Anonymous asked: Things we lost in the fire C, X and Z if you don't mind? :)
*manic laughter* YEAH OKAY AVATAR AU IT IS
For this ask meme
C: Which member do you identify with the most?
…Grantaire. Like, just generally. It’s why the whole thing is from his perspective.
X: A character you enjoy making suffer.
GRANTAIRE. No smart comments please. But really, this whole fic could have the tagline “Grantaire has the power to move mountains and he suffers anyway.”
Z: Major character death–do you ever write/read it? Is there a character whose death you can’t tolerate?
This is Les Mis, darling, character death is what we do. I generally prefer canon if you’re going to do character death, and I don’t think I’ve ever written it except sort of in the reincarnation AU? Anyway, Avatar is a happy story, please rest assured that I have no current plans to murder anyone in this fic.
Anonymous asked: Hello friend, I just wanted to ask if you were ever going to update your R avatar fic... not to rush you or pressure you or whatever. I know you are super busy and such but I just wanted to ask because I like it and just wanted to know ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
MY BUDDY, MY DUDE, SORRY FOR THE DELAY ON ANSWERING THIS ASK BUT NOT THAT SORRY BECAUSE HERE, I FINALLY FUCKING GOT MY SHIT TOGETHER
CHAPTER SEVEN OF THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE, THE AVATAR GRANTAIRE AU THAT I CAN’T BELIEVE PEOPLE ARE STILL READING
*THROWS SELF ON GROUND AND GROVELS FOR TAKING TWO MONTHS TO UPDATE*
(hey just be grateful it’s not my Eponine Reincarnation fic, that one is actively on hiatus because the chapters are so long, I’m the worst)
Anonymous asked: in your avatar au, I have a mighty need for someone (joly/bossuet) to go crazy with the "bending" puns, like "oh grantaire went on a bender again," "don't get all bent out of shape," "I'm bending over backwards here," "this is just mind-bending," etc
OH FRIEND, I HAVE PLANS. Specifically those plans involve Grantaire’s current lack of air-bending expertise and Bahorel and Joly/Bousset playing peanut gallery. I got you. If people want to submit bending puns go for it, although I can’t promise that all of them will get used.
Anonymous asked: Omg your avatar Les mis headcannons are soooo good! Completely made my day go from shit to semi tolerable!❤
Aw, I’m so glad, nonny! I love that universe, it’s so fun, I’m so glad you’re enjoying it too!
Anonymous asked: oooh I'd love to hear some headcanons about your avatar au!!
HOW COINCIDENTAL, BECAUSE I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE SOME HEADCANONS ABOUT MY AVATAR AU. For anyone who isn’t aware, these are for my Les Mis Avatar AU, things we lost in the fire, in which Grantaire is the Avatar and the Fire Nation is…well, the Fire Nation.
- Joly and Bousset’s departure from the North Pole was, um…dramatic? There was a bit of a storm, which ended with a non-bender getting part of an ice structure dropped on him, and of course Joly is Joly and he healed him without thinking twice. Having been outed as a man learning healing in secret, he was given the option to turn his (not inconsiderable) talents to a more acceptable method or leave. He took the second option after Bousset settled down to a really good tirade and spent an hour haranguing the elders.
- Gavroche had a group of kids in this universe too, for a little while, street rats he took care of and taught to steal and tried to get set up with enough money to be well-fed and not street rats anymore. Eponine and her brutal efficiency helped with that, once she found him again–they robbed a passing Fire Nation noble and took every scrap of gold and jewelry on him, and there was a sudden increase in the average age of the homeless in their town. They make a habit of it, and keep it under Thenardier’s radar. For a while.
- Cosette’s ship is called the Rose, and no, I’m not telling you who she is, it’s a surprise. But her ship is called the Rose, and if you know the book well enough to get the reference it’ll tell you something about what kind of ship it is.
- There have been three Avatars since the start of the war, since Avatar Roku died at the hands of the old Fire Lord (not that Grantaire is aware of this detail).
- Roku’s immediate successor was a young monk from the Southern Air Temple, a birdlike and intelligent boy with a tight bond to his companion, a flying bison. He was told that he was the Avatar at eleven, and when the elders of the Temple suggested that they remove him from the care of his mentor, he fled into a storm.
- In another universe, the Avatar state saved him, and he woke up a hundred years in the future. In this one, he drowned. It’s a tragedy, one the Air Nomads linger over, but they survive to linger. In the other universe, they do not.
- The Avatar after the child who drowned was a waterbender from the South Pole. They didn’t tell her nearly so young–they had learned from the death of the Air Nomad Avatar. But they didn’t tell her nearly young enough, either, and when the Fire Navy struck, she died, sixteen and scared and fighting for her family.
- In another universe, she brought back the Air Nomads. In this one, it’s not necessary. That’s almost like a victory, isn’t it?
- Grantaire hasn’t spoken to any of his past lives in almost a decade, except for the occasional desperate draw on their power and skill. It’s bad enough to be a disappointment to an entire world of living people, okay, he doesn’t need to face down Roku and Kyoshi and the line of glowing eyes.
- Every once in a while he wishes he could talk to them, get some advice, maybe a reassurance that he hasn’t completely fucked up, but he can’t face the possibility that they would say he has.
- The Spirit World is a tense place these days, Avatar incarnations milling about and waiting for their newest member to let them through. Roku is drowning in the knowledge that he died and left this mess behind, and there are more than a few Avatars (including the Air Nomad) who just want to give Grantaire a damn hug.
- Bonus sixth headcanon: Bahorel is a very bad Air Nomad and a very good airbender. It’s the pacifism thing that he can’t get past, he believes in fighting for what he believes. You may draw your conclusions accordingly.
Anonymous asked: honestly i'm not sure to hate you or love you (love, it's love) because that cliffhanger is so coMPELLING!
I love you too, babe, but I’m also feeding on your distress, so take it as you will. I’m glad you liked the thing, cliffhanger notwithstanding!
Anonymous asked: Cliffhangers are literally the worst??? I mean??? Why? Why would you do this????
Okay, there’s the ‘I’m a dick’ answer which is “I like to make people (especially my roommate) suffer.” And there’s the ‘I’m a writer’ answer, which is “The next good break point was going to be like five pages down the line and this chapter was already longer than my average goal for this story.” And then there’s the ‘life is time-consuming’ answer, which is “I wanted to get the chapter out before I was a billion.”
I mean, take your pick, they’re all perfectly true.
