whitelotusmods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
whitelotusmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
white_lotus2011-02-12 08:38 pm
whitelotusmods) wrote in white_lotus2011-02-12 08:38 pm
LNYE Fic: The World: A Love Story, for dropsofviolet
Title:The World: A Love Story
By:idlerat
For:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dropsofviolet (LNY Exchange)
Rating:G+ (gen, sort of, with a whiff of sexuality and love)
Characters/Ships: Water/Earth, Fire/Air. Also Iroh and Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko.
Content notes:None.
Word count:2306
Summary:Some time after the events of the series, old friends gather for a reunion at the summer solstice, and Iroh shares a legend about the beginning of the Avatar World.
Author’s note:This "legend" is based loosely on Iroh’s remarks about the elements in "Bitter Work" and on what we learn about the Spirit World at various points in the series. It is not based in Chinese mythology, and it plays a little bit with language from the Judeo-Christian Bible, for fun. It genders the elements in a way that I hope is consistent with the show. Huge, huge thanks to my smart and generous betas, to be revealed at the reveal. The story’s faults are mine and not theirs.
In the beginning, there were many worlds.
There was a world of earth. But no beasts roamed upon it, for upon the earth there was no air to breathe. There was a world of water. But no fish swam there, for there was no fire to warm it. All the water was frozen solid, and nothing could pass through. There was a world of air. No birds flew in the air, for there was no place to land and nest. And there was a world of fire. The world of fire was locked tight. Fire gave no heat and consumed nothing; it gave no light, and it did not dance. For Fire was alone. It was not fire but the possibility of fire, concealed in a spirit realm far off from earthly things.
"I thought this was going to be about the solstice festival," Sokka whispered, loudly.
"Shhh," said Toph. "Uncle Iroh is talking."
"Uncle? He's your uncle now, too?"
"Shhh!"
"It's true, Sokka," said Iroh. "I did promise to explain the local festival of the Summer Solstice here in Shu Jing. But the story I am telling you applies to many celebrations. Every country and village has them. Your celebration of the Winter Solstice in the Southern Water Tribe must be incomparable! I can only imagine the steamed fish."
"Uncle! You're getting away from the point."
"Thank you, Zuko. You are right to correct me. This story requires solemnity and concentration." Iroh looked apologetically at Sokka. "Now where was I?"
This is the story of the order of the world, the procession of seasons, the sea and the land, the sky and the sun. It is the story that comes before the story of the four great peoples, and of the Avatar. It is the story of the Spirit World and the Avatar World, how they came together, and how they came to be separate.
Long ago, before our world came to be, there were already spirits. There were not so many spirits then as there are now, for spirits proliferate in their realm as life proliferates in ours. The spirits then were, you might say, quite general in their nature. Mei, for instance, was the spirit of sweetness. Mi was the spirit of density, and Mao, the spirit of perversity, who delighted in making paradoxes and causing difficulties.
Nothing had a proper place or a proper season. But Shi Jie was a Time spirit who loved order. Shi Jie wanted to measure things, and she wanted the measures to balance. She thought that, if she gave the worlds a gift, they might accept her rule and unite to form a world of order in which she would be the queen.
Now there was a secret heart dwelling in each of the four worlds. Still and timeless, unaware of each other’s existence, each had its own desire.
Shi Jie went to Water and said, "What do you want?" Water was frozen, and did not know what it would mean to be anything but frozen. But Water longed for change, and there is no change without time, so Water wanted Time. Shi Jie was flattered by Water’s desire for her, so she told Water, "I will give you the first portion of the year. The beginning of time will belong to you, and you will learn to flow and move." And Water agreed.
Shi Jie went next to Earth and said, "What do you want?" Earth did not desire change. Earth desired stability, but also diversity. Water longed to move through the world, dissolving whatever it could, creating unity: streams running into rivers, rivers into seas. But Earth sought complexity. She was a stone longing to grow meadows.
Shi Jie told Earth, "Come, let me show you a mirror." And Shi Jie introduced Earth to Water, and they met as equals. Both were hard and barren. Water said, "I can break you apart." And Earth answered, "I can hold you together." Each seeing her destiny in the other’s embrace, Earth and Water began to be in love. Shi Jie saw the balance between them, and decreed that the point where they met would be an Equinox--the Vernal Equinox, when we celebrate life and renewal.
But Shi Jie knew that this was not enough: if Water was to melt, and if Earth was to become fertile, they must have heat. So Shi Jie went to Fire.
"And what, my nephew, did Fire want?" asked Iroh.
Zuko looked gravely at the small campfire burning in their midst, and answered in a small but serious voice. "Power."
"Ah, of course, you have not heard this story before. It was banned when your grandfather was still a child. This may be the first time it has been told in Fire Nation territory in many years."
Shi Jie asked Fire, "What do you want?" But Fire did not know how to answer! Because Fire just wanted. Fire wanted anything and everything; want was his nature and his purpose. Shi Jie admired Fire and wanted him to flourish, but she saw that he needed balance. He needed a partner, who would be to him as Earth was to Water and as Water was to Earth.
So Shi Jie went to Air. And just as she had asked the others, she asked him, "What do you want?" But Air did not answer Shi Jie when she spoke to him. Shi Jie had seen into the hearts of the elements, and had read their desires. But at the heart of Air she saw emptiness.
So Shi Jie said to Air, "Come. Let me show you a mirror." And she brought Air and showed him Fire.
Air was fascinated by Fire. For Air, to be empty was to be empty of desire. But Fire was empty, and he was all desire. Air said to Fire, "Why do you want?" And Fire looked at Air, and saw his emptiness, and said, "Because you do not." Fire said, "There is no food in you, but you will feed me. You will give me life, and I will return life to you. My heat will drive you: you will be the wind. Be my partner." And Air and Fire began to be in love.
"Wait, what??" said Sokka, who had suddenly noticed the odd looks and blushes on the faces of his companions. He tried to catch Katara’s eye, but she was too busy not looking at Toph to see anyone else. Aang looked curiously at Zuko, but Zuko stared fixedly at the stars glinting in the sky above the harbor, far below the mountain village where the group had gathered for their annual reunion.
"Yes, Sokka," said Iroh. "I told you at the beginning that this would be a love story. Through the actions of Time, Love came into being. And when Love began, it seems to me, that was the beginning of our world."
Shi Jie told Fire and Air, "The place where you meet shall be an Equinox, and there you shall remember Time, and honor me, who brought you together." And the place where Fire meets Air became the Autumnal Equinox, when we remember Time and the passing of all things.
Now, Shi Jie had won the goodwill of all the elements of our world, for each of them had found a partner. But there was still much to be done. There was a bond between Earth and Water, the elements of substance. And there was a bond between Air and Fire, the elements of spirit. But without spirit, substance could not live. And without substance, Fire could not burn, and Air had no purpose.
Shi Jie knew that each of these pairs needed the other. Each made half of a larger whole. So Shi Jie brought Fire to meet Earth, and Fire brought Air with him.
As soon as Fire saw Earth, he flared up. Here was something he might consume! Air fed him, and his flames licked passionately at Earth’s substance. When Water saw this, she was very alarmed. Fire had warmed the Earth, and the heat flowed through to Water all along the line where they met. For the first time, Fire had made it possible for Water to move. She flowed and flooded and doused Fire wherever he touched the Earth. Fire turned to Water as hungrily as he had turned to Earth, but whenever he tried to consume her, he found himself quenched. Water was a substance, but she would not burn!
Water was angry. She said, "Fire is greedy, a destroyer. I will protect my beloved from his ravenous desire!"
And Fire said, "Water will put out my light, and everything will freeze, even Water itself. I must burn what I can, before Water freezes all of the worlds!"
Shi Jie thought, these two need each other, but they must be separate. I will put them in balance, but they must not touch in time.
And while Fire and Water quarreled, Earth and Air stared warily at one another. Air thought, "Earth is so stodgy. I will tease her, and maybe she will laugh!" And he blew over Earth and all around her. But Earth was annoyed by Air, and thought him foolish. "He has no substance!" she grumbled to Water.
"I think," Iroh whispered to his audience, "that Earth might have thought Air was a bit of a lightweight." Aang laughed, and for some reason Toph blushed.
But Water liked Air, who moved even more freely than she did. Air admired Water’s flexibility, remaining whole while she stretched and circled around her beloved. Fire liked Earth: he did not burn her out of anger. Both were strong. And Earth thought, with Fire’s help, she could produce life.
So Shi Jie declared that these four elements would form the compass points of Time. Water first, then Earth; Earth followed by Fire, Fire by Air, and Air once again by Water. Water and Fire would balance but could not destroy each other. Earth and Air could look at each other across the year and understand themselves through seeing their opposite.
And where the pairs met, where Air met Water and where Fire met Earth, there would be a Solstice, a time of mystery.
When the four worlds had arranged themselves with Shi Jie’s help, they found they had become one world: warmed by Fire and cooled by Water, rooted in Earth and given breath by Air. And Time had dominion over all, though she gave much leeway as long as her few commandments were obeyed.
As Shi Jie watched through the years, she saw the new world bring forth first rivers and mountains, then animals and plants, and then the Four Peoples, each with allegiance to one element and one season. Shi Jie said, "I will appoint an Avatar to unite all the peoples, so they will be equal and not make war."
"So it's Aang's world, we just live in it, right?"
Katara, seeing that Aang looked embarrassed, chided her brother. "Sokka, don't be rude." Iroh raised a calming hand, however.
"In a sense that's true, Sokka. The Avatar has a unique place in our world. But the Avatar was appointed to serve, not to rule."
"But what about the Spirit World?" asked Aang, seeming eager to get off the subject of his uniqueness and back to the story. "Why does it draw closer at the Solstice?"
"Ah," said Iroh. "I was just getting to that."
When the other Spirits saw the Avatar World, they were jealous, because it honored Shi Jie as its ruler and arranged itself by her command. Although this new world was full of variation and contrast, still it moved in a measured way, balanced and predictable. The other Spirits felt slighted, and declared that they were finished with this world and would not return.
But Shi Jie knew that the Spirits had much to offer her new world, which would be a much less interesting place without them. So she made one more proposal.
"Twice a year," she said, "the elements of mind meet the elements of matter. They will meet at each half-way point in the cycle of time. At those times, let the Spirit World and the New World meet. The Spirits may then invite the creatures of the Avatar World to come out of Time, and disobey my rules; and the beings of the Avatar world may see Spirits and let them roam their world.
"But at the Equinoxes, when the world is busy making life or bringing in the bounty that is born of the union between Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, then the Spirit World shall stay far away and be unable to touch it. For the spirits will always be envious of the newer world, but they need new life if they themselves are to grow and flourish. The new world will be prosperous and creative, and it will bring new life into the spirit world."
And the Spirits agreed to this, because they knew something else: that the new world would be foolish, caught in its predictable cycle of time, disrespectful of their power. Twice a year, they would remind the Avatar World where it came from.
"And that," said Iroh, "is the end of my story about the beginning of the world."
Katara applauded vigorously, and the others joined in--although Zuko made a small bow instead of clapping.
As they moved to return to the cabin where they would sleep for the night, he approached his uncle. "Is that really an old story, Uncle, or did you just make the whole thing up?"
"Who, me?" smiled Iroh. "What a tremendous liar you think I am! I am sure there is time for a cup of tea before we go to bed. Don’t you think so?"
By:
idleratFor:
dropsofviolet (LNY Exchange)Rating:G+ (gen, sort of, with a whiff of sexuality and love)
Characters/Ships: Water/Earth, Fire/Air. Also Iroh and Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko.
Content notes:None.
Word count:2306
Summary:Some time after the events of the series, old friends gather for a reunion at the summer solstice, and Iroh shares a legend about the beginning of the Avatar World.
Author’s note:This "legend" is based loosely on Iroh’s remarks about the elements in "Bitter Work" and on what we learn about the Spirit World at various points in the series. It is not based in Chinese mythology, and it plays a little bit with language from the Judeo-Christian Bible, for fun. It genders the elements in a way that I hope is consistent with the show. Huge, huge thanks to my smart and generous betas, to be revealed at the reveal. The story’s faults are mine and not theirs.
In the beginning, there were many worlds.
There was a world of earth. But no beasts roamed upon it, for upon the earth there was no air to breathe. There was a world of water. But no fish swam there, for there was no fire to warm it. All the water was frozen solid, and nothing could pass through. There was a world of air. No birds flew in the air, for there was no place to land and nest. And there was a world of fire. The world of fire was locked tight. Fire gave no heat and consumed nothing; it gave no light, and it did not dance. For Fire was alone. It was not fire but the possibility of fire, concealed in a spirit realm far off from earthly things.
"I thought this was going to be about the solstice festival," Sokka whispered, loudly.
"Shhh," said Toph. "Uncle Iroh is talking."
"Uncle? He's your uncle now, too?"
"Shhh!"
"It's true, Sokka," said Iroh. "I did promise to explain the local festival of the Summer Solstice here in Shu Jing. But the story I am telling you applies to many celebrations. Every country and village has them. Your celebration of the Winter Solstice in the Southern Water Tribe must be incomparable! I can only imagine the steamed fish."
"Uncle! You're getting away from the point."
"Thank you, Zuko. You are right to correct me. This story requires solemnity and concentration." Iroh looked apologetically at Sokka. "Now where was I?"
This is the story of the order of the world, the procession of seasons, the sea and the land, the sky and the sun. It is the story that comes before the story of the four great peoples, and of the Avatar. It is the story of the Spirit World and the Avatar World, how they came together, and how they came to be separate.
Long ago, before our world came to be, there were already spirits. There were not so many spirits then as there are now, for spirits proliferate in their realm as life proliferates in ours. The spirits then were, you might say, quite general in their nature. Mei, for instance, was the spirit of sweetness. Mi was the spirit of density, and Mao, the spirit of perversity, who delighted in making paradoxes and causing difficulties.
Nothing had a proper place or a proper season. But Shi Jie was a Time spirit who loved order. Shi Jie wanted to measure things, and she wanted the measures to balance. She thought that, if she gave the worlds a gift, they might accept her rule and unite to form a world of order in which she would be the queen.
Now there was a secret heart dwelling in each of the four worlds. Still and timeless, unaware of each other’s existence, each had its own desire.
Shi Jie went to Water and said, "What do you want?" Water was frozen, and did not know what it would mean to be anything but frozen. But Water longed for change, and there is no change without time, so Water wanted Time. Shi Jie was flattered by Water’s desire for her, so she told Water, "I will give you the first portion of the year. The beginning of time will belong to you, and you will learn to flow and move." And Water agreed.
Shi Jie went next to Earth and said, "What do you want?" Earth did not desire change. Earth desired stability, but also diversity. Water longed to move through the world, dissolving whatever it could, creating unity: streams running into rivers, rivers into seas. But Earth sought complexity. She was a stone longing to grow meadows.
Shi Jie told Earth, "Come, let me show you a mirror." And Shi Jie introduced Earth to Water, and they met as equals. Both were hard and barren. Water said, "I can break you apart." And Earth answered, "I can hold you together." Each seeing her destiny in the other’s embrace, Earth and Water began to be in love. Shi Jie saw the balance between them, and decreed that the point where they met would be an Equinox--the Vernal Equinox, when we celebrate life and renewal.
But Shi Jie knew that this was not enough: if Water was to melt, and if Earth was to become fertile, they must have heat. So Shi Jie went to Fire.
"And what, my nephew, did Fire want?" asked Iroh.
Zuko looked gravely at the small campfire burning in their midst, and answered in a small but serious voice. "Power."
"Ah, of course, you have not heard this story before. It was banned when your grandfather was still a child. This may be the first time it has been told in Fire Nation territory in many years."
Shi Jie asked Fire, "What do you want?" But Fire did not know how to answer! Because Fire just wanted. Fire wanted anything and everything; want was his nature and his purpose. Shi Jie admired Fire and wanted him to flourish, but she saw that he needed balance. He needed a partner, who would be to him as Earth was to Water and as Water was to Earth.
So Shi Jie went to Air. And just as she had asked the others, she asked him, "What do you want?" But Air did not answer Shi Jie when she spoke to him. Shi Jie had seen into the hearts of the elements, and had read their desires. But at the heart of Air she saw emptiness.
So Shi Jie said to Air, "Come. Let me show you a mirror." And she brought Air and showed him Fire.
Air was fascinated by Fire. For Air, to be empty was to be empty of desire. But Fire was empty, and he was all desire. Air said to Fire, "Why do you want?" And Fire looked at Air, and saw his emptiness, and said, "Because you do not." Fire said, "There is no food in you, but you will feed me. You will give me life, and I will return life to you. My heat will drive you: you will be the wind. Be my partner." And Air and Fire began to be in love.
"Wait, what??" said Sokka, who had suddenly noticed the odd looks and blushes on the faces of his companions. He tried to catch Katara’s eye, but she was too busy not looking at Toph to see anyone else. Aang looked curiously at Zuko, but Zuko stared fixedly at the stars glinting in the sky above the harbor, far below the mountain village where the group had gathered for their annual reunion.
"Yes, Sokka," said Iroh. "I told you at the beginning that this would be a love story. Through the actions of Time, Love came into being. And when Love began, it seems to me, that was the beginning of our world."
Shi Jie told Fire and Air, "The place where you meet shall be an Equinox, and there you shall remember Time, and honor me, who brought you together." And the place where Fire meets Air became the Autumnal Equinox, when we remember Time and the passing of all things.
Now, Shi Jie had won the goodwill of all the elements of our world, for each of them had found a partner. But there was still much to be done. There was a bond between Earth and Water, the elements of substance. And there was a bond between Air and Fire, the elements of spirit. But without spirit, substance could not live. And without substance, Fire could not burn, and Air had no purpose.
Shi Jie knew that each of these pairs needed the other. Each made half of a larger whole. So Shi Jie brought Fire to meet Earth, and Fire brought Air with him.
As soon as Fire saw Earth, he flared up. Here was something he might consume! Air fed him, and his flames licked passionately at Earth’s substance. When Water saw this, she was very alarmed. Fire had warmed the Earth, and the heat flowed through to Water all along the line where they met. For the first time, Fire had made it possible for Water to move. She flowed and flooded and doused Fire wherever he touched the Earth. Fire turned to Water as hungrily as he had turned to Earth, but whenever he tried to consume her, he found himself quenched. Water was a substance, but she would not burn!
Water was angry. She said, "Fire is greedy, a destroyer. I will protect my beloved from his ravenous desire!"
And Fire said, "Water will put out my light, and everything will freeze, even Water itself. I must burn what I can, before Water freezes all of the worlds!"
Shi Jie thought, these two need each other, but they must be separate. I will put them in balance, but they must not touch in time.
And while Fire and Water quarreled, Earth and Air stared warily at one another. Air thought, "Earth is so stodgy. I will tease her, and maybe she will laugh!" And he blew over Earth and all around her. But Earth was annoyed by Air, and thought him foolish. "He has no substance!" she grumbled to Water.
"I think," Iroh whispered to his audience, "that Earth might have thought Air was a bit of a lightweight." Aang laughed, and for some reason Toph blushed.
But Water liked Air, who moved even more freely than she did. Air admired Water’s flexibility, remaining whole while she stretched and circled around her beloved. Fire liked Earth: he did not burn her out of anger. Both were strong. And Earth thought, with Fire’s help, she could produce life.
So Shi Jie declared that these four elements would form the compass points of Time. Water first, then Earth; Earth followed by Fire, Fire by Air, and Air once again by Water. Water and Fire would balance but could not destroy each other. Earth and Air could look at each other across the year and understand themselves through seeing their opposite.
And where the pairs met, where Air met Water and where Fire met Earth, there would be a Solstice, a time of mystery.
When the four worlds had arranged themselves with Shi Jie’s help, they found they had become one world: warmed by Fire and cooled by Water, rooted in Earth and given breath by Air. And Time had dominion over all, though she gave much leeway as long as her few commandments were obeyed.
As Shi Jie watched through the years, she saw the new world bring forth first rivers and mountains, then animals and plants, and then the Four Peoples, each with allegiance to one element and one season. Shi Jie said, "I will appoint an Avatar to unite all the peoples, so they will be equal and not make war."
"So it's Aang's world, we just live in it, right?"
Katara, seeing that Aang looked embarrassed, chided her brother. "Sokka, don't be rude." Iroh raised a calming hand, however.
"In a sense that's true, Sokka. The Avatar has a unique place in our world. But the Avatar was appointed to serve, not to rule."
"But what about the Spirit World?" asked Aang, seeming eager to get off the subject of his uniqueness and back to the story. "Why does it draw closer at the Solstice?"
"Ah," said Iroh. "I was just getting to that."
When the other Spirits saw the Avatar World, they were jealous, because it honored Shi Jie as its ruler and arranged itself by her command. Although this new world was full of variation and contrast, still it moved in a measured way, balanced and predictable. The other Spirits felt slighted, and declared that they were finished with this world and would not return.
But Shi Jie knew that the Spirits had much to offer her new world, which would be a much less interesting place without them. So she made one more proposal.
"Twice a year," she said, "the elements of mind meet the elements of matter. They will meet at each half-way point in the cycle of time. At those times, let the Spirit World and the New World meet. The Spirits may then invite the creatures of the Avatar World to come out of Time, and disobey my rules; and the beings of the Avatar world may see Spirits and let them roam their world.
"But at the Equinoxes, when the world is busy making life or bringing in the bounty that is born of the union between Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, then the Spirit World shall stay far away and be unable to touch it. For the spirits will always be envious of the newer world, but they need new life if they themselves are to grow and flourish. The new world will be prosperous and creative, and it will bring new life into the spirit world."
And the Spirits agreed to this, because they knew something else: that the new world would be foolish, caught in its predictable cycle of time, disrespectful of their power. Twice a year, they would remind the Avatar World where it came from.
"And that," said Iroh, "is the end of my story about the beginning of the world."
Katara applauded vigorously, and the others joined in--although Zuko made a small bow instead of clapping.
As they moved to return to the cabin where they would sleep for the night, he approached his uncle. "Is that really an old story, Uncle, or did you just make the whole thing up?"
"Who, me?" smiled Iroh. "What a tremendous liar you think I am! I am sure there is time for a cup of tea before we go to bed. Don’t you think so?"
no subject
Oooooooooh. ♥ I'm so thrilled by this story. It was more than I could have dreamed of. Iroh was note-perfect, sweet and funny and wise. The kids' interjections made me laugh and think. And the legend itself was wonderful and interesting and inventive!
I adored Toph calling Iroh her uncle too, so so much. And the whole thing being hung together on Time was a really fascinating concept. Zuko's little part where he said that Fire wanted power said so much so quietly. And the kids being embarrassed by their elements made me laugh! The ending was perfect too.
Thank you for this story! I really enjoyed it.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
This is lovely:
It was not fire but the possibility of fire,
And so is this:
Air said to Fire, "Why do you want?" And Fire looked at Air, and saw his emptiness, and said, "Because you do not."
Oh, Sokka! Oh, Iroh!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Sokka! ♥ ♥
I love the way Iroh frames his tale, and the lovely sense of balance it gives the world of the elements. The kids' reactions are awesome! :D
no subject
no subject
I enjoyed your story. Including the interjections. Especially the interjections.
* For those of you who don't know the show, in this episode a Mysterious Figure comes around and asks three of the five ambassadors on Babylon 5 'What do you want?'. Granted, it's a lot more sinister.
no subject
Oh, Kosh - your wisdom crosses many universes. (Wait, is it Kosh? Or is it Morden? Now I'm thinking it's Morden. But is there another episode where Kosh asks everyone a parallel question?)
Anyway thank you for pointing this out, & for reading - glad you enjoyed it.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Anyway, good catch :)