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strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 11, 2021 0:45:56 GMT -5
“Of course I do,” Zuko replied, not budging from his fighting stance. He didn’t want his father to think he was a coward in this duel. He wasn’t afraid of Sal. He was actually afraid for Sal. If Sal wasn’t a bender, then Zuko could hurt him really badly. He didn’t seem prepared to fight, which made a sour feeling rise in Zuko’s throat. He didn’t want to fight someone who couldn’t fight. He had already backed out of one Agni Kai, though, and his father was watching… was this the chance of a do-over? “I don’t know if this is really the Fire Nation or just a replication of it, but this is an Agni Kai. You wouldn’t be up here if you weren’t a bender. Couldn’t… the House have made you one?” He cast a quick glance at his father, then struck forward, aiming a flaming kick just to Sal’s left. From the stands, it would look like he had just missed, not that he hadn’t been trying. He would rather his father think him an incompetent fighter than a reluctant one.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 11, 2021 8:42:37 GMT -5
Sal blinked, eyes widening a little as he understood. This was where he’d been before he blinked in, only it wasn’t Sal he was facing there. It was someone who cared a lot less about hurting him. He backed up a little as Zuko kicked, flinching from the flames in spite of himself. He wasn’t a bender. And even if he had been…how was he supposed to fight Zuko? “Wait, Zuko…” he managed, trying not to let the dread seep into his voice. “An Agni Kai? I don’t…” He hesitated, glancing at his hands. The House could have made him a bender, but he didn’t have any idea how to bend, even if he was one. What if he shot fire at Zuko without meaning to? What if he burned him? What if this room was just to force Sal into being the person who hurt him, without Ozai ever lifting a finger? “It’s just a room! Zuko, it’s not the Fire Nation anymore!”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 12, 2021 2:51:35 GMT -5
Zuko wasn’t thinking about the possibility that Sal could hurt him. It was something that had been covered briefly when Zuko was first learning firebending, but it hadn’t ever come up since. You could hurt people with firebending. You could hurt them badly. If you learned how to control it, you would only ever hurt the people you wanted to hurt. He wasn’t thinking of Sal as a new firebender who might hurt someone without meaning to. He had passed that stage a long time ago, and his teachers had never focused for very long on safety. It was expected that you should know how not to hit other people with fire. “My father is here,” Zuko replied quietly, sending a quick glance in Ozai’s direction before he looked up at Sal. “If you can bend… then…” Zuko didn’t have a way to finish that sentence. They could fight, but he didn’t think he really wanted to. He got the sense that Sal didn’t want to either. Well… they could figure it out. “Just… try bending,” he said after a moment, arms crossing. “You don’t have to attack me, but if you’re a firebender, then… then that’s the only way this place makes any sense.” He was trying to sound reasonable, but it was hard with all of the feelings running through his mind. All of the things he didn’t know how to or didn’t want to give voice to. The only concrete thing in front of him was the possibility of teaching Sal how to use bending.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 14, 2021 1:19:10 GMT -5
Sal wasn’t sure how to even begin to try bending. It was like moving a limb he didn’t have…there wasn’t anything to work with. He didn’t even know how to start. He didn’t think Zuko wanted to hurt him. He definitely didn’t want to hurt Zuko. Would someone force them, if they refused? Would Zuko be punished? It seemed like a safe assumption. He was about to be punished in his own world by the real Ozai for less than that, wasn’t he? Sal looked down at his hands, hesitating. He didn’t want to burn Zuko, even accidentally. He didn’t want to burn anyone, but… He followed Zuko’s glance to Ozai, or the man Sal thought must be Ozai. He looked…about as much like an asshole as Sal had expected, really. He shifted, so any accidental fireballs would fly at the Fire Lord, not Zuko. He’d have preferred to aim at no one, but since they were surrounded, that wasn’t really an option. He concentrated, trying to make fire appear. Nothing happened for a long moment - maybe he wasn’t even a bender - but then there was fire, and Sal swore and stumbled back, startled at the sudden heat. It had only been a small, out of control burst, but it left him feeling shaky and exhilarated, before he remembered where he was. “Okay, so…I am a bender,” he managed, looking at Zuko again. “I guess.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 14, 2021 2:59:08 GMT -5
Zuko didn’t miss how Sal turned so his fire would hit Ozai if something went wrong. It felt… purposeful. While Zuko was admittedly grateful that he wasn’t directly in the line of fire, he wasn’t sure how he felt about his father being the target. He didn’t hate his father. He didn’t know how to reconcile the flames heading towards his face with the respect he had for his father. Then again… the reason his mother was gone was because she had saved him from his father. Ozai wouldn’t’ have hesitated to kill him. He had originally thought Azula was lying, but time had revealed she really hadn’t been. Zuko could have died that night. It would have been passed off as an accident. The Fire Nation may have mourned, but not as much as they had mourned for Lu Ten. Zuko wasn’t a war hero. He wouldn’t have had an honorable death. And then there were flames, and Zuko couldn’t help the half-smile that appeared on his lips. He had assumed Sal was a bender, at least in this room. The Spirit World could do unimaginable things. “That wasn’t very controlled,” Zuko commented, glancing in Ozai’s direction. He looked… displeased. Fear spiked through Zuko, but he tried to push it away. He didn’t want to fight Sal if he didn’t even know how to bend. “I can uh… I can teach you. If you want. I mean… I’m not the best, and I still can’t do the advanced things, but I know the basics. Mostly.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Nov 14, 2021 3:17:14 GMT -5
It was only have because Sal minded the idea of burning Ozai the least out of everyone in this room. He couldn’t pretend that wasn’t part of it…it wasn’t like it would hurt him that badly. People had to get burned all the time in the Fire Nation. There were impulsive, short tempered five year olds with the power to demolish buildings running around, after all. But he also felt pretty sure that Ozai would be able to defend himself perfectly fine, if something did happen. If he couldn’t, maybe someone would rethink having a Fire Lord who got burned by the first kid to take a shot at him. He turned back to Zuko, pleased in spite of himself. “I didn’t expect it to be so hot,” he admitted. “I mean, to me. Somehow I thought I wouldn’t be able to feel my own fire.” He hesitated. He knew why Zuko was offering. It wasn’t just for fun…if Sal knew how to bend, it was a fair fight. If Sal knew how to bend, there was no reason for Zuko to hold back. He had no way of knowing Sal wouldn’t fight him, even if he was capable of it. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, if you think they’ll let us,” he agreed, giving a small nod. “I’d like that.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Nov 14, 2021 4:17:01 GMT -5
Zuko was only partially thinking of Sal’s ability to fight him if he could bend. Of course Zuko wanted to prove to his father that he wouldn’t back away from a fight, but… if this turned bad, if his father decided to choose sides, or if he decided to burn Sal for daring to direct fire at him… then it was probably for the best that Sal actually know how to firebend. That, and the fact that, though it was an important duty, Zuko still couldn’t help but feel like it was fun. It felt like holding raw power in his hand. It felt like possibility. He may not have been very good at it, but he was still more than proud to be a firebender. To represent his nation. He wanted to be able to pass that power on to someone else, even if they weren’t technically Fire Nation. And maybe, just maybe, he wanted to feel like he was good at it, for once. “I think as long as there’s something to watch, they’ll let us,” Zuko told him, sounding more hopeful than he felt. If Ozai wanted to put a stop to the training, Zuko had no doubt he would. And he had no doubt wo would be punished. “My uncle says that firebending is more about the breath than it is about strength. My father talks a lot about how fire is power, so… I guess it’s sort of both. You have to feel the fire in you. You can’t be afraid of it, even if it’s hot. Your own fire is going to be a little warm, but it can’t actually burn you.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 22, 2022 19:59:40 GMT -5
Sal didn’t want to put Zuko in a bad position, and he knew with Ozai right there, asking him to go through with this…well. It was more than just possible. It was likely. Probably bordering on unavoidable. He wouldn’t fight Zuko. But if he could keep Ozai off their backs, then he would. That probably meant, if he could learn to firebend, he could at least put up a fake fight. He doubted Zuko would be okay with that, but if worse came to worst he could just pretend to lose. He eyed Zuko, then glanced at his hands. Or actually lose. “Okay. Just…don’t do it if you think you’ll get in trouble,” he said finally, and focused, turning towards Ozai to try again. The heat was more frightening than he’d ever thought it would be. He narrowed his eyes, trying not to flinch as he felt the flames grow, until there was a tiny, candle-sized fire resting in his palm. “Woah…”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 23, 2022 2:42:54 GMT -5
Zuko knew that no matter how this room ended, they were going to fight. That was how an Agni Kai worked. It was a battle of skill and strength between two fire benders. It was the sort of battle in which one comes out with their honor, and the other is doused in shame. It didn’t have to be that way, though. If the winner didn’t think the loser had lost his honor, then he came away from the battle grazed but no worse for the wear. The winner didn’t have to burn the loser. They didn’t have to kill them. Zuko had a feeling he was going to win this one, but he didn’t want to win against an opponent who couldn’t even fight him. He wasn’t going to be his father. “It doesn’t matter if I get in trouble,” Zuko declared, loud enough for Sal to hear, but not Ozai. He tried to sound braver than he felt. “There’s no honor in fighting an opponent who can’t fight you back. Who’s never even firebended before. So you need to know at least the basics before it’s going to be any kind of spectacle.” He tried to give Sal a comforting smile, but he had a feeling it didn’t exactly work. “Exactly!” he exclaimed, sounding just a little bit proud that Sal had made his own flames. “Now… do you know how to fight at all?”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 23, 2022 5:06:31 GMT -5
If they did have to fight, Sal would lose. He already knew that. Even if there’s been any real chance of him defeating this smaller version of his friend, he wouldn’t have taken it. He didn’t know what happened to the lower of this fight, and he didn’t know if it would be worse for someone like Zuko, who probably had a lot more pressure to be competent than regular benders did. Unless Sal was taking the place of someone other than Ozai, here. But he didn’t think he was. He didn’t quite believe Zuko’s brave words, but he gave the kid a tiny nod anyway, breathing out slowly as he tried to keep the flame in his hand lit. It was warm, but like a life more than a flame, almost…like a heart. Maybe. “Fight?” He repeated, glancing up at Zuko. The second he looked away, the flame vanished, but he did his best not to feel too bad about that. “Not a lot. I mean, I know not to put my thumb in my fist, but everyone knows that. And not…bending fighting.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Jan 23, 2022 5:28:56 GMT -5
Zuko watched the flame, nodding as Sal managed to keep it burning. It was the sort of firebending most kids could do by the time they were four, but as far as he was concerned, Sal was still doing very well. He had only had firebending for a few hours, and it wasn’t like newborn babies were making flame. Sal was ahead of schedule. But if they wanted to pull off this Agni Kai, he was going to need to get very very ahead of schedule as quickly as possible. “That’s okay,” Zuko said after a moment, frowning a little. “I don’t really know how to bending fight either. I mean… I’ve been training in it since I was little, but I’m not very good at it. I’m a lot better with swords. But if you know anything about fighting in a different style, you can just do that style but add fire to it. It’s not technically how most firebenders bend, but it’s a perfectly fine way to do it.” He took a deep breath, then launched himself in the air and kicked out at an empty part of the arena, flame erupting from his foot. He landed awkwardly, a blush creeping up his cheeks as he looked at Sal. “See? I’m bad at the forms that are supposed to be right.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Mar 21, 2022 22:19:41 GMT -5
Sal couldn’t quite get over the feeling of the fire in his hand. It still felt like it should be burning him, which made him nervous, but as long as he didn’t move too much…it would be fine. Even if he could extinguish it, he could keep it away from Zuko, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have been able to burn anyone else in this room even if he’d wanted to. He still felt better once it was extinguished, though. He watched Zuko instead. He’d seen the kid’s older self enough times to know the kick wasn’t perfect, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still good. “Honestly? That’s a lot more than I could do,” he told him, keeping his voice as low as he could without making it too obvious. “Kids in my world don’t learn that stuff, most of the time. If you showed that to people your age in my world, they’d probably think you were some kind of superhero and beg you to teach them. And I can promise that most of them have never even been in the same room with a sword.”
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on Mar 29, 2022 1:39:46 GMT -5
Zuko couldn’t help the small smile on his lips as Sal looked at the fire, then extinguished it. He could still remember the first time he had managed to bend. Of course it had been expected of him, coming from a long line of fire benders, but there was always the possibility that he wouldn’t be a bender. His mother couldn’t bend, no matter how beautiful his father had thought she was when they had married. He was a bit late to show his bending ability, later than Azula had been, at least. But the first time he had held a flame in his hand, its heat ticklish but not strong enough to burn, he had felt like the world would open to him and everything would be alright. “Really?” Zuko asked, eyes wide. “What do they do if they get drafted then? Or if they have to fight people in school who are mean to them?” He couldn’t even begin to fathom a world where people didn’t prioritize weapon training and self defense. It had been so much of his life for so long… he had spent more time learning how to fight than he had learning what most Fire Nation kids did in school. “I’d like to be a superhero,” he admitted after a moment, eyes widening just a little. “They help people, and I wanna be just like my big cousin Lu Ten before he died. He helped a lot of people by fighting.”
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on May 2, 2022 14:56:56 GMT -5
Sal hesitated, the question striking somewhere deep in his chest. “Well…in my world, kids don’t usually have to fight,” he said finally, ignoring the faces surrounding them so he could watch Zuko’s expression. He couldn’t tell him not to fight, no matter how much he wanted to. And he couldn’t tell him kids shouldn’t have to. At least…not in front of Ozai. Not where he couldn’t control what happened afterwards. But he couldn’t say they should, either. He didn’t think he’d have been able to get the words out even if he’d wanted to. He breathed out, half heartedly trying to bend again as he thought, mostly to give his hands something to do. His fingers sparked a little, but no flames appeared. “Lu Ten sounds like he was a good person,” he said finally, letting his hand drop again. “I’m sorry he was put in danger like that.” It wasn’t really a challenge. At least, his tone didn’t indicate it was. He didn’t let himself look at Ozai for even a second.
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Transgender
strider
No mourners, no funerals
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Post by strider on May 30, 2022 19:59:57 GMT -5
“Oh,” Zuko replied, frowning a little bit. He didn’t know that most of the kids in his world didn’t know how to fight, either. It had never even occurred to him that the life of most Fire Nation children was in no way similar to the life he had lived thus far. “I think every kid should learn how to fight,” he said after a moment, tone decisive. “Even if your world isn’t in the middle of a war. If someone attacks you, then what do you do? If you don’t know how to fight, then how do you defend yourself? How do you defend your family?” His eyes were wide as he looked at Sal. He knew they should be getting closer to “fighting” now, but he didn’t care if it cost him his honor. He wasn’t going to fight someone for real that didn’t actually know how to fight. It would be cruel. “He was,” he added, squeezing his eyes shut for just a moment. “I’m proud of everything he did. Everything he accomplished for my nation and my home and my people. And… and I’m going to do him proud.” Zuko straightened up, sending a sharp flame directly towards Sal’s left. He tried to do it when he was certain Sal wouldn’t move in that direction. It would look like a near miss to the audience, but it wouldn’t do anything to Sal other than make him feel a little bit warm.
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