This was inspired by perdexis's prompt, where it was requested that Amon is a justice blogger who anonhates on Korra. Go read the prompt! :]
Disclaimer: I don't own tlok or its characters.
xxx
The wee hours of the morning on tmbler, when the sleep-deprived sallied forth and the early-risers halfway across the world joined in. Korra loved it. About a quarter til two in the morning, her tmbler had a huge influx of messages, reblogs, likes, asks, and so much more. She thrived for the hour. The night had been particularly slow, though Korra had found quite a few gifs from her favorite cartoon show - The Legend of Friendship Magic - to reblog. She didn't care if it was a show for little kids; the general messages of tolerance and balance were great, not to mention there was some hidden humor for the older fans.
Suddenly, the envelope logo blinked, a little speech-bubble with the number '1' flickered across it. Clicking it, Korra quickly skimmed the ask. Paused. Skimmed it again, eyebrows furrowing.
On her screen, a greyfaced icon spat out, "Those gifs from that deplorable cartoon are disgusting. They just emphasize how benders abuse their powers in this world and how media portrays it as perfectly natural to demean non-benders. You are a failure of an Avatar."
The sleep sifted out of Korra as she scooted upright in her chair. A sudden burst of energy coursed through her as she angrily tapped out a vicious reply to the hateful anon. Let that show him! She looked over her reply, with sleepy eyes, nodded her head as she set her jaw and hit "publish".
Within seconds, the reply to her ask had almost a hundred likes and reblogs. Justification swelled in Korra's chest as she sat back and watched the number grow. Despite wanting to see the anon's silly ragefest over her brilliant retort, exhaustion returned tenfold. Snapping her laptop shut, Korra clambered off to bed.
xxx
Somewhere, in a middle-class neighborhood in a lower-class apartment complex, two men were also still up. They had spent the night editing together educational videos for the Equality movement and writing tactful, intelligent responses to the multitude of ignorant benders on the web.
"Oi, cap, she replied to you already!" Bags hung under Lieu's blue eyes as he spun the deskchair around to face away from the computer. On the screen, tmbler idly glowed.
Noatak poked his head out of the kitchenette of his apartment, caught in mid-swig of a beer. He finished his drink and threw a quirked eyebrow look at Lieu, "Well, going to read it?"
"You gotta see it for yourself, sir." Lieu grinned, somewhat cruelly, as he hopped off the chair. Bowing low, he motioned for Noatak to sit.
The brunette narrowed his eyes, but took a seat, not sure what would amuse Lieu so much. Stumbling upon Avatar Korra's tmbler had been accidental, though it wasn't as if it was hidden. She was a fairly recognized character, worshiped both "irl" and online. Noatak had just never bothered with following her drivel. She was still a teenager - barely - and unlikely to understand the complexities of media or politics. It was a wonder the paparazzi hadn't scrounged up naked photos of her, given the era of technology, but he supposed her mentors kept a tight rein on her. Perhaps they even hovered over her shoulder, chiding her on what she was about to post before giving her advice on proper wording.
As his eyes slid over her words, stumbling through fierce typos and terrible grammar, Noatak realized that wasn't the case. Oh no. She was working completely solo.
"look mr greyface cowerd its a cartoon ment for enjoyement i liek it for is hoomer wich u no nothing about taek ur bending envy somewear else!"
"Well?" Lieu sniggered.
Noatak didn't reply, his eyes drifting over the words repeatedly. A dull throb pulsed at the bridge of his nose. Clenching his eyes shut and shaking his head, he pursed his lips, "If I start frothing at the lips, you may wish to inform the hospital it's brain poisoning."
xxx
Korra couldn't sleep. She was too eager to see if the greyfaced hater had replied. Within half an hour of "going to bed," she returned to tmbler. Narrowing her eyes against the glare of the screen, Korra cursed herself for even attempting sleep. Now her eyes burned as she attempted to read the website. Her heart gave a twist of excitement seeing that beautiful '1' flashing outside the envelope icon.
She clicked it, read it, and deflated.
It was from LightningKnight, a friend she knew in real life and a teammate on her probending team. Caught between disappointment - since it wasn't the hatemail she was anticipating - and excitement - he was her crush, after all! - Korra forced her eyes to adjust to the screen.
"Korra, just ignore the anonhater. If he had any balls, he wouldn't've messaged you on anon. The guy is a total skeeze, pretending to be an internet hotshot."
She quickly shot off a reply, thanking Mako for his nice words and agreeing that she should have just ignored the anonymous antagonist. Just as she finished, another message popped up! Could this be the greyface replying to her? Korra quickly clicked the logo, as if waiting too long would make the message disappear.
MustachesMakeEverythingLegit - or Bolin as he was known around town - had added his own comment to the drama, "dude, why do people blame everything on you? its a cartoon! you can't control EVERYTHING. i think you're an amazing avatar Korra!"
A light smile quirked at Korra's lips. Well, the support was better than nothing. Again, she shot off a thank you to her friend and prepared to return to bed. Her eyelids were beginning to weight down, threatening to make the Avatar faceplant into her laptop.
Before she snapped the laptop shut, another message popped up. Sighing, Korra clicked it. She was prepared for Asami or another reply from one of the brothers. Instead, her heart leapt into her throat with surprise. Her anon-hater returned her rebuke!
A quick click and she was reading the rebuttal, "Cartoons are another form of media that molds far more impressionable minds, such as yours. When children - and even adults - are subjected to Inequalist Culture, they tend to carry that discrimination all their life and know no better. Promoting such a show keeps the world imbalanced, which means you've failed your position and enabled the problem. Congratulations
PS: Check out 'Loony Savages' on Yuetube."
Korra quirked an eyebrow, but humored the anon's request. Going to Yuetube, she typed in Loony Savages in the search box, her curiosity more piqued as she noticed 'banned cartoon' being added to the search request. She found what appeared to be a decent version, adjusted her volume, and waited for it to buffer to the beginning.
xxx
Noatak groaned as he woke to the insistent clatter of his cellphone vibrating against the bedside table. There should have been a law against texting someone an hour after they finally went to bed. Then again, Noatak really should've known better than to attempt a semi-all-nighter. At his age, really. But the Internet was an amazing resource when rallying for a cause, spreading a message, or beginning a movement. Though the methods were rarely as radical as he wished, the Equalists had made some progress.
Flopping an arm out to snatch his cellphone, the man missed, knocked the phone off the table, and hissed, "Shit."
Hauling himself to the side of the bed, he fumbled in the dark for the glowing phone. As it rattled against the floor, it sounded angry and excited. Finally, his fingertips touched the plastic. Clenching it in his hand, Noatak brought it up and narrowed his eyes against the bright screen. A text from Lieu. He should've known. The man had a night-job where very little happened. He was a good asset in keeping an eye on any particular late-night news that involved the Equality movement or Inequalist culture.
Damn if the man wasn't gung-ho about the cause at horrible hours. Noatak just hoped the text was somewhat important. He wasn't sure if he could handle another whinefest about how a meme just insulted the Equalists.
"She replied. :)"
It took Noatak's sleep-deprived brain to put two and two together. Lieu was talking about the Avatar. Somewhat disturbed by his right-hand man's obsessive tendencies, Noatak still rolled out of bed. His bare feet padded across his threadbare carpet, into his living room where his desktop squatted on a desk from United Salvation.
Taking a seat, Noatak leaned back in his chair and tapped a random key. His computer whirred and groaned to life, albeit slowly. The man wondered if he could get another hour's sleep while his computer warmed up. It was tempting. Yawning, he leaned his head back against the top of his chair and spun back and forth, waiting for the telltale whirs.
Finally, the screen flashed to life. Noatak sat up straight, leaned over his keyboard, and made his way through the annals of the Internet until he got to Korra's tumblr. It seemed an explosion had erupted from his last ask.
"congradulations anon ur gonna make me turn off anon asks! comparin that vid to the legend of friendship magic is just wrong. lofm is funni but 'loony savages' is downrite disgisting & racist. taek ur trollin and gtfo my tmbler u creep"
The reblogs were momentous, but there were mixed replies to Korra's reaction. Some were smug Equalists, informing her that there was no difference; many others supported her decision, telling her to not bother with the grey-faced troll.
Noatak was unimpressed. Though, he didn't expect much more from the Avatar. She had been raised, all her life, as the most powerful being on the planet. Sheltered, adored and idolized, never in want of a thing. The world had been handed to her on a silver platter, all thanks to her status as a multi-bender.
Meanwhile, non-benders feared for their lives as they walked the streets in areas inhabited by bending gangs.
A sickened swirl curled through Noatak's stomach at the thought. He clicked her ask link - egotistically labeled 'find out the secrets of the universe! maybe ;)' - and began an ask under his lead tumblr account. Noatak hadn't wanted to reveal himself. He knew she would scream, in all caps, about him being biased since he belonged to a fairly anti-bender movement. Noatak didn't care. Perhaps it was thanks to sleep and strained patience, perhaps he hoped - deep down - the Avatar would eventually understand. After all, if the harbinger of balance couldn't see the evils he pointed out, what hope did the world have?