Sokka the 30th - [Written]

[markofthewise]

[This has been brewing in his mind since yesterday. He decides to finally act on it. Katara, Toph, Zuko, Aang... they all had masters to learn their styles from. Sokka? He had fifteen years of pretending he was a warrior and a mere three days under a real master. Well, this was Luceti. He had nothing but time here. So after he's home for the night and dinner is done, he puts together the following filter]

[Filtered 100% against the Straw Hats, his friends (and anyone from his world), and your usual villainous suspects.]

I'm looking for someone with experience willing to teach fighting. I don't have any special powers, so if your style involves lifting ridiculously huge swords or shooting fire from your hands, forget it. I want someone who can fight for real. I'd prefer fighting with my own sword, but I'll try other styles. I can't offer much in return... but I can try to work out something in exchange.

Comments

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

I dunno if you could call me regular, but it seems like everyone can shoot lightnin' out of their fingers or fire outta their ass. Who even knows.

[markofthewise]

Even where I come from, where we had benders, a good swordsman could stand up against anyone, powers or not. Not in this place though.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Sounds like somethin' my Master would say. But even in my world magic's nothin' but bad news.

[markofthewise]

You must have had a pretty good master, huh?

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

The best.

[markofthewise]

I guess you were lucky. I had to teach myself.

... and when I actually got to put it to use, I realized I didn't know how to fight at all.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

...Ouch.

Y'know, I actually thought you knew how to fight. You seemed like you knew what you were doin'.

[markofthewise]

I do now. But you fight in a war and you have to learn. I've never had a master though. Not for any length of time, anyway.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Master or no, I don't know what kinda difference it makes. I been trainin' under my master all my life an' it ain't worth shit compared to some of these jerks.

[markofthewise]

Maybe not. But even if I can't fight off everyone, I'm not going to just be on the sidelines and let my sister do the fighting for me.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's gotta suck.

How come she's got all that water magic and you don't, anyways?

[markofthewise]

[... bending.] It's just the way things worked out. Some people are born with it, some aren't. I don't know how it works. Neither of our parents could bend.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[It's all the same to him, dude.]

Huh. Special.

[markofthewise]

In my tribe, she was the only one who could do it. Of course, when we left to go fight in the war, it turned out tons of people could.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

I hate magic. [Read: shut up, he didn't really care that much to begin with.]

[markofthewise]

I'm with you on that one.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

But you don't hate that bending or whatever you're callin' it.

[markofthewise]

It's a fact in my world. So having it on my side against people using it to try to kill me? I'll take it.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Just 'cause you got a different name for it don't mean it ain't magic.

[markofthewise]

My friends would probably make an argument about that. It's all the same to me, though. Bending, magic, flying, being made out of rubber... it's all the same to me. It's something we can't do or learn.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Guess so.

[markofthewise]

You spend all that time learning to fight, but all someone else has to do is be born on some strange world where people are super strong. Or eat some magic fruit that gives you powers. Or whatever else. And then it doesn't matter how much you trained.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

Exactly! It ain't right. Fightin' is everything to me, then some jackass with superpowers blinks an' blows you to freakin' bits like it's nothing.

Then people got the guts to tell me "Aw, it so ain't bad", tellin' me I'm the one who's wrong. Then I tell Them where they can cram it.

[markofthewise]

This one new guy? Edward... not the one we work with. He tries to call this alchemy stuff he uses science. When it's not. It's just another type of magic. Calling it science is insulting.

[meanandgreen.livejournal.com]

[He says it in a snarl:] Winry's boy.

[Yes, he stalks her that much.]

I am so sick of this.