CHEAT CODE

— zoya akulov, fiend.

[warfeind]

reel it in

[akzoyaga]

yviga‌:

and off they go. perhaps it’s too convenient, if she’s being skeptical– but does it really matter? 

“i was attending a meeting and decided to get some air..” as she follows, winding along the slightly too narrow streets, yui decides that a little vagueness could serve her well in this situation. if this girl doesn’t already know, she sees no point in telling her. “i got a little carried away during my walk. this area is.. interesting.”

which is to say, neither particularly scenic nor welcoming. it was probably nicer before. these parts are just stagnating while inner city cycles through various stages of grief. 

“but you’re not from here either, are you?” when it was first brought up she’d found it mildly inconvenient, but she hadn’t given it too much thought either. after all, she doesn’t want to seem like she’s prying– but walking along in silence is just too awkward.“so why are you– i mean, what do you do?” 

outright asking why she’s here seems a little rough given the circumstances. no need to start quarrelling when everything’s going smoothly. “if you don’t mind sharing, of course.” of course. 

zoya nods along, sparing her a glance every now and then as they walk ahead on the path she set for them. from the sound of it, the meeting the girl left behind doesn’t seem particularly interesting and so, her interest begins to wane. it doesn’t show. there’s still plenty of time to gather something from this run-in.

“ah, nope. i’m from the northern water tribe.” she offers the girl a crooked smile. there’s no point in creating a fake identity when currently, she has nothing to lose. fragments of a whole truth work just fine. saves her the effort as well. “i was meant to be touring the capital, but obviously, that hasn’t worked out very well.”

she lets out a short laugh, keeps it soft as to not draw attention from anyone else but the girl beside her. her current demeanour—far too at ease for the events surrounding them—can be easily pointed towards the ignorance of a tourist. in some aspects, it is.

the noodle shop is just down the block, which she points out while also keeping an eye out for any factory-looking silhouettes in the distance. “it’s easier to navigate these streets than it is back home, though.”

[gataash]

just a taste.

[akzoyaga]

gataash‌:

@akzoyaga​

“well, someone seems like they’re having fun.”

he’s seen plenty of people that have begun to drink away their grief - the funeral ceremonies last ages, and their dearly departed fire lord wasn’t particularly well loved, but there’s a lot of other reasons to not be sober.

but there’s no point in pretending that zoya is drinking for anything other than fun - he hardly knows her but he’s seen her around enough over the last week to know that she’s not grieving in the slightest. if anything, she might be celebrating. god knows he would be too if he didn’t have to save face.

none of these courtyards are particularly private, but taash doesn’t hesitate to go stand before her, keeping only enough distance to be polite.

he’s more not shy when he eyes the jug of honey-wine beside her. it’s a sipping kind of drink, but he’s not here to judge.

“where’d you get that?”

it’s no surprise to see her with a drink in her hand, despite the sombre mood that seems to hang over everyone’s heads. she assumes at least half of those in attendance aren’t sincere with their condolences. it makes a fun game for a solo spectator, pondering over people’s alignments as she takes long sips from her honey-wine.

“what gave you that idea?” she says in place of a greeting, offering taash a double-edged smile. something tells her he’s more in line with her than those actually in mourning. 

takes one to know one.

she follows his gaze to the jug of honey-wine by her side and picks it up, topping off her glass with more. “the bar was left unattended. something about one of the ladies needing urgent assistance.” so she told the bartender she’d help watch over for a bit, ever the helpful samaritan. “want some?” she raises an eyebrow. “i don’t mind sharing. always more where that came from.”

[loopliene]

tip of the iceberg

[akzoyaga]

gazahan‌:

@akzoyaga

ONE YEAR AGO

Silence never sits well with him, stomach caught in a flip-flop between unease and queazy. Point blank, he doesn’t feel good about this, but anything that involves his big sister, a deck of cards, and her favorite vices never ever has him at peace. 

If only this had been just that. Zoya’s gambling escapades are one thing, but their father being at the Akulov residence for longer than two hours is something he hadn’t been prepared for. A businessman inside and out, the setup shouldn’t be surprising—from the nod to sit in the adjacent set of leather chairs to the formal vernacular to the proposal.

Of course, it’s not a matter of how they are, but how the family business will be. Yegor hadn’t been one to beat around the bush, the question of when they’ll start taking the reins curt and to the point. 

He tries to be subtle with the fidgeting. “That was…weird.” Though when it involves Dad calling Zahan by name more times in a single hour than he’d done in the past twenty-something years of his life, weird is a real understatement. 

zoya can’t recall a time when she ever looked forward to seeing their father and she reckons the feeling is mutual. you can’t blame her and she can’t blame him, having long accepted that he will always be more of a crooked businessman than a parental figure. that acceptance is shared with her brother.

“weird’s one way to put it.” during that meeting, she made no attempt to erase the scowl that settled on her face when their father began talking about the family business again. successors of the business, who will be the one to take his place, all white noise to her—or grating static.

their father sees them as nothing more than business partners. she sees him as a worthless tile in her deck, but one she doesn’t want to risk discarding just yet.

“dunno why he won’t just take the hint.” she scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. it’s rare for her to wear her annoyance on her sleeve like this, scowl still etched on her features, eyes narrowed. clearly, there’s a correlation here.

[warfeind]

reel it in

[akzoyaga]

yviga‌:

see, this is easy. fraternising with the locals, no big deal. 

“that big factory over..” she hasn’t the faintest idea of even the general direction, and ends up just waving her hand in a circle. “somewhere around these parts.” then again, if this girl isn’t a local either, their chances seem slim. funny how you can completely lose sight of something so huge.  “i was hoping that maybe you worked there.” 

was hoping. past tense. clearly she was mistaken. at second glance, it seems almost laughable. her garb isn’t recognisable as either factory workwear, nor is it familiar in general. maybe not fire nation then. or perhaps fashionably impaired (it’s been known to happen..) neither would be ideal – yui sighs.

“i’ll miss out on the remainder of the meeting for sure,” though it’s not like anyone would be eagerly awaiting her return either. her participation is a novelty: the appearance of involvement is what matters. “but some company wouldn’t hurt, assuming you’ve got time.”  around these parts, it seems like a safer bet to band together. she won’t be any worse off, at least. 

“perhaps you’ll have an easier time orienting yourself by using that ‘banging’ noodle place as a starting off point?” meaning: let’s get moving. yui’s getting a little antsy, standing around like this.  “or some other landmark?”

i was hoping that maybe you worked there.

zoya nearly drops her smile, stifling the mild irritation beginning to creep up her features. she’s heard far worse anyway from the people back home, so she’ll let that trivial one slide. it’s a little hypocritical too, since she would probably say the same thing if their roles were reversed—though she doesn’t doubt her ability to distinguish people from different nations based on clothing.

maybe the girl doesn’t want to stereotype.

or she really can’t tell.

zoya laughs. there’s no point in warding the girl away, not yet at least.

“i’ve got time.” she’s not the one being hunted down by fire nation guards anyway. even if it would stroke her ego to have a bounty placed on her head, she isn’t keen on taking her chances just yet. “the noodle shop works. let’s go.”

nodding, she leads the way to the noodle place. “i think i’ve passed by that big factory of your’s earlier.” she didn’t, but she’s riding on the fact that it should be fairly noticeable to make her guiding seem somewhat credible. zoya glances at the taller girl. “it’s not that far but... how’d you end up here?”

[warfeind]

reel it in

@akzoyaga / outskirts of fire nation capital, present time. 

the fleet of kerita-branded satomobiles slows to a halt near the outskirts of the fire nation capital. yui and her father exit from one of the vehicles, joined by only handful of guards. a garment factory just outside of the capital isn’t typically considered a high-risk area, but there’s no reason to not play it safe – especially given the current situation.

lord eidan leads the way into the headquarters, and yui follows obediently. they’re the last to arrive to the meeting, as is customary.

–

it feels like they’ve spent years in that board room by the time yui finally excuses herself. conferring with armorers, engineers, and various experts on the roll-out and turnover rates of new & specialized armor for the war to come isn’t boring per say – but by the time they start examining trial results of various materials, she feels like she’s seen enough. it feels morbid.  no one expects her input anyway, really. she voices her support occasionally, and that’s that.

once she’s free to wander the area, her attention is instantly drawn in the opposite direction of the factory. yui isn’t particularly familiar with these areas, far removed from the pristine areas immediately surrounding the palce. there’s a certain.. rustic charm to these winding, grimy streets.

with only a handful of people, a mix of downtrodden business-owners and a few loitering workers, still moving about the main streets,  yui quickly loses interest in her little excursion. with so many storefronts still closed down, it’s not like there’s anything for her really to do out here.

she opts for a shortcut back to the factory grounds, moving swiftly through alleyways in the general direction of where she came from.  and of course it doesn’t pan out. there are just more streets, more alleyways, more of the same everything  wherever she turns.

well, whatever! she’s not above asking for help when she’s lost. and the very next person she comes across just happens to be a girl around the same age as her – which is to say, a perfect candidate.

“um, hello.” she’s not exactly cautious, opting for a friendly yet assertive approach instead. “you wouldn’t happen to be familiar with this area, would you? i’m afraid i’ve… wandered a bit out of bounds.”

[akzoyaga]

with radio silence from her father (yet), zoya assumes she’s been given free rein to do whatever she pleases, which was the initial plan anyway. it’s nothing different save for how she’s just a little more guarded given the current circumstances involving a dead fire lord and the prospect of war if the assassination wasn’t already a declaration. despite that, she plans on making the most of her time in the fire nation, especially with her father seemingly distracted with his own affairs back home.

they have yet to make it back to the centre of the capital, still lingering around the outskirts of the city where things are beginning to seem a little dull and therefore, boring. it would be a good idea to head back to the main city soon. for now, she decides to wander around the area and let trouble find her, leaving her brother to his own devices in the inn they found for a while.

hopefully, she wouldn’t come back to him unintentionally flirting with some low-ranking deadbeat gang member’s wife.

when a girl approaches her, zoya automatically plasters on a friendly smile. “where are you headed for?” the girl appears to be around her age and certainly stands out from the crowd with the other passerby's, just like how zoya’s own blue-tinged clothes do as well. must be from the capital, perhaps a royal even.

“can’t say i know the area well enough,” surely, she can get something out of this girl. “but i’d be glad to keep you company so you don’t get lost alone.” she grins. “also know a banging noodle place if we really can’t find wherever you’re s’posed to be.” 

[akzoyaga]

wussup it’s milky again with zoya akulov, speed demon and gambling extraordinaire! as the firstborn of the northern water tribe’s akulov family, she’s hella loaded with stolen riches, which she gambles away—though she’s often on a winning streak so... anw! just like mai, tidbits and a summary of her day when the fire lord got k.o’d under the cut + pls give this a like/hmu if you’d like to plot (つ✧ω✧)つ         (links: bio / profile)

almost as crooked as her father yet she couldn’t care less for all that power and politics thing so long as she’s still able to have fun, use their money, and revel in some mayhem she may or may not have caused

helped that no one dared to snitch on her, which in turn developed this kinda god complex or maybe she’s just pretty (and) arrogant and knows her place at the top—probably the latter

basically... mai’s foil in case you couldn’t tell

all about having a fun time (legal/illegal she doesn’t rlly care 🥴) and cannot stand being bored she'd rather drown herself

doesn’t rlly care about... the fire lord dying... because well, it’s not her tribe that did it lol though she is looking forward to witnessing the shitshow unfold from an (active 🤔) audience member’s pov

the day of the black sun: she was winning her 5th game in some kravei gambling ring on the outskirts of the capital when it happened and just continued as if nothing happened ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the plan is just to do her own thing tbh, maybe stir something up with the kravei’s since she’s in the fire nation and she loves a good mess

again, no premade plots so let’s brainstorm 🧠

[highmeowmeow]

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