enigmeyyy-writes

[enigmeyyy-writes]

^^^

moots on here! feel free to join the tag game from my addition on my active blog @meylovesmusic <3

[enigmeyyy-writes]

for anyone not following my kpop acc, I'm live playing music tonight!

LIVE TONIGHT 3/11/25 | i host a kpop hour radio show!

hi guys! i actually host a kpop radio show for my college campus radio club :) for anyone interested, i will be live tonight at this link at 6pm CDT (Chicago time) playing some music and chatting about kpop <3

here's the link for the show instagram too! we have a great line up tonight :)

[enigmeyyy-writes]

me because I have no idea if people are actually reading my fic and liking it so I don't feel motivated to write chapter 4 😭

What the fanfic-writing process has become;

Finish reading a fanfic and feel awful about one's own writing then proceed to try and create works "as good as" that story. Or try to replicate that authors writing.

Scroll through social media for what fandoms are popular right now to see where you can join and get your writing seen.

Take in every piece of writing advice there is and then stress, trying to create an award-worthy fanfic story.

Crying because you can't describe your bedroom scene the way your fave fanfic writer did in their story; or because you can't describe your character's facial features like the way the advisors of writing on Tumblr said you should.

I must include this and exclude that to get my fanfic-writing respected and seen

I'm nervous about whether others will like or hate my work when I share

I don't wanna write, I have no inspo, but I must write cause I'm in this fandom that's hot right now and all my fellow writers in said fandom are posting

What fanfic-writing started as and should be;

You enjoy a piece of media, art, song, etc., you're hungry for more and so you write an extension of the universe to include stuff you wanted to see, that the original creator didn't include. No rules, no standards, and no restrictions.

Excited to just write and share a work. If others love it, it's a plus

If you want to write excellent fanfics, that's very fine as long as you're having fun and you're not stressed.

[enigmeyyy-writes]

haha...omg yeah...

still haven't made much progress with chapter 4 of the olive branch guys but at least I feel inspiration elsewhere! check out my kpop bloggg @meylovesmusic <333

been on my mind to write some kpop idols as disney princes one-shots...honestly I think it'd be so much fun but I'm also writing ATLA fanfiction on my main writing account right now so idk guys 😭 any suggestions for what group (or groups) a series like this would work best for?

[enigmeyyy-writes]

all of my accounts in one thread! I'm mostly active here and my BRAND NEW kpop blog :)

-`♡´- about me!

ೀ kpop multistan (i love way too many groups lol)

ೀ 19! 12.13.2005 <3

ೀ current ults are enhypen! i'm ni-ki biased ♡

ೀ i host a kpop radio show! insta is @/kpophrs.radio :)

-> ask me questions about kpop!

[enigmeyyy-writes]

i mostly write on this blog but @planetmarlowe used to be my main! i might be rebranding the page soon, so if any of my followers or people reading my fics are interested in kpop please let me know if that's something you'd like to see!!

should i rebrand my page to be kpop focused? i host a radio show for my college campus and definitely welcome more listers if y'all want to hear me yap 😭

[enigmeyyy-writes]

I definitely think a lot of this is really interesting now that I'm rewatching the show again to write my fanfictions...

Katara definitely had her faults (and it was kinda wrong of her to tell her older brother that he didn't love their mother as much, especially because he most likely had more memories of her alive in comparison), but she was still a 14-year-old girl thrust into adult responsibility in the middle of a war. She is misunderstood a lot of the time from a fan's perspective because (in all honesty) a lot of us watched the show as kids and either thought she was super cool or super annoying. I even only started to find Katara annoying after I was older--and that was mainly because in times when she did attempt to "solve" things or "fix" something she wasn't mature enough yet to understand how to handle it responsibly. Sokka was a lot like this too, and we see him getting blamed a lot less. Both of them were standing in as leaders in their tribe during the war, and both of them left. Sure, the Avatar showed up, but even Aang was running away from responsibility until he realized he had to face the consequences of his actions!

Past this point is a lot of me talking about how I'm addressing a lot of this in my fan works, so check it out if you're interested!

I think a lot of my thoughts on this topic stem from the fact that I want to explore the emotional and responsibility commitments the characters of ATLA have weighing on them. In the AU I'm writing, for example, the characters (set in canon) are aged up and a lot of them have more people they are attached to. Since this was a Katara-centric post, I'll also include what I have in mind for my Katara fic.

Growing Pains centers around the letters Katara sends home to her and Sokka's childhood friend, Mali. He was the oldest of the boys left behind by the tribe because he just didn't quite make the age cut, and now serves as a hunter and protector for the tribe. He was definitely upset when his friends left him, but he knew that if they were to travel with the Avatar he had to stay and protect their tribe. Katara sends her letters detailing the stories of her adventures to Mali but soon realizes that she left a lot behind at home for what was turning out to be a perilous and risk-filled adventure.

And on the Aang side of things (because let's face it, a twelve-year-old boy having childish immaturity and the weight of the world on their shoulders is NOT the best combination), I wanted to explore more of his energy and experience of learning maturity after hardship in a Book 3 and post-war fic titled Spitfire.

Spitfire centers around one of Zuko's childhood friends (an OC because I think he deserved friends he could actually trust prior to joining the Gaang) named Soru coming to terms with the fact that he never truly was against the Avatar even though he's from the Fire Nation. Escapism at its finest--truly. As Aang has to come to terms with the new reality the world is entering after the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, he has to learn how to deal with the weight of the political aspect of society the rest of his friends (and former enemies for that matter) were already wrapped up in.

All in all, I really think exploring aspects of the characters of such a beloved show that aren't really addressed is such an interesting thing to do. I applaud all other ATLA writers on the platform (and any platform) for either just sticking to canon or coming to terms with the flaws that are either over-exaggerated or under-represented in fanfiction, but I am not one of you! I want to explore the inklings of depth we get from this fun show, especially since I'm approaching this from a perspective in which the characters are older and arguably have more responsibility on their shoulders.

I'd really appreciate it if anyone would check out my stories (will be posted on here and ao3) or at least show interest in them! I've worked really hard to put all the details together behind the scenes, so any support or showing you enjoy my works/ideas is greatly appreciated!

I just watched Avatar for the first time all the way through, and yeah, it’s great, but the one thing that surprised me was how different Katara was compared to the fandom interpretation I’d seen and internalized before watching.

Like, before you watch Avatar, you’ve seen all these memes about Katara and her mom, and based on those memes, you assume it’s one of those lines you have to get used to hearing at least once every episode. But then you watch the show and realize that she only talks about her mom maybe five or six times per season and you also realize she only brings her up when she’s trying to comfort someone or empathize with them because that’s how she processes her grief and that’s one way she connects with people.

Or you hear the infamous line, “then you didn’t love [our mother] the way I did” and you prepare yourself for one of the worst character assassinations ever only to see the scene after nearly three seasons worth of context and realize she was kinda right. She’s been the mother, the nurturer, the comforter. She’s been patient, gentle, and accommodating where everyone else has gotten to be insensible and reckless and childish, and the one moment where she allows herself to feel her grief, suddenly she’s this evil bitch and not, y’know, a 14 year old girl whose been thrusted into adulthood in a way no other character has. A 14 year old girl who should be allowed immaturity and raw emotion and anger instead of the patience and grace she’s been forced to extend to every character without even the smallest amount of gratitude or even consideration in return.

Or you see all of the clips where Katara puts Aang in the “friendzone” and you expect to have this wishy washy back and forth where Aang is putting his feelings out there only to have Katara neither commit nor express any clear reciprocation or rejection. Then you watch and realize that, as cute as the ship is initially, that there’s never a point where Aang returns any comfort or grace to Katara despite her always doing this for him to the point of coddling. That for as much as Aang says he loves her, he never seems to outgrow his perception of her so he can recognize her as someone who feels grief, anger, and pain as much as she expresses love, kindness, and maturity. And instead of having moments where he learns to see her beyond her strength or compassion, you’re instead given moments where Aang forces his feelings onto her, both romantic and non-romantic, and Katara is expected to just…shoulder those feelings the way she shoulders everyone else’s.

Katara is the most misunderstood character in the show. As much as people recognize the complexities of Zuko, Sokka, and Azula, they struggle to do the same for Katara because they see her struggles as somehow lesser, and therefore, less deserving of sympathy. They can handle her so long as she’s being endlessly patient and loving and kind, but the moment her endless love, patience, and kindness runs out, she’s suddenly this annoying bitch who can’t shut up about her mother or reciprocate Aang’s feelings. But Katara’s trauma does matter as much as anyone else’s. No, she wasn’t banished from her kingdom. No, she didn’t lose her entire community, and no, she isn’t the only one who lost her mother. But the difference between her and everyone else whose experienced loss because of the Fire Nation is that she’s never given time to process her trauma. Aang gets to lean on Katara constantly. Toph gets to express her feelings to Katara, and yeah, Sokka also lost their mother, but unlike Katara, he isn’t put in the position of being a substitute for everyone’s parent. He even admits that he sees his sister as a mother. The only characters who ever comfort Katara or allow her to vent is Zuko and her father and that’s, like, three scenes in a show where the other characters are consistently given opportunities to seek out Katara for unconditional support.

The fandom interpretation of Katara has been so bastardized that even those who haven’t watched the show know her for this fanon version and not for who she is. She’s such an interesting character beyond her fandom limitations, though. She’s brave, hot-headed, and hopeful as well as gentle and caring. She wishes to learn waterbending, not only because she wants to fight in the war, but because she wants to continue her culture’s practices because, and people often forget this, she also lost an entire subculture within her already fractured tribe. And she wants to defeat the Fire Nation both because of her deep love and empathy for other people, but also because she wants to avenge her mother. But because some of the fans have reduced Katara to a bitch who constantly whines about her mother and friendzones Aang, you wouldn’t know any of this, and it sucks because she’s the only character whose been dumbed down to such an extent.

[enigmeyyy-writes]

3/2 update!

I have NOT had the motivation or enough inspiration to write chapter four of the olive branch yet...if anyone has any advice for writer's block or finding inspiration, please reblog this or dm me :) - mey

[enigmeyyy-writes]

noticed my account has had a bit more traction lately! I'm thinking of doing a "meet the author/asked me anything" type ask thread soon, so please send in any questions you have about me or my writing projects!

meet the author!

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ call me mey!

* ˚ ✦ college student studying art who is in too many fandoms

* ˚ ✦ just starting up writing again (impossible to find my old stuff lol)

* ˚ ✦ interests: kpop (too many groups), anime, photography, etc.

* ˚ ✦ currently working on a huge atla fic series! stay tuned for updates :)

ೃ⁀➷ my ao3 account! I plan on cross posting my fics on there if navigation is easier :)

[enigmeyyy-writes]

so i ended up not writing anything again today...i just wasn't really feeling up to it lol. hopefully a creative mood will strike tomorrow to help me get started, but honestly I need to fit so much into this next chapter that it just seems a bit intimidating

2/26/25 updates!

probably will be starting on chapter 4 today! honestly I'm really excited for this chapter, but I'm not completely sure how I'll incorporate all the details I want to effectively...this chapter is also the last time life is "normal" for sana and zuko (I'm thinking sako for the ship name if that sounds good??), so things from chapter 5 onwards will have a slightly different tone outside of this "harmless" trip to the fire nation lol

[enigmeyyy-writes]

been using them for years it's unavoidable at this point 😭

someone on twitter is trying to claim that use of an em-dash is an indication of AI-generated writing because it’s “relatively rare” for actual humans to use it. skill issue

[enigmeyyy-writes]

um yeahhh 👀 been wanting to write something like The Olive Branch for so long now because I don't think there are many Zuko pairings that take a similar direction to what I imagine would be a new take on exploring ATLA (especially the political side of things in the series)

THIS

[enigmeyyy-writes]

2/26/25 updates!

probably will be starting on chapter 4 today! honestly I'm really excited for this chapter, but I'm not completely sure how I'll incorporate all the details I want to effectively...this chapter is also the last time life is "normal" for sana and zuko (I'm thinking sako for the ship name if that sounds good??), so things from chapter 5 onwards will have a slightly different tone outside of this "harmless" trip to the fire nation lol

[enigmeyyy-writes]

when I finally get to the one scene that inspired me to write TOB after waiting 13 chapters 😭

me as a writer

[enigmeyyy-writes]

evening update! chapter 3 has been up for a few hours now! haven't really gotten started on chapter 4 but we are almost at the part of our story where things get a bit more interesting (👀)

the Olive Branch is actually doing pretty well on ao3! so if you could head over there and show it some love, it's easier for me to see the stats and reception of my stories 🖤

-Mey

2/25/25 Olive Branch Update

didn't feel super motivated to write yesterday, but I plan to finish chapter 3 today! it probably won't take me very long since the majority of it is finished, so hopefully I'll get it posted tonight! I don't think my pacing is as good as the previous chapters so I hope it reads well.

[enigmeyyy-writes]

The Olive Branch {Zuko x F!OC}

Chapter 3 - Visitors

Given the task of accompanying the Earth Prince and her dear friend, Giren, to the Fire Nation over the summer when she was only 14, Sana Beifong didn’t expect to become a bargaining chip to help prevent further invasion into her homeland.

Or: Giren only wanted his dear childhood friend Zuko to be happy after the disappearance of Fire Lady Ursa. After meeting Sana in school in the Upper Ring, Giren decides to come up with the brilliant idea to play matchmaker in the middle of a war between their two nations.

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Word Count: 2901

About two weeks into the “diplomatic” vacation to the Fire Nation Prince Giren had convinced (read: forced) Sana to accompany him on, the royal palace became the residency to a few more guests. Azula, ever the social butterfly, had been “friends” with Mai and Ty Lee from a young age. Two daughters of noblemen–one an only child and the other one of seven identical sisters–happened to become her honored friends. The thing is, where the cold and composed Mai went, her rule-bender twin brother Soru followed. 

Soru had been the youngest out of the boys who spent their summers together in the Fire Nation royal palace by one year. He fit right in, in all honesty, with his pretty face and slightly awkward yet extravagant charm. He was a twin–not identical–with whom he would probably call “the most stuck-up and boring girl he knew” and very openly dreaded it. Giren and Soru truly are two peas in a pod, two sides of the same coin (and the sides are near identical). Loud, a trendsetter, and a snake at his core. That is who Soru is. 

“Helloooooo my dearest friends!~” Soru walks (well, struts) into the garden courtyard. “It has been so longggg since I last stepped foot in the palace…” He lives just outside the palace grounds…and he visited a month ago.

Mai rolls her eyes at her pretty brother’s antics and turns to the unfamiliar face: Sana. “Don’t mind my brother, he’s an idiot.” A gasp sounds through the room. I think you know who it is by now.

To the tall girl’s surprise, however, the Earth Kingdom girl looks up at her from across the area with an all too familiar look–one her brother often holds in his eyes. “On the contrary, I believe we will get on wonderfully.” Sana’s disposition is outwardly that of an amicable young noblewoman, but beneath the perfect small smile hidden in her golden olive eyes was the heart of a snake. Before Zuko or Giren speak up, Sana lifts a polite hand to signal them to let her. “Allow me to introduce myself.” She looks to Azula’s friends. “My name is Lady Sana Beifong, junior diplomatic ambassador of the Earth Kingdom. It is a pleasure to meet you girls.”

While Mai was clearly not swayed, it was clear her friend was. Ty Lee absolutely loved Sana’s energy right off the bat. “I’m Ty Lee! Your aura reads very purple so I’ll take that as a sign I’ll like you a lot!” The younger girl was the bubbliest and friendliest of the three, immediately sticking out to Sana as someone she could trust to be a good person. Azula picked powerful friends, ones from both noble backgrounds and had experience holding their ground. Sana didn’t expect such a delightful person like Ty Lee to run in that kind of circle, but you never should judge a book by its cover.

The male twin, appalled by his sister’s declaration of his intelligence, immediately moves to defend himself. “I’m Soru! We’ll be fast friends, I’m sure. That storm cloud over there is my twin sister, Mai.” He quickly takes Sana’s arm to drag her away from the girls, eyeing Giren and Zuko as a signal that they should probably all leave. “You must tell me how you met Ren, though! And how you got the ever-so-stubborn and quiet Zuko to warm up to you so fast…”

Sana chuckled a bit under her breath at the dramatic younger boy. He did certainly speak his mind… “Without a doubt, Soru. I wouldn’t mind explaining at all, it’s no big deal really.” Mai shoots her brother a glare, but it’s rather hesitant. She didn’t trust Sana much, but she was arguably more trustworthy than Azula.

*:･✧*:･

Zuko, surprisingly, was the most stressed out he had been in years and didn’t quite understand why. Maybe it was because his childhood friend group finally had the chance to hang out after such a long time, but the three had been exchanging letters during that gap so that couldn’t be it…Giren noticed, somehow very perceptive despite not always being all there in the head, but didn’t speak up at all. Zuko, for the first time in his life, was jealous because of a girl.

Now you may be thinking that this whole predicament is a bit odd, but in reality, it is quite the near opposite. Giren may not understand Zuko as much as Soru does, but Soru is also a kid so obviously, the oldest in the friend group would know his younger friends pretty well, right? In all the years the trio of boys had been friends, not once had Zuko even shown an inkling of interest in a girl despite growing up with a good handful of them around. If it wasn’t obvious by now that Zuko had the biggest crush imaginable on Sana, Giren would have still thought the Fire Nation prince was as gay as the rest of his friends. The fact that Zuko wasn’t subtle at all about his jealousy (did Zuko even know the definition of subtle?) was the clearest indicator you could get that after only two weeks, the boy was down bad.

“So Sana, what’s the story behind you being in the Fire Nation?”

With a sweet smile and a chuckle escaping her pretty lips, Sana takes a sip of her tea. Of course, Zuko noticed something as small as this even when he wasn’t involved in the conversation. “Well, I had become friends with Giren when I started my first year at the Earth Kingdom Royal Academy two years ago. We became fast friends through a mutual friend, Shihe Lu, and the rest is pretty much history.” She adjusts how she is sitting, the skirt of her dress repositioning into a much more comfortable drape. “Last month Ren told me he’d be traveling here for the summer and asked me to accompany him on the account that I become the new junior diplomatic ambassador. I couldn’t refuse, so now I’m here.”

Soru finds the situation particularly amusing. “Now that is quite the story!” His eyes catch Zuko, who is sitting quietly with nervous eyes across from him, and smirks. Looking at Giren, Soru immediately had confirmation of exactly what was going on. He places his hand on Sana’s arm (intentionally) with almost theatrical interest. “I never imagined Earth Kingdom girls being as pretty as you, though. I’ve spent my entire life in the capital so I’ve never really seen the colonies or other parts of the world…”

By now Zuko doesn’t even know why he’s so upset, but something about Soru complimenting Sana just got to him. Of course Sana is pretty, that should be obvious to anyone with eyes! However, he highly doubted anyone in the Earth Kingdom, let alone the rest of the world, could ever be as pretty as Sana Beifong.

“Trust me, half the upper-class girls in the Earth Kingdom aren’t half as pretty as dear Sana, Soru.” Giren rolls his eyes. “There aren’t many girls at all in our tracks at school, but the ones who visit the tea shops we visit definitely are not a worthy comparison.”

“Well, I am from a region outside of Ba Sing Se, Ren. Maybe Gaoling’s standard of beauty just differs?” Sana tries to reason, but she’s also covering her mouth to hide a humored smile.

“Gaoling is mostly commoners aside from your family, and your sister is still a little kid. She has your mother’s genes like you do, but didn’t you tell me she’s not really into all the girly stuff like you are?”

“I suppose you are right about that…and Toph is more relaxed and casual than I am when she isn’t pretending around our parents.”

With a sigh, Zuko stands up to leave the room, loudly setting down his teacup. “I’m going to go train. Don’t bother looking for me.”

Confused, the remaining three watch him storm out. It was concerning behavior from the prince–especially since he only was so vocal or visibly upset when something genuinely bothered him. Sana is the most startled as she doesn’t know him as well, and immediately grows worried. Zuko didn’t want them looking for him, but Sana couldn’t help but leave the room soon after.

*:･✧*:･

“Zuko…?”

The hallway is silent. By the time Sana had shut the large doors behind her, Zuko had left. She never saw him training in the palace while she was there. He often trained early in the morning before she woke up, wanting to spend his days with his friends (namely and (deep-down) particularly Sana). Zuko had only shown Sana areas of the palace that she would most likely frequent, and where he trained was not one of them.

“I guess I could go back to my room and write mother and father in the meantime…” she mutters under her breath in slight frustration, but her ears don’t register the disappointment in her voice. “I hope I didn’t upset him.”

Normally Sana wasn’t in her room during the afternoons, so seeing the golden sunlight in dappled patterns through the tree leaves stream in was a welcome and very pretty sight. The sun was just setting right about then, and sunsets were never as pretty back home. 

Grabbing some ink and parchment, she settles down at the table in the center of the room and begins to write.

Dear mother and father, as well as my dearest sister Toph,

I’ve enjoyed my first two weeks here in the Fire Nation more than I expected. I do miss you both and Toph greatly (please read this letter to her), but I do have good company in the palace. Prince Giren is in meetings much of every day, but he tries to join me for lunch before he has time off in the afternoons. I also have unexpectedly become friends with Prince Zuko who has been my companion throughout the day before Ren joins us. I would have assumed the princess, Azula, join us, but she seems to distance herself from her brother as much as possible–I don’t quite understand this as he is quite enjoyable to be around despite being rather quiet much of the time. 

Today the palace has become the host of some more visitors. Princess Azula’s friends are visiting, as well as Giren and Zuko’s other friend Soru. One of Azula’s friends Mai is Soru’s twin sister and they could not be more different. She seems to dislike me quite a bit from our first meeting despite me doing absolutely nothing for her to think so, but Soru is becoming a fast friend. I think the two of us are quite similar if you ignore how much he is like Giren.

Toph, I hope you aren’t missing me too much! I promise this summer will go by faster than you think. Hopefully during my stay I’ll be able to purchase some souveniers to remind me of my trip and I’ll be sure to get something nice for you. Maybe I’ll have it sent early so you have something to remember me by! I’m not entirely sure how mail works here, but I’ll ask Zuko or Giren if they recommend anything in particular.

Sending well wishes,

Sana

*:･✧*:･

Awaking with a jump, Sana realizes she had fallen asleep after finishing her letter. Luckily the ink had already dried. Hours had passed and the sun had long been set, engulfing her room in a blueish darkness that turned the reds a pretty violet color. Hearing her heavy door click open she turns around and is greeted by the sight of Hisa’s face lit by a candle’s flame. 

“Lady Sana? The princes have been wondering where you’ve been all day…”

“Hisa, you know you can just call me Sana, right?”

“Fine. Sana, your friends are concerned! What have you been doing all afternoon?”

A sigh leaves her lips as she sits up, but notices her hair in the mirror: it’s a bit messy now, fallen undone from the simple hairstyle she had worn today. Sana could care less, still tired from worry. “I suppose sleeping but I can hardly recall when I even fell asleep…”

Hisa rolls her eyes as she lights the lanterns and candles around the room. The warm light soon illuminates the space, the crimsons and amber gold tones more visible. “That doesn’t explain why you suddenly ran off during tea with Prince Giren and Lord Soru, though.”

“I was looking for Prince Zuko, but I figured he didn’t really want to see me if he had left…”

“The prince was training much of the afternoon, but a few hours ago he came to me and asked if I knew where you were.”

“Oh…” Sana says genuinely suprised. “He had just run off so suddenly I figured something was wrong.”

“Quite the opposite, actually.” Hisa gives the young lady a smile as she motions for her to come sit in the vanity chair. “He just doesn’t realize it yet. Boys can be quite stubborn and oblivious at times, even princes.”

Sana sighs, unsure how to take this information. “I still don’t really get you, Hisa.”

“You’re still a kid, that’s why. Spirits, the world is forcing you all to grow up so fast…” With a final tuck of a strand, Sana’s long black hair is pinned into a simple yet pretty updo. 

“You are not that much older than me!”

“See? Still a kid. Enjoy your youth while you can Sana, don’t let your teenage years hold memories of someone else’s burden like I did,” Hisa tells her. She’s only eighteen, still a young woman who’s barely an adult. “My mother’s business hadn’t been doing well and my father died in an invasion years ago. We needed money so I got a job in the palace as a maid. When Lady Sei arrived on account of her betrothal to Prince Lu Ten four years ago, I was assigned to her. I was your age, Sana.”

A crease appears in Sana’s brow. “And whose burden weighs on your memories?”

“So many…My mother’s, Lady Sei’s, even you now Sana. Please treasure what you have now, for my sake? Keep those who treasure you close to you and don’t let them get away…”

*:･✧*:･

Dinner had already passed when Sana had woken up, so Hisa went to gather a small snack for her from the kitchen. Feeling guilty about making her friends worried earlier, she leaves her room to seek them out. 

Sana and Giren weren’t staying in the guest wing, but rather the hallway where the prince and princess had their rooms. The hall was always fairly quiet, seeing as it was far from the Fire Lord’s personal chambers closer to the war room. Her hair was taken out after chatting with Hisa for a few hours longer, having gotten ready for bed. Peeking out of her door, Sana did not expect to look down the hall and still see light seeping out from under Zuko’s door.

Gathering some courage, she makes her move. Quiet footsteps barely sounded against the floors, careful as to not to wake the other inhabitants of the wing. Sana raises her hand to knock on Zuko’s door, soft taps that were loud enough to be heard from inside.

He opened the door just a bit, slight surprise in his eyes. “Sana? What…What are you still doing up?”

“I figured I should come see you and noticed you were still up…” In the dim warm light reflected in her eyes, turning them more gold than green. “You were looking for me earlier?”

“None of us had seen you for hours, we were worried!” Anger fills the prince’s voice, his hand gripping onto the door since he didn’t know if it was proper to reach out hand hold her. “I was worried…” He thinks to himself.

“I only ran off because I was worried I had upset you…”

“Oh…” Zuko blinks. “You could never upset me, I hope you know that.”

“Oh.”

“Would you…like to come in?” He opens the door a little but more.

Sana glances off to the side. “I really shouldn’t…” A soft sigh escapes her lips. “It’s late.”

A small groan sounds from Zuko. Why did the girl have to be so frustrating? “ Just come in!” He grabs her wrist, pulling her into his chambers. 

Her eyes glare at him, but even a dumbass like Zuko could tell she held no malice in them. “You are insane, Zuko! What are you thinking, you idiot? If someone sees us–!” 

Putting a hand over her mouth, Zuko uses his other arm to shut his door. “Everyone is asleep, Sana. And honestly, I don’t think anyone would really care about you being in my room.”

Her cheeks flush, but Zuko didn’t notice in the low lighting. “You are such an idiot.”

He shoots her a smile. “Don’t pretend like you don’t enjoy my company.”

That night, the two of them stayed up, chatting and laughing quietly together. Zuko’s light stayed on, seeping through the door until the early morning. The pair had drifted to sleep at some point early in the morning. Escaping back to her room before anyone could see them together alone in his room, Sana quietly closes Zuko’s door with a smile. Maybe this summer was turning out better than she expected.

[enigmeyyy-writes]

2/25/25 Olive Branch Update

didn't feel super motivated to write yesterday, but I plan to finish chapter 3 today! it probably won't take me very long since the majority of it is finished, so hopefully I'll get it posted tonight! I don't think my pacing is as good as the previous chapters so I hope it reads well.