need the sun to break

[resistivity]

Who: mako, ota otherwise! please bring me your babies c:
Where: various places
When: throughout the sickness event, the last prompt can cover any time period in it as mako won't progress past the first stage.
Rating pg for now! will update if it changes. some mention of a lightning-based injury tho!
What: settling in and maybe trying to mother-hen other sick people who need it. please toss me a pm or hmu on discord (violynnist#8733!) if you would like something custom for you, or to try another situation/scenario also! This was my intro post on the CR meme as well if that's easier to poke at c:

𝐏𝐑𝐄-𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒;

𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚;

( he's no stranger to the fey and fantastic. being friends with the avatar has meant years of encountering things that might have otherwise been beyond belief. he has a healthy threshold of tolerance for the scope and scale of strange than most people would probably expect of a no-nonsense cop.

his first thought is spirit wilds. even astoria herself sort of seems like one, though she looks human (he's heard stories of koh) and the misty phantasms that roam the temple grounds certainly don't disabuse that notion. mako is. quiet. taking it all in, listening, learning. he jots down notes, which is difficult to do when one arm is an out-of-commission ruin, strapped into a sling that pinions it to his body. he sort of rests the notepad in the hollow of his wrist, over the fabric of the sling and scribbles everything in police short-hand.

thrown into a new situation? doesn't know anyone or anything beyond astoria's welcoming spiel? time to wander the grounds of the temple. when he runs into other people, he'll approach them politely and introduce himself, )

I know it probably doesn't matter here, but I'm a Detective with the Republic City Police back home. My name's Mako. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's all right?

( he gestures with his notepad, obviously intending on writing things down. feel free to talk with him, refuse a statement, agree but only off the record, etc. he's a mostly-amicable (if. sometimes humorless) guy! )

𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛;

( he can't feel the sun. it's there, visible, a low-hanging presence on the cusp of dawn. it's a slightly different color than the one he's used to, and he can feel its rays on his skin, but there's. nothing. no energy, no... deep, abiding warmth that sinks down into the bones and drags the life and breath of fire to life through the conduit of his physical body.

it lends further credence to the thought he must be in the spirit world, or something very like it. he finds his way to the fighting ring and, still with his left arm in its sling, he tries a few right-handed jabs at one of the training dummies. nothing. nothing. he's stayed calm through everything else, being recruited — kidnapped, essentially — to someone else's fight, the whole thing. but this? it reminds him too much of amon.

out of frustration, he kicks at the air, the sort of slicing motion that would have swept fire away from him in an arc. and.

to his complete and utter surprise, a column of rock juts up out of the earth and launches the dummy several yards away. mako, instinctively, turns to look for bolin or korra or even beifong, the earthbenders whose company he spends the most time in, but. he's alone.

except, perhaps, for your character. mako looks a little sheepish at having been caught unawares — he's usually a little harder to sneak up on, so he's rubbing the back of his neck as he asks, )

Did you do that?

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐗𝐓𝐀'𝐒 𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒;

( he hates getting sick. firebenders are pretty hardy, all things considered. they tend to run hot. mako isn't used to feeling ill, it's only happened a couple times in memory, and. his default state is ignore all physical discomfort. he doesn't seem to be badly off, either, given what everyone else is going through.

so. a case of the sniffles. he sucks it up. pitches in around the kitchens, makes himself available to anyone who seems to be suffering. he even tries to go out into the forest of the fey to see if there is anything out there, some plant or herb that can be used as a remedy.

if your character needs some looking after during the event, mako's your guy. he will dutifully help total strangers, tuck people in, carry them off to a bed and help them through the loss of their senses should it come to that! let him big-brother you. it's the squishiest you'll ever see him. )

Comments

[resistivity]

( okay, so. not water tribe.

(voltron gets scribbled in his book.)

the rest is a lot of words. mako's used to people who speak a lot and manage to say very little, so at least he's not taken aback by it. but. lance is very obviously a Friendly Guy, and not in a way that sets him immediately on his guard à la varrick. he practically bleeds genuine intent, if a little bit of ego as a garnish. and mako, who's a decent judge of character, thinks he could probably like this guy.

but he's still going to push him. mako doesn't believe for a minute that he knows pretty much everything, so in a rather bland, unassuming tone, )

Okay... how many people are here, and have you picked up on any commonalities between them? Have you noticed that Astoria favors one world over any others? And if so, which one?

( he has so many more questions, lance. so many more. don't do this to yourself. )

[cargoed]

[ that is possibly the easiest 'strangers to friends' scenario that lance has ever been a part of, but he's not going to complain. he's a pretty easy friend to make, and he tends to like people first and foremost.

and that tone? lance has heard it enough not to so much as blink at the unassuming-ness to it. you want to test him on that knowledge he definitely has? because. well. you're probably going to be disappointed. ]

The number is kind of impossible to pin down? People show up and disappear, like, all the time. Astoria is pretty strong but she's not great at that part. Usually you can check your watch thing though if you want to get peoples' names? [ he's going to point to mako's wrist at that. you know. that thing? that you definitely didn't have before you showed up? ]

I've only been to one world, but from what I heard we've only been taken to two? You can't really pick what world she favors?

[resistivity]

( you know, somehow he's really not that surprised that the guy rose to the occasion. mako jots all that information down as well, and then glances up. )

I meant the worlds she takes people from. There are five people from mine, but I've met a few who are the only one as far as they're aware. I'm curious if there's a pattern to it. If she's more likely to take people from a pre-existing team, or who've never met. That sort of thing.

( you can't just assume these things without a sizable data pool. everyone from his world so far was originally a bender, so does that mean that asami might never show up? or does it mean that she just hasn't yet? it's a lot to consider, and mako is nothing if not unerringly thorough. )

[cargoed]

[ lance shrugs. ]

Dunno- I've met a lot of people who are the only ones here from home, too, but I'm here with... [ give him a second to count... ] Five other people from home? So six with me. And we were all a part of a team together, like, with each other right before we arrived? Though we don't all remember the same thing.

[ okay if you mention data or anything related to that word you might get a cross-eyed lance, but as of right now he can kind of help. ]

We also showed up at different times. Which...might have something to do with it? Maybe?

[resistivity]

( hm. another few notes in his fancy calligraphy, and then he relents and tucks the book away. the interrogation is mostly over... although he's curious about that timeline discrepancy stuff, especially given... his own experiences with that. bolin being from before kuvira, and then the whole utter mess that is zuko and katara. )

So some of you are from different points in your... overall timeline?

[cargoed]

[ lance looks over at the notes - realizing he definitely....can't read that? and shrugging it off. when you spend so long traveling between alien planets, you learn to kinda roll with the punches.

which is the only reason this whole conversation happens as it does right now. lance doesn't really know what he's saying right now, but he can take words and kinda use them, right? he's been friends with pidge and hunk for long enough. ]

Yeah. Like- I remember one thing, and so do a couple of my friends? But there are some people here who the last thing they remember was a few months before that? Technically Shiro was like, a year behind but he caught up.

[resistivity]

( well, it's ... comforting, in a strange way, to know that at least it's a common theme among the people here. or at least not something singularly isolated to the people from his world. )

It's been like that for the people from my world too. Me and my friend Korra — if you've met her — are from the same point, but. Everyone else is anywhere from months to years apart.

( try almost seven decades. but. still. it counts. )

[cargoed]

[ lance looks....almost sorry. sympathetic? ]

We all got here at different times, too. We had one- our team leader? Shiro? He arrived like, five months ago. Keith showed up not long after that, but Shiro last remembered a time almost a year ago. And then I was here, and so was Allura, and she remembers a few months ago and then I had a weird dream and remembered more.

[ lance sighs, reaching out to set his hand on mako's shoulders. ]

Let me tell you this right now, dude. It doesn't make any more sense the more you learn. Everything about this is weird and just gets weirder.

[ and then he'll brighten. ]

Oh! Korra! Yeah, I met her a little bit ago!

[resistivity]

( lance is just rattling off names of all these people he doesn't know so, you know. there's that. he makes a mental note of the names, because thus far he has no reason not to like lance, and decent people tend to stick together. moreso if they're on a team.

he does kind of. look down at that hand on his shoulder. at least lance had the good sense not to set it on his left, where his arm's in an obvious sling, but. it's still more physical contact than he's strictly used to dealing with from a stranger and it gets a faint upward quirk of his eyebrow. he does sort of gently... push him off... it's a lot better than how he would've reacted to such an approach a few years ago, at least. )

What about — mm, abilities? New ones, I mean?

( it seems rude on both sides of the fence to ask if lance was just... normal, but the word 'non-bender', which is the default in his world, wouldn't apply here. he just assumes that lance, having been here longer, will catch his meaning.

he does smile a bit to hear that lance and korra have met. honestly, he can see them being friends easily and that's. a good thing. korra was too isolated for too long, and lance seems like the sort of guy that brightens a room just by breathing — just like bolin. she could use that. )

I'm guessing you two got on just fine.

[cargoed]

[ okay well, yes. he should probably have been a little slower on that rattling bit. it's too much to expect any newcomer to know everyone that quickly. lance might move through a crowd and have almost everyone's name by the time he gets out of it, but he can't expect everyone to be that. lord knows that keith wouldn't, and you know what. suddenly lance is struck by the resemblance.

which is also why, when mako is probably going to start looking a little uncomfortable and very gently try to push him off, lance is going to realize ah, that sort of person and will immediately pull his hand away - unfazed completely. like it didn't even happen. and um- yes he would have avoided a very obvious sling he's not that oblivious. ]

You mean the things Astoria gives us? [ because that's about.....as much thought as lance has put into them. ] Yeah, they're freaking sweet. I've never had powers before so it's cool for me? But I also know that some people lose their powers when they show up.

[ like allura, but again, he probably needs to slow down.

mako smiles at the fact that he knows korra, and lance tilts his head back and forth, crossing his arms over his chest. ]

She did threaten to have me eaten by her huge bear when we met... [ and then he'll shrug, smiling a bit as he does so. ] But yeah, she's pretty cool.

[resistivity]

( hm. that's. ... hm.

he drops his hands without protest — not that mako had been expecting a fight over it, exactly, but it's still a sharp contrast to wu, who's the other recent person of his acquaintance that decided mako was a beanpole he absolutely needed to climb at all times or else. it's like he was caught in a permanent game of 'the floor is lava' and mako was the only safe spot in the room. any room. ever. he's a firebender, not fireproof. spirits.

but lance lets it go, and mako... approves of that, a little. he shrugs. )

That's what I meant. What'd you get? If you don't mind my asking. ... And why did Astoria threaten you with a bear?

[cargoed]

[ at the question, lance will shift a bit - he's been practicing, so even if he hasn't gotten to do anything cool with it he kind of knows how to make it work? so he'll shift, and set his feet, and then look around for a few moments before finding a small puddle off to their left and moving his hand in a fluid motion.

the muddy water rises and them moves over towards lance, collecting in a small, brown puddle above his hand. lance, despite how totally cool he was probably looking, breaks into a grin. it's sweet, okay? like. super sweet. ]

Water! Or- water manipulation, I think was what Hunk called it. [ he flicks his hand around and the water makes a trip around the two of them before falling to the ground far enough away that it doesn't actually splash. ] Not sure why, but still cool. And not Astoria- Korra. Korra threatened me with her bear and then told me she was a space pirate. Which- just in case you were thinking about it- [ cue some very threatening pointing ] I've met space pirates and you don't look anything like one.

[ and then he'll drop his hand. ] What about you?

[resistivity]

( wait. hold on. he disregards literally everything else lance just said and is sort of... staring at the motions he went through, and the way the water moves. korra threatened him with — naga, probably, and given the way he continues on she was probably joking, but he can think about that later, because lance is — )

You're a waterbender?

( he says that softly, some mix of awe and wonder and a sudden wave of homesickness that hits him like a battering ram. he. really didn't think that anyone outside their world would get any kind of bending at all. it's a shock to the system. but the stance, the motions, the... bending, it's all unmistakable. )

[cargoed]

[ lance blinks at him for a second, and then another. ]

I'm a whatsit?

[ he looks over to the water, and then his hands, trying to parse this out. ] I mean, technically? Maybe? The water does bend but-

[ that's when the rest of mako's question will kind of catch up to lance. not the words, per say, but the way mako is looking at him, how softly he asked. lance tilts his head a bit to the side. ]

Why? And what's a waterbender?

[resistivity]

( korra should probably hear about this. should probably see this. she'll be over the moon, really, even if it reminds her of what she's lost. another waterbender, even though it's more like the airbenders after the harmonic convergence than it is anything born of her culture or tribe. it's still.

waterbending. mako's smile is crooked, but its warmth is unmistakable. )

It's something from my world. You're right, it's a form of elemental manipulation. We direct energy along chi pathways in the body and focus them with a martial art. It lets us move or sometimes summon whatever our element happens to be. I was a firebender in my world. Here, I'm an earthbender.

( he makes it Very Clear to lance that he's about to demonstrate, and once he seems like he won't be startled or upset by it — he heel-strikes the ground. nearby, a promontory of rock juts out of the earth, and he gestures with his good hand. it lifts up, unwavering. a tightly controlled motion. for all that this skill is 'new' to him, he's had a lifetime of coaching bolin, watching him. earth is probably the next easiest element for him to have jumped to. )

[cargoed]

[ lance sees the smile, suddenly a bit self conscious about what he's figured out, what he's doing. most of what he's able to accomplish now has been trial and error, hours sitting in his room and working through whatever felt right. he's still no master, not by any means, but he's happy with his progress. or. was. now he's suddenly worried about whether or not what he's been doing is even right?

the thoughts materialize in the briefest waver to his smile, before it's pushed away. ]

Chi pathways....I feel like I've heard of that before? Kind of like Kung Fu, right? [ i'm so sorry about that.

but then mako will mention fire bending and lance is half a second away from asking about it when he makes the motion that he's going to demonstrate his earth bending. lance closes his mouth once again and takes a step or two back, watching very closely as mako starts in on the movements. that's when he strikes the ground, and lance's eyes go wide. ]

Holy- that's awesome? [ he will spare no enthusiasm here, his face breaking out into an excited smile, his eyes moving between mako and the earth now floating mid-air between them. ]

Can you teach me to do that?

[resistivity]

( mako's spent a lifetime bolstering up his brother's confidence. he sees the little waver to lance's smile, and so that's where his priority goes. he lets the rock carefully back to the ground and this time it's his turn to clap his hand to lance's shoulder. when it's other people touching him, his hackles go up a bit. but when other people seem like they need it, mako doesn't mind the sacrifice of personal space. )

I have no idea what Kung Fu is ( says the one who uses northern shaolin. ) But learning any bending on your own's pretty incredible. It takes years to master, and most people on my world have someone to teach them.

( he's pointed about that, and it's not a lie. he remembers how hard firebending was at first, and he had other people to watch and emulate. he's impressed that lance has made any progress at all, in all honesty. )

And, ah. No, I can't teach you earthbending. Most people can't use more than one element, so I imagine it's the same for you. But I can show you a few waterbending moves if you'd like? You'd have to ask Korra for anything more specific, she's the master.

( he doesn't really want to mention her being the avatar, because he knows she misses it here. he'd sooner leave it up to her to explain it or not if she chooses to. )

[cargoed]

[ lance doesn't realize the look gets through, so the hand at his shoulder is something of a surprise. but when mako's hand settles, it does make him feel a bit better. how, he really is good at that, isn't he? whatever it is, lance's insecurities fade back a bit, his hand going to rub at the back of his neck, his eyes drifting off to the side for a second. ]

I can't do all that much, yet, but it's pretty cool to have anything at all. [ which, really, is the best part about this. lance went from no powers to being able to control water. would he have rathered fly? absolutely. even controlling fire sounds dope. but he's accepted it, learned to embrace it, has completely and totally shifted to thinking about how cool it is and that is that.

which is why, after a second, lance lets out a kind of accepting sigh. ] Yeah, I figured. But if you know anything about- what did you call it? 'Waterbending'? I can trade you uh- [ give him a second... ] A tour! You're new, you probably haven't been shown around, right?

[ he is definitely making a note to hit korra up later, though. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THAT. ]

[resistivity]

( let him watch

mako just nods, accepting that. he steps back into his own space after a moment, hand falling away from lance's shoulder. )

A tour'd be nice. This definitely isn't what I'm used to.

( it's more... old air temple than it is republic city. truthfully, mako probably doesn't need a tour. he's a detective, and being in new places has never really been an issue for him. but he figures, just by the fact that he offered, that lance doesn't do well with handouts. and that's more than enough reason to agree. )

Okay, so. Waterbending.

( he pulls the sling off over his head, tossing it lightly aside. he'll need both arms to demonstrate, since waterbending involves a lot more full body motion than earth or fire necessarily. there's a very slight grimace when he stretches out the left. the scarring is obvious, discolored fractal patterns that traveled along the nerves beneath the skin. )

It's the element of change. Water can be a solid or a liquid or even a gas — like steam or mist. Some people can also use it to heal — although I'll say that's a pretty rare ability, and it takes time to get good with even if you have the knack. Waterbending moves are more about redirecting your opponent's energy back at them than using your own. A good waterbender can outlast just about any other opponent due to the conservation of energy.

( he gives lance a sidelong look — following along? and then he does an easy, sweeping gesture with both hands, starting low and ending up a bit above the waist, fingers curling against the palm at the apex of the motion. it's sort of a bit more advanced version of what lance had already done, and it can surge the water up and freeze it. )

[cargoed]

[ lance won't say no so ]

It took me a bit to figure this place out too, so don't worry. I've got it pretty much down.

[ yeah sorry mako you're going to have to deal with his I'M LANCE AND I'M THE BEST smirks. because he always has this kind of stuff down, you know? never gets lost. ever. at all. especially not around a magical building that always kinds shifts around from time to time. he has the navigation system of a - uh. well.

he'll get back to that.

and then mako is moving, pulling off his sling, and while lance wants to pay attention and there is definitely a lot of information there he should probably be listening to, his attention is still on mako's arm. ]

Um- [ okay so liquid, yeah, gas, okay, healing? that's a bit further than he is really prepared to deal with, even if the idea he could help heal people is a good one, he'd rather know what it is right now so he can actually. you know. do it. lance definitely doesn't really listen to the entire last half of what mako says, though, eyes still on his arm and only moving when he feels mako's attention on him.

what he does see is the motion, the way mako moves. he can pick up easily enough on the actions, can see where his own stumbled across movements weren't too far off, but still he isn't quite. ready to move on yet. ]

Should you be doing this? With your...arm?

[resistivity]

( he hesitates. straightens up out of the waterbending stance, and then looks down at his left hand. flexes his fingers, rolls his wrist. his tone is faintly bemused when he speaks, )

It looks a lot worse than it is. ( that is a lie. what electricity does to meat is not pretty or inconsequential. ) I just can't bend with it anymore.

( maybe not ever. that was what master katara had mentioned to him back home when she'd tried to heal him. it sucks, but. it's not being dead. it's not kuvira ruling the world. and it's certainly not losing korra or bolin or asami or even beifong. he'd been prepared to die to save them. any damage done to him was just... incidental. he'd do it again in a heartbeat with twice the consequences if he had to.

but it's also not. really something he expected someone else to care about, because republic city certainly doesn't breed that kind of care for one's neighbor. he looks genuinely surprised that lance protested at all, like anyone would put someone eles's wellbeing — or even their mild physical discomfort — over the acquisition of knowledge and power. he reaches up to rub at his shoulder, fingers catching on the shoulder seam of his tanktop. )

I try to move it a bit every day so it doesn't stiffen up. Waterbending's a really gentle martial art, it's actually what I've been doing for physical therapy.

[cargoed]

[ that it looks a lot worse bit has lance's brow arching, not exactly convinced. it looks really bad, so even just a little 'not as bad' is still.... bad???? ]

Isn't not bending...kind of a really bad thing? If everyone from your world bends? Do you need both hands?

[ lance has a feeling there's a bigger story about all of that. something under the surface that a 'first meetino a stranger’ would not necessarily allow. lance gets secrets, he understands people wanting to keep things close to the chest and even more so (in a disappointing kind of way) keeping things from him, so he lets it drop.

sure. he got hurt and has been working through it. lance’s eyes linger on the scarring for a bit before he turns his attention back. ]

I thought you said people from your world can only bend one?

[resistivity]

( let him live, lance!! mako just. rubs the bridge of his nose. why so many questions, just let him teach you. )

Only about a quarter of the people on my world can use bending. Having two hands is nice, but I can bend just fine with one. Remember, I've been doing this most of my life.

( his tone is gentle rather than exasperated. he's not upset at the pestering, because he knows lance means well. he's just feeling a little... henpecked. )

And yeah, sorry. I can't waterbend, but anyone can do the martial arts styles themselves. I'm just used to... calling it that.

[cargoed]

[ yeah, that’s a face lance knows well. still, he’ll give mako a look - not entirely convinced - even as he gives an easy shrug. well, okay then. that is the end of that pestering, apparently. Shelved for another time. lance will look at mako for another moment before setting his hands on his hips. ]

So only a small amount of people from your world can bend, but you know about all the types of bending and can do it with one hand. [ is there anything you CAN’T DO??? ] Oh, and it’s called bending even when you don’t actually bend or move anything.

[` a pause, and then a quick nod - proud of himself. ] Okay, I think I got it, keep going.

[resistivity]

( he just. laughs. )

Okay, okay, calm down. I'm a cop, remember? It's beneficial for me to know the various styles so I can counter them effectively. Plus, my brother is an earthbender and Korra, my best friend? Waterbender. I've just had a lot of exposure.

( he's not really sure why he feels compelled to... stress that. mako knows he's a remarkable firebender. one of the best in the world. but he's also not going to just... say that for no reason. it feels like unnecessary grandstanding, and he left all that behind in the pro-bending arena. he rolls his good shoulder in a shrug. )

Anyway. That's really all there is to the philosophical side of it. The rest is just — practice. Hard work. When I was first learning, I was spending six, sometimes seven hours a day just bending. How good you can get at it is kinda up to you.