#triple threat triad

[wishingforatypewriter]

Thank you so much @bearsandbeansart for accepting my commission and creating such an amazing piece of art for this tiny rarepair!

I like to think of this piece as the unofficial cover art for my new ongoing Jarper fic, Seduction and Syndicates (and a source of motivation to finish writing it).

[equalistaden]

Some Xander art I also did awhile ago.

[orangepanic]

@wishingforatypewriter has me completely hooked on the tiny crack ship of Viper/Jargala Omo, but when I tried to write them all that came out was this vaguely holiday-themed conversation between Viper and Zolt instead. So, uh, happy holidays?

Anyway it was very fun to write, whatever it is.

[gaffney]

MIGUEL, SAM & ROBBY cobra kai, 2018-2025

[hqmillioncorn]

my little sister's deck has no pathetic cards

"So you mean to tell me you've been going around and telling people that I'm your little sister??" Lunya was floored, flabbergasted and shocked to learn about what Babycorn had been doing. "Yeah!" Babycorn was glad that Lunya understood. Lunya shook her head and looked down, sighing. "Babycorn you do remember I'm a year older than you." Maybe if the difference was a couple of months Lunya would let it slide, but this was a whole year. Not to mention that Babycorn was, well, Babycorn. "B-B-But-!" Babycorn tripped over her words for a couple of seconds, until she found her footing. "If I'm your big sister I can protect you and make sure nothing ever bad happens to you! That's why I gotta be the big sister Lunya!" Lunya was a little caught off guard. That was actually kind of sweet. "Babycorn...I love you and I appreciate the thought but I-" Lunya was interrupted when a dragonfly flew past her, catching Babycorn's attention. "Woah what's that?!" Babycorn ran to chase the dragonfly and would have face planted into the ground had Lunya not acted quick enough and grabbed the back of her shirt collar to keep Babycorn in place. "Classic Babycorn..."

with @windupnamazu 's lunya and butter

in butters continuing adventures to win babycorn's heart he decides one of the ways to do so is to take up arms against an impossible opponent. in the deadliest form of combat to ever exist. triple triad........................

It was just a little bit past sunset. The weather was finally cooling down and the sky was growing darker.

The ground was still a little moist from the rain earlier that day. Which made it perfect for Babycorn and Cherrypit to dig around in the mud. And the dirt.

Cherrypit was digging another deep hole to himself yet again, biting at and scaring away any bugs that dared to crawl near him. “Ra! Ra!” Cherrypit roared at them in his tiny squeaky scary voice. 

He knew he was free to dig as much as he wanted to since all he had to do afterwards was fill the hole back up. 

Lunya had very patiently explained to him (and Babycorn) they needed to do that after one too many people took a tumble down into the dirt.

Most of those people being Coco Cocoda. 

Meanwhile on the surface, a very mud-covered Babycorn was simply sitting down, waiting to see when Cherrypit would want to go back inside for snacks. “I want-! Popoto chips~!” Babycorn sang to herself. She had been craving them aaaaaall day. 

Suddenly, something caught Babycorn’s eye, putting a stop to her little concert. 

A tiny puft of hair was poking out of the hole Cherrypit was digging. Without even a second thought she grabbed the hair akin to grabbing a radish to pluck it from the ground. When Babycorn pulled her arm up she also pulled her baby brother up. Cherrypit took a small break from chewing on some mysterious object to let out a happy little giggle and wiggle around. “Bebe! Bebe! Hi Bebe!” he greeted his sister. 

“Hi Cherry!” Babycorn wiggled him around a little bit. Just like she knew he liked to be and then set him down on the ground. “Do you wanna go see if we can find some popotoooo…?” Her voice trailed off as she noticed what Cherrypit was chewing on. Even as mud covered as it was she could still recognize it. 

“Oh, hey!” Babycorn held her hand out in front of Cherrypit’s mouth. A movement that her brother instantly knew meant to give her whatever he had in his mouth. “Blah..!” Without any hesitation he let the drool-covered object fall into his sister's hand. 

Now that she could get a good look at it, Babycorn actually recognized what she was holding. “These are my old triple triad cards?!” They were covered in baby drool and mud but she was more than positive that’s what she was holding. “Tiple tiad!” Cherrypit happily repeated, clapping his hands. 

“I buried them a long time ago! Cause I thought they would grow into a card tree…” Back then Babycorn was even more clueless about things than she was now. She was convinced that her deck of cards would grow tenfold if she planted her cards into the ground to grow like plants did. That’s how those cards ended up almost six fulms underground. 

“I guess they didn’t really go anywhere, huh?” Not that it really mattered, she ended up getting more cards over the years anyway. 

On a whim, Babycorn reached into her pockets and took out the usual cards she carried with her. The five cards that she constantly tried to battle people with. “Ooh..They’re the same cards!” One of the sets was much more mud covered than the other but there was no mistaking it, it was a one to one match. 

Cherrypit crawled over and reached his hands out, “Card! Cards?” Then a few more pieces of baby babble that sounded like “Yubabilakuku?” Which Babycorn knew meant something like, ‘I wanna see too? Please? Please?’

“Okay here you go!” There was no harm in giving Cherrypit her old buried cards. He was the one who had dug them out so it was only fair to give them back to him. “Remember you can chew but don’t eat them too much. Kaykay?” 

“Kay! Kay!” Cherrypit repeated. This usually meant he understood. Usually. 

As Babycorn handed her brother back the cards, yet another something caught her attention. This time it was a sound behind her. The sound of a door opening. “Hellooo-oh?”  Babycorn leaned back as far as she could to try and see who it was. 

Her eyes lit up with excitement when she saw Butter staring down at her. For some reason he was upside down but that didn’t really matter. “Hi Butts!” Babycorn was about to ask what he was doing out here but she noticed something he was carrying in his hands. 

A bowl, full of a particular snack.

Babycorn let out a dramatic gasp, pushing herself up from the mud and standing in front Butter with shimmering eyes. “Popoto chips?!” How had he known she wanted some?! Besides her telling literally everyone who she ran into that day that she was craving popoto chips.

Butter giggled, “You told me you wanted some! So I went and found some for you!” Specifically he had run out in the rain to go buy as many bags as he could carry home. “I even went and bought some extra bags so if you want some more later you can grab those!”

“Weally????” Babycorn’s eyes looked to be watering. “For meeeeee?” 

“Really!” Butter maneuvered the bowl in his hand on top of his arm so he could pet the top of Babycorn’s messy head. Making sure to avoid any parts of her head draped in mud. “Here you and Cherry can have as many as you want!” He held the bowl out towards Babycorn, waiting for her to take it. 

“Yipppeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!” Babycorn let out a deafening squeal and grabbed the popoto chips from her good friend Butter. She took a seat back on the ground and began eating them, even dunking some of the chips into the mud for extra flavor. “Chip! Cheep!” Cherrypit crawled over and grabbed a handful. “Thank you Butts!” He was a polite little boy so of course he had to remember to thank Butter too. 

“It’s no problem really!” It's not like he could just stand by and let Babycorn suffer a single more second wanting a snack and not being able to eat it. He couldn’t let the world be that cruel to her.

Not only that, making sure that Babycorn never went hungry was on his list of ways to woo her. 

An ever growing list that just always seemed to be getting longer and longer the more awesome ideas he and Oleo had. 

“D’you want sum too?” Babycorn asked with her mouth full. It would be rude not to share, she had learned this by now. Butter very kindly declined and began to walk back inside. For some reason Butter leaving made Babycorn feel a little sad.

If only there was some way she could get him to stay a little longer…

That’s when she had a genius idea. “Do you wanna play triple triad with me?!” She blurted out. 

Butter froze, his hand on the front door. “Triple Traid…??” That had come completely out of nowhere. 

At least, for Butter it had. 

It didn’t take Babycorn long for her to scurry back inside and pick up a triple triad mat from her messy room. All while tracking mud inside the house.

While she was doing that Butter was grabbing his own cards from his collection. He had started collecting them ever since getting his first pack of them at the Gold Saucer. 

Both lalafells shortly meet up back outside, placing the mat on the garden table, they both took seats across each other. Cherrypit took his seat on top of Babycorn’s lap, eating popoto chips from a much smaller bowl Babycorn had also grabbed. Which meant she also tracked mud all over the kitchen too. 

“Caurd!” Cherrypit pointed at the cards in his sister’s hands and giggled.  He’d also been the one to decide who would play the first card. Of course Cherrypit choose Babycorn to go first. Butter expected nothing less. For now he was patiently waiting for his turn to go. 

Babycorn looked up at Butter with a big grin, she swayed happily from side to side without a care in the world or a thought in her head as she looked down at the cards in her hands. 

There was a Sabotender, and also a Sabotender, then another Sabotender, alongside a Sabotender card with a bite taken out of it, and a Calcabrina card that Babycorn always let Cherrypit put into her deck. 

Most of the time the people she played Triple Triad against would never let her use this deck on account of the silly rule of it technically being ‘illegal.’ Whatever that meant. Babycorn didn’t really understand. 

What she did understand was just how frustrated she always was to learn she couldn’t play with her beloved cards. Her disappointment was usually short lived however and would fix the problem by just letting Cherrypit pick five random cards from her collection. 

With his eyes closed. 

For Cherrypit she decided to play his favorite, the Calcabrina card. She placed it on the top right corner. “Caurd! Capabina!” Cherrypit laughed, he stretched his arm to where the card was and gave it a little pat. 

On the other hand, whenever someone did let her use her favorite little cards, Babycorn would get so happy that the act of actually winning the match would hardly matter to her anymore. 

She was just happy to be able to use her cards for once. Which was exactly what was happening now. Babycorn giggled and kicked her feet in place, a wide grin on her face. 

Now it was Butter’s turn. Not that he realized it at first. It took Babycorn telling him it was his turn to go for him to notice. Something about being too busy staring at the cute girl in front of him was just a little distracting. 

“R-Right-!” Butter simply took a Delivery Moogle card and placed it at the bottom right corner. 

It was not Butter’s objective to win this match, rather, he wanted to try his hardest to let Babycorn win. Just to make her a little bit happier. Of course Butter didn’t mind doing this, he was happy to.

The only thing was that…

Making Babycorn win a triple triad match ended up being much harder than he thought.

They were now well into their ninth game of the night. And this was the ninth time in a row Butter was trying his absolute best to lose. He had done all he could, placing his cards in horrible places, getting his cards taken away on purpose, even playing cards with his eyes closed. 

Yet somehow, someway, Babycorn kept finding some way to lose.

Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to mind. It was almost the complete opposite. Every time Butter won a match she would get ecstatic about it. Letting out another “Yay! Butts wins!!” and clapping until her hands stung. Truly she was just happy to be here. 

It was getting late so both Babycorn and Butter decided it would be best to turn in for the night.

As Babycorn collected her cards all back up she congratulated Butter one last time. “You’re really good at this Butter! I can’t believe you won so many times!!” Cherrypit shared in her sentiment. “Butts win’d!”He had never seen someone win against his sister so many times. 

Most people just walked away after the first match after seeing the nonsense they were playing against.  

“Y-Yeah…” Butter could hardly believe it either. He still felt a little bad wiping the floor with Babycorn so many times but if that made her happy, who was he to judge?

“I bet you could even beat Lunya!” Babycorn placed the triple triad mat on top of Cherrypit’s head not paying any mind to the innocuous comment she had just said. “She’s really really good! I’ve never seen anyone beat her!” 

Butter knew full well of Lunya’s triple triad reputation. Tales were still told of the innocent looking lalafell who wandered the lands, defeating opponent after opponent, collecting the spoils of the battle. “I don’t…Hmm..” A thought crossed Butter’s mind. 

Oleo had said something about wooing Babycorn by doing something that really impressed her. Beating Lunya of all people in a triple triad match-that would woo Babycorn ten times over. 

Surely, Lunya would go easy on him if it was for the sake of winning Babycorn’s heart? Right?

The next day Butter decided to put his plan into motion. He took a peek outside, Babycorn and Cherrypit were back in the front lawn. This time they were playing with their sentient backpack, Hungstal. Basically just throwing treats into its mouth and watching as it ate them up.  

“Good job Hungstal!!” Babycorn clapped, throwing another chicken bone inside it. 

Things were lining up perfectly. All he needed to do now was get Lunya’s attention, which wouldn’t be hard at all. Right now she was in the middle of planning a redecoration of the house’s main foyer. Something she had been hard at work for the last couple of days. Butter hoped that Lunya wouldn’t mind being torn away from her work for a little bit, but a part of him also figured that she would appreciate the break. 

Butter carefully walked up to Lunya and was about to get her attention, when she turned around to face him first. “Yeees? Something on your mind Butter?” She swiveled her chair towards him, “Do you need more gil to buy snacks for Babycorn again?” Lunya let out a knowing little laugh. 

Butter shook his head, he didn’t know why he was feeling so nervous about this. In hindsight, it could have been his own self-preservation warning him. “Lunya? Can you help me with something really quick?” Butter asked. 

“I’d be happy to!” Lunya was happy to help her son that was only a few years younger than her with whatever problems or favors he wanted. “Well, I suppose that depends on what you need!” Maybe today Babycorn was craving a different snack. Hopefully nothing too out of the ordinary.

Not like that time she was craving cupcakes baked using a special baking mix that had been discontinued seven years ago.

“Great!” Butter jumped and clicked his heels together before mysteriously running over to the front door. “I’ll ask you about it outside! Thank you!” He stepped outside and closed the door as gently as he could. 

Leaving behind a very confused Lunya.

“.........heh?” 

What in the world was waiting for her outside???

As soon as Lunya stepped outside she was met with the sight of no one around her. “Huh?” Hadn’t Butter said something about meeting her outside? Where could he have run off to? Maybe Babycorn whisked him away to some other grand adventure which usually involved going shopping for food. 

“I hope they have fun out there.” Lunya sighed, they were growing up so fast... Maybe she would call them a little while later and ask them to bring her a snack too. They usually did, if Babycorn happened to remember. 

Lunya turned around to go back inside, when she heard someone call out her name. 

Butter emerged from the shadows of a nearby hydrangea bush with Babycorn right behind him. He held his cards out in front of her, “Lunya! I challenge you to a triple triad match!” It took a second for Butter to process what he had just said and done. Most of this was a spur of the moment sort of thing. “...uh, please? If you’re not too busy?” 

Butter was a little worried when Lunya didn’t say anything. Only keeping her back turned towards him. He couldn’t have upset her, could he? There was an apology brewing up inside him but before it could escape he heard Lunya’s distinct voice answer him. 

“Oh-! Of course! I would love to~!” 

The sky began to darken around them. Clouds rolled in from out of nowhere, covering the sun behind them. Butter looked up in surprise. The weather was supposed to be clear today, wasn’t it? 

The distinct sound of thunder sounded all around them. Flashes of light lit up the sky, illuminating Lunya for every crashing sound they heard. A wind howled past them. Sounding more like the echoes of the past, warning them of something sinister coming towards them. 

Cherrypit giggled to himself, but there was something a little malicious about it. 

Before Butter could be even more confused of what was happening, Lunya turned around, slowly. There was a wide grin on her face. Normally Butter would find some sort of comfort in her smile but right now the only thing he was feeling was something akin to dread. Horror? Complete regret? Something along those lines. 

An ominous bell began to toll in the distance. For whom was it tolling? Butter could only guess it was a prelude to his funeral dirge. ‘This was a mistake. This was a mistake. This was a mistake. This was a mistake. This was a mistake.’ 

Babycorn’s pom stood up on its end as she excitedly looked around. “Oh! Is it dinner time?” A bell could only mean that food was ready! 

Lunya walked closer to the pair and Cherrypit, a threatening aura was coming off of her. “No-it’s not dinner time yet but someone is about to be cooked.” God help him she even had cool one liners.

Butter had set up the triple triad mat ahead of time. It was in the same place he and Babycorn had played together just yesterday. He hoped that maybe putting it in the same location would give him a little bit of luck but now he wasn’t so sure. He also wasn’t so sure now about Lunya going easy on him just because Babycorn was here. 

“You can do it Butts!! I believe in you!!” Babycorn cheered him on, standing in his corner. Even though certain doom certainly awaited him it made Butter’s heart flutter a little hearing Babycorn believe in him so much. 

Meanwhile Cherrypit was standing right behind Lunya, cheering on her victory. “Go wuwu! Go wuwu!” Both siblings decided to do this so neither of their friends would feel left out. Lunya pet the top of Cherrypit’s head for good luck, fluffing his hair around. “Hehe” he giggled. 

Just like before, Cherrypit was the one who decided who would go first. After telling him that Babycorn could not go first because she wasn’t playing he changed his answer to Lunya. 

“Thank you Cherry!” Lunya chimed. 

Then before Butter knew it, Lunya had already placed down her card. It wasn’t one that Butter recognized. It was his turn now. He had to play something. “It’s okay Butts! You got this! Yeah! Yeah!” Babycorn’s cheering was actually helping a little. For a second he actually believed that he stood a chance. 

That was before he finally played a card, then Lunya played her’s, and he played another and so on. It was pretty crystal clear that Lunya had won the round. She had turned all of Butter’s cards into her’s. “Wuwu wins!” Cherrypit clapped and cheered. Lunya was so cool! 

And so it went, round after round after round, Lunya came out victorious. It didn't matter what cards Butter switched out or whether he went first or second , the outcome was still the same. There was no stopping the Lunya sweep.

“Lunya wins!” Lunya chirped, setting the winning card down on the mat. 

At this point Butter had lost count how many times he’d lost. It was pretty clear by now that Lunya was showing him no mercy. There was only one thing on Lunya’s mind right now and it was to win. 

Butter inhaled a steady breath and held it for a worrying amount of time. He wasn't the type to give up, this was proven time and time again. and yet, even he had his limits. His convictions had run out. With a heavy sigh Butter set all his cards down in a stack and placed his palm on top of his deck. 

Which is of course the universal sign of surrendering in a card game 

Lunya blinked, looking up at Butter. “Aww are you sure?” She was having a lot of fun but if Butter wanted to call it she would oblige.

Butter slumped down in his seat. “Yeah…I don’t think I have a chance of winning…” At least, not with the cards or luck he had right now. Maybe in one-thousand or so years he would actually stand a fighting chance. 

“Well you’re right about that.” Lunya smiled, “But you did put up more of a fight than my usual opponents! You made some really smart moves!” Unfortunately it hadn’t been enough. Not against Lunya. “I’m sure if you keep trying you can beat anyone that stands in your way!”

Butter felt a newfound sense of hope. “Even you?”

Lunya giggled, “No <3” 

Well that settled that. 

“By the way-” Lunya stood up from her seat and put her hands behind her back, “You’re welcome.” She winked at Butter and playfully smiled, the same little smile she had on the entire time they were playing. 

“Huh?” 

Before Butter could ask what Lunya meant, someone grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around. “BUtter!!!” Babycorn screamed at him, “That was AMAZING!!” she waved her arms up and down. There was a shocked look on her face “You looked so cool and awesome and really really really…!” She was stumbling on her words.

Babycorn placed her hands on her cheeks and looked away, she let out a nervous little laugh. “...You looked really cool!” Her face felt a little warm. Mysteriously. For some reason. 

“Cool!” Cherrypit repeated. 

Butter felt his own face warm up. “O-Oh!” Was this it? Was this what it meant to woo? It felt a little like Babycorn was wooing him now too. She looked so cute right now. Well, Butter thought she always looked cute but that’s not the point right now. “Th-Thank you..!” He didn't really need to win in the end. Who would have guessed?

Babycorn shook her head, trying to snap herself out of whatever love filled haze was filling her head with flowers. “And you even went up against Lunya and you're still alive! That’s really impressive!” 

Butter blinked, twice. “Huh?” Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? What did that mean? What did she mean by that????????

Butter turned around in a panic to ask Lunya what the heck Babycorn meant by that but she was already long gone. “Huh???” What did this mean? Could he have died at any point in the matches? Probably not. Lunya loved him like a son BUT WHAT DID BABYCORN MEAN???

Cherrypit waddled over and pointed out towards the front gate. “Luwu gone!” He had seen it first hand. Not wanting to disturb the lovebird’s moment, Lunya had just sprinted away as quickly as she could. She was still in earshot, listening to everything they were saying. 

“...What the hell is Babycorn talking about…” Lunya whispered to herself.

[beifong-brainrot]

Mako's reaction to killing Ming Hua has always stuck with me because bro needs a second to process.

And I do wonder, I'm pretty sure this is the first person Mako has killed. He got pretty close, trying to fry Amon, but then he was not only protecting himself, but also Korra. Further more, I believe he was furious over what Amon had done to Korra. Like look at him he was aiming to fry the man alive like I think the only reason Amon survived is because he's a freak if nature.

I feel like we still don't talk enough about how he did that, the only people I'm aware of who broke through a bloodbending hold are avatars and Master Katara and random Great Depression orphan just pulls this on the most powerful bloodbender known to the world?

But with Ming Hua, while the situation was as intense, Mako was protecting just himself. Which I think is emblematic of his character growth in B3 to moving past basing his identity around taking care of others.

But also knowing that Mako was taught lightning by the leader of the Triple Threat Triad, it must be a surreal moment for him. Zolt certainly taught Mako to use lightning for killing, but I'm certain Mako was more hesitant to do so. So this may be one of those moments where he inadvertently goes along with what those who influenced him during his and Bo's time on the streets wanted him to do.

[heartilywrites]

enemies to lovers with korra and a blue firebender reader🌚

،، 𝓢tanding Next to You ; Korra

request guide | masterlist

resume: where you, a Triple Threat Triad member, meet the avatar on her first day at the city... and she tries to take you down.

content warning: comfort ; fluff ; a little bit of angst ; Korra x blue firebender!reader ; I THINK I didn’t add any pronouns, but I did this with a fem!reader on mind ; triple threat triad!reader ; taking place in s1 ; reader takes Mako's spot in a lot of things !! ; description of eye color ; no use of y/n

wc: 4.2k

a/n: this has to be my longest fic by far and I feel that to cover good this dynamic I should do a series, but I'll think about it 😋 i loved writing this one ENJOY !!!!

“ One touch and I brand newed it for ya.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Whose fucking boots are these!?” your voice resounded in the Triple Threats' base, at not receiving any quick answer you were fast to burn them. “Ugh, they smell like shit, it's disgusting.”

You made your way to the group's reunion salon, being met with four sets of eyes. An ironic smile appeared in your lips before doing a small bow.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “To what I owe the honor of being called by our leader?” you asked, both your hands behind your back.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I need you to go and collect our money for us.” Zolt talked. “Viper and his men will go with you.” you frowned.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Why? I can do it alone, they will only hold me back.” you were quick to defend.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Because I say so, idiot. Now go before I change my mind.” a nod was received from your way, holding yourself to not roll your eyes at him and leaving after the three men.

You knew it was going to be a long journey. You've been part of the Triple Threat Triad since you had memory, just as your former friends: you arrived to the group as an orphan. Unlike the Fire and Earth brothers, you stayed in the group feeling that it was the only place were you could be safe, surrounded by criminals. It was all you knew: breaking the law and being a criminal.

It wasn’t like the Triple Threats cared for you because they basically raised you, on the contrary, you were the only known firebender to create blue flames in the modern age, your predecessor being princess Azula back in avatar Aang's time. So it was clear to them, blue flames: stronger fire: an unstoppable firebender and only a bunch of idiots would let a prodigy firebender go, no?

You were behind them all after getting told they would handle the money, looking around if anything caught your eye. Distracted by a necklace stand, the sound of Mushi hitting the ground got your attention back at the same time he screamed your name.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “T–The Avatar!” he exclaimed with somewhat fear in his voice, your eyes were fast to locate the girl when she effortlessly threw Ping to a close-by store.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Now that's a woman.” you whisper to yourself before running to help, taking advantage of her distraction you threw fire at her, she became alert once more.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “You can make blue fire!?” she gasped after defending herself, you smiled big at her the second you both stood still. “How did you do that!?”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Family secret, want me to tell you?” your hand made the expression asking her to come closer.

But the girl wasn't going to fall that easy to you it seemed.

A very heated –pun intended– fight happened between the two of you, Korra wasn't going to cease at any moment and you weren't about to give her the satisfaction to win so easily.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I gotta say, Avatar,” your voice sounded shaky at the movement, but you were able to make her trip on her own feet and get on top of her with one leg on each of her sides. Both your hands grabbed her wrists in an attempt to not give her the chance to bend. “I thought you were going to give a better fight.”

The avatar growled, there was no way you were winning, she would not let you win without giving a good fight, using her strength she was able to change positions to now being the one on top. Your eyes widened for a second before a flirty smile appeared on your lips, your teeth caught your bottom lip.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Yeah, well, we can test that if you like.” even if the girl was threatening you, your gold eyes sparkled with emotion.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Oh, I would love to–” a man's voice screaming your name followed by a 'WE'RE LEAVING!' made you sigh. “But I believe we need to reschedule our date, how about next week?”

The southerner opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a head bump provided by you, hard enough to make her loosen up her grip. You pushed her to the side so you could stand up and run, instead of jumping in the vehicle you used your fire to propel yourself a couple of meters ahead and take a different route so the avatar had to figure out who to follow and to your bad luck she targeted the three men.

Once back in the base you presented yourself to the leader to tell him everything that went down while getting the money and after a couple minutes of not hearing news from the men you two concluded that they got captured.

Days passed after that and you had almost forgot about your failed mission with the trio, but the girl was impossible for you to forget. You found yourself thinking about her while walking late at night in the city's streets, how was she? Where did her Avatar duties took her? Your questions were about to stay as unsolved until one of day you saw a flyer about a probending match and on the picture you were able to recognize the girl along with your two ex co–workers.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “The destiny smiles at me once more.” you spoke to yourself before making your way to the stadium.

You sneaked into the gym with such caution of not getting caught, before entering the practice room you were able to hear something about some money for some competition, you didn't know, you were there to make a call on the girl. Once the older man left the room you walked in, seeing how Mako was leaving a little smile appeared on your mouth.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hey, fellas, is this the meet and greet for the fire ferrets?” you asked walking with your hands behind your back. Both remaining benders turned to you and you were met with an excited Bolin and an annoyed Korra. “Well damn, calm down, no running.” you joked, Bolin was quick to walk over to you.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I can't believe it! You're here!!” the earthbender hugged you with a little bit of strength, making you complain about the limited air in your lungs. “Sorry, I'm just excited. I thought I'd never see you again!”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Now you have me here!” when your feet touched the ground again you smiled with warmth his way before looking back to Korra. “Miss Avatar, good seeing you again.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Wish I could say the same.” she spat with discontent, her feet moved her to look for her stuff. “I'm leaving, Bolin, I need to take care of some things. Catch you later!”

Your eyes followed the southerner with curiosity, she didn’t say goodbye to you, but you sure yelled goodbye to her. Not a single word back, she rolled her eyes even if you didn't see it.

You turned back to Bolin and smiled again.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “So, Bo, I heard you're in need of some money.” you said tilting your head to the side. “I have a security project and we need an earthbender as skilled as you.”

The young man shuffled uncomfortable for a bit. “Yeah, uhm, Mako said I shouldn't get near you guys...”

Your eyes rolled at that statement. “Well, if you need the money in a short time-frame let me tell you that no honest work will get it.” you said, from your jacket you handed him a wad of money, his eyes widened and mouth opened with surprise. “It's yours, think about it and if you want to take the job you know where to find me.”

After that you said goodbye with a tiny hug and walked back to the base. At night a couple of minutes before leaving, Bolin presented himself in the place and you couldn’t be more happy. You'd be lying if you said you didn't miss the brothers by your side, after all you three grew together, so it did hurt a little bit when they left.

You used the opportunity to catch up with the earthbender and to ask about the Avatar without appearing invasive, you had to hide your interest for her as you weren't alone with the boy.

Everything was going well until the group got jumped by the equalists, everyone gave a good fight but the chi blockers were faster and got the group. They made sure to have you neutralize well after seeing your blue fire and got hit to unconsciousness when tried to fight even tied up.

Your body hurt since the very first second you got back into consciousness, trying to move you were able to distinguish how your wrists and ankles were tied up. Scared you woke up completely to see how you were in a stage, Bolin to your left, a large group of people in front of you and Zolt fighting at your right.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “What's going on?” you asked the earthbender, he was shaking with fear. “Bolin...”

The sound of lighting got your eyes back to your leader and what you saw shock you in an indescribable way. You saw on first hand how his bending was taken away and when he tried to defend himself again but was met with nothing, your heart stopped.

Your eyes started to tear up with fear and cold sweat rolled down your face, this couldn't be happening, not to you.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “The so called fire prodigy.” Amon said while looking at you, an electric feeling shook you. “Just as your shitty colleagues, I'll let you fight for your bending right. Prove you are deserving of the name, prodigy.”

One of the chi blockers forced you to stand up, took the ropes from you and pushed you to the center.

The masked man stood still in his place while you prepared yourself. You needed a miracle, something to help you get out of there alive and with your bending. The first attacks his way were insecure, Amon laughed at you and that got you the anger necessary to give him a good fight. The leader was backing up and that had you smiling for a second, you were sure you were about to win until he caught your ankle in one of his hands and your eyes widened.

Amon threw you against the floor with such strength that you let out a hurt moan. You tried to get him off by throwing fire at him and a couple of lightnings, but at the end he was quick to grab you by your shirt collar. And just by seconds, an explosion coming from machines startle everyone and fog began to fill the room. That was your chance, you took Amon's hand that was almost touching your forehead and threw him to the stage floor, using the steam you lost yourself in it so he couldn’t followed you.

While looking for a way out somehow you ended up leaving through an alley, bumping into the Avatar and the brothers fighting with one chi blocker who carried shocking sticks. On a quick move you planted yourself between then making a fire column in just a second.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Leave now, Avatar, before they emerge like cockroaches!” you screamed at her, the southerner was already on her polar dog. You shot lightnings near him to scare the man and buy them some time.

Korra hesitated before coming closer to you and order for you to jump behind her, without a second thought you did what she told you and after you Mako jump on.

The dog was quick to leave danger and both firbenders were looking back every now and then to make sure no one was following you, once the dog stopped everyone got down.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Thank you for saving me.” you called for the girl's attention with your voice. “I know I'm not your favorite person, but I'm really grateful you didn’t leave me behind.”

The southerner looked at you serious for a moment before sighing. “I did what I had to, anyone would've done the same.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I don’t really think anyone would've saved someone from the Triple Threats.” you shrugged. “Alright, pretty girl, I need to find a new home now that my old one will be drowned in chaos. See ya!”

Korra watched you walk a couple of steps away before calling you. She knew your name, you smiled big. “If you want, you can stay in Air Temple Island...”

You turned quickly over your heels to her. “Does this means you like me?”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “It means you need to hop on or I'll leave you in the streets.” obedient to what she said, you got back in Naga's back.

Convincing the master airbender was hard, he knew about you and how you were part of the Triple Threats so it was pretty normal for him to distrust you. It took a bunch of pleading from you and Korra telling him how everything in the equalists rally went and how you helped them for him to accept you on the island.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “But make one wrong move and I will not hesitate to have the authorities involved.” he finished, you nodded with a little smile.

The man left to his own chambers, telling the avatar how he will talk with the council first thing in the morning. Now it was only the two of you.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Soooo...” you talked taking a deep breath. “Are you planning on taking down Amon? Because I want in.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I got this, I don’t need your help.” Korra started to make her way to her bedroom, you follow since yours would be close.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I mean, I'm a pretty good firebender if you ask me and I think it would be best if you have all the help.” you tried to convince her. “Listen, Korra, I know we didn’t start with the right foot–”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “That's an understatement, you got me arrested.” she interrupted, you hold back a little laugh.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “No, that was you alone,” you saw her brow frown. “but I think I could be of great help.” you saw Korra's head shake before she started to walk faster. “I can help you improve in firebending.”

Now she stopped on her own feet, a couple seconds after she turned to you.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Who knows, maybe you can be the first avatar to produce fully blue fire.” her eyes sparkled with curiosity and there you saw a little bit of hope. Korra wasn't going to lie, she was intrigued about your peculiar color of bending. “I know you have Mako already in your team, but he's only good with lightnings. I can help you be the best at firebending.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Fine.” she said after moments of silence. “But I still don't trust you.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Understandable, pretty girl.” you winked at her and the avatar only turned back around to keep walking, hoping that by the low amount of light in the place you weren't able to see her face blush.

The next events went by quick, Korra had put her guard down around you enough to trust you after a couple of training sessions. You taught her everything you knew about firebending, alongside she taught you different moves from other nations adapted to function for firebenders. The time spent with each other didn’t go to waste, Korra finally saw in you what Mako and Bolin did: a good person doing what was needed to survive.

And when Korra was taken away, the most restless out of the group was you. The brothers knew you well and they could confirm that they had never seen you that way with anyone before, when the girl was found you never left her side in the next days.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hey, stranger.” her voice called for your attention, you turned your head her way while putting your plate of... whatever was given to you down. “You're busy?”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Not really.” you answered with a little smile. “You needed something, pretty girl?”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Come with me to fight Amon.” she was direct, taking a seat beside you. “I don't really want to go alone...”

You blinked surprised at her, before straightening your back. “The guys didn't want to go?”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Didn't ask them, I want you to go with me.” for a second, the avatar's tone was shy, but she got the courage to look you in the eyes and not divert her gaze elsewhere. “I believe I need a fire prodigy with me to defeat a crazy asshole.”

Your face started to feel hot, so you look away for a second to control yourself and got back to her. “Alright, let's do this.”

A tiny farewell happened, everyone wishing you two good luck. The plan was to infiltrate and reveal Amon's real history to everyone in the arena, once dressed you follow every step made by the avatar mostly staying by her side as reinforcement when needed.

Everything was going well, she had freed the airbending family when both of you jumped into stage to fight for them and got to distract Amon, but he wasn't going to give up so easily. Using his bloodbending he got the two of you out of the hiding spots you were, it was the worst feeling you've had to the moment.

He managed to pin you down and control the avatar at the same time. “Wait, no! Korra!” you exclaimed with difficulty, there wasn't much you could do other than watch.

Your heart stopped when you realize how he was able to take away the avatar's bending of the elements, the same fear you felt when Zolt got stripped away from his firebending if not more prominent.

A second male voice got everyone's attention, Amon's right hand was there. You took advantage of his distraction to focus, a deep breath in and a breath out by your mouth, a grunt vibrated on your throat when he made you get up. Looking up at him you were sure he was about to talk, but your plan interrupted him. A blue fire breath from you made him take a couple steps back annoyed and then you attacked him with lightning, he was grunting and took him a minute to let you go, but when he did weakly you stood up and shot him with a new lightning to send him all the way back before creating a fire circle arouns him to hopefully keep him occupied while you ran to take Korra in your arms and leave.

Your mouth was mumbling random stuff at the same time your feet made the desperate sound against the floor of you looking for a way out. Again that horrible feeling stopped you so abruptly that the girl fell from your grip, your body hit the roof and then the floor a couple of times leaving you numb for some time, not letting you think of a defense plan. Your eyes forced themselves to focus on the silhouette of the southerner on the floor, you whispered her name and got interrupted with a growl at the feeling of your head being forced to throw itself back.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I'm impressed.” hoarsely he spoke to you. “It's almost a shame to take away the bending of someone so talented, don't you think, prodigy?”

Panic began to run in your veins seeing again his hand looking to touch your forehead. Korra's voice resounded and both the masked man and you flew because of an air blast, he rolled way farther than you did. Your eyes widened and looked at the avatar who was just as surprised, but also was quick to attack him again with her new discovered airbending.

You let her take care of the man while trying to compose yourself and standing up with a little of slowness since your body began to hurt for all the bloodbending against its will. You were getting ready to attack the northener again when your eyes caught how Korra was being bloodbended again, but she got the power to resist and kick him out of the building.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Such a woman.” you said again to yourself, walking slowly her way and being able to see the whole spectacle of the city finding out how 'Amon' was really a waterbender. When he submerged himself back into the water, you shot blue fire blasts his way wanting to hit him with no luck whatsoever.

Heavy breathing was heard both from you and the avatar and before you could say anything more, her arms hugged you by the shoulders. You both were about the same height, so your hands slipped to her waist and your head turned to face her, she was smiling differently this time.

The whole group had accompanied the girl to the South Water Tribe in looks of getting Korra's bending of the other elements back, but were met with a dead end when Katara said how she wasn't able to regaing the avatar's connection to the other elements.

Leaving everyone inside you follow the southerner when she went outside, winning Mako's spot as he made the movement to follow her. “Hey, Korra!” you called for her making her feet stop.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Not now, I need to be alone...” she said resting one of her hands on Naga's seat. “I'm not the avatar anymore, there's no need for you to continue here.”

One of your eyebrows raised with curiosity. “Why would that be? I'm not here because you're the avatar, I'm here because I care about you.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Stop pretending! We all know everyone is here because of me being the avatar, well that's no more, you can go and make your life in the city without me.” she sounded frustrated, you took the remaining steps to be near her.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I don’t want a life without you,” you began to say in such calm tone. “I got so use to you that when you were taken away I nearly went crazy...”

Her blue eyes looked back at you with compassion, one of your hands looked to rest in her face, feeling how the cold in her skin was fast to be replaced by the warmth you emanated.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “We may had our difficult start, but...” you stopped for a second, gathering strength again. “But I love you, Korra. I want to be with you, avatar or not, I love you by you.”

The southerner was taken back by the sudden confession, she excused herself and jumped on the seat to get away from there. You hid your face between your hands. “We need to be patient with her.” Tenzin spoke to your side making you jump a little bit. “It will take time for her to accept what has happened.”

You looked back at him and smiled with warmth, he reciprocated the action your way. “Thank you for letting me stay on the island, Tenzin.” you said taking advantage of the situation. “I will always be grateful with you for that.”

He shook his head. “It's what we do.” a small and soft pat was given to your shoulder, he never stopped smiling.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I'll go to make sure she's okay.” the bender nodded and made his way back to the tent.

You took your time walking to the southerner, mainly because the cold air hit you way more if you walked faster and you hated that, but also because you wanted to give the girl her time alone before you arrived to call her back to the group.

When you arrived to her, your fire breath stopped suddenly at the sight of the girl in the avatar state bending the elements. Your eyes were bright with excitement and pride for her, when her feet touched the ground again she looked back and her eyes caught your presence, just like her, you smiled big.

Korra ran your way, not letting you talk by pressing her lips with yours on a sweet kiss. “I love you too, I want to be with you.”

More than happy your answer was giving the girl another kiss while hugging her by the waist to get her as close as anatomy would allow you both to be, she hugged your shoulders delighted with the closeness, happy to be in the moment and grateful to the destiny for making both your ways find each other.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Your nose is cold, pretty girl, how can you live like this?” you asked between kisses with a fun tone, making her laugh and stop the actions.

[wall-maria-around-ba-sing-se]

Book 1 LOK said "our boy Mako here is good at lightning generation and he used to work for the Triple Threat Triads as a child and their leader is the only other named person who does lightning generation and is also nicknamed after lightning generation because this is his Main Thing please connect these dots" and to this day people are still surprised when I mention that Mako learned lightning generation from Lightning Bolt Zolt

At this point they really need to like. Make Mako look into the camera and have a flashback of when he in the triads learning it in his upcoming comic or something I can't keep living like this

[kingwuko]

KingWuko's Fanfic Masterlist

Hello Wuko Nation! Here you'll find a complete list of my fanfics. All fics are complete except for those labeled "in progress"

Series: Anytime He Holds My Hand

Mako and Wu finally get together after the events of Ruins of the Empire, but Wu's fear of coming out makes things tricky.

Unnatural (Mature) Love, Asami (Teen & Up) A Friend of the Avatar (Mature) Secret (Explicit) Relax (Explicit) Pleasant (Explicit) Security (Explicit) (In progress)

Windswept (Mature) (In progress)

AU, Wu gets airbending and meets the Krew during the events of Book 3.

You'll Be the Death of Me (Explicit) (In progress)

AU, Mako is a hitman for the Triple Threat Triad hired to assassinate Wu.

Ruby (Teen)

Mako and Wu are uncles to Bolin and Opal's first baby.

Much Ado About Baking (Mature) (In Progress)(Collaborative Work)

Modern AU, Mako and Wu work together in an upscale bakery.

[gaybd1]

Hey

Don’t think about young Mako doing everything he can to protect Bolin from the triads while simultaneously viewing them as his family

Don’t think about him IMMEDIATELY attaching to Zolt as a father figure

Zolt being the only one in the Triple Threats to ever show kindness to Mako

Don’t think about how Zolt only ever saw him as one of the most powerful benders he ever knew and a potential asset and weapon

Zolt (canonically) teaching Mako to lightningbend to that end

Don’t think about Mako being trained up as an enforcer, going along with it because he wants to do right by Zolt. And because of the threat to Bolin if he ever stopped.

Don’t think about how far gone Mako might have been by the time Bolin took charge and finally got him out.

Think about Mako seeing Zolt lose his bending one night. Yes, he was terrified by Amon. But think about the relief he must have felt at that same time.

[wishingforatypewriter]

October 10: Fire + Blow to the Head

Written (late) for Day 10 of Whumptloktober. This is another short Linzolt oneshot (featuring my OC Cobra) that loosely follows Decent Things.

Zolt had known the Agni Kais were pissed that he quit to start his own triad, but he hadn’t realized they were pissed enough to try and drop a building on him. He’d been having lunch at Jo’s Dumpling House in Little Caldera—just as he’d done every Tuesday afternoon since he was fifteen—when he heard two fire blasts from outside, and then suddenly the roof was coming down. The last thing he remembered was blasting the front door open—those bastards had locked it good—and ushering the panicked civilians through the opening before he blacked out. 

He was already calculating how much he’d have to give the owner to rebuild before he came to. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was his Linny, pacing around, angry as a storm encroaching, and Cobra trying to talk her down. 

“That’s it, I’m calling an ambulance.” 

“Meilin, I know you’re worried, but that’s not how we do things in our line of work,” he said with a sigh. “Hospitals ask questions, the cops get involved—” 

“I don’t give a fuck; he’s been out for hours!” she said, stopping her pacing and whirling on Cobra. “We’ll be lucky if he hasn’t slipped into a coma already.” 

Zolt could hear the panic rising in her voice with every word. Despite the flashing pain in his head, he forced himself to sit up. “Linny, he’s right,” he said, surprised at how weak his voice sounded. 

Lin was at his side within seconds, one hand on his chest, gently urging him back down onto the pillows. “How do you feel?”

“Like a building fell on me,” he said with a chuckle that ended in a wince. 

Lin rolled her eyes and rested a hand against his cheek. “This is why I told you to stay the fuck out of Agni Kai territory,” she said sharply before nodding at Cobra. “And I’m sure he did, too.”

“Many times,” Cobra added. 

Great. All Zolt needed now was these two ganging up on him. “Were there casualties?” 

“No,” Lin said with a look of muted relief. “You were the last one out. The two adjoining buildings went down in the fire.” 

Zolt nodded, winced, glanced at Cobra. “We need to dip into the treasury to make them whole.” 

Cobra shook his head. “This is on the Agni Kais.” 

“The Kais aren’t gonna pay anyone until they figure out who’s leading them,” he said. “We take care of them now, and the Threats have a foothold in Little Caldera for years to come. Get them the money tonight.” 

Cobra looked less than convinced, but merely sighed. “I’ll handle it,” he said simply. “There are two fighters posted outside the door in case the Agni Kais try anything else, and two more downstairs in front of the building.”

“Thank you,” Lin told him, just as Zolt drew a breath to call the measure unnecessary.

Once he heard the door close behind Cobra, Zolt took Linny’s hand and brought it to his lips. Her eyes narrowed, but she made no move to pull it away. 

“I’m sorry if I made you worry, baby.” 

“Who said I was worried?” she replied, rolling her eyes. 

Zolt grinned at her. “I did say if.”

“And I said be careful,” Lin replied. “Guess we’re both bad at listening.”

[swagtastic-bougie-pompadour]

Sneasler, Delphox, Meowscarada, Weavile, those four are peak girlboss energy. They radiate the vibes, capable of gaslighting and gatekeeping too as a bonus to make for the triad triple threat

What in the world is a Sneasler??? The name reminds me of “rizzler”, but given it is a Pokémon, I doubt there’s any ties there. I can certainly see the “vibes” of the others, though Tolkien is more of a boy trickster himself.

That said, what would gaslighting or gatekeeping have to do with being a girlboss?

[mylittleredgirl]

But I would ALSO like your Do You Ship It thoughts on Hawkeye/Margaret/Trapper!!

I Ship It

1. What made you ship it?

LOOK AT THEM

my inspiration for enjoying this ship is "three hot messy people with a lot of charged energy between them. now what if they made out"

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

is this triad a good idea? eeeeeeh???? but they are all very good at sex and also enjoy it a lot, so it would be a night to remember for sure (that is so memorable that it then becomes many more nights to remember... you know??)

i would love for her to call their bluff! hawkeye harasses her by coming on to her in a way that's Clearly A Joke, You Can Tell I'm Joking Right, and trapper's tack is to wind her up by pretending he doesn't notice she's a woman (which is funny to me for other reasons -- hawkeye always showing off his triple-decker wit and trapper uses the 7-year-old insult playbook). but if she turns the tables on them, then what?? put up or shut up!

and there's also the fact that in a serious way, they do take care of each other when the chips are down. THEY HID A BODY FOR HER. like if margaret ever actually needed defending from anybody other than present company, frank isn't up to it -- but you'd get trapper like "i could beat him up. like i could do that right now" and hawkeye "i have a sixteen step plan of psychological warfare" and trapper "yeah ok let's do that." but no question that threat is toast.

and. that love and affection will always be prickly. she has five inches of patience for them and no more. they'll hide the body but they will complain the whole time. but sometimes that's what they all need!!

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

i don't know, so this will now be my counter-argument segment! the reason why this wouldn't necessarily be a sustainable idea is that even though margaret could absolutely step on them in bed, as people it would often still end up being two against one, and i'm not sure how they would get past that! (but damn i would like to watch them try.) (and honestly, if she didn't feel like stepping on them in bed, i think she would enjoy letting them gang up on her in that circumstance. let my girl switch!)

[kharia-adarkim]

A Quiet Night

The Third Promise begins her trials, and her companions are left to wait.

(slight early [lv 90-91] dawntrail spoilers)

As Wuk Lamat disappeared into the valleys of Urqopacha, Erenville released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"That's all there is to it for now, I suppose," he said, more to himself than his companions. "For now all we can do is wait for Lamaty'i to capture an alpaca and bring it back. All by herself." His eyes widened in panic, and he sat on a nearby boulder to steady himself. "Oh gods."

"Relax, she can take care of herself." Kharia gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "If it helps, I know a few spells to soothe anxiety, and I've also got some Triple Triad cards to help pass the time." Erenville took a breath to regain his composure and shook his head.

"No, magic won't be necessary. A game sounds nice, though."

"Triple Triad against you is going to make him even more stressed," Alisaie interjected. Kharia grinned mischeviously.

"Nonsense, it'll be fine!" She began to rummage through her bag. "I'll even let Erenville pick his deck first."

"Do I even want to know?" Erenville asked.

"Kharia is a, shall we say, devoted Triple Triad player," Alphinaud chuckled. "I daresay even if we stacked the rules against her she'd still come out on top more often than not."

"I see," Erenville mused. "Do any of you have a standard deck of cards then? During my travels I managed to glean the rules of poker well enough." Kharia snickered at the sly pun. Alisaie's eyes seemed to light aflame.

"Sharlayan rules, Archons high?" she asked. Alphinaud groaned and Erenville nodded.

Hours passed as the four of them chatted about the first trial and tossed cards between them. Slowly, the sky shifted from blue to gold as the sun began to set. Alisaie threw her cards down in a fit of frustration.

"You must be cheating!" she complained. "I don't know how, but nobody is that lucky." Erenville shrugged nonchalantly, then scooped up the small pile of pebbles they'd gathered to use as betting tokens.

"Just be glad we aren't using gil, or you'd be destitute," Alphinaud remarked. He gathered the cards and began to shuffle the deck once more. "I'm surprised that she's doing almost as bad as you are," he continued, nodding towards Kharia, who'd gone off to gather more stones to replenish her supply and Alisaie's.

"If I could use the echo to win at poker I'd be at the Gold Saucer," she called back with a laugh. She rummaged in the grass for a few minutes before frowning. "I can't find any more rocks, can we just split the pile back up?"

"And relinquish my hard earned winnings?" Erenville replied. "I think not." Alphinaud laughed, and Alisaie threw a torn clump of grass at him.

"Go gather some firewood, why don't you? It's starting to get chilly." Alphinaud rolled his eyes and headed up the nearby hill to scour the brush. Kharia gave up on her hunt for more pebbles and returned to the others. She considered following up Alisaie's remark with another firewood-centric jab, but stopped short. Erenville's gaze was distant, loosly directed towards the gate to the valley, and his jaw was clenched.

"She'll be okay Erenville," she said softly. "I doubt anything in the valley will pose much of a threat to her. Besides, it's sundown. We won't be able to do much now anyways. Let's set up camp, and if she isn't back by morning, we can go look for her." Erenville was quiet for a moment, then sighed.

"You make a good point," he admitted. "Help me pitch the tent? It'll go faster with two sets of hands." Kharia nodded, and Erenville began to pull various rods and ties from his pack. Alphinaud returned about halfway through the assembly, and he and Alisaie used Erenville's poker winnings to build a pit and get a fire going. The four of them gathered as the sun withdrew behind the mountains, and the chill of night advanced with full force. Kharia unwrapped a loaf of bread she'd bought in the pelupelu village and cut it into slices, distributing it among her companions. Erenville added some trail mix and jerky to their meal, while the twins poured out cups of water. They ate in comfortable silence, the crack of the fire and distant chitter of animals serving to accentuate the quiet rather than break it. As the last bands of gold faded from the horizon, Alisaie gave an exaggerated yawn.

"I suppose it's getting to be time to unpack our bedrolls," she announced. "You two can take the tent, Alphinaud and I can sleep under the stars. Doesn't look like there's any risk of rain tonight."

"The tent seems plenty large en- ugh!" Alphinaud's observation was interrupted by his twin's elbow digging into his side. She furrowed her brow at him and nodded across the campfire. The elezen girl's proclamation had stirred Kharia from her unplanned slumber, and she wasn't yet awake enough to realized she'd fallen asleep on Erenville's arm. For his part, Erenville maintained his same poker face from earlier, but when the Shetona nodded in agreement with Alisaie's suggestion, Alphinaud cursed himself for being so oblivious.

"Shit, did I fall asleep?" Kharia yawned. "That usually doesn't happen." She looked between her companions, who said nothing in response. "Why are you all so quiet?"

"It's nothing. We're just... tired, is all," Erenville stammered. "The twins have offered us the tent... if that's fine with you that is."

"Hell yeah," Kharia mumbled. Rather than standing, she rolled to the side and crawled over to the tent. By the time Erenville joined her, she was already once again fast asleep. As the front flap of the tent fell closed, Erenville finally dropped his stoic expression and smiled at the au ra curled up before him. He laid on his own bedroll beside her, and took advantage of the privacy to admire the faint golden light that spilled from the small cracks in her scales, bathing her in a gentle radiance. He hadn't yet worked up the courage to ask the story behind them, but now, with the fire out and the tent blocking out the stars, Kharia's glow gave her an ethereal appearance he couldn't look away from. Eventually, carefully, he slipped Kharia's glasses off her face, setting them aside for safety. He allowed himself a few more moments to admire her, then brushed a strand of hair from her face, rolled over, and drifted off to sleep himself.

The morning brought a thick blanket of fog, and rather than help rebuild the fire, Kharia opted to shiver in the tent and complain.

"How in the hells is it colder after sunrise?" she groaned.

"Would you like me to warm you up with a Verfire?" Alisaie warned. Kharia glowered and brought her knees to her chest.

"Maybe I would," she grumbled, "'s'colder than Halone's-"

"I'm baaaa-aaaack!" Wuk Lamat's voice drowned out Kharia's creative comparison and gathered everyone's attention. "And I brought a new friend!" She rode up the path astride a newly saddled alpaca, who she gave a few pats before dismounting. "It wasn't easy, let me tell you, but I finally managed to catch one of the fluffy little bast-" she gave the alpaca a worried glance. "Creatures an hour or so before dawn. Looks like I got back just in time too. How about we go grab breakfast in town?" The mention of food lured Kharia out of the tent, which Erenville quickly set about to disassembling.

"Congrats Wuk Lamat," she smiled and looked up at the alpaca. "He's a pretty tall one, huh?"

"You're hardly one to judge," Alisaie smirked. Kharia rolled here eyes.

"Coming from you?" Alisaie's grin quickly inverted itself.

"I'm- I've-" she stuttered, "This isn't even as tall as I'll get, you know!"

"As you are ever-fond of reminding us," Alphinaud chuckled. Alisaie's face became as red as her garments as she fumed. Wuk Lamat's laughter defused the growing tension, and the five of them set about cleaning the campsite so they could begin the trek back to Wachunpelo.

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

dare sad Linzolt snippet and the plot is all up to you.

Well, technically this is @superliz6's dare but okay. As long as she's okay with it.

They were dancing in the rain when she realized she had fallen for him. He had held her close in his arms, caressing the small of her back to the rhythm of the music. Everything was perfect in that moment.

But she was now realizing that that moment only existed in her bubble. Her bubble where everything was perfect- she wasn't next in line to Chief and he wasn't leading the Triple Threat Triad. It was just them, their love and all those moments within the bubbles of their relationship.

The backdrop of the rain had lost its romanticism in the present. Lin had her arms crossed against her chest as Zolt anxiously paced the floor.

"You really can't be leaving me for that monk," he rasped.

"You knew this going in. This had always been temporary."

Zolt walked into Lin's space and grunted. "Well, I'm not aching to marry you either, Beifong!"

Lin rolled her eyes. "You're just mad that you're not the one calling it quits. I told you, when Tenzin got back, we were going to give our relationship another shot!"

Zolt cackled, his rage oozing through the laughter. "Oh, it's not an ego thing, Lin. I'm not a Beifong, remember?"

"It's always an ego trip with you-"

"Except, this time it's not. I thought we had something real, Lin."

Lin sighed in defeat. "I thought we did too. But this is all pretend, Zolt."

[beifong-brainrot]

Been thinking way too much about Republic City and its potential for being like, a cesspit of different prejudices etc, particularly in relation to the bending brothers. Like I feel like there should be a difference in how Mako, a firebender with stereotypically Fire Nation features and Bolin, an earthbender with stereotypically Earth Kingdom features would be treated. Or how they would be treated as mixed race kids in genral.

Like we know the area that would later become Republic City had been a Fire Nation colony for ages, with people of the two nations intermingling and mixing, but there seemed to still be a clear financial/class divide between Fire nation citizens and Earth kingdom citizens.

And while this isn't ever addressed directly in tlok, one of the wealthiest families in Republic City is descended from those first colonists in the area. I'm sorry I don't believe Hiroshi's story about being a shoeshiner he's a nepo baby in my soul.

Hell, even the leader of the Triple Threat Triad, the largest and oldest triad in Republic City was a firebender, only offset by Amon, a completely new and unexpected variable, entering the scene.

Which brings me back to my thoughts on the bending brothers. Zolt, the original leader of the Triple Threats is the one who taught Mako lightningbending.

Bryan: Um, but anyways, we had this little backstory idea that Mako learned it from Zolt, from runnin' around [Mike affirms.] with the Triple Threat Triads, that he...

A lot of people have made theories about this, since it's weird that the leader of this successful triad would take interest in a kid that allegedly just ran numbers for them and stuff. And I tend to agree with the theory that Zolt wanted Mako to be drawn in more into the triads, and maybe even saw Mako as a potential replacement for him as the triad's leader.

Which, Mako certainly has traits that would make him a good triad leader, though I wonder if Mako being a talented firebender also had something to do with this decision.

I just wonder about how Bolin and Mako may find themselves treated differently, not only due to their personalities, but also due to the traits they manifest. Not only as kids of people from two nations that historicaly had a lot of beef in the area. And 80 years isn't that much time in the grand scale of things.

I wonder if lingering stereotypes have latched onto the brothers and affected how they grew up. It also adds a new interesting dimension to Bolin being so excited about visiting the Earth Kingdom, having such an adoration of Toph and being so commited to the Earth Empire cause.

Honestly, this is all just speculation and probably not all in line with canon, but I've just been thinking a lot about the bending bros' childhood in Republic City and the like. And a missed opportunity for world building in the show.