Thank you! I must confess, I can't sit down and read fics like this myself. When I'm writing, examining the craft and considering exactly which word to put next insulates me a bit from the sheer creep. At first I was going to have either Toph or Iroh squaring off against him, and it would have been much less scary, because Toph would have kicked him around the cave and it would have been badass, or Iroh would have been quiet, and calm, and it still would have been badass. But when I started thinking about why they'd be in Koh's lair (other than being one of the people who ends up there by accident) I suddenly had the idea of someone paying June to rescue their loved one, and I just couldn't see her winning. I worked very hard to keep June's essential June-ness there, even when she didn't have Nyla or her whip. I'm glad she came off as her awesome self anyway.

I also wanted it very clear throughout that the reason June loses in the end is because of the deeply unfair rules she's working with. Koh's just like that.

I dubbed him "emo Koh" in my head for a while as I was writing this as a joke. I wanted to give him some emotional depth while keeping the callous, chilling aspects of his personality. His emotions are recognizable, but his motivations are completely inhuman. He's a force of nature, a bit like anthrax.

I'm really really glad you like it, but I'm not sure I believe you. Koh/Aang? Way to give me nightmares. Is that supposed to be some sort of revenge?

PS, I love your icon. Kenneth Branagh! Kevin Kline!