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. ]

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[ Wu ducks into the shot, leaning over Mako's shoulder and grinning at Ryan ]

Were you? Were you really kidding? Or do you have a secret desire to perform under a burst of fireworks? Because, buddy, that's not happening. Nope. Not once. Nope nope nope, not even with fire marshal Mako here!

You know if he really wanted pyrotechnics I could take care of it, right?

[ Oh, but Mako looks and sounds so fond, looking at Wu with a very soft expression, automatically making room for him in the frame. ]

Isn't Ryan your first booked artist? If he's gonna make the Raccoon Room's debut, it should be pretty spectacular.

[ He's not particularly attached to the idea—actually, he could care less—but teasing Wu is pretty fun. ]

[Teasing Wu is fun. He grins right along with Mako. He's not actually that invested either, but he can't not now that Mako's set it up for him.]

Mako does have a point. But no, no! It's totally fine! I can just hold in my secret burning desire for spectacular flames until I die, while always wondering what could have been.

That-- You--

[ Wu looks between the two of them, at a loss for words. On one hand: yes. He wants the Raccoon Room's debut to be perfect, he wants his new friend to have everything he wants. On the other hand: he doesn't want to burn down all his hard work. And Mako was so worried about losing yet another home, how could he be encouraging this?

Except, Mako is one of the best firebenders in the world-- at least in his world-- and he could help if anything went wrong.

His brows furrow and he's pretty sure he's defeated ]

I guess, if that's what you really want? It does sound pretty cool.

[--Okay, this isn't fun anymore. Ryan immediately looks concerned and backpedals faster than any human being ever has before.]

Wu, dude, no, it's okay! I mean it. We were just teasing you! No pyrotechnics, no fire, none of that's going to happen in the Raccoon Room. Promise.

[HE FUCKED THIS UP SO BADLY, OH NO. Can he possibly backpedal even more?? He's sure going to try!]

Besides, half the time when people use stuff like that it's just flashy to make up for their music being mediocre! I'm fine without it. Really. It's gonna be great.

And, again, I can control it. Even if someone does want to do that, it'll be fine.

[ He's not exactly teasing anymore, but he's certainly less panicked than Ryan, having dealt with that precise mood shift before. ]

Don't worry, Wu. Nobody wants to burn this place down.

I hope not!

[ Wu hugs Mako's shoulders a little tighter, giving Ryan a little smile. He really doesn't want to lose this place before it's even open, but he also doesn't want to go all sulky on his new friend, forcing some lightness into his voice ]

I promise it's going to look amazing before you perform here! And your music is so awesome, you don't need any of that flashy stuff anyway. It'll just be great no matter what.

[Ryan eases a bit, now that it feels like he's not pushing Wu into something he obviously doesn't want. He's actually kind of glad this is happening over Omni - he doesn't need the embarrassment of anyone else feeling how flustered he got. He grins right back.]

Thanks, man. It's gonna be rad. I can't wait!

[ Wow, they really are just... so alike, huh? Mako glances between Wu and Ryan's little face on the screen, torn between fondness and some kind of resigned fear. Guess there's just two of them in his life now.

Well. He likes Wu, and he likes Ryan, so it can't be that bad. ]

Ryan, if you find anyone else trying out unsanctioned pyrotechnics, send them my way. I'm... trying to keep the rest of the city intact on top of everything else.

Oh, and. If you haven't yet, probably get a food stash going. Nonperishable stuff.

Just in case.

Mako!

[ Wu groans, squeezing his shoulders. ]

Come on, we talked about this! Keeping the town alive isn't just your responsibility.

[ It was their one big argument, after Wu died and Mako threw himself into his work. He grimaces, and looks back at Ryan ]

He's right, though. You never know what could happen. Deerington-- things were really bad! And we don't now that Trench is better, even though I really, really hope it's better!

[None of this is reassuring at all. Ryan raises an eyebrow at both of them.]

Uh...just in case of what, exactly?

[He hasn't asked a lot of follow-up questions, but if something might happen that he needs to stockpile for, well. Maybe he should actually like...know about it.]

[ Mako shoots Wu another half-fond, half-exasperated look and leans into his arm for a moment. Is this extremely casual explanation helping at all, Ryan? ]

In the dream we ran out of food. Pretty quickly, actually, and so far I have no idea where food around here actually comes from. Believe me, it's just good practice. Keep about a month's worth of supplies on hand.

Even if it's a different place, it's a good idea! We have no idea what could happen here.

[ Well, that's not an explanation, but it's the best he can do when they don't know anything ]

But if you ever do run out or need anything, tell us! I know Mako will keep us stocked with enough rations for at least five people.

[Even at his lowest, even when he was hitchhiking back to Powell Lake with only what he could carry, he still couldn't picture himself as someone having a stockpile of food on him. Even on the train, where food wasn't guaranteed to be in every single car, they didn't try to stockpile food. Something about it felt...kind of overkill? It's not like he eats a ton anyway.

But these are his friends, and he does trust them. They've been doing this whole other worlds thing a lot longer than him. He's not going to tell them they're being too paranoid, especially if they actually did run out of food.]

Okay, okay! I'll keep a food supply. But man, I really hope Trench doesn't suck that much, wow.

video; un:mako

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