cyclicalitymods

FAQ

Do I have to know anything about Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA) or The Legend of Korra (LoK) to app here?

No, you don't! The goal is to set up the information pages so that watching either series isn't a necessity. Republic City (the location for Cyclicality) is meant to be a mix of all cultures. It's not necessary to know the entire history of any culture, because honestly, lots of characters don't know the full extent of their culture either. When info posts go up, any necessary background will be put up in the post. Calendars will have a summary of events and why they're happening. Still, it's a complex universe and so if anything is unclear, please ask. We're more than happy to help you!

Arrival

How did my character get here?
That depends! If it's a canon character, well, they probably live there, at least if they're from LoK. If they're from ATLA, see the next question. If it's an AU, they've either recently immigrated or have been there a generation or two, depending on your preferences for your character. If it's a canon character who's being apped as a non-AU, it's going to be a bit more jarjammy for them. The Spirit World pulled them in.

What about the mixing of ATLA and Korra characters?
Characters from ATLA who survived until LoK will remain as they are. Old man Zuko or Katara dropping in for a visit, etc. Younger versions of the characters may be apped, and they'll arrive in the same manner that non-AU characters arrive; pulled in via the Spirit World. Basically, lots of Spirit World shenanigans going on here for ATLA and non-AU characters.

Bending

What is bending?
"Bending" refers to the act of either creating or manipulating an element. There are four elements one may bend: earth, fire, air and water. However, a bender may only bend one element and potentially any of its subsets. Bending is based more on spirituality than genetics, so a bender doesn't need bender parents.

Where does the stuff to bend come from?
Firebenders are the only ones capable of creating their element. Airbenders, waterbenders and earthbenders rely on their environment. There's plenty of earth and plenty of air, so only unskilled waterbenders are at any real disadvantage.

What can't you bend?
There aren't too many restrictions except for those on the powers page. Basically, benders can only bend their element or their subsets with permission. No firebenders lavabending for example (that's earth). Earthbenders can only earth or sand and potentially any impure metals. Earthbenders cannot bend platinum.

What are subsets?
A subset is a type of bending that only benders of a certain element can do. Bloodbending, for example, is a waterbender only type of bending. Each element has at least two subsets. All elements and their subsets can be found here.

Multiple elements?
No. Only the Avatar may bend more than one element.

Characters

Who is appable?
This game accepts canon ATLA and LoK characters as well as characters from other canons and OCs. As this is an AU game, we ask that no characters be related to or best buddies with any of the canon characters from ATLA or LoK. (At least not before being accepted; then go wild.) Sentient animals or characters with animal characteristics are also allowed to be apped, although their circumstances are different: as the world is now filled with roaming spirits, characters who aren't fully human will be classified as a special spirit who is able to communicate with humans. Spirits aren't necessarily benders, although some can do tricks like fly. Non-ATLA/LoK OU spirits are treated the same as AU spirits in that they either have a watered-down version of their canon abilities as long as it can translate into the ATLA/LoK universe; alternatively, they can be given nature based powers. Keep in mind that spirits are not technically benders in the usual sense. If apping a mechanized character, such as a transformer, we ask that you at least partially humanize them, such as making them human with metal parts for an arm or leg.

How does this AU thing work with my character?
You have three options available to you. You can:
1. App a canon character from ATLA or LoK.
2. App a character from another series, but altering their history to match the canon of the more modern setting of LoK.
3. App a character from a different canon, but without changing their history.

What's the difference between apping a character as an AU or not?
AU characters will have their histories changed to match the setting of LoK. A character's family who was killed by a group of secret ninjas could instead be from an outlying Earth Kingdom village and have their family die in a firebender attack. They won't have memories of places from their canon, so no one from Tokyo. It's just the way the events unfolded that change. Do your best to meld their story to be more fitting to LoK's world. Obviously, some things won't be so easy to change. Basically, just keep things like giant living robots out and replace them with... Hiroshi's mechs.

If I am doing an AU, what does this mean about their hometown?
The game will take place in Republic City, the capital of the United Republic of Nations. You have the option of them being a brand new immigrant from one of the other four nations, or someone who's lived there their entire lives. Whatever is easiest to work with and whatever makes the most sense for your character.

Can I app my OC Avatar?
The only Avatars who are appable are the canon Avatars from the series. Allowing otherwise would make things too complicated.

What about Avatars without much canon?
Most Avatars have sufficient canon information to support their personality. So as long as the Avatar is named in canon and has an established personality, they're appable. No Jafarvatars.

If I app a canon Avatar, will their bending be restricted?
No, their bending will remain unaltered. Yes, there will be conflicts and confusion over there potentially being two or more Avatars.

What about Avatars talking to their past lives?
Since this game takes place from the canon point of the end of book 3, the connection between the Avatars is broken and severed. Yeah, technically Raava is alive and well inside the other Avatars, but... when you change the future, your change the past. Or something like that. It's basically to prevent NPCing of canon Avatars.

Do OU characters gain the ability to bend?
Initially, all OU characters who are pulled in will be without their powers and without the ability to bend. For players who are interested, there is an early plot planned for November that will allow some OU characters to gain the ability to bend an element. They'll still have to train to be any good at it. Characters who are apped after November will not have powers/bending and will have to make do with other options such as practicing swordsmanship, chi blocking, etc. If there's enough interest, there may be another plot in March or April 2015 to give OU characters a chance to bend. It's restrictive, but we feel that with some creativity, any non-bender can carve their way in the world just as easily as a bender.

Where do vampires fall on the human/spirit spectrum?
Because vampires are handled so differently across canons, we're going to leave that decision up to the player. We would honestly be fine either way. If you're more comfortable playing a humanized version of your character, that's fine. It's also fine if you prefer to make your character a vampire-like spirit.

If our character has a non-Asian name, should we change it for an AU?
In all honesty, we would prefer you don't change it. With the birth of Republic City, foreign names don't sound quite so foreign anymore. It's okay to be John Smith. Really!

What if my character follows a certain code, like Bushido?
You're free to make your character part of a similar group such as the Sun Warriors or the Yuyan Archers. If that's not close enough, you can make your character from a village/town/group that is a bit out of contact with the nation's capital or is otherwise more nature-based than the bigger cities. The Fire Nation is the most likely candidate to have special honor codes, but obviously it's not limited to just the Fire Nation.

I want to play an AU character. Is it okay to mold the canon hometown and whatnot to closer match the ATLA/LoK universe?
That's 100% fine. We encourage it in order to make your character fit in with the universe as much as possible. However, we do ask to keep it vague, especially if there are lots of characters from the same canon location. You don't want to decide an entire AU for a town 5 other main characters might be from. If it was a big town, make it a well off city. A small run-down village, well, there's plenty of those all over. This way, there's room to bridge the gap between two AU'd characters.

Do OU characters from other canons arrive carrying anything? E.g., currency from their world, food, swords, ordinary nicknacks, etc.?
In general, the basic rule is "things you had on your person" at the time of being pulled into the world. So currency, swords, food, etc. are all likely candidates.

What about items that are considered mundane in one world, but to the Avatar world would border on magical, like healing items?
More magical items that heal such as healing gels from Tales of Symphonia will have their consistency changed to be spirit water in gel form. So they'll still heal the same amount, but the reason for their healing will be different. Try to limit it to around 20 gels/healing items total and save them for a rainy day! And you should probably find a waterbender healer for the best application. Other magical items can still be brought, but they won't work. Like the Triforce from Zelda, for example. It could be in the game but it wouldn't work at all. Just a bunch of triangle shaped pieces.

OOC

How many characters can I app?
The current character cap per player is five.
Last updated: 11/20/14

How many characters can I reserve at once?
You can reserve up to two characters at once.

How many characters can I app per round?
You may app up to two characters per round.

Playing multiple characters from the same canon?
Because the cast of the Avatar world is so huge, we're allowing players to app two characters total from the series. It can be one from each canon (ATLA or LoK) or it can be two characters from the same canon. However, we do ask that the characters you select to app are not characters who would interact in canon. Something like apping Toph from ATLA and Lin from LoK wouldn't be allowed as they're too closely related (and literally related), but apping Toph from ATLA and Jeong Jeong from ATLA would be better. It's important to think about whether or not the two characters you plan to app would have a good reason to interact. With that said, we recommend that if you do app two characters from the Avatar world that you either app one major character and a minor character or two minor characters to reduce the likelihood of interaction. If they've interacted in canon already, it's probably not a good idea to app both characters. If you're not sure, get in contact with us.
Last updated: 11/20/14

What about characters who were in ATLA and are still alive in LoK?
For characters who were originally in ATLA but managed to survive up until LoK, both versions are appable, but only one version may be in the city at any given time. Younger versions will be pulled into the city via the Spirit World. Older versions will either be pulled in via the Spirit World if they're out of the city at the time of their canon point. If they're already in the city at the time of their canon point, they will just find it difficult to leave the city, what with the giant spirit barrier there for the first month or so.
Last updated: 2/27/15

What about animal companions like Appa or Momo?
Characters are free to arrive with their animal companions, even if their companions were far away. Thank the Spirit World. If you are AUing a character, you are free to have an animal companion as well. There are no restrictions except only Airbenders/Air Nation members are allowed to have sky bison and only someone who canonly has a dragon (ie Zuko or perhaps the Sun Warriors) can arrive with a dragon.

What will AC be like?
AC will be 15 comments spread across at least two threads. At least one thread must come from an open post. Keep in mind it's the thread that must be from an open post; you're not required to make an open post yourself. IC inboxes and logs are accepted as well, but the main thing is that no matter how many pieces of AC you offer, one must be open to the game as a whole to encourage CR building.
Last updated: 11/20/14

How will Book 4 be incorporated?
We do plan on incorporating any big changes into the game, but we're wary about doing it week-by-week. That would be predictable and probably not very fun for a lot of players. So, depending on how the book goes (if it even involves Republic City), we'll try to incorporate similar events spaced out over time, or compress big chunks of plot into more digestible bits of plot. It really depends on the content of book 4, so we'd like to wait for its release before we make any concrete decisions.

Do you accept challenge reserves/apps?
We don't accept challenge reserves, but we do accept multiple applications once reserves expire. Characters who reserved will be processed as thoroughly and quickly as possible so the app status of the character is known. If a character is apped but has no reserve, you're free to reserve to guarantee your app will be looked at before the first application's status is decided.

Do we need to make a request for any abilities besides the bending subsets?
No, not at all. As long as you keep it within reason, such as a non-convicted Equalist having Equalist weapons and knowing chi-blocking.

Regarding apps, can we use test drive/previous game threads for the sample? And can we use an OU character thread if we're apping an AU?
Yes, you are free to link to a test drive meme or thread from a previous game. The core personality of an AU character should remain as close as possible to the OU version since it's mostly the history that's changed. A different history will affect any character, but the differences shouldn't be so drastic that the character is unrecognizable. So with that in mind, it's perfectly acceptable to use an OU thread/post as a sample.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm looking at the application and I was wondering, do I need to fill out the "canon point" and "canon abilities" section if I'm apping an AU? Or should I just put N/A or something there?

No, you don't need to fill them out! Just remove them from the application or put N/A like you suggested. I'll go clarify that on the application page.

Hi there! Regarding apps, can we use test drive/previous game threads for the sample? And can we use an OU character thread if we're apping an AU?

Hello!

Yes, you are free to link to a test drive meme or thread from a previous game. The core personality of an AU character should remain as close as possible to the OU version since it's mostly the history that's changed. A different history will affect any character, but the differences shouldn't be so drastic that the character is unrecognizable. So with that in mind, it's perfectly acceptable to use an OU thread/post as a sample.

Maybe I missed this somewhere, but do OU characters gain the ability to bend?

No, you didn't miss it. It's only vaguely mentioned in the application form, so we'll clarify it there and in the FAQ as well.

Initially, all OU characters who are pulled in will be without their powers and without the ability to bend. For players who are interested, there is an early plot planned for November that will allow some OU characters to gain the ability to bend an element. They'll still have to train to be any good at it. Characters who are apped after November will not have powers/bending and will have to make do with other options such as practicing swordsmanship, chi blocking, etc. If there's enough interest, there may be another plot in March or April 2015 to give OU characters a chance to bend. It's restrictive, but we feel that with some creativity, any non-bender can carve their way in the world just as easily as a bender.

What's the activity requirement?

Because it hasn't opened yet, no one can say for sure what the pace of the game will be, so there's nothing set in stone. Expect it to be somewhere around 20 comments spread out between 2-5 threads per month. If the pace ends up being on the slower end, it will probably lower to 15 comments a month.

Are LoK characters that don't live in Republic City appable? Such as Lord Zuko, Tonraq, Suyin Beifong, etc etc? Or are they NPC'd?

Those characters are all appable. Characters who live outside of the city will find themselves pulled in via the Spirit World. For the first month or two, characters will be restricted to the city due to a spiritual barrier, but once it falls characters will be free to explore further. Characters will also be free to roam to other nations if they have the means/reason to get there, but after a week the Spirit World will drag them right back. That rule also applies to any other character, not just LoK characters who live outside of the city. Basically, the Spirit World feels they're needed in Republic City and wants to keep them nearby, but characters have a week or so of freedom before winding back in the city limits.

Regarding the test drive: If we have a thread going on there, can we make it 'canon' for our time in the game if both characters participating make it into the game?

Yep! That's the plan! That way, people won't have to play out meetings again. In Wan's case, depending on his canon point, he's free to use any element he pleases. For other characters, it's best that players refrain from using a subset of bending unless they plan on using their one-time waiver on the subset prerequisite. That goes double for the special subsets (truth seeing, lavabending, combustion, astral projection and bloodbending), as those will be given out far more sparingly. This way, players won't have to retcon any bending that may occur when meeting others.

So what are your thoughts on anthromorphic animals or creatures with animalistic features?

We have just now updated the FAQ to reflect this!

Basically, non-human characters or characters with animalistic features will be considered spirits. As such, they will not be benders in the typical sense of the word. Instead, they will have nature-based abilities or alternatively, a watered down version of their abilities in canon as long as it fits the ATLA/LoK universe. If you would prefer for your character to "live as humans," such as living in an apartment and having a job, that's perfectly fine.

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searchforpeace - 2014-09-20 19:01 (UTC) - Expand

What's the word on animal companions/pets, like Appa and Momo? Would they be brought in along with their relevant character (e.g. Aang) or not?

We've just updated the FAQ to reflect this!

Animal companions and pets can be brought along with ATLA/LoK characters, so Aang can come with both Appa and Momo and Korra can come with Naga. Characters who are AUed can come with an animal as well. The only restrictions are that sky bison are restricted to Airbenders/Air Nation members while dragons are restricted to people who have them in canon such as Zuko in LoK and perhaps the Sun Warriors from ATLA.

On the application, do things like Nationality and Bending apply to canon characters from other universes? Or does a play just fill in NA?

What if the player intends to participate in the event mentioned that might grant bending to OU characters? If NA is the answer to the above questions, will gained abilities be something the player adds into their ability list at the time of gaining them?

If you are applying a non-ATLA/LoK OU character, please label their nationality as "OU." For the bending section, please label it as "Non-bender."

If you are able to participate in the event for granting bending to OU characters, you won't have to worry about doing anything. There will be a form that asks for what kind of bending you would like your character to receive; when the event begins, we'll update the taken list (which states the bending status) for you. Of course, if you choose to have some kind of OOC post on your journal with stats and other information, you'll be free to update your character's bending status from non-bender to x-bender when the event starts.

I noticed that you added on here that non-human characters become spirits and such. I was wondering where vampires fall on this scale? My specific girl was born as a vampire, so she never died. I just wasn't sure how something like this would work, considering what a vampire's natural diet is. And whether they would be considered a spirit, or closer to human and be capable of bending. Or if their vampirisim would disappear completely.

Because vampires are handled so differently across canons, we're going to leave that decision up to you. We would honestly be fine either way. If you're more comfortable playing a humanized version of your character, that's fine. It's also fine if you prefer to make her a vampire-like spirit.

Just remember that spirits are not typical benders and won't have proper bending, but instead will be gifted with nature-based powers and/or abilities such as flight. In the end, your decision should be based on what will be fun for you and if you feel you will be able to translate her vampire abilities into the ATLA/LoK setting. Keep in mind that you are free to play a spirit having a regular life and trying to fit in with the humans, i.e. having a job and living in an apartment.

This is more out of curiosity than anything, but what are you guys planning on doing as far as the book 4 release goes? Is there any plan to incorporate that with the game in any way?

We do plan on incorporating any big changes into the game, but we're wary about doing it week-by-week. That would be predictable and probably not very fun for a lot of players. So, depending on how the book goes (if it even involves Republic City), we'll try to incorporate similar events spaced out over time, or compress big chunks of plot into more digestible bits of plot. It really depends on the content of book 4, so we'd like to wait for its release before we make any concrete decisions.

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paishodown - 2014-09-22 17:19 (UTC) - Expand

~~This is probably going to sound racist, and I'm very sorry.~~

If we're AU-ing a character whose name isn't Asian (eg./ Joseph Smith), should we change their name to fit in better with the world, or will they just have an odd name relative to AtLA/LoK canon?

It's okay; that question has come up a bit.

We feel there's no need to rename your character to fit the setting. Since the game is based on Republic City, a melting pot/mixed salad of culture, weird names are likely to pop up every now and then. It might be unusual, but not so unusual that foreign names are completely unheard of.

If someone makes a reserve for a character, can someone else make a reserve for the same character in the same application period in order to have a guaranteed consideration for an app, or are reserves a means to put a hold on other people apping for that character?

In less convoluted terms: do you allow reserve and/or application challenges?

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cyclicalitymods - 2014-09-25 22:31 (UTC) - Expand

Do we need to make a request for any abilities BESIDES the bending subsets?
Like, do I need to make a request for my character to know chi-blocking or have Asami-levels of tech?

Hello! We apologize for the incredibly late reply.

To answer your question: no, that's not necessary. We just ask players to use their best judgment and to be reasonable. For example, it's reasonable for an Equalist whose identity wasn't revealed might have some Equalist tech, as well as them knowing how to chi block. On the other hand, it's unlikely they would have an entire secret underground tunnel full of gear like Hiroshi Sato did.

As long as a character's history would allow for something like the above, it's fair game. Just try to limit things if necessary so that weapons don't suddenly become gamebreaking and explode the city.

So, this cropped up, regarding characters that (try to) follow bushido. In the setting, does something akin to the samurai phenomenon exist, or should we swap it for more ambiguous "warrior code of honor" or something?

Hello, and sorry for the very late response!

There are lots of smaller groups of people from all over the world who are likely to follow a code similar to Bushido. However, none are explicitly Samurai like in nature. The closest you might get are the The Sun Warriors or the Yuyan Archers, both of the Fire Nation. If neither of those are fitting enough for your character, you're free to have him hail from a village, small town, or even a small group of people that doesn't interact much with the nation's capital, leaving it free to develop its own code of honorable conduct. We recommend selecting the Fire Nation, as it's the most likely candidate for something of Samurai nature, but it's not necessary. Any group of people who live in smaller communities are capable of following Bushido.

Hi there! I have a VERY CHARACTER SPECIFIC question so apology in advance if this is the wrong place to ask those and feel free to direct me elsewhere.

Basically I'm interested in aping Varrick here but since the setting is post Book 3 that makes things a little difficult. Is there a way we can put this jerk back in Republic City without him ending up stuck in jail and hopefully maintaining most of his fabulous wealth? I'm happy to work with you to work out the best solution, but you can imagine playing a character stuck in jail or constantly evading justice would be pretty limiting, especially for someone as terrible at being subtle as Varrick.

Sir. Sir, you get back in prison right this second. No Zhu Li. No one to DO THE THING for you. You sit and you rot. With a chain and weight attached to your leg. Sparking civil wars and attempting to kidnap presidents, sheesh.

Kidding, kidding. Mostly.

We understand that playing Varrick after his... adventures... in Republic City wouldn't be very fun. But hey. He did a good thing. He tipped Team Avatar 2.0 off about Aiwei... sort of. More importantly, Varrick spent a while in Zaofu and some of the people there could vouch for him and surely a few NPCs from Zaofu were dragged in as well. So let's just say they vouched for Varrick and he's absolved of his crimes.

Obviously, Varrick can't have completely free reign. If he toes the line, he'll be fine and won't have to worry about jail. But any more big shows like kidnapping presidents again, and he better have a solid fallback guy.

As for his wealth, he can keep most of it. As a gesture of good faith, he can kindly donate 5-10% of his wealth to Republic City. The rest is his to keep. Use it wisely!

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profiteers - 2014-09-25 23:15 (UTC) - Expand

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cyclicalitymods - 2014-09-25 23:18 (UTC) - Expand

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profiteers - 2014-09-25 23:26 (UTC) - Expand

I'm sorry if this was asked already, but in regards to canon characters from ATLA do we have to pick a canon point where they're pulled from? Or will they automatically be pulled from the end of the series?

You do need to pick some kind of canon point, as characters change and develop as the series goes on. Episode 1 Aang or Zuko, for example, are very different from episode 61 Aang or Zuko.

You're free to pick the canon point yourself, though. There's no reason you have to pull a character from the end of canon, regardless of it's an ATLA/LoK character or any other series, barring the fact that it's the canon point you find the most enjoyable. If you want to play a character from book 1, you're free to do so. Just keep in mind that whatever canon point you select means they won't have memories of anything that happened after that. Everything post-canon point will be game memories.

Is there going to be a test drive meme before apps open? I'd kind of like to see how my canon character would play off of the other canon characters before committing to apping them as well as try out another non-canon character in the AU setting to get a feel for how they would work in the setting.

Sorry for the stupid question, I got my link to the game from rpanons and didn't see it listed! Now that I've gone to the profile page I see the link :)

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cyclicalitymods - 2014-09-25 23:05 (UTC) - Expand

Quick question! I want to keep Maya's background more or less in-tact, as far as her AU goes, so I was wondering if it was okay to mold her canon hometown to fit into the ATLA/LOK universe?

That's perfectly acceptable!

Do OU characters from other canons arrive carrying anything? E.g., currency from their world, food, swords, ordinary nicknacks, etc.? What about items that are considered mundane in one world, but to the Avatar world would border on magical, like healing items?

I'm assuming blatantly magical items will be left behind.

In general, the basic rule is "things you had on your person" at the time of being pulled into the world. So gald, swords, food, etc. are all likely candidates. More magical items that heal such as gels will have their consistency changed to be spirit water in gel form. So they'll still heal the same amount, but the reason for their healing will be different. Try to limit it to around 20 gels/healing items total and save them for a rainy day! And you should probably find a waterbender healer for the best application. Life bottles can be the purest of spirit water, but they can only revive unconsciousness and not death.

Magical items can still be brought, but they won't work. Like the Triforce from Zelda, for example. It could be in the game but it wouldn't work at all. Just a bunch of triangle shaped pieces.

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redcladidealist - 2014-09-25 23:32 (UTC) - Expand

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cyclicalitymods - 2014-09-25 23:44 (UTC) - Expand

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redcladidealist - 2014-09-25 23:55 (UTC) - Expand

What are your thoughts/guidelines/whatever on really minor characters, as like... characters that have little to maybe not even no screen time (because they died or something but still has established history/personality thanks to people talking about them). Would AUing them be the best choice in this matter, can stick to OU, or are you not allowing them due to lack of canon.

If it helps I'm thinking of possibly Clay Terran from Ace Attorney, if any of you know Dual Destinies. Also I'm asking about really minors characters on this account A+ me

For any character, AU or OU, the important thing is that there's enough personality to form at least a solid 2-3 paragraphs. We're not 100% familiar with Ace Attorney, but glancing at the wikia there's only 1 sentence there for his personality. In addition to that, he would need to have some kind of voice or certain register (way of speaking depending on the setting), which should be able to fill 3 or more sentences. Such a limited background and lack of appearances may make it difficult to explain either.

If you feel you could write a few paragraphs worth of personality and pin down a voice (as in, other characters said he spoke in an X manner to friends, but Y manner to strangers), then you're free to app. If not, we would prefer you apped a different character instead, simply because the lack of canon might not be able to back up a solid voice or personality. Even though the history of AUs may be different, the core personality of the character should be as unchanged as possible, so we'd still need something we can compare an application to.

For the powers section for Canon characters, do we have to detail out the bending specific powers or can we just list "Firebending, Airbending, Earthbending, Waterbending, AVATAR STATE STUFF" etc? Obviously anything that's specific to the character would need to be listed/defined out more.

Oh! And can tags on the TDM count toward the 100 comments required for unlocking a bending subset if both characters involved in the threads counted/used are accepted into the game? Or does it have to be comments made only once officially in the game?

Edited 2014-09-26 22:33 (UTC)

I just realized that it's a bit redundant to have to put your bending skills on there twice, so I've updated the canon ATLA/LoK app to remove the powers section. That was supposed to be meant for canon characters outside of the ATLA/LoK setting. Sorry about that! In addition, since the app page has been tweaked a bit in the past week, there's now a note reminding people to make sure their app form is up to date. For the record, things recently added to the app were companions, possessions and then the removal of the powers section for canon ATLA/LoK characters.

As for the TDM, since it can be used as game canon, we'll be accepting comments from it to count toward the 100 comments. The powers request page has been updated to reflect this as well.

Mini question: Hopefully I haven't overlooked anything, but is it said anywhere how recent a sample in the app needs to be? I have a thread from Dear Mun in February that probably shows his dialogue patterns better than a sample post I could write out - would that be acceptable?

There's no expiration date for sample threads/posts, so something from February would be perfectly acceptable.

Sorry to be a bother, but I have another question --

The app section "Canon abilities" says to put N/A when apping AU, but what about abilities that make perfect sense in both? For example, if someone has sword training, or is unusually good/bad at cooking, or has extensive knowledge on a kind of weapons and so on, shouldn't we mention that somewhere?

Never a bother!

We meant for both AU and OU characters to have characteristics like that in the history or personality section. Obviously, traits like that are important to the character and usually has some impact on them in one way or another. If you prefer to list those in the canon abilities section to keep things more organized and upfront, that's fine, too. As long as they're there!

(no subject)

nobleofmadness - 2014-09-28 12:35 (UTC) - Expand

Hello! I have a question about animal companions. Specifically, "normal" animal companions - they're not half-anything, so they'd be unusual for the Avatar world. Would that be cool or would it be better if I didn't let my character have her animal friend/s with her into the game?

Also, what about animals that have personality of their own? (I would really like for Mulan to come into the game with Mushu, but considering he's a character all his own, I understand if that can't be a thing!)

edit!! sorry for this added question /)_(\! I was wondering if AU characters could be AU'd from the ATLA-timeline? For example, if I wanted to make Mulan a Kyoshi Warrior from that era (since the Kyoshi Warriors have yet to be mentionedin Korra's time) would that be possible?

Edited 2014-09-30 14:48 (UTC)

Hello!

While "normal" animals may be rare in the Avatar world, they're not at all an impossibility. If you would like to bring Cri-Kee, Khan and/or Little Brother, that's perfectly fine. Weird for some people who have never seen just a "dog" and what not, but still very possible.

As for Mushu, we understand it'd be great for him to arrive with Mulan, but he has enough characterization, history and voice to be apped as a separate character. So unfortunately, we have to deny the option to have him arrive with Mulan.

If you prefer to make an AU based on ATLA instead of Korra, that's also fine! She'll just be pulled in via the Spirit World like the other ATLA characters.

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