#but she has historically never been right wing with neither her mouth nor money and under what fucking definition is she a fascist?

[2024skin]

Finally put on my Rowling defender hat in front of my nb today

[ourimpavidheroine]

A scene that always sticks out to me would be when Wing is just on the floor, staring dumbstruck up at Nuo and Yumi just like someone go help him haha. And another would be Lin and Mako sitting at that lake and fishing, smoking their pipes. I dunno why but that one sticks with me. And one more would be Wu with Qi, scaring the shit out of Willow's husband in Chun's garden. Love it when Wu gets his king on!

Oh god, poor Wing. Chapter 2 of Dear Diary. That was a lot of fun to write!

"Are you a child?" she said, standing up on her tiptoes to throw another thwack to Tu's head. "And on His Majesty's brand new rug! Really!" She turned her gaze to Wei. "You must be one of the Beifong twins." Her tone said exactly how she felt about Beifong twins rolling about on my rug. (Hint: Not positively.)

"That one's Wei," said Huan mildly.

"On His Majesty's brand.new.rug," she repeated to Wei, who hung his head.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Wing hadn't moved. He was still staring up at her, mouth gaping open like a koi. Wei kicked him, none too gently. "What's wrong with you? Get up!"

"Guuuuh," replied Wing. Nuo frowned down at him and he moaned.

"That one's Wing," added Huan.

"I see," said Nuo, slowly. "Are you injured?"

Wing made a strangled noise.

"Do you need assistance?" Nuo raised an eyebrow.

Wing opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Oh dear.

"Oh now, that's one of the saddest things I've ever seen," said Yumi, shaking her head from her spot by the door. "Someone go and do something for that poor boy."

Mako shook his head back at her before getting up and grabbing Wing by his tunic, yanking him up. "Come on, big guy," he said, and walked him over to a chair, pushing him so that he sat down. Wing looked at Mako, who patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. "It happens that way sometimes," he said.

The Lin and Mako one is from Chapter 9 of The Further Tales of Lin Beifong. I felt like I owed the two of them their own time together and went back and forth how I could do it without being sentimental. I was playing my Hou-Ting family Sims game (yes, I really am that big of a nerd) and my Lin and Mako Sims just up and went fishing together and BOOM! I had it.

Once they'd finished their breakfast, the Chief picked up a pole. "You ever been fishing before?" At Mako's shake of his head, she opened up the basket and showed him how to bait the hook before explaining and then demonstrating how to cast the pole. "Soft and easy, no need to fling the damn thing," she said, and after a few false starts Mako got the hang of it. She showed him how to hold it. "You start to feel a tug on the line, you give it a sharp jerk to set the hook and then start reeling it in. Net's there; I'll give you a hand since you're new at it and all." With that she cast her own pole and then sat down on her stool, surprising Mako to the core of his very being by pulling a pipe out of her jacket pocket and handing it over to him to light. At his look she shrugged. "Just a fishing thing." She pulled out another one and handed it to him without a word. Mako lit his up and sucked on it; the tobacco was unexpectedly sweet and smokey at the same time, far better tasting than the cigarettes he snuck behind Wu's back.

They sat there for a time, smoking their pipes and occasionally checking their hooks for bait. The morning air had a bit of a bite to it; it was chilly, but the air felt fresh and smelled divine. Mako was a city boy, through and through, but he thought, sitting there smoking that pipe, with the rising sun warm on his shoulders, that he'd never been anywhere more lovely or peaceful in his entire life.

The Chief tapped the ashes out of her pipe and then stowed it away. "I learned how to fish from Katara. Tenzin's mother, you know?" She smiled a little. "Aang was a vegetarian, of course, but Katara never had been and every once in awhile she'd sneak away and get a little fishing in. She'd taken Bumi with her once upon a time but he got older and joined the Navy and she used to take me after that."

They were silent for a time. The Chief put her pole between her clamped knees and poured herself a little tea, drinking it before shifting the pole back into her hands.

And yes, the scene in Lady Chun’s garden in Chapter 6 of A Song Of Spring And Autumn. I really wanted to show Wu’s brand of ruthlessness; I rewrote that scene a few times until it really felt right to me. (I also wanted to get across that the only reason Qi didn’t wholesale murder Willow right there was that they really liked Lady Chun and wouldn’t want to upset her. I think I managed.)

“Fuck His Majesty,” she sneered at me. “It’s just like you’ve said. No one needs anything from him. He’s just a liability at this point.”

Tsai went pale and started to sputter, his eyes bulging. “Your Majesty! I…I beg you, please…”

Qi was staring at Willow. I’d never seen that particular expression on Qi’s face before. It was a little frightening, Progeny. Qi is normally the calmest of people; I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have seen Qi anything but completely unruffled. That is just Qi’s nature. The way Qi was staring at Willow, however, made me wonder if Qi had ever actually used any of those knives on another person. I am not sure if Qi was even breathing; Qi was that still and that focused on her. I turned my gaze towards Chun’s home and started to speak.

“Do you know your history, Tsai? History was my favorite subject, as it happens. In fact, I read through most of the historical tomes we had at the palace in Ba Sing Se and I can promise you that was no small feat. The library was extensive.” I brushed an imaginary piece of lint off of my trousers. “How much do you know about Hou-Ting XVI?” I flicked a glance towards Tsai. He was staring back at me in a kind of horror.

“Oh, history. Delightful,” spat out Willow. “What’s next? How to suck off policemen?” Tsai gasped. I ignored Willow and continued.

“Well, it was some time ago and there were, after all, a great many Hou-Tings before I took the throne, so I’ll forgive you for not knowing who she was off the top of your head.” I gestured dismissively with my hand. “No need to get into great detail, but the salient part of her history I wish to draw your attention to is that she fell in love and married an earthbender.” I tsked. “Terrific scandal at the time, of course. What if children of the union should be benders? You can simply imagine how people reacted. So a small group of nobles got together and decided to remedy the situation. Her husband was found dead one day not long after the wedding. He’d been poisoned.” I smiled. “Ah, nothing says Earth Kingdom nobility like a good poisoning! It’s one of the favored weapons, you know. In fact, that’s how my own father was done away with, although at the time it was widely put about that he accidentally choked to death.” I leaned over towards Tsai and whispered conspiratorially. “Don’t believe it. My great-aunt had him killed, compliments of the Dai Li.” I sat back up. “Well, that’s neither here nor there. Back to Hou-Ting XVI. She was, by all accounts, very distraught about the death of her husband. She abdicated, ensuring that her younger brother, Hou-Ting XVII, took the throne in her place. She left Ba Sing Se and disappeared. When asked, her brother told everyone that she had retired to a life of meditation and reflection.”

“Thrilling story,” said Willow, rolling her eyes.

“Oh no, that’s the tragic part. The thrilling part came later. You see, a series of accidents started happening to the families of the nobles who had plotted against her husband. A child who wandered away from her nanny, found drowned at the bottom of a well. A wife trampled in the street by out of control ostrich horses. An oldest son set upon by thieves, his throat cut. It wasn’t just immediate family, either. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins - entire families were slowly weeded out over the years. Never any of the nobles who had actually done the plotting, however. No, they were left alive. Of course they were.” I turned to look Tsai in the eyes and I smiled. It was most certainly not a nice smile. “They were meant to suffer. They were meant to see everything they had ever loved torn away from them, from the tiniest of babies to the oldest of grandmothers. These nobles, they finally went to her brother, Hou-Ting XVII, and begged him to help them, to somehow intervene on their behalf. He told them there was simply nothing he could do, that even a King cannot control fate. And then he told them that since they had no heirs, their lands and titles would be given to other families. They left the palace, nameless and destitute. Alone.”

Tsai was staring at me. I shrugged gracefully with one shoulder. “Mind you, no one ever saw Hou-Ting XVI again. So perhaps she really was living a life of meditation and reflection. It might have been just poor luck, hmm?”

“Your Majesty,” he whispered.

“Now of course these are civilized times we live in. I suppose if I wanted to show my displeasure I could threaten you with the untimely and public reveal of something faintly sordid, like the fact that you spend a great deal time at an establishment that caters to men of certain tastes.” I waggled my finger at him. “Not that I judge, mind you. After all, as has been clearly established, I do sordid things with a common policeman. What I don’t do, of course, is pay money to have commoners tie me up and beat me for sexual pleasure.” I glanced at Willow, who was staring at her husband, mouth open. “Oh, don’t look so shocked, Willow. After all, he’s not breaking any laws. The establishment itself is legal and pays its taxes. All on the up and up! After all, if you can’t satisfy him, then why begrudge him a little money for something that can?”

“You told me that the bruises were from training,” she said, and when he reached towards her she slapped at his hands, her face furious. “How could you? At that place? What will people say of you? What will people say of me?” She burst into tears before turning and running down the steps of the pavilion, back to the house.

“Secrets and lies,” I said sorrowfully. “They’ll ruin a marriage, you know. But never fear, dear Tsai.” He looked back at me, a stunned expression on his face. “Royalty does not engage in such squalid diversions as threats. Royalty certainly does not espouse blackmail.” I sniffed. “Nasty little thing, blackmail. Far beneath me, I assure you. No, I would never do that. That little tidbit will never go any further than this garden. You have my word.” I smiled at him. “My word as a prince of the house of Hou-Ting.” I let the smile drop, and I leaned towards him. “However, as a king? Well, I couldn’t guarantee what I might do as a king. Such fickle creatures, kings. They tend to think they can do anything they want to, kings. Not surprising, of course, seeing as they are above the law. Why, a king might even cut your wife’s filthy little tongue right out of her mouth for the insult she gave to the king’s consort and children, not to mention the king's dearest friend! No, it is probably best for everyone if I remain simply a Highness instead of a Majesty, don’t you agree?” I reached into my jacket and pulled a piece of paper from an inner pocket, holding it out to him. He automatically took it and unfolded it, looking down to read it. His face went even paler than before. I smiled at him again. “Perhaps you can convince your friends of the same. When you next meet, of course. Next week in Ba Sing Se, yes? At the suite at the Imperial Jade Hotel?”

“How…” he whispered, and I laughed. I was actually amused at that point, Progeny. It was a real laugh.

“Oh, come now! Tsai! Did you think I didn’t know? Did you really?”

“Your Maj-” He swallowed. “Your Highness. I apologize for any offense I may have -”

I cut him off with a hand wave. “Yes, yes, I know. Run on back to the house now, Tsai. This conversation no longer amuses me.” He bowed, deeply, and started to hurry away.

“Oh, but Tsai?”

He turned to look at me, his eyes haunted.

“The only reason we are even having this conversation is because of my love for Chun. I should genuinely hate to cause her a moment’s worth of pain for any reason whatsoever. That said, if you - or any of your friends - so much as touch a hair on any of my children’s precious heads, your lives will immediately be forfeit, without the benefit of conversation. Do I make myself entirely clear? I won’t say it again.”

He jerked out a nod and spun to make his way rapidly back towards the house. I closed my eyes. I sat for a few moments, simply breathing in the silence of the garden.