#And Yangchen is SO GOOD TOO

[dartalias]

I want to finish the Yangchen book

I really do

But every time i open the app where i read i see the Kyoshi's novels RIGHT THERE and i think in all the analisys i could/want to do of so many characteres and i just...

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Avatar Love talk 3: Game vs Action

Follow up from (and also defending Kyo in this vid)

Yangchen: I plead the fifth on what Kuruk said. No idea why you two think you got your horny ass desires from me. Kyoshi: I'm not the one who sensually listened to the sound of Kavik writing with a pencil, but go off? Yangchen: Again, pleading the fifth! Anyway I still think Kyoshi has the least amount of game. Kyoshi: Really? We're still on this? Can't we talk about something else? Wan: Like your mommy issues? Kyoshi, pushing his face away and knocking him down: Ok, defending my "game" it is. Yangchen: Kyoshi, really, just accept it. You can't flirt for shit. Kyoshi: Again, I don't need to. Yangchen: You keep saying that! How do you expect to get anyone if you can't or don't flirt? Kyoshi: I walk into the room and look at them. Maybe smile, if I'm feeling feisty. Yangchen: That's not going to work- Wan: It worked for you, Yangchen. Yangchen: *deflated* Kyoshi: Oh so it's "flirting" and "super game" if Yangchen does it, but if Kyoshi does it then I'm just lucky? Wow. Hmmm. So fair. Yangchen: Kyoshi, you had two years with Rangi and Yun and I had five minutes with Kavik. We are not the same. Kyoshi: Listen, Yangchen, I think we've got it all wrong. It isn't about game or flirting. It's about action. I know how to get my girl going- Wan: Yangchen knows how to get Kavik going too! Yangchen: SHut UP, Wan! .......Yeah I know how to get Kavik going too, blow steam in his ear, fling him off a bison, what's your point????? Korra: Wait, fling him off a-? Kyoshi: Oh no no, Yangchen. That's not what I mean. You see, I'm probably going to go down in history as "World's best daughter-in-law." Whenever I sincerely talk about how I'm going to take care of Rangi or Hei-Ran, and Rangi melts into a literal puddle at my feet. Korra: So, like, you're amazing moral character is how you flirt? Kyoshi: No, it's not flirting. It's doing. Actions. Like I said before, they like me for who I am. And maybe because I have a good smile too. Kuruk: Being good looking does help. Yangchen: Ugh, where are you going with this? Kyoshi: I'm getting to it. What I want to say is, 'What's so great about having game, when the real measure should be the results?' Yangchen: *rolls eyes* 'Results.' Please, Kyoshi. We all know I had Kavik wrapped around my finger. Kyoshi: So you got with him? Yangchen: I-well uh- Kyoshi: Tell me, Yangchen. Which one of us actually GOT their boo in the end? Hm? Yangchen: .......... Kyoshi: Only actions and outcomes matter, Yangchen. What's so great about your "game" if you can't even "win"? Wan: I haven't seen a burn this severe since that volcano took out Roku. O-O Voice on the phone: 911, what's you're emergency? Korra, on the phone: I just witnessed a murder! I mean both parties are already dead-can the dead die twice?????

[dashiellqvverty]

insane that there is finally an actually good and interesting and believable straight couple in an avatar-verse story and they’re not even actually together

[zenjestrr]

finished the show didn't like it don't have the energy to rant right now or explain my thoughts. I sincerely hope the kids don't get harassed for this. the fault lies solely with the writers of the adaptation. I can see why Bryke left

[aangarchy]

I'm gonna say it. I don't like when people go "Kyoshi was controlling Aang here" when Aang does anything remotely powerful in the avatar state. In the Kyoshi novels it's pretty much established the avatar state doesn't work that way (she described it as being conscious but having thousands of voices influence her actions, when you control the avatar state you can choose not to listen, it's not One past avatar that takes over) and it also undermines Aang's power and fighting spirit. Just because Aang is a pacifist doesn't mean he can't give someone a good beating, and we've always seen Aang find clever and witty ways to fight. You hear him making funny quips (kinda like spiderman) during fights because he's a child.

So no, when Aang grabbed Ozai's stupid goatie when he entered the avatar state, that wasn't Kyoshi or Yangchen controlling his actions. That was him, because it's established that Aang was in a controlled avatar state during that final fight. Ozai just told him his people deserved to die mere minutes prior, you would have pulled his beard and slapped the fire out of his hands too. Also, he's twelve, he probably thought it was hilarious

[chipified]

Avatar hcs

Spoilers for the reckoning of Roku, the kyoshi novels and the yangchen novels. Note I still need to finish Rokus and kyoshi's books

Korra

• Korra has broken her fingers many, many times

• Her eyes are so bright and eye-catching. People stare at them a lot.

• She could pull so easily. She's great at flirting (usually) But she doesn't because she's loyal to asami

• Sure she was showing growth when she spared kuvira but she does NOT like her. Kuvira pisses her off

• Luckily she's able to make up for her lack of experience in the real world with how social she is but she is clueless about slang and she never understands references

• Jokes fly right over her head

• All of the krew has such a shitty sense of humour they laugh at the dumbest things

• Goes through like 12 hairstyle phases. She loves mixing it up

• Stubborn as hell she stood by the spirit portal decision for he entire life and death

• A really talented bender. In her spare time she attempts to recreate the feats of her past lives

• Bias towards kuruk. She thinks he looked very cool and admired his skills

Aang

• Being vegetarian spared him from the knowledge that he is allergic to shellfish

• Sokka and toph teased him about his first flirting attempts on katara until the day he died

• His death was really unexpected. He was mostly fine leading up to it. Noone could really figure out what killed him at first, it was ultimately just him overworking himself too much

• Not a fan of the spirit world. He avoids it where he can

• Koh the face stealer scared him senseless actually no matter what he says

• He was always really busy with his duties but he did try to spend as much time with his children as he could

• Was super doting on katara while she was pregnant

• Tried a long bearded look for a while. It looked awful and toph clowned on him so hard. So did his kids

• Admired Yangchen and Roku so much. Kyoshi freaked him out as a kid

Roku

• Those first few months of travelling with the air nomads sucked ass. He was constantly covered in mud, his hair was knotted and he STANK oh my god he missed home so bad

• Actually pretty clumsy. Even when he was old he would trip over his own feet all the time. Dislocated his hip once

• A pushover. Sozin would take his snacks and drag him places as small children and he'd just take it

• Sozin had no faith in his avatarhood

• Politics were a nightmare for him in his late teens and twenties because of how awkward he was. He grew into his own though and ended up decently good at negotiating.

• Has freckles, but they only show up at the height of summer

• He doesn't tan he goes red

• Low self esteem, he thinks everything he does is embarrassing

• Collected seashells. Both because he wanted to try and get reacquainted with the ocean and because he thought they were pretty

• Shortly after Yasu died, he was so petrified of water he could barely bathe. He was very traumatised for a long while

• His own safety wasn't much of a priority. Guilt consumed him, so he didn't care what happened to him, as long as the people he was close to were safe

Kyoshi

• Thank god for airbending because she is intensely affected by the cold

• Her Hands are always slightly shaky, so applying her makeup can be so annoying sometimes

• Politics bored her to death

• Queen of “this could've been an email”

Uses her height to her advantage as much as she can. It's just easier and leads to less violence

• Very kind to young children

• She doesn't mean to be harsh or rude, she's just very blunt and has a flat tone

• She got very sick very easily as a kid. If kelsang hadn't found her she probably wouldn't have lived much longer

• Insecure about her appearance. Rangi spent years convincing her she wasn't ugly

• She saw a lot of her younger self in Roku. It made her uncomfortable

Kuruk

• Hopeless romantic. Loves poetry, songwriting and those partner dances. You know damn well he took ummi on as many dates as he possibly could

• Self reliant. Asking for help with anything becomes harder and harder as he grows older (“older”). Even basic stuff like asking someone to help him carry stuff

• His parents were disappointed in him. In their eyes they raised the only avatar in recent history who just didn't do his job

• They both outlived him

• He was fantastic at bending though, he could pull of some tricks that not even his teachers could

• He should've been at the club bro!! House parties would've been his shit!! He would've eaten at karaoke

• As much as he drank he still despised the taste of vodka

• Wanted to be a father. But that didn't work out

• Trust issues

Yangchen

• Her hair started going grey pretty early into her life. She was crazy stressed

• Rip yangchen you would've loved weed

• She did not celebrate the day Chaisee died because that would be disrespectful. So kavik did it for her amen

• Really enjoyed sports. Would've killed it at baseball

• She doesn't like watching the lives of the future avatars until they hit like 25 they stress her out so hard when they're young

• One of the few team avatars to stick together for life and not retire at any point. All of them worked until they were forced to stop

• Infertile

• Tries to visit her sister in the spirit fog sometimes but can't bring herself to go in again. She stops doing this eventually

• Kavik cuts her hair. He's weirdly good at it. In return she brings him trinkets she finds in all the places she visits

• Yingsu and her have spa days together

• Her sanity was hanging on by a thread during Legacy. She was so close to crashing out

• The past lives “possessing” her was an issue her whole life, exacerbated in times of stress. Neither she or her past lives could control it. It just happened when it happened

Wan

• Realistically he knew that he couldn't just fix all the world's problems in his lifetime alone, but god he did not want to die the way he did. He really wanted a peaceful death

• The armour he was wearing when he died was slowly gathered up over the years from battlefields and things he just found on the ground

• His avatar state was slightly different from his incarnations. Since it wasn't something he was born with, it caused some issues. For example, his vision was very poor when he died

• Felt really bad about the impact he had on the other avatars lives.

• Super bored all the time. He's seen everything there is to see at this point

• Wan and raava are super comfortable they know literally everything about each other

• Never had a lover. It just didn't interest him at all. The following avatar just ended up looking similarly to him (Alternatively- he had a bad breakup with a guy and that is why none of the future avatars date men/j)

• Wan and Jaya (his friend that died fighting spirits) built the treehouse they lived in together. Yao (tree-sprit guy) met them a little later. They formed their own little family after being shunned by everyone else

• Yangchens life was his favourite to watch. Aang's life was his least favourite.

• Korra was the only one he went out of his way to speak to. He hasn't been summoned for at least a few thousand years and he just prefers to let them make their own decisions

[atlaculture]

Just a thought I had when seeing your building culture posts

I feel like Jalebi is such an air nomad style food. With the bright orange and swirled patterns, you can't tell me Aang wouldn't love it.

Additionally barfi feels like another air nomad dish. Perhaps it could be made with bison milk?

I know the air nomads are inspired by Tibetan monks, but as theres sprinkles of Hinduism and Indian culture in the show. So this is my thoughts as an Indian person

I agree, I think these foods would work well for the Air Nomads. In fact, barfi and other Indian dairy desserts have been happily embraced by the Tibetan communities in India. Truthfully, the reason I limited my Air Nomad cuisine posts to mostly Tibetan food was to narrow the scope of my research. Really, any vegetarian dish from any culture could integrate well into the Air Nomad culture established by the show's canon.

The way I see it, there would realistically be two types of Air Nomad cuisine:

"Temple" Air Nomad Cuisine: This would be the cuisine that the Air Nomads developed within their temples, high up in the mountains. Like the Himalayas, this climate is good for growing barley, root vegetables (droma, potatoes, daikon, etc.), mushrooms, and certain strains of peppers. These would be the ingredients, along with sky bison dairy, that young Air Nomads would grow up enjoying.

"Local" Air Nomad Cuisine: My conception of the Air Nomads is that they were mostly sky bison herders with strong spiritual beliefs and ascetic practices. Their culture was viewed as quite mysterious by the other nations, but the average person (before Sozin's reign) regarded an Air Nomad's presence as bringing good luck to those around them. This was due to the commonly held belief that the Air Nomads were on good terms with the spirits, which was generally true--- Yangchen notwithstanding.

I establish all this worldbuilding to give context to the once flourishing vegetarian cuisines of the Avatar world. When an Air Nomad would stop by a town to purchase or trade for supplies, many villagers would rush to invite the monk over to their home for a meal--- some hoping for a blessing, others desiring spiritual guidance, and a clever few knowing that a well-traveled nomad is the best source for world news.

Although Air Nomads would humbly accept whatever food was offered to them, most villagers would go out of their way to prepare vegetarian dishes out of respect and hospitality. Thus, prior to the Hundred Year War, all nations had a thriving vegetarian culinary tradition that utilized their local ingredients. This came to be known colloquially as "local" Air Nomad food. Sometimes these dishes would become so popular with the nomads that temple elders would bemoan their people becoming too attached to these earthly pleasures.

I think both the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom would have Indian-inspired vegetarian dishes that they would serve to an Air Nomad guest. The Water Tribe's vegetarian dishes were especially unique and labor-intensive, considered a special treat for any one of any nation. @mostly-mundane-atla has a great post on what WT vegetarian dishes would look like.

Just another Air Nomad headcanon that lives in rent-free in my brain. ^_^

[athanmis]

holding up the world - yangchen and kavik

inspo once again is princess mononoke

recently finished the avatar books🥲 so good... yangchen has always been my fav avatar so i had give her some rep (and kavik too)

[creampuffqueen]

i'm glad i get forever to see where you went

Yangvik Week Day 3: Angst

Summary: As Yangchen gets older, she starts to forget.

Word Count: 4092

TW: memory loss, grief, hurt with only a little comfort

(will be posted to ao3 later)

~~~~

As Yangchen gets older, she starts to forget. 

It starts slowly. So slowly that, for a while, Kavik doesn’t notice.

They’re retired now, out of the game for good. The world is at peace, a possibility neither of them could have imagined in their youth. Disputes are resolved. Treaties were written and are being followed. Yangchen has done her job as well as she possibly can, and now she and her closest companion get to delight in living out a simple, quiet life in the comfort of their home, nestled in the foothills surrounding the Eastern Air Temple.

Their days are easy, their nights are peaceful. They grow most of their food now, and so they spend hours in the garden, bringing forth life from the soil. Yangchen meditates often, Kavik reads to his heart’s content. The most excitement they get is a stray lemur or two flying down from the temple to follow the Avatar around, perching on her shoulders and chirping in her ears. 

Despite the peace they now experience, Yangchen’s struggle with her past lives is far from eased. Though at this point, it’s a struggle they are used to. When she cries out in the night Kavik pulls her closer, the rhythm of his heart soothing her back to sleep. When she speaks in a voice that is not her own Kavik doesn’t panic, instead simply talking to her, acting a new persona if needed, until she is able to return to herself. 

These are the struggles they are used to. This new struggle, however, comes as a surprise. 

Kavik watches the woman he loves as she works in the garden. She sings to herself as she digs, voice a bit scratchy and out of practice but no less beautiful because of it. A flying lemur chitters from her shoulder, digging its tiny hands into her gray hair, grooming her like it would one of its kits.

The lemur tugs especially hard at a small piece of hair, and Kavik watches Yangchen’s face tighten in discomfort. She lifts a hand, dirt beneath her fingernails, to gently bat the creature away. “Pak, that’s too hard.”

Pak? Her childhood lemurs have been dead for many years. 

The lemur darts off her shoulder, taking off flying, and Yangchen goes back to the bulbs she’s burying. She begins to sing again, resuming her tune.

Kavik brushes off the strange interaction. A small lapse in memory is nothing to worry about. He steps into the garden to join his love in the dirt. 

—

Some days later, the two of them are sitting on a bench outside of their small cottage, enjoying the sunset and each others’ company. The evening sun blazes behind the hills, painting the sky in a hundred shades of orange. Kavik is working on a small carving, whittling away at a block of wood and watching the shape begin to form. He thinks it might end up a turtle-seal. Yangchen is curled against his side, feet tucked beneath her, enjoying a steaming mug of tea. 

“The airball tournament is coming up soon, isn’t it?” She asks lightly.

“It’s tomorrow,” Kavik affirms. Though they’ve retired in the East, the pair have made a habit of trekking up to the temple whenever there’s an airball competition happening - the looks on the nuns’ faces whenever they cheer ‘East side, least side!’ are always priceless. Somehow the girls on the teams seem to get younger every year. 

“That’ll be fun to watch.” She nestles closer, and Kavik pauses his carving to wrap his arm around her. Her gray eyes stare off into the distance, the glow of the setting sun illuminating her face. 

Kavik ignores the beauty of the sunset. The scenery before him is beautiful enough. 

Yangchen has aged so gracefully. Crows feet and smile lines have wrinkled her face, signs of a life well-lived. Her hair is entirely silver, still tied in the same braid as always. He supposes he could look past the signs of aging, if he wanted. Her expressions are identical to the way he first met her. 

But why would he want to? He’s had the privilege of seeing her grow into this; from sly, conniving teenager to wise, benevolent old woman. She’s still the same Yangchen, whether she’s spry and agile or with liver-spotted hands that shake when she’s too tired. 

“You’re staring at me,” Yangchen notes. She sips at her tea, eyes sliding from the horizon and over to his face. Even all these years later, he still feels a blooming warmth in his chest whenever she looks at him. 

“Can’t help it,” Kavik replies, leaning over to nuzzle her cheek. Yangchen leans into the touch, and when he pulls away she has a soft smile on her face that makes his heart swell. 

“Hey, what day is the airball tournament happening?”

Kavik blinks. “What do you mean? It’s tomorrow; I just said that.”

A flicker of confusion crosses Yangchen’s face. “I don’t remember you saying it.”

“Well, I did.”

She sips from her mug again, brow wrinkling. “I… guess I wasn’t listening too well. Sorry.”

“You’re probably tired,” Kavik says, filling in the confusion with the most logical explanation he can think of. “Let’s go to bed.”

Years ago, she would have fought him tooth and nail if he tried to tell her to get some sleep. Now, she just nods, standing slowly from the bench. Kavik leads her inside, and they get ready in quiet familiarity. 

They crawl into the bed side-by-side, Kavik holding Yangchen close to his chest. He tucks himself against her, the space between her neck and shoulder the perfect home for his chin. 

“Goodnight,” Yangchen whispers, extinguishing the few candles in the room with a wave of her hand. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kavik replies, feeling the weight of the words in his very soul.

Sleep comes easily to her tonight, her breathing easing and giving way to gentle snores in a matter of minutes. She really must have been tired.

But for reasons he can’t explain, Kavik finds that sleep eludes him.

—

It gets worse. 

From the gardens, Kavik looks up as a shadow passes overhead. A sky bison.

They don’t get too many visitors out here, especially not these days. So his interest is piqued as the bison lands in the field and the figures sitting in its saddle become clear.

It’s Yangchen, being escorted by a younger nun who looks like she might keel over in awe. Clearly, she’s realized this isn’t just any old lady out for a stroll.

The Avatar leaps from the bison’s saddle, cushioning her fall with an expert air bubble. Kavik walks over to meet her.

“You’re back a bit early. What happened?” She’d planned today to make her way to bison fields, armed with a basket full of homemade dumplings to feed the nuns on herding duty. It’s calving season, and the nuns in charge of caring for the giant beasts are out from dawn til dusk every day. 

(The dumplings were made by Kavik. Even all these years later, she’s still hopeless in the kitchen. He supposes this knowledge would put a hole in the ‘grandmother-of-the-world’ persona she’s got going on now.)

“I’m fine,” She assures him before he can ask, “I just got a bit turned around while heading to the fields. Luckily, Sister Tsumi and her bison Nyima were there to come to my rescue.”

She gestures the the nun, still standing in her saddle. She looks on the verge of tears of joy. She’ll remember this day forever, the day she gave Avatar Yangchen herself a ride on her bison.

Kavik bows to the young woman, giving her thanks. But a bigger concern pricks at the back of his mind. “What do you mean, ‘turned around’?” The fields aren’t too far away. They visit often. How could she have gotten lost in such a short distance?

Yangchen shrugs. “Oh, I probably just miscounted the number of hills or something. I would have found my way eventually.”

“What about the dumpling basket? Is it still in the saddle?”

“Dumpling basket?”

Kavik frowns. “The dumplings? That you were taking to the fields? What happened to the basket?”

She presses the heels of her hands against her eyes, shaking her head. “I - I don’t remember. I must have set it down somewhere along the way…”

“I’ll go search for it!” Tsumi pipes up, eager to help more. 

It really isn’t that important; it’s only a basket. But Kavik nods anyway, letting the young woman continue to assist. The bison takes off again, and Kavik leads his love back to their home, holding her close to his side. 

She isn’t herself that night. She calls him by a dozen different names in a dozen different voices, speaking of long-dead kings until the sun comes up. Kavik talks to her when he can, plays the parts when he needs. Eventually she falls into a fitful sleep, curled in his arms.

He wants to blame her earlier confusion on this. It’s been months since she’s disappeared from herself so fully; surely that must be the reason.

And yet, a small part of him won’t allow himself to. Yangchen remembers her past lives with such clarity. How is she struggling to remember her own?

—

Life continues on, though. The endless wheel of time won’t stop turning, even for the most powerful being in the world. 

Winter comes, snow falling over the hills and frosting the windows of their cottage. Kavik can feel the cold in every one of his aching joints.

Sometime in the mid-winter, Yangchen gets sick. Kavik wakes to find her burning with fever, shaking uncontrollably in his arms.

He does the best he can to heal her. He’s never quite had her raw power for it, but he’s honed his own talents rather well. Unfortunately, waterbending healing doesn’t do nearly as much for illnesses as it does for injuries. He helps reduce her fever and then sets about making some soup.

Days pass. She’s getting better; less coughing, less congestion, no more chills. They spend most of their time snuggled together on their bed, wrapped from head to toe in blankets to keep them warm as they chat, fondly recalling their adventures together. Kavik kisses her plenty, even though she tells him it’s unhygienic. If he was going to get sick he would have by now.

She was getting better. She was, Kavik swears it.

Then a crash wakes him in the middle of the night and he finds Yangchen awake, digging frantically through their small bookshelf.

“Yangchen?” He always calls her by name first, wanting to see if it’s really her speaking. Her eyes flash in acknowledgement but she still keeps searching, tossing book after book behind her.

“Kavik, where on earth did I put that ledger?”

“A ledger? We don’t have any.” They’re retired. Kavik hasn’t had to do any accounting in years.

“We do,” Yangchen insists. From his spot on the bed, he can see a faint sheen of sweat forming on her forehead. “I was just working on it last night. It has a record in it that I need to look at for my report to Feishan.”

His blood runs cold. “Yangchen, Feishan isn’t the Earth King anymore. His son is the king now. King Fihong. You’ve met him.”

She turns to look at him, confusion creasing her face. “What are you talking about?”

He stands to meet her, wincing as pain flares in his knees. He takes her gently by the arms. Her skin is on fire again.

“You’re not well, Yangchen. Come back to bed, I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Bed?” She laughs. “Kavik, I haven’t got the time. The report needs to be sent out in the morning; I have to find that ledger.”

Kavik doesn’t know what to say to this. She knows him. She knows herself. But somehow, she doesn’t know where she is in time. 

He refuses to let himself panic. He can fix this the same way as always; he only has to play along. Shouldn’t playing himself be easier, anyway?

“The ledger can wait,” He tells her carefully. “Let’s sleep, and I’ll help you find it first thing in the morning. I promise.”

Her burning hand finds the side of his neck, feeling out his pulse. Kavik feels wrenched backwards in time.

Thankfully, she seems to decide he’s being truthful. “Alright. But you have to promise you’ll check over my numbers before I send it out. You know I make more mistakes when I’m rushing.”

He nods, bringing her over to the bed to help her in. “I will. Now let’s get some rest.”

She settles down as he holds her close. Kavik watches her every movement, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. This has never happened to her before. 

Her fever breaks in the night, and in the morning she’s herself once more. She picks up the books from the floor one by one, replacing them carefully on the shelf. Kavik sees as her brows furrow in confusion at the mess.

She doesn’t remember anything from last night.

—

Kavik doesn’t know how to broach the subject, even as the forgetfulness grows worse. 

He knows that memory often gets worse with age. He’s certainly not as sharp as he used to be, either. 

Still, this seems to be something else. It’s almost daily, now. She loses her train of thought when speaking, trailing off until Kavik repeats her sentence and sparks her memory again. She forgets what she’s doing, leaving tasks half-finished and then wondering why they aren’t done. They hardly own any possessions but she still manages to misplace them. Kavik finds things put away where they don’t belong, and Yangchen doesn’t remember doing it.

Perhaps a part of him is just hoping they’ll adjust. She’s still Yangchen, whip-smart and compassionate and always ready with a quick remark. She’s still every bit the woman he fell in love with, just a bit more forgetful these days. They’ll get through it, surely. 

Jetsun is looming rather largely as of late. Nightmares about her sister seem to follow her constantly, and Kavik spends many nights listening to her cry, rubbing her back and whispering soothing words in her ear, doing whatever he can to ease the pain. Some mornings he jostles her awake when he gets up from the bed, and she responds with “Five more minutes, Jetsun, please.” When her eyes finally open she seems confused for a moment, as if expecting to see the inside of the Western Air Temple rather than their tiny cottage. 

Kavik doesn’t know how to help. The innermost workings of her mind have always been a mystery to him, even though he knows everything there is to know about her. 

He loves her, though. The world is always changing, and nothing is ever constant. The deepest truth that he knows in his life is this: He loves Yangchen with everything he has, for everything she is. 

He loves her. He squeezes her hand while she sleeps, finally at peace for a change, and hopes that it’s enough. 

—

Things come to a head, eventually. They always do. 

Kavik wakes up with a jolt from a dead sleep, sensing deep in his gut that something is not right. He glances beside him, feeling oddly panicked.

The bed is empty. Yangchen’s spot is cold. The front door of their cottage is wide open, wind whistling through the empty space. Her shoes lay, unworn, by the threshold. 

He heaves himself from the bed, but something in his back pinches, nearly sending him to his knees from the blossom of pain. He curses aloud, calling damnation upon the spirits and his old bones and everything else.

Kavik bites the inside of his cheek until he tastes blood, giving him a different source of pain to focus on while he hobbles towards the door. The night is cold, with a promise of rain in the air. He can’t leave Yangchen out in this weather with no protection. 

Snagging a thick parka from the hook by the door nearly finishes him, back screaming in agony. He can feel the pain in his very blood. He won’t get far in this condition.

Still, he’s determined (‘to a foolish degree’, Yangchen likes to say). Next to the parka is Yangchen’s glider, worn from constant use. Kavik snatches it up to give himself something to lean against and gets moving. Yangchen will kill him for using her glider as a cane, but if she’s there to kill him at least it means she’ll be safe. 

Kavik would never call himself an excellent tracker, but somehow he manages to find her trail - freshly pressed grass, the indentations of bare feet. He follows, refusing to allow himself to feel the pain in his back, even as his legs shake with it. There are more important things right now. 

He crests over a small hill, and the sight before him makes him want to cry with relief. Yangchen is standing at the bottom, barefoot and smeared with mud, hands raised to the sky like she’s calling out to the universe itself. She’s okay.

Kavik almost tumbles down the hill in his haste, the wash of relief drowning out the rest of his pain. “Yangchen! There you are!”

She turns to face him. The moon illuminates her features and the shimmer of tear tracks on cheeks. Kavik is struck by just how frail she looks; paper-thin skin stretched too tight over her bones. She looks ready to fall apart.

Yangchen doesn’t answer his call, even as he comes to stand before her. She just stares, eyes clouded with emotions that Kavik can’t name. 

“I was so worried about you,” He tells her, taking a step closer.

“Worried?” She scoffs, and Kavik’s blood turns to ice. “Worried, Kavik, really?”

Reaching up to her face with an orange and yellow sleeve, Yangchen wipes away the remnants of her tears. More still pool in her eyes, threatening to drop at moment. “Were you worried about me you when chose to betray me?”

“I -” Kavik’s tongue feels too clumsy, lost for words for one of the few times in his life. He knows exactly what she’s reliving. Will another Avatar one day speak these same words, feeling Yangchen’s grief the same way she feels so manys’?

“I trusted you,” Yangchen whispers. She’s trembling. From the cold or from her pain, Kavik doesn’t know. “I was wrong about you.”

The cut runs just as deep the second time around. The pinched nerve in Kavik’s spine flares in pain, as if in response. He grimaces, leaning over his makeshift cane. 

“I’m so sorry, Yangchen.” It’s all he has to offer her. He wants to go to her, wrap her in his arms, kiss away her tears until she forgets she ever was in pain. But he can’t. All can do is apologize and hope his own heart holds together in the meantime. 

She takes a tentative step towards him, expression guarded. “How can I be sure you’re telling the truth? I can’t tell when you’re lying, Kavik.”

“I know you can’t. And I can’t make you trust me again.” Kavik blinks and realizes he’s started crying, too. “But let me walk you back. Please.”

He carefully steps forward, holding himself up with her glider. Yangchen is in arm’s reach. She puts one shaking hand out, wrapping it cautiously around the top of the glider. Her hand settles into the worn grip.

“Alright.” Something in her eyes goes blank, just for a moment. Then she blinks. Blinks again. Looks him over, observing his hunched figure and watery eyes. “You won the staff back. I thought it was going to be Iwashi’s forever.”

She’s suddenly much calmer, stepping closer to his side. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Nothing to worry about,” Kavik assures her. Taking the risk, he offers her the parka. “Keep your disguise on, okay? The others are waiting for us back at the safe house.”

She slides the warm clothing over her head with no complaint. “You had me going, you know. I really believed that you were going to lose.”

Kavik almost wants to laugh. Of course she still has the wherewithal to tease him. 

The hike back to the cottage somehow takes both days and seconds. Yangchen walks next to him, her hand still on the top of the glider. It makes it much harder for him to support himself with it, but he doesn’t dare push her hand off. By the time they get back she’s relaxed enough to bundle close to him once more, linking their arms together and helping him through the door. 

Kavik shuts the door behind them and collapses into the nearest chair, head spinning and back throbbing. His whole world feels upside down, and his mind is struggling to recalibrate.

Then, from the corner of the room, Yangchen speaks again. “Kavik? Are you alright? What are you doing out of bed?”

He looks over to her, his eyes blurring with pain. Somehow, some way, he can tell that it’s her again, her from the here and now. “I think I threw out my back chasing after you.”

She’s with him in a flash, glowing water already covering her hands. “Chasing after me? What are you talking about?” She pulls up his shirt to get access to his spine, spreading the water over him in the same motion. The pain begins to dissipate almost instantly, and Kavik is able to look her in the eye again.

“You weren’t in bed when I woke up. You left the house and walked out to the hills. I had to bring you back inside before you froze to death.”

She glances at the door. At herself, clothed in a parka she didn’t go to sleep in. “I - no, that’s not possible. Just now?”

“Just now.”

Her hands shake. The water stops glowing, spilling from his back and soaking his clothes. “I don’t remember.”

“It’s okay,” Kavik soothes, holding her hands in his. “Let’s go back to sleep. We can figure everything out in the morning.”

Still shaking, she doesn’t protest as Kavik, now able to walk without pain again, leads her over to the bed and helps her lay down. He kicks off his shoes and joins her, pulling her close.

“I don’t remember,” Yangchen breathes, so softly Kavik wonders if he’s meant to hear. “How can I not remember?”

He doesn’t have an answer for her.

Hands tighten in his shirt. Yangchen leans closer, voice cracking. “I’m frightened, Kavik.”

He is too. He wishes he wasn’t. He wishes he could be braver for her. 

“I know. So am I.” 

The dam breaks. Yangchen buries her face against his chest and sobs, tears soaking through the fabric of Kavik’s shirt. Kavik’s arms tighten around her as he cries too.

“I know I’m losing myself,” Yangchen chokes out between heaving breaths. “The threads in my mind are all tangled up. I can’t think straight. I can’t remember where I am. I’m terrified that one of these days I’ll forget about you, too.”

That fear has been looming in the back of Kavik’s mind as well. As much as it hurts, it almost feels good to hear it put to words.

Tears still streak down his cheeks as he cups Yangchen’s face in his hands. He lets her see him, all of him. Every fear and every worry. 

But he hopes that she can she can see the love, too.

“I’m not going to leave, Yangchen.” She sniffles, reaching up to hold her hand over his. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

She almost laughs at that; he can see the tiny quirk of her lips that proves it. Then her eyes turn misty again.

“I can’t promise that I’ll always know you.”

“So?” He strokes his thumbs over her cheekbones. “That doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is you. That you’re safe, and well cared for.”

“Even if I don’t know who you are?”

“Even then.”

There’s nothing more to say, not right now. Yangchen asked him, many years ago, to stay by her side. Kavik won’t break his promise to her. 

He leans in, kissing away the tears that still fall from her eyes. “I love you.”

Yangchen nestles into his arms. When she speaks, Kavik knows that it’s her. “I love you too.”

~~~~

a/n: sorry

[zeno-zero]

COMPILATION OF INCORRECT QUOTES!!

Roku: Okay, help me, please!

Kyoshi: Got two words for you.

Roku: I bet they won't be helpful.

Kyoshi: Your problem.

Roku: I was right.

---------------------------

Roku: *Lying down, and crying.*

Wan: There, there. Why don't you take some time off to not be around me while you're like this?

---------------------------

Korra: Can you keep a secret?

Kuruk: Do you know anything about my life?

Korra: No, I don't. Good point.

---------------------------

Yangchen: *Runs up to doors.*

Yangchen: Be careful, Kuruk! These doors say "Blast Danger"!

---------------------------

Roku: You have an impressive pain tolerance.

Aang: Thanks, it's the trauma.

---------------------------

Korra: Oh, so you two are getting along very... Cordial now?

Kuruk: Cordial? Nah, we're friends.

Korra: Friends?

Kuruk: Yeah. After you stopped us fighting, we got to talking. Seems like we have some common interests.

Roku: We both love butterflies.

Korra: Aww-

Roku: And beating people darkened spirits up.

Korra: Oh, okay.

---------------------------

Kyoshi: Hey guys I just found a new song I really like-

Kuruk: Is it about death?

Kyoshi: No.

Roku: Is it about drugs?

Wan: Is it about se-?

Kyoshi: NO- It's about happiness, and peace, and-

Kuruk, Roku, Wan:

---------------------------

Wan: "Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge" - Charles, Darwin.

Roku: What the fuck in angi's name? "Begets" isn't a word. Quit trying to make up words, fuckface Meat head.

---------------------------

Yangchen: You know, sometimes I really think I can be too straight.

Korra, covered in Bi merch, and sipping an iced coffee: Sucks to be you.

---------------------------

Kuruk: So... This is my full potential?

Roku: Yes.

Kuruk: So then it's...

Roku: All downhill from here.

Kuruk: Like Yangchen.

Roku: I do not know what this Yangchen is. But it sounds disappointing.

[dartalias]

Avatar calendar

(KYOSHI IS OLD)

You know how they say in the Kyoshi novels some people or in some cases its use a "tradicional calendar" to mark the time with the day withing that avatar era??

("you know today is technically the day 6454 in Kyoshi's era?" SoK pag 192)

So, if we put like, approximately 80 years for each avatar

it would be around 30 000 per era

But then we have Kuruk: 12 100

And then Aang (with the iceberg): 65 800

And then KYOSHI: 84 008

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Roku: *has multiple opportunities to confess to Ta Min but never FUCKING TAKES IT*

Me: If I was Kyoshi I would've ripped through the walls of the Spirit World and just fucking suplexed you until you stopped breathing.

[thegaybluejay]

I feel like rambling about Avatar Kuruk, so here we go!

I read the Kyoshi novels this summer (so SO good - F.C. Yee truly is a great author) and LOVED getting to see Kyoshi’s journey!

Alongside Kyoshi’s story, I found that I really enjoyed learning about Kuruk too.

But his story is so incredibly tragic.

I picture him as a 16 year old boy, wide eyed and optimistic as he is told that he is the Avatar. Not only that, but he is the successor to Yangchen, who was INCREDIBLY revered. He has big shoes to fill, but he’s ready to do this.

What 16 year old doesn’t dream about becoming a legend, a hero, a savior?

So, he begins his journey.

But it is not the journey he dreamed of.

The day he discovers the dark spirits is the day everything changes.

He fights. He fights these spirits to protect the mortal world, even though it costs him everything. It costs him his love, Ummi. It costs him his friendships. Hell, it costs him his own lifeforce.

Most of all, it costs him his legacy.

Avatar Yangchen was very well-respected, and he can’t bear to tarnish her image. So he copes as best he can and allows the world to think of him as the playboy Avatar. The Avatar who didn’t care. The “go with the flow” boy who never grew up.

And then he dies at 33 years old, having taken up the burden of the spirits alone.

Even Kyoshi doesn’t think highly of him for a long time. She heard the stories and thought he was a waste of an Avatar until she finally communes with him and learns his story.

The rest of the world continues to invoke Yangchen’s spirit, never knowing that Kuruk was the one who protected her name at the cost of his own.

Yangchen was an amazing Avatar who did her best with the tools she had, but so was Kuruk.

And the world didn’t see that.

Even when speaking to Aang, many generations after his death, he STILL protects Yangchen’s name by positioning himself as the “young and reckless” Avatar. (Yes I know the books were written longggg after and I’m sure this backstory wasn’t fully canon at the time of the show, but this is how I see it-)

Anyway just…it’s so sad. It was such a good way to write his story, and it really made me feel so much for him!

[woodlaflababab]

Thinking about Aang and his vegetarianism. Hot take, but I don't think vegetarianism is a universal air nomad trait or even expected. I think it's just common. When Aang told Yangchen that he was a vegetarian, he said it like it was a thing she wouldn't know or assume. He says it like it's his personal choice due to his conviction.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is I think Aang, even among Air Nomads, is exceptionally kindhearted. Gyatso showed air nomads as a whole can definitely be pushed to kill, but Aang could not, and he felt so strongly about life that the child willingly took on vegetarianism and stuck to it even when it made survival on the run difficult.

I love this boy who's too good for his own good.

[hadesisqueer]

Which Avatar do you think is the strongest??

Honestly? No idea.

You gotta remember, to measure which Avatar is 'stronger' you'd have to put them all in exact equal conditions, which is complicated because each Avatar was in very different situations and learnt at different rythms or ages. I cannot speak for Yangchen because I haven't read her novels yet, but for example, if you put 18yo Roku against 18yo Korra or 18yo Aang, they both would mop the floor with him because Roku hadn't probably even finished mastering his second element while Aang and Korra were already fully realized Avatars by that time, having mastered the four elements and with complete control of the Avatar State; Roku didn't become a fully realized Avatar til he was 28.

You can't put 13yo Korra against 13yo Aang because even though Korra is even more of a bending prodigy than he is and had already mastered two elements by that age and was starting the third, Aang was already more experienced than her, had mastery over air and was decent (not a master, though, that probably took him longer) in the other elements and he had control over the Avatar State while Korra didn't. But if you put them against each other as 12yos (Book 1 Aang for example), Korra wins because, again, she is even more of a bending prodigy than he was and while Aang had just become an Airbending master, Korra had already mastered water and was almost finished with earth.

If you put 17/18yo Kyoshi against 17/18yo Korra —and I'm saying this as someone whose favorite Avatar is literally Kyoshi—, Kyoshi would lose because even though she has a lot of raw power and was getting good at being the Avatar and perfecting her skills, Korra was a bending prodigy from a young age and in Book 3 as an 18yo she was already a fully realized Avatar with mastery over the four elements and control over the Avatar State, so as strong as Kyoshi was, you can't compare, just like you can't compare 18yo Korra to Prime Kyoshi with many more years of experience. 17yo Aang would beat 17/18 Kyoshi, too. 18yo Kyoshi, however, could probably beat 18yo Roku.

This is what I mean, all of them were very different, with different situations, one didn't bend a pebble til she was 16 but had a lot of raw power, another one was very spiritual mastered the Avatar State when he was like 12 but was less skilled with some elements, another one was a bending prodigy from a young age but started off struggling a lot with her spiritual side, one started off later than them-- like I said, it's difficult and often unfair to compare.

In order to truly prove how strong was each one you'd have to put them all in their prime. And the thing is, we barely saw any of them on their primes. Aang we saw him just as a kid and a teen in the show and the comics, and of his prime we only saw him dealing with Yakone with the Avatar State. Kyoshi we saw her as a teenager as well, and of her later years we know that she could create an island—with the AS as well. Of Roku's prime we only saw that he didn't break a sweat dealing with Sozin before he even used the AS, but that's about it. And of Korra's prime-- nothing, because we've only seen her as a teenager and as a young adult and she hasn't hit her peak yet as Aang, Kyoshi or Roku did. So comparing Young Adult Korra to Prime Kyoshi, Prime Aang or Prime Roku would not be entirely fair, either. So, it's difficult to know.

[fuzzykidney]

So reckoning of Roku… I liked Gyatso. And the story of a twin brother was a great twist. But overall I did not like the book all that much. At least one follower wanted to hear my thoughts, so I’ll share them but I’m willing to bet someone will have an issue with this.

The writing style was a bit odd. I can’t explain it but it didn’t feel as good as FC. The flow was all just off to me too.

Some storylines and information seemed out of place.

For example the air temples and genders thing. I’m all for the air nomads being accepting of everyone. It fits their philosophy and their style. Gender fluidity would absolutely be no issue there. But the mention of it in the context seemed so forced to me. Like it was a dire need to be included somewhere in the book but not anywhere specific or relevant.

These abilities Sozin is looking for for firebenders? Flight, prolonged life, blue fire, lightning, and jets from the feet? Those are all abilities that were well known and possible but somehow considered ancient now and not known. And the idea of flight and living forever is odd and pulling away from other elements.

And what’s up with “finding a way to redirect lightning”? I was pretty ticked off at this one because that was supposed to be a development of Iroh. His journey around the world and learning from other cultures. Now it’s not his anymore but something that was already there…

Blue flames thing. Was it that hard? Hard enough that Sozin and Roku needed enhanced steroid spirits to achieve it? Rangi with her white flames and Azula with her blue ones were then officially outclassing those two. Which is fine by me but still odd.

But the most frustrating has to be the portrayal of Kyoshi. I love that she was literally un-killable and only died cause she felt like it, but her being a person who started to devalue human life or whatever completely takes away from what she was. Sure the sweet girl learned to harden the outside and do what needed to be done but she wasn’t supposed to be a killer of any inconvenience…. And to the point air nomads refused to work with her? She sounds like she lost her entire being and what we watched her become. Not my favorite…

But as usual I will take the content I am given and read it. But this will probably get a lot less re reads then Yangchen and kyoshi novels. Not to mention Kuruk gets some time in there. Poor guy. But that’s another post.

Just my thoughts. Wanted to share. Don’t want to argue or fight. But I don’t have anybody who reads these damn books to talk to so yall have to hear it instead.