#Earthbender!Splinter

[splinnters]

welcome to my cole should fight like an earth bender agenda in this essay I will

separate images no essay sorry ;-;

[ravenna-reid]

The Jade Ghost

Blue Spirit Zuko x Bloodbender Reader

This story is completely different to what I usually do, but I've been watching Avatar: The Last Airbender lately and really hope ya'll love Zuko as much as I do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was insufferable. Zuko, the crowned prince of the fire nation, was now a fugitive and stuck in some sort of village begging for spare change on the ground with Uncle Iroh. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, those who decided to mock him and his uncle made it all the more worse, the deep, unsettling anger within him turning into an unhinged rage. So he waited.

And when the sun would set and the darkness came to help hide Zuko's doings, he adorned his blue mask. The oxtail sabers in each hand felt good, like he'd gained some sort of control over his situation. Then he'd prowl through the night as though he was a ghost. The Blue Spirit. Taking change and food from those that looked like they had enough, or taking revenge on those that had mocked him or his uncle. He'd swiftly managed to throw one of the men that spat at Iroh into a wooden barrel. Splinters decorated the floor as well as the change the man had taken from them earlier in the day. Zuko grabbed the gold pieces and slipped them into his pocket. As he turned down the street, an opulent looking home being his next target, a blurred figure metres before him quickly caught his attention.

Zuko ducked his head to the side, just missing a dagger as it found its home in the wooden beam beside his head. Zuko turned on his heel to see three hooded men coming his way, armed and ferocious. He was able to swiftly disarm the first thug, throwing him into the wall of a nearby home. The other two put up a better fight. Zuko was focused on pinning the second ones arms, given he happened to be an Earthbender, but focusing his attention on the man almost made him forget the third thug. As Zuko turned and expected the blow to his head, something glinted in the air. Flashed as quick as a light. A swoosh sound came after it and the third man hit the ground hard.

Zuko dealt a devastating strike to the Earthbender before training his attention onto another person. Someone new. Adorned in an emerald green robe, her hair was pulled back into a tight bun, a single gold chop stick running through it. Her face, however, was concealed. An immaculate mask that looked as though it was carved from jade sat on her face, a mask almost similar to Zuko's. Steady eyes watched the third man through the jade mask as she spun a long, gold staff between her fingers. Her eyes flickered up to Zuko though, and he barely caught what she said. "Behind you."

The Earthbender was on his feet and tore two large boulders from the pavement either side of him. Zuko slipped past each boulder as they were thrown at him. After that, Zuko's next movements were a blur as he, the two thugs, and the Jade Ghost all fought relentlessly. She seemed to be helping, so he let her help...for now.

The Earthbender managed to get his first hit of the night and knocked both Zuko and the Jade Ghost to the ground. Zuko was on his feet, ready to attack yet again, but then something happened. Something odd. Something Zuko couldn't explain.

The Earthbender's arms twitched before they tangled together. Then, with an agonising cry he dropped to the ground. Zuko's eyes cut over to the girl that laid beside him. Focus was evident in her eyes as she manoeuvred her hands in a fascinating way. Hand flat, resting in the centre of her face before she lowered her arm and moved it in a wave like formation. Zuko clutched onto his sabers. Felt his hot, laboured breath against his mask. The Earthbender suddenly fell unconscious...and then Zuko realised.

Bloodbending.

The Jade Ghost panted as she got to her feet and picked up her staff. Turning to run, she was met with the ocean blue dragon mask. He was tall, dressed in black, ready for a confrontation as he gripped onto his sabers. The Jade Ghost just stopped herself before bumping into him.

"Who are you?" He asked, tone severe.

"Hey, I'm not asking you questions. Am I?"

"I suggest you answer." He threatened.

"Listening, I've been watching you. You're not bad...you've helped a lot of my people whilst wearing your little mask. Like me. So how about this..."

She slipped down an alleyway and with the shake of his head, Zuko quickly followed. She didn't want a confrontation, not when the sun was soon to rise and she didn't see the man in the mask as a threat.

As she sprinted and took the chance to look over her shoulder, relief spread through her chest. The Blue Spirit wasn't there. But suddenly, he was jumping down from a nearby roof. He grabbed onto her as he dropped down, and the pair tumbled over the ground before coming to a stop. The Jade Ghost tried her staff before it was knocked from her hands. Then, she resorted to using hand-to-hand combat. The strikes were fast and precise, but Zuko was just as fast and precise as her. She slipped his arm behind his back and put him in a hold before he broke out and pinned her against the wall.

Masks centimetres from each other, he leant in to ask another question.

"That was bloodbending, wasn't it?"

"Wanna find out?" She hissed.

His determination faltered. They stood and watched each other, and Zuko felt something he couldn't ignore. What was it? Was he impressed? Was he admiring her? He almost wanted to hit his head against the wall.

Suddenly, a light, green dust was thrown into his face. An irritable itch began in his eyes as he quickly let go of her. And just like that, she slipped away into the night. Just like a ghost. As he tried to search for her, Zuko quickly became annoyed. Dumbfounded. Curious.

Zuko made it back to the sorry place him and his uncle were calling 'home' for a while, hiding his mask and sabers inside of a deep crevice in the house they were staying in.

"Where did you go?" Iroh asked, sipping his fourth cup of tea as he watched his nephew angrily enter the room. The sun was filtering into the room, it's beams warm and welcoming.

"I had to clear my head. Tell me uncle, do you know anything about the Jade Ghost?"

"The Jade Ghost? Hmm," His uncle stroked his beard as he sifted through his memories. "Nope, never heard of him."

"Her." Zuko corrected as he stared out the window and wondered where she went. Who she was. How she learnt to bloodbend.

"Until next time Jade Ghost."

[anoddrock]

What if: rottmnt atla crossover, but it’s really just me going ‘what, in the world of ATLA, might eventually lead to the existence of the tmnt?’ This is the first post about the actual story of the AU instead of me just going ‘oh make them turtle ducks!’ Also: they are not all turtle ducks anymore, but those details are for later~

More info below

Reblogs are appreciated

Donnie is a turtle duck, but doesn’t have as many duck traits visible here other than some feathers. He did have webbed fingers, but does not anymore, and he also isn’t allowed to lock his lab door anymore. Of the bros, he is the second most turtle-y, and the second least duck-ish. Also, rather than all of the turts being made in one batch, they’re the surviving members of each of the batches they were a part of. Donnie and Leo are from the only batch with more than one who made it.

A lot of the important stuff lore-wise for this story will revolve around the fact that Korra died in the avatar state, if only briefly, that the Republic City spirit world gate exists, and the Avatar’s function as a bridge between worlds.

The turtles only exist because the Avatar disappeared, eventually leading to a war between humans and spirits, and the turts were made to act as a border between the human world outside of republic city and the spirit world. They are, essentially, trying to stop anyone from crossing the bridge of the RC gate.

The outer area of republic city is considered fully neutral, and is guarded by the foot clan(which in this world are like a bit of an offshoot of the Kiyoshi warriors paired with the white lotus, which I know is very different but ehhhh my AU, my creative liberties) and the turtles. The turtles mainly focus on keeping humans out of the gate’s area, and the foot clan are there to help whenever necessary and to stop the occasional spirit from leaving. Most spirits are content staying in the spirit world, let alone exiting RC, so they’re able to patrol the outside of the city fairly easily.

Now there are mutants as well! They aren’t spirits, but people who spend too long in the RC area. The initial mutations are the reason why the human-spirit war first started, and why RC is now considered a neutral zone. You can’t force the humans who’ve been severely changed to leave, as many of them would get shunned, but most people didn’t want anyone else getting mutated, so it was eventually declared a neutral zone. People from both sides can come in and out of RC, but unless you’re a mutated human or a descendant of one, you shouldn’t stay longer than a few weeks.

Mutants are notable because while they no longer appear fully human, some of them can do some kind of bending, and the ones more human-appearing might be able to do a certain degree of energy bending, even if they’d been completely unable to bend beforehand. Sometimes they end up having a combination of the two. The mutants that can bend from one of the four element groups are also usually able to bend in the spirit world, which yk, is a completely new thing.

The turtles are benders. Donnie is an airbender, Raph is an earthbender, Leo a waterbender, and Mikey a firebender. No Draxum did not do anything to cause their bending, in fact the human genetic source he used to create spirit-human-turtles is a non bender, who was chosen for that very reason, as well as his family’s history of being somewhat spiritually sensitive and being a renowned fighter, even before he ended up changing from staying too long in republic city at the behest of his beau(said beau, big mama, turned out to be a traitorous backstabber who actually wanted him to turn so that he’d have to stay->he’d cling to the connection he had(her)-> and she could then get him to stay in her grand hotel, for the simple price of being a gladiator with literally nowhere to run to. Yeah. Splinter does not like his ex.

When Draxum got him out, Splinter was immensely grateful, and actually quite willing to help with the earlier experiments. His mutations were still mild enough that Draxum considered the samples he had a good basis for the human-spirit experimentation, and Splinter insisted on helping beyond just donating genetic material to the creation of the turts, but also insisted he would help them grow up well. He was then more devastated than Draxum when Raph was the oldest survivor of the experiments. He agreed to continue helping with the kids on the condition that Draxum wouldn’t make any more, but receded into himself from the grief until Raph was around twelve. Raph still doesn’t trust Splinter and has a deep resentment for what to Raph was an abandonment when he needed his pops the most. Yes, he had Draxum, but he was cold and distant beyond helping with basic necessities until Donnie was old enough to help with his various other experiments and Mikey started showing a remarkable skill for energy bending. Draxum tried, but couldn’t sufficiently help with the more human emotions. Splinter didn’t try at all, not until Leo started to come out of his shell more. And that made Raph even angrier, as he felt like he hadn’t been enough of a reason for his dad to try, but his irresponsible, careless, unserious brother was. Raph had done everything he could for his brother and both his dads. But none of them seemed to be willing to do half as much for him, except maybe Mikey, which just made it worse, because Mikey was the youngest and shouldn’t have to worry about Raph.

April enters the scene when Raph is angriest himself, his dads, and at the twins. She is the first person older than him who he feels cares for him the way he’s cared for his family since he was small, but before he can accept this care, he has to acknowledge that she isn’t a threat to his family.

[angeldrawstoons]

Finally, some good f*cking content

Name: Donatello Murasaki Tang Shen Hamato

Nickname(s): Donnie, Don, ‘Tello, Murasaki, 知識の神 (Chishiki no Kami-Deity of Knowledge), Experiment 051 (Baron Draxum/Baxter Stockman)

Age: 16 yo.

Gender/sexuality: Demiboy/Demisexual Homoromantic

Love Interest: Alopex (Cis Male)

Species: Spiny Softshell Turtle

Build: Tall and lanky, still having broad shoulders and strong legs-6’3”

Personality: INTJ, perceives the world as a puzzle for him to solve, hates being told he’s wrong or useless, loves using his mind to impress and intimidate others

Info:

Being hatched and genetically modified first of the turtles, Donnie is the oldest and can be prone to wanting control.

He was created specifically for ordering others around, which explains his tall frame and permanent deadpan look on his face.

During his time in the lab, Donnie was trained in Karate, Kung fu, Tai chi, but not Ninjutsu.

He was fed only rice gruel, making him and the other experiments terrifyingly skinny.

The medical staff at TCRI realized that Donnie was too able-minded with sight, so they decided to weaken him by brutally injuring one eye repeatedly until he could no longer see in it.

This caused Donnie to just stumble around the lab while practicing martial arts, until he could do every technique with his good eye closed.

The medical staff’s plan had backfired, so they isolated him until he was rescued by Splinter.

His body type is tall, thin and intimidating, causing him to loom over his friends and family like a tall building.

He has broad shoulders and a prominent chest, along with thick curves around his back thighs and calves.

His arms are relatively weak, so he has trains them a lot so he can fight better with his staff.

His legs are really strong, so he could probably kick Leo through the wall of a f*ckin’ subway car if he tried hard enough.

His mystic powers relate to the earth and stabilization of the mind.

Basically, ATLA earthbending style and closed-eye combat.

The explanation to his power is that he closes his eyes and feels his surroundings with enhanced senses, using tactility to find out the best way to fight without hurting himself too much.

His earth control is really powerful, he’s able to bring up small mountains from some tough ground in order to surprise the enemy.

Donnie and his brothers sometimes combine elements to create stuff like geysers, typhoons, and mini active volcanoes.

Extra:

Cannot control himself around sweets (April: tf did my cupcake go Donnie: Mmf…so good~ April: Donnie!! Donnie: Eep!)

Has a little turtle robot named Terra, short for Tortuga.

Watches anime with Leo

Actually hates Leo with burning passion, oldest and youngest energy

Hatsune Miku fan and owns a owns a hoodie modeled after her outfit

As soon as Leo turns fifteen, he immediately grows to the same height as Donnie within a few months (Mutant genes are weird I guess).

I imagine it would happen like this:

Leo: *going on a trip to Japan* Bye Donnie!!

Donnie: Bye, Tiny.

(Months later)

Leo: *comes back* Hey Don.

Donnie: WTF!? TI-HOW ARE YOU NOT SMALL!? WHAT WAS KARAI FEEDING YOU THERE!?

Leo: *just smirks*

[notanecoterroristbaeddeldotcom]

Best version: Earth kingdom is balkanised by capital city imperialism and the next earthbender avatar is from a recolonised section in the western earth kingdom under occupation from fanatic fire nation revanchists tolerated and wuubified by the existing world order and is passively supplied charity by the revived air nation as an amnesty international/ngo industrial complex analogue and supplied materiel by Airbender radicals who splintered and get shit from all over and heterodox watertribe clans and the relatively ousted fire nation aristocratic line who engage in geopolitical double dealing with capital city capitalists. Fire nation completes its national project and becomes as imperialist as ever.

Probable version: it's tophs great great grandson and he's a cop too and really really sympathizes with like, poor people or something and there's some group who agitates on unequal exchange Andis called the puppy slaughter corps or something and they secretly built a machine to revive the dark avatar because the darkness represents the fight against strict order or something fucking stupid like that.

Don’t play with me now, this better be for real-

[crypticbeliever123]

Chapter 8 “Old Hob” and the debut appearances of Bebop and Rocksteady! Hope you enjoy! Please let me know what you think of it!

“Hob,” Raph said, closing the temple door behind him, “So, I’m guessing you’ve been in Republic City awhile to have found me so fast.”

“Yeah, had a bit of business to attend to the past few months,” Hob said, taking slow steps forward while making the lightbulbs all burst as he overloaded them.

Did he really think Raph was going to fall for that trick? Just because he could use it to intimidate just about everyone else he crossed paths with doesn’t mean Raph couldn’t see right through him.

“Imagine my surprise when I turn on the TV and see your face plastered all over the screen at a Pro-Bending tournament. Wasn’t hard after that to pick up a lead as to where you been hiding out at. Though I gotta admit, didn’t think I’d find you living with the Avatar.”

“Uh-huh.” *sigh* “You know how this is going to end, right? It’s going to end with me kicking your butt and you walking out of here with your tail between your legs.”

“Well aren’t we all smug and confident now? Guess you take more after your old man than just your temper and Bending skills.”

Raph’s temper finally got the better of him. He lashed out at Hob with a stream of blue flames. The alley cat dodged the attack and retaliated with a burst of lightning aimed at Raph. Luckily, he was able to divert most of the energy away, but Hob always was the better Lightning Bender, and so he did take at least some of the electricity on. Raph charged at him, trying to hit him with more of his blue flames to no avail. Hob may be an old cat but that didn’t make him any less agile. As soon as Raph got close he was just about to use his technique to take away the cat’s Bending when suddenly, a wave of rock and rubble came at him, knocking him away from Hob.

“You didn’t think I’d come alone, did ya?” Hob asked as his two associates stepped out of the shadows.

“Bebop. Rocksteady. Good to see you guys again. Haven’t seen you guys since Ba Sing Se. Have you lost weight? Get your tusks whitened?”

“Flattery. Cute. Ain’t it cute, Rocksteady?”

“You know it, Bebop. But cute ain’t gonna save his sorry shell after what he pulled last time we saw him.”

“You mean when I torched the abandoned building to the ground, burying you in a pile of rubble, so I could escape without getting flattened like a pancake? What? Come on guys that was just a… a harmless prank. Come on, I knew you could take it,” Raph said, backing up against the wall as the rhino and wart hog approached him.

“Yeah, sure you did. Let’s get him!” Rocksteady yelled as he and Bebop charged at Raph.

Luckily his family showed up at just the right time and he found himself getting blasted into the air and out of danger by Mikey, before landing safely near the door with the others.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“Uh, we live here?” Leo replied.

“So, who are your friends?” Donnie asked as he started Bending pieces of metal in preparation to fight.

“They ain’t friends and you all need to leave. Like right now.”

“I’d listen to him if I were you. Raphie might not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he does know when to run like a coward when he knows there ain’t no winning to be had,” Hob remarked.

“Coward?!”

“Yeah, just a little scaredy turtle. Ya ran from Ba Sing Se and no doubt you’ll be running from this city too,” Bebop replied as he covered his fists in rocks.

“Yeah, just like you always run. Even when you were just a newbie mutant you just ran and ran, trying to get away from the big, bad-” Rocksteady added before being blasted at with a large wave of blue flame by Raph that knocked him away; luckily his hide was thick enough to not be too badly burned.

Bebop then charged at him. Donnie attempted to knock him away by throwing a large piece of the concrete floor at him, but Bebop just ran right through it.

“Move!” Raph insisted as his family dodged the charging wart hog.

Rocksteady then got back on his feet and stomped his foot to send a shockwave through the floor toward Leo and Mikey. Mikey used his Airbending to dodge the attack, but Leo got hit and was sent flying into a column, hard, and Mikey took to trying to help him out and get him back on his feet. Splinter took to using his own Earthbending skills to counter both Bebop and Rocksteady’s attacks alongside Donatello who was struggling to avoid the charging rhino’s horn. Meanwhile, Raph took it upon himself to face Hob solo. He might not be as good at Bending lightning as Hob was but that didn’t mean he couldn’t handle that wretched cat, especially if he got close enough to hit his pressure points. That might not be as good as severing one’s chi, but chi-blocking does do good enough to immobilize someone, especially if you’re trying not to get outed to the only family you ever really had.

“Why don’t you just give it up, Raphie? You might be good at Bending fire but you ain’t got nothin’ on me when it comes to lightning,” Hob said as he shot out electricity at the turtle as he got closer.

“How long have we known each other, Hob? Ten years and you still don’t know that I ain’t the giving up type?” Raph replied as he got up close and personal to the cat, being careful to avoid his electrically charged claws as he tried to get a hit in.

That’s when Mikey noticed Hob’s tail was charging up and about to reach out and zap Raph. Mikey wasn’t going to let that no good cat hurt his brother!

“Raph!” Mikey shouted as he pushed Raph out of the way just in time to save him… though not himself.

“MIKEY!” Raph screamed as he saw the large volts of electricity pass through the younger turtle he had come to know as his brother.

This gained the attention of the others, including Leo, who was finally awake. Splinter was enraged at the sight of his youngest son injured and quickly ended the battle with Rocksteady and Bebop by entering the Avatar State to defeat them.

“I… I don’t sense a heartbeat,” Donnie mentioned, eyes full of fear as he used his seismic sense to try and tell if Mikey was still alive.

Raph lost his cool again. This time he didn’t care if he exposed himself to his family. Hob was going to PAY!

Raph rushed at Hob and began to channel his chi, making the cat’s veins glow at the various, swift motions he performed before finally striking him hard in the chest, knocking him to the ground as the light of his Bending went out like a blown-out match.

“What? Did you just- no. No. NO!” Hob roared before being struck down by a blast of lightning from Raph himself, knocking him into the far-off wall.

The blast might not have killed him, but just because he deserved it doesn’t mean Raph was ever going to resort to tactics like that, tactics like the ones his- the ones he used all the time. No. Raph was better than him, better than Hob. He wasn’t like them. Not at all.

“I can’t believe it. Mikey’s really-” Leo said, trying not to burst out into tears, praying that they were wrong.

Then Raph knelt beside Mikey’s body and took a deep breath. His hands lit with electrical energy and he breathed into them with a white flame, leaving his hands with a bright, white glow. He pressed his fingers into various pressure points on Mikey’s body causing them to become lit with the same light and spread out through his nerves. After pressing the last pressure point, Raphael raised his hands and brought them both down over Mikey’s heart with a burst of lightning emanating as he did. Mikey bolted upright with a gasp.

“He’s alive? He’s alive! Mikey!” Donnie exclaimed as he ran over to Mikey with Leo to join the hug that was going on.

“Uh… did I… die?”

“It’s okay, little brother. You’re okay now. Everything’s going to be okay,” Raph answered as he held Mikey tight, tears streaming down his face.

He almost lost his brother tonight, and it was all his fault. His eyes raised to meet Splinter’s as the rat knelt to join the group hug. Though Splinter’s eyes may have been soft, full of relief, and a silent promise to forgive whatever he may have done as the Nightwatcher, Raph couldn’t help the knot that formed in his stomach. He didn’t deserve forgiveness. He didn’t even deserve this family.

“I’m really going to miss you guys,” he said before pulling away from the hug.

“Raph?” Mikey asked.

“Wait, where are you going?” Leo added.

“Raphael, stop!” Splinter insisted as his son ignored him and sent out a circle of immense, white flames and Bent a column of lightning around himself

“I’m sorry,” he said with a remorseful look on his face as he drew the white fire back in on himself with a loud crack and blinding light as he disappeared without a trace.

He was sorry for leaving them behind, but he had some work to do.

[realmsalot]

Sorry if you've already answered this but in the Homographs AU do the 12 turtles & maybe 12 karai unlock their ninpo? Since they're also Hamato's? If they do can I ask what their ninpo is?

Yes! The 12 turtles & 12 Karai will Ninpo that will eventually unlock! None of them grew up knowing about Ninpo tho. 12 Splinter didn't teach the turtles, because well, they're turtles. 12 Splinter didn't know if they would even have Ninpo. (Of course, they did have it just look at 12 Leo's healing hands.) 12 Shredder couldn't access it anymore by the time he burned down that dojo and took Miwa. So he wasn't surprised when 12 Karai didn't have it either. So he didn't bother teaching her. Of course, they will learn about it through Rise Splinter and will unlock it on their own.

As for the last part of your question, I'm still working on it. Making up powers that can work with their weapons is hard. But they have been times in the 12 series when they temporarily got power and I'm probably gonna use the episode the boys went on a spiritual journey as inspiration. (Y'know the one right before they go back to NYC where they get cool outfits and Leo finds a weird magic deer.)

As for Karai, I have no idea what to give her yet. She doesn't really have bases to go off of. Maybe her power could be the ability to summon bigger and/or multiple versions of her weapons? Kinda like how Rise Donnie can make missiles with his mind but with traditional Japanese weapons.

Now I do kinda have an idea for 12 Raph. For some reason, my brain has been hung up on giving him ice powers. Not water or snow, just ice. Like as he's fighting a bad guy he's also summoning red ice from thin air to like cover his arms for protection, or on the ground to slim them up, or just a chunk in the air so it can fall and knock the bad guy out. Imagine it like a waterbender using earthbender moves to move ice that's colored red.

Like I said, I'm still workshopping it.

[obsidiancreates]

OH RIGHT THE ATLA 2012 CROSSOVER AU

OKAY I TOTALLY DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT THIS I SWEAR (I'm lying).

So the basic plot is that Our Turtle Boys are sprits given physical form and sent to the physical world to guide/help The Gaang. Splinter is another Spirit who comes to them sometimes, gives them advice and lets them know "You have brothers out there, with tasks of their own, and someday these tasks will bring all of you together." They grow up alongside each of the Gaang that they help guide, so all they know of their brothers is They Exist and the occasional dream with a brief glimpse. They can all bend. They all have their canon names, given to them by Splinter.

Mikey is left for Monk Gyatso to find, and knowing that The Avatar is set to be an Airbender next the monks conclude Mikey must have been sent to protect whomever that will be. Mikey and Aang, both mainly cared for by Gyatso, grow up as brothers (Mikey's an older brother for once, good for him). They're inseparable. They prank together, train together, and Aang is so excited to someday meet the brothers Mikey talks about having out there. And when Aang runs away? Mikey's right there with him, not just a spirit guardian, but a brother who'll follow him to the end. Or, into an iceberg for 100 years.

Leo is left next to Sokka's crib. The Tribe have no idea why they've been given this spirit until, well, they lose everything. When all of the men leave to fight the war, they feel better knowing a spirit is staying behind to help protect their families, even if that spirit is only a child. He and Sokka train with each other a lot, and are equally protective of Katara. Leo's actually not great with bending, he tends to prefer his sharpened tusk weapons, but he'll do a little practice with Katara when she asks. There had been hope that as a spirit he'd be able to train her as a full Waterbender before it was realized he's at her same level of skill and knowledge. He and Sokka are super close, raised basically as twins, and are a planning duo to be feared. When they find Aang, Appa, and Mikey, he and Mikey instantly know "It's my brother!!!" and go right for tearful hugs! It helps Sokka feel safe enough about Aang to bring him back home (he's a little worried, and has been his whole life, that when Leo has his spirit brothers he'll abandon Sokka. Instead Leo is bragging about Sokka to Mikey, who is looking at Sokka like he's the powerful and amazing spirit, and Sokka realizes he won't be replaced before they're even at the village). Leo does get better at bending as they go, like Katara, but never as good as she gets. He's more a regular weapons guy.

Raph appears on the doorstep of the Beifong Manor years before Toph's birth of course, and his arrival baffles them. They fear he's a sign of trouble to come, and when Toph is born blind they think "This is why. He was sent to protect our helpless daughter." But no, he knows right away "She's gonna be the strongest and the best at earthbending ever," and no-one believes him. Including her, for a long time, until she runs away and comes back and says "We're going to start training together." He doesn't even hesitate to agree with the biggest grin. He has complete unwavering confidence in her, always there at The Rumble cheering her on. Splinter has to visit him often, because he constantly makes plans for the two of them to run away and Splinter reminds him "You must stay on this path, for your brothers, for your missions. If you stray, all will be lost." When he does finally meet them he's ecstatic, until he learns they're with the kid who just cheated to beat his little sister. That's the first fight the three have, their introduction to his temper and his protectiveness. And oh boy, if he and Toph aren't twins in temper... an attitude. And a resort to physical violence even on people they like. They're a lot to handle together. Raph is a very strong Earthbender thanks to training against Toph, not quite on her level but better than a lot of other Masters.

Donnie was left outside of Ursa's room in the palace. Ozai thought this spirit a strange happening, but allowed her to keep it to see if he could find use for it. Donnie was mostly raised alongside Zuko, but he always tried to reach out a little bit to Azula when he could. They were never close, though. He almost stepped in when the Agni-Kai happened, but Splinter warned him not to. "As terrible as this is, it is the path that will lead to salvation. I know it is painful, but you must let this happen." By that point in time he had already proven himself to be a genius and was put to work designing weapons and vehicles (though he never gave them his all, and tried his best to balance Convincing Progress with Holding Back). Splinter's intervention is what kept Donnie from falling to the same propaganda and false narratives Zuko and Azula believed, so he trusted the older spirit and didn't interfere. After a heated argument, of course. Literally. He was also told not to leave to go with Zuko, and thus he stayed behind and ended up being appointed to Azula's side. He's her advisor-in-training, essentially, expected to help her run the Fire Nation someday.

He can't wait to meet his brothers and topple the empire with them, but until then he puts up a convincing enough front, though he can't hide that he's more softhearted than would be preferred. But his advice is always sound, logical arguments backing up requests to send food or medical aid that just make too much sense to dismiss ("Their mining will more than double in speed and efficiency if they're provided another portion of rations each every day, which means we could roll out way more of these vehicles than we originally planned for." Things like that.) He meets his brothers in Omashu but doesn't join them yet. I'm deciding between that being because he's unable to talk to them to let them know he's not on Ozai's side actually, or if it's because he is able to meet them in secret and explain but Splinter says he can't join them yet. Either way, he doesn't join them until Zuko does. He keeps trying to get Azula to be a better person through "subtle" methods, and she keeps trying to "subtly" make him more cold-hearted. Neither of them are making much progress, really. He's an excellent Firebender, of course, and if he wasn't known for his mercy in the palace he'd be as widely feared for it as Azula is.

Sorry for giving Donnie the most/two whole paragraphs, uhhhhh he's my favorite.

Aang still has his big showdown with Ozai the same way, the Turtles don't defeat him, they're there as guides and protectors, not The Big Heroes.

This AU doesn't have any of the TMNT villains or humans, but if I were ever to add April and Casey I'd say they come after Aang defeats Ozai. Casey's an Earthbender who thinks Toph is the coolest ever and meets them in a post-Ozai trip to Ba Sing Se, where he instantly hits it off with Raph and Toph and everyone is like "Oh god there's three of them now." April is from a small Fire Nation village where she and her dad secretly helped fleeing defectors and refugees. She has a strong connection to the spirit world for a non-Avatar and used it to help the escapees in any way she could, be it helping figure out if lost family are still alive or just hiding before people checked the houses.

I don't think I'd include any of the romance stuff but it'd also be funny if I did because I think this Donnie flirts not dissimilarly to Azula. Instead of a stalker incel type he's a "I don't know how to compliment her without comparing her to weapons and lava and fire. I sound like I want us to destroy stuff together but I really just want to go on a quiet picnic. Casey help me- Casey flirts by throwing rocks at people. He's throwing rocks at me. I'm even more confused and lost than before."

REASONING FOR THEIR BENDING ALIGNMENTS:

I mean, do I even need to explain Mikey and Leo? I don't think I do.

Raph is an Earthbender because A) he and Toph are so similar and I wanted him to be her big brother so badly and B) I think it fits a lot better personality-wise than fire if you look at more than just his temper. Earth is a strong, steadfast element. It's the most protective element, the only one that can defend truly effectively against all 3 other elements. Like his sai are mainly defensive weapons that can be used as offensive ones, Earth is a very defensive element that can also be used for offense. He's also the physically strongest, something typically shown to be an Earthbending trait. And while his temper is easy to spike, when he's not lost to it he tends to be the most level-headed and, heh, grounded.

Donnie is a Firebender partly because they are the obvious choice to allow for his technical skills and advancements to be fully taken advantage of, but also because I think it fits his personality the best. Firebenders are very passionate and ambitious. While Donnie might not pressure himself to be perfect in combat like Leo does, he definitely applies that pressure to himself when it comes to his science, a pressure of perfection we see Zuko and Azula deal with as well. He's also the most emotional of the brothers, something that again seems to be a consistent trait with Firebenders. Raph may have the most temper, but Donnie is most easily swayed by his wider range of emotions and has more trouble keeping himself present and grounded, which again we see in Zuko and Azula more than once, letting emotion guide them more than they might want to admit. It's also a similar environment to the show in the sense that there's incredible expectations and pressure put on him to create useful and powerful machines and inventions with very little thanks in return (yeah I'm a little salty on his behalf, EVERYONE EXPECTS HIM TO DO EVERYTHING AND GET MAD WHEN HE CAN'T). Fire also has a similar movement theme to his bo staff, in my opinion, with a lot of movements focused on sweeping attacks from a good distance, focused jab-like movements to send concentrated streams of fire, and a lot of precision expected and required to hit the right points. Plus Firebending is the only bending that comes totally from within, and with a character who's greatest strengths come from within (not only his genius mind but his kind and soft heart) it seems thematically fitting, especially considering that where Raph's own soft heartedness manifests as staunch protectiveness, Donnie's tends to manifest more as striking out (his first thoughts with Timothy once they're at the lair together aren't "Keep this kid out of trouble," but "Show this kid how to give trouble back.").

But yeah! That's the AU! :D I haven't watched ATLA in years so I hope I remembered most of what I mentioned accurately enough.

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Do you like that headcanon, floating around on here, that Lu Ten’s mom was from the Earth Kingdom and so he grew up to be an earthbender?

I'm could go either way on it really. It's a neat little concept, especially considering the one glimpse we have of when he was alive (Iroh's memory of playing with him) seems to suggest that Lu Ten wasn't a firebender in spite of having every opportunity to build up whatever skill he'd need to master it.

I admitedly haven't looked much into it and I know these theories get spread around and break off into splinter theories with everyone having their own take so I may just be missing something, but there's something missing from what I've seen of the headcanon.

Bending requires a spiritual connection. It's not just hereditary, that spiritual aspect needs to be fed. That's the canon reason that every Air Nomad is an airbender: their culture is built around feeding that spiritual aspect.

So more than the concept of Lu Ten as an earthbender in and of itself, what interests me about is the implications that would have in regards to his upbringing. If Lu Ten grew up to be an earthbender, how was the spiritual side of it nurtured? What kind of strings would his father have to pull in such an ethnonationalist culture as the Fire Nation had at that time to allow for him to thrive at something considered so inherently inferior? And as a prince? As this extended personification of the power of the Fire Nation?

Would teaching the Earth Kingdom way over the Fire Nation way be considered treason? Was there some earthbending instructor being paid a downright ridiculously good wage to stay hidden so the Firelord would not demand their execution? Was it a hostage situation? Or maybe Azulon was more practical than I give him credit for and he considered this an advantage. Maybe he saw to it that Iroh not only sparred with his son, but noted his weaknesses as an earthbender, found ways around them, and had their own soldiers trained in those ways.

Conclusion: I think the best way to use this headcanon/AU/theory/whatever else you wanna call it is as a study in the themes and characters outside of Lu Ten himself, or maybe to really examine the consequences this would have on Lu Ten's spirituality and psyche and how he would feel about being so fundamentally different from his family in a way that's considered inferior. Yeah, that got a bit drawn out. I said conclusion not tldr.

Actual tldr: this is one of those things that lets you get elbow deep in fanon and meta and dig to your heart's content. And that makes it super fun to play with.

[milkypompon]

𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 | Gaang x Earthbender!Reader

𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖 | What’s life like with the Gaang when they include another Earthbender? Well to everyone’s surprise, it’s quite calm… sometimes. Y/N’s ability is unlike the hard-core Metalbending, Sandbending, and tradition Earthbendingof Toph. Yes, they’re fully capable of doing all that if they truly wanted to. But Y/N chooses to help out in their own way, giving life to nature and indirectly to their friends too.

𝔸𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕣'𝕤 ℕ𝕠𝕥𝕖 | You can deem these as Character x Reader or just some adorable platonic love with the wonderful team! On another note, for some reason, I LITERALLY WRITE SMALL STORIES INSTEAD OF HEADCANONS LMAOOO. Still hope you got a lil something out of this.

𝔼ℕ𝕁𝕆𝕐

【𝔸𝔸ℕ𝔾】

Puns. That’s it puns.

The crew sat around a flickering fire dead in the night. Wind whistled into their ears and leaves swirled about their hair. Despite the chill weather, everyone chattered and laughed wildly. Sokka began yet another high tale of his that was supposedly dating back to his childhood. His arms flailed wildly, receiving cackles from Toph. While Katara and Zuko fell onto their side, legs kicking the air sporadically.

Y/N sat next to Aang who suddenly grabbed their shoulder and said firmly, “We need to talk.”

Everyone stopped their shenanigans.

Aang deepened his voice, “Y/N… for what’s Earth, you are the team’s most down to planet person ever.”

Y/N snorted, “IT’S DOWN TO EARTH. NOT PLANET”

Well… at least he tried.

Competitions on who can pull out the most potatoes out of the dirt. Let’s just say the Gaang ate potatoes for a week thanks to Aang. And an astonishing two week thanks to Y/N.

When they have heated arguments, which weren’t often, but the team sure as hell stepped on the gas when it did happen, Y/N would offer Aang some pretty nasty food. Nothing dangerous or poisonous, well Aang would actually describe the apple inhabiting worms he took a bite out of last week.

【𝕊𝕆𝕂𝕂𝔸】

Absolutely without a doubt calls you many nicknames

Exhibit A

Sokka poked Y/N’s cheek, he received a smile in return. “Hey, uh… plant nanny, could you swing by at my place and take a look at the vegetables Katara planted? They’re already wilting…”

Y/N giggled, “You planted them didn’t you?”

“Wha- of course I didn’t. FINE, I did!”

Exhibit B

“You just stepped on the chamomile flowers that just started sprouting!” Y/N squealed at Sokka.

“Oh SHIT-” Sokka ate a mouthful of dirt right after Y/N hit him hard in the back of the head with a tree branch. “I’m sorry I upset you Sweet Pea…”

Asked the Gaang as to why Y/N doesn’t perform traditional Earthbending and just received, “Why don’t you ask them yourself?”

Sokka was downright afraid, not because of Y/N’s personality, but he didn’t want to poke through their past. Obviously, curiosity got the best of him!

“Well, I just like the smell of flowers and the taste of organic food more than hurling rocks at people,” Y/N simply shrugged.

Sokka nodded, there was nothing more to it.

“But, sometimes I do like creating my own cliffs and pushing enemies off of it. It’s more meaningful if it’s from rocks I formed myself,” Y/N stared at him dead in the eye.

Sokka’s eyebrows arched high.

That was the last time anyone saw Sokka :0

【ℤ𝕌𝕂𝕆】

Many stories as the two planted flowers in front of the Fire Nation palace

“Y’know, Y/N, this reminds me of this one time Uncle made tea out of a white jade bush,” Zuko snickered.

Y/N eyes widened, “ISN’t THAT POISONOUS?? ... Or was it not??”

“Oh trust me, you would not want to be trying white jade bush tea,” he smirked.

Tends plants with Y/N because it reminds him of the peaceful days of when he served tea at Ba Sing Se

BUT, poor Zuko easily becomes sunburnt when he helps with Y/N’s garden

Y/N heard a knock at their bedroom door.

It was Zuko behind the door saying, “Uh, Y/N could you help me-”

When they swung the door open they were greeted with a scorched man with peeling skin. “HOLY SHIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!”

Quickly, Y/N led Zuko to the bathroom and in the corner sat a mini fridge. (He always wondered what was in it. Snacks?) When Y/N opened it, there were stacks of aloe vera leaves snuggled next to each other.

“Why do you have so much-�� Zuko began.

“Let’s just say Aang was my first patient…” Y/N laughed under their breath. They gently applied the aloe onto Zuko’s body, which earned them hisses from the dramatic Fire Lord.

“That takes care of it!” Y/N clasped their hands proudly.

“Uh, Y/N. I’m feeling a bit… itCHY!” Zuko yelped.

That’s when both of them found out that Zuko was allergic to aloe vera. Congrats, now Y/N has to call the doctor.

Every weekend, Zuko swing by for new flowers for Ursa (if she returned to the palace... )

“Knock, knock!” Fire Lord Zuko greeted Y/N with a bright smile.

“What brings you here on this fine morning, Your Highness?” Y/N teased.

“Mother’s been nagging me to ask you for help to create a bouquet for each of the rooms in the palace,” Zuko stated.

Y/N’s voice hitched, “EACH ROOM??”

“Don’t worry! I’ll help you pick the flowers and arrange them!,” he offered.

“Oh, like you’d be of any help,” Y/N giggled.

“I swear I’ll be more careful this time,” Zuko rolled his eyes.

But, uh… this time ended up just like last week, Zuko set the flowers he was arranging on fire…

【𝕂𝔸𝕋𝔸ℝ𝔸 】

Basketweaving… attempts by Katara

On Ember Island, the Gaang was able to laze around for a few days (well until Zuko gave the team a big beating that Sozin’s comet was going to practically destroy the world).

Y/N sat under the shade of the swaying palm trees, undisturbed by the squealing of Sokka as his supposed sand sculpture resembling Suki was destroyed. Y/N hummed as they weaved the palm fronds into little baskets.

Katara approached them and commented, “Y/N that’s beautiful! I wish the Southern Water Tribe could make these. Sokka and I were kept busy creating pots with Gran-Gran.”

Y/N timidly scratched the back of their neck, “I could teach you if you’d like! Then we can use it to hold the fish we’ll catch later with Sokka.”

Y/N used their earthbending to pull down the leaves from the palm trees and their work began.

After the fishing trip of the wonderful trio, Katara carefully placed the fish they caught in the basket she wove. As they neared the sandy beach Aang took notice of their disgruntled state. He commented, “Why do all three of you look-”

“I TRIED OKAY! THE FISH GOT OUT OF THE BASKET I WOVE,” Katara defended herself.

“AND IT SLAPPED ALL THREE OF US BEFORE IT JUMPED BACK IN THE WATER,” Sokka yelled.

Katara tried, okay!

Flowercrowns

Many flowercrowns were made for the Gaang with the help of Katara

She may not be that great at creating baskets, but you can bet that Katara doesn’t stop at making crowns: She’s made necklaces and bracelets for Appa and Momo.

Potion making!

Katara would use her waterbending to mix the little potions that Y/N created They’d walk around rolling hills that contained many flowers and herbs that could be used for healing potions and in some cases caffeinated tea!

【𝕋𝕆ℙℍ】

Usual Toph shenanigans

“Ugh, some clerk just charged me over the usual price for these seeds we’ve been needing!” Y/N grumbled.

“Well, we could do something about it…” Toph smirked.

Y/N searched for some termites around the forest and Toph helped transport them around the clerk’s house.

- A few days later -

“Uh, Aang,” Zuko tugged at Aang’s sleeve. “Wasn’t there a house there a couple days ago?”

“I think you drank some cactus juice, buddy,” Sokka simply shrugged.

“Actually, I think there was…” Aang scratched his chin in confusion.

Toph offered Y/N a high-five, “A job well done, if I do say so myself!”

Some brawls that should have clearly not have started in the first place

“Y/N fite me!” Toph marched up to Y/N.

“No,” they stated bluntly.

“WHy! It’s kinda a thing for all us to train together,” she defended herself.

“Fine, but don’t get angry at me if you end up with a splinter or two,” Y/N rolled their eyes.

By sunset, Toph’s head was stuck in between a tree for a couple hours. Even Y/N couldn’t get her out. Or maybe they could…

Y/N teaches Toph “Treebending”, which was a challenge for both of them

“You have to be gentle with these plants Toph!” Y/N’s forehead was forming a red square from all their facepalms caused by Toph.

“I’M TRYING!” She quipped. “It’s kinda hard to be gentle when I’ve been practicing metalbending these past few weeks.

【ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋 𝕋𝕆 𝔹𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔸 𝕋𝔸𝔾𝕃𝕀𝕊𝕋 𝕋ℍℝ𝕌 𝕄𝕐 𝕀ℕ𝔹𝕆𝕏 𝔸ℕ𝔻 ℝ𝔼ℚ𝕌𝔼𝕊𝕋𝕊 𝔽𝕆ℝ 𝔸𝕋𝕃𝔸 𝔸ℝ𝔼 𝕆ℙ𝔼ℕ】

𝔼𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖 | THESE WERE SO FUN TO MAKE! Also, thanks again for the people who’ve been supporting my “Extra Hot Sifu Hotman: Zuko x Reader” fic! I’m taking a small break just to layout how I want the story to go and I’m trying my hand at doing headcanons/requests from my inbox.

[thenixkat]

But also BONEBENDING!! I don’t care if we never see fuckers do it in canon and I don’t care that the writers will never make it canon b/c it would make bloodbending less special.

As far as I’m concerned earthbenders can bonebend.

Earthbenders can bend mud and crystal and chalk and sand (which is lit mostly shells and tiny rocks) its not that far a leap to bones in general. And not that much more of a leap to bones inside of someone’s body.

Bones are effectively just organically grown rocks. 

But on that thought, Woodbending? Possibly? Like a well rotted log is literally fucking dirt. So much of good fertile dirt is mostly digested and rotting plant matter. Wood probably wouldn’t bend nicely, I can imagine it splintering a lot. But in theory wood should be bendable.

[hardwearcrush]

Okay so I was watching the legend of korra yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking what kind of benders the tmnt 2014/2016 characters would be so here is my list.

Leo: waterbender, bloodbending

Raph: firebender, lightning bending

Donnie: earthbender, metallbender,

Mikey: airbender, cloudbending

Splinter: spirit bending (changed it later because I forgot spirit bending exists)

April: Avatar

Casey: firebender

Vern: airbender

_____________________

Shredder: Firebender, lightning bending

Well idk maybe you guys think otherwise but I think this team would be unstoppable.

[littlemisssquiggles]

Original image taken from @undeadwicchan​

“...Fear has turned friends into enemies while doubt threatens to splinter humanity’s remaining allies...”

...Fear has turned friends into enemies...

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........

...Okay...I’ve been sitting on this small hunch for some time and after reading this post, it’s making me wonder if it’s possible. Now I like Ren and while I think he would never do anything to harm his friends and loved ones...I’d be lying if I didn’t find his behaviour during V7 concerning.

For some reason the concept of Ren...possibly betraying his friends or making it seem as if he had betrayed his friends to Ironwood has been stirring in my brain since V7 concluded earlier this year. In the Mulan story, Mulan impersonated a man in place of her father to go fight to defend China from the Hans, right?

With that in mind, it makes me wonder if Ren would pull a Queenie Goldstein in Fantastic Beasts. In the second film, Queenie ends up siding with the antagonist since she believed his cause would lead to her being able to be with Jacob---her muggle lover (since Muggles and Wizard folks weren’t allowed to marry) by past wizarding laws). 

So this made me wonder if we might see something like that with Ren---like he ultimately ends up siding with Ironwood temporarily since he believed that siding with him would lend to him protecting the people dearest to him (meaning Nora).

Or rather...Ren makes his friends believe he’s joined Ironwood; instead pulling a Zhu Li Moon from the Legend of Korra? In that series, Zhu Li was the assistant of Varrick who ends up “betraying” him in the fourth season to Kuvira. But in the end, it is later revealed that Zhu Li only pretended to side with Kuvira in order to help Varrick and their friends stop the tyrannical earthbender.

So I figured we could see something like that done with Ren for his side of the story? 

Imagine if...Ren decides to go solo--- playing double agent and pretending to join Ironwood’s forces as a means of finding a way to aid his friends instead?

I think that could be cool to see for Ren’s story. While it could spark him hurting Nora and this friends, I do still like the concept of it since it could also ultimately prove just how far he is willing to go in order to protect Nora since he loves her. In V7, Nora was the one to initiate her and Ren’s first kiss. I hope for V8, Ren is the first to profess his love for Nora. 

...Then again, this is only another theory for the table. Don’t mind me. Overall, looking forward to V8, mates.

~LittleMissSquiggles (2020) 

[avatraang]

Summary: Toph shoves the lilacs into his arms and then takes the letter, putting it in her pouch. “I should pound you into next week for that!” 

Sokka nudges her, “But you won’t.” She sends a glare in his general direction. 

“What makes you so sure?” 

[Somewhere deep in Yu Dao’s marketplace, Sokka discovers an old secret of Toph’s… and of course, doesn’t let her live it down. Written for Tokka Week 2020, Day 3: Knockout. Oneshot.]

Notes: So, this fic is disgustingly fluffy. Like, there isn’t even a HINT of angst or hurt/comfort anywhere. It’s unnatural for my style of writing, but HERE WE ARE. It’s also shorter than almost anything I’ve written recently, which is also unnatural for me. It’s definitely not my fave, but maybe that’s because I like to hurt myself and only write angst xD This fic is absolutely on the shorter, fluffier, and more humorous side… But happy!Tokka is something they deserve, so here it is!! 

Written for Tokka Week 2020, Day 3, I decided to stick with the prompt “knockout.” For anyone who’s unaware: Purple lilacs are a symbol of new love. Toph and Sokka are in their late teens/early twenties, here. As per usual, thank you to @cats-and-metersticks for helping me with this fic. 

I hope you enjoy!

Preview:

“NO!”

"Sokka, I swear on Oma and Shu-”

"NOOOOO!”

"Sokka!”

Toph fights to keep the laughter out of her voice as Sokka sprints through the streets ahead of her, merchants around them turning to stare as he dives through carts and over toddlers. She really should be angry – he did, after all, just run off with a letter Zuko had written to her – but it’s so ridiculous that Toph decides to just feign annoyance later. She can sense his footsteps loud and clear; he’s heading for the busiest part of the market. Toph picks up her pace, wanting to catch him before he gets there.

Even as she sprints, she smiles to herself. He’s smart. He knows she won’t earthbend in such a populated, crowded area. While her skills are immaculate, the people surrounding her aren’t, and who knows who might get caught in the crossfire. Toph has never been a particularly empathetic person, but even she doesn’t like the idea of anyone who doesn’t deserve it getting hurt due to her earthbending.

“Sokka!” Toph tries again. In front of her, she hears him yelp. There’s a crash. Toph senses a splintered cart in front of her, as well as something round rolling past her. She’s careful to avoid it, hearing the merchant screech as she passes-

“MY CABBAGES!”

Toph winces. “Find me at the Beifong Metalbending Academy, I’ll reimburse you!”

Her body twists to avoid a five year old who’s absolutely devouring a tub of rice. Inwardly cursing the sheer size of Yu Dao and its marketplace, Toph hears Sokka let out a whoop as he rounds a corner, successfully entering the busiest part of the small city. Mothefucker. She’s intent on not losing him. So intent, in fact, that Toph walks right into a wall of flowers, almost knocking herself out.

“Hey!” The merchant cries. Her voice is surprisingly deep for a florist. Toph is jealous of her baritone. “You ruined my only purple lilacs!” The woman cocks her hip to the side, narrowing her eyes in annoyance.

Struggling to get on her feet, Toph brushes the sweat from her forehead. Her bangs are clear of her eyes for a split second, and the merchant stills. “Oh, I’m so sorry, ma’am! Forgive me, I didn’t know you were blind.”

Toph admires the lady for not beating around the proverbial bush. “Sorry about that. How much are they?”

"Don’t worry about-”

"How much are they?”

Begrudgingly, the merchant gives in. Toph digs into her pouch and hands the money over. It’s then that the woman’s heart rate spikes. As Toph hands her the cash, the lady says, “you’re a… you’re a Beifong?”

"What gave it away?”

"Your wallet has a flying boar on it.” She wraps up the lilacs.

"It does?” Toph places the wallet back into her pouch. “Huh.”

"You’re Toph Beifong, aren’t you?” The woman hands Toph the beat up flowers. “You’re Toph Beifong, and I’m an idiot.”

Toph laughs, loudly. “Don’t sweat it. I like you. And your flowers, even though they almost knocked me out. Come by the academy on Monday. Maybe you can become my new florist.”

With that, Toph wanders off, putting her attention back into finding Sokka. With each slow step, she scans the crowd for him, frustrated by the sheer density of people shopping on a Friday evening. She’s beginning to think she’ll never find him, until just at the edge of her ‘vision,’ Toph senses the tell-tale gait that is her best friend. He’s standing, quietly, by a particularly busy stand.

His slight limp, his long legs, his steps that are the perfect in-between of grounded and flighty. His heartbeat, quick (at the moment) and strong (as always). She grins to herself, the flowers tucked into her right arm as she treks towards Sokka. Judging by his relaxed posture, he hasn’t seen her yet. She wonders if she can sneak up on him quietly enough to grab what he’s stolen from her. Toph is beginning to think she’ll be successful, when Sokka’s heart suddenly accelerates.

"Toph!” he cries, barreling towards her. It’s in complete contrast to earlier, when he’d screamed and ran away. She sighs; he must have read the letter already. If he hadn’t, he would still be running away from her.

"Give me my letter!” she demands, pushing him away. Sokka lets out a yelp as she shoves him, but he does what she asks.

Toph shoves the lilacs into his arms and then takes the letter, putting it in her pouch. “I should pound you into next week for that!”

But they both know if anyone can talk Toph out of anything, it is Sokka.

"You should,” Sokka nudges her, “but you won’t.” She sends a glare in his general direction.

"What makes you so sure?”

Click Here To Continue Reading.

[zukosturtleducks]

Zuko, Grand Lotus (4/5)

They're being sent to the front lines, so Zuko quietly makes arrangements with his second-in-command, Lt. Teruko, about the children in their platoon. Ming, their genius archer that most of the company is already calling Longshot, for his unerring aim, isn't the only child soldier Zuko has had to transfer to his unit, and Jet isn't the only Earth Kingdom orphan his platoon has basically adopted. Teruko is the capable, resourceful sort, and she nods. The next day, the children have been housed with good colonial families loyal to him, and he can breathe a bit easier on the way to Ba Sing Se. 

His father is not the same man he was the last time they had seen each other. General Ozai was completely undefeated for his entire military career, until he met the walls of Ba Sing Se. Two years of failure have left their marks. Zuko was not prepared to see his father as he was at Ba Sing Se – General Ozai seems composed, but Zuko can see the wildness and paranoia in his father's eyes as clear as day. How hard is it to bring down a wall, General Ozai demands. Months pass and the wall remains unbreached, and his decisions become more and more reckless until he orders that the entirety of the 41st Division be sent on a suicide mission against the Ba Sing Se's earthbenders.

The 41st is the army's newest division, full of fresh recruits even younger than Zuko since Minister Qin's decree lowering the conscription age to sixteen instead of eighteen. To senselessly sacrifice so much of their country's youth to a plan even Zuko knows won't work… Zuko is standing before he knows it, fist under an open hand and bowing respectfully to his father. There is no need for this gamble, Father, he says. Allow me to prove myself, and I will breach the walls of Ba Sing Se for you. 

Zuko had expected resistance, but not outright hostility. His father sneeringly demands what he, an untested commander kept away from the front lines for his own safety, can do that an entire council of generals couldn't. All eyes in the room are on him now, and Zuko hates that there's a trap in his father's words that he can't figure out, but he tries. He explains that his platoon – the platoon of prodigies you swiped from my army? – has experience in dealing with a variety of Earth Kingdom defensive fortifications – from all the colonial traitors and Earth Kingdom spies you've recruited? – and a small team of powerful soldiers sneaking inside to open the walls from within is the strategy with the highest chance of success. 

Do you take your father for a coward? General Ozai asks silkily. Zuko's head snaps up because no Father, of course not. The other generals in the council immediately erupt into objections. General Ozai raises a hand, and everyone falls silent. Defying your father and your general – you've grown ambitious, Prince Zuko, he says, his calm facade splintering from the fury he must be suppressing. You've been building a base of power to overthrow me ever since I gave you your own command. You've developed quite a taste for power, haven't you? Zuko shakes his head frantically, protests that I am your loyal son, Father, but it's not enough. General Ozai draws himself to his full height, and challenges Zuko to an Agni Kai. 

[crypticbeliever123]

Chapter 5 of my TMNT fic. Please let me know what you think of it!

So far, this night was going great. His brothers just caught him, taking down Triple Threats. He’s still not sure if they saw him take that Firebender’s Bending from him or not but he sure as hell hoped they didn’t, especially since it sounded like they were calling in Master Splinter for backup. Great. As if three mutant Benders weren’t enough trouble, now he was going to have the Avatar showing up to arrest him or something. Could this night get any worse?

Just as he leaps across to another roof Leo sends a small amount of water out from a pouch on his belt, freezing it under his step to trip him up. Mikey uses a gust of air to propel himself ahead of his path while Leo and Donnie surround him from behind.

“It’s over Nightwatcher. Just stand down and no one gets hurt,” Leo ordered as he and his brothers gathered their elements, preparing to fight if needed.

“I don’t want to hurt nobody. I’m just trying to keep this city safe from scum like the Triple Threats.”

“By taking away their Bending?” Leo retorted.

Damn. They did see that part. That’s going to cause a whole lot of problems.

Then the Republic City Police chopper appears overhead with a searchlight aimed at him. The cops rappel down to the roof as Master Splinter descends with a burst of air to slow his descent.

As will this.

The police force prepared to restrain him with metal cords, but Splinter raised a hand; a silent gesture to ask for a bit of time to talk. Tang Shen nodded toward Splinter, a sign of respect for his judgment and hope that he can end this without needless violence. She then nodded to her officers to order a stand-off. Splinter then looked to his three sons with a look of disappointment.

“I will deal with you three later.”

“Aw man! I told you he was going to take over!” Mikey complained.

“Mikey!” his two brothers yelled at him as this was clearly not a time to be complaining.

Splinter returned his attentions toward the Nightwatcher, unaware that he was looking at the fourth of his sons.

“So, you are the Nightwatcher?” Master Splinter asked.

“That’s just the dumb name your cop friends gave me. I don’t call myself that.”

“Then what do you call yourself?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Splinter’s gaze turns to the vigilante’s hands.

“Three fingers. So, you are a mutant then. Fascinating. And surprising considering what I have heard of you.”

“Oh yeah? What have you heard then that’s so surprising?”

“I hear you are a talented Firebender. One prodigious enough to wield a blue flame and who has mastered a skill only known to one other Bender. It puzzles me how you could have so much in common with the Shredder when he-”

“I’M NOTHING LIKE THE SHREDDER!”

“And yet you have just as ferocious a temper as he does,” Splinter replied, enraging Raph enough that he ignites his fists with blue flame in anger at the comparison.

The officers seem to tense and ready themselves for action just as Splinter himself does, subtly shifting his feet to a better fighting stance. Raph takes a deep breath and his flames soften to a warm orange tone as he exhales the remaining heat past the holes of his mask in a white flame.

“Hm. Perhaps I was wrong. Saki has never been able to control his anger as you have. Nor have I ever seen him wield a white flame before. You are a gifted Bender. Of this I have no doubt. But what you are using it for, stealing the Bending of others is nothing short of a crime and I must insist that you surrender quietly. There need not be any violence tonight.”

“You’re right. There doesn’t need to be any violence. So why don’t you all just walk away and let me go? I ain’t hurting anyone who don’t deserve it. And the worst I do to someone is sever their chi so they can’t Bend no more. Considering what they were doing with it I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. So why should I have to go to jail for trying to stop them when they can just keep getting away with what they’re doing?”

“I see. Well I am sorry to hear you feel that way,” Splinter replied, nodding to signal the cops that they could act now.

Tang Shen and her fellow officers threw metal cords at Raph, tangling his arms and legs. They pulled his legs back to force him into a kneeling position as two of the others pulled his arms to his side, completely immobilizing him. Splinter stepped forward only to be stopped by Donnie.

“Careful, father. He’s more capable than he looks.”

Raph gave a little chuckle at that as his fingers twitched with electrical energy.

“He’s right.”

He then grabbed the metal cords that were holding his arms and zapped the cops to release him before twisting around to blast at the ones who restrained his legs. As soon as his limbs were free he got back to his feet and found himself being charged at by Splinter. Splinter attempted to strike him at precise points to immobilize him by disrupting his chi but was shocked when they had minimal effect, only causing him to flinch as he kept complete control over his own chi’s flow quite well through his Bending capabilities. Nightwatcher took advantage of Splinter’s surprise at his ability to overcome chi-blocking, by giving him a roundhouse kick before blasting out a ring of bright white fire around himself to keep the others at bay and melt the metal the police sent his way.

“Didn’t see that one coming, did ya?” Raph smirked before Bending a column of lightning as he drew the white flames back in on himself, creating a loud crack like thunder and an intense, blinding light.

“Whoooooooa! What was that?!” Mikey exclaimed in shock.

“He’s gone,” Leo replied.

“He just disappeared,” gasp, “Like magic!”

“Mikey, he did not disappear using magic. It’s just simple misdirection. You know like magicians do. He can’t have gotten far,” Donnie replied.

“Pfft, you say it wasn’t magic but then you go talking about magicians? Make up your mind, bro.”

“Ugh!” Donnie groaned as he facepalmed hard.

“Father? Is everything alright?” Leo asked Splinter as he noticed the pensive look on his face.

“This Nightwatcher is powerful, possibly even more powerful than the Shredder. Possibly. It seems strange to me that he could possess skills that previously only the Shredder was thought to be capable of when a mutant such as him would sooner be killed by the Shredder rather than taught by him.”

“Which raises the question, how did he figure out the same technique as the Shredder and are they connected somehow?”

“They do seem to have quite a few things in common. But the police and I can focus on uncovering this mystery later,” Splinter said, turning to face his sons.

“Right now, I would like to know what you three were thinking?!” he roared.

“It’s my fault Master Splinter. We used a listening device to eavesdrop on your meeting with Chief Shen and figured out that the pattern might’ve been wrong. It was my idea to go check the Southern District for the Nightwatcher without telling you. I’m sorry, Master,” Leo answered with a bow.

“I see. And what of your other brother Raphael? You said you did not know where he is and I see that he is not with you.”

“Raph didn’t want to get involved in this. I’m assuming he went out for dinner with some friends of his.”

“Raph has friends?!” Mikey asked before being slapped on the back of the head by Donnie.

“Ow!”

*sigh* “I am just glad that none of you were hurt… or stripped of your Bending.”

“Actually he didn’t seem to want to fight us at all. He just took off running when we confronted him and didn’t even use his Bending until you showed up comparing him to Shredder,” Donnie mentioned.

“Nevertheless, I do not want you risking yourselves like this again. We are all going home this instant and you are not to go after the Nightwatcher again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master Splinter,” the three turtles said in unison.

“Excellent. Now, let’s just hope that Raphael is there already so that I do not have to ground him as well.”

“Grounded?! You never said we were grounded!” Mikey complained.

“I thought that was obvious. Two weeks, no TV, video games, comic books, or electronics of any kind. If you behave yourselves I may still allow you to attend that Pro-Bending match you are so eager to watch… with me accompanying to keep you out of trouble of course.”

“We’ll be good! I swear! Right guys?” Mikey replied, really anxious about possibly losing the chance to see his favorite Pro-Bending team in action Friday.

“Yeah and who knows? Maybe Raph will change his mind about coming with.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Leo replied with a knowing smirk.