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guiltysecretpasttime · 5 years ago

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Blended

I was (thankfully) given some time off during this holiday season; which I promptly used to spend time with the family and recharge at home. Also spent time watching various movies during this time and a little LoK story idea came from it.

In my usual writing preference – it’s still a Lin/Tenzin endgame story but – in sort of a modern setting AU, blended family/semi-highschool themed with ages differed a bit (Lin and Tenzin was aged down by around 5 years). Expect it to be tropey and may be a bit of a cliché. This is written on a whim so if it doesn’t make sense…ah well. Haha! May edit this piece later on…

I’m considering this to be a short story, just a little self-indulgent-written-for-fun type of thing. But if other people enjoy it too then that’s such an added bonus so I’m sharing it with you as well. 😊 Let me know what you think since this is somewhat different from my usual style, I guess.

Also – I have misgivings regarding creating OCs so I’m likely to lean on canon characters and take a lot of creative license in developing them for the story.

---

Title (tentative): Blended

Legend of Korra, Lin/Tenzin, Modern AU, no bending

(Not sure if one-shot or will be multi-part yet)

---

Tenzin, Republic City Primary School

“Thank you for making time to meet today,” The silver-haired lady clasped her hands together on her desk. “I know you must have a packed schedule, but I think it would be good to have the check-in session for your daughter today.”

“Yes, of course – anything for my daughter.” The bald and bearded man threw a look at the door’s window, where he could see his daughter swinging her legs while seated at the corridor.

“Ikki is a bright child and she’s been doing her best to catch up with the class requirements. She excels the most at individual tasks.” The teacher continued to talk a little bit more about the projects that the students have been working on.

Teacher Yue handed the father a folder marked “Ikki”. Tenzin carefully picked it up and looked into the contents, smiling as he saw Ikki’s artworks and class outputs.

“However, I see that she seems to have challenges in adjusting in a large class set-up.” Yue shared. “It’s nothing to worry about though. We’ve had several transferees in the past as well and this is usual; I expect that might take a little bit longer since it’s a transition from homeschooling to a big school.”

Tenzin frowned and he hurt for his daughter. His two children had both been homeschooled until recently.

They also had to experience a lot of upheaval in the past year or so – from the divorce, to being uprooted from their childhood home, moving to a new city, and then going to a new school.

He did notice that while his son was as precocious as ever (maybe owing to his young age?), his daughter had become more subdued since their move.

“What can we do for her?”

“Well, we have a big sister-little sister type of mentorship program.” The teacher pushed forward a brochure and several index cards. “It’s mostly an afterschool interaction activity, we have here several students who have been volunteering. Maybe you’d like to ask Ikki to join?” She pointed at the index cards. “Feel free to select which mentor you think would help her best. We usually ask the parent or the student to select their preferred mentor profile from the roster. We would not want Ikki to feel uncomfortable; you’d know her best than any teacher.”

He nodded. After a few moments perusing the index cards and the brochure and pulled out one from the pile. “Let’s go with this girl.”

Tenzin pointed out to a profile labelled Jinora.

---

Jinora, Home

The ten-year old girl has just finished putting hair in a bun when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.

“Jinora!” It was her oldest brother. “Mom says I can use the car today – want to leave with us instead of riding the bus?”

“Sure!” She called back, quickly grabbing her backpack. “I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Alright!”

Smack!

“Hey! Why did you do that for?”

“Good morning bro!”

Jinora rolled her eyes good-naturedly. That was probably her other brother slapping the arm of the other one.

Even at eighteen and sixteen years old respectively, they tend to act like children occasionally to the consternation of their mother.

She hurried down, knowing that if she did not do so, there would be no pancakes left for her.

Jinora heard her mother’s gruff voice in the dining room. “Bolin! Leave some eggs for your sister!”

“But, Mom,” Bolin spoke through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. “I’m a growing boy. I need this stuff.”

“And Jinora is a growing girl,” Their mother drolly responded, taking a sip of her coffee after putting down the last batch of pancakes on the platter. “There should be enough from everyone.”

“It’s fine, Mom,” Jinora immediately sat down and her brother forked two pancakes to her plate. “Thanks, Mako.” She slathered butter all over the cakes then squeezed a load of maple syrup.

She ignored Bolin gagging at her left at the amount of sweetness. She also ignored her mother who was hiding a smile and shaking her head at seeing the display.

In their family, it was only Jinora had a penchant for sweets. Her mother said she likely took after her father in that regard.

Her father…her absentee father…

Jinora shook off her maudlin thoughts when she saw Pabu, Bolin’s pet guinea pig, land on her mother’s shoulder, probably hopping from her brother’s backpack which was hung behind his chair.

Pabu began chewing their mother’s greying hair without warning.

Wheek-wheek-wheek.

“BOLIN!”

“I’m so sorry, Mom! Pabu get down from there – leave mom’s hair alone!”

All in all, it was another morning in their household.

It was noisy and sometimes chaotic, but Jinora would not exchange it for the world.

---

Ikki, library

Truth be told, Ikki liked going to school. She even liked her teacher and classmates.

She liked to be busy and the activities were very interesting. Getting homeschooled and only seeing their tutor, nanny and Meelo had become very tedious anyway.

Staying at their old home also reminded her acutely that their mother was not there anymore. She did not understand what happened, but she tried to.

It has been more than a year since their parents sat her and her brother down to explain that they were separating but it did not mean they did not love her and Meelo any less.

At first, she thought it might have been her fault (or maybe Meelo’s fault for that matter, he did fart a lot and that annoyed her terribly). Her dad and mom were quick to quash those theories, however. They spoke of drifting apart, change in priorities and other grown-up things that she supposed she will understand when she gets older.

But for now, she supposed as she opened her notebook on one of the long tables in the library, they would need to get used to their new living arrangement.

It was difficult last year as they were shuttled to and from two households. It also did not help that their mother was starting out with her new venture had been spending less time at her home. On the other hand, Ikki noticed their father spending more time with them, cutting down his work hours. It all came to a head when Pema had said she will be moving to another country to establish her new business. And so, they ended up -.

“Hey, are you Ikki?”

Ikki looked up to see an older girl with dark brown hair in a bun.

She nodded her head yes.

The girl gave her a bright smile and extended her hand.

“I’m Jinora and welcome to Republic City!”

---

Lin, Future Industries Head Office

Lin tiredly wiped her glasses clean before putting them on again, rereading her email response for one last time before hitting send.

It had been a long yet productive day. Her team had managed to fulfill all the visual design requirements that were due that day. She reviewed the different files sent to the printers, making sure that the final and correct collaterals were attached.

Her last task was to ensure that the last set of proposals were on-brand and aligned with Future Industries’ visual identity. Once she had provided her comments and revisions needed on the file, she sat back as she waited for the files to be uploaded to their server.

She reached for her cellphone, wanting to check on her kids while waiting. She looked at their family group chat and read messages from the last time she sent one.

Ohana (Lin repressed the urge to cringe. That was the final time that she would ask Bolin to create their group chat)

Lin: Kids – as mentioned earlier, I’ll be home a bit late. No need to drop by to fetch me; have dinner already and don’t wait up.

Jinora: Mom, I’ll be staying behind after class – I got a mentee! ☺ Mako Bolin can you wait up?

Mako: Jinora Bo has training today; I think we can wait for you.

Bolin: Jinora 👍🏼

Jinora: Mako Bolin thanks! 🙌

Jinora: Mako what will you be doing while waiting? You sure you’ll be okay?

Mako: Don’t worry about me. I’ll manage.

Lin scrolled through some more messages. Knowing her eldest, Mako would like skulk off to the library.

Jinora: I met my mentee this afternoon. She’s such a lovely girl.

Lin smiled at this. Her daughter had always been the polite one.

Jinora: Her name’s Ikki and she’s two years younger than me. She said she and her father had first checked out Patola Mountain Primary.

Lin frowned. Patola Primary was far; she went there as a child.

Mako: Kid didn’t like it there?

Jinora: They didn’t have the chance to know. They had to move besause of her father’s job.

Bolin: heeey sorry guys- just about to be done with training. Just gonna shower …unless I just shower at home?

Jinora: Ew, no Bo. Shower first please

Mako: Agree. You’ll stink up the car, bro.

Ding!

Lin drew her attention from her phone as her laptop screen indicated that the files have been uploaded. She hit the send button and packed up for the day.

She was looking forward to spending some quiet time with her kids tonight.

---

Bumi, White Lotus Headquarters

Bumi leaned back in his fully ergonomic chair, thinking about how times had changed.

Being in an office was something he balked at when he was younger. But now, after serving a long career in defense and military, he submitted his retirement and come to the aid of his younger brother.

Ah, his only brother – back in the day, he would be hard-pressed to keep contact with his brother.

His brother who took on the role of spearheading their family’s company back when their father died.

His brother who had the task of continuing to revive the company and making sure it keeps up with the times.

His brother, who, despite being the youngest, was tagged by the board of directors as the heir apparent owing to his excellent academic records.

His brother who Bumi had felt envious of at some point. He later on realized that his brother actually missed out on a lot of freedom in his life.

His brother who managed to keep their company part of the Top 100 and make malls relevant again.

His brother who probably made some life decisions for the benefit of their company rather than his own.

His brother who had been through hell and back the past year when he and his much younger wife called it quits. His brother whose ex-wife is now galivanting somewhere in the Fire Nation, expanding a business built on horticulture and floristry.

His brother who, despite making some decisions that Bumi might not agree with, is still family.

And if there was anything that their parents taught them – family is permanent.

The ex-military man took a deep breath, looking at their last family photo. For what it’s worth, he liked to think that their fragmented family had found its way back into each other in their adulthood.

Bumi had to admit that Tenzin did have remarkable business acumen that benefited their company, a conglomerate built on the mall industry. With the fourth industrial revolution at hand and the shift towards virtual and digital, the White Lotus Corporation had been challenged during the last years of their father’s life. Tenzin had worked hard to change the ways of working and the culture in the company.

To do it, he had to make sure that there is a buy-in from the board. Ironically, to bring the company to the current century, he had to abide with one of the most archaic practices – an arranged marriage, a marriage that would serve as a press release to the business world in general, that their company was stable and there to stay.

Bumi had been surprised to get a call from Tenzin back then. He had called to let him know of his impending engagement, seeking support. Bumi had cheered, given his congratulations – but named the wrong bride. He had launched into a long tirade, berating his brother for his choices. Tenzin had shouted back his defense.

He still did not understand why Tenzin acted the way he did. However, he could never regret his niece and nephew which came from this questionable business-like union.

Bloop-bloop-bloop.

Speaking of which…

“Hey Uncle Bumi!”

“Hello there, cloudchild!” Bumi greeted his niece with a nickname his sister Kya came up with, given that the kids were actually born somewhere near the mountains. “How’s the new school?”

“It’s great!” Ikki beamed at him and gushed into a long narrative of what she had been up to in the past days.

Bumi enjoyed video conferencing with his niece and nephew. Granted, Meelo had a short attention span but Ikki had always had the flair for storytelling.

It pleased him to see her spark back. He had heard from his brother and their trusted bodyguard/chauffeur Shung that Ikki had been withdrawn during the first weeks in Republic City. It saddened him to learn that the otherwise bubbly child had been affected in that way.

“…And then, I invited her over! Daddy said it was okay – and she’s sooooo nice. Didjaknow she also knows how to play the piano! We practiced a bit. She’s good even if her family didn’t have a piano, they only had this electronic keyboard but it’s so short. But she did well. She said she had a stepdad and it was totally okay. They’re a happy family. D’you think I’ll have a stepmom too? I think it would be okay if Daddy thinks so and maybe we’ll be a happy family here too and you know I joined this contest in school and I-.”

“Whoa, slow down, kiddo.” Bumi let out his booming laughter. “I didn’t quite catch it – what’s the name of your new friend?” He was heartened that Ikki seemed to have adjusted better now.

“Jinora!” His seven-year-old niece practically chirped the name. “She’s actually here!” Ikki turned to someone from beyond the view of the webcam. “Jin, it’s my Uncle Bumi – I want you to meet him!”

“Um, it’s fine, Ikki.” A calm voice of an older child can be heard. “I can wait here.”

“Nooonseeense.” Bumi could see Ikki pull something, rather someone to the camera. “Uncle Bumi, this is my friend Jinora. Jinora, my Uncle Bumi.” She said by way of introducing them.

Jinora gives a small wave and a soft hello.

Bumi gives them a short bow. “Nice to meet you, Jinora. It’s great to meet the friend of my favorite niece (Ikki please don’t tell Korra).”

Ikki gives a delighted clap and proceeds into another lengthy tale on what she and Jinora were working on that day at home.

Bumi smiles back at them, observing the children’s banter as they demonstrate the monologue that Ikki was preparing for. It was amusing.

Heh, they could be cousins.

He recalled when he was young, he, his siblings and even the sisters-who-must-not-be-named would stay over in one house after school to work on school projects. It had been one of the highlights of his childhood. He was glad that his niece would be somewhat experience it; he had been worried a few years back when Tenzin and Pema (primarily Pema) were very protective of their kids. It was to the point that they were both homeschooled and basically kept out of the public eye and the public itself.

It can’t be good for socialization. But what can he say? He didn’t have kids so he probably wouldn’t know what he was talking about, right?

He’s just fun ole Uncle Bumi.

Nonetheless, as he turned his attention back to the two girls, Bumi promised himself that he will always be there for his brother’s kids. It’s the least he could do as their godfather.

---

Mako, Republic City High

“I worry about Mom.” Mako picked at his dumplings during lunch time, a stark contrast to his brother who was eating a lot (“Coach said I needed to bulk up!”).

“Why? Has my dad been overworking her?” Asami slipped beside him at their usual lunch table. She brought out her packed lunch of pasta and a bottle of coconut water. “Just let me know and I can try to look into it.” She was, after all, interning at Future Industries in her spare time.

“Now that’s just powerplay.” The exchange student from Ba Sing Se High chortled, taking a sip of his sparkling water. “And that’s a no-no and Auntie will definitely get mad if she hears about that.”

“You would know about powerplay,” Bolin swallowed a mouthful of chicken, pointing his fork at the other boy. “Wasn’t that why you got the last slot in the elective you wanted to take this year?”

“Who? Me?” The other boy dramatically placed a hand on his chest, eyes widening. “You think, I Wu would stoop so low as to manipulate the results of the audition for the voice elective? Don’t you think I have enough talent to get into that class?”

Bolin just snorted into his food and Asami choked on her drink. Wu cracked a smile at their reactions.

“Again, Wu – don’t let Mom hear you call her Auntie.” Mako reiterated for the nth time in their friendship. “She hates it.”

“That’s why I do it.” Wu winked at them.

“Wait, Mako, what were you saying about Mom?” Bolin managed to ask in between bites of food. “Is something wrong? I mean, she’s a little bit run-down but she said it’s just because of the time of the year.” The last quarter of the year, after all, is usually the busiest.

“No, it’s just – well,” Mako sought words to explain it. “I’ll be leaving for college, you’ll be away for training, and okay, Jinora would be there but she’s in middle school now…” He trailed off. With Jinora’s aptitude and interests, Mako would not be surprised if she took on a lot of electives and extra-curricular activities. “Mom works too hard, you know?” He ended lamely.

“She has always looked out for us, but yeah,” A shadow passed over his brother’s face. “Ever since Pa passed away a few years back, she poured much of her energy to ensuring our welfare. She’s barely spent time for herself.”

Mako met Bolin’s now worried eyes.

The brothers knew that their mom had sacrificed a lot for them and Jinora.

When they first met Lin and one-year-old Jinora, she had already been under a lot of duress – taking care of a baby, leaving behind Jinora’s deadbeat dad, settling down in a new neighborhood and restarting a career. It had been two years later when she married their father San, who had been a sergeant at the city’s police station at the time.

And, Mako thought wearily, history has not been kind to Lin Beifong at all. While they did have four years (four wonderful years that Mako will treasure for the rest of his life), their fairytale-like family life came to an abrupt end.

San was involved in an armed bank robbery four years later and had not survived the gunshot wounds – leaving Lin behind with two boys at the brink of puberty and a young daughter.

Bolin and Jinora had been very confused at the time. Mako, already fifteen, had been expecting that he and Bolin would be forced into the system or sent off to their relatives in Ba Sing Se. He felt that Lin would not be in any way obligated to take him and his brother in; they were not blood relatives anyway. They were just stepchildren.

To his stunned astonishment, Lin did neither. He recalled crying in Lin’s arms that night after his father’s funeral.

She had asked him, with a confused expression, why he was packing. Lin wept alongside him as she explained that Mako and Bolin are her sons and there was no way that she was sending them away.

Since then, Mako made sure to look after his mom the way she looked after them. The brothers’ protectiveness was soon well-known in their neighborhood.

Probably also why no one had expressed any type of interest towards Lin even years after…

Mako reflected that it might have been a good move on their part but now it might have been a little bit selfish.

He and Bolin would now need to rethink their strategy…

After all, their mom Lin deserves all the happiness in the world.

---

Tenzin, Republic City Primary School – Parking Lot

“Are you sure you’re not just using this as an excuse to have a sleepover?” Tenzin looked over at his daughter, a teasing grin out of place on his face.

“Of course not, Daddy.” Ikki replied indignantly, kicking pebbles as they waited at the parking lot.

“Why can’t you do the project at our house?” He was actually leaning towards allowing Ikki on her first ever sleepover/overnight but he wanted to hear from his daughter.

“We’ll need a big big printer, Daddy.” Ikki raised her arms to show him just how big. “We’ll need to print out my project and Jinora’s mommy has a big printer and lamin-lami-lamintor (“Laminating machine, dear?” Tenzin clarified.) because she frilancets (“Freelances?”).”

“Mmhhmm.” Tenzin looked across the school building, shifting Ikki’s overnight bag on his shoulder.

Ikki timidly approached him the other night, asking if she could spend Friday night and Saturday at her friend Jinora’s house. They had an output required of them of the big sister-little sister program. Tenzin was actually unclear as to what is the specific output that the girls had decided on but it did require a large-scale printer and a laminating machine.

Jinora attempted to explain to him what they were going to do during the last week that they were in his house but he felt out of his depth so he had nodded and let them work on what they needed to.

The father had met Jinora several times already in the past months so he knew the child was in earnest that their intent for the overnight activity would be mainly to finish a project. He also realized (well, Bumi made him realize) that Ikki was old enough for a sleepover (and Pema’s overprotectiveness would be to the detriment of their kids’ development). Additionally, he thought grimly, it would also keep Meelo from wreaking havoc on the work area of the girls.

Nonetheless, he took up Jinora’s mom’s offer to meet up for snacks before she takes the kids home. This would give him a chance to meet the mom, discuss some ground rules and as well thank the mom privately for letting Jinora help Ikki come out of her shell during her first months in Republic City Primary. Jinora did say that her pa and mom used to do the same before she spends the night over at her other friends – the parents meet up, share a small meal, get to know each other. Tenzin thought this was a good parenting tactic; it would definitely assuage his fears as well.

But now, said mom was late.

Jinora had hurried to them, dragging with her a large cartolina and illustration board. She explained that her mom’s work meeting overran and if it would be okay if she rode with them? Her mom will be meeting them at the local diner instead, so they don’t get caught up in traffic.

Tenzin could feel his impatience growing.

So far, this woman was not making a good impression on him.

How on earth she produced a lovely daughter like Jinora was beyond him.

---

Lin, Narook’s

Damn Sato, Lin ground her teeth as she finally parked her car into the last parking space in front of Narook’s. Of all the days for a meeting to go over time, it has to be today when she had explicitly asked to leave early to fetch her daughter.

Jinora had provided her enough context to know that making a good impression with Ikki’s dad was important to her daughter.

Lin heard that the dad was some big shot divorced corporate guy, who, she thought, was a bit paranoid about his kids’ safety.

Lin acted as an arts club moderator so she was regularly present at the Republic City High, which gave her chances to meet Ikki whenever she drops by the primary school to fetch Jinora.

The girl was a sweet child – energetic and delightful once she felt comfortable enough with you. It had come to her attention, in the short conversations with the kid, that she was not allowed to go out and play with other kids in their old neighborhood so she was very much excited to have a new friend outside of her class and her family.

When Jinora mentioned their culminating project and their dilemma on the timeline and materials, Lin suggested that they take the project home to work on.

The crestfallen expression of Ikki as she stated that her dad would not allow her pushed Lin to share that she’s willing to talk to the dad to help convince him to give his permission.

The infectious smile that burst on Ikki’s face was enough to convince Lin that she made the right decision.

Now, however, as she entered the diner, spotting her daughter at the corner booth, she froze and started to doubt all her life decisions that led to this moment.

Wondering and questioning the universe what had she done in her past life for her to deserve this.

Across Jinora, beside the talkative Ikki, sat Tenzin – her former boyfriend and Jinora’s father.

---

Note: Soooo hmmmmmm. What do you think?

#linzin #linzin fanfic #legend of korra #lin beifong #tenzin #jinora #ikki #mako #toccatina's fanfics #toccatina wip

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sheepiling · 4 years ago

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So, while this is my save file that’s for the Goth family, they’re not going to be the focus of my Paranormal gameplay posts. They’ll still be hanging out as side-characters, though!

The stars of this sheepy short will be the sims that I’ve made for past Simblreen treats! Both my 2017 family and my 2018 sim are here to get haunted!!! 😱

To introduce you all to my brand new Happy Haunts household, going from left to right in their picture, we’ll start with the Zombie-Pire family!!

Our lovely mother of the family is Valentina Zombiepire, the father is Bolin Zombiepire, and our adorable daughter is Mei Zombiepire~

If you’re interested in their lives before being moved to this save, then this link will take you right to their story! Though, they were made in my first year of joining tumblr so please excuse my horrible posting style from back then. 😂 Not that I’m particularly great at this now, but I’ve made progress!

And on the far right, we’ve got Zolada Qi’zozivun!! As always, I’ve named her after the Simlish-naming that aliens in Sims 3 have. I’ve also given her a make-over with the outfits from Paranormal stuff! She had a boho-style going on in the first place, so this pack was perfect for her!! ♡

Also, I started playing this save before the hair re-texture update, so please be patient with these screenies. Zo is going to get a major glow-up before this gameplay is over!!!

Also my resolution gets bigger like half-way through ‘cuz I got a new comp, so improvements all around! I hope you all enjoy my lil’ spooky fam~

#sims 4 #ts4 #sims 4 paranormal stuff #ts4 paranormal stuff #goth family #ts4 gameplay #sims 4 gameplay #simblr #paranormal #happy haunts #sheepy shorts #spook #realm of magic #🧟👽🧛💀🧙‍♀️👻

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thedreamingscorpio · 4 years ago

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WIP Tag Game!

Thank you so much for the tag @dbzebra✨ and @inconnusmademoiselle 🌸!

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Well, I know I’m really late to this in lieu of my hiatus, but now that I’m back, I wanna do this and so here I am!

Goten x OC

Undulations

100 grams of life

Humans are scary(Nature v/s Nurture)

Returning on funeral day, time mishap

Animalistic OC

A lifetime’s wait

Heart for a life

Return-multilingual, super smooth

TruTen

Coalesce

Accounts

Oscillate

Paranoia

Anonymity

Sonder

Ephemeral

Elusive

Heartbeat

Consequences

Simplicity-emotional

Touch/Tactility

A/B/O Dynamics-Modern AU

-Royalty AU

Banshee return, grey character-power play

Walk through different stages of life in drabbles

Saiyan-Human imbalance

Intimate fusion link

Everyday reminders

Undercover stripper

Frieza X Goten

Stockholm Syndrome

BraTen

Humility

Detox(This is more of ValTen but yeah, also this one is subject to confirmation)

My Sweet Prey

Cradling unbridled power

Serenading Goten

Tainted

Ice King-Fire Queen;Wind Sage,Forest Nymph

Fingerprints

The Odd Corner

I’ll be tagging people rather randomly here, since I wouldn’t know if they’ve been tagged earlier or not but here goes; @degenerate-otaku, @bolin-san, @ocfairygodmother , @grey-sleipnir, @darkindigoroses.

#WIP #have written something for everything #its a mess #compilation for future reference

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writinginstardust · 7 years ago

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Imagine (x reader) Requests

hey so on my main request info page i’m quite broad in the list of who i’ll write for, mostly because i didn’t want to clutter it too much, but I’ve realised that being more specific is going to help both me and you guys so this is just a full list of all the characters in each fandom that i’ll write imagines for. a separate post with all the ships i’ll write for can be found here.

The Maze Runner

Thomas

Newt

Minho

The Grishaverse

Nikolai Lantsov

Genya Safin

Nina Zenik

Isaak Andreyev

Zodiac

Hysan Dax

Stanton Grace

Rho Grace

Nishiko Sai (Nishi)

Pandora

The Illuminae Files

Ezra Mason

Nik Malikov

Kady Grant

Hanna Donnelly

Aurora Rising

Cat Brannock

Scarlett Jones

Tyler Jones

Zila Madran

Kal Gilwraeth

Finian de Karran de Seel

Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley

Saedii

Red White and Royal Blue

Alex Claremont-diaz

June Claremont-diaz

Nora Holleran

A Court of Thorns and Roses

Lucien Vanserra

Throne of Glass

Dorian Havilliard

Aelin Ashryver Whitethorn Galathynius

Avatar

Korra

Asami Sato

Makko

Bolin

Suki

Star Wars

Cassian Andor

Poe Dameron

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Stardew Valley

Sam

Sebastian

Shane

Alex

Leah

Abigail

Penny

Maru

Haley

Emily

Bridgerton

Anthony Bridgerton

Benedict Bridgerton

Colin Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton

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playablezelda · 6 years ago

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i was tagged by @arsenicpanda

Rules: Tag 9 people with excellent taste

Colors I’m currently wearing: white pj’s with blue, pink, red, and grey hearts, and a two tone pink robe. oh and more grey and white on my socks.

Last band t-shirt I bought: i don’t think i’ve bought a band shirt since high school to let’s play it safe and say green day

Last band I saw live: i think the answer to this is actually also green day lmao, once more, back in high school

Lipstick or chapstick: i use both, but i apply chapstick Obsessively

Last song I listened to: i listened to the entirety of cat stevens’ ‘tea for the tillerman’ album while trying to sleep last night

Last movie I watched: still coco

Last three TV shows I watched: uuuuuh. parks and rec, new girl, forensic files

Last three characters I identified with: projection is like, basically my middle name, so if i watch something, chances are there’s a character i identify with so for the sake of me not having to rack my brain for what happened most recently here’s the Big Three. betty cooper from riverdale. she’s trying so hard and i love her. she’s so fucking independent and like, babe please, Let People Help You. cassandra cillian from the librarians (RIP) (THE SHOW NOT THE CHARACTER OR ACTOR) my synesthetic autistic magic baby. i’ve known we had a special connection since the first episode of season 2 when she walked up a flight of stairs while practicing what she was going to say out loud. and my main babe, my forever girl, roxy fucking lalonde from homestuck. she’s an recovering alcoholic trainwreck but she cares about everyone and everything so goddamn much and has never once in her life given up, no matter what it did to her.

Books I’m reading right now: Dead Girls by alice bolin, which is a book of essays about american culture’s preoccupation with the stories of murdered women, and Emergency Contact, a new adult (ya but College) book by mary h k choi.

i tag, once again, whoever the fuck wants to do this, follow ur dreams, talk about urself, we all love it

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maybee1155 · 3 years ago

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Top 5 NFT Avatars Worth Investing in 2022!

The most popular project for investment in NFT collectibles is the NFT avatar. From cryptopunks to BYCE, from the sports industry to the entertainment industry to the financial industry, more and more big KOLs have begun to invest in NFTs. From NBA superstar Curry changing his avatar for $180,000, to the follow-up of Chinese wale wallets such as Cai Wensheng, Feng Bo, and Wang Feng, to a new round of investment carnival in the currency circle. The joining of star companies and celebrities has once again boosted the popularity of NFT avatars and has become a self-popular investment project in 2021. So what are the NFT avatars worth investing in in 2022?

1. Cryptopunks

CryptoPunks are one of the first NFT art collectibles to launch on the Ethereum network. This asset features 10,000 uniquely generated characters that display pixelated digital images of different animated characters. The earliest NFT and one of the most potential collections of NFTs. On the one hand, there are KOLs bringing goods. For example, TRON founder Justin Sun bought cryptopunks at a price of $10.5 million. On the other hand, the average price of avatars in the CryptoPunks series is generally higher than other products. It shows that the investment potential of CryptoPunks is huge.

2. BAYC

BAYC consists of 10,000 NFT collections of ape images, each ape has 4-7 different attributes, including expressions, hair, headwear, clothing, etc. Depending on the combination of different attributes, the rarity of apes also varies, and rarity is also the main factor that distinguishes the price. Incomplete statistics, celebrities from all walks of life who have publicly announced their holdings of BAYC are: Taiwanese singer Ma Ji eldest brother Huang Licheng, actor Wu Jianhao, Ke Zhendong, Chen Bolin, Hong Kong movie star Shawn Yue, NBA star Pelicans shooting guard Josh Hart, Hornets star LaMelo Ball , NFL American Football League star Franklin and so on. These will prove that BAYC still maintains the potential for appreciation.

3. Meebits

Launched in March 2021, Meebits is the next in a series of digital collectibles designed by Larva Labs. Meebits take the form of 2D voxel characters in a style similar to Roblox or Minecraft. Like many other NFT projects, the scarcity of Meebits has generated massive sales, crazy speculation, and staggering sales figures. Meebits has an open interface in the program. Users can download the model file and import it into the metaverse game to change the image of the character.

4. Cool Cats

Cool Cats is a collection of NFTs randomly generated by programming on the Ethereum. It has the image of a cartoon cat. The first generation of cats has been released. The cat's clothing, face shape, color and body are all randomly combined. The investment of Cool Cats lies in the fact that the developer has been iterating on the project itself. From gamification to story evolution, the richer the ecology of the entire project, the higher the price of its collection and investment!

5. MadCanner

MadCanner is a brand new project in 2022 built on Ethereum. Once deployed, MadCanner become one of the most attractive NFT project which can be traded in own marketplace as well as in Opensea. The background of the project's story takes place in 2140. At that time, people in the encrypted digital world lived on a metaverse planet called Particle Planet. On the Cannason Particle Planet, people can gain immortality through technology, and every part of their body can be upgraded and replaced, and they can go to the market to buy their favorite skin or other organs. To player who want to find a good NFT, MadCanner is a community driven project with its own ecosystem package. Compared with other avatar projects that have been over-hyped, the potential of MadCanner should not be underestimated. So far it is an early NFT project.

#nft #crypto #popular

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plcyersandpieces · 7 years ago

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RWBY Character Music Themes

Hey hey Tumblr FNDM! I figured that with a new season, and a new year, I ought to update that list of musical themes I once had. Music is pretty important in RWBY, of course--it tells as much of a story as the actual show does. In addition, music sets the mood and tells us more about someone’s personality; most characters get their own leitmotif. Granted, that’s what happens in most shows--but we all know RWBY isn’t most shows. :P

So with all that in mind, I went through my pretty hefty collection of videogame and anime soundtracks, along with other music, to choose music that reminds me of the various characters in RWBY. These aren’t lyrical, for the most part (those that do have lyrics should be from fictional languages without a translation); I wanted the music to capture a character’s personality without words. But these are also my own interpretation of what’s canon--not even headcanon. Some folks may not agree with some of my choices, and that’s cool! I’d love to hear what other folks may think.

Most of these will go to YouTube, but some may go to Soundcloud or KHInsider. KHInsider links should have an embedded MP3 file in the linked page to listen to.

So without further ado, here we go~

VALE

BEACON FACULTY

Headmaster Ozpin - Treize Khushrenada - The Man Who Makes History - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

Glynda Goodwitch - Light of Silence - Chrono Trigger, arr. Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra

Professor Peter Port - Flying Boatmen - Porco Rosso

Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck - The Hunt: Going Green - Twister

TEAMS

STRQ

Summer Rose - Arcadia - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

Taiyang Xiao Long - Totems of the Grizzlemaw (Revisited) - World of Warcraft: Legion

Raven Branwen - Scarlet Raven Tavern - World of Warcraft: Taverns of Azeroth

Qrow Branwen - Curse of the Worgen - World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

RWBY

Ruby Rose - Battle vs. Lord Blazer - Wild ARMs: Music the Best ~Rocking Heart~

Weiss Schnee - Nightsong - World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

Blake Belladonna - Kindred - League of Legends

Yang Xiao Long - Thrash Pack - Pyre

JNPR

Jaune Arc - Revived Power ~Battle With the Colossus~ - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

Nora Valkyrie - Another Winter - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Pyrrha Nikos - Canticle of Sacrifice - World of Warcraft: Legion

Lie Ren - Yasuo, the Unforgiven - League of Legends

CFVY

Coco Adel - Winter Fashion - Richard Neale

Fox Alistair - Silence ~Battle With the Colossus~ - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

Velvet Scarlatina - There’s Only One Family Named Schrodinger - Wild ARMs: Advanced 3rd

Yatsuhashi Daichi - Demon Lord Ninetails - Okami

CRDL

Cardin Winchester - People Without Hope - Chrono Trigger

Russel Thrush - Village of the Barbarois - Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

Dove Bronzewing - Neko-ou - Neko no Ongaeshi

Sky Lark - Under Her Control - Final Fantasy VIII

THE SHADY SIDE OF TOWN

At the Club

Hei “Junior” Xiong - Kinetic - DJ Sona - League of Legends

Melanie and Miltia Malachite - Teaser - Gresby Nash

Ask the Rats

Roman Torchwick - All Bets Are Off - Cuphead

Neopolitan - Lutece - Bioshock Infinite

Lusus Naturae

Dr. Merlot - Black as Sin, Red as Blood - Wild ARMs: Advanced 3rd

CITIZENS OF VALE

Amber - Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Techno - Vanessa Mae

Lisa Lavender - Death Report - Undertale

Shopkeeper - Sore wa Himitsu desu - Slayers Next

Tukson - Galka - Final Fantasy XI

Zwei - Dogsong - Undertale

MISTRAL

HAVEN FACULTY

Leonardo Lionheart - Sadness-colored Sandglass - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

TEAMS

SSSN

Sun Wukong - Zidane’s Theme - Final Fantasy IX

Scarlet David - Knights of the Sea - Pyre

Sage Ayana - Tides of War - World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor

Neptune Vasilias - Super Galaxy Rumble - League of Legends

ABRN

Arslan Altan - Path of the Huojin - World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Bolin Hori - Northern Country Kamui - Okami

Reese Chloris - Skate or Live - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Nadir Shiko - Johnny of the Robo Gang - Chrono Trigger

CITIZENS OF MISTRAL

The Boy with Two Souls

Oscar Pine - Farm Boy - Final Fantasy VII, remastered by Sean Schafianski

Bandits

The Branwen tribe - Talon Sheath - Pyre

Vernal - Force Multiplication - Horizon Zero Dawn

ATLAS

ATLAS FACULTY

General James Ironwood - Demacia Rising - League of Legends

ATLAS MILITARY

Specialist Winter Schnee - Freya’s Theme - Final Fantasy IX

TEAMS

Penny’s Team

Penny Polentina - NE ZU MI - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

Ciel Soliel - Thunder Plains - Final Fantasy X

FNKI

Flynt Coal - Tank! - Cowboy Bebop

Neon Katt - Bit Rush: Arcade Ahri - League of Legends

SCHNEE FAMILY

Jacques Schnee - Invasion of Torushina - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

Whitley Schnee - Machiavellian Bach - Portal 2

Klein Sieben - A Mole Man - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

CITIZENS OF ATLAS

Henry Marigold - Grand Duchy of Jeuno - Final Fantasy XI

Pilot Boi - Sky Dance - Pyre

VACUO

TEAMS

NDGO

Nebula Violette - Look to the Skies - Angela Little, Lee Groves

Dew Gayl - Oklahoma - Downdraft - Twister

Gwen Darcy - The Cello Song - Steven Sharp Nelson

Octavia Ember - Taliyah, the Stoneweaver - League of Legends

BRNZ

Brawnz Ni - Under the Progress - Parasite Eve

Roy Stallion - Maki Ya - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Nolan Porfirio - Boss Battle 2 - Legend of Dragoon

May Zedong - Pretty Pounding - Michael Clark

MENAGERIE

BELLADONNAS

Ghira Belladonna - Valley of the Four Winds - World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria

Kali Belladonna - Gondola no Yume - Aria the Animation

GUARDS

Saber Rodentia - Night Howlers - Pyre

THE WHITE FANG

High Leader

Sienna Khan - The Proving - Horizon Zero Dawn

Adam Taurus - Warwick, the Uncaged Wrath of Zaun - League of Legends

Seconds

Lieutenant - Materia - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Corsac and Fennec Albain - The Emperor of Eternal Darkness - Okami

Operatives

Ilia Amitola - Helix - Break of Reality

Yuma - Revival of Alseides - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

Trifa - Medicine Eater - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

AGENTS OF DARKNESS

WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST

Salem - Leylines - World of Warcraft: Legion

WTCH

Arthur Watts - Karazhan Opera House - World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade

Tyrian Callows - Kefka - Final Fantasy VI, arr. Malcolm Robinson

Cinder Fall - Evelynn, Agony’s Embrace - League of Legends

Hazel Rainart - Spirit Guard Udyr - League of Legends

MINIONS

Emerald Sustrai - Enter the Dragonslayers - Tenkuu no Escaflowne

Mercury Black - Grand Cross - Final Fantasy IX, arr. The Black Mages

#ooc #rwby #music #rwby character themes #fndm

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awkwardwritersyndrome · 5 years ago

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Chapter 3: The Earth Queen

The morning sun is starting to get hot. Bumi and Kai sharpen their new airbending skills but it’s proving to be hard for an old beardog to learn new tricks. Kai out-maneuvers Bumi and knocks him off his feet as Korra, Asami, and Jinora look on. Moments later the airship glides over the inner wall of Ba Sing Se and floats over the lower ring. All the passengers on the ship can smell the filth and squalor down below. Bolin cringes at the thought of his dad growing up in this place. The middle and upper rings are drastically different, revealing a cruel caste system in the great Earth Kingdom. A bad feeling creeps up Korra’s spine but she can’t quite figure what it is.

As the airship landed, Grand Secretariat Gun shuffled towards the visiting aircraft. As passengers filed down the ramp he greeted them quickly before listing off a host of rules. It sounded as if the queen didn’t even want visitors based on all the stipulations put in place before meeting her. Korra remarked that there were “an awful lot of rules,” with a perturbed frown.

Gun ignored her complaint and rushed the guests to hide the animals before the highly allergic queen spotted them. He then hurried Korra out of the guest house and across the estate to the queen’s topiary. When the Avatar stepped out onto the balcony overlooking the garden, whirlpools, and walkways, the queen was berating her servants. Garden keepers hustled about rearranging earth at their queen’s request. Korra had never met someone so rude and demanding.

Queen Hou-Ting seemed disinterested in actually hearing what the Avatar had to say. In fact, she requested a favor from Korra before agreeing to help her. She claimed she had tax money stored in a nearby town that had been overrun with outlaws. If Korra retrieved the money, Hou-Ting would have the Dai Li help find any new airbenders in the city.

Despite feeling unsettled by the queen’s character, the young Avatar agreed to retrieve the money. When she returned to the guest house everyone was looking for Kai. He was missing and Mako was pretty confident he was up to no good. Despite his bad track record, Tenzin argued that such a young kid should not be left to fend for himself. Korra suggested that Mako and Bolin search for Kai, Tenzin and Jinora wait at the house in case he returned, and her and Asami would go retrieve the queen’s money.

“Sounds like a plan,” said Asami as she stepped toward Korra.”If we take the airship we can be back by this evening.”

Korra liked the idea of them teaming up for an important Avatar mission. Katara used to tell stories all the time about her and Aang working together before they defeated Ozai. They did serious stuff like take down the Fire Nation factory that was polluting a nearby river village. But they also did fun stuff together like penguin sledding.

A subtle smile formed on Korra’s face until she remembered that Aang and Katara were a couple. Her own thoughts made her blush. “Yup, okay, good. Sounds great. I’m just gonna...head...somewhere else...to get ready,” Korra stammered before jetting off to avoid anyone noticing how red her face was.

That afternoon the two women left Ba Sing Se to find the secluded vault.

Looking out at the vast rugged land beyond the city’s walls, Asami wondered, “Are you sure we shouldn’t have bought more people to collect the tax money?”

“Royal Guard’s waiting at the vault,” Korra explained. “I doubt anything will happen. I think her majesty just likes ordering me around.”

Asami raised one brow at her friend. “You mean someone can actually tell you what to do?”

“Hey. I’m not that stubborn...Am I?” Korra was at it again, asking questions she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to.

The CEO’s face softened and she giggled. “No. I’m just messing with you. When it comes to the most important stuff, you’re the first person looking for sound advice. I admire that about you.” Asami wasn’t sure if her compliment came off weird so her posture stiffened and she trained her eyes on the skies outside the windows.

Korra didn’t even notice, she was just flattered by her friend’s words. “That means a lot coming from you,” she said.

“Coming from me? What does that mean,” Asami probed.

Then it was Korra wondering if she had said something odd. She tried to explain her thinking. “I just mean that you’re so successful to be 19. I spent my whole life on a compound training to be the Avatar and I’m not even all that good at it. It’s just impressive, is all.” Korra rubbed the back of her neck as it started to sweat from nervousness. This friendship thing was harder than people made it out to be. No wonder Asami was her first true best friend.

“I never thought of my success as my own. Most of what I have was handed down from my father. Now that his legacy is tarnished, I feel like I’m at square one. I haven’t accomplished anything on my own,” Asami replied with a defeated tone.

“No way! You’ve accomplished a lot since your father went to prison,” Korra rebutted. She grabbed each of the other woman’s arms just above the elbow and craned her neck downward to look into those bright green eyes. “You made the mecha suits mass producible. You dug Future Industries out of debt after its reputation was ruined. You revamped the airship division and you hammered out a deal with the world’s craziest business mogul. That’s all pretty amazing,” Korra insisted tenderly.

“Well that last one was mostly Bolin and kind of backfired on me, but I get your point.” Asami looked back into Korra’s blue eyes and realized how similar they were in being hard on themselves. “I could rattle off a similar list for you,” she sassed.

“Don’t worry, Tenzin beat you to it the day we finally found Daw. I guess I’m pretty hard on myself too,” the Avatar admitted as if she could read Asami’s mind. The two of them hovered near each other until the closeness felt hot and almost unbearable.

A ridge of mountains appeared on the horizon and they knew they were getting close. “I should land this thing,” Asami suggested bashfully, still standing with only inches between them.

Korra took a big step back and away from the helm so Asami could work her magic. “Right. Aye aye, captain,” she said awkwardly before making an about face towards the exit ramp.

The ship floated to a halt in the middle of the town where there were no buildings or homes. The duo quickly identified the vault and the Royal Guard and made their way over. The money was loaded onto a wheel barrel and three guards began walking it to the ship. Suddenly a red flare shot into the sky and the women immediately knew trouble was afoot. A hoard of outlaws with mopeds and an armored truck began speeding towards the guards and the money. Two earthbenders cartwheeled off their hotrods and hurled three boulders at the queen’s guards. They didn’t even attempt to fight and scurried away from the mob.

“So much for our escort,” Asami panned while sliding on her electrified glove.

“Maybe we should’ve bought everybody,” Korra added, swallowing the lump that formed in her throat.

The pair dashed towards the money and made their stand. A battle ensued, two against twelve. Korra crumbled the ground beneath the outlaws and sent them all stumbling backwards. Two men gunned it towards Asami but she propelled herself over them in a flying roundoff and tased them with her glove. As she stuck the landing, an air strike narrowly caught another bandit as he reached out to grab her. The industrialist looked over and saw Korra was covering her blindspots. The two advanced towards the few men left standing but they began to retreat. As the leader of the mob hopped on the back of the armored truck he yelled, “You’re on the wrong side of this fight, Avatar. That gold belongs to the people, not the queen.”

The proclamation echoed through Korra’s ears. “Why do I get the feeling that he’s right?”

They loaded the money onto the airship and returned to Ba Sing Se. Gun escorted Korra to the throne room to report her successes to Queen Hou-Ting. Turns out, Korra’s gut was right. The queen made up a lie that the Dai Li didn’t find any new airbenders and she asked the Avatar to leave the city.

That was the last straw for the hot headed young woman. “You make me do your dirty work, extorting your own citizens, for your stupid palaces and topiaries and then you just want to send me away? We’re not going anywhere until we find some airbenders,” Korra hollered at Hou-Ting. The queen looked on silently and Korra added, “we know there are some here!”

The queen promptly banished Korra from her sight. Korra began to storm off but spun around and pointed her finger up at the throne like a deadly arrow. “This isn’t over. I’m going to find the airbenders!”

Korra burst into the guest house after stomping all the way across the estate. She was sporting a seriously contorted frown and tightly wound shoulders. When she got to the dining room she dropped her weight in the nearest chair and huffed in anger. Tenzin was asleep with Jinora and the brothers hadn’t returned yet.

Asami was the only one around to comfort the young Avatar. She approached cautiously and announced herself calmly. Just hearing her soothing voice made Korra relax some. The younger woman let her scowl melt away and said “I’m glad to see someone I don’t want to punch.”

Asami winced at the thought of taking a hit delivered by Korra’s muscular arms. “I’m guessing the queen isn’t going to help us,” the businesswoman assumed.

“No! She isn’t! And I’m the total idiot that ran off to the middle of nowhere like her evil henchman. This search for the airbenders is a complete disaster,” Korra lamented. She folded her arms on the table and buried her head between them. She might have stayed like that all night if two soft hands didn’t take hold of her achy shoulders. A firm but gentle pressure relieved her muscles of knots and tension. Without knowing it she let out a guttural moan.

Asami smirked as her fingers undid the stress in her friend’s body. “How’s that,” she asked coyishly.

“Huh?...It’s uh... really nice,” Korra crooned with delight. All the rigidity in her body was gone and all she could think of was the image of Asami delicately untangling string the other night. In that moment, Korra felt like she was a knotted mess of string herself.

Asami leaned against the table next to Korra and shared a caring smile. “You could use a real massage. I know a guy in Republic City if you’re interested.”

A drunken grin overtook Korra’s face and she nodded in agreement.

The two women sat at the table while Korra described all the ways she disliked the Earth Queen. Asami challenged some of her poorly thought out grievances, but generally understood why Korra was so upset. They talked for several hours before they noticed the time. They decided to get some rest, so they both stood up at the same time. “I’m no masseuse, but I give good hugs,” Korra announced with open arms.

The other woman laughed and shifted her weight so she sort of fell into Korra’s arms for a hug. Each woman headed to a different side of the house to find their beds. Even as the night wore on in different rooms, the warm embrace left a tantalizing feeling in each of their heads.

Next Chapter

#lok #legend of korra #asami x korra #korrasami #korrasami fanfiction

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pkarchie · 8 years ago

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Fandom: Legend of Korra

Synopsis: AU! Bolin discovers he is the avatar

Word Count: 7 191

Trigger Wanings: None

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Korra, or any of its affiliated characters. They are the property of the creators and Nickelodeon.

Commission for @korra-of-the-south

The trio was walking down the bustling street, on their way to the arena for some pre-match practise. People didn’t yet recognize them - only their team’s name appearing on posters, sometimes - without their gear on, so they could blend in the crowd. Just like Korra had always wanted.

Ever since she was a child, all she ever wanted was to visit the City; to step where Aang had, to meet people. To probend. And the somewhat famous Bending Brothers were only too happy to oblige. Well, at first only one was happy; the other had been more than reluctant.

Bolin, her new-found best friend in the city, walked to her left, pointing out vendors and kiosks she ought to visit sometime. he even bought her a kebab while Mako - the grumpy one, as she had come to call him in her head - was looking away. Funny enough, Bolin’s bubbly personality did not match his probending all that much, she thought; he was surprisingly strong and capable earthbender, despite the way he danced around.

She ahd told him so when she first saw him. He’d laughed and answered that to be a probender, you had to be light on your feet. She couldn’t agree more. She just loved the way probenders moved around the arena. And while Bolin had taught her the basics, Mako had made sure to hammer the drills into her head.

Speaking of which, Mako tapped her shoulder. “The match’s beginning-. he stopped for a moment when he noticed her food- “Uh, it’s beginning in less than three hours we should hurry. Where’d you get that?.

Korra just shrugged, taking another bite. "Bo got it for me,. she said casually.

"Bo, I-” he started saying, but Bolin cut him off with a smile.

"Relax, bro! It’s just two yuans! Aaand, if we win-“ Bolin started to say.

”- When we win,“ Korra corrected.

"When we win,” he agreed. “This won’t matter, right?”

"…Right, sure.“ Mako replied, though he wasn’t convinced. He did have a small smile on his face though. Still, he put his hand on Korra’s back and started walking faster towards the arena. Although the streets were full, the entrance to the arena was not crowded at all. It was still too early for people to file in, and therefore just perfect for the teams to get some last minute training in before the match. The team quickly got changed and stepped into the training area.

Unlike their usual training, however, pre-match sessions were not spent with amiable chatter with snyde, but funny remarks by the captain. Rather, it was silent, aside from their grunts and the moves being called out by Mako. The time passed quite quickly - too quickly for Mako’s taste, who always wanted more time to practise - but despite the two-ish hours of training, none of them were that tired.

Their nerves were taught with the pre-game jitters and the pure, raw excitement of making it to the tournament kept the entire team energized. It was odd, Korra thought, to see Mako almost nervous. She couldn’t help but pick fun at the "cool under fire” captain.

"What’s wrong, Captain? You don’t seem so cool,. she said, but despite her words, she made sure to let him know she wasn’t being mean.

Mako sighed. “It’s nothing,. he replied, taping his hands with practised ease. "Just, I don’t want to mess things up. We finally made it to the tournament; we need to establish our place as one of the teams that will make it to the finals.” They couldn’t hesitate, but at the same time they couldn’t just go in gun’s-a-blazing. It was a delicate balance to strike; and Mako was worried.

Why was he worried? The team they were facing, the Wolfbats, were renown for being ruthless. Well, if he were being honest, he’d say that team was renown for other things. But despite what he, personally, thought of them he knew this first hurdle was going to be a major obstacle.

Korra’s smile had fallen somewhat. “Wow, you’re really worried about, aren’t you?”

Mako’s silence spoke volumes.

"Let’s not forget,“ Bolin piped up, from his spot away on the bench. "That we made it here by skill alone, right Mako? Korra?”

"Of course!“ Korra replied. Why wouldn’t they have? How else could they make it so far?

"Bo, keep your voice down,” Mako replied cynically. “Sometimes the walls have ears, remember?”

"Yeah, yeah. I’m just saying, there aren’t thsoe kinds of rumours floating around about us.“

Korra looked onto the brothers skeptically. Puzzled, she asked, "What… kind of rumours? Are we talking about, here?”

"To put it plainly,“ Mako replied instead of Bolin. "The Wolfbats have a reputation of winning…”

"Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad?“ she asked, but then Mako finished his sentence.

"By any means necessary.”

"Oh.“

The rest of their prep time was spent in mostly silence. Each member of the Fire Ferrets were preoccupied with the match. Korra, already feeling indignation, was hyping herself up; ready to burst out the gate and send those Wolfbats reeling off the edge of the arena. Bolin, polar opposite, was trying to keep his spirits high and his attitude positive; ready to bob and weave and get the crowd on their side if it came down to a decision. Mako, unlike the both of them, did his best to remain calm; ready to counter-attack and strike precisely to win the game.

Eventually, they could hear the crowds even from their spot in the training area. Shiro the announcer was doing a good job of hyping their fans for an awesome match.

Mako wasn’t so sure it would be.

Nonetheless, they made their way to their platform, stopping just before it. They did their usual caucus, bent over and whispering despite having no one being anywhere near enough to hear them.

"This is it. The first hurdle to us getting to the finals,” mako said, solemnly. “But we’ve been training, honing our skills; individually we may not be better than them, but our teamwork’s what allowed us to make it this far. Can we do this?” he asked them, expecting a specific answer.

Korra and bolin looked at each other conspirationally. “Hell yeah, we can!”

Mako smiled. “Then let’s do this!”

They broke the caucus with a loud, raucous battle-cry of “Go ferrets, go!” And finally stepped onto the platform that would bring them to the ring. As the underdogs, they were the first to enter; the bigger, longer, louder introduction left to the defending champions, the Wolfbats.

It irked Korra how those dweebs carried themselves like they owned the damn place. That guy, Tahno, with the greasy hair, was swaggering in front of the other members. She caught him winking at every cute girl in the vicinity, and she immediately knew he was only doing this for the prestige. Not for the love of the sport; and certainly not for making end’s meet, for surviving.

Like Mako and bolin. “We’re going to win,” she stated, with almsot childish conviction. Mako and bolin smiled, feeling pumped.

Shiro picked up the mic, announcing the beginning of the match. “Tonight we have two wonderful teams facing off, ladies and gents! In the red corner: the underdogs who’ve made themselves fan favourites this season, they took the probending game by storm with their cool under fire approach, let me hear some noise for the one and only, The Fire Ferrets!”

The crowd cheered, some people jumping up from their seats, waving small banners around. Mako’s name could be heard chanted by some people throughout the crowd.

"And in the blue corner,“ Shiro continued, turning to look at the wolfbats, the crowd quieted somewhat. "The returning champions, the hungry-to-win blitzkreig fighters, they’ve made their name winning in two rounds or under with their methodically savage methods, the kings of stings, the killers in blues; your champions, The Wolfbats!”

And the crowd went wild. Save for a few spectators Korra was sure were aware of the rumours - and seemed to believe them - the entirety of the bleachers had erupted in cheer. Hell, even some of their own fans were cheering for the Wolfbats. She admitted to herself, it was hard not to, with the energy Shiro put into introducing them. Still, she kept her game face on.

The referee walked to the center of the ring, motioning for the captains to step forward. He quickly prodded their gloves, making sure no hidden devices were there. After clearing his throat, he spoke: “I want a good, clean match-” he paused to look at Mako, for some reason- “You know the rules, no throwing people over the side, eh Mako?”

Tahno sneered.

"Won’t happen again,“ Mako assured the ref, his voice somewhere between wry and bashful.

"Good. this is the tournament, maybe only the first match, but let’s start with a bang, shall we?” He looked at both captains. Tahno nodded , flaunting his hair; Mako jerked his head. “Bump gloves, now go.”

Tahno slapped Mako’s hand away. Shiro, in the background, noted Tahno’s “confidence” about this match. Some spectators gasped, others cheered. Mako turned right around, ignoring it all, and made his way to the team. “Take your positions,” he ordered, his voice hard. He faced their opponent and sank into his fighting stance, keeping a cool pokerface on.

Bolin stood upright, on the balls of his feet, all loosey-goosey; ready to duck or jump at the sight of danger.

Korra was a bit more rooted, but ready nonetheless. Ready to give those Wolfbats a heavy loss.

"Let the match… BEGIN!“ Shiro shouted.

Immediately, everything they practised for went to shit. Bolin took an earth disk to the shoulder, sending him back a zone.

"The Wolfbats start out strong, with a first attack,” Shiro announced, gripping his mic tightly. “Oh! But the Fire Ferrets’ waterbender is quick to retaliate, tripping up the other team’s firebender before he could make a blast!”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bolin push himself up and jump into a butterfly twist, Mako ducking right under the earth disk his brother sent. They were so in sync, compared to the other team, Korra was certain they would win. Though, however awesome that move had been, it missed its mark as Tahno nimbly dodged it. Slippery bastard.

Mako sent a quick one-two combo at the tripped up firebender, who jumped back a zone to avoid the blasts. Shiro whooped into his mic, keeping track of the action. The wolfbats were quick to retaliate, Tahno sending a jet of water straight at Korra, wh ogot hit right in the chest.

"Hey!“ she hollered, righting herself, now standing one zone back. She jabbed a finger at Tahno, hollering, "That move wasn’t fair-play!”

It wasn’t, she knew. Mako had schooled her on the fouls and she knew how long a too long water blast was; she ahd struggled with it hard enough! A lot of people in the crowd - and her teammates - agreed with her, booing at the Wolfbats.

For their parts, they played dumb, Tahno shrugging as if he didn’t even know what she was talking about. The ref eye her warily. “Well I didn’t see jack, lil’ missy,” he told her. “Call number one!” He motioned at their team, one finger held up. Each team had up to two calls per round; if both calls were deemed wrong by the ref, the team got a foul. And in the finals, that could mean an early elimination.

Korra growled, turning vicously to face the other team. In the back she heard Mako told her to calm down, this wasn’t the time to lose their cool. She knew he was right, and tried to calm herself like Sifu Katara had taught her; but it wasn’t easy.

The referee lifted his arm and opened his mouth, and just before he shouted “Begin!” a fire blast nearly hit Mako, who thankfully was ready. What the hell was happening? Did the ref fall asleep? She tensed, ready to voice her outrage, when she felt Boli nsidle up to her, breaking an earth disk that would have hit her.

"Don’t,“ he told her, spinning around her to counter attack. She shot a jet of water that actually splashed Tahno's marvelous hair. "Whatever you’re thinking of doing, Kor, don’t.”

"But-“ she was interrupted by Shiro.

"And the captain of the Fire Ferrets is also pushed back a zone! The Wolfbats make their advance!” The crowd cheered.

"Hey, I really don’t want to interrupt,“ Mako told them, helped up by Bolin. "But maybe less gossiping, and more probending please? We kinda need to win this.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but they all had to scramble to avoid a two pronged attack by the Wolfbats’ earth and firebenders. She had a feeling this round might end badly if this kept up; but, luckily, they were saved by the bell. Literally; the bell signaling the end of the round rang and saved them from pôtential elimination. For now.

Shiro started a recount of the round while they headed back to their corner. Mako was less than happy to say the least.

"What the hell was that round?“ he asked no one in particular, angry both at the other team and at his own. "It’s like all our training went out the window!”

"Well, I wouldn’t say all our training,“ Bolin replied tentatively. "We managed not to get blasted back into the water? We didn’t even give them a zone! Well, you didn’t…”

Mako gave him a flat look.

"There’s still the second, and third rounds!“ Korra said. "Sure the first round sucked majorly, and the ref got a broom stuck up his ass, but we can still win this! Easy!”

"Yeah!“ Bolin piped up, his usual boyish smile lighting up his face. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy! We got them right where we want them!”

"Really?“ Korra turned to him skeptically.

"That so?” Mako asked flatly.

"Yeah, yeah!“ Bolin nodded. "Listen! You,re still in the front, keeping them on their toes, frustrating them; they’ll make a mistake! And we-” he wrapped an arm around Korra, pulling her close- “the ‘Big Guns’, get a little breathing space! See, it’s all good!”

It was hard to keep a straight face, even for Mako, when Bolin was just so optimistic. His energy was contagious, and pretty soon even Korra waws pumping him up. Eventually, he placated them with his hands. “Okay, okay,” he told them. “I get it, all is not lost; but it’s crunch time, and we gotta step to the palte, okay?”

"Sir, yes, sir!“ Bolin replied, with a mock salute that Korra emulated with her own wry smile. "Good. That’s the bell,” he said, just as it rung. “Let’s go.”

The second roudn went about as well as the first. For about half of it. Mako managed to stay in his zone for a whole minute before things went to hell. The Wolfbats were ruthless, and even their best moves were borderline illegal. It was infuriating! Again, Korra used their first call and it was denied by the ref; but when Mako's call was denied - with a warning, at that - the Fire Ferrets knew there was only one way to make it out of this match victoriously: throw the other team over the edge.

Bolin, now surprisingly sullen, was the first to turn back to the Wolfbats, ready for the round to continue. It was by sheer luck too, because they cheated again! Arg, what the hell!? the referee hadn’t even lowered his arm all the way - the “Begin!” not even begun - and already Tahno had thrown a water jet with earth shards inside at Mako. Not only was that very illegal, but it would also hurt like hell, and injure their captain - his brother. It would put him, and the entire team, out of commission. And it was going to hit Mako, who wasn’t even looking yet.

He shouted, head turned so Korra would hear, but refusing to tear his gaze from the attack. But Korra was too slow, and startled by his sudden shout; it was all she could do to look around until she saw what he saw. But by then it was too late.

Bolin threw out his hand, desperate - they shouldn’t lose, not to cheaters! they couldn't lose; they needed this, needed to win. A loss now was as good as being evicted, without food nor clothes. In his desperation, Bolin wished with all his heart that Mako would dodge, that the attack would only graze him or something; that they’d win by decision.

His wish was granted in a way he could not have forseen. The water jet carrying the earth shards swerved sharply, avoiding Mako by a hair’s breadth - drawing shouts of surprise from both Mako, the crowd, and the enemy team. Bolin smiled as the crowd gasped theatrically, apparently Korra had been able to help after all!

He relaxed with a sigh, and as he did, the water lost its body and splashed onto the arena floor; revealing the earth inside the illegal attack. Turning to Korra he smiled.

"Aw man! I thought you weren’t gonna catch that! You scared me!“

But Korra was looking at him, slack-jawed and perplexed. Troubled. "Uh, Bo…” She shook her head lightly, blinking away the confusion. “I didn’t do that. I didn't catch that..”

His smile faded a bit. "Then, who did?”

"I-I think… you.“

Whatever she, Mako, or even the other team said - probably something along the lines of him having to be disqualified - he didn’t hear. He was deaf to the world at the moment, as he looked at his gaze. The initial euphoria of being able to bend more than one element was crushed by the sudden realization of what this meant. The avatar had been absent from this world for sixteen years; people had been talking how this could mean the second coming of the Fire Nation (but he had never believed that, really). People would want to train him now, and he could kiss the Fire Ferrets goodbye; he’d have to leave Mako to fend for himself. He’d have to… he’d have to go around the entire world, serving everyone and everything, until the day he died.

No more pleasure.

No more playing.

No more Korra.

No more Mako.

No, no, no, no, NO! He was startled from his nightmare by Shiro’s voice, ranging through the now quiet arena; the soundwaves seeming to resonate deep within Bolin’s bone, rocking him.

"I can’t believe my eyes, ladies and gents! Did you see what I just saw? Have we witness, finally, the coming of the next avatar?”

Oh spirits, oh no. He couldn’t be. He couldn’t live up to that; why couldn’t Mako, or even Korra have been chosen instead? Bolin crumbled under pressure like a sand sculpture. Shiro said something else, which he didn’t hear.

Then, silence. He felt the hundreds, thousands of eyes not only in the arena, but riveted to their radios. Waiting. For once, knowing he was the center of attention made him sick to his stomach. With shaky hands, he removed his helmet. He regarded it, what it had meant for him once, what it now signified for him.

He threw it to the ground and ran. He ran and never looked back; not as Korra and Mako called him - chasing, he knew - not as the crowd gasped, not as he heard Shiro narrate and call for him. He didn’t look back; he couldn’t. Bolin had never been particularly fast, especially not compared to Mako or Korra, but in this moment he ran like the wind.

He needed to hide, to be alone. He knew everyone from potential masters, to politicians would now seek him out. Expected him to fix the world, like he knew how that was done. Jsut because he could, supposedly, bend more than one element!

He forced his way through the press waiting outside the locker room, knocking more than a few on their asses as he rushed by. He didn’t even cry out a “sorry!” as he usually would have. The commotion he caused allowed him to get lost.

Neither Mako nor Korra could see him anymore, and as they rounded the corner, followed closely by the press, who were pestering them with questions; they simply did not see where Bolin had gone.

"Argh! Get lost!“ Korra shouted, swiping her arm at them, tearing water from the enarby water fountain; lashing out at them. she didn’t eman to hurt them, but still ended up breaking quite a few cameras. "Can’t you see this isn’t your business?!”

"He’s the avatar, lady, it is our business!“ repleid a guy in the back.

Growling, she took a step forward, yanked back by Mako, who looked just about ready to commit a murder.

"Avatar or not, Bolin is not your friend, or your brother.” He huffed through his nose, embers lighting the surround air on fire. “From here on out, if you’re not a member of the Fire Ferrets, the authorities, or Arena staff, get lost. It’s private property.”

"You can’t keep this story from us! This needs to be reported!“ Someone shouted, joined in by other people.

"Go,” he told Korra, turning back to the people of the press. “This is private property from here on out, I’ll warn you once. Cross this threshold and I’ll treat it like trespassing.” At the looks he got, he added, “Try me.”

No one moved for a long while. Then, slowly, lingering, they started to filter out; some muttering about broken equipment. When no one else was left in the hallway but him, Mako turned and ran to where he was pretty sure Bolin would be.

The door to their apartment had been left ajar - by Korra, persumably - so he he wasted no time in barging in and climbing to the rooftop where Bolin and he would sometimes sit and contemplate. As he reached for the door, he could already hear Korra talking with Bolin. Slowly, he opened the door, stepping out into the cold night air.

Bolin was crying, curled in on himself, knees to his chin; arms wrapped around his legs tightly. Korra was crouched next to him, though she had taken great care not to burst into his personal bubble - something most people did not know Bolin to even have - and she was talking with him. they were speaking in that special tone, reserved for late night talks when you were supposed to be asleep; not quite a whisper, but tired and soft.

If it weren’t for these dire circumstances, this scene would look right out of a novel: the city lights reflecting the stars, but not outshining them; the view from their high up, poor apartment, over-looking the bay; a late-night meeting between friends. It looked too happy for Mako’s taste, the world was cruel that way.

Noticing him, Korra moved to accomodate him. bolin had ducked his head, hiding himself from him. “I don’t know what to do,” she said. “What are we supposed to do? What's he supposed to do?”

Why she was asking him that instead of Bolin, Mako didn’t know; but it seemed both she and his little brother were looking for guidance right now. Something he was, ironically, not sure how to provide; and that he, too, was in dire need of. Not knowing what else to do, but comfort his baby brother, he sat down on Bolin’s other side, allowing Korra to remain close.

"Bo, hey… bro.“ He gently nudged Bolin, who only groaned. "Talk to me, come on..?”

A beat, then, “I don’t know what happened,” Bolin said, voice terribly muffled. “O-One second I was, I was on defense, and then…” He sniffed loudly. “And then they were attacking, and you, you weren’t ready yet… It just happened!” He cried out the last part, finally lifting his head. “I-I swear! I didn’t mean to! I didn’t even know I could! I-”

"We know,“ Korra told him, somehow her soft voice cutting through his hysterics. "We know. You just didn’t want someone to hurt your brother.”

He nodded his head, somehow both rapidly and miserably at the same time. “If I’d known, I’d… I’d-” Bolin started.

Mako, already knowing where his brother’s line of thoughts was headed, cut him off. “Don’t. What happened to Mom and Dad isn’t your fault; and even if… you can bend water and earth, you were a kid, barely six years old. Cut yourself some slack.” He said the last part lightly, trying in vain to cheer up Bolin.

Bolin sniffed, undeterred to be miserable.

"So…“ Korra started, spectacularly awkwardly. Both brothers turned to look at her. "If you can bend water and earth… Does that mean Mako can bend fire and air?”

Bolin huffed, but a small smile crept up on his lips. “I wish. Wouldn’t that be cool?” he turned to ask the last part at Mako.

"Yeah, it would be cool,“ he replied, not telling the other how unlikely he thought the possibility to be. Rather, he was convinced that…

"Do you think… Do you think I really could be the, the… you know?” Bolin asked, eyes surprisingly clear despite the unshed tears in them.

What else could there be?Mako thought. But why now? If Mako getting hurt had been the stresser for this… development, why not when either brother was younger and in real danger? Could this be, as Korra had asked, a half-avatar kind of deal? “I, I don’t know, Bo…”

"Well!“ Korra said, after a pregnant pause, clasping her hand on Mako’s shoulder and yanking him closer; crushing bolin in a Fire Ferrets sandwich. "One thing’s for sure, Bo, we got your back on this. We’ll find out what this means, okay?”

"Yeah,“ Mako told him, wrapping his arm around him and Korra. "I’m not leaving, and neither is Korra. We’re in this together.”

"Promise?“ he asked them, still feeling that childish apprehension.

"I swear it! On, on…” Korra paused, looking for something worthy on which to make such a promise. “Our friendship!”

"I swear it, on my family,“ added Mako, more softly.

Bolin smiled, letting himself relax into their embrace. "Okay,” he agreed.

"Then it’s settled!“ Korra said, "since we all promised, we need to make this official, by-”

"No blood pact,“ Mako cut in immediately, not trusting Korra for this.

She made a face. "Fine, party-pooper. No, I was gonna say, this:” she spat in her hand, and offered it for them to shake.

Mako made a face. This was nearly as bad! But seeing Bolin, smile more broadly, he resigned himself and spat in his own palm. He, too, extended his arm.

Bolin, complete opposite of Mako, immediately spat in both of his hands and shook Korra and Mako’s hands at the same time. Mako gagged, and with a small smile wiped his hand on his pant leg after.

"Satisfied?“ he asked Korra.

She and Bolin laughed. Mako felt a bit better.

The three of them stayed there, on the roof, unwinding from the day’s events. Eventually they slunk back inside when the night’s chill was too much to be comfortable in. Mako went to the kitchen area, while Korra and Bolin plopped down on the couch. She fiddled with the radio, finding a smooth jazz station amongst all the other channels reporting the rumours of the new avatar. Mako decided to make some dumplings to cheer his brother up. They needed to do a grocery run, but there Mako wasn’t worried about running errands right now. Bolin needed to be cheered up. He quickly prepared the dough and the vegetables for the filling; the oil heating up, still.

As he was dropping the first dumplings in the oil, Korra asked, "Hey, I’m gonna have to go soon…” She paused, the silence filled by jazz and bubbling oil. “If you want, I’m sure Tenzin wouldn’t say no to a couple visitors?”

Mako heard the unsaid question: I’m sure Tenzin will know what to do. He’d never met the man, aside from that time he whooped so loud in the audience even Shiro took notice of it, but Korra had talked about at great lengths. Although a stranger would not be his first choice, he knew Korra considered the man a second father.

"I don’t think staying here is a good idea,“ Mako simply said, dropping the now cooked dumplings onto a plate. "The press’ll be at our door first thing in the morning. Here you go, bro.” Bolin took the plate sluggishly, and nibbled on a dumpling. “Tenzin’s an airbender right?” he asked, though he’d already memorized every detail and story Korra had told him about her life.

"Yep!“ Korra replied, "He’s also one of the world’s best people to talk about avatar, uh, potential avatar stuff with. He’ll be more than happy to help us, to help you.”

Bolin took a bite of his dumpling more enthusiastically. “So… that mean sleepover?”

Korra smiled. “I suppose it does!” A beat. “You gonna eat all those?”

Mako put a second plate of dumplings on the coffee table, and took a seat on the beat up couch with them. “Here. You can have some of those. Leave me at least two, though, okay?” They relaxed for a while longer, until the dumplings were eaten and the brothers had packed their meager amount of clothes. Then the three of them set out, carefully avoiding the few crazed paparazzo still clinging around the arena.

"We gotta hurry, the last ferry’s gonna leave in not long,“ Korra warned them as they neared the docks.

The ferry worker was disgruntled, and not very happy at having to bring back more kids than he’d left. After only some grumbling, though, he ferried them across the Bay. It was much colder across the water than it had been even in the open aired docks. The night’s frigid air whipped them in the face; and the lights from the city left them in almost complete darkness for a while. When they neared the island, Korra could spy Tenzin waiting impatiently on the steps leading up from the quay. He looked less than happy, to say the least.

"Hey Tenzin, I-” she said as the three of them got off the boat.

"Korra, do you know what time it is? Your curfew is two hours past, now I may not be your father but I am your guardian while you live-“

"Wait, Tenzin! Did you… not hear the news?” she asked, genuinely intrigued.

"I did. In fact, I’ve been swamped with calls since your match earlier, and I must say that referee is as blind as a bat!“ He said, stomping his foot and snapping his fingers in a rare display of ire and irritation. He soon deflated though. "Bolin, son, is it true? Did you really-”

"Uh, not to be rude, sir, but we’re really tired, and I don’t think my brother wants to talk about that right now…“ Mako interrupted as politely as he could.

Tenzin righted himself. "Oh, right! Where are my manners, terribly sorry; it’s the excitement you must understand. Korra will lead you to your rooms.”

"Thank you, sir, I…“ Bolin started. "I didn’t, well, Korra said you wouldn’t mind, and Mako said we shouldn’t stay home because of the press, and-”

"It’s alright, son, I know how those vultures can get,“ Tenzin replied, waving away Bolin’s concerns. "Rest assured, no uninvited member of the press are allowed on Air Temple Island.” Feeling a bit less like a parasite, Bolin nodded with a smile, before leaving after Korra. After showing them to their room - a shared space, Bolin was relieved to learn - she wished them a good night and left for her own bed, dragging her feet with exhaustion.

The two brothers quickly dropped their bags at the feet of their individual beds and promptly proceeded to crash. Despite their fatigue, their night was anything but restful. Mako worried for a long time about his brother, keeping himself awake unintentionally; while Bolin slept, but was plagued with nightmares.

They awoke the next day, feeling remarkably shitty. Early morning sunlight was only just starting to filter through the blinds on the window, and so they had a lot of time to discuss their night before Korra came to get them for breakfast.

It was awkward, to say the least. Word of new arrivals, in the dead of night, had spread like wild fire among the island residents, and the rumor of the new avatar’s identity had likewise made its way around here. By virtue of knowing Korra, everybody knew (or guessed) that one of these two newcomers were supposedly the avatar. Everybody was staring, only Korra, Tenzin, and an older woman who they boys could only guess was Tenzin’s wife, weren’t oggling; but rather offering comforting smiles.

They couldn’t say that for the three kids that sat next to Tenzin and her, though. The youngest kept babbling, stage whispering about them to his father as if the entire island couldn’t hear him. The younger of the two daughters was unabashedly gossiping, and had even passed by to ask them a few questions - though she was called back by Tenzin rather quickly. The eldest one had thus far been content with simply looking at them.

It was all very, very awkward. Thankfully, Tenzin saved them from the stares, as he invited them to come on a morning meditation session with him, away from all these people. They, along with Korra, made their way to what seemed to be an art installation. it was an ancient air bender artifact, Tenzin explained, to help train airbenders to move like a leaf in the wind.

"But that’s not why I brought you here,“ he said, after seeing Bolin’s terrified expression. "It is away from the other residents, and my children are not due for perhaps another hour or so. We can discuss here without being interrupted.”

Bolin calmed down. He was more happy than he ought to be about not being in an office for this. He’d always been a city boy, but in his heart he was an outdoor’s kid; loving to play in the mud, walk through forested areas, or even just lie in the grass. He doubted now would be a good time to lie down, though, and opted to sit.

the other followed suit.

"So Korra told me you waterbended yesterday?“ Tenzin asked.

"Uh, yeah… I suppose I did. It was all very quick and I didn’t even realized I was the one who did it.” Bolin replied.

"It was his first time,“ Mako said. "During the match, the other team was trying to hit me with an illegal move and Bolin stopped them.”

"It was awesome!“ Korra piped up. "He wasn’t even close to the water and he moved it with one hand, like-” she imitated how Bolin haad used one hand to move the water jet from afar.

Tenzin hummed, thoughtful, stroking his goatee. “Interesting. But perhaps my sister, Kya, would be better suited to help you. She is a waterbender, after all.”

Bolin didn’t know who or where this Kya, but she obviously wasn’t here right now. “Uh, I mean I’m sure she’s awesome, but, like, can she help me now?” He didn’t want to be forced into exile as they waited for someone to come from either of the water tribes.

"I’m afraid that, if immediate help is what you seek, Korra is your best bet.“ He managed to make it sound both like a compliment and as if he should worry. "But before all that, if I may ask this of you, could you waterbend for me?” The thinky veiled excitement in Tenzin’s voice didnot go unnoticed.

"I mean-“ Bolin cast a glance at Mako and Korra- "I can try, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to.” If he were fully honest with himself, Bolin wouldn’t even be entirely sure he had truly waterbended if it hadn’t been for the sudden sharp turn the water jet had taken, away from his brother.

“No stress,” Mako told him, clamping a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

Korra mirrored Mako. “I know you can do it again.”

"How come?“ he asked, feeling a bit more inspired.

"Because i know you,” she said, like it explained everything. And in a way it did.

Nodding both to himself and his team, he took a step forward. Intent on doing this, he got into his probending stance before he realized he hadn’t any water with him. Korra stepped up to him, unhooking one of her waterskins from her belt and handing it to him. Bashful, he tied to his waist and uncapped it. Some water spilled as he fidgeted.

He’d seen Korra do this before, and he had waterbended once already… he could do this. Placing kn hand on the waterskin, he rested the other over the opening; and much like one drew a katana in a deadly arc, Bolin swung his arm out confidently, sinking minutely into his stance. It looked very impressive.

But nothing happened. So he cleared his throat, retrieved his arm and did it again, a little more forceful. But the water did not move, except from his jostling. Maybe he wasn’t focusing enough; he took a breather, and thought. Be unmoveable, he told himself, you can move the earth with your fists, water will be a cinch.

He tried again, and again, feeling odder and odder with each attempt. Was he relieved or frustrated? Part of him heaved a sigh of relief, oh thank the spirits it isn’t me… but the other part of him was groing ever more frustrated; he’d done this (right?) so why wasn’t it working now?! Eventually, he stopped. A beat of silence followed.

"Bro, i-“

"Guess i’m not the avatar.” His voice was between weary and relieved.

Wordlessly, Korra uncapped her waterskin and whipped out her arms in a well-practised motion. A huge ball of water formed in front of her and shot out at Bolin. He barely had time to even see it coming, much less get out of the way, and it was all he could do to throw his arms up in a lousy attemlt to keep some part of him dry.

"Korra!“ Tenzin cried, outraged. He had turned to her, an entire sermont on why one shouldn’t soak their guests, when Mako gasped.

"You did it,” Mako said inabreathless whisper.

Korra looked on at Tenzin, a smug grin on her face. “I figured he needed a stresser or something to kickstart him. Look at him now,” she said, nodding at Bolin.

He had been holding up the ball of water, looking at it, mesmerized. Now he’d started pulling it into a shaky strand with one hand. His hand followed through in the same fashion he’d been doing, but this time he felt different. Before he’d been like a rock on the shore; unmoveable object, but eroded by the water, always pushing. But now he felt it deep in his gut, the pullwaterbenders always spoke of.

"So this is waterbending…“ Bolin breathed out, just as the moment passed and the shape broke, splashing water all over his feet. "Gah-! Come on!”

The other three seemed pretty amused, and Tenzin was also visibly excited. He stepped forward, almost all up in Bolin’s face in his excitement.

"This is fantastic! Do you know what this means, Bolin!“ he said, grabbing the young man by the shoulders and shaking him lightly.

"Uh-”

"The avatar is back!“ He seemed overly excited about that, but Bolin reminded himself that Korra said he was pretty intense whenever things related to airbending. "I can teach you airbending, my boy!”

Case in point, Bolin thought ruefully. It was difficult not to get swept up in Tenzin’s excitement.

Wait. “Airbending? Is that harder than waterbending?. he asked, feeling a momentary jet of dread. If it was, he didn’t know if he could ever make a blast of air, much less airbend like Aang.

"Ah, well, hm. That depends, I suppose,” Tenzin replied, taking a step back in thought. “To me and my children it came naturally, and it was the first element my father mastered, while earth was the most difficult for him. So I’d suppose that for you it might be the most difficult to work with.”

Well that put the damper of the century on Bolin’s spirit. If water seemed insurmountable, and air was supposed to be harder, he doubted he could ever do it.

"So you mean I might never-. he whipped out his hand, a small blast of air shooting out- “airbend?”

A beat of silence as they all took in what happened. Tenzin looked absolutely ready to burst with excitement, a wide grin plastered on his face; Korra was looking at him wide-eyed, like he’d popped a backflip (he had done so before and she had the same exact look), eyebrows all the way up in quiet surprise; and Mako…

Mako looekd at him in a way he never did before. Eyebrows raised slightly - only slightly, as Mako almsot enver let his pokerface slip - mouth a little open and eyes… His eyes were almost glowing. Like those fans that came up to him, reverred.

And…

it hurt.

Not for the first time in his life, Bolin wondered what his brother could be thinking; how he was feeling. Would he think differently of bolin now that they both knew he was the Avatar?

Would he be jealous? Who wouldn’t be though; he told himself. But would he act differently towards him? Or would he become even more protective, like Bolin was made of glass now that he’d have a world-wide target painted on his back?

Bolin glanced to his side, and saw Korra was actively negagin Tenzin in a conversation; she had them facing away, but as if she could feel his yes on her, she glanced at him.

He looked back at Mako. “Uh, um, bro..?” he asked, suddenly feeling like a small child all over again.

Mako shook off whatever had gotten into him. “Yeah, what is it?” Bolin couldn’t tell if there was anything in his voice that would not have been there before.

"Does me being…. he paused, then started again. “Is… Uh, are you… gonna treat-”

Mako cut him off. “No, I won’t.” He walked forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an earthbender, waterbender, air, or all of the above. Or none of them! You are my brother-” he put extra emphasis on every word- “Okay? I’ll always be there for you. I love you, Bo.”

He felt like crying, and he did. He hugged Mako fiercely; he’d been so afraid of things changing for the worst. “I love you too.”

#ktlcart #lok #legend of korra #bolin #korra #mako #tenzin #AU #fanfic

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