the avatar state / implies emotional pain / or perfect control

[roc_on]

Jun did a show last night, so maybe he's holding it together well enough to do a lesson today. It'd sure help take Beila's mind off things; maybe it'd do the same for him. She can always fly away again if he's not feeling it.

Knock knock?

Comments

[fiery_delights]

"I don't think I agree," says Jun. "I have no great faith in justice, theoretically or practically. The important part seems to be preventing people from getting hurt, and if there's a way to do that without anybody getting arrested, so much the better."

[roc_on]

"The point is to prevent people from getting hurt. And sticking to policies that tend to reduce people getting hurt, even if there are emotionally charged arguments under time pressure saying to break them just this once - is in aggregate a pretty good way of doing that."

[fiery_delights]

"I can see the logic, but that's not how I operate. Rules, on the whole, have not been good to me."

[roc_on]

"We probably don't have the time to come to total philosophical agreement on that even if it's in the cards."

[fiery_delights]

"Then I think you need to make a decision about whether or not they could possibly convince you," says Jun. "—Hmm, but before you do, here's a thought. As an alternative to 'we were mistaken about the bone-stealing serial killer', how's 'we found the bone-stealing serial killer, and he kidnapped me and ran for it'? Meaning in reality that I go with him to personally verify that he's not murdering anybody. It'll leave you down one firebending teacher, but nobody gets arrested and there's less... policy trouble."

[roc_on]

"Do you think you can succeed at that job if it turns out to actually be a job and not a... non-job?"

[fiery_delights]

"Yeah. I mean, I'd pretty much be betting my life on that, so, yes."

[roc_on]

Beila looks at Dao. And Spider. "Lying to Chali about how things went down and having to find a new firebending teacher is a lower standard of evidence than letting the serial killer go totally unescorted. But it's still a standard. What else is there to say about this... situation?"

[in_silk]

Lots of shivering. There is that to say.

[thinklikethis]

Hugs.

[fiery_delights]

"Look, little brother - do you hate your name as much as I do, by the way?"

[in_silk]

This question actually gets him to uncurl a little, although he looks at the floor rather than at any humans present.

"I don't... hate it," he murmurs. "I. You can use it if you want."

[fiery_delights]

"If you say so. Okay. It seems like your one remaining chance at not having to fight this out or get arrested is to tell us what happened and see what Beila thinks of it. So. Are you going to do that, or not?"

[in_silk]

He uncurls a little more.

"I don't want to fight," he says. "Or get arrested."

[fiery_delights]

"Okay. What do you want to do? What brilliant idea did Dao have that works for you?"

[in_silk]

Hesitating. Hesitating. Deep breaths.

"I want to be a healer," he tells the floor softly.

[roc_on]

"Wait. What."

[in_silk]

"I'm a waterbender. I - my father was always disappointed about it - he taught me firebending even though I can't do it - wouldn't let me learn how to heal. So when. I thought. If everyone thought I was a different kind of bender, it would be easier to hide. So I figured out how to fake firebending. And. When I told Dao why I was - doing all this, for real, that it was because it's the only time I ever feel okay... he said, why don't you try healing and see if that makes you feel okay too. And it. Did."

[roc_on]

[fiery_delights]

"...I hate to ask this because of what the answer might do to Beila's faith in my ability to keep you in line, but: how exactly did you fake Dad's suicide, Sora?"

[in_silk]

"Bloodbending."

[roc_on]

"I looked up the - your dad died in broad daylight. During a half moon, which they note on police reports as a matter of policy."

[in_silk]

"Had to get it right first," he murmurs. "Had to get it perfect. If he could've suspected even for a minute. If he could've done anything to stop me. It would've been. Bad."

[roc_on]

"You can bloodbend at any time of the month, day or night, well enough to fake a suicide, you have taken up serial killing - Jun, what does this do to your estimate of your ability to handle him if handling as opposed to just palling around with him proves necessary?"

[fiery_delights]

"Honestly? Not much. Does make it harder to take him down nonlethally if it came to it, but by the time he's using bloodbending to stop me from preventing him from murdering people, that wouldn't be much of a priority anymore. You'll forgive me if I don't name all my tricks out loud and give him a chance to think up counter-strategies, but I think I've taught you enough for you to realize I might have some."

Enough firebreathing control to warm a cup of tea, say. A solid enough theoretical understanding of firebending to make any flame he pleases out of any movement. The capacity to produce lightning, including with unusual movement patterns. It does not boggle the mind to imagine he might be able to throw lightning even while being bloodbent.