an uninvited guest.

they've suffered enough.

i have seen the worst that humanity has to offer... and yet i'm still standing.

the world can keep knocking me down, but i'll get back up.

i don't give up.

i just want to live a peaceful life.

i don't want conflict.

there were nicer ways to ask that, you know.

i don't want to hurt anybody.

i still don't hate you.

i want peace at all costs.

if you would only try and see the world from my point of view.

i don't want to fight with you.

things always get better.

this isn't the end.

you have to stand tall.

the world is cruel, but i won't be.

i believe in you. i always have.

my morals are firm.

there's no harm in a little kindness.

just be gentle with them.

i mean well.

there's too much pain in this world. i don't intend to add to it.

i don't want to fight anyone.

don't you believe in yourself?

i'm not leaving them.

there is enough hate in this world.

i try to lead with love.

it's the right thing to do.

this doesn't have to end in violence.

why don't we talk this through?

maybe he's having a bad day.

i'm going to try again.

there has to be another way to do this.

this isn't the time to quit.

i've seen too many things go wrong. this has to go right.

i'm not giving up just yet.

kindness is not weakness.

you can do better than that.

i try to see the good in everyone.

you can't just give up!

you're a special person.

i deserve better than this.

you deserve happiness.

it costs nothing to be kind.

there's no need to be so mean.

if only you could see yourself the way i see you.

it's still a beautiful day.

there's always tomorrow.

are you asking me to quit?

tomorrow will be better.

you didn't mean that, did you?

maybe we should talk this out.

i will always choose to be kind.

despite everything, i just want to be good.

i do my best to see the good in everyone, no matter what.

you didn't have to do that.

that wasn't very nice.

do you have to be so rude?

a nice word goes a long way.

try smiling at them. see what happens.

you could try being nicer.

i deserve a happy ending.

don't beat yourself up.

don't talk about yourself like that.

i see the goodness in you.

𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓  𝐎𝐅  𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐅𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒  𝐀𝐍𝐃  𝐇𝐘𝐌𝐍𝐒  𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐆  𝐈𝐍  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐑  seemed  to  soothe  his  playful  irritation,  thus  easing  any  faux  tension  from  his  half-covered  features.  Softness  appeared  to  permeate  even  through  the  impenetrable  layer  of  dark  cloth,  possibly  blossoming  from  the  mental  image  of  grandeur...  or  the  quiet  sympathy  he  harbored  for  her,  neatly  woven  into  the  nuances  of  his  usual  flippancy. 

❝   Ah,  bummer.   ❞   Whether  the  disappointment  was  for  himself  or  the  would-be  participants  of  the  imaginary  spectacle  remained  ambiguous  in  his  easy  tone.  ❝   I  survive  a  life-threatening  battle,  and  the  parade  gets  postponed?   ❞   

His  lips  curled,  amusement  bleeding  through  the  act  almost  instantly.  ❝   Guess  I’ll  have  to  settle  for  a  personal  welcome  instead.   ❞   

the air was lighter, easier to breathe now, with that sense of familiar calm that settled over her in his presence. this fragile yet fundamental understanding that hovered unspoken in every conversation they shared: two beings of unprecedented power, simply existing.

❝ i'll make sure to let them know you complained. ❞ hotaru assured, affirming her feigned solemnity with a nod. still, she was not so indifferent or cold-hearted so as to leave him without any celebration for his victorious return. ❝ i know i'm nowhere near as lively as a parade - but i think i can at least treat you to a dessert. ❞

𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆.

He'll wear the spare.

          The blader stood tall as she came closer, invading his space with a CONFIDENCE about her that wasn't present upwards of at least a year ago. She touched his face, he looked to her with silence acknowledgment; in tact her hand will stay & still he stood. He remembered kindness. Hotaru has been nothing BUT kind to him even when he was sure he didn't deserve her to be so.

(𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄?)

(𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈'𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐀𝐘. 𝐁𝐔𝐓, 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐖, 𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖.)

          Kai still didn't speak, but hummed his answer. "Hm. Mhm." & yet, the need to search for his glasses became the last thing on his mind. She pecked him gently & looked to pull away. With little effort ( she barely weighted anything, anyway ), Kai pulled Hotaru back into his orbit. 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑. Just to have her there. Just to pull his hand behind her head & connect their lips like so. No escaping little one.

it isn't only hotaru that's changed since they made the decision to walk hand in hand with one another, it would seem. she has no misconceptions about the kind of person kai is. his unshakeable commitment to himself is one of the qualities she admires most, after all. but where sharp edges & barbed words may have once lashed in her direction, he's almost indulgent with her. trusting her proximity, not flinching from her touch, waiting patiently for her.

it's very sweet.

hotaru managed only a single step away before kai's hand slipped from hers & found her wrist, pulling her back to him. her mouth barely formed around a startled ❝ ah ! ❞ at the sudden shift before it was claimed by his, & her surprise quickly faded away, leaving space for that now familiar, warm sense of fondness & contentment that always seemed to occupy the space between her ribs whenever kai kissed her. with his hand cradling her head ( like something delicate, something precious ), she was more than happy to indulge him in this brief distraction.

It seems to me that I only begin to live after the sun has gone down and the stars have come out.

hotaru wanted to be afraid, truly she did. as toph's voice lowered, she leaned closer, as though to help capture more of the sound. clinging onto every word of the story, tension in every stretch of her body. she was going to enjoy this scary story, she was determined.

the instant the stony grip took hold of her arm, hotaru jumped - would have leapt from her seat, if not for the earth holding her in place. where most may have screamed, there was only a sudden, panicking gasp of breath. & in response, the flame between them briefly erupted - a shining, brilliant blue with a center bleeding purple, before it tempered again. it was only when she looked at the hand gripping her & realized that it was made of earth that she finally managed to relax. for a moment, embarrassment burned worse over her cheeks than the passing moment of terror. she found herself feeling strangely grateful for the earthbender's blindness.

okay, maybe toph was good at this.

@silencedglaive :     ❝     ... there seems to be two missing,     ❞     from what he can recall, from memory. they couldn’t have possibly hatched, in the short break the pair had taken in order to retrieve more hay for the makeshift nests.     &͟.     whilst his zorua is as mischievous as they come, she would never lie to him so … he doesn’t doubt her at all for swearing up     &͟.     down that she had nothing to do with the sudden disappearance of the unhatched baby pokémon.     ❝     … did we accidentally take them with us? i can’t recall carrying anything.     ❞    ♡! 

❝ i think we would have noticed if we were still holding them. ❞ though she says it in a huff of breath, hotaru's concern far eclipses any sense of annoyance. but that confidence doesn't stop her from clicking open the fastenings on her bag, checking its contents. just to be sure. no eggs. the single remaining one in the makeshift nest they'd already started crafting looks so sad & lonely now.