Text; Don't judge.

[alphatar]

Hello evereaone. My name is Cora and I am seventean 17. Inglish is a lot more diffikalty than Chyneas. I am lurning it so bea paytient give mea tyme to mastur thea layngwuj. Numburs are easea at furst.

Thaync yu much. Avitar Cora.

Comments

[hammer]

Yeah. I'd like that. I'll teach you English, you can teach me Chinese. It'll be fun.

That's right. There are a lot of people who speak Chinese, but a lot speak English, Spanish, and a bunch of other languages too. China's a large part of the Asian continent. It has a huge population and a fair space program. They also lend their pandas to zoos across the world. Pandas are a big deal in my world. Everybody loves them. Does your world have them?

[alphatar]

Wow. Space program? That sounds crayzea. Panda bears are pretee rar rarr hard to fynd. But a bear is even hardur.

But yes there are zoos. You can cee sayburtewth-moos-lyuns and tygur-munkees. All kynz of animuls.

[hammer]

Bears are pretty common where I'm from.

Wait.

Did you say tiger-monkeys? And sabertooth-moose-lions? What the hell are those?

[alphatar]

Yes. They are animuls from my world. Like terdl dux, oztridg horsus, and spytur flyz. The last tyme there was a bear was the one the Urth King ownd. That was duryng during Ayng’s lyf. The Avatar befor me.

[hammer]

Spider flies? That sounds disturbing.

Sorry, Avatar? What is that?

[alphatar]

Yeah, they’re not fun. It’s going to be hard to eksplayn-

[Suddenly the text shifts to video and sets down the notes she had been taking from Justin. Korra might spend a full day finger pecking out the explanation.]

The Avatar is the spirit of the world in human form and is the one bender that keeps balance between the four nations. One nation for each element, the cycle of the elements is: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water.

Anyone born with the gift of bending can only manipulate the element of their nation. Like one born of the Fire Nation could only use fire. The only exception to that is the Avatar, who must master all four elements. Aside from the whole balance thing, it’s also the Avatar’s job to be a bridge, or connection, to the Spirit World. [She adds that last part with a weak look as her eyes wander away meekly.] It’s been like that for ages. When the current Avatar dies, they are reincarnated as a bender in the next nation of the cycle. The previous Avatar was an airbender and I’m a waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. After me it’ll be someone in the Earth Kingdom.

Basically it’s my job to do all that and protect everyone. [Quite a lot to ask of a seventeen year old, but she’s readily stepped up to the challenge. At least everything except the spirit part.]

Sorry, I didn’t think I was ready to type all that out in English.

[hammer]

No, that's okay. I would've opted for speaking over typing all that out too.

[ The reassurance comes easily. Digesting everything she's said takes him a little longer. ]

So you're the spirit of your world? Kind of made flesh? Is that what you mean? And you can, what, manipulate the elements? Like, start fires and make tornadoes? That kind of elemental manipulation?

[alphatar]

Yup, you nailed it. Bending is an art and it requires training, but it's so cool because people are still finding new things to do with it. There's a lot of small things like sub-schools of bending, but that's the general idea.

Oh, there are a few other benders here too. Toph is here, she's the strongest earthbender from my world. There's also Tarrlok and Amon, they're both waterbenders. [Her face drops entirely.] And bloodbenders.

[hammer]

[ Anything he might ask about bending, and he's got a plethora of questions, gets derailed by her mention of bloodbenders. That sounds... Well, honestly, it sounds horrible. ]

Are they—The bloodbenders. Are they bad people?

[alphatar]

You don't even know the half of it. Bloodbending is a dark art and is outlawed. Tarrlok used bloodbending to hold me down so he could kidnap me and locked me up in a cabin so I couldn't tell anyone he was a bloodbender, just to keep his seat on the council.

Amon is a revolutionist radical who used his Equalist army to try to overthrow the order between bender and non-benders established by the Avatar before me; Aang. With his bloodbending, he could take away a person's bending permanently and he was lying to all of his followers since he was a waterbender himself.

[Taking a deep breath, Korra grabs her cup and sips from the straw.] Tarrlok did give me the information that Amon was a bender, which was key in me taking down Amon. [She left that where it was, a subject she didn't really know how to feel about yet.]

Sorry, I didn't mean to just bludgeon you with my past problems. To answer your question: Yeah, they're bad people.

[hammer]

It's okay. I don't mind listening.

[ He really doesn't. Everyone's got a past chock full of problems. The best way to make sure they're not repeated - one of Justin's top goals - is to know what happened and why so similar things can be avoided in the future. ]

There aren't any bloodbenders here now, are there? I mean, we're all safe from them?

[alphatar]

It’s just those two here, and really that’s the worst case scenario. [She gives an unhappy smirk.] Yeah, I wasn’t too happy about them when I got here either. Amon’s bending isn’t the only thing that makes him dangerous. It’s the way he can twist the truth to suit himself or lie with sincerity. And that stupid mask. [Personal pet peeve for Korra.]

But yeah, that’s the best information I can give you on people from world you can’t trust. How about you? Anyone you know that’s dangerous or I should know about?

[hammer]

So we should be on the lookout for them? Okay. I'll remember those names.

[ And until he figures out which guy in a mask is Amon, he'll just avoid them all. Unless there's only one. ]

That I know of? Not really. Unless there's a guy here named Ivan Vanko. You should watch out for him if he is. He's nuts. Was nuts. I think he's dead now, so I guess he wouldn't be here, huh?

[alphatar]

I don't know any foreigner named Ivan, but then again I haven't met everyone just yet. Especially with all the new arrivals. [She grins.] Present company excluded.

But I wouldn't rule that out. Tu Vishan is a place between life and death, so it's real. [She points at herself with her thumb.] But hey, if he does show up, you got me backing you up. So don't sweat it too much.

[Unless he was some kind of superhero, then Korra might have her work cut out for her.]

[hammer]

Yeah? You sure? He's a big, burly Russian guy. Completely nuts. Homicidal. In love with his bird.

[ It's all true, but his tone is faintly teasing. He appreciates her offer to help him, though. He appreciates it very much. It isn't every day someone does that. ]

I don't know how much help I'd be. I'd probably be too busy hiding behind you.

[ Now he's blatantly kidding. Ivan would snap him like a pencil if he wanted to, but Justin would at least try to defend himself. And Korra, if she was there. ]

[alphatar]

Pfft, no problem. I’ve hurled my share big guys around. Don’t sweat this pirate Russian guy. [Korra had no idea what a Russian was, but if he had a bird with him that meant he was a pirate, right?]

But hey, if you want to be one hundred percent sure, I can teach you how to fight. I’ve got that second floor of mine completely dedicated to training. [A seventeen year old girl offering a weapons developer/manufacturer martial arts lessons. Welcome to Tu Vishan Justin Hammer.]

[hammer]

[ Ivan isn't a pirate, but he can see it so clearly that he starts laughing. Because it fits. It really, really fits. ]

Yeah? Okay. Deal. And hey, if you want to learn how to use a gun, I can teach you. You know, in return for teaching me how not to get my ass kicked by everybody.

[alphatar]

All right! I'm usually training late in the morning, so head over whenever you feel up to learning.

Just show me how one works, because honestly I've never seen one before. Just heard about them on the radio. [South pole bumpkin: PRESENT.]

[hammer]

I'll be there tomorrow.

[ Because Justin is a motivated, determined man and he really does enjoy learning new things. ]

And I will. I'll bring diagrams. They'll have to suffice until I can get a real one here.

[alphatar]

I haven’t seen any for sale, but then again I wasn’t really keeping an eye out for them. But works for me!

[hammer]

Great. I'll see you tomorrow.