Hongmei

Hongmei was a studio executive of Varrimovers International. Since Varrick chose to focus on his other projects, Hongmei was left largely in charge of the mover company.^[1]

History

Hongmei started his own mover company with money loaned to him by the Creeping Crystal Triad. He paid it off with the success of his debut mover, Love of a Lion Turtle, but the triad's lieutenant, Amrita, kept her eye on Hongmei as a possible source for future "business endeavors".

Hongmei's own studio was later bought up and integrated into Varrimovers International. After Iknik Blackstone Varrick decided to focus on projects outside the mover industry after he resumed control of Varrick Global Industries, Hongmei was left in charge of the mover company. VI experienced trouble with Varrick leaving, especially due to competition from up-and-coming rival studios. VI had a string of failed attempts at producing a new blockbuster, such as It Happened One Harmonic Convergence, Bender: Never Say Bend, and Varrick: The Man, The Myth, The Legend, resulting in serious financial issues.^[2]

Hongmei hoped to save VI with a last ditch effort to build on the success of the Nuktuk franchise. He threw the entire studio's budget behind a new big and flashy mover, Sengo: Lady of the Winds,^[2] even though the studio would go bankrupt if the project failed.^[3] Due to the studio's budgetary constraints, he had to compromise by spending most of what they had on special effects and a big premiere at the Pro-bending Arena. However, this meant Hongmei had to hire a mediocre director, Wing Len, believing he could get the job done decently and cheaply.^[4]

As Amrita knew that the studio was in a bad position and was pressured by Jargala Omo to start making profits or move on from her mover obsession, the triad's lieutenant met up with Hongmei. Amrita demanded that he accept Creeping Crystal yuan in exchange for a percentage of the mover's success, and that he would also be giving Amrita a new position at executive producer at Varrimovers International. However, Hongmei refused, which caused Amrita to bring in her underlings to start terrorizing the set, hoping that Hongmei would break if enough pressure was put on him to make him worry he would miss the premiere. Hongmei knew exactly what was going on as the Creeping Crystals sabotaged props and filming with earthbending, though everyone else on set believed they were just experiencing bad luck. Hongmei refused to give in, meaning that Amrita escalated her sabotage, threatening cast and crew members by creating tremors strong enough to knock set pieces over onto people, or placing sharpened crystal around that people could step onto. The scale of damage to the warehouse itself also increased. Still, Hongmei persisted in refusing Amrita's intimidation tactics. While he was very nervous, the production was so close to wrapping, and he thought they could still finish and save the studio without giving in.^[5]

As others began to expect something was going on, Bolin decided to do a favor for VI. He met up with his contacts, Erdene, Qacha, Thi, Meeka, and Dae, asking them if they could act as security for the production.^[6] The new security arrived on set just as a tremor caused a disaster during filming that risked actors Xue and Quin Yu being hurt. When the situation resolved itself, Hongmei took the newcomers to his office, recognizing them as the security team that Varrick said would be coming.^[7]

Personality

Hongmei was a principled person, who did not want to give in to the triads. While he did accept Creeping crystal money in the past to build his initial mover studio, he deeply valued his own independence, and never wanted to go back to being under their thumb.^[1]

Abilities

Hongmei was able to make a and profitable mover that secured his initial company's success. If forced to fight, he was able to protect an ally within reach.^[2][1]

Appearances

Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game

• Movers & Shakers

References