Avatar:Yangchen's relationships
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| More about Yangchen |
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| Yangchen's main article |
| History |
| Early life Disrupting the "Unanimity project" (year 17) |
| Relationships |
| Yangchen's relationships Yangchen's network |
This page is comprised of Yangchen's relationships with other characters in the world of Avatar.
Relatives
Jetsun
Since Yangchen was a child, she saw Jetsun as her older sister, even though they were not closely related by blood but rather in the manner of fourth or fifth cousins. The young Avatar worshipped Jetsun and viewed her as an example to follow. The two used to play airball while growing up in the Western Air Temple, although Jetsun was more experienced in the sport, and showed Yangchen no mercy by keeping her scoreless.[1] Jetsun grew fond of the Avatar, listening to her cry with utmost patience[1] and taking care of her when she experienced one of her painful crises through which she relived the memories of past Avatars. With the help of her sisters, Jetsun found the explanation to these episodes and a temporary solution to them, realizing that reading out texts written by past Avatar's companions would ease the girl's pain, and so she began to read to her whenever a new incident occurred. Jetsun believed that Yangchen was a smart kid, and trusted she would figure out that she was the Avatar before she was sixteen if she kept having these visions.[2] She went as far as defending the girl in front of her elders, expressing her opinion on how to handle her future in a sharper manner than she usually was with them.[1]
When Yangchen turned eleven, Jetsun guided Yangchen through her first attempt at meditating into the Spirit World. She reassured Yangchen that she would not be less or more more of an Avatar, an Air Nomad, or a person if she happened to lack the ability of crossing between realms. When she managed to travel into the Spirit World on her first try, Jetsun encouraged Yangchen to believe that her achievement was due to her own ability rather than a memory of a past life, saying that "humility isn't more important than the truth".[1]
When a group of shishi they encountered started turning dark over a previous Avatar's fear, Jetsun assured Yangchen she could wake up, and that she would not do so before the Avatar. Jetsun threw Yangchen in the air, shouting at her to wake up. Yangchen managed to return, but Jetsun did not.[3] Yangchen was by her side when Jetsun's body died after being separated from her spirit for too long, Jetsun being honored as a temple elder and a companion of the Avatar who had laid down her life to protect the bridge between humans and spirits.
Jetsun's death continued to weight greatly on Yangchen in the following years, who continued blaming herself for it. While treating with dark phoenix-eel spirits, they gave her a vision of Jetsun's soul imprisoned in a Fog of Lost Souls, stirring up her concerns.[4] Yangchen took trips to the Spirit World through the Spirit Oasis attempting to find Jetsun's soul to no avail, at one point having to be saved by Kavik.[5]
When Yangchen was finally able to find her in the fog, Jetsun put Yangchen at ease, absolving her of any guilt for what happened, and giving her peace of mind that she was not suffering. Jetsun demonstrated her own immunity to the harmful effects of the fog, as well as her role in alleviating it in other prisoners. Yangchen admitted to feeling like a failure as Avatar, citing the losses of Jetsun and Nujian and a world that did not learn from its mistakes. Jetsun in turn confessed to having hated Yangchen on account of having to managed her spiritual troubles, but it did not outweigh how much Jetsun loved her. Jetsun sent her on her way, believing both of them to be where they needed to be.[6]
Allies
Akuudan and Tayagum
Part of a small number of the Avatar's trusted confidants, Akuudan and Tayagum operated a safe house in the shang city of Jonduri, furthering Yangchen's interests by providing her intelligence on the city's officials and corruption. As agents of Chieftain Oyaluk, the couple became embroiled in the Platinum Affair, being captured by Earth King Feishan while personally overseeing the transfer of monetary wealth to a rival claimant. Disowned by the Water Tribe, and left to rot in prison, it was only by Yangchen's intervention that Akuudan and Tayagum were freed from their confinement. As their new benefactor, Akuudan and Tayagum revered Yangchen for her persistence and charity, speaking of said qualities in a reverent tone, and reacting in anger when people disparaged her. While fiercely loyal to her, Akuudan and Tayagum could at times take issue with what they perceived as mistakes on Yangchen's part, namely in how she built her plans around trusting unproven and dubious individuals like Kavik and her penchant for throwing herself into danger.[7][8] It was because of their outlook that Kavik theorized Yangchen chose to use him as an intermediary for infiltrating Zongdu Chaisee's organization, knowing that, compared to how the Avatar focused on how her actions would benefit the greater whole, Akuudan and Tayagum prioritized the risks to Yangchen's safety.[7] Despite these differing viewpoints, the two Water Tribesmen followed Yangchen's lead in her attempts to stop the Unanimity project, working alongside her companions to incapacitate and capture Zongdu Henshe and his three combustionbenders.[9][10]
Boma
As the Avatar's guardian, Boma cared for Yangchen after she left the Western Air Temple to commence her Avatar training. Even after Yangchen had mastered the four elements, Boma continued to stay at Yangchen's side, supporting her efforts as a fledgling fully-realized Avatar.[11] In this capacity, and compared to the rest of her retinue of diplomats and ministers, Boma and Yangchen's relationship was one of mutual trust and reverence, with neither brooking disrespect of their counterpart. During Yangchen's initial meeting with the shangs of Bin-Er, Boma scorned the merchants for their blatant flippancy toward the Avatar, while Yangchen's normally composed demeanor gave way to rage after an onlooker hit her guardian with an errant clay pot.[12][13]
Despite supporting Yangchen in her endeavors, Boma maintained a healthy level of concern for the Avatar's safety and reputation, frequently attempting to convince her to take less dangerous or compromising courses of action, though Yangchen was always able to assuage his concerns.[11][14] In one instance, after finding Yangchen disheveled and covered in soot following a reconnaissance mission, Boma's frantic worry for his charge was mollified after she requested to be alone, with the old man recognizing through their time together when she needed space.[15]
Jujinta
Unexpectedly encountering the troubled archer after he blew a bison whistle, Yangchen formed a bond of mutual support with Jujinta due to their mutual acquaintance Kavik's machinations. As a person who ritually asked the spirits to forgive him for what he deemed as unforgivable crimes,[16][17] having the Avatar arrive before him during his prayers affected Jujinta deeply, with the normally embittered youth breaking down in tears as Yangchen comforted him. While reluctantly accepting his subsequent pledge of undying loyalty, Yangchen nevertheless felt guilty about taking advantage of Jujinta's talents, particularly upon recognizing that the youth was going to break a significant taboo by using a bow and arrow in service to her.
Despite her reservations, Yangchen worked together effectively with Jujinta during their battle against Zongdu Henshe's combustionbenders. During their attempts to take down Yingsu, the final combustionbender left standing, Jujinta reassured Yangchen after she began stressing over Kavik being pinned down by the enemy's bending, while in turn, Yangchen broke cover to expose herself to the combustionbender's line of fire, having faith that Jujinta would be able to make his shot and incapacitate Yingsu.[10]
Later, when conversing with Kavik about his "recruiting" of Jujinta, Yangchen realized that, through his actions, the marksman had become her companion, regardless of her feelings on the matter.[18]
Kavik
Kavik met Yangchen when he broke into the Avatar's chambers at the Blue Manse.[19] When he was captured[20] and beaten by her guards, Yangchen reprimanded and fired them all. She learned of the waterbender's job as an errand runner and decided to heal the frostbite on his hands before she gave him some money so he would become "less keen a burglar" and let him go. Surprised by the Avatar's beauty and grace, Kavik was both thankful and confused by her forgiveness.[21]
Yangchen later decided to pay an unexpected visit to Kavik at his home with his parents,[22] knowing her presence would be unwelcome by the boy. The conversation over dinner became a strategy game between the two adolescents, as the airbender attempted to get more information from Kavik's parents about his life while he subtly expressed his annoyance at Yangchen's business.[22] During a private chat between the two, in which the Avatar tried to convince Kavik to work as an errand runner for her, the waterbender learned of the girl's shrewdness while she recognized his physic talents and skill to lie. When Kavik refused to do it, Yangchen went to announce to his parents that their son would become one of her official companions, leaving him no option but to accept after witnessing Tapeesa and Ujurak's joy. Kavik told Yangchen that he hated her.[23]
Past lives
For as long as she could remember, Yangchen was plagued by the voices of Avatars before her. Before she was eight, Yangchen began to periodically fall into extremely painful phases of fever and almost epileptic fits, initially rambling incoherently. Later, her screaming became recognizable as names and even sentences, and Abbess Dagmola realized that the young Avatar was reenacting scenes from her past lives, as she was heard talking to companions of past Avatars, even reliving their personal losses and betrayals, which made Yangchen suffer as well.[2] Her relationship with the previous Avatars essentially resembled a form of dissociative identity disorder or schizophrenia.[13][14]
As a result of this special kind of connection to her past lives and her inability to talk to them,[24] Yangchen usually did not perceive past Avatars as separate people or even advisors. Instead, they appeared as fragments of her own self,[13][14][25] and the phoenix-eel spirits of Ma'inka Island also argued that Yangchen was essentially an "hollow shell" for a multitude of Avatars.[4] In general, Yangchen considered her connections to the past a great pressure and constant threat to her own personality,[14][25] though she could also easily access the abilities and memories of her past incarnations.[26][27] On few occasions, Yangchen could sense her past lives in a more distinct way, such as feeling that various past Avatars questioned her actions of pressuring Chaisee.[27]
Pik and Pak
During her seminal years as an Avatar, two of Yangchen's constant animal companions were Pik and Pak, winged lemurs that normally stayed on her person whenever possible. Though cognizant of how much the lemurs hated to be left alone,[28] due to their adorable reputation preceding them, Yangchen reluctantly left Pik and Pak behind on her diplomatic missions to the shang cities, feeling the lemurs hindered her ability to be taken seriously by other political actors.[12] Nevertheless, Yangchen was fiercely protective of Pik and Pak, to the point of enacting retribution on Kavik after he callously threw Pik out of a window,[28] dumping him in the middle of the ocean on a makeshift raft after Pak refused to forgive the waterbender for his transgressions.[29]
References
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