i know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

[thespaceopera]

[ Calibration Rooms ]
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W - Z Yuan Ka-Fai Zaveid Zelda

Comments

[alwayscomeback]

[It's absolutely not trying to kill him. This is a great place. Mostly. ]

The sign has "foreigners out!!!" scrawled across it. The memory swirls around you. You're still in the city, but there is now an angry mob pressed against a metal face, shouting and raising their signs. There is great unrest here. You start towards the people you have come to meet, freshly arrived. A man with a pet bear (just a...regular bear), and a young man with a distinctive scar across his face.

"Fire Lord Zuko, Earth King Kuei!" you say, raising your hand in greeting, smiling.

Zuko is absolutely not about to stand on ceremony, pulling you into a hug the second you get near to him.

"Thanks so much for coming," you say.

"Sokka! Good to see you, buddy," Zuko replies, tightening the hug, before releasing you, turning to look at the rabble. "You sure we should be here? I don't want to cause the South any more trouble."

"Don't worry about them," you reply, leading Zuko and Kuei away. "They just need to see what we're trying to do. Then they'll get it."

One of the protesters presses his face up to the fence, angry.

"Protecting foreigners, Sokka?" he sneers. "You've been away for too long. You've forgotten where you belong."

The words hit you like they would any well placed dagger. You know he's right, you know it. It's been years, you may call this place your home, but is it really any more? The realisation that it might NOT be, that everything you've fought for, everything you hoped to return to is just...gone. Or worse, that you're unwanted here. That you've forgotten where you belong.

You take a breath, trying to not let the hurt show as you step into one of the ice buildings.

"Come on," you lead the dignitaries inside, and the memory flickers out.

[deviances]

[ Eithan is scowling when the memory fades. "Foreigners out"? Seriously? He may not know the root of all this, what could drive these people to feel this way, but... it still isn't right. He knows that much.

The pain that Sokka felt, though - being told that by one of his own... Goddess. Yeah, things change. But knowing the inevitability of that change never makes it easier.

He lets the sign drop back to the ground, looks around the city again - holy shit is that a fan that's a blade? That is so awesome, he has got to go have a look at that (and hopefully not cut his own finger off fjdskl) ]

[alwayscomeback]

[The endless march of change is really felt hard here, and Sokka's trying to come to terms with it. But hey, at least Eithan has found a good memory! ]

This memory begins quite some time ago. There is a girl, surrounded by many others in an elaborate uniform, making complex moves with their bladed fans. You lean on the entranceway with a cocky grin.

"Sorry ladies, didn't mean to interrupt your dance lesson," you say cockily. "I was just looking for somewhere to get a little workout."

"Well," the lad girl says, unimpressed. "You're in the right place," she pauses. "Sorry about yesterday. I didn't know you were friends with the Avatar."

"It's alright," you stretch out your arms with a scoff. "I mean, normally I'd hold a grudge, but seen as you guys are a bunch of girls, I'll make an exception."

"I should hope so," the girl replies, a smile crossing her lips. "A big, strong man like you? We wouldn't stand a chance."

"True," you clearly don't catch her tone. "But don't feel bad. After all, I'm the best warrior in my village."

"WOW!" she says with faux wonder. "The best warrior, huh? In your whole village? Maybe you'd be kind enough to give us a little demonstration?"

You realise you've probably walked into a trap too late. You stammer an awkward attempt to back out of this, but the girl turns to her fellows, grin widening.

"C'mon, girls! Wouldn't you like him to show us some moves?"

The others giggle and nod their assent.

"Well, if that's want, I'd be happy to, alright, you stand over there-" you take the girls shoulders and point her where to go. "Now, this may be a little tough, but try to block me- "

You make a move to side-swipe her, she blocks you with her closed fan, barely even moving.

"Ahha-good," this is not going well. "'Course, I was going easy on you. "

"Of course," she replies, amused.

"Let's see if you CAN HANDLE THIS!!!", you leap at her, she easily knocks you down, and then stands there, fanning herself. "THAT DOES IT!!!"

You make another run at her, she grabs your fist before it can connect and spins you around, then casually snaps your belt off, tying it around your wrist and ankle as you hope around ineffectively- eventually landing flat on your face. The girls laugh, while the leader stands, triumphant.

"Anything else you want to teach us?"

The memory flickers, fades, and changes. You're back in the same room, the girls are still training. You, however, are far less cocky.

"Uh...hey, Suki."

"Hoping for another dance lesson?" she replies coolly.

"NO-I," you stammer, this...is not easy. "Well, let me explain."

"Spit it out," is her response, eyes narrowing a touch. "What do you want?"

You take a moment, before exhaling, moving to kneed before her, head bowed. No cocky attitude, no sexist remarks. Just humility, apology. You...were an idiot.

"I would be honoured, if you would teach me."

"Even if I'm a girl?" she crosses her arms, clearly angry.

"I'm sorry if I insulted you earlier," you reply, quiet. "I was wrong."

"We normally don't teach outsiders," Suki replies. "Let alone boys."

"Please make an exception," you bow your head. "I won't let you down."

The memory fades and you're back in the town again. A second fan HAS appeared, it seems there's more than one set of memories for this girl. You can pick it up, or head off for something else.

[deviances]

[ Oh. Goddess. Oh man, Sokka...! But at least he went back to apologize. Props. Eithan's always had respect for him - that just takes it up another notch.

You bet Eithan's going to pick up that second fan, he's gotta see how this one ends! ]

[alwayscomeback]

[He learned an important lesson about NOT being a sexist pig! ]

A few months have passed. You're now in a prison cell, dressed in a guard uniform. You wander into one room, where Suki lies on her bed. She scowls at your helmeted face, unable to see you beneath it. To her, you're just another guard.

"What is it?" she asks harshly. "Did I do something wrong?"

"You mean you don't recognise me?" you ask, folding your arms, enjoying this a little.

"You people all look the same to me," she responds, scowling.

"Oh? Then maybe you'll recognise this-" you lean in to kiss her.

Which...in hindsight, given what you know about your girlfriend is a terrible lapse in judgement. She lashes out, hurling you against the wall. Your helmet comes off, clattering to the ground. Her eyes widen in recognition, and her whole demeanour changes. A wide smile crosses her face.

"Sokka!" she runs into your arms, hugging you tightly, and you return it. You've missed her. "It's you."

You hug her for a moment, just glad to have found her. You breathe in the scent of her hair, and squeeze her a little closer. You're so glad to know she's okay, that she's still alive. You stand.

"The other Kyoshi warriors?" you ask. "Where they here?"

"No," she drops her gaze. "I don't know where they are. They locked me in here because I'm the leader."

"Well," you cup a hand to her cheek, offering her a smile. "You won't be here for long. I'm busting you out."

She leans into your touch, placing her hand over yours, a smile crossing her face. You would do anything for that smile.

"I'm so glad to see you, Sokka," she says gently. "I knew you'd come."

You lean in for a kiss, and this one she readily accepts. The memory flickers again and fades out, leaving you in the city once more.

[deviances]

[ ...... AWWWW SOKKA!!

Eithan, being the hopeless romantic that he swears he isn't is, is pretty much grinning ear to ear when the memory fades. At least there are good memories here!!

The next thing he notices is the bracelet - time to put the fans down (before he really does cut himself) and pick that up... ]

[alwayscomeback]

[There really ARE nice memories here. The necklace is simple, but pretty. It has the Water Tribe symbol etched on it- he'll have for SURE seen that living on the Blue Fish. ]

This is less one solid memory, and more a swirling pool of a lifetime. All through these memories permeates a strong, unbreakable feeling of family, of loyalty, of a deep love. First there is a very young girl, you have a snowball fight, she always wins (because she cheats) but you never really mind. The memory flickers- you are stood beside the girl in front of the ring of stones, heads bowed, the girl is crying. You reach out a hand to comfort her, she turns and clings to you, sobbing.

Another switch, the girl is older, so are you. You sit in front of the strange iceberg, arguing. Another flicker, another change, you're flying high above the sky with a strangely tattooed boy. You and the girl argue again, it's a little less heated this time. More memories pour in, some too fast to count. But no matter what, if you are happy or sad, friendly or arguing, the feelings of love remain strong. Throughout everything.

The memories finally settle, the girl is older again, a young woman now- just as you are a young man. She looks heartbroken. As always, you step forward to comfort her, as you always will.

"Sis?" you ask gently. "You okay?"

"This isn't how I imagined our trip back home," she sounds so sad, so tired. "I always assumed that once we defeated Fire Lord Ozai, the South Pole would go back to the way it was supposed to be. Our lives would go back to the way they're supposed to be."

Her arms drop. You haven't seen her look this defeated in a while. It worries you.

"But with Gilak and those protesters and all the unrest and now this whole thing..." she sighs. "Like I said, it's not what I imagined."

"Katara, I get what you're saying," you respond gently, you realise you sound tired, too. "But you and I have no actual idea of what things were like here before the war. Nobody alive does, not even Gran-Gran."

You speak what has been on your mind since you got back. Since you saw how much of your old home has been paved away, how different it all is. You're not sure if it will help your sister, you hope it will. That it will give her some semblance of peace, or at least something to step forward from.

"What if the South Pole you're imagining- the one where everything is 'how it's supposed to be'...never actually existed?"

She looks sad, but she understands, a voice comes in from the side, but the memory fades along with it, leaving you in the little village once more. for a brief second, it's like you're in the city, but it filters back to the village.