Avatar TLA: Phoenix Risen (Alternate Future, EX) SEEKING Jet

[Karma]

Hello, interested party! Violence and I have crafted an AU Avatar world, and we’re looking for a few players to fill out the roster. We aren’t looking for one player per character – instead, we are seeking a few that will each play at least two roles. As neither of us are rapid-fire posters, we want to keep the game small so as to keep it simple.

Important traits for prospective players: Competence in English, solid grounding in the world of ATLA, and patience.

This will be a game of intrigue, sex, combat, and fun. It'll be darker than Avatar, probably by a lot. We aren't limited by daytime cartoon rules here. While Violence and I have already discussed where the plot would go if we played it just the two of us, we're interested in playing a full game with input and direction from other players.  If you have questions or ideas, please share!

We will likely be doing medium-to-long posts - a few paragraphs at least, and probably much longer from time to time, given the situation. We aren't planning for it to be a "winging it" type of game, either; as a group, as a team even, we will discuss plot developments and where we'd collectively like the story to go. The characters as presented are more or less set in how they act and fit into the story - beyond what's listed, it's open to interpretation. Characters don't have to be a purely solo endeavor either, as they're just as open to discussion as the plot. In short, we want to crowd-source a narrative and all of its components. For the sake of post consistency, please proofread your posts.

Just a note, any characters not mentioned here are generally unchanged and doing what you’d expect them to do, ex. Mei is still in Azula’s inner circle, snarky and gloomy. Feel free to say so if you’d like to play one of these.



Aang didn’t wake up.

Ozai’s Fire Nation, powered by Sozin’s Comet, swept through the land, conquering the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes without much significant resistance. Even Ba Sing Se fell, but in truth it had already fallen before the attack. Azula had seen to it that the city was in no position to resist. The Phoenix King took his throne in Ba Sing Se, but his reign would not last long. Soon after the “war” ended, he fell ill and died after several weeks. With his original heir, Zuko, still in exile, Phoenix Queen Azula assumed rule of the entire known world.

All was not peace and quiet outside the walls of Ba Sing Se, however. Prince Zuko, styled as the rightful heir of Ozai and king of the Fire Nation, not of the world, had together with his uncle Iroh began to forge a resistance very soon after the Phoenix Kingdom was established. Rebels from all walks of life gathered around him in the time since the war, as no one liked Ozai, and even fewer liked Azula. The Water Tribe, Earth Nation, and even the Fire Nation are well represented in the force he has assembled. Zuko’s charismatic leadership is proving a very serious thorn in Azula’s side.

It is now the fourth year of Azula. The Queen has, with the considerable aid of Ba Sing Se’s establishment, created a personality cult around herself. Citizens either love her or say they love her. Those who say otherwise are either publicly punished or sent to Lake Laogai. The Dai Li, once confined to the city, now has satellite agencies in most of the cities of the Phoenix Kingdom, whether the residents are aware of it or not. Those loyal to Azula receive significant boons, resulting in a twisted meritocracy; the Queen is equally open with her gifts and punishments, which gives those in her service a constant sense of risk vs. reward.

Rumors have been circulating about the Avatar’s return ever since Sozin’s Comet, but lately they have been intensifying. Indeed, Zuko has sought the Avatar unceasingly, as the moral support of that figure would galvanize his Resistance and throw massive doubt upon Azula’s rule. The Resistance’s military presence has diminished somewhat recently, causing Azula to wonder why.

Characters (All are four years older than they were in the show, including Aang. This leaves everyone within the age rules.)

Phoenix Kingdom

Azula (Violence): Frighteningly powerful, intelligent, and with all the influence a girl could want. Having finally achieved her goal of global domination, the final roadblock towards Pax Azula is Zuko. (You know what to expect here.) If the Avatar has truly returned, she is just as interested in having him on her side as Zuko is.

Ty Lee (Karma): Fun, free-spirited, and obsessed with Azula. Though she was content to be a lover and a sidekick, her appointment as Queen-consort has brought her more attention than she would like. As the world around her becomes ever more complicated, she focuses on her love.

Toph Beifong (AribethAmkiir): Under Azula’s tutelage, Toph has become angry, entitled, and conniving. Without the Avatar to influence her, the darker side of her personality has taken over. Appointed as the leader of the Dai Li, her metalbending instruction has turned the secret police into a truly terrifying entity.

Resistance

Zuko (Ashena): Once openly angry and arrogant, Zuko has learned to take his uncle’s wisdom seriously. Outwardly he has flourished in command of the Resistance, but the constant stress has made it difficult for him to take any of it to heart. His confidence is an act, and he is wracked by the same feelings of insecurity and inferiority that he’s carried with him since his exile, though they have been allowed to continue for an unhealthy length of time.

Suki (Empyrean)and the Kyoshi Warriors: At once Zuko’s most trusted combatants and the “face” of the Resistance, the Kyoshi have become hardened from years of battle. Even most advanced benders can’t stand up to their expert attack, and the number of medals of valor the Warriors have accumulated is truly outrageous. They fight the good fight, but not fairly. Privately, Suki and Zuko are lovers, and she, along with Iroh, form the pillars (and maybe crutches) that keep Zuko upright.

Iroh (Violence): The Dragon of the West has been invaluable to both Zuko and the Resistance. While the people believe Zuko is the heart of the Resistance, Iroh is who truly pumps the blood. Together with the White Lotus, it has been his backroom deals that have garnered much of the Resistance’s funding and senior personnel.

Sokka (Violence): Zuko’s First General, resident genius, and purveyor of bad jokes. Much of the Resistance’s military success can be laid directly at Sokka’s feet, who has made excellent use of the resources that Zuko and Iroh have provided to him. He keeps a smile on his face, but he is tortured by the state of his sister, who is in Azula’s clutches, and the constant danger his wife Yue puts herself in.

Princess Yue (Karma): Representative of the Upper Water Tribe (nobility) on Azula’s Council of the Conquered. She is secretly a spy and courier for the Resistance to Ba Sing Se’s chapter, sometimes daring to pass information with Azula’s eyes on her. She is perhaps in more danger than anyone else in the world, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Note: Violence is willing to cede Sokka and/or Iroh to a good, patient player if it's announced before we get very far in. Same deal for Karma and Yue.

Katara (Ashena): Azula has somewhat sarcastically appointed Katara as the representative of the Lower Water Tribe (peasantry), as a gesture to the displaced Southern Water Tribe. Though she appears as a public figure, and acts out her role on the Council, when not in the public eye, Azula greatly enjoys humiliating her. She is “protected” by a cadre of Azula’s guards.

Unaffiliated

Asami Sato (Karma): A mysterious woman that seemed to appear from nowhere at the south pole, she was taken in by the Southern Water Tribe shortly before the Fire Nation attacked. Captured by Azula like many others, including Katara, she was carted off to Ba Sing Se. Under significant pressure, she revealed she had some talent with machines, and hoping to keep herself out of trouble, she began building things for Azula as a counter to the Resistance’s Sokka. What she provides the Phoenix Kingdom is a pale shade of what she’s capable of, but the war is escalating nonetheless. Where she comes from is a mystery to everyone. (But probably not to you, dear reader.)

Aang (apygoos): Having awoken alone at the south pole, he spent a few very confused days finding someone to speak to.  It was a long flight to the edge of the Earth Kingdom before he found anyone – the Water Tribe was nowhere to be found. Armed with information (carefully crafted by the Dai Li) about the current state of the world, he continues on his trek.



Prospective Plots: Ideas for ways the story could go. These aren’t required by any means! If you have some of your own, let us know.

Azula’s scheme to win the Avatar to her side, and failing that, convince him to “revive the Airbender people” with women of her choosing, including herself.
Similarly to above, Aang's desire to revive his people, and the burden of being alone.
Sokka’s attempt to rescue Katara.
Toph craving the ability to make her own future, beyond what Azula has given her.
Toph’s decadence.
Azula’s corruption of everyone around her.
Zuko’s struggle, internal and external.
Who is Asami?
Azula seducing Zuko.

[apygoos]

OH OH OH! I want!
Im down for Zuko or Aang...I cant decide which!
/bookmarked

[Karma]

Oops, I didn't include anything about the format. I'll put it here and also in the OP.

We will likely be doing medium-to-long posts - a few paragraphs at least, and probably much longer from time to time, given the situation. We aren't planning for it to be a "winging it" type of game, either; as a group, as a team even, we will discuss plot developments and where we'd collectively like the story to go. The characters as presented are more or less set in how they act and fit into the story - beyond what's listed, it's open to interpretation. Characters don't have to be a purely solo endeavor either, as they're just as open to discussion as the plot. In short, we want to crowd-source a narrative and all of its components.

[apygoos]

still sounds like fun.

[AribethAmkiir]

This sounds like a lot of fun.  I'd be interested in playing Toph and Suki. 

When you say "slow paced", is that a post a week?  Slower?  Faster?

[Violence]

This sounds like a lot of fun.  I'd be interested in playing Toph and Suki. 

When you say "slow paced", is that a post a week?  Slower?  Faster?

I think Karma put that up mostly on my account... I have periods where my classes kinda all decide to slam me with a heavy project at once (currently having one of those weeks now) and I warned that I might have weeks where I can only post like 2 or 3 times on average.  But I do my best not to keep anybody waiting longer than a day or two if it's my turn.

[Ashena]

Damn looks like I am slightly to late for the characters I really wanted to play :( toph is by far one of my favorite characters. Ah well, still very interested in playing. I see no one has taken Katara so I shall express interest in her. I am not sure of the second character because it seems the others were claimed or in the case of (Aang or Zuko) he has not chosen one. I know I could not be Aang and Katara as stated before as well as Katara so that would leave Zuko ifapygoos does not take him.

[Karma]

I put the post rate thing in there for myself as well - school can really kick my ass as well, as I'm sure everyone understands. I just want to make sure nobody has unreasonable expectations about the speed of the game so that we can all be understanding if something's up.

It seems like we have enough interest that the remaining players don't have to do double duty if they don't want to - still, if the remaining main characters don't stick out for you, don't forget there are also characters that I didn't list. I'm not sure how we want to handle characters that aren't selected yet... whether to NPC them, or have the GMs play them, or what.

If you're both interested in Zuko, why not pitch to us how you'd want to play him, and we'll figure out from there who is the best fit?

Here's my own take on the two remaining major characters, for reference.

Zuko is under extreme stress. Questions of his legitimacy have hounded him for years, and though lately he's been gaining some serious ground with the people, his inferiority complex has never been stronger. At the same time, he's never been better at hiding it; most are quite convinced he is the leader they want. He's put up a show (coached by Iroh) for years and he's got people on his side. He's very close to a breakdown... the only ones really aware of this are Suki and Iroh. He's not at all outwardly angry like we saw him in the show - he is generally calm and controlled, though the fire still burns within him.

Aang hasn't changed much but for one major aspect - he's now in the full throes of puberty. He's still relatively carefree and trusting, and will typically believe what he's told by whoever he meets unless he's given significant reason to doubt. For example, were he to approach Azula first, he'd be no match for her silver tongue. Being older and hormone driven, his investment in rebuilding his people is a lot more visceral, and since he's not head over heels for Katara, his options for doing so are wide open. He strives for balance among the nations, but as he will see, the Phoenix Kingdom appears to be rather stable but for the rebellion. He doesn't like the idea of the combined nations, per se, but he'll need a very compelling reason to topple what seems to be an effective regime that's lasted for several years already.

[apygoos]

im guessing Aang learning to bend the other elements is still a large part of the story?

[Karma]

Yep! That'll definitely still need to happen. Lucky for him, Ba Sing Se hosts the prodigies of each element. Given, one of them is very evil and the other is sort of evil... but he might not be aware of that.

[apygoos]

I might be more interested in playing Aang than Zuko then *shrugs* I like trying to be persuaded ;P

[Karma]

Well, for some carnal encouragement, if Aang goes along with Azula's airbender revival plan, he's going to get a lot of tail. He's a more straightforward character, too.

[apygoos]

...interesting...
I'd say Azula will have the upper hand fora long while. as she could teach him fire bending, fuck him all she wants, and promise him the revival of his people.
sex, arguably one of the best bribe tools ever.

[Karma]

That's generally what we had in mind. Azula starts off with an extreme advantage. She's well-established, has the support of the Earth Kingdom's infrastructure, especially the Dai Li who think she's the best thing since the creation of espionage. Obviously has the loyalty of much of the Fire Nation, and she's done a lot of damage to the Water Tribe, so much that their existence as a nation is now in question.

Here's some more character notes, if you're interested.

Toph: Azula discovered her in the same place that the Gaang found her in the show - messing people up in arenas. Without them to help her grow, her selfishness and anger have been allowed to stew under Azula's benevolent hand. Azula recognized her as an exceptional individual, not only because of her raw bending prowess but also her innate cleverness. Though Toph has never been particularly subtle, this plays well into Azula's hand as Toph's force-based Dai Li administration helps cover up the more secretive Dai Li activities. In that way there are almost two distinct Dai Li - Toph's police force and Azula's spy network. Toph greatly enjoys her post. She has always enjoyed power but never preferred to lead; Azula has basically laid Toph's dream job in her lap. She is free of influences trying to control her, other than her only superior, which is Azula, who generally lets Toph do as she pleases. Toph's affection for getting dirty has flourished in her position of power; all the decadence she ever dreamed of is one arrest away. If she wants ten men for a night of hedonism, she only need make the call. The people fear her, the establishment loves her.

Katara: The first wave of Fire Nation attacks nearly wiped out the Southern Water Tribe. To her knowledge, she and Sokka are the only two left. She is somewhat of a prize to Azula - a token of her dominance. To the people she is a much-needed symbol of hope; she seems uncorrupted by the current environment of Ba Sing Se, and to a point, this is true. In Council meetings she has much less tolerance for compromise than the more tolerant Yue, arguing tirelessly for the rights of the people. It's not so simple in private, however. Azula has significantly limited her freedom; she encases Katara in a cage of guards, taking no chances that she might escape on her own. Azula enjoys humiliating her "symbol of freedom," treating her like a slave behind closed doors, even bringing her to bed as a "marital aid" for herself and Ty Lee. Though she's vocal on the Council, in truth she's taken to rarely really speaking her mind, preferring to instead keep her thoughts to herself. She's learning the way of Azula's court, for better or worse. Her unique position of being looked down upon by the nobles and seen as someone to be exploited for boons by the people has made it difficult for her to make friends, but she has found some friendly faces in Yue, Asami, and Ty Lee.

If you guys like these, then great! If you have concerns or questions, let me know.

Whoops. Additionally: Toph has created metalbending, and has taught it to much of her police force. Her Dai Li police are somewhat like Lin Beifong's from LoK, though corrupted. Katara has some limited experience with bloodbending, but not enough to attempt any sort of escape. She has much less moral resistance against using it, though, given her experiences.

[apygoos]

yea im defiantely going to do Aang

[Karma]

Noted in the OP. Ashena, do you want to commit to Zuko? If not, we can seek another player.

[AribethAmkiir]

While I love the alternate universe and the ideas, I was rather excited about the slow posting, as well.  I have many weeks where school is overwhelming and I have 2 tests and a project or paper due.  I really want to be a part of this, but I don't want to be the reason this stalls either. 

[Karma]

Toph and Suki are definitely important, but they aren't central if you follow me. I don't foresee it being a major problem.

[apygoos]

yea I'm around all the time, sometimes i could probably get several post out a day if one poster and i really got into it.

[Violence]

While I love the alternate universe and the ideas, I was rather excited about the slow posting, as well.  I have many weeks where school is overwhelming and I have 2 tests and a project or paper due.  I really want to be a part of this, but I don't want to be the reason this stalls either.

Speaking for myself, being the only person I can speak for, obviously, having to wait for a post is never a problem. :)  So, I don't think I'd think of it as "the person who stalled the game" as much as "the person who, like me, has a paper due". lol

[Karma]

That's where I stand as well.

[Ashena]

I am relatively on the same track of mind. I will post as much as I can. I can not make any promises but I will be checking it frequently and posting as soon as I can. I can commit to Zuko so that we could get the ball rolling and so that I have a secondary post. I think this is going to be awesome I am excited as for the added on Katara that's kind of how I pictured it going and I would love to expand with her. I really love the layout for her and I think I will enjoy playing her!!!

[Karma]

Everyone has a character in Ba Sing Se (Violence:Azula, Aribeth:Toph, Ashena:Katara, Karma:Ty Lee, and soon apygoos:Aang will arrive), so we don't immediately need a Zuko. If you're choosing him just to get the game started, you don't have to; we can keep looking if you want.

[apygoos]

I cant wait to get this started ^_^!

[Karma]

Don't hold me to it, but we may be able to begin tonight.