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shortkingvi · 3 years ago

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No, no, tell us more about your thoughts on tyzula

alright,,,, i feel like this was a long time coming with how much i talk about my deep love for azula and her character arc so i'm gonna write a pretty lengthy analysis/discussion here about it all,,,,,,,, i'll put in it a read more so people don't have to scroll past a super long post if they aren't interested, so click below if you DO wanna read it

right SO, in order to understand the crux of why tyzula is so compelling and such a complex ship to understand, we have to understand azula as a character first

to preface, i should clarify that i'm not the kind of person who enjoys the "people are born evil" narrative because it's pessimistic, cheap, and in my opinion, not realistic. i think that characters can progress past the point of redemption, sure, but i don't think that any person is inherently meant to end up a monster

azula is a character who has never received unconditional love. the only reference to positivity in her childhood that we get is ozai's praise of her as the better firebender. this, however, is conditional love to the fullest; growing up knowing your value to your parent is intrinsically tied into what you can accomplish makes you highly defensive of losing your ability and disappointing, because then, what do you have? maybe this is the gifted kid in me speaking, but being identified as "special" at a young age is SO damaging in so many ways

azula only knows love in the form of praise for her abilities, not for her as a person. her mother certainly had no unconditional love for her in the way she did zuko, in azula's mind at least. azula herself says that her mother thought she was a monster; now, we can argue until the hippo cows come home whether or not ursa ACTUALLY thought this but it doesn't change the fact that this is how azula PERCEIVED it. she watched zuko receive love from their mother and their uncle while all she ever received was praise for what she could do, not who she was. she also received praise from her father and admonishment from her mother, so it's natural she would be inclined to follow her father's - horrible - advice rather than her mother's

anyways, now that we've established azula's lack of understanding of unconditional love, let's talk about ty lee. ty lee is the first one to give azula a taste of what love is. now, again, much of this is borne out of manipulation on azula's part BUT this is mainly because azula only knows how to receive approval through actions and not character. for ozai, she molds herself into what he'll approve of; for ty lee, she molds HER into something that won't be swayed by azula's flaws

nonetheless, we see some real azula peek through when she's with ty lee. during the ember island episode, we get a pretty sincere apology from azula to ty lee that feels VERY out of character for someone who never apologizes for anything. we see azula's dependence upon ty lee as, on the surface, something related to ty lee's abilities. however, it does seem strange that azula chose a non-bending circus girl as one of the members of her elite, inside squad (no i'm not arguing ty lee isn't strong or powerful, i think she's actually one of the most powerful characters in the show re: chi blocking, but azula probably wouldn't think this immediately)

INSTEAD, azula chooses ty lee because she TRUSTS her. trust is how love manifests when you aren't taught how to love in the first place. ozai, the only person azula thinks cares about her, puts his trust in azula to carry out his orders so she, in turn, does the same as an expression of care and love. because that's what she thinks love is! love to her is "i trust you to do this for me when i can't" and not "i trust you to do this for me because you WANT to"

because azula doesn't GET to want. she only gets to DO

so, now, let's get into the betrayal, turning, rebellion, whatever you want to call it, at boiling rock

IF azula only ever expresses real compassion for ty lee, and we've established that trust seems to be the way azula expresses this compassion most of the time, a betrayal would be the worst possible thing for her to face. she's already dealing with mai turning on her and choosing zuko, although i'd argue this was always in the back of her mind considering mai and zuko's relationship. what she ISN'T expecting, however, is ty lee. ty lee, who she trusted explicitly, turning on her and choosing the other side. because in azula's mind, she's not sure what she's done wrong! she's carried out orders perfectly, she's the strongest, she's the logical option at this point in terms of who will win the war

and still, ty lee turns on her

so now we have an azula who's lost the one person she cared about most (if we're going on the context clues of the show), and it breaks her. breakdown azula sends away all her advisors and protectors out of fear that they'll betray her because she's already been betrayed by the one person closest to her, so what's stopping all of them from doing the same?

her hallucination is important in understanding tyzula too; her mother talks about her use of fear to control people and azula replies with "trust is for fools, fear is the only reliable option." funny how hallucination ursa never mentions trust here and yet azula talks about it, huh? because trust is equal to love in her mind and she just lost any semblance of love she had left in her life the moment ty lee left her. i could write a whole other thing about the symbolic hair cutting here, but i'll save that for another time probably because this is already getting long and it'll turn into a whole discussion about hair in the avatar universe

ANYWAYS, this is all essentially why i love tyzula so much. we have a girl who doesn't understand and has never felt real, unconditional love losing a person who DID love her deeply but couldn't trust that her actions were good

we have azula, who was raised in a restrictive environment where her abilities were the only things keeping her from being physically abused (because she was regularly being emotionally abused if we're being honest), trying to grapple with understanding what GOOD even looks like

it's worth it to mention that azula was raised in a highly homophobic environment as well; it's not coincidental that bryke specifically confirm it is the fire nation who criminalized homosexuality. azula's internal homophobia, compounded with her inability to understand love, makes tyzula this tragic mish mash of almost, maybe, but also never

in any other world, tyzula happens a million times over; ty lee and azula are childhood friends who grow up, lose contact, come back together, and break free of their oppressive environment that neither of them are truly suited for (azula mentally and ty lee emotionally)

in the world we're given, however, this is everything they CAN'T be. and that's what makes them so fantastic

i love azula, i think about azula a lot, i RELATE to azula, my heart breaks for what she could have been if she weren't a product of her environment. but, more than anything, i'm just so heartbroken by azula getting SO close to understanding what love is but coming just short because the one way she expresses love, through trust, is the one thing she feels ty lee breaks

and isn't that the tragedy of it all?

#sorry anon this is SO long sxvsxgsdysvdg and turned more into an azula meta than a tyzula love fest #but their tragedy and toxicity is what makes them so fascinating #because they have all the makings of an epic wlw pairing but azula is just SO broken she gets in her own way #also totally unrelated but while i was writing this i was thinking about how azula's descent into madness #is what game of thrones tried and failed to do with daenerys #and now i kinda wanna write an azula dany meta thing too dvasyvdsadahsdvasdj #anyways yeah this is why i love them #asks #anon #tyzula

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imaginetonyandbucky · 4 years ago

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The Gift of Jab

For the prompt: Hi! I'm always up for some sparring hotness, so how about Tony being present for physical training sessions (working/watching), but says no everytime Nat/Clint/Steve/etc invites him to do it. Rhodey laughing every time the team says that it's bc Tony doesn't want to embarass himself. Bucky suspects his BF is actually well-versed in hand-to-hand/martial arts/self-defense; so he gives himself the challenge of getting Tony onto the mat. When he does he ends up a)on the floor & b)really aroused.

A/N: This ended up more meet-cute than PWP, hope you enjoy!

By @dracusfyre

Click here for AO3

Natasha’s thighs tightened around Bucky’s neck warningly, threatening his air supply and reminding him that anyone else’s neck would already been broken. Bucky smacked the mat with an open palm and the pressure disappeared; he lay there for a minute, getting the air back in his lungs from where he had hit the mat so hard, then he took Nat’s hand and climbed back to his feet. “Who taught you to be so fast?” he complained as he traded places with Steve, who had been waiting on the sidelines for his turn to spar.

“You did,” Nat said with a grin. She grabbed her bottle of water while Steve bounced a little on his toes and jabbed the air, not so much warming up as getting in the right mindset. The sparring mat was in the middle of the room, and on one wall Sam was tearing up the treadmill and bobbing his head to whatever music he was listening to and Tony was doing his own thing in the corner. Clint was sitting in the corner watching, having already reached his fill of getting thrown around the room.

Steve must have noticed Bucky staring goofily at Tony because he followed Bucky’s gaze and watched Tony for a while, frowning in confusion at the strange pattern of movements Tony was making in the air with his arms and legs. “What’s he doing?” he finally asked, tilting his head towards Tony when Nat looked at him questioningly.

“Wing chun,” Tony called out, apparently able to hear them even over the sound of Sam’s treadmill and the music on the loudspeakers.

“Like Bruce Lee,” Clint added helpfully. Bucky and Steve just looked at him blankly.

“You’d like it,” Nat said, elbowing Steve in the side. “It’s really popular with old Chinese grandmothers.”

“I heard that!” Tony said, raising his voice but never pausing his movements. “Also, what you’re thinking of is Tai Chi.”

“But what is it? Is it like yoga or something?” Steve kept watching as Natasha took a moment to put her hair back up in a tighter ponytail.

“It’s a martial art,” she mumbled around the hair band in her mouth as she raked the hair back from her face. “Like karate or jiu jitsu. Ready?”

Steve tore his eyes away and let Bucky do the admiring from afar while Steve concentrated on his match. He lasted longer than Bucky did, which was understandable given he’d been sparring with Nat longer, but she suckered him in with a feint and hooked his legs out from under him, hitting the mat hard. She stood over him, made finger guns at him and said, “Pew pew,” and Steve obediently flopped back against the mat and played dead. This time, Natasha traded out with Bucky and Steve did a kip up to his feet as Bucky stepped out onto the mat.

“Does he ever spar or is it just to stay in shape?” Steve asked. “I mean, it’s not like he…I mean, when he’s in the suit he doesn’t…” He realized what he was saying as he was in the middle of saying it, especially when he noticed Natasha giving him an unimpressed look. “Of course, he doesn’t always wear his suit,” he muttered, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck, cheeks turning pink. “Right.”

“I can hear you,” Tony said in a high sing-song voice.

“You should join us,” Natasha called back, smirking when Bucky’s eyes jerked to hers in alarm. “I think the boys want a closer look.”

Tony was silent for so long that Bucky thought he was back to ignoring them, but right as he was turning back to his mat Tony stopped what he was doing and said, “You know what, sure. I haven’t sparred with anyone but Happy for a while.”

He caught Sam’s eye as he came by the treadmill, and Sam took out his headphones. “You going to spar?” he said with interest. Tony never sparred hand-to-hand, he always demurred with a joke or an excuse. When Tony nodded, Sam turned off the treadmill to watch.

“I didn’t realize this was going to be a spectator sport,” Tony complained even though he was smiling. “Who am I sparring?”

Bucky felt the back of his neck burn as everyone but Tony turned to look at him. “I’ll go first,” Bucky said when the silence stretched for long enough that Tony was starting to look confused.

As Bucky shook out his arms and joined Tony on the mat, Clint leaned over to Natasha and said, “I bet Bucky has to tap out because he gets a boner.” Bucky gave him a dirty look over his shoulder, then gave Natasha one too when she shook Clint’s hand.

She just smirked and said, “Keep it clean, boys.”

Bucky brought his hands up in blocking position and closed his hands into loose fists, squaring up while Tony was turned slightly to the side, hands open and in front of his torso instead of protecting his face. Bucky jabbed at him a couple of times experimentally as Tony dodged and then when he swung a little more seriously Tony blocked it easily and jabbed at the inside of arm, making his fingers go numb for a second.

“Whoa, what was that?” Sam said, raising his eyebrows. “Never seen that before.”

“You have,” Clint insisted. “Bruce Lee, remember?”

Bucky shook his hand out and took up his position again. He led with an uppercut this time, a little faster and with more power, and Tony turned to the side, letting it swing past where he used to be, and hit Bucky’s throat, temple, chin, and jaw with a flurry of punches and chops, making Bucky stagger backwards from the unexpected onslaught. Then there was a foot in his chest that shoved him backwards and he almost landed on his ass.

“I want to change my bet,” Clint said. “Tony’s a ringer.”

“Buckaroo here isn’t going full speed or strength,” Tony said with modest shrug, though there was a smile playing on his lips.

“Just warming up,” Bucky said, though the truth was that this was a fighting style he wasn’t familiar with. Until Natasha, he’d mostly been from the “stand and slug it out” school of fighting, something you naturally fell into when you were stronger and more impervious to damage than most. Also, well, Bucky was much more used to having a gun in one hand and a knife in the other.

He eyed Tony and tried to slip on a little of the Winter Soldier, rolling his shoulders and trying to imagine what he would do if he were really trying to bring Tony down. So this time, when they squared up, he charged, trying to bodycheck Tony and get his hands on him, ready for Tony to try to dodge. Instead, Tony stepped into the charge, turning so that his shoulder drove into Bucky’s upper chest, pushing him off balance. At the same time his foot was between Bucky’s and his knee drove into the inside of Bucky’s thigh, making him lose his footing. Bucky rolled into the fall, coming up on his feet. He jabbed a couple of times, making Tony give ground, then followed up with a side kick, expecting Tony to dodge or block. Instead, he ducked by leaning back and kicking the thigh that Bucky was standing on, then catching Bucky’s other leg on his shoulder, forcing him to land on his back. Tony kept a grip on Bucky’s leg and followed him to the ground, pressing his knee to the side of Bucky’s. It was clear that in a real fight Tony’s next move would be to tear the ligaments in Bucky’s knee, and Bucky tapped out. He lay there for a moment after Tony released him, heart pounding with more than just the rush from the fight, before he accepted Tony’s hand to get back on his feet.

“Again?” Tony asked, bouncing a little on his toes, smiling widely. His hair was slightly damp with sweat, tank top clinging to his torso. “Best two out of three?”

Bucky’s mouth went dry and he swallowed, skin feeling tight. He stalled for a moment by grabbing a towel and swiping it over his face, worried that going another round would be a bad idea. But in the end he was helpless against Tony’s enthusiasm. “Sure,” he said after a minute, and the rest of the team cheered.

As they squared up again, Bucky assessed his next move; in a real fight, he would try to take Tony to the ground, but there was no goddamn way he could grapple with Tony without embarrassing himself. Having Tony kneeling between his legs for just a second had already been bad enough.

He started out with a flurry of kicks, keeping them low so Tony couldn’t try the same trick again. Tony didn’t return them, he only deflected them while stepping back, a frown of concentration on his face. The last kick, however, he caught Bucky’s leg and stepped forward, making Bucky hop backwards or fall over. When Tony tried to sweep his leg Bucky did a backflip, curling his legs in tightly to avoid hitting Tony on the chin. He landed gracelessly, but he was on his feet; backflips were not his thing because the arm itself and the supporting metal in his shoulder made him lopsided, which affected him in the air. Tony took advantage of Bucky’s unsteady landing to attack with a flurry of lightning fast jabs. Bucky brought his arms up to protect his face and got sharp jabs to the solar plexus and ribs, threatening to knock the wind out of him; he tried to punch back to get Tony to back off, and got hit in the throat. Finally he tucked his head and barreled into Tony, who turned on his heel like a matador and push kicked him in the small of the back. Bucky stumbled forward and when he finally turned back around to face Tony, Tony look so goddamned pleased with himself that Bucky had to laugh.

“Come on, then,” he said, doing the come here gesture.

Tony shook his head, hands up in the same starting position as before. “Wing chun doesn’t really start fights,” he said. “That’s not why I learned it.”

Clint hooted from the sidelines. “Hear that? Tony doesn’t start fights, he ends them.”

Tony and Bucky rolled their eyes and shared a grin. “Alright,” Bucky said, and swung at Tony again, a jab with his left followed by a hook with his left; as he anticipated, Tony blocked and countered with a chop to his neck like he’d done earlier. This time, though, Bucky dipped and twisted so that the blow hit his shoulder instead and grabbed Tony’s wrist. Tony lunged and hit Bucky in the chest with his elbow, hard enough that it would have knocked the wind out of a normal person. Bucky countered by hitting Tony in the side with his free hand and felt bad when he heard Tony grunt, but without hesitating Tony drove his heel into Bucky’s instep and then his knee into Bucky’s thigh. Bucky felt his leg twist at the impact but stayed on his feet and kept his grip on Tony’s wrist.

Until Tony somehow twisted in his grip, sweat-slick wrist slipping from between his fingers as Tony trapped Bucky’s arm against his body then ducked under it, twisting Bucky’s am behind his back. He kicked the back of Bucky’s knee, making it buckle, then with a knee to the center of Bucky’s back Tony drove him to the floor. Bucky struggled just enough to know that Tony had a solid lock on his arm; Tony was a heavy weight pinning him to the mat and Bucky’s breath caught in his lungs. He felt himself flush hot and then cold, skin tingling, and knew if he struggled too much Clint would win his bet. He tapped the mat with his free hand and Tony released him immediately. Bucky blew out a breath and rolled over, only to find Tony standing over him.

“I’ve known Natasha for longer than you have,” Tony said with a smile as he held out a hand to help Bucky pick himself up off the floor. “You taught her to be fast, and she taught me. Taught me some of her tricks, too.”

“Even the leg thing?” Bucky asked, and wished he hadn’t because then he pictured having his head between Tony’s thighs and he had to force his thoughts to something else. Behind them, Clint was scowling as he handed Natasha money from his wallet.

“No, not the leg thing. No one but Natasha can do the leg thing,” Tony said ruefully. Then he looked at Bucky expectantly and Bucky realized he was still holding Tony’s hand.

Bucky felt his face get hot and let go quickly. “We should do this again sometime,” he offered a little breathlessly. “It was fun.”

“Even if you were taking it easy on me,” Tony said, taking a towel from Sam and running it over his face.

“I went as fast and hard as I would go with anyone but Steve and Thor,” Bucky countered. He pulled his shirt up to wipe off his face and when he lowered it, he caught Tony staring at his stomach before his eyes flew up to met Bucky’s.

“That’s fair,” Tony said, and his grin said he knew he’d been caught looking and didn’t care. Bucky grinned back because all of a sudden it had become the best day ever. “You know, I think I’m done for the day. Are you hungry?”

“Sure,” Clint said, and he was about to climb down off his perch when Natasha grabbed his arm, fingers digging in with warning.

“He wasn’t asking you,” she said, and though she was smiling it was all teeth. “Don’t fuck this up,” she hissed, impressively managing to say it without moving her lips. "They might not try again for weeks." Bucky’s neck burned and he hoped Tony couldn’t hear her, even though Steve’s carefully blank expression said that he definitely could and furthermore, he agreed. Behind Tony’s back, Sam gave him a discreet thumbs up, and Bucky was ready to murder all of them.

“I am, yes,” Bucky said, resolutely ignoring the chuckleheads in the peanut gallery. "I just, uh, need a shower and I'll be ready."

"It will be faster if you shower toge-" Clint started, and Natasha elbowed him off the bench before he could finish.

"You kids have fun," Sam said, and Bucky left before his face could get any redder.

#tony stark #bucky barnes #winteriron #tony x bucky

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nasir-simp · 4 years ago

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Azula’s Trauma

Okay, so I know that she was born psychotic (says so in the comics) but she still went through a lot of trauma that made it worse. So here’s me listing the reasons why she went off the rails.

Azula’s odds were never in her favor since she was born. She loved fire bending as a kid and would rather use a sword than play with a doll. It’s very to understand what she’s thinking and her emotions if you just payed attention. In some cases you could say she that she’s more on one side of the spectrum than others. She’s not very empathetic to begin with but she never knew better. No one really taught her how or that what she was doing was wrong.

1. She was already at a disadvantage seeing as Zuko’s older than her. That too, she was also a girl. But doors opened for her when Ozai realized how gifted of a fire bender she was. Also remember, Zuko didn’t know that he was born with the gift of fire bending.

This was the beginning of his envy towards Azula. She got his father’s love so easily while he had to try so hard to even get a shred of his recognition. This caused him to start distancing himself from Azula. Being Ozai’s prodigy wasn’t easy on her. Her mother probably thought of her as a monster to some extent. (Yes she loved her but that thought was always at the back of her mind.)

It also didn’t help that whenever Zuko cried her mother automatically assumed that Azula had something to do with it. Her mother should understand that it’s normal for siblings to make the other cry even if it’s their fault. It’s just normal sibling rivalry. This probably led to Azula resenting her own mother. Even with this newfound resentment towards her, she was still a child that wished for her mother’s love. Or for her mother to even glance at her the way she does Zuko. Because of this she tried to find parental love another way, through Ozai.

2. Being brought up by Ozai is much different than being raised by Ursa. He probably thought Azula battle strategies instead of reading bedtime stories. He probably taught her that mercy was for the weak, an example of that would be Iroh. Before she even met him, she already had a bad impression of him. The impression only went downhill when he sent her and Zuko gifts. Zuko got a blade while she got a doll.

Ozai must have told Iroh something about her, because if he knew her he would have known that would want a blade as well. It would make more sense for Azula to receive the blade, the girl who trains 24/7, rather than the boy who feeds turtle ducks in his free time instead of practicing. It was at the moment that Azula thought that no one really understood her but her dad, Ozai. But even he didn’t understand her, he just only saw of her as a child soldier.

All he ever id was encourage her ruthlessness towards other and to disconnect from other’s emotions to avoid being ‘weak’. It must of felt so good to finally be favored over Zuko. Ozai favored her while Iroh and Ursa favored him. The maids and servants probably had more of a liking towards Zuko since she never treated them as well as Zuko. But REMEMBER, Ozai taught her that kindness was a weakness not a virtue. Azula got hooked on the approval that comes with impressing Ozai which caused her to train harder and be better than Zuko.

This isn't how a child should be raised though, they should know the they are loved no matter how talented or talentless they are. You have to remember, she is still a child!

3. But, she had two friends that helped her gain the normalcy of childhood, Mai and Ty Lee. They were her best friends, she felt as if she could genuinely enjoy life instead of being trained like a soldier that's going to be shipped off for war. When Mai had a crush on Zuko all of Azula's insecurities probably entered her again. Afraid that Mai would soon favor him more and soon only hang out with him. The only thing that helped her feel grounded was the fact that Mai was shy and that it was highly unlikely that she would ever act on those feelings. She would still be on her side like always, or so she thought.

4. Now we'll talk about the Agni kai between Zuko and her father. Outwardly she seemed happy that Zuko was going to be banished and let's be honest, she probably was. But there's a chance that she knew he was still her brother and hoped that he wouldn't kneel in front of Ozai knowing that would just make him an embarrassment. With Zuko kneeling, she lost all of the little respect that she had for him because you're not supposed to show mercy to your opponents no matter what. Whomever it may be. Even with this lost of respect she must have felt happy knowing that with his banishment, there would be no competition for Ozai's attention. And with him, the uncle who knew nothing about her also left.

The years following Zuko's abandonment led Azula to perfect her fire bending and become a master. That too, also gaining a neverbefore seen fire color, blue. There's not much to say about this time since we don't know that much. Continuing on, when Zuko came back and joined the trio including Mai and Ty Lee, she probably felt the happiest she's ever been in a very long time. When it came down to the decision between Azula or her uncle, Azula must have felt fantastic to have someone favor her, even if it was just Zuko. To be someone's first choice, the words are indescribable.

During the beach episode we see a new side of Azula. We see her realize how different she is from everyone else. She desperately tries to fit in but it wasn't what she was trained to do. she must have been isolated from kids her own age besides Ty Lee and Mai during her childhood with Ozai. She was trained to conquer cities like Ba Sing Se, capture the avatar, be a master fire bender. This is what's natural for her, not making some boy like her. During the fire pit scene we see Azula open up towards the group saying how her mother thought of her as a monster. They all reacted quite calmly, not really jumping in with words of encouragement to make her feel better. Subconsiously, Azula must have known her friends shared the same thoughts as her mother. But she never really thought they would leave her seeing as they were friends, right? This scene is also where we see Azula show genuine emotion other than ruthlessness and it's directed towards Ty Lee. Ty Lee told the group that she always felt shadowed by her 6 other sisters. You could see the emotion flash through Azula's face. Azula related to Ty Lee on an emotional level because she went through the same thing, but instead it was with Zuko.

5. During the prison break when Azula was trying to stop the avatar from escaping, it probably broke her heart to see Zuko with him. Helping the avatar to escape goes against everything she was taught. But that wasn't what broke her, it was Mai betraying her. Sure she knew that they finally got together after Mai harboring the crush on him for years but she always thought that Mai would stick with her. She thought that Mai liked her and actually thought of her as a friends instead of the monster that everyone paints her to be.

6. The final crack on her heart though, was Ty Lee. When Ty Lee chi blocked her to let Mai escape, it broke her. Her eyes of pain were evident as she fell. Seeing the two people she trusted most on the other side when she thought they would be beside hers. Ty Lee was the only person who she never had a doubt on. It wasn't even a doubt that Ty Lee's loyalty could even be wavered. She trusted Ty Lee with her life. With the treachery of Ty Lee, Azula knew she was alone in the world. This final betrayal is what caused Azula's mask to crack. That crack let her insanity finally shine through.

7.While training with Lo and Li the only feedback she received from them was that she had a hair out of place. That hair symbolizes her mental health. Throughout the show her hair gradually becomes messier and messier. The messier it is, the more cracked her facade of well being is. The last time we see her on the show is during her Agni kai with Zuko. This is where her hair is the most messy. To quote Remus Lupin,"Finally the flesh reflects the madness within."

8. Even at Azula's worst she still held her own at the Agni kai during Zuko's best. But when she knew she was going to loose, she shot lightning at Katara with Zuko getting in the way just in time but rendering him useless. Once Katara bested Azula by freezing her in water to wrap chains around her arms, we hear Azula schema in defeat. The best way to describe it would be to call it a panic attack. Watching Azula breakdown hurts so much because it's so realistic. Her screams are heart wrenching and it hurts knowing what she went through. And she's only 14, a child! She's just a kid, a kid who went through too much that no one should ever experience. She went through too much for her to ever have hope. She went through too much to ever have the odds in her favor.

To conclude, Azula is a child who's broken on the inside and out. She's never stood a chance. She may have been born lucky but she wishes that she was never born.

#azula #ozai is an asshole #zuko #azula deserved better #uncle iroh #mai #ty lee #betreyal #trauma

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tsukihimeyfan · 4 years ago

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Sozin’s Comet’s Deus Ex Machina (and ways to fix them)

I’m sure that most of us AtLA fans can agree that the four part Finale was one of the best moments in animation history, with astoundingly well choreographed fight scenes, fantastic emotional beats, gorgeous animation, and frankly breath-taking music. However, I’m also sure I’m not the only one who was frustrated by one aspect of it in particular, the one blot on an otherwise perfect finale: what I like to call the “lion-turtle and pointy rock” ex machina.

The saddest part is that there was very little they had to change to get to a satisfactory, ties-everything-together ending. For example, take Energy-bending and the Lion-turtle. I saw a post a while ago where they suggested that energybending could’ve been related to what Aang learned from the swamp and the Guru, and it just makes SO much sense (Note: I saw the post months ago and I can’t find it anymore, so if anyone knows who first posted that theory please let me know so that I can give credit where credit’s due). After all, Aang seemed to use the energy of the swamp to sense where Appa and Momo were, and later, during Appa’s Lost Days, Guru Pathik says this:

Meaning he, a non-bender, is capable of reading the energy of others, and of locating people bonded to them from miles away. Let’s not forget that he had also previously sensed everything Appa had gone through with the same ability. Sounds like a really useful skill, wouldn’t you say?

Also, looking at both “sensing” occurrences, they look remarkably similar, so we can be reasonably sure that they’re both employing the same method.

It would’ve been so easy to have Aang take a moment to ask how Guru Pathik met Appa. After all, as far as the Gaang knew, Appa was taken by merchants to be sold in Ba Sing Se, so he shouldn’t have had a chance to meet anyone at the Eastern Air Temple. Did the merchants pass through the temple on the way to Ba Sing Se? Did the Guru try to set Appa free? Pathik would then have to explain how Appa had already escaped on his own, and he helped him find Aang by reading his energy. Aang could then ask the Guru to teach him this ability so that if they ever get separated again he’d be able to find and help Appa easily. Boom - energybending basics acquired.

A highly spiritual person like Aang would no doubt have little problems mastering the sensing ability, especially since he’s used a limited version of it before at the Swamp. Also, if we think about how much the spiritual mentors in the show have tried to drill it into Aang that all things are connected,

we can assume that after mastering everything Guru Pathik could do he would eventually be able to sense even people vaguely connected to him from far away. Being the Avatar, the bridge between the spiritual and physical worlds, would almost certainly also help him master energysensing abilities no other had before.

Maybe they could’ve added a few 30 second scenes here and there of Aang meditating to hone his energysensing skills. Also, during the whole Boiling Rock debacle, imagine how great it would’ve been if Sokka had asked Aang about his dad and, after pressing his hand to Sokka’s forehead and following his bond to his father, Aang was able to tell him that his dad was alive and well, and that he was somewhere in the direction they’d come from, though at that point he wouldn’t be able to pinpoint his exact location.

“I’m sorry Sokka... I can’t tell exactly where he is yet... I know that’s not really helpful...”

“No, knowing he’s alright is plenty. Thanks, buddy”

After Sokka and Zuko rescue Hakoda, I could picture Aang practicing harder than ever until he could use Hakoda’s bond to Bato and the others to locate them in a prison in Caldera City (which would’ve made rescue before ending the war difficult to say the least, and would explain how they were all there for Zuko’s coronation so fast)

Later, during Aang’s trip to the mysterious island, it would’ve been so cool if, instead of handing him the ability, the lion-turtle just told him this:

... and maybe showed him visions of his energysensing training when he did the forehead-touch thing. Then, during the battle with Ozai, maybe after redirecting the lightning away from Ozai Aang could think to himself “I can’t... he may be a monster, but he’s still my friend’s father!”. Then, he suddenly realizes that just like with his friends and family, Aang has a connection with Ozai too, and that if sensing someone’s energy happens by putting a bit of his energy into them, maybe he can use the same route to take some of Ozai’s energy away from him.

Imagine how amazing it would’ve been if they’d added those little snippets of Aang’s energybending training all throughout book 3, without giving it that name, and then Aang used what he’d learned from Guru Pathik and Huu and what he’d taught himself to rediscover a technique that hadn’t been used in millenia all by himself! (well, with a little “nudge in the right direction” from lionturtle-sensei) We were SO close, all the building blocks were there but... *sigh* we ended up still so far.

Continued with solving “pointy-rock-ex-machina” under the cut

In Book 2, we’re told that to master the Avatar State Aang has to “let go of his attachments”, but that plot point is dropped completely and all he has to do is get hit in his lightning scar and BAM! Avatar State unlocked, no letting go required! 😒

He was still just as attached to Katara as he was during Book 2, if not more so. So, in the interest of trying to figure out how to tie up as many loose ends as possible, we could try to hit two birds with one stone by fixing another thing at the same time that wasn’t addressed either.

We could start with a conversation between Aang and Katara where he apologizes for kissing her when she clearly didn’t want him to at some point during Sozin’s Comet Part 1 - The Phoenix King.

“I accept your apology Aang” Katara’d say, “but from now on make sure to respect people’s boundaries, Ok? Especially girls’ boundaries :) We can talk about this more after everything’s over”

At this point, maybe Aang could be left to think and reflect on his relationship with Katara, on his attachment to her, and on how he’d started thinking about her as “his” almost without any input from her.

Maybe Aang could begin to really understand what Guru Pathik was trying to teach him when he said “you must let go”, and the difference between love and unhealthy attachment to people.

He’d therefore be going into the fight with Ozai with that fresh on his mind.

Then, as the battle raged and he grew increasingly desperate, maybe he’d try a few times to force himself into the Avatar State only to fail miserably.

At this moment

when he’s been overpowered and cornered (and also has a little bit of “downtime” to think), he could start desperately trying to figure out a way to enter the Avatar State, and wondering why he can’t do it. Katara’s been healing him every day! The scar doesn’t even hurt anymore! Why doesn’t it work???

Then, he'd realize that it doesn’t really make sense for a lightning strike to lock his 7th Chakra, since according to what Guru Pathik taught him chakras are locked or unlocked through changes in emotional and spiritual state, not physical.

(Note: this is also backed up by what little I know of irl chakras and activating Kundalini in the Yoga school of Hindu philosophy. If anyone knows more about it please feel free to add to this or correct me. I’d love to learn how the concept of chakras in Avatar contrasts with its real life counterpart 😊)

Also, if the lightning had messed with the Avatar State some other way, like by blocking his chi for example, he shouldn’t be able to bend properly either.

So what could’ve caused his problem with the Avatar State?

Of course! After Katara saved him, Aang became even more focused on gaining her love, and grew even more attached to her than he’d been before! Of course he can’t enter the Avatar State!

Now, I’m a Zutara shipper all the way, and this would work much better if that had been canon, but this could work even with a Kataang endgame since, as I said before, Aang kind of become obsessed with the idea of making Katara “his” no matter what, a clear earthly attachment, instead of loving her unselfishly and letting her love him in her way:

Notice that he said “we kissed” even though he kissed her, and then “I thought we were gonna be together”, an assumption he made without asking her anything once. Same as in this scene:

Mastering the Avatar State doesn’t mean not loving anyone romantically, as we can clearly see through Avatar Roku’s example (also the “if you want power abandon your loved ones” message is stupid and I don’t like it at all. This would be better imo)

Even during the process for unlocking the chakras, the Fourth Chakra tells us that finding love isn’t contrary to spirituality, and can even be a source of spiritual strength. However, I’ve always thought it was a bit strange that the “new love” Aang found to fill the hole left by the deaths of his people was.... just Katara

Because what Aang lost was essentially all of his family and friends right? So wouldn’t it have made more sense for Aang to envision Sokka, Toph, Appa and Momo as well? You know, his old family vs. his new family?

I didn’t fully understand what exactly was wrong with it until I read some of tumblr user marsreds’ metas on the matter, and I have to agree with them that it seems Aang was sort of focusing on his love for Katara so much partially as a way to cope with the loss of his people. To keep it out of mind. That’s not how you build a wholesome romantic relationship, and it doesn’t seem like the best way to deal with grief either. No wonder his Seventh Chakra was blocked.

I would’ve loved to see Aang realize at the moment of truth that in order to access the Avatar State he simply had to let Katara go enough so that he could love her selflessly, so that her wants and needs, and the needs of the world, could come first. He needed to become able to accept her answer, whatever it was, when she gave it. He needed to come to understand that his happiness wasn’t completely (or even mostly) dependent on getting into a relationship with Katara. He had a family he’d found all on his own, made up of friends who adored him and who would’ve given their lives for him if necessary. He was not alone in the world any more. Even if she told him no, he would in all likelihood find new love and be happy.

(in fact we have proof and there’s a perfect candidate right there in the Fire Nation but I digress)

The rest of the finale could’ve played out exactly the same as canon, and in the end Aang would’ve had a better understanding of himself and some inner peace. They could’ve also given us an inkling that Aang would later get to mourn over the deaths of his people properly, surrounded by his loved ones (maybe, ideally, in a hypothetical Book 4-AIR?. God, I wish)

I’ve seen some posts about Aang letting go of his attachment to the Air Nomad’s teachings instead (with maybe that very decision to put the needs of the world above his own being what unlocks his Seventh Chakra), and those are magnificent ideas as well, but I myself would’ve preferred if it went this way because I think there’s something beautifully poetic and satisfying about Aang staying true to himself, finding an alternate solution to violence that would still protect the world, and using the wisdom of His People to put an end to the very war that caused their destruction, while simultaneously giving the worst possible punishment to a man as power-hungry as Ozai

...and leaving him the same way he’s left many of the Fire Nation’s victims in the past: trapped, powerless and forgotten.

I also feel like this ties up all the loose ends better, since it was his attachment to Katara specifically which stopped him from mastering the Avatar State in the first place. And, Kataang endgame or not, it would’ve sent a wonderful message about building and maintaining healthy relationships, perfect for the show’s target audience of preteen and teenage kids.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

#atla #sozin's comet #Avatar The Last Airbender #thyf rambles #atla meta #aang #katara #meta #my drabbles #kinda

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the-last-cuddlebender · 4 years ago

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Do you have any badass headcanons about Toph?

This is a HC about Toph, Suki, and Toph’s seismic sense (and the drawbacks that I think come with Toph’s unique bending). It’s not ‘badass’ per se, but I think it makes Toph a much more impressive character for toughing through it (and Suki is the big sister Toph never had besides Katara):

Toph taught herself earthbending.

Toph can feel fossils in the ground and eventually learns to bend them, though only one person besides Suki eventually knows about it.

Feeling fossils (and skeletons and dead things—fresh or old because Toph can feel the absence of heartbeats) was a verrrrry big issue for her when she first learned to use earthbending as an extension of her senses because senses can’t just be turned off.

The rich families that came over for dinner at her parents’ house were old and lived just close enough for Toph to feel when, one day, an older matriarch dies of a heart attack. Toph was just a girl. It was horrific for her. She had never been exposed to death so personally. After, her parents got her the best doctors because they thought there was something wrong with her mind, so Toph learns to keep quiet to make the doctors go away. She learns to jump onto metal when she senses death coming because metal blocked off her seismic sense for a bit. She felt people’s dying breaths and final heartbeats more often than she liked to admit.

She thinks she has a coping system down, but then she learns metalbending, and she has no escape besides climbing a tree.

But then they move into the cities again. And the whole Gaang are rarely in the wilds like they were back in the day. She has nowhere to hide.

Toph recruits Suki into her metalbending academy as security at first. She doesn’t tell her why she is really there, but Suki has seen a lot of shit and can tell that Toph is hiding something. She also sees that Toph is putting up a wall, and she respects that. She waits for Toph to come to her on her own time.

One day, there’s an earthquake, a small one, but there are casualties.

The worst part is the survivors stuck in the rubble who Toph feels slowly dying. She is nearly frantic as she digs everyone out, and she collapses afterwards. (Katara gives her an earful, but even Katara backs down and gives her space when Toph, instead of arguing, just nods and says whatever).

Toph very abruptly asks Suki to chi-block her. She needed to escape her seismic sense for a bit. She could feel the little boy Katara was resuscitating in the building next door. His breathing is failing. Katara’s movements are getting desperate. The heartbeats of the kid’s parents are driving Toph crazy. There’s more people—and their loved ones jam broken glass into Toph’s senses just as badly as the person in pain—, and Toph can’t take it anymore.

Suki makes Toph explain exactly what she wanted Suki to do and exactly why, clearly and in detail, so she knows that Toph understands why she is asking her to do this (instead of doing something so drastic on impulse under stress). It breaks Suki’s heart as the seconds drag on, but she didn’t want to accidentially add trauma to trauma.

Suki stays with Toph and teaches her metalbending students the martial arts. She doesn’t like to chi-block anymore. Except when Toph asks. The moves carry so much more weight now.

#toph #suki #Katara #avatar the last airbender #the legend of korra #seismic sense has just as much a capacity to be good as it has to be bad #it balances itself. toph just doesn’t show it #answered #thanks for the ask!#toph hc #toph love #hc #post #myfanfictiontag #myhctag

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patrickstargang · 4 years ago

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The Firelord’s Promise (Kyoshi fic)

Chapter 1: Nomad’s Land

Chapter 2: A Bureaucrat's Word

Chapter 3: Throw Away Your Honor, Rally In The Streets

Chapter 4: Unfortunate Truths

Chapter 5: A Change For The Better

Chapter 6: The Roles We’re Given

Chapter 7: To Save A Life

Final Chapter: I’ll Always Be With You

*this fic contains massive spoilers for Shadow of Kyoshi

The distance from Yokoya to the Fire Nation wasn’t particularly far, but sometimes a sky bison could be unreliable in long distances. It didn’t help that everyone from the estate (minus Aunt Mui) decided to join in on Kyoshi’s “diplomatic” meeting with the Firelord. Even the Flying Opera Company begrudgingly tagged along as back up. They weren’t in support of dabbling with the authorities but they still swore loyalty to their brothers and sisters.

They found themselves in a canyon, the slightly rougher areas of the Fire Nation wilderness that bordered the capital. To get to the capital was about a day’s journey on foot, but it was already nearing dusk. Everyone made camp while the sun was beginning to set.

Kyoshi stood away from the camp, attempting to earthbend, something that should be more than familiar to her. While her state of bending improved since the day Hei-ran arrived at the estate, Kyoshi still found herself struggling with bending. She lifted up a large chunk of the ground in front of her, but it began to swivel around as she tried to push it forward. It was fragile and unbalanced, crumbling before it could make impact with anything. Her face strained as she tried again, feeling like it was more of an effort than it should be.

Rangi noticed Kyoshi struggling, seeing the Avatar having to face the obstacle of basic bending was a sorry sight. But Rangi remembered her promise, and she knew what to do in a moment like this.

She walked up behind Kyoshi, observing the towering girl as she tried to hold another chunk of stone before it collapsed. “Having trouble?”

Kyoshi shook her head with a stoic face. Rangi then stood in front of her with a knowing smirk. “Are you sure?”

Kyoshi then remembered the promise she made to Rangi, to be more honest with her when she needed to. She exhaled, letting the fourth attempt at shifting earth fall to the ground.

“I’ve just been having trouble with bending lately. Like yesterday, I couldn’t even bend a puddle, now I can’t even bend my native element.”

Rangi began to understand the severity of the situation. At first, she thought her superstition about the Avatar not learning the elements in order was becoming true, but she knew that saying that wouldn’t help. So she had other ideas.

Rangi lightly tugged on the sleeve of Kyoshi’s kimono, getting her attention. “How about some firebending practice? This time we can actually start with fire fists.”

Rangi stood back and reeled her arm behind her and swiftly let out a quick but forceful flame from her fist, like a sudden fiery jab. Kyoshi observed, noting the delicate details she might have missed the first time she properly learned the technique. She copied her motions to the best of her ability, only to have produced a light spark from her knuckles. She hid her face in her hands, filled with aggravation.

“I don’t understand! I was fine a few days ago, now it’s like my bending disappeared overnight.”

Rangi’s concern grew, she wasn’t sure if this was something that she could help with. Jinpa stood off to the side listening to their conversation, but after Kyoshi’s last statement he decided to join the group.

“Maybe it has something to do with your chi flow,” said Jinpa while stroking his chin.

Kyoshi remembered her lessons about chi flow at the Air Temples. She learned about its place as the energy that connects all life, more or less the ultimate life source. But she also learned that it is the life force of the bender , giving them the powers they possess. And as a result, she learned about chi block, an instance where bending is rendered almost useless by some physical or mental obstacle. She wasn’t being attacked in any way so she crossed off physical obstacles from the possibilities. All that was left was the more tricky of the two.

“Honestly I’m surprised you haven’t had a chi block sooner, especially with your run-in with the Yellow Necks.”

Kyoshi remembered the injuries she took from her fight with Xu Ping, which should have been a complete block of her chi from everything the Monks told her. Yet she was still able to bend after her recovery. So why was this happening now?

Rangi wasn’t entirely knowledgeable about chi, as it was a concept that was never taught in-depth at the Academy. However, she tried to move the conversation in the right direction. “Is there a way to unblock her chi?”

“Well, one way to do that is to connect to your spiritual side. Sometimes this could mean visiting a spiritual place or something as simple as clearing your mind and emotions through meditation. It all depends on how bad your chi block is.”

It was strange for Kyoshi. In terms of being the Avatar, she still had trouble connecting with the spiritual, mainly since most of her encounters with it left her in dire situations. But this gave her an idea.

“Maybe I can try going into the Spirit World, there's nothing more spiritual than talking with your past lives, right?”

Jinpa thought about it for a moment and quickly nodded in agreement. “I don’t see why it couldn’t work.”

But then an air of doubt came over Kyoshi, she looked down. “But at the same time, I’ve only gotten it to work on rare occasions. The only thing I’ve noticed is that I was able to enter the Spirit World whenever I was in a spiritual place, and as far as I know, there aren’t any spiritual places near he-”

Suddenly, a rustling came from the bushes next to camp that caught everyone off guard. It stopped for a moment before rustling again. It also sounded as if voices were coming from them. At that point everyone became alert. Rangi held out a ball of fire in her hand and Kirima brought a stream out from her water skin, ready to attack. Kyoshi got into her earthbending stance before she remembered her chi block, awkwardly dropping her hands.

Rangi stepped toward the bush, a stern authority in her voice. “Who's there! Show yourself!”

Suddenly, four different people rolled out from the small bush. They were wearing light Fire Nation clothing with long sleeves and carried small bags and satchels. One of them, a somewhat scrawny man with a big beard and spectacles, held up his hands trying to stop the tension.

“Hey, hey, we mean no harm! We didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

Kirima raised an eyebrow. “Oh really, then why don’t you explain what you're doing out here in the first place. Who are you people?”

At that moment, Jinpa noticed something about the group. They were all wearing necklaces, more specifically necklaces made from fire lilies. Jinpa’s eyes widened. He moved past Rangi to meet the group.

“You-your all nomads, aren’t you.”

The bearded man smiled at the sudden recognition. “Yes my good man, more specifically we’re Fire Nation nomads.”

Kirimia and Rangi slowly let their guard down, both confused at Jinpa’s interaction. He shook the bearded man’s hand, keeping his polite demeanor.

Kirima walked up to the group of nomads. “That still doesn’t explain what you're doing out here.”

“Why, we’re out on a spiritual journey to find enlightenment. We’re here to find Szeto’s Pillar.”

A feeling of suspicion came over Kirima. “Szeto’s what?”

The bearded man turned off to the side and pointed out into the distance. “Szeto’s Pillar.”

Surrounded by a sea of cooled molten rock stood a towering, monolithic pillar of stone. With its height, it was able to partially block out the sun as it was setting.

The bearded man continued to gaze off into the distance. “During the age of Avatar Szeto, one of the volcanos near the Fire Nation capital was erupting, causing mass hysteria and panic for the people. But Szeto stopped the magma flow from the safety of his stone pillar. Now, these volcanoes will stay dormant for years to come. This pillar has become a sort of sacred spot, a place to stand where one of the great Avatars once stood.”

This gave Kyoshi an idea. Not only did she have a spiritual place to unblock her chi, but this could be an opportunity to speak with Szeto. She was able to contact Kuruk and Yangchen, this could be the next step.

She turned to Rangi, whispering so the nomads wouldn’t overhear. “This might be my chance, if I can get my chi flow back by tomorrow we’ll be able to make it into the capital safely.”

Rangi let out a light chuckle, realizing this was Kyoshi’s way of asking to leave. “You don’t have to tell me twice, go on ahead.”

Kyoshi smiled and kissed Rangi on her forehead before starting a light jog towards the Pillar.

The bearded man halted his conversation with Jinpa to note Kyoshi’s sudden leave. “Gee, your friend there is pretty excited to see the Pillar.”

Jinpa nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, she can be a bit….enthusiastic sometimes.”

The bearded man let out a hearty laugh before surveying the area. “Well, it looks like you're all settled in pretty nicely, I guess our journey can wait till tomorrow. But in the meantime….”

The bearded man and the other three nomads all pulled out jars filled with a strange looking liquid.

“Who wants to drink cactus juice and find spiritual enlightenment!”

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

Night quickly came over the canyon, the campfire lit up the darkness and spirits were high. Mostly. The nomads were already in full swing with some of their “spiritual” exercises. Jinpa decided to join in to varying degrees of success. He thought that cactus juice was a spiritual cleanser, like what onion-banana juice was back at the Air Temples. Now he was laughing hysterically at the wildlife and his own airbending while the nomads incoherently argued about who opened the most of their seven chakras.

Kirima and Wong were both amused and terrified at Jinpa’s state. The airbender was known to be somewhat of a stickler for good behavior, but now he had no regard for proper manners. Hei-ran looked as if her soul was leaving her body, watching everything that was unfolding alongside the other two members of the Flying Opera Company. She had her blackboard and chalk but even her words couldn’t communicate the confusion and distaste she felt. Atuat almost tried the cactus juice, but after seeing how Jinpa fared after trying it she decided against it.

Rangi half paid attention to the antics that were taking place, but part of her mind was elsewhere. There was a lot of uncertainty for what tomorrow would hold. Even though she was the Avatar’s bodyguard, she was also part of the Fire Nation military. Now she would have to face the idea of going against her own nation’s leader. She had fought to stop corruption in many other parts of the world, but it was a different beast to deal with corruption in her own home. If Zoryu had not kept his promise, then that means Rangi would have to go against her own code of honor.

But then another thought came to her. She had said before that she wished to share the greatness of the Fire Nation with the rest of the world, but with everything that was happening she was beginning to question how true that “greatness” really was. The more she thought about it, the more it upset her. The Saowan clan was charged not for the few people that were creating pushback, but for the entire clan itself. Chaejin and Huazo obviously had their hand in starting a commotion but there were those who were arrested without knowing what was even happening. It made her stomach churn.

But then she became much more grateful for Kyoshi, she could have pretended that Zoryu’s treatment of the Saowan clan never happened and let them all be imprisoned, or worse. But she didn’t. She became a headache for both Zoryu and the chancellors. The Firelord was trying to make an easy solution for a not so easy problem, which might cause greater harm to his people and his own status than he may realize. Kyoshi wasn’t out for what she believed was revenge, she was out for stopping injustice enacted by those who were the supposed preservers of justice. But the possibility of killing Zoryu was still a thorn in Rangi’s side, the consequences for it could be much greater than the Saowan’s imprisonment. What could Kyoshi be gaining if she went through with it?

Then on that thought, Rangi realized Kyoshi was still at the Pillar even though hours had already passed. She might be having trouble getting into the Spirit World. Rangi remembered her promise to Kyoshi, as she got up from her seat.

She leaned over to Atuat. “I’m going to go check up on her. Could you keep an eye on Jinpa for me?”

The healer chuckled lightly. “Don’t worry sweetie, I’ll make sure he doesn’t embarrass himself...well any more than he already has.”

As she said that, Jinpa was reaching for another glass of cactus juice before Hei-ran took the drink out of his hands and threw it into the bushes.

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

The terrain of the cooled magma was uneven, like trying to maneuver through a valley filled with millions of small hills. Rangi skipped from the peak of each mound, getting closer to the Pillar. Once she arrived, she noticed a stone stairway around it, one that was built at some point after Szeto’s time. She ascended to the spiraling staircase, noting just how tall the Pillar actually was. Once she made it to the top, she found her Yokoya girl meditating.

At least that's what it looked like at first. As Rangi moved closer she could see the strain in Kyoshi’s brow, like someone trying their hardest to look as if they were at peace. Kyoshi let out a soft sigh and opened her eyes. She turned her head to see Rangi.

“Still having trouble?”

Kyoshi looked back out into the distance, feeling the soft breeze that such a high spot gave her. “Yeah….But I’m still not getting anywhere. I’m the only one who can bend the four elements and communicate with the Spirit World and right now I can do neither of those two things. Some Avatar I am, huh….”

Rangi gave her a concerned pout. “You seem to forget really quickly don’t you,” she said as she shifted to sit beside Kyoshi. “You may think that you have to face your Avatar duties alone, but you don’t. I’ll be here for you, even if I can only help a little.”

Kyoshi’s sardonic tone quickly changed to sincerity. She didn’t forget, but it was still nice to remember that Rangi meant what she said that night. “Thank you….”

“Now, maybe you just need a partner,” Rangi crossed her legs and put her hands together in the same position that Kyoshi was in. “Try breathing with me.”

Kyoshi straightened herself and closed her eyes, waiting for Rangi’s orders. It was like doing Horse stance again, except without the pain in her legs.

“Now do as I do…..In.”

Kyoshi inhaled at her command, letting it linger as long as it needed to.

“And out…..”

She exhaled through her nose. Already she had a greater sense of flow than she had when she was alone.

“In…..”

She inhaled again, she was fully in sync with Rangi. While the Avatar was uncertain of her many bending abilities, she felt comforted by the fact that she still had air on her side.

“And out….”

Kyoshi could feel Rangi’s warmth beside her, every breath like an ember slowly growing its flame. It was relaxing and stimulating at the same time.

Soon the words were fading out, but she still kept into the flow of her breathing before she was doing it instinctually. Sound began to fade out completely, her mind becoming clear. She stayed in that silence for a little bit.

Then she felt a cool air come over her, like that of a mist coming over the mountains. She slowly began to open her eyes, seeing the abstract clouds that enveloped the Spirit World before she heard a voice. A voice that sounded experienced yet rough.

“It’s about time you showed up, you're a few months late.”

#rise of kyoshi #shadow of kyoshi #avatar #atla #trok #tsok #kyoshi #rangi #jinpa #hei-ran #kirima #wong #atuat #fan fic #the firelords promise part 1 #the firelords promise chapter 1 #the firelords promise

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emberbent · 4 years ago

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QUESTIONS FOR YOUR OCs

[Originally posted by @cassandrapentayaaaaas, whose name apparently is also Elle, ayyyy. I’ll be filling this out for my Fire Avatar OC Shinza, and maybe also for some other characters later.]

What’s the maximum amount of time your character can sit still with nothing to do?

Previous to her airbending training, Shinza would have had a hard time being still and doing nothing for longer than a few minutes. Not out of a need to burn off energy, but out of a fear of being alone with her thoughts for too long. Now, she can meditate and be still for over an hour, or much longer if she takes short breaks. She sat for eleven hours for her tattoo, which was the longest she’s gone doing nothing.

How easy is it for your character to laugh?

She doesn’t appear to be easily amused - she’s more of a smirker than a laugher if she finds something funny. Unless she’s among people who are close to her, or she’s drinking pear sake.

How do they put themselves to bed at night (reading, singing, thinking?)

Shinza’s one of the lucky ones who falls asleep as soon as she climbs into bed. She doesn’t have to do anything special to fall asleep.

How easy is it to earn their trust?

Hard to say. Maybe moderate? She doesn’t like to reveal much about herself unless she really trusts someone not to abuse that information, which isn’t all that often. She’s self-reliant enough that she doesn’t need others to help her most of the time, which can be seen as untrusting. But really, all it takes is showing compassion and self-awareness to get her to let her guard down.

How easy is it to earn their mistrust?

Fairly easy, since her default mode is not overly trusting.

Do they consider laws flexible, or immovable?

She's always had trouble determining which rules are or should be flexible vs enforced. Now that she’s in a position where she’s more or less exempt from following rules as necessary to keep balance, she’s realizing it’s even more complex than she ever thought. She contemplates often whether she has a duty not to follow the rules she holds others to, or to lead by example and hold herself to those same standards.

What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

The smell of petrichor mingling with the oily smog of Republic City brings her back to when she was small, and she would walk with her mother, a doctor, every day to the clinic. Her mother would hold her hand, and they’d traverse in silence, except to point out the stray capuchin cats sheltering under the Satos on the street, or Shinza would ask for a treat from the bakery.

What were they told to stop/start doing most often as a child?

Twirling, dancing, spinning around, singing. It wasn’t that her parents discouraged her from these normal activities, but she often didn’t have the presence of mind to refrain in the wrong situations.

Do they swear? Do they remember their first swear word?

Not often; usually to emphasize her point. She distinctly remembers being nine years old and watching someone walk into traffic. A bystander earthbent them out of the way just before a Sato could run them over. She said her first curse word aloud as she rode in a cab with her father. He wasn’t mad.

What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

She never got into habitual lying. Too much to remember, too much guilt.

How do they cope with confusion (seek clarification, pretend they understand, etc)?

Lucky for her, she has thousands of past Avatars to talk to.

How do they deal with an itch found in a place they can’t quite reach?

She has long arms - this isn’t normally an issue.

What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

Black and shades of red; absolutely.

What animal do they fear most?

Shinza’s not afraid of any animals in a phobia sense, but she does think canyon crawlers are fairly ugly, and she’d hate to meet one.

How do they speak? Is what they say usually thought of on the spot, or do they rehearse it in their mind first?

She thinks before she speaks, but she doesn’t rehearse what she wants to say before the conversation happens. She speaks deliberately and rarely says something she doesn’t mean.

What makes their stomach turn?

The normal stuff - gore and viscera, bad smells, being anxious or nervous.

Are they easily embarrassed?

Very much so, although she tries not to let it show.

What embarrasses them?

The biggest thing is having her flaws or screw-ups used as an example to a group. She also suffers pretty bad secondhand embarrassment watching others do embarrassing things.

What is their favorite number?

She doesn’t have one.

If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

She’d explain familial love as distinctly separate from platonic or romantic love in that for her, it comes from a place of duty as well as physical proximity and similarity. Her personality closely matches both of her parents’, so they naturally got along well most of the time, which made them feel close, which she might define as familial love.

She feels there’s very little difference between platonic and romantic love, and that one can easily morph into the other and back. These are based on things outside of physical proximity or biology, like shared interests, a common goal, and sexual attraction. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “I don’t know. I just love them.”

Why do they get up in the morning?

Duty. Responsibility. The sunlight coming in through her window has woken her and she can’t go back to sleep.

How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?

It manifests as deep sadness and a feeling that there’s a flaw she should fix in herself that will make the situation better. Then it festers into shame for having those emotions or caring at all, and she becomes aloof.

How does envy manifest itself in them (they take what they want, they become resentful, etc)?

She might pine for whatever this other fortunate person has that she doesn’t for a second, but then she shrugs it off.

Is sex something that they’re comfortable speaking about? To whom?

She’s happy to talk about sex in an academic sense with acquaintances, but she’s only comfortable discussing her own experiences with her best friend Nero. Even then, she squirms a little.

What are their thoughts on marriage?

She likes the idea of loving someone so much that you’d enter a legally binding, life-long contract with them, and she certainly sees the financial and social advantages. As to whether she wants to get married herself, she’d be perfectly fine either way.

What is their preferred mode of transportation?

Xia, her dragon companion. Especially now that she’s not afraid of heights or the open air anymore. Plus, they just get each other - no words needed. They had a strong bond from the beginning, but ever since Xia saved Shinza’s ass in Gaoling, Shinza feels closer to her than ever.

What causes them to feel dread?

Knowing that the world is watching every move she makes, and that everything she does (or doesn’t do) will go down in history. Knowing that if she can’t protect herself, she could be the last Avatar.

Would they prefer a lie over an unpleasant truth?

Definitely not. Being lied to is something she has a hard time forgiving, and she’d much rather deal with the ripples of an unpleasant truth than feeling she can’t trust the person keeping the truth from her, and finding out anyway.

Do they usually live up to their own ideals?

No, but Shinza holds herself to impossibly high standards.

Who do they most regret meeting?

Yanyu, the ex-Dai Li agent who her parents hired to block her bending and repress her memories when she was little. Shinza thought Yanyu wanted to meet with her in Gaoling to apologize for her role in letting the world go for so long without its Avatar, but it turned out to be a trap; Yanyu attempted to subdue her and turn her over to The Organization.

Who are they the most glad to have met?

Amrit. She came to him on the Island of the Sun Warriors thinking she was a nonbender, that she couldn’t possibly be the Avatar, and he helped her through that confusion. He unblocked her chi and helped her flame. Maybe he was a little too hard on her during training, but he taught her the value of working til you puke. He’s always had her back, even from the first day.

Do they have a go-to story in conversation? Or a joke?

No. Shinza rarely leads conversations.

Could they be considered lazy?

Not by any stretch. She’s deliberate, diligent, and hard set on doing things right and thoroughly.

How hard is it for them to shake a sense of guilt?

Very, which is detrimental to her role as the Avatar. She doesn’t know yet that she will live with the burden of guilt for her decisions and actions her whole life, or how to be okay with that.

How do they treat the things their friends come to them excited about? Are they supportive?

She’s a supporter and an attentive listener. She does her best to follow up with questions or mention small details later. Unless it’s something like a friend being excited about getting back together with her toxic ex - then she’d be clear about where she stands on the matter.

Do they actively seek romance, or do they wait for it to fall into their lap?

She’s never sought out romance, but she has experienced and enjoyed it. Romantic love isn’t something she requires to feel happy or validated.

Do they have a system for remembering names, long lists of numbers, things that need to go in a certain order (like anagrams, putting things to melodies, etc)?

She doesn’t have a system - she just remembers things like patterns, numbers, and names. It’s a gift that, oddly enough, she was bullied for in school. Sometimes she forgets that others don’t have such an incredible memory and gets frustrated with them, but she’s working on it.

What memory do they revisit the most often?

Leaving Nero alone at the bar, mouth agape, as two Fire Nation officials all but dragged her out the door with them. She never got to explain to Nero what happened after she figured it all out, and she hasn’t seen her since that day almost two years ago. The guilt eats at her.

How easy is it for them to ignore flaws in other people?

Fairly difficult. She can’t ignore her own flaws, so she’s unable to extend that to others. She’s working on it though, and she’s got Amrit to practice on. No shade tho.

How sensitive are they to their own flaws?

Extremely. She was an only child, so her parents were hawks circling her, watching her every move. They didn’t pick on her on purpose, but it was pretty clear to Shinza that they were disappointed she didn’t go to medical school or join the military. On top of that, she grew up believing she was a nonbender, which culminated in a general, oppressive feeling that she was deeply flawed.

How do they feel about children?

She was an only child and didn’t grow up around her extended family, so she doesn’t have a lot of experience being around kids. Before, she could think of worse things than raising a child of her own. But now, she can’t fathom trying to balance her duties while raising a child.

How badly do they want to reach their end goal?

The shame of leaving the physical and spirit worlds out of balance and being remembered as an ineffective Avatar is unfathomable to her. She’d say she wants it more than anything.

If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so?

She’d say she’s sexual, sometimes, and leave it at that.

QUESTIONS FOR CREATORS

A) Why are you excited about this character?

In every OC, I think there’s at least a little bit of their creator; I didn’t intend for Shinza to end up so similar to myself, but she is. And as I develop my own sense of self, I see that reflected in Shinza when I write her, and that’s pretty exciting.

B) What inspired you to create them?

I’d been wanting to write an Avatar OC story for a long time, and nothing felt right or fun or exciting until I considered using Shinza, a character I’d had stewing in my head for a while. Once I pictured her in the Avatar world, things started falling into place pretty quickly.

C) Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story?

Absolutely. I planned the story from start to finish so I knew where I was headed, but along the way, Emberbent!Shinza started to take shape in unexpected ways and deviate from the original plan. As her personality in this story evolves, I have to figure out her reactions to things, and the ripples from those reactions, from a new perspective. I don’t have a clear view of her transformation arc, because it’s happening in real time along with mine. The (already flimsy) ending I’d intended has been blown to smithereens, and I have no idea how it’ll go - I’m essentially 50% pantsing at this point - but I feel less frustrated knowing I have more room to see what happens.

D) Have they always had the same physical appearance, or have you had to edit how they look?

She’s had a number of different physical appearances. At one point, she was a monk child in a DND campaign I played in. In the preliminary planning stages of Emberbent, she looked like Nero, her best friend, and was an Earth Avatar.

E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

I like to think we’d get along, but we’d both have to be okay with natural silence. Neither of us are inclined to lead conversations.

F) What do you feel when you think of your OC (pride, excitement, frustration, etc)?

All of the above. Pride because of how hard she’s worked to get where she is; excitement because of all the horrific and wonderful things she’ll go through to turn her into who she’ll ultimately become; and frustrated because she feels flat to me, so I’m assuming she feels flat to others too.

G) What trait of theirs bothers you the most?

She can’t see past her own nose yet in terms of her role. It will take some time for her to realize she has to relinquish all of her own desires and happiness to her duty as the Avatar. For now, she’s stuck in selfish-mode, doing her best to help those close to her while trying to maintain her grip on her old ego.

H) What trait do you admire most?

While she’s still working on seeing things from a broad perspective, she has an innate ability to deeply understand people, their feelings, and the situations they find themselves in. She’ll drop everything in order to help.

I) Do you prefer to keep them in their canon universe?

Yeah. I’m not into crossover fics... yet.

J) Did you have to manipulate or exclude canon factors to allow them to create their character?

Mmm, I don’t know about manipulating canon, but I definitely extended it and filled in some parts as needed. Since she’s not the Avatar that came directly after Korra, I had to create the character that came between them. And since Shinza’s timeline is well after Korra’s, I had to envision what Republic City and the world would look like 70 years or so in the future.

Edit: Actually, just kidding. I forgot I totally manipulated canon when I figured out a way for Shinza to reconnect with the Avatars before Aang.

#atla #avatar the last airbender #lok #avatar legend of korra #avatar fic #avatar oc #emberbent

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ramblingroommate · 4 years ago

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Watched the first three episodes and I need to collect my thoughts so here comes.

I love the soundtrack. I said it already but I need to say it again because it is THAT good. I always liked the music from atla but with korra it just got to a whole new level and I’m here for it. It’s the best thing of the show so far (and not because the show isn’t good but because, again, the music is THAT good).

Bolin is a sweetie and I just want to protect him. Seriously, I love the guy! I just immediately clicked with him, I don’t know why. I find him sweet but not sickly so, funny but not ridicoulous, sure of himself but not cocky. Can I just have a real life Bolin please? I promise to take care of him and spoil him rotten, pinky promise!

As much as I love Bolin, I think my favourite character as of now is probably Tenzin. It’s just so so so cool to see air benders! ALIVE AS WELL!!! I also really like that he doesn’t really remind me of Aang at all, he’s very different from both his father and his mother but he clearly cares so much about them and their legacy. And he doesn’t seem to be a very expert teacher as of yet but he’s trying! Bless him

Korra. At first I was SO scared I wouldn’t like her, that’s actually the reason it took me so long to watch the show in the first place. I was so attached to the original gaang, I knew that changing all the characters was gonna be tough (I’m not a person very fond of change, I need a two/three year hiatus every time they change Doctors in DW). But I actually like her! I’m so relieved, y’all have no idea T.T She DOES frustrate me at times but that’s okay, characters shouldn’t be perfect (especially at the start!) because they have to grow! And that’s okay! Besides I sometimes got frustrated at the original gaang too but I loved them anyway. Besides pt2, Korra is ripped and I’m HERE FOR IT!!!

Something I DON’T really like so far has been the... watering down (?) of some bending abilities. In atla things like metal bending and lightning bending (chi blocking too) felt powerful and special because so very few characters were able to do them! They were rare and used in extreme situations. In just the first three episodes of Korra however we see the entire police force metal bend (plus a random gym cleaner or whatever?). I understand that the police force was founded by Toph so she probably taught some of them and it just started spreading but Bumi was an extremely powerful earthbender and HE never metal bended. Same goes for lightning (even more so I would say), it was shown as an extremely rare and powerful technique and we saw so very few characters use it. Then in the 3rd episode of Korra we have like ten people lightning bending all at once like it’s nothing to power a factory. I honestly feel sort of.... cheated? Like,,, that really cool thing that you thought was super rare? You fool, you absolute buffoon, that’s actually not rare and special at all! Ya dumb gullible fool :(

I also feel like the growth the world has gone through since atla isn’t very believable. Not so fast at least. Don’t get me wrong I LOVE the city setting, like a 1920s New York type of thing, but it really takes me out when I think how fast they went from one to the other (it has been what? Fifty-sixty years? That was way too quick). They probably wanted to differentiate Korra from atla and thought that in a city they could make new and interesting stories (which to be fair seems to be the case) BUT I still think that going from one to the next with no explanation apart from “oh yeah we big fans of tech now” feels kinda cheap. But this is something that I can overlook easily because I’m a big fan of city settings. Also they do a great job at making the city feel interesting and mysterious and full of things to discover so I can’t really complain. I think I just need a couple more episodes to get used to it.

Also Naga and Pabu are amazing, do I really need to add more?

#the legend of korra #tlok #atla #i have to say i liked the first few episodes much more than i thought i would #so now i’m excited

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artyblogs · 5 years ago

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Across the Frozen Sea ch10

Star Wars the Clone Wars, Ahsoka/Barriss/Riyo

Across the Frozen Sea summary: Ahsoka, Barriss, and Riyo find themselves stranded in the Pantoran Taiga. They must get back to civilization, but the wilds are more dangerous than they realize. If the cold doesn’t get them, the locals will.

First Chapter : Previous Chapter

Chapter 10: The Frozen Sea

Barriss feels sick. She's been sick before, but she's never felt an innate sense of empty urgency that she feels now. The feeling in her hands are deadened at the wrists, like she's been sitting on them long enough for all the blood to flow out. Similarly, where her Force Sense would have billowed beyond her body to fill the immediate room and somewhat beyond, it is now contained within herself. There is her skin, and her clothes on her skin, and the cold air and snow on her face and hands, but there is nothing else. Barriss wakes up disoriented for the lack of the Force. It's like losing a limb.

The culprit is the pair of cuffs clasped around her wrists. It would be a familiar sight, only this time, the cuffs have an electrical component. Even though there is no indication of it; no mark or engraving of any kind, Barriss knows that these cuffs are Force inhibitor cuffs.

This time, Barriss lies on a plane of ice that extends out in all directions until the edges are swallowed in the gloom. Snow falls from the cloudy night sky, blanketing everything in a thick layer of frost. Barriss' cloak already has a thin crust of ice on it. Defiance and its piers are a distant landmark in the gaping expanse of the darkness surrounding her.

Ahsoka lies next to her, and Barriss is startled to find her so close. Without the Force, there is no Force Bond, and despite their physical proximity, there might as well be a chasm yawning between them. Ahsoka is also in the same Force inhibitor cuffs, but she's also draped in chains. They wrap around her shoulders, and her chest and wind down her torso until they reach her hands. Heavy padlocks keep them in place.

Before them is Riyo, who sits upright on the ice. She is cuffed and her feet and ankles are chained to a couple duracrete blocks.

Both Riyo and Ahsoka watch Sprekker Jok, but while the only sign of anger on Riyo's face is the slightest crinkle between her eyebrows, the look on Ahsoka's face is downright murderous, with her lips peeled back from her pointed teeth and her eyes wide and focused. A low growl emanates from within her chest.

Sprekker watches them all dispassionately. The remaining two bounty hunters are here too, only they are busy chipping out a hole in the ice using picks. If it were under other circumstances, it'd be impressive.

Beyond the bounty hunters are a couple hover sleds laden with more cinder blocks and chains. No doubt meant for them, judging by Riyo's example.

Riyo glares up at Sprekker, and try as she might, the subtle tremble of her shoulders betrays how frightened she really is. "Why?"

Sprekker's eyes have never been so hard and so cold. "With your death, Uncle Chi's death will be avenged."

Riyo balks. "Chairman Cho, Chairman Chi Cho, he was your uncle?"

"Yes. I'm a junior; my father was named Sprekker Jok Senior, and he was Chi Cho's illegitimate brother. They were raised together. When my father died during one of Uncle Chi's military campaigns, Uncle Chi took me in and raised me like a son."

"Should I have known that?" Riyo asks.

"No one outside the Cho family knows it. Uncle didn't formally announce the adoption and after he turned out to like me better than his actual son, the rest of the Cho family preferred to keep their distance." Sprekker scowls. "But then Uncle died. I thought that perhaps Auntie and Rommeruk would want vengeance for your treachery, but no, they didn't! Instead, Auntie suggests an alliance!"

"So it falls to you to take revenge?" Riyo asks, incredulous.

"Yes, it does! And after you're finally dead, I'll be free of this responsibility. You don't comprehend, Senator, how difficult it was to befriend you. How much patience it took, how much planning and credits I sunk into this. Nor do you understand how worthy I consider the investment. It's a relief that you and Rommeruk didn't get married after all; it'd be more difficult for me to kill my cousin's wife," Sprekker says, his face twisting into something ugly.

"Wait, that means Rommeruk really was a good guy after all?" Ahsoka asks.

Sprekker gives a short bark of surprised laughter. "Of all the questions you have…yes! My cousin is actually a pacifist and good with kids. You really should have given him a chance."

"Let the Jedi go, Sprekker. Whatever it is between us, it doesn't concern them," Riyo says.

"It is a shame that they should be collateral, but no. I'm not stupid, Riyo. I know they are the reason why you were able to escape the first time. But perhaps it is best that you escaped so that we can have a drowning now. A proper drowning for a proper Pantoran," Sprekker says.

Barriss subtly scoots over to Ahsoka and whispers, "I have a plan."

"Good, because I can't break through durasteel. What're you thinking?" Ahsoka whispers back.

"If I can get one hand free from the cuffs, it might be enough for me to use the Force and free us all."

"Yeah, okay, but how are you gonna free that hand? The bounty hunters have our lightsabers, so we can't cut them open."

Barriss grimaces. "You'll need to break my wrist."

Ahsoka pulls away, open horror on her face. "No."

"Do you have any ideas? Because I'm open to suggestions."

Ahsoka's mouth curls into a snarl, and Barriss almost retreats in alarm until she realizes that Ahsoka's truly frustrated with herself, not with Barriss and her request. Her blue eyes flicker as she tries to desperately come up with something—anything. Anything at all.

"Break my wrist instead," Ahsoka whispers.

"Can you undo all the locks at once? Because that is what you'll have to do." Anything less would turn out awful for them.

More snarling, and even some growling, but Ahsoka ultimately quiets. She must have cycled through the entire grieving process within the past second; Barriss certainly watched it play out over her face.

Barriss scoots forward again. "If there's one thing that this trip has taught me, it is that success is a sliding scale. A broken wrist is a small price to pay for our overall survival. Ahsoka, please. I wouldn't ask you to do it if I could do it myself."

Ahsoka's eyebrow marks knit together in worry, then she wriggles close and reaches out as far as the chains will let her. She holds Barriss's left hand in hers.

"Like this?" She asks, a little defeated. Her warm breath comes out against Barriss's forehead.

"Yes," Barriss whispers. A horrid, sinking feeling settles in her stomach, and she tries her best to relax.

"I'm sorry, Barriss."

"Don't you dare feel bad about this," Barriss whispers. It'd be better if there was a stick for her to bite down on, but as it is, her clothes will have to do. She tucks her chin in and bites down on the purple material of her hood.

"Ready," Barriss whispers through the cloth.

SNAP.

Barriss whimpers and recoils as Ahsoka breaks her wrist, sending sharp pain lancing through her arm. She hates this. Hates that Ahsoka did this to her. Hates that she asked her to do it. Barriss pulls her hand through the narrow pinch of the cuff until it's free.

Free. The Force cuts through the pain, tingling in her nerves and in her bones. Barriss grasps the tiny sliver of the Force she can feel and doesn't let go.

At Barriss' whimper, everyone else turns to look. Riyo gasps, and the bounty hunters start towards them, but Barriss clenches her teeth and draws in a deep breath. She closes her eyes, reaches out through the Force, and twists.

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.

All the cuffs and all the padlocks clipped to the chains pop open and fall into the snow. Riyo stares down at her freed hands, her mouth open in amazement. The bounty hunters stop in their tracks, and Sprekker blanches. Ahsoka shrugs out of her chains and lets them fall into the powdered snow. Her eyes and teeth flash in the low light.

Sprekker and the bounty hunters draw their blasters, but Ahsoka reaches out and summons them from their hands and catches them. The last goes wide and skitters across the ice until it's lost in the snow. Ahsoka crushes the remaining blasters in her fists, making them crack and spark as they're warped beyond functionality.

Sprekker turns and kicks Riyo's duracrete blocks into the hole, where they disappear into the dark water with a splash. The chains that are pulled through the blocks and around Riyo's ankles aren't fastened with a lock, and they hold fast as they drag her drag her belly-down across the ice. Riyo shrieks and rakes her fingers across the surface, sending snow everywhere as she searches for a handhold, but in vain. She takes a deep breath before she's swallowed up by the sea.

Sprekker runs towards the hover sleds.

Ahsoka winds back, her arm flexing, and pitches the two crushes blasters as hard as she can. The first hits a bounty hunter's helmet, cracking the visor in two and caving in the forehead to a devastating degree. He falls through the ice with a splash. The other blaster smashes into one of the hover sleds. The duracrete blocks and chains spill onto the ice, breaking it open. One of the sleds falls through the ice as it tips over.

Sprekker ducks and runs past the sleds. His boots keep inches ahead of a quickly-forming spiderweb of fine cracks in the ice.

PEW. The last bounty hunter shoots at Ahsoka, who merely palms the bolt of red light away with the Force and rushes at him. The blaster bolt fizzles out in the snow.

"Riyo!" Barriss goes to the edge of the hole and sees nothing but black water. She cradles her injured arm to her chest and tries not to panic. Riyo's down there. She's down there and sinking further and further by the second. But even now, Barriss can sense Riyo's light in the Force. Tiny, like a candle. A candle that's flickering out.

"Here." Ahsoka gently presses the cool hilt of Barriss's lightsaber into her good hand, then reaches up to pull her parka off.

"No, no. It's too cold; you'd drown too. I'll do it. I can sense that far down," Barriss mutters. She doesn't even bother asking what happened to the last bounty hunter.

"Then how can I help?" Ahsoka asks.

"Arrest Sprekker."

Just like that, Ahsoka's gone, sprinting across the frozen sea towards Defiance. Sprekker is a distant figure, but he's slipping and sliding all over the ice, and he's not so far away that a Togruta Jedi can't catch up.

Barriss clips her lightsaber to her belt, closes her eyes and whips the Force down through the water towards Riyo. Down, down, down, until the current isn't harsh, until the pressure is too much, until where the light would thin if it were daytime. Barriss cuts down through it all until she lashes around Riyo; a tiny body in the vast expanse of the ocean. Barriss pulls, but finds Riyo tangled.

Of all things, she is tangled in a fishing net, and it gives an answering tug.

Barriss closes her lips around a sob. No, she thinks. No. It simply isn't possible. The Force is the Force and while the locals may invent masks for It that fit their views, the Force is still the Force.

The Force does not have a fishing net because It doesn't need one; the Force does not gather drowning people. And yet here they are, and there the net is, and it coils possessively around Riyo.

Barriss surprises herself by wrenching it away with the Force. Whatever it is, it has no business around Riyo.

The net presses in, adamant, but Barriss maintains a shell of the Force around Riyo. It's not something she can keep up forever, however. Barriss will eventually run out of energy, and then whatever is down there will be free to take Riyo for themselves. Barriss will have to find a different way and if she can't do it through brute force, then….

Barriss's vision goes hazy from tears. Her good hand is clenched tight above the hole in the ice and the other is throbbing with blood and pain and she is shaking from the effort of staying upright.

All around Barriss, the cracks form as fine as lace. If she doesn't let go of Riyo now and lie down, she will be dragged under the same as the sunken hover sled. And if the ice is that fragile here, then it must also be the same everywhere else, and Ahsoka is the heaviest of all of them.

From a distance, in the direction that Ahsoka went, comes the crack of breaking ice. Barriss looks, but doesn't see anything but the darkness of night.

Barriss cannot imagine a galaxy without either of them, but however such a galaxy would be, it would also be so cruel, so ruthless, so incredibly lonely. She wasn't lying when she told Riyo that the galaxy would be poorer if she and Ahsoka would leave it.

"Please! Please don't. Don't take them," Barriss manages to whisper through her closing throat. She would do pretty much anything to save them, even beg alleged gods.

There is a terrible moment where the net lingers, unrelenting, but then is whisked away as if it had never existed. As if whatever was down there heard what Barriss was thinking. The chain unravels from around Riyo's ankles and sinks down into the depths of the ocean.

Barriss cries and pulls again. This time, Riyo rises unheeded through the water.

-----

The falling snow makes the ice slippery. Ahsoka maintains a steady pace as she follows Sprekker with a single-minded focus, and she's getting closer and closer with each measured step.

Sprekker was Riyo's friend. Riyo trusted him, and he ended up literally shooting them in the back. In the back! Riyo's back. Barriss' back. And now Barriss is hurt and Riyo has been plunged into the sea.

Barriss had said to arrest him, which means Ahsoka needs to bring him in alive, but no one said anything about what state he had to be in.

CRACK.

The ice splinters beneath Ahsoka's feet, and she falters and tries to step away, only for the cracks to follow her. Cracks of all size form in the ice around her, and the Force blares a warning in her head. Several feet away, Sprekker also slows down as he picks his way across the flimsy ice. But he's still moving too fast and too recklessly.

"Sprekker, stop! You'll fall in!" Ahsoka shouts.

Sprekker glances over his shoulder at her, but keeps going. All the while, the ice keeps crumbling and the Force's warning gets louder and louder in her montrals until it's deafening.

Ahsoka slowly gets down on her stomach, with her arms stretched out before her. With her head this close, she can actually hear the ice creaking and snapping beneath her.

Stay.

Ahsoka stills on the ice. A pressure builds up over her back, as if pinning her in place, as prickly as being held by an oversized mouth full of knives. She has felt, or known, the Force to be so commanding before, on Mortis, but it's also different somehow. It's wilder, more animated and more dangerous. If she didn't know any better, she'd classify it as the Dark Side, except it isn't malicious at all. Whatever it is, she must obey, and whatever is happening, she must not interfere. Ahsoka's hands flatten over the ice in surrender.

Sprekker smirks back at her and keeps walking towards Defiance at a more sedate pace.

CRACK.

Sprekker falls through the ice with a shout. One second he is there, and the next he has sunk down to his waist. His hands spring out over the ice, keeping himself from sinking any further, and he scrambles to float on his belly. He gives a dark, relieved chuckle as he begins to crawl forward.

Ahsoka's hands twitch. She could try to summon him with the Force, but she's never summoned anything of his size from so far away before. It proves to be a moot point, however, as Sprekker is pulled under by the same invisible presence that pins Ahsoka to the ice. His scream is cut short as he's dragged into the sea, and in the Force, his presence disappears. Like he was never there.

The teeth retreat and the pressure on Ahsoka's back dissipates, freeing her.

"What the kark," Ahsoka whispers as she carefully gets up. "What the kark? What the kark was that?"

Whatever it is, it's still lingering beneath the ice, slowly circling her. Ahsoka takes a few careful steps to the right, and it follows her, as if curious. If Ahsoka goes back to Barriss and Riyo now, she will lead it right to them.

Ahsoka instinctively turns in a circle to face the unknown predator as it swims around her. While she has never hunted an apex aquatic predator before, one that—judging by the power with which it dragged Sprekker into the sea—is probably at least twice her size, it should be relatively easy. She calculates how she might jump, dive through the ice, and catch the thing with a surprise attack.

The ice is thin enough and she has the Force. She could do it.

She'll do it if that's what it takes to keep Barriss and Riyo safe.

Despite how fun that sounds, Ahsoka knows that this is no ordinary creature. She holds a hand out in the its direction and reaches out in the Force to it.

She finds this monster to be a behemoth of a shark, thirty feet long and blind and ancient. A mixed school of lamprey and other fish swim around it, like an escort, or a procession.

Ahsoka breathes in deep as she concedes to the shark. Barriss said to arrest Sprekker, but he was never theirs to take, was he?

The monster takes one last lazy lap around Ahsoka before it peels off and swims away, not towards Defiance, but not towards Barriss and Riyo either. Ahsoka waits until it's far away, then huffs and lowers her arm.

The hole that Sprekker fell through is already freezing over. Ahsoka gives it one last long look before she leaves the way she came.

-----

Riyo emerges from the water, splashing everywhere. Barriss sets her down on the ice and kneels at her side, but she remains unresponsive, with her head lolling to the side.

"Riyo?" Barriss places her good hand over Riyo's nose and mouth, but feels no air. She's not breathing. Barriss presses two fingers against Riyo's neck instead and feels the slightest pulse. She's alive, but only just. Riyo's aura is quickly disappearing in the Force, and Barriss hurries to treat her as best she can with just one hand.

Open the patient's mouth. Make sure that the tongue is out of the way of the windpipe, then tilt the head back to ensure airflow.

A horrible gasping noise escapes Riyo's throat, but Riyo herself doesn't stir.

Barriss ignores the sinking feeling in her gut and pinches Riyo's nose shut.

Make a seal over the patient's mouth with yours and give two breaths. Look to see if the patient's chest rises and falls. If the chest doesn't rise, then the seal is deficient. Try again.

Ahsoka comes out of the darkness and kneels at Riyo's other side.

"What's wrong with her?"

Barriss pauses to take Ahsoka in. Unhurt. Alive. Not at the bottom of the ocean. "She's not breathing. Have you been trained in emergency aid?"

Ahsoka nods. "Do you need me to do the compressions?"

"Yes."

Put the heel of your hand in the center of the patient's chest. Place the other hand over the first. Lock your elbows and press down two inches at a rate of about a hundred to a hundred and twenty times per minute. Let the chest rise completely between compressions.

"Come on, Riyo!" Ahsoka shouts, her teeth clenched.

Barriss keeps Riyo's nose pinched shut, but carefully watches Riyo's face for any change.

Do two breaths every thirty chest compressions. Do this until the patient starts breathing, or emergency help arrives.

Emergency help will not arrive. Barriss and Ahsoka are the emergency help. There is no one else.

There is no one else.

It is just Barriss and Ahsoka and Riyo in the middle of this frozen wasteland with all this falling snow.

Barriss breathes into Riyo's mouth and Ahsoka presses on Riyo's chest. If she needs lungs, here they are. If she needs a heart, here they are. There is so much here they can give Riyo, if she would wake up and ask.

Riyo chokes and Barriss lets go and leans back.

"Hurk!" Riyo rolls onto her side and spits up what must be almost a liter of water; it spills out of her mouth and onto the snow around them.

Ahsoka pumps her fist in the air and whoops. "Yeah!"

"Ugh!" Riyo cries and clutches her chest as she sucks in air and has a coughing fit.

"There you are." Barriss leans over her and carefully smoothes her wet hair from her face, then holds it back as she continues to cough.

"Sprekker? Where's Sprekker?" Riyo wheezes. Her face is scrunched in pain.

"Don't worry about him," Ahsoka says. She squats down next to Riyo and thumps her on the back, helping her cough up even more water. When Riyo finally runs dry, Ahsoka switches to rubbing circles over her back. Riyo curls up between them and shivers.

"Are you two all right?" Riyo asks, her voice small and hoarse.

"Never better. Are you up for traveling?" Barriss asks. Riyo nods.

"Cool, let's go home." Ahsoka scoops Riyo up into her arms and together, the three of them head towards the remaining hover sled.

-----

Riyo's hospital room is full of tokens from well-wishers. Almost every horizontal surface is covered in bouquets and cards. There are even some plush toy bears. Riyo sits up in bed, fully dried and warmed and awake. Her light purple hair has been pulled into a half-updo, and the rest tumbles over her shoulders and down her back. There is a tray on Riyo's lap, and on the tray are thank you cards. Her secretary stands at the side of the bed with folders of more cards under their arm, and they swap out the signed ones for fresh ones and gently inform her which ones are for who. There must be cards for everyone who sent flowers, and more. Riyo dutifully signs them all, and when she's done, the secretary shuffles the flimsi together and bids Riyo a good rest. They give Barriss and Ahsoka a polite nod before leaving.

Ahsoka sits next to her, in a position to see both the door and the window clearly. It's toasty in here, so her parka hangs from the back of her chair. Ahsoka's hand is over her mouth and nose to protect her from the strongest smelling flowers. One or two is fine, but this place might as well be a nursery. Riyo must have noticed her discomfort, because she calls a nurse and asks her to distribute the flowers to other patients. The nurses transfer most of the bouquets to a cart and wheel them out. When the door closes again, it's blissfully quiet, only for Riyo to open a small packet of gummy snacks as she leans back against the pillows; the plastoid packaging crinkles in her hands.

She pops a gummy in her mouth and chews, then holds the packet out to them. "Want some? It's meiloorun."

Barriss, who sits on Riyo's other side, reaches into the little bag with her good hand.

"I'm sorry about your wrist, Barriss," Riyo says.

Barriss has strategically placed herself opposite of Ahsoka the entire time they've been in this hospital so that Riyo is never alone and never too far from either of them. Her left sleeve has been unbuttoned and rolled up to make room for her cast. It extends from her knuckles all the way up her forearm, but stops at her elbow. There is no tension in Barriss' shoulders. No worry in her brow. There is just her clear blue eyes and the most sincere smile that Ahsoka's ever seen on her face.

Barriss eats a gummy and puts her hand over the cast.

"Don't be. It's not your fault and I have no regrets." She pauses, her eyes unsure. "Would you both like to sign it?"

The corners of Riyo's mouth turn up. "I'd like that very much. Here, you go first, Ahsoka." And she offers the stylus.

Ahsoka takes the stylus and scoots the chair closer. Barriss climbs onto the bed and reaches across Riyo's lap.

"Although, it might need to be in a discrete place," Barriss says. Ahsoka hums, then takes Barriss' hand in both of hers. There's a twinge of guilt in her chest. She did this. Yeah, Barriss did ask her to, but still.

"It'll heal in two months," Barriss says.

"That's a long time."

"That's actually quite short compared to the convalescence of non-sensitives." Barriss smiles up at her. "Two months, and no surgery required. It's a pretty good deal."

"I'm sure the pain tabs are sublime too," Riyo says.

Barriss hesitates, then says, "They are very nice."

Ahsoka looks here and there over Barriss' pristine cast, then gently turns it over to reveal the underside.

"Here?" She asks. Barriss nods, as if her voice has stopped working. What should she write? Get well soon? Her com code? Fragile: handle with care? Ahsoka carefully draws a heart shape as neatly as she can on Barriss' wrist and colors it in.

"Done." Ahsoka reluctantly lets go and returns the stylus to Riyo. "Are…you wearing lipstick?"

"Where did you get that? Where were you keeping it?" Barriss asks.

Riyo is indeed wearing dark blue lipstick when she wasn't a minute ago, and she waves their questions away. "Do you want me to sign it or not?"

Barriss, bewildered, holds out her hand. Riyo holds it still in her hands, leans down, and kisses the inside of Barriss's wrist, just under Ahsoka's note.

Ahsoka lets out a shocked, but delighted gasp, not just at the shameless display, but at Barriss's sudden turmoil in the Force and the deep blush spreading across her face.

Riyo lets go and wipes her mouth on a napkin, getting rid of the lipstick. "Sorry, did I go too far?"

Barriss stares down at the blue lipstick mark. "No," she says after a long moment.

"We could get rid of it," Riyo says, but Barriss turns away, protecting the cast.

"No!"

Ahsoka laughs. Riyo giggles and tosses the napkin in the trash can.

There's a knock on the door, and it opens, revealing Rommeruk Cho. His hat is pinned under his arm and in his hands he holds a bouquet.

"Senator," he says.

"Your Grace," Riyo says.

"I'm very sorry about my cousin." And here, he gives the flowers to Riyo, who accepts them with a small 'thank you.'

"And I'm very sorry about the Summit."

Riyo stills. "What? What happened?"

"Nothing! With you and Sprekker gone most of the time, I had to mediate. War almost broke out no less than three separate times. It wouldn't have happened if you were mediating."

"No, it wouldn't have," Riyo says. "You really didn't know what Sprekker was up to?"

Rommeruk shakes his head again. "He estranged himself shortly after my father's death. We…disagreed on how to move on. I can't help but feel responsible. The Summit is over now, but nothing much was agreed upon. Our people still don't trust each other."

"Always so cynical. The fact is that the Talz trusted us enough to let their most important leaders step foot on this moon for several days. Progress, no matter how small, is still progress."

The corner of Rommeruk's mouth turns up and he turns his hat around in his hands. "Still so optimistic. I can't see how Sprekker or my father thought Pantora would be better off without you. Riyo, if I may…."

Riyo sets the flowers to the side and gives him her full attention, her gold eyes sharp. "If you are about to do what I think you're going to do, don't. We've talked about this before, and we've talked many times. Such an arrangement wouldn't be fair to either of us. And I've told you my reasons."

"Yes, you have." Rommeruk looks directly at Ahsoka as he says this, his eyes piercing, and she almost flinches back. She realizes that she's been leaning forward in her chair throughout the entire exchange, with her fingers clenched in her lap. Too late, Ahsoka tries to keep a neutral expression on her face.

Why is this guy here? Sure, he wasn't behind the abduction after all, and sure, he's nicer than he appears to be, but can't he just leave already? The sooner that Ahsoka doesn't have to look at his punchable face, the better.

Rommeruk glances at Barriss too, then returns to Riyo. "If I never ask, then you'll never have to say 'no,' and both of our dignities are spared."

"That was the deal," Riyo gently says.

Rommeruk snorts, then gives a slight bow. "I'll be in touch, Senator. I hope you get better soon."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

And with that, Rommeruk turns and leaves the room. The door clicks shut after him, and Riyo lets out a long sigh.

"What a creep," Ahsoka mutters. "He wants to marry you, but he doesn't even like you."

"Ahsoka, that's very unkind of you!" Barriss says.

"Don't pretend you disagree. He doesn't take Riyo's opinions seriously, so he doesn't take Riyo seriously, which means he doesn't like her."

"That's not what the gossip rags say," Riyo says.

"The gossip rags can shove it."

"I…well, the tabloids are rather malicious," Barriss says.

BEEP.

Riyo's data pad lights up from its place on the side table. Ahsoka picks it up and hands it to Riyo, who swipes across the screen to read. She frowns.

"What is it?" Barriss asks.

"The Jedi Order messaged me. Now that the Summit is over, they're asking when to expect you to return," Riyo says.

Ahsoka clicks her tongue and looks away. Barriss just sighs.

"We will return when you are well enough to travel. We will…." Here, Barriss's voice wavers, but she continues. "We will report to the Council and we will respectfully resign from the Order."

One of Riyo's eyebrows goes up. "Just like that?"

"Yes. It's rather drastic, but it can't be helped. I've looked into registering as a conscientious objector, but the Jedi don't allow for that sort of thing."

"But if you are generals and commanders in this war, then you are beholden to military law, and military law allows for soldiers and officers to develop conscientious objections and to abstain from fighting."

"Usually, you would be correct, but the relationship between the Jedi and the Republic is made up of exceptions. We are not Republic citizens, but we command the GAR. We command the GAR, but we are not subjected to military law. I would rather not wade into that mess," Barriss says.

A sly smile spreads across Riyo's face at that. "It sounds like you've been brushing up on your line of reasoning, Barriss. When did you do that?"

"It was gonna happen eventually; you're a bad influence," Ahsoka says. Riyo laughs.

Barriss frowns. "I'll admit that I'm concerned of our path outside of the Order. When we leave, then what would we do? How would be do it? We've not much by way of credits, and we don't have a ship, and we won't have any identichips either. No citizenship means no clearance, and no support."

"How many credits do you have? Would they follow you out of the Order?" Riyo asks.

"Yes, because the accounts are with the Banking Clan," Barriss says.

"I have about one thousand credits," Ahsoka says.

"And I have a bit more than two thousand," Barriss says.

"Three thousand credits?" Riyo taps her chin as she thinks. "Give me five days and I'll flip it for eight."

Barriss squints. "How?"

"If you have to ask, it's not a gift," Riyo says.

Barriss's nose scrunches. "I don't like that, but I won't ask. Tell me no one will get hurt."

Riyo raises her hand. "No one will get hurt."

"There see? We'll be fine," Ahsoka says. "Riyo, can we stay at your place until we figure stuff out?"

"Of course! Anytime," Riyo says.

"And as for a ship, I mean, I could always slice one," Ahsoka says.

"Who said you'd have to steal?" Riyo asks. She reaches out, and Ahsoka automatically takes her hand. Riyo lightly tugs, and Ahsoka joins them on the bed.

"Who told you that you'd have to steal a ship, Ahsoka?" Riyo asks in a low voice. Their faces are so close that her breath tickles Ashoka's nose. Her heart thuds in her chest.

So this is how Barriss must have felt when Riyo kissed her wrist. Ahsoka's dimly aware of how Barriss watches them from the other side of the bed, her fascination leaking through the Force Bond. Damn if it isn't the smoothest thing Ahsoka's ever seen Riyo do, and her mouth turns dry, but a teasing glint in Riyo's eyes jolts Ahsoka back to her senses.

Oh. That's how it is, huh? Well, Ahsoka can play too.

"Would you get us a ship if I asked you nicely?" And at that, Ahsoka lowers her gaze to Riyo's mouth.

Riyo's eyes flicker. To her credit, she doesn't move away at all.

"Ask me nicely," Riyo whispers, teasing save for the spike of pure want cutting through her humor. It's hidden as fast as it appears, but it's too late. Ahsoka sobers from the sheer magnitude of it. How can emotions so intense be housed in such a small body? And how can Ahsoka not hold feelings just a fierce in return?

There is no shying away either. Not this time. There are no blinders to divert Ahsoka's attention and there are no reasons why she should box away her wants the way she's always done before. And by the Force, does Ahsoka ever want.

Ahsoka wants to kiss Riyo. She wants to curl around her like how they did in the Moonlit Monastery. She wants to pull the collar of Riyo's shirt aside and press her mouth to the yellow tattoos woven over the tops of her shoulders.

There's a spike of surprise through the Force Bond, and Ahsoka glances past Riyo to Barriss, who is blushing under her lumen. Was…was Ahsoka broadcasting that through the Force? Oh no.

But instead of leaving in disgust, Barriss stays. She stays and her fingers curl in her lap, crumpling the material of her skirt in her fists. Like she's holding herself back.

That just won't do, but Ahsoka will get to that. She looks back to Riyo.

But Riyo pulls back, flushed indigo. "I mean, of course I was joking. You and Barriss aren't obligated…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…."

Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have, but Ahsoka started it. She started it and she might as well finish it too, as it's the responsible thing to do. Ahsoka leans in and kisses Riyo, catching the corner of her mouth. Riyo gasps, and a sharp thrill zings through her aura. After a moment, she lays an cautious hand on Ahsoka's arm and turns her head for a proper kiss. Riyo is soft against Ahsoka's mouth and blazing hot. Sweet too, because of that candy.

Ahsoka is careful or her teeth and makes sure not to bite down, even as Riyo responds with rising insistence. Her fingers skim up Ahsoka's arm and curl around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Ahsoka's montrals pick up the quickening thrum of Riyo's pulse, and she is so very pleased. She's doing that to Riyo. She caused that.

When Ahsoka finally sits back, contented, she leaves Riyo breathless and dazed, her pupils are blown wide open. A dopey smile slowly spreads across Riyo's face as she turns to Barriss.

Barriss still hasn't left, and the Force around her is a mess of swirling emotion. She looks down as if she hasn't been watching. As if she didn't also sense that lapse in Riyo's mental shields. As if she hasn't felt what Ahsoka felt through the Force Bond they share.

"What about you?" Ahsoka asks.

Barriss' eyes widen. "What about me?"

"Do you want one too?"

"So you're just giving them out today, huh?" Barriss' voice cracks and she clears her throat. Ahsoka scoots across the bed to Barriss, so close that their hips touch.

"Only to Riyo, and to you if you want them," Ahsoka says. Behind her, Riyo gives a strangled noise.

"If I want them," Barriss repeats, her voice soft. "If I want them from the both of you."

"Yeah," Ahsoka says.

A torn look passes over Barriss' face. She was always more methodical, always had to examine an issue or situation thoroughly to the point of exhaustion. It might too much too soon. A pang goes through Ahsoka's heart, and she moves to shift back.

"Yeah, it's a little fast, isn't it? I'm sorry."

But Barriss' hand falls over Ahsoka's and holds fast. Ahsoka stills.

"Barriss?"

Barriss finally glances up, her blue eyes clear and sure, then flutter closed as she leans in and presses her lips to Ahsoka's.

The Force flares around them in response, bright and warm. Ahsoka gathers Barriss into her lap as she kisses back, making Barriss melt around her. Compared to the intensity of the last kiss, this one remains slow and patient. Barriss breaks the kiss to breathe and drops her forehead against Ahsoka's shoulder. She hooks her fingers into the material of Ahsoka's dress and shakes.

Riyo ducks to better see. "Barriss, are you crying?"

"No…yes," Barriss mumbles.

"Damn. I was that bad, huh?" Ahsoka says.

Barriss gives a watery chuckle. "No, I'm just really happy."

Ahsoka hugs her tight and looks at Riyo over her shoulder. Riyo's grinning like a fool, and Ahsoka must be doing the same, because her cheeks hurt.

"Your bed on Coruscant, is it big enough for all of us?" Now that Ahsoka has the two of them, there's no way she's ever letting go.

Riyo shakes her head. "It's not, but I can fix that."

-----

Reindeer Ridge can't be found on a map, nor has it been found by any other travelers. There is no recorded history of it in any database.

Vuyo Kortzeer tried reconnecting with his ex fiancé, but she already moved on. That's ok though, because he found someone else and married her. Sanele Kortzeer got her degree and moved to Kark You Pay Me, Pantora to help develop the town.

Anathi Mafoo and his family donated the hunted seals to the people of Bravado. His eldest son, Dumi, returned from exile and inherited the Count title. Thandi never quite got the hang of the uhadi, but was able to tour Pantora by playing the batanga as part of a band.

Nanuk, his wife Yuka, their friends Osha and Ujarak, and the rest of the Breede Ice Ferry passengers survived the bounty hunter attack without any injuries and got to their destination safely.

Priestess Kupun made it back to the Moonlight Monastery by taxi. Riyo bought High Priestess Estuuya and the priestesses a new speeder to replace the one she, Barriss, and Ahsoka stole, and also donated enough credits to fix the damaged classroom. The priestesses are very grateful.

Riyo became Ahsoka's and Barriss' financier and treasurer. After Barriss and Ahsoka quit the Jedi, Riyo provided them with the proper flimsies, identichips with clearance, and the equipment they need to travel the galaxy and help people. It's all far too expensive for a Senator's salary, but they don't ask where it came from and Riyo doesn't tell them where she got it all. Riyo joins them on their adventures when she can.

Ahsoka and Barriss went on to cause a major and successful slave rebellion in Hutt Space. They each have seven figure bounties on their heads and have been deified on a couple planets for their efforts. After every adventure, they come back to Riyo.

The three of them are very, very happy.

-----

Want to read this on Ao3 or on FF.net? Click here for the links.

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #Ahsoka Tano #barriss offee #riyo chuchi #fanfiction #fanfic #artillery writes

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gatecoeur · 5 years ago

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Arelette’s Martial Arts Background

PREFACE: I am by no means an expert in martial arts.

I did have limited training in various styles (Karate, Shaolin Wushu, the TINIEST amount of Wing Chun and Tae Kwon Do, to be exact), and I’ve had an interest in the subject my entire life, so yes, I’ve done some research, but also please consider that I am susceptible to making mistakes (especially in the boxing section cuz lord knows how much I don’t know about the sport). If I have, please let me know!

Also, you may have already noticed, I am not going to use the word kung fu in this VERY long headcanon blurb, but the word wushu instead. Even though we colloquially have come to understand any form of Chinese Boxing as kung fu, the word itself actually means “to master an art” (idk in which Chinese dialect tho, sorry); it’s technically applicable to other artistic skills like cooking and painting. Wushu on the other hand means “the art of war”, and is used as an umbrella term in *insert proper Chinese dialect here* when referring to any Chinese martial arts style.

I want to give the language a chance to be properly understood, as the improper use of the word kung fu (I’m guessing) was probably a result of Britain’s colonial occupation in China, so that’s why I’m doing it.

Anyways, the full headcannon’s under the cut, so if you’re interested, read away!

Here’s a comprehensive list and explanation behind every martial arts style Arelette is canonically proficient in:

Tai Chi (also written as Taijiquan)

As you may or may not know, Arelette was hospitalized at the age of 7 due to episodes of extreme pain. After five months of no improvement to her chronic pain, she was admitted under HumGen’s care. HumGen was rather adamant about keeping Arrie physically active, as it was a well-known combatant of chronic pain, and determined that Tai Chi was the perfect starting point for her.

However, as you can imagine, a 7 year old is going to be VERY angry about being forced to do something that is generally perceived to be an activity for old people. However, Arelette’s Shifu, who also happened to be one of the doctors at HumGen, was having absolutely NONE of her shit, and dared her to punch him. Arrie of course listened, and her Shifu blocked it, before demonstrating to her a slowed-down version of his block.

From that point on, Arelette was absolutely hooked, and trained almost daily. Later masters of hers would often commend her on her focus and control over her breathing, despite being so young.

Kyokushin Karate

In 2002, Montréal’s martial arts community was buzzing about an up-and-coming professional who had won in his debut match by a knockout in the first round; a Québecois man by the name of Georges St. Pierre. Arelette, being an impressionable 8 year old kid when it happened, was absolutely obsessed, and learned that Georges had studied a specific school of karate that had a particular focus on full-contact sparring.

It took her a while to convince HumGen doctors to let her study Kyokushin, being worried about her pain and all. In the end though, the organization did hire a Sensei that Arelette trained with twice a week.

She still continued her Tai Chi training, much to everyone’s surprise, but the art was basically on the back burner for her by the time she was 12. Arelette got her Karate black belt when she was just shy of 15 years old.

Wing Chun

Oh come on, you knew this was coming. It’s 2008. Ip Man comes out. If you think for ONE HOT SECOND that Arelette managed to get her grubby little hands on it, but was later so obsessed with it that she started imitating Donnie Yen’s moves to the point of memorizing them, then you’re SO wrong. Arelette really appreciated Wing Chun’s style and philosophy, and upon later research, was absolutely amazed to find out that Wing Chun had been originally developed by a woman to teach women to defend themselves.

What’s even better was that there was (and still is) a well-respected school in Montréal that teaches Wing Chun. As soon as Arelette found out, she BEGGED her parents to enroll her; her parents of course obliged, while also enrolling the rest of her siblings. Until Arelette moved out of Montréal, she trained under Grandmaster Nam Anh’s school.

Xiang Xing Quan

Xiang Xing Quan is an umbrella term for the styles of Wushu (usually Shaolin) that focuses on the imitation of animal movements. Arrie is proficient in the Eagle Claw and Fu Jow Pai/Tiger Claw styles, as they’re fairly compatible with her habit of turning her nails into claws. She has also been trained in Shaolin Snake-Style Wushu, as the style focuses on aiming for weak points of the human body.

She studied each style per year that she was living in Québec City, as she did not want to stagnate her martial arts training. She’s not as strong in these styles as her other martial arts studies, due to a lot of tragedies that happened to her in that time, but she’s still proficient enough in them, and tends to use at least some of the techniques rather often.

Also, as a note, this style is the style that Arrie got the mass majority of her weapon-wielding training.

Boxing

Arelette had noted but never understood why so many of the people she had fought tended to either be full-out boxers or had fighting styles that were boxer-esque. She was brought to believe that boxing was an inferior fighting style, but had no choice but to take up the sport as a way of keeping herself fit during her first year living in New York City, since boxing gyms tended to be a bit more on the affordable side for her.

She really underestimated how strategic boxing could be (which she later found strange, since all fighting in the end has to be somewhat strategic), along with how hard it was to limit herself to only her hands. She really appreciated how boxing has given her an insight as to how a lot of her enemies fight. Though she doesn’t hit the boxing gym as much as she did in 2014-2016, she still swings by at least once every week (typically on a Wednesday) to blow off some steam.

Pencak Silat

Once Arrie started accumulating more disposable income, she started looking into a fighting style she had come across during her time in Madripoor, which she had come to learn through research was called Pencak Silat. She was particularly interested in the speed of its movements, plus its focus on striking with elbows and striking against pressure points, having learned from first-hand experience how much it all hurt to take hits from.

She found an underground school in New York City that taught Madripoor’s variant of the fighting style, which is one of the more aggressive and deadlier variants of silat. Due to her other life demands though, this was the style that took her the longest to master, as she had sporadic lessons in between 2017 and the 2023 Blip.

Jeet Kune Do

Another martial arts style that should obviously be on any martial artists’ radar; it was developed by Bruce Lee, after all. Arelette’s been taking sporadic classes since the Blip.

This is due to Jeet Kune Do’s mathematical philosophy of the economy of motion, which more or less promotes the idea that a fighter’s ultimate goal is to conserve both energy and time during a fight. Fair to say, it’s very relevant to Arrie’s career, hence why she took up the style.

#;hc #;skills #;long post #(( in case y'all were wondering what I was up to all day today lmao ))#(( also yeah don't doubt me when I say that Arrie can and will put you flat on your ass in seconds if she wants to ))#(( i have more hc's as to why I picked these styles specifically but I'll go into that in another post lmao ))#(( GOD I LOVE MARTIAL ARTS ))

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