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whatifitookalilnap · 8 months ago

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Three's Company, Four's a Crowd!

(Korra x Fem!Reader x Asami)

Prologue: Yuma Gives Birth to Half of the Airbending Population

(A/N: Hey hey! Wanted to give a lil intro to my reader insert fic here sorry it's so long. So this story will be Korra x Fem!Airbender!Reader x Asami they will end up a throuple. I will be covering over half of the show so it's gonna be a few chapters. I will be mostly focusing on season one and three. I won't cover season four at all and season two will probably be like three or four chapters at the most. Most chapters will be second POV but a few will be third person like this one. Also I named reader's mom Yuma because it's easier for me lol. There will be more entertainment in the next chapter rest assured! This will also be posted on my ao3 account I'll post that link right after this!)

"It's time to wake up, Turtle Duck!" Yuma whispered while gently rubbing her child's arm.

(Y/n) groaned and slowly sat up. Yuma's poor girl is not a morning person in any sense of the word. Her (h/c) hair was an utter disaster as it always is after a good night's rest. The five year old little girl yawned and rubbed her bleary (e/c) eyes in an attempt to get the sleepiness away.

"Can't I have five more minutes?" (Y/n) pouted.

"Not today, my love. We're visiting Gran Gran today, remember?" Yuma smiled.

At once, the five year old girl perked up at the mention of her grandmother. Honestly, that woman is the only reason why Yuma stayed in the Southern Water Tribe once the divorce from her ex-husband, Taro, was finalized. Zoh was an angel sent from above in Yuma's eyes. Always happily taking in (Y/n) whenever there was an emergency and helping around Yuma's home when she desperately needed a break.

Zoh has absolutely zero contact with her son after the divorce. Something about cheating on his wife and abadonding his child really pissed Zoh off. Honestly, Yuma can't even remember the last time someone was so loyal to her. It means the world to her that her ex-mother-in-law has her back. After all these years, Yuma felt as though she had a mother again.

"Yes! I can't wait to show you and Gran Gran my magic trick! I'm going to blow you guys away!" (Y/n) enthusiastically exclaimed.

"And I can't wait to see it! But before you blow us away, we have to fix this," Yuma grinned while patting her daughter's head.

(Y/n) gave her a cute little pout as Yuma began combing her hair. Once that was completed after much wincing from both parties, Yuma put her daughter's hair in two little buns atop her head. The Fire Nation woman then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast while her daughter changed clothes.

Honestly, Yuma really couldn't wait to see what this little 'magic trick' is. (Y/n)'s been talking about it since last week and it has been driving Yuma mad. The Fire Nation woman has never been...how does one say...patient. Obviously, Yuma has all the patience in the world for her daughter, but literally anything else? That's going to be a hard no. She's also a very curious woman by nature. Yuma is just itching to know what the magic trick is.

Yuma highly suspects that (Y/n) might be a waterbender like Taro. She took (Y/n) to a waterbending show a few months ago and her daughter claimed it to be magic, which just furthers her suspicions. Yuma herself didn't have the ability to bend, so it made the most logical sense.

Then again, it could just be something like a picture or sleight of hand magic. Kids did have a tendency to exaggerate or bend the truth. There are plenty of possibilities which is greatly irritating because again, Yuma is painfully impatient and horribly curious.

Ah, well, it will be revealed today when they visit Zoh. (Y/n) rushed up to their little table and practically shoveled her food into her mouth.

"Careful now, we don't want to have to see the healers now do we?" Yuma reminded her.

(Y/n) didn't respond verbally but ate considerably slower. Her sweet daughter always got so excited to see her Gran Gran even though it's a pretty frequent occurrence. It really does take a village and even though Yuma's village is truly just one other person, she couldn't be more grateful for it.

Once Yuma finished her breakfast (Y/n) was shoving her out the door. The trek to Zoh's hut was only about ten minutes on foot so it wouldn't be long until Yuma got to see that magic trick.

(Y/n) talked on and on about how this trick is just the coolest thing ever and that Yuma will be so impressed. To be fair, practically everything about (Y/n) impresses Yuma. It must be a mom thing.

In what felt like no time at all, the mother daughter duo reached Zoh's hut. (Y/n) excitedly knocked on the door. It only took two knocks before the door swung open.

"Oh hello Yuma. Didn't you say (Y/n) was coming with you? I can't find her anywhere!" Zoh exclaimed while purposefully looking upwards.

"Oh you know how five year old girls are these days, she just wanted to stay home and listen to her radio," Yuma joked.

"Gran Gran! I'm right here!" (Y/n) laughed.

Zoh looked down and feigned a gasp of surprise. The older woman quickly scooped her granddaughter up and peppered kisses all over her face. (Y/n) giggled in pure delight as her grandmother smothered her with affection.

"And how's my favorite granddaughter doing?" Zoh smiled.

"I'm your only granddaughter, silly! I'm doing good! I'll be even better when I get to show you my awesome magic trick!" (Y/n) exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh? A magic trick you say? I didn't know I was getting good company and a show! We better all get inside to enjoy such a performance," Zoh smiled.

The older woman stepped aside to let Yuma inside and gently placed (Y/n) on the ground. Yuma smiled and gave Zoh a quick but firm hug.

"Thanks for having us, Zoh," Yuma said.

"I'm sorry, who is this Zoh you speak of?" Zoh grinned.

"Apologies. Thank you for having us, Mom," Yuma laughed.

"That's more like it. Besides, I'd have you guys around all the time if I could," Zoh chuckled as she locked the door behind them.

"Before I can show you my magic trick, I must grab my materials! Please, have a seat ladies," (Y/n) dramatically stated while gesturing to the couch in the living room.

Her daughter is just too cute. The adults shot each other an amused look before sitting on the couch. Once (Y/n) saw that they were seated, she rushed off to the kitchen to grab these 'materials'.

"You don't happen to know what this magic trick is, do you?" the Water Tribe woman asked her.

"No, not quite. She's been talking about it since last week but insisted that she would only do it with both of us present," Yuma explained.

"That must have driven you mad," Zoh smirked, well aware of Yuma's patience level.

"Oh, you have no idea. I really should work on that," Yuma sighed.

"All I'm saying is that this is about the age where children start to discover their bending abilities," Zoh said in a sing song voice.

"That was my first thought when she said magic trick. The waterbending genes do run strong in your family," the Fire Nation woman admitted.

"That they do. We're very strong benders, too. One might say, some of the greatest benders of all time?" Zoh asked smugly.

Yuma immediately rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what the older woman was implying. And it's all because of that alleged 'seer' Zoh dragged Yuma to.

Back when she was still pregnant with (Y/n), Zoh and Yuma were attending a festival in one of the main cities in the Southern Water Tribe. Zoh found a seer and insisted they get a reading of (Y/n)'s future. Yuma didn't exactly love the idea of a strange woman touching her belly to get a reading she didn't actually believe in, but figured it would be harmless.

Long story short, the seer told them three things. One is that (Y/n) will face great challenges in her life but will inevitably be victorious as long as she trusts in herself and her loved ones. The second thing is that (Y/n) will be one of the most powerful benders of all time and help create balance in the world. The final tidbit of information they got was that (Y/n) would be blessed to experience twice the amount of romantic love than most people got in their entire lives and will end up happily married with healthy children.

What a load of shit.

Seriously? Her daughter needs to believe in herself in order to overcome great trials and tribulations? That is the most unoriginal reading Yuma had ever heard. Could have gotten that from half of the fortune cookies in creation.

As for the bending, that seer probably says that to every person that crosses her path. It's not like benders are a dying breed, it's a pretty good guess that (Y/n) would end up one. The damn seer didn't even specify what kind of bender she would be! And that balance part? What a joke. Probably wanted to make it seem like she's meant for some great purpose.

The romantic aspect of (Y/n)'s life confused the hell out of Yuma. What did the seer even mean by twice as much love? Doesn't matter, because it's total bogus. Yuma is pretty sure that the whole happily married with children part is yet another thing that the seer says to everyone that gets a reading from her.

In other words, that con artist merely told them exactly what they wanted to hear. Zoh claims Yuma is just a pessimist and Yuma claims Zoh wasted her money.

"Relax, Mom. I highly doubt today is the start of (Y/n)'s 'destiny'," Yuma scoffed.

"Ye of little faith," Zoh said with a dramatic shake of her head.

At that precise moment, (Y/n) came back into the room with the biggest grin Yuma had ever seen on her. To both her and Zoh's surprise, (Y/n) did not come into the room with a glass of water. Instead, there were two little marbles resting on the palm of her left hand.

Okay, now Yuma's confused. Obviously, there would be no waterbending today. Maybe her magic trick is sleight of hand magic? But what kind of magic trick only involves two marbles?

The Fire Nation woman looked at Zoh from the corner of her eyes and saw she was just as confused as Yuma is. What is this girl planning?

"As you can see, here in my hand there are two marbles! No string, no magnet, just some boring old marbles! Now feast your eyes upon me!" (Y/n) excitedly yelled.

Both women looked on intently as (Y/n) hovered her right hand about two inches above her left. Both palms were facing the marbles. For a split second, nothing happened.

Then, the marbles moved. (Y/n)'s hands didn't tilt at all, they were completely still as the marbles levitated right in between both her palms. Then, the two marbles started to spin rapidly around each other in a circle.

Yuma's seen an exact picture of this once. But he is long gone and only one other person could pull this off.

There's no way. It's not possible. She can't be an-

"Airbender. Yuma, she is an airbender," Zoh hissed in her ear.

"But that's impossible! The only living airbender is Master Tenzin and we know for a fact (Y/n)'s not his!" Yuma hissed back.

First of all, unlike her ex-husband, Yuma's not a cheating whore. Second of all, during the divorce, Yuma wanted child support because it was the least Taro could do. He had tried to contest it by claiming (Y/n) wasn't actually his. Yuma went out of her way to be petty and gave the court four separate DNA tests. Each and every one of them confirmed Taro was the father.

Long story short, Yuma got her money.

Plus, Yuma's never even been in the same room as Master Tenzin. This means that (Y/n) has no biological relation to the previous Avatar or his family. Yuma knows her daughter can't be the current Avatar because she was already discovered about one year ago. This shouldn't be real. She shouldn't be able to airbend.

"Uhm, excuse you, it is very rude to talk while I perform," (Y/n) huffed as the marbles plopped back onto her hand.

"We're sorry, my love, we're just surprised. It's just, you're an airbender! It's incredible!" Yuma sincerely told her while struggling to get over her own shock.

"I see! So you're in awe of my super cool skills!" (Y/n) beamed. "But I thought there was only one airbender and you can only be an airbender if you're related to him."

(Y/n) has a very vague concept of bending. The only bending she's actually seen in person is waterbending and most of it is from Zoh to keep her entertained. She knows that people can bend both earth and fire as well as the fact that the only living airbender is Tenzin, Avatar Aang's son.

Yuma's daughter also enjoys listening to the pro bending matches on the radio but this is about the extent of her knowledge. How is Yuma supposed to fully explain this situation when she didn't understand it herself?

"Well I promise you are not related to Tenzin. But honestly, who cares how you can be an airbender?! This is phenomenal! Say, why don't we see what else you can do?" Zoh enthusiastically exclaimed.

(Y/n)'s entire face lit up, quickly forgetting about the technicalities of her airbending abilities.

"Like what?" (Y/n) asked curiously.

"I've got a stack of papers on my desk. Let's see if you can move them with your bending," Zoh told her.

"You're thinking big, Gran Gran! I like it!" (Y/n) cheered.

"That's my girl!" Zoh grinned as she rushed off to grab those papers.

Yuma took the opportunity to make sure all the doors and windows in Zoh's home were sealed shut. Of course they were, they lived in the South Pole for spirits sake! Even if they weren't shut, it still wouldn't have been able to explain the marbles rapidly circling each other in between the palms of (Y/n)'s hands.

The Fire Nation woman is pretty sure she's still in shock. Who wouldn't be? Her daughter has an ability that's practically extinct. It is nothing short of a miracle.

Zoh rushed back into the living room and plopped a small stack of papers on the table. She put her hand on (Y/n)'s shoulders and took a couple steps back.

"See if you can move the papers using your bending. I've obviously never taught an airbender, so it may be a little difficult. Feel the air in this room. Allow yourself to work with it to achieve your desired result," Zoh wisely told her.

Zoh's been teaching young children waterbending for years. Yuma doesn't understand how she's able to keep her voice steady enough to give off that confident instructor appearance under these circumstances.

(Y/n) narrowed her eyes in pure concentration and slowly lifted her arms. Yuma's jaw dropped seeing the papers slowly rise into the air. The young girl gasped in pure happiness at her accomplishment. Seeming to be testing the waters, (Y/n) began slowly swaying her arms from side to side to see if the papers would follow. They did.

Zoh and Yuma merely looked on in pure fascination as (Y/n) began to spin ever so slowly, taking the papers with her. The papers seemed as though they were dancing as they followed (Y/n)'s command, swishing in whatever direction she wanted them to. Her cute little face began scrunching up before dropping her likely tired arms. The papers, now no longer being controlled by airbending, began to slowly fall to the ground.

There is truly no denying it now. This isn't some small trick or accidental fluke, this is real.

(Y/n) is an airbender.

Yuma picked up (Y/n) and looked her dead in the eyes.

"I have to be honest with you, Turtle Duck. That was the coolest thing I've ever seen," Yuma grinned.

(Y/n) shot back what might be an even bigger smile.

"Thanks, Mommy! It was a lot of fun! I wonder what else I can do," (Y/n) smiled.

Yuma ended up zoning out as Zoh and (Y/n) chatted about how awesome the airbending is. It's certainly a fun thing to think about, what else could her little girl do? What is the extent of her abilities? She would certainly need proper training to-

Damn it. Damn it all. Reality's now hitting her like a train. This girl needs to learn to bend! And there's only one person in all four nations that could provide such services!

Oh for the love of spirits, (Y/n) is now one of two living airbenders! There's no doubt in Yuma's mind someone is going to want to hurt her daughter because of her extraordinary abilities! Not to mention the fact that Yuma has a pathological need to know how it's even possible that (Y/n) can airbend! There's so much that needs to be done and so much potential dangers-

"(Y/n)? My love? Gran Gran and I need to have a big kid talk. Why don't you curl up in your room and turn on the radio. I believe one of the pro bending matches just started in Republic City," Yuma told her daughter.

"Really? Awesome!" (Y/n) stated.

Zoh raised an eyebrow but ultimately didn't say anything as Yuma led (Y/n) to the guest bedroom she stays in for sleepovers. Once she got her daughter situated with her radio, Yuma walked back out and closed the door behind her. Then she dragged Zoh to the bathroom farthest away from the room (Y/n) was in and locked the door.

"Zoh, I need you to talk me down from a really high ledge because I am freaking the fuck out right now," Yuma hissed.

"Yeah, I had a feeling this might happen," the older woman sighed.

"What do I do? She's absolutely remarkable, Mom! She can airbend! The second person alive to do so! I just know some sick freak out there is going to want to wish harm upon my daughter! People always want to hurt the ones that stand out, good or bad! Oh spirits, what if someone kidnaps her and sells her on the black market-" the Fire Nation woman exclaimed, very clearly spiraling out.

"Breathe, dear. No one is getting sold in any markets. The answer is simple. We contact Tenzin so that (Y/n) will train with him and-" Zoh began.

"What if we didn't?" Yuma asked breathlessly. "What if we just leave now, change our names, and relocate to the Fire Nation? No one has to know. If no one knows about her, they can't hurt her."

Zoh gave her a look. Yuma knew that look. It was a look that said 'you're going off the deep end, kid'. Yuma did not like that look.

"And how do you think (Y/n)'s going to feel a few years from now, knowing you are purposefully trying to hide a part of who she is? How exactly do you expect her to control and conceal an ability she never got any training for?" Zoh asked.

Shit. Zoh's got her there. But that's why she's talking to the other woman. It's to prevent Yuma from doing something she'll regret.

"You're right, of course you're right. I'm just so scared. She's my baby. If anything happens to her...," Yuma trailed off.

She wouldn't make it. She knows she wouldn't.

"Nothing will happen to her. Not as long as she is properly trained. Katara was my mentor and we've stayed in touch. We'll make the journey to her place at once. There, she can contact her son and we will figure something out," the Water Tribe woman calmly told her.

Okay, Yuma likes this plan. It's a good plan. A solid plan. A plan that likely wouldn't end in utter devastation.

"Seems sane enough. But there's still the issue of how (Y/n)'s even an airbender. You know everyone's going to assume I had an affair with Tenzin. That's what I'd think. We'll need to brding the paternity tests and try to find out why (Y/n) can airbend," Yuma reminded her.

"I agree. Okay, obviously, if she's an airbender we must be descendants of Air Nomads. One of the girls I use to teach, Miyu, works in the archives at Republic City. I'll call her to send our family records over," Zoh told her.

"That's great! Alright, this is a real game plan. I feel much better now. Thank you," Yuma sighed.

"No need to thank me for doing my job," Zoh smiled.

At that, the older woman walked to the telephone and dialed this old student's number. Yuma began to anxiously pace around the room while Zoh talked to her former student. After a few minutes, which honestly felt like hours, Zoh ended the call.

"Alright, I asked Miyu to get her hands on both of our family trees and there shouldn't be any problem getting them to us. It'll take about a week until they're here," Zoh told her.

"Really? A whole week?" Yuma asked, visibly disappointed.

"Patience is a virtue, dear," Zoh grinned.

"Boo patience! I want to know now!" the Fire Nation woman whined childishly.

"Honestly, so do I. I don't think we should contact Katara until we have as much proof as we can get. This is going to be a rather hard hit for her," Zoh sighed.

"That's true. So for the next week we're just waiting?" Yuma frowned.

"Afraid so," the older woman confirmed.

"I'm nervous, Mom. This is huge. I'm worried this will somehow get out before we can get to Katara," Yuma admitted.

"I know, but please try not to worry. It's one week. We'll just keep her inside. And close all the blinds. We can just tell her a nasty snowstorm is coming. She's not going to know the difference," Zoh suggested.

"Oh, lying to my child. Hate to say it, but I kind of love that idea,"Yuma sighed.

"It's just one week. It can't be that hectic."

**********************

It was, in fact, that hectic.

Zoh was gracious enough to let Yuma and (Y/n) stay at her place until they got the family tree from the archives. Yuma's pretty sure that her child has rearranged the entire house at least fifteen times.

(Y/n) was restless. Ever since she found out she could airbend, it was the only thing she wanted to do. Yuma obviously didn't know much about airbending, but it's starting to look like her daughter's a bit of a prodigy. There's just no way a five year old should be able to airbend two chairs all the way up to the ceiling at the same time.

Yuma's daughter started to get irritated that the ceiling was in the way of her bending, so (Y/n) keeps trying to convince them to take her outside. Obviously, that's so not happening, so Yuma is trying to make (Y/n) focus on bending as many objects as possible instead of seeing how high they can float.

This child needs a damn airbending teacher. Yuma really could not wait until they could contact Tenzin.

To put it bluntly, when the family records came back, both women were relieved. (Y/n) thankfully is taking a nap, so they don't have to hide the papers.

After a couple minutes of searching through the results, Yuma finally found the Air Nomad in her very extensive family history of Fire Nation family members. Her name was Ina.

Yikes.

That is the first word that comes to mind when looking at Ina's rather short life. The records give very basic information. Birth date, death date, what kind of bender they were, and cause of death. The poor woman died at the age of twenty two, three months after giving birth to her only son. Ina had been burned alive. This was right at the start of the hundred year war. A Fire Nation soldier must have found her out.

Her son ended up being a firebender, which was for the best considering the fact that he also would have been killed if he inherited her airbending. What a tragedy.

"Did you find any Air Nomads on your side?" Zoh asked, effectively breaking the silence.

"Yeah, her name was Ina. Poor thing died from getting killed by a firebender when she was twenty two. It was at the start of the hundred year war. Had one firebending child. Any on your side?" Yuma asked.

"That's just awful. And yes, I actually did. Allin was his name. He was also about twenty when the hundred year war started, but must have hid himself well. Married a waterbender and had three children. Two of them were waterbenders and one was a nonbender. Died at the ripe age of eighty seven," Zoh informed her.

"Huh. I mean, Ina was in the very nation that wanted to eradicate the airbenders. That's probably why she got caught," Yuma frowned.

"Well, we've got what we need. Are we still going to start the journey to Katara's tomorrow like we originally planned?" the Water Tribe woman asked.

"I think that's best. I'm not sure if your furniture will survive if we wait," Yuma joked.

"Who cares about stupid furniture? My granddaughter is an airbender! That's so much better than furniture. I'll call Katara, tell her it's an urgent matter and I must speak to her immediately," Zoh laughed.

"Alright, I'll go and pack for all three of us. It's going to be a long journey," Yuma noted.

"Perfect. You already grabbed the paternity tests, right?" Zoh asked.

"Who do you think I am?" Yuma snorted.

She opened the top cabinet in the kitchen and revealed all four paternity tests.

"Show off," Zoh grinned.

Yuma merely laughed and walked to the room she was staying in to start packing. A few minutes later Zoh joined her. Apparently Katara was thrilled to get a house call so there was no issue there.

All Yuma told (Y/n) was that they were going to visit Gran Gran's old friend. The little girl just seemed happy to get out of the house, so she was ready for the journey.

Before they left, Yuma made sure to tell (Y/n) that airbending was their special secret and she would get to show Gran Gran's friend when they visited. (Y/n) didn't seem to put up a fuss about it, so off they went.

**********************

The trio made it to Katara's hut with zero incident. That was Yuma's main worry. She finally felt like she could relax when they walked up to the waterbending master's front door.

Zoh knocked a couple times before Katara opened the door. She smiled brightly before greeting Zoh with a tight hug.

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you again. I take it that these lovely ladies must be the wonderful daughter and granddaughter I've heard so much about," Katara said with a smile.

"Yes, that's us. It's an honor to meet you, Master Katara," Yuma said with a polite smile.

And it really was. This woman is kind of a living legend, after all. Yuma then nudged her daughter to give the woman a proper greeting. In (Y/n)'s defense, it's a pretty early morning so the little girl is still incredibly sleepy.

"G'morning, Miss Katara," (Y/n) yawned.

Katara laughed at the greeting, clearly finding (Y/n) as cute as Yuma does.

"Oh please, just call me Katara. Master and Miss is just so formal. Not really my style. Now come on in, it's a particularly cold day today," Katara said as she stepped aside for them to enter.

They walked into the beautiful hut and sat down on the couch. Zoh and Katara made small talk while (Y/n) leaned on Yuma's side, probably about to fall back asleep.

"Alright, you said there was a family emergency that only I could help with. I'd love to assist you out in any way I can," Katara said once they were all settled.

"Okay, before we show you what we're about to show you, I'm gonna need you to really look at these paternity tests," Zoh said as she handed Katara (Y/n)'s tests.

Obviously, Katara was confused but did as requested.

"Alright, her father is very clearly a man named Taro. What is this about?" Katara asked.

"Time to wake up, Turtle Duck. Show Katara your awesome magic trick," Yuma smiled while gently nudging (Y/n) awake.

"Must you demand me to perform when I clearly need rest?" (Y/n) grumbled.

Yuma snorted. Where in the four nations did this child get her sass from?

"If you do it now I'll let you have dessert before dinner," the Fire Nation woman said, blatantly bribing her child.

"Okay!" (Y/n) said brightly.

"Only use the marble trick, (Y/n). This is not your grandmother's house, Katara will not appreciate you rearranging her furniture," Yuma reminded her.

"Well you're no fun," (Y/n) grumbled.

Ultimately, she grabbed the little marbles from her pocket. Katara is looking more confused by the minute. Who can blame her?

With ease, (Y/n) put two marbles in between her palms and got them to rapidly spin around in a circle. Katara's jaw immediately fell open. The marbles fell back onto (Y/n)'s palm and she smiled. Then she plopped back onto the couch and fell asleep on Yuma's lap in about three seconds.

"(Y/n)'s an airbender, Katara. She's an airbender that needs training and your son is the only person alive that can help her," Zoh stated.

Katara looked like she was having a hard time processing this information. Yuma could relate. Katara then looked back down at the paternity tests like she really couldn't believe this child isn't Tenzin's. A completely understandable reaction.

"But how?" was all the older woman could muster out.

"Well. As it would turn out, (Y/n) is a descendant of Air Nomads from both sides of her family," Zoh told her.

Zoh pulled out her's and Yuma's family tree and pointed out the Air Nomads on each side.

"I'm not all that into genetic research, but something tells me it's almost impossible for (Y/n) to be an airbender. But she is and we need to know if Tenzin would be willing to train her," Zoh told her.

"Willing? Are you kidding me? Tenzin is going to be thrilled! Oh, it's his biggest dream to revive Air Nomad culture. Another living airbender not related to him is unimaginable. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be more than happy to train you daughter," Katara insisted now that she's relatively over her shock.

"Oh, that's wonderful news," Yuma sighed, utterly relieved.

"I need to call him right now. I'll make sure he gets here as fast as possible," the waterbending master informed them.

"Are you going to tell him (Y/n) can airbend over the phone?" Zoh asked curiously.

"Over the phone? Hah! I want to see his face when he finds this out. I'll just tell him it's urgent. If he leaves right after I call, his sky bison should get him here by the end of the day," Katara told them.

Oh thank spirits, it was going to be a quick situation. To be quite frank, Yuma has gotten really sick of waiting.

After getting off the phone with her son, Katara was kind enough to make them tea. While Tenzin would get here at some point today, it would be close to sunset when he arrived.

When (Y/n) woke up from her nap, Katara was heavily encouraging her to airbend. Yeah, the furniture was rearranged yet again. Thankfully, the waterbending master didn't mind at all. If all else fails, (Y/n) has a real future at being a one woman move in service.

As the sun began to hide behind the mountains, a loud roar was heard from outside. Katara got up from her chair, already knowing Tenzin had arrived. His wife, Pema, joined him in greeting his mother and introducing themselves to Yuma's family.

Yuma made sure to show Pema specifically (Y/n)'s parentage. They were, of course, confused out of their minds.

"Alright Turtle Duck, you know what to do," Yuma nodded.

"Do I get to move the chair?" (Y/n) asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not at this point," Yuma snorted.

(Y/n) then used her airbending to push the chair to the ceiling and gently lowered it back down. Zoh began clapping as Pema and Tenzin looked at (Y/n) with dropped jaws. Huh, Tenzin actually looked exactly like Katara with that expression. Strong genes.

"I know this seems impossible, but my daughter is an airbender. An airbender who needs a teacher. Master Tenzin, please, take on (Y/n) as a student," Yuma asked him.

Then, Tenzin fainted.

"I have to say, he took that much better than I thought he would," Katara noted.

Pema looked down at her husband then proceeded to check his pulse. (Y/n) frowned and looked down at the fallen man.

"Um, is he going to be okay?" the young girl asked.

"Eh, he'll be fine. But, more importantly, this is incredible! Another airbender! I know he's a little unconscious right now, but Tenzin will be more than happy to train your daughter. It's just, there's a bit of an issue with the living situation," Pema said while trailing off.

"I'm fully prepared to move wherever you need me to in order for (Y/n) to get proper training," Yuma said with zero hesitation.

She'd do anything for her daughter. This wouldn't be the first time Yuma's uprooted her entire life for family. If she's done it twice already, what's one more move?

"Cool, when are we moving?" Zoh asked.

"Oh, that's wonderful! That's really the only concern I had. We'll hash out the finer details once my husband regains consciousness," Pema smiled.

Yuma nodded and watched on as Pema then tended to the still knocked out man. The newly realized airbender furrowed her brows and aggressively crossed her arms.

"Mommy, I don't want to move. I want to stay near Gran Gran," (Y/n) frowned.

"Well that's an easy fix. I'm moving with you two," Zoh casually stated.

She's going to what now?

"Oh, okay! We can move now," (Y/n) said with a bright smile.

"Really, Mom? But you have a life here! You have work and-" Yuma began.

"And you two. I can find young waterbenders to train anywhere, but there's only one place where my family is. Besides, (Y/n) is going to be training as a bender. You're going to need a good healer on standby when accidents happen," Zoh told her.

Yuma sighed and wrapped the other woman in a firm hug. Zoh readily embraced her back. She watched as her daughter excitedly started to jump up and down at the prospect of her grandmother moving with them.

Yuma's daughter is an airbender. One of two in all four nations. Motherhood is not for the weak.

**********************

(Thirteen Years Later)

Korra sighed as she took a seat on one of the benches on Air Temple Island. It's been, to put it bluntly, an insane day. Republic City certainly isn't what she thought it would be. It's not like she had much of a choice, though. As the Avatar, she needed to learn to airbend. The selection of airbending masters are slim pickings given the fact that there's literally only two.

Given Tenzin's major responsibilities in Republic City, it did make sense that he wouldn't be able to get away from it even though it was always the plan for him to move to the South to teach her. What's always stumped Korra was the other airbending master, (Y/n). Mainly because they've never even met.

Tenzin's family visits rather infrequently to see Katara and Korra while she was in the South Pole. Korra’s heard all sorts of things about (Y/n) from the whole family over the years but the airbender’s never made an actual appearance. Apparently, the reason why the (Y/n) is unable to teach Korra is because she’s the one that gets sent out when there’s trouble with sky bison poachers. Some assignments take weeks, others take months and Korra doesn’t have that kind of time.

This (Y/n) girl has a pretty impressive track record. Got her airbending tattoos at age eleven, making her the youngest airbending master in recorded history. Korra remembers reading a paper a few years ago where (Y/n) saved a bunch of people from falling to their death in some gang related incident at the age of fourteen. Poor girl also had to fight off said gang members.

Korra’s always been quite curious about this air bending master. She figured now that she’s in Republic City and ultimately lives on the same island (Y/n) does, they would meet eventually. For now, Korra just has to wait.

Korra strolled around the island, looking for something to do. Maybe she could find an open space to train or something. She had some time to kill before dinner. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple adorable baby sky bison playing together. If Korra doesn’t get to pet one she might actually die. Knowing bison are a fan of apples, Korra picked a couple from the tree and held them out to the babies.

“C’mon little buddies, I’m not going to hurt you,” Korra cooed at the sweet little animals.

One of the babies perked up at the sight of the apple in Korra’s hand and began waddling towards her. Yes! Just when the baby was nearing Korra’s hand, she seemed to have been struck by an intense gust of wind.

Korra groaned as she landed on her back. Unfortunately, the madness did not stop there. Before she could even blink, Korra was literally suspended in mid air. She could feel air rushing at her from all sides, pinning all her limbs together as if she was in a strait jacket. Damn, she could barely breathe.

Okay, now Korra's starting to panic. She can't move which means she can't bend. Plus she has zero idea who is attacking her right now.

"Who the hell are you and what do you think you're doing to those bison?!" a woman's voice snapped.

At least now she can see the woman currently assaulting her. The attacker looked to be about Korra's age with (h/c) hair tied into a braid. Huh, her attacker is actually kind of pretty. But most notably, she had airbending tattoos.

Well this is not how Korra wanted to meet the other airbending master. She may not even need to deal with awkward introductions because Korra's pretty sure she's loosing consciousness.

"Korra, dinner's re- (Y/N) DROP HER RIGHT NOW THAT IS THE AVATAR!" Tenzin yelled in a frenzy.

The stern look on the airbender's face fell into a shocked one. Her arms flopped to her sides, releasing Korra from her air like prison. Korra doesn't even care that she managed to cut her arm on the fall down, she's just happy to be on solid ground again. The girl that can now certainly be identified as (Y/n) is just standing there in pure disbelief.

"She's the who now-"

#avatar the last airbender #legend of korra #korra x reader x asami #korra x asami #korrasami #korrasami x reader #korra x y/n #korra x you #korra x reader #asami x reader #airbender reader #lok x reader

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nickeverdeen · 2 months ago

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Hii, I saw the Korra as a mom request and I thought I should request Korra and Asami as mom after Korra returned to republic city(if that make sense?)

Korra and Asami as moms after Korra’s return

Korra brings her bold and protective energy, while Asami brings calm, calculated reasoning, balancing each other perfectly as moms

Korra loves taking the kids on exciting adventures, like hikes, training sessions, or trips to the spirit world

Asami ensures the home is a place of stability, helping with homework

Asami knows the principal of their kids’ school no matter which school they go to

Korra can’t resist training her kids, even if they’re not benders

She’ll teach them self-defense or fun games like bending dodgeball along with Asami watching

Asami sets up a little workshop where she teaches the kids how to build gadgets, encouraging curiosity and creativity

Korra is the fun, impulsive mom who’s quick to say yes to wild ideas, while Asami is the practical mom who makes sure everything is safe and well-planned

Both are fiercely protective

Korra tells the kids tales of her adventures as the Avatar, while Asami reads them books

They’re adamant about treating their kids equally, whether they’re benders, non-benders, or somewhere in between

As high-profile figures, they teach their kids about responsibility and the importance of helping others

They take their kids to city festivals, like pro-bending matches or Harmony Restoration events, showing them the vibrant culture of Republic City

Asami is the polished, professional mom who impresses every teacher, while Korra is the one sneaking snacks for the kids

Their home is a mix of Asami’s sleek, modern style and Korra’s love for traditional Water Tribe elements

Both moms encourage the kids to follow their own paths, whether that’s bending, engineering, or something entirely different

They ensure their kids have a strong bond, teaching them to support and protect each other

They still carve out time for each other

As a same-sex couple, they teach their kids to respect diversity and embrace differences in others

Korra loves experimenting in the kitchen (even if it’s a disaster), while Asami supervises with a smile and steps in when needed.

They joke about which mom the kids love more, playfully competing to be the favorite

Korra is quick to panic if one of the kids gets hurt, rushing them to healers or using her waterbending to soothe their injuries

Asami is the calm one who fixes toys, repairs gadgets, and always knows how to handle a crisis

They prioritize creating a safe space for the kids to talk about anything

#korra x asami #korrasami #tlok #the legend of korra #wlw #wlw moms

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the-vast-corner-of-the-galaxy · 6 months ago

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KW 2024- Day 8: Free Day

Day 8 of Kataang Week 2024 hosted by @kataang-week

Prompt: Free Day, Monday, August 5

Summary: Korra and Asami have brought Katara too many long lost memories of her beloved.

Word Count: 1.7 K

Rating: General audiences (except for mentions of death)

When Korra first introduced Asami to Katara, she felt an unexplainable and sad feeling in her. It was not anything against Asami since Katara’s own daughter, Kya, liked women, but it was a wave of nostalgia attacking her like a tsunami.

“Master Katara, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Asami Sato.”

Katara remembered clearly the day Korra properly introduced Asami to her. She remembers her caring gaze and how sweet and polite she was. Asami was great for Katara: she loved her sense of humor, cared for her, teased her, connected so well with her, and placed Korra at ease. Korra also cared for this young woman dearly, probably more than anyone in the world. The way they would gaze at each other’s eyes proved their unwavering bond and love for one another. Every time one of them spoke, the other would gaze at them with a look of eternal love Katara hadn’t seen in a long time.

It reminded her of the old days, when her beloved Aang was still alive.

“Aang!” Katara would exclaim. “Stop looking at me with those eyes!”

“What eyes?” the Avatar would ask playfully, not taking his grey eyes from the Waterbender. They were profound like the mountains, and Katara could sink in them forever. He would look at her as if she were the most precious and beautiful thing on this world, even if she did not feel like it.

“You always stare at me like that!” Katara would laugh.

“I just do it because you are the most beautiful, wonderful, smartest, and kindest woman in the world,” Aang would tell her lovingly, making her heart pound. They would laugh wholeheartedly and continue to tease each other. More than a simple romantic couple, Aang and Katara were also best friends.

But most importantly, they were soulmates.

The last time Aang looked at Katara with those loving, silver eyes was in his last few days. He was really sick and weak, but still tried to keep his spirits up, even if his energy was fading.

“Aang, what are you doing?” Katara would ask, sitting next to him.

“I am just looking at the most gorgeous woman in the world one last time,” he whispered, his misty, silver eyes gazing at her, caressing her face with his weak arm.

“This won’t be the last time you see me,” Katara would tell him in denial. “I promise that you will get better, and we will keep living in peace.”

Aang’s hand brushed a white strand of hair from Katara’s face. Even if age had wiped off her youthful features, he still thought she was ethereal. She looked wiser, and her eyes were now a darker blue, like the oceans at the South Pole.

Unfortunately, Aang was right, and only two days after that conversation, Aang passed away.

Korra always reminded Katara of her beloved Aang, and not just because Aang was Korra’s past life, but because she had his loving and cheerful spirit. She never told Korra how much she reminded her of her late husband, but she was always there for the young Avatar no matter what.

The day Aang passed away, Katara had to tend to Senna since she was giving birth. It was a complicated labor, and Senna was in a lot of pain. Katara feared that the birth would worsen, but she was not hopeless and knew that Senna and her baby would have a chance in the world.

“It’s alright Senna,” Katara would say soothfully. “It will be over soon, and you’ll be okay.” The young woman could only grunt in pain, and her hand was glued to Tonraq’s hand, who was doing an amazing job of calming her down.

“Master Katara!” a young healer entered the hut. “You need to come home quickly! It’s Avatar Aang!”

“What?” she asked, having a bad feeling about what the healer intended.

“I will cover for you,” volunteered the healer. “Go! He is not doing well.”

Katara rushed to her home with the help of Bumi and Tenzin, and when she got to her home, Aang was clearly not doing well. His body was fading, and his energy was already down to a minimum. Although she did not want to believe it, Katara knew that he only had minutes in this world.

“Kat…ara,” Aang whispered with a raspy voice. “You have to promise me… train… the new Avatar… They are going to be… Water Tribe.”

“I promise Aang!” Katara cried through tears. “I will train them but please, don’t leave-”

“Not everything is forever,” Aang whispered. “Everything comes… and goes… I knew that my time on this earth would be short after you found me… in the iceberg… but every year of it was worth living it… especially with you by my side…”

“Aang,” Katara cried, tears streaming down her eyes. She kissed Aang’s forehead, which felt cold to the touch. His breath was starting to slow down, and Katara knew that this was it.

“I… love you,” Aang barely whispered. “I will always, be with you…” After breathing out those last words, he shut his eyes and felt how he slowly sank into the dark. Tears began flowing violently from Katara’s eyes, and she began to sob as her beloved Aang passed into the afterlife. Her children were all crying beside her, and tried comforting her. Some healers came into the room and covered Aang with a large piece of animal fur. Aang was gone, and this time, forever.

A few hours later, another healer came to Katara and Aang’s residence, and requested to talk to Kya.

“Senna’s birth was successful, Master Kya,” the healer said. “She gave birth to a healthy baby girl, and Senna sent me to tell you the news and to thank the two of you.”

Katara heard Kya and the healer’s conversation from afar, but she did not say anything, for she was overtaken by the grief of losing Aang. She wanted him to be with her by her side, and she could imagine him talking to the healer instead of Kya. Aang would then go to her and tell her the news, and Katara would smile.

Even if 20 years passed since Aang’s passing, not a single day would pass when she did not miss him. The spirit of the Avatar could be reincarnated as many times as it wanted, but Aang’s spirit couldn’t.

One particular day, on one of Korra’s stays at the South Pole, she saw Korra and Asami laughing and playfully teasing each other.

“Asami!” Korra squealed. Asami was trying to tickle her, and she was behind Korra trying to tickle her waist. Asami was cackling at Korra’s reaction, and she tried to sneak her hands more into her ribs. She playfully kissed all of Korra’s face, making her blush intensely and giggle.

In a breeze, Korra overpowered Asami and placed her on her shoulder with easiness. “Korra!” Asami laughed. “Put me down!”

“Not until you admit that I love you more!” Korra smirked.

“No! I love you more!” Asami snapped back teasingly.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Korra remarked. Asami was trying to get down from Korra’s shoulders, but the Avatar kept her up there. As Korra tried walking with Asami, who was taller than her, she tripped and both of them fell into the snow. They giggled at the incident and gave each other a loving Water Tribe kiss (1).

“Aang!” Katara would yell from Aang's shoulder. “Put me down now!”

“Not happening, sweetie!” Aang would tell her playfully.

“Please!” she would yell, trying to hold back her laughter.

Aang would spin around, his laughter infectious. “Only if you say the magic words!” he teased.

“Fine! You win, mighty Avatar!” Katara would surrender with a dramatic sigh, only for Aang to gently lower her to the ground, pulling her into a tight embrace.

Katara’s heart ached with the memories of their youthful antics. She would remember everything she lived with Aang when she saw Korra and Asami.

She remembered the days when they would race through the Southern Water Tribe’s icy terrain as teenagers, laughing and shouting.

“I’m going to get you!” Katara would warn Aang as they were skating through the ice.

“Oh, no you won’t!” Aang would smirk, getting on his air scooter and skating away.

“Aang, that’s not fair!” Katara would laugh, catching up to the young Avatar. She tackled him to the ground and was on top of him, both of them giggling hysterically.

She remembered the quiet nights under the stars, when they would stargaze and spot as many space phenomenon as possible.

“I’ve never seen that star before,” Katara would point out at the sky. “It’s so beautiful!”

“The Airbenders would say it is extremely far away,” Aang would tell her. “This star is rarely seen in the sky, but Fire Nation legend tells that it is a symbol of eternal love. Whichever couple spots it, will be together for eternity.”

She remembered the warmth of his touch, the way his eyes would light up whenever he looked at her, and the softness of his kisses, filled with all the love in the world.

As she watched the two girls, Katara felt a tear slip down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away, not wanting to interrupt their joy. She knew that Aang would be happy to see the love and laughter that Korra had found, even if he couldn’t be there to witness it himself.

“Master Katara?” Korra turned around and noticed the tears slipping from Katara’s eyes. Asami and her quickly approached her to see how she was. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is the way it’s supposed to be,” Katara answered, with nostalgia in her voice. (2)

“If you need anything, you know where to find us,” Asami told Katara. The Waterbending master nodded with kindness and let the girls go back to playing in the snow.

Korra and Asami’s laughter echoed around the snow-covered landscape, a beautiful reminder that love, in all its forms, continues to thrive. Katara felt a sense of peace, knowing that while Aang was gone, his spirit lived on, not just in Korra, but in the love and happiness she shared with those around her.

“Live fully, my dear Korra,” Katara whispered to herself. “Cherish every moment, just as I did with Aang.”

***

Water Tribe Kiss: Reference to the famous Eskimo kiss.

This scene (and story) is heavily based on that one Korrasami comic where Korra and Asami's relationship reminds Katara of how she used to be with Aang. (I couldn't find the creator of this story anywhere, but shoutout to them)

#kataangtag #kataang week #kataang #aang #katara #katara x aang #atla #atla fanfiction #i almost cried #avatar the last airbender #tw death #korrasami

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tamras-shieldmaiden · 1 year ago

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Since I've already shared some Kuvira headcanons, now it's time for Republic City's resident hero Lin Beifong, so here are some miscellaneous headcanons of our favorite Chief Crankypants (affective).

While she was in her teens and already in a relationship with Tenzin, Lin came to terms with the fact that she had been harboring a crush on Izumi. She had originally dismissed her feelings as admiration since Izumi was the older girl of the group. Lin admired Izumi discreetly, finding her to be stylish, elegant, and cool, but as Lin got older, she realized that what she had been feeling was attraction, and thanks to the Air Nomad influence cortesy of Aang, she wasn't troubled or ashamed of being attracted to another girl. Since she was in love with Tenzin, she decided not tell anything to anyone, but what Lin didn't know is that Kya had noticed but decided not to tease her until she had come to terms with what she felt on her own. Not only that, Izumi herself had also noticed (she had caught Lin gawking at her while they've been all vacationing in Ember Island) and found it cute and flattering, especially since she knew Lin was on her way to becoming a gorgeous young woman. Luckily for Lin, Izumi was used to having admirers, something that came along with being Fire Nation royalty, according to her dad Firelord Zuko, who at his age still kept plenty of them.

Speaking of Fire Lord Zuko, weeks after Lin was left with scars from the incident with Suyin, Zuko was told what happened by Katara since she had been the lead healer to take care of her. After a conversation with Toph, during one of his official visits to Republic City, he requested to have Lin assigned to his security detail. What Lin didn't know is that this was the pretext Zuko used so he could have an opportunity to talk to Lin and allow her the opportunity to open up about what she was feeling with someone who like her, also carried the scars of a unfortunate incident with a family member on his face, and he wanted to provide her with the support he wished he’d had back then. After Toph left the reins of the department to Lin, she made sure to keep contact with Zuko, and they've remained good friends to this day.

This last one is a bonus Linvira headcanon for the rarepair fans like @redcatmusings 😉

Lin has had this deep green dress that makes her look and feel more of a knockout that she already is for the longest time, but between work and lack of opportunities, she has worn it only a handful of times. Back when they began their very discreet relationship while they were still sorting out their unique situation, Kuvira noticed the emerald dress, surprised that Lin kept such fashionable clothes tucked away between her uniforms in the closet, because she couldn't remember the last time she had seen Lin in something else other than her police uniform or her beloved tank tops. Curiosity got the best of her, so Kuvira asked why she hadn't worn it, to which Lin replied that she was waiting for the right occasion and the right company to go along with it. Months after this conversation, when their relationship was no longer the best kept secret in the city, Lin decided to attend Asami's gala for the first time as a guest and not as part of her police duties. When Kuvira rushed home to get ready to the gala, her jaw dropped with the vision of Lin in the figure hugging dress that was tailor-made for her. That evening, Kuvira had the distinction of being the only person who had both helped Lin fit into it and had also taken it off her🤭

#the legend of korra #legend of korra #tlok #lok #lin beifong #izumi #zuko #kuvira #linvira #headcanons

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chocolate-cringymuffin · 1 year ago

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Amon tries to convince Korra to learn bloodbending, so she could defend herself from bloodbenders and more advanced benders in future. She's against it, but she appreciates his concern. In the similar fashion, she wants to teach him healing, but Amon isn't patient enough. And it would remind him of the few times when Tarrlok or the village healer would heal his wounds when he was a kid, and it makes him sad :(

Korra and Amon love traditional Water Tribe food. Mako, Bolin and Asami don't like it though, and it disappoints Korra. Sometimes Tenzin makes Korra some traditional recipes which Katara has taught him, since it's her comfort food, and she shares it with Amon. And yes, Amon will cook for Korra whenever she wants ��

Amon always thought he's asexual, but after meeting Korra and getting close to her, he realizes he's actually demisexual. He was just lonely for many years, without any close bonds 🥺 but the whole newly discovered sexual attraction is weird and overwhelming to him, luckily Korra, who is just as awkward like him, is there to help 👀

Korra doesn't want to get pregnant, the whole idea is scary and uncomfortable to her (and she doesn't know how the Avatar state will impact the pregnancy, there's no information about it). Meanwhile Noatak turns out to be infertile, so they both decide to adopt. I like to imagine they would adopt a waterbender, non-bender from Water Tribe and a firebender. And they would settle in Korra's hometown in the South Pole, while often traveling with their kiddos 🥺 and the idea of uncle Tarrlok babysiting his nephews/nieces is funny

Not gonna lie it would be interesting to see Korra learning blood bending, especially with Amon/Noatak as her teacher, but I think he would be REALLY hesitant at first. To me, he would do EVERYTHING in the world before teaching his cursed skill, (thanks to Yakone), and I think he would do it only if it was truly needed, otherwise he wouldn’t… especially with Korra.

The second ABSOLUTELY❤️ to Amon is nostalgic due to his childhood memories and for Korra is everything, I headcanon Asami and Mako enjoy spicy food and Bolin is more into sweets but yeah they don’t share tastes 😅

About Tenzin I am not sure because he could prepare watertribe food yes but I think he follows Aang’s vegetarian life style, so I think he only might prepare recipes that don’t have meat.

About cooking… well I hc Amon is paranoid af and has been cooking for himself for years but is not one of his favorites tasks, he will eat whatever is available in the kitchen (making a revolution takes a lot of time and energy 😬) but sometimes he and Korra will cook together and sometimes something god might come of it <3

Korra can cook too but her food is… not the best, she needs help at first and eventually she gets decent food for the family.

I used to hc Amon as Ace too! Gimme five 🖐😎

Now I hc Amon as bi but I love your hc too! He became Demi for our little Korra 🥹

About the pregnancy… I think Amon and Tarrlok might be terrified by those topics, mainly because they fear repeating the cycle as Yakone did with them and they do not want any little creature to result like them, (actually that’s one of the theories behind the boat explosion, it happened because they wanted to close the cursed blood bending cycle forever ;((

But coming back to the kids I am sure they would get one or another eventually, either planned or not they would become a sweet family ;)

Oh and you are one of the few I who gives them an adopted child love that! I haven’t seen many give them adopted kids but I have one too!

They have a biological child, (Anoki), and an adopted child, (Nilak), if you investigate a little bit more in the gold era of Amorra Nilak was a pretty common name for Amorra children, so I decided to keep that little detail in honor to the good old fandom?

May I ask if your kids have names yet?👀

#korranok art #amorra #noarra #muffin answers #love those dorks

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irresistiibles · 9 months ago

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event starter call under the cut! i don't plan on doing a lot of preplotting but like or dm me if you want to! i do have a few characters willing to do a murder for others if you hit me up quickly so i can plan. please let me know who you want the starter for/from even for random starters! the random section is specifically for characters that have no preplotted plans or connections. technically i'll let yall request random starters even if i hit the limit i just can't guarantee they'll be written by the start of the event. beyond that i want to interact with as many people as possible so please limit yourself to five starters max!

amber || twenty three || genshin impact || aware

really just trying to be helpful, find people save areas to bunker down and chill, but they aren't getting too involved in any fighting unless it's absolutely necessary. staying positive somehow despite everything going on and if you need some good energy she's here.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

angel dust || thirty || hazbin hotel || aware

confused and not really trusting anyone. has several guns and isn't afraid to use them. will fire as a warning so don't give off bad vibes. if you really want to plot angel killing your target he'd do it for a large sum of cash but dm me quickly about this so i can request starters that i'd need

connection starters (3/3) - husk, niffty, molly random starters (0/3)

asami sato || twenty two || avatar the last airbender || aware

also strapped but a little less trigger happy than angel. she's playing more protective, but is going to be hestitant to help strangers. there's several people she knows and cares about in washington and her priority is trying to make sure they're alright

connection starters (1/3) - aang random starters (0/3)

ciel phantomhive || twenty one || black butler || aware

also also strapped but has terrible aim and hopefully won't have to use the weapon. he does not trust anyone, isn't looking to help, and will probably being a real cautious asshole to anyone trying to get close to him. honestly he could use some protection but he's going to be a real bitch about it.

connection starters (1/3) - elizabeth midford random starters (0/3)

clara oswald || thirty one || doctor who || aware

does not fear death the way she should and is unfortunately a little curious about everything and reckless, so she's out asking questions, trying to see what's going on, being a whole fucking fool. if anyone wants to do a little chaos she's not going to hurt anyone but is the sort of person who will happily be dragged along on some nonsense.

connection starters (1/3) - rory willaims random starters (0/3)

emery anden || twenty one || the green bone saga || unaware

listen he can do some self defense but he's not down with murder and is very stressed b everything happening! that said he's a healer in his heart so he's trying to help people however he can even if that means putting himself in danger.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

fizzarolli || twenty eight || helluva boss || aware

not gonna lie they're scared as shit and trying not to show it but will break and ask for help pretty fucking fast. this is a performer not a fighter, and fizzarolli knows it. is looking for someone who seems big and strong to ideally hide behind until everything's over thanks

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

glinda upland || twenty two || wicked || aware

not a fighter either, and getting really tired of the nonsense that occurs in this city. she's bad at just staying in and staying safe but shouldn't be out either so it's gonna be a rough time.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

gu zi || twenty || heaven official's blessing || aware

this is baby please help him. he's recently started taking some self defense classes but i wouldn't say he's very good yet! and murder stresses him out! he could really just use some positive energy here okay.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

inej ghafa || twenty three || grishaverse || aware

focusing on finding her idiots and making sure they're okay and honestly if they need help murdering someone to stay alive she will be providing but though the crows are her priority inej will help innocents find safe places to hide out if needed

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

irina yang || twenty four || percy jackson || aware

it's not that they don't care! it's just irina is bad at being present even in the worst of danger! someone needs to drag their ass to safety most likely. she is good at calming people down like emotionally though so if you have anyone freaking out that just needs to breath and relax this is your person to help

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

jin ling || nineteen || the untamed || unaware

he always manages to run into danger without meaning to so you just know jin ling is somehow out and about! luckily he has fairy with him, who is a very smart and protective dog, and will make people keep their distance as best she can but he could very easily get into some trouble while refusing to keep himself safe cause come on! he's not a coward who's just gonna hide away!

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

jonathan sims || thirty one || the magnus archives || unaware

i'm so sorry this is quite simply the stupidest smart man you've ever met. he needs to know everything all the time, and danger does not stop him despite the fact he is not very physically capable of fighting. he is out and about with a tape recorder and knife he probably bought at a gas station that day trying to interview people and understand what's going on. if nothing else he's absolutely gonna get himself decked.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

kyoshi || twenty eight || avatar the last airbender || aware

capable of defending herself and will start throwing hands with anyone who seems dangerous. this is a start fighting before there's a problem sort of lady, so may accidentally deck someone who just seems to have had vibes. will try and help people who clearly need it though she's kinda awkward and forceful with that help. the type to physically pick someone up and move them without asking if it seems necessary.

connection starters (1/3) - shanks random starters (0/3)

luo qingyang || twenty four || the untamed || aware

tired of this shit. not much of a fighter but will try and pull some people to safety where it seems possible. looking for like minded people to hole up together with some bottles of cheap wine until everything is over.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

madoka kaname || twenty two || madoka magica || aware

a self sacrificing idiot who will be out trying to help despite having few capabilities to actually do so. still, she's going to be out trying and could be a good mood boost, help people find some shelter, or use some help of her own for anyone to convince her to get to safety (maybe update her soon so she has some abilities but alas not for this event)

connection starters (1/3) - homura akemi random starters (0/3)

mei nianqing || two thousand+ || heaven official's blessing || aware

not taking this as seriously as he should he's seen too much shit. i mean he's worried, and trying to stay safe, but absolutely lecturing people about how murder is bad and really this whole town seems like a disaster in the midst of things. is objectively trying to help people in his usual semi annoying sort of way and will try to make sure people are safe even if he's obnoxious to deal with during that

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

nico di angelo || twenty || percy jackson || aware

listen he's concerned but he doesn't really know how to help people here. it's not like he's gonna start fighting random regular people just because, and he's no good at patching people up, so he's just sort of around? trying to find and help sisters and friends but beyond that dude is probably going to see if mcdonalds is still open despite everything

connection starters (1/3) - bianca di angelo random starters (0/3)

nie huaisang || thirty three || the untamed || aware

idk if i can say he's my most paranoid character anymore but he's fighting for the top spot. the last time the city was caught in some random chaos like this he got his whole ass murdered so he is not feeling great right now!! that doesn't mean he's suddenly taken his saber out of the cabinet, but he's got a knife, and will pull it out if it seems necessary. still crying to anyone who will listen for help though his first option is never gonna be doing the self defense himself

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

ning yingying || twenty two || scum villain's self saving system || aware

she is not completely helpless don't get me wrong, but sometimes yingying forgets that and so she's definitely pretty stressed and naturally looking for some help instead of thinking about defending herself. she can get it together when it really counts, it just takes her a minute and she would not mind some help please and thank you

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

pearl || ten thousand+ || steven universe || aware

she's not really worried she can handle herself she's just confused and alarmed. but also like, in a way where she's still running her errands in the middle of whatever chaotic nonsense is happening. honestly could maybe be talked into doing someone's kill for them with good reasoning. she's very into this idea of being a knight so like, if small scared character has to kill big slightly meaner character pearl might be willing to do the job but dm me quickly if this is a plot you'd be interested in so i can get the proper starters i need

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

roronoa zoro || one piece || twenty one || aware

confused but not surprised. focused on protecting his people and people who can't defend himself otherwise does not give a shit and is still trying to go to the bar. was a bounty hunter at one point, so he would take on someone's kill for a chunk of money but dm me if this is a plot you want quickly so i can request the appropriate starters thanks.

connection starters (2/3) - sanji, nami random starters (0/3)

shang qinghua || twenty five || scum villain's self saving system || aware

honestly starting to tire of the events that happen in washington and thinks that really if things are going to be a chaotic mess half the time they could at least be sexier. beyond that he's jumpy, has a few weapons, and is just trying to still go about his day but if you spook him he will pull out a weapon. absolutely willing to cling onto someone bigger than him for protection if necessary.

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

shi qingxuan || immortal || heaven official's blessing || aware

the last time a murder event happened and qingxuan let themselves wander they got whole ass drowned. i would like to say that she's learned from the experience. he is trying to be a little more cautious but this just isn't someone who can hole up inside and hide. they don't need protection so much as they need a distraction! something to do in a quiet and safe environment so he doesn't go out to party please. will try and help get people to safe spots as best he can too

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

toph beifong || nineteen || avatar the last airbender || aware

honestly chilling. probably trying to prank her friends by making them think she's going to murder them (and maybe they are who knows). a menace and a half who is thrilled to have something going on. like, a good person at the end of the day who will get defensive if there seems to be violence happening, but happy to have a little chaos

connection starters (3/3) - zuko, iroh, azula random starters (0/3) - mako

wirt || twenty three || over the garden wall || aware

very unhappy and stressed!! why are we just murdering people!! who does that!! he's trying to be put together and cool but how the fuck do you do that in this sort of situation. like yeah the halloween maze was rough but that seemed more like chaotic magic not just city people going around doing murder. could definitely use a calm presance or some assistance just something

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

yin yu || immortal || heaven official's blessing || aware

tired. concerned. ready to dig a hole and sit in it. he wants to be a good person so he's out and trying to help people feel safe as best he can but he's not really good at emotionally comforting people. you need help getting to a safe spot? he's got you covered but if you're crying during it you will be getting a pat on the shoulder with a shovel

connections starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

zagreus || immortal || hades || aware

quite simply vibing your honor. zagreus is used to being around a certain amount of death and violence so i cannot say this is stressing him out much. he's gonna help people how he can though and then probably idk, see if his job is still open and try to go into work? people need plants in these stressful times okay. if you wanna hide in a green house that's cool he'll be there trying to do his job and let you hang out behind the counter

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

zhongli || immortal || genshin impact || aware

i don't want to say they're callous about the whole thing since that's not entirely true. zhongli will help where he can but he tries not to step in and get involved in big events the way that he used to back home and it's not like he's particularly concerned for his own safety even if someone is trying to murder him. another one kinda still hanging out i'm afraid. could be dragged along into chaos or help out, will just sorta match energy however it makes sense in the moment tbh

connection starters (0/3) random starters (0/3)

#hwevent17 #hw: starter call #hw: plot call

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crowentity233 · 2 years ago

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Spare Shadows (pt. 1)

(Slow Burn Type Story)

Mako x Reader

Pt2 Masterlist

Summary: Darkness is hovering over the city. Dae is one of many struggling to survive in the city without any control. Police have exhausted all efforts to save the city. The Avatar saves Dae after being captured by Bolin and Mako. Dae, a master swordswoman, then follows the group to save her spirit friends in the city.

(No warnings, I'm attempting at a storyline that would fit into Korra. If you can watch korra, you can handle this, so rated what the show I'd rated.)

Tenzin stopped in front of Korra's door. He knocked quickly. "Korra. We need to discuss some things going on in Republic City."

"I'm not here!" Korra yelled out. She already knew what was going on. Mako and Bolin had already told her about the horror in the streets.

"Korra! This is bigger than what you think it is. You need to hear this. Jinora has heard the spirits talking about the things going on in the city." Tenzin visited his daughter this morning he had informed her of a rising problem over the surrounding area of the new portal.

Korra slammed the door open. "You think I haven't heard them too. I know I was meditating this morning like you told me too, then this spirit comes to tell me that darkness is taking over spirits, but I don't know what's causing it." She walked out, leaving Tenzin behind her.

"Korra, please calm down. We can figure this out. We need to stop and think rationally about what's going on in the city." Tenzin followed her out to the courtyard.

"Don't tell me to calm down! I know there is something dangerous out there. People are trashing the streets, gangs are flooding with new members, cars are blowing up, and the people have started doing anything they can think of to destroy the town. There are spirits out there terrorizing citizens." Korra had lost her temper. Everything around the city was being demolished by the very citizens who lived there. Mako and Bolin have become overwhelmed trying to fight the crime.

"Korra, this has to be connected somehow." Jinora stepped into the courtyard. "Some of the spirits from the northpole have told me the spirits near the new portal have become infected with dark energy." She stepped beside her father.

"I know it's connected. The spirits get their energy from their surroundings. The people in the city have become barbaric. If they stop, the spirits stop." Korra had calmed into a slightly calmer tone, but the rage was still apparent.

"How do we get the people to follow rules and become better citizens?" Jinora asked.

"I don't know. The jails are full. We could make a bigger jail." Korra suggested she placed her hand on her chin. She chewed her lip thinking.

"I don't think that's going to work..." Asami trailed as she approached. Her ship had docked both Mako and Bolin were at her side they had both helped her stay stable.

"Asami!" Korra ran to her side. Asami's clothes were tattered up. She had scratches on her body.

Korra took her into her arms, carrying her. "We have to get you to the healers room."

The group followed as Asami was placed into the water. "What happened?" Tenzin asked the brothers.

"Her warehouse was attacked. A group tried to rob it." Mako spoke simply.

"They busted in and just started taking stuff. There were so many of them. It's getting worse. The crime was just at night, but now it's all day and night, and they are just getting bigger, badder, and scarier, " Bolin exclaimed, throwing his arms out dramatically.

"We caught one of the criminals. She is locked up in the ship's cell room." Mako finished for his brother.

"Do you know who she's working for?" Jinora asked.

"It's not Shady Shin. The woman was just screaming about wanting him dead in a jumbly voice." Mako crossed his arms."I tried asking her, but she-"

"She was acting like a caged animal. She was screaming and barking like a dogbat." Bolin dramatically interrupted.

"Take me to her. Jinora, stay here with Asami and Korra-"

"No, dad. You know what this sounds like. You know that I can help." Jinora stood her ground against the protective father.

"But Jinora, it's not safe." Tenzin said quickly.

"I'm actually with your dad on this one, Jinora. This woman is dangerous, and we dont know who she is or what she is capable of. You are the best spirit guide here. We can't risk anything." Mako agreed. Bolin shook his head, too.

"I will call you down if we need your help, okay? Stay with korra and Asami. Just listen out for us." Tenzin followed the men.

"Okay." She said and stayed with the pair.

Mako and Bolin led Tenzin to the ship. "Has she used any bending?" Tenzin asked.

"She hasn't since we've seen her. We are assuming she is a non-bender. She looks like she is in her twenties. She won't say her name or anything about her life." Mako stepped onto the ship. "She's in here."

The trio stepped inside to see the cell with the girl hunched over. Snarls and low growls sounded through the room as they got closer. The girl looked up, seeing them enter the room. She ran towards the bars, grabbing them she shook her arms unnaturally hard, trying to get out.

"What do you think it is?" Bolin turned to Tenzin for wisdom.

"This certainly isn't just a normal criminal empire." Tenzin put his fingers to his chin. He stepped out from the room back to the deck. "Yes, It's connected to the spirits. That's not the woman in that cell. A dark spirit has taken control of her. Boys, you're fighting a losing battle. This is bigger than our world alone."

"Dark Spirits! What do we do for that? They're taking over the city." Bolin gasped horrified.

"We are going to have to see how we can get the spirit to come out of the woman in that cell. If we can deal with one, then we can find a way to deal with the rest." Tenzin led the boys off the ship.

"What are we going to do about the woman? We can't leave her in there, " Bolin asked.

"I'm not going in there. We need some backup before we deal with her. I need some time to talk with Jinora. Once we get the woman restrained or the spirit changes, then we will have her take a look." Tenzin and the brothers walked into the healing room. "The woman is possessed by a dark spirit."

Korra let the water fall from Asami's wounds. "That makes sense. The group didn't seem human. They were acting weird. It started out where crime was normal and just a few were acting strange but then the number of them started growing...fast." Asami spoke up, feeling much better after Korra healed her wounds they were all surface level, easily healed.

Jinora's hand fell to hip while the other rubbed her neck. She was lost in thought for a moment. "If they are possessing the people, then there has to be a reason. Spirits wouldn't just go to all that trouble for nothing."

"I know spirits will react to emotions in the spirit world," korra added.

"Yes, but here it's different. They don't react to just emotions. There had to be something that made them upset." Jinora said.

"Well, she seemed to be really mad at the mention of Shady Shin." Bolin thought outloud. "You should have seen her. she went wild."

Mako's eyes widened. "That's it. Shady Shin was planning something with the spirit world. Crime shot up in the area around the portal."

"So that made them upset, and they started taking over bodies to destroy the city like the humans that must have been destroying the spirit world." Korra finished.

Tenzin placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Jinora, we need to get that spirit out of her. You'd be able to talk to the spirit when it comes out of her, right?"

"Yeah, the spirit might know what's going on, but korra, you have to calm the spirit before we release it, or it will possess someone else." Jinora nodded towards korra.

"Calm the spirit. I can handle that." Korra stood and helped Asami up.

The group was led to the cell the woman was being held in. Jinora was instructed to stay back because her connection to the spirit was so strong. They couldn't risk her getting possessed.

"Well, I bet she is great at parties." Korra eyed the woman behind the cell.

"Maybe a rage room..." Asami spoke under her breath.

Korra's eyes set onto the woman. She used her hands to begin slowly bending the spirit. It was like the spirit was being rocked and held. The comfort led the spirit closer to the light. She shifted the energy around the woman. The woman calmed down from her position on the bars. She landed on her feet, then fell to her knees. The spirit slowly exited her body. Her back finally collapsed onto the floor as the spirit calmly hovered over her.

Jinora left her hiding place and slowly approached the spirit. Korra stepped to the side, not leaving the defense of Jinora.

Jinora whispered to the spirit. The spirit spoke softly back to her in a sweet tone. The spirit was so much better behaved than before. She dismissed the spirit, helping it back to the spirit world.

"The spirit said that there was a lot going on. She didn't know much, but there was a grave darkness taking over around the city Portal. Shady Shin has made a lot of spirits angry. She is very sorry for what she has done. There are a lot more out there and many more coming. It will infest the spirit world and will eventually hit the other portals, and the entire spirit world will darken, then the world will then become dark."

"Great, so we still don't know any possible way to stop it, and the world will parish if we don't stop it. Perfect." Korra rolled her eyes.

"That's not true. We know that we have to calm the spirit to get them out of people's bodies." Tenzin spoke up.

"Yes, but I can't bend spirit on that scale. There's too many of them." Korra added, crossing her arms over her chest.

"One problem at a time..." Asami kneeled down in front of the woman. "What are we going to do for her?"

Korra's eyes softened as her girlfriend picked the woman up in her arms. Korra helped Asami lift and carry the limp woman up to the healing room. The others stayed outside in the courtyard.

"Jinora, is there anything you know about waking her up?" Asami asked, calling her in the room.

"She needs some rest. Healing with water will help, but her mind needs rest so she can come back. Her spirit was cast to the side to give room for the dark spirit. Some people come back quickly, and others take time to wake up."

"Thank you, Jinora. Asami, do you mind if I take some time alone to heal her. I need to think about what we are going to do." The two nodded. Asami kissed korra softly before walking out to the courtyard.

Tag List:

(Just let me know if you'd like to be tagged)

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thatoneguy56fanfic · 2 years ago

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“So, how would you like to do this, General?” Kuvira inquired, adjusting the bracer on her left arm. “I’m happy to only bend metal, in the sake of fairness.”

“In that case, I’ll just use fire,” Iroh replied.

“I would appreciate that. I don’t particularly relish the thought of being electrocuted.” Kuvira replied a wry grin.

“Of all the idiotic ideas,” Asami sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Are we really going to let this happen?”

“I mean, I’m pretty curious to see who wins,” Korra said. Asami glared at her. The Avatar stepped away from her slightly, and coughed. “She’s right, maybe this isn’t the best idea.”

“Oh come on, Kor. It’s just a friendly spar.” Kuvira said, tightening her belt slightly. She’d forgone a full set of metal armor. Wearing only a pair of metal bracers, and a pair of cable reels on her hips. Iroh had shed his uniform jacket.

“Speaking of friendly, let’s try not to break any bones,” Iroh said, rolling up the sleeves of his undershirt. “And maybe don’t aim for the face.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Kuvira agreed.

“I hope Suyin has a good landscaper,” Bolin muttered. “I don’t think her garden is going to survive this.”

“Opal, could you please go and fetch another healer, or two?” Korra sighed. “If this is going to happen, we may as well be prepared.” Opal wordlessly leapt into the air, flying off towards the mansion.

“Fine, but I want you as the referee, Korra,” Asami conceded with a huff.

“Don’t worry, Asami, I’ll try not to break your boyfriend,” Kuvira said, smirking.

Snippet from an upcoming fic.

#ao3 writer #legend of korra #fanfiction #korvira #irosami #random snippet from my writing

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afroggycollective · 22 days ago

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My bnha students classes:

Ikari - 1A

Neon - 1B

Asami - 1C

#lucas talks (ooc)#nothing's too broken to find a way back. (headcanons)#the rainbow. (neon)#hello there my enemy // welcome to my punching spree. (ikari)#the healer. (asami)

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escapeaddict · 2 years ago

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okay, so. characters from atla and where they are now-

Aang: dead and reincarnated as a 16 year old girl

Katara: master waterbender and healer in the south pole, formerly Korra's teacher, and a vocal supporter of the South Pole's newly established laws limiting the Chief's power and allowing to call for their removal under certain circumstances (not quite a democracy yet, but getting there)

Sokka: master swordsman, boomerang enthusiast, member of the White Lotus, lives on Kyoshi island, and helps train the Kyoshi Warriors (he made them co-ed)

Toph: master earthbender, lives in the Swamp, strained relationship with her daughters

Zuko: master firebender and swordsman, member of the White Lotus, retired Fire Lord

Suki: Elder of Kyoshi Island, retired Warrior

Azula: a crime boss in Republic City, taught Mako to use lightning, pulls the strings behind the scenes of the Triple Threat Triad

Ty Lee: retired as a Kyoshi Warrior after serving as one for at least two decades in order to raise her daughter as a single mother, chronic traveler, good friend to Sokka and Suki

Mai: dead, sorry (formerly Consort of the Fire Lord)

June: dead, taught Asami to use a whip

#tlok rewrite #I need to figure out what toph was up to before becoming a hermit #the legend of korra

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upthehillask · 21 days ago

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hi what are your thoughts on korra, mako, asami, bolin, aang as a father in TLOK

Love Korra! love her struggles, she feels a bit more real and therefore fulfilling than Aang (prob cause Aang's just a kid). Asami is a bit underdeveloped imo but I do love her, just wished for more of her, more realness idk... Mako and Bolin are cool, honestly no particular feelings, I'd probably need to rewatch TLOK to have some thoughts prompted about them lol And when it comes to Aang as a father... flawed, of course, but aren't all parents...🥲 his absence and neglect (towards Bumi and Kya) sucks, even though I understand it. Though my biggest beef is with Katara in TLOK, ie not with Katara but with the writers. She was such a fierce badass fighter, and they reduced her into just another nice old healer lady. Not that there's anything wrong with that role, it just doesn't entirely feel like the Katara we know...

#q&a #upthehillask

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mskoreodyssey · 2 months ago

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[TLOK] Book Two: Spirits (Fix)

Original Book 2: 7-14 (Spirits)

Part 1 // Part 2

Fix Book 2 by Tim Hickson

[Episode Seven: The Sting]

In the opening moments of the episode, Asami is preparing a huge shipment of Sato Industry weapons. And that, she assures, will bring the conflict to its end. "This will be decisive. There will be no more war. That the Northern army just isn't equipped to fight these kind of mechs." That night, though, the whole warehouse is bombed. The loss of this immense stock nearly bankrupt Sato Industries, which was already struggling. But Varrick kindly offers to buy out a controlling stock in her company. "Well, come on, it's got to be worth it for a pretty yuan. And I've got a few ideas of where we can take it. The stars. How many of stars? Were gonna go with so many stars on planets and other planets and stars. Yeah, how about it?" Mako tells her not to. But Bolin says, "Oh, hey, Varrick, he's a great guy. I've been working for him for a while. He's a lovely man, great sense of humor, good amount of money." And Asami agrees. Mako and Beifong suspect that this bombing of her warehouse is trying to prevent Asami from providing help to the South. "They don't want their tribe to be humiliated." "Benders have always been proud of their abilities", Asami says, "sometimes too proud". And while investigating the warehouse, Mako again finds evidence of the Triple Triad. Which is strange, they're a bending gang that is often hired for odd jobs. He wonders whether this, the embassy and the attempt on Asami's life are connected. Asami brushes it off because of course it's going to be to do with the South, and she assures him that there are better explanations. We also see Varrick's new propaganda pieces, which paint Unalaq as this terrible tyrant with his foot on the boot of the working Southern man. And Tonraq as this glorious muscled hero. In the South though, the fight continues. Korra goes off to find where Tonraq was banished to and locates him on Kyoshi Island. She talks with him about the dreams she's been having and asks whether he might know who the boy is, it's not an Avatar she recognizes. Tonraq says, "That dreams come from strange places, but should never be ignored". She asks if it's true that he burned up the Spirit Wilds in the North. And Tonraq pauses, turning to her, and confesses. "I was young and I was ambitious, I was destined to be chief. I felt invincible and no one could come for me. And I let my pride get the best of me. They didn't just banish me, but everyone close to me. Including your mother? Including those who had nothing to do with it, we were shunned. See, Korra, I know tradition has its value, but I have also seen traditions spite people like it did me and your mother. Tradition is why the North remains in the hands of a single chief, or the South has tried to be more democratic. For a long time, women were forced to be healers up there, not warriors." This idea resonates with Korra, who swears that she will bring him back home, and she thinks that she knows what she has to do as the Avatar. She's got a side to fight for, she returns to the South to challenge Unalaq. "This has gone on long enough", she declares, and she decides that her mother was wrong. That she can choose a side, that it can be solved by the Avatar. Unalaq insists, "Avatar, your role is to be neutral here. You cannot do this". That her duty is to the spirits. But Korra says, "No, it's more than that". However, with little air-bending training and none of her other elements, Unalaq just wipes the floor with her.

(And let's be honest, the fight scenes in Season Two were top tier. Holy crap, the water-bending in Season Two. We haven't seen amazing stuff like that in so long, it blows my mind. I want to keep all of those fight scenes as much as possible.)

Korra attempts to water-bend and turn the tides, but no, she's defeated. Believing that she needs to get her bending back in order to make a difference in this war. She sets out to find this island that she's been having dreams of near the fighting. That maybe some ancient spirit is pulling her towards it to get her bending back for her. That it might hold the secret of this ancient pact that the Water Tribe once made to bringing the war to its close. Now, like in the show, she sits out, but she's confronted by a huge, corrupted spirit. A fight ensues, and she loses, drags down into the ocean depths. And that leads us into.

[Episode Eight: Beginnings, Part One]

Tenzin and his family are meant to head to the Northern Air Temple, but Jinora says that she needs to head east, not South. When asked why, she looks over and sees the cat-deer spirit who has been guiding her, someone that apparently only she can see. Without much explanation, she says goodbye, that she'll meet them in the North, and she dances away, heading to the coast. She flies to the this nearby strange island that looks like it's covered in the ruins of an old city, and she follows the spirit there. There she finds Korra's barely conscious body washing up on the shore. She helps bring her back and offers to help meditate when Korra explains her problem. This might help her get in contact with the past Avatars who could have more answers, and they suspect that something was drawing them together. They explore the strange island but have no idea who once lived there. They settle down on the peak and try to meditate.

(As I said, one of the things that always annoyed me about the Beginnings episodes, and if you want to learn more, go watch the full video on that. I'm quite proud of it. I think I anticipated my thoughts quite well, and people really liked it, was that there's no demand for Korra to look into the past here. There's no reason for her to go and learn about Avatar Wan. She doesn't ask any questions about it just something that happens to her, right? It's something that just interrupts the story. This is hopefully fixing that. It is Korra going out to learn things.)

As on the show, Korra meets Wan, who explains that in order to get her bending back, she needed to understand how the Avatar and bending came to be in the first place. If she wants to understand her role in the Southern War.

(Now, my thoughts on Beginnings are basically that they're a fine story on their own, but they ruin a lot of the world and story around them. If it were up to me, Beginnings would just never have happened because normal. But we have rules here for a reason, and these two episodes are a fundamental part of the season and of the wider series as a whole. So I will not cut them. I will only modify them in ways that I don't think undermine what was already there, which was my main issue.)

I kind of hated how we're told that Raava and Vaatu were kind of like Yin and Yang. They're light and dark, order and chaos, but narratively, they're not right. They're just treated as good and evil. Vaatu never once does anything that could be conceived as good, ever. There's no way getting around it. And it doesn't really fit Avatar like that idea of morality. So we're going to really hype up the order and chaos elements of their characters and really walk away from that good versus evil thing. This also gives us a parallel to the Southern conflict. Tradition and order are closely connected. They're positive, but sometimes stifling forces. And chaos, is this new Southern culture a mismatch from the rest of the world? And it can be liberating, but it also forgets or destroys other things.

Bending is no longer going to come from the lion-turtles. It's dangerous to go alone, take this. Instead, people are going to learn it by looking to the moon and ocean, the sky-bisons, the dragons and the badger-moles. This was kind of the way that it was envisioned in The Last Airbender, and I'm not going to get into the discussion about whether or not this is a retcon, it's not. They got the elements from the lion-turtles and they learned how to actually bend from the animals, but blah, blah, blah, I don't care about that. The changes is that they just learn it from those original benders. Because to be perfectly honest, getting the bending from the lion-turtles doesn't really change Avatar Wan's plot line that much. It just doesn't.

Beginnings part one plays out mostly the same. The humans live in the cities on the backs of lion-turtles, while the whole world is full of spirits. Few humans venture out because it's dangerous out there in the wilds. But Wan and a few of his friends are banished from the city after stealing from the ruling class. Everyone expects them to die soon after because few make it, and only if they're trained hardened warriors, but Wan doesn't. He finds himself living amongst badger-moles, and instead of being defensive or aggressive, he tries to respect them and live alongside them. Years later, Wan develops the ability to earth-bend. Wan returns to the Lion-Turtle’s city to demonstrate his powers, saying, hey, it's possible to live out here if you respect the spirits, if you live alongside them, if you learn from these creatures and the spirits who are all deeply connected to these powers. And for the first time, people begin living on the continent.

(Years later, Wan chances across two massive spirits who personally let's get rid of the kites. Okay, They don't look good. I've never really liked them. It looks okay when it's like, patterned on her chest, but when they're just flying around, no, it's weird. It doesn't feel like it fits in this world, you know?)

So imagine them how you like, but like in the show, he breaks them apart with his new found bending abilities, and rather, the spirit of order is wounded and she can only be sustained by fusing with one. He vows to rather to bring Vaatu to justice, who now works around the world unchecked. But he needs to become more powerful if he's ever going to challenge him. So Wan begins working his way around the world to learn other elements. He finds communities of humans living alongside sky-bisons and dragons, just as he had badger-moles and across the years, he gains air and fire as well. Seeing how they live and truly understand these very spiritual creatures. It's about showing that profound experience. Not just treating it as something that you can copy, but something that you have to learn to empathize with, to align your mind with, to understand on a truly profound and personal level. And these non-benders, because they need to have this respect for these creatures, they learn it as well.

[Episode Nine: Beginnings, Part Two]

The world has waned in the years since that fight. Wan begins to encounter communities of people roared with chaos, with Vaatu's chaos. They're free, but they are destructive and uncaring individualistic, with no sense of community. The environment is growing out of control, all weeds strangling other plants. “This”, says Raava, “is the domain of Vaatu”. “You see what is chaos does to the world. And most importantly, the humans and spirits are at each other's throats. They're constantly getting at each other, fighting wars even. Vaatu is thriving on this chaos of violence. These people need order”, Raava insist. And Vaatu arrives amidst the chaos to breathe it in. Wan gets up to fight him, but is swiftly defeated. But on the other hand, Wan wanders and comes across places that were influenced by Raava, the spirit of order. Places where nobody is free, where the land grows, only one type of tree or fruit. There's less violence, but there's also little happiness. And importantly, the spirits are dying here too. Spirits who have always taken on strange, chaotic forms, who rely on the constant forces of change in the world. Vaatu comes for them again, seeing how weak Raava has become. And the two fight once more, and with Raava's help and encouragement, controlling himself and those impulsive tendencies, Wan wins and brings Vaatu down into a weakened state. End him, presses Raava, and let the chaos end, but Wan realizes something. The world needs both order and chaos, that it can't be one or the other. Disregarding Raava, one chooses to take Vaatu into himself. The spirits of both order and chaos in balance with one another, fused together in a mortal human destined to reincarnate forever. And yet the spirits and humans don't stop fighting. Even with the spirits of order and chaos fused, Wan's confused that was meant to work. They're still hunting each other, spirits and other humans battles and wars and hatred. In the middle of a grand battle between humans and spirits, Wan intervenes as the Avatar and declares that humanity cannot coexist with the spirits. The spirits agree to leave through a portal at the South Pole, but only after they make a pact with the Southerners that they would always keep this portal open and preserve the spirit wilds around them as a symbol of the promise that one day, when humanity was ready, the spirits will be able to return to this world. Avatar Wan presides over that agreement, and the episode ends the same way it does in the series, with a scene that I actually really love.

(It's amazing and melancholic and deeply evocative and kind of horrific when you think about kind of the role of the Avatar. Is this person destined to just sit and admires of human conflict forever? Real commentary on humanity's proclivity for violence.)

Korra wakes alongside Jinora now, knowing how the original benders first learned and what the pact that the Southerners has made with the spirits was.

(So, here's the thing. My version of Beginnings really isn't that different, or at least I don't think it's that different. I think it keeps the core concepts, and the only major things I change is...)

Clearly, Vaatu isn't the main villain of the series because, well, he's a part of the Avatar, and, well, I kind of hate him.

Harmonic convergence just isn't a thing, okay.

(We're going to tone down those more fantastical scenes of the series to focus on the more grounded philosophical concepts. As I said, if we're up to me, Beginnings would just never be a thing. But it is. And so I want to respect that decision, you know, but I will also admit that this is where I'm going to take a little bit more creative liberty only for the season with where the story goes. It's going to end up in roughly the same place, but we're going to take a slightly different route to get there. See, the biggest criticism of Season Two is that it is that bait and switch. It has this fascinating interplay between colonialism and tradition and war profiteering, and it's got a commentary on the Avatars place in this new world, but then suddenly it forgets any of that. No, suddenly it's about good versus evil. And the giant demon kite, giant spirit lasers... who thought that this was a good idea. It is the most amateur writing decision to think that simply upping the stakes, to be all of the multiverse, is that's bad is at stake here. Making the evillest character you can is the way to make something feel more dire, more important. So, no, we're going to stick with that more interesting story that we have already set up.)

[Episode 10: A New Spiritual Age]

Realizing that they are atop of not only one of the lion-turtles on which humanity once lived, but the lion-turtle that Aang once met. Immediately, Korra goes to meet it, and it says, "You have come to me with yet another face". It recognizes her instantly, she asks what to do about the Southern Water Tribe civil war. And the lion-turtle responds, “There is a day for spirits, a day for man, and a day for the Avatar”. Korra thanks Jinora and doesn't quite know what that means, asking how she knew to come here. "Oh", she says, "you've just got to listen to the spirits, and they will talk to you". The two part ways, with Korra heading South and Jinora heading back North to meet her father with the help of that spirit, that lead her there. Back in the Southern Water Tribe, the rebellion has gathered momentum and Unalaq is losing grip on the city. The propaganda and Varrick's technology are doing their job, the Northern Forces are being pushed back. This has also led to an uptick in those corrupt spirits attacking the city, which Unalaq is able to deal with. but the resistance can't. Korra race in the South and immediately goes to face Unalaq. “Unalaq, I know you're just trying to help”, she says, “but I know what the Southern pact is now. The fight is over, go. It's clear that the South doesn't want the North here”. Unalaq leans forward, “I'm glad you have learned about the pact, Korra. Tradition needs to be preserved, sometimes even by untraditional means”. “What does that mean?”, asks Korra. Suddenly, a wave of mechs and tanks that we haven't seen before roll into the Southern city, technology that outpaces those of the Southerners. Their limited number of water-benders are captured or pushed back, and Unalaq seizes back much control of the city. He shows mercy, of course, to those who are willing to lay down their arms. He welcomes them, he provides them with food and lodgings.

(We don't want him to be an evil tyrant, exactly. I mean, he's kind of being a bit of a tyrant. But at the same time, he's not the worst tyrant, which is a thing.)

In Unalaq's part of the city, people are living a more traditional water tribe life, just like they really wanted to. The resistance is left believing that they need more, more and better technology. More deadly technology, if they had to compete with the Northern army. And they sent out a call to Varrick and Asami for help. Varrick and Assami received the call from down South. “Who on earth is funding them, giving them technology like ours? I'm going to go see it for myself and help Korra”, Asami and Varrick agreed a set sale for the South. Meanwhile, Mako, Bolin and Beifong have had a breakthrough. In their case, the Water Tribe embassy was looking into a strange company called Karav Limited, which was looking to sell weapons to the North. Any official owners have been faked, their houses are just entirely empty. But they do have a headquarters in Republic City, Mako and Bolin go to investigate. Tenzin and his family are flying towards the Northern Air Temple, with Tenzin recounting nomad history to them. When they spot an island in the distance, not unlike the very island that we see Korra washup on in the show. It's an isolated, insular community who have escaped the view of the world as they care for a sky-bison herd. Sky-bison, of course, at this point are thought to be near extinct.

(But unlike in the show, these aren't going to be fire-benders, right? These are going to be fire-benders who are taking care of the sky-bison. In fact, they won't be benders at all.)

Now, we already know from the comics that following the enormous genocide and Aang's return, there were some people who tried to emulate enormous culture. They took on vegetarianism and nomadism, they were at peace with the spiritual world and detachment and non-violence. They weren't very good at it, but they did try, brownie points. By the way, the people on this island aren't trying to copy the air-nomads, per-se. But they have been emulating and following the way of life of the sky-bison, supposedly for generations, and there are clearly air-nomad influences in how they live. Tenzin is astounded to find these people, but he isn't sure how he's meant to feel about it. It feels like co-opting his culture, a culture that he felt was on his shoulders alone. And this lost herd of sky-bison surely fall under his care, right? Like he has to take them with him. He has to care for them because they're such an important part of his culture. His family tell him to be happy, but he wanders off, unsure of himself.

[Episode 11: Night of a Thousand Stars]

Korra, having seen the North's new technology, attacks Unalaq in the streets. Unlike the first time, though, she wins and throws them down. "You will leave the South", she cries. But she draws the ire of the Southerners, who actually do want the North to help them maintain order and traditions, and she realizes she was tricked. Of course, the Southern forces are already being pushed back and taking Unalaq out alone isn't going to solve that problem. The press as well captures this moment and paint her as the aggressor, perhaps as Unalaq intended. "The tyrant Avatar. Let us decide for ourselves", the headline reads. Shocked and not quite understanding what happened, Korra flees into the city alleyways. That night, she listens to a group of those very Southerners. They're practicing an ancient water-bending technique on the shore during a full moon. They tell her about all the things that the South has forgotten. Its heritage, its old stories and tales, its unique style of water-bending, and they're trying to bring it back. And they even offer to teach Korra, nervously... Korra agrees. "While the North listens more to the moon", one girl explains, "we listen to the ocean. Its fury and calm, its tenacity and its kindness, always carrying us home". Korra feels for the tides and thinks back to what Jinora told her, "If you listen to the spirits, they will talk to you". And for the first time since she lost to water-bending, she senses the water at her finger tips. She leaps and punches the air, ecstatic, and these girls don't even understand why she rushes off. Jinora arrives at this island, puzzled as to why the spirit was drawing her here. When she meets this community of people following the sky-bison way of life. It's kind of magical to see so many people immersed in, well, kind of adjacent to her culture. Right? The children in the family immediately fall in love with this community, and they love learning about how these people do things. And in turn, they want to show them air-bending. The people living here are excited to see it. I mean, this is them seeing air-bending for the first time potentially ever. They want to learn, but of course they're like, "Well, I don't know if we can". Eventually, Jinora figures out that Tenzin is nowhere to be seen, and she goes off to find him.

(So just like in the series, Jinora does have a spiritual arc of her own. She's got a really key storyline that pans out in the end. And I really love her character.)

She finds Tenzin meditating at the top of a mountain, talking to himself and wondering what Aang would do with all of this. Jinora finds him, and they talk about the burden of being the last air-benders. That there's alot riding on them, that they have to be perfect for the world because they're the only ones there, and everyone's looking to them. Jinora explains that she read in the archives about these acolytes that Aang met, and he, too, struggled to accept them at the start. Tenzin feels vindicate and starts walking down the mountain to say, "Ah, this is my culture, stop this". Before Jinora continues, "But he accepted them, she says. "And they helped bring nomad culture back to life today, they're still out there." Tenzin sighs and admits that she's right.

[Episode 12: Darkness Falls]

Asami arrives in the South Pole to meet Korra, along with a shipment of Varrick's new weapons to help the resistance. She asks around to know who is supplying Unalaq's forces with all this stuff, and she bumps into Korra, who has snuck around with Naga to get to the resistance side of the city. The two are glad to see each other, and desperate to show her new abilities, she drags Asami to the ocean. "I've got my water-bending, back", she cries. And then admits that maybe Asami, who was once an Equalist, isn't super keen on that. But Asami assures her that she know show important bending is to Korra. Korra also says that she knows how to end the conflict. That she needs to open the Spirit Portal at the South Pole and restore the pact that they made with the spirits. Asami says, "Go for it". She takes Naga and rides off into the icy wilderness, Asami watching her go fondly. Back in Republic city, Bolin and Mako are investigating this Karav Industries limited warehouse. While it appears abandoned, they find a secret floor full of mechs. Just like the ones that were sent to the North, at which point they are attacked by the Triple Triad. Mako and Bolin fight them off and find these special designs for the tank and the mechs. As well as shipment plants and huge amounts of money being promised by the North, Mako gasps and dashes off to call Asami. Asami picks up Mako's call to Varrick's ship and listens to what he has to say, her eyes widen. "Somebody's been targeting me?", she says. "And what could you have possibly done to deserve that?", says Varrick in his signature way. But he knows by the look on her face that she has already figured it out, and his face curls into a mischievous snarl. Asami goes on, "You sent the assassin". "Mako is a Triple Triad member pretending to be an Equalist. An easy cover, because, of course, they'd come for me. Who's been selling the North weapons? You're a war profiteer. Sell weapons to both sides, and when one gets the upper-hand, you sell more and better ones to the other. Up and up and up. And more people dying, you get rich." "You bombed the embassy because they were onto you. To stoke even more attention". Varrick smiles, "Competition. Competition. It's great for innovation, terrible for business". Varrick flees into one of his mechs, Asami dust pick up one of the electric gloves and a mechanized arm that gives it the strength of three men. The two fight to top Varrick's ship until Asami gets the upper hand and brings him down, he is promptly arrested.

[Episode 13: Echoes of the Past]

Korra arrives at the Southern Spirit Wilds that Unalaq took her to at the beginning of the season. Following her vague memories of the landscape from her time with Avatar Wan, she locates where the Spirit Portal should be. It's currently wrapped up in brambles and thorns, entirely hidden from view. She senses something is following her, and something is. A huge spirit tears out of the forest, a love-crafting creature of vines and pincers, and ice and things Korra doesn't even recognize. “I'm here to open the portal”, she tries to explain. But the spirit is enraged and attacks her. Unalaq decides that this is the time to end the fight for the South, and gives a speech to the unionists and his forces. “Time and again, we have seen the scars of war and history leave cultures forever wounded, unable to recover, unable to remember. You don't think that the air-nomads have lost their ancient traditions? They are left with the memory of one man. The spirits have been angry for this reason, yet they do not attack us because they know that our cause is right. Only in preserving this heritage can we ensure a stable and true South for the Water Tribe. Yes, the One Water Tribe, as it was and now shall be.” But at this speech, it's also noticeable that the South is less in favor of the Union than it was at the beginning. People are whispering amongst themselves, you know. “Why is Unalaq using these mechs and all this technology after denouncing this lifestyle for so long? Mechs that were clearly not built in the South, but in Republic City.” The final battle commences with Unalaq launching a new offensive, outward. The resistance has gone to find Tonraq to bring him home, their chief as a symbol of their resistance. As the South has started to unite a bit more around independence, they say that it might have once been around tradition or moving into the new world. But the mechs kind of changed that, and independence from the North is more important now. Varrick's propaganda, for better or worse, has reached them as well. They see the smoke and the distance of Unalaq's mechs approaching and ready for one final battle. They have the numbers, but not the technology. Korra continues to fight the spirit, and the episode ends with it trapping her and a tangle of vines right over the portal, about to kill her.

[Episode 14: Light in the Dark]

Korra tries to fight off the spirit, straining harder and harder. Thrashing before realizing that she can show the spirit her good intentions by opening the portal. She reaches for it desperately, only just managing to touch it with the tip of a finger, just like we see in that really cool scene at the beginning of the show. The bridge between man and spirit shattering the barrier that has grown between them. An explosion of spiritual energy throws them backwards and illuminates the sky with the Southern Lights. The Spirit Wilds turn from ice and cold to a gorgeous green forest, an oasis in the cold. Warmed by the life of the portal, which now glitters like a marble. The spirit attacking her returns to its uncorrupted form, a gorgeous tree entity. In fact, one of the ones that she saw in the vision with Wan when the pact was originally made. This spirit is ancient, she boughs reverently, and the spirit bows back. With that, she feels assured in her role as the Avatar, she managed to do something really good. Not someone who needs to decide every man-made conflict in the world, but the bridge between spirits and humanity, that she can do. Korra returns to the Southern Water Tribe to find it in chaos, she tries to intervene. "The pact is restored", she tries to tell people, "the Spirit Portal is open". True enough, no corrupted spirits are involved in the fight. Slowly, the South pushes Unalaq's forces back with Korra and Asami's help. They fight together and work together, and they seem to work really well as a couple. But when it comes to the final blow, Korra makes herself take a step back. And she lets Tonraq, the chief, face Unalaq himself. "Hello again, brother", he says. "I knew you'd come back. You always do." "You can't banish every problem Unalaq." Soon they have nowhere to go. The press takes photos of this interaction and paints it as a victory for the South. The South winning over the North in a real resolution, rather than the Avatar just deciding. Korra reconnects with her mother. "You are right", she says. "Sometimes people have to solve their own problems and I've got to solve the problems of the Avatar." She explains how she got her bending back by listening to the spirits the same way the original benders had learned. And wonders if maybe other non-benders could do the same with dragons, with badger-moles and sky-bison. On the distant island of sky-bison that Tenzin and his family have found, they're learning the strained ways of life of these people. And in turn, Tenzin introduces them to Nomad ways of life. He sighs, knowing that they will never be full air-nomads, but admits that he feels some camaraderie with them. But as the autumn winds sweep into the valley, one of the children riding one of the young sky bison land and turns to touch its forehead. The exact same way that we see Aang do, that the nomads are always taught to when they're young. And in that moment, the boy floats, air-bending, for the first time. With Southern sentiments strongly for independence now, the Northern forces leave and Unalaq with them. He warns against losing their culture, and Tonraq acknowledges the truth of it. He swears in front of his people to do more, to preserve and remember their culture, with Korra standing beside him. Korra and Asami talk about the civil war, about how hard it is to intervene. Not only that her duty to her family often gets in the way of her duty to the world, but it's hard to know how to intervene effectively. That it wasn't about just picking the right side and giving it the biggest weapon, the Avatar. But it was about finding out the way to help. Asami says, "This is why the Avatar has been such a target for the Equalists. That they're flawed beings with immense power, but sometimes people need to solve their own problems, like Republic City is now doing." Asami says that she faced the same problem. She was on the right side with the Equalists, but wasn't sure the right way to help. Korra then admits that the role of the Avatar isn't what she grew up thinking, it was the policeman of the world. Korra and Asami get word from Tenzin to come to this strange island. Who announces proudly that he might have found a new community of air-nomads, which is just bizarre. They don't understand and so they rush off. Korra arrives and goes, "Oh, my gosh, I'm right, you know. Like these people have learned, people could learn with the right dedication to that way of life", just like she saw with Wan originally. And the series closes as they reunite with Mako and Bolin.

[Season Conclusion]

Okay, let's be real. The main problems with Season Two were the spirit lasers, the bizarre left turn halfway through the series that totally abandoned the interesting plot, and the strange Deus Ex Machina ending. I tried to fix those, while also respecting the original intention. You've got new air-benders, you've got the portal opening, you've got the spirit and mortal worlds being connected again.

(My question is, though, how would you fix Season Two? How would you rewrite it?)

This also builds into what I feel is pretty clearly the overarching theme of Legend of Korra. The shifting role of the Avatar in the modern world. What is their role in these new geopolitics? We see this with Amon, with Zaheer and Kuvira all questioning the role of the Avatar. And here she learns a bit more about what that means for her personally.

📖Hello👇Future👇Me✏️’s Legend of Korra

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historyhermann · 1 year ago

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Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror Spoiler-Filled Review

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror, also known as Genjitsu no Yohane: Sunshine in the Mirror or Genjitsu no Yohane, is a fantasy anime spin-off of Love Live! Sunshine!!. It re-imagines the characters of that series in a fantasy world. Asami Nakatani is the director, while Toshiya Ono is series writer. Yumiko Yamamoto is the character designer. Tatsuya Kato is the music composer. Sunrise, a division of Bandai Namco Filmworks, an anime studio which produced animated series within the Love Live! franchise, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, produced this series.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the fifty-fourth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on October 22, 2023.

This anime's plot is simple. Yohane (voiced by Aika Kobayashi) fails her audition to become a music idol in Tokai. She returns to her hometown of Numazu after trying for two years to succeed and failing interviews for part-time jobs. Her mother (voiced by Hekiru Shiina) pushes her to return. She meets her sibling-of-sorts, a talking wolf named Lailaps (voiced by Yoko Hikasa). She encourages Yohane to talk with her childhood friend, Hanamaru (voiced by Kanako Takatsuki), who sells fruits and vegetables. However, there are continual mysterious magical energy surges for reasons unknown. In typical Love Live! fashion, she sings on a tree trunk stage, after remembering good times she had there. Hanamaru praises her singing, while magical energy subsides.

This is only part of the story. Yohane tries to figure out her place in the world, where she fits in, and believes she is a failure because she didn't succeed in her idol auditions. Over the course of Yohane the Parhelion, she realizes that her magic can help people and that she should be honest with herself. There are hints at some romantic vibes between Yohane and Hanamaru, called Yohamaru. This likely overjoys fans of Love Live! Sunshine!! and yuri fans in general. There are episodes when they blush at one another. Even so, these vibes vary from episode to episode. In Love Live! Sunshine!!, Hanamaru and Yohane are childhood friends, and Hanamaru believes that Yoshiko is "an actual angel."

On the one hand, the use of magic, combined with the music and idolness of the franchise, in this series, may garner additional fans. On the other hand, this magic somewhat resembles healing magic depicted in Healer Girl. However, Yohane's powers aren't exclusively for healing. She doesn't have the bear magic or abilities of Yuna in Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. The energy she exudes is only enhanced when singing with others. This is only possible after Yohane builds friendships with Dia (voiced by Arisa Komiya), who heads the town's administrative bureaucracy. Dia is assisted by her fairy sister, Ruby (voiced by Ai Furihata), and Kohaku (voiced by Mao Ichimichi). Yohane garners positive vibes from the townspeople after becoming a "glorified errand girl" rather than a fortune teller.

Voice acting in Yohane the Parhelion is superb. Kobayashi, Takatsuki, Komiya, Furihata, Inami, Saitō, Suwa, Aida, Suzuki, Asumi, Itō, Kurosawa, and Yamamoto reprise their roles from Love Live! Sunshine!!. The difference is that this series is an alternate world. In addition, Komiya voiced Mana Kase in D4DJ First Mix and Koharu Hōen in Miss Kuroitsu from the Monster Development Department. Furthermore, Saitō previously voiced Miki Fukumoto in Akebi's Sailor Uniform. Suwa voiced Kate Starven in Management of a Novice Alchemist.

Aida voiced protagonist Fūka Miyazawa in the yurish environmental-themed The Aquatope on White Sand. Suzuki voiced Jashin-chan in Dropkick on My Devil!, Miwa Honjō in Tokyo Mew Mew New, and Chiyo in Sweetness and Lightning. Kugimiya voiced Tōko Matsudaira in Maria Watches Over Us, Yamamoto in Paradise Kiss, and Yord in Otaku Elf. Asumi voiced Melty in Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. Itō voiced Suzuno Kamazuki/Crestia Bell in The Devil Is a Part-Timer!. Kurosawa voiced Misaki Okusawa/Michelle throughout the BanG Dream! franchise, Mitsumi Iwakura in Skip and Loafer, and Ayano Toki in Laid-Back Camp. The latter will have a new season in 2024.

Other voice actors, such as Yoko Hikasa, Hekiru Shiina, Kanae Ito, and M.A.O. (also known as Mao Ichimichi), are talented too. Hikasa voiced Mio Akiyama in K-On!, Lynn Lambretta in Bodacious Space Pirates, Diana Cavendish in Little Witch Academia, the Landlord in The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, and Kaede Saitō in Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit. This fall, she is voicing Yu Bauer in the yuri isekai I'm in Love with the Villainess and Karen Helvetius in the adventure fantasy yuri The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess. Shiina voiced Ami Chono in Girls und Panzer. Ichimichi has many roles under her belt, including characters in Is the Order a Rabbit?, Flip Flappers, Teasing Master Takagi-san, Dropkick on My Devil!, Princess Connect! Re:Dive, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, or Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story.

Yohane the Parhelion introduces some male characters which is new for Love Live! franchise. The franchise is known for having an all-female or mostly female cast. However, these characters are one-offs. In addition, the gang of three named Million Dollar (Chika, Mira, and Shima), which saves Yohane from being swallowed up by the monsters, is new. This "gang" travels in something akin to the van in Scooby-Doo series, and has special tools and weapons. It's all a bit comical.

It isn't until the third episode that Ruby is formally introduced, after she incorporates herself into Dia's bike. That episode also introduces Mari (voiced by Aina Suzuki) on Warshmier Island. Called the "demon lord" by local townspeople, she can hear sounds from the town and beyond, while sitting in her castle, since her horns are antenna of sorts. She begins a friendship with Yohane, who calls her horns cute. She tells Yohane that she has the power of "resonance." Even so, Mari is afraid that people will see her as weird, but Yohane reassures her, She gives Yohane a present in response. Mari is very mysterious, but also very lonely.

Yohane the Parhelion avoids the focus on teenage idols in high school. Nor does it focus on the ugliness and horrific conditions of Japan's idol industry. While no characters may be relatable to gender nonconforming folks, apart from Kohaku, the characters remain driven, spunky, and gorgeous young women, like other parts of this franchise. A target demographic is straight men, but many women, especially those who are queer, have been drawn to the franchise. As such, the fandom is filled with "women and queer folks" despite belief that "obsessive male fans" dominate the fandom. Surely, some franchise elements engender a male gaze, even if downplayed. Beyond this, the songs are catchy. The girls have personalities which are distinct from one another, even though they aren't like real idols.

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While recognizing criticisms and analysis of other parts of the Love Live! franchise, this series stands out. It is connected to Love Live! Sunshine!! but in its own world, as a spinoff fantasy. After all, there are new characters, characters which remain cute in this series. They differ from their portrayals in the aforementioned series. There are some parallels between depictions of Yohane and Hanamaru's childhood in that series and what is shown in this series. In addition, as noted earlier, there is a Yohamaru dynamic in this series, which has resulted in some fanart.

Yohane the Parhelion was only rivaled this summer by BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! and Birdie Wing. It never directly competed with Birdie Wing, which ended on June 24. However, the aforementioned BanG Dream! series began on June 29, four days after the first episode of this series premiered on Crunchyroll. This series also eclipsed Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, which ended its 24-episode run on July 2. It would be a stretch to say this is the "best anime ever." But, this series undoubtedly mixes action, cute characters, amazing music and beautiful backgrounds all in one.

Those positive feelings toward this anime are correct. This series is a cute story about friendship and self-worth, rather than singing. The blend between fantasy and idol makes an interesting show. For instance, in the fourth episode, she helps deliver the mail with You (voiced by Shuka Saitō), meets a made from parts Kanan (voiced by Nanaka Suwa), the recycling queen, found in the ocean, named Tonosama (voiced by Nobuo Tobita). As such, this series has some nice themes about reusing and recycling. In some ways, this echoes ethos embodied in Do It Yourself!!. In that series, and the associated manga (which follows a similar storyline), the characters often use materials left behind to make trinkets, and a treehouse.

These scenes mix cute characters and Yohane realizing her place in the world. She recognizes that she is at home in Numazu, by the fourth episode, causing three stars on her magic stick to light up. Her newfound friends have become her chosen/found family of sorts. The fifth episode expands these themes to social awkwardness and acceptance. This is mostly manifested in the character of Mari. She explains that she stays away from everyone for her own self-protection. After people made fun of her as a kid, she refused to return to the town, and fled to the island.

Yohane is the driving force pushing Mari to change. Kanan and You recognize that Mari's lack of self-confidence. Dia points out that when she visited the island, accidents in the town were stopped by notes Mari left behind. In contrast, Yohane metaphorically opens up Mari's heart, recognizing she is shy, and that she worried what everyone thinks about her. This process happens at one step at a time, reflecting the reality that no one changes personalities with a finger flick. Subtly, Yohane encourages Mari to follow her back to town. Even though she does so, she has a panic attack after kids from the town swarm her without warning. By the episode's end, she starts coming out of her shell, posing as a model for photos, and meets Dia, Ruby, and other townspeople for the first time. They thank her for what she has done for their town.

This fear of others isn't unique to Mari or Ruby (who is shy). Take for example, Riko (voiced by Rikako Aida), who came from Tokyo, who lives in the town library which she "borrowed" and later begin living in. On the one hand, she saves Yohane, Mari, and Lailaps from calamity, manifested by cursed lightning and an infection-of-sorts which turns animals rabid. On the other, she lives in a library/home by herself, allowing her to focus on researching strange behavior of the animals. Later, she admits that she feels like an outsider and is bad at making friends. Her view somewhat changes after Mari relates to her, telling her that being shy isn't bad. As such, she commits to staying in town a "little longer" so her skills can benefit the townsfolk.

At the same time, Yohane is often insecure. In one Yohane the Parhelion episode, she worries she can't stand on the forest tree stage because it has been infected. In the episode which follows, she organizes a girl's night. She is overwhelmed after everyone is too excited. As it turns out, she engaged in overwork because she wanted them to acknowledge her and make memories. This manifests in cooking sweets, playing baseball, and bashing a watermelon blindfolded. In another way, the episode criticizes overwork as unnecessary, a common anime theme despite overwork in the anime industry (and declining quality).

Although the episode has slice-of-life vibes, it draws you more into the characters and their lives. It serves an important part of the story. Yohane proposes that all nine (she, Hanamaru, You, Dia, Chika, Kanan, Mari, Riko, and Ruby) sing together, so the town can be saved. On the other hand, Lailaps seems distant and appears to have her own agenda, which is not revealed until later. This happiness doesn't last. Everything goes off the rails in the next episode.

Yohane loses her staff and believes she can't sing without it. Again, her insecurity returns. Even though her new friends help her, she lashes out at Lailaps, blaming her for losing it. Although she apologizes, she admits she was nervous to sing by herself and is glad everyone could join her. In the end, she and her friends sing together in some underwater stage (or at least they think it is underwater). They sing a musical number reminiscent of many settings and songs in the Love Live! franchise.

These musical numbers are mixed with fantasy. It moves Yohane the Parhelion more toward being an idol anime with fantasy flourishes, than a fantasy anime with idol flourishes. For shippers, they were likely excited that episode had some nice Yohane/Hanamaru moments, perhaps disappointing those who shipped Mari and Yohane, for which there is some canon support. This episode sets the stage for the one after, with flashback implying that Yohane gave Lailaps the power to talk.

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The episodes that follow raise the stakes. Lailaps goes missing. People think she was kidnapped. Her newfound friends pitch her to find Yohane's childhood friend/companion. Even though Yohane finds her, Lailaps implies that she will only stay by Yohane's side until she is "grown up." She won't be with her forever. This is made worse when Lailaps refuses to attend Yohane's farewell party. This comes after the latter gets a notice for an audition in Tokai.

As is a common theme in Yohane the Parhelion, Yohane's insecurity bubbles to the surface. She isn't sure she wants to attend the audition and believes she isn't ready, although town residents are excited. Yohane attends but is exhausted. She thanks everyone for gathering and giving her the experience she needs to become an idol. The party ends abruptly when Lailaps declares it is cancelled. She unleashes her emotional strain onto Lailaps, asking if she is trying to ruin everything.

Their emotional conflict is not solved. The episode ends with the calamity getting worse than ever. Possessed animals are everywhere. It reaches a fever pitch when, in the 11th episode, Yohane blames herself for everything going wrong. She throws her staff in the water, and refuses to come out of her room. She tells Lailaps that she doesn't have anything special and won't be attending the audition. With Yohane out of the picture, the townspeople are sheltering in place, scared of their lives, and Lailaps leaves, on a quest to get back Yohane's staff.

To get Yohane out of her funk, her friends bring her to a party hosted at a local hotel. With Yohane's self-confidence at a low point, she admits she is grateful. She adds that she can't accept their kindness, declares she can't do anything in return, and is "nothing special." Her friends, like Chika, cheer her up, and remind her of one simple truth emphasized throughout the Love Live!: you don't have to do everything on your own. While they are having a fun time, she agrees to apologize to Lailaps. The latter is barely surviving after rescuing Yohane's staff.

The Yohane the Parhelion penultimate episode begins to wrap up plot threads. Everyone is evacuated from the town, Riko saves a little kid, and Lailaps runs away again. Unlike the time before, Lailaps left so that she and Yohane could bond once again, causing her to recall long-lost memories of a fight between them before she left for Tokai. She realizes that Lailaps knew she was magic all along. In a way, Lailaps is her "mirror," hence second part of the anime's title "Sunshine in the Mirror." She sings a song, in typical Love Live! style, blows up her favorite tree stump stage, and realizes that the staff isn't magic, but she is! Sadly, one result is that Lailaps can only bark since she only was able to speak (in human language) thanks to Yohane's magic.

While this episode disproves those who claimed that Lailaps isn't real, it has more similarities to World Dai Star, than any other series. That latter is a mixed-media project by Bandai Namco Filmworks, created by Egg Firm, and written by Takahiro. Miko Pikazo does character designs. The anime adaptation aired from April to June of this year. In that series, Shizuka is the "sense" of Kokona Ōtori, helping her become a World Dai Star. Regardless of possible sanism (also known as saneism, mentalism, and mental health discrimination/stigma) or plurality metaphor, or yurish undertones, that series differs from this one.

In Yohane the Parhelion, Lailaps is not imaginary or a manifestation of Yohane. Instead, Yohane wishes Lailaps had the power to speak human language at an early age. However, this magic has a time limit, which Lailaps recognized, but Yohane did not. This differs from Elena Castillo Flores bringing a stuffed animal to life in the final season of Elena of Avalor, with her now-emotion-based magic, or Adora turning a unicorn into her mouthy steed, Swift Wind, by accident.

The series finale ends the series on a definite note. Everything seems perilous. Residential evacuation proves difficult. The town is surrounded by infected trees. The administrative bureau even loses power. However, Yohane talks to everyone with her magic and her friends come, allowing them to sing together in hopes they can sing the town. Their song has the typical Love Live! flair. To keep up the suspense, the song ends thanks to overly powerful evil magic.

In line with other themes in Yohane the Parhelion, which emphasize togetherness, and camaraderie, Yohane gets out her funk, comes back, and sings with her friends once more. With combined resonances from she, and her friends, along with everyone in town, the evil energy disappears, with everything back to normal. The reconstruction comes next, with everyone doing their own task in the town, while Yohane says she will stay in town rather than going to Tokai. The reason for this, in her view, is simple: she wants to stay in the place that she loves and do things with people precious to her.

The ending sequence in the series finale has elements of the usual ending sequence, but has some different scenes. There is a post-credits scene in which Yohane says the entire world is song, with happiness, sadness, rage, screams, and says songs change over time. In a possible hint at a continuation, all her friends say they want to sing together again, and she readily agrees. This series is a 13-episode-long sleeper hit. It is neither a wasted opportunity, nor mediocre, but cute.

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Although more could have been done with a longer season, Yohane the Parhelion is good for what it was. Even so, a spinoff or second season would be nice. On the other hand, the existing series is wrapped up succinctly. A continuation could muddle that. Whether this finale has Symphogear vibes or not, singing saves the town. The latter somewhat resembles what Steven Universe is known for. Songs are only one part of that series.

I could continue to write about this, either noting that opening song began each episode with a bang, or that some yuri fan sites wrote about the series. This isn't even mentioning the web radio program, associated games, or crossover chibi anime. More than that, I'll remember this series for its talented voice cast, mix of fantasy and idol genres, socially awkward characters, and themes of togetherness and family.

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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