Test Drive Meme

[cyclicalitymods]

	♥ 1. Where did you come from? You may not know anyone else on the boat, but you've all got one thing in common; you're headed to Republic City. ♥ 2. It's your first day in Republic City. You might wanna get a job lined up or you'll be living on the streets. ♥ 3. You're the new person in the city. You gotta make some friends, right? Go find someone and strike up a conversation.
	♦ 4. Feeling a little crafty? Maybe you could make a quick yuan. Sell information for money or do a little threatening. ♦ 5. Vines. Vines everywhere! They're like the heads of a hydra. What are you going to do about the vines that just invaded your apartment? ♦ 6. Triads, Equalists... thugs in general. Welcome to the aftermath of losing a fight. Are you gonna go find a healer or are you gonna tough it out?
	♣ 7. You've got a job. What is it? How are you going to get customers? You better get some soon. More customers equals more money. ♣ 8. You're a bender, right? Then you better practice it. What's that? Oh, a non-bender? You can still find a partner to spar with, right? ♣ 9. It's late. Have a drink at the pub! Get to know one another. Let it all flow freely!
	♠ 10. Yeah! You've got a driver's license! Everyone else better watch out... ♠ 11. Entertainment's just rolled on into the city! Watch the ostrich-horses race or the acrobats perform. Or maybe you're one of them! ♠ 12. It's a long line at whatever vendor you're at. Make small talk with nearby civilians or try and haggle the vendor down to a better price.
	• Make up your own scenario!

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[abitofawildman]

[Bumi remains utterly flabberghasted as he rubs at his eyes just to make sure he's seeing what he's actually seeing. His father. Here. On his own memorial island. As a kid.]

mom's gonna have kittens.

[He mutters mostly to himself as Aang approaches the family potrait in question. Save for Kya and Tenzin, there's no mistaking who anyone in that picture is, even with the age differences.]

[savedtheworld]

[He just steps forward like a ghost towards the portrait. And he responds almost absentmindedly to Bumi's statement.]

Your mom's a cat...?

[But his eyes are all on the portrait. A tall, bearded airbender and a group of the most adorable children he's ever seen. But one person is definitely recognizable to him, even older.

He stares blankly at it, processing it all. There's only one monk who ever met that girl]

Cat... Cat... Katara?

[abitofawildman]

[Bumi slowly turns to see what's gotten Aang's attention so.]

She is indeed a Katara, yeah.

[So there's a beat before Bumi shifts tactics.]

Whelp, at least we're equal in the confusion department. So there's that.

[savedtheworld]

I can't believe it. So this - this really is the future? Are... are these all my- my...?

[He blinks in disbelief, looking at the faces of the three kids. Feeling some mix of confusion and a vague sense of pride. Then he looks back up at this man he's been talking to... and he finds his gaze shifting back to the older boy in the photo.

And now his eyes are ping-ponging between the two. He can see the kid beneath the wrinkles.]

[abitofawildman]

[Hard earned wrinkles, every single one. But yeah, smooth them away and it's hard not to see a family resemblance in the warm, yet lopsided, smile that follows.]

And there it is. The ol' Air Nomad Quick On The Uptake'dness. Welcome to the party, Dad.

[savedtheworld]

[His eyes are widening as he tries to process all of this. There's no doubting who this man is. And the firstborn, no less.]

Dad. [He repeats it to himself as if that will make it easier to understand. And then he just stammers on uncertainly, seeing if that will help him recognize this sudden impossible truth as reality.]

You're my son... but you're old! You're - you're my old son!

[abitofawildman]

[Okay the smile is all Aang, but that smirk? That smirk right there? That's 100% Sokka. And if we're being honest Hakoda, but chances are better Aang's seen it on his eventual brother-in-law more. He even goes so far as to straighten his coat and square his shoulders.

Bumi is tall for someone who looks mostly like a Southern Watertribesman.]

I prefer to think of myself as finely aged, like a nice wine, but sure...to you I probably look ancient.

[savedtheworld]

[It's definitely a familiar looking smirk, and it just adds to the epiphany to a familiar characteristic manifest on this man's face. Aang does his best to regain his cool.]

You really do! But... in a good way! You know, the first time I went ahead in time, my best friend went from a kid to an old man! So- so I guess this is kinda similar! [He laughs a little, hoping that's enough to make things feel less weird.]

Did you ever hear the name Bumi before?

[abitofawildman]

[It starts out slowly, the wave of laughter that ends with Bumi doubled over. First it's just a twitch of the side of his mouth, then barely restrained snickering. Soon though...the doubled over laughing thing. He even goes so far as to cry tears of absolute mirth.]

[savedtheworld]

[Aang blinks at that.][He does a few week laughs, but he doesn't get what the old boy finds so funny. If Aang doesn't get this guy's name soon, he's going to end up calling him Mr. Beardy Son. Although the gratuitous laughter did seem almost reminiscent of a cooky king he just mentioned...]

[abitofawildman]

I...I...

[He's trying to catch his breath. Really truly he is. Between wheezes of laughter he's finally able to make out.]

I'm Bumi. Commander Bumi, formerly of the Second Naval Division of the United Forces.

[savedtheworld]

[Well. There's another surprise. Aang points right at him incredulously.]

Bumi? Your name's Bumi, too?! And... Wait, did you say United Forces?! [As if he didn't have a lot to process already...]

[abitofawildman]

It is, and I did.

[In that order.
Bumi finally manages to pull it together.]

You know, I wouldn't be the slightest bit surprised if you somehow knew the whole time that we'd meet like this again, and named me that way on purpose.

[savedtheworld]

I guess I'm funny like that, huh? [He shrugs lightly.]

So... so, um... This is a lot to take in.

[He's been displaced in time before, but this time it's different. Instead of losing people... It looks like he's gained some.]

[abitofawildman]

Really? You think so? Doesn't seem like that big a deal to me.

[Sarcasm: one of the sharper weapons in his arsenal.
Which isn't saying much...]

[savedtheworld]

[That sharp sarcasm is currently jabbing well over the flabbergasted Aang's head.]

But I... I have a family now! And not just Katara and Sokka and my friends. I have... [He motions to the picture.] All- all of you! And people keep saying there are more airbenders now. It's all so much! [But not anything he feels bad about, necessarily.]

[abitofawildman]

[This is just as well.
Bumi's smile becomes less manic, and far more bittersweet as Aang just...goes on, as he does. As he always will, he muses to himself.]

Would you like a hug?

[savedtheworld]

[And now he smiles. For some reason, this is the only thing he's certain of.]

I'd love a hug! [He won't wait for you to initiate it either, Bumi. No, he's going to run straight up to you and wrap his arms around you.]

[abitofawildman]

[Now Bumi's laughing again. A deep, full, belly laugh. Chances are good that Aang won't be able to get his arms around Bumi's potbelly, and not just because of the laughter...though that does add an interesting level of difficulty.]

This seems wrong, somehow. I've never been taller than you before. Here, hold on.

[Bumi breaks contact and then without warning hefts Aang up into his arms for a real, around the neck hug.

Bumi, it should be noted, hugs like a platypusbear.]

[savedtheworld]

[Whoa, it's almost as tough as trying to hug Appa!]

Whoa! [He says with a huff as he's lifted up by the tall boy and then goes right for the hug from there! That... really does feel distinctly like a platypus-bear.]

How tall am I supposed to be?!

[abitofawildman]

[Give Bumi a second to answer that, because...he's hugging his father, who he hasn't hugged in seventeen years, and never thought he would ever hug again.

Hugging Korra isn't the same.
He knows, he tested it...much to her chagrin.]

You're supposed to be exactly as tall as you are.

[He has young nieces and nephews, and has been well trained in what kinds of words to use around kids when it comes to expectations.]

But you'll be about an inch or so taller than me when you're done growing. Which is still an inch or so shorter than Tenzin, but who's counting?

[savedtheworld]

[It's weird in a lot of ways, but it feels right. He'll just keep on airbending, chuckling a little bit from brushing against the beard, and then he pulls back incredulously.]

Whoa! Really? I'm gonna be that tall?

[abitofawildman]

[Bumi barks a laugh, probably a little bit louder than is strictly necessary.]

HA! Yes Sir, apparently everyone else was really surprised by it too.

[What he doesn't say is: Because no one knew how tall Air Nomads were supposed to be until you stopped growing. But this unspoken thought does prompt one he's more than willing to share. He gives Aang one more squeeze before letting him go, and then rifling through the inner pockets of his coat. As he does so, he hands random bits and bobs to Aang to hold until he can find exactly what he's looking for.]

Ah-HAH! I knew I kept them in this coat.

[the next thing he holds out for Aang is a small leather folder, sort of like a billfold, but slightly larger. The leather itself is soft and worn, indicative of it being well loved, cared for, and used often. Inside, how ever...are family pictures. of each AirBaby on the day they were born.]

[savedtheworld]

[Once he's set down on the floor, he looks on curiously. And once he sees the folder, he looks through them. In pure, heartwarming awe.]

They're... they're so cute. But... Who are they? [His eyes keep drifting, between the babies, and the man with the airbending tattoos. He definitely didn't look like Bumi.]

[abitofawildman]

[He smiles. There is a family resemblance between the brothers, but one often had to look further than the wild hair, tattoos, and complexion to see it.

Bumi, who cranes his neck so he can look at the pictures along side Aang, starts to point people out as he names them.]

This one was taken the day Jinora was born, and this one when Ikki got here. This one's of Meelo. And this one here is the newest. That's Rohan. The woman is Pema, and this guy right here? That is Tenzin.

[It's here that he throws a thumb back at the family portrait on the wall, and the baby that Katara is holding.]

Those're your grandchildren, airbenders all.

[There's so much pride in his voice, as if the children were more than just his nieces and nephews. Bumi has always viewed his career in the Forces as his contribution to balance, towards keeping the world safe. As far as he's concerned: Those are his kids too.]