March Mingle Madness (aka SURPRISE it's another mingle)

[bryces_pup]

Who: Crew members and visitors of the SS Blue Fish
Broadcast: nope
Action: On the Blue Fish, naturally.
When: Throughout March!

[Another month, another mingle. Once again, any visitors on the ship should bear in mind that there are locks installed all over the ship, so someone on board's gotta let you in. Or you can just stand there. And stare. And hope someone takes pity on you.]

Comments

OTA!!!

[honorbends]

[ so zuko's life has been A Hot Mess (TM) for the past month or so, and he's been kind of keeping to himself while also monitoring azula and doing all the other things that zuko usually does.

you can usually find him in his therapy office (which is actually sasuke's second room but whatever), or in the cargo bay practicing with the test dummy. sometimes he's hanging out in the kitchen, but he's been pretty quiet lately. bother him into socialization. go check on him. or annoy him. or both!!

beware of aguri, though. it seems to be staring at people even more than usual... ]

[save_the_souls]

[After that video feed with Greed and, well, pieces of Al- Allen had mysterious vanished from the ship without notifying anyone. But a couple hours later, Zuko gets two whole knocks on his door before Allen opens the door and stumbles in- looking like he spent those couple hours smashing his head against a wall]

I'm using your couch.

[And that's about all the notice Zuko gets before Allen trudges over to the couch and flops down onto it, using one of the couch pillows to cover his face with a groooooan]

[honorbends]

[ so. zuko deliberately ignored greed's post, because he's steadily ignoring the ramifications of said post. and he's considering leaving his office to go outside when allen decides to just

take over his couch

there's a silence for a moment before zuko leans over his desk, to peer at allen ]

Did someone else from my family show up?

[ warily ]

[save_the_souls]

[Without missing a beat from behind the pillow]

No, I would've brought pie for that.

[HE ISN'T A BARBARIAN!!!]

[honorbends]

I don't like pie.

[ automatically, and zuko settles back into his chair, fiddling with aguri for a moment or two before he talks again. he can kind of guess why allen is here, anyway. ]

Did Al die?

[ he may as well be blunt ]

[save_the_souls]

[WOW ZUKO THAT IS BLUNT. He pulls off the pillow from his face and looks at him.]

No, Alphonse isn't dead. His soul is still attached to his armour.

He's just unconscious for now.

[Also how dare you not like pie what is wrong with you]

[bryces_pup]

[So Riona gets that some people just... don't like to mingle and talk. That's fine. But Zuko's extra lack of socializing is worrying her a little, especially on the heels of his sister's arrival.

That's what leads her to his office, more to check on him than to have herself checked up on. Her fist is on the door, but she pauses when she sees that... thing... staring at her. Admittedly, she's never really been in Zuko's office before, so this is new. And disconcerting.

Somehow she feels like this chat is going to be more about his decor choices.]

I am rarely one to comment on people's tastes, but that statue thing is... well, it's creepy.

[honorbends]

[ -- oh, riona. zuko likes her well enough, and he immediately straightens up when she enters his little office. habit, and all. slouching around when a girl (that isn't katara or toph) enters the room isn't exactly good aristocratic manners --

-- but then riona has to go and talk about that, and zuko blinks before letting his eyes follow her gaze, to land on... aguri. ]

... Sasuke gave it to me.

[ judging from zuko's tone, this is apparently something sasuke would do without remorse, and zuko sighs before crossing his arms over his chest, settling back more comfortably into his chair, now that he knows what the conversation is going to be about ]

Sasuke is also creepy.

[bryces_pup]

[His explanation elicits a little laugh from her.]

Creepy is as creepy does, it seems. But you are a good friend to keep it on display. Even as much as I cherish gifts from friends, I think I would find it hard to keep it out in the open, rather than tucked away in a drawer somewhere.

[honorbends]

Someone keeps taking it out of my desk drawer and putting it on display. I've given up on hiding it.

[ or is aguri moving itself. who knows. ]

I think it makes Sasuke uncomfortable that I actually keep it out, too. It lets people know he gives people things to be nice.

[ which is truly the motivation, here ]

What's up?

hey boo

[eyeforaneye]

[ Sasuke has of course made no attempt to broadcast his continual sneaking onto the Blue Fish, something that Zuko has no doubt been aware of since he showed up uninvited to their food festivities not too long ago.

This time is different, however, and it's almost monumental that he's sending a text instead of just slipping inside in some disguised form or another. ]

I'm outside. Are you around to let me into the ship?

[ Of course you are; you're not sociable enough to actually be having a life somewhere. ]

xoxo

[honorbends]

[ zuko is in the kitchen when he gets the text, idly considering food -- and he's almost surprised, seeing as sasuke has somehow gotten into the ship without texting him for the past few weeks. but zuko soon abandons food to just go directly to opening the door, not bothering to text back. ]

Hey.

[ and he waits for sasuke to come in so he can close and relock the hatch ]

What's up?

[eyeforaneye]

[ The fact that he has a large white cloth bundle tucked under his arm is probably cause for alarm, or at least should be for anyone that knows him even remotely well, but he doesn't bring any extra attention to it as he indeed steps inside. ]

A number of things. Talking about every one of them as an introduction would probably just be a pain, so let's go to your -- [ my ] -- room instead.

[honorbends]

[ zuko, indeed, eyes the large cloth bundle under his arm, slightly suspicious -- but he's long since learned to just not question sasuke because it's not worth the headache, and so once he closes the door, he heaves a sigh and gestures. ]

That better not be another statue. Or a body.

[ zuko isn't sure what would be worse ]

[sonofgold]

[It took Al a little while to get up the courage to go and talk to Zuko. Zuko hadn't responded to the network when he'd come back, and while Al gave him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he was busy with other things- or was keeping himself away from anything involving Greed on the grounds that it wouldn't end well for the latter- he knew he owed Zuko an apology as well.

So, he leashed up Cosmic and made his way to the Blue Fish, pressing on the outside intercom when he arrived.]

Anybody home?

[honorbends]

[ alphonse is partially correct -- it's mostly the latter, in that zuko didn't trust himself or his self control to go talk to greed without setting him on fire. and so he's kept to himself, and tried to figure out the best way to talk to al without getting upset over it, but it seems alphonse is taking that into his own hands at the sound of the intercom.

so --

give him about five minutes before the airlock opens, and zuko blinks once before settling into what's actually a fairly genuine smile. ]

You're shorter than I expected.

[ not really

but look

a joke is better than yelling ]

[sonofgold]

[Al was startled into a laugh as he tied Cosmic's leash up before walking inside, grinning.]

Just don't let Brother hear you say that- he'd like to hear someone calling me short for once.

[honorbends]

I wouldn't go that far.

[ edward is still shorter than alphonse ok but as the door closes, zuko pauses, and finally frowns. ]

What happened? -- and are you okay? Greed wasn't exactly cooperative with information.

[ not that zuko talked to him but he watched ok ]

[kyasdaughter]

[ katara will eventually find him in the cargo bay practicing with the test dummy, though she doesn't bother to interrupt or interject. she just takes a seat on the floor, leaning her back against the wall and watching him.

she figures he'll talk to her if he wants to. ]

[honorbends]

[ once zuko delivers one more clean strike to the dummy, he seems to notice katara leaning against the wall, and he stills the dummy with a slight prod of his sword, frowning at her. ]

Did you need this?

[ is he interrupting something, whoops. how long has he been down here? ]

1/3

[kyasdaughter]

[ is he really asking if she came to the cargo bay to train with a practice dummy? what kind of good was it going to do her to waterbend at a stationary target? she makes a face at him. ]

No, I came down here because I need you.

2/3

[kyasdaughter]

[ okay hold up that phrasing was kind of terrible wasn't it. ]

[kyasdaughter]

[ aaand katara flusters hard, quickly picking that back up: ]

To talk to you, I mean. I meant I was just wanting to check on you, that's all.

1/2

[honorbends]

[ why is katara suddenly making a face he hasn't even said anything offensive yet -- ]

[honorbends]

[ -- oh. okay. um. great. uh -- ]

I'm fine.

[ that seems to be a good place to start, and he quickly sheathes his swords, exhaling. ]

With Azula here, I can't afford to be lazy.

[ eventually, azula is going to be a psychopath, and zuko has to be ready to deal with her ]