solnet | ~♥ONE♥~

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~♥ONE♥~

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[ It's so strange to be able to type again. After literally years of having to handwrite written messages, it's odd to use a phone again. It's perhaps that more than anything which sees him putting up this post onto the social media network. It's form a "newbie" and it might be out of place with the growing dark climate with the flickering lights and rotting foot, but it's something he throws out all the same.

And it's...! ]

Soooo!! Does anyone know any god date spots in the castle? Anyone already sailing the seas of romance before now, or is the stark soldiery we've been pushed towards put a quash on romance in the name of stoic friendship? Let's hear those stories, people! Crushes, illicit affairs, pining, maybe even marriage?! You can trust your tales to the Love Hunter Masa.

O o o r r r . . .

How about a game? ♥ We could do truth or dare if you like but while we're all a little hungry, how about word association! I'll even start us off:

Third Party.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Zuko is definitely annoyed. He seems to be withholding information without any good reason than she can tell. And if he knows Katara, that means he could have known about her this whole time and pretended not to. ...not that she hasn't done the same thing with people who were alternate versions of friends of hers, but it's still unnerving.

...and, most importantly, but the part she's trying to bury, she's also hopeful. It's been a year and a half since she was told her entire world was destroyed. She's gotten used to the idea that everyone she knew, with the exception of Azula and Toph, is probably dead.

And yet...]

You might know something about a friend of mine. I don't understand why you don't want to tell me.

[ Masaomi doesn't understand that last point, and in fact the idea wouldn't even come to him. In Luceti, time had stopped and while there were long term risks of damages to their world for being on that world for too long, none of them had been there near long enough for that. The world would keep moving no matter what they did - and in fact they as individuals were the ones pulled out of time.

But...

He closes his eyes, exhales, and then lists off on his fingers ]

When I was sixteen, I was just an everyday cool guy in Tokyo, which is a city from Japan on Earth if you've ever heard of it. But then I was sucked into some crazy world at war, with mad scientists, politics, intrigue, and cultists. While I was there, one of my earliest and one of my best friends [ "friends..." ] was Katara. And because I remained in that world for years and years, so many people left it before me, but Katara was one of them that didn't. And so she's incredibly special to me.

[ That Katara, "his" Katara.

He's still withholding things, but he does seem to be starting from somewhere sincere now. It's... hard.

Hard to admit that chapter of his life might well be over, and not on the terms he was prepared for ]

Edited (IT'S ONE NOT ON HOLY SHIT ME) 2016-08-07 22:57 (UTC)

[That's better. I mean, Zuko doesn't care so much about how old he was or where he's from but he made it to the important part.]

So she's... okay?

The "Katara" I knew had been stranded on that world for even longer than I was, so she was also more or less twenty. But even if that world made her suffer at times, if you asked me on the whole? I'd say that she thrived.

[ She was beautiful, strong... and she had friends with her. He lowers his gaze and smiles, not really making eye contact as he lists of the rest of this, ]

As has Aang-kun, by the way. The "Aang" I've known, at least! And in my time I've also knows Ikki-chan, Toph-chan, Sokka-kun [ More than once for some of those ] Korra-chan, Jet-san, Jinora-chan, and some others from that world less well which are escaping me now. But also-

[ And he claps his hands in front of him, lowering his head more. He pulls into a proper, apologetic bow ]

Zuko-kun.

[Twenty. Katara is twenty? Zuko's barely turned eighteen.

But she's all right. Somewhere, Katara is alive. Aang is alive. And Toph and Sokka, even Jet, and seemingly others from her world that she's never met.

...except, she reminds herself at his last name, that they aren't from her world. They're from a different version of it. But that's still more than she had. Confirmation that somewhere out there is a Fire Nation that could be recovering, even thriving. A whole world full of people very much like the people she cared about.

She almost forgets to backtrack to that last name. Her voice is a little tight.]

Oh. You... knew a different me.

I did. [ And... ]

He was a very awkward young man who seemed to try to be kind.

[ But then, Masaomi did push his buttons a lot, even ended up insulting his scar which led to a really, really weird place where he justified it with the mover Scarface. It's a whole thing. But he's not going to mention that, instead just sort of saying it evenly and easily. In truth, Masaomi doesn't know how many different worlds exist or how many of them are real. Given the still real feeling memories he has of the Prince of Omashu stuck in the back of his mind, he suspect there's a basically infinite number.

But he also knows that's a weird perspective to through someone out of the gate. And so he answers that still in his apologetic bow. ... When did he switch to past tense?

Chee. ]

Edited 2016-08-07 23:25 (UTC)

[Is he trying to say something about her?

Wait, something doesn't sound right there.]

"He"?

The other me is a man.

[It shouldn't be that shocking, it's the same thing with the Rin here versus the one in the Bastion, but still. She never considered it in regards to herself.]

[ Had she never encountered that? Or considered it? Sure, most of Masaomi's experience with it was from Shifts and so it's easy to discount it, but all the same, he rises form the bow with a somewhat amused if surprised expression on his face ]

Afraid so!

[Zuko spends a long moment considering this. How would her life have been different if she were a boy.......]

Is he gay?

Nope! Or at least, not so far as I know. At one time, I'm pretty sure him and Katara had a thing, or at least almost had a thing? It's a bit confusing and I shouldn't assume.

[ Whatever jealousy he might've had. That said... ]

He might go both ways?

[ He's got no hard evidence of that, but with the possible exception of Sokka, a lot of peoplein that world seemed to be sort of fluid. Ish. ]

[With Katara? She never thought of that... Katara is pretty, and nice, and also threatened to murder her that one time, but Zuko's pretty sure she got over that. She must have, if they...]

That's... different.

[ He shouldn't pry he shouldn't pry he shouldn't pry-- ]

...Zuko-chan! I shouldn't ask about your own tastes or romantic history but if I give you mine is that even?!

[ ... He couldn't help himself.

He's fascinated and now curious about what the difference is, both from the story Katara and Aang told him and his memories as the Prince ]

Why would I care about yours?

[She did not say that to be mean this time, she honestly doesn't know why it should be relevant to her.]

No reason, just fair exchange!!

[ This continued wide smile shows he knows he doesn't have a leg to stand on ]

...

[To be honest, it's not like Zuko goes out of her way to hide it. It's not like she's ashamed. It's just that no one here really asks her about it. They're nowhere near as invested in her love life as everyone in the Bastion was.

Of course, in the Bastion, her love life was evidently very obvious...

Anyway he did tell her about Katara and everyone. And maybe he'll stop pretending to compliment her?]

I have a girlfriend.

[ . . . . EVEN ZUKO ]

Oh wow, no shit? Who's the lucky dame?

[ That said, maybe that was too invasive? That wording was definitely bad, just plain unnatural. But oh well, he's smiling ]

Edited 2016-08-08 00:38 (UTC)

She isn't here.

[So he wouldn't know her.

...unless there was another version of her or something but Zuko's not sure how she feels about that idea.]

[ She's not here..

She's not here and yet Zuko considers the girlfriend still present tense. That's... That's actually really admirable, and his face shifts just a little, threatening to become something more obviously sincere, nakedly expressing his emotions. But he corrects just as quickly, and he puts a smile back on his face ]

Hopefully you'll be able to see her soon, Zuko-chan.

[ But now, to be fair, ]

I'm single, myself! I had a girlfriend I was really into back in the day, but that didn't work out in the end. [ The most wild over-simplification of Saki ever... ] And then I was flirting around and was getting pretty heated with some other girls, even might've rekindled things with my ex! But none of those worked out either. And then, in Luceti- I fell in love with Katara.

[ He says it airy, as if it were simple. His eyes betray him - those feelings are still boiling with him ]

... And that also didn't really work out. [ ... ] I thought I was at the cusp of maybe something happening with another girl once I got over Katara rejecting me finally, buuuut. Here I am.

[ Not even in the same world. ]

...

That's rough. [~~buddy~~

That's a lot of rejection, and he actually seems like he was pretty serious about most of those girls.

But on the other hand...]

Did you ever think maybe it's your approach?

[ Pfffthahaha. His smile grows that much wider, positively impish and he holds back from making a sarcastic comment more reflective of what his eyes are betraying, a sort of hurt nostalgia for the fact that almost every girl he's been serious about has questioned him on that at some point.

He knows.

Oh, he knows. ]

But what ever could be called into question?

[ Not that his response makes it obvious. He's always been one to be a little bit contrary, and to put up a small front. ]

It's annoying.

And uncomfortable.

[Unless he really was just making fun of her and not genuinely attempting to flirt? Still not sure.]

--Wow, that's just cutting to the heart of it! That's harsh, Zuko-chan!

[ uncomfortable, huh?

That's not his intent! If anything he's pretty sure he's gotten better about that over the years. But still, he seems to gasp as if this shocked him (to which Linda shouts from across the the room something to the effect of "come on bro" and he squirms a bit ]

You asked.

[What, did you expect Zuko to be dishonest?]

[ No, no he did not. But all the same, he mocks holding his chest as if he were shot through it, and--

Falls off his seat.

He falls side-long onto the floor, albeit catching himself hard to avoid damage.

But it might have been too dramatic of act, particularly as he continues to pop his hand out from his chest as if "gushing" blood ]

[Zuko makes no reaction to that except to wait for him to finish with his dramatics.

But Kizuna finally leaves her side to walk over to the stranger and chirp at him. Are you okay? What are you doing with your hand?]

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