles. Garou was about to lead them to the taiyaki parfait stand, when Badd finally put his hand on his arm.

“Babe. Ya know I think the world of ya, but can we digest for, like, five minutes?”

“I guess.” He smirked and kissed a spot of sauce off the corner of his mouth. “You weakling.”

Next, Badd took him to an arcade. It was set up to look like one of the “classic” ones, with pinball, huge games with old displays that were probably twenty years old, and racing games that made Garou have to fold his long limbs inwards to get to the gas and brake. 

When he caught Badd laughing, he glared. “I’m still going to kick your ass, even if I do dislocate my hip.”

“You are older than me, Stretch. That’s a real concern.”

“By a year!”

But they figured it was time to go when Garou laid into a test-your-strength punching dummy a bit too hard and snapped it off its support. In his defense, Badd absolutely should have been watching him closer. Garou had a tendency to get carried away.

As they explored the area even more, they came to a set of shops outside a mall connected to the boardwalk. Garou wandered over to an open stand and stopped so hard his heels screeched. “Oh my god, Badd, look at this.” At first, it just looked like they were selling little trinkets and random junk...until Badd got a closer look. “It’s fucking knock-off hero stuff like you find online!”

Badd nearly choked as he picked up a toy that he could only guess was supposed to be Genos with huge neon eyes and a perfectly rectangular mouth. One hand was on backwards, and the paint job was so abysmal it was like it was just dipped in random colors. A figurine of Atomic Samurai actually had a gun for some reason, Zombieman had been painted lime green, and then…

“You have to buy it.”

���I don’t have to do any such a damn thing.”

“Please. I need this as a memento of our first date.”

Badd sighed and paid the ridiculous amount for a Metal Bat action figure: the torso was so big his head was roughly pea-sized, he was wearing a skirt and his bat looked like it was a wooden one. “It’s literally in the name! Metal Bat! They had one job!”

Garou cackled as he pocketed his prize. “Villains beware! The amazing Wood Bat! Special move: Splinter Spirit!”

As the sky was just beginning to transition from a red-touched blue into night, Badd walked Garou out onto the pier that cut into the ocean far enough that it was actually quiet, compared to the street. A torii gate stood alone overlooking the water and the far-off sunset. Garou stared up at it as Badd explained, “There used to be a shrine on the water, but it got destroyed by a typhoon or somethin.’ They left the torii up ‘cause the sun falls right inside it, yeah? And it was still standin,’ so...yeah.”

“You know a lot about this place.”

Badd grinned, kind of lopsidedly. “Yeah…”

“Like you’ve been here before. More than once.”

“Heh, guess I’ve been caught.”

Easily hopping up onto it, Garou sat on one of the wooden rails of the dock and looked out over the easy-going waves. “That’s fine. There are only but so many places you can take dates, so obviously there’s going to be some overlap.”

“What? Oh god, no. Garou.” Careful not to push him over, Badd got between Garou’s long legs, hands holding his waist. “I ain’t...I’ve never brought another date here. Never. You’re the first.” He sighed. “I came here when I was a kid, with my folks. And Zenko after she was born, for a couple of years but I think she was too young to really remember it. This is, uh…” He cleared his throat. “This is the first time…” God, don’t cry, don’t fucking choke up. “Since…”

“Hey.” Garou’s fingers rubbed the back of his scalp and pulled his face into his stomach. “I got it. It’s okay. I like it. A lot.”

“...yeah?”

“Yeah. It’s the best first date. I thought you were just going to drag me out to something really lame and I was going to have to be like, ‘Nooo, Baaadd, I loooove it…’”

Badd snickered and jabbed Garou in the side of the leg. “Jerk.”

Garou continued on in the mock-patronizing voice as he jumped off the ledge and back to the dock. “‘Oh my gooood...no, you put soooo much effort into it…’”

“Well now if I ever do disappoint ya, I’ll see right through you!”

“Of course you will, because I am so transparent and you are so perceptive.” Garou tugged him toward the ferris wheel. “Come on, I think this is a good time for this one.”

Badd nodded, and when they got to the ramp, there really wasn’t much of a line. They climbed into the next available car together. It was one of the new, fancier ferris wheels, with a compartment that people could sit in facing each other while looking out a window on either side, at the sea or at the glittering city skyline in the near-distance. Slowly, they started the climb, and as Badd watched the crowds below get smaller and smaller, he could feel Garou’s eyes on him. 

“So, I’m new to this, but it seems pretty obvious that this is when you’re supposed to kiss on dates, right? That’s a thing isn’t it?”

Badd turned his hand over when cool fingers rubbed his knuckles. “Yeah, I think ya kinda...play it by ear, and when it feels right, ya jus’ go for it.”

Garou leaned close, his smile reflecting the bulbs outside that lined the ride’s spokes. “I think you’re supposed to call the shots though, right?”

“Yeah...I think so.” Badd moved like he was going to close the gap between them, but then put his fingers up to block Garou’s lips. “Wait.”

“...seriously?”    

“Trust me.”

It was only about a minute until they rounded the curve and there they were, at the top of the wheel. In the grand scheme of things, it probably wasn’t that high up but...here, it was the highest point, and for them it might as well have been the top of the world. And before Garou could ruin it by saying something dumb or complaining about the hold up, Badd yanked him into the softest, deepest kiss he could give, putting every ounce of himself into it.

They didn’t actually break it until they were almost at the bottom again, and even then they stayed close, gazing into one another’s face.

“You know…” Garou gave him another little peck, smiling through it. “I think I could get into this whole dating thing.”

Badd hummed, and he kept his fingers loosely holding his shirt so he couldn’t get far away from him. “Yeah...kinda figured ya might feel that way.”