#King is a Blue Boy and these next two episodes better serve me and my agenda well | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sanstropfremir · 3 years

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kingdom episode 3 baby!!!!

listen. i’m not gonna lie i was nervous as hell for this episode. i saw that preview like everyone else and unfortunately i have ears so i was convinced the ateez stage was going to be a trainwreck. i was absolutely banking on sf9 and skz to do something even mildy interesting to save me from the ear damage and having to talk to extensively about why that disaster happened. but somehow i woke up in an alternate universe and you know what? with the exception of that high note the ateez stage fucked. i know. i don’t believe it either. i think i’m still in shock.

i’ll do individual breakdowns in order of favourites within the episode and then at the end i’ll put my personal ranking of all six. thank god i don’t have to do a stage breakdown again; if they change it again for next week i will scream.

ateez

a miracle happened. i don’t have to fight any of the staff at kq. i don’t understand either. jongho is so fucking lucky that the rest of the group pulled all that energy out of their asses because if they had been even a single iota less serious about it that stage would have flopped worse than a dead fish. i can’t believe we got this level of camp b movie schlock in the first full stage, and they stuck the landing. incredible.

fine i’ll address the elephant in the room. personally, i don’t think jongho is that good of a vocalist. he’s not bad, and he does have the potential to be a good vocalist, he just doesn’t have the training, and this is the issue with all of ateez. hanya talked about this before and i’ll say it again: he can’t switch to his head voice and he’s destroying his vocal cords by attempting to hit notes in his mid range that he should just jump to head voice for. frankly i’m surprised he got anywhere close to that note in his mid, but his technique is just not there and he’s gonna do some real damage to his voice if he doesn’t take a break and also get a good vocal coach. you can already hear the degradation in sound from their debut stage to now, and that’s in less than three years. ok i’m done talking about vocals that’s hanya’s turf, i’m pretending that that high note doesn’t exist and we’re moving on. also im in love with btob’s reaction it was fucking priceless.

costume

look, i have a one track brain and that brain can only think about seonghwa corset. seonghwa corset? seonghwa corset.

i know it’s not a real corset nor is it properly laced and i know this would never happen in a million years but a kpop mr pearl trend? i would die. just fully expire. there’s no coming back from that for me

yes i have laced boys into proper corsets before and yes it is as hot as you think it is (when it’s not work related, obviously)

ok now that i’ve got that out of my system for the moment, the costumes are actually pretty good. i’m a little obsessed with hongjoong’s coat although I know it’s stupid. fur? always, I love it, you’ll never change my mind it makes everything better. i own a lot of it and i wear it all the time. this is also a pretty good example of how to do a more modern styling within a very specific and recognizable genre.

i don’t hate the backup dancers’ costumes either, even though they would look a lot better in a not-pirate themed hiphop stage. because there is already a modern tint with the boys’ costumes, it’s not that much of a leap to the dancers, and they actually use the dancers and the camera really strategically to not put much focus on them.

the only real standout issue is the blacklight/contortionist moment, which is too gimmicky for me and doesn’t fit the rest of the theme. i do understand the purpose of them: you need a transition point from the upper deck to the more fantastical inner ship area, and blacklight paint is a really easy, cheap, and fast way to get four new costumes instantly. do i think they could have done something better though? yes.

set

this was actually a smart reuse of that pirate ship set. i know i clowned on them in the first stage that they could move on from the pirate gimmick but honestly? i’m glad they didn’t. this was fun as fuck. but also two stages was enough you can move on now.

i love how they actually used the weird double stage function that the false prosc creates for an actual architectural and narrative effect, instead of just sort of operating as though it’s just another place to travel just because you can. we are on the deck of the ship, and then we go inside the ship. it’s simple and effective. you don’t need to do a crazy amount of crossover to establish a dynamic sense of place.

i hate the ateez kingdom logo. i hate the ateez logo in general. get it out of there, at least you could have made something more fun and pirate themed.

would have loved to have seen them return to the hourglass at the end, especially if they got one that was specifically set for 4 minutes. would have been a nice bit of symmetry but i suspect it was struck before the kraken bit.

the kraken bit??? i was not at all expecting that and honestly? dope as hell. that big tentacle is just a custom inflatable santa claus that you see around christmastime and what a brilliant use of such a simple mechanic, especially to have it come through that weird little triangle arch they have upstage. smart way to use the existing architecture.

yes it is a gimmick but here’s why it works rather than just looks tacky like every other gimmick we’ve seen so far: it had a function within the narrative. this is so important. show us there’s a reason it’s there!

lighting

i didn’t love it but they did actually make some smart choices. the outer deck is warmer toned and has some good atmospheric effects, and the inner deck is cold tone and specifically lit with pin lights to imitate the light coming through portholes in an actual ship, which is so smart thank you lighting designer

also a very clear arc with the lighting, blue -> orange -> blue/red -> orange/multiple -> blue

sound

i actually kinda liked this remix? it fit theme and had a very clear dramatic arc. also i like wonderland, so sue me.

staging

WE DID IT, WE FINALLY GOT A CLEAR NARRATIVE FROM AT LEAST ONE GROUP! wonderland was actually a great choice for them because it’s a really good indicator of exactly how hungry they are. i was a bit worried that it would fall flat because it kinda rides on mingi but they actually pulled it off. i have literally no idea where they pulled all that energy from but holy shit you can practically lick the attitude off the screen. i’m also very impressed by the amount of information they managed to fit into that four minute narrative. we had a full conflict/climax/resolution, as well as a really clear understanding of the tenacity and drive of the group, as well as the desire to support one another in achieving their goals. bravo.

ok so like i said in the set section, they used that pirate ship bridge really effectively to create two different but connected spaces. this is a really smart way to make it seem like you have two spaces while having to only build one set. it was also one of the best ways to utilize this dumbass stage so it doesn’t just look like you’re running arbitrarily from area to area because you can.

also levels! levels are so important for staging but also hard to do in this context because you have to be able to move really quickly in and out of full group formation, but I think they did a really good job here.

continued point: the kraken arm worked because it was the conflict they needed to overcome in the narrative, so it had a function within the performance. also related: all the tricking and jumping also served a purpose within the narrative too. it was either used for fighting (yeosang kicking all those dancers on beat) or a demonstration of teamwork (jongho flinging yunho around on the floor). also frankly excellent use of choreographic formation with the backup dancers, each formation had a specific function and was meant to highlight ateez without being overbearing.

not a whole lot of camera choreo, but a fairly good long take at the beginning and the editing wasn’t too obnoxious which I think was more chance than intent, but i’m not gonna look a gift kraken in the beak.

sf9

i actually really liked this stage, and i really like that sf9 has established their colour as effortlessly elegant, which does set them apart from the rest of the groups. this stage was really choreographically complex and they made it seem so easy, so real props to them. however, like with ikon’s stage, there were a lot of good ideas that just weren’t followed through enough for me.

like ateez, song choice and theme were very well intertwined with this one, there was a lot of thought put into this stage. the pun with ‘jealous’ and ‘jilleosseo’ and having a fairytale/magic mirror narrative? fuckin GALAXY BRAINED. incredible. the implication that not only taeyang but the entire group is the evil queen from snow white? chef’s kiss. should have committed harder and put one of them in massive cloak à la king taemin mama 2020. instead it was subtle enough to not try to step on ateez’s schlocky camp toes but still just as serious and i love that. do i wish they pushed it farther though? also yes.

costume

not gonna lie, i had my reservations on the costumes when we saw the previews of them in the waiting room, but the thing about stage costumes is that they always look bad when not on stage. if they look good in the waiting room you’ve done something wrong. and i loved them on stage. big fan of that quilted vest/pseudo stomacher. please can we have a corset trend? y’all already adopted bondage harnesses, c’mon a little corset won’t hurt. also a good example of a modern spin on a recognizable genre.

i wish the backup dancers weren’t in all black but i am fighting single person battle against the entire entertainment industry on that one.

set

extremely simple with a few smart utilizations. had a feeling this might have been a budget thing, as it had a similar kind of vibe with ikon’s stage, but the use of the mirrors was smart and a fun device that served the purpose of the narrative.

working with mirrors on stage is really fucking hard, so kudos to them for giving it a go. for the most part it was pretty effective. especially with the combo of moving mirrors and moving lights AND moving camera, you’re kind of asking to either blind your audience or at least give them a headache. i once saw a production of the magic flute that had a rotating mirror setpiece and i swear i nearly went blind due to the constantly flashing reflections. you have to really be careful with directionality and reflection, especially with the added element of a camera. also you never use real glass mirrors on stage, it is unbelievably bad luck and theatre people are the most superstitious demographic on the fucking planet.

i kinda loved the draped gold dais. i have nothing else to say about it other than fun!

lighting

a lot of this was very weirdly lit and i’m not sure why. the quality on youtube is terrible and cameras already have trouble picking up detail in low light, and throwing a whole bunch of primary red over that (the colour with the longest wavelength and therefore disappears the easiest in the dark. also human eyes are not very good at distinguishing variations in the red spectrum) and the red costumes made it extremely difficult to tell what was happening.

i will give them props for dramatic lighting usage, especially for the two way mirror trick and for using the floor as a primary lighting source at the end, which i think groups should be using more of. how often do you have a lighting source in your floor!!! almost never!! use that opportunity!!

sound

i actually enjoyed this remix too. it was well suited to the dramatic nature of the stage. i think the sound byte at the beginning is ‘mirror mirror on the wall who’s the worthiest of them all’ but it also could be ‘who’s the worst of them all’ and that would be also fitting and kinda funny.

staging

again, not a lot of consideration for camera choreo in a meaningful way, and like the tbz stage I think the clarity in the actual choreo got hampered by the editing. because there was a lot of choreographic precision that went into making this work and it wasn’t totally obvious from the way mnet edited it.

a lot of them are actors so it works that they’re leaning more towards dramatic stages rather than the sort of performance type stages we’ve seen so far. i like this choice for them as it gives them a very obvious colour but they’re almost on the verge of making it look too easy, which does them some injustice.

next to ateez, using that long uninterrupted traverse was my favourite use of this stage. doubles as an easy way to build the atmosphere of a palace corridor/throne room with the rug, and to feed the drama of the piece.

skz

ok i have some…..things to say about this stage. so far i have not been kind to skz which makes me look like i hate them and i don’t, i promise. there were a lot of really interesting things happening in this stage and there some really successful ones, and i liked this a whole lot better than their intro stage, but their overall choreo and thematic dedication is really killing me. i’ll explain.

costume

I don’t hate them but also…….why? I got the good self vs evil self/internal struggle theme but the costumes don’t really have anything interesting to say about that. as far as modern style costuming goes i think they’re on the more interesting end, but they don’t push it far enough. there’s a few western art history visual motifs and honestly? they should have gone whole hog and whited out their faces/hair and made them look like classical sculptures. that would have been hella fun, especially with that little statue and marionette sequence, plus the shadow/leash manipulation.

this time it was actually intentional that the backup dancers were in blacks and i appreciate that.

why on EARTH did they have that ridiculous makeup that didn’t read on stage? theatre makeup and tv makeup are different, you can’t just do a light purple eyeshadow and expect to read under blue and red light. someone needs to bring an actual theatre makeup artist in and get these boys in some real crazy looks. see previous point about full-face white pancake. more extreme makeup please and thank you!

set

i liked the use of internal architecture within this massive weird stage space and they used the corridors quite well. i didn’t really like the mix of baroque scrolling and also graffiti, it wasn’t quite connected for me. this has been a common theme among this round and i think it comes from budget/props pulls rather than anything else.

also there was a distinct feeling of trying to fill the main stage space with bodies as opposed to atmosphere. this can work in some specific cases but the intent wasn’t strong enough for me. it just felt like a lot of people on stage, especially in the end choreo.

lighting

the general lighting was fine but not particularly inspired. the low light in the beginning was actually quite well done, especially combined with the fog, but in my opinion was not dramatic enough. you have a pseudo art history theme happening, pump that contrast and push the chiaroscuro!

ok stay with me, i’m gonna say something extremely controversial that might actually get me cancelled. s*per j*unior’s burn the floor did everything this stage was trying to do on a smaller scale and better. look i know ok, this is a like, a double atom bomb hot take. just forget everything you know about them and watch the performance video. tell me that’s not some of the most interesting choreo you’ve seen in kpop. if you’re going to work with practical light you need to COMMIT. not just steal the solar lanterns out of my mom’s back garden.

i have a lot of opinions on using practical light and alternate light sources in performance because it’s a huge part of my practice and this just....wasn’t interesting enough for me. push it further!

(I will wait for the subs on the full episode because there has to be a reason they chose that specific shape of lamp. if not i gotta ask jyp why he’s raiding my mom’s garden)

sound

god’s menu has such specific imagery associated within the lyrics and choreography that this stage was a bit dissonant for me. especially when seen in conjunction with two stages where the narrative was tied explicitly to the lyrics of the songs. i think maybe if it hadn’t been grouped with these other two stages i would have felt differently. the other groups chose to do songs were a little more abstract and allowed for more visual experimentation, but to go so blatantly against the food metaphor didn’t really work for me and i had a tough time divorcing the association. I found the arrangement to be a little lacking in energy for me towards the end but otherwise it was pretty interesting.

staging

Definitely a better performance overall that the intro stage. almost all of the gimmicks this time had relevance to the theme which i appreciated. the marionette bit and the shadow/mirror were probably the most interesting but i wish they were better lit.

there was a lot of back and forth in the blocking that made the stage feel repetitive and also aimless? like there wasn’t a very clearly established directionality within the internal space, so it felt like treading over the same ground for no purposeful reason. and again, not a lot of intentional camerawork.

i really liked having the dancers under the big sheet, it fit well enough within the ‘war between internal selves’ theme, but also had a loose tie to the art imagery. again, i really wish they had stuck to a clearer visual theme. it makes them stick out especially in this grouping of stages, but also across all the groups as whole because almost everyone had a clear(ish) visual idea.

holy shit that’s a lot of backup dancers. i don’t really feel like that many were necessary and the sheer number of them took away from the emphasis of the group. with all of the other stages (except for tbz) it was very clear who the centre of attention and emphasis was, and with both skz and tbz they got swallowed by the sheer scale they were trying to operate at. bigger is not always better.

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this is a tough round to rank because none of these stages are bad, there’s just some that are, in my opinion, more successful than others. all of these stages do very well in specific elements but fall short in others which also makes this ranking difficult. i’m evaluating these based on whether they were successful to me, as i’m pretty sure this ranking will probably not all be popular opinion, but whatever i like to live on the edge.

btob – visuals, vocals, narrative, swords? what more do you want me to say? also i watched the full episode and minhyuk did rehearsal with a real bokken and i think i am in love with him now.

ateez – honestly not sure if i would have ranked this first if that high note hadn’t been a mess. i love camp nonsense and i genuinely think this was a well designed stage. i can’t believe i keep saying that but it’s true.

sf9 – this stage was really solid, just could have been pushed farther. i think it has a really good sense of drama and it’s a pity that sf9’s colour is more subdued, because i think they’re going to be stuck around the 3rd/4th position for the rest of the show.

ikon – ikon is only ranking this high because although i am disappointed in the wasted potential of this stage, they NAILED the camerawork and actually brought in someone to block the steadicam into the choreo. also they’re incredible performers. i say this every time, but their stage presence, although maybe lower energy that they normally would be, is still not to be fucked with.

skz – i think this one is the most ‘meh’ for me. while i liked a lot of the elements here they just didn’t push it far enough and the lack of narrative and general aimless choreo led to me not having any strong feelings yea or nay.

tbz – to be quite honest the lack of costume unity is a big hit for me. all elements of design are equally as important but because of my personal practice and experience i tend to put a lot of weight on good costume and spatial design. i don’t actually like game of thrones also, so I feel mildly offended on behalf of michele clapton, who had did a fucking incredible job and doesn’t deserve to be slandered like this. also the lack of cohesive choreography and the overblown lighting made this difficult to watch, no matter how good i thought the rear projection/stretch fabric dance was.

any questions or opinions you wanna share hit me up! see you next week!

#im ready for the angry asks about that s*ju opinion because that is a spicy one #kingdom #kingdom review #kpop analysis #im so surprised by these stages i cant believe ateez stuck the landing #i saw the preview for next week also and the new round looks wild so im ready #text

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sassyduckqueen · 4 years

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Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 32

Whoo! A new chapter! Hope you guys like it. Again, sorry about the slowness at the moment. I'm working pretty much full time hours and it's tiring been back at work so I haven't had much time for writing but fear not, I will be working on the next chapter soon. Hope you guys are ready for it. It's gonna be a good one.... I hope XD

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Chapter Thirty-Two: Troublemaker

"Their new outfits were so cool!" Kim stated in Alya's latest interview on her blog. Marinette grinned as it had been her highest views, even blowing her interview with Lila out of the water and Kim was really complementary on their new suits. She was inclined to agree with him. The Aqua suits were so cool and in her eyes, Anatis looked really good. She let out a little sigh at the memory of seeing him in his suit. The best part is she got to spend a couple of hours with him, watching a movie. They had chosen Lion King. Of course, she had ended up falling asleep on him, only waking up when the movie had ended. To her surprise, he had also fallen asleep. Part of her didn't want to wake him up because he looked so peaceful and she was extremely comfortable been curled up next to him. She knew it couldn't last forever so she gently woke him up and ordered the sleepy hero to go home but not before she slipped downstairs and grabbed him a box of treats for him and Tikki. He had thanked for her and given her a kiss on the cheek before he left, leaving her practically a melted puddle. Naturally, Plagg had teased her about it but he shut up when she threatened to get him cheddar instead of Camembert. She jumped as her phone began to ring, pulling her out of her thoughts. She scrambled for it and gasped as she saw it was Penny who was ringing. She pressed the answer button and held it to her ear.

"Hello?!" She gasped.

"Hello, Marinette," Penny answered, sounding professional as always. "I was wondering if me and Jagged could ask a favor of your family,"

"Oh? What kind of favor?" She asked, sitting up. "Does Jagged need new glasses?"

"Oh, no... not yet but I'm sure he would love to commission you again," Penny stated. "No, we're looking to do a reality tv show to help Jagged's single hit number one and for some good press. I suggested we go onto a show called Fill My Shoes and Jagged insisted that he wanted to be a baker. Since your family runs the best bakery in Paris and you also designed his album cover, it would be a wise choice to film it in your family's bakery,"

"Oh, wow," Marinette gasped, shocked. "I'd have to ask my parents so I can't be certain they'll agree but I can try,"

"Of course, I understand," She replied back, causing Marinette to imagine her nodding. "If you want, I can drop by for a hour to talk them,"

"That would be great, Penny," Marinette replied. "Can you make it after school? I have to get going back,"

"Yes, I can. That actually works perfectly," Penny admitted, making Marinette smile. "Do you think 5pm will be ok?"

"Yes, my parents close the bakery at 4.30pm on a Wednesday anyway," Marinette explained, getting a hum of approval from Penny. "I'll let them know right away,"

"Of course," Penny replied. "I'll see you then,"

"Bye, Penny," Marinette replied, hanging up before grabbing her school bag and running downstairs into the bakery. Her mother had just finished serving the customer as she rushed in. "Mama!! Papa!!"

"Yes, dear?" She asked, looking at her. Marinette launched into an explanation of the phone call she had just had with Penny. Her father joined them as she explained that Jagged himself had asked for their bakery to be the location of the reality show he was suppose to be on and how good this could work for the bakery. She explained that Penny would be dropping by at 5pm to ask them about it and when they showed hesitation, she practically begged them to do it. They agreed to talk it over with Penny, making her squeal with excitement before she dashed out of the shop and ran back to the school. As she ran through the courtyard, she didn't pay attention to where she was going which caused her to trip and let out a scream but instead of hitting the hard concrete, she landed against something soft and blue. She blinked and pulled back when she realized she must of have crashed straight into Luka's chest. She looked up at him as a huge blush came across her face.

"Are you ok?" He asked with concern, making her blush even more.

"Y-Yeah... sorry for crashing into you like that," She giggled, rubbing the back of her neck. She could practically feel Plagg roll his eyes. Luka, however, smiled as he held her stand straight.

"It's ok, Mari," He smiled before tilting his head to the side a little. "Though your melody is louder then usual. Are you sure you're ok?"

"Oh! I'm just really excited," She grinned, making him smile before she looked around. Seeing no one around, she leaned in close. "Can you keep a secret?"

".... uh...." Luka's eyes shot to the side as if he was thinking about something. "I think so,"

"Ok but you have to swear not to tell anyone else!!" She gasped, barely able to continue her excitement.

"Pinky swear?" He asked, holding up his little finger. She linked it with hers before leaning closer to him. She thought he froze for a second but brushed it off as she whispered into his ear.

"My parents' bakery may be on the TV show, Fill My Shoes and Jagged Stone may be the special guest," She whispered, making his eyes widen in surprise before he looked at her.

"For real?" He asked, keeping his voice hush. She grinned as she nodded in an excited manner. "Mari, that's so cool... ah but don't worry. I won't tell anyone,"

"I know," She smiled sweetly, playing with her hands. "You're really trustworthy, Luka,"

A light blush covered his cheeks as he shyly rubbed the back of his neck, making Marinette giggle. She couldn't help but think he looked really cute when he blushed but before she could say anything, the bell rang and made her jump, once again landing in against his chest. It was her turn to blush as he caught her and smiled softly at her.

"We better head to class," He replied, getting a nod of her. She straightened up and to his surprise, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for catching me, Luka," She smiled before heading up the stairs to Ms Bustier's class but not before she gave him a wave. He smiled softly and waved back before heading in the direction of his own class, catching up with Aurora and Jean who were heading there too. Marinette let out a little sigh as she watched him walk off before turning on her heel and walked in back into the class. Her mind drifted back to her deal with Anatis, which had been something she hadn't thought about since Captain Hardrock. She had intended to tell Luka that she liked him but just like the day in the park, an akuma turned up. Captain Hardrock had hit home for Luka. She knew he took it personally when his family got turned into akumas but this one was so close to home for both him and Anatis. Once everything had been restored, it felt wrong to confess to him so she decided to wait but then she learnt about the guardian and they got a new hero friend. She thought Culpeo was amazing personally but the point was things got her distracted from talking to him. On top of that, she still liked Adrien a lot. She still sighed gently when she saw him smile and day dreamed off their life together but she also dreamt of what life would be like with Luka. Both seemed amazing in their own way but she was still head over heels for both boys. Of course, Luka had one thing over Adrien. She could actually talk to him. Whereas with Adrien, she could barely string a sentence together but she was getting better. Shaking her head, she decided to put her thoughts aside for now and head to class.

(***)

Marinette took a deep breathe as she looked outside the bakery windows. Lots of Jagged's fans were outside, holding up banners and screaming with pure joy as they knew their favorite musician was outside. She looked back as Penny talked with Alec and Bob Roth, who was demanding that the show better meet his demands. Her parents looked super nervous and honestly, she couldn't blame them. She was super nervous, knowing that most of her friends were going to be watching the show.

"Ok, we are going live in 3, 2, 1," The camera man stated as Alec stood in front of the camera.

"Welcome to Fill My Shoes!" Alec declared, throwing his arms up in the air before he pointed at the camera as the show of people cheer could be heard outside. "You're joining us live for a new episode and our guest today is Jagged Stone!!"

Jagged practically jumped into the area next to Alec as he played air guitar.

"Rock and Roll!!" He declared, grinning as he threw his hands into the horns symbol. "Yeah!!"

"Filling the shoes of..." Alec shouted as Jagged stood next to him with his arms crossed. "A baker!!"

"Yo, Rockers!" Jagged grinned as he got into the camera's view as Alec turned to Tom.

"And a big thanks to Tom Dupain, for having us here in his bakery," He stated as he gestured over to him, causing Tom to come over as he laughed in a nervous manner. "The best in Paris, I might add,"

"Uh... Hello..." He smiled as he waved at the camera. Sabine smiled at him before grabbing a tray of Croissants and walking over to the crew, Penny and Bob Roth as Jagged and Tom began to bake.

"Excuse me, do you want some hot croissants?" She asked, holding them out as two of the crew packed up their things. Bob Roth grabbed one as he looked at the ratings and walked off without thanking her. Penny also walked off as Fang began to make a fuss. Sabine turned to Marinette as she stood next to her. "I'm not so sure it was a good idea to let them film the show here, Sweetie,"

"Of course it was, Mama," She smiled, looking at her before she placed her arm around her shoulders and gestured to the shop. "Don't forget. Jagged asked specifically to come here. You realize how good this will be for the bakery and Dad's gonna be come an instant celebrity!!"

"Well..." Sabine stated as she looked at her husband. "For a celebrity, he looks pretty nervous,"

They both looked at him and saw him trying to teach Jagged to knee bread. Jagged, on the other hand, was doing karate chops on the dough. Marinette couldn't help but laugh a little as she watched him do that. Tom corrected him after he waved nervously towards the camera. Hearing the hiss of fang, Marinette looked over and saw Fang pulling on his leash. Penny was holding him and telling him to calm down but she looked really nervous and was clicking her pen repeatedly. Marinette walked over and smiled at her.

"Are you ok, Miss Penny?" She asked, causing Penny to look at her.

"Yes, yes," The woman muttered before placing her hand on her chest. "It's just this show was my idea and Jagged's putting all of his trust in me and I just hope that everything goes well today,"

She bit her pen as she looked terrified of the idea of failure.

"I'm sure it will go great, Miss Penny," Marinette smiled as she looked back over to Alec. Her father was waving at the camera again.

"So Jagged, how does it feel to fill the baker's shoes today?" Alec asked as Jagged smiled happily.

"It's awesome! Check this editable guitar I made from scratch!! This is so rock and roll!!" Jagged declared, trying to play the bread guitar he made before he started to sing. "Flour, eggs and butter!!"

Penny couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his song as Sabine walked over.

"So, Miss Penny, what's it like working with a star like Jagged?" She asked, causing Penny to look at her. "He seems so cool,"

"Oh, yes. He's... wonderful," Penny smiled as she looked at him. Marinette felt her heart jump as she recognized the look of one of love. Her inner fan girl squealed as she imagined how cute Penny and Jagged would look like as a couple. However, Penny realized what she said and jolted back, going back to writing on her clip board. "Uh... I mean... yeah, he's awesome,"

Marinette smiled knowingly before looking over at Jagged as he sang with her father. She couldn't help but giggle as they dragged Alec into it, causing him to look at the camera with pure confusion before her father waved to the camera again.

"Yo, Marinette, my favorite little lady!!" Jagged called, getting her attention and causing the camera to focus on her. "Come over and rock out with us!"

"Uh!" Marinette gasped as Sabine gave her an encouraging smile. She walked over in a nervous manner and waved the camera, not sure how deal with the sudden attention onto her. Jagged smiled and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"It's so cool that we get to spend the day together. Marinette's practically my niece," He declared, grinning before he turned to Alec. "She's really talented too. She did the artwork to my latest album and she's only in high school!!"

"Wow! That's impressive. A true family of artists," Alec stated before gesturing to her and her father. "A talented young designer and a gifted patisserie. By the way, what are you gonna bake for us today, Tom?"

"Uh," Tom gasped, looking nervously to the camera. "How about some chocolate croissants? Could you grab a bag of flour please, dear?"

"Sure, Papa," Marinette smiled, turning to reach for a bag as Jagged moved out of the way. However, she knocked a large paddle over, causing it to fall on the table. When she went to grab, she accidentally pushed it under a bag of flour but didn't notice as she lifted it to return to her place. Her action caused the bag of flour to fly up and land all over Jagged, making her gasp. "Uh oh,"

Jagged blinked and looked at himself before he grinned and began to laugh.

"Hey, look! I look like a ghost! Rocking boohoo!!" He laughed as Alec placed his arm around his shoulders.

"Making pastries is obviously no piece of cake," He declared before smiling. "Stay tuned. We'll be back from this commercial break,"

"Boo!!" Jagged declared, hugging Alec before they cut the cameras. Alec dusted himself down and walked over to Bob as Marinette turned to Jagged and Penny walked over.

"Sorry, Jagged," She mumbled, looking down but he shook his head.

"No sweat, Marinette," He smiled as Penny turned to her.

"Can you tell me where the bathroom is?" She asked. Marinette nodded and told her it was upstairs before she began to help her father clear up the bakery. Penny led Jagged upstairs and looked around for the bathroom but they accidentally went on staircase too high and pushed open the trap room that led to Marinette's bedroom. "Wait, this isn't the rest room,"

"This must be Marinette's bedroom," Jagged muttered, looking around. It was very pink. "Cool. Hey, there's a sink,"

Penny nodded and grab some tissue before she began to try and clean off the flour as Jagged looked around. Noticing some of her hat designs, he walked over, making Penny sigh and follow him.

"Hey, look," He smiled as Penny scrubbed his jacket. "Man, Marinette has some real talent,"

She looked up at the designs and found herself agreeing. Marinette was truly gifted but once again, Jagged had moved away. She rolled her eyes and followed him again.

"Hey, I know this guy," He laughed as he walked over to the poster of himself. "Rock on, Jagged,"

"We've gotta hurry, Jagged," Penny stated as he turned to face Marinette's photo wall.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, Penny," He stated as he looked over at them. There were a few photos of Adrien Agreste but there were also a couple of photos of Marinette with Anatis and a fair number of her with Luka. Jagged blinked and smiled as he looked at them. In one photo, Marinette and Luka were pulling faces. In another, they were stood back to back while wearing pink hats. Another one showed them with the rest of kitty section. One was outside of the cinema. Another was the two of them laughing as they attempted to bake some sweet treat. Another photo showed Marinette, Adrien and Luka with Wang Cheng while another one showed the two of them on the set of Nino's horror film, Horrificator. Marinette was pretending to be scared while Luka was pretending to be the monster. She also had the pictures of Juleka's photo shoot on the wall and a few with her friends.

"And we're back on air with Jagged Stone filling the shoes of a baker," Alec's voice stated as Penny tried to get him clear. "Let's see how that rock star cleans up all that flour,"

"Isn't that Nanarky's kid?" He asked Penny, who nodded. "There's more photos of him then of me. I think the baker's daughter has a little crush,"

He winked at the camera.

"Or maybe they're a couple? They'd make a good one. A talented designer and an upcoming musician," Jagged mumbled before smiling. "Teenage love is so sweet. Makes me want to write a song. Hey, what about-"

The trapdoor burst open and a fanatic looking Marinette burst through, looking close to tears.

"What are you guys doing in here?!" She gasped, distressed. Penny turned to her and clicked her pen.

"I'm sorry, Marinette," She gasped, frowning. The last thing she wanted was to upset the girl. "I couldn't find the rest room,"

"Hey, Marinette, you want me to sign that poster of me?" Jagged asked.

"No, I just need everyone to leave and you stop filming," She gasped, clearly embarrassed but no one made to move. She looked desperately at Penny. "Penny, please get them to leave,"

"You heard the lady," Penny declared as she began to push Bob Roth out of Marinette's room. He looked at her with shock but then one of the camera men looked up at her and told them she cut them off their air. She picked up the wire and noticed everyone look at her. She wanted to say sorry but seeing Marinette close to tears made her shake her head. "We'll deal with that in a second. Let's leave Marinette's room first,"

"Penny, we're suppose to be live!" Alec declared, glaring at her. "We're going back on air,"

"No! Get out of my room first!" Marinette argued as Jagged sneezed.

"Penny, was that flour organic?" He asked. "You know I'm allergic to the non organic flour,"

"Penny! Give me that wire,"

"Penny, get them out of my room... please!!"

"Penny, we've got no picture!!"

"Penny, do you have a tissue?!"

"Penny!!" Everyone's voice blended into one, causing Penny to grip her head as the buzzing got to her.

"Urh!! Stop!! That is enough!!" She shouted, making them look at her before she looked at Marinette. "Everyone back down stairs now!! Out!!!"

She forced them downstairs and out of Marinette's room, leaving the girl relieved.

"Out! Out! Out!!"

"Well, what do we do now?!" Bob Roth asked but she glared at him.

"I'll meet you downstairs in five!" She stated but he went to argue. However, she shoved the list at him and growled. "In five!"

She slammed the door close before sinking down as she tried to calm down. She was just so stressed and everyone was demanding everything from her. She didn't blame Marinette because Alec and his crew shouldn't have been filming in her room so she could understand why Marinette was so upset. That room was her sanctuary and Alec had invaded that but no thanks to Jagged, who shouldn't have been there either. She took another deep breathe as an akuma fluttered closer to her before it entered her pen.

"Troublemaker, I am Hawkmoth. You've always the faithful one, taking care of other people and shoving their problems," Hawkmoth declared in her head. "Today, you are free of that burden. From now on, you shall be the creator of all their problems and all I ask in return is Anatis' and Lady Noir's miraculous. What do you say, Troublemaker?"

"Sounds like a plan, Hawkmoth," She declared, standing up and clicking her pen. She was engulfed in purple smoke, transforming her into an akuma before it disappeared, revealing her new look. Her skin was literally white and she had heavy black eye make up. Her hair was now styled in a pink and white mohawk with black shaved areas around her head and ears. Her suit resembled a rock star from the 80s and was black, pink and white. She wore a dark pink jacket and had a skull and crossbones on her suit. She stepped through the door and clicked her pen again, making her solid. She picked up her list and looked at it. "So, what's on my to do list next?"

She tore in half and smirked.

"I know. Take care of Jagged," She laughed before throwing the pieces and clicking her pen. She became intangible once again and allowed herself to go through the ceiling.

~Meanwhile in Marinette's Room~

"This is a disaster!! I'm gonna be a laughing stock at school! Through all of Paris!! On the internet!!" Marinette gasped as Plagg floated next to her. "Luka will never talk to me again!! This is a disaster!! A disaster!!"

"Pretty sure, he will, dollface!!" Plagg grinned, finding the whole thing amusing. "Besides, it's not like you can change it. The whole thing was live and boy was it funny,"

"Plagg! Not helping!!" She gasped, rocking to herself. "It's a disaster!!"

"Huh?" Plagg mumbled, floating over to the TV as the show went live again. "Dollface, it seems the show has your streak of bad luck,"

"This is a disaster- huh? What do you mean?!" Marinette gasped as she looked over. She got up as her dad angrily spoke to Bob Roth as her mother threatened him but then a bag of flour got dumped onto Jagged and Alec fell on him. Marinette frowned as she watched weird things happen in the bakery. Croissants went flying, doors were slamming. Jagged cried out for Penny as he thought a ghost was haunting them and then the shutters were closed as Bob Roth looked around terrified and asked if the bakery was build on an ancient cemetery. Marinette frowned as she watched things get worst before a strange looking woman appeared next to Jagged, making him jump away in fear and scream for Penny. Marinette gasped as the akuma declared that Penny wasn't around anymore and that she was Troublemaker. She showed that she could make herself intangible before declaring that she was gonna cause him nothing but problems. "Penny?"

"Oh dear. Now that troublemaker is going to put all that sourdough to waste," Plagg sighed, making Marinette shake her head.

"Then we better stop her," She declared, holding out her hand. "Plagg, claws out!!"

A green light over took her, turning her into Lady Noir. She looked over at the film as Alec attempted get footage of Troublemaker but she cut the camera. She frowned before climbing out of the skylight, just as Anatis landed on the ground below. She watched as he tried to get into the bakery only for Troublemaker appear behind him. She grabbed him and threw him into the TV van but Lady Noir extended her baton, blocking Troublemaker's path. She turned intangible again but Anatis had already thrown his yoyo and landed on the balcony, allowing her to bring back her baton back to her.

"Hey there, handsome," She grinned as he jumped down from the rail and walked over to her. "What brings you to the best bakery in town?"

"Fancied some freshly baked bread and landed in a spot of trouble," He grinned. "Is Marinette safe?"

"She's hiding in the bathroom but Troublemaker seems to have it in for Jagged," Lady Noir nodded. "Anyway, follow me,"

She jumped down into her room and Anatis followed suit, looking at the pictures as they moved across the bed.

"Uh... Annie?" She asked, making him look at her.

"Sorry, still not use to seeing myself on film," He smiled, tapping the picture of him and Marinette together. Lady Noir rose an eyebrow. "Anyway, we'll take the grand tour later. Shall we-"

He suddenly lifted the mattress as knitting needles were thrown at them before he dived at her but Troublemaker clicked her pen, causing him to fall through her. Lady Noir jumped down and helped him to his feet as Troublemaker disappeared and threw an umbrella at them. She knocked it back and Anatis threw his yoyo but it went through Troublemaker as she clicked her pen. She clicked it again and threw the chaste at them. A picture of Luka landed on the ground and Lady Noir gasped before grabbing at it. Anatis rose an eyebrow but was knocked back when he was hit by an otterman. He threw his yoyo but it went through Troublemaker again and got tangled with Lady Noir's baton, causing her to laugh as she sank through the ceiling. He looked around for her as she jumped through the floorboard and clicked her pen, reaching for his earrings. Lady Noir gasped and spit her baton into two. She tripped him up and slammed her baton into Troublemaker's hand, causing her pen to go flying and Anatis to land on the floor. Troublemaker gasped as she looked towards her pen, causing Anatis to realize where the akuma was.

"Lady Noir! The Pen!!" He shouted as the three of them dived at it. They all caught it but Troublemaker grinned and clicked it.

"Touch me if you dare," She declared before sinking through the floorboards again. Anatis growled.

"Damn it. We can't touch her, even if we wanted to her,"

"But her strength is also her weakness, Annie,"

"Good point. If she wants to touch us, she has to be touchable as well," He smiled as the two of them stood up. He noticed they were still holding hands before he quickly let go. "Sorry,"

"N-No worries," Lady Noir gasped, blushing before grinning. "Let's go cause some trouble,"

The two of them ran downstairs into the living room before looking around. Anatis narrowed his eyes as he spun his yoyo like a shield.

"Be careful," He declared. "Chances are she's somewhere in this room but if she wants to take our miraculous, she can't be untouchable,"

"And if we grab her then we snag her pen," Lady Noir grinned as she looked around the living room. Anatis nodded and narrowed his eyes as the two of them around but Troublemaker suddenly appeared through the ceiling and shoved Anatis across the room before she grabbed Lady Noir's arms and twisted them around her back, pinning them there. She went to grab her ring as Anatis jumped back up and threw his yoyo around them both but she clicked her pen, causing his yoyo to trap Lady Noir. She clicked her pen again and kicked Lady Noir to the ground before she ran at Anatis. She jumped and clicked her pen, going through him before clicking it again as she jumped against the wall, throwing herself into him and pinning him down onto the floor. She held his arms above his head and grabbed his right earring, causing the other one to beep erratically as she grinned, holding up the earring.

"You've already lost half the battle, bug boy," She stated, looking at him as his mask slowly began to disappear, along with parts of his suit. He struggled against her as she went to reach for the other one but before she could, Lady Noir freed herself and held out her hand. Hearing the beeping, she closed her eyes.

"Cataclysm!!" She yelled before blindly charging at Troublemaker. She gasped and clicked her pen, causing herself to go intangible again. Lady Noir went straight through her and slammed into the window but Troublemaker growled at her as she sank through the floorboards. She had dropped Anatis' earring which bounced away from her. He scrambled up and grabbed it, putting it back on. His mask returned over his eyes and his suit reformed on his legs and arms. He let out a sigh of relief as Lady Noir rushed over to him with her eyes closed and cradling her charged up hand. He couldn't help but smile at her. "Annie, you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good, kitten," He stated, making her open her eyes. She smiled sheepishly at him before she grabbed his yoyo and handed it back to him. "Thanks for closing your eyes, Kitty,"

"Well... I only want a reveal when we both agree to it," She smiled bashfully, getting a nod of agreement of him. "But that can wait. First, we need to kick trouble's butt,"

"Couldn't agree more," He declared before throwing his yoyo up in the air. "Lucky charm!!"

The magic ladybugs summoned a broken plate, which he caught as he frowned before he looked around in his lucky vision. He gasped as he couldn't find how to use it before he looked around again. Lady Noir frowned as Anatis got frustrated before he sighed.

"That's strange... I can't see how to use it,"

"Could losing an earring made your power weaker?" Lady Noir asked as he looked around again, moving over to the bookcase.

"I hope not," He stated, glancing around before the super glue lit up. "Oh, thank kwamis. It is working,"

"Oh, good," Lady Noir let out a sigh as he picked up the superglue. He began to fix the plate as she rose an eyebrow. "I mean that had me worried... but... why?"

She pointed to the plate but before grinned and handed it to her before turning the glue on himself. Well, on his earrings. Lady Noir smirked as he took the plate from her and then the two of them headed back into Marinette's room. Lady Noir went first and held out her hand as she looked around. Anatis followed holding up the plate.

"This is the lamest lucky charm I've ever had," He muttered in a worried tone. "It's practically useless against a villain who can literally walk through walls,"

"She doesn't seem to be here though," Lady Noir replied before jumping up onto the bed area. "I'll check the balcony,"

"Noir! Don't! I only have a plate to defend myself!!" He gasped as she disappeared through the skylight. "Great,"

Almost instantly, Troublemaker appeared through the ceiling and dived at him. He dove out of the way and threw the plate at her but she clicked her pen and it went through her, smashing against the wall. She dived at him and pinned him down again, grabbing at his earrings as Hawkmoth ordered her to grab them. As soon as she touched them, her fingers got stuck onto them and he dropped the act, grabbing her arms as she tried to get up. He grinned at her as she tried to pull away.

"Having some trouble?" He asked.

"Aww, my poor bug-a-boo... looks like you have a super villain stuck on you... literally," Lady Noir cooed as she sat on the railing and held up the super glue. "Let's separate you two,"

She jumped down as Troublemaker tried to get away from Anatis but he only moved with her, keeping his grip on her arms. Lady Noir jumped over and tapped the pen with her charged hand, causing it to rust and break, freeing both the akuma and Anatis. Troublemaker cried out and grabbed her head as she turned back into Penny. Anatis captured it with his yoyo before releasing the purified butterfly. He grabbed the broken plate and threw it into the air, declaring the magic words. It turned into the swarm and swept across the bakery, fixing everything that needed to be fixed and restored Marinette's room. As soon as that was done, Lady Noir turned her attention Penny as the woman looked around confused. Seeing the two heroes, she gasped.

"W-what happened?" She asked in a frightened tone. "Is Jagged ok?"

"You're always so helpful, putting everyone before yourself," Lady Noir smiled gently as Anatis nodded. She knelt down and smiled at her. "Let's worry about Penny for a change. Are you ok?"

"I... I'm fine... thank you, Lady Noir," Penny smiled, getting up. "I'm sorry for causing trouble,"

"Don't be, Penny," Anatis smiled. "It's ok to take some time for yourself when you need it,"

"Thank you," She smiled as the miraculous beeped, reminding the heroes it was time to leave.

"Sorry, have to go," Anatis gasped. "Rock on, Penny. You're awesome,"

"Yeah! Rock and roll," Lady Noir agreed as the two of them jumped onto the rails and through the skylight. They hear Penny take a deep breathe before she exited the room. Anatis jumped onto the rail as Lady Noir landed next to him. "That was a close call,"

"Yeah but no finding out my true identity for you today," He smiled as he spun his yoyo.

"That's ok," She grinned, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "Since I already know who you are,"

"Y-you do?!" He gasped as she snored and laughed.

"You're my best friend, you dork," She grinned, hugging him. He smiled and hugged back before she pulled away and held out her fist. "Pound it?"

"Pound it," He smiled, tapping his fist against hers. He went to jump before he turned and smiled at her. "You're my best friend too, Kitten,"

With that, he jumped off through the city. Lady Noir jumped up the other part of the room before dropping down to part of her roof and dropped her transformation. She jumped back onto the balcony and let out a sigh of relief. Anatis hadn't found her supply of cheese nor did he seem embarrassed about Marinette having photos of him on her wall. She would have to deal with the rest of the fallout at school. She dived into her room as Plagg dived into his cheese and rushed downstairs. As soon as she burst into the bakery, she saw everything was back to normal. She rushed over to her parents and hugged them, telling them she hid in the bathroom before Penny shyly came through. She looked like she was about to apologize but before she could, Jagged glomped her.

"Penny!! I'm so glad you're ok and not in your super villain outfit anymore... though very rock and roll... but seriously, what would I do without you?" He smiled as he held her shoulders. "You're the best. In fact, I'm giving you a pay raise for all your hard work!!"

"Jagged," She smiled before hugging him. He smiled and hugged back. Marinette shared a knowing look with her mother before smiling.

~Next Day at School~

Marinette sighed to herself as she carefully made her way through the school. She intended to avoid everyone but in particular, she wanted to avoid Luka. Well, she didn't actually want to avoid him but she figured he would probably been uncomfortable with the fact that she had their photos printed out and stuck on her wall. And that there was the fact that Jagged hinted that she might have a crush on him, which was true but she didn't want him to find out like that. She wanted to be able to tell him herself but so far, she hadn't seen him which was good. She would wait a few days and then talk to him again. She let out a sigh as she reached her locker and put her bag inside before closing the door.

"Hey, Ma-Ma-Marinette," Luka smirked, making her jump. He let out a little chuckle as she glared at him before he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry... I just wanted to make sure you were ok after that akuma,"

"O-Oh... I'm fine...a bit... never-mind... I'm good... are you?" She gasped, nervously before pressing her fingers together. "Look... about what you saw on the show last night... the totographs on my wall... I have them on there because they're really good memories for me... I'm sorry if that seems... weird..."

"Marinette, I don't think that's weird at all but in case, you've forgotten... I'm a Couffaine. Weirdness and chaos is in my blood," He grinned, making her smile "So... I actually wanted to ask you something... um... I was wondering if you wanted to come by the liberty and hang out with me after school while I practice some new songs I've written... um I really could do with a second opinion on them who isn't Rose or Juleka and well, you like my music so... I was hoping... you'd like to come by?"

"Oh," Marinette gasped, not expecting him to ask but she hesitated to answer. Not because she didn't want to say yes. She so wanted to say yes. She was just surprised that he asked.

"Oh, you're busy..." He frowned, shaking his head. "Just ignore that. It was a stupid idea..."

He sighed and went to walk away but Marinette grabbed his hand, making him look at her She blushed and pushed a bit of her hair back.

"I'm not busy and I'd love to hear your new songs," She smiled shyly, making him smile.

"Really?" He asked, smiling. She nodded. "Cool. Meet me at the doors after school?"

"I'll have to drop of my books at mine first though,"

"Fine by me. I can buy us some sweets,"

"It's a date," She smiled, causing him to blush. "I mean... a hang out... thing...not like a date date..."

"Ye-Yeah," He gasped, blushing before he rushed off. He stopped and waved. "See ya after school, Mari,"

===========================

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/632366839231578112/miraculous-rise-of-anatis-33

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adamgaskell · 3 years

Text

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ddagent · 4 years

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Huge request for Papa Bee to be on the podcast!! 😻

Here we are, our footnotes session with Papa Bee! Quite a few people sent in questions, so I’m just going to include those as part of the fic rather than list them all here. But thank you to all those who do send in questions; it’s so much fun!

A huge thank you to @resthefuture who made this AMAZING moodboard for the podcast verse. Seriously, it is gorgeous, and I love it.

B: The following podcast contains strong language, literary violence, and explicit sexual content.

(tourney horn plays)

J: Welcome to The Bear and the Poorly Written Maiden, the footnotes! And for the first time, we have a VERY special guest. It’s Bee’s father, Papa Bee everyone!

S: Hello!

(Jay and Bee clap)

J: Thank you, Papa Bee, for joining us today.

B: You didn’t exactly give him much of a choice.

S: It’s fine, Little Star. I love listening to the two of you doing your podcast; you both sound like you’re having so much fun.

J: We are, thank you, Papa Bee. Now, you’ve brought snacks for us to eat during the podcast today. Quite a few people have asked about your biscuit recipe, can you tell the listeners what you’ve made for us?

S: Of course, lad. I’ve made some lemon curd biscuits for you, lad, and some sausage rolls with apple for my girl.

J: Bee does like a bit of sausage.

B: JAY! I cannot believe you just said that.

J: What, what? You do; you always prefer to have a sausage sandwich when we have breakfast before classes. (chuckles) I don’t know what you’re implying.

B: I hate you. I really hate you.

J: You’ve been saying that since we met, but I don’t think even you believe that anymore. (pause) Anyway, we’ve got introductions out the way, we’ve got our snacks sorted, let’s get down to business.

B: Last week we began reading the first chapter of Off the King’s Road, a hideously explicit tale of Goldenhand and Ser Blue’s journey to King’s Landing.

J: Papa Bee, you were the one who provided us with this dreadful novel. Can you talk about how you found it whilst I have a biscuit?

S: Of course, lad. Since you and my Little Star have started doing this podcast, I’ve been keeping an eye out for any secondhand bookshops, charity shops. Me and Goodwin – you remember Goodwin, don’t you, Bee?

B: Of course, he taught me how to swing a re-enactment sword.

S: Well, we were at a boot sale the other weekend on the other side of the island, and this woman had two plastic tubs filled with all these paperbacks. Now, one caught my eye, because I remember you getting in trouble at school for reading it.

B: Oh, Gods.

J: Off the King’s Road. (Bee groans) She mentioned the Septa caught her?

S: Oh, she did. Only time my Bee ever got sent home was because she had been reading a dirty book.

B: It was a historical romance novel, and what was it doing in the library if not to be read?

J: You’re just full of excuses, aren’t you? (Jay laughs) What chapter were you reading? Was it the one we read last episode?

B: No, no, I believe it was the one in the Harrenhal baths.

S: Memory serves, you went through a period of only having baths after that.

J: (laughs) Really? Oh, well, in that case, I cannot wait to get to that chapter.

B: Our shower was broken!

J: Of course, of course. Now, we’ve had a few comments about the latest episode, which is more than the usual one comment we get from you, Papa Bee. So we’ll take it in turns to read some of them out. This is from weirddaydreamingfangirl, who says “I can't wait for Papa Bee’s appearance!"

S: Very sweet. Hopefully, it won’t be a disappointment.

B: Of course it won’t be, Dad. Okay, here’s another: ulmo80 says, "That book sounds awful." It really does, but get used to it, because we’re committed to reading the whole thing. Dad, do you want to read out the next one?

S: sarahoftarth says (pauses) Do you think she’s Margo’s girl from down the road?

B: I don’t know, Dad. I don’t think so.

S: She could be. She’s called Sarah. Anyway, sarahoftarth says, “Jay's unsuccessful flirting is just too much, I just want to shake them both!” And if it is Sarah from down the road, say hello to your mother.

B: What does she mean by flirting?

J: What does she mean by unsuccessful?

B: Well, clearly that you’re not very good at it. Not that I’ve ever seen you flirt; plenty of people flirt with you, but you never pursue someone yourself.

S: I think there’s a reason for that, Little Star.

B: Oh, I know. ‘None of these women meet his impossibly high standards’.

J: Really? That’s what you think? (pauses) Okay. Let’s, uh, le’s answer a few questions, now. Here’s one for Papa Bee, it’s from a-squire-is-for-life-not-just-for-sevenmas, “Papa Bee, what made you decide to name your daughter after Ser Blue?” That’s a great question.

S: Well, like my daughter, I have a love of history. Our house has always been filled with antiques and suits of armour and Oathkeeper right in the main hall. There’s not been a huge amount of girls born in the last few generations; none, in fact. Both me and Bee’s mum expected her to be a boy, too.

J: What would you have called her, if she was a boy?

S: We liked Robb, and I’d always quite liked Brynden as a name, too. But she was a girl, and I knew she had to be Bri–she had to be named after Ser Blue. Someone strong, and brave. Who would do amazing things. I knew my daughter had to be named after her.

(pause)

B: O–okay. Next question is from everything-is-a-cereal-bowl. (laughs) Clearly someone on your wavelength, Jay.

J: I don’t know what you’re trying to say.

B: There was milk in my saucepan this morning.

J: I was making a creamy pasta sauce.

B: There were choco pops in it.

J: I was making hot chocolate?

B: Anyway, everything-is-a-cereal-bowl asks, “Papa Bee, what do you think of Jay?”

S: I think he’s a lovely lad, very smart, and the smartest thing he’s ever done is become best friends with my little girl.

J: See, Bee, your dad thinks we’re best friends.

B: Fine, fine! We’re best friends!

(all three laugh)

J: I think we’ve got time for another couple of questions. Okay, this is from jaybee28: “Hi Papa Bee—”

S: Hello jaybee28!

J: “Hi Papa Bee so excited to have you on an episode of footnotes. I know they recommended submitting questions related to your ancestors but something has been bugging me since the latest episode and I can think of no one better to pose the question than you!” Okay, does this mean you have to ask it?

B: I think so. Jay, give my Dad the tablet.

S: Alright, let’s read what we’ve got here. Right, so, the question is, “Jay... why do you know how little/much Bee knows about blow jobs?”

B: WHAT THE—

J: Language.

B: I read out the warning at the beginning; it says strong language so I’m going to say, what the fuck, jaybee28?

J: (laughs) It is a valid question.

B: No it isn’t, not in front of my father.

J: I think any father would be happy his daughter doesn’t know a great deal about blow jobs.

S: Little Star, I do listen to all your episodes, you know. I am aware my daughter knows about sex. Especially after you found that book, and all those stories of you and—

B: —no, please, I beg of you, do not finish that thought.

J: I will pay you five hundred gold dragons right now, Papa Bee, to finish that thought.

B: You can barely afford rent; you ate at my house all last week to save money.

J: It’s called being financially conscious. But, honestly, I’d live in a box if your father finished that sentence. (Bee huffs) And, in answer to your question, jaybee28, when we first started researching the idea of a podcast, we were looking through historical erotica and Bee casually wondered why so many stories had cannibalism as they all described swallowing a man whole.

B: Wonderful; this is exactly what I wanted to happen on this podcast.

J: Come on, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.

B: Next special guest we have is going to be your brother, you do realise that, don’t you?

J: (pause) I do now.

B: Good. Right, one more question before we finish. It’s for my Dad. colour-chart-courtship has asked, “Papa Bee, what would you think if Jay and Bee decided to host their podcast for life? Jay is hers, Bee is his, for as long as the tourney horn plays.” I–I don’t get it.

J: Well, as long as we have people listening, I guess we’ll still do it.

S: colour-chart-courtship, I would be over the moon if these two decided to host this podcast for life. It makes them both happy, and that’s all a father wants for his little girl. And if they decide to make any spin-offs, I’d be glad to help out with those, too.

J: A spin-off, I’d like that. (pause) We could read out bad essay assignments!

B: I do believe that’s a breach of data protection.

J: Pfft.

B: Right, before it’s necessary for me to help Jay navigate a university tribunal, I think we should end it there. Thank you, Dad, for joining us today. I hope it hasn’t been too traumatic.

S: Not at all! I’ll come back next week, if you want.

J: I have a feeling next week’s guest spot is already full. Right, Bee?

B: Right, Jay.

J: (sighs) But, yes, thank you so much, Papa Bee. And thank you, everyone, who has listened to our podcast, commented or sent us in questions. If you have any questions, feel free to send them to [email protected].

B: We have our caw account up and running; you can leave us some comments there.

J: Next episode we’ll be heading back to the Stark camp for chapter two of Off the King’s Road.

B: We’re also going to be on Vinyl Grooves in the next week or so; we’ll let you know when the episode goes out.

J: Wonderful.

B: Dad, do you want to say the closing remarks?

S: Of course! Valar morghulis!

(tourney horn plays)

#sarahoftarth #braime #jaime x brienne #ship: braime #mine: paragraph prompts #fic: podcast verse

141 notes · View notes

drunkenraccoons · 3 years

Text

Top 248 Songs

1. Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

2. Cowgirl in the Sand - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

3. Caught in the Hustle - Immortal Technique

4. Hand in My Pocket - Alanis Morissette

5. Pulse - Ani DiFranco

6. Dogs - Pink Floyd

7. When the Music’s Over - The Doors

8. Eet - Regina Spektor

9. Providence - Ani DiFranco

10. Change Your Mind - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

11. It’s Good to Be King [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

12. Tangled Up in Blue - Bob Dylan

13. Pigs - Pink Floyd

14. We R Who We R - Kesha

15. No Title - Ten Years After

16. Ribs - Lorde

17. Guns, Bitches, Brawls & Bottles - GG Allin

18. 2 On - Tinashe

19. The She - The Breeders

20. Raining Blood - Slayer

21. Cortez the Killer - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

22. Since I’ve Been Loving You - Led Zeppelin

23. Like a Hurricane [Weld] - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

24. Angie - The Rolling Stones

25. Darkness Darkness - Robert Plant

26. Nuthin but a ‘G’ Thang - Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

27. Wake Up Time - Tom Petty

28. Complicated - Avril Lavigne

29. Det som Engang Var - Burzum

30. Ride the Lightning - Metallica

31. Cloud Blood - Ani DiFranco

32. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright - Bob Dylan

33. The Next Episode - Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg

34. Ghost of the Gang - Indigo Girls

35. New Ways to Fly - Garth Brooks

36. Bleed the Freak - Alice In Chains

37. Walls (No. 3) - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

38. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors

39. Sister Morphine - Rolling Stones

40. Serpentine - Ani DiFranco

41. Oedipus - Regina Spektor

42. LA Woman - The Doors

43. My Journey to the Stars - Burzum

44. Addicted - DJ Clay

45. The Final Cut - Pink Floyd

46. The Wrong Thing to Do - Mudcrutch

47. Soft Shoulder - Ani DiFranco

48. Simple Twist of Fate - Bob Dylan

49. Like an Inca - Neil Young

50. Jesus’ Todd - Burzum

51. Limehouse - The Breeders

52. Untouchable - Taylor Swift

53. Turn it Off - Paramore

54. The Last Supper - Jesus Christ Superstar

55. None Shall Pass - Aesop Rock

56. November Hotel (Live) - Mad Season

57. Signs of Age - Jake Holmes

58. Will to Love - Neil Young

59. Seek & Destroy - Metallica

60. I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes [Recorded Live] - Ten Years After

61. Tik Tok (Untold Remix) - Kesha

62. Forever & Always (Piano Version) - Taylor Swift

63. You Don’t Know How it Feels [Mojo 2010] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

64. Dilate - Ani DiFranco

65. Rockin’ in the Free World - Neil Young

66. Breakdown [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

67. Two Suns in the Sunset - Pink Floyd

68. What’s Been Going On? - Amos Lee

69. There is a Light that Never Goes Out - Becca Stevens Band

70. Almost Cut my Hair - CSNY

71. What’s Up? - 4 Non Blondes

72. There Was Never a Moment When Evil Was Real - Non

73. Only God Can Judge Me - Tupac

74. Benighted - Opeth

75. Cliff - Lapsley

76. Tired Eyes - Neil Young

77. Forgot About Dre - Dr. Dre & Eminem

78. Time - Pink Floyd

79. Lost on You - LP

80. If it Makes You Happy - Sheryl Crow

81. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani

82. Cause of Death - Immortal Technique

83. Two-Headed Boy pt 2 - Neutral Milk Hotel

84. No Quarter [Song Remains the Same] - Led Zeppelin

85. Rockets - Cat Power

86. Out of Range- Ani DiFranco

87. Dumb - Nirvana

88. Sins of My Youth - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

89. All Weekend Long - Jack & Jack

90. Break My Body - Pixies

91. Thrasher - Neil Young

92. Closer (R3hab Remix) - The Chainsmokers

93. In the Kingdom Where Everything Dies, The Sky is Mort - Cryptopsy

94. Dead Flowers - Rolling Stones

95. Pavlov’s Daughter - Regina Spektor

96. Morgen Roede - Burzum

97. Suicide Note part 2 - Pantera

98. God Am - Alice In Chains

99. Five to One - The Doors

100. Friends in Low Places - Garth Brooks

101. Careful - Paramore

102. Seasons in the Abyss - Slayer

103. Fearless - Hypocrisy

104. Through My Sails - Neil Young

105. Long Gone Day - Mad Season

106. Dance With the Devil - Immortal Technique

107. The Outside - Taylor Swift

108. Crazy Kids - Kesha

109. Opened - The Breeders

110. We Die Young - Alice In Chains

111. Somedays - Regina Spektor

112. Masters of War - Bob Dylan

113. War - Burzum

114. The Nile Song - Pink Floyd

115. A Woman in Love [Live Anthology] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

116. Misfits - Neil Young

117. Down By the River - Low & Dirty Three

118. High Hopes - Pink Floyd

119. Paper Planes - MIA

120. Night Moves - Bob Seger

121. I Took a Pill in Ibiza (Seeb Remix) - Mike Posner

122. No Sleep - Wiz Khalifa

123. Still Don’t Give a Fuck - Eminem

124. Long, Long Time Ago - Javier Navarrete

125. You are Not Bliss, You Are Not Free - Nekrasov

126. Radio Friendly Unit Shifter - Nirvana

127. I’d Swear There Was Somebody Here - David Crosby

128. Party and Bullshit - Notorious B.I.G.

129. Bandit - Neil Young

130. Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones

131. Painter - Lapsley

132. Redemption Song - Bob Marley

133. Shine On You Crazy Diamond part one - Pink Floyd

134. Gotta Serve Somebody - Bob Dylan

135. In the Light [Demo version] - Led Zeppelin

136. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience

137. When I Die - GG Allin

138. Pints of Guinness Make You Strong - Against Me!

139. Interstellar Overdrive - Pink Floyd

140. The Old Laughing Lady [Canterburry House] - Neil Young

141. Strength Beyond Strength - Pantera

142. You Know You’re Right - Nirvana

143. Five Years - David Bowie

144. Because the Night - Patti Smith Group

145. Crawling Back to You - Tom Petty

146. Northern Star - Hole

147. Long Live - Taylor Swift

148. Trying to find a Balance - Atmosphere

149. Southern Man - Neil Young

150. Party By Myself - Cooper Phillip

151. Christmas in the Sand - Colbie Callait

152. Cool for the Summer - Demi Lovato

153. Sentimental Tune - Tegan & Sara

154. Jump in the Fire - Metallica

155. Chains - Torres

156. Willing to Fight [Living in Clip] - Ani DiFranco

157. Tuff Ghost - The Unicorns

158. Of a Lifetime - Journey

159. Heaven on Their Minds - Jesus Christ Superstar

160. Obnoxious - Immortal Technique

161. Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

162. Witching Hour - xxyyxx

163. Wolves - Garth Brooks

164. Carry On/Questions - CSNY

165. Levitate Me - Pixies

166. Rotten Apple - Alice In Chains

167. Summer in the City - Regina Spektor

168. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleedin’) - Bob Dylan

169. King’s Highway [Mojo 2010] - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

170. Heartbreaker [How the West Was Won] - Led Zeppelin

171. Meet Rhonda - Douglas Pipes

172. Out on the Weekend - Neil Young

173. Near Dark - Burial

174. Aud Layne Sayne - Jimi Hendrix

175. Back of My Hand - Rolling Stones

176. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

177. Cymbaline - Pink Floyd

178. Animal (Billboard Remix) - Kesha

179. 4:41 AM (Sexual Revolution) - Roger Waters

180. Wild Horses [Stripped] - Rolling Stones

181. Like a Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan

182. Have a Cigar - Pink Floyd

183. Cradle and All - Ani DiFranco

184. I Should Have Known It - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

185. King of Carrot Flowers pt 1 - Neutral Milk Hotel

186. Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder

187. Fuckin’ Up [Weld] - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

188. The River - Bruce Springsteen

189. Maria Maria - Santana

190. Wake Up - Wiz Khalifa

191. Meander - Pedestrian Deposit

192. 4+20 - Stephen Stills

193. Buzzcut Season - Lorde

194. Going to California - Led Zeppelin

195. Rock Music - Pixies

196. Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen

197. Legalize It - MaZe

198. Warrior - Kesha

199. Never Been - Logic

200. Weakness - Opeth

201. Glass House (Turkey Tamale Remix) - Ani DiFranco

202. Joining You - Alanis Morissette

203. Black Queen [CSNY 1974] - CSNY

204. Falling Short - Lapsley

205. A Better Son/Daughter - Rilo Kiley

206. Mr. Rager - Kid Cudi

207. Drive By - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

208. Holla at Me - Tupac

209. Fossil Record - White Suns

210. Overlap - Ani DiFranco

211. We Multiply - AIDS Wolf

212. Soak up the Sun - Sheryl Crow

213. Heart of the Sunrise - Yes

214. Cowgirl in the Sand [Massey Hall] - Neil Young

215. Wake Up - Mad Season

216. Mr. Tambourine Man - Bob Dylan

217. The Con - Tegan & Sara

218. Teardrops on My Guitar (Pop Mix) - Taylor Swift

219. On the Radio - Regina Spektor

220. Nude as the News - Cat Power

221. The Gunner’s Dream - Pink Floyd

222. Fate to Fatal - Breeders

223. Red Strokes - Garth Brooks

224. Point of no Return - Immortal Technique

225. Break on Through - The Doors

226. I’m Alive - Helloween

227. Blackened - Metallica

228. Immigrant Song [How the West Was Won] - Led Zeppelin

229. Luna - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

230. Anyday - Ani DiFranco

231. Sweet Virginia - Rolling Stones

232. I Know Places - Ryan Adams

233. Carrionshine - Cryptopsy

234. Money Becomes King - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

235. Laugh, I Nearly Died - Rolling Stones

236. Keilohesten - Burzum

237. Down by the River - Neil Young & Crazy Horse

238. Revolution is My Name - Pantera

239. D-7 - Nirvana

240. Dead - Pixies

241. Misery Business - Paramore

242. Burden - Opeth

243. Enter Sandman - Metallica

244. Clash With Reality - Pantera

245. Die Young - Kesha

246. Frogs - Alice In Chains

247. The Ghost Song - The Doors

248. Visions of Johanna - Bob Dylan

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afinepricklypear · 4 years

Text

Compare and Contrast: K Project vs. Bungou Stray Dogs - Part 3

**Disclaimer: I love both K Project and Bungou Stray Dogs. I highly recommend watching both of them. This series of Compare and Contrast posts I’m doing is merely for my own sake, to get these thoughts out of my head. If you are a fan of one show and not the other, please don’t read, or if you do, save your bashing comments for like-minded antis elsewhere. If you have not seen both, there are a lot of Spoilers ahead, please don’t read. I am heavily critical of both shows, so if you are someone who cannot handle negative things being said (I try not to outright bash and just provide reasonable evidence from the material to back my stances) about your favorite fandom or characters please don’t read. Thank you! ***

Read Part 1, Part 2

Characters

Both Bungo Stray Dogs and K feature ensemble casts, with large numbers of characters. That being said, the shows have vastly different approaches for how they handle those characters and those approaches impact the way they come across for the viewer.

One of the things that K does a hell of a lot better than BSD, is fleshing out and managing of its characters. This may in part be due to the fact, K doesn’t attempt to give all of its characters a starring space in the story. It’s comfortable letting some characters fall into the background, allocating them to the role of side characters. There are only a few members of each of our main clans (Silver, Red, Blue, and later, Green) that are given attention and the rest of the clansmen (Red and Blue are the only clans shown to have notable clans members who regularly show up and are given names and little else outside of our mains) fall to the background. For some people, this may be frustrating, as we don’t learn a whole lot about the rest of Scepter 4 or HOMRA in the anime, but narratively, I’m comfortable with it because I’m not asked by the show to care about those characters, and the characters that I’m meant to care about are given adequate screen time to develop them into someone who’s story I am invested in. That being said, K does have moments that utterly flop. Scepter 4, for me, beyond Fushimi, is an absolute failure in presenting itself as a likeable or, even, relatable organization of individuals (Full disclosure, I hate Munakata, and while Awashima has potential, she’s treated by the series as little more than a miniskirt and bad boob job obsessed with Munakata). They seem to be there only to be obnoxious. I get the sense they were originally intended to be viewed as villains, but they became so popular following the first season, that the creators tried to treat them more as heroes in the movie and second season. However, it was painfully obvious in the final episode of K: Seven Stories – Nameless Circle, as the surviving members of the Green, Red, Silver, and good Colorless clan members (Yukari and Kuroh) enjoyed their final farewells with their fallen clansmen (I dare you not to cry when Mikoto and Totsuka pour Kusanagi a glass and Yata takes Anna’s hand in the background), that Scepter 4 staring up at Munakata’s lost Sword of Damocles was the least humanized of the Clans. They lost nothing, they felt nothing, their presence in Nameless Circle was nearly pointless beyond fan service. Likewise, K heavily drops the ball in Season 1 with its primary antagonist, the Evil Colorless King, who’s back history, motivations, and even his (her?) name remain a mystery to date.

BSD starts out with an already large cast, and while Atsushi and Dazai might arguably be the “main” characters of the show, starring roles in various arcs and episodes are given to the other characters, as well. Most of those episodes, however, can easily be relegated to the “filler” pile. On top of this, BSD continually introduces increasing numbers of characters, it also likes to bump characters up from side character to more main character type roles, which only serves to take limited screen time from the initial cast of characters and ultimately fails to give itself enough space to flesh out the cast. Time constraints, of course, doesn’t always mean a character can’t be adequately developed (see the first ten minutes of Pixar’s Up for how it’s done right), but possibly, because of this limitation, BSD has a tendency to fall back on telling instead of showing. It also feels like many of its characters were not fully developed in the creator’s minds (this appears to have been confirmed in several interviews with the creators) when they started their story, so that when those backgrounds are revealed, especially in those far too often instances where characters that have interacted in past episodes and given no indication of a history between them are newly revealed to have a connections to one another. It feels tacked on and last minute, and consistency of characterizations is lost. As previously discussed in a past post for this Review Series, this may also be due to the fact that K was envisioned as a self-contained story, and BSD seems to have been developed as an ongoing serial without a predetermined ending.

For these next several posts, I want to do more individualized character analyses, but to keep things simple, I will only focus on the characters of K that are given focus in the story and I’ll try to reference only its anime (just to be fair, because I’ve read all of K’s extra materials, and have not for BSD because I lack access in my country). Likewise, I’m only going to talk about BSD’s characters from the Armed Detective Agency and the Port Mafia, as well as, a few key villains like Shibusawa, Fitzgerald, and Fyodor. Once again, I will attempt to keep to only what’s been revealed in the anime.

A reasonable starting point on character analysis for these two shows would be our sort-of main protagonists. Although, BSD and K are both ensemble anime, they do each feature a character that may ostensibly be considered the “main” character, in the sense that they kick off our main events and are positioned as integral to all subsequent storylines. For BSD, that character is Nakajima Atsushi, and for K, that character is Yashiro “Shiro” Isana. Interestingly (maybe), these characters share a similar aesthetic. Both are young males, with white hair and light-colored eyes, they are also both small, waif-like, bishounen that might be better suited to a shojo or even yaoi anime, rather than leads on a seinen series.

At the start of both series, Atsushi and Shiro, respectively, find themselves thrust into a world of supernatural powered people in which they are targeted for reasons to be revealed throughout the story. The greatest similarity between these two, however, is that they are both weak characters. Neither one proves interesting enough to shoulder the responsibilities as main character of the show. You would be hard pressed in either fandom to find someone who would name Atsushi or Shiro as their favorite character. I’m not saying these fans don’t exist, because they do, they are just few and far between.

Shiro spends the first half of the first season trying to avoid being killed by the Red Clan, who believes he killed their Clansman, Tatara Totsuka, at the same time, he is trying to convince his reluctant ally and potential executioner, Kuroh, that he isn’t the Evil Colorless King responsible for Totsuka’s death. Atsushi’s story, on the other hand, begins with him finding out he’s an ability user that shapeshifts into a white tiger, and, subsequently, being rescued and recruited into the Armed Detective Agency by Dazai. Then the Port Mafia begins hunting him because a bounty has been placed on his head, conveniently only after he’s learned that he is the white tiger that he believed had been hunting him his entire life, he’s joined the ADA, and Dazai has the chance to warn him with a picture of Akutagawa “beware of this bad boy” mere hours before Akutagawa attacks him.

The initial drawback with both of these characters is that they are merely victims of the plot and not helping to drive the plot forward in anyway. Shiro only becomes invested in determining why there’s video footage of him murdering Totsuka because Kuroh demands he provide evidence that he’s not the Evil Colorless King or he’ll face justice at the end of Kuroh’s blade. When Atsushi learns about the bounty on his head that Port Mafia is pursuing, rather than show interest in why anyone would want to capture him (alive, to boot), he “nobly” decides to run away, in his naivete believing that it would spare the ADA war with Port Mafia.

Throughout the K story, we do see real change in Shiro’s investment in his own mystery when it’s revealed that his memories, and the memories his classmates have of him, are not real, but fabricated and imposed upon him and those in close proximity by the cat girl that’s obsessed with him, Neko, AKA Official Provider of Fanservice #1. This provides a further explanation for why he’s so lackluster about pursuing the truth, she’s been bending his reality and his perception of it from the start. It isn’t until her ability and how she’s been using it is revealed, and she runs off in humiliation and panic, that Shiro begins to actively pursue the truth. Even before this, however, Shiro is shown to be a wily and clever character who is quite self-sufficient. In his first meeting with Kuroh, he’s able to escape Kuroh’s justice by lying and manipulating the swordsman. He later throws off the Red Clansmen pursuing him by appearing just as Kuroh is facing off against a very annoyed Yata and calling out to Kuroh as though they are allies. This falls in line nicely with the big reveal of Shiro’s true identity as the Silver King, Adolf K. Weissman. In flashbacks to an unnamed great war (FYI, people speculate this was WWII, which, fun fact, would make Adolf a Nazi, but because this story takes place in an alternate history of the world, it’s equally possible Nazis never existed), we see that Adolf was originally researching the Dresden Slate, a mysterious artifact capable of granting people mysterious powers.

As Adolf, Shiro is shown to be a light-hearted, goofy man with no place in war or battle (consistent with what we’ve already seen in the show). Nothing of his character feels last minute retconned, and no previously unheard of connections are revealed to other existing characters in the show that haven’t been heavily hinted at or already explained. He believes that his research will be helpful in granting people their wishes throughout the world, yet when his sister is killed during an air raid, he runs away, leaving his research and the Slate with his friend, a Japanese military officer who becomes the Gold King and curator of the artifact. This turn of events does grant Shiro greater weight as a main character, and an importance in the plot that doesn’t feel contrived or heavy handed. Hints exist early on that Shiro is not who he thinks he is, starting with his high school classmate, Kukuri noting in introductory scene that she feels like he’ll disappear if she takes her eyes off of him. After all, one of the things that K is often praised for is its mastery of foreshadowing, this comes from having a very clear idea of the entire story its creators hoped to tell and a firm grasp of the connections between all of its characters.

That said, Shiro still remains throughout the story as relatively uninteresting, serving more as a plot device rather than a character. After the Blue Clan, the Silver Clan is the second least relatable and their scenes in Nameless Circle also remain a bit ‘meh’ as the “losses” the Silver Clan experienced throughout the anime were far removed from the actual plot. They didn’t resonate. We see, in Nameless Circle, Adolf’s sister and the younger version of his lost friend, the Gold King, enjoying breakfast with the Silver Clan every morning on repeat. Yet, Adolf’s sister was never developed beyond “here’s a tragic thing that happened in Adolf’s past”, so it’s hard to really feel her loss. She isn’t a person but a plot device, used to reveal more of Adolf/Shiro’s character rather than having anything of her own. As for the Gold King, he suffers the same fate as Adolf’s sister, but also, he lived a long life, and died of old age, so his death isn’t any kind of tragedy in the same sense as Mikoto, Totsuka, or Nagare’s deaths. There’s certainly a melancholy to these scenes, Adolf misses his friends, but it doesn’t pull at the heart strings, quite the way the Red and Green Clans losses do.

The real reason that Atsushi is being pursued at the start of the manga is yet to be resolved. We’re given a loose explanation, a foreign organization known as the Guild put the bounty on his head because allegedly his ability is the key to finding some powerful book that can manipulate reality. When the main antagonist of the Guild, Fitzerald, is defeated, this explanation and Atsushi’s importance becomes all but forgotten in subsequent arcs featuring new villain, Fyodor Dostoevsky. Atsushi himself can best be described as whiny and severely underdeveloped. He continues to be a victim of the plot just dragging him along, but worse, he quickly becomes one note with the constant flashback to his Orphanage’s director telling him he’s useless and doesn’t belong anywhere. There are entire scenes dedicated to this refrain causing him to full-scale breakdown into bouts of self-doubt. All I can say is he was eighteen when he was “kicked out” of the orphanage, he had zero work experience, and when we find him at the start of the story, he’s only been on his own a couple weeks and is already considering turning to assault and thievery to survive. Considering that Dazai and Chuuya were sixteen when they became Executives in the Port Mafia, Kunikida is only twenty-two and has already had a successful career as a teacher before becoming a detective with the ADA, Kenji is fourteen when we find him at the ADA and a former hard-working farmhand, Kyouka is a capable fourteen year old assassin before joining the ADA, Lucy is eighteen and comes from a similar abusive background and is already busting her ass to work for the Guild and then the ADA’s favorite Coffee Shop (jobs she got herself, thank you very much, for spending anytime looking for her like you promised, Atsushi, you jerk), and so on…I’m inclined to side with the orphanage director: Atsushi is useless. It’s a good thing they kicked him out, or he’d probably still be a bum surviving off social welfare the rest of his life.

I also can’t help but agree with Akutagawa, Atsushi has practically had everything handed to him and yet still manages to pull a pity party routine on the regular. It isn’t long after getting kicked out of the orphanage that he’s taken under Dazai’s wing and handed a job with the ADA. This wouldn’t be so terrible if he didn’t constantly squander it, and consistently prove that he doesn’t earn it. It’s hard to like him, especially when the author seems to be bending the story over backwards to give him some semblance of importance in the plot to the point it hurts the narrative. This is best exemplified in Dead Apple. Throughout the entire movie, we see every other character acting to bring the plot forward, meanwhile, Atsushi spends the entire time whining that they need to find Dazai, because Dazai will know what to do. Bitch, Dazai is busy trying to outsmart two super smart bad guys; he doesn’t have time to also prop you up on your own damn feet. It gets so bad that even Kyouka becomes fed up and leaves him. It really says something that the majority of comments for the movie on CrunchyRoll are complaining about how whiny Atsushi is throughout the movie.

While some people are quick to defend Atsushi by pointing to his abusive childhood to excuse his behavior, it is worth noting, he is not the only character that has an abusive past and he is far from being the character who has suffered the most abuse, and that’s including the odd growth on the side of Dead Apple’s plot that is the inexplicable, unnecessary, and might I add, ridiculous connection that was made between him and Shibusawa at the last minute that only raised more questions than answers and created huge plot holes. Atsushi’s travel companions in Dead Apple, Kyouka and Akutagawa, both have their own history of being abused. Just to underline Akutagawa’s complaint that Atsushi has everything and manages to forsake it all, Akutagawa was abused by Dazai, whereas, Atsushi is saved, fawned over, and praised by Dazai seemingly only for the sake of further tormenting Akutagawa. This continues to contribute to making Atsushi a weak character that I find difficult to really like all that much or see as having anything more than a forced relevance to the plot.

Atsushi does have redeemable moments in his interactions with Kyouka and Lucy. With the aforementioned Dead Apple aside, Atsushi is often at his best when he is with Kyouka. She sees him as her savior, and it reflects in the way that he treats her, being seen that way helps to boost him from pitiful status to someone that may actually have potential as a hero. As for Lucy, because she has a similar life history as Atsushi (abused orphan with matching burn marks), he can’t get away with the same woe is me lines that he throws at every one else. She’s got the same kind of past and manages to stand on her own two feet, forcing him to also rise up to meet her. Both of these girls have tragic histories, but seek to lift themselves up from those histories and stand their own ground, which serves to lift Atsushi as well, unlike with other characters that only patronize, validate, or outright feed into his insecurities leaving me playing on my phone hoping his scenes end quickly. More interactions between Atsushi and Kyouka, Atsushi and Lucy, or all three together would be a welcome addition in Season 4. These babies build each other up, and it’s beautiful to see.

At the end of the day, Shiro and Atsushi are prime examples of the “perfectly innocent protagonist whose only flaw is their own self-doubt” and exemplify why this type of a character is always, ultimately a failure. They’re bright eyed, they’re kind, without internal debate they always make the right choice, everyone is drawn to them because they are light and goodness, I guess, and even when they are clearly the weakest in a fight, they always come out on top without working towards bettering themselves in anyway beyond putting in some old-fashioned good guy gumption. This is so painstakingly evident in Atsushi, who receives zero training upon joining the ADA, and is expected to battle (and is successful) against exceedingly powerful bad guys on the regular. Contrast this against Akutagawa, who we see underwent harsh training from the Port Mafia, yet still manages to always lose in his battles against the untrained Atsushi. Proving yet again, that you don’t need hard work to become the best, when you got the power of good on your side. Self-doubt exhibited by these types of characters never rings true, because we see them always get their way, everything turns out fine for them in the end, they never encounter lasting consequences for their choices (at one point in BSD, Akutagawa mocks Atsushi that everyone around him dies, but we have yet to see anyone he cares about die – the only person’s death that we see him have to deal with is his Orphanage Director that was coming to visit him with flowers and probably apologize for being a jerk, and his struggle there is with whether he’s allowed to still hate the guy or not, I mean, come on), and everyone around them that matters respects and dotes on them even before them being shown to truly do anything that should earn that respect and affection. I still don’t fully understand what compelled Kuroh to swear loyalty to Shiro, if I’m being perfectly honest, when Shiro is a lay-about, coward and liar, that ditches his clan in the end to soul search in his airship. Though, I will note, Shiro does demonstrate this character type a mite less than Atsushi. He’s not often shown to come out on top in battles, he doesn’t actually engage in any physical battle himself (his fight with Nagare at the end of Missing Kings, not withstanding, because he’s really just blocking that whole time waiting for Kuroh to show up and do the heavy lifting), he typically needs to rely on the strength and intelligence of others, and is more often than not shown running away. Also, Shiro is never really put into a position where he needs to make any hard, moral choices which has its own drawbacks for a main character in a show where a lot of hard, gray moral choices are being made around him.

I have seen it commented in defense of these characters’ weaknesses that the main character of a shonen/seinen story are always weak. This is not true, and I will point to one of my all-time favorite characters from any anime, as example: Edward Elric of Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions of the anime). Ed is badass, he earns his name as Fullmetal, and he earns his title as the youngest State Alchemist. We see him earn it as we watch him and his brother, Alphonse’s journey to become stronger, yet he also makes mistakes. It is his own arrogance that kicks off the entire anime when, in the Elric brother’s attempt to bring their mother back to life using forbidden Alchemy, Ed loses his arm and then his leg to save his brother who has lost his entire body. Their journey to find the philosopher stone for Ed is entirely about restoring his brother, he doesn’t care about his own body and, in fact, views his missing limbs as his own deserved punishment for challenging God, and throughout we see how their moral failing in the past effects all of their choices going forward. We know why Ed makes the choices he does; it isn’t merely because he is the “perfectly innocent protagonist that exudes light and good”; it is because he has learned from his mistakes. His naivete is not shown as a benefit, but as something to overcome. Ed is always acting on his own motives, while the plot is being driven forward by other characters around him, he is not merely a victim of the plot or being dragged along by it, his own actions and goals also help to forward the story and eventually brings him in direct conflict with the big bad. He struggles under the weight of the choices he’s made, he bears the burden of those he couldn’t save, he doesn’t leave the heavy lifting of gray moral decisions to the other characters, he’s seen to struggle and even lose in the anime, and in those instances, we watch him work to better himself so that he can come back stronger. We know where his power comes from – he trained and studied for it; it was never handed to him. Throughout the anime he is shown to literally and figuratively grow and develop into a powerful hero that we can believe is capable of overcoming our main antagonist, Father, in the end, but not without losses and struggle. This is a protagonist done right. Compared against Ed, the failings of both Shiro and Atsushi is glaring.

That is all I have to say about those two. Next up will be the Black Dog of the Silver Clan versus the Black Dog of Port Mafia.

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consmcchill · 5 years

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Avatar the Last Airbender movie FIXED

I did it. TLDR: I fixed the movie The Last Airbender. Feel free to skip this rambling intro and scroll down to the good stuff.

For the rest of you, my name is Conor McCahill, I’m an actor and wannabee screenwriter living in Chicago.

I wanted to post this on the internet for three reasons:

One: Avatar the Last Airbender means a lot to me. My high school friends would meet every week at my house to watch each premier live. Those memories are among my happiest. I was beyond excited for the movie, but, everything I found out about it pushed me further from it and when it finally came out I resolved never to see it. And I didn’t, until I was in a show with Francis Guinan, who played Master Pakku, and when he told me he was in it, I thought, “Hey, why not?” Watching this movie was one of the most disappointing experiences of my life. Fast forward to now and I’m reading Save The Cat, which is a book about screenwriting and one of the homework pieces is to fix a bad movie and make it a good movie. Obviously, the worst movie I can think of is The Last Airbender, so I chose it to fix it.

Two: Fans scare me. True deeply loving fans are like tiger mothers. You have high standards, and good for you! I can’t think of anyone who would enjoy this project more than a diehard fan and my goal is to impress you.

Three: Though I started this before the Netflix announcement of the Avatar the Last Airbender live action series, I’d still like to think that this could help get the movie remade. However, even if it doesn’t, maybe this can help you find closure that in some universe, a better movie exists.

I wrote this as if it was a wikipedia article describing the movie. I tried to avoid dialogue as much as possible, but sometimes, it’s just clearer. I used screenshots from the show to aid the reader though sometimes the pictures aren’t perfect, and other times I used real pictures or art. I linked to the websites where I did that.

The process:

I watched all of season one again, with an eye for character and story development. It was a real treat and I graphed each character’s development over the season, who was the main character of each episode, and how they grew in each episode. I painted a picture of tracking information about the characters, which characters know it, and when it is revealed to a character or the audience. I also tracked tokens, my word for props of importance like Aang’s staff and the water scroll. Adapting this cartoon to a movie was a huge challenge that I was not fully prepared for. The biggest challenge faced is reduction of the source material into roughly an hour and a half to two hours. Season one is very filler heavy, we get to meet our characters and watch them interact, and the first season takes its time and lets the characters be kids in a really nice way. Each episode is roughly twenty-two minutes long, making the season about seven and a half hours long which means inevitably something is going to be lost in translation because we’re losing six hours of content. Episodically is a great way to tell a story with lots of characters with multiple plot lines and over longer periods of time. Movies are better equipped to tell stories as an immediate chronological sequence of events with few characters. This just comes down to time and how much we have to tell the story and how the audience processes a story in “real time.” If you want the movie to be exactly the same story, well, that’s impossible and you should just watch the cartoon. It’s gonna change, there’s no way around it. After finishing the cartoon, I decided it would be a good idea to at least watch the movie again.

Overall and if you squint, Shyamalan got the story of the first season in the movie pretty accurately. His movie goes, southern water tribe, southern air temple, earth kingdom, northern air temple, and northern water tribe. The problem is that we don’t really get to enjoy any one thing for too long because we’re being whisked off to the next one. I didn’t want to make the same mistake, so I chose to limit my main settings to the number of my acts, for simplicity. I picked the southern water tribe, the southern air temple, and the northern water tribe capital.

Shyamalan decided to write each movie one at a time and I really think that doomed the project. I think he decided to do it that way, Nickelodeon went along with it, and by the time he realized his mistake, production has already started, and he couldn’t hold it up because it’s millions of dollars and our young actors are rapidly aging. Any kind of delay will hurt a project starring kids more than other movies. If you want to do it right, you need to be ready to pump out each movie so the kids can age naturally and not suddenly be adults, (see: Harry Potter.) Keeping his decision in mind, I decided to approach this project as if it were a trilogy. That helped me eliminate characters and plotlines for movie one, because they can appear later. I whittled my main characters down to seven, which is more than plenty; Aang, Katara, Sokka, Zhao, Zuko, Iroh, and Yue.

Let’s talk about Yue. Her sacrifice is the emotional apex of the first season of ATLA and is therefore the most important part of the movie. We need to care about Yue because the more we care, the more effective her sacrifice is and the more satisfying the emotional catharsis. In visual media, the way we make you care is we give you screen time. In the show, she gets three full episodes, but the development of her relationship with Sokka feels rushed. It still feels better than the Shyamalan movie, where she comes in at the last thirty minutes, and by all accounts gets half as much time as the cartoon. Considering her sacrifice, Yue needs to come into the movie early. Save the Cat talks about act two as the love act. Often in movies, it is when our protagonists meet a new character(s) who will nurture them through the end. It does not have to be true love or romantic love, it is often friend love. That seems like a perfect place for Yue.

I didn’t want to change the canon, but I had to get Yue into contact with Katara, Sokka, and Aang. I decided that the most important thing, at least in adapting, is not necessarily what happens to our characters, but that they grow in the same way. That freed me up to consider other, more exciting possibilities. Like, what if we bring Yue to the south, on a quest? Aside from Yue, the most necessary element of the north is the spirit oasis, so Zhao can kill the moon. So, I thought to place the spirit oasis in the ruins of the southern tribe capital, so we’re not suddenly robbed of a whole world crossing adventure where lots of stuff must happen. We can grow with our characters (Aang, Katara, and Sokka) in the illusion of real time, and not cut to weeks later at the northern tribe. That evolved into a portal to the northern water tribe, something heavily plot relevant, canon from The Legend of Korra, and it gives something new to longtime fans.

The Yue I came up with differs from the show Yue in very exciting ways. I develop her relationships with Aang and Katara and give Sokka a stronger interest, a love that could actually be returned and is hopeful. The best part is, I make her more active instead of passive. Since this will be her only movie, she should be there more, not to mention there are five main males and only one main female without her. All my own changes made me sympathetic to the way Shyamalan had to alter the plot and characters and it was the choice to boost Yue’s role that really lead to this entire piece.

Thanks to Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino for their work that continues to inspire me to this day. Thank you to all the long-time fans who run the Avatar the Last Airbender wiki. Your work was essential. I lifted some passages directly from the episode descriptions that match what I see as the movie, but where I did, I tried to mark with a *. Also, I used some art and photos and I provided a link to those artists. And, I dunno, thanks to Jim Henson who thought it was important and healthy for children to feel fear.

How I would open the movie:

Open on the fire nation palace: an imposing tower of red crowned with gold spires slices a sunny blue sky in two and looms over a vast courtyard. The front doors are open and we zoom into the darkness. Inside the palace, the air is thick and stuffy and ornate tapestries line every wall lit by braziers that fume and pop and crackle.

In a gallery filled with portraits of proud and angry men and women cloaked in red and holding fire in their bare hands, a teenage boy sits at a table, playing a tile game with an older man.

The boy squirms, agonizing over his next move. The older man is toying with him, but plants seeds of wisdom on how defeat a superior opponent. The boy tentatively places a tile, lingering his finger on the it before whipping it away. The old man examines the board.

With one decisive move, he places a lotus tile in the center of the field, winning the game leaving the young man in disbelief. The older man laughs as the younger man passionately demands a rematch, but they are interrupted by the sound of footsteps and they stiffen. A messenger comes. He bows low, and begs forgiveness from Prince Zuko for interrupting him, but he has come to escort General Iroh to a war meeting. The older man smirks and asks the younger man if he forgives the messenger. Zuko rolls his eyes and says he does but asks his uncle if he can join him in the war meeting. His uncle denies him, but the young prince pleads. He wants to be a good king someday, why not learn as soon as possible? Iroh relents and warns Zuko not to speak out of turn.

Iroh leads Zuko into the hall before the throne room. As the firebending generals go in, each makes a flame in their hand and adds it to a fiery bowl on a pedestal in the center of the hall. Iroh explains to Zuko, as he follows suit, that the ritual serves to show that no firebender will use fire bending in the throne room or face extreme consequences. Even the fire lord is honor bound to uphold his promise, he just never has to symbolically prove himself. Iroh puts his fire in the bowl. Zuko steps up after him and does the same, his face lit up by the flames.

The inside of the throne room is darker than the rest of the palace. Zuko is both frightened and exhilarated. As a particularly old and decrepit general drones on, Zuko admires the long war table, painted to display the entire world and littered with pieces that make war seem like a big game. This will all be his someday. His eyes draw him down past the far end of the table, to the wall of fire beyond which a dark figure, the fire lord, sits on an ornate throne obscured by the dancing smoke.

Zuko stares at the man beyond the flames and their crackle fills his ears. He feels the eyes of his father staring back. Zuko snaps to attention, just as the old infirm general outlines a plan to send fresh recruits into combat against a heavily garrisoned earth kingdom fort. The prince asks the general how he expects the recruits to survive, his interruption sending a wave of murmurs down the table. The general clarifies, he doesn’t. Their sacrifice will be enough to weaken the earth kingdom army, so they can be wiped out by a second wave of more seasoned elite fire nation soldiers. The mutters of agreement wash over the room. The prince is horrified. He cannot believe what he is hearing and stands and speaks, in defense of the new recruits and their lives. To send loyal soldiers to their doom is nothing short of treasonous. The color drains from Iroh’s face as the wall of flames flares up. He clutches Zuko’s robes and advises Zuko to apologize or be honor bound to settle the matter in an Agni Kai.

Zuko sizes up the old general. What could this old man, so near to death, possibly do to him? His uncle hisses at him to be quick, but Zuko is not afraid and accepts the fire duel. The wall of fire burns high beyond him.

High above the Agni Kai arena, the crowd that lines the stands chant ceremoniously. Zuko kneels, his back to his opponent and the chanting ends. He breathes deep, spins and rises, and throws off his cloak to face… his father, the fire lord.

Zuko doesn’t understand, the general he spoke against is in the audience, smirking, next to a teenage girl and his uncle.

The Firelord fumes at him, it was his plan Zuko spoke against and it was he, the fire lord, Zuko disrespected. His booming voice echoes in the vast chamber. Zuko falls to his knees, he won’t fight his father. The fire lord demands that he stand and fight, but Zuko refuses. The fire lord will give him one more chance but Zuko bows further, touching his forehead to the hard stone floor. The Firelord calls upon the crowd to witness his son’s cowardly refusal to fight. Only a permanent lesson is appropriate for such shameful weakness, he growls as he approaches his grovelling son.

Slowly, Zuko lifts his head and begs his father for mercy, but there is none.

In the reflection of his left eye, a fireball heads towards Zuko’s tear-stricken face. A girl’s voiceover begins. “Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony, then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked.” The fireball grows larger and larger in his eye until the whole frame is filled with fire.

https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-illustration-yurt-vector-drawing-portable-round-tent-covered-skins-felt-isolated-white-backdrop-freehand-outline-black-ink-hand-image80545151

The fire in Zuko’s eyes becomes a campfire in a yurt. “Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished.”

Reveal, a pretty and bright water tribe girl, Katara, telling the story of the Avatar to the young children she babysits.

The kids beg Katara to waterbend for them. She’s not supposed to, and they moan and whine. To appease them, she waterbends the soup in the pot in a swirl. They beg for more and, though it is difficult for her, she manages to suspend an undulating ball of steaming water in the air. It is a magical moment, even for Katara, and they all watch in awe until she lowers it back down. The kids go nuts and all take turns trying to waterbend the soup, but it soon becomes clear that she’s the only one who can. As she watches them all around her, there is a sense of how lonely and isolated she really is.

The flaps fly open and a teenage boy on the brink of manhood barges in and asks what the ruckus is about. Katara blurts out Sokka’s name in surprise and passes the commotion off as just childish playing. She turns the conversation to his hunt. He pretends to be downcast, then reveals three small fish triumphantly. Katara squeals with joy and embraces him.

https://itadakimasuanime.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/seafood-shellfish-hitsugi-no-chaika-avenging-battle-06.png

Later, as the sun sets, the fish roast over the fire. Katara, Sokka, and an older woman, their grandmother, eat with appreciation as if a feast as meager as this is rare. Sokka finishes first and as he gets up, he rips his pants, again. He criticizes Katara, her stitching is still terrible, and since Grangran can’t do it anymore, it’s up to her. He reaches for his other pair of pants but stops when Katara admits that she hasn’t mended them yet. Sokka gets cross with her for not finishing her chores. Katara retorts that if he wasn’t so clumsy, he wouldn’t tear his pants. Sokka scolds Katara for just playing around and waterbending. Their grandmother drops her bowl. Quickly, Katara denies waterbending, but Sokka saw her. Grangran comes down on Katara: It is forbidden, but Katara can’t forbid who she is! Grangran snaps that waterbending will get them all killed. There is silence. Sokka brings the pants over to Katara. He puts food on the table, the least she could do is contribute. Defeated, Katara fetches her needle and thread but hesitates before she begins to work. She’s about to speak when Sokka pushes that his pants aren’t going to mend themselves.

Katara pops off that he can repair his own stupid pants and throws them in Sokka’s face and storms out into the night. Sokka sticks his head out and calls after her but Katara breaks into a sprint. She runs past her neighbors, out of the village and runs and runs and runs until she can run no more, collapsing at the top of a snow-white cliff, overlooking a frozen bay.

The cold light of the nearly full moon beams down upon her. She looks up, with tears in her eyes and screams out her frustration. She pounds her fists to the ground. The ice cracks inches from her fists and shatter the side of the icy cliff down down down into the middle of the bay. The ground shakes and Katara is avalanched over with the side of the cliff and is buried in the ice and snow.

She pushes a mound of snow off her with her waterbending. As she cleans herself off, she notices a soft glow emanating from the fissure in the ice. As she investigates, the light intensifies, rising, until the source, a glowing ice sphere, bursts through the floe before her.

Cracks splinter throughout the sphere causing the light inside to escape. The light is too much and Katara shields her eyes. The sphere goes dark for a second then a pillar of light erupts out the top.

Back in the village, Sokka mutters to himself as he struggles with a needle and thread. The light rips through the night sky and through the flap of the tent. His eyes widen. He whispers Katara’s name and grabs his spear.

A dazzling aurora fills the sky. The broken bay has frozen again by some mysterious power, leaving the landscape jagged and strange. A cloud of snow and swirling mists ebb and flow about the remains of the sphere. Katara approaches and sees in the remains a boy tattooed with arrows and a white six-legged bison, both fast asleep. She kneels beside the tattooed boy and touches his face. He dreamily opens his eyes and then closes them again as he mutters about how beautiful she is.

Katara is amused. The boy snaps awake, he’s not dreaming. He jumps out of Katara’s arms and admires his surroundings. With his hands on his hips, he announces that he has made it to the south pole as planned and immediately requests a snowball fight and before Katara can protest she’s pelted as he laughs. She pulls the snow off as the boy exclaims that she’s a waterbender, and that it is officially on! Katara puts on her game face and snowballs begin to fly back and forth. Katara hides behind a snowbank. She peeks out and sees the boy scooping snow into a ball, she turns back and uses her bending to mold her own. She peeks out again, but he has disappeared. Out of nowhere he lands behind her and unleashes an impossible number of snowballs. Katara screams as she’s hit. Sokka hears her scream and breaks into a sprint. He yells her name and runs towards the boy with his spear who dodges the thrust and the following swing. Katara, covered in snow, tries in vain to stop Sokka. Sokka thrusts again. The boy lands on the spearhead, faceplanting Sokka into the snow and bringing him to his knees. Katara, wipes the snow from her eyes and gets a full view of Sokka’s undercarriage. She shrieks, “Where are your pants!?” The boy helps him up. Sokka didn’t have time to put on pants, he thought she was in trouble. Katara is touched.

https://www.deviantart.com/akreon/art/Appa-132703919

A low grumble escapes the large, furry, six-legged creature lying motionless nearby. The boy climbs onto it and enthusiastically rouses it. Sokka asks, unsure, what the thing is, and the boy replies that it is Appa, his flying bison. Sokka expresses disbelief over the purported ability of the large bison to fly. The boy, looking around at his surroundings, asks if they live nearby, which triggers Sokka to tell Katara not to answer, as he is convinced that the mystery boy is a Fire Nation spy, a notion that Katara rejects sarcastically. The boy introduces himself as Aang, an airbender. Sokka tells him no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. Aang laughs, they are very good at hiding. *

Aang offers to fly them back to their village if he can get shelter for the night. Katara happily agrees and climbs on with Aang, while Sokka refuses, convinced that Aang and Katara are crazy. Aang says, "Yip-yip!", and Appa leaps into the air, though immediately comes crashing down, while Sokka crows sarcastically about Appa's inability to fly, Aang decides Appa is still too tired to fly just yet. He looks over his shoulder and leans out to stare at Katara with a huge smile on his face, causing her, after a few long, awkward seconds, to ask, "Why are you smiling at me like that?" He replies, "Oh, I was smiling?" Sokka lifts his head back, groaning, while Katara, at first smiling at Aang's response, frowns back at Sokka. *

In the moonlight, they walk back to the village. A curious Katara asks Aang if he knows the fate of the Avatar; being an airbender, she knows that the Avatar was supposed to be an Air Nomad. Aang awkwardly states that he knew people that knew the Avatar but did not know the actual Avatar himself. A disappointed Katara drops the subject, leaving Aang looking guilty. *

Underneath the setting sun, a scout blows a horn atop a fire nation fort located at the foot of the southern air temple mount. The commander of the base, a fierce looking full-grown man, greets Iroh and Zuko in the courtyard, he makes sure to highlight Zuko’s scar to confirm that it’s him. Iroh shows his respect to Admiral Zhao, who asks what brings the exiled prince and his uncle before him.

Zuko demands access south, to the Antarctic seas, Zhao’s domain. This amuses Zhao and arouses his interest. Even if he had seen or heard any sign of the Avatar, he wouldn’t tell Zuko. Iroh reasons with him, then, that there would be no harm in letting them search. Zhao deflects and muses if Zuko’s quest to restore his honor will ever truly end. He continues that when he marries Zuko’s sister, Princess Azula, they will let him come live in the palace dungeon. Zuko retorts that Zhao is a fool if he thinks he can ask the fire lord for Azula’s hand in marriage. Zhao is confident, that when his mission is complete, the fire lord will offer his daughter’s hand. He denies Zuko’s request, his mission is too important, and sends Zuko back to his ship.

Later that night, Iroh finds Zuko glowering over the vast southern sea. He presses the prince to sleep, telling him that if he doesn't rest, he will, like his ancestors, fail to capture the Avatar even if they do find him. The prince refuses to his uncle’s wisdom, he will succeed because he seeks to regain his honor through the endeavor, a trait none of his ancestors shared with him. Iroh casts doubt on Zuko’s assumption that the avatar is in the southern water tribe. Zuko reveals his logic, that the old airbender has likely died, and a young waterbender would be next in line to be the avatar. If it was a northern child, the proud northerners would have announced it, like they did their runaway princess. Iroh still doubts, Zuko snaps at him if he has a better idea. The night sky lights up, the same pillar of light from when Aang was released, and the aurora casts a green glow all on the southern hemisphere. *

Zuko observes it through the end of his telescope, his eyes narrow.

From high above the fire nation fort, on a cliff side, a mysterious figure in leather armor watches Zuko’s ship leave and turn south in the dead of night. The figure stands, a beautiful young woman who’s white hair shimmers in the moonlight.

Back in the village, Katara leads Aang into a stable. They don’t have much room, so he’ll have to sleep in here with Appa. She gets him a blanket. As she hands it to him, there is a moment where they share eye contact. Katara breaks it off and leaves, but not before stealing one last glance at Aang.

That night, Aang has a dream that he and Appa fly through a terrible storm. They are buffeted by the full fury of the gale, struggle in vain to escape and eventually are forced under the waves. *

In his dream, Aang’s eyes and tattoos began to glow and he creates a giant bubble around himself and Appa. The bubble freezes over, encasing their figures in light which grows brighter and brighter.

In his sleep, Aang stirs and his tattoos dance luminously. The lights wax and wane in the slit of the stable door casting a strange light on the sleeping village.

The sun rises over an icy expanse the next morning. Aang throws open the flap to the yurt, but it is empty. Sokka and Katara and Grangran are already doing their duties. As he explores, the elderly villagers look upon him with suspicion. Aang bows to the villagers respectfully, eliciting a response of fear from them, and they hurriedly take a few steps away from the airbender. *

He hears Katara calling his name. Eager to impress her, he jumps high in the air and lands in front of her and her wards. The kids go nuts. They goad him into showing off, which he obliges.

Aang attracts quite a crowd, almost the entire village. He finishes his trick. Everyone is stunned. One villager erupts in applause, the others glare her into silence. The kids tackle Aang and climb all over him. His airbending is even cooler than Katara’s waterbending.

A stir in the crowd. Katara is a waterbender? Katara feels the eyes of the villagers on her. Grangran assures the other villagers that Katara is not a waterbender, as the crowd whisper amongst themselves and go about their business. She gives the younger children the evil eye and they scamper off screaming and grabs Katara and Aang to throw them both into the tent. She looks Aang square in the face and tells him that it would be uncustomary to kick him out without breakfast but that the airbender is no longer welcome here. She goes to find Sokka. There is quiet. Aang timidly asks Katara why she refuses to waterbend. She tells him it is forbidden. Aang doesn’t understand why. The waterbenders get taken away, by firebenders. There’s a war. Aang didn’t know of any war.

Just then, Grangran and Sokka return. Sokka has checked the morning traps and has brought oysters. He passes them out, they each pry them open and slurp theirs down, except Aang, who holds it awkwardly. Sokka apologizes and opens it for him. Aang makes a face, “Do you have anything vegetarian?” he asks. Sokka aghast, scoots away from him. Aang realizes he’s made a faux pas. He corrects himself. “Can I please have something vegetarian?” Grangran and Katara share a glance. Sokka doesn’t have any vegetarian options except for sea prunes for Grangran and they are nasty.

Grangran throws a shell at Sokka and thrusts a bowl of sea prunes into Aang’s hands. His stomach growls, and he eats one. He likes them!

Sokka does not get Aang. He and Katara share a look of disgust as Aang gorges himself. Katara leans over to Sokka and whispers in his ear that Aang doesn’t know about the war. Sokka asks how that is possible: the war has been going on for a hundred years.

Meanwhile, Zuko spies the village through a telescope. Everything is going according to plan. Just then, from around an iceberg, an armada of three of Zhao’s fastest destroyers cut Zuko’s Battleship off and he is forced to change course to avoid them.

Zhao boards Zuko’s ship. Zuko greets him, amazed he found the time to chase him and hopes his all-important mission wasn't jeopardized by this detour. Zhao admits it was easy to catch up with them, the battleship was built like a tank to hold a fully realized Avatar, which makes it slow, but necessary for his capture, which is why Zhao is commandeering Zuko’s ship. Zuko protests, the Avatar is his. Zhao reminds Zuko that he ignored a direct order and is trespassing in his domain. Zuko spits out that he doesn't take orders from anyone, especially a low born upstart rat like Zhao. Zhao's smile fades as he orders his men to take the prince into custody. Two guards grab Zuko arms, but he throws them off easily. He points at Zhao and challenges him to an Agni Kai, winner gets the ship. Zhao laughs, and asks how Zuko plans to survive stranded on an iceberg without a ship, doesn't he remember the last time he did an Agni Kai? Zuko will never forget.

Outside their village, Grangran leads Appa with a rope as Aang, Katara, and Sokka head out with her. Aang tells them that it was very nice to meet them, and he’ll come visit the South Pole again soon. Sokka explains to Aang they aren’t actually in the south pole, they are much further north, less than a day to the southern air temple. Katara extrapolates: There’s nothing left at the south pole.

https://www.onthegotours.com/au/Iceland/Best-Places-To-Visit/Reykjavik/Classic-Ice-Cave-Experience

https://www.masterfile.com/image/en/679-07608205/moon-rising-over-trees-and-buildings-at-night

The tribes used to be connected by the moon gate.

Under the light of the full moon, the portal would open and northerners and southerners could walk between the poles via the spirit world to mingle and trade and visit family and make the pilgrimage to the spirit oasis. The moon gate connected the north and south cultures. Until the fire nation destroyed everything in south and the portal was destroyed.

Flashback: Fiery projectiles rain down on the southern capital and reduce it to rubble.

Everybody who was trapped in the south had no choice but to move away from the ruins because there was no food. The north pole is floating ice, and the waterbenders can fish beneath the ice year-round, but south pole is above frozen ground and there you can’t grow food in frozen ground. Grangran interrupts and tells the airbender that it’s time for him to go. As he turns to leave, Aang asks if they are sure the south pole is really destroyed. Sokka assures him sarcastically, that yeah, they're sure, and glares at Aang. Aang posits that the monks at the southern air temple would have told him, they tell him a lot of things, after all, they told him that he was the- he doesn’t finish his sentence. He climbs on Appa and they trot off. Katara calls for him to wait. As she approaches, she tells him the only thing they have at the southern air temple anymore is a fire nation fort. Aang looks at her with a twinkle in his eye and assures her, there are air nomad monks.

He extends his hand to her. Grangran yells that she’s taking too long and though Katara takes a breath, she doesn’t look back as she takes Aang’s hand and climbs aboard. Grangran pushes Sokka to stop her. Katara wraps her arms around Aang as he tells her to hang on. “Appa, Yip yip!” Appa grumbles and begins to move just as Sokka reaches them. He grabs Appa’s fur and tries to pull them back but ends up getting pulled himself and has to run to keep up. Aang leads them straight towards the edge of the cliff and Sokka screams that they are all going to die! He shuts his eyes and holds tight as Appa leaps and they disappear over the edge. Grangran cries out for them and falls to her knees. Appa and the gang reappear, flying. Sokka freaks as he clutches Appa's fur. Aang tells Sokka that when he says let go, to let go. Sokka protests but Aang leads Appa into a barrel roll and yells at Sokka to let go which he does out of instinct. The momentum flips Sokka up and over and plomp, directly seated behind Katara on Appa’s back. The daring move has made Katara cling to Aang close and she blushes.

Aang cheers and Grangran watches as they fly towards the sun.

The sun is directly overhead as the Agni Kai begins.

Admiral Zhao and Prince Zuko crouch, back to back on the deck of the battleship. Shedding their capes, they turn to face each other. Iroh counsels Zuko to remember his basics, as they are his greatest assets, but Zuko seems not to heed his uncle's wisdom, instead stating, simply and forcefully, that he will not allow himself to lose. As he assumes his stance, Zhao, doing the same, taunts Zuko, saying: "This will be over quickly." *

The two opponents stare fiercely into each other's unblinking eyes for a brief moment, waiting for the other to strike; it is Zuko who begins the duel with a series of fire blasts from his hands and feet. *

Zhao seems more than a match for Zuko, effortlessly avoiding and nullifying all of his fire blasts. As the prince catches his breath, Iroh continues to advise Zuko to remember his basics. Zhao throws his own volley of fire blasts; Zuko is able to block each attack, but he is slowly forced back with every parry he makes. For the final blast, Zhao, using both fists, sends a ball of fire that connects solidly with Zuko, knocking him to the ground. Pressing his advantage, Zhao leaps into the air, covers the distance separating him and Zuko, and prepares a finishing blast aimed directly for the prince's exposed face. An instant before contact, Zuko rolls out of the way, rises with a kicking flourish, and knocks Zhao out of his stance. *

With new-found vigor, Zuko releases a series of low attacks that cause Zhao to retreat, finishing him with a jet of fire from a full body kick. Prone, Zhao tells Zuko to do it, to give him a scar like his own, but Zuko aims beside his face instead. As the victorious prince walks away, a beaten and furious Zhao sends a jet of fire at Zuko's back. Iroh intervenes, however, stopping the attack with his bare hand and throwing the admiral to the ground. As Iroh stands over Zhao, Zuko tries to attack Zhao once more, but his uncle tells him not to taint his victory by retaliating. Iroh lectures Zhao about the dishonor he has brought upon himself through his actions and states that his nephew, even in exile, has proven himself to be more honorable. *

From the crow's nest, a scout shouts. They all crane their necks to see a flying bison with a water tribe girl and boy and air nomad fly far above them.

Up on Appa, Sokka refuses to open his eyes as he clutches Katara's garments. Katara lets him know that he's missing the sights. Aang spies the fire navy ships below. The fear deep inside him grows. He’s never seen fire navy ships this far south.

Both Zhao and Zuko blink in their telescopes. Iroh suggests they try working together as the bison disappears into the clouds.

Aang and Sokka and Katara fly through clouds and above mists and fog. Sokka asks if they are they yet. Aang spots the temple at the top of a mountain and they fly closer. Katara remarks on how beautiful it is.

From a window, the white-haired girl watches them all land in a sky bison pen and jump off. She disappears into the shadows. Appa grazes happily.

Sokka wishes he could eat, that ride took longer than he thought. Katara shushes him. Aang calls out to his people, but nobody answers. The temple appears to be abandoned. They walk up the temple steps. Sokka asks Aang if the airbenders have any food and is berated by Katara for being one of the first outsiders to see an airbender temple and he can only think with his stomach. She apologizes for Sokka. Aang insists the airbenders are simply hiding. There are lots of hiding places. They walk through a large archway into a great hall beyond. In the rafters above, the white-haired girl shifts into position. As Aang, Katara, and Sokka pass beneath her, she drops a net down upon them. The girl lands and knocks them off their feet and they fall to the ground in a pile.

She brandishes a staff at the subdued trio. “Are you firebenders?” She barks. They tell her they are not. “That’s just what a firebender would say!” They assure her they are not firebenders. They are water tribe, and Aang is an airbender. She releases them and introduces herself as Princess Yue of the northern water tribe. Sokka is impressed and bows, “your majesty,” Katara does a stiff movement she would call a curtsey. Aang recognizes the staff and grabs it but Yue holds fast. It’s a sacred air nomad staff, it’s not to be touched by outsiders. Yue is nonplussed. Sokka tells Aang that he can’t speak to a princess like that. Aang takes a deep breath and bellows, “LET IT GO!” His voice echoes in the halls. Yue lets go of the staff. Aang apologizes for yelling and inspects the staff. Yue never got the names of the other two, Sokka and Katara. Yue is incredulous, “You are Sokka and Katara!? Your father saved my life! Hakoda’s ship arrived at our capital a year ago and he was granted audience before me and my father. My father refused to help, and, I had to make a choice. I ran away and boarded your father’s ship in secret with the moon scroll.”

“We’re going to reopen the moon portal!”

But where is their father now? “He was taken prisoner by the fire nation. The last thing he said was he’d be a boomerang, but, I never got to ask him what that means.” “Means he’ll be back,” Sokka explains. He shows her the boomerang his father gave him when he left. Aang asks her how she got here. Yue continues, “I was found by a fisherman and made my way south. I got marooned here about a month ago after my ship sank. Been looking for a way off ever since, but there’s so many fire nation... We could fly to the south pole on a sky bison, though.” Someone’s stomach growls. Katara admonishes Sokka. It wasn’t him, it was Aang! Yue calculates that there is enough time to eat.

https://www.mostphotos.com/fi-fi/2720912/plum-orchard

The air temple orchard is overgrown, though a thousand years of tending have given a sense of order to the older trees. Aang hopes they like mountain peaches as he hops high in the air and grabs one. He lands and hands a peach to Katara and jumps back into the air. Sokka, asks her for it, salivating, and Katara licks it all over, much to Sokka’s chagrin. Aang lands with an armful of peaches and one in his mouth. He hands them out. They sit and enjoy a moment of peace.

Yue asks how the boomerang works. Sokka hands it to her and instructs her how to throw it. She does her best, but it is a terrible throw. She puts her hands up to her mouth and yells “Come back!” Sokka offers to go get it, but she should, she threw it, and they both end up going together. When they find it, Sokka throws it to demonstrate. Yue commends him on the throw. Sokka smiles goofily and gets lost in her eyes. They smile at each other and the boomerang runs smack into the side of Sokka’s head and he yelps in pain. Aang and Katara come running. Though he’s bleeding and wincing, Yue laughs and says it’s nothing a waterbender couldn’t heal. Katara isn’t sure what she means. Yue furthers, waterbenders can heal, she thought everybody knew that, especially waterbenders.

Yue pours some water into Katara’s hands. Katara is unsure what to do so she waterbends the water onto Sokka’s cut. Nothing happens. She closes her eyes and concentrates. The water releases a soft glow. Katara gasps and her eyes pop open. The wound has closed and there is no scar. Yue tells Katara that she just did some high-level bending. Aang lights up, he knows where the airbenders are.

Aang leads them to an intricately carved door. If the airbenders are hiding, it will be here. They have storerooms and water reserves deep in the temple. It’s his last hope. Only high level airbending can open this door, he reveals, and he bends two focused currents of air into the large doors' ornate locking mechanism, and a strange hauntingly beautiful tone resonates. The locks disengage, and the doors open slowly. Aang walks into the darkened room as Katara, Sokka, and Yue follow him.

Aang calls out to the airbenders. The room is pitch black and his footsteps echo. Katap. Katap. Katap. Skrit. He steps on something. It is a wooden medallion. He picks it up and flashes back to a happy looking older airbender monk: Gyatso, wearing medallion on a necklace.

Monk Gyatso is Aang’s sensei. Aang in the flashback has no tattoos yet and runs up to him calling his name and they embrace. Gyatso leads Aang out of the wind lock doors and onto the terrace before it.

Flying bison of all sizes fill the sky above. Gyatso tells Aang to call to him. “Appa!” Aang yells. Appa roars and dives down to Aang leaving his siblings and his much larger mother behind. Appa nuzzles and licks Aang as he laughs and laughs and laughs.

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/bison-skull-sean-griffin.html

The memory fades as Aang’s eyes adjust to the shadows. He sees a sky bison skull among bones and piles of soot and ashes, all over the room. Firebenders were here. Katara gasps. “Oh no.”

Aang falls to his knees. He is not alright. His eyes and tattoos light up. Wind begins to circle around him. Sokka freaks, “Is he glowing? How is he glowing?!” Katara calls for Aang. The winds get faster and faster, lifting Aang into the air. Yue makes them take cover. The soot and bones in the room get caught up in the whirlwind, disintegrating into brown and black dust and debris. Aang’s eyes, emanating white light, widen. The swirling blackness closes in on him. He shuts his eyes and pushes the darkness away, forcing all the ashes out the temple. Aang stops glowing and he drifts to the ground.

Outside, the ash cloud drifts away.

Yue, Katara, and Sokka cough around the corner. Katara runs to Aang and takes him into her lap. He stirs. It really has been one hundred years. She cradles his head and opens up to him that she and Sokka lost their mother to the fire nation. Even though his people are gone, he has found a new family: herself and Sokka. He looks Katara in the eyes and tells her with conviction that he will never firebend. Never ever. He sits up and hugs Katara as she mulls his statement.

From their ships, the firebenders notice the ash cloud drifting down from the temple as they pull into the harbor of the fort. Something must be going on. They form a squad of male and female fire nation soldiers fresh from the base. Zhao tells Iroh that he is too old and slow for this mission and Zuko is free to stay behind as well, if he doesn’t think he can make the climb. Zuko is ready. Iroh warns Zuko that Zhao is not to be trusted. Zuko assures his uncle, he can handle Zhao. From the battlements, Iroh watches the troops begin the hike. He puts on a cloak and sneaks out after them.

Later, the sun sets over the mountain peaks. Aang and the others bring flowers to a stone alter. The medallion sits in the middle of it. They pile the flowers around it. Aang sets a peach down with the flowers and steps back. Peaches were Gyatso’s favorite, he tells them. He closes his eyes. They all do. Aang gives the airbender prayer of mourning. The sound of wings. They open their eyes and a winged lemur eats the peach on the altar.

Aang laughs, a long clear laugh as he takes the lemur, lazily eating the peach, into his hands and names him Momo. The wind blows through the flowers.

Night falls. In a clearing in the orchard, Aang strokes the sleeping lemur as Sokka builds a fire and Yue puts peaches on the ends of sticks. She pokes fun at his fire building technique. Sokka has been building fires his whole life. Yue retorts that she’s only been doing it for the last year and she’s already better then him. They race to light the fire and Yue wins, but just barely. “Best two out of three?” Yue asks Sokka with a cheeky smile. Katara returns with a bucket filled with well water.

The peaches roast on the sticks as the fire casts an amber yellow on the kids’ faces. “So, are we going to talk about what happened?” Sokka asks. Yue and Katara avoid his line of questioning. Sokka extrapolates, “Aang was glowing. I haven’t heard of a glowing person before.” Aang is silent. Yue speaks up, “I have.”

“When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they're born, but I was born as if I was asleep, my eyes closed. They told my mother and father I was going to die. That night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the spirit oasis and placed me in the pond and pleaded with the spirits to save me. I began to glow and my hair turned white. I opened my eyes and began to cry, and they knew I would live. That's why my mother named me Yue. For the moon.”

Yue explains that Aang must be filled with immense spiritual power. Aang is silent. Sokka pipes up that it was the same light from when Aang came out of the iceberg. Still Aang is silent. Katara scoots closer to him and prods him why he told her he would never firebend. She asks him if he is the avatar. Aang stands, surprising the lemur and it scurries away. He never wanted to be the Avatar. He only ever wanted to be normal and play airball with the other kids. He didn't ask to be the avatar! They were going to send him away, to the eastern temple where he would be safer. Which means he was in danger. Avatars aren't supposed to know they are the avatar until they are 16 because: what if they told you, you were supposed to save the world at twelve years old? That’s why he ran away. He was going to come back but ran into a storm and somehow he lost 100 years.

Sokka is confused, if he's the avatar, how come he can’t bend the other elements? Aang doesn't know how yet.

Yue smiles. Out of her pack she produces the moon scroll.

In it is more than just how to open the moon gate, but also advanced waterbender techniques as well. She gives it to Aang and suggests Katara give him his first lesson. Sheepishly, Katara unravels the scroll. There’s writing, but she doesn't know how to read. Aang and Yue are taken aback by this, but Sokka doesn’t know how to read either. They have chores all day, there wouldn't be any time for reading, even if they had books. Yue sadly remarks that everyone in the Northern tribe knows how to read and apologizes that life in the south has gotten so hard. Aang comes closer and reads the scroll to Katara. Water is the element of versatility. It is a liquid, a solid, a gas. Gifted waterbenders can even be healers. He smiles and Katara blushes and Sokka touches his head where the wound would have been. Water is Tui and La, Push and Pull, and the earliest waterbenders learned how to push and pull the ocean like the moon with its tides. The moon is the source of power for all waterbenders and they are strongest when the moon is full.

They look up at the moon above. Aang remarks that they will be really strong tonight. Yue informs Aang, it's almost full. It's waxing, it will be full tomorrow. Katara admits that from studying the drawings, she doesn't know any of these moves. Aang asks her what she does know. She smiles. She takes him by the hand down to the well. Katara thrusts her hand out over the edge of the well and instructs Aang to do the same. She moves her hand up and down. Aang isn't sure but she tells him to feel the water, even though it’s not attached to his body. Splashes echo out of the deep. Katara says “Ok, I'll pull it and you push it.” Splash. “Ok, now you pull it and I push it.” Splishy splash. He feels it! Katara asks Aang to pull the water up with her. Aang is surprised on how it's almost like air, but heavy.

Together, they lift a large ball of water high into the air. Aang chuckles and starts pushing it over Katara's head, he lets go. Katara closes her eyes and shrieks but opens them when she realizes she's holding up the water by herself.

She celebrates and loses her concentration and drops the water and gets soaked. Aang laughs and she douses him with the puddle around her. Aang laughs again and dries himself off with a whirlwind. Katara, drenched, asks if he could dry her off too. He tries. Her hair is swept back and poofs out. They both laugh. They gaze into each other’s eyes. Between their faces, the light of the campfire sparkles in the distance.

The campfire suddenly flares up a pillar of fire 10 feet high. Sokka yelps. Aang and Katara turn to face the flames. A rustle behind them. Fire nation soldiers! They throw their spears. Aang whisks Katara down behind the well with him. Katara begins to panic. Aang tells her to use the water.

They lift a spout out of the well and repel the foot soldiers. They run towards the campsite. Yue and Sokka are held captive by elite firebenders while Zhao taunts her. He’s been looking for the princess’s hiding place. Zuko concludes she’s the reason he’s locked down the southern sea. Zhao nods.

Katara and Aang come running to a stop. Zhao is immediately taken by the air nomad boy. Where did he come from? Where are the other air nomads? Zuko wastes no time in taking Katara prisoner. He advises her not to struggle. Zhao stares at Aang while confirming with Zuko that the girl is indeed the Avatar. She's the one from the village, the one waterbender in all the south, therefore, she must be the avatar. Aang shouts that she's not the avatar. Zuko sizes up the air nomad boy. Then who is? Katara tries to stop him but Aang tells them that he is. Zuko retorts that he couldn't possibly be the avatar, he’s just a child! Zhao isn't so sure. The avatar would be over a hundred years old, Zuko reminds Zhao, they have the princess, they have the avatar, but if he wants to waste his time with an air nomad liar, he is welcome to. Zhao willing to be convinced, leaves Aang.

Soldiers take Katara, Yue and Sokka and form ranks.

Aang drops out of the sky in front of the squadron. He declares himself the avatar and points his staff at the firebenders. They laugh at him. He calls for Appa. From above, Appa roars, then dives and the solders duck and cower. Aang makes an air scooter and zips through all the solders like a pinball. Appa lands where Aang was standing and charges the soldiers with his horns, they scramble to their feet to fend off Appa. Some run. The distraction gives Yue the chance to escape. She knocks her captor in the gut and off of her and throws him into Sokka's guard. Aang takes out the bender holding Katara, and they struggle to get the chains off.

Zhao calls for the men to form rank. Someone yells, “the prisoners are escaping!” Zuko and Zhao leap into the chaos. They arrive to hear Aang give up on getting the chains off of Katara and that they need get to Appa to escape. Zhao is a clever man, he turns and runs to Appa, manifesting a fiery whip in each hand. Zuko fire charges into the group and separates Katara from the rest. Aang spins in and spins Katara out into Yue and Sokka’s arms. Aang and Zuko duel. Katara won’t leave Aang so Sokka picks her up and puts her over his shoulder. Katara begs Sokka to stop, but then changes her mind and tells Sokka to take her to the well. Yue tells them she will get the key to the shackles and joins Aang against Zuko. Appa runs about the courtyard chasing a hapless soldier in circles until Zhao faces off against the beast.

Aang dodges Zuko’s fireball as Appa wails in fear from afar. In his distracted moment Zuko gets past Aang but runs right into Yue. Aang is torn, does he run to help Appa or Yue? Yue tells him that she’s got this, and he goes to rescue Appa from Zhao’s torment. Yue gets in close, Zuko is on the defensive. He dodges past her, and she doesn’t follow. She has pickpocketed the key.

Sokka and Katara are at the well and Katara is bringing up all the water she can with her hands behind her back. Zuko comes racing towards them. Sokka screams and Katara throws the water at Zuko, and completely misses him. Katara asks if she got him. Zuko didn’t even get wet. Sokka throws the boomerang and Zuko has to duck. Zuko rises to his feet and the boomerang comes back knocking Zuko’s helmet. The water pools by Zuko’s feet as he fixes his helmet and with menacing rage makes fire daggers in his hands. Katara closes her eyes. She spreads her fingers then clenches her fists with a quick breath out and the water freezes and Zuko feet are frozen to the ground. Yue slides by Zuko on the ice twirling the key on her finger.

Yue unlocks Katara’s shackles as, in the distance, a blast of fire. Appa roars and flees into the air. Aang screams his name as he runs after him, but Appa won’t come back.

Zhao turns to Aang with a sadistic look in his eyes and a fiery whip in each hand. Katara, Sokka, and Yue come running. They try to convince Aang he has no other choice, he has to run. If he’s captured, who will save them? Fire nation soldiers begin to compose themselves surrounding the group. Zuko, fuming melts his feet. Aang pops the wings out of the staff. It’s also is a glider. He runs and takes flight on the orchard path. Zhao barks a command and all the firebending infantry call out and punch the sky sending fireballs into the air above and beyond and all around Aang. The fireballs arc in the sky and land all over the temple. The peach trees left and right burn and Aang lands among them. The sight of temple burning sends him into a rage. Aang glows. The wind picks up and blows all the fires out. Zhao and Zuko see. He is the avatar. With the fires out, the avatar spirit leaves Aang and the light of his tattoos fade and he lands. Zhao and Zuko race towards him; the chase is on.

http://kidskunst.info/linked/history-of-stairs-ancient-stairs-686973746f7279.htm

Aang runs through a large archway and into a great stone rotunda with a corkscrew staircase in the center. He runs at the speed of wind up the staircase to the top. Zuko and Zhao are hot on his heels. At the top of the stairs there’s a hallway and at the end of the hallway Aang finds the door to the jump room locked. Zhao leisurely jogs, beast like, up the stairs. Zuko fire leaps up the sides to just beneath the top. Zuko grabs the edge of the top with the tips of his fingers. He pulls himself up. Desperate, Aang hits the lock with the staff and it breaks open. The door swings off the hinges to a launch pad at the top of the mountain just above the tree line. With freedom before him, he turns around and faces Zuko as the prince rises to his feet.

Zuko promises Aang that if he comes with Zuko now, he and his friends will be unharmed. Aang asks how he can trust Zuko. The fire nation invaded and killed his people. Zuko retorts it was the airbenders’ aggression and illegal settlements on Fire nation land that brought this upon them. Aang claims the airbenders are pacifist. Zuko clarifies then, that Aang won’t just windblast him off and takes a step forward. Aang also takes a step forward. The people who lived here were mostly children. He accuses the fire nation of genocide. Zuko doesn’t want to believe it, but Aang’s conviction has awoken what he knows to be true, and he falters. Aang is still very vulnerable and emotional. His tattoos light up, his eyes glow, the wind rustles around his clothing: the avatar state emerges.

Zhao comes around the corner, not even out of breath. He sees Aang’s glow and smiles his crazy smile and charges Aang. Under the state of the Avatar, Aang is stiffer, more confident. He sends a blast of air with his staff down the hallway at Zhao, knocking him off the stairs. Zuko jumps after him and catches Zhao’s hand and saves him from falling. Zhao glares menacingly at Zuko as he pulls him up. The Avatar spirit fades as Aang realizes he just attempted murder. His actions horrify and confuse him. Tears stream down his face.

Zhao kneels, winded from the air blast. Aang turns to flee. Zuko takes off after him. Aang activates his glider and throws it out the window and leaps out after it, catching it and the wind. For a second, it seems like he’ll get away but then Zuko jumps after him at full speed and grabs hold of his legs, causing them to spiral and crash in the clearing below. Zhao approaches the edge and looks down. He jumps off. Aang and Zuko lie in a crumple before him. Aang tries to get up, but he can’t. Zuko is also injured. Zhao gags Aang and shackles his hands and feet. He goes to Zuko and helps him up. Zhao compliments him on his willingness to sacrifice everything, maybe they aren’t so different. Zhao throws Zuko towards the edge of the cliff and fireballs him off.

Aang watches, in a daze, as Zuko disappears into the forest below. From afar, Iroh is lit up by the light of the fireball. Zhao lumbers back from the edge and picks Aang up and over his shoulder as Aang passes out. Darkness.

A knock on a heavy iron battleship door. Iroh opens it and stands in the doorway. A messenger tells Iroh to hurry, there’s been an accident with the Prince. Iroh pushes through the crowd to the deck of the boat where Zhao meets him. Zhao proclaims to Iroh that the avatar threw the prince off a cliff. A search party is to be sent immediately to find his body for proper burial. Iroh spits and claims he never liked the sullen prince who had no respect for his elders and they can leave the body on the mountain for all he cares. He asks if the Avatar is in custody. Aang, gagged and bound, is carried by two large soldiers. Iroh leads them into the bowels of the ship. The battleship is a marvel of engineering and the prison for the avatar is state of the art. Even so, Zhao expected more. Iroh states that it’s mobile, self-sufficient, heavily guarded, and the safest place for the avatar to be.

In the avatar’s cell, Zhao has Aang’s arms chained up and his legs chained down. Iroh gets into Aang’s face, “So this is the great Avatar. Master of all the elements. I don't know how you've managed to elude the Fire Nation for a hundred years, but your little game of hide and seek is over.”

Zhao ungags Aang and asks him how it feels to be the only airbender left. “Do you miss your people? Don't worry, you won't be killed like they were.” Zhao turns to leave. Aang takes a deep inhale and breath blasts Zhao, knocking him to the floor. Zhao is triggered, and fiery. Iroh helps bring him under control. Zhao tells Aang, “Blow all the wind you want, but your situation is futile. See, if you die you will just be reborn and the Fire Nation would have to start searching all over again. So, I'll keep you alive, but just barely.” Zhao leaves in a huff. Uncle Iroh glares at the remaining guards and asks for a minute alone with the thing that killed his nephew. They oblige.

Iroh approaches Aang. Aang shies away, but Iroh lays a gentle hand on his shoulder and assures him he is not like the others. He reveals that he knows Aang didn't kill Zuko but that it doesn't matter because no one will believe Aang anyway. Aang asks what's going to happen to him. Iroh assures Aang that when the time comes, he will help Aang escape, but first, he needs Aang's help. He needs to know about the waterbending girl.

In the prison hold, Katara sits comforting Grangran. Grangran is babbling on about how the fire nation came not long after they left and rounded up the villagers onto their ships but Katara's eyes fix on Sokka. He’s worried about Yue. Katara thinks they should be worried about all of them. A guard rattles the door and tells them to shut up. Iroh enters, carrying a bucket of water. The guard tries to stop him from entering the cell but Iroh tells him the orders are from Zhao. The prisoners haven’t been watered all day. Besides, Iroh asks the guard if he thinks the dragon of the west can’t handle one young waterbending girl. The guard apologizes and opens the door. Iroh enters the cell, kneels, and takes out a ladle and invites the villagers to drink. They do not move. He drinks some water himself. Sokka takes the bucket and gently helps Katara quench their grandmother’s thirst. The bucket is passed around and Katara brings the empty bucket and the ladle to Iroh. He tells her, “Katara, I have spoken with Aang. He needs you to come with me.”

Iroh takes Katara into his cabin. On the bed, Zuko lies suffering, his stomach wrapped in bandages from Zhao’s fireball. Iroh asks Katara to heal him. Katara doesn’t want to, Zuko put shackles on her and he is after Aang. Iroh understands why she wouldn’t want to. Zuko attacked her, he’s an angry young man, he’s fire nation, but he’s the only good thing in Iroh’s life. Maybe she can see past the anger and the pain and see that he has suffered at the hands of the fire nation, too. Katara eyes the scar on Zuko’s face.

Reluctantly, Katara dips her hand in a bucket by the bedside. Water clings to her hands and she brings them to Zuko’s bandages. The water glows for a few moments and Zuko is soothed. Katara asks to be taken back to the cell. Iroh sneaks Katara through the ship. He takes her back into the prison hold and in with the rest of the villagers. As he locks them in, Sokka asks him about Yue. Iroh tells him, she is with Zhao.

In Zuko’s former quarters, Zhao sits beneath a rack of twin swords, eating a feast alone. Yue is escorted in. She has been bathed and dressed in her gown from the night she left the north. She is seated in front of Zhao. He invites her to eat. He tells her about the captain who found the dress of the northern water tribe princess on a water tribe boat headed for the south pole. Yue asks what Zhao wants. Zhao wants peace, a permanent peace with the water nation. The southerners have wasted their land, like the earthbending savages and the airbenders before them. The north will be safe, it’s water, the fire nation doesn’t want water. The southerners can move to the north. Yue doesn’t understand. Zhao tells her, he’s going to help her open the moon gate. Isn’t that what she wants? Yue asks about the avatar. Zhao tells her she can either leave here and return home with her people or join him in prison. Yue wants to know where her people are. Zhao will take her there.

The prison hold door is flung open. Zhao leads Yue to the southern people. She sees them locked in a crowded cell. She announces that they will all be taken to the North Pole as her new subjects. Zhao will allow them to open the moon gate to let the water tribe members through to their sister tribe. However, the southerners will never return to the south. This news is upsetting, the south is their home. Yue assures them, this is their only option. Zhao tells the Princess its time for her to return, Yue asks to stay. Zhao locks her up in with the rest of the tribe. A soldier enters the hold and tells Zhao they have the beast.

On the deck of the ship, fire nation soldiers struggle to restrain Appa with ropes. Zhao appears. Appa wails and struggles harder. Zhao delights in his fear and what a fine present Appa will be for his bride to be. They take Appa below deck and set sail. Momo watches from the walls of the fort. He glides down and reaches the battleship and crawls through a vent in the side of the ship. He hears familiar voices, Sokka and Yue huddled close. Sokka asks her what the north is like. Yue tells him that it’s different. She has responsibilities, she’s betrothed. Sokka doesn’t understand she’s to be married.

Yue asks if she can do something she’s wanted to do since she first saw Sokka. He nods and she kisses him. She curls into his little spoon as he holds her. Momo gags and continues through the vents.

Momo passes by Iroh and Zuko in his cabin. Zuko is feeling much better after being healed. Iroh tells Zuko that Zhao captured the bison and maybe they can use him to gain the Avatar’s trust. Zuko bets that if the Avatar escapes under Zhao’s command, it will be a huge blow to his plans. There is a knock at the door. Zuko hides in the closet. Iroh answers, it is Zhao. Zhao wants Iroh to know that he grieves for the prince and they will want to get word to the fire lord, but first, Iroh is invited to the north pole, as Zhao’s advisor. Iroh asks if Zhao meant the south pole and Zhao smiles and leaves. Zuko peeks out of the closet as Iroh shuts the door.

Momo continues on through the vents. Finally, he finds Aang’s cell. Aang is delighted to see Momo. Momo gnaws at the shackles at Aang’s feet, to no avail. He curls up around Aang’s neck, giving him comfort deep in the bowels of the battleship.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/outdoors/a19228/ice-breakers-coast-guard-great-lakes/

Late day, over the icy seas, icebreaker ships take the battleship as far south as they can. The firebenders load sleds and snowmobiles with their prisoners for the south pole. Katara is lead out, the only prisoner in full shackles and even a muzzle. Iroh walks down the gangplank after the last of the prisoners. He passes a soldier, there is a familiar scar beneath the helm. The two nod to each other and Iroh joins Zhao on his sled. The fire nation troops take off, roaring into the distance.

On the ship, a soldier stands guard outside of Zuko’s former room. There is a clanging at the end of the hallway. The soldier investigates and is incapacitated by a masked man. The man enters Zuko’s old quarters and stares at the twin swords on the mantle. The door is left ajar and the swords above the mantle are gone.

Down in the prison hold, four guards play a game in front of Appa’s cell. One of them asks why they need so many men to guard this beast. Another guard tells him, that he’s a gift for Princess Azula from Zhao just as Aang will be a gift to the fire lord. There is a bang down the hall. The guards all jump at the noise.

The helmet of a Fire Nation soldier rolls down the hallway toward them. When one guard investigates alone, the other three suddenly see a flame erupt from the hallway and hear the muffled sounds of combat and of chains being strung up. When two more guards follow after him, they find their companion strung up with his hands to the ceiling. The masked man, clinging to the ceiling, wraps a chain around a hand of each guard and drops down, simultaneously pulling the guards up. The last guard standing in front of Appa’s cell, having heard the scuffle, takes his horn to sound the alarm, though before he could blow the instrument, it is knocked out of his hands by a well-aimed knife. Noticing a figure running toward him, he firebends, though the masked man extinguishes the fire by throwing water and proceeds to sweep the legs from underneath the guard with the bucket. *

Appa groans in interest as the masked man offers him some hay.

Inside his cell, Aang hears a commotion and eyes the door with apprehension. Momo hisses at the door as the lock is being turned. Aang gasps as a masked figure enters with dual broadswords. Momo attacks the figure and is easily subdued when the figure reveals Appa in the hallway. The man unlocks Aang’s chains and retreats to Appa without saying a word. Aang asks him who he is, what is going on, and wonders if the man is there to rescue him. The figure does not respond, and they are interrupted by the sound of the alarm. He signals for the Avatar to follow him. *

Aang, Momo, and the masked figure ride Appa through the halls of the ship. They burst through the door to the deck and are surrounded by soldiers. The masked man draws his swords but Aang yells, “yip-yip,” and they take to the sky. Firebenders all around them shoot projectiles the sky bison dodges or are deflected by the swords. The soldiers’ last hope is artillery that they point at the escapees. FIRE! A rocket heads directly towards the bison. The masked figure taps Aang on the shoulder, but Aang is concentrating. The figure shakes him. Aang sees the rocket but doesn’t know what it is. The figure unsheathes his swords and throws them at the rocket causing it to explode and sending the riders tumbling through the sky in the resulting shockwave. The firebenders below argue about who’s idea it was to shoot the rocket. Gaining his senses after the blast, Aang whirlwinds himself onto Appa’s back. They dive and catch the masked man in Aang’s arms. Momo lands on Aang’s shoulders as the mask falls off the man, revealing him to be an unconscious prince Zuko.

At the south pole, the ruins of the former southern capital are jagged and jut harshly from the surrounding icy waste. Zhao investigates the moon scroll as firebenders race to cut blocks of ice. They stack ice block onto ice block to rebuild the portal according to the scroll. When it is finished, it looks like a tunnel that leads into the side of a wall.

Aang lands Appa on the icy terrain. The tracks of snowmobiles run deep and are easy to follow, but that’s not his issue. Zuko lies motionless on the ground. Aang’s gaze follows the tracks into the distance, then returns to the unconscious Zuko. He can’t just leave him here.

At the south pole, Zhao watches the sun set. He orders Princess Yue to open the moon gate. She can’t. Only a waterbender can. All eyes turn towards Katara. They unshackle and unmuzzle her.

Katara approaches the rebuilt portal. It looks rough and raw in the twilight. She waves her hands over the ice. No change. She does again, but nothing happens. Zhao’s face darkens. He barks an order. The water tribe villagers are pushed to their knees as firebender soldiers brandish flames at them. She tries again and again to use her powers on the portal, but still, it does not respond.

Katara cowers. Zhao approaches her, his fury palpable. He suggests she try again. She doesn’t know if she can open the portal. He sneers that he hopes, for her family’s sake, that she is wrong. He snaps his fingers twice and Grangran is dragged forward. Zhao commands her to open the gate, and though Katara tries, she still can’t do it. Zhao scowls. He looks over at the villagers and spies Sokka. He orders Grangran returned to the others and Sokka to be dragged forward next. Katara begs Zhao. He orders her to open the gate. Sokka tells her that it’s okay, and that he loves her. Grangran yells that she believes in Katara. Yue joins them. The whole village shouts encouragements. The sun disappears over the horizon. The light of the moon is the only light in the sky. Katara closes her eyes and waves her hands once again. Nothing happens. Zhao makes a fireball in his fist and approaches Sokka.

A villager shouts and Zhao turns. A soft light creeps over each ice block until the entire arch is shining. The shining abruptly stops and the blocks have fused together. Zhao investigates.

In the darkness of the tunnel, one can see the moon, hanging in blackness, illuminating a path to a distant archway. Zhao laughs, an evil laugh. Yue stands and bids the southerners to follow her to the north, but Zhao stops them. Elite firebenders take hold of Yue, while others put Katara back into shackles and muzzle and lump her in with the villagers. Yue spits at Zhao for turning against his word. Zhao takes her personally into custody and leaves the rest of the water tribe with the elite guard as he and a small team, including Iroh, lead Yue through the portal.

As they walk the moon’s path, Admiral Zhao sinisterly tells General Iroh that they are in the process of writing history, as they will be destroying the last of the Water Tribe civilization. Yue is aghast at Zhao’s machinations, and Zhao has her gagged. Iroh warns Zhao that history is not always kind to its subjects, Zhao condescendingly assures him that this will not be like Iroh's legendary failure at Ba Sing Se; Iroh ominously tells Zhao he hopes not, for Zhao's sake. The firebenders and Yue reach the end of the path and find themselves in the throne room of the northern water tribe. *

Iroh confirms their location and inquires if it is wise to attack during the full moon, as waterbenders draw strength from the moon. Zhao states that he is aware of the problem, and that he is working on a solution. As he reveals a secret door behind the throne, Zhao explains that years earlier, while serving as a young officer in the Earth Kingdom, he stumbled on the secret of the Moon and Ocean Spirit's mortal forms in an underground library. When he declares it is his destiny to kill the moon spirit, Iroh angrily informs him that the spirits are not to be trifled with. Condescendingly, Zhao tells Iroh he has heard tales of his journey into the Spirit World and assures him that the Moon and Ocean Spirits, having made the decision to give up their immortality to be part of the human world, will face the consequences of that decision. *

They descend down the passageway behind the throne to the spirit oasis: a small bamboo forested pool in a glacial atrium. A low voice is heard up ahead. Zhao puts his fingers to his lips and the firebenders sneak in the shadows. Chief Arnook, Yue’s father, prays to the moon for his daughter and his people. The light of the full moon shines brightly above. When he finishes, he asks an older man, Master Pakku, to escort him back. Zhao reveals himself and his prisoner, Princess Yue. Pakku squares up but Arnook orders him to stand down.

Zhao commends the chief for his wisdom and releases Yue to him. Arnook ungags her and Yue tells him that Zhao means to destroy the water tribe by killing the moon spirit. Arnook and Pakku share a look.

Arnook is incredulous that Zhao could kill the moon, whose bed is the sky and the horizon, but Zhao assures him confidently, that the spirits are close, closer than he thinks. He gestures to the pool, two koi fish swim around each other. Yue is in disbelief that Zhao thinks the fish are the spirits, but Arnook and Pakku are silent with secret knowledge.

Meanwhile, at the south pole, Katara breaths through her muzzle, now hoary with frost. A firebender yelps and points at the sky, it’s Aang riding Appa. The firebenders form a defensive perimeter. Katara takes her chance, she ices the locks to the point that they break and she frees herself from her bonds. She begins taking out firebenders as Aang does the same. The firebenders run to their snowmobiles and sleds and retreat. Katara throws off the muzzle and hugs Aang as Sokka inspects the gate. He runs through it, after Yue. The rest of the southerners follow with trepidation. In the palace, Sokka begins to call out. He sees the door ajar behind the throne. Sokka finds it out of place and passes through it. Katara and Aang ensure all the remaining southerners go through the portal. Aang shows her Zuko on Appa and they decide to leave him in the south.

Suddenly, as if he had been conscious for a while, Zuko makes his move and attacks. Katara trounces him. She freezes him in a block of ice and she and Aang and Momo try to pull Appa through the moon portal. Appa resists; after being cooped up in the ship, he is not interested in going through a small door again.

Sokka sneaks down the path to the spirit oasis. Zhao arrogantly applauds his own efforts to fulfill his "destiny", speculating as to which names by which future generations will call him. From the shadows, Sokka makes eye contact with Yue. He retreats to get help.

A water tribe scout on an ice tower watches the fire navy ship’s blockade. It’s nothing unusual.

Katara and Aang desperately pull Appa with a rope onto the moon path. Zuko the ice block begins to steam.

Zhao takes a burlap sack and charges into the water. After a moment, he rises with the fish in the bag. As he hoists it over his head in triumph, the full moon above transforms, turning from white to blood-red. *

The scout sees the red moon. His waterbender comrade in arms reacts: he can no longer waterbend.

On the moon path, the moon and path are red in the blackness. Katara feels weak. She collapses. Aang releases Appa’s rope and helps her up. Appa pulls back into the open air on the south side. Aang hobbles Katara over to the north side and lays her down in the throne room. He tells Momo to watch over her, he has to go back for Appa. The path beneath him cracks and Katara tells him to hurry. Aang runs through the gate to the other side. Before he can make it to the south, a shadow appears in the doorway and fireblasts him back. Prince Zuko who corners Aang in the disintegrating moon path.

Yue begs Zhao to release the moon spirit. The chief holds her and comforts her. Iroh pleads with Zhao to consider his actions: they will bring harm to all, not just those in the Water Tribe. Reinforcing the point, Iroh promises Zhao, "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you ten-fold." Zhao confirms what he knew all along, that Iroh is a traitor. To save the moon spirit, Arnook offers Zhao the unconditional surrender of the northern water tribe.

Water tribe warriors swarm into the throne room and surround the villagers coming through the portal. Sokka appears in the door behind the throne and bids them to follow him. The arch of the moon gate begins to crack and Katara yells for Aang. Zuko’s firebending keeps Aang on the pathway guarding the south door as it splinters here and there.

Zhao confirms with Arnook, that he has his unconditional surrender and releases the fish back into the water. The moon turns white. Everyone, the water tribe scouts, fire navy sailors, Sokka, Katara, Aang, Iroh, and even Zuko is relieved. The floor beneath Aang and Zuko solidifies again and Zuko takes a defensive stance.

Zhao watches the fish swim. Something dark and unsatisfied crosses his mind. Without a hesitation, he fire blasts the white fish.

Iroh watches the fire bolt hit the moon spirit in horror.

On the moon path, the full moon above Aang goes out like a light. The path beneath Aang and Zuko disappears and Aang falls into darkness. Zuko jumps to the southern portal and pulls himself through as the pathway vanishes behind him leaving an empty black tunnel.

Katara yells for Aang, and approaches the portal, but the portal in the north now ends in an icy wall. Momo scratches desperately at the wall.

The scout blinks in the darkness. He is at a loss. One by one, on the horizon, the fire navy blockade lights their trebuchets. They fling fiery projectiles in waves. The scout blows his horn.

Appa huffs at the gate. Zuko tries again and again to jump through the threshold, but without the moon, the gate is shut. Zuko lights the sky up with his fire blasts.

Iroh bellows and lunges on Zhao. The elite squad do their best to protect Zhao but are subdued by Iroh’s fury. Zhao realizes he might be in trouble and flees up the ice wall, his fingers sinking like molten rods into the ice to climb his way out through the opening above. Iroh falls to his knees and mourns the spirit with the chief and Pakku and Yue. Sokka returns with warriors and villagers. The first round of trebuchet projectiles hit the palace and bits of icy debris fall from the ceiling. Grangran pulls Katara wailing for Aang to the safety of the path to the spirit oasis and down to join the others. The northern water tribe capital is in chaos. The dead white fish is prodded by the living black fish.

Aang floats in darkness thick as water. A giant black koi fish finds him and swallows him.

Katara clutches Momo as a ripple in the water breaks the stillness of the spirit oasis. Aang rises out of the water in the avatar state.

Katara is filled with joy, but Aang does not respond. He rises into the sky. Ice and snow from the land and sky begin to swirl around him and envelope him the form of a giant snow-white koi fish. The fish swims through the air out over the bay and dives into the water between fire navy ships. They are hit with a minor wave, but the sailors braced themselves. The snow fish becomes slush and the fish shape decompresses, filling the seas. Then the shape recollects and rises pulling all the water with it. The ships try to flee but are caught up in the gargantuan shape. The rocky bay beneath is revealed as some ships are beached on the seafloor. The water pillar takes a vaguely humanoid fish shape.

It collapses, and the navy ships are tsunamied away.

Back at the spirit oasis, Iroh notices, with astonishment, that Yue has been touched by the Moon Spirit, and that as a result, some of its life force is within her; Yue affirms the conjecture, then decides that she should try to restore the spirit to life by giving hers to it. Her father, upset by this idea, protests, but she is unmoved by him. Sokka takes her hands into his own and assures her there has to be another way. She calmly replies, "I have to try," and places her hands on the dead fish. *

The fish glows as Yue’s spirit leaves her body, she closes her eyes, exhales one last time, and collapses into Sokka's arms, dead. *

Moments later, Yue's body evaporates, and the fish, suddenly filled with life, swims into the oasis, looking for its partner. Floating, Yue appears above the water as a spirit, clothed in a flowing white dress. She tells Sokka that she will always be with him, kissing him one last time before disappearing; as she vanishes, the moon reappears in the sky, restoring the waterbenders' abilities. *

On the walls of the palace, Zhao sees the moon’s return and screams his frustration.

Aang fused with the Ocean spirit, in the meantime, has laid waste to the Fire Nation's navy but ceases as the moon reappears. The Ocean Spirit acknowledges the moon's restoration and, ending its violent vendetta, places Aang atop the outer wall of the city as it melts into the ocean water. *

Zhao finds a hole in the ceiling of the palace as jumps down. He has no choice but to escape through the moon portal. Except a figure blocks his way, Prince Zuko. They begin to fight. Iroh returns to the throne room and catches their duel. As Zhao and Zuko weave in and out of moonbeams let in by breaks in the ceiling. The beams seem to bend and sway as if attracted to Zhao. They wrap around him like a web of fine hair and he is stuck. Tentacles of light pull him into the air. Zuko, forgetting the duel, tries to help Zhao, reaching out a hand to him, but Zhao stubbornly refuses to take it, and he is pulled through the hole in the roof, where he vanishes in the light of the moon. Iroh puts his arm around Zuko and leads the teen back through the moon portal to the south.

Zuko is already planning, they will camp in the south and wait for the Avatar to return for his bison. Iroh looks at him sadly as Zuko begins to make camp with Appa tied up nearby. With a decisive move, Iroh unleashes a fireball that destroys the moon portal in the south. Zuko is speechless as Iroh retrieves Appa and mounts him and pulls Zuko aboard. Zuko says “uh… yip-yip” and the three lift off.

Back in the north, a drained Aang makes his way to the throne room as the rest return as well. Aang looks distraught at the closed portal’s dead end and whispers Appa’s name. The water tribe surrounds and embraces him as a group, with Katara, Sokka, Grangran, Arnook and Pakku in the center. The fire navy ships retreat out of the north and the moon glows high in the sky.

Post credit scene

In the Fire Nation, Fire Lord Ozai imparts the knowledge of Iroh's treasonous behavior and Zuko's failure to his daughter, Azula, and entrusts her with a special task as she looks up at him, a smile on her face. *

#movies #tv #atla #avatar the last airbender #fanfic #fandom #fix

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gallifreyanlibertea · 6 years

Text

Sweet (1/2)

a/n: I know JACK SHIT about baking and cooking shows so don’t come at me

click here for part two

also @mi-chan4649 gave me the name for the baking show LOL thanks for literally being my cheerleader

It wasn’t hard to place a bet on who would end up being the most loved this season.

“Hello, bakers!” Arthur came out from behind the main doors to the large kitchen, followed by gasps and applause from the contestants, and it wasn’t quite hard at all to find the one out of the eight bakers that would inevitably end up a viewer-favorite. The cameras would focus the most on that tanned skin, on that dimpled smile, on the baby blues behind the frames of those glasses.

Arthur would be expected to put him under the spotlight as well, he assumed, in the later episodes. With a face like that contestant had, dear god, what it would do to their ratings.

“I’m Arthur Kirkland,” Arthur had said, crossing his arms. “Welcome to The Next Sugar Daddy.”

His dialogue was followed by laughter, as it always was when he introduced the downright ridiculous name that Francis Bonnefoy had fought to title the show. “Ah, I see some potential sugar mummies and sugar-parents in this mix as well. How are you all today?”

And like he’d expected, the, er, attractive one was the first to speak. Arthur found it hard to maintain a distant composure when his attention was almost demanded by the man who seemed to radiate confidence as well as charm. It was so much so that the contestants had all flocked to the man within the first few minutes of filming the episode. They now stood around next him, like the loyal subjects to a King.

“It’s kinda hot in here, to be honest.” He’d made a show of flapping his shirt, and Arthur opened his mouth with a reply already in mind- a quip about Francis being too cheap to install air conditioners- before the man continued. “And you in that suit of yours isn’t helping either.”

Despite being a world-renowned host of successful T.V. food competitions, and being a part-time novel writer, Arthur forgot how to speak English.

“Ah- I, um…”

Francis seemed to find this funny, and the fact that his laughter came out as wheezes didn’t help Arthur’s situation one bit.

“I’d better go change my suit then.” Was the dialogue Arthur had decided on, red-faced. “Dreadfully sorry about that.”

Needless to say, they’d figured out the ‘game’ for this season’s show.

In the last season, it had been a contestant’s unhealthy obsession with the judge, Francis Bonnefoy, and Arthur and the cameramen had been instructed to amplify it. It bode well for the show’s statistics, and quite well with Arthur himself, seeing Francis as uncomfortable as he was.

That game had definitely been better than the one before it, when a contestant had insisted Francis and Arthur had been secretly in love, and the two had been forced to play along as a humorous appeal to their audience. It had come as a shock to them that apparently, more than one of their numerous viewers had come to that “in-love” conclusion as well.

It had been torture.

But now, it seemed, it was Arthur’s turn alone. If this contestant kept up with his apparent interest in Arthur, the production crew would do whatever it took to utilize it to their benefit.

And the contestant most definitely did.

“Round one- as you all know, your task is to introduce yourself so the judge can get to know you… but with a sweet twist.”

Arthur paused for effect, so the camera crew could get a good shot of the theatrical looks on the contestants’ faces. “You will be given ninety minutes to prepare a cupcake that represents you, and you will be graded on originality, taste, and presentation. Your time starts now.”

This was Arthur’s favorite part. It was to watch as the contestants hurried to their places, brows furrowed in thought. The first five minutes was a valuable time for the camera crew to get videos of panicked faces, and for Arthur to scan his handy sheet for names and quick notes he’d been given about the characters of the contestants.

“His name is Alfred Jones,” Francis whispered and Arthur ignored him, squinting down at the sheet in his hands as Francis peeked over his shoulder.

“Shouldn’t you be in your seat looking stoic?”

“They don’t turn the camera to us for a good ten minutes, Kirkland, now what else does it say about him?”

“Shut up, Francis.” He spared a small glance at Alfred’s workstation only to find the boy gazing intently back at him. Alfred grinned abashedly before turning back down to his work, and Arthur hoped to every god on earth that his pasty white skin wasn’t blushing on camera. “I think it’s some sort of tactic to win the show- to soften up the host, yeah?”

Francis shrugged.

A quick cue from a cameraman told Arthur it was time to walk about and get words out of the contestants.

“What’s going on here?” Arthur said with a smile, and contestant number one began to ramble on about the themes within his cupcakes. A quick glance at his sheet and Arthur looked back up, “So you own your own bakery?”

It wasn’t something Arthur was proud of, but he found that his interest level hadn’t nearly been as high with the others as it was the moment he stepped toward Alfred Jones’ workspace.

“What do we have here, Mr. Jones?”

And if what he saw wasn’t what he’d expected, Arthur didn’t know what would be.

Alfred had decided to display something patriotic, something American, with apple-pie sorts of flavoring in the frosting and red and blue sprinkles of edible glitter.

“I had initially wanted to go with a chocolate, protein-shake kinda thing,” Alfred said earnestly. He then let his lip quirk up in something of a smirk, “You know, since I work out a lot.”

“I see that,” Arthur said, and Alfred turned his attention back to his work with a laugh that had Arthur turning away from the cameras to wait out the red flush in his cheeks.

Get a bloody hold of yourself.

Then, Arthur was back at Francis’ side, aware of the cameras poised in their direction as Francis spoke. “I always look forward to this round because it’s quite interesting to see what they come up with.”

“It’s a good gauge of personality and skill.” Arthur said in response, “Not many people try their hardest on this round, on the basis that it’s only an introduction, which gives us a pretty good understanding of their base-level of expertise.”

Time went by slower when he wasn’t the one baking furiously to secure a place in the competition, Arthur found, yet it hadn’t gone by all too slowly for him either.

His job while the competitors baked was fairly easy. It was to pace around with an inquisitive look on his face and make conversation with Francis, as a sort of gossip about what desserts were being made.

Soon, Arthur was stepping right back to the front of the room, eyes glancing at the large clock mounted behind him, “Bakers, please step away from your creations!”

A pause for dramatic effect, for the cameras to catch the looks of relief and sometimes despair on sweaty, flour-streaked faces.

And then, the judging began.

“Mr. Anderson, please explain your cupcake,” Arthur said, with a smile he liked to call not here, nor there. It was a trick he’d picked up over his years of hosting competitions, a look on his face that served as a complete opposite to what he was meant to do- to comfort contestants.

Instead, this smile served to put them on edge. It served to elicit a look from their faces so priceless that it always made it into the final edit.

Francis would watch patiently as the man explained his creation, and he would break into it with his little fork, face as stony as he could manage.

It was funny considering the faces Francis liked to make when he ate. He was a proper food-whore, really.

“I find this to be a little soggy-” It was also a bit funny to watch a previously cocky contestant’s face melt into one of horror after a harsh critique.

Arthur was definitely bitter enough to enjoy something like this, and those who were close to him often wondered how he made it as a host, someone meant to be warm and friendly, when in fact, Arthur found himself having to hold back a smile as a man who’d been particularly rude to him walked back to his station with head hung low.

“Mr. Jones,” Arthur called, and Alfred seemed to brace himself. He held his chin up, rolled his shoulders back, and popped a quick smile on his face as he placed his plate on Francis’ table.

Arthur found himself rooting for the man.

“Here I have a-” Arthur tuned out Alfred’s long ingredient list and in turn, found himself gazing at the cupcake on the plate. It was rather colorful, with icing piped in red and blue, and what seemed to be a small flag on it.

“A rainbow flag.” Alfred explained with a grin, “I love men, all sizes, shapes, and colors, baby.”

“Amen to that,” Francis replied with a hearty chuckle that Arthur couldn’t help rolling his eyes at. “Well, Alfred, there’s no denying your presentation is very beautiful.”

Arthur steeled himself right alongside Alfred.

“And, I have to say, so are your flavors.”

Brilliant! The look on Alfred’s face brought a short-lived smile onto Arthur’s own. It was one that a cameraman had moved to capture- oh fuck, they were going to put that face on television, weren’t they, Arthur clenched his jaw back into a look of indifference.

Francis had pointed it out that evening, after the contestants went home to rest and the crew had been left to look at the footage. “Aw, look, how sweet!”

“Shut up, Francis.” Arthur had snapped. “Are we really going to focus on this?”

Francis hid a smile behind his hand, “There’s nothing an audience loves more to watch than a blooming romance in the midst of a competition. Haven’t you seen all the best-selling novels these days?”

This would be hell for the poor Jones boy, Arthur deduced.

It was only natural that a man like Alfred be used to flirting around for fun. He hadn’t meant anything of it, and now it would be blown out of proportion for the sake of show ratings.

Arthur supposed that’s how the world worked.

“Watch this,” Francis said one day, with what sounded like a giggle, and Arthur scooted in, peering over his shoulder.

What the audience never saw was the long breaks between each round, up to days of preparation time for the bakers while the production team met each day to watch footage and conduct interviews that could be pieced into the final edit.

“I don’t have a boyfriend back home,” Alfred said into the camera, teeth flashing in a big grin. “I never really had the time or the attraction.”

“And what are you usually attracted to?” The interviewer said. His prompt would later be cut out, so Alfred had to answer in full sentences.

“I usually like a good personality in a person, someone who enjoys my company as much as I enjoy theirs, and who doesn’t like good looks?”

“Does Arthur Kirkland fit into this at all?”

Arthur buried his face in his palms.

Alfred, on the laptop screen, paused. He then grinned, “Arthur Kirkland is definitely my type.”

#this was purely purely purely for myself #this is also a prime example of my deteriorating writing skill but I also don't give a fuck lololol #aph america #aph england #usuk #my fanfiction #I hope some of y'all will appreciate this au because Alfred as a baker is underappreciatedddd

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bbqs-paintbrush · 7 years

Text

Housewarming

Summary: A new house usually comes with a new life around he corner. For some this is exciting; for others it’s terrifying.

Word count: 2.957

Warnings: Mild swearing, romance, fluff, angst

A/N: OC interaction/drabble. Written as part story and part character study.

Zephyr carefully readjusted the bag over his shoulder when he finally reached his destination at the end of the cobble path. He took a moment to admire the new little cottage Glenda now called home. He’d seen it before, but after being vacant for so long the little plume of smoke from the chimney alone breathed new life into it. It was a strange but wonderful quality she seemed to add to everything she touched. He wondered if anyone else noticed.

Just as he was about to knock on the door it unexpectedly swung inward and he came face to face with her - catching both of them off guard.

“Ah- I- Zephyr, I didn’t expect to see you.”

He pulled back his hand and grinned a little sheepishly. “Well, the idea was to surprise you… Surprise!”

She smiled genuinely. “Well, come on inside. I figured you wouldn’t be coming when you didn’t show up with everyone else.”

He shrugged before entering. “Housewarming is about the new homeowner; and while things have smoothed over a bit, I think that having me and Mercutio in the same space for too long would make it more about me.”

As he walked through the door, he found the place in an uncharacteristic disarray. While he expected a new move to be a bit messy, the small open suitcase peeking from behind the bedroom doorway, the miscellaneous takeout food remnants on the counter, and few disheveled open boxes and manuals strewn about didn’t match the person he knew - especially if she’d been living there for more than a week. It was a small cottage - made for one or two people - and Glenda’s A-type personality would normally have it spotless in a day.

“Uh, sorry about the mess.” Glenda scooped up a box that was resting on one of the stools at the window bar. “It’s not quite where I’d like it to be just yet.”

“It takes some time.” he mused. “I hope my family wasn’t too intrusive while they were here.”

She made a dismissing gesture. “Not at all. They were more than generous with some of their gifts.” She motioned to the neatly stacked boxes on the counter. “Mercutio and Zita gave me some essential cooking dishes and utensils, Baldwin and Parvati gave me an entire dinner set for four, and even Jethro -” Her eyes fell to bushel basket brimming with gardening supplies and plant starters like bulbs, seeds, and several kinds of tuber vegetables all lovingly tied up with a neat bow. “- It’s bad enough I had to practically break his arm to not give me this place for free, but he gave me all those supplies for getting the garden plot tilled and ready to go.”

Zephyr smiled. What Jethro lacked in words he almost always made up for in meaningful gestures. “Well, I hope you’re not too overwhelmed with the showering of gifts for one more.”

He carefully pulled out a clear case from his bag and presented a juniper bonsai. “I mean, it’s not…” he glanced inside the open case of dishes to glimpse the brilliant cobalt blue, gold filigree, and emerald green inlaid edge of a dinner plate. “...nearly as elegant as some of the gifts you got, but I hope you like it.”

She looked over the tiny tree warmly and said, “It’s perfect. Wait… haven’t I seen this in your apartment?”

He laughed nervously. “Ah, you saw it in the window. I knew they could be difficult to care for so I wanted to make sure even a schmuck like me could keep it healthy before handing such a great responsibility to you.” the end of his sentence sprinkled with dramatic flair as he set it in the window over the bar. “See, I even made a little care book should you ever have a question about it.” He produced a small booklet from his pocket and presented it proudly.

She crossed her arms playfully at him. “Well, I’m certainly glad you believe I am able to bear the weight of such a burden. And would you know, he even has a friend to keep him company.” She gestured to the tiny potted barrel cactus also seated comfortably in the window.

“Someone stole my idea!” Zephyr feigned horror.

Glenda smirked and said, “Don’t worry. It’s a gift from the admiral. He probably had someone else pick it out for him anyway.”

Though he didn’t waver, Zephyr paused at the name, looking at the succulent. He remembered that man. After Glenda had had that horrible episode in his apartment - having to rely entirely on him for care and support while she worked through it over an entire weekend, frantic and terrified to go to a hospital - and then getting the cold, indifferent call from him.

~~~

“I’m glad to know you’ve been taking care of her. We’ll have someone by soon to pick her up so she won’t be a burden to you any longer.”

“She’s never been a burden to me, sir.”

“Ah, well, the Alliance is glad to hear that, son.”

“I’m not your son.”

~~~

“Hmm…” He shook himself of the flashback. “So… how’ve you been settling in?”

“It’s been…” She wavered. “Fine.”

A single, deadpan eyebrow rose to call her out as he glanced at the various items he noticed earlier.

She gave an exhausted, resigned sigh. “I’ve, uh, never lived in a… y’know, house before. Like my very own space. It’s taking some adjusting.” Her posture became closed off as she pulled into herself.

“Is that all?”

He only received a non-committal mumble in his direction.

“Well, I don’t have any plans if you’d like me to help you sort the place a bit.” He rested his bag on the bar and sauntered over to her housewarming gifts.

“I wouldn’t want to keep you-”

“Too late.” He pulled out one of the ornate dishes he had been eyeing earlier. “You know, this looks incredibly fragile, but the ceramic this manufacturer uses is incredible.” He continued to unpack the box nonchalantly as Glenda sidled up next to him to watch.

“And the crystal glasses?”

“Those, too. Practically indestructible.” He twirled the crystal up to the light by the flute to inspect the facets. “Baldwin may have a reputation to uphold when it comes to gifts, being king and all, but he’s a pretty practical guy. If he didn’t have every meal served for him he would use only sturdy bowls and mugs and use bread and his hands to eat everything with.” He inspected a gold fork with matching blue and green inlays. “Flatware be damned.”

Glenda gave a wry smile. “I don’t know if I can imagine him eating every meal in such an undignified manner.”

“Hey, this is the guy who adopted a stray tardhnokat, named it “Sandwhich,” called it a “good boy” literally up until the point it had kittens, and loves it more than anything except his wife.”

Glenda gave him the point and helped find places for all the gifts and possessions she had - few as there were.

“These literally cannot be all the clothes you own.” Zephyr gave a disparaged sigh looking at the less than ten hangers he’d just hung in the closet.

“Three kinds of uniforms, a few sets of civies, and that one formal dress.”

He gestured to the still simple and unassuming garment. “I’ve never once seen you wear this.”

“That’s because I never have.”

Zephyr rolled his eyes as Glenda finished up organizing her personals drawer. “Well, since that’s over sooner than expected, I guess I better tell you I lied.”

She furrowed her brows at him. “What?”

“I mean, I said I only brought you ONE present today.” He walked over to his bag resting on the bar and pulled out a jar of cookie butter. “I actually brought two!” He pulled two spoons from the recently assigned flatware drawer. “Celebrate a job well done with me?”

Glenda roller her eyes at his dramatics. “Oh, I hope that’s the only one you brought.”

“Shut up, or I’ll get you more later.”

He walked into the small bedroom and plopped himself down on the edge of the full-sized bed across from the fireplace which was the only source of light in the cottage as the sun had set while they were cleaning. Glenda got up from her place by the dresser and sat down next to him, holding her hand out for a spoon. As Zephyr handed her a gold spoon and the jar he had just opened he picked up from his previous ravings.

“I will take you shopping if you don’t get yourself some more everyday clothes, and let me tell you shopping with me on a mission is not necessarily a good time!”

“I’m shaking in my boots.” Glenda said with the spoon in her mouth.

“If you had any boots.”

Genda laughed, but Zephyr continued. “Seriously. You could be looking at an early retirement with everything that’s happened lately. You’re likely not going to be able to keep living like this. You should prepare for that change.”

Glenda slowed her eating and stared into the fire for a moment. “Hmm.”

Zephyr turned to face her, “I know these last couple of months has been especially rough on you, but you’re doing well. You have some good, dependable friends, savings that could last you years while you find work, and a perfectly good, quiet and safe home.” He gestured vaguely at the cottage around them. “I know this step - this transition to civilian life - won’t be easy for you, but it’s what you need.”

Glenda had stopped eating altogether and just dragged her spoon gently around the rim of the jar. He waited a few moments to give her a chance to collect her thoughts when she finally spoke up. “How did you do it?”

“What?” The question came unexpectedly to him.

“How did you adjust to your whole life changing so quickly?” She clarified, still not taking her eyes from the jar.

“Oh boy,” he started. “I am not the person to be answering THAT question.” But when he saw her hooded eyes pleading for an answer he continued thoughtfully.

“When I left Xylon almost two years ago, it was not for good reasons. I was still angry, mad at the universe, everything. Nothing made sense, and I wanted to be in control of my life for once. Sadly, the way I went about it was all wrong. I did some awful stuff. I manipulated people, disgraced my family on more than one occasion, drowned myself in a chemical stupor, and was generally just a REALLY shitty person.”

He glanced over to see Glenda continuing to fidget.

“I’m not particularly proud of the person I was or the journey it took me to get here, but all things considered it really was for the best. My family and I are even on speaking terms again. If I’m honest, I have you to thank for that.”

“I never really did anything about that, though.”

“No, there’s really no one thing you DID, per se; but I have a lot to thank you for. You were just always this grounded person - stable, like going from the world spinning around me to having my feet on solid ground. It was jarring, and I think that’s why I treated you so badly in the beginning. But it was that stability that helped me… find perspective. I got to see myself and what I was doing through the eyes of someone not so preoccupied with their own issues to matter. To put it bluntly, you’ve always been able to call me out on my bullshit, and it was what I needed. ” He flamboyantly fainted backward on the bed with a hand to his forehead. “After all, it takes quite the person to put up with a drama king like me!”

“But I didn’t DO anything.” Her fidgeting had become more sporadic and her grip on the jar tighter. “All I did was my job. I was given an assignment, I did what I had to to fulfill that assignment, and you did all your own work yourself.”

He gingerly propped himself up on his elbows. “Well, exactly. You were just… you. And that was what I needed - what inspired me.”

It didn’t seem like the answer she was looking for so he tried again.

“I’m not one-hundred percent sure what allowed me to go from a the hot mess I was to the... ‘model citizen’ I am now. I just… grew. I had this vision of me that I felt I could be proud of, and more than that, I think it was because I had someone I wanted to be proud of me.”

“Who?”

“...You.”

There was another long silence as she looked into the fire. “What makes me so special anyway?”

He took his time carefully looking for the right words, “I can’t really say. All I know is that my life changed for the better because of you just being there. You’ve turned my world upside down from the moment I met you, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

“Why?”

“Becau-”

“Why would anyone care about me like that?” He saw her fidgeting become shaky and her eyebrows furrow. “Why do people care about me at all? I’m just this big bundle of underdeveloped, nervous, socially-awkward mess that doesn’t know how to have emotions or be a ‘human being’ or how to keep people from getting hurt and doesn’t know anything but taking orders and being the yes-man errand-girl for anyone with the big enough title and… and…I don’t know what I’m doing anymore or why I should try.” Her fidgeting stopped but she continued to shake with the tension in her body.

At that point, Zephyr realized that he had never seen that particular fidget before. She wasn’t mimicking anyone’s nervous habits to blend in the way she used to. It was her own mannerism. She had developed it since that episode months ago. She was growing and changing, and realized that she was wrestling with things about herself she had never known or felt before and it scared her.

He reached out and touched her hand gently. “I would follow you to hell and back if you wanted me to. Hell, I’d take the trip alone for your sake, and there are others who feel the same way - not because of the way you act on someone else’s orders, but how you act on your own account. What you’re going through not many people can imagine, but that’s not a reason to give up on yourself. It’s hard, and it will take time and adjustment; but you’ll come out stronger in the end for it.”

Her shaking had stopped and her figure went fairly limp, clearly exhausted.

“Those feelings of fear and guilt you’re feeling will be part of developing who you are forever, but they don’t define you.” He finally straightened himself completely to sit alongside her again and pulled her head to his chest gently. “You think you’re weak now, but you’re not - you’re just tired.”

Empty silence continued on again for a while before another question came from her lips. “Zephyr?”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever been in love?”

He closed his eyes and gently stroked her hair. “Yes.”

“What does it feel like?”

“Well… It’s a force and a feeling that defies logic. It’s motivating and depressing all at the same time.” He felt compelled to continue honestly. “At the moment it kind of sucks because we aren’t together, and we could be but I really screwed that up a long time ago.”

“Do I know her?” At this point, he felt he understood what she was trying to say, and let her continue her line of questioning.

“I think you do.”

“Does she know that you love her?”

“I think so.”

“Do you think you’ll ever get together with her?”

“I’ve resigned my right to pursue her anymore. I don’t think I deserve it after the way I treated her in the past. At this point, I’m happy just to see her happy. Unless she came to me and made it clear that it was what she wanted and I could make her happy, I’ll be content and blessed to just be her friend.”

“You’re my friend, right, Zephyr?”

“Absolutely.”

They stayed leaning together in the silence for a bit longer. The embers in the fireplace were beginning to die down. Eventually, Zephyr got up, took the jar and the spoons from Glenda, and set them in the kitchen for later.

“It’s late. I should let you get some rest.” He said.

“Are you going to be in town a while longer?” The exhaustion in her face was obvious.

“I should be available if you need anything.” he winked with a grin before turning to leave, but he paused at the tugging of his sleeve.

“It’s, uh, it’s pitch black outside. I don’t want you to have to wander around in the dark like that.” She avoided eye contact, but he could still see the faintest blush on her cheeks in the dim light.

“I don’t want to be a bother.” He said genuinely.

“You’re never a bother.”

“Oh now, that’s a lie.” He smirked.

“Well, I- yeah...” Her voice was beginning to pick up again.

He smiled and stretched his arms over his head. “Alrighty then, I guess I’m bunking on the floor.”

“You don’t have to sleep on the floor!”

“Well, I can’t let my hostess sleep on it, now can I? Besides, where else am I gonna sleep - the roof?”

“With that attitude, there’s always the fireplace.”

#oc #drabble #my ocs #glenda #zephyr #short fic

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