#shadow of kyoshi aftermath

[shellomantic]

rangshi in 2024??? no way heres art because i dont know where else to post this. ive been in a deep rangshi brainrot and there isnt enough content of them so as an artist i feel onliged to make my own content. (ignore the hands)

[foibles-fables]

leave the horror here [atla, rangshi]

ATLA (The Shadow of Kyoshi), rated T, ~8K words

The fever takes hold faster than Kyoshi expected, as though her fretful warning had invited it into being. Worse before better. Even considering the countless mistakes she’s made—back to when she was a rattleboned, unwanted child clutching a little clay turtle tight in her fist—it doesn’t feel good to be right.

In the aftermath of the final tragic confrontation with Yun, Rangi—injured, feverish, grieving—asks Kyoshi for help.

See notes/tags and read the rest on AO3:

[asfearlessasamango]

here i ammmmm i hope this isnt the longest ask ever lol but i cannot overstate how GORGEOUS i find your prose. the phrase “tiredness curls up in each joint like old cats in old corners” is so absolutely evocative and paints such a melancholic, beautiful, rich picture in my mind every time i remember it. i could actually get it tattooed thats how seriously beautiful i find it. most of all i loooooooove the amount of social norms, architectural details, cultural differences etc etc you infused in the story to fill in the gaps of the canon universe. the choice of using of rice paper vs. glass and all the reasoning behind it is the example that comes to mind, but im sure that if i knew more about east asian cultures, i could identify more and more details you scattered throughout the plot to turn this make believe world into a truthful parallel of the real one we have. i can only say bravo. and if you have any recommended reading for homework, i’d love to know more about these references! now back to your writing! one of thee strongest points of the story, for me, is how believable these characters are as people. they feel so fully fleshed out that sometimes it was like intruding on someone’s most private thoughts - even a little painful to keep going, and i mean that in the best way possible! i especially loved the subtle addition of zuko’s ingrained sexism and prejudice against other nations, things that ofc he’s never had reason to unlearn in this universe. he is compassionate, but can be very unkind - seems like a delicate balance, but in your story, it just flows naturally. you inhabit their heads, strengths, flaws and life experiences so well, like sokka’s blind defensiveness when he thinks of himself as helpless, his brashness and ingenuity when he sees zuko more as a puzzle to solve than a person. that goes even people who haven't gotten that much plot attention yet - like azula wearing blue lipstick (!!!!) foaming at the mouth from the thought. OFC she would!!! shes bold, shes confident and shes here to shine + now she allows herself to have fun! do “ugly” and “imperfect” things for fun! and all the parallels between this redeemed azula and the canon zuko we know. your oc who is zuko's guardian, who he calls grandma, hasn't even shown up yet and i already love and miss her. uncle iroh!!!! zuko assuming malice from uncle iroh who only wants the best for him - but ofc he doesnt know that! but we do, and it hurtssss katara and aang!!! the bath scene with aang, zuko’s forced vulnerability, their honesty, aang’s absolute grace towards zuko. suki and the kyoshi warriors! i trust they will get their turn to kick some ignorant prince ass. and the thing that draws me the most to this genre: the exploration of trauma in its aftermath. your storytelling is wonderfully brutal here. like… you draw a white picture by filling in all its shadowy contours…. if that makes sense. all the ways zuko’s life was affected by his father add up to the shape of his hurt. him not eating fatty foods to stay fit and "bend better". recognizing azula in his own reflection instead of himself. wearing his mom’s night clothes. im going feral feral feral whew! in my heart all this would’ve been a very pretty glittery letter sent to your author p.o. box. i love your story and it lives constantly in my imagination - thank you so much for sharing it with the world!!!

ohhhmg.... thank you for this!! i sat on it for a whole minute to respond right! i'm so glad you like it!! i love that you love all these characters' new lives <3 <3

there are so many Very Careful Lines to Walk in doing an ATLA au bc the original characters and cultural stories are really so complex. and i am FAR from an expert on east asian history / cultures but here are a few sources that I found helpful / interesting:

jinian qian's writing for The Millions, especially the articles "The Moon Is Beautiful Tonight: On East Asian Narratives" and "Light in the West and Shadows in the East"

chaoyang trap, which is not at all about ancient china but about very modern chinese cultural existence, especially on the Internet / social media / fandom. I can't say this has directly provided me with a lot of relevant info but it does help me figure out attitude / approaches / how things "translate" into western contexts

and of course there are so many A:TLA blogs that really keep the analytical conversations going and make ao3 as vibrant as it is-- @atlaculture, @boybff, @volkswagonblues, @azularedemptionarcwhen, @chitsangenthusiast, @azulasnailtech, @visit-ba-sing-se, @marriedzukka, @bleekay, @ash-and-starlight, @sokkagatekeeper, @azulapropaganda, @zukkababey, @comradekatara, @ofherlionheart, @chaoticsandstorm

okay i will stop blasting this post into all of atla tumblr's notifs but the above blogs are total Gs, 10/10, would not be as deep into my MFA in a:tla without these trailblazing scholars who went before me

have a lovely vintage kermit meme, mwah

[airspeedprime]

The Shadow of Kyoshi Discussion - Chapter 10 Aftermath

[steebs-nerdy-corner]

Weird Avatar Theory

So after the two Kyoshi novels have swirled around a bit in the old noggin, simmered next to the show and the comics, a bit of an out there theory came to me. Its not something groundbreaking, but it might be a new way to look at the Avatar most by now seem to view as the most milquetoast.

We learned from the novels that Avatars having travelling companions, like Aang did, is not only normal, but fairly traditional. Yangchen had them (two even laying down their lives for her), Kuruk had them, and of course Kyoshi had them. There was even a fair bit of prestige in being an Avatar’s companion: Kuruk’s companions earned fame and infamy throughout the world, and Kyoshi was excited to be an Avatar companion, even briefly, for the mistaken Avatar Yun.

On reflection, there seems to be only one Avatar who doesn’t have a list of travelling companions: Roku. He had bending teachers, we know, and we even hear that many of them become lifelong friends. Thing is, from his flashbacks they seem to be framed as static teachers rather than people who travelled with him across the world.

This might easily just be a case of retconning and oversight years after the series ended, but it got me to thinking... what if Roku was the first Avatar in memory to not have travelling companions? What could be the cause? And how might that have affected his views on the world?

If this was the case, I think the problem might have started with Kuruk. Those who’ve read the novels know there was a lot going on behind the scenes in Kuruk’s life, but in the public view he was seen as a bit of a shiftless Avatar. He had a band of incredible companions with him, powerful benders in their own right and shrewd political minds, yet he seemed to laze about in his 33 years of life, coasting off of Yangchen’s peace (we know this isn’t true but run with it). In the public eye, it probably looked like even though Kuruk was surrounded by companions any Avatar would be proud of, they did nothing to temper his excesses. These were his friends, his closest confidantes, and yet they could barely manage to drag him to important meetings and prop him up so he could pretend to care about what Fire Nation shipping lanes weren’t doing so well this year.

Then we come to Our Lady of Perpetual Asskicking, Kyoshi. An Avatar who mingled with daofei bandits, who swore the oaths to never make an honest living, who not only dragged an otherwise honorable Fire Nation soldier into the shadows, but even seemed to involve an airbender, someone most of the world seems to think as inherently sacred, into schemes of espionage and brutality. Now, you know and I know there’s way more to that story, but I’m more approaching this from what the public would see. We never got a good look at the public reactions to Kyoshi working with bandits, but I have to figure this would come to light sooner or later. She wasn’t exactly subtle about working with them in the first book and I can’t imagine she got more subtle when she contacted them about fighting Yun in the second. Whether it was word from the aftermath at the battle at the Avatar mansion, or sightings from the raid that resurrected the Yellow Neck bandits, or from the duel that scattered them, I figure at some point it would come to light that Kyoshi’s companions, even Rangi, were sworn bandits.

Finally, 200 something years later, we come to Roku, who gets to look back on the past two Avatars and see companions that were competent politicians and benders but poor motivators to the most powerful person on the planet, or were outright wanted criminals who were not above good old fashioned murder of rightful authorities. I wonder if, by that point, the Fire Sages had told him that the idea of travelling companions to the Avatar was a bit outdated. If they couldn’t motivate Kuruk and threatened to corrupt Kyoshi, what made them better than standard, static teachers in the Four Nations?

And so, all this holding true (and again I completely understand this could just be a big misreading of the situation), Roku would have went off on his Avatar training alone. He would have made his friends, of course, we know Gyatso, Sud, and presumably his waterbending teacher made the list, but I don’t think they would have formed as strong a bond with him as past Avatars would have with their travelling companions. There’s a special kind of bond when you’re really travelling with someone, after all: you’ve bickered, you’ve shared incredible experiences, you’ve shared incredible lows, you’ve seen each other at your most vulnerable, and you’ve been there for each other when the rest of the world is miles away. Roku never got that, if this is the case. He just had teachers and friends he left behind once he got the hang of his bending abilities.

The only constant would have been Sozin.

Even before Roku knew he was the Avatar, these two were damn near twin brothers. They shared a birthday, they trained together, lived together, probably ate together, maybe attended festivals together. We never really see mention of other Fire Nation acquaintances of Roku, and we know he was a shy boy from his interactions with Ta Min, so it may be that Sozin was Roku’s only friend. Even after leaving on his Avatar journey, Roku would likely be reminded of Sozin every time he looked in a mirror or down at a pond. Without the strong friendships a travelling companion would introduce, Sozin would well and truly be the most constant friendship Roku would have. We make jokes about Roku not killing a genocidal tyrant because they were besties, but after being a constant presence in Sozin’s life since becoming the Avatar, likely the only one until Ta Min, is it any wonder that he stayed his hand?

On top of that, I think this might have affected his opinions on the Four Nations. From the comics I think we get a good feeling that Roku saw the Four Nations as very distinct lines on a map. Earth Kingdom here, Fire Nation here, Water Tribes here, and Air Nomads here give or take a few. But we know from the books and from side materials that the world of Avatar just wasn’t that clean cut. People immigrated and emigrated, people mingled, people intermarried, it was a mixing world long before the era of Republic City. We even see this in Kyoshi’s story: she finds a highly skilled waterbending teacher in the Earth Kingdom and even duels one of the most infamous firebenders on the planet who had gained his infamy by leading Earth Kingdom daofei. Though certainly not ideal, I think Kyoshi had realized what Aang realized centuries later: people are people, and the Four Nations are really just that, lines on a map. Roku? I don’t think he ever got to experience that cultural mingling. He only ever saw the people of the Four Nations in the centers of their power, be it Agna Quel’a or the Southern Air Temple. I really wonder if that helped form his rigidity that we see Aang struggle with, the idea that cultures should never mix or mingle, that nations can’t work together. I wonder what decisions that might have led to in his life, if that might have shaped the world to be more isolated... Earth Kingdom here, Fire Nation here, everyone in their corners, no mixing. Perfect breeding ground for nationalism.

Or I could be completely wrong and this’ll all get amended in a future outpouring of content, one or the other.

[dearestpartnerofgreatness]

Author Interview Tag!

@shrinkthisviolet, thanks for tagging me! :) 

Name: I don’t want to post my real name but you can call me A, lol. 

Fandoms: Most often involved in the ATLA & Tangled fandom, although I’ve written for Hunger Games, Victorious, Wynonna Earp, and The Fosters in the past. Would be open to writing Miraculous Ladybug, Jane Austen novels, Anne of Green Gables/Anne with an E and for various Asian dramas in the future.

Where you post: I’m @eleonorastay on ao3! 

Most popular one-shot: nedovtipa, the aftermath of the Bade breakup/an explanation for Beck’s character change in seasons 3 & 4 of Victorious

Most popular multi-chapter fic: shadows & steel, my Maiko Arranged Marriage AU fic. Still wild to me that so many people are liking it!

Favorite story you’ve written so far: Either shadows & steel, or Blossoming Jealousy, my Tangled fic about Rapunzel working through the change in dynamic between her and Eugene when Lance is added to the mix. 

Fic you were nervous to post: A Little Drunk, which is a Galeanna fic I wrote when I was younger (before I had an ao3 account). My first and only M-rated fic, which...I’m not really an M-rated type of writer, lol. I often worry about it romanticizing a toxic relationship or being inappropriate for the fandom/characters it’s for. I have some ideas for continuing it but it still makes me nervous.

How you choose your titles: Song lyrics/titles, or words that sound poetic to me. 

Do you outline: For chapter fics, YES. For shadows & steel, I have story notes on my phone + my laptop, and post-its next to my bed filled with dialogue snippets, as well as two timelines: one to keep track of how the overall story follows the same timeline as the episodes in the series, and one specifically for Mai’s journey. 

Complete: Other than the aforementioned Bade and Tangled fics:

Wake Me Up - The evolution of Dolls waking up Wynonna. (Wynonna Earp) 

Make You Miss Me and Take It Out On Me, two Wyatt/Callie-themed fics (The Fosters)

In-progress: 

shadows & steel -- I PROMISE THE LAST TWO CHAPTERS WILL BE UP SOON. I live in America so the pandemic is raging plus I work two (and a half) jobs + am moving in two weeks, so a lot is going on rn. 

a fanfic for Switched, a Japanese drama on Netflix that has zero content even though it’s so good

a Tangled Season 2 AU where Eugene is held captive (I randomly wrote the last chapter but nothing else??? Like a fool????)

Coming soon/not yet started: 

bruise belies the break, a Suki-centric chapter fic set 1 year after the war about Suki working through her trauma. Will feature Sukka, a LOT of Suki/Team Avatar friendship, a Kyoshi-themed festival, cute Maiko and Kataang moments, discussions of Ty Lee and Mai’s complicity, Sokka trying to figure out his place in the world, and probably a million tagged/cited references to y’all here on Tumblr who have taught me or inspired me! (Probably rated T for trauma-related themes fyi)

currently untitled Kataang chapter fic (!!!) set 8 years after the war. A trip to the Northern Water Tribe brings up a series of questions, concerns, compromises, and conflicts for Aang and Katara about what the future of their relationship holds, especially what building an inter-nation family would mean for them. Will feature Sukka and Maiko living their best married lives, Toph living her best unmarried life, explorations of Air Nation and Water Nation culture, and some fun surprises. (Probably rated T--yes the characters are older and most of them are married but will be 100% sfw because that is how we roll)

Upcoming story that you’re most excited to write: 

Probably bruise belies the break--I LOVE Suki and I am so excited to start delving into her storyline!  

Tagging: @savethelastdan

[blue-rose-89]

Avatar: The Shadow of Kyoshi spoilers (chapters 23-25)....

We are now at the finals chapters of the book. How will this story end for Kyoshi and Yun?

Chapter 23

-Kyoshi returns to Yokoya a month after her adventure in the Fire Nation. She finds Yun at the estate casually eating Aunty Mui’s cooking. After sending her away she gives Yun one chance to turn himself in but it doesn’t work. Yun, who is just done with everything since the day he was discarded by Jianzhu, is ready to fight Kyoshi. 

-Yun is so strong as an Earthbender that he can create earthquakes, dig tunnels  and “waterbend” with liquified earth to immobilize his opponents (it’s not lava bending because there’s no heat involved). 

 -It turns out Yun, at least from his warped mind, doesn’t really want to hurt Kyoshi, he just wants her to stop being the Avatar because it “changed her” and he wants her to be go back to being the friend she once was to him a year ago. Technically he’s not wrong about Avatarhood changing Kyoshi but in Kyoshi’s case it changed her for the better because unlike Yun she has let go of her past and the anger she felt from it. 

-Kyoshi’s Team Avatar (Wong, Kirima, and Rangi) returns to help them fight off Yun. Kyoshi sent Jinpa to pay them to come because it’s daofei way. Unfortunately Yun overwhelms the team with his power and ends up stabbing Rangi near the end of it. 

Rangi being mortally wounded causes Kyoshi stop the fight and apologize to Yun for being the Avatar and robbing him of everything. However, when Yun is close enough to her, she uses the advance water bending technique that she learned from Atuat and freezes his heart and lungs, killing Yun instantly.  After that she uses the Avatar state to summon enough water from the ground to heal Rangi. 

And with that It’s all over.

Chapter 24

-After Yun’s funeral Kyoshi is guided by a fox spirit to the Avatar that Kyoshi idolizes, Avatar Yangchen

-Kyoshi has been told twice about how she shouldn’t seek Yangchen’s advice when comes to dark spirits because as it turns out Yangchen is to blame for the dark sprits in Kuruk’s time. 

Yangchen explains to Kyoshi that her greatest mistake as Avatar is that she trusted humans too much when it came to respecting spirits. The constant favouritism towards humans and having some of them not holding up their end of the deal angered the spirits into turning dark, leading Kuruk into hunting them in order to uphold her legacy.

Before departing Yangchen gives Kyoshi the advice to let go of her need to let go of expecting  an easy or right answer (in this case killing Yun because she couldn’t save him) to a problem her past lives and just do what she feels is the right thing to do because in the end you can’t control the future.  She also tells Kyoshi to replace to turtle relic she destroyed in the first book so that it can be used to identify next Air Avatar (Gee, I wonder who she’s referring to).

And with that concludes the early years of Avatar Kyoshi.

But wait, there’s more!

Chapter 25 (Epilogue)

-The final chapter feature Zoryu and the aftermath of his victory over the Saowon, which history will now call the Camellia-Peony war.

-The Camellia-Peony war pushes Zoryu into making a long term plan in which all clans in the Fire Nation will be abolished so they and all the other citizens will be united and loyal to only the Fire Lord. He expects his descendants to follow through on this plan until the Royal family rules the nation autocratically. Little does he know that he ends up starting a line of dictators that will end up starting the 100 year war centuries later.

-I didn’t mention this in chapter 19 but before leaving Kyoshi warns Zoryu that she ever hears word of the Yun-decoy or any Saowon (Huazo and his brother are under house arrest) being executed she will bring her wrath to him. When Zoryu is considering on going against her word because executing the Saowon would be easier Lao-Ge appears. 

-Instead of killing the Fire Lord like you would expect from him, Lao Ge gives a message to him from Kyoshi stating that while she regrets ever dealing with politics, she’s still going to make sure that he’s scared enough into never angering her because Avatar Kyoshi is always watching you.

THE END

And that is all. It was a lot to take in and write it out but it was worth it. 

Overall I really enjoyed the book.

[ao3feed-rangshi]

by sifuhotwoman

“Kyoshi!” Lek said, suddenly close to her, propping her up as best he could from underneath her arm, the last person among them who should have tried to hold her up physically. “Kyoshi!” She lasted less than two minutes before succumbing to the pain. - Shadow of Kyoshi

Words: 1824, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F

Characters: Kyoshi (Avatar), Rangi (Avatar), The Flying Opera Company, Lek - Character, Kirima (Avatar), Wong (Avatar), Lao Ge (Avatar)

Relationships: Kyoshi/Rangi (Avatar)

Additional Tags: Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending

[mxrcayong]

avatar 01.14

masterlist.

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chapter fourteen: trust

“Trust me this once.”

Johnny’s words seemed to bounce around her mind like a broken pinball machine, the ball to enter the scoring zone. Her heart felt like it was pounding – falling deeper and deeper into the pit of her stomach. The sound of the door shutting behind him resounded in the room, echoing off each wall as they momentarily sat in silence. Despite being momentary, each second seemed to feel like an hour.

But they had no time to dwell on it. Sukiara ensured it, quickly returning back to the initial subject; the plan and their tasks. “We have to assume they will be heavily guarded or equipped to handle benders, or both.” She seemed unfazed as if she was listing their grocery shopping list, even though she was obviously picturing the dangerous task ahead of them.

Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, confused. “What can handle benders? Other than the cuffs, of course.” At the sound of his voice and the panic in Sukiara’s eyes, Tari’s heart dropped further than before. He’s risking his life…he’s only two years younger than me.

Sukiara pointed to Tari, designating her the task of explaining what she had told Sukiara when she had stayed in Bak Mei for a week. “Uhm…” Her eyes still lingered on the door, praying Johnny and Kilari will burst through the door and return to their seats or praying that by some twisted means of fate, someone would come in and exclaim it’s a prank. However, Sukiara snapped her fingers – semi-breaking her out of the trance. “Uhm… when Kilari and Doyoung were attacked in the…” She trailed off, her words getting lost as she continued to pray Johnny and Kilari returned.

“The initial attacks?” Yuta finished for her and Tari smiled at him gratefully. His hand went to her knee, his thumb stroking up and down comfortingly. Hearing his voice successfully broke her out of her hypnosis on the door. She noticed Sonan and Doyoung leaning in, intrigued about what Tari had to say. They didn’t hear anything about this before, even if they were there and they felt guilty to how they didn’t notice her struggle.

“I had a hard time healing them and it felt like the wounds were…” She scrambled through her mind for the right words, “fighting back or needed extra effort to actually heal.” Tari said, still somewhat despondent. Doyoung’s eyes went wide, before his eyes quickly jumped to where Tari had healed him.

Sonan stared at Tari in shock. How did she not notice? She tried to search back in her memories for that moment, but she was a bit drunk by then. The memory was faded with missing pieces. They had drank to forget the aftermath of the attacks, and never has she hated drinking more.  

“It’s safe to assume they’ll be armed with similar materials or similar techniques.” Sukiara took over the room once more. “They might’ve been inspired by Ty Lee’s fighting style.”

At the mention of the familiar name, a flashback to a memory Tari has never personally experienced overtook her senses. This is the first time in a while that a memory from her past life succumbed her involuntarily, taking over her senses as if she was reliving the moment.

Suddenly she was in an emerald room, something she recognized not only from her memories but the textbooks on the old legendary nation of Ba Sing Se. It was dark, the emerald seeming to reflect the shadows around the room. Tari could smell the scent of tea from the throne to the perfume of the Kyoshi Warriors in front of her.

An undeniable rage grumbled in her stomach, but she wasn’t in her own body. She had no control about what she would do about this rage - Avatar Aang was in control, and always the best at suppressing his negative emotions.

She could recognize, using Aang’s hindsight, the three Kyoshi warriors as Ty Lee, Mei, and Azula. Despite the rage seeming to pump through their blood, Tari also felt pity for Azula and a sense of missing Ty Lee and Mei (probably a result of Aang’s later friendship with the two).

The pity for Azula was overwhelming now as she lived through the memory, unable to act. Azula was only fourteen and was taught to be a war machine. She was born in the same life as Zuko, and Zuko was neglected and mentally abused – even physically. In the back of Tari’s mind, another mental image of Azula being dragged away by the mental institution and jail reminded Tari of her fate.

Katara approached, starting to water bend from the small capsule of water she brought with her. But Ty Lee cartwheeled towards Katara and flipped over her. Almost in slow motion, she pressed a point on Katara’s neck – causing Katara to groan in pain before falling to her side and the same water she was bending pooling out of her body.

“A combination of pressure points and acrobatics…” Tari commented. “But do you think the materials have something to do it?”

Instead of responding directly to the question, Sukiara deflected. She let out a sigh that Tari swore was the most disappointed sigh she has heard from her in her life. “I know you don’t like fighting, but I think…” She emphasized the word Tari had used in her questions, “you have to train and be ready to fight.”

Tari’s heart dropped. How about the other benders? Can they get stuck in the crossfire?

Before Tari could object, Sukiara shouted out demands and instructions. “I will finalise the plan by tomorrow night. You have 4 days and 3 nights to prepare. Tari and everyone, please go get dressed in training attire. Yuta and Jisung, fire and earth are Tari’s least mastered elements. Please train her with it. Especially fire, so please start on that today. I will send down our bending moderator to discuss with you Tari’s progress.” She turned to the only non-bender left in the room. “Sonan, feel free to help me strategize or practice with our weapons expert.”

With that, Sukiara marched out of the room with no reaction – as if she was a robot. These were the times Tari remembers that Sukiara wasn’t her parent or her legal caretaker, but a guardian and a manager. Her priority is not her wellbeing, but her ability to do the Avatar’s purpose; to keep balance in the world.  

Tari was still shell-shocked, but she had an idea she believed Sukiara must hear. Jumping to her feet, she ran to the door frame and leaned out. From hanging out the room, she watched Sukiara walking down the empty corridor..

“Can you contact Lin?” Tari shouted down the hall, her words echoing throughout the corridor.

Sukiara turned around briefly, giving her a thumbs up, and disappeared down the hallway.

As soon as she turned around to enter the room once more, Yuta, Jisung, and Doyoung were already heading out. “Let’s train.”

99% of Tari’s childhood and her adolescence was training or doing homeschooling. Homeschooling, however, was a mere 20% as she took accelerated courses of study. She practically finished K-12 by age 12. It helped that the whole entire history being taught in classes was in her memories – she has technically lived them before. She merely had to learn other basic skills, from math to grammar. Despite that, school was always second priority compared to bending training. Consequently, training was a hefty majority of her childhood.

With that in mind, Tari can flawlessly braid her hair out of the way blindfolded. She can navigate the training centers in the island and the temples she trained at (given they haven’t changed) in a complete blackout under a night sky.

It didn’t take long before she was in the training center, biting anxiously at her nails while waiting for her ‘trainers’ Jisung, Yuta, and Doyoung. She didn’t know where to start. Should she stretch? Most likely, but she can’t seem to concentrate. She can’t seem to stop wondering where Johnny and Kilari ran off to, what Sukiara plans, or if her friends will be safe tomorrow.

In all her life of training; of knowing the procedures, of knowing every single stretch that could possibly be known to man – this is the first time in year Tari is standing in the middle of the courtyard, uncertain of what to do. As much as she dreaded training, she just wanted it to happen already so she can stop imagining how it’ll go (which, by the way, in her head – hasn’t gone well).

Within minutes, she sees Yuta, Doyoung, and Jisung walk down the steps with her bending guide. Yes, she had Sukiara as her guardian – but she had Lia Kim as her bending guide. In that sense, Lia Kim has theoretically mastered all the elements – however she’s purely a Water Bender. Resultingly, Lia monitors Tari’s growth with bending – she keeps track of what she has obviously mastered and what she has to continue in mastering.

She has many good memories with Lia. Lia always managed to make training somewhat fun – turning training sessions into obstacle courses, games of hide and seek, challenges, and just general fun. She was the only one of her ‘three main mentors’ who turned things into games; Sukiara was always in charge of acting like a parental figure while Choi Youngjun always had to be strict due to the accelerated course of education she was required to take.

Despite the group of them gracing kind smiles on their faces, Tari was still anxiously predicting any way training could go wrong – from her burning someone to them giving up on her. Tari found that her leg started shaking without her control.

Doyoung took one glance at her and noticed this; noticed her widened eyes, her lips between her teeth, her feet anxiously tapping at the ground. He didn’t know all about her past, but he knew about her now – so well, that they can communicate purely through their eyes. That’s all he needed to know, he decided.

So, he did what he did when Tari seems panicked in public; distract her.

“Honestly, I’m glad you’re practically forced to be training with me.” Doyoung smiled. “Like, if you went to the gym, I’m about 10000% certain you’d choose anyone but me to be your trainer.”

Tari felt a weight off her shoulders at Doyoung’s teasing smirk. She stood to her feet and playfully pushed his shoulder, “Yeah, because obviously you’ll somehow end up making me do something dumb. May I remind you of the fork stabbing incident?”

“THAT WAS ONE TIME!”

The sun had set, and everyone was exhausted.

Hours and hours of training only brought them to a point of giving up, but Tari refused. Jisung has distracted himself with Doyoung once more, the two playing around with a small game they created that Tari and Yuta cannot understand at all. All they know is that when Jisung manages to balance on the airball and knock Doyoung off his feet, Jisung screams in celebration while Doyoung falls to his knees – cursing any higher being out there. Vice versa can be said when Jisung is sprawled on the floor.

They saw their work as over. Doyoung, from the very beginning, just had to remind Tari of the offensive and defensive moves of Air Bending rather than the daily tasks. Jisung had a bit more on his plate, but Yuta reminded them of Sukiara’s suggestion to tackle her biggest weakness first; fire. It wasn’t a surprise when everyone agreed.

Tari and Yuta were still in the middle of the courtyard, repeating the last move Tari couldn’t seem to master. Yuta was impressed – she was quick learner. He was surprised she didn’t master it sooner, however, he noticed she was mostly good at theory. She can describe a move perfectly, but when she actually tries to do it? Something goes wrong.

He notices how she hesitates, how her foot moves out of place, how she loses concentration on the actual move as she focuses on how she could mess up.

Her head was hurting. I swear I’m doing this right. She checked everything more than a million times; her foot placement for the millionth time, the positioning of her fingers, the angle of her arms – but all she could let out was a measly fire ball while Yuta seemed to call upon the burning core of the world itself.

Yuta could sense the frustration boiling Tari’s blood and placed his hand on her back. He’s been demonstrating from a distance initially, as requested by Tari to ‘avoid getting hurt’. But he’s been in her position before – and he often feels much more relaxed with the touch of a fellow human being.

A bell chime ran through the island, alerting every one of dinner now ready in the canteen.

“Thank God!” Doyoung praised, “I’m starving!”

Jisung following behind, “I wonder what food they’re serving today.” He commented, as if to himself.  “As long as it’s not fire nation food, I’m good.” Jisung’s face turned into a painful wince as if he just ate into the spicy dish again.

The two stopped in their positions, noticing Tari not following behind. Doyoung sighed, “Tari, you need to eat.” Tari refused to answer, Yuta still hovering over her as he tried to analyse her face. It was stern – focused on the fake target placed in front of her. “Tari-“

“I’ll eat later.” She said coldly, almost as if her words were ice.

Of course, it’s not mandatory to go to dinner at the time. Mealtimes at Bak Mei last for five hours, so often, people go when they please. But Tari even missed lunch.

“Tari,”

“I’LL EAT LATER, DO!” Doyoung jumped at the change of tone. This is the first time she properly ever yelled at him, and that means a lot considering they have been roommates for approximately two years.

Yuta, himself, even flinched. Jisung’s eyes went wide. From his position as the closest to her, Yuta signalled to Doyoung and Jisung to go ahead and eat. “Go ahead.” He insisted, “We’ll catch up.” He winked at them, letting them know he’ll try his best to get her to eat.

“Go ahead, Yuta.” Tari stated, “You don’t have to wait for me, I’ll probably never get it anyway.”

“You can’t fire bend on an empty stomach, though!” He smiled, trying to charm into the canteen. She can’t say it wasn’t working; his smile was so bright, like he was radiating happiness. “Isn’t it fire nation night tonight? The food will definitely help, think of all the spice.” He made tingly-motions with his hands, making Tari’s guard fall down and letting himself chuckle.

Tari dropped her arms from the position. “Fire nation night was last night. It’s air nation food tonight.” Her voice was suddenly small.

“Even better!” Yuta clapped his hands, “My dad used to make the best dumplings. He was born in Air Temple Island actually, he actually was living with Aang.” At the mention of his name, especially while training – her heart hurt.

Was this how Aang was feeling? About fighting the fire lord? Conflicted, loss, unwilling to do it? How did he do it? Why can’t I be more like him?

The half-fire nation and half-air nation citizen smiled sadly, noticing – even under the courtyard’s dim lights – how Tari’s gaze fell to her feet with a darkened glaze. “Okay, how about this. I help you master this move. We go to dinner. And if you really want to, we do another training session after dinner. You don’t have to meditate tonight.” Yuta sighed.

Tari looked up at him; his sparkling brown eyes full of concern, his small smile. How could I say no? When she begrudgingly nodded, his small smile was replaced with a large one that showed all his teeth – his face immediately becoming brighter. She swore she wouldn’t need the courtyard to be lit up when he’s there, smiling. It reminded her of the candle fountain in the earth nation, something Lin snuck her out after curfew to show her. It was a beautiful sight.

“Okay, then, let’s get a move on because we need to get some food in you.” He teased, his hands immediately being put on Tari’s waist. At the skin ship, Tari shivered. She normally never shivers – it’s the beauty of air bending helping adjust to the temperature around her, but his touch seemed to shoot electricity throughout her. She regrets not wearing a longer T-Shirt, but she normally wears crop tops to train, especially when bending fire.

He was strong, but the way he helped Tari fix up her stance was gentle – as if she was a fragile doll. No one treated her as gentle when training as he is now, other than before she found out she was the Avatar. They always pushed her, continuously challenged her. She can’t recall every bad bruise and injury she got from training – it’s probably over a thousand. But he was treating her like she was made of glass. Her heart fluttered.

“You have to remain loose,” He nudged her feet to be wider apart, “you have to be ready to move fast so keep your heels off the ground.”

“But earth bending, your heels have to be down right?” Tari clarified.

“Yeah, but this is fire bending, babes.” Tari swears this man must know how to do lightning bending, because everything that comes out of his mouth sends electricity down her spine. He inched closer, his chest pressed against her back as he fixes her posture. His hot breath brushed behind her ear. “Keep your arms shoulder level.” His hands trailed upwards, tickling her sides, as it went to help her position her arms. “From,” His hand trailed towards her hand which is outstretched in front of her. “Bring this in with your fingers tight together as if they were glued on the sides,” Holding the back of her hand, he guided it close to her chest – as if pointing to her heart. “Turn your palm over as it faces you,” As he instructs her verbally, he’s helping guide her movements with his right hand while his left hand is still holding her hip loosely. “…and then slice the air and shoot it out.”

It all felt intimate; his lips behind her ear, his hot breath hitting it with very word, his hand against her hip. “Now, that’s the hand movements. Do you know what to do with your feet?”

Tari launched her right foot up, keeping the bottom of her foot flat towards the hypothetical opponent. “No, no, you need to point it towards the target. Pointing it makes your kick sharper and helps you move more efficiently.”

She nodded as she amended to his feedback. “Okay, perfect. Now do it without me. Remember, focus on fire. Focus on what you want. Focus on the energy you feel, the electricity within you.” He stepped back to watch her perform the move basically perfect, except for one thing. “You have to stay off your heels.”

“Ugh!” Tari could do this easily with air bending, which also emphasizes getting off your heels. “It’s just like air bending, but why is this harder?”

“Exactly,” Yuta grinned, his eyes looking down at her lips. “It’s harder because air bending is about peace, patience, liberty, and balance. That seems to be like you, from what I’ve seen. Fire?” He started leaning in, “it’s all about passion,” His voice became huskier and more hushed as he leaned even closer. His eyes glanced down to her lips, before back at her eyes.

Tari was surprised; as she found herself leaning in too. Soon, they were millimeters apart. “It’s about performance, but mostly - inner fire.” And his lips pressed onto hers.

It was as if the kiss could help them learn everything about each other, as if their lips were books about their whole lives and they just wanted to know everything. His lips were soft and moist, breathing into her lips gently as they kissed.

Tari pulled away, the heat in her cheeks not going to disappear any time soon. She felt awkward, but immediately wanted to cool the tension. “Passion, huh?” She chuckled, biting her lip and trying to hide her blushing cheeks from the cocky Yuta. “I thought fire bending was also about providing a source of life.”

The master bender chuckled. “Technically, yes. But I wanted an excuse to kiss you.”

She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, dinner, shall we?”

Let’s just say, Doyoung knew something was up inside the canteen when she refused to mention training and when Yuta’s leg was leaning against Tari’s under the table.

request anything for future parts / penny for your thoughts here

[flamingmusicalroses]

Don't really wanna live-tweet my reaction to Shadows of kyoshi so here we go- (trying to be as spoiler free as possible)

(I'm starting from Past lives)

- very curious to see how *that* plays out

- The Reunion: gay as fuck. Baby gay me is thriving. Present- day me is in love with the fact that this type of content exists today

- cultural diplomacy: love the lore, these minute details of fire nation history/culture is fantastic.

*who needs actual affection when you get forced to workout instead

-the performance: when Rangi has got to set those ground rules 😭🥺👌🏼

*"you're both fired" hilarious

* The line "jinpa was first to fall" has cemented my adoration for this character. Wholesome man. (Oh yeah, flashback to him and rangi ganging up on kyoshi, quality)

* Kyoshi meeting this governor and outing him through cold facts, the governor recoiling, and evidently kyoshi being in higher ground (*ba dun tis*) is how politics should function

* THAT TRANSITION LMFFAOOO between ^ to "now you have to take to my mother" lmmffaaaooooooooo. Oh man. I love the implication

-The Headmistress: oh. Well that was heart breaking......

* Tag yourself, I'm Sifu Atuat stating " the other doctors are cowards". This is how I live my life.

*Atuat and Hei-ran 👀 (this would be funny tho)

*Almost wish this was a show so that we could have crack edits cause. boy is kyoshi a goof.

-Ancient history: I have so much second hand embarrassment. I can't get passed this first 3 paragraphs

*The etiquette one needs to survive this is going to kill me if this scene lasts any longer.- I generally think such high stake etiquette is low-key high-key dumb.

* I mean. Give her an etiquette rulebook at that point.

*Oh boy. Here we go

-The Crash: y I k e s

-The Aftermath: oooh that's a cool waterbending technique. I genuenly love the background this chapter has set

-the Ritual: rip

* Jinpa saying "I negative jinged it out of there" my man is already a classic symbol of comedy. Controversial opinion: he gives me Bolin vibes and I love it

*"For as long as I live" bitch I'm weeping.

*OH FUCK. Y I K E S. Damn. I'm. Wow. Ok. Didn't think that would hurt. Jeezzzzz. Oh man. These characters deserve some good hugs.

* "Scariest firebenders wins" one (1) whole mood. I'm telling you. Jinpa is The Man™

-The fire sage: Good story telling

-spirtual exercises: chill

-interlude: well damn

-resignation: .... F u c k . . .

-weakness: oh... That's... So graphic... I love how graphic this book can be. But this particular scene, because it also carries a lot of emotion, that. Wow. F u c k. I love gore. But. damn.

*Oh... 🥺

-escalation - the edge: I'm just at the edge of my seat wait for this to play out, hopefully, positively for kyoshi cause man. All this sucks

-second chances: oh man. Poor kuruk. This makes me curious as to when waterbenders develop the soothing technihe

-interlude #2: so. In retrospect this gives me some LOK book 2 type vibes ya know. in terms of how spirt-y involved it is. Just a reflection

-home again: highkey missed the opera company

*Oh no. Big boy fuckfuckfuckfuck

*This just further settles my argument of how much of an underrated element water is

-epilouge: well. That was satisfying. Good shit.

[thenerdsofcolor]

From ‘Rise’ to ‘Shadow,’ F.C. Yee on Deepening the Story of Avatar Kyoshi

From ‘Rise’ to ‘Shadow,’ F.C. Yee on Deepening the Story of Avatar Kyoshi

Last summer, the universe of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra expanded with the release of The Rise of Kyoshi; the first young adult novel in the franchise. Written by F.C. Yee, it tells of the humble beginnings of the hardcore, justice-pursuing Avatar Kyoshi.

Now, Yee is capping off the Kyoshi duology with the release of The Shadow of Kyoshi. In the aftermath of establishing…