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the-badger-mole · 1 year

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I Just Wanted To Say...

Since Sayaka invited Zuko on their first date, Iroh insisted that it was only right that Zuko invite her on the second.

"I don't know if I want to go on a second date," Zuko said quietly. He poured himself some tea. He was exhausted from the night before, and not looking forward to trying to focus on his work. After he and Katara had left the roof, he went to bed hoping to have at least two or three hours of sleep, but he'd ended up staring up at the ceiling until it was time for him to get up and start his day. Katara was nowhere to be found at breakfast, but that didn't surprise him. She wasn't a morning person in the best circumstances.

"Why not?" Iroh asked, jarring Zuko from his thoughts. He didn't sound angry, but he had a concerned frown on his face. "Did something happen last night?" Zuko's hands tightened around his teacup, and he kept his eyes down.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Did you not enjoy your evening with Miss Sayaka?" Iroh pressed.

"Oh," Zuko let out a sigh of relief and unclenched his hands. "No, it was fine. I just...I didn't feel a connection."

Iroh was silent for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Zuko was sure he was counting to himself. Finally he met Zuko's eyes with serious intent.

"My dear nephew," he started ponderously. "The last thing I want is for you to feel pressure to marry and start planning a family, but you are the Fire Lord, and part of your duty is to see to it that the throne is secure for the next generation."

"Uncle, I know that," Zuko said. "I just-"

"I want you have as much freedom to make your choice as possible," Iroh continued over Zuko's protests. "However, if you don't start taking this a bit more seriously, your council will take that as a reason to put pressure on you."

"Fine," Zuko huffed and rolled his eyes. "I'll take it seriously, but I don't think it's going to work with Sayaka."

"Why not?" Iroh pressed. "She's a smart, kind and creative woman. And very easy on the eyes. What could she possibly have done in one evening to make you not even give her a chance?" Iroh sat expectantly, leaning forward on his elbows as he tried to read the answer in his nephew's face. Zuko felt the heat rise in his cheeks and he broke Iroh's gaze. How could he explain, he wondered. He had had a good time with Sayaka. He had even been planning to ask her out again. But then he'd spent hours on the roof talking with Katara and pointing out constellations, and it was... It had felt like a date. When she took his hand as they walked along the empty corridors, Zuko's pulse had skyrocketed. He hadn't felt this way with Sayaka once during the evening, not even when she'd screwed up her courage and gave him a peck on his cheek after he'd escorted her home. There were a couple of moments when Zuko wondered if Katara had felt it too. If she had, though, she didn't say.

It was crazy for Zuko to completely give up with Sayaka because she didn't give him butterflies like Katara did. He was old enough to know that love at first sight was too rare for any couple to bank on. After all, it had taken him years to realize he had a crush on Katara. A crush that until the night before seemed unrequited, and even now all evidence that it might not be could just be in his head. She'd had trouble sleeping and had sought him out. It wasn't the first time she'd done that. It wasn't even the first time she'd held his hand. But she'd never taken him for a starlit picnic, and she had just said recently that that was her idea of a perfect first date.

"It wouldn't hurt to see her again," Iroh said, breaking through Zuko's thoughts once again. "First dates are tricky, and I'm sure both of you were nervous. I won't push if you are determined to not see her again, but I do hope you consider it."

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

Katara didn't see Zuko until dinner. She'd woken up late, and hurried to the storage rooms to continue sorting through the Water Tribe artifacts. Zuko had invited her to spar with him before lunch, but Katara declined, saying she was swamped- which wasn't strictly untrue- and she ended up working through lunch. The work was soothing. Focusing on cataloging art and weapons and tools kept her mind off of other, more confusing, thoughts.

She had weaseled her way into a date with Zuko the night before, she admitted to herself. She wasn't sure if he'd noticed, but it wasn't fair of her to do. They hadn't talked about Sayaka at all. Katara hadn't asked about their date, and Zuko didn't offer any information. Instead they spent hours reminiscing and talking about Katara's project and making plans for the next time all of their friends were together. None of those plans involved introducing Sayaka. They'd stargazed until the very first hints of dawn began snuffing out the stars and they'd finally gone to bed. There was a moment when they stopped outside of her suite where Katara thought they were going to kiss, but then Zuko had cleared his throat, wished her pleasant dreams and then headed back to his rooms. As she lay down in her bed, guilt and shame overwhelmed Katara.

Had Zuko realized what she'd done? Did he think she was weird? Is that why he left in such a hurry? Katara didn't think this was a friendship ruining incident, but it may have done damage regardless. And she didn't want to be one of those girls with guy best friends who made it their life's mission to ruin any potential romances for those friends. She would let it blow over and never mention their "date" again. There would be no more midnight visits to his room to talk, and she would be supportive of any relationship he wanted to pursue. She would be a good friend to Zuko if it killed her, and this crush would go away on it's own. Someday.

It was with that conviction that Katara prepared for dinner that evening. Iroh would be there, as he usually was, so there would be a buffer for Katara. And if she took a bit longer getting ready, it was because she was covered in dust and grime from her hours of sorting, and not because she wanted to make sure Iroh was already there when she arrived. Still, when she walked in and saw Zuko sitting across from his uncle, Katara's steps faltered. He smiled uncertainly at her, and Katara felt all of her best intentions slipping away from her. She hesitated for a moment before taking the empty seat beside Iroh instead of her usual spot next to Zuko. A strange look passed over Zuko's face, but he quickly found a smile and greeted her.

"Zuko was just telling me about his date last evening," Iroh told Katara, pouring her a cup of tea.

"O-oh!" Katara feigned interest. "Yes, that-that was last night." Now Iroh shot her a strange look. Katara flushed, but smiled pleasantly. "How did it go?"

"It...went well," Zuko said hesitantly.

"And yet he doesn't want to see her again!" Iroh waved his hand exasperatedly at Zuko, then turned to Katara pleadingly. "He has no good reason. Please, my dear Master Katara, help me talk some sense into him."

"Oh..." Katara gaped at Iroh for a moment before she recovered herself and forced a smile. "I-I don't think I should stick my nose in this. I don't even really know Sayaka."

"Neither does Zuko," Iroh insisted. "He won't even give her a chance, and I just want to know why! Why, Nephew?"

"I'm not interested in her!" Zuko nearly shouted. He cleared his throat and lowered his voice. "Look, Uncle, it's nothing against her personally. I just don't feel a connection." Iroh groaned and ran his hands down the sides of his face in agony.

"Fire Lord Zuko, I say this with all love and respect," he said, keeping his voice measured. "You are a very closed off person. It takes a while for anyone to truly get to know you. If you dismiss every woman you don't connect with on the first date, you are going to be single for a very long time! Please just consider one more date with Miss Sayaka." Zuko's cheeks flushed a bright red. Then he stood up and stalked out of the room.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

This time, the avoidance of each other seemed to be mutual. Katara and Zuko didn't cross paths again until the next day when Katara needed to go to Zuko's office. She needed to have him sign paperwork expediting a shipment to Sokka and her father, and there was unfortunately no one else who could get it done fast enough. She knocked timidly at the office door.

"Uh...come in!" Zuko's voice sounded oddly strained. Katara stuck her head in and saw with concern that his face had gone beet red.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked slipping inside.

"Hello, Master Katara." Katara froze at the cheery greeting. Sayaka stood up from her seat across from Zuko and smiled at her.

"Oh!" Katara's mouth split into a painfully wide smile. "Sayaka! What a nice surprise! I didn't know you'd be here today. A-am I interrupting? I can come back-"

"Oh, please, don't," Sayaka hurried to assure her. "I was just here today to see my father, and I thought I'd pop in and say hello. Fire L- I mean, Zuko, I'm going to stop by Dad's office, but I can't wait for this weekend!" She smiled warmly at Katara once more. "Nice seeing you, again!"

Sayaka's departure seemed to have sapped all the warmth from the room. A shiver ran down Katara's spine as she turned to face Zuko. His eyes were wide and almost frightened, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. Katara hoped her face didn't look as stricken as she felt. The too bright smile was still on her face, though, and she did her best to keep her voice airy and cheerful.

"This weekend?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Erm...yeah," Zuko said. "I-I asked Sayaka to dinner. Nothing's set in stone yet, though." Katara shrugged and shook her head.

"I'm just surprised," she said. "Last night you told us you weren't planning to see her again."

"Uncle convinced me," Zuko shrugged. "What do I know about romance? My last relationship was a disaster. I thought...well, I thought maybe he had a point about connections not being immediate."

"So you're just going to date her until you feel something?" The question came out sharper than Katara intended. Zuko scowled at her, his defenses raised high.

"Well it beats sitting around here all day waiting for something to happen."

"What?" Katara blinked in surprise at him. Zuko ran his hand through his hair and paced in front of his desk.

"Nothing," he huffed. "Forget it." He made another pass across the floor and suddenly stopped in front of Katara. "No, I can't forget it. What was that the other night?"

"Th-the other night?" Katara stammered.

"The other night when you came to my room and took me up to the roof for a picnic under the stars?" Zuko said sarcastically. "That night?"

"Oh," Katara ducked her head. She could feel Zuko's penetrating gaze, like the sun in the Si Wong desert. Her tongue had turned to lead in her mouth, and Zuko was waiting for her to say something. Anything.

After a moment, Zuko let out another frustrated growl and turned away from her.

"Forget I said anything," he told her. "Obviously, I read something into the situation that wasn't there." He swept past Katara and headed for the door.

"Don't go," Katara said quietly. Zuko froze in his tracks and looked back at her.

"What?"

"Don't go," Katara repeated a bit louder. "Don't go out with Sayaka."

"Why not?" Zuko asked desperately.

"Zuko, I..." Katara felt helpless in her agitation. What was she thinking? Zuko was about to go on a second date. With a girl he didn't even seem terribly interested in. There was no real urgency. But the idea of spending another night in Zuko's office waiting for him to come home from a date with a beautiful woman who absolutely had marriage on her mind was too much. She felt drunk. She felt stupid.

Zuko caught her shoulders as she tried to flee, and he made her face him. His eyes were oddly intense as they bore into her, trying to read her thoughts on her face.

"Please." His soft, pleading voice was at odds with the tightness around his eyes and mouth. "Please, just say it, Katara. I need to hear you say it. Why don't you want me to go out with Sayaka?" The world seemed to have gone quiet. The air in Zuko's office was thick and heavy around them.

"Zuko..." Katara's breath hitched. She reached up hesitantly, her fingers brushing his wrists. His arms twitched at the contact, and he leaned in closer to her.

"Tell me why," he repeated softly. Katara shut her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It should be me," she said. The words hung between them, heavy and tangible. As if they could be read, if Zuko would just look a bit closer. "I can't take the thought that you might...I just needed to tell you before you got into anything serious. Zuko, I love you. I've loved you a long time, but I didn't know what it was at first. I don't want you to go out with Sayaka, and I know that's selfish, and I won't stop you if you really do want to see her again, but... Please don't?"

The silence stretched on into eternity. Katara stood trembling under Zuko's gaze, but she refused to give into her instinct to run. It wouldn't be fair, she knew, to dump all of that on him and not even give him a chance to speak. But his silence was fueling her panic, and she wasn't sure how long she could ignore her urge to flee his presence.

Then he took a step forward. Zuko closed the distance between them, and grasped at Katara's elbows. He leaned in, and Katara was certain she would wake up in a moment.

"I just needed to hear you say it," he murmured. Katara gasped as his lips closed over hers. Shock froze her in place for just a split second before she curled into Zuko's hold. There would be a lot to discuss later. After all, any relationship the Fire Lord got into had the weight of expectation. It didn't matter, though. No matter what came next, they'd work it out. Katara knew this was where she belonged for the rest of her life, and as Zuko tried his best to pull her even closer to him, it seemed that he agreed.

Part 1

#atla #zutara #sequel to “if it's not too late”#poor girl 🥺#but she'll get over it #THE YEAR OF CONTENT!!!!

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lolotheparagon · 5 months

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Professor Layton Games Summed Up

(MAJOR SPOILERS SINCE THESE ARE MYSTERY GAMES AND TWISTS AND TURNS ARE THIS GENRE'S BREAD AND BUTTER)

Curious Village: A professor and his kid apprentice Luke visit a village named St Mystere, thats revealed to be a secret test of character inhabited by puzzle-spouting robots set up by the late baron and his mechanic to make sure his daughter would be looked after until someone outside the village can prove themselves to be her guardian. Now that's fatherly love right there.

Pandora's Box: The professor and Luke visit a town that hasnt been changed in 50 years and visit the duke of the town to ask about Pandora's Box. A duke thinks his fiancé left him for another man when she announces her leaving town. But its actually cos she was pregnant and the town was already suffering from an air-borne illness thanks to a hallucinogenic gas that fucking killed people. And yet the duke stayed in his disease-riddled town cos of duty or some shit and sent an expensive box with a letter inside to his fiance, hoping she'll get a chance to read it. Yeah, this is Pandora's Box btw. He then pretended to be a vampire to scare people from visiting his castle. Then 50 odd years later, his granddaughter goes on this quest to find him and fix this whole misunderstanding. Why couldn't the child of the duke and his fiance be there? Cos she died giving birth, she isnt even fucking namedropped good lord. But the duke mistakes her granddaughter for his fiance cos she's the spitting image of her, but when the girl understandably hides behind Layton, the duke fucking swordfights Layton. then its revealed the duke's youth, the entire town and its people are all an illusion cos he's super high on dem hallucinogens and after the swordfight caused the whole castle to crash, the town is revealed to be a ghost town, the duke is now a withered old man and it turns out the box did make it to the duke's lover all along as there's her response letter inside!... Oh yeah the Professor and Luke were there too. What were the writers smoking and can I have some?

Lost Future: A young man who lost his parents in the collateral damage of a scientific experiment happening literally next door and grew up deciding he wants to be a terrorist. He then proceeds to manipulate and kidnap other scientists for his plans to built an ACCURATE SCALE MODEL OF LONDON UNDERGROUND, pretend to be the future self of the professor's apprentice and convince him and the professor they're in the London of the future. Then builds a giant tower robot to smash through the fake London and the real London to commit terrorism. He then gets Steven Universe redeemed cos of course he does. Fucking hell this story sucks.

Spectre's Call: The professor, Luke and a futch lesbian investigate a spectre that's rampaging throughout a misty town every night. It is revealed to be a plesiosaur fighting an excavating machine, its just the fog made them look they were one entity. And the reason the plesiosaur was fighting the machine? The villain Descole wanted to use that machine to dig up an ancient garden of legend hidden beneath the town and the plesiosaur did everything in its power to stop it cos she wanted a sick little girl named Ariana to be happy again (cos she lost her father and the townspeople thought she was a witch) and wanted to give that garden to Ariana because its pure air will be able to cure her illness. And the plesiosaur - s-she died to save Ariana and there was a beautiful statue of the plesiosaur made by the townspeople in her honour- (crying) GODDAMNIT THIS IS TOO MUCH! THIS IS SO SOFT AND SAD I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAME

Miracle Mask: The professor and the gang visit Italian Las Vegas???To visit an old friend of Layton, Angela and her husband Henry. And they're clearly in need of a divorce. Anyway, a tumblr sexyman wearing a Vendetta mask terrorises Italian Las Vegas and turns ppl into stone and doing fancy magic and shit and the professor investigate. It turns out the tumblr masked guy is actually another old friend of Layton's called Randall Ascot (YEP THATS HIS NAME) whom everyone thought he was dead and his primary motive was that his pal Henry (who started out as a servant to him btw) married Angela and he's pissed off about it so he kidnapped Angela.. Even though Angela didnt even know he survived this whole time. What is it with this series and men going completely off the rails whenever a pretty woman is involved? But oh no it wasnt Randall who was the real villain, it was Descole pulling the strings all along OOOHHHH. What is it with Layton's past friends trying to get revenge on him? Like dude's just standing there, sipping tea. This game was a mess

Azran Legacy: Okay I havent played it nor do I have the willpower to pick the game up and play it without getting bored. So I looked up the plot summary on the wiki and watched the in game cutscenes... I think this clip below sums up my entire thoughts of this game

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#professor layton #spoilers #late night thoughts #level 5 #in a nutshell #curious village #pandora's box #unwound future spoilers #azran legacy spoilers #miracle mask spoilers #curious village spoilers #emmy's true identity is so bogus like omg #and descole despit being set up as the main villain in the sequels #turns out in the final game he too was a pawn #and now this old ass man is now our big bad villain with barely enough screentime to flesh him out #god the sequels were so all over the place

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