deernet | video; un:mako

Uh, hey. Mako here.

[ Nailing it so far, right? Mako's standing in front of a half-blue, half-green wall, dotted with small lunar sconces. Everything looks kind of dusty and half-finished, and the watery afternoon light illuminates yet more dust drifting around him.

Notably, a small dragon, red-scaled and content, is draped over his shoulders like a scarf, watching the Omni with bright eyes.

Mako glances momentarily off the screen, mouths something, and then looks back, clearing his throat. ]

It's come to my attention that a lot of you have been setting things on fire left and right since we washed up here. Obviously, this is dangerous to you and the people around you. If that's you, you need to make an effort to control it immediately before something worse than singeing your clothes happens.

For those of you who just washed up, I'm a firebender. That means I can do—

[ He holds up his left hand (scarred with strange marks) in front of himself and splays his fingers, making a small puff of fire appear and hold over his palm. It flickers there like a candle flame, dancing between Mako's fingers, before he drags it in a small arc and lets it go out. ]

—that, and—

[ Another flick of his fingers, this time producing little purple-bright sparks that zap between the tips and then dissipate. ]

—that. And a lot more.

So. If you need help learning to control your powers, and you do, come to the Raccoon Room in Cellar Door on Wednesdays. You'll see the sign. I've been doing this since I was a kid. Anyone else who wants to help, feel free to drop by too.

[ Finally, he looks up, his serious expression dropping just slightly. ]

Trust me. If a bunch of snotty six-year-olds back home can learn how to do it, you can.

[ The little dragon huffs in agreement, fire puffing out of its nose, and Mako reaches forward to cut the feed. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Vira-Lorr has activated Detective Mode whether she meant to or not: Mako's been trying to solve that exact mystery since he started getting those messages. ]

A couple things. Most of the people who need help have the same blood as I do now. Kind of blue, solidifies when it hits air, and I only say most because I don't know for some people. I'll ask when they come to the first session. None of them are sleeping well, so it could be related to that.

[Intentionally engaged.]

... there are different types of blood, and positively everything in this world is associated with it and its use on some level. I don't think this is coincidence. We've got multiple people wanting to research blood types, and hearing you say that makes me think it's more important than ever.

I wonder if it is literally an aspect of the type of blood involved. If that's the case, then the "Coldblood" may have an impact here. Which makes me wonder what the Paleblood entails.

[She'd yet to put two and two together on the mentalist powers she'd gained. She was still learning about the psychometry.]

That the kind of blood you have?

[ Mako's wondering about that. A few other people—Wu included—have presented with a totally different but seemingly related set of powers. If it was all tied to blood type, at least that would make it easier to identify any new ones as they showed up. ]

It is kind of weird how much emphasis on blood there is. It's all kind of... I don't know. Reminds of the Earth Kingdom and the royal family, you know?

Yes. Mine is milky pale and white, glowing in the moonlight.

[In time she would be able to view it through the lens of mentalist and psychic powers. it would help to contextualize it. But first, she had to touch something and get a clear-cut vision to know her powers existed.]

Hmmm. I can see that? But at the same time, there are two views of blood. One is the whole sanguine bloodline idea. Purity of a line. that sort of thing. But the other is that blood is the vessel of life. It pumps the lifeforce through the whole of the body... or the air from your lungs if you want to get scientific.

If we look at it as the latter? It is our lifeforce which has power, and blood is its vessel.

[ That's similar enough to Dipper's description of his own that Mako notes it down, adding Vira's name to his column of notes. Who knows what he's actually going to do with this data. The sheer act of collecting the numbers is comforting somehow.

He glances up when he's done, his brow furrowing slightly as he listens. ]

...I get it, but I still don't like it. Just because something like firebending can be used to give people life doesn't mean it isn't also dangerous. Same thing with blood.

Then there's whole blood pollution thing. You heard about that?

Being honest... brutally honest... I'm fighting a little jealousy, and a bit of your own shared nerves. Elemental control was a thing I once had in fair share. I don't regret what's happened. It's just sometimes a little hard to watch.

[She sighed.]

They do need help, though. More than anything to avoid hurting themselves.

Blood Pollution has been mentioned in passing, yes. I'm attempting to look into it, though I'm not sure what it truly means, other than that our forms are probably corruptible, which is its own risk. We don't exactly have a ready supply of antidotes right now.

[ Mako remembers lightning mingling with his own, power crackling along his arms, and frowns. ]

When you said your magic wasn't working right, that's what you meant?

[ He pauses for a long, quiet moment, watching Vira-Lorr's face. ]

...I don't know what I'd do if I suddenly couldn't bend anymore. Probably be jealous.

[ He gets it, he is trying to say: he would hate it if the thing that has made him who he is was suddenly ripped away, only to appear in the hands of others like it was their birthright. Mako doesn't put much stock in bloodlines, but his bending? It's who he is. ]

More or less, yes. I have no access to my spells now, at all.

[She sighed and smiled over at him, shrugging.]

A little jealousy is one thing, but I am not jealous of what they are experiencing. Magic was a skill that I was taught over years of my life. The kind of loss of control that they are facing is a different sort of thing entirely. it is as if they have the spells, but they do not know how to use them at all and cannot turn them off.

Yeah, it's pretty weird. New benders aren't like this, either—the hardest thing for us is figuring out how to actually, you know. Bend. It doesn't just spontaneously happen like this.

[ That is kind of beside the point here. Mako doesn't want to pry, exactly, but... ]

...you really okay with that? Not having your magic?

So, for your people, it is a learned skill as well, even if there's a talent to begin with. They are not subjected to sudden and explosive encounters with the power that they now wield.

[She frowned, scratching her chin.]

It really is a bit like Gwen's world. Where mutants gained these things as teenagers. It's distressing.

And, to answer your question I am "accepting" of this fact, in part because that is what I am faced with and I can't change it, and in part because I know that I will have to adapt. If I sit and fret about the inability to hurl lightning, I may miss something that can be far more valuable to all of us. I... do miss that connection, but I don't have the time to allow myself to wallow in the feeling of loss. there's too much to do.

Not usually. Especially with firebending. It's hard enough to make, much less to maintain long enough and hot enough to set something on fire. There's a reason most of us learn by controlling existing fire.

[ In other words, Mako is very slightly out of his depth. He smiles quietly, though, at Vira's words. ]

That's the smart way to approach it. Feelings just drag you down when you have other stuff to focus on.

And because I had a hint it might happen, I think I was a bit more mentally prepared than some are for changes in the powers they wield. Slightly more prepared.

What you said, though, that is sort of the problem. For me, I am accustomed to the idea of using a spell to invoke the elemental force and then exerting control. You start with existing fire. It's not the same as someone randomly sneezing and suddenly their desk is on fire.

...

I'm trying to figure out ways to explain control to them, but it's hard in some cases. Breathing exercises to calm the mind only go so far.

I mean, don't get me wrong, untrained firebenders definitely set stuff on fire without meaning to. It's just not that easy to make on purpose for most people, and the control is exactly the problem. That's what they need to learn most.

I'll... figure something out.

I wouldn't be at all useful with Fire, but if you find anyone with a penchant for Thunder or the manipulation of Earth, I might be able to help them. Spell or no spell, maybe something I've used will help.

video; un:mako

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject