To Captainrex22345 because you have "Private Message Posting Denied", the answer to your question; people are pushing for a Harem, and it could become one because there is an interest on both sides, but when/if it does happen, it'll happen at a time I'm comfortable making it happen. Right now, Korra & Zhu, and just her & Zhu, are being lovey-dovey like soon-to-be-newlyweds. It's not quite as nauseating/sappy as when Aang and Katara did it, but they were barely into their teens, while Korra and Zhu are closer to legal adults in the new age.
Plus, Asami and Mako are still dating; they haven't broken it off quite yet, so it'll be interesting to write that eventual breakup in Spirits as opposed to the end of Air where he and Asami just broke it off off-screen. At least that's how I remember it.

To Many Faced Mage, I'm actually not entirely sure what a Water Tribe wedding ceremony would be like, so if ANYONE wants to chime in on that, I'd be happy to take notes!

To thenewprime721, I think some of my favorite work of Character Building was giving Zhu a more refined palate than the rest of Team Avatar, just because he's actually traveled to places. Sure, Republic City is a melting pot of culture, but there's a difference between "Americanized Italian", and eating legit Italian; which I have, by the by. You can't beat legit Tiramisu from a legit Italian bakery in legit ITALY.
As for Akamaru, some pets just like to laze about, though I have something in mind for him this-chapter~

To Gzilla54, Zhu's biggest "challenge" in Book 1 was keeping everything under wraps, especially with being right under the White Lotus' nose, as well as the Republicy City that once quivered in fear under the Bloodbending Kingpin of Crime: Yakone. Korra being taken, like out of Taken, necessitated him breaking cover because Korra was "more important", and fighting alongside Korra and the others was great for his confidence. Him being able to play things off smoothly, is because he's a student of History, and also a student of People. Remember, he's lived in the North, the Earth Kingdom, and the Fire Nation before his short stint in the South; he's far more well-rounded than people who never leave their hometowns, similar to Aang who had friends in Omashu and the Fire Nation both before going into the deep freeze.

But don't worry about him not being challenged, I do plan to throw a few curveballs his way. It's just that I need to give the villains time to plan too; Bloodbending isn't something you can make countermeasures for over a weekend of all-nighters. Not to mention that in Spirits, apart from the Political side of things, there's also the crazy spirit shenanigains he has to contend with, because Bending doesn't work on Spirits; you can't hurt a fish by splashing water on it, and using a water cutter to hurt a fish just isn't practical. It can be done, but the expenditure just isn't worth it.

As for Hadrian9867, the next update is riiiight... abouuuuut... nowwwwww...~

*RECONSTRUCTION*

"Damn… Is this the limit of this world's knowledge…?" Zhu grumbled from his office in the ASC, surrounded by medical texts new and old from the world over, countless notes sticking out from between their pages, a "conspiracy board" at his back equally bogged down with notes and yarn.

The conspiracy board wasn't his, by the way it was actually Varrick's; it was just one of the eccentric ways he gathered up his thoughts into what could even pass for a comprehensible form outside his head.

For months, Zhu and medical practitioners from the other nations had been opening up bodies of Republic City's death row inmates. With the ability to actually cut open bodies and find out what was true and what wasn't, many strides had been made, misconceptions broken, and while new treatments were being found and grants were being proposed to other institutions, what Zhu himself was aiming to achieve was woefully out of reach.

Ever since "The Exploding Head Episode", Zhu had largely abstained from using Firebending death row inmates, instead choosing to focus on the other two elements. And while those criminals had remained briefly lucid, they expired shortly thereafter, even despite the fact that they'd gotten some measure of their Bending back.

Which meant, ultimately, that he was still missing something. Something that couldn't be found even after autopsying human brains and slicing them up like deli meat.

Deli meat that had to be unobtrusively labeled in impossible-to-misunderstand Common as "brain samples"; a person only made that mistake the one time. On the upside, they were able to convert one of Varrick's failed prototypes into a sort of "stomach pump", cutting down the number of times someone's stomach would have to be opened up wholesale.

It was far from pleasant, but it was another medical method that could do what conventional Water Healing, could not.

"What I need to break through this wall… I might have to leave Republic City…" he hummed as he steepled his fingers contemplatively.

*RECONSTRUCTION*

"What do you mean it's gone?" Zhu demanded that evening at dinner.

"After the Cranefish Town Rebellion, my father and Toph attempted to return to the Spirit Library in the Si Wong Desert to mend bridges and hopefully reclaim elements of Air Nomad culture lost in the War… only to find out that it was no longer there," Tenzin explained. "It wasn't just that the library had sunken to the bottom of the Si Wong Desert. Even when they cleared out vast quantities of sand down to the bedrock with the Avatar State, the library was just… gone. It was only much later that my father learned the Spirit Library had been taken into the Spirit World, well away from the Human World that had abused it in the past."

"Damn. This is really bad…" Zhu said biting a thumb nail.

"Why? What do you need from an old library you can't get in Republic City?" Korra asked.

"I've already hit my limits on the medical knowledge available in this world. While I've had researchers and physicians bringing texts and their own theses from the world over, I've exhausted every avenue relating to Chakras and Bending that we know about, and we're almost out of death row inmates. If we don't break through this wall soon enough, eventually the Council will cut our funding, and if we can't get everyone's Bending back, the Council won't step down…" Zhu said furiously scratching at his hair.

"So you think an ancient text might hold some 'lost knowledge' that you need?" Jinora inquired.

"It certainly couldn't hurt to try. The issue is, the Spirits have only grown more reclusive in recent decades when faced with rampant consumerism, and without some kind of portal to enter the Spirit World wholesale, I'll need to Astral Project to make the journey. Only, I don't know how to do that."

"Haven't you been to the Spirit World before?" Ikki blinked.

"Those times were purely by accident or I ate weird plants. It's not something I can do on a whim."

"Astral Project?" Korra blinked. "OH! Like what happened at the North Pole when Aang faced the Face Stealer while Zuko ran off with his body."

"In as many words… I tried fasting a couple years back with some Air Acolytes, but all it did was make me really hungry afterwards."

"You know, I sometimes forget you've been all over, and then you say something like that which would've made the old me really jealous," Korra hummed aloud.

"Yeah, Tenzin, why wasn't Korra allowed to travel more?" Zhu asked poignantly.

"I'll tell you when it becomes pertinent," Tenzin sighed, obviously hiding something.

But then again, the White Lotus were meant to remain secretive. Only reason they broke their millenia-long cover was because Ba Sing Se had to be freed in order to restore some sense of equilibrium to the world, and the White Lotus were the only military power remaining in the world after the failed invasion on the Day of Black Sun.

"Still, I might have some texts on Astral Projection, though I'll have to separate the actual techniques from the strictly metaphorical," the Airbending Master hummed.

"Hm. I suppose while you're doing that, I can open up my Chakras again. Couldn't hurt."

"I'm sorry, 'again'?!" Korra gawped incredulously. "As in, all of them?"

"I spent a great many years meditating on my own thoughts, and it's not like only the Avatar can open their Chakras," Zhu replied. "How do you think Ty Lee still looks like she could be Pema's slightly older sister?"

"Aw, you flatterer~" Pema grinned.

"Though to be fair, I'm not sure if I actually did unlock the Eighth Chakra or I just deluded myself into thinking I had," Zhu amended as Korra shot him a sour look, which thankfully abated. "Speaking of which, how is your training going?"

"Ugh, I'm still stuck on the Light Chakra," Korra groaned as she flopped undignified on the table. "I mean, what makes 'Lies' and 'Illusion' so-different that I can't just open up the Light Chakra like I opened the Sound Chakra?"

"Air Nomads have been debating the point for countless generations," Tenzin hummed as he returned to his food.

"Hey! Where's that Comet Pizza I ordered!" Meelo suddenly cried out with a palm slam.

"Yeah! Where is it!" Ikki demanded.

"Still baking," Zhu hummed as he eyed his hourglass, Pema chastising the both of them in the background.

He did of course, at Pema's insistence, make a vegetarian-friendly variety of the Sozin's Comet that wouldn't pull a "scorched Earth Kingdom" on your tastebuds. Had plenty of spicy kick to it, and making recipes for "levels of intensity" just meant Varrick could move more product if the original Sozin's Comet wasn't up to snuff. Like he'd predicted, the Sozin's Commet pizza had become something of a "challenge" for Fire Nation nationals, and sales of milk at Pizza Palace had gone up 200 percent.

What he hadn't predicted was Varrick sending out feelers into the world to find even spicier peppers to give the Sozin's Comet even more kick, or just to source botanists who could breed spicier peppers if there were none to be found all on their own. Called it "selective breeding", which had become a hot ticket item across the world after the Hundred Year War ended and all four nations returned to active international trade. Ba Sing Se was real big on the practice so as to keep their citizens fed and also increase exporting, as even now the quote/unquote "Impenetrable City" was still largely isolationist, even if transit to and from had increased in the intervening decades.

But that, was a story for another day...

*RECONSTRUCTION*

The following morning, Jinora and Zhu sat across from one another in one of the meditation gazebos, a number of scrolls and books set out in a pile beside them.

"Now then, before we begin your formalized introduction to Astral Projection, I have something here that caught my eye and I thought you might find interesting," Jinora said as she singled out an old scroll from the pile.

"What's it about?"

"Supposedly, one of the Airbending Grandmasters devised a breathing technique that allowed one to restore their Qi with a single breath," Jinora said eagerly as she moved to sit beside him and rolling out the cloth, revealing a series of diagrams not all that different from the Waterbending Scroll Katara stole from those pirates more than fifty years ago.

"Well… Glad something like this didn't fall into the hands of the Fire Nation back during the war…" Zhu hummed as chewed on the 'restore their Qi with a single breath' part.

All Benders used Qi, but only Firebenders drew power from Qi and the breath. Earthbenders relied on brute force to get the most mileage out of their Bending, and Waterbenders relied on flexibility to get the most out of theirs, but during the Hundred Year War, there had actually been a regression in understanding of the artform for Firebenders. In fact, as a result of Fire Nation culture rebounding from their former warmongering tendencies perpetuated by Sozin's bloodline, the ability to bend Lightning had finally disseminated amongst the populous, instead of being the exclusive purview of the royal family. Proper breathing techniques had once again become important, which was good because Firebending was the most Qi-intensive of all the Bending arts, which created an Element from out of "nothing".

At least according to Aang and by extension Korra, the only people in modern memory that could use more than one Bending form.

"This would certainly help out if I ever went to another of the Air Temples," Zhu continued. "So, how did the Air Nomads train this?"

"Well, my forebearers used special gourds and the goal was to break them with their breath, but since it'll take a while to commission the right kind of gourd, we'll start with these party balloons, then try the gourds after a little meditation."

*RECONSTRUCTION*

The Earth Chakra, dealing with Survival and blocked by Fear, was located in the base of the spine.

What Zhu had feared, what he had already confront and grown beyond, were the bloodthirsty children of the North, their progenitors, and the equally bloodthirsty mobs whenever he got sloppy and revealed his Bloodbending. As he grew in strength and ability, what could make him fearful grew less and less. Not that he was entirely without fear, but he had grown to the point that he could act in spite of his fear. He had overcome great fear through willpower.

The Water Chakra, dealing with Pleasure and blocked by Guilt, was located in the sacrum.

Ultimately, what Zhu blamed himself for was the deaths of his parents, despite repeated assurances from those in the know that it wasn't his fault. Some would even go as far as to say that some of the fault lay with his own mother for insisting they all live in the North to care for a grandfather who utterly despised Zhu. He had forgiven himself for this perceived sin many times, but this Chakra was always the fastest to cloud over.

The Fire Chakra, dealing with Willpower and blocked by Shame, was located in the stomach.

Zhu's ultimate shame for a long time lay with his Bloodbending; he perceived it as the source of all his life's misery. One would think he were ashamed of his time with the Blind Bandits, but on account of never participating personally in their raids and aforementioned "banditry" being directed towards the tax money the Earth Queen (colloquially known as the "Earth Bitch") was extorting from the people, that in of itself was more like "second-hand shame". His willpower stemmed from the desire he'd held for a long time; finding a "cure" for his affliction, and then going on to live his best life. When Korra had been taken, that very same willpower had been what compelled him to break cover the way he had, even if it'd make the others turn on him later. Because in the end, Korra's life had been more important than his own secret; as well as his "stability" which was a consequence of that secrecy.

The Air Chakra, dealing with Love and blocked by Grief, was located in the heart.

Laying his grief out before him, he lamented the loss of his mother and father; and even his maternal grandfather even though the guy was a massive heel up until the very end. As for those that loved him, there had been many, whether it was camaraderie, familial, or flirtatious. In terms of romantic love, at the time he had thought that Opal was just "grateful" to him for saving her; he hadn't expected a romantic bond to form between them with how comparatively little time they'd spent together. And he'd never planned to fall in love with Korra, it had just happened; when she'd expressed her interests in Mako, he'd set those feelings aside, so he was surprised when Korra eventually did reciprocate, and that moment was one of the best moments he'd had in a long time.

The Sound Chakra, dealing with Truth and blocked by lies, was located in the Throat.

Ultimately, the biggest lie he ever told himself, and even believed up until his parents had died, was the idea that all people were born equal. People were not born equal. Some were born into rich families while others were born into abject poverty. Some people came from beautiful parents and grew up to be beautiful, while others grew to become repulsive regardless of who their parents were or what they looked like. Some were swift of foot while others were perpetually clumsy. Some were brilliant while others were dumb as a sack of rocks. Some had Bending, some didn't. Some had Bending and were born rich while some were born without Bending but became rich regardless. The ultimate truth he perceived from all these life's lessons were that all people were entitled to the same dignity, but not equality; to make all peoples "equal" meant making all people the same homogenous mass, and who would be happy in a world like that?

The Light Chakra, dealing with Insight and blocked by Illusion, was located in the Forehead.

The biggest illusion he ever deluded himself into believing was the illusion of "control". That he could just stop bad things from happening if he did the right thing at the right time at the right place. Real life wasn't like that. Life was messy, imprecise, and seemingly random despite the litany of attainable patterns. You couldn't control the world around you any more than you could control the rising of the sun in the sky. Sure, you could cause tornadoes, tidal waves, earthquakes, and wildfires with Bending, but that was more because of what nature allowed to happen; not the inherent control of a single person or persons. Because Humans couldn't truly change the world if they were already a part of an enclosed system. And in fact, the greatest loss of "control" he ever endured was getting his fate intertwined with the Avatar's; and forfeiting that control had been the best decision he'd ever made.

The Thought Chakra, dealing with Pure Cosmic Energy and blocked by Earthly Attachments, was located in the Crown of the head.

For the longest time, this had been the most-difficult Chakra to open; if he'd even opened it at all and it wasn't just another delusion that he'd opened it. Humans, demanded social intimacy with other Humans, even if they had no interest in the sexual, physical, or emotional form of such. Isolation was the absolute worst thing a person could suffer through, and being lonely wasn't the same thing as being alone. You could be surrounded by dozens of people and still not feel like you "belonged".

For most of his life he considered himself "detached" from the world; whenever he attempted to settle down, to endure his "curse" or forget about it entirely, fate would always conspire to uproot him. Cast him adrift in a world where things like equality and control were just flights of fancy. As far as his reflections took him, the only people who could truly unburden themselves from their Earthly Attachments were the Air Nomads, the most-devout of the various nations' Hermits and Nuns, and the Avatar themselves. The Avatar, representing all nations, diametrically belonged to none; at least not solely. And while plenty of Avatar had certainly gone on to have children, showing that the complete separation of one's attachment was purely a temporary measure, for Zhu, it always took him the longest to unlock the final Chakra.

Once again, assuming he hadn't deluded himself into thinking he'd unlocked it.

And yet this time, letting go of his Earthly Attachments, even temporarily, came easily.

Because for the first time in his life, he was truly "unburdened". True, he had responsibilities he had to attend to, but the greatest burden binding him to the world was what he viewed for the longest time as a curse, and maybe somewhere in his mind, he realized that he didn't purely belong to the material world, but the spiritual side of things as well. And maybe that was why the Northern Clergy was chomping at the bit to repatriate him?

It was thusly for these reasons that, with surprising if not alarming ease, he was able to gather everything that held him back into his palms, set his burdens aside, and let go…

*RECONSTRUCTION*

"Zhu, are you okay?" Jinora's voice inquired.

"Hm? Yes, I'm fine," Zhu nodded as he came out of his deep, meditative trance.

"Um…" she hummed, squirming from her own meditative pose. "How do you feel?"

"I feel… unburdened," Zhu hummed thoughtfully. "Though the sensation is temporary, clearing my head like this… I should've done so much sooner. I don't know if it'd have changed anything, but… I feel better than I have in a good while."

"I see. That's good to hear," the Airbender girl replied. "Honestly, you're the first person aside from my father that I've actually seen unlock all their Chakras."

"So I really did unlock the Thought Chakra?"

"That's what it felt like to me," Jinora nodded. "Gave me chills, really."

"Ah, you must be quite perceptive, then."

"Oh, maybe a little," she blushed. "Buuuuuut… maybe don't tell Korra?"

"My lips, are sealed~" Zhu smiled as he made a zipping motion over his lips, Jinora giggling girlishly.

*RECONSTRUCTION*

For the next several days, Zhu would pour over all of his research notes and recordings in the morning, train with esoteric breathing techniques and meditate in the afternoons, and in the evening pour over various medical texts before bed.

Very little truly came from his efforts in the mornings and evenings aside from refreshing everything in his mind and better-summarizing all he'd done, but his work in the afternoons had definitely returned the most dividends. "Total Concentration Breathing" as Jinora's forebearer had called it, involved expanding one's lungs to take in as much air as possible, accelerating one's blood flow and heartbeat while increasing their inner body temperature and overall power. As this was well before the advent of modern medicine, let alone the realization that blood carried Air through the body and into the muscles, that the ancient Air Nomads had some idea as to the existence of what would come to be known as the Diaphragm was quite impressive.

And honesty, the boost he felt throughout his body as he used Total Concentration Breathing, wasn't all that unlike the "high" he received after imbibing on Chi-Enhancing Tea. It wasn't quite up to the same level, but it was easily more manageable, and far more sustainable. Only problem was, while there was no "crash", that high he got also vanished as soon as he returned to normal breathing patterns. Allegedly, the Airbending Grandmaster who'd invented this technique could even use it as he slept, and that he lived for longer than Avatar Kyoshi had, lent some measure of credence to this anecdote.

And Jinora had been right about the old training methods being legit. It was one thing to pop a latex balloon; as long as you held the air in at the neck, you could keep filling it in increments until it burst. The gourds were a whole other beast; you had to break it with the force of your breath in one go or not at all. And by the time he'd managed to work a crack out of the thick clay, he was already too exhausted to try for more.

And so he fell into the rhythm of things, his work in the mornings and evenings almost fading into a blur. From time to time, Korra would join Jinora and Zhu in their own training, with Tenzin too busy and his other children's attention spans too short to really participate. The Avatar found it all quite interesting, and given Firebending was one of her primary forms it should've been a snap for her, but opening her Chakras and practicing her mainstream Airbending forms took precedence, so eventually she bowed out after failing to break through any of the smaller gourds.

Tenzin for his part had been returning to home irritated, though never directing his ire towards his loved ones. When Korra and Zhu asked what was bothering him, the Airbending Master simply said it wasn't their problems to worry about, and that they should simply resume their own endeavors.

As Korra had matured from the version of herself that wanted to stick her nose into anything and everything that crossed her path, she left well enough alone. Zhu, endeavoring to Astral Project into the Spirit World to finally break through that looming wall in the path of his research, let sleeping Polarbear Dogs lie as well.

Speaking of which, every once in a while, Naga and Akamaru would come on by, lounge in the sun, but would otherwise patrol the island, displaying an almost saint-like level of patience with their otherwise preoccupied owners.

Maybe after getting back from the Spirit World, he and Korra could take their friends out on a walk through the city. Things were still tense between Non-Benders and "Ex-Benders", but peace had steadily been restored, even if the criminal element was beginning to creep in so as to fill the void left behind by those that had been Equalized.

*RECONSTRUCTION*

Cue Kung Fu Panda 3 Soundtrack - Spirit Realm

After yet another attempt at breaking the gourds, Jinora had been quietly meditating beside Zhu for… she didn't know for how long, really.

Like the previous few days, as he meditated, there was a small hand-written journal resting in his lap. The explanation was, even if he did manage to get to Wan Shi Tong's Library, without some new piece of wisdom to barter with, the likelihood that the owl-like Spirit would actually let him leave with the wisdom he sought was quite low; especially with how he and the Gaang parted company, doubly-so after what Admiral Zhao had done. And what better way to entice a Spirit of Knowledge than an artform that none of the previous practitioners of Bloodbending had ever had the temerity to write down?

He hadn't Astral Projected any of the previous attempts, but it was better to have the journal and not need it, than not have it and really wish he did.

In terms of self-reflection as she meditated on her own Chakras, Jinora had well and truly come to grips with the fact that Zhu was lost to her; at least in the sense of being a potential suitor in an idealized future. The age gap, while minor in the old days, was almost a monumental wall to surpass in the modern age, and if Opal could well and truly let go, so could she.

And it wasn't like he was lost to her in his totality. She could still be a part of his life, maybe help look after the kids that he and Korra were sure to have. If anything, she was simply grateful that she and Opal both were on better terms with Korra than Pema and Lin were with one another after that whole debacle with Tenzin.

It was why despite the tumult of her love life, fledgling as it was with Zhu as her "first", meditating alongside him, sharing long-neglected aspects of Air Nomad culture with him was… nice. Some would almost say soothing. Like meditating alongside a good friend you'd known your whole life.

Of course, she wouldn't deny that she felt what might've been a brief sexual pleasure of basking in his presence as he opened his Chakras beside her. Just like Princess Yue of the Northern Water Tribe, Zhu too had been touched by the Spirits in a very tangible way, so it only made sense that the opening of his Chakras would cause some kind of reaction in those of a more spiritual inclination.

And it was as she was counting the number of pleasing shivers up her spine, that her eyes went wide at the eighth surge of Qi washing over her more-powerfully than all the others combined, the girl turning toward Zhu and becoming dumbstruck at what she saw.

Zhu was in the Siddhasana pose where she'd left him; one heel to the perineum, body atop the heel, spine erect, curled thumbs holding curled index fingers down with the other fingers extended.

What had changed since delving into her own meditations, was that an otherworldly glow the color of the setting sun had begun to spread from his chest toward his extremities, the roots of his crimson-colored hair shining like filaments.

*PSSSSSSSH*

*Haaaaaaaah*

The rhythm of his breathing had changed, and as he fell deeper into the rhythm of her forebearer's esoteric technique, the radiant glow within his body continued to spread through his veins, more of his crimson hair gaining that same filament-like glow, floating like he were in water.

*PSSSSSSSH*

*Haaaaaaaah*

Within moments the sunset-like glow had spread from his chest all the way to his fingertips. To his toes. To the ends of his hair. Just looking at him filled her up with warmth and awe; the closest she could compare the sensation to were the later recollections of The Gaang's every time her grandfather went into the Avatar State in their vicinity.

*PSSSSSSSH*

*Haaaaaaaah*

"Z-Zhu?" Jinora gulped as Zhu's diaphragm continued to contract powerfully inside his thorax, the sequence repeating as visibly hot air left his lips and he fell even deeper into the rhythm of her forebearers.

This was actually easier at sea level because there was more air to go around. Up at the higher-elevated Air Temples, there was less, and breathing techniques as well as heightened lung capacity and stamina were the default requirement. Jinora and Zhu had actually theorized that the regimen for Total Concentration Breathing was meant to help outsiders acclimate to the altitudes of the more isolated air temples, and that the ability to restore one's Qi was a consequence instead of the explicit goal.

And then there was the heady sensation she felt. Like she were standing at the base of a landspout as Pure Cosmic Energy began to pour into if not through Zhu as he opened himself up to the universe. Korra wasn't the only "bridge" between the Material and Spirit worlds, she realized; Zhu was as well, and as the lattice of glowing lines continued to pulse in time with his breathing, and his heart, Jinora truly realized what that meant.

Suddenly the glow intensified and she was forced to turn away, shielding her eyes as a blast of hot air threatened to throw her out of the gazebo altogether.

She almost had been, cast down the steps like Sokka and Katara had almost been at the Southern Air Temple so long ago, but Akamaru came out of nowhere, completely immune to the eye-burning radiance Zhu was releasing and braced himself against her, holding her in place with his growing bulk.

After several long moments the windstorm finally abated, and when she turned to the spot her former crush had occupied, all that remained were a pile of empty clothes and a whirlpool of crimson flower petals that hadn't been there before, Akamaru snuffling worriedly about as all traces of the Bloodbender completely vanished from the world.

"Z... Zhu...?" Jinora gasped as the warmth that had washed over her vanished.

*AN*

Looks like someone has become "more powerful than you can possibly imagine".

No, but in all seriousness, though, I imagine this is what happened to Uncle Iroh when he went into the Spirit World for the final time. Just… took his body with him and left his clothes behind. Like Yoda.

The Kung Fu Panda elements were a last-minute addition to the Final Draft, but I think the whole "Spirit Realm" thing has a great amount of overlap with Avatar: The Last Airbender, because the whole point of attaining true mindfulness, being able to hop back and forth between the Material & Spirit Realms at will, is not unlike the path to enlightenment taken to achieve Nirvana, which the Avatar State is quite explicitly, unashamedly, meant to emulate.

That is some heavy, heavy stuff for a cartoon bear voiced by Jack Black.

Anywho, I'm going to start adding Discord Invite Codes to the ends of my chapters to maybe engage more with the readerbase, so… here's this. Be sure to remove the Hyphens and Spaces since the DocX format for this site doesn't like Hyperlinks.

h-t-t-p-s : / / discord . gg / x8BQpx8E

It was happy hearing from y'all again, and I'll see you all next time on Giant-Slayer: New World.