DON'T PANIC!Previous Thread: >>76098Wiki (now hosted on Wikia): http://www.gaangjr.com/wikiStory Archive: http://community.livejournal.com/gaang_jr/ Thread Archive: http://www.gaangjr.com/threads/deviantART Group: http://gaangjr.deviantart.com/IRC: #plus4chan on irc.rizon.netOver the past few months we've had some new faces join, and some old faces return. So I just wanted to take a moment to welcome everyone and say what things are like here.Above all else, these characters are "original characters please steal." None of us owns them, and the fun comes from different people taking them and going wild. As Dr. Professor said a while back ( http://gaangjr.wikia.com/wiki/Introduction ), "they're just our action figures." So if you're interested in coming up with something, you don't need to ask for permission or anything -- just go right ahead, be bold! :)In many ways, these threads themselves, the time we spend here having fun and making things for each other, is the real meat of GJr. So if Gaang Jr is interesting to you, please post here, and ask or comment on anything you like no matter how small it seems (or talk to us on IRC!). While the wiki is useful for compiling information, it's not where our attention is focused, and you'll miss out on a lot if you don't hang out with us. :)Current Events:- TDL has finished his Irah story "In Synch"! The finale of Irah's dancing tale starts at >>79116. Our characters' defining events are becoming more and more fleshed out; which will be next?- A year after I put it aside, I finally finished "Lazy Day," a slice-of-life story about the friendship between a young Irah and Yi Lin. You can read the final section here: >>79326- To save a bit of cash, Wikia's hosting the wiki, and the comic's there as well for now. Also, to make earlier threads more accessible, I'm working on uploading all old threads onto http://www.gaangjr.com/threads/ -- it's basic (all images are thumbnails only), but they'll be there to read up on. However, I am missing a couple threads (#38, for example). If anyone has a thread I'm missing, please email it to me so I can put it up.Points of Discussion:- Yi Lin and Nikiru, moving closer? Taking the leap or holding back? Nikiru as a crewmember of the Blue Flame and a furious Arluk in pursuit? Discussion starts at >>79294.- Tseng, Hakoda, and Water Tribe rites of passage? Signs of Ice Dodging adventures on the horizon (>>79063)! How is our maturing Waterbender honoring his culture, and for that matter, what is the Southern Water Tribe like twenty years after the war?- Villains! We had some great discussion on Hannon during the last thread, but the kids need some more serious foes to battle. We've already done a lot with Ching the Pirate, and we've not done much at all with Lee or Junren and Fenghuang. What would be some compelling bad guys that can oppose our heroes?
>>82916Using the word chagrin a lot? Well, that's a joke I heard at least.
RANDOM THOUGHT I HAD A FEW NIGHTS AGO."Huh, y'know, John, Rose, Dave, and Jade use the classical elements. Kinda like in Avatar. Heh................No, brain. Stop it."
>>82874Well...it WAS labelled as an EU, but I guess it's now an AU. It's not nice, shifting from Plausible to Busted. Still; we make do.And to show how we make do, I wrote this during my off-hours on another writing project; a short scene from a story where (presumably) Chin has stranded Hayoda out on the icy-glacial plains off the side of the North Pole...somewhere, and is the only one who knows how to find him...except she doesn't feel like playing ball...---------“TELL US WHERE HE IS!! WHAT ISLAND?!” Yue screamed, rocking the pirate onto the back to legs of the chair.“An’ if I don’t?” Ching laughed, failing to repress a snort at the end of it which just made her laugh even harder.“TELL US OR I’LL-“ The earthbender seethed, eyes darting about to find some rock on the ship to batter her with, “I’LL-”“Yue.”“WHAT?!”...Irah continued to stare wistfully out of the small cabin window, letting the silence calm Yue down before carrying on. Yi Lin bit the back of her lip, glancing between the two.“Go help Tseng with Po.”“But-”“Yue.”The voice wasn’t any different; not any harsher or harder...and for that, it got Yue’s attention.“Go.”The princess turned to Yi Lin, forcing the airbender’s eyes to meet her own.“You too.”Yi Lin jumped to grab Yue before the girl could protest, almost shoving her out of the room and shutting the door behind them with a slam. She knew that look too well. She needed to get Tseng. Fast. Before...She needed to get Tseng. “So okay,” Ching burbled, having finished straining to hear Yi Lin tell Yue to shut up and come with her, “Now ye’ve got yer gurlyfriends away from us, whad we gonna do? Each other’s hair? Paint’re-nails ‘r sumthin’? Cuz I’m not gonna be much use like that wiv me hands tied, ya know.”Irah watched the pair take off over the ice before answering.“-Do you know why I’m dressed like this?”Ching looked up and down at the smothered Fire Nation noble as, apathetically, she started to prise her gloves off.“...Eh?”“It’s the cold.” She carried on, slipping the first of several jackets off, “I can’t stand it, you know? I’ve tried a lot of things to rid myself from feeling it, but more clothes seem to be the only thing that sticks. And that’s odd, really, because it shouldn’t be a problem for firebenders like me.”Ching frowned, but didn’t say anything. Irah continued to strip.“See, my father taught me a technique to keep warm during times like this; how to use inner chakras to generate heat and stave it off...but unfortunately, I was... am...too good at it.”The pirate gave a quick tug on her ropes as Irah took her boots off, one by one.“I can’t regulate the temperature. So I just end up getting hotter...”They were still too tight. Irah carried on removing her pants....and hotter... until I have to get rid it.”She’d finished now, the girl dressed in wrappings only.” Either into the air, or...”And Ching finally felt those dead, uninterested eyes turn on her as, gently, she reached forward and placed a palm on her chest. “...someone else.”Ching felt the sun get pushed through her ribcage.“And I can’t help but remember, Ching,” Irah carried on around the stifled half-screams, “What you once told Hayoda. About a fever that almost killed you. And I can’t help but notice how you’re always taking it easy on those hot days that we see you, and how you’re dressed just as frugally even in this cold climate, and I just have to wonder...how uncomfortable does this make you?”“Phmm-...I-It’ll take-”Another hand on her forehead scorched the sentence straight from her mind.“-You see,” Irah murmured, moving onto the pirate’s lap, “Every second I spend wasting time with you is another second in which the man I love could die...so this is what is going to happen. You are going to tell me where he is...or I am going to cook you from the inside-out.”She leant forward, balancing her head on the back of her palm, and stared down into watery, sweat-stained eyes.“And don’t you even dare tell me I’m bluffing.”
>>83004Rather dark, but I like it a lot. It shows what Irah's capable of to protect people she cares about. As for our status now firmly fixed as an AU, I'm cool with it. We're still just playing with our toys, after all.
>>83004 >Badass!Irah and fire-tortureMaybe a bit OOC, but considering the following...>the man I love So she's gone from "I'm unsure of my feelings" to "I'm fairly sure, but I won't admit it to anyone I care about". Unless this vignette takes place in "S3" when her relationship with Hayoda has already come to an advanced point.
For the record, I've always thought it was an AU.>>83004OOOOOOOOH very nice stuff! I love the bad cop routine.
>>83067Who says it's just a routine? ;) I like this extra dimension to Irah -- well, I mean not "like" because something that scary inside her isn't nice to see, but it's something I could conceive Irah showing during those very rare moments when shit has gotten realer than real. Irah is already holding back most of the time on this adventure.Good job on the writing, TDL. Looks like your edits turned out well. "Ching felt the sun get pushed through her ribcage" always gives me the chills (is that irony?).
>>83024I think there's never been an issue with Irah on whether she loves him or not, it's just other things that make it complicated, not work out and just...not something to say. In this instance I think she's announcing it more for the plain-speaking, no-bullshit factor rather than any other reason.>>83208Not just a routine indeed. Irah is a...reserved and understanding girl, but there are some things that make crossing her on a deeply personal level dangerous; much moreso than any other member of the crew, or even most of their parents.'Least that is what I posit.
Two things:1) I've kinda lost track of these threads, so can someone tell me whether or not Dr. Prof. ever continued that One Piece crossover? I was really enjoying it.2) I'd like to see some sort of AU thingy in which Avatar Korra goes to learn airbending from mid-sixties!Yi Lin.
>>83356He did not, much to everyone's chagrin.
>>83004Oh, I kinda like this side of her. Use that dark side, Irah!In other news, I finally finished this thing. (that sword ARRGGGH hell that err'thang)
>>83518OOOOoooooOOOH. Very nice. I love how this turned out.
>>83518This really turned out wonderfully! Coloring job is solid and I just love their pose -- Tseng's just flopping around at Hayoda's mercy.Anyway, TDL and I were talking about how the kids need more goofing off, and we had this conversation. Holler if anything resonates![00:53] <TheDaiLi> They enroll in an art class![00:53] <TheDaiLi> And Irah gets irritated at Hayoda's 'impressionistic' stuff.[00:54] <Maritova> irah's art class? and she sucks out all the fun of art for everyone[00:54] <Maritova> What is this Yi Lin. What is this. OFF MODEL IS DEATH[00:54] <TheDaiLi> I figure there could have been a life drawing or what-have-you class going on, and Irah joins, and everyone else goes 'HEY LETS JOIN TOO!'[00:55] <TheDaiLi> But Irah's art class sounds fun also.[00:55] <TheDaiLi> Yi Lin, there is NO OTHER MODEL here. There can be no romance!![00:55] <TheDaiLi> YUE...your proportions are off, but at least you're trying. Keep at it.[00:56] <Maritova> :)[00:56] <TheDaiLi> Hayoda...what...[00:56] <TheDaiLi> I AM PAINTING THE ANGUISH OF MAN'S SOUL!![00:56] <TheDaiLi> ...See me after class.[00:59] <TheDaiLi> Tseng isn't even using a canvas, he's making an ice sculpture.[01:00] <TheDaiLi> And argues with Irah that he's crap on a canvas so he's not going to do it.[01:00] <TheDaiLi> Which'd be the most conversation they'd probably ever had ever.[01:00] <TheDaiLi> Either that, or Irah approves of playing to strengths and passes on.[01:00] <TheDaiLi> Which is also likely.[01:01] <Maritova> haha, oh poor Tseng and Irah in their different worlds[01:01] <Maritova> ice sculpting as a waterbender would be interesting, more like working with clay[01:01] <TheDaiLi> The Yi Li's like 'Then why aren't you moaning at Tseng, there isn't even ICE in this picture!'[01:01] <Maritova> she'd totally say something like that[01:05] <Maritova> hmm I guess Murph already wrote a whole figure drawing thing[01:06] <Maritova> else I'd think up Tseng being all "Irah? This live drawing class... are the people going to be, uh, nude? Because I don't know if Jing would be happy with me looking at naked girls..."[01:07] <TheDaiLi> 'Don't worry Tseng, Jing is the one modeling.'[01:07] <Maritova> OH WELL THEN LET'S GET MOVING[01:08] <TheDaiLi> (Doesn't tell him she's modeling with another guy)[01:08] <Maritova> :O![01:09] <Maritova> Tseng spends the whole time depressingly comparing himself with the guy[01:10] <Maritova> and then Jing comes by afterward "Oh hey Tseng let's see how you did! Hmm, you really detailed his muscles well... in fact it looks like you spent a lot of time on him"[01:10] <Maritova> cue gay jokes etc etc[01:10] <Maritova> do you think Yi Lin or Yue would lean more towards abstract art?[01:11] <TheDaiLi> Yi Lin and Hayoda are art buddies. Yue's shapes are all geometrically sound.[01:11] <TheDaiLi> Actually, she might be really good at proportions, but finds it ard detailing tuff, keeping people as a collection of fitting shapes rather than something that looks 'alive' on the canvas.[01:12] <TheDaiLi> She'd be a good technical drawer.[01:12] <Maritova> yeah[01:12] <TheDaiLi> Yi Lin kinda draws the two body shapes meshing into each other...but still draws the other guy as Hayoda.[01:13] <Maritova> :3[01:13] <TheDaiLi> Hell knows what post-modernist design Hayoda comes up with.[01:16] <TheDaiLi> He takes it off the canvas and onto his own body.[01:17] <TheDaiLi> I AM BECOMING TWO SOULS, PAINTED OVER A MAN!![01:17] <Maritova> THIS IS DEEP IRAH YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND[01:17] <TheDaiLi> I think what he does depends entirely on how much sugar he has had beforehand.[01:18] <Maritova> that "two body shapes meshing into each other" keeps making me think that whatever art Yi Lin makes is some real freaky Gigeresque shit[01:18] <TheDaiLi> Haha, a good way for her smutty subconscious to realise itself.[01:18] <TheDaiLi> 'Yi Lin...why do they both have breasts?'[01:18] <TheDaiLi> 'Huh? They do, huh?'[01:19] <Maritova> :)[01:21] <Maritova> I think Yue would enjoy making mobiles or other sorts of kinetic sculptures[01:23] <TheDaiLi> Probably. She'd jump aboard her brother's outward thinking ideas. I think Yi Lin' be the only one ending up sticking to a canvas.[01:23] <TheDaiLi> ...Though I can see a 'The Ghost' clay scene with her and Nik.
>>83651Is ANGST!Hayoda something with precedent, or was that a spur-of-the moment joke?
>>83687He's painting two happy souls.Just because he's going all post-modern on our asses doesn't mean he has to be sad about it.
>>83356>>83499HEY! HEY HEY HEY! I'M WORKIN' ON IT!I lost interest for a little while, due to hitting major writer's block. But a flash of inspiration struck recently, so now I'm back in the game!
Glad y'all liked the outcome!>>83651The only way I could imagine Hayoda using a canvas is dumping a paint bucket on himself then jumping onto a giant canvas. He's a lot like his father(i.e. literal) when it comes to art in my little deranged mind. >>83817Huzzah!
So, TDL and I were talking again, and we had thought through a little idea about Jing and Irah and the nature of their animosity (well, by the ratio of chat, more like he thought of an idea and I responded yes/no when prodded for feedback). Jing loves to tease and prod and generally be obnoxious to her, but while so much of Jing's actions are about getting some sort of reaction, there's probably something different about the way Irah reacts. It seems easy to imagine Irah getting a tad physical to quickly shut down the source of the annoyance.And the thought is that there's a part of Jing's personality where she craves Irah's stern hand and dismissive demeanor, the sort of thing that for all his talents, Tseng probably just can't muster convincingly. And, fully aware of this or not, Irah is all too happy to oblige. So TDL drew up an outfit he felt captured that sense of dismissive sternness.
>>84362>there's a part of Jing's personality where she craves Irah's stern hand and dismissive demeanorThis. I agree.
>>84362Yeah, that description doesn't paint me as a fetishistic nutbag at all whilst making all other parties look completely blameless. Thanks Mari.That said, the design did come about because we were discussing exactly what it is that Jing sees in Tseng and so forth, and it struck us that Jing might be the kind of person who enjoys being outclassed; perhaps because it happens to her so rarely. At first it's because Tseng beat her for girly looks, but it also becomes apparent he's smarter than her too, and I think that plays its own part into their continuation as a couple and why Jing doesn't get bored with her.Irah, on the other hand, is a bitch so far as Jing is concerned...but a superior bitch. So for all the cussing and jibing, Jing wouldn't flip her shit if Irah gave her a quick slap and told her to shut up. She might still insult her a little, but she...wouldn't mind it so much.The actual outfit itself comes with a story and a lot more explaining, but...eh. I guess we'll see how this floats along first.
FFFFF... it's been ages since I've caught up on this. ... maybe if I have time next week. That aside, for some reason seeing these guys four nights in a row on the beach in Thailand made me think of you all.
So you guys are saying that Jing secretely wants to be a Sub in a S&M relationship?Or that beneath that, "Grr, I'm independent!" attitude she pulls, she secretly wants to be tied up and be treated like a child??...I don't know...
>>84401>So you guys are saying that Jing secretely wants to be a Sub in a S&M relationship?>Or that beneath that, "Grr, I'm independent!" attitude she pulls, she secretly wants to be tied up and be treated like a child?? Yeah, Dai Li, sorry, but, new outfit aside, that's exactly what this sounds like.
>>84401I interpreted it in a less sexual way than might have been intended. Jing's always gotten her way and been in charge, so it's simply refreshing to her to have someone push her around.
>>84404I see it the same way, as in she always seems to be able to do whatever she wants. Sometimes, she just enjoys someone challenging her, someone who'll tell her "no, enough is enough and you have got to stop this".She'll view it as a challenge consciously, but subconsciously (or she just wont admit to it) she just likes the idea of someone else taking charge and responding to the things she does.She is somewhat like Hayoda, she just likes some attention. She's just not goofy enough to stay humble about it. She's sort of like the kid who steals a cookie from the cookie jar when the parents have told her no.Actually, that's like Irah too, except Irah's doing it because she wants her parents to notice her and not baby her (actually react to her), while Jing does it because she likes to push her boundaries, never breaks them.Yeah, that was confusing. Excuse this sleep-deprived person, it probably only makes sense in my head and I have no way of explaining it in this state of mind. I'll return later.
sop's got the head of it, E's got the tail.Not to say that S&M didn't cross my mind, but that's crazy. Jing doesn't want to be tied up at all...least I don't think she does. I do think, however, that she likes to push stuff until she's prevented from pushing them any further, and getting stopped even before the pushing properly starts is a pleasantly novel experience for her.
Oh hey! I just found this on dA!http://starnik.deviantart.com/art/Sketch-A-Day-Yi-Lin-174366287:D
>>84847 Oh hey, that's from Mindwipe! =D
>>84882Yeah, I saw it in /draw/ a while back, but I didn't really mention much of it, not sure why.
Now I've been drawing a few S3 Hayoda designs seeing as he's the guy who hasn't had any yet, and I decided that they were rubbish, so I've started redrawing them so they look sensible.Here's the first of three. The other two...eh, it'll take a while. Is anyone else up to anything, or willing to help with something...more?
>>85378Oh man, seriously? No replies to this? I love Hayoda's dashing demeanor in that coat. This would definitely be one of those moments when he would only refer to Irah as "Princess."
>>85465I love it, just wondering how I'm going to like the idea of the sword being sheathed to his side instead of his back. I do like the bad-ass nature of it, and as long as the captain's hat returns.And yes, it's my personal cannon that he sheathes the sword on his back.
>>85378I'm only just getting to see this cuz my internet's acting all screwy. And I love it Dai Li. Its so piratey and awesome. I can't wait to see what else you come up with.
>>85378Frankly, I think it looks a bit too Western. That collar could use some trimming.That button pattern might work, though. Google "Wushu uniform" to see exactly what I'm talking about. Or take a look at the top piece in the pic.
Here's one with a bit more collar.Point is, your collar is HUEG, and what it may project more of Hayoda's personality, it just doesn't seem to be in line with the universe.
I liked it when we invoked rule of Cool/Funny instead of worrying about making every little detail adhere to the show's canon.
>>85606Same here. I was just looking at the archives and some had mentioned that we needed them to encounter mummies at some point. Where did the mummies go, /a/? Where did the mummies go?
>>85503Sorry, but rule of cool prevails. If June gets heeled boots, Hayoda gets a pirate coat.Strange of you to bring up this garb though, as that's almost EXACTLY what I had Hayoda wearing in yon getup pictured; something for more fan/HtH endeavours, I imagined this to be.
>>85647Also; I accidentally invented moonwalk fighting....I'll roll with it.
>>85647I liek this much better. And moonwalk fighting, which wouldn't surprise me if Hayoda invented it.
You're gonna carry that weight.
>>85768That's Hayoda when he's sad?!I'm surprised you haven't made Hayorah 34 already. Sure as hell beats another bondage pic.
>>85802>>I'm surprised you haven't made Hayorah 34 already.I was thinking about the same thing!
Hey! Listen!Remember that "Yue becomes the surprise Queen of Omashu thanks to Bumi's loopy decrees about who shall be the heir to his throne after (ahem) his death" idea that was bandied about? I think this would be a great idea to steer gjr back toward Rule of Cool. Omashu is a frickin funhouse and Bumi is a master troll who doesn't operate on logical thought.Been kicking some stuff around with Mari, nothing about the plot, just some hi-jinks that might take place during such a story<D_Murphy> she starts out all stoic and logical <Maritova> I could see a girl like Yue, having been not very powerful or strong, not knowing quite what to do when power is suddenly in her hands<D_Murphy> it would be all well and good, things operating nominally<D_Murphy> then she might misspeak a command<D_Murphy> and her underlings do something outlandish<D_Murphy> they shant disobey the queen<D_Murphy> of course, she gets a huge kick out of it<Maritova> then she starts to play around with the whole idea? <D_Murphy> haha, I can see Hayoda being a little birdy in her ear<D_Murphy> "BY ROYAL DECREE, THE CITY'S BEST EARTHBENDERS AND ENGINEERS SHALL INSTALL A LOOP-DE-LOOP INTO THE MAIN MAIL SYSTEM LINE!"<Maritova> yesssss<D_Murphy> Tseng gets in her ear<D_Murphy> "OH. AND I DECLARE TODAY TO BE OFFICIAL HAYODA-IS-A-BUTT HOLIDAY IN OMASHU- WHAT?"<D_Murphy> or what have you<Maritova> absolute power<Maritova> corrupts absolutely!<D_Murphy> and then Hayoda was covered in pentapods in the middle of town D:
>>86108I really do love this idea, if only because we'd have a really frazzled Yue as she starts to realize the power going to her head. IT'S TEARING HER APART INSIDE!Anyway, I've started to realize that I have all these story ideas and I'm really never going to get around to writing them out. So what I'm doing is going through and compiling all my notes for each story. I'm basically taking whatever prose I have and bridging the gaps with synopses, leaving out no detail that I've already come up with and trying to make the story able to be followed by others. I just don't want the ideas trapped in my head forever, so I'm wanting to get them out however possible.I've just finished writing up the summary of the Po origin story I was thinking about, and interestingly enough this technique was really good for helping me fill in plot details I wasn't sure about without getting bogged down in issues of how I'm writing things. Liberating, in a way!
OK, here's my little writeup for the Po origin story idea.Our story starts a week or two after the start of the adventure. The kids are still on the run from their parents, but they've made enough distance between them that they can finally relax and spend a day in the Earth Kingdom coastal town of Neudai. Most of the Gaang Jr have already left the boat, leaving Tseng with a moment of personal thought as he makes sure the ship is in good shape before he disembarks.Being raised by a Waterbender and an Airbender -- or as his sister would say in an cringingly awkward but lovable attempt at being poetic, "a son of Water and Air" -- meant Tseng knew his clouds and what they meant. They were long and feathery, letting through enough sun that the day was bright, but not enough to make its rays beat down on the bare, dark skin of this Waterbender's back. Dimly Tseng thought that the clouds meant a storm in the future, but it wasn't enough for him to worry.Of course, Tseng didn't really care about clouds all that much, especially on a day like this. It was just the sort of thought that would roll around in his mind, occupying his thoughts as he did what was needed to keep the ship working.The ship (and it was only ever called "the ship"; Hayoda kept rechristening the vessel every few days with a new name, none of which seemed to fit) had an ingenious mechanical contraption at its core, in a series of polished springs and clanking pulleys traveling up the mast. With a single short yank of a rope, large sails shot open in a flash. Over the past couple weeks it had already proved its usefulness, both against their parents and other more nefarious pursuers, but the price of a quick getaway was an extra hour of climbing up and down the mast to fold the canvas sails properly, ever-roughening palms forcing the iron plating down over them, bulging arms trembling to fix an already-taut rope over a hook that was just slightly out of easy range. Tseng didn't mind being the only one who knew the knots to do it right; the extra hour of work alone gave him time to think.Finally, satisfied with his work, Tseng quickly joins up with Hayoda and Irah.Hayoda chose this port town to make landfall because he knew it was the closest place with a scroll-shop, and he and Tseng needed to pick up the latest issue of the Wolf-Bat-Man illustrated scroll. The stories came out every month, filled with tales of adventure and mystery (and advertisements) and Hayoda had gotten the last one back home on Kyoshi Island before the adventure started, prompt as always by messenger hawk. Tseng typically got his by actually going to a scroll store when traveling with his dad -- this one in particular, in fact, and Tseng had made a series of scroll-loving friends here during his childhood. Regardless, neither of them were about to miss the illustrated action just because they were being pursued around the world. And Hayoda drags Irah along because he's busy trying to convince the girl that these scrolls are art, and not just something for children.Irah: The Wolf-Bat...Man?Hayoda: Yeah!Irah: Does he turn into a wolf-bat?Hayoda: No, no, he's a man who jumps across the rooftops of Ba Sing Se, bringing criminals to justice.Irah: Jumping across rooftops. So does he fly? Did he get the powers of a wolf-bat from a spirit?Tseng: No, he's just a regular guy who trains a lot. He's not even a bender, that's why it's so interesting. He has to solve all these problems on his own.Irah: Why would anyone choose to dress up as a wolf-bat? ... Wait, you didn't name us after this guy did you?Hayoda: Eh?Irah: "Iron Sea Wolves"... "Wolf-Bat-Man"...Hayoda: ... I'm not seeing the connection.Irah: It's just -- "wolf" --Hayoda: What's a wolf?Meanwhile, Yue finds herself in a store that sells all sorts of expensive animals. The owner of the shop is gruff and shoos her aside several times, but Yue barely even notices him and his two Earthbending workers, or the questionable conditions the animals are being kept in, so enraptured she is with the menagerie around her. She loses track of time as she gleefully moves from cage to cage, looking and making little replying noises at the assortment of creatures, many of which she had only seen on trips to the zoo outside Ba Sing Se, and others she had only read about. One large cage in particular catches her eye, not just because of its exorbitant price tag but because inside is a pangolin-otter, a majestic animal she had read much about and had had a long fascination with. Reaching inside, she slowly calms the nervous beast, who seems to take kindly to her. Scratching under its chin, she remembers the list of facts about pangolin-otters in her studies, such as its sleek, dense, waterproof fur. And as she remembers a mention of pangolin-otter scales being prized as expensive ingredients for various medicines of dubious efficacy, she runs her fingers across the hard scales, dimly noting how the further back she felt, the more she noticed their irregular shape, how many of them suddenly ended with rough, straight-cut lines, and finally how some scales seemed to be completely missing, exposing skin that made the creature wince when Yue brushed against it, and when she draws her hand back there is blood on her fingertips.A horrific realization dawning upon her, Yue spies a pair of large, sharp, iron pliers leaning against a nearby wall, and watches the pangolin-otter watching her as she slowly reaches out to them, and as her fingers touch the metal, the beast tenses and pushes itself against the back of the cage. Yue recoils, looking at all the cages around her with a shocking soberness, and feeling the tears welling up in her eyes she runs out of the store, upset not only at the cruelty around her but also how useless she feels. What can she do? She can't buy all the creatures off him, and even if she could, it would just mean more gold in these monsters' pockets to abuse more animals, harvesting them for superstitious medicines and elixirs that probably do nothing anyway. Her brother can face down pirates and the Fire Navy and she can't do a thing and what's the entire point of her being out here away from home?Unable to even think straight, Yue runs back to the harbor, running past Yi Lin sitting on the side of the dock, her pant legs rolled up and her bare feet hanging off the side of the dock in the water. The young Airbender has been amusing herself for the past while with one of her odd habits: placing little bits of food in between her toes and enjoying the weird yet amusing feeling from schools of hungry fish gently nibbling on her toes."Hey Yue! This is really fun, d'ya wanna-- Yue? Where are you going?"But Yue doesn't even notice her cousin, and, struggling to keep her composure, hurries and shuts herself in the ship's kitchen. It's pretty obvious to Yi Lin that there's a lot on her mind, and being the concerned cousin she is, Yi Lin goes looking for Yue and eventually hears the whole story in between frustrated sobs. Yi Lin, a deeply empathic person, starts to feel that familiar feeling that so defines her: righteous indignation at some injustice that rivals the person who's telling her about it.From the sounds on deck, Yue and Yi Lin could tell that Tseng, Hayoda, and Irah had successfully returned from their trip to the scroll shop, the boys with a shared copy of the latest Wolf-Bat-Man story and Irah with a few more mainstream titles with decent artwork. Tseng was busy profusely apologizing to Irah, who had found herself the only female customer in the shop and the subject of much unwanted and uncomfortable attention by Tseng's old childhood acquaintances, about whom Tseng felt horribly embarassed even if Irah seemed to take it in stride.But at this point, they can hear the muffled sounds of an upset Yue and comforting Yi Lin behind the door, and end up standing somewhat awkwardly outside. What they don't hear is Yi Lin hatching a plan with Yue where, under cover of darkness, the two girls will sneak in and set the animals free.
>>86147Yi Lin: All right, we'll meet in the market and start planning this out. But we can't let the others know until after, okay?Yue: Why?Yi Lin: Because they'd end up trying to talk us out of it. (waving her fingers in the air in a mocking fashion) With their 'logic' and 'reason' about how this is dangerous and illegal and is going to get us all caught and it's yet another one of Yi Lin's crazy schemes and you should never follow her.(a long silence fills the room)Yi Lin: ...But this is something we have to do, right? (rests her hands on Yue's shoulders) This is something _you_ have to do.Yue: Mm-hm.Yi Lin: We've been in here a while and I bet they're worried about you. So you need to look like there's nothing wrong. Can you do that?Yue: (wipes her eyes and takes several deep breaths, letting her pulse settle and her face retreat from its redness) I can do it.Yi Lin: (hugs Yue tightly) 'Kay, now go out there and I'll catch up in a couple minutes. (starts grabbing tons of ingredients from the shelves)(Yue exits the kitchen)Tseng: (getting up, tossing aside a string he had been repeatedly knotting, obviously out of concern) Hey there, Yue, what's up?Yue: (swallowing, trying to keep her mask of emotion on) Oh hi Tseng I'm not really doing anything right now except I was just heading back into town to wander around, nothing in particular just like before where I was wandering around and not finding or discovering anything in particular but I just wanted to wander there's nothing strange about that is there? (huge grin)Tseng: I... guess not. (Yue turns to head out) I-- I was just wondering if you wanted to talk.Yue: Talk? Talk about what? Not that I don't like talking, I'm not brushing you off in some sort of uncharacteristic fashion!Tseng: Oh... I just thought you might be feeling a little upset about something.Yue: (knowing that a simple denial would make him probe deeper) Huh? Oh, _that_. I, um, had a splinter in my hand! But Yi Lin took it out for me. Isn't she the best?Tseng: Your hand, huh? Lemme take a look, the wound probably needs to be cleaned-- (reaching out to take Yue's hands before she suddenly slips them out of his grasp)Yue: Ahh, no, no, it's really clean, Yi Lin did that too and besides the splinter was so small you probably couldn't even tell where it was, I know I can't! Well anyway I'm off! Bye!Tseng is not fully convinced, and walks into the kitchen to question his sister, only to see Yi Lin mixing a large bowl of some culinary concoction, and quite obviously doing it wrong. In the ensuing sibling argument about wasting supplies and how if Tseng is such a good cook why doesn't he show how it's done, Tseng grabs the spoon and before he knows it Yi Lin has sneaked out and Tseng's been tricked into busying himself with a complicated cooking project that will keep him distracted and occupied on the ship and far away from where Yi Lin and Yue plan to be.Hayoda: (popping into the kitchen) So, um, ... is Yue OK?Tseng: Huh? Oh, Yue's fine (completely distracted by both his love of cooking and his job of cleaning up his sister's messes), she just had a splinter.Hayoda: Oh, phew, I thought it was something, you know, _more_. I wonder what Yi Lin's doing, though; she seemed to scurry off in a hurry.Tseng: (turning his head away from the cooking to look at Hayoda for the first time) Seriously?Hayoda: What do you mean?Tseng: My sister's out of your hair for once and you're worrying yourself about her?Hayoda: (scratching his head) Heh, good point.Tseng: (giving a knowing glance) Now, if I were you, I would go over and spend some time with Irah. (gesturing on deck with his head)Hayoda: (looks blankly, then follows the gesture to Irah, hugging a bundle of scrolls to her chest and giving Hayoda a warm, smiling wave) Oh. (he says, still looking at Irah and waving back)Tseng: (turning back to cooking) Read some scrolls together, share your interests with her...Hayoda: (smiles) You sure know a lot about this stuff.Tseng: What would you do without me. Now out. (pushes Hayoda out with a foot)With the rest of the Iron Sea Wolves busy with their own affairs, Yi Lin and Yue are free to prepare for their daring animal rescue. Knowing it would be very suspicious to be recognized as having loitered around the place earlier that day, Yue thinks concealment is best, and the two of them purchase some long, tan coats that help make them more nondescript in the town's bustling streets (clothing Yi Lin would later make a habit of using to conceal herself on her various clandestine jaunts as the Masked Shipper).However, the girls barely need to case the joint at all. Displaying an uncanny skill for memory, Yue is able to remember the layout of the building with near-photographic recall, where each of the animals are inside, and from the information that had soaked into her brain from the many books she had read, how each of them would be able to be lured out.Yi Lin: "Your brain is creepy. Helpful... but creepy."Finally night falls upon the town of Neudai, and Yue struggles to contain the butterflies in her stomach as she and Yi Lin glide up to the roof of the store. From the rooftop they can see the store owner and one of his guards leaving the building to, as Yue theorizes, arrange some sort of deal with untrustworthy animal poachers. With only one guard remaining, the plan is for Yi Lin to distract him and lead him on fruitless hunts around the building by hiding in the shadows and making suspicious sounds, while Yue uses her chance to free the animals.All their plans go out the window as the shoddily-maintained terracotta tiles beneath their feat start to slip and slide off the edge of the roof, clattering and smashing loudly on the ground below. The girls can only give each other a look of shock before the weak roof gives out underneath them and they land inside the building's main office, papers flying in a chaotic pile around them. An ink-stained piece of paper sticks onto Yi Lin's face, and she flails blindly for a few moments until an unseen hand pulls it off of her.Yi Lin: "Oh, thanks Yu-- ...Oh."Before her stands the huge, burly guard, a scowl on his face. He crumples the paper in his fist.Yi Lin: (readying her staff) "Yue... run!"
>>86148Yi Lin jumps back and swings out her staff, creating a swirling blizzard of papers fluttering around the room. In the commotion, Yue dives through the guard's legs and flees the office, heart pounding in her chest. Thinking fast, Yue runs down the stairs to the main level, grabbing a huge jar of powdered pangolin-otter scales she remembered seeing earlier in the day. She scrambles back into the office to see Yi Lin just barely keeping herself out of reach of the guard's massive arms. Any surprise the guard was feeling at fighting an Airbender was more than offset by his ability to keep himself so firmly rooted to the floor that Yi Lin could not affect him, especially in these close quarters. Yue quickly climbs on top of the desk and drops the jar on the guard's head, and pieces of ceramic and powder covers their foe. He flinches from the surprise attack, stumbling, hacking, and coughing. Yue tumbles off the desk just before a summoned gust of wind sends the heavy wood flying into the guard's chest, and consequently sending both flying against a wall.Panting heavily and coming to terms with the seriousness of what they are doing, Yi Lin and Yue grab some nearby rope and, struggling to remember their knots and wishing Tseng were there, they tie up the unconscious guard and with great difficulty push him underneath the desk, then take his keyring and lock him in the office.The girls quickly make their way downstairs to the animal room, a long hallway lined with caged animals. Taking opposite ends of the hall, Yue uses the keyring and starts frantically opening cages left and right, while Yi Lin breaks the locks with an Airbending slice, or cupping the locks and blowing into the keyhole with Airbending to make the metal devices explode into useless fragments in her hands.Yue finally gets to the pangolin-otter's cage, the last one, but the lock won't open. She is about to call for Yi Lin to help when a sudden bellowing shout echoes nearby: the guard had finally escaped his bonds, and upstairs the locked door smashes open. As he appears at the bottom of the stairs, they can tell that while he is shaken and lightheaded, he is still a dangerous threat.A single stomp splits the earth down along the hallway, and Yi Lin and Yue press themselves against the walls just in time. Dozens of birds squawk and lift themselves off the ground breaking beneath them. Yue dives to the floor and grabs a small lizard falling into the fissure, and from this vantage point sees the guard charging toward Yi Lin. Mustering her strength and what little Earthbending ability she has, Yue plunges her hand deep into the crevice and shoots up a series of bumps in his path, making him lose his footing just long enough for Yue's partner to finish the job. Yi Lin runs toward the guard, uses her staff and a healthy amount of bending to vault herself into the air, then flips and slams her staff across the ground, blasting the guard down the hallway in a cloud of dust with an impressive Airbending strike.Knowing she can't waste any more time, Yue directs Yi Lin to take a couple bags of feed and run, and after a moment's hesitation Yi Lin does so, cutting a hole in each bag and making a trail of crumbs the starving creatures ravenously follow out of the building.Staring intently at the pangolin-otter, Yue lifts up the nearby pair of sharp pliers, and for a moment the animal recoils in fear until it sees the girl using them to grasp the heavy padlock's shackle, squeezing as hard as she can until finally the cut lock falls to the floor with a heavy thump. Throwing the tool aside, Yue watches the creature slowly take its first few steps of freedom, and giggles as the pangolin-otter licks her with his long tongue.Seeing the seemingly unvanquishable guard start to stir, the pangolin-otter gestures for Yue to climb on its back. Yue holds onto the pangolin-otter's neck, her heart leaping in her chest as the beast runs through the town, letting out an exultant cry.Several minutes later, and back on the ship, Hayoda, Tseng, and Irah are completely unaware of all of this -- at least until a pair of screaming cousins and a flock of squawking animals run up the gangplank to the ship. In the distance the crew can see the shopkeeper and his other Earthdending guard chasing after them at full speed, apparently having followed a large and conspicuous trail of food leading straight to the ship.Yi Lin: Aaaahh! Tseng, start the boat, start the boat! (cuts the rope mooring the ship to the pier with an Airbending slice)Tseng: (narrowly dodging a pair of feedbags flying past his head, then leaping back as a stream of animals stampedes onto the boat) What did you do?!Yi Lin: (gesturing back at Yue) It was all her idea!Yue: Hey!Hayoda: Yue! Get away from that thing!Yue: He's not a thing, he's a pangolin-otter and he's my friend!Tseng: Again -- what did you do?!Yi Lin: (kicks the gangplank into the water) Talk later!Yi Lin quickly wrenches on one of the ropes of the ship's sail mechanism and favored getaway plan, unfurling the vessel's impressive sails without realizing that it is in fact a rather windless night. As if to drive the point home even further, the guard raises a huge boulder from the shore and fires it straight at the Iron Sea Wolves. Irah is barely able to cry out a warning before the rock smashes into the mast.The kids and the animals duck and cover themselves. A burst of quick thinking on Tseng's part and a sphere of water suddenly surrounding the impact site prevent the explosion of metal shards and wooden splinters from turning into lethal shrapnel, but the damage has been done. The mast falls across the deck, slamming and reverberating through the hull; the ship is dead in the water.In the chaos, the pangolin-otter dives off the ship, grabbing the rope that once held it to the pier in his teeth. Without any apparent regard for the welfare of the animals aboard, the enraged shopkeeper orders the guard to throw another boulder. Spinning through the air, it threatens to sink the ship, but the pangolin-otter is able to pull the boat further from the shore, and the stone glances against the side of the vessel.While Tseng divides his attention between raising walls of ice to block incoming boulders and yelling at his sister for getting into this mess, the pangolin-otter heads for his attackers and once-tormenters, jumping out of the water and charging down the pier. The guard tries to use Earthbending to wall the beast in, tall earthen cubicles erupting left and right around the animal, but the pangolin-otter dodges the traps and pounces on his foes.The shopkeeper and his guard pull themselves just out of the way of the pangolin-otter's swipes, just barely avoiding being ripped up by his sharp claws. Rearing up onto his rear limbs, the animal turns and slams his tail into his two enemies, knocking out the guard and leaving the shopkeeper extremely shaken.Glancing back to the ship and the five stunned children on board, including his rescuer, the pangolin-otter picks up each of his defeated opponents by their clothes with his teeth, and drops them into one of the Earthbent cages on the shore before hurrying back to the vessel and towing the Iron Sea Wolves further out to sea. His former master, a non-bender, will need to wait until his assistant comes around or someone finds them before he can be freed.One would think that after rescuing dozens of animals (which are now littering the deck, both with their presence and with their droppings, to the mild but growing annoyance of the rest of the crew), Yi Lin and Yue would call it a day. Damaging the ship and almost getting everyone killed in a harebrained scheme of animal liberation would have definitely warranted many severe tongue-lashings -- if Yi Lin had been the one doing it. As fair or unfair as it may be, Hayoda and Tseng cannot help but go easy on Yue, for both her noble intentions and her accounts of bravery and cunning during the heist itself. Yi Lin is all too happy to take advantage of the rest of the crew's leniency, and makes a personal note to involve Yue in any future ideas.And if anything, having boulders thrown at them makes the crew more than frustrated. Yue in particular is driven with a strange compulsion to see this through to its end, and with the help of the other kids, figures out which nearby areas can safely support each kind of animals, and over the next couple weeks they release their cargo into the wild -- each time with a bit of paper attached to them saying just where these animals came from and how abusive their owner was. Yue and Yi Lin take to this part with a surprising fierceness, wanting to ensure above all else that spreading the word will ruin this abusing animal keeper's reputation to the point that very few people would want to do business with him. As the ship's mast has been utterly smashed, the pangolin-otter, whom Yue named "Po" (波, "bō", meaning "wave" or "storm") has been happily helping to pull the ship during this time, and has proven even more effective at it than the night of his escape, after several full meals of fish and a Waterbender's healing abilities repairing the damage Po had taken during its captivity.A few prominent nobles in a nearby city, having heard about the Iron Sea Wolves' deeds and wanting to increase their prestige by associating themselves with a popular and charitible cause, offer to adopt and properly care for some of the more exotic and foreign animals, and after a few convincing speeches by Hayoda about "donating to the cause," the kids are able to collect enough money to get the ship's mast repaired better than before.All that really remains is Po himself. Neither Yue nor the others know where his family is, or even if he has one. As Yi Lin works on writing one last paper denouncing the abusive animal-keeper to attach to the pangolin-otter upon its release, she watches Yue and Po playing together on the waves, and she knows what is going through everyone's minds, much as Yue and her scaly-furry friend can sense from each other.Yue: I guess... we're your family now, Po. I mean, if you want us to be--(Po interrupts her with a quick lick to the face)Yue: Hee! That settles that then!Watching this scene from the ship, Yi Lin nods to herself and folds up the bit of paper she was writing, the still-wet ink smearing into a black-on-white double image. Opening it, she smiles, amused at the image the blotted ink had made. Yi Lin: Looks like a pretty butterfly.END(I know this is not nearly as satisfying as reading an actual story, but hopefully it's enough to at least imagine how it goes.)
>>86147>my face when I read"she runs her fingers across the hard scales, dimly noting how the further back she felt, the more she noticed their irregular shape, how many of them suddenly ended with rough, straight-cut lines, and finally how some scales seemed to be completely missing, exposing skin that made the creature wince when Yue brushed against it, and when she draws her hand back there is blood on her fingertips."A horrific realization dawning upon her, Yue spies a pair of large, sharp, iron pliers leaning against a nearby wall, and watches the pangolin-otter watching her as she slowly reaches out to them, and as her fingers touch the metal, the beast tenses and pushes itself against the back of the cage."D: D: D: This reminds me so much of Appa's Lost Days. A fine example to follow, seeing as that episode was a Genesis Award winner. Poor Po!Yue/Yi Lin team-up stories always seem to be the most zany capers, too. This story is no exception. Their personalities feed off each other in many ways and their partnership allows Yi Lin to showcase her airbending as the main "weapon". She's such an awesome Big Sis to Yue, too.>Hayoda and Tseng reading Wolfbatman comic scrollsThe circle of life is now truly complete.>Irah getting harassed by neckbeardsFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF"Unable to even think straight, Yue runs back to the harbor, running past Yi Lin sitting on the side of the dock, her pant legs rolled up and her bare feet hanging off the side of the dock in the water. The young Airbender has been amusing herself for the past while with one of her odd habits: placing little bits of food in between her toes and enjoying the weird yet amusing feeling from schools of hungry fish gently nibbling on her toes.Equal amounts of funny and d'awwwwsome, thar.>Dat rescue sceneEven if it wasn't in full prose, I was able to picture everything clearly. It was compact, chaotic, and the blows that were actually dealt were Serious Business. There's an odd irony about the guard getting blinded by their abused pangolin-otter's ground up scales.>And then the Gjr started the Avatar World's ASPCA.Imokwiththis.jpgThanks for compiling your notes Mari, that was a fun little read!
>>86177I'm really glad you enjoyed reading it!>Yue/Yi Lin team-up stories always seem to be the most zany capers, too. This story is no exception. Their personalities feed off each other in many ways and their partnership allows Yi Lin to showcase her airbending as the main "weapon". She's such an awesome Big Sis to Yue, too. I think what makes their action scenes so interesting is how they both really cleverly think on their feet and have to use their environment to their advantage, since they're typically physically outmatched by their foes. In contrast, if you have Hayoda or Irah (or to an extent, Tseng, as long as he has access to water) fighting, what they do is mostly unchanged based on their surroundings.In this case, I had nothing previously written from the time they land in the office and when they break Po out. It was just "they've landed in this room, there's a guard in front of them, what can I have them do to get out of this situation?". If the kids were playing an RPG, I could really see Yue being the kind of character with lots of sneak attacks and actions that cause status effects.That bit with Yi Lin and the fish was actually something my sister and her friends did on campouts. It seemed like the sort of thing Yi Lin would like. :P>There's an odd irony about the guard getting blinded by their abused pangolin-otter's ground up scales. Haha yes, definitely. Between this and Po throwing his captors into a prison of their own making, I wanted some poetic justice.