The number had been scrawled hastily onto a bar napkin, but Alexander was still staring at it as if it were a treasured object when Magnus glanced back over his shoulder at the door of the bar.
.
A line foretelling something magical: from Please, Don’t Turn Back by @madetofly.
Honestly, I've given Cassie the benefit of the doubt before, but people can only do things so much before there's no denying that that's just how they are, and I think she's definitely crossed the line. (Might have earlier for me if I had been in the fandom longer to see more.)
she always kept her rudeness hidden because she wanted to seem like she changed (and i believed her) but then this happened and i was like ??????? then she blocked both me and the girl she was talking to because she didnt realize that we knew each other and that she fucked up. just... GROW UP ALREADY. you’d think that after all the shit she got in the past (which she still denies) that she’d straighten up and act like an adult. she’s like 40 something and acting like she’s 12.
Secret Santa gift for hmweasley!!! When I looked at your wishlist, I was dying to write some Gaang friendship- plus I love making headcanons about the time that passed between ATLA and LoK. So here it is- a fun little piece about the Gaang and the origins of pro-bending. I hope you like it! Have the happiest of holidays, whichever one(s) you celebrate! <3
…And the Winners Are…
Summary: Post-ATLA, the Gaang plays the first game of Pro-bending.
“You know what?” Aang turned to Katara, who was massaging his shoulders in the shade on the warm, sunny beach of Ember Island. “I’m really glad you put a mandatory vacation on the ‘Fire Lord & Avatar’s Era of World Peace To-Do List,’ ” he said cheerfully.
“It was Sokka’s idea,” Katara smirked. “And I have to admit, it was a good one.”
“Hey!” Sokka, who had been occupied with sunbathing, bolted into an upright position. “Are you trying to imply that not ALL of my ideas are good ones?”
“Something like that,” Katara teased. Behind her brother she noticed an elaborate structure growing out of the golden sand. “Wow, Toph’s sandbending has gotten really impressive,” she remarked.
“I’m not Toph- I’m… TOPH-ZILLA! MWAH-HAH-HA-HA!!!” They heard the earthbender shout, as she demolished her work gleefully.
“Toph!” Katara gasped in horror. “It was beautiful! Why did you destroy it?”
“Boredom, I guess,” Toph said as she plopped down on the sand.
“You couldn’t think of something more con-structive to do?” Katara chided.
“Sheesh, even when we’re on vacation you don’t want to have any fun,” Toph retorted playfully. “Look, I like destroying things, okay? I like feeling powerful. And since there aren’t any armies of firebenders to take out lately, there hasn’t been much opportunity for me to let out my aggression.”
“You could go back to Earth Rumble!” Sokka suggested enthusiastically. “I’d love to come watch you take back the title!”
“Nah, it was getting old when I left. I guess I got sick of whupping everyone’s butts all the time.” After a short pause, Toph grinned. “Hey… would you guys fight with me? I mean, we’re some of the best benders in the world.”
“Already did that,” Aang hurried to say. “And I won,” he muttered under his breath.
“Come on, Twinkle Toes- you know that didn’t count! You broke the rules!”
“Sorry, I’m out.”
“Katara?”
“Remember when we fought and everything got all muddy and gross? Let’s not do that again, shall we? I think we fight enough as it is.”
“Zuko? Come on, I still owe you for burning my feet when you joined the team!”
Zuko heaved a sigh. “I mean, I would, but… you’re the most powerful earthbender in the world. I’d be a goner. You could shift the earth right under my feet.”
“I’ll only use projectiles, I promise! That makes it fair, right?” Toph pleaded.
“Not if they’re coming from behind me!” Zuko objected. “If this is going to be fair in any way, I need a teammate.”
“I volunteer!” Sokka said eagerly.
“No offense, Sokka, but this is going to be a benders-only match. You can ref, though!” Toph offered.
“Oh, alright,” Sokka consented dejectedly.
“And Twinkle-toes can’t be your teammate, Zuko. Having the Avatar on your team would clearly be an unfair advantage, even against me.”
“What if I only bend air?” Aang proposed.
“No; too many tricks. You only beat me that time because I couldn’t see you.”
“I could play on Toph’s team,” Katara offered. “That would even it out. But we should make sure no one would get seriously injured…”
“No way!” Aang interjected. “I mean, I agree with the injuries thing, but you took down Azula. If she couldn’t beat you, there’s no way Zuko and I can take you and Toph!”
“I’ll only use the water in my pouch,” Katara compromised. “And I won’t freeze it or anything like that. Besides, you took down the Fire Lord-”
“Hang on,” Sokka interrupted. “I have a better idea. Let’s get Toph to build a ring out in the ocean a ways. That way, everyone will be in a level, confined space. To win, it’ll be like the Earth Rumble- you just have to knock opponents out of the ring. Since they’re falling in the water, injuries should be minimal. We’ll play at a shallow enough depth that if Toph falls in, she’ll be able to feel the sand below her and bend a new island for herself. Katara, being in the ocean would obviously give you an unfair advantage, so we’ll stick to your idea and you’ll only be able to bend water from your pouch. But give Aang your spare pouch, because he’ll need a water supply, too. We’ll give Toph and Aang pre-set amounts of earth to use. Since Zuko has a technically unlimited fire resource, we’ll make a rule that says he can’t stream fire- each blast has to be less than a second in duration. And Aang, no airbending. We’ll put Aang on one side, and he can bend all the other elements. The rest of you will stay on the other side, each bending your own element. No direct contact. Toph, in the interest of fairness, you can only send projectile Earth at Aang from your own side. Everyone happy?”
“I still don’t see why I have to fight all three of them…” Aang grumbled.
“Come on, it’s water-earth-fire on water-earth-fire. It’s the fairest way.”
They were lined up, ready to go. Sokka stood on a raised island looking over the middle line of the arena Toph had erected in the ocean off the beach.
“Okay, we’re doing this in three timed rounds,” Sokka reminded them. “If you guys knock Aang off, you win the round. If he knocks one of you off, he’ll win the round, but play will continue. Best two of three will win- unless, in any round, Aang knocks all three of you off before time’s up. Then it’s a TKO.
“Start round one on my signal- three! Two! …One and a half!”
“Get to it, Sokka!” Katara shouted.
“One! Go!”
Sokka didn’t think he would ever see a bending battle more intense and fast-paced than that of Aang and the Fire Lord, but he was proven wrong very quickly. Barrages of water, earth, and fire flew both ways in the ring.
“Katara!” Zuko called. “You hit right, I’ll hit left- go!”
The simultaneous blasts of fire and water forced Aang to jump backward- right into the water.
“Round one goes to Team Ordinary People!” Sokka declared. “That’s one for Team Ordinary People, zero for Team Avatar!”
Aang clambered out of the water and back onto the ring to reposition himself.
“Round two in three- two- one- go!”
Aang lasted much longer in the second round, and nearly knocked Zuko and Katara into the water, if not for a well-timed hit from Toph that sent him straight off the edge.
“That’s two for Team Ordinary People, zilch for Team Avatar! Aang has to pull off a triple knockout in the last round to win!”
Aang grinned to himself. With nothing to lose, he had one more risky strategy to try. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. They may have said I can’t airbend, he thought to himself. But no one told me I couldn’t move like an airbender!
“Round three in three- two-one- go!”
This time, Zuko, Katara, and Toph went immediately on the offensive- but Aang deftly maneuvered around their blows, striking none of his own. Within a minute, Katara was out of water and Toph was out of earth.
Aang seized his moment. With a well-executed water whip followed by a flying rock, he battered Zuko to the edge. A final blast of fire sent Zuko reeling back off the edge of the ring. Katara and Toph did their best to dodge Aang’s attacks, but their attempts were incomparable to his master airbending maneuvers. Finally, all three of his opponents had succumbed to the water below them.
“I don’t believe it! In a last-round comeback, victory goes to Team Avatar with a one-on-three knockout!”
Aang crossed the ring to help Katara and Toph back up. “Good game, you guys. We should play again sometime.”
“And I know just what we’ll call it!” Sokka shouted from atop his perch. “Pro-bending!”
“Wow, Mr. Creativity’s wave of inspiration strikes again,” Toph remarked sarcastically.
The ecstatic crowds of Republic City lined up at the doors of the new, glittering arena long before the opening ceremony. The city was abuzz with talk of a new fighting sport, in which benders of different types could compete in teams. It promised excitement, as well as a chance for the cultures of the different nations to come together in a way like never before.
At long last, the doors opened and the crowds were seated in the massive stands. “Oohs” and “aahs” resounded as spectators marveled at the detailed, high glass ceiling and bright stadium lights.
Avatar Aang himself stood in the middle of the ring, and addressed the eager crowd. “Beloved citizens of the United Republic, I welcome you to the first Pro-bending Night in Republic City!”
Cheers erupted from the stands.
“My friends and I invented the sport after the Hundred-Year War ended. Although the game has undergone some modifications since its inception, its official opening as an organized sport will commemorate the very first pro-bending match. Presiding as head referee, Councilman Sokka himself, who is responsible for formulating many of the game’s regulations himself!”
Sokka, dressed in a black-and-white uniform and equipped with a golden whistle, took his place at the referee deck while the crowd cheered.
“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the introduction of the teams from the first match! I give you first, the visitors, the Omashu Badger-Moles!”
Three players dressed in green entered the ring. A segment in the crowd of visitors from the Earth Kingdom rose to their feet, singing their national anthem loudly.
When the noise had subsided, Aang continued. “And here’s your home team- the very first pro-bending team, made up of the best benders in the world. Your leaders, the founders of the United Republic, and my friends- let’s hear it for the Republic City Sky Bison!”
Zuko, Toph, and Katara entered the ring to rapturous applause.
“Our hope,” Aang concluded, “is that pro-bending will unite the people of the United Republic, and of the world, in the enjoyment of a sport that is truly like none other. Let pro-bending be a symbol of the peace ushered in after the Hundred-Year War. And let the match begin!”
THINGS I’D LIKE: I’d prefer a fanfiction, but I’ll also take fanart or a video or anything like that. My absolute favorite characters is Zuko, and Toph, Sokka, and Bolin are close favorites, but really all of the main characters are close favorites. My ships are Kataang, Maiko, Tokka, Makorra, and Bopal, so I’d love anything with any of them. I also love, love, love anything that centers around the friendships of the Gaang or the Krew. I’d love something focusing on that. Rating really isn’t important to me when it comes to fanfictions, so it could be anything.
NO-NO’S: No incest or underage kind of stuff. Those are pretty much my only two no-no’s when it comes to fandom stuff.
WHAT I CAN DO: I can write fanfiction.
WHAT I ABSOLUTELY CAN’T DO: I’m pretty open to doing just about anything other than incest or underage. The only other thing I can think of is that I won’t write smut even though I will read it. I just don’t think I’m good at it.
BACK-UP GIFTERS: YES.
IF YES TO BACK-UP GIFTER, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO MAKE 2 GIFTS AT THE SAME TIME? YES
TAG A BEAUTIFUL PERSON! YOU’RE IT! Rules are: copy this message to 10 other beautiful people/blogs who you think deserve this message! Keep the game going and make everyone feel beautiful.
