Yes I have more details to add onto my theory, but I also have questions so if you can join the discussion and solve these mysteries together that would be handy splendid (^_^)
At the very end of the novel, after Grenouille had been eaten by the town people, there was this quote: “But to eat a human being? They would never, so they thought, have been capable of anything that horrible. And they were amazed that it had been so very easy for them and that, embarrassed as they were, they did not feel the tiniest bite of conscience […] They were uncommonly proud. For the first time they had done something out of love”
AND GUESS WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON THEIR SHOES?!?!
BLIND
FOR
LOVE
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Grenouille killed the girls out of his love for their scents as well. So basically almost everyone in the novel was blind for love
“The more Grenouille had become accustomed to purer air, the more sensitive he was to human odor […] Thus his nose led him to ever more remote regions of the country, ever farther from human beings, driving him on ever more insistently toward the magnetic pole of the greatest possible solitude”
This is where VIXX took their BW teasers/filmed the MV:
duN DUN DUN DUN~
____________________________________
Here come the questions:
1. Each BW teaser has a color, except for Ravi and Hongbin. There were times when Grenouille associated scents with colors, so if Hongbin’s teaser doesn’t have any color that’s totally understandable, since Grenouille had no scent. But why Ravi? 🤔🤔🤔
2. Is Hyuk the first victim – The Plum Girl, or the last one – Laure? He was holding flowers in both the colored teaser and the BW teaser, and Grenouille had once referred to Laure as “the incomparably beautiful flower”. Andddddd Laure was the youngest among Grenouille’s victims so pretty sure she’s a virgin, too 🙂
Feel free to chime in~
Mmkay. *cracks knuckles* So, some further observations to add to this.
1. Ravi and Hongbin are the only ones not holding anything in the black and white teaser photos. Leo, N, and Hyuk are all holding colored flowers, and Ken is holding a colored perfume bottle, but those two aren’t holding anything, and their pictures are entirely devoid of color. Also, if you take a look at the group photo where you can see their shoes, you’ll notice something very interesting.
Ken, who was holding the odd item out, a perfume bottle, has his right shoe turned toward the viewer, which says “Blind.”
Leo, N, and Hyuk, who were all holding colored flowers, all have their left shoe turned toward the viewer, which say “for love.”
However, Hongbin and Ravi, who were holding nothing, their pictures devoid of color, have their bodies turned completely towards the viewer, obscuring the words on their shoes entirely.
In addition to this, Ravi’s first set of teaser photos have him as the only member whose eyes are closed in both pictures.
Everyone else’s photos have their eyes open in both (N, Hongbin), or closed in only one of them (Leo, Ken, Hyuk). Also, that group pic in OP’s post? That is the first time Ravi has actually looked at the viewer in any of the teaser photos he’s been in. Every other picture he’s had his eyes closed or is very pointedly not looking at the viewer, as seen here in the first group pic:
or here in his solo black and white photograph (in which, might I add, he was the only member out of all six to not be looking directly at the viewer):
All this leads me to believe Ravi might have a larger part to play in the MV’s storyline than anticipated. Could he be a ghost of some sort? Hongbin’s accomplice who willingly turns a blind eye to Hongbin’s misdeeds because of his devotion to him and ends up stabbed in the back for his trouble? I guess only time will tell.
2. This is a really good question, and I’m torn, honestly. It could go either way. For now, though, my money is still on Hyuk being The Plum Girl because of his white shirt and the plum blossom he’s holding in the first set of teaser images. I think Hakyeon is the more likely candidate for
Laure, because his eyes are never closed in any of the teaser images, and he’s always, always looking at the viewer, much like Hongbin does. Compare:
Perhaps this points to N being the “final girl” of sorts?
Laure
doesn’t survive in the original story, but perhaps N will in their version of it? His role with Hyuk could end up being switched, though, like I said, it could go either way. I do find it interesting that out of all the teasers, N and Hyuk are the only ones that are both turned to the right. Everyone else is either facing the camera or turned to the left. That could point to some kind of connection between them.
It did briefly occur to me when I was writing my first response to this post that Ravi and Hongbin could be sharing the role of Grenouille, but not to the extent of them being the same person just at different points in the timeline. :O Or perhaps they’re going to continue their Jekyll and Hyde theme somehow with this MV, with Ravi being the more regretful, innocent side of
Grenouille
while Hongbin is the more arrogant, detached, and ruthless side? Ravi does have a pale pinkish-orange hair color for this comeback while Hongbin’s is silvery-blue; those are pretty complementary colors, so maybe that lends some credence to that theory. That would also explain why the words on their shoes aren’t visible, since while a BIT of white can be seen on Ravi’s right shoe, it’s certainly not enough to make out an actual word; if they’re the same person simply looking in different directions, then that would explain why there’s no color in their B&W photos and why the camera can’t make out the writing on their shoes.
That was an interesting tidbit you pointed out about the colored items in the B&W photos, though. I’m not sure if the pink flowers that Hyuk and N are holding are the same (I looked at them pretty closely and they seemed to be different shapes), but they ARE basically the same color, which confused me, since Leo’s flower is yellow and the liquid in Ken’s bottle is brown, so why would two of the members have the same color item all of a sudden? But it would make total sense if they were meant to mirror each other in that way all along, right down to their postures in the photos (like them being the only ones with their hands not in their pockets in the group B&W shot, or them leaning their heads against someone else’s in the color color shot).
I LOVE what you came up with for Ken and Leo, though; them being Baldini and Antoine respectively makes so much sense! I was puzzling over why in the colored teasers Leo was the only one with his eyes open but never looking at the camera, and that explanation makes perfect sense, as does why Ken is the only one not holding a flower for the B&W teaser, and why his is the only shoe we can clearly read “Blind” on.
I can’t wait to see what further developments happen in future teasers to see if they support these theories or not. 8>
Yes I have more details to add onto my theory, but I also have questions so if you can join the discussion and solve these mysteries together that would be handy splendid (^_^)
At the very end of the novel, after Grenouille had been eaten by the town people, there was this quote: “But to eat a human being? They would never, so they thought, have been capable of anything that horrible. And they were amazed that it had been so very easy for them and that, embarrassed as they were, they did not feel the tiniest bite of conscience […] They were uncommonly proud. For the first time they had done something out of love”
AND GUESS WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON THEIR SHOES?!?!
BLIND
FOR
LOVE
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Grenouille killed the girls out of his love for their scents as well. So basically almost everyone in the novel was blind for love
“The more Grenouille had become accustomed to purer air, the more sensitive he was to human odor […] Thus his nose led him to ever more remote regions of the country, ever farther from human beings, driving him on ever more insistently toward the magnetic pole of the greatest possible solitude”
This is where VIXX took their BW teasers/filmed the MV:
duN DUN DUN DUN~
____________________________________
Here come the questions:
1. Each BW teaser has a color, except for Ravi and Hongbin. There were times when Grenouille associated scents with colors, so if Hongbin’s teaser doesn’t have any color that’s totally understandable, since Grenouille had no scent. But why Ravi? 🤔🤔🤔
2. Is Hyuk the first victim – The Plum Girl, or the last one – Laure? He was holding flowers in both the colored teaser and the BW teaser, and Grenouille had once referred to Laure as “the incomparably beautiful flower”. Andddddd Laure was the youngest among Grenouille’s victims so pretty sure she’s a virgin, too 🙂
Feel free to chime in~
Mmkay. *cracks knuckles* So, some further observations to add to this.
1. Ravi and Hongbin are the only ones not holding anything in the black and white teaser photos. Leo, N, and Hyuk are all holding colored flowers, and Ken is holding a colored perfume bottle, but those two aren’t holding anything, and their pictures are entirely devoid of color. Also, if you take a look at the group photo where you can see their shoes, you’ll notice something very interesting.
Ken, who was holding the odd item out, a perfume bottle, has his right shoe turned toward the viewer, which says “Blind.”
Leo, N, and Hyuk, who were all holding colored flowers, all have their left shoe turned toward the viewer, which say “for love.”
However, Hongbin and Ravi, who were holding nothing, their pictures devoid of color, have their bodies turned completely towards the viewer, obscuring the words on their shoes entirely.
In addition to this, Ravi’s first set of teaser photos have him as the only member whose eyes are closed in both pictures.
Everyone else’s photos have their eyes open in both (N, Hongbin), or closed in only one of them (Leo, Ken, Hyuk). Also, that group pic in OP’s post? That is the first time Ravi has actually looked at the viewer in any of the teaser photos he’s been in. Every other picture he’s had his eyes closed or is very pointedly not looking at the viewer, as seen here in the first group pic:
or here in his solo black and white photograph (in which, might I add, he was the only member out of all six to not be looking directly at the viewer):
All this leads me to believe Ravi might have a larger part to play in the MV’s storyline than anticipated. Could he be a ghost of some sort? Hongbin’s accomplice who willingly turns a blind eye to Hongbin’s misdeeds because of his devotion to him and ends up stabbed in the back for his trouble? I guess only time will tell.
2. This is a really good question, and I’m torn, honestly. It could go either way. For now, though, my money is still on Hyuk being The Plum Girl because of his white shirt and the plum blossom he’s holding in the first set of teaser images. I think Hakyeon is the more likely candidate for
Laure, because his eyes are never closed in any of the teaser images, and he’s always, always looking at the viewer, much like Hongbin does. Compare:
Perhaps this points to N being the “final girl” of sorts?
Laure
doesn’t survive in the original story, but perhaps N will in their version of it? His role with Hyuk could end up being switched, though, like I said, it could go either way. I do find it interesting that out of all the teasers, N and Hyuk are the only ones that are both turned to the right. Everyone else is either facing the camera or turned to the left. That could point to some kind of connection between them.
First and foremost, “Eau De VIXX” is obviously French, and this storyline took place in France 🙂
Secondly, I believe the murderer – Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, is Hongbin. In the individual teasers, he and Hakyeon are the only two who had their eyes open for both pictures, indicating that they’re still alive
Notice the white rose on Hongbin’s coat? It’s the same white rose used in the cover of the novel/film “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”
Hyuk is Hongbin’s first victim, The Plum Girl – who was described as “a young virgin girl just passing puberty”. Hyuk was wearing white in oppose to the rest’s black outfits, and white is widely known as the color that represents purity, virtue, and… wait for it… VIRGINITY. He’s also pretty as fuck but that’s not relevant to the topic lmao
Han Sanghyuk: OUT
Jung Taekwoon: OUT
Lee Jaehwan: OUT
Kim Wonshik: OUT
Now, to the group photo.
Hakyeon’s role is unclear, but judging from his position (leaning against Hongbin’s head instead of laying on top of him), he might be Giuseppe Baldini – a perfumer who taught Grenouille about the techniques of preserving odors
There’s the word “synthesizer” on Hongbin’s coat. This could be a word play. Synthesizer is the name of an instrument, but if we separate “synthesize” which means “make (something) by synthesis, especially chemically” and “-er” which means the person/tool doing the job, don’t we have something similar to a perfumer?
Also, after Grenouille was arrested and was on the way to his execution, he tried on a new perfume that he had just created. The scent left everyone in awes and thus freed him from his crime. Then they… er… participated in a mass orgy afterward… 🙂
However, Grenouille soon realized how much he hated people, and no matter what he did he would never be happy. Therefore, he returned to Paris, where the whole town had fallen too deeply in love with him (or more specifically his scent) that they all wanted to consume him. Knowing the outcome, he stood in the crowd and emptied the entire bottle of perfume on his body. The result was bloody and… well… a handful lmao
OMG OKAY I WANT THIS TO BE REAL PLS
Okay, I know I already reblogged this post once, but I just noticed something interesting in the teasers pertaining to this theory and I thought I should share. I thought that was just a random flower in Hyuk’s second teaser pic and OP was spitballing about him being the Plum Girl, but look at this:
This is a plum blossom. Now take another look at the flower Hyuk is holding in his second teaser pic:
!!!!!!! I!!!! LOVE!!!! AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER!!!! That show was my actual childhood and I have entertained the idea of writing an Avatar AU for BTS for some time. The only thing that worries me about trying to do so would be 1) the story, and 2) the feeling. The Avatar universe is just so diverse and nuanced that just thinking about tackling something as big as that (not to mention as close to my heart) already has me in a sweat! But I would absolutely be down to the challenge, and I’d l o v e to make it multifandom too, heheheh. > V > ❤
sdkjlsdsdfslsfl I love that you love this AU idea!! I understand your reluctance to actually write something, though, coming up with actual stories to set in the Avatarverse is kind of daunting.
I love the idea of Namjoon as a non-bender, because he certainly doesn’t need superpowers to be the Badass Idea Man, but also… with his legendary clumsiness, I kind of fear for his immediate surroundings and everyone in them if he had bending, tbh. X’D I imagine him being besties with earthbender Yoongi, maybe they became friends when going to the same music school in the Earth Kingdom or something. :>
I also love the idea of Jungkook being from the Fire Nation, but being a non-bender as well; he’s a smart, resourceful kid, I could totally imagine him becoming a weapons master like Mei. =D Maybe he’s always been a tad jealous of his older friend Jimin because of his ability to firebend, but the two still get along very well, and Jungkook is always super proud of himself whenever he’s able to beat Jimin in a fight even without bending. X3
I can’t see Jin being anything but a waterbender, either, so I’m glad we’re on the same page about that. XD I do really like the idea of him being a noble from the Northern Water Tribe, while his cousin Taehyung lives in the Southern Water Tribe, from a disowned or exiled branch of the family that Jin isn’t supposed to affiliate with anymore. Jin and Tae ain’t having that, though, and before Taehyung had to leave, Jin smuggled him one of his pet arctic sugar gliders, and the two use the hardy little animals as a sort of air mail system so they can still keep in touch despite the vast distances between them, exchanging bending techniques and gossip and everything in between. ❤ And whoop, wouldn’t you know it, Tae turns out to be the Avatar when he turns 16, who’da thunk. 😉 (Maybe Yeontan could be Tae’s animal companion in this AU, perhaps a wolf or dog or polar bear dog or some kind of large doggish seal that can travel through water at great speeds and a beast of burden at the same time)
I just adore the mental images of airbender Hoseok, too, ngl. I’m sure he’d be great at it, but the flying part, perhaps not so much. Maybe everyone keeps teasing him that he should have been born as an earthbender so he can live in the mud and the rocks since he’s so scared flying unlike a proper airbender, and privately, Hobi kind of wonders if they’re right sometimes. If he was an airbender, though, I love how he and Yoongi would complement each other, too. ❤ Plus, this way, he could be Taehyung’s airbending teacher, just like Yoongi could be his earthbending teacher, and Jimin could be his firebending teacher.
With this set up, the vocal line and the rap line are also split up into their respective opposite elements + 1 Nonbender, not counting the Avatar. Rap line = Earthbender Yoongi, Airbender Hoseok, nonbender Namjoon. Vocal line = Firebender Jimin, Waterbender Jin, nonbender Jungkook. I just like that symmetry a lot. 🙂
Dang, at this rate we’re just gonna have to throw in the towel and outright do a collab. [eyes emoji]
But yES. YES. YESSSSSSSS, I LVOE YOUR IDEAS SO MUCH!! ( > V < )/ Part of the reason why I really wanted more than one member of BTS to be non-bending is because honestly, some of the best characters in A:TLA don’t bend at all! Sokka is of course the first example, but Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors, Tai Li, Mei… It’s easy for the awesome bending to take precedence, for obvious reasons, but I love love love the idea of a non-bender kicking the butts of even these people able to manipulate the world around them. Like…how much more awesome can you be?! XD Ohh, I love the idea of Namjoon and Yoongi being Earth Kingdom buddies, though. ;o; Though I have to admit – the first thing that came to my mind about them being in music school was this scene. Heheheh~
OOH, you’re right, I didn’t remember to think about where Jungkook would be from if he didn’t bend! I love the idea that he’d also come from the Fire Nation with his firebending best friend Jimin. ;v; I see Jungkook as a very creative fighter as well; he can literally grab anything and figure out a way to turn it into an effective weapon, and then when he gets his lil’ mitts on real weapons? Everybody better start running, heheheh. A spar between him and Jimin, though, ooooooh take my money, I need that animated ASAP!!! O A O/
Hnnnnng, that is so adorable, omgg!! Jin would absolutely be the kind to flip the metaphorical bird at the alienation of a branch of his own family. The idea of arctic sugar gliders is?? so precious??? What if they look like regular sugar gliders during non-winter months but then change to snowy white like arctic foxes, all fluffy and soft, ahhHHH ;O; I checked out the fauna of the A:TLA universe and apparently polar dogs are a thing! One appeared literally once in the whole series, the very first episode, but it’d definitely fit Yeontan’s role. Since the Water Tribe is based heavily on Inuit culture, Taehyung can also have a little one-man sled that Yeontan pulls him around everywhere. ❤
YUSSSSS you’ve pretty much sold me on the Airbender Hoseok idea by pointing that out, LOL. Imagine the boys hear something weird and they look around and it turns out it’s just Hoseok gliding through the sky screaming at the top of his lungs. Like, he’s fine, he’s just also terrified and the younger boys don’t help when they laugh at him. “Don’t slip, hyung!” “I AM TRYING!”
I am the biggest sucker for polar opposites who are basically soulmates, Airbender Hoseok and Earthbender Yoongi, and also Firebender Jimin and Waterbender Taehyung too (because c’mon, you know I’m gonna make them soulmates in every AU :’0). And oooh I didn’t even notice the symmetry!! That’s seriously so awesome!
Well, collabs are indeed the best, and I mean, bro, if
you’re offering… 👀
Oh yeah, I love it when people make Avatar AUs where some
characters are non-benders, because I mean, statistically speaking, it just
makes sense; only about 1/3 of the populace are benders , so the non-benders
are still in the majority, plus, yeah, when you regularly go up against people
with superpowers and still come out on top because you’re just That Badass, it’s
really impressive. XD HA, I love that scene. Aang would be Namjoon in a band,
lbrh, bless his heart. Meanwhile Yoongi is sitting over in a corner with his piano (harp?) facepalming into infinity and
going “I don’t know him, ain’t never seen him before in my life, nope, we’re complete
strangers.” XD
Totally! Maybe Kookie joined a fighting ring like Toph,
just because it’s fun to go up against benders and regularly kick their asses with
improbable weapons like a ladle or a feather duster, and the crowd loves him
because he’s so creative and fun to watch. What kinds of weapons would he
specialize in, though…? Like, Sokka had his boomerang and Space Sword, Ty Lee
had her chi blocking and gymnast skills, Mai had her darts and throwing knives,
Suki had hand to hand combat and her fan, Asami had her taser glove, Jet had his
hookswords… Maybe JK has a bow and arrow, since he likes to play McCree in Overwatch
and guns don’t exist in the Avatarverse? Or maybe bombs or explosives? OOOOO,
or maybe tonfa? A lot of police officers use those, and Jungkook WAS dressed as
a policeman in the Dope MV, so maybe he’s training to be a policeman in this
AU, too? 👀 Check out this guy work those
things, they can be pretty devastating in the right hands.
Awww, the gliders turning colors to match the
seasons such an adorable idea, I love it! I was thinking maybe they’d be a bit
bigger in this AU, too, maybe Momo’s size or thereabouts, so they can carry
things easier, like a cross between a sugar glider and an arctic fox. I was
also thinking perhaps they a kind of “hive mind” between members of the same
pack/flock/cohort/whatevertheheck, where they instinctively “know” things other
members of the group know, which would serve them well in the dark wintertimes
with knowing instinctively where the safe dens are, where the food is, and
where the predators are, but it also makes them great messengers, because if
you have one arctic glider, the others all know where it is and will go
to it. They’re also super smart and eager to please, especially if they imprint
upon a human and accept them into their cohort, so to speak, so Jin having two
of them and giving one to Tae to bond with ensures that both the gliders
like both boys and will be able to seek them out no matter where they are. I’m
thinking their names are Fish and Cake, a throwback to how Jin named both his
gliders Fishcake in RL. >v> I’m down for Yeontan being a polar dog! Maybe
the sled can turn into a cart on other terrains so that Yeontan can still help
even when Taehyung moves away to go do Avatar Stuff.
LMAOOOO, the mental images, omg. XD And of course, Hobi’s
dog Mickey (aka Mihkee) has to be a sky bison! It’s just common sense. He can
carry everyone everywhere just like Appa used to, it’ll be great.
Blurg, I know, plot is always the sticking point when it
comes to these sorts of AUs. However, I was thinking super hard over the past
week, and I think I might have something here. However, if you already have
something in mind, by all means go with that, this is just me spitballing.
(Putting it under a readmore because HOO BOY it got long. X_X
So since you mentioned wanting to do something based off
of Korra (though hopefully not the whole plot, it’s a hot mess and no mistake)…
well, the Water Tribe civil war subplot from season 2 had a LOT of potential before
the writers squandered it all to focus on Spirit World Bullshittery, so maybe
that could be the main conflict for this crossover. Like, perhaps there are
these old scrolls someone unearthed in the Northern Water Tribe from the time
the two Water Tribes were one country, telling of a place where the barrier
between the human and spirit worlds is very thin in the Southern Water Tribe
where a powerful spirit is trapped. If this spirit is freed, then it would be
indebted to its rescuers and help them do whatever they wanted (insider secret: it
would not, it would just basically lay waste to whatever it could get its hands
on, it was sealed away for a reason). The higher ups in the Northern Water
Tribe are super into this idea, (perhaps because they want to make the world “more
spiritual” like Unalaq wanted to do in LoK before the
writers reduced him to being a one note pawn of Vaatu, dangit Bryke why must you ruin everything) but because the spirit portal is
in the Southern Water Tribe, and the two Tribes aren’t really on the best of
terms, they can’t exactly waltz in and go looking for it. Obviously, the next
best thing is to stage an attack on some visiting Northern diplomats to the
Southern Tribe, so they have an excuse to invade and put down the “rebellion”
and then go looking for the portal. Problem is, the map and instructions on how
to find it are written in an old, archaic dialect of the Water Tribe tongue
that only a few people still know how to read and speak, and SURPRISE, those
few people are basically just Jin and his father by the time the events of the
story roll around. I’m imagining Jin’s family are scholars, which is how they
got their noble status, and one thing that’s passed down through the family
lines are how to read and speak archaic Water Tribe (Jin’s older brother didn’t
learn because he wanted to be a soldier instead, so it fell to Jin to keep the
tradition going). So, keeping that in mind, let’s bounce over to Taehyung’s
storyline for a bit.
Tae learns he’s the Avatar when he’s sixteen, like most
Avatars do (how the Water Tribe Knows when someone is the Avatar, I have no
idea, but I’m sure they have some way of telling), and is sent off to Find His
Destiny and start learning to bend the rest of the elements, so he travels off
to the Earth Kingdom with Yeontan to find an Earthbending teacher. While
wandering around trying to find someone he likes, he stumbles across Namjoon
and Yoongi, and through a series of events, ends up discovering Yoongi is a
very good Earthbender, and asking him to teach him. Well, it’s not like Yoongi
could exactly say no (well, he could, but that would kind of be stupid when the Avatar himself is asking him to teach him, now wouldn’t it), so Tae spends the next one to two years learning
everything Yoongs can teach him about Earthbending. The town/city Namjoon and
Yoongi live in is very near an Air Nomad Temple, and there’s a certain young
monk that flies down every so often with his air bison Mihkee to visit his two
Earth Kingdom friends (Rap Line 5ever <3), and in the process makes friends
with Taehyung, too, and just like that, Tae has an Airbending teacher to come
back to when he needs to learn his last element. But for now, it’s time for
Firebending.
Hobi offers to give him a lift to the Fire Nation so he
can find a teacher, and while scouting a port town, Tae runs into Jimin and
Jungkook, and one thing leads to another, ending with Tae becoming Jimin’s
Firebending pupil. Firebending is very hard for Taehyung, but he keeps at it
and makes good progress, until one day he gets a letter from his cousin Seokjin
that tells some very troubling news.
Because Jin knows the archaic Water Tribe tongue, he’s been privy to everything
the Northern government has been having his father research, and he can see the
warning signs all pointing to the imminent invasion of the South. He also knows
that there are key figures and organizations and companies in the Earth Kingdom
and Fire Nation that the Northern Water Tribe has made deals with to assist
with their plans, and they will be rewarded once the powerful spirit is freed (maybe
these are the big Kpop companies like SM, JYP, and YG). And because his elderly
father is very frail and not up to traveling, the government will force Jin to
come along with the invasion force to locate the spirit portal with the maps
and clues that were written down in the old language, and he’s having exactly
none of it. So he’s stolen/destroyed all the maps, materials, and notes pertaining to the spirit portal, packed his bags, commandeered a small ship, and is sailing
to meet up with Tae in the Fire Nation, because what place in the whole world is
safer than the place where the Avatar is, amirite?
Taehyung is super upset at this news (because the South
is his home after all), but also super happy to have the opportunity to see his beloved cousin again
after so many years only being able to interact with him through letters (I imagine that since Jin had an older brother, and Taehyung had a younger brother and sister, they were able to experience being an older and younger sibling with each other, respectively, and were always super close because of that, and subsequently were the ones most heartbroken when Tae’s family was exiled all those years ago). The
two have a joyful reunion once Jin gets to the Fire Nation before getting down
to the business of figuring out how to stop the invasion, and decide to try to
appeal to the governing bodies of each nation for assistance should the North
try anything. Jimin and Jungkook insist on accompanying them, having gotten super close to Taehyung during the months he’s spent with them (Maknae Line 5ever <3), and they all set
out for the Fire Lord’s palace.
The Fire Lord is an amicable sort of fellow (maybe the leader of another Kpop
group, perhaps) and is sympathetic to the boys’ plight, but because of
diplomatic relations, he won’t be able to do much even if the North does try
anything. However, he promises that his personal team of trained fighters will
be dispatched to assist the Avatar should the need arise (again, maybe another
Kpop group like B.A.P.). However, while the Vocal Line is at the palace, a spy
for the Northern Water Tribe (maybe from one of the previously mentioned organizations
allied with them) sees them there and sends word that the Avatar and the Translator
are In Cahoots and are heading to the Earth Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Jin, having learned that Taehyung’s future
airbending teacher lives at the same temple as Jin’s best friend Ken (well, one of his best friends, Sandeul is holding down the fort for Jin back in the Northern
Water Tribe), sends a message to his friend to have Hoseok come pick them up
and bring them to the Earth Kingdom. Once they reach it, Yoongi and Namjoon
insist on joining the party as well, and Hoseok tags along, too, because why
not, right?
So the party ventures towards
Ba Sing Sae to see the Earth Monarch to see if they will pledge to help the
Southern Water Tribe if the need arises, but on their way, they stop at a port city
for supplies, and while the boys are all split up looking for different items,
Jin and Jungkook are ambushed by a contingent of undercover Northern Water
Tribe soldiers and agents from the powerful unions and organizations assisting
them, intent on kidnapping Jin so that the invasion of the Southern Water Tribe can commence
as planned.
Jin and JK give a valiant
account of themselves, but they were caught off-guard and are hopelessly
outnumbered. Jin tries to send both of his gliders away so they can find Taehyung
and get help, but Fish refuses to leave his side and ends up horribly injured when he tries to protect his master from an Earthbender attack that would have probably wound up killing him. Jungkook
is distracted by his efforts to catch the unconscious glider before he goes splat on the ground, and is subsequently overpowered and disarmed. The leader
of the attacking force, then gives Jin an ultimatum; surrender himself, or the boy dies.
Jin, of course, surrenders to
save Jungkook, and is immediately restrained and handcuffed
before the leader (who probably previously knew him back in the NWT) starts viciously beating
the ever-loving crap out of him for “betraying
his nation” and causing them so much trouble. Jungkook is helpless to do
anything as his friend is violently assaulted and then abducted, trailing thick smears of blood
on the flagstones behind him as he’s hauled away. The leader then
turns their attention to Jungkook and gives him a message for the Avatar, telling him to stay out of their business if he ever wants to see Jin and the rest of his family alive at the end of all this, and then coldly knocks the boy out, leaving him an unconscious
heap on the street with the nearly lifeless, broken body of the little arctic glider still cradled in the crook of one arm.
Which is where Taehyung, Jimin,
and Hobi find them some time later, having been alerted to the trouble by a
frantic Cake. Upon learning what happened to Jin from Jungkook and seeing the
state his friend and cousin’s poor pet are in along with Jin’s blood splattering the street, Taehyung is so upset and angry and heartbroken that he ends up triggering the Avatar
state for the first time ever. He proceeds to go on a terrifying rampage where he destroys
what’s left of the small fleet of vessels the baddies left behind just in case the Avatar got any ideas about trying to follow the ship carrying Jin before Jimin manages to grab him and pull him into a cooldown hug and out of
the Avatar state. The firebender then simply holds him close as the younger boy collapses in his arms and breaks down in tears.
So now it’s a race against time
to stop the invasion and find Jin before the Northern Water Tribe forces him to
find the spirit portal. Will they stop the war before too many lives are lost
and a fissure is ripped between realities, unleashing an ancient evil upon the
world? I guess we’ll have to wait and see. 😉
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