eachdraidh | 1 ☼ joint tutorial video / open to both courts

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1 ☼ joint tutorial video / open to both courts

[ for the first time since zuko had unlocked his locket, it turns on without fuss. perhaps because it's in the hands of toph that it does. for viewers with a keen eye, they'll spy a thin, red ring around the ring finger on his left hand. after tapping into the power when he had been practicing his firebending techniques, his flame hotter and brighter than anything it had been before, zuko's been attempting to tap into sozin's comet once again. but as he hadn't taken the time to note the time of day he had used his ring, he believes it to be broken (he’s momentarily forgotten what the imps had informed him of, overloading him with information when he had already felt overwhelmed at his boon actually appearing in his hand, a living ring that didn’t feel as hot as sozin’s comet, but had left him feeling invincible). with that thought in mind, he's almost fuming. ]

[ with a scowl, the right side — the good side — of his face can be seen. his left hand is currently occupied, but his right curls by his side into a tight fist, knuckles painfully white. unaware of being filmed, zuko's holding an imp by the scruff of his neck. the little creature snaps its small jaw at him, but the fire lord looks nonplussed. ]

Where are the dwarves!? [ the little beast twists, despite zuko's long fingers digging hard into his flesh, to try and bite at his wrist. leaning in further, he yells so loud the earth may move beneath his feet in fright, ] Where do I find them!? Stop snickering!

[ for good measure, he shakes the imp before his other hand forms into a gun, index finger aiming for the little beast's feet. small blasts of fire shoot at the imp's toes, the creature squealing as it tries to chomp at the air in front of zuko. ] Stop laughing every time I ask what a dwarf is!

[ at first it starts as a small, indistinguishable sound, then grows into a gigantic, unruly, loud, exasperated yawn. ladylike as always. then, a voice comes from off-screen. ]

You’re so predictable. [ a beat ] And loud. [ another beat ] Also boring.

[ the locket clatters to the ground, the view shifting to show mostly the ground, though zuko’s legs are still visible. closer to the locket, a leg covered in green pants is there, a foot crossing over the knee that’s mostly covered in dirt. the toes wriggle. ]

I know where the dwarves are. [ she doesn’t. ]

[ zuko doesn’t hear toph until he hears the d word. not that anyone can see — thanks, toph — but zuko’s head snaps in her direction. how his neck hasn’t is a trick of the spirits. his grip on the imp drops — his ugly feet hit the ground and scamper away — as he turns on her. he shouts, ] Where!?

[ if anyone’s paying close enough attention, they’ll see a subtle shift in toph’s foot that’s on the ground. there’s a soft rumbling and it looks as if something’s moving underground. in the distance, the imp flings off to the side with a yelp. she admits to nothing. ]

I can hear, you know. [ avoid the question. she’s not answering. ]

I know that! [ curling his fingers into a fist, he smacks his knuckles against his head. zuko sighs, exasperated. his shoulders slump slightly, as if the exhale of air has rid him of all the anger keeping his bones upright and stiff. (it hasn’t.) his tone is softer, less of an inferno and more of a comfortable hearth, ] Where are they?

[ she sniffs, then pitches the locket in his direction. sorry but not sorry for shaky cam. her voice grows a little distant. ] Don’t know if I feel like telling you.

[ his voice is as loud as ever, hands balled into fists as he yells, ] WHY NOT!?

[ her voice is definitely farther away now, but she does yell back: ] Don’t feel like it!

WHY NOT!?

[ there’s a long moment of silence, followed rapidly by a rumbling and a moderately sized boulder comes flying right at zuko, courtesy of one earthbender. ]

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[ having already seen the zuko and toph show during their trip to mauripetius, thomas can't help the slightly amused tone to his voice when he picks up to reply; a rare smile quirks up his mouth as he watches the whole thing. ]

Zuko, Toph. [ a quick greeting, and then - ] Why are you looking for dwarves?

[ she shrugs her shoulders, looking all the more like she really couldn't care about any of this and then in a stage whisper (which isn't really a whisper at all since this is toph): ]

Pretty sure he favors them. If you know what I mean.

[ zuko's video temporarily goes black as his hand curls around the camera and almost crushes his already charred locket. his voice can be heard through toph's loud and clear. ]

I DON'T LIKE THEM!

[ she's expecting him to start yelling, so at least it doesn't startle her.

instead, she just laughs. so hard and so much. ]

[ he isn't going to hit her. he wants to push her over. he's always wanted to push toph over, just to see if she likes being knocked on her ass like she does to everyone else. but he never does. ]

[ instead, he crosses his arms and sulks, but rather than pout, he grits his teeth hard — perhaps even grinding them to the bone — because she's annoying. ]

[ wow. he wants to do some aggravated assault against a minor.

wow.

even when she's been on his side since the beginning. this is the thanks she gets. ]

[ she is kind of short ... ]

[ he'll continue to stand there and ignore her. but not without a glare at the top of her head — he's still taller, shorty — first. ]

Oh. [ a beat. ] Oh.

[ wow, zuko, learning all kinds of new things today about you. ] Aren't they the little guys with... [ and he gestures at his face, making sort of a beard shape with his hand. ] Wow.

[ gullible thy name is thomas edison ]

[ he's going to yell at toph before he even thinks of speaking to thomas. don't be a shucking rotten greenbean! he's glaring at him when he bothers to unwrap his hand from around his locket. ]

I don't favour them! [ he doesn't even draw in a breath. ] Don't listen to her, she's a liar!

I mean, it's nothing to be ashamed of. [ thomas you're making it worse ] It could be worse, I guess...

I DON'T LIKE DWARVES!

[ if he yells it really loudly, will he listen then? ]

Okay, okay, I believe you.

[ > goes to toph ]

[ after conversing with zuko for five minutes... ]

Does he really? Those are the guys with the beards, the really short ones. Right?

[ finally, someone who is 88% sane. zuko seems to relax. ignore the fact that he's screaming at toph. ]

[ but we're just going to casually handwave zuko having channelled the power of his ring while on the road with the raonil harem. even though he's not really concerned about tommy knowing, since he's a shucking greenie, zuko doesn't trust the communicator the imps have given him. why hasn't his locket 405ed already? ] I need to get something fixed. The imps told me the dwarves can do it.

[ it seems like a natural way to end the conversation. there's a long pause before zuko's hand shoots out to the back of his neck. he appears sheepish. ] ... I don't know what a dwarf is. [ his voice rises. ] They could be lying to me!

[ 88% is probably a decent assumption.

thomas stares at him for a second, brows pinched together as he tries to think that one over (and even, lets him scream at toph because again. zuko and toph show. front row seat.) ] Um...I think they're short guys with beards. Maybe? Why would they be able to fix anything?

[ fairy world is so weird. it's mostly an honest question of confusion, not one to provoke suspicion, but. you know. ]

[ he doesn't know dwarves are short, male, and have beards. this is good information to know. he notes it down mentally, even though he's seriously unhappy thomas believed he liked them without even knowing what they were. he'll forgive him for now. ]

The imp told me! [ does thomas believe what the imps say? that's exactly what toph said, but without it being so ... toph. his hand goes to the back of his neck as he looks uncertain, mouth pinched as his brows draw together. ] Why tell me if it's not true? Why give it to me if it's a trick?

Well, the imps aren't really that trustworthy, but I don't think they're outright liars, either. [ thomas hums thoughtfully, frowning as he considers his first arrival with the imps. sure, they were nasty, but... ] I mean, they didn't lie to us about Caer Scima or anything, they just...weren't very helpful.

[ really, the guy with no memories isn't really the right person to ask about this. thomas thinks it over for a second, then snaps his fingers. ] I talked to someone a while back who was an...elf, I think. She said. Did they tell you if they were shardholders, or if they were just, um, natives?

[ torn.mp3 plays in the background. ]

[ the imps weren't very helpful to zuko since he kept ... burning ... them ... but at least it's been confirmed they're just not helpful at all. tommy's nice. imps would help him if they were helpful creatures! ]

I thought we were the only shardholders ... [ which does and doesn't make sense. aren't shardholders all living things? zuko isn't sure, he probably burnt the welcome pamphlet, too. ] The imp didn't tell me anything useful! It just told me to go see a dwarf if I wanted my ring fixed. [ he'd toss his head back in his hands out of frustration, but he purses his lips, instead. he's trying to recall what it is the imp had told him, but all he remembers is squealing ... ]

[ he's quiet for a long time, clearly pensive. ] Would you trust them?

Well, yeah. I mean, we are, but...there are shardholders who came from other places like Tauriel, and then there are the native elves and fairies and stuff. Maybe there's a dwarf or something that's a shardholder, too. [ thomas wrinkles his nose. the struggles of being memory-less. ] I don't know, it sounds like all of those things should go together. Maybe there was a movie about it a long time ago.

[ this is getting way too meta; thomas just scratches his cheek as he thinks it over, his expression serious as ever. ] I don't know. What other choice do you have, though?

[ the thing is, he really doesn't have a choice. it's clear he can simply choose to ignore the imp's responses and continue to truck along in drabwurld with a ring that works only once a month at sunset, or he can try and make it work once a month in the morning, or perhaps always, if the dwarves are that powerful. he can choose inaction or he can choose action. ]

[ in the end, despite any hesitancy, he always chooses action. ]

I have to go see the dwarves. [ it's spoken as though it's the one thing he dreads most in the world. but he doesn't know dwarves, nor do they know him. it's the unknown zuko faces once again, but rather than don a crown and hold the fire nation in his palm, it's just is ability to defend himself against the greatest foes within a world he's unfamiliar with ... and dwarves. ]

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1 ☼ joint tutorial video / open to both courts

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no u

ladies first

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