good morning everyone. important announcement: i stayed up all night and invented a new kind of boomerang. it comes back faster. i call it the "speed-rang"

sokka that's just a boomerang

toph i say this with love: you don't understand engineering

I'll test it. But if it hits me in the face I'm blaming you in front of the entire Kyoshi Island council, including my grandmother

that's completely fair

does anyone know if the east harbor ferry is running today? trying to get to the outer islands for a meeting and the schedule changed again

I think it's running but delayed. There was a storm last night near the coast. Mai would probably know, she was just there

good call. messaging her now

unrelated but i just earthbended a rock into sokka's training dummy and it exploded. is that normal

TOPH THAT WAS MY GOOD TRAINING DUMMY

you have a good one AND a bad one?

i have HAD a good one

Mai says the ferry is running, just 40 minutes late. Thanks Katara

glad it worked out! also Toph please stop destroying Sokka's things, we talked about this

we talked about it. i didn't agree to anything

okay i've been thinking about the speed-rang and i think the problem is the angle of the return curve. if i adjust the left wing by about 12 degrees it should compensate for the additional velocity on the outward throw. suki are you free this afternoon

I have training until 3. After that yes. But Sokka I am serious about the face thing

the face thing will not happen. probably

"probably" is doing a lot of work in that sentence

Okay switching topics because I need actual opinions on something. We're doing a Kyoshi Warrior demonstration next month for the Fire Nation cultural exchange visit. The council is debating whether to do the full traditional form or something more adapted for a general audience. I've been going back and forth on it

Full traditional, no question. The whole point of cultural exchange is showing the actual thing, not a version of it watered down for comfort. People can handle it. They should handle it

Agreed. I'd actually love to have some firebending alongside it if the timing works — show both traditions in the same space. Let people see that's possible now. It wasn't so long ago that it wasn't

Zuko that's a really good idea. I hadn't thought about framing it that way. Let me bring it to the council — if we can get a formal co-invitation drafted it could actually be something significant

i'll come if there's food

There will be food Toph

i'm in. what do i wear

Something that isn't covered in rock dust ideally

i make no promises

this is a great idea. also i could bring the speed-rang as a demonstration of water tribe innovation. cultural exchange, multiple nations, very on-brand

Sokka absolutely not

what if i called it a "diplomatic boomerang"

please do not bring the diplomatic boomerang to the cultural exchange

noted. i'll bring it to the NEXT one

Suki do you want me to reach out to that healing circle in Caldera about participating? They do some beautiful waterbending work and it might complement the firebending/Kyoshi combination well. Three nations in one event

Yes, please do. The more I think about this the more it feels like it could be genuinely important rather than just a demonstration. Send me their contact when you have it

Will do. I think Yugoda might know them — I'll start there

One more thing on this — I want to make sure we have good documentation this time. Last year's interchange had no record of what was shared or agreed on informally. Would anyone be willing to take notes? Actual notes, not Sokka's notes

my notes are fine

Sokka your notes from the Ba Sing Se summit were a detailed drawing of what you ate for lunch

it was an EXCELLENT lunch and it deserved to be documented

i can't take notes for obvious reasons

I'll do it. Someone should and it should probably be me anyway since it's technically our event

Thank you Suki. Genuinely

okay speed-rang update: i adjusted the wing angle and tested it in the courtyard. it came back. it came back FAST. too fast. i had to duck

so it works

it works in the sense that it returned, yes. it does not yet work in the sense of "controlled return trajectory"

those sound like the same thing to me

Sokka please be careful. You are not allowed to injure yourself before the cultural exchange, we need you functional

katara i am always functional. sometimes i am even graceful

i have never once seen you be graceful

Good morning, everyone 🍵 I apologize for the late greeting — it has been a busy morning at the Jasmine Dragon. We have a new blend this week, white dragon with dried lychee, and it has been very well received. If anyone is passing through Ba Sing Se, the tea and the conversation are both always waiting. I also wanted to share something. While clearing out the back storeroom this morning I found an object I have been holding onto for many years without quite knowing why. It is an air nomad wind chime — still intact, all five bells, painted in the original orange and yellow though the colors have faded somewhat. A traveling trader left it here in exchange for tea a long time ago. At the time I did not fully understand what I was being given. I think perhaps the spirits had their reasons for letting it end up here rather than somewhere else. I am not sure of its particular significance or whether it belongs somewhere specific. Does anyone know more about these? I would like to make sure it is properly cared for.

Uncle Iroh that is really something. I've never seen one in person. The craftsmanship looks so careful — even just from the photo you can tell someone made it with a lot of intention

Yes. I have always felt that about it. It has a particular sound too — very clear, even after all this time.

We should be doing this more systematically. Cataloguing and preserving things like this before more of it disappears. There must be others out there that no one has identified yet — in attics, in storerooms, in traders' collections

There's a woman at the Northern Air Temple working on exactly this. She's been cataloguing what's left up there for a few years now. I can find her name if you want to reach out

Yes please. And I want to go through the Fire Nation royal archives properly. There are things in there that belong somewhere else and I've been putting it off for too long

I'll find her name tonight. Zuko — that work you're doing matters. Don't put it off.

coming back to this thread after a very eventful hour with the speed-rang. uncle iroh that wind chime photo stopped me in my tracks. the colors are still there

It has been well protected 🙏 Some things survive longer than we expect them to. That is one of the things I have learned from tea — and from years of making choices I later had to reconsider.

not to end on something heavy but the speed-rang just hit sokka in the shin

IT STILL NEEDS CALIBRATING

how many times does it have to hit you before you admit it's just a boomerang

at least three more

Speed-rang testing update from this afternoon: it works. Sokka I owe you an apology. It came back fast and clean and I caught it. You looked so proud I didn't have the heart to tell you it clipped my shoulder on the way in

IT WHAT

I'm fine! It barely grazed me. The important thing is it returned on a controlled arc

suki i am so sorry. i am going back to the drawing board

told you it was just a boomerang

Katara — found the name of that woman at the Northern Air Temple. Her name is Pema. She's apparently been at it for almost a decade. I have already sent a message through the usual channels. Figured we should not wait.

Zuko. You didn't wait even one day

You said not to put it off.

I did say that. Well done.

A small update for anyone who was curious — I have wrapped the wind chime carefully and it is resting safely in the back of the tea house. It will stay here until we know more about where it should go. In the meantime, if anyone would like to hear it, you know where to find me 🍵

okay final speed-rang update for the day. i removed 4 degrees from the return curve, replaced the left wing joint, and added a small stabilizing fin that i am calling the "grace fin" in honor of suki's graceful catch this afternoon. tomorrow's test will determine if the diplomatic boomerang is ready for its international debut

it's a boomerang sokka

goodnight toph

Good morning. Zuko — heard back from Pema yet?

Not yet. She is apparently in the middle of a cataloguing trip to the Eastern Air Temple. Her assistant said she will respond when she is back, probably later this week.

The Eastern Air Temple. Of all the timing

I know.

GRACE FIN UPDATE: successful return. clean arc. did not hit anyone. the diplomatic boomerang is ready for deployment

i'll believe it when i see it

you literally cannot see it

i'll believe it when i sense it through the ground vibrations then

Sokka, I'm genuinely happy about the grace fin. Also just got off a call with the council — they're very interested in the co-invitation idea. Zuko can you put together a short proposal? Nothing formal, just the concept and who we'd want to involve

Yes. Give me a couple of days.

Perfect. And Katara — any word on the healing circle contact?

Still tracking it down. Yugoda is traveling but I left a message with her apprentice. Should have something by end of week

Random aside — while setting up for Sokka's grace fin test this morning I found a box of old Kyoshi Warrior gear buried in the back of the equipment room. Face paint, armor pieces, a couple of training weapons. Probably been there decades, maybe longer. The craftsmanship is really something. I don't want it just sitting in a box. Anyone know who to reach out to about preserving something like this properly?

How old are we talking? Can you photograph some of the pieces? Detail on the armor joint fittings specifically — that changed a lot across eras

Kyoshi Warrior armaments were made to last generations. The face paint pigment formulas alone could help date them — the composition changed significantly after the Hundred Year War began. Please do send photographs. I would be glad to look 🙏

Suki this is incredible. If the preservation contact for Iroh's wind chime comes through, this might be worth mentioning in the same breath — two pieces of the same story

I'll photograph everything this afternoon. And Iroh — the fact that your Fire Nation history knowledge is useful here is genuinely surreal but I'll take it

I will take that as the compliment it almost was 🍵

SUKI. you found warrior gear?? i'm just catching up on this thread and i cannot believe i missed the live version of this conversation

also hi everyone. speed-rang + cultural exchange + old kyoshi gear all before noon?? this channel is SO much better than every other server i'm in

Ty Lee 😭 Yes. Come by the training room this afternoon, I'll have everything laid out

ty lee what are your other servers

a crafting server, a circus arts appreciation server, and one for people who have been on a journey of personal growth

personal growth from what

it is a long list toph

okay i have to ask: is the diplomatic boomerang eligible for the circus arts server

...i will bring it to the mods

Sokka please do not introduce the speed-rang to an international circus community

Good morning all 🍵 The lychee blend is almost gone — it has been a popular week. I will be making another batch this afternoon if anyone would like some set aside

yes please. two portions

Of course, Toph. I always make extra for you 🙏