#lychee's word trash

[jade-of-mourning]

jobs

Mako is five; Naoki puts her hands on his shoulders and tells him that Mama and Baba are both busy today, and can he do a job for her? Yes! Mako is small and eager and so determined to be serious and responsible. Your job is to take care of your brother today, okay? And Mako nods and Naoki leaves, and he reaches on his toes to grab the jook off the counter when Bolin wakes and cries, and methodically shovels the food into his tiny baby brother's mouth when it drops open, and watches him while he's sleeping to make sure he doesn't choke on all the drool slipping out.

Mako is six; San and Naoki dress him up in a too-big uniform that will soon be well-worn and grow stitched-over tears again and again, and tell him it's his job to go to school — to learn, to get the education he needs to go further in life than they ever did. He applies himself to this job with dedication, swallowing the knowledge spewing from his teacher's mouth like iced babaozhou on hot summer days, turning the numbers in his head and marveling at how they fit together so perfectly.

Mako is eight; San hastily wraps his scarf around Mako's neck and tells him his job is to run away from this alley and find help and to not look back. There are tears in his eyes and he's scared, but Baba told him it's his job, so he turns away and he runs away from the alley. The screaming starts and Mako looks back, mesmerized by the flames lighting up the dark narrow walls closing in on him and framing his parents' silhouettes as they hit the gravel, frozen by the scent of burning hair carried to his nose by the smokey wind, terrified by the way the man grips his mother's limp body and groans.

(It's the first time Mako fails a job. The consequences are ceaseless. He resolves to himself that he will never, ever fail another job, because he will never unsee this night.)

Bolin is sobbing as they stand in the police station, shaking in Mako's arms. The police officer hauls his little brother off of him, tells him that he needs to recount what happened in a metal room that echoes too much. Mako can't bring himself to speak, his voice caught in his throat, and every time he tries to open his mouth, he chokes and feels like he might vomit all over these pristine floors, so he can't get anything out. Eventually, the officer gives him a sheet of paper and lets him attempt to write out what he can in shaky characters, and sends him back to his brother, still sobbing in the lobby. He holds onto Bolin like it's the first time he's ever touched a person, and remembers what Naoki told him when he was five: Your job is to take care of your brother.

Mako is nine; he is thin and small and alone, putting his food on Bolin's plate when the orphanage staff doesn't watch and holding Bolin at night when he cries. He fights the kids who make fun of Bolin's inability to stop crying at the right times — always with fists, never with fire, but the matron still tells him that he needs to control himself, because firebenders are dangerous. (Mako already knows that.) He's silent and detached, but it's enough for Bolin, until the day a couple comes to take Bolin away from him. Mako can't take care of his brother if Bolin is adopted, so that night, he takes Bolin and runs, and does not look back.

Mako keeps Bolin safe on the streets. He finds places to hide at night, away from the police that might come to take them away, away from the gangs that might try to recruit them. He collects newspaper and cardboard that they can sleep on, begs for scraps during the day and steals from the dumpsters during night to keep them fed. He teaches himself to learn apathy as fire sprouts to life in his palms for the first time in a year, learns to fight other street kids who are just as desperate as them and willing to do whatever it takes to survive, rust on his tongue and gold in his eyes. He fights and fights and fights to stay alive, to keep going despite the temptation induced by weariness — to take care of his brother.

Mako is ten; the cotton mill is always hiring kids to spin and weave to make the clothing that the people of Republic City wear, and searching in the dumpster isn't enough to feed their starving stomachs turned inside-out. The job cuts his fingers open on the vast machines, leaves him sweating like he's in the sweltering heat of the Fire Nation despite being the midst of winter; sends him crawling into the spaces between all the deafening, rattling creatures, because he's one of the smallest kids there, lanky bones and hollow skin and utterly pathetic. It's the first paid job Mako ever works, and every yuan dropped into his palm at the end of the week goes into the layers of his ratty clothes or into feeding their starving stomachs turned inside-out. At night, he bends the heat off of his body to keep them warm inside earth tents erected in the back of narrow alleys, slipping out of himself and forgetting.

Mako is eleven; Bolin is thin and sick and won't get better no matter how hard Mako tries to keep the fever down, and Mako sells himself. The job at the factory doesn't pay enough fast enough for him to afford help, even with the yuans he's been saving up since getting the job, and he can't do two jobs at the same time because there's not enough time in the day. Naoki has always told them to do good, to never get involved in crime, because Mako can't afford that if he ever wants to be someone. He hears about it from the other desperate street kids who say that there's decent upfront pay, and he's desperate. Afterwards, he doesn't limp back to the alley where he told Bolin to wait, instead hiding behind a sleazy bar and digging the heels of his hands into his eyes as he throws up bile and cries and tries to not lose himself to the haze. He hates himself more than he's ever hated someone in his life, aches. It doesn't pay quite enough for him to justify. Every minute now, Bolin is closer to death, and Mako's job is to take care of his brother. He turns to the triads.

(And he feels selfish, because he knows that it's because he can't bear the gross feeling crawling all over him, but. But.)

Mako's first job for the Triads is to run numbers, the delivery boy intermediating the transfer of drunkards' bets. He collects the slips and money, sliding between cigarettes and alcohol and sex, heady from the money dropped in his hands after reaching headquarters. Bolin is finally sleeping inside of walls and breathing easier and Mako feels a stark relief inside of him at the sight of his little brother's peace.

He bookkeeps when Shady Shin smokes too much and slips the numbers over to him, crunches numbers in an instant to ensure that odds are best turned in the gambler's favor if they're in the Triple Threats. People take notice of the way numbers flow in his head and slide some cash his way to use him, and Mako is filled with shame as he remembers his parents sending him to school to get the education he needs to go further in life than they ever did, filled with shame for using that education to fall further in life than they ever did.

He runs messages during drug transactions, stands on lookout during late-night raids. He fights fire with fire when he's told, a fierce intensity burning in his bones, vicious and biting until Viper takes the man out. He refuses to let Bolin get too involved, because there's a roof over their heads and real food in their stomachs, and Mako can handle keeping it this way alone.

Mako is twelve; lightning courses through his fingers and burns through his veins. Zolt catches the bolt and shoots it into the sky, matches his eyes to the seriousness and utter determination in the grimy kid's eyes. Mako is twelve, unrelenting and tenacious to take care of his brother, and all-too-easily forgets to be a person when his brother's safety comes into question. The separation of chi is easy, and Zolt laughs as he conjures up the lightning again and again and again, throwing it back and forth like a dangerous game of catch. He is unparalleled in age, but unknown to the world above the dirt he grew up as.

Mako is thirteen; he closes his eyes and sends cold fire into cold water.

(The scent of burnt hair is floating through the air over the dying screams hitting his ears, but Mako will not be sick.)

Mako is fifteen; he and Bolin are living in the attic of the pro-bending arena, under a conditional that demands them to fight and win. They sweep the arena floors each night after all the dizzy spectators have poured themselves out onto the streets like fish into the bay; they scrub the bathrooms and sinks and inspect the hundreds of seats for remnants of their ever-changing occupants. His job is to become a pro-bender — one that can win the tournament by the time they meet the age qualifications. He trains day-in and day-out; batters back the urge to fight low and dirty; learns to use the distance called for on the floor; refines his flame to be more precise, less raw.

He finds another job at the lightning-bending powerplant, where he can make money while they train up to enter the tournament. They hire him promptly, Mako fulfilling the criteria of performing the relatively uncommon task, and despite the exhaustion weighing down his bones at the end of each shift, he's paid more than he ever was as a ten-year-old spinning cotton between deafening factory machines. They still need to buy groceries, still need to eat and save up money — because even though they currently have a place in the arena while they clean and train, nothing stays.

Mako is seventeen; his job is to win the pro-bending tournament, and Hasook doesn't turn up. They can't participate if they don't have a waterbender. Mako bites his tongue until he tastes rust and narrows his gold eyes and feels a panic crawling up his spine; there are consequences for failing to do the job.

And there is a girl, bright and blazing and clad in blue, and she fights for them without gravity. She's the Avatar and she's terrible at following rules she doesn't know, and they are beaten down, and Mako thinks that it's over — until something clicks within her.

(Mako's life will never be the same.)

The first time Mako has a job that he truly loves without reservation is when he joins the Republic City Police Force, a job that means something more to him. Something he feels redeems himself as a desperate kid on the streets, unable to do anything to help himself, something he feels can help the desperate kids on the streets he used to be. Lin Beifong offers him an application after seeing his work with Korra despite knowing his past in running with the Triads; tells him that he's a good fighter, that he's got a good head on his shoulders and that she'd like him to stay on the right side of the law for it. Tells him that the job pays well, searching his eyes, and he knows he needs a steady way to take care of his brother. Deep down he's always known that pro-bending isn't sustainable, just an opportunity to be something more than the orphan, the scrappy firebending street-rat, the lightning-bending gangster. He applies himself to the job like he's done with every job in the past, a vigor and determination coursing through his veins to do right, and for once, he feels that he's succeeded.

(Mako is twenty-one; his arm is wrapped in a sling, and the city that chewed him up and spat him out is in absolute ruin around him. He's indefinitely suspended from the police force because Beifong refuses to let him work while he's still healing, and there's a gaping hole in his life that he's always filled with needing to do one job or another. Bolin looks at Mako shut in his empty apartment's bedroom, losing himself after his suspension.

You've made it your job your entire life to take care of me, Bolin tells him, swallowing hard. But I'm okay now, don't you see? You can rest now. You don't need to work right now.

But —

No. Bolin is firm. It's my turn to take on this job. Let me take care of my brother.)

my ao3 (not posted there… yet?)

i accidentally spontaneously manifested this in three hours. um. i dunno if i want this on ao3 or not cuz i was planning to just write a silly tumblr post going "do you ever think about how mako has been working his entire life" and it accidentally became 2.1k words. it's a little bit scuffed. it's almost 3:00 AM and i haven't proofread. hope it's cohesive! apologies if not lmfao

(i wrote one completely different paragraph last night, then i was suddenly fixed by a need to write more just now :P)

#lychee's word trash #mako lok #mako tlok #there's some very-mildly-implied but-very-seriously Messed Up stuff here #just be careful yeah :thumbsup: #gutter in a toxic storm

[moribundt-mores]

Fandoms

By no means an exhaustive list (we're getting there) of everything I enjoy. Sometimes it's genuine "write 10k words" levels of brainrot. Sometimes it's just nostalgia (or my particular brand of trash). Either way I'm here to wear my influences on my sleeve and perhaps find other likeminded degenerates. ( ´ ◇ ` )ﾉ♡ Everything is listed in alphabetical order. ✧ Are my current obsessions (so long as I remember to update lmao). Parentheses contain my particular favorites from a set.

Television

ANIME

❀ Ace of Diamond ❀ Akame ga Kill ❀ Arakawa Under the Bridge ❀ Banana Fish ❀ Code Geass ❀ Fukigen na Mononokean ❀ Free! ❀ Gankutsuou ❀ Garzey’s Well ❀ Ghost Stories ❀ Gregory Horror Show ❀ Hetalia ❀ King of Bandits Jing ❀ Kono Danshi series ❀ Kyo Kara Maou! ❀ Legend of the Galactic Heroes ✧ Mawaru Penguindrum ❀ Natsume Yuujinchou ✧ Neon Genesis Evangelion ❀ Princess Nine ❀ Princess Tutu ❀ Samurai Flamenco ❀ Sarazanmai ❀ Shin Sekai Yori ❀ Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu ❀ Speed Racer (Mach Go Go Go!) ❀ Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann ❀ Tsuritama ❀ Uchouten Kazoku ❀ Zetsuen no Tempest

OTHER ANIMATED

✿ Archer ✿ Courage the Cowardly Dog ✿ Dead End Paranormal Park ✿ Gravity Falls ✿ Hazbin Hotel ✿ Helluva Boss ✿ Infinity Train (Season 2, 3) ✿ Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir ✿ Moral Orel ✿ Southpark ✿ Superjail ✿ The Little Prince (2010) ✿ The Boondocks ✿ Ugly Americans ✿ Venture Bros

LIVE ACTION

❁ Andor ❁ Arrested Development ❁ Black Mirror ❁ Fleishman is in Trouble ❁ Haunting of Hill House / Bly Manor ❁ In the Flesh ❁ It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ❁ Mindhunter ❁ Our Flag Means Death ❁ Penny Dreadful ❁ Psych ❁ Russian Doll ❁ Severance ❁ The Boys ❁ The Sandman ❁ The Handmaid’s Tale ❁ The Prisoner ❁ The Umbrella Academy ❁ Trial and Error ❁ Twin Peaks ❁ What We Do in the Shadows ❁ Young Royals ❁ 13 Reasons Why

WEB SERIES

❁ Alien Stage ❁ My Student Spirit ❁ Petscop ❁ SCP

Comics

MANGA+

❥ Acid Town by Kyuugou ❥ Aku no Hana by Shuuzou Oshimi ❥ Angel Diary by Lee Yoon-hee and Kara ❥ +Anima by Natsumi Mukai ❥ Are You Alice? by Ikumi Katagiri and Ai Ninomiya ❥ Arte by Kei Ohkubo ❥ CLAMP (Tokyo Babylon, X/1999, and Tsubasa) ❥ Elfen Lied by Lynn Okamoto ❥ Fukigen na Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa ❥ Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa ❥ Full Moon by Arina Tanemura ❥ Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!! by Syundei ❥ Golden Days by Shigeru Takao ❥ Hai to Diamond by Mika Sadahiro ❥ Houseki no Kuni by Haruko Ichikawa ❥ Junji Ito ❥ Kaori Yuki (Angel Sanctuary and Fairy Cube) ❥ Kinoko Inu by Kimama Aoboshi ❥ Let Dai by Won Soo-yeon ❥ Lychee Hikari Club by Usamaru Furuya ❥ Moritat by Li Seon Ui and Seo Gyeong ❥ Natsume Yuujinchou by Yuki Midorikawa ❥ Oooku by Fumi Yoshinaga ❥ Osamu Tezuka (Buddha, Metropolis, Kimba the White Lion) ❥ Oyasumi Punpun by Inio Asano ❥ Pick of the Litter by Yuriko Suda ❥ Sakura Gari by Yuu Watase ❥ Seven Days by Venio Tachibana ❥ The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai ❥ Your and My Secret by Ai Morinaga ❥ .Hack//The Legend of Twilight by Rei Izumi and Tatsuya Hamazaki

OTHER COMICS

✧ Cinderella Boy by Punko ✧ Cursed Princess Club by Lambcat ➳ DC (Batman / Batfam) ➳  Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall ➳ High Class Homos by Momozerii ➳ Interview with a Murderer by KJK ➳ Jackson’s Diary by Paola Batalla ➳ Marvel (Spiderman, Deadpool, X-Men) ➳ The Sandman by Neil Gaiman & many, many more

*I don’t really read superhero comics anymore but if I do pick up an issue it’s gonna be Spidey or Batfam

Film (TBU whenever I go thru my Letterboxd)

ANIMATED

❥ Akira ❥ Arashi no Yoru ni ❥ Studio Ghibli (Earthsea, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Castle in the Sky)

LIVE ACTION+

❥

Games

VISUAL NOVELS

✜ Boyfriend to Death series by ElectricPuke, Gatobob, Darqx, & more ✜ Beyond Eden by Studio Pieplus ✜ Ciconia no naka koro ni by 07th Expansion ✜ Echo by Echo Project ✜ ENIGMA: by Uzumeya ✜ Hashihime of the Old Book Town by ADELTA ✜ The Letter by Yangyang Mobile ✧ Umineko no naka koro ni by 07th Expansion ✜ Your Turn to Die by Nankidai ✜ 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim by Vanillaware

RPGM

✜ End Roll by Segawa ✜ Etrayu by Lucy Fox ✜ Freebird Games (To the Moon) ✧ Hello Charlotte by etherane ✜ OMORI by Omocat

GACHA

✜ Argonavis AASide (εpsilonΦ and Fujin RIZING!) ✜ Ensemble Stars (RYUSEITAI and Valkyrie) ✧ Fate Grand Order ✜ Fire Emblem Heroes ✧ Genshin Impact ✜ Granblue Fantasy ✜ I-Chu ✜ SinoAlice ✜ Touken Ranbu ✜ Twisted Wonderland ✜ Valkyrie Connect

SERIES

✜ Ace Attorney by Capcom (Apollo Justice) ✜ Atelier by Gust (Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al Revis) ✜ Fire Emblem by Intelligent Systems (Awakening, Sacred Stones, Thracia 776, Three Houses) ✜ Persona by Atlus ✜ Pokemon by Game Freak (Pokemon Black/White) ✜ Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega ✜ Zero Escape by Chunsoft

OTHER

✧ Baldur's Gate III by Larian Studios ✜ Cultist Simulator by Weather Factory ✜ Dragon Age Origins by Bioware ✜ Ecco the Dolphin by Appaloosa Interactive ✜ Edna and Harvey by Daedalic Entertainment ✜ Heroes Rise by Choice of Games ✜ Hamtaro HamHams Unite by Pax Softnica ✜ Hamtaro HamHam Heartbreak by Pax Softnica ✜ Hollow Knight by Team Cherry ✜ Lunar: Dragon Song by Japan Art Media ✜ Nier: Automata by PlatinumGames ✜ Night in the Woods by Infinite Fall ✜ Sally Face by Portable Moose ✜ South Park the Fractured but Whole by Ubisoft ✜ South Park the Stick of Truth by Ubisoft ✜ Stanley Parable by Galactic Cafe ✜ The Beginner’s Guide by Everything Unlimited, Ltd. ✜ The Last of Us by Naughty Dog ✜ Warrioland 4 by Nintendo ✜ Whispered World by Daedalic Entertainment

Theatre

PLAYS

❥ Angels in America by Tony Kushner ❥ Leopoldstadt by Tom Stoppard ❥ Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard ❥ Shakespeare (Hamlet) ❥ Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare ❥ Sleep No More by Punchdrunk ❥ The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer

MUSICALS+

✧ Bare: A Pop Opera by Damon Intrabartolo & Jon Hartmere ❥ Evillious Chronicles by mothy ❥ Frankenstein: A New Musical by Mark Baron & Jeffrey Jackson ❥ Kagero Project by Jin ❥ Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, & Herbert Kretzmer ❥ Marchen by Sound Horizon ❥ Moira by Sound Horizon ❥ Pippin by Stephen Schwartz, Roger O. Hirson, & Bob Fosse ❥ Queen of the Night by Dirt Poor Robins ❥ Roman by Sound Horizon ❥ Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd and Company) ❥ Tommy by The Who

Literature

CANONICAL

❦ A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess ❦ A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee ❦ A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket ❦ Arthurian Legends ❦ Camp Half-Blood Chronicles by Rick Riordan ❦ Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist) ❦ Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima ❦ Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky ❦ Earthsea Cycle by Ursula LeGuin ❦ Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ❦ Franz Kafka ❦ His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman ❦ James Ellroy (The Big Nowhere) ❦ James Joyce (Dubliners) ❦ John Fowles (The Magus) ❦ Jorge Luis Borges ❦ Kokoro by Natsume Souseki ❦ La Comedia by Dante Aligieri ❦ Lloyd Alexander ❦ Lord of the Flies by William Golding ❦ Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburo Oe ❦ Oscar Wilde (The Picture of Dorian Gray) ❦ Piranesi by Susanna Clarke ❦ Ryuunosuke Akutagawa (Hellscreen, Cogweels) ❦ Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle ❦ Simon Snow Trilogy by Rainbow Rowell ❦ The Binding by Bridget Collins ❦ The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ❦ The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien ❦ The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen ❦ The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ❦ The Neverending Story by Michael Ende ❦ The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ❦ The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner ❦ Two Brothers by Eugene Schwarz ❦ Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

LIGHT NOVELS

❦ .Hack// series by Tatsuya Hamazaki ❦ Fate/Prototype: Fragments of Sky Silver by Hikaru Sakurai & Nakahara ❦ Full Metal Panic by Shoji Gatoh & Shikidouji ❦ Legend of the Galactic Heroes by Yoshiki Tanaka, Naoyuki Kato, & Yukihisa Kamoshita ❦ Kyo Kara Maou! by Tomo Takabayashi & Temari Matsumoto ❦ Spice and Wolf by Isuna Hasekura & Juu Ayakura

#mori's fandoms

[kylo-wrecked]

@brooklynislandgirl:// { cont'd from this gem! if words cannot compare write oodles of them }

— ☾ —

If Ben were honest, he'd first have to admit that he doesn't usually like to be seen. There was even a time when he might've let Beth's presumption go unchecked. He isn't keeping secrets these days, or he keeps fewer of them. Like, the agents of all his 'caustic wildness' lately. That was for him to know, and his lawyer, label, publicist, the rest of the world—and his mother—to find out. 

"Who, me? No." He presses his fingers flat up onto his breastbone. Ben 'Prestor' Solo, hapa? A little less than 'that,' even. His mother was adopted by ostentatiously wealthy Nates and raised in Montreal, then Ontario. Dad was just your average roadie pusherman from Saskatoon, who had no parents, as he often liked to remind Ben. The only other time he ever reprimanded him was, what was it? Watch out for fentanyl. 

For what it's worth, Ben doesn't laugh. Frowns a little, like he's heard this one before.

"I don't know how I know 'that' word. Cultural osmosis."

His eyes change minutely, glass shards catching the light. He wears a Cheshire grin for a moment, and it oddly suits him. Just not as well as Beth's suited to her new rosy tint. 

"Does everything surprise you?" Ben licks his lips, and the grin seamlessly slips away like a serpent under a flat mirror of water. Traces of it remain in the corners of his mouth. 

Beth surprises him, in turn, with the ghost of her hand. He can feel her faint and happenstance impression making a shrine below his oblique. Before he knows it, Beth invites herself, her eventide, into his night. 

She must have no idea what he's doing here. If she did, she wouldn't have stepped forward when he stepped back. Ben really feels like a dog, a tomcat with fleas, something big, arching, scratching at itself. Just gnarly. Like a rusty pocketknife now, wearing the dumbest smile of all time because he's been rendered wordless. 

'Go wheah? Some place mo' quiet?'

The first thing that comes to mind is Jesus. Then, Sorry mom, as he looks Beth over. It doesn't count if she wants him to. 

He looks at her until Bauhaus transitions into Depeche Mode; why wouldn't it, at a place like this? For one, two, three, four and one, two, three beats, Ben examines Beth's eyes, throat, waist, her silken belly and breasts, and whatever else he can make of her under that little black dress, hopelessly clinging to her body like a plume from the fog machine. He can feel the bass, an ultimately malignant tumor, throbbing in his head. 

After another beat, it occurs to him that Beth may be an angler. She's not prey; she's an ambush predator. Those eyes. She has a lure. That must be it, the 'thing' Ben couldn't place just a moment before. She may not know it, but if Beth picked that dress out on her own, she probably does—and he'll take the bait, please, even if, in taking it, he'll be fused to her in an acutely horrific, irrevocable way from this moment on; thanks. He's thinking 'allure,' 'alluring,' 'a-lurking'—

"Hold on." 

And reaching into his back pocket, retrieves his phone. He texts his guy, Enzo. His hands are nimble, stippled with blue-green veins, not soft. 

[Ben]: What's a quiet place

[Enzo]: bruh

the movie?

[Ben]: No, I'm with someone. Mine April 14, 9 AM. There's your reminder. 

Fucking jackass. Ben would lay into him later when he dropped off. Phone back in back pocket. Now, Beth.

"Beth, right?" he smiles carefully. "Beth, I'm a musician. I don't know quiet places." 

Nothing quieter than home. Then Enzo could come by that same too-late-in-the-goddamn-early morning, and he'd be pouring heavy on the LES, like occasions he used to attend in disgathering light, when the sky was a calm drink the moon bobbed up in like a lychee, enormous and indecent as he is tonight. But then Beth would be privy to the mess he left on his couch. Not good.

She's still looking at his mouth. Bad girl. 

His next angle is only precise by repetition, but under the trash and vaudeville glow, he's sudden, like a jack-knife or a viper. Ben's killed before, the very same way he arches around Beth, by extending his arm, enclosing her shoulder, yet merely intimating touch.  

Mouthing 'let's go,' Ben leads her out of The Auction House's cheap velveteen shadows and aggressively bad sound into the thin blue moonlight, the haze from one of those giant orange exhaust tubes, which rises over the concrete like a king-size cigarette.

They wind up at a pastel diner in the upper sixties. At half past midnight, most booths are vacant save for the soft buzz of All Eighties, All Weekend, 104 FM. Ben sinks most of his weight onto his elbows, very much a gargoyle, while Beth confides in him over her beverage, and he white-knuckles his mug. 

Around a quarter to one, Ben realizes he won't make it. Nothing confirms that like sudden congestion, semi-impaired vision, and a mild headache. Also, the brief but excruciating glimpse of himself in the nearby wall-to-ceiling mirror. Oh well. If he doesn't recognize himself, that may mean no one else will. 

He hopes what's actually dread comes off as his undivided attention, that Beth's every word seems as if it's passing through his threshold. If he were being honest, Ben might say he's undergoing a serious 'lights are on, no one's home' moment. Since he isn't, he watches Beth's mouth for shapes he can make out, only glancing at his phone every so often, praying to a God he's only just now considered that Enzo doesn't pull his dumb fucking build-a-Bronco into the window. 

You really can't trust the dealers in New York City to abide by auto etiquette; the whole place is made up of a culture of aggressive disregard. But it's a bad day to be in any state where the mother tongue's spoken in car signals. Good thing he has Beth's lips to follow. Watching Beth work her mouth around a syllable pitches him back into the old F.O. studio, where he and Drae used to play the game of interpreting whatever Snoke was saying behind the glass, way back when he was sober. 

And then, his phone lights up. 

#brooklynislandgirl #m. au | musicverse!ben: nowhere man #r. tbd #tw: alchohol mention #tw: drug mention #edited: for quality assurance

[revisionaryhistory]

Three Days ~82

~*~Emma~*~

I awoke to see Sebastian laying on his side, leaning onto his elbow, with his head propped up on his hand. Diffuse sunlight filled the room and clearly showed me his face. He didn’t look sleepy. His face was relaxed with the slightest smile. Who knows how long he'd been watching me sleep. That thought made me smile.

He jerked his head up a little, "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I like seeing you when I wake up and knowing you'll be the last person I see before I fall asleep. And I'm excited about everything in between."

"The Louvre, dinner on the Seine, cabaret. Fun day."

I shook my head with a frown, "No, not what we're doing. I'm excited to spend the day with you." Sebastian closed his eyes, smiled a little wider, and took a few breaths. I knew what he was doing. He was taking in my words, feeling them, believing them. Before he opened his eyes, I moved closer to kiss him. "Je t'aime."

"I know that one." His fingers ran through my hair, smoothing the morning disarray. "In how many languages can you tell me you love me?"

I gasped and held my mouth open, "Just three, but now I have a goal."

"Crazy girlfriend."

I rolled on top of him, "Just about you." I did exactly what you’re supposed to do when you're naked in bed laying on top of a naked man.

I tickled him.

Our tickle fight lasted until we were laughing so hard it was hard to breathe. That and when Sebastian pinned my hands to the bed. "Je veux te faire l 'amour." He kissed me and pressed his erection closer between my legs. "I have a good memory too."

I don't know how it gets better than this. Waking up in Paris, with a gorgeous man watching me sleep, making love, then sitting on the terrace in big fluffy robes having coffee and croissants.

The guide at The Louvre was knowledgeable but a little stuffy. We spent much of the tour hanging back with another couple laughing inappropriately. The museum was incredible and we stayed around after the tour to revisit areas and check out some places not included. Sebastian liked items where I was mesmerized by the vibrant colors of the paintings. Lunch today would become our go-to. Pick up something near to and find a spot to sit in the park. Food and people watching was always a good time.

We headed back to the hotel to fool around before dressing for dinner. On the boat, we were seated by the window. We headed to the upper deck with a glass of wine for sunset. Last night's sunset view was unforgettable for many reasons. Tonight's was more beautiful with the lights of the city and bridges. It was romantic in a more refined way. Last night was casual clothes sneaking kisses in the dark. Tonight was dressed up, high heels, and elegant stemware. Kisses weren't as sneaky in the wide open space. The food was delicious. We started with duck foie gras and Scottish salmon. My main was scallops with sweet potato risotto and seaweed cream. Sebastian promised to save me from the seaweed if it triggered me. He went for a filet of beef, pea pudding, and veal gravy. The aroma from the fresh bread with the cheese course was mouth watering. Sebastian enjoyed my excitement and took more pictures of me eating cheese than anything else except drinking wine. For dessert, we decided one decadent and one fresh. A white chocolate raspberry lychee sphere and lemon basil tart. I nearly had to stab Sebastian with a fork for hogging all the sphere. The return trip was dark. Only the lights of the city and running lights illuminated to boat.

The night included a visit to a cabaret. That the Moulin Rouge was more touristy led us to the Crazy Horse. Still famous, but not the most sought after. We'd been told the Moulin Rouge was over the top and Crazy Horse more subtle. That may be true, but one important detail was left out. The dancers at the Crazy Horse were often naked. Sexy dance numbers, visual effects, and vibrant light shows. At times the lights were the only clothes. Darkness was used strategically as was glow in the dark body paint. What I noticed was all the women were in Louboutin, which lead me to believe the lingerie was expensive as well. There was a part with a very good looking man stripping. It was more funny than sexy. The combination of erotic dance and risqué humor kept both of us entertained

We talked about our favorite parts on the ride back to the hotel. Sebastian opened the door, letting me walk by into the hotel, "Is it wrong that I asked where the lingerie was from?"

"I wondered, but didn't think to ask. I loved the black bodysuit with all the straps."

"So did I."

Imagine my shocked face. You'd have to imagine because I wasn’t making that face. I waited until we were in the room to ask, "Did you find out where this shop is?"

He pulled his phone out and went to maps. A slow smile formed, "About two blocks. Across from Dior."

I folded my legs under me and sat on the couch. "Fun."

He sat next to me. He was fiddling with the bottom hem of his shirt. He was nervous. "Are you running up a crazy credit card bill to amuse me?"

What a sweety. My recent shopping habits didn’t match my teacher salary. I guess we were going to have this conversation. "My grandfather has it set up where his stock dividends are split between the grandchildren. It's paid out quarterly and there's no way to know how much, so I've never factored it into my budget. It goes into a savings account. I have a rule that it's only for fun. I took Angie and Eli with me to Hawaii. After a horrible start to the year, Malory and I went to Key West." I grimaced, "I don't remember much of that trip. And if I want to go shopping I can. I do appreciate your concern." I leaned over and kissed him. "There is a trust fund, but I can't touch that until I'm thirty. That's partly why it was important to go off on my own. I grew up with money, so when Jimmy said I couldn't take care of myself I needed to prove it to myself, even though I know it wasn’t completely on my own."

Sebastian interrupted, "Don't diminish what you’ve done. You started over in a new place where you knew no one or even where to grocery shop. You've got a Master's and accepted into a Doctoral program. Anyone who thinks you can't take care of yourself is wrong."

This fierce defense was very attractive. Money can be embarrassing. I realize I'm privileged, and I try not to behave like a trust fund baby. I would never go shopping as I had with anyone but Angie. I know it was a splurge.

“I just wanted to check.” I wanted to ask what if I had been, but he kept going, and I didn’t feel the need to stop him. “Back to the fun stuff. Is it bad form to buy you a gift that's really for me?"

"For my birthday or Christmas, yes. Otherwise, no. I'm not sure that sexy lingerie that gets you hard isn't as much a benefit to me as it is you."

"You realize you in sweatpants and a t-shirt gets me hard. You in a bathrobe. You in a potato sack."

"I wonder who that says more about?" We laughed and I laid across him, counting on him to support me. "It does make us both lucky."

"Oh, don't I know it."

We spent the next day touring Versailles Palace. We jumped off the tour to explore as soon as we hit the outskirts of the city. When we were out of interesting places we jumped on the metro until we saw something new to explore. Dinner was at this Ping Pong cafe. The food was delicious and fortified us for the play to come. I am just as competitive playing ping pong with my boyfriend as I am on a volleyball court. There was a lot of trash talking. What made it more fun was how truly awful we both were. Neither was sure of the rules so we argued over and made them up as we went. In the end, I lost due to a combination of unsuccessful attempts at cheating and Sebastian being slightly less awful than me. Our overly dramatic antics did amuse nearby patrons and when Sebastian was recognized he was gracious in conversation and signing autographs. We made it to the Pont Alexandre III bridge just as the sun set. It was ornate and a beautiful end to the day.

Next up was a day of museums and checking out wherever in between. We met up with a guide in the afternoon for a walking tour of Art Nouveauarchitecture. On our way back to the hotel we passed by the lingerie shop. A quick discussion later we decided not to go in. It would ruin some of the fun if the other knew what we bought. I also decided I needed to find some sexy underwear for him. I checked; he'd wear them. Dinner was my responsibility tonight. I found a rooftop restaurant with a great wine list and an even better view.

Tuesday, the day before the fashion shows, was the day I was looking most forward to. It was an early start and long trip to Mont Saint Michel. Claire had hired us a car and we napped most of the trip. The town is a tidal island and when the tide comes in it covers the causeway, only cutting off access for about an hour, but still. We parked at the tourism office and took off our shoes for the half mile walk over the mudflats. It didn’t look like a dangerous trek, but apparently, quicksand was real here.

We weren't far into our walk when Sebastian asked, "Is this Hogwarts?"

Our guide laughed, "No, but yes. The movie was not filmed here but as you will see much of the architecture is similar and the street does resemble Diagon Alley."

Sebastian looked at me, "Did you know?"

I shook my head, "I love gothic architecture and castles. Versailles was incredible, but this is a hundred times better. Stonework, stained glass, the high pointed arches." I grabbed onto his arm, bouncing on my toes. "I'm so excited. This is surreal." I held my hand out toward the Abbey. "Look at this, I mean, look at this."

He was smiling at me, "Should take you home to Romania. Lots of castles."

"Don't tease me." I let go of him and walk to stand in a small puddle. The water was cool and the sand squished between my toes. I felt like I was in the bubble from my favorite guided meditation. I put my arms out with my shoes dangling off my fingers and twirled. I stopped facing Sebastian. He had his phone out, pointed at me. "What are you taking pictures of?"

"You." He laughed, "With a castle island thingy in the background."

I heard the guide say, "Your mademoiselle is much more beautiful than the background."

Sebastian nodded, "That she is."

I walked back to them and reached for his hand. He handed his phone to our guide to take a couple of pictures before we headed on.

I was in absolute heaven. Even more so when I saw Sebastian as in awe as I was with the narrow cobblestone streets and stairways that appeared out of nowhere. Our guide had stories and let us lead, only giving direction if we were missing something. He took the lead when we approached the Abbey and guided us through spaces as tiny as closets and large as cathedrals. The arches along the walkway did look like a scene off the bridge in Hogwarts.

Our guide left us at the end of the Abbey tour and after lunch, we walked the ramparts and worked our way around looking at everything and nothing. Talking and laughing.

It wasn’t long into the ride back that I realized my thighs were aching. "What is it with Paris and stairs?"

"There's a fuck ton of them." Sebastian smirked and leaned in to kiss the side of my neck. "I will be happy to massage your thighs when we get back."

"Stretch them out?"

"Definitely."

We both retreated into our phones for a while. Neither had paid attention to them since we got here. The return trip was good for nudging each other to show a picture we took. I texted my chosen family and sent pictures. Sebastian was doing the same thing. He showed me responses on his group chat.

Charles ~ You took her to Paris? Chace ~ You can't take a woman to Paris for a first vacation Will ~ Go big or go home Toby ~ That's it. I need to meet her. Charles ~ Find a date and take the last bedroom in the villa. Toby ~ Chace, wanna go to an island with me? Chace ~ Do I have to put out? Toby ~ What do you think? Will ~ Who has the lube? Chace ~ I bet there's some in Paris.

I'd lowered my phone while I read his. Sebastian pointed to my screen, "What is that?"

"It's that app we made the list on the train."

"You need to send me the list."

"I can do better than that. Can I have your phone?" He handed it over and I went into the app store, installed, and signed into the app under my user name. "Now you can see, edit, add." I kept typing while he looked around. There was more than a sexual to do list. I was currently adding to a notebook called "Moments".

"Can I add to this?" Sebastian was in the same notebook.

"Sure." I bit my lip, "I had a thought. You can say it's stupid or you don't want to."

He put his hand on my leg, "What?"

"I was thinking since we're going to be apart for a while, we could write to each other. Not like texts talking about our day. I'd write things I want you to remember or know. When I'm missing you, I could write a couple of sentences to you or go read what you've written to me. Not any expectation of how often. Just a place for sweet things, sexy things."

I'd gotten the idea while thinking about distance and time zones and insecurity. Perusing old texts is good, but a one-stop place for just love notes is better.

"I love it." He brought me to him and met me for a kiss. "Is this for me or you?"

I had no problem with him knowing I was planning for our time apart. "You saw my love notes from high school. I love them. Texts get lost in a hundred other texts. We can even copy texts over. Pictures. You keep a gratitude journal. This is similar."

"Did you make that up?"

I shrugged, "I doubt it." I showed him how to navigate and create new notebooks. Our first notebook was "Sex To Do" We'd done that together. The one I’d been in, "Moments”, was short form memories. "Holding hands for nine hours with food and conversation.", "Waking in Paris to see you watching me sleep”, "Me showing you architecture", "You showing me artifacts".

Sebastian immediately knew something he wanted to add, I showed him how to create space between limes so he could insert his words. He was going to write in burgundy and me in navy blue. He created a notebook for longer things. He liked to write and wanted a place for more words.

I waited until he’d gotten down a thought before showing him what I'd been most excited for. "Things for Sebastian." I’d already started.

· Te iubesc, Sebasti-an

· I was so lucky to find a lost boy in a grocery store

· You always make me feel cherished and safe

"This one is for battling insecurities. You can read my words and know what you mean to me. You've said you struggle with distance, insecurity, feeling emotionally cut off. I thought this might help keep a connection."

"You've made a security journal."

I thought a moment, "I guess. We've hit a couple of bumps and worked through them. I hoped this may help keep it away over distance."

I watched him switch notebooks and read what I'd written. "Anything I write shows up for you?"

"Yes, once the app refreshes.”

Sebastian looked over with the softest smile I'd ever seen on him. "I love you." The softest kiss followed. "I tell you I'm looking for the perfect moment to kiss you and you create it. I tell you I have confidence issues and you tell me everyone hears that voice. I have a panic attack and you push me to take care of myself. I lay out my anxieties, overthinking, insecurity, and history of shutting women out and you don’t even blink. Now you come up with this way to stay connected with old-fashioned love notes." He bobbed his head back and forth. "More or less." He kissed me. "You want me to feel safe and loved."

I took a deep breath, "Partly." I was telling him my plan to battle his stuff so it was only fair I let him in on mine.

He looked at me questioningly.

"I've never been away from some I love for six weeks. I'm going to miss you and it's going to be hard. This is for me too." I am not going to cry.

His hand went under my hair to my neck, "Are you about to cry?"

"I'm trying not to, but the chance of tears Friday about noon is one hundred percent."

I let him pull me close enough to kiss, "I better get busy." He retreated to his side of the seat, stretching out a leg over my lap, and turning where I couldn't see what he was typing on his phone.

"You realize the whole point is I can see what you write."

"Don't refresh yet. I don't think we should tell each other when we add stuff."

I nodded my agreement.

He stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth like he was thinking. He typed a bit then looked over, "If I miss you in the middle of the night, I can write you and it will be there when you wake up. I don’t know which I’m looking more forward to. Writing or reading.”

I didn’t either.

#sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x ofc #marvel actor fanfiction #three days

[ryubliss-central]

Return..? (Climax of the Sun Event Part Three)

“Nym…?” The door to Nym’s apartment creaked open Faust’s voice echoing through the area as she trotted inside, her eyes dim and filled with guilt. “I’m so sorry about Cherry’s behavior. I know how you feel about being called a Nightmare.”

The Guardian Ryubliss looked around, her ears folding downward as she scanned the area for any sign of her friend. The lights were all turned off, save for an old oil lamp still clinging to a spark, hanging from a hook on the wall in the kitchen. It took a moment for Faust’s eyes to adjust; she was a strictly diurnal creature, after all, and although she lived in a cavern, it was well lit with enchanted candles and crystals. Nym’s upscale Shift City apartment, however, was not.

Faust called out again, “Nym? You there?” She paused as she passed the kitchen, watching that odd lamp flicker intermittently. 

Its light faltered and flared, casting dancing, eerie shadows upon the warm tan walls, like spirits looking to whisk an unwitting Ryubliss away. The notion made Faust’s fur bristle with worry, and she shook her head, dismissing the thought. She ran a nublike paw along the posh, quartz breakfast bar, feeling granules of fine dust coating the surface… as if it hadn’t been touched in days. She frowned, glancing around again.

“Nym, this isn’t funny…” 

No answer… only the faint buzz of a broken, old television flickering in the living room. The once posh flat held an aura of abandonment… or perhaps neglect. Rumors had spread from island to island, until word of Nym’s supposed disappearance had reached Lychee, who’d told Faust, who’d immediately taken action, taking the first Forget-Me-Nought ship to Shift Island; she refused to believe that her friend had just… up and vanished. Not for this long. It wasn’t like Nym to do so.

The air in the apartment smelled stale, dry, even. Some appliances were still plugged in, yet inactive, likely burnt out after being in use for so long without pause. A half eaten salad was sitting, rotting on the table, smelling faintly of mold. Faust wrinkled her nose and snorted in disgust, shaking her head. She picked up the rancid plate, glancing around in search of a trash can. A half-filled wastebasket, likely meant for paper and not food-related items, was placed conveniently by the closet door. Wanting nothing more than to rid her sight of the salad, Faust unceremoniously dumped the bowl’s contents into the mesh basket, before dusting off her paws and placing the dirty dishes in the sink. The water ran in spurts, punctuated by a periodic rush of air and a splash of gritty, dark blue-green fluid  from the spout. It smelled faintly of Abyssalite blood; Faust made a mental note to check the pipes for eggs once she found Nym.

Moving on from the kitchen, the Guardian trekked up rickety stairs to the loft overlooking the living room. Nym’s nest-bed was unmade, looking more like a bird’s nest than anything, with pinkish-peach tear stains dotting the knotted covers. Faust dimly recalled Cherry telling her of how restless Nym was; the other Guardian was prone to night terrors and fits in her sleep, tearing and tangling the blankets that didn’t get kicked out of bed altogether. Faust lowered her head, sniffing the area. She caught the scent of magic, probably Nightmarish in origin, backing away with a high pitched bark.

She squeaked and, in a fit of anger, shoved all the blankets aside, half expecting to see Nym coiled up inside with that prankster grin on her face. “Nym, I’m giving you one last chance!” Much to her chagrin, there was still no sign of her fellow Ryubliss. Faust’s features contorted into a scowl, and she yelled, hackles rising. “Nym, blighted Lich, you are testing my patience!”

Faust wasn’t sure when the tears began rolling down her face, or when her anger shifted into worry, into anxiety. Her eyes, once flashing with furious glow, dimmed and flickered, until she felt her energy leave her. She sat down, her irritation melting away as she pawed at the sheets once more.

“Nevermind that…” She sighed. “I’m not mad. I promise. I just… I just wish I knew where you were…”

She didn’t even notice the faint flash of pink and orange light behind her, didn’t sense the cool autumn breeze rushing in. She didn’t hear the quiet giggle, or the soft clink of chains. Her core failed to resonate with the other Guardian’s magic as none other than Nym entered the room.

Faust failed to notice the other Ryubliss’s presence… until that frustratingly smug voice rang out, lilting through the air in an almost mocking, yet undeniably fond sing-song.

“Oh Faust~”

Faust’s eyes went wide, and she turned quickly to see Nym floating there, suspended in an aura of blazing orange and warm pink… as if nothing was wrong. Frozen by shock, she couldn’t even blink as Nym rested a paw on the dusty counter, her very touch sending arches of glowing plasma flickering and jumping over the counter’s cool surface. Nym flashed a fanged smile, her eyes twinkling with a rather Nightmarish energy.

“Miss me?” 

#Climax of the Sun Event #Nym Ryu #faust ryu #mod faust #Ryubliss #original species #closed species #Backstory and Character Lore #Please reblog! #Official Events

[ao3feed-rocketshipping]

Alola Trotters (Misty and Brock in Alola, but I wanted to extend their stay and write more fluff)

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2T8hFWw

by AndieFlare

Extending Misty & Brock’s stay in Alola because I just loved it so much god what am I doing. Plus, all the fluff and shipping from various characters. (But mostly fluff, feel free to kill me if you want please) (The Misty & Brock episodes were very shippy so – yeah.)

Words: 3327, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of Pokemon Fluff and Stuff

Fandoms: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M

Characters: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Kasumi | Misty, Takeshi | Brock, Lillie (Pokemon), Mao | Mallow, Suiren | Lana, Kaki | Kiawe, Maamane | Sophocles, Rotom Pokédex, Eievui | Eevee, Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, Lychee | Olivia, Dr. Burnet | Professor Burnet, Rocket-Dan | Team Rocket, Rocket-Dan Nyarth | Team Rocket Meowth

Relationships: Dr. Burnet | Professor Burnet/Dr. Kukui | Professor Kukui, Kasumi | Misty/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Lychee | Olivia/Takeshi | Brock, Kojirou | James/Musashi | Jessie, Lillie/Mao | Mallow

Additional Tags: kill me, i did a thing, Fluff, Romance, Yeah Rocketshipping is like a minor ship tho, But like Rocketshipping and Alola is my jam so, I really wished that Ash and Misty had a battle, so I made them battle, but nobody really wins, Love Detective Mallow, Classic Pokemon Schemes, The Gang is back yall, i will seriously write some rocketshipping stuff later tho, I promise, cause yeah, also boku no hero references sprinkled in, cause why not, i am trash, and this will never be tagged properly, but please do give it a read, AU, kind of

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2T8hFWw

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #rocketshipping #kojimusa

[pikashikasworld]

"well my girlfriend's in a band, she plays guitar while i sing lou reed. I got fethers in my hair, i get down to beat poetry." Another one of my ✨💅cool💅✨ posts (not my words) i wanna practice witchcraft and live with Lana del Rey. Lychee is a trash candy flavour, i said what i said. I'm a proud member of the frogrry cult and i live in his right dimple. Okay byeeee join the cult we have cookiesss (with raisins but i didn't tell you that) <3 (at Louis Tomlinson) https://www.instagram.com/p/CZhaR8dv_7WDMgTxRqT1P3sGZtMgHnsc4ih9bU0/?utm_medium=tumblr

[awkwardwritersyndrome]

Chapter 2: Rebirth

Korra is the first one to wake up. She quickly gets dressed and packs everything she’ll need on her trip. She takes care to grab toys for Naga and clothes for any weather. There was no telling where the journey may lead them, even with Tenzin’s strict planning. The young Avatar made sure she had everything before sitting her bags by the door. One by one she woke everyone up and made sure they were ready to depart. As the sun rose past the clouds everyone could hear the loud humming of an airship approaching the island.

Metalbenders jettisoned cords up to the massive airship and guided it down to the onboarding ramp. Everyone had gathered at the bottom of the ramp in anticipation. Korra stared up in amazement as the doors slid open and Asami emerged from the ship. “Did somebody order a fully equipped Future Industries airship” she shouted to everyone below.

“It’s perfect! Thanks Asami,” Korra said glowingly. When she asked Asami for a favor she didn’t expect all that much.

“I figured we should travel in style,” the CEO explained. The kids excitedly explored the ship and everyone said their goodbyes as Pema, Kya, Meelo, Ikki, and Rohan were staying behind. Mako showed up unexpectedly but Korra was happy to see him.

He offered maps of every village and town reporting new airbenders inside the Earth Kingdom. Korra was grateful but wanted Mako to actually come along, not just send his regards. Bolin used his little-brother charm to convince the broody young man to join them and Team Avatar was officially reunited.

Inside the airship there were enormous meeting rooms, balconies, plush furniture, sleeping quarters for everyone, and a level just for Oogi and Naga. Asami had picked the biggest and best equipped airship in the fleet. After Mako led a meeting to map out their journey, everyone went off to claim a room. Korra got settled in a smaller bedroom nearest Naga’s area so they could be close. She unpacked most of her things and set out down the hall to check on everyone else.

Naga caught a wiff of her owner’s scent and barreled into the hall as well. “Hey girl, you doing okay,” Korra asked of the polar beardog. Naga wagged her tail giddily and began knocking things off the wall. Korra attempted to calm her down but Naga thought it was a game. Asami, who was roomed just across the hall, heard all the noise and poked her head out to investigate.

She ducked her head just in time to avoid being smacked by a wagging tail. “Woah there! No need to redecorate so soon, Naga,” Asami jested. Korra craned her head around her big furry pal and locked eyes with a smiling Asami.

“I’m definitely gonna clean this up,” Korra insisted with a strained smile. “Knock it off Naga,” she commanded through gritted teeth. Finally, Naga obeyed and sat squarely between the two women. 

“It’s no big deal. I don’t even know where these pictures are from. I think they're just part of the decor,” the businesswoman explained. She was happy Naga could come along. She knew how sad her and Korra were when they were apart. Korra squeezed past the massive white beardog and stood face-to-face with Asami in the narrow hall. 

“I can’t thank you enough for letting us use this ship. It means a lot,” Korra said. Asami propped her hand on her hip and quipped, “did you think you were going to run off and have all the fun without Team Avatar?” Korra laughed at the feigned sass then suggested they go raid the kitchen. She was starving.

Asami rummaged through the fridge while Korra peaked in each canister she could find. They collected a few snacks and met up at the huge table in the corner of the kitchen. “I’ve got some berries, nuts, and….fire gummies,” Korra exclaimed with a grin.

Asami dumped her pilfered food onto the table and noted “some dumplings, fruit tart, and lychee juice.” The duo was impressed with their haul and divided it up evenly. They stuffed themselves until it got too dark to make out their snacks just a few feet in front of them. Korra firebent a light and they gathered up their trash.

“Wait, I’ll keep those,” Korra said of the fire flakes they found later on. Asami giggled, “I didn’t realize how much junk food you ate.” 

Korra blushed and shoved the snacks in her pocket. “That’s one thing Bolin and I had in common for the two seconds we were dating.” 

Asami’s green eyes widened with confusion. “You dated Bolin,” she asked with exasperation.

The Avatar had to laugh at the big reaction to such old news. “Totally! When Mako rejected me I figured Bolin was sweet and available. In hindsight, I was probably just running away from my feelings for Mako.”

“I know that feeling,” Asami groaned empathetically. “It was hard seeing him dote over you when you got kidnapped. Not that I wasn’t worried about you...I just missed that attention.”

Korra let the silence sit for a beat before she rattled her bag of fire flakes to offer her friend some. “Now that we’re close- well closer friends, I think we’re both being avoided pretty evenly.”

“No kidding,” Asami agreed with a laugh. She shoved her hand into the bag and flicked a few flakes into the air. She bobbed and weaved to catch each one in her mouth. Korra was thoroughly impressed with the CEO’s skills. 

“Did they teach you that in etiquette school?”

Asami’s cheeks reddened as she thought how silly she must have looked. Korra liked seeing a more fun loving side of Asami. Too often they were working or fighting bad guys or planning to save the world. Catching flying fire flakes was a welcome change of pace and reminded Korra of when they first met and Asami took her race car driving.

The Avatar grabbed a few flakes and tried to catch them with her mouth. The first one landed on her cheek, the second on the floor, and the third fell into her eye. “Ahhhh, fire in my eye,” she howled. The burning quickly went from bad to hell and Korra froze in panic.

“Oh Spirits,” Asami gasped. She immediately started pushing Korra back to the kitchen and over to the sink. Despite Korra’s frantic flailing, she managed to get her friend’s head under the faucet. She held her eye under the running water for about a minute and rubbed Korra’s back until she was no longer writhing in pain.

Korra stood up with her hair soaked and a red, inflamed eye. “Note to self: no more fire flakes.”

It wasn’t exactly funny but Asami couldn’t keep from laughing. The bellowing chuckles were infectious and soon Korra joined in. They laughed and laughed until they doubled-over with stomach pain and sore cheeks.

“It’s not funny but you look so pitiful and cute,” Asami finally managed to say between joyful gasps of air.

“Well at least I’m cute,” Korra responded as she tried to regain her composure.

The word “cute” lingered in the air once silence fell over them. They exchanged quick, quizzical glances before Korra broke the silence.

“I think we better get some sleep. The first Earth Kingdom state is not too far. We’ll be there by morning.”

Asami diverted her eyes and ran her hand through her hair anxiously. “You’re right, we should.”

The next few days were full of disappointment. Every new airbender the team encountered opted not to join Tenzin at the northern air temple. Tenzin had tried pitching all his favorite things about the Air Nation - the food, the clothes, the bison - but nothing was convincing enough. Korra, being strong headed as usual, decided she should try her hand at recruiting someone. The Avatar, Bolin, and Mako traveled into the next town in search of a young new airbender. The young man’s mother was very excited to find the Avatar at her door. She desperately wanted her 22 year old son to move out of her basement. Rui, however, was a lethargic and apathetic guy. He had no motivation to leave his parents’ home or join the Air Nation. Despite a few sage words of encouragement from Korra, Rui wouldn’t agree to come. Korra got frustrated and came pretty close to just dragging the couch potato out of his home. His mother surely wanted him gone. Mako and Bolin had to restrain Korra and insist on returning to the airship.

When the trio returned with no new recruits everyone seemed deflated and defeated. They all sat around a grand table with a giant map of the nations. Korra folded her legs in her chair and slouched back so her head hung over the edge. Bolin and Bumi were the only ones with any hope left. Together they came up with an idea to put on a street performance to impress people with airbending and get recruits interested. The team had reached a point where they’d try anything, so they agreed on a plan for their last stop on the way to Ba Sing Se. 

Korra got cleaned up and spent some time tidying her room. She glanced out her window and caught the sunset as it disappeared over the water. Around that time every night, her and Asami met up in the kitchen to enjoy more snacks. The taller woman had beat Korra this night and was perched on the table eating little cakes from a platter she’d found.

The two sat side-by-side on the tabletop with their feet swinging freely. Korra tried the mouth trick with some safer snacks and eventually perfected the technique. Asami showed her how to rest her tongue in the back of her mouth to keep from choking. “It would be pretty anticlimactic if a berry took you out,” Asami said coyly. 

Both women began laughing with their whole bodies. Every nighttime rendezvous on the airship was full of deep laughs and fun times. Korra even joked once that they were basically at summer camp. Asami thought back to all the close friends she had in the past and couldn’t think of one as fun to hangout with as Korra. 

They stayed up way later than they intended and burned through a few candles, keeping the lights off so they wouldn’t get caught. Neither woman even made it to bed. They fell asleep sitting back-to-back on the kitchen floor. Naga came and wrapped her furry body around them to stay warm. Time seemed to escape them when they were with each other.

Bolin got everyone up and out of bed. He was surprised to find Asami and Korra cuddling up with Naga on the kitchen floor. 

“It’s showtime ladies. Hut hut hut!” Bolin yelled his orders and the two women sat up frantically in a sleepy daze. They looked around until they realized they hadn’t gone to bed and were pressed against each other still. 

Asami swiveled her head around and met Korra’s cyan eyes. They giggled at their current situation- caught red handed after a night of snacks and staying up late. Bolin started yelling again, unsatisfied with their pace.

“We don’t have all day, ladiesssss!”

Korra’s giddy grin turned into a scowl that she shot towards her overzealous friend. She jumped up and stomped over to Bolin and pointed a stern finger right at his nose. “Yell one more order before I’m completely awake, and you’ll have the ‘running away in fear’ role later today.”

Bolin quivered and recoiled away from the strong-looking index. “Th- that’s not a role, Korra,” he stuttered.

“I’ll make it a role,” the Avatar growled. Asami hopped up and pulled Korra away by her shoulder but the water tribe woman continued to glare at Bolin as she walked backwards out the kitchen. Naga followed suit and huffed a moist breath in Bolin’s face before heading back to her area.

“Phew!” Bolin exhaled and straightened his posture before continuing with his morning wake-up call. Before long the team was docked in a small town at the edge of a long cliff. Tenzin emerged from the airship and shed his robe to dazzle the crowd with his airbending. Jinora joined in and Korra pretended to apprehend Mako, who was playing the role of a bandit. Korra laid it on thick creating her small vortex of wind and whipped Mako rather hard. She and Asami laughed at Mako’s expense as he quietly protested the realistic performance.

One new airbender was intrigued by the show. His name was Kai and he told the team he was orphaned and running from bandits. When the police showed up it was revealed that Kai was orphaned but was a troublemaker too. He had been adopted but had stolen from his adoptive parents and went on the run. Kai pleaded with Korra and Tenzin for a second chance and acceptance. He believed airbending chose him for a reason.

After some thought, Korra bargained with the police, offering to return all of Kai’s stolen goods if they released him to Team Avatar. She figured he just needed some guidance. The police agreed and let Kai join the group. The young boy wrapped his arms around the Avatar and thanked her for believing in him. She jostled his hair and welcomed him into their motley crew. Mako however, gave the newcomer a stern warning, and put Kai on notice that he was being watched.

Everyone returned to the airship and began preparing for dinner and the final leg to Ba Sing Se. Kai purposefully picked a seat next to Jinora who caught his eye the moment he saw her. Korra wound up seated next to Asami for the first time on the trip. They got the chance to chat with each other over dinner without having to speak across the table or communicate with their eyes. They spoke in a low volume as they assessed how Jinora stared lovingly at Kai all night. “Can you believe that was us once,” Asami questioned under her breath.

Korra muffled her laugh with her hand but Mako still noticed. “What’s so funny,” he asked dryly, assuming they were still going on about the street performance.   

Blue and green eyes shot open wide and darted around the table. Everyone was looking at the two women and waiting for an answer. “Uh...nothing,” Korra said.

“Yeah, we were just laughing at…” Asami looked around quickly for something other than Jinora and Kai to blame their laughter on. “...Bumi’s hair! What’s with that ‘do,” she said nervously with an unsure smile.

“Hey, can’t an old man try something new?” Bumi ran his fingers through his spikey locks which made them stand even taller. The whole dinner table began to laugh and the attention shifted away from Asami and Korra.

“Nice one,” Korra whispered as she nudged her friend with her elbow. Asami smiled proudly. She was growing quite fond of their antics as a pair. 

Once everyone returned to their rooms for the night, Asami slipped across the hall to Korra’s room. She leaned against the doorway and folded her arms as she watched the Avatar try to untangle a ball of string Naga found. Though her hands were big and rough, Korra was very delicate with them in the moment. Her tongue was poking out with determination and her brown was scrunched up as she focused, not noticing Asami standing nearby.

The industrialist cleared her throat to make her presence known. “Oh hey! Come in,” Korra insisted. 

Asami sat on the floor next to Korra as she continued to unweave the string. A particularly small knot gave her some trouble and Asami could sense the frustration rising in the other woman. She gently took the string into her own hands without saying a word. After a life of being tended to, Asami had soft dainty fingers and silky smooth skin. She effortlessly undid the tangles and passed the freed string back to Korra as it became undone.

“You’re so amazing,” Korra said softly, not knowing if she meant to keep that in her head. Asami smiled in response. “You’re not so bad yourself, Avatar.”

Instead of their usual trip to the kitchen, the two women hung out in Korra’s room. They searched the entire airship for pillows and piled them all on the floor. They built a fort like little kids and Korra used fire bending and a few rocks to make silly shadows on the wall. Asami listed off her favorite animals and Korra did her best to bend the earth to match each request. 

“Oo, do a turtleduck,” Asami begged playfully. “I love turtleducks.”

Korra pressed her lips together and mumbled a few swear words as she tried to bend the rock into a turtleduck shape. After a few seconds she was satisfied with her work and raised it up in front of the flame. “Done!”

Asami laughed so hard she rolled onto her back. “That looks more like an arctic hippo, Korra!” The amusement continued to bellow from Asami’s chest and was reinvigorated every time she looked up. 

Korra’s face drooped with dismay at first, but she couldn’t help but chuckle too. Asami was too adorable to be mad at. “I guess it is pretty round,” Korra admitted playfully. While her friend continued to crack up, she took the rock and kept bending with her full focus. She used airbending to smooth the rough edges and firebending to char a turtle shell pattern onto the stone. By the time Asami caught her breath Korra had crafted a perfect turtleduck figurine.

Asami stared at how cute and intricate it was after only a few minutes of fine tuning. “Korra,” she said, almost in a sigh. “This is...wow.”

The Avatar blushed at Asami’s reaction. She placed the figurine in the other woman’s hand. “You keep it,” she added.

For a split second, Asami thought she might cry. Turtleducks were her favorite animals and she was starting to think that Korra was her favorite person. Maybe...just maybe.

Next Chapter

#legend of korra #lok #korrasami #asami x korra #korrasami fanfiction

[sarahinzhuhai-blog]

Week 2: I can't think of a title

Friends, family, strangers, what’s poppin? Week 2 in 中国 has come to a close and it was a wild one. This blogging on Sunday thing is really great for my procrastination-loving heart, and really bad for actually remembering things, so bear with me. You might notice this is getting posted on Friday, and not Sunday. Well, that’s because of some ~~fun~~ circumstances that you can find out about in next weeks post! Sorry! // 周一（zhōuyī，Monday): Monday started off without a dictation, because 车老师 is a wonderful person who doesn’t believe in weekend homework. Class was, as usual, an information overload, but still fun. We played a new game in class (where people have a verb or noun on their head and you have to ask questions, etc to make them say the word or do the action). Another thing: in Chinese, there is a particle, “了”， that has always confused me (it has many different uses, and I’m not sure when to use it and when not to). So I decided to ask my 语伴. This turned into a conversation with 车老师, the TAs, other 语伴s and on Tuesday, another professor. The question asking went an extra half hour into lunch and then I ended up eating with 车老师， one of the TAs and my 语伴。 I didn’t leave my question asking behind in America, I guess. I was very tired all day because I was up so late blogging the night before 👀…oops. At the end of the day, instead of meeting with our 语伴s (yǔbàn，language partner) for 30 minutes, we met for community service. The project they have selected for us to do this year is to help raise awareness about and reduce plastic bag usage and waste, which is a huge problem in China. To give you some context, Zhuhai is considered one of the cleanest cities in China, but the beaches are riddled with trash. It’s shocking. The plan for our projects was, on Monday we would write a survey and have our 语伴s help us translate it, on Tuesday we would go out and survey people on campus, on Thursday we would plan out our "propaganda” campaign and later in the month we would go out and talk with the public and get people to pledge to change their actions (with the pledge varying with each groups different approach to the issue). My group is me, Richa, Zack and Garrett. Monday was pretty rough. I was really tired and irritable, and I felt like a lot of responsibility was falling on me but I felt that way because I wasn’t sharing responsibilities….anyways, Richa and I talked afterwards so we’re all good now. We finished using the questions and I took the bus home with Matthew after hitting up the supermarket with Matthew and Anthony. // My sister had four of her finals today, and she said they went well, so I went out to dinner to celebrate with my mom and sister. It was so, so good. Pork, goose, noodles, vegetables, fried rice, watermelon, guava...all delicious! It was my first time trying goose, and I have mixed but mostly positive feelings. // Afterwards, we went to 笑笑’s friends house. I got to meet the friend, her little 9mo brother, the mom, dad, and grandparents. I held the brother (who was SO CUTE and very fascinated by me), talked a little bit with the family, helped the mom translate a work email, got a tour of the house, ate lychees and gave my little sister and her friend a ballet lesson. It was so much fun, and definitely lifted my mood from earlier in the day. I walked home in high spirits. // 周二（zhōuèr，Tuesday): Tuesday was the 4th of July! I told my mom in the morning and she offered me a white rabbit candy, which I thought was pretty funny but thoughtful at the same time. Got the 了question figured out at the beginning of lunch (I’m so grateful that literally everyone involved in the program is so willing to help). After lunch, we played a version of Monday’s game with all verbs (it was sort of a mess, a lot of English was spoken, but we had a good time). Chris, BBC and Queen Isabel joined us for that–-in the end, it boiled down to people forcing Shayley to take a selfie with them. I was eliminated early in the game when I flashed a peace sign. // Community service was very interesting. It started off with Grace and Emily getting us all watermelon to celebrate the 4th, which was very thoughtful! Since we are still in the thick of monsoon season, the weather continues to alternate between rain so hard it could flash flood up to your ankles (this happened to my 语伴）and hours of sunshine. Consequently, we decided to survey people who were inside major buildings on campus rather than walking around. My group picked the library. Since only half of the 语伴s came to help with the day's activities, Outing and Chris had to help another group, so learned how to say “traitor" in order to tell Outing how betrayed I felt. // Surveying people was fun, but a challenge…we split our group in half, so Garrett, me and my 语伴 formed one team. We interviewed about 8 people (could have been 9 if the police officer had agreed), and unless we were asking the simpler questions, I couldn’t understand a lot of what they were saying…but I got the gist, and the gist was that most of them were aware of the problem and did some things to cut down on their waste (some more than others…one guy was just totally unaware), but often didn’t have convenient access to recycling services. This is definitely a problem I have run across these few weeks. That being said, we don’t have the means to change city infrastructure, so my group decided that our focus would be encouraging people to use reusable bags and bottles, cutting down the waste at the source (it’s common for people to use 1-2 plastic bottles a day here). // After community service concluded, we were originally planning on going to a Starbucks by the beach and seeing the lovers post office (a famous site here), but the rain cancelled those plans so we settled on KTV instead. Unfortunately, the canteen KTV was closed, so Chris took us to a KTV in the middle of nowhere (aka Huitong, I think) near the edge of campus. On our way there, Alec and Anthony blasted music out of the speaker they bought at Gongbei. The most memorable moment of the walk was dancing to YMCA on the median (and everywhere else tbh we listened to the song like 20 times) and getting filmed by a police officer who thought it was funny. Also practicing my angry Chinese and making a guy who walked by laugh. KTV was really fun--we sang lots of American songs (we belted out Party in the USA more than once) and had a blast even though the program didn’t appear to have any song from after 2010. There was no Lana del Rey, so BBC and I sang Adele instead. While I did enjoy myself, my fun was sort of ruined by the fact that I was in the middle of having what I would describe as not-quite-an-anxiety-attack-but-getting-there because of a dog that we passed that was in really, really bad shape. I won’t go into the details again but I’m constantly frustrated here by the low standard for animal care and the lack of humane societies, etc…I understand that it’s not a priority at the moment but that doesn’t make it any less saddening, frustrating, etc. Queen Isabel and several of my friends (shoutout to Grace, Lexi, Josh, Alec and BBC...y'all are the best) helped me through it and I still managed to enjoy the evening. I had a few McDonalds fries (which was concerning because I had told my parents I was going to eat a full dinner), and Chris helped me and Alec call a cab to get home. // Once I arrived home, my mom brought out some mussels (? Some sort of shell thing) and told me that I had to eat it right now or it would go bad. So we had mussels, apples, bread and milk. A very confusing dinner but very good nonetheless. My sister asked me if I wanted to watch a certain TV show and at first I didn’t know what she was talking about, but then I realized it’s actually a show I watch online in the States and got h y p e d // In the middle of the show, my mom yelled really loud and then my sister started yelling too. At first, I was really confused but I soon found out that my sister was one of three in four hundred to get 100% on her exams. Then I started yelling too. I understood a few things my dad said for the first time (which surprised BOTH of us) and generally had a good evening. My dad told me I should call my actual mom and dad every day, so I called my actual parents before bed and ended up staying up super late again. Oops (are you seeing a pattern here?). Anyways, it was a roller coaster of an evening but everything turned out alright! // 周三（zhōusān, Wednesday): Classes were alright as usual. We’ve started “learning” song lyrics during the after lunch class. Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention is that I found out two of the TAs (one of whom I was very intimidated by before) are big kpop fans! They played a song on Tuesday on the projector (车老师 commented that the only kpop group she knew was BIGBANG), which was already a bop, but on Wednesday I found out that Ruby and I are both major BTS fans (specifically, I described them as my favorite group on the planet and she agreed). I did one of the dances I learned for her (she filmed it 😂) and she then immediately added me on multiple social media platforms. You can make fun of me all you want, but Kpop has been the common interest that allowed me to bond with many people here (we’re talking 30-50% of all the Chinese people I have made friendships with). Anyways, after having a fun time in class (we also did calligraphy practice today), we headed to culture class. This week we learned 空竹（kōngzhú， aka Diabolo aka Chinese Yoyo). The class was the most fun after I accepted that I was going to do terribly and focused on having a good time and getting a solid grasp on the basics. My group was Garrett, Sydney, Abigale and Outing as our 语伴（so I stopped calling him traitor). By the end of class, I was definitely still in the bottom 3 but I could do several tricks. After class, Alec, Maya, Garrett and I went to McDonalds at the transfer station (which is waaayyy better than McDonalds in America) and got green tea soft serve. It was really good (especially knowing that, just like on America, McDs ice cream machine se are perpetually broken here), but Garrett said he would never order another matcha flavored thing in his life. Afterwards, we took the bus home together...Maya took the wrong bus. // Feeling content, I got home to an empty house. My mom came home briefly, and imagine my surprise when she pulled out two pieces of apple pie and offered me one. Oops, not a good day to have a gigantic ice cream after school (and a small one at lunch). So I had the pie, then she made dinner (I’m confused about the order too…) and left again. // I decided to give my friend 朱明亮 a call and we talked for the better part of an hour. It was so nice to actually be able to speak and understand Chinese…maybe it’s the accent in Guangdong or maybe I’m just bad at Chinese but I never know what people are saying and it’s incredibly frustrating (I especially can’t understand guys..maybe because of the lower register). While we talked, I practiced my left hand chopstick skills...we don't need to talk about how that went. After the conversation, I practiced piano for Saturday (more details on that in a sec), did my homework (sort of) and went to bed. // 周四（Zhōusì, Thursday): Thursday’s classes were hard. We covered a LOT of grammar points and it was a lot to take in. This whole week was a lot to take in in terms of course material…this class moves almost 3x the pace of my normal class at school. Since this weekend's cultural excursion would be a visit to Guangzhou, the TAs gave us a class on the history of Guangzhou and some cool places to visit there. Then they presented the stamp winners for the week. This week, stamps were kept in a public place, so I got a little more competitive. My efforts paid off, however, because I got that #1. // After class, it was time for community service again. My group wrote our campaign, Chris helped us create a slogan and we designed t-shirts. Since our group wasn’t focused the whole time and we talked a lot about what we were doing, we haven’t actually translated the elevator pitch to Chinese but that’s okay. Also, I definitely didn’t write the wrong character in the slogan on the back of the shirt...I don’t know what you’re talking about. Zack got w o k e about plastic pollution in China and our final slogan is: “笑笑改变，大有不同 - Cleaner Zhuhai, Brand New City” (Translation: “A small change can make a big difference"which is already apparently a phrase charged with environmental connotations according to Chris, so that’s good). After community service, Maya and I definitely didn’t go do ballet in a studio on campus. Nope. I definitely wasn’t instructed to keep that on the DL (which is equally fun to say in Chinese, as it turns out). Other things that definitely did not happen: 1) being super out of shape and barely being able to do a grande plié 2) Having a really awkward conversation when two university students who were actually supposed to be there came in to use the room. After not-dancing, Maya took the wrong bus so she could ride with me, and I headed home to practice piano, pack up for Guangzhou, and otherwise prepare. // 周五（zhōuwǔ，Friday）: On Friday morning, we met up at the hotel and took the bus to Guangzhou. I tried to sleep a bit on the way there, but the scenery outside was really cool (SO different from the US omg) and the kids sitting in the back of the bus were blasting music (YMCA made a comeback), but the music was good so I can’t complain. My favorite was when they played "Empire State of Mind” but sang “Guangzhou” every time Alicia Keys said New York. Our first stop was the American Consulate in Guangzhou. After getting through security, we entered the building and I immediately felt like I was in America again. Maybe it was the super strong AC. Maybe it was the bathrooms (which not only had the first western toilets I had seen in two weeks but TP, soap and paper towels. I literally did a celebratory dance. There were several witnesses). Maybe it was the diplomat who spoke with us’ southern accent. Or maybe it was the fact that technically we had returned to America (apparently the consulate is considered American territory? According to Anthony). Anyways, after speaking with a Foreign Service Officer about his job, the role of the US embassies in China and of the Guangzhou consulate in particular, we bid our farewells. Leaving the consulate and returning to daily life in China was a weird and unexpected shock to my system. I don’t know what happened inside that consulate but it was like a weird mindset shift. Anyways, soon enough I was back to normal. Our next stop was a restaurant called Panxi. This was, no exaggeration, the most amazing restaurant I’ve been to in my entire life. Not because of the food (although the food was good), but because of the building itself. We entered into a courtyard where there was a waterfall (not a baby one but like 14+ feet) flowing into a koi pond, lanterns hanging from the wooden roof over the walkways, and several pathways leading to different rooms where we could eat. Our room was not only overlooking a pond, but appeared to be over the pond. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I had a great time chatting with friends as we watched the monsoon rain pelt the surface of the water. We also watched construction take place on the building, and construction is terrifying here. They use bamboo scaffolding, and it seems really unsteady and no one uses harnesses, even if three stories high. I have seen this in both Zhuhai and Guangzhou and it is very impressive but very nervewracking. // After lunch, we went to two museums–the Thirteen Hongs museum and the Liwan museum. The former was a museum that talked about the history of the Thirteen Hongs, which were a group of businessmen/companies that were the only ones licensed to do business with foreign countries during the Qing dynasty (the last dynasty before the Republic of China). They did their trading out of Guangzhou, and the museum was full of items that were traded,old maps, information, paintings, everything you can imagine. Guangzhou has a history of combining East and West (because of the Thirteen Hongs situation, I think), and this manifested itself in very interesting ways. One of the most interesting things I saw at the museum (although everything was absolutely stunning; the intricacy and care that went into every product was overwhelming) was a shell carving that had been done by a Chinese artist of the Last Supper and other Biblical scenes. Guangzhou also has a much higher foreigner population than Zhuhai (I saw more there in two days than in my entire time in Zhuhai). The second museum, called the Liwan museum, was a replica of a typical Xiguan house, which were a group of people that often did business with/interacted with foreigners. As such, several architectural elements included Western components. That being said, a lot of the house was built with traditional Chinese beliefs (and some specific to Guangdong/Guangzhou, e.g. Things related to how words sound in Cantonese), which was very interesting. Afterwards, we were given time to explore this very pretty little area of town. Richa and I paired off and saw a shrine, traditional opera, passed by a beautiful lake (which had some boats underwater that were clearly there on purpose but for no apparent reason), several vendors, and met some people who were very excited to say Hello to us. We also might have gotten followed briefly but 没关系。We were supposed to get dinner on our own, but we didn’t realize where we were supposed to go (up this one road) so we quickly walked over there, got 包子 and milk tea (I was very proud of us for successfully ordering both in Chinese and surviving when the 包子store owner tried to hold a conversation with us…I have a feeling neither of us were understanding each other but that’s pretty standard for my conversations here so I’m not worried about it). After, we rode the bus to a ferry stop by the Pearl River and were given time to walk around. Grace, Maya and I walked together. The experience started off by me getting yelled at at full volume by a old guy on a bike with some baskets because I didn’t realize I was in his way. Some bystanders found this hilarious, I did not. After our walk up and down the river, we ran to make it back on time and got on the ferry. The ferry was ~awesome~. We got to see the lights of the city at night (and on the water), and got to go up close to the Guangzhou tower (which is the seventh tallest building in the world, apparently). It was absolutely gorgeous (I’m not doing it justice with my words here). Also, after helping these people take a picture, they asked to take a picture with me which is the first time I’ve been asked for a picture in China (yay?). I also got to talk to Grace a lot which was really nice, she is very similar to me and I enjoy her company. After the ferry, we headed to the hotel. For this trip, I roomed with Tully. Before room checks, after a failed attempt to go to the roof, we all met up in Garrett’s room. Matthew was spooked because the room across (next to?) his and Josh’s was room 444 (which is, like, the worst and most unlucky number possible here…I’m actually surprised the hotel has one) and then their lights went out, so he was doing martial arts. It was very intimidating. Josh, Maya, Anthony and I then spent the hour stretching (or in Josh’s case, struggling and suffering) and goofing around. The stretching was prompted by Katie showing all of us that she is RIDICULOUSLY flexible (after which I encouraged her to take up ballet), which made Garrett look physically pained just from watching. After curfew, Tully and I talked, which was mice because I don’t see her or talk to her a lot, and we went to sleep without showering because the room was kinda gross. // 周六（zhōuliù，Saturday): Saturday was just as wild as Friday, if not more so (which I didn’t think was possible). The first order of business was breakfast. Fully, David, Abigale, Shayley, Maya, Reyna, maybe Zack (sorry I forgot) and I went to a local shop to eat 肠粉 (chángfěn），a Guangdong specialty. It’s a dish that they make by pouring out rice batter (that’s definitely the wrong word) in a thin layer on a sheet, adding veggies and/or egg and/or meat and then cooking it (I think they steamed it). Then they roll it all up and cover it with a sauce. I had the veggie one and some chocolate bean milk thing (as far as I know) and it was very delicious. Then we were off to a local elementary school. They gave us an orchestra performance using traditional Chinese instruments and these kids were crazy good. They were between ages 7 and 11 and they had been selected to join this orchestra. Saturday was their first day of break but they all seemed happy to be there. After a few traditional songs, they let us go up to kids and have them teach us how to play. I tried out the guzheng (which was super cool), the erhu (which I was terrible at but had fun with) and another instrument whose name I forget right now (you use hammers to hit strings and I was very very confused and bad at it). Most of the kids I talked to were practicing an hour or more a day, and were very very good. One kid who stood out was a guy who could play both the hammer+strong instrument and a Chinese drum. When they went around and introduced all the instruments to us, kids did solos on each instrument and he did the drum-it was stunning. He played so quickly and precisely!!! Then, it was time for us to perform for them. I played the Rachmaninoff Prelude (a shortened version), but I sort of botched the performance and I’m not sure why. Then we all sang the chorus of “对不起” (the song about our Chinese being bad) and the kids played more traditional music and a western classical song adapted to their orchestra (which was really cool). After, I was feeling kind of crappy about my performance when we went down to the bottom level and goofed around on the playground before taking some pictures with the kids and heading out. Imagine my surprise when one kid asked for my autograph, and then suddenly a group of kids all wanted me to sign things and give them my WeChat username. That was quite literally my 15 minutes of fame! // After heading out, we spent a few minutes in a square nearby (some of my new elementary school friends were there) and then headed to lunch. Lunch was not as good, which was probably not helped by the fact that there were several older guys smoking inside. This is one of the things I’ve had a lot of trouble getting used to here–there are a LOT of smokers here, and while I often see signs inside that say no smoking, I also have gotten used to seeing ashtrays inside those very same rooms. The toilet experience there was….unpleasant, and then we were off to a tea house. // As we got off the bus and began to walk to the tea house, rain was POURING. I was wearing my rap jacket (I forgot my umbrella at school, oops) and by the time we entered the tea house, my entire lower half was drenched. I spent the first few minutes awkwardly wringing out my dress and using tissues to attempt to dry myself off. // This teahouse was very different from the one my mom took me to; rather than one table, it had three stories, multiple side rooms, and many many many different kinds of tea (for a significant price). One of the coolest things was getting to talk to the owner about his company (he also owns a tea bank and apparently a mountain? I heard he rents the mountain? Not super clear), getting to see this big wood fourpostbed-looking thing that people would drink tea at from the Qing dynasty, and getting to have a conversation (entirely in Chinese) with one of the ladies about the different tools used at the table. The latter was a bit stressful because I couldn’t understand a lot, but I had to help my friends. We got the gist of what was going on, so all was well. Afterwards, we headed down for the tea ceremony. I have always thought of drinking tea as a quiet affair, but there were three guys there who were really loud and an absolute RIOT. One of them really hit it off with Alec and Isabel, and I will cherish the memory of them all loudly yelling 干杯(gānbēi，cheers, coincidentally one of this weeks vocabulary words) and making everyone on our half of the gigantic wooden table toast (and then them taking selfies together), which I’m pretty sure isn’t traditional tea protocol 😂 After tea, they gave us each a bag that had information and a teacup in it (!), which was super generous, and we were swept back onto the bus. // A few hours later, we were back in Zhuhai. Everyday Zhuhai feels more and more like home, so I am getting more and more sad at the thought of having to say goodbye. But returning to Zhuhai didn’t mean my excitement was over for the day. My sister had a piano recital, and I was in charge of getting myself there. My mom had sent me directions for which bus stops to take, and the first ride went perfectly. But then, there were no busses coming any time soon to my intermediate stop, so I had a problem. My mom told me to take a taxi, and if I couldn’t figure it out, to ask someone at the station to help me. No one was at the station. Now, in case you were wondering, here’s a list of things I have never done: 1) Taken a taxi by myself 2) Completed a taxi transaction in an unfamiliar place in the middle of China 3) Completed a taxi transaction in Chinese. Well, I’m proud to say that I managed to do all 3, and I even had a conversation with the driver about how long he had been driving, how long he had been in Zhuhai, how long I had been in China, etc. He helped me find my building, and my journey was complete! My mom was very proud/impressed/surprised that I had successfully navigated (I was a little concerned at how surprised she was), and I was greeted with a good old fashioned fast food dinner of French fries, a chicken sandwich and soda. That was a little bit of a shock to my system (the first "American” meal I’d had since I arrived) but a welcome taste from home. After, we headed upstairs to watch the recital. //The recital was my little sister and a bunch of high school students, and some of these kids were really good. One girl was 15 and played 4 songs, including a full sonata and the Revolutionary Etude. I was floored by her talent. At the end of the show, I ended up befriending her and a few other students. I’m excited to have some friends that are around my age! I goofed around on one of the pianos outside during intermission (aka poorly played Rachmaninoff and Chopin) and some people started filming me…not because it was really good, just because I’m a 外国人 . I don’t mind, it’s just a little odd when people take pictures of you/film you without ever talking to you or asking permission. // 周日（zhōurì，Sunday): After the excitement of the past few days, Sunday was a welcome rest. I woke up a little later than usual and my family and I went out to 早茶(zǎochá）, which translates to morning tea but is actually like lots of small dishes that you can eat for breakfast or lunch or in our case, brunch. We had 早茶 in this really cool restaurant where the top floors were hotel rooms and the bottom floors were like hotel rooms but for eating. Each party gets its own room with a table and very nice bathroom. The bathrooms had western toilets, toilet paper AND soap so the restaurant definitely got my stamp of approval. Okay, back to the food. We had everything from red bean buns shaped like pigs (which were SO CUTE) to squares of what looked like super fancy layered jello (I would say the flavor but I have no idea what the flavor was). It was very delicious but my stomach got a little overwhelmed by how many sweet and oily things there were. When I declined sugar in my warm milk drink, my mom declined it for me first and told my dad (in Chinese) that I was afraid of getting fat and so I wouldn’t want any. I retorted that I was not in fact afraid of getting fat and that I just didn’t want sugar in my drink. I think she thinks this because I don’t eat a lot, but I DO eat a lot (I was literally never hungry the first week because I am constantly being fed or having more food put on my plate). Confusing remarks aside, I had a really nice meal and this was the first time our whole family sat down at the same table to eat together, so I enjoyed the morning. Then, my dad, sister and I took the train that goes alongside the road home, which was very nice and a fun new experience. // After getting home, my sister and I both worked on homework. She asked me to help her translate the English text she was reading into Chinese, but my Chinese wasn’t good enough so I was pretty useless there. Her homework and mine made me so tired I fell asleep (that’s my homework strategy in America too…I’m a consistent student). After I woke up, Maya and I decided to meet up to hang out in TangJia. I took the bus over and had a really nice time walking in the park and goofing around on all the exercise equipment with her (despite the weird looks we got from some police officers). It was also nice to have a long, peaceful conversation with a friend after such a whirlwind of a week. I came home for dinner, watched TV with the fam, and started writing this blog post!// Okay this last part is going to be a little TMI, so if that’s not your thing, catch you next week. For you brave souls, I have a few more comments to make. 1) Being a girl and dealing with all the bodily functions that come as a result of that is Not A Fun Time in China. It’s annoying and inconvenient and has made me like squat pots less. 2) Having some stomach emergencies during your sisters piano recitals intermission and then running out of tissues in the land of no-TP-in-public-restrooms is an experience you won’t and can’t forget. // Okay, that’s it for this week! ✌️️

[jade-of-mourning]

Tenzin stares down at the scowling, scrawny kid. He's dressed in a patched grey shirt bound hastily at the forearms, equally-patched trousers hanging off his frame despite the long length of his skinny legs, and his feet are currently bare aside from some more dirty wrappings around the arch and heel. A shockingly red scarf loops around his neck, several times too-big and frayed at the ends. He's maybe fourteen or fifteen despite the heavy grey lines underscoring his features, because there's a familiar despair written in the recurring story — prominent cheekbones sticking out of his thin, pointy face, lips chapped and pale from the freezing winter nights of Republic City, gold-flecked brown eyes glaring back at him defiantly. 

And he's in a pair of handcuffs.

"So this is the one, you say," he addresses to the woman standing next to him. Her arms are crossed against her chest, a glare plastered across her face — precisely mirroring that of the scrappy boy handcuffed to the table in front of them. They're having an intense stare-down.

If he didn't know any better, he'd almost think this was her kid.

(But he knows all too well that he's not.)

Lin Beifong scowls. "Fucker tried to hit Jian with lightning after spotting her during a stakeout on a Triple Threats warehouse. He then managed to single-handedly fight off three officers while the rest of the gang bailed, looking like a feral, lightning-happy pyromaniac while at it —" The feral, lightning-happy pyromaniac looks pleased for a moment, before promptly dropping back into a glower "— and when I sent a cable at him from the back, he shot a pillar out of the concrete ground to block it."

"How do you know it was him?" Tenzin asks. 

"I know the motions. I am an earthbender, in case you forgot."

"Perhaps there was another man waiting behind to assist his escape, who earthbent the ground upon seeing his comrade in danger."

Lin grunts. "The team split when the cowards scrammed, and managed to capture a few of the accomplices. None of those fleeing were in the vicinity by the time the incident occurred."

"There could have been more of them involved than just the ones you saw fleeing the scene," Tenzin suggests.

"We were in the middle of a stakeout, Tenzin. If you need a definition, a stakeout is a period of time where the police conduct surveillance on —"

Tenzin cuts her off, conceding before she can keep going on at him. "Understood. But how can you know for certain that there weren't other members coincidentally passing through who elected to lend a hand?"

Lin acknowledges the point; the outside world doesn't come to a standstill when there's a fight inside. "One of the captured men said that the kid is Zolt's protege, which adds up with the frequency of which I see him in the aftermath of incursions. They're shamelessly bitter about him being the boss' favorite, and they clearly don't hold any well-regards towards him, so they don't have reason to offer assistance, aside from attempting to curry favor from a fourteen year old — and no faces were shown to that point, so that's out of question. Besides, they're gangsters. What sense of loyalty to each other do you really think they have?"

"More than you've got to the city." Both Tenzin and Lin whip their heads around in surprise at the low, raspy voice, having forgotten of the boy's presence during their back-and-forth. He looks almost like he wants to curl inwards on himself, but instead raises his chin higher up and manages to glare at them with even more force, if possible. "You police ain't done shit for us. You're all the same purposefully ignorant bastards. That's how we get here, but you knew that." The subject of we goes unsaid; all three of them in the closed metal room know precisely what he's talking about.

"So are you saying that one of your loyal friends stayed behind and bent that earth for you?" Lin demands, ignoring the jab at her dignity. Tenzin knows she's retracted the heel of her uniform, searching for a heartbeat.

The boy leans back in the chair flippantly. "Nah," he says curtly. "They're smart enough. None of 'em would stick 'round for me." It's contrary to the earlier claim of mutual loyalty, but unsurprising.

"So it was you," Tenzin concludes.

"I never said it was."

"Then who else could it have been?" The frustration is bubbling up in him, the way it always has since he was a kid; Dad had always laughed and said that he must've gotten it from his mother, quick to anger and full in force, but Tenzin has never been able to quell the feeling down despite his best efforts to be more like his father.

"Bet it was one of your cop cronies." There's something intense and unhinged and wild in the kid's half-pyrite eyes, almost glowing in the gleeful challenge. "Pro'ly got bored of the metal rod permanently stuck up your ass n' thought it'd be funny if —"

"Young man! You will not speak of —"

"I'm jus' sayin' —"

"Enough." Lin slams her fist down on the table, and the light in the boy's eyes dims in an instant. "I've had enough of your hog-monkey shit. Either you be straight with me and we can settle this quickly, or I'm holding you here as long as I deem necessary."

Which can be a very long time, goes unsaid.

Tenzin inspects the kid carefully, sees the minute way his shoulders slump down, and suddenly, all he can see in front of him is Jinora, hunching in on herself as her parents lecture her about not feeding her dinner to the sky bison. He doesn't know why — after all, this is a lightning-bending gangster, almost certainly raised by the streets in poverty and desperation; he couldn't be further from Tenzin's family.

But.

He's still just a kid.

Beneath all that bravado, those bitter, biting words, the degenerate behaviour that brought him here in the first place, the skin stretched too-thin over bones jutting out of his face — the harsh exterior is made to protect a kid who's seen too much. Tenzin knows that for certain.

And Tenzin is suddenly tired, because the boy is right. There's a reason that kids like him run with gangs, learn to fight dirty and low and vicious, and he's not naive enough to believe that it's not in-part due to their own failure as adults in power. He places a hand on Lin's shoulder — a silent request for her to step back and trust him. She looks over at him, green eyes meeting blue, and he's struck by how beaten down she looks by this conversation despite her infallible presence. Despite their time away from each other, despite the inevitable fallout that halved their world together like a splintering ravine and left no chance of reprieve, she knows him. 

She steps back.

Tenzin seats himself at the table as Lin moves to the corner of the room. Takes a deep breath to steady himself, tries to channel the way his father always made people feel like everything would be alright. "Young man," he says in a reasonable tone, "please, let's try again. Would you be willing to tell me your name?"

"It's —"

"Mako," the boy interjects before Lin can finish for him, take his autonomy, eyes dropping to the table. There's an unmistakable air of defeat around him, one at total odds of the snapping, feral boy described and seen from before. "My… My name's Mako. Why's it matter to you?"

Tenzin nods resolutely, ignoring the question. "Well, Mako. I have a proposal for you — one that should keep you out of the police station." 

A raised eyebrow.

Once it's out of his mouth, he can't retract it. He knows that there will be consequences for speaking without consulting Pema, Lin, his kids.

But his heart is telling him that this is right. Not just that it's the right thing to do, but also that the kid sitting handcuffed to the table in front of him is the Avatar. He can see it in his eyes, hard and resentful and gold-brown and so different from his father's, yet still the same in some inexplicable way. Reconciling the idea of this lightning-bending gangster of a street kid with the man who co-founded this city is… overwhelming, and Tenzin would almost rather blow this situation off and let himself live in remembering his father for who he is, not for whoever Mako turns out to be. But Tenzin has a duty to the world, and a duty to his father, and so he will ensure that he does the new Avatar right.

"I would like to invite you to stay on Air Temple Island for the time being. We can discuss the objective after I am able to gather the resources necessary to run an evaluating test. Do you accept?"

Mako glances over at Lin; Tenzin resists the urge to do the same. He doesn't need her approval for this — it's his home, and he knows what he's doing. He can't read the thoughts behind the boy's eyes as they flick between the two adults who hold an infinite amount of power over him, can't follow what internal strife might be occurring in his head.

Then Mako shrugs, an abrupt, jerky motion. "Sure."

Lin Beifong throws her hands up in the air, and leaves the interrogation room. She can't be bothered to deal with this; it's five in the morning. She needs some fucking sleep.

my ao3 (but it's not posted there)

sorry this was a crack idea i had while practicing piano and i had to crank it out. i Might write a series of oneshots on this if i get too inspired lol (similar to what empty shores was supposed to be)

yes bolin is alive in this au, yes i have an unfortunate amount of ideas, yes i'm still writing my normal conceivable-to-complete fics.

if tenzin thought korra was hard to work with, he is going to have a blast with mako, who comes pre-packaged with fifty times more trauma that korra had when she pulled up to air temple island. (and is also prone to stealing, and running away, and murder as necessary, probably.) (this is going to be so terrible on all sides until it gets better!)

#lychee's word trash #mako lok #mako tlok #don't ask about the logic i don't want to think too hard about it #just a silly au that i thought up while reading some fic #feel free to ask me questions about it lolll #also!! finally started my lok rewatch! #i genuinely love korra so much she's so cute and sweet and batshit insane aughgdzhzchzcj #snowglobes don't shake on their own

[smokethroughgrittedteeth]

the entire fruit basket. all of it every last one

..OH BOY OKAY THEN ANON. HERE WE GO BUCKLE UP. HEADACHE-INDUCED ASK RESPONSES AHOY

   peach: do you have any piercings or tattoos?

    nope! i think they’re really cool though. i dont know if id ever get one, personally? ..maybe a tattoo if it was of something SUPER important. -maybe-.

   raspberry: favorite flower?...i actually have absolutely no idea, i never knew that. ....i...um. i like roses? and blue flowers. any blue flower. and um...i really can't think of any. I love all flowers but I'm not particularly draw to anythough burned/black/blue roses are something i have a thing forthough they arent natural. so dunno if they count?? ;;

   lemon: do you have any pets? what are their names?YES! My baby kitty, Marshmallow

   mango: what is your trademark? ....my brain just went straight to modus operandi and i had a moment of wait, i dont kill people. why. why are you asking me this. i. um. am not sur ewhat this question is though. Associations? Shit that is Me? ..Scarves, cats, space? ..and dragons, feathers, fire, gold, angels, fall, quiet winter days. I guess??? If it has the first three though its probably mine.

   passion fruit: how would you describe your style?whatever that word for "we re all gonna die anyways" humor was. not fatalist humor but somethin similar? ..or it was that. but um. that. fake-it-till-you-make-it. and as for clothing style, /tagged/outfits. and scarves.

   pineapple: sexual orientation?why pineapple something something gray-ace/demisexual but as for preference, pan

   strawberry: favorite desserts?ice cream, chocolate cake, cheese cake

   cherry: can you play any musical instruments or can you sing?..i mean i can sing but that does not mean I do it well. But, no instruments. I know a total of 5 piano notes, and can play virtual pianos, and bullshit a flute, but not really anything else.

   grape: if you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?ugh. i dunno. literally anywhere i can take my partners and kitty to. their house is the obvious choice..

   banana: favorite horror movies?..i really enjoyed some but i cant exactly think of any? weird.

   blackberry: is your life an action film, a comedy, a romantic comedy, or drama?...dark comedy probably. with a touch of Depressing.

   pomegranate: when do you feel the most confident?...this is gonna sound odd, but when i'm somewhere outside (bonus points for up high like a cliff or something) with a lot of wind and there is quiet.

   cantaloupe: what are your parents' names?im not giving them the decency of talking about them here, sorry.

   guava: dark & dramatic makeup or natural makeup?for myself none, but i think both are nice? I like dramatic. but natural is also pretty. basically anything that's your style, really.

   tangelo: if you could be any mythical creature, which would you be?dragon no question abt it tbh.

   plum: favorite clothing brands?i dont really look at brands, just what i like, so..no idea

   coconut: favorite perfume?..eh. i dont wear any or know anything about perfumes actually. i do like smelling of honey, coffee, or lemon though, so.

   lychee: satin or lace?  um...no idea actually. either??

   blueberry: what do you want to dress up as for halloween?i actually wanna do a mae-witchdagger thing because i am nitw trash

   apple: what do you use more, tumblr or twitter?tumblr - dont even have twitter anymore

   kiwi: what's something that fascinates you?space, the sky, humanity, divinity

   watermelon: do you have a job? if so, what is your job title?professional depressive fire turnip & anxious feather duster. occasionally a liscenced screaming cabbage.(no, i really dont have a job yet)

   papaya: what song describes your aesthetic?..i have an entire playlist,,i dunno. natural born sinner by ITM, taste of ink by the Used,  Pyre by Son Lux, Infinitesimal by Mother mother. um. others too                                                                

   cranberry: favorite time of the day; morning, afternoon, dusk, or night?dusk and night, mostly night

   nectarine: would you consider yourself an emotional person?hides my tears and emotionally impairing anxietiesno,,,(yes)

   orange: do you have long eyelashes?  u M...idk...normal eyelashes....

   apricot: what do you do when you're sad?games, music, go outside, idk. when just sad that is

   star fruit: favorite sea creature?sharks

   dragonfruit: do you drink alcohol? nope. not at all actually. i had one glass of something the past 5 years so whoop for me.

THERE WE GO. I HOPE THIS WAS ENJOYABLE

[fictionkinfessionsarchived]

Jaibo why did you have to be like that why'd y'gotta make it weird darling I adore you to absolute pieces but you could've use'd your damned words dear. Say it with me, "Zera, I want more of your attention" just say it. Please. I can't give you attention if you're dead, Jaibo, you sweet, sweet trash can. I swear I'm not mad. - Zera from Lychee Hikari Club

#fictionkinfessions #fictionkin #zerakin #lycheehikariclubkin #chara love #death cw #anonymous #mod party cat!

[jade-of-mourning]

been writing again. i miss writing for fun aha. pain why is this guy so repressed and fucked up.

this one's about lightning n plants n blah blah symbolism stuff and i stopped writing it over two years ago but now i'm back ig. mako is having a terrible time post-canon and it's great! (for me) i dumped out some stuff that i find unusable and am hoping the rest holds up to a reasonable extent

#lychee's word trash #rose beds and gasoline veins #it's genuinely been SUCH a long minute lolololol #yes i've got myself a crippling attachment to mako from lok idk what to tell you #i just threw out 1k from 6k but i'm writing rn and avoiding studying so it kinda skyrocketed to 7.3k! #if i think about him too hard my heart hurts for this fictional guy so like #y'know you gotta cope by watching that “just too hot” video on crack #i don't really know exactly Where this is going bc i forgot my initial plans #i should really start outlining otherwise i forget all my ideas instantaneously lol #guys i really wish that i wrote an outline for the time travel au bc i knew i had good ideas #i just can't remember what those good ideas were </3

[jade-of-mourning]

for anon who sent me an ask earlier today: i'm so sorry to hear about your cat's passing. i hope this short fic from your prompt helps just a little bit.

———

The cat is young, a calico with soft white paws and soft orange ears. She turns up on the doorstep of his dingy flat one dusky evening as he returns from work, quietly curled against the barred door in the shards of light thrown onto the stairs by the flickering lamp. Mako looks down at her large green eyes and sighs, slipping the gate open to step inside and returning with a small bowl of water.

"Go along, now," he tells her after she finishes lapping at the water.

A meow vibrates in her throat.

Mako scowls. He doesn't know what she's trying to say, but he does know he doesn't have the space in his heart to care about a cat. 

He should have the space. Korra's gone, off recovering in the South Pole. Bolin's gone, off helping Kuvira stabilize the Earth Kingdom. Asami's… well, Asami's here, but they don't really talk much because they remind each other too much of what they've lost. Chief Beifong held an intervention and forced him to get out from under his desk and go invest in a place for himself — because she was tired of seeing his depressing countenance become a default constituent of this building's landscape —, so he's got space in his flat for a cat too.

Another meow, more insistent than the first.

"Don't care," he says, more roughly than he'd intended, but he's talking to a cat and a cat won't hate him for being too abrasive the way the cracks in the pavement molded him to be. He reopens his door, steps inside, and closes it on the cat.

And it becomes a routine. He doesn't know where she is by morning, even though he wakes up before sunrise no matter the day, but each time he comes back from work, she's there, meowing on his doorstep and lapping at the bowls of water he starts leaving out for her. It doesn't matter how dark the skies are, doesn't matter if he's returning at four in the morning after watching another child die from working under Viper. She's consistent and unrepentant, and she just becomes another orange-white figure in the haze of his life going in and out of work again and again.

It's raining when he comes back on a Friday night, raindrops pelting the small overhang in slates. The sky glistens like diamonds against black velvet, and Mako doesn't know why he smells wet cardboard and flooded dumpsters. The cat is present as always, face buried in her paws as she stretches in the barrier between the outside world and Mako's living place.

Mako sighs. His body hurts for reasons he's not sure of, feels small and aching and too skinny for his bones despite being more financially stable he's been his entire life.

"Come on," he tells the cat, opening the gate and widening the door further than he normally does. The cat stares up at him for a long moment, but before he can retract his offer, trots past and enters the foyer.

It's a small place. The rent is much cheaper than the apartment he and Bolin had shared before the spirit vines, and Mako likes it that way. Yellow ceiling lights, flaky plaster walls; a cramped bathroom with a mirror permanently fogged over; a bedroom with a futon pulled into the corner and a small closet filled with a week's worth of clothing; a foyer with hooks for jackets and shelves for shoes. He slides on a pair of ratty slippers Bolin had bought for him with his first paycheck, faded pink and detached soles, and pads into his room after the wandering cat.

The room is still empty. He never put anything in it, not like Asami's walls of pro-bending posters or Korra's dresser full of trinkets or Bolin's garish…everything, and none of them are around to harass him for it, so it's stayed that way. As the cat sets herself down on the edge of his futon, something small but vain in him remembers to feel self conscious for the first other living being to see his place. It looks more lifeless than an alleyway — places where stories are told in the bricks and the graffiti, the scent from the dumpsters, the lights filtering through from the main streets.

"I'm going to wash up," he tells the cat. "You can leave whenever you want."

And so the cat becomes part of his life more than he'd planned. He doesn't have anyone to take care of these days, not since Bolin found better things to do with his life and left, but he brings the cat in to get checked and feeds her and leaves the kitchen window open for her. She doesn't do much, just waits inside instead of outside for his return every night, and he gets used to it. He takes to calling her Clementine in his head and grows to talk at her subconsciously, a silent companion who doesn't remind him too much of anything bad the way everyone and everything else tends to do these days.

And then just like that, Clementine is gone.

He doesn't entirely know how it happened. He woke up one morning and she was gone as usual, and he got back later that night and she was still gone. A few days later he reads in the newspaper lit by lightning that someone ran over a cat, a tiny mention on the side column for his district, and his heavy-marrowed bones know the weight of death from love enough to know that she's dead. Something about the news in the dark of the storm feels vaguely like watching Ming-Hua in electric water.

It doesn't matter that much. Nothing much changes — his yellow-ceiling-lights, flaky-plaster-walls flat goes back to being as lifeless as it had been before, and Mako isn't the type of wallow in solitaire. He's not too devastated about her absence; he just sort of accepts it and goes forward, the way he does with every horrible thing that life won't stop throwing at him. He doesn't cry, even though he doesn't need to leave Bolin at Narook's and find an empty alley to do so anymore, because she was just a cat and Mako was always meant to be lonely.

In the walls of his dingy flat, he stands under cold water, droplets curling around the ends of his dark hair, dripping onto his shoulders like warm blood. He eats the eggrolls he picked up from the night market on the way back from work, and the grease permeates the light napkin wrapping and sets on his fingers, like spinning tools in a factory line. He washes the dishes piling in the sink and scrubs at them until his burn-scarred hands are soft, like hearts that get torn apart, and he lights a cigarette until he coughs at the smoke for the first time in years. No one is there to judge, not even silent Clementine, and Mako tells himself it's the way he prefers it.

Chief Beifong tells him to take his lunch break outside because she's sick of seeing him work through it. He walks down the block in the uniform that terrified him as a child, stares into the sun until his eyes start to water. On the street where Clementine was run over, children are weaving between upset cars, laughter spilling from their lips as they chase a game only they can see, and the space between buildings is suddenly darker when all Mako can hear is sobbing. He runs towards the alley and doesn't see a child with their head between their knees the way he expects, doesn't see defiled corpses burning in broad daylight. He steps back and looks back into the street and there's no cat with broken bones and bloody fur the way he expects.

Nothing's right. Lunch is over and he gets back to the station late, the first time in the past two years of working here that he's ever overextended his break.

Chief Beifong is standing in front of his desk. "Rookie. You're late."

"I know. I'm sorry. I… got lost in my head a little bit. It won't happen again." Mako sits down and pretends that he's not trembling, because he doesn't know why he would be.

Beifong frowns. "You don't get lost in your head. That's how you make mistakes. That's how you let people get killed."

I know. I know that more intimately than anyone else. I know, I know, I know, he thinks, over and over again; like Bolin crying night after night on the street on wet cardboard in the presence of flooded dumpsters; like the memory replaying night after night of his parents lighting the night as its torches; like Clementine arriving night after night on his doorstep waiting for him to come home.

"I'm sorry," he repeats. He's trying to make apathetic eye contact the way authority likes him to, but for some reason, he just can't muster it in his bones today.

Beifong sighs and starts to walk away, before stopping and turning back. "Kid," she says, softer, "you seem out of sorts lately. I don't know what's leaving you like this, but you know we can't have anyone half-assing their work here." She looks as though she's debating whether or not to say more, then — "Take it from me: don't get so caught up with the past. You have the present enough to deal with as it is."

Mako doesn't ask how she knows. He just nods and pulls out his pen to keep filling out documents the way he always does at this hour, and when he gets home that night, he lets the empty space in his heart hurt and miss Clementine just a little bit.

———

i wrote this in the car on my phone in a couple hours so sorry if it's a little scuffed. but again, please take care of yourself :( and i hope you feel better from being sick also!

to address the rest of your ask — i wasn't planning to write korra into this au, but i might throw in a reference at her at some point as a family friend of the air family haha. she's also aged down to thirteen in parallel to the other kids. though the fic won't go this far into the future, she'd pull up three years down the line as the swt chief's daughter coming in to wreak havoc in republic city. i do think that the idea of korra being the older teenager trying to put these kids on a leash while also being batshit insane herself is such a funny idea that i'm almost tempted to write it!

i might make stuff on the triple threats into another hc post, or even a fic at some point, but perhaps not today my friend. i do love your phrasing of "accountant streetrat dropout" though — you're so right that that's basically what he was lmfaooo. however, PLEASE keep bothering me it makes me really excited to see you in my inbox!

also side note: i'm thinking of putting some of these tumblr short pieces + some of my older small unpublished fics on ao3 by a different pseud. thoughts from anyone who happens to read through this shitfest?

#lychee acquires and answers asks #lychee's word trash #mako lok #mako tlok

[jade-of-mourning]

hey. I’m back. you probably didn’t miss me LOL, but I saw your response to my ask and I got really excited 😭

okay so I actually sent the ask about posting to ao3 with the avatar mako concept in mind cuz I love making my non-avatar faves the avatar,,, and then I noticed you said asks about hcs and stuff are welcome so⁉️⁉️

I would love to hear more about the avatar mako au if you’re willing (that summary has me SO pumped btw)

and if it’s not too much of a bother, would you mind an ask about a little blurb idea I had but don’t really know how to write? I appreciate the word vomit response btw it makes me feel appreciated!! as you can probably tell I do a little word vomit when I get excited so. lol. love when my insanity is reciprocated :]

-🐌

welcome back anon! it's lovely to hear from you again <3

ah yes i too am a fan of reading non-avatar!avatar aus; they're so fun! also ty for enabling to talk about my au gfsjhjbhkfsdgjh i'll word vomit beneath the cut lol

and finally, yes! feel free to send it in :) i'd be happy to help if i can, though no guarantees </3

the au starts about four years prior to when book 1 takes place in lok, so mako, bolin, and asami are all aged down four years while the equalist revolution is not yet on the horizon — though i'm keeping the aid kids roughly the same age as they were, just because i want to play off their dynamic :P

in the context of Why No Avatar Korra, aang's temporary death during the crossroads of destiny led the avatar spirit to pass onto a water tribe child — until aang promptly un-died and raava returned, with a small part of her spirit left in the other to sustain their survival. (kind of playing off the avatar!yue theory and some of those theories floating around from book 1's airing lol.) so basically when aang died 54 years later, raava was unable to move on to the next avatar immediately, so she waited in a sort of suspended stasis until the not-avatar passed and the cycle returned at earth. i'm not sure how much i'll actually explore this in the fic, if at all, but yeah here's the explanation.

so mako is technically the earth avatar, but his firebending visibly pulled up first so he was just assumed to be a firebender. fast forward, dead parents & pre-canon sort of plays out as i tend to headcanon it, including lots of casual Bad Things and Horrible Trauma-Inducing Circumstances. however, as mako gets older he starts to realize that there might be a slight issue in that he can bend both fire and earth.

okayyy… okay this is fine. it's probably because his parents are from both nations. (he breaks into the library to verify that no, dual benders do not exist even in mixed families.) he doesn't know what the triple threats would do to him if they found out — would they exploit him further, or would they straight up kill him? he keeps it a secret from everyone, including bolin, because for all that he loves bolin considerably more than he loves life itself, bolin is also largely terrible at keeping secrets and this isn't something anyone can ever know. he doesn't practice any of the other elements, sticking to firebending exclusively, so aside from this added weight of such a heavy secret on his shoulders, up to fourteen it all goes the same.

(some casual Bad Things include, but are not limited to: the horrors of industrial age 1920s child homelessness, recruitment into the gang, lightningbending, and being trained specifically by zolt for intimidation factor and potential takeover. there's an unfortunate amount of child abuse and exploitation going on there.)

and then he's at a transaction with the triple threats when they get busted by the police, including lin beifong herself. mako is very much a fighter and very good at it, in that despite having not been trained properly, he's still vicious and entirely desperate due to his determination to stick around for bolin. he will bite your head off if he feels backed into a corner and will do whatever it takes to come out on the other side. his rage at the world has yet to subside after six years on the streets at age fourteen. he has zero chill and has no slowly coming sense of stability that he's on the cusp of gaining around his introduction in canon. he is both way worse and way better at repressing his feelings here than he is at eighteen, but that'll probably get explored in the fic, so i'll leave it here. anyway this is where lightning-happy mako slips up and accidentally earthbends directly at the Chief; and where most officers would've probably just let it slide under the assumption that they were going crazy, lin beifong does not do crazy.

so this is where the fic starts, as you probably read from the first draft snippet. a lot of set up that will probably never come up, at least not so explicitly like this, but it'll probably write itself in somehow. going on, we've got some air island arrival shenanigans, where mako first tries denial, realizes that it's not going to work, and outwardly verbally acquiesces with the whole fine-you-caught-me-i'll-be-the-avatar bullshit. internally, he is calculating the price of the artifacts in the room and the chances of him grabbing bolin from headquarters and the two of them bailing it out of the city with the sold-artifacts' profit.

so the question is, why would mako run when he's being offered the opportunity to have some semblance of safety and comfort for the first time in his life?

because mako, disbeliever of pacifism, is convinced that tenzin is going to kill him once he realizes that it isn't worth the effort trying to domesticate this violent street kid who's experienced an unbelievable amount of trauma and has a learned, deep-set cynicism for the world — if it's even possible at all. that tenzin will quickly come to deem that the world may as well wait another decade-plus for a better avatar. mako's selfish and even if he knows that his death would enable an actually competent avatar that would acutally help the world to be reborn, he refuses to leave bolin alone (even if a small part of him knows that if it weren't for bolin, him being so very tired so very often probably would've just allowed this path to happen). that's a major-minor plot point.

i'll leave it at that for now before i just write out my entire outline in this post :P but yeah, it'll feature mako learning to care for the world again, plus some quality mako & jinora friendship, bolin acquiring a mother figure in pema, and a peculiar mako & asami relationship after events in which, and i quote from my outline chapter summary, "Mako discovers that trying to steal from Rich Girl Asami Sato is a bad idea."

#lychee acquires and answers asks #snowglobes don't shake on their own #lychee's word trash

[jade-of-mourning]

hiii so uh I just found ur account but I see you post a decent amount of mako stuff,,,

are you planning on putting any of that on ao3 (finished fics or blurb ideas turned into fics) or is it solely tumblr? and would you possibly mind some short stuff based on some of your posts? idk he’s js my newest hyperfixation and your acc is so coolll :3

-🐌

HI ANON!!!! mako has been in my brain so much for the past few months; i just restrain myself from posting seven times a day and instead, i aggressively brainrot in my discord server with a single person in it. (it's me — i'm the single person)

i've been juggling a couple fics for ao3 on him lately (account, mostly atla writing), though tragically i've been at a bit of a writing block. it's probably from overthinking story structures, but trust that i'll get at least a couple of them out eventually haha. the main one is a post-canon fic called rose beds and gasoline veins at 11.9k as of now, followed by a silly 10-chapter 14-year-old-avatar!mako au called snowglobes don't shake on their own which i've spent some time casually outlining (featuring jinora and asami!). there's a post i spontaneously conjured up that would roughly act as half of the first chapter. i'll post the summary if you're curious lol

i've also got a couple random/short oneshots that i spontaneously wrote and completed, before promptly forgetting that i can post them, so… maybe i'll do that soon. one of them is a slightly different take on mako & bolin's family in ba sing se, on some of their cultural differences and traumas through hot pot (which i might expand into a longer oneshot on ao3 after i finish rose beds). the other one was initially a joke about him (who i like to hc as aro lol) accidentally being a really big fan of sex. it's very vague but it turned out kind of angsty in exploring how mako deliberately gives up control in an attempt to frame himself as his mother rather than the man who killed her (coping fr); it's not really up my usual alley, but i might post it somewhere sometime idk. i didn't ever really flesh it out in my head but i have some inklings for a mako & kai oneshot on forgiving yourself as a kid, a mako & lin beifong oneshot on his recruitment featuring better characterization than that spontaneous shitpost i made, and a half-written expansion of jobs in an actually comprehensible story-ish format focused more on pre-canon backstory of him and bolin. also, last night i kind of accidentally started an essay arguing the case of reading mako as "this is a male female character somehow", but that's a whole other brainrot. my friends think i'm insane for wanting to write an essay for fun :P

thank you so much for stopping by!!! i love to hear that people love this random fictional character too — it makes me really happy especially considering how many people do not love him haha. literally anyone please send me asks about writing or headcanons or brain thoughts and enable me to talk about mako because i can actually talk about mako so much.

and for the record, sorry for responding with so many words oops. i have a lot of thoughts.

^^ summary for the avatar!mako au that i might never finish but i think it's a really funny mix of crack and seriousness that i would love to write. maybe after i finish my marimba solo!

#lychee acquires and answers asks #lychee's word trash