Amon to Korra- Too subtle, too smooth, and too sneaky
Lines- “Until we meet again, Avatar Korra.” “What a surprise to see you out and about this fine evening.” “You lack restraint, young Avatar.” “We never did have our one-on-one confrontation on Avatar Island... and you seemed so eager...”
Behavior- Mysterious, unmarked gifts on the Avatar’s doorstep; Korra feels that she’s being watched; there’s a strange man who stands just outside of White Lotus striking distance... he’s probably just the paparazzi, right?
Effectiveness- -10%: Too subtle. Korra takes the smoulder for intimidation tactics and responds with violence and terror.
Korra to Amon- Starts with Shy, Nervous, Curiosity but quickly progresses to Blunt, Direct, and Brutal tactics.
Lines-
Starts at: “So... maybe we should talk about this whole... Equalist thing?” “I am the Avatar for everyone, so... I’m the Equalist’s Avatar too, right?” “You know, I think we’d probably work pretty well together? I’m the Avatar... you’re an Avatar...? It could work.”
Escalates to: “So... you doing anything after this fight?” “Us Avatars, we should hang out sometime.” “You know, I’m a skilled healer, I could take a look at those burns for you...?”
Finally moves to: “You’re hot.” “Can I kiss you?” “I want you.”
Behavior- Begins with blushing and frequent, quiet glances, and shy smiles. Escalates to dumb grins, invasions of personal space, and attempts at establishing light physical contact. Finally, she will corner Amon while he’s alone to confront him and demand answers... Depending on how hard he is to track down this may involve breaking into the Equalist base, locating his office/private quarters, and lounging somewhere conspicuous to wait for him... possibly with flowers and chocolate or something ‘Equalist-y.’
Effectiveness- From 70 to 110%: Her initial interest is easily noted and observed, but can be dismissed as a childish crush. The escalation becomes troubling... especially as her tactics become more aggressive... The final move may come out of left field from Amon’s perspective... so he may be too surprised/flattered/confused to dodge when she jumps him. And he never says no to chocolate.
Korrlok
Tarrlok to Korra- Blatant... to everyone who isn’t Korra...
Lines- “Avatar Korra, it is an honor to meet you.” “Join my task force.” “Let me take you out to dinner to celebrate our accomplishments, my treat.” “You’ve been doing such good work, I thought you deserved a reward. I hope you like jewelry...?”
Behavior- Ambush tactics to keep Korra off guard. Surprise visits at inopportune times (like dinner), walks over to talk to (sometimes) after press-conferences... He keeps her on her toes and never commits/admits to anything. It’s ‘just business’ or ‘talking logistics’... no one can accuse him of anything...
Effectiveness- 25%: Korra suspects that there’s something going on, she knows he’s trying to trick her into something... but she’s not sure what he’s after... Maybe he wants her to stay on the task force? Maybe he wants to butter her up because he wants her to do something dumb? Maybe he wants to steal Pema’s secret recipe? She’s not sure...
Korra to Tarrlok- Same general progression... she comes on like a tidal wave. There’s the cutesy withdrawal and long, longing looks... and then she sweeps in with unexpected and ferocity.
Lines-
Starts at: “Join your task force? Okay.” “I’m, like, the best at beating up Equalists, you’re so lucky that I’m here to take care of things.” “It’s great to be a part of your team.”
Escalates to: “I brought you coffee.” “We make a good team don’t we?” “I like your hair.” “The task force uniform looks really good on you.” “How do you do your hair?”
Turns playful/aggressive: “Is that something in your pocket or are you happy to see me?” “So... I heard this pickup line the other day- If I said you had a hot body, would you hold it against me?” “Hey look, that photographer pictured us together.” “I bet I could do more pushups than you.” “Do you like pro-bending?”
Finally aggressive: “So... we’re alone...” *stretches arms up, lets arm casually come down behind Tarrlok* “You have a nice butt.” “So, we’d make a great team... but... romantically?”
Behavior- The slow start threw him off. He suspected that she had a crush on him and that played into his plans... And he liked the flattery. But it shifted so quickly into an odd ‘buddy-buddy’ camaraderie that he was lulled into a false sense of security/disappointment. So when she grabbed his butt and made her intentions known (very clearly) he’s taken completely by surprise.
Effectiveness- 10-110%: Tarrlok is left confused and disoriented. One day he was listening to her list off odd pickup-lines and boast about what an awesome asset she was to him (very annoying), the next she came on to him... unexpectedly and hard. It’s not that he’s not flattered she just came on strong and without warning. He was not expecting to be groped.
Noalok
Noatak to Tarrlok- Flirting? What Flirting? It’s just being a good and attentive older brother!
Lines- “You have something in your hair.” “Let me get that for you.” “I missed you.” “Did you miss me?” “It’ll be just like the good old days, when we were kids...” “You know, if you’re scared or lonely, I’m here.” “Do you need help with your hair?” “Are you having a nightmare? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
Behavior- Super mothering. Also known as Smothering. Noatak is always one step behind Tarrlok, checking on him...
Effectiveness- 0%: Tarrlok is uncomfortable with the attention. He’s a grown man, damnit! He’s too old for babysitting... but if Noatak wants to help him with his hair... maybe that’d be okay... maybe! He needs to think about it!
Tarrlok to Noatak- Clumsy, Uncomfortable, Nervous... (you would be too!)
Lines- “So... we should... uh... do something together. As brothers. Because we’re brothers...” “You look... nice...” *mutters*: “I saw this. It reminded me of you. Got if for you. Don’t think too much about it.” *Flustered* “I’M NOT LOOKING AT YOU! YOU’RE LOOKING AT YOU--I MEAN, ME! STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!”
Behavior- Always standing about a foot away or just out of arm’s reach; does not smile; looks supremely uncomfortable/flustered; very, very skittish.
Effectiveness- 100%: It takes about 5 seconds for Noatak to figure out what’s going on... Noatak must initiate first contact though, because Tarrlok will never, ever be the first to make a move.
Lieumon
Lieutenant to Amon- Flattering, Sneaky, Subtle... It’s all in the tone of voice...
Lines- “Ye~es, sir!” “Is there anything I can get for you? Do for you?” “Amon, you seem tense... if you need help relaxing I can recommend a few... techniques...”
Behavior- Sneaks discrete innuendos into regular comments and conversation. Sometimes it’s nothing more than a discrete shift in his tone of voice.
Effectiveness- 75%: Amon is 75% sure that the Lieutenant is interested, but sometimes he wonders if he’s replacing the lieutenant’s words in his head.
Amon to Lieutenant- Subtle flattery, and Frequent Compliments
Lines- “It’s men like you that make equalism great.” “Your skills and prowess are valued and appreciated.” “You look well rested today, I hope you’re ready to work up a sweat.”
Behavior- Amon expresses his interest through proximity and promotions. So, he lets the lieutenant approach him physically and in rank. He also gives gifts... like Kali-sticks and a personalized uniform...
Effectiveness- 65%: the Lieutenant is a little less confident than Amon, but he’s pretty sure Amon’s into him... pretty sure... maybe... he hopes... it’d be awesome... Amon doesn’t talk to other equalists the way he talks to him!
Korrtenant/Lieurra
Lieutenant to Korra- Competitive, friendly, joking... and always a little gentler than he means to be...
Lines- *shouted during combat* “Not bad for a bender!” “You’ve got good form! Too bad you’re on the wrong side!” “Nice moves!” “Careful, or I’ll cut you down, Avatar!” “Too bad you’re a bender, we could use fighters like you!” “I don’t normally say this to women, but you’ve got great legs! Now if only you could land a hit with one!”
Behavior- He’d go easy on her, but he can’t go easy on her, because she’d probably kill him. But he’d like to go easy on her. He goes a little easy on her.
Effectiveness- 60%: Korra noticed that he went easy on her. And he noticed that she’s got good form. That means something... maybe he’s sympathetic to her cause? Maybe he likes pro-bending? Maybe he thinks that she’s weak... Maybe they should talk about this?
Korra to Lieutenant- Classic Korra... starts slow, builds up to aggressive, but friendly flirtation.
Lines-
Starter: “You joined the wrong side of this fight.” “You’re not going to win!” “I’m going to take you down!”
Escalation: “Oh, are those some electric Kali sticks you’ve got there or are you happy to see me?” “I hope you’re ready!” “If you keep going easy on me, you’re going to lose this fight! Or do you want to lose?
Finally: “You know, it’s my policy to date everyone on my team... I’m just saying...” “That Equalist uniform looks awful on you, maybe you should take it off?”
Behavior- It starts with the heat of battle banter and devolves into some very silly flirtation and invitations on dates. The fighting starts serious and devolves into a ‘though the motions’ kind of deal... Neither are paying much attention to the fight anymore.
Effectiveness- 90%: Korra’s typically pretty clear, but when all of your flirtation happens in the heat of battle, it’s hard to gauge how much you mean and how much is ‘in the heat of the moment.’ But the Lieutanant is 90% sure she’s into him... If they ever meet when they’re not fighting, he should expect confirmation of intent, because Korra doesn’t know the meaning of the word ‘subtle.’
LieuLin
Lieutenant to Lin- Light, friendly, just a part of conversation... maybe it’ll go somewhere...
Lines- “Chief Beifong, it’s an honor to meet the legendary chief of police. You should fire those photographers. They don’t do you justice in the papers.” “You’re alone tonight? I find it hard to believe that a woman such as yourself is on her own on a night like this.”
Behavior- They’re regulars at a bar, where they sit around and talk about their lives, loves, and losses. The lieutenant seems comfortable and unbothered by the beautiful chief of police who sits next to him, though he does look at her quite a lot. Lin notices, but she doesn’t let on. She likes the attention and the reminder that she’s beautiful. She hasn’t felt beautiful for a long time...
Effectiveness- 85%: She knows he’s interested, but she’d like him to make a move. She did all the legwork during her last (disastrous) relationship. She isn’t going to jump the gun again and get overly involved.
Lin to Lieutenant- Subtle and cautious, she’s not looking to get hurt again, but he’s easy on the eyes...
Lines- “Is there room at this table?” “Nice mustache.” “What’s a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?” “You single? I’m just surprised. Guys like you are hard to come by...” “Looks like you’ve had a rough day, can I buy you a drink?”
Behavior- Wry humor and a seductive glint in her eye. But she doesn’t touch. She always sits just far enough away to keep the object of her intentions guessing. She will not make the first move, so she waits and watches and checks for reciprocity.
Effectiveness- 99%: The Lieutenant knows she’s interested, but he can’t gauge how serious she is. Does she want to ask him out on a date? Are they just friends who flirt? Does she want him? He knows he should ask, but he’s kind of intimidated.
Verdicts
Amon- Too subtle for his own good. Everyone assumes he’s just talking to them... no one is sure that he’s interested him, unless they’re very attentive. He always catches onto what others are feeling... unless they go from 0 to 100 too quickly...
Tarrlok- Needs to be less of a Tsundere and just say what he wants. He isn’t as good at reading people as his older brother, but he’s not dumb... just self-absorbed.
Lieutenant- Causes confusion, but he gets the point across. So, he’s pretty effective. He’s also better at reading people than Amon.
Korra- Starts slow, escalates quickly, leaves her targets disoriented and shocked... That said, she’s dense. She needs explicitly stated intent in order to get a solid understanding of what’s going on... or compliments about her combat form...
Lin- Mellow and casual, but blunt and hard. She makes her intentions clear, but doesn’t leave her heart on her sleeve. And she’s played this game many times before. The only one the lieutenant can’t read.