Irhaboggle Pride (2023) I Saw the Signs and Symbols

Equal

Korra was trapped in a nightmare while Asami was waking up to one, feeling Korra toss and turn beside her, breathing heavier than normal.

"Korra? Korra!" Asami understood at once what was happening and tried to shake her dearest friend awake as gently as she could.

I have to be careful. She warned me that she might—She didn't even finish the thought before a fist came flying at her.

"Korra! Wait! Please! It's me! Asami Sato!" Eventually, Asami managed to get through to Korra, holding a hand out to her.

"Asami...?" As soon as Korra touched Asami's hand, understanding slowly filled her eyes, then they pulled one another into a tight embrace.

Korra wasn't usually the type to talk about things she feared would make her seem "less than", in any capacity, but she knew immediately that she wasn't getting out of this one. Maybe, for once, she didn't want to.

"It was... another nightmare... about... Zaheer." She struggled to say the name. On the one hand, it left a foul taste in her mouth. On the other, she hated thinking something as simple as a name held so much power over the Avatar. Though of course, it made sense. Zaheer left Korra with far more than just a few cuts and bruises.

Asami said nothing. She knew what must've been troubling Korra as soon as she woke up to her dearest friend tossing and turning.

But she needs this, to get it all off her chest and actually say it out loud, admit it to herself. She watched with pain and pride when the dam burst.

"—and there were so many people I couldn't protect!" Sure enough, what began as a mere trickle quickly became a waterfall. "I was the one who had to be rescued! He made me so helpless..." The poison, the broken limbs, air-bending the very breath from her lungs...

While Korra trembled, Asami tried to imagine herself as a pillar of support so strong that even an earth-bender couldn't shake her. It was frightening watching Korra cycle through so many negative emotions so quickly, but Asami knew that it was better out than in. The dam had burst for a reason. But once the water was done flooding, Asami reached out for another hug.

Slowly, Korra cooled down. She did not cry, for this was far from the first time she was plagued by such nightmares, but Asami helped.

"Thank you, Asami," she whispered, wrapping her arms back around Asami, trying to stay grounded as she stared blankly at the floor.

"Always," Asami replied. "I'll always be here for you, Korra, even and especially in your worst moments. That's what will get you through this: us, together. Remember when neither of us used to have that? When neither of us had... each other?"

Asami wasn't about to have them reexamine their entire lives to determine which moments were the hardest, but she could confidently say that overall, even the worst of life seemed more bearable after meeting Korra. We're equals, we balance out and support one another.

"Yes," Korra admitted. "But when Amon took my bending, I had Aang and the others." At least until Unavaatu broke the connection forever.

"But notice, every enemy we've faced took something precious from you," Asami insisted, trying to get Korra to understand. Amon took her bending, Unavaatu took her past avatars, and Zaheer took her sense of security and control, both with respect to her bending and herself as a person.

"And yet, each time, you came back stronger." She was not saying that Korra should see her suffering as a blessing in disguise, rather, no matter how low she felt, she never failed to get back up again.

Korra managed a weak smile, but it was clear there was still a lot on her mind. Asami gave her an encouraging smile.

"It's just... I'm... scared... now. I never considered that I could die in the Avatar State..." Her worst fear was realer than she realized. "But what kind of Avatar is afraid of the Avatar State?!" But perhaps, she had good reason to be afraid. If she died in the Avatar State, the entire cycle ended.

It's just... too much... Too much to untangle, too much to bear. "It would be better to die as my regular se—"

She didn't even finish speaking before Asami interrupted with an almost-snarl. "Absolutely not! Don't you remember when Amon tried to get you to believe the same thing?!" It wasn't exact, but she was referring to after Korra lost her bending. She had thoughts of ending her life so a "not broken" Avatar could be reincarnated. "You've grown too much to let such a cruel lie like that try to persuade you over to its side again!"

She WON'T be killed in the Avatar State! She won't! Because she'll have all of us watching her back. None of Team Avatar ever wanted anything like Zaheer to ever happen again, and they were going to do everything in their power to prevent it. Especially me.

"B-but..." Before Korra could protest again, the tiniest of smirks flickered across Asami's face.

"You were perfectly capable of using the Avatar State to get us out of that desert, but I had it all under control. And you were so proud of what I was able to build. You know better than anyone how strong and capable I am. It's not all on you. We protect each other." It was exactly as she said, they were equal. Asami may have been a non-bender, but anyone—bender or not—could see that she was more than competent enough to stand by them.

It's funny, Asami thought, there was a time when, to me, being equal was good, then bad, and now it's good again. Of course, that was a dramatic oversimplification, but she had indeed spent part of her life as an Equalist until growing close to Korra changed her mind. Now here she was, thinking about herself being Korra's equal. Of course, there was a huge difference between an Equalist and the metaphors Asami was thinking in, but Asami noted the coincidence all the same. I wonder... She looked at Korra. First a bender, Zaheer left her terrified of her own power.

But does it always have to be that way? I'm glad I never went back to being an Equalist, and it's not possible to fully restore Korra to the person she was before Zaheer, but I'm sure Korra can learn to love and trust in herself and her abilities again!

If Korra needed a break from being the Avatar, Asami was more than willing to wait it out with her. I just don't want her thinking poorly of any part of herself, whether from fear or anger or shame. Every part of her is equal in my eyes, and all of it is beautiful.

"Remember when you comforted me after my nightmares?" In Asami's mind's eye, she saw her father in one of his platinum battle mechs, trying to murder her. "I can't control when it happens, but I can always remind myself that I don't have to live in fear or loneliness. Because I have you. So keep telling yourself that you have me." Korra was so much more than her bending power, and Asami decided to be Korra's equal and remind her that they were supposed to rely on each other, not have one partner carry the entire burden alone. That was why they were partners.

At last, her words got through to Korra. "I love you, Asami. Every moment, I thank Ravaa you're here." Asami replied not with words, but a kiss. The rest of the night passed quietly, Korra deciding to bring Asami to her therapy session with Katara.

"Even if Katara thinks no one else should be present?" Asami worried. "I don't want to accidentally interfere."

"I'll insist," Korra replied. "Besides, you're the last person who could ever interfere. Every minute I'm with you, I feel a little bit better." If her words couldn't convince Asami, the next kiss she pressed against Asami's lips was more than persuasive enough.

AN: Another one for my best friend, Net Neutrality, I'm giving him writer's credit on this just because his summary was so detailed that he basically wrote this whole thing LOL!

And yes, I chose the "equal" sign because 1. Math 2. Even though it's not purely LGBT, you definitely see it a lot. 3. It felt like an interesting choice given some of the plot of Korra's story, and the idea of "good things becoming bad" and "bad things becoming good."

Also hey, if you think about it, lips look like equal signs... #KorrasamiKiss