2/4

3/4

4/4!

I love this series.

>>72101
Man. People still have this? I'm blushing ear to ear.

>>72104
Anon, you've done your country a great honor!

>>72107
I don't think Australia will notice, but the sentiment is appreciated.

I always like that comic, but it makes more sense now. I finally watched Gurren Lagann =þ

>>72108
at least one Australian notices

Awesome!

I swear, its not just so I can procrastinate on the comic.... only mostly.

>>72168

I quite like this pic. Irah's new threads make my day.

>>72168

I will take this blue flame....and BEND IT. Irah's right hand looks bit deformed. I can't tell if she's resting her hand on her abdomen or just holding it out in front..

>>72185

A wild Milli appears! I agree with ya, I like the idea of Irah with her art gear.

>>72196
I suck at hands. So hard. That particular hand is actually a great improvement for me. I'll get there eventually.

>>72202

I suck at hands too, practice and good referencing are all I can recommend.

Drawing GaangJunior!Azula with f'd up faces has basically become my past time....

>>72213
Lol Squidward

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It was supper time in the Northern Water Tribe. As the bright afternoon sky turned to a deep sapphire, a Princess toyed with the last of her meal. Nikiru absentmindedly wobbled her bowl of Tentacle Soup to and fro, the last piece of squid flesh rolled around in the broth. Her grin widened in reaction to the little jiggles it made. It had been such a humdrum day, mundane amusements like this were palatable to the girl.

Every day seemed to be like this since she left with the others. Ordinary, routine, a prolonged ’blah’of sorts compared to the tales Yi Lin shared during the few weeks she spent at the North Pole. She would keep in touch, Yi Lin promised, though not one messenger hawk was addressed to in the her past fortnight. Nikiru wondered if she was just over-anxious, perhaps her crew was still in transit somewhere...out there on the waves...going wherever they please. It shouldn’t be much longer.

Nikiru shrugged her shoulders, sighed, and drank in the last of her meal. She set her bowl on the service tray along with the other empty dishes and made her way over to the vanity. “Right. Healers’ Ceremony at sundown.” She reminded herself. The Princess grasped her comb and was about to make herself ‘more proper than proper’ just before a clattering icicle upon the window sill to the rear caught her attention.

She spun around on her stool to face the window just in time to witness the intruder clambering into her chamber. The invader stumbled on the furs strewn about the chamber and fell on its face, hissing in mild pain. All Nikiru could make out in the evening light was a beige and brown blur. She gulped her heart back down her throat, trying to scream for the guards but her voice went absent. “Guar-...g-...guh...”

The figure quickly rose to its feet in the center of the room and held its hands up defensively. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's just-”

Nikiru stood up and flung her stool her shadowed assailant. “EEP! Calm down!” It deftly dodged the flying furniture and slipped alongside Princess. “Nikiru, It’s me!” Yi Lin pulled back her paper mask, revealing her bright eyes and ever-persistent toothy grin to her newest friend.

“You...you came back?! Don’t scare me like that Yi Lin!” Nikiru squealed in equal parts relief and elation, she flung her arms around the taller girl and held her tight. Yi Lin looped her arms about the younger girl’s shoulders in kind. “Hehe, I’m glad to see you too, Nikiru...” She said in-between her chuckles. “...How’s the royal life treatin’ ya?”

“Well, I’m about to get ready for the Healers’ Ceremony and I have to get right to bed afterward for the sunrise observance of-” Nikiru’s reply was interrupted by a shrill whistling noise bounding through her window from the ground below. “What in the world was that?”

Yi Lin’s eyes widened, she snapped to attention with a renewed sense of urgency. “Oh, right!" Yi Lin leapt backward out of her embrace with a gust of wind, the wisps of air tickled the Princess’ face. The airbender bent at the waist and crossed her arms, her eyes locked with Nikiru‘s. “Pah, that sounds boring, girl! How about you come along on a little trip with me and my friends?”

Nikiru nervously stroked a lock of her hair. “I...I dunno. I can’t! I have a duty to my people and-”

“Duty, schmooty. Besides, you won’t be gone for long. I promise. We were just on our way to visit a friend and I wanted to take you along without that ol’ curmudgeon Arluk bugging us. You deserves a break.”

“A friend of yours? No Arluk?" The idea was oh so tempting to the younger girl, a wicked smile crawled across her face. Her conscience refused to relent. She shook her head vigorously, a pout replaced her smile. “But, I...I can’t! I simply can’t! Besides, we couldn’t possibly slip by the palace guards, they’re all over the hallways. I don’t want you to get in trouble, all the elder-tribesmen would call this a kidnapping!”

“Don’t you worry. We have that covered.” Yi Lin beamed as she rubbed the back of Nikiru’s hands.

“Wait, wait, who’s ‘we’?”

“My brother escorted me in, he’s got an escape plan worked out. At least I think he does. Just grab some travelin’ clothes, we have a ship to board!”

“Oh my!” Nikiru exclaimed as her friend shoved her toward the wardrobe. Butterflies tickled her belly as she hastily stuffed her sequined duffle-bag with some of her rarely used 'commoner’ apparel.

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

“Princess Nikiru! Glad to see you!” The Smokehouse Master waved from his side of the canal.

“Nice to see you, too!” Nikiru waved cordially to the stout man from her seat in her personal watercraft as it floated down a tertiary waterway.

Tseng stood at the rear of the vessel and propelled it with his waterbending. He regretted leaving the gondola’s usual driver tied up, gagged, and stripped to underclothes in the cold environment. Once his sister latched on to the zany idea of ‘rescuing’ Nikiru from her home, he knew he would wind up scolding himself for such tough decisions. He reassured himself that one of the driver’s comrades would happen across him before sundown and no harm would be done. He mulled over that thought a second time. *Oh man. We’ve gotta get outta here before they find him and sound the alarm! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!*

He sped the boat along a little quicker. The Royal Guard’s uniform hung loose on his smaller frame, but it did the job nonetheless. In the common villager’s eyes, he was just a loyal servant to the Princess escorting her to her next appointment. His path sought out the the ice tunnel he burrowed (and concealed) through the outer wall that he and his sister used to sneak in earlier. To lookers-on, the Princess was merely taking the scenic route around the Tribe.

Yi Lin hid at Nikiru’s feet under a pile of canvas, stowed away along with her friend’s duffle-bag. She stifled a laugh at how corny Nikiru’s formal accent sounded when she greeted the villagers.

“‘Hey Pincess ‘ikiru!” A young boy, no older than 4 years old, called from the left.

“Greetings, Sura! Wow, you’re sure getting big!” Nikiru answered. The accent was too much, Yi Lin could barely contain herself.

Heheheheheheheeeehehee....

Sura placed his hands on his hips and scowled at the Princess. “Hey! What’so funny? Is it my hairdo? I hate it! D-don’t laugh! Mooooom!” The child took off around the side of a nearby building. Nikiru was at a loss for words.

“AHEM. Your Majesty.” Tseng cut in. He deepened his voice, doing his best to sound official, “I believe you might be coming down with a chill, please cover your legs.” Nikiru looked back at Tseng. He made a little stomping motion and gestured at the quivering mass underneath the canvas. Nikiru got the message, she and Tseng exchanged nods as Yi Lin received a royal kick to the keister.

“Oof!”

“Ssshhhh.” Nikiru hushed her friend and straightened in her seat. That wicked little smile returned to her face. Oh what fun this was!

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

“Ok. Here we are.” Tseng guided the two girls to the back-alley he came in. He adjusted the loop of rope he slung around his shoulder and ‘felt’ out the tunnel entrance with his waterbending. “Aaaand....THERE!” He swirled his arms around and their exit tunnel was revealed. “Let’s get back to the ship!”

Tseng’s ears burned, he heard the the faint ringing of the alarm bells from deep within the village. The Guards had discovered the compromised driver and the hunt for infiltrators was afoot. “Aw crud! Come on! Go go go go go!”

He shoved Nikiru and Yi Lin into the narrow tunnel. Tseng was glad he burrowed upward into the village earlier, the downward slope of the tunnel made their exit smooth and quick. The three adventurers slid through the massive ice wall all and popped out at their insertion point on the shore.

“Yi Lin. Towboat Special?” Tseng tossed one end of rope to his sister as she dug her glider out of a snowdrift. “Brilliant idea, brother! Just let me get rid of this mask...”

“Yi Lin, what’s a 'Tugboat Special’?” Nikiru asked the airbender while she tore up her disguise. The elder girl cast the tattered paper to the water and spun open her glider. She tied the rope around her waist and presented her back to the Princess. “You’ll see. Just climb on and hold on tight!”

There was no going back now. Nikiru hopped onto Yi Lin. With a flourish, the pair set to the skies dragging Tseng along behind them on his ice-board.

“I can’t wait to show you around the ship, Nikiru!” Yi Lin chirped.

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

Ty Lee sat on a piling nearby her sailboat. She held the slip of paper in her hand at an angle, she used the remaining sliver of sun to read it. “So... we need string beans, rice, mangos, red peppers, leechi nuts, smoked salmon, a new easel, some firing coals, and...a bushel of carrots? Really? A bushel of them? Is this for the pony goat? He’s growing on you isn’t he?”

Azula flicked a strand of grey hair out of her eyes. “Don’t be fooled, Ty Lee. I’d rather the little miscreant choke on carrot rather than chasing it out of garden every afternoon.”

“Haha. Whatever you say, Azula!” Ty Lee giggled and flipped backward onto her boat. She was about to bid the fallen princess farewell when a large jet of blue fire sprang up off in the distance.
“Ty Lee...” Azula sternly began. Her friend chuckled, climbed back on to the dock, and finished her sentence in her best Azula voice. “Ty Lee, my niece approaches. Ready the island! We both know the drill. I’ll lay out the sleeping mats and bring out her jasmine tea, you start the campfire.”

“Right.” Azula answered. She lingered on the dock for a few moments before following the acrobat inland.

-to be continued-

Before I continue this (and free it up for the next writer in the round robin) Who do you guys think should be the first gaangling to tell the story of their running away from Kyoshi?

>>72213

oh hai again Liesl! Loltastic stuff as always!

"LISTEN TO YOUR ELDERS YOUNG LADY!" >:\

"But I-"

"ELDERS."

>>72213
Liesel, I love you. That face....
>>72224
I imagine Hayoda and Yi Lin arguing over the chance to tell the story first, but Hayoda will probably end up being first.

>>72224
Sorry I've been so slow in replying to this! I loved it! But it's so hard to point out specific parts I loved, since then I would end up praising just about every paragraph. Somehow, the vision of Nikiru I get from this -- with a little wicked streak -- is something new and it just works so well. I lol'd heartily at the sequence with Tseng and Nikiru (and Yi Lin hidden).

As for who should start first, I have no idea, but I suppose keep in mind that Nikiru will probably blindly follow whatever tale Yi Lin spins.

Now for something a little bit selfish...

As I've mentioned before, over this semester I've been having a 3D modeling class, and I've been working on what I intend to be a model of "season 1" Hayoda. It's due on Tuesday, and while I'm on track (save a few body parts; goddamn hips, how the fuck do you work), at this point it's pretty much looking like just some random dude and not Hayoda.

So I was hoping that some bored souls here could take some time to redline some screenshots to help me determine what makes Hayoda (or rather, a realistic non-cartoon depiction of him) look like Hayoda.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadren/

  And finally, random thought, just saw this, can't help but reimagine the "Power of Rock" story to be like this.

>>72264

"Cartoon Colony"? Never heard of it until just now...

Did a five second google and found this site: http://cartooncolony.proboards.com/

It's a tiny, tiny place that was only launched a couple of days ago. Judging from the proboards tech support thread I got the link from (http://support.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=opinions&action=display&thread=339676&page=1), there's a very strong "My First Forum" vibe surrounding it. Which is cute and everything, but it looks extremely amateurish. The admin basically copied and pasted the opening post without even an effort at formatting it for general consumption.

It's nice to have fans, but it's nicer to have fans who actually know what they're doing.

>>72265

The big, bold " FORTY FRIGGIN' THREADS WHOA NELLY!" makes me chuckle for some strange reason. At least they made the bullet points into actual bullet points, heh.

As for Running Away, I'll try my best to get the second part up on Monday night. After that, it'll be free for the next writer. Would that be ok with you guys?

Welp, I hoped to have something ready to post by tonight and I got a big chunk done to my satisfaction, but I couldn't finish at a sane hour. I'll definitely have it posted here tomorrow, fellas. Sorry for the wait ;_;

pic related to the first part of the story. Thanks for the doodle, Mil :)

THE ONE PIECE CROSSOVER HAS NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN. I JUST HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO WORK ON IT. BUT NOW IT'S WINTER BREAK.

>>72343
HUZZAH FOR WINTER BREAK!

>>72343
I no longer have any excuse not to watch this thread.

Also, wouldn't a High School AU Christmas Special be nifty? This sounds like the sort of story that everyone could jump on at once and come up with a bunch of different and equally awesome stories.

>>72343
...OnePiece / GaangJr crossover?

>>72348

Part 1: http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/32118.html#cutid1
Part 2: http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/33935.html#cutid1
Part 3: http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/36168.html#cutid1

>>72347
Awesome! Yesterday I had pondered a little idea for sticking something Christmassy into the actual Avatar world, though I don't know where to post it since it's not really GJr stuff.

Anyway, Tuesday is here and I'm done (for certain quantities of "done") with the model. And I already turned it in so neener neener no one can complain because none of ya redlined :P
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gadren/sets/72157622885189621/

Here we go, the second half of the kick-off to this round robin! Enjoy!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“Good work, Irah. I’m pretty sure they’ve spotted the signal. We should arrive at the island in about a half-hour.” Tseng called down from the Blue Flame’s crow’s nest. He slumped down to the floor of the bucket, closed his eyes and simply relaxed. Extracting Nikiru from the North Pole was more stressful than he bargained for.

Irah felt her foot give way behind her after bending the signal flame. Her stance seemed to falter when she finished the kata. “Hmph.” She righted herself and had another go at it. The flame went skyward, and again her foot slid out from under her. “Getting sloppy...” She muttered under her breath. Hayoda and Yue stood at her side on the Blue Flame’s deck. The Captain scratched his head and asked, “Something wrong, Irah? I’m sure they seen your first signal?”

“I’m fine.” The Princess replied calmly. She made a third, more rushed attempt at the kata and summarily fell flat on her butt. “Hmph!” She crossed her arms and sat in silence, it was clear to her present company that her form was slipping. Yue thoughtfully cleaned her glasses with her sleeve. “Well, I guess it’s a funny coincidence we’re visiting Aunt Azula again. Maybe she can give you some tips.” She assured her friend. Hayoda gave his sister a pat on the shoulder, “You pulled the words right out of my mouth, Yue. In fact, I could stand a spar or two with Ty Lee if she’s around. We all have to keep sharp.”

A noisy whirlwind interrupted the conversation as Yi Lin burst out from below deck with a gust of airbending. “Hey guyyyys!” She fluttered down behind the trio and made a grand gesture toward the doorway. “Presenting...Princess Nikiru of the Northern Water Tribe!”

“Hi friends! Er- Iron Sea Wolves, right? How do I look?” Nikiru asked in a chipper voice. She contentedly exhaled as she spun around in her traveling clothes, a simple teal colored tunic with a black silk sash, black leggings, and leather boots. She wore her hair in a loose ponytail with one of Yi Lin’s hair ribbons tied on the end (Yi Lin was insistent that the two of them ‘match’).

Irah pivoted around on her bottom to take in an eyeful. “Streamlined...” She smiled. “...Cute earrings, too. I didn’t know you had so many piercings.” Nikiru finished her twirl and stroked her fingers along the 3 silver studs she wore in each ear. “I’ve had these holes since I was very little, but Arluk insists I only wear only one ornate pair. He thinks I look more regal that way, but he isn’t around to tell me that right now, isn’t he?” She leaned back against the doorway and gazed off to the side. “And...no need for the formalities. Just call me Nikiru, ok?” She looked toward the rest of the gang as she finished.

“Oh? Fine. Sure, sure.” Hayoda said.

“Likewise, we’re all friends.” Irah answered.

“‘Kay.” Yue chirped.

“Yes, your highness! Anything you say PRINCESS!” Yi Lin boisterously teased. Nikiru merely grinned crookedly as the others groaned. The airbender dodged a globule of water that “fell” from the crow’s nest.

The water tribe girl clasped her hands together and walked toward her companions. “So, tell me about this friend of yours are we visiting tonight? I think I overheard something about...sparring?” Nikiru asked.

Irah picked herself up from the floor and dusted off the seat of her pants. “We’re just going to visit my Aunt Azula and hopefully stay the night before we go resupply on the Mainland.”

“A-.. Azula?!” Nikiru’s ears tingled at the name. That name was prominent in many a horrid tale she was told when she was little.The warriors returning from the war spread such stories amongst the villagers. “Wait, wait. Aunt Azula?” Nikiru realized. “Azula the fallen Fire Nation Princess?”

Irah slung a arm around Nikiru and Yi Lin and chuckled as she lead them to the bow. “I’m sure you’ve heard the stories, but you need not worry, Nikiru. My Aunt’s awesome! You’ll see.” Po pulled the Blue Flame to within a stone’s throw of the dock, two women waved at the ship from their seat on the dock‘s edge. “Look, there she is now, and Ty Lee’s there, too!”

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

Ty Lee, Azula, and the Iron Sea Wolves sans Yue sat in a circle around the campfire. They helped themselves to the kettle of jasmine tea and the roasted apples that sizzled in the pan on top of the fire. Yue was several paces away, but still within earshot. She looked through her new telescope at a small section of the billions of stars that twinkled in the night-time ceiling. Azula was wrapping up her latest tale “...and that’s why ZuZu is terrified of papayas til this very day.” A round of giggles spread amongst her audience.

Azula took a long sip of her tea as she waited for the reverie to dissipate. “So, what have you children been up to lately? When did your new companion join your crew? Nikiru is your name, correct?”

“Yes.” NIkiru replied sheepishly as the older woman settled her eyes upon her. Azula wore an inquisitive grin on her crimson lips. “Well?” Yi Lin elbowed the younger girl in the side, egging her on. “Oooh! Oooh! Tell her how you snuck away earlier!” Nikiru cleared her throat. “Well, it’s not a very long story. I was in my room in the Palace getting ready for the Healer’s-”

“Ah! You’re a noble...a princess in waiting, I gather.” Azula interrupted. “You carry yourself like one. Go on.” Ty Lee snaked an arm around Azula’s waist and gestured back and forth at Irah and Nikiru and exclaimed, “Wow. This island is chock full of princesses tonight. It’s a princess convention!”

“Earth-shattering observation, Ty Lee. Please go on, Nikiru.” Azula quipped. Nikiru heard a whisper in her ear. “Prooooooof.” The water tribe girl shook her head and cleared her throat a second time. “Now...as I was saying, I was getting ready in my room for the Healer’s Ceremony just when I heard......”

It took all of 5 minutes for the girl to recount the events of earlier that evening.

“...and here I am drinking tea and eating apples without a care in the world. Well at least for a few days, that is.” Nikiru popped an a slice of fruit in her apple and leaned back on her elbows.

“You’re going back to the north pole?” Ty Lee asked. Nikiru tilted her head back and stared wistfully at the stars. “Yeah. I still have a duty to my people. But Yi Lin told me that everyone deserves a break every now and then, and she’s right. Heh, I almost forgot what it felt like to wear anything other than those puffy, fancy robes! But enough about me. I have a question to ask you, Yi Lin. It’s been in the back of my head ever since I met you and your friends.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Yi Lin asked, leaning in slightly.

Nikiru pointed a finger at her friend and asked her, “How did you guys run away from your home?”

“Good question.” Azula interjected. “I’m actually surprised this we never talked about this during your prior visits. How did you evade the Avatar and his allies?”

Hayoda sprung to his feet and launched into story-teller-mode. “I’ll handle this one! It all began one night after Irah’s birthday party. Our families were hanging out at Kyoshi and-”

Yi Lin rose up and placed a palm against her cousin’s chest. “Just wait a second! Nikiru asked me, you big rude loudmouth!” Yi Lin gave him a little shove as she finished.

“You’re a lousy storyteller. You jump all over the place and give everyone headaches. Besides this whole adventure my idea to begin with!”

“I’ll have you know that Nikiru loved every story I told her in the North Pole.”

“I guess ditzes of a feather flock together.” Hayoda upturned his chin.

“You-...you take that back! Don’t insult our guest like that. What has Nikiru ever done to you?” Yi Lin sniffled, feeling a little hurt for her newest friend.

“Children. Cease this foolishness immediately!” Azula rose her voice above the racket, pinching the bridge of her nose. The argument halted to a dead stop, Hayoda and Yi Lin returned to their seats and gave Azula their undivided attention. “Good. No need for incessant fighting. If you wish, all of you can tell your own version of the story. We have the whole night to ourselves, how does that sound?”

“Fine.” Yi Lin and Hayoda answered in concert. Tseng crossed his arms and put on a smug smile, Irah breathed a sigh of relief, Yue turned her eye back to the lens of her telescope. Nikiru stood up and withdrew a medallion out of her coin-purse. “Then it’s settled. I’ll flip this coin to decide who tells their story first. This medallion has an inscription for moon and ocean spirits. If it lands 'Twi’ side up, Hayoda goes first. It lands 'La’ side up, Yi Lin leads off. Ok?”

“Novel idea, Nikiru. Proceed.” Azula prompted the young noble as she re-crossed her legs. Nikiru flipped the medallion in the air, it landed on the grass near her feet. “Aaaand it’s ‘Twi’! Sorry Yi Lin.”

“Yes!” Hayoda cracked his knuckles. “So what happened was....”

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

“Yue. Psst. Yue wake up. It’s time. C’mon sis.” I whispered in Yue’s ear as I shook her awake. My sister yawned, she was so very tired! “Are we really going to do this?” She asked me “I’m excited, but I don’t want mom and dad to miss us.”

I patted the little squirt on her head and tied her hair back for her. I said ,“I thought we already talk about this, sis? You know how great this week has been with our cousins and Irah? Imagine that never ending! No waiting for next year’s reunion. No more listening to our parents tales of daring and danger. It’s time we made our own!” Yue hopped off the bed and pulled on her shoes.

“This is crazy. Cool, but crazy.” She looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes. “Let’s go, bro!”

“To the window!” I whispered as loud as I could as I boosted her out of the window of our bedroom.

I landed behind her on the grassy knoll outside. I sent Yue off to work her ‘magic’ with a certain Air Bison as I snuck over to the royal family’s guest house, dodging the Kyoshi Night Watch. I nearly got caught about 40 times or so, but I’m just too good at pokin’ my nose where it doesn’t belong.

There were a few guards standing around the perimeter of Irah’s digs, I made short work of them with my chi blocking, “WOOO, HAAA! POW!” And then I dumped them all in the bushes! Then I had to ‘extricriciciate’ Irah from-

Shut up, Tseng! I know how the word is pronounced! You wait your turn! Now where was I....

Yeah, in the days prior, Tseng and I rigged a trap door near Irah’s bed! One flick of a string a turn of a knob and then BLAMMO, one sleeping princess slid out into the midnight air complete with bed! I could have stared at the sleeping porcelain skinned beauty all night if I wanted to, but that would have been very creepy. And I don’t do creepy. So I woke her in a dignified manner, I pinched her royal nose shut!

Irah snorted herself awake and I covered her mouth just in case she forgot about the plan and called for the guards. I felt her giggle underneath my hand and I said, “Princess Irah, shall I rescue you from your boring life? A whole world of adventure awaits us.”

She placed the back of her hand on her forehead like this and she said, “Oh, rescue me you gruff water tribe warrior. Let us travel the seas!” So we ran off toward the shore after I slid her bed back into her house and covered our tracks!

We met up with Yue, Yi Lin, and Tseng at the boat. Just as planned. All the tinkering and rigging, and supply smuggling we did all week lead up to this one moment. We boarded our majestic ship and Tseng and I unfurled the prototype sail. Yi Lin charged up a powerful burst of air against the canvas and we sailing off toward the setting moon. Off toward our very own ADVENTURE!

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

Tseng blew a stray dreadlock out of his eyes. “Pfft, that’s it? That’s riddled with inaccuracies and contradictions and mispronounced words!” He protested.

“Mmm, perhaps, but it was exciting, wasn’t it?” Hayoda placed his hands on his hips and sat back down in the grass, duly proud of himself.

Azula rolled her eyes and took another sip of tea. Ty Lee shifted her weight slightly, she asked the group, “So...who’s next?”

>>72349
want MOAR!

>>72354
>>72354
>Yeah, in the days prior, Tseng and I rigged a trap door near Irah’s bed! One flick of a string a turn of a knob and then BLAMMO, one sleeping princess slid out into the midnight air complete with bed!

Wait, what?

>>72362

He's fibbing :3

It's a new episode of Hayoda being Hayoda.

>>72363
Even if it didn't happen, it's still awesome (and I especially appreciate seeing how Hayoda and Tseng would concoct schemes together in their pre-adventures days).

Oh and Mayekoi get yer bread-makin' butt in here, Yamino on dA has been asking when GJA's going to update again! >:|

Sabbatical over! Moving succeeded! Job aquired! Independence gained! Direction found!

What'd I miss?

>>72381
Us giving up hope that you would ever return.

>>72381
Save your cat. Be a hero.

Yue would.

>>72381

A wild Mayekoi appears! While you were out:

-A Place Called Hope part 3!
-Firebreathin' Dinosuar Danger Adventure (Cabbage Flower Island) round robin wrapped up
-Katara is 'officially' preggers and the kids know cuz Aang is a bro
-Irah taught Yue some math via TheDaiLi
-Various pieces about the gang getting ready for bed and their sleeping habits, including a heartwarming contribution by TDL
-Yue gained a level in Sagan (of sorts :3) via Mari
-Liesel arts, Eldestofthree arts, Milli arts, Zeshen art, TDL arts of sexual deviant!Nikiru
-The Hi Skool AU gjr went to DISNEYWORLD
-Some discourse on IRC about setting up a continuity using established stories. A timeline wound up being kicked around on the wiki's sandbox. Some ideas sprung up about how the kids got the ship, how they ran away in the first place, and how they found Po.

>>72382
We seem to do that a lot.

I'd just like to mention that over the winter break I'll be trying to get a lot more writing in general done, and I have a relatively long GJ story that's been bouncing around in my head for the last couple of days. I don't want to say anything just yet, but here are a few details:

-It will take place a few years before the kids run away.
-Not all of the kids will appear.
-A minimum of ten butts will be kicked, literally and/or figuratively.

>>72347

>Also, wouldn't a High School AU Christmas Special be nifty? This sounds like the sort of story that everyone could jump on at once and come up with a bunch of different and equally awesome stories.

Get a load of this!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
.
.
Sock-muffled footfalls echoed throughout the small hallway as Hayoda typed at a near-frantic pace to his guildmates. Hayoda sent a hurried farewell before he shut the game down and exited his room in record time. He stepped out into the the hall just in time to collide with his sister as she turned the corner. Yue fell back on her keister, the bundle of winter coats she held spilled about the corridor. “Hayoda! Sorry, I didn’t see you there. Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang are here and-”

“-You’re putting away their jackets, right?” Hayoda said as he gathered the damp outerwear into his arms and pulled his younger sister to a vertical base. The door at the end of the hall slung open, Irah stepped out of the bathroom and snapped her compact shut. “That’s a lot of coats. The gang’s all here, I gather?” She inquired as she set a hand on Hayoda and Yue’s shoulder.

Her eyes met Hayoda’s and then darted to the ceiling. His eyes followed her lead to the sprig of mistletoe hung in the middle of the hallway. His voice jumped a couple octaves in jest. “Oh dear, there’s three of us underneath the mistletoe. What-ever-shall-we-do?!”

Irah’s eyes narrowed. “I know just the thing, Hayoda.” She puckered up and closed in on Yue’s face. “Er- what?! Irah what is wrong with-”

“Pick a cheek, Irah!” Hayoda murmured in singsong ready to plant a wet one on the side of his sister’s face.

“Aww cut it out you guys! I- EEEEEEeee!” Yue tilted her face inward as Hayoda and Irah tugged her just a bit closer.

SSSS-MWUAH!

The kisses laid upon Yue’s cheeks reverberated about the house. Her eyelids widened with bashfulness as she shoved the rest of the coats into Hayoda’s arms. “We-We’re....all-in-the-living-room-dinner’s-ready-in-a-few-ok-bye!” She blurted out before she scampered off. The remaining teens giggled softly at her reaction. Their gaze floated toward the mistletoe once again.

Irah stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Hey Hayoda, we’re still under the- mmppphh!” Her words were cut short as he drew her mouth to his. They lingered there for a long moment. The coats could wait for a while.

Or so they thought

“Dinner’s on!” Suki announced. Hayoda and Irah broke their embrace and shared a knowing smile.

I should probably spoiler bump this too... How does one put the black spoiler tags over text here, anyway?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
>>72425
Tseng, Yue, and Jing watch the whole exchange while hiding. After Irah and Hayoda head to kitchen....
Jing: It's about time!
Yue: *sigh* I wouldn't get your hopes up. My brother's kind of...
Tseng: Hopeless, both of them are, when it comes to this sort of thing. They'll be back to status quo by the end of the night.
Jing: Wow. That's kind of pathetic.
Tseng: Yeah. You sort of get used to it.

  >>72427

{spoiler}This is a spoiler.{/spoiler}

replace the {}'s with []'s

For example:COME ON CHRISTMAS

Quick, someone give me a Christmas AU prompt for tomorrow night! I wanna write one more drabble along those lines and I can't settle on an idea.

As for more SRS Gjr matters, is anyone on board for the next part of the Running Away round robin?

>>72470

How about a Gaang jr. Highschool AU Snowball fight (we've done it with the characters but not with the high school AU)?

Probably only me did any of this, but whenever I headed north as a kid to my grandfathers for Christmas, we'd play a game of football in the snow, so what about a game of 6 on 6 (including some of the parents)?

>>72470
Typically, I'd suggest something along the lines of playing in the snow, were it not for the two or three such stories we have in regular GJr.

What about something with the hustle and bustle of each kid trying to complete their shopping (including various antics as they each try to keep it a secret from each other)? I wonder what each of the kids would get each other: who bought the perfect item from a store, who gave a homemade gift, and who threw their hands up in defeat and got someone a gift card.

>>72470
I don't have any ideas at all for the next part of that, so not me.

Hey how about about a story about the gang buying gifts for themselves...and they all "conveniently" meet up at the same marketplace...

So each one of them is trying to hide what they're buying for each other as the same time trying to sneak a peek on others...

It'd be like Jingle All The Way and some other movie...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Irah squinted at the canvas, to her reference photos, and back again. She was going to turn that blank slate into a painting and, damn it, it was going to be awesome and he would love it. In fact, by the way it was turning out, everyone would love it. A couple careful strokes of her brush placed fresh bands of color upon the canvas. She stepped back and looked upon her nearly finished creation. She chuckled at how ridiculous the subject matter was. A gentle rapping at her room’s ajar door interrupted her train of thought.

“Hey hun, how’s the painting coming along?” Zuko pushed the door open with the back of his hand. A shock traveled up Irah’s spine as she turned the easel away from the doorway and covered it with a sheet. “It’s almost done, Dad! Out! No peeking! No peeking!” She said as she fiddled about with her paintbrush and tapped her foot in annoyance.

The girl‘s petulance didn‘t faze him, Irah was always shy about showing anybody her Works In Progress. “Pff, relax Irah. I’m not here to peep at your painting. Your mother made some tea. Here, drink up.” He set the small, steaming beverage upon her desk. “But I wouldn’t mind taking a look at it when you’re finished.”

“Not this time, Dad. You’ll have to wait until Christmas like everyone else! Nyah!” Irah grasped the cup and stuck her tongue out.

“Aw c’mon , you won’t even make an exception for your old man?” Zuko asked, he folded his arms and leaned against the wall in mock-protest. Irah sipped her tea and set her cup down, she padded over to her dad and began to gently shove him toward the hallway. “Out! Out! Out!” The smiles never disappeared from their faces as Zuko was ‘escorted’ out of the room.

“Oh no! Ordered around my own house by my daughter. I have lost my honor!” He snickered as Irah playfully slapped him about his back. “Oh cut it out Dad, I have work to do! Call me when dinner’s ready.” She said as she closed the door behind him. Zuko walked partway down the hall back to the living room when he heard the door click open again. Irah poked her head out of her room. “And if you DARE peak, I will find out! I have my ways...muahahaha!” She laughed to herself, fingers strumming the doorframe. Irah slunk back into her room and closed the door once again.

At an early age Zuko knew ‘girls were crazy’, but Irah’s brand of ‘crazy’ seemed to match perfectly with his sense of humor and such exchanges like that always left him with a gigantic smile afterward. Mai always looked at him a little weird afterward, though.

Roughly half an hour later, Irah sat cross-legged on her bed and gazed upon her painting, sipping the last of her tea. It was ready for the holiday. She pored over any detail she might have missed, just in case. She was satisfied, though. Irah flopped back on her bed. What should she do now? Watch some TV? Go online and chat with Yi Lin or Nikiru? Start another piece? Right then, she heard the doorbell ring.

Irah rolled to her side and closed her eyes for a moment. Her mother’s call broke the silence. “Irah! Your friends Hayoda and Yue are here, they want to take you ice skating!” The teen leapt to her feet and stuck her head out of her room again. “Sounds great! I’ll be right down!” Irah slipped on her shoes and dug her coat, hat, and gloves out of the closet.

She took one last look at her painting before covering it with the sheet again. It was probably one of her most outlandish pieces ever. But Irah was sure Hayoda would love seeing a gigantic version of himself playing basketball against Godzilla, slam-dunking on him amidst some skyscrapers with all his friends, family, and Santa cheering him on from a nearby airship. Yeah, he would love that, indeed.

---------

“So, what did you get Irah for Christmas?” Yue asked her brother as they walked up the driveway to Irah’s house. Hayoda patted the lump of plastic that sat inside his coat’s inside pocket. “The gift of freedom!”

“You got her a Bed Bath and Beyond giftcard again, didn’t you?” Yue looked sidelong up at her sibling, Hayoda was stunned. “I- how- er- how did you know?”

“Ah, I guessed right!” She said as she slung a handful of snow at his chest. He tried to pull off her woolen hat in retaliation, but she kept him at bay with her arms. “Hey, hey, hey, I was just teasing, Hayoda! Besides, if you grab my hat I’m not gonna tell you what Tseng told me the other day.”

“About what?” Hayoda relented. Yue opened her eyes and lowered her arms, she cleared her throat. “Well, the other day he told me that Aunt and Uncle...” She raised on her toes and whispered the rest into her brother’s ear.

“How many Xbox points again?”

“...” She repeated the number in his ear again.

“Sweeeeet, thanks for the info...” He smiled broadly, hugging his sister close, he was already planning out how he was going to spend the points “...Let’s get Irah and go skate our asses off Yue!”

“Maybe we can teach Irah how to skate backwards tonight!” She exclaimed as she depressed the doorbell.

“It’s worth a shot. I have a feeling she'll finally get it right this time.”

>>72492
Haha. I got a good chuckle out of picturing Irah trying to ice-skate. And repeatedly landing on her butt.

And then I was, or what if Hayoda catches her, and I was like d'aaaaaaaw.

>>72492
Oh yes this is perfect. Delicious characterization.

Anyway, the first taste of my next fic is coming up in just a second, and it should contrast starkly with most of the other stuff being posted right now. Brace yourselves!

SECRETS IN THE WALLS OF THE CITY OF WALLS AND SECRETS: PROLOGUE

The setting sun cast long shadows throughout Ba Sing Se, shrouding the alleyway in gloom. This made no difference to the blind woman, and the five men surrounding her had eyes accustomed to the dark. Three of them stood a few yards behind her, daggers at the ready, while their leader and the seven feet of muscle that constituted his second-in-command faced her from the front.

“It was unwise of you to return to our neighborhood, Lady Bei Fong,” the leader chided, pronouncing the title “Lady” as condescendingly as possible. “We have waited three long years for our revenge.”

“Are you sure it’s been three years already?” Toph asked casually. “I’ve been through here at least once since then. You must have missed me.”

The muscle growled, but his superior silenced him with a raised hand. “Do not toy with us, Lady. As you no doubt can tell, we have you surrounded. And please take note that earthbending is banned in this area; the officials have such a hard time keeping the streets level. So feel free to use your special tricks, but I don’t think that your law enforcement friends will be pleased.”

“You think I need bending to take you mooks down?” Toph said, stepping forward.

The muscle rushed her, arms stretched wide, but as he closed the gap between them Toph brought her arm up with lightning speed and clutched at the flesh between his trunk-like legs. Before he could even cry out, she yanked the arm down again, bringing him to his knees and lining up his face for a solid punch.

As the brute collapsed onto his side, Toph spun around to grab the man charging her from behind. He brought his dagger down, giving her a shallow cut on her shoulder. With a grunt of pain and anger, she rotated again and used the momentum to fling her assailant. He landed on his own commander, who had been falling back ever since Toph made her first move, and the two went sprawling onto the ground.

The two scoundrels left standing were hesitant to advance, but after a quick glance at one another they ran forward, hugging the walls of the alley in an attempt to flank their target. Finding herself attacked from both sides, Toph snapped out her arms, managing to get a choke hold on both of her opponents’ windpipes. Then she brought her arms together, striking the men’s heads against each other with a dull thud.

Letting their unconscious bodies slump to the floor, Toph made her way over the whimpering muscle and to where the ringleader lay, still pinned under his own subordinate. She grabbed him by the ear, yanking his head up.

“Now, usually I don’t have time for punks like you, but right now I’m making it my job to keep these streets as safe as possible. Do you promise that you and your boys will play nice while I’m here?”

“Yes, yes we promise!” he stammered. “We’ll be good boys!”

“Perfect. And now it’s bedtime for good little boys,” she said, slamming his head into the ground.

Toph stood up, felt at her knife wound to make sure that it wasn’t bleeding too much, and started to leave.

“Wait!” said the man on top of the man that she had just knocked unconscious.

Toph stopped at the alley’s entrance. “Yes?”

“I… I think I love you,” the man said, awe and terror in his words.

Toph hesitated. “Well, good luck with that,” she said, and disappeared into the evening, leaving behind a quintet of pacified mobsters.

Wait, what?

I made a really piece of christmassy crap that is...crappy.

http://www.unowen.net/tegaki/dblog.php?u=35867&e=911430

I will make something more presentable at a later date.

I know that it's pretty different from the usual Gaang Junior story so far, but I'm writing this one with something special in mind.

And now this third bump is redundant thanks to Liesl and her adorableness, but Imma post it anyway. If you've already figured out the "hook" to this story, don't point it out without spoilers because I'm trying to keep this a least a little subtle.

>>72506
Hmm... I am curious....

>>72506

"Toph brought her arm up with lightning speed and clutched at the flesh between his trunk-like legs. Before he could even cry out, she yanked the arm down again..."

Awwww damn it hurt to read that that attack. I felt the pain! OMG TESTICULAR CLAW D: It seems very much like Toph to use that attack since she cracked Aang's nuts with his staff[ in the series.

I'm not noticing the "hook" so far, I'm very intrigued by this first part Genome. Very lively action scene you described there. Those last couple lines made me chuckle! Well done.

>>72508

Yi Lin, you're mussing Yue's glasses! Bad girl! Lols at 'preggers' on Katara forhead and her expression "sigh, again? :|", Aang's expression "Yep, again! We're having a baybeee! :D"

What's going on in the bottom left and right corners? Sokka left Suki for cactus juice? That hussy!

Here's my Christmas gift to all of you! :)

>>72518

that little stick-chase in the midst of Sokka and Hayoda trying to out-cocky each other made me grin

Just poppin' in outta the blue like usual--I can/WILL have more stuff for you guys latoi, and also there will be more Irah/Hayoda crap because I am clearly not biased toward a certain pairing in this story at all :|.

SO LOL HERE U GO.
http://www.unowen.net/tegaki/dblog.php?u=35867&e=918119

*Disappears into the night*

>>72564

HNNNNNGGGG, any Hayoda and Irah art is duly appreciated - and what do you think Darrshlee on about there with the reference to the 31st?

Passing by just to wish a Happy New Year to all the folks of Gaang Jr.

Keep up the funny stories, guys!

I just discovered that there's a shitton of GJr art on Tegaki :D that's so cute

Happy 2010, everyone.

Happy new year! New adventure?

>>72612
I saw that too! It's pretty adorable seeing the antics Darshlee, Liesl, and Chomoco are getting themselves up to. :3

I'm so sorry I've been absent and lazy and all that -- it's just that between having my wisdom teeth out and this terrible cold that's been bugging me for weeks, I haven't been able to focus my mind. So I can't make any promises yet, but progress will come eventually...

>>72638

LOL WUT MARITOVA IM SORRY I DON'T KNOW WUT UR TALKING ABOUT :|

Oh no, wisdom teeth though? Ouch, I have to get those done this year....but not now. Definitely not now.

>>72640
Eh, they aren't that bad. It depends on how you react, but I was only really out of it for like 3 days.

'Sup guys!

Decided to stop being so shy and delurk/anon again(I was that one anon that made those season 3 designs a while ago. yeah, I want to overhaul those...) Anyway, I made these for y'all as a New Year's present, but I missed it. :<

http://wafflejones.deviantart.com/art/Snow-Owl-Puunch-149000014
http://wafflejones.deviantart.com/art/EVERYBODY-WAS-SNOWBALL-FIGHTIN-149001610
and http://wafflejones.deviantart.com/art/Tea-time-with-Yue-149003193

>>72652

This art is awesome and you should feel awesome. Thanks very much for sharing, wafflejones. I find it hard to pick a favorite out of the three!

>>72652
Yay, delurking! I always like knowing who I'm talking to. Your art looks awesome.

>>72653
>>72656

(Oop! Forgot to thank you guys here) Thanks! As for the stuffed doll, I'm going with an Appa.

Um...polite sage? :B *is a newb*

There's no such thing as being a newb in this place.

Instantly you're a PRO!

My first attempt at tegaki http://www.unowen.net/tegaki/dblog.php?u=90979&e=929879

>>72680

I saw this and instantly though LION KING.

"Fiyah' flies....that got stuck up in that big blueish black thing."

>>72681
Which of course, makes me think of the Princess and the Frog now...

What is it with those two and Disney references I mean seriously

What, you mean like this?

>>72683
Because they're pretty much the classic Disney/fairy tale/etc couple.

GUESS WHO'S BACK?

I can't believe I ever left you guys...

>>72712
Hi Deaf!

>>72712
I'm afraid you've come back in the middle of a slow drag buddy.

We've *been* in a slow drag for almost forever.

Good to see you again, Deaf.

>>72712

'Sup Deaf? How ya doin, man? Welcome back to the fold, we loves us some participation!

In tangentially related news, I recently watched all of Firefly with various plus4 bros and sis's. Spoiler for those who aren't familiar with Firefly/Serenity Maritova posed to me how Simon & River kinda resembled Tseng & Yi Lin (mature, uptight healer brother & loopy, kinda brilliant- each in their own way - sister. I can't get it out of my head! Thanks A LOT Mari :3

>>72725
>I recently watched all of Firefly
Good. Now go buy the DVDs. If you want to be a real man, buy them twice so you have a second set to loan out to friends who haven't seen it yet.

Just whatever you do, don't watch the movie.

>>72742
Eat a dick, the movie was awesome. The story was a bit packed, but given the circumstances is that surprising at all?

>>72725
You're welcome :3 I seriously can't unthink Simon and Tseng's similarities, and I think it's affected how I think of Yi Lin. I really do like to imagine her as being a little more actually unhinged.

Anyway, this evening I had a little image I was toying with in my mind, so I spit this out just to try and grease the ol' writing gears again. It's shit and I didn't edit it and I don't plan on expanding this particular thing, but oh well we could use whatever.



The sun shined on the open sea, unhindered by clouds in the bright sky that was almost a parody of itself in its undiluted blueness, like the bold colors of a child's coloring set. It was a perfect day -- or it would have been, were the Blue Flame not presently busy having holes blown in it by cannon fire.

"Two more on the port side!" Hayoda screamed, gesturing at the equally screaming projectiles as they hurtled toward his ship. Without even pausing to nod, Tseng broke into a sprint across the deck, feet pounding as he cleared the distance to the railing, right where one cannonball was clearing the distance to him. For a brief instant he pondered the chain of events that had led him to charging at full speed toward something that through steel and shrapnel could easily gut him, but by that point he had already vaulted off the side of the Blue Flame.

Turning himself around in the air and swinging his arms in front of him in a dive, he was dimly aware of Po near him, taking care of the second cannonball. Solid iron glanced against dark scales, deflecting it just enough to exchange a sure bruise for the safety of the Blue Flame as the cannonball scratched along the hull in vain. A thought of just how Tseng was going to heal the creature's injury through its scales passed through his mind before he hit the surface, muffling the sounds of chaos with that rush of water that seemed to stop everything.

Swirling one arm and letting his Waterbending feel out the element that surrounded him, he thrust his hand surfaceward, palm open and flat, feeling the liquid solidify at his fingertips. He could head the faint sound of ice breaking the surface of the tropical sea, just a second before a heart-shaking thump as the cannonball smashed into it, no doubt sending a spray of ice across the Blue Flame. The thump ended with the sickening sound of metal meeting wood, but there was no cracking, no splintering, and in the water currents Tseng felt the ball drop past him into the depths. The wall had done its job.

>>72746
Ahhahahaha I guess that should be "the sun shone" goddammit it's almost 3am.

But anyway, something I like doing is just taking the characters and throwing some danger at them and then forcing myself to find a way out of it. So I thought it might be fun to prompt each other with some sort of perilous situation for a character and for others to write a little something about how that character gets out of it. If anyone thinks this would be fun, here's something:

Pirates are attacking the Blue Flame at sea (clear skies, no islands nearby). A series of grappling hooks swing over the side, fixing themselves onto the railing. A band of pirates, with knives in their teeth and plunder in their eyes, are starting to climb along the ropes.

Yue is the one who sees this, and the one who has to respond (all the other kids are busy dealing with other parts of the attack). It's on the ship, and the only available Earth is whatever would reasonably be on the Blue Flame. If there's anything on the deck nearby that's useful, she can use it, but the pirates will be on the ship very quickly, and it's doubtful she'll be able to take on all of them once they're ready for battle. What does she do?

So, because I'm super motivated this week, you might get the next installment of that comic sometime next week :)

I feel some degree of Win! is in order here. But whatever. I'm just pumped I got this out when I said I would.

>>72873
Hahaha, oh that's awesome. Hayoda's face in panel 2 is a manifestation of pure joy.

Also I love Sokka's design (particularly his upper-armbands).

>>72875
The design comes from a picture someone did on the Gaang Jr. wiki of older Sokka. :)

>>72873

Excellent! Productivity feels great, doesn't it? I like Hayoda's 'lil bastard' expression in the second panel.

Mind if I offer a little con-crit?

-Panel one: Sokka's forearms. They seem too skinny and a bit stunted. His right arm in general seems to be T-Rexing, there.

-Panel four: Oh no! space sword is 'wilting'!

Hey there Long time Lurker.
bring arts.
It's ayoung Yi Lin in my poopy style.

>>72886
From the thumbnail, I thought she had huge knockers.

Nice drawing, though.

>>72878
Gah! Space sword will be fixed. You're correct, it appears to be crooked.

>>72886

Awwww, sweet drawing. That little smirk kinda indicates that this is probably one of the first times she's painted on the arrow. "Just like dad!"

Thanks for post and your delurk, Chomocho! Don't be a stranger, ok?

>>72888

Space Sword is made from the hardest and sharpest metal known to man, eo3. Only Wang Fire is able to manipulate it. Not with any mere primitive 'tool', but with his sheer will.

Wait a sec, have you grown a rather large beard and mustache in the past week, per chance?

“Isn’t this great you guys? I told you we’d arrive just in time for the festival opening! Sword-swallowers, contortionists...hey we should get Aunt Ty Lee to come here next time, I’m sure she can pick up a few new tricks from these guys...”

Irah weighed heavily into her next step to disguise her sway. Oh this wasn’t good. She was babbling. Babbling like a doof. Babbling nonsense. It was supposed to be Yi Lin who was babbling nonsense, not her.

Taking a cursory glance back as her mouth ran on auto-pilot, she could see that the airbender wouldn’t be taking up such a role anytime soon. Stoically silent, with the occasional regretful glance around at all the fun she’d normally be capering off into. Only the occasional glance mind you; her eyes seemed to favour the ground more due to the weight of her eyelids. Everyone’s did.

No sleep. Still no sleep. No arguing, which was a plus, she guessed, but there hadn’t been any talking either. Not for about two days now. Everyone’d kept to themselves more or less. Tried some repairs, maybe. Tried to catch a doze if they could. They couldn’t. Or at least she couldn’t. Irah thought there must be alot of tension around; a thought that worried her not because of any potential tension, but because she hadn’t been able to deduce if there was any or not. She was normally so sure. It was...

She shook her head, trying to restart a sentence that had meandered into slurring.

...It was getting hard to think of those things. Of, uh...of definite articles. Her head wasn’t pounding anymore, but there was this feeling, this scratched feeling, like nails were raking over her thoughts. It was all compressed there, in her head. Dense.

“So there’s sword-swallowers like I said, and there’s a ton of group activities we can all do together, oh, and don’t worry Tseng I already sorted out the boat, I asked the people at the harbour to...”

No, no she didn’t. At least she didn’t think she didn’t. Did?

Irah pressed her hand against a post, taking a moment for the world to snap back into place.

“Umm...Irah, are you okay?”

She jerked her head up, looking back to her friends. Hayoda had said that. He hadn’t said much, recently. Maybe she should take time to get stop by the side to be- to get her bearings more often, if it got him talking again.

Yue was looking at her too, but Irah could still see her thinking behind her glasses. She’d been thinking an awful lot lately. Well, she was ALWAYS thinking, but this...it didn’t seem healthy. It seemed...ominous? Or something. Nevermind.

“I’m fine.” She stressed, over-composing herself, “I was merely attempting to ascertain the location of...ah. Over there.”

She pointed, and strode, towards a small tent planted in front of a stage-scaffolding, off on one side of the town square. Alot of strangely dressed and determined people had come and gone between its garishly coloured flaps; it had to be where everyone signed up to do their performances for the festival. Excellent. She had sent a messenger hawk off while she was still cognizant to inform On Ji of their arrival, and her old teacher was to meet them within that marquee sometime soon this morning. It also provided an excellent opportunity to get everyone back on speaking terms, as they had to decide on a name for their performing-

The world hazed as a heavy fog scraped across her thoughts.

“Guh.”

She shook it off. No no no. Be professional. Behave. Just hold it together for a little longer, Irah. Come on. Then you’ve got a nice comfy bed waiting for you at...at...at On Ji’s. At On Ji’s.

She didn’t look back until entering the tent, trusting everyone to follow on after her, even though they looked like they wanted to be anywhere other than where they were. She bit back a grimace at that. Spirits; they were making her angry now. Kiss and make up already, you’re ruining the plan.

“Ah, here we are. Over here guys, the sign-up table’s this way.”

She cringed at her own words, then cringed at her cringing. She didn’t think...didn’t think she was the kind of person to showboat her self-chastisement like that. Better to glide those imperfections under a calm ven- vene-...expression.

She waited in line, behind a couple of brightly daubed twins both in their early twenties. A balancing act, most likely. Irah wanted to burn a line straight to the desk, but a semblance of order had to be entertained under these circumstances. Curious, she glanced back again to see how her own troupe were faring.

Tseng seemed interested, but distant. Yi Lin and Hayoda were pointedly not looking at each other, but not in the usual ‘I’m not talking to you, you big dunderhead’ kind of way. There was something else afoot that Irah couldn’t pin down.

Yue was...thinking.

Irah almost rocked forwards into the twins, a shift in the queue allowing an involuntary step to save her from tumbling.

That was weird. Her teeth were tingling. Had she eaten today? Yesterday? Oh, right, they hadn’t had much time to stock up on supplies, so she’d been slyly meting her food out to the others by cycling it back into the stockpile. Didn’t seem like that good of an idea right now. Did it? No it certainly-

“Next.”

“Yes!” She announced loudly, switching to something humbler as she approached the table, “Yes, that is we. Us. We’d like to sign up to perform on the seventh day.”

“Really,” The old man replied, curt and bored, “Just like everyone else in the line? Alright, give me your group’s name.”

Ah yes. The moment had arrived. Turning, Irah beamed at-

“-No.”

...What.

Yue repeated herself.

“No. I’m not play-acting in the same group as HIM!” She shouted, thrusting a damning finger at Tseng, “Not until he apologises!”

There was a dumb silence throughout the tent. Irah smiled at Tseng to reply. Come on.

“I...”

Come on.

“...I...”

Tseng grit his teeth.

“I have NOTHING to apologise for! If anyone’s to blame it’s your brother for starting in the first place!”

“MY brother?! What about YOUR sister?!”

“Oh yeah you’ve no problem dragging her off for your stupid little earth-bending shows but she’s just-”

“-STUPID SHOWS? You’re one to-”

-a PAIN when it suits you-”

“-talk with your clingy Jing-”

“-to call her one isn’t- DON’T YOU [b]DARE[/b[ BRING JING-”

“-kissy-facing around the deck and YOU don’t tell me what to do-”

And it kept on going. And Irah just...let it.

There were things that the princess managed to pick up on over the ten minutes that followed. Little things, the only things that could squeeze in through the static her mind was generating. Slim stilettos of fact. Hayoda and Yi Lin barely said a word...possibly shocked into silence. There was something about everything, from over-watering a plant to getting dirt all over a map. Something about being on different teams. Leaving.

No, wait, go back a second. Teams? Leaving?

She felt the words in the air around her.

“You want your ‘adventure’?! FINE. Me and Yi Lin, you and Hayoda, and we’ll SEE who makes the better show!! And it’ll be my LAST adventure either way!!”

No, don’t do that.

“FINE; I was sick of travelling with you anyway!!”

No.

They stomped by her, snatching quills to carve their names onto the sheet.

Wait.

She made to turn as they blazed out the tent, leaving their older siblings glaring at one another; silently deciding to share both the blame and the challenge.

Wait. Please.

They were gone before Irah could raise an arm to stop them.

Please.

The man behind her was talking. Talking to her. She didn’t know what he was saying. Her arm finally jerked up as her reactions realigned with her senses, then left it half-hanging there as they drifted out of synch again. The room tilted, the tingling in her teeth teasing sharper breaths from her lungs.

Thinking little Yue. No sleep. No...plan. There has to be a plan for this.

The tent opened again. Now the man was talking to the person who came though. The person who came through was talking to her.

She should have gotten angry at them. A quick burst of cold anger would have snapped them all into line. Just a short one. She was neutral. They would have listened to her. They would.

She jerked again, recognising the person talking to her. A woman. She was touching her arm, bringing it down.

“Irah? What’s going on? What happened? Where are your friends?”

The princess stared through her, back towards the tent opening. Gone.

“Irah, talk to me!”

Her mouth opened slightly, tongue touching the back of her teeth as the tingling spread to the base of her neck. She was panting; her breaths felt as heavy as her head. She could have stopped them. She could have made it alright.

“...I...”

She felt her head shake slightly and tears press themselves into her eyes.

“...I really messed things up, On Ji. I r-really...messed up s-so...”

Irah’s teetered, her body burning out along with her drive; burning up along with her emotions.

“...Munh...”

On Ji caught her, folding the young princess into a hug, letting her cry, scream, faint...whatever Irah needed, she would take care of it.

Whatever she needed.

>>72918

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

Rubbing his face free of exhaustion, Tom-Tom looked over the report Janchen had handed to him during his short stop at the bridge. He’d already been to the medical bay to check up on the soldier who’d been left behind stranded on a rocky outcrop for a day and a half; although he hadn’t suffered any damage too severe, it was obvious the children hadn’t thought far enough ahead to consider how this one man, injured and without provisions, would survive more than one night on a rock in these waters. Just another reason to stop them as soon as possible.

Acknowledging a couple of passing shipmates with a nod, the young captain slinked down another flight of stairs to the engineering deck, the next place on his checklist to evaluate; the harpoons, the boiler and the engine. Judging from Janchen’s report the lieutenant had already received an update on progress with the weapons undergoing repair in one of the side-rooms, as well a rough completion time for the engine. Infact, the engine was...

He paused to read a line over again.

...That can’t be right.

Folding the report away he passed by the storage area they’d set up to fix the harpoons in and headed for the open hatch to the engine room. An explanation was in order.

He managed to get it before even looking in the room.

“Are you absolutely sure that’s broken? Looks fine to me.”

“No, it’s trash,” Came a very...’distinct’ voice in reply, “There’s a thing down over on this side and the bits in the middle are all jumbly. See?”

“...Well, I can notice the seam now and I think I know what you mean about the other part. Alright; I’ll get a replacement, you fish it out.”

“Aye aye!”

Tom-Tom closed his eyes for a moment. Well, that was that bit of curio answered. Turning, he supposed he should go check out the harpoons ov-

“-Oh, Captain!”

Suppressing a wince, Tom-Tom turned back to greet his chief engineer. The man’s apparel, from headband to apron to boots, was covered in grease and oil from dismantling the wreck; the only clearly white things visible being his eyes, which shone bright out of a rather sooty skin-tone; no doubt from working on the exhaust ports.

He had also gained a rather pleased smile on his face.

“Master Chen. I take it the repairs are going well?”

The captain noticed that all sounds of work in the engine-room had halted. His approach had been masked by preoccupied enthusiasm, but now all ears...and feet...were on him.

“Things are going alot better than I imagined, now that Captain Toph is helping out with things,” The older man admitted, “All we need is for her to flick the damn thing to see if a part needs replacing, or a little tweak to fuse any cracks...we can even mold pipes and fittings to their proper sockets without having to improvise with tools we don’t have! At this rate we’ll have the whole thing, boiler and all, done in a couple of days instead of a couple of weeks.”

“So the report says.” Tom-Tom replied, affording the engineer a tight grin, “Well, don’t let me keep you. We still have a mission to accomplish afterall.”

“By your leave, Captain.” Chen saluted before passing by, heading for one of the cargo holds to rummage some parts out of their containers.

Tom-Tom stayed where he was, looking at the open hatch to the engine room with narrowed eyes. Expectant. Daring the silence to break.

It didn’t.

He turned around and headed back up the corridor. He hadn’t finished his ship inspection, and there were people who he wanted to talk to. No sense in keeping them waiting.

>>72919

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


Hayoda lay on the grass, stroking at his stubble. He’d woken up this afternoon rather surprised at the fact he had stubble, and was determined to make the most out of this rare commodity before he needed to once again be presentable and heroic. One day he hoped the stubble would grow sufficiently fast and thick to allow for both heroics AND facial hair. Ah well; baby steps.

Down from his place on the hill, he watched Yue take her time washing in the stream; just head, hands and feet for now, he might ask her to practice her bending by making them a bath later on in the day (depending on how dirty they got).

The two had decided not to rest in the ship (not that they could anyway) and to escape away from the rest of the crew, finding a nice little place to camp out in just outside of town. Hayoda supposed that it was also to serve as the practice area for their performance. Whatever that was going to be.

Now that they’d had a goodnight’s sleep and food though, Hayoda fancied he could see an awful lot of regret on his sister’s face for what went on yesterday. Heck, he could hardly blame her, it’d been a terrible week for everyone; the only person who had kept it together was Irah. Speaking of, he should probably do something nice for her after all of this washes over. Or at least thank her for not shouting at him like everyone else did.

Despite all of that though, he was feeling almost...cheery, today. Perhaps it was the excitement of the festival finally hitting him or the relief of their escape catching up with him, but he felt like he could forgive anything. Yi Lin was just being herself, Tseng didn’t really mean what he said, surely...

His smile dropped slightly as Yue finished, pulling her clothes on and making her way over to him, face still buried in a towel. Well, even if he could forgive anything, that didn’t mean she had to. Or could. Maybe it was the drain from all the shouting, but he was perfectly lucid (if a little bummed) during that last slanging match. He thought, at the time, that it would be good to let her vent her feelings out....but he had no idea how bad it would end up being. He’d never seen Yue get like that. He probably never would again. And now that she had managed to finally get a good night’s rest, he was concerned over how she herself was taking it.

“Hey sis.” He nodded, smiling, “Sleep well?”

“Mmm...”

She stopped infront of him, cupping the towel under her nose as she looked at her brother pensively.

“...Hayoda?”

“Yeah?”

“You, um...you don’t have to do this, you know. This performance thing.”

He tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow as she continued speaking through the cotton mouthpiece, lowering her eyes.

“I-I mean, I dragged you into this, an’ I was so mad at Tseng yesterday, but I could maybe go apologise to him so you don’t have to do this stupid thing with me. It’s not your fault, I was just tired, and I don’t have a plan on what to do or anything, so-”

“-Oh so THAT’S the problem!”

She looked back up at him, confused at the relief on his face.
“So we just don’t have any script or idea of what we’re doing, right?” Hayoda reasoned, “But that’s fine; we’ve never really had a plan before, have we?”

“W-Well, no, but that-”

“So we’ll improvise.”

Yue looked to the side, and hugged the towel a little closer to her.

“O-okay, but that’s not what I-”

Hayoda didn’t let her finish; having bounded up from his resting place on the grassy embankment to put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. That was quite enough of that.

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. C’mere,” He smiled, drawing her to him and moving his hand up to her still-wet hair, “I know Tseng didn’t mean what he said back on the ship.”

“That still makes him mean for saying it.” She huffed, now into his chest rather than into the towel.

“Heh, maybe, but I’m sure you straightened him out. Who knew my widdle baby sister could be so scary?

“I’m not scary,” Yue pouted, “And I’m NOT a b- ak! Hey, don’t fuss my hair, it gets frizzy! Hayodaaaa!”

“Fine, fine...but we still need to loosen up for today’s practice, soooo...”

“Ah! Nonono don’t tickle mhahahaha!! No fair, stop eheheit! You meanie! I’m n-not hahahahaha!! I’m not gonna ever defehehend you ever again!!”

“Well I hope you never have to agai-“

FWAP.

“Argh!” Hayoda dramatised, clutching at his clothy face, “Caught-...off- guard! Towel-...on- head! Cannot-...see!! MUST- HAVE- VENGEANCE!!”

“Ahahah nooo!”

The last couple of weeks had been hard. The last couple of days had been unbearable. And Hayoda knew that they would all have to deal with it eventually...if that were even possible.

But now wasn’t the time for worrying about any of that. They could improvise later. Right now, they had an afternoon to enjoy...and he had a sister to give some serious noogies.

Keeping the towel on his head, Hayoda followed the laughing shrieks.

Oh yeah. Some real serious noogies.

>>72920

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

“You’re not angry with me, are you?”

Yi Lin looked out across the townscape, waving her legs over the edge of the cliff she was sat on.

“...I don’t know. Maybe.”

Tseng paused in his rummaging through supplies to glance over at his sister with a look that managed to be both incredulous and solemn.

“Maybe? You’re not a ‘maybe’ kinda girl ‘Lin.”

“Hmm.”

He huffed, shook his head and dove back into one of the rucksack’s they’d taken from the ship. The other two packs lay already divested of their belongings; tent pegs and cooking utensils strewn across the ground next to a couple of sleeping bags. They didn’t have the energy to set it all up before going to bed, Yi Lin remembered, but they wanted to be...away, from everyone. Or Tseng did.

“I was just sticking up for you, y’know.”

“Yeah.”

“And that with the lack of sleep didn’t help things.”

“I know.”

Tseng pulled his arm out of the bag, clutching a handful of scrolls to peruse. A brisk look later and he sighed, throwing them over his shoulder so he could get more out, the discarded sheets rolling into the airbender’s back.

Yi Lin wasn’t paying attention to him or the scrolls. She was still trying to sort everything out in her own head. The last few days had been cloudy at best. Muted. Placated. There wasn’t any zest or animation in anything she’d done, and it brought a rather grey taint to her memories that she couldn’t quite shake. Even now, after a good long rest, away from sour thoughts of ship and sea, she still felt a little drained.

“...”

Tseng stopped looking, giving the sack a frustrated punt and settling down on the floor, the two siblings back to back.

“...”

Yi Lin was trying to think of the things Irah talked about. Sword-swallowers and contortionists and the like. Ty Lee would have appreciated them, she said. That’d probably mean she’d need to bring Azula along as well, somehow. She’d have to try and talk with her to allay her problems about going, or doing something outside her comfort zone. Finding a solution to make her feel better.

Yi Lin wondered about that...wondered how she’d try to impress such an opinion on one so close to her and yet so stubborn, how she would try and fix things so that all her relative’s concerns could be allayed with words. How could she?

She wished Irah were here to so she could talk to her about it. But she was probably back at the ship with Yue and Hayoda.

She turned her head to look at Tseng, sat in a pose that would suggest relaxation were it not for the fact he was looking at the floor and not the sky. He was thinking stuff over, trying to judge whether or not it was a good idea to keep on doing this, or whether he should say anything...whether he should be dragging her into it instead of pushing her away and going it alone.

A sudden thrill of urgency ran through her.

“Hey, Tseng.” She called out, air-jumping to sit next to him, “What...umm...what were you looking for, just then?”

“Oh? Oh I was...looking for a play. Something we could perform for the festival.” He replied, frowning.

“Ah! Well,” Yi Lin fumbled, trying to catch onto this thread before he yanked it away, “What did you have in mind?”

“I have a copy of Quinlo around here somewhere, I thought we could have done a couple of-“

“-Quinlo! Pfft, boriiiing. That’s just some silly political drama or something, right? We should do something like The Cabbage Man, I even know some of the lines already!”

Tseng looked back at her plainly. Yi Lin tried the widest smile she knew how to do. He opened his mouth to say that she wasn’t doing a very good job of distracting him, that she was failing, once again, to be there for him when he needed her, and then to blame the whole sorry mess all on lack of sleep and call it quits.

She kept on smiling.

“...”

He closed his mouth and looked away, snorting a breath out as he shook his head. His eyes, though, were shining for the first time in a long while. A corner of his mouth twitched gratefully.

Then he considered her idea.

“The Cabbage Man,” He started, “Has a cast of thirty-three people, with a minimum of five per scene. How do you expect us to do that?”

“You, uh, can use water-bending to make ice-puppets or something! And they’d move all like, woosh!”

“No no no, that’s dumb.”

“Why?! We saw a firebender make a dragon once!”

“Yes but it didn’t have talking parts did it? It’s dumb and you should feel dumb; we’re doing Quinlo.”

“But it’s boooorrrriiiinnnggg!!”

“It’s only boring to you because there’s no romance in it...and how do you expect us to do the romance in The Cabbage Man anyway, we’re brother and sister!!”

“Well I thought you could dress as-“

“-I’d ...rather not hear, actually...”

>>72921

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

“Uhh...”

Oooh, her head...

Irah scrunched her eyes shut and turned away from the sun, tugging the blanket up over her face. Ugh...wasn’t the sun supposed to be good for firebenders? At least she was comfortable.

There was a taste at the back of her mouth. Slightly tangy, like a spicy...soup?

The bewildering flavour jarred the rest of her senses into action, her mind rushing through the past couple of days as she jerked awake, using one hand to help squint through the light as she cradled her head with the other.

What happened? Where was she? The last she could properly remember, they’d gone into the tent, then Yue said something...

She focused on the blankets she was immersed in until her eyes adjusted. Red, patterned and warm; quite nice even if it wasn’t of royal quality. Sweeping hair out of her face, she looked away from the window and into the rest of...the...

“...On Ji?!”

The woman gave a yelp and a jump, startled out of her nap in the chair next to the sofa.

“Irah? Ah, you’re awake, I’m so glad!” The teacher sighed, shifting forwards to give Irah a hug, “I was beginning to worry.”

Irah awkwardly returned the embrace, feeling a little out of sorts sharing one with a teacher; even if it was her favourite one. Backing up so only her hands were being held, Irah regarded her apparent savoir with some confusion, as if the whole image was ‘off’ somehow. She wasn’t wearing her teaching apparel, instead some loose vest and shorts combo. Her hair was down too. She looked...a lot younger than she usually did.

On Ji’s face moved from relief to concern, and she put a hand to Irah’s forehead.

“...Headaches?”

“Y-Yeah...” Irah replied dumbly.

“That’s because you haven’t been eating,” She tutted, “It’s a wonder you haven’t caught anything; I’ll go fix some more soup.”

More?

“Ah, wait...” Irah started, shakily sitting up on her couch, “I, uh...what’s going on? Where are my friends?”

“I was hoping you’d bring them up,” On JI frowned before lightening again, “I’ll be back in a minute, then we’ll talk. I’d very much like to know what kind of ‘friends’ you’ve been making if they would leave you all alone in that state.”

Irah didn’t really have a reply for that. Luckily it seemed her teacher didn’t want one either, and got up to work in the nearby kitchen without a even a quirk of her brow. Hmm. Soup would require a fire to heat it. Was she a firebender too? Irah had never thought to ask, and there’d never been cause for her to use it in their lessons...

Looking down at herself, she realised with some embarrassment that she’d been stripped to her undergarments at some point, her bulky armour over on the other side of the decently furbished room. There was some vague image of her coming into this house, she thought, more talking or...

The plan. She remembered the plan.

“Alright,” On Ji smiled as she came back through the door, “I’ve got another hot bowl of- whoa whoa whoa what’s the rush?!”

Setting the soup down she grabbed Irah by the shoulders, preventing her from hefting her chestplate into place.

“Please, I need to straighten things out with everyone,” Irah explained, looking for her other boot, “I’ve got to-”

“You’re doing nothing of the sort young lady.”

“B-but I haven’t even ordered the ship-”

“-Repairs? I took care of that.” On Ji sighed, guiding her back to the sofa, “Chu, the man in charge of the festival performances, told me everything that happened. And I gathered the ship stuff from the things you were saying.”

“Oh.” The princess replied, letting herself be sat down as her mind raced through her many, many problems.

“Here.”

Irah took the soup, but didn’t make an effort to consume it.

“Eat.”

Irah looked up to her teacher for a second before relenting to her expression, taking a light sip from her spoon. A spicy fire nation dish that she knew well, which left a distinctive tang on the back of her...

“...You fed me?”

“I didn’t have much choice,” On Ji admitted, “You needed to eat something.”

They spent a few minutes in silence as the princess mechanically worked through her soup.

“...How long was I asleep?”

“Only a day and a half, thankfully. You pretty much collapsed where we were in the tent, and kept on dozing on and off until I carried you here. I had a healer friend of mine visit too, but he said it was nothing serious...”

“Oh...”

Not really knowing what to say Irah decided to take in her surroundings in lieu of conversation, looking around what she supposed must be the living room of On Ji’s house. Nice carpeting, tasteful paintings, few but refined furnishings. A headband framed on the wall?

“You, uh, have a very nice house, teacher.”

“Thanks,” She laughed slightly in reply, “But you can just call me On Ji here, not teacher; term’s over now, right? Particularly for you, so I hear.”

Irah kept the spoon in her mouth, letting her eyes ask her question instead. On Ji gave another quiet laugh at the expression.

“No, I haven’t told anyone and I’m not going to. Don’t worry, your dad isn’t coming to pick you up or anything just from this little scare. I know that sometimes kids do these sorts of things.” She explained, her gaze drifting towards the framed headband for a second before focusing back in on the conversation.

“Thankyou,” Irah said, finishing the bowl off and standing again, “I...you’ve already done so much for me. But now I need to find my friends. There are...I made alot of mistakes with them, and I need to set them right.”

“No.”

“...N-No?”

On Ji stood up as well, hands on hips.

“No. I heard about what happened, remember? And I don’t care what you have or haven’t done, it’s obvious to me that you’re taking too much on yourself; like you always do.”

“That’s not true...” Irah mumbled, feeling a flush come to her face.

“Really? Then when was the last time you did something for yourself?”

“I...I drank some tea, a few days ago...”

On Ji frowned down at her. Irah shifted uncomfortably. Maybe she was right, a sip of tea probably wouldn’t balance out everything else that had gone on, but...they needed her. And she needed them to stay together.

“You’re not going to have much time to babysit them this week anyway.” On Ji added with a knowing smile, “Not when there’s practicing to be done.”

Irah regarded her strangely for a second before her teacher’s words really sank in.

“You didn’t.”

“I sure did.” She grinned back, weirdly reminding the princess of the Avatar for a second.

“But- why?!” Irah shouted, mortified, “Why sign me up to the festival?! On my own too?!”

“Because,” On Ji sighed, laying her comforting hand on her again, “You’re stressed. You’re frazzled. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. And I think you need to cut loose a little. Get away from it all for a few days.”

Irah ran a hand through her hair and looked at the space between them, not even noticing her headache dying off. Was she right? Well, maybe, but then it still wasn’t Irah’s place to impose like this. She had responsibilities.

“My friends,” She attempted again, “They need-”

“-They NEED,” Her teacher emphasised, pushing Irah back down onto her seat as she fixed her with a sharp stare, “To appreciate just how much you do for them. If they really are your friends then I’m sure they’d be happy for you to take a break...and if they really are family, then they can sort things out by themselves just this once. Or they should, else there’s no point in them being together anyway.”

“But...”

“No. Buts.”

Irah didn’t have the strength to argue anymore. Fine, the teacher wins. Falling back into the sofa that had doubled as her bed, she let out a long, low breath of surrender as On Ji retook her seat across from her. The act felt...unnervingly good, like she was breathing out a lifetime’s worth of concerns; like she was back in school on the dancefloor and only had to let herself follow through the steps, listen to the drums, the horns...

She looked at her teacher, wondering if the older woman had planned something like this from the very start or not.

“...What am I doing?” Irah finally asked, resigned to her fate.

“Well,” On Ji replied, slipping into tutor-mode, “It’s a bit too late for us to work on something completely new, so you’ll be doing the last dance we rehearsed, the Chianga.”

Irah felt her face flush again. The Chianga? Really? That one wasn’t even on the curriculum list; it was just something optional they’d practised after hours. But, On Ji’s logic couldn’t be faulted; it was the last one that they’d worked on...and she could use the exercise anyway.

“We’ll start a little later,” The older woman decided, looking out of the window, “When you’ve stretched your legs a little. Until then, want to have a look around town? There are some excellent bending shows on in the morning and a couple of shops we can look through.”

For the first time since waking up, Irah smiled back, remembering just why she’d come in the first place. Her friends should know where she is if they had bothered to listen to her, and she could just go back to the boat to find them if she needed to.

“Alright then,” She agreed, “That sounds nice.”

>>72922

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


It had been five days since the children had left his ship a wreck. For the past three, Tom-Tom had been peering at his charts in increasing dismay, trying to plot where they could possibly have fled to.

He cupped his head in his hands, peering down at the map before his seat as if he were wearing binoculars, blotting out the distracting light of the desk lamp.

They were too far from any settlements or fishing lines to send patrols out to ask for information, and with each passing hour the net of possibilities grew ever wider. Although he was sure they would need to rest and restock somewhere immediately after their escape, there had been plenty enough time for them to do just that and then set off for somewhere else. Anywhere else. And although he doubted that any fishing or military vessels would soon forget the distinctive sight of those kids Otter-propelled barge, it might just well be that they weren’t spotted at all, or the people who sighted them would be unable to recall the direction in which they went. Dozens of places to look. It might take weeks, months before they could pick up their trail again.

The door knocked, and Tom-Tom sat a little straighter in his seat.

“Come in.”

The hatch opened, and Toph stepped through to stand infront of him.

He went back to the chart.

“The engine’s fixed. We’re good to go.”

“I see. Where is Master Chen? It is usually his duty to report engine details.”

“Oh, he’s busy.”

“Busy...”

Toph curled her toes, scraping some of the hull into little wedges.

“Okay, I asked if I could come give the report because you’ve been avoiding me ever since the ship got busted and I don’t like loose ends! If you’ve got something to say to me beanpole, just come out and say it, don’t dance around the damn thing!”

He leaned back, folding his hands into his lap carefully as he appraised her. A calculated gesture, and one that made Toph’s jaw clench with impatience. This had been gnawing at her for five days, he could tell. It had gotten worse and worse for every hour that he spent talking to everyone but her, for every hour of labour she chiselled away in penance for a crime she hadn’t admitted to. Tom-Tom knew she didn’t want this confrontation to be a long, drawn out affair. No, she wanted it simple and clean, and she wasn’t going to leave until this was resolved on terms that were comfortable to her. That made her feel less dirty.

Tough.

Tom-Tom stayed where he was, and waited. Waited for her.

“...Say something!!” She finally snapped, pounding craters into his desk, “Say I screwed up!! Say you’re dissapointed!! Say you’re- say you hate me!! Say you want me out of here and never want to see me again!! Just...SAY SOMETHING!!”

Tom-Tom closed his eyes and slid to a stand, facing her across the desk. He could feel a slight tremble in the tabletop.

“...Help me find them.”

She gaped in silence as he carried on, not looking at her, instead gesturing to the open map infront of him.

“I’ve been looking at this chart, trying to predict where they are or could be heading. I haven’t had much luck. You know them better than I do, so I was wondering if you had any ideas on where they could be.”

The play of emotions on her face was interesting. Bewilderment, hope, anger, regret, guilt, determination, anger again. At least he didn’t need to repeat himself.

“You...”

She settled back on anger.

“You’re going to brush off what I did just like that?”

“I never said I was brushing it off.”

“Then WHAT?!”

He weighed the benefits of keeping silent against saying more as she kneaded the table. It was strange...he didn’t feel like he was talking to someone who was ten years his senior. Infact it felt almost like the opposite were true. He was talking to a child throwing a tantrum because they weren’t getting their way for a change.

Ah, he may as well come out and say it.

“I’m waiting.”

She frowned at the cryptic answer, but played along.

“For?”

He leant across the desk and met her eyes; sharp and clear against blank and colourless.
“For you to tell me what you are doing here on my ship.”

She stiffened, standing up taller. He could see her anger collapsing; it would do in a pinch, but not here. A sense of righteous fury was unsustainable without the proper justification to back it up...and Tom-Tom knew that her actions could not be justified.

“I’m also waiting...” He carried on, “...for your apology.”

She didn’t like that.

They stood there, glaring at each other, through eyes and through floor. He wondered if was just going to explode again.

“...”

Toph shifted a hand and a foot to flatten the hunchbacks of iron she’d created since arriving.

“...Look where there’s something big and colourful going on. They’re always around those kind of things.” She said.

Then, smoothing over, she turned and left the room, closing the hatch behind her.

Tom-Tom stayed standing a moment longer, seeing if he could hear her pad away across the metal decking, before he retook his seat and reached over to a batch of scrolls with information on local customs

The lists were fairly long. It was going to be a sleepless night.

He put his head in his hands.

Ah, it's about time that got put up.

And don't worry, things will...wait...what's this? Here in my pocket?

Why, it seems...it seems to be a lot of images. How peculiar. Where did these come from? And how do they correlate so well to the story I wrote in this link I found here:

http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/17502.html#cutid1
http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/17765.html#cutid1

? Who knows how these mysteries happen? But I shall have to investigate further...by showing them to you!

>>72924

Page 1

>>72925

Page 2.

Yes, they mystery is being revealed to me now...

>>72926

Page 3.

Yes, the colouring looks to be mine, but...the inking is far too skilled to come from my hand...who could have...

>>72927

Page 4.

...No...no! It CANNOT BE!!

>>72928

The last page.

Sharkman Jhones! Explain this devilry! What has happened here so that you and I have made these pages, and kept it secret from all others?! What is the meaning of this deluge of awesome?!

>In Synch part 2 posted
>Awesome collab series between Sharky and TDL based on Older Moon out of freakin' nowhere

DfSKLFhsdkLHFklsDHFSDfosihflsdfysoifdyoss

.....


8472934794rhsSIEFY(OR)(W*(8s9fjsf

>>72930

Haha, well this was a little collaboration between Dai Li and I. Around late November we were talking about doing a little short, 5-page work, since content is a little slow around here, so we decided to pick an existing story and make a five-page comic to go along with it, kinda like an illustrated fanfic, rather than a comic. So we set a few deadlines for ourselves, I would plan the pages, pencil and ink them, Dai Li wrote a rough script, and colored, as well as wrote the original story. Even though I screwed up and got delayed longer than nomral due to finals and having to re-draw a few things (Tseng in page 3 was erased and redrawn an untold numbers of times, not to mention the stairs in page five), we decided to release it all in one go when it was complete.

We also felt it would be a nice surprise, so we kept quiet about it.

In case anybody's interested, here are the black and white inks for the pages!

(For the artsy types who might care, this was mostly done with a Tachikawa 3-in-1 fountain pen, a pentel pocket brush, and at other times, Windsor and Newton Series 7 brushes of a few sizes, a "saji" or "spoon" pen nib from either Nikko or Tachikawa, and Yatsumoto Sumi ink.)

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/001.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/002.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/003.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/004.jpg
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/005.jpg

(Also, I cheated a little, Yi Lin and Hayoda were much smaller in the original, but it made the Blue Flame look like a grand vessels, rather than the modest ship it is, so I just quickly re-sized in Photoshop, it used to look like this: http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/ww61/sharkman_jhones/Gaang%20Jr%20Short/005-goofup.jpg )

It was a lot of fun to do! But this is gonna be my last Gaang Jr. contribution until I get somewhere story-wise with Singularity. The pet-project's gone with too little attention for too long, so those of you that still care have been waiting, you'll be seeing more of me over there very soon!

My response to TDL's newest update!

TDL, I really love the way you write internal dialogue for Irah here. You keep using lots of repetition ("No sleep. Still no sleep. No arguing...", "Tried some repairs, maybe. Tried to catch a doze if they could.", "Hayoda had said that. He hadn’t said much, recently.", "...Irah could still see her thinking behind her glasses. She’d been thinking an awful lot lately. Well, she was ALWAYS thinking...", etc.). It all felt extremely natural and fitting for an Irah who's not as collected as she normally is.

And man, how the kids' argument cuts deep! It's just a horrible feeling of everything falling to pieces and it's like I'm in Irah's shoes with my reactions and being a bystander unable to stop it. Having the thing spark with words between Yue and Tseng makes it that much harder to bear.

These segments with Tom-Tom on his ship are interesting, just because I don't think we've done much really examining that environment (I know I've tended to think of Tom-Tom and Toph as if they're out there alone, with the same sort of looseness that the Blue Flame has -- even if on an intellectual level I know that there's a crew and the responsibilities of leadership). The bit about rescuing the soldier who had been left stranded was a stark and clever bit of reminding of the potential consequences of the kids' journey, and while right now it's hard to forgive Tom-Tom for pursuing the kids to the point that their friendship is at risk, it helps me remember that to Tom-Tom the mission is more than just "no fun allowed."

I hate to resort to a simple response to Hayoda and Yue's section like "oh god I d'awwwed," but it really is true. The whole story before this had so much tension and it felt good to have it somewhat relieved. The way Hayoda talks with Yue here reminds me of the old description of their relationship -- that Hayoda may not always understand Yue's problems, but he's always there. And while I think Hayoda knows what the problem is here, he also knows that while sometimes it's good to confront problems head-on, sometimes what people need is a chance to settle them and put them aside, if only for a little while.

It's jarring to see Yi Lin so quiet and short with her sentences, almost to the point where I was confused who was talking -- a rather smart move in establishing "this isn't the Yi Lin I'm used to." Seeing the contrast between Hayoda and Yue's "healing", and Yi Lin and Tseng's, was great here. The moments of simpler, heartwarming diabeetus are for Hayoda and Yue, while the back-and-forth "it's dumb and you should feel dumb" (words that would sound "off" if Tseng said them to anyone else) is their normal, sort-of-bickering relationship.

I really like what you're doing with On Ji. The idea of a former teacher of Irah is a new and fresh one, and there's just something about her portrayal that really shows who she is to Irah. Sort of a half-mother-half-mentor that shows a closeness and caring, but also a more formal distance that's as hard for Irah to get past as, say, it is for elementary students who see a teacher at the supermarket. And the moment where she "slips into tutor-mode" is just great, even if I can't articulate why well.

I've never been able to describe interactions between Toph and Tom-Tom well, which is why I haven't really touched them in my few writings. That's also why I have trouble responding to your portrayal of them more than "yeah, that fits and it works." The hot Toph against the cooler Tom-Tom works very well, and seeing a glimpse of Tom-Tom's actual command style -- showing that he has the skills of it and isn't just some random guy on a ship -- and how it works against Toph is just a fascinating read.

I'm looking forward to more of this -- I want to see more On Ji, and I won't be able to rest until the kids are friends again!

I'm afraid I've got to run to class now, so I'll have to wait to respond to these comic pages, but I will say: hoooooleeeeeee shit. You guys are so devious. >:3

>>72923

Superb! Absolutely fantastic.

Maritova took the words out of my mouth about how the relationships between the Junior Gaang felt very compelling, but I'd just like to add that I really loved your depiction of On Ji the dance instructor that was pretty much bang-on what I envisaged. Still very much the dreamy golden-hearted young girl inside, but she's built up a stern and demanding veneer since establishing her academy to better instruct her students. The former, of course, comes to the fore when she's on holiday and letting her hair down, and that Irah picked up on this discrepancy is some nice subtle character detail.

Very much looking forward to more. Hope it's not long coming!

Seriously, can we go on enough about how good On Ji is depicted? I loved her character in this, and the little references to The Headband. Makes me wonder what happened after that episode between her and her parents. I think Mari pretty much covered anything else I'd like to say :)

>>72918 (In Synch part 2)

Cripes this was a pleasure to read. Dangit Mari quit reading my thoughts and posting them ahead of time FFFFFFF-. I caught the feeling in the beginning of this part that a storm was a-brewing in Yue's head. I, too, loved how powerless I felt along with Irah when Yue and Tseng had their most untimely spat.

Oh, and hey there On Ji! All grown-up and awesome and the whole thing. It's dancin' time Irah!

>>72925 (Awesome illustrated story collaboration)

These are just as moody and wistful as TDL's written story.

It's nice to see the sleeping area's layout in picture form, the lantern in the ceiling is a great touch!

Tseng all sprawled out in restless sleep was pulled off very convincingly. All the expressions were on-point. I really like Yi Lin's tired little smile in the 4th page and the whole windswept look of the above-deck scenes. Breezy!

As for the coloring, I see great care was taken with the lighting of each scene. It really pulls it all together.

Delicious content om nom nom nom

>>72945
Yeah well you read my mind about that comic! :3

I really like the coloring job on page 1. The bluish glow on Hayoda's face is a wonderful touch. In page 2, I really like the little details (and actually seeing a part of the ship that we've talked about so much is a treat): the Earth Rumble belt, Irah's box-thing-oh-damn-I-can't-think-of-the-term-right-now... The rope ladders are a cool idea, and the way they shift around seems like Yi Lin's style. I imagine the light at the top is one of her responsibilities at night -- to send a quick burst of air to extinguish it.

One question, though: what's the net-thing on the wall?

Page 3 is just really touching. Yi Lin's expression is perfect, that sort of concerned, solemn look that is so foreign to her when others are around.

Perhaps my favorite page is page 4, just because of the wind that not only affects their hair and clothes, but the way the characters hold themselves. I love how the moonlight turns Yi Lin's clothes a pale blue, and Hayoda's pose really has a sense of motion to it.

And finally, page 5 has great, clean design, and the plain, open deck contrasts great with the two kids.

Well, since we're talking about On Ji, I drew this. Just ignore the anatomy, I clearly did >.>
http://www.unowen.net/tegaki/dblog.php?u=90979&e=941963

>>72930
Wow, this is pretty fucking poignant

>>72942
>>72943
>>72944
>>72945

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm a little surprised at how well On Ji is being received, but then I think we've always had a collective hard-on for old characters reappearing in these stories, so I guess I shouldn't be so amazed at that.

A fun fact when writing this; originally, I went into the second TomToph scene with the intention to reconcile them, have a big kiss and make-up session so they could get on with business. But obviously the characters had different ideas, and the scene ended with them worse off than when it started. Tssh.

Also, when it comes to the comics, you have no idea how hard it was to resist the temptation of getting rid of Yi Lin's leg wrapping and just making it skin all the way up. Just sayin'.

And my favourite page is number 2.

>>72994
>Also, when it comes to the comics, you have no idea how hard it was to resist the temptation of getting rid of Yi Lin's leg wrapping and just making it skin all the way up. Just sayin'.
I think we need to see this. For, uh... evaluation purposes.

>>72996

OH TEMPT NOT A DESPERATE MAN!

Since we're talking about sleepy times...

Quick thing about the net, since I forgot Mari asked.

It's supposed to be a fishing net Tseng uses. Hayoda often steals it to use as a portable hammock.

(Side note, that lantern is actually a bit of a miscommunication. I'd intended for the middle to be transparent, with the light source being fireflies, like the kind the mechanist used in the Air Temples. A sort of safety lantern that the kids don't have to tend to out of fear of causing a fire. I like to imagine that Sokka used the same concept as a rudimentary night-light for his kids when they were little.)

>>73012 (polite sage for a correctional repost)

"Hayoda was enchanted with that cute hairdresser in town, he gave her a mighty hefty tip when she trimmed his hair the other day when I was...out for a casual stroll...What can this mean? A family of barbers lies in his future? Warrior-barbers, even? Oh wow! I gotta write about that!

"And that boy that I noticed following Yue through town. What's his deal? Could'a sworn I seen a rather elaborate paper glider stuck in her sash against back...zoinks! It could be a LOVE LETTER? Aww. Puppy love can be....*yawn* so adorab-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...." (cue drool-works)

Cute tegaki, eldestofthree :D

LOL I DID THE MEME THING AFTER 585748534785.6 YEARS

http://lady-liesl.deviantart.com/art/MeMeMeMeMeeeeee-150696859

The Snippet part got out of hand. Consider it a gift :3

>>73130

What are you talking about, 'out of hand'? There can never, ever be enough Older!Azula, or enough Ponygoat.

>>73130

I love you. And yes, TsengxEveryone is a godly crackship.

>>73130
Tseng x Everyone includes Tseng x ADVENTURE! dammit.


...I wish I still had that picture. You all know the one

>>73130
Oh man this is awesome! Jeong Jeong as Irah's sifu is totally part of my canon. And man, TsengxEveryone is the best ship (he just can't get away from the imminent raep).

Anyway, Milli and Piggy and I were playing Red Rover in the IRC this evening (and we all ~held hands~), and this arose from Milli.

(Sharky didn't know what Red Rover was)

>>73137
Oh it's still there in an earlier thread, just google for "site:plus4chan.org mast goes here".

>>73150
Another thing, we were talking about the culture shock Nikiru must have if/when she travels with the kids.
[22:34] <Maritova> "It's wonderful to finally be able to visit you on the Blue Flame... uh, which way to the, um, washroom?"
[22:34] <Maritova> and then Nikiru learns about life on a small boat
[22:34] <Milli> 'What's a washroom?'
[22:34] <Milli> and is shown a pot

And now, back to the story!

>>73151
And the return of frazzled, frantic Yue!
Also I can't stop :3ing at Tseng.

And now it's time for some hiskoo!

The dancin' Tseng was the focus of our attention...

...and so the idea of Tseng in Irah's dancing clothes would not expunge itself from our minds.

Also, GJr is a play in hiskoo!GJr? :<>

And now that we've seen some awesome art from Liesl and I've posted some sweet stuff from Milli... here's my own half-assed drawing. I was lazy, partially because it was taking so long from drawing troubles, and partially because Photoshop kept crashing on me.

Here, have a sad Yue for good measure.

>>73150

FUCK YES RED ROVER YOU ARE THE BEST PLAYGROUND GAME EVER!!

>>73166
I KNOW, RIGHT?!

>>73156
What are you doing to poor Po!?!?!

OH, and by the way....

Listen to Dual of the Fates. It makes it more epic.

Anon who made the Nikiru "objection" picture last thread here. I may or may not do more.

Is this some sort Queen like thing?

But I am thinking about them singing the bohemian rhapsody...is that a good thing?

>>73229
Kind of? I mean, it's what I was thinking of but didn't actually look at the original for reference.

>>73187

Your metallic boomerang was delicious!

And damn that's a lot of pit hair there, Sokka. GAR GAR GAR

>>73217

SCARAMOUCH, SCARMOUCH will you ride the giant otter

FUCK RESIZING

also this shit is fun!

>>73241
Milli, that's you isn't it... I think disgusted face is my favorite. :)

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S FINALLY HERE. THE NEXT PART OF "A NEW WORLD"!
---
---
---
There was no such thing as formality in this dining room. Due to the number of additional guests, several members of the Strawhats simply ate standing up, on the couch against the wall, or in Zoro’s case, on the floor. Sanji’s cooking skills were phenomenal. A veritable feast lay before the Sea Wolves, most of the dishes containing food they had never seen before.

“Wow, you guys didn’t have to prepare all this for us!” Hayoda exclaimed.

“Dish ish haa Shamji awfays kufs!” Luffy said, his face stuffed with food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Usopp scolded.

Yue, unfortunately, wound up sitting right next to Brook, who seemed to form an attachment to her. She felt a twinge of guilt, as his intentions were pure. He merely wanted to make up for scaring her so badly. But at the same time, he was a living skeleton that could also eat, apparently.

Nami explained more about the Grand Line to Tseng, Usopp and Luffy regaled their incredible adventures to Hayoda, and Sanji would not leave Jing and Irah alone. Zoro was currently locked in battle with Jiyi, who seemed determined to steal his food.

The only person who wasn’t involving themselves in the festivities was the dark-haired woman sitting in the corner. She hadn’t said a word the entire meal, merely observing the rest of the crews. She was quiet, but the warm smile on her face meant that she really was enjoying herself.

It was Hayoda who first noticed something odd about his meal, particularly the fact that he didn’t remember eating so much off of his plate. He brushed it off as being so enthralled with Usopp’s story about the two giants who battled for hundreds of years that he didn’t notice how much he had eaten. He helped himself to more food and continued listening. Irah too noticed that some of the food on her plate had mysteriously disappeared.

“Hey, who took my sausage?!”

Sanji sighed. “Ah, it was probably Luffy. That idiot is always taking other people’s food.”

“Really? Wait, but Luffy’s sitting over-“ She was cut off by the sudden sound of a fist pounding on the table. The source was revealed to be Usopp, who had just stabbed a fork through the palm of someone’s hand. Luffy’s hand. Which wouldn’t be too strange, except for the fact that Usopp was sitting across from Luffy, out of stabbing range. It didn’t take the Sea Wolves long to realize that Luffy’s arm was much longer than a normal person’s. Usopp raised his fork, freeing Luffy’s hand, and causing it to snap back to regular length.

“WHOA! WHOA! AWESOME!” Hayoda cheered. “HOW’D YOU DO THAT?!”

Luffy rubbed his hand. “Hm? Oh! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, now I’m a rubberman!” He looked at Usopp. “Owwww… Why’d you do that?”

“Maybe if you’d stop stealing everyone’s food, this wouldn’t happen!” Usopp shrieked.

“Wait wait wait wait wait, go back to what you were saying. A rubberman?” Tseng asked.

Luffy grinned. “Yep! I can stretch and all kinds of stuff!”

“So… A rubberman, a talking skeleton, a… Uh…” Hayoda pointed to Chopper.

Yue had refused to let the poor thing go, holding him tight in her arms. “He’s a reindeer-man!” She said proudly.

“… A reindeer-man. Anything else we should know about?” Hayoda asked. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. When he turned around, there was no one there. He felt another tap on the opposite shoulder. “Okay, who’s messing with me?! You got, like, an invisible man around here?”

The Sea Wolves stared, mouths agape at the sight. Two arms had somehow… sprouted… from the back of Hayoda’s chair. He realized his crewmates weren’t staring at him and slowly turned his head. One of the hands waved at him. He let out a “GAH!” and would have fallen out of his chair were it not for the other hand grabbing his shirt collar.
“What… is that?!” Jing stammered. They heard the soft chuckle of a woman coming from the other end of the table.

The dark-haired woman who had been quiet this whole time smirked at Hayoda. “Forgive me, I’m afraid I couldn’t resist. I don’t believe I’ve introduced myself. My name is Robin.”

Hayoda found his stride again. He shook hands with one of the arms protruding from his chair. “A pleasure to meet you. Captain Hayoda at your service.” He said with all the grace of royalty.

Lunch continued with more laughter and conversation. Yue snuck off at one point to bring her scraps to Po, even though Hayoda told her time and time again not to do it. Afterwards, the crews dispersed to various parts of the ship. Yi Lin offered to help Sanji clean up. Offered Tseng, that is. After a bit of convincing, though, she reluctantly agreed to help dry.

It was the Strawhats’ turn to be surprised. The cigarette almost fell out of Sanji’s mouth as he watched Tseng Waterbend. Manipulating streams of water to rinse several plates at once, while passing them off to his sister to quick-dry them with her Airbending.

“Incredible… I’ve seen a lot of Devil Fruit users, but I never stop being amazed by their powers.” He noted.

Yi Lin giggled. “We didn’t get our Bending from a magic fruit. We were born with them!”

“Bending?” Sanji asked.

Tseng got to be smart. He had such a smug smile on his face. “Where we come from, there are four elements. Earth, fire, air, and water. Benders are people who can manipulate these elements into doing whatever they want. I’m a Waterbender and my sister is an Airbender. However, our dad is the Avatar. He’s a special, one-of-a-kind Bender. He can Bend all four elements, easily.”

“Before we were born, he traveled around the world with our mom and uncle. There was a war between the nations, and he was the only one who could stop it. They all risked so much, but in the end, they were able to bring peace! We all come from a family of brave adventurers, and now we’re following in their footsteps!” Yi Lin chimed in.

Sanji rubbed his chin in thought. “That’s quite a lofty goal your dad had.”

>>73255
“What about you, Sanji? Do you have a goal?” Tseng asked.

Sanji rocked back and forth on his feet. “In this world there are four great seas. North Blue, South Blue, East Blue, and West Blue. They’re all divided, and each contain their own unique animals and wildlife. But there’s a fifth ocean out there, somewhere. A place where sea creatures from all four Blues gather. The All Blue. It’s a chef’s paradise. Anything you’d want to prepare, you can find the ingredients on the All Blue. No one’s seen it, but I know it exists. So I’m searching for it. That’s my dream.”

“The All Blue… Sounds like an incredible place! I hope you find it!” Yi Lin said.

A huge smile spread across Sanji’s face. “AH, MISS YI LIN~! YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT FILL MY HEART WITH HOPE!” He shouted.

It was then that Luffy descended into the kitchen. “Hey, Sanji! Got any more food?”

“What?! You’re still hungry? We just ate!” Sanji argued. He knew it was pointless, though. Despite eating three times as much as everyone else, the Strawhat captain could never be full. “Just washed all those dishes too… Hold on, I’ll see if I can find something for you.” He sighed and opened the refrigerator.

“So, Luffy, do you have any dreams?” Yi Lin asked.

Luffy gave her a puzzled glance before it dawned on him. “Oh yeah! You guys aren’t from here! So you don’t know!”

“Know what?” Said Tseng.

There was that mischievous grin again. “At the end of this ocean, there’s a great treasure called the One Piece. And whoever finds that treasure will be the next King of the Pirates! And that’s what I’m gonna do!”

Hearing the word “pirate” made Tseng’s heart skip a beat. “King of the… Pirates? You’re a pirate?!”

Luffy nodded excitedly. “Yup! We’ve even got our own bounties!”

“Hey, don’t go bragging about stuff like that.” Sanji scolded, not looking away from the fridge.

There was a silence while Tseng thought. “Oh, uh… Heh. I think I hear Hayoda calling us. C’mon, Yi Lin. Better go see what the captain wants!” He grabbed his sister’s hand and pulled her out of the kitchen before Luffy and Sanji could respond.

Fortunately, Hayoda and Irah weren’t talking to any member of the Strawhat crew at the time. They were just leaning over the railing on deck, gazing out into the open sea. That made it easy for Tseng to explain the situation.

“… Aw man… And I was really starting to like these guys!” Hayoda groaned. “But I actually agree with Tseng on this one. We can’t spend time with pirates like this.”

“A problem arises.” Irah stated in her most dignified voice. “There is still the issue of us being unable to ascertain our current location. As we cannot count on conventional navigation methods, we must rely on the very pirates we should be absconding from. I felt like sounding smart.” She explained before anyone could question her.

Yi Lin shrugged her shoulders. “Well, they’ve been nice to us so far. Let’s just stay cool until we get to the next island and we’ll split up there.”

Tseng nodded. “That’s a good plan. We’re going to have to rely on their hospitality. Try not to rile them up or anything. Hayoda.”

“Who, me? Don’t worry, I’ll be a perfect little angel.” He even batted his eyes and clasped his hands together to drive the point home. “I’ll go find Yue and tell her to be careful.”

“And Jing.” Tseng added.

“Huh?”

Tseng crossed his arms. “You need to warn Jing too.”

Hayoda shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, if she gets captured by pirates, it’s not my problem. It’s her own fault.”

Tseng wasn’t amused. Hayoda sighed and rolled his eyes. “Alright, alriiiiiight. I’ll warn her tooooooo.”

As the Sea Wolves split up to resume acting natural, none of them noticed the eye and ear that had sprouted on the railing. On the other side of the deck, Robin smiled and picked up a pair of dice.

“Is something funny, Miss Robin?” Yue asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I just think I’m about to win.” She let the dice fall from her hand and moved her piece along the board the proper number of spaces.

SPOILER POST 1

POST 2

SPOILER POST NUMBER 3

AW YEAH NEW WORLD UPDATE

And it looks like a plot is starting to form!

>>73255
Ugh, you're making me want to go and actually read/watch One Piece. By the way, Dr. Professor, what do you think of my adaptation of your story so far?

>>73264
Allow me to express my gratitude in the form of a REACTION IMAGE!

>>73264
Haha, me too... I guess it's time I get out the manga scans! Your story is very well-written, Prof -- I just don't know half the characters. :P

To change the subject for a bit, I was talking with TDL today, and he shared with me a little idea he and Murph had had for the Cabbage Flower round-robin thing. Basically, their thought was:
"Me and Murph had this idea that the flower that disabled Yi Lin attacked parts of her brain, and that even after she'd been cured, the taste sensors in her brain had been permanently enflamed, giving her a strong sense of taste. Which would then go on to appreciate cooking more. Or less. More vivid culinary experiences anyway."

Now, as round-robins go, one author's ideas aren't always followed through on (especially when one author doesn't leave any notes or indication of this idea to his successor... silly TDL :3), so there really isn't any mention of anything like this in the story, and TDL felt that the opportunity was missed since it wasn't mentioned. But as I heard the idea, I thought it was pretty cool, and would add another interesting facet. And as I skimmed over the story again, I didn't feel anything that would force it to have not happened.

So I thought I'd mention the idea, and see what everyone thought of it.

>>73291

Ironically, having an enhanced sense of taste might make her dislike cabbage flowers (Brussels sprouts) and other vegetables like broccoli due to being able to taste a few of the bitter compounds (not to mention the sulfur locked away in Brussels Sprouts.)

Hrm...unless you'd have to have additional taste buds for that. I guess the best comparison/metaphor is that she's had the "volume" on her taste sense turned up high, then the dial broke?

OH AND

>>73294

Pretty much. Me and Mari have discussed possible other affects from this enflamed cluster pressing on the rest of her brain, ranging from another sense being diminished (touch, for example, being simple 'pressure' now and making it harder for her to feel pain or pleasure), to sudden bouts of giddiness (perhaps not noticable with her, but still) to simple, intermittent headaches.

Of course, one might decide that Yi Lin never being able to eat spicy foods anymore would be bad enough. But on the plus side, she could konk herself out by eating something incredibly delicious.


>>73295

FFFFFFFFFFFF-ine.

>>73296
I don't know that I want to go too crazy with the brain damage. I think that might be overkill. But the altered sense of taste would be amusing. Like suddenly she likes the taste of random things... or dislikes foods she liked before, whatever. But anymore than that as far as brain altering goes seems like too much.

>>73297
Oh, by all means! A lot of that was just jest and playing with ideas.

>>73296
I will say this helped me amuse myself during my class today.

(Tseng steps out of the quarters, Yi Lin visible through the door frame. She's lying down on one of the bunks, poking through a little care basket the other kids had made for her.)

Hayoda: So how is she, doc?
Tseng: She'll be alright, for the most part.
Irah: "For the most part"?
Tseng: Yi Lin will be able to lead a normal life, but --
Irah: But what?!
Tseng: (gravely) -- I'm afraid she'll never be able to eat spicy foods again.
(In the next room, Yi Lin opens up a bag of her favorite flavor of Fire Flakes, putting a small pinch in her mouth)
Yi Lin: Aaaaaaaugh! Hot hot hot hot hot! (she hurriedly tries to scrape them off her tongue)
Irah: Nooooo! (sobbing into Hayoda's chest)

>>73298
Haha, I loled, and fully support this idea.


Anyway, I'm on a rooooollllllllllllllllllll!!!

>>73255

Very enjoyable as always Prof! I really like how Luffy's gifts are revealed to the gaang. STOP EATING YOU FRIGGIN' BLACK HOLE!

and Yue had refused to let the poor thing go, holding him tight in her arms. “He’s a reindeer-man!” She said proudly.

HHNNNNNGGGGG brb need insulin injection

>>73305

This is like that one moment in a boy's life when he finally beats his dad at a game of HORSE or 1-on-1. "Later dad!"
"Later!....FFFFFFFFFFFF"

Looking forward to your Gjr!Zuko!

Check out this awesome picture my friend VeniceGirl did as part of an art trade.

>>73362
I believe that the proper reaction is
hommina hommina hommina

>>73362
JING ART
HELL YEAH



...I don't know why I'm on such a Jing lovefest lately...

>>73367
Jing is :3

Just like her mom.

Oneshot time!

I told Milli of this idea on IRC a few nights back. I was able to crank it out this evening. Enjoy it youse guise!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It was early evening. Dingy gray tufts of nimbus hung over a sparse Fire Nation bamboo forest, blessing the lifeforms below with countless raindrops. It was a steady shower, somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. Steady enough that a certain Navigator insisted that his Captain travel with an umbrella, no matter how frilly and girly it may seem. Hayoda held Irah’s Fire Lily print parasol slack against his shoulder as he plodded between the trunks of the forest. His expression was cross, his stomach was rumbling and dinner was ready back at camp.

“Where the heck could ya be, sis?” He muttered to himself. Yue had set off into the thick some time earlier with her ocelot-raven companion in search of her plant-of-the-week. Irah’s voice bounced around inside his head. Something about chafing, sea air, and ... ‘aloo’? ‘Owloh’? Hayoda’s stomach rumbled in protest to his wandering thoughts. Pah, minor details. Find Yue first, food second, botanical lesson third! He cupped his mouth with his free hand and called out to his sister, “YUE! C’MON IT’S SUPPER TIME!Tseng’s chilling some ice cream for dessert! Your favorite!”

Hayoda’s bellows spooked a small flock of birds into the air around him, but his little sister gave no reply. Perhaps she wasn’t in earshot. He probed deeper into the curtain of bamboo shoots. As the minutes passed and his calls remained unanswered, his concern flipped from his rumbling stomach to Yue’s well being.

His free hand danced along Space Sword’s handle as his heartbeat upticked a few gears. Life on the lam has taught him that anything can and WILL happen at any time. It behooved him to prepare for the worst in this instance. His eyes darted back and forth amongst the trees. Only the rain-soaked wilderness surrounded him, but he remained vigilant.

A sudden tremor sent tiny shockwaves up his body. Could that be...

“EEEK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

“Yue?! YUE!” Hayoda hollered.

“YOU! HOW CAN YOU...?”

Hayoda flung the umbrella to the ground and unsheathed his beloved blade. He slashed a path through the bamboo to the source of his sister’s shouts. His feet detected several more rumbles and tremors as he chopped his way through the tick. Yue was in trouble!

“I SAID GET AWAY FROM HER!”

The Captain happened upon a naturally formed wall of bamboo. The voices were no longer distant echoes, she had to be on the other side. He scrambled to his right, around the barrier, and into a small clearing.

Yue had her back to Hayoda, she gripped her earth-gun tightly. She was muddy, her hair was a mess, and her breaths were audibly haggard. Whomever accosted her was face down in front of her in a shallow puddle. Twenty pillars, waves, and crests of crumbling earth dotted the clearing. Was this all Yue’s doing? Nah. No way...

Hayoda took a step toward his sister. “Yue, are you ok?”

Yue pivoted around to face him. He had never seen her so pissed off before. Ever. Her glasses were a bit crooked, some mud was splattered on her cheeks, and her chin was scratched up a bit.“Get away from JiYi you jerk-! Ah, Hayoda it’s you!” Her rage faded to utter relief as she dashed to her brother’s side, smearing his parka with some mud as she embraced him.

“Whoa, get into a spot of trouble Yue? What happened? And who is that taking a nap over there?”

The words spilled out of her mouth at hyper-speed. “I-was-walking-along-the-forest-looking-for-aloe-plants-so-I-can-make-some-lotion-for-everyone's-dried-out-skin-and-then-JiYi-got-caught-in-a-inhuma
ne-trap-and-that-crazy-hunter-girl-from-Ching’s-crew-tried-to-slice-her-up!” Yue ran out of breath, inhaled, and started again. “And then she tried to cut me up and I got really angry- and scared. Scared yes, but really, really angry she trying to kill JiYi. Next thing I know she’s knocked out and you showed up....I might have done some bending. I don’t remember forming my earth-gun. That’s weird.”

“Wait, Ching’s hunter-girl? Going after JiYi?” Hayoda’s eyes narrowed.

“I...-I think she was just out for some dinner. Wrong place, wrong time I guess?”

“Those dopes should hope as much...” The siblings’s view shifter to the motionless hunter “...uh, Yue. Do you think you might have went a bit overboard there.”

“What? No. You don’t think I actually-. OH NO...I’m not a killer!” Yue’s eyes welled as a sudden sense of dread washed over her. Hayoda leaned down and met her eyes with his steady gaze, trying to find some words, any words, that could smooth this seemingly tragic situation over.

*Cough, cough* “Uggghhh" Just then, the unconscious huntress woke up groggily. She gradually dragged herself to her feet. Hayoda stepped in front of his sister and approached the enemy. Her pole-arm was embedded in the ground a few paces in-between them.

“Don’t move!” He brandished Space Sword at the girl. Her eyes shot between the Captain and her weapon. Hayoda shuffled over to the pole-arm and positioned the blade ready to split her weapon apart near the blade. “Take one step and your overgrown nailfile goes bye-bye!”

She considered lunging for it, but her ribs ached greatly from her previous fight. It took her weeks of hunting and grinding to build that pole-arm and that loudmouth was about to destroy it in an instant. Hannon stumbled backward and sat on the sloppy grass, she sneered at the two Sea Wolves. “Fine. But I’m not in condition leave quickly, so ... you first. You might want to put that piece of meat out of its misery, though. It’s yelping mighty loud.” She smiled wickedly.

“Hayoda come on!” Yue tugged on her brother’s arm.

“One sec, Yue. Just giving us a little insurance...” Hayoda plucked the pole-arm out of the ground and flung it into the forest. “...Take a message to Ching for me: If you ever, EVER threaten my family again, your weapons won’t be the only thing the legendary Space Sword might dash to pieces. Got it?”

“Idiot.” Hannon scoffed under her breath as she hugged her sore abdomen.

Hayoda met Yue near the ensnared, mewling ocelot-raven. The poor thing was in great pain.“Come on, we gotta free her from the trap. JiYi’s hurt pretty bad.” Yue choked.

The siblings worked together to free the creature from the trap. Hayoda used Space Sword to pry the jaws apart while Yue slid her animal companion’s leg free. Yue scooped JiYi into her arms and took a couple steps toward the forest. “C’mon, we gotta get her to Tseng. She needs medical attention!”

“C’mon Yue, let’s get back to camp.”

“Right.” The two of them scampered back into the forest, leaving Hannon to her own devices. She sat in the rain for a short while, contemplating where tonight’s meal would be had. She slowly stood up and wiped the dirt off her nose and went off in search of her pole-arm. “Maybe it’s elephant-rat tonight after all. Couple chubby ones in that other clearing I passed.”

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

Yue looked down at the lethargic animal in her arms as they ran through the forest, it stared back at her with yearning, needy eyes. “Easy, girl. It’ll be ok.”

“Yue, you know you’re gonna have to tell us how you did all that crazy earth-bending back there, right?” Hayoda poked his sister in the side as they ran through the forest. “I want a full blow-by-blow retelling with extra explosions!”

“I told you, I don’t remember a thing. I was just so...angry and upset seeing JiYi in that trap. I think instinct took over- oh dear, I never did find those aloe plants.” She said.

“I’m sure we’ll find some plants on another island and perhaps some ice cream could jog your battle-memory!”

“Oh stop, we have to get JiYi back on the mend and then- DID YOU SAY ICE CREAM?”

Hayoda could have sworn he seen the earth ripple behind Yue as she sprinted ahead of him at incredible speed. He stopped in his tracks, slackjawed. Luckily, Irah’s umbrella sat in the dirt to his left. He hoisted it back onto his shoulder so the rain could clean it off as he trailed behind his sister.

>>73391
S-someone else is using the antiGaang? I'm touched...

That said, great story all around! The characterization was very solid.

>>73391
Oh nice. I like this Hannon character, I haven't read anything with the anti-Gaang Jr. in it yet. I keep meaning to do some more Ching stuff.

And poor Yue and Jiyi. Made me want to kick Hannon. It was cute though, seeing her so flustered.

>>73404
All anti-GJ characters are designed for maximum kickability.

>>73391

I'm always glad to see more of Hannon. Honestly, the anti-gaang aren't my cup of tea, but Hannon? Yeah, Hannon is cool. I'd be perfectly happy if she were solo, even. Mayhaps she did a bit too much yappin' for me, and I'm sad we didn't get to see her fight, but still, her inclusion is a most welcome sight.

This short also feels like it should be moving out into a larger story, rather than just be confined to this one piece. It leaves alot up in the air regarding what everyone was doing so close to each other, and Jiyi's state of being.

Also, I personally dislike a 'red haze' kind of destruction unless it is explicitly a part of that character's traits, and if they indeed do have huge untapped reserves of power that can only be realised through such exteme emotional states, or they just 'hold back' normally. I don't particularly see Yue as being either. She might be good, she might be very good, but I don't think getting angry and Zhao-ing away at earth-bending is the way for her to be very effective, offensively. A smart opponent, as I would expect a skilled hunter like Hannon to be, would in my mind be able to overcome temporary rage-induged power through skill and keeping a clear, wary head.

Other things...I liked Hayoda being prepared and the like in this one; though considering what Hannon had done I perplexed at him even bothering to leae her weapon in one piece. I smiled at the use of the word 'behoove', as it struck me as something he'd have learned off of Tseng or Irah, and would thus try and use this fancy word at any opportunity (although I know this was more the author talking rather than Hayoda's influence on the narrative, I still noted it as such).

Overall; enjoyable.

>>73417
I dunno, I can sort of see Yue's beserk button being anyone being cruel to Jiyi or Po or her brother and then flipping out.

>>73418

Maybe, but would it really be "total red-haze, can't remember anything after berserk-mode"?

I think more than anything that's the tougher part. Yue can be pushed far, but would it really maker her flip 180° from her usual self? Why not pushing to an extreme, but still within her personality? Possibly screaming or yelling, but rather than going all nuts on everybody what if she still has tears running down her face while sending very deliberate destruction on somebody trying to hurt her "flock"?

>>73418

The thing is, aside from what Sharky has said, I don't feel that her berserking out would actually improve her effective bending ability in any dramatic way.

The only person in the crew who I can actually see such a thing applying to is Irah. Unlike the others Irah HAS to hold back, or their pursuers, who mean her no real physical harm, and a lot of other people, would get very badly burned by her. Or worse; killed by her lightning. She's only one step behind Azula was in the series, possibly a step after her later on in the trip, and that kind of lethality needs to be kept in check at all times.

And so, due to this conscious reigning in of her powers, if she snaps it isn't an improbable 'reaching new heights', it's more 'taking the gloves off', which is much easier to do when one is not in their right state of mind. A state of mind that for her, I imagine, would be more cold and clinical than her father's fire-spitting fury, and thus all the more deadly.


...Luckily, I also see her being the hardest to provoke this far, as I assume she is well aware of this possibility herself. It's also the reason why I wrote her being so uncomfortable with carrying Tseng; she doesn't trust herself enough to hold onto such helpless, completely trusting things due to the ease of which it could all be blown away in her arms. Not a huge fear or anything, just a light uncomfortability that lingers at the back of her mind.

Of course, this is all just my take on it all. Believe what thou wilt.

Intresting this has been touched, since I have for a long time had a similar idea about Yue that I kept trying to post several threads back when we were discussing stuff about her past, but never did due to me feeling it deserved to be a proper story.

It was basically the first instance of Yue earthbending, as witnessed by Hayoda, induced by blind rage after hunters had hurt a creature she had been taking care off for weeks back on Kyoshi island when she was about five or six.

The way I pictured the event was just blind destruction of everything close to the hunters and far from the creature.

Once danger was no longer percieved she kinda passed out for a while.

She couldn't remember anything and acutally never believed what Hayoda told her.

But Sokka and Suki did and decided to find her a master.

>>73421
I know I have a tendency to agree with whomever posted last, but I both think it's interesting that more than one person found this particular path, and I'm inclined to agree with it.

See, in this story (which, by the way, Murph, was very well-written and kept me very enthralled), I never got the sense that Yue's utter rage was helping her, or unlocking abilities she didn't know she had. Pillars and waves of earth? There were a lot of them, but I don't think they were unusually large constructions. And over the time we've been with these kids, while Yue's skills still aren't "great," I think what Hayoda saw was all within her grasp.

So, I think what beat Hannon wasn't so much the Earthbending, but rather just the surprise of it all, and just how frantic it was -- very different from how she would have seen Yue in an earlier encounter.

Yue has always been the analytical and methodical one. To me, her Earthbending is full of geometry and order. I think that's why she likes her gardening and animal-caring and why her childhood in particular was so introverted. Things make sense, they have their processes and cycles, and that world is something that with a little work and tending can be made safe or familiar.

To make a slight contrast, Tseng is highly analytical, but (to give in to the old bending stereotypes) he's fluid. The nature of his relationship with the world is planning for contingencies: looking at his surroundings to see how they'll change and how to prepare for that. (If Tseng were to build a sand-castle, he would be the one to set up large moat and canal systems to prepare for the tides.)

I think that out of all the kids, Yue is the one that has been most thrust out of her natural "environment" (not in the sense that she's an Earthbender on a boat). Tseng, for all his supposed hatred of adventure, is still a world-traveling person at heart like his sister, and Irah was a very outward person already and was probably ready for a change from her surroundings when Hayoda brought up the idea. But I get the idea that had it been anyone but her brother who suggested the idea of adventure, Yue would have said no, and been content to stay on Kyoshi Island. I sense I'm rambling on this point, but what I'm trying to say is that for Yue more than the others, having friends and her hobbies (ritual in the mundane sense) are what help her be at ease. She finds that comfort and order and then remains in it.

Now when part of that security is hurt or threatened, what happens? When Yi Lin was lost in the storm, it affected Tseng greatly -- but while he was quicker to anger and stepping over the line of how he would normally act, he was still driven and methodical and planning. But I see the sources of Yue's security more like supporting pillars: the whole thing just starts crumbling down, and what's left is just frantic and chaotic. And when she lashes out in response, I don't think it's anything to cause "deliberate destruction" -- it's just reaction, and it doesn't seem unreasonable that it happens in a blur.

Huh, now that was a garbled and rambling post, yet another reminder why I should shy from analyzing character behavior and motivation, even when others want me to offer some kind of input. But at the risk of self-inserting to the point of distorting characters, I did try to compare Yue with my own introverted self and try to put myself in her shoes (were she to wear shoes).

>>73431
Agrees with Mari. And also...

>>73442
Also, for the record, I'm aware that Avatar uses Chinese, not Japanese. It was too hard to change when I remembered, and yeah, it was an online translator, so have a laugh if you know what it actually means and it turns out to be mean something ridiculous.

>>73443
It looks like it's a decent translation (when I look up 茶屋 in Google Images, I get what look to be tea shops). As an aside, these characters are also Chinese characters (Japanese kanji are Chinese in origin), though you're right in that these are Japanese (Chinese seems to use 屋 as house or room without the connotations of a shop). However, you don't need to worry! Avatar has its fair share of Japanese; not the "Sakura" and "onii-chaan~" sort, but names like Momo and Unagi are Japanese. The medallions on the Kyoshi Warrior's uniform say 京士, which is "Kyoshi" -- but only in Japanese! If they were in Chinese, then it would read "Jingshi" (京 being the "jing" in "Beijing"). And, if we're going with the idea that the kids' adventure started on Kyoshi Island, and this comic is very early on, it makes even more sense for there to be Japanese, being near Kyoshi and all.

But anyway, I'm enjoying this page -- it's fascinating seeing how we each interpret existing stories (for example, your comic has large forests between Hayoda and Irah's locations, whereas in my mind's eye the entire area was a dense city a la Ba Sing Se). I am interested, though, in what you mentioned about the sign being too difficult to change at the point when you noticed it wasn't in Chinese; does the program you're using not have layers?

>>73431

Well, I agree with most of this, actually. And I can perhaps understand how she could catch Hannon off guard if she'd never seen her like this before. However, I do still have one point of contention; that it happens in a blur, without her knowledge.

I'm sure we've all just knee-jerk reacted before, lashing out or what have you, but even if you're not sure why you did what you did, you can still at least remember what you did. A blind fury, particularly an EFFECTIVE blind fury from an otherwise low-tier character, is an annoying cliche I'd prefer to avoid if at all possible. It strikes me as wishful thinking on the fandom's part that even the 'moeblob' characters can be super-effective when they hulk out...and I don't appreciate that sentiment at all, because a: It tells me people still think of her as a moeblob, and b: It presumes that she needs to act like a totally different person to actually fight well, or be effective it a fight, with cutesy arm-flailing and foot stomping. And worse, NOT REMEMBERING what it is that she did as if she can't replicate the motions without anger behind them. What the hell is the point of her learning her own bending styles and attacks if, when push comes to shove, she's just better off going 'RAA RAA RAA wut happened i dunno lol'?


...Hoo. And you thought that YOU ranted, Mari. Pick up a pencil and take some notes, will ya?

>>73448
I haven't read the rest of this debate, but I'm more or less with TDL on this. Berserker!Yue is good for a one-time joke at best.

>>73447
I sort of pictured them still being fairly close to Kyoshi Island at this point, which was a fairly forested area. Thus the location. The tea shop being through the woods closer to the beach, and the town being more in the center of the island/woods. Ha, if they used Japanese on Kyoshi, that could be used to retroactively justify the kanji. (I use photoshop, but I accidently condensed some layers, so while I could have changed it, the background would have to be redone for panels 1 and 4. And I'm lazy).

Also, TDL has me convinced. I'm jumping ship on the berserker-mode Yue front.

  Heh, that little story took me just around 3 hours to write and it shows. I didn't mean to spurn off a debate over a character trait as >>73452 Genome pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's was just a one-time thing. Yue getting super-pissed and pulling off the earthbending equivalent of Midare Zakura (0:49 in the attached youtube). I appreciate the discussion though, it's healthy and I'll take all points into consideration if I ever decide to expand the story into an arc of sorts.

>>73455

Ah, I'm glad for it. It's been a while since we've talked about basic character actions and emotions.

>b: It presumes that she needs to act like a totally different person to actually fight well, or be effective it a fight, with cutesy arm-flailing and foot stomping.

You couldn't be more off about my view on Berserk!Yue.

She's in no way more effective in this state that as her self. She's all range, no control.

I think it should be scary to watch, potentially dangerous for her loved ones, and something she should be aware of and conciously avoid.

Anyway, I'm glad Murph decided to bring this up, and that Mari somewhat agrees with me, but I certainly don't want to see it become a recurring gimmick.

>>73463

And yet the example you gave was of her defeating a load of hunters and doing a lot of good with it; generally defeating a bunch of people with no injury or harm to herself or the animal they were after.

What's more, this being a fairly friendly series, she's never going to be in a position where she's going to cause any of the other Gaang Jr. members grievous bodily harm should any suck 'berserking' happen. And how can she be aware of- and consciously avoid it- it if she's not aware she's doing it when she's doing it?

Ooo! A Yue discussion! (She's become my favorite character)

>>73463
>>73468
Hmm, what if you combined these two ideas? I mean, sure, this fanseries is rated G(PG?) but Aang did accidentally injure Katara with fire that one time. Even though the reason why he, uh, flamed Katara is different from Yue possibly seeing red, the loss of control is the same. Maybe the lesson Yue could learn here is to try and channel her rage into being more efficient. Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that without having Yue actually hurt somebody she cares about. (Which is why I draw more than I write) Maybe, since Yue cares about ecosystems(I'm guessing), let Yue see the devastation she just wrought and feels awful about it.
I know, I know, this was a oneshot but I tend to overthink stuff like this. Feel free to IGNORE ME

Also, what are people's thoughts on Yue and sandbending? It'd be interesting to see if she finds it easier or just as hard as tougher earthbending. (That and I'm probably going to draw her in sandbending clothes just 'cause)

>>73468

Ah, sorry. I think perhaps there is little point carrying on like this; we've already reached a consensus afterall.

>>73468

>And yet the example you gave was of her defeating a load of hunters and doing a lot of good with it; generally defeating a bunch of people with no injury or harm to herself or the animal they were after.

Not a load of hunters. Just two.

The reason she didn't hurt the animal was because it was immobilized and out of the path of destruction.

And she didn't even really got to hurt the hunters, just scare them shitless and make them run away and leave the creature alone.

>What's more, this being a fairly friendly series, she's never going to be in a position where she's going to cause any of the other Gaang Jr. members grievous bodily harm should any suck 'berserking' happen.

Aang kinda did at times. And even if he didn't do so in the Avatar State, he did so by fooling around with fire in front of Katara.

>And how can she be aware of- and consciously avoid it- it if she's not aware she's doing it when she's doing it?

The rest knows about it now. She didn't believe Hayoda then because she was young and the witness was, well Hayoda...

>>73471

>Maybe the lesson Yue could learn here is to try and channel her rage into being more efficient.

No, if anyone ever makes a reference to this again, I'd rather have her do the opposite and learn not to let emotions take the best of herself.

>>73471
>Also, what are people's thoughts on Yue and sandbending? It'd be interesting to see if she finds it easier or just as hard as tougher earthbending. (That and I'm probably going to draw her in sandbending clothes just 'cause)

I'm pretty confident that sandbending would be harder for Yue, just because when I imagine her Earthbending process, it deals with transformations and extrusions from a rigid, uniform, contiguous mass (as if the stone was paper to draw compass-and-straightedge constructions on -- if the paper itself was not stable, that approach wouldn't work).

On the other hand, I've always had an obsession with the idea of Yue drawing out or tracing things onto earth, as a way to help her focus and concentrate on just what earth she wants to manipulate. And if it's easier to draw lines in the sand, that could mean something. Also, we've long had the idea that Yue really needs to get strong contact with her element in order to use it well (her rock gloves are a way of giving her direct contact). And sand is easy to plunge one's hands into. I'd say she would be able to manipulate the sand around her hands pretty well (probably as well as if she were to stick her arms deep into mud), but her range would be greatly diminished due to the fluid nature of sand. If Yue were to fight in sand, I'd expect the extent of her sandbending to be quickly compressing some sand into sandstone to have a more typical bendable to work with.

But I want to see her bundled up in sandbender clothes! I'm already imagining that to be quite a neat sight.

>>73478
I've always thought sand would be easier for Yue, due to her use of earthbending whilst gardening. She's used to working with looser, delicate materials, and the hard rocks are what seem to give her the most trouble, since those are the more offensive techniques.

>>73476
>No, if anyone ever makes a reference to this again, I'd rather have her do the opposite and learn not to let emotions take the best of herself.
That works even better for her!

>>73478
>>73480
I agree with both of these ideas. As in, Yue could see the benefits of sandbending but there are obvious downsides to it and sticks with using harder earth most of the time.

So here's Yue as a sandbender. YAY
Also, bonus swamp Tseng: http://wafflejones.deviantart.com/art/Swampbending-Tseng-151887894

>>73514
Both of those pictures are great!

(Aargh, I've lost the ability to provide meaningful contributions to the thread.)

Continuing my little series...

>>73549

First time the S3 outfit has appeared in a drawing. Good picture Eo3

Hey folks, Eo3 and I were talking, and we had a nice chat about just how long after the series GJr takes place. Now, either because it was easier for the calculations I love doing, or just because I've got a hard-on for round numbers, I've always said 20 years to myself (and others). But Eo3 did put forward a pretty convincing argument that, despite 16 being a marriageable age and people in ancient cultures having children earlier, 20 may be pretty short (bringing Yi Lin into the world when Aang's like 18 at best). I recognize I'm probably pretty late to the party, since IIRC lots of people here were always saying "twenty-something / 2X" years and leaving it vague. But I just wanted to say that, at least in my head, I think I'll start estimating things in terms of "25-ish," and nailing it down as 25 years for my personal OCD timelines, to bring it more in line with realistic human generational lengths.

Am I correct in assuming that others here have thought it's more around that length of time? Let's talk! :D

I always hammered it at around about a straight 20. Toph is 32/33, Tom Tom...whatever he is.

And so on.