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Video; UN: Bolin!

Hello everyone! Ladies and Gentlemen and.. people who aren't either but.. are other things I guess- ANYWAY! I'm Bolin, you might know me, I was in Deerington for a little while before we made the journey here. Mako's brother, earthbender, at your service.

[Bright! Excited! He's got so much to say and it's all great!! Bolin is sitting in a booth in The Raccoon Room, it's all very fancy and newly opened as you might remember from the big party on Halloween. Heck, you might have seen him there performing tricks with his omen Pabu the fire ferret, who is currently draped around the back of Bolin's neck like a scarf, only mildly interested in what's happening but squeaks every time Bolin gesticulates particularly big.]

Firstly, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who came to the Raccoon Room's opening night, it was great and I know it meant the world to Mako and Wu. And hey, if you had fun you should come back which is what brings me to my next point!

We're gonna do a musical.

[Jazz handssssssss! His eyes are very bright. Is this a good thing? Should you be worried? Remains to be seen.]

Wu has asked me to direct it, with music by Ryan from Chicken Choice Judy aand I know what you're thinking: Oh- Bolin [In falsetto, because that's how you all sound and you know it.] but a musical we don't know-

Wrong-o, it is going to be amazing and you're all going to love it. So good news, we're casting!

There's going to be auditions.. and costumes and music! And sets! It's going to be like a live action mover with songs, I can't actually think of anything better.

So, if you're interested in being a part of the show and auditioning or getting on the crew, drop me your name, questions, and deets and welcome to Trench's very first musical production ooffffffffff wait for itttttttttt?!!?

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[Heeey, there's that smile we know and love. It's so rare but so nice to see and Bolin treasures it.

He drops his hand and rests his arm along the back of the booth, posture easy and open as he watches Mako laugh. Mission accomplished, then.

Don't think he won't ask for help with all that other stuff too, because he absolutely will, but his goal was to ask for something only Mako can provide. It's a small ask, but an intimate one.]

I've given it some thought and I just don't think I'm cut out for a ponytail. Plus.. I mean there are some pretty ladies around and I need to look my best if I'm going to be a respected director and future spiritfather.

[ Bolin is funny, is the thing—he's always been the funny one of the two of them, always able to make Mako laugh where few other people could—and so the smile stays caught on Mako's lips even as the laughter dies. ]

Gotta figure out what kind of haircut a respected director has, I guess. And—why're you gonna be a spiritfather?

[Bolin is funny because Mako held the space for him to be funny. Took it upon himself to play the straight man (haa), the bad guy, the nefarious firebender. Don't think he doesn't know. He does. It's all the more reason to try to make him laugh. Bolin couldn't take charge or keep them safe (or find them work or dinner or get them out of trouble) but he could make Mako laugh. One little way or giving back when Mako has given everything.]

Oh! For Korra and Asami, isn't that great? Korra just told me she wants us to be spiritfathers when they have kids.

[He freezes and his face drops. Oh no.]

I don't know if I just ruined a surprise. When she tells you, you have to pretend you don't know.

[ When ]

[ When?????????? ]

How did you—

Did.

Are they going to?

Yeah! Well, Korra said that's the plan, so I guess it must be. Oh man, I'm so glad you came down and I told you. I've felt like I was gonna explode all day, it's so exciting.

[ WELL THAT IS.

Sure something. How long has Korra been thinking about this? Is she going to tell Mako? Did she want to tell Mako, and how are they gonna make that happen? Mako sort of thought—but then, there's that orphanage, and with such a high death rate around here it makes sense that there are lot of parentless kids to just... claim, but..

And they would make good parents, but here? In a place this dangerous?

Is that really what they want? When would they have told Mako?

No, shut up, this isn't about him, he doesn't get to be hurt like he was before. He can leave them to their choices, it's fine (are they going to get married? Can you get married here?)

He's been silent for way, way too long, looks up at Bolin after a few seconds of prolonged quiet and makes himself smile. ]

Remind me never to tell you important secrets.

[Whoooooops sorry about that brother. He could... he could have been more clear that Korra was talking about the hypothetical future. But then she said all that nice stuff about them being the bravest people she knows and she couldn't think of anyone better and he's just. He's very flattered and excited even if he knows just Mako and Wu are the better decision.]

Yeah.. sorry.

[Sheepish. He flushes and looks away, sinking down into the booth a little. This is embarrassing.]

For what it's worth I don't think it's going to happen any time soon but some day. Maybe we'll all have kids some day. Wouldn't that be good? We could all raise them together like one big family. I'd love that.

Edited 2021-11-26 23:42 (UTC)

So it's not... happening.

[ Okay, okay, Mako is picking up on this, Bolin got excited probably and it's not like Korra and Asami landed here and immediately started thinking about a family. He doesn't know why it's getting him like this. Maybe how permanent it feels. Maybe the idea of trying to raise a kid in such a hostile world. Mako and Bolin have barely any traditions to cling to as it is: how would they be spiritfathers to a child in a place like Trench? ]

Is that, uh. Do you... want kids? Your own?

[All valid. All true. But Bolin would argue having so very few traditions leaves plenty of opportunity to create new ones.

..what other choice do they have?

He's thoughtful for a beat before nodding.]

Yeah.. you know I think I do.

[ That's a thought, them living long enough to have kids of their own. They could give them real homes, come back from the dead if they're still here, make sure they're never left to fend for themselves. The thought slams into him with the force of an earth-disk and stays there, hovering while Mako tries to catch his breath. ]

That'd... be something.

[That's exactly it. They could give their children what they were so brutality robbed of.

They wouldn't have to scramble and beg and steal. They wouldn't have to worry about death or grief or going hungry. They wouldn't have to weigh playing with friends against finding a safe place to sleep that night.

Their kids would never have to wonder about the cost of kindness from others. What pound of flesh a favor would mean later down the line. They'd never have to pay to grow up with blood and sweat and fear.

It feels like closure in a way, but Bolin hasn't really dissected it.

What he does know is that he is full of love and he wants to share it. Little toes and ears and laughter. He wants that. Trench is almost safer for it given how special Sleepers are, so the fear he could die and orphan his own little ones doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Mako not shooting it down immediately is very telling and so Bolin's smile softens even more.]

I think so. Not any time soon but some day. I probably need to get a date first.

[Who is.. not Opal. What? Growth??]

[ Mako catches that, sits up a little straighter with his brows shooting up. He has to shove thoughts of kids firmly to one side because otherwise he's going to think about it way too much—what Wu would think about one of the orphans being theirs, if that's something he even wants, if that's something they'd do together—and this is... this is also important. ]

You actually looking for dates now?

I.. I'm thinking about it.

[a little, unsure half shrug. He hasn't yet said it aloud. This makes it real and he.. feels some kind of way about that.]

I don't know, I think maybe you're right, maybe she wasn't the one for me? She's amazing but the more I think about it I'm not sure she even likes me very much.. and I kinda almost got her whole family killed and she's always so busy being an airbender.. and she's home and we're here..

But I have no way of breaking it off with her officially..

..would getting a date or.. thinking about someone new..

Does that make me a cheater? I would never do that to her, I never, not even once while I was away. There was a moment or two where I could have.. but I never cheated. You can't break up if the other person doesn't know.

[ Mako has enough emotional awareness not to literally tell Bolin I-told-you-so but he sure is radiating that anyway, watching his brother work through this the way he does. Mako is less impatient these days, even with corruption creeping slowly up, and so he gives Bolin time to get to the end, to ask his questions that Mako is pretty sure he already knows the answer to.

Still. ]

What do you think? You think it counts as cheating?

[ Is MAKO really the right guy to be asking?

But that isn't the point: he'd like Bolin to think critically about it, to come to the conclusion on his own, because if Mako tells him he'll just accept it but not really... mean it, deep down. ]

[Or is Mako the exact right person to ask. You know, on account of all your fuckboyishness.]

Well I think it's kid of sketchy to decide you can't be with someone anymore and not let them know..

[ It's true, his primo fuckboy energy has carried him through many a shitty situation entirely of his own making.

But either way, Mako leans forward on his elbows, fixing Bolin with a Look. ]

Bo. If you could let her know, then would you?

[kind* phone why u betray me]

Nnn.. if I could talk to her I'd want to have more of a conversation than that.

Right, but—

[ Okay, you can do this, Mako, just be a little more clear. He sighs. ]

Okay, think about it. Can you talk to her?

[Please hold his hand, he doesn't get it.]

No..

[ S I G H. Okay, another tactic. Mako leans a little closer. It's time to be... honest. ]

Listen. I'm gonna tell you what I told Ryan: this isn't on you, and if she shows up here or something and makes it your fault, then she's the wrong one, not you. Got it? You physically can't break up with her. There's no right or wrong here: you literally can't do it, unless you want to... I don't know, symbolically do something. Write a letter, put it in a bottle, drop it in the ocean.

But, Bo—we're not the same people that we were at home. Alright? We're... different. You're not cheating, you're not doing some skeevy thing—trust me, if you were, I would tell you.

[He listens, face dropping little by little as Mako goes on. Shoulders slumping inch by inch. It just seems so unfair. To Opal, to him, the future.

But the worst part.. is that Mako is right. He's absolutely right. And some part of Bo is relieved. The other part of him is upset that he's relieved, and he doesn't know how to feel about that.

But, finally: ]

Yeah.. I.. I think you're probably right. Even if we aren't the same anymore I still feel like.. I don't know, like there's this tether? And I should let it go. A letter is a good idea.

Thanks, Mako.

Video; UN: Bolin!

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