beckyh2112 | OCs, whoo

I will attempt this.

Storms.

"The path's all covered in claws and feathers. Magpie, there's too many of you!" Someone sang. "One, one, one, and two and three, Magpie, won't take you take pity on me?"

Ursa lifted her head, listening to the singer. The voice was male, but with an accent like she'd never quite heard before. Sometimes it reminded her of a Fire accent, sometimes it reminded her of Uncle Aang's

(Papa, she thought in her heart of hearts)

accent.

"The devil himself only counted to seven. Tell me what does it mean, thirteen?" The singer drew out the last word, and Ursa knew she had heard that song before.

She walked over to the window and leaned out, listening to the sounds of the Fire Nation palace and the singer with his song. She pulled the palace's breezes to her, curling them in her hair and over her arms like garrotes or jewelry.

Some of the breezes did not come at her bidding.

Ursa frowned in annoyance and strived harder to pull them to her.

Laughter, male and amused, sounded in her ear, and she whirled.

No one was there, and then she cocked her head as a breeze stirred her hair and crept down her neck like fingertips. Airbender.

Just like her.

"But thirteen's a charm, and thirteen's a murder, and thirteen's the feathers underneath your skin!" The singer sang, and Ursa realized whoever was singing had to be on the roof.

It clicked into place where she'd heard that song before. Nima, one of Uncle Aang's students, knew five million songs. Anyone who had trained at the Northern Air Temple would have heard the magpie-counting song before.

Ursa reached for a set of 'sticks and pinned her hair up. If the hairsticks happened to be unusually sharp for such items, well, she was Firelady Mai's only daughter.

She climbed out the window and up the side of the palace. At the edge of the roof, someone stuck a hand down to help her up.

She regarded the hand dubiously. It was dark-skinned like a Water Tribesman or one of the Firefolk of the western islands. The nails were kept short, and she briefly considered biting.

She didn't. Instead, she let herself be helped up onto the roof by a red-haired young man. He looked a few years older than her with storm-grey eyes and a cocky grin. He wore loose yellow and orange clothing in a cut that was mostly Earth Kingdom, but the blood-orange armor was oh-so definitely Fire Nation.

"Kitsi?" Ursa asked, remembering Jee's little boy. Had it really been eight years since she'd seen him?

He'd... grown. And he was still holding her hand.

"Most people call me Kit these days," he said, his smile as infectious as ever.

"What are you doing here? Did your father come to visit Daddy?" Ursa tilted her head slightly. "No, I haven't heard any news of anyone from the Air Temples due to visit the Firelord's court, and that sort of thing would be widely announced."

He shrugged easily. "I thought I'd do a flying visit. See the old country. You people eat frightening amounts of meat, you know."

"You're such an Air boi." She smiled at him, and he smiled back, and-

He kissed her. Soft and gentle, and neither of them quite meant to spawn a tornado.

---

The song Kit sang is Thirteen (http://www.sendspace.com/file/rsfe0a) by Vixy and Tony (http://www.vixyandtony.com/index.html).

That was cute, I like that. :D And the song is cool too!

*grins* I'm glad you liked it. Vixy and Tony are pretty darn awesome, and I love how much of their music creeps into my writing.

I now have a slightly random but tangentially related question ... how did you go about choosing names for your OCs? I'm plotting away at my Avatar next-gen OCs, and I'm not sure how to go about naming them. I do have a handy dandy baby name book, but I'd rather avoid Billy and Jessica as names. ;)

Ooh, naming. Okay, my basic starting point is always their nation, or if they're mixies, their parents and which of them is liable to do the naming.

- Fire Nation: Japanese
- Earth Kingdom: Chinese, Korean, Thai
- Air Nomads: Tibetan, Mongolian
- Water Tribe: Inuit

This is just a rule-of-thumb for my own convenience, and I'll mix up Japanese into the EK or Chinese, Korean, Thai, or Mongolian into the FN.

Then I either Google something to the effect of "japanese names" and browse for something that looks interesting meaning-wise, or I Google for a foreign language dictionary and input words that are appropriate to the character. Or which make horrible puns. (Da Yi and Jian, my Dai Li twins? Cloak and Dagger in Chinese, more or less.) (Yeah, name-meaning is important to me.)

I tend to strip out various accent marks for ease of typing.

I'll then tweak if I feel they need tweaking. Mostly prone to doing that with FN names. Those guys really like their Zs, and their ao and u vowels. I usually don't tweak vowels, but soft Cs or Ss can be usually changed to Zs without too much change to the sound of the name. I actually probably use ee sounds too much with my FN names. That seems to be the vowel-sound we hardly see with the various named FN characters.

EK is convenient, because it has lots and lots of people with all sorts of different names. WT tends to have fairly hard consonants with a favoring of Ks and soft As. AN, we don't have enough of a pool to come up with naming conventions with.

Edited 2009-08-11 06:41 (UTC)

Hmm, very good rule of thumb. I've actually been thinking along the same lines, mostly. I just love naming things, and I love learning new techniques to think them up.

And now I just had a random thought. I wonder how common namesakes are. I know Azula was named for her grandfather, and I believe you named a Zu-spawn Ursa? So it's probably a FN royal thing. And "Mushi" said "Li" was named for his father ... hmm, could have tipped off Song, if that sort of thing isn't common EK practice. Totally went off on a tangent there, sorry. :D

The fun part, for me, is getting a name that sounds 'right' for the character. Names are easy to find. Names that work for the character - not so much. And names are bloody important for my characterization process. (Xin Wan was just Chief Mindbender for a while, and he made a good 2D villain. Then we needed a name for him to refer to him with, and then he got complicated.)

I assumed the gold eyes gave them away to Song. ;-) It is an interesting idea, though. Azula is pretty much the only example we have of someone having a namesake, but we also have a very limited sampling of multiple generations of a family. So there's no reason why not.

*notes, for the record, that Ursa is not actually Zuspawn*

Edited 2009-08-11 06:59 (UTC)

... Or the gold eyes. But then where's the intrigue and suspense? (Heh, like we need more of that.)

And yeah, you're really right about finding the right name. I've cycled through about 6 for the character I'm thinking of now, but none of them have really stuck. I'll keep looking, though. I'm bound to find something eventually.

Awww, cute! ^_^

Paperwork.

Xiyu wrote a report on the theft of the moldering book from the university's library, submitted it to Captain Qin, and tagged out with the agent who had patrol tonight. She skittered over roofs and walls, climbed the wall between the Upper Ring and the Earth King's Palace, and descended without being seen.

Down in the courtyards, she took a moment to correct her uniform so it fell just so with the Dai Li symbol in the center of her chest. She peeled back stone from her fingers and checked the integrity of her braid. It was fine. It was always fine. Even after wearing it for as long as she could remember and putting it through hell with her two years of Kyoshi Warrior training followed by two years of Dai Li training, she kept thinking it would fall apart.

She regloved her hands in stone. Her fans hung at her hips, heavy and dark.

Xiyu smiled and sauntered through the courtyards to find the Hall of Literary Glory. Mother had asked her to do her a favor tonight, and it wouldn't take long to do. She'd have plenty of time to meet the twins at the Jasmine Dragon.

The guards waved her into the Hall without checking her identification tablet. She frowned and made note of that; Father and Uncle Hyo would want to hear about such lax security. Just because she wore a Dai Li uniform didn't mean she was who she said she was.

Up three flights of stairs to the offices of the Cultural Ministry, but instead of going all the way down to her father's office, Xiyu knocked on the door of a deputy minister.

"Come in," the woman within called.

Xiyu pushed the door open and smiled at her older 'cousin'. "Mi-Chaaaaa. Mother wants you to come to dinner this Firesday. Bring your father."

Mi-Cha gave her a baleful look, the jewels decorating her swirling from sapphires to rubies. She sat at a desk covered in papers and tablets, and if her fingers weren't as ink-stained as they had been years ago as a young clerk, she still worked just as long and hard.

Xiyu wouldn't have expected anything less for the woman her father had decided would have the Earth Kingdom when he retired. Long Feng was not an easy master.

---

Mi-Cha belongs to

dark_puck and is used with permission.

Oh, this I like. A sweet little slice of life, and the "cousins" are very cute together. Plus, I love your language choices, as always. "the jewels decorating her swirling from sapphires to rubies" in particular, this time around.

I'm glad you like it. Mi-Cha and Xiyu are fun to write, especially when they're all grown up. Though this is probably "un-canon" for Mi-Cha, since she's Pux's character. ^_^

Treat.

Takao danced with his golden fans, the green robes light as linen after so many years of wearing them. He wasn't wearing the traditional warpaint today. On the same hand, his twin didn't wear her hat.

It wasn't often that the two of them got a chance to see each other these days. A lot like their parents when Dad had chosen the Dai Li. Mom wouldn't leave Kyoshi Island for Ba Sing Se, and while the Dai Li had considerably more freedom of movement these days, their power was still greatest and most needed in the Impenetrable City.

So Haru and Ty Lee saw each other four times a year, and when the twins came along as accidentally as they did, they had grown up with their mother more than their father.

Takao understood in ways Lin did not that yes, their father loved their mother. But he loved the Earth Kingdom more, and freedom, and being Dai Li gave him the power to do what he thought needed to be done.

Lin fell into the dance, her own green robes, like his but fundamentally different, billowed around her. She blasted him lightly with fire, and he slapped it away with his heavy fans.

Lin smiled as beautifully blinding as the sun. She pressed the attack, and Takao closed with her. He snapped one fan shut and jabbed her in the shoulder with the end, smirked as her arm fell limply to her side.

She laughed and sparks fell from her mouth.

Rival and attraction.

Is that two separate or two together?

Two together. <3

She's six years younger than you, Hitozi reminded himself. Six years younger and Earth Kingdom. Not just Earth Kingdom, but Dai Li.

Of course, being Dai Li did mean Xiyu was a powerful 'bender. With his own family history of powerful 'benders, they'd make a fine union. Six of one and half a dozen of the other if their first child would be a firebender or an earthbender.

He wondered if the nobles would have more of an apoplexy over a Firelord who couldn't 'bend or over a Firelord who earthbent.

Xiyu bowed to him in the Fire Nation manner at the precise angle appropriate for a high noble towards the Fire prince. "Welcome to Ba Sing Se, Crown Prince Hitozi."

"Thank you, Xiyu," he said softly. "Who will be escorting me this year?"

"I will."

He blinked. As often as he visited Ba Sing Se to spend time with his great-uncle and grandfather, his escort had always been a Joo Dee or one of the older Dai Li agents.

This, he thought, was too different to be a good sign. "I hope you can keep up with me then."

Her hazel eyes glittered. "I've been much of one for whoring, Crown Prince. As for partying, well, I'll be more than happy to leave the work there for you."

Hitozi smirked. "As long as you don't leave any writing on the wall, my dear."

The 'my dear' rolled off his tongue as easily as kunai could fly from his fingers.

Xiyu did not smile. Her smiles she seemed to save exclusively for the odd-eyed twins and Mi-Cha. At least that Hitozi had seen. Instead she looked at him.

Hitozi held her eyes and did not look away. When he became Firelord, she would sit on the Badgermole Throne. He was utterly certain of it.

Unless, of course, she sat beside him on the Bronze Throne.

---

Yeah, I changed Hitoshi's name. Decided I didn't think it sounded very Fire Nation as it was. Same character otherwise.

Edited 2009-08-09 04:17 (UTC)

Oh, Hitozi. *pets him* You like going after the dangerous and challenging ones. Well done.

And Hitozi, six years isn't a huge difference. Poor darling.

I'm glad you like it. *notices she left a 'never' out of the fic in a key place, gahs* Hitozi doesn't know quite what he's in for. And six years is younger than his little sister, man.

For more of what Hitozi's in for, I suggest scrolling down to the bit I wrote for Pux. *grins*

Turning

Kazou had his father's smile. Not his birth-father's, since he lost his father during the final days of the War when the Earth Kingdom retook contested territory. His birth-mother had died long before then, and the boy was left to fend for himself.

Until his father and his papa came along. They were men of stone, brown-eyed and barefoot. His father smiled in a way that terrified everyone except Papa and him, and his papa spoke in chalked words on a slate.

Kazou didn't have a problem with this. He didn't have a problem with the next ten years of living with them in the Fire Nation, either, or what they taught him. Papa taught him his characters and how to be in a place without being noticed. Father taught him how to smile to frighten the bravest of men and how to observe in a way that actually sensed everything there was to be observed.

They paid for him to learn firebending from the best masters, and Papa taught him knives to go with it. Father taught him nothing of combat, for his father was a master earthbender.

As a boy, Kazou had been pure Fire, impulsive and rash and burning bright. When his parents were finished with him, his fire was banked in stone.

He smiled and thanked them.

Edited 2009-08-09 05:07 (UTC)

I just got to this from your Next-Gen index, and I am so bizarrely pleased by the implications of this--i.e. Kiet and Xin Wan said screw it, we're gay and moving somewhere where homosexuality isn't spat upon, bye our bosses--and how Xin Wan finally got a kid like he wanted instead of a doll to be molded. I have no idea if I'm interpreting your intent correctly, but this was a joy to read regardless.

There's one bit you got wrong, but other than that, yes. ^__^ And admittedly, it's not an obvious bit - Xin Wan and Kiet are heterosexual life partners rather than gay. (Not that Xin Wan doesn't wish, but Kiet's pretty thoroughly straight, no matter how much he cares for his friend.) Like I said, though, that's not readily apparent from this bit.

Also, eee! I love it when you comment. <3 You are smart and think about things.

Tremors

The Fire prince was flirting with Xiyu again.

Da Yi slid his eyes over to his brother's. The lamp next to Jian's elbow had dimmed down to embers. His eyes, gold and brown, remained on Xiyu and Hitozi. His jaw tightened when the Fire prince touched her elbow, and the lamp guttered and went out.

Da Yi nudged his twin with his elbow. Jian glanced at the lamp, and it re-ignited.

Jian's eyes met his, and he raised an eyebrow, then tipped his chin towards their teacups. The tea in them was shaking ever so slightly.

Da Yi closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the earthquakes building in his heart.

***

Hitozi glanced over at the odd-eyed twins. Their mismatched brown and gold eyes focused on him, the gold on the right ablaze and the brown on the left shadowed.

Creepy, creepy kids.

Tea

"This is how you make tea," Hitozi's grandfather explained. He demonstrated, and Hitozi studied what he did very carefully.

"Now you do it," Ozai directed.

Hitozi grinned and made the tea as his grandfather had shown him. He had to remake it three times before he met Ozai's exacting standards, but the tea he brewed it was well worth it.

"This is better than what Dad makes," Hitozi said as he settled down with his grandfather.

"Your father learned to make tea from one of the worst teabrewers I've ever met," Ozai said dismissively.

***

"This is how you make tea," Ursa's great-uncle said kindly as he showed her how to fix it.

Ursa listened closely as Uncle Iroh explained what he was doing and why, then carefully made a pot herself. She beamed proudly when he said she'd done it almost exactly right and listened to the bits he corrected her on. Then she went back and did it right.

She curled up with a cup of the tea she'd made. "This is better than Hitozi makes."

Uncle Iroh sighed. "That's because your brother learned how to make tea from the worst tea-brewer in the world."

Oh, this has so many good bits to it. Not only does it illustrate the improvement in relations between Ozai and Iroh after the war, it also shows their differences in teaching style (well, after Ozai's calmed down a bit) and their similarities, if only because they both love tea, but hate how their brother makes it (which must be interesting if you're keeping to your prior canon and Ozai is working at Iroh's tea shop). Also funny how Iroh is merely one of the worst teabrewers, while Ozai is the absolute worst.

*grins* I'm glad you like it. Showing their different teaching styles was fun, especially with the two different kids.

Everything written is intended to fit with my prior canon stuff, so yeah, it's... interesting with Ozai working in Iroh's teashop. They both make very good tea, and none of the customers have any reason to complain, so I don't think it's quite clicked with Iroh that Ozai is making tea his way.

Sometimes they have epic "tea-making: ur doin it wrong" fights. ^___^

I kind of imagine them doing their teaching bits just a day or two apart from each other, so each brother can hear what the other's saying about him.

Man, I can only wonder why Long Feng is putting up with the Dragon of the West and the former Phoenix King operating a tea shop in Ba Sing Se. How weird can it get? I mean, it's canon that Iroh opens up a tea shop there after everything, but the customers must be so weirded out. And yeah, poor Iroh, never having it occur to him that just because he doesn't like the way Ozai makes tea doesn't mean the customers don't. I wonder if the customers can even tell the difference...

Better than their former sort of fight, and probably vastly more entertaining (and less scary) for all involved.

I like that idea. *grins*

Long Feng gets headdesk-induced headaches whenever the topic is brought up with him. (I get the impression Ozai mostly stays in the back and makes tea while Iroh deals with customers.)

Less scary, UNLESS YOU'RE ZUKO OR URSA and are called in to arbitrate the matter.

I can imagine the political shitstorm that would result if Long Feng were to expel one of the saviors of the Earth Kingdom from Ba Sing Se (even if Iroh tried to invade it just six or seven years ago). How irritating it must be.

Which Ursa?

Well, that depends on how the Earthfolk feel about having a bunch of Firefolk 'rescue' them from other Firefolk.

The one married to Ozai.

I would think not too happy.

... is this a reference to past tea incidents, or has she returned in your future?

Indeed. I will definitely be doing something with that in the future, though God knows when I'll actually sit down and write it.

It's happened in the past, and I'm still undecided over whether or not she returns in my future.

Midnight fire.

When Lin was fifteen, she ran away from Kyoshi Island and walked across the Earth Kingdom to Ba Sing Se. Her father was overjoyed to see her alive, and she stayed with him.

She threw herself into studies and play, trying to fit into Ba Sing Se while also making herself look like a good candidate to become a Dai Li agent. She must have succeeded, because when she was seventeen, she was offered the chance to become a trainee.

She accepted, of course. This was what she had wanted. Not being a Kyoshi Warrior, she couldn't stand to be a Kyoshi Warrior and be trapped on Kyoshi Island forever and only ever leaving to support the Avatar and aid people.

Except, she discovered, the Dai Li were much like the Kyoshi Warriors. They called Ba Sing Se home, and they could roam the entire Earth Kingdom, and they supported Long Feng rather than the Avatar, but the rest...

When she was twenty-two, she ran away again. She went west until she hit the sea, then she bargained for a berth on a Fire Nation ship.

Stepping out onto the dock in the Fire Nation, she felt the sunlight sink into her bones and ignite sparks under her skin.

Who is Lin related to? Anyone?

Whoops, I keep forgetting to mention. She's Ty Lee and Haru's daughter. Also appears in

weirdlet's request above.

OCs, whoo

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