[ Mako will take that she's okay and just accept it, because he's been in that place himself, even though he's still a little worried. But then: October was a lot for everybody. He can't judge. ]
Thanks, but if you think I'm nice you should definitely meet my younger brother. He's the nice one.
You should probably also meet Naga. She's a polar-bear dog. I haven't seen a single animal in this world that we have at home. If we were in our world, all the "deer" around here would be catdeer. And my brother has a fire ferret. Nobody's heard of them, either.
There's a legend that Earth King Kuei had a pet bear. Not even a platypus bear or an otterbear or a mountain bear. Just a bear.
Yeah, I've heard that from a couple people here. Apparently your world has crows and raccoons and moose that aren't saber-toothed moose lions. I'm waiting for someone not to look at me like I have two heads when I tell them I don't trust "chicken" meat because I don't know what a live chicken looks like.
Pabu definitely can't firebend, but he's cute. They're called that because they're from the Fire Nation. Hang on, Bolin's around here somewhere.
Yes. I want to see that, that would be very helpful. I have a vague picture of a possum-chicken if you took out the... possum. Parts? But it isn't like I know what part is "possum" and which is "chicken." It's just a possum-chicken.
Like I said, my brother's the nicer one. Of the two of us. Always has been. He's an earthbender.
That has nothing to do with how nice he is. It's just. Also a fact. About Bolin.
That is... so weird. What weird animals. Do people eat possum? I haven't seen any in Hart Mart but I also saw a tiny can of meat in Hart Mart so I don't know how, uh, representative. It is. Of what normal people eat.
But no. Our dad was from the Earth Kingdom. Moved to Republic City, met our mom, and stayed there. A few years ago we discovered that we had a whole extended family in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. That's the capital of the Earth Kingdom. They look a like Bolin and we had no idea they existed.
No. I didn't. It was just me and Bolin for a long time. Our parents were killed when we were kids.
That's another thing about my world: there were a lot of kids like us. Republic City was the first place in the world where people from all the different nations lived together. It's pretty chaotic.
[ Rei can't see it but Mako snorts aloud, ducking his head at the very thought of it. He'll leave the family stuff behind. It's not conversation for a light night of learning about his world. ]
Definitely not. Unity is a new thing for us as far as history goes. Before Republic City, there was the Hundred Year War, and before that there was even more fighting. The different nations have always been separate. Families like mine weren't very common, with two different benders. And there's still been war during our time. Korra's helped stop three of them.
The recent ones, only one of them was nationalism, and if you ask me it was just a power grab disguised as nationalism. Maybe Kuvira thought she was helping, and maybe she really did think she was making a difference, but she was also a wannbe military dictator who liked having power over people. She tried to turn the Earth Kingdom into the Earth Empire, and almost conquered the United Republic.
Every war's about power, in the end. That's just how humans work. Either you have power or you don't, and a lot of people without it really want it.
I suppose that's true. Power is why people fought in my world too. Only, it isn't just humans.
Gods and goddesses want power too. Control, all of that. It's the same even for my friends and I, even if all we want to do is have the power to defend.
Why is it a shame? It's just the way things are. At least you're aware of it. Better than pretending the world is a more noble place where people should be above things like that. I respect someone who admits that they want power and knows why a lot more than someone pretending to do things for some nonexistent greater good.
Because the world should be better. People like me shouldn't need to exist, because the world could be better. Even if it doesn't, and isn't possible, that doesn't mean I don't wish that it were.
You can wish it all you want. I think wishing it is worthwhile if it reminds you to keep moving toward the world you want. It's just the thinking that people are better and getting disappointed when they aren't that gets people hurt.
[ Mako's not really one to get into philosophical debates and yet it keeps happening here. Maybe it's something about Deerington making him contemplate the nature of existence.
But yeah, he'll take that. ]
I get it. And I also don't have an easy answer. The best food is stir-fry, because you can make anything terrible taste good with the right sauce and it's cheap.
If you're not being practical I like nut cakes. The little ones filled with nuts and sugar and fried.
I have one for something similar. Churros. Fried cakes with sugar and a few other things that can be added. A friend I made here showed me how to make them.
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Thanks, but if you think I'm nice you should definitely meet my younger brother. He's the nice one.
You should probably also meet Naga. She's a polar-bear dog. I haven't seen a single animal in this world that we have at home. If we were in our world, all the "deer" around here would be catdeer. And my brother has a fire ferret. Nobody's heard of them, either.
There's a legend that Earth King Kuei had a pet bear. Not even a platypus bear or an otterbear or a mountain bear. Just a bear.
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I have met Naga though! She and Korra helped me out, the other day. Getting out of the strange sinkhole meditation place.
It sounds like animals in your world are combinations of two animals in mine? There are definitely bears in the forest here, just plain bears.
A fire ferret sounds nice though. Does it fire-bend? or something else?
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Pabu definitely can't firebend, but he's cute. They're called that because they're from the Fire Nation. Hang on, Bolin's around here somewhere.
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Meet Pabu. And my brother.
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And Pabu is very cute! Goodness, ferrets are always great. Your brother seems friendly looking too.
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Like I said, my brother's the nicer one. Of the two of us. Always has been. He's an earthbender.
That has nothing to do with how nice he is. It's just. Also a fact. About Bolin.
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And here are some chickens.
Earthbender. So you don't have the same bending abilities?
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But no. Our dad was from the Earth Kingdom. Moved to Republic City, met our mom, and stayed there. A few years ago we discovered that we had a whole extended family in the lower ring of Ba Sing Se. That's the capital of the Earth Kingdom. They look a like Bolin and we had no idea they existed.
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And that is interesting. A whole secondary family...wow.
Did you have a big family growing up?
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That's another thing about my world: there were a lot of kids like us. Republic City was the first place in the world where people from all the different nations lived together. It's pretty chaotic.
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And, I'm sorry to hear about your world's situation. Has it not been unified for very long?
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Definitely not. Unity is a new thing for us as far as history goes. Before Republic City, there was the Hundred Year War, and before that there was even more fighting. The different nations have always been separate. Families like mine weren't very common, with two different benders. And there's still been war during our time. Korra's helped stop three of them.
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Is it all nationalism, then?
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Every war's about power, in the end. That's just how humans work. Either you have power or you don't, and a lot of people without it really want it.
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Gods and goddesses want power too. Control, all of that. It's the same even for my friends and I, even if all we want to do is have the power to defend.
It's a shame.
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Sorry. I just wish people were better, I guess.
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and I am entirely too tipsy to handle a serious philosophical conversation.
So, why don't you tell me about your favorite food? Non-sequitur I know but, again. Hard to focus on heavy things.
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But yeah, he'll take that. ]
I get it. And I also don't have an easy answer. The best food is stir-fry, because you can make anything terrible taste good with the right sauce and it's cheap.
If you're not being practical I like nut cakes. The little ones filled with nuts and sugar and fried.
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Or something similar at least. You should share recipes with me, if you have any? Korra told me you do most of the cooking.
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I have a lot. I did at home, anyway. I mostly cook without them but I could write a few down.
Also that's an understatement, I do all of the cooking, Korra isn't allowed near a stove unsupervised.
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I'd like that.
And I'm sorry. I have friends like that too.
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She's been trying to help out more lately, actually. I don't know what changed.
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If that influenced it, you're welcome?
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