ᴏᴏ3 : ᴛᴇxᴛ | ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ

[honorbends]

Who: Zuko [honorbends] and YOU.
Broadcast: Fleetwide.
Action: On Ye Olde Ice Planet.
When: Now!

Why.

[ that is literally the only thing zuko texts, because he has stepped out onto the ice planet Hoth and is promptly regretting ever doing so. firebenders rise with the sun, and zuko is a morning person, and nothing is more claustrophobic than being on a ship with no natural light, or heat, or energy -- and being outside alone is rejuvenating for him, but --

there is so much snow.

so feel free to spot him wandering around looking furious in a scarf, stubbornly melting a small patch of snow, or perusing the markets for things to buy with money that he probably asked someone else for.

or you can hit him with snow and take advantage of the fact that he is, in fact, a firebender on what is apparently a recreation of the northern water tribe. with more salt.

this is the worst. ]

Comments

[honorbends]

I'm a --

{ but before he can launch into the proper speech, he pauses. ]

-- a piece of what?

[mikangirl]

[Yeah, everyone gives her strange looks at that. She shrugs a little.]

In our world, they're called devil fruits. You eat one, you get some kind of weird power, but you lose the ability to swim. There's only one of each kind, so. Only one person who can create and control fire.

I COMPLETELY MISSED THIS TAG OOPS...

[honorbends]

{ . . . ]

Why would you lose your ability to swim?

WHOOPS

[mikangirl]

Guess you don't have the saying between the devil and the deep blue sea, huh. Sea lore goes that if you're beloved by one you're hated by the other.

It sure seems to be the case here.

[honorbends]

Why would you willingly give up your ability to swim if you live on the ocean?

[ that just sounds obscenely stupid. and risky. and suicidal. ]

[mikangirl]

You got me. I wouldn't give it up for the world. But the most powerful people in competition with each other all have these stupid powers, so if you want to compete, you gotta get on their level.

[honorbends]

But all you'd have to do is shove them into the ocean.

[mikangirl]

You'd be surprised how hard it is to get the drop on a devil fruit user. They're tough in other ways. But yeah, technically.

[We shall not mention the filler where Nami literally kicked one of them overboard.]

[honorbends]

I guess, but that's still a pretty hefty weakness for someone who lives on the seas.

[ kind of stupid, in his opinion. ]

Is that the only drawback?

[mikangirl]

[Also in hers, for other reasons as well-- it escalates power levels into absolutely stupid areas and collateral damage is often horrifying. Ugh. But some people have good reason for it.]

Yeah. The tradeoff is pretty astronomical, unless you're not very bright. Myself, I'll just stick to being a normal person.

[honorbends]

At least you can just jump into the water if anyone is trying to kill you.

[ haha.

ha. ]

[mikangirl]

Which would totally work if you weren't jumping into the middle of the ocean. But I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever near a swimming pool.

[honorbends]

[ that's why he keeps katara around nami jeez ]

Certain people in my world can control water.

[ so. ]

Guess you better befriend one of them.

[mikangirl]

Got any recommendations?

[Actually not fully joking. But hang on--]

So a lot of people can control water or fire or wherever you're from? Not just one?

[honorbends]

You're born with the gift, but a reasonable amount of people can do it.

[ not many, in katara's tribe. because

um

they're kinda all dead, but. ]

[mikangirl]

Yeah? All the fire people got your temper?

[And if so how is your country still standing.]

[honorbends]

[ funny you say that it almost fell hahahaha ]

The Fire Nation is peaceful.

[ with the tiniest hint of reproachful tone ]

And the large majority has no interest in using their powers for anything destructive.

[ except like

his family

whoops ]

[mikangirl]

How do you deal with the minority, then?

[It's a genuinely curious question. Fight fire with fire might be a saying, but it doesn't hold up well when taken literally.]

[honorbends]

The Fire Nation is one of four kingdoms in our world -- and we all interact and coexist peacefully.

[ or will. once zuko returns to rule. ]

Each element relies on the other to exist, and each element has a weakness. If one portion of our world goes out of balance, everything drops into chaos. It would be the same if the Earth Kingdom decided to take over -- it wouldn't work, and it would just cause destruction.

[ zuko pauses ]

My people don't 'deal' with the minority; we live with other citizens. No one is better or worse than the other just because of their gift. That's how wars start, and we've fought enough. We want peace.

[ somewhere in that temperamental teenager is a royal guardian of great tradition. somewhere. ]

1/2

[mikangirl]

[Not quite the speech she expected to get out of Zuko. It paints a different picture than the whole spoiled and sulky one he had going up until now. So, a base revision in Nami's mind that he's not just fun to poke at, he's actually a good man.

Or okay, good teenager. Decent guy. Close enough.]

[mikangirl]

[Which is all well and good, but.]

That's not what I was asking. 'Large majority' wanting peace insinuates there's a minority that doesn't. I know you're not talking about people without a gift. How do you deal with those?

[honorbends]

[ there's a brief silence before he draws in a breath. ]

There was a war -- it's over, now.

[ pause. ]

The minority were a group of firebenders who took over the Fire Nation, who thought they could conquer our world through force, and threw the entire system out of balance. They're not in charge anymore.

[mikangirl]

[She winces the moment he says war. She didn't think she'd hit on something that huge and ugly.]

...I'm glad to hear it. I hope it stays that way.

[She's sincere. And won't push the issue any further than that.]

[honorbends]

It will.

{ because zuko is in charge now, and the avatar has returned. zuko has faith they'll figure something out. ]