{Spring, 174AG}
[Yue Bay, Union City Waters]

Thirteen years after the peaceful death of Avatar Aang, a fate afforded to few in his position, the new Fifth Nation, the United Federation of Peoples, has continued to prosper. Its beating heart, Union City, is a cosmopolitan hub of social and technological progress, culture, and the bending arts. It is here that the destiny of the world in the era of the new Avatar will be decided, a crossroad between the Four Nations, the myriad clashing ideals held by its citizens, and even the past and future.

Three vessels cutting through the calm waters of sheltered Yue Bay in what was once the western Earth Kingdom carry those who hold the world’s fate in their hands, whether they know it or not. Each bringing their own burdens with them to the nexus, spoken and unspoken both, harried by the world’s expectations raised to lofty heights by their progenitors and predecessors, and brought by desires not fully understood by them, these youths know not the peril they’ll face in the City of the Future.

On the first ship, a sleek and modern cutter flying a white-on-lavender pennant not belonging to any of the five nations, in a stateroom decorated in the furs and colors of the Southern Water Tribe, sits a girl. But she doesn’t sit on the overstuffed bed, or the fur-cushioned chaise, or even the hardwood chair set at the unused vanity; no, she sits with her knees to her chin in the corner by the closet door, shielded from view of the cabin door and off of the portion of the floor covered by the rug. In spite of the clicking radiator on the wall, the girl is bundled up in a light blue parka, and, despite having left the South Pole weeks ago, darker blue snow pants lined with fur. Were there anyone else in the room with her, they would be able to observe the occasional shiver, though the accompanying shaky breath would let them know it was anything but cold that she huddles into herself to ward off.

>(2/4)

On the second, a lavish liner bearing the colors of the Earth Kingdom, and on a tour of the Mo Ce Sea with a stopover in Union City, happenstance brings together two of the ordained youths, though they have yet to meet. In an ironic twist, of the two, the one in the traditionally loftier position occupies a humble second-class cabin. His accommodations are unused as well, though not untouched, as the bed is pushed against the wall and the dresser into a corner. This isn’t to allow him a place to sit and rock though, as the teen, sweat-drenched despite the early spring sea air blowing through the cabin’s open porthole, frenetically executes the same series of katas on repeat, refining them each time. It’s the only way to truly occupy his mind, which seems to grow foggier as his transport approaches Union City. The other teenager, tanned despite the presence of both a shirt and a jacket, reclines on her four postered, first-class bed. She hadn’t intended to get such a suite, but it was a surprise gift from her family's eccentric patriarch, at least it gave her more room to pace when her feet got too jittery to let her journal. At this point, she had taken to reading the diary, despite her reason for journeying to Union City being an escape from her old life, at least in part.

The third vessel is a dingy old ferry with a beaten up Federation flag fluttering above its open middle deck. On lonely the aft deck, the last of the ensemble-to-be leans against the ship’s rear railing, seaspray staining his collar and flicking into his gray eyes ignored as he mutters a rehearsed speech under his breath. Before shaking his head and trying again, the words barely changed but his whispered tone pitched up, his cadence slower. He shakes his head again, and pounds the railing. It's cold out here, but he has to know what he’ll say when he gets there, even if he can’t bear to look at the city now, there’s no way he’s not going to have his back turned to Memorial Island and the city’s Air Temple when the ferry passes them by.

So, this is the story of the new Avatar, but which of this fated cast are you?

>(3/4)

>[1] The Exploited Avatar. Tradition dictated that the Avatar be informed of their status on their sixteenth birthday, though this had been bucked in recent cycles; Aang was told early, facing the threat of war, and Kyoshi was told late, on account of an earlier misidentification. You were told of your status when you were seven, uprooting your entire life and placing you into the watchful care of the White Lotus. It was a measure that was allegedly put into place by your predecessor, Avatar Aang, but you doubt he wanted his successor to be watched like a hawk and not allowed to wander out of sight of the walls of a fortified compound. When you hugged your parents goodbye before leaving for Union City, it was the first time you had seen them in almost four months. Even now, the only other people aboard the modern boat carrying you to your new home at Air Temple Island are members of the White Lotus, only fueling your gnawing concerns around meeting your spiritual mentor-to-be, Aang’s son and the only Airbending master, Tenzin.

>[2] The Peregrin Prince. The United Federation was your first stop after leaving the Fire Nation by your mother’s side. Unlike your grandfather, your mother’s sojourn was neither formal nor a banishment, though both her and your aunt, the new Fire Lord, were adamant in their desire to be apart for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for you, your mother’s attention has never been equally divided between yourself and your older brother, who she still believes is a viable alternative to either of your cousins as an heir to the throne; so after years of expert (but sparse) instruction in Firebending, you’ve made the choice to come to Union City. As much as you’d like to return to the Fire Nation, the cosmopolitan Fifth Nation is an alternative which avoids being seen as an insult by your mother, as well as having a widespread Firebending scene.

>(4/5)

>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

>[4] The Unexpected Inheritor. The entire world believes that, since the Air Nomad Genocide a hundred and seventy-five years ago, only four Airbenders have been born. Recently, and much to your (single) mother’s chagrin, you made the revelation that there was, in fact, a fifth Airbender, you. Now, despite your only present parent’s protestations, you’re taking the run-down old ferry from the small city of Hei Bai in the southern United Federation, where you’ve lived since moving out of Union City ten years ago when you were six, back to the Fifth Nation’s sprawling capital. Vexingly, the only ships that sail to Air Temple Island depart from Union City itself, and the only ones that the average person can get on are part of paid tours. And there’s no way you’re going to be able to get onto the island through official channels. Though, if you did sneak on, it wouldn’t be your first time getting onto restricted United Federation property, even if this time you actually want to get caught.

>(5/5, start voting)

>>5994621
>[2] The Peregrin Prince. The United Federation was your first stop after leaving the Fire Nation by your mother’s side. Unlike your grandfather, your mother’s sojourn was neither formal nor a banishment, though both her and your aunt, the new Fire Lord, were adamant in their desire to be apart for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for you, your mother’s attention has never been equally divided between yourself and your older brother, who she still believes is a viable alternative to either of your cousins as an heir to the throne; so after years of expert (but sparse) instruction in Firebending, you’ve made the choice to come to Union City. As much as you’d like to return to the Fire Nation, the cosmopolitan Fifth Nation is an alternative which avoids being seen as an insult by your mother, as well as having a widespread Firebending scene.

I am very intrigued

>>5994619

>[2] The Peregrin Prince. The United Federation was your first stop after leaving the Fire Nation by your mother’s side. Unlike your grandfather, your mother’s sojourn was neither formal nor a banishment, though both her and your aunt, the new Fire Lord, were adamant in their desire to be apart for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for you, your mother’s attention has never been equally divided between yourself and your older brother, who she still believes is a viable alternative to either of your cousins as an heir to the throne; so after years of expert (but sparse) instruction in Firebending, you’ve made the choice to come to Union City. As much as you’d like to return to the Fire Nation, the cosmopolitan Fifth Nation is an alternative which avoids being seen as an insult by your mother, as well as having a widespread Firebending scene.

I vote fire.

>>5994621
>>[4] The Unexpected Inheritor. The entire world believes that, since the Air Nomad Genocide a hundred and seventy-five years ago, only four Airbenders have been born. Recently, and much to your (single) mother’s chagrin, you made the revelation that there was, in fact, a fifth Airbender, you. Now, despite your only present parent’s protestations, you’re taking the run-down old ferry from the small city of Hei Bai in the southern United Federation, where you’ve lived since moving out of Union City ten years ago when you were six, back to the Fifth Nation’s sprawling capital. Vexingly, the only ships that sail to Air Temple Island depart from Union City itself, and the only ones that the average person can get on are part of paid tours. And there’s no way you’re going to be able to get onto the island through official channels. Though, if you did sneak on, it wouldn’t be your first time getting onto restricted United Federation property, even if this time you actually want to get caught.
Cumbending it is

>>5994621
>[2] The Peregrin Prince. The United Federation was your first stop after leaving the Fire Nation by your mother’s side. Unlike your grandfather, your mother’s sojourn was neither formal nor a banishment, though both her and your aunt, the new Fire Lord, were adamant in their desire to be apart for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for you, your mother’s attention has never been equally divided between yourself and your older brother, who she still believes is a viable alternative to either of your cousins as an heir to the throne; so after years of expert (but sparse) instruction in Firebending, you’ve made the choice to come to Union City. As much as you’d like to return to the Fire Nation, the cosmopolitan Fifth Nation is an alternative which avoids being seen as an insult by your mother, as well as having a widespread Firebending scene.

>>5994619
>>[1] The Exploited Avatar. Tradition dictated that the Avatar be informed of their status on their sixteenth birthday, though this had been bucked in recent cycles; Aang was told early, facing the threat of war, and Kyoshi was told late, on account of an earlier misidentification. You were told of your status when you were seven, uprooting your entire life and placing you into the watchful care of the White Lotus. It was a measure that was allegedly put into place by your predecessor, Avatar Aang, but you doubt he wanted his successor to be watched like a hawk and not allowed to wander out of sight of the walls of a fortified compound. When you hugged your parents goodbye before leaving for Union City, it was the first time you had seen them in almost four months. Even now, the only other people aboard the modern boat carrying you to your new home at Air Temple Island are members of the White Lotus, only fueling your gnawing concerns around meeting your spiritual mentor-to-be, Aang’s son and the only Airbending master, Tenzin.

>>5994621
>[1] The Exploited Avatar. Tradition dictated that the Avatar be informed of their status on their sixteenth birthday, though this had been bucked in recent cycles; Aang was told early, facing the threat of war, and Kyoshi was told late, on account of an earlier misidentification. You were told of your status when you were seven, uprooting your entire life and placing you into the watchful care of the White Lotus. It was a measure that was allegedly put into place by your predecessor, Avatar Aang, but you doubt he wanted his successor to be watched like a hawk and not allowed to wander out of sight of the walls of a fortified compound. When you hugged your parents goodbye before leaving for Union City, it was the first time you had seen them in almost four months. Even now, the only other people aboard the modern boat carrying you to your new home at Air Temple Island are members of the White Lotus, only fueling your gnawing concerns around meeting your spiritual mentor-to-be, Aang’s son and the only Airbending master, Tenzin.

>>5994621
>>[4] The Unexpected Inheritor. The entire world believes that, since the Air Nomad Genocide a hundred and seventy-five years ago, only four Airbenders have been born. Recently, and much to your (single) mother’s chagrin, you made the revelation that there was, in fact, a fifth Airbender, you. Now, despite your only present parent’s protestations, you’re taking the run-down old ferry from the small city of Hei Bai in the southern United Federation, where you’ve lived since moving out of Union City ten years ago when you were six, back to the Fifth Nation’s sprawling capital. Vexingly, the only ships that sail to Air Temple Island depart from Union City itself, and the only ones that the average person can get on are part of paid tours. And there’s no way you’re going to be able to get onto the island through official channels. Though, if you did sneak on, it wouldn’t be your first time getting onto restricted United Federation property, even if this time you actually want to get caught.

>>5994619
>[1] The Exploited Avatar. Tradition dictated that the Avatar be informed of their status on their sixteenth birthday, though this had been bucked in recent cycles; Aang was told early, facing the threat of war, and Kyoshi was told late, on account of an earlier misidentification. You were told of your status when you were seven, uprooting your entire life and placing you into the watchful care of the White Lotus. It was a measure that was allegedly put into place by your predecessor, Avatar Aang, but you doubt he wanted his successor to be watched like a hawk and not allowed to wander out of sight of the walls of a fortified compound. When you hugged your parents goodbye before leaving for Union City, it was the first time you had seen them in almost four months. Even now, the only other people aboard the modern boat carrying you to your new home at Air Temple Island are members of the White Lotus, only fueling your gnawing concerns around meeting your spiritual mentor-to-be, Aang’s son and the only Airbending master, Tenzin.

>>5994621
>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

>>5994621
>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.
New ATLA quest, neat. Hopefully it'll last a few threads longer than the last ones.

>>5994619
>[4] The Unexpected Inheritor. The entire world believes that, since the Air Nomad Genocide a hundred and seventy-five years ago, only four Airbenders have been born. Recently, and much to your (single) mother’s chagrin, you made the revelation that there was, in fact, a fifth Airbender, you. Now, despite your only present parent’s protestations, you’re taking the run-down old ferry from the small city of Hei Bai in the southern United Federation, where you’ve lived since moving out of Union City ten years ago when you were six, back to the Fifth Nation’s sprawling capital. Vexingly, the only ships that sail to Air Temple Island depart from Union City itself, and the only ones that the average person can get on are part of paid tours. And there’s no way you’re going to be able to get onto the island through official channels. Though, if you did sneak on, it wouldn’t be your first time getting onto restricted United Federation property, even if this time you actually want to get caught.
So I'm guessing any of the characters we don't choose are still going to be part of the story, just not the POV character?

>>5994770
>So I'm guessing any of the characters we don't choose are still going to be part of the story, just not the POV character?
Yeah, if not in a Team Avatar still in the story.

Either going to leave the vote overnight or give it another hour, probably overnight.

>>5994621
>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

>>5994621
>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

I want earth

>>5994621
>>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

>>5994621
>[4] The Unexpected Inheritor. The entire world believes that, since the Air Nomad Genocide a hundred and seventy-five years ago, only four Airbenders have been born. Recently, and much to your (single) mother’s chagrin, you made the revelation that there was, in fact, a fifth Airbender, you. Now, despite your only present parent’s protestations, you’re taking the run-down old ferry from the small city of Hei Bai in the southern United Federation, where you’ve lived since moving out of Union City ten years ago when you were six, back to the Fifth Nation’s sprawling capital. Vexingly, the only ships that sail to Air Temple Island depart from Union City itself, and the only ones that the average person can get on are part of paid tours. And there’s no way you’re going to be able to get onto the island through official channels. Though, if you did sneak on, it wouldn’t be your first time getting onto restricted United Federation property, even if this time you actually want to get caught.


Enter the void motherfucker

>>5994621
>[2] The Peregrin Prince. The United Federation was your first stop after leaving the Fire Nation by your mother’s side. Unlike your grandfather, your mother’s sojourn was neither formal nor a banishment, though both her and your aunt, the new Fire Lord, were adamant in their desire to be apart for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for you, your mother’s attention has never been equally divided between yourself and your older brother, who she still believes is a viable alternative to either of your cousins as an heir to the throne; so after years of expert (but sparse) instruction in Firebending, you’ve made the choice to come to Union City. As much as you’d like to return to the Fire Nation, the cosmopolitan Fifth Nation is an alternative which avoids being seen as an insult by your mother, as well as having a widespread Firebending scene.

>>5994621
>[3] The Listless Scion. The United Federation of Peoples was where your family’s patriarch made his name on the world stage, for the second time. Now it’s your turn to take a crack at the socio-political morass that is Union City. Well, not really, you are still a little young for that and that’s not your reason for leaving Kyoshi Island at all. It wasn’t just a compulsion to see all that your family built either, though that was a part of it; the root of the desire (besides getting away from what felt like an increasingly crowded island), was a sort of ill-defined wanderlust. That and the need to find an Earthbending teacher who didn’t have to bend the rod out of their butt whenever they had to sit down, which was seemingly all your parents could hire from the wider Earth Kingdom. You’d thought of going to Zaofu as well, but it’s probably better to master Earthbending before moving onto Metalbending; that and the awkwardness your presence in that city might bring.

>>5994630
>>5994632
>>5994689
>>5994867
Fire.

>>5994647
>>5994720
>>5994770
>>5994854
Air.

>>5994693
>>5994700
>>5994738
Water.

>>5994757
>>5994765
>>5994772
>>5994783
>>5994850
>>5994895
Earth. Our winner!

You voted in the Avatar Cycle, interesting. I'm surprised the Avatar was the least popular option and that's the Fire Prince was the most popular. I would've thought from the latest Avatar quests that people would be burned out on firebending, no pun intended.

Voting is now closed, I'll get working on the update in the morning.

>>5994924
Waterbenders aren't popular here for some reason. I voted for the Avatar but I guess anons also wanted more freedom.

>>5994924
The most recent one I can remember participating in had a Sandbender born Avatar as the protagonist. It was interesting, but unfortunately it didn't get very far.

>>5994924
Would have voted for air, if i had caught the quest sooner.

File: Union City.png (635 KB, 1024x568)

635 KB PNG

A couple of changes of clothes, your journals, a good snack, and a pair of… traditional weapons you brought all the way from home, just in case are what you take in the backpack that comes with you off the boat. You don’t think you’ll need the ‘traditional implements’ (you’re an earthbender anyway) but it’s no secret that Union City has garnered a bit of an unsavory reputation in the years since Avatar Aang stepped back from public life (then died), but that only holds true for some parts of the city. You also heard some of the other passengers talking about some new political movement (yuck) holding impromptu rallies all over the city, who aren’t particularly fond of benders. So you’ll try to steer clear of that, at least as best as you can, you really do want to explore Union City. Even Gaoling and Omashu don’t compare to the city, based on the view you got from the ocean liner as it crossed Yue Bay, and it really makes it clear that, even with all the recent development, Kyoshi Island is a backwater. Not that that fact will get you down, there was a reason you left to explore the big wide world, and what’s a better place to get started than the one place where all four Nations (and that includes the Air Acolytes!) come together.

You hand the porters that come to collect the rest of your things a roll of coins (probably too many, but you don’t want to be throwing money around while you’re here) before heading out onto the ocean liner’s deck. A crowd of people, mostly in the colors of the Earth Kingdom, flows towards the gangways leading off of the ship. You get a few glances, mostly from younger children, thanks to the lighter blue-green of your outfit and your light gray eyes making you stand out from the herd.

When it’s time to actually get off the ship, you’re disappointed to see what looks like a police escort waiting at the bottom of the gangway. A group of five men and one woman in slate gray jackets, pants, and peaked caps, adorned with gold buttons and carrying nightsticks at their sides.

Reaching the bottom of the gangway, you hold up your hands and sigh, “I don’t know who asked you to do this, if it was my dad or my grandfather but—” you cut yourself off when the group of police shoulder past you and move onto the second-class gangway, gathering up around a sweaty teenager dressed in Fire Nation blacks and reds. You fight down an embarrassed blush when you look around and see that seemingly nobody witnessed your faux pas.

>(1/2)

Pushing your inauspicious first action in the city down is easy, now that you’re actually standing on its streets! Even at the piers, multi-story warehouses creep right up to the waterfront and highrises loom above them, just standing here you can see the opportunities stretching out ahead of you.

>[1] Explore the city! You don’t have a particular destination in mind, but you’ve got a pocket full of Earth Kingdom coins and an interminable hunger for discovery. Or that’s what some kind of writer would say, not you. (???)

>[2] You came here for instruction in Earthbending, might as well scope out the local Earthbending scene. The apartment you managed to wrangle is close to the university district, so maybe that’s the first place you should look?

>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

>[4] You went to the South Pole once, and, climate aside, you thought it was pretty cool. You always wanted to go back there someday, but there isn’t really an established population of earthbenders there, or much earth. So the next best thing to do is to visit the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center at the heart of Union City, that way you can both get familiar with the city and get in touch with your roots!

>(2/2)

>>5995315
>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

>>5995315

>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

Let's satisfy our curiosity here. Maybe we can try to distinguish ourself through novel approaches to training and unusual techniques?

>>5995315
>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

>>5995357
>Let's satisfy our curiosity here. Maybe we can try to distinguish ourself through novel approaches to training and unusual techniques?
Oh, that'd be interesting, since Earth and Air are sort of philosophically opposed. Maybe learning to integrate Airbender like techniques or philosophy into Earthbending.

>>5995315
>>[1] Explore the city! You don’t have a particular destination in mind, but you’ve got a pocket full of Earth Kingdom coins and an interminable hunger for discovery. Or that’s what some kind of writer would say, not you. (???)

>>5995378
>>5995357
Might be a path to mud or sand bending, or maybe even bending dirt that's been ground into a powder/ dust completely, to create a jank ass Air/ Earth hybrid style

that'd be pretty rad

>>5995357
>>5995378
>>5995385
I just want to clarify that this is more of a plothook than anything else at this moment. Tenzin is an extremely busy man (being a father of three (or four, I'm honestly not entirely sure just how adjusted the timeline is. For instance, Harmonic Convergence hasn't happened yet, but that doesn't mean his youngest son won't be born. Rohan and Meelo also have different names since their original ones didn't fit the Airbender theming), on the UFP council, and being the Avatar's spiritual/airbending tutor) and trying to get him to train you just because you have some novel ideas and your dad just so happens to be the governor of Kyoshi Island isn't going to convince him to do it. And unlike canon, Jinora doesn't have her arrows yet. And Air is definitely the toughest element to apply to the others, especially Earth, don't take any of that as a reason to change your votes though.

>>5995378

Right, I like the idea of taking Earthbending from “throw big boulder” to something more high-concept. It’s been years since I watched the original show, but my recollection is that the Earth Kingdoms are sort of meant to be Chinese agricultural peasants. It would be fun to upend that expectation and make some big brain Earthbending innovations

>>5995315
>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

>>5995416

No worries, QM - our guy has to start somewhere, I’m not expecting this detour to take us anywhere in particular

>>5995315
>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.

>>5995419
*girl

>>5995315
>>[3] You’ve seen a lot of things, even in your few short years, but you’ve never met an Airbender! Well, your parents tell you you did, but you were a baby, and he was the Avatar, so there’s no way that can count, you can’t even remember it. So why not take the ferry to Air Temple Island? It might seem weird for an earthbender, but you have always liked boats.
Get on it lad

>>5995320
>>5995357
>>5995378
>>5995418
>>5995419
>>5995493
Air Temple Island, what could they be keeping there?

>>5995382
Mystery box, what could it be? Maybe you'll find out later.

Surprisingly a runaway, vote's closed, writing.

>>5995416
I like a challenge

File: air temple island.png (2.08 MB, 1920x1080)

2.08 MB PNG

It’s just your luck that the ferry for Air Temple Island is both close to the pier your ship offloaded at and is departing in a little over an hour. You trust that the porters will bring what luggage you did bring from Kyoshi Island to the little apartment rented for your stay in the city, so you’re in no particular rush to get to your new home.

Surprisingly, the (rather small) queue waiting for the guided tour of the United Federation’s resident Air Temple seem to be tourists from the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation, and the ones wearing the mixed and muted colors of the fifth nation are mostly carrying boxy, handheld cameras, telling you that they’re tourists as well, likely not from Union City itself.

You’re the last one to get there and remain the last one in line when the ferry arrives, and you pay for a ticket at what you think is a markup, based on the raised eyebrow the ferry conductor guy gives you when you get on. The ferry is flat and slow, meaning the breeze launches sea spray in your face from your chosen spot near the railing. You don’t really mind though, it lets you watch as the central spire of Air Temple Island grows on the horizon. You also pass by the giant statue of Avatar Aang atop its museum plinth. You can’t help but think it’s gaudy, and rather unfitting, based on the stories you’ve heard of Avatar Aang, but you also know that it was dedicated and constructed at the insistence of the United Federation’s inaugural government.

“Hey!” You’re shaken out of your contemplation of this more intimate view of Yue Bay by a kid from one of the groups of tourists running up to you.

“Yeah?” You’re used to dealing with younger kids, you have three younger siblings and a bunch of younger cousins, so you know just the right about of snark to answer with as you snap your head in his direction.

The boy is younger, dressed in a loose green tunic and pants with a tan cap on top of his head and covering his ears, is probably around seven. Your reaction to him froze his gap-toothed grin on his face, but he quickly recovers. “Are you from the Water Tribes? You really like blue!”

Looking down at your outfit, you notice just how much your long, light blue tunic stands out amidst the seas of greens and reds you’ve seen around Union City’s docks and on board the ships you’ve taken. Maybe there were dockworkers from the Water Tribes that you just didn’t see. The blue of your top doesn’t make your pants any less tan though. “Nope, I’m from the Earth Kingdom,” you assert, “just like you.”

At that, the kid sticks his tongue out at you, “Wrong, idiot!” He says with a chortle.

>(1/4)

You don’t alert him to his mother approaching from the other side of the ferry to cuff him about the ears. “Tong!” His mother looks and is dressed like he is, though she wears a dress in a traditional Earth Kingdom style and dark gray sandals; she’s probably around thirty. “Apologize to this young lady right now,” at a glance you can see that the rest of their group is looking over at the scene, while the other groups of tourists are paying attention to anything else they can. The woman pauses for a second and gives you a quick once-over, as if to make sure she was right in her initial assumption. You roll your eyes and pull your somewhat-formless top down to clarify your figure. “I’m sure she wants to rest before the tour, I think she’s had a longer journey than we have.”

“You got that right,” you let her know, cracking your back against the short, hard ferry seat. “Just came in from Kyoshi Island, and boy are my arms tired.”

“You swam?” The kid asks, his nose scrunching up. Before you can inform him that it was a joke, a glare from his mother makes him straighten up. “I’m sorry,” he says with a quick bow, darting back off to the rest of his group.

“Sorry about him,” his mother apologizes again, but you wave it off.

“I get it, I’ve been the designated babysitter more times than I can count, don’t even worry about it.”

“Still, Kyoshi Island,” she sounds impressed, and you have to suppress a groan. “Does that mean you’re a—”

“Nope,” you anticipate the question, you don’t even want to hear it. You would swim the rest of the way to Air Temple Island if the rest of the passengers started pestering you about that.

“I’m sorry, I just—”

“I get it,” you nod, “but no.”

The awkward silence hangs in the air between you before the mother scurries off as well. You figure they’re from one of the smaller cities in the United Federation, probably inland, based on how shaky they were while standing on the ferry.

The dock at Air Temple Island sits at the base of an imposing cliff, making it seem like the tower at the island’s apex is even higher, as it casts a looming shadow deep into the bay. A cadre of bald men and several women in layered crimson and yellow robes, duller than the rich saffrons and oranges you’ve seen in pictures of actual Air Nomads greet your group, and guide you up the switchback path and steep staircase toward the temple proper. The whole way up, you notice guards in lavender and white uniforms with flower motifs following your group the whole way up, along with several posted along the path and at the quay.

>(2/4)

You’re surprised when the tour, after passing around a training ground for Airbending (which is just an octagonal ring with the bagua on the floor), goes inside the Temple itself. The rooms are open and airy, which you suppose makes sense, with hardwood floors, paper windows between the halls and rooms, and plastered walls with high trim. The colors are mostly warm but muted, with some variation in motifs along the trim and the occasional bright blue pillar that stretches from the floor to the high ceiling. Occasionally, another Air Acolyte passes the tour, some giving waves or nods, but others clearly undertaking some sort of chore, carrying brushes or brooms or baskets full of vegetables.

“Are we gonna see any Airbenders?” The kid from before asks rather loudly as you pass into the greenhouse.

“Master Tenzin is busy,” the acolyte leading the tour informs him patiently. “And his children are preparing for an upcoming occasion along with their mother,” he nods sagely, “I’m sorry, but the tours rarely see any of our resident Airbenders, though Miss Pema typically greets tour groups.”

The kid crosses his arms and huffs, which makes you chuckle. After the tour of the, admittedly impressive, greenhouse, the acolyte begins looping you around the back of the island’s dormitories and in front of the main spire of the temple, and explains that the tour is ending. That also means he’s taking a lot more questions. You don’t think you have any, you’re more disappointed that you weren’t able to see any of the Airbenders, and you’re starting to regret not sneaking off of the tour earlier. You’re pretty sure you would have been caught, but if you timed it right, you might have been caught by an Acolyte you could have gotten away from! That would cause enough of a problem to get Tenzin’s attention.

>(3/4)

>>5995555
Holy digits!

This time, you’re jolted out of your introspection by a small, clammy hand wrapping around yours. The group has already reached the front of the temple, so you’re sure you won’t be able to get inside unsupervised now. Glancing down at the sudden contact, you see a younger, slighter girl doing her best to wrap her fingers around yours and staring up at your face. She’s wearing a woven, sleeveless, hooded blue jacket with split sides that goes down to her knees, blue pants bunched around a pair of what look like leather boots, and a high-collared tunic fastened at the neck. She’s tan with delicate features and her big, light blue eyes are doing their best to peer into your soul.

“I-if anyone asks,” she says, under her breath, her voice high and frantic, “you’re my big sister, go- you got that?”

You can tell she’s not used to acting tough, or being particularly assertive. “Look kid, I know my little sisters, and you’re neither of them,” you tell her in a quieter whisper.

“Please,” she says, before remembering that she’s trying to coerce you. “I mean, look- I just need to get off the island, then I’ll be out of your hands. Just get me into- get me to the city, okay?”

>[1] Alright. She seems pretty desperate to get out of here, and you can sympathize with a young girl who’s desperate to get off of an island. Just make sure she plays it cool, no more talking.

>[2] Nope, no way. This seems like a bad idea, you don’t want the second impression you make on Union City to be kidnapping some Water Tribe girl from Air Temple Island.

>[3] Fine, but she’ll owe you! That’s how things work in the big city after all, you’re sure of that. You have no idea what some Water Tribe girl can give you, but maybe you can work something out.

>[4] How about no, but if she can get you into the temple, you’ll see how you can help her. Her sneaking off on her own probably looks bad, but she should get in less trouble if you go with her to explain things, that’s usually how it worked back home.

>(4/4)

>>5995715
>[3] Fine, but she’ll owe you! That’s how things work in the big city after all, you’re sure of that. You have no idea what some Water Tribe girl can give you, but maybe you can work something out.

>>5995715
>>[3] Fine, but she’ll owe you! That’s how things work in the big city after all, you’re sure of that. You have no idea what some Water Tribe girl can give you, but maybe you can work something out.

>>5995715
>[4] How about no, but if she can get you into the temple, you’ll see how you can help her. Her sneaking off on her own probably looks bad, but she should get in less trouble if you go with her to explain things, that’s usually how it worked back home.

>>5995715
>[3] Fine, but she’ll owe you! That’s how things work in the big city after all, you’re sure of that. You have no idea what some Water Tribe girl can give you, but maybe you can work something out.

>>5995715
>>[3] Fine, but she’ll owe you! That’s how things work in the big city after all, you’re sure of that. You have no idea what some Water Tribe girl can give you, but maybe you can work something out.
How should we exploit a kidnapping?

>>5995715
>>[4] How about no, but if she can get you into the temple, you’ll see how you can help her. Her sneaking off on her own probably looks bad, but she should get in less trouble if you go with her to explain things, that’s usually how it worked back home.

>>5995715
>>[2] Nope, no way. This seems like a bad idea, you don’t want the second impression you make on Union City to be kidnapping some Water Tribe girl from Air Temple Island.

>>5995717
>>5995728
>>5995818
>>5995908
Kidnapping isn't wrong if there's quid pro quo involved! Wait... (our winner)

>>5995761
>>5996000
Why stay and try to work out her problems? That's probably healthy, you think. Maybe not, you have no idea why she's so desperate to get out of here.

>>5996010
Kidnapping is, fun fact, illegal.

Vote closed, this one may also be out later tonight.

“Fine,” you say through gritted teeth, “but we stick together when we get into the city, alright?”

Her eyes light up at that before narrowing, before lighting up again, “Thank you, thank you so much!” She struggles to keep her gratitude quiet.

“Don’t thank me yet,” you tell her, turning your attention back to the tour and doing your best to act natural. You’ve had to hold kids’ hands through stuff like this before, so the sensation isn’t weird, but the girl’s hand is weirdly cold. “You’ll owe me when we’re off the island.”

The Water Tribe girl stumbles at that, but you pull her hand so she keeps pace with you. “W-what do you want?”

You just shrug, and that’s where the first conversation with your willing kidnappee ends. To your surprise, you make it all the way down the steep staircases and winding switchback before anyone on the island realizes that something’s wrong with the tour. It’s there that you’re stopped and… they open your bag before quickly handing it back to you, neither of the lavender-clad guardsmen standing at either side of the ferry even glance at your ‘sister’, probably because she’s not holding anything.

Halfway through the slow journey back across Yue Bay, the Water Tribe girl lets out a shaky breath that she must’ve been holding in since before she met you before dropping her hood and leaning back in the uncomfortable ferry seat. Her black hair is bifurcated in the front and the back, wrapped at her temples and the back of her head, allowing it to hang in two loops that fall to just above the small of her back. Still, a few stands hang over her forehead, as if pulled free during her haste to get off Air Temple Island.

“Thank you again,” she says quietly, staring up at the ceiling of the ferry, “I-I just couldn’t do it.”

You cock your head, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. ‘Do what?’ you wonder, but you don’t voice that. “Right, no problem,” you feel like you’ll regret that choice of words, but you’ve always liked the sound of it more than ‘you’re welcome’, it just sounds cooler, more laid back. Not that you’d ever say it to your elders. “I’m Ainu by the way, just sailed in from—” you purse your lips, not wanting to field a million questions about Kyoshi Island, “—Qinchao,” you pick out a place in the southern Earth Kingdom, near where you came from.

>(1/2)

“Itiqqa,” she says, quickly looking down at her feet. “I mean, that’s me, that’s my name,” she restates, fidgeting and looking out at the bay, though her eyes shoot back to her feet when she sees that you’re passing the statue of Avatar Aang. “I’m th— I mean, I’m very grateful, Ainu, I do owe you, like you said.”

‘Something’s not sitting right,’ you think, glancing between Itiqqa staring at her feet and the statue of Avatar Aang gazing triumphantly over Union City. The acolyte leading your tour group said something about an ‘upcoming occasion’ too, and Itiqqa doesn’t look like she’s been there long. Unconsciously, your hand goes to your chin, and you barely stop yourself from biting your thumb. There’s something to puzzle out here.

>Roll three 1d100s, DC to beat is 60. This may change later, but for now, you'll have to meet the DC twice for a success, a single roll over the DC is a mitigated failure.

Rolled 12 (1d100)

>>5996393

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>5996393
Watch me ace it

>>5994611
What's a "rug?" Also, why not just make a straight-up post-ATLA setting instead of using the Korra ones? Doesn't seem very salvageable to me.

can someone mitigate this failure...

Rolled 11 (1d100)

>>5996393

>>5996511
Evidently not.

>>5996408
>>5996454
>>5996515
Writing, don't worry about failing this one.

>>5996467
>What's a "rug?"
Raava and Vaatu.
>Also, why not just make a straight-up post-ATLA setting instead of using the Korra ones? Doesn't seem very salvageable to me.
The idea of the United Republic and Republic City are neat, even if everything about the execution (up to and including their names) was bungled. I also like the idea of the White Lotus completely misinterpreting Aang's instructions to them and some of the villains, at least on paper (not you Unalaq lol), have promise. A lot of the side characters are pretty good and Aang's kids and his legacy deserve a second look.

But like I said, most of the Korra lore isn't here, it's just the bare bones of the future setting. There's a fifth nation, technology has advanced (but not as far as in canon), and most of the legacy cast (barring Sokka and Suki. Did you know she doesn't get mentioned once in Korra? Mai gets indirectly mentioned and Zuko didn't even stay with her. Ty Lee actually also doesn't get a single indirect mention) are in similar places. Union City is probably more like late Meiji/early Taisho era Osaka or Kyoto than Roaring Twenties New York, and the technology, aside from the stuff that was already ahead of that in ATLA, is more like the Gilded Age. Electricity is more widespread, photography is (recently) available to the common person, but movies aren't even a concept yet and the radio is still a ways off. The electric telegraph exists, but telephones don't quite yet, microphones are a new concept.

>>5996608
Interesting. I wonder if we are a child of one of those unmentioned characters.

‘No no,’ you think to yourself, ‘I’m overthinking things, I always overthink things.’ If Itiqqa has something to say, she’ll tell you later. Or not, you don’t really know her that well. Quickly looking around to make sure that nobody’s in earshot, you ask Itiqqa, “So what were you doing on Air Temple Island anyway? If you missed the last tour boat you could’ve just told the monks.”

The tan girl blushes furiously and frantically shakes her head, “N-no, I can’t imagine how embarrassing that would be.” She jams her thumbs together hard enough to make them bend backwards, you move to push her hands apart, but she drops them into her lap before you can. “Besides, I wasn’t there on the— on a tour,” she shrugs, briefly looking back into the bay before her eyes snap back to her feet. “I-I had an um, appointment, yeah, an appointment, but I’m not read-” she starts to raise her voice, then cuts herself off, “I’m not ready. Not yet, I, I need a few days…” The girl trails off, running her bottom lip under her front teeth.

“Right,” you look around again, making sure her abortive outburst didn’t draw any eyes to you. You catch that kid from before, Tong, you think it was, staring at you, but as soon as your eyes meet his, he ducks back into his seat, hiding against his mother. “An appointment with who exactly?”

“Ma- It- Um, Tenz- Um, Master Tenzin,” she shifts awkwardly, blushing even deeper, “but I’m not ready yet, I- you can tell, right?”

“Tell wha—”

You don’t even get to finish before the Water Tribe girl answers her own question, “Spiritually, I’m such a—” she claps her hands over her mouth, aware of her rising volume, “such a mess, you know?”

She certainly is neurotic. “But why would Tenzin be seeing you?” You want to meet Tenzin, but you’re certainly not jealous of her. Maybe he’s just really intense. “Wait,” this time it’s your turn to cut off Itiqqa before she can answer, “you’re his niece, right?” From what you can remember, Avatar Aang had three kids, one of them is probably a waterbender, so it tracks! “Of course all of Avatar Aang’s grandkids would get spiritual tutelage,” you nod to yourself, satisfied.

>(1/3)

“Um, sure,” she shrugs, “yeah, I needed ssss- I needed spiritual tutelage, r-right. Because of— yeah.” She nods so hard that one of her hair loops flip over her shoulder, and she flicks it back. After that, she clams right up, spending the rest of the ferry ride alternating between gazing out at the bay and staring at her feet.

When the quay comes into view, Itiqqa sucks in a deep breath and quickly throws up her hood. “Hey, um, you can swim,” she glances between your blue outfit and your gray eyes, “right?”

“Yeah,” you see what she’s looking at on the shore, it’s a bunch of those soldier-looking guys in lavender and white. “Why do I need to be able to swim?” You can’t stop the apprehension from creeping into your voice.

“O-oh good, your bag is tiger seal, that means it’s pretty much water proof,” she says with an unconvincing smile, attempting to alleviate the tension. “J-just jump in and grab onto me o-okay?” She nods again, as if trying to convince herself more than you, despite yourself, you’re already shrugging your bag on. “I’m a waterbender, so I, I mean we, we can get somewhere else in the city after we jump, alright?”

You stop yourself from nodding to ask, “but why?”

“O-oh, sorry, um, look, I can owe your more, but if we get ca- erm, if those guys see us together off the island they’ll be really mad,” she presses her thumbs together again, “sorry, you- you’d probably get in a bunch of trouble.”

You just drop your head down, trying to bore a hole through the hull of the ferry between your boots. This is a really bad first impression to make on Union City. “Fine, fine, whatever,” you finally say, doing your best to not sound huffy, “but you’re a good enough waterbender to dry me off right away, right?”

Itiqqa nods excitedly, before standing up, trying to look like she’s stretching nonchalantly and failing miserably. You just roll your eyes, make sure your bag is sealed as well as it can be, and vault the railing. Immediately, you hear shouts from the other passengers as well as the few crew of the ferry, along with your willing kidnappee’s indignant protesting. After that, she quickly splashes into the brisk water next to you, it’s not that cold, you probably would’ve been shocked by it if you hadn’t taken a dip in the icy waters of Unagi’s Bay before leaving home.

“I was supposed to go first!” She protests, speaking above a hushed tone for the first time since you met. It seems she’s taking the cold water even better than you are, so instead of responding to her, you just wrap your arms around her skinny waist. As an older sister, it’s a bit concerning to feel that there’s practically zero fat on the girl. Once she’s sure that you’re firmly grasping her, Itiqqa shoots her hands forward, takes a deep breath, and dives just under the surface like a dolphin.

The speed at which the girl takes off forces you to bury your face in the back of your hood, lest the water stinging your eyes blinds you and your nose fills completely. It must have taken less than two minutes, but as you lay gasping under a noisy boardwalk, it feels like you were underwater for an hour.

At least Itiqqa is true to her word, as the younger girl quickly pulls the moisture from your clothes and hair before doing the same for herself. After doing so, she pulls her hood back up as quickly as she can, and you check your backpack to make sure that nothing inside got soaked.

Luckily, nothing did, so you pull out a bag of salt koi. It’s been a while since you ate, which you’re only now realizing. After scarfing down a couple of pieces, you offer one to Itiqqa.

“O-oh, thanks!” She seems cheery as she takes it, as if she expected you to berate her for having you run off with her again, but her face quickly sours after she sniffs it. “This isn’t bean curd, is it?”

You shake your head, “It’s elephant koi, salted,” you take the piece back when she practically thrusts it into your hands. “It’s my hometown’s speciality,” you add.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve said I-” the younger girl freezes, “I don’t really like salt fish, sorry.”

“I don’t mean to assume but,” you can’t help but cock your eyebrows again, “I thought everyone from the Water Tribe ate salt fish. Because of the,” you roll your hand, “you know.”

Itiqqa shakes her head, “Sorry, sorry, I’m sorry,” she puts her head in her hands before taking a shaky breath and looking up at you, then walking a few paces away. “I don’t eat- I mean I can’t- I mean, look, sorry, I’m a vegetarian, I should have just said that, sorry.”

“Yeah,” you say, more weirded out than ever. You’d like to find out who this girl really is, but now feels like a bad time to pry. “Anyway, let’s get out of here, I’m sure those guys will be poking around all over the shoreline.”

Your nervous companion gasps, “I hadn’t thought of that! Oh… you’re right, you really are, they will!” She pulls the drawstring of her hood tight, as if trying to hide and think at the same time.

>(3/4)

>[1] Well, maybe you should go to your apartment. Nobody in the city except the building manager you rented it from and some kind of nebulous visa board knows that you’re renting it, it will be the perfect place to lie low! Plus all of this weird drama has tired you out.

>[2] Itiqqa is from the Southern Water Tribe, presumably. At least you think so based on her hairstyle and the more geometric pattern on her clothes, along with her supposed relation to Avatar Aang. Maybe she would be the most comfortable at the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, you should go there.

>[3] The sun is going down, so the parks and other places where families go would be deserted. You can wait out the night there, figure out more of why Itiqqa’s acting the way she is, and maybe catch some of the city’s sights on the way. You really don’t mind roughing it for one night, especially if the other option is being interrogated by the UC police force.

>[4] A crowded boardwalk is a pretty good place to get lost, try to alleviate some of your shared stress by playing some games or going on a ride or something, you still have a bunch of Earth Kingdom cash on you after all. Then later, after those soldier-looking guys have moved on, you can go right back home and crash into slumber, push off the actual problems to tomorrow morning.

>(4/4)

>>5996788
Well you're only a little older than Jinora, so probably not one of their kids, no.

>>5996850
>>[3] The sun is going down, so the parks and other places where families go would be deserted. You can wait out the night there, figure out more of why Itiqqa’s acting the way she is, and maybe catch some of the city’s sights on the way. You really don’t mind roughing it for one night, especially if the other option is being interrogated by the UC police force.

>>5996850
>[1] Well, maybe you should go to your apartment. Nobody in the city except the building manager you rented it from and some kind of nebulous visa board knows that you’re renting it, it will be the perfect place to lie low! Plus all of this weird drama has tired you out.

>>5996850
>>[1] Well, maybe you should go to your apartment. Nobody in the city except the building manager you rented it from and some kind of nebulous visa board knows that you’re renting it, it will be the perfect place to lie low! Plus all of this weird drama has tired you out.

>>5996850
>[1] Well, maybe you should go to your apartment. Nobody in the city except the building manager you rented it from and some kind of nebulous visa board knows that you’re renting it, it will be the perfect place to lie low! Plus all of this weird drama has tired you out.

>>5996850
>[1] Well, maybe you should go to your apartment. Nobody in the city except the building manager you rented it from and some kind of nebulous visa board knows that you’re renting it, it will be the perfect place to lie low! Plus all of this weird drama has tired you out.
Damn, is the White Lotus trying to make every Avatar after Aang a vegetarian in the air nomad style too?

>>5996850
>[4] A crowded boardwalk is a pretty good place to get lost, try to alleviate some of your shared stress by playing some games or going on a ride or something, you still have a bunch of Earth Kingdom cash on you after all. Then later, after those soldier-looking guys have moved on, you can go right back home and crash into slumber, push off the actual problems to tomorrow morning.

>>5996864
You'll never say no to a night of good camping. The city has a good amount of parkland, or so you've heard.

>>5996876
>>5996911
>>5996942
>>5997141
Go home, you're tired, she's probably tired. It's a good place to lay low, at least for the night. This one wins.

>>5997184
The best place to hide is in a crowd.

>>5997461
Excited to see how our apartment burns down! (The Red Lotus sounds more and more appealing [assuming they are real in this setting.])

File: union city map.png (723 KB, 1327x602)

723 KB PNG

“Look,” you pop the piece of fish offered to Itiqqa in your mouth and start working on it, the sound of you clumsily unfolding a map masks the chewing pretty well anyway. “This,” you swallow harshly, now painfully aware of just how thirsty packing only salty snacks is making you, “is where my apartment is, we can go there and figure out what we’re going to do and maybe get some rest.” You poke at the dot you made on the map, adding offhand, “I think we’ve both had a pretty long day.”

“How did you—” Itiqqa looks up from the map when you say that, “I mean, y-yeah, I did.”

Itiqqa specifically requested you not take any of the city’s trolleys to get to Union City’s university district on the other side of the lively and modern downtown. It just makes getting across town tedious, especially because you convinced her to skirt the government district, where, among other things, the police headquarters are. Going that way would’ve meant traveling in basically a straight line to get to where you were going, and the trolley would’ve been even faster, as your destination is just past the city’s central station.

There isn’t much conversation on your hours-long trek through the city, as Itiqqa’s doing her best to be inconspicuous, even keeping her hood up, and you’re still really thirsty. Even keeping up a good pace, you arrive at your apartment just after midnight.

A moment of panic passes over you when you don’t feel the key in your pockets before you remember that it never left your bag. It takes some pawing around between your journals and everything else you brought with you before you finally feel the keyring with a pair of identical keys to the apartment.

“Got it,” you say under your breath. Itiqqa barely reacts, the slighter girl is leaning against the wall in the hallway, head slumped. She’s basically asleep on her feet.

The sound of the tumblers moving jolts her into alertness, and she ducks into the front room even before you do. You shut and lock the door behind you when you enter behind her, and finally get a look at where you’re going to be living for at least the next six months. If you don’t get arrested for being a part of whatever’s going on with Itiqqa, that is.

>(1/3)

All of your luggage is piled against the counter that separates the kitchenette from the sitting room. The kitchenette is off to your right, with chairs pulled up to the wooden counter and an empty icebox and cabinets behind it, along with a stove on the opposite end of the cabinets. To your right are a set of windows on the exterior wall, luckily with the curtains already pulled, the sitting room is minimally furnished, but there is a comfy-looking sofa in the middle of the carpeted floor, and a chair with an end table on the wall next to the windows. The doors to the bedroom and bathroom, both across from the front door, are open. The shower has curtains up, which is nice, but the bed is undressed. Which wasn’t unexpected, but you also didn’t think you’d be getting here this late.

“Take a shower,” you tell Itiqqa, unclasping the fastener on one of your bags that has clothes in it. You toss her a set of pajamas which are definitely too large for her, but have a drawstring in the pants, so they won’t be falling off at least. “I’ll make the bed then I’ll hop in, we can figure out sleeping arrangements afterwards,” you tell Itiqqa, who catches the outfit with a bewildered look.

“O-oh, alright, thanks,” the Water Tribe girl nods rapidly before hustling to the shower even faster than she ducked into the apartment.

Hearing the water running, you find some more clothes and lay them out on top of the dresser that you find in the bedroom, then get to making the bed. The sheets were a gift from your dad, so they’re fancier than you might’ve gone for on your own, and they’re in decidedly Earth Kingdom colors, rich green and gaudy gold. Though instead of the classic Earth Kingdom coin or the earthbending trapezoid, the shape embroidered in the middle of the blanket is an unfurled fan with a spiral in the middle of it. You don’t like broadcasting where you’re from, but seeing that does bring a smile to your face. Finding a set of pajamas for yourself, you put them aside on the couch and get yourself a glass of tap water, using a glass you find in one of the cabinets. Seeing some tableware was a relief, since it was just you, you wouldn’t have to buy anymore. You weren’t really intending to entertain anyone, barring maybe your current company. And you know she’s not going to be here long.

The Water Tribe girl isn’t in the shower for long, and when she gets out she shuffles out of the bedroom, all of her energy is gone. She offers you another quick thanks before you switch places with her.

>(2/3)

The warm water running over you works out most of the day’s stress, and you spend more time under the showerhead than you might have otherwise, letting your mind go blank for the first time since you met Itiqqa. Stressing out won’t help you now, and overthinking things is a bad habit you’ve had your whole life, so you close your eyes, shut off the showerhead, and resolve to think things through with a clearer head tomorrow.

Drying your hair off with a towel (you realize you forgot to give Itiqqa one, but based on the state of your luggage, she found the bag with your towels), you step out into the living room after shrugging on another set of pajamas with a stretch. Your guest isn’t on the couch like you expected, but the front door is still locked, so you’re not surprised when you find her laying in your bed.

Your mysterious guest is sprawled out on the bed, looking relaxed for the first time all day, and clearly already deep asleep. Her hair is longer than you thought, now that she’s let it down from her loops, and spread out across the pillows like a halo. You shut the bedroom door for her sake.

Cutting your losses, you find another blanket among your things, finish drying out your hair, and lay down on the couch. There isn’t a lot of room to spread out, but at least it’s long enough for you to lay down, and it’s pretty comfortable. It doesn’t take long before you drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Pounding on your door wakes you up, and you’re panicked before you’re even lucid. “H-hold on a second, I’ll be right there!” You say loud enough for your voice to carry through the door. Hurriedly, you throw on a pair of slippers, quickly brush your bedhead down into a comfortable bob, then stick your ear to the bedroom door. You can’t hear anything, but you hope that just means she’s still asleep.

Mentally kicking yourself for saying that you’d be right there, you rush up to the door, doing your best to not make noise, and let out a shaky exhale. Another round of harsh knocking on the door jolts you into standing stock straight, completely still. They already know you’re here, so there’s no use in pretending to be gone or still asleep.

“Who is it?” Your nerves have banished any sleepiness that would normally be in your voice just after getting up. Frantically looking around the room for signs that you’re not alone (there aren’t any) you notice that there’s no clock and quickly realize you have no idea what time it is.

“Union City Police,” an older woman’s voice, clear but impatient, informs you through the door. “You are Ainu, correct?”

Okay, that’s what you assumed, and they know who you are, so maybe now it’s time to panic.

>(3/3)

>[1] Go out into the hall, you have nothing to hide, they have no reason to enter your apartment. You know that local authorities need warrants on Kyoshi Island, even if they don’t in the rest of the Earth Kingdom, so maybe they do in Union City too, it’s a pretty progressive place.

>[2] Let them in, you have nothing to hide! They have no reason to go into the bedroom, everything in there belongs to you, there’s no evidence that there’s another person inside. Besides, you learned to bluff from the best!

>[3] Nope, that’s not your name, you’re um, someone else. You’re Li! There are a million Li’s. You’re moving out of this apartment next week, they should come back then. Not so much as a buff, but a bald-faced lie. Just try to buy yourself some time.

>[4] You’re not decent, you need another minute, some other excuse! Get Itiqqa up, bug out the back window. The apartment building is a relatively new construct, so it’s brick and concrete. That means you’ll be able to earthbend both of you safely to the street. You can figure things out from there.

>[5] Something else? (Write-in).

>(4/3)

>>5997894
>The Red Lotus sounds more and more appealing [assuming they are real in this setting.]
You know they were terrorists who wanted to groom the Avatar into being a human weapon who eventually lets themselves be killed in the Avatar State, right?

>>5997141
>Damn, is the White Lotus trying to make every Avatar after Aang a vegetarian in the air nomad style too?
What do you mean? You haven't met the Avatar, Itiqqa is just of some nebulous relation to Aang. Why do you think she's the Avatar?

>>5998417
uh oh
>[4] You’re not decent, you need another minute, some other excuse! Get Itiqqa up, bug out the back window. The apartment building is a relatively new construct, so it’s brick and concrete. That means you’ll be able to earthbend both of you safely to the street. You can figure things out from there.

>>5998420
Haha yeah I don't know why I said that, I guess I was just confused
>>5998417
>[1] Go out into the hall, you have nothing to hide, they have no reason to enter your apartment. You know that local authorities need warrants on Kyoshi Island, even if they don’t in the rest of the Earth Kingdom, so maybe they do in Union City too, it’s a pretty progressive place.
No copper will be busting into my home without a warrant, not on my watch, and you'll need a plausible reason for that warrant too!

>>5998417
>>[1] Go out into the hall, you have nothing to hide, they have no reason to enter your apartment. You know that local authorities need warrants on Kyoshi Island, even if they don’t in the rest of the Earth Kingdom, so maybe they do in Union City too, it’s a pretty progressive place.
No warrant bubs

>>5998417
>>[4] You’re not decent, you need another minute, some other excuse! Get Itiqqa up, bug out the back window. The apartment building is a relatively new construct, so it’s brick and concrete. That means you’ll be able to earthbend both of you safely to the street. You can figure things out from there.

>>5998417
>>[1] Go out into the hall, you have nothing to hide, they have no reason to enter your apartment. You know that local authorities need warrants on Kyoshi Island, even if they don’t in the rest of the Earth Kingdom, so maybe they do in Union City too, it’s a pretty progressive place

>>5998417
>[1] Go out into the hall, you have nothing to hide, they have no reason to enter your apartment. You know that local authorities need warrants on Kyoshi Island, even if they don’t in the rest of the Earth Kingdom, so maybe they do in Union City too, it’s a pretty progressive place.
You need a warrant to enter offisah

>>5998434
>>5998787
Bug out, the jig is up!

>>5998464
>>5998783
>>5998821
>>5999039
There's no reason for the cops to go inside the apartment, meet them in the hallway.

Bluffing (not aggressively) wins, writing.

File: Lin Beifong.png (78 KB, 333x250)

78 KB PNG

There’s no time to buy time, so you take a deep breath, center yourself, and slap your cheeks a couple of times to make sure you’re focused. Shooting a look back at your bedroom door to make it’s still shut, you smooth out your top, let out that deep breath, take in another, deeper breath, and slip out the door like a cat owl squeezing into a picken coop.

You shut the door, firmly grasping the handle, and give the cop on the other side your biggest grin. Well, not your biggest grin, but one that seems sincere and innocent. It seems sincere at least. You hope. “Yes?” You say, taking in the visitor. You almost flutter your eyebrows, but dial it back when you see the decidedly unimpressed expression on the police officer’s face.

Said officer is a middle-aged woman with jaw-length gray hair swept behind her ears, a pair of long scars running from her right cheekbone to the underside of her chin, and piercingly green eyes. She’s dressed in what looks like the armor of the elite Metalbending Police, though instead of being dark silver accented in steel, it’s black accented in gold, with the police force’s badge embossed on the left side of the breast in gold. Her uniform underneath appears to be the standard slate one. When her neutral-bordering-on-judgemental expression turns into a full-on sneer, you keep talking.

“Um, yeah, I’m Ainu,” you tap lightly on the door, your smile faltering, “what seems to be the—” you wisely stop yourself before saying ‘problem’. “What brings you here, officer…”

“Chief,” the older woman corrects, and you feel your mouth dry up. “Chief Beifong,” Lin Beifong, you know. The first police chief (and first metalbender)’s daughter, she’s somewhat famous, both by virtue of that, by being the head of Union City’s entire police force, as well as one of the world’s preeminent metalbenders, and being deeply connected to the United Federation’s military. “I would have sent someone else regarding this, but,” she exhales sharply through her nose, “honestly, I wanted to see you for myself.”

“You? You wanted to see… me?” You might be even more confused than when Itiqqa first wrapped her hand around yours yesterday, “why?”

“That’s not important,” Chief Beifong’s nonanswer comes in a much harsher tone than her already almost-hostile initial interaction with you. “Here,” she draws an envelope, manila chased with gold, from under her cuirass, “you were wired a substantial amount from Kyoshi Island yesterday. You never picked it up at the District Bank.”

>(1/2)

You let out a sigh of relief, then blush, then facepalm. In the excitement of the day yesterday, you completely forgot to get the check that had most of your savings in it. Gingerly, you take the envelope from Chief Beifong, realize that you have no pockets in your pajamas, and awkwardly hold it.

“The bank could’ve sent a courier,” you say, face still pink.

“If you weren’t here it would have turned into a police matter anyway,” the police chief tells you. “This isn’t a simple delivery either,” that makes you wish you could take that sigh back in, but if she knew about Itiqqa you would be bound in cables and your front door would be kicked in by now. “Like I said, I wanted to see you,” she folds her arms behind her back, taking a step back but looking you over with an even more discerning eye. You almost feel like a police cadet, “it’s been a long time since someone moved from Kyoshi Island to my city,” that gets you to raise an eyebrow. “I know how things work there, and I know who you are,” her frown deepens at that, “don’t expect anymore special treatment after this, don’t even consider this special, it was my own damn curiosity. Got it?”

>[1] Got it! Great, thanks, you’re on the same page then! You don’t know what crawled into her craw and died, but you don’t want problems from someone that high up in Union City and the United Federation as a whole. Thank her for bringing you your money though, you really did need that.

>[2] You never asked for special treatment! It doesn’t matter if your dad is the Governor of Kyoshi Island who your grandfather was to the United Federation or who your mother’s whatever-times great-grandmother was. You’re just here to get away from everything and maybe, if you’re lucky, become a great earthbender.

>[3] Having some idea of what her problem is, you know that it isn’t with you. Point that out, you’re stressed too! You can lash out too! Hell, it would be more appropriate, considering you’re a teenager. Don’t say anything that’ll get you in trouble, but you still want to vent.

>[4] She’s clearly mad, not at you, but at something relating to you. Do your best to shmooze her up and agree with her, she’s one of the most famous earthbenders, and a metalbender to boot! If you can get her to agree to teach you, or at least find you a teacher, that way you won’t need to find another master or go to the universities. (Will have a roll)

>[5] Say something else (Write-in, may have a roll.)

>(2/2) Going to try out a new dice system the next time we have to roll.

>>6000993
I would like to say I knew this was just going to be a bait fake-out, since if they actually suspected us of having Aang's, er, niece, they would've busted in the door, but if I wasn't confident enough to say it before the update for fear of being wrong, I certainly don't deserve any credit now
Venting is dangerous since we could let something important slip, and though I'd like her to know we never wanted special treatment, telling that outright to her face is probably going to piss her off more, so I'll go with a
>[1] Got it! Great, thanks, you’re on the same page then! You don’t know what crawled into her craw and died, but you don’t want problems from someone that high up in Union City and the United Federation as a whole. Thank her for bringing you your money though, you really did need that.
Too risky to schmooze to try to get her to be our earthbending master right now in my opinion, we got a way better plotline going anyway (also metalbending is semi-lame, I like the traditional full on just earthbending the most)

>>6000993
>>[1] Got it! Great, thanks, you’re on the same page then! You don’t know what crawled into her craw and died, but you don’t want problems from someone that high up in Union City and the United Federation as a whole. Thank her for bringing you your money though, you really did need that

>>6000993
>[1] Got it! Great, thanks, you’re on the same page then! You don’t know what crawled into her craw and died, but you don’t want problems from someone that high up in Union City and the United Federation as a whole. Thank her for bringing you your money though, you really did need that.

>>6000993
>[1] Got it! Great, thanks, you’re on the same page then! You don’t know what crawled into her craw and died, but you don’t want problems from someone that high up in Union City and the United Federation as a whole. Thank her for bringing you your money though, you really did need that.

>>6000999
>>6001128
>>6001402
>>6001414
Unanimous. Writing.

>Aang's, er, niece
Uh, any of Aang's siblings (which he probably had, given how relationships (didn't) work among the Air Nomads), would be so long-dead that any of their children would be as old as Pathik was in ATLA. I guess Sokka could have kids that young, if he really wanted to.

Going to try out a new dice system the next time we have to roll.

“Got it,” you say, reconsidering a peppy salute early enough that your hand barely twitches at your side.

Chief Beifong notices, her eyes narrowing at the motion.

“Sounds like we’re on the same page then,” you continue, shifting towards the doorknob. “Really I just want to keep my head down while I’m here, you won’t be seeing any problems from me,” you don’t know why she’s so pissed off, but you’re serious that you don’t want to cause any trouble. “Thanks again, for um, this,” you tap the check against the door, “I do appreciate that.”

Chief Beifong just snorts, “just stay out of trouble kid.” With that, she turns on her heels, sends you one last icy glance, and marches down the hall.

As soon as she’s gone, you duck back into your apartment, let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding in, and collapse onto the couch, clutching the majority of your money to your chest. Silently, you thank the creaky wooden floors of the building, remembering why someone like Chief Beifong wouldn’t be wearing shoes.

After a few moments calming yourself down, you put the envelope on the counter, pick out an outfit from inside your luggage, and lay it out on the couch. Then, after a quick stretch you lightly knock on your bedroom door. “Itiqqa pssst,” you press your cheek to the door, voice barely above a whisper, “it’s fine, they were just here to give me something I forgot yesterday.”

You can’t even hear Itiqqa cross the bedroom before she unlatches the door. You almost fall through when she opens it, only pulling yourself back in time thanks to your trained reflexes.

The Water Tribe girl, with her hair down and dressed in her clothes from yesterday, sans jacket, looks around the room like a jackalope peeking out of its burrow after a buzzard-wasp passes overhead. Seeing that you aren’t lying (why would you?), the younger girl opens the door fully and buries her face in her hands.

You can’t help but notice that the bedroom window behind her is open.

“Th-that was it?” She forces a laugh, but it’s unconvincing, “I-I know things aren’t, there are problems in the city.” It seems that she realizes something, because she puts her hands back to her face, “and here I am causing even more problems!”

“Hey, hey,” you hoverhand her, knowing that contact, even as light as patting her on the back, would make her jump. “Being one more runaway in the city isn’t causing any big problems, just try to relax.”

She silently shakes her head, taking in a few more shaky breaths before she lets looks up at the ceiling. “I can’t,” she sighs, “sorry.”

>(1/2)

File: equalist symbol.png (33 KB, 504x460)

33 KB PNG

“That’s nothing to be sorry about,” your mouth flattens into a concerned line. “Why don’t you just stay here and do your best to relax? I have some things I have to get done today.” The younger girl nods. “Is there anything you want me to bring back? Part of my errands is picking up groceries.”

“Maybe some eastern peninsula bean curd?” Your guest asks with a bashful smile. “Extra spicy, if you can find it.”

“Sure,” she won’t owe you for that one, you don’t want to add anything else to the girl’s plate, it seems full enough as-is.

Almost an hour, you’re exiting the nearest branch of the University District Bank, grumbling to yourself. Opening an account was much tougher than you expected, given the teller’s skepticism at you having the amount of money that you did at your age, and with your only form of ID being your visa (which you learned was stamped incorrectly, given Kyoshi Island’s attitude regarding Ba Sing Se). But eventually, through talking to the manager and providing proof that you were who you said you were, as embarrassing as that was, you managed it. Now, standing on the front step of the bank with a pocket full of colorful United Federation bills, you resolve to stuff your fans at the bottom of the chest in your bedroom.

Passing through University Square, with its central fountain, you wonder why you didn’t just go to the bank’s main branch, given that you had to go past it to get your groceries. Probably because you didn’t want to admit you’d forgotten an entire wired check there yesterday.

Behind the fountain, in front of the main gate of Union City University, the youngest but largest educational institution in the city, there’s a stage set up with a considerable crowd in front of it. The crowd is mostly young people, from around your age to their mid-twenties, with people from seemingly all ethnic backgrounds in attendance. Their attention is pretty rapt on the speaker, a slightly older man with mutton chops in brown and gray, wearing a cream headband with a character on a red circle in the middle of it. You figure that the character, which you can’t make out at this distance, is the same as the one on the same-colored banners that are hung from poles on either side of the stage. Squinting, you can make out that the character stands for ‘equal’ or maybe ‘level’. It definitely doesn’t mean ‘peace’, given how impassioned the speaker seems to be.

>[1] Stop and listen. You heard some vague things about the social issues facing the new, fifth nation, but you haven’t experienced them firsthand.

>[2] Ask someone in the crowd what’s going on? If it’s something to do with the universities you want to know, and if it isn’t you live in this area, so it’s probably best if you do know.

>[3] Continue about your day, if it turns into an actual problem it won’t be yours.

>[4] Something else (Write-in)

>(2/2)

>>6002628
>>[1] Stop and listen. You heard some vague things about the social issues facing the new, fifth nation, but you haven’t experienced them firsthand.

>>6002628
>>[1] Stop and listen. You heard some vague things about the social issues facing the new, fifth nation, but you haven’t experienced them firsthand.
If possible, move to the front as well

>>6002628
>1

>>6002628
>>[1] Stop and listen. You heard some vague things about the social issues facing the new, fifth nation, but you haven’t experienced them firsthand.

>>6002628
>[1] Stop and listen. You heard some vague things about the social issues facing the new, fifth nation, but you haven’t experienced them firsthand.

>>6002628
>>[2] Ask someone in the crowd what’s going on? If it’s something to do with the universities you want to know, and if it isn’t you live in this area, so it’s probably best if you do know.

>>6002628
>>[3] Continue about your day, if it turns into an actual problem it won’t be yours.

>>6002628
>[2] Ask someone in the crowd what’s going on? If it’s something to do with the universities you want to know, and if it isn’t you live in this area, so it’s probably best if you do know.
I'm always scared of cults, since they can turn rational human beings into insane people in seemingly no time at all, merely through the use of clever language

>>6002850
>>6002895
>>6003016
>>6003186
>>6003239
A schizophrenic racist is talking, listen and learn.

>>6003505
>>6003575
What's going on? You need to know if this is going to be a problem for you.

>>6003552
>pours oil down sink
Not my problem!

Voting is closed, expect the update tonight.

>>6003575
I love cults, since they can turn rational human beings into insane people in seemingly no time at all, merely through the use of clever language

>>6003630
I hope we can join the insane anti-bender cult!

>>6004025
Yeah I'll try not to do heel-turns as bad as Hiroshi Sato or Amon or Tarrlok in the quest though. Wow there were a lot of bad twists in Book 1 of Korra.
I'm not watching it, but watching someone else watch it the first half of Book 2 of Korra isn't terrible, aside from starting to rape the lore of spirit world and how directionless most of the characters are (Korra being retarded is in-character for her so it's fine). Someone really dropped the bag on the second half of that season, Unalaq doesn't have as much wasted potential as Amon but he has more than Kuvira or Tarrlok.

>>6004070
Anon... you're a bender.

>>6004078
We don't have to be filthy benders for much longer :)

Curious, you stop and shuffle into the crowd so you can hear what the speaker is saying.

“—the tyranny of benders!” Stops you in your tracks, somewhere in the middle of the crowd, and you stand and listen. The crowd isn’t too dense, so you’re not shoulder to shoulder with people and you’re relatively comfortable. A pair of what look like university students, likely a couple, based on their body language, are whispering to each other about the rhetoric. The girl seems taken in by it, while the guy seems skeptical.

“Benders have caused all of the wars in living memory! Even the Air Nomads, characterized as wise and noble, are not blameless!” There are a few murmurs from the crowd at that, listeners who remember their early schooling on the Air Nomads and the Hundred Year War, nevertheless, nobody speaks up. “Even a nation of benders, so in-touch with the spirits, ignored decades, decades! Of military buildup from the Fire Nation!” That one gets mixed confusion and, surprisingly, agreement. “Because they saw themselves as above the other three nations, just as benders see themselves above the rest of us, the non-bending masses! The United Federation Council, all of them benders, do nothing about the problems facing this city!” More of the crowd reacts to that, both shouting dissent and loudly agreeing with the speaker.

“For nine months, a killer has stalked these streets, committing cold-blooded murder like clockwork, and the Council has done nothing but turn over non-bender homes and businesses!” He drops the megaphone from his face to inhale, before raising it again, “instead they investigate us Equalists! They stake out our rallies, they harass us in the streets!” He drops the microphone again, though this time it’s to spit exaggeratedly onto the stage next to him, “as if there was any connection! We are merely a distraction, a justification for the politicians, married to the countryside elites and beholden to foreign nobles, to destroy the lives of those in the way of their agendas!” That doesn’t sound… right, it just sounds like rhetoric. “This city’s own businesses are frozen out and spurned for contracts from the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom! The jobs and lives of the people, not only of this city, but of this country, are being stolen and ruined by greedy politicians who sell out to an isolationist island nation which thumbs their nose at the world and a despotic police-state held up by benders!”

>(1/2)

That seems to play well to the crowd, and the couple next to you is engaged in a full-blown argument, loud whispering audible when the speaker isn’t talking. You just feel increasingly uncomfortable, you don’t know a ton about the situation in the wider Earth Kingdom, except that it is pretty bad. “And complicit in this, the government’s moralist shield. Answer me this, people; can a man, objectively, govern two nations and have the best interest of both at heart?”

Various answers, mostly “no” or “who cares” rise from the crowd, which is still mixed in feeling, though much more fired up than when you wandered into it. Undeterred, the speaker continues.

“Can you believe it?” A young male voice says, in a tone where you almost think he’s speaking to himself. Turning to your right, you see a teenager, maybe two years older than you, has made his way to your side. He’s looking at the stage impassively with his hands in his pockets. He’s a bit taller than you, though not by too much, you’re on the tall side for a girl, with lighter brown hair (a few strands of which are dusted onto his chin), more common in the northern Earth Kingdom than anywhere else, naturally angled eyebrows that are somewhat bushy at the ends, and the lightest gray eyes you’ve ever seen. His bone structure is pretty sharp too. He’s wearing a two-tone gray tunic with dull orange pants, and there’s a canvas bag slung over his right shoulder. “I mean,” his expression darkens, “throwing all of that blame on the Air Nomads, and making villains out of benders. It’s just a circumstance of their birth.” He shakes his head, “two nonbenders have bender kids all the time.”

“Yeah,” you’re finding it easier to listen to him than the increasingly-frenzied speaker right now, “neither of my parents were benders.” You have to go back at least five generations to find a bender you’re actually descended from.

“Mine either,” the boy says, “I’m Noyon,” he shoots you a casual smile.

It’s nice to meet someone reasonable, so you give him a nod and return a genial smile of your own, “I’m Ainu.”

“I don’t know about you Ainu,” Noyon scratches his chin, “but I think I’ve heard enough.” His tone for the last bit is surprisingly harsh.

You shrug, “why ask what I was thinking though?”

“You look like you’re new in town too.”

‘I do?’ You think to yourself. It’s true that you are new to town, but you don’t want to be broadcasting that, even in the nicer parts of town.

>(2/2)

>[1] You’ve heard enough too, about these ‘Equalists’ at least, but you may like to hear more about someone who’s also new to Union City.

>[2] You’ve heard enough too, and you’d better get back to going about your day. You’re sure Itiqqa is fine, or as fine as she can be, but you’d rather not leave her alone in your apartment for any longer than necessary.

>[3] Yeah, you’ve heard enough of this, but ask Noyon if he wants to stick with you, at least for a while. If you stick out enough to be picked out of a crowd you don’t want to become someone’s easy mark.

>[4] It’s all crazy, but you kind of want to hear where he’s going with this. Or at least see what happens when the police show up.

>[5] Something else (write-in)

>(3/2)

>>6005465
>>[3] Yeah, you’ve heard enough of this, but ask Noyon if he wants to stick with you, at least for a while. If you stick out enough to be picked out of a crowd you don’t want to become someone’s easy mark.

>>6005465
>[3] Yeah, you’ve heard enough of this, but ask Noyon if he wants to stick with you, at least for a while. If you stick out enough to be picked out of a crowd you don’t want to become someone’s easy mark

>>6005465
>[1] You’ve heard enough too, about these ‘Equalists’ at least, but you may like to hear more about someone who’s also new to Union City.

>>6005465
>[2] You’ve heard enough too, and you’d better get back to going about your day. You’re sure Itiqqa is fine, or as fine as she can be, but you’d rather not leave her alone in your apartment for any longer than necessary.

>>6005489
>>6005805
Blow this popsicle stand. Not literally though, that would prove the speaker right.

>>6005928
Stay in the square but move away from the rally.

>>6006102
Get back to what you were doing, from what you know, there's a nonzero chance your guest is having a panic attack.

>>6005465
>>[4] It’s all crazy, but you kind of want to hear where he’s going with this. Or at least see what happens when the police show up.

>>6005465
>>[1] You’ve heard enough too, about these ‘Equalists’ at least, but you may like to hear more about someone who’s also new to Union City.

>>6006263
>>6006586
Voting was closed, sorry.

“I appreciate the help,” you tell Noyon as you leave the store, more than half an hour after leaving the rally. You didn’t learn much about him on the excursion, but he hasn’t robbed or pickpocketed you yet, and he bought his own stuff, which tells you that he’s nice enough. “Do I really stand out that much?”

“Nah,” he takes a bite of the moon peach he bought, dabbing at the juices with his sleeve. “I just caught onto you because I grew up here and it’s been kind of a long time since I came back,” he chuckles, “sort of a combination of getting a similar vibe to myself and recognizing what me and my hoodlum friends would’ve seen as a mark back in the day.”

“Hoodlums huh? You didn’t grow up in the University District then, I take it?” You always had the highest expectations at home. The governor’s eldest daughter, a Kyoshi Warrior-in-training, the direct descendant of… yeah, there were a lot of standards to live up to. Even if nobody was really pressuring you, it sometimes felt hard to be yourself.

The older boy (only a year older than you, you learned) scoffs, “No way, we were all from way at the edge of the city, out by the military base.”

“So, are you a bender?” You ask as you shift the bags hanging from your arms, you remember what he said about his parents while you were in the crowd.

Noyon stumbles, nearly choking on the next bite of his peach, “Yeah that’s right, I am. You too, right?”

“Yeah,” you take his shock in stride, maybe him being a bender had something to do with moving out of the city, or maybe it was because his family was in the military, you don’t really want to pry. “I’m an earthbender, the first one from my family in a really long time. Since Av- since at least the time of Avatar Kyoshi.”

He whistles at that, “One of my grandfathers was a bender, he died when I was really young though.”

“Sorry to hear that,” you still have three left. “So what kind of bender are you?”

“Fire,” Noyon says too quickly. “So, where in the Earth Kingdom are you from?”

You still feel kind of bad about lying to innocent (well, you’re not sure how innocent, she is withholding a lot from you, but that seems to be out of nerves) Itiqqa, and you’re not bringing Noyon all the way home, so you don’t see the point in lying to him. “Kyoshi Island,” you say, trying not to sound dejected.

“Oh cool,” he says passively.

After almost a block of walking in silence, broken only by your companion taking bites out of his fruit, you turn to him. “That’s it? ‘Oh cool?’ Usually people have more to say. They want to pepper me with questions or see my fans,” you really can’t believe he just brushed it off. It’s not that you’re indignant, you’re just surprised.

Noyon shrugs, “Yeah, it doesn’t seem like you want to talk about it.”

>(1/6 (this one got away from me (in the good way)))

“I don’t not,” you can’t help but blush, “it’s just,” you have to think for a second, “I don’t know what to say, really. Besides all the lines for tourists,” a tinge of disgust slips into your voice, “or bureaucrats from the mainland.”

“Using canned lines? Yeah, I’ve had my share of that too,” he finishes his peach, pocketing the pit. You offered to get him a second one, but he turned you down, they were kind of expensive. “Had to prove to the new school and neighbors I was a good kid, you know?”

That gets you to laugh at least, “Yeah, that makes sense. Have you reconnected with any of your old friends since you’ve been back?”

“Nope, it’s not really what I’m here for,” Noyon sounds somewhat uncomfortable, similar to you a minute ago talking about where you came from. “My mom, she’s trying to get me to do better for myself,” he looks at you, as if for your assurance. It makes sense, so you nod, “and one of my uncles, he works for the White Lotus, over on Air Temple Island.”

“Wait really? That’s what those guys are?” You’ve heard of the White Lotus, but you can’t really remember ever seeing them, though you have a foggy memory of men in lavender robes meeting your grandfather when you were really, really young. They weren’t like the soldiers on Air Temple Island though.

Noyon nods, “she wants me to see him, to try and get onto the,” he rolls his hand around, “whatever.”

“Oh, to be one of the guards?” You ask, and he nods. “I thought it was really hard to get into the White Lotus, but those guys seemed kind of like normal soldiers.”

“You’ve been to Air Temple Island?”

You nod, “yesterday, I kind of wanted to see the city but not the city city, it’s kind of overwhelming compared to back home.” It’s only half true, and you play it off with a laugh, but you don’t want to go into detail about everything that happened yesterday.

“Oh man, lucky you,” Noyon groans, “they shut the island down entirely, tour groups aren’t even allowed on. The only boat that even came across the harbor from that direction was the Air Acolyte junk.”

“Wait, they shut it down entirely?” That can’t be good, maybe Itiqqa is the daughter of one of the Water Tribes’ chiefs. You didn’t want to cause an international incident!

The boy nods again, “and I really have to get to the island.”

“Why not just find your uncle when he comes into the city? I’m sure those guys go into the city sometimes, it can't be much for them to do on the island, it seems like the Acolytes have everything handled.”

“It’s just easier to meet him on the island, alright?” He doesn’t snap, but his tone makes it clear that he’s done with the subject.

>(2/6)

By now, you’ve reached the block your apartment is on. You say your goodbyes to Noyon, who’s staying almost all the way across the city, on the other side of the massive Silk Road Bridge, then head up to your apartment.

Before you can even set your groceries down on the kitchen counter, you have to practically drop them at your feet and slam the door with your foot when you see the state Itiqqa is in.

The younger girl is kneeling in front of the couch, head down in the cushions, and taking short, shallow breaths. Naturally, you rush over to her side and put a hand on her back. You didn’t come to this city to be a big sister, but it just comes naturally to you.

“Hey, hey,” you put on your best calming voice, starting to rub in circles, “deep breaths, deep breaths.” You know not to tell her to calm down or ask her what’s wrong.

Itiqqa’s breath hitches, and she picks her head up from the couch. “I’m- I’m sorry,” she manages to say around a hiccup, “I didn’t know what- what to do, so I tr-” she sucks in a breath, staring down at the tear-stained cushion. There aren’t any more tears at least. “I tried meditating, I know I shouldn’t have.” The younger girl wipes her eyes off with the heels of her palms, and manages to stand up, though she’s somewhat shaky on her feet. “That’s why I’m here, not, um, not here here, in Union City. For sp- for training to be- to fix my spirituality, it-” her lip quivers.

“It’s fine, just sit,” you put a hand on her shoulder, and she complies, sitting on the couch with her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands.

“It’s really not,” Itiqqa sounds absolutely miserable, “but for now, yeah, I guess. I’m just,” she sighs, looking down at her feet, “I’m not ready.”

“Maybe the fact that you can recognize that you aren’t ready means you are,” you try to reassure the younger girl as you put away your groceries. “Oh yeah, I found that tofu you wanted. We can have that for dinner, if you want?”

Itiqqa just offers you a weak nod.

The sound of rain lashing against the windows of your living room is starting to lull you to sleep later at night. You aren’t happy about sleeping on the couch for the second night in a row, but you felt even worse about making Itiqqa sleep out here, especially after how down she was when you came home today. You’d also like to minimize the chances of someone seeing her when you open the door.

Something clatters on the street next to your building, drawing you away from the gateway to slumber, and what sounds like shouting jolts you fully awake. It’s a ways past midnight, you realize as you sit up, and with the rain, not many people would be out or even up at this hour. So, despite your instincts telling you to stay away from the window, you pad across the floor and peek through the window.

>(3/6)

The streets are dark, the sparse gas lights illuminating the streets having been shut off several hours ago, both to conserve energy and to avoid accidents, and arc lighting has yet to make its way to the residential parts of the district. Still, you can make out a figure in the rain, slowly making its way down the street. Something else, you can’t tell if it’s another person or a bag of something, is propped up against several trash cans on the edge of the sidewalk. The figure walking down the street stops, and you flinch so hard you almost fall on your butt, but after a beat, they continue on their way, disappearing into the night.

Even with the downpour’s gentle noise, you barely get any sleep for the rest of the night.

For the second morning in a row, knocking on the front door wakes you up, though this time it’s a lot gentler than Chief Beifong’s insistent pounding. That doesn’t make the headache you wake up with any better.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Itiqqa whispers, already dressed for the day, it looks like she was just about to shake you awake. “They’ve been knocking for a minute now, it—” she bites her lower lip, “it’s awful, the whole street is on lockdown.”

You groan, sitting up, “just go into the bedroom, everything’s gonna be just fine.”

Once the bedroom door is shut and locked, you flatten down your hair and open the front door. Like clockwork, it’s another cop.

This is a normal one though, a younger man in the typical slate uniform and peaked cap of the normal police force, with a light complexion and dark amber eyes. There’s a truncheon at his side, and it looks like he’s trying to keep a serious expression, but his nerves are showing through.

“Sorry to bother you,” his voice is even younger than his face, “but we lost several officers in this district last night, so we’re going door-to-door to see if anyone heard or saw anything.”

“Actually yeah,” you’re quiet, quieter than you’d normally be, but something about the way the figure last night shook you. Once the cop takes out his notepad, you begin recounting what you saw last night. It isn’t a long story, but you want to give him as much detail as possible without any embellishment. When you’re done, the officer tucks his pencil and notepad back into his pocket, and thanks you.

You’re about to shut the door when something falls, loudly, in the bedroom.

>(4/6)

“What was that?” The officer holds the door open as you try to shut it.

“Nothing,” you try to play it off, “something probably just fell off the dresser when I rushed to get the door. I didn’t sleep too well last night cause of what I saw, you know how it goes.”

“Alri—” the officer lets your door go, you hear something (someone, you know) moving in the bedroom. You silently kick yourself. “Look, I’m sorry, but if there’s anyone else in here, I have to question them too,” he says, shouldering into the room.

“Wait wait wait,” you desperately try to come up with an excuse, but your brain is fast becoming overwhelmed.

The officer gives you a reassuring smile, which comes off as forced with the pall in the atmosphere. With a glance outside, you can see that the rain has tapered off, though the clouds remain overhead. There are also a lot more officers in the street, and what looks like a body bag next to the cans you saw last night.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed about a student hookup, it happens all the time around here,” now the officer’s hand is on the doorknob to your bedroom. You can’t even say anything, what he just said to you completely shut down your brain, your face is completely cherry red. “You wouldn’t believe how many reports we get around here about jilted lov—”

He stops when he sees Itiqqa on the other side of the door, her eyes wide like a fox antelope on train tracks. Her hands are on the underside of the bedroom window, having just opened it completely.

“Wait,” you repeat for what feels like the hundredth time, grabbing the officer’s forearm.

With his other hand, he’s pulled a photo out of the same pocket his notepad went into, and you see that it’s of a slightly younger Itiqqa in a heavier jacket, though her hair and expression are the same as the girl in front of you.

“Hold on,” he says to the girl in a reassuring tone, “you aren’t in trouble, we just want to get you back—”

The Water Tribe native isn’t having any of it, and she springs out the window. From the angle you’re at, you see her form the water on the building’s slick facade into ice, sliding down the surface with one hand and both feet on the wall.

>(5/6)

“Itiqqa!” You shout, jockeying to the side of the stunned officer.

Recognizing that she’s gone, you take a half step back. Itiqqa may not be in trouble, but you maybe, possibly, probably, almost definitely are.

“Hold on,” the officer turns on you. You wonder if he would’ve pursued your guest if he was a waterbender or an earthbender, so you figure he’s a firebender, the bending discipline least represented in the Union City Police force.

>[1] Book it! There’s no way you can explain everything without Itiqqa to back you up. Especially after she ran so quickly and with tensions so high. She is so going to owe you after this, even if you still don’t know what she has to give…

>[2] Wait wait wait (you’ve been saying that a lot this morning) you can explain! Yeah, definitely, you’ve got an explanation for this that makes perfect sense, and Itiqqa will back you up when they find her, totally. They just have to let you know when they do. (Bluff roll)

>[3] Cooperate, that will make them go easy on you, you hope. The fact that a cop got killed right at your doorstep probably won’t help, and you DID promise Chief Beifong you wouldn’t make any trouble. Maybe volunteering to go means that it isn’t making trouble.

>[4] Take off in the opposite direction of Itiqqa. There are a lot of cops around, but they’re focused on the murder investigation and you’d bet that finding Itiqqa is going to be a higher priority than chasing after you. She’ll probably vouch for you when (if) they find her, as long as she isn’t too nervous to function.

>[5] Write-in (make a plan of it, may have a roll).

>Again, going to be changing up rolls the next time we have to roll.

>(6/6)

>>6007072
>>[1] Book it! There’s no way you can explain everything without Itiqqa to back you up. Especially after she ran so quickly and with tensions so high. She is so going to owe you after this, even if you still don’t know what she has to give…
Poor gal's too nervous to function, went with a total stranger to get away from whatever it was going up over there... fishy. Don't like it, we need to get her out of here.

Also the idea of ruining the White Lotus' plans by just hanging out with the avatar and being a "bad influence" fills me with IMMENSE schadenfreude.

>>6007072
>>[1] Book it! There’s no way you can explain everything without Itiqqa to back you up. Especially after she ran so quickly and with tensions so high. She is so going to owe you after this, even if you still don’t know what she has to give…

>>6007072
>[2] Wait wait wait (you’ve been saying that a lot this morning) you can explain! Yeah, definitely, you’ve got an explanation for this that makes perfect sense, and Itiqqa will back you up when they find her, totally. They just have to let you know when they do. (Bluff roll)

>>6007072
>>[1] Book it! There’s no way you can explain everything without Itiqqa to back you up. Especially after she ran so quickly and with tensions so high. She is so going to owe you after this, even if you still don’t know what she has to give…

>>6007072
>[1] Book it! There’s no way you can explain everything without Itiqqa to back you up. Especially after she ran so quickly and with tensions so high. She is so going to owe you after this, even if you still don’t know what she has to give…

>>6007072
>[2] Wait wait wait (you’ve been saying that a lot this morning) you can explain! Yeah, definitely, you’ve got an explanation for this that makes perfect sense, and Itiqqa will back you up when they find her, totally. They just have to let you know when they do. (Bluff roll)

>>6007098
>>6007549
>>6007980
>>6008211
Get out of there, there are way too many cops to talk your way out of this!

>>6007744
>>6008960
Bluff, bluff like your life depends on it!

Voting is closed, writing.

File: rock gloves.png (223 KB, 600x315)

223 KB PNG

Placing a hand on the police officer’s chest, you dance around him and into your bedroom. You spare one, last, wistful gaze at the room you didn’t even get the chance to use, then follow Itiqqa’s example and vault through the window.

Unlike the waterbender, you don’t simply glide down the side of the building, instead, you grip the windowsill, shift your weight, and, throwing your arms outward, you bend the brick facade under your feet and launch yourself to the other side of the street. You land on the building across from yours perpendicular to the ground, its poured surface rising to meet and wrap around your bare feet. Pushing the concrete back into place, sans two small platforms to kick off of, you use earthbending to help propel you into a flip that takes you all the way to the building’s roof.

From there, you take a moment to look up and down the street for any sign of Itiqqa. The Water Tribe girl is well and truly gone, but you can see a few police officers and purple-clad White Lotus heading in the direction you figure she went. However, the cop in your apartment shouts down to the assembled officers on the street, so you start running across the roof.

The building next to the one you’re on, separated by an alleyway, is several stories shorter, so you form this one’s cement around your hand, slide down the building, and leap to the next roof, landing in a roll. Not breaking the momentum, you sprint to the edge of the building and launch yourself off with a pillar pulled up from its side, this time landing on the next building in a low crouch. You chance taking a look over the side of the building and into the street, immediately regretting that decision when a stream of water nearly hits you in the face, you and have to shift away from it as it turns into a grasping tendril.

Two more earthbending-assisted leaps take you to the side of a building that you smoothly slide down, a platform for your feet and one hand supporting you on your descent. You roll your hands into the two platforms to create an imitation of the Earth Monarch’s secret police’s rock gloves. You wish that you knew how to form the Dai Li’s rock shoes to allow you to seamlessly glide across the ground, but your first earthbending teacher was sent away before you could get that far. Still, you were and are super proud of the fact that you’re able to use the rock gloves.

One of the two Waterbending Police Officers pursuing you glides onto the street behind you, gathering the dampness on top of the cobbled streets and freezing it to whip towards you. You take back off running, ducking into another alley and swinging yourself over a six foot high wall that separates it from a small restaurant’s back yard.

>(1/5)

A busboy, already taking a smoke break despite clearly being in the process of opening up, stares at you with his mouth agape before you use your gloves to propel yourself over a perpendicular wall and into the next alley.

Unfortunately, the other officer predicted where you would be, and attempts to apprehend you with a pair of water whips from the paired flasks on his hips, which are fed by a larger bladder strapped to his upper back. You duck the crossed streams of water and shift the ground under the waterbender’s feet in an attempt to throw him off-balance. He twists his hands, pulling the lashing water back behind you, forcing you to flip back over the attack. On the recovery from the flip, you shoot your right hand forward, firing the rock glove at your opponent’s wrists. The projectile strikes true, wrapping around both of the officer’s wrists and pinning him to one of the alleyway’s walls.

The other officer slides over the wall behind you on a ramp of ice, but you stomp a pillar of earth out of the cobblestones to shatter the ice before he can reach you. The officer, who seems younger than his partner, is almost as agile as you are, and vaults the pillar when he reaches it. However, you lash out with your remaining rock glove and manage to tag his ankle, causing him to flip over and pinning him to the ground when you motion down with your left hand. You then stomp forward and pin his hands to the ground by crossing your arms and raising the earth up at 90 degree angles under his wrists. You similarly bring up the ground around the other officer’s ankles, pinning him in place as well.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t want to do that but this was all a big misunderstanding!” You let them know as you book it out of the alley and back onto a more main thoroughfare that’s quickly filling up as the day gets started. Even a few blocks away from where you escaped from, there’s a noticeable absence of a police presence. You suppose that just means nothing occurred around here last night. While the lack of police is fortunate, the lack of any signs of where Itiqqa went isn’t.

“Stop right there!” A youthful voice shouts, and you spot a topknotted teenager running in your direction, when he points at you you realize he’s talking to you. There’s something familiar about the boy dressed in black and gold, but you don’t stop long enough to get a good look at him, only pausing to reform your gloves before taking off back down the street.

“-ce Jinro, don’t go off on your-” you hear from the cops before you’re clambering up the building at the t-junction at the end of the street. At least you know your new pursuer’s name.

>(2/5)

“Stop, dammit!” The other teenager shouts, and you can picture the rage on his face. You don’t even pause as you clamber up the building’s stone side. You know that a lot of the city’s new construction has steel frames, but this part of the city is still (relatively) old, which makes getting around as an earthbender a lot easier in a situation like this. What does make you pause is the sound of fire rushing towards you.

You barely swing out of the way, and you end up facing the street with a bewildered look on your face. Several of the people who were starting their day are running and shouting away from the firebender who’s chasing you, some of which you can hear are calling for police. More people, further away from the source of the flames, are carefully yet eagerly observing the situation, maybe they think it’s some sort of show.

“Next time I won’t miss!” He shouts.

You respond by using your earthbending to launch a stone at his feet with considerable force. The projectile has the desired effect of making the firebender jump backward, giving you the time to scramble the rest of the way up the building and get a vantage point. The fireballs that fly over your head make you slide down the other side of the building and land in University Square proper.

Knowing that the firebender who’s chasing you has to make his way down several streets and across several blocks to reach the square, you allow yourself to take a breather.

“Ainu?” You recognize Noyon’s voice, and realize that you’ve dropped right into the rest of the police in the University District. A group of five or six officers are detaining a large group of students and civilians, including the mutton-chopped speaker from yesterday, and the older teen you walked home with.

“Please, miss, leave the plaza and continue about your day,” the only police officer in a metalbending uniform, an older, mustachioed man, tells you. “These radicals came upon an active crime scene, so they’re being detained. We don’t want to have to arrest any nonaffiliated benders.”

You breath a sigh of relief when you realize that there’s no way this group of cops heard anything from the ones by your house before you were able to arrive. It’s not like there’s such a thing as a mobile telegraph, and you don’t know the Union City Police to use messenger hawks. “Wait,” cock your head, pointing to the only detainee you know, “why are you arresting him then?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling them,” Noyon says with a shrug. He and a few others have yet to be cuffed, instead keeping their hands above their heads. “I was already here, not on some stupid march with these guys,” he indicates the rest of the group with a nod.

>(3/5)

Not voicing how messed up it is to only be arresting nonbenders, you add, “besides, he’s a firebender.”

“What?” The metalbending officer and your acquaintance say in unison, looking at each other and then you.

“I mean, yeah, I am,” Noyon nods.

“Then bend, like we told you before,” the tannest one of the police here, who you figure is a waterbender based on his proximity to the central fountain, “if you can do that, you’re free to go.”

“He was here before they marched in,” the metalbending cop adds, “probably happenstance, but he could be a scout. Come on kid,” his tone is tired, despite how early in the day it still is, “just bend and we’ll let you go.” He gives the other officer a nod, and they gesture for Noyon to put his hands down.

The older teen, confused, does, “It’s uh, it’s too humid, can’t firebend.”

The mustachioed cop sighs, and you facepalm, getting ready to hurry on your way.

“Hold it!” The firebender from before, clearly more out of breath, finally rounds the corner to your left. “Arrest that girl, she’s wanted by the White Lotus!”

You lock eyes with the metalbending officer, who adopts a combat stance. You can see wires settle into the wire holders on the undersides of his wrists. Gulping, you shift back into a ready stance.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Noyon grit his teeth, then completely drop his hands. In a split second, he’s in front of you, the three officers nearest him having been knocked onto their backs.

“Wuh—” you can’t process what you just saw enough to say anything more.

“Sorry Ainu, it just seems like you’re my ticket onto Air Temple Island when you clear up whatever misunderstanding you have with the White Lotus,” Noyon says with a forced smile. “So let’s get out of here.”

At the same time as the metalbending officer launches his wires, and the firebender who’s still after you lashes out with an arc of flame following through from a roundhouse kick, Noyon wheels his arms before thrusting both hands downward, one placed over the other.

A practical wall of air kicks up enough dust and water vapor from the ground around you to conceal your location, and you hear the metalbending cop’s wires ping harmlessly off the building behind you, while the fiery attack to your side is snuffed out completely.

“C’mon,” you’re stunned as the older boy grabs your hand, and runs off with you supernaturally fast, before coming to a stop in a fenced off alleyway behind another restaurant.

>(4/5)

“You- yo- that—” you stutter and stumble at the impossible feat you just watched him pull off. “That- you’re an airbender!” You hiss out, unable to keep the absolute shock out of your voice. You’re sure that all the color has left your face.

“Yeah, sorry,” he glances into the alley, keeping his back to the fence. “I lied to you yesterday,” he meets your stunned gaze, and you can see in his eyes that he’s being sincere this time, “but I really do have to get to Air Temple Island.”

>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.

>[2] Then you have to shake this pursuit. You’re pretty sure Noyon was lying about staying on the other side of the river yesterday if he was on this side of the city this morning, but getting as far as you can from the University District before coming up with a plan is probably your best bet. You also need to find some clothes so you don’t stand out as much. Or at least a pair of shoes.

>[3] Then you’re going to go low, underground even! Maybe not literally underground, but if Noyon knows the hangouts of the rough-and-tumble underworld and gangster types, maybe that’s your ticket to disappearing from the police. Maybe you sound like a country bumpkin, but using those types to avoid the law just sounds natural to you.

>[4] Then you’re going to get ahead of the police and the White Lotus. The ferries might not be traveling to Air Temple Island, but Noyon said that the White Lotus was. Maybe you won’t be able to hijack their junk, but maybe if you meet them as they depart they’ll take you directly to the island! It may be a longshot, but it may make the White Lotus see you in a better light.

>[5] Write-in (make a plan of it.)

>(5/5)

>>6009729
>[3] Then you’re going to go low, underground even! Maybe not literally underground, but if Noyon knows the hangouts of the rough-and-tumble underworld and gangster types, maybe that’s your ticket to disappearing from the police. Maybe you sound like a country bumpkin, but using those types to avoid the law just sounds natural to you.

>>6009729
>>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.
Let's get it

>>6009729
>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.

>>6009729
>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.

>>6009729
>>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.
Then we go underground. LITERALLY underground.

>>6009729
>>[1] Then you have to find Itiqqa. You have some vague idea of the direction she was headed in, and you think that her final destination would either be the Central Train Station, which you can safely rule out on the assumption it will be heavily-patrolled based on the murders last night, or the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center, which has no reason to be as thoroughly policed. So that’s where you’ll go.

>>6009741
Gangsters are cool, like those serialized magazines, right?

>>6009781
>>6009903
>>6010033
>>6010127
If Itiqqa is trying to get back home maybe she'd go to the greatest concentration of Southern Water Tribe immigrants.

Voting is closed, writing so I can get out another update this weekend.

“The only way to get you there and me out of this,” you wave a hand around to indicate the general everything, “is if we can find Itiqqa.”

“Itiqqa?” Noyon raises an eyebrow.

You realize just how long a story it is, and how you still don’t know exactly what’s up with the girl. “It’s a long story, but she’s the one who the White Lotus is after, not me. I guess they are after me, but only because she was in my apartment.” That gets the older boy to raise his eyebrow even higher. “She- look, she was just laying low for a couple of days, she used me to get off of Air Temple Island. But I still don’t know why, really,” you peek into the alley beyond the shuttered restaurant’s back lot, “she didn’t use me, not really, she’s just a scared kid in over her head. There’s only one place she’d realistically go.”

Less than an hour later, you’re riding a train crossing one of the bridges over the river that separates central Union City from its southern portion. “I feel like a jerk,” you cross and then immediately uncross your arms, disliking the dampness of the outfit Noyon stole for you to wear over your pajamas.

“You look like one,” the apparent airbender chuckles, “but that’s the price we have to pay to travel incognito.”

“The price I have to pay,” you clarify. At least your hair isn’t wet, though on the other hand, you are still barefoot, since people don’t leave their shoes out on clotheslines overnight. That isn’t unheard of for an earthbender though. “I guess your rough past came in handy, don’t worry, I won’t mention this to your… dad? When you meet him.”

“What? My— no, no, it’s not like that,” it seems like your traveling companion didn’t appreciate that jab, there’s some color in his cheeks.

“Sorry,” you cut him off, “I don’t need to know if I don’t need to know.”

He shakes his head, “not yet. It’s complicated.”

You get off the train one stop before the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center just in case, and find a deserted above-ground station between Corporate Circle and said Cultural Center. The walk is almost a mile, but both you and Noyon agreed that there might be a White Lotus presence at the next station, on the off chance that Itiqqa also took the train. You figure that she didn’t, considering she didn’t have any money on her when she ran off.

Noyon also shows you a route around the side of the Cultural Center, which he says he and his friends used to sneak into the street fairs often held by the immigrants from the Southern Water Tribe in the square in front of the building.

File: southern water tribe cult(...).png (445 KB, 888x500)

445 KB PNG

You can’t help but stop and gawk at the Cultural Center when you’re finally able to take it in completely. It’s a huge building of white stone with curved blue tile roofs, eight stories tall in its main portion with even higher towers on its corners, and as wide as the plaza it sits on. The entrances are two doors, nearly twenty feet high, at the base of round towers on either side of the enormous stained glass window at the center of the building’s front face. But what catches your eye most of all is the tiered fountain, detailed in traditional Southern Water Tribe style carvings, and topped with a thirty-foot bronze statue of the Tribe’s most famous hero and the inaugural chairman of the United Federation Council. Sokka, your grandfather.

“Uh, Ainu,” a firm hand shaking your shoulder stirs you from your reverie, “you’ve been staring for a while.”

“S-sorry,” you stutter with a blush, “just uh, I always liked the Southern Water Tribe, that’s all.” You leave out just how awed you are to see such a monument to your grandfather. There’s a mural of him and the old Team Avatar on Kyoshi Island, but the scale is completely different. It never really occurred to you just how much of a rallying point he was to his people in the new nation.

The other teenager shrugs, but goes to enter the Cultural Center regardless. After another moment of committing the statue to memory, you hurriedly follow after him. It’s a little awkward, in the too-long green pants and wooly blue jacket you found on a clothesline that someone neglected to take in, but you manage to hustle just enough to catch up with Noyon as he approaches the information desk.

The Cultural Center’s atrium is five stories high, with a balcony wrapped around the top level, and an almost completely open floor plan. Several huge chandeliers, luminescent crystal from the Earth Kingdom and strung in an imitation of the South Pole’s Spirit Lights hang from the ceiling; while massive glass sculptures wrought in the shape of icebergs, placed atop huge incandescent light bulbs line the floor. Along the walls there are several displays with plaques embedded in their frames, and by the entrance there are several desks, only one of which is currently staffed.

>(2/3, sorry for the blurriness of the picture, there are no high-res pictures of this building not on fire.)

“Hello and welcome to the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center!” A peppy girl in a high-collared button-down greets you and Noyon as you step up to the desk, your disheveled appearance not causing her to miss a beat. “We don’t have any exhibitions currently, but the discovery center is, as always, free to the public, and a ticket for the permanent exhibit halls is available for just a small fee.”

“Not today thanks,” Noyon gives her a sly smile, leaning on the desk. “We’re looking for a friend of ours, actually, my friend’s little sister. They got separated at the Central Station and we think she might have come here, their parents are from the South Pole, so we thought she might have come here.”

“Well…” She’s only a little older than you or Noyon, and clearly didn’t expect him to crank up the charm. You didn’t either, but all it’s making you want to do is roll your eyes. “Are you really the Hakka’s daughter? I didn’t even know he had kids?” Her question is directed at you, and you blink. Your hair is lighter than the typical Water Tribe dull black, and your eyes aren’t blue, even if you are naturally a tan more typical of the Poles than the Earth Kingdom. You suppose, with the right clothes and hairstyle, you could pass as being from the Southern Water Tribe. But you’re not sure if you want to lie here.

>Just a reminder if you’re scared of picking an option with dice rolls, the mechanics will be different than the first roll, and should be easier to succeed on.

>[1] Yes, that’s right. You’re Hakka’s daughter and the girl from earlier (presumably, if she’s asking you this) is your little sister. You’re just so concerned about her and want to be reunited, thanks. You don’t really want to lie, but if it’s what you need to do to get out of the mess you’ve found yourself in, you will. (Roll).

>[2] No, in fact, you haven’t heard of this ‘Hakka’ person, you’re just looking for your friend. However, he was only lying because you’re trying to be incognito about the fact that your grandfather laid down the cornerstone of the building you’re standing in. If she’s picking up what you’re putting down. You don’t really want to go back on your word to Chief Beifong, but you might have to.

>[3] Write-in (may have a roll)

>(3/3)

>>6010603
>>[1] Yes, that’s right. You’re Hakka’s daughter and the girl from earlier (presumably, if she’s asking you this) is your little sister. You’re just so concerned about her and want to be reunited, thanks. You don’t really want to lie, but if it’s what you need to do to get out of the mess you’ve found yourself in, you will. (Roll).

>>6010603
>>[2] No, in fact, you haven’t heard of this ‘Hakka’ person, you’re just looking for your friend. However, he was only lying because you’re trying to be incognito about the fact that your grandfather laid down the cornerstone of the building you’re standing in. If she’s picking up what you’re putting down. You don’t really want to go back on your word to Chief Beifong, but you might have to.

>>6010603
>>[1] Yes, that’s right. You’re Hakka’s daughter and the girl from earlier (presumably, if she’s asking you this) is your little sister. You’re just so concerned about her and want to be reunited, thanks. You don’t really want to lie, but if it’s what you need to do to get out of the mess you’ve found yourself in, you will. (Roll).

>>6010603
>>[1] Yes, that’s right. You’re Hakka’s daughter and the girl from earlier (presumably, if she’s asking you this) is your little sister. You’re just so concerned about her and want to be reunited, thanks. You don’t really want to lie, but if it’s what you need to do to get out of the mess you’ve found yourself in, you will. (Roll).

>>6010603
>[1] Yes, that’s right. You’re Hakka’s daughter and the girl from earlier (presumably, if she’s asking you this) is your little sister. You’re just so concerned about her and want to be reunited, thanks. You don’t really want to lie, but if it’s what you need to do to get out of the mess you’ve found yourself in, you will. (Roll).

Rolled 30, 85, 7 = 122 (3d100)

>>6011568

>>6010672
>>6010950
>>6011111
>>6011414
Oh now that you know where Ainu came from, you want to roll bluff. I see how it is. Winner.

Also nice get.

>>6010700
Fine, you'll pull rank. Just cross your fingers and hope that Chief Beifong doesn't hear about this.

For our rolls, I need three 1d100. The DCs to beat are 40 twice for a minor success, or 60 once for a normal success. Because of the circumstances on this roll, there won't be much of a difference.

Ignore the deleted post, there was a typo in the call for rolls.

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>6011578

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>6011578

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>6011578

>>6011582
>>6011648
>>6011690
Huh. Alright, writing.

It's not much of a twist, but did anyone familiar with ATLA/Korra guess who Ainu's grandfather was before it was stated?

“I am,” you do your best to sound sheepish. Itiqqa doesn’t seem like the type to talk about her famous father unless pressed, so you try to emulate that reluctance. “Right now all I can think about is my sister, she’s not used to being on her own.”

“Wow!” The girl leans over the counter to get a better look at you, “I’m not that big a fan or anything but, like, do you think you could get me an autograph? My brother would be so jealous!”

You glance at Noyon quickly, but he’s just watching the deception play out. “Uh, I could, but he’s still at the South Pole, it’s just me and my sister here. It’s kind of a tour around the other nations, to understand their culture, you know?”

“Oh sure, sure,” she titters, as if that’s some kind of inside joke, “but you decided to start at the Southern Water Tribe Cultural Center in Union City?”

“Like I said, my sister got lost,” your nervous tone helps sell that you don’t want to meet her eyes, afraid of her noticing their color. “We were supposed to visit the uh—”

“Union Hall,” Noyon steps up, helping you remember the official name of the city’s city hall (that doubles as the executive building of the nation).

“Right, yeah, Union Hall,” you nod, not too enthusiastically. “We probably would’ve ended up here eventually though,” you conclude with a laugh.

The girl at the desk writes something down on a piece of paper that she folds up before standing up and opening that weird little horizontal door that desks have to let people through. “Follow me,” she turns a latch on the underside of the little door and hands the piece of paper to you. She’s surprisingly short, you have a few inches on her even without shoes, and her dull black hair is worn in a long ponytail with two strands from the front tied into the middle of it. You’re starting to think that hair loops are a fashion trend in the Southern Water Tribe.

As you follow her towards a nondescript office door with a frosted glass window, you open the paper she gave you. It’s her name and address. You pocket the slip in your pajama pants with a sigh, now you need to get a signature from Itiqqa for her.

“Good thing she didn’t ask about your clothes,” Noyon whispers to you as you follow the clerk through several narrow hallways.

You lightly punch him in the arm, “shut up, we’re almost done with this act so don’t ruin it now.”

“Here you go!” The clerk says as she opens up another door with a frosted window to what must be an employee lounge, as it’s a room with two couches, a coffee table between them, a higher table with several chairs, an icebox, and a shelf stocked with books and magazines. “I’ve got to get back to work, but come see me here again or mail me if you can’t!” She shuts the door and hurries away after you and Noyon step through.

>(1/3)

You spotted Itiqqa as soon as you stepped into the room, sitting on one of the couches with her chin on her knees and her arms wrapped around her shins. An older boy, several years older than Noyon, sits across from her, talking her ear off. He’s dressed in the same outfit as the peppy clerk girl, though with pants instead of a skirt, and his Water Tribe heritage is clear, with dull black hair undercut and worn in a ponytail, dark skin, and dark blue eyes.

“—hunt where he trapped a whale walrus and took it down, all without bending!” You catch the end of what the other clerk is saying.

“Y-yeah, I did hear about that one, but it was before I was born,” if it was possible, Itiqqa seems even more uncomfortable than usual. Actually, you can remember that she was a vegetarian, so maybe she doesn’t like hearing about hunting either.

The sound of the door clicking shut makes both occupants of the room turn their heads and look up at you. “Ainu?” Itiqqa picks her head up with a quiet gasp before almost immediately averting her eyes when she sees you aren’t alone, “who’s that?”

“Noyon, he’s a friend,” you explain quickly. “Look,” you hold up a hand to stop her, as you can tell she’s about to launch into a stumbling ramble, “don’t apologize, I know you’re sorry, but you panicked, I get it. It’s fine.”

She makes a small sound in her throat and pulls her knees tighter. “Thanks.”

“Can we help you with something?” The male clerk stands up, putting on a pair of glasses that you previously hadn’t seen, “I’m trying to help Hakka’s daughter get back home, so you should probably get back to whatever you were doing. I don’t know what Sattuk was thinking, bringing you back here.”

“You step off,” Noyon steps around the couch, stabbing his finger into the shorter teen’s chest, “we’ve got to talk to her too, and you’re clearly making her uncomfortable.”

“N-no, it’s fine,” Itiqqa mumbles.

“Wait till my manager hears about this!” Glasses says, before scurrying off through the same door.

“I don’t know if that puts us on even more of a time limit,” you shrug, “but I’m fine with taking our time if that’s what you need.” You sit down next to Itiqqa, resisting the urge to place your hand on her shoulder, and Noyon sits across from you. “No pressure Itiqqa, but the White Lotus is after me now too, and I’d like to resolve that.”

>(2/3)

“I’m the Avatar.”

It was stated so quietly and matter-of-factly that you almost think that you’re hearing things. “What?”

“I said,” Itiqqa takes a shaky breath, “that I’m the Avatar. Not, um, not a good Avatar, but that’s why they’re after me. Yeah.”

Noyon facepalms, though you’re unsure if it’s out of being unable to catch that fact when he heard about the White Lotus pursuing her, or if it’s out of the sheer absurdity of the situation.

“So you left Air Temple Island because…?” You trail off, unsure of what, exactly, drove her off the island.

“I’m not ready,” Itiqqa shakes her head, voice growing smaller and smaller as she talks, “I’m such a mess spiritually, and-and, I don’t know.” She buries her face into her knees, “I can’t imagine how disappointing I’ll be to Master Tenzin.”

“Why would you be disappointing to him?” You finally decide to touch the other girl, putting a comforting hand on her back.

“You think he’ll compare you to- to Aang, right?” Noyon answers the question with a question of his own.

You can feel Itiqqa nod.

You’re not sure if you actually believe Itiqqa is the Avatar, but you know she has no reason to lie about that to you. The shock hasn’t even fully settled in yet, you just know that you need a plan.

>[1] You’re sorry, but you have to get her back to Air Temple Island. It might be scary, but that’s what’s best for her. It sounds like she’s in Union City to get spiritual training, so it doesn’t matter how much of a ‘mess spiritually’ she is. That will also mean the police will stop hunting all of you.

>[2] If Itiqqa really doesn’t want to go back, then you’ll help her. You aren’t sure how she plans to keep evading the White Lotus or for how long, but it’s clear to you that she’s right about not being ready.

>[3] You’ll buy Itiqqa some time, but you expect her to give herself up eventually, you just want to give her enough time to collect herself. How? By giving yourself up to your pursuers of course. You’re pretty sure they’ll take you to Air Temple Island.

>[4] Write-in.

>>6012703
>>[2] If Itiqqa really doesn’t want to go back, then you’ll help her. You aren’t sure how she plans to keep evading the White Lotus or for how long, but it’s clear to you that she’s right about not being ready.
Why not? Isn't it more important that the Avatar is able to develop away from the Big Brother Lotus for a while?

Also surely Ainu's grandfather is Bumi

>>6012744
>Also surely Ainu's grandfather is Bumi
Have you tried reading the quest?

>>6012703
>>[2] If Itiqqa really doesn’t want to go back, then you’ll help her. You aren’t sure how she plans to keep evading the White Lotus or for how long, but it’s clear to you that she’s right about not being ready.

>>6012703
>[3] You’ll buy Itiqqa some time, but you expect her to give herself up eventually, you just want to give her enough time to collect herself. How? By giving yourself up to your pursuers of course. You’re pretty sure they’ll take you to Air Temple Island.

>>6012703
>>[2] If Itiqqa really doesn’t want to go back, then you’ll help her. You aren’t sure how she plans to keep evading the White Lotus or for how long, but it’s clear to you that she’s right about not being ready.

>>6012703
>[2] If Itiqqa really doesn’t want to go back, then you’ll help her. You aren’t sure how she plans to keep evading the White Lotus or for how long, but it’s clear to you that she’s right about not being ready.

>>6012703
>>[1] You’re sorry, but you have to get her back to Air Temple Island. It might be scary, but that’s what’s best for her. It sounds like she’s in Union City to get spiritual training, so it doesn’t matter how much of a ‘mess spiritually’ she is. That will also mean the police will stop hunting all of you.

>>6012744
>>6012829
>>6012970
>>6013175
Validating someone's anxieties is the surest way to cure them. Winner.

>>6012861
Maybe you can cut a deal. Probably.

>>6013280
Getting in touch with her spiritual side might solve some of her problems...

Writing. I'm surprised we're actually going with this.

“If that’s what you really want, we’ll help you stay hidden, or even get back to the South Pole, if that’s why you’re here,” you tell Itiqqa, somehow managing to keep your tone level even though you can’t believe the words coming out of your mouth. The realization that the girl next to you is the Avatar hitting you almost makes you pull your hand away from her, but you squeeze her shoulder instead.

“We?” Noyon puts a hand on the coffee table, and leans across it. Itiqqa shrinks away from the gesture, but you can tell that his body language is directed at you. “Ainu, I want to get onto Air Temple Island, remember the—” instead of saying anything, he waves his hand over the table, blowing a magazine that was on it across the room. “Right?”

“I know,” you say, finally letting Itiqqa go and reclining for a moment. You let out a breath you had been holding in too long before continuing. “We can all go together when Itiqqa is ready, maybe you can even take credit for finding her,” you suggest.

The misplaced airbender ponders the idea before nodding. “Alright, maybe, I’ll think about it,” placing a hand on the table, he stands up. “I’m not going to stand by and let someone suffer when I can help it,” stepping around the table with a smile, he offers a hand to Itiqqa. “Like Ainu said, I’m Noyon, I’ve got kind of a history with Master Tenzin too, except he doesn’t know about it,” his awkward laugh makes you narrow your eyes, but you don’t have time to think about the implications of that, “but I’ll keep you safe until you’re ready to go back, Avatar Itiqqa.”

To your surprise, the younger girl lets go of her legs and takes the older boy’s hand. “Th- thank you, but just Itiqqa- it’s- I’m just Itiqqa.”

“Alright Itiqqa,” his smile deepens and he gives her hand a small shake.

Your little group scurries out of the cultural center, skirting the information desk that you had initially approached. The two clerks are engaged in a shouting match over getting in contact with the police or even just finding their manager. They’re also arguing if either you or Itiqqa are who you told them you are.

It turns out that it doesn’t matter whether the clerks told the police or not, because when you step out onto the plaza, you’re immediately faced with that same firebender from before, backed up by eight of those White Lotus guards.

“Why didn’t we use the back door?” You whisper to Noyon, sinking into a low fighting stance.

“I uh,” he also adopts a fighting stance, though his is higher, more like a boxer than any sort of bender you’ve ever seen, “I don’t think there is one.”

>(1/4)

“Avatar Itiqqa!” The firebender calls out, stepping forward. This seems to confuse the White Lotus, who look between each other. They probably weren’t told he was in charge. Maybe he shouldn’t even be in charge. Now that you get a better look at him, you can say for certain that you’ve definitely seen the boy before, you just can’t place where. He’s about average height, maybe just below, if he’s your age, with fair skin, even for a Fire National, black hair pulled up into a topknot kept in place with a gold band and stuck through with a gold pin, and golden eyes unlike any you’ve seen before set in a pretty face with high cheekbones. “We just want to talk to you, please, just come with us, you aren’t in trouble.”

“Don’t call me that,” Itiqqa says, voice barely above a breath.

Raising her head, she looks side to side, first to you, then to Noyon, then to you again. On the second look, you give her a small nod.

The younger girl inhales deeply, then lunges forward. She reaches out with clawed hands before ripping backward, summoning all of the water from the fountain at the center of the plaza to her in a wave. The motion knocks several of the White Lotus and the young firebender off their feet, before Itiqqa suddenly flips her hands upward, pulling all of the water into the air. Three of the White Lotus pull what water remains in the fountain to defend themselves, but the Avatar doesn’t attack them, instead opening her hands and letting out one sharp exhale, which freezes the water suspended above her pursuers into snow. Itiqqa then pulls her hands apart and steps back with her leading foot, blanketing the entire plaza in icy fog.

“Woah,” you hear Noyon say, though you can’t even see him eight feet away from you. In fact, you can barely make out Itiqqa, who isn’t even five feet away from you. You jump a little when you feel her small hand clamp onto your wrist.

“Come on,” the waterbender says, probably through clenched teeth, and tugs at your arm. You follow her, and likely Noyon by proxy, towards the back alley that you came from.

Silently, you kick yourself for never picking up seismic sense. Then do your best to psychically kick your parents back on Kyoshi Island for never finding an earthbending tutor to teach you how to do it. Then you kick yourself again for being so selfish, tutors like that aren’t easy to find.

After reaching a seemingly-arbitrary point between two buildings next to the Cultural Center, Noyon tells you to bend a hole in the street. “There’s a bunch of steam tunnels under these streets, there should be one under us right now. We used to use these to get around the city really quickly, the maintenance crews would get mad, but they never called the police, if we ever saw them.”

>(2/4)

You root yourself firmly on the ground, thrust your fists together, and then, feeling that the earth beneath your feet isn’t more than several feet thick, you roll your forearms vertical and pull the slab up.

It turns out Noyon was right, as there’s a void under the piece of the road you pulled up. The older boy wraps an arm around Itiqqa’s waist before dropping down, and you hear the air cushion his fall. You drop in right after them, pulling up the earth to meet your feet and break the eight foot fall. The slab of earth slams back into place as soon as you start hearing distant footsteps. Your little group doesn’t wait long enough to see if your pursuers saw where you went, instead taking off in the same direction you were already heading, through the dark tunnels.

You eventually reach a three-way junction lit by a sooty gas light, where you all stop to catch your breath.

“So,” Noyon says, wiping sweat from his brow, “I mentioned the maintenance crews earlier, but they’re not the ones we should be worried about running into down here.”

“Worried about?” You caught your breath first, but that makes you look up and down the gloomy subterranean passages.

Noyon chuckles, it’s not reassuring. “Well, not worried about, but down here, you’re more likely to run into hobos or gang members than anyone from the city.”

“Hobos?” Itiqqa asks, practically doubled over.

“You know, like homeless people,” you explain, “bums, they don’t have houses or anything so they live down here.”

“The ones down here aren’t too bad, they don’t want to draw attention to themselves, so they don’t usually cause trouble. They might take a chance when they see us, but a little bending display would drive them off,” Noyon adds, and Itiqqa nods.

“Wait, wait wait wait wait,” Itiqqa catches her breath weirdly fast and straightens up. “Bending, y-you!” She jabs a finger through the stale air towards the only male member of your little group, “you’re an airbender, how?”

Noyon laughs, a genuine, loud laugh that echoes through the tunnels. “Glad to see you’re asserting yourself, Avatar Itiqqa,” that makes the loop-haired girl clam up, “but maybe it’s something I’m not going to talk about. You can sympathize, right?”

“Sure,” the Water Tribe girl says, cowed. Noyon pats her on the back, but that just makes her flinch.

“Cut it out, both of you,” you gently extract the airbender’s hand from the waterbender’s back. “We all have things we’d rather not share, so let’s just agree to avoid those topics, alright?”

“Sounds good to me,” Noyon answers.

Itiqqa just nods.

>(3/4)

“Anyway, the gangs are the ones we have to worry about, at least causing us any real trouble,” Noyon sighs, “or, they might be able to help us out.”

“How’s that?” If he’s broaching a topic you thought was taboo, you might as well follow up on that, “some of your old friends didn’t get on the straight and narrow?”

“Pretty much,” he confirms.

“D-don’t say anything, if we run into them,” Itiqqa asks, and Noyon quickly agrees.

>[1] Hide in Union City. It will be easier than trying to smuggle the Avatar out of the city, at least you think, and there are seemingly plenty of places to do it. Besides, you came here for a reason, and you don’t really want to leave so soon.

>[2] Try to leave Union City. It will be better than trying to hide in plain sight. Leaving the United Federation will be tough, especially if you don’t have access to your money, but you can figure that out when you get out of the city. Noyon may not go along with this.

>[3] Attempt to contact the Triads for assistance. Either to hide or for assistance in getting out of the city. There are definitely things that you could offer them, even if you might have trouble getting them those things.

>[4] Maybe the hobos have some sort of network you can use. It may be a matter of giving them an IOU, but even your savings would mean a lot to someone who has to live down here, or who’s chosen to live on Union City’s streets in general.

>[5] Look for the Equalists. It might sound crazy, but as long as you’re able to conceal the fact that you’re all benders, and especially that Itiqqa is the Avatar, they could be very helpful in hiding or even leaving the city. They definitely won’t turn you over to Union City’s powers that be, at the very least.

>[6] Write-in (make a plan).

>>6015013
>>[3] Attempt to contact the Triads for assistance. Either to hide or for assistance in getting out of the city. There are definitely things that you could offer them, even if you might have trouble getting them those things.
We're going underground

>>6015013
>[1] Hide in Union City. It will be easier than trying to smuggle the Avatar out of the city, at least you think, and there are seemingly plenty of places to do it. Besides, you came here for a reason, and you don’t really want to leave so soon.

>>6015013
>[3] Attempt to contact the Triads for assistance. Either to hide or for assistance in getting out of the city. There are definitely things that you could offer them, even if you might have trouble getting them those things.

>>6015013
>>[3] Attempt to contact the Triads for assistance. Either to hide or for assistance in getting out of the city. There are definitely things that you could offer them, even if you might have trouble getting them those things.

>>6015013
>[3] Attempt to contact the Triads for assistance. Either to hide or for assistance in getting out of the city. There are definitely things that you could offer them, even if you might have trouble getting them those things.

>>6015013
>>[4] Maybe the hobos have some sort of network you can use. It may be a matter of giving them an IOU, but even your savings would mean a lot to someone who has to live down here, or who’s chosen to live on Union City’s streets in general.

>>6015180
>>6015549
>>6015572
>>6016155
Surely nothing can go wrong, going to criminals for help. Winner.

>>6015330
Hide in plain sight. Or at least within city limits.

>>6016193
Pay off a hobo.

I'm also excited to see where the enabler speedrun ends up.

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” You whisper to Itiqqa as the two of you follow Noyon through the tunnels.

The younger girl shakes her head so hard that you can hear her hair loops smack against her shoulder, “I don’t know,” she hisses under her breath, “or no, yes, I-I can’t know, I’m sorry!”

Noyon stops moving ahead of you and turns around at the sound of the sudden outburst. “I know what we’re looking for,” he says, also in a whisper, but one loud enough for you to hear from the fair distance you are from him, “but these parts of the tunnels can be dangerous, so keep—”

A burst of fire cuts him off, and you shove Itiqqa to the ground to keep the flame from licking her.

“Keeping quiet, huh? That’s good advice,” an exceedingly slimy male voice quips from the darkness ahead of you.

“Looks like you’re looking for something,” another, gruffer voice says, slightly farther off.

“Maybe we can help you with that?” The first voice says again, its owner stepping forward. He’s a skinny, shorter man with a pencil mustache wearing charcoal gray fatigues and a black pillbox hat. His comrade, who comes into sight a moment later, is taller, wider, and dressed similarly, though instead of a hat, he has a blue scarf loosely draped around his neck. Both have short, messy hair.

“‘Course,” the bigger one crosses his arms, “there’s a toll you gotta pay for using our roads. Needs a lotta upkeep, you know?”

“We’re just trying to—” Noyon sounds tense, and he’s backed up to be closer to you and Itiqqa. “Wait,” the older boy drops out of the fighting stance he had slipped into, though you don’t. “Cheng? Buster Cheng?” It sounds like he knows one of the thugs.

The bigger thug’s expression screws up into one of confusion, “Yeah, who wants to- oh damn, is that?”

“You know this kid?” The smaller one says, flicking a flame into existence on his extended middle and index fingers so he can properly see your group.

“I think so, it is you, right Noyon?” The bigger one has some nasty scars you can only make out thanks to the better lighting.

Noyon says something that you can’t quite make out, but it must be in the affirmative, as the scarred gangster’s mouth splits into a delighted grin.

“Wow kid, you got tall! Look at you,” the bigger gangster approaches and pats him on the shoulder.

The distinct sound of someone not breathing next to you draws your attention away from the reunion in front of you, and you have to look to where Itiqqa was. Or, actually, where she is. She’s standing stock-still, her eyes wide as saucers, and her breathing is short and clipped and entirely through her mouth. You prod her with an elbow, and she shuffles closer to you after glancing up at you so quickly you’re not even sure she did it.

>(1/4)

“We’ll give you a place to hide out, as long as you don’t mind getting your hands just a little dirty for us,” Mustache says, as slime oozes back into his tone.

Noyon gives you a look you can’t puzzle out, along with a shrug, and you practically drag Itiqqa as you follow the two thugs further into the tunnels.

Several hours later, you’re lying on a couch in the back room of a gym somewhere on the south side of Union City, wearing a fresh set of clothes and letting a new pair of sandals hang off of your toes. You didn’t realize how much your feet hurt until you finally stopped walking, the cobbled roads and poured tunnel floors of the big city are a lot harder than the packed dirt and grass of back home.

Itiqqa is sitting in a plush chair that looks like it just came off the factory floor next to the couch you’re on, and Noyon is pacing next to some disassembled exercise equipment near the showers that you all utilized after getting here.

“I don’t like owing them, not one bit,” he says, quietly enough for only you and Itiqqa to hear him, even if you are the only ones in the lounge/back room.

“It’s not for that much,” you try to put a positive spin on things, unsure if you fully understand the breadth of the situation.

The third member of your group, incessantly tapping her fingers together, nods weakly. “I-it can’t be so bad, I owe Ainu a lot already,” she tries to give you both a reassuring grin, but it immediately falters and she looks away.

Noyon shoots you a look, half-squinting, “What do you mean that she owes you?”

Now it’s your turn to shrug, “for getting her off the island.” You explain, “look, I didn’t have a lot of context at the time, and I didn’t know her as well as I do now,” you shoot Itiqqa a more succesful smile that she genuinely returns.

“Hmph,” the oldest member of your group turns his hands up, “still, no offense, but you’re from the country,” he gestures to you, “and you’re…” he points to Ainu, “well, I don’t know where you’re from, but I’m sure your circumstances were very different.” She nods, conceding that it’s true, “but these guys, even if I know some of them, they’re not good guys, they’ll find a way to keep suckering us back into their debt.”

“Hey new kids,” a bepectacled gangster, probably from one of the Water Tribes, based on the light blue fringe on his fatigues (which they all wear, it must me some kind of uniform), and his ponytail-undercut combo, interrupts the pregnant silence that hung in the air after Noyon mentioned being in their debt the second time. “Boss’s got an announcement, they want you out here too,” he jerks his head back towards the gym’s main floor, directing you to follow him out. And follow him out you do.

>(2/4)

“Good, good,” a silky-voiced gangster, with a jacket over his fatigues and a brimmed hat atop his head, holds out his hands from the martial arts ring at one of the gym’s corners, “we’re all here.” One of the triad members at his side, the firebender from the tunnels, lights his cigarette for him, and he takes a drag before continuing. “These kooks that some of you may have heard of, maybe you’ve seen ‘em picketing or rambling on and on about nothing in one of the parks, maybe you’ve even roughed one of ‘em up for some money, cause they advertise that they ain’t benders!” That one gets some laughs, and you notice that Itiqqa is pale. Noyon, for his part, is making an effort at disguising the disgust on his face. “You all know that I’m talking about the Equalists! Well, they just put out a blanket bounty with some big money behind it, everyone’s saying it came right from their leader,” there’s a lot of murmuring after that, silenced by a blast of fire from the ring, “yeah, yeah, I’m not sayin’ he’s real, but they’re all saying that. Doesn’t matter though, what matters is that this Amon guy, he’s loaded! And he’s offering a fat bag of yuan to anybody who can bring him- get this!” That bait gets even more shouting from the crowd, a wide variety of guesses that range from simple robbery to political assassination. “The Avatar!”

All of the near identically-dressed gangsters erupt into a cacophony of jeers, cheers, and threats. But over it all, you hear Itiqqa suck in a sharp breath. You share a look with Noyon out of the corner of your eyes, and you both look to Itiqqa as nonchalantly as possible. She has a hand to her head, and her lips are pressed into a thin, pale line. You move closer to her, mouthing that ‘it will all be fine,’ and directing her to look at the ring like everyone else.

“The new Avatar is just a kid guys, and they’re somewhere in the city, anywhere in the city! But nobody knows where, those wannabe soldier jerks in purple are running around like possum chickens with their heads cut off! We just have to find the Avatar before they do!” Almost everyone in the crowd agrees that that shouldn’t be so hard. “So, who’s gonna let go of their rounds to hunt down some lost kid? You’ll get a cut, so big risk, big reward!”

That gets some less-excited grumbling, and nobody steps forward to be the first volunteer for the task.

>(3/4)

>[1] Try and slip out undetected during the ruckus. You probably stand a pretty good chance, even if Itiqqa and Noyon aren’t wearing the uniform. (Roll)

>[2] Just keep quiet, you really don’t want to draw attention to yourself or worse, to Itiqqa. Just keep your heads down and wait for them to assign something to you. Maybe you can slip away then.

>[3] Step up and volunteer to find the Avatar. They wouldn’t expect the ones hunting her to be the ones hiding her, you also don’t have anything to lose, unlike the rest of the gangsters, so it’s reasonable there.

>[4] Though their rhetoric is harsh, the Equalists’ name implies they aren’t all bad, and they might accept the Avatar coming to them as a sort of olive branch. Wait for this to end and go with Itiqqa to turn herself over. (Roll)

>[5] Cause a distraction so that Itiqqa and Noyon can get out of here, it looks like you’ve gotten in over your heads and you know the two of them will have an easier time getting to and talking with the city’s authorities.

>[6] Write-in (try to have a plan; may have a roll).

>(4/4)

Rolled 96 (1d100)

>>6019250
>>[4] Though their rhetoric is harsh, the Equalists’ name implies they aren’t all bad, and they might accept the Avatar coming to them as a sort of olive branch. Wait for this to end and go with Itiqqa to turn herself over. (Roll)

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>6019250
>>[1] Try and slip out undetected during the ruckus. You probably stand a pretty good chance, even if Itiqqa and Noyon aren’t wearing the uniform. (Roll)

Just remembered that the rolls won't count until they are called. Wasted some good rolls, RIP.

>>6019250
>[4] Though their rhetoric is harsh, the Equalists’ name implies they aren’t all bad, and they might accept the Avatar coming to them as a sort of olive branch. Wait for this to end and go with Itiqqa to turn herself over. (Roll)

Equalistbros... we winning.

>>6019250
>[4] Though their rhetoric is harsh, the Equalists’ name implies they aren’t all bad, and they might accept the Avatar coming to them as a sort of olive branch. Wait for this to end and go with Itiqqa to turn herself over. (Roll)

>>6019248
>4

>>6019275
>>6019341
>>6019452
>>6019572
Being an AU means the Equalists are good, right?

>>6019294
Welp, time to cut and run again.

I guess we're doing this. I need three 1d100s, DCs to beat are 55 twice for a minor success, or 90 once for a major success. You aren't trying to convince the gang leader, you're trying to talk Itiqqa into it.

Rolled 70 (1d100)

>>6019900
Rollin'

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>6019900

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>6019900

>>6019903
>>6019904
>>6019936
I'll be honest, this is the outcome I'm the least sure of how to write/have the least planned, so this might be a couple of days.
Did you all vote for the worst options on purpose? Not that they were trap options, but a lot of the recent votes have been risky. I'm not mad, just puzzled.

>>6019946
I believed in the rolls of other anons and their ability to force you to write a good result for even the most retarded of plans.

>>6019946
I live on the edge, baby.

>>6019946
Pampered girl living dangerously. Many such cases.

“We should go to the equalists,” you say in a huddle with Itiqqa and Noyon once the impromptu rally is over.

“Are you insane?” The older boy says through clenched teeth, like he’s biting back an indignant yell.

“I’m just thinking,” you put a hand on Itiqqa’s shoulder to steady her, she’s still shaking from the gang leader’s address. “The Equalists are doing a really good job keeping themselves hidden from the police and the White Lotus. Nobody knows who or where their leaders or headquarters are, and while those guys they have out on the street are kind of crazy, I’m sure that’s just to get people’s attention. I mean, you were getting detained with a bunch of them just this morning, Noyon.”

‘That’s true,” he nods, “but that was just cause I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the furthest my conversation with them got was gawking at the body someone left on the University’s gate.”

“I-if you think it’s a good idea,” is all Itiqqa offers.

“I don’t,” Noyon clarifies, “but it’s true that they’re probably not as bad as they’re made out to be. And if they are,” he sighs, putting a hand to his chin, “if they are, then maybe we can score brownie points with the authorities by telling them where the Equalists are.”

“Sounds like a plan,” you grin to your new partners-in-crime.

Actually, it doesn’t quite sound like a plan, you realize shortly after you say that. There are actually two different options for going to the Equalists. You could approach the gang leader, like you initially planned, but that could be dangerous and they might even restrain or separate you. Finding the Equalists, or where they’re planning to meet whoever finds the Avatar would be more difficult, but it’s also likely the safer option.

>[1] Go with the first plan, just tell the gangsters that they already have the Avatar, and she’s willing to hand herself over, they can even take the lion turtle’s share of the reward.

>[2] Get out of here on the pretense of finding the Avatar when you’re actually going to find the Equalists. You could even follow and ambush one of the gangsters when they leave the hideout to find out where the meeting place is. (Roll)

>[3] Get out of here and cause a commotion once you’re sufficiently far away, but still in the rougher parts of town. Make a show about capturing the Avatar without actually saying which one of you is the Avatar. (Roll)

>[4] Write-in.

>>6021380
>1

>>6021380
>[3] Get out of here and cause a commotion once you’re sufficiently far away, but still in the rougher parts of town. Make a show about capturing the Avatar without actually saying which one of you is the Avatar. (Roll)

>>6021380
>[3] Get out of here and cause a commotion once you’re sufficiently far away, but still in the rougher parts of town. Make a show about capturing the Avatar without actually saying which one of you is the Avatar. (Roll)
OTOH, we have an Airbender. Nobody is gonna think some unknown rando is a legit Airbender, given Tenzin's kids (if he has any) will likely be well-known locally.

>>6021380
>>[3] Get out of here and cause a commotion once you’re sufficiently far away, but still in the rougher parts of town. Make a show about capturing the Avatar without actually saying which one of you is the Avatar. (Roll)

>>6021385
Straightforward.

>>6021444
>>6021700
>>6021907
But what if, no? The digits take this one.
Closing it here to keep moving.

Give me three 1d100s, two over 35 or one over 70 to beat the DC. It's to get found by the equalists not to escape/evade the gang.

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>6022342
rollan

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>6022342
Strollin...

Rolled 20 (1d100)

>>6022342

>>6022349
>>6022372
>>6022488
Congratulations, you've gotten yourselves noticed by the Equalists!

Dunno what the fuck we're doing but damn if it's not going to be interesting to find out how we're going to get out of this mess

>>6022519
But we have 2 rolls over 35?

>>6022557
Our plan was apparently to get caught by them, so things are proceeding as planned

Convincing the gang members (it turns out they’re called the Black Komodos) that you wanted to hunt for the Avatar was surprisingly easy. Slipping away from the handler they assigned to you was marginally more complicated, but in the end it was still pretty straightforward. All you had to do was get close to the riverbank and mix a little discrete waterbending and earthbending and you left the clueless firebender in the dust. Well, the water, actually.

“So Ainu,” Noyon whispers as he throws an arm around your shoulder to appear inconspicuous, “throw a punch and start earthbending, that’ll get eyes on us. Then, Itiqqa runs off, and that draws a crowd!”

You get that run by you two more times just to make sure, because things don’t click at first, but eventually you sign off on it. Noyon and Itiqqa then reconvene, her nervous demeanor contrasted by his surety. Which just confuses you further, since he was the most skeptical of the initial plan. Either way, his more detailed plan sounds sound, so you’re content to go along with it.

A few minutes later, you find yourself in a dinky square penned in by old stone buildings and overlooked by ratty fabric awnings. So, taking a deep breath, you step out and thrust your fist forward, the beginning to one of the first katas you learned in martial arts, before you even learned to earthbend properly. Then, you slide your left foot behind your right and spin, lifting up a stone from the side of the road and shattering it against a low wall that separates the square proper from an alley that separates two residential buildings.

“Earth and water!” Some kid who was kicking a ball against an earthbent wall shouts, pointing at you, and you see that there’s a tendril of water circling your head. Out of the corner of your eye, you spot Itiqqa very covertly moving her hands, keeping the water suspended around you. You curse silently when you see the kid run off, then curse again when Noyon gives you a halfhearted thumbs up.

“You,” a man in a black bodysuit, his mouth covered with a mask that hangs from his nose, brandishes a nightstick at you from atop the low wall you launched a rock at earlier. It didn’t take him long to get here at all, you wonder if he’s just a local resident who the kid knew was an Equalist. “Are you the Avatar?”

“Uh-” your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth as you try to formulate a response. It makes this more genuine, but you don’t really like it.

“That’s her!” Noyon rushes into the square from under the awning he was watching from, Itiqqa in tow.

“Y-yeah, the Avatar!” The actual Avatar says, her voice much less confident. “We f- we finally caught up to you!”

>(1/3)

File: Equalist lt.png (128 KB, 444x250)

128 KB PNG

“Hiding in plain sight,” the Equalist scoffs, “figures the Komodos would be too stupid to see the Avatar was already in their hands.” That’s right, you’re still wearing the jumpsuit they gave you. You’re starting to miss your pajamas. “Who are you two?” He addresses the other members of your little group.

Itiqqa starts to answer, but the Union City native steps up to field the question for her, “her friends, theoretically. We were just about to join up with the Komodos, but she bolted when she heard about the bounty out on the Avatar.”

“I guess all of you were too smart for the Komodos then.” He scratches his head, “I’m not sure how they’ll split up the bounty, or if that one will get any, but there’s only one way to find out. Come with me.”

The Equalist hideout is, unsurprisingly, accessed through the same steam tunnels that you used to find the gang members. The base itself, which you quickly surmise isn’t their headquarters, based on how dingy and poorly-branded it is. Seriously, there are only a couple of banners and some scattered crates, not even any furniture. The stage on the warehouse’s far wall is even propped up by five large crates and looks crudely nailed together.

You’re shepherded in by the first Equalist you met jamming his nightstick between your shoulder blades, Noyon and Itiqqa following closely behind you. A group of Equalists emerges from another entrance, surely also from underground, though these ones are in proper, military-style uniforms, drab gray with high socks and quarter-smocks kept around their waists with double belts, knee-high boots, and masks that fully cover their faces, complete with smoked glass goggles. The sole exception is the apparent leader, who has an uncovered lower face.

Said leader has a thin, detached mustache, and a confident swagger about him. There’s also a woman wearing everything but the goggles next to him, who you only really take note of when she leans in and says something to him.

“You,” his voice is deeper than you suspected it would be based on his angular features, and the violence with which he pokes his baton at you makes you flinch. “Are not the Avatar.”

>(2/3)

“Of course I a—” you start to say, but you’re cut off by a violent buzzing that reminds you of the sound of the Unagi surfacing and the Equalist leader’s baton lighting up. You take note that it’s attached to something on his back by a thick wire.

The sound and light stops as quickly as it started, and the leader continues. “You didn’t even react to the spirit,” you whip your head around in response to that, but you can’t see anything. Itiqqa, on the other hand, is staring into space, her mouth clenched into a tight line. “That one, however, is the Avatar,” he gestures with the baton at the younger girl, “right?”

He turns to the woman with uncovered eyes, who shrugs at first but then nods. “Connected to the spirits, at least,” she offers.

“Good enough, Amon can be the judge if she’s the Avatar,” the leader says, a bit softer, before nodding at his followers. One of them comes forward with a large canvas bag, and he throws it to the Equalist behind you. The less well-dressed radical catches it, then hands it to you when the leader jerks his head towards you. “I don’t know what your plan was,” the leader comments as the one who took you here places the bag in your hands, “but thanks for bringing us the Avatar.” He gestures back to the Equalist who brought you in, “He’ll see you out.”

>[1] Wait wait wait, you came to the Equalists for a reason! The Avatar, who has a name, by the way, doesn’t want to be part of whatever the United Federation is doing that the Equalists don’t like.

>[2] It was the Avatar’s idea, she was just scared, she is just a kid after all. You want to help the Equalists, that’s right! You just need somewhere safe to stay, you’re just not ready to meet their leader yet! (Roll)

>[3] Maybe this was a bad idea, there are a lot of them, but none of them are benders. Time to book it! (Roll)

>[4] Write-in.

>(3/3, sorry for the wait all.)

>>6026054
>2
Damn I didn't think they'd have avatar detection equipment

>>6026054
>[1] Wait wait wait, you came to the Equalists for a reason! The Avatar, who has a name, by the way, doesn’t want to be part of whatever the United Federation is doing that the Equalists don’t like.

>>6026054
>[2] It was the Avatar’s idea, she was just scared, she is just a kid after all. You want to help the Equalists, that’s right! You just need somewhere safe to stay, you’re just not ready to meet their leader yet! (Roll)

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>6026054
>>[3] Maybe this was a bad idea, there are a lot of them, but none of them are benders. Time to book it! (Roll)

>>6026054
>[2] It was the Avatar’s idea, she was just scared, she is just a kid after all. You want to help the Equalists, that’s right! You just need somewhere safe to stay, you’re just not ready to meet their leader yet! (Roll)

>>6026262
>>6026841
>>6027375
Throw Itiqqa under the bus- er, the trolley. Sort of, not really, it's just to buy you time.

>>6026383
Practice what you learned in The Art of the Deal.

>>6027009
Keep running, it's worked for you before.

I'll update today or tomorrow, and try to wrap up the thread soon, I'm surprised we're already on page 9.

Oh right but before that I need three 1d100, either two rolls over 45 or one roll over 85.

Rolled 80 (1d100)

>>6027700

Rolled 67 (1d100)

>>6027700

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>6027700

>>6028009
>>6028015
>>6028019
Yeah, that would do it. Writing.

“Fine,” the lead Equalist says when you’re able to get what you’re saying straight. “But Amon has been kept waiting long enough, you have a day.”

“Th-thank you!” Itiqqa stammers out with a bow.

Sometime later, you’re discussing the situation very quietly with Noyon. Well, you’re being very quiet. He’s… managing to keep it at a low hiss, at least. Itiqqa is sitting off to the side, in a position you’re coming to suspect is one she finds the most comforting, with her knees drawn up to her chest.

“I’m just saying these guys aren’t a typical gang, this is way, way worse,” Noyon keeps throwing glances at the Equalists their leader left behind, which includes the woman who pointed out who the real Avatar is, “and I don’t think I can see a—”

Itiqqa shushes you loudly enough that all the Equalists look at the three of you, even seated across the way as you are. The woman, who’s pulled the top half of her mask back to reveal her wavy black hair, has been looking your way the whole time. “They’re listening,” the Water Tribe girl says, before burying her face back into her knees, “it doesn’t matter, this was a bad idea, I-I-” she lets out a wracking sigh, “should have just stayed.”

“We’ll find a way,” you tell the younger girl, crossing over to her and saying it as quietly as possible into her ear.

“No! You can’t see them,” her head snaps up, her brow furrowed and her mouth set in anger so intense that you take a step back, “two of them,” the Avatar springs to her feet, and you almost trip over the chair you were in before you unceremoniously fall into it. “They have two spirits hovering around us, going between us and them all the time, I’m the only one who can see them. It doesn’t matter what you think we’re going to do or how quiet you talk to each other, what they,” she stabs an accusatory finger towards the Equalists in the room, “want is what’s going to happen!”

“Don’t take that tone with us, bender!” A very young-sounding equalists hops up and shouts at Itiqqa. He spits the last word as a pejorative.

“I-” Itiqqa’s hands clench at her sides. “M-maybe I would hear you out if you wanted to talk. I-if I was really- if I was a b- if anyone ju—” her lips press together, but it’s hesitation this time. “I would listen, but this,” she shakes her head violently, her hair loops slapping against her shoulders, “you’re strongarming me like you think benders are doing to you.”

“Like the Avatar has been doing to the world for centuries?” The young Equalist growls, and he has to be held back by one of the others.

>(1/3)

“Quiet,” the spirit-seeing Equalist grabs both of her comrades by the shoulders after pulling her mask back up. “We have to go, now.”

“You said we had a day,” Noyon says, clipped, from his new spot between Itiqqa and the looming Equalists.

“The spirits—” the Equalist sans-goggles begins.

Itiqqa, continuing her streak of boldness, is the one who interrupts. “They’re agitated, this- I’ve only seen them like that a-a few times,” her hands start to shake, “i-i-it’s really really bad.”

“You really are the Avatar,” that same Equalist says with clear awe before rushing forward. You and Noyon intercept her before she can grab Itiqqa by the arm. “We have to go, you’ll be treated well, I promi—”

She’s cut off by the sound of the windows around the top of the warehouse’s walls shattering and sections of the concrete floor rising to meet eight men in military fatigues who dropped in from above.

“Everyone, freeze!” Shouts one of the newly arrived benders, in green like three of the others; three more are in blue, and the last, who you get a better look at now that they’ve stopped moving, is wearing a more ornate outfit, though it’s also blue. All of the men in blue had an arm around those in green when you dropped in.

“The military?” Noyon says under his breath, his face as white as a sheet.

That would explain it, the soldiers in green are earthbenders and the ones in blue, based both on their lack of earthbending at the flasks at their sides, are waterbenders. Maybe the better dressed man with the three groomed ponytails is some kind of officer? He doesn’t look military to you.

>(2/3)

File: Tarrlok.png (303 KB, 762x588)

303 KB PNG

It’s over quickly. While your little group complies, mostly out of sheer shock, the seven Equalists in the room do not. Two, one of whom is the spirit-attuned Equalist, make a break for the entrance they used, but the remaining five fight. It’s one-sided, with the dissidents that chose to fight being easily brought down by the waterbenders and bound by the earthbenders, while the two that tried to leave were tripped up and had their limbs frozen together by the waterbenders.

“Miss Itiqqa,” the non-soldier turns to you, Noyon, and the waterbender he addressed by name, “are you and your friends alright?”

“Um-” the younger girl can’t form words.

“It’s alright,” the man continues, but neither you nor Noyon get out of his way. He seems content to not disturb your defense of the Avatar. He holds up his hands, “I won’t bring you back to the White Lotus if you don’t want to go. My name is Tarrlok, I’m on the United Federation Council.”

Tarrlok is a tall man, obviously from one of the Water Tribes (you figure the North) based on his manner of dress, complexion, and strong features. Despite the color of his clothes and the fur lining his coat, he’s dressed in the manner of Union City, and there’s a pin with the United Federation’s pentagon-on-legs emblem on the left side of his coat.

“Th-thank you?” Itiqqa says, almost like a question, but she still parts you and Noyon to get a better look at your supposed savior.

“Of course, I’m just glad we found you in time,” he offers the Avatar a friendly smile. “Anything you need of me, just ask.”

Itiqqa rubs her hands together, stares at her knuckles for a moment, then raises her head and smiles back at the Councilman, relief clear on her face.

>Thread End.

Thank you for your service.

Thanks for voting, reading, or just coming out. If you have any comments, questions, or criticism, post it before the quest drops off the board.

The time kind of got to me, and things didn't quite go as I intended/expected, but I'd like to hear what you players/readers thought of this first thread.

>>6031620
Things certainly did not go the way I expected them to go.

>>6031620
I enjoyed the opening, but things felt like they went off the rails in a random way after the police chase. But I think that was mainly the voters deliberately leaning into the craziest choices.