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biqherosix · 3 years

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I was wondering if you could do hcs for mako and boilin with a younger sibling? Only if requests are open, idk if it’s me being blind but I couldn’t find if they were open or not, thx

republic city hustlers - headcanons

fluff, angst

(the legend of korra — familial! mako x waterbender! reader x bolin)

just when you think taking care of one sibling is hard when you're on the streets, try two siblings. but you know that you wouldn't have it any other way

cw / bone breaking

a/n — i am, in fact alive and i am back now. know i made a few modifications and this has an actual plot. anyway, enjoy anon !

you're the middle child, a waterbender (according to my research, you took the recessive waterbending gene from your mother's side, who's parents were a firebender and waterbender in a time where that was still frowned upon. ik i am: a nerd ✨)

so you're a year apart in between mako and bolin (which means mako is eight, you're seven, bolin is six when your parents die rip)

and as you know y'all grew up on the streets, so mako was very strict towards bolin well, bc you really had to save your money in order to survive

while you agreed with mako on your budget, you didn't mind sneaking bo some of your extra helpings you stole so that mako could eat too (bb takes care of everyone but himself so it's his time 😌)

mako knows you sneak stuff away to bolin but he looks the other way, it's his small way of knowing he's got your back with whatever honestly

you're kinda the mediator between mako and bo who always had different opinions, and you're always willing to make a compromise

you are kinda strict between both of your brothers because mako should loosen up sometimes and bolin should know how hard y'all work to survive

you love them though, and they love you; bo's love for you is very obvious because you are more open with affection, thus being tackled in hugs, cheek kisses, and hand holding (and mako would never admit it, but your forehead kisses and sudden hugs always bring a smile to his face bc he's very lucky to have you both in his life)

but also nights in republic city get cold and you really get to realize mako really does have your back >:( bolin has no problem cuddling up into spare cardboard in empty abandoned alleyways, you're built different

you get cold v v easily and mako always joked around about it when you were younger but when y'all were in your double digits (i'd say a year before your probending era) it's because you didn't grow up in the south / north pole and therefore weren't accustomed to the weather

which then turned into a conversation about how mako knew almost nothing about the fire nation other than the fire family ruled and there was a lot of internal anger for the people who killed your parents and how you wished you could still act like a child (like bolin who was so naive and innocent despite living on the streets)

you two end up shedding a few tears while trying to compose yourselves and watch over bolin but it was kinda distracting with all your shivering from the cold and the shaking from your tears

so mako being the good amazing brother he is (despite the love triangle but we don't talk about that) wraps you up in a hug and you collapse into him, playing with the little fringes of his scarf as he rubs your shoulder for warmth (you don't need it, his body heat is enough but at the same time you don't wanna tell him to stop)

bolin wakes up in awe as for once you got mako to sleep the whole night, and two you're both wrapped up and vulnerable mako is rare as we have all established but for you he will make an exception

also because you are a waterbender, it was harder being able to really tap into your skills until you get taken in by the triads; while they taught mako how to lightning bend, you simultaneously learned along with him and accidentally whipped bolin in the fact

so basically since then, you kinda just taught yourself to take and learn from other elements (you guys were only taught things through radio and stolen books so you didn't know at that point zuko had basically been taught the same thing and showed other firebenders)

which makes you develop a very unique style of bending good enough for republic city's favorite sport !!!

you and bolin had been lounging around making bets for toza's probending game before being taken in by the man himself when you joked around about the game, pointing out to the arena

"you know, maybe that could be us" *silence* "y/n, you're such a genius!" (you thought you freaked him out for a bit and turned around to make sure he was okay, turns out his eyes were glazed in ambition. you regretted joking about probending after that)

and oop suddenly y'all are the fire ferrets (in honor of our boy pabu)

for once mako isn't angry bc dummy hasook doesn't get angry back, in fact hasook isn't even on the team you replaced him as an og member of the fire ferrets

y'all are iconic okay you work so well together, and it definitely brings you three closer in communication and such (you tease mako about that and he pushed you into the water of the arena, you got payback by soaking mhm "yeah, throwing a waterbender into a pool. great idea mako!")

y'all actually did have a chance at winning the finals in book one, but then a stupid earthbender from a team's name you couldn't even remember ruined all that

at this point you had already met korra and asami, and you loved the girls you really did but the drama you had to listen to from your brothers made you wanna freeze their mouths shut (you'd never tell them that to their faces, you'd get pushed in the pool again)

anyway, korra had been watching one of your games when this one dude throws a disk and you end up taking the hit on your leg; you get thrown into zone two, but you don't get up and the boys immediately forfeit

mako and bo insist they carry you to a healer (more like mako mf yelling at anyone and bo carrying you with tears in his eyes bc it was a bad hit), and korra makes it easier for them and checks out your injury

this dude broke your lower leg from a earth disk and you're crying and it hurts really bad that you instantly grab mako's hand loosely because he's always been a source of comfort for you

bo is crying with you because he's never seen you in such great pain and it hurts him internally, and when korra has to tell them to go to the hospital, you put a hand over your mouth knowing the consequences

you protested at first, saying there was no way you could afford a hospital trip in the first place (asami piped up saying she would pay for it, you needed the best healthcare possible, stan her) and mako had been the one to shush you and smooth your hair down, and that was serious enough for you

you felt numb when they told you that you obviously couldn't compete in the finals, but an underwhelming sense of guilt fills your stomach because things had finally been looking up for you up until this stupid moment

asami is outside waiting with korra bc you just wanted to be with your brothers for a minute before seeing anyone else (bolin is cuddling with you in the cot aware of your injury and you're fiddling with mako's fingers)

ultimately, you sigh heavily and make mako bring the girls in there, telling them that you think korra should take your place; she hugs you tightly out of happiness because she had really wanted to try probending and this was her chance, though the situation had been rather unpleasant

you end up in a wheelchair for a bit, and you watch the games because you obviously want to support your brothers, but every time they had scored a knockout or a win and hugged korra, you couldn't help but feel this sense of abandonment

i mean after an injury like that your leg will obviously never be the same thus your bending would turn out quite differently and suddenly you feel incompetent to be a part of team avatar as well, which changes a lot of your relationship dynamic because like your brothers you !! are !! stubborn !! when you set your mind to something it's done

you didn't tell your brothers about this for a while (damn, lack of communication really runs in the family even after i said it'd do y'all good, my bad)

but they notice your distance, your tear stained cheeks, all that sad stuff and bolin tries to remain positive; after your leg is fully healed he makes an attempt at working through your bending stances, but it only ends in tears and a lot of frustration, which makes his heart hurt again

and mako tries to get you to read fire nation lore with him now that he has a whole stack of books via jinora, and he gets to learn about his culture like you both always wanted, but you push the book away and limp towards the meditation pavilion just to stare at the ocean

but they finally corner you and you just break, your knees give out when you open the door to see their looks of helplessness because you had been so selfish as to how you coped with your injury that you forgot that your brothers did love you, no matter what level bender you were

at first, they crouch onto the floor to see that you're okay, but you're sputtering out apologies and explanations, grabbing their shoulders to wrap them in a tight hug you had been craving for a while

they move you to the bed, and it's just like old times where bolin falls asleep first with his hand in yours, and you're against the wall with mako, your head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around you

with you and mako silence had never been a bad thing, you relished in it, but this time he had reassured you vocally about every worry you had, and you were grateful (so were tenzin and pema, who beckoned you for breakfast and saw the three of you huddled together, kinda reminded tenzin of him, kya, and bumi in the early days)

things start looking different, and you slowly bring yourself to bend despite the slight change in footing (thank the spirits for kya !) and your brothers are there every step of the way, mako affirming your progress and bolin twirling you in the air

"guys i was just trying to get used to balancing myself again." "you still did amazing!" "thanks bo"

and they even get asami and korra in on it, because you are a valid, competent member of team avatar whether you think so or not

you're just really lucky to have your brothers okay?? they love you and would very much bend the world for you if need be, even if they suck at communicating it

and bonus, you're really grateful to have another little brother !! when y'all adopt kai, you boast about how you've actually got a real advantage as probending team (though you'd gone past that era) because you've obviously got all four elements

there's so much love and when mako and kai finally get along, you receive even more love because bolin cannot keep a secret for the life of him and tells kai about your major injury

and my baby is a words of affirmation and physical touch love language boy so before you send him off to the air temples he just takes your hand, lets you know how cool it is to be a waterbender, how strong you are, the like and goes on a tangent about cool waterbending stories and comparing them to you

you'd never smiled harder, not even when you finally convinced mako to let bolin keep pabu (and though mako crosses his arms and pretends to be mad, he couldn't be happier for you bc his little sibling was finally reverting back to your old self where your relationship wasn't as complex)

so, maybe you thought having two brothers was hard, but three? it'd be an adventure but you know you wouldn't have it any other way, because they're the best brothers around :)

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saby-chan · 3 years

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Why the ATLA comics fail when it comes to Zuko and his family

To whom ever took their time to actually stop and read this post, thank you in advance for not skipping my post and willing to stay and read my humble opinion! I hope I won’t disappoint you!

As a relatively newcomer to the ATLA fanbase since 2020, I’ve come across a lot of interesting debates, comments and rants about the show, characters and fandom in general, but nothing has captivated me as much as the dumpster-on-fire that are the ATLA comics, more specifically: The Promise and The Search.

On one hand we have the hardcore fans who want them to be animated or serialized into the Netflix live action, praising the comics for the new views and subject matters they’ve brought into the show’s lore, while on the other hand we have the furious Azula fandom who is really angry for the fact that best girl didn’t get the redemption arc she rightfully deserved so much after the painful event that was the Last Agni Kai and the even more angry fans of the Urzai ship (yeah, the people who actually ship Zuko’s parents unironically) who hated the retconning of the show’s cannon since the comics basically took a huge fat dump on what was previously established as official cannon, when the Search entered the scene, but between these two sides, who has the more valid point? In the end, are the comics good cannon or bad written fanfiction?

Well... Here are my two cents on this matter since I myself happen to be an Azula and Zuko fan and had huge expectations from these comics (since I wanted more from my fave hot-headed fiery siblings duo) but ended up disappointed: the comics are indeed a huge mess and actually bad written fanfiction when it comes to Zuko and his family! Don’t click off yet, because I actually documented the reasons why exactly the comics fail in this area:

1. The author of these comics is not part of the BryKe duo

Yes, I would like to start with the fact that if you actually take a second to look up who in the heck took the time to write these two books, you won’t find Bryan, nor Mike, but a fellow man named Gene Yang. This is important because while the wiki of both The Promise and The Search state BryKe as the creators, that doesn’t mean that they were the actual minds behind these comics, but rather because ATLA is their “baby” and these comics involve their characters, over which they have copyright. Mr. Yang here is the actual brain behind the plot, as the main writer, which explains why we find huuuuge inconsistencies between the show lore and the comics, especially Zuko wise.

My main issue with Mr. Yang isn’t that he isn’t BryKe specifically, but because he did an unforgivable mistake in his writing process: He projected himself into Zuko’s character, based on the relationship Zuko had with his father. This is a documented fact from an interview in which he explains that he sees himself and his dad’s relationship into Zuko and Ozai and used that when writing their interactions and built Zuko’s character in the comics. And this is wrong because when you have an already very developed and complex character such as Zuko, you can’t just come in and be like “Oh, I was an angsty teen just like him in my teenage years, fighting with my dad and whatnot, so he must have the same thought process as me!”. NO! This is bad fanfiction writer behavior! Zuko has his own personality and philosophy, which he developed over the course of 3 seasons and is not defined by only 1 unfortunate aspect of his past, so you can’t just base his whole mindset and actions off of your own personal experience just because you had the same daddy issues he had!

2. The whole “Promise that you will kill me if I turn out like my dad!” nonsense in The Promise

Reason number 2 why these comics fail and go under the category of “bad fanfiction” is because they fail to convey the core essence of the source material. The whole point of Zuko’s redemption was that he realized the wrongdoings of his ancestors and his own mistakes. He outgrew his desire of gaining his father’s acknowledgement in favor of choosing his own destiny. Having him worry that he’ll turn into his father is utter nonsense and feels like poor angsty drama material for the sake of angst. At this point in time, Zuko has overcame that obstacle in his life a long time ago and should be at the level where he himself is the “Uncle Iroh” for other people and in no way someone concerned of becoming their own worst enemy!

Not only that, but the whole point of Aang’s journey and the story of the show as a whole was to teach us, the viewers, the importance of forgiveness, empathy and love in life. Aang didn’t spare Ozai, aka “the ultimate evil” just to flex in front of his pals or because he is a “ 12 y/o vegan pacifist monk kid”, but because he knew that killing someone, no matter of what they did or wanted to do, wouldn’t restore balance into the Universe, on the contrary, him killing the villain would have meant perpetuating the “endless cycle of hate” that plagued the world. So having Aang promise to kill his best friend in case “they turned into an evil maniac like their dad” contradicts Aang’s whole character and it’s a nonsense that throws into the trash what we’ve learnt throughout the entire TV series.

3. Azula deserved (and was supposed) to have a redemption ark

This might still be pure speculation, but I count it as a documented reason because I’ve heard quite a few people saying that there should’ve been a book 4 in the show, aka “Book 4: Air”, and no, it wasn’t The Search, but actually Zuko and Azula’s journey as Zuko helps his younger sister heal her broken mind by being her very own “Uncle Iroh”. Sure, they prolly were going to end up looking for Ursa, but the journey should’ve ended with them actually being happy and a family again and not the bs we got in The Search where a still very unstable Azula runs away and becomes the “Next Joker”! The only problem is that M. Night had to pop up and curse the world with his movie, which forced BryKe to delay the project (and eventually abandoned it in favor of Korra).

All in all, either if BryKe had this preplanned or not, it made sense for Azula to get a redemption ark, she deserved it because she was just a broken 14 y/o child! If Katara’s mom’s murderer deserved to be forgiven, so did this poor child who had no fault for what happened to her since she had a dysfunctional family! What Gene Yang did in his poorly written fanfiction was to just antagonize a broken child, turning her into a monster for the sake of friggin angst!

4. The Search is the worst of the two, being flat af character wise

And finally, getting to the point that I personally find the most annoying about these comics: The Search. This one... This one is a mess on a hella lot many levels, and just to list a few: characters are flat as fudge, being either black as vanta black (like Ozai and Azula) or pure white like Gene’s Gary Stue OC, Mr Ikem (or how I like to call him, IKEA man) and his ‘victim’ rendition of Ursa, Azula gets to suffer more for no reason (see reason number 3 to why I find this as a no no), Ursa’s whole character sucks ass (man, I could write a whole thesis on why Yang’s version of her is terrible and doesn’t match the strong woman we got in the show) and Zuko does morally wrong stuff (my man literally used his unstable sister to bribe their dad into spitting info about Ursa... Show Zuko would never do that!;-;)

Oh boy, as a person who’s seen a ton of anime and other media and read many books, I can’t begin on how much I despise this type of writing: flat characters are the worst!

ATLA characters in the show are nothing close to being flat! What I mean by that is that none of them fall perfectly into pure white (aka goodest of good characters with no imperfections) or vanta black (aka lowest and darkest twisted monsters out there), each of them are various shades of grey (like Aang who is a very light grey because despite being a very kind and nice character, he still isn’t a “perfect hero” since he ran away from his duties, practiced tax fraud with Toph, had insecurities and even threatened to kill people on ocassions like with the sand benders who took Appa) and this is a good choice because that prevents them from becoming what’s globally known as Mary Sues and Gary Stues (aka those either “perfect” characters with no flaws and/or unlimited power, or the twisted monsters full of flaws).

And the other reason why many other people hate The Search: it literally negates previously established cannon. And here comes my short essay on why this comic fails Zuko’s family (since we’ve already talked enough about Zuko himself).

In cannon and even interviews with BryKe, it was clearly stated that Zuko’s family was “once happy”. Where is this “once happy” family in The Search? All I see is pain, deception, lies and betrayal, nothing close to anything that resembles happiness. Okay, some of you might come in and say that “It’s because it was never the case! It was only lies and Zuko trying to convince himself that he didn’t live in hell forever!” and here is WHERE YOU WERE ALL WRONG! And why? Because, my dear fella, where were depicted the flashbacks of Zuko’s “happy family” in The Beach? Ember Island. And what do we know and had been even quoted in the show? "Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate. Ember Island reveals the true you." (direct quote from the show). Exactly, no matter who you are or how hard you try, you can’t hide your true self when you are on the Ember Island, best example being Azula, who’s impenetrable though shell cracked and revealed the true vulnerable child that was underneath. If Azula couldn’t resist the “spell of the island”, no one can. So this means that Zuko’s family was indeed happy once and yes, Ozai wasn’t always the douchebag we got to know in Season 3 (I have a whole nother essay on my theories regarding what could be his real past story and why he’s actually the “Zuko” of his generation, based on stuff I gathered from old wiki entries and character analyses I made, but that’s for another time, lemme know if ya’ll are interested).

And what I guess is the biggest proof why The Search did this family’s past trash is comics Ursa herself. My dude, if this woman were indeed the victim of years of endless abuse and never loved her husband, I guarantee you that she would’ve been closer to what we saw in Todoroki’s mom from BNHA and Zuko would’ve gotten that scar or even worse long before the Agni Kai, not from his “daddy dearest”, but from “mommy dearest” herself, because no sane woman would be soo affectionate and attached to a child that’s the perfect copy of their abuser, sepecially appearance wise (again see Todoroki’s mom’s case from BNHA because the stories are really similar) and in no way would’ve she been willing to sacrifice her life for said child’s sake. With this ocassion, I remind ya’ll folks that according to the ancient ATLA cannon wikis on Nick’s site, Ozai was designed with Zuko’s appearance in mind, being meant to be like a “grown up scarless version” of Zuko. So yeah, remember this with a grain of salt that whenever you simp over grown up Zuko, you involuntary simp for Ozai too.

So yeah, I guess this kinda concludes my “not so short” rant about why the comics fail and are bad fanfiction. Lemme hear your thoughts in the comments and if you agree, feel free to leave a like and even reblog.

Bye bye and remember that Momo is the true strongest character of the show!

Saby out.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #atla comics #zuko #azula #ozai #ursa #fire siblings #the promise #the search #atla rant

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slut-for-suki · 4 years

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Oh Baby- General Iroh II x Reader drabble

A/N: So, I had this little idea, and it’s probably shitty, but I wanted to write it/:)

It all started the day you sneezed fire. You were an earthbender, you definitely were NOT a firebender, but your husband happened to be. He was the General of the Armed Forces. You decided to keep that little detail to yourself, not letting anyone in on the fact that you had somehow manifested fire. Korra looked at you funny as you walked back to sit on the couch. “You good? THose look like singes on your clothes.” she said.

“I’m fine, just some allergies.” you said, looking at the gang. You were in Republic City, visiting with your friends. Iroh had some business with the president, so he told you to go have fun catching up with your friends and he would catch up once his business was through. You fought the urge to sneeze again as you all debated what you wanted to do for the night. You couldn’t hold it back and loudly sneezed, managing to scorch part of Asami and Korra’s floor. “Sorry! I can help pay to replace that.” you said, wiping your nose. When you looked at the gang, they were all staring at you wide-eyed. You blinked, looking back at them and groaned. “Before you ask, I have no idea why I am sneezing fire.”

Mako chuckled and looked at you “You aren’t pregnant are you? Only firebenders can sneeze fire like that.”

Your eyes went wide “NO. I’m not-” you stopped and thought back “Ah shit.” you facepalmed. ‘I-I may be pregnant.” you said, looking at your friends. Korra smiled and looked at you “Well, as a healer, I can try to confirm it.” You nodded, and she got to work.

Iroh came into the house later on. “Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” he walked over and slid onto the couch beside you, and his arm sliding around your waist to pull you close. He looked at Korra and Asami, who were cuddled on the floor when he noticed the singes “Geez did Mako get mad at someone and singe the floor?” he asked.

Bolin chimed in and chuckled “No, it wasn’t Mako, it was Y/N.” Iroh looked at you with a puzzled look “How did you singe something?”

You bit your lip and grabbed his hand. “Well, apparently your firebending genes are too strong.” He looked at you, puzzled. “I’m pregnant, Iroh.” he quickly hugged you tight and spun you around. “A baby!” he smiled brightly. “Is that why you’re sneezing fire?” he chuckled. You shrugged. “I am an earthbender, so why would I suddenly be able to breath fire?” you laughed. “It seems we already have the next generation of the royal family.”

#iroh ii x reader #iroh ii

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guiltysecretpasttime · 4 years

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Grey Eyes (2)

This is the second part of a response to a prompt I received:

@camryn-bria I have a Linzin headcanon that there is a secret (airbending) child. Could you write a one-shot of Tenzin finding out Lin is pregnant after breaking up with her.

Lin/Tenzin pre-canon fanfic | 2 of 2

1 of 2 here.

Legend of Korra

---

“Tenzin! What are you doing here?” Lin hissed, tugging at his robes and pushing him away once she regained her balance.

“Someone might see you. I could get fired. Let’s go.” Lin was already rummaging through Jinora’s baby bag. “Why are you here? Did someone follow you?” She tossed a baby towel to the airbender. “Here, use this. Tie it on your head to hide your arrow. You can’t be recognized here.” She was thankful that the bar was empty that early.

She gathered the folders and chucked it in a file cabinet, locking it then picking up the baby bag.

Securing her daughter in her sling, ignoring her seemingly questioning grey eyes (so much like her father's), Lin quickly grasped Tenzin’s wrist and then pulled him to the street.

She had so many questions about the sudden appearance of the airbender.

But first, she needed to get him out of there.

---

Tenzin followed her dutifully as she weaved in and out of the side streets with the expert knowledge of a local. He could not ignore the tingle where her hand held his wrist as she pulled him along.

Before long, they were at an apartment unit.

Lin breathed a sigh of relief only after she had locked the door behind them.

She put up a hand, halting any word that he might say.

"Let's talk later." The baby wiggled in her sling. "But first, Jinora needs to eat."

Tenzin was left to observe and shift around the room while Lin assisted a babbling Jinora onto a high chair. He followed her, trying to find signs in the home that would indicate that another person (that Water Tribe man) lived with them as well.

Lin opened the baby bag and pulled out two containers. She showed them to Jinora, who clapped her hands.

“Na-na-nanana-na!”

Lin chuckled and opened one, revealing the sliced fruit. “Banana it is.” She placed the fruits in front of her daughter.

Jinora happily reached out to grasp one and put it in her mouth while another hand proceeded to turn another piece into mush.

Tenzin was enthralled in watching the child enjoy her fruit that he almost missed the earthbender’s question.

“What are you doing here?”

“So, this is where you’ve been all this time.” He cleared his throat, making an obvious look around the room, biding time.

“Damn it Tenzin,” Lin lowered her voice, tension obvious. “If you had arrived at the wrong time, you could have blown my cover.”

“You’re working?” Was his startled response.

“Yes, it’s classified information. Everything’s on a need to know basis.” She rolled her eyes at him even as she gently wiped off her daughter’s face with a wet cloth. “So, if you don’t know, then you didn’t need to know. Though I expect the chief will be sharing the findings any day now. I’ve sent my final report two months ago.”

“Why are you still here if you’ve wrapped it up two months ago?” Like the airbender that he is, Tenzin was still avoiding asking about the elephant in the room.

“I filed for vacation time, I deserve it, don’t I?” He received a scowl in return.

The airbender nodded but added. “When are you going back to Republic City?” He was already thinking of how he would be renovating part of Air Temple Island – to make it child-friendly for Jinora and to clean up the space that Lin used to stay at the main house.

“Not sure really,” Lin turned to Jinora, who was waving her arms over head, a signal that she was done with her food. “I’m not even sure if I’ll go back there.”

“Wait, what?” He thought he heard her wrong. “What do you mean you’re not sure –but in Republic City, you, the police force, your – your life?” He stammered, trying to make sense of things. He had been so focused on finding her that he did not even think that maybe she did not want to be found. Or that she would not go back to Republic City at all.

“What life? I can easily request for a transfer to the Earth Kingdom for work and Mom can visit Jinora and me,” The metalbender before him focused on wiping off the banana mush from her daughter’s face and hands. “Hopefully, I’ve satisfied your curiosity, Councilman. What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been looking for you.” It was all he could say amidst the multitude of thoughts and emotions going through him.

“You’ve found me.” Lin crossed her arms as she leaned on the dining table. “You may go now.” She gestured towards the door.

“If you think I'm leaving without you or our daughter -then you're very much mistaken.” Tenzin pulled himself up to his full height. He had missed months of his daughter's life and he was not about to lose any more.

Lin appeared to taken aback. “My daughter,” She bit out with conviction. She noticed Tenzin motion to contradict her. “You're not her father.”

“Lin, you can't be serious!” Tenzin raised his voice indignantly. “You can't deny that your airbending daughter is mine as well.”

“Well actually, they've been speculating around here whose reject I am,” Lin snorted. “That councilman in Republic City or that military man in the United Forces.” She waved a hand between them. “You may have donated genes but you are not her father. You've made that choice.”

“When have I? I only learned about her a few minutes ago!” He felt his blood freeze. “Is there someone else?”

“Funny how your mind draws that conclusion immediately. I should ask you the same -wouldn’t your wife or partner wonder about the appearance of your illegitimate child?”

“What are you talking about - I'm not married! I'm not even in a relationship.”

“Oh I'm sure.” Lin scoffed.

Tenzin could feel his frustration about to boil over. “I'm telling you the truth!”

“And I'm telling you the truth as well -when you decided to disregard my daughter is the moment you’ve lost every right to be her father.”

Said daughter called for their attention at this point, pounding her arms on the table, probably feeling the tension between the adults. “Ma-mama-ma!”

“Yes sweetie?” Lin plucked her out of the high chair as Jinora raised her arms, letting her know she wanted to be carried.

The child pushed herself to her mother's chest.

“You want milk?” Her mother asked gently, cradling the child and then sitting down.

She raised an eyebrow at the airbender who was watching the interaction intently.

Oh, right.

Tenzin turned away, allowing Lin some privacy, realizing belatedly that the previous intimacy they used to share was no more.

“You can turn around now.”

Lin was now suckling Jinora, who was under a baby blanket.

He had to tear away his gaze from them.

“I never rejected Jinora.” Tenzin choked out.

“Oh really? Are you calling me a liar? That I just dreamt up your letter?”

“What letter?”

Lin gingerly stood up, taking good care to secure her daughter in her position, and went to the side table in the living room. Finding herself unable to bend down, she sat on the couch and instructed Tenzin to get the letter in the drawer.

Tenzin riffled a bit until he came upon his handwriting. He felt a coldness run down his spine as he read the words.

“Now - are you saying you didn't write that?” Lin looked at Tenzin intently even as their daughter was cradled to her chest.

“I-I-I did.” The airbender stammered. He recognized it as one of the many generic letters he had his secretary send out more than a year ago. It would seem like Lin's letter got mixed in the mail.

“Well - I don't think your life partner would be delighted to find out that you sired an airbender with your ex.” The earthbender sardonically commented.

He did not know whether to laugh or cry at the misunderstanding. Before the silence could even stretch out, he opted for the unvarnished truth.

“There's no way to explain this without looking like the bad guy,” (“You think?”) Tenzin scratched the back of his head, shame and embarrassment overcoming him. “This is…a generic letter that I had sent out...To multiple people.”

Lin did not even have to say anything regarding what she thought of that; her face said it all.

Her eyes narrowed at him. Tenzin suppressed the urge to look away.

Lin sighed. “As idiotic the idea sounds – I believe you. Only you would have come up with such an idiotic idea just so you can run away from conflict.”

Tenzin released a breath.

“Well now, you know about Jinora and we're doing fine here and we don't lack for anything.” The metalbender ignored the shocked expression on the airbender’s face as she continued matter-of-factly. “When she's older, she will be given a choice when and if she wants to meet you. Though, we’ll definitely seek your guidance for airbending training – when she's of the right age of course. I want her to have a good childhood.”

Tenzin knew what she was talking about – their childhood was anything but normal. “You seem to have given this some thought.”

“Of course,” Lin looked down to peer down at the baby. “Once Jinora exhibited signs of airbending, I knew I needed to be prepared…”

A small fist came up from underneath the blanket. Again, Tenzin saw the smile creep up on Lin’s face, an expression so unusual in the last months of their relationship. What he’d do to get her to smile like that more often...

He did not realize it, but he had reached out a hand towards the mother and child – until the little fist had grasped his pinky finger. A rush of warmth bloomed in his chest: this was the first touch of his daughter.

“Come back with me to Republic City.” The words were out before he could screen them.

A shuttered look came over Lin’s face.

“No, I can’t,” Was the quiet reply. “I shouldn’t.” Lin wetted her lips before continuing. “It’s not that simple. It’s no longer just you and I, Tenzin – that relationship has long gone. We have Jinora to think about and I would do anything to protect her.” She met his eyes. “I want what is best for her.”

And it isn’t you – the subtext was heard by the airbender loud and clear.

“I know I’ve just known about her today and you don’t trust me yet,” Tenzin moved back though loathe to be parted from his family. “But I swear on my life, I’ll make it up to you.”

And Agni knows he will make good on this promise.

But first, he had to make arrangements.

---

An hour or so later, Tenzin was back at the street where Lin lived.

After buying a hat (he was not about to wear the baby towel on his head the entire day), the airbender had secured a phone call to Republic City, effectively filing for a leave of absence at city hall and informing his mother that he would be away for an indefinite amount of time.

He managed to pick up some items and food to bring to Lin and Jinora, a peace offering of sorts.

He knew he had an uphill battle in terms of convincing Lin to trust him once again.

The airbender clung to the fact that she named their daughter Jinora and hoped that it had to mean something at least.

As he turned the corner, he saw Lin’s door open and out came the Water Tribe man from earlier and another man with kali sticks poking from a knapsack.

He hurried forward but the pair had already left when he reached the door.

Tenzin knocked.

He heard Lin’s voice from behind the door as she opened it.

“Noatak, don’t tell me you forgot something again, I swear I -.” Lin frowned seeing him. “Ah it's you.”

“Don't look so surprised, I did say I was coming back.”

“I've learned not put much stock on your word.”

Well, that hurt.

Nonetheless, Lin moved aside so he could enter.

“I brought food.” He halted seeing that there were take out bags on the table.

“You didn't have to. The boys dropped by with some food from the bar before they headed home.”

“That can't be healthy.” He imagined bar chow to be greasy and fatty.

“Don't pass judgment until you've seen it.” She sat down back at the table.

He took off his hat.

There were some folders and paperwork on the table. He saw that one was a menu in Lin's meticulous handwriting. His heart sank. He was sure he had pretty much insulted Lin earlier.

“I help in menu planning, in coming up with the weekly specials.” She said by way of answering his questioning look, then she went back to the paperwork she appeared to be working on before he arrived.

Tenzin was left ignored, standing and unsure what to do.

Jinora was playing with some toys on a mat in the living room, still well within Lin’s view.

He proceeded to unpack all the food on the table instead and was pleasantly surprised to note that…

“Are these vegetarian?”

He was in awe.

Lin did not go vegetarian when they were together.

“I figured to give Jinora a headstart,” The metalbender did not even look from the paper she was perusing. “Though when she is old enough she can make the decision whether or not she wants to push through with it. But I thought that she would at least have that option.” She scribbled a note at the corner of the sheet. “And unfortunately for me, for now ar least, I'll have to abide by that diet until she has been weaned off.”

She might not look it but Lin Beifong did respect the Air Nomad culture a lot.

---

“She’s asleep.”

Tenzin closed the door gently after he had placed his sleeping daughter in her crib in Lin’s bedroom.

After dinner, he spent time getting acquainted with Jinora while Lin caught up with her work.

Lin made a nondescript sound but finally looked up at him. “Thanka for putting her in bed.”

He nodded. What else could he say? I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to put her to bed for the past eight months? “I better go ahead.”

“Where’s Oogi?”

The sudden change in topic took him by surprise.

“In Republic City.” He moved to gather his things.

Lin cleared the table to tidy up her work things. “The last trip of the train going out of the Earth Kingdom has left by now.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “where are you staying?”

“Uh,” Tenzin struggled to answer.

Lin placed her hands on her hips, a sign of her impatience.

“I’m still going to have a look around what inns or hotels are available tonight.”

“What!” The earthbender pinched her nose bridge in obvious exasperation. “Tenzin – you can’t do that here. You’ll get charged triple for that stunt, maybe quadruple when they see your arrows. Do you have enough money on your person for the down payment?”

The sheepish expression on the councilman’s face told her everything.

She looked up at the ceiling, taking deep breaths

Tenzin knew she was counting to five to refrain from scolding him.

Lin went back to her room and was shortly back in the living room. She tossed him two blankets and a pillow.

“If your sensitive back can manage it, you might be safer and better off on the couch rather than wandering in town searching for rooms and calling the attention of all muggers around.”

And that was how Tenzin found himself curled on the couch of Lin Beifong in the Earth Kingdom.

---

Lin fidgeted as she felt the sun on her face. She blinked away sleep as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight that was peeking through her curtain.

It was well past sunrise.

She bolted from her bed, panicking. It was not like Jinora to sleep through the night.

The crib was empty.

Not even grabbing her robe, she hastily opened her bedroom door.

As she made her way to the kitchen, she heard laughter and a baby babbling and squealing happily.

“Ah, sleeping beauty has woken up!”

It was surreaL; she felt her new and old life colliding.

Noatak and his kali-stick yielding boyfriend were seated in her tiny dining area while Jinora was happily squeezing her oranges and giving out delighted squeals whenever she bit into a sour segment. Tenzin was over at the stove, looking ridiculously at her home with her apron tied at his waist.

She sat down, dumbfounded.

Tenzin immediately moved to prepare her coffee. She took a sip.

It was just the way she liked it.

“Oh Lin.” The Water Tribe man pouted at her. “Why couldn't you have slept with the military cloudchild? You cost me several yuans.” The bar personnel have been betting on the paternity of Jinora ever since she started airbending.

“Is that you worry about?” Lin grumbled, inhaling the aroma of the coffee in her mug.

“Oh no,” Noatak waved a hand nonchalantly and waggled his eyebrows. “You know I worry about everyone you sleep with.”

Clang!

They all turned to Tenzin near the stove.

“Sorry, pan slipped from my grip." The airbender explained tightly.

Noatak’s boyfriend shared why they were around. “We were just dropping by to see if you have the menu ready for the week,” At this, Lin stretched behind her to pull out the folder from a drawer to hand over to him at this. “When Mr Airbender here invited us in for a bite of breakfast.”

“Hope you didn’t mind.” Tenzin seated himself beside her after placing down a platter of omelet on the table. “It would be great to meet your friends.”

There was a challenge to his tone that she did not care for.

“Of course,” She turned to the pair across them. “You know you're always welcome.”

“Yeah well,” The other man obliviously continued as he took a bite of toast. “After all that happened between you guys – how can you not make him welcome?” He pointed to Lin and Noatak.

Whether Lin liked it or not, she was still very much attuned to Tenzin’s emotions, being with him for years made her sensitive. He was now restraining himself from making an outburst; she could see a furious blush creeping up his neck.

“Please,” Noatak flicked off crumbs from his top. “Seeing her almost dead is not something I would wish on anyone.”

Lin felt Tenzin shoot her a look.

“You exaggerate,” She busied herself with spooning some egg and trying to get Jinora to eat it. “I wasn’t at the brink of death.”

“Oh no-no-no, I don’t think he was exaggerating – how did you say it went, Noatak? All that blood…” The mustached man nudged the Water Tribe man beside him. “If you hadn’t been there, these two lovely ladies might not have made it.”

Tension radiated from the airbender as he held himself taut, not saying a word but intently looking at his tea.

“Enough of that, it's too early in the day for these discussions.” Lin placidly stated, keen to change the topic.

“I think that's our cue to leave.” The two men gulped the last of their tea.

“Thanks for breakfast.”

“We’ll send ol’ lady Jin your regards. The old barkeep wouldn’t care much as long as the food got sold.” Noatak grabbed the folder that Lin put out then turned to Tenzin who had gotten up as well. “Master Tenzin, a pleasure to meet you.”

“I assure you pleasure is all mine.”

---

“What are you playing at?”

“Nothing at all, dear.” Tenzin proceeded to tear a piece of toast for their daughter.

“Don’t call me dear.”

A pause.

Lin could see his knuckles turning white.

“What did he mean you almost bled to death?”

“But I didn't!”

“That's not the point.”

---

The next day, at the bar, the Water Tribe man was surprised to receive a gift basket filled with Water Tribe-originated items and food.

Thank you.

-Lin and Tenzin

“That doesn’t make sense.” One of the other bar staff commented. “What did you do anyway?”

Noatak barked a laugh. “This is a rather passive aggressive exhibit. Well played, Mr Airbender, well played.”

“You mean, he didn’t understand that you and…?”

“Nope.”

---

“How did you ever handle all of these all these months?” Tenzin wondered as he struggled to help Lin with the chores before she went out for her shift at the bookstore.

“I managed.” Alone.

He watched her secure Jinora in a baby sling. “How did you get to be so proficient at that?”

“Your mother.”

“My mother?”

“Surely you didn't think you were raised by acolytes?”

“No…”

“And surely you didn’t think your mother left nation building to your father?” Lin was about to carry the baby bag but Tenzin offered to take it instead. “She regularly held self-defense classes for women (both benders and non-benders alike) who might be interested, and she oversaw the building and training of the hospital in Republic City.”

She snapped her fingers and locked the door. Without waiting for Tenzin, she headed towards the direction of the town square.

He realized with a pang that he had taken his mother for granted.

When he gets back to Republic City, he'll give her a long warm hug and maybe send her off to one of the best spas that city has to offer.

…and maybe have her drag Toph Beifong with her while she’s at it.

---

He insisted joining her in one of her shifts at the bar before opening, when the crew was gathered to have a meal before service began.

She told him he did not have to, and to stop being an annoying gnat-fly that hovered around her.

To her surprise, he fell into easy conversation with the rest of the people she worked with.

Lin found herself quietly observing Tenzin, baby Jinora on the sling he wore, as he listened to one of the bartenders relate a story about some of last night’s patrons.

“So, I take it he will be whisking you away?”

It was old Jin, the owner of the bar.

“No, he won't.” Lin refuted the assumption.

“Famous last words, honey!” Jin cackled, as though in on a secret.

Boisterous laughter erupted from the other side of the room.

“What’s stopping you from leaving with him?” Lin did not answer and so the older lady continued. “He's absolutely smitten by your daughter. I thought you said that’s what you’ve been looking for?”

“Jin, he has someone back in Republic City.”

His life partner.

“You’re afraid that he’ll take her away from you, then? Is he that type of father?”

The thing was – Lin wasn’t sure and she didn’t know. She was scared to find out.

---

It had been quite some time since he left Republic City.

He took a leap of faith and for the mean time turned his back from his responsibilities in the city.

There were more important things now.

He did not know his mother smiled as she read his letter.

---

Jinora flourished under her father's care.

She had always been an easy baby.

Lin was thankful that her daughter took after her paternal grandfather in terms of temperament. Stories about her childhood made Lin out to be a little monster. And there was her experience with Su -which she'd not wish on anyone else.

As much as she did not want to admit it, Tenzin easily adjusted to the role of being a father.

But would it be enough?

If she were honest with herself –

No. Not really.

Looking at father and daughter playing in her cramped living room, she knew that both had been taken with each other. Tenzin would use his airbending to amuse their daughter and Jinora would giggle in response, imitating her father’s actions.

But it should be.

---

“Why are you still here?”

“I told you – I’m not leaving unless Jinora and you join me.”

---

The choice was taken off her hands when she received a letter with the seal of the Republic City Police Department.

“The Chief’s hurt.”

---

She spoke of her career and told them of her surname.

It was the least she could do, she told him. After all, this small community did accept her as their own.

Tenzin was amazed to see how the people did not seem to treat Lin any differently even after her revelation.

No one was currying favor or even batted an eyelash when they learned she was a Beifong.

“Yuan for your thoughts?”

It was the barkeep, Jin.

Tenzin kept an eye out as different people approached Lin at the bar’s small farewell party for her.

“It’s strange that nothing seems to have changed when she’s revealed herself to be a Beifong.” He glanced at the old lady. “Didn’t it matter that she’s a Beifong?”

“So she’s old money,” The old barkeep shrugged. “But she’s still Lin to us. She never lorded over us mere mortals.”

True, Lin looked more comfortable here in this crowd than she ever did on his arm attending galas in city hall.

“I think the better question is – does it matter to you that she’s a Beifong?”

No, it did not, he thought without even contemplation.

At the corner of his eye, he saw Noatak give Lin a tight hug and a quick kiss on Jinora’s forehead. His daughter’s grey eyes sparkling as she reveled in the attention.

The Earth Kingdom elder woman said it best – she’s still Lin to him.

(He did not see Noatak turn and give his boyfriend a peck on the lips.)

---

“Mom, take it easy!”

“Nah, this is not really a big deal.” Toph pointed her thumb at Katara. “Sugar Queen here still does an excellent job in healing me. This isn’t half as bad as how Sparky burned the soles of my feet back in the day.”

“Not a big deal – you’re now blind blind!”

Toph snorted. Lin always did worry a lot. So she had an encounter with a rogue firebender and had burned herself. Big whoop. “Now, gimme my granddaughter.” The older metalbender wiggled her hands forward and was given Jinora to hold, who promptly sneezed at her face, expelling a particularly strong burst of air. “Kid, you weren't kidding when you said she took after Aang.”

“Sorry to disappoint you.” Her daughter deadpanned as she moved away to assist Katara in arranging some of the furniture in her mother’s house to better help her mobility while recuperating.

The blind earthbender could feel Tenzin nearby, probably glaring at her.

“I can hear you breathing, Councilman.”

“I, for one, am proud of Jinora.” He huffed.

“Airchild or not, I would accept and love my grandchild.” She felt the child poke fingers into her mouth. “How about you? If she were not an airbender? What would you have done?”

Without skipping a heartbeat, he replied.

Toph seemed to have gotten the answer she wanted.

The blind metalbender smiled.

---

“Why are you still here?” Toph was surprised to feel another set of heartbeats at their breakfast table.

Lin rolled her eyes even if her mother can not see it. “Tenzin’s helping out with Jinora while I go to headquarters today. We haven’t established a babysitting schedule yet but maybe next week, she’ll stay with Katara. I can’t bring her to work anymore here, Mom.”

Lin excused herself, carrying Jinora for a bath before leaving her with Tenzin.

Toph turned to the airbender. “I was asking you – why are you still here?”

“F-for Jinora.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why you are here night after night. Even when my daughter’s here to take care of Jinora.” The Chief of Police tilted her head. “You could easily stay at Air Temple Island and visit in the morning.”

She was no fool. Her daughter might be oblivious (or unwilling to face the facts) but the way the airbender always (always) finds a reason to be at the Beifong house after dark was suspicious.

There was a late council meeting and he happened to pass by.

He thought it would be nice to give Jinora some fresh papayas he bought from a stall on the way home.

Katara asked him to give Toph the pouch of loose-leaf tea.

There was paperwork from the council that needed Toph’s stamp.

He just missed his daughter and wanted to give her a hug before going home (now he just wasn’t trying anymore, was he? Toph shook her head).

The monsoon season has likewise come and Toph knew that this mean rainfall every night. This made any ferry ride or glider trips to the island unsafe.

Toph and Tenzin knew that Lin would swallow her pride rather than let anyone get into any risky situations.

And that was why, for the nth time, Toph Beifong woke up to the airbender at their breakfast table.

“You’re a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” She perceived him to be stretching his back even as the silence stretched between them as he was unable to answer her earlier question.

“I don’t mind sleeping on the couch, Chief Beifong.”

“That’s Aunt Toph to you.” There was a stunned silence now. “I think you know the answer to my question – make sure Lin does as well.”

---

The airbender knew he had to ramp it up.

Tenzin thought that he had been gaining inroads to Lin’s trust (Lin’s heart). Sure, she had been trusting him more in spending time with their daughter. Jinora was quickly growing up, starting her first few steps and (to her grandmother’s consternation) more frequently manifesting airbending.

Nonetheless, the woman herself seemed to keep him at a distance.

He found it odd, however, that in all the time that they have been back in Republic City, Noatak had not come to visit.

At most, he knew the man would send a letter or two every month. But not much else.

If he were in a relationship with Lin, Tenzin was sure to make sure that his presence is felt in her life.

He puzzled at this.

Unless this meant Lin and Noatak had broken up?

---

“Move in with me.”

“No, I won’t, you idiot.”

Even if she did think she wanted to.

She didn't want to wreck a relationship. He did explicitly write that he already has a life partner.

Even if she hadn’t seen her yet. She figured this elusive being is an Air Acolyte which was why she hadn’t seen her yet.

He did not refute the existence of life partner when he saw the letter months ago.

Lin did have the strength to set foot on Air Temple Island yet. She felt she needed to give Tenzin and his life partner some space.

She wasn’t a homewrecker. She never was and never will be. She would not want to go and drive a wedge in his relationship.

She knew what he was saying by offering to move in.

It was all about their daughter, about him wanting their daughter. His daughter.

Not her.

“You think you won’t, but I swear Lin Beifong – I will convince you. I will prove myself to you and our daughter.”

Jinora.

Jinora will always be her priority; not her own needs and wants.

Even if Tenzin is who she wanted.

---

“Pa-papapapa!” The delight on Tenzin's face encouraged her. Jinora clapped her hands as she repeated to call her father.

Tears fell.

Lin bit her lip.

She did not want to admit it, but he was doing a good job of convincing her.

---

Lin found herself finally stepping on Air Temple Island.

Jinora was spending the night with her father, knowing that Lin would be on duty until the wee hours of the morning.

She quietly slid open the door of her daughter’s room.

After an especially difficult day at work, she wanted (needed) to see her family safe, just to assure herself. She knew that to get home to a family is a blessing, something that is not readily assured.

“Lin?”

Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and was surprised to see the form of the airbender getting up from a chair beside the crib.

“Is everything okay?”

Lin swallowed drily and pushed forward, to peer into Jinora’s crib.

Together they silently watch Jinora sleep, with her tiny chest rise and fall with every breath.

She felt Tenzin place an arm around her shoulder, anchoring her to his side comforting and reassuring.

Tenzin knew it was the right time.

“Lin, marry me.”

“You can’t – what about your life partner?” Lin’s voice was uncharacteristically small.

“Oh, Lin,” Tenzin moved to face her. He choked out a watery laugh. “Is that why you’ve been so distant?”

“I didn’t want to overstep.” She tried to look away but Tenzin placed a gentle finger under her chin, making her look up at him.

“Oh Lin.” He shook his head smiling even as moisture leaked from his eyes. “It’s you. You’re my life partner. There’s no one else. I’ve never looked elsewhere.” He took a chance and leaned forward to hug her close to himself, hoping that she feels his heartbeats, steady and true. “Please give me a chance, please let me know that there is still a chance after Noatak -.”

He was interrupted by Lin pushing up and capturing his lips.

“Tenzin – I never looked elsewhere either; it’s only been you.”

---

Note: Sooo there you have it. Let me know what you thiiink. (Also, thinking of changing the title – maybe but let’s see). This was something of wish fulfillment I guess, nothing too heavy and nothing too plot-ty.

#linzin #linzin fanfic #Lin Beifong #tenzin #legend of korra #lok fanfic #prompt #camryn-bria #toccatina's fanfics #toccatina completed

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loopy777 · 3 years

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Non-Review: Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)

With all the hype around 'Suki Alone,' it looks to me like most of the fandom missed that an additional Avatar comic with a story from each cartoon's era was just released for Free Comic Book Day. You can read them for yourself on either Dark Horse Digital or Comixology where it's mislabeled as being for ages 17+ (free accounts are required for both), but I'm sure one of the reasons you all love me is because of my willingness to jump in between you and these comics like the deadly bullets they can be. Well, I'm happy to die (metaphorically) for the sake of (a little anonymous internet) love, so I'm doing a full snarky review for each ten-page story. Also, I'm bored, and it's more fun to make fun of mediocre stuff than to praise stuff I like.

It's time for me to review "Free Comic Book Day 2021 - The Legend of Korra (Also Featuring Avatar: The Last Airbender)" or more specifically "The Legend of Korra: Clearing the Air" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender: Matcha Makers."

CLEARING THE AIR

The cover makes this look like a story about Jinora and Ikki having a sibling conflict. That's a lie. The Air Sisters arguing is merely the inciting incident for Tenzin telling a story of his youth. I should note that, as inconsequential as the Air Sisters stuff is, it's actually written very well because it posits Ikki as a victim of circumstance and Jinora as a bully who terrorizes her little sister with threats of getting thrown in jail by Metalbenders for an accident, cementing the characterization from the cartoon. This is not sarcasm. I really do think Jinora is presented by LoK as a Holier Than Thou little snot who just so happened to be naturally gifted with magic spirit-powers, but for some reason the rest of the fandom doesn't agree with me.

Anyway, Tenzin comes in to find the arguing (and Meelo just running amok for the fun of it and so far these characterizations are perfect), and rather than telling Jinora to shut her stupid face, he delivers a tale of his youth about conflict resolution.

So the meat of the story is how, when Tenzin was "a few years older" than Jinora, a pair of vandals got onto Air Temple Island and burned some graffiti into the spinning-panel things that Korra will destroy out of frustration during her Airbending training. Literally, the vandals are depicted as scorching the wood with enough smoke to be seen across a plaza. Tenzin goes after the vandals and they flee across the bay back to Republic City proper (one of the vandals is a Waterbender with a surf-plank). Tenzin pursues, catches them, and attacks them hard enough to smash some dockside crates. They are all then arrested by Metalbenders and dragged before Chief Toph. She's going to let Tenzin go (yay Toph!) and throw the vandals in jail (YAY TOPH!) and makes this face, and this entire comic is worth it:

However, Aang arrives and instead arranges to forgo the jail-time in favor of an Air Nomad Conflict Resolution Ceremony. This is nice and in-character, but I'm totally with Tenzin that these vandals should have been thrown in jail. They literally burned insulting graffiti into antiques from a genocided culture. But instead, Aang demonstrates conflict resolution by having Tenzin explain why he's hurt and what needs to be done to redress the wrong. And so the vandals help Tenzin scrub the graffiti off the panels with water and rags and mops- how, I don't know, since they were literally burned.

They also do a ceremony thing where they each take turns bending their element into a central space between them to 'clear the air' (GET IT GET IT HA HA IT'S ALMOST LIKE A PUN BUT NOT), so it's a good thing they were all Benders because this is kinda racist. This fixes all the problems and everyone is friends. Yay!

In the present, though, things are not so nice, because Tenzin's kids are still screaming at and provoking each other. Korra comes in with Asami at the end to ask what's going on, and Asami says nothing, so I still think everyone is characterized with perfect consistency with the cartoon.

I made this sound silly, but (aside from the spinny-panels getting cleaned with a little water and elbow-grease, which doesn't matter because Korra will eventually blow them all up anyway), I actually like this one. It has Tenzin demonstrate how much he's always had to work to be the Perfect Air Monk that everyone expects him to be, and Aang acknowledges how this is unfair but that Tenzin will never let him down no matter what. It also has Katara come in at the end (for just one line, boo!) to acknowledge that this was an especially easy little conflict for Tenzin to practice on and he'll eventually face worse. I found it a nice adult moment in a story that's otherwise clearly aimed at 8-year-olds.

The art is good. It's simpler than the LoK cartoon, with flat colors, but it captures the story and has enough liveliness for everyone's character to come across in their look and body-language. The brief action-sequence where Tenzin attacks the vandals is well done, moving quickly but showing the full flow of the fight and every move Tenzin makes.

MATCHA MAKERS

Apparently, "Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia" according to Wikipedia. I had to look that up. I'm curious how many people understood the full reference in the title, especially since these comics are aimed at kids too young to be allowed on the internet.

This is a very simple story about Iroh in his tea-shop in Ba Sing Se. He has an assistant/waitress named Feng, a new character who wears glasses, ruining the hopes and dreams of all the fanfic-writers who were so sure he'd rescue Jin from the Lower Ring. A frequent patron of the tea shop is an elegant, older lady (very clearly Upper Ring material) named Li-Mei, who cannot go a single panel without giving Iroh a HEY BIG BOY look. She is very clearly smitten. Also, I feel the need to clarify that she knows his name is Iroh, so apparently Ba Sing Se is okay with the Dragon of the West serving tea to their wealthy. I don't say that as a criticism, I'm just noting it.

That night, Iroh meets up with his friends- the Pokemon-style spirits that we saw in Legend of Korra. (I don't know if they're the actual spirits from LoK, or just new spirits in the same style. This is because I would sooner grind matcha into my eyes than rewatch Book Spirits.) He serves them his special blend of tea and talks about how he's totally into Li-Mei but isn't going to pursue it because he's feeling old and doesn't want to take a risk. At this point, I could stop describing the plot because between the title and what I've said so far, I'm sure you could figure out every single plot beat that will follow.

The next day, the spirits trip Feng so that she drops Li-Mei's tea and Iroh needs to bring a replacement, and they've drawn hearts on top of the replacement tea with foam or sugar or milk or whatever. I don't know because I've never bought tea in a place that will even put the bag in the hot water for me. Iroh gets out of the situation without starting any love-affairs and runs into the back to tell the spirits to knock it off, dudes, they're totally embarrassing him! The spirits respond by giving him a flyer for a romantic restaurant. I don't know how they got it, so I can only assume that some Upper Ringer had their mail diverted.

Iroh refuses, so when Li-Mei orders more tea and he brings it to her, the spirits hover just out of her sight and threaten to smash the furniture. I am not making that up. They literally threaten to smash Iroh's furniture unless he asks the lady out. He submits to their tyrannical threats, Li-Mei happily accepts the date, he happily accepts her acceptance, and the story comes to a close. Iroh thanks his spirits friends for opening him up to new experience, but hopes that next time (so I guess Iroh is signing up for Tinder after this?) they won't threaten his shop.

At best, I can describe this story as 'harmless.' But it's been a long week and I just got a bunch more extra work at my day job that I really don't want to do, so I'm going to go ahead and call this story 'dumb.' It's rote, leans towards humor without actually being funny at all, and turns the spirits of the setting into Pokemon. And not even the cool dragon kind.

The art is strangely stiff. The coloring is soft and nice, but the drawings seems more 'assembled' than actually drawn. I swear there are even a few panels that reminded me of 'How I Became Yours' with janky poses, horrifying expressions, and just enough resemblance to the original cartoon to make me think a screenshot was partially traced and then ruined. (I'm not accusing the artist of tracing, BTW. I wouldn't even condemn the artist for tracing if they did. I'm just describing that HIBY feeling I got.) It was so stiff that rather than hear Iroh's dialogue in Mako's rich tones, I instead imagined Greg Baldwin doing a stiff Mako-impression with no naturalism to the delivery.

This story is definitely worthy of its "Also Featuring" billing. I'd rate it below Gene Yang's Mai and Suki FCBD short stories, but above everything else he wrote for Avatar.

So there you go. Overall, this is very middle-of-the-pack for Avatar FCBD stuff. It's very much of the nature of the 'Team Avatar Tales' stuff, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Iroh story was a leftover from that project. On Free Comic Book Day, you often get what you pay for.

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anzu-kaiba · 4 years

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Fandom things that have bothered me today

Thing the First: It’s possible for someone to enjoy the first “part” of an adaptation (say, the “original series” of something, before it got a sequel or prequels) and not the subsequent part(s). They are allowed to define their concept of “fandom” as just the “original series.” There is nothing wrong with that, and they are perfectly allowed to continue looking at a series solely from the perspective of that first part.

Example: I am not really a fan of Legend of Korra. There are aspects of it I like (Korrasami!), but ultimately I think it (and almost all of the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics) do more harm to the original series’ characters and legacy than good. I prefer not to include concepts from Korra in my ATLA fandom experiences, e.g., the fic I read or write, the art I seek, etc.

Other examples: People who like Star Wars but not The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, or Rise of Skywalker. People who are fans of Star Trek the Original Series or The Next Generation but can’t get into Picard or Discovery or Lower Decks. I don’t necessarily agree with every example of this (I happen to like the Star Wars sequels, I ship Reylo and IDGAF, and I’m a big fan of Picard, DISCO and LD), but I understand people liking one version/adaptation/release/part of a given franchise and not others. I do NOT like it when some Big Name Fan says “you don’t get to decide what is and isn’t canon.” I mean, yes, but also no. If a series went downhill after episode 162, but I love everything before that, then I will happily enjoy any content I can find relating to everything pre-episode 162 and said Big Name Fans can’t do jack about it. It takes NOTHING from their experience of 162 and onward.

Which is to say: I will always ship Zutara and Kataang is a squick of mine. Don’t tell me “it’s not canon, waaaaa!” As far as I’m concerned, ATLA ended and that was it. No comics, no sequel series. And hell, AUs are a thing, too. My fandom experience is not your fandom experience, and I don’t necessarily WANT them to be the same. I’m all for “fandom” being inclusive and fun, but not if it means telling people what they can and can’t (shouldn’t) enjoy.

Thing the Second: Musical theatre is really not the same as theatrical musicals. I watched (part of) a video today about why the Les Miserables movie sucked. I’ll preface this by saying I haven’t watched the movie, but the video I watched kept saying part of the reason why it sucked so much was because the actors were... um, well, acting while they were singing.

The idea is that in musicals (regardless of the genre, I guess?) when characters get too emotional to speak, they start to sing. And when they start to get too emotional to sing, they dance. It’s a nice concept, but I’m not sure it translates for musical theatre productions turned into dramatic films.

Note that I said dramatic. Because obviously you have made-for-movie musicals like Oklahoma and The Sound of Music and all those other joyous musicals. So many movies with Gene Kelly! But none of those are on the scale of Les Mis. Even when the movie has super-serious undertones, like The Sound of Music or West Side Story, the singing is more or less joyful. It makes SENSE that a character would be so overwhelmed with emotion that they’d start to sing and dance.

But in this person’s video, they kept comparing the movie with a filmed theatre production, wherein the characters were on a set, and in costume, but... whenever they sang, they just walked right up to a mic at the front of the stage and sang. Maybe it was that specific performance and it was a bad example, but... if that’s the idea behind a stage production of Les Mis, I think the movie outdoes it on EVERY LEVEL.

Whether something was made for stage, film, or was adapted for either/both, the important part of a story is that the reader/viewer emotionally resonates with it. Period. I would find it MUCH harder to resonate with “characters” that just walk up to a mic as if it’s a concert.

So when Fantine is DYING, of course it makes sense to me that she would gasp, lose her breath, and, you know, move around as if her body is aching and she just wants to reach out for her daughter one last time. That’s what Anne Hathaway did for the role, and she says as much in interviews about it. HER OWN MOTHER PLAYED FANTINE, IT’S WHAT GOT HER INTO ACTING; SHE KNOWS HOW IT’S DONE. But the singer “in costume” (because again: didn’t seem like much of an “actress” to me, especially when you consider Les Mis is sung-through, so there’s not much dialogue, JUST singing) was perfectly clean and pretty, and she sang clearly and loud. If I was supposed to be sad because she was dying, because she would never see her daughter again, I didn’t get it. Because she wasn’t ACTING.

I know when it comes to theatrical performances, a lot hinges on whether a director is using a specific version for the stage. For example, the licensed versions of hit plays and musicals that go out to high schools is often not QUITE the same as the ones you see on Broadway. And plenty of people take those licensed versions and make adaptations of their own (like in my middle school, when the drama teacher made Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory into Charlene, and added a Mr. Beauregarde even though there wasn’t one in the original book IIRC –there has been one in intermittent film/musical adaptations, but there’s no consistency with his naming, so it makes me think he’s not an “original canon” character).

It bothers me that someone would ream the movie solely on the fact that the actors... um, acted as opposed to walking up to a mic or standing still and singing. Maybe I need to watch a filmed theatrical release of Les Miserables? Maybe the movie, too?

What do you think?

#fandom #canon #avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #atla #korra #reylo #star wars #star trek #musicals #musical theatre #les miserables #movies #films #zutara #adaptations

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cobraonthecob · 4 years

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list of my anti-LoK feelings

Excluding the Gaang’s treatment and trying to be spoiler free so that i can tell my brother about this, let’s go:

oh no it got long

none of this is in chronological order

- Poor mishandling of the concepts/conflicts (the Equalists being led by a bender)

- K/ya and Bum/i being treated poorly by the Air Acolytes simply because they aren’t airbenders

- Bloodbending being the only bending subset art that’s demonized (meanwhile lightningbending gets to power Republic City)

- Harmonic Convergence - just random people getting airbending instead of people discovering they have airbending because Air Nomads are nomads and are likely to have descendants everywhere and it’s quite possible that the reason why Air Nomads are the only nation with a population that’s made up of 100% benders is because they gave nonbending children away to other nations, those kids carry on the genes but noooo it’s the most spiritual art or some random bs.

- the name of Republic City - whyyyyyyy you could’ve named it the People’s City in Chinese or something

- Bu/mi getting airbending and apologizing to a statue of his dad for not being enough

- Te/nzin being the only Cloud kid with a family - because apparently airbending can only be passed down if there’s an airbending parent instead of bending being a wheel spin, coin toss, and draw of the hat chance combined with genetics so both Bumi and Kya could’ve had kids,,,but they didn’t.

- “There’s LGBTQ+ rep!!!” yeah one of them is in the Fog of Lost Souls and a terrible person, Ky/a’s sexuality was confirmed in a comic that a good majority of the fandom doesn’t read bc the ATLA comics are notoriously abysmal, while Korra and Asami were shoved in last minute

- Kor/rasa/mi being shoved in last minute and that’s not because Nickolodean wouldn’t let Br/yke do it, they literally had no endgame ship until the last minute.

- the Spirit portals. Ah yes, make the Spirit World more accessible and make the Northern Water Tribe have an easy way to invade the Southern Water Tribe

- Water Tribe War of Why Would the North Want the South Except for an Ego Boost - oh stars i could write an essay on this: first of all there’s no reason for the two to unite - they’re on opposite ends of the world, two nations are between the two tribes so the constant travel between the two tribes is just too much. Secondly, we don’t do colonization in this household but apparently the North wanted to be like So/zin-Azul/on-O/zai’s Fire Nation. Thirdly: why. just why.

- The Western fashions and architecture - why is there a big ol’ statue of Aang in Republic City waters a la Statue of Liberty style -_- and why is there Western fashion asfjakjfkdj give me qipaos and i’ll shut up about it. (literally if everyone was wearing a qipao to be fancy i would give LoK less grief except for like “kind of boring but at least you tried”)

- As/ami is treated as a side character instead of one of the main four because she’s “Not a bender” (being removed from major fight scenes)

- Asa/mi being everyone’s emotional support and no one gives support back (sounds like someone we know...coughkataracough)

- non-benders having their roles being downplayed, and I don’t mean the Equalists being scary and then poofing out of existence after the first season. Benders get to be in all the action, but non-benders are mainly left out and only brought in to prop up the benders

- immemorable/bad lines/immemorable characters (I can’t remember who was in what spot lol)

- the Spirit World looking more like Spirited Away rather than what it originally was (someone drew a bunch of Spirited Away LoK AU and I thought it was a bunch of Spirited Away screencaps until I saw little kid!Ko/rra and was like “????”)

- “spirits should live in harmony with humans” - world proceeds to get invaded with “spirit vines” along with ATLA fans going “wait what about spirits like Koh the Face-Stealer or an angry Hei Bai”

- non-con kisses. love triangles. didn’t need that but okay

- WHO PUT A WESTERN WEDDING IN AN ASIAN WORLD. WHY ARE YOU WEARING WHITE. DID SOMEONE DIE.

- wait i just looked up the screenshots for that wedding and now i’m mad again

- WHY IS THERE A EUROPEAN DRESS HERE. GET THIS OUT OF HERE BEFORE I CRACK MY KNUCKLES AND REDESIGN A WHOLE DRESS FOR Z/HU LI

- I do not care if they’re Water Tribe. This world was inspired by China, we’re applying the full-on white outfit = mourning color to all nations because I can and I will do that.

- relationships having drama and I mean the type of drama that makes you groan and turn off the TV

- Bo/leska being played for laughs (switch the genders and this whole ship is a nightmare upon nightmare)

- Tenzi/n looking like an A/ang clone and doesn’t even have a hint of anything to suggest he’s half SWT - would it have killed the designers to give him Water Tribe arm wrappings????

- okay I said i wasn’t going to talk about the Gaang but I’m talking about Tenz/in so whatever. anyways neither T/enzin nor any of his kids look like they have SWT heritage and like. skin color can skip a generation and get into another. One of the Cloud grandkids could at least be a little tan instead of the entire family being the same skin tone. Ik/ki could’ve had hair loopies. Me/elo could’ve had a SWT name, and R/ohan could’ve been a waterbender.

- Ko/rra going to confront Zah/eer with Mak/o, everyone thinks that because Ma/ko was with her for a very emotional time that they’re probably going to get together because that makes sense, right? Heck, both of them are there for each other in the Big Emotional Scenes.

- The framing of the K/orra-Za/heer confrontation - Zahee/r is higher than her/is equal to her height, visually symbolizing that he still has power over her. This is very different from TSR where Ka/tara faces down her demon (Y/on Rha), all cards are in her hands, he’s sitting on the ground while she’s standing tall.

there’s probably more but I’ve salted enough for now

#nightfalcon posts #nightfalcon rants #anti lok #lok salt #lok critical #long post

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soyouareandrewdobson · 4 years

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A (wind)blast from the past...

So.. lets talk about Dobson and anime.

No, I am not meaning in the way that I am going to dissect his biased spiteful opinions on Japanese animation and comic culture on general (believe me, we are going to get there one day) but in regard of something that even got me by surprise when I learnt of it the day before.

You know Rumiko Takahashi? Mangaka of work such as Ranma ½, One-Pound Gospel, Mermaid Saga and most famously Inuyasha? Not only is this woman one of the most popular and richest mangaka on the planet with multiple awards under her belt (including the Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême in 2019) but if you know anything about Dobson at all, you know that she is one of his idols. Meaning of course he plagiarized her wacky tone of humor, certain characters and overall style in his earlier works, primarily Formera and Alex ze Pirate.

Honestly, growing up with Ranma ½ myself (and being disappointed in the ending even today, though the ride was entertaining) I can confirm just how much he was “inspired” by her. Be it by the fact that Perry the Pirate acts like Happosai if he had the genes of Brian Blessed halfway split into him, that most of the wacky sledgehammer humor his characters can engage in is way too similar to what Akane Tendo would do, to Altea being everything Miroku from Inuyasha would be, if you removed his redeeming qualities.

Well, here is the thing: Although Dobson likes her work, for reasons he never elaborated on, he can’t stand Inuyasha.

Which I assume is related to the manga being less “wacky” than Takahashi’s previous work (though she did also write darker stories like Mermaid Saga before that) . I can’t however say so for certain. All I know is that the manga (in my opinion) ran for longer than was necessary and that Naraku got off easier in a way than he deserved, even if he was killed by the end of it all, which are like two major criticisms I can think of.

That said, I would be lying if I said I did not adore Inuyasha back in the day and see why other people liked it too. It was one of the first manga I followed regularly and while I can look back at it and see all the cheese to it, I genuinely liked reading the adventure of Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Miroku, with Sesshoumaru, Jaken, Rin and Kouga as flavor adding side characters. I have fond memories of listening to “Change the World”, I still own the third movie on DVD cause I really like it and the anime and manga is always good for a read down memory lane. But I digress. This is not about me self indulging into my weaboo past, this is about Dobson potentially changing his opinion about Inuyasha soon.

Why? Because it gets the Korra/Boruto treatment now. In short, there is going to be a girl centered sequel.

To elaborate: Last month (May 2020) it was announced that Sunrise, the same studio that did the first Inuyasha anime adaptation, would release around autumn (though that is more or less an estimate) a new series by the title of “Hanyou no Yashahime”, which roughly translates into “Yashahime: Princess Half Demon”. And not just that, Rumiko Takahashi herself will work as character designer on it and anime scriptwriter Katsuyuki Sumisawa, who collaborated with Takahashi on the scripts of all Inuyasha movies and has credits on many other popular Shonen Anime of the 80s, 90s and 2000s, is in charge of scripts.

Here is a link describing a bit more about the show

And here is a description of the plot, courtecy of livechart The daughters of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha set out on a journey transcending time!

In Feudal Japan, Half-Demon twins Towa and Setsuna are separated from each other during a forest fire. While desperately searching for her younger sister, Towa wanders into a mysterious tunnel that sends her into present-day Japan, where she is found and raised by Kagome Higurashi’s brother, Sota, and his family.

Ten years later, the tunnel that connects the two eras has reopened, allowing Towa to be reunited with Setsuna, who is now a Demon Slayer working for Kohaku. But to Towa’s shock, Setsuna appears to have lost all memories of her older sister.

Joined by Moroha, the daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome, the three young women travel between the two eras on an adventure to regain their missing past.

I am not gonna lie, I am baffled, excited and a bit concerned about this. Baffled because it has been over a decade since the manga ended and half a decade since the plot was also wrapped up in animated form. Add to that also the fact that this is the first time Takahashi actually does a sequel to one of her previous works and it is quite a surprise.

Then obviously, I am excited as someone who liked the original story and I kinda want to see where this is going, even if I was okay with the story ending in the first place. See, I am one of those people, I do not need endless continuations of some plots because I have nothing else going on in my life than one work of fiction I can never let go off and call others nazis if they do not agree with me mindlessly consuming it (*cough* Start Wars *cough*)

And Inuyasha is one of those things where I was overall still happy with the end. Ater all, Kagome and Inuyasha together, the villain defeated, Kohaku back to normal, Sango and Miroku busy being parents. YAY! So I do not need a sequel outright.

In addition, I am not necessarily a fan of the entire “sequel series about an offspring of character X” hook that Naruto for example went for with Boruto, because it feels like just doing the same shit over again with a new paint job instead of trying something slightly more original. That and quite often a sequel is only possible by the writer going for “happy end override” where the struggle our original heroes went for is essentially made pointless and their happy end taken away, so that a new conflict for the sequel can even happen. (again, Star Wars, or as one example in videogames that really stunk for me, Golden Sun for the DS).

Which are in the end the things I am actually worried about. That this sequel may turn the end of Inuyasha more tragic than it needed to be. But hey, we still have till autumn. So who knows, perhaps the show will be quite upbeat in its own way. Hopefully at least as “good” as the original. And if not, I can still perhaps enjoy it in a “so bad its good” way.

But independent of how I may perceive it, I am curious if Dobson, that is, if he even hears of this thing existing, will be interested in it. may do so. After all, on one hand it would be a sequel to a work by his favorite mangaka, who he likes so much, he feels even guilty about inflating characters by her.

On the other hand, he does not like Inuyasha for never really elaborated reasons.

Then again, this will be a sequel involving the offsprings of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. And knowing his boner for lesbians that went so far as to hint he looks regularly even on incestuous shipping art for the characters of Frozen…

Who knows? Perhaps this will “cure him” of the notion that “homosexual shipping” in anime is creepy and he will join the group of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha shippers via offspring proxy (sarcasm).

After all, it is”less” creepy when they are cousins, aren’t they? And even if it is “incest” it would still be progressive because it would be two girls. And even if they are not going to kiss and cuddle like the precious tiny little lesbians Dobson likes to imagine a lot of women as, he can still ship them because there is nothing wrong about shipping, as long as he does it.

Can you tell that I am not a fan of his hypocrisy?

Look, in all honesty, I am curious what he would think of the show and how he would “perceive” it. Primarily because it may give additional insight in how far his hatred for anime as well as his lesbian obsession goes.

And on a geekier note to end on,, are Towa and Setsuna supposed to be Sesshoumaru’s daughters? Congratulations on getting busy, you old white haired pretty bo- Wait. They are half demons. Sesshoumaru mated with a human. But the only human he ever even showed a slight level of affection to was…

Oh…. oh, no!

youtube

For the love of god, please let her have been aged up enough! I know she was already aged up in the last chapter of the manga, but considering he was like her father figure... well, that is if Rin is the mother, but... come on, who else?

#andrew dobson #tom preston #syac #inuyasha #inu yasha #anime #manga #rumiko takahashi #sequel

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marasamsara · 4 years

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Dark Avatar

This is my version of a dark Avatar (known from Atavar - The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra). I adore Korra and love the Avatar universe. And if you don’t like this dark Avatar version, then go fuck yourself. (Also, I have not proofread or in any way revised the story.)

____________________________________

The bartender looks like an ugly version of Steve Buscemi. The scotch he puts in front of me lacks at least one finger. I let him get away with it, the dick’s not worth it. Not this time. To vent my anger, I put a cigarette between my lips, light it with my will and take a deep, deep drag. Better. And when I exhale through my nose, it is even better. Cool looks make everything more bearable. I decide to play a little with the smoke. I catch it, form it to an orb and then let little streams shoot out of it in random directions. Fucking looks like an explosion or something. Totally rad. Until I hear that voice.

»You the Avatar?« it says.

I turn left and look into the face of a mother. I know she not merely is a woman, because she is holding hands with her little sun. He, too, is staring at me. Not madly, though, as his mother.

»… fuck you care?« I say and take another drag which almost consumes the rest of the cigarette.

She orders a cola and an orange juice and then gives me the look. The look, ya know? The look only a perfect mother can give a slutty bitch.

»You’re a disgrace.« she tells me.

The barkeep gives her the drinks. I exhale more forcefully than I intend and blow the smoke almost directly into his eyes.

»Come, Fred. Let us sit down back there.« the perfect mother tells her even more perfect son and leads him to the back of the café.

Yeah. I know. I’m boozing at the bar in a fucking café. At one pm. On Tuesday. For complaints, please write a handwritten statement and shove it up you cunt’s pussy. Wrapped around a brick, preferably. I’m not even allowed to smoke in here. No one is, ‘cause the fucking government is caring so much about their people that they chose to ban smoking at all nice places. Even in kindergartens. Is that even a word? Up yours, pricks …

I turn around on my bar stool and behold the people. How they enjoy their coffees and cakes. How they are immersed in checking their fucking phones and writing Pulitzer price worthy messages. And don’t lecture me on what the Pulitzer price is, I happen to know, you know? Fuck you.

I snap my finger. Several times. Finally, the dickhead barkeep cares to look. I point at my glass, empty it in one go and then beckon him to fill the darn glass up again. But Buscemi frowns. What the …?

»Whassrong with you?« I say.

»I better give you the bill.« he says.

What now?

It’s only one fucking pm! There’s time to down plenty more of those scotches. But with the right finger measure, you know what I mean? Nope, Buscemi hands me the bill. On a little silver plate. Is this the darn Ritz or something? Is Gene Kelly about to jump out from behind the counter and sing how much fun it is to fucking dance in the rain?

»Hey, dude …« I say and make some gestures.

The barkeep ignores me and polishes a glass.

Really?!

The empty glass in my hand melts to a steaming lump.

Really?!?!

I throw the steaming lump at the wall. It pierces through and makes a thud noise as it hits something. Fucking shithole. Then I put a quarter or two on the counter and take my leave. I owe them like twenty or thirty, but I don’t care. Who’s gonna stop me anyway? The coppers? Hah! Being the Avatar has its perks.

I stumble on the sidewalk and look around. Busy, busy people everywhere. All dressed up nicely for their offices. And casting weird looks at me. Never seen a drunk master of the elements before, dipshits?

Naw, I’m not drunk. I am enlightened. I am connected to my spiritual side. Yeah, that’s what I am. Very spiritual. Like fucking Buddha, that fat bastard.

As I walk down the sidewalk, people keep bumping into me. Can’t you watch out, assholes? The next piece of crap, who’s about to bump into me, I swear, I’m gonna airbend to the moon. And so I do. The guy flies off like a mosquito on acid. Whoa, there he goes. Can’t even see where he lands. T’was a good one. Hehe.

I stumble on. But not really, because someone is holding me back at the shoulder. I whirl around and grab him at the neck. Don’t do that. Don’t ever fucking do that. Dark red energy fills my chest. And then I smell burned flesh. My hand got fired up a bit. Charred the guy’s neck. Collared him like a fucking slave or something. Sorry, pal. Don’t mess with the Avatar, didn’t ya know?

I’m getting fed up walking, so I channel fire from my arms and fly away like fucking Apollo. The rocket, not the god. Gods are all dead. I am the only one left. I land in another district, which is not well-known for its good schools, to put it that way. A car is burning, some trash cans too, graffiti everywhere, even on the sidewalks. I like this place, because here people tend to ignore me, should they happen to recognize my face at all. Here, everyone minds their own business.

Without a goal in mind I wander around. As I take a turn, I see a bunch of police cars. Not burning, and with their disco lights on. The coppers are pointing their pistols and assault rifles at a minimart. A guy is standing in front of it, some dollar bills at his feet, and a gun in his hand, pointed at the head of a little boy in his grip. My legs up their pace.

The coppers yell at the man to drop the gun and let the boy go. The guy yells back that the coppers shall fuck off or he’s gonna put a slug in the boy’s head. Now, I am running.

»Everybody! Move back!« I shout.

The officers turn around, some are taking aim at me.

»Move back! Get fucking lost!« I yell at the top off my lungs.

One officer starts yelling something back and I lose it. I stop so abruptly that my foot digs into the asphalt. I clench my fists and stomp at the ground with my other foot. With a metallic bang, all the copper’s weapons shatter to pieces. One or two officers get hurt by shrapnel. Then I widen my stance and my fists light up in bright red flames.

»Move. It!« I say, »Now!«

My eyes must have lightened up red, because now the coppers run for it. They know red is bad. The guy with the boy held hostage in front of him takes aim at me. I let him keep his gun. I have it in my mental grip. He can’t move it one bit without me letting him.

»Go away!« he shouts at me, »Go away, or I’ll kill the boy!«

»Not gonna happen, pal.« I say.

He points the gun back at the boys head. The kid is crying and at the brink of breaking down. Time to end this.

The flames at my fists turn almost white like welding torches. The gun in the guy’s hand melts. As he drops it with a cry of pain, the kid runs away. His tormentor wants to flee, but I form one of the cop’s gun shrapnel into a metal band and bend it around his neck. Gasping for air he nearly drops to the ground, but I bend the metal up, just enough to keep him in a strangle hold.

»So, pal. Tell me, is it fun, torturing kids?« I say, noticing the dark smoke coming out of my throat.

»P … Please! Let … Let me go!« he croaks, hardly able to breathe.

»No can do.« I grin, slowly shaking my head.

I bend another gun shrapnel and let it penetrate the guys knee. Another one into his shoulder, the other knee, the thigh, arm, everywhere, until he looks like a voodoo doll. Blood is pouring out of him and amassing in a growing puddle beneath him.

»Let me feast on your agony.« I say with flames licking out of my mouth.

And then I light up his clothes. His screams are wonderful, as he hangs there from the metal band around his neck with the bolts everywhere in his body, and with the flames slowly burning through the layers of his skin. When the flames have consumed the cloth, I keep them alive with my bending powers. The limbs first, torso next, and face for last. The scent of burning flesh is unique. Nothing like backyard BBQ.

When he had enough and left this world, I stomp at the ground bending up a metal lance impaling him through his ass and out of his skull. There he hangs, impaled like a fried fish on a stick. My eyes turn normal again, and no more flames coming out of my mouth. I turn around and see quite some people standing close, shooting videos and taking pictures with their smartphones.

»Fuck you.« I say.

They leave a passage for me as I take my leave. I can’t help but bend most of the phones to pieces of scrap metal. Some, I leave intact. Will be rad to see the footage on youtube.

#Avatar #TLOK #dark avatar #misexeinainy #misanthropy #Nihilism #mess in the head #dark mind #dark thoughts #darkness

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