bentbloodline | Continuing threads

(Carried on from here)

Usually, this kind of enmity is built up over years. We would have to study the history of each community and remember that local history textbooks tend not to be as objective as they claim to be.

[One only has to look at old Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom history texts written during the war or shortly thereafter to see that kind of bias in action.]

While I am looking for ideally more steady work in the long run, I will keep that in mind. At this point, work is work. What's her name?

(continued from here)

That's true. Where I come from, that would be a sign that the smaller animals are hiding from something larger and more dangerous.

[While they don't actually know what's normal for this world, this isn't even in line with what he's observed in Olympia...so they may be on to something with their concern.

Which leads him to his next question.]

Have you had any sort of training for dealing with dangerous situations?

[He's not going to assume Matt is helpless given how well he's navigated unfamiliar and uneven terrain despite being blind, and his build is indicative of someone who at least engages in some exercise, but he has no idea if he's dealing with someone as capable as Toph Beifong, or if Matt's just a guy who walks a lot and lifts weights sometimes.]

Edited 2017-12-09 21:27 (UTC)

We don't have a lot of animals in New York City [more like rats, raccoon, and bugs...] but I think the sentiment still stands.

[As for the question, well, yes, actually, extensively. But he's not about to reveal the true extent of his abilities unless he absolutely has to. Still, it's nice that this man isn't assuming he's helpless, and he can at least say]

Somewhat. I can handle myself, more or less, so don't worry about me if worst comes to worst.

[Matt doesn't strike him as a stupid person, and it would be stupid for someone helpless to go on an excursion like this in unfamiliar terrain when there are other, safer ways of making money. But it's good to know that he can defend himself.]

I can manipulate water and use it combatively. I brought some with me just in case.

[He pats his waterskin, and Matt will indeed hear the sound of water sloshing around there.]

Hopefully it won't be necessary.

[Although that feeling of unease has persisted.]

What do you mean by that? [He's growing accustomed to people with special abilities (it's not like he doesn't have some, himself), but he at least wants to know]

... I hope so too.

[But Matt doesn't seem to think that things will go smoothly for them]

It might be best if--

[He catches himself before he says "if you see it for yourself", and rephrases. There's only a split second pause as he catches himself.]

--I demonstrate. Would you mind holding out your wrist? It won't hurt, but you'll get the basic idea much faster with a demonstration than with a verbal explanation.

[Nice catch, Tarrlok.... in any case, it's a little odd, but Matt's curious, and so he complies, holding his wrist out. From what he knows, waterbending is..... magic? Would he be creating water, or just manipulating it?]

[This is so weird for Matt to think about]

All right then. I'm ready.

[Tarrlok sticks to something very simple. He uncorks the waterskin and a moment later, Matt will hear the sound of water flowing quickly toward him in a thin, concentrated stream before it wraps around his wrist. It's flowing very quickly, making the water nearly impossible to pass through. Instead, it's got the durability of some good rope.]

I can turn it to ice as well, but I don't want to cause you more discomfort than a damp wrist.

[He releases the grip after a few seconds, returning the water back to its skin as quickly as it came out. The cork is back in a moment later. He doesn't want to jump too quickly into fighting. With this amount of water available, he's not going to be able to do anything too impressive with it, but if they find themselves in a desperate situation, he can pull water from plants if it's necessary.]

[For a man with enhanced senses, it's really disconcerting. He feels Tarrlok's movements, feels the water moving on its own, through the air, and it feels unnatural, like nothing Matt's ever experienced before. Months later, he's still learning new things about the people here]

That's.... incredible.

[It kind of puts it all in perspective for him, honestly. It feels a little silly to keep his own abilities a secret, when everyone has their own extraordinary power or another. Not that that's going to stop him] Was it something you were born with?

[He can't help being a little curious, honestly]

Yes. For those born with the ability, bending shows up at some point in childhood. Usually no later than the age of eight, but often earlier. Fortunately, it's much weaker in childhood than in adulthood...although that didn't stop me from being a little terror in snowball fights as a boy.

[He doesn't have a lot of great childhood memories associate with bending, but being a waterbender kid in a snowball fight was always pretty great. He'll never deny that.]

I can imagine. [Especially if it's a commonplace thing -- children wouldn't need to hide their powers, like he had to. They could be open about their abilities, they wouldn't need to hide it.]

[But even that is a bit of a fantasy. Chances are, it wouldn't be that easy]

Is there stigma surrounding the abilities?

[Well.]

Not particularly. There is a group in the United Republic called the Equalists who believe bending is the source of all evil and oppression in the world...but they are domestic terrorists and their opinion does not reflect population as a whole. While it is true that there are criminals who use their bending to coerce and hurt people, the majority of benders are ordinary citizens who don't cause problems for anyone.

[Granted, there are specific bending abilities that are regarded as especially dangerous, but it's not quite the same as being stigmatized when there's a logical reason for it.]

There's actually a very popular sport centered around bending. It's simply known as pro-bending, and involves teams of three. One waterbender, one earthbender and one firebender.

(Continued from here)

There are earthbenders who can make bashing someone in the skull with a rock an artform.

[There's a beat before he elaborates. It's a term that's quite specific to his world, so it's best clarify.]

On my colony, some people are able to manipulate elements. It's a bit similar to some of the elemental magic here, really.

Right. And they... bend earth. Remind me not to invite them to L.A.

[Don't worry if that went over your head, Tarrlok. It was a regional joke.]

[Yup, he definitely doesn't get it, beyond understanding that L.A. is a place of some sort, and the confusion shows in his raised eyebrow.]

Why? What's it like in L.A.?

Haven't been myself, but it's where all of the pretty people go to be pretty in front of a camera. That's not the point, though. It's on a fault line, and L.A. is famous for earthquakes.

Ah, I see. That sounds like a hazardous place to live. How frequent are the earthquakes?

[He can't recall ever dealing with more than a mild tremor that wasn't directly caused by a nearby earthbender, but people do come from many different worlds here.]

Frequent enough that they act like it's no big deal when one happens.

[If the earth moved for her, it was usually a bad thing. Like... undead ninja shit.]

That's pretty frequent.

[And sounds like a nightmare to deal with, in terms of infrastructure and urban planning.]

Fortunately, benders aren't very powerful as children. It grows with age and experience, so usually by the point it could be a problem, they've had sufficient training that it's not an issue.

Wait, what? Kids? Kids have abilities like making earthquakes? Jesus...

[Low-powered or not, she couldn't imagine living in a place where kids were born with the equivalent of a small handgun that could go off at any time.]

They don't make earthquakes on purpose. I believe the first techniques young earthbenders learn involve learning how to move rocks about the size of their head around without just picking it up. A small rumble might happen by accident if they had poor control.

[He shrugs a bit, as if it's no big deal.]

Being a waterbender, I can't speak from personal experience, of course.

A what? You bend water?

[She stopped mid shuffle, giving him an incredulous look.]

That's just a thing, huh? Where you come from? Bending things?

Continuing threads

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For Matt

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