isleofavalon | May catch-all

Entry tags:

May catch-all

🧙 WHO: Gokudera and absolutely anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: Mid-May catch all (training and other stuff that comes up)
🕒 WHEN: Mid... May? Before the event
🗺️ WHERE: Multiple places
⚠️ WARNINGS: violence, mentions of past sexual slavery, language

A. Training Grounds

Larry is sitting out in the middle of the training field, blowing bubbles to contain lit sticks of dynamite Gokudera is throwing into the air. Gokudera has discovered he has elemental magic and is working on what he can with wind, trying to push the bubble back towards his familiar, or up safely away from them both. He’s not successfully done either, and has just been creating useless gusts. The dynamite explodes in the bubble, the bubble pops, and knocks him down. This is getting very very tiresome, and his gusts don’t seem to be getting any stronger or going where he thinks he’s aiming them.

“Fuck... why isn’t it working?” He glares and pushes himself back up.

B. The Red Spring

No new arrivals from Namimori, it seems. Gokudera had spent the day watching new arrivals climb the cliff, wondering if he’d see someone from home. The journey back had been familiar and helped somewhat to clear his mind. But he’s been looking forward to bathing in the Red Spring. He feels partially new to Avalon after his reawakening, gone for years, and his body aged and scarred, when he’d apparently never left Camelot. Anyone who recognizes Gokudera from last month or any time prior will see the difference. Those who responded to his network post will already understand. But for those who have never met him, he’s acting very much like a new arrival.

The teenager lowers into the spring, the trunks he’s wearing keep him decent, but there is nothing to hide the vivid burn scars and long tally-marks down his back. There’s a black leather half-choke collar about his neck, and occasionally, there is a glow from beneath it, against the skin of his neck that looks like it’s burned many times over. Despite the fact that there is electricity attached to his neck, he fully submerges for a moment, then surfaces and decides he’ll play with the more illusory side of his light magic.

If you are unlucky enough to be anywhere near him, he’ll walk right up and offer you his entire left arm. It’s not real. It’s a smoke bomb, a prank, but hey, as far as your character should be able to tell, he just took off his arm and is handing it to you.

“Hey can you watch this for me? Thanks.” And then he’ll be getting out of the water so his familiar can be amused.

C. Wildcard! Seriously. Do whatever.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“You know what, now that you’ve spoken it into existence, it will probably happen. Maybe I’ll just focus on shaping the bow and painting it, then you can attach it. That way there’s little risk of me breaking it.”

Gokudera follows and they spend a long enough time -probably longer than they should because hobbies- at the store. He happily pays for most of it, because it was his idea apparently to customize the ship to begin with, and the walk back is easy. He’s looking through the bag so he can come up with a game plan for what to take out and set up first, constructing a little mental checklist while Zuko lets them back into the room.

"Well, the real one was destroyed by bombers, too, so... maybe it'd be suiting for you. Although—" He gives Gokudera a teasing once-over as they walk to the store. "You're not really the pirate type." Zuko's amused at the image, though. He'd only ever seen pirate men wear so much jewelry like Gokudera does, so maybe he's not so far off, after all, on second thought.

They have a fun enough time putzing around the hobby shop, marveling at all the weird new things he'd never seen before and all the tinkering toys teenage boys just tend to like so much, so Zuko's in a good mood by the time they come back, feeling a little schmaltzy after Gokudera insisted on paying. Zuko tried to fight it, but allowed him graciously after a couple tries. He's smiling and lighthearted by the time the door opens onto... a surprise. Azula and Zuko relaxing on the couch. His smile falters and falls, casting an uncomfortable glance at Gokudera over his shoulder.

"Oh, uh— Hi..."

Edited 2021-05-14 22:07 (UTC)

Their smiles fade at the same time, two pairs of golden eyes settling onto Gokudera-- although one sibling is far less thrilled than the other to be in his company. Azula flips around on the couch, crossing one leg over the other as she cinches her robe tighter at the waist instead of using her hands to leap across the room and strangle a certain bomb boy.

"I didn't realize you were going to start bringing home strays."

Gokudera's casual smile drops, but not by very much. When Zuko glances at him, he takes a breath and straightens up, shoulders back slightly. He may have been gone from this world for years mentally, but it’s not difficult to remember the hell Azula gave him. Their online conversation was almost... fun? Felt like some teasing, and Gokudera is self-deprecating enough to easily side with her.

He’s used to verbal abuse, and has gotten skilled at maintaining distance. He may need to. Yamamoto isn’t here to save him this time, and he gulps before forcing himself to relax. Azula isn’t talking to him. He’ll abide by some beaten-in manners: only speak when spoken to.

"Azula... We were here first," he retorts, very maturely. "We just ran to the store. We're staying."

Zuko steps forward, beckoning Gokudera in after him with his hand to come retake their seats at the table with his model. Zun races from the couch to fly up and lands on the tabletop, greeting Zuko enthusiastically, who runs his hand firmly down the length of his little body in one long stroke of a pet, but refuses to make eye contact with anyone.

It seems Zuko is determined to stand his ground on this one, and as much as she dislikes Gokudera she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious about whatever new affliction cursed him. He's certainly acting like a stray dog Zuko just lured home, waiting for approval, being beckoned forward by the hand of his new owner. Zuko probably didn't realize the irony in the gesture, but it makes tensed muscles loosen as she sinks more comfortably into the couch.

"You had to have known I'd come back eventually," her words are sharp, pointed. Zuko perks up on her shoulder, but remains mostly still otherwise. "And now you're only insisting your little pet has an uncomfortable time."

Gokudera appreciates that Zuko solidifies he’s welcome and follows him in when beckoned. He sits, quiet and looking to his friend for any further ~~commands~~. It’s odd how he’s falling back into old habits, and with the way Zuko and Azula talk to each other, he feels wildly uncertain on who to listen to.

He won’t side with Azula, but she makes a completely valid point. I’d they both live here, they can’t argue over the space. There is one main thing made abundantly clear... he should leave. But, he has to be dismissed by either of them. Good thing his collar isn’t acting up ~~yet~~.

“Then don’t make it uncomfortable for him and it won’t be,” he snaps back, his back turned to her. Zunyan scurries across the table to Gokudera’s spot, demanding the bomber’s attention on him by forcing itself under his hand to pet itself. The dragon has made its vote clear. Zuko wiggles an open hand at Gokudera, motioning to give him the bag so Zuko can start setting up the new stuff for their craftsmanship project.

“C’mon, Gokudera, let’s get to work on the model...”

He’s not explicitly inviting Azula to join them, nor is he explicitly not inviting her, either. Throwing the ball in her court how she wants to behave. Gokudera’s staying.

"Has he forgotten to speak or is he really this well-behaved now?"

She's laughing, the eyeroll the pair of them earns so exaggerated she rolls her head with it, settling it against the back of the couch in exasperation. Had he really come here to work on some dumb little toy? Zuko could have chosen somewhere less likely to be a battlefield to do such, but admittedly she's a little perturbed he wasn't more thrilled to see her. You know, in their home. Despite Azula's eyes finally off the pair, it seems her blue-scaled companion can't seem to stop staring at its namesake.

"Or maybe he's realizing he'd rather play with me instead of with some sticks and glue."

"I'm fine." He says simply. Even if he is uncomfortable, this is far from the most uncomfortable situation he's ever been in. Being drugged and put up on a stage during a pet convention to see how much people would pay for him... that's kind of high on the uncomfortable list.

The dragon moving over to him makes the bomber smile pleasantly and he strokes a hand down its back before Zuko motions with a wiggled hand for the bag. Gokudera nearly rushes to hand it to him, so fast it would seem like it was way more important than it actually is.

He glances at Azula, looks her up and down as she's all but lounging. It's her place, so he supposes it's fair. "I'm right here." Just stating it. She can talk to him, or... not. But he won't talk to her, just... state for whoever wants to include him in the conversation.

"You know Zuko, I have no idea what your sister considers play. Maybe I'd be willing to spend time with her if she asked. I wouldn't assume anything." Gokudera taps the slightly disfigured fingers of his left hand gently against the dragon's back.

The comment earns an odd look from Zuko, who turns his attention away from the bag's contents and back to the mafioso with an arched brow. He pauses for a while without comment, trying to make sense of the remark, then turns in his seat to shoot the same odd expression at his sister for a moment, before finally speaking. His own comment confuses him just as much.

"...You wanna hang out with us, Azula?"

His tone is more terse than he realizes, genuinely bemused and going way out on a limb, on a whim.

Edited 2021-05-16 23:10 (UTC)

"No."

She snaps at him before she can really even process what he asked, dramatically flopping to lay on her side with her back towards them. Zuko wasn't prepared as it was too busy being menacing, having to squeeze itself out from between her and the cushion, flopping onto the floor without any elegance. The princess pays it no mind, instead deciding to feign interest in surfing the internet again which was what she had intended on doing in the first place.

Zuko (II) slithers across the floor toward the pair of them, however, so far seeming mostly non-threatening.

"I'll leave you alone. Just pretend I'm not here."

When Zuko turns away to invite his sister to join them, Gokudera pulls out his device and sends him a text. 'Think she just wants all the attention on herself?' He looks back up, then at Zunyan and occupies himself with listening without bothering anyone.

He'd ask Zuko what they should start with first, since he has the bag, but isn't going to speak up. Azula is doing her own thing? And he'll be happy to ignore her.

Zuko's surprised to get the text, and finds it clever and sneaky to text while in person so they're not overheard but can still speak openly; he likes it.

He texts back simply maybe and shrugs. If Azula wants to hang out, she's welcome to change her mind. The invitation stands. Zuko gets to work pulling out the piece of wood with a curved end they'd managed to find with the shopkeeper's expert guidance, and holds it up to the bow of the little ship before them. A perfect fit. This was going to be easier than he thought. They'd just need to attach it with the chains and clasps they got. Not complicated at all in the end. They got this!

"Okay, so it looks like if we bore a hole here...— Wait, no. Here. Yeah, if we drill a hole here, it'll lower nicely. Right?"

He's fidgeting with it, holding a free finger in a couple different spots, imagining the length of the chains they got still in its little plastic package, and eyeballing it aloud before doing anything. He's glad to have Gokudera here for this. Having him makes it fun, rather than tedious like it'd be if he were alone. He liked the tedium, granted, but... he likes the company, too.

Really, the only thing making this afternoon spicy for either of them is Azula and she's aware of it, having to tune out the dull conversation between them about ship-building. She'd imagine someone that tinkered with explosives probably could find something to enjoy about it, so she'd let the nerds geek out together in mild annoyance-- it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go and so far she had unlimited lives in CandyCrush. If this wasn't a clue to get herself some of her own friends (that weren't Zuko or associated with Zuko), nothing would be.

In the meantime, Zuko (II) opens its jaw wide and chomps onto Zuko's shin.

The response is lackluster, but Gokudera is just pleased his friend saw his message. He reaches over to the bag to grab the small notepad and pen he’d purchased.

“Let’s find out where the hole should be, and I can measure out the length of chain we need... and add on extra length to compensate for where it extends...” he starts muttering something, doing some equations on the paper. He holds out his hand for the chain, because he needs to count the length of each link in it.

“Did we get anything to hold it up when it isn’t extended?” He says, actively searching next for what the shopkeeper had advised. Gokudera is clearly getting into this, forgetting that Azula is even there in the room with them.

"Yeah, that little hook thing — if we put the clasp here on the deck, it's kinda unseen. Oh, and here's the hinge the guy gave us to put on the bottom, too..."

Zuko's handing over supplies as told, indeed already wrapped up in this tedium he found so fun, little screwdriver in hand preemptively, eager to fidget. However, he's soon enough leaping out of his skin, not for being antsy, but for being wounded.

"Ah!" he shouts out, more from surprise than pain, rather ungracefully, as he squirms in his seat, kicking out in a knee-jerk reaction and swatting at the air around the dragon that bit him. He wouldn't hit Zuko because he knows better than that, and even if he's an asshole dragon, he's still a dragon, and should be revered... He's in no position to be smacking dragons... especially ones that so freely bite him for no reason... But he can still pretend at it.

"Azula, your dragon bit me again, ugh!" he complains loudly, emphatically. Zuko has many more bite marks still healing from Zuko to prove that this is an uncomfortably common occurrence, if the exasperation and higher octave cracking his voice isn't proof enough. "You—...!" he growls at it, glowering at the creature below.

Zunyan looks curiously on at the scene, still beside Gokudera, whom it looks to just as curiously next, cocking its head. After a beat, it opens its jaw, and cranes its neck closer as if it's going to bite him, too, following its buddy Zuko's example, but then hesitates, uncertain about it, whiskers barely grazing his forearm... So instead, it just draws back and gives a soft hiss, leaving him unscathed, and scurries to the edge of the table to peer over at the dragon on the ground. What's going on down there, friend!

"I'm not controlling him," she snaps at Zuko, twisting her head to look over at her whining sibling before returning to click around on her device. Honestly, it's a good thing she cannot since she'd most definitely use her familiar in an attempt to overthrow the current government. Azula had an inkling of an idea of what caused her dragons hissyfits with Zuko, but it was embarrassing enough to not think about-- she'd rather Zuko think their relationship was only ever going to be a rivalry.

Zuko (II) continues his attack, flapping its wings out aggressively at its sides as his namesake glares down at him. It's going to leap forward and try to bite his nose.

"Okay so we'll need extra length in the chain if you want to put it there so it's hidden," Copy that, Zuko. Gokudera measures a third time just to be sure and cuts the chain. Almost as soon as he's done so, Zuko's being bitten and he looks over at the little dragon aggressing him.

When he looks back, Zunyan appears to be considering biting him, and he raises an eyebrow at it. Et tu Zunyan? But then he's hissed at and Gokudera puts a hand to his chest, gently offended and confused before both dragons are facing Zuko.

When Zuko II jumps forward, Gokudera casts a bubble about the creature to contain it, then drifts it right over to Azula nice and slow and gentle, where it should pop and the dragon will land on her shoulder.

Zuko sees the dragon leap and is about to lean away, but he's stunned to find it's caught in a bubble all of a sudden. He blinks surprise at it, while Zunyan is visibly startled and its whole body piques in attention, standing up straighter and reeling back for a better look while its companion floats through the air toward Azula. The bubble pops, and all eyes are suddenly on Gokudera...

"Woah—" Zuko exclaims softly, looking back to the bomber with an odd stunned look. Gokudera could make tea and Zuko would be impressed, but that was impressive. Zun whips itself round to face Gokudera proper now and stands in front of him in a strong stance, staring at him, still alert. It taps its feet a little and flicks its tail and whiskers through the air a little more wildly than before. But it just stands there and stares. Dragons are so hard to read... Well, at least when they're not biting you. That's pretty easy to read in Zuko I's book.

"Uh... Thanks."

Her dragon scurries behind the couch, clearly upset at the bubble display that it decides to abandon its angry quest for Zuko's limbs. Azula sits up abruptly, because how dare Gokudera?, slamming her phone into the couch cushion as she forces her attention on the pair of idiots in front of her.

"If you decide you need me, I'll be in the bedroom," she snaps at them, scooting off the couch to make a beeline toward it so she can slam the door loudly as a perfect expression of her irritation. Zuko (II) being a living, breathing personification of her jealousy isn't a welcome realization.

Gokudera can deescalate now more than he ever could when he was younger and far more stupid. This isn't the same person Zuko and Azula have met. He's trained in keeping an Elite well pampered, and that includes keeping nuisances away. He doesn't think that Zuko II was actually hurting his friend, but still. Better safe than sorry, and he wouldn't dare harm the familiar. So the bubble gently carries it away and he's left looking at Zunyan.

"You're welcome." He answers and creates another bubble, setting it on the ground for Zuko's dragon to climb into if it wants. Or... if it wants to pop the bubble, it can do that, too. Gokudera isn't reinforcing it and Zunyan will be rewarded with a ride if it wants one, or it will pop if there is aggression.

He's ignoring Azula. How dare he? Gokudera will only ruin fun if it's at the expense of someone he cares about.

"Do you want a ride, or to pop it?" He asks the dragon, grinning and welcoming whatever action the dragon will take.

Zunyan taps its little feet again, claws clicking on the tabletop, then scurries over to the edge of the table again to peer down dubiously at the bubble presented to it, its long body slithering like a snake's despite his four little legs. It looks to Zuko, whose attention is already taken by examining his own leg, rolling up the pant sleeve to see if Zuko II broke the skin through the fabric or not. So, no guidance for his dragon — who can't make up its mind if it wants to ride, pop, or avoid this bubble altogether... Its friend is somewhere under the couch still, though, clearly upset. So at that, Zunyan rather valiantly leaps off the table like a belly flop, and...

...misses the bubble entirely, by no fault of Gokudera's. Like by a couple inches. And just flops onto the floor with a loud thud. Klutzy dragon. It clambers to its feet, tapping them on the hardwood floors with a hiss in a display of frustration of its own, then scurries off underneath the couch in a big hurry to find Zuko II. The thud catches Zuko I's attention finally, though, who looks over with an annoyed pout on his face, but merely shakes his head as he watches the dragon's tail disappear under the couch.

"...What the fuck was that all about," he grumbles in a hushed tone, inclining his head toward the bedroom door.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

May catch-all

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

cw: mentions of slavery (sexual sort of?)

no subject

no subject

no subject

i also know ship about making model ships and i'm a lazy writer lately lol

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

hope this is okay

no subject

crawls in late with starbucks

/drops self on the floor like dirty laundry. here I am.

/scoops you both up