[ The prince was respectful of his Japanese roommates' custom, the same at Gokudera and Yamamoto's; in fact, he found it sensible. He did expect her to wiggle around in her socks, yes. He, himself, was barefoot, wearing a comfortable mix of his Fire Nation pants he'd arrived in, and a plain black t-shirt. He started to feel a bit less comfortable as he shows her in, though, feeling her eyes on him. He starts to walk forward, not waiting to see if she takes her shoes off or not, but does stop just at the mouth of the hall, his eyes scanning the scene. The decorating war was still on, but this was fairly cohesive, his roommates all being excited and festive for Halloween, or whatever the Lunatian holiday it was. He didn't know or care about it, but somehow he's been loped in by others. He didn't find it so awful, and the living room was... better... than it could be. The blue-and-orange tropical theme versus Rococo palatial theme in their first month was rough on Zuko... But still, he pauses to take an agonized sigh, but says nothing, gives Azula no warning as they move on.
Indeed, the open space before them was more of a battleground than a living room. On one side, a rather regal set-up made a striking impression, grey and gold, black accents, roses in fancy vases. There was one white chaise longue that stood out, and it was the first victim of the myriad tacky Halloween decorations that littered this royal scene (including the witch's hat and some silky veils for ambience topping the lampshades, all fire hazards). On the other side of the room, however, from whence the decorations clearly crawled, was quite modern and chic, clean-cut, the exact opposite of the couch across from it. The decorations on the posh side were stylish and cute, whereas all the decorations on the fancy side were rather obnoxiously kitschy. There was a throw pillow on the white couch, that may be the most offensive of all, with a tacky print framing the words "Too Cute to Spook." Fake spiderwebs were strung about both sides, subtle touches like that to bring it together a little bit.
However. However. The most unnerving part of it all, undeniably, was the abundance of jack-o-latterns speckling the house. Some in nice rows of various sizes, some large that stand out. If one looks closely, the backs of the pumpkins all have different designs on them, things that match the theme β some classic smiling faces, some bats, some ghosts, but all of these cute, festive carvings were hidden. All of the other pumpkins had been spun round and rather artfully carved with this face, over, and over, and over. As Zuko's eyes did one more torturous scan the war zone of his own home β which he had absolutely nothing to do with β his mind did a sudden backflip. He spins round and starts to walk back toward the door, stepping aside to maybe block Azula before she sees, but he's not quick enough. She's already there by the time he speaks his second thoughts, which leaves him mid-sentence, suddenly mortified. Why did he invite her over here instead of going over there? Stupid! He could have just hung out with her and the boys, that'd've been quality time too, right?! Not in this scene! Stupid, Zuko. He's so used to the war here, he's just... been desensitized... and the impact didn't set in until it was too late. ]
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[ The prince was respectful of his Japanese roommates' custom, the same at Gokudera and Yamamoto's; in fact, he found it sensible. He did expect her to wiggle around in her socks, yes. He, himself, was barefoot, wearing a comfortable mix of his Fire Nation pants he'd arrived in, and a plain black t-shirt. He started to feel a bit less comfortable as he shows her in, though, feeling her eyes on him. He starts to walk forward, not waiting to see if she takes her shoes off or not, but does stop just at the mouth of the hall, his eyes scanning the scene. The decorating war was still on, but this was fairly cohesive, his roommates all being excited and festive for Halloween, or whatever the Lunatian holiday it was. He didn't know or care about it, but somehow he's been loped in by others. He didn't find it so awful, and the living room was... better... than it could be. The blue-and-orange tropical theme versus Rococo palatial theme in their first month was rough on Zuko... But still, he pauses to take an agonized sigh, but says nothing, gives Azula no warning as they move on.
Indeed, the open space before them was more of a battleground than a living room. On one side, a rather regal set-up made a striking impression, grey and gold, black accents, roses in fancy vases. There was one white chaise longue that stood out, and it was the first victim of the myriad tacky Halloween decorations that littered this royal scene (including the witch's hat and some silky veils for ambience topping the lampshades, all fire hazards). On the other side of the room, however, from whence the decorations clearly crawled, was quite modern and chic, clean-cut, the exact opposite of the couch across from it. The decorations on the posh side were stylish and cute, whereas all the decorations on the fancy side were rather obnoxiously kitschy. There was a throw pillow on the white couch, that may be the most offensive of all, with a tacky print framing the words "Too Cute to Spook." Fake spiderwebs were strung about both sides, subtle touches like that to bring it together a little bit.
However. However. The most unnerving part of it all, undeniably, was the abundance of jack-o-latterns speckling the house. Some in nice rows of various sizes, some large that stand out. If one looks closely, the backs of the pumpkins all have different designs on them, things that match the theme β some classic smiling faces, some bats, some ghosts, but all of these cute, festive carvings were hidden. All of the other pumpkins had been spun round and rather artfully carved with this face, over, and over, and over. As Zuko's eyes did one more torturous scan the war zone of his own home β which he had absolutely nothing to do with β his mind did a sudden backflip. He spins round and starts to walk back toward the door, stepping aside to maybe block Azula before she sees, but he's not quick enough. She's already there by the time he speaks his second thoughts, which leaves him mid-sentence, suddenly mortified. Why did he invite her over here instead of going over there? Stupid! He could have just hung out with her and the boys, that'd've been quality time too, right?! Not in this scene! Stupid, Zuko. He's so used to the war here, he's just... been desensitized... and the impact didn't set in until it was too late. ]
Actually, maybe we should go toβ...