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text 🔥 audio 🔥 video username: fireprince name Zuko — series Avatar: the Last Airbender — moonblessing Sanguis residence Level 2 — roommates Tamaki + Hikaru + Kaoru — work busboy at Niisan's Teppanyaki « info + permissions — relationships — thread tracker— network tag — logs tag »

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FIRST COMMENT! WOOO \o/ [Audio] Forward dated to Gokudera's birthday!

[bakudan_bambino]

[The audio quality is great. Gokudera just sounds muffled because he may or not be kneading into his bedding and is shoving his face into it while speaking. Is he purring or growling, or just maybe has a cold? He sounds strange, he thinks.]

Zuko? You got any plans today?

🎊🏆\o/🎉🎈

[rediscovering]

[ Whether or not Gokudera sounds strange is lost on Zuko. Even if he could mistake the rasp for poor audio quality, having no experience with recordings after all, he’s also all but completely oblivious to subtleties like that. No pings upstairs. Moreover, he’s still not quite hot on these devices, so his own tone may come off terser than he means it. This is just still so new — using recording technology and having a social life. ]

No.

[bakudan_bambino]

[Awkard. How do you invite someone over to cuddle? To celebrate your birthday? Gokudera has no idea, so he's going to approach with honesty. It's... probably awkward for both of them, right? Maybe.]

Do you maybe want to come over? I'm kind of stuck in uh... whatever this is that Cordis does, and it's making me tired. I don't usually hang out with people, and I know it's probably kind of sudden.

If you're not interested, it's fine....

But it's my birthday so I thought maybe it'd be fun to hang out?

[He sounds super hesitant, hopes that there was enough warning in there to make sure that Zuko doesn't feel immediately uncomfortable with the state his friend might be in when he arrives.]

[rediscovering]

[ Au contraire, for once, it’s not so awkward. In fact, there’s a noticeable difference in the boy’s tone, a tad more energized (by Zuko-standards). ]

Yeah. Where do you live? I’ll come.

[ He hasn’t really gotten abreast on all the moons’ effects yet, so he thinks nothing more of the tired comment than face value. He skips a beat, this being new for him too but low-key kind of exciting, already fond enough from their first meeting, and thoughtfully tags on at the end: ]

Oh, and uh– Happy Birthday.

[bakudan_bambino]

[Well, color Gokudera surprised. He sends the address of his shared starter apartment to him. It's a sort of clickable link that should open up a map or whatever Zuko needs to find him.]

I have a roommate. The guy in the picture I showed you...

[He's awkward again, because he hasn't ever really had company over at his own place back home. Inviting someone over when he shares a living space is a Brand New experience entirely.]

Thanks.

[rediscovering]

Okay. See you soon, I guess...? Uh— Yeah. Bye?

[ He's also feeling a little awkward now — it’s a done deal. It’s not his first birthday “party,” but it is his first invitation in this sense. He still doesn’t know etiquette on these devices, so he sounds tentative, but really, inwardly he’s looking forward. And he gets to meet another mafia guy (cuz he’s into that already after everything Gokudera told him), and meeting friends of friends is how kids his age make more friends, right...? It occurs to him, too, that he should probably get Gokudera a birthday gift, which is a tough task for him, so he takes his time to gussy up prepare himself and hit the shops before arriving. What do you even get someone in their situation...? He has no clue at the moment he hangs up, but we’ll find out soon enough. ]

voice; private

[bakudan_bambino]

[Gokudera sends an image, a screenshot from this conversation he's had on the network.]

Do you have any clue who this stupid woman is, making fun of you on the network? [Inhale cigarette, exhale smoke. He is angry. His friend has been insulted. You may not be the Tenth, Zuko. But to Gokudera, you are Important, okay?]

I'll kill her for you if you want.

[rediscovering]

[ Zuko’s voice sounds exasperated, yet frazzled, yet still characteristically angry — but so sincerely now. The bite in his tone clearly isn’t at Gokudera just by the certain detached quality to it. Very, very much on his mind at the moment, thanks. Somewhere in this mess of emotions, he may also hear a slight sigh of relief as the audio turns on. Zuko wasn’t expecting Gokudera to reach out with a picture of Azula, certainly, but he’d already been planning on reaching out to Gokudera about Azula anyway cuz... fuck. ]

Who do you think? Don’t fight her. That day we met, I told you about her firebending. You’d explode immediately with all your dynamite. Just leave her alone.

[bakudan_bambino]

Who do I-

Oh, that's your sister?! Fucking... yikes. Okay well if I explode, honestly, so would she. You clearly have no idea about the destructive capabilities of dynamite.

[He's not trying to brag or anything. Dynamite is seriously dangerous to EVERYONE nearby.]

What if she doesn't leave me alone?

[rediscovering]

Look, don’t kill my sister, okay?! I do understand the destructive capabilities of dynamite. You don’t understand the destructive capabilities of Azula! Unless all those flames in your blood make you impervious to actual lightning, don’t antagonize her, all right?!

[ Surely Gokudera could tell from the first time they met, even surface level, that Zuko has a hot temper, but now he gets to experience it firsthand. Sorry, buddy. He doesn’t mean to snap. He just does that. He also doesn’t mean to mock his friend — it’s really all out of concern for Gokudera, more than for Zuko himself. He’s stressed. Bad day. Bad, conflicting day. His tone softens considerably now, but he’s clearly not well. ]

As to her antagonizing you... I haven’t figured that part out yet.

[bakudan_bambino]

I don't want to kill her! I just thought it would be fun to fight her! BUT if she's blowing me and my dynamite up, that will obviously put her in blast range. Actually, it'd probably destroy some buildings and a lot of innocent people, too.

But fine! Fine! I get it. If I see her, I'll just walk away. [It shouldn't be that difficult to avoid her, right? It's not like his roommate plans to bring her right to their shared apartment or anything.]

I've got a short fuse, but what's the best way to avoid a fight with her? Should I just be boring or something? Apologize?

I don't want to... but if it would help... [If it would spare him, her, anyone around, and the building they could all be in at that moment... it'd be worth it to apologize.]

[rediscovering]

You’ve got a crazy idea of “fun,” Gokudera, if you thought it’d be fun to fight Azula.

[ He’s rubbing his temples in real life and the frustration is definitely audible, even as he’s trying to lighten his tone for his friend’s sake but... yikes indeed. ]

If she wants to fight you, there’s no avoiding it. She’ll find you — she’ll find me soon enough, too, I’m sure. Did you tell her you know me?

[bakudan_bambino]

I know.

[He bonds best with people by getting into real actual knock-out fights with them, okay?]

No. Should I have?

[rediscovering]

No. Then she’ll definitely have it out for you. You don’t know me, I’m not here. Does she know what you look like? You both used your cameras?

[bakudan_bambino]

She knows what I look like, and I know what she looks like. Obviously. I took the picture of her.

Sounds like... I'm fucked.

[Oh well, he's been in bad spots before. PLENTY OF TIMES.]

[rediscovering]

Yeah, sounds like.

[ Great comfort, thanks, Best Friend. ]

Stay low for a while. I don’t think apologizing will help. Not from someone like you. You’re not afraid of her. She can tell you’re not that kind of person.

[ No shade to “those kind of people” cuz that’s uh mostly everyone, including him, his girlfriend, her best friend, their mom... These kids never had those crucial sandbox moments and it shows. ]

[bakudan_bambino]

I can stay low. I don’t go out much, anyways.

[Oh if only he knew how much Yamamoto is going to fuck him over further.]

She can be terrifying and still not scare me...

[rediscovering]

Most people can’t make that distinction. But I need you both safe. I don’t know what to fucking do about her coming after me — I don’t need to worry about her coming after you, too.

[bakudan_bambino]

Sorry.

To be fair, I had no idea who she was. I'll keep my distance as much as I can, so I won't give you more to worry about.

[rediscovering]

Good. And if you do run into her, and she doesn’t attack you...

[ There’s a small sigh. Let’s hope it goes like that. By the grace of god Yams. ]

...just treat her like a princess, okay? Don’t forget you are in the presence of royalty, after all.

[ There’s a sardonic hint to his tone that’s a reminder that even in this moment... Gokudera’s addressing royalty. Zuko’s not keen to wave his title around here — but he’d bet all the Chroma in his body Azula will be. ]

[bakudan_bambino]

I've never even met a princess before...

[Should he bow? Okay, so maybe that should cover a lot of it. Maybe he'll just make himself scarce if he has to be around her... and not talk to her? And if he does, call her... Ma'am?]

[rediscovering]

Okay... Well. Uh—

[ Virtual charm school on the fly, hold up. He’s a prince. He should be able to cover some ground at least... ]

Well, first of all, address her as Princess Azula — or Your Highness, or even just Princess — but don’t call her just Azula. That could make things smoother if she feels there’s due deference. She’s not like me, she’s always been the perfect princess at Father’s right hand in the palace. I’m the disgraced treasonous prince in exile. We have different expectations of respect.

...You know, I didn’t even wanna be a prince here, but now she’s here, I can’t escape my past. Agh...

[ The thought just occurred to him, with a long groan, that maybe he can’t keep that under wraps anymore as he’d hoped. Not so easily, at least. It’s the least of his concerns but sometimes it’s the little stuff that itches bad in a crisis. Typically in most scenarios it’d come off as a bit bratty pouting about not wanting to be treated like royalty, ugh being a prince sux, but uh. Given the circumstances. He’s due a little venting. ]

[bakudan_bambino]

[He curiously blinks, open to hearing whatever will help. This is for the good of their friendship, after all! He's going to do his best to not piss her off, because he has to keep himself and the Princess safe.]

I can do that.

[Gokudera doesn't mind the venting.]

If people were to refer to you as Prince or Your Highness, it may be annoying, I get it. I mean, as long as you're not getting angry because they're trying to be respectful. But how the hell should anyone else know that your sister is a Princess, hm? She's going to have targets all over the place...

[All he did was call her stupid and encourage a fight. He didn't even get angry with her. Just... poked a little.]

[rediscovering]

It’s not the title that I wanted to drop... it’s everything behind it.

[ Sigh. Drama queen. ]

But yeah, that’s Azula. Targets all over the place.

[ Is that some kind of... Zukojoke? It’s not his funniest. ]

Obviously only treat her as royalty if she lets you know it. Or else defeats the point.

[bakudan_bambino]

Okay, so if she doesn’t let me know it, I’ll just avoid and ignore her. If we speak, I’ll keep my responses... short.

I’ll be as polite as I can, but then maybe she’d suspect something?