I know you’ve probably moved on from and might’ve even forgotten this incredible story you’ve written. But on the off chance that one of these reviews might reach you I wanted to let you know how much I absolutely love this story! I love it so much and I’m rereading it again and tbh it’s one of the only things keeping me sane as my life goes up in flames around me. It’s been the root I’ve clung to in this flood threatening to wash me away. And one day I hope to print it all out and make it into a physical book I can proudly display on my shelf.
(Btw I would never try to sell it or make any profit off of your writing at all, it would just be one copy for myself so I can read it often and have it in my hands. I haven’t done it yet but I was hoping to get your permission first just the same) If on the off chance you can read any of these and wish to reach out (because I would love to talk with you!) here’s my email address,
I would love to get your permission before I try to print it out. But if not just know that it would only be one copy for myself.
Okay thank you! I’m loving reading this again so much it’s helped me get through this storm in my life rn and I just needed to thank you

This is very much self-indulgent, but I will speak up in defense of the Aztec Empire on this one.

Their practice of human sacrifice was... normal. It was something that everyone in that region had done for over a thousand years - and that meant everyone was 'read in' on it and the theological rationale behind it. Looking at it now, it's obviously a horrible thing for people to be killed without any actual need, but at the time?

The gods sacrificed much of themselves to create the world and protect mankind. Even Tezcatlipoca - Smoking Mirror, envoy of all misfortune - offered up one of his *legs* to help defeat Cipactli and raise land above the primordial sea. In a time of great famine, when all else had failed, Xipe Totec flayed himself and wove the first stalks of corn from his skin, so that humanity wouldn't starve.

Warriors are offered to Huitzilpochtli because he needs their blood, their *teotl*, because in order to serve as the Sun he is eternally burning himself alive - he is dying, constantly, for mankind's sake, and the *teotl* of warriors is all that can ward off his end. Not only that, he needs the warriors' souls to serve in his armies when the eclipse comes, and the tzitzimime descend to devour all that rises above the primordial sea. This was simply accepted as true - even enemy warriors awaiting sacrifice could grasp the logic of it, and perhaps even take some comfort from the belief that they would be able to help protect their kin in the afterlife as warriors of Huitzilpochtli.

There is a great emphasis on *mutual obligation* within the Aztec culture - that the gods serve man as much as man serves the gods, and that this is the way that all things should be. There's a great emphasis, too, on community and social bonds. The world is cruel, and it is only through each other that we humans can survive it. It was strange, and grim, and I won't pretend that there's not a degree of me... focusing on the positive aspects of it all, but the Aztecs weren't monsters or madmen.

And yes, your interpretation of the Fire Nation, with its supernatural bonds of loyalty, *does* have a weird sort of resonance with those Aztec ideals of obligation and community - and there's parallels between the Aztec cosmology and some of the larger ideas of A:tLA overall. The idea of a world which can't be taken for granted, of a balance which humans must carefully tend to and nurture or else everything will fall apart.

You know, I think that Shirong is giving the spirits too much credit.

The haima-jiao is literally a being which is driven by sheer jealous outrage at anyone, *anything* being given the gift of life that *it* was never blessed with.

Instead of cryptically signaling why it was sent here, I think the haima-jiao is just enjoying the opportunity to:

A) mock its hunters by lairing right on top of one of their key redoubts

B) finish digesting its latest meal somewhere with sunless waters and the misery of people being held and brainwashed there to enjoy

C) savor the unique misery of an air bison being all but buried alive underground

I do appreciate the cultural interplay; seeing a character feel out and try to grok an unfamiliar culture has always been something I enjoy reading. In particular, you do well at writing Tingzhe with a historian's eye. Him using the term 'great name' in his own head to refer to a member of Fire Nation aristocracy is a very subtle thing, but I think it speaks to you donning the role of the character very well - it's the kind of small detail that naturally flows into the work if you're doing it right.

I rate good fic/10. I don't really like your writing. I find it pretty rough sometimes. However, compared to 99% of fanfiction out there, your story is amazing. I really enjoyed your story's lore. I forget the couple's name, but to me that was the height of your story telling! You should've dedicated another chapter for them.

My favorite scene was when Azula got punched in the t**s by Shirong.

Holy shit, the power dynamics, the differences in culture, the details!, your story telling is just *chefs kiss* mmmawh! Lovely

Hi I don’t expect this to actually reach you, since is nowhere near as popular as it used to be almost a decade ago now. But I wanted to let you know that I’ve been re reading Embers and enjoying it so much! It’s the longest fanfiction I’ve ever read and one of my favorites long ago, and I’m so glad to finally find it again and find out that it hasn’t been deleted. Please please! Please never delete this! It probably has glaringly obvious flaws and you’ve probably become an even better writer since you finished this so it won’t seem that great to you now, but I’ve loved this fanfiction for years and I’m so glad to be able to read it again!
I’ve even wished I could print it all out and bind it as a physical book for my shelf! One day I plan to. (If you don’t mind that is)
But if you can still somehow get this “review” just know that I’m still here, years later loving this story so much! Keep writing! You’ve got an amazing and intricate imagination and I love so much what you were able to do with this story. It’s still one of my favorite writings I’ve ever read.
Thank you for posting this.
~B.L

Read this story on ao3 and absolutely loved it. Since it was reposted, even with permission, I thought I'd leave my compliments on the source. You spin an amazing tale.

This was an excellent story involving the avatar in a more real with consequences way. I absolutely loved the story.

Alright, you have me!

Seems interesting... First chapter and already amazing writing! I would read more.

You make a good point about wolf-dogs; an addendum I would like to contribute is an alternate possibility for the origin of Werewolf Myths. I have had the good luck to encounter a wolf in person, standing around fifty feet from me; and I remember being struck by exactly how intelligent they are. Not just in recognizing that I am different from it yet not prey; but also just the sheer intellect and *personality* held in its eyes. I have believed since that the origin of werewolf myths comes partly from people encountering wolves in the wild.

Put yourself in the position: You’re a fifteen century French peasant, with little or no understanding of scientific reasoning, and you encounter a wolf in the dark. Due to the shadows and the dim light from the full moon overhead, all you can see is it’s piercing eyes, in which you see a form of recognition. This tells you that it is intelligent, scarily intelligent, but you can also see it is inherently inhuman. Subsequently, your ‘uncanny valley’ instinct is tripped, and you feel a terror unlike similar scary events in your life. Recounting the tale over wine, it is a rational conclusion that the reason this encounter felt so different is because this wolf was actually Francois, a drunkard from down the street; whose family was recently eaten by wild animals and his body was not found. It is a rational, if quite superstitious, belief that this is his curse from God; to serve out his mortal life as a monster for all to see.

That haiku exchange was AMAZING!

...I REALLY could give less of a fuck about this kyoshi island duo. they are painfully boring OC's. like this entire story is just dialogue between characters in the show. and these two? random fucks that don't add anything. sure it 'expands' on the 'world building' but Jesus Christ they are as single dimensional as it gets. 'drunk warrior woman' and 'isolated water bender child with bad luck' are their entire personalities. fucken bad Naruto rip offs. the characters from the show constantly lean on the source material in their discussions because the author knows that's what people are here for. but the OCs go on purely what the author makes up and it's so bland and feels completely unimportant. (spoiler it kinda is unimportant. they are just going to meet up with zuko who fucking cares HOW they get there.) if the whole bit was just told to zuko in short flash back tales when they actually met up we would care, because then they would be interacting with the MC that we've been invested with the entire time up to this point, adding random mfs whole ass story is annoying as hell. do other authors do it? yeah, even mainstream ones. but I hate it and it sucks. since this story is done I'm just bitching about it on this public review board. feck.

ugh the dialogue is just a giant mess of implied shit from like four chapters ago. how the actual hell did anyone follow this when it initially came out? I'm having a difficult time following what the fuck they are taking about when I read about it fucken YESTERDAY. and came about the stealth honestly? what the FUCK is she talking about? the only thing I can understand about that is his ancestors were sneaky somehow, like how the fuck is a dragon hunting stealthy?

god damn there's so much confusing dialogue.