Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra AU meme

[lifescratched]

Earth, Fire, Air, Water.

Welcome to the World of Avatar, which your characters is now in — whether AU, or dragged through the magic of time and space. Is your character from any of the four nations? Are they a bender, or not? Are they an able chi-blocking artist, or do they sell cabbages out in the streets of the Fire Nation, Ba Sing Se, or even in the South Pole? Do they have to ride the large naval ships of the Fire Nation to get across, or do they have access via beautiful steampunk-inspired ships...?

It's your story.

▶ ERA
1. BSC — Anytime before Avatar Aang was born. Have you met Chin the Conqueror, or Fire Lord Sozin?
2. ASC — Avatar Aang's era. There's no such thing as Air Nomads anymore.
3. ASC, 70 years later — Avatar Korra's era. We're on the road to Republic City!
4. ASC, After Korra's era — Welcome to the future!

▶ SCENARIO SUGGESTIONS
1. Welcome, Avatar — You are the Avatar. Enjoy learning all four kinds of bending! And, perhaps, the secret fifth one.
2. Cactus Juice — Thirsty in the Si Wong Desert, or wherever you happen to be? Not a problem, open up a cactus and enjoy the juice, or buy it from the establishment nearby. It's trippy.
3. Fight Fight Fight! — You're challenged to a duel, or an Agni Kai — save your honor! Or disrupt it, whatever sets you on fire.
4. Pro-bending — We hope you know the rules. If you're the Avatar, please stick to one element or you're disqualified. Don't you want to win?
5. Chi-blocked — Suddenly, your bending abilities were taken away! Or were you the one that blocked their skills?
6. There is no war in Ba Sing Se — Get ready to escape Lake Laogai, if you can, or are you there to save someone?
7. Underground Library — The Knowledge Spirit has allowed you to read.
8. I'm ready, Sifu — Are you a bender, a humble fighter, or a beginner? Either way, your training starts now! Impress your masters, have fun with your classmates.
9. Is that a Polar bear-dog? — One animal plus one animal makes a crazy combination! Ready to ride a sky bison, or are you ready to run from a pack of armadillo lions?
10. The Cave of Two Lovers — Were you bothered by a band of hippies, and ended up here? Good luck finding your way out. Maybe the riddle they told you would be useful right now. ("Love is brightest in the dark.")
11. Cart riding in Omashu — Using the delivery system as your personal slide. Don't crash into too many houses, now.
12. Kyoshi Island — Want to ride the large Elephant Koi, or the Unagi? Or are you exploring, or a protector of the Island?
13. Wildcard — Lost in a swamp, losing yourself in the Avatar state, or did you drink the wrong tea? The choice is yours!

(Original meme lifted from bakerstreet.)

Comments

[raavashing]

That depends on how you look at things.

[He put a hand on his hip and shrugged.]

For both the crazy and the never meeting. But neither changes the fact that you're the one who called me.

[Wan started toward Zuko again and if the prince was being observant, he may notice that there weren't any footprints in Wan's wake. In fact, the only footprints around were the one's Zuko had made.]

You really don't like sharing your feelings much, do you?

[restorehonour]

[Zuko turns to face him again, and he does notice the lack of footprints in the sand. Is that a trick of the light? He's not sure. The man's annoying persistence foremost of his concerns, though.]

Are you expecting me to have a heart-to-heart with a complete stranger? Forget it.

[raavashing]

It's better than fighting all the time.

[Wan stopped when he was standing in front of Zuko. He was taller by a few inches and though Zuko was still growing, for the moment Wan had to be looked up to. His eyes were clearly the amber of a firebender and they may have seemed just a little bit brighter than they should have in the dark of the night.]

But if fighting is what you'd prefer, I am willing to allow it.

[restorehonour]

You're "willing to allow it". [He lets out a low, humourless laugh.] What makes you think you're the one calling the shots around here?

[Even with the height difference, Zuko is squaring up to him until their faces are inches apart. He's taken on an older, much taller firebender before in an Agni Kai and won, he's sure he can take this guy. ...Even if there is something a little weird about him.]

In case you didn't recognise me, I'm Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to the throne. You don't get to allow or disallow me to do anything.

[raavashing]

You focus so much on those titles. On what you are. But it isn't what you are that makes you who you are. It's what you do. What have you done, Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation and heir to throne? Fight? Yell? Burn a house down? What do those actions make you? Is that who you want to be?

[He didn't back down. He didn't seem intimidated or even at all to care about the threat and titles being thrown around. Just quietly asserting that he was in control of the encounter and there was nothing Zuko could do about it.]

That's what's bothering you right now. You don't know who you are and everything you do feels wrong.

[restorehonour]

[Zuko's good eye widens, and he looks stung, knowing there's truth in the man's words. It's like he can see right through him... But how?]

I know who I am! I have my right to the throne, and my honour. I have everything I ever wanted!

[raavashing]

[His eyes softened and though it wasn't meant to be pitying look, it could easily be interpreted as one.]

Having what you want and being who you want, aren't the same thing. Thinking they are will only force you to keep tormenting yourself.

[restorehonour]

So what? I can't just change who I am. [He turns away, looking to sea, and crosses his arms.] I tried starting a new life in the Earth Kingdom. I was even happy for a while. But eventually my past caught up with me. It always does. How wouldn't it, when it stares me in the face every time I look in the mirror?

[The memory of Ba Sing Se brings with it a fresh wave of confusion and anger, and his hands drop to his sides, clenching into fists. The Avatar is still alive, which means Zuko's days as the so-called hero who slew him are numbered. And what leaves him more angry and frustrated than anything is that for all his father's approval, now his uncle despises him, can't even stand the sight of him.

He tried to make the right choice, but in the end, he's unhappier than ever.]

[raavashing]

You define who you are with your actions. If you don't like who you are, then stop taking the actions that make you this way.

[He stepped up behind Zuko, very close but not touching him.]

Take the actions that you feel to be right in your heart. They will lead you to the Avatar, to your honor, and to who you really are.

[restorehonour]

[Zuko shakes his head, weary.] I don't care about the Avatar any more. He's as good as dead.

[Once that assassin is through with him, anyway. Which would mean his honour in the eyes of his father would be secured... even if it was gotten through less than honourable means.]

[raavashing]

Yes, you do. And no, he's not. Not yet.

[Wan sighed lightly, and though he was close enough his breath should have stirred the hair on Zuko's neck, there was nothing. Not even heat.]

Your destiny is tied to the Avatar, Zuko. It does not have to be a destiny filled with darkness. You have the power to change that. You have time to act. The darkest day in Fire Nation history could be the brightest day of yours.

[restorehonour]

[This stranger is really starting to unnerve Zuko, with how much he seems to know, and how much his advice sounds like what Uncle Iroh would say. The guilt of it makes him snap.]

Don't you get it? I sent an assassin after him! Once he's dead, my problems will be over. [There's something frantic about his answer, more desperate than anything, even to his own ears. He turns around again to glare at Wan.] What you're proposing is treason. If we weren't on this stupid island, I'd have you thrown in a cell with my uncle!

[raavashing]

Your problems won't be over if he dies. You'll just find new ones. New worries that tear you apart inside and make you stay up all night, angry and scared and unsure where to go or what to do. Always second-guessing yourself because in your heart you know you've done something wrong.

[Wan didn't flinch at the threat. In fact, he looked absolutely serene.]

I would like to spend time with your uncle. I hear he makes a great cup of tea.

[restorehonour]

[Does this stranger just want to taunt him for his failings more than anything? He growls and tries to grab Wan by the shirt.]

Then get out of here and go find that crazy old man! I've had enough of listening to you preach. You don't know anything about my problems, and I definitely don't know you.

[raavashing]

[Zuko's hands would go right through him and he would continue to not move. That serene expression remaining.]

You are the one that called me here, Zuko. I can't go anywhere else while you still tie me to you.

[restorehonour]

[Zuko's still not sure if he's imagining things and tries to grab him again -- and fails. Alarmed, he backs off, realisation finally dawning.]

...You're a spirit. [It's not a question.] What am I supposed to do to release you? Follow your advice? I don't know how.

[raavashing]

Try to give up your anger. It's causing you the most torment. Ease your mind and find your peace like you did in Ba Sing Se.

[restorehonour]

Easier said than done. In Ba Sing Se, I didn't have to worry about the Avatar, or my country. I had a normal life. [Pretty much the worst thing to get angry about was his uncle trying to set him up on dates, and even that didn't turn out so bad.]

But... If there's one thing this trip to Ember Island has taught me, it's that things with my family will never go back to how they were before, either. [He looks down the beach, in the direction of the cove where he'd burned his family's portrait only hours before.] I was stupid to think otherwise.

[raavashing]

Yet you chose to worry about them when you saw Azula again. It wasn't that you didn't have to worry about it, it was that you believed you would never have a reason to again. You could have turned and walked away from that with your uncle and you chose not to. You wanted to return to the life you thought you deserved, that you thought you belonged to.

[Wan started walking slowly around Zuko, circling him as he spoke.]

You weren't stupid to think that was possible. You were optimistic, hopeful. These are not bad things to be, but you didn't have the perspective to see that things had already changed too much to return to that. Now you do. You just said so yourself.

[He smiled, throwing his arms out to either side.]

Now you have the perspective to find your path. You don't have to be stuck anymore. You can make a choice that will not leave you angry and conflicted.

[Wan came over to stand in front of Zuko and lean in.]

But to know your choices, you need to open your eyes and realize you aren't as stuck as you think you are.

[restorehonour]

I thought I did belong. Now I'm not sure of anything.

[He watches Wan as he circles, distractedly running a hand through his messy black mane of hair.]

My family has changed, but I've changed, too. I love my country and my people, but I also know now that the Fire Nation... We've done terrible things. I made the choice to get my honour back, but now my uncle hates me. My father treats me like a war hero, but I lie awake every night, hating myself!

[The admittance of that last part makes him turn away from Wan again, too ashamed to make eye contact; those shining eyes seem to pierce right through him, into the very depths of his soul. Yet the fact that this spirit is willing to help him, instead of turning away in disgust like Iroh, makes him desperate to try and grasp at the help offered, hoping it will help pull him out of his seemingly endless cycle of mistakes and rage.]

You keep suggesting I need to find inner peace and make a decision, but how can I? Nothing makes sense any more!

[raavashing]

You're thinking too hard.

[Wan lifted a hand to place it lightly on Zuko's chest, over his heart.]

Do what feels right in here. That's the best place to start.

[He dropped his hand and straightened up.]

You'll still make mistakes. Everyone does. I did. I still do. But you can't be afraid of that. You can't be afraid of things not always making sense. If you start with what feels right in your heart, you'll eventually find your way.