Fic: Strange Things are Happening
Title: Strange Things are Happening
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Xiumin-centric
Genre: General
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 569 words
Summary: A lot has changed since Minseok has last stepped foot in Republic City. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra!AU
Original Post: Here.
Prompt: A boy from 1920s learns he’s actually in the year 2020, where technology is advanced and he’s a social study.
Author's Note: Written for a Caucus Kick during Round 2 of EIWAU. After seeing a prompt like that, how could I not write an A:TLA AU where Xiumin is a relic of a person? lol though the setting has more in common with A:LoK tbh. Title taken from Randy Newman's "Strange Things" from Toy Story, mainly because of the message of things changing and Xiumin being left "alone, forgotten, way up on the shelf", the shelf being his position as the Avatar.
Fandom: Exo
Focus: Xiumin-centric
Genre: General
Rating: G
Length: Drabble, 569 words
Summary: A lot has changed since Minseok has last stepped foot in Republic City. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra!AU
"I haven't seen a single bender since I've arrived here," Minseok says curiously, looking around Republic City carefully for any sign of an earthbender or a firebender or a fellow waterbender. It's a lot larger than he remembers it being from his last visit here. Everything is bigger. Sleek lines and sharp edges everywhere. "Do they all stick to the other side of town or something?"
Chanyeol seems to hesitate before answering, glancing around in case anyone is listening too closely. "There's, ah. There's not very many of us left, Minseok hyung. The Equalists made sure of that." From beside him, Kyungsoo grimaces, rubbing his upper arm. There's a story there that they haven't gotten to yet.
Equalists though. That's not a word Minseok's heard very often, but it's definitely one he's seen plastered on the city walls they've passed, on large stylized posters impossible to miss.
"But how?" Minseok continues asking. He's been gone from this world so long, there's so much he needs to catch up on. He's still not quite sure how a few days in the spirit world had resulted in almost a hundred human years passing when that had never been the case before, when there had been no indication of any difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.
Somehow, somewhere, something had gone terribly wrong and now he was paying the price.
"There was an uprising," Kyungsoo replies, quiet enough that no one would be able to eavesdrop unless they were either airbenders or trying very, very hard. "They used... It wasn't quite like chi-blocking, because no chi-blocker has ever been able to figure out exactly how to reverse it as far as anyone's heard, but they just took people's bending away."
The bitter tone of his voice is hard for Minseok to ignore. But he waits until they've turned down an isolated alley, towards the shabby apartment his two new friends reside in. They're in the slums, Minseok recognizes. Unlike everything else, very little has changed here, unfortunately.
"Did they get you too, Kyungsoo?" he asks cautiously, reaching out for Kyungsoo's hand.
Kyungsoo yanks it away. "They only managed to seal one of my arms." The same one he's been rubbing, Minseok would guess. "Chanyeol managed to distract them before they could get to the rest of me." His eyes go soft when he mentions the last bit, and Minseok watches as he manages at weak smile at his best friend.
"Good thing it wasn't his legs," Chanyeol adds, patting Kyungsoo roughly on the shoulder with more cheer than he probably feels, "I know they may look short to you, Minseok hyung-" Minseok glances down at his own unimpressive set of legs and raises an eyebrow, but Chanyeol continues on, "but that's where all his strength is you know? All an earthbender really needs is the ground under their feet after all."
"If you don't quit talking, you'll be the one with a useless leg," Kyungsoo mutters even though Chanyeol just laughs, "if I recall, firebenders don't use those nearly as much as their fingers."
Minseok tunes out the rest of their banter, even when Kyungsoo looks dangerously close to carrying through with his threats. There's a lot he needs to do here, he thinks sadly. So much he needs to fix, so much time he needs to make up for.
But then, what else is the Avatar for?
Chanyeol seems to hesitate before answering, glancing around in case anyone is listening too closely. "There's, ah. There's not very many of us left, Minseok hyung. The Equalists made sure of that." From beside him, Kyungsoo grimaces, rubbing his upper arm. There's a story there that they haven't gotten to yet.
Equalists though. That's not a word Minseok's heard very often, but it's definitely one he's seen plastered on the city walls they've passed, on large stylized posters impossible to miss.
"But how?" Minseok continues asking. He's been gone from this world so long, there's so much he needs to catch up on. He's still not quite sure how a few days in the spirit world had resulted in almost a hundred human years passing when that had never been the case before, when there had been no indication of any difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.
Somehow, somewhere, something had gone terribly wrong and now he was paying the price.
"There was an uprising," Kyungsoo replies, quiet enough that no one would be able to eavesdrop unless they were either airbenders or trying very, very hard. "They used... It wasn't quite like chi-blocking, because no chi-blocker has ever been able to figure out exactly how to reverse it as far as anyone's heard, but they just took people's bending away."
The bitter tone of his voice is hard for Minseok to ignore. But he waits until they've turned down an isolated alley, towards the shabby apartment his two new friends reside in. They're in the slums, Minseok recognizes. Unlike everything else, very little has changed here, unfortunately.
"Did they get you too, Kyungsoo?" he asks cautiously, reaching out for Kyungsoo's hand.
Kyungsoo yanks it away. "They only managed to seal one of my arms." The same one he's been rubbing, Minseok would guess. "Chanyeol managed to distract them before they could get to the rest of me." His eyes go soft when he mentions the last bit, and Minseok watches as he manages at weak smile at his best friend.
"Good thing it wasn't his legs," Chanyeol adds, patting Kyungsoo roughly on the shoulder with more cheer than he probably feels, "I know they may look short to you, Minseok hyung-" Minseok glances down at his own unimpressive set of legs and raises an eyebrow, but Chanyeol continues on, "but that's where all his strength is you know? All an earthbender really needs is the ground under their feet after all."
"If you don't quit talking, you'll be the one with a useless leg," Kyungsoo mutters even though Chanyeol just laughs, "if I recall, firebenders don't use those nearly as much as their fingers."
Minseok tunes out the rest of their banter, even when Kyungsoo looks dangerously close to carrying through with his threats. There's a lot he needs to do here, he thinks sadly. So much he needs to fix, so much time he needs to make up for.
But then, what else is the Avatar for?
Original Post: Here.
Prompt: A boy from 1920s learns he’s actually in the year 2020, where technology is advanced and he’s a social study.
Author's Note: Written for a Caucus Kick during Round 2 of EIWAU. After seeing a prompt like that, how could I not write an A:TLA AU where Xiumin is a relic of a person? lol though the setting has more in common with A:LoK tbh. Title taken from Randy Newman's "Strange Things" from Toy Story, mainly because of the message of things changing and Xiumin being left "alone, forgotten, way up on the shelf", the shelf being his position as the Avatar.