#I feel so many feelings for them both Baatar especially

[cold-neon-ocean]

Omigooooooaaaashhh 😭😭😭 your last post!!! Somebody PLEEEAASE SAVE BAATAR FROM HIS OWN MIND!! I literally know the feeling of fighting with yourself and your own thoughts and it's truly exhausting, nerve wrecking and draining!! But to have them centered around people who have extraordinary powerful abilities that literally change both the physical world and spiritual world HAS to be torture!! Omigosh by beautiful baby boy needs therapy!!

NO FOR REAL IM TRULY BEGGING HIM TO SEEK A GOOD THERAPIST LIKE SIR PLEASE 😭😭

Kuvira can just see on his face when he starts Thinking Too Much and then has to divert his attention lest he be consumed by the horrors of his own thoughts kshsjs Baatar doesn't like being fussed over like he's helpless and she knows that, but she can't help but check on his heart rate often to tell if he's having an anxiety spike or not. Especially when they're in public because it happens. He'll suddenly realize he's just surrounded by people who he can't ever know the intentions of and he'll just start quietly internally panicking and Kuv can't help but pick up his heart rate through the ground and have to go rescue him from himself :')

Like when he was captured and held hostage by Korra and she threatened him with the Avatar state, sure he called her bluff but that has to be the number one fear of any non-bender because what could they possibly do in response to that? He pretty much had his fear of being subjected to the mercy of someone with bending realized- in the worst possible scenario imaginable, and all he could do was try and talk his way out of it. And yeah Korra would have never hurt him in front of his family but he was still humiliated in front of them all the same. He's a champion at masking his feelings on the surface but I can only imagine how heart attack enduring as a non-bender being threatened by the Avatar themselves would be.

He's got so many mental anguishes going on at once, his status as a non-bender, how that has damaged his relationship with his family, his identity crisis, and also how he internalizes how Kuvira has felt outcast and he just reflexively gets angry for her. The man truly needs a mental health intervention because insisting that he can handle it all on his own has not been going as well as he thinks it has ajshsj

I've reoccuringly daydreamed about the scenario where Baatar does start going to therapy and detangling all his cumulative damage and feelings like that's truly what I want for him the most, some mental peace ;;

[wilcze-kudly]

Asking the azula=shaman theory, because I find it very unlikely. They don't have similar features at all.

I'll agree with you there. Other than surface level similarities, like eye colour and perhaps hairstyle, there isn't much to definitively tie these two characters together.

I could make an argument that people age in different ways and Azula wears a lot of makeup, so her face may not be as angular as it seems in most of her appearances. But it would be somewhat of a stretch at best

Though the idea of Azula being the shaman got stuck in my head and the more I think about it, the more of a perfect conclusion to Azula's story it feels.

It would, of course mean that Azula mellowed out and became "good" in her later years, which I am still advocating adamantly for an Azula redemption arc.

But it goes further than that.

Of course, the idea of Azula saving the next Avatar after the one she literally killed for a bit is wonderfully poetic. It also touches on an idea I like of Azula potentially gaining a connection to Roku. Roku appeared to Jeong Jeong, why not to his angsty great granddaughter? I think it would be interesting, especially since I think he could actually get through to her.

The firebending healing thing is also bery interesting. Most people catch Katara and Azula being parallels in the show. Why would they stop being that as they age? I think it's very Azula to hear of Katara being a master healer and going "ok. Bet." and learning to work with chi through her bending as well.

It's also a sweet metaphor, as I've spoken a little about the symbolism of Katara embracing healing in her old age. Azula doing something similar would be absolutely wonderful. Both Katara and Azula were young women forced to fight in a war by circumstances bigger than them, so them finally experiencing peace and healing and expressing that through their bending is beautiful.

The shaman having raising Sky Bisons is also a cute full circle type thing to the part of Appa's Lost Days where Azula scares him. It also goes deeper, with it being a symbolic attempt at restoring at least a semblance of what her ancestors destroyed.

So, you can see why I'm partial to this theory, despite it not having many actual footholds. The Shaman is implied to be older then Azula, and you yourself have said that not all their features match.

Similarly to my "Baatar Sr is a Sukka kid" theory, this isn't something I believe, or even see as likeely in canon. However, I think it's neat and a cool story the more you think about it. I love trying to come up with ideas on how she got to becoming a shaman and the spiritual endeavour that would take.I think that, in my mind, it would be an almost perfect ending for Azula.

To be completely honest, I just want Azula to have a proper redemption and for her to see some healing.

[xdiana97x]

Why Kuvira is my most beloved and comfort character from Legend of Korra I have ever met and why I ship Suyin and Kuvira.

This breaks me every time cause I had an horrible childhood before I got adopted. I often had and after all have issues to see my foster parents and their biological son's as family.

Kuvira is some one who always try to help in her own way, that she's afraid lose people that she care for It's a habit I have, I try to find always a solution for the people around me to make them happy and I'm tired loose people. (YES she try to kill Baatar Jr, but she was under heavy pressure, overwhelmed by her own issues in the end and just wanted to find order. But especially in Runis of the Empire we can see more about the side she change and feel sorry for everything she did.)

I'm a person who got diagnosed in my early twentys with PTSD, BPD and heavy depression. May it's more my opinion but I see in Kuvira mental health issues too. Most because of her childhood. The fact that Suyin made also mistakes with her are reasons why it make sense for me and that she completely lock down her feelings before she fired that kannon (It's a thing what I do when I gave to make big and heavy decisions)

All of this is my personal opinion and my head canon but I think that Su had Kuvira maybe titeld as "daughter" for people that ask for and give statement for public but never seen her as one she more saw her self in Kuvira and try to give her everything . Suyin gave Kuvira the opportunity to join her guards, let her rank up to the captain position and I guess Kuvira was also teached for political stuff to lead Zaofu some day and she let Kuvira work in the end as her own bodyguard (because why the f.... Kuvira is around Su when she had that discussion with Tenzin and Raiko when she would be just a simple guard) and they both spend a lot time together with out family , before Suyin made the decision to not help the earth kingdom. (I mean Kuvira is in S3 never seen as part of the family and is not part of the family picture on her desk or when they have dinner she also isn't around to keep her out and that's make for me clear she is not her daughter ).

Opal ask about later in Runis of the Empire Su this and she didn't give a real answer to this. She just say it's not the right time now and is some where with her throughs. I mean look how sad she look here, or should I say worried about her beloved baby girl. And Su set everything on it to get Kuvira back at home and ignore the fact that Junior will never see Kuvira again. Cause Su just realized she can't live without her.

This here are also not away I would look at my "daughter". The simeles are to obvious that there is more.

AFTER ALL THIS IS MY PERSONAL OPINION.

Plus:

I know many are disgusted because of the age gab and the "she raised her like a daughter" thing. But tbh If Kuvira would be a true part and adoptive daughter, she would not go with Baatar Jr in relationship and would see him as brother. So please go away with this arguments. Kuvira never saw Su really as Mother. The thing between Baatar Jr and Kuvira is for me more like an committed that Su wanted in the beginning before Kuvira did her own thing and take Junior with her , to give her a better spotlight in the publicity.

Oh and I can say there is a really good fan comic "Young Kuvira" made by @mashersan that explains a lot more why Suvira is something.

[pizzarollsareokayiguess]

Close Enough? (Kuvira x Reader)

This is a Kuvira imagine, reader and Kuvira are not established. K? Also, this will be sad :D questionable ending. if you want more, ask and you shall receive <3

TW: blood, spoilers for LOK Season 4  WC: 2620

Kuvira’s reign across the Earth kingdom had started to slow as she was met with resistance from Zaofu and the Avatar. Dealing with them had been easy, beating Korra had been easier, and now she was on her way to Republic City, to rightfully claim the district as official property of the Earth Kingdom. 

Kuvira felt powerful having so many people support her, especially when it came to her. Y/n had been there at the beginning, supporting Kuvira and boosting her esteem so much so, Kuvira’s own motivation took the step forward to claim the Earth Kingdom. Locked eyes, lingering touches, shivering shoulders made up the tension between the two; with the passion of war, it made it all that more bitter sweet. So why did Kuvira feel this way? She knew that y/n was loyal, perhaps the most loyal of them all, and yet the little voice in her head was screaming that something, somewhere, someone was going to betray her. Zhu Li was kind of a given but y/n? Trusting, beautiful, y/n? 

Kuvira’s relationship with Baatar, in her eyes, was political: losing him would be surprising, considering how strong his feelings were against his own mother. Could he be persuaded? Hopefully not, but yet here we are.

Kuvira’s hands were formed into fists as she listened to his pleading. Leave this? Now? We are so close, why would I give up now? Why would I when the last piece of the puzzle is in my hands?

Aiming the spirit weapon towards his location was easy. Pulling the trigger was even easier. But the voice in her head was now a full roar, claiming that no one was loyal, no one was on her side. So as the war machine rebounded from the shot it took, Kuvira straightened her shoulders and looked to her left. Sitting in one of the command chairs, was y/n. Back straight, hair gleaming, Kuvira wanted to swallow her whole, wanted to take her existence and keep it to herself. Y/n might have been lying this entire time, and Kuvira didn’t want to lose her to the avatar. That is one thing she couldn’t stand for, losing this war was not an option and Kuvira would do anything to reach her goal.

“Y/n.”

Snapping her head towards Kuvira, she stood and walked over, placing herself to the left of the platform. Looking her in the eyes, Kuvira stood even taller and her plan was falling into place. This will be easy.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Kuvira commanded the remaining soldiers to stay in their positions and alert her if there are any changes. Knowing the efficiency of the spirit weapon, she doubted that the avatar would have survived the latest shot.

Stepping off of the platform, Kuvira and y/n walked down into the belly of the weapon, where the roar of the machine made the thundering in her heart a little lighter. They came to a stopping point and y/n’s shoulders relaxed. It was just the two of them, perhaps this was a pre-game to victory? Kuvira was faced away from y/n and she could see where the muscle tensed in the uniform that Kuvira wore. Where the metal framed her shoulders and where it flared at her waist and constricted at her knees. She wondered how long it would take her to map every freckle that Kuvira had. Not knowing how many, she wondered if she would have the opportunity to ever count. Is this going to be it? She snapped her eyes back up when Kuvira turned around, crowding her space.

“It’s happening. The end is near and victory will be ours,” Kuvira murmured.

Their eyes were locked and their breaths were shared. How y/n craved to get closer.

“You’ve done wonderfully, I can’t imagine any other trying to accomplish what you have,” y/n whispered. 

Kuvira smirked, “Oh? Tell me, y/n, what have I accomplished?”

Y/n shivered, hearing her name come from her lips was a taste of heaven that she wanted every drop of. She wanted more, she craved more, so she easily answered, if only to savor every drop.

“Conquering the city-states, making the lords bow to you, creating a super weapon that is extremely effective, and should I mention the fact that you won against Korra?”

Toe to toe, their noses almost touched, their breaths were clouding each other and y/n jumped at the feeling of gloved hands fiddling with her own. Oh. Oh Oh-

“I could stand to hear more, if you’ll humor me,” Kuvira whispered.

Y/n took the jump and linked her left hand around Kuvira’s, and she looked her straight in the eyes. She could smell the metal and lavender that left Kuvira and y/n thought she would erupt. 

“Taking apart Zaofu to create something for yourself in a direct response to Su, you are incredibly powerful and what I wouldn’t do-”

Kuvira brought her face to y/n and latched herself to her lips. Her right hand clutched the back of her neck and she squeezed, playing with the hairs that rested there. Her left hand traveled from y/n’s hands to her lower back, pulling y/n forward. 

Y/n felt conquered and completed and finished, any word you could think of, her brain had fried with the machine and her insides turned to jelly. Being placed in Kuvira’s arms and kissing her was something that Y/n yearned for. Her center throbbed and she looped her arms around Kuvira’s neck. She wanted all that Kuvira could give her. Even if Kuvira left her now to take out an entire city, Y/n could live with that, her spark of life had turned into an inferno and had burned her inside out. She wanted to share that fire with Kuvira and as if the devil had knocked on her door, Kuvira licked her bottom lip and Y/n was so easy. She would let Kuvira do whatever she pleased, even right here on the machinery floor. She was entranced by the whole essence of Kuvira. She whimpered when her lip was bitten and she sighed when Kuvira seemed to ravage her being. Closer- She needed to be closer-

Pain.

Wha-

What is that?

Heat radiated from her side, what is-

Y/n’s eyes snapped open and she pulled herself from Kuvira. Kuvira had a grimace on her face, her eyebrows drawn together and lips tightened into a line.

Y/n’s breath stuttered and she looked down, red was encompassing her right side. She had been- Kuvira?- Why would she? Kuvira stabbed her? What?

Kuvira metal bended the weapon back into her sleeve and caught Y/n as she started to get dizzy. She lowered her to the grated ground as Y/n clutched her jacket, hissing in pain. Lips red, cheeks flushed, your eyes are so pretty like this..  Kuvira held y/n’s head in her lap as blood dripped from her wound. Pity, how distraught you look. The voice claimed victory and screamed in her head. See? How easy? The avatar will never touch her and the city will be yours. Just flatten the republic and you’re as good as gold.

But it wasn’t easy. Kuvira’s eyes watered but never flushed.

“I had to, for you, for me. I have to finish this now, I hope you understand.”

Kuvira placed her head gently on the ground, taking advantage of y/n’s stunned silence. Wiping her eyes, she left y/n there and composed herself to rejoin the bridge. Scaring the officers on deck, she ordered them to continue, they had a city to recapture.

Then a hummingbird got too close to the sun.

Her chance at freedom was disabled.

And the avatar, as always, brought balance to the world.

…

Her whole body hurt.

 It would start as a dull throb and then crescendo into a sharp point that radiated from her right side. Y/n was stunned, when she said that she would let Kuvira take over the world, she didn’t really expect to be a martyr. But did she really believe in Kuvira still? The blood that was staining her uniform said no, but the stuttering of her heart and the tears on her face said otherwise. She was gonna die in the center of destruction, how fitting. At least it was warm. . . She closed her eyes to the rhythm of a stepping behemoth and took a breath, knowing her fate was just the same as Baatar. They were both foolish, loving someone who couldn’t feel anything and yet thinking, I’m different. I can change her, she will love me, right?

Look how that turned out.

A shrill screech interrupted y/n’s pity party and she opened her eyes to see Su and Lin Beifong. Their determined eyes meeting hers. At that moment, she was made priority number two; number one being the destruction of the spirit weapon. Once the Beifong sisters had wreaked havoc with their metal bending, Lin dropped down to y/n. Gently placing her arms around her shoulders and her knees, Lin rejoined Su. The trio was then tossed around the metal tavern surrounding them before they tethered themselves to the wall. When the spirit weapon finally descended and crashed to the ground, y/n had passed out from blood loss. Stepping out from the carnage, the sisters stopped the bleeding enough that it wouldn’t cause a mortal end. Once they were satisfied with her steadying heartbeat they placed her with the other wounded. Then, they turned to finish the war. 

. . .

Y/n had heard that Kuvira surrendered after she witnessed the power of the one and only avatar. To be honest, y/n was shaken to her core after finding out that Korra created another spirit portal. The avatar was so powerful- she created a rip in space and caused two different worlds to mesh together in a brand new location? Holy Avatar did y/n regret being on the wrong side. 

Repercussions were being made of course. Baatar Jr was to spend life in house arrest for his involvement in the spirit weapon. After being seen by water benders, y/n’s trial was next, and she entered the courtroom in a wheel-chair. Although the wound didn’t sever any major organs, it was a major stress to the body and her back muscles were cut clean through so major movements weren’t recommended. That wasn’t the worst of it.

The hurt that clouded her heart had leaked to her eyes and her brain and she felt numb. Her brain kept going in a loop, kuvira’s eyes, blood, floor, kuvira’s eyes, blood, floor,- y/n was stuck in a mental carousel that try as she might she couldn’t get off of. She could sense the person behind her who was pushing the chair and when she looked up, she could see the council in all their respective colors and robes. She stopped moving and two officers stepped up behind her. But she didn’t try to escape. What was the point? She would take the punishment and move on. What about kuvira, don’t you wanna know why? Did it matter? Did the heat spread to her too? Move on. move on. move on?

The shuffling of papers interrupted the parade of self-pity that y/n seemed to be the mayor of and she dragged her eyes away from her fiddling hands to look up. Korra was there too. Should y/n bow? Korra saved everyone’s lives and without her-

“-without knowing the direct involvement of the individual before us how can we decide her fate?”

“She didn’t help with the weapon? What about the seizing of the city states? Anything?”

“Baatars testimony proves negative on the first but other witnesses say that she is seen on several occasions with Kuvira herself.”

y/n flinched. Pain pain pain 

“Well, Beifong, your jurisdiction houses the inmates, what say you?” The woman in question sighed and y/n wished she could sigh too without being condescending. Jail or home? Not that hard of a question.

“Community service. Either with the water benders or the rehabilitation of the city. I don’t want this one near my jail.”

. . .What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is she not good enough for jail? For Beifong’s jail? Rude.

“Then it’s settled. Y/n L/n, you are hereby sentenced to 25 years of community service, provided by the council before you and supervised by the United Republic of Nations. Dismissed.”

Y/n nodded and bowed her head to show respect to the leaders that handed her fate to her. Much better than house arrest. 

. . .

Y/n heard later that Kuvira was given a second chance, because Korra saw something in her that she saw in herself. Kuvira was sent to Zaofu to live out her house arrest with her adoptive family. Baatar is there too? Is she allowed to ask? Did he give her a second chance? Would y/n? Y/n was stationed near the infrastructure creation center in the city. She was there to help rebuild. Lin was her only visitor. Y/n’s family was disgraced that she chose the wrong side and she didn’t have any friends besides Kuvira, who happened to be a couple flying bison away. Lin would ask her how her wound was doing and Y/n would tell her. Then Lin would end the visit by insulting y/n’s bending and then she’d leave. It was nice. Y/n had a feeling that Lin felt sorry for her, did she know that y/n was betrayed by the one she thought she loved? Did Lin know that the inferno that raged within her dwindled to a flicker of heat? Sometimes it seemed that way when the silence got too loud but then Lin would go back to insulting her. She needed that routine. She probably would have been lost without it. 

Y/n was back to moving again and on a nice, sunny day in republic city; she was just about to finish the base to an apartment complex with the other volunteers (If you want to call them that, y/n faintly recognized some of the earth benders from Kuvira’s forces). When Korra had pulled up near the site on her polar bear dog. Jumping off of the animal, Korra waited until the supervisor started talking to her. After several beats, the supervisor nodded and shouted across the field, summoning y/n towards him.

Meeting them on the edge, y/n respectfully greeted them both before questioning the avatar’s presence. 

She sighed, “Many of the soldiers lived in Zaofu before the war, you were one of them. The metal domes are in grave need of assistance and since you are tasked with community service, it seems fitting that you return there.” “Is that all? I thought this was supposed to be a punishment? Wouldn’t going back home be a little too comfortable for me?” Not if Kuvira’s there, laughing with her eyes closed, hair frizzy from the day, freckles winking in the sunshine.

“Su requested it. Said, ‘that your greatest potential was misplaced with love that had nowhere to go’” Korra sighed.

Y/n felt like she got slapped in the face by the avatar. That would’ve been better. Of course Su knew y/n, she practically raised the child. Su saw the wandering eyes and the yearning sighs, she wasn’t stupid. 

And yet, here she was, extending a hand of forgiveness, a hand withered by betrayal, a feeling that y/n knew quite well.

Should she take it?

[phantompearlsalt]

Sour Cherry, Chapter 17

Preview AND the real deal in one day? I’m on a roll 😎 But in all seriousness: super happy I could share this (more or less) on time with everyone! I’ve started working on a side project I’ll share more about tomorrow so I’m still figuring out my writing schedule. Also promise I’ll respond to all asks this week as well! As always, feel free to check out this chapter on AO3 and know that I adore all kudos, comments, asks, etc. You all make this journey such a gift ❤️

These days, things somehow felt slow and exciting at the same time — it was odd. There was so much at stake and all of it lay within the borders of Republic City. In a few weeks time, Kuvira’s spirit cannon would reach completion and the army would be on its way to claim all that remained to consecrate the Empire.

Although you still find yourself caught up the more bureaucratic aspects of the work — paperwork, meetings, more paperwork — it feels like you can almost touch the weight of anticipation that hangs in the air. Nothing else slows down but everyone appears to hold a collective breath as Baatar works on the final touches of the machine.

Today in particular, you decide to take a trip to engineering. Kuvira is nowhere to be found so you assume she’s off in some pressing meeting with her sergeants. Perhaps strategizing for the City’s response and especially the Avatar’s. Given the scope of the army’s proposed attack, you can’t possibly imagine anyone, not even Korra, withstanding such magnitude of force.

You feel a slight twinge in your chest at the thought of what lies ahead. You think of Bolin, Varrick, and Zhu Li. You wonder whether Raiko will willingly submit to Kuvira and spare the damages that will transpire if he doesn’t.

But at this point, you know better than that. If the United Republic had wanted to end things peacefully, Kuvira would have already reached an accord with them. It was clear no one was willing to budge so you could only hope that the damages would be as minimal as possible.

You stroll into the warehouse, following the sharp sounds of electricity and metal clanking together. A number of privates salute you as you walk past and you offer them reassuring smiles. “At ease, privates,” you chuckle. Despite how much time has passed, you’ll never grow accustomed to the way people interact with you for being both Kuvira’s significant other and a critical role in her Inner Circle.

Baatar recognizes your voice and he looks down from the platform several feet above you. He calls your name excitedly and you can’t help but grin. Admittedly you’ve never been too fond of the man (even back in Zaofu) but you would be wrong to deny all of the incredible work he’s put into bringing the army this far along. Plus, he’s done his best to get on your good side once it became clear his chances with Kuvira were effectively eliminated.

“How’re things going up there?” you call out.

“They’re going,” Baatar responds, somewhat disillusioned. Your brow furrows together and you cross your arms.

“What’s the matter? You don’t sound too pleased,” you remark.

“I can’t seem to make the connection between the cannon and the suit’s body...each piece functions properly on its own but the wiring simply won’t synthesize everything together,” he explains.

“Hm...I’m not sure how much help I could be but could I come check it out at least? If anything it’ll be a good way for me to admire all your handiwork,” you say.

Baatar smiles halfheartedly and sighs. “I suppose. Perhaps there’s something you might notice that I haven’t been able to. Five straight hours can do that to someone,” he admits, leaning over to press the yellow button that unfolds a metal staircase.

Once it lands on the floor with a soft clink, you leap onto it and head up until you’re within an arm’s length from Baatar. Being much closer to him you can see the lines of exhaustion etched below his eyes. His hair is gelled down neatly, though some strands of it fall along his temples where it sticks to a thin film of perspiration.

“Baatar...have you seriously been working on this for five hours straight?” you ask.

He appears confused by the question and purses his lips. “Of course I have. What else would I be working on?” he replies.

“I understand but...you should take a break soon. At least a half hour or something,” you recommend. He vehemently shakes his head in protest.

“Absolutely not. Kuvira wouldn’t allow it and with good reason. Every moment wasted on anything other than this machine is more time lost to take Republic City for the Empire. I will not be the reason everything we’ve worked for is lost,” he states.

You stay quiet, watching him worriedly before you release a soft sigh. You always knew Baatar to be...a deeply passionate man since joining Kuvira. From what you had pieced together during your conversations with her, you learned that he grew up in his father’s shadow. He was always praised as the mirror image of the older Baatar, with an aptitude for design and engineering.

When he joined Kuvira, it was probably the first time in his life that something was entirely his own. Not an addition to his father’s work, not a continuation of everything so many people expected of him. What he created was novel, powerful, and completely his own.

Understandably, he had grown so invested in this final display of his autonomy and innovation that any potential threat to it was unfathomable.

“It’s alright, I understand,” you reassure him, stepping forward and tentatively resting your hand on his forearm. You feel him tense beneath you and you wish he hadn’t because now it feels even more awkward. You’ve never felt the urge to offer him any sort of comfort until now but then he relaxes and you can slide your hand away without feeling too uncomfortable.

“So!” you exclaim, hoping to break the odd tension. “You said you were having trouble connecting the cannon to the rest of the suit?”

“Indeed,” Baatar sighs. He peers into gaping machinery, sifting through thick cords of wiring and metal. “I’ve checked for any and all missing pieces and there isn’t a single thing out of place. I wonder if you’d be able to see anything I might be missing.”

You chew on your lower lip, growing nervous at the prospect of going anywhere near the obviously complicated technology. The chances of you damaging anything are close to none...though they aren’t quite zero.

Nevertheless, you lean forward just an inch to gaze upon the convoluted maze coiled within the massive platinum encasements. None of it makes sense to you and you feel foolish even bothering to check.

Even so, you angle your hand forward and throw Bataar a questioning look. He nods and you start carefully pushing aside the cords in hopes of seeing, well, something.

At the exact moment you feel an indentation in one of the metal fibers, you hear the echo of footsteps below and the sound of Kuvira’s voice. You mean to pull away in excitement but the hem of your sleeve gets caught.

Grumbling, you manage to pull it away but not before feeling a sensation pulse through your body that’s lightning hot and stinging all the same. The pain concentrates in your arm for a split second and your eyes are forced closed.

The only thing you’re aware of is the muffled sound of shouting around you beneath your own screaming before your head crashes against something cold and hard and your vision fades into complete darkness.

---

“This could have been so much worse, Baatar. Do you have any idea how much worse this could have been?”

The voice sounds distant, almost warped, as if it were coming from another room. Wait...are you in a room? It feels still and quiet so you assume you are.

Your eyes are sealed shut and it feels like your brain is trying to push out of your skull. When you try to twitch your fingers, a searing pain shoots up your left arm and a pained sound gets caught in your throat.

Okay. So no moving yet.

You inhale slowly and wince at the sharp ache in your ribs and your chest. Other than that, nothing hurts too bad if you stay relatively still so you focus on maintaining a careful breath.

As you start to grow accustomed to the aches and pains, you let your eyelids flutter open. Well, flutter almost seems too glamorous to describe the heavy feeling when you peel them apart. It feels like you’ve had them shut for weeks.

You try not to move your head around too much as you scan your surroundings, realizing you’re back in the tent you share with Kuvira. The lanterns have been blown out so you assume it’s nighttime until you hear the voices again.

“Kuvira, I apologize profusely for my lapse in judgement. I should have known better than to—”

“You’re right. You should have known better and you didn’t. Baatar, I expect nothing but the utmost professionalism from you and now is not the time to make such potentially fatal errors.”

Though you can’t see anything, you clearly envision what poor Baatar’s face must look like: crumpled in defeat and tight with regret. You want to get up and reassure him you’re okay, though you aren’t really sure what happened in the first place.

Instead, you clear your throat and before you can even open your mouth, Kuvira’s voice whispers something rushedly before she bends the door open and steps inside. You expect to see Baatar join her but she enters alone, sliding it shut and preventing anyone else from entering.

“You’re awake,” Kuvira sighs, rushing over to you and kneeling at your side. Her hands hover over your arm, unsure, and it catches you off guard. Kuvira’s self-assurance rarely falters — when it does, it’s a cause for concern.

“I am,” you affirm, attempting a soft grin before you try to push yourself up. As your left arm protests in agony, you realize it’s been bandaged with multiple layers of thick gauze. Kuvira notices your confused expression and her face grows grim.

“What happened?” you ask. Kuvira stares at your arm for a few moments in thick silence, almost as if her capacity to speak had been plucked from her throat the instant you broached the subject.

“There was a damaged piece of armored cable,” she eventually says. “Between the wiring and what little spirit energy was being transmitted from the suit’s core, it was exposed enough to deliver a shock that knocked you out for hours.”

Ah. So that explained the bandaged arm and why everything else seared in a dull, muted ache.

“Hours? That’s better than what I thought,” you joked. “I could’ve sworn I was out for weeks!” You attempt to laugh but Kuvira finally looks up at you and her expression is so grave it effectively shuts down whatever attempt you make to lighten the situation.

“You could have been,” she hisses. “Had you gotten any closer to that damaged material who knows what could have—I don’t know what I—”

“Kuvira,” you interrupt. Her eyes slide shut and she grips the bedsheet tight, closing her fist over the material with a force that would break anything else if it were more solid. You manage to lift yourself up with your good arm and once you’re upright, you press your palm against her cheek.

“I’m okay, really I am,” you reassure her. “It’s probably just some bruising here and there. Plus my arm will be good in no time, you’ll see.”

“I know that, it’s just…” Kuvira’s voice trails off for a few moments before she can continue. She swallows hard and exhales shakily. “I walked in exactly as it happened and...it looked like you were gone. I heard you scream and when you went quiet, your body hit the ground and I could’ve sworn you...you weren’t there anymore.”

“I’m here now, Kuvira,” you murmur, dragging your thumb over her cheekbone in that way she loves but has never actually verbalized. You maintain a slow pace until you feel Kuvira melt into your touch, her features softening.

“I’m right here with you, alright?” you tell her. “I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’m going to be okay and I promise I’ll be more careful. Now why don’t we go on a walk and maybe grab some tea?”

“No,” Kuvira responds quickly. “You stay here and I’ll bring you whatever you need. Besides, it’s late and you should be resting anyway. We’ll spend the night in the tent and see how you’re feeling tomorrow. Just...wait here.”

She leans forward to press her lips against your temple, staying there for a moment, confirming to herself that you’re really alive, and then breaks away with a reluctant stride. You sigh but smile inwardly, leaning back and hoping you get better soon so Kuvira will feel more at ease.

---

True to form, you recover within the span of a few days from the worst of it all. You take it easy in the days immediately succeeding the accident, even finding some spare time to meet with Baatar and assure him there’s no bad blood. He can’t find it in himself to accept forgiveness, though frankly you don’t blame any of it on him. You make it a point to eat the occasional meal with him when time permits...something you never envisioned doing mere months ago.

Character development indeed.

Though your arm takes longer to heal, you get back to work within three days time, albeit with slightly less mobility. Nevertheless, you approach your assignments with the same level of attention and detail as you would any other time.

However, the one thing that remains the same is Kuvira’s unwillingness to stay away from you for longer than thirty minute intervals.

Ever since the accident, she stays by your side almost nonstop except when she’s called away for business that doesn’t involve you. A hand on your waist when you lift yourself off a chair, her arms circling you as you get out of bed, her fingers guiding you towards an exit when there are too many people nearby.

Today, you’re filing away the last of the latest shipment updates from Yi. You sigh and Kuvira looks up from across the room. “Are you alright? Are you in pain?” she asks worriedly.

You bite your lip with hopes that it’ll stop you from rolling your eyes as you shake your head. “I’m fine, Kuvira,” you respond. “Head’s just feeling loaded from all these files. I think I’m going to close out for the day.”

“Of course. Let me take you to our quarters,” Kuvira replies, shoving away whatever she was working on and making her way towards you. She offers you her hand which you take, not without some exasperation.

“I can get there on my own, you know,” you remind her, hoping you don’t come off as too abrasive. Luckily it seems to go over her head because Kuvira is too preoccupied with making sure your knee doesn’t smash against the desk or that the wall doesn’t touch any other part of your body.

“Of course I know that but I won’t let you,” Kuvira says simply. And with that, she guides you back to the tent with one arm wrapped around your waist, her hand digging softly into your side. The guards look on with a mix of sympathetic glances and the occasional teasing grin. You grimace in response and do your best to ignore them, affronted that they’ve become so bold.

You reach the tent and you aren’t sure what look Kuvira gives the guards because they quickly scramble away (or as good as one can scramble in a bulky mech suit) so she can bend the door open. She steps in first, letting you lean on her arm to lift you up the two steps.

“Here, let’s get you into bed,” she murmurs, leading you towards the mattress and releasing your hand as you sit down.

“Kuvira…” You start to say but something in her face makes you stop. You’re tempted to tell her to ease up, that you’re fine and she’s worrying over nothing but you remind yourself what you would’ve felt in her place. You’ve seen Kuvira come close to death too many times and the thought nearly destroyed you.

So you keep quiet because you know she’s not actually being domineering. You hold her hand between both of yours and bring it to your lips, sliding the glove off so you can press your mouth against her bare skin.

“Don’t leave, Kuvira,” you murmur. “Can you...can you stay with me?”

“Of course,” Kuvira whispers, her face losing some of its tension as she sits to your side. She watches you intently and you can’t tell what she’s looking for. Perhaps some indication of pain? Discomfort?

The tent is quiet for some time and when Kuvira breaks the silence her voice is unusually hesitant. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable lately,” she sighs. You look at her and her expression is unreadable.

“What do you mean?” you ask.

“I’m afraid I’ve been rather...overbearing for the past few days. I know you’d never say it outright but I imagine it’s been difficult for you to deal with,” she explains. “I hope you understand why I’ve done it though.”

She adds that last sentence almost as if to reassure herself that her behavior is warranted which, frankly, it absolutely is and it pains you to think she doesn’t believe that.

You press closer to her until your thighs touch, lifting your hand to tilt her face towards yours and cupping your fingers around her jaw.

“Of course I understand, Kuvira. It’s absolutely fine. I can’t expect you to recover from something so frightening in such a short amount of time. I’m sorry if I gave the impression that you had to,” you apologize.

Kuvira exhales sharply and her lips curl into a faint smile. “Never. If anything you’ve been extremely patient for someone who’s had their partner doting on them for almost every waking hour,” she chuckles.

You grin and lean forward until the tip of your nose brushes against Kuvira’s. “Well I can’t say it hasn’t been kind of sweet having the Great Uniter at my beck and call,” you respond slyly.

“But don’t you always?” Kuvira asks, closing the gap between your faces just enough for her lips to nearly graze over your own.

“I suppose you’d think so,” you giggle. “Clearly you’ve been more...zealous as of late, haven’t you?”

Kuvira hums while she slides the other glove off her hand, lifting her fingers until they wrap around the back of your neck. The caress of warm skin produces a thrill that courses all the way down your spine. “May I kiss you?” she whispers and her breath tickles the skin below your ear.

“Please,” you respond, bridging the space that separates you and finally bringing her supple mouth against yours. The kiss is tentative and chaste, so similar to the ones you would share in the early days of your relationship. Kuvira’s hand stays still on your skin, mirroring the carefulness of her mouth, so evidently displaying her anxiety of moving too abruptly for fear of harming you in some way.

So you decide to encourage her further, parting your lips and letting the tip of your tongue playfully brush against hers. Kuvira gasps and jerks backward, her face already tinted a lovely shade of red. It’s an unusual look for her but one that you relish for its rarity.

“What’s the matter? Too much?” you ask. The inquiry comes out sounding much more playful than you’d intended.

“I, um. I guess I didn’t expect that. I thought you would want to take things slow for now,” she elaborates. Kuvira is normally so composed, hyper-aware of every sound and movement she makes especially when she’s being closely observed, which is why you’re pleasantly surprised to see the way her throat clenches as she swallows.

“I’ll take things slow if that’s what you want. Is that what you want, Kuvira?” you ask innocently, lifting your eyebrows and removing your hands from her body. “Do you just want me to kiss you nice and slow...not deeper and harder until you feel your heart pounding against your chest? Not until you start kissing my neck and moving your hand lower and lower...just enough to feel how wet—”

Much to your delight, you’re swiftly cut off when Kuvira seals her mouth over yours again, the force of it strong enough to push you back an inch. You make a pleased sound in your throat and finally throw your arms around her neck, readjusting until you can swing your legs over her thighs and rest upon her lap.

Kuvira’s hands drift mindlessly over your sides, not quite touching but not too far off either. You grow exasperated so you tug on them and wrap them around your hips, grinding downwards so she can feel the growing heat between your legs. How desperately you’ve wanted this for days now.

She moans softly against your mouth and her patience wears thin within moments. Between the havoc you wreak on her lips and the canting motion of your body against her thighs, she eventually cradles you against her arm before placing you onto the mattress on your back.

You gasp in pleasant surprise once she hovers over you. She carries her weight with even greater caution, overly cognizant of potentially pressing down too hard and hurting you.

“What happened to taking it slow?” you tease breathlessly, hovering your fingers over the metal plates on her shoulder. She notices right away and knocks them off with quick work of her hands. They’re tossed onto the ground with a resounding clash.

“I think you should be asking yourself that question,” she responds, leaning down until her lips dance across your neck. “What was that you were mentioning earlier?” she whispers against you, dragging her tongue along the skin that isn’t covered by your uniform.

Your body instantly arches upward, feeling Kuvira’s breasts press against your chest. Between the accident and how busy everything already was before that, it had been weeks since you’ve been with her like this.

Therefore it’s no surprise that your body responds accordingly.

“Now don’t tell me you’ve gone all soft on me,” Kuvira says, pushing away the collar of your uniform and carefully sinking her teeth into the flesh at the base of your neck. You’re at a total loss for words, the sounds and syllables dissipating with each brush of Kuvira’s mouth on your body.

“Because that would be such a shame. I do love it when you make me work for it,” she sighs. Her hands, firm yet careful nonetheless, drift downwards until one rests over your hip. Even through the layers of fabric, her touch produces a sensation like fire that spreads from the point of contact all the way to each bit of muscle and nerve.

“But you also love it when I’m completely at your mercy, don’t you?” you shoot back, rather proud that your voice isn’t as weak as you expected it to be. Kuvira cocks an eyebrow and removes her mouth from your neck. You mourn the loss momentarily but keep going.

“You can’t deny it, Kuvira,” you continue, your eyes widening with glee. “I’ve seen the look in your eyes when you have me all tied up, completely and utterly at your disposal for whatever you desire. Haven’t you missed that? The way I’m completely helpless when you bind me up and all I can do is wait to see what you’ll do next.”

“It sounds like you’ve been thinking about this for some time,” Kuvira exhales, already short of breath.

“Oh I certainly have. And given how you can barely get through an entire sentence without gasping for air, I’d say you’re quite a fan of the prospect yourself,” you murmur.

“Are you sure? You’re not in any pain at all? I don’t want to hurt you,” Kuvira says quietly, the lustful look on her face morphing into one of concern.

You nod assuredly and shyly press your lips to hers again. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure. We’ve got our word, remember? I’ll let you know if I need you to stop.”

Kuvira nods against your touch and moves her hand to the back of your neck once more, this time undoing the buttons that hold the article together and lifting your arms to pull it away. The fabric bunches up around your bandaged forearm and though the gauze isn’t as thick anymore, it’s enough to make you both pause.

You bite back the laughter flooding your mouth and Kuvira looks vaguely irritated. Nevertheless, she approaches the minor hiccup with her usual, unhurried maneuvers until it slides away and you’re only covered by a soft undershirt.

The scars beneath the gauze start throbbing a bit but you manage to keep the worst at bay. It’s nothing too bad — nothing worth paying much attention to.

Kuvira spends the next few moments showering kisses, bites, and caresses over every inch of skin she can reach with her mouth. She takes you apart with slow and intentional movements until all you can do is lay frenzied with desire beneath her ministrations and attempt to hold back the pathetically desperate sounds that fall from your lips.

She begins to lift up the undershirt until it glides over and off your head and falls to the ground, along with the growing heap of Kuvira’s clothes mixed with your own. She keeps your arms high above your head, sliding her fingers over your skin and pauses. When she stops, you realize your eyes have been shut so you snap them open and look down at her impatiently.

“Don’t you worry...I’ve got exactly what you’ve been waiting for,” she murmurs. Kuvira lifts her hands and starts to coil her fingers. You hear the sharp sound of metal sliding against metal and then you see two silver strips emerging from her abandoned uniform. They float menacingly above your bodies, gradually curling into crescent shapes that hover over your wrists.

“I think it’s about time,” Kuvira whispers. Not a moment is wasted between the time she utters those words and the sensation of frigid metal clasping around your wrists, pulling your arms together and holding you down tight.

You’re met with an immediate burst of exhilaration and you ride it for about five seconds before it’s overridden with a growing feeling of discomfort that spreads under your bandages. You do your best to ignore it and instead focus on Kuvira moving downwards until she reaches the hem of your trousers.

“Now let’s see just how much you’ve wanted this,” she purrs against your hip, clipping her teeth over the edge of the fabric and using it to guide her hands as they slide it off. She’s soon met with the throbbing heat nestled between your thighs and you sigh in shameless pleasure.

As delicious as it feels, the pain in your arm only intensifies with each passing moment. You attempt to zero in on Kuvira’s mouth brushing against your bare hip, your thigh, the feeling of her lips hovering over the wet fabric of your underwear. It becomes overwhelming — the tension of wanting more but feeling your arm quiver with increasing pain.

“May I?” Kuvira asks, hooking her finger over the thin fabric and hinting at tearing it off. You murmur a quivering “yes” and hope she can’t sense the discomfort in your voice. She promptly removes them, dragging them down your legs and pressing her face against the crease where your hip meets your thigh.

It’s such an unbearable union of tender and carnal that it makes your body jerk hard against the restraints. The material digs into your injury just enough to make you cry out in distress.

“Silver, Kuvira! Silver,” you grunt through gritted teeth. Kuvira immediately breaks away and bends the metal strips off from your arms. They land on the floor with a harsh sound that makes you flinch.

“What do you need? What should I do?” she asks calmly. It would almost startle you how quickly she manages to shift tonalities but right now, it brings you a comfort you didn’t realize you needed.

“My arm...it-it stings,” you mumble, carrying it down until it rests on your abdomen. “I just need a second. Maybe that healing salve?”

“Of course. Stay still, alright? I’ve kept it in my desk,” Kuvira reassures, leaning down to press a kiss against your forehead and leaping off the bed. She throws a spare bed sheet over her body as she strides across the room, shuffling through a drawer until she finds the salve and a sealed green pouch.

She kneels on the bed and slides her arm around your bare back to help lift you up with little pressure. Once you’re upright, she gingerly takes your injured arm between her hands and begins to unfold the gauze.

The skin that emerges is marred with a thin layer of scarred flesh, much less angry than how it appeared just last week. Kuvira uncovers the glass jar and scoops a portion of the salve onto two fingers that she presses against the wound.

It feels awful at first, almost exacerbating the pain, but it gradually melts into a refreshing coolness that numbs the discomfort. You hiss a bit at the beginning and Kuvira lifts her hand away.

“Is it too much?” she murmurs. “I’m not pressing down too hard, am I?”

You shake your head adamantly. “No, not at all,” you respond. “You’re totally fine. Just stung at first. It feels good now, I promise.”

Kuvira nods in understanding, rubbing the last of the substance onto your skin and pulling open the small pouch. She pulls out a long strip of gauze that she untangles and starts folding over your arm, sealing the salve’s properties against the scars.

She moves smoothly, indicative of one who has done this many times before. You wonder how often she had tended to others’ wounds as a guard in Zaofu.

“You’re all set,” she affirms once she ties it all together. She rests her hand over her handiwork, stroking her thumb over the material and looking up at you concernedly. “What else do you need?”

“I hate to say it but I think you were right,” you chuckle. “I think...I just want to sleep now. Do you, uh...do you mind, er—holding me?”

Kuvira’s face brightens even in the darkness of the tent and she nods, guiding your bodies back down to the bed so she can curl her body around yours, mindful of where your injured arm rests. Your legs tangle with hers as Kuvira tugs a thick blanket over your shoulders, bringing you closer to her chest until your forehead touches her collarbone.

The silence is comfortable, soothing. Exactly what you need. But you can’t shake the slight degree of embarrassment that clings to your thoughts.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper.

“You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Kuvira murmurs. “I know you want to...and I understand. I won’t scold you for it but just know you don’t have to. I’m glad you told me. That’s what we do, right? Honesty.”

You nod against her and swallow. “You’re right...I appreciate it,” you respond. And though you don’t exchange any more words for what remains of the evening before you fall asleep, you lose yourself in the calming silence that follows. Kuvira’s hands float up and down your back and your shoulders, guiding you into a dreamless sleep that welcomes you with warmth and safety.

[kaemulti]

(this is for the like five people who liked my post about me writing this 😤✊🏾and i have an AO3 account but i don’t want my kpop fan life and my non kpop fan life to clash right now so hopefully i can post the chapters for this fic here. i hope i’m doing this right, i literally got tumblr like a month or two ago so pls be nice 💀💀)

DEADLY DANCE:

—————————-

Story Summary: Korra Kuruk is an eighteen year old agent of The Air Temple Agency that has been tasked with bringing a rival company’s top teen agent to justice for her crimes. Korra, code name Water Tribe, must figure out what the true identity of the elusive Metal Bender is and what heinous acts her villainous agency is currently planning. How will Korra handle finding out her target is the one person she least expected and what will she do when that same person needs saving?

Deadly Dance : Chapter One : Little Miss Perfect

Kuvira shut her eyes tightly, taking a deep breath through her nose until it filled every inch of her lungs. She slowly let it out once she couldn’t take in any more oxygen and opened her eyes with new determination, deep breath centering her thoughts and calming any nerves that might be lingering. She could feel the whole room’s eyes on her, whole class practically on the edge of their seats as they watched her prepare for the final part of the combination. Kuvira smirked, an evil, sly smirk that would have easily given away her true personality if any of her peers were actually that observant. Fortunately, they were all far to enthralled with her movement, eyes widening as she extended her arms and raised her head. A beat, and she was off, turning and waltzing like she was floating through the air as the music rose in volume. She could feel the sweat running down the sides if her face, causing her skin to itch, but she couldn’t care less, she was electric right now, practically on fire as she completed all the steps without a hitch. Her face never broke from the innocent and vulnerable look of the character she was playing. Her limbs were long and free, passion practically seeping from every pore as the combination came to a close. She ended the fouetté sequence flawlessly, face refusing to show how increasingly uncomfortable her pointe shoes became pain an afterthought to the captivating performance she was seconds away from nailing. With one last turn, she took her ending position, chest slowly rising and falling as the music faded away to silence.

“Absolutely fantastic as always, Kuvira! Everyone please give her a round of applause.” The teacher said enthusiastically, smile wide as she praised her best student.

Kuvira smiled softly as she bowed for the applause from the class. The praise was cut short as the third period bell had rang, meaning they had spent their five minute time period for changing back into their normal clothes watching Kuvira complete the combination.

“Oh, spirits! That’s the bell, sorry I kept you everyone! Hurry and change, those of you headed to lunch should be fine but I’ll write slips for anyone who is going to a class period! Hurry, hurry! Great work today!” The teacher said as her students scrambled around the room.

Kuvira quickly dropped to the floor, hastily taking off her pointe shoes and shoving them into her dance bag. She jogged to the dressing room and begun to change, ripping off her constricting tights and deciding to exchange her bra for her leotard to save time. She finished pulling her skirt on and adjusted her turtle neck, haphazardly slipping on her sneakers as she rushed out of the door.

Luckily for her, the lunch room was only a couple doors down, unluckily for her however, she didn’t pack a lunch and waiting in the line is known to take half of their lunch period. She pushed passed some students in the hallway, raising the tone of her voice to give half hearted apologies as she did so, not that they knew that of course. When she finally made it to the lunch room she scanned the area for the table with her friends, smiling once she caught sight of them.

Being at this school was her least favorite thing ever so the fact she had actually found a couple people that cared enough to talk to her had been a blessing.

“Nice job today, Kuvira!”

“You totally owned that combo! I wish I could dance like that!”

“You should be proud of yourself.”

The praises weren’t new to her so Kuvira simply offered a smile and a couple thank you’s as she reached the table.

“Well if it isn’t the swan princess herself.” Wing teased as she sat down.

“Haha, very funny, Wing. I told you not to call me that when we’re not in practice, especially because we aren’t even doing that ballet this year.” Kuvira said light heartedly as she pulled out her makeup compact.

“My apologies, Great Uniter.” He said with a bow and smirk. The Avatar ballet had been widely requested by everyone in the dance department and Kuvira was beyond happy when she got picked to play the avatar’s ultimate rival, The Great Uniter.

“How was class?” Baatar asked shyly, barely making eye contact with her as he did so.

“It was fine, my feet are killing me but ballet is my second favorite dance class so I don’t mind.” She replied sweetly as she put on her eyeliner.

“I’ll never understand how you can do that so flawlessly, are you just perfect or something?” Wei asked as he practically inhaled one of his spring rolls.

“I wouldn’t say “perfect”, just skilled.” She lied, adding a sharp tail to the liner. She was playing a character right now and, sadly, acting cocky wasn’t in the script.

“I just don’t get how she got here so fast!” Korra panted, placing her backpack on the floor as she slumped on the table. She had gotten lost in the sea of people all trying to get to lunch on time from dance and had to race to avoid the hall monitor.

“Maybe you’re slower than you thought.” Mako joked, offering her part of his sandwich like he always does. He loved Korra to death but that girl was so frantic she basically forgot her lunch three times a week.

“Must you bully me after I almost got trampled in the hallway, again?! I’m hurting.” She pouted, taking her half of the sandwich from him and eating most of it in one go.

“Maybe if you actually started telling Mrs. Xiao when you have five minutes left of class you’d be here on time.” Asami smirked, not even looking up from her chemistry homework to tease the panting girl.

“I would have but she was too busy watching Kuvira prance around the room.” Korra said with her mouth full, rolling her eyes as she thought of the older dancer flawlessly completing that day’s combination.

“I’ll never understand why she gets under your skin so bad, Kor, she’s literally an angel. Honestly, I don’t even think she’d hurt a fly if she had the chance. Besides, you guys are rivals in the ballet, not real life.” Bolin said, blowing on his noodles to cool them down before sucking them up violently.

“And I don’t see why you don’t, just look at her! Being the center of attention every chance she gets.” Korra pouted, gesturing to the girl doing her makeup in her small hand held mirror a couple tables down.

“Are you gonna leave your hair like that the whole day?” Huan asked Kuvira, face contouring to a grimace.

“Shoot, (spirits, she wishes she could’ve cursed) I didnt even notice, thanks, Huan.” She said, placing the compact down so she could dig through her bag for a brush. She always forgot to take her hair out of her ballet bun and Huan, being the guy who was absolutely incapable of staying out of other people’s fashion choices, never let her forget. Kuvira still remembers how she had to force a smile and act like she didn’t want to bust his jaw that one time he said she looked like a snob when her hair was up.

He was right of course, but it still annoyed her.

Kuvira pulled out the brush she was looking for and set it on the table as she started removing the bobby pins from her hair. She smiled a bit to herself as she got the last one out, her favorite part was next, letting her hair down as she felt everyone watch.

She let the bun unravel as she gracefully shook her head, long, dark waves cascading down her back, almost reaching her butt. Honestly, she needed a trim, she’d have to remind Unalaq to make time in her schedule to get one.

Kuvira picked up the brush and ran it through her hair just enough to make it look neat but not enough to brush out the waves. She could feel several eyes on her, both male and female, as she did so. Kuvira wasn’t oblivious, despite how she acted as her character, she knew she was way above average in looks and she liked the eyes on her, craved them even. She opened her eyes and smiled as she caught Baatar looking at her.

Kuvira liked catching him watching her the most because she knew he’d never have a chance with her, no matter how much he wanted one.

“Looks like the line is shorter now, I’m gonna go grab lunch.” She said sweetly, quickly whipping her head around to eye how many people were still waiting in the line. She was fast enough to identify ten sets, five more than last time, of eyes on her before they frantically looked away as she searched for eye contact. She stood up and flipped her hair, strutting to the lunch line with an innocent smile.

“Ok, but it’s not her fault she’s gorgeous, Korra, that’s hardly a reason to hate her.” Bolin said, back at their table, pulling Korra out of her daze as she watched the older girl strut to the lunch line.

“I never said I hated her, she just...bugs me...” Korra replied, crossing her arms with a huff. Ever since the first day Kuvira had transferred to their school something about her seemed too good to be true, leaving a nasty taste in Korra’s mouth when interacting with the older girl.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you have a crush on her, Kor.” Asami said, finally looking up from her, now finished, homework to quirk her brow at the pouty girl.

“Wha-no. No! I do not have a crush on little miss perfect, sprits!” Korra said, annoyance clear in her voice as she furrowed her brow at her friend’s accusatory tone.

“Whatever you say, you should really just ask her to the formal in two months.” Mako said before he drank from his water bottle.

“I will not! I don’t even like her like that. Tui and La you guys are impossible!” Korra said, standing up from her seat and heading to the lunch line—because she was hungry! Not so she could stand next to Kuvira, she had more dignity than that thank you very much.

“Hey, Kuvira! How are you today?” Ms. Li, one of the lunch ladies said sweetly.

“I am great, Yuyan, thank you for asking. How about yourself?” Kuvira replied politely. That was one thing Unalaq could never shake from her, her manners for people less fortunate than she was. She had spent a lot of time talking to the school staff when she first got this assignment, she would tell her bosses it’s so she could find her target quicker but that was all a lie. To most, she might be considered to be on the wrong side of history, even if she thought that was nonsense, but that didn’t mean she was soulless. She only wanted the best for these people, why would she be cold if she didn’t have to be?

“Well, I could be better, these kids really don’t know how to say a simple please and thank you. It, um, it gets to you sometimes, you know? But, hey, I guess it could always be worse. Thank you so much for ask—Oh! That reminds me, me and a couple of the other lunch ladies made this for you, since you are such a big help around here.” Ms. Li said, reaching behind her to grab a small chocolate cupcake before handing it to Kuvira.

“Thank you so much, it looks delicious.” Kuvira said, accepting the sweet treat and placing it on her tray with the rest of her food.

“Of course! Anything for our favorite student. Congratulations on getting the part of The Great Uniter by the way, we look forward to seeing you shine!” Ms. Li smiled.

Kuvira smiled brightly as she punched in her lunch number, swiping her school card quickly. She appreciated the praise and she new she deserved it, but too much of it could make her uncomfortable. She said one more thank you to Ms. Li and headed back to her table.

As she was walking however, she almost ran right into someone who was clearly not watching where they were going. If she had been anyone else, her tray would’ve went flying, along with the items on it, and there’d be a huge mess, luckily she wasn’t anyone else. She was Kuvira, member of the Metal clan, the most highly trained spy organization in the world, and she’d be damned if she let her special cupcake get squashed. She easily spun around the person, gracefully hoping one of the railings to catch her airborne tray, every single item she had purchased returning to their places. Well, all except her juice box, which was still airborne, about to land on the ground behind her. She whipped her head back around and made a move to catch it but instead saw her onstage rival, The Avatar, played by Korra Kuruk, hopping the same railing to catch the juice box before it hit the ground, her own lunch items fully intact on her own tray despite the vigorous movement.

“I am so sorry about that! Here, wouldn’t want you to lose this.” Korra said apologetically as she held out the juice box to a wide eyed Kuvira.

As soon as they made eye contact Korra seemed to have picked up on what had actually happened, her own eyes going wide as Kuvira snatched the juice box from her hands.

Before either of them could say anything, the pieces finally falling into place and their initial shock quickly flipping to furry, the fire alarm went off, blaring loudly in everyone’s ears and causing several people, excluding Korra and Kuvira of course, to flinch in their seats. They had been trained better than to get startled by a sudden noise.

“Ok, ok, everyone please grab your phones, and I mean only your phones, and exit the building!” One of the lunch monitors said, ushering kids out of the back entrance so they could head to the field.

Both girls glared at each other, breath heavy in a rage as they did so, before going their separate ways to their respective tables. Kuvira grabbed her phone and followed Baatar out of the lunch room, not bothering to look back at Korra. Nobody at her table asked questions, not having been paying attention to Kuvira when she left the table.

Korra however, returned to a table full of wide eyes and slacked jaws, her friends having watched the whole ordeal after Korra bailed at the mention of a crush.

“That was some ninja shit, Korra! Wh- How- When! When did you even learn how to do that?!” Wu asked, most likely coming off of his hall monitor shift to eat lunch with them moments before the alarm sounded.

“Movies. Come on, we need to get outside.” She said, anger clouding her eyes and lowering her voice. Nobody asked any more questions and, even if they wanted to, Korra was already walking away, one foot out of the door

One thing’s for sure, Korra now had more reason than ever to hate Kuvira.

Kuvira was undoubtably the Metal Clan Protegé that Korra was tasked with arresting for crimes against the environment and the less fortunate.

[empirelead-a]

HERE IT IS! A COMPLETE UPDATE OF KUVIRA’S BIOGRAPHY! Be sure to read through it  or skimmed through it because I realize it’s really really long. 😬😬😬

Born in a village far off from Omashu and in the middle of nowhere, Kuvira had been nothing but a great burden to both of her parents who found themselves stuck in a loveless marriage after she was conceived out of wedlock during a drunken one-night stand. They paid very little mind to her throughout her childhood, spending most of their days neglecting her where she can almost feel their resentment; they blame her for trapping them in a place they wish to leave and for their dreams to be in shambles. Throughout her time in the village, Kuvira had hardly ever got along with the other villagers and experienced difficulties in conveying her feelings. Things also took a sudden turn when she discovered she’s an earthbender at the age of seven – which is considered to be late – the first bender in over twenty years. Her parents, however, weren’t thrill for the fact their daughter was a bender and were forced to keep a closer eye on her by the other villagers who feared her newfound abilities, believing she’s a curse who brought bad omen—all of them have an Equalist mindset.

Not too long after, Kuvira immediately showed signs of poor control over her bending abilities due to she’s without proper guidance and her lack of control quickly became more prominent as time went by; things would wind up getting damaged, but unbeknownst to them all, her bending responds to her emotions she had trouble in showing. Embarrassed and shame by the others, her parents began taking matters into their own hands when they ignorantly tried to suppress her abilities which all ranged from isolation to punishing her by other means. However, an incident shook her parents up when it nearly resulted in her mother’s death, and after that episode, the two can no longer handle her and could no longer even watch over her in fear of their own lives, and wishing to be free from the child they never asked for. On that very night, they up and left without a word…leaving Kuvira behind. She was left alone and forced to watch over herself since no other villagers dares to go near her. She survived off on scraps and stole food when no one was looking.

One particular day, Kuvira stumbled upon a woman she never seen before in the village. She saw how fancy the woman dressed compare to herself and the other villagers, sneaking up behind her and managed to steal a pouch of money out of the woman’s pocket. She managed to run off without being noticed, getting back to the safety of her house she was still holed up in, but unfortunately, her luck quickly ran out when the woman she stole from found her. Scared, she impulsively earthbent at the woman who easily evaded the attack with her own earthbending. Kuvira became more fearful of the consequences that lies before her and she immediately handed back what she stole from the woman, making her apology, but to her great surprise, the woman brushed the incident aside with a laugh. She, then, introduced herself as Suyin Beifong who was at the village to take a quick break before heading on home after getting a business trip done in Omashu.

After the introduction, Suyin treated Kuvira to lunch. Curious and wondering why she was all alone, Suyin began prodding the younger girl with questions who kept on avoiding to answer them. Eventually, she reluctantly told the older woman her entire story when the topic wouldn’t be left alone: abandoned by her parents who never loved her and were afraid of her. Horrified at what she just heard, it didn’t take long for Suyin to make the decision to take the girl out oof the village where she could already see prejudices rising against benders and knew all too well Dai Li agents could come at any time. And with that, Kuvira left the village with the woman who promised to help her in any way, seeing the potential she holds.

Indeed, Kuvira’s talents flourished under Suyin’s guidance even though she had a rough start, nonetheless she excelled at everything that was taught to her; not only that, she was also taught how to freely express herself, especially when joining the dancing troupe—her mentor never giving up on her, patient with her always. At the age of twelve, she finally began her metalbending training which proved to be more difficult than earthbending. She became frustrated every time she failed to bend the meteorite, but it wasn’t until she finally succeeded when Suyin locked her in a metal box and bending her way out to freedom, it was the same way Suyin was taught to metalbend…and the same way Toph discovered metalbending. At the age of fifteen, she joined the city’s security force team and was promoted as captain at the age of eighteen.

Kuvira have always been quite close with the Beifong Family, having a unique bond with each member. She enjoys Huan’s company who also taught her the ways of metal sculpting and values his quiet nature, going to him when things becomes overwhelming and wanting everything to be still. While Suyin’s her bending teacher, her husband – Baatar Senior – taught her everything she knew in reading and writing, along with basic math and going to him when things becomes too much to handle with his wife. She sees Opal as a little sister, often protecting her from danger and enjoyed rough housing with the twins. But Baatar Junior has always been the one she’s been the closest to, he’s the first friend she ever made—eventually they became romantic partners at eighteen years of age, though kept their relationship a secret from the others. Despite all of this, deep down, Kuvira still knew well enough she isn’t part of the family and as she grew older and aware, she couldn’t help it but to be bitter.

Unfortunately, things with the Beifongs soured when the Earth Kingdom fell into disarray and was on the verge of collapse, chaos spreading across the nation. Wishing to help the people, Kuvira was shocked upon realizing Suyin doesn’t have the intention in helping their nation and refused to step up when the world leaders urgently asked her to. An argument ensued between them when Kuvira tried to convince her to help, but she was quickly shot down and was told not to debate further. Angry, she became disillusioned by the woman she looked up to, never taking responsibilities for the wrongs she did, and finally seeing her for who she really is: a coward. On that same night, Kuvira made the decision to leave Zaofu and hatched a plan to conspire against her mentor, roping Baatar along with her. Within two weeks, she managed to recruit a number of people, along with Varrick and Zhu Li, into her plan. Suyin discovered the plans on the day Kuvira and the others were due to depart, refusing to step down when demanded. In result, she was banished from Zaofu and was ordered to never return, but before leaving, Kuvira vowed she will return—not as the same person Suyin once knew.

The Siege of Ba Sing Se was lead by Kuvira, driving out the bandits and agents of the Red Lotus who ran amok throughout the city, restoring order back to the capital. Her heroic action and good deeds got the attention from the world leaders who made the decision to appoint her the position Suyin refused to take, making her an interim president of the Earth Kingdom. She was also tasked with the job to drive off the bandits roaming around the country, hunting down remaining members of the Red Lotus, and leading the unification campaign—uniting all of the states as one. The title of the Great Uniter was soon given to her by the people of Omashu after she overthrew their tyrannical king. They all proclaimed their loyalty to her, her followers grew each day.

For three years, Kuvira’s intentions were well and started off as good, but over time, things started changing and her entire worldview became different; no longer was she naïve and ignorant to everything. During her travels throughout the nation, she noticed the unjust her people faced and the abuse her people went through, discovering the problems within the Earth Kingdom runs deeper than she thought—problems that began even before the Red Lotus arrival. No longer can she sit idly by, Kuvira took more things into her hands and had taken many drastic actions for the good of her people, not afraid to get her hands bloodied. Sometime around her third year as the Great Uniter, words of the reeducation camps spread, mercy is not shown to her enemies and traitors if they ever crossed the line or did her incredibly wrong. On Prince Wu’s coronation day, Kuvira turned her back on him and the world leaders, overthrowing Prince Wu who’s next in line to take the throne of the now renamed Earth Empire. She would challenge anyone who dares to threaten the peace she brought, warning them she will not hesitate to take action.

After leaving the United Republic, Kuvira immediately embarked her way to Zaofu while having Varrick experiment on spirit vines where it was discovered they could weaponize the vines. When Varrick refused to create a superweapon, she’d threatened his life and ordered him to continue on his work. When she arrived at Zaofu with Baatar and Bolin by her side, the three of them marched into Suyin’s office where she was already waiting for them with her family by her side. Things between them were obviously tense, more so when Kuvira tried to make a negotiation; one where Suyin furiously refused, not wanting to play this game. In return, Kuvira gave the older woman an entire day to give up or face the consequences before she made her leave. On that same very day, she was betrayed by both Bolin and Varrick who attempted to leave. Later that night, her former mentor snuck into her camp and attempted to assassinate her while she slept only to quickly discover she had been tricked when Kuvira anticipated what she’s going to do before ordering her guards to take Suyin and her twins away. That following morning, she and Korra met outside of the city, but when things didn’t go as planned, a fight ensued between them. If Kuvira loses, she’ll let the others go and leave Zaofu alone, and if she wins, Korra must leave and Zaofu will officially be a part of the Earth Empire. In the end, Kuvira bested Korra.

The next move Kuvira made was returning to the United Republic to restore it back into the Earth Empire, making a claim that the land was stolen. Within two weeks, she and of her army marched to the United Republic with the Colossus – a mecha standing at least twenty-four story tall – her fiancé built with a spirit cannon attached to its arm. She nearly succeeded when she sunk several of the United Forces ships, President Raiko gave up and agreed to her terms, however, before things could go any further, Korra and her friends kidnapped Baatar.

Korra radioed to Kuvira, presenting her a new term after she informed the other she has Baatar hostage, saying if she ever wants to see him again then she must leave the United Republic alone and return to the Earth Empire empty handed. Conflicted for a moment, Kuvira finally made a difficult decision when she agreed to the term…only to quickly raise the spirit cannon and aimed it at the warehouse they’re in, taking the shot. She masked her emotions soon after, choosing not to grieve now before continuing on her invasion without Baatar by her side. She’s now hardened at that very moment, knowing she can’t give up now.

She soon became more unstable upon discovering Korra and the others survived the blast. She became unstable, reckless, and more prone to making impulsive decisions, going onto a deep end and allowed her emotions to run wild with anger. At the end, she failed her emotion when the Colossus crumbled when Korra and her friends managed to cut their way into the machine, resulting in a final battle between the Avatar and the Great Uniter. The two survived the fall after the Colossus fell, Kuvira ran off only to discover the spirit cannon was still intact and made one final move before pulling the trigger, a move she came to quickly regret when she’s unable to shut the machine off and the ray’s power amplified with energy due to the cannon being wrapped in raw spirit vines. Korra saved her life, taking a risk when she jumped in front of her and deflected the blast which resulted in the creation of a new spirit portal which they both fell into. For a moment, Kuvira believed she’s dead after awakening and broke down in front of Korra, revealing bits of her past. Upon being shown compassion, she saw the errors of her actions and made the decision to give in, exiting the spirit portal with the Avatar and announced the Earth Empire is no more. She was, then, cuffed and taken to prison.

Locked away far from the outskirts of the United Republic, Kuvira spent those two months pondering on deeply where she’d often think about her past. She thought all of the things that had led her here in this very moment, spiraling into a deep state of anger and bitterness which was apparent when Korra came to visit her. While she does show her remorse of the bad she’d committed, she does not regret the cause she led over the course of those three years—the actual good she had done for the people of the now, once again, named Earth Kingdom. She even expressed those feelings to the court, boldly claiming that she wasn’t guilty for her good cause and reminded everyone of how she’d done more than anyone else combined, and refused to bend the knee to the Republic to say something she doesn’t believe in. Her words, however, didn’t sit well to the others and was ordered to be taken back to prison because her case could continue, running into Suyin who was perhaps the angriest of them all. The older woman gave her former student the last say before leaving without looking back.

Unbeknownst to them all, one of Kuvira’s commanders – Guan – refused to let the Earth Empire fall and have been secretly running it in her place with the remaining army who refused to stand down as well. Reports of his presence became known by the others who believed he was planning to march to Gaoling to put a stop to the first democratic election. Knowing too well things with Guan may go badly and Korra decided to pay Kuvira another visit for advice. After hearing her commander has taken control in her place, Kuvira suggested coming along to put a stop to Guan, knowing he’s dangerous. At first, the Avatar refused to allow Kuvira to come along until realizing there was no other plan to stop him. The very next day, Kuvira was given a temporary release to assist Team Avatar where her presence was obviously unwanted.

When arriving in Gaoling, Guan’s forces are already there. Kuvira attempted to talk him down, turning to her former forces and asked them to step down as well, but neither of them heeded to her words—listening only to Guan. Having to see this, she challenged him to a duel, but when he refused, she made an attack on him and demanded for him to give him after she managed to overpower him, choking him in the air. Before things can escalate further, Kuvira was knocked out via the belt she wore which shocked her. When she later awoke, she was placed in a special cage and was told by the others she’ll be sent back to Republic City.

Korra and Wu left immediately afterwards in search of Toph, wanting her to go against Guan in the election. It wasn’t long until Guan’s forces broke into the airship before it could take off, attacking Kuvira and the rest of Team Avatar. The three of them were brought to Guan’s camp, strapped onto a chair where Doctor Sheng is planning to use her invention on them: a brainwashing machine. However, Kuvira was lucky enough to manage to break free and escaped to safety, but the same can’t be said to Asami, Bolin, and Mako who she had to leave behind. She made a call to Suyin when she’s far from Guan’s camp.

When Suyin arrived with Opal and the twins, Korra and Wu arrived as well with Toph in tow who reluctantly agree to run in the election against Guan. Suyin made her mistrust to Kuvira known and gave her a warning, telling her she won’t hesitate to take action if she does anything that may be even slightly suspicious. Kuvira silently agreed to her words, knowing time can’t be wasted any further. Before they can leave, Guan and his forces arrived along with Asami, Bolin, and Mako, they’ve all been brainwashed successfully. They managed to escape, grabbing Asami, but in result, Wu was captured.

Traveling to Zaofu was a silent ride, realizing Guan is more dangerous with Sheng by his side with her invention. The silent ride was also tense between Kuvira and Suyin which can obviously be felt in the air. Once they finally arrived at Zaofu, she was immediately taken to a guarded room by Suyin’s order where she found herself running into Baatar. Shocked to finally see him again, she made her apologies to him and asked for his help to stop Guan. He refused, heartbroken and no longer trusts her, leaving her and retreated back to his room, only convinced when Korra asked for his help. He and Kuvira ended up working immediately, working on recreating Sheng’s machine the entire day until it was completed. Asami was brought into the room where they tried to reverse the brainwashing effects, but to no avail, they failed many times.

Guessing, Kuvira figured the only way to help Asami and the others was to test on a subject who hasn’t fallen victim to the original brainwashing machine, volunteering herself to test out her theory. She was propelled into a series of flashbacks of her past, seeing everything from her childhood to her teenage years and to her time as the Great Uniter, seeing everything that was wrong with her until she was soon brought back when she heard Suyin’s voice calling out to her. Asami was soon brought back into the room for another attempt where it was successful this time around. The happy moment was cut after they have all been informed Guan has won the election. After informing the situation to Zhu Li, Kuvira was told to return to the United Republic. Before she was to be escorted back into her room, she told Baatar how much she regretted for what she did to him and wished she didn’t have to throw their future away, and that their happiness mattered. Then telling him she truly loves him, her feelings for him has always been true.

Her words didn’t sit well with Suyin who went after her and stopped her in her tracks, telling her angrily she has no right to even be saying those things and believed she was lying; saying she hasn’t changed and is still the same. No longer can she take the verbal abuse any longer, Kuvira made a retort of her own and saying how she’s here to own up her mistakes, how she’s doing everything to change; adding how the only one who hasn’t change was Suyin, how it seems the older woman has yet to own everything up and how she’s always hiding away like a coward she always has been. In return, Suyin made her last say when she coldly told the guards to take her away and how she regrets taking her in. And Kuvira told her she would never have to see her again.

That night, it was discovered Kuvira had disappeared into the night after finding the guards unconscious. She couldn’t be found in the outskirts of Zaofu, many believed she played them all and betrayed them.

In truth, Kuvira left Zaofu and made her way back to Gaoling where she snuck into the town and into Guan’s office without getting detected by anyone. She made her presence known to Guan, saying that she wasn’t here to stop him and was only here to return to the Earth Empire. Guan made him adamant that he won’t hand her over control, though she has no plan to return to power and made a proposition, saying how she wishes for her memories to be wiped away, in return, she would be a dutiful servant to his control. Guan gleefully agreed to her terms and immediately set the plan to motion, leading her to Sheng’s lab. While distracted, Kuvira’s nature has been revealed when she attacked them from behind, but Guan had already anticipated her move and ordered for Bolin and Mako to attack her who came bursting into the lab.

Korra found Kuvira during the midst of battle, finding things to be suspicious and didn’t believe she betray them from the start and immediately sprung into action with the others upon seeing that she’s in danger and knew all too well it’s a battle she can’t fight alone in. They all fought the remaining Earth Empire soldiers and captured those who tried to escape when things started falling apart. Kuvira went after Guan who ran off when he knew this war is over, though she managed to catch up to him and overpowered him easily, enraged at the things he committed and for going against her, for doing things behind her back and not standing down when she initially told him to. She was ready to end him right there once and for all, however Suyin who came along with Korra attempted to talk her down from killing him and let him face justice instead. Infuriated, Kuvira simply said she’s doing something everyone’s too afraid to do, something that should’ve been done long ago and how she’s the only one who ever done something. Finally, Suyin admitted that she wasn’t wrong and how she should’ve done something to help long ago – maybe things wouldn’t go so awry – that she is here now to do just that, telling her killing Guan will not solve anything nor would it bring peace; that he would die as a martyr to his supporters instead and someone else may replace him. Suyin added she is here now and made a promise she’ll do more to help and will personally bring Guan down to his knees to face justice. As Kuvira began drawing blood on Guan’s throat, she eventually pulled the blades away and came into a resignation, finding no joy in ending him; no joy of her mistake that’s in her mercy. She finally surrendered and fell down onto her knees, exhausted

After Guan and Sheng’s arrest, Kuvira helped the others to restore order back to Gaoling and helped the people to restore their free-will back, along with Bolin, Mako, and Wu. The election has returned and Toph is all too happy to drop out, returning to the swamp when it was announced the people can have their elections on their own terms.

Days later after leaving Gaoling, Kuvira was once more placed in custody and sent back to prison as soon as she arrived at Republic City. Before her second trial, she began to ponder about the events that had occurred and thought about the things she had done during her reign as the Great Uniter…more deeply than before. On the day of her trial, she admitted to her guilt and her participation of the cruel things that had happened upon realizing her actions had hurt many people; albeit – something she kept to herself – she still held onto the fact good came out during those three years of the unification campaign and the love she has for her nation has always been the source of her driving force. She did all she could do for her people, but realizing she perhaps done too much for power also got far into her head and became paranoid to those who stood in her way, seeing what Guan had done opened her eyes at how little she thought about the consequences of her actions and how she should’ve watched more closely of the things that had happened behind her back. It stung a bit to know how very little control she actually had.

Her words shocked the others who weren’t expecting her to admit her guilt so quickly, so soon. The court, however, ended there so the judges could discuss her punishment and came to the decision to still lock her away…a decision she wasn’t surprised at, but was surprised she won’t be locked away for life. She took the deal, remembering the promise she made a while back at how she would take any punishment the court sees fit. After all, her crimes can never be forgotten either.

Before Kuvira was to be taken away, Suyin approached her to speak to her about all of the things she had done during her time as the Great Uniter and how she tried to fix her mistake. While she isn’t ready to forgive her, she is still willing to give her another chance and how she should’ve done more to help, something Kuvira said there’s nothing to be sorry about, what’s done is done. Understandable, things were awkward and tensed between them. Suyin brought up a suggestion, saying she could arrange for her to serve her sentence at Zaofu under house arrest with Baatar. Kuvira refused, saying she will not allow any favors and she will be abiding to the Republic’s rule. And rather than being sent far at the outskirts of the city, she was placed in a cell at Republic City, though still heavily guarded.

During her time in prison, Suyin came to visit her every once in a while along with Korra who’d come by to help rehabilitate her with several meditation sessions, seeing the problems they both share. Five years later, Kuvira has been released from prison, though not as a free woman yet. Seeing how she’s still young and a strong bender, the leaders of the world placed her under the United Forces’s watch where she will be performing hard labor work and assisting people who are in need.

[ourimpavidheroine]

Yeah, so I read the comic. Spoilers below, consider yourself warned.

I think the artwork is great, and thank fuck they got a decent colorist. The first series was hideously colored with some sort of an overall mustard tone, I still can’t get over it. In this one the drawings are crisp and animated, and the color is rich and has more than three tones to it. Michelle Wong has a knack for nailing facial expressions which works so well in this kind of story. Huge thumbs up from me.

(Although I still hate that Mako went back to his teenage hair. I do not at all get this. AT ALL. Why the hell would he want to do that? This says a LOT to me about how Bryke sees the obviously temporary maturity they gave him in Book 4 since I sincerely doubt the return to his teenage hair was a choice made by either of the comic artists.)

The writing, though? A huge thumbs down from me.

The first Korra comic had Asami In Danger ™ as a means of moving the plot forward and now the second one has it as well. Sure, we’ve got Mako and Bolin thrown into the mix to up the stakes a little. But at its heart? That’s just lazy writing. And it’s very, very male writing as well. I loathe the damsel in distress trope precisely because 99.9% of the time isn’t written well. (This is definitely not one of the .01% of the times it is right.) Ho-hum, Asami has been brainwashed to hate Korra. I mean...there’s no real drama there. It’s not really her! The drama the two of them were having over even having Kuvira along was more interesting than that. There are no stakes with the brainwashing. We know that it’s going to get fixed; the Krew (and Wu) won’t stay brainwashed forever. 

Listen, Korra is the fucking Avatar. She is the most powerful person in that Universe, and her job is to bring stability and balance. Not to chase around her girlfriend who keeps getting kidnapped. TWICE.

At least we didn’t have to deal with straight white cis dudes writing about systemic homophobia in this one. (Or at least not so far. They aren’t done yet.)

Wu singing along to peeing actually made me laugh. That is very teenage Wu. (Also? His Jungle Outfit was EVERYTHING.) I did like the swamp vision of Hou-Ting and it actually showed that despite the accusation she was making that he was giving up the crown because he didn’t care/was a coward that it wasn’t the case. Which obviously is more in line with how I see the character. Although Toph calling him Spindleshanks pisses me off because now I can never have Lin do it in my fanfic. DAMMIT. Also? Pabu on his shoulder was frankly adorable.

Toph was great, as she usually is. Although you know what I loved the most about her in this volume? The way she’s cradling an injured Opal at the end. That’s the first gentle thing I think we’ve EVER seen Toph do, on the show or otherwise. I thought it was beautiful. 

I do like that Korra is still trying to work forward in how to be the Avatar, even when the things she does as an Avatar aren’t always approved of my her nearest and dearest. That’s one thing I always did think Bryke got right for her; it’s been a struggle for her to find the balance between having her own life and being the Avatar and I personally think it’s one she will always have, even if age and experience ease it for her as she gets older. I think all Avatars do.

I did like that even when brainwashed Mako took charge. That’s just what he does; even being brainwashed doesn’t change it.

Oh lord, and I guess I have to address Kuvira. So look. Here’s the thing. Bryke clearly wants to redeem her. Which...I know there are a lot of Kuvirastans out there that are happy about it. That’s not a slam on my part; I am not interested in it, but that’s why I write my fanfic the way I do. Fans like what they like, and redeeming her is a big one for a lot of people. I’ve got no problem with redemption stories, if they are done well. (Zuko’s redemption arc remains one of the best I have ever seen.)

But in order to redeem Kuvira they have to retcon her. They have quite literally no other choice in order to redeem her. And I loathe that regardless of what story it is. I mean, just walking her back by saying that Guan was doing experiments without her approval? Come on. 

The thing is this: canonically speaking, Kuvira commissioned a weapon of mass destruction that she had every intention of using, and which she did use. She killed we don’t know how many people (I mean, the idea that a city as big as that one had a 100% clearance rate is just silly, there were plenty of people who didn’t evacuate for various reasons, never mind the sailors on that ship she took out), left who knows how many homeless in Republic City, caused who knows how much yuan worth of damage. She took out half a fucking foreign city, which she attacked without any provocation. You cannot erase that by saying that she didn’t approve human experimentation and had a rough childhood. You just can’t.

That’s not even getting into her attacking Zaofu as well as conscripting soldiers from all over the Earth Kingdom and coercing provincial governors into allowing her to take control. I mean, she was a security guard who became a fascist dictator in the space of three years. You cannot forget that, no matter how hard you retcon her. If you do forget it it’s because you wanted her to have never done those things in the first place, you know? But she did do them. It’s canon.

Bryke’s whole stated approach - and it is stated, Mike DiMartino has done interviews - of Kuvira just wants to do good but can’t understand why Asami won’t forgive her for killing her father and never mind all of those other people is just painful to me.

Now look. The idea that Korra recognizes that as the Avatar she has to put aside her personal feelings and deal with Kuvira as a means to an end for a political situation she cannot handle on her own is not one I have a problem with. AT ALL. And having her and Asami clash over that? GOOD STUFF. In fact, I hope like hell some of the better fanfic writers out there are jumping on that, because that’s something that I firmly believe they’d have to deal with as long as they have a relationship with each other. Asami isn’t dating the Avatar, after all; she’s dating Korra. But Korra IS the Avatar, and that’s something the two of them will have to come to terms with, which they clearly have not. So I am onboard with this, absolutely. Yes!

But Korra does not have to retcon Kuvira. She does not have to understand nor forgive her. She does not need to be her BFF. As the Avatar, what she should be doing is using Kuvira to help bring about the balance that is her entire job and then putting her back where she found her, because the Avatar’s job is not to dispense justice or override what has been decided in a court of law. If Kuvira is going to be pardoned from her jail sentence forever then that’s for Zhu Li to decide as the new president of Republic City, not Korra.

(I have a sinking suspicion Bryke is going to have Zhu Li - who was the only person actually working directly under Kuvira to have the courage to not only defy her but to call her out on being the monster she was and get sentenced to death for it - pardon her. UGH. LAZY WRITING.)

I am sorry that Kuvira’s parents were shitheads. My own mother punched me in the face and broke both my nose and glasses when I was cast as Mercutio in my high school rendition of Romeo and Juliet because...well, I guess because she didn’t like that I would be playing a guy and not Juliet? (I dunno, it was 35 years ago and I’m still not sure but I’ve got a crooked nose to remember it by.) She was not exactly winning any prizes in the mothering department, believe me. Nevertheless I am still responsible for the decisions I have made as an adult. Having a shitty childhood was not my fault, but it certainly is my problem if I hurt others because of it. Kuvira is no different. I have a nagging suspicion that we are being set up to give Kuvira a get out of jail free card for the whole FASCIST MURDERING DICTATOR thing because her parents sucked. And frankly, I think that’s a terrible message for Bryke to be giving to people reading this comic and to be frank I am just bewildered as well as angered by it. I mean...they aren’t, right? They are setting up the whole bad childhood thing in order to prove that no matter how rotten things were for you you are never justified in cruelty (or you know, dictatorships) towards others? Right? Please?

Not to mention I am all for forgiveness but Kuvira didn’t pull a few pranks as a teen. She attacked foreign countries without provocation, commissioned and used a weapon of mass destruction, conscripted armies, set up camps for dissenters, and so on. If you want to redeem her, then have her recognize that she did wrong and willingly GO TO PRISON BECAUSE OF IT. The homeless, grieving and devastated people she left behind deserve that, they really do.

I did like that Su came when Kuvira asked. Her feelings about Kuvira are clearly complicated ones - to say the very least - but she was able to put them aside when her help was needed. That’s the Su Beifong I believe in and write about. She brought her three warrior children along as well. (Although what Opal was doing in Zaofu instead of RC I don’t know, but hey, what’s a plot?)

But if she goes on to forgive Kuvira for straight up attempting to murder her son then I call bullshit all the fuck over that. I’m a mother. NOPE. There are limits. I am telling you, anybody who tries to retcon that doesn’t have children themselves. The end.

My baby Baatar is coming back. Ya’ll know how I feel about him. I have no faith that Bryke will do him right, especially as Bryan once said that he was the character he hated the most. I cringe to think of what they are going to do to him. Blame him for all of Kuvira’s mistakes in order to continue her retcon? Retcon him into being the one actually responsible for her leaving and doing the things she did, making him the puppet master behind the scenes? Would not surprise me at all if it happened. Not at all.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Seven-X

Baavira Week Day 1: Online

Summary: Baatar is a police officer tasked with tracking down a trafficking ring on the dark web. He ends up clicking the wrong link.

Warning for minor gore and mentions of sex crime--no descriptions. 

Only a few clicks in and he is already unsettled. He feels that he is justified in being so. He has combed through pages of the most unsavory things. He supposes that the place has earned its name and reputation.

Evidently, in joining the Republic City police force he hadn’t known that they would keep his duties behind a monitor.

He finds himself on a new page; a simple surveillance camera overlooking what seems like an industrial park parking lot. He rubs his chin in frustration. Just how many camera feeds will he happen upon tonight? From personal webcams to phone cameras to security cameras, his gaze has found many things that they weren’t supposed to. The worst of it is that they aren’t even entertaining. He certainly hadn’t been into it when he clicked onto a page that had given him a view of a man and a woman stripping. Deep down he knows that some sick sap is getting excitement from it.    

Somehow, less amusing had been the drug sales. The dark web is teeming with them. Everything in him tells him to trace and track the vendors but his higher ups have already told him not to bother. “There are just so damn many of them fuckin’ things, just let ‘em be.” Baatar takes off his glasses and rubs his forehead. He doesn’t know how much more human filth he can stomach for tonight. God forbid he stumble across one of the infamous cannibal cafes.

Not that he isn’t seeking out something just is vile.

He supposes that it is worth it.

It will all be worth it if he can track down the ring and bring young men and women out of the ring.

He doesn’t fancy the idea of pretending to be a predator. But he will play the role if he can put a stop to the trafficking.  He closes out of the surveillance site and finds himself in a new room, this one features tips on all sorts of manners of disturbing inclinations from how to kill one’s boss to how to do away with oneself. This also isn’t the sort of evil he is looking to eradicate.

Baatar rakes his hand through his hair, growing frustrated at how vast the darkweb truly is. He has combed through more than his fill of wickedness and is getting nowhere. For all of his years of tech-savviness and coding, this place is disorienting and tricky to navigate. Frowning deeply, he clicks upon another random link.

The screen goes momentarily staticy and he cusses. Just what he needs is a computer crash, God forbid he has to go through all of those links again. The screen glitches and distorts further and indistinguishable images flicker in the fuzz.

Baatar squints at the screen.

It flickers again twice.

Still fuzzy.

He leans in closer.

He jolts back when a masked face appears. A humored and heavily warped laugh sounds through his speakers. He doesn’t share in their humor. His stomach lurches. Without a hesitation to make he reaches for the power off switch. His hand doesn’t reach it when the voice speaks.

“Don’t leave so soon officer BeiFong.” The voice that comes through is slick, both masculine and feminine but more robotic than anything else, especially on the words accented by shrill beeps. It sounds like a virus to his ears.  

Everything in his body and soul goes cold. He has masked his VPN, he is using tor. It strikes him unpleasantly, these people...these monsters are probably jarringly more tech savvy than he.

A chat window pops up. “If you’re too shy to speak.” The person pauses. “Or if you didn’t have the sense to disguise your voice.”

A few screen names pop up on the chat window,most are random strings of numbers. A few a simple words--‘TheSlash’, ‘ripper’, ‘wiNd0w’, and ‘T’. Baatar’s own username scrawls itself in the chat, 7xYl9090Gg.

“I do believe it is seven-x’s first time here. Let’s give him a warm welcome.” Responses ranged from sarcastic and mocking to amused to genuinely inviting. “Hmm...mixed reactions. I’m sure that they will take a shine to you eventually.”

He hopes that the masked person will let his name go unspoken. To his relief, they do.

Instead the voice drawls, “welcome, seven-x, to red room three-six-one.” The figure steps back and sweeps its arm out. It wears a hooded cloak of deep green with absurdly long sleeves. He can’t discern the gender beneath the shapeless attire. “Have you been to a red room before?”

He thinks of lying, but some primitive part of him senses that the person behind the monitor will know. His hesitancy to answer, answers for him. ‘He’s a red room virgin!’ Types wiNd0w. ‘cute’ types 1671JNp8R.

“So what brings you here, seven-x?”

This time he doesn’t allow them another opening. ‘Curiosity.’ He types quickly.

A second chat window pops up. A private one on one window.  ‘Clever.’ Is the only word there. He looks for a screen name and finds none. He doesn’t know how to reply. He doesn’t know if he should.

“Alright, seven-x, since this is your first time, I’ll let you do the honors.” There is a loud pop and suddenly the white noise has been cleared.

Responses vary again from outrage and envy to typed out cheers and a ‘choose wisely seven-x’. He cringes, whoever is running this show, they are trying to out him. He doesn’t know what he is supposed to be choosing as he racks his brain to recall what he’d researched about red rooms. The figure takes a few steps back and he sees the man now. His eyes are wet and he is sniffling. He trembles.

“I don’t deserve this.” It is a constant mantra.

The figure motions to a table stocked with grisley looking instruments. It doesn’t have to speak up for Baatar to know what it will say, ‘have your pick.’

His mouth dries.

‘Come on seven-x.’ Types TheSlash.

He shakes all over. With shaky fingers he types, ‘use the knife.’

“Ah, a classic.” The figure speaks with a dramatic flair. It is somehow even more haunting without the white noise. “It would seem that we have a man of simple pleasures here with us tonight.” The person pauses. “And what will I be doing with the knife tonight?”

He swallows, every bit of him wants to tell the figure to slash a smile into its own throat. For his own safety, he curbs his tongue.

“Don’t be shy. You’ll find that I can do exotic things.”

Baatar doesn’t want to know what that means. It prickles his spine without context.

‘I think that this is too hard for him.’ 5TxY00L types.

‘Outsider.’ ripper adds.

Baatar’s stomach turns again. He can’t reply too quickly or that would arouse suspicion. He lets a minute slip before replying, ‘creativity takes time.’

This garners a slew of praise, save for ripper who types, ‘better make it good, leaving us waiting so long.’

He hovers his fingers over the keyboard, trying to decide what to do. ‘Draw me a picture.’ He is sicked by his own request.

He can sense the smile behind the mask. “Creative indeed.” The host allows pause for reaction. After the chat box fills further they speak again, “what should I draw.”

He can’t stop the sarcasm this time, ‘a cat in a sunny meadow.’

“A comedian too.” The host comments, undeterred by his passive-aggressiveness. “I do hope that you come back next week.” A link appears in his private chat window. He has no intention of following it. He writes it down regardless.

“Well then, let’s begin. This over here,” the host motions to its captive, “is Koh Quinn. Big businessman, family lives in Fire Fountain City. 1129, Lava Lake Road, if anyone wants to stop in and say hello to the wife.”

Baatar swallows again. A film of sweat begins to form as the figure nears Koh. He itches to turn his monitor off, but then they’d know that he is out of place. Then they may come for him. He has the sneaking suspicion that his host won’t allow for the screen to turn off even if he did hit the button.

He watches the masked person stalks up to its prey. He sees the knife glint as the first cut is made. He had expected it to be a violent and senseless slash. But it is elegant and meticulous. He wants to say that his host is female, but in his time on the police force, he has seen men leave clean-cut victims and women that may as well have been feral animals with their methods.

Baatar is desperate to pick out anything about this villain. An assailant so bold that they commit murder right before an officer. As the carving continues Koh’s screams grow shriller. More haunting.

He can hear the man’s sniffles grow in volume. Baatar isn’t sure if the wet noises come from his nose or from his opening flesh. He feels sick.

Hollow.

He stares blankly at the screen, trying to conjure up the indifference that has helped him through the most grotesque of his investigations. Koh’s screams swell and just when Baatar believes that his life is going to end, the host steps back to reveal their artwork.

A bloody cat in a bloody field, just as he’d requested.

“Charming, yes?”

‘Cut his hand off and use it to hold the knife and stab him.’ T types.

“We really do have a creative lot tonight.” The host remarks.

It will torment him for nights to come, what he views next. He tries to distract himself by eyeing his keyboard to type faux pleasure at the spectacle before him. But it is not enough. Minutes after the show has come to an end, he can still see Koh’s severed hand stabbing at his own chest. He can still hear the gurgles, they fog his host’s parting speech.

The screen had gone black and then to the tor homepage five minutes ago and he sits rigidly with his hands clasped in front of his mouth. It doesn’t even pester him that he will have to go through all of the links again. He is numb. He doesn’t know where to go from here. His eyes fall upon the link he had written down. He can report that to the squad. But will they be able to trace it on time to save the next victim. God, what if it is Koh’s wife. He gives a drawn exhale.

He hears a soft ping and the hairs on his back rise. Oh fuck, they’ve traced me. The nervous perspiration is beading on his forehead. He doesn’t want to turn around, he doesn’t want to know.

“Hello, officer BeiFong.” The voice is female.

He towards his computer, confirming what he already knows, his webcam is on and by its own accord. Rather the woman’s. He expects to see that chilling metallic bull mask. Instead he faces a woman with vivid green eyes rimmed by square-framed glasses. Beneath her shirt he can tell that she has a fit build.

Any hope that it is a mere coincidence or perhaps a friend of a friend fades when she remarks, “you struck me as the squeamish type, seven-x.”

“Are you ripper or T?” He asks.

She laughs.

“Don’t tell me that you’re window.” He grumbles.

Her lips curve up, “a comedian too.”

Another chill darts along his spine. He shoves that aside realizing that he has the power. “You’d show me your face?”

“Sure.” The woman replies. “You can’t touch me seven-x.”

“I have a name.” He snaps.

And he regrets as she responds, “Baatar Jr. BeiFong. Son of Baatar Sr. and Suyin BeiFong.”

“You can find that on google.” He grumbles.

She looks down for a moment, pushing at her glasses. “You like to sit under an old beech tree to the left of your bedroom window, third floor up, fifth window from the right.”

He swallows and tries to redirect the conversation. “I can have the police force…”

“You can’t touch me.” She repeats. He isn’t sure if she is referring to her unidentified location or a team of killers waiting to pounce at her command. “And you don’t want to, seven-x.”

“You’re a killer he snarls.”

“Yes.” She agrees. “But with good reason.”

“Good reason?” Baatar isn’t sure why he is engaging her.

“Do you know what Koh and his wife do?” She inquires. But she doesn’t leave him time to guess. “They run an orphanage. The kids don’t come out quite the same. Do you follow?”

He believes that he does. “Let me guess, you used to stay at that orphanage?”

“Oh no. No, not that one. The owners of the one I was in, they were the stars of my debut.” She replied nonchalantly. She turns around and lifts her shirt. Her back is an assortment of scars and poorly-healed welts. She turns back to him. “You don’t want to take me off of the streets because I clean the filth on them. The sludge that slips through the cracks.”

He opens his mouth.

“I want to make a deal, seven-x.”

“Go on.”

“Keep me off of the police radar and I’ll help you navigate the darkest corners of the dark web.”

He thinks of his task. Of the women who need liberation. “What is your stance on sex traffickers?”

“They have very special seats in my show.”

He should know better, he should know much better. But those pretty green eyes blink at him and she flashes a charmingly wicked grin. “Why don’t you just join the police force?” He inquires instead.

She cocks her head, “I have a...compulsion to indulge. I find that it’s better to quench it this way than to slaughter an innocent thing like your little sister.” He goes tense. She is bizarrely quick to apologize, “I’m not going to touch your sister. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” She pauses. “Do you accept my offer, seven-x?”

“Depends, are you going to tell me who I’m working with.”

“They call me the uniter.” She doesn’t elaborate. He knows that she won’t. “Do you accept my offer, seven-x.”

He thinks of Opal, of how vacant he would feel if she fell prey to the ring he was tracking. “Yes. I accept your offer, uniter.”

Her smirk goes wider before his webcam clicks off.

He hears a ping.

A new chat box appears on his screen.

[avatarrewatch]

PerishingShards here: I said my two cents on the Asia-Pacific pre-show earlier. And here is the person who’s responsible for this Avatar Rewatch even existing actually giving her own sentiments:

Shannon here, with tearful eyes and a full heart.

The Avatar Rewatch community has just finished with the beautiful moment of Korra and Asami stepping into the Spirit World together, hand in hand.

I already had so much emotion attached to this finale – such an important, shining moment in my life. But now, it’s even more special, because now I’ve watched it with this amazing community. It’s rare that something so precious to me could become even more special.

When I got the idea to start Avatar Rewatch, I had the feeling that there would be some interest in an event like this, but I never thought it would’ve been this much. Over 900 follows on Tumblr, and over 300 on the discord… I’m totally blown away.

But even more… the incredible levels of love you all have for these shows, and support you’ve shown for each other. Voices from all over the world, especially young queer ones, finding others who are there to hear them, and support them. I love all of you. 

My heart is so full, guys. <3 This has become such a powerful and healing event for so many people, and I’m so proud to have gotten it started.

First, let me personally thank all the mods. @ahhhsami, @asociallyawkwardduckling, @caelum-blue, @captainamsel, @masterkiddojinora, @monsieurtoast, @picmonster50, and especially @perishingshards for all the hard work they’ve done making this event run so smoothly. I got the ball rolling, but this mod team has done all the heavy lifting making the event run smoothly, and keeping the environment safe and welcoming.

But all the hard work we’ve done would be nothing if not for all the amazing people who came. YOU are the community, YOU are what has made this so welcoming and enthusiastic and beautiful. You are ALL amazing, and I know, I KNOW that this community is not going anywhere.

This event will DEFINITELY be annual – we’ll likely schedule the timing a little differently for 2019, but absolutely we’ll do this again! But the question is, what does Avatar Rewatch become in the meantime?

We all came together out of mutual love of the Avatar shows. But now, after two months, that initial mission is complete… what is our community to do?

We’re going to stick together. We’re going to keep enjoying things we love, but now, we’ll be sharing new ones. Still being there for each other, both in happy times and especially in bad.

Avatar Rewatch’s origins were just that – we all love Avatar, and we decided to rewatch it. But now, it’s become less about Avatar itself, and more about the community. This has never been about one person, it’s about all of us—about what ‘we’ like, and what ‘we’ need it to be.

Avatar Rewatch 2018 is over.

Avatar We Watch, however, is still going strong.

Thank you all for being a part of it. <3

These episode overviews are taken straight from the linked wikia.

4.12 Day of the Colossus

Team Avatar escapes from the rubble of the Future Industries factory and devises a plan to take down Kuvira's giant mecha suit. The benders try to slow the suit down, but its power overwhelms them. Varrick tries to use an electromagnetic pulse to short-circuit the giant mecha but fails, only disabling a battalion of much smaller mecha suits instead. Hiroshi Sato is temporarily released from prison to aid Asami, Varrick, and Zhu Li in re-purposing the hummingbird suits for combat use. While working on the suits, Hiroshi and Asami bury the hatchet, and Varrick successfully proposes to Zhu Li. Baatar Jr. reveals a way to disable the giant mecha, and the team uses it to create a plan aimed at infiltrating the suit itself. Using a plasma saw rigged to the hummingbird suit, Hiroshi and Asami successfully cut a hole in a leg of Kuvira's mecha suit. Seconds before Kuvira crushes their suit, Hiroshi ejects Asami from it, saving her life and sacrificing his own to finish cutting the hole, and Korra, Mako, Bolin, Lin, and Suyin manage to enter the mecha through the hole.

4.13 The Last Stand

Having infiltrated the giant mecha suit, Lin and Suyin move to disable the cannon, Mako and Bolin make their way to shut down the weapon's core, and Korra climbs to the cockpit to face Kuvira directly. With the cannon disabled, Kuvira tears the arm from the mecha with the Beifong sisters inside, tossing it into the Spirit Wilds moments before Korra blasts her way into the cockpit, sparking a ferocious duel. Meanwhile, Mako destroys the suit's core with lightning, causing it to explode and split the mecha in half at the waist. Korra helps a wounded Kuvira to exit the wreckage and demands her surrender, but Kuvira, catching Korra off-guard, escapes into the Spirit Wilds, where she finds the still-functional cannon hanging in the vines and turns it on the pursuing Korra. The shot misses, and the weapon begins absorbing power from the surrounding vines, causing it to spin out of Kuvira's control. Korra uses her energybending to counter the cannon's energy beam, and the massive amount of concentrated spirit energy tears open a new spirit portal. Korra and Kuvira are pulled into the Spirit World, where Korra manages to convince Kuvira to surrender, which she does the moment the two women return to Republic City. Sometime afterward, Varrick and Zhu Li are married at Air Temple Island with Bolin presiding. At the festivities, Wu reveals his plan to abolish the monarchy to Korra and Mako. Afterward, Korra and Asami decide to take a vacation to the Spirit World together, marking the start of their romantic relationship together.

Fanfiction

The Legend of Korra Book 5/continuation fanfics

March of Progress: by Writerleft/Threehoursfromtroy/Grannon/Shannon’s main Korrasami fic

Found and Finding by Writerleft/Threehoursfromtroy/Grannon/Shannon’s pure fluff Spirit World fic that is taken from the Spirit World interludes from March of Progress

Repairs Retrofits and Upgrades by Progman

Place in the World by paxbanana

Road to Recovery by Angel_of_the_Starz

Chosen’s Chosen by AudacityOfHuge

Book 5: Light by Ravensbomb

Book 5 Harmony by Silkarc

Nuestra historia sigue by Rosalyn isley

Fanart

Varrick and Zhu Li

Zhu Li and Varrick

The Legend of Korra: Discovers Shipping Season 4

Korra Finale Spoilers

Korrasami

Korrasami

Korrasami Wedding

Korrasami Spirit World Kiss

Fan Music Videos

Home

Au Revoir

The Last Goodbye

Fan Analysis

Lin Beifong is the Unsung Hero of Korra

No, I’m Still Not Over Korrasami

The Power of Korra’s Healing Arc

Legend of Korra Watered My Crops and Here’s Why

The Legend Of Korra Is A Perfect Deconstruction Of Superman

The Legend of Korra: Deliberate Deconstructed

Discord server: https://discord.gg/dtajJx3

Avatar Rewatch Calendar: http://goo.gl/NUV1Kp

(These amazingly beautiful episode title cards were made by the talented @masterkiddojinora)

[cold-neon-ocean]

Do you think Baatar and Kuvira will have a love affair in the house arrest at some point? Their chemistry in Ruins of the empire is very visible🤭

See this is a tough one because I have.. so many issues with Ruins it's not even funny, and no small one being how Baatar was treated in it.

IF I don't think about it too long, my gut reaction is just to say yes because I want him and Kuvira to be together :'D but if I think about everything that happened in the show, plus everything that happened in Ruins, it just makes me too upset that Baatar's family still couldn't respect him enough to even honor his wish to never see the person who betrayed and nearly killed him again, deciding completely without consulting him that he'll just get over it. I can't imagine how hurt he would have been by that as it only serves to reinforce they don't give a damn about how he feels.

Kuvira's "sacrifice" of Baatar "for the empire" doesn't work for me on so many levels so her claims of "she felt pressured" don't hold the weight to me that I know they're intended to but let's say in an alternate universe where they're just simultaneously arrested, no warehouse scenario or anything, and because Su would be the sort to probably bail them both into house arrest because one is her son and the other is her former pupil, then yes, I would love some post villainy house arrest romanced! Believe me, I am a supremo Baavira shipper, they're my favorite LoK pair and I love them to DEATH. But it's because I love them so much that I just have such issues with how they were written in both the show and ESPECIALLY in Ruins but I won't get into all that right now~

If I'm being true to how I analyze the canon, I feel like Baatar is just so far beyond the end of his rope at that point that he just doesn't feel anything for any of them anymore.

In my ideal world, Baatar would have been the main villain of Ruins and him and Kuvira attempting to rekindle anything to see how he feels after she betrayed him in THAT setting would be a lot spicier to me~!

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Wrought Iron Machine (Part 3)

The wail of Baatar’s guitar echos around the venue as it dies off. The sound of P’Li’s rhythm guitar had done so only seconds before. Taking a deep breath, Kuvira finishes off the acapella ending of the song. Once upon a time it had been a highly experimental move...to end a song with no instrumental backing. It had been a successful risk and it still does the trick when she decides to bring it back.

The crowd bursts into a series of cheers, claps and, whistles. Louder and more intense than she has heard in a long while. And, for a moment, Kuvira remembers the jubilation of their early days. For a moment,  she feels as though she has regained some of the band’s former traction.

She smiles down at the crowd and nods at their kind reception. It is the best she’s gotten since coming into the Fire Nation. She watches Ming toss her drumsticks into the air and then catch them again. It is something she does when she thinks that all eyes are on Kuvira and off of herself. This time she gets a few claps, so she does it again, this time giving the drums a few hits.

Kuvira lets the impromptu display continue until the woman has had a full on drum solo complete with drumstick twirling and throwing. Ming ends it with a with a final toss and a final hit. The crowd cheers and she flicks one of the sticks into the crowd and then the other.

P’Li and Gazhan mirror the action with their guitar picks. The crowd momentarily, but frantically congregates in the directions of them. Once all of the picks save for one per band member have been distributed, they take their bows. ���You guys have been wonderful.” Kuvira notes. “I try not to pick favorites, but I think that this is one of our best crowds of this tour.”

Baatar nods in agreement.

“How would you all like to take a picture with us?” She asks. The act of taking pictures with the crowd is a relatively new tradition, a trend started by Fire Of Agni and a few bands like them. As much as she loathes to admit it, it is a brilliant idea. A way to commemorate things and bring in a little more revenue. It isn’t very easy to distribute the photos taken and their film reel is limited so they have to pick and choose which crowds to take the shots with. The rarity of the photos typically warrant decent money when their record label auction them off.

After claps and cheers of approval P’Li adds, “then give us your best Vaatu horns!”

Many years in and Kuvira still has to laugh at whoever coined that term. Vaatu didn’t have horns, more like flared out whisps. No less she faces away from the crowd and slings an arm around Baatar and makes the hand sign with her free hand.

The Hakodak camera flashes. It’s a fine model, she must say; a folding autographic model, black-brown in color. It isn’t the latest model, but it is nice enough to get the job done and still earn a few buyers. The camera flashes thrice more. Kuvira makes a mental not to look through the four images after they print and decide which one to keep.

She leads them backstage and listens to the whooping and hollering until it becomes a familiar chanting of their band name, rather a shortened version. “Wrought Iron! Wrought Iron! Wrought Iron!” She lets them continue for sometime, building up the anticipation. “I think that they’re ready for us to come back out.”

“Do we have to?” Gazhan asks earning him a glower from P’Li.

“Yes.” Kuvira answers. “We do. This is our best show in a long time. Let’s end it that way.” She leads them back out and stands before the crowd once more. The cheering intensifies until she believes that it is reaching its peak. Kuvira nods in approval.

They scream for her, for her band.

Staring out at them is like looking at an army awaiting orders from a general.

“I’d say that they’re in the mood for one more.” Baatar announces. He looks at Kuvira but she knows that he is addressing the crowd.

They give another collective and affirmative cheer.  

“I don’t know about that.” Kuvira replies, eliciting a more energetic round of applause. “Maybe they are, after all…” She trails off.

They begin chanting the band name again, it is nearly lost under cheers and whistles.

“Alright, but you’re all going to have to convince Ghazan.”

And they go from chanting the band name to Ghazan’s. It isn’t quite the response she had in mind, but it will do.

“Think you can handle this Ghazan?” P’Li asks.

Kuvira detects the taunt in her voice and goes tense. Raava, she hopes that they don’t start on stage. Not when they are having such a good night. And perhaps she is radiating this because Ghazan brushes the comment off and says, “I can. But can they?”  He points his guitar at the crowd and they go wild once more.

“I think that we’ve reached a decision.” Kuvira notes. “I suppose, since you’ve all been so kind, that we should play a new song.”

“You all will be the first to hear it.” Baatar adds.

The volume of the applause is greater than even before. This lot has a lot of energy. It lifts Kuvira’s spirit some. A smile spreads across her face, one that she couldn’t stop even if she had tried. Ming pounds out the first beats.

.oOo.

Kuvira flops onto the bed and blows out a tired breath. She ought to unravel her braid and shower, but she hasn’t the energy. She said that they’d play one more song, their new one. But she played at least three or four. Raava, that crowd had been a good one. It had made her feel like they were in their prime days.

“Are you going to get dressed for bed?” Baatar asks.

She gives a dismissive hand flap, too drained to do anymore.

“Fair enough.” He chuckles. “I guess I’ll just sleep in my day clothes too.”

Kuvira feels the bed dip as he crawls up next to her as he so often did. One of his hands slides to her hip and the other caresses her cheek as she presses her forehead against his. He kisses her good night. It is a rare moment, a moment where things aren’t so tense. A night so good that she can pretend that there is nothing wrong at all. Not with the band and not between the two of them.

She squeezes his hand.

She wants to savor the moment, to drag the night on. But sleep takes her without her consent.

.oOo.

As soon as the sun rises, Kuvira is thankful that she has scheduled an off day. She is sore all over and her eyes still feel so heavy. She pulls herself upright feeling sluggish as all hell. The stretches she does as she stands, do little to ease the tension in her muscles. It is a familiar ache the kind that came in wake of dancing while managing an expensive microphone. Raava had she missed dancing, she wonders why she had stopped doing so on stage. She thinks back, unfondly, of accidently falling off of the stage. Of the incident that really set in motion their steady fall from grace.

Sometimes, in sleep, the sound of her leg snapping still haunts her. It was such a sickly sound. A sickly feeling when the blood started welling and worse still, knowing that she couldn’t actually feel her leg. And faces, so many faces.

Watching.

Judging.

The magazines and newspapers had their work made for them.

Such a slow physical recovery had at least given her time to write songs, but that had hardly made up for the sheer amount of cancelled shows. They still had half a tour left. A waste it had been. A shameful waste. She thinks that, that is why it is hard for them to gain traction in the Fire Nation. They can no longer be trusted to stick to a schedule. The more she thinks about it, the harder it is for her to decide what exactly is doing the most damage; the falling popularity in their style of music or their own unexpected mishaps and shortcomings.  

Kuvira pinches the bridge of her nose, determined to think about something else. This isn’t how she wants to start her morning after such an optimistic performance. She motions for one of their firebender roadies to lightningbend their portable oven--another relatively new invention--in to useable condition and begins fixing herself a hot cup of green tea. She enters the time into the portable oven and puts the cup within.

As she waits for the thing to boil the water, she finds herself something to wear. Something very casual; a simple white T-shirt and a pair of green sweatpants. Baatar is already standing, shirtless, before the mirror when she gets there. Her eyes fall on the mechanical badger-mole he had tattooed on his chest during their first tour. He has another on his back, a large depiction of the mechsuit they had designed together. One day she ought to bring those costumes back on stage.

She watches him fumble with his small gauge earrings. She isn’t all that fond of them, but she makes no mention of it, especially since she had kind of brought it upon herself. She had been the one to suggest getting them in the first place and suggested that everyone in the band get at least one--some extra metal for an Zaofu based metal band.

While Kuvira has little ink of her own she admits to perhaps going  a little overboard with the piercings; an arch of rings on both of her brows—the final ring on her right brow linked by a small chain to a different piercing on her ear—a stud collar bone pierced, many more on her ears, and a lip ring. She has been considering getting a new nose stud.

She thinks of Ming-Hua. Ming who is a stark contrast to herself. Ming who isn’t as adventurous, she keeps it simple with only a small navel piercing… the woman didn't even get her ears pierced.

And then she thinks of P'Li  who is also pretty simple—the woman was more of a tattoo type. The only piercing she had gotten was one on her arm, a small ruby stud that acts as an eye for her fiery tigerdillo tattoo.

Ghazan is more like herself, having only one tattoo of Vaatu on his bicep but a collection of piercings. Most notably are his nipple rings, the man likes to make a point of reminding everyone of how much those had hurt. His ears are also pierced from top to bottom and more recently he had acquired himself some snake bites.

Kuvira squeezes next to Baatar and begins quietly unraveling her braid. In the mirror she sees Baatar lean in and slip his arms around her middle as he cranes his neck to press a kiss to the back of her own. Right on the one tattoo she does have; a lotus flower opening into a cloud of teeny music notes.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Very well.” She replies.

“Good to hear. And how is your throat?”

She lifts her hand and gives him a ‘so-so’ gesture. It could certainly feel worse. She hears her roadie call to tell her that her drink is done. “Join me for some tea?” She knows by now that he isn’t a fan of the drink, but she still likes to ask.

“I’ll pass.” He unhooks his hands and lets her return to her tea.

Staring into her cup she tries to come up with a way to keep last night’s momentum going. She hopes she can cling onto her spunk for at least two more shows. It could do the band wonders.

P’Li comes to sit next to her, slamming a magazine down onto the table with force enough to have some of Kuvira’s tea splattering on the table. “Look at this shit!”

Everything in the woman’s tone tells, Kuvira that she doesn’t want to. Either it is an article dragging them through the mud or something prising Fire Of Agni in a way they don’t deserve. No, she doesn’t want to know, but she looks anyhow.

Her nose crinkles in disgust. “That’s not the same picture is it?” She hopes that she is mistaken and that it is the one she’d already seen.

“Nope, brand new.”

If it is attention that the Fire Of Agni members want, they are certainly getting it. Kuvira tosses the magazine in the trash, thanking Raava that she’d never go that far for publicity.

What she doesn’t understand is why they need it, Fire Of Agni already has all eyes on them. Perhaps they want to completely overtake the spotlight.

The magazine glares up at Kuvira from the rubbish bin.

[empirelead-a]

RULES: repost, don’t reblog. just pick a muse of yours and fill it out.

— basics

▸ is your muse tall/short/average? Average.

▸ are they okay with their height? She’s totally fine with her height, though having someone she’s not entirely fond of who has that advantage over her does aggravate her a bit and she hates it even more if the other person knows that it annoys her as well. In those moments, she does wishes that she’s taller than them just to return the favor by looking down at them with a dumb smirk and maybe even use them as an armrest. What a fucking power move.

▸ what’s their hair like? Not entirely long, I would say her hair would go down to her mid-back. Her hair is also definitely thick and smooth, kind of has a wave to it too. She always braids her hair or tie it up into a bun so it won’t get in a way when she’s working, but when her presence is needed at a formal event where she had to look very presentable and very nice then she may have her hair down for once. Smells nice too, like citrus. 

▸ do they spend a lot of time on their hair/with their grooming? Yes, but not in a way where she’s incredibly vain. It’s just the fact that she can’t stand being dirty, it makes her feel uncomfortable and she takes two showers a day: one in the morning after she’s done with her workout and one at night before bed. Of course, we can’t forget about her eyebrows too which she does groom them every morning, plucking and snipping them--it’s part of her routine, don’t judge her.

▸ does your muse care about their appearance? Like the above, Kuvira isn’t incredibly vain but she does care enough about looking presentable at the very least and making a good first impression. 

▸ does your muse care about what others think about them? Physically? Not really, Kuvira knows that she’s attractive and doesn’t think much of it. Other than her looks, she does her best not to think about it; she can ignore them, the mean words and all that but sometime it does get to her especially when she already feels a bit insecure with her own abilities. Just remember that the people with the loudest bark and the biggest ego tends to be the most insecure ones.

— preferences

▸ indoors or outdoors? Both ▸ rain or sunshine?  Both ▸ forest or beach? Forest ▸ precious metals or gems?  Precious metals  ▸ flowers or perfumes?  Flowers ▸ personality or appearance?  Personality ▸ being alone or being in a crowd?  Being alone ▸ order or anarchy? Order ▸ painful truths or white lies? Truths ▸ science or magic? Science  ▸ peace or conflict?  Peace ▸ night or day? Night ▸ dusk or dawn?  Both ▸ warmth or cold?  Warmth ▸ many acquaintances or a few close friends?  A few close friends ▸ reading or playing a game?  Reading mostly, but she doesn’t mind joining in games that her officers are playing

— questionnaire

▸ what are some of your muse’s bad habits? Chewing on her lips, something she does when she’s feeling a bit anxious or have something bad to say. Other than that, she doesn’t really have much bad habits since she has self-control. 

▸ has your muse lost anyone close to them? how has it affected them? A few comrades and friends that came with her when she left Zaofu. It was difficult and harsh reality, seeing something like this so close and personal since Zaofu was known to be the “safest city in the world” so a place like that probably doesn’t have a lot of action before the Red Lotus showed up. She never really been into war until now when they arrived at Ba Sing Se, seeing all the damages that have been done. It changed her--that the world isn’t like Suyin’s little fantasy world, but I wouldn’t say it changed her completely during that time into the person we saw on Book 4.

▸ what are some fond memories your muse has? Moments she had with the Beifongs before things became soured. It’s memories she tries to forget, serving her as bittersweet memories and knowing that she won’t ever go back to those days. At the very least, Baatar is still by her side and there are memories (with him in it, ofc) she can remember fondly with him when time were easier. 

▸ is it easy for your muse to kill? Back then? Not really, but over time she learned that it became necessary to take down those who threatens her people or her own life is placed in danger and those around her, like in battle for example. She may show them mercy, but sometime that won’t cut it if she sees no hope of them changing or fearing they may cause a lot of problems for her and her cause in the future--sometime an example must be shown too.

▸ what’s it like when your muse breaks down? There are two types of Kuvira having a breakdown: one is where she’s quiet and still, just staying at one place until tears just starts to fall and the other is where she will lose her shit, losing her self-control.

▸ is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life?  Only a very selective few.

▸ what’s your muse like when they’re in love? Her demeanor would definitely change, becoming softer and less tense around the one she loves very much. Her eyes would just sparkle with happiness that anyone who known her for quite a while can definitely see how happy she is even though she’s not showing it. She’s smiling and laughing more too. While public display of affection isn’t her thing and she would rather save that behind closed doors, Kuvira would still unconsciously become a bit physical by like leaning closer to Baatar and sometime placing a hand on his arm, giving it a rub or a squeeze.

tagged by:  @appointedescort (thanks~) tagging: @waterbents, @divine-identite, @kidncpped, @uccisore, @pinkestaura, @chiefbaefong, and anyone else who wanna do this~

[ourimpavidheroine]

Lin and Su with Spouses - During a (school) Dance? (For lovealg)

“Well, what do you know, Madame Beifong, I think they’re playing our song.” LoLo flashed that damned sassy dimple at her sister and she reacted the same way that just about everyone did; smiling, blushing a little and going along with him. Su took the arm he was offering and let him take her to the dance floor, laughing at whatever flirty thing she was sure he’d just whispered into her ear. He was incorrigible.

“It’s good to see him able to move around the floor like that.” Her brother-in-law was standing next to her, two flutes of champagne in his hands. “I got this for Susi, but you may as well have it before it goes flat.” He gestured at a quieter table set back from the crowd and she sat down with him, taking the proffered drink. Champagne wasn’t her favorite tipple, not by a long shot, but it’s what Wu liked to offer at his parties, so there she was.

She liked her brother-in-law. He was a deceptively quiet man; she’d assumed, at first, that he was spineless, under her sister’s thumb. He wasn’t. Rather, he was a solid pillar of strength, the foundation for all of Su’s impulsiveness and hot temper. Damn handsome, too, not that she thought Su would have only picked a man based on his looks. Never hurt, though. The more she’d gotten to know him over the years, the more she respected him. Liked him, too. Su hadn’t done bad for herself, not at all.

“So how long do you think before I can gracefully bow out of here?” He chuckled, and she snorted in return.

“Su’s like LoLo, always wants to see the party out.”

“I’m usually pretty partied out about halfway through the evening.”

“I hear you on that one.”

“Susi told me about the parties your grandmother used to have. Legendary.” He smiled, and they both watched LoLo take Su through her paces across the floor.

“Did she? I wouldn’t have thought she would have gone on about our childhood.”

Baatar thought about this for a moment. “I don’t if she went on, per se, but she told some stories. The kids always wanted to hear them. She had to do a fair amount of judicious editing, of course, but both you and your mother usually came up.”

That got an outright laugh out of her. “I can hardly believe she had a positive thing to say about me, never mind my mother.”

He frowned at her. “What do you mean?”

She threw a hand out. “Well, it’s not like she and I got along all that well when we were kids.”

He took a swallow of champagne before settling the flute down and steepling his fingers. “Well, I suppose in many ways you didn’t.” He shot his wife a glance. “I never had any siblings, but I raised five children, I’m aware of how sibling relationships work.” He returned his attention to her. “She had a lot of good memories of the two of you. The kids loved hearing the stories, especially Opal.” They both looked at Opal, who was currently dancing with Mako, his hand resting easily on the small of her back.

“I’m just surprised, I guess. It’s not like we left on good terms, to say the very least.”

He watched his daughter dance for a moment before taking another swallow of his drink. “I had a good relationship with my parents when I was a boy.” A small smile. “Even when I wasn’t a boy any longer. My parents were good, loving people.”

“Much like LoLo’s folks.”

He shook his head, bemused. “Well, there weren’t as many of us, but yes. When I finally met your mother, I was looking forward to it. I was anxious to meet the woman who had given the world Suyin Beifong.”

She scoffed. “Bet she changed your mind in a hurry.”

He rolled the flute between his fingers, watching as the light caught and flashed in the crystal. “She didn’t have much use for me, your mother. She didn’t like me, and she never bothered to hide it, either.”

“That sounds about right.” She leaned forward to put a hand on his arm. “You shouldn’t take it personally, she didn’t like most people.”

He shrugged. “Well, I can’t dismiss what she did for Huan. And she was always fairly affectionate with Opal, who openly adored her. She was gone before the twins were old enough to really know her and she and Junior barely spoke, most of the time. And, as I said, she didn’t like me.” He sighed, and glanced over at her. “It killed Su, it really did. She wanted so badly for her mother to be proud of her.”

She shook her head and flicked her glass with her forefinger, watching the liquid shiver. “Yeah well, my mother wasn’t invested in praise. As far as she was concerned, praise was something that only weak people needed.”

“I hated having her around. She was rude to me, ignored Junior and the twins no matter how hard they tried to get her attention, and was dismissive of Su. In fact, if it weren’t for Huan I would have kicked her crotchety ass right out of the city.” His thumb was drawing circles on the table. “Su and I always fought when she was around, Su was so tense and anxious. She’d go out of her way to satisfy her - which never worked, course - and then take her disappointment about it out on me. She built her that ridiculous statue in a desperate bid to please her and it didn’t work, of course. Do you know what your mother said about it?”

She sighed. “I can probably guess.”

“You call yourself a Beifong? Your metalbending needs work, Suyin.” He hissed a breath out. “It’s been nearly thirty years now and I’m still not finished being angry with her over that. Su cried for days over it. I think the only reason she didn’t tear the damn thing down was because she wanted it as a reminder of how she could never get it right.” He gave a half-smile. “That, and she was angry when she was done being hurt. I don’t need to tell you how stubborn and defiant she gets when she’s angry.”

“The fucked up thing about is that knowing my mother, she probably was pleased.” She flicked the glass even harder, sending it an inch across the table. “I don’t know why she just couldn’t tell us that, but she never could.”

He finished his champagne, still looking at the table. “She used to celebrate your birthday. Every year. Did she ever tell you that?”

She frowned. “No. She celebrated my birthday?”

He nodded. “Every single year. Without fail. She’d have a special dinner, like she’d always have for the kids, make sure the table was decorated with your favorite flowers, that sort of thing, and then she’d tell them stories about you, about the fun you’d had as kids, about what a good bender you were, about how you were helping to keep Republic City safe. That sort of thing.”

“Shit.”

He met her eyes on that one. “Yes, well. And then, after the kids had gone to bed she’d go into her office, alone, and get thoroughly drunk. And cry.”

They were both silent for a time, watching her sister dance with LoLo, laughing at whatever he was saying to her, spinning around the floor like she was born to it. Which she was, Su had always been a gifted dancer.

“You showed up at Zaofu with Korra all those years ago, and I thought she was going to come apart at the seams. She did the same thing with you she’d always done with your mother, took you around the city, trying to prove to you how wonderful her life was, how perfect. She wanted your approval, but was so afraid you wouldn’t give it to her. Which made her angry, of course. She’s never liked feeling vulnerable.”

“Family thing,” she replied, her throat closing up on her, damn it all anyhow.

“You reached out, though. You made sure that you left on decent terms, unlike your mother. And I can’t begin to tell you what it meant to her.” He chuckled. “She was ready to have you move in, then and there.”

She managed to return his laugh. “Yeah, she tried to get me to do it.”

“She couldn’t stop talking about you, after you left, was already planning how she was going to invite you for the holidays, that sort of thing.” He reached his hand out and patted hers. “You being back in her life has made her very happy, it’s meant the world to her. I’m glad the two of you were able to make up your differences.”

“I was so pissed at her when Mom sent her away, I blamed her for everything. She was just a kid. The last thing she needed was feeling like she was being thrown away, which is what I’m sure she felt like.” She tossed down the rest of her champagne. “Not that I understood it back then, I was too busy thinking like I was the only person in the world that knew what was best for everyone.” She grimaced. “What a sanctimonious asshole I was.”

He gave her a conspiratorial grin. “Oh, when I was in my early twenties I thought I knew everything there was to know. I was so very, very wrong.”

“I’d toast to that but we seem to be out of booze.” She waved over a server and pointed silently to their glasses, waiting for him to pick them up and replace them. “Now then. Here’s to being twenty-two and thinking you know everything.” He tapped his glass against hers and they both drank.

“She told the kids about the scars, too.”

Her eyebrows shot up at that. “Did she? Before they met me?”

He nodded. “Junior and Wei were getting into it one night - the two of them have always fought like wolfbats and badgermoles - and she hauled them both aside and told them that they’d regret their fighting one day when they were older. And then she told them about it, how you were trying to stop her from doing something wrong and how she lashed out at you and scarred you. The twins were too young to hear the whole story, but she told the three oldest, was honest about what she was doing at the time, really laid it out for them.”

“Huh.” She didn’t really know what to say to that. She’d always assumed Su had never said anything, that the kids had all just assumed she’d gotten it somewhere else.

“That’s why all the kids were so eager to meet you when you finally came.” He smiled. “Even Huan, although being Huan he didn’t really show it.” He waggled his finger at her. “I tell you what, though, that sculpture of his you tossed? When you and Su were having it out? He kept it, used to tell everyone that it was a joint Beifong endeavor.”

“Smartass.” She was amused. Funny kid, Huan.

“Who’s a smartass?” Su was looking down at her, smiling, cheeks slightly flushed. Well, a dance with LoLo would do that for just about anyone. He was sitting down next to Baatar, taking up what was left of her champagne.

“You are,” she told her kid sister, who stuck her tongue out at her before sitting next to her and wrapping her arms around her, laughing.