Five Facts About Lin Beifong
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Fact #1: She never wanted to get married
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The idea of having to be tied down with a husband was absolutely absurd. A boyfriend was okay; that meant no commitment. But a husband? They expected her to stay home and cook for them, clean the house, and be a pretty little doll that they could use whenever they wanted to. She didn't want that. She had goals for herself, a lofe she wanted to live. She refused to let herself be tied down to some fantasy of a perfect housewife.
So, when she saw the couples walk down the street hand-in-hand, she'd snort and look away. The looks of love in their eyes, the way they would hold tight each other, it didn't trick her.
She knew from experience that no one loves without wanting more in return.
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Fact #2: She never wanted kids
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They were loud, messy, and practically uncontrollable. She remembered her mother trying to corral her sister and herself and almost going crazy in the process. She remembered going to stay with Aunt Katara some days on Air Temple Island and watch as Bumi and Kya managed to get on every single nerve their mother had while Tenzin just sat back and watched, doing nothing to contribute to the mess but also doing nothing to stop it. Children were nothing but a headache and crushed dreams of freedom.
So when the healer told her she was barren, she was glad that kids repulsed her so.
That's exactly what she tells herself when she sees the kid run up to it's parents after getting lost in the market and she watches the tearful reunion. The kid went and ignored what his mom said to go play somewhere he shouldn't have and then she (the police) had to get involved in finding him. She shook her head and brought over the report for them to sign, happy she never had to deal with kids of her own. The absolute love that shone in the mother's eyes didn't touch her heart at all.
She didn't bother thinking about it; it was a kind of love that was impossible for her to have, anyway.
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Fact #3 She never wanted to forgive her family
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Suyin was nothing but trouble and Chief did nothing to stop her. The woman was a police officer, the chief at that, and didn't do anything to control her very own daughter! The girl skipped school, ran around with criminals, and though she could have had a bright future, threw it all away without a care and without remorse! And what did her mother do? Let her go. Let her do it. Like trying to stop her was no good. It's like she just gave up on her own kid!
But when she caught Su acting in an actual crime, she was shocked. Surely her sister wasn't that far gone? She was angry. Angry at the triads for pulling her baby sister in, angry as Su for falling into the trap, angry at her mom because she didn't stop it. Her mother sending Su away was bittersweet; it meant she didn't have to deal with her sister on the loose—getting into trouble. But it also meant the teenager was getting out of her punishment.
When she let off one of her officers early to go out to a family dinner, it didn't touch her when the metalbender's brother surprised him by picking him up. She didn't cheer with the rest of her force when they found out his brother had been away for about a year in the United Forces; she didn't even crack a smile.
She knew that siblings could go from loving you to hating you in just a moment.
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Fact #4: She never regretted the decisions she made
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She never wanting to get married. Was she upset Tenzin broke up with her? Oma and Shu, yes! Was she upset that she just missed being married to him? Absolutely not. She wasn't happy their relationship ended, but she sure didn't regret not wanting to marry.
She never wanted kids. When she saw in the news about the last airbender's wife giving birth to a healthy girl, she threw the paper away. Pema was going to have to give up whatever goals she had for herself now to care for that little monster, not her. She was glad she didn't regret not wanting to have kids.
She never wanted to forgive her family. Her sister and mother wrote, asking for her to come meet with them, but she wasn't about to up and leave the responsibilities she had in Republic City to go meet with two women that hardly cared for their own responsibilities, ever. The letters that piled up on her desk from her sister, telling her about the city she made and the family she was building, never got to her. When she looked at the photographs of her nephews and neice, she never regretted not forgiving her family.
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Fact #5: These are the only lies she ever tells herself