Avatar: Elemental Dystrophy OOC | Co-hosted by Hakima

[Super Chaos Sonic]

I only have one nitpick about Shinya.  And that's his desire.  It's basically another way of saying "to cure E.D.".  Because it's sort of riding on the coattails of the whole point of the journey.  I'd like to see you come up with something more creative for Shinya's desire.  Other than that, it's a good character.  I like it.

 

I thought as much...

 

Regardless, I fixed it ^^

[Dad]

I thought as much...

 

Regardless, I fixed it ^^

 

I like this change much better.  This better defines your character and gives him another goal.  Well done.

[Sethera]

[spoiler=Unleashed flames]

"No insults, please. It hurts my feelings, and then I want to hurt you."

---

Name: Yao
Age: 24
[spoiler=Description]

HT: 5'9"
WT: 150 lbs

 

[spoiler=Personality]

You could call Yao free-spirited. Happy-go-lucky, he hardly ever gives into such displays of anger that the Fire Nation is notorious for. However, this does not mean he does not get angry. Once he gets the glove, he generally unleashes his pent-up frustrations in the fire that he releases, in an aggressive, overwhelming style that does not give one room to breathe. Which is the way not to firebend. His is the way of Zhao, not Iroh. Unfortunately, having never been taught the right way by his parents, he seems to be heading on a destructive path...

 

Yao doesn't particularly like benders, which might cause one to think he'd join the N.N. Order. However, he doesn't believe in dividing the benders and nonbenders. The reason he doesn't like benders is because of his experiences with his family, so he believes that benders will always hold their superiority over nonbenders. However, his desire to learn how to bend was so strong that he jumped at the chance to do so. Not only this, but he is worried about Mimi, and whether elemental dystrophy will eventually affect her as well.

 

 

[spoiler=Biography]

Yao was born in a town in the Fire Nation to a longstanding firebending family. Despite being the oldest of his siblings, he was born without the talent to bend fire like they were, something his parents were vastly disappointed in. Thus, he became known as the freewheeling eccentric eldest, the one whom no expectations were placed upon. Although he put on a brave face and took advantage of this freedom to do as he pleased, Yao was regardless disappointed and frustrated with his family. He didn't like the fact he was deemed unimportant nor the fact he was often passed over for opportunities. He took to wandering the nearby plains, enjoying the breeze in his hair and the earth under his feet.

 

It was there that he met his best friend. A lion-dragon...thing. She gave him the one thing he really wanted...recognition. To her, it didn't matter whether he could firebend or not. Even though she could do limited firebending, she never held it over his head like the others or used it as a reason to put him down. He gave her the name Mimi, and since then they've been inseparable. One of his brothers tried to steal her, but she burned his hand, causing him to hold a grudge against both her and Yao. Said brother was the reason Yao ultimately left the town, sick of him turning people against him.

 

Eventually, he made his way to Republic City, where he met Dr. Orthro and decided to join the others in looking for a cure.

 

---

[spoiler=Lion-dragon]

Mimi is part of a race of lion-dragons. Their head is mainly where the "lion" comes in, as their bodies are serpentine, though they have a mixture of scales and fur. Found in the Fire Nation, they prefer open fields or volcanoes. Despite their fearsome appearance, they are non-aggressive toward humans, and are sometimes taken as pets. They tend to live in family units, though sometimes they congregate together and form "prides," but that's not too common. They live mainly on a diet of meat and fish, though they can also eat vegetables. Mimi in particular prefers fish, but she doesn't like to hunt for them, preferring being spoiled and dressed up.

 

---

Chosen Element S.E.D. Glove: Fire
[spoiler=Skills and Specializations]

Music - While he didn't learn firebending, Yao did learn how to play music. He specializes in the guzheng though he is also handy with a pipa.

Fishing - He ended up going fishing a lot to cover Mimi's large appetite. He's not amazing, but he's not a complete newbie to it either.

 

Greatest Desire During the Quest: To learn how to firebend like a boss pro

 

[Dad]

Aww. So many adorable characters <3. I look forward to breaking them. Great app.

[cr47t]

I used to love this series. I still have memories but my fondness has faded over time; i don't hate it, but am not really a fan either. So all I want to say is, to you guys; have fun RPing.

 

Oh and I'm really sorry if this was awkward to any of you.

[Ren✧]

It's done.

[Dad]

Bump. Shooting for tomorrow for an early start or at least acceptance of apps. I'll have Udal's app by Friday.

[Dad]

BUMP

 

For those of you who may have not completed your applications or are still considering joining, applications will be closed as of July 16, 2016, 8:00 p.m. Central.

 

Thank you for your cooperation, your applications, and I look forward to working with you.

[Dad]

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS MAY NOT BE ACCEPTED, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CO-HOST AND HOST APPLICATIONS.

 

Over the next twenty-four hours, additional reviews of applications will occur, and  final says and acceptance or denial will be posted per application following this post.  In addition, Udal's application will be finalized and presented.  Thanks for your patience. 

 

I'll be shooting for a start date after my co-host returns.  In the event that the wait goes on too long, I will consider other options or temporarily suspending the co-host character as a surprise to be introduced later.

 

Currently, our start date goal is:  7/23/2016

[Dad]

After some careful consideration, evaluating our current applicants, possible additions, and other changes to occur within the main cast, I've decided to accept all current applicants.  I'll be introducing Udal Cho below, and accepted applications will be added to the OP.

 

 

[spoiler=Fewer words.  More action.]

Character Quote:  "Let's end this quickly.  I don't like to have my time wasted."

 

 

Name:  Udal Cho (You-doll Cho)

Age:  33

[spoiler=Description]

A scraggly faced man, Udal is often recognized by his scruffy face.  A full, thick beard and mess, jet black hair that reaches the nape of his neck and extends over his forehead like a jagged cliff edge, Udal sticks out a bit like a sore thumb.  Standing at 6"3, he's a tall, well built, brown skinned man who is often seen as intimidating by his eyes alone.  With dark black eyes surrounded by a long, crescent shaped scar along the left side of his face, it's hard to see past his "mean" demeanor to get an idea of what Udal looks like when he's actually expressing something other than anger.  But when Udal does smile, it's a great, big smile, that almost seems to shine.  With no visible tattoos, Udal often goes shirtless, preferring his chest to bare "nothing more than my weight".  He does however wear a pair torn gray woolen shorts, ripped at the knee.  Beneath that, a bare loin cloth is tied to his waist.  The shorts he wears he has had for many years, and he often works in them when he's working on a prit's aloject in his shop.  Now, they've just become a part of him it seems.  He doesn't mind going barefoot, but Udal will sometimes carry a pair of tan Geta Sandals, given to him by his father for his thirtieth birthday.

 

Personality:  Udal is very straight forward.  He doesn't like to stretch the truth, nor does he care for sugarcoating lies for children.  No man, woman, or child, nor person in seat of power will prevent him from speaking his mind.  Unfortunately for Udal, it's also one of the reasons his relationships tend to be strained, and he finds himself alone.  A sense of pride stems from his bluntness, and this makes Udal somewhat arrogant.  Udal is also openly selfish, even towards his friends.  He won't spare a dime if he doesn't feel it's worth his time, nor will he spare any expense if he feels he benefits from the product or service.  Udal is going along with the Councilman's plan not because he has to, but because he's gaining something from it.  What that is, no one but he currently knows.

[spoiler=Biography]

Udal isn't famous.  He doesn't have a prophesied future.  Udal is a simple man, albeit brash.  The people of Republic Cty know him as a great mechanic who's not afraid to "tell it like it is".  Some have taken his rash nature offensively.  Others find it refreshing.  But Udal wasn't always this way.

 

As an adoptive child, he was carefree.  Taken in by the Cho family, Udal with no family name found a home.  Growing close with his new brother Kinji, Udal was quite the rough-houser, but still obeyed his father's every whim.  His family autobody shop flourished, and he was always under his father and older brother's wings in their work as a boy.  Every day after school, he would run home to disregard his homework, and learn about new parts of vehicles with Jen and Kinji's help.  Father Jen was very strict, always hounding Udal to finish his homework before he was even allowed to enter the shop.  But Udal's passion for this type of work wouldn't allow him to miss a single moment of the action.  Being one of the few remaining mechanic shops, "Cho's Autobody Works" was a small business that was very popular, and gave Udal and Kinji advantages that most children didn't have.  Udal wouldn't allow that to go to waste, as he quickly found himself outpacing his brother, spending an unusual amount of time skipping school to spend time in junkyards using spare parts to study.  He rarely found time outside of the autoshop to make friends or even enemies.  He had but one other person outside of his family that he trusted.  A fellow earth bender who Udal grew close to, the two of them an inseparable pair.

 

And at the age of 13, when Udal learned he was an Earthbender, he used this as an excuse to drop out of school in favor of being a full time disciple under his father, as his older brother Kinji went off to University.  Keeping his only other friend close, Udal made sure that he found time to still be a teenager.  But work constantly interfered, causing some tension between those friends.  It would be three years later when they both made 16, that they would separate, and go on their own paths to the future.

 

Being able to Earthbend now, Udal used his bending as a tool to assist with moving traffic and creating a rinky-dink conveyor belt to move parts and pieces to and fro.  However, Udal quickly learned that his bending was so poor, that he would need much more practice to really be of service both inside and outside of the shop.  He doubled down on his studying, dedicating what few hours he was not spending in the shop to studying and disciplining himself in Earthbending.  

 

Though he was not well learned in books, Udal studied and worked hard at both his bending and his mechanical works over many years, reaching his prime at age sixteen.  Over the course of three years, Udal had become a proud and boastful disciple to his father, able to work on multitudes of vehicles on his own.  Business boomed, and with Kinji graduating in one year, there would be much to go around for this family of three.  And on that upcoming year, following Udal's birthday, and leading up into the summer months, when Kinji would be graduating, a rogue group of benders vowing to "restore order and balance" presented themselves.  They struck once more at the Republic City University Graduation Ceremony, taking dozens of students captive, and killing at least six before they themselves were brought down.  Those among the deceased included Kinji, captured and killed by this band of rogue benders.  And it was at this point in Udal's life, that he would forever hate benders.  Even himself.  Failure to act on Kinji's behalf, failure to defend the innocents, and to allow himself to be under these bender's control made him angry.

 

And it was this anger that Udal would harbor for many years, and use to discipline himself for the day that has come.  He vowed to never again be powerless in the face of danger.  And now, having become the powerful Earth bender that he is, he will do right by the world.  The rise of Elemental Dystrophy only gave him more reason to act.  After nearly losing his entire arm the disease, Udal quickly lopped it off, sealing the wound with hot steel, and preventing it from spreading to the rest of his body, for the most part.  Building himself a metal arm to replace the lost limb, it felt no different to Udal than his old arm.  Some tinge of E.D. can be spotted where Udal's metal arm ends and his old arm begins, still trying to creep its way into his body.  Fortunately for Udal, after being contacted by the Councilman, he found out he would be working towards finding a cure.  What he wasn't told was that he would have to babysit strangers who decided to tag along.  And Now Udal was heading a rag-tag group of non-benders through a war-zone, and he no choice but to play along.

 

 

Skills and Specilizations:  Mechanic: Udal is proficient in working with boats, cars, airships, and even trains.  He has a vast amount of knowledge for how vehicles work, and he loves working on them, and even has some ideas for vehicles of his own.

 

Metalworking:  Having grown as a proficient Earth Bender, Udal can also Metal Bend.  In addition, he understands welding, shaping, and design when it comes to using metal for various projects.

 

Greatest Desire During the Quest:  To punish those responsible for the distress of Republic City, and return home in time to start up his own Body Shop, and unveil a powerful new engine to the world.

 

[Dad]

Bump, and welcome back, once again.  Below, I've provided some brief descriptions of wash-up locations for Chapter One.  You'll always be able to refer to this f you have questions about the immediate area.  Details about the island will be given once we progress a bit more.  For reference, I will also take island details and place them here, but only after we've progressed to that point.

 

[spoiler=Northern Beach]

 

Sandy shores, palm trees, wrecked ship debris, and a bottle of rum. But the rum's gone!  Why's the rum gone!?  Besides such a tragic loss of rum, you'll find few supplies have washed up after the Republic's wreck.  A hammer here, a shovel there, here a rope, there a large broken plank of wood.  But it's all soaking wet.  You can probably make shelter with what you have and the use of some surrounding vegetation.

 

Fortunately there are no enemies nearby.  It's too stormy out for them anyway.

 

NEARBY VEGETATION:

 

Coconuts and Palm Trees

More Palm Trees!

Did I mention palm trees?

 

 

[spoiler=Southern Outgrowth]

 

Not the most comforting of resorts, considering its a rough outgrowth of stone, just barely blended with the overgrown forest of the island.  Plenty of food and trees around, but nothing washed ashore here.  Anything normally headed to this side of the island is destroyed on contact with the outgrowth of rocks and the powerful current.  On the south side of the island, the current is strongest.  If you washed up here, you're very lucky to have survived.  

 

NEARBY VEGETATION:

 

Apples

Melons

Grapefruit

Potatoes

Palm trees!

 

 

 

[spoiler=Eastern Cove]

 

What? It's a cove.  Damp, grassy, nasty, but looks quietly on the ocean.  No nearby vegetation.  Unless seaweed counts.  Does seaweed count?  Only way out of the cove is to climb the vines on the far west wall.  But when they're wet, it's a lot harder.  What with this sudden storm, you'll be there a while.  Unless of course, you wanna swim out.

 

 

[spoiler=Western Nomad Temple]

 

There's something a little. . . off about this place.  Other than the fact that it's a temple in the middle of nowhere, there are a few strange symbols carved into the walls. They're heavily faded, illegible, and hard to decipher, but they have incredible importance.  The origin of the temple is unclear, but its been a part of the island for a long time.

 

It sits idly on the Western side of the island, stretched by its lonesome on inlet with very shallow waters.  For some reason, the waters surrounding the temple are very clean, even clean enough to drink.  It does not mix with the ocean water, and appears to lack even the slightest trace of salt.  The grounds of the temple are sandstone, suggesting the sediment had settled in its location with help.  The temple is sixty feet high, a hundred feet wide, and a hundred feet deep.  There are two floors, but the only floor that isn't blocked off by hundreds of years of sand and stone is the ground floor.  In addition, there is no immediate vegetation surrounding the temple.  But if you cross back into the forest some four hundred feet further west, you can find bananas, apples, and mango.

 

It is also possible that refuse from the Republic's wreckage washed ashore near the temple.  You may find tools and sealed barrels of water,

 

[Hakima]

Bump. Heya, not dead yet, despite life's best efforts.

[Hakima]

[spoiler=The Cat's Shadow]

“I said I knew a guy. Don’t recall saying anything about him knowing me.”

---

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Shen Huǎngyán

Age: 28

[spoiler=Appearance:]

Shen is roughly 6’2” (187.96 CM) and 186 LBS (84.36 KG), with a deceptively athletic build generally hidden by his baggy clothes and slovenly demeanor. His hair black and scraggly, most often swept to the side by the wind, but his beard is trimmed and well-maintained, following the sharp set of his jaw and fading into his sideburns. His most prominent features are his eyes, hazelish and almost predatory, and the enigmatic Cheshire Smile that he’s so often remembered for. He walks with an almost indiscernible limp in his left leg. Most folks would consider him to be handsome, in an alluring, dangerous manner.

[spoiler=Biography:]

“Who am I? Tricky question, that. Lotta variables. What day is it? Who’s askin’? How much have I had to drink?”

 

Shen was adopted by the streets of Republic City before he was ten, and has nothing good to say about his parents. Luckily, he was born with a silver-tongue and the drive to thrive, so he didn’t have any trouble getting by. Most of his teenage life was spent in and out of small time gangs, until at eighteen, he conned his way into a job aboard a cargo ship headed to the Earth Kingdom. When they got to their destination, Shen slipped away into Ba Sing Se and didn’t look back.

 

When the break out of elemental dystrophy began and the N.N. Order made themselves known, Shen did what he’s always done best -- he put himself on the winning side. He had no love of benders in the first place, so it wasn’t very hard a decision. Working with the N.N. Order took him far and wide, from the Southern Water Tribe to the Northern Water Tribe and back, scouting out potential targets and generally keeping an ear to the ground. He kept his identity hidden during all his jobs, becoming a master of accents and a walking encyclopedia of cultures to back that up.

 

Shen recently abandoned the N.N. Order, for personal reasons, and is currently residing at the Southern Water Tribe.

[spoiler=Personality:]

Shen's the reason the phrase "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" exists. He's dangerously inscrutable, even to the trained eye, but he's good at acting the part of whoever he needs or wants to be. He can pull of a meek water tribe healer, stubborn Earth Nation merchant, or even an ex-Fire Nation soldier. He'll even have the accents, required knowledge, and stories to boot. His act is so convincing, he could insert himself into your hometown and you would question whether you just never noticed him. That's what makes him dangerous.

 

Nobody can tell where the act ends and Shen begins, and truthfully, he's not too sure himself anymore. Shen's so conditioned to lying, to telling people what they want to hear, that he does it habitually now. He'll lie when there's no reason to, and then he'll never correct himself. Decieving people is almost a game to him at this point; how long can he keep up the act? How long will it take you to realize he's not who he says he is? It's a gross abuse of people's trust, but Shen doesn't really care.

 

He's driven and charismatic, and when he isn't acting, he has a dry sense of humor. Shen doesn't trust anyone, but if he's your ally, he'll go above and beyond the call of duty to help you. You can count on him... as long as you're the strongest. Shen's top priority is survival, and it doesn't matter how close you are. He'll turn on you in an instant if you look like you're fighting a losing battle. Shen will make sure that he's on the winning side, no matter what the cost is. 

 

Beyond that, even Shen's skills have their flaws. He's a creature of habit, reliant on vices to get by in his downtime. The biggest one is drinking, and not a day goes by that he doesn't end up consuming at least some alcohol. He's conditioned to work completely smashed, and to his credit, he can do it surprisingly well, but he gets a lot sloppier than he normally is. On top of that, he's a shameless flirt, and doesn't really hold values like "love" and "commitment" in very high esteem. The way Shen sees it, even if he found someone he wanted to settle down with, chances were they'd not want to be around him once the mystery wore off. Shen knows he's a no good dog, albeit a handsome one. Perfect for a one night stand and nothing more. 

[spoiler=Skills]

• Espionage: Shen worked as a spy for the N.N. Order, and he was a damn good one. When he cares enough, he can practically vanish. His footsteps won't make noise, his breathing becomes muted, and he can blend into nearly any environment. Shen also excels at the more covert aspects of this, like undercover longcons.

 

• Street Rat: Shen has traveled a lot, and he's spent a lot of time in some of the dirtiest, most corrupt places in the world. He has some kind of shady connection no matter where he is. 

 

• Charming Bastard: Calling Shen persuasive wouldn't be accurate. He isn't really what you would call persuasive in the traditional sense, because he doesn't get people to see it his way. He lies and deceives them to his point of view, and he lets them think they got there all on their own. Most don't realize what he did until he's long gone.

---

COMBAT INFORMATION

Weapon: Electrified Kali Sticks. Shen is very skilled in the use of them, and can go toe-to-toe with even benders.

 

 

Double post king. Bump.

[Dad]

At this time, I'm shutting down Avatar until further notice.  There will be a fresh OOC when it's time for us to reboot.  In addition, there will be more strict posting requirements in our next iteration.  Thanks.